The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

All goals are worth the same, or are they? The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to try and work out whether it's possible to accurately measure the true value of a goal, and try to find out which players score the most valuable goals. Taking our lead from Mark's recent piece on the subject, we delve into the data to look at the likes of Didier Drogba, Christian Benteke,...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to explore the recent tactical battles between Liverpool and Manchester City and the questions both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will face, if both sides reach this season's Champions League Final... Why Zack Steffen's FA Cup semi-final-freeze was predictable, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joao Cancelo's impact in the 2-2 draw at the E...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to explore what Manchester United fans can expect, should Erik ten Hag become their next permanent manager... The panel analyse the tactical system employed by Ajax in the Champions League and why he wouldn't necessarily be able to just copy and paste at Old Trafford. Plus, wingers doubling up on the same flank, left-footed vacancies...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to explore the art of (and the data behind) Free-Kicks... The best and worst FK takers in Premier League history, the cult-heroes, the myths and why the 'knuckle-ball' isn't as good as the 'whip n' dip'. Why James Ward-Prowse is an even better free-kick taker than you already thought, whether or not you actually need a wall, plus, Wat...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and John Muller join host Ali Maxwell to assess Xavi's impact at Barcelona, since returning as Head Coach... But was the club's 'crisis' slightly overplayed and how do Xavi's team differ to the ones he played in? Plus, the trio celebrate Pique's long-passing, Busquets longevity and the shift in the physical profile of their newest signings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell, to run the numbers of Gareth Southgate's latest England squad... Will Southgate alter his formation to accommodate the wealth of attacking talent? Mings over Tomori, justifying the omissions of Sancho and Rashford, plus, who starts in goal in Qatar? Our trio shine a light on England ahead of this year's Winter World Cup. Hosted on Ac...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to explore the hype around Brighton boss Graham Potter, which has led to the widespread belief that a 'Big 6' Premier League team, a Champions League club abroad or even the England National Team job are on the horizon... The trio assess the notorious xG underperformance, the bold response to going behind in games, the admiration from...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to assess Mikel Arteta's Arsenal - just over two years on from his arrival... Does the club now have an established tactical identity, in which key areas have they dramatically improved and what's next - irrespective of whether or not they finish inside the Top 4 this season. Plus, how Odegaard has helped unlock their attacking potent...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to discuss how shooting has evolved in the Premier League thanks to the rise in analytics over the last decade... Have we properly addressed the shared 'nostalgia bias' associated with long-range wonder goals, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and more... Then in part two, building on the recent revelations made by The Athletic's Dan Sheld...

The Athletic's Michael Cox (tactics) and Mark Carey (data) join host Ali Maxwell to re-open their Premier League notebooks to discuss the sudden outbreak of a genuine title race after Conte's Spurs shocked the Champions last weekend... But will Liverpool's attack or Manchester City's defence ultimately prevail? Have West Ham officially run out of steam and are Arsenal the favourites for the last C...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to explore 'transitions' in football... How are they distinct from counter-attacks, how 'brave' it is to press high, as well as whether or not typically good counter-attacking sides like Liverpool and Leeds are still defined by this style? Plus, which Premier League teams are both the best and the worst in transition and which style i...

A bonus chance to hear what happened when The Athletic's Michael Cox, joined The Athletic Women's Football Podcast, to discuss a fascinating title race in the WSL this season, as well as, why he thinks the league might benefit from a 'mid-season split'. Our weekly tactics podcast will be available from Thursday morning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell, to talk Premier League centre-backs... How to properly 'rate' them, both in and out of possession, playing in different tactical systems, within teams which are more dominant than others and within their respective centre-back partnerships too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's tactics and data analytics writers Michael Cox and Mark Carey, join host Ali Maxwell, to explore the rise and fall of three-man defences in the Premier League in recent years... Plus, the trio discuss their colleague John Muller's article, which encourages us to start giving the pass-receivers some long-overdue credit. How the league's best created 'receiving value' over the course...

The Athletic's tactics writer Michael Cox and Spurs correspondent Charlie Eccleshare, join host Ali Maxwell to reflect on Antonio Conte's start to life as Tottenham head coach... The trio reflect on his own personal 'tactical timeline' and explore comparisons between his Chelsea side and the team he is currently building in North London, with reference to the recent trilogy of defeats at the hands...

The Athletic's Mark Carey and Michael Cox join host Ali Maxwell to debate the results of this week's FIFPro World Xi... Have Ronaldo and Messi outstayed their welcome or do the statistics support their continued selection? Do trophies skew the numbers and do footballers watch enough actual football? Plus, Alex Ibaceta (from the Box To Box WSL podcast) joins us to help correct an even more eyebrow-...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell to explore a recent trend, affecting goal-scorers in the Premier League... The trio reflect on how their role has changed over the last two decades and put the current crop of leading men under to spotlight, to see how their collective goal output has been affected and why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Man City simply playing against themselves now, did Lukaku have a point about Tuchel's system and why are Arsenal better in Aubameyang's absence? The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey once again open their notebooks and re-join host Ali Maxwell, following a busy period of festive football, to assess the state of play in key areas of the Premier League table in 2022... Is the title race alr...

Ali Maxwell. Mark Carey and John Muller are on a mission. A mission to go through the Premier League and identify a position and transfer for each team. It's a data scouting special! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's tactics writer Michael Cox and data analytics writer Mark Carey join host Ali Maxwell for a festive dissection of the 'Christmas Tree' Formation... They trace it's roots from Crystal Palace in the 1970's, Ancelotti's fabled 80's Milan teams, through to Terry Venables 90's England and all the way to modern day Aston Villa and new manager Steven Gerrard. The trio debate its strengths...

The Athletic's newest signing and data analytics writer, John Muller, makes his podcast debut alongside Michael Cox and host Ali Maxwell, to discuss the growing trend of UNDER-lapping full-backs...  The trio explore what it means to underlap both laterally and diagonally, who the real pioneers of this tactical evolution are and why more and more coaches are setting up their teams in this way. Host...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Mark Carey, join host Ali Maxwell to discuss what incoming manager Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United may look like from a tactical perspective... The trio assess what they can learn from his old Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig sides and reflect on the nuanced differences between pressing and Rangnick's notorious 'gegenpressing' ideals. Plus, why the age profile of the curr...

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and host Ali Maxwell are joined by German football expert Raphael Honigstein as their European tour extends to Germany... Rafa guides the trio through Bayern's latest anti-vaxx headache and how Jude Bellingham is carrying an entire Borussia Dortmund midfield at just 18 years old! Plus, more on RB Leipzig's identity crisis, why Freiburg are the 'neutrals darli...

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Mark Carey and host Ali Maxwell, continue their survey of Europe's major leagues - Next stop, Spain, as Dermot Corrigan guides them through an usually chaotic start to this La Liga season... Together they explore why Klopp's recent criticism of Diego Simeone's Atletico was way off the mark, how much harm the Newcastle links have done to Unai Emery at Villarreal, if Barc...

The now Germany-bound Tom Worville stopped off in Milton Keynes with host Ali Maxwell for one last interview with MK Dons Sporting Director Liam Sweeting... Liam reveals how data contributed to an emergency manager search when Russell Martin departed for Swansea a week before the new League One season, how the Dons average as much possession as PSG, what midfielder Scott Twine has in common in Mes...