As Arsenal have been reeling within the dying minutes of the Carabao Cup ultimate, questioning how they’d managed to let their Quadruple possibilities slip away after an unexpectedly toothless efficiency in opposition to title rivals Manchester Metropolis, Arsenal Fan TV have been simply getting began. Within the subsequent 24 hours, the notorious fan channel had posted 22 movies.
Starting from the vox pops that made AFTV well-known to podcasts and post-mortems, each attainable side of Mikel Arteta and Co’s misstep at Wembley was dissected, earlier than, with out a beat, consideration switched again to the primary occasion, the Premier League title race.
For AFTV, successful the league will characterize the excessive watermark of their 14 years of protection. The channel have coated each season since their launch in 2012, however the manufacturing round their newest will bear little resemblance to their first.
From founder Robbie Lyle ready by the statue of Tony Adams exterior the Emirates Stadium with a microphone has sprung a YouTube behemoth, with 1.8million subscribers and an eye-popping again catalogue of 28,000 movies – that is just below six per day. And that is to not point out the endless service for his or her 1.3m Instagram followers and 1.1m extra on TikTok.
The primary movies again in 2012 picked up round 5,000 views every, however now the most well-liked figures – Lyle himself, Ty, Lee Judges and extra – soar effectively previous 100,000. However regardless of its standing as one of many greatest fan channels on the planet, AFTV’s historical past has been plagued by setbacks, with Lyle preventing to maintain management of his empire within the thick of messy expertise exits and controversial decision-making.
For Troopz (actual title Aumar Hamilton), one of many extra well-known former contributors whose star rose with the channel’s, success has warped Lyle’s artistic and collaborative roots. Troopz left AFTV in 2020 for a profitable cope with American platform Barstool Sports activities, however returned to creating independently in 2023. Since then, Lyle has left him out within the chilly regardless of, Troopz alleges, his previous pal figuring out he has skilled hardships.
ArsenalFanTV founder Robbie Lyle (centre) at 10 Downing Avenue with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Gunners legend Tony Adams
Troopz (actual title Aumar Hamilton) has fallen out with Lyle after leaving the channel in 2020 and never being invited again
Plenty of well-known Arsenal followers have been on the present, together with former Home of Commons speaker John Bercow
‘That man has been corrupted by, I do not know what,’ he advised occasional AFTV contributor Matisse Armani on his podcast Branching Out. ‘I do not know if it is model offers. I do not know if it is bread (cash).
‘I do not know if it is he bought AFTV… He do not personal (the total) shares how he used to. I do not know if individuals are behind the scenes. He is a puppet, they usually’re simply pulling his strings, as a result of this ain’t Robbie, bro.’
If not, who’s Robbie Lyle? Within the late Eighties, he was trying to construct a profession as a reggae DJ and performer below the title Essential Robbie, releasing the anthem Proud To Be Black – though for extra amusing causes, AFTV followers usually tend to carry up his 1989 tune Don’t Sniff Da Coke. 4 many years on, he’s Don Robbie, a media mogul.
Not stopping on the administration of 1 channel, Lyle has since created GFN (International Fan Community), an umbrella media firm creating YouTube content material for a lot of completely different Premier League golf equipment and soccer markets, which purports to have a list worth of £8.6m per season. Though he heads up the conglomerate, Lyle is a director alongside Randhir Singh Heer and Brett Lotriet Finest.
Whereas the previous seems content material to maintain a decrease public profile, Finest is a extra outspoken media veteran, who beforehand ran a weblog the place he dubbed himself ‘the Mad Dwarf of immersive storytelling’ and shared his experiences from working within the business. Finest additionally loved a touch of non-public web fame when he briefly went viral after utilizing a message from Sir Ian McKellen to suggest to his long-term companion.
However AFTV has remained the jewel within the crown of the platform, and 62-year-old Lyle is undoubtedly nonetheless its face, overseeing a raft of characters who pepper its fan reactions and podcasts and are nearly as acquainted as his personal picture. Maintaining them out of scorching water, nevertheless, may generally really feel like a further job.
Amongst them is Judges, a pundit whose most up-to-date venting-of-his-spleen after Arsenal’s draw with Wolves went viral for calling upon Arteta to have ‘slightly extra f***ing b****cks’ about himself. No stranger to controversy, he discovered himself in scorching water in December 2024 for saying that he wished to ‘shoot’ Martin Odegaard after the membership drew 0-0 with Everton.
AFTV later edited out the clip of Judges’ bad-taste outburst amid a fan backlash, however they have been unable to manage the narrative in an analogous means in 2025, when it was one other of their recurring personalities, Julian Bucker, who attracted followers’ ire for attempting to direct Lyle out of an interview with fellow creator Saeed of Saeed TV.
AFTV regulars Ty (again left), Lyle (centre), DT (second proper) and Lee Judges (proper) react angrily on a stay stream throughout a defeat at Everton
AFTV’s post-match movies usually descend into fiery battles between contributors
Within the viral clip, Becker was seen asking Lyle if he wished to do the interview with Saeed sporting a badge that includes his assist for Palestine. Within the footage, Lyle tried to dampen the potential for controversy, but it surely was too late, with Lyle pressured to make a public assertion because the furore grew louder.
‘I’ve spoken to Julian right this moment, spoken to him about his actions,’ he stated soberly to digicam. ‘It has been handled.’ Lyle additionally used the second to underscore that the incident was why he tried to maintain his channels totally freed from politics. This problem is believed to have come to a head for AFTV earlier than, with the departure of former pundit Moh Haider in 2021.
Haider had been a vocal supporter of Palestine and infrequently wore his personal pin. After his exit, he alleged on social media that the channel had proven ‘pure cowardice’ and a ‘lack of sophistication’ in utilizing his public assist of Palestine as a motive to take him off the air.
