 Welcome to the Inside the Game podcast I'm joined in the studio today by Julia Boll who presents the weekend preview show on a Friday on BBC Radio Masyside. Well remembered, thank you. I've got to get that right to give me a stare and it was a bit scary, I'll be honest. Thanks for coming in. Absolute pleasure, it feels really odd being here because you know you watch at home and I feel like, I don't watch the soap operas but I feel a little bit like, you know if you go on the Corrie tour or something and you can go in the Rover's return, I feel a bit like this is what this is, it's bizarre. Wierd to see it, it looks different, that's coronation see, if you've ever done that, there you go. Come on then, how did you get into your journalism? As a child were you sporty, were you into your sports? I wasn't necessarily sport, I did a lot of dancing, all that kind of stuff, so I was sporty in that way but I loved radio. I was obsessed with radio as a kid, used to make my own radio station called Radio 600, which I got from because I used to think well radio one's pretty good, radio two's pretty good. I knew at the time I wasn't very good, so I thought if I go down the north, around about 600 that's probably my level, so I did Radio 600 and with my high speed dubbing and all that kind of stuff and you get a blaster, no-one will have a clue if they're young now, with your tapes and stuff. I used to just be obsessed with radio, listening to radio and I loved people talking about sport, I didn't know at the time but the psychology of sport, I liked hearing sports people talk about themselves away from the usual settings and I used to practice, which is really sad, when it was C-facts, I used to practice reading the sport out loud off C-facts and you had to time it perfectly because the page returned and you'd miss the bottom of the story. That's probably where I started thinking I'd like to do this and then at school I remember the careers advisor saying what do you want to do and I said I like to do sports on the radio and they just looked at me and said do you want to be a teacher? And I was like no I don't want to be a teacher so I went to uni and I did English with business and management studies so nothing to do with what I'm doing now because again nobody really knew what to do with me and a girl I think especially was a bit unusual at the time, it was more than 20 years ago and then I sat there one day and I thought right and I wrote to every radio station in the north west that I could think of and I introduced myself and I said can I come in for a week and spend a week with you? And I heard from Nod so apart from one which was Rock FM in Preston so I was working in a bar at night as a student and I was travelling there in the day and went in for a week initially. I just worked my backside off for a week for free and they said I tell you what no one's in next week doing work experience do you want to stay? And I was like yeah fair enough and then it got to the Wednesday and they said do you want to go on air? And I thought oh my goodness this took a turn and so yeah I read a few bulletins on air on the radio and I was thinking I was terrified but I thought I really like this. And they covered Preston and all that kind of stuff it was really nice to be able to do that and it was there six months on work experience. I never left it was the weirdest thing and then there often were a few freelance shifts and then through that your name gets about so there was Tower FM. None of these stations exist anymore but Tower FM in Bolton got in touch because they knew somebody and said oh we've got some work coming up so yeah went there and that meant I could do a bit of stuff where they covered Bolton and Berry. Bolton were in the Premier League at the time and yeah so it was kind of... And Berry were the thing? And Berry still existed yeah so that was good and yeah and I was there about a year and at the time they used to send jobs down. We had like an IRN list again none of this exists anymore IRN doesn't exist and one for Radio City came up and that's where I'd always thought I'd love to work at Radio City. Was that the dream? That was the dream yeah and I actually didn't initially get the job I was second for the job and the lad who got the job over me got offered another job and he went somewhere else so they rang me up and said do you want to come back and I was like yes I do. And that's how yeah I ended up round here really and yeah just an amazing experience at Radio City I think it was there five six years. Loved it yeah loved it loved every minute of it. I'm just loving the fact that you were reading She-Fact but that's like stuck with me I mean. It's embarrassing. Tell a text that again. People have a shit needs and be like what are these people talking about? I guess it was like how did you describe it to someone now? How did you describe that to a 12 year old? Yeah basically like... The internet. I was going to say like a website but then they don't even know what it was. It was YouTube and TikTok and all of that but it was literally just like a website on the telly I suppose with links wasn't it page 401. Yeah you could book everything from your holiday. Your holiday yeah. To get the football scores. To get the scores and the big thing at the bottom you know club called only like 19 pounds a minute to here. I'm interested in 17 well class strikers it was all a blag. But yeah reading the stories on that was amazing. That's good but that shows that insight that you know you've identified or actually like this and then practising. Yeah it was a good way of practising because that is a lot of... Especially when I was starting out and they used to say if you're a woman your voice is naturally high and when the adrenaline kicks in when you're on air you naturally go higher again. So they used to get us to write on our scripts because we had paper scripts slow because if you slow down your voice goes lower and low. So you'd always think about don't go too high pitch because people don't like women high pitch particularly on sport. So yeah and all these things have stuck with me and even now I'll think you're speaking too fast slow down. So