Soccer Sense Podcast

Vishal, Karan, and Tareque are finally able to find a window to breathe and to record an episode reflecting on the summer euphoria of dreams of a perfect world that is the FIFA World Cup despite all the ills that plague it off the field. We talk Cape Verde's breakout, France's imperious touch, how Croatia are eternal, and wonder if Karan is turning English. 

Vinayakk M, longtime Arsenal fan and sports journalist returns to the pod after a decade to bask in the afterglow of Arsenal's title winning PL season, and help us train our SenseMeter on the dawn of a new Gunners Era. You can read his Substack post about Arsenal here and follow him on Twitter/X @vinayakkm

The full panel is here to talk about the end of Arsenal's 22-year quest for a Premier League title, separating the sense of the destination from the riff raff of the journey, and discussing how winning a league, like finishing a marathon, need not always look aesthetically dignified for it to be significant!

The full panel is back as we break down how Arsenal are likely to handle the run-in, speculate about Pep and talk about the madcap finish in Scotland. 

Soccer Sense's EFL Championship correspondent - Karan - gives us a lowdown of a dramatic final day in the league, and the madness of following three games at once with playoff places on the line. Championship - where sense is thrown to the winds, and it is mostly just... football madness. Tune In!

Karan and Tareque put the top of the table clash between Manchester City and Arsenal under the SenseMeter and ask - what does the run-in look like for the two title contenders, with a cameo from Loki himself. 

Karan, our calcio correspondent, joins Tareque, as we break down the history behind the heartbreak of the Azzuri missing out on a men's World Cup berth for an incredible third time in a row. But is it really that incredible, or is there credible incompetence behind it? We train our SoccerSense Meter on it. 

Vishal and Tareque get existential trying to figure out why the Champions League knockout games were that one-sided and look for silver linings on spotting the soul of football this World Cup year. 

The full panel is back with Karan, the European correspondent, breaking down the chaotic final matchday in the Champions League and resident Red Devil Vishal breaks the sense down behind the madness of Michael Carrick's first two results as (caretaker) Manchester United manager. 

Vishal and Tareque convene an emergency pod to try and separate the sense of the disease from the hysteria of symptoms of what ails Manchester United, in the wake of their latest managerial ousting - Ruben Amorim. Also featuring, can Arsenal be stopped by the team that denied Leeds scoring opportunities and held Fulham to a draw at Craven Cottage?

The full panel of Vishal, Karan, and Tareque are back to talk about a tale as old as time - poor communication between management and employees - as we try to separate the sense from the sensationalism of l'affaire Mo Salah and try to figure out Arne Slot's blueprint going forward. 

Vishal and Tareque subject the opposing runs of Arsenal and Liverpool to the scrutiny of the SenseMeter and try to explain what seems to be ailing Slot's Liverpool, and if Arteta's Arsenal are the real deal now. 

Vishal and Tareque discuss the existential threat that looms upon the vaunted position that is the football manager and how the future of football itself might be intertwined in this owner-manager power struggle. 

Karan, Vishal, and Tareque convene one last time for this season to look back at the Champions League final, and discuss how Luis Enrqiue's joyful football philosophy put the spark back in Soccer Sense's own footballing funk. 

Karan, Vishal, and Tareque are back for a full panel pod about the joys of finishing on the pinnacle of English football positions: 8th, 9th, and 10th. We talk about the beauty of the three Bs - Bournemouth, Brighton, and Brentford - who finished there and why these clubs in and of themselves are fascinating case studies of what the essence of football truly is. 

Tareque and Karan bring you a special follow up episode to our last week's Serie A roundup episode because apparently drama that would have even Lenin shook was packed into one weekend and affected all parts of the table. 

Tareque and Soccer Sense's Calcio Correspondent Karan make up the panel this week that gives you the Soccer Sense season primer of the Serie A season - which Milan is annoying Juve fan Karan the most, and how is Gasperini like Ethan Hunt, and will Serie A see the holy vacation trifecta in it next season? All of these, answered. 

Vishal and Tareque get together to question Karan's conspicuous absence of reaction on the epic that was the Barca v Inter semifinal, and train the Soccer Sense Meter on the tie, with some surprising insights about age and experience from Vishal himself.  

The panel convenes to elect a new pope  seek the sense in how Liverpool put together a title winning run, and what Arsenal need to do in their Champions League semifinal second leg. 

A sense busting throwback Thursday from Manchester United who party like it's 1999 and our panel tries to recalibrate our Soccer Senses to understand their dramatic elimination of Lyon. Also featuring, a primer on your new fav Norwegian football team. 

Was Pirlo on the PS5 controller when Rice stepped up to take the freekicks against Real Madrid? Are Bayern Munich cut out for an Italian Job? And will Villa Park be metal enough in the second leg? All these and many more questions tackled in our Champions League Quarterfinal Reviews as Tareque and Soccer Sense's European Correspondent - Karan - take the mic. 

This week, the panel - none of whom are even capable of filing their own taxes - pore into the financials of Manchester United and discuss the dilemma of how a big football club can balance commerce, community and conscience while dealing with an existential crisis, and figure out if there are indeed sensible ways to think about their current position. 

This week there was heist in Paris, and next week there could be a Cinderella story happening in Lille. It's all happening in the Champions League as the panel, led by European Correspondent Karan, break down the Round of 16 Leg 1s and look forward to Leg 2. 

After Liverpool's 2-0 away win at the Etihad, the panel addresses the non-addressing of the Manchester City decline, and also discusses why Arsenal seem to be manifesting poverties they don't suffer from and enquires if there are buses being hired in advance in the city of Liverpool yet?

This week, the panel grapples with the existential question - if a cup was won with no one around was a cup still won? Football's expansionary push and its potentially devastating consequences are put under the SenseMeter, with a little help from Ted Lasso.