The Rest Is History: NEW PODCAST: THE REST IS FOOTBALL

Hi, Tom Holland here. Now, as many of you know, the Premier League season starts again

this weekend. Obviously, my main sport is cricket, but I absolutely have time for a

sport that only takes 90 minutes to play and where an English team is definitely guaranteed

to win. I'm also very excited about the birth of a new football podcast by our producer's

goalhanger, featuring Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards. It's called,

with stunning originality, The Rest is Football. No idea how they came up with that name.

The Rest is Football promises to address the biggest talking points from the weekend's games,

share the gossip that clubs don't want you to hear, and get to grips with what makes players tick.

And I've been told, if I'm very lucky, they'll even dedicate an entire episode to my own team,

my beloved Aston Villa. But that's enough from me. Here's a 10 minute taster which is out today.

So, search The Rest is Football wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm Gary Lineker and on Monday, the 7th of August, a brand new podcast is coming your way

with me, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards. It's going to be called The Rest is Football

and the three of us are here to tell you a bit more.

So, Alan, Micah, why are we doing it? But first, actually before we say why we're doing it,

for the benefit of those that are just listening to this podcast and can't see Micah's quite

magnificent tire, it's, in fact, I don't know how to describe it. We've got a pair of kind of gray

trainer boots with long, white, and black stripe socks, a little bit new castle Alan.

Right colours anyway. And then how would you describe that? I'll let you do it.

So, it's sure, so we've got what would you call that pinstripe, would you?

Sort of a pinstripe with like orange dots and red and blue and white stripes, short.

Yeah, swimming shorts as well. So, you know, if we go for a dive later on.

Yeah, okay.

Can do that.

And then it's sort of a matching shirt, but not a matching shirt.

It's like a light pink with stripes and blue and creases.

Well, yeah, I mean, it's a lot going on.

I look magnificent, but he's gone safe again, isn't he?

Safe fuck.

Top round.

Is it pajama?

This is what you call cool gear, you know what I mean?

This is, they've got the pumps and then the socks.

Glad you didn't disappoint us.

You know, obviously we've worked together for some time now and we thought this was too good

an opportunity to miss. And we all love football. We love talking about football.

We love having a laugh about football and that's what we're going to do, isn't it?

I think the timing's right, isn't it? We want more insight, don't we?

We want the stories. So, I think it's a great time.

You have a few stories.

I've got a few stories. I saw a few.

And Mike has blown all his money all summer, so he needs the cash.

He's only on the house here.

I've been paid for this, you know.

I was just like, how does that do?

What do we get paid for after the pay for the gear?

You're getting paid for this?

Well, not as yet, no.

Okay, I was going to say, I thought it was for fun.

This is just a service. It's a service to the people of the country.

It's a service, yes.

It's what they need.

What they earn for.

Yeah, exactly.

We'll have a laugh. I think that's pretty much guaranteed.

We'll talk about everything, won't we?

Breaking stories, transfers, results, however, whatever they happen.

But I think we can guarantee we'll have a few laughs along the way.

I'm sure you know this, but I've got a few podcasts to look at.

Podcast business and we've never mentioned it before.

Why would you have to mention them?

Talk to them in the country, is it?

The rest is politics and the rest is history.

Hence the name, the rest is football.

It's our brand, in a way.

And if we need to get competitive, though,

kind of put those two podcasts in there.

To be fair,

set some high standards, though, aren't they?

Very good, aren't they?

How can we keep up with that?

On Micah.

Yes, what do we need?

We need to burst onto the scene.

Okay, I've certainly done that before.

The first thing we need to do,

and actually what we want really is to give football fans

regular podcasts, a couple of weeks at least.

Discussing all the big stories, the breaking stories,

say, managers getting the sack, big transfers,

possibly someone like Harry Kane leaving Tottenham.

Oh, lucky him!

I've got the drivers hat ready, ready to take him and myself.

He drove into the edge.

When do you want to lift, Harry?

What about you, the guy?

You can have an opinion now, can't you?

Absolutely.

So, are you going to be talking with us

and sharing your opinion?

Sharing my opinion, sharing my stories.

Yes, which hopefully will be valued by both of you.

No comment.

No comment at all.

And also, we want to engage with you.

We'll have Q&As and we'll take on board.

What do people want, though, in a podcast?

What do people want to hear?

Well, I think people...

Well, in all sorts of...

Podcasts are very niche business.

It can be very small.

You can cater for a certain amount of people.

But I think we want to do the whole football experience, don't we?

We want to talk about what's going on at the time.

We want to reminisce a little bit sometimes.

We want to tell our stories, our experiences,

our knowledge of what it's like in dressing rooms.

And I think our podcast can be unique in that front,

because, well, you and I have a lot of experience,

and you have youth on your side,

and you've obviously played with a lot of these guys.

How old are you now, Gary?

I'm just... It's just a question.

I'm 62, mate.

No, you're looking very well.

And you?

Summared well, aren't you?

Summared well?

You summed well.

I'm 35.

35, yes.

How old is he, in his 50s now?

What are you, Al?

53 next week.

Next week?

We'll have a special cake for you.

What day is it?

What day is your birthday?

13th of August.

Just before the start of the season.

That must have played occasionally the other day of the season,

on your birthday.

A lot of the times, yeah.

Yeah.

A lot of the times, yeah.

So...

You scored your birthday?

Yeah.

Come on.

Hated.

I hated pre-season.

Did you?

With a passion.

It actually used to spoil the last week of my holiday.

Because I couldn't run.

Yeah.

Could you not?

