What The Footie Podcast

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Polly Bancroft Chief Executive Officer at Grimsby Town FC. Polly was previously Head of Women's Football at both Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United In this exclusive, Paul & Polly discuss her learnings from working at Brighton and Manchester Utd, the importance of alignment and role clarity, building MDTs, leadership lessons, understanding context, developing a clear game model, driving commercial revenue, creating and designing strategies, the day-to-day role, working with owners and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Mariela Nisotaki, Head of Emerging Talent at Norwich City FC. In this exclusive, Paul & Mariela discuss the evolution of scouting, the importance of emerging talent within squad planning, finding value in different markets, setting a clear game model at a football club, how the game model influences scouting and recruitment, building a Premier League-ready squad, the challenges and learning of the role, using live scouting/data/video scouting to profile players, having a robust process to sign-off on players, working within a multi-disciplinary team and with a sporting director and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Nancy Hensley, Founding Member at Mercury 13 (a multi-club ownership group focused on acquiring controlling stakes in professional women's football) and former Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Stats Perform. In this exclusive, Paul & Nancy discuss Mercury 13's ambition and strategies, the benefits and challenges of multi-club ownership models, the growth and future of women's football, how data can transform women's football and the lack of data in it, and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Claire Stewart Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Prorizon Tech.  In this exclusive, Paul and Claire discuss why Prorizon is important for the future of football, the state of football (increased fixtures and tournament expansion), the effects that it has on players, the challenges of running a startup and selling tech solutions to the biggest teams in the world, player welfare, the challenges that football players face, the data revolution in football and so much more. - - - - - - - What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Felix Torralba Chief Revenue Officer at RCD Mallorca.  In this exclusive, Paul & Felix discuss life in La Liga, the role of a Chief Revenue Officer, doing global partnership deals, building a financially sustainable football club, creating and designing strategies, the day-to-day role, redeveloping the stadium, capitalising on Mallorca's rich tourism history to grow the fanbase, American investors in football, their partnership and links with the NBA's Phoenix Suns, La Liga's CVC deal and why the clubs in La Liga needed it, the distribution of wealth in Spain in comparison to other leagues like the Premier League, FFP and financial sustainability rules, taking the RCD Mallorca to America and Asia, the importance of storytelling for a football club and so much more. - - - - - - - What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Tim Williams CEO at Oxford United Football Club. Former Group Financial Controller at Manchester United, Chief Financial Officer at Inter Milan and Managing Director at Tifosy. In this exclusive, Paul & Tim discuss the challenges of navigating up the pyramid, the Premier League's role in the pyramid, building a financially sustainable football club, creating and designing strategies, the day-to-day role, developing a new stadium, being a Top 30 club in England, setting a culture in a football club, developing loan players, the 3pm blackout/broadcasting, the distribution of wealth in England, new ownership models, FFP and financial sustainability rules, valuing a football club and so much more. - - - - - - - What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Carol Shanahan, Owner & Chair at Port Vale Football Club. In this exclusive, Paul & Carol discuss the challenges of navigating up the pyramid, building a sustainable football club, creating and designing strategies, the day-to-day role, the loan system, being League 1 steady and Championship ready, hiring a Sporting Director, creating first-team pathways for academy players, the new EFL TV deal/TV revenues, the distribution of wealth in England, competing against different ownership models, being a people-orientated leader, culture and so much more. - - - - - - - What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Tatjana Haenni, the NWSL's Chief Sporting Director. In this exclusive, Paul & Tatjana discuss the NWSL's ambition to be the world's number one women's football league, creating and designing strategies, what it takes to be a new NWSL franchise, the social movement in the USA which has contributed to athlete investors investing in teams (Serena Williams & Patrick Mahomes), creating player pathways, the growth of the league, the challenges, Tatjana's 30-year experience of driving the growth of women's football forward, what's needed next and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Debbie Cook, CEO @ Grimsby Town FC. In this exclusive, Paul & Debbie