New programme for 23/24

[ChertseyBee]

40 pages smaller this season… and £1 less in price.

Hope they’ve not dispensed with the best bits!

 

[Untouchable]

40 pages smaller this season… and £1 less in price.

Hope they’ve not dispensed with the best bits!

Brentford's new-look matchday programme available now

Receive the Lille programme and every Premier League issue of the 2023/24 season with a programme subscription; every edition will include in-depth interviews, opposition analysis and columns from former player Ben Burgess and stand-up comedian and Bees supporter Nathan Caton

www.brentfordfc.com

 

[Garybaldbee]

40 pages smaller this season… and £1 less in price.

Hope they’ve not dispensed with the best bits!

The downgrade has started.....

 

[Sultan]

Great news, been saying it for a while. Make it cheaper and lose all the crap. Hopefully they have lost all the filler of the black and white pics at the rear of the programme. Best bits are the interviews with staff, players and former Bees.

 

[Downbeat Bee]

The downgrade has started.....

When I went to Swansea last year there was no programme. Several clubs have programmes which are as basic as can be e.g. Newport.

 

[ChertseyBee]

Great news, been saying it for a while. Make it cheaper and lose all the crap. Hopefully they have lost all the filler of the black and white pics at the rear of the programme. Best bits are the interviews with staff, players and former Bees.

I hope you’re right. But I have a horrible feelings that we‘ll be left with a lot of the ‘crap’. It‘s easy inclusion whereas the excellent articles from contributors like Rob Jex, Dan Long and Greveille Waterman need timely editorial work to accommodate them. I fear they might be the ones to fall by the wayside.

 

[sacbfc]

The following is used to describe this years programmes:
"Illustrator Dave Flanagan will once again produce the cover of the programme which, this season, will be featured on pull-out posters for every issue of the 2023/24 campaign."
I'm slightly confused.
Does this mean the front cover will be a poster or will there be a poster inside or will there be multiple posters inside?
Sorry if everyone else understands the official site statement perfectly.

 

[Alex]

The following is used to describe this years programmes:
"Illustrator Dave Flanagan will once again produce the cover of the programme which, this season, will be featured on pull-out posters for every issue of the 2023/24 campaign."
I'm slightly confused.
Does this mean the front cover will be a poster or will there be a poster inside or will there be multiple posters inside?
Sorry if everyone else understands the official site statement perfectly.

I read it that there will be a poster of the front cover in each one.

 

[North London Bee]

I look forward to reading the new style programme tomorrow.

Time moves on and they’ve dispensed with the services of the likes of Ian Westbrook, Rob Jex and myself.

Shame because we all know a lot about the club and its history but I understand that the tone and audience have changed.

I hope it’s good and wish it well.

 

[Sultan]

I look forward to reading the new style programme tomorrow.

Time moves on and they’ve dispensed with the services of the likes of Ian Westbrook, Rob Jex and myself.

Shame because we all know a lot about the club and its history but I understand that the tone and audience have changed.

I hope it’s good and wish it well.

That is a nonsense.

 

[ChertseyBee]

I hope you’re right. But I have a horrible feelings that we‘ll be left with a lot of the ‘crap’. It‘s easy inclusion whereas the excellent articles from contributors like Rob Jex, Dan Long and Greveille Waterman need timely editorial work to accommodate them. I fear they might be the ones to fall by the wayside.

Seems I was right. Absolute garbage and a total waste of money. I left it under the seat after the game, nothing worth taking home to read.

Totally embarrassing effort for a Premier League club. They might as well give up with programmes if that’s the best they can manage.

 

[Raise The Roof]

Seems I was right. Absolute garbage and a total waste of money. I left it under the seat after the game, nothing worth taking home to read.

Totally embarrassing effort for a Premier League club. They might as well give up with programmes if that’s the best they can manage.

