The Champions League quarter-finals look lopsided with some big names on one side of the draw. So could this finally be PSG’s year? Man City will be in the running, as they will next season with their European ban overturned. Where does this leave Financial Fair Play and where does it leave UEFA? In Serie A, despite taking just a point from Turin, Atalanta embarrassed Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus on Saturday. Did they prove themselves to be the best team in Italy? Real Madrid should win La Liga in ...
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Norwich are relegated but the other 4 in the bottom 5 are all victorious, including an incredible turnaround as Bournemouth batter Leicester. What has happened to the Foxes? Sheffield United smash Chelsea as their bid for European football gathers pace. Is the job Chris Wilder’s doing amongst the best in Premier League history? Tottenham win the North London derby. Charlie Eccleshare joins us to determine whether that will silence the doubters. And Carl Anka is uniquely positioned to look ahead ...
Jul 13, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the North London derby on Sunday as Tottenham and Arsenal compete for bragging rights and not much else? And how much are the Amazon film crew to credit for an extraordinary season at Spurs? After a busy midweek, we ask should Willian have done a Di Canio for Chelsea? The panel have a heated debate about David Silva’s supposed greatness and how does Dyche keep delivering for Burnley? Duncan gives us the lowdown on his beloved Wycombe ahead of their League One play-off final with Oxford. Plu...
Jul 09, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bayern complete the double with victory in the Pokal. Will Lewandowski win the Ballon D’Or? Will Thiago be at Liverpool next season? The title race could well be over in Italy as Cristiano finally scores a free-kick. But could Daniele De Rossi be moving into management? It’s 1-0 Real Madrid thanks to Ramos once again – are they becoming Atletico 2.0? Plus big business being done at Lille and how Benfica blew the title in Portugal. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Headlines from around Europe (01m 00s) • ...
Jul 06, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Southampton stun Man City as Liverpool labour to victory over Villa. Brighton seem safe but it looks like bye-bye Bournemouth. All because of the recruitment. Arsenal are playing Arteta-taka but would they be better off out of Europe? And how many of this season’s Chelsea team will be at Stamford Bridge next season? Plus Grealish, Greenwood and the tactics truck remembered. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Southampton 1-0 Man City & Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa (02m 00s) • PART 2: Man Utd 5-2 Bournemouth (1...
Jul 06, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast West Ham shock Chelsea in a thrilling London derby. The Hammers move up to 30 points – could that be enough to stay up? And how worried should Frank Lampard be about that performance? Laurie Whitwell joins us as we learn to love Manchester United. And in particular, Bruno Fernandes. Will Wolves gate-crash the top 4? Are Bournemouth prepared for relegation? Because they probably should be. We get down to business as The Athletic’s Matt Slater breaks down the latest on Newcastle’s takeover, Wigan’...
Jul 02, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast It was a terrible week for Barcelona in La Liga as they lose ground and Messi loses respect. But everyone’s talking about those assists from Benzema and Cazorla. It was a dramatic weekend of Bundesliga action as Hamburg somehow conspire to stay. In the second tier. Should have signed up Jurgen Klopp. We also examine all the transfer action, including Barcelona’s Pjanic buy as Arthur joins Juve, with Hakimi set to sign for Inter. Are Atalanta a team to be feared in the last 8 of the Champions Lea...
Jun 29, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast It was a weekend of quarter-final football, as well as Premier League action, where we possibly learnt more about the losers than the winners. Could declining Leicester miss out on the top 4 or even the top 6? Why is Grealish no longer a threat? And what does Tierney’s Tesco bag say about him as a player? Tom and Natalie give us the latest from France and Brazil where football will be starting up again too late and too early. Plus the excitement of watching Man United, massive insects and gettin...
Jun 29, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the help of Duncan Alexander, Rory Smith and devoted Red Sasha Goryunov, we react to the end of one of the most famous sporting droughts. What will it mean for Liverpool in the future? Is it dampened by the circumstances of the pandemic? The Athletic’s Michael Cox and Rafa Honigstein discuss where this team and manager stand in the pantheon of the greats. And Oliver Kay discusses what led to 30 years of hurt last time they were crowned champions. An era where Liverpool eventually got profes...