it was good grounding yeah but it is funny I think women are probably... I mean you heard it with commentators didn't you when we first started Jackie Oakley on Match of the Day and everything and I felt at the time I think I'd have just preferred to have put Match of the Day on and hear a female commentator but I think there was a big hullabaloo the week before wasn't there and I think it makes it too much. Cos it is genuinely harder being a woman it's easier than it was but it's not easy. I was going to say because obviously you're talking about that at the time and when it started in 20 years or whatever there really wasn't you know there wasn't that many I think of Gabby Logan Roslyn. What's in it Gabby Logan? Roslyn was big work. Roslyn was big work. Gabby Logan. She's also good. Yeah it was good yeah but not the Gabby I'm thinking of. Gabby Logan and obviously Clair Baldin's been you know huge constant I guess and it's been quite a while but even it's that novelty thing I think would be the way they put it at first it's oh look we've got a woman in the studio and there is it I guess from like this I haven't got a clue. How it feels like to be a woman doing it so from this side of it it is I think there is a mentality and you do you still see ridiculous things on social media and all that but people are in a very male dominated thing. It's like you can't talk about this cos this is a male sport so what was it like the other side of the fence coming into that? Yeah do you know someone once said that to me they said you can't interview male footballers because you've never played men's football and I thought well clearly I've never played men's football. It's quite obvious I've not played men's football but that doesn't mean I can't ask questions. Yeah I remember actually going to an Everton press conference and it was one of the first times I've been to these big press conferences and they're terrifying. It's so easy for fans to go that was a stupid question you know when you're watching along now on YouTube or whatever but they are terrifying and I remember it was at Bellefield it was before Finch Farm even existed and they used to drive in and there was a porter cabin on the left that they'd take the manager in and it was odd it was like a porter in and they'd do the press conference in there. It was bizarre thing ever and you would go in and I remember walking in one day and even now I quite often go to a press conference and I'm the only female. So I think I was 24, 25 walked in the porter cabin and everybody fell silent and nobody spoke to me nobody said hello nobody said a word. I don't remember thinking this is awful but you can't do anything because you think I can't appear weak because obviously I'm a girl and they've all gone silent because nobody knows how to talk to me and we did the press conference and I asked my questions and nobody said bye on the way out or anything and they got in the car and cried. I cried all the way back to the studio thinking that was horrible and yeah I mean it was David Moyes at the time yeah it was when Moyes was there. Of course yeah Bellefield of course yeah and I just thought this is weird but I think unfortunately whereas now that doesn't happen now people do speak to me now I don't walk in at this time. I don't know if that would be allowed now. I don't know if people would make more of an effort. I don't know if it was because it was still really unusual particularly in local radio terms there wasn't really any other women going in. Yeah but I just always remember that. I remember it just everybody looking at me. I'll be honest we've been into some of them and some people don't. I'm speaking to general but I think really yeah that for you especially as like a young woman I must have been. I imagine it's because it isn't to fear you know we've been to different press conferences and what have you and it can be like the Carlo Anciolotti one where everybody seemed to be the press from all over the world so that one was quite intimate going into there. The scary places can be there but I guess for a young woman going into that environment as well and it must have been horrible. And I've had that a few times. I did a lot of trami games. I covered trami quite a bit because I couldn't get into doing sort of the bigger clubs. I don't know what I loved it. I did it for three seasons home and away loved it but again very different experiences depending on where you went. I mean trami were always brilliant with me so I can't fault them and even now when I deal with them they're amazing. I remember going on a way trip. I was going to say the club. I won't say the club but I went on a way trip and the person that was in charge of sorting all the press out was an older fella. I clearly didn't understand that a girl had come to cover the game. It completely blew his mind. I said which one's my ISDN points so I could set my kit up. So another guy, a younger fella said oh you're there. As you do you set all your kit up and I thought right. It had been quite a long journey in the car and I thought I'll go and get a cup of tea. So I went to where you buy a cup of tea and the lady said oh you're actually a media aren't you and I said yeah I'm here to cover the game. She went oh you don't have to pay for your cup of tea. There's an earn over there. Help yourself. Fair enough. I got a cup of tea and I was going over my notes. The older press fella came over and he was just awful and he said oh typical woman getting a cup of tea for free. Then said to me and why have you set up there wrong place just assuming you could go wherever you want to go. Honestly I just wanted to cry. I said oh your colleague told me oh my colleague I doubt my colleague told me this is just women isn't it thinking they could come in and set up where they want. And again I just thought I just want the ground to swallow me up. Everybody was looking. But for every negative there's a lot of positive stories and I have to say as time goes on people are great and a lot of people have looked after me. I don't think it's easy as a woman coming in and I speak to a lot of the local girls that are out there now and we kind of have