The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to tell us what Chelsea can expect from Thomas Tuchel, the tactical chameleon.We'll study his career to date starting with his first job causing a scene at Mainz, his first big gig at Dortmund where he pushed Bayern close but not close enough and then on to PSG who he guided to the Champions League final last season.There's a look at how Pep and Klopp influence his tactical style to differing extents, his preference for using his players in a variety of different roles, his knack for getting the best out of his strikers, and of course the big question is what he'll do with his under performing compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to assess the legacy that Mesut Ozil leaves behind at Arsenal as his seven and half year spell at the Emirates comes to an end.We remember the excitement which greeted his arrival, the way Arsene Wenger had to adjust to fit him in to a playmaker-laden squad, and of course all those assists.There's also plenty of discussion of how it all unravelled for Ozil at Arsenal, when and why did his numbers start to decline? Should he have lead the team to the title in 2015/16? Why didn't Emery or Arteta ever really trust him?All this plus further reminiscing on his career pre-Arsenal and a look at what could be in store for him in Turkey as he gets set to join Fenerbahce Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to bring you the definitive guide to the many, many roles and positions you may find in midfield.What's the difference between a 6 and an 8? What makes a true holding midfielder and is it different to the 'Makelele role'? Why do Argentineans love no.5s so much? What's the difference between an Enganche and a Trequarista? And what on earth is a shuttler?All these questions and more answered as the ZM pod goes box-to-box for the next fifty-five minutesSubscribe to The AthleticRight 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/zonalmarking to sign up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to explain what's going wrong with Frank Lampard's out-of-form Chelsea side from a tactical point of view.Why have they struggled to beat anyone above them? Why are they so easy to pass through? Is it all down to poor finishing from Werner and bad goalkeeping at the other end? What would be the ideal midfield with the players they have? What's the best role for Werner and Kai Havertz?These are just some of the questions being asked of Lampard at the moment and we've studied the data and the footage to deliver the answers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell round off 2020 by looking at all 20 Premier League teams and picking at least one interesting stat, observation or quirk for each of them.You'll find out which team has taken the most throw-ins, the player has had zero touches of the ball in his own penalty area, which team is best at 'winning' offsides, and how about the team who have scored the most goals from outside the box but taken the second-most touches in it?All these and loads more statistical curiosities you never thought you needed to know, until now... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Big Sam really just a boring long ball merchant? The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell gather to look at the stats, the data and the evidence from Sam Allardyce's career in the aim of answering that very question.From his days as a pioneer of Pro-Zone at Bolton, to 'out-tacticing' Jose Mourinho with West Ham, through to his more recent great escapes with Sunderland and Crystal Palace, whatever you think of Big Sam there is certainly a bit more to him than the caricature suggests.All this plus a look at the situation facing him at his new club West Brom as they sit 19th in the Premier League having won just once this season but crucially still only five points from safety.Give the gift of The Athletic this ChristmasSubscribe to The Athletic and get a second subscription for free to give to someone as a giftHead to theathletic.com/fplpod to take advantage of this offer now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Ali Maxwell are joined by our women's football writer Katie Whyatt to look at why Arsenal are struggling in the big WSL games this season after they lost to Manchester City at the weekend, a result which followed up failures to win against Manchester United and Chelsea earlier in the season.We look at how manager Joe Montemurro is responding to increased scrutiny in the face of these disappointing resultsThere's also a look at the WSL more generally as we assess the credentials of the other title challengers which include Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Mikel Arteta recently referred to Arsenal putting in 33 crosses in one game as "pure maths" it piqued the interest of The Athletic's resident analytical gurus Michael Cox and Tom Worville - what could Mikel mean by such a phrase and is this really a good idea?The pair join Ali Maxwell this week to look at why Arsenal have recently become obsessed with slinging the ball into the mixer and to take a broader look at the various problems besetting Arteta's side at the moment as they find themselves in 15th place in the Premier League after 11 games.We also get an informed take from Worville on Dominik Szoboszlai who has been heavily linked with the Gunners and it sounds like he could be just the player Arteta needs to breathe some much-needed creativity back into midfield.Subscribe to The AthleticSubscribe to The Athletic for access to all of Michael and Tom's brilliant writing as well as this podcast advert free - and right now if you sign up you get a second subscription to gift for freeHead to theathletic.com/zonalmarkingExclusive Virgin Wines DealFor this weeks partnership go to www.virginwines.co.uk/theathletic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell take an almighty leap into the stats to work out what sort of player Cristiano Ronaldo is right now in 2020 as a 35-year-old at Juventus.We know his game has changed dramatically since his early days coming through as a brilliant dribbler and speed merchant at Manchester United, and the assumption is that he's even changed quite a bit since his days as a ruthless goal machine at Real Madrid, but if you look at the numbers it seems that there may well be a bit more variety to Ronaldo's game since he's gone to Serie A than you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell are back with another tactical masterclass, this week casting their eye on some of the more unconventional roles and positions we've seen a host of players taking up this season in the Premier League and beyond.Has Nuno turned Wily Boly and Max Kilman into the first ever pair of inverted-centre backs? Pep Guardiola loves to conjure up interesting roles for his players and Joao Cancelo has gone from conventional right-back to what we're calling half-back over on the left.There's also a look at the roles Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg are playing at Spurs dropping into the defence and doubling up out wide, and at Arsenal there's the ever versatile Bukayo Saka who's been playing almost everywhere.Michael and Tom give you their considered verdict on all of the above while Ali witters on about funky full-backs and Stuart Dallas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices