Scottish Programme of the Year

Congratulations to The Game editor, Duncan Simpson and his devoted team - top of the table for another season!

The Scottish Programme of the Year Awards are in their 38th season and this season's SFL First Division, there was a dead heat in Fife between the 'Blue Brasilian' produced by Cowdenbeath and 'The Game' offered by Dunfermline.

This is the 30th consecutive season that Programme Monthly and Football Collectable magazine have sponsored the awards. The magazine's football historian John Litster explained:-

"Despite these programmes being very different in terms of content and production, their scores were identical. I tried to determine a winner by counting back how many times each one was voted as the top programme by the individual judges but that produced a tie as well."

The fact that they were so different may have been a factor in the tied scoring with Litster explaining: "Cowdenbeath's programme provides a considerable amount of reading material, but it is produced to a tight budget and the print and paper quality is not of the highest standard.

"Dunfermline's is a much slicker looking programme but I believe that several judges rewarded the very high standard of content from the Central Park issue, hence Cowdenbeath's high score, while other judges were more impressed by the larger, glossier and more colourful East End Park issue. The joint winners are polar opposites in programme standards, and the joint award reflects their respective merits."

Partick Thistle were a strong third with Morton being rewarded for a fresh impetus behind their programme with a move from tenth place to seventh with Litster adding:

"Last season the club acknowledged that something had to happen to improve their programme and they have done it. If there was a 'Most Improved Category', Morton would have scooped that."

Ross County were a distant tenth with Litster advising:

"Their programme has got better and I thought it would have scored higher that it did.  However it is still predominately an advertising based production and they may want to speak to Morton to see how they went about moving away from bottom spot."

In the SPL Programme of the Year table, Aberdeen finished over 12 points clear of second place Dundee United with Celtic in third spot, Heart of Midlothian in fourth and Rangers in fifth.