Set Piece Menu Football Podcast
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
SPM 275: Last Night In Soho
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: It's our last show, live in London (slightly edited for content like movies on ITV in the 1990s, but still self-indulgently long). We're...
SPM 274: Is the landscape of the women's game shifting?
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
***Nedum Onuoha will be our guest at the live show in London! He's joining us for our final episode on July 20th. Get your tickets here: https://mytic...
SPM 273: The Ajax Exodus
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: At time of recording, three players key to Ajax's recent success had already left during this transfer window, with potentially at least...
SPM 272: Soccer Story Memory Lane
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Some Set Piece Menu nostalgia. You miss Andy Hinchcliffe, we do too. So in response to requests to revisit some of his stand out 'Soccer...
SPM 271: EA v FIFA (plus a BIG announcement)
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: 2022 has brought about a notable conscious uncoupling. After 30 beautiful and productive years together the video game partnership betwe...
SPM 270: Nedum Onuoha
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Did Hugh say he'd written a book? Well just in case you missed it, he takes the opportunity of Rory and Steven being distracted by a com...
SPM 269: The 6th Annual Hot Takes and Takeaways
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our hiatus-interrupting continues with another new pod, and another reminder to join us for a special SPM LIVE in London on Wednesday 20th July. Get ...
SPM 268: Why does football keep doing things that benefit the big clubs?
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're breaking into our hiatus to do two things: 1) be with you for a run of mini-pods to mark the end of the Premier League season and more, and 2) f...
SPM BONUS: The End Of The Oligarch Era
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
SPM returns from hiatus to consider how the sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich will affect Chelsea, the Premier League, and football's billionaire b...
SPM 267: Au Revoir
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: March 2020 was football's hiatus, January 2022 is ours. With changes afoot in the SPM family, and a relaunch expected later in the year,...
SPM 266: Serie A
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Is Serie A the most exciting league in football right now? And if so, does that mean it has at last shaken off its stereotype - one that...
SPM 265: Is Football Too Eurocentric?
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: As the latest Africa Cup of Nations begins to unfortunate characterisations and complaints about scheduling and availability, we ask if ...
SPM 264: The Christmas Schedule Conundrum
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The Premier League likes attracting the best managerial talent, but what if that talent wants to change the Premier League? Thomas Tuche...
SPM 263: SPMROTY (Part 2)
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Part two of our Set Piece Menu Review of the Year allows us to skew negative, and yet it's a shorter episode. Go figure... The food: Ha...
SPM 262: SPMROTY (Part 1)
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: We're getting festively reflective as we bring you our Set Piece Menu Review of the Year, which is in no way attempting to sound or feel...
SPM 261: Being At The Game vs Watching The Game
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: What's the difference between watching a game on TV and being at the stadium itself? A listener poses the question, and we try not to so...
SPM 260: What Is Style?
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: A listener who's relatively new to football wants us to put a little meat on the bones he regularly hears in the coverage of football ab...
SPM 259: Is English football as special as it thinks it is?
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After Paul Merson wondered whether Ralf Rangnick's lack of experience in English football might make him an inappropriate appointment by...
SPM 258: What YOU Don't Realise About Commentators...
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: In the unforeseen absence of two of our number, we fill their places with people who actually know what they're talking about. Peter Dru...
SPM 257: Is international football more exciting than we thought?
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup may well end up delivering familiar countries to the finals, but in getting there has ...
SPM 250: Live at the National Football Museum
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: In front of a live audience at Manchester's National Football Museum, we discuss whether football does a good job of curating its own hi...
SPM 256: Complacency
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Is complacency football's greatest leveller? All the talk of complacency from those on the pitch is about how to avoid it, but are those...
SPM 255: Loans, lower league partnerships, or leave the kids alone!
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After the last round of the EFL Cup (yes we were organised enough to make a plan then and save it for this week's round) Pep Guardiola t...
SPM 254: Do you have to be a football fan to be a football player?
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After Benjamin White revealed he'd never watched a football game that he wasn't a part of himself, we ask Chinch how a player's relation...
SPM 253: Are we celebrating the wrong things in football?
