Best Spicebag Productions Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 45: Kevin Keegan - My Life in Football 59:34

19h ago59:34

59:34

🎧 Episode 45 is OUT NOW! ⚽🐭 He’s King Kev in England, Mäuserich (Mighty Mouse) in Germany — and everywhere he goes, he’s a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, European Cup champ, and all-round lovely fella. We are talking of course about Kevin Keegan. Sure, he’s a bit hapless at times but in the words of Bill Shankly, Keegan is “everything a man should be…

1
Injury Time 14: The Last Shall Be First – The Premier League’s Worst Ever Players 28:58

8d ago28:58

28:58

Matthew Jarvis 20:16 – “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” In this episode, we turn things on their head 🙃. We’re picking the worst players to notch up at least 100 Premier League appearances – that’s right, the aim of this draft is to lose. 🫣 Sure, if you’ve played 100 times in the EPL, you’re probably half-decent… but some of these …

1
Episode 44: The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuściński 35:50

16d ago35:50

35:50

📚 Episode 44 is here! This week, we’re diving into The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuściński 🇵🇱 — the legendary Polish reporter, a writer who happened to be a journalist (in his own words) and a man who played fast and loose with the truth, it seems. ⚔️ The book centres on the 1969 war between Central American neighbours El Salvador 🇸🇻 and Honduras 🇭🇳 …

1
Episode 29: Messi - The Definitive Biography by Guillem Balague 58:46

16d ago58:46

58:46

How do you follow a 5-time Ballon D’or winner? Well, with an 8-time Ballon D’or Winner of course. That’s right, its Part II of the Guillem Balague GOAT saga and our review of his biography of one Lionel Messi. Originally published in 2013 but updated for the Argentina World Cup win in 2022, the book is a long one, covering the descent from heaven o…

1
Episode 28: Cristiano Ronaldo - The Biography by Guillem Balague 59:28

16d ago59:28

59:28

It’s our 28th episode and we are starting the new year with the first part of the Balague GOAT saga. First up is his award-winning biography of Cristiano Ronaldo. This player certainly needs no introduction but if you insist then 5 Champions League wins, 5 Ballons D’or, and seven straight calendar years in which he scored more than 50 goals will su…

1
Injury Time 13: The Steve McMahon Windscreens Shield – a Wrong ’Uns 5-a-side draft 47:24

30d ago47:24

47:24

⚽ Injury Time 13: The Steve McMahon Windscreens Shield – a Wrong ’Uns draft ⚽ OUT NOW! 🎧 What makes a wrong ’un? Cheating on your wife? ❌ Not necessarily. Cheating on your wife for eight years… with your sister-in-law? ✅ That probably qualifies. It’s hard to define, but you know one when you see one. In Injury Time 13, we each draft our Top 5 Wrong…

1
Episode 43: It's Only the Ray Parlour Autobiography - The Romford Pelé 59:14

1M ago59:14

59:14

🎙️ Episode 43 of the Dynamo Football Bookclub is out! 💆‍♂️ Massage parlour, 💅 beauty parlour… Ray Parlour. That’s right — it’s only Ray Parlour’s autobiography, The Romford Pelé! 📖⚽ Fun fact: Parlour has played in the Premier League for Arsenal more times than any other player 🔴⚪ He’s also a cheeky chappie who stole potted plants 🪴, terrorised poor…

1
Injury Time 12: African EPL Draft - Danny Invincible 11s v. Orlando Pirates 44:44

1M ago44:44

44:44

🎧 Episode 12 of Injury Time is here! 🎙️ It’s the Great African Draft Showdown — Johnny’s Danny Invincible 11s take on Alistair’s Orlando Pirates in a five-a-side battle to determine who really knows their African football EPL legends. 🇿🇦⚽🇪🇬🇨🇲 Our hosts pick their best five-a-side teams of African Premier League players and AI tells us who’d win. Wi…

1
Episode 42: The Feet of the Chameleon - The Story of African Football by Ian Hawkey 47:08

2M ago47:08

47:08

🎙️ Episode 42 is LIVE! 📘 The Feet of the Chameleon – The Story of African Football by Ian Hawkey ⚽️🌍 An epic journey through the past, present & power of African football. In this episode of the Dynamo Football Bookclub, we explore the rich, complex and utterly compelling story of football across Africa’s 54 nations 🇿🇲🇪🇬🇸🇳🇨🇲. 🦁 From apartheid-era p…

1
Injury Time 11: The Battle of Brobdingnag - Giant Player Draft 30:10

2M ago30:10

30:10

Having passed out Crouchie in the podcast charts a couple of weeks ago, we've decided to tackle more giants of the game 🤖 In Injury Time 11 🎙️ we tackle a question that’s baffled football fans for years: who are the greatest players standing at 6′5″ and above? 🏰 ⚽ Have there been any genuinely decent towering strikers beyond the aforementioned Pete…

1
Episode 41: Do You Speak Football by Tom Williams 52:57

2M ago52:57

52:57

In Episode 41, we move beyond biographies and autobiographies for the first time and into the wonderful world of the language of football with Do You Speak Football by Tom Williams. In his book, Williams takes us, Palinesque, on a tour of the world explaining how football is spoken about by fans everywhere. If you would like to find out where a def…

1
Injury Time 10: Kanye's boots - more football music 43:40

2M ago43:40

43:40

🎧 Once more into the football-musical breach… 🎤⚽ We’re back with one final (for now) dive into the weird and wonderful world of footballers who made music. 🎶👟 Footballing genius doesn’t always translate to musical talent (spoiler: some of these are rough) 😬🎵 — but there are surprises. And its all good fun anyway... 💫 The players featured in this ep…

1
Episode 40: Flight to Bogota - England's Football Rebel Neil Franklin by John Leonard 47:58

3M ago47:58

47:58

This week, we dive into Flight to Bogotá by John Leonard — the true story of Neil Franklin, the England defender hailed by Tom Finney as the finest defender of his generation… until he threw it all away. In the years after WWII, Franklin played 27 times for England and had a ticket to the 1950 World Cup in the bag 🏆. But instead of heading to Brazi…

1
Injury Time 9 - The Grace Jones World Series - North American Soccer League Draft 38:30

3M ago38:30

38:30

In this episode of Injury Time, Al and John dive into the chaotic, colourful world of the North American Soccer League (NASL) — the wild 1970s and 80s league that brought Pelé, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, and Best to America. Each host drafts a 5-a-side dream team of NASL stars. We use this as a vehicle to tell the story - or at least some of the story - …

1
Episode 39: Di Stefano by Ian Hawkey 58:10

3M ago58:10

58:10

⚽ The Dynamo Football Book Club Podcast — Episode 39: Di Stéfano We kick off our rebrand as The Dynamo Football Book Club with a book about a real legend Di Stéfano by Ian Hawkey. Alfredo Di Stéfano — the Blonde Arrow 🏹 — won the first five European Cups 🏆 with Real Madrid, played for three national teams 🌍, and lived a life packed with drama: a Ve…

1
Injury Time 8 - Rappers' Highlights 32:55

3M ago32:55

32:55

It is our 8th edition of Injury Time, and we return to the football musical canon. This time round, we are listening to football’s greatest rappers. No Ballon D’or winners this time, but one World Cup winner and lots of hits on YouTube and a lady somehow singing with a Liverpool winger’s voice. It’s not John Barnes; he has been banned. Please do li…

1
Episode 38: The Three Lives of the Kaiser - the Franz Beckenbauer Biography by Uli Hesse 57:36

4M ago57:36

57:36

In Episode 38, we discuss the life – or rather The Three Lives – of the Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer by Uli Hesse. Another of the faces on football’s Mount Rushmore, Beckenbauer is one of only three men to win the World Cup as a player and a manager and he is the only one of those three guys who also won three European Cups on the bounce with his club …

1
Injury Time 7 - The Lance Armstrong Cup - Party boys and Drug Cheat draft 30:56

4M ago30:56

30:56

For the 7th edition of Injury Time, we are picking the best and most interesting players who have received drug bans. From party boys like Diego to your boring performance enhancing types like Stam, we take a tour through the players who were caught with their hands in their wife’s medicine cabinet. This is also our first episode to feature an alle…

1
Episode 37: Gazza in Italy by Daniel Storey 52:09

4M ago52:09

52:09

In Episode 37, we visit the captivating story of Gazza in Italy. This rather short book by Daniel Storey really packs a punch. Having read so many of these books by now, this one highlights the most important element of all - an interesting protagonist. Gazza is one of the most interesting of all - gifted, haunted and poor entertainment gold. Have …