discuss the challenges of navigating up the pyramid, building a sustainable football club, creating and designing strategies, the day-to-day role of a CEO, making data-driven decisions and taking emotion out of decision-making, new partnership with the Twenty First Group, Gareth Jennings' new role as Strategic Advisor to the Board, the relationship between of the Head of Recruitment/Board/Head Coach, the new EFL TV deal, beating Luton Town and Southampton in the FA Cup and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with David Stevenson, former Head of Academy Recruitment & Analysis at Rangers FC and Head of Scouting & Performance Analysis at the Scottish Football Federation. David is currently a Lecturer in Sports Management at the University of Stirling. In this exclusive, Paul & David discuss the evolution of performance analysis, getting by-in from players and coaches, how analysis differs in an academy environment vs a 1st team environment, how performance analysis fits interacts with other high performance departments, how to effectively communicate with players, technology, scanning in football, tactical innovation and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Liam Scully, CEO @ Lincoln City FC. In this exclusive, Paul & Liam discuss the challenges of navigating up the pyramid, building a sustainable football club, creating and designing strategies, the day-to-day role of a CEO and what they get up to in the off-season, leveraging the loan system (Brooke Norton-Cuffy), multi-sport ownership, the importance of Landon Donovan's role as Strategic Advisor to the Board, the golden triangle of the Sporting Director/CEO/Head Coach, the 3pm blackout/new EFL TV deal, what FA Cup replays mean for clubs in the EFL and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is our audience Q&A with Paul Barber, CEO & Deputy Chairman at Brighton & Hove Albion FC. If you missed Part 1 - the Live Podcast (Episode 65) you can listen to it here.  In February at Leyton Orient FC we had our Podcast Meetup which featured a live episode where both Paul's discussed Brighton's ambition for the season and beyond, how they approach player recruitment, and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon Subscribe to the mailing list to attend future events and live podcasts like this.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Subomi Odanye and Matthew Quadri, Co-Founders @ Divrse Media. In this exclusive, Paul & the guys discuss why they started Divrse Media, how they secured Alex Iwobi as their first client, the future of athlete branding, how clubs and brands can market to Gen Z, their recent work with Crystal Palace FC, big ideas we'd like to see in the game in light of recent marketing trends, their recent Gen Z x Football report and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Miles Jacobson, Studio Director @ Sports Interactive (the makers of Football Manager). In this exclusive, Paul & Miles discuss the journey that the business has gone on since Miles first joined in 1994, how FM created one of the best scouting networks in the world, how Miles and the team embedded themselves within football and created partnerships with clubs, how the game has transcended football and gaming and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Paul Barber, CEO & Deputy Chairman at Brighton & Hove Albion FC.  Last month at Leyton Orient FC we had our Podcast Meetup which featured a live episode where both Paul's discussed Brighton's ambition for the season and beyond, how they approach player recruitment, and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon. Subscribe to the mailing list to attend future events and live podcasts like this.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Tom Gorringe, CEO @ Bristol Rovers FC. In this exclusive, Paul & Tom discuss the financial challenges of navigating up the pyramid, creative approaches to player recruitment, leveraging the loan system (Elliot Anderson & Jarell Quansah), working with Joey Barton, the importance of boards/senior execs having open dialogue with fans, the growing interest from US investors in EFL clubs, the 3pm blackout/new EFL TV deal, an independent regulator and so much more. - - - - - - -  What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review. Today's episode is sponsored by Prorizon.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with John Brenann, Ex-Head of Sport @ Snapchat, Founder & CEO of AC Momento (the football auction house for authenticated match-worn jerseys), and Investor in Angel City FC. In this exclusive, Paul & John discuss why he founded AC Momento, what it's like working with AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lionel Messi and Vinicius Jr and THAT conversation him and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian had about women's football and Angel City FC. As well as the challenges of running a startup, raising money from Serena Williams VC fund, the growth of American investment into football, a Premier League all-star game, live football vs highlights, the 3pm blackout and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod by hitting 5 stars and following on your chosen platform (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon & etc.)

