The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

Todd Smith, author of Relegated: One American’s Pints and Pies Journey from the Top to the Bottom of the English Football World, joins Chris Horwedel on The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered for a conversation about the culture, communities and people that make English football unlike anything else in sports.

Smith explains how a lifelong connection to soccer eventually became an ambitious journey through the British football pyramid, taking him beyond the Premier League and into clubs and towns where promotion, relegation and matchday traditions are woven deeply into everyday life.

The conversation explores the inspiration behind Relegated, the experience of traveling through English, Scottish and Welsh football as “Todd from America,” and what he discovered about fandom when he stopped watching from a distance and began experiencing the game alongside the people who live it every week.

Todd also discusses his life as a writer, the unlikely road that brought the book together, and why the promotion-and-relegation system creates a relationship between clubs and supporters that can be difficult for American sports fans to fully appreciate until they experience it themselves.

It’s a conversation about football, travel, storytelling, community, and why some of the sport’s most meaningful stories exist far away from its biggest stadiums.
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Former Manchester United midfielder and Premier League champion Luke Chadwick joins The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered for a deeply personal conversation about Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, Cambridge United, mental health, the Football Fun Factory, and his autobiography, Not Just a Pretty Face: The Luke Chadwick Story. Chadwick retraces a football journey that took him from a small village in Cambridgeshire to Manchester United, where he broke into one of the greatest teams in English football history.

Luke explains how a Manchester United scout discovered him playing against an Essex Schools side featuring John Terry and Bobby Zamora, what it was like leaving home at 16, and why his loan spell with Royal Antwerp became such an important part of his development. He also shares revealing stories about Roy Keane, including the demanding standards Keane enforced in training and the surprisingly thoughtful way the United captain looked after young players away from the pitch.

The conversation also explores the painful media attention Chadwick received over his appearance as a young Manchester United player, the anxiety and loss of confidence it caused, and why he now speaks so openly about mental health, vulnerability and the importance of asking for help.

Luke then reflects on fulfilling a childhood dream by playing for Cambridge United, scoring at the Abbey Stadium, facing Manchester United in the FA Cup, and writing Not Just a Pretty Face with Matthew Mann. He also discusses his work with the Football Fun Factory, why fun should come before player development in youth football, and his role mentoring professional players, including England and Bayern Munich star Georgia Stanway.

It’s a candid look at Manchester United, professional football, confidence, identity, youth development and rediscovering the joy of the game through the remarkable career and life of Luke Chadwick.
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On this episode of The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered, Chris Horwedel sits down with Tom Cliffe, lifelong Northampton Town FC supporter, elected supporter representative on the club’s Board of Directors, chairman of the Fan Advisory Board and longtime matchday volunteer at Sixfields Stadium, for an in-depth conversation about the past, present and future of the Cobblers.

Tom shares how his relationship with Northampton Town began as a five-year-old attending matches with his father at the old County Ground and grew into a lifelong commitment that now spans generations of his family. He explains how an ordinary supporter eventually became an elected club director and what he learned after seeing how decisions involving transfers, wages, managers, infrastructure and long-term planning are actually made behind the scenes.

The conversation explores one of the biggest challenges in modern lower-league football: balancing the ambitions of supporters with the financial realities facing EFL clubs. Tom discusses escalating player wages, transfer fees, owner investment, Northampton Town’s recent financial losses, ticket-price decisions and why protecting the club’s long-term sustainability sometimes requires choices supporters may not immediately embrace.

Chris and Tom also examine Northampton’s difficult relegation season, the appointment of Chris Hogg, the club’s rebuilding process in League Two and what success could look like as a new squad attempts to restore confidence and compete near the top of the division.

With potential new investment surrounding Northampton Town, Tom discusses what he can about the process while respecting his confidentiality obligations, why future investment could be important and why supporter representation and community involvement must remain central regardless of who ultimately controls the club.

The episode also takes a deep look at the role of Northampton Town’s Fan Advisory Board, how supporter feedback influences decisions involving ticketing, matchday programs, accessibility and stadium improvements, and why fan representation needs to include everyone from lifelong season-ticket holders to international Cobblers supporters.

Away from football, Tom tells the story of Track, the social enterprise he founded to help autistic and neurodivergent people move into employment. After seeing how traditional education and recruitment systems created unnecessary barriers, Track has helped more than 200 people find work while providing autism training to organizations ranging from major global companies to local employers.

