Jonny Gould's Football Channel

This is Part 4 of All For The Love Of The Game, the story of Peter Withe’s memorable football career. 

Over these four episodes, it’s been a real privilege to sit down with one of Aston Villa’s most significant history makers.

Scroll back and listen to the three previous episodes as we work our way through his football story played out over four continents.

Part of the England World Cup squad in 1982, followed straight after becoming a league and European champion with Aston Villa - but a coaching career both in England and the Far East was to follow.

And with that experience as a manager himself, I ask him who was the greatest he played for? Ron Saunders or Brian Clough?

All For The Love Of The Game is Peter’s autobiography written with Simon Goodyear. Search for it on Amazon now.

Follow and subscribe to my podcast - and if you enjoyed this, share with your friends. 

The All for the Love of the Game podcast is a Krafty Entertainment production in association with Radio and Social Media Broadcasting

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This is Part 3 of "All For The Love Of The Game", the story of Peter Withe’s momentous football career.

Peter had reached 30-years-old having won two league titles with two different clubs.

But even greater glory was just around the corner.

And amid behind-the-scenes drama at Aston Villa, Peter describes the season he became a European champion despite upheaval at the club.

Coming up in Part 4 of "All for the Love of the Game": the transition from successful striker to a fulfilling career in coaching and management right across the globe.

The "All for the Love of the Game podcast" is a Krafty Entertainment production in association with Radio and Social Media Broadcasting.

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"I had a dream I would play for Aston Villa Football Club!"

Welcome to Part 2 of All For The Love Of The Game, the story of Peter Withe’s memorable football career.

In part 1, Peter took us from his humble football beginnings on Merseyside, all the way to league title glory with Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. 

And we start this episode with his unlikely departure from Forest on the edge of European glory for second division Newcastle United. He mentions another familiar Villa figure, Martin O’Neill, who shared in his title glory at the City Ground.

Peter explains how he left Forest for a tenner a week! And why he dropped down a division to do so - and the inside story behind his "dream move" to Aston Villa.

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Hi, this is Jonny Gould. I’m a lifelong Aston Villa fan, born in the city centre of Birmingham. 

My first game in 1977, was less than auspicious, a 4-1 midweek thrashing under the famous AV floodlights by a Dennis Tueart inspired Manchester City.

But it got a whole lot better over the coming seasons and a key reason for that was Ron Saunders and his inspired signing of Peter Withe for a hefty half a million pounds from Newcastle in the summer of 1980. 

His arrival lifted us from three consecutive flatlining seasons of 8th, 8th and 7th finishes to champions of England and the miracle of Rotterdam the season after. 

All For The Love Of The Game is one of the best football autobiographies I’ve ever read. And Peter Withe’s story is one of sheer determination to succeed wherever that road took him - from Liverpool to South Africa, the USA, back home – and then out again to the Far East.

And boy, did he succeed! At the very highest level: twice a league title winner, a European champion, who scored the winning goal in the final and a full England international. The champagne bubbles of his greatest moments have never quite receded for this Aston Villa fan! 

It’s also a love story because Peter couldn’t have achieved any of this without his devoted wife Kathy by his side through the years.

The game gave Peter mobility and life experience which would surely not have been possible had he never donned football boots. That’s another part of this great story.

For any fan of Villa or Nottingham Forest, reading this autobiography is a must – but it’s also for those who want to understand what it takes to succeed at the top of any line of business, not just football.

Author Simon Goodyear captures the drama and life decisions Peter and Kathy had to take with page-turning ease

And it gave me this chance to present a four part series, sitting down with Peter to discuss it all.

To think, the Liverpool-born striker succeeded at the highest level of club football with the two teams who disrupted the Reds’ domestic domination of the 70s and 80s, with Forest and then Villa. 

Although he wouldn’t mind that much, he grew up an Evertonian!

So let’s start where it all started. On Merseyside as an electrician on the docks. 

Coming up in part 2 of All for the Love of the game, “why I left league champions, Nottingham Forest for then second division Newcastle”

The All for the Love of the Game podcast is a Krafty Entertainment production in association with Radio and Social Media Broadcasting

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Our two guests today are professional sportsmen from two different continents, cultures and sports, united in countering racism and intolerance in the sports industry.

