The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

The Athletic

Hosted by Michael Bailey, revered football tactics writer Michael Cox is joined by Mark Carey, Liam Tharme and more of The Athletic's brightest tactics and data department to break down the tactical and technical details behind the biggest footballing stories each week - assessing the latest trends, systems, players, managers and all manner of statistics in order to give you a deeper understanding of the game.

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327 episodes
Updated June 9

Episodes327

Newest first

Oct 29, 2020 · 46 min
How to survive your first season in the Premier League
Ali Maxwell, Michael Cox and Tom Worville try to establish a formula for survival in a club's first season in the Premier League...
Oct 22, 2020 · 43 min
Bad Stats - where we are all getting it wrong when talking about football
The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to get a few things off their chests about the use of statistics in the general conversation around football.
Oct 15, 2020 · 49 min
How does Guardiola get Man City back on top?
The Athletic's Michael Cox and Sam Lee join Ali Maxwell to look at Manchester City's start to the season and assess the ways Pep Guardiola's side have changed their tactical approach since they last won the title.
Oct 8, 2020 · 29 min
Why have there been so many goals in the Premier League this season?
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.
Sep 30, 2020 · 44 min
AC Milan: the history and reawakening of a sleeping giant
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.
Sep 23, 2020 · 52 min
Every Premier League squad profiled
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.
Sep 16, 2020 · 34 min
Explained: Why left-footed centre-backs are so in demand
The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to look at the tactical and technical reasons as to why left-footed centre-backs are so in demand and so important to a lot of managers in modern football.Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta both made it a priority to increase their options in this department in recent months, and we've looked at the data and the footage to examine exactly how much difference being able to use your left foot can make when playing out from the backWe also lo
Aug 27, 2020 · 30 min
Breaking down the Champions League final - PSG's pressing & Bayern's switching of possession
The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by football tactics writer Ahmed Walid to break down the tactics of the Champions League final in detail. Looking at the fine margins that saw Bayern edge out PSG, paying particular attention to the pressing game of PSG, how Bayern effectively used the switch of possession and cleverly deployed their wingers.Elsewhere the guys have an eye on the future as they assess whether Hansi Flick could be about to preside over an era of European dominanc
Aug 20, 2020 · 36 min
Champions League Special
The Athletic's Michael Cox is alongside Ali Maxwell to bring you a Champions League special on this week's podcast.Michael breaks down the tactics that saw Bayern Munich and PSG progress from their Semi-Finals this week, and tells us what we can expect from Sunday's final.We examine the strengths and weaknesses of each side, pick-out the key individual battles, and ultimately predict which side will come out on top
Aug 12, 2020 · 45 min
Lionel Messi - how many things is he the best in the world at?
The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell dive into the data to break down every aspect of Lionel Messi's game and work out just how many aspects of football he has mastered in his illustrious career so far. Spoiler alert: It's not just scoring goals!Scouring the stats from across his entire career, we examine his finishing, assisting, dribbling, positional versatility, free-kick taking, his amazing consistency, even his unrivalled ability to play devastating one-twos. Backed up b
Aug 4, 2020 · 56 min
The Big Champions League & Europa League Preview
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, Roma, Sevilla, Getafe
Jul 30, 2020 · 55 min
Evaluating the managerial changes in the Premier League last season
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.W
Jul 23, 2020 · 39 min
The resurgence of the three-man defence
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 phi
Jul 15, 2020 · 40 min
Judging Sarri's impact on Juventus and Ronaldo
The Athletic's Michael Cox and James Horncastle join Ali Maxwell to assess Maurizio Sarri's first season at Juventus. On the verge of leading Juve to their ninth straight Serie A title, we look at how Sarri has measured up to expectations in Turin, how he has impressed his tactical philosophy on the squad, as well as how he's used key individuals like Cristiano Ronaldo, Aaron Ramsey, Matthijs de Ligt and Miralem Pjanic.
