Football Ruined My Life

About Football Ruined My Life

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 footballruinedmylife@gmail.com

Publisher

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

Category

sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Feb 2023

Latest episode

16 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

157 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Oct 2026

   154. Leeds United’s Implosion

   In this episode Colin Shindler and Jon Holmes talk to the author Dave Tomlinson about his book Doing A Leeds. Even by the standards of traditional football chaos, what happened to Leeds United between 1996 and 2005 constituted a financial, football and psychological roller coaster. The Elland Road club ascended at breathtaking pace to the Champions League semi-finals and plunged almost immediately into a nightmare of bankruptcy, relegation and a fire sale of the outstanding players who had got them onto the top table of Premier League and European football. David O’Leary seemed to be the manager of the future, he and chairman Peter Ridsdale forming a winning team before the latter abruptly sacked the former and was then ejected from the board he had been running. Plenty for both panel and listeners to get stuck into – like a Norman Hunter tackle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2. 

   9 Oct 2026

   153. The One With Paddy Barclay – The Nations League

   Since we’ve had two weeks off from the Premier League (and the Championship) in order to wallow in beating up Croatia and the Czech Republic as well as losing (as is our tradition) to Spain, we thought you might like to hear again the familiar, engaging voice of Patrick Barclay who took strong exception to Jon Holmes and Colin Shindler as they dismissed the Nations League as a sop to the demands of television and the financial greed of UEFA. Listen to Paddy as he berates the other two who are nostalgic for the old Home Internationals when England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland played with themselves. One side sees a desperation of the television companies and UEFA to ensure that no summer passes without an international tournament, leading to player burnout and spectator indifference. The other side sees a sensible arrangement that abolishes pointless friendlies, gives every match a purpose and ensures that the weaker sides play each other and are not just cannon fodder for the big boys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3. 

   2 Oct 2026

   152. Never Go Back

   In this edition, Colin Shindler, Jon Holmes and Jimmy Mulville are talking about one particular phrase and its meaning within football. Never Go Back is a particularly poignant phrase for two of the panel when it’s used to refer to two of their heroes - Malcolm Allison and Howard Kendall. The other name which crops up immediately in the conversation is Kevin Keegan who went back to Newcastle when it was owned by Mike Ashley and left quickly when he realised that it wasn’t the same club he had managed a decade earlier under the more benevolent patronage of Sir John Hall. It applies to players too – players who had achieved great things at one club return to the same place at the end of their careers to find they simply cannot reproduce the magic of those early years. For Colin the phrase also evokes the sad memory of his old City hero Francis Lee returning to Maine Road with the club in the doldrums in the 1990s only to be driven from the chairman’s office by the fury and yes, the hatred of those supporters who had once been his greatest fans. All supporters will have their own nominations for this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who has been a guest on Football Ruined My Life

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Andy Hamilton
• Omid Djalili
• Jim White

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

4.3 / 5

46 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

83

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

Contact Football Ruined My Life

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Football Ruined My Life