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Libero

Libero

A podcast about football, the least important of the most important things, featuring John Brewin, Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle, Tariq Panja, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson.


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  • 147 episodes
  • Updated Today

Episodes147

Newest first
  • Nov 4, 2025 · 58 min

    Libero 067 | Is The Premier League Boring?

    <p>A quarter of the way through this Premier League season, people are starting to ask: is the football we are watching this year any good? Or has the rise of set pieces turned it into a different game? For almost a decade, Pep Guardiola’s brand of possession football felt like the dominant form but even Manchester City are now playing in a different way. Is there no future in the positional game? Or does Andoni Iraola carry the torch for attacking football?</p><br><p>On today’s episode Jack Pit

  • Oct 31, 2025 · 1 hr

    Libero 066 | Celtic And Rangers On The Brink... Is The Old Firm Dying?

    <p>The rule of thumb in Scottish football is that if one Old Firm club is doing badly, then the other is doing well. So what happens when both Celtic and Rangers are both in troubled times concurrently? With Brendan Rogers axed as Celtic boss shortly after the departure of Russell Martin from Ibrox, a Hearts team powered by the analytics of Tony Bloom are top of the Scottish Premiership. It seems there has never been a more likely time for an outsider to end Glasgow's hegemony north of Hadrian's

  • Oct 28, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min

    Libero 065 | The Diego Maradona Episode

    <p>Many words have been written and spoken about Diego Maradona, but not yet on Libero. That changes now. To celebrate the 65th birthday of the greatest footballer of all time, James Horncastle is joined by Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja. There's singing, Scottish accents and anecdotes for all.</p><br><p>P1: (00:35)</p><p>P2: (36:09)</p><br><p>Produced by: Tom Bassam</p><br><p>Email in via <a href="mailto:liberopodcast0@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">liberopodcast0@gmail.c

  • Oct 24, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

    Libero 064 | Real Madrid v Barcelona: A Health Check On El Clasico

    <p>John Brewin, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja are here to talk about the world’s biggest domestic fixture - self-styled, perhaps, but deservedly so - it's 'El Clasico'. Real Madrid v Barcelona, as the fixture will be this Sunday, comes at a tumultuous time for La Liga, with the contentious battle over playing matches overseas very much a hot topic. That is discussed, plus the game's history, the two teams' differing tactical styles and management.</p><br><p>P1 (01:31)</p><p>P2: (38:47)</p><br>

  • Oct 21, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min

    Libero 063 | Ange Postecoglou’s Main Character Energy

    <p>Ange Postecoglou was sacked as Nottingham Forest manager on Saturday, after just 39 days in charge. On today’s episode, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jack Pitt-Brooke discuss his brief tenure and ask why Postecoglou took that difficult job in the first place.</p><br><p>Postecoglou has had a distinctive career and remains an interesting figure. So what is it about him and his skills that stands out? Is it his attacking style of play? Or is it his capacity to talk persuasively in public and fr

  • Oct 17, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min

    Libero 062 | Arsenal, First The Worst, Second The Best

    <p>The Premier League is back, and Arsenal are top of it. There are plenty of reasons to believe they can stay there, too: the deepest squad in the country, an outstanding manager, an uncanny ability to score 95th minute goals from corners. So why does it feel as though every week brings a referendum on their character? Do we undervalue the work Mikel Arteta has done? Is it all part of a PGMOL plot? Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Falklands Islands resident Jonathan Wilson ask whether Arsenal are

  • Oct 14, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min

    Libero 061 | England's Jude Bellingham Problem

    <p>Jude Bellingham is seen as England's biggest star, which is why it's very glaring that Thomas Tuchel has broken with decades of protocol and left the Real Madrid man out of his latest squad. Amid talks of the need for squad harmony and the manager's previous comments about Bellingham "intimidating" teammates, there's clearly more to his absence than fitness. Is Tuchel just laying down the law? Or is there an actual danger of Bellingham missing out on the World Cup? Three men who know a thing

  • Oct 10, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min

    Libero 060 | The Premier League: Thatcher’s Greatest Triumph

    <p>Hated, adored, never ignored, Margaret Thatcher is one of the most important figures in the history of the country that is home to the world's wealthiest domestic league – this cannot be a coincidence. Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Rory Smith discuss how the Premier League has become almost entirely a-political, whether this is a key reason for its rise and if Thatcher's greatest legacy is the creation of an English success story in a sport she cared so little for.</p><br><p>P1: (04:04)</

  • Oct 7, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

    Libero 059: What’s Wrong With Liverpool?

    <p>Saturday brought Liverpool’s third defeat in a week, following reverses at Crystal Palace and the cauldron of RAMS Park, home to Galatasaray. If you were a football doctor and were looking to diagnose reasons for Arne Slot's team looking more like pretenders than champions, what would say? To answer that question Rory Smith is joined Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja.</p><br><p>P1: (01:35)</p><p>P2: (40:33)</p><br><p>Produced by: Tom Bassam</p><br><p>Email in via <a href="mailto:liberopodcast0@g

  • Oct 3, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min

    Libero 058: Is Football Too Online?

    <p>Dressing rooms sharing posts about refereeing decisions, managers complaining about their nicknames on X and social media troll campaigns, football is very online these days. Is this just another case of football predicting society? Is it completely a bad thing? Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Tariq Panja discuss.</p><br><p>P1: (12:56)</p><p>P2: (36:40)</p><br><p>Produced by: Tom Bassam</p><br><p>Email in via <a href="mailto:liberopodcast0@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_bl

  • Sep 30, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

    Libero 057: All or Nothing... Do We Need More Football Documentaries?

