Kingsley James lifts the lid on York City’s promotion season, his partnership with John Askey, and the tensions that eventually led to their departure.

Here is an exclusive early release of Series 15 of York Hospital Ball featuring former York City assistant manager, Kingsley James.

Having spent the vast majority of his playing career in the lower leagues, Kingsley faced the Minstermen many times before joining York City in November 2021 as the right-hand man to John Askey. The pair quickly put their stamp on the club, transforming the team’s fortunes and ultimately leading York City back to the National League with promotion at the end of their first season in charge.

Despite a positive start to the following campaign, tensions began to grow between the management team and the club’s new ownership. Those difficulties eventually led to the departure of John Askey and, shortly afterwards, Kingsley himself.

In this interview, Kingsley reflects on the highs and lows of his time at York City, offering a fascinating insight into life behind the scenes during a memorable and turbulent period at the LNER Community Stadium.

This interview was conducted by Dan Tait, produced by Keith Lea, and edited by James Charters.

The episode is sponsored by Radcliffe and Son Plastering.

If you enjoy these podcasts, please consider supporting our charity:

https://www.justgiving.com/charity/yorkhospitalradio

Hospital Ball welcomes York City striker Dipo Akinyemi for the 100th episode of the podcast.

In this in-depth interview, Dipo reflects on his professional journey — from his early career at Stevenage, through a series of character-building loan spells, before finding his feet at Welling United and getting his career back on track.

A move north of the border to Ayr United followed, where a spectacular first season saw Matt Uggla break the York City transfer record to bring Dipo to the LNER Community Stadium.

Although his stay with the Minstermen lasted only two seasons, his impact was keenly felt by supporters. Here, Dipo talks candidly about his affection for York City, his relationship with the fans, and his departure from the club last year.

This special milestone episode is sponsored by long-time supporter Ol Crabtree.

If you enjoy the Hospital Ball podcast, please consider donating to our charity via justgiving.com/yorkhospitalradio.

Original artwork image created by Tom Poole.

Our final episode in this series on cult heroes features perhaps the ultimate York City cult hero – Gary Swann

Born in York, Gary began his footballing career at Hull City, where he rose through the ranks to become a first-team regular, achieving two promotions over six seasons. He then moved to Preston North End, adding another promotion to his career achievements, before joining York City on a free transfer in 1992.

At Bootham Crescent, Gary became an integral part of John Ward’s side and secured his place in Minstermen folklore with his vital goals in the playoffs. He later went on to play for Scarborough and enjoyed spells in Hong Kong and China before retiring from the game.

This interview was conducted by Dan Tait and edited/produced by James Charters.

If you’ve enjoyed this podcast series, please consider supporting us by donating via York Hospital Radio’s JustGiving page.