whatsapp groups which is nice so you can say oh it was horrible and it's lovely that we've kind of got that because I don't feel I had that when I started out. I didn't really have anybody I can say. This is horrible. Why isn't it talking to me? I've never had an issue with managers or players. I was going to say has there ever been anything with the... I mean managers can be stuff regardless whether you're male or female. They don't like your question. They don't like your question. Exactly. And if they're under pressure and I'm just thinking of David Moyes. I worked at Everton for 11 years so I come across David Moyes in a different role a few times. And some days he was fantastic and other days you just wanted to get out the room because he looked like you were in there. But that was with everybody? Everybody was like and I guess so I imagine with him he could be particularly prickly whether you're male or female but was it generally or have you found it generally okay? I can genuinely say I've never had an issue. I've probably had more of an issue with colleagues. Not necessarily my colleagues I've worked with but other journalists I think have been a bit more prickly with me. Which seems odd. I've certainly never had an issue with any players as I say. No issue with any managers. There was one manager I remember said he was doing a trami game and they were with the away team and they used to come after the postmatch that if you print a park and they used to bring them down the tunnel and you'd be there. And just in front of everyone again because probably because I stand out because I was the only female then he went oh nice to have a young lady here. As everybody started and I think he had actually genuinely meant it as a nice thing but everybody started sniggering. And again I just thought it was really uncomfortable. Yeah again but you feel like a novelty. It's probably been harder. I always feel like I have to be ten times more prepared. And I was talking to Sue Smith about this because I think she's brilliant on the telly Sue Smith. I think she's just so she knows all the facts and she says she went honestly I have to prep and prep and prep because I just feel like if you make a slight mistake or somebody wants to disagree with you they'll come for you. And that's another reason I've only recently gone on social media. I've only been on social media for the last year which is weird. It's bad anyway. I think just in general I think social media anyway it can be fantastic. It's a great tool of course it is. It's fantastic. But it allows everybody to have an opinion and say whatever they want. And they wouldn't necessarily say it to your face. I always think that. I mean I've had an odd email. I remember somebody complained and it was actually a woman that she didn't like me doing the sport because I speak too clearly. And it annoyed her. That was one of my favourites. I was going to say. But I always just reply and go thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate what you say. And I always take on board everybody's comments. Hope you enjoy the show. And then nine times out of ten you get one back because I don't think they realise that if they send it to everybody at the station you're going to see it. And they go oh actually I really love the show. It's really nice. I like what you're doing. It's just it's a thing with social media. People can say whatever they want. Where like a few years ago or if you stay off it you can do your job almost blissfully. I want to get better every day and every time I do it I hope it's better than yesterday and you get on with it the minute you start reading social media. You could go and hand out a million pounds to everyone and people would call you flash or you haven't given them enough or whatever. So you know there is going to be that 80-20 element regardless isn't there? But I think for women as well you know certainly with footballs can say and people are looking for you to make the mistake so they can jump on you. Do you like to jump on everyone anyway? Especially you take something about dating. Absolutely. You've done it. You've finished. And it's not their opinion. And it's like sometimes even like doing this it's like it's just my opinion on that. I'm not the oracle. So if I say something you don't agree that's fine. It's just how I see it. I imagine it's 10, 15 times worse. Definitely. I mean I've had to start blocking people and I don't like to do that. And it's really rare that I do that. It's a tremendous button to block. But there was just one guy that just decided he just didn't like me because I was a woman on the sport and just anything. And I'm very aware because I remember having this a while ago another journalist said as a woman you can't laugh. Can't have a laugh when you're doing the sport. You can't sort of joke with a player or a manager because you come across dim as a woman. And that's what we stuck with me. So for quite a while I played it really straight because I wasn't a panic thinking I don't want to come across stupid. And even now I'm thinking if I just laugh too much on this interview and people are going to think I'm a bit dizzy or something. And this guy currently has decided to message quite a lot saying he hopes I lose my job. Hopes my show gets cancelled because I sit there laughing too much and it's serious and I shouldn't be laughing. And I think yeah do you know what it is? Football's serious. But also we can't take it massively serious all the time because otherwise it'd be really depressing. And the world's depressing enough. There's too many depressing things going on. There is. I mean like you said do the 80-20. Long as 80% of it's positive ignore the other 20%. It's a weird world. When I think of things like that, like how prepared Alex Scott who I think is tremendous and has often put them into shame with the knowledge or shit. And then if people go not a knowledge it's a prep then whatever it is she's ready go do it. Whether it's a knowledge or whether it's a prep. And she's played the game as well. And she openly says you know I go home and I prep prep prep. And if you look she's always got a file in front of her and it's