Dave and Paul Talk Football

Episode 28 - Dave Left, Arsenal Won, Paul Is Fine

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. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 27 - If Arsenal Win the Double, My Phone's Going Off the Harbour Bridge

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. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 26 - The Five Stages of Grief

Paul is not okay. In what may be the most cathartic opening in podcast history, our resident Chelsea fan kicks off Episode 26 with a brutally honest breakdown of everything wrong at Stamford Bridge, from sacked managers to broken ownership, and somehow ends up talking himself into a place of acceptance. Meanwhile, Dave and Adam try to steer the ship back to actual football. The lads break down a massive Premier League weekend, including Man City's stunning 3-3 collapse at Everton that hands Arsenal the keys to the title, and the thrilling 3-2 Manchester United win over Liverpool that confirms Champions League football at Old Trafford under Michael Carrick. The relegation battle is heating up with West Ham, Spurs and Sunderland all sweating, and Arsenal's trip to West Ham looms as the defining fixture of the title race. On the Champions League front, Dave and Paul go to war over whether PSG 5-4 Bayern was the greatest game ever played or, in Paul's controversial opinion, a nine-goal defensive shambles that Atletico vs Arsenal ran rings around tactically. No agreement was reached. Plus, the lads run through their yes/no rapid fire questions, Paul makes a bold FA Cup final prediction, and someone threatens to quit the podcast over the Premier League player of the season. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 25 - Chaos, Carnage and Champions League Dreams

Dave and Paul are back for another week of Premier League chaos, and there's plenty to get stuck into. With the relegation battle reaching its most critical point, the boys debate whether Tottenham Hotspur can pull off the great escape or whether their fate is already sealed. Paul can't bring himself to accept it, Dave is convinced they're going down, and both agree the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou was the beginning of the end. Chelsea's managerial merry-go-round is also under the microscope, with Liam Rosenior now gone and a summer rebuild looming. Dave puts Paul in the hot seat as a fictional boardroom advisor, running through the names in the frame including Andoni Iraola, Xabi Alonso, Oliver Glasner, Cesc Fabregas, Marco Silva and even a romantic return for Jose Mourinho. Elsewhere, the lads dig into Bruno Fernandes' Player of the Year credentials, whether Michael Carrick deserves the Manchester United job on a longer deal, and what a nervy 1-0 Arsenal win over Newcastle tells us about the title race. Plus, with Champions League and Europa League semi-finals just around the corner, Paul makes his bold call: Atletico Madrid to win the whole thing. All that, plus the boys celebrate going viral after dropping their first video, and Adam throws open the challenge to any listener brave enough to argue with Dave and Paul live. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Episode 24 - A Title Race, A Trainwreck and a Relegation Dogfight

Arsenal have thrown open the title race after letting a nine-point lead shrink to three, and the boys are not holding back. Paul, Dave and Adam tear into whether Arteta's side have the mental fortitude to see it home, or whether Pep Guardiola's City are simply too professional to be stopped at this stage of the season. Is this Arsenal's year or the same story all over again? Then the conversation turns to Chelsea, where Paul gives his honest assessment of a club that has lost its way, a manager who can't command the dressing room, and a summer that needs to be brutal. What does missing the Champions League actually mean for Clearlake's project? Liverpool's European exit gets a proper dissection too. Was Slot's tactical approach against PSG naive or just outclassed? And with Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes both potentially on their way out, is the whole club at a crossroads? Finally the lads debate whether Spurs are genuinely going down, whether West Ham have done them a favour by dropping points against Palace, and why a game against Wolves this weekend might define the fate of one of English football's biggest clubs. Plus a fascinating footnote on Luis Diaz lighting up the Bundesliga and what his sale tells you about Liverpool's decision making. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.