Project Big Picture may be dead but pay per view for the Premier League in the UK is here, but who outside of the world's richest league wants it? We also discuss two of the biggest talking points of last weekend that have once again polarised football fans on social media: Virgil van Dijk's injury from a clumsy Jordan Pickford challenge and Sergio Aguero's hand on Sian Massey Ellis's shoulder. For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?It's our 500th TV Preview made all the more special with El Clasico and the Revierderby. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_430.mp3

Project Big Picture is the most controversial proposal for the future of football in England for a generation. Formulated by the owners of Liverpool and Manchester United, the plan promises to save clubs in the EFL but at the cost of control of the Premier League going to a small band of the wealthiest clubs. With the EFL Chair Rick Parry championing the plan, professional football in England looks set to descend into civil war as the winners and losers in the scheme begin to become apparent. For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?Six of the nine suggested vote carrying Premier League clubs play each other this weekend - Everton face Liverpool, Arsenal go up against Man City and Spurs host West Ham - watch them while you can before they disappear into their own channels. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_429.mp3

If Liverpool and United both get hammered on the same day, is there something wrong with football? With the bizarre results both sides suffered this weekend, at the hands of Aston Villa and Spurs respectively, we take the opportunity to look at the importance of these two sides in any conversation you have about English football. For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?We're taking a break this week for the internationals but don't let that stop you signing up. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_428.mp3

Having prepared for a return of fans to elite football in England in October, a spike in Covid-19 infections has meant those plans have been thrown into the bin. With reports of as many as ten EFL and National League clubs already facing administration, how will clubs survive without match day income? Who should pay to keep them alive - the Government or the Premier League? For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?Mourinho returns to Old Trafford - there should be some action on the pitch as well. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_427.mp3

The authorities have been tinkering with the handball law again and people aren't happy. Referees are applying the letter of the law rather than what people expect to be the spirit of the law. Is it possible to have consistency and common sense? We also discuss the form of Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, a £70 million signing just two years ago and now expected to be relegated to the bench after a less than impressive 2019/20 and a couple of early season howlers. For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?Can United find their first win of the season in Brighton? Will Leicester's good start continue at the Etihad? Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_426.mp3

Bielsa has arrived, Everton are sexy, and Mourinho is Mourinho - the Premier League is back! On this week's podcast we delight in the return of league football, pick over the melee in Paris, look forward to the albeit one-sided Bundesliga campaign, and introduce you to the concept of fantasy football "table meat". For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?Serie A and the Bundeliga start, while in the Premier League Chelsea take on Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_425.mp3

The Premier League returns this weekend but you won't be able to see it if you're in Shanghai. The break-up of the TV deal between the Premier League and China could cost clubs £20 million each. In addition to other financial pressures, what damage could this cause to clubs at all levels of the English League system? For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?The Premier League is back! So is the Championship, the rest of the EFL and most of La Liga. Should be a hell of a lot more entertaining than the bag of nails we had to choose from last weekend. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_424.mp3

This week sees the start of three football competitions - the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the Nations League - at least two of which, depending on your priorities, seem like an unnecessary burden on an already congested 2020/21 fixture calendar. With international squads being drawn from a number of clubs over a number of borders, is there any justification for the Nations League to be played in the current environment? At the other end of the game, Isthmian League fan-owned club Lewes FC have lobbied the FA to take the 45% of the FA Cup prize fund that goes to the semi-finalists and redistribute it amongst teams at the bottom of the football pyramid, that will be much harder hit by the pandemic. Can the FA Cup become a solidarity competition where big clubs can help out the little guys? For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_423.mp3 What's in the Weekend Boxset?England v Iceland is the stand out tie in a wealth of Nations League action, if only for the 2016 narrative. There's also a whole load of first round League Cup ties. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.

UEFA Chief Aleksander Ceferin has hinted that the Champions League could permanently switch to single knock-out games after the success of this season's final phases. With Europe's top clubs pushing for more games rather than fewer, who benefits most from the competition converting to a straight knock-out. As new seasons start across Europe we look at the new European Champions, Bayern Munich and ask what future is there for clubs that so clearly dominate their own leagues. For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. What's in the Weekend Boxset?Just a week on from the Champions League final and its already time for the traditional curtain to be raised. Both men's and women's Community Shield final take place and there's the finals of the A-League and the UWCL. Get our FREE weekly newsletter in your email by signing up to the Weekend Boxset today.pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_422.mp3

A new season is approaching but lockdown measures are still in place and their full removal still seems a long way away. Without fans being allowed back in - in England at least - what sort of season will it be? How will lower league football survive without their main source of income coming through the turnstiles? We also look at the proposed takeover of Newcastle United. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson being called in to make the Premier League explain itself, could there be a way for the impasse to be broken? Have the Premier League and the loyal supporters of Newcastle become unwitting pawns on opposite sides of a proxy war? Who else is going to give you a straight answer? For more information on the podcast and links related to the subjects discussed, check out the Show Notes on our blog. pods.sofpodcast.com/sofpodcast_421.mp3