Upfront - A Women's Football Podcast

Dotun Adebayo, Lars Sivertsen and Nicky Bandini are back with more tales of penny-pinching European super clubs on today's episode of On The Continent! We wonder how Barcelona can dig themselves out from their ever-expanding hole and discuss whether Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo experiment proved successful. And as the Deadline Day dust settles, we identify a few diamonds in the continental rough wh...

Welcome back to another edition of On The Continent! Miguel Delaney joins Dotun and Andy to discuss the latest on Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo. We wonder how the Frenchman’s arrival could revitalise Real, while there are mixed opinions about Ronaldo’s possible uneasy marriage with Pep Guardiola’s Man City. After a very weird window with spending confined to the very top, we also discuss the...

Welcome back to another edition of On The Continent! This week, Dotun and Andy are joined by our resident Italian football oracle Nicky Bandini for a bumper Serie A preview! We discuss what’s next for the title-holders, Inter, stripped of some of their best assets, while it’s back to the future for José Mourinho and Luciano Spalletti at Roma and Napoli, with Nicky particularly backing the Neapolit...

Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen are here with a thorough look at the biggest story in world football: Lionel Messi's Barça departure. We try to fathom how Barcelona allowed the rot to spread this badly, wonder if we should sympathise with Lionel Messi and discuss Mauricio Pochettino’s chances of getting that front three to do any pressing at all. We also look at La Liga more broadly as it kicks off...

With the European football season looming, Dotun and Andy are joined by David Cartlidge to get stuck into some of the continent’s biggest stories - join us! As Julian Nagelsmann’s first game as Bayern manager creeps closer, we look into how he’ll need to be granted some patience during what might be a tough start in the Big Time. We also ask who might challenge PSG in Ligue 1 as the likes of Monac...

We're back with the first On The Continent episode of the new season! Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen are here to get you up to speed with Europe's movers and shakers ahead of the new season. We start the season with a tale of two superclubs, with PSG finding established superstars down the back of the sofa and Barcelona still struggling for cash. We also recap the latest Champions League qualifier...

Have you ever wondered where substantial amounts of the money behind football's ridiculous transfer fees end up? Because the answer may surprise, confuse and alarm you! Kate and Jim are joined by author and journalist, Tariq Panja to discuss the murky world of football transfers and just how influential nondescript entities and figures looming in the shadows can be. Tariq, alongside co-writer Alex...

For the final OTC episode of the season, Dotun and Andy could only be joined by one familiar face ahead of the Euro 2020 final: it's Nicky Bandini! We assess the two semi-finals and wonder how the final between the tournament's best two sides will play out. There's also a chance to look back on what's been a tournament for the ages; fans returned to stadiums, shock results came thick and fast – an...

Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen pick through the latest Euro 2020 casualties, as a back trois couldn't save France and Germany's lack of cohesion cost them.  We wonder where it went wrong for the French, with Didier Deschamps' bizarre selection choices a significant factor, and reflect on the Joachim Löw era after the curtains came down at Wembley. We also assess those still standing and who w...

Dotun and Andy are joined by David Cartlidge on today's episode, as we uncork a bottle of Cava and toast to the group stages' final blaze of glory. Portugal, France and Germany emerge from the flames of Group F, so we see who needs to settle on their best XI ahead of the knockout rounds. We also get an update on Spain who, despite a 5-0 win over Slovakia, still don't look all that convincing....

Looking for the latest on some of Euro 2020's biggest contenders? Well, you've come to the right place! Dotun and Andy are joined by various OTC contributors to discuss some of the biggest stories from the first week of the Euros. Nicky Bandini praises those impressive Italians, Lars Sivertsen looks over France's chances of going the distance and David Cartlidge reveals why Spain's opening perform...

We’ve waited a year, but the Euros have finally arrived! Join Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen for our giant OTC preview! We cast an eye over the Group of Fun ™️, where Germany look under threat, and check in with the usual contenders including Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. We also wonder if a Turkish delight might upset the much-fancied Italians on opening night! Got a question for us? Email&...

We’ll cut straight to it: today’s Ramble Meets... guest is one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game. It’s only Germany's European Championship and World Cup-winning midfielder, Lothar Matthäus! Lothar joins Andy to look ahead to Germany’s chances at Euro 2020, with the public‘s expectations of Die Mannschaft as high as ever. They also chat about his storied playing career, spotti...

