Football Between The Lines

We start with Harvey Elliott’s Villa loan mess and how trigger clauses can stall a player’s season. Then it’s Liverpool vs City, a ridiculous free kick, a brilliant game, and another VAR moment that sucks the life out of it. After that we get into Romero’s red, Spurs’ injury nightmare, relegation chat that shouldn’t exist, and a quick wander through the bottom-half chaos, plus a detour into aphant...

We get into the Eddie Howe in vs out noise after Newcastle go out of the League Cup, and why match-going fans and online fans sound like they’re watching different sports. We also talk Chelsea vs Arsenal and Rossini’s game plan, why punditry changes depending on the final score, and that Telegraph piece about Arsenal fans, plus AFTV and the wider culture of performative football content. Then we d...

We kick off with deadline day frazzle, Palace doing business late because we’re watching the market rather than dictating it, and the Mateta to Milan saga that died on medical fears and a chronic knee issue. That spirals into Strand-Larsen’s price, Palace’s form, and whether Mateta is basically finished with the fanbase. From there we zoom out to Spurs’ grim January, injuries stacking up, Romero h...

We love the Champions League format and why, despite the moaning, it’s producing absolute mayhem. From the Goal Show chaos to Benfica’s wild win, Mourinho staying relevant, and Bodo Glimt doing Bodo Glimt things, it’s pure jeopardy TV. Then we pivot into Premier League vs Europe, what Arne Slot probably shouldn’t have said out loud, and a quick wander through Sterling leaving Chelsea, Palace panic...

The title race is properly alive, Arsenal fans are booing while still top of the league, and we’re sat here trying to work out when football became this emotionally unstable. We get into United suddenly looking like a real team again under Carrick, that ridiculous Dorgu strike, and why players chirping on socials is never worth the aggro. Then we pivot into the real misery: Palace vibes are cooked...

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 Pala...

We get properly stuck into one of those episodes where everything spills out. Palace chaos, Glasner torching his own job, Spurs being utterly miserable, VAR now missing blatant red cards, corporate football killing atmosphere, and that weird feeling of not loving matchdays like we used to. Add AFCON insanity, Villa beef, manager bounces, and a bit of self loathing, and you have a very on brand hou...

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 dre...

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 th...

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,...

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, Liam Rosenior rumours, Brennan Johnson, Sunderland’s madness and why xG both explains everything and nothing, this...

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 Br...

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...

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 separat...

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...

In this one we sit down with Rory Jennings to get properly stuck into the Salah saga, the idea of legacy, and how tribal we all get when footballers cross the line. We talk Europa away days and why Prague might actually be heaven, give Everton the respect they’ve earned, and wonder what on earth Chelsea are. There’s a bit on Wolves and Derby’s infamous 11 points, a detour into ultras physically re...

In this one we get stuck into the Salah vs Slot saga, Carragher’s eight-minute monologue and whether a player can ever be bigger than Liverpool. We talk about the racism accusations aimed at Carragher, Salah’s legacy and why we think he has probably kicked his last ball for the club. Then we move on to Villa’s title credentials, Palace quietly cooking in the league and Wolves looking doomed, befor...

We get stuck into a mad midweek of Premier League football: Fulham nearly coming back from 5–1 down, Romero’s scissor kick at Newcastle, Villa turning it round at Brighton, Chelsea losing at Elland Road and Haaland hitting 100 goals. Then we zoom out into the “Other 14” conversation, TV bias toward the Sky Six, Wolves sinking, Villa flying and what ownership and recruitment really do to clubs. Lis...

In this one we properly spiral about hating football, from Spurs fans booing Vicario and life under Thomas Frank to Glasner calling out the Palace board and what European football actually does to a thin squad. We chat Brentford and Brighton’s structure, Villa and Emery proving people wrong, and why big club expectations kill “performance over results” chat. There is agg everywhere, from Saka gett...

This week we roped in Ben Bowman while Dan swans off to Strasbourg, and started with the obvious question, what is actually happening at Liverpool. We go through Arne Slot’s brutal run, Curtis Jones’ honesty, the Isak signing, the lack of a centre half and whether the players have stopped running for the manager. From there we get into Cucurella putting Yamal “in his pocket”, what Sanchez’s commen...

In this one we try to process a pretty grim week: Spurs getting slapped in the derby , Arsenal looking like they might actually walk the league and Chelsea quietly sneaking into the title chat. We get into Liverpool’s weird collapse, Forest’s revival under Dyche, why Eze clearly made the right call, and why long ball merchants are suddenly fashionable again. There is a mini Danny Baker rant, Steve...

In this one we try to talk ourselves into some kind of calm before the North London derby, chat about Spurs away form under Thomas Frank and how Arsenal have turned into a machine. We get carried away with Scotland’s insane win over Denmark, McTominay’s overhead and Kenny McLean’s halfway line madness, plus Ireland’s and Wales’ big nights and Curacao’s ridiculous World Cup story with Dick Advocaat...

In this one we start with the calm of the international break and end up in total Irish bedlam, talking Troy Parrott’s last minute winner, what following your country actually feels like, and why football’s best moments are pure chaos rather than controlled perfection. We get into Tuchel vs Bellingham and how the media manufactures beef, John Terry moaning about low blocks, Guardiola’s influence o...

England chat, WhatsApp group politics and the way Sky and others keep dumbing football talk down into shouty clips. We get into Ivan Toney’s Saudi wages and whether he solves Spurs’ problems, the Premier League’s proposed spending anchor and what it means for soft power clubs and everyone else. There is time for Liverpool writing to PGMOL, fan entitlement, away ticket loyalty schemes, Palace ultra...

We sat down with Tom from Back of the Net to talk Iraola’s brave style, smart recruitment, and how Bournemouth keep improving after losing a whole back line. We get into Bill Foley’s vision, the stadium expansion, Eddie Howe’s lasting pull, Alex Scott’s England call up, and whether the Cherries can turn this season into a first taste of Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...