Booked and Abandoned - The Podcast

SEASON FINALE 2 | Booked and Abandoned
No guests this week…

Well, sort of.
Part time host and former guest Brenden Child jumps back in to host alongside Scott La Franchie and Andrew Mckenzie for the final episode of Season Two.

We look back at our favourite moments from the season, the stories, the laughs, the chaos, and the guests who made this year what it was.

Big thanks as well to our guest sponsors ELYTE Hydration Powder and to Oratia United for being our home throughout the 2025/26 season

Plus… we attempt to name our ideal Starting XI for a work in progress charity football match.

⚽ Some picks were obvious.
⚽ Some picks caused debate.
⚽ And a few people might feel very unlucky to miss out.

A fun, relaxed way to wrap up another season of the pod.

Huge thanks to everyone who listened, shared an episode, appeared on the show, or helped us finish up Season Two!
We’ll be back for more later this year:

🎧 Final episode out now. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1M7TMILSJCTLH9K3iaMNoO?si=add1977cd76049eb

Stay booked. Stay abandoned.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE – Booked and Abandoned

This week we're joined by Matthew Cooper.

Out of the youth system at Te Atatu AFC, defender when needed, now a nutritionist at Auckland FC,

From grassroots in West Auckland to Otago, cutting his teeth at in : all while earning his nutrition degree.

Now he's feeding the pros. Literally. Concussions, career pivots, and meal plans. This one's got it all.

A Sorry Gordon Ramsay since you didn’t show, there's a new cook in the kitchen.

We get into balancing life as a player and a professional, what elite nutrition actually looks like, and how a kid from Te Atatu ended up at the biggest club in the country.

Big shoutout to our sponsor ELYTE Hydration Powder for keeping us fuelled

🎧 Booked and Abandoned link: https://open.spotify.com/show/36dBXZZBuyb4BmvEUbDH38?si=5fb61887f26c4a05

Follow, share, and tune in now.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE - Booked and Abandoned
🚨 EPISODE 50 🚨
Half century up… and we’ve gone local for this one.
This week we’re joined by Brayden Harrison.
Reporter with 1News, producer with Sports Nation, and still lacing up for Oratia United 1st team and development squad.
From live sports desks to both squads, this is football from every angle, covering it, producing it, and playing it.
Not the biggest bloke on the pitch, but definitely one of those players you noticed. Little fella, big impact.
We also talk about balancing the media grind with actually being in the game, and why that perspective matters.
Big shoutout to our sponsor ELYTE Hydration Powder keeping us going 50 episodes deep 💧
And a nod to Season 1 guest Riccardo Ball, still setting the standard.
Listen now.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rbGKa3KXjK8D6sB9Pf0lU?si=d06605c154d34359

Follow, share, and tune in now.

🎙️ Booked and Abandoned – Adam Bryce (Part Two)

Part One was about the dream.
Part Two is about what comes after. Brought to you by ELYTE Hydration Powder.

When the pathway disappears, what do you hold onto?
Adam Bryce opens up on life after football, identity, and finding a way forward when the game moves on without you.

He also shares his thoughts on the current development pathways for young players, and the differing views on what’s working… and what’s not and his project Union Goalkeeping

🎧 For players, parents, and anyone who’s had something they love taken away too soon.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/432w1nejdINMY3mQINPxXE?si=de7e80736b5b4107

Follow, share, and stay with us.
Stay booked. Stay abandoned.

Adam Bryce replaces a missing Mark Bosnich.

From South Auckland to the Middlesbrough FC F.C. academy…

A young talent, a big move, and a pathway that looked set.
Then football did what it sometimes does, changed everything.

This episode dives into the early years of Adam Bryce:
the opportunity, the setbacks, and how quickly the game can shift beneath you.

Part One is about chasing it. Thanks to ELYTE Hydration Powder for supporting us and our guest!

Part Two? That’s about what happens after.

🎧 For players, parents, and anyone who’s had the game taken away too soon.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1izM5uCoPtcGv3DhKkYsIk?si=4f28d99b3f854114

Follow, share, and we’ll see you for Part Two.
Stay booked. Stay abandoned.

🎙️ EPISODE DROP – DION HANSEN (PART TWO: THE PORT)

We’re diving into The Port AFC, the newly formed ‘ultras’ of Auckland FC and Dion's part in that.

How it started
The chants, the noise, the culture
What match day is really like in the middle of it
And what actually goes down on away trips!

This is football from the stands, passion, chaos, and building something from scratch - And how much they might need a re-hydration from ELYTE Hydration Powder after game day!

If you’ve ever thought about getting involved, this is your insight.
Listen now.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/13ZIPgb68CSuthWcv3bSKO?si=a35d6f6368764f11

Follow, share, and tag the mate who’d be leading the chants.

