Shows
Touchline TheoryWhat makes De Zerbi Ball So Unique? Featuring Jack McCormackHiya folks, episode 18 is finally on the cards. In it, in light of his recent appointment to the gilded ~Premier League~, Martín and Will share an insightful discussion with De Zerbi aficionado Jack from the archives. The lads talk all things Sassuolo, Shakhtar, and more. What makes this fella so interesting? What better than to let one of his disciples get you up to speed.Do tune in :)Find us on Twitter @touchlinetheory.Find our shrewd guest Jack @JackM_77!Find Martin @MG_theory2, and Will @WA_theory!2022-09-261h 34Touchline TheoryWhat is Tempo and How Can We Quantify It?Oh Baby! Episode 17! Touchline Theory returns after another lengthy hiatus, fueled by the emotional impetus delivered by our newest number one fan. Hailing from Brisbane, Australia--Jonathan, we welcome you to the family! Today, our dynamic duo waste little time recapping the months they've been out of commission, and instead leap headfirst into a classic question: what is tempo? .. and maybe why should we care?As they soon find out, the term is hard to define. It carries musical analogues that can help us begin to grasp the concept, but a range of discussions surrounding units of measure...2022-03-291h 28Touchline TheoryAre We Doing Subs Completely Wrong? Featuring Austin ReynoldsEpisode 16! Another guest! Today, Austin Reynolds of The Philadelphia Union II, Soccer Detail, and the widely-referenced Spielverlagerung joins the TT Pod to talk all things substitutions. It's jam packed, as the kid--only 24--is a fountain of knowledge (currently taking his USSF A license course) and brings more than his fair share of insights to the table. Let's hop in.The show begins with a discussion on fatigue. One of the main reasons players get subbed, at all, is because their tired--but how exactly does exhaustion impact performance? Switching gears, Martin & Austin chat about some of the cognitive...2021-11-171h 52Touchline TheoryHow Can We Escape a Cycle of Crippling Mediocrity? PART TWO: The Koeman KonundrumEpisode 15! Ronald Koeman Edition. The boys take the second leg of this podcast double header and discuss how the Barca managerial situation bears resemblance to United's recent perils. These challenges have been painfully ongoing--is there any way out?The show starts with some discussion regarding the Riqui Puig saga--and whether picking fights with anyone in the dressing room is an advisable thing to do. It goes without saying that Koeman's prickly feud with the wide-eyed, handsome, young Ricard hasn't improved his approval ratings. We ask: once you've singled a player out like that, is there ever really...2021-11-042h 18Touchline TheoryHow Can We Escape a Cycle of Crippling Mediocrity? PART ONE: The Solskjær StumperEpisode 14! Ole in! The world is on fire, but never fear--the sirens are ringing and we're riding in, in our special suits. Today, on a spicy edition of The TTSP, Will drives a discussion on a Manchester United team that is hopelessly trying to break free of an eternity of water treading. Or are they? It's jam packed with surprises and our most moronic, albeit still somewhat substantive show yet. Woo!We start with a new segment, whose name we'll leave as a present for those who tune in, where we discuss all sorts of ranging topics...2021-10-282h 09Touchline TheorySo What Actually Makes a Good Goalkeeper? Featuring Aidan ReaghEpisode (lucky number) 13! Welcome to TT's first ever interview episode, with Aidan Reagh. Today, rather than spouting the usual nonsense, Martin & Will sit back, relax, and enjoy a true expert soccer talker's insights. Thank God for that!As two blokes somewhat unfamiliar with the often-separated world of goalkeeping, our co-hosts have long pondered how to genuinely understand what differentiates the good from the bad players in net. Height, vocal projection, confidence, and other intuitive psuedo-metrics like perceived diving technique have given them clues in the past, but left them with more questions than answers. Today, Aidan--a member...2021-09-302h 07Touchline TheoryCan Loss Aversion Help Us Coach Better?Episode 12! Off the back of a hectic transfer deadline finale, the USMNT's wobbly start to the qualifying campaign, Tammy Abraham's explosive start for Roma, and more--our duo sat down to produce our longest intro yet. It's a hodgepodge, but when there's much to say, we say it!In half #1, the fellas dive into the recent Weston McKinnie drama, discussing whether or not the nightlife in Nashville really compares to that in Ibiza. They conclude .. nothing, really, and simply express disappointment with the fact that it happened. We shouldn't rip the kid apart, but he probably shouldn't wear...2021-09-092h 44Touchline TheoryWas There Something to be Said for Football .. Without Fans?Welcome back folks. It's episode 11. Amidst the rosy return of fans to stadiums, worldwide, Will leads a discussion as to whether this is truly a delightful thing to witness--or if there are in fact mischievous downsides, lurking in the shadows, to playing in front of an audience. As a critical reminder, the dynamic duo are coming at this from the angle of being self-proclaimed "soulless American soccer fans", fellas that rarely get to grace the beauty of Europe's finest grounds in person, but this is the archetype of many football "hinchas" around the world; their voices ought not be...2021-08-271h 36Touchline TheoryShould We All Stop Searching for "Regens"?Episode 10! Martin & Will return from a lengthy mic-hiatus and catch up on all recent happenings. Argentina's Copa America, Will's new club team job, a quick Euros recap, and Leo's sudden departure. Inspired by a recent conversation with a friend of the pod, today's chit chat surrounded the way in which some fanbases clamor for signings that are reminiscent of the golden days. Chelsea are hopeful that they've found their "next Drogba" in Lukaku, while Barca fans can't help but compare Yusuf Demir's gait to the ghost of Messi, and Liverpool