Across The Pitch
341 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAcross The Pitch began in the summer of 2018, when Phil Kennedy and Arran Airs embarked upon an idea to start a podcast to teach fans in the United States about the deeper levels of English football, beyond the Premier League. Although Phil and Arran both grew to love football rooting for Arsenal F.C., they began to grow a passion for the grassroots of the game after they started regularly attending games for their hometown. USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC. Inspired by the story of "The Team That Wouldn't Die", they decided to make Accrington Stanley their flagship club, and in November of 2018, they recorded and released their first episode.
Things quickly took off for them when Accy midfielder Scott Brown agreed to come on the show, for what was just their second episode. By episode 10, they had added Matt Robards to the fold, and ever since the community, and scope of Across The Pitch has continued to grow. This includes Accrington natives Darren Woodhead and Tony Robinson joining the team, and expanding to another continent when Abdulai Suburu founded our partner site Ghana Football News. Moving into 2020, we are going to be bringing even more in depth coverage of the EFL pyramid, the USL and MLS, and of course our favorite teams Accrington Stanley and Phoenix Rising.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Special Edition: Arsenal vs Manchester City FA Cup Recap
July 18, 2020 21:43 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBPhil and Arran do an immediate post game reaction to Arsenal's upset win over Manchester City to advance to the final round of the 2020 FA Cup. They discuss what Mikel Arteta did tactically, the impact of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emilano Martinez, and look ahead to facing the winner of Manchester United vs Chelsea in the final round.
Episode 148: King James Of Accrington
July 18, 2020 06:18 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBPhil and Darren speak with Accrington Stanley legend Lutel James about his career with the club that included over 80 goals, 36 of which came in the 2002-2003 promotion season. They also discuss his current work in the youth soccer community, listener questions, rapid fire, and more! (Note: We apologize as we struggled with a poor connection during recording that resulted in poor sound quality in parts of this episode)
Episode 147: Burn One Down
July 17, 2020 00:23 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MBPhil talks to Tony about July Team Of The Month Burnley, regarding the history of the club, including the origin of the Claret kits and nickname, the club's success in the 1950's-1960's, and their return to the Premier League in the past decade.
Episode 146: A Rising Return
July 15, 2020 08:33 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBPhil, Arran, and Matt recap Phoenix Rising's return match against LA Galaxy II, preview their upcoming game against Orange County, look at other teams they will be facing in Group B, discuss different lineup options for coach Rick Schantz, and a further look at Arran's road trip to USL stadiums.
Episode 145: VAR - What Is It Good For?
July 14, 2020 01:37 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBPhil and Tony have and in depth debate about Video Assistant Referee in the Premier League, what they think has gone wrong in its first year of implementation, what types of calls are causing the most issues, and ideas to make the system better.
Episode 144: From Accy To Spain
July 11, 2020 23:04 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBPhil and Darren speak with prolific goal scorer Gary Williams who played 2 stints with Accrington Stanley including the 99-00 promotion team, also played in the U.S. and currently resides in Spain.
Episode 143: The Ilias Chair Show
July 08, 2020 20:23 - 1 hour - 63.5 MBPhil speaks with Jonny Hibberd in the final part of our special series on Stevenage F.C. with a look at the years 2010-2020, in depth on key figures Dino Maamria and Ilias Chair, plus a few digressions.
Episode 142: A Cracker Of A Goal At Morecambe Bay
June 30, 2020 23:38 - 46 minutes - 63.7 MBPhil and Darren talk to Ian Craney, who spent 5 different stints at Accrington Stanley, played part in the club's promotion from the Conference, scored a total of 22 goals and 20 assists in League 2 play for the club, and also played for Altrincham, Swansea City, Morecambe, and Huddersfield Town among others.
Episode 141: From Bristol To Accy
June 25, 2020 23:37 - 51 minutes - 70.7 MBPhil and Tony speak with WHAM Stadium PA Announcer Josh Adcroft about his unique journey from the south of England to Lancashire, the ins and outs of public address announcing, Accrington's new Club 1968, and more.
Special Edition: Belarus Week 13 Review/Week 14 Preview
June 19, 2020 02:23 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBPhil speaks with Jonathan Hibberd and Ed Zelaski about Week 13 results in the Belarus Premier League including the big match between BATE and Shakhtyor, and a look ahead to Week 14 matches, plus an announcement of Isloch's new stadium.
