The Socially Distant Sports Bar

Epizodes

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  Is Penny Morris Fit? Pint Size 03.10.2026 10min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 120: That's Earnie From the Two Ronnies"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Tom Craine (pt 2) 01.10.2026 41min

  Tom Craine is still hereWhich is excellent news for us and slightly less good news for anyone hoping this podcast might eventually become a tightly controlled discussion about sport.This is Part 2 of our guest episode with the comedian, writer and co-host — with Elis James and Chris Scull — of Oh What A Time...Tom has also launched Last Match Then Bed, a new podcast dedicated to the game responsible for millions of people knowing far too much about obscure Scandinavian footballers: Championship Manager.Having got ourselves warmed up in Part 1, the conversation continues through football, the 1990s, sporting nostalgia and the moments that seemed completely normal at the time but become increasingly peculiar the further away from them we get.Including:Kinkladze v Southampton, 1996https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fkVWNB0Vt3QDiana Ross’s World Cup penalty, 1994https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAKsGT9-XB0World Cup Balloon Keepy-Uppieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r-gedgyZXIIf you haven’t listened to Part 1, start there first. This will make slightly more sense.And if two parts of Tom Craine still aren’t enough, we kept some of the conversation back for Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts.Go and find Last Match Then Bed wherever you get your podcasts.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Tom Craine (pt 1) 29.09.2026 42min

  We’ve got a guest in The Socially Distant Sports Bar this week as comedian, writer, podcaster and Elis James’ other podcast friend Tom Craine joins Elis, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero.Tom already spends a significant amount of his working life with Elis on the brilliant history podcast Oh What A Time..., alongside Chris Scull. Now he’s launching another podcast based around one of the great threats to productivity, relationships and exam results of the late 1990s: Championship Manager.Last Match Then Bed sees Tom return to the legendary Championship Manager 97/98 database, attempting to manage his way to glory with the help of a different celebrity assistant manager each week.So naturally, we get stuck into football, nostalgia and the sporting moments that live permanently in your brain.Across our chat with Tom:Kinkladze v Southampton, 1996One of those goals that seemed perfectly reasonable when you were playing Sensible Soccer, but considerably harder when attempted by an actual human being.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fkVWNB0Vt3QDiana Ross at the 1994 World Cup Opening CeremonyAn enormous stadium. A global superstar. A penalty. A goal designed to split apart. What could possibly go wrong?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAKsGT9-XB0World Cup Balloon Keepy-Uppieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r-gedgyZXIThis is Part 1 of our chat with Tom.Part 2 follows on Friday — and if you want the extra material we kept back from the conversation, Bonus Club subscribers on Apple Podcasts can hear that too.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Ghosts: Pint Size 26.09.2026 13min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 123: The Party Line"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Special One 24.09.2026 45min

  The Special OneIn this week’s The Socially Distant Sports Bar, Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero have a documentary and book which take us into two very different stories of coaching, leadership and sporting history.Documentary of the WeekElis: MourinhoElis chooses Part 1 of the new Netflix documentary about José Mourinho, tracing his journey from working alongside Bobby Robson at Barcelona to announcing himself to English football with that extraordinary first spell at Chelsea.Before the fallouts, sackings and rather more complicated chapters that would follow, there was the young Mourinho: ambitious, charismatic, tactically obsessive and rapidly becoming The Special One.https://www.netflix.com/title/81762073Book of the WeekMike: Rugby’s Forgotten Black Leader by Tony CollinsMike brings in Tony Collins’ fascinating account of Roy Francis, one of the great overlooked figures in British sporting history.Born in Cardiff and raised in Brynmawr, Francis went on to play rugby league for Wigan in the late 1930s before moving into coaching. At Hull, he became the first Black professional head coach in British sport, pioneering new approaches to coaching and training while confronting the racism of the era.It’s a remarkable Welsh story, a rugby league story and an important piece of British sporting history that deserves to be far better known.https://link.amazon/B0azGPvXtTwo very different coaches. Two very different eras. And plenty for Elis, Mike and Steff to get stuck into.Thanks for listening.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Vivacious Vicar 22.09.2026 1h 12min

