The podcast scene is booming and for some they have become the destination for football discourse. But increasingly would-be podders want to stand out from the crowd

During Brendan Rodgers’ final, full season in charge of Liverpool, a rumour did the rounds suggesting he had started listening to podcasts made by the club’s supporters. Results were going badly and as criticism of the manager and his players rose, Rodgers, it was said, became increasingly keen to know what those who watched the team week in, week out were thinking and so turned to the likes of Anfield Index and The Anfield Wrap to find out.

The rumour was never confirmed or denied but it is telling that it could be true – partly because Rodgers comes across as the type of man who would want to know what others think about him and partly because it reflects the growing strength and influence of football podcasts.

Once the domain of a small number of amateur broadcasters, podcasts are now, to borrow Chorley FM’s catchphrase, “coming in your ears” from a range of sources. Fans, former players, journalists and pundits are all getting in on the act and for an increasing number of people, ‘pods’ have become the destination for football discourse, which in turn has allowed some of those involved to turn what started out as a hobby into a full-time profession.

In part this reflects the boom of podcasts in general, fuelled by an improvement in the quality of available recording equipment as well as the ease with which people can, for free, download and listen to shows ranging from true-crime stories (Casefile) to the diary entry of a teenage girl growing up in a historic market town (Berkhamsted Revisited).

“The majority of our listeners come through iTunes and our listening figures continue to grow year on year,” says Jon Teague, executive producer of The Football Ramble, which started in 2007 and has gone on to become a well-established, twice-weekly show. “That growth is encouraging as the market is now incredibly saturated.”

“There wasn’t a scene to speak of in 2007; most people didn’t even know what a podcast was back then. And we had no specific purpose for starting the Ramble – we liked talking about football and having a laugh and thought it would be fun to combine the two.”

It is that sense of fun, emanating from the Ramble’s on-air team of Marcus Speller, Luke Moore, Jim Campbell and Pete Donaldson, which explains why it has thrived having been part of the initial wave of football podcasts that included the Guardian’s award-winning Football Weekly. Both proved football fans like listening to other football fans talk about football and thus inspired the creation of similar shows. Yet, as Teague has observed, there have been as many failures as successes.

“While the barriers to recording and releasing a podcast are pretty much non-existent, the barriers to producing listenable content and getting it discovered by an audience are significant,” he says. “If you’re looking to compete in a crowded marketplace, you need to make sure your offering is a compelling enough pitch. It’s not enough these days to sit a few heads in a room and have them talk football.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Efan Ekoku, left, in action for Norwich City during the 1993-1994 season. According to one Norwich fan who contacted the Quickly Kevin, Will He Score? podcast, the one-time striker has quite the sweet tooth. Photograph: AI Project/Action Images

The broad-ranging, talking-heads format remains popular, as seen by the popularity of podcasts such as Second Captains, but Teague is right in suggesting that with increased competition comes a greater need for ‘podders’ to nail down a niche. Hence the success of club-specific pods, such as AI and TAW, as well as those that tackle specific subjects, such as The No 1 Podcast, which focuses exclusively on goalkeeping.

Then there are podcasts which tap into people’s love of nostalgia, among the best examples of which right now is Quickly Kevin, Will He Score? Hosted by Chris Scull, Josh Widdicombe and Michael Marden, it provides a weekly reminder of football in the 1990s through a mix of interviews, discussions and correspondents. Highlights have included Paul Merson recounting the time Alexi Lalas sung to him in a hotel lobby and a Norwich fan emailing in to accuse Efan Ekoku of stealing his Drifter bar during a school trip to Carrow Road.

“Our audience has increased, on average, by 15% after every episode and one of the coolest moments was discovering someone in every country had listened to the show. Well, everywhere except in North Korea,” says Scull. “Football discussion has become increasingly analytical and what Quickly Kevin has shown is there is a group of people out there who have a real interest in the personalities that make up football; was a certain player good at school? Who did the manager tell that player to take out before a certain game? They want stories and the funnier and stranger they are, the better.”

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The idea of a sizeable audience preferring anecdotes over analysis is one Kait Borsay shares. Along with her fellow broadcaster Lynsey Hooper, she created The Offside Rule podcast in 2011 with the intention of “creating a space for women with a passion for, and insight into, football to discuss the sport”. They were soon joined by Sky Sports presenter Hayley McQueen and the trio are now focusing their attentions on what Borsay describes as “long-form, in-depth content”.

She adds: “We’ve loved sitting down with the likes of Joe Hart and Sven-Göran Eriksson and getting some amazing insight from them. For instance, Joe spoke to us about how he feels he’s been a failure with England, which was then picked up by nearly all of the major print and online outlets.

“Podcasts are undoubtedly becoming more popular. One of the reasons for this is because they can be listened to on the move - they’re convenient. But it also comes down to people having got fed up with the ‘snacky’ journalism they’ve increasingly been fed in recent years and wanting something more substantial and personal – podcasts provide that.”

Such has been the success of The Football Ramble and Quickly Kevin, helped to different degrees by the use of social media and advertising, that both have been able to expand and branch out. The Ramble produces its own merchandise and regularly holds live shows, which Scull, Widdicome and Marden have also begun to do, as well as entering into discussions with a production company regarding turning Quickly Kevin into a television show.

“I was a DJ at university and wanted to have a national radio show but it didn’t happen because of the various gatekeepers you have to go through, so it’s wonderful to live in a time when you can produce your own content,” says Scull. “In some ways I’ve helped create something which is better than radio – more intimate and more of a meritocracy. Anyone can do the same.”