BBC’s latest sporting content is the Footballer’s Football Podcast, featuring Premier League star strikers Callum Wilson and Michail Antonio.
The initial episode promises a great weekly dose of the goings on inside the Premier League world as the duo discuss their recent results, incidents and plans for the footballing future.
With the modern-day player now as far removed from fans as ever before, the Footballer’s Football Podcast offers the best insight into the Premier League world we all love but don’t really know, since the bestselling books of The Secret Footballer in the early 2010s.
Wilson and Antonio will probably draw a line in their discretion that the Secret Footballer was willing to cross but speak openly and about their own unique view of the top.
Both spent the first parts of their careers in the lower leagues of the football ladder before working up and establishing themselves as solid players and reliable goalscorers at the Premier League level.
Each is now at the peak of his powers and capable of shouldering the burden of being a talisman and trustworthy lead striker at Premier League clubs.
As they do in the penalty box, Wilson and Antonio are taking their chance and have teamed up to create an interesting and engaging podcast for the average fan.
In the first episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast Newcastle forward Wilson and West Ham star Antonio talk about their respective clubs start to the season.
They talk about Antonio’s goal drought currently up to six games although his side is performing well.
Wilson who at the time of recording was on the back of two goals in two games and a contribution to four points for his team.
The two realise they have the same goal tally so far in the Prem with six. They place a friendly bet of a coffee for who scores more by the end of the season.
The West Ham star joked that there should be accumulative tally including assists, since that would give him a head start in the race.
The two argued it out and settled after Antonio pointed out he led the way in Europe for chances created so far, along with French veteran Karim Benzema.
The podcast was a great addition to the BBC stable and hopefully the boys can keep up the good start to their new sidelines.
The discussion moved to Antonio scoring his 50th Premier League goal for West Ham, making him the outright leader for the club, and the questionable Save the Last Dance celebration he did with a cardboard cut-out of himself.
“No one love me ,more than me innit” joked the popular Jamaican international.
He added that he couldn’t get any other partner for his dance because no-one can pick up this 96kg man
The pair then looked back on their careers as both have now passed the 50 Premier League goal mark, and looked back at their climb through the divisions, and their next targets.
Antonio added that he began his career as a right-back, before making a Gary Lineker-esque promise to strip off to his slips and running round the pitch if he reaches the 100 goal mark.
Wilson played it cool and said he will keep it more relaxed.
He also pointed out the change in dynamic of celebrating a goal now that it may be chalked off any moment thanks to an intervention from VAR.
The duo went on to discuss the best defenders they have faced in the Premier League, with both picking Premier League winners, and offering insights in to how they try to get the better of the game’s best.
“A new podcast, like joining a new club” said Antonio before the pair traded initiation song stories with Shane Long and Junior Stanislas being name dropped for opposite reasons.
Wilson requested a sample of Antonio’s own initiation song Fresh Prince, before the two backstepped and bottled the challenge in comical fashion.
A great broadcasting partnership might just have been formed.
You can listen to the Footballer’s Football podcast in full on BBC Sounds
Lifelong fan of the Premier League, looking on from the outside since 1999 waiting for Forest to return to the top table where they belong. Probably get promoted this season.