Again, like with the new food and drink offerings, it would be great to have feedback on the new programmes. But to be really helpful, can feedback be as specific as possible ie
1. what has been removed that you liked or
2. what’s been added that’s not of great interest?

Also, if ordered online, can you feedback whether your programme (posted 1st class the working day before) arrived before the match!? I assume that’s actually quite important for most fans.

 

[Sultan]

Needs a new thread Mods - thi seasons programme. 10 pages on Spurs. Hard to judge todays effort with preview of all the other teams in the Prem taking up pages.

 

[ChertseyBee]

Again, like with the new food and drink offerings, it would be great to have feedback on the new programmes. But to be really helpful, can feedback be as specific as possible ie
1. what has been removed that you liked or
2. what’s been added that’s not of great interest?

Also, if ordered online, can you feedback whether your programme (posted 1st class the working day before) arrived before the match!? I assume that’s actually quite important for most fans.

I’m not sure I can answer your question without being too flippant.

What’s been removed that you liked? It might be better to ask what’s left worth reading. In short, no ‘From the Archive‘ by Rob Jex, which was by far away the best written and highest quality article in the programme for many years, no excellent player profile by Grenville Waterman and no ‘Kings of the Castle’ interview by Dan Long. Please don’t tell me they’ve run out players to feature (only 900-odd left to chose from!). No current player interview and no B team information.

Was there anything else included in the previous programmes to actually read?

Amazing how they have managed to reduce the size of the programme by about half, and yet still kept 25% of it for the away team stuff.

Otherwise, it was full of adverts, kids games and self-indulgent columnists.

Anyway, apologies if I’ve got some of that wrong. I cant write a proper review as I scanned the programme before the game and then left it on the floor, so I have probably missed things. I won’t be wasting money on another one either!

 

[Banana]

Needs a new thread Mods - thi seasons programme. 10 pages on Spurs. Hard to judge todays effort with preview of all the other teams in the Prem taking up pages.

A massive downgrade on last season. No square binding for a start.

 

[Plymouth Bee]

I liked today's programme - good to see Big Ben Burgess back for another season and all the Spurs stuff was fair enough given they were today's opponents. It'll be interesting to see what takes the place of the PL season review in future issues. I'd certainly still like to see some history in the programme.

 

[ChertseyBee]

I liked today's programme - good to see Big Ben Burgess back for another season and all the Spurs stuff was fair enough given they were today's opponents. It'll be interesting to see what takes the place of the PL season review in future issues. I'd certainly still like to see some history in the programme.

Ten pages out of the 40! Surely it’s a Brentford programme? Not a Wembley Final magazine.

 

[TW3Bee]

Massive queue to buy the programme on the bridge, more than there was for any game last season, leading to the West Stand, doesn't bother me as I don't buy them anymore, but if it is that long maybe they need more sellers.

 

[Downbeat Bee]

Seems I was right. Absolute garbage and a total waste of money. I left it under the seat after the game, nothing worth taking home to read.

Totally embarrassing effort for a Premier League club. They might as well give up with programmes if that’s the best they can manage.

And that is what clubs will do when given the chance.

 

[Garybaldbee]

Massive queue to buy the programme on the bridge, more than there was for any game last season, leading to the West Stand, doesn't bother me as I don't buy them anymore, but if it is that long maybe they need more sellers.

I'm away on holiday so can't comment on the new style programme yet but it does seem to me that the ridiculous obstacles placed in front of being able to do something as simple as buy a copy of the programme over the last couple of seasons are part of a deliberate policy of neglect designed to set the whole thing up to fail. The club is vastly better resourced than it every has been before and yet the number and visibility of programme sellers is now completely inadequate.

I reckon I was unable to obtain a programme at the ground at more than a third of home matches last season, and on many occasions when I did manage to do so it required way more perseverance than should be necessary, whether it was waiting for ages in gargantuan queues or hunting round for alternative sales points. This is not normal and it is not right. It would be such an easy and obvious thing to rectify that the failure to do so makes the club's intent clear.

 

[Garybaldbee]

Again, like with the new food and drink offerings, it would be great to have feedback on the new programmes. But to be really helpful, can feedback be as specific as possible ie
1. what has been removed that you liked or
2. what’s been added that’s not of great interest?

Also, if ordered online, can you feedback whether your programme (posted 1st class the working day before) arrived before the match!? I assume that’s actually quite important for most fans.

Is that call for feedback because you have links (possibly through BIAS) to some kind of supporter liaison mechanism set up by the club?

 

[coconino]

A massive downgrade on last season. No square binding for a start.

Yep, and my card got charged twice for one.

 

[Raise The Roof]

Is that call for feedback because you have links (possibly through BIAS) to some kind of supporter liaison mechanism set up by the club?

Yes I am part of BIAS, and sent club an end of season review of programmes reflecting a number of GPG comments, with some suggestions as to how this season might be an improved experience. They were good enough to say they would consider these. We will see if anything changes! The points were mainly about what to do about the long queues, better Comms and signage about the various outlets, and a fairer deal on online programmes.

 

[wanderer paul]

Stopped buying a few years ago.

Many Clubs in the EFL have stopped producing programmes now. Some have gone to a monthly issue. Some are just digital. A few are now produced by supporter groups.

The programme is dying, slowly.

Not seen ours so cannot comment. For all of what i see of the covers, cool. For what is inside? It’s a crying shame there isn’t any comment on history but, I suppose, there’s only so much you can go back to that keeps people interested?

Hopefully BU will take up the mantle of producing history/heritage articles via the newsletter or regular online articles even……?

There’s a place for Club history, it depends where in this time of the EPL……

Times are changing. Brentford have to change too……

 

[Brentford_till_die]

Massive queue to buy the programme on the bridge, more than there was for any game last season, leading to the West Stand, doesn't bother me as I don't buy them anymore, but if it is that long maybe they need more sellers.

yeah never seen it as long as that before so decided to gamble and try my luck inside the ground.

Took an age to buy from the pop up shop in the north stand.... for some reason they have an ipad that they need to get the product code from ? to then enter the amount on the card machine..... took 2/3 minutes... painfully slow.

Not sure why it's so difficult...

 

[Brentford_till_die]

I'm away on holiday so can't comment on the new style programme yet but it does seem to me that the ridiculous obstacles placed in front of being able to do something as simple as buy a copy of the programme over the last couple of seasons are part of a deliberate policy of neglect designed to set the whole thing up to fail. The club is vastly better resourced than it every has been before and yet the number and visibility of programme sellers is now completely inadequate.

I reckon I was unable to obtain a programme at the ground at more than a third of home matches last season, and on many occasions when I did manage to do so it required way more perseverance than should be necessary, whether it was waiting for ages in gargantuan queues or hunting round for alternative sales points. This is not normal and it is not right. It would be such an easy and obvious thing to rectify that the failure to do so makes the club's intent clear.

 

[shepperton bee]

Can’t really comment because as with last season there weren’t enough sellers to be able to buy one . Massive queue at the one guy selling on approach to the south stand , queued for 10 mins or so but gave up as it was now 1.50 and still 15 in front of me !
Doesn’t sound like I missed much .

 

[Sultan]

I'm glad price has and number of pages has been reduced. Also happy about the culling of the black and white pictures that took half a dozen pages at the back of last seasons programe.

Again can't really judge on yesterday's issue. I always like best the player profiles, first team, b team etc and the interviews/features on the ex-Bees. One fifth of the programme being given over to away team is over the top.

 

[Garybaldbee]

Yes I am part of BIAS, and sent club an end of season review of programmes reflecting a number of GPG comments, with some suggestions as to how this season might be an improved experience. They were good enough to say they would consider these. We will see if anything changes! The points were mainly about what to do about the long queues, better Comms and signage about the various outlets, and a fairer deal on online programmes.