all a prep. And that's why and you're not there to necessarily be an expert. You know if I'm interviewing Frank Lampard he's the expert. I'm not going to tell him what he should be doing but I'm there to bridge the gap. And I think a good interview is when actually nobody notices if I was there. Because I've got really good answers through what I've done. And really I should go completely unnoticed. Well we've had Alison McGowan in to do a different show. Who's got a bit of a reputation for asking difficult questions I guess. Some people don't like it. I've had issues sometimes with what he asks. But I asked him I said you know I haven't loved your questions all the time. And he was like well you know explaining that sometimes you know he might be forth. And therefore the easy questions have already been asked. And all he's got a different and he's trying to build something into a different story. So he wants that. But sometimes the manager might have answered Sky say with an easy and open goal question. You know is Dominic Alderloo an injured? Yeah he's injured. OK what about and then it's gone. And then Alison McGowan's gone back and gone. You know you said he was injured. The manager opens up and gives three or four. That's what you're you know if you ask the right question you get an interesting answer. Yeah I mean those press conferences are weird. And as I said before it's so easy when you're sat watching it going what was that question that was ridiculous. But if you are like Alistair or sometimes I'm behind him sometimes if I go. And you think all the prep you do and you can have like an A4 sheet of loads of notes loads of questions you think right well Sky you know they obviously pay the most money so they go first and then Premier League productions go next and then it might be five live and you think right well I'm fourth. But about 16 questions have gone. And you're thinking I've got nothing so sometimes you just want to go you're right Frank. I've got no questions and so you have to sometimes ask a question that you probably didn't want to ask or it's slightly off the wall or you have to go back and get more details on something because otherwise you know especially now it's live on YouTube you can't make an idiot of yourself. You can maybe if I don't know maybe I'm being unfair maybe if a male colleague sort of asked a wishy washy question no one would really say anything if I ask a wishy washy question because I'm the only female voice you don't see us but everyone it's quite clear I'm not a man and they give me the microphone it's quite clear I stand out for a different reason and I think if you're daydreaming you know watching a you know you might let your mind wander or whatever and then you go oh that's a woman asking a question and suddenly everyone's listening to my question and I'm very aware of that. But yeah I agree with Alistair you're way down the list and you're thinking oh my questions have gone what we're going to do. And Sky seem to get about 400 questions and I don't know if it's a time thing they get or they ask about three questions in one. It's a three part question. Yeah it is very strange those flash confinances are strange. As it always been radio then that you've been in you know you're saying you went to various radio stations that aren't there anymore and then Radio City so when you went to Radio City what were you actually doing there then? I was doing sort of news and sport I've always been again and I don't know if it's a woman thing I've always been part news, part sport I've never been fully sport which is kind of the dream in between City and BBC Radio Merseyside or was it Everton? We were in there at the same time but yeah it was one of the club journalists there which I really enjoyed. It was something I hadn't done before it was slightly different and I think you quickly learn if you're a journalist you know sometimes you can't ask those tough questions as a club journalist because you can't because you're there for a very different reason you're there to give access to players and you can't go Was that frustrating? I found it quite difficult I remember doing an interview with Distan because I was there when he was there and he was a really honest guy and did a very long interview with him and I wrote it all up and it was like a really long read and it was about when Portsmouth were in financial difficulties and he was talking about that and he was talking about you know I think of receptionists who lose their jobs when clubs go and get relegated and they get stopped or they get fined and he was calling for tougher regulations and fit and proper person tests which we get you know allegedly allegedly then that's a whole other programme and I found it fascinating and I wrote it that that was kind of the top line and it was quite critical of authorities and I had to water it down because it was seen as giving him an opinion and I was told you know it's a great piece but put it further down I couldn't top line with it and I do find that quite difficult I think and it's a skill in itself being a club journalist particularly when you're on a bad run it's all fine you know if you're winning I would say you can put any old tat on the social media then if you're winning because everyone's like this is ace it's a different skill in itself so then to Merseyside Merseyside, again I was quite news based to start with it's taking a while and there's been a constant turn of staff as you would get and the editor now is brilliant he's been instrumental in putting me on the sport giving me a sport show which I absolutely love and I'm going more that way now which is what I've always wanted to do and I try and take my show to as many sporting things as well so this year I've been to life from Aintree which getting the kit to work was just a nightmare held together by Sticky Tape and String obviously it's an FA Cup final with the other side of the park and Paris with the other side of the park but unfortunately I got teargassed in that so that wasn't particularly pleasant experience Wimbledon was a really cool one never been at all but managed to do the show from Wimbledon enjoy it so different so