Hello and welcome to Libero, the podcast about what Mrs Thatcher would never have called the most important of the least important things,

because the least important things were the coal mines and the most important thing was closing them.

She would, I think, have been much more likely to introduce a podcast about football as a slum sport watched by slum people.

So that's you.

Sorry is Rory again today.

You can blame Wilson.

He is off on the Southern Ocean for reasons

that are a complete mystery to all of us. But today, at least I'm joined by John Bruin and Jack Pitbrook

of The Athletic. Just before we start properly, we would like to remind you that Libero

relies on your goodwill to reach as many people as possible. We don't have a big production company behind us.

It is literally just Tom, and we don't have a Magwitch style benefactor called Gary.

So we do need you to like and subscribe on YouTube, to leave nice comments and ratings on

Apple, and to do the same on Spotify.

It really helps us rise up the algorithm and get to more people so we can compete with podcasts of the quality of the good, the bad and the football,

the one that has Mick McCarthy on it, and stick to water polo or whatever's happening now.

I find this a bit weird that I keep having to put our employers after our name.

Should we not get our own identity?

I don't have an identity and dependent on my employment.

Do you?

No, I genuinely don't.

I was going to say we should maybe start introducing ourselves by like our hobby.

So we could say that John obviously is a noted music fan, an officiata in a lot of ways.

...