By Far The Greatest Team Football Podcast
By Far The Greatest Team is a football history podcast dedicated to answering one timeless question:
Who is the greatest football team of all time?
From iconic dynasties and legendary tournament winners to cult heroes, forgotten giants, and teams that burned brightly for just a moment, By Far The Greatest Team dives deep into the stories that shaped football’s past — and debates where those teams truly belong in the game’s hierarchy.
Hosted by lifelong football obsessives, each episode blends deep historical research, tactical insight, and story-driven discussion to explore:
- Legendary club and international sides
- Iconic seasons, tournaments, and golden eras
- Tactical revolutions and defining moments
- Cultural impact, myth-making, and legacy
- Underdog stories that rewrote football history
At the heart of the podcast is a unique Greatness Ranking System, where teams are judged across multiple levels — from All-Time Greats and True Greats, to Cult Classics, Edge-of-Greatness teams, and those remembered through nostalgia, context, or controversy. Greatness isn’t just about trophies — it’s about impact, identity, and influence.
Whether it’s Brazil’s brilliance, a one-season wonder, a cup-run miracle, or a team that changed how football was played, every episode asks the same question — how great were they… really?
If you love football history, tactical debate, long-forgotten stories, and arguing about rankings in pubs, living rooms, or online forums — this is the podcast for you.
Whether you’re searching for a football history podcast, soccer history deep dives, greatest football teams of all time, classic football teams, or tactical and cultural analysis of football, By Far The Greatest Team delivers long-form storytelling, informed debate, and timeless football nostalgia. Covering club football and international tournaments, iconic managers and players, golden eras, forgotten greats, and controversial rankings, this podcast is essential listening for fans of the Premier League, World Cups, European football, and the global history of the beautiful game.
🎙️ Football’s greatest teams. Ranked.
One episode at a time.
By Far The Greatest Team Football Podcast
Stoke City 2008-2013
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How Great Were Stoke City 2008–2013? | Tony Pulis, the Britannia Fortress, and the Art of Being Horrible to Play Against
Were Stoke City 2008–2013 one of the most misunderstood teams of the Premier League era — dismissed as brute force, but actually brilliant at becoming exactly what they needed to be?
In this episode of By Far The Greatest Team, Graham Dunn and Jamie Rooney are joined by regular guest Stuart Burgess to dig into one of the most distinctive and divisive sides in modern English football: Tony Pulis’ Stoke City from 2008 to 2013.
This is the team that made the phrase “a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke” part of football folklore. But beyond the joke, there was something serious going on here. Stoke were not trying to win beauty contests. They were trying to survive, compete, and make themselves absolutely miserable to play against — and in that, they were wildly successful.
The episode explores how Pulis took Stoke up to the Premier League in 2008 and turned them into a top-flight force with one of the clearest identities in the country. We look at the power of the Britannia Stadium, Rory Delap’s weaponised long throw, a back line built for combat, and a team that understood territory, pressure, chaos, and momentum as well as anyone. This was football stripped back to nerve, discipline, and edge.
But there was more to Stoke than the caricature. We also assess the balance in the side, the underrated quality of players like Matthew Etherington, Jonathan Walters, and Ricardo Fuller, the 2011 FA Cup Final run, and a remarkable first taste of European football. Was this simply a functional side with a gimmick, or a genuinely great example of a club maximising every ounce of its potential?
It’s a story about identity, defiance, and the value of making no apologies for who you are.
Takeaways
- How Tony Pulis built Stoke into one of the Premier League’s clearest tactical identities
- Why the Britannia became one of the most psychologically difficult away grounds in England
- The truth behind Rory Delap’s long throw — and why it was far more than a novelty
- How Stoke combined physicality, organisation, and underrated attacking quality
- Whether this team should be remembered as anti-football caricature or modern overachievers
If you enjoy football history, tactical identity, and the stories of teams who built success their own way, this is the episode for you.
Listen / Watch
🎧 Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7erZQ9qQEsa2Xq8Rg843Gv
🍎 Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/by-far-the-greatest-team-football-podcast/id1678832405
📺 YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@BFTGT
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If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!
