Episode 66

Learning to love the person, as well as the athlete.

Jason Brown played over 200 matches as a professional footballer. He has played in the premier league, as well as representing his country, coaching at Arsenal Ladies, and managing in South East Asia. The list of players he has played alongside includes David Bentley, Brad Friedel, Gary Speed, and Gareth Bale.

When Jason looks back at his footballing career he can rightly do so with pride. But there remains a sadness to the time Jason spent as a footballer. The internal conflict between Jason the person, and Jason the athlete, which caused him to suffer from depression, and an eating disorder, ultimately motivated his decision to retire from the game in 2015 at the age of 33.

Today we talk to Jason about childhood trauma, the death of his Charlton teammate Pierre Bolangi, his sadness at the suicide of Gary Speed, how Jason felt he lost himself to the wealth and fame that comes with being a footballer, and his ongoing relationship with mental health.

If you enjoy this episode, or any of our other episodes, please pop over to apple podcasts, and give us a rating and a review. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/man-marking/id1506661828

You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads

If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:

Samaritans Call 116 132 for free

https://www.samaritans.org/

Papyrus UK Call 0800 068 41 41

Papyrus Website

CALM ZONE 0800 58 58 58

https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/

MIND 0300 123 3393

https://www.mind.org.uk/

The Kaleidoscope Plus Group 0800 059 0123

https://www.kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk/

Episode 65

Ensuring mental health support is easily accessible for footballers.

Michael Bennett is the current director of player welfare for the Professional Footballers Association (PFA). Before his professional career came to an end, Michael made around 200 appearances as a professional footballer for clubs including Charlton, Wimbledon, Brighton, Millwall and Brentford. A knee injury ultimately brought Michael's career to an end, and the difficulties he faced towards the end of his playing career has informed his role as the lead on mental health support for the footballers union.

Michael has held the position for just over a decade. Having qualified as a counsellor and psychotherapist, he was appointed director of player welfare in 2011. Since that time, Michael has researched, devised and implemented the PFA's current welfare strategy for all registered footballers.

In today's episode we discover what support is available for professional footballers, how they access it, and what barriers there are for players currently playing within the professional game. We have heard from numerous footballers over the past 14 months about their experiences with the PFA, both good and bad. Now it's time for a representative of the PFA to have their say, on the work they do to ensure footballers within the game have the appropriate mental health provisions.

** If you are a footballer wanting mental health support the PFA has 24/7 wellbeing services available via a hotline - 07500 000 777 **

If you enjoy this episode, or any of our other episodes, please pop over to apple podcasts, and give us a rating and a review. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/man-marking/id1506661828

You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads

If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:

Samaritans Call 116 132 for free

https://www.samaritans.org/

Papyrus UK Call 0800 068 41 41

Papyrus Website

CALM ZONE 0800 58 58 58

https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/

MIND 0300 123 3393

https://www.mind.org.uk/

The Kaleidoscope Plus Group 0800 059 0123

https://www.kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk/

** Trigger Warning: Child Sexual Abuse **

Episode 64

Vulnerability, confusion and acting in the public interest.

As I'm sure many of you watched back in March, the Footballs Darkest Secret documentary sought to expose the level to which child sexual abuse existed within football. One story you won't have seen in the BBC three part series was that of David Lean.

David was a victim of the infamous paedophile Barry Bennell, brought to public attention by the testimony of former footballers including Andy Woodward, Steve Walters, and Gary Cliffe.

Today we speak to David about his first encounter with Barry Bennell, his belief that he was groomed by football, and his subsequent abuse. We also hear how David dealt with learning that his truth was not deemed in the public interest by the crown prosecution service.

We cannot thanks David enough for taking the time to speak to Man Marking. His bravery, and the bravery of all other survivors of CSA, and their unwavering desire to help others, will undoubtedly have saved lives, and will continues to save lives for years to come.

** We must warn you that today's episode features in depth descriptions of child sexual abuse, which may be uncomfortable for some listeners. **

The FA have commissioned a dedicated NSPCC helpline for adults who were abused in childhood within the football industry from grassroots to Premier League. If you would like to speak to somebody the free NSPCC helpline for guidance and support is available 24 hours a day on 0800 023 2642

If you enjoy this episode, or any of our other episodes, please pop over to apple podcasts, and give us a rating and a review. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/man-marking/id1506661828

You can find us on Twitter @marking_man and don't forget to use the hashtag #WheresTheTalkingLads

If you have been affected by any of the themes discussed in today's episode, we have listed some organisations below who are there if you need to talk:

Samaritans Call 116 132 for free

https://www.samaritans.org/

Papyrus UK Call 0800 068 41 41

Papyrus Website

CALM ZONE 0800 58 58 58

https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/helpline/

MIND 0300 123 3393

https://www.mind.org.uk/

The Kaleidoscope Plus Group 0800 059 0123

https://www.kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk/