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Blood Red: The Liverpool FC Podcast

What it's really like to cover Liverpool FC: James Pearce looks back on his time reporting on the Reds for the ECHO

Blood Red: The Liverpool FC Podcast

Reach Podcasts

News, Sports, Soccer, Sports News

4.41000 Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2019

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have heard the news by now that our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce is leaving the Liverpool ECHO after 14 years - eight-and-a-half of which have seen him report on the Reds, both home and away. It was only right, then, that his regular Blood Red sidekick Joe Rimmer sat down with James to look back on his time as our man in the know at Anfield in this special podcast. It's a superb listen - starting with the last, glorious match report he will write for the ECHO, and then taking him back to when he first walked through the doors at our former Old Hall Street home. At the start of his ECHO career, James reveals he actually spent time covering Everton. But he fell out with the Blue half of Merseyside indefinitely after his infamous 'DVD-gate' article (read it HERE) which wound-up David Moyes and brought a flood of angry letters from Blues. James also looks back on his relationships with the Liverpool managers he has worked with, from Kenny Dalglish to Jurgen Klopp and, most interestingly, Brendan Rodgers in between. James also explains why Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were such a big help when he was starting out on the Reds reporting beat and picks out some of his funniest stories over the years - including offers to adopt children and Kolo Toure running away from koalas. Another big talking point is the rise of social media - and the role it is has played in James' career so far and how he deals with the harsher side of it. And the podcast rounds off with some quickfire questions, one answer to which takes an unexpected turn, but which also proves we're not only losing an outstanding reporter, but a good guy, too. Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Blood Red Podcast from the Liverpool Echo, giving you the inside track on all the big talking points from Anfield.

0:08.0

Hello and welcome to a very special Blood Red Podcast and when I say a special Blood Red

0:14.0

podcast they don't come more special than this. For the final time sitting

0:18.1

opposite me is our full-time reporter both home and away, Pierce how are you Jay?

0:23.1

Very good thank you Joe how are you I'm good I'm good a little bit sad it's

0:27.3

sad to be doing this if you don't know you must have lived under a rock for the

0:31.8

last couple of weeks if you don't James is leaving the echo after 14 years with us nine eight or nine as the Liverpool reporter

0:38.7

Eight and a half years February 2011. Yeah, yeah, eight and a half years February 2011. Yeah yeah eight and a half years the Liverpool reporter

0:45.8

he departs on Friday afternoon so we thought we'd sit down and discuss your

0:51.6

career as as Liverpool reporter you've got plenty of stories to tell.

0:55.9

Just quickly I mean not a bad way to sign off your last proper match as Liverpool reporter

1:01.6

watching them left the the Champions League trophy in May?

1:04.0

Yeah, I don't.

1:05.0

It was never, never going to beat that, I don't think.

1:08.0

Yeah, it is just a funny symmetry to it really,

1:11.0

because I got the job on the echo initially as like a general sports reporter

1:16.5

stroke sub editor in June started in June 2005 so joining the desk you know probably three or four weeks after

1:24.3

after Istanbul and moving on about a month after Madrid so yeah in terms of

1:30.5

you know in terms of kind of going out on a high, I couldn't ask for more than that.

1:36.0

The last match report being Liverpool, Crown Kings of Europe for the sixth time.

1:40.9

From Daltas to Belize to Belize to Belize to Believists to Sky High Achievers. That was the way you signed off. I loved it.

1:46.0

I thought it was fantastic. Is that probably your most verdict that you're most proud of?

...

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