Thanks. I'll certainly let you know once I'm back for the next home game.

 

[A406 Bee]

Again, like with the new food and drink offerings, it would be great to have feedback on the new programmes. But to be really helpful, can feedback be as specific as possible ie
1. what has been removed that you liked or
2. what’s been added that’s not of great interest?

Also, if ordered online, can you feedback whether your programme (posted 1st class the working day before) arrived before the match!? I assume that’s actually quite important for most fans.

1 - Virtually everything I liked from last season has been removed.

No long read interview with a current first team squad member. The Michael Olakgibe interview was only two pages and felt half-hearted.
No long read former player interview
No history articles - something which have been a mainstay of Brentford programmes for as long as I can remember.
None of last season's writers - other than the big names like Ben Burgess and Nathan Caton - were in the programme any more, which is disappointing
The only thing which is the same size as last season is the visitors' guide. I don't mind that so much - when I go to away games, I am always impressed when there are several pages on the Bees

2 - Not sure we need a 10-page Premier League preview - something that can be picked up in all the newspapers, in magazines like FourFourTwo and on websites such as the BBC. I know this was only for yesterday's issue, but will be interested to see what replaces it in future editions. Hopefully some of last season's regular content

As many others have said, it is still too hard to buy a programme on a matchday outside the stadium. If sales have fallen, I am sure that would be the reason, rather than the content. I did chance my arm yesterday though and for the first time, instead of queuing up, tried the merchandise stall inside the North Stand - and it paid off, no queue and managed to buy a copy.

At least with the reduced size, the cost was cut accordingly. But it makes me wonder that if we were to be relegated, would the club follow some others and stop producing a programme altogether, which would be a sad day.

 

[nick logan]

@hobbsy , can we not sort this .

Poor old Motherwell is distraught !

 

[hobbsy]

@hobbsy , can we not sort this .

Poor old Motherwell is distraught !

Yes we are looking at it

 

[ChertseyBee]

As far as I am concerned, the miserable programme production is just another notch up on Varney’s list of deleting as many links to the past as possible. Get rid of the established ‘historians’ who contributed and that‘s one less pesky thing to worry about.

 

[Paul O'Brien]

It's a bit too early to say much about the programme since the season has just started. However, I'll have a go.
Pros
1) It arrived on time, which is something that can't be said about most of the programmes last season (I had a subscription both last year and this) - but I'd understood that subscribers would also get the Lille programme.
2) I quite liked the season's assessment of other clubs.

Cons
1) The articles about former players have gone.
2) The articles about how we've fared against certain terms or in certain years etc have gone.
3) Almost everything I liked has gone.
4) I always liked having the previous season's final table in the new season's programme. Can't see it this time around.

Summary
Maybe I'm oldfashioned, but what has happened to the programme reminds me of the way in which the Guinness Book of Records has changed over the years. It used to have loads of stuff worth reading; now it's full of pictures. Perfect for today's millennials but will they realy want to read it if it's not on a screen?

One final point (it's not new to this season, btw) - I recall the way in which OZ used to print pink text on purple backgrounds, or yellow on green - it made it impossible to read for anyone over 21, which I guess was the reason. But reversed out text isn't easy to read under floodlights.

 

[sacbfc]

It's a bit too early to say much about the programme since the season has just started. However, I'll have a go.
Pros
1) It arrived on time, which is something that can't be said about most of the programmes last season (I had a subscription both last year and this) - but I'd understood that subscribers would also get the Lille programme.
2) I quite liked the season's assessment of other clubs.

Cons
1) The articles about former players have gone.
2) The articles about how we've fared against certain terms or in certain years etc have gone.
3) Almost everything I liked has gone.
4) I always liked having the previous season's final table in the new season's programme. Can't see it this time around.

Summary
Maybe I'm oldfashioned, but what has happened to the programme reminds me of the way in which the Guinness Book of Records has changed over the years. It used to have loads of stuff worth reading; now it's full of pictures. Perfect for today's millennials but will they realy want to read it if it's not on a screen?