Welcome to our final episode of Lions Watch! With the Euros just six sleeps away, Marcus and Luke bring you their reflections on England’s opening friendly and sort through Gareth Southgate’s alarmingly large pile of unanswered questions. Besides Trent Alexander-Arnold’s replacement, we run the rule over England’s possible formations without Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire and look back at the...

Dotun is joined by Lars Sivertsen and Nicky Bandini as the Champions League final brought the weirdest domestic season ever to a close. We take a look back at that entertaining affair, with Chelsea using their ‘break glass for pragmatic coach’ approach to great effect once again. We then wonder what’s next for European football; the pandemic has forced many clubs to turn the old guard and accept t...

'Fever Pitch' is widely regarded to be the best football book ever written. It's been made into two films, won the 1992 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award and inspired countless football fans around the UK to think more deeply about their football fandom. Its author, Nick Hornby, joins us in the studio for today's episode of the Book Club! Nick sits down with Kate and Jim to remember the s...

Welcome back to Lions Watch, your one-stop shop for all things England! Vithushan Ehantharajah joins Marcus to reflect on Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad and look ahead to a hugely important week in the Three Lions’ preparations. We also dial up former England Head of Physiotherapy Gary Lewin to learn more about fitness preparations for the tournament. Plus, Marcus and Vish cast their eyes ov...

All aboard this summer’s managerial merry-go-round, coming soon to a European powerhouse near you! Dotun, Andy and David Cartlidge break down the big coaching moves across the continent as Antonio Conte might well grab Zinedine Zidane’s vacant seat in Madrid and Juventus’ Andrea Pirlo makes way for his former boss, Max Allegri.  We also celebrate two title victories that were confirmed over t...

On today’s episode of Ramble Meets… we welcome a man who, by his own admission, tried really hard not to be a footballer - and failed. It’s former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger, Pat Nevin! Pat joins Mark Pougatch to discuss an enriching career that was fuelled by a sheer enjoyment of football, with the trappings of fame and fortune never a remote consideration. He talks about his journey fr...

With Gareth Southgate's squad announcement just days away, Marcus and Luke tackle perhaps the most significant selection dilemma: who's going to play right-back?! We also look back to the culmination of England's Nations League efforts back in 2019, with the usual boxes of 'lose to a top-level team' and 'win a penalty shoot-out' ticked off in Portugal. Finally, Czech journalist Ondřej Zlámal gives...

Miguel Delaney joins Dotun and Andy for another continental crusade, with Europe's various title races wrapping up and the Euros honing into view! Karim Benzema links up with the French squad for the first time in six years, as Didier Deschamps weighs up his fractious past against his goalscoring pedigree. We also praise Edin Terzić after Dortmund turn their season around with moments to spare and...

It’s less than a month until England’s opening group stage game and Marcus is struggling to contain his anticipation. A season-ending injury for Harry Maguire though, you say? That will do it. Marcus and Luke discuss the latest on Maguire and assess how he has come to be so important to this England team. Elsewhere, Jadon Sancho puts in a stunning performance to clinch Dortmund’s first silverware...

Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen are looking ahead to a photo finish in the La Liga title race, as Real Madrid’s weathered old souls chase down Atléti in top spot. We also check in on the fallout from the end of the Portuguese and Italian title races. Sporting win their first in nearly two decades under wonderkid coach Rúben Amorim, while Andrea Pirlo and Juventus must be wondering whether their mar...

Marcus and Luke are back with Lions Watch, your one-stop shop for all things England! This week, we hail Arsenal for doing the right thing and ask how much England’s Champions League and Europa League absences really matter for a team so… completely and utterly well-drilled. Obvs. We also try (and fail) to pick a starter between Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell and celebrate the year of the waistcoat. T...

Dotun, Andy and Nicky Bandini are here to assess the merits of the PSG project and wonder if things aren't as bad as first thought after Manchester City knocked them out of the Champions League. Elsewhere, with Antonio Conte wrapping up the title, we ask Nicky if José Mourinho can rise Roma from the ruins and put the breaks on another Inter title tilt. Speaking of title races, La Liga's top four a...