The Road to Nowhere European Football Podcast

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael are joined by tactical expert Lee Scott for an in-depth look back on the Champions League Round of 16 ties and an insightful look ahead to the Champions League Quarter-finals. The boys discuss Julian Nagelsmann’s continued development as a coach, Real Madrid's fruitful switch to a 3-5-2 against Atalanta, Thomas Tuchel's attacking options against Sérgio Conceição's well-organised Porto side and more. 2:19 - How do 2020/2021 Man City compare tactically with 2017/2018 Man City? / Have Lazio reached their ceiling under Simone Inzaghi, and, if so, where might the 44-year-old coach find his next role in management? / 29:19 - Around which players should Juventus look to build a possible post-Ronaldo/ post-Pirlo empire? / What steps could an opposition team take in order to limit the effectiveness of Erling Haaland? / 60:03 - What system will Mauricio Pochettino opt for against Hansi Flick’s high-pressing Bayern Munich? / What will be the key tactical battles in Liverpool's heavyweight clash with Real Madrid?

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael discuss and analyse the latest European football news. The boys look at the current health of LaLiga in light of the supposed end of its era, RB Leipzig's bid to wrestle the Bundesliga title from Hansi Flick's defensively vulnerable Bayern Munich side, Parma's Serie A struggles under new owner Kyle Krause, the role that Lille's José Fonte will play in Ligue 1's four-team title race and more. 1:55 - Has Antonio Conte finally settled on his strongest XI at Inter? Why are Cagliari struggling in Serie A's relegation zone with a squad that features Radja Naingollan, Diego Godin and Daniele Rugani? / 16:50 - Could Marco Rose be the man to deliver a first Bundesliga title for Borussia Dortmund since 2012, when he takes over at the Signal Iduna Park next season? / 31:22 - Are PSG no longer favourites to win this season's Ligue 1 title? Can the divisive Rudi Garcia deliver Ligue 1 glory for Lyon in 2021, as he did for Lille ten years ago? / 39:18 - Are we witnessing the end of an era for LaLiga? Why might Paco López go down as one of the greatest managers in Levanté's history, and could he be set for a move to a bigger club in the near future?

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael discuss and analyse the latest European football news. The boys look at Eintracht Frankfurt's free-scoring, André Silva-inspired resurgence, Unai Emery's shortcomings at Villarreal, Napoli's worrying slump in form under Gennaro Gattuso, Claude Puel's questionable tactics/ man-management at struggling St Étienne and more. 1:47 - Who really is VfB Stuttgart's Sporting Director Sven Mislintat, and what progress have he and Pellegrino Matarazzo achieved at the Mercedes-Benz Arena? What role did Thomas Hitzlsperger play in the internal politics that threatened to derail Stuttgart's entertaining return to the top flight? / 17:43 - Are we seeing genuine signs that Andrea Pirlo could be a long-term success as manager of Juventus? / 29:36 - What did Barcelona's listless loss to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey tell us about their otherwise impressive recent form? Should Real Madrid rethink their South American recruitment strategy? / 40:04 - Why are St Étienne struggling in Ligue 1 under Claude Puel, and is there any cause for optimism at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard?

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael are joined by Owen Brown (StatsBomb/ Pure Fitbaw) and Gavin Miller (MRKT Insights/ Pure Fitbaw) for an in-depth look at Hertha Berlin's faltering "big city" project, the final chapter of Papu Gomez' marvellous Atalanta career, Mauricio Pochettino's beloved 4-2-3-1 at PSG and more. 2:28 - Should Sevilla have accepted West Ham's bid for 23-year-old forward Youssef En-Nesyri and, based on the Moroccan international's underlying statistics, can he realistically sustain his current goalscoring form? / 17:19 - Is AC Milan's title charge in serious jeopardy? Why have Paulo Fonseca's Roma been so chaotic in recent weeks? / 27:38 - How have PSG looked under Mauricio Pochettino since his appointment last month? / 38:05 - How do you solve a problem like Hertha Berlin? Which exciting, young managers from across the European leagues might be best-suited to drive the Hertha Berlin project forward in the long term, and what style would those managers bring? Using big data, who should the Olympiastadion side look to recruit in future transfer windows? 

