When Football Began Again - The Premier League Years podcast

Host Carl Jones is joined by writer and producer Chris Taylor and Nathan Fogg, author of the fantastic How Not To Run A Football Club to continue the countdown of the all-time Premier League table with Blackpool in 48th place.

We start with Blackpool's rich heritage as the football club that saw Matthews, Mortensen and Armfield grace Bloomfield Road find themselves in the lower reaches of English football for most of the late 20th century before a spectacular rise led by Ian Holloway sees them take their place in the top flight again via the playoffs. 

We cover that glorious day at Wembley, the season in the sun where Blackpool lit up the Premier League and the subsequent tumble back down the divisions. There is, of course, a darker side to Blackpool's tale as a fanbase revolted against an ownership that very nearly drove the club out of business, and all while launching costly legal battles against unsuspecting and often wholly innocent members of their fanbase. Chris and Nathan were just two of the fans swept up in that ordeal and their stories have to be heard to be believed. 

We'll also put a Premier League Blackpool XI into the archives, there's a very impressive Play Your Apps Right performance from one of our guests and the lads answer the question that's been on everyone's lips: who is the Premier League's greatest Beninese player of all-time? 

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it.

You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

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You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by former Norwich City, Derby County, Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers and Bradford City striker Ashley Ward to discuss his career in football and the Premier League.

From being released by Manchester City as a youngster to dealing with serious injury while breaking through with Crewe Alexandra, Ashley relives those early years and the big move to the Premiership with high-flying Norwich City.

He becomes a hero at the Baseball Ground - did he expect Paulo Wanchope to pass on that famous mazy run at Old Trafford? - before moving to Oakwell where his goals very nearly kept Barnsley in the top flight. He discusses his time in star-studded squads at Blackburn and Bradford before finishing his career at Bramall Lane under Neil Warnock.

Post-football, he's now living in Dubai running a business with his wife Dawn and had a brief reality TV career. We cover all that and more, including having a son-in-law who just happens to be a multiple Premier League-winning superstar...

We also find out who you voted for as the Premier League era's greatest Australian from last week's show.

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by comedian and Swansea City fan Simon Emanuel for a trip through the memorable matches he'd take with him to a deserted island. 

We discuss Swansea's rise from the brink of extinction to the Premier League, Wembley and Europe, the cult hero who remains Simon's favourite Swans player ever and just how utterly mind-blowing it was to see his side not only face off against European royalty but also beat them. 

Simon also fondly remembers his childhood watching on from the terraces of the Vetch Field, Swansea's home for many years, as well as picking a World Cup final and one of the 90s most iconic Premier League footballers as his potential saviour.  

We also select the Premier League's greatest ever Australian and wax lyrical about the career of Leon Britton, a genuine Swansea City legend. 

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again 

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by comedians Fran Jenking and Tony Cowards, representing Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town respectively, to discuss the memorable moments, unforgettable matches and gravity defying goals of the 1994/95 season.

We cover the title triumph of Blackburn Rovers, the controversies on and off the field that make headlines on the front and back pages, and the reduction of the league to 20 teams and the relegation battle that ensues.

As Eric Cantona's seagulls follow the trawler (worth a watch for Fran's recreation alone...), Love Is All Around is top of the charts and Harry Redknapp is giving fans in the stand their West Ham debut. Happier times.

We also choose the Goal of the Season, select the greatest Barbadian to ever ply their trade in the English top flight and there's a ding-dong round of #PlayYourAppsRight to get involved with at home to finish.

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again (or just search 'When Football Began Again' wherever you get your podcasts)

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by Middlesbrough fan and author of the fantastic new book 1992: The Birth of Modern Football, Rob Fletcher.

We discuss Rob's brilliant new book, breaking down some of the key events that happened in 1992. As well as the launch of the Premier League in the domestic game, there were changes afoot in the format of the European Cup, huge transfer sums being exchanged abroad and even adaptations to the rules of the game that would contribute to 1992 being a truly seismic year for football around the world. 

In between this, Rob chooses a selection of memorable matches from Middlesbrough's back catalogue and beyond (1996/97 features heavily), selects a few games he'd rather forget and explains why he'd need Roy Keane to join him on the island in a blonde wig. You'll have to listen for context on THAT one...

