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We're Ryan, Dan, and Ant, three 20 something lads, from Birkenhead, who love football. 24% of women and 13% of men in England are diagnosed with depression in their lifetime. But men are three times more likely to die from suicide than women. We wanted to know why. Join us every Monday and Friday as we speak to people from the wide world of football, all about Mental Health, in an attempt to learn more about it, and encourage men to feel more comfortable talking about their health and wellbeing, and attempt to remove the stigma that still surrounds the topic.
Episodes
Friday Nov 27, 2020
Friday Nov 27, 2020
During these episodes we will take a look back at examples of mental ill health in football from yesteryear.
"George inspired me when I was young. I actually think we were very similar players - dribblers who were able to create moments of magic."
Diego Maradona
It took George Best two separate attempts to finally convince himself to stay in Manchester as a homesick teenager. The Manchester United scout Bob Bishop told Matt Busby he had found himself a genius, he wasn't wrong.
Best would go on to become one of the most celebrated and enjoyed footballers of all time.
But off the field, an eccentric and expensive lifestyle was quickly becoming his primary focus, as George's addictions took over. Joined by Rob Blanchette of The Bleacher Report, and Barry Shmeizer, a Manchester United fan who met Best in his hometown of Johannesburg in 1974, we discuss Best the player, as well as his addictions and turbulent lifestyle.
In a world where mental health didn't exist, his lifestyle was the source of judgement, derision and amusement. What have we learnt from George Best? If anything.
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Episode 33
Loving the game for what it is, rather than what it can give you.
Pete Lowe worked as a youth coach for Manchester City for over a decade, helping to develop players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton, Micah Richards, Michael Johnson and Phil Foden.
During that time, he learnt an enormous amount about some of the problems football has with player welfare and wellbeing within an academy setting. We discuss the good and the bad about that environment, and why so many players come out of the game to such difficulties.
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
Friday Dec 04, 2020
Friday Dec 04, 2020
Is football becoming a more LGBT+ friendly environment?
And what can we, as fans, do to help?
A study by stonewall discovered that 72% of people who had attended a football match had witnessed some form of homophobic abuse. However, the same study revealed that the majority of those asked felt homophobia at football was a problem.
Abuse of any kind is unacceptable, abuse that is also a hate crime, even more so. I think the majority of football fans agree that racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, have no place in a modern day football ground.
However, the question often comes, what can we do to help? Particularly from heterosexual male fans, a demographic that make up the vast majority of football crowds. Unless you've been subject to discrimination, it's sometimes hard to understand the impact it can have on your mental health.
So, as three, straight, match going football fans, in our late 20's, we wanted to ask ourselves what we could do to help.
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Be Gamble Aware
0808 8020 133 for free
https://www.begambleaware.org/
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/
Monday Dec 07, 2020
Monday Dec 07, 2020
Episode 35
Being awoken from your childhood dreams; by the realities of adulthood.
At 14 years of age, Rhodri Jones signed schoolboy forms with his boyhood club, Manchester United. For most teenage boys, this would be a time of unbridled joy and excitement. But for Rhodri, a thoughtful and sensitive young man, his anxieties about what would be the biggest change to his life so far, were making him question what had always been his dream.
By the time he was 16, Rhodri had moved to Manchester and was playing as full time footballer at Manchester United. He was living in digs and working his way towards the United first team.
By age 20, Alex Ferguson, the man who had stood over his shoulder as he signed for United, told Rhodri he was being let go. Rhodri had suffered a number of serious knee injuries, and he had found himself now looking for a new club, and a new home.
Rhodri ended up at Rotherham, under the tutelage of Ronnie Moore. Despite getting himself to full fitness, his knee, and more increasingly his mental health wasn't right. Rhodri would spend less than a year at Millmoor before moving back home, eventually retiring at the age of 24.
We talk to Rhodri about his time at United, his move to Rotherham, and the final few difficult years of his football career.
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
Friday Dec 11, 2020
Friday Dec 11, 2020
During these episodes we will take a look back at examples of mental ill health in football from yesteryear.
Unless you're a Swansea City fan of a certain age, Alan Davies may be a name you're unfamiliar with. That may in part be due to the fact that he died in 1992, and played the majority of his football career in the fourth division.
It may come as some surprise that Alan Davies once set up two goals for Manchester United in an Fa Cup Final, and also scored against Juventus in a Cup Winners Cup Semi Final. Had his career not been hampered by injuries, he may have become a household name alongside his United teammates, that included Bryan Robson, Ray Wilkins and Norman Whiteside.
