Set Piece Menu Football Podcast

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 footballers in the mainstream got so sidetracked by Hugh's setup (rant) about sport as a whole and its relationship with the mainstream that we decided to just stick with it. We'll go back to the original plan next week, which we will make appear like a completely planned Part Two... Also, please stick around for the Soccer Story. It's an important one. The food: Hugh is very proud of his first ever cottage pie, complete with the (not so) secret ingredient: Worcestershire sauce. Yes, a British culinary staple, but one that it's taken him this long to cook. Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com And find us on twitter, facebook, and our YouTube channel!

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 Barcelona, teams need a regular rebuild. We discuss what makes a successful rebuild, how often you need to be planning for one, and whether they're even possible if you don't have money, or a manager with a significant power base. The food: Maltesers, suspended roughly half a centimetre above Rory's mouth. Because, like, he's 12. Please send your emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook!

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 appearing to be resistant to any change whatsoever, is football heading for a potential existential crisis, one that could stretch the relationship between those two sides of the debate to breaking point? Framed in the context of Project Big Picture, pay-per-view Premier League matches, and a potential European Super League, we discuss if football's future might end up being so fractious it becomes self-sabotaging. The food: Pepperoni pizza, provided by the soccer story. To reveal any more would be a spoiler... Thanks for all your emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com - we love hearing from you! Here's our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKzyR8SYH_LitHeWMWdZmbw Please give us a 5 star review on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/set-piece-menu-football-podcast/id1184990713

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 change, particularly in the context of how its flimsy foundations have been exposed by Covid 19. Well, as it turns out, others have also been discussing potentially seismic changes to the traditions of English football. We consider whether Project Big Picture is devised with the spirit of opportunity in mind, or if it's blatant opportunism, with the architects using the pandemic as an excuse to attempt to get what they've always wanted. The food: It's our 200th episode, so Hugh bought a cake. This is not only inappropriate, as it's not a birthday, but also in the wrong home, because Rory's son is actually celebrating a birthday. Hugh will be mindful of both these things while he eats the whole thing himself. Thanks for all your support over the 200 episodes of Set Piece Menu, give yourselves a pat on the back. And then send an email to setpiecemenu@gmail.com, or give us a 5 star review on iTunes!

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 cups, and is the audience for his media appearances not actually the media? Plus: We couldn't let the events of the past weekend go unmentioned, so there's more WTF-ery and handball nonsense to consider as well! The food: Having waved goodbye to daughter and granddaughter, who have moved out of the family home, Andy's wife Nicky immediately cooks their favourite dish without them - pasta with strips of fillet steak. Emails to: setpiecemenu@gmail.com And you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

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 and handballs. Oh, the handballs! We, as ever, attempt to answer our own question, while making sure Steven has enough time to rant about the handballs. The food: Hugh is particularly pleased with himself as he's eaten a vegan burger for the first time. Just one of the many cool things from three years ago he's only now catching up on. Don't forget to enter your selection into the SPMPLPL! Head to tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu to take part! Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 media age they're more aware of those premature judgements. Are they capable of inoculating themselves, or can the sanctity of their bubble become compromised by all the talk going on outside the club? And if they do hear it, how do they react? The food: Hugh is very proud of his Dutch Spiced Apple Cake, which he has purchased from his local garden centre, a place that you wouldn't normally find Dutch Spiced Apple Cake. PLUS: The team make their own knee-jerk based predictions, in an effort to: a) be childish, and b) undermine everything that has been said in the two most recent podcasts. There's still time to enter this year's SPMPLPL! Head to tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu to enter your predictions for how you think the final Premier League table will look. Your deadline for submissions is October 5th! Email the podcast on setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 are ever-present, and they are opinions that are becoming more and more staunchly held, regardless of how often they are completely disproved. The food: Rory has moved house, and christened his new abode with his mum's lasagna, which he insists is the best around. Chinch disagrees, leading to the proposal of a lasagna-off, probably the first in history. Don't forget to enter this year's SPMPLPL! Head to tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu and follow the instructions. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 of lower league clubs playing without fans, something that was considered financially unviable just a few weeks ago, and if some of the bricks at the bottom of the pyramid start to crumble, that would dictate the whole building is under threat. But does the Premier League's relative strength even in the face of a pandemic suggest it doesn't need those clubs who might have previously provided part of the foundation of their success? The food: Rory has been to Ireland, where he apparently only had one lunch per day. His favourite: socially distanced fish and chips. NEW FEATURE! If you have a meal you're particularly proud of and would like us to adopt for an episode, send a picture and description to setpiecemenu@gmail.com! Plus: The SPMPLPL is back! The Set Piece Menu Premier League Predictions League is WAY better than all the other ones on all those other websites. Why? Because there are consequences. Just ask Chinch. You can enter your predictions of how the final Premier League table will look here: tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu and the deadline is 5th October! All other correspondence to setpiecemenu@gmail.com, twitter and facebook, and please subscribe to our YouTube channel!

