Sign up to receive free updates on Arts
We will send you a daily digest email called myFT Daily Digest that covers the latest news in the Arts every morning.
The Rest Is Football is a new series produced by Goalhanger Podcasts, an independent company established by Gary Lineker. This series follows two popular British podcasts, The Rest Is Politics, where Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell discuss political stories, and The Rest Is History, hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland.
The Rest Is Football releases episodes twice a week and features three former footballers as hosts: Gary Lineker, Micah Richards, and Alan Shearer. The series promises topical debates and captivating stories from their careers. With their expertise and popularity (especially Gary Lineker, who is one of the highest-paid presenters at the BBC), the success of this project seems guaranteed. However, considering that the trio already presents Match of the Day: Top 10 (both a TV show and a podcast), one may question the necessity of this new series.
As someone who is not knowledgeable about football, I may not be the target audience for this series. Nevertheless, as an avid podcast listener, I believe there are areas that need improvement. One issue is the presence of three hosts, which can lead to overlapping conversations and diminish the quality of free-flowing discussions. The biggest problem, however, lies in the sound quality, which often sounds echoey and uneven, as if recorded deep inside a cave. Video clips of The Rest Is Football show the trio sitting in armchairs in a beige room that may or may not be Lineker’s home. Surprisingly, all three hosts wear tiny clip-on microphones. Given that this is a professionally produced podcast by experienced broadcasters with significant resources, it would be beneficial for them to invest in proper sound equipment.
So far, the content of The Rest Is Football lives up to expectations, with authoritative opinions on topics like transfer practices and sportswashing. The only noticeable difference from the trio’s BBC output is the occasional use of profanity. However, it is crucial for them to address the issues of talking over each other and the subpar sound quality. Once these problems are resolved, the series is likely to attract a large audience.
Another football podcast, Big Kick Energy, hosted by Maisie Adam and Suzi Ruffell, has also entered the scene. This podcast provides analysis of the Women’s World Cup and stands out for its intelligence, inclusivity (you don’t need to be a football expert to find it interesting), and frequent humor, reflecting the comedic backgrounds of the hosts. Ideally, this series would garner as much attention as The Rest Is Football. Hopefully, it will continue beyond the World Cup.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
