Extra Time

Henry Hill returns to the podcast this week for a look at the teams competing for the Europa League spots, and what failure/success would mean for each one. West Ham, Everton, and Aston Villa would surely be happy with their improvement this campaign, while Tottenham and Arsenal are bound for disappointment, and we discuss what effect missing out would have on Arteta and Mourinho, as well as talking about Liverpool's extraordinary season, and how their transfer decisions could be shaped by the next 10 weeks.

On the podcast this week, I'm joined by Sam Obaseki to discuss Thomas Tuchel's impact on Chelsea. Along the way we discuss players he likes, those who could be sold, areas to strengthen, and the stylistic adjustments Tuchel has made, as well as the team's hopes for the rest of the season. Then it's on to the North London Derby and Tottenham's weird conservatism under Jose Mourinho. Finally, there's a look at the rumours than Sergio Aguero could join Barcelona, and the amazing make-believe world of Pele and his 1000 imaginary goals.

This week, FD's resident relegation expert (Fulham fan) Henry Hill joins the pod to discuss the relegation battle. We touch on Fulham rising, Newcastle sinking, Burnley bobbing around as normal, and the fully submerged West Brom and Sheffield United, before moving on to some of the prevalent myths and narratives this season, including Liverpool's transfer business, Anthony Martial, and Marcos Alonso. It's a good one!

This week, resident Phil Foden expert Dougie Critchley comes to the pod for a discussion of the youngster's development this season and how he can slot into both Man City and the England team going forward. That inevitably turns into two non-English people discussing England, and what their best attacking lineup could be at the Euros, as well as the tactical and stylistic issues facing Gareth Southgate.

Watch 'Rise Of A South London Baller' on YouTube!

Sam Obaseki presents two uncut interviews with some of the Premier League's brightest stars - Callum Hudson-Odoi (1:11) and Joe Gomez (13:28). Both brought up in South London, they share their childhood experience of coming to age in an area that has also produced the likes of Jadon Sancho and Wilfried Zaha, how it helped them adapt to playing sport at the highest level, and what they think needs to be done to protect the next generation of young ballers from South London. 

These were part of a documentary made by Sam called 'Rise Of A South London Baller', a deep dive into how the South London culture and environment moulded players playing in the Premier League and around the world, and also features interviews from SE Dons captain Big G and the owner of Lambeth Tigers, a youth football club in the heart of England's capital that have recently partnered with Sancho. Other organisations also feature and speak on what more can be done to help the next generation of football stars growing up in this area and the hardships they may face.

A hectic weekend of European football requires some serious discussion, and Chris Hamill joins me, Patrick van Straaten, on the podcast to talk Inter's victory over Milan, and the various defeats suffered by Atletico Madrid, Bayern, and PSG, as well as those teams' prospects in the Champions League.

It's also been 5 years since Joe, Chris, and I started working together at FD this month, so we took some time to talk about where the channel has been and where it might be going, with some reluctant praise for Joe.

Tottenham have experienced a tragic/hilarious downturn in their season, so Dougie Critchley returns to the podcast to talk all things Spurs with me, Patrick van Straaten. We dig into their campaign so far and where Mourinho might be getting things wrong tactically, before finding some signings in key positions they might want to consider in the summer window. 

This week Michael McCubbin and Sam Obaseki make long-awaited returns to the podcast to chew over Man City's 4-1 demolition of Liverpool over the weekend. We talk about the game, about Phil Foden's development, and what exactly Liverpool's issues are right now, as well as the Ruben Dias penalty incident and the contentious refereeing decisions in the Prem of late. Then it's off to Italy for some grudging praise of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and yet another round of Scudetto predictions in this ridiculous season.

It's time for our yearly discussion of the mess at Barcelona, and joining me on this week's episode is Dougie Critchley, expert on all things financial and ready to do what a host of Spanish football executives and mid-tier managers have failed to do: make Barca an intelligent, self-sustaining operation. Inevitably, we talk about the club's INSANE debts, the cost of keeping Lionel Messi last summer, and the saleable assets in the squad, before moving on to the team's areas of need and who they could realistically target. It makes pretty grim listening for Barca fans, but it's very funny for everyone else.

This week, Henry Hill joins me to examine the performances of the most expensive summer signings so far this season. Inevitably, that takes us to Stamford Bridge, where Frank Lampard's failure to get the best out of Werner and Havertz cost him his job. How good (or bad) have they actually been? Then we move on to Arsenal, where Thomas Partey is both very good and hasn't actually made a difference to the team as a whole, and Liverpool, who seem to have found a Thiago-shaped scapegoat for all their problems. Also there's some Donny van de Beek chat, and continued confusion over what exactly the Arthur-Pjanic swap was meant to accomplish.