The Football Musketeers

England finish top of the group, unbeaten, zero conceded and 7 points out of 9.

We discuss what we think of how England have played so far, discuss the performane against the Czech Republic and look forward to who we would like to play in our last-16 game.

As H says in this episode... it really is simple, play Grealish and It's coming home.  

We look back over the Euros so far, discuss who has impressed us and who has disappointed us with their opening performance

Jim apologies for some past comments...

Discuss England v Croatia and what we think the line-up will be for England v Scotland, along with how we feel the game is likely to go.

Rounding off this weeks episode with a score prediction for Friday night!

This week we are joined by Kai a lifelong Newcastle fan who got in touch after some rather choice words from Christian and Dan in a previous episode. We discuss all things Newcastle the good, the bad and the Mike Ashley.

We then touch on the England 26 man squad discussing what we thought of 4 right backs and also if anyone who missed out should have been included. 

Rounding off the episode with an England themed quiz. 

This week H confronts Christian on his claim that Brendan Rodgers is a bottlejob for missing out on the Champions league with Leicester again this season.

We then move on to disccuss in detail our thoughts on the England squad of 33 and who we would leave out and why.

We are taking a few weeks break from the Charity Acca and will resume during the Euros! 

Finishing off the episode as ever with another round of Who Am i....

This week we discuss who we see as the top current managers that are out of work, including the one and only Eddie Howe!

We look into a topic which has divided opinion on our whatsapp group this week 'Foreign Owners in Football' are they a power for good or bad?

In addition we also touch on Crystal Palace and their playing squad, we bet where we think Kane will be next season.

Finishing as always with our charity accumulator bet and this weeks game, Who am I? 

This weeks episode we discuss the manager merry-go-round that the world of football is currently seeing...from the current vacant Tottenham role, Eddie Howe being tempted by Celtic and the if Hogdson will stick it out at Crystal Paalce for much longer?

Are Newcastle fans the most deluded in the Premier League?

We touch on Dan's Charlton missing out on the playoffs

We also take a peek at the approach German clubs take to ticket prices and if this could be used in English football?

This weeks episode we start off by discussing the Premier League Hall of fame and looking over the 23 man shortlist with which 6 more will be inducted by the votes of you the fans.

Timo Werner has not had the best of years in front of goal for Chelsea, what does the future hold for the German International and also what does Tammy Abraham do should he not get the game time we both needs or wants.

The season is down to the final few weeks so we look over all of the movers both up and down the EFL and discuss who we think will secure them final play-off berths as well as discussing those already promoted/relegated and how we see them performing next season.

Another week another ACCA....fingers crossed we can finally end our terrible run of form.

Rounding off the episode with a football quiz styled game from Dan! 

This weeks episode we are down to just the 3 Musketeers with Jim, Dan and H dissecting the footballing weeks news including the birth and quick death of the European Superleague and Jose Mourinho leaving Tottenham.

Once again touching on Jude Bellingham and what the future may hold for this young talent, Euro 2021 call-up perhaps? 

We once again attempt to win some money for Charity with our weekly accumulator bet. 

Finally ending this weeks episode is none other than a game by the man himself H!

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This week we discuss the ups and downs of the Premier league as well as look at what should happen with Tottenham this Summer.

We also dive down the leagues looking at both the promotion and relegation battles in the Championship, League One and League Two and pick out who we think will finish in them vital spots.

Yet again our charity accumulator bet was let down by Dan ( + H ) but we are back with our tails between our legs trying yet again to win some money for charity!

Rounding off the episode as ever with a game from H....if you can believe that! 

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Looking for a footballing gift for yourself or a loved one? Why not check out our partners over at:

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Kicking of the new season, this week we discuss the recent England performances, touching on the form of Jesse Lingard and the worries we have between the sticks with Pope producing some unconvincing performances.

Does Grealish get into the 23 for the Euros and what that means for the rest of the selections. (Please no Dier)

Gary Neville recently stated that Maguire was more of an important player to England than Kane, we certainly air our views on that opinion. Ending the episode with our charity Accumulator choices and yet another impromptu game.....

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Looking for a footballing gift for yourself or a loved one? Why not check out our partners over at:

ScoreDrawPrints: https://www.etsy.com/shop/scoredrawprints/  (TFM10 - 10% Discount)
&
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We talk England in the build up to Eng V Pol match and look over the previous results against San Marino and Albania.

