Musa and Ryan record a short bonus episode reflecting on the leak of details regarding the proposed Project Big Picture. They discuss some key points involved in the plan, which would send much-needed funding to lower tiers of English football in exchange for placing greater powers in the hands of nine Premier League clubs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Musa and Ryan are back, following a weekend in which Musa received an unexpected birthday gift: Arsène Wenger declaring his preference for a roll neck jumper (00:42). They then look back at a pivotal weekend in the Frauen-Bundesliga and FA WSL, with wins for Arsenal, Everton, and Chelsea, while Wolfsburg dropped points to fall behind Bayern (07:33). They then get into a new bunch of what-ifs, including if Real Madrid had beaten Juventus in 2015 to progress to the Champions League final (16:37), ...
While just the 35th show since joining The Ringer, it’s the 100th ‘Stadio’ episode, and Musa and Ryan take questions on transfers and more. They begin by discussing Thomas Partey’s move to Arsenal (4:36), Arsenal’s financial situation in the wake of the Gunnersaurus and Mesut Özil sagas (8:32), Mario Götze to PSV (12:16), and Chelsea’s strong window (14:31). They then look at the loan moves of Ryan Sessegnon, Mattéo Guendouzi, and Michaël Cuisance (17:46), plus Hatem Ben Arfa heading to Bordeaux...
Another week, another round of chaotic Premier League fixtures. Musa and Ryan do their best to work their way through, beginning at Villa Park, where Aston Villa put on a master class of efficiency, beating Liverpool 7-2 (3:56). They heap more praise on Everton, who go into the international break top of the table after a 4-2 win over Brighton (15:56), before heading to Old Trafford to reflect on Spurs’ demolition of Manchester United (22:31) and where this leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (29:56). T...
Musa and Ryan reflect on the midweek Carabao Cup action, which included wins for Manchester United and Spurs (3:54). Everton continue to impress, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring another hat trick and Everton Women progressing to the FA Cup Final (15:24). Next, they discuss Landon Donovan’s San Diego Loyal walking off the pitch against Phoenix Rising, after an opponent allegedly directed a homophobic slur at Collin Martin, just a week after another Loyal player was the target of a racial slur ...
Musa and Ryan are back to try to make sense of a wildly chaotic weekend of soccer. They begin in the Premier League, where Leicester beat Manchester City 5-2 at the Etihad, thanks to a Jamie Vardy hat trick (4:40), where Sheffield United and Wolves are struggling at the start of the season following defeats to Leeds and West Ham (16:11), and where Brighton and Spurs were the victims of last-minute VAR calls (17:58) and Chelsea came from 3-0 down to salvage a draw at West Brom (21:25). The guys g...
After a heavy week, Musa and Ryan feel that some fun is in order and open the mailbag! They answer questions on the possibility of Kylian Mbappé potentially joining Liverpool and where he would fit (06:33) and which clubs would be their picks for a Last Dance and All or Nothing series, as well as who would direct them (11:49). They also discuss the importance of squad numbers (21:31), the potential of Dortmund’s golden generation and where they rank among the great BVB sides (23:37), and whether...
In this bonus episode, Musa and Ryan focus on the news of Macclesfield Town receiving a winding up order, following unpaid debts of over $600,000. They use the Macclesfield Town case to take a zoomed-out look at the crisis facing England's lower-league clubs, many of which are on the brink of collapse. They also examine how football clubs are the latest example of certain institutions being ignored by parts of England, discuss poor ownership scrutiny, and look at the parallels with wider social ...
Musa and Ryan are back with the longest 'Stadio' episode ever! They begin by looking back at Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, including Thiago’s impressive debut, Sadio Mané’s man-of-the-match performance, and Fabinho (03:24). They move on to a weird game of two halves at St. Mary’s, which saw Spurs beat Southampton 5-2 (17:41), Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat at home to a brilliant Crystal Palace (26:40), Arsenal grinding out a win against West Ham (35:30), and Everton beginn...
It’s a full mailbag episode in which Musa and Ryan answer listeners' questions, but before they do, there’s news of Musa’s new book with Ian Wright (03:00). They then talk about Gareth Bale’s return to Spurs from Real Madrid (05:31) and Neymar signing with Puma and where the King ranks on their list of iconic boots (09:57), offer one hot take each for the season ahead (13:40) and who they think is in the running for this season’s Premier League Golden Boot (15:50). There were many questions abou...
