The Dynamo Football Bookclub

🚨 Episode Drop! 🚨 Almost two years in, and on our 46th book, we think we’ve found the best one yet. Hold on to your hats, because Joe McGinniss’s The Miracle of Castel di Sangro is coming your way. Alistair had never even heard of it (he blames the title). But have you? 🤔 Back in 1996, tiny Castel di Sangro — a town of just 5,000 souls tucked away in Abruzzo — pulled off the impossible. Against all odds, their Serie C1 side won promotion to Serie B, making them the smallest club ever to reach that level. That was the miracle. Or at least, the first one. What followed — on the pitch, in the dressing room, and in Joe McGinniss’s unforgettable book — is a story packed with glory, heartbreak, and a gut punch ending you won’t see coming. This episode has it all. 🎧 Give it a listen — and if you haven’t already, grab the book. 📚

In the first episode of the Ademola Bookmen Podcast, hosts Al Bond and Johnny Coughlan tackle the literary heft of the Jamie Vardy story. The skittle vodka swilling goal machine takes us from the lows of the English 8th tier to the highest of highs, the top of the Premier League. Is it worth a read? Listen & find out.

⚽ Injury Time 16 is here! 📺🎙️ In this episode, we choose our greatest television lineups. There may be some personal and national biases at play as we pick the best presenters 🎤, pundits 💬, and commentators 🎧. Thankfully, 🤖 AI is on hand to settle the debate and decide whose lineup comes out on top. Heated arguments 🔥, nostalgia 🕰️, and a few questionable selections 🤔 ahoy. 🎧 Listen now and let us know which lineup you think deserves the crown 👑!

🎧 Episode 46 is out now — and it’s the most Alistair-esque episode yet. That’s right, we’re doing our best to distract poor Al from events at the City Ground by diving into Psycho — the autobiography of his all-time hero, Stuart Pearce. ❤️🌳 The all-tackling, all-scoring, punk-loving left-back spent 12 loyal years at Nottingham Forest, sticking around even after relegation. Fierce, frugal, and forever Forest — Pearce is the kind of player they just don’t make anymore. In this episode, expect: 💬 Drop us a comment and you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy of Jim McGuinness’ The Miracle of Castel di Sangro! Give it a listen. Psycho would. 💥👊

🎧 Injury Time 15: The Mayor of Barnet Fair – Football’s Worst Haircuts 💈⚽ It’s a question as old as the combover: who had football’s worst-ever haircut? From tragic trims to peroxide crimes, we’ve gathered the very worst in a draft showdown that pits one smorgasbord of shockers against another. There are two routes to hair hell: In this episode, we explore both — and find out which is the fastest path to follicular failure. 🎙️ Tune in for: And of course, we find out whether Alistair can level the series and prevent Johnny from stretching his lead to two. The winner gets to graze his sheep on the common lands around ye olde Barnet Fair…

🎧 Episode 45 is OUT NOW! ⚽🐭 He’s King Kev in England, Mäuserich (Mighty Mouse) in Germany — and everywhere he goes, he’s a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, European Cup champ, and all-round lovely fella. We are talking of course about Kevin Keegan. Sure, he’s a bit hapless at times but in the words of Bill Shankly, Keegan is “everything a man should be.” In this episode, we dive into Kevin Keegan’s 2019 autobiography My Life in Football, ghostwritten by known Forest supporter Daniel Taylor. From humble beginnings to European superstardom, it’s the story of, in his own words or those of Daniel Taylor, a “mongrel who made it to Crufts”. But Kev, you are so much more than that - a whirlwind player, a plucky manager, a hair innovavtor, and a reasonably singer… 🕵️‍♂️ Tune in to discover:

Matthew Jarvis 20:16 – “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” In this episode, we turn things on their head 🙃. We’re picking the worst players to notch up at least 100 Premier League appearances – that’s right, the aim of this draft is to lose. 🫣 Sure, if you’ve played 100 times in the EPL, you’re probably half-decent… but some of these lads were still pretty damn rubbish. 🗑️⚽ 🎧 Tune in to find out who out of Alistair and Johnny assembled the em… rubbish-est.