Today marks a full year since the first ever episode of the podcast. So, to celebrate our first birthday, the boys thought they would record some bonus material for your listening (dis)pleasure. Alasdair, Barlow and Michael look back on how they met, the podcast journey so far, and some of the games they've been to which ultimately led to the launch of the Road to Nowhere European Football Podcast. 1:05 - Catalonian commutes and Alsatian sunsets: Who really are Alasdair, Barlow and Michael, and how did we meet? / 24:18 - Gladbach, Standard Liège and a magical night in Barcelona: some of the games we’ve been to which led to us starting the podcast / 43:00 - Making a Podcast: The podcast journey so far and the anatomy of a Road to Nowhere episode.

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael are joined by Total Football Analysis' Lee Scott for a fascinating insight into the world of football tactics. 0:50 - Rebuilding the Liverpool dynasty and the tactical hallmarks of Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United side / 14:52 - The rise of Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Rene Maric, statistical trends to watch out for following the growth of xG and how to watch a game through a more tactical lens / 32:32 - Tactical analysis of the Champions League final and the differences between Klopp's Dortmund and Klopp's Liverpool.

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael discuss and analyse the latest European football news. The boys look at the key reasons behind SC Freiburg's stunning Bundesliga form, Antonio Conte's questionable tactics at Inter in recent weeks, the extent to which Ronald Koeman is due credit for Barcelona's recent improvement, the arrival of Marcelino marking an ambitious new era at Athletic Club, Waldemar Kita's controversial/ decidedly on-brand appointment of Raymond Domenech as manager at Nantes and more. 2:10 -  How important is Achraf Hakimi to Inter's style of play and why was the Moroccan wing-back deemed surplus to requirements at Real Madrid by Zinedine Zidane? / 15:43 - What tactical tweak has allowed SC Freiburg to win five Bundesliga games in a row for the first time in their history, and how sustainable is their free-scoring form? / 23:55 - How would a devoted SC Freiburg fan describe the fan culture at the club and the unique match-day experience at the enchanted Schwarzwald-Stadion? / 31:35 - What does Athletic Club's sacking of Gaizka Garitano and subsequent appointment of Marcelino tell us about the ambitions of the side from the Basque Country? 42:17 - Why was the appointment of Raymond Domenech as the new manager of Nantes so controversial and what have we learned from his first two games in charge.

Alasdair and Barlow are joined by The Guardian's Top 100 Footballers panellist Alan Feehely to discuss and analyse the latest European football news. The boys look at the process and the research behind the Guardian's Top 100 Footballers list, the potential of Barcelona's Pedri, La Liga's Madrileño title race, Spanish football culture (with a focus on the city of Seville), where it went wrong for Thomas Tuchel at PSG, the myriad issues on and off the field at Schalke and more. 1:59 - Who will prevail in La Liga's title race between Madrid's top two sides and why? What makes the city of Seville so unique and inimitable when it comes to Spanish fan culture? Could Barcelona's Pedri be the true heir to Lionel Messi's proverbial throne? / 34:59 - Why did PSG decide to part company with Thomas Tuchel on Christmas Eve and what might the consequences of Lille's financial worries be for their ligue 1 title bid? / 51:24 - What will the rest of the Bundesliga season hold for Schalke and, if they do go down, why might their youth academy and the Stuttgart model provide them with hope of a recovery and a return to better days?

Alasdair, Barlow and Michael discuss and analyse the latest European football news. The boys look at Julian Nagelsmann's and RB Leipzig's coming of age, Atalanta's potentially self-destructive internal politics, Niko Kovac's tactics at Monaco, Chacho Coudet turning Celta Vigo into La Liga's latest must-watch side, the sides challenging PSG in an enthralling Ligue 1 title race and more. 2:53 - How do we explain Real Madrid's recent 2-0 win over Atlético Madrid and how has new manager Chacho Coudet turned Celta Vigo into La Liga's latest must-watch side? / 14:36 - Has Monaco's Niko Kovac learned any lessons from his time in charge of Bayern Munich and which sides look most likely to challenge PSG for this season's Ligue 1 title? / 29:23 - Where did it go wrong for Lucien Favre at Borussia Dortmund and who might take over at the Westfalenstadion at the end of the season? / 41:12 - Roma's Iberian influence flying under the radar and the infighting threatening to derail Atalanta's season.