{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/691ecd37cce7a2a565079227/6ad1f2a4e65da00825f4223c?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Has European Football Lost Its Magic?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/691ecd37cce7a2a565079227/1792142804600-01a10fdd-9c1a-43a1-be4c-336ef0054134.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Has European football lost its magic?</p><p>Charlie Austin is on fire in this week&#39;s Chaz Kicks Off as he and Peter Redding question whether European club football has become too predictable, too crowded and a shadow of the competitions we once loved.</p><p>With 36 teams in each of UEFA&#39;s three major club competitions, have we sacrificed quality for quantity? Are the early rounds little more than glorified pre-season friendlies? And does the real competition only begin when the knockout stages arrive?</p><p>Charlie doesn&#39;t hold back, delivering a particularly savage assessment of Celtic&#39;s European struggles and questioning the gulf between Europe&#39;s biggest clubs and the rest.</p><p>Elsewhere, Charlie defends Manchester United&#39;s Lisandro Martínez for speaking his mind, questions Liverpool&#39;s £116 million investment in Florian Wirtz, discusses Alexander Isak&#39;s fitness and offers his thoughts on Eddie Howe and Newcastle United.</p><p>Plus, could European football become a problem for Sunderland domestically?</p><p>We also preview the weekend&#39;s Premier League and EFL action, with plenty of predictions, dressing-room insight and the usual laughs.</p><p><strong>Chaz Kicks Off with Charlie Austin and Peter Redding, powered by PlayNimbus – Fantasy Football Reimagined.</strong></p>","author_name":"Peter Redding"}