No superstars this week. Zidane couldn’t make it, so we’ve gone with something better… real football.

This week: Dion Hansen.

A player who’s grafted his way through it all:
Manurewa AFC
Ellerslie AFC

First team football the hard way. No flash. No shortcuts. Just miles in the legs and jobs done + x1 MASSIVE splinter 😳

One of those players every team needs, consistent and reliable, shaped under Season One guest O’Donnell.

Part One is all about the on-field journey, the grind, the reality of earning minutes, and what it takes to stick at it until life and family step in.

Brought to you by ELYTE Hydration PowderElyte Hydration.
Listen now: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2OrZUe1UyTYwWIy84XMsky?si=db97e563d9824599

Follow, share, and tag a teammate who never stopped running.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE – BOOKED AND ABANDONED

This week we’re joined by Katherine Patmore, a true women’s football veteran who’s come full circle.

From school football… to finding a social connection at Oratia Unitedand Waitemata FC

To going competitive with North West / Westcoast Rangers…

And now back where it all started at Oratia.

This one dives into the fun side of the game!
- The football
- The drinks
-The hangovers
-And the friendships that keep you coming back

And of course… the eternal debate:

How closely does your game resemble Sam Kerr after two drinks?

Brought to you by ELYTE Hydration Powder, doing its best in the recovery department.

If you’ve ever signed up “just for fitness” and stayed for the post-match socials… this one’s for you.

Listen now.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0sexylpLGCZNVvl1iajOcL?si=Rf9IsyqlQ26Rh1nrVbDh0g

Follow, share, and tag your teammate who thinks they’re Sam Kerr after a couple.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE – BOOKED AND ABANDONED

This week… Lenarduzz didn’t show so we’ve gone international in a different way.

Meet Brad Aylwin: a footballer who didn’t just drift away from the game… he fully detoured.

🇨🇦 From football as a youngster…
🏒 To ice hockey at a competitive level
⛷️ To professional downhill skiing

Casual. With a few scars along the way to show for it!
But like all good football stories… it finds its way back.

Now based in Auckland playing with Oratia United and coaching withBay Olympic AFC , Brad’s back into social football and coaching kids proving the game never really leaves you.

💧 Brought to you by ELYTE Hydration Powder keeping the pod (and the hosts) going.

If you’ve ever stepped away from football and somehow ended up back on the… this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fob9VJDsav3FZEZV6vSWJ?si=m_xOMNiZSqaitYsAPNDayg&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A36dBXZZBuyb4BmvEUbDH38

📲 Follow, share, and tag a mate who “retired” but still turns up every week.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE – BOOKED AND ABANDONED

No retired legends this week… and Allison didn’t show so we found someone with a few more footballing years ahead of him.

This week’s guest is Roberson. Just 19 years old and already playing men’s first team football for Ellerslie AFC in the LOTTO NRFL Men’s Championship.

Our guest is Brought to you (and hydrated) by ELYTE Hydration PowderElyte Hydration 💧

Callum’s already built a serious CV:
- First team football with Mosgiel AFC – ODT Southern Premier League (2025)
- First team football with Franklin United – NRFL Championship (2024)
- U23 football with Hamilton Wanderers FC - Blue Army – NRFL Premiership
- First senior minutes with Matamata Swifts AFC

At 19, that’s serious exposure to men’s football!

This episode dives into what it actually takes to chase first team minutes young: moving regions, earning your spot, and stepping into senior changing rooms early.

If you’re a young player (or a parent of one) wondering what the pathway really looks like… this one’s worth a listen.

🎧 Listen now.https://open.spotify.com/episode/1B8EswMv8XJEXI3LiUdbHL?si=uMFmXs8nQTuQDTEUJN9_pA

📲 Follow, share, and back the next generation coming through.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE – BOOKED AND ABANDONED

This week Aranda joins us on the pod — stepping in for the mysteriously unavailable Carles Puyol.

From a raft of youth and supporters’ club teams in Scotland — including Harmony Row Football, to playing for nearly every senior team at Oratia United , Marcos has done the miles in football.

A two-time Coach of the Year at Oratia United Marcos is the definition of a proper club man and football lifer. Many thanks to our friends ELYTE Hydration Powder for keeping us going during this pod!

⚠️ Listener Translation Guide (Scottish Edition (flag)):

• Stoater – an absolute beauty (goal, pass, strike)
• Walloped – absolutely smashed the ball
• Mince – rubbish, terrible
• Gubbed – heavily beaten
• Sclarft – messy, disgusting substance (usually found on a muddy pitch)
Expect stories, laughs, and possibly subtitles.

🎧 Listen now on Booked and Abandoned.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5jVPsn97cqkBZBrJ9iXPdT?si=a7esEroaRMmTq-ibi_fO4w