WHEN SKY INVENTED FOOTBALL

Adrian Goldberg and John Nicholson discuss Manchester City's appeal against a two year European ban for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.  They are joined by David Mooney, producer of the Manchester City podcast Blue Moon.

Produced by Adrian Goldberg for Kick In The Grass Productions.

Adrian Goldberg and John Nicholson discuss radical proposals by Conservative MP Damian Collins aimed at saving financially ailing Football League clubs in the aftermath of Coronavirus.

(The previous episode of this podcast features an in-depth interview with Damian Collins about his plans).

Presented by Adrian Goldberg and John Nicholson.

Produced by Adrian Goldberg for Kick In The Grass Productions.

"We may only have a few weeks to save football in this country as we know it” warns Damian Collins MP - who has come up with a radical new plant to save clubs who might go out of business because of Coronavirus.

He’s calling for a government backed loans for those in financial distress - but with strings attached.  Any bail out must be accompanied by oversight from a newly created Football Finance Authority.  

Damian also envisages that in return for taking a loan, clubs would have to allow fans or a local authority a place on the board.

Produced and presented by Adrian Goldberg for Kick In The Grass.

Football writer and Middlebrough sufferer John Nicholson talks about his book Can We Have Our Football Back, a stinging polemic against the Premier League. 

Follow John on Twitter @johnnythenic

Presented by Adrian Goldberg (@Goldbergradio)

Produced by Adrian Goldberg for Kick In The Grass Productions.

Port Vale co-Chair Carol Shanahan explains how her club will move forward following the unanimous decision to immediately end the League Two season (apart from the play-offs) because of Coronavirus.  

The proposal (subject to FA ratification) is that promotion and relegation should be determined by the state of the table at the time of its suspension in March, leaving Vale agonisingly short of a play-off place.  

The bigger question for clubs at this level is how they will survive if fans are unable to watch matches live for a prolonged period, given that a great proportion of their income is derived from gate money than clubs higher up the pyramid (who receive greater broadcast revenues).

It's not all doom and gloom though - during the lockdown Port Vale are getting active in the community by distributing thousands of dinners to needy people across Stoke-on-Trent.

35 years on from the Bradford City fire which killed 56 football fans, Adrian Goldberg discusses the lessons learned and the opportunities missed with John Dewhirst, co founder of the Bantams' fanzine City Gent, and an eye witness to the tragedy.

In this episode we also investigate claims that the FA is "disrespecting" women's football by declaring the season "null and void" at National League level because of Coronavirus, whilst allowing the Men's National League teams to decide their own fate.  Our guests are Paul Thompson, chairman of Barnsley Women FC, and Gee Thacker of Stourbridge Ladies.

As the Coronavirus lockdown continues the Premier League has launched Project Restart in a desperate attempt to resume playing.  Unless the season continues, their continued flow of TV revenue is in jeopardy.  Broadcaster Jonny Gould joins Adrian Goldberg to discuss the issues at stake.  

Meanwhile towards the base of the football pyramid, clubs whose season was declared "null and void" without what they regard as fair consultation are continuing to call for their competitions to continue too.  Geoff Thompson, Chairman of Northern Premier League club South Shields reveals that he's taken legal advice and is willing to challenge the FA in court.

While the Premier League and EFL are looking forward to a resumption of football after the peak of Coronavirus - behind closed doors if necessary - hundreds of non-league clubs are coming to terms with having their season declared null and void.  Geoff Thompson of Northern Premier League side South Shields FC is leading the fightback against a decision he regards as inconsistent, undemocratic and downright unfair.

Should there be rigorous testing of who is a fit and proper person to run a football club? The idea was mooted more than 30 years ago in the Off The Ball fanzine, and in the years since then both the Premier League and EFL have introduced an Owners and Directors Test.  Whether it's fit for purpose is another matter.  Fans at Charlton Athletic are once again dismayed to find the future of their club clouded by ownership issues, while the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has outraged civil rights activists.  In this episode we hear from lifelong Charlton fave Dave Thomson, giving a fans' eye view of events at The Valley and Felix Jakens Head of Priority Campaigns and Individuals At Risk at Amnesty International.

Did Russia and Qatar buy off officials from football's world governing body FIFA to secure the right to host the World Cup? Both countries deny any wrongdoing, but evidence recently presented to a court in the United States suggests otherwise.  The case opened in Brooklyn is the latest instalment of the FBI's decade long investigation into corruption at the highest levels of the game.  Ken Bensinger talks us through the murky history of bungs, kickbacks and, er, ugly paintings.  His book Red Card: How The U.S. Blew The Whistle On The World's Biggest Sports Scandal has just been released in paperback in the UK.