Phoenix Sport & Media Group are delighted to announce the launch of a new podcast with award-winning television presenter, Richard Lenton. It’s the first of a series of ambitious content creation projects that Phoenix are planning over the coming weeks and months.
Footballers’ Lives is a weekly series where Richard chats to famous former players for an in-depth but light-hearted look at their careers. Phoenix chairman Brian Deane is one of the star players to feature in the first season of the podcast, which kicks off with an engaging conversation with former Arsenal and Liverpool legend – and Phoenix Group ambassador – Michael Thomas.
“One of the reasons why I started out in journalism over 20 years ago is because I’m interested in people. Everyone has a story to tell, and fans are naturally intrigued by the lives of heroes such as Michael and Brian – lads who lived the kind of dreams that supporters around the world could only ever aspire to,” said Richard, the former editor of Football Punk magazine, who presented Premier League football out in Asia from 2011 until 2018.
“During lockdown, when most people have had extra time on their hands, I took the opportunity to dust off my microphone and get in touch with players who I’d kept in contact with over the years. I’m really looking forward to speaking to Andy Cole, Danny Murphy, Craig Short, Tommy Johnson, Rod Wallace, Manu Petit, Sean Davis and others in the coming weeks.
“Footballers get such undeserved negativity in the mainstream media and on sites like Twitter, but, in two decades in and around the game, I can honestly say that I’ve never met a player who I think is a bad person, and I rarely meet any who fit what the media likes to portray as the footballing stereotype.
“Some of the other football podcasts out there, no disrespect, are a bit too laddish, but these guys have had wonderful careers which deserve an in-depth but engaging examination.”