A football podcast that doesn't leave politics at the turnstile, hosted by Juliet Jacques and Tom Williams, with theme music by Matt Huxley, and produced by Oliver Kealey. Generously supported by the Lipman-Miliband Trust at https://www.lipman-miliband.org.uk. Support us and access extra episodes via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/ProRevolutionSoccer, and follow us on BlueSky at prorevsoccer.bsky.social.
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Football for All: An interview with Ben & Jeremy Corbyn
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 ⢠Duration 01:16:10
Tom and Juliet talk to former Labour Party leader and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn and his son Ben about their relationship with football â in Benâs case as a coach, in Jeremyâs as a local and national politician, and in both cases as Arsenal fans and football enthusiasts. Why should people on the left care about football, and the grass roots in particular? What are the challenges facing youth football, and how can community organising and other political action overcome them? Who won when Militant played Labour Briefing in the 1980s, and does Jeremy own any Football Casual gear? Find out about all this and more in our wide-ranging conversation â and subscribe for bonus episodes at https://www.patreon.com/c/ProRevolutionSoccer.
Recorded by Ilia Rogatchevski at the Resonance 104.4fm in London, and produced by Oliver Kealey.
PREVIEW: 21st Century Boys: English football in the 2000s
Sunday, April 13, 2025 ⢠Duration 08:52
In this preview of the latest bonus episode of Pro Revolution Soccer about the various culture clashes as English football changed in the 2000s, Tom, Juliet and guest Joe Kennedy (author of Games Without Frontiers and Authentocrats) consider the pivotal figure of 'Big' Sam Allardyce, who went from managing Blackpool in the mid-90s to negotiating deals with a 'fake Sheikh' over a pint of wine in a Chinese restaurant as England manager, twenty years later. What impact did Big Sam's persona and footballing style (and especially his Bolton Wanderers team) have on English football? How much did he feed into changes that have apparently professionalised the Premier League, making it far less personality-driven?
Hear the whole episode by subscribing at https://www.patreon.com/c/ProRevolutionSoccer/ for as little as ÂŁ3.50 per month.
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Football and Identity Politics
Thursday, March 20, 2025 ⢠Duration 01:12:01
In this monthâs free episode, Juliet and Tom talk to David Wearing, author of AngloArabia: Why Gulf Wealth Matters to Britain and assistant professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex, about the vexed issue of identity politics as it relates to football, including the Gulf statesâ involvement with the sport. We talked about the absurdity and hypocrisy of the demand to âKeep Politics Out of Footballâ, how football is structured upon âidentity politicsâ of region and nation, the importance of symbolism, some histories of racism, homophobia and sexism in football and the successes and failures of attempts to combat them.
In News, we talked about Manchester Unitedâs ludicrously on-the-nose dystopian circus tent and how Profit and Sustainability Rules might usher in another wave of new super-stadia, and congratulated Saudi Arabiaâs Public Investment Fund on accruing their first trophy.
In our football weekends, David lamented Charlton Athleticâs ongoing misfortunes, Juliet went to Rapid Vienna and saw a fox delay the kick-off at Tranmere Rovers, while Tom saw his son score five goals across two Under-8 and Under-9 matches rather than watching Southampton.
Read Tom in this monthâs edition of When Saturday Comes: https://www.wsc.co.uk/shop/wsc-452/
Subscribe to us on Patreon for ÂŁ3.50 to get an extra episode every month: https://www.patreon.com/c/ProRevolutionSoccer
PREVIEW: Bring Yer Dinner: English football and the media since the 1980s
Thursday, February 20, 2025 ⢠Duration 08:14
In this preview of our latest subscriber-only episode, Tom, Juliet and guest Kat Sinclair talk to Guardian and When Saturday Comes journalist, and former Orienteer fanzine editor Tom Davies about Leyton Orient manager John Sitton's infamous (and unintentionally hilarious) half-time rant in the BBC documentary Orient: Club for a Fiver (1995).
To hear the rest of the episode, in which we discuss hauntology, 1985 as a pivotal year for English football culture, the influence of When Saturday Comes (the magazine, not the Sean Bean film) and more, subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/c/ProRevolutionSoccer.
Has Jon Mackenzie ruined football? (An interview with Jon Mackenzie)
Sunday, February 9, 2025 ⢠Duration 01:16:50
This week, Jon Mackenzie of Tifo Football joins Tom and Juliet to indulge in some Maoist self-criticism, or at least to talk about the tactical development of football over the last twenty years, its increasing use of data and the rise of media platforms that provide complex analysis of top-level matches and clubs. They discuss the demystification of football with relation to thinkers from Gramsci to Hegel, the current media environment around the sport and how Tifo feed into it, the role of imperialism in the spread of football, and what might be the next big tactical innovations as Guardiolaâs Manchester City falter.
