The Athletic's Adam Leventhal & Adam Crafton take you inside the biggest Premier League stories and look ahead to this week's action in the Champions League. Our Manchester City writer Sam Lee shares his thoughts on a potential title race after he witnessed a Harry Kane masterclass & details how City have been doing just fine without a striker even after dropping points at the weekend. Are Wolves mounting a charge for a Champions League spot? The Athletic's Tim Spiers details how the clu...
Feb 21, 2022•42 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth, just as Newcastle are preparing to keep the run going, without Kieran Trippier... Would Jarrod Bowen offer Gareth Southgate something England sorely lack, are we all guilty of under-appreciating Pep's Manchester City and what job did Conte think he was taking? Plus, does Daniel James have anything to prove to his old club Manchester United, is Kane still one of the best centre-forwards in world football and are Wolves the rea...
Feb 18, 2022•43 min
Mark Chapman & The Athletic's Matt Slater are joined by Andy Anson, CEO of the British Olympic Association to discuss what the future holds for the Winter & Summer Games. Andy tells us why FIFA’s plan to stage the men’s World Cup every two years will threaten the Olympics and be “terrible” for football. Also on the pod, Andrew Zimbalist, an author and economist whose research has led him to raise questions about the value to cities of hosting the Olympics — and influenced some cities to ...
Feb 17, 2022•46 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's News & Investigations writer Matt Slater, to discuss his special report into a rise in football fan violence: Missiles, Cocaine and Political Agendas... The trio reflect on their own experiences of going to games since the return of fans - post-lockdown - the frightening statistics recently published by the UK Football Policing Unit, as well as, the role of match-day stewards and a younger generation of match-going supporter...
Feb 16, 2022•39 min
Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Adam Crafton & Phil Hay to talk Leeds United, whose struggles continued at the weekend, and to assess the challenge ahead next season with or without manager Marcelo Bilesa. Plus, The Athletic's Italian football writer James Horncastle will be with us to assess the work of Antonio Conte at Spurs so far and James will also help up look ahead to the Champions League that return this week as Conte’s former side Inter Milan face Liverpool. Hosted on Acast...
Feb 14, 2022•40 min
Host Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365s Steve Freeth, to look ahead to the weekend's Premier League action... After the emotion in the away dugout following Southampton's midweek win at Spurs - does anyone think Hasenhuttl could really walk away from the game yet? What has Dean Smith done to Norwich, and how many of KdB's teammates are more deserving of this year's POTY award? Plus, are Gerrard's Villa the new 'agents of chaos', how do you stop and in-form Allan Saint-Maximin and ...
Feb 11, 2022•42 min
Host Mark Chapman is joined by Doug Whaley a former NFL executive to discuss the lawsuit former Dolphins coach Brian Flores has filed against the NFL and to share his thoughts on a range of subjects including the Rooney Rule, coach selection and how the sport should embrace diversity. Plus, we cross to LA where The Athletic’s US Sports business reporter Dan Kaplan is covering the Super Bowl to share what he's heard on the ground ahead of Sunday's finale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...
Feb 10, 2022•32 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's Arsenal correspondents, James McNicholas and Art de Roché, to reflect on Aubameyang's legacy, how his relationship with manager Mikel Arteta changed, as well as, how an 'iron-fist' approach to management works in the modern-day Premier League. Plus, the panel discuss Arsenal's quiet January transfer window and assess their chances of sneaking into the Top 4 this season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Feb 09, 2022•40 min
Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Adam Crafton & Rob Tanner to discuss Leicester, after a performance described by manager Brendan Rodgers as ‘embarrassing’ - Rob tells us why the squad is in need of an overhaul. We’ll cross to Cameroon and speak to Maher Mezahi for reflections on Senegal finally becoming Africa Cup of Nations Champions and a look back on the impact the tournament has had across the game. And Daniel Taylor joins us to tell us about his special report on the difficult ...
Feb 07, 2022•33 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth, to preview the FA Cup 4th round action, starting with a nostalgic fixture on Friday night as Middlesbrough host Manchester United... Plus, has Liverpool's super-smart recruitment set them up to compete for years to come, did Spurs panic buy in January, will Roy Hodgson keep Watford in the Premier League and is it promotion or bust for Scott Parker's Bournemouth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 04, 2022•46 min
Mark Chapman and Matt Slater discuss sport’s impact on culture, politics and society and sport in China since the 2008 Games and how international leagues such as the NBA, the WTA and the English Premier League operate in a challenging region that offers an enormous market for business. Our guests today are Mark Dreyer a China Sports Insider, and author of "Sporting Superpower: An Insider's View on China's Quest to Be the Best" and William Nee, who is the research and advocacy coordinator at Chi...
Feb 03, 2022•48 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's Everton correspondents Greg O'Keeffe and Patrick Boyland, to reflect on a whirlwind month or so at Goodison, as Frank Lampard was finally unveiled as Rafa Benitez' successor AND both Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli signed on Deadline Day to kickstart this new era... Our panel reveal how Lampard came out on top among a seemingly endless list of candidates - which included the likes of Wayne Rooney - who will make up his back-room...
Feb 02, 2022•45 min
Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Adam Crafton & David Ornstein to discuss the biggest transfer deals of the window taking you inside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's move to Barcelona, Dele Alli 's move to Everton and why other players such as Jesse Lingard didn't get the moves they hoped for. The Athletic's Chris Waugh also drops by to discuss an intense window for Newcastle United who didn't get everything they wanted but did they get what they need to stay in the Premier League? Hosted...
Feb 01, 2022•39 min
Mark Chapman & The Athletic's Matt Slater are joined by Garry Cook, who over the course of a 30 year career is sport has held executive positions at Nike - where he led the Jordan brand - the UFC and he was also the CEO of Premier League side Manchester City helping to secure the £210 million takeover by current owner Sheikh Mansour. As well as sharing some of his own experiences in the business of sport, Garry also gives his thoughts on the current landscape of Premier League football inclu...
Jan 27, 2022•50 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's Man City writer Sam Lee, to discuss Raheem Sterling's 'complicated' relationship with Man City and manager Pep Guardiola as the prospect of leaving the reigning Champions at the end of his current deal looms large for the England superstar... What is it like to play 'Pep Roulette' as a City squad member and more on Guardiola's January transfer plans, Plus, Dan and Flo find time to react to Roy Hodgson's impending return to the P...
Jan 26, 2022•33 min
Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein & Adam Crafton to look at deals that could be done in the final week of the season. They also discuss managerial recruitment as Manchester United step up the hunt for a permanent head coach. Later in the pod we’ll discuss Watford’s struggles with Adam Leventhal and our Investigations Writer Joey D'Urso will detail the story of a bookmaker receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of bets on a player receiving a yellow card in a Pr...
Jan 24, 2022•35 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth to look ahead to another big weekend of Premier League action... Is James Ward-Prowse the best Free-Kick taker in PL history? Is Conor Gallagher better off at Selhurst Park than returning to Stamford Bridge, did Steven Gerrard's return to Goodison Park just get a whole lot harder and much more... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 21, 2022•41 min
Mark Chapman & The Athletic's Matt Slater speak to Isha Johansen, who is a member of The FIFA Council, the main decision making body of world football about a range of topics including the challenges she's encountered on her journey to the corridors of power, biennial World Cups, plus diversity and sustainability in the game. Previously Isha was President of the Sierra Leone Football Association , one of only a few women in the world to have headed a national football association. Isla is al...
Jan 20, 2022•43 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by Joey D'Urso, Investigations writer for The Athletic, to explore the Premier League's increasingly close relationship with Cryptocurrency, NFT's and the Metaverse... What is a 'non-fungible token', why is John Terry promoting something called the 'Ape Kid's Club', what do a cartoon monkey and the Mona Lisa have in common and why supporters should care how millionaire players choose to invest their money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...
