The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

The Athletic's Michael Cox joins Ali Maxwell to assess what has been a goal-tastic start to the season in the Premier League as we head into the international break.They look at the numbers and the tactics to try and understand why there have been so many goals, high-scoring games and a distinct lack of 0-0 draws in the opening weeks of the season.Sign up to The Athletic now for just £1-a-month and get access to Michael Cox's unrivalled tactical analysis of the Premier League, Champions League and beyond. Just head to theathletic.com/zonalmarking Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox and James Horncastle join Ali Maxwell for an in-depth look at one of the most iconic clubs in world football: AC Milan.Taking the lead from James recent behind-the-scenes piece on the club we cast our eye back through the history books to examine the great sides and coaches that built the legend, before examining the past decade of disappointment, and finally looking at whether the present day set-up is poised to bring restore the Rossoneri to its former glory as they prepare to move away from the famous San Siro.Subscribe to The Athletic to read James Horncastle's deep dive into AC Milan and his unrivalled coverage of Serie A just head to theathletic.com/zonalmarking to sign up for just £1-a-month Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to profile every Premier League squad by average age, depth of quality and numerous other quirks along the way.Who is well-stocked across the pitch? Who are the unsung players who could have good seasons? Who could yet dip into the market for a bit more depth? All this and more answered in this week's ZM pod. Subscribe to The Athletic for access to Michael Cox and Tom Worville's unrivalled tactical & technical analysis including the piece this pod was based on: https://theathletic.com/2059611/2020/09/12/leeds-are-youngest-burnley-the-oldest-every-premier-league-squads-age-profile/Head to theathletic.com/zonalmarking to sign up for just £1 a month Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right now we're offering listeners of this show the opportunity to try out The Athletic for just £1 a monthYou can enjoy all of Michael's great tactical analysis, including a recent article on how Bielsa's Leeds approached their first game back in the Premier League and another looking at why Chelsea repeatedly went route-one against BrightonJust go to theathletic.com/zonalmarking to sign up for just £1 a month Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right now we're offering listeners of this show the opportunity to try out The Athletic for FREE. You can enjoy all of Michael's great tactical analysis, including a recent article on how Pep's decision to field a 'Mourinho Team', saw City crash out of the Champions League to Lyon.Just go to www.theathletic.com/zonalmarking to sign up for a 30 Day Free Trial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right now we're offering listeners of this show the opportunity to try out The Athletic for FREE. You can enjoy all of Michael's great tactical analysis, including a recent article on how Pep's decision to field a 'Mourinho Team', saw City crash out of the Champions League to Lyon.Just go to www.theathletic.com/zonalmarking to sign up for a 30 Day Free Trial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up to The Athletic now for access to Michael Cox's tactical musings and Tom Worville's statistical masterpieces - including recent pieces breaking down the tactics that lead Arteta's Arsenal to triumph over Chelsea in the FA Cup final and why ball retention actually does matter a lot more than you may thinkHead to theathletic.com/zonalmarking for a 30-day free trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein, James Horncastle and Dermot Corrigan join Ali Maxwell for a comprehensive look ahead to the return of the Champions League - looking at every single game on the schedule and all the potential storylines that could emerge from this truncated single-leg knockout format. It promises to be a furious festival of elite football and we've got every angle covered.We also dive into the Europa League with teams like Manchester United, Wolves, Inter, https://dashboard.simplecast.com/shows/ba079c3d-1cf0-42ea-9801-64f6137198c0/episodes/theathletic.com/steilcastpodRoma, Sevilla, Getafe and Leverkusen all still in the mix there is plenty to look forward to in that competition too.Sign up to The Athletic now for Honigstein, Horncastle and Corrigan's unrivalled Champions League & Europa League coverage - head to theathletic.com/zonalmarking for a 30 day free trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There were seven managerial changes in the Premier League last season, three of them at Watford, but did Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham, Everton and the Hornets make the right calls in sacking their managers?   The Athletic's Michael Cox joins Ali Maxwell to evaluate those decisions, to look at what's happened since the likes of Mourinho, Arteta, Moyes and Ancelotti took over at their respective clubs, and also to look at what lead to the departures of Pochettino, Emery, Pellegrini and Marco Silva. We're also joined by The Athletic's Watford correspondent Adam Leventhal to examine the chaotic season at Vicarage Road which started with Javi Gracia in the dugout, saw Quique Sanchez Flores return, only for him to be replaced by Nigel Pearson who then himself got the boot with two games still to play.Sign up to The Athletic for access to Michael Cox's unrivalled coverage of football tactics and trends - head to theathletic.com/zonalmarking for a 30-day free trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox joins Ali Maxwell for a look at the tactical increasingly fashionable trend of playing a back three this season after Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea all used the system last weekend in the FA Cup semi-finals.13 of the 20 Premier League sides have tried a three-man defence at some point this season, some like Sheffield Utd and Wolves have used it in different ways but to great success, and others like West Ham and Southampton found it more difficult, so we examine the philosophy, the type of players and the tactics required to make a back three work.Elsewhere Ali takes us down into the EFL with details of a spectacularly successful 3-6-1 system at Coventry and a League Two which is overflowing with three-man defences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.