At certain times in the season we like to appear topical on the Football Fives podcast. That's mostly for a combination of two reasons - it feels nice to appear relevant every once in a while, and more often than not it helps 2017 FSF Football Writer of the Year Daniel Storey "conjure up" ideas for his future work by stealing the opinions of others. In the week that saw the league season of the Championship finish with Newcastle United crowned champions, we've taken our time to discuss the Magpies' season, sing the praises of some players and managers currently operating in a division they might just be too good for, ponder how we expect Brighton will handle life at the top table and whether or not the unpredictable nature of the second tier is a good thing. No Chris Nee this week, so settle in and enjoy the chatter of two men who both love and hate the Championship in equal measure - Daniel Storey and David Hartrick - alongside a man who does his best to pretend his only Championship viewing isn't the first 15 minutes of the early Saturday kick-offs before the 12.30 Premier League games get going - Ryan Keaney. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes // Subscribe in Stitcher

Here at the Football Fives Podcast there's nothing we like more than spending an evening building five-a-side teams that will never take the field. This week we're revisiting an old favourite format and going head-to-head to create a Frankenstein's monster of a short-sided international team from nothing but spit, sawdust and some of the greatest players who ever lived. It's with a worrying amount of delight that we finally arrive at the five-a-side episode we've all been looking forward to the most: Italy.  We are all children of a Football Italia generation. The very thought of Italian football makes us go a little weak at the knees. But who are the goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers who deserve to be elevated beyond their peers? So get your headphones on and enjoy the bickering as Daniel Storey, David Hartrick, Ryan Keaney and Chris Nee attempt to find some common ground in the world of calcio. Who made it in? Who missed the cut? Who didn't even get a mention that frankly deserves more respect? Andrea Silenzi, for one. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes // Subscribe in Stitcher

Here is FSF Football Writer of the Year Daniel Storey with this week's introduction to the podcast: "This week we did something very silly indeed, by trying to answer a Serious Question. It concerns football and politics, but we think we got away with it. There is the customary mention of snooker given the time of year, but also discussion of the potential rule tweaks this summer. "WARNING: Ryan tries to claim that David Healy is the correct answer to one of the questions. We can only apologise." Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

Easter weekend. The football season is coming to a close and the all-important titles, promotions and relegations are going to be settled in the next few weeks. Some of them have already happened. In this week's Football Fives Podcast we're zooming in on squeaky bum time, the part of the season that separates the will-haves from the ain't-gonnas. Daniel Storey (#HeHadAWholeYear), David Hartrick, Ryan Keaney and Chris Nee are on hand to look back on the season so far for our teams and outline our hopes for the remainder. We pick our favourite games of 2016/17 so far, and the games we're most looking forward to between now and the middle of May. We ask which manager should be binned by his club as soon as the final whistle brings the campaign to an end, and spend some time asking whether relegations, promotions and end-of-season tie-breakers are in need of reform. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

There aren't many players who get the one-man episode treatment from the Football Fives Podcast. A little while ago we debuted the format with five questions about David Beckham. The identity of player number two was never in question. So, this week, we've got a full show about the mighty Gabriel Batistuta. Daniel Storey, David Hartrick, Ryan Keaney and Chris Nee discuss just how jealous we are about Batigol's career path, his international career, and what made him stand out compared to other strikers we've watched before, during and after the Italian portion of his career. And we talk about how a player of Batistuta's style and stature would fit into the modern tactical world. There's a question about whether he was underrated, with a surprising range of answers given our prejudice going into this week's show, and, of course, we do what Football Fives does: we pick a favourite goal each from the boots of the man himself. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

The Football Fives Podcast team is back up to four this week, and the focus of the show is a tournament that really wasn't very good. FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa was an unspectacular affair, won by a Spain team that perfected the 1-0 win on their way to an historic triumph against the Netherlands. In amongst the five questions - Football Fives, innit - we ask whether the Spain were the right team to win the World Cup seven years ago. We start by picking over England's tournament, from qualifying to ignominious exit at the hands of Germany, and identify our biggest memories of the competition. And, of course, we indulge ourselves. When we look back at a tournament from history, we like to spend some time talking about the games and goals we enjoyed the most. Slim pickings in 2010, maybe, but we manage it anyway. There were moments. There really were, we promise. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

When it rains, it pours. After our first ever week off - sorry about that - we had to overcome illness and other assorted issues in order to avoid another. But missing two weeks just isn't our style, so we managed to assemble a three-man crew for this week's episode of the Football Fives Podcast. It's "Anything Goes" with a twist this week. Ryan Keaney's been on holiday to Cuba, so all five questions in this episode are related to his holiday and his holiday destination. Except they're not. There's chat about drawing a veil over football history, things we never want to hear about again, and stories that were probably funny except I wasn't really listening. We'll be back to normal next week, hopefully with all four of us at the mic, including voiceless wonder David Hartrick. It's been a trying couple of weeks but we've got some great topics lined up for the rest of the spring. For now, thank you to Gary Andrews for the support. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

Due to last-minute work commitments, this week's Football Fives Podcast is another three-hander, with Chris Nee absent but Ryan Keaney back, back, back. It's one of our "anything goes" episodes, meaning five questions unconnected to one another, and a chance to take a few topical talking points and stick our big ol' nerdy lens on them. Barcelona gave us plenty to go on, and who are we to deny them? So there are questions this week about the best ever football thumpings and the reasons why the soon-to-be-vacant head coach job at Camp Nou isn't necessarily one that the world's best young coaches should pursue without giving it a bit of thought. There's video technology - sorry - and a nod towards history's greatest examples of shameless shithousing, and a listener question in which Ryan, Daniel Storey and David Hartrick attempt to predict the future. You might want to bookmark this one, then. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

Modern football. It's good, isn't it? Isn't it?! Well, maybe. In this week's Football Fives Podcast we make the effort to find out, albeit with the worst possible level of preparation: none. Yes, it's another of our blind episodes, in which one 'orrible sod picks a topic and five questions but reveals none of them ahead of the recording. This time around said sod is Chris Nee, whose topic for the latest Football Fives is modern football. When you read between the lines that's not such a vague concept, and its in that barely hidden sociopolitical meaning that our fives questions originate this week. Taking the challenge are Daniel Storey and David Hartrick. Don't worry, Ryan Keaney will be back next week. Will our fives questions bring to light a rarely spoken hatred of the game? Will we reveal ourselves as luddites and over-zealous traditionalists? Or is there progress in the modernisation of the game that we can get on board with? There's only one way to find out... Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes

At least one of the members of the Football Fives Podcast panel has never really understood the popularity of our quiz episodes. Nevertheless, popular they are. So it's good news that this week's show is a return to the world of football trivia. Yes, it's a Football Fives pub quiz episode! [Applause.] This time around it's Ryan's turn to drop himself into the Bob Holness chair to guide Daniel Storey, David Hartrick and Chris Nee through five gruelling rounds of football quizzery. So settle in, grab yourself a pen and some paper, and join in as the Football Fives team embarrasses itself by exposing its lack of actual football knowledge repeatedly for an hour. We're hoping to do a little more with our quiz episodes in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for news on that front later this year. We're assured that interaction with the audience is somehow 'important' and 'useful' and 'courteous'; Chris isn't convinced, but we're considering giving it a try anyway. Submit a question: show[at]footballfivespodcast.com Listen to the show: Click to play / right-click to download (MP3) Import to podcatcher of choice (feed) Subscribe in iTunes