The Halcyon Podcast

New year, new podcast! In this episode Rob and Adam are joined by sports writer and journalist Paul Doyle to discuss his phenomenal chapter in Against All Odds , in which Ireland overcame Italy 1-0 in the USA in 1994. We talk about Paul's unfortunate work commitments that meant he missed out on attending the game himself, the Jack Charlton effect and the changes that the game and indeed the C...

Rob, Adam and Richard are joined by sports journalist and broadcaster Kate Mason for a special episode of World Cup Nuggets as the group stages draw to a close. We unearth some brand new nuggets from this brand new World Cup and look back at England's performances so far (as well as their potential in future). Some our our more outlandish predictions are revisited with varying results and we...

Adam and Rob are joined from Doha by Guillem Balague, who looks back on his chapter in Against All Odds in which Spain were defied by a combination of bad luck, conspiracy and corruption - or were they? We discuss how revisiting that game gave Guillem and many other pause for thought, and how great a role hubris and self-fulfilling prophesies might have played in the result. Guillem also looks bac...

Rejoice! The Halcyon Podcast is back for a second series in conversation with the great and the good of football writing. Loosely based on our new book Against All Odds (available from all good stockists), today Adam and Rob sit down with acclaimed author Harry Pearson to discuss his fabulous chapter in Against All Odds, which covers the USA amateurs' shock victory over England's (tired,...

Rejoice! The Halcyon Podcast is back for a second series in conversation with the great and the good of football writing. Loosely based on our new book Against All Odds (available from all good stockists), Adam meets up with South American football expert Tim Vickery to chat about a result that sent shockwaves through Brazil in 1950. Adam and Tim discuss the game, the tournament and the resulting...

THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER. IT IS NOW! It's the FINAL episode of World Cup Nuggets Daily and last but by no means least are Wales, hoping to cause the sort of damage they did in their last World Cup, a scarcely believable 64 years ago. Rob, Adam and Richard  tease out some Nuggets from that 1958 tournament and look at Welsh chances in the group, which in case you need reminding includes th...

It's the penultimate episode of World Cup Nuggets Daily - not long to go now troops! Today's nuggets centre on the very unimaginatively nicknamed Stars and Stripes - it's the USA. Rob, Adam and Richard look at the various permutations of a group that as everyone knows also features Wales and England - spoiler, it's going to be close. There are even some red-hot gambling tips hi...

World Cup Nuggets Daily enters the home straight and up next it's everyone's second or maybe third or maybe not at all favourite team, Uruguay. Richard, Adam and Rob look at their illustrious early World Cup history and slightly less further back in time where we find their next-most controversial contribution, which will at least serve to set up the mother of all grudge matches in their...

A sensational nickname, a side who currently hold an international trophy and a particularly outlandish prediction are the key ingredients for today's World Cup Nuggets Daily. Rob, Adam and Richard preview Tunisia's chances, which in truth don't look great in a group that seems to have a fairly clear delineation between the top and bottom half - or does it?!* It may be a fairly pred...

Up next on World Cup Nuggets Daily it's the Swiss, whose despite their slightly confusing nickname showed ample clarity of thought when it came to their qualification for the World Cup in Qatar. Richard, Adam and Rob assess a potential 'dark horse' (some caveats apply) and look forward to a potential final group game winner-takes-all showdown, because who doesn't love one of th...

La Furia Roja are next up on World Cup Nuggets and Richard, Adam and Rob are by and large predicting good things for Spain in Qatar, even if they have a few questions about Luis Enrique's squad selection (well, two questions, but they are legit). We also look at their propensity for goals and clean sheets and welcome another very special guest on the podcast to ask today's World Cup Nugg...

It's probably right to begin this with an apology to Serbia fans - you do feature, honest, but you also don't feature for long stretches of this episode. Richard, Adam and Rob comb over the usual Nuggets in relation to not-a-one-man-team-but-still-quite-reliant-on-one-man Serbia, including yet another encounter with their old mates Brazil and a tough-looking group. Things also get comple...

Next up to get the Nuggets treatment are Senegal, who join the hosts, the Dutch and Ecuador in a group that Richard, Rob and Adam expect them to escape, even if that is somewhat dependent on the fitness of Sadio Mane. Plenty of Nuggets to get your teeth into here including their most famous World Cup performance against France in 2002. Richard also enlightens us on the regulations that may see Sen...

