Football Ruined My Life Podcast

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Colin Shindler, Jon Holmes, Paul Kobrak (and the late Patrick Barclay)

[email protected]

Football Sports Soccer Society & Culture

945 - 1.6K listeners Male 4.7 rating 63 reviews 95 episodes United Kingdom

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When Football Ruined My Life started back at the beginning of 2023 it was the new podcast about old football.

In it, distinguished football journalist Patrick Barclay joined with Colin Shindler, author of the best selling Manchester United Ruined My Life, and the Super Agent Jon Holmes (think Gary Lineker, Peter Shilton, Tony Woodcock etc.) to talk about football as it used to be in the days before the invention of the Premier League.

For over 80 weekly episodes, the podcast viewed those days fondly - though not uncritically - in comparison to today's game, which it views critically though not unfondly. And it welcomed everyone who wants to remember Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton, Brian Clough and Bill Shankly and the days when you went to a Football League ground to watch your football and didn't wait for it to arrive on television.

After the tragic and untimely death of Paddy Barclay in February 2025, Football Ruined My Life took a break to consider how (and if) to carry on.

In May 2025 it has returned, with a panel of stars to make irregular appearances to join the regulars, Jon Holmes and Colin Shindler. These now include writer and producer Andy Hamilton, television executive Jimmy Mulville, the sports journalist and columnist for the Daily Telegraph Jim White and stand-up comedian Omid Djalili.

But the feel and raison d'être of Football Ruined My Life remains the same. Still nostalgic? Yes. Still well informed? Certainly. But above all, it continues to glory in the football of our youth when the game seemed charmingly innocent, full of skillful, good hearted, kindly men like Norman Hunter, Ron Harris and Peter Storey.

Join us every week for a romp through the 1960s, 70s, 80s and beyond that will warm you like a cup of scalding hot Bovril.

Produced by Paul Kobrak.

Contact the team at [email protected]

Producers, Hosts, and Production Team

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Recent Hosts, Guests & Topics

Here's a quick summary of the last 5 episodes on Football Ruined My Life.

Hosts

Colin Shindler Jon Holmes Jimmy Mulville Patrick Barclay

Previous Guests

Andy Hamilton

Andy Hamilton is a writer and producer known for his work in television and comedy.

Jon Holmes

Jon Holmes is a renowned super agent in the football world, representing high-profile players such as Gary Lineker, Peter Shilton, and Tony Woodcock. He is known for his extensive experience in football negotiations and his insights into the sport's behind-the-scenes operations.

Colin Shindler

Colin Shindler is an author best known for his best-selling book 'Manchester United Ruined My Life.' He is a football enthusiast and historian, contributing to the 'Football Ruined My Life' podcast by analyzing football's cultural and historical aspects.

Jimmy Mulville

Jimmy Mulville is a television producer and executive, involved in various comedy and entertainment projects, and a panelist on the podcast.

Jim White

Jim White is a sports journalist and columnist for the Daily Telegraph, known for his coverage of football and other sports.

Patrick Barclay

Patrick Barclay was a distinguished football journalist and a key panelist on the 'Football Ruined My Life' podcast. He was known for his in-depth knowledge of football history and his contributions to sports journalism. Sadly, he passed away in February 2025, after which the podcast took a break.

Topics Discussed

Onfield Behaviour Champions League Real Madrid Mbappe Rudiger Atletico Madrid football misconduct sportsmanship fan sentiment football fandom ownership issues transfer fees agents Manchester United Jim Ratcliffe club alienation England Managers Sir Alf football history Kevin Keegan Graham Taylor Terry Venables Glenn Hoddle faith healer Sir Alf Ramsey World Cup Football history Bobby Robson 1968 European Cup Celtic Vietnam War protests Black Power FA Cup Final League Champions

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Followers: 2,918

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Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on Football Ruined My Life.

0:00 40:46

93. Onfield Behaviour

June 13, 2025

Colin Shindler Jon Holmes

Andy Hamilton

Onfield Behaviour Champions League Real Madrid Mbappe Rudiger Atletico Madrid football misconduct sportsmanship

In this edition of the podcast, Colin Shindler and Jon Holmes are joined byAndy Hamiltonto talkin a very headmasterly tone about Onfield Behaviour which quite frankly is bringing the good name oftheFootball Ruined My Life schoolinto disgrace. In a Champions League quarter final this seasontwo Real Madrid boys in the Lower Sixth, Rudiger and Mbappe, were shown on television after a fortunate win overtheirrival boys school Atletico Madrid making obscene gestures. Rudiger wasappearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the Atletico crowd, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture. Both boysthen had toreport to Mr Infantinos study after Assembly whereit would appear nothing at all happened to them. Government regulations unfortunately no longer permit Sir Stanley Rous to give boththose boysa severe caning which would have happened in the more enlightened 1960s. Has onfield behaviour deteriorated so badly in recent years or does football simply reflect an increasing disregard for authority which can be seen in so many facets of society in the 21stcentury?

