Upfront - A Women's Football Podcast

Join Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and Nicky Bandini for a brand new episode of On The Continent, your one-stop shop for all things European football! We begin by assessing the main contenders for the Serie A title, with Juventus' great run of form putting pressure on their Milanese opponents. We also ask what’s happening over at Borussia Dortmund and wonder whether they may be forced to sell their...

Our Ramble Meets... guest this week went from watching her hometown club Burnley on the terraces at Turf Moor to earning 82 international caps and even becoming an Olympian: it's former England goalkeeper turned pundit, Rachel Brown-Finnis! Rachel sits down with Mark Pougatch to talk about a fascinating career that straddles two vastly different eras of women's football in England. As the only gir...

Dotun and Andy are joined by David Cartlidge to pick through the smouldering wreckage of another week in European football! After El Mundo revealed the staggering details of Messi’s contract, we study the fallout since as Messi looks to the courts and Barcelona’s presidential candidates scramble to back up their star player. We ask David whether Messi is the cause of Barcelona’s financial woes, or...

Welcome to another edition of On The Continent! Dotun and Andy are joined by Lars to dive into the biggest stories from across European football. First, Andy gives us an update on PSG’s interest in Dele Alli, who looks ready to move across the Channel. Meanwhile in Germany, Dortmund and RB Leipzig’s capitulations have handed the initiative to a faltering Bayern Munich side. We take a look at what...

Not every football manager arrives at the training ground in an orange Ford Mustang with Guns N' Roses blasting from the stereo, but today’s guest wouldn't have it any other way. Mark Pougatch welcomes Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth to the Ramble Meets... hot seat! Gareth and Mark look back over a storied career that saw him involved in over 1000 matches from both sides of the dugout....

Dotun, Andy and Miguel bring your weekly European football fix with the biggest stories from across the continent! We begin in Turkey, where Mesut Özil has finally touched down: but what, exactly, awaits him there? We gauge expectations in Fenerbahçe after their massive financial gamble and explore exactly how Özil will fit into the country’s political landscape. We check in on Serie A, where it’s...

Ever wondered what it'd be like to live with Jürgen Klopp? Well, our guest on today's episode of the Book Club turned a Twitter thread on just such a thought into a book: it's Laura Lexx, comedian and author of Klopp Actually: (Imaginary) Life with Football's Most Sensible Heartthrob! What started as a few hundred characters on Twitter has grown into a heartfelt book about dealing with life's anxi...

Have the icy conditions in Spain somehow given Diego Simeone even more power? First aCoach of the Decade award, and now he’s managing La Liga’s genuine title favourites! Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and Nicky Bandini are here to assess their snow-covered title charge on today’s episode of On The Continent! Elsewhere, with both Lazio and Roma playing at home in this weekend’s Derby della Capitale,...

This week Andy was delighted to sit down with Rubin Kazan head coach and former Russia national team manager, Leonid Slutsky! Leonid reflects on his hugely successful period at CSKA Moscow, where he made history in Europe. He also opens up about his turbulent time at Hull City back in 2017, and why he still maintains such great fondness for the city and for English football. And after going viral...

We’re back with your weekly European football fix! Dotun and Andy are joined by David Cartlidge to discuss some huge midweek fixtures. And where else to start but in Paris? We assess Mauricio Pochettino’s first game in charge and look at what can be realistically expected of him there, as well as what Pochettino could learn from Tuchel’s reign. We also go to Italy, where Juventus finally halted Mi...

Today, we welcome Nottingham Forest and England legend, Stuart Pearce! Stuart sits down with Mark Pougatch to reflect on the biggest and quirkiest moments of his storied career. He opens up about his relationship with Brian Clough and the legendary manager’s incredible attempt to tap him up midway through a game for Coventry City.  He also guides us through Euro ’96: his feelings towards the...

Andy is joined on today’s Ramble Meets… by Ride founding member and diehard Oxford United fan, Mark Gardener! Mark’s love for Oxford United was cemented in his childhood, trying to clamber over the terraces to watch them with his Dad. He talks us through those early days, including the famous 1986 Milk Cup win, and how following his side became increasingly difficult as worldwide fame found the ba...

