The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson is going it alone, for the most part. As we sit around a quarter of the way through the season, Craig talks about every team in the Premier League and how they are doing, gets a little info his own fandom and the performances of his club(s) so far this season, and takes a glance at the lower leagues in England and some of the...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson meets Tom Mallows (@TomMallows_), freelance sports journalist and lifelong Everton fan. Tom is the co-founder of Royal Blue Mersey (@RBMersey), a Toffees blog on the SB Nation network, where he still publishes today. You can also find his work on other outlets including the BBC.Tom regaled us with stories of falling in love wi...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson speaks to Allen Dodson (@groguet01), an ardent Villarreal fan, based in California. Allen spent ten years managing Villarreal USA (@VillarrealUSA), a fan blog which is part of the SB Nation network, where he still contributes today. Allen tells us about the early days of his football fandom, his trips to see Villarreal at El M...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson meets Jeremy Beren (@JBBeren), Atletico Madrid fan, sports journalist and podcaster from Phoenix, Arizona. Jeremy is the Managing Editor over at Into The Calderon (@intothecalderon), a fan blog which is part of the SB Nation network. Jeremy also hosts Colchonero Chat, a weekly Atletico Madrid podcast. Jeremy tells us the story...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson talks to Akash Roy (@thewreckedjoker), Leicester City fan and sports writer from Kolkata, India. Akash contributes to Sportskeeda India and Foxes of Leicester (@FoxesofLCFC), a fan blog which is part of the FanSided network. Akash considers himself a proud member of the Foxes of India community. Akash tells us about his dreams...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson talks to Tushar Bahl (@TusharBahl_), Borussia Dortmund fan and freelance sports writer from India. Tushar serves as the site expert for BVB Buzz (@BVBBuzz) a Dortmund fan blog which is part of the FanSided network. Tushar tells us about his experiences watching Dortmund games from afar, the difference between experiencing game...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson talks to Pauly Kwestel (@pkwestel), Manchester United fan and data/tactical analyst from New York City. Pauly contributes to The Busby Babe (@TheBusbyBabe), a United fan blog which is part of the SB Nation Family, and also publishes his analyses on his very own Substack page - kwestthoughts.substack.comPauly tells us all about...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson talks to Ross Kennerley (@SwedishRoss), Arsenal fan and site expert for Pain in the Arsenal (@PaininthArsenal), a Gunners fan site on the FanSided Network. Ross grew up in Sweden where he fell in love with Freddie Ljungberg and the rest of Arsene Wenger’s fantastic 90s/00s team. He’s been obsessed ever since. Ross takes us dow...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson talks to Sam Blakey, a podcaster and lifelong Sunderland fan, who is part of the Roker Rapport podcast, from the Roker Report fanzine, part of the SB Nation family. Sam has seen his beloved club drop from finishing 10th in the Premier League to losing in the League One playoffs. The boys get into Sam’s earliest memories follow...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson talks to Scott McCarthy, a football writer and lifelong Brighton & Hove Albion fan, who has covered the club for wearebrighton.com and several other national news outlets. He’s seen it all over the past thirty years with Brighton across four different stadiums and all four divisions of the football league. The boys discuss Sco...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson meets Danny Penza, a long time Juventus fan and Chief Blogger at Black and White and Read All Over, a blogging community which is part of the SB Nation family. Danny is also a host of the Juventus podcast, The Old Lady Speaks. He is a passionate, knowledgeable speaker when it comes to all things surrounding the Turin club and...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson chats to Om Arvind, Real Madrid fan, editor Managing Madrid, a Real Madrid SB Nation community, and host of the Las Blancas podcast. As well as being a huge football fan, Om is also a tactical analyst. He’s extremely knowledgeable when it comes to matters on and off the pitch at the Bernabeu. The boys take a trip down memory l...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson sits down to discuss his beloved Manchester City with Thomas Duck, City fan, Texan and writer for the wonderful SB Nation fan page Bitter And Blue. The boys get into the club’s emergence on the world stage, their controversial spending, Pep’s tinkering and much, much more. Thanks so much for listening! Please leave a positive...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson chats with lifelong Southampton fan Marc Walker. Marc is a freelance journalist who works on a casual basis for Southampton Football Club, and often contributes to the excellent Southampton fan website and social media Saints Marching. The boys discuss Marc’s early days as a Southampton fan, fighting for Europe under Pochettin...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson welcomes Phil Roberts onto the show. Phil is a lifelong Liverpool fan and member of the team from the Across The Park podcast. He’s passionate, informed and entertaining. Craig and Phil spoke about early memories at Anfield, the Roy Hodgson era, past and recent glories, the immeasurable impact of Jurgen Klopp, and much, much m...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson sits down with Aston Villa fanatic, editor of the Villa fan site 7500 to Holte, and host of the Holtecast, Cole Pettem, to discuss the ups and downs of the last decade at Villa Park. Cole is a Canadian whose Aston Villa fandom is quite unique and he gave his perspective on the dark days under Paul Lambert, relegation from the...

On this episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Craig Hanson and Ander Iturralde welcome into the "studio" former Birmingham City player and captain Martin O'Connor, to discuss the many years he spent as part of the club, the years that followed, with promotions and the 2011 League Cup win, the Gary Rowett seasons, what lies ahead with Lee Bowyer and more. Plus, Martin's career up to an...

On Episode Five of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Ander Iturralde and Craig Hanson were joined by Richard Hobbs from the award-winning Wolves Fancast. The three of them discussed the dark days of League One, the rise back to the Premier League, the Nuno era, the unforgettable Walter Zenga and much more. Please subscribe, share and leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you like the show. It...

In this bonus episode of The Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Ander Iturralde and Craig Hanson go mano-a-mano to look back at Euro 2020, particularly through the lens of England and Spain, to evaluate in deep-dive form how were each's tournaments, what expectations were and what the future may hold for each team. All that and much more! Please subscribe, share and leave a review on Apple Podcas...

This week on the Sporticos Football Stories Podcast Ander and Craig spoke to David Novo, who is the executive editor of the Portuguese sports newspaper Diário Record. With him, they talk in-depth about Portugal's national football team, their third spot in the 1966 World Cup, why they didn't sustain success, how Luis Figo brought them back into the mainstage and how the Cristiano Ronaldo years not...

This week on the Sporticos Football Stories Podcast Ander and Craig spoke to Panos Kostopoulos, football journalist who writes for Marca in English. Panos spoke in detail about his native Greece including the historic Euro 2004 win, subsequent tournaments, all time greats and wonderkids. Please subscribe, share and leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you like the show. It really does help us grow...

For the first ever episode of the Sporticos Football Stories Podcast, Ander and Craig spoke to Joe Brennan, a lifelong Republic of Ireland supporter. Joe grew up in Leeds as part of an Irish family and has a close connection with the Irish national team. We spoke about the current state of the team, about past glories and heartbreaks and about where Joe sees the future of the Republic of Ireland g...