📚 Episode 44 is here! This week, we’re diving into The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuściński 🇵🇱 — the legendary Polish reporter, a writer who happened to be a journalist (in his own words) and a man who played fast and loose with the truth, it seems. ⚔️ The book centres on the 1969 war between Central American neighbours El Salvador 🇸🇻 and Honduras 🇭🇳 — a conflict that lasted just four days, but claimed thousands of lives, with most of the victims being civilians. There may be a bit more war than soccer in this— and not just in Central America. From despots to desks, Kapuściński takes no prisoners. There’s also a surprise appearance by the lesser known author, Ted Stoves. 🎙️ Tune in to find out:

How do you follow a 5-time Ballon D’or winner? Well, with an 8-time Ballon D’or Winner of course. That’s right, its Part II of the Guillem Balague GOAT saga and our review of his biography of one Lionel Messi. Originally published in 2013 but updated for the Argentina World Cup win in 2022, the book is a long one, covering the descent from heaven of the baby Messi to the unassuming city of Rosario, tucked away on the Rio Paraná, a few hundred miles inland from Buenos Aires. With interviews from various people who touched the hem of his garment along the way, the book very extensively covers how Messi touched the lives of the earthlings who had the privilege of sharing the planet with him. The book also includes references to El Diablo, Cristiano Ronaldo, with a sterling supporting role from arch bean-counter, Jorge Messi. And of course, Messi’s grandmother. As of some day last week, we were just two spots below Balague in the football podcast charts so please do have a listen and give us the chance of leapfrogging the Messi hagiographer. And if you like it, well please do like it…

It’s our 28th episode and we are starting the new year with the first part of the Balague GOAT saga. First up is his award-winning biography of Cristiano Ronaldo. This player certainly needs no introduction but if you insist then 5 Champions League wins, 5 Ballons D’or, and seven straight calendar years in which he scored more than 50 goals will surely suffice. We had initially planned to read Balague’s Messi biography first, but when we learned we had 7 days to get through its 796 pages, we pivoted and decided instead to read the mere 384 pages he wrote on his sworn enemy instead. But worry not dear listener, for Messi is up next (assuming we can finish it in time…). Happy New Year folks. Please do listen, like and subscribe.

⚽ Injury Time 13: The Steve McMahon Windscreens Shield – a Wrong ’Uns draft ⚽ OUT NOW! 🎧 What makes a wrong ’un? Cheating on your wife? ❌ Not necessarily. Cheating on your wife for eight years… with your sister-in-law? ✅ That probably qualifies. It’s hard to define, but you know one when you see one. In Injury Time 13, we each draft our Top 5 Wrong ’Uns to go head-to-head — elbow-to-face — with Artificial Intelligence running the match simulation and delivering an unimpeachable result. 🏆 Is Joey Barton – the crème de la crème of the wrong ’un trade – actually good enough to make either team? 🤏 Has Dennis Wise been picked to pinch the hands of opponents as he hauls them off the turf? 👟 Will Michael Brown get his chance to leave stud marks where they hurt most? Listen now to find out… and prepare for 5-a-side at its most petty, cynical, and gloriously spiteful.

🎙️ Episode 43 of the Dynamo Football Bookclub is out! 💆‍♂️ Massage parlour, 💅 beauty parlour… Ray Parlour. That’s right — it’s only Ray Parlour’s autobiography, The Romford Pelé! 📖⚽ Fun fact: Parlour has played in the Premier League for Arsenal more times than any other player 🔴⚪ He’s also a cheeky chappie who stole potted plants 🪴, terrorised poor old Martin Keown, and torpedoed his own England career 🌪️ by failing to understand the importance of faith healing. It’s Episode 43 of the 🎧 Dynamo Football Bookclub, and we’re diving into the book of the Parlour who brought the 😂light relief to those legendary Arsenal squads of the late ’90s and early ’00s 🏆👊.

🎧 Episode 12 of Injury Time is here! 🎙️ It’s the Great African Draft Showdown — Johnny’s Danny Invincible 11s take on Alistair’s Orlando Pirates in a five-a-side battle to determine who really knows their African football EPL legends. 🇿🇦⚽🇪🇬🇨🇲 Our hosts pick their best five-a-side teams of African Premier League players and AI tells us who’d win. With 33 of Africa’s 54 nations represented in the Premier League to date, the talent pool is deep… but that doesn’t mean it was easy, some positions are stacked (hello, strikers 😅), others… not so much (goalkeeper, anyone? 🧤). Check out and let us know who you think were the most under-rated African players to play in the EPL. We’d love to hear from you.

