Football Today

Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

‘Thumbscrew’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Donnalee’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Rambling’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘The Poplar Grove’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Peacetime’ by Blue Dot Sessions

Clips Used: BT Sport

The Return of Leon Bailey and Bayer Leverkusen Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

From the outside this year looked like it was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Bayer Leverkusen. After losing star-player Kai Havertz and narrowly missing out on the Champions League, Leverkusen could have easily taken a step back. Instead, they’re flying high. Despite a 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich on Saturday, Leverkusen sit in 2nd place just 2 points behind Bayern as they head into Germany's winter break. Today we ask, why are Bayer Leverkusen even better than they were last season? Guest: Chris Williams (@chris78williams) is a Bundesliga journalist and DFL world feed co-commentator

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

‘Thread of Cloud’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘McCarthy’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Soothe’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Pastel de Nata’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Santo Apure’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Guinea’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Peacetime’ by Blue Dot Sessions

Clips Used: BT Sport, Bundesliga, ESPN, Bein Sports

Do We Still Need the Ballon d'Or? Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Back in 1956, Gabriel Hanot - the chief football writer for the magazine France Football - asked colleagues from across Europe to vote for their player of the year.

By the time the numbers had been counted up, Blackpool’s Stanley Matthews had narrowly beaten Real Madrid’s Alfredo Di Stefano by three votes.

Fast forward 70 years and that award, the Ballon d’Or, is still celebrated year on year, voted for by journalists from around the world.

But with the Coronavirus pandemic raging on, the 2020 iteration of the Ballon d’Or has been cancelled.

Without the glitz and glamour of the awards ceremony to dazzle us, in this episode, we ask: do we still need the Ballon d’Or in 2020?

Guest:

Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) is a football journalist who can be found on Bleacher Report and the Ranks FC podcast.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

Cicle Gerano by Cicle Kadde

Careless Morning by Glacier Quartet

The Green Room by Warmbody

Izeah by Moon Juice

Hickory Shed by Onesuch Village

Veins of Silver by Marble Run

Peacetime by TinyTiny Trio

Under Review: Football’s Relationship with Gambling Dec 14, 2020

Show notes

In the 2002-2003 season, Fulham became the first team to be sponsored by a betting company (Betfair). Last season, half the Premier League had betting sponsors on the front of their shirts.

Gambling and football's relationship is as strong as ever.

However, change is on the horizon. Last week, the UK government's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport began collecting evidence for its review on gambling laws.

Today we ask, what’s is football's relationship with gambling and what reform is necessary? Guest: Rob Davies (@ByRobDavies) is a Business Reporter for the Guardian where he covers gambling, alcohol, tobacco and secondary ticketing. Dr. Steve Sharman (@stevesharman81) is a Research Fellow for the National Addiction Centre and King's College London.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

‘Gra Hovedvoi’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Trod Along’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Are We Loose Yet’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘True Blue Sky’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Capering’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘The Consulate’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Peacetime’ by Blue Dot Sessions

Clips Used: BT Sport, Sky Sports

Chris Sutton on Football's Battle with Dementia Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

A recent study from the Mail on Sunday found almost half of the players from the 1965-66 season in England who’ve died since did so because of a neurodegenerative disease like dementia or Alzheimer’s.

This year, the sheer scale of football’s dementia problem has slowly reared its head, with name after name of players from that era either passing away with dementia or revealing they’d been diagnosed with it.

In November, Bobby Charlton, one of the famous faces from that very World Cup-winning team, revealed he too had dementia. He lost his brother Jack in the summer, and teammate Nobby Stiles just weeks ago - both of which also had the disease.

Former Premier League winner Chris Sutton is now the face of Daily Mail campaign aiming to get the FA, and Players union the PFA, to put more effort into addressing the problem. His father Mike Sutton also has dementia and played in that same 1966 season as a midfielder for Norwich.

In this episode, we ask: What more can UK authorities do to tackle dementia in football?