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Joe Foster, Founder of Reebok and Author of Shoemaker.  In this exclusive, Paul & Joe discuss Reebok's growth story, the future of sports marketing, how sport influences streetwear, Reebok making a return into football, sport as an entertainment business, building a winning high-performance culture and where he thinks Authentic Brands Group can take Reebok over the next decade. Please remember to support the pod by hitting 5 stars and following on your chosen platform (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon & etc.)

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Amanda Goodwin, Talent Technical Coach at The FA.  In this exclusive, Paul & AJ discuss talent identification, player development, creating pathways, the future of women's football and the legacy post-the success of the Euros. As well as AJ's time at Blackburn Rovers, over the course of a decade, where she played a pivotal role in Georgia, Keira and Ella's football development and education. Please remember to support the pod by hitting 5 stars and following on your chosen platform (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon & etc.)

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Akin Solanke-Caulker, CEO at The Athletic Network.  In this exclusive, Paul & Akin discuss his recent work with Erling Haaland, the marketability of footballers, our love for US sports culture and how football is crossing over with other sports and industries, as well as the growth of and the commercial opportunities for the women's game and the future of sports agency. Check out Part 1 with Akin back in Episode 25. Please remember to support the pod by hitting 5 stars and following on your chosen platform (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon & etc.)

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Paul Barber, CEO at Brighton & Hove Albion FC.  In this exclusive, both Paul's discuss Brighton's shrewd recruitment and scouting over the years (Cucurella, Lamptey, Bissouma), how they define the role of the sporting director (David Weir stepping-up into Dan Ashworth's role), working with Graham Potter and Hope Powell and their ambition for the upcoming Premier League season.  As well as big picture topics such as competing with new ownership models/groups (private equity and state money), does the Premier League need cost controls (salary/transfer caps), the broadcasting deals and whether it's time for the Premier League to go direct-to-consumer (Premflix)? Please remember to support the pod by hitting 5 stars and following on your chosen platform (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon & etc.)

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Fabien Allègre, Chief Brand Officer at PSG. Since 2008, Fabien has played a pivotal role in PSG's groundbreaking collaborations with brands like Nike Jordan, BAPE, Dior & Levi's.  In this exclusive, Paul and Fabien discuss how and why the Jordan collaboration came about, how PSG continue to lead the way in the new era of fashion and entertainment intersecting with football, how PSG's star studded players over the years from David Beckham to Kylian Mbappe fit into their vision for taking the PSG brand global and so much more. Please remember to support the pod by hitting 5 stars and subscribing on your chosen platform (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon & etc.)

This week's What The Footie Podcast is all about the the price of watching football.  Looking at the new deal between the MLS and Apple, rising season ticket prices, costly travel for away games and having to subscribe to more than one platform to watch all the games on TV? Is there a better way to maximise fan welfare?   What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Tony Asghar, Sporting Director at Dundee United. In this exclusive, Paul and Tony discuss the importance of leveraging the loan system, creating clear pathways into the first-team for academy players, dealing with the challenges of transfer and loan regulations, working with owners/investors, dealing with fan and media pressure, why more football clubs need to think about R&D, why transparency and dialogue with the fans is the key to success and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Remember to subscribe to the podcast and hit 5 stars on your podcast platform.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Tal Brown, CEO and Co-Founder at Zone7, the data-driven AI startup that helps clubs like Liverpool and Rangers FC to forecast and reduce injury-risk. In this exclusive, Paul and Tal discuss why Zone7 is important for the future of football, the state of football (increased fixtures and tournament expansion), the challenges of running a startup and selling tech solutions to the biggest teams in the world, raising Series A financing and why we are only at the beginning of the data x AI revolution within football. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.  

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Jacob Martin, Member at WAGMI United the new owners of Crawley Town Football Club In this exclusive, Paul and Alex discuss why WAGMI United bought Crawley Town Football Club, their plans for the club, growing the fanbase globally, building the football operations, the football x crypto boom, NFTs, working with Preston Johnson, Eben Smith, the ownership team and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Alex Culvin, Head of Player Relations @ FIFPRO, the worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers. In this exclusive, Paul and Alex discuss the challenges that Alex faced in her own playing career, the big issues that players face in the modern game, the difficulties with the international match calendar, athlete activism, how players can push for more and challenge federations and fight off the media narrative around what footballers can and cannot do and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is all about buying a Premier League Club and valuations.  With the news that Chelsea is for sale for £3bn, I delve into where the growth opportunities lie and where the American bidders see untapped potential. Forbes recently valued Chelsea at $3.2bn, making them the 25th most valuable sports team and way behind several US franchises.  I delve into why US franchises are so valuable and why their owners have an appetite for English football. For further insight into this topic and the sub-topics mentioned check out previous episodes with with Anna Mitchell, Simon Gubisch, Laurie Pinto, Daniel Beckley , Steve Madincea and Kieran Maguire. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Dr Dan Parnell, CEO @ Association of Sporting Directors and Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool where has worked with some of the best Sporting Directors in the game such as Michael Edwards, Stuart Webber, Dan Ashworth, Kevin Thelwell and more. In this exclusive, Paul and Dan discuss the the challenges that Sporting Directors face, why it is important for them to be on the board, the fan/media scrutiny, how you measure success, Kevin's new role at Everton FC, how Liverpool FC have built one of the best models in the game and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with Dale Vince, Chairman at Forest Green Rovers, the World's greenest club and the League 1 leaders.  In this exclusive, Paul and Dale discuss the challenges of running an EFL club, why sustainability and financial sustainability are important aspects of the modern game, ownership tests, regulation in football, the 3pm Blackout, working with the UN and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is all about the 3pm Blackout, the rule that means matches in England are prohibited from being shown between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays.  Is it finally time to remove it? How do we protect the pyramid and attendances whilst finding ways to engage the modern day fan? Is the rule outdated, given the savvy and new ways for clubs to generate revenue beyond just matchday revenue? What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

This week's What The Footie Podcast is with David Webb. David has spent the last 20 years working in scouting, elite talent identification and football operations for clubs like Crystal Palace, Östersunds FK, Spurs, AFC Bournemouth, Huddersfield Town and Southampton FC. In this exclusive, Paul and David discuss why and how South London continues to produce exciting English talent, why Spurs signed Son, how recruitment and talent ID differs from club-to-club, the importance of alignment with the board and manager, football operations in the UK vs Germany, managing media and fan pressure and so much more. What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes.