🎙️ Episode 42 is LIVE! 📘 The Feet of the Chameleon – The Story of African Football by Ian Hawkey ⚽️🌍 An epic journey through the past, present & power of African football. In this episode of the Dynamo Football Bookclub, we explore the rich, complex and utterly compelling story of football across Africa’s 54 nations 🇿🇲🇪🇬🇸🇳🇨🇲. 🦁 From apartheid-era pitches in South Africa… 🎯 To Cameroon’s unlikely rise as a footballing powerhouse 🇨🇲 🛑 And that unforgettable moment when a Zaire defender booted the ball away before Brazil’s free-kick in ‘74 🤯 Hawkey's book covers it all and more again. 🎧 Tune in now and take a trip across the continent with us.

Having passed out Crouchie in the podcast charts a couple of weeks ago, we've decided to tackle more giants of the game 🤖 In Injury Time 11 🎙️ we tackle a question that’s baffled football fans for years: who are the greatest players standing at 6′5″ and above? 🏰 ⚽ Have there been any genuinely decent towering strikers beyond the aforementioned Peter Crouch ? 🛡️ Is Per Mertesacker really the best colossal centre-back we’ve ever seen? 🤔 And why on earth are there almost no giant midfielders? Tune in and find out whether Al can make up more of the ground he has lost to Johnny in our draft series 🚀

In Episode 41, we move beyond biographies and autobiographies for the first time and into the wonderful world of the language of football with Do You Speak Football by Tom Williams. In his book, Williams takes us, Palinesque, on a tour of the world explaining how football is spoken about by fans everywhere. If you would like to find out where a defensive midfielder is known as a faecal plug, what To Zlatan means in French, or what sunshine and piano football means in South Africa, this is the episode for you. Please do like and subscribe.

🎧 Once more into the football-musical breach… 🎤⚽ We’re back with one final (for now) dive into the weird and wonderful world of footballers who made music. 🎶👟 Footballing genius doesn’t always translate to musical talent (spoiler: some of these are rough) 😬🎵 — but there are surprises. And its all good fun anyway... 💫 The players featured in this episode have won six Ballons d’Or between them. And one legend — whose music is probably the best of this particular lot — won zero, but only because the award wasn't open to non-Europeans throughout his career. (France Football later said he’d have won seven!) 👀🇧🇷 Can you guess who we’re talking about?

This week, we dive into Flight to Bogotá by John Leonard — the true story of Neil Franklin, the England defender hailed by Tom Finney as the finest defender of his generation… until he threw it all away. In the years after WWII, Franklin played 27 times for England and had a ticket to the 1950 World Cup in the bag 🏆. But instead of heading to Brazil, he shocked the football world by signing for Santa Fe in Colombia’s rebel pirate Dimayor league — sacrificing his career for freedom, dollars 💰, and a new life beyond the FA’s reach. We explore the post-war players’ rebellion 🛫🇬🇧, their fight against “slave contracts” in British football, and what awaited them in the chaotic, cash-rich world of Colombian football. A story of risk, revolt, and thick, thick soup 🔥.

In this episode of Injury Time, Al and John dive into the chaotic, colourful world of the North American Soccer League (NASL) — the wild 1970s and 80s league that brought Pelé, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, and Best to America. Each host drafts a 5-a-side dream team of NASL stars. We use this as a vehicle to tell the story - or at least some of the story - of a league where: Clubs wore cowboy kits 🤠 No game ever ended in a draw (thats right, game rather than match) And half-time shows featured live concerts and armadillo racing And of course, the super computer decides whose team wins. 🎧 Available now — listen wherever you get your pods.

⚽ The Dynamo Football Book Club Podcast — Episode 39: Di Stéfano We kick off our rebrand as The Dynamo Football Book Club with a book about a real legend Di Stéfano by Ian Hawkey. Alfredo Di Stéfano — the Blonde Arrow 🏹 — won the first five European Cups 🏆 with Real Madrid, played for three national teams 🌍, and lived a life packed with drama: a Venezuelan kidnapping 🕵️, 514 career goals ⚽, and a near-marriage to a woman 50 years his junior 💍. This episode blends football history with Cold War intrigue, featuring cameos from a young García Márquez ✍️, Che Guevara 🧳, and a future King of Spain 👑. 🎧 If you like football books, wild biographies, and the golden age of the game — this podcast is for you. 👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share.