It’s the final episode of the series and Sachin is well and truly going out with a bang given he’s joined for a chat about Brentford by the brilliant broadcaster and podcaster, Natalie Sawyer. Natalie is as engaging as she is eloquent and those traits are fully on show as she talks about the club she’s adored ever since a childhood trip to Brentford’s old ground, Griffin Park, in 1987. There’s a lovely story about what happened beforehand involving her brother and a group of Bristol Rovers supporters before Natalie goes on to speak about how it was the Griffin Park floodlights as much as the action on the pitch that drew her into a life following the Bees. It’s not been an easy life given Brentford’s lack of success and financial troubles over the past 30 years or so but Natalie has loved the ride, one which peaked at Wembley this May as Thomas Frank’s men beat Swansea in the Championship play-off final. Natalie was there and talks about her emotions on the day and why promotion to the Premier League meant so much not only to her and her brother but also their dad, west London’s very own Crocodile Dundee. This naturally leads to a discussion about modern-day Brentford and the huge role played in the club’s rise by owner Matthew Benham. Natalie is full of praise for her fellow fan and tells a story about meeting him that sums up the banker-turned-professional gambler’s notoriously enigmatic nature. Natalie also chats about meeting her all-time Brentford hero, Dean Holdsworth, as well as about appearing on a bus as part of a club campaign to sell matchday tickets. In FANS tradition, Natalie wraps things up by going through her all-time Brentford XI and providing an answer to the final question, both of which lead to Sachin worrying about her home life. So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

Trophies, what are they good for? Absolutely nothing. Well, not quite, but they’re certainly not the be-all and end-all of being a Tottenham fan as far as Leon Mann is concerned. Leon is a broadcaster, film maker, campaigner and, as Sachin knows from personal experience, a truly lovely person, and he speaks with typical intelligence and warmth about his 30-plus years supporting Spurs. It’s not been easy given the club’s relative lack of success but, overall, Leon has loved following the club, and especially because of the players he’s seen. Waddle. Lineker. Gascoigne. Klinsmann. Bale. Just some of the superstar footballers who have brought Leon joy from childhood to adulthood and in their own ways made up for a dearth of silverware. He speaks about them all, with one man picked out for particular special mention – Gazza. Leon was there when he scored THAT free-kick against Arsenal at Wembley as well as for when he suffered THAT injury against Nottingham Forest and reflects on how those moments sum up a flawed genius. Leon also reflects on the time Gazza nearly ran him over. There’s also a chat about the poignant circumstances surrounding Leon’s first trip to White Hart Lane, as well as about the pros and cons of Daniel Levy’s 20-year chairmanship of Spurs. And before all of that, Leon discusses his long-standing efforts to improve ethnic diversity in UK sports media, for which he was rightly awarded an MBE earlier this year. Leon also talks through his all-time Tottenham XI, which contains a truly controversial selection, and gives an answer to the final question that Sachin simply can’t accept.  So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

Reply. Retweet. Like. Mute. Block. Yes, that’s right, it’s time to talk Twitter.  It’s the social media platform most people cannot stand but are also addicted to, with Sachin very much in that camp. He loves/hates Twitter and is joined by two cracking guests to discuss this most twisted of online relationships  - podcaster Laura Kirk and deputy editor of Arseblog News, Andrew Allen. Laura and Andrew speak with great wit and honesty about how they interact with Twitter and why, like Sachin, they tend to keep it light when it comes to football chat on there. Jokes rather than tactics. Memes rather than metrics.  Being Gooners, Laura and Andrew also talk about what it’s like to be part of ‘Arsenal Twitter’, a group of people who do a great line in gallows humour, which, as they explain, is largely a coping mechanism during this turbulent time for their club.  There’s also an interesting discussion about the merits of teaching social media-use in schools before the conversation returns to Arsenal, including why Laura and Andrew support the club in the first place. Laura’s answer is especially marvellous.  The guests also talk about AFTV and Mikel Arteta before going through their all-time Arsenal XIs and providing different but equally interesting answers to the final question. Oh, and there’s also a bit about the Spice Girls.  So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

