The Athletic FC Podcast

In the latest episode of David Ornstein's 'Truth or Padel' series, David meets former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

Thiago discusses coming to terms with his body being unable to play anymore, advice for the next generation of players, the ‘death’ of beautiful football, and the best young players in the world.

Host: David Ornstein
Guests: Thiago Alcantara
Executive Producer: Joe Devine
Editor: Don Ma
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This week's Tactical Preview focuses on one of the biggest games in Premier League history: Liverpool vs Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

The matchup has been given more significance after the news of City's guilty ruling, so how will the players fare on the day and will it alter their tactical approach?

Kate Mason is joined by former England goalkeeper Rob Green and The Athletic's tactics writer Liam Tharme to discuss the game at Anfield, plus Manchester United vs Spurs, Arsenal vs Leeds and Brentford's trip to Villa Park.

The panel also discuss the concepts of rest defence and counter-pressing; who does it best and why it is so important.

Host: Kate Mason
Guests: Rob Green, Liam Tharme
Executive Producer: Adam Jones
Producers: Mike Stavrou & Liam Warburton (
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Liverpool went toe to toe with Manchester City during a period when City have now been found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules. So does this change how we should view Jurgen Klopp's achievements as Liverpool manager and FSG's running of the club?

Adam Crafton, Matt Slater and Rob Green join Kate Mason on the usual Thursday Club to discuss that era, the best run clubs in the game and what truly makes a good owner.

Host: Kate Mason
Guests: Rob Green, Matt Slater, Adam Crafton
Executive Producer: Adam Jones
Producer: Jay Beale
Videographer: Ben Whitcombe
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This week's What If is centred on the biggest story in town: Manchester City's guilty ruling.

Emma Paton is alongside The Athletic's Tim Spiers, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Dan Kilpatrick to discuss who was the most impacted by City's spending, and if that money hadn't been spent, where would the rest of the division be?

What if the big signings they made went elsewhere, who else would they have signed in their place and what is an appropriate punishment?

Host: Emma Paton
Co-hosts: Tim Spiers, Dan Kilpatrick, Jack Pitt-Brooke
Exec Producer: Adam Jones
Producers: Mike Stavrou, Grayson Moody
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Manchester City supporters are facing a new reality - their club has been vilified since The Athletic revealed they had been found guilty of almost all the Premier League charges relating to financial breaches nearly two weeks ago.

So how do their fans feel about it? And how has their relationship with the club changed, if at all?

Two of The Athletic's resident City supporters - Jack Pitt-Brooke and Thom Harris - join Emma Paton to debate and discuss their conflicting feelings.

Plus, The Athletic's Jacob Whitehead drops by to talk about one of the other big side plots to this story - Rui Pinto - the Portuguese whistleblower who gained access to Manchester City's servers, leaking emails and documents that prompted the Premier League's investigation.

Host: Emma Paton
Co-hosts: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Thom Harris
Featuring: Jacob Whitehead

Exec Producer: Adam Jones
Producer: Jay Beale
Videographer: Liam Warburton
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.