With the new season well underway we made a discovery, a new podcast! With a lack of EFL listening available enter stage left ‘Not The Top 20 Podcast’. If you’re a fan of the Football League you’ll love it! We caught up with pod co-host Ali to find out more…

Groundsman: How did the idea come about?
Ali: We’ve known each other for 15 years (since we were about 10) and have always been the only major Football League followers in our friend group.

We both moved to London and got jobs ‘in and around’ the football industry, and happily both jobs require a close eye being kept on EFL proceedings.

I did a lot of Uni radio stuff – entertainment and sport shows – and always planned to start a podcast of some sort. Then at the start of the year, George expressed an interest in a Football League pod, and after some planning sessions and a couple of trial runs, we realised it could be potentially be half-decent. It helps that, with 72 teams to cover, there are never-ending talking points and no risk of staleness or scratching around for content.

GM: What can fans tuning in expect?
Ali: They can expect an EFL podcast that treats all teams in a measured way, while also showing plenty of excitement for teams, players and managers that we feel are doing exciting things – Huddersfield fans can vouch for that!

We will always be well researched – as our season preview podcasts proved, in which all 72 teams were covered and commented on. Hopefully, it will be insightful; will touch on all major results and news stories, for those that simply can’t keep up to date on a daily basis.

Lastly, we will never descend into tired, lazy clichés. We obviously can’t watch all 36 matches every week – but we won’t blandly comment on anything we don’t know about.

GM: What are your plans to evolve the pod over the coming season?
Ali: We have plenty of ideas, and it’s a case of working out which structure works best. Once the leagues settle down, there will be scope for more regular features.

Because of our work schedules (and also listener patience!), we can’t do much more than an hour a week, so at the moment it’s about discussing the teams who have started the season particularly well/badly. Going forward, there will be more regular features that we hope listeners to the pod can contribute to.

Of course, there’s potential for guest appearances too, and we’ve got some great guests in mind.

GM: We’ve got to ask you about your 92 – how many of the 92 have you ticked off?
Ali: 44/92 for George and only 30/92 for me. We’ll call it 74/92!

GM: Which grounds are you looking forward to ticking off this season?
Ali: I’ve already ticked off Hillsborough and Kingsmeadow this season – and enjoyed both. Hopefully i’ll get to Barnet at some point, mainly just to see John Akinde.

Sheffield Wednesday 1 Aldershot 0 (CC BY 2.0) by John Lord

George is looking forward to going to Peterborough, where he’s sure to see plenty of goals. And the Priestfield… Kent is a lovely county!

GM: What have been your highlights/lowlights doing the 92 so far?
Ali: Highlights: For George, it has to be beating Swindon away in 2011 – a brace from ‘Swindon fan’ James ‘Beano’ Constable and Di Canio histrionics… For me, there are good memories of a decent session (and some football) at Brentford, and great atmosphere at Villa Park.

The lowlight was one we did together – Bury 3-0 Oxford in the rain. A young Nicky Ajose scored two. A 5-0 loss at Bradford still gives George the shivers.

GM: Where can fans find Not The Top 20?
Ali: You can subscribe through itunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/not-the-top-20-podcast/id1112915286?mt=2 or find us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/ntt20pod.

Thanks to Ali for taking the time out to speak to us. To keep up the guys over the course of the coming season and beyond before sure to give them a follow on Twitter @NTT20Pod. To get the latest pod head to https://soundcloud.com/ntt20pod/7-done-by-the-shape-of-the-ball

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