Rob also helps select the Premier League's greatest ever Angolan and ponders whether a year like 1992 could once again be just around the corner for the beautiful game.

You can buy Rob's brilliant new book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/1992-Modern-Football-Rob-Fletcher/dp/1801504288

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again 

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by comedian Pete Selwood and editor of onthepontyend.com Ian Wilkinson to continue the countdown of the all-time Premier League table with Barnsley in 49th place.

We'll deep dive into the 1997/98 season as well as covering how Barnsley reached the top flight for the first time in their history. We'll also cover the near misses since and the rather suspect vote back in 1919 that prevented them from making their maiden top flight appearance over a century ago. It's a controversy that still cuts deep in this corner of South Yorkshire, as we discover.

We'll also put a Premier League Barnsley XI into the archives, Play Your Apps Right returns and the lads share their thoughts on who the Premier League's greatest Austrian player of all-time is. 

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it.

You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by former Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Wilson to discuss his career in football and the Premier League.

A player at Hillsborough during the inaugural season of the Premiership, he'd later drop down to Division One where he'd lead Barnsley to their maiden season in the top flight and very nearly keep them there. 

He'd later take the reins at Sheffield Wednesday and was on the sidelines as his star player Paulo Di Canio pushed referee Paul Alcock to the floor and left the field in disgrace, never to wear the blue and white stripes of the Owls again.

He discusses all of that, plus scoring in a Wembley cup final for Luton, the reasons he never went into international management with Northern Ireland and what Christmas is like for players and managers.

We also find out who you voted for as the Premier League era's greatest Belarussian from last week's show.

You can order a signed copy of Danny's autobiography here: https://www.morganlawrence.co.uk/product/i-get-knocked-down-danny-wilson/ 

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined live from Qatar by Sky Sports journalist and Sheffield Wednesday fan Joe Rawson.

Recorded in December 2022 while Joe was reporting back from the Qatar World Cup, we discuss the character building experience that was supporting Sheffield Wednesday in the late 90s and early 00s, including being at Hillsborough for Paulo Di Canio's infamous push on referee Paul Alcock.

We cover Joe's career path from volunteering at his local radio station to Soccer Saturday, reflect on the lost potential of England's golden generation, what it's like to work at a World Cup with a difference and remember the time he had to fill half an hour of radio airtime during an extended stoppage while providing a match commentary. Surely every broadcaster's worst nightmare...

Joe also chooses the matches he'd take with him to his deserted island and helps choose the Premier League's greatest ever Belarussian. As ever, the choice is somewhat limited...

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by double Joke of the Fringe winner and Newcastle United fan Masai Graham and top comedian and Oldham Athletic fan Stevie Gray to discuss the memorable moments, unforgettable matches and gravity defying goals of the 1993/94 season.

We cover the emergence of Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers as challengers, Manchester United's second title win on the bounce, Oldham's fall towards near oblivion and the struggles of the national side just as the domestic game was exploding ever further into the global market.

We also choose the Goal of the Season, remember the goalscoring exploits of Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, select the greatest Antiguan and Barbudan to ever ply their trade in the English top flight and there's a welcome return for #PlayYourAppsRight in a closely contested round. 

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Carl Jones is joined by viral stand-up comedy sensation, Coventry City fan and all-round lovely bloke Harvey Hawkins.

We discuss absorbing Coventry's 1997/98 season via a VHS season review, the genius of Darren Huckerby and ponder what would have happened had the original Ronaldo ever faced a one-on-one with Steve Ogrizovic.

Harvey also chooses the matches he'd take with him to his deserted island and helps choose the Premier League's greatest ever Argentinian. It's our toughest choice so far.

Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe, leave us a 5* review and pass the pod to anyone who you think will enjoy it. You can also find us on social media where we'll have Twitter polls, highlights from the show and nostalgic clips from yesteryear.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/when-football-began-again 

YouTube: @whenfootballbeganagainpod

Instagram: whenfootybeganagainpod

Facebook: @WhenFootyBeganAgainPod

Twitter: @WFBApod

TikTok: whenfootballbegan

You can also get in touch via [email protected] with your own memories - we'll share as many as we can in future episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.