AFTV stated on the time that these claims have been ‘baseless’ and ‘unsubstantiated’, however its then-head of enterprise improvement Sartej Tucker did trace on the channel’s want to keep staunchly apolitical with a submit that reiterated: ‘We do not interact in geopolitical conflicts.’ Day by day Mail Sport has contacted Lyle for remark.
Probably the most high-profile exit got here in 2021. Liam Goodenough, self-styled as Mr DT, was a frequent contributor till he was sentenced to 3 years in jail, after beforehand being given 12 months and a 10-year restraining order for stalking and kidnapping an ex-partner.
Goodenough was considered one of AFTV’s most watched stars, showing in by far probably the most watched video within the channel’s historical past – a typical ‘Arsene Wenger is completed’ rant after shedding 4-0 at Anfield in 2017, which drew 4.6m views – and 7 of the highest 10.
The channel issued a press release following his conviction saying it was ‘completely appalled and disgusted’ by his actions, earlier than confirming he would now not seem on the outlet.
In an interview with The Athletic that 12 months, Lyle admitted it had been a ‘studying second’ for the channel however was eager to emphasize that it was ‘a problem for the person, not for us. ‘That was a really tough second,’ he stated. ‘I knew he was in some issues, however I did not know the total extent. I discovered concurrently everybody else. And it was surprising.’ This account was later disputed by Goodenough.
Mr DT, actual title Liam Goodenough, was considered one of AFTV’s hottest stars – however in 2022 he was banned from the channel after being jailed for 3 years for violent stalking and kidnap
Whereas that case was cut-and-dried for AFTV, extra thorny was the departure of a contributor referred to as Turkish, the web persona of Bilal Aydin. Turkish left the channel final autumn, as did one other common, James Bayliss, however whereas the latter stays concerned in GFN, the previous has appeared to counsel that inside conflicts pressured him out, providing an analogous view of his former employer to ex-colleague Troopz.
‘I do not imply nothing by it, however I simply did not care by the tip of it,’ Turkish stated when requested on the Branching Out podcast if he felt his followers deserved ‘closure’ following his abrupt departure from the channel. ‘I do not imply (that in direction of) the group, however I simply look again and it ended the best way it ended.’
He added: ‘I do not hate anybody, I do not maintain on to grudges or something. By way of Robbie, we simply have not spoken, and that is not because it’s occurred, that is earlier than it occurred. There’s nothing there that I see will flip round. He is cussed, I am cussed, that is it.
‘By way of typically, there’s lots of people at that organisation that I’ve bought love for. It did not finish effectively, however two, three, 4 weeks, no matter it’s, I’ve moved on. There are nonetheless open ends, however perhaps it is by no means going to shut.’
Not for nothing is Robbie referred to as ‘the Don’. Together with his personal look on the identical podcast, he was fast to snuff out any suggestion of dangerous blood, whereas demanding focus be shifted.
‘In companies, individuals transfer on, naturally,’ he stated on the identical podcast on the finish of final 12 months. ‘In soccer, you may have a participant, (they’re going to say) you have been nice at a membership. Take a look at Mo Salah in the intervening time. He is nice at Liverpool. He is shifting on on the finish of the season, that occurs on a regular basis in enterprise, in soccer, in sport. However for some motive, it occurs with me – it is an issue.
‘I perceive why lots of people will probably be like, “Oh, what occurred there?” Man, no matter. It isn’t as deep as what they’re considering. Sadly, nothing’s perpetually. And folks do transfer on. I would transfer on in the future.
‘You do not see a soccer membership and even quite a lot of companies, come out and provide the complete ins and outs of the (choice). Individuals want to grasp that you simply bought to stay skilled in these items. And simply transfer on. All people will get on and strikes on. You do not actually see me on the market speaking. I am going to simply hold it to myself.’
Troopz and Lyle with Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in 2019
AFTV have struggled to hit their earlier heights lately, since Mikel Arteta turned Arsenal’s fortunes round on the pitch
Casting himself as a social media kingmaker, he added: ‘I wish to give attention to what I am doing. I’ll by no means cease serving to individuals. I am going to by no means cease serving to individuals. And you realize, if individuals really feel that they have been laborious carried out by, that is their opinion. I am not this man that is on the market, forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards. I have never bought time for that. I actually do not. I am attempting to develop issues. I am attempting to construct issues.’
If Lyle is shedding his grip on his empire, it may need much less to do with artistic infighting and extra with what is going on on the pitch. AFTV – which was pressured by the membership to rename itself from its unique Arsenal Fan TV moniker in 2018 – got here of age through the Gunners’ years within the wilderness, the WengerOut period. Their movies have been divisive, with many Arsenal followers believing they’d a unfavorable influence on the membership and even chanting for his or her contributers’ removing from the stands on the Emirates.
However the crash-outs and criticisms made for compelling, cross-supporter viewing. It is no coincidence that their most-viewed video in latest weeks was Judges’ expletive-ladened dissection of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with backside membership Wolves, with a staggering 645,000. The figures for the extra mundane victories that see Arteta’s facet marching in direction of a possible first league title in 20 years? Fewer than 10,000.
Of the channel’s 28,000 posts, 51 of them have greater than 1,000,000 views – and none of these 51 have been posted within the final 5 seasons, as Arteta turns the membership’s fortunes round.
Arsenal have been eager to maintain their distance from the channel of late, however could not go so far as wanting considered one of their greatest social media offshoots to change into a sufferer of their success on the pitch. But when Arsenal are shocked by Championship facet Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, there might be at the very least a few Arsenal followers secretly joyful.