One final point (it's not new to this season, btw) - I recall the way in which OZ used to print pink text on purple backgrounds, or yellow on green - it made it impossible to read for anyone over 21, which I guess was the reason. But reversed out text isn't easy to read under floodlights.

On a preview of this years programme, it said that there would be interviews with members of the L1 promotion squad in 2013–14. I assume this will be in place of the PL club previews.

 

[Paul O'Brien]

On a preview of this years programme, it said that there would be interviews with members of the L1 promotion squad in 2013–14. I assume this will be in place of the PL club previews.

I hope so. That sounds interesting.

 

[sacbfc]

Going off subject, at Fulham on Saturday, the programme sellers accepted cash or card. It took us less than 5 seconds to buy a programme in cash. Much more efficient than at Brentford.

At half time, programme sellers walked around the pitch selling what was left.

Surely this is a lesson for Brentford.

 

[nick logan]

That lots programme was very good and easy to buy .
I cannot believe we have downgraded ours .
Booooooooooooooo

 

[Brentford_till_die]

Going off subject, at Fulham on Saturday, the programme sellers accepted cash or card. It took us less than 5 seconds to buy a programme in cash. Much more efficient than at Brentford.

At half time, programme sellers walked around the pitch selling what was left.

Surely this is a lesson for Brentford.

cash can be just as quick if not quicker than our card reading system

 

[Hullbee]

Seems I was right. Absolute garbage and a total waste of money. I left it under the seat after the game, nothing worth taking home to read.

Totally embarrassing effort for a Premier League club. They might as well give up with programmes if that’s the best they can manage.

Yellow card for littering coke your way then ?

 

[Hullbee]

cash can be just as quick if not quicker than our card reading system

Not when the cash is pocketed by the seller or someone having to count it and take it to the bank

 

[TW3Bee]

That lots programme was very good and easy to buy .
I cannot believe we have downgraded ours .
Booooooooooooooo

First step towards not producing one at all.

 

[alikat]

I did chance my arm yesterday though and for the first time, instead of queuing up, tried the merchandise stall inside the North Stand - and it paid off, no queue and managed to buy a copy.

Whereabouts in the North Stand is this please?

 

[HaylingBee74]

First step towards not producing one at all.

If you don’t buy newspapers why not go online for programmes too. Though I find it interesting that Matchday Programmes are still included with the high end packages. The last newspaper I bought was for the Millennium.

The other reason I stopped buying programmes, is where will they go when I pass. No children to leave them to

 

[nick logan]

If you don’t buy newspapers why not go online for programmes too. Though I find it interesting that Matchday Programmes are still included with the high end packages. The last newspaper I bought was for the Millennium.

The other reason I stopped buying programmes, is where will they go when I pass. No children to leave them to

i do buy newspapers and i want a programme as a souvenir of matches .
Also you can't get the same smell on line

 

[Downbeat Bee]

First step towards not producing one at all.

We are several steps down that path!

 

[nick logan]

We are several steps down that path!

well we aren't as last years was brilliant

 

[wanderer paul]

well we aren't as last years was brilliant

We are, IMO.

It’ll go all digital and read online or, more expense to you, a PDF you can send off yourself and get it printed. I know people have done this where clubs are digital only now. They send off the PDF, print around 10-20, sell the rest……

Or, there will be a monthly magazine, that takes in all the home games for that month. This is also happening already too.

It'll happen. Programmes aren’t what they were anymore.

The other option is a supporter group collate, edit, print and sell themselves. This is also happening at some clubs in the football league.

Times change…… sadly….

 

[Downbeat Bee]

well we aren't as last years was brilliant

They are now attacking the content. But making them as difficult to purchase as possible were / are steps. Card machines that often don’t work / are slow are others.

 

[StevieSteve]

Whereabouts in the North Stand is this please?

In the Smoking Area