Dave and Paul Talk Football

Paul's out. Not with a cold, not with a virus, but with "a virus without the viral symptoms" and a bad case of sore legs, delivered via voice memo roughly ninety seconds after his Chelsea got flogged 3-0 at Brentford. Funny that. So it's two Liverpool fans, no Chelsea in the room to fight back, and open season.Dave and Adam tear through a loaded weekend: Chelsea's heart-monitor season and why Alonso is somehow untouchable, Arsenal getting dismantled 3-0 at Brighton in maybe the performance of the season, and Dave's grand unified theory of why you hate a title winner (bad football, cheating, or bad characters, and why Klopp's Liverpool passed all three).Then it's the good, the bad and the ugly: Jeremy Jacquet's breakout, the Florian Wirtz flop debate, Liverpool grinding out Bournemouth, Man City going five from five with Haaland's golden boot locked, the charges that never seem to land, Manchester United's first-ever home loss after leading at half-time in 551 games, Spurs sitting dead last, and El Sackico looming. Plus a Ballon d'Or rant and the sack-race sweepstakes.Up the Reds. Get well soon, Paul. Allegedly.

Dave and Paul are back for Season 2, Episode 3, and this week kicks off with possibly the least football related opening in the show's history.Before a ball is kicked, the lads go to war over toilet paper (over or under), whether you sit or stand to do your business, and the now infamous Hyrox poo saga that has to be heard to be believed. Dave is horrified. Paul is defending the indefensible. Standard.Then the football arrives, and it is all about the Manchester derby. Ten-man City beat United, and there are no excuses. The boys thrash out the Foden red card, the Bruno Fernandes simulation question, the offside goal the refs later admitted was wrong, and whether VAR consistency is just a pipe dream. That spills into the big one: with United this bad, are they even the biggest club in Manchester anymore, let alone England?Elsewhere, Arsenal are the real deal even if Dave reckons watching them is like a UFC fighter grinding out a submission. Paul makes his case for Xabi Alonso's Chelsea as a work in progress, Dave defends Iraola's Liverpool through a rough patch and a brutal 100 million pound flop debate, and Spurs keep another clean sheet while forgetting how to score. Plus a quickfire yes or no round, the Carrick sack watch, and a definitive ruling on "have your cake and eat it too."

Dave, Paul and Adam are back for Season 2, Episode 2, and before a single tactic gets discussed the lads go to war over the important stuff: what actually counts as football "history," the correct etiquette for chewing gum, and whether anyone has ever genuinely said "bake a cake and eat it too" (spoiler: Dave is not having it).Once the football kicks off, it's all about Arsenal laying down a marker in a fiery win over Chelsea, complete with the obligatory refereeing conspiracy theories. The boys debate whether Xabi Alonso's counter-attacking Chelsea are real challengers or just great to watch, why Spurs still can't buy a goal under the Zerbi, and whether Isak and Gakpo have finally sparked Liverpool's new-look front line into life while Florian Wirtz keeps everyone guessing.Plus: Man City quietly top under Enzo Maresca, the great Enzo Fernandez debate, a Manchester United defensive horror show and the "when's Carrick getting sacked" question, a last-gasp Maitland-Niles stunner at Everton, who's really the best keeper in the world, and what Saka's future says about life at the Emirates.Six of one, half a dozen of the other. You decide.

We're back. After the longest off-season ever (a World Cup, a job change, two holidays, and Paul becoming a part-time tradie), Dave and Paul return to talk football, and Dave is already fed up.This week: Dave goes on an epic rant about the sheer saturation of football content, the endless punditry, and why nobody predicting the top four after 90 minutes of the season has a clue. Fabrizio Romano, David Ornstein, and the "sports journalism" crowd all cop it.We also dig into a big off-season of change. Xabi Alonso has taken over at Chelsea and Paul reckons it's a title challenge. Arne "Areola" has the reins at Liverpool, but Dave's frustrated by a quiet transfer window and gaping holes in midfield. Plus: Tottenham's misery under De Zerbi despite spending big, Chelsea's shaky finances, whether Coventry can survive, and Keith Andrews being tipped for a big-six move.Then it gets serious. Dave breaks down the FIFA scandal, Gianni Infantino's alleged plan to spin the World Cup off into a private, investor-driven money machine, and why it matters for the future of the game.We wrap with season predictions, dark horses, and a quick-fire run through the weekend fixtures ahead of the Arsenal v Chelsea London derby.New season, same chaos. Have a listen.

Dave and Adam are overseas, so Paul goes it alone this week - and he's got plenty to say. Arsenal are officially the 2025/26 Premier League champions, and Paul gives credit where it's due, tipping David Raya as his Arsenal player of the season while wondering if Mikel Arteta's side can now build a dynasty. He also breaks down what Arsenal's title win means for their Champions League final push against PSG.Pep Guardiola's likely departure from Manchester City after 10 years and 20 trophies gets the full Paul treatment, including the big debate - is Pep the greatest Premier League manager of all time, or does Sir Alex Ferguson still hold that crown? Plus, Paul shares his surprise at the Enzo Maresca rumours at City.Liverpool's disappointing season, Mohamed Salah's behaviour and whether Arne Slot deserves another shot are all on the agenda, before Paul turns to the big news at his beloved Chelsea - Xabi Alonso is coming, and he's cautiously excited.Rounding things out, Paul touches on the Championship chaos involving Southampton's Spygate scandal, the A-League grand final between Sydney FC and Auckland, and why he thinks the 48-team World Cup format is a bad idea.No Dave to argue with, no Adam to push back. Just Paul, a camera, and football.

Dave, Paul, and Adam reconvene for their last episode together this season before Dave and Adam head overseas, leaving Paul to hold down the fort solo for the final two weeks of the Premier League season.They kick things off debating the definition of world class after listener comments fired up following Paul's passionate defence of Chelsea's squad. Dave concedes Cole Palmer, Paul fights hard for Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, and Reece James gets perhaps the most brutal assessment in podcast history: "emergency room class."From there the boys dig into the West Ham VAR controversy that effectively handed Arsenal the title, with Paul's argument that five minutes in front of a screen is the opposite of "clear and obvious" landing as the episode's most compelling take. Dave then delivers a five-point thesis on exactly why Arsenal are the most disliked team in English football right now, covering Arteta's "weirdness," the club's cringy social media, their grinding style of play, and the fans.With City playing Crystal Palace tonight and the title almost certainly done, the relegation battle between Spurs and West Ham is breaking down beautifully, and Dave cannot see Tottenham winning either of their remaining games.The episode closes with World Cup predictions, a look ahead to the Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal (Dave picks PSG, Paul thinks Arsenal are built for this), a callback to Episode 21's top four predictions that catches both hosts off guard, and Paul committing on the record to two solo episodes while the boys are away.Plus Dave's season send-off, a big thank you to everyone who has listened, and the confirmation the show is signing on for a second season.