  Incredible scenes at The Socially Distant Sports Bar this week with Mike Bubbins, Elis James and Steff Garrero.Elis’ talk of his “vivacious vicar” has everyone reaching for the Cambridge Dictionary, Steff self-diagnoses a nasty case of “anti-trapezius syndrome”, and Mike reminisces about the days when he was quite literally a shadow of his former self.Eventually, some sport forces its way through the door.We discover that if you want to play American Football, it’s apparently much better to “be a dawg” than a cat. Mike explains exactly how he’d have brought down Jonah Lomu — which will presumably come as a relief to the international rugby players who spent years trying to work that out — and Josh Pugh delivers a magnificent football manager’s team talk featuring the immortal line:“We were allowed to fire live ammunition at each other.”ClipsMike: Be A Dawghttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DdAd9iNS5tx/?stkn=b3ZsM3ZuZDVwcDdwSteff: The Gaffa — Josh Pughhttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DWf6MoWRko1/?stkn=aG02cjA1anllOHVwElis: Jonah Lomu Being Falliblehttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DcbZC3bI9T4/?stkn=MTVhdjZvN2NtZDlxOAThree clips. One vivacious vicar. One entirely unverified muscular condition. And Mike Bubbins finally solving the Jonah Lomu problem roughly thirty years too late.Thanks for listening.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Mike Wants Free Shirts: Pint Size 19.09.2026 9min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 289: Snoring"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Raygun & Sammy Sex 17.09.2026 49min

  It's another pick from the Netfllix "Untold" series for the "Documentary of the Week". It features Rachel Gunn "Raygun" and her appearance in the breakdancing competions at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Mike, Elis and Steff talk about her rise to the Olympic stage, how someone who described herself as a "dorky white woman who's an academic" ended up being globally humiliated after her performance at the Games. Steff Documentary: Raygun, Breaking Badly https://www.netflix.com/watch/82048542?trackId=284616272&tctx=NaN%2C1%2Cc5ae2730-71a4-43c2-b000-9cd65f7e67a9%2Cc5ae2730-71a4-43c2-b000-9cd65f7e67a9%7C%3DeyJwYWdlSWQiOiJlYzBlZjRhYS0zNGE4LTQ4NzUtYjZiNC01MGZlMzk0Y2NmOWMvMS8vdW50b2xkLzAvMCIsImxvY2FsU2VjdGlvbklkIjoiMiJ9%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C82048542%2CVideo%3A82048542%2CminiDpPlayButton Elis Book: Football in Sun and Shadow https://link.amazon/B0flqyW7r 🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  No Readmission 15.09.2026 1h 20min

  Welcome to another week in the world of Mike Bubbins, Elis James and Steff Garrero at the Socially Distant Sports Bar. If you've ever had a day that promised so much and turned into a living hell then you will sympathise with Elis' attempt to watch Swansea City at Southampton. It's straight out of a bad sitcom. Mike reveals why he thinks he has Phil Bennett's Barbarians blazer in his bar which leads to reminiscing about Kim Cattrall on the back of a motor bike, there is a connection....honestly. The lads chat about Katie Taylor boxing in front of a sell-out crowd at Croke Park, some rugby nostalgia from 1953 and they talk about the great Sean Fitzpatrick, one of the legenfs of rugby union.Mike:Sean and Ardiehttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DclpZm0NIkN/?stkn=MXFjb3k0enRkejVyNA==Steff: Katie Taylor  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/articles/c5yjr8pp0jwo https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc63ebVDiiV/?stkn=MXdwZXg2bXN2YXZseQ==https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc62YnfoWEO/?stkn=MWpqY2V2bWVpcmV4bw==https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc65DgVJPEt/?stkn=cXE3ZnpyZ3k4azM=Elis Cardiff beat New Zealand, 1953https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc1cKJYILtn/?stkn=NXhnNWxmcDl4a Wg=🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  A Goose To The Face: Pint Size 12.09.2026 11min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 287: Fabio's Goose"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Cowboy At The Little Tesco 10.09.2026 30min

  Welcome back to this week’s Socially Distant Sports Bar with Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero.This week, Steff and Elis are attempting to have a perfectly sensible conversation about a sports documentary and a book.Unfortunately, Mike has decided to spend much of that conversation sending them an increasingly large number of photographs of himself dressed as a cowboy while very clearly not working as a cowboy.Cowboy at home. Cowboy out and about. Cowboy going about his normal business. Cowboy, potentially, at the Little Tesco.Between incoming photographs, we do actually manage to discuss some sport.DocumentaryMike: Untold — The Testimony of Vince YoungThe Netflix Untold series turns its attention to former college football superstar and NFL quarterback Vince Young, looking back at his extraordinary rise, the expectations placed upon him and what happened when one of the biggest names in American sport found himself struggling away from the field.https://www.netflix.com/title/82020375BookSteff: Cyclettes by Tree AbrahamSteff brings in Tree Abraham’s Cyclettes, a beautifully unusual book about a life spent cycling — part memoir, part visual diary and part exploration of the places, people and experiences we encounter when travelling around on two wheels.https://link.amazon/B0bPaGwN8Sport, cycling, fame, expectation and a quite unreasonable number of photographs of Mike Bubbins wearing a cowboy hat.Thanks for listening.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Rizla Stadium 08.09.2026 1h 21min

  The Rizla StadiumWelcome to this week’s Socially Distant Sports Bar with Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero.This week Mike reports back from a less-than-luxurious holiday rental in Liverpool, while Steff comes up with a potentially foolproof plan to solve the financial problems in Welsh rugby using nothing more than some enormous halogen lamps and the seemingly limitless supply of Welsh rain.We’re sure the WRU will be in touch.There’s also plenty of actual sport. Mike celebrates the great Billy Boston, Steff brings in Jonathan Agnew and Andy Zaltzman, and Elis heads back to 1990 for Wales v England.As ever, those are merely the starting points.ClipsMike: Billy Bostonhttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DcdYebStiy1/?igsi=ODAxNHRraHp6aGo2Steff: Aggers and Zaltzmanhttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DcrRgvwoWR-/?igsi=bTB6eXc4ZTUzZW5whttps://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcsm5sdO_oZ/?igsi=cWp3eDZ1cDN4MzJhElis: Wales v England 1990https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcS4CkQoN-0/?igsi=MXVnejY5MjlybmVhYQ==There’s more from Elis, Mike and Steff later this week, and Bonus Club subscribers can get the extra episode too.Thanks for listening.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Sing: Pint Size 05.09.2026 10min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 252: Just Put A Towel Over My Head"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Give Him A Passport 03.09.2026 25min

  This week's second helping from the Socially Distant Sports Bar with Mike Bubbins, Elis James and Steff Garrero is another fascinating documentary choice. It's Steff's pick and tells the interesting and sometimes moving story of Bilal Fawaz, current British and Commonwealth Super Welterweight Champion. "Fight For Freedom" documents his inability to fight outide of Britain because he has never been able to hold a passport. Elis has picked the "Book of the Week" which is another one to add to your collection. It's "Domestique" by Charlie Wegelius. The book explores the life of a "domestique", a rider who sacrifices his own personal glory and ambitions to support the team leader and secure team victories.Steff Doc: Fighting For Freedom: Bilal Fawaz https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002zv7x/fighting-for-freedom-bilal-fawaz Elis Book: Domestique - Charlie Wegalias   https://link.amazon/B0fRZs7TB 🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Delivering To Belfast 01.09.2026 1h 4min