Musa and Ryan go through the opening round of Premier League fixtures, including Liverpool’s wild 4-3 win over Leeds at Anfield, where Marcelo Bielsa went head-to-head with Jürgen Klopp (02.56). They also chat about Arsenal’s win over Fulham (13.12), including some early sartorial talk thanks to Scott Parker (21.11); two great goals for Dijon and Huesca (24.49); a new-look Everton defeating Spurs (26.18); Chelsea opening the season with three points at Brighton (29.26); and a first glimpse at Ka...
It’s a lighthearted show ahead of the return of the men’s domestic seasons, as Musa and Ryan touch on the Nations League between France and Croatia, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland (4:01) plus Cristiano Ronaldo’s 100th and 101st international goals (11:51). They then dive into talk on the new season’s kits (17:07), plus how the death of the two-year kit cycle has made it hard for fans to form relationships with shirts, resulting in modern kits not being remembered as fondly as those of old (2...
Musa and Ryan reflect on Lionel Messi staying at Barcelona, the interview with Goal, and what it may mean for the season ahead (6:27). They then discuss Kai Havertz joining Chelsea (34:27) and Donny van de Beek joining Manchester United (41:50) and how they will fit in at their respective new clubs. There’s also a lot of praise for Ansu Fati’s Nations League performances (44:20) and questions about whether the tournament should be taking place at all during a pandemic (48:28) Finally, they finis...
Musa and Ryan take another stroll through alternate soccer universes, beginning with what if Roman Abramovich had decided to buy Portsmouth, instead of Chelsea (03:30) in 2003. They then discuss what would have happened had Arsenal hired Johan Cruyff, not Arsène Wenger in 1996 (18:30), the Barcelona board hadn’t sanctioned a deal for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2009 (34:26), and Neymar had joined Pep Guardiola’s Bayern instead of Barcelona in 2014 (46:20). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...
Musa and Ryan begin by reflecting on the death of Chadwick Boseman (00:25), and then partake in some much-needed cheering up thanks to a couple of brilliant listener emails. They then look back at the Women’s Champions League final, which saw Lyon win a fifth straight championship by beating Wolfsburg 3-1 to maintain an unbeaten run that is well into its third year (07:57). The domestic season began in England this weekend, with Chelsea beating Manchester City in the Women’s Community Shield (21...
Musa and Ryan reflect on the news that Lionel Messi has notified Barcelona of his wish to leave the club and the circumstances that led to this point, including the conflicting philosophies surrounding the club (04:02). They also speculate about where Messi might land, or whether he will leave at all. They then look back at this week’s Women’s Champions League semifinals, which saw Wolfsburg and Lyon remain undefeated and progress to Sunday’s final (26:46). Then they open the mailbag to answer q...
Musa and Ryan discuss Sunday’s Champions League final, which saw Bayern defeat PSG 1-0 to clinch their sixth European Cup and the second treble in their history (04:54). The guys heap praise on a number of Bayern players, including Thiago, and discuss the attributes that make him such a wonderful midfielder (11:18). There’s also discussion about the amazing job that Bayern coach Hansi Flick has done since taking over in 2019, when they were fourth in the Bundesliga and a long way off from lookin...
Musa and Ryan let the mailbag direct their recap of the Champions League semifinals, which saw PSG and Bayern move on. After the inevitable reference to Julian Nagelsmann’s suit, they talk about Thomas Tuchel’s strengths and what he has brought to PSG (04:39), and heap praise on Angel Di Maria (07:47) and Marquinhos. They move on to discuss Lyon’s impressive run coming to an end, the strength of their academy, and the wonders of Houssem Aouar (12:55). Next, they talk about Joshua Kimmich, Bayern...
Musa and Ryan look back at Bayern’s 8-2 destruction of Barcelona, focusing on the game itself (00:23) and then moving on to how mismanagement at the board level has led to the current situation at Camp Nou (13:25). The guys also discuss what they're like on the pitch (24:14) before moving on to Rose Lavelle’s move to Manchester City and her NWSL rights being acquired by OL Reign (30:17). Then they wrap up the rest of the Champions League games, including more disappointment for Pep Guardiola wit...
Musa and Ryan discuss the first Champions League quarterfinal, in which PSG came from a goal behind to score two goals in stoppage time and eliminate Atalanta (04:49). They then run through the four quarterfinal matches of the Europa League (22:00), which will now see Inter meet Shakhtar and Sevilla face Manchester United in the semifinals. There’s also chat about the MLS Is Back final (37:58), as the Portland Timbers beat Orlando City to secure a second piece of MLS silverware. Finally, there’s...