Jon and Juliet also discuss watching football abroad, from Freiburg to Northern Cyprus, the insights it offers into different cultures and politics, and the surprising opportunity it sometimes provides to see one-time Premier League stars again.
In the News, we look at UEFAâs decision to award the 2027 under-21 European Championship to a joint bid between Albania and Serbia, and Crawley Town getting accused of violating the Modern Slavery Act. Meanwhile, in our football weekends, Tom talks about his Under-8s team getting promoted and having to learn the harsh realities of playing at a higher level, Juliet describes Norwichâs resurgent form in the absence of âthe most talented six-year-old youâve ever seenâ, and Jon talks about going to the Emirates Stadium to analyse Arsenalâs thumping victory over Manchester City.
PREVIEW: Italia '90: Football of the Future
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 ⢠Duration 07:52
In this preview of our subscriber-only episode Italia '90: Football of the Future, Tom, Juliet and guest Keir Milburn discuss the media coverage of England and how it changed during their surprising run to the semi-final, and how this, combined with the authoritiesâ handling of the teamâs travelling supporters after years of hooliganism and the disasters at Bradford, Heysel and Hillsborough between 1985 and 1989, won a new generation of middle-class fans over to football. They look at how good England actually were (and often werenât), how commentators described their quarter-final opponents Cameroon, how the tournament ushered in the Premier League and Sky TV age, and suggest a hauntological reading of Italia â90 in which football did not become fully neoliberalised â especially if the Soviet Unionâs bid to stage the World Cup had been chosen instead.
For the full episode - and a bonus episode every month - head to https://www.patreon.com/c/ProRevolutionSoccer/posts and subscribe for ÂŁ3.50 per month.
Produced by Oliver Kealey with music by Matt Huxley. Made possible with the generous support of the Lipman-Miliband Trust.
PREVIEW: News (from Italy 1990: Football of the Future)
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 ⢠Duration 10:05
In our first ever preview of a subscriber-only episode, we're treating you to our regular News section, taken from 'Italy 1990: Football of the Future', recorded in January 2025. Here, Tom, Juliet and guest Keir Miburn discuss some of football's silliest buggers: Elon Musk's desire to buy Liverpool FC and Reds' fans creative responses; David Beckham's frustration at *still* not receiving a knighthood; Lazio's problems with their mascot, and what all this tells us about 21st century oligarchs and contemporary fascism.
Out on the Left: Why do we need a socialist analysis of football?
Thursday, January 9, 2025 ⢠Duration 59:13
In this first episode of the new, regular series of Pro Revolution Soccer, we â Tom and Juliet â ask ourselves why we still feel such attachment to football despite our disenchantment with the sport, its governance and finances under late capitalism. We look at how the influx of money has fed into a search for perfection in tactics and refereeing that, combined with FIFA and UEFAâs shameless greed and corruption, has made elite football increasingly joyless for fans and participants alike. Was Rodri â this yearâs Ballon dâOr winner â right to suggest high-level players could go on strike against the number of games in the calendar, including FIFAâs new World Club Cup? Might we be able to organise top footballers to left-wing ends? How has the Professional Footballersâ Association, and attitudes of players, changed since George Eastham led the charge against the maximum wage in the early 1960s, when even international stars took summer jobs? Why was the Against Modern Football movement insufficient in mobilising people against the distortions and alienation caused by money, and especially by different forms of modern media?
In the News section, we discuss the cancellation of Lorton Entertainmentâs documentary on Wayne Rooneyâs management of Plymouth Argyle after the Championship strugglers parted ways with him. We also reflect on the sad life of Russiaâs Euro 2004 defender Aleksei Bugayev, whose alcoholism destroyed his career and led him into drug distribution, and his recent death after Putin offered prisoners an amnesty if they fought in Ukraine. We also start our segment on our own recent engagements with the sport by talking about Tom coaching youth football, and Julietâs love of Christmas holiday matches, including Norwich Cityâs 2-1 win that inspired Tom to ask what Frank Lampard might be doing if he were not in charge of Frank Lampardâs Coventry City.
Subscribe to the podcast via Patreon to get a monthly bonus episode for ÂŁ3 a month, and follow us at @prorevsoccer.bsky.social on BlueSky for new episodes and updates.
