These Football Times

By These Football Times

What's These Football Times about?

Traversing the world of football in search of the stories that matter, brought to you by expert journalists and guests. Check out our award-winning print magazine.

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These Football Times episodes:

04.24.2024
A decade of 80s football: sins and omissions
In the decade that will never die, the 1980s team reunite one last time (probably) for a bit of whataboutery? Some listeners have pointed out a few of the stones that were left unturned in the course of the series,...
04.21.2024
FA Cup giant-killers: QPR vs West Brom, 1982
Second Division played First at Highbury in 1982, and it was the lower tier side who came out on top, Terry Venables piloting a way to the FA Cup final for his side in a game where West Brom simply...
04.18.2024
Euro 84: the greatest tournament you never saw
Join us as we talk to TFT’s very own Aidan Williams about his new book, Euro 1984: The Greatest Tournament You Never Saw. As the title suggests, here in the UK we missed most of the tournament when the TV...
04.15.2024
Hillsborough III, with Andrew Knott
On the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, we conclude our conversations by talking to Andrew Knott, the man behind the Anfield crowd mosaics. Andrew takes us through his experiences as one of those who made it onto the pitch...
04.15.2024
Hillsborough II, with Peter Scarfe
On the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, we continue our personal reflections as Peter Scarfe speaks about his experiences on the terraces at Leppings Lane on 15 April 1989. Peter, the co-creator and chair of the Hillsborough Survivors Support...
04.15.2024
Hillsborough I, with Dr Anne Eyre
On the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, we talk to Dr Anne Eyre, a sociologist specialising in the psychosocial aspects of major incidents, emergency planning and disaster management, who was on the Leppings Lane terraces on 15 April 1989....
04.07.2024
A decade of 80s football: favourite players and games
And now, the end is near, and so they face an impossibly difficult Question of Sport blowout to decide the Quiz Champion of the 1980s. Before that, our intrepid panellists choose their favourite games and players of the decade, reflect...
03.29.2024
The Mount Rushmore Debates: 1980s
Following on from our series on the 1980s, we’ve one final visit to the decade as Chris Lepkowski, Aidan Williams and Stu Horsfield offer their choice of the goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker and manager who should be chiselled onto the...
03.21.2024
FA Cup giant-killers: Leicester vs Wycombe, 2001
A striker unearthed at lastminute.com, Robbie Savage writhing in agony, the winning manager watching the last few minutes of the game on TV in a cupboard, all human life is here in this FA Cup quarter-final at Filbert Street as...
03.18.2024
Inside The Hermit Kingdom: football stories from Stalinist Albania
Phil Harrison joins us in the Centre Circle to talk us through some shadowy tales of footballing life in Albania, all captured in his excellent new book, Inside The Hermit Kingdom.
03.14.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1988/89
And so the 1980s odyssey ends with a tumultuous season. We pay our respects to the Hillsborough disaster, with further podcasts to come on that subject, but this ONE concentrates on the football. Liverpool come through the tragedy to beat...
03.11.2024
FA Cup giant-killers: Burnley vs Lincoln City, 2017
We move into the 21st century with this tie, and find that it was easier to remember the 1970s. Nonetheless, rediscovering the day that Conference side Lincoln City went to Turf Moor and upset Sean Dyche and his Burnley team...
03.11.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1987/88
After surrendering their title to Everton, Liverpool come storming back, fuelled by John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and John Aldridge. A second league and cup double in three years seems inevitable but at Wembley, Dave Beasant saves a penalty and Wimbledon...
03.03.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1986/87
1986/87: in the Mersey Wars trilogy, we’re up to Everton Strike Back as Howard Kendall’s side regain the league title. Keith Houchen ensures he will be forever frozen in time with that diving header in the FA Cup final as...
02.28.2024
Remembering Stan Bowles
The team mark the sad passing of Stan Bowles with a tribute to the man who illuminated Loftus Road, fell out with Malcolm Allison and Brian Clough, and who should surely have won more than just five England caps. A...
02.22.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1985/86
A season that began in the shadow of Bradford and Heysel, with a blackout of TV coverage and the implications of the European ban, 1985/86 emerged as a campaign full of highlights. In the title race, Manchester United started like...
02.18.2024