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Following the Saudi (sorry, PIF) takeover of Newcastle (see SPM175 for more) we talk about how money, and the availability of wealth reg...
SPM 252: Playbooks
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After Julian Nagelsmann talked about football potentially introducing an NFL-style playbook we ask if that's completely preposterous, or...
SPM 251: Soccer Pod Potpourri 2
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: For availability, and as it turns out, expediency reasons (Rory's dad is about to have lunch, and we're not allowed to be in the way) we...
SPM 249: Judging Historical Achievements In The Modern Era
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Upon Jimmy Greaves' passing, his astounding goal-scoring record was brought to the attention to a whole new generation of football fans....
SPM 248: Traditions or Anachronisms?
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo's 're-debut' couldn't be shown on television in the UK was considered by some to be proof that the age-o...
SPM 247: Women's Football - Cash, caché and change?
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: With caveats abounding that we are men talking about women's football, this week's discussion is about how the new TV deal and associate...
SPM 246: Are some players bigger than the game?
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Pep Guardiola suggested Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are players of such stature they can choose the club they play for. Is that t...
SPM 245: Siege Mentalities
25 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Siege mentalities, or more pertinently, fake ones. Why has what once might have been a genuine management tactic turned into little more...
SPM 244: Big Six or Top Six, or neither?
18 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why are the 'Top Six' clubs in the Premier League spoken about so much, when some of those 'Top Six' don't fill the top six positions an...
SPM 243: Leo Leaves (Us Cold)
11 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Lionel Messi is leaving Barcelona, but the story - mainly because of the destination - is leaving us cold. We discuss what Messi to PSG ...
SPM 242: Premier League Exceptionalism? - Part 3
04 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: In the final part of our series we ask why the Premier League isn't the centre for tactical innovation in the game, and whether they'd e...
SPM 241: Premier League Exceptionalism? - Part 2
28 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: In part two of our summer series, we ask how the Premier League's exceptionalism applies to its finances, transfers and players. Is ther...
SPM 240: Premier League Exceptionalism? - Part 1
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The summer series (aka filler content between organised domestic or international football) is back! We have three connected episodes co...
SPM 239: Hot Takes and Takeaways (Euro 2020 Edition)
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
SPM 239: Hot Takes and Takeaways (Euro 2020 Edition) by Rory Smith, Andy Hinchcliffe, Steven Wyeth, Hugh Ferris
SPM 238: The 32-team Euro(s)
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Rory has an idea of how an expanded Euros could be expanded further, to include 32 teams. He's very proud of it, but clearly can only re...
SPM 237: Rose Tinted Glasses of Tournament Nostalgia
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The World Cups and Euros of our youth are acclaimed through the rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia. In our mature years we are much more likely to fi...
SPM 236: Soccer Pod Potpourri
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over time we've be inundated with excellent suggestions from you, the listener. Many have been used & attributed, some nefariously repurposed & claime...
SPM 235: Footballing Fathers & Sons
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The podcast where four friends - presenter Hugh Ferris, writer Rory Smith, commentator Steven Wyeth & pundit Andy Hinchcliffe - talk football over foo...
SPM 234: The Value Of Trophies
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Do trophies have a different value depending on who wins them, how often, and whether they are claimed by a player that's also associate...
SPM 233: Two Things Can Be True
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After Pep Guardiola seemed to lean into the very narrative that appears to annoy his acolytes more than any other for the Champions Leag...
SPM 232: The 4th Annual Hot Takes and Takeaways
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The Premier League season has come to an end, but it can't be officially 'put in the books' until we've delivered our annual hot takes a...
SPM 231: Squad Construction
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: How does a manager put together a squad for a major international tournament? Is it the 'best 23 players', as the requirement from those...
SPM 230: Player Priorities
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: As a follow up to last week's pod, which turned out to be an inadequate answer to a question posed by a listener, we try to actually ans...
SPM 229: Player Pathways
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Erling Haaland, his dad, and his agent, all have a plan. They've been plotting the player's career ever since he started as a teenager a...