different at the TV or it was more sort of on top of each other do you know what I couldn't get over the smell it smells that sounds ridiculous it smells amazing it smells like the most impressive garden centre because they've got all the living walls and the flat things and I thought wow it smells lovely don't know if it's because you're at football it doesn't smell nice totally different smell in fact I remembered you in a game it was at South End years ago when I was covering a trombie and you were in like a press box and it had glass you were inside oh my god and it stank and it's the only time I think of it ever been early and I got some perfume out and I just sprayed everything cos it just stank of mould and all sorts but yeah Wimbledon was lovely and very different very different pace not as chaotic maybe but yeah really good experience did you have strawberries and cream of course I don't like cream so I didn't have cream but I did have the strawberries and a little bit of champagne sadly not, didn't have the pins but the strawberries were the best strawberries I've ever had in my life that's what you're there for there's nothing wrong with that I ate them on air to test that's proper journalism to me that you're investigating something that is synonymous I wanted to check if they were value for money if they were value for money and they were and they were telling this is really boring fact I'm really sorry but for 10 years the price has been frozen on the strawberries so they remain the same price that's fantastic pity energy bills and everything else everything else has gone getting into Wimbledon was really expensive but the strawberries were really cheap again you can't knock that obviously things are changing I'm not sure what you're operating in now is very different than what you're certainly in the port of Cabin and Bellefield where everyone's gone quiet as you're walking into a country pub in the old town now that kind of scenario have you noticed that you're seeing more females around but you've just said quite often a Finch fan you're the only woman there which is a bit strange surely I think national TV maybe makes it look like there are more women because you mentioned Alex Scott again I think she's fabulous and how she deals with the criticism I think he's brilliant I thought she's brilliant on the Olympics it was essentially your accent wasn't it and again I've had it about I'm a Northerner I don't really care I like being a Northerner I don't want to have a Southern accent so I have had that about my accent I'm just kind of like whatever Do we love listening to Southern accents Do we love listening to Southern accents It depends who it is It depends who it is if the talking sense so I think when you watch TV now and I think Sky's very good at always having either 50-50 or women involved I think maybe at radio level there's Juliette at Five Live again who are no well and I think she's great but she can't cover everything because she can't be in 20 places at once but yeah still quite often I'll be the only female that's something I think with the WSL getting bigger rightly so that's on TV much more I'll be at the Everton game on Saturday because they do the stadium announcing which I do love and they have a lot of female commentators on that pundits etc and that's right I think there's still a long way to go without having it it's nowhere near 50-50 it's not even 25-75 conferences or radio terms or anything like that so there's a long way to go a long way to go and this probably just for the experience and getting a little bit older even though you don't see them are you just more comfortable because you've been doing it for so long or is it still yeah I think age plays a part because just naturally as you get older you think what you used to be worried about you're just not worried about now and that's something I do panic sometimes I can't eat before going to a press conference because I do know my questions will be looked at and I could get grief for it yet I will get grief for it some people either think I shouldn't be asking a manager about the team's form because I am a woman I'm probably less nervous but I'm still stressed I think I've always had a situation as an adult as well since I was about 20-21 I'd go to a football game on my own so that side of it doesn't bother me I went to Wimbledon day and back on my own I took all the kit myself set that up I'm not bothered but I can see it is intimidating for some women whether they're a fan going on their own and I'm in a her game too a lot of fans and ambassadors and it's got to the point now it's really nice, it's dark and if you're coming out of Goodison it's dark and you've parked at Stanley it's just a lot of dog pictures it's a lot of dog pictures it's dark and you're a woman that's gone on your own I don't walk through Stanley Park I go the long way around women on it have started going I'm sat in such a block if you want to meet me after and maybe that's a provision for women that can get better for fans and for female easier because it is dark and you've got kit as well I often think I was talking to a female photographer at Games she said I've got to walk back to my car and I've got all this kit it's things that you don't think about but also I don't think we want to make a fuss because we don't want to seem different to the men it's ridiculous it is ridiculous because you should be able to say I don't feel very safe going to my car so can I have some kind of provision for walking back to my car but at the same time I think I don't want to be treated any differently so I'll just shut up and get on with it it's odd and I think sometimes I've let things go in the past that I wouldn't let go now but I'm 43 I'm not 23 when I was 23 I just used to go yes okay I think 70% of the time probably I still do nod a degree there's a nod to time I will say no that's not acceptable that's not right maybe when I'm 53 I'll be the other way I really don't care that's not on but I still haven't got that confidence no but I guess you build enough when you've been in it for so long and you are seeing changes but it's probably not cooking up but that's a confidence thing