In part two of his interview with Squawka, EFL legend, Charlie Austin gives his views on the EFL in it’s current state.
The 36-year-old reflected on the best defender he came up against, his thoughts on VAR in the EFL and what he thinks about the move to a six-team play-off system.
Austin also shares his best ever moment in football and his plans for the future.
You can listen to the Chaz Kicks Off podcast by clicking on this link or the image below.
You’ve played against some of the biggest names but who was the defender that made you work the hardest for a goal, and what did he do that set him apart?
John Terry was just head and shoulders above when I played him. He was quicker, he was stronger. He was very good in the air but he was very good with the ball at his feet, too. Yes, I scored against Chelsea but to play against Terry was a phenomenal challenge.
Fast forward 4 or 5 years and I had Virgil van Dijk as a teammate at Southampton. I played against him a couple of times but training with him everyday was amazing. Vincent Kompany was another one that was so hard to get anything from.
Those three really stood out for me.
The EFL has just voted to expand the Championship Play-Offs to six teams from the 2026/27 season. Does this add genuine excitement, or does it devalue the regular season?
I’m going to say time will tell. When I heard about it I was a bit surprised.
The biggest eye-opener will be if a side finishes eighth and goes on to get promoted to the Premier League when finishing 30 points behind the side that finished third. You’d be left shaking your head.
When it first came up my initial reaction was ‘no, absolutely not’. You build up the season for 46 games and there’s a race for playoff places. You might just miss out on the top six on goal difference and that is gut wrenching but this really opens it up for teams that haven’t finished way off the top two.
But maybe this makes it more exciting and gives more teams more opportunities. As I say, time will tell!
There’s been lots of talk about VAR and it’s impact on the Premier League and there has been talk of introducing it in some guise in the Championship. Would you advocate for it in the EFL, or should the lower leagues remain “pure”?
I am a big advocate for it in the Premier League. But the EFL? I’m not sure that I’m in.
There are still plenty of problems and issues in the Premier League, so I don’t think it’s it would be fair to to EFL clubs for it to be involved until it’s 100% right.
The biggest problem is it’s still not black and white. One week, we’ll see one decision and then the following week, we’ll see a decision that contradicts last week!
And for me, the referee needs to be strong enough to make the decision and not rely on VAR. We can go back much earlier this season when Josh King scored at Chelsea. His first Premier League goal, the excitement, everything around it. Not in a month of Sundays was that a foul in the build up and the referee didn’t give it at the time. But then VAR told him to go and have another look. That was a pivotal moment for me. I think that was the time for the referee to put a statement down and stick by his original decision to not give a foul. It could’ve really improved things moving forward.
I’m fully on board with VAR in the Premier League but not the EFL in it’s current state.
We’ve seen you offering punditry on Sky Sports and you’ve told us all about Chaz Kicks Off but is the long-term plan to stay in media or does the dugout and management have a pull for you?
I went through a stage of coaching and I enjoyed it and loved looking at the game from that side but I moved away from that so that I could spend more time with family, playing with my kids and enjoying it.
I really enjoy the media side of it. I enjoy working with Sky Sports, where you can give your opinion with fans and get involved. But I truly love doing my podcast. I love that it’s raw and un-scripted. Sky isn’t quite the same as you’re given topics to discuss and certain teams to talk about. The podcast gives me the chance to talk about other topics and give my unfiltered opinion.
I like to think I’m good at it so, for the time being at least, I’m going to stick with it and see where it goes.
If you could relive one single goal from your entire career, which one is it and why?
This is the hardest question!
There’s a number of moments that I can think of. I could go back to Brunton Park when I scored my first professional goal. The Wigan play-off semi-final is another one. I scored a brace to get us to the final and that was unbelievable.
But I don’t think you can replicate that play-off final for QPR against Derby. It was just so emotional. I would’ve liked us to have had more of the ball, for it not to be so hot and for us to have 11 men but you just can’t bottle up the emotions of it, both the highs and the lows.
If I could relive one day of my career, it would definitely be that day at Wembley, when Bobby Zamora scored that winner.
Charlie was speaking to us in conjunction with his podcast, Chaz Kicks Off, which you can subscribe and listen to here.
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