It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast

Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. In this week’s episode, co-hosts Jonthan Wilson and Rob Draper are joined by Sports Journalist and author Jonathan Northcroft to take a look 10 years on from that extraordinary and famous Premier League win! They frame the story around key pivot points, including the Valentine’s Day defeat at Arsenal and the self-belief it sparked, plus Ranieri’s unexpected decision to still grant the squad a holiday. Northcroft traces the longer build-up through the 2013 Watford play-off heartbreak, Nigel Pearson’s cross-department reset, the 2014 Championship-winning platform (and the later FFP breach), and the club’s smart recruitment and early data use that delivered players like Kanté, Mahrez and Okazaki. They cover Pearson’s departure after off-field incidents, the scepticism around Ranieri’s appointment, his “dilly ding” media touch, rivals’ crises, standout wins over Liverpool and Manchester City, Spurs’ chase, and the city’s all-in celebrations as the miracle became real.

06:35 Origins of the Build
10:39 FFP and the Promotion Debate
11:35 Recruitment and Data Edge
17:36 Kante and Mahrez Backstories
22:22 Pearson Great Escape and Exit
26:10 Ranieri Arrives Against the Odds
27:46 Dilly Ding and Pizza Psychology
35:24 Chelsea Chaos Unravels
41:42 Big Clubs in Crisis
45:02 Vardy Volley and City Statement
47:37 Leicester Media Frenzy
53:30 Spurs Pressure and Title Night
59:19 Leicester Celebrates as One
01:04:30 Bonkers Finale
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Welcome back to It Was What It Was the football history podcast. In today’s episode, co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper bring this Graham Taylor series to a close with the Oslo qualifier that defined his reign: a chaotic, tactically muddled 2–0 loss to Norway at the peak of their ‘golden age’, captured in painful detail by The Impossible Job. Unpacking Taylor’s mounting stress, tabloid caricature and “no‑win” selection calls—especially the dilemma of persisting with an undercooked Paul Gascoigne—before explaining how the back-three plan collapsed, England’s structure unravelled, and Norway’s alertness (including a quick free kick) punished them. The episode breaks down England’s chaotic structure, Norway’s tactical calm under Egil “Drillo” Olsen, and Taylor’s famous touchline outbursts, before tracing the fallout: “Norse Manure” headlines, concerns the players had stopped responding, and a demoralising US tour. England briefly revive by beating Poland, but lose in Rotterdam and, despite winning 7–1 in San Marino after conceding almost instantly, miss out as the Netherlands win in Poland. They assess Taylor’s broader legacy, his misfortune with timing and player form, and his later rehabilitation at Watford.

01:51 Norway’s Golden Generation
04:51 Tabloid Mockery Era
06:11 Psychology and Pressure
08:18 The Gaza Fitness Dilemma
18:30 Paranoia and Tactical Switch
22:50 System Collapse in Oslo
25:57 Quick Free Kick Nightmare
29:41 Norway Strike Again
30:32 Tabloid Backlash
32:07 Tactics And Trust
35:18 Bigger Picture Failings
42:56 USA Tour Fallout
43:49 Last Chance Qualifiers
45:36 San Marino Shock
48:28 Reassessing the Taylor Legacy

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Welcome back to It Was What It Was. In today's episode, co-hosts Rob Draper and Jonathan Wilson continue Graham Taylor’s England story as the 1994 World Cup qualifying begins to wobble, with Paul Gascoigne’s talent and volatility dominating the narrative. They examine how Taylor’s pragmatic, direct style—shaped by lower-league realities and later linked (often unfairly) to FA long-ball doctrine—collided with more technical European approaches, and how internal battles involving Charles Hughes and data pioneer Charles Reap poisoned the backdrop. England’s campaign lurches through a Norway draw at Wembley after a late stunner, a Gascoigne-inspired win over Turkey, and a damaging 2–2 draw with the Netherlands featuring an undetected elbow and a late penalty. With Gascoigne returning in a mask, England then stumble in a hostile Poland away match and escape with a late equaliser, before Taylor’s brutal “headless chickens” verdict leaves his team heading to Oslo under growing pressure.

00:24 Setting the Scene
03:08 Taylor’s Pragmatic Roots
06:50 Pressing vs Possession
10:04 Charles Hughes and the Winning Formula
13:55 Reap vs Hughes Fallout
19:31 Norway’s Long Ball Irony
21:59 Back to Qualifying Hopes
24:10 Gazza’s Norway Controversy
26:50 Taylor’s Gaza Dilemma
28:22 Norway Opener Heartbreak
30:53 Turkey Win and Dependence
32:53 Too Honest With Press
40:12 Dutch Clash at Wembley
44:13 Mask Return and Mania
45:52 Poland Chaos and Critique
49:03 Headless Chickens Finale
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Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. Co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper continue on from last week’s episode with Jan Fjortoft to delve into how things went wrong for Graham Taylor during his time as England manager. In this first part of a three part series on Graham Taylor (following our episode with Fjortoft) we take a look at the high of Italia ’90 to the early warning signs of Graham Taylor’s troubled England reign, setting up the wider story of his eventual downfall. Central to the episode is Paul Gascoigne’s rise into “Gaza mania,” the off-field chaos and disciplinary problems that followed, including the 1991 FA Cup final knee rupture and subsequent setbacks. Taylor struggled to manage both the player and the circus around him. England qualified for Euro 1992 but drew twice, lost to Sweden and Taylor’s substitution of Gary Lineker became emblematic as tabloid ridicule culminate in a reputational collapse for Taylor.

01:05 The Impossible Job Era
07:39 Referees And Rotterdam
12:47 Italia 90 Reality Check
20:02 Gaza Mania Begins
25:31 Euro Qualifiers Begin
28:24 Ireland Away Selection
30:08 Taylor Press Tightrope
35:48 Cup Final Knee Rupture
41:46 Euro 92 Sweden Turning Point
42:55 Lineker Sub Controversy
47:50 Fitness Gap And Refuelling
49:32 Turnip Taylor Tabloid Sting
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Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. Today co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper are joined by a very special returning guest - Jan Fjørtoft! In this episode, we will explore Norway’s remarkable rise in the early 1990s and their famous 2–0 win over Graham Taylor’s England in 1993. Fjørtoft explains how Egil “Drillo” Olsen took a previously struggling national team and built belief through a disciplined, direct style, carefully defined roles, and detailed match analysis using hand-written stats and video. The episode breaks down the key tactical choices that unsettled England, revisits both Norway goals, and follows the qualifier run that took Norway to their first World Cup since 1938. Norway will return to the World Cup this summer for the first time since 1998. This episode will be followed by a three part special on Graham Taylor.

01:12 Norway before the rise
04:09 Olsen arrives and stirs
06:47 Direct football philosophy
14:31 Stats and analysis
20:05 Defined roles and system
23:40 Beating England
28:12 Tactical switch
31:33 Gascoigne fitness factor
32:50 Olsen’s Selection Mind Games
37:20 Two Goals Breakdown
42:41 Road to USA 94 Sealed
45:45 Poland Night and Wild Celebrations
48:46 Heroes Welcome in Norway
52:04 World Cup Heat Prep Fiasco
59:59 Egil Olsen Legacy
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