Guy Kilty: Producing The Price of Football is an Absolute Joy

Both Kieran Maguire and Kevin Day credit you with the idea behind The Price of Football. What inspired you to create The Price of Football podcast as we know it today?

“I started my own podcast production company – Dap Dip – and I knew I wanted to create a show that would have a life of its own with the potential for live shows further down the line. Before setting up Dap Dip I worked as a business journalist at BBC Radio 5 Live for a long time and as a big football fan, I always loved covering stories about the money side of clubs, leagues and everything else around the game. 

I listen to a lot of football podcasts and I realised that there wasn’t a specific football finance podcast out there. It’s something I would have liked to listen to myself so I thought if no one else is doing it then I can. I had spoken to Kieran many times while I was at 5 live and he was always the perfect 5 Live guest. He knows his subject inside out, he’s chatty and he explains things in a way that everyone can understand.

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He also has a great sense of humour and could always be relied on to add in an amusing analogy or witty remark. So, I decided that if I was to make my idea a reality that Kieran was the perfect person for the show.  On the face of it, football finance can be quite dry but I was confident that Kieran would bring it to life.

Then, I needed to find a host who could represent the listeners, and ask the questions that football fans would ask. Ideally, a comedian who could add humour to the show and passion for football. Ideally, I wanted the host to represent the listeners by not knowing a lot about football finance in advance so that they could learn from each show along with the listeners.”

In terms of finding the host of the show, Kevin Day was chosen and he is a fantastic host. However, we have to address the rumours, was Justin Moorhouse approached first?

(Laughs) “Let me reveal the real story once and for all. I spoke to Kieran who agreed to come on board and I explained I wanted the host to be a comic. He agreed and at the time he was based in the North West of England so our idea was to pair him with a comic based in the North West so that they could record the show face-to-face in a way that logistically worked for everyone.

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My first suggestion was Justin Moorhouse, who is a brilliant comedian and a big football fan and someone I thought would do a great job. However, we never approached Justin because Kieran told me that he was actually about to return to the South of England and that as a result, it would be better if we could work with someone based close to London for logistical reasons given his change in circumstances. I agreed with him and he immediately said that he was a fan of Kevin Day and that we should approach him. Kieran then spoke to Kevin who said yes straight away and the rest is history as they say.”

Kevin is a very funny man and a massive football fan as you’ve said. He is very popular thanks to his iconic work with Match of the Day 2. What’s it like to work with him?

“It’s been absolutely brilliant working with him. From day one, he knew exactly what we wanted to do with the show and he genuinely didn’t know anything about football finance when we started.  He now knows a lot more than he did but let’s face it, he still doesn’t want to fully understand amortisation (laughs).

He is perfect for the show because he has created a whole world within the show with the Baroness and myself as the producer who sits on the endless pot of gold. That’s all from him. All the little things that are integral to the world within The Price of Football have been created by Kevin. We’ve all talked about our progress and we work together to produce the best show that we can.

I produce the show from a technical perspective but Kevin and Kieran bring the show to life. They’d never met before episode one and as a producer, I could never have predicted the chemistry and friendship that they both have developed. It’s a great thing for both of them and for The Price of Football.”

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With Kieran, you have someone who can talk to football fans with incredible knowledge and wit about complex issues related to football finance and break them down into understandable chunks. How important is his subject-specific knowledge to the show?

That’s exactly why the podcast works. The best podcasts in my opinion are created by those who live and breathe their subject matter. Kieran wakes up and reads about football finance, he tweets about it, he lectures on it and he conducts lots of media appearances to discuss it too. 

That knowledge and dedication that he has is what makes the podcast work. We are doing two hours of content for our shows each week which is a huge amount of work but Kieran is so knowledgeable due to his roles outside the podcast He’s the only person in the country who could do it in all honesty. He is dedicated to his subject and that comes across in every show. 

By: Callum McFadden / Callum7McFadden