Aston Villa fan from Leamington has set up successful podcast during lockdown which has featured an interview with former star Dwight Yorke

Former Premier League footballer Dwight Yorke has been among the guests on a successful podcast set up during lockdown by an Aston Vila fan from Leamington
Omar Iqbal and Adam Canning of The Villa Talks Podcast talk to former Villa striker Dwight Yorke online.Omar Iqbal and Adam Canning of The Villa Talks Podcast talk to former Villa striker Dwight Yorke online.
Omar Iqbal and Adam Canning of The Villa Talks Podcast talk to former Villa striker Dwight Yorke online.

Omar Iqbal, 35, set up The Villa Talks Podcast in September last year and has been hosting shows on a regular basis ever since.

The shows include match previews and post-game reactions, where Omar talks to fellow fans, as well as chats with people who can provide a perspective of both Aston Villa and the world of professional football in general.

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Omar had been thinking about starting the podcast for a few years but living under lockdown and not being able to attend games - as he would normally do as a season ticket holder with a seat in Villa Park's upper Holte End - gave him the time to turn his dream into a reality.

And the show has gone from strength to strength since with installments sometimes reaching the top ten of the UK football podcast charts.

Omar, a financial advisor, said: "I can't go to the games so to be able to interact with fellow fans and new people every day helps get you through.

"If Villa weren't doing quite well at the moment things would not be so easy for us so football has given me and others that escapism and bit of optimism we need.

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"The approach we take is to try to bring all the good elements of podcasting into one show.

"We can be analytical without letting our emotions take over and we also try to get varied and interesting guests on with lots of different perspectives."

Omar lived in Bimringham before he and his family moved to Leamington when he was eight.

His father was a massive Villa fan and Omar started following the team in the early to mid-1990s when Ron Atkinson was the manager.

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It was under 'Big Ron' that Villa won the League Cup (then the Coca-Cola Cup) in 1994 when Omar was still in primary school.

Dwight Yorke was a striker for Villa during the 1990s and scored at Wembley in the 1996 3-0 Coca-Cola Cup Final win over Leeds United.

Omar admits that getting Yorke on the show was a real coup.

He said: "I just messaged him on social media and he liked what we are doing and agreed to do the interview.

"Gregg Evans at The Athletic had said he had been trying to get an interview with him for a while so we just got lucky."

To listen to the Villa Talks Podcast visit https://podfollow.com/the-villa-talks-podcast/viewLinks to the The Podcast can also be found on its Twitter page @VillaPodcast