Thought I'd make a little topic regarding where you go for your football information, entertainment and the like.
My first port of call for football information is, predictably, Football365. I enjoy the combination of straight-laced information and 'witty banter' (I hate this expression, but it's the correct one to describe the style). It has a throw-enough-shit outlook whereby it pretty much posts every story that breaks, always with a disclaimer unless it's confirmed by legitimate sources, in order that you can get your fill of not only the cast-iron facts, but the rumours and stories too.
Of course, I don't believe anything to be confirmed until it turns up on the BBC website. I don't care if I'm sitting in front of Sky Sports News and watching Portsmouth's latest African signing paraded around Fratton Park as their record signing - if it hasn't been announced by the BBC, I'm going to assume he's only on loan and it isn't properly above board.
Both The Times and The Guardian are great for mainstream media coverage, certainly the best quality reporting and opinion pieces you'll read in print. They tend to demand greater verification on their rumours than other newspapers, which means that while their rumours are hardly worth putting your house on, they can be treated with greater seriousness than something you read in any of the tabs. An obvious point, I know.
Finally, I've REALLY started to get into my podcasts recently. The three best ones, by a country miles, are The Game podcast from The Times, Football Weekly from The Guardian, and The Football Ramble which, as far as I'm aware, is an independent production. Regardless of what type of fan you are, one of those podcasts will suit you. The Game is a serious, hard-nosed look at the game, concentrating on the Premier League and the English sides in Europe. Phill Jupitus hosts but plays it straight, with Gab Marcotti the opinionated sidekick. It's an enjoyable listen if a little impersonal the way it plays it straight with stats and facts.
The Football Ramble is the polar opposite. I appreciate this makes it sound like crap, but it is pretty much four lads sitting around chatting about football, having a laugh and giving their opinions. It's 'lads down the pub', except the lads are reasonably intelligent, reasonably professional, very funny and very likeable. I think a lot of us would like to think that we could do a decent football podcast, but realistically know it would be crap. These guys are like us, except they've made it very good. The emphasis is very much on humour and banter, but the boys are very knowledgeable about the game and work in football media so they present the show reasonably well.
And if those two sound too polarised towards seriousness or fun, the Football Weekly podcast is a blend of the two. Plus it has James Richardson and Barry Glendenning. That's all you need to know. All three of those podcasts are on iTunes, and all three are must-listen material for me. Less so The Game, but whatever.
So what are you listening to, reading or watching?