46 episodes (+3 bonus episodes) and 44 world-class guests which include leading directors, agents, coaches and more. Ever wondered why Paul started the podcast in the first place? Sit back and listen to What The Footie host, Paul Musa, speak about the origin of the podcast, his passion for football and answer the famous 'What The Footie' question. Remember to leave a review and hit 5 stars on Apple Podcast please!

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Daniel Beckley, A&R @ Universal Music. With Wolves being the first UK football club to launch a record label, in this exclusive, Paul and Daniel discuss the business case behind what Wolves are doing and why more clubs should follow suit. As well as the crossover between football and music, our favourite football songs, the rise in footballers producing music, FIFA soundtracks and so much more.

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Mike Rigg, former Technical Director @ Burnley. Mike has also been in high-profile roles at Man City, Fulham, QPR, The FA & Blackburn. In this exclusive, Paul and Mike discuss what it's like being a TD at a Premier League club and the biggest challenges they face. As well as working with different types of ownership models, convincing Sergio Agüero to sign for Man City, the challenges of player recruitment, what it takes to build and fix a football club and so much more.

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Royce Balogun, older brother to Arsenal wondered Folarin Balogun. In this exclusive, Paul and Royce discuss Folarin's rise from the u23s to making his Arsenal debut. As well as the importance of player care, the weight of pressure that young ballers carry, the team behind his brother, how brands should approach working with players, the best young players Royce has seen in youth football and so much more. Please remember to leave a rating/review on Apple Podcast and make sure you are subscribed on your chosen platform so that you get the podcast every fortnight (Mondays)!

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Christian Hurley, Strategy Director @ UMM. In this exclusive, Paul and Christian discuss the YouTube space and the trend around content creators like Chunkz & Harry Pinero linking up with ballers like Jack Grealish & Mason Mount. As well as Football's Gen Z problem… are they really losing interest in the current format of football? Do we need FIFA's new proposals of kick-ins & 30-min halves? Should broadcasters be worried about Gen Z losing interest? Can clubs really go direct and compete with fan channels like AFTV? Please remember to leave a rating/review on Apple Podcast and make sure you are subscribed on your chosen platform so that you get the podcast every fortnight (Mondays)!

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Tony Sharkey, agent and CEO @ Football Transfer Forum. In this exclusive, Paul and Tony discuss everything transfers and player contracts related from release clauses to preferred agents. From the talent in the Championship to the pressure of doing deadline day deals. Sit back and enjoy us ramble on about our love for Brentford's recruitment model, how getting released at 19 inspired Tony to become an agent and the effects of club finances on deals.

This week's What The Footie pod is with Toby Wakefield, brand director for Jesse Lingard & athlete branding expert.In this exclusive, Paul & Toby discuss the secret behind Jesse's stellar form at West Ham, what makes the JLingz brand so unique, the media pressure that athletes endure, the unfiltered nature of US sports/athletes compared to the UK, a Jesse Lingard NFT collection, what's next for Jesse and so much more.This is the final episode before Paul returns in late July/August from his mini-sabbatical with more content so please do use this time to catchup on our blockbuster episodes, this year, with the likes of Chris Kirkland, Les Reed & Neil Banfield.

This week's What The Footie pod is with sports lawyer, author and podcaster Daniel Geey (Done Deal).In this exclusive, Paul & Daniel discuss the future of football governance after the European Super League (ESL) fallout, why 50+1 won't work, is it time for an independent football regulator, salary caps as a form of cost control, the fan-led review & so much more!Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast and follow us on the socials @whatthefootie to submit questions!

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Neil Banfield. Neil spent 21 years coaching at Arsenal alongside Arsene Wenger, coaching the reserves, Elite Group & first team. Working with players like Cesc Fabregas, Ashley Cole, Robin Van Persie, Santi Cazorla, Serge Gnabry & more. He is now currently First-Team coach at QPR.In this exclusive, we discuss the best youngster he ever saw at Arsenal, his relationship with Arsene Wenger, life behind the scenes at Arsenal, why the Championship is so undervalued, the art of coaching, why the u23s model needs revisiting, the evolution of coaching staff in football, preparing for matchdays and so much more.

For Part 2 of my exclusive What The Footie pod with Les Reed, we speak about the ins and outs of Virgil Van Dijk's transfer, the process of trusting young players like Luke Shaw and negotiating with Daniel Levy and super-agent Mino Raiola. We also speak about England, the U21s performance in the Euros, Jude Bellingham's development, Jamal Musiala picking Germany, Gareth Southgate, project 2024, the biggest mistake that owners make in football & so much more.If you have loved this 2-part episode please do rate and review the poddy on Apple Podcast and subscribe for more blockbuster content.

This week's What The Footie Pod is an exclusive 2-part episode with Les Reed. Les spent just under a decade at Southampton as Vice-Chairman helping to guide them from League 1 to a sustainable Premier League club & recently spent time as technical director at The FA . In this episode, Part 1, Paul and Les speak about creating a vision/philosophy with the owners, Pochettino's interview, the process of scouting players like Mané, who was in the famous blackbox & the pressure of replacing the likes of Ronald Koeman, Luke Shaw, Virgil Van Dijk and so much more.Make sure you subscribe so you know when Part 2 drops!

This week's pod is with Steve Madincea the Co-Founder of Fantastec the tech company that helps clubs & players to engage with fans through disruptive technologies. In this episode, Paul & Steve speak about how technology/innovation is shaping the future of football both on and off the pitch. We speak about NFTs/digital collectibles, how fans engage with their club post-pandemic, why brands love the champions league, the lessons the Prem can learn from the NBA, Steve's first football experience with Lord Sugar & so much more.Remember to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast and download Fantastec Swap in your app store.

This week's What The Footie Pod is with Reading FC's Head of Academy Psychology & Ops Ben Marks. In this exclusive episode, we discuss player care, Championship superstar Michael Olise, players being released from academies, how clubs support them with a 'Plan B', the transition from academy football to 1st Team and more. Please remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcast.

This week's What The Footie Pod is with football finance expert and the Price of Football Co-Host Kieran Maguire. In this episode, we discuss the financials of Premier League clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool, the looming European Super League, the ramifications of relegation and so much more!

Steve Morrow spent 20 years at Arsenal as a player & scout. In this exclusive episode, he gives insight into his role in scouting players like Serge Gnabry, Donyell Malen, Bukakyo Saka, Emile-Smith Rowe & even Mikel Arteta! We also discussed the growth of the MLS/US talent, Arsenal's early multi-club/feeder club model, the art and science of scouting, the life lessons he learned from George Graham & Arsene Wenger and so much more.

Chris Kirkland spent over 19 years playing top-flight football for teams such as Liverpool and Wigan. In this exclusive episode, he gives insight into the breakdown of his relationship with Roberto Martinez and Rafa Benitez, his battle with mental health, life after retiring, his thoughts on the modern game, the ruthlessness of football towards GKs, why Steve Bruce is one of the best managers in the game and so much more.

BEHIND THE SCENES with football financier/deal-maker Laurie Pinto. Laurie advises prospective owners when they look to buy Premier League clubs. In recent months we have seen Burnley and Newcastle enter takeover talks. In this podcast, Laurie and I analysed various owners from FSG to Mike Ashley and from the Kroenke's to Roman Abramovich. Why Laurie predicts that 1/3 Prem teams will have new owners by next season? We debated profit maximisation (making money) vs win maximisation (winning games) and the direction of the future of football (we are both two disgruntled Arsenal fans). THIS IS THE SEASON FINALE. REMEMBER TO HIT 5 STARS ON APPLE AND LEAVE A REVIEW!

BEHIND THE SCENES with Solihull Moors' Women's Chairman, Alex Alexandrou. Women's football is booming in England, so I sat down with Alex to understand more about the business behind it. From how to create an academy pathway to hiring and backing a manager. We also had an interesting debate on the role that the Premier League should play in supporting and funding the Women's game. PLEASE REMEMBER TO LEAVE 5 STARS AND REVIEW US ON APPLE!

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH LAURA RAFFERTY - BRISTOL CITY DEFENDER & NORTHERN IRELAND INTERNATIONAL! We discussed her journey from Southampton when the girls' academy was closed down to now playing in the Women's Super League. Her state of mind after tearing her ACL, her entrepreneurial endeavors alongside football, the best player in the #WSL, the importance of player care, the growth of the women's game and much more. PLEASE LEAVE A 5 STAR RATING & REVIEW! Instagram: @whatthefootieTwitter: @whatthefootieEmail: whatthefootie@hotmail.com