Euros Round of 16, Part 1
lol we called it a "mini Euro pod" at the start and then we couldn't stop talking about Italy and Belgium and Portugal and went 35 minutes anyway.... enjoy! Support the show
Episodes
The Double Pivot: Soccer analysis, analytics, and commentary
Soccer analysis, analytics, and commentary with hosts Mike Goodman and Michael Caley
Episodes
Euros Continue Continuing
So much Euros! Spain keep falling into bad fortune and Germany and Portugal played a weirdo classic and how about Denmark... so much to get into. Why there are more interesting teams at the Euros than we expected and why the tournament's probable two best aren't among them, where's Bruno, what to do with Verratti, and more. Support the show
Euros Begin (Again)
All our takes on the first part of the first round of games including Italy, Spain, Belgium, England and Netherlands takes -- why we are still skeptical of the Netherlands but were impressed by Spain even in a draw. Look for more little pods at the tournament continues! (Episode re-uploaded due to an audio issue in the first version.) Support the show
Euros Preview Pt 1 (featuring bonus USMNT content)
Big international tournaments! Happening soon! We get you up to speed on some of the big teams to watch in the Euros while taking some listener questions and also the USMNT won an international tournament and Goodman saw it happen so we've got a little on that too. Support the show
Postseason Mailbag
With Goodman traveling we still do manage to take your questions about what's going on with the manager searches around Europe, what's happened to superclub budgets, what United are gonna do, and we manage to get caught behind the Conte news but still kind of explain what happened avant la lettre imo. Support the show
Season Ends, Managerial Merry-Go-Round Begins
We look back on the end of the season drama, and then on to manager news. We break down the careers of Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane and consider where they'll go next and what are the upsides and downsides of each for potential clubs. Support the show
Seasons Finale
We've got seasons ending with a lot on the line in England, Spain and Italy, and the podcast takes you around the big games and asks the important questions like, will Atalanta's players feel happy or sad on Sunday, what the hell is wrong with the La Liga table and why won't anyone put some respect on Ronald Koeman's name? Support the show
Top Four, Top Four, Top Four
There's still just about a top four race still ongoing in the PremierLeague, but we've also got big Champions League qualifying drama in Italy and Germany, so this is your one-stop shop for all the top four drama around Europe. Support the show
Prolegomena to Any Future Theory of Fan Protests
Manchester United vs. Liverpool did not take place becuase of fan protests, as the fallout from the failure of super league perhaps picks up and enters a new phase. It's fascinating! We talk about what the fans seem to demand, their various interests and how these might enable owners to buy them off, how the media covered these protests, and the fundamental contradictions in the system which will lead inexorably to its overturning. Support the show...
Manager Searches at Spurs and Bayern
Tottenham are looking for a manager. The German coaching carousel spins. Weirdly almost all the richest clubs in the world are standing pat. What's going on, what do we expect from the managers who are or may be moving, have teams' approaches to their managerial positions changed? Support the show
What Happened to the Super League? (with Josh Robinson)
We are joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Robinson to talk about the sudden collapse of the Super League, why it happened, and what comes next. Robinson is also the co-author of a book about the founding of the Premier League, The Club, and we think about why that breakaway succeeded but this one failed. And you absolutely must stick around for his anecdote about how Man City decided to join up with the Super League. The Club: https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/the-club/9780358213055 S...
The Super League
We've got news. Caley and Goodman walk through the setup of the proposed Super League, its apparent business goals, the structural problems in European football that brought us to this point. and what we think is likely to emerge on the other side of this. @Guidetobirds on the wage issue at the heart of the Super League: https://fileundertragicomedy.wordpress.com/2021/04/19/the-super-league-is-about-wages-too/ Murad Ahmed and Arash Massoudi in the Financial Times on the financing of the lea...
