Ball Handlers

This week it was a pleasure to be joined by old uni mate Ollie Drew, a lifelong City fan who took great pleasure in locking horns with Nobey on a variety of City Vs Liverpool debates. 

 As well as talking about the good old days before the financial takeover, we also discuss the popular debate of Klopp or Pep, whether Pep is planning to stick around for much longer, and who gets left at home out of Maddison, Mount, Grealish and Foden if the Euros gets off the ground this summer...

This week it was a pleasure to be joined by Yorkshire Diamond seamer, Phoebe Graham. Phoebe has always had an undying love for the game, however following a family bereavement, Phoebe decided it was best to take a sabbatical and work  for Sky. 

Following a live watch of the nail-biting Women's World Cup final against India and a quick appearance in a charity match, Phoebe decided it was time to return to the game in what some may describe as the twilight years of her career... 

An absolute pleasure to be joined this week by a member of the formidable Exeter Chiefs forward pack, Sam Skinner. 

Sam is a south west boy who adores playing his Rugby down in Devon, so much so that his stellar form earned him a Scotland call up in 2018, where Sam has continued to tear up trees on the international stage. 

Sam & I talk about what life is like as a Chief, and how far they have come since the Championship days almost a decade ago; Sam largely puts the success down to the likes of player-turned-coach, Gareth Steenson & speaks of the bitter/sweet feeling of winning the Champions Cup in Steeno's final season albeit in an empty stadium...

This week I was delighted to be joined by the inspirational Jamie Bhatti; loose-head prop for Scotland and Bath Rugby.

Jamie's rise to the top is somewhat unconventional - having stared homelessness in the face as a youngster, the now international front rower secured his first job in a slaughterhouse from the age of 16. Two years later, Bhatti secured his doorman's license and managed a mere two hours sleep between shifts in his car before eventually signing his first professional contract with Glasgow Warriors at 20 years old. 

As Bhatti really began to take hold of his Rugby career, starting week in, week out for club and country - Glasgow suddenly took the decision not to renew his contract. Forcing Bhatti's hand into a move to arch rivals Edinburgh, where one day during the hot summer of 2020, things started to take a turn... 

This week it was my pleasure to record the long awaited Chelsea Tiki-Taka Talks, joined by dear friend and fellow Chelsea chum, Joe Webb. Having also attended Newcastle University, Joe is on superb terms with Nobey as well having shared many a pint watching Chelsea & Liverpool games alike in the north east of England. 
 
 Over the course of the episode, we discuss the trials and tribulations of being a Chelsea fan in recent years and how numerous meetings with Liverpool have soured the fixture for fans like Nobey, seeing the likes of Fernando Torres head down to London and 32 year old Joe Cole in the other direction. 
 
 Once again, the helluva teamsheet section threw up some interesting talking points as we discussed a starting 11 with the combined crops from the current Liverpool and Chelsea squads... 

This week it was a pleasure to be joined by the current England opening test batsman, Dom Sibley, aka 'The Fridge'. 

Dom has burst onto the test scene with aplomb, opening the batting with fellow Old Whitgiftian, Rory Burns. He became the first English batsman to score a century at Newlands in over a decade last year, scoring a remarkable 133* against South Africa, an innings that lasted over eight hours in total. 

As well as discussing what it's like to face the likes of Stokes & Archer in net sessions, Sibley also talks about the time his Grandfather placed an audacious bet when young Dom was only 15 years of age that his grandson would end up playing for England... 

This week, it was a pleasure to be joined by the 6ft 7 blonde bombshell, Josh McNally. As well as punching holes in premiership defences on his weekends, McNally is also an Weapons Technician in the Royal Air Force. 

His rise to prominence was completely unexpected for Josh and his family, and before he knew it, London Welsh had offered the second rower a contract to play Premiership Rugby. 

After a turbulent few seasons with Welsh both on and off the pitch, McNally was picked up by London Irish where he eventually became captain. 

Prior to his breakthrough move to Bath, McNally tells the story of the time he was driving back from a fixture against Saracens and began to feel extremely unwell... 

This week it was a pleasure to be joined by the Rugby Swiss - Army Knife himself, Ruaridh McConnochie. Unlike most players, Ruaridh's rise to the top has been somewhat unconventional. 

Initially starting as a sevens player at University, Ruaridh then quickly became a Team GB Olympian, winning silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016. This was swiftly followed up with the rare offer of transitioning into the Gallagher Premiership in the form of Bath Rugby, to begin a new chapter as a fifteens player. 

After some impressive performances, Ruaridh was selected as a 'bolter'  for the Rugby World Cup in Japan, 2019. The humble winger insists that both of these feats were an enormous surprise to him as he begins to take shape as one of the most lethal finishers in the country...  

This week it was a pleasure to be joined by the English Cricketing extraordinaire, Lauren Winfield-Hill. Lauren has represented her country across all formats of the game, including the T20 World Cup in 2017, lifting the trophy on home soil.

Captain of the Yorkshire Diamonds, opener for the Brisbane Heat, AND the Northern Superchargers skipper to be?! Need I say more...? 

During her time in Brisbane, Lauren  sparked a relationship with team-mate, Courtney Hill. In time, the pair both decided to return to the UK together and kick on with Cricket, only to discover this wouldn't be an option for Courtney due to Visa issues. Instead of returning to Aus, Courtney simply found a sport that would take her in the form of Rugby League's Leeds Rhinos, where incredibly, the Aussie whizz is now Captain... 

This week it was a delight to be joined by Nobey's old school mate and lifelong Evertonian, Danny Owen. 

Despite living in Sydney, Danny is keeping up with Everton's best start to a Premier League season in some time, and is thoroughly enjoying what he has seen so far since the appointment of one of the best managers in the business - Italian legend, Carlo Ancelotti. 

As well as Ancelotti, Everton have also recruited shrewdly on the pitch and it is no coincidence that this combination has resulted in Everton sitting in pole position after five games. Is this their year...? 

(Standby for a heated 'helluva team-sheet' in which we pick a combined Liverpool & Everton XI from the current squads...)