Great idea but not quite there yet
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“Look, I don’t want to be mean. I was delighted when Iain said he was making a football league podcast and really really wanted to love it.
But this isn’t quite there yet.
Iain for all his chipper outlook and general likeability does come across as precisely what he is - someone who is paid to watch and report on top flight football, and who (for all that he supports a football league club), seldom gets to the games and doesn’t know the stories and the people inside out (although I dare say he watches a fair bit on telly). The level of insight that he offers into teams, players and systems doesn’t seem deep enough to make him the lynchpin of the pod. The same applies to Matt - a decent section of the pod is essentially reading out results with both parties not having much to add.
The regular guest is an interesting idea but it’s something I’m always wary of on a podcast - the hosts should be able to generate enough engaging discussion amongst themselves to be able to push the pod forward, whereas here it seems like the pod revolves around the guest. Justin Edinburgh was interesting enough in the latest episode but the interview seemed to boil down to ‘You were hard done by weren’t you? Yeah I was’ - not enough to hang the whole episode on
I also like the premise of the in-depth profile of a small number of clubs each week, but it’s very clear that nobody on the pod has any detailed prior knowledge of these clubs or what has caused the remarkable up/down turn in form that has lead to them being featured. The result is that these segments come across as an exercise in reading aloud Wikipedia entries and fan forum posts. To an extent it’s an unfair criticism as it’s unreasonable to expect anyone to have detailed knowledge of 72 clubs, but you can mitigate this by eg getting some fans of these clubs on the show to talk about what’s going on.
There are also some deeply odd moments, like when Matt details tickets prices and directions to a club - information readily available on the internet. I’m not going to replay that section and rely on it if I do make an out of the blue decision to pop to Northampton on a Saturday afternoon.
If you listen to the superior (albeit much more infrequent) Not The Top 20 podcast you’ll see the difference - two hosts who don’t need to rely on a guest to prompt discussion but who genuinely know the football league inside out and back to front, and who you get the impression could keep talking about it long past the podcast slot.
ALL THAT SAID - I imagine I will still listen every week as I love he football league and the pod does make an effort to be evenhanded in its coverage and bring to attention stories and clubs otherwise overlooked. A+ for effort, but problems in the execution.”
Esvee1111 via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
09/28/17
More reviews of The Totally Football League Show
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“An outstanding podcast and great to see the Football League getting the coverage they deserve. For an hour at least.
Hard to find much Football League stuff in Australia.
I look forward to my working from home every Wednesday to listen each week.”
TractorBoyOz via Apple Podcasts ·
Australia ·
04/17/18
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“Covering 3 divisions in 40 minutes is impossible! So will see how they keep this interesting over a season without going on about the same clubs all the time. But really enjoyed the first episode”
Ezy Rider via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
09/20/17
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