What do Saudi Arabia, Jimmy Hill and exorbitant amounts of nuggets have in common? They all feature in today's World Cup Nuggets Daily podcast - not quite in even amounts, but nevertheless, it's a diverse episode, to say the least. Rob, Adam and Richard discuss Saudi Arabia's chances in a not-quite-Group of Death but nonetheless very tricky set of games, and speculate as to the prec...

It's the turn of the hosts on today's World Cup Nuggets Daily and Richard, Adam and Rob are back to discuss whether or not Qatar are a glorified pub team or if a lengthy training camp under a manager of pedigree could see them spring a shock or two. Either way a group stage exit looks likely, although opinion is slightly split over just how close it'll be. Richard also sets the late...

Next up to be poked and prodded in World Cup Nuggets Daily are Portugal, a team with a wealth of talent but a big job on their hands to work out how to use it properly. Rob, Adam and Richard look at the likelihood of you-know-how playing and contributing, Portugal's likely qualification from their group and their overall prospects, accompanied by a healthy serving of little-known nuggets. Ric...

World Cup Nuggets Daily continues and today it's the turn of Poland, who have already been previewed on this podcast as 'dark horses' and 'sh*t' by a pundit who shall remain nameless. Boasting goal machine Robert Lewandowski and a decent World Cup pedigree, Poland will either fall at the first hurdle or qualify out of the group by virtue of the order of games, depending on...

Today on World Cup Nuggets Daily it's the turn of the eternal bridesmaids, the Dutch. Looking far stronger at the back than in recent years and with both flair players and 'big items' (ask Richard) up top, we're predicting big things for them in Qatar... within reason, obviously. A rich World Cup history, an experienced manager and for once, a straightforward group all come und...

World Cup Nuggets Daily continues and today it's the turn of the formidably nicknamed Atlas Lions, who much to Adam and Rob's disappointment no longer include either of Premier League legends Mustapha Hadji or Youssef Chippo in their ranks. They do nevertheless have plenty of players of pedigree but despite that the omens aren't particularly good for their progress out of a challeng...

Episode 18 of World Cup Nuggets Daily is here and nachos temporarily take over from nuggets... it's Mexico! Richard, Adam and Rob look at 'El Tri''s chances of qualification from the group and whether or not they look likely to go further than their perennial last-16 berth. There's also a World Cup stalwart to induct into the Roger Milla Last Chance Saloon who may or may n...

Sticking with Asian World Cup representatives, next up for the World Cup Nuggets Daily treatment are South Korea, who not unlike their Japanese counterparts find themselves in a tricky group with not a lot of firepower at their disposal to help them get out of it. What they do have, though, is a defensive wall that could well be made entirely of Kims, which as well as being just one example of the...

Next up on World Cup Nuggets Daily it's the Samurai Blue, Japan. Boasting a quite staggering disciplinary record (in a good way), it seems their niceness also extends to not sticking the ball in the goal. In a tricky group, could that spell a few problems? They were also the first to release their World Cup squad and so Richard, Adam and Rob take a quick look over the key men included - and o...

England's first opponents Iran are up next in our World Cup Nuggets Daily previews. Rob, Adam and Richard discuss their surprising world ranking, their surprising choice of coach and the potential for needle/fireworks/poppies/doves in the 'Mother of all Matches' pt. II against the USA. There's a short and wholly unnecessary digression to Iran's most famous World Cup exploi...

World Cup Nuggets rumbles on towards the halfway point and today it's Ghana, whose by-now-very-chilly dish of revenge will be heading in Uruguay's direction in what looks like a very tasty group. Adam, Richard and Rob get to grips with the Black Stars' chances in Qatar, including where their goals may or may not be coming from and whether or not they can make history... Our daily qu...

It's the third big gun in succession as World Cup Nuggets Daily hops over to Germany for today's episode. The German nugget concerns arguably one of the greatest World Cup upsets EVER, so it's well worth a listen for that alone. We welcome yet another big name special guest, live from Germany, to reflect on the current levels of anticipation (spoiler alert - they're minimal) an...