Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
Congratulations on your new book, Max and Barry. What are your favourite books about football? And your favourite books in general? Matej Barry: I have no shame in admitting that I love a good, or even bad, romcom. During the pandemic I developed a hopeless addiction to those Hallmark Christmas movies that all have the same saccharine sweet plot.
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Barry: Republic of Ireland 1-0 England at Euro 88. A terrible, nerve-shredding game but a great result and arguably the happiest I’ve ever been after a football match. Max: We do. At least I hope we do. As far as I know the audience is 50% UK and 50% worldwide, so we would love to go to as many places as we can. We could do east coast, west coast and then pop to Sydney, finish in Melbourne and then all make our own way home. Should a fan’s right to support their football team be dependent upon that club’s ownership? Does Newcastle’s ownership by the Saudi Investment Fund make me morally obliged to stop cheering for them? Can we just accept that our club is our club, regardless of who are running the show? Michael MandI’m dying to know – how is a Football Weekly panel selected? Please tell me it’s a more exciting process than coordinating schedules. Randall
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I find the accusations from some that we would cover it differently if it was another club – that this is an anti-Newcastle thing – really frustrating. The media isn’t a monolith. I can’t speak for anyone else but we would do the same if it was Spurs, Stevenage or Shrewsbury Town. After 17 years of success in audio, the book sees a debut for the boys in paper format, in a book that contains all the usual nonsense jokes, trivia and unparalleled analysis that draws in millions of listeners every month. As a bonus, readers will also find Max and Barry declaring their love for one another on a Guardian Blind Date. Max Rushden and Barry Glendenning will be live on stage at EartH in London and via livestream. Think of this as the only preparation you need for the 2022 World Cup*. The 2023 tour is already set to be a sell out. This comes as no surprise as almost six thousand people came to the first Football Weekly live tour in 2022, which featured Mark Langdon’s Meat Raffle, Barry’s rendition of Call Me Maybe and Steve Claridge eating industrial quantities of fruit. Join our chair, football commentator and journalist Robyn Cowen, as she invites Rushden, Glendenning and Wilson to talk about their book in this special livestreamed event.
I wasn’t sure this book was going to be any good, but I didn’t want to not be involved in case it was. I hadn’t seen it until Dr Karl Kennedy from Neighbours brought his copy to the pub and it turns out it’s way better than I thought it would be. I look forward to sitting behind a desk at the live tour ready to sign thousands of copies while people walk straight past me and go to the bar/ask Barry for a selfie.” Do you have any plans for a live show in the US? You’ll know better but I bet there’s a lot of listeners over here. Paul Barry: Of course everyone has the right to support their team, regardless of who owns it because fans have little or no say in who gets to be the custodian of the club they are emotionally invested in. What I find a bit disturbing is the large number of fans who seem happy to excuse, or even condone the often barbaric behaviour of their authoritarian owners for no other reason than that those people have invested money in their football club and might pay for an expensive striker. It’s possible to love the club while holding the owners in contempt, as Manchester United fans, among others, regularly demonstrate. Max: I find this such a difficult question to answer – and I wrestle with how much we cover it on the pod. I wonder if we’ve sometimes been tougher on Newcastle than Manchester City for example, perhaps as a result of not really understanding sportswashing in the early days when City were taken over (or the fact simply that the Newcastle takeover happened on my watch on the pod) – and then sometimes I think it’s really simple and we’re not tough enough.
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Max: I’m not sure it ever will. And I think a lot of people at the top of the game know that and take advantage of it. If we really care, we should all join the Football Supporters’ Association, and fight for things as a collective. Expect nonsense, trivia, filler, too much about The Mighty Cambridge United, not enough about [insert your club here], and very occasionally, an insightful remark. Think of this as the book you probably don’t need, but might as well buy anyway. Barry: Tony Cascarino’s autobiography, which he wrote with the help of the Irish journalist Paul Kimmage, is probably my favourite football book, although I’m sure if I ever get around to reading any of the books written by my friend and colleague Jonathan Wilson, I might enjoy them too. As far as non-football books are concerned, I like a good murder of the kind written by the Scottish authors Ian Rankin or Val McDermid. I think the genre is called Tartan Noir. Val is, or used to be, on the board of Raith Rovers. I’ve just moved to London from Dublin. Which pubs do you recommend to watch football in? I’m living out west but happy to travel further, especially when meeting friends. Robert WalshMax Rushden: “I wasn't sure this book was going to be any good, but I didn't want to not be involved in case it was.” Photograph: Supplied by the Guardian. This is a question for Barry. When footballers spend a night or two in a hotel room, twin sharing, is it acceptable behaviour for a third footballer to arrive, a tad merry, and commandeer one of the two beds? I ask, because this is exactly what you did to me on a stag weekend in Banagher in the mid-2000s. We acted like professionals and turfed you out. Liam Each show will feature the podcast’s unique take on the world of football, in addition to opportunities for the audience to get involved in the antics, special guests and stories too risky for the podcast.
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Can you remember the last time you presented the podcast together in the studio, and who were the esteemed guests? Could you ever foresee a return to the studio format or is Zoom just way too convenient? Gary Max: I would be dead after a week of living Barry’s life. But I would do it to see Baz making small talk at soft play about nap times before reaching under the pram to get the wet wipes and pulling out half an old banana and then being vomited on. The Football Weekly podcast is available to listen on the Guardian, Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all other podcast services.When will football price itself out of reach of the true fans who support and breathe the game every moment while financiers play with monopoly-type wages and transfer fees? Avi Max: Producer Joel and I spend about three minutes after the odd pod: we say the same names to each other and then try to remember people we haven’t asked for ages. The only thing we’ve consciously done in the last five years is get more women and greater diversity on the pod. We can always do better but I think we do a pretty good job of that. I don’t think there’s a better variety and quality of panelists anywhere else across football broadcasting and it makes my life very easy. How do you marry the recent anti-gambling rhetoric in the paper and podcast with the constant talk about cheeky bets from Barry? Don’t you feel you should have also held your hands up as part of the problem? John Plus they’re joined by Wales' premier football fan Elis James in this pre-tournament extravaganza. Unfortunately for Lars Sivertsen Norway failed to qualify but it's always nice to have him around anyway.
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