The Athletic FC Podcast
@theathleticfcpodcast · Podcast
Latest segments
- Carrick stays for Chelsea, 2026-10-30
Weighs Carrick's future and the sales ledger
Weighs whether Carrick lasts to the international break and expects Bruno Fernandes back against Chelsea after clear-the-air talks. Tharme's contribution is the recruitment ledger: no sale above 50 million euros since Lukaku in 2019, against roughly 15 or 16 buys at 50 million pounds or more. - Como rout United 4-1, 2026-10-30
Breaks down the collapse with expected goals
Tactical breakdown of United's collapse, using clips from the Como and Atletico games to show the half-press being played through. Adds the underlying numbers: eight straight games without a win and eight straight games outshot on expected goals. - Carrick stays for Chelsea, 2026-10-30
Reports Carrick staying and the dressing-room mood
Reports Carrick staying for the Saturday early kickoff at Chelsea, then hands to Rob Green on dressing-room energy. Green's radiator-versus-energy-sucker framing lands on Bruno Fernandes as exhausted from dragging the team along. Reaction and analogy, no new development. - Liverpool 2-0 Brighton, 2026-10-30
Breaks down Liverpool's fouls-high shift
Breaks down Liverpool's stylistic shift under Iraola using a fouls-high-up-the-pitch table: third from bottom last season, third this season. Alisson went long far more against Brighton, and the panel reads the Brighton win as the clearest example of the new aggression. - Fleetwood Town stun Arsenal, 2026-10-30
Recaps the Fleetwood upset tactically
Breaks down the Fleetwood upset tactically: the 5-4-1, the 26-3 shot count, the 14-5 foul count, Dalman's red card and Arsenal's wastefulness against a low block. A detailed retelling that stays inside the result already on the record. - Carrick stays for Chelsea, 2026-10-28
Plays Twomey's case for Conte and stick-or-twist picks
Plays Liam Twomey's case for Antonio Conte as the man to break United's structure, then runs the panel's stick-or-twist picks: Emery if available, Eddie Howe as the realistic twist, and a wait on the Chelsea game. Speculation and reaction, no new development. - Carrick stays for Chelsea, 2026-10-28
Reacts to Carrick keeping the job for Chelsea
Reacts to the news that Carrick keeps the job for Chelsea, then works through the Bruno Fernandes dispute, the mismatched squad and the fixture run. It stays inside the reported decision and the pundits' read of it. - Kane wins Ballon d'Or, 2026-10-27
Recounts the room's shock and Mbappe's near miss
Reconstructs the room's shock when Ronaldo read Kane's name, then follows Mbappe's career from Monaco to Real Madrid and asks whether his window is closing. The ranking behind Kane is the new material. - Kane wins Ballon d'Or, 2026-10-27
Walks through the speech and the German reaction
Walks through Kane's acceptance speech - the roll call of coaches, the crack in his voice at Spurs - and then turns to the German reaction, noting the country's suspicion of individual awards and the drought Kane ends there. - Kane wins Ballon d'Or, 2026-10-27
Adds the 81 involvements and the treble
Reaction segment on Kane's win that puts a fuller season line on the record: 81 goal involvements across all competitions and a domestic treble in Germany. Bull credits the long Premier League record and argues leaving Spurs for Bayern is what made Kane read as a superstar, then mocks the ceremony's Oscar-style staging. - Kane wins Ballon d'Or, 2026-10-27
Recalls watching highlights with Kane
Horncastle recounts sitting with Kane to watch season highlights while Kane explained his positioning, shooting technique and movement in the box. A first-hand portrait of the winner, but it adds no development to the award itself. - Kane wins Ballon d'Or, 2026-10-27
Reports the red carpet and backstage scenes
First-hand colour from the London Palladium: the red carpet crush at Oxford Circus, the late-running show, Lamine Yamal's Chanel outfit and the backstage press conferences with Putellas and Kane. A scene piece that stays inside the ceremony already on the record. - Spurs win at Stamford Bridge, 2026-10-26
Breaks down Palmer's red and what follows
Turns to the fallout from the Stamford Bridge win: Cole Palmer's red card for reacting to a Mateus Fernandes foul, Chelsea's ninth since last season, and Twomey's read that it was out of character. Then looks ahead to Liverpool in the cup and United on Saturday. - Spurs win at Stamford Bridge, 2026-10-26
Details team news and Alonso's press plan
Opens with the team news - João Pedro out of Chelsea's squad - and works through Alonso's plan to cede the ball and press, Penders' mistake, and the late substitutions. Rob Green calls Spurs' control at Stamford Bridge 'clockwork'. - Bournemouth rout United, 2026-10-26
Contrasts Bournemouth's continuity with United's chaos
Uses Bournemouth's 3-0 win as a lens on the club's continuity and squad building - beating AC Milan and United in the same week, the 5-1 at Stamford Bridge, Marco Rose's calm - and contrasts it with United's instability. Analysis and context, not a new development. - Bournemouth rout United, 2026-10-26
Questions Carrick's benching of Bruno Fernandes
Picks apart Carrick's benching of Bruno Fernandes and his post-match line that he did not expect the fans' support. Reads the Old Trafford reaction as a deliberate turn against the hierarchy rather than the manager, and notes he named former players, not himself, when talking about standards. - Bournemouth rout United, 2026-10-26
Dissects the defensive errors behind the rout
Tactical post-mortem of the Bournemouth defeat: the defensive line unorganised for the first goal, Heaven's loose pass, Yoro's slip, Lammens's error. Reads the performance as fear and missing on-pitch leadership, staying inside the result already on the record. - Bournemouth rout United, 2026-10-26
Reports the Stretford End chants and Monday arrivals
Reports from the Stretford End on the mood at full time: fans sang for Carrick, booed the players once he reached the tunnel, and chanted against the Glazers, Ratcliffe and Wilcox by name. Adds that Carrick and Wilcox both arrived at Carrington on Monday morning. - Bournemouth rout United, 2026-10-26
Frames the loss as another United crisis
Opens the episode on Bournemouth's 3-0 win at Old Trafford and frames it as another Manchester United crisis, with Carrick's future hanging by a thread after two wins in 12. Sets up the question of whether sacking him solves anything. - Como rout United 4-1, 2026-10-22
Adds Martinez's earlier criticism of Wilcox
Widens the Fernandes outburst into a culture story, noting Lisandro Martinez had criticised Jason Wilcox a week earlier, and weighs Carrick's record, squad depth and a Europe-only pre-season. The new fact is the earlier player outburst.