Man Marking manmarkingpodcast

Episode Two

"Whoever you are, come through the door."

Andy's Man Club is a peer to peer support group for men of all ages. AMC was started in 2016 by rugby league player Luke Ambler, after his brother Andy died by suicide. 

We spoke to Andy Greenway, a young lad from Yorkshire, Leeds United mad, who first attended an AMC meeting in Halifax, in 2017. Nowadays, AMC welcomes over 1000 men a week into its clubs all over the UK, all with the express aim of convincing men, that it's ok to talk. 

Andy is now a Project Development worker for AMC, and spoke to us about the amazing work they do, and the positive impact it's having for men.

Episode Two

"Childhood dreams and injury nightmares."

Matt Piper had long dreamt of playing for his hometown club Leicester City, a dream he realised in 2001. The next 12 months saw Matt sent on loan to Mansfield, before returning to Leicester and establishing himself as a regular member of the first team. At the end of the 2001/2002 season, Matt scored the final ever goal at Leicester's historic Filbert Street. 

The end of that season saw Leicester relegated, and Matt signed for Sunderland. He would spend five years with the Black Cats, making just 29 appearances, as a series of injuries put an end to his promising career. 

What followed was a dark period, the end of Matt's career saw addiction, depression and seemingly no way forward. We talk to Matt about the difficulties he had with injuries, how his career ended, his recovery and what he's doing now.

Episode Four

"Football, a family tradition."

Nigel Adderley has commentated for BBC, Talksport, BT Sport, as well as numerous others. In May 2019, Nigel commentated on his beloved Tranmere Rovers, as they faced Newport County in the league two playoff final. 

12 months previous, Nigel had decided not to attend Tranmere's national league playoff final with Boreham Wood, following a painful defeat at Wembley 12 months previous against Forest Green Rovers.

Five months before the playoff final, Nigel's father had passed away, and on the advice of his mother, Nigel took an offer to voice the Newport Tranmere playoff final for Talksport. After a nervy 119 minutes of action, Nigel belted out the words "Jennings with the header. . .Jennings has done it."

After the match, Mark Saggers praised Nigel for being so composed and unbiased whilst commentating on his own team, and that his father would be proud of him. At that moment, Nigel broke down in tears. The emotions of the previous six months, coupled with the ecstasy of the late winner, all came out at once. 

We talk to Nigel about his career as a commentator, the ups and the downs, his love of football, and its inextricable link to family.

Episode Five

"The purity of football."

Thomas Rongen played with Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, but ultimately his love and belief in football stands him apart even from those legends. 

Thomas was the star of the 2014 film Next Goal Wins, a film about the journey of American Samoa, known at the time as the worst team in the world, as they sought their first ever win. 

Thomas loves football, and he embodies the purity of football. He has experienced loss, trauma and grief, beyond the realms of most people. His journey with American Samoa, allows him to cry in front of people for the first time in a long time. 

We talk to Thomas about where his relationship with football began, his thoughts on the purity of football, and of course everything he experienced with American Samoa.

Episode Six

Football owners: Custodians, culture and community.

In August 2014, following Tranmere's relegation to League Two, it was announced that former player, and former Chief Executive of the FA Mark Palios would be taking over the club with his wife Nicola. 

Since that time, Mark and Nicola have transformed Tranmere Rovers back into the proud, working class club it once was, following years of neglect. 

We discuss the pressures of ownership, Mark and Nicola's thoughts on gambling in football, the work the club does to promote good mental health in the local community, as well as so much more.

During these episodes we will take a look back at examples of mental ill health in football from yesteryear. 

In 1990, Justin Fashanu announced to the world that he was a gay man. In 1998, Justin sadly took his own life. 

In this episode, we look back at the life of Justin Fashanu, Britain's first and only top level gay footballer. We try to get a better understanding of who Justin really was, and the difficulties he experienced, by speaking to his friend Alan Quick, and Jon Holmes of Sky Sports. 

This episode also features Aslie Pitter, one of the founder members of Stonewall FC, the UK's first and most successful gay football team, as we try to get a clear picture on what life was like as a black, gay man in the 1980's and 1990's. 

What can we learn from Justin's story? Is homophobia in football still present in 2020?Why haven't there been any other out gay footballers at the top level in Britain?

This episode was made to honour the memory of Justin Fashanu, and hopefully continue to improve football's relationship with the gay community.