Clarets programme scores seven out of 10 ... and Blackburn Rovers five out of 10

The Clarets were joint third in the survey of programmes produced by Championship clubs, organised by national memorabilia magazine, Programme Monthly & Football Collectable.

Sunderland won the Premier League Programme of the Season award and Brighton & Hove Albion have achieved the equivalent honour for the Championship. Blackburn Rovers trailed at the bottom of the Premiership scoring only five out of 10.

Announcing the results of the annual contest, which for the first time included a fans’ panel awarding marks for every club, co-editor Kevin Whitcher said: “Red & White is an excellent, well-organised read with plenty of variety, and extremely well presented visually. Sunderland win the award due to a very stylishly but simply laid-out programme that oozes class and content.

“Seagull reflects Brighton’s move into a new stadium and is a programme to be proud of. It’s packed with content, especially coverage of the current team, with numerous interviews and questionnaires, and four different retro features to add to the mix.”

Rob Mason, Sunderland AFC Programme Editor said: “We are delighted Sunderland’s Red and White has once again been judged to be Programme Monthly’s Programme of the Season. Red and White has a large team of Sunderland expert contributors who make the programme what it is. There are many excellent programmes with lots of clubs producing terrific publications for supporters and we congratulate Brighton on winning the Championship award.”

Luke Nicoli, Brighton & Hove Albion FC Programme Editor, added: “We are delighted and honoured to be recognised by Programme Monthly for this award. Seagull has evolved over recent seasons, always with the aim of producing a high-quality product to coincide with our move to the Amex Stadium. A lot of hard work and effort has gone into producing our programme, from design and photography through to a high level of editorial content. Recognition from outside of the club is always the best measurement of success.”

Sunderland’s victory was tinged with sadness as one of their team, Ian Laws, passed away suddenly on the evening they learned they had won the award. The club have dedicated their award to Ian.

The results announced by Programme Monthly for the 2011-12 season are:

Premier League: Winner – Sunderland; Runners-up – West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City; Best Design – West Bromwich Albion; Runner-up – Sunderland; Best Feature – Chelsea (Chelsea Scene Investigation); Runner-up Sunderland (Relatively Speaking)

Championship: Winner – Brighton & Hove Albion; Runners-up – Leeds United and Leicester City; Best Design – Peterborough United; Runner-up – Middlesbrough; Best Feature – Leicester City (Programme Vault); Runner-up Leeds United (Leeds Library)