Seasons in the Sun: Bradford 2012/13
Wrexham might have their own TV show, but the greatest League Two season of the 21st century surely belongs to Bradford City. The 2012/13 campaign saw them make two visits to Wembley, becoming the first fourth tier team to play...
02.16.2024
A decade of 80s football: Heysel
With football still reeling from the tragedy of the Bradford fire at Valley Parade, just 18 days later, on 29 May 1985, came the Heysel Stadium disaster at the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. Some 39 people, mostly...
02.11.2024
O Jogo Bonito: the story of Brazil 1970
Join us in the Centre Circle as we talk to author Gary Thacker about his latest book, O Jogo Bonito, focusing on the great Brazil team that won the 1970 World Cup. It’s a glorious tale of the events that...
02.08.2024
A decade of 80s football: the Bradford fire
11 May 1985, Bradford v Lincoln. It should have been one of the most joyous days in the history of Bradford City, as they celebrated winning the Third Division at a canter. Instead, a fire in the Main Stand turned...
02.05.2024
FA Cup giant-killers: Stoke vs Blythe Spartans, 1978
With England beleaguered by the wintry weather, non-league Blyth Spartans made two abortive trips to Stoke's Victoria Ground to get their FA Cup game played. Eventually, it was third time lucky as the collection of coalminers, sales reps and schoolteachers...
02.01.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1984/85
A season of agony and ecstasy with tragedies unfolding at Bradford and Heysel, both the subjects of separate podcasts in this series. We concentrate on the on-pitch issues in this one, Howard Kendall’s Everton emerging to take Liverpool’s crown from...
01.28.2024
A Jürgen Klopp special
With the announcement of Jürgen Klopp’s impending departure from Liverpool at season’s end, this week’s podcast concentrates on the job he’s done at Anfield, the moments that will live long in the memory, and the legacy that he will leave.
01.25.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1983/84
The midway point in our series, and not much changes as Liverpool win a third straight First Division title and a fourth League Cup in a row. But a new, blue presence is emerging at the bottom of Stanley Park...
01.23.2024
FA Cup giant-killers: Hereford vs Newcastle, 1972
The greatest FA Cup game of all time according to many, Hereford’s third-round replay win over Newcastle in 1972 helped build the iconography of the FA Cup in the television era. Locked out fans climbing trees and floodlit pylons to...
01.22.2024
The open veins of South American football
In the past, the European powers mercilessly exploited South America for its raw materials, making them wealthier and locking the indigenous people of the continent into poverty. Is there a similar trend developing with ever younger players being taken away...
01.18.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1982/83
As Ron Atkinson would have doubtless said, it was a case of déjà vu all over again in 1982/83, with Liverpool romping to the league title and retaining the League Cup. But there was change elsewhere, with Tottenham’s iron grip...
01.14.2024
Grim days at Reading, better days at Coventry, and the Mbappé saga
The podcast rules over the grim goings-on at Reading, better days for Coventry , an attempt to work out where Kylian Mbappé will be hanging his hat this summer, and plenty more.
01.12.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1981/82
According to Steven Scragg, Stu Horsfield and Aidan Williams, this is the "Stingray" season – anything can happen in the next nine months. Ron Saunders walks out on Aston Villa, joins Birmingham and misses out on lifting the European Cup....
01.09.2024
Twilight of the Gods: Remembering Zagallo x Beckenbauer
Following the sad passing of Franz Beckenbauer and Mário Zagallo, Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler assess the legacy of football’s greatest names, men whose place in the World Cup pantheon will be forever secure.
01.04.2024
A decade of 80s football: 1980/81
Was 1980/81 really the final year of the 1970s, the decade when the level playing field threw up all kinds of title winners? With Aston Villa taking the First Division and Ipswich in hot pursuit, it certainly feels like it.
12.31.2023
A decade of 80s football: 1979/80
Following our trawl through the 1970s, the team return with a new series focusing on the 80s. First under the microscope is the 1979/80 campaign. Steven Scragg, Aidan Williams and Stu Horsfield, fuelled by vast intakes of fizzy pop and...
12.19.2023
So here it is ... the ghosts of football past, present and future
Ebeneezer Thacker, Jacob Scragg and Tiny Tim Fletcher are at the helm of this special christmas podcast where they encounter the ghosts of football past, present and future. Will their lives be changed for the better by these visitations, or...
12.09.2023
The Mount Rushmore Debates: The European Cup