That work also connects directly to Northampton Town. Tom discusses the club’s efforts to improve disability and autism accessibility, including sensory information, accessibility passports, supporter consultation and the creation of a Disability Supporters Association.

The conversation closes with what it truly means to be a Northampton Town supporter, the club’s remarkable rise from the Fourth Division to England’s top flight during the 1960s, the unforgettable League Cup victory over Liverpool at Anfield and the resilience that has defined generations of Cobblers fans.

It’s a wide-ranging discussion about Northampton Town FC, supporter representation, EFL finances, football ownership and investment, League Two, fan culture, autism inclusion, accessibility and why a football club can become an inseparable part of its community and supporters’ lives.
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On this episode of The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered, Chris Horwedel is joined by Bernard Vere of Clapton Community FC to tell the remarkable story of one of English football’s most distinctive supporter-owned clubs.

Clapton Community FC was founded in 2018 after supporters of Clapton FC became increasingly frustrated with how their club was being run. After attempts to gain a meaningful voice and two separate home-match boycotts, supporters decided to create something of their own: a football club built around one member, one vote, democratic decision-making, affordability and community ownership.

Bernard explains how CCFC operates without traditional ownership or a conventional board structure, instead using member-led committees to run virtually every part of the club. He discusses the advantages and challenges of running a football club democratically, how more than 1,500 members across 30 countries can participate and why the club remains almost entirely volunteer-run.

The conversation explores CCFC’s commitment to making football accessible through its pay-what-you-can admission system, equal support for its men’s and women’s teams and an explicitly inclusive philosophy built around opposing racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and fascism. Bernard also explains the club’s approach to accountability, restorative justice and its response to the FA’s restrictions on trans players in women’s football.

Chris and Bernard dive into the story behind Clapton’s famous Spanish Republic-inspired away shirt, which became an international symbol of anti-fascism and sold tens of thousands of copies around the world. Its unexpected success helped CCFC secure the Old Spotted Dog, London’s oldest continuously used senior football ground, bringing supporters back to a stadium they once believed they might never call home again.

They also discuss the separate charitable trust that operates the Old Spotted Dog for community benefit, CCFC’s rapid rise through the English football pyramid, crowds exceeding 2,000, the club’s first appearance in the FA Cup, and the difficult question of how far a supporter-run amateur club can climb without compromising the principles that made it special.

Bernard also shares his perspective as an art historian on football, politics and visual culture, explains why politics has always been inseparable from the sport and discusses what traditional football clubs can learn from CCFC’s alternative model.

It’s an in-depth conversation about fan ownership, affordable football, football culture, community, politics and what it actually means for supporters to say a football club belongs to them.

Find out more about Clapton Community FC at https://www.claptoncfc.co.uk/

Here's the picture Bernard references in the show of the overgrown ground.
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On this episode of The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered, Chris Horwedel sits down with Louis Jones, founder of Surprise Shirts, to explore how a teenage football-shirt obsession became a seven-figure global business.

Louis shares how he launched Surprise Shirts at 16. He explains how the company grew from Twitter DMs, Depop and a dining-room table into a mystery football shirt business carrying more than 11,000 authentic jerseys. The conversation covers building the company alongside his father, scaling a family business and using technology to match supporters with the perfect surprise shirt.

Chris and Louis unpack what makes mystery football shirt boxes so addictive, how Surprise Shirts verifies authenticity and why its model offers fans an alternative to counterfeit football kits. Louis also explains how one shirt can introduce a supporter to a club on the other side of the world.

The discussion turns to football shirt culture and collecting, including the greatest kits ever made, the best shirts from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, iconic sponsor combinations, overrated classics and Louis’s ultimate Coventry City grail. He also reflects on Coventry City’s return to the Premier League, the club’s controversial new home kit, widening financial gaps across English football and the future of EFL clubs.

Finally, Chris and Louis assess England’s 2026 World Cup campaign under Thomas Tuchel, the roles of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, and which World Cup jerseys could become future collectors’ items.

Whether you collect soccer jerseys, love football kit design, follow Coventry City or want the inside story of a fast-growing football business, this episode offers a fascinating look at the shirts, clubs and communities connecting the global game.

Follow Surprise Shirts:
Website: https://surpriseshirts.co.uk
Instagram: @surprise_shirts — https://instagram.com/surprise_shirts
X: @SurpriseShirts — https://x.com/SurpriseShirts
TikTok: @SurpriseShirts — https://tiktok.com/@surpriseshirts
Facebook: Surprise Football Shirts — https://facebook.com/SurpriseFootballShirts
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