The Double Pivot: Soccer analysis, analytics, and commentary

As a Spurs fan, Caley can't stand idly by while his team considers bringing in a player with a questionable past. He and Goodman talk through the issue before turning their attention to Manchester City vs. Everton and Chelsea vs. Spurs, two matches that contained far less sense than they should have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

The two clubs from Manchester are clearly going to battle it out for the Premier League's greatest prize, while every other team is a roaring trash fire. We might as well end the season now. The two Mikes discuss whether last week's results fell in line with their expectations for the clubs involved before turning their attention to the rest of Europe, and specifically whether anyone will challenge Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus or Bayern Munich for domestic titles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

Ever wonder which players the analytics guys will ride or die for? You're about to find out. The two Mikes pick their own side of analytics wizards to keep an eye on this season, including players like Kelechi Iheanacho, Ryan Sessegnon and...Dwight Gayle???? Yeah, it's quite a mix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

Based on last year's order of finish, the two Mikes speculate whether each club in this year's Barclay's Premier League will finish higher or lower than they did last May. While they don't agree on every pick, they do agree that it will be very surprising if one specific team doesn't win the title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

There's some stupid money being thrown around, and the two Mikes can't even get a cut. PSG is prepared to pay a massive amount of money for Neymar, which certainly presents the question of whether he's worth it. Furthermore, would anything short of a Champions League title constitute a failure if the French giants get their man? As a chaser, the guys take a quick look at what's left for England's best teams to accomplish in the final month of the transfer window.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

The summer doldrums get a shot of excitement with yet another mailbag. The two Mikes answer your many questions, including: The USMNT is much more tolerable to watch under Arena than Klinsmann...true?Thoughts on Coutinho as a midfielder vs. left forward? How do you feel about Firmino as a striker vs. top rated strikers?Why is Olivier Giroud so underrated?Is Eric Dier going or staying, and should Spurs really hold on to him if United is offering this much? Who are y’all cheering for at the women’s Euros?How much depth do the top teams need to have to compete on all fronts?Will teams eventually sell streams of their games directly to consumers as a subscription, bypassing TV to get more direct revenue?Have you revised your take on Arsenal’s switch to the 3-4-2-1?There will also be Game of Thrones talk.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

In this episode of the Double Pivot, your excellent questions are answered yet again, including:What does Ross Barkley do, and how would he look in a Pochettino side?Sell Alexis now, or let him leave for free next year?Is Romelu Lukaku a good fit for “slow-playing” Manchester United?How seriously should we take AC Milan? Would rather your club signed Defoe or Rooney to a four-year contract?Is it better to have loved and lost (Liverpool) or to never have loved at all (Spurs)? Subtitle: Why are Liverpool fans so prone to absurd transfer meltdowns that make zero sense when observed by anyone else?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

How good are all of the xG models out there? One year after his initial evaluation of various submitted models, Nils Mackay (mackayanalytics.nl) released the results of a second round of models, including one built by a host of this here podcast. The two Mikes explore Mackay's findings, tackling topics like big chances, scorer bias in Opta data (or any data for that matter), and much more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

The two Mikes are joined by Shireen Ahmed of the Burn It All Down podcast to discuss the early success of the podcast, which examines the intersection of feminism and sports, plus a few interesting social topics floating in and around and through the beautiful game. To set the table, the guys do a quick review of the 1-1 draw that's left the U.S. in a solid World Cup qualifying position. Editor's note: The amount of Ronaldo's reported settlement is incorrectly noted in this discussion. It was actually reported as being $375,000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

When it comes to the U.S. Men's National Team, everything should probably now be built around Christian Pulisic, but that creates a few hurdles. The two Mikes talk about those hurdles, the current SPI probabilities, and then turn their attention to the mailbag. In it, they find questions about Liverpool's apparent failure to land Virgil van Dijk from Southampton and the meltdown it caused amongst the LFC faithful, whether statistical insights at one level of soccer (Premier League) apply to other levels (women's or college soccer), and whether Chelsea and/or City are addressing their needs thus far in the transfer market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show