Are You Not Entertained?

This week we are joined by Simon Rowe, VP of Sports Marketing at Pentland Brands, the name behind some of the world's best loved sports, outdoors and lifestyle brands. At a time when the sports industry faces disruption and challenges in almost every sector it operates in, Simon explains with refreshing candour how Pentland is approaching the rapidly changing marketplace to engage and the ever-evolving consumer behaviours of the increasingly digitised 21st century.

Goal/Own Goal, this week, looks at hate crimes at an Old Firm. The edge that sells, even in women’s basketball. The golden rules for content is if it Bleeds it Leads. So why is sport determined to remove all offense and trash talk?

The Groundsmen welcome Dr Dana Sinclair, renowned elite performance psychologist, to discuss her book Dialled In. The mental side of sport and business is now so important and Dr Sinclair helps us understand the pitfalls and opportunities of "delivering" when needed. So much to pick up about that muscle we call the brain. Thanks to Web3 Sports Ventures.

For the final episode in our series “The Bucket List”, we are joined by English golfer Paul Casey. A former world number 3, winner on the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, 5 Ryder Cups and now on the LIV Tour - Paul has been one of the worlds top golfers since turning pro in 2000. In this show we chat about golf’s 3 greatest events (The Open, The Ryder Cup and The Masters) and where he sees the game right now and where it might be headed.

Grant and Roger take their usual look at recent events in the world of sport. Good and very bad. All through a lens of 90s popular culture. From Mike Tyson to Winona Ryder.

A live AYNE special to discuss Roger’s book, Sports Perfect Storm. Hosted by Elliott Richardson at the Howden HQ in London, author Roger Mitchell and Etienne Dussartre discuss what this book addresses and why its themes are so prescient in todays sports business world, now more than ever!

This week’s GOG is all about authenticity in football and golf. When capital markets look to be at a top.

The Groundsmen meet one of the most impressive of young CEOs in sport. Sam Renouf of the PTO tells us about the progress of triathlon and the T100 in the last 3 years and where to now. Brought to you by Web3 Sports Ventures.

The pendulum swings back for another week of Goal Own Goal. All the week's serious and funny events in sport analysed by a couple of normal sports fans fed up with holding their tongues.

Former Welsh Rugby Captain and Chairman of The British and Irish Lions, Ieuan Evans, joins us on the show this week. Lions Tours are widely regarded as the greatest sporting adventures for both players and fans alike and who better than Ieuan to reveal why they are so magical.

If indeed the "pendulum is swinging back" for so many things in sport, GOG this week joins in. This is a very honest episode and comes with various trigger warnings. Not for the faint hearted.

In our first Groundsmen Conversation of 2024 we are joined by Danny Townsend, the recently appointed CEO of SRJ Sports Investments - the sport and tech fund powered by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. A fascinating chat where Danny shares the focus and ambition of the fund to grow participation and interest in sport in the region and internationally and how the sporting landscape in Saudi Arabia is now shaping. Brought to you be Web3 Sport Ventures.

Goal Own Goal is as much about petty nonsense as it is the most serious of finance, geopolitics and culture. Today's show covers a lot of ground, from Joey Barton to anti-Semitism in sport; from penthouses in Newcastle to Jim Cramer.

Our first guest of 2024 is Matt Porter is the CEO of the Professional Darts Corporation - responsible for delivering the iconic and ultimate Christmas Bucket List event - the World Darts Championship. This annual event held every year in London stole all the headlines this year as 16 year old Luke Littler powered his way to the final. Professional Darts has been a aport on this rise for over 25 years - a product of the Matchroom Sport stable. We chat with Matt about how they have created and sustained the event and what the future looks like.

For the very final show of 2023, we welcome our very own Roger Mitchell onto The Captain’s Table for our first ever Christmas special. For 40 minutes, the Grand Inquisitor becomes the interrogated. A wonderful way to wrap up the year with one of the sport’s industry’s finest thinkers.

Eddie Pepperell talks with the Groundsmen in light of John Rahm’s move to LIV Golf. Eddie gives his honest and frank opinion on the state of the PGA, LIV, the powers that be in the world of golf and where the game should perhaps go from here.

Gog is back at its off-the-cuff best. If sport continues to polarise and bifurcate, is it's glory in back to basic? The lads discuss Marvel movies compared to Jody Foster's NYAD.

In the second of our brand new series, brought to you by Infinity Sports Travel, Roger and Giles are joined by former England Rugby player Matt Tait - who has made the successful transition from international sportsman to sports business administrator - as the General Manager of the Emirates Dubai Sevens. We discuss the sport of Rugby Union - where Sevens fits into the global calendar and why the Emirates Dubai Sevens is considered one of the greatest bucket lists events in the Middle East.

We are joined this week by one of the greatest sprinters ever to grace the running track. Michael Johnson is our latest guest to join us on the show. He shares with us his life in athletics and how he shaped his life after he hung up his spikes, his vision for how athletics needs to repurpose itself for the next generation and how his Olympic mindset has helped him overcome challenges in his life. A wonderful hour spent with one of the true legends of sport.

A special GOG edition, today, with a guest from the Como 50. What is happening to our beautiful game? The lads are joined by ex Celtic and Scotland internationalist, player agent, and sportech investor, John Colquhoun.