SPM 228: A New Kind Of Tribalism
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The European Super League seemed to re-frame the tribalism that's become such a huge part of modern football culture. Instead of fans ra...
SPM 227: The ESL S**tshow
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The podcast where four friends - presenter Hugh Ferris, writer Rory Smith, commentator Steven Wyeth & pundit Andy Hinchcliffe - talk football over foo...
SPM Bonus: The ESL Fury
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The European Super League appears to have transitioned from being used in a game of brinkmanship to become a thing of potential reality....
SPM 226: Agents
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Considering that Kevin de Bruyne appeared not to need one, and Erling Haaland is very obviously using one, we thought we'd talk about ag...
SPM 225: Should we expect football to reflect our own moral compass?
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: With the recent protests by some players against the conditions faced by migrant workers in Qatar, and the conflict some of us feel when...
SPM 224: The Sub-Chinch England XI
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After an unnecessarily deep dive into the international footballing history of Jonjo Shelvey, a listener suggested we might put together...
SPM 223: What is 'International Level'?
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: For so long, the phrase 'international level' has been used to designate the 'highest level', but is that still the case? Why does a pla...
SPM 222: Is football intelligent enough to change?
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: A year on from the global lockdown, and the football shutdown, why is there no apparent consensus on how to change the game to guarantee...
SPM 221: How much football is too much football?
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: With nearly a year of every Premier League football fixture being on television, have we reached a saturation point? Are we still enjoyi...
SPM 220: The Anatomy Of A Post-Match Interview
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Following a much-discussed incident from another sport, we try and shine a light on how a post-match interview works from a journalist's...
SPM 219: System or Circumstance?
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: When a coach is so wedded to a system that has brought them success, should they modify it when unforeseen circumstances dictate? Or is ...
SPM 218: GOATs
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why the obsession with crowning someone as the GOAT? And not even just the GOAT of a particular sport, but an overall GOAT for all sport...
SPM 217: Statistics have growing power, but are we using them responsibly?
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: We apply the 'Peter Parker Principle' to football statistics, asking if the growing power of data should be wielded in a more responsibl...
SPM 216: Managers' teams or players' teams?
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why are some teams defined by the success or otherwise of the man who leads them, and why is the story of others told through the prism ...
SPM 215: The Non-Elite World Cup
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Following FIFA's threat to bar from their tournaments all those involved in a potential breakaway European Super League, we imagine thos...
SPM 214: What's our current relationship with behind closed doors football?
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Now that it's been more than seven months, and an end is not immediately in sight, have we become so accustomed to behind closed doors f...
SPM 213: Pragmatism
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: We often describe managers or teams as pragmatic, but has football distorted the meaning of the word? Is it actually the case that those...
SPM 212: Why is everyone talking about Leeds?
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Whether it's because of Marcelo Bielsa's philosophy or the official club twitter account, it seems everyone is talking about Leeds. We a...
SPM 211: Nostalgia (Part 2)
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The second part of our festive offering about nostalgia. After the discussion last week about players, we wonder if nostalgia actually m...
SPM 210: Nostalgia (Part 1)
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Over the Christmas period we're bringing you a two-parter on nostalgia; how it effects the way we think about football right now, and wh...
SPM 209: What happens when the magic potion runs out?
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After two promotions and glowing notices for his overlapping centre backs, Chris Wilder and Sheffield United are struggling. Has the mag...
SPM 208: Allegiances
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why do some pundits wear their allegiances on their sleeve, and has the success of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher changed the age-old ...
SPM 207: Can you have the genius without the flaws?
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The passing of Diego Maradona prompted a discussion about both his genius and his flaws. But was he the former because of the latter, an...
SPM 206: Why do people support s**t teams?
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: A listener describes his own support of the team he loves as a 'diagnosable masochistic disorder', prompting a question about why fans c...
SPM 205: What makes a good game?
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: What are the crucial criteria that must be met for a game to be considered 'good'? The assumption is that the simple answer is goals; bu...
SPM 204: Footballers and 'The Mainstream'
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Following our conversation about sport in general and its relationship with the mainstream, we eventually get around to what last week's...
