Football Between The Lines

We start with Spurs and quickly ask a bigger question. When football gets this dull, what are fans meant to cling to? We talk Thomas Frank, clean sheets that feel joyless, away ends singing old songs to stay sane, and whether pragmatism has gone too far. From Spurs to Chelsea’s chaos, Liam Rosenior rumours, Brennan Johnson, Sunderland’s madness and why xG both explains everything and nothing, this one turns into a proper chat about what football is meant to give us, and why so often it doesn’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re back after Christmas and Dan’s had the full festive experience: Palace losing, kids being sick everywhere, and the dreaded norovirus tidal wave arriving mid Christmas dinner. Lovely stuff. Then we get into a game of football that neither of us ever wants to think about again, VAR and the weird delayed offside stuff, and why Thomas Frank still isn’t winning Spurs fans over. After that it’s Brennan Johnson to Palace rumours, Calvert-Lewin suddenly turning into a six-yard assassin, Villa refusing to go away, and a proper listener message about teaching your kids what supporting Palace actually means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We try to do the grown-up referee chat and still end up saying John Brooks had an absolute mare, even while admitting Spurs deserved the two reds. Then we get into why this Premier League season feels properly weird, why Villa have to be taken seriously in the title race, and why West Ham look like they’re sleepwalking into a relegation scrap. There’s also a bit on Dele Alli and how quickly it can all unravel, plus a proper chat about matchgoing fans versus global fans and why it does not have to be one or the other. We round it off with festive comments, Celtic’s magnet-gate, and Dan taking his six-year-old to Leeds away for a 4-1, which is either elite parenting or a safeguarding issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve got the most chaotic story of the year from AFCON as Cameroon somehow end up with two managers and two squads, with Samuel Eto’o doing Samuel Eto’o things. Then we get into Celtic’s absolute meltdown, the Venn diagram tweet drama, and Dundee United piling in with elite trolling. From there it’s fixture congestion, the Club World Cup injury bill, and why football and politics can’t be separated no matter how much we’d like them to be. Plus: a Christmas campaign that actually matters, a wholesome tech story from Selhurst, and we launch the movement the world needs… #GiveTheKidsAJacket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re back and Dan’s fresh off Dublin with approximately 45 pints of Guinness in his system, so naturally we start with European away days and end up in some properly dark places. We talk Arsenal grinding past Wolves, City doing City things, the Carragher vs Rio nonsense, and the weird Salah situation. Then we get into the grim bit: Spurs getting bullied again, why the midfield feels so soft, and why the fanbase is already swinging hard against Thomas Frank (the poll numbers are mad). We also hit Sunderland finally doing Newcastle, proper end-game shithousery, and a big question: do Spurs fans overrate the squad and who actually gets into a top six side. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices