The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to pick out their tactical insights and highlights from the opening round of Champions League group games... Why are Man United so fragile after conceding a goal, and how good was Bayern's Jamal Musiala? - 2:05 As Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 win over PSV in their return to the competition - was that the perfect preparatio...

Ali Maxwell is joined by Michael Cox, Liam Tharme and Mark Carey to reflect on Jude Bellingham's performance vs Scotland, debate whether Neymar should be considered one of football's true greats, and ask where the Spanish playmakers have gone? Plus, Nigeria's striker dilemma, Bielsa's Uruguay, and Fernando Diniz's anti-establishment tactics. Produced by Jay Beale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

Ali Maxwell is joined by Michael Cox, Liam Tharme and Arsenal correspondent Art de Roche, to celebrate Bukayo Saka's evolution into possibly, the best right-sided forward in the world right now... The panel reflect on his breakthrough as a left wing-back, the tactical challenges Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta sets for him and the amazing numbers he's already posting, despite having only turned 22 ye...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to dig into why so many modern-day head coaches were once central midfielders? As Guardiola, Arteta, Xavi, Pirlo, Motta, Alonso, Amorim and others thrive - what is it about the position that lends itself to coaching and is it the most difficult position to play in a team? Has it contributed to the current hegemony of football...

Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Mark Carey, Liam Tharme and Tottenham writer Charlie Eccleshare to dissect the radical tactical overhaul in progress at Spurs... How quick, is too quick to try and implement a new tactical system and playing style - especially after losing Harry Kane so late in the window? And what can we learn from an impressive win over Manchester United last weekend? How...

Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Mark Carey, Liam Tharme and Duncan Alexander, to reflect on the opening weekend of a new Premier League season... When did Newcastle's Sandro Tonali start making those runs into the box, is Richarlison the right profile of striker for Postecoglu's Spurs and is Saka the best right-sided forward in world football right now? Plus, defenders taking goal kicks, m...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Mark Carey, Liam Tharme, Ahmed Walid and Thom Harris, to preview the rest of the Premier League teams and the biggest tactical question they'll each have to answer this season; Will Sheffield Utd have to change system after losing so many players? Why Everton are still reliant Dominic Calvert-Lewin's fitness. Will Manchester City continue to use ball-to...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Mark Carey, Liam Tharme, Ahmed Walid and Thom Harris, to preview the new Premier League season - and the big tactical dilemmas facing each team... In part one, the panel debate; How quickly the Spurs players can adapt to new manager Ange Postecoglu's principles If Brighton can 'evolve' before they're worked out Why Brentford can cope without Ivan Toney...

Jay Harris introduces The Athletic's new podcast series, Access All Areas: Brentford. It's a behind the scenes look at how to build a modern Premier League team. In this episode - episode 2 of the series - Jay talks to those responsible for Brentford's famed recruitment strategy to detail how they scout and how they convince players that west London is a place for them to thrive. To listen to the...

The Athletic has just launched its brand new, daily 10 minute podcast for all those people who are just too busy in the mornings for anything longer. It’s called The Daily Football Briefing and will bring you right up to speed with the biggest stories from the night before and what to expect from the day ahead. Missed a big transfer story? David Ornstein will have you covered. What’s the latest ab...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined - straight after the full-time whistle - by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Liam Tharme and Ahmed Walid, to dissect Manchester City's 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final... The panel break down the tactical story of a cagey finale in Istanbul, big team selection decisions and the culmination of City's tactical evolution into a truly formidable 'cup side'....

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic’s Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to discuss whether tournament and league football needs to be treated differently, perhaps even viewed as entirely different disciplines... Plus, a look ahead to this weekend’s Champions League final, as Manchester City look to complete the treble vs Inter Milan. Produced by Jay Beale Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to review a record-breaking and unforgettable Premier League season... in just 10 matches. From early warning signs of De Bruyne x Haaland's link up and Arsenal's leaky defence, to Spurs self-destruction, Villa's transformation and Leeds' lack of goals. Plus, an interesting discussion about xG underperformance in...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to pick their alternative Premier League Team of the Season - The catch? They can only select one player from each team in the bottom half of the table (plus one bonus pick)... Forget Saka v Salah as the guys condemn the lack general lack of viable full-back options, wrestle with the data and accidentally unearth the best player...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic’s Michael Cox, Liam Tharme and Mark Carey following the conclusion of the Champions League semi-finals. Man City swept away holders Real Madrid in a crushing 4-0 victory, 5-1 on aggregate, so how did they do it? Were they that incredible, or were Madrid that far below par? Meanwhile, Inter beat city rivals Milan over two legs to set up a tasty final again...

Pragmatic Xavi, Busquets' successor and is it actually a good idea to bring Messi back in the summer? Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Liam Tharme and John Muller to explain how Barcelona won the league...  An outstanding defensive record, playing to Lewandowski's strengths, why Pedri and Gavi are not simply Xavi and Iniesta 'mini-clones' & how a prodigious young coach...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Duncan Alexander to explain Trent Alexander-Arnold's new role for Liverpool and assess to what extent it's responsible for their recent good run of form...  Is he any more creative in central areas and are Liverpool better defensively? Was Trent really having a bad season and will he chase down Ryan Giggs' Premier League assi...

Duncan Alexander makes his tactics pod debut, joining The Athletic's Michael Cox, Liam Tharme and host Ali Maxwell, to discuss a potentially record-breaking number of goals being scored in the Premier League this season...  Why the art of defending seems to have lost its appeal, why we're seeing more goals in big games and to what extent the five subs rule, the World Cup, manager sackings and 'mys...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's tactics writers Michael Cox and Ahmed Walid, to reflect on a chastening defeat for Arsenal as Manchester City wrestled back control in the Premier League title race...  How did Pep Guardiola's tactical set-up help them dominate the match? Have Arteta's Arsenal become slightly predictable and is that understandable, considering they are still at a relati...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox and Charlotte Harpur to assess the final four teams in the Women's Champions League, as Chelsea face Barcelona and Arsenal meet Wolfsburg, without Leah Williamson...  The panel reflect on how mounting injury lists for both English teams will affect the balance of the games, how England Euro 2022 star Keira Walsh is adapting to life in Barcel...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to dissect and appreciate Manchester City's physicality, Real Madrid's insane semi-final record, Inter's defence and Milan's secret weapon... Plus, why Liam loves Vini Jr, Michael's defence of Lampard's tactics and the pleasure of still being able to watch Giroud doing what he does best. Produced by Adonis Pratsid...

From Philipp Lahm at the base of a midfield, to Eto'o the winger, Zinchenko the inverted full-back, Kevin de Bruyne the crossing no.8 and Gundogan the goalscorer; Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and John 'Big Ticket' Muller, to explore the brief history of Pep Guardiola's constantly evolving tactics... Why Grealish and Bernardo Silva offer Man City more defensi...

Is mastering the art of winning 'without playing well' something that all great sides need to learn? Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey & Liam Tharme to investigate... What do Ancelotti's Real Madrid and Fergie's Manchester United have in common, what does 'playing well' even mean and why Champions must know how to "suffer". Produced by Adonis Pratsides *** Th...

Host Ali Maxwell is joined by The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme to reflect on Mesut Ozil's retirement and the 'death of the luxury no.10'... Was Ozil a specific case or has does the game no longer have any room for 'specialists', where else on the pitch have the guys noticed significant change and how have the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount, Kieran Tierney and more been a...

Ali, Mark and Liam reconvene for another bonus tactics podcast to examine Southgate's use of 'data' in his alarming recent comments about decreasing Premier League minutes for English youngsters... Did his interpretation of the statistics lack context, how does English football compare with other major European footballing nations and is the U21 job as 'utterly impossible' as previous head coaches...