as well or like you say just maybe eight I'm not having that it is what it is obviously talking about the WSL it's getting bigger Walton All Park it always gets decent crowds we've obviously seen the lionesses win the Euros in the summer which was incredible in England actually winning something and it took the women to do it with brilliance and machine jeels starting the jungle she does not win that jungle there is something wrong she's great but does that is that all helping as well do you think on that Janey because obviously people Wembley was full it was a real buzz about it for days does that all help yeah and I think I found myself really emotional when the full time whistle went I burst into tears at home and I thought why have I just started crying because I wasn't drinking so it wasn't the ale and I was thinking I heard Rachel Brown she was quite emotional Alex Scott was emotional and it felt a lot for women in sport whether you play football or whatever sport you're in or you cover it or just fans this might be everyone's going to be heard now we're going to be taking seriously and we've got a part to play in this I don't think the momentum has continued as fast as everybody would have liked to have seen it but I went into work the next day and I was fired up I was like I am not taking anything now I am going to be included in everything and I am a woman in sport I don't think it's hard to keep that level going because you can't have the lionesses winning a tournament every week and unfortunately that's what it's going to take I think the WSL I think the TV rights have made it a lot better I think Everton have always been great and I'm not just saying that because I'm sat here Everton have always been great the women have been at Finch Farm for quite some time get that they're very much included I think we're seeing a lot of women's teams included in just the kit launches and all that it's basic things about if you can't see it you can't be it it's as simple as that you can't be involved in it I'm seeing the numbers at Walton Hall Park going in the right direction I don't think Covid helped Covid impacted the women's game massively and that's such a shame because I think there was one game at Walton Hall Park and then the pandemic hit I think it was against United and then everything ground to a halt hopefully in the next 12 months it builds even more what I do like about women's football is there's the rivalry but it's not kind of as I don't know I don't know what the word is yes that's the word I'm looking for and I think everyone gets on a little bit more and I've seen players from other teams coming to Walton Hall Park and some of the Liverpool girls coming and watching the games and everybody seems to get on a little bit whether or not as it gets bigger that will stay I don't know if that's how it will keep but all the women's players I know that Chelsea came to Walton Hall Park a few weeks ago and Millie Bright obviously complete legend now of the game because of what she's done with England I was already getting in my car and she was still signing autographs making photographs for anybody who wanted one and I think that's what the women have to do they know that and they're ambassadors for the game and seeing Jill Scott she just is a lovely person a lot of them are lovely and they're all having to do sort of university courses they're all having to do that because they know when they finish that's not the end they can't retire they haven't got billions in the bank this is a job and then they need another job when they finish and they can't all be pundits because there's not enough roles so I think Gabby George is doing some sort of legal type qualification Niko, she's doing engineering degree and she expects to go into I think it's innovation engineering which I don't know what that was but they're all really intelligent I think that there'll be people who will listen and they'll say we'll have to do exactly the same they can't retire and that's it so there will be that to any but the fact is the more it is available the more it is on TV the more success nations I was in Barcelona in October and the women's team they get huge crowds we've seen a Champions League and City Arsenal it's there I've been going to America for years and the women's team is bigger than Mike Byte Miles and I know there's other sports there which dominate but there is that interest we showed them the Whale Cup all of the headlines they've made and things like that it does seem like it's going in the right direction and I'm not going to City and it's going at a great pace because clearly I can never have that opinion I'm not on the other side like I've just said but listening to a gengwm at a Jill Scott talking about when she was playing football as a kid you know the boys and the given parents are giving a snick because she's taking the ball off but seeing lots of girls now young girls playing football it was alien when I was a kid I remember being a kid and you just couldn't play football and I think I'm pretty sure school at one point said you can't play with the boys in the playground because they were probably and maybe quite rightly I don't know that you might get clattered so you just couldn't do it but now I mean my son plays football and the amount of girls there's actual girls teams now so it used to be like you'd get an odd girl in with the boys at a certain age when they were told to stop but now there's just a few little ones there's entire squads and it's not saying like I say to my son it doesn't matter about going on and being a famous footballer that's not what I'm going to kick about it's a life skill, it's about learning how to lose because you don't always win in life and it's about working as a team and it's about making friends and I just think all those things getting outside getting the fresh air and it's maybe something that was shut to a lot of girls who really wanted to do that for so long and it's like well how about you go and do ballet or gymnastics or whatever it wasn't open to them but you see it with the athletics as well the girls are brilliant Catarina Johnson-Thompson, she is an absolute icon the Sasha