Football Journeys Podcast

Released a week early on Patreon. The storyteller. This week broadcaster, actor and Arsenal fan, who is so used to telling other people's stories, tells us his own. Those of a certain generation will naturally associate Tom with his role as Lofty Holloway on Eastenders, and he touches on those experiences as he discusses fame and pressure, but it is football storytelling that is so fascinatin...

The manager.  We're proud to say that the guest starting us back up after our break is now a member of the B5 Consultancy team. Making his debut for Arsenal aged 17, becoming Sweden’s player of the year at a young age, managing Reading to the Premier League – many would think that Brian’s career was the thing of dreams. But his career was racked by self doubt, anxiety and turning to alcohol a...

This week we have an update episode. Fraser and Matt chatted, shared recollections, updates and thoughts about guests from across both Series One and Two. We also have some clips, a few short follow up interviews, and a few other little bits and bobs. If you're a keen listener of this podcast then this should be a lot of fun. We are taking a summer break after this episode and we will back af...

The student. This week we meet Rotherham United striker Georgie Kelly. The 25 year old is no ordinary footballer as he combines his time at the New York Stadium with a Master's Degree in Renewable Energy and Finance. We talk to the Donegal lad about his love for Gaelic sports and the benefits of enjoying an array of different sporting pursuits, his educational background and how that has help...

The sports psychologist. Often the role of a sports psychologist is misunderstood, many believing that it is about a win at all costs mentality but, in actual fact, as Michael says: "they just want someone to talk to". We talk to Michael about his career, from his early days as a wannabe jockey, to running the Professional Jockeys Association, and across the many sports he has worked and...

This is our third breakout episode and it deals with perhaps the most sensitive subject that could be dealt with in the game: suicide. The episode is in partnership with the wonderful charity If U Care Share and, as its founder Matty Smith says, suicide is its own pandemic. The episode is hosted by Leigh, who speaks about her own struggles with suicidal ideation, and she speaks with Matty about lo...

The parent. "See a man, diligent in his ways, he shall stand before kings ..." Those words from Yinka Tomori, to his son Fikayo, have echoed throughout the young man's life and have seen play, and succeed, with Chelsea, AC Milan and England but, more than that, the words of his father have taught him humility, responsibility and to focus always on being a good man. The pathway towar...

We're taking a short break for Easter, so that we can catch up, spend some time with our families, and come back with some exciting pods afterwards. In the meantime, we've got a request. Can you help us? The podcast is a labour of love for us but we do need funds to help the cost of making it.  Please do support us on Patreon - patreon.com/footballjourneys , promote us on social media (@...

The pioneer. Most famously one of West Bromwich Albion's so-called Three Degrees Brendon was part of the Windrush generation who came to the United Kingdom to work and to live but found a country that was often inhospitable and unaccepting. He had never played football when he arrived here but he quickly developed as a talent which resulted in a scholarship at Arsenal and ultimately resulted...

This is the second of our breakout episodes dealing with an issue rather than one guest and their football journey. This episode is on LGBT people and how football, particularly men's football, deals with those people. We hear from sports lawyer, and talented amateur footballer, Jamie Feldman who talks about his experiences as a young man, his time playing for Stonewall FC and his work with R...

The brothers. Imagine having a career in professional football but there's still debate about whether you were the best footballer in your house growing up. The McLaughlin brothers, a charismatic pair from Belfast, know exactly what that feels like. Whilst Ryan grabbed early headlines as a youngster coming through Liverpool's Academy, Conor was the one that ended up going to the Euros wi...

The Paralympian.  Who holds the record as the male footballer with the most goals for England? Wayne Rooney? Wrong. David Clarke. Born to two Scousers in Wigan, David is a lifelong Red but, having been born with glaucoma he can't have imagined that he would ever have been able to emulate his Anfield heroes. However, he perhaps outdid all of them. Winning 144 caps for his country, scoring 128...

