Gerrard’s Dark Arts, Henderson HUMILIATION, Career ENDING Video & BATTLING MY DEMONS | Dan Atherton

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Daniel Atherton joins us to tell some unbelievable stories from his time at the club, including Steven Gerrard’s brutally competitive side, Jordan Henderson making him look ridiculous in training, and the bizarre Palmer Violets incident that left him fearing his Liverpool career was over.

Daniel lifts the lid on what it was really like training alongside some of the biggest names in football, from Gerrard to Henderson, and opens up about the highs and lows of a career that took him from Liverpool to non-league football.

But behind the funny stories, there’s a much more personal conversation. Daniel speaks honestly about battling anxiety, depression and ADHD, reaching some of the darkest points of his life, and how opening up and getting professional help helped him begin to understand his own mind.

It’s a brilliant, honest conversation about life inside a Premier League academy, the reality of a football career, and the importance of talking when things get tough.

0:00 Intro 1:47 Liverpool Academy 4:45 Rejected by Liverpool 16:48 Nearly Released 17:46 Steven Gerrard at Liverpool 19:37 Gerrard’s Dark Side 20:58 Career Ending Video 26:46 Pep Lijnders & Liverpool Training 27:40 Jordan Henderson Humiliation 29:12 Imposter Syndrome 31:00 Training With Liverpool’s First Team 34:00 Klopp Plays Him Up Front 36:00 Nearly Scoring for Liverpool 39:27 Leaving Liverpool 40:20 Málaga & Spanish Football 44:00 Football Trials 47:00 Improving as a Goalkeeper 51:00 The New Saints & Champions League 55:00 The Champions League Dream 1:00:00 Losing His Love for Football 1:04:00 Warrington Town & FC United 1:06:50 Anxiety, Depression & ADHD 1:08:22 Drinking to Silence His Mind 1:11:37 His Darkest Moments 1:13:49 Feeling Alone 1:18:29 How Therapy Helped 1:19:07 The Fire Pit Therapy Exercise 1:20:16 Talking About Mental Health 1:22:40 The Don’t Want to Talk Podcast 1:24:35 Outro

👋 Got someone you'd love to see on the podcast? Drop us a message on any of our socials or let us know in the comments.

👌 If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you Like, Comment & Subscribe, and turn notifications on so you never miss a new episode.

👀 Join I Had Trials Once on Patreon for just £3 a month for more exclusive, unfiltered content that we simply cannot get away with on YouTube

👉 / ihadtrialsonce

👏 A massive thanks to CAPO for sponsoring this week's episode. 👔 Check them out: https://capouk.com/

🤑 Use code IHADTRIALS at checkout to save 15%.

🤔 Who should we get on next? Let us know in the comments!

😍 Connect with us: 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/ihadtrialsonce 📸 Instagram: / ihadtrialsonce ⏳ TikTok: / ihadtrialsonce 🖥️ Facebook: / ihadtrialsoncepodcast

⚽ I Had Trials Once is the football podcast where the best stories from the game get told. Every week we sit down with former footballers, current players, managers, coaches, journalists and some of football's biggest personalities for honest conversations, hilarious dressing room stories, untold career moments and behind the scenes insight.

📈 From the Premier League and EFL to Non League, grassroots football and beyond, if you love football stories, football interviews and proper football banter, you're in the right place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices