With another break in the football calendar with international qualifications still to be decided, it has resulted in whole days without football being shoved down our throats. As a result, like most football fans who moan about bloated schedules and over-saturation of games, we miss it!

However, with plenty of off-field football related produce to consume, we have decided to celebrate some of the best things we’ve spotted around the football world. In our Good Stuff #01 we have 3 picks of what we’ve been loving recently, with some solid social media work from a team who seem to be getting everything right on and off the pitch, a song which sounds like it’s been written exactly about us, and a podcast which has us feeling fully informed on all the goings on around European football.

If you have any Good Stuff you want to celebrate and shout about, get in touch with us by leaving a comment, head over to our Instagram (@Nextgoalwin) or drop us a message on Bluesky (@NextGoalWinner). Hopefully sharing these with the world will help others who are also struggling with this very, very short drought on the game.

Sunderland’s Socials

With the rise of AI slop all over social media, the industry of football feels still fairly resolute in being on top of creativity and supporting designers around their work. With top clubs taking pride in their social media teams and output, it allows fans to engage with clubs more than ever, and produces the occasional gem of work that deserves recognition.

One of these gems comes in the form of Sunderland’s recent social media work, who celebrated their ‘Founders Week’ with some fantastic posts on Instagram, surrounding their clash with Wolves in mid-October. Taking inspiration from the Merlin sticker books from 96-97 in which Sunderland took part in their first ever Premier League campaign, there were images and preview posts which utilised this nostalgic theme perfectly, balancing the information around the game with some fantastic design work. From the programme cover to the posted line-up image, it worked terrifically on social media and the in-game posts were something that could become iconic for Sunderland fans.

From seeing this, I hope other teams can take note of the creativity and celebrate various moments within a year for their club by allowing those with ideas and genuine passion for football and their respective clubs, to be given licence to make some great stuff that sticks with people and possibly advertises the club to new audiences.

Check out the works on their Instagram page.

I Like Football Shirts

“I probably bought too many, because I never wear them out of the house”.

If there’s ever been a song written about our lives, then this is it. A solid banger from a team up of Beku and Loose Articles, big football fans and sharing a love of collecting but never fully getting to show off their collections of historic football memorabilia.

This song is packed full of references to some iconic kits, the feeling of guilt for spending on a collection and then ultimately never having it seen by anyone else but appreciating the moments of recognition you might get from someone passing by. As a fan of Loose Articles for a while, this link-up has also put me onto more of Beku’s output which has become a staple of my daily playlists.

Give it a listen.

European Round-Up

Finally, when we’re not listening to songs about spending too much on football merchandise, we’ve been swatting up on the footballing action from around Europe with the terrific podcast ‘On The Continent’. Football in Europe always produces a magical feeling for me, with it feeling so close but also different somehow. By having more access to games across various leagues, it feels like it can be hard to keep on top of everything and know where to put the limited time to actually watch games that we have.

As a result, On The Continent does a brilliant job in being concise, produced by genuine European football experts and yet not patronising to the more in-the-know audiences and not intimidating for those looking to dip a toe into European waters. Hosted by a radio legend in Dotun Adebayo, and football encyclopaedia Andy Brassell, they are joined by semi-regular hosts who have expertise in specifics of European football including: Miguel Delaney, Lars Sivertsen, Nicky Bandini, David Cartlidge and Jonathan Johnson among several others, it allows you to spout proper European football facts down the pub (copy what you hear).

With 2-3 shows across the week, they have Thursday’s OTC main show in which the biggest talking points are addressed, Ask OTC on a Friday where listeners can ask their biggest questions around the game, and the semi-regular Monday shows in which Andy talks you through the biggest clashes from the weekend before. 3 shows a week to cover all the biggest moments and talking points across Europe. A part of the ‘Football Ramble’ network of shows, it’s one you’ll likely have come across before, but if you’re not a regular listener, then get on board.

Check out On The Continent on your podcast platform or on their YouTube channel.

Don’t forget to share anything you have been enjoying from the world of football (Instagram – @Nextgoalwin // Bluesky – @NextGoalWinner), and we can feature these in Good Stuff #02 coming soon.