1
Injury Time 6 - Top of the Football Pops 27:53

4M ago27:53

27:53

In our sixth edition of Injury Time, we take times in a different direction, with something of a Football Top of the Pops. Do you know which players have had songs in the UK charts? We give you a blast of the Top 5 and this is not according to our own tastes but on the basis of where they charted in the British charts. Check it out, with songs from…

1
Episode 36: Francesco Totti - Gladiator 56:19

5M ago56:19

56:19

In Episode 36, we discuss Gladiator, the autobiography of Francesco Totti. With nicknames such as The Eight King of Rome, Totti had other much better possible names for this book. And yet he went for Gladiator… But what a career the man had, 251 goals in 619 appearances for his hometown team, Roma. He played his first game for the Giallorossi when …

1
Injury Time 5 - the Greatest Players Never to Win the Premier League, 5-a-side draft 27:47

5M ago27:47

27:47

It’s the 5th episode of Ademola Bookmen Injury Time and this week we are choosing 5-a-side teams of the best players never to win the Premier League. To keep the golf theme of the week going, it's the Colin Montgomerie Derby. With Johnny having won the previous three encounters of these 5-a-sides (as well as the Forest-United one), Al’s pride is re…

1
Episode 35: Matt Le Tisser - Taking Le Tiss 50:25

5M ago50:25

50:25

In continuation of God month on the Ademola Bookmen Podcast, we travel to the south coast to check on in folk legend Matt Le Tissier and his autobiography Taking Le Tiss The famous one-club Le Tissier scored some cracking goals in his 16 years with Southampton. This book was written in 2009 so before Matt went off the deep end a bit with conspiracy…

1
Injury Time 4 - Matchday Special - all-time Forest versus all-time Manchester United 30:27

5M ago30:27

30:27

Let’s see what our cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence machine has to say – can a team of legendary Forest players beat the mighty United? Ahead of the Nottingham v. Manchester United game tomorrow night, Al and Johnny are picking draft 5-a-side teams for either club. It’s Al’s all-time Forest team versus Johhny’s all-time United. This one is pers…

1
Episode 34: Eric Cantona – The Rebel Who Would Be King by Philippe Auclair 59:14

5M ago59:14

59:14

In Episode 34, we review Philippe Auclair’s book about arguably the greatest of all Premier League players and certainly the coolest – Eric Cantona. French football’s enfant terrible washed up on the shores of British football seeking refuge from the tyranny of the French FA’s capricious officials. Driven from his home country due to his uncontroll…

1
Injury Time 3: Ginger Spice - The Red Hair 5-a-side draft 22:11

6M ago22:11

22:11

In our third instalment of Ademola Bookmen Injury Time, we are doing a 5-a-side draft of red hair footballers. Yes folks, its Ginger Spice, the Red Hair Draft. Tune in to find out if Al can save some blushes and finally get a win.By Spicebag Productions

1
Episode 33: In Search of Duncan Ferguson by Alan Patullo 57:39

6M ago57:39

57:39

In Episode 33, we review In Search of Duncan Ferguson – The Life and Crimes of a Footballing Enigma by Alan Patullo. The highest scoring Scot in the Premier League, Ferguson is a folk hero on the blue half of Merseyside. As well as Everton, Ferguson had stints of varying degrees of success and failure with Dundee United, Rangers, and Newcastle Unit…

1
Injury Time 2 - Prison 5-a-side draft (the Joey Barton Cup) 24:06

6M ago24:06

24:06

Join us for our second installment of Injury Time, a prison 5-a-side draft. The quality of players who have been to prison is really quite something, rich pickings indeed. Please do tune in to find out if Al can salvage some pride after his devastating loss in the previous draft. Music by Darragh Fenlon.…

1
Episode 32: Béla Guttman - The Greatest Comeback by David Bolchover 57:08

6M ago57:08

57:08

In Episode 32, we take a history lesson with David Bolchover’s book about Béla Guttman, The Greatest Comeback – From Genocide to Football Glory. This is a remarkable and very tragic story, one that is as much about the treatment of Jews in Europe as about Guttman himself. Béla Guttman played football for mostly Jewish teams in his native Hungary an…

