Friday Freebie: What to listen to in 2024

A range of podcasts for all tastes when it comes to non-league football

Welcome to the Friday Freebie, this is the free post coming at you every Friday as a taster of what you can find behind the paywall. Please share these posts far and wide, there’s something for both paid and free subscribers to my site.

If you like what you see and enjoy what you read please consider becoming a paid subscriber for just £5 a month (£1.16 per week) which gets you 8 paid for blogs as a minimum and the 4 free ones also, not bad for your money!

Or if you prefer subscribe annually which works out cheaper at £4 a month or 93p a week, just an absolute bargain especially adding in the relaunched ‘Trev Talks’ podcast, no price rises, no inflation, just great non-league content.

As we enter a new year and people look to change or try something new I thought it’s high time to give you an insight into the podcasts I listen to and sometimes get my ideas from for this Freebie and other pieces as well.

All through the week there are a great selection that cover a wide range of the non-league game and no doubt there are a lot more out there to be discovered.

The Non League Show hosted by Tim Fuell I’ve been listening to for a few years. If I’m correct here it launched Caroline Barker into the non-league spotlight in the mainstream and she now presents on Sky Sports.

The legendary Dave Anderson was a co-host until his return to the game at Barnet, he has yet to add to his appearance record and couple that with his experience within the game it’s no wonder it’s a sought after listen every Friday.

I’ve even had an appearance on it myself in 2022, making a change to be interviewed rather than being the interviewer but fantastic to be invited on to a podcast that dishes up so many differing interviews from across the game.

The next to feature is the Kent Non League Podcast presented by Jon Phipps and Matt Gerrard. Hailing from and living a good majority of my life in Kent it keeps me in touch with the goings on from the Garden of England and while social media brings you a lot there is always something you miss.

The work these two guys put in with their interviews (usually a minimum of two per episode) is genuinely fantastic, they don’t leave anything out and you can jump from Step 1 to 6 with a click of your fingers, they cover everything where a Kent club lives and breathes non-league football. You’ll find them generally on a Thursday but occasionally it’s a Wednesday or a Friday.

The next two under the microscope centre on the National League and one of the two take in the North and South divisions. And with that in mind we start with NL Fulltime.

Hosted by Aldershot fan Rob Worrall and joined regularly by Off The Line Blog’s Joe Pope they run through the weekend and midweek games across the three National League divisions occasionally punctuated with interviews from those within the divisions. This pod is usually out early in the week.

One of the newest pod’s on the airwaves this season has been Beyondt92, hosted by Boreham Wood players Jamal Fyfield and Femi Ilesanmi. The guys shoot their way through the National League games from the weekend with a guest from one of the 24 clubs and they’ve had some cracking ones so far.

However, they don’t only leave it at that, they prise stories from their guests, take a little advice to give to their younger self and my favourite part, the word of the week from all three on the show. The chemistry is fantastic and it’s great to get some insights into those plying their trade in non-league’s top flight. This one is usually out on YouTube early in the week with the pod out a day or two later.

The penultimate one to mention is the Premier Non League Podcast (the PNLP). I am one fifth of this pod, started back in those lockdown days with James Easton and Peter Vale, the originals. Since then Chris May and Gareth Spinks have joined ranks with a good mix between the five of us.

We’re out every second Friday in the month, 3 years old and an hour’s chat about where we’ve been, our three clubs Barnet, Worthing and South Shields and an opinion on the goings on across non-league clubs.

Occasionally we drop a guest or two in and double that over the summer with some specials. I’ve been lucky to interview some great people, one or two boyhood heroes, many who started their career in non-league and some who have come back to finish their time where it all began.

The final pod to mention is of course my own ‘Trev Talks’ podcast from www.footballwriting.co.uk. It’s really still in it’s infancy and 2024 will see a more consistent approach through the year and some great guests from all levels of the game and all walks of life.

The best thing about all of these podcasts? They’re free to listen to, people giving up their time to bring you great content week upon week, perfect to get you through your commute or your working day, even a relaxing hour when the house is empty.

Just before I sign off I will drop a mention for one more, it’s not however non-league but Hard Truth: Inside the Football Industry hosted by Philip Ideson and Darragh MacAnthony. Once again you get some fantastic insights on all sorts of things above non-league although Darragh has a soft spot for the Bees of Barnet and their players!

I’ve been lucky enough to interview the Posh majority owner last summer, a very busy man but no hesitation in accepting my offer, living the dream a lot of the time in front of a microphone for me.

Do these already catch your ear on a weekly basis? Are there more out there that deserve a mention or I should be aware of? Or have you one of your own to plug? Let us all know in the comments below.