Obviously most of your time should be spent listening and re-listening to UTAS, not letting a waking moment go by without Tom Walker and Julian Roberts slurring in your ears. But for those moments of disillusionment, here are some top recommendations for football podcasts that are maybe almost as good as UTAS.
- The Guardian’s Football Weekly
What else was going to go first? Jimbo left hosting duties to legendary U’s fan Max Rushden and, as far as I’m concerned, anyone born in a postcode beginning ‘CB’ can find themselves as my top recommendation for almost anything. Max is joined by the crème de la crème of football journalists, from the intensely articulate Barney Ronay to Jonathan Wilson, probably the only man who can name the Bolton Wanderers starting 11 from 1923. It’s hard to make football commentary genuinely hilarious, but Rushden’s partner in crime Barry Glendenning delivers constant witticisms on everything from Irish hurling to Kylian Mbappé. New episodes are released every Monday and Thursday, with a constant revolving cast of guests doing their bit to provide erudite punditry of the highest calibre.
Recommended episode: Literally any of them. Stay up to date.
- The Football Ramble
The Ramble is you and your mates in the pub. First arguing about VAR, then laughing at Sunderland, and then reminiscing about Peter Lovenkrands. Marcus Speller, Luke Moore, Jim Campbell and Pete Donaldson are engrossingly entertainingly, and their background simply as broadcasters or comedians provides a fresh take to a lot of other regular football review podcasts. There’s a reason it’s one of the biggest independent football podcasts in the world.
Recommended episode: New shows are released on Mondays and Fridays, and both are top notch.
- Quickly Kevin, will he score?
Quickly Kevin is not only a podcast about 90s football, it is THE 90s football podcast. From Italia 90, to Stuart Pearce, to that video of John Sitton going absolutely mental in the changing room, the nineties were a wonderful time for football. Each week a different guest joins hosts Josh Widdicombe, Chris Scull and Michael Marden to chat about the nineties in all its glories and failings, with perspectives and stories from comedians, broadcasters and footballers themselves.
Recommended episode: Frank Skinner – Series 2 Episode 1 – 18th September 2017
- Golazzo
For a whole generation, the 1990s weren’t about Oasis, New Labour or Paul Gascoigne. They weren’t even about Shaggy or John Beck. No, for most people the 1990s were about Football Italia and that magical league somewhere in Southern Europe. While Channel 4’s original format of pink newspapers and enormous ice creams has not been replicated since, this podcast might be the closest thing you’ll get to it. Every Wednesday, James Richardson takes us twenty years into the past and talks Serie A, both past and present, and joined by James Horncastle and Gabriele Marcotti (two of the best-read Italian football experts), they discuss talking points from Italy’s recent round of fixtures and analyse a player or event from the past and its modern-day context.
Recommended episode: The divine Roberto Baggio – 21st February 2018
- The Magic Sponge
Ian Smith and Rob Beckett are funny blokes, but Jimmy Bullard is even more so. These three get together with a former footballer and have a rambling, blokey conversation about their funniest stories. If you want concise tactical analysis, The Magic Sponge is not for you, but if you want stories about players stealing their team coach, this is your remedy.
Recommended episode: Either Graham Stack or Ray Parlour. You’ll be in absolute stitches.
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