Jun 26, 2020•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Liverpool wipe the floor with Palace and could be champions by Thursday night. Man City’s game with Burnley was overshadowed by a White Lives Matter banner flown by plane. We discuss one of the most depressing moments of the season. We also look ahead to the FA Cup quarter-finals and try to answer some questions posed by the Premier League midweek. Is Solskjaer laying the foundations for the next Manchester United manager? Do West Ham make good players bad? Are Arsenal mad? Plus Foden, Messi and...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast No doubt that it was a dour derby on Merseyside but the weekend prompted plenty of questions. Did Mourinho get it wrong with his tactics? Are Arsenal done as a top 5 team? And have water breaks become a tactical turning point? The pendulum swings back in Real Madrid’s favour in La Liga as Alvaro Romeo explains. And we relive that Pearce penalty – one panellist’s favourite moment in football history. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Everton 0-0 Liverpool with Julien Laurens (01m 30s) • PART 2a: Tottenham ...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s an evening of firsts in England with the first Premier League games behind closed doors and the first failure of goal-line technology. Hawk-eye denies Sheffield United a clear goal. Should Villa have let the Blades score? Man City sweep aside the Gunners as the definitive David Luiz performance offers an unwelcome distraction for Arsenal fans. We look ahead to a packed Premier League weekend. The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare explains why Tottenham fans might be feeling optimistic ahead of ...
Jun 18, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast With the 2019/20 season set to get back underway on Wednesday, we look at the key talking points still to be resolved. What records can Liverpool break? Is it a race for the top 5? The Athletic’s Sam Lee gives his thoughts on Man City’s prospects in court. Elsewhere, will we see the best of Arteta and Mourinho now they’ve had a pre-season? Which squads are the most replenished due to the season being paused for 3 months? And is this the strongest group of teams at the bottom of the Premier Leagu...
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast 2004/05 saw a Champions League winner that finished level on points with Bolton. Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool went on an incredible journey to Istanbul. But Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan were 3-0 up at half-time. What happened next? It got emotional. Modern day Milan are in action as Italian football returns with the Coppa Italia semi-finals. Can Sarri scoop up some silverware? La Liga also returns. Can Barcelona put the bad headlines behind them and beat Real in the title race? And would missing out on t...
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast The pod travels back 20 years, giving us a chance to bang the Marcus Stewart for England drum, reminisce about Wycombe’s FA Cup run and discuss Daniel’s favourite Premier League goal ever. Modern day football is just as bizarre – how do we feel about zoom crowd celebrations and fake crowd noise? Bayern continue to break records in the Bundesliga and with the return of La Liga around the corner, Colin Millar, author of The Frying Pan of Spain, joins us to look ahead to a truly unique Seville derb...
Jun 07, 2020•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast 03/04 was the making of Mourinho on the world stage and the unravelling of Ranieri at Chelsea. We look back at a campaign that featured a goal-crazy Monaco side, one of Arsenal’s great European nights and Milan’s biggest bottle job. For 12 months at least. In the modern day, everyone’s gearing up to play football. So why not the French? Did Macron have Marseille-based motives? And it’s the showdown you’ve all been waiting for. The grand final of the Inter Totally Cup – Daniel Storey v Michael Co...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast The last Premier League season of the century. A time when Roy Keane was player of the year and Phillips and Bridges were banging in them in. The Dons met their Premier League demise while Di Canio scored one of the division’s all-time great goals. Today’s Premier League has been given the green light to restart. And with no positive coronavirus tests in the latest round, are we optimistic that we won’t fail where the Bundesliga has succeeded? Rory Smith joins us to discuss. And speaking of the ...
May 31, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 2002-03 Champions League campaign saw Serie A come roaring back after a few seasons out of the spotlight. Carlo Ancelotti claimed his first Champions League trophy against his old club Juventus. But is it the worst Champions League final ever? Featuring the most illegal penalty saves ever? The season also provided heroics from Newcastle, Nedved and a standing ovation for Ronaldo at Old Trafford. Elsewhere, we look back at the Bundesliga weekend and the implications of Dortmund’s defeat to Ba...
May 28, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 98/99 brought us the highest quality of title races, John Gregory’s big mouth, and Van Hooijdonk and Di Canio behaving badly. We look back at the second week of Bundesliga action since its return, where home advantage seems to be eradicated. Rafa Honigstein joins us to preview Der Klassiker between the top two. Could a Dortmund defeat lead to a mass exodus for the club’s many stars? And Michael Cox looks to set up an Inter Totally Cup final date with Daniel Storey. Standing in his way…Jack Lang....
May 25, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 01/02 campaign saw Real Madrid win their 9th European Cup at the expense of Bayer Leverkusen, who knocked out all three English clubs on the way to the final. It was the first season of Xavi at Barca and Zidane at Real. When we were mad on metatarsals and Las Ketchup, and Hoeness was hunting down Honigstein Today’s Bundesliga is back up and running. Will 2020’s Leverkusen serve up another goal-fest against Monchengladbach? And it’s the first leg of the second semi-final of the Inter Totally ...