1
Injury Time 1 - Irish Premier League 5-a-side smackdown 19:20

7M ago19:20

19:20

Welcome to our first bonus episode - it's the Ademola Bookmen Podcast Injury Time [insert whistle sound here]. Today, Al and John are competing against each other to pick the best 5-a-side team of historic Irish Premier League players. Much less an idle barstool conversation, this discussion has an outcome. Yes, courtesy of cutting edge Artificial …

1
Episode 31: Martin Keown - On The Edge 56:21

7M ago56:21

56:21

In Episode 31, we tackle the autobiography of famous Ruud Van Nistelrooy botherer Martin Keown. A member of The Invincibles, a double-double winner, and the owner of the most elbowed face in Premier League history, Keown played more than 300 times for Arsenal and 43 times for England. In his 2024 book, Keown takes us through a career which brought …

1
Episode 30: Doctor Socrates - Footballer, Philosopher, Legend by Andrew Downie 58:49

7M ago58:49

58:49

Was Sócrates the coolest footballer ever? Not only did he complete a medical degree while playing as a professional footballer, captain the Brazil national team, and found Corinthians Democracy, a movement which is credited with inspiring the people of Brazil to overthrow a military dictatorship, he did it all while looking like a stone cold cool m…

1
Episode 27: Eamon Dunphy - Only a Game? 49:24

9M ago49:24

49:24

In Episode 27, we take a stroll down memory lane with Ireland’s arch controversialist Eamon Dunphy. Before he became a fixture on Irish television attacking the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Rod Liddle, Dunphy was once a footballer. He is remembered more for his work as a journalist and television malcontent than for his performances for Ireland, …

1
Episode 26: Ferenc Puskás - Captain of Hungary 59:57

9M ago59:57

59:57

Hungary’s ‘Galloping Major’, Ferenc Puskás was a three time European Cup winner and the winner of ten domestic titles, split evenly with five in his home country and five in Spain. His 1956 autobiography, Captain of Hungary, was written after he led Hungary to the 1954 World Cup final but before his exploits in Spain playing with Real Madrid and a …

1
Episode 25: Andrea Pirlo - I Think Therefore I Play 52:51

10M ago52:51

52:51

Grab your rollies, your loganberry IPA, and your panini sticker book folks, it's Episode 25 of the Ademola Bookmen Podcast, the hipster's choice, Andrea Pirlo. Tune in to hear Al compare the Italian great's lips to those of James Milner and to find out whether Al and Johnny were cool enough to understand the Italian's cerebral game. Pirlo's 2015 bo…

1
Episode 24: Sven Goran Eriksson - A Beautiful Game 59:22

10M ago59:22

59:22

In Episode 24, we discuss A Beautiful Game by Sven-Göran Eriksson. The book was published on 17 October, less than two months after Sven died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 75. Born in Sweden in 1948, Eriksson lived a remarkable life that saw him working in ten countries in jobs that included national team manager roles on four different cont…

1
Episode 23: Tony Cascarino - Full Time 59:38

11M ago59:38

59:38

In Episode 23, we discuss Full Time – the secret life of Tony Cascarino as told to Paul Kimmage. Despite having earned 88 caps for them, scoring 19 goals, the book is famed for the revelation that Cascarino did not in fact qualify to play for Ireland. Although was that really the case or were they just try to grab headlines and move copies of the b…

1
Episode 22: Garrincha - The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Football Hero 58:30

11M ago58:30

58:30

In Episode 22, we review the biography of Manuel Francisco dos Santos - Garrincha to you and I. In a Dylan goes electric moment for the Bookmen, this is our first biography, as opposed to autobiography. And it's a good one. Garrincha - which means Little Bird - is remembered by Brazil of being even better than Pele. The grandchild of slaves, born w…

1
Episode 21: Peter Taylor - With Clough 58:02

12M ago58:02

58:02

In Episode 21, Al and Johnny review With Clough by Peter Taylor, the book that is believed to have created the rift between the two men that ultimately led to them parting ways and not talking for seven years before Taylor's death in 1990. The pair had played together at Middlesborough. When they met, Taylor was a jobbing sub keeper and Clough was …

1
Episode 20: Brian Clough - The Autobiography 59:22

12M ago59:22

59:22

After a couple of technical glitches, it's Episode 20 of the Ademola Bookmen Podcast. And to mark this (kind of) milestone in our podcasting journey, we have indulged Al by delving into the mind of Brian Clough, Nottingham’s most famous man not in tights. After being forced to retire following a stellar career as a second division striker, Clough b…