Episode 140: Fond Memories Of Mitchell Cole
June 16, 2020 05:22 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBPhil speaks with Jonny Hibberd about the current potential relegation situation that Stevenage faces due to the cancelation of the League Two season. Jonny also talks about important matches from 2002-2010 including "The Mitchell Cole Game" and a heartbreaking 119th minute loss to Cambridge United.
Episode 139: Berning Down The House
June 15, 2020 05:09 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBPhil and Darren speak with Bernie Hughes, who played forward for Accrington Stanley in the early 1990's. They talk about what it was like playing for Accy in the non-league days, including promotions, important Cup matches, and more.
Episode 138: Accy Red Ultras
June 13, 2020 23:54 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBPhil and Tony speak with Jason Graham who has been at the forefront of the Stanley Ultras for nearly 2 decades. They talk about what it's like in The Clayton End on match days, favorite matches, things the group is doing in the community, and more!
Episode 137: Banarama Split
June 10, 2020 05:20 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBPhil, Darren, and Tony sit down for an at times heated debate over a proposed plan to combine EFL League Two with the Vanarama National League, and then split them into a North and South divisions.
Episode 136 Part 2: Macaroni And Cheesed Off
June 10, 2020 02:37 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBPhil, Arran, and Matt each pick the 2 most disappointing matches that they have watched involving their favorite clubs. In Part 2 Arran and Matt discuss their most disappointing matches involving Arsenal and Chelsea respectively, while Phil talks about his other most disappointing Phoenix Rising match.
Episode 136 Part 1: Macaroni And Cheesed Off
June 09, 2020 23:47 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBPhil, Arran, and Matt each pick the 2 most disappointing matches that they have watched involving their favorite clubs. In Part 1 Arran and Matt discuss their most disappointing matches with the Australian and U.S. National Team's respectively, while Phil talks about his most disappointing Phoenix Rising match.
Episode 135: Let's Cav It!
June 05, 2020 23:30 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MBPhil and Darren speak with retired Accrington Stanley captain Peter Cavanagh, who played well over 200 games with the club, saw 2 promotions, and also played with the Liverpool Academy, Rochdale, Fleetwood, Altrincham, and now coaches at Everton Academy.
Special Edition: Belarus Week 9/10 Review/Week 11 Preview
June 03, 2020 23:15 - 34 minutes - 31.1 MBPhil and Jonny Hibberd of FC Isloch ENG chat about Week 9/10 results around the Belarusian Premier League, look at Week 11 match ups, and discuss a variety of other news.
Episode 134: Hart Scratch Fever
May 28, 2020 23:33 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBPhil speaks with Jonny Hibberd in the second of our series of episodes about our Team Of The Month Stevenage. In this episode they go deeper into the club's history in the 1990's and early 2000's, discuss cup runs and key matches from that era, and do a deep dive on the rivalry with Woking.
Episode 133: 99 Digressions
May 23, 2020 22:39 - 53 minutes - 49 MBPhil, Arran, and Matt cover a wide range of topics including preference for watching Bundesliga or Belarus Premier League, the demolition of iconic stadiums like San Siro, a ridiculous Tweet made by the MLS, whether or not the USL can financial survive playing in empty stadiums, a shout out to PRFC fan show, and more!
Episode 132: Memories Of Peel Park
May 22, 2020 18:46 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MBPhil and Darren speak with Russ Cuddihy, who played for Accrington Stanley back in the Peel Park era. Russ talks about what is was like playing for Accrington in the 1960's and also a bit about his love of cricket, and one time when he played goalkeeper.
Episode 131: 40,000 Minutes On The Pitch
May 22, 2020 03:02 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBPhil and Darren talk to current Port Vale and former Accrington Stanley midfielder Luke Joyce about his lengthy playing career that includes over 500 league matches, 6 full seasons at Accy, and stops at Carlisle, Barrow, and Northwich Victoria.
Episode 130: Home Of The Whopper
May 21, 2020 02:14 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBPhil is joined by Stevenage supporter Jonny Hibberd in the first of a series of interviews we are doing for our May Team Of The Month. In this episode they discuss the club's history and do a deep dive on what has lead to their current position at the bottom of the League 2 table.