El Clasico and the La Liga Title Race
There's a title race in Spain, suddenly! And there was a great Clasico. We break down the game and why we think Barcelona are still favorites despites losing to Real Madrid and sitting third. And we begin our top four profiles, going over how Leicester City and West Ham got here and how the relative stability of their xG numbers in both cases hides some real changes over time. Support the show
The Top Four Race (yes, the top four race)
(Opening from The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzche) Chelsea and Leicester lost, Liverpool and West Ham won, Spurs -- who still technically in the top four race! -- drew with Newcastle. We walk through the small changes in the race this week and our favorites to get through. Support the show
USMNT Mailbag
It's an international break and the US Men's National Team has good players on it, some of whom were even allowed by doctors and public health authorities to play with the team. Dest, Pulisic, Reyna, Aaronsen, formations, Musah, the Gold Cup, it's all here. Support the show
League of Freds
There's Derby talk and Chris Wilder talk and Kelechi explodes but the Premier League ain't giving us much right now. So we get into some of the weird stats of Covidball and the consistently uninteresting big performers of the season. Support the show
Podcast of Chaos: Messi and Ronaldo and more
A variety of topics, variously arranged! The Manchester Derby, the Madrid Derby, "Der Klassiker", is Milan good or not, the end of the Messi and Ronaldo Era, the era of the supremacy of the Premier League? We get to it all. Support the show
The Relegation Fight
Months of "meh" at the bottom of the table have been transformed into moderate amounts of drama. We discuss how Fulham got, well, not good exactly, but solid enough defensively to get draws, and the risks now for Burnley, Newcastle, Brighton(?) and Southampton(??). Support the show
Klopp and Potter
Managers! xG! Is Klopp doing something wrong now? Is Potter? Our answers are pretty decidedly no, but we get into how you ask questions about managers when something is going wrong under the hood, statistically or tactically or with all of their players getting injured at once, say. Support the show
Champions League Roundup
How PSG pressed Barcelona out of a big tie, how Leipzig failed to contain Liverpool, Dortmund surprising us a bit against Sevilla, all our takes on the latest round of the Champions League right here. Support the show
Champions League Returns, Pt 1
A lot has changed since we last covered the top teams in Europe. We take on the teams playing this week in the Champions League, including PSG's injury problems, how far Barcelona have rebounded, the peculiar new Leipzig system, Ronaldo's new/old role, and more. Support the show
Return to the Top Four
The Premier League top four race keeps being the story because it keeps changing! Why the table is still lying, why Liverpool and Chelsea haven't put it away yet, what Tuchel is up to, and which underdogs still have a shot. Support the show
Spurs - Liverpool and Top Four
That was very nearly another fascinating Spurs-Liverpool match and we get into the first 20 minutes before Kane's injury more or less put it to bed. And right now the top four race is as open as it's ever been, what's up with that? Support the show
Teaser: Player Profiles (Ødegaard and more)
Over at patreon.com/doublepivot you can get our subscription level player profiles beginning with Martin Ødegaard and Papu Gomez, and continuing through the week with more every day. And there is even a special deal, 15 percent off when you subscribe for a year so check it out. Support the show
Frank
Frank Lampard appears to be on the way out at Chelsea. We look back at his time at Chelsea and consider what we got right and what we got wrong, and we talk a bit about the state of research on analytics about managers -- do they really matter? Support the show
Burning Questions, Pt 1
We take a spin around the entire Premier League and answer your (or our) burning questions on each club. Starting with the meaning of Arsenal's recent good results and what we got wrong about Sheffield United, and continuing through Mo Salah's production decline, what Spurs need from the transfer market, the very very badness of West Brom and more. Support the show
Hay League
We got us a Premier League title race but uhhhhh City are going to win it now? We talk about Liverpool's collapse-that-is-not-a-collapse, Pep's transformation of Man City, Frank and the Chelsea game, and the chance of an upset title winner. Support the show
Festive Frenzy, Ep. 4: The Pile-Up
We keep it rolling! Not too many interesting games but a fascinating pile-up in the top four and title races and we walk through what's going on with Chelsea, City, Villa, Spurs, United, Leicester and Everton. Support the show
Festive Frenzy, Ep. 2
We have so many games, so much going on, we got more of your questions on Chelsea and Liverpool who may determine their place in the title race in the next week, and also a bunch of midtable questions because Leeds, Arsenal and Brighton are just fascinating. Support the show
Festive Frenzy, Ep. 1
We take a lot of your questions and get technical right off the bat, with discussions of data collection and "post-shot xG" leading into some talk about City, Grealish, Brighton and Chelsea. Support the show