Everyone used to take it themselves.

Have you ever seen him play?

Of course he couldn't run.

Yeah, but he's always a fit lad.

He was in great shape, wasn't he?

Well, I just couldn't run.

And everyone used to think I was taking the piss and being lazy.

Because I was 30 or 40.

I was further back from the group that week.

I was exactly the same.

Was you?

Yeah, I was exactly the same.

I was going to say we were sprinters, but...

You weren't even that either, were you?

Yeah, my prime.

Because I couldn't run long distance, though.

Sometimes you did those cross-country runs.

Yeah.

And I remember actually...

It's the one thing I felt quite bad about during my career.

We played it when I was playing at Tottenham.

After the World Cup in Italian 90, I was kind of shot.

And we used to run this...

We used to train at Mill Hill.

We used to have this big area.

We'd run around Alta Prima to a couple of miles.

And we had to do two laps.

And on the first lap, we started.

I was already kind of behind everyone else.

I just couldn't do that long distance stuff.

And I actually hid behind a bush.

I hid behind a bush on the first lap.

And then when they joined me again,

just as they went past me, I just joined them.

And I was still last!

Shut up!

I was still last!

And it's true, but Terry Venable's got wind of it.

And he pulled me into his office and he went,

he went, no, that's not really...

He said, and I actually went,

Terry, I know, I'm sorry.

Honestly, I'm sorry.

I should have done that, but...

Yeah.

I had my worst season.

Who grassed you up, though?

I don't know to this day.

You always used to get the...

All the fit guys who was like Sprint past,

used to laugh at you and I used to show,

get the fucking balls off!

See how good you are!

What about you, Mikey?

Look at the size of me carrying this around the track.

No chance.

I was always last.

Why?

Yeah, I was always last.

But Sprint?

Sprint's I was always first.

Yeah, same, same.

We've got something in common,

then we're all shit at running long distance.

You don't need to be long distance.

We're absolutely...

No, none of us are midfield players.

No, no, exactly.

Yeah.

So what did you used to do during the summer?

Are we talking...

Do you have holidays in the summer?

There was one summer,

obviously we've talked before about my rendezvous,

let's say,

but there was one summer I went to Ayanapa.

Do you remember?

I don't know if it was that,

in you lost time as well?

I know, I know of Ayanapa.

It was a pie place.

I know, yeah.

So basically it's like what...

Well, not that old, by the way.

It's like no auntie,

it's not the kids who are doing that,

it's auntie, they go to auntie, don't they?

It was Ayanapa back in the day,

it was R&B, hip-hop, house.

And I just remember going there

and I was steaming for the whole week,

I was drunk,

do you know what I mean?

It's your downtime, isn't it?

You have a few drinks and whatnot.

But then one of the days,

I started feeling a little bit weary.

And I can drink, I mean,

I'm rarely drunk, I know what I'm doing.

I just, I just, I just felt like,

something wasn't right.

And then the doctor came to the,

we were staying like a villa.

And it was when swine flu was swine through.

Swine through?

Swine flu was rife, do you remember?

Do you remember?

Well, you can say it by the way.

You got swine through.

So we're all sat here.

Swine through, was it?

We're all in a row.

So like, I'm with my six mates.

I'm like, we're all feeling like row

because we've been drinking.

So the doctor's coming like past,

and my mate goes and said, oh, you're fine.

So he's checking us.

You know, I didn't know what he did.

He did something like check your heart,

check your, put your stuff in ears

and took some blood tests.

And he said he was fine.

And then my next mate, he said he was fine.

And I was in the middle, but I'm sweating.

I'm thinking, please, because like pre-season,

like pre-season is starting a week after.

And then he comes to me.

And you know, like when he's got an assistant with him,

and he's whispered into an assistant,

you just know for a while, it's me.

And then I had to stay there quarantined for two weeks.

Swine flu.

Swine flu.

Hang on, I need a question.

Who did you catch swine flu?

Well, basically it was that thing.

He said, you might not want to know that.

I don't know, I was kissing or getting quarantined.

I don't know, I was kissing.

I was a horrible person, you know what I mean?

You were kissing a swine.

And then I was on a balcony.

And then I was, I just went to some fresh air.

I said, don't leave the room or whatnot.

And basically there was paparazzi just waiting for me.

I had this big like tissue wipe of my nose.

And then I got back to England.

I was just looking for a house.

I remember I was going to look at Robbie Savage's house.

And he wouldn't let me in because he thought like I was gonna.

Contagious.

Yeah, so.

But you'd only done your quarantine.

So I was, I'd already done my quarantine.

I've done my quarantine for about a month.

But that was one of my worst memories on holiday.

Which season was that?

Where were you at the time?

I was at Man City.

Oh, alright.

Yeah.

I'm not solving that, but I exploded.

Yeah.

You know.

Looks like you've exploded.

This summer's not that good.

Oh, do they not have any?

No, Jenna's not.

Do they not have any?

Come on, just go on, get closer with these gugs.

Come on.

Look at this.

Yeah.

By the way, do they not have any fucking irons in the hotel, either?

They've got more creases in there on your face.

Do we have to look to be very sure that's tight?

Well, this is the sort of thing we can expect

on the rest is football.

So we kick off for real on Monday

with the first episode proper.

We'll be asking who's seriously going to challenge Manchester City?

Will Harry Kane still be around to break Alan Shearer's record?

And what on earth is going on at Chelsea?

And much, much more.

It's going to be a belting season with the Euros on the end of it.

Loads to discuss.

Don't forget to subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.

And we'll see you there.

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.