The Athletic FC Podcast

Ayo Akinwolere is joined by Danny Donachie former Head of Medical Services at Everton, ex-Arsenal midfielder Adrian Clarke & The Athletic’s Oli Kay to discuss how elite footballers are facing the threat of injury and burnout in the ever expanding football calendar The panel discuss the huge demands on stars like Bukayo Saka, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe playing much more than similar players of previous generations yet continue to deliver on the world stage…So what can be done to improve welfare and demands on players and will they really need to take action and stop playing to be listened to?   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ayo Akinwolere is joined by Manchester United writers Andy Mitten and Mark Critchley to explore Marcus Rashford's 'streaky' goalscoring form and the weight of expectation on him at Man United...How does Erik ten Hag get Rashford back to his best, and could the budding partnership with new striker Rasmus Hojlund be the key?And after one-time United winger Wilfried Zaha returned to haunt them in the Champions League on Tuesday - why didn't it work out for him at Old Trafford?Produced by Adonis PratsidesAdditional Production: Mike StavrouExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ayo Akinwolere is joined by The Athletic’s George Caulkin and French football writer Tom Williams to explore some intriguing parallels between the state-backed 'projects' at both Newcastle & PSG - ahead of their hotly anticipated clash in the Champions League...Have Newcastle actually learnt from PSG’s mistakes, and, after turning over a new leaf under Luis Enrique - are PSG actually trying to be a bit more like Newcastle?Produced by Adonis PratsidesAdditional Production: Mike StavrouExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Pearce and Oli Kay are alongside Ayo Akinwolere to react to Liverpool's VAR-impacted defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.Both the PGMOL and Liverpool have issued statements following Luis Diaz's first half 'offside' effort not being overturned by VAR, with the panel dissecting events around the mistake made at Stockley Park.Plus, there's analysis of the Reds' start to the season who despite seeing their 17-game unbeaten run ended possess one of the league's most devastating attacking line-ups as well as remodelling their midfield during the summer transfer window.Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Leventhal hosts Caoimhe O'Neill, Nick Miller, and Tim Spiers as they look ahead to match day seven of the Premier League.One game stands out among the rest: Tottenham vs Liverpool. With both teams unbeaten so far this season, we ask where the improvement in both squads has come from, and what kind of match it will produce.We also take a whistle-stop tour around some of the other fixtures, with Man United facing Crystal Palace for the second time this week, the champion’s Man City away to Wolves, and can Everton make it three wins in a row versus Luton?***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roberto Calenda, the agent of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, has threaten the club with legal action for mocking the striker on TikTok.James Horncastle and Carl Anka join Ayo Akinwolere to dissect and debate the fallout and analyse the impact the social gaff could have for one of Napoli's most prized assets.With his contract set to end it's final year in the summer, could this incident mark the beginning of the end for Osimhen's time in Naples?Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ayo is joined by The Athletic's Carl Anka and Simon Hughes, plus Chief football writer for Dutch newspaper AD Sjoerd Mossou, to explain how Ajax imploded - after the ugly scenes on Sunday that led to 'De Klassieker' being abandoned...The panel discuss the power vacuum left by Marc Overmars, Edwin van der Sar and former manager Erik ten Hag, and how far the club has fallen from that run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.Also, what role the former Arsenal and Dortmund transfer chief Sven Mislintat has played in this summer's chaos, as Ajax, like so many of Europe's legacy clubs, have been plunged into an 'identity crisis' of their own.Produced by Adonis PratsidesAdditional Production: Jay BealeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Rodri's red card at the weekend, Pep's Manchester City will have to find a way to cope without the most reliable player in the Premier League... But is he more than that?With the trip to Arsenal looming, Ayo is joined by City writers Sam Lee and Mark Critchley, to talk about how the Spaniard became the lynchpin of Pep’s all-conquering champions, a sliding doors moment for Kalvin Phillips and how the best 'problem-solvers' in football might try to adapt to this temporary set-back.Produced by Adonis Pratsides & Jay BealeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Ornstein and Art De Roche are alongside Ayo Akinwolere following Arsenal's 2-2 draw in the North London Derby at home to Tottenham Hotspur.Within the game, Gabriel Jesus missed a presentable chance to put the Gunners 2-0 up in the first half while Eddie Nketiah also drew attention later in the game too, for Mikel Arteta's men, leading to debate around whether or not Arsenal possess the firepower needed to mount a Premier League title challenge.As well as the panel getting stuck into the debate, Mark Carey also drops in to dive into the data regarding Arsenal's attacking output.Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Leventhal welcomes a packed studio to preview this weekend's biggest clash: Arsenal vs Spurs plus David Ornstein pops up to bring us exclusive details on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard's bumper new contract.In the red corner, Jay Harris and Jordan Campbell represent the Arsenal side of things, while in white we have Tim Spiers and Alex Kay-Jelski. Who will emerge victorious, both in the studio and on the pitch? And as a cherry on top of the cake.To finish the episode we also hear briefly from Spanish football expert Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero on the upcoming Madrid derby. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.