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: 4. Perverted Therapy

4. Perverted Therapy

BBC Radio 5 Live - Moment of Truth, 4. Perverted Therapy

Off-field events puts football into perspective as both sides suffer contrasting form.

A death of a club legend and some time away from the game with a four-legged friend puts football into perspective as both Oxford and Rotherham suffer contrasting form.

Some time away from the dugout allows both Paul Warne and Karl Robinson to recalibrate during the international break as the managers oversee their sides’ contrasting results.

With Rotherham only winning one of their last five, Paul tries to grapple with his players’ poor run of form and the abuse that followed from the home supporters after a 3-0 defeat to Shrewsbury. And, as they head to the business end of the campaign, it appears the players are starting to feel the effect of having played 50 games in all competitions.

Robinson, however, is on a high after only losing three times in 13 games. Forward planning is key as the team talk logistics ahead of trips to Plymouth and Morecambe, followed by Sunderland at the Kassam Stadium, all in the space of seven days.

A trip to north Norfolk beckons for Paul and his best friend, Chief the dog. He discusses how just one day without the mental stresses and strains of football can be so uplifting for managers and players.

Sadly for Robinson, he does not get the relief of a small break. He’s representing the current crop of Oxford United staff and players at the funeral of club legend Joey Beauchamp – who tragically took his own life at his own home in February.

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