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: 2. Here’s To You, Mr Robinson

2. Here’s To You, Mr Robinson

BBC Radio 5 Live - Moment of Truth, 2. Here’s To You, Mr Robinson

Karl Robinson questions football addiction as crunch time in the season approaches.

Oxford’s psychoanalyst challenges manager Karl Robison on his addiction to football ahead of their trip to Shrewsbury as tempers flare on the touchline.

We meet Oxford manager Karl Robinson and some of the people behind the scenes that make the club tick: club groundsman Toby Ruoss, who is an MK Dons fan (Karl’s former club), and psychoanalyst Gary Bloom.

Gary challenges Karl on whether he is obsessed with or addicted to football, leaving the manager to contemplate whether some addictions can be healthy.

With a Covid outbreak threatening to dismantle the squad, the promotion chasers travel to a Shrewsbury side who held leaders Rotherham to a point in episode one. The game is decided on a late Cameron Brannigan penalty, before a touchline flare-up at full time.

Afterwards, Karl shares intimate moments with his mum Carol, who stood behind her son and kicked every ball during the action – before also calling his dad. The conversations lead to him revealing the vulnerability he feels in his profession, underlining that – if you strip away the bravado and ego of a football manager within that small box in the dugout – there is a human being.

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Moment of Truth

2. Here’s To You, Mr Robinson

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