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 suffer without fans being allowed to attend the matches, but have we, the players, and broadcasters come to terms with behind closed doors quicker than we expected, and has that led to us learning something surprising about all three? The food: Chinch parades an avocado, banana and lime loaf baked by his step-daughter. It leads to him being very confused about the difference between a fruit and a vegetable. This week Chinch has set you a quiz! Please send your answers to the questions he poses in 'Football Fun: Soccer Story Edition' to setpiecemenu@gmail.com - each listener with all the correct answers gets a shout out on the pod! You can also check us out on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!

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, apart from ties played over two legs. If it worked so handsomely, why is it so unlikely to happen again? Rory decides to answer this question by comparing European football to an electric car. The food: Steven has "eaten out to help out" by returning to the Didsbury Deli for coffee and bacon butties. By doing this when everyone else is on zoom, it transpires the only person he's helping out is himself. All emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!

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 the best manager of a generation can't get it done in Europe. Is the narrative about Pep Guardiola 'overthinking' things true? Why are Manchester City's knockout games chaotic, mistake-ridden and VAR-affected? And why does Guardiola make significant tactical changes before each one? It's time... for a Pep talk. The food: Rory lovingly describes his homemade cookies, flavoured with toffee, an ingredient that is apparently only available because he now owns a toffee hammer. Emails to: setpiecemenu@gmail.com We're also on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!

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 having had no experience, we consider how rare it is that a world class player becomes a world class manager. Having realised that, as a result, coming up with a (trademarked) SPM Select XI would be a fairly easy task, we do exactly that. The food: Chinch has broken free of his Cheshire shackles to return to Portugal for the first time since the pre-pandemic era, and he's showing off by having some of his wife Nicky's special scrambled eggs on carcaça (a Portuguese bread, the shape of which is debated at length). Correspondence, including any suggestions for our latest Select XI, to setpiecemenu@gmail.com Check out our YouTube channel, or on twitter or facebook!

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 lessons? Can the only legacy of the lockdown and restart really be five substitutes? We discuss the things that should stay, should go, and should have been given more consideration. The food: Freshly returned from a trip to Bergamo, Rory reveals the tale of two lunches from his final day in Italy. The second, the one he was eventually culturally satisfied by, is described as: 'ham, field mushrooms and some sort of quite soft cheese inside a freshly-baked focaccia'. Send us an email! setpiecemenu@gmail.com Send us a tweet! @setpiecemenu Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/setpiecemenu Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Just search for Set Piece Menu

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 3rd Annual Hot Takes and Takeaways episode brings together our typically jumbled but hopefully consistent (ie: repetitive) thoughts about the last 11 and a half months of Premier League football. And yes, we mention VAR. The food: Steven is on holiday in Devon, and so regales us about the glamorous first breakfast of his summer break. Upsettingly, it includes a pastry in plastic. PLUS: We reveal the winner of the Set Piece Menu Premier League Predictions League, which once again delivers some extraordinary drama. This time though, it mainly involves Chinch... Keep your emails coming to setpiecemenu@gmail.com, and check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!