Today marks an exciting new chapter in the history of EPL Talk. In 2005, it began as a dream to create a platform where soccer fans around the world could congregate online and share their passion for their favorite sport, league and team with strangers.

That dream came true (in more ways, than one with EPL Talk becoming one of the leading websites for news and analysis of the Premier League worldwide). Now we’re ready to embark on the next stage of EPL Talk.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to EPL Talk Pro.

Read on to learn more.

Beginning today, readers can subscribe to EPL Talk Pro for a small monthly fee to access exclusive content such as premium videos, audio stories, contests, feature-length articles and more. The subscription gives you insider access to the best quality content regarding the world’s most popular sports league.

Membership has its privileges. Each month, you’ll have exclusive access to:

  • A feature-length audio story covering a deep and fascinating topic (where other sites only scratch the surface),
  • A video documentary from the streets of England,
  • One audio roundtable focused on a polarizing Premier League-related topic,
  • Three to four feature-length articles each month, and
  • A featured audio interview with a major celebrity.

As an example, during the first month of EPL Talk Pro, the feature-length audio story will be a three-part series looking at the surge in interest and coverage of football tactics. The main feature of the interview, created and produced by Richard Farley (host of the EPL Talk Podcast), is an in-depth interview with The Guardian‘s Jonathan Wilson and Zonal Marking’s Michael Cox. The NPR-quality audio series also includes expert insight by Bobby McMahon, Grant Wahl, Andy Brassell, Oliver Kay, Luke Moore (The Football Ramble) and Richard Whittall (A More Splendid Life). The near hour-long series serves as a discussion of how we got here, what the current coverage does and poorly, as well as where this trend takes us.

In the video department, director Laurence McKenna (best known as the co-host of the EPL Talk Podcast) will be releasing an exclusive documentary each month from the heart of England. Laurence, an accomplished director and storyteller, will be your eyes and ears on the streets of England. There he’ll capture remarkable stories on film that the British TV networks typically skim over, the type of stories that get to what is the soul of football. McKenna is already hard at work getting the first episode ready. To see a glimpse of his work, watch his interviews with Henry Winter, Patrick Barclay and Barney Ronay, as well as his showreel.

The always opinionated Kartik Krishnaiyer (co-host of the EPL Talk Podcast) will, once a month, debate with Farley and McKenna a hot Premier League topic in a monthly roundtable discussion. The 45-60 minute debate will focus on a heated topic. But rather than glance over topics, the trio will dive deep into the topic and will provide a detailed analysis on the topic at hand. The trio have several roundtable ideas in mind and are currently researching topics for the first roundtable episode.

EPL Talk Pro will not just be audio and video. Each month, Richard Farley and Jesse Chula
will, between them, write 3-4 feature-length articles covering aspects of the Premier League that often are overlooked or under appreciated. An example of Farley’s attention to detail can be seen in his recent article, Where to Go When Our Crude Tools Can’t Capture Carlo’s Trequartista, which tackled the fine art of how to describe formations. Chula recently published an article entitled Music, Media and Manchester: The Search For North West England’s Best Band, which combined his love of music with football. These are just two examples of the writing duo’s talent.

Last but not least, each month of EPL Talk Pro will feature an exclusive interview with a celebrity from the world of the Premier League. Stay tuned for a major announcement in the coming week regarding who our first guest will be. The one-of-a-kind interviews will be conducted either by Richard Farley or The Gaffer.

As an EPL Talk Pro subscriber, you’ll also be entered into a monthly drawing where one lucky EPL Talk Pro member will win a Premier League-related prize. Over the next several months we’ll be giving away prizes such as soccer books, DVDs and more. And if you become a member of EPL Talk Pro now, you’ll be entered into the drawing to win a replica shirt from your favorite Premier League club!

You get all of this for just $4.99 per month.

For the price of just one large Frappuccino a month, you get premium video, audio and written content each month focused on the Beautiful Game. And you also gain access to exclusive contests where you can Premier League-related items.

On top of this, you’ll also be the first to be notified of breaking Premier League news through a private Twitter account (@epltalkpro). And you’ll have exclusive access to a private RSS feed of all of EPL Talk’s posts in their entirety. Learn more about these changes in the EPL Talk Pro FAQ which will answer most, if not all, of your questions.

Now you may be wondering how the launch of EPL Talk Pro changes EPL Talk. The great news about today’s launch is that EPL Talk, the site and podcast, will remain the same. We’ll continue publishing all of the scoops, news and analysis you’ve grown accustomed to reading. And each week, the EPL Talk Podcast will continue to be available for free twice weekly.

The only major difference is that for die-hard Premier League soccer fans, you can now get more soccer analysis and high-quality content for just $4.99 per month.

We purposefully kept the monthly price low and affordable to ensure that all soccer fans who crave quality content could afford the $4.99 price. We trust that you’ll be impressed by the quality of content that EPL Talk Pro will be releasing, as well as the exclusive access to interviews with major celebrities in addition to contests. Plus, we’ll also throw in plenty of surprises now and again.

We’ve put a lot of hard work and effort into making EPL Talk what it is today. That won’t change, but for those of you who are interested in getting even more quality content, the type that you can’t find anywhere else, EPL Talk Pro is for you.

To learn more about EPL Talk Pro and why we’re expanding our coverage into premium content, be sure to read the EPL Talk Pro FAQ.

In 2009, EPL Talk was named both the Readers’ Choice and Editor’s Choice winner in the Best Competition Website category of the Soccerlens Awards. Here’s what they said about EPL Talk:

“EPL Talk edges out mainstream media sites like the BBC and The Guardian by giving you proper football analysis and wide-lens coverage of the English Premier League.”

And:

“Over the years, EPL Talk has become a football blogging icon – coupled with the podcast, it’s quite possibly one of the best football blogs around.”

EPL Talk has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, on BBC 5 Live’s World Football Phone-In and Fighting Talk shows, NPR, BBC World Service, BBC World, CBC and more.