1
Episode 19: Robbie Fowler - My Autobiography 59:48

1y ago59:48

59:48

In Episode 19, the Ademola Bookmen Podcast takes an ecclesiastical turn with our review of God’s book – Robbie Fowler’s, My Autobiography. Kop legend and the eighth highest scorer in the Premier League, Fowler notched a total of 183 goals for his boyhood club Liverpool who he left in reasonably acrimonious circumstances in 2001 only to return again…

1
Episode 18: Johan Cruyff - My Turn 53:29

1y ago53:29

53:29

It’s Episode 18 and its Johan Cruyff’s My Turn for the Ademola Bookmen Podcast. Join us as we take a trip through the life of arguably the best influential person in the history of football. Cruyff won the European Cup three times with Ajax, the team whose stadium he grew up across the road from. He also invented the modern game of football with th…

1
Episode 17: Mark Noble - Boleyn Boy 58:05

1y ago58:05

58:05

It’s Episode 17 and we are reading Boyeln Boy by Mr. West Ham himself, Mark Noble. Having been released in November 2022, this is by far the most recent book we have reviewed. Noble famously played for only one club (if you don’t count the time he spent at Arsenal, Hull, and Ipswich) but this book is perhaps most memorable for the revelation that h…

1
Episode 16: Robbie Savage - Savage! 56:32

1y ago56:32

56:32

Episode 16 focuses on the life and times of that most overlooked of the Class of 92, Robbie Savage. Less famous for his time as an underweight and underscoring striker in the Man United Youth Team than he is for his displays as an all tackling, all bullshiting midfielder for Leicester, Birmingham and Blackburn and others, Robbie is by his own admis…

1
Episode 15: Neil Warnock - The Gaffer 52:51

1y ago52:51

52:51

With a career in English football going all the way back to 1967, Neil Warnock has traveled to every corner of the country. In his 2013 book, The Gaffer – The Trials and Tribulations of a Football Manager, Warnock outlines his view of the football world. It’s an old fashion view, in many respects, but a romantic one too. Less an autobiography than …

1
Episode 14: James Milner - Ask a Footballer 52:13

1+ y ago52:13

52:13

James Milner's first appearance in the Premier League was as a substitute for Manchester United's new technical director, Jason Wilcox. He is that bloody old. 634 Premier League appearances later, he may soon takeover Gareth Barry as the player with the most appearances of all. In 2019, he wrote Ask a Footballer, which is not so much an autobiograp…

1
Episode 13: Patrice Evra.- I Love This Game 59:10

1+ y ago59:10

59:10

In Episode 13 we read about the life and times of the chicken licking, Marseilles fan kicking, Patrice Evra. Born in Senegal, one of 24 children (not a typo), and raised in the meanest streets of Paris, Evra won five Premier Leagues with Manchester United and two Scudettos with Juventus. He also has the less enviable accolade of being the player wh…

1
Episode 12: Arsene Wenger - My Life in Red and White 57:23

1+ y ago57:23

57:23

Arsene Who? In Episode 12, we review our first book by a manager. He may have been a stranger when he arrived in England in 1996 but he is no stranger now. In his 22 years with Arsenal, Wenger went from nobody to managerial royalty, with a turn towards the end as the most hated man in North London, or at least so it seemed at the time. Is this the …

1
Episode 11: Steve Claridge - Tales from the Boot Camps 58:40

1+ y ago58:40

58:40

Who better to follow Diego Maradona than the Aldershot Hotshot Steve Claridge? Probably most famous for scoring the goal that got Leicester up to the Premier League in 1996, football's fruit and veg man played for 24 (by our count) clubs in a career that spanned four decades. Throughout that period, he traveled around in battered cars as he commute…

1
Episode 10: Diego Maradona - El Diego 59:08

1+ y ago59:08

59:08

Episode 10, the magic and mayhem of Diego Maradona. In this episode, Al and Johnny slalom their way around flailing defenders and through the life of arguably the best and certainly the greatest player of them all. Written in 2004, El Diego examines the life of a boy from Villa Fiorito in Buenos Aires who conquered Italy with lowly Napoli and the w…

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