H discusses some more footballers hairstyles that grind his gears with Kalvin Phillips featuring quiet heavily...

In the news this week Aguero announced this season would be his last for Man City, we look at what the future holds for him as well as some of the other top talents around the world.

Ending as always with our charity accumulator and for this weeks episode an impromptu game from Christian.

Mr Harry Kane, what do we think he should do for the good of his career. Should he stay at Spurs or seek a move away in order to increase his chances of winning some silverware?

We touch on Dan's Charlton, his frustrations with other Charlton fans and who he would have liked to have been their new manager.

With the season slowly drawing to a close, we look back at our relegation predictions for the premier league and discuss if anyone has now changed their mind...

Ending the episode as always with our charity accumulator (praying for a win) and our game 10 clues led this week by Jim 

This weeks episode we are joined by none other than Guy Mowbray together we look ahead to the Euros by predicting how England will fare in the tournament.

We fire some questions to Guy touching on how working has been during the COVID pandemic especailly with the absence of fans. Who's name did he have to practice the most in pronouncing and just how much prep is needed in his line of work.

Finishing off the episode with our Charity accumulator with Guy joining the musketeers whilst we still seek our first win! 

This week we run through our midfield and attacking choices for our England teams and look at if Foden is ready to start or if Grealish should get the nod ahead of him?

We touch on the Premier leagues relegation battle and lock in who we each think will fill the 3rd from bottom spot.

The return of fans for next season is what everyone wants to see but, how many will commit to season tickets on their return? Is it down to the clubs to entice the fans back more than normal whilst reassuring them that stadiums are a safe space to be.

H shares his passionate views on Chelsea and their somewhat colourful past with "successful strikers"

And as always we finish off with our Charity Acca (let down by Christian last week) and our game 10 clues, led this week by Dan!  

This week we discuss what our defensive choices would be for England this summer at the Euros and why John stones is now all of a sudden looking like the answer to our problems.

Christian vents his frustration at managers who bring in squads on their off-days as a way of punishment, not wholly supported by the rest.

Last weeks charity accumulator was a disaster with all 4 of our choices losing, this week we select our own games and place another bet in order to try and win some money for the "Lucy Bannister Foundation" in memory of Howards sister.

As always we round off the episode with a game of 10 clues with Jim behind the clues (hastily written during recording this episode...)

We are joined this week for a chat by James Andrew who is the editor of the massively popular FourFourTwo football magazine.

We discuss James' team Fulham and whether or not he thinks they will survive the drop this year and also find out who his favourite all-time player was.  

We touch on how the English football pyramid is what sets us apart from other leagues on the continent and the need to protect it has never felt more important than now.

All other hot topics from recent weeks of football are discussed with us finally ending on another game of 10 clues this week hosted by H.

We review some of the eye-catching deals done in the recent transfer window

We give our thoughts on the Premier league relegation battle and look into if it is already finished for the current bottom 3

Do loan signings cause diruption amongst the rest of the squad or do they contribute more than they take away?

A brand new game: 10 Clues, can you guess who the player is?

Should the Premier league financially aid the lower leagues?

Is the FA cup dead?

Could Arsenal be title contenders in 5 years time?

Who Am I returns for another week! 

Will Lampard survive the season +  Who would we replace him with?

Brendan Rodgers gets alot of Musketeer love

We discuss our fan highlight as football fans to date

Who Am I returns!  (can you guess the player)

We kick off this weeks show with a question submitted by previous special guest on the show Matt Holland.

We then discuss talking points as asked by you the listeners.

To finish the episode we take on a new game: Who Am I.    (Can you guess the player?)

The Return of fans and how the experience will be different

VAR + Changing the offside rule

Discussion around your England team submissions

What is a substantial meal?

We discuss the good and the bad of the England team, who we would like to see in the starting 11 and also who we would like to see managing the team going forward.

We also touch on Scotland qualifying for the Euros and what that means for England (3pts...) 

We discuss Matt's career,  touching on his time with Millwall and the incredible FA cup run they went on, what it was like playing and being coached by Dennis wise. Making the move to Crystal Palace and any challenges he found along the way.  Finishing up with his time spent at Gillingham and what he thinks makes a fan favorite.

Quickfire question as always to round off the episode.

We discuss how Kedwell rose through the lower leagues to later guide AFC Wimbledon and then boyhood club Gillingham to promotion campaigns.