We venture into the early days of European football in this Mount Rushmore debate as we look to find the greatest names from the European Cup, prior to seeing them hewn into the mountain face. Aidan Williams, Steven Scragg and...
12.02.2023
A tribute to Terry Venables and Everton's 10-point deduction
Following the sad death of Terry Venables last week, we take an in-depth look at his playing and coaching career and the legacy he has left behind. And there’s also time to look at the ten-point penalty imposed on Everton...
11.22.2023
Fantastic disappointment: the story of Spurs in 1986/87
It’s a Centre Circle/Seasons in the Sun mash-up as Stephen Peace joins Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler to discuss his book on Tottenham’s memorable 1986/87 campaign. There are goals, near-misses and grief aplenty amid its pages, and we’re covering them...
11.16.2023
Seasons in the Sun: Sunderland 1972/73
Seasons in the Sunderland it is for this episode as we relive the glories of Sunderland’s FA Cup run in 1972/73 that took them all to the way to the holy grail itself. The mighty Bill Hern returns to talk...
11.06.2023
The sack race, the Copa Libertadores final, Kane, Hayes and more
Will Erik ten Haag win the sack race? Why does the Copa Libertadores final look so much more spectacular than its Champions League equivalent? How many goals will Harry Kane score this season? Should England follow Scotland’s lead and get...
11.02.2023
Get It On: how the 70s rocked football
We’re back in the Centre Circle to discuss Jon Spurling’s excellent book on 1970s football, the decade that These Football Times won’t let go. Steven Scragg, Dr David Turner and Dave Bowler talk to Jon about the thinking behind the...
10.31.2023
Rooney, Carrick and the state of play in the Championship
As the clocks go back and we head into the long, dark nights ahead, it’s time for the early season report card on the Championship, with particular reference to Wayne Rooney being parachuted into Birmingham, while his former Manchester United...
10.29.2023
Football’s Black Pioneers, Episode 5: Dave Busby
Wrapping up our series on football’s black pioneers that has run across Black History Month this year, we are again joined by our wise spirit guides, David Gleave and Bill Hern, authors of the book Football’s Black Pioneers. Our final...
10.23.2023
A tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton
The passing of Sir Bobby Charlton has robbed us of perhaps England’s greatest ever footballer, and certainly its finest sportsman and ambassador. John Dunn and Dave Bowler pay tribute to the great man.
10.22.2023
Football’s Black Pioneers, Episode 4: Windrush
The huge contribution of the Windrush generation towards every aspect of life in the UK has been well documented - if not by the Home Office – and their impact on our football forms the basis of the fourth episode...
10.18.2023
Seasons in the Sun: Manchester United 2007/08
Seasons In The Sun sees a guest bringing one campaign from their supporting life to the dissection table. In this episode, Alex Ireland talks about Manchester United’s epic 2007/08 campaign that culminated in Premier League and Champions League glory. Steven...
10.14.2023
Football’s Black Pioneers. Episode 3: Barbados
The contribution of Barbados to English football falls under the spotlight in the third episode of our series marking Black History Month. Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler are again joined by Bill Hern and David Gleave, authors of Football’s Black...
10.12.2023
The Mount Rushmore Debates: the 1970s
Following on from our series on the 1970s, we’ve one final visit to the decade as Steven Scragg, Dr David Turner and Dave Bowler offer their choice of the goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker and manager who should be chiselled onto...
10.10.2023
FIFA, VAR, UEFA and other acronyms …
Tackling this week’s thorny topics, Gary Thacker, Aidan Williams and Paul Mc Parlan run the rule over FIFA’s future World Cup plans, the coming of a UK & Ireland Euros, the FA Cup’s final qualifying round and plenty more, including...
10.08.2023
Football’s Black Pioneers. Episode 2: Jamaica
In the second episode of a special series marking Black History Month, Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler are again joined by Bill Hern and David Gleave, authors of Football’s Black Pioneers, along with special guest Matt Tiller. Matt was the...
10.05.2023
The Eastern European Chronicles
Not one but two new These Football Times magazines are out, both centred on the wonderful, intriguing world of football from Eastern Europe. From the Hungarians of 1954 to the Croatians of ’98, through the romance of Dinamo Tblisi to...
10.03.2023
VAR (again!), a 13-year-old debutant and Friday morning J League
Another glorious weekend for VAR comes under the microscope but Rob Fletcher, Steven Scragg and Matthew Gibbs also cast the net further afield, taking in 13-year-old debutant, the plight of Sheffield Wednesday, Scunthorpe and Reading, and a Friday morning YouTube...