  Come and join Mike Bubbins, Elis James and Steff Garrero in the Socially Distant Sports Bar for their usual weekly catch-up and the first round of clips.We get an update on Mike's new initiative of trying to make friends with everyone he meets, there's hot debate on whether you talk to your builders and sexy professions.There's some accidental sport as well including the wonderful Laura McAllister talking about how football executives like her should be "custodians of the game" along with Wham! playing football in China.ENJOY!!Elis: Laura McAllisterhttps://x.com/SkyNews/status/2083210598154690774?s=46Steff: Wham https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaQSTu0IWXf/ Mike: Alice on golfhttps://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Cw4awQc4u/?mibextid=wwXIfr🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Where's Danny Gabbidon? Pint Size 29.08.2026 12min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 246: The Race Is Back On"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Training In A Shed 27.08.2026 37min

  More from Mike Bubbins, Elis James and Steff Garrero on this week's Socially Distant Sports Bar. It's Documentary time and it's Elis' choice this week. From the BBC archive it's an edition of "Man Alive" in 1969 contrasting the lives of two football managers. Bertie Mee of Arsneal and Laurie Brown at Bradford Park Avenue. It also includes former Wales manager Bobby Gould getting a bit upset at a referee.It's Steff's choice for the "Book of the Week", James Briggs' "From Ibiza To The Norfolk Broads" takes James and his bicycle on a David Bowie-inspired journey around Europe. Elis Documentary: 1969: The Life of a Football Manager | Man Alivehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qX6YS6CxzE0&ra=mSteff Book: From Ibiza To The Norfolk Broads by JAmes Briggs https://link.amazon/B0dXKMUxe 🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  What's "Pointless" In Welsh? 25.08.2026 1h 1min

  More from the Socially Distant Sports Bar as Mike Bubbins, Elis James and Steff Garrero tackle the important issues of the week including news of Elis wowing a packed tent at the Eisteddfod, much discussion of Mike's sunglasses collection and why he can't wear his Meta specs anymore.The boys get all misty-eyed about former Wales scrum-half Robert Jones and go back to a Wales v England schoolboys international from 1984. There's also a really interesting chat about Lance Armstrong after he gives his thoughts on Tadej Pogacar winning his 5th Tour.Elis: Wales v England schools 1988https://x.com/apsmrugby/status/2077708047133131049?s=46&t=neS5hOG2rnBndx5FBpAv6gMike: Jim Abbott. Incredible. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWzlQTIEi5O/?igsh=MTg4cmU0d3pxbzI5NA==Steff: Lance https://www.instagram.com/reel/Das-prmRPhl/ 🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Camping Stove: Pint Size 22.08.2026 10min

  Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod.We've been back through our archive of episodes and we've selected our favourite stories, anecdotes and funny bits.If you're new to the pod, then feel free to use these as a jump off point to find your way around our earlier episodes.This clip is taken from "Episode 39: I Couldn't Bare To Think Of You Eating Cold Beans"🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Sacked From The Voiceover 20.08.2026 28min

  Welcome to this week’s Socially Distant Sports Bar with Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero.This week’s documentary and book both take us into much more personal sporting territory.Mike brings in a documentary about Howard Winstone, the great Welsh boxer from Merthyr Tydfil who became world featherweight champion and one of the defining figures in Welsh boxing history.Elis has chosen Without Robbie by Luke James, a deeply personal story about football, family and grief.As ever, the documentary and book are merely the starting points, as the conversation heads off into sporting memories, families, Wales and whatever else occurs to Mike, Elis and Steff along the way.DocumentaryMike: Howard Winstonehttps://youtu.be/RrmkMI6WBNkBookElis: Without Robbie by Luke Jameshttps://www.withoutrobbie.co.uk/That’s it for the regular feed this week.If you want Part 3, along with the whole podcast early and advert-free every Tuesday, subscribe to Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts.Thanks for listening.🛍️ NEW MERCH ALERTWe’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇🛒 sdsb2025.myshopify.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.