Arsenal once sold 100,000 programmes for one game as editor reflects on demise of football tradition

From Arsenal's Invincibles, to Dennis Bergkamp's extraordinary goal against Newcastle, to numerous FA Cup wins, Exley has seen the lot.

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In his role as Managing Editor of Publications, Exley is in charge of overseeing the production of the Gunners' matchday programme which has a regular print run of around 20,000 copies.

Nothing, though, could prepare him for two key moments in Arsenal's history that will forever stand the test of time.

The first would be the Gunners' final match at Highbury against Wigan in 2006 before their move to the Emirates and 12 years later, Arsenal fans then paid an emotional farewell to the legendary Arsene Wenger in his last home game as manager against Burnley in 2018.

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As part of his role, it was Exley's responsibility to produce special editions of the matchday programme to honour both moments and he was blown away by the response both copies received from the Arsenal faithful.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Exley said: "The final game at Highbury was pretty epic. We were doing all sorts of programmes for Radio 4 where they wanted us to record the moment that the last programme went to print.

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"There were so many programmes that they came in an articulated lorry down Avenell Road which wasn't very well appreciated by the police as I remember at the time!

"Considering it was a 38,000-seater stadium, I think we printed 60,000 [copies] initially. I saw someone walk off and they brought an entire box, so I worked out quite quickly that it wasn't, perhaps, going to be enough. We then printed another two runs of 20,000. It was something like 90,000 - 100,000 programmes that we sold in the end. People had to have that programme.

"I've not seen anything like that before or since, until we got to Arsene Wenger's last match against Burnley when, I think, we printed 70,000 as the initial print run, when our regular print run is around 20,000. You always have this worry of: 'Imagine if you're left with 30,000 programmes'.

"Again, it became apparent fairly quickly this was not going to be enough. The point where I really realised just how crazy it was getting was [when] I saw two guys in Armoury Square fighting over a programme. Whatever we could get out to the sellers, the queues were huge. It was absolutely crazy. So again, we did two more print runs.

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"When the programme is printed, it goes onto aluminium litho plates. It's a bit nerdy, I won't go into it! But each plate has a representation of the pages of the programme. The front cover, as a litho plate, we then auctioned at the foundation ball at the end of that season and I think it was the top selling lot. I think we got £3,000.

"Someone just wanted part of the process of that programme. Everything around the programme just became monumental and supercharged by 100. I know it was the same at the last game at Upton Park, for example.

"It feels like for those particularly historic moments, people want something that's documented and the programme is that. As long as programmes exist, I think that's always going to happen and there's always going to be these moments."

Sadly, though, demand for programmes has fallen with many clubs reporting that around 10-20% of their attendance now purchase them on a matchday. In their heyday, 1 in 4 would perhaps buy a programme as part of their pre-match ritual.

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A fall in demand has meant some teams have been forced to make difficult decisions and a talkSPORT investigation has revealed that 12.5% of English clubs have stopped producing printed matchday programmes.

Not only have clubs been faced with decreasing demand but rising print costs have seriously impacted the productions that teams produce.

"We've been really hit by what's happened in the print industry," Exley explains.

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"Over the many years I've done this, we've looked at our costs and what we're going to produce for the programme each season and the costs have remained remarkably similar. We are literally talking a 1% increase year on year.

"But in the last year, the print industry has been hit so hard. It's been a perfect storm of massive energy costs [and a] massive increase in paper costs. I know the printers have been quoted increase in paper costs literally by the month. I know Brexit hasn't helped at all in the situation.

"So, we then went from an annual 1% increase potentially in print costs to around a 40% increase for everyone now in one hit. So, you, therefore, suddenly had a situation where your sales are edging down and your costs have gone up by 40%.

"At Arsenal, for the first time in eight or nine years, the programmes have gone up from £3.50 to £4. We hate putting the price of the programme up, but sadly, everyone has seen the price of everything go up. But that has allowed us to keep the programme at the same size."

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For many supporters, though, picking up a programme alongside a pie and a matchday scarf will always be an important pre-match ritual.

The programme not only allows fans to hear from managers and players, but it is also a key way for supporters to remain in touch with their club and the various community initiatives on offer.

While demand may not be as high, Exley feels programmes can still be a success in this digital age with the right approach.

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"If you can increase personalisation [and] if you can really try and maximise sales - that includes selling before and after games - I think there is still a market there because there is an appeal of a little kid going to his first game with his mum or his dad or grandad or whatever it is and there's still something really quite special about the programme," Exley finished.

"We know of programmes from the second season, 1887/88, and we're pretty sure that there's probably programmes in the very first season of our existence. We have programmes going back in our offices to 1904/05 and you can just compare them by the decade. It's fascinating to read them, read how differently they are written and read the outlook of the club at the time.

"Not everything has to be a digital medium. It's just great if people want to have something that they can hold onto that reminds them of a specific matchday."

The demise of the matchday programme: talkSPORT study shows 13 clubs across English game have ditched one of football's great traditions - and more are set to follow