The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

This week, we’re focusing on the promoted sides in the Premier League. Where are their structural shortcomings, what is the plan that secures survival and is it now harder than ever to achieve it?Host: Michael BaileyWith: Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam TharmeProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seb Stafford-Bloor, a tactical writer for The Athletic, dives into the Bundesliga rivalry between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, exploring the coaching styles of Xabi Alonso and Vincent Kompany. The discussion questions whether managers truly need star players to achieve success. Delve into the tactical evolution behind Leverkusen's unbeaten streak and Bayern's recent challenges. Examine the complexities of player roles and team strategies, showcasing how effective management can thrive even without a roster of elite talent.

This week, we bring you our first, long-awaited listener mailbag! You’ve been sending in some excellent questions and ideas since we came back for the new season — and now is the time for us to discuss them! So, the topics on today’s agenda include: Angeball 2.0, the new No.10 role and tactical revolutions at smaller clubs.Host: Michael BaileyWith: Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme Producer: Mike Stavrouhttps://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5793283/2024/09/26/premier-league-takeaways-five-games/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re focusing on the world of football data and whether it’s had the profound impact on the game — on and off the pitch — that everyone thinks it has.So, has data actually changed football?Host: Michael BaileyWith: Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme Producer: Mike Stavrouhttps://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5756088/2024/09/11/how-has-data-changed-football/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5697684/2024/09/03/football-analytics-uk-evolution/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Michael Cox’s excellent article on the evolution of Mohamed Salah into a creative force got our minds whirring.How do elite players alter their style and approach, as they reach the latter stages of their careers?Host: Michael BaileyWith: Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Ahmed WalidProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Cox is a revered football tactics writer, while Mark Carey and Liam Tharme are experts in tactics and data analysis at The Athletic. Together, they dive into the chaos of Chelsea's squad building, discussing the crucial balance between player versatility and depth. The trio highlights the evolving strategies in football recruitment, emphasizing the role of stats and AI. Additionally, they examine the vital impact of youth academies and the integration of under-21 players in creating competitive Premier League teams.

One week into 2024/25, we’re attempting to circumnavigate the knee-jerk and catch the tactical teething problems.We look at how the top teams fared and what transfers are still needed, plus various Premier League strikers.Host: Michael Bailey With: Michael Cox, Thom Harris and Liam Tharme Producer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s part two of our own Premier League preview ahead of the 2024-25 season — where we look at the tactical conundrums facing each team in the English top flight.Last week, our groupings were… title contenders, dark horses and surprise packages. If you don’t know who we shoehorned into each of those, then go have a listen back.This week we have… European hopefuls, relegation candidates and the best of the rest.Host: Michael BaileyWith: Mark Carey, Michael Cox and Thom HarrisProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this first episode of the new season, we are previewing the upcoming 2024/2025 Premier League campaign - with a particular focus on the tactical conundrums facing each team.We’ll split this into two parts - covering 10 teams this week and the rest on our next show.This week, we look at the title contenders, dark horses and surprise packages.Host: Michael BaileyWith: Mark Carey, Duncan Alexander and Thom HarrisProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, The Athletic’s Michael Cox, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme join Ali Maxwell to talk about why this Premier League season has had an unbelievable number of goals.The number of goals being scored in the top division of English men’s football is at its highest rate since the 1960s.But what has caused this?Are goalkeepers not as good as they used to be at keeping the ball out of the net?What has VAR done to the game in the context of goals given or denied?And are players shooting more and better? This and much, much more on the final Tactics podcast of the 23/24 season.Hosted by: Ali MaxwellWith: Michael Cox, Mark Carey & Liam Tharme Produced by: Steve Hankey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.