We’re fresh off The Overlap and straight into the chaos. Chelsea’s “yes man” manager chat, the weirdness of them not nailing a proper shirt sponsor, and why multi-club ownership “blind trusts” feel like a total con. Then we’re onto Real Madrid being a basket case, Trent potentially getting binned already, and why England clubs are starting to swallow the Champions League format whole. There’s Palace drama too, Mateta’s rocking the boat, Strand Larsen links, and a little corner reserved for Gary Cotterell doing the most cringe question imaginable. Plus: can Declan Rice ever win the Ballon d’Or, or are we all just losing our minds?

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We’ve had a week of it. Villa fans came for us in numbers after The Overlap dragged up an old Big Six debate clip, so naturally we’ve now got a lifelong vendetta. Then we spiral into the proper stuff: why VAR has killed goal celebrations, why five minute offside checks are a disgrace, and whether football was better when you just glanced at the lino and went mad. There’s Spurs misery, West Ham dread, protest chat, Gallagher being “a terrier”, a quick detour into Chelsea, and a bumper comments section featuring the Raggett brothers, scrap invitations, and the legendary Sandwich Video.

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In this episode we confirm Dan’s okay after a short break, then dive straight into Crystal Palace’s humiliating FA Cup exit and why it may be the worst performance in the club’s modern history. From there we broaden the conversation to Tottenham, Chelsea and beyond, asking who really carries responsibility in modern football: the head coach on the touchline or the directors and ownership behind the scenes. We discuss Thomas Frank’s situation at Spurs, Oliver Glasner’s uncertain future at Palace, Chelsea’s new manager and the pressures of leading elite players in the social media era. Plus listener questions, FA Cup fallout, and the strange reality of supporting football clubs that always seem to find new ways to test you.

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This one starts with numbness and ends somewhere between catharsis and chaos. We talk about the unspoken contract you sign with your football club for life, why some fans walk away and why most of us never really can. Spurs being a mess, Palace perspective, watching football out of habit rather than hope, and how results hit differently when it’s also your job. There’s burnout, sleep deprivation, social media fatigue, managers losing the room, The Panenka being a crime against football, and why talking it all through with your mates might be the only thing that keeps you sane.

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We start with Spurs and quickly ask a bigger question. When football gets this dull, what are fans meant to cling to? We talk Thomas Frank, clean sheets that feel joyless, away ends singing old songs to stay sane, and whether pragmatism has gone too far. From Spurs to Chelsea’s chaos,

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We’re back after Christmas and Dan’s had the full festive experience: Palace losing, kids being sick everywhere, and the dreaded norovirus tidal wave arriving mid Christmas dinner. Lovely stuff. Then we get into a game of football that neither of us ever wants to think about again, VAR and the weird delayed offside stuff, and why Thomas Frank still isn’t winning Spurs fans over. After that it’s Brennan Johnson to Palace rumours, Calvert-Lewin suddenly turning into a six-yard assassin, Villa refusing to go away, and a proper listener message about teaching your kids what supporting Palace actually means.

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We try to do the grown-up referee chat and still end up saying John Brooks had an absolute mare, even while admitting Spurs deserved the two reds. Then we get into why this Premier League season feels properly weird, why Villa have to be taken seriously in the title race, and why West Ham look like they’re sleepwalking into a relegation scrap. There’s also a bit on Dele Alli and how quickly it can all unravel, plus a proper chat about matchgoing fans versus global fans and why it does not have to be one or the other. We round it off with festive comments, Celtic’s magnet-gate, and Dan taking his six-year-old to Leeds away for a 4-1, which is either elite parenting or a safeguarding issue.

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We’ve got the most chaotic story of the year from AFCON as Cameroon somehow end up with two managers and two squads, with Samuel Eto’o doing Samuel Eto’o things. Then we get into Celtic’s absolute meltdown, the Venn diagram tweet drama, and Dundee United piling in with elite trolling. From there it’s fixture congestion, the Club World Cup injury bill, and why football and politics can’t be separated no matter how much we’d like them to be. Plus: a Christmas campaign that actually matters, a wholesome tech story from Selhurst, and we launch the movement the world needs… #GiveTheKidsAJacket.

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We’re back and Dan’s fresh off Dublin with approximately 45 pints of Guinness in his system, so naturally we start with European away days and end up in some properly dark places. We talk Arsenal grinding past Wolves, City doing City things, the Carragher vs Rio nonsense, and the weird Salah situation. Then we get into the grim bit: Spurs getting bullied again, why the midfield feels so soft, and why the fanbase is already swinging hard against Thomas Frank (the poll numbers are mad). We also hit Sunderland finally doing Newcastle, proper end-game shithousery, and a big question: do Spurs fans overrate the squad and who actually gets into a top six side.

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