What's These Football Times about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

These Football Times episodes:

A decade of 80s football: sins and omissions

FA Cup giant-killers: QPR vs West Brom, 1982

Euro 84: the greatest tournament you never saw

Hillsborough III, with Andrew Knott

Hillsborough II, with Peter Scarfe

Hillsborough I, with Dr Anne Eyre

A decade of 80s football: favourite players and games

The Mount Rushmore Debates: 1980s

FA Cup giant-killers: Leicester vs Wycombe, 2001

Inside The Hermit Kingdom: football stories from Stalinist Albania

A decade of 80s football: 1988/89

FA Cup giant-killers: Burnley vs Lincoln City, 2017

A decade of 80s football: 1987/88

A decade of 80s football: 1986/87

Remembering Stan Bowles

A decade of 80s football: 1985/86

Seasons in the Sun: Bradford 2012/13

A decade of 80s football: Heysel

O Jogo Bonito: the story of Brazil 1970

A decade of 80s football: the Bradford fire

FA Cup giant-killers: Stoke vs Blythe Spartans, 1978

A decade of 80s football: 1984/85

A Jürgen Klopp special

A decade of 80s football: 1983/84

FA Cup giant-killers: Hereford vs Newcastle, 1972

The open veins of South American football

A decade of 80s football: 1982/83

Grim days at Reading, better days at Coventry, and the Mbappé saga

A decade of 80s football: 1981/82

Twilight of the Gods: Remembering Zagallo x Beckenbauer

A decade of 80s football: 1980/81

A decade of 80s football: 1979/80

So here it is ... the ghosts of football past, present and future

The Mount Rushmore Debates: The European Cup

A tribute to Terry Venables and Everton's 10-point deduction

Fantastic disappointment: the story of Spurs in 1986/87

Seasons in the Sun: Sunderland 1972/73

The sack race, the Copa Libertadores final, Kane, Hayes and more

Get It On: how the 70s rocked football

Rooney, Carrick and the state of play in the Championship

Football’s Black Pioneers, Episode 5: Dave Busby

A tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton

Football’s Black Pioneers, Episode 4: Windrush

Seasons in the Sun: Manchester United 2007/08

Football’s Black Pioneers. Episode 3: Barbados

The Mount Rushmore Debates: the 1970s

FIFA, VAR, UEFA and other acronyms …

Football’s Black Pioneers. Episode 2: Jamaica

The Eastern European Chronicles

VAR (again!), a 13-year-old debutant and Friday morning J League