assesses whether their next striker replacement ought to fit...2021-08-141h 38Touchline TheoryIs Thiago Right? Is The Magic Gone in Football?Episode 9! The boys are back with an ironic, somber vengeance. In the aftermath of Spain, Croatia, France, and Switzerland's immensely entertaining Euro 2020 fixtures, Martin leads a discussion on a much less dazzling note--regarding Thiago Alcantara's recent interview with The Guardian in which he proclaimed that the magic has actually slowly left football. It's quite the claim, especially coming from a player at the pinnacle of the sport, so we had to dive into it.The first half includes remarks on the individual vs. the collective--and how perceptions of appreciation and alienation have transitioned throughout generations. The purpose...2021-06-301h 07Touchline TheoryIs Gosens Simply Unstoppable?The goose is loose! Episode 8! We've spent another week away from the mic with Will's scenic albeit wifi-free Colorado vacation and Martin's focus being channeled towards his JdP piece, but we're back feeling restored and ready to rumble. This week, Will spearheads a discussion on Robin Gosens, a player he's had his eye on for a while, but who finally drew international attention after his spectacular showing against Portugal. Our questions are simple: just how did he do it, and now that the cat's out of the bag, is there any way to stop him?The conversation...2021-06-241h 07Touchline TheoryHow Did Chelsea Slay the Halfspace King?The boys are back from the dead! Episode 7 baby! Yeehaw! Martin & Will get the show back on track after a week of Twitter bans, tiresome coaching schedules, and a healthy heaping of TT jinxing to go along with it. Today, they dive into the Champions League Final, as Martin seeks to convince Will that this was, in fact, one of the historic defensive performances of all time. Will isn't so sure, just yet.The first half starts with a high level overview, in which Martin lays much of the groundwork for Chelsea's system. He performs a somewhat...2021-06-081h 28Touchline TheoryHow Should a National Team Pick Depth?Episode 6! Let's dive right into it! On the eve of Gareth Southgate's lose-lose decision, tasked with selecting a small cohort of English players from a vast pool of talented options, Will leads a discussion on the challenges of being in his boots. Our hosts start by laying out the candidates for the coveted and controversial right back role, introducing somewhat speculative "feelings" that accompany each one, with a few stats to more firmly back them up. They've prepared a bit of a label for each player for those that are unfamiliar with them.The conversation steers into...2021-05-251h 46Touchline TheoryWhy is Everyone Rebranding?Episode 5! Let's talk about branding, baby! This week, Martin leads an exceedingly open-ended discussion on the recent wave of clubs making aesthetic tweaks to storied badges. Ep.5's catalyst was the newly dubbed "Columbus Soccer Club", an MLS team that recently cemented its grassroots foundations through a community based movement, but suddenly pulled the carpet out from under themselves when they announced a bland, minimalist, new crest. C stands for which city again? The questions of the day start with why these moves have stirred such immense upheaval, why logos carry significance in the first place, and a foray...2021-05-182h 10Touchline TheoryDo Yellow Cards Work?Episode 4! Crime and punishment edition. Today, Will poses the question of whether yellow cards in football actually do what they're intended to do. The recent catalyst for discussion being PSG's (otherwise known as Petulant Soccer Guys) temper tantrum finish against Man City, alongside some recent Casemiro bookings and Fernandinho not-bookings.The duo proceed to conjure up this idea of a number line with nodes as a representation of the infraction thresholds referees define for themselves. These various points determine what constitutes a common foul or card in their book, and largely vary from ref to ref. They...2021-05-112h 09Touchline TheoryLate-game, Why do Teams Abandon Ship?Episode 3! We're back at it again. This week, Martin leads a discussion inspired by a previous piece hung in the Touchline Theory Museum: "Why the Hail Mary Fails in our Football". The duo dive into why some dominant, albeit losing, teams tend to ring the alarm towards the ends of matches and descend into disorder, rather than staying true to their practiced blueprint. After watching numerous cases in which a side throws away their final 20 minutes pumping the rock long, subbing on 3 strikers for 3 defenders, and more, our hosts felt obliged to get to the bottom of things. Needless...2021-05-041h 21Touchline TheoryDoes Soccer Still Have a Place for the One-Trick Pony?We're back! In this second (and shorter) edition of The Touchline Theory Soccer Podcast, Will spearheads a discussion with Martin on a dying breed of player: the one-trick pony. The duo start by remarking upon the seemingly incredulous rise of two once-overlooked, former reserve team defenders--who've now both proven to be invaluable to their respective team's successes this season. Our hosts outline the nature of this sudden rise to prominence and find a particular handful of skills in which each player shockingly excels. The chat then delves into the psychological edge that players free of mentally-shackling transfer...2021-04-271h 13Touchline TheoryIs the Super League the End of Football?We're starting off with a bang! After weeks and months of gearing up to host our first edition of the Touchline Theory Soccer Podcast, with due time and preparation, the soccer storks dropped the ugliest of babies on our doorstep--so we had to get the show on the road.Welcome to Episode 1: Super League. Martin and Will tackle the most convoluted of evolving situations, in which a subset of "super" clubs have broken away from the pack to firmly establish themselves as Europe's elite. Amidst an outpour of concern, disgust, and scorn from the fans...2021-04-201h 56