Sadly, this is not an episode about a long and storied career, at the top level of English football. Unfortunately, Alan's life ended when he was just 30, as he took his own life. Featuring journalist and author Oliver Kay, and Keith Haynes from the Swansea Independent, we take a look back at the man and the footballer, that was Alan Davies.
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Episode 36
Life After Professional Sport.
Robbie Simpson played over 500 games as a professional player, for clubs like Coventry City, Brentford, Oldham Athletic, Exeter City and MK Dons. However, it was his time at Cambridge United, in 2006, that has really shaped his life.
During the first year of his professional football career, Robbie was studying full time at Loughborough University. He had always been encouraged to continue to pursue education alongside football by his parents, ensuring he had other options should his football dreams not become reality.
Robbie realised that vast majority of his fellow footballers weren't in the same position he was, and that once their career came to an end, they would find themselves struggling to find work outside of the game.
So, he set up LAPS (Life After Professional Sport) to try and bridge that gap. LAPS are a careers platform that assists professional sports people to find vocation, once their sporting career is complete.
We speak to Robbie about his early career, juggling football and study, starting LAPS, and the vulnerabilities footballers have when their career ends.
If you want to find out more about LAPS, then head to https://www.laps.careers/ or find them on Twitter @LAPSCareers
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
Wednesday Dec 16, 2020
Wednesday Dec 16, 2020
Episode 37
There's only one Ernie Moss.
Ernie Moss played over 500 matches across three spells at his boyhood club, Chesterfield. During that time he scored just shy of 200 goals, and remains the clubs all time leading goalscorer.
In 2014, Ernie was diagnosed with Dementia, and has been cared for by his family ever since, as the debilitating disease has sadly taken hold. In this episode, we talk to Nikki Trueman, Ernie's daughter, about his career, his dementia, and the links between dementia and football.
Nikki, along with other footballer's children, such as Dawn Astle (Daughter of Jeff Astle) have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the propensity for footballers of a certain generation to develop early onset dementia, and demand further investigation and support from the various governing bodies.
This is an emotional, and informative discussion, with a Daughter, who loves and adores her Father.
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Jeff Astle Foundation
http://www.thejeffastlefoundation.co.uk/
Alzheimers Society
Call 0333 150 3456 for free
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/
Dementia UK
Call 0800 888 6678
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
Monday Dec 21, 2020
Monday Dec 21, 2020
Episode 38
Stamford Bridge, Sky Sports News and Scuba Therapy.
In October 1998, the landscape of sports broadcasting in the UK changed forever, with the arrival of the first 24 hour rolling sports news channel, Sky Sports News. Rob Wotton, one of the original presenters during the early days, still works as a presenter to this day.
Aside from being a mainstay of the UK's primary sports media outlet, Rob is also a registered scuba diving instructor, and possibly even more surprisingly, a counsellor with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Rob is also a life long Chelsea fan, but try not to hold that against him.
In our final interview of 2020, we discuss the early days of Sky Sports News, its impact on the football industry, Rob's role as a therapist, and his innovative alternative form of treatment, Scuba Therapy.
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
We will have one final special episode out on Christmas Day, we'll then be taking a break until mid January.
To everyone who has listened and supported the Man Marking podcast over the past eight months, we wanted to thank you. It means an awful lot that people are listening and engaging with something we're all incredibly passionate about. 2020 has been a truly awful year for everybody, but hopefully the podcast has been able to provide at least some comfort and entertainment during low and difficult moments.
Friday Dec 25, 2020
Friday Dec 25, 2020
Under Stahlhelms and Brodie Helmets
Merry Christmas!!
Our Christmas Special is set on Christmas Eve, a Grandson asks his beloved Grandad to tell him a story whilst they wait for dinner. Something a little different from the Man Marking Podcast for you to enjoy on the big day.
Have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Episode 39
The reality of fame, and making your parents proud.
If you are of a certain age, you will probably have first come across Rick Edwards on channels 4's T4, where he worked as a presenter alongside the likes of Jameela Jamil, Nick Grimshaw, and Matt Edmunson.
Following his four years on T4, Rick has presented a litany of TV and radio shows. Recently, Rick has co-hosted a podcast called Science(ish), with quantum physicist Dr. Michael Brooks, and has co-written two books of the same name.
In our first episode of 2021, we talk to Rick about his relationship with football, his life as a maths student at Cambridge University, learning the tools required to open up more, and the realities of fame.
You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads
If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:
Samaritans
Call 116 132 for free
Papyrus UK
Call 0800 068 41 41
CALM ZONE
0800 58 58 58
https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/