The Gaffer Tapes

In 2014, Fantasy Football expert Ash Kernsworth, writer and broadcaster Craig Hazell, and comedian Tom Holmes began recording podcasts during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The following August, they began an accompanying mini-league on the official Premier League fantasy football website. While the content of the podcast consisted of general fantasy football discussion, specifics such as prices of players and league positions were specific to the Fantasy Premier League game.[1]

In July 2017, The Gaffers appeared on Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begović's Season of Sport podcast to talk Fantasy Sports.[2]

On July 3, 2017, The Gaffers announced that they were recording a live podcast at The Phoenix Artist Club in Central London which was recorded on October 24, 2017.[3]

On July 31, 2017, Craig appeared as a guest on talksport radio to talk about Fantasy Football. On December 7, 2017, Ash then appeared as a guest. Craig appeared again in August 2019 to talk about the release of 'The A-Z of Fantasy Football'.[4]

The Gaffer Tapes were featured in the August 2017 edition of Stuff Magazine as their Number 1 Football Podcast.[5]

In May 2018 The Gaffers released a song for the England national team's 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign.[6]

The Gaffers were asked to be Judges for the Professional Footballers' Association 'Player of the Month' award for September, 2018.[7]

On March 5, 2019, The Gaffers officially announced that they had stopped recording podcasts. In total there were 139 episodes recorded between June 2014 and December 2018.[8][9]

Tom appeared on the Hawksbee and Jacobs Show on talkSPORT on December 12, 2019 to talk about chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and his rise to prominence in fantasy football.[10]

In July 2021, Tom was interviewed in FourFourTwo Magazine about Fantasy Football.[11]

In November 2021, Tom did an interview with British Comedy Guide where it was announced that The Gaffer Tapes "should return from hiatus soon" [12]

The Gaffer Tapes' popularity increased rapidly over the first couple of seasons and they were nominated as 'Best Football Podcast' at the Football Blogging Awards (now called the Football Content Awards) in both 2015 and 2016, winning the Judge's Award at the 2016 event, held at Old Trafford.[13]

It was announced in October 2018 that The Gaffers had signed a book deal with Pitch Publishing for a Comedy Fantasy Football book. The book was released on July 1, 2019.[14][15] The book is "a hilarious guide (to fantasy football) filled with anecdotes and expert advice". The book features conversations with Dominic Monaghan, Helen Chamberlain and Asmir Begović amongst others. The foreword is written by comedian Joel Dommett.

Actor Dominic Monaghan is a fan of the podcast and has appeared as a guest in both April and November 2016 and May 2018, as well as submitting several audio questions which were played on the podcast. While appearing as a guest, Monaghan stated:

It’s the best fantasy football podcast out there.[16]

Other notable listeners include comedian and actor Tom Davis.[17]

In April 2017, television comedian Dane Baptiste appeared as a guest.[18]

In early October 2017, comedian, impressionist and star of Murder in Successville Luke Kempner appeared as a guest.[19]

On October 18, 2017, The Gaffer Tapes released their 100th podcast, with actor, comedian and rapper Doc Brown appearing as a guest.[20]

- The Gaffer Gambler

Craig offered tips and odds on betting opportunities he believed would be financially beneficial for listeners. This feature was brought back sporadically, with exclusive betting odds being provided to the podcast by The Odds Bible.

- Tweets for my Tweet

The hosts read out tweets that were sent to them during the week. The title of the feature was sung by the hosts to the tune of Sweets for My Sweet by The Drifters.

- Mental Email of the Week

The hosts began receiving emails that were often not related to football content whatsoever.

- Where's Wallerz?

A weekly update on the social media whereabouts of former Leicester City footballer Marcin Wasilewski, who is referred to as "Wallerz" and became somewhat of a cult icon for regular listeners of the podcast.

- Tom's Lee Sharpe Anecdote

It became a tradition that, on the final podcast of every season, Tom told an anecdote about when he met former professional footballer Lee Sharpe at Elland Road as a child.

- The Diary of Little Timmy Tinker

From the beginning of the 2018–19 season until the final podcast in December 2018, Tom began reading excerpts from the fictional diary of a nine-year-old footballer called Timmy Tinker.

- Any Other Business

The hosts read out social media interactions that usually consisted of listeners pointing out incorrect statements and facts that appeared in the previous week's show.

- The Weekly Quiz

Every season, one of the hosts acted as Quiz Master and the remaining two competed in weekly quizzes with the loser being given a forfeit at the end of the season. In the inaugural 2014–15 season, Craig hosted the quiz and Ash defeated Tom. In 2015–16 Ash hosted the quiz and Craig defeated Tom. In 2016–17 Tom hosted the quiz and Craig defeated Ash. In 2017–18 Craig hosted the quiz again and Tom defeated Ash. In 2018–19 Ash hosted the quiz again and Tom took on Craig with no winner being determined before the podcast finished.

• Official Website
• Official Twitter Page
• Tom Holmes Official Twitter page
• Craig Hazell Official Twitter page