Stay ConnectedThe Athletic’s flagship football podcast, hosted by Ayo Akinwolere and featuring the likes of David Ornstein, Phil Hay, Adam Crafton and Matt Slater will take you inside the biggest stories in football told by the best reporters in the business. We cut through the noise to tell you what’s really happening – and why it matters.
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Mark Chapman and The Athletic's Matt Slater assess the current state of football's financial landscape as the effects of the pandemic start to take a greater hold on the game.
We speak to Deloitte's Tim Bridge after the firm published their annual money league this week with Barcelona sitting at the top on revenues of £627 million, but in the very same week we've seen headlines in Spain suggesting Barca are on the bring of bankruptcy.
So how can a club that makes so much money be in so much debt? How badly have clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Spurs felt the pinch as we approach a year without fans in stadiums?
We're also joined by Roger Bell and John Purcell from football finance analysts Vysble to look at the bigger picture for football's uncertain financial future. What do the creeping levels of American investment in English football mean for the future of our game? Does it all just lead us back to the eternally looming prospect of a European super league?
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Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein and Liam Twomey to bring us the inside story of Chelsea's decision to sack Frank Lampard.
We'll detail the events that lead to the final decision being made, the problems Lampard had with some sections of a crowded dressing room, the role his relationships with the Chelsea hierarchy played, how his struggles to get Werner and Havertz playing well were viewed and how there were reservations as far back as August from not just the club but Lampard himself too.
We're also joined by our German football writer Raphael Honigstein with insight on what Lampard's replacement Thomas Tuchel will bring to Chelsea. What is he like as a coach and a personality? Is there more to it than just the fact he's a German coach? How long has he been on the club's radar?
There's also some transfer talk as we head into the last week of the window with detail on Martin Odegaard's imminent arrival at Arsenal and news of behind-the-scenes talks between Donny Van de Beek and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the Dutchman's start to life at Old Trafford continues to be overshadowed by the timely resurgence of Paul Pogba.
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Mark Chapman and The Athletic's Matt Slater are joined by two of football’s leading economic and legal minds - Daniel Geey and Stefan Szymanski - to help us ponder the question ‘should football scrap transfer fees?’
The current transfer window is moving quite slow, clubs are facing tougher financial challenges, so what if we just got rid of transfer fees and allowed players to move freely between employers like most people do in 'normal' jobs?
Is the current system technically illegal, what would be the alternative system if we chose to replace transfer fees, and can we learn anything from looking at the closed model of trades and free agency in North American sports?
All this and more considered as we try to get to the bottom of an issue that is fundamental to the game as we know it.
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Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein, Adam Crafton and Laurie Whitwell with insight and opinion on the biggest stories in football
David takes us inside the deal that has finally seen Mesut Ozil's time at Arsenal come to an end, as he heads to Turkey to sign for Fenerbahce.
We also bring you news of Chelsea's plans to step up their interest in Dortmund's Erling Haaland this summer, with the club hoping to steal a march on the likes of Man City, Man Utd and Real Madrid who were laying in wait for the Norwegian's release clause to become active in 2022.
Plus we look at the fascinating Premier League title race following the 0-0 draw between Liverpool and Manchester United on Sunday - do United consider themselves genuine title contenders for the first time in years? Have Man City got their act together at just the right time? And what's up with Liverpool at the moment?
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Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Matt Slater to look at our exclusive story on the recent Burnley takeover. Their new owners have only put in £15 million up front and the rest is leveraged debt. What does this mean and should Burnley fans be concerned?
Swansea City investor Jordan Gardener joins us to give us his considered view on the Burnley deal and context on the wider picture relating to increasing amounts of American capital investment in football.
We also speak to Spencer Owen of Hashtag United (22:40) about the increasingly difficult situation in non-league football as it appears a second consecutive season is going to be cancelled and expunged from the record books.
Spencer also gives us a fascinating insight into what it's like to have created a fully-fledged football club from scratch off the back of being a YouTube sensation and the club's ambitious vision for the future.
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Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein and Adam Crafton with news of the latest covid-induced fixture headache as Spurs v Fulham is rearranged at the last minute to replace the game Spurs were due to have against Aston Villa, and we consider the overall picture for the Premier League moving forward as cases continue to rise across the country.
There's also news of Arsenal's Rob Holding signing a new contract just months after he was heading for the exit door at the Emirates, we have detail on Tottenham's interest in Stuttgart's Nicolas Gonzalez, plus there's fallout from the Edinson Cavani disciplinary case as the Uruguayan players association continue to defend Cavani's reputation.
We also hear from The Athletic's West Brom correspondent Steve Madeley with the inside track on Matheus Pereira's situation at the Hawthorns as tension grows over his desire to sign a new and improved contract.
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Right now you can enjoy the Athletic for just £3.99 per month as part of our January sale.
Enjoy great analysis and in-depth features from the very best football writers around, as well as ad-free versions of all of our podcasts.
Just go to theathletic.com/ornsteinandchapman to sign up.
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Mark Chapman and The Athletic's Matt Slater bring you an FA Cup special as they're joined by the CEO of Marine AFC, James Leary, ahead of their huge 3rd round tie against Tottenham on Sunday.
It's a game that will see their players furloughed if they don't stay in the competition, it's a game that has changed the future of this 8th-tier club forever, and we speak to James to find out exactly what it is like to be running a non-league club part-time in the midst of a global pandemic and deal with the challenge of facing a Premier League team.
Newport County are a club who know a thing or two about causing an FA Cup shock in recent seasons and ahead of their game against Brighton we are joined by chairman Gavin Foxall, a man who has a lot to say about the difficulties of the last year, his hope for the future and the importance of clubs to their communities.
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Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein & Adam Crafton to discuss the uncertainty surrounding Frank Lampard's future at Chelsea after their poor run of form continued with a heavy defeat to Manchester City on Sunday
The Athletic's Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey has all the detail on Lampard's status, the mood in the dressing room and the news that the club have begun looking at replacements.
We also get the latest from David on how the January transfer window is shaping up with news of Arsenal's interest in Julian Brandt, plus insight on Dele Alli's situation at Spurs and the links with PSG, and much more.
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In this week's Business of Sport podcast The Athletic's Matt Slater speaks to one of the men hoping to be the next president of FC Barcelona, Victor Font.
Victor sells us his vision for the club and explains why he should be the man to lead Barca back to the summit of European and world football. He also gives us his views on the importance of keeping Messi, whether he wants to bring Xavi back to the club and his thoughts on a European super league.
We're also joined by The Athletic's Dermot Corrigan to unpick Victor's interview and give us the lowdown on the wider picture around the race for the Barcelona presidency.
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The Athletic's David Ornstein joins Mark Chapman with an update on Arsenal's January transfer plans and has more detail on the mood within the club after another chastening Premier League defeat.
We're also joined by our Liverpool writer Simon Hughes with information on Mohammed Salah's future at Anfield after the normally tight-lipped Egyptian gave an interview to the Spanish press last week, is this a public fluttering of eyes at Barcelona and Real Madrid or an attempt to nudge Liverpool into giving him a new contract?
And there's been another head coach sacked at Watford so we speak to Adam Leventhal for the inside story on Vladimir Ivic's departure and the arrival of Xisco Munoz.
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