For Our Sins: The Clichés Pod Archive

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, James Maw and Jack Pitt-Brooke languish in the second tier of European football to establish the most Europa League lineup possible: from diminutive Iberian playmakers to Brazilians with one name and a squad number between 80-99, via a lengthy dispute over the merits of Victor Moses. Led out, naturally, by Unai Emery, these are the ultimate Thursday-nighters. Hosted on...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Charlie Eccleshare and Nick Miller assemble for the Adjudication Panel. On the agenda this week: Richard Keys and Andy Gray bravely dismantling the Marcelo Bielsa Myth, Mike Dean's comedy TV cameo, and the latest entry into the grand pantheon of freak footballing injuries. Meanwhile, the panel enjoy some more peak Peter Drury and some frankly incredible scenes from the...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Phil Hay trawl through the history books to finally nail down the definitive twelve stages of a club crisis. In part two of this special double-header the panel ponder whether the dreaded vote of confidence is still relevant in the social media age, examine how many ways a beleaguered manager can pretend he's not beleaguered and engage in a very imp...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Phil Hay trawl through the history books to finally nail down the definitive twelve stages of a club crisis. In part one of this special double-header our panel document the early warning signs of a club in turmoil including pre-season woe, opening day deflation via transfer window frustration, and the eternal debate about ketchup in the canteen. Ho...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey and David Walker are joined by the much-travelled striker Cillian Sheridan for the latest edition of Mesut Haaland Dicks. Sheridan uses all his experience to share his love of retro football boots, the satisfaction of a good half-volley and why he gets so annoyed by football commentators. Meanwhile, he decides if he really is a "beanpole journeyman" and why diving just r...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and Nick Miller convene for another Adjudication Panel. This time, they scrutinise Brendan Rodgers' claim about Norfolk sunshine, debate whether Wolves are currently the most "they'll be fine" club ever and examine the most inevitable-sounding deadline-day transfers. Meanwhile, they discuss the rights of physios to wear Predators, Newcastle turning the Goal...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, James Maw and Michael Cox cobble together a line-up of emergency goalkeepers, stoppers, enforcers and goal-poachers. Why is there such a rich history of strikers fancying themselves at centre-back? Why do we assume that ageing forwards will be able to retire to midfield and "spray the ball about"? Are right-footed left-backs the most unsatisfying sight in football? They...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and Nick Miller form the Adjudication Panel to deconstruct a mesmerisingly dull Gareth Bale interview, admire the pedantry of the West Brom kit man and decide the most inevitable-sounding Premier League scoreline of all. Meanwhile, the panel decide which next footballing niche will earn its own specialist coach and it's the world premiere of "Every League T...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, James Maw and Nick Miller compile a line-up of players whose Premier League legacies are overwhelmingly based around one very specific thing: a defining moment, a unique skill set, a silly goal celebration or a catastrophic mistake. Does Massimo Taibi get the nod in goal? Has Ben Thatcher elbowed his way into contention? Should we choose Mario Stanic or Lilian Nalis? An...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Charlie Eccleshare and David Walker form this week's Adjudication Panel, as Peter Drury rises above the competition to provide the best spoken-word Premier League preview montage, Jamie Carragher enjoys Arsenal being Arsenal just a *bit* too much and the concept of being "welcomed to the Premier League" is thrown into chaos. Meanwhile, a Scottish manager squeezes six cl...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey and David Walker are joined by writer Joel Golby for the return of Mesut Haaland Dicks. Golby's nominations feature the moment a referee gets hit by the ball, a spirited vindication of half-and-half scarves and goalscoring defenders who just don't know how to celebrate. The podcast also confronts an uncomfortable question: is 90% of all pre-match TV build-up just massive...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and James Maw convene the Adjudication Panel to rule on a referee blowing the match ball a kiss, twee tweeting about Lionel Messi from non-League clubs and what mundane footballing situations should be added to the animations of the forthcoming FIFA game. Meanwhile, they consider what football would really lose if all 58 types of header - towering, crashing...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and Charlie Eccleshare raise the curtain for 2021-22 as they assess the state of the summer transfer sagas and try to find the smallest - and weirdest - transfer fee a player has ever commanded. Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel run the rule over Kevin Friend showing the crowd a yellow card and assess some reassuringly probable-looking Very Detailed 2021-22...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and Charlie Eccleshare finally crash out of Euro 2020 by examining the language of penalty shootout agony, a surprising translation of Roberto Mancini's post-match interview and the inevitable "Fan of Beaten Finalist Got a Premature Tattoo" story. Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel run the rule over the latest transfers that just sound so right and pick apar...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Charlie Eccleshare and James Maw bask in England's post-semi-final warmth as they examine the glorious crowd sound of a penalty scored on the rebound, consider the merits of granting "Luke Shaw territory" independence and look ahead to perhaps the most frenzied three days of build-up in English football history. Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel rule on the most Scott P...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and James Maw indulge in some extreme fate-tempting as they look at the most inevitable cultural consequences of England - maybe, probably, definitely - winning their first tournament in 55 years. Who's getting an OBE? Would there be a national Three Lions Day? What commemorative tat would you be obliged to buy? And who is going to name their child Jordan K...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and Nick Miller march into the Euro 2020 quarter-finals as they examine the more peculiar aspects of the coverage of England's win over Germany, from Harry Maguire's curious dribbling technique to Harry Kane "running his socks into the ground". Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel examine the marketing speak of the new Premier League ball, navigate the legal m...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and James Maw explore some more urgent Euro 2020 niches, including the state of play for England vs Germany media hype, why the BBC are getting thrashed by ITV on expected goals, and whether Italy's Federico Chiesa really did score a "solo effort" against Austria. Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel explore the latest analogy from Professor Jonathan Van-Tam a...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and Charlie Eccleshare debate some more Euro 2020 minutiae, including the language of tournament exits, the latest status of England-squad clamouring, and the definitive ranking of all 24 Euros nations' demonyms (it's bad news for "the Austrians", good news for "the Czechs" and mixed news for "the Portuguese" and "the Swiss"...) Meanwhile, the Adjudication...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and James Maw bathe in some more Euro 2020 pedantry, including whether Patrik Schick really qualifies as "that man", if Turkey's "dark horses" tag was the biggest scam of the summer, the ludicrous poses of Roberto Mancini and just who England fans are "clamouring" for now. Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel explore the art of newspaper player ratings, the Un...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Charlie Eccleshare and Nick Miller are back for another slice of alternative Euro 2020 analysis, including the moral panic of footballers biting each other, Patrik Schick breathing new life into the genre of halfway-line wonder strikes and whether a penalty in a shootout should ever find itself in a "greatest goals" debate. Meanwhile, the Adjudication Panel explore the...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, David Walker and James Maw explore the alternative sub-plots of Euro 2020's early stages, including a successful union of Tyldesley & McCoist, Barry from EastEnders transmitting Euros fever, expected chuckles (xCh) with David Seaman, Romelu Lukaku's "language of goals" and the future mid-table Premier League stars of the tournament so far. Hosted on Acast. See acast...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Charlie Eccleshare and Nick Miller hit peak Euros-previewing by putting together their fantasy European Championships tournament - the best format, the best ball, the best official mascot, the best TV theme tune, the dream punditry lineup and the most iconic winning team. They also discuss a charming cricket/football crossover, Marcelo Bielsa's classy touch, John Motson...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, James Maw and Michael Cox warm up for the Euros by selecting a team of players who are most disproportionately known for their international exploits, from Mexican goalkeepers to 100-cap right-backs, a controversial Croatian, cult playmakers, an Englishman who got caught in a tug-of-war before we even knew him, World Cup goal machines...and David Healy. They also discus...

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey and Charlie Eccleshare are joined by Opta's Duncan Alexander for the final Adjudication Panel of 2020/21, in which they dive deep into the newly-unveiled branding for UEFA's new competition and take a moment to appreciate the traditional fringe members of an England squad at a major tournament. The panel also discuss Ben Brereton's surprise Chile call-up, an excruciating...