Were Blackpool 2009–11 one of the greatest one-season teams in Premier League history — not because they stayed up, but because they made themselves unforgettable?

In this episode of By Far The Greatest Team, Graham Dunn and Jamie Rooney dive into one of the most entertaining, improbable and strangely enduring football stories of the modern era: Blackpool from 2009 to 2011.

This is the story of a historic old club with deep roots, post-war glamour, three FA Cup finals after the Second World War, the legacy of Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen, and even the unusual honour of being Anglo-Italian Cup winners in 1971. But it is also the story of how, decades after their last top-flight season, Blackpool returned to the biggest stage under Ian Holloway and refused to behave like a club just happy to be there.

The episode tracks Blackpool’s rise through the 2009–10 Championship season, their dramatic play-off final win over Cardiff City at Wembley, and the financial madness of football’s so-called richest game. Graham and Jamie then explore the Premier League season itself: the 4–0 opening-day win at Wigan, Blackpool briefly sitting near the top of the table, the brilliance of Charlie Adam, the team’s fearless style of play, and the long, painful trend toward relegation.

Along the way, the episode also gets into the stranger and more revealing corners of the Blackpool story: the club’s tiny transfer budget compared with other promoted teams, the controversy around the “weakened team” fine after the Aston Villa game, the fact Blackpool used four goalkeepers in one Premier League season, and the unforgettable role of Holloway as both manager and narrator of the whole mad ride.

So how should Blackpool 2009–11 be remembered? As a brave but flawed team? A chaotic underdog story? A one-season wonder? Or one of the most lovable and culturally lasting sides of the Premier League era?

Takeaways

• Why Blackpool’s history mattered long before Ian Holloway arrived
• The truth about the “Matthews Final” and Stan Mortensen’s hat-trick
• How Blackpool won promotion through the 2010 Championship play-offs
• Why their Premier League transfer spend was so small compared to rivals
• How Charlie Adam and Holloway turned Blackpool into great entertainers
• The story behind the Aston Villa weakened-team fine
• How unusual it was for Blackpool to use four goalkeepers in one league season
• Why Blackpool went down with 39 points and still felt bigger than many survivors

If you enjoy football history, Premier League nostalgia, great forgotten teams, and deep dives into the stories behind the table, this one is for you.

Follow By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts, and let us know: how great were Blackpool 2009–11?

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7erZQ9qQEsa2Xq8Rg843Gv
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/by-far-the-greatest-team-football-podcast/id1678832405

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How Great Were Liverpool 1968–1974? | Bill Shankly’s Last Great Liverpool Side

Were Liverpool 1968–1974 the most important bridge in the club’s history — the side that not only won major honours, but carried Bill Shankly’s revolution from one great era into the next?

In this episode of By Far The Greatest Team, Graham Dunn and Jamie Rooney are joined once again by regular guest Declan Clark to explore the final great Liverpool side built by Bill Shankly.

This was a team in transition, but not in decline. As the giants of the mid-1960s faded, Shankly rebuilt again — reshaping Liverpool around new energy, new partnerships, and a new attacking edge. Out went some of the old certainties, and in came a side driven by Kevin Keegan, transformed by the arrival of John Toshack, and held together by the standards, steel, and emotional force that Shankly had embedded into the club.

The episode dives into Liverpool’s tactical evolution in the late 60s and early 70s, the growing importance of players like Emlyn Hughes, Tommy Smith, and Ian Callaghan, and the way this side adapted to a changing English game. We look at the domestic title battles, the near-misses, the rise of fierce rivalries with Leeds United, Arsenal, and Derby County, and the breakthrough of 1972–73, when Liverpool won both the league title and the UEFA Cup.

But this is also the story of endings. Shankly’s shock resignation in 1974 remains one of the most emotional departures in football history, and this episode reflects on what he left behind: not just trophies, but a culture, an identity, and the foundations of the Liverpool dynasty that followed.

Was this simply Shankly’s last great team — or one of the most important in Liverpool’s entire story?

Takeaways

• How Bill Shankly rebuilt Liverpool for a second great cycle
• Why Kevin Keegan and John Toshack became such a devastating partnership
• How Liverpool evolved tactically during the early 1970s
• Why the 1972–73 season was such a major moment in club history
• What Shankly’s final team left behind for the Liverpool sides that followed

If you enjoy football history, tactical evolution, and the stories behind the teams that shaped the game, this is the episode for you.

Listen / Watch

🎧 Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7erZQ9qQEsa2Xq8Rg843Gv

🍎 Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/by-far-the-greatest-team-football-podcast/id1678832405

📺 YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@BFTGT

If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

How Great Were Stoke City 2008–2013? | Tony Pulis, the Britannia Fortress, and the Art of Being Horrible to Play Against

Were Stoke City 2008–2013 one of the most misunderstood teams of the Premier League era — dismissed as brute force, but actually brilliant at becoming exactly what they needed to be?

In this episode of By Far The Greatest Team, Graham Dunn and Jamie Rooney are joined by regular guest Stuart Burgess to dig into one of the most distinctive and divisive sides in modern English football: Tony Pulis’ Stoke City from 2008 to 2013.

This is the team that made the phrase “a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke” part of football folklore. But beyond the joke, there was something serious going on here. Stoke were not trying to win beauty contests. They were trying to survive, compete, and make themselves absolutely miserable to play against — and in that, they were wildly successful.

The episode explores how Pulis took Stoke up to the Premier League in 2008 and turned them into a top-flight force with one of the clearest identities in the country. We look at the power of the Britannia Stadium, Rory Delap’s weaponised long throw, a back line built for combat, and a team that understood territory, pressure, chaos, and momentum as well as anyone. This was football stripped back to nerve, discipline, and edge.

But there was more to Stoke than the caricature. We also assess the balance in the side, the underrated quality of players like Matthew Etherington, Jonathan Walters, and Ricardo Fuller, the 2011 FA Cup Final run, and a remarkable first taste of European football. Was this simply a functional side with a gimmick, or a genuinely great example of a club maximising every ounce of its potential?

It’s a story about identity, defiance, and the value of making no apologies for who you are.

Takeaways

• How Tony Pulis built Stoke into one of the Premier League’s clearest tactical identities
• Why the Britannia became one of the most psychologically difficult away grounds in England
• The truth behind Rory Delap’s long throw — and why it was far more than a novelty
• How Stoke combined physicality, organisation, and underrated attacking quality
• Whether this team should be remembered as anti-football caricature or modern overachievers

If you enjoy football history, tactical identity, and the stories of teams who built success their own way, this is the episode for you.

Listen / Watch

🎧 Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7erZQ9qQEsa2Xq8Rg843Gv

🍎 Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/by-far-the-greatest-team-football-podcast/id1678832405

📺 YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@BFTGT

If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!