Episode 129: Extended Fire
May 20, 2020 05:25 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBPhil and Tony sit down to chat about Accrington Stanley, Tony answers a round of his own rapid fire questions, plus a list of questions sent in by Gary in Lancashire.
Episode 128: Here Comes The Hammers
May 19, 2020 05:01 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBPhil speaks with Ajaasuma, Ghanaian Hammers founder and contributor to our partner site GhanaFootballNews.com about the fan club and challenges of supporting an English club from Ghana, the current state of West Ham on the pitch, the future of Declan Rice, and more.
Episode 127 Part 2: Doolan Banjos
May 19, 2020 02:55 - 57 minutes - 79.6 MBPhil and Tony speak with Accrington Stanley first team coach and retired player John Doolan about his coaching career before Accy and particularly his time with Wigan, his roles and duties with the club including the nuances of substitutions, the 2018 League 2 championship and more in Part 2.
Episode 127 Part 1: Doolan Banjos
May 17, 2020 19:23 - 35 minutes - 48.6 MBPhil and Tony speak with Accrington Stanley first team coach and retired player John Doolan. They talk about his early days in Liverpool, his playing career, how he got started in coaching, plus rapid fire in Part 1 of 2.
Episode126 Part 2: Everything You Never Wanted To Know
May 17, 2020 00:09 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBPhil, Arran, and Matt answer listener questions including the distance between Phoenix and Accrington by Edward Cunningham, small teams playing without crowds by Matt M, Harry and Ross, several questions from Gary in Lancashire, and favorite guests by Kevin Gates in Part 2.
Episode126 Part 1: Everything You Never Wanted To Know
May 15, 2020 07:51 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBPhil, Arran, and Matt answer listener questions including one about the EFL from Ben WIld, and then a series of questions from Peter Leatham about how the hosts came to support their favorite clubs in Part 1 of 2.
Special Edition: Belarus Week 8 Review/Week 9 Preview
May 15, 2020 00:24 - 25 minutes - 22.9 MBPhil and Jonny Hibberd of FC Isloch ENG chat about Week 8 results around the Belarusian Premier League, BREAKING NEWS on postponed matches plus look forward to Week 9.
Episode 125: What Should And What Is Never Be
May 10, 2020 22:45 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBPhil and Matt speak with Jonathan and Luis of the Sactown FC Podcast about what they think would have happened in key matches for Phoenix Rising and Sacramento Republic so far this season if all scheduled games had been played, and a hypothetical match preview of the postponed May 16th match between the 2 clubs.
Special Edition: Belarus Week 7 Review/Week 8 Preview
May 08, 2020 21:25 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBPhil and Jonny Hibberd of FC Isloch ENG chat about Week 7 results all around the Belarusian Premier League, a look forward to what is scheduled in Week 8, and a tangent on the hardest drinking countries.
Episode 124 Part 3: Coleman: A Stanley Story
May 08, 2020 18:54 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBPhil and Tony talk with Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman about his time managing Accrington and go in depth on 3 of 4 promotion seasons, plus bits about his stints with Rochdale and SLIGO Rovers in Part 3 of 3.
Episode 124 Part 2: Coleman: A Stanley Story
May 07, 2020 18:54 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBPhil and Tony talk with Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman in a full episode of fan and listener questions, plus rapid fire, and a few special Star Wars Day themed questions in Part 2 of 3.
Episode 124 Part 1: Coleman: A Stanley Story
May 06, 2020 19:53 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBIn our Season 2 Final, Phil and Tony talk with Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman about his early life in Liverpool, first teaming up with Jimmy Bell, making his way to Accy, and a bit about his first promotion season with Stanley in Part 1 of 3.
Episode 123 Part 2: The Rise Of Sky Blue Walker
May 03, 2020 01:02 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBPhil and Tony speak with Man City Blogger David Walker of ReadButNeverRed.com about Accrington Stanley Supporters Trust Chairman, and Mr. Everything Peter Leatham, plus the WHAM Stadium match day experience, rapid fire, and more in Part 2 of 2.
Episode 123 Part 1: The Rise Of Sky Blue Walker
May 02, 2020 06:32 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBPhil and Tony speak with Man City Blogger David Walker of ReadButNeverRed.com about the differences and similarities between one of the largest clubs in the world, Manchester City and one of the smallest, Accrington Stanley, comparing and contrasting John Coleman and Pep Guardiola, and even what Andy Holt has in common with 30 Rock character Jack Donaghy in Part 1 of 2.