Guest: Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) is a football pundit who appears on BT Sport and BBC Radio 5 Live - among many other places.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

‘Wax Paper Jewel’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Felt Lining’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Waterbourne’ by Blue Dot Sessions

Why Injuries Are On The Rise Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

It seems it’s almost impossible to watch and discuss a game without talking about the injury status of both teams. Players are dropping like flies. While injury statistics are hard to track according to the website PremierInjuries.com, injuries in the Premier League are up by more than 20% compared to last season. Today we ask, why are injuries on the rise and how are clubs coping with them? Guest: Dave Carolan (@davecarolan) is a Performance Coach for Millwall FC and has previously worked at Stoke City, Derby and Birmingham City.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

‘Our Digital Compass’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Waypost’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Walking Shoes’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Boston Landing’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Thumbscrew’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Peacetime’ by Blue Dot Sessions

Clips Used: BT Sport, Sky Sports

Why Have FIFA Suspended Ahmad Ahmad? Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

When Gianni Infantino ran for FIFA President in 2016, he ran on an anti-corruption ticket.

Looking to succeed Sepp Blatter, this approach was hardly surprising. The problem is… the claims of corruption just haven’t gone away.

The most recent FIFA representative under scrutiny is the President of the Confederation of African Football, Ahmad Ahmad, who, earlier this month, was suspended for 5 years by FIFA.

In this episode, we ask: Why has Ahmad Ahmad been suspended by FIFA? And why doesn’t the corruption go away?

Guest:

Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) is the England Correspondent for France Football.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

Our Only Lark by Bitters

Parissi by Marisala

Periodicals by Albany, NY

The Green Room by Warmbody

Peacetime by TinyTiny Trio

Wrexham AFC: The Gang Buy a Football Club Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

Sometimes in football you get a moment or a story that seems like it was taken out of a Hollywood script. With Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenny's recent takeover of Wrexham, the roles are being reversed. Now, Hollywood is ready to call the shots in football. Today we ask, why are Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElneny really buying Wrexham?

Guest:

Will Magee (@W_F_Magee) is a freelance journalist who has worked for Vice, the Mirror, and the i newspaper. For more information on Wrexham’s takeover, I recommend his recent article for Vice.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

‘Via Verre’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Copley Beat’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Donder’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Vernouillet’ by Blue Dot Sessions

‘Peacetime’ by Blue Dot Sessions

Clips Used: The Colbert Show, The Emirates FA Cup, Wrexham AFC Twitter, Sky Sports, NBCSN

Will Mediapro's Row with Ligue 1 Change the Future of Broadcasting Rights? Nov 26, 2020

Show notes

Ligue 1, France’s top footballing division, is widely considered to be the worst of the top five leagues in Europe. The league’s management, though, have been working hard to change this.

One avenue open to leagues looking to improve their profile is increasing their broadcast revenue. In 2018, Ligue 1 did this by moving from Canal+ to Mediapro as the leading rights holder for the league.

In October, though, Mediapro failed to produce a scheduled 172 million Euro payment to the league, throwing French football into turmoil.

In this episode, we ask: what impact will Mediapro’s row with Ligue 1 have on the broadcast rights market?

Guest:

Murad Ahmed (@muradahmed) is the sports editor of the Financial Times.

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Music:

The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions.

Nesting by Origami

Cabernet by Cafe Nostro

Drizzle by Cafe Nostro

Min by Sketchbook 2

Highride Chrome by Truck Stop

Relay 7 by Marble Run

Unpacking the Premier League's Proposal for Post-Brexit Transfers Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Last year, on October first, the UK’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, addressed hundreds of Tories at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, but she might as well have been standing in the halfway circle addressing thousands at Old Trafford, Anfield or Stamford Bridge.

Fast forward to this month and English football has its own immigration point-based system. Due to Brexit, freedom of movement with European players has officially ended.

As a result, the Football Association and the Premier League have been forced to agree on new rules regarding non-homegrown players. It is one of the biggest reforms to the English transfer system in years.

Today we break down the new points system and ask, what does it mean for English football?

Guests:

Mike Keegan (@mikekeegan_DM) is a Sports News Correspondent for the Daily Mail and is the Editor of the Sports Agenda column.

Tim Wigmore (@TimWigmore) is a sports journalist for The Telegraph and author of the recent book, The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made

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