When we look back at perhaps the most challenging season in English football history, we probably won't remember the goals or the games. This was the campaign of meaningful action, of meaningful change. On our final episode of the season, we take another look at some of the biggest stories we've covered over the last year and hear from expert voices, to see what progress has been made. From tackling social media abuse to head injury protocols and the policing of fans in light of the recent prote...
May 19, 2021•33 min
Football may have undergone its most seismic shift ever over the last few weeks. The threat of European Super League finally materialised and had evaporated just two days later, blown up in a blaze of fury from an unrivalled unity of football stakeholders. In its wake, the debate around football club ownership has spread across all corners of the game. Who owns the game's biggest clubs? How did they get here? And what are their motivations behind owning what should be a representations of their ...
May 05, 2021•47 min
In March 2019, Leigh Nicol - then playing for Charlton Athletic - was made aware that her iCloud had been hacked and some intimate footage had been shared online. In an instant, her life was shredded and she struggled to see how she could piece it back together. Leigh joins us on Between The Lines to discuss her gradual journey towards recovery. From contemplating suicide and leaving her bed only to be sick, to the help she received from her family and the Charlton staff, Leigh hopes that sharin...
Apr 21, 2021•44 min
For ages, women in football have accepted the unacceptable: sexual and verbal harassment, constant questioning of their abilities, their work cut down by accusations of having intimate relationships with players and managers, not feeling safe in their surroundings and being passed up for opportunities. Prompted by an article in The Independent sharing my personal experiences, the wall of silence was shattered with so many women sharing their stories. Soccer Sunday’s Bianca Westwood was one of th...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 2 min
What was it like to be the first signing of the Roman Abrahomovic era at Chelsea? How much can playing under such contrasting managers - Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Brendan Rodgers, Mark Hughes, Kenny Dalglish, Roy Hodgson - affect how you function in your position? How did the role of a fullback evolve during his near two decades in the game? Glen Johnson joins us to answer all these questions and drop a whole load of knowledge along the way – ever wondered what’s it like to fundamentally disa...
Mar 24, 2021•39 min
Remember a time when VAR was being pushed for to reduce the time spent talking about refereeing decisions? The technology is in, but the focus on the officials has never been greater, taking the spotlight away from the football itself and leading to death threats for the men with the whistle. In this episode, former Premier League ref Mark Halsey describes the horrific abuse his family was subjected to, but he also admits the standard of officiating in the top-flight needs to improve. He argues ...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr
Football has been altered in so many ways due to coronavirus, but the game - the form of players, the record of managers - is still being discussed as it was pre-pandemic. There has been little to no willingness to appreciate all the different circumstances that those tasked with entertaining us are facing and the ways in which it can affect performance. From dealing with personal loss publicly, to feelings of guilt, isolation and fearing for the future, leading sports psychologist Tom Young joi...
Feb 26, 2021•42 min
Hi everyone! Just to let you know, this week's episode of Between The Lines will be available this Friday. In the meantime, why not listen back to some of our previous episodes? You can hear from the likes of Alex Scott, Mauricio Pochettino, Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Martinez to name a few! Make sure you're subscribed to Between The Lines in your podcast app and join us again this Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 24, 2021•2 min
Why are recovery tackles celebrated more than being in the right position to make an intervention? Can a mistake at the back actually come from the right decision? On this episode of Between The Lines, we get stuck into the art of defending - a topic discussed so often, but seldom with deep understanding and appreciation of the role. Joleon Lescott, who was Player of the Season twice at Wolves and Everton before lifting a pair of league titles with Manchester City, is our expert guide on being a...
Feb 10, 2021•48 min
At 28, René Marić is already established as one of the sharpest coaching minds in football. He is the assistant manager to the coveted Marco Rose at Borussia Mönchengladbach, but his path to being in the dugout was anything but conventional. Marić was a tactical writer for a small German blog, whose work was noticed and used by Thomas Tuchel. Premier League clubs hired him to break down Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s pressing games while he did player recruitment profiles for two of the bigges...
Jan 27, 2021•45 min
Billions of pounds exchange hands during transfer windows, but there is never a guarantee that a mega-money signing will adjust at his new club regardless of how pedigreed he is as a player. Moves in the market have always been viewed through the prism of the deal itself: who is the target, when will it be agreed, how much for and how long for? But on this episode of Between The Lines, we delve into what can help make transfers successful: player welfare. If you've ever wondered how some footbal...
Jan 13, 2021•58 min
The man in charge of Belgium’s golden generation is the final guest of 2020 on Between The Lines in one of the most engaging, enlightening and wide-ranging interviews around. The Spaniard shares his expansive experience in football with us: from navigating English football’s lower leagues as a foreign player while studying for two degrees, establishing a legacy at Swansea, surviving and succumbing to relegation with Wigan, the best and loneliest of times at Everton to taking on one of the most e...
Dec 30, 2020•56 min
Raúl Jiménez suffering a fractured skull brought football’s negligence of head injury prevention and care back into the spotlight. But, as we explore on today’s episode of Between The Lines, the game has long been aware of the research on the long-term effects of such trauma and the solutions to minimise its risk. It has chosen to press on with shoddy protocols and the only update it has offered - the trial of a permanent concussion - is unhelpful and a distance behind other sport. Ryan Mason, w...
Dec 09, 2020•50 min
Adam Lallana has morphed into a guiding light for young footballers, whose development both as players and people he is so keen to help along. But in this episode of Between The Lines, we travel back to his pre-teen years when he was starting out at Southampton's academy to understand what has shaped him as a footballer. The midfielder talks us through his battles with an irregular heartbeat and ulcerative colitis, the feeling of being in the way when you're injured as well as the increasing dem...
Nov 25, 2020•55 min
Join Melissa Reddy and a selection of esteemed experts for a brand new episode of Between The Lines, as we unpack one of the most important, yet largely unexplored topics in football: the prejudiced policing of the game’s fans. If you go to a match in the UK, you are seen as a public disorder threat before being viewed as a person. A lot of the legislation governing football policing is bad, outdated and rushed, rooted more in the 1980s than the reality of going to a stadium in 2020. From how ea...
Nov 11, 2020•54 min
His journey from England goalscoring extraordinaire to one of TV's most esteemed presenters has made him a household name - but how well do you know the real Gary Lineker? We're joined by the man at the forefront of televised football on today's episode of Between The Lines! From trading goals and some of the biggest individual accolades in the game to bossing the coverage of it on our screens, that’s still not enough for a man who has chosen to use his gigantic platform to publicise humanitaria...
Oct 28, 2020•42 min
Join Melissa Reddy for a brand new episode of Between The Lines, as we welcome a man who has scored more than a century of goals and remains one of the finest English strikers of his generation: former Liverpool, Chelsea and England forward, Daniel Sturridge! Daniel joins Melissa to look back over a storied career where he has forged a unique path, on and off the pitch. From scoring in European finals to starting a record label, we hear how Daniel has dealt with the undue pressure placed on foot...
Oct 14, 2020•47 min
On today’s episode of Between The Lines, we delve into the toxic, often harrowing world of social media abuse in football. From racism suffered by many of English football’s black players to the sexism directed at females working in the game, Melissa is joined by a host of informed voices to explore how these manifest online and what we can do to eradicate it. These include former-player-turned-pundit Alex Scott, who shares her personal experience with online hate speech, as well as media lawyer...
Sep 30, 2020•38 min
Welcome to the first episode of Between The Lines with Melissa Reddy, a new podcast bringing you unrivalled insight and fascinating stories from some of the biggest names in football. Today, Melissa is joined by former Tottenham, Southampton and Espanyol manager Mauricio Pochettino and his trusted assistant, Jesus Perez. The pair discuss how their professional and personal lives have changed since leaving Spurs, reveal the important factors they'll consider when choosing their next club, and und...
Sep 16, 2020•53 min
Between The Lines is a podcast that talks to the biggest names to discuss the subjects most interesting to fans including the behind the scenes insight that underpins everything across the top of the game. From Premier League managers attempting to coach their team while dealing with personal tragedy, to the thorny subject of online abuse and trolls, and from world-class footballers pursuing other interests away from the game, or attempting to bounce back from career-threatening injury, listener...
Sep 11, 2020•59 sec
