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Author Ryan Baldi reveals his sportswriting and interviewing tips. This interview - and all our content - is free. We ask ONE thing.... Please Subscribe to The BackPage This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com

SUBSCRIBE TO 'THE BACKPAGE' NOW Ryan Baldi wrote books about two all-time great Premier League teams: Arsene Who? The Story of the Wenger Revolution (the paperback has just been released) tells the story of Arsenal's 98 Double; and They Always Score: The Unforgettable, Improbable, Iconic Story of Manchester United’s Treble Winners is a detailed portrait of that season. Both books came out in Octob...

'Between the Lines' is now known as 'The BackPage' and is part of our wider offering. Sign up to receive all our audio and written updates *** SUBSCRIBE TO 'THE BACKPAGE' NOW *** This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com

'Between the Lines' is now known as 'The BackPage' and is part of our wider offering. Sign up to receive all our audio and written updates *** SUBSCRIBE TO 'THE BACKPAGE' NOW *** This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com

John Greechan's top tip - get as close to the story as possible (featuring Maradona and a trip to Buenos Aires) BackPage Mailing List Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com

Welcome to the second episode in the new season of Between the Lines. This is Martin's chat with John Greechan on his excellent new Ange Postecoglou biography. As always, we discuss process and explore John's research trip to Melbourne earlier this year. Enjoy Buy the Book BackPage Mailing List Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like...

To celebrate the publication of Andriy Shevchenko's autobiography, My Life, My Football, we break down the story behind the book: why it took three years for the English language edition to reach bookstores, the significance of the war in Ukraine, what matters most to an elite footballer like Shevchenko when he tells his story, and what happens when you get two world-class strikers in the same roo...

In this episode, Neil and Martin talk to Mark Palmer, the translator of The Immortals, Arrigo Sacchi’s memoir of Milan’s 1988-89 season, which ended with the first of two back-to-back European Cup triumphs for the great team of Baresi, Maldini, Rijkaard, Gullit and Van Basten. The Immortals brings to life the training diaries of Sacchi and captures in time one of the greatest club teams in footbal...

Author Daniel Gray and photographer Alan McCredie toured Scotland collecting pictures and that form a charming and true portrait of football in that country, from a European night at Ibrox to the Highland League. This is Martin's conversation with Daniel about how he and Alan found their subjects and what he learned from his travels. Find out more about Snapshot and Nutmeg, the Scottish football p...

Returning to Between the Lines is Ben Reiter, author of Astroball, to talk about how the story he reported took a shocking turn - and how he went after it in a brilliant new six-part podcast, The Edge. The incredible rise of the Houston Astros from the worst team in baseball to world champions is the story that made Ben's name. When, in November 2019, news of a cheating scandal engulfed the organi...

Henry Winter returns to Between The Lines to talk about an interview he did with Nigel Pearson, in which the two men went hiking across Dartmoor and swam in a chalk pit. It makes for great copy and is testament to Winter's skill at relationship building and what he sees as the power of The Times, under whose masthead he writes. Aspiring and developing sportswriters listen up - Henry's breakdown of...

Martin talks to Sebastian Moffett about Japanese Rules, his examination of the intersection of Japanese culture and its emergent football scene at the start of the 21st Century. It's a book Martin leant on while researching his own work on Shunsuke Nakamura and he asks Sebastian about the time he spent living and working in Japan, the techniques he used in the interviews for the book and how it im...

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is the story behind our first Spotify Original podcast, which is out today ! It is called 'Mutiny at Hearts' and tells the story of arguably the most explosive press conference in British football history in October 2006 - when three Hearts players led by club captain Steven Pressley turned on the club's megalomaniac owner, Vladimir Romanov. The...

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin’s chat with Oliver Kay about  Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football’s Lost Genius . It’s one of Martin’s favourite sports books of the last decade and that’s why this episode is a bit longer than most… plenty to cover! Enjoy Buy Forever Young Buy At the End of the Storm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Matt McGinn, author of Against the Elements: The Eruption of Icelandic Football , picks Don McRae's boxing classic Dark Trade as his all-time favourite sports book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin's conversation with Matt McGinn about his excellent book Against the Elements: The Eruption of Icelandic Football . This is one of the most well researched and interesting sports books of 2020 and if you’ve ever wondered why Iceland have enjoyed such recent success at international tournaments, then this will tell you how it happened. A...

This is Martin's chat with James Pearce, the brilliantly connected Liverpool writer for The Athletic . A lot of James' writing makes up our latest book, At the End of the Storm , which also featured in last week’s episode – and is released today. The book is a collection of pieces from The Athletic telling the story of Liverpool’s historic title triumph, and James is the star of the show. You’re g...

We're back, listeners! Apologies for the extended hiatus. We were publishing a book... and this is a peek behind the scenes of how it all came together in double-quick time. It's called At the End of the Storm: The Stories Behind Liverpool's Historic Title Win , and it is in partnership with The Athletic . It's out a week today - October 15. This is Martin and Neil from BackPage chatting to Polari...

Just a quick one to say that we are taking a break till August, when we will be back with more weekly episodes. Meantime, if there's a book or piece you'd like to see us feature, drop us a line backpage@backpagepress.co.uk Sign up the BackPage mailing list. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber...

Matt Spiro is an English football writer, broadcaster and commentator who has lived in France for the past 18 years. Matt has used that experience, access and perspective to write Sacre Bleu: From Zidane to MBappe , a football journey. It’s a book that tells the story of the modern history of the French national team, from one World Cup win, in 1998, to another, 20 years later. Hosted on Acast. Se...

Have you ever wondered how a book makes its journey to being a movie? Well, if you have, then this episode of Between the Lines is for you. This is Martin's chat with John Carlin whose magnificent book Playing the Enemy was made into the Clint Eastwood directed film Invictus starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. The story of how that came to be is frankly one of the most amazing tales you'll...

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin's conversation with John Carlin who wrote Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that made a Nation . John’s book was later made into a Clint Eastwood film called Invictus starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Springboks captain Francois Pienaar. Much more of that to come in tomorrow’s bonus episode. Playing the E...

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin's conversation with award-winning sportswriter Ian Ridley. If you listened to last week’s episode you will have heard Ian discuss his excellent book Floodlit Dreams . This conversation is about Addicted , Tony Adams’ groundbreaking autobiography, first published in 1998. Ian ghostwrote the book with Tony and breaks down that process in...

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin's conversation with award-winning sportswriter Ian Ridley about his book Floodlit Dreams, which documents his spell as chairman of his hometown club, Weymouth FC. We’ve wanted to have Ian on the podcast for a while and when a previous guest, Neil Forsyth, chose Floodlit Dreams as his all-time favourite sports book , we thought it was ti...

Publisher and writer Pete Burns tells us why FitzSimons on Rugby , by Pete FitzSimons, is his all-time favourite sports books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com