Middlesbrough may not feel like a club that has a rich and interesting history but it absolutely does, and few people have a better grasp of that than the Football Association’s former director of communications, Adrian Bevington. After a quick chat about Sven-Göran Eriksson (naturally), Adrian speaks with clarity and passion about what it’s been like to support Middlesbrough, his hometown club, for over 45 years, a period of great highs, great lows and pretty much everything in between, including the joy of watching Juninho week in, week out. The 1980s were very important for Adrian given it was when he watched an exciting and successful Middlesbrough side home and away, but it was also a time when the club nearly went out of existence. Adrian does an excellent job of putting that into context, as well as speaking about the trauma that came with being a match-going supporter during the height of hooliganism. It’s then onto the 1990s and, specifically, the Bryan Robson Years. Adrian well and truly lived this period given he was working for Middlesbrough when Juninho arrived and spread his magic across the newly-build Riverside Stadium, as well as when Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson joined. He provides insight into all three superstar signings, and speaks with understandable regret about the 1996-97 season, one in which Boro played free-flowing football but which will ultimately be remembered for them losing two finals and getting relegated. From Adrian also comes a wonderful tribute to Steve Gibson, the fellow boyhood Middlesbrough fan who having helped save the club in the 80s has provided the platform for everything that has come since in his role as owner and chairman, including the team’s historic League Cup success and run to the Uefa Cup final in the early 2000s. For Adrian there is no doubt - Gibson is a truly unique figure in the history of English football. Adrian also talks through his all-time Middlesbrough XI before providing an Emile Heskey-related answer to the final question.  So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

This episode is brought to you by Sergio Georgini. Yes, that’s right, it’s time to talk about the Swindon (Town) lot. Sachin is joined by sports writer and funny man on Twitter, Declan Taylor, for a discussion about a club that is in perpetual crisis. Or at least that’s been the case for the 25 years or so Declan has supported Swindon and he does a brilliant job of articulating the mental and emotional torture that comes with being a Robin. Regular financial trouble, regular relegations, regular Wembley heartache … Declan has seen and experienced it all. He’s also had happy times, mainly during his years as a regular at The County Ground, which he reflects on with great warmth and humour, which is also the case when he discusses Paolo Di Canio’s brief reign as manager. There’s also a chat about Swindon’s one and only season in the Premier League and, prior to that, Declan reveals how a leisure centre in his hometown was responsible for the name of the greatest band in British music history. Sachin’s mind is suitably blown. Finally, Declan talks through his all-time Swindon XI before giving the most precise answer to the final question in FANS history. So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

Stick on your best pair of jeans, have a bevvie and get your rocks off to this banger of an episode as Sachin is joined by Reverend and the Makers frontman, Jon McClure, for a chat about Sheffield Wednesday. What a band Reverend and the Makers are and what a musician Jon is – a high-energy performer who has written some of the best British tunes of the past 20 years, including Heavyweight Champion of the World, Open Your Window and Sex with the Ex. He’s got it all and gives it his all as he discusses his beloved Wednesday. It started for Jon at the start of what was a glorious time for the club – the 1990s. Those trips to Wembley when Wednesday beat Manchester United to win the 1991 Rumbelows Cup and then, two years later, beat Sheffield United to secure a place in the FA Cup final; Jon remembers them well and, in the case of the latter, how it involved him heading south with a couple of random chaperones. He wouldn’t have changed that experience for the world, nor the joy of watching Chris Waddle play for Wednesday, a player of incredible skill and imagination who has gone onto become a close friend. Jon’s love for Waddle is as sweet as it is captivating. On a sombre note, Jon also talks about Hillsborough and what took place there in April 1989. There is no hiding the sadness and regret Jon feels about one of the darkest chapters in British football history and how it continues to haunt the ground to this day. There’s also a discussion about Paolo Di Canio and THAT push, as well as about the importance of Wednesday to Jon’s relationship with his brother, Chris. Before all of that there’s also a funny story involving a Carlos Tevez billboard. Finally, Jon talks though his all-time Sheffield Wednesday XI before ending the episode with a brutal takedown of Danny Wilson. So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

It's a case of friends reunited as Sachin is joined by his pal – and brilliant podcaster – Ash Rose for a chat about Queens Park Rangers.  Ash is host of the 'original' 90s football podcast, Alive and Kicking, and, as such, it's no surprise this episode opens with a discussion about the decade when football was at its best. Well, that's certainly what Sachin and Ash reckon and neither are shy in explaining why. Great characters, great players ... Euro 96; the lads reminisce about it all. It's then onto QPR, the club Ash supports because his dad does and which has brought him big highs, big lows and big dramas, and he does a typically great job of talking through it all, starting off with the team of the early 90s (yes, even more 90s chat) that finished fifth in the first ever Premier League season. What made them so good? How good was it watching them play? And just how good was Les Ferdinand, or 'Sir Les' as he continues to be known among QPR fans? Ash has the answers.  Staying in the 90s, Ash also talks about being at Loftus Road to witness THAT goal by Trevor Sinclair before the conversation moves onto arguably the most tumultuous time in QPR's history – the Flavio Briatore-Bernie Ecclestone era, four years of constantly changing managers and off-pitch controversies that was perfectly captured in The Four Year Plan, the jaw-dropping documentary by Mat Hodgson. Ash lived every second of this period and has plenty to say about it.  Finally, Ash talks through his all-time QPR XI before going back in time to change one moment from his Rangers-supporting past. And, yes, it relates to the 1990s. So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot.  Cheers!

It’s back! Yes, that’s right, the start of a new series of FANS is here, and what a start it is as Sachin is joined by BBC journalist Neil Henderson to talk all things Manchester City. Neil is best known for being part of a team of BBC journalists who tweet the front and back pages of the national newspapers every evening and, perhaps not surprisingly, Sachin is keen to know how this came about. Neil does an excellent job of explaining before going on to speak with passion about why he feels providing this free and voluntary service is important.  It’s then onto Manchester City, the club Neil supports because, quite simply, it was his destiny to do so. And that's meant going on one hell of a ride, from the lowest of lows to the highest of Sergio Aguero-highs. Neil speaks about this with great wit and warmth, not to mention being open and honest about why he turned his back on watching City in the flesh for the best part of 20 years. He got back into the swing of things in the 1990s and what a truly wild decade that was for City – six managers, two relegations, one incredible play-off final and one incredible player in the shape of Georgi Kinkladze. Neil has plenty to say on all of this, including providing fascinating insight into the sense of defiance that swept through City fans as everything around them was going wrong. It’s then onto modern City and what proves to be a spiky section of the pod as Sachin lays out his grievances in regards to how the club’s fans have responded to a period of great wealth and great success and Neil comes back at him with the force of a Vincent Kompany header. OK, so it’s not as strong as that, but it’s still punchy and purposeful, as well as touching as Neil explains why City’s most recent Premier League title win meant so much to him. Neil then talks through his all-time City XI, which is actually an all-time City XIV, before providing a lovely answer to the final question. So download, listen and love And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

It's the final episode of the series and Sachin is well and truly going out with a bang given he is joined by two brilliant podcasters to talk US football fandom; host of the Arsenal Vision podcast, Elliot Smith, and contributor - and host - of the Blue Room podcast, Rob Vera. Elliot and Rob are in typically fascinating, forthright and funny form as they discuss what it's like to be a fans of English football from the other side of the Atlantic. The discussion starts in regards to the European Super League and the idea that most Americans backed the breakaway because of its likeness to the NFL - as Elliot and Rob make clear, that was certainly not the case for them, and mainly because they love football because it's different to American sports. The chat then moves onto why Elliot and Rob support the teams they do (which in Rob's case involves a remarkable twist of fate) and how they go about following them from so far away. What are the best and worst kick-off times? And does watching Arsenal and Everton ever involve drinking beer at an absurd time in the morning? This leads to an interesting and important debate about the demographics of US football fandom before Elliot and Rob wrap things up by stepping back in time in order to change one moment from their time supporting their respective clubs up to now. Elliot's is pretty obvious; Rob's much less so. So - for the final time this series - download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers!

It’s a very different and very important episode of FANS as Sachin is joined by Football Supporters’ Association caseworker Amanda Jacks for a discussion about the treatment of match-going fans by police and stewards. This is a subject Sachin has wanted to cover for a while and he does so with the absolutely ideal person given this has been Amanda’s area of expertise, and passion, for more than a decade. And following a quick chat about hair (yes, you read right) she provides clear and forthright insight into the sometimes difficult relationship that exists between people who watch live football in the UK and the figures of authority they come across as part of that experience. What are the laws that only affect football fans? Why do they exist and what are the draconian ways in which they are used? Amanda talks about all of this as well as discussing the broader, long-term impact of criminalising supporters. Amanda and Sachin also discuss the laws around drinking alcohol at games and how they are not only severe but ridiculous and highlight the way football fans are treated differently to those of other sports. There’s also chat about a Parliamentary Bill that could make it illegal for football fans to be annoying in public before Amanda signs off with a plea for match-goers to make contact with her with any complaints and queries they may have, which can be done so via the following routes: Email: [email protected] Phone: 07703519555 Twitter: @FairCop_ So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot. Cheers.