Highly-regarded football podcaster and content creator, HLTCO, has finally revealed his face and full identity. Better still, the reaction online has warmed our hearts.
Unveiling himself for the first time on a brand new YouTube channel under the same name, the extremely popular football fanatic, commentator, journalist and Crystal Palace fan brought the mystery surrounding his 12-year-long alias to an end with his first video.
For more than a decade, football Twitter and social media, in general, have known him as HLTCO (‘Hopkin Looking To Curl One’ — inspired by a famous goal by Palace’s David Hopkin in the 1997 play-off final) and while his name has been out there for a while now, most are only familiar with the acronym.
That was until this Monday when the man himself, Dan Cook, showed his face to his 114,200+ strong following for the first time in over a decade and while he admitted it was “genuinely scary putting [himself] out there”, he was embraced with open arms by his fans and social media at large.
Took a lot of courage to do that, so much respect to you for doing so and putting this video out there. Keep going with all your amazing work 👏
As explained in his lengthy 15-minute piece to camera, the main reason that he waited so long to show himself on a public forum was that he suffers from cerebral palsy, stating: “there’s been a real push and pull and emotional turmoil that has gone alongside my perspective on myself”.
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Confessing that he hasn’t always been completely reconciled with how he feels about being disabled, speaking out in this way and going public with what is clearly a very personal struggle was no small feat, so can only applaud him for his bravery.
For the longest time, Dan has defined himself as someone “obsessed with football” and geared virtually all aspects of his personal and professional life towards immersing himself in sport, which is part of the reason why so many people who shared his interests have towards HLTCO to begin with.
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Credit: HLTCO (via YouTube)
Upon seeing his latest update, his social media channels have been awash with touching messages from well-wishers and plenty reassuring him that he had never had anything to worry about when it came to simply being himself.
One person said, “You’ll inspire many others to get involved in things they love”, another labelled him a “hero who deserves all the love [he] is receiving”; a third explained how his content has touched them on an even more direct level:
“I can relate to this and you. I felt the same with my disability affecting parts of speech and my left side. Took me a while to have the guts to do YouTube videos. Keep smashing it”.
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Even those who haven’t always been a fan of his content came out to show their support and recognise the courage it took to overcome the anxiety surrounding his disability.
I can appreciate that now, as per the video I’ll mind not to stop you in the concourse or the pub. Best of luck honestly 🤝
After having spoken and seen each other on an earlier podcast he alludes to in the video, sports journalist Laura Woods said that she had no idea that Dan had any kind of disability and, like most others aware of the account, simply followed him for his footballing opinions.
She later went on to take up a section of her talkSPORT breakfast show to discuss the reveal video, share her thoughts on his wonderful and insightful content, as well as how she got to know him through the industry and, fundamentally, separate from any knowledge of his condition.
It is a truly lovely watch that clearly hit home with the well-known Twitter personality who had always been wary of sympathy or special treatment and has gone on to make a name for himself through nothing other than hard work and great content.
Honestly, having @laura_woodsy take the time to say this about me on national radio is mind-blowing.
As co-host Ally McCoist rightly points out during the segment, it seems unbelievable that people would abuse others diagnosed with cerebral palsy but as Woods points out, “it’s social media: everything happens on there, everything you can think of”.
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With that in mind, Dan often worried his condition might limit and/or prevent him from feeling confident enough to “go down the path of working for a formal publication”, so he spawned the HLTCO brand which allowed him to talk about his beloved Crystal Palace and develop his career organically instead.
Turns out, he’s gone on to develop one of the most avid followings on the platform, cultivating a huge number of fans who tune in to enjoy his tweets, podcast and, soon, YouTube videos. Moreover, the responses to both his video and Laura’s shows there are still plenty of nice people on the old ‘bird app’.
Your story is nothing short of inspirational. Keep doing what you do mate ❤️
Above all else, his success story serves as a shining example to anyone looking to overcome personal obstacles and do what they love.
Well in, Dan.
You can watch his full face reveal and hear more about what’s coming from him in the near future down below. Be sure to check out the HLTCO Podcast while you’re at it.
Featured Image — HLTCO (via YouTube)/talkSPORT (via Twitter)
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
🔵 Subscribe to our Manchester City page on BBC Sounds for the latest interviews. #MCFC#bbcfootball
Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
Danny Jones -
10th January 2023 
