Moment of Truth

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BBC Radio 5 Live

Podcasts

Sport: Football

Three months in the life of a manager. This podcast goes where others don't.

A raw, tense and illuminating deep dive into the real lives of football managers. Intimate and unfiltered, this podcast reinvents fly-on-the-wall to take you where cameras can't.

What does it take to be a football manager? We all think we can do it: pick a team to win a game, sign a couple of players who looked good on FIFA....I mean, we've all played Championship Manager right? The reality is very few people can ever truly master it, can deal with the torment, the anguish, the pain of defeat or even the blessed relief of victory. And what about putting their families and friends in the firing line of fans, the media and everyone else who has an opinion on how you do your job?

For the last three months of the 2021/22 League One season, this podcast had unparalleled access to the life of a football manager as two teams battled to change their collective stories forever and win promotion to the Championship. From the dressing room to the training ground, the team bus to the technical area, Rotherham's Paul Warne and Oxford's Karl Robinson have worn microphones to record every single critical moment of the job during the tense and eventful run-in.

You'll get to eavesdrop on how the personal reality of football management is a constant gnaw of sleepless nights, skipping meals and missing out on family life. You'll hear how the wives and children have to tiptoe around their disillusioned husbands following losses and you'll listen in to how they rarely enjoy those hard-fought victories.

Narrated by Jimmy Nesbitt, Moment of Truth is an audio experience unlike any other that will give you an answer as to what it takes to manage a professional football club. This podcast is a love letter to our greatest game spread across 15 episodes. It's a rollercoaster ride through the footballing cauldron of League One where you get to sit on the bench of both teams as they battle to reach their Moment of Truth.

Moment of Truth: 1. Millers Crossing

1. Millers Crossing

BBC Radio 5 Live - Moment of Truth, 1. Millers Crossing

Tough chats and logistical problems surround leaders Rotherham’s trip to Shrewsbury.

Tough conversations and logistical problems surround high-flying Rotherham’s midweek trip to Shrewsbury amid manager Paul Warne battling with the fear of failure.

In the opening episode we meet Rotherham’s Paul Warne, former club legend turned fitness coach and now manager, as he prepares his team for a midweek trip to Shrewsbury.

We’re almost into March and Rotherham sit top of the table, nine points clear of second place, having lost just twice in their last 30 league games. And, even with star midfielder Dan Barlaser attending the birth of his child, Paul is contemplating resting three players with trickier tests on the horizon.

This episode goes from the manager’s office to the dressing room as Paul delivers the news to those left on the bench hours before a rallying cry to his high-flying Millers. Mic’d up on the touchline, Warne is excruciated by a goalless draw that will foreshadow a difficult run for his men.

At training the next day, Paul, his assistant manager Richie Barker and first-team coach Matthew Hamshaw reveal how all three of them struggled to sleep, what they watched on TV and how their thoughts were consumed by the previous night’s result.

Fears grow that the players are beginning to hit a wall. With a tough fixture list ahead, how many points can the Millers afford to drop?

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Moment of Truth

1. Millers Crossing

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