A global journey…
The great thing about the beautiful game is that there's always something to talk about, which means there's always something to listen to. Here's the handy cut out and keep (if you want to ruin your computer screen) Soccer-Weblog guide to the best podcasts from both sides of the Atlantic:
606 – Great BBC phone in show, usually centered around the Premiership and usually broadcast live immediately following the days action. Fantastic for capturing post-game joy/despair/anger. Sometimes the fans make interesting points, sometimes they're complete morons. To a lesser extent the same is true of the presenters.
The Rumour Mill – Another BBC show, this has an unabashed obsession with transfer rumours. Host Steve Bunce is always lively (he should be, he very possibly has the best job in radio) and gets on-air help turning said mill from journalists and agents. Always good for tabloid style gossip but with a convincing veneer of intelligent analysis, plus a good laugh here and there.
Fighting Talk – Third and final BBC show, where a panel of experts compete to score points while debating mostly football. Fast paced and funny. If you like ironic sound effects then this is the podcast for you.
World Soccer Daily – L.A. based daily radio show hosted by two ex-pat Englishmen. They criminally ignore MLS, and one of the guys seems to think he's hosting Chelsea Radio but it's still a decent listen. While it's professionally produced, WSD maintains that feeling of opinionated fandom which is equal parts entertaining and infuriating. They also take calls from US soccer newbies, and (semi) patiently answer questions like "are they called the Arsenal Gunners?"
The Two G's – Two more ex-pat Englishmen living L.A., though this time it's an ex-player (Gary Richards) and an ex-referee (Graham Bell). Used to be involved with the above podcast but (slightly acrimoniously) set up shop on their own not too long ago. It' superficially similar, but with a healthier respect for MLS, less abrasive personalities and the more considered view of the game you'd expect from guys who've been there, done that.
EPL Talk – A series of interviews with soccer celebrities related to the English Premiership from a US perspective. For example, the hosts of the two shows directly above. The interviews are a great way to keep in touch with US based Premiership (or EPL) coverage, which is an ever-changing multi-headed Chimera. Or something.
Guardian Football Weekly – James "sarcasm" Richardson, Barry "grumpy" Glendenning, Gabriele "encyclopaedia" Marcotti et al present this near perfect mix of high brow journalism and cheap puns.
The links above are all directly to the sites that produce these podcasts, where you can listen to the latest offerings right now, but Soccer Weblog recommends subscribing to them via iTunes or similar so they're automatically updated. Happy listening.
The list is by no means final. Any further recommendations welcome.
One Response
Mark Brigden on 17-10-2006 at 7:00 am
Check out the Soccer Talk podcast, covering the Australian A-League and the English Premiership at http://soccertalk.libsyn.com