May 21, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast The panel look back at the 97/98 season. Home to one of the best individual performances of the Premier League era. And the most bizarre managerial unveiling of the Premier League era. Arsenal do the double, Lombardo becomes Palace boss and Kenny Dalglish takes on Paxman on Newsnight. The Bundesliga is back with Dortmund and Bayern back to winning ways. But did it work as a spectacle? Rafa Honigstein gives us the reaction in Germany. And Daniel’s on double duty as he bids for a place in the fina...
May 18, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast The panel look back at Bayern’s first European Cup win in 25 years. It was the final with all the penalties, so naturally the Germans won it. Featuring Oliver Kahn at his peak, bad boy Stefan Effenberg, and the ludicrously decorated Bixente Lizarazu. And it was the last great ride for Leeds, who managed to squeeze two Champions League campaigns into one. The Bundesliga is back as we examine the prospects of a proper title race. And whether or not Werner will stay in Germany when it’s all said an...
May 14, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Back in 1996/97, there was an Italian influx, Manchester United were the worst champions ever and Leeds experienced peak George Graham. Plus there was Arsene Wenger, Ali Dia, Calamity James, Peter Reid’s potty mouth and Kevin Keegan’s farewell. Also on the podcast, Matt takes us through the return of the K-League, where fake crowd noise and former Boro strikers in their forties are all the rage. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: K-League round-up! (01m 00s) • PART 2: Your questions (09m 00s) • PART 3: Zom...
May 10, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Champions League season at the turn of the century was lit up by Batistuta’s Fiorentina, Mihajlovic’s Lazio and Flo’s Chelsea. The whole thing was won by Redondo’s Real, who were victorious in the all-Spanish final against Valencia in Paris. But what really happened with Nicolas Anelka during his year in Madrid? In the modern day, football is coming back! Rafa Honigstein brings developments from the Bundesliga, while Steve Price alerts us to kick-off in South Korea this weekend. And in the l...
May 07, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 94/95 season saw Shearer and Sutton fire Blackburn to their first title in 81 years. And Forest finished 3rd! The panel look back on a game-changing campaign for the Premier League, as a combination of Klinsmann and controversy take the division global. The bad boys of the Inter Totally Cup meet for a semi-final place as James Horncastle and Jack Lang quiz off. Plus we discuss the most infuriating reasons for missing games. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Rounding up the news and your questions (01m...
May 03, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast 98/99 is defined by Man United’s treble success. We force Rafa to relive the United Bayern final - the substitutions that went right and the substitutions that went wrong. It’s a campaign also featuring Arsenal at Wembley, the inexperienced Carlo Ancelotti and the Pat Nevin of Germany. We’ve got another huge quarter-final in the Inter Totally Cup as Daniel Storey takes on Julien Laurens. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: France cancels the season + your tweets (01m 00s) • PART 2: Daniel Storey v Julien La...
Apr 30, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast United’s second season in the Premier League wasn’t so difficult as they crushed all opposition in 93/94. Were they better than the United side of 98/99? Plus we bask in the beauty of Cole and Le Tissier and recoil in horror at Swindon and Grobbelaar. In the modern day, Rafa Honigstein joins us to explain the rationale behind Bundesliga plans to restart the season in May. And it’s the first quarter-final of the Inter Totally Cup – Alvaro Romeo versus Pat Nevin. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Rafa Honig...
Apr 26, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jupp Heynckes’s Real, thanks to the heroics of Predrag Mijatovic and Christian Karembeu, turned over Juve in the final, at the end of a scintillating campaign showcasing Shevchenko, Trezeguet and Asprilla. The panel get into a heated debate over their favourite football ads of all time. Are you an airport person, a cage person or a write the future person? Plus the final last 16 tie of the Inter Totally Cup pits Michael Cox against Matt Davies-Adams. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: UEFA plans for the se...
Apr 23, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 2011/12 Premier League campaign saw Manchester City pip rivals United to the title on goal difference on the last day. You might remember how it ended. But do you remember it was Alan Pardew’s best season in management? Or Paul Scholes coming out of retirement mid-season? Or that Blackburn chicken ad? Plus Carl Anka and Sasha Goryunov battle it out in the penultimate last 16 tie in the Inter Totally Cup. RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Newcastle takeover and careers after football (02m 00s) • PART 2...
Apr 19, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast The panel travel back to 96/97 when Dortmund and Schalke did a European double. Dortmund’s only Champions League success powered by Sammer, Ricken and Paul Lambert. Duncan invites us into a wonderful world where Gazza scores against Germany at Euro 96. And Fergie’s plans go to pot. Jack Lang and Emma Saunders raise the bar in the Inter Totally Cup. And is Mike Ashley actually leaving Newcastle? RUNNING ORDER • PART 1: Newcastle takeover and post-football careers (01m 00s) • PART 2: Emma Saunders...
Apr 16, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