Jonas in the boxing these are local women in Merseyside that are doing massive things Molly McCann obviously Bianca Wharton is another one they're just smashing all these boundaries and I just think there has never been a better time say to young girls you can do this nothing is without your reach and that's what I like, there's a long way to go there is a long way to go and as you rightly say some lead two footballers can't retire on what they've earned and I don't think it's even about that but it's about giving women the chance to say do you know what, it is different women's football is different and I know some guys go it's not for me which is fine it's completely fine but you don't need to badmouth it at the same time simple as that lioness is the final absolutely fantastic, the goals are brilliant it is improving, people will always have that opinion people will, I can't watch Premier League football after time because I'm traumatised it's stressful but the more it's on and the more it is and the more people will go okay then let's see what's what and the crowd will see and like we said before a lot more park around the stadiums will hopefully continue and it's accessible isn't it being able to go and watch women's football not just men's football but being able to go and think oh you know what why fancy that when I'm older I think that can only be that can only be a good thing and I think another criticism is oh well it's a quid for kids at women's football so that's why people are going well do you know what because it's expensive it is expensive to go to a Premier League game and if you haven't got a season ticket after time it's now unimpossible to get even so how do you introduce kids to live football because you're going to have a whole generation of kids that think it's either on TV or on FIFA and you know playing on the place so how do you get people to go and see live games well you make it accessible because everybody you know I'm sure I'm the same as you I'm like permanently if I need to put the heat on I'm like it's been on 44 minutes it's got to go off now and that's it that's how it is well god I have about three water bottles on the go at the minute so you know it isn't an easy time for any of us right now so how can you make football accessible you can make it cheap and you can get people to take their families it's the same as the under 21s games or whatever you get them in and they get to see some good football they get to see it live and they go home otherwise we're going to have so many kids that have never seen a live game and that worries me and it's also the affiliation being there and I especially like from an event for spell whatever it's ever women's team it is affiliation with the club and you see it live and the playing and kids enjoy that the thrill of going and it might take them on into the first team or they can get the other and have to meet them the more accessible so it is massively important just to finish then what for you because obviously we haven't achieved what you would like which is more women bouncing around press conferences so you're not on your own have you got somewhere where would you like to go with your career and what is your wishlist that you would like to see I do think going back to the start where I said Radio 600 I kind of always I don't really back myself and maybe I should so when I say Radio 600 I always knew it was a bit rubbish so I put the number really low I maybe need to I look at that as the other place that you started there so you could build up so don't go the other way you're building up maybe being happy to just be in the mix and I think it's only the last few years when I thought you know what no you've got to say no this is what I want I mean 5 years ago I never thought I would have a sports show maybe 18 months ago I never thought I'd have a sports show so to have done that and I kind of gave myself this year I said right you've got to go for it this year and if it's not happening maybe sport isn't for you and you go back into the news and what I've achieved in that 12 months where I've just gone you know what I'm going helpful ever here I'm going for everything is great so yeah I would like to do I'd like to be in the mix I'd like to do a lot more press conferences so I'm not stressing I think I will always stress I think I will do my millions press conference and still go in the car like that nerves are good they keep you sharp and yeah I'd like to do I don't know TV's never been a thing I just love radio but then it's a dying art so maybe I'm going to have to go down the TV route and I like doing I'd love to make documentaries sport documentaries because I love the psychology what makes people tick what makes and they are a different breed I don't care what anyone says they're not like us they're not they're completely different and yeah I like talking to a lot of the sports people about the psychology of them who they are you know we get frustrated and you can go home and you can mull over games or you can mull over what's happened but they're very different the way they do it so yeah maybe do some sort of series of people think yeah some sporting icons I'm trying to think of anyone I've not interviewed that I'd like to interview do you know what I love? Sue Barker I think again she was a trailblazer and I got to meet some people at Wimbledon but I didn't get to meet her but I'd love to and obviously kind of towards the end of her career I'm sure she's going to go and do something else I can't imagine now she's stepped back but yeah it's kind of I love talking to trailblazers well of course she took question of sport which was a huge... people might be looking now it's gone massively down a little bit it's not what it was but it was like a staple wasn't it maybe she won for years and that was obviously a lot of males on it because the sport it wasn't it got more females as it went on but for her she would be dead interesting it feels to me almost like you develop your radio show you get yourself a youtube channel and build your own podcast I don't know if anyone would be bothered about me but you've got to you're talking about backing yourself so