EFL Unfiltered with David Prutton

A little under a year ago in December 2020, Sol Bamba was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the prospect of his own personal fight against cancer in the early part of 2021. Having been through an extraordinary journey, he catches up with Mark Clemmit about life at the Riverside with new club Middlesbrough, who Clem has more than a little soft spot for as well! Elsewhere, it’s time for some pure punditry perfection from Jobi McAnuff, who’s adjusting to life after football, and the very different pressures of being an in-demand media commentator!

Two managers this week in two very different situations. Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City sit 5th in The Championship after an impressive start, and have surely got the playoffs in their sights as they look to keep pace with the pack. Elsewhere, the EFL’s bottom club Scunthorpe United remain rooted to the foot of Skybet League Two, but have a new man at the helm, and he’s a man with a point to prove. Keith Hill’s CV stacks up with the best of them and there’s not many people that know more about League Two than him. He’s got a challenge on his hands to keep them in the EFL, but it’s a challenge he’s relishing and he’s certainly going to give it a good go! 

It's a jam packed edition of the official EFL podcast this week as Mark Clemmit welcomes 3 guests onto his virtual sofa! Mark Robins joins him to talk about his Coventry side's impressive form of late, we learn about a new programme set to improve the fitness of fans, and Clem has a fascinating catch up with Glenn Murray, 6 months after hanging up his boots. 

This week Neil Warnock took charge of his 1602nd match as a manager, breaking an all time record held by Dario Gradi. It’s a remarkable achievement from one of the great characters of the game, and Mark Clemmit is joined by Michael Brown who knows Warnock only too well, having played for him at Sheffield United and Leeds United, and former referee Mark Halsey, who had a few runs ins with him over the years, as did most match officials!
Elsewhere, Ryan Lowe’s high flying Plymouth side have had a fantastic start to the season, as he joins Clem for a catch up on life in the sunny south west, and how there’s an exiled Scousers mini league emerging in Skybet League One!

Scott Parker agrees that Bournemouth seem a perfect fit for him, but he’s cautious about getting carried away, as he sits down and explains his thinking to Mark Clemmit. His table topping Bournemouth side will have tough tests throughout the season, he has no doubts, but for now they’re flying high and he’s enjoying his time on the south coast. Further afield but equally close to the beach, Owen Coyle is live from Goa, as he’s based over there as the boss of Jamshedspur FC in the Indian Super League. He may be nearly 5000 miles away, but his knowledge of the daily goings on at every level within the EFL is encyclopaedic, as he proves once again with Clem, as the two dissect all the latest news this week!

To celebrate Black History Month, Mark Clemmit sits down for a one on one chat with one of the greatest players in the history of English football, and a legend for club and country. As the first black footballer to appear in a full international for England in 1978, Viv Anderson's life and career is a remarkable one, which Clem is privileged enough to hear about first hand, from the man himself.

As we shine a light on this week’s ‘world mental health day’, Mark Clemmit is joined by two men who have played football at the highest level, but have also suffered years of struggle and torment dealing with their own mental health issues. Darren Eadie and Chris Kirkland bravely discuss all they have been through, and offer advice to those who have struggled, or may still be battling their own demons. In an age where statistically it seems to be more and more common, especially amongst young men, this is an episode that everyone should take the time to listen to.

As we find ourselves in the second International break of the season, it would seem a perfect time to get away from the weekly ups and downs of results and league table positions, and focus on the men who sit in the hot seat at 3 of our EFL clubs, in each of the 3 Skybet league divisions. On the panel this week are Swansea City's head coach Russell Martin, Rotherham United's long serving and highly experienced manager Paul Warne, and the man charged with getting Stevenage up the divisions, Alex Revell. The holy trinity of grafting gaffers share a laugh over common ground and shared experiences, and mull over the rollercoaster world that they find themselves in, as Mark Clemmit takes us on in-depth journey into the anatomy of a manager!

One of the biggest names in the game, Charlie Austin joins Mark Clemmit to talk about his life and career, what he’s learnt along the way, and what he can bring back with him to QPR, the club that just seems to be a perfect fit, time and time again. Elsewhere, this weekend sees the only fixture that will ever put Paul Cook and John Coleman’s lifelong friendship on hold (until 5pm Saturday) as Paul’s Ipswich travel to John’s Accrington, and if it’s anything like as entertaining as Clem’s chat with these two this week, the crowd at the Crown ground are in for a cracker!

It must be very odd for a lad from Stoke on Trent to be suddenly representing your mum’s home nation of Chile, especially when you don’t speak Spanish, but that’s exactly what’s happened to Blackburn Rovers Ben Brereton Diaz in the last 12 months, who recently lined up against the likes of Messi and Neymar in the Copa America!
A little closer to home, recently retired Doncaster Rovers legend, and now a key member of Richie Wellens coaching staff, James Coppinger gives Clem his expert opinion on all the week’s EFL news, but unfortunately they don’t agree on everything!