To help round off what has been a tumultuous 2020, Dotun Adebayo and Andy Brassell are joined today by all four of our On The Continent pundits! Together, we pick out some of European football's biggest stories from the past year.  Miguel Delaney joins us to discuss whether Bayern Munich will cement their European dominance in the next few years of the Champions League, while David Cartlidge...

Fantasy Five-a-Side is back with a cracker! Jim is joined by YouTuber, presenter of ‘Live From London Stadium’ and host of the JaackMaate’s Happy Hour podcast, JaackMaate! Jack lures a couple of West Ham legends to the Goals pitches of Norwich - including the man known as the Lardball and the player who once had to escape a fight at a party in his boxers. It’s obviously a side oozing with class, b...

It seemed a strained relationship from the beginning, but Lucien Favre has finally lost his job at Dortmund. Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and Lars Sivertsen are here to unpick it all on this week’s episode of On The Continent. Join us! After his sacking, we look into the cultural differences between Favre and the fevered Westfalenstadion crowd and ask whether he was ever the right fit for the club...

We're off to the Allsvenskan for today's 'Ramble Meets...' episode, as Andy is joined by former Milan, Feyenoord and Newcastle forward, Jon Dahl Tomasson! Andy catches up with Jon Dahl after training over in Malmö to discuss his storied playing career and impressive start to his time in management. From learning under the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Giovanni Trapattoni to perfecting his craft ove...

Today, Dotun and Andy are joined by Miguel Delaney to reflect on the biggest stories from around Europe. We begin with memories of the late great Paolo Rossi and his indelible impact on the 1982 World Cup. If Maradona made 1986 his, then '82 belongs to Rossi - who shaped his country’s destiny while also overcoming one of Brazil’s great teams. Everyone was talking about Ronaldo vs Messi this week:...

Today, one of English football's most recognisable figures joins us to look back on where it all began. Kate and Jim are joined on the Book Club by former Liverpool, Spurs and England midfielder turned Sky Sports pundit, Jamie Redknapp! If there's one theme that persists throughout the stories from Jamie's young life, it's tenacity. Whether staying out in the Redknapps’ garden or at Liverpool's tr...

Several Champions League groups hang delicately in the balance after the latest round of fixtures. Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and David Cartlidge are here to sift through the various runners and riders, as Real Madrid and Inter both stare down an embarrassingly early exit and Borussia Mönchengladbach look to push on. We also look over the contrasting fortunes of two European superstars, as Neyma...

In celebration of Diego Maradona’s life after his sad passing last week, this week's 'Ramble Meets...' guest is a man who knows his fascinating story better than most: esteemed filmmaker and 'Diego Maradona' director, Asif Kapadia. Asif sat down with Andy Brassell earlier this year to discuss how he came to direct this extraordinary film that documents Maradona’s pulsating relationship with Napoli...

With the sad news of Diego Maradona’s death, we begin today’s episode of On The Continent with a look back at his near-deistic relationship with Naples and its people, as well as his famed stint at Barcelona. Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and Lars Sivertsen all take a moment to also share their favourite moments from the great man’s illustrious career.    Elsewhere, Lars gives us the lowd...

Today, Dotun and Andy are joined by Nicky Bandini to bring you the biggest stories from across Europe!  After Germany’s rude awakening on Tuesday night, we ask why the national team are flagging when their domestic clubs are enjoying such success and wonder whether or not Joachim Löw should return to the old guard to get things back on track. Spain look formidable, meanwhile, and Nicky explai...

On today's episode of The Book Club, we're joined by a legend of English women's football: former Chelsea, Juventus and England striker, Eniola Aluko! Eni joins Kate and Jim in the studio to reminisce about the pivotal moments in a storied career that stretches back nearly two decades: from representing Great Britain at London 2012, to title wins in Italy and England. Eni's autobiography, 'They Do...

Craving your European football fix? Well, look no further! Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and Miguel Delaney are back for a brand new episode of On The Continent. International football brings its own unique tensions at the best of times, not least during a pandemic. We discuss the impact local restrictions have had on Italian-based players, as many try to reach their international sides’ crucial ma...

There was only one person we could send off from Haydons Road station towards the floodlights at the newly built Plough Lane in South London last week. On today’s At The Match, join Andy Brassell as he witnesses a historic moment for English football: AFC Wimbledon’s return home, after a 29-year wait. This landmark occasion was a bittersweet one, as The Dons’ first match back at the new Plough Lan...