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0:00 55:10

92. Fan Sentiment

June 06, 2025

Jon Holmes Colin Shindler Jimmy Mulville

fan sentiment football fandom ownership issues transfer fees agents Manchester United Jim Ratcliffe club alienation

We’re all fans. That’s why we make this podcast and that’s why presumably you all like listening to it. Fan sentiment is something we suspect we all feel strongly about but probably in our different ways. It’s not just foreign owners, ludicrous transfer fees, and (present company excepted) cynical agents taking money off both their clients and the clubs. Today’s panel (of Jon Holmes, Colin Shindler and Jimmy Mulville) consider how fans like all of us are being slowly alienated from the clubs to which we’ve given a lifetime of devotion. Colin even has sympathy for Manchester United fans who are appalled at the antics of their club since it became apparent that Jim Ratcliffe was not a knight on a white horse but a panic-stricken tax exile in a limousine trapped in a car park, surrounded by angry fans. We can’t help but accept that our clubs have to change, it’s inevitable but is it still our club? It’s a question we all ask ourselves, some with increasing anxiety.

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0:00 54:18

91. England Managers After Sir Alf Part 2

May 30, 2025

Jon Holmes Colin Shindler

Jim White

England Managers Sir Alf football history Kevin Keegan Graham Taylor Terry Venables Glenn Hoddle faith healer

In the first podcast Football Ruined My Life has done since the untimely demise of Patrick Barclay, Jon Holmes and Colin Shindler are joined by the Daily Telegraph sports columnist Jim White. Forced to restart the episode because the Producer had failed to press the record button first time round, eventually the panel turn to the “the poisoned chalice”. They consider the story from the sad night of defeat on penalties in Turin to the singularly appropriate day in 2000 when Kevin Keegan resigned the job in the toilets at Wembley Stadium after a 1-0 home defeat by Germany. In between came the nadir of Graham Taylor and the oh-so-nearly efforts of Terry Venables before Glenn Hoddle was defeated by the players’ decision to embrace his original tactics but reject his rather strange insistence on utilising the assistance of a faith healer called Eileen Drewery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

0:00 38:47

90. England Managers After Sir Alf Part 1

May 23, 2025

Patrick Barclay

Jon Holmes Colin Shindler

England Managers Sir Alf Ramsey World Cup Football history Bobby Robson Graham Taylor

It’s commonly known as “the poisoned chalice”. The only England manager to win the World Cup was Alf Ramsey in 1966. Nobody has done it since though a few have come close. In this, his last ever podcast, Patrick Barclay, along with Jon Holmes and Colin Shindler, analyses why that has been the case. Paddy and co. take the story from 1974 when Sir Alf was dismissed by the FA to the end of Bobby Robson’s unlucky regime after the defeat by Germany at Italia 90. Gazza cried, we all cried but we comforted ourselves with the thought that the next manager to try was Robson’s immediate replacement, Graham Taylor. It's unlikely that Paddy's wit and erudition was ever better displayed than in this, his last but triumphant farewell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

0:00 42:48

89. 1968

May 21, 2025

Patrick Barclay Jon Holmes Colin Shindler

football history 1968 Manchester United European Cup Celtic Vietnam War protests Black Power FA Cup Final League Champions

This is the penultimate podcast in which Patrick Barclay appeared. In it the original Football Ruined My Life panel of Paddy, Jon Holmes and Colin Shindler analyse the year 1968, as the latest in their periodic examinations of one particularly memorable year. In football terms 1968 was the year that Manchester United followed Celtic to become the first English club to win the European Cup but even that landmark occasion was only one of many. It was also the year of the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the riots in Chicago, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the alliance between students and workers which brought France to a state of total paralysis. Two black American athletes held up a black gloved fist in support of Black Power during the medal ceremony at the Mexico Olympics and the anti-Vietnam war protest movement came to Grosvenor Square in London. West Bromwich Albion fans need not worry because we do not ignore their victory over Everton in the FA Cup Final or Manchester City’s triumph as they were crowned League Champions. A memorable year indeed.

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Ratings

Global:

4.7 rating 63 reviews

UK

4.7 ratings 50 reviews

USA

5.0 ratings 7 reviews

Ireland

4.7 ratings 3 reviews

Canada

5.0 ratings 2 reviews

Australia

5.0 ratings 1 reviews

New Zealand

0.0 ratings 0 reviews

Singapore

0.0 ratings 0 reviews

South Africa

0.0 ratings 0 reviews