The Sporting Director. "In 10 years time, every club in England will have a Sporting Director". That was Damien Comolli's view when he was at Tottenham Hotspur and he was not far off. A talented youngster at Monaco, he was though perhaps far off his contemporaries like Emmanuel Petit and Lilian Thuram, and he followed his passion for coaching, training, planning and everything that...

The doctor. As a British Pakistani, growing up in Rochdale, there was only one thing drummed into young Zaf by his Dad: education. That work ethic, and education over everything else, meant that he was able to beat a path as a successful doctor but it was the combination of that career with his other passion, football, that brings him to the pod. Spells at Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpo...

The survivor. Ashleigh Goddard's is a remarkable story. A supremely talented footballer, all she ever wanted to do was kick a ball. She excelled at Arsenal's famed women's Academy and an idle summer brought her to Wayne Rooney's Street Striker and the exposure that a prime time Sky One tv programme would bring. But it is in her adult years that her story becomes truly remarkabl...

During the course of this series we intend on breaking away, every now and then, from telling someone's journey and, instead, focusing on an issue that impacts football. This is our first breakout episode - on trolling. The episode is produced in partnership with Slateford Law. For more information about the firm visit their website www.slateford.law. In this episode we start by telling a bit...

The referee. As the civil war raged for years in Somalia a football mad girl, Jawahir, fled with her family to England and, more particularly, to Wembley. In the shadow of that famous stadium she dreamed of only one thing - football - but a Muslim girl in a headscarf isn't supposed to play football, is she? This is a girl who won't take "no" for an answer and has broken boundar...

In partnership with the Revenge Porn Helpline. The co-host. With two football journeys within B5 Consultancy, and inspiring stories at that, it was inevitable that we would feature Leigh Nicol for episode two. As a kid she was known as "the football girl" in her home town of Motherwell and would go on to play for Celtic girls, follow her grandfather's footsteps by representing Scotl...

PART 2 - go and listen to Part 1 first. In partnership with the Revenge Porn Helpline. The co-host. With two football journeys within B5 Consultancy, and inspiring stories at that, it was inevitable that we would feature Leigh Nicol for episode two. As a kid she was known as "the football girl" in her home town of Motherwell and would go on to play for Celtic girls, follow her grandfathe...

In partnership with the British Heart Foundation. The host. Getting this guest was a big coup for us .... Fraser's is a story that deserves to be told. It is the ultimate challenge for identity for a football player when your career is taken away from you in an instant. A Battersea boy brought up playing cage football on his estate. His journey took him first to the lush green fields at Cobha...

PART 2 - go and listen to Part 1 first. In partnership with the British Heart Foundation. The host. Getting this guest was a big coup for us .... Fraser's is a story that deserves to be told. It is the ultimate challenge for identity for a football player when your career is taken away from you in an instant. A Battersea boy brought up playing cage football on his estate. His journey took him...

We're back! Episode One is out next week but, in the meantime, here is a 10 minute chat between hosts Matt Himsworth and Fraser Franks and our new co-host Leigh Nicol about what we have in store - plus a few little snippets from the series ahead. This series is about identity. We talk to an incredibly diverse group of people who have had different roles and identities in the game of football....

Now that the season is over, we caught up with three more lads. Pedro Chirivella, fresh from a relegation play off and beating Kylian Mbappe and his PSG teammates, Louis Robles, who came so close to the Welsh championship and Corey Whelan, who had a whirlwind spell at Wigan Athletic and ultimately helped keep them in League One.

Now that the season is drawing to a close, with Sergi Canós chasing promotion to the Premier League with Brentford and Pedro Chirivella fighting relegation from Ligue Un with Nantes, we've been catching up with some of our Series One guests. In this episode we have a chat with Dahrius Waldron about fatherhood and how the pod changed things for him, Adam Anson on all of his work and interests...

Our fourth bonus episode, recorded via Zoom during the lockdown, is with Dean Hammond. Dean had a successful career, starting at his local club Brighton and Hove Albion, achieving promotions with Southampton and Leicester City and ultimately achieving his lifelong dream of playing in the Premier League. From a review of his Wikipedia page a fan could be forgiven for believing that his footballing...