if you want to set the example so that young women don't go what you went through right at the start you've got to put yourself out there better swinging than never swinging I think that's what it is I was going to say never throw in a punt maybe not that line that's not what I want to do having a shot trying and failing and working out where it went wrong coming back stronger I love taking the show out places so a lot more live stuff but it's getting a chance to go to places it's hard isn't it getting in places but anything like that the last 12 months I've realised I've got to be more vocal about it I've got to say things and I've got to go and if a girl arrives a woman I shouldn't say a girl arrives at something I'm at and I'll always go over and chat because I've been there when no one wants to talk to you and it's not a nice place you've got to be the example setter go and be the trade lazy you're talking about interviews that's not about that I like to go home and put my slippers on that's fine you can wear your cape until you get home and then you can put your slippers and get your water watch she's an iconic Avenger she probably still goes home and puts her slippers on spoiler alert her demise she doesn't go and put her slippers on now but she did and she was quite happy with that there you go the blazer in the day slippers and hot water bottle in the night but you're the same aren't you or are you at showbiz parties no I'm a celebrity I'm quite happy I've never watched it until this series and I'm completely hooked on it I've been hooked on it but I don't think for good reasons this one is a hard watch it's all part of it it's all part of that full documentaries yeah I watch a lot of them I don't know if you've watched the Tyson and Bruno one as well I recommend that one again for psychology behind sports people and I introduced my lads 14 I introduced him to the Senna documentary which is awesome and he went straight off and he was YouTube in Senna's best man and I thought that is peak parenting that's me done I'm done and I know a lot of people say do you watch Tauwe or Love Island I'm not judging anyone who does but I can't think of anything worse so I do tend to watch a lot of live sport I think do you know what actually I tell a lie I know what I'd love to do in an ideal world do the grid interviews when they're on the starting grid I had Jenny Gao on the show and I think she's awesome and I'd love to do that this makes me think with football these fellas are about to go and drive 200 miles an hour and two seconds before they get in the car there's someone with the microphone but we can't do pre-match with a player why not I think it'll change I think in the next few years it'll change because in America they do a lot of things like that we've said this lots of times we know people who are involved in with American clubs in the media and stuff they're in the changing room getting the right minutes after the game so the players have literally got to do what they're doing and the press are open the doors are open and then you go with the microphone and they've got to answer it we're starting to see managers being interviewed a half time now which we never did and that comes from America we've had a few of them recently I think they're on a router aren't they I think you're right, I think things will move because it is like a TV show isn't it I think all the Netflix series that we're seeing are changing what viewers want because you see it again, I watch a lot of follow-on and you see it and Christian Horner I know he's the pantomime villain of F1 but he's talking to his drivers one minute mid-race and then he's hooking up to the commentary and his voice and he's explaining what he's doing and I think all that will filter and football will be the last one to do it but I think they'll have to do it because it's going to become so competitive and there's so many other sports opening up like Netflix are doing the tennis now and I think Prime's in with a few other things that they're starting to film they're going to have to get on board and they can't keep everything behind closed doors anymore because it's not how people consume football You're going to say the audience is changing isn't it what we want is changing The next generation coming through they used to watching YouTubers they've got to change It's got to change How do you relax finally How do I relax, again I do a lot of dog walking I'm a really boring person I probably shouldn't say that I watch a lot of sport on TV so I don't really watch any soap operas or anything like that If I'm going to watch something I watch something that's complete tat I like the crown Crown's very educational I don't think it's educational because I don't think any of it's real I think there's a factor on through it and there's a lot of fluff around it So I think you do get bit of educational but you do obviously also get a fluff I think as it's got to now on the crown I can't believe I'm talking about the crown This is not where we've now gone but I think now because we know what's happening I think when it was the early series and clearly we're born when Queen Elizabeth took to the throne I lost all sense of reality and by the end of it I thought it wasn't clear for it I was watching a fly on the wall with the Queen I have to say to myself no you're a sensible person I was like no it's a fly on the wall documentary with the Queen To be fair they have done a good job on that There you go I watched a lot of Star Wars as well which I think you guys are quite into Star Wars I'll be on The original three I'm about to put Christmas tree up at home and my Christmas tree decorating film is an elf, isn't home alone it's The Empire Strikes Back She's the greatest film of all time No not just Star Wars film Of all time It's a great film Me and you have had a nice time I'm not arguing You just said you're not confident I'm scared right now I'm confident that The Empire Strikes Back I love it, it's a tremendous film I'm leaving Thank you very much for joining me There you go, check out Julia's weekend preview show which is on a Friday 6 till 7 Right there Big thanks for watching See you later