John Bennett is joined by Julien Laurens & James Horncastle to preview the Serie A season and react to the news of Ronaldinho's return for third tier Ravenna. Spanish football reporter Elizabeth Conway drops by to give the latest on Barcelona's striker search. Plus, Malaga fan Jose Luis Sabatel talks about the club's return to the Spanish top flight. And in Ligue 1, Paul Pogba has left Monaco, but where next for the former Manchester United man? 

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After a 25-year absence, Coventry City are back in England’s top flight. Mark Chapman is joined by Golden Boot-winning former striker Dion Dublin, club legend Steve Ogrizovic, BBC CWR's Rob Gurney, and others to reflect on the club’s remarkable story.

The Sky Blues have been all the way down to League Two since their last Premier League appearance, had to move out of their own city on two separate occasions, endured a spell in administration and they’ve had 15 managers!

So, how did it happen, and how did they get back here?

In the end, Frank Lampard was the man to bring them back up. We’ll hear from Lampard, recall the club’s rejuvenation under Mark Robins and the fan stories during the darker years.

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Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by Bolton manager Steven Schumacher to break down the opening weekend of league fixtures in the EFL - and we hear from Luton boss Jack Wilshere.

Bolton won on their return to the Championship, but how can they compete with their big-spending rivals. The panel also discuss Will Lankshear's dream start at Middlesbrough, how Southampton will deal with being pantomime villains after Spygate and whether VAR is needed in the Championship after a blatant handball helped West Brom beat Norwich.

Jack Wilshere joins the pod after his Luton side came from 3-1 down to beat Reading in their opener, and talks about his first pre-season as a first team manager.

Aaron's EFL Fantasy skills haven't improved over the summer - the code to join our league if 72EFLPOD.

And in 72PLUS 72MINUS, there's a moment to forget for an EFL legend and Welsh limbs after a late goal.

This season we now have our very own 72+ feed on BBC Sounds - where you can listen to episodes every week.

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This week, former Manchester City, QPR and Sunderland defender Nedum Onuoha submits three stories from his football career.

Did Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce really send England goalkeeper David James up front in a desperate attempt to qualify for Europe? Was Onuoha handed a tactical note by his manager that somehow only included ten players? Or did a Championship manager spend every matchday watching soap operas on his iPad instead of focusing on the game ahead?

Armed with photographs, football knowledge and plenty of confidence, Karel and Anita dissect every detail before Onuoha returns to reveal the truth.

Karel Prince: Lie Detector is presented by Karel Prince and Anita Abayomi and is a Sport Social Studios production for BBC Sounds.

Arsenal seek to defend their Premier League title, but just how difficult will a title defence be? Former Arsenal right back Carl Jenkinson, The Athletic's Amy Lawrence and fan Clive Palmer join Aaron Paul to discuss the chances of a second Premier League trophy for Mikel Arteta. They reflect on a big statement in Sunday's Community Shield against Manchester City and debate Arsenal's midfield options - is Odegaard back to his best, will Bruno Guimaraes fit in alongside Declan Rice? They discuss more of the club's new summer signings, including where Christos Tzolis fits and could there be any more business? In the absence of injured William Saliba, will Jarell Quansah or Ezri Konsa be playing at the Emirates this season? BBC Sport's Alex Howell updates on the latest. Plus, sports psychologist Dan Abrahams discusses the challenges of defending a Premier League title.

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01:55 - Reflections on last season

After a long couple of seasons for Tottenham Hotspur, will Roberto De Zerbi's summer business be enough to turn the club around? Former Spurs winger Andros Townsend, former Spurs fullback Chris Hughton and fan Flav Bateman join Aaron Paul to discuss their chances ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League season. They discuss the profile of the manager himself - does he have the character to change the club's fortunes? BBC Sport's tactics correspondent Umir Irfan discusses his style. They review the summer business and how new signings Sandro Tonali and Matheus Fernandes will fit in, while football finance expert Kieran Maguire explains the state of the club's spending this summer. And finally, after being so injury hit last season, will the lack of European football benefit the club this season as Roberto De Zerbi seeks to turn things around?

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00:55 - Initial Thoughts

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters speaks to BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan ahead of the 2026/27 season getting underway.

They discuss the fall out from Gianni Infantino’s bid to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private investors, the wait for a ruling on Manchester City's 115 charges, and Chelsea’s fine for financial rule breaches.

Plus, is the league heading into a new era with nine managerial changes heading into the new season?

01:26 – a new era for the Premier League?

Joe Hart, Chris Sutton and Adam Crafton are with Mark Chapman to look ahead to the Premier League season, can they cover all 20 clubs in this episode of the Monday Night Club? That depends on whether you count Chris Sutton’s predicted Premier League table.

They reflect on Manchester City’s performance in their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, what it takes to defend a Premier League title, and whether Xabi Alonso can repeat Antonio Conte’s feat of taking Chelsea from a club that finished tenth to title winners in the following season.

Plus, Hull City assistant head coach Dean Holden discusses their preparations for a return to the top flight.

01:39 – Takeaways from Manchester City’s Community Shield defeat

Aaron Paul, Pat Nevin, Izzy Christiansen and, Chris Coles are in Cardiff to look ahead to what Manchester City and Arsenal can achieve this season following the Gunner’s 3-0 win over City in the Community Shield.

What can be taken away from Enzo Maresca’s first competitive game as Manchester City boss as he fills the boots of Pep Guardiola. And are Arsenal the team to beat off winning the Premier League and bolstering their squad with the likes of Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis. Will City lose Rodri and if so, are they expected to be more active in the transfer market?

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00:00 Community Shield reaction

Last season, Steve Crossman sat down with Brentford midfielder Fabio Carvalho and club psychologist Michael Caulfield to discuss how the club’s culture of talking openly has helped their players. Michael installed a bench at the training ground, dubbed 'Michael’s bench', where players can discuss what is on their mind and share. It has been such a success that the club have installed three more benches at the training ground for their Academy teams and are now putting up more benches around the local community, encourage people to talk to help with their mental health.

In an honest interview, Fabio discusses the difficulties he faced as a young man moving from Portugal, how faith and removing himself from social media has helped him and how he thinks modern footballers could benefit from having deeper conversations and sharing their struggles.

[First published on 13/10/25]