Danny then takes on the club goal challenge, how many will he guess correctly?

Quick-fire questions to finish!  

Liam discusses his career to date both in England and the time he spent out playing in the MLS.

We find out what Liam has done with his Portland timbers log as well as his career highlight.

Liam goes head to head against H in a higher or lower challenge.

Quick-fire questions to finish with some interesting answers....

We discuss how Jason Brown came to become a professional footballer and how some of the transfer deals came about as well as openly discussing his own battles with mental health and how he has dealt with some of his demons.

Christian then takes on his boyhood hero Jason Brown in a higher or lower contest.

Quick-fire questions to finish!

Wage Cap – should there be a limit based on the amount you play?

What Constitutes a big club, Revenue? Success? The Fans?

The Core – what do you need to build a great team?

We discuss Matt's career and dive into all of the many successes he had whilst playing and what Matt sees for himself in the Future

Jim takes on Matt in a head to head challenge

Finishing off the episode with some quick-fire questions

We discuss Karen's career, her achievements within the game, how she is finding life after retirement and also her overall outlook on the women's game today.

Karen then takes on the Lionesses cap challenge, how will she do?

We finish with some quick-fire questions...who do you think the funniest player she has played with is?

We are joined by former Premier League goalkeeper and current Crystal Palace coach Dean Kiely chatting about his career to date and delving behind the scenes into the world of football that many of us dream to be a part of.

Dan our resident Charlton Fans takes Dean on in a head to head challenge.

Dean answers some quick-fire questions on a variety of topics. 

- Jack Grealish decision to go out to a house party merely hours after advising the public to stay safe and stay at home was clearly a mistake but what will the repercussions be?

- In the current climate, what role should football teams take in society and is it morally right for Premier League clubs to furlough backroom staff whilst players are untouched?

- When football eventually returns do we support it being played behind closed doors?

- Dan v Jim in another head to head with Jim holding a slender 3-2 lead. 

With a special guest appearance from Mark Chapman we discuss some of the biggest talking points from the football season so far.

VAR - How it has been used and how it could and should be improved going forward.

Liverpool Dominance - Will Liverpool dominate with such a settled squad and manager or will the others start to catch up?

Football in general and the current situation the sport finds itself in.

Rounded off with some quickfire questions with Mark Chapman 

Football has now been officially suspended until at least the 3rd of April, with many predicting this to be extended for at least a few more weeks. The Musketeers discuss and debate tee different options available as well as the repercussions they could have.

Euro 2020 is now to be held in 2021, does this benefit England in any way or not?

Dan v Christian in a head-to-head, who is your money on?

Goalkeepers, is the focus on making them as technical as the rest of the team now leaving teams with overall poorer keeper and actually leading to more costly mistakes?

John stones is in great form currently, we talk about if Stones could be the answer to help England solve their defensive fragilities.

We start our Musketeers charity accumulator, betting on the results of 4 of the best games each week with one from each of the top 4 English leagues. All winnings will be donated to the Lucy Bannister Foundation in memory of Howards sister.

Finishing up the episode as ever with a game of 10 clues. 

- Is the introduction of VAR technology destroying the fun and enjoyment of the game we all love.

- Does it need to change or simply scrapped? Man City look to be banned from Europe for the next two seasons, will this stand? If so, what does that mean for the future of the club?

- Financial Fair Play, does it protect teams from extinction or prevent them from ever-growing?

- Dan v Jim with the score 2-1 to Jim in the series, will Dan pull level or will Jim extend his lead back to two once more? 

Should football teams destined for relegation stick or twist with their current manager?

Is the Top 4 a thing of the past, has it now become an elitist top two with everyone else fighting for scraps?

Jim is 2-0 up in the Head-to-Head series, can he go 3-0 up or will Dan fight back?

Is Jose Mourinho now past it as a manager or does he still have what it takes to bring success to Tottenham? Harry Kane’s likely absence from Euro 2020 leaves a space for a new number 9, who should this be?

Can Dan level the scores in another round of Jim vs Dan?

- Will Liverpool be able to dominate domestically and within Europe over the next 5 years, or is that simply not possible in the modern game?

- Whos the better player, Ronaldo or Messi? Or is it just down to what you prefer...

- Dan vs Jim in a test of football know-how. 

Here is a little taster of what to expect from the Football Musketeers Podcast.