Who better to talk to about headers than the man who has the Guinness World Record for the most headed goals in Premier League history? Except maybe that isn’t a world record, and maybe everything we knew about headers was wrong, and all our assumptions about Cristiano Ronaldo are wrong too, as well as our protocols on when to wink and when not to wink, and what it means to only be invited to the evening part of a wedding. It’s that sort of episode.

Who pinged what off Harry Kewell’s helmet? Why are Crouchy, Nwankwo Kanu and a herd of feeding elephants forever linked? Who is friendliest out of Fiona Bruce, Bruno Martins Indi and Tony Insurance? Somehow all these mysteries and more are solved in an episode loosely based around team bonding.

In a coup for the pod, a fourth chair is added to the circle for the first time and filled by none other than the king of referees, Mr Mike Dean. Collective minds and preconceptions are blown away as Mike reveals what the men in black wear to their Xmas fancy dress party, what really happens on Ref Camp and how many chickens he would have to see off per day in his old day job. Meanwhile Crouchy goes on an unexpected emotional journey that leaves him a changed man.

A quick update on what the boys have been up to during their week away from the pod, with promises of exciting things to come and a vow to come #BackStronger.

What noise is it acceptable to make when being injured? Should you really laugh when an official goes down? And is it worse for a gentleman to be winded or hit in the unmentionables? The boys answer these seismic questions and more while designing the first Robot Ref and discovering an extraordinary new facet to the complex character of Wayne Rooney.

Is voicemail as a concept dead? Are Christmas cards actually an insult? Is launching fireworks out of an orifice ever acceptable? Somehow the boys manage a revelatory discussion on the role and tricks of football agents while also answering these and other unexpected questions.

The art of tackling is one celebrated on these shores more than anywhere else, so how do Premier League stars perfect it? The boys analyse Crouchy’s ‘red mist’, discuss whether Paul Scholes deserved his reputation for bad tackling and the ‘Great Shinpad Debate’ rears its head again. There’s a tale involving rubber gloves, a mouse and some curtains plus speculation about Arsene Wenger in a Blackburn bush.

Diving into the murky infinity pool that is footballers and their holidays, the boys make a remarkable discovery about Crouchy’s linguistic skills before uncovering unsettling rumours about David Moyes, Neil Diamond and Louis Saha’s penchant for mixed doubles. An extraordinary woman pulls off an extraordinary trick and a chance dip into Crouchy’s phone contacts reveals more than could possibly be expected.

What makes a great leader of a sporting team? As they attempt to find the answers, the boys stumble into a world of punitive fines, tedious logistics and general outsourcing to Gary Neville. There are surprise appearances from football’s own Dre and a mysterious brown-noser known only as Parched, while the unveiling of a new pod-listeners’ standardised greeting raises significant logistical concerns.

Delighted to be #backstronger, the boys gather to chew over Crouchy’s retirement from actual football, and discover his secret fish-buying obsession as well as the true meaning of a Double-Dyche.

Meanwhile a discussion on the meaning of smell gets dangerously out of hand, while Peter makes a rash promise involving Andy Murray’s knighthood. It's all the insight you've been missing, but with a lighter flavour.