SPM 203: Sport and 'The Mainstream'
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: We've had so many intra-episode tangents over the years, why not make a whole episode out of one? An intended conversation about footbal...
SPM 202: The Rebuild
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Whether it's foresight and proactivity from a position of stability and strength, or alternatively you're in a mess like the current Bar...
SPM 201: Can football die?
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Can football die? And if so, would football be the reason why? With big clubs attempting to pull the game in one direction, and fans app...
SPM 200: Project Big Picture - Opportunity or Opportunism?
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: For a long time, and in the last six months more than once, we've been talking on SPM about how football's structure might have to chang...
SPM 199: Team Talks and Press Conferences
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: How effective are the words managers use to both his players, and the media? Is the modern team talk more about tactics than broken tea ...
SPM 198: Seriously. WTF is going on?
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Can anyone please tell us what the **** is going on in the Premier League? Three rounds of fixtures, and a plethora of goals, mistakes a...
SPM 197: Knee-jerk Reactions (Part 2)
23 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The second part of our conversation about early season knee-jerk reactions asks if players are immune to them, or whether in the social ...
SPM 196: Knee-jerk Reactions
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why are we so obsessed with coming to such early, sweeping conclusions each and every season? It would appear these knee-jerk reactions ...
SPM 195: The Football Pyramid
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Is the pyramid that has so long been the structure of English football still secure? The new season is about to start with the prospect ...
SPM 194: What we learnt about matches with no fans
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: As plans were being made for the post-lockdown return of football, many the apocalyptic prediction was made about how the game would suf...
SPM 193: The Champions League Last Eight (that was good, so let's not do it again)
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: This year's Champions League last eight tournament had everything we'd expect of the final stages of club football's elite competition, ...
SPM 192: Pep Talk
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After three (chaotic, mistake-ridden and VAR-affected) exits in three Champions League quarter finals in a row, we try and work out why ...
SPM 191: Elite players who have become elite managers
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: After Juventus took a punt on Andrea Pirlo, a man of legendary status and undoubted elite playing career, to take on their manager's job...
SPM 190: The lessons and legacy of the coronavirus pandemic, and will football just ignore them all?
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Covid-19 forced football to think differently about the way football is played, run and financed, but will the game learn any of those l...
SPM 189: The 3rd Annual Hot Takes And Takeaways
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Many traditions have been delayed in this unique Premier League season, but this is the one you've all been waiting for the most. The 3r...
SPM 188: The Obsession with Records
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why the sudden obsession with records, and attempts to devalue achievements if milestones aren't simultaneously broken? Has modern footb...
SPM 187: The Relegation Flake Out
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Why have the Premier League's current bottom three so far appeared to show very little fight in their fight against relegation? Norwich ...
SPM Bonus: MCFC FFP
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A special bonus pod to discuss the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to overturn Manchester City's two-year European ban. It's the MCFC FFP UE...
SPM 186: Professionalism
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Reunited in person for the first time since the lockdown, we talk about professionalism. What do we expect of players, and what do they ...
SPM 185: Desire
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: How important is desire? With Liverpool's Premier League title being the product of good data and good decision-making, how much of a ro...
SPM 184: Did we miss the actual football, or the paraphernalia that surrounds the games?
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Now the Premier League has returned, have we realised we missed the conversation around football, rather than the football itself? Is th...
SPM 183: The Premier League is back... but is it still the best?
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: The Premier League returns this week, but given that its marketing sells the league as 'the best in the world' primarily because of the ...
SPM 182: SPM Live! (It's Not Live) Part 2
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: Listeners from all around the world (including Swindon) join the four friends to talk football in the second edition of our live (not li...
SPM 181: SPM Live! (It's Not Live) Part 1
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: We are joined by a live audience over zoom, a Select XI of which ask questions to the team. Some of those questions are deeply thoughtfu...
SPM 180: Dressing Room Dynamics
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: We discuss how the dynamics of a dressing room have changed over the years, and ask if there can there be a dominant force, or whether c...
SPM 179: The Youth/Maturity Paradox
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The football: With fame and fortune thrust upon them at such an early age, elite footballers have an opportunity to experience things outside of work ...