Episode 121 Part 2: Axeman Lowey
May 02, 2020 02:42 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBPhil and Darren speak with Accrington Stanley lifetime season ticket holder since the 1980's Stephen Lowe of BBC Lancashire about his favorite away days while following Stanley, the Car Bar, listener questions, and more in Part 2 of 2.
Special Edition: Belarus Week 6 Review/Week 7 Preview
May 01, 2020 21:39 - 27 minutes - 25 MBPhil and Jonny Hibberd of FC Isloch ENG chat about Week 6 results all around the Belarusian Premier League and also some exciting recent Cup matches, plus look forward to what is scheduled in Week 7.
Episode 122: Rambo
May 01, 2020 05:32 - 54 minutes - 50 MBPhil and Matt speak with Peter Ramage, current Phoenix Rising coach who also played for the club before joining the coaching staff. They discuss his career in England, including playing in the Premier League for Newcastle and going through their academy, plus stops at QPR, Crystal Palace, Barnsley, and even India.
Episode 121 Part 1: Axeman Lowey
May 01, 2020 02:29 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBPhil and Darren speak with Accrington Stanley lifetime season ticket holder Stephen Lowe, who has been attending Stanley matches since the early 1980's about the experience of following the team in the "Non League Days", Lowey's Party Bus, rapid fire, and more in Part 1 of 2.
Special Edition: Brighton Worst Signings 2010-2020
April 29, 2020 05:01 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBPhil and Ross speak with Brighton & Hove Albion "super fan" Andy Bajaña regarding Brighton's worst 2 signings from 2010-2020. Part 13 in this series.
Special Edition: Newcastle Worst Signings 2010-2020
April 28, 2020 23:43 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBPhil and Ross speak with lifelong Newcastle United "super fan" and voice of Accrington Stanley iFollow Ben Wild, regarding Newcastle's worst 2 signings from 2010-2020. Part 12 in this series.
Episode 120: Sur Stanley Sur
April 27, 2020 23:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBPhil and Tony speak with Olivier and Donatien of Accrington France in the first ever International Accy Supporters Clubs virtual meet up, and discuss the similarities and differences between supporting the club from France and North America.
Special Edition: West Ham Worst Signings 2010-2020
April 27, 2020 03:43 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBPhil and Ross speak with 35 year West Ham "super fan" Rob Nathan, regarding The Hammers worst 2 signings from 2010-2020. Part 11 in this series.
Episode 119 Part 2: Straight Outta Upper West
April 26, 2020 07:25 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBPhil speaks with Abdulai Suburu of partner site ghanafootballnews.com about the current situation with his beloved Liverpool, in depth statistics and results from Ghana Premier League, and why he believes that Solomon Asante is a player who could benefit the Ghana National Team in Part 2.
Episode 118 Part 2: Rock The Bell
April 25, 2020 22:49 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBPhil and Darren speak with Accrington Stanley coach Jimmy Bell about the 2018 League Two title, what it means to the club to remain in League One each year, players past and present that he has coached with the club, listener questions, rapid fire, and what goals he has for the future in Part 2.
Special Edition: Arsenal Worst Signings 2010-2020
April 25, 2020 07:56 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBPhil and Matt speak with Arsenal "super fan" and co-host of Across The Pitch Arran Airs, regarding The Gunners worst 2 signings from 2010-2020. Phil pulls out his moderators challenge, which turns into a classic heated debate! Part 10 in this series.
Episode 119 Part 1: Straight Outta Upper West
April 25, 2020 02:12 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBPhil speaks with Abdulai Suburu of partner site ghanafootballnews.com about the current status of the Ghana Premier League, the state of football in the Upper West after the departure of Wa All-Stars, and the founding of Accrington Ghana in Part 1.
Special Edition: Belarus Week 5 Review/Week 6 Preview
April 24, 2020 23:47 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBPhil and Jonny Hibberd of FC Isloch ENG chat about Week 5 results all around the Belarusian Premier League and look forward to what is scheduled in Week 6. They go further in depth into highlights and tactics then previous episodes, and even a reference to Dennis Rodman.