Jul 8, 2020 · 41 min
The tactics behind Manchester United's resurgence
The Athletic's Michael Cox & Laurie Whitwell join Ali Maxwell to look at Manchester United's recent transformation from a struggling mid-table outfit into the Premier League's form side with attacking options aplenty.They look at how Solskjaer has managed to fit Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba into the same side, and how the individual roles they are all playing all knit together so wellElsewhere we study the re-emergence of Nemanja Matic as a crucial part of the tea
Jul 1, 2020 · 30 min
Liverpool's underappreciated passing game
The Athletic's Michael Cox & Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to look at a perhaps underappreciated aspect of this all conquering Liverpool side - their possession game. We dive into the data to analyse how Liverpool use the ball and the passing combinations they most rely upon. Looking at how crucial Alisson is to starting the moves, how Van Dijk's passing differs from Matip & Gomez, how Trent Alexander-Arnold is able to dictate the play from right-back, the changing role of Henderson, the impor
Jun 24, 2020 · 48 min
Assessing the best performers since the Premier League returned
The Athletic's Michael Cox joins Ali Maxwell to look at the first batch of Premier League games under Project Restart and pick out the teams & players who have best adapted to the unfamiliar conditions - with a particular focus on Tottenham, Man Utd, Brighton, Newcastle and Southampton.Elsewhere The Athletic's Crystal Palace writer Matt Woosnam drops in to give us the lowdown on how Roy Hodgson continues to inspire impressive performances from the Eagles, plus we look at the impact of the new fi
Jun 17, 2020 · 48 min
Italian football's search for the next Pirlo
The Athletic's Michael Cox and James Horncastle join Ali Maxwell ahead of Serie A returning this week for a look at the next generation of Italian midfielders, starting with a man some have compared to the legendary Andrea Pirlo - Brescia's Sandro Tonali.Tonali has been lighting up Serie A this season and drawing comparisons to Pirlo but is there more to his game than that comparison suggests?Elsewhere we take a broader look at the history of Italian midfielders - be they registas, fantasistas o
Jun 10, 2020 · 36 min
Is this Setién's Barca or Messi's Barca?
Ahead of La Liga returning this weekend The Athletic's Michael Cox & Dermot Corrigan join Ali Maxwell to look at current state of Barcelona. They discuss how recently installed manager Quique Setien is settling in, how his tactical approach differs from his predecessors, why they're more reliant on Messi than ever, why Griezmann hasn't really hit the heights yet, plus a wider look at what's to be decided in La Liga with ten matches remaining.Subscribe to The Athletic for access to Michael Cox's
Jun 3, 2020 · 43 min
Eddie Howe's Bournemouth - not as open & attacking as you think
Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by The Athletic's Bournemouth writer Peter Rutzler to look at what has been a disappointing season for Eddie Howe's side. We pick apart the tactics - which may not be quite as open & entertaining as they once were - and look at the individual players who will be key if the Cherries are to avoid relegation when the season returns.

The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

How to survive your first season in the Premier League

Bad Stats - where we are all getting it wrong when talking about football

How does Guardiola get Man City back on top?

Why have there been so many goals in the Premier League this season?

AC Milan: the history and reawakening of a sleeping giant

Every Premier League squad profiled

Explained: Why left-footed centre-backs are so in demand

Breaking down the Champions League final - PSG's pressing & Bayern's switching of possession

Champions League Special

Lionel Messi - how many things is he the best in the world at?

The Big Champions League & Europa League Preview

Evaluating the managerial changes in the Premier League last season

The resurgence of the three-man defence

Judging Sarri's impact on Juventus and Ronaldo

The tactics behind Manchester United's resurgence

Liverpool's underappreciated passing game

Assessing the best performers since the Premier League returned

Italian football's search for the next Pirlo

Is this Setién's Barca or Messi's Barca?

Eddie Howe's Bournemouth - not as open & attacking as you think