The Champions League is back! Musa and Ryan round up the round of 16 second legs that were played over the weekend ahead of its move to Lisbon for the remainder of the tournament. They begin with Manchester City’s drama-free win over Real Madrid (03:56), and Musa is accused of jinxing Raphaël Varane. Lyon went through thanks to the away goal rule (11:42), and there's discussion about Maurizio Sarri's replacement, Andrea Pirlo (17:50). There’s also talk of Bayern cruising through against Chelsea ...
It’s another what-if episode, in which Musa and Ryan take a trip through an alternate football reality. Before they do, they reflect on the news that Arsenal are to lay off 55 staff members, including roles in recruitment and scouting (04:34). Then it’s on to the what-ifs, beginning with if Gareth Bale had been sold to Birmingham City in 2009 (19:35), if Antonio Conte had signed Romelu Lukaku for Chelsea in 2018 (35:38), if the current football and social media climate had existed when Alex Ferg...
Musa and Ryan break down Arsenal’s FA Cup Final win over Chelsea at Wembley, thanks to two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (03:40). They discuss Christian Pulisic, who scored before suffering a hamstring injury, and Mikel Arteta’s securing the first trophy of his young managerial career. They also reflect on Eddie Howe leaving Bournemouth and predict where he may go next (24:55), before moving on to the failed Newcastle takeover bid and what it means for the wider context of ownership of Eu...
Ahead of the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Arsenal, Musa and Ryan are joined by two-time FA Cup winner and Arsenal, Crystal Palace, and England legend Ian Wright. He talks about how it feels to play and score in multiple FA Cup finals, how his first experience with Crystal Palace differed from his second and third with Arsenal, what makes Wembley unique, pre-match nerves, the differences between the three managers he went to the final with, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
The Premier League season wrapped up this weekend, almost a full year after it began. Musa and Ryan do an extended round-up of the key last matchday fixtures, including Watford’s relegation after defeat to Arsenal (06:40) and Bournemouth’s joining them despite beating Everton at Goodison Park (13:15). Aston Villa’s draw away at West Ham was enough to keep them up, and there’s talk about Jack Grealish’s potential future (16:59). Manchester United beat Leicester to secure Champions League football...
Musa and Ryan take questions on who would be in contention for the Ballon d’Or had the 2020 edition gone ahead (05:06), whether Chelsea’s new signings can disrupt the Premier League top two next season (09:46), Leganés’s heartbreaking relegation (16:04), underrated players (21:26), Jose Mourinho’s ever-reducing cycle, which leads to a discussion about pairing managers and actors (21:26), plus Ralf Rangnick’s proposed move to AC Milan being off (34:26). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...
Musa and Ryan reflect on the FA Cup semifinals, which saw Chelsea and Arsenal progress to the final and highlighted potential problems within the two Manchester clubs (05:50). In the US, the NWSL was full of shocks as the top four seeds all exited the competition and Britt Eckerstrom stole the show (22:35), plus Ryan shares his love of the numerous novelty Twitter accounts that have sprung up around the tournament. The MLS was also wild, with goals, sendoffs, and plenty of VAR drama, much like L...
It’s a mailbag episode this time around, as Musa and Ryan let the questions guide them. They begin with Arsenal’s win over Liverpool (06:40) despite registering just three attempts on goal and a record-low possession total at home. They also discuss how the schedule is starting to take its toll on players, heap praise on the absent Jordan Henderson (12:32), and choose what players they would take from ’90s Arsenal and Manchester United teams onto today’s (14:23). Next, they host the first-ever ‘...
Musa and Ryan discuss how the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling to overturn UEFA’s punishment of Manchester City for alleged breaching of Financial Fair Play regulations will affect European soccer. They also touch on the damage to UEFA’s authority and how it played a part in creating a handful of powerful European superclubs (03:43). Next, they reflect on the North London Derby, in which Spurs beat Arsenal to land yet another victory for Jose Mourinho over the Gunners (16:47), before prai...
The MLS Is Back Tournament kicked off last Wednesday, so Musa and Ryan discuss the conditions surrounding its questionable return as well as Orlando’s beating Inter Miami in the opener and how the circumstances differ from the NWSL Challenge Cup (03.48). They take a question on how the NWSL compares to leagues in Europe, and explore whether the next NWSL CBA may allow USWNT players to play in Europe (10:40). They recap the wild Milan vs. Juventus game, Ralf Rangnick taking over for Stefano Pioli...
