The return of Aston Villa Review: what, why, when, where and how

That's Aston Villa Review's music! Bah gawd!

In 2017, I made two big decisions about the future of Aston Villa Review, the podcast I started with Steven Green five years earlier.

The first decision was that there was no future for it. The second decision was that if life ended up putting Aston Villa content back at the top of my list of priorities, the first thing I would do was talk to Steve about bringing the podcast back.

Both of those things have happened.

So, the headline is that Aston Villa Review is back and will be spearheaded by the podcast, with Steve back at the mic with me, just the way it should be.

But eight years is a long time to leave a podcast dormant and there are some explanations and details behind the decision to return.

Many of the practical considerations are covered in our FAQs and About page.

Some of the others, well, they warrant some honesty on my part.

Last October, I quit my job without a safety net or a nest egg or any of the things you’re supposed to have when you pull the ripcord on the doorstep of forty.

I’ve been fortunate that freelancing has pushed me away from my previous career and into sports journalism. I have some regular work and fantastic clients but the reality is it’s not a stable income and I need to work a little harder.

That means getting my name out there and writing more. It also means applying old expertise to new skills and doing it in a way that ensures my writing will be seen.

This is my answer to those challenges. Let’s address some of the implications.

The podcast

It always shocks me when people ask if the Aston Villa Review podcast will ever come back or say how much they miss it.

We weren’t first out of the blocks in the world of Aston Villa podcasts but we weren’t far off. Now, there are podcasts and YouTube channels and The Athletic and the brilliant House of V and Dan Bardell and basically a lot of good stuff to consume as a Villa supporter.

But I missed it too.

In the intervening years I’ve drifted off into non-league football and had a few different jobs, and have found myself quite unexpectedly earning a living as a sports writer.

All the usual things that happen to people across the thick end of a decade have happened to me as well but watching Villa return as a force was the most unexpected of them all.

I’ve been quiet, but I haven’t been gone.

When I resolved to throw my time, effort and hopes into writing about the Villa again, podcasting with Steve was the easiest possible decision and I’m thrilled he’s on board.

The paywall

There are two tiers of subscription to the new Aston Villa Review and I want to be absolutely clear from the outset that I do need paying subscribers. That’s the long and short of it.

The idea is that the paid subscription layer is additive. I want the free subscription to be worthwhile and the paywall to be about providing more content for paid subscribers, not less for free subscribers.

Anyone who subscribes either way has my eternal gratitude.

Here’s what’s on offer. Please, if you can subscribe, consider doing so.

The plan

Overall, the plan is to provide ad-free, free range, nose-to-tail coverage of Aston Villa Football Club.

Short-term, it looks like this:

As of today, Aston Villa Review is up and running as a Substack, written by me and publishing on a regular schedule that (a) you can take to the bank as long as I have the paid subscribers to justify putting my work time into it and (b) will reduce significantly otherwise.

The Aston Villa Review podcast is coming. We haven’t locked in a date for it just yet but our plan is to bring it back around the end of the season and the start of the transfer window so we’re having a really good run-up towards the start of next season.

We’re back. Let’s ‘ave it.