    <p>No progressive football club’s project is complete without an authorised streaming documentary series. They’ve become a significant contribution to football’s reinvention as a content provider. Does authenticity matter? Is Wrexham’s celebrity-assisted rise to be welcomed? John Brewin, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Rory Smith enter the scripted realities of Phil Parkinson, Tom Brady, Brendan Rodgers et al to discuss whether the real story is always left on the cutting-room floor.</p><br><p>P1: (11:30)<

  • Sep 26, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

    Libero 056: The Premier League's Triangle Of Sadness

    <p>What does Aston Villa’s sudden fall from grace say about the wisdom of basing a football club around one man in Unai Emery? Rory Smith, James Horncastle and John Brewin consider a club dogged by PSR and VAR and the implications of transfer guru Monchi stepping away. Villa aren’t alone in their start to the season being poor. West Ham and Wolves are also in the crisis club category, with open rebellion against their ownerships. Where did it all go wrong?</p><br><p>P1: (00:33)</p><p>P2: (40:50)

  • Sep 23, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min

    Libero 055: Arsenal, Tottenham, Succession And Serious People

    <p>Two of the biggest Premier League stories in September came away from the pitch, and specifically in the boardrooms of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. First was the sacking of Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s seemingly all-powerful chairman, after 24 years running Spurs in his own unique way. Then, one week later, came the removal of Tim Lewis, Arsenal’s executive vice-chair, who had run Arsenal for the last few years.</p><br><p>On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja look

  • Sep 19, 2025 · 1 hr

    Libero 054: 'Ballon d'Or!' Rio screams, 13 times

    <p>Ruud Gullit has been booked. iShowSpeed is getting his tuxedo ready. Kaka will be around, probably. That’s right: it’s Ballon d’Or time, and on today’s Libero, John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith — Libero’s balls of gold — discuss the shifting meaning of the trophy, whether the obsession with it is an exclusively modern phenomenon, and the tension of individual awards in a team sport.</p><br><p>P1: (10:41)</p><p>P2: (38:18)</p><br><p>Produced by: Tom Bassam</p><br><p>Email in via <a hr

  • Sep 16, 2025 · 57 min

    Libero 053: The Things That Matter As The Champions League Returns

    <p>The Champions League is back. Or more specifically, the league phase, which starts with matchday one spread over the course of this week.</p><br><p>On today’s episode, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Jonathan Wilson all look forward to this season’s competition and ask whether anyone will be able to challenge Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain for the crown. James explains why this might be the year that Antonio Conte makes an impression with his new-look Napoli side.</p><br><p>This wi

  • Sep 12, 2025 · 59 min

    Libero 052: Does The Manchester Derby Still Matter?

    <p>Sunday sees the first Meeting of Manchester United and Manchester City of the season at the Etihad. On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and John Brewin look at the fixture and ask whether it is still one of the biggest in the Premier League calendar.</p><br><p>The dynamic between the two clubs has been flipped in the last 15 years, with City now the dominant team of this era and United lurching from crisis. The fixture has lost its edge since its golden period between 2009 and

  • Sep 9, 2025 · 59 min

    Libero 051: Long Throws And Set Pieces... Is Football Going Back To The Mixer?

    <p>Libero returns with its smuggest and most chin-strokey lineup ever, as the first-time combination of Rory Smith, Jonathan Wilson and James Horncastle talk about the evolution of tactics. Have we seen football's final great innovation? What does the renewed focus on set-piece mastery say about modern coaching? Does intuition trump all? Can they answer any of these questions without talking about Pep Guardiola? </p><br><p>P1: (1:30)</p><p>P2: (37:36)</p><br><p>Produced by: Tom Bassam</p><br><p>

  • Sep 5, 2025 · 56 min

    Libero 050: Arsene Wenger, A Proper Football Man

    <p>He’s the greatest manager in Arsenal’s modern history and the Emirates a monument to his reinvention of the club. Arsene Wenger is one of the most influential figures of the Premier League era but also in French football from his time at Monaco, and is still involved in the game he loves as an employee of Fifa.&nbsp;</p><br><p>But could he have won more in France and England? He never got to write his own epitaph with one more major triumph. Meanwhile, his Fifa role and closeness to certain f

  • Sep 2, 2025 · 59 min

    Libero 049: The Premier League’s Three Billion Pound Summer

    <p>What's that you say? Every Libero squad member on one podcast? That's right, in order of appearance, Rory Smith, Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin, Miguel Delaney, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Tariq Panja and James Horncastle are here to talk about the most financially lubricated summer in football history - the Premier League's great (and late) spending splurge.</p><br><p>We hear about what it's like to try and cover the flurry of transfer dealings on the last day of the window before discussing the driving

  • Aug 29, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min

    Libero 048: Ruben Amorim And The Philosopher’s Clones

    <p>Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United tenure reached a new low on Wednesday night as they were knocked out of the League Cup by Grimsby Town. Critics say he is too wedded to his 3-4-3 system, but has his ideological approach bought him more time than a more pragmatic manager would get?</p><br><p>On today’s Libero, Rory Smith, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jonathan Wilson discuss Amorim’s struggles and the importance of having a philosophy in the modern game.</p><br><p>English football has traditionally rej