The Double Pivot: Soccer analysis, analytics, and commentary

No, not really. But a lot of interesting questions about exactly how to understand their recent slump, what to expect from this team over the rest of the season, and the kind of fascinating tactical periodization of the City match. Support the show

We all knew Manchester City have been cheating on their financial disclosures. But the news this week is that they might face actual consequences for those acts, which no one saw coming. So exactly what's going on, why is it happening, and what might it lead to? Support the show

Yes, Chelsea has a plan! But is it a good plan? We are very skeptical. Support the show

Multiple frauds! Very poorly executed! We walk through the scandal unfolding in Italy, why it happened, what it means, and some light critiques of their fraud processes. Support the show

A walk through the entire table besides the top two. Starting with top four, Newcastle and United have run hot long enough to look very good, Spurs and... Brighton are their top competition? It could get settled pretty quick. Support the show

There's a title race! And if there isn't a title race it's because Arsenal are going to go and win it. Wild stuff, no one predicted it, we talk about how we got here and what to expect from the top of the table in the second half. Support the show

With the transfer window open and big money ready to move, we have been recording player profiles for subscribers, and this is a little teaser of what that's covered. You can subscribe at patreon.com/doublepivot Our Premier League back to speed podcasts coming later this week. Support the show

Argentina won the World Cup! And the match, while it developed into a pure vibes Rocky-style haymaker fest at the end, was actually a really interesting tactical battle before that with Argentina coming out very much on top. We have a lot to dig into! Support the show

The first half of our quarterfinals review, semifinals preview podcast. Brazil were great and football occurred, Croatia executed their strategy and got lucky, Argentina remain a big step more boring than you'd hope and that's a pretty good semifinals preview right there. Support the show

We've got the Netherlands, Argentina, Croatia and Brazil through to the quarters. How they did it, how Brazil got so good with a broken team, what might be some ways for Van Gaal to approach Argentina, were we unfair to Scaloni, a lot going on here. (Part 2 at patreon.com/doublepivot) Support the show

The USMNT won and go through to the knockouts. It was another good game in a good tournament for the USA and so we figured we'd talk about it. Support the show

A scoreless draw, but one that said a number of interesting things about both teams. We talk about the many things the US did well and how this... doesn't change our evaluation of England at all.  Support the show

Argentina lost! To Saudi Arabia! And Germany lost to Japan! Both upsets involved a whole bunch of stuff that an expected goals approach would ask you to doubt. So what did they really mean? Support the show

The risk-taking and aggression of Qatar has been on surprising display in the last week from the beer ban to Infantino's press conference performance. We attempt an explanation by way of regional and ideological conflict in the Gulf, the different positions of oil and gas in the energy transition, and, of course, the Muslim Brotherhood. Support the show

Mike thinks England are going to win the World Cup. Michael thinks Alvaro Morata could score lots of goals. We're coming in hot. Support the show

It's been reported that FSG are looking to sell Liverpool. We take a look at what this means: why would FSG sell now, and what does that tell us about the state of elite European football? Support the show

Is it secretly another Leeds episode? Well sort of. What does pressing look like in contemporary football, how are Leeds a throwback and what exactly are Newcastle doing that is just so good? Support the show

Leeds are in the relegation places and on a four-match losing streak. Their underlying numbers are still more or less fine. What comes next? Support the show

United beat Spurs soundly. What's going on at both United and Spurs that this was not exactly a shocking result? And [pokes Chelsea with a stick] Support the show

Our priors, updating in real time. Arsenal were really good, Liverpool were pretty bad, how far are we willing to go in adjusting our evaluations of these two clubs after another game in line with their performances over the full season? Support the show

Arsenal won a messy North London Derby and we talk about what single-match xG means and can tell us about this game, while City won a pretty silly Manchester Derby and we talk about just how good they might be. Support the show

A lot of great questions!  Juventus, Leicester,  Fulham, Odegaard, Kulusevski and the North London Derby. Support the show

Potterball begins, Everton are not particularly bad, and we take on the greatest of all soccer questions: what if America's best athletes played soccer? Support the show

Well that was sure something. Thomas Tuchel already sacked, Graham Potter already hired. We talk about the process here (bad!) and the result (interesting, possibly not bad!) and what we are watching to see with Potter at the new club. Support the show

It's been four games, are we rethinking anything? On Aston Villa, West Ham, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton. Support the show