They’re part of Project Max, who’s MD Eric Rubin was with me in Amsterdam at the European Jewish Association conference, where he moderated a session on fighting antisemitism, racism and intolerance alongside Dean Furman, who played internationally with South Africa and Michael Sweetney, NBA Star for the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls. 

Dean was one of only four professional Jewish players plying their trades in the English game during his career.

At one point three of them were teammates together at Oldham! You’ll hear about that. 

And he had a great career, starting off as a youngster at Chelsea, joining Rangers in Scotland with spells at Oldham, Doncaster and in South Africa with SuperSport United.

Dean was born in Cape Town and left for Edgware as a child with his family, went to JFS. 

He made his Bafana Bafana debut - against Brazil - in São Paulo! Opposite Hulk, Neymar, David Luiz Oscar and Marcelo.

Also with us in Amsterdam was ex-NBA star, Michael Sweetney, who cuts a striking 6 ft 8 inches tall and 348 lbs.

Mike's now assistant coach of the Yeshiva University Macabees Men's basketball team and head coach of the girls varsity team at New York's Ramaz School.

Listen closely to his humility and in particular to the education he got at home from his own father.

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This is a wonderful conversation between two Aston Villa fans, who have supported the club through thick and thin for the last 58 years.

Million selling author Lee Child, famous for the Jack Reacher thriller series and Simon Inglis, who’s written authoritative accounts of football stadium across the world.

The conversation covers so much social and football history and is in aid of the Aston and Nechells food bank, which does such a vital job for the community around Birmingham six.

To donate to the valuable work of the food bank, follow this link. https://astonnechells.foodbank.org.uk

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Covid has turned the Premier League on its head. The FFP regulations have hampered some of the rich and powerful and brought some of the lesser lights in midtable back into a powerplay.

Where do Aston Villa fit into this new disruption? There's really only one person to ask: it's Yorkshire AVFC, the one and only FFP professor, Dave Jordan.

⚽️ Dave knows: ▫️How much wiggle room Villa has in the transfer market ▫️Why Arsenal seemed overkeen to sell Emi Martinez, despite being so highly rated ▫️if we can afford Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and whoever else is coming ▫️how other clubs in the Premier League are fairing ▫️and you might be surprised who's short of working capital and who isn't!

DOWNLOAD now for a great summary of the financial fortunes of Aston Villa as we embark on the 20/21 season. JOIN The Villa Trust today for as little as a fiver at www.villatrust.org.uk.

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I reckon Aston Villa fans are as proud of our famous supporters as we are of our players!

From genius violinists to the future king of England, from accomplished authors and actors to prime ministers who mistake us for West Ham!

And an authentic voice of our beloved city. A poet, who over 5 decades has become a household name for his poetry and music.

It’s the one and only Benjamin Zephaniah, also a patron of our Supporters’ Trust, who gave me such a generous amount of time in this wide-ranging discussion about Villa memories, growing up in the area, how it’s changed and we touched on his philosophies and views too.

It’s just a fiver to join the Aston Villa Supporters’ Trust. Join today at www.villatrust.org.uk and follow us on X at @villa_trust.

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This is the first podcast since our AGM with CEO Christian Purslow and legendary winger Tony Daley - and with lockdown since then, there's a lot to catch up on.

We have a very special guest as Nick Timothy, Theresa May's joint chief of staff at Downing Street and Villa season ticket holder joins me to talk about growing up in Tile Hill and going to school in Aston. Villa's membership of the Premier League hangs on a knife edge.

As the chances of Project Restart rescind and as the FA insist promotion and relegation must be honoured, what will happen?

We have written to CEO Christian Purslow about playing our remaining games at neutral venues - and Mr Purslow agrees that it'd be a huge decision for anyone running Villa to take home advantage away from our difficult first season back.

Jonny's point is we have a game in hand! We can't be relegated on the basis that we might have won three points with it! We also update you on what we've been doing as a Trust since lockdown and I'm delighted to talk to Nick Timothy about his life as a Villa fan.

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Don’t you just hate those flippant questions from non-Villa fans? I gave it short shrift to sports Johnny on Nicky Campbell’s Breakfast Show.

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