For Tranmere fans looking to get an additional dose of Rovers content, there is some good news.
A brand new unofficial podcast will shortly be launching focussed on speaking with TRFC cult heroes and forgotten faces, telling the stories that fans have likely never heard.
The new podcast, named A Trip To The Moon, will launch this month, with several special guests from around the world already lined-up to come and talk about the time they spent at Tranmere, their fondness for the club, and lifting the lid on some of those footballing tales that can fascinate fans.
It will be presented by Matthew Jones and Richard Ault – both lifelong Tranmere fans – with the idea being to create something a little more off-beat and niche than the mainstream football content currently found around the web.
Matt will be a familiar name to many Tranmere fans, having covered the club for multiple media outlets in recent years, including the Liverpool Echo, Radio City and Radio City Talk. An experienced broadcast journalist, he now presents his own weekday drive time show on Radio City Talk, and ensures Rovers are never short of coverage.
Richard also qualified as a journalist originally, formerly working in PR while also writing features and interviewing ex-Tranmere players for roversrearguard.com between 2003 and 2008. More recently, Richard has stayed close to football, helping to organise Ian Goodison’s testimonial in 2015, assisting with elements of John Achterberg’s in 2005, and as a football photographer has covered many Tranmere games, as well as non-Tranmere fixtures across domestic and European competitions.
Speaking about the new show, Richard said: “The idea for the podcast was literally born out of a five-minute conversation with Matt by text message a couple of weeks ago. We’re both big Tranmere fans, obviously, but also have a fascination with stories about players connected with Tranmere that perhaps disappeared off people’s radar completely, or promised a lot but things never quite worked for them.
“We’re convinced there are some fascinating stories to be told, and while it may be a little niche even within Tranmere’s fan base, it’s something we’re excited about.”
Matthew said: “I love speaking to people and I love hearing their stories. It’s what I do! Everybody has something interesting to say.
“The people we want to interview are the those who we maybe haven’t previously heard from.
“They aren’t all legends. But a lot has happened at Tranmere down the years, so I hope we can find those little nuggets of information that fascinate us as much as it will the listener.”
The aim is for the podcast to be a laid-back chat rather than a dry and serious interview. That said, those players involved will still be asked questions to which fans will want to hear the answers.
Richard added: “It’s definitely a proper podcast we’re aiming for, an informal yet engaging chat about the player’s time at Tranmere, and their career in general. The affinity many ex-pros have for the club is incredible – the ones we have already spoken to could not wait to get involved and talk about their time at the club.
The pair say they swiftly drew up a list of more than 20 former players they wanted to speak with and set about trying to find out where the players are located now, and even tougher still, how to contact them.
Information about the podcast, upcoming episodes and show notes will all be available via this website at www.roversrearguard.com/atriptothemoon.