Jan 19, 2022•38 min
Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Adam Crafton, David Ornstein & Greg O'Keeffe to discuss Everton's sacking of manager Rafa Benitez and how they plan to replace him. Our Brentford writer Jay Harris joins the pod to detail his exclusive story that Brentford have offered Christian Eriksen a six-month contract with the option of a further year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 17, 2022•37 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth to preview a North London Derby with so much at stake for both Arsenal and Tottenham... Plus, how Vieira will look to balance all the attacking talent in Crystal Palace's midfield, which Premier League side could use Bissouma this month, how Chelsea can keep the title race alive and Jarrod Bowen's electric form. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 14, 2022•47 min
Mark Chapman & Matt Slater are joined by Stewart Robertson, managing director of Scottish Premiership champions Glasgow Rangers football club. Rangers won their 55th title last year after financial collapse in 2012 saw them have to climb their way up from the fourth division. Stewart shares his experiences at the club across a wide range of issues including the development of home-grown talent, being a big club in a small TV market and the club's plans to once again compete in the UEFA Champ...
Jan 13, 2022•47 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's Carl Anka and Jay Harris to discuss why AFCON matters , as the 33rd edition of the tournament kicked off in Cameroon... The panel discuss this rite of passage for a diaspora of young football fans, how European attitudes towards the festival of football continue to evolve, de-bunk some of the typical misconceptions about African football and tell the sensational story of Comoros, aka, 'The Island of the Moon'. Hosted on Acast. S...
Jan 12, 2022•40 min
Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Adam Crafton & David Ornstein to discuss some of the latest transfer news. Aston Villa are confident of signing Everton left-back Lucas Digne after picking up Philippe Coutinho on loan, Arsenal could be after a striker and Newcastle are targeting further signings ahead of their crunch relegation showdown with Watford. The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke will join us to tell us what has gone wrong at Spurs for record signing Tanguy Ndombele who wants to le...
Jan 10, 2022•32 min
Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are once again in the company of bet365's Steve Freeth to preview the best of the weekend's FA Cup Third Round action... Will Ben Garner's Swindon stand toe-to-toe with Pep's Man City, could Arsenal be light in midfield against Nottingham Forest and is the Hull City takeover done yet? Plus, why Crystal Palace could be dark horses for the trophy this season, Manuel Lanzini's inspired West Ham form and what Ralf Rangnick could learn from his 29-year-old centre hal...
Jan 07, 2022•51 min
With the Africa Cup of Nations kicking off this weekend Mark Chapman & Matt Slater are joined by Hicham El Amrani, former Secretary General of the African Football Federation. And later in the pod we’ll be joined by The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon who has been speaking to Martin Semmens CEO of Premier League side Southampton following their takeover by a London-based investment firm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 06, 2022•57 min
Which referee's name strikes fear into your heart as a fan. Does Stuart Attwell really hate Arsenal and why do Premier League referees all look alike?... Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's Stuart James and Dan Barnes to reflect on the 'Great Referee Conspiracy' gripping the hearts of supporters across the country... The guys discuss the concerning lack of diversity, accountability and whether 'consistency' is even possible in football. Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Jan 05, 2022•51 min
Mark Chapman discusses the future of Romelu Lukaku - after he was dropped from the Chelsea squad - with The Athletic’s Simon Johnson & James Horncastle & Adam Crafton. Adam Crafton was at Old Trafford last night for The Athletic and has plenty of thoughts on United's struggles following their loss to Wolves. And with the transfer window now open, The Athletic's Newcastle United writer Chris Waugh joins the pod ahead of a very busy month on his beat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
Jan 04, 2022•45 min
The Athletic Football Podcast is taking break this week so we wanted to point you in the direction of the newest addition to the Athletic podcast network. In The Boardroom is hosted by Jacqui Oatley and she speaks to people from up and down the football pyramid about the day-to-day to running a football club. As a taster, this is Jacqui's conversation with Leon Mann, co-founder of The Football Blacklist, where they discuss Leon's on-going mission to make football more inclusive - from coaching t...
Dec 27, 2021•39 min
Ho-Ho-Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth to preview the best of the Boxing Day action as Dan questions whether this is a good time for his beloved Villa to face Chelsea and the trio debate where both Newcastle and Manchester United most need to strengthen in January... Plus, Phil Hay chimes in on how badly Leeds need some players back from injury this Christmas, if Liverpool can sustain a title challenge without their African stars and whether the Newcastle pro...
Dec 23, 2021•41 min
