I Had Trials Once...

About I Had Trials Once...

I Had Trials Once... is a weekly football podcast and YouTube show hosted by Gareth Seddon and Jordan Hulme, featuring a range of guests from Premier League to Non-League, sharing stories you are unlikely to hear elsewhere, talking through their unique careers and much more!

Publisher

I Had Trials Once...

Category

comedy · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Apr 2019

Latest episode

5 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

181 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Nov 2026

   Jay Rodriguez | "I'M OFFICIALLY RETIRED!" EXCLUSIVELY Confirms He's Hung Up His Boots!

   ay Rodriguez joins Gaz Seddon and Gary Stopforth to reflect on a career that took him from playing for Burnley as a nine-year-old to the Premier League, England and some of the biggest moments in English football. Jay discusses his time at Burnley, learning from Robbie Blake and Ade Akinbiyi, his move to Southampton, making his Premier League debut against Manchester City, scoring his first Premier League goal against Tottenham and representing England. He also opens up about the injuries that shaped his career, including a cruciate ligament injury and a serious infection that nearly cost him his leg. In an exclusive, Jay confirms his retirement from professional football. He also looks back on his time at Wrexham, working with Vincent Kompany and the people who influenced his career. Chapters 0:00 Intro 2:50 Introducing Jay Rodriguez 6:04 How Jay Rodriguez Knows Gary Stopforth 8:10 Jay Rodriguez Confirms He's Officially Retired 12:20 Meeting Ryan Reynolds and Jazzy Jeff at Wrexham 15:35 Football Is Ruthless: Phil Parkinson Under Pressure at Wrexham 20:00 Playing for Burnley as a Nine-Year-Old 27:04 Learning From Robbie Blake and Ade Akinbiyi 32:35 Joining Stirling Albion on Loan and Facing Celtic 36:40 Breaking His Ankle at 19 41:00 Advice for Young Footballers Dealing With Managers 46:10 Joining Southampton From Burnley 48:36 Making His Premier League Debut Against Manchester City 51:00 First Premier League Goal Against Tottenham 55:46 Making His England Debut Against Chile 1:02:20 Cruciate Ligament Injury and Missing the World Cup 1:05:33 Recovering From a Cruciate Ligament Injury and Infection 1:09:00 Moving to West Bromwich Albion 1:13:20 Returning to Burnley 1:17:20 Winning Promotion to the Premier League With Vincent Kompany 1:22:10 Finishing His Career at Wrexham 1:22:24 Quickfire Questions 1:35:46 Outro 👋 Got someone you'd love to see on the podcast? Drop us a message on any of our socials or let us know in the comments. 👌 If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you Like, Comment & Subscribe, and turn notifications on so you never miss a new episode. 👀 Join I Had Trials Once on Patreon for just £3 a month for more exclusive, unfiltered content that we simply cannot get away with on YouTube 👉 https://www.patreon.com/IHadTrialsOnce 🤔 Who should we get on next? Let us know in the comments! 😍 Connect with us: 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/ihadtrialsonce 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ihadtrialsonce ⏳ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ihadtrialsonce 🖥️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ihadtrialsoncepodcast ⚽ I Had Trials Once is the football podcast where the best stories from the game get told. Every week we sit down with former footballers, current players, managers, coaches, journalists and some of football's biggest personalities for honest conversations, hilarious dressing room stories, untold career moments and behind the scenes insight. 📈 From the Premier League and EFL to Non League, grassroots football and beyond, if you love football stories, football interviews and proper football banter, you're in the right place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2. 

   29 Oct 2026

   QUIT Football To Become an Actor in Emmerdale! Matty Mainwaring's BRUTALLY Unique Story

   Gaz Seddon and Gary Stopforth are joined by Matty Mainwaring, the former professional footballer who went on to become a professional boxer, model and actor. Matty looks back on his journey from Manchester United’s academy and Preston North End to Stockport County, a devastating broken leg and his eventual decision to walk away from football at 25. He also discusses modelling campaigns with Manuel Neuer, landing a role in Emmerdale, turning professional under boxing trainer Matthew Hatton, the injuries and setbacks that affected his fighting career, and his work as a physiotherapist. If you are affected by any of the topics discussed in this show, please reach out 24/7 - 0808 500 2222 0:00 Intro 1:44 Gary’s Dragon’s Den idea 5:12 Meet Matty Mainwaring 6:35 Life as a physiotherapist 12:28 Modelling & Emmerdale 21:03 Manchester United academy 23:09 Preston North End 31:31 Stockport County 46:10 The broken leg 52:36 Hull City & Stockport 1:00:12 Retiring from football 1:03:05 Turning to boxing 1:08:05 Becoming a professional boxer 1:10:07 Boxing injuries & setbacks 1:16:01 Walking away from boxing 1:20:11 Football & boxing memories 1:23:18 Outro 👋 Got someone you'd love to see on the podcast? Drop us a message on any of our socials or let us know in the comments. 👌 If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you Like, Comment & Subscribe, and turn notifications on so you never miss a new episode. 👀 Join I Had Trials Once on Patreon for just £3 a month for more exclusive, unfiltered content that we simply cannot get away with on YouTube 👉 https://www.patreon.com/IHadTrialsOnce 👏 A massive thanks to CAPO for sponsoring this week's episode. 👔 Check them out: https://capouk.com/ 🤑 Use code IHADTRIALS at checkout to save 15%. 🤔 Who should we get on next? Let us know in the comments! 😍 Connect with us: 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/ihadtrialsonce 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ihadtrialsonce ⏳ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ihadtrialsonce 🖥️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ihadtrialsoncepodcast ⚽ I Had Trials Once is the football podcast where the best stories from the game get told. Every week we sit down with former footballers, current players, managers, coaches, journalists and some of football's biggest personalities for honest conversations, hilarious dressing room stories, untold career moments and behind the scenes insight. 📈 From the Premier League and EFL to Non League, grassroots football and beyond, if you love football stories, football interviews and proper football banter, you're in the right place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3. 

   22 Oct 2026

   A Non-League Club Just Won £1 MILLION! & Ranking the BEST Types of Goals…

   We're back with another exclusive episode of A (Non) League Of Their Own! Join us every month where we discuss the best Non-League stories from up & down the country, from The National League to The Dog & Duck & everything in between. This week we were joined by Seds, G Stop and Shents as we discussed everything from ranking perfect goals to answering hypothetical questions. 👋 Got someone you'd love to see on the podcast? Drop us a message on any of our socials or let us know in the comments. 👌 If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you Like, Comment & Subscribe, and turn notifications on so you never miss a new episode. 👀 Join I Had Trials Once on Patreon for just £3 a month for more exclusive, unfiltered content that we simply cannot get away with on YouTube 👉 https://www.patreon.com/IHadTrialsOnce 👏 A massive thanks to CAPO for sponsoring this week's episode. 👔 Check them out: https://capouk.com/ 🤑 Use code IHADTRIALS at checkout to save 15%. 🤔 Who should we get on next? Let us know in the comments! 😍 Connect with us: 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/ihadtrialsonce 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ihadtrialsonce ⏳ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ihadtrialsonce 🖥️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ihadtrialsoncepodcast ⚽ I Had Trials Once is the football podcast where the best stories from the game get told. Every week we sit down with former footballers, current players, managers, coaches, journalists and some of football's biggest personalities for honest conversations, hilarious dressing room stories, untold career moments and behind the scenes insight. 📈 From the Premier League and EFL to Non League, grassroots football and beyond, if you love football stories, football interviews and proper football banter, you're in the right place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

8,622,492

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

198 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100

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

Quality

81

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

67

Contact I Had Trials Once...

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

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Questions about I Had Trials Once...