Set Piece Menu Football Podcast

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 history. Also includes extras! The food: The live show offers the four of us our first opportunity to eat together since March 2020, until Chinch bails early because he's eaten too many of the hula hoops in the green room. We have another live show coming up, and this one's to celebrate our 5th anniversary! Join us at the Courtyard Theatre in London's fancy Shoreditch on Thursday 16th December. Tickets available here: https://myticket.co.uk/artists/set-piece-menu-live MERCH: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast EMAIL: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 in the boardroom falling prey to it all too often? The food: As we ask you for ideas of what kind of food we could provide our live show audiences, Steve suggests the London show might be a good opportunity to try something new that's hit the capital, but not yet the regions, and that Rory's fancy pot noodle is the perfect example. Tickets for our London live show, celebrating 5 years of SPM are available here: https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 And you can buy merch here: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 talked of his young Manchester City bucks benefiting more from playing Wycombe every week than taking on someone their own size. We cycle through the possible solutions to the conundrum Pep poses, some of which Pep won't like. The food: Steven has been showered with gourmet gifts from his kindly neighbours during his forced period of Covid-related isolation. The descriptions of home made beef pie, lamb curry and M&S-made Colin the Caterpillar cake make the other three wish they had friends like Steven. ***LONDON LIVE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT*** Join us for a 5th anniversary SPM Live in London on Thursday 16th December at the Courtyard Theatre - tickets are here: https://myticket.co.uk/artists/set-piece-menu-live ***MANCHESTER LIVE SHOW REMINDER*** We're live at the National Football Museum on Thursday November 4th - tickets are here: https://t.co/gTGwN5BynX For anyt

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 relationship with the game can run so counter to what many of us assume, and what many more expect. The food: Chinch is home alone, and without the chef of the family has reduced his diet to crumpets. Only crumpets. Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com And tickets to our live show at the National Football Museum can be found here: https://t.co/JOw261zNKy?amp=1

The football: Following the Saudi (sorry, PIF) takeover of Newcastle (see SPM175 for more) we talk about how money, and the availability of wealth regardless of its origin, is celebrated more than anything else. Why do we hold financial might in such high regard, when there are so many other things we could be praising more? The food: The Rod Smith Drunk Salad. Rory explains how his father puts together his daily salad of leaves, spring onions, radishes (and occasional cheese), and inhales it as if he were eating ramen in Japan. LIVE SHOW TICKETS: head to www.nationalfootballmuseum.com to join us for a live show on Thursday 4th November MERCH: head to www.teepublic.com (search for SPM) if you want to wear merch EMAIL: setpiecemenu@gmail.com if you want to email us

The football: After Julian Nagelsmann talked about football potentially introducing an NFL-style playbook we ask if that's completely preposterous, or if in fact we're already headed in that direction. Plus Hugh gets very defensive about how to say the word defence. The food: Steve (kinda) shares a sausage sandwich on sourdough at a café in Sale with a former Manchester United manager. The rest of the group are embarrassed when they can't guess which one. ***LIVE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT*** We are doing a live show as part of the Football Writing Festival at the National Football Museum in Manchester. It's on Thursday 4th November (7pm) and ticket details are here: www.nationalfootballmuseum.com Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: www.teepublic.com (search for SPM or set piece menu)

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 bring you a second edition of what proved to be a hugely popular (you'll have to trust us on that) Soccer Pod Potpourri. It's our mailbag episode, and deals with everything from the legitimisation of banter to musak. The food: Chinch has a slice of what we'll call 'Reconstituted Carrot Cake'. Reconstituted because his wife Nicky accidentally let the top half slip out of the fridge onto the floor, which, according to Chinch, has not ruined it in the slightest. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: www.teepublic.com (just search for SPM or Set Piece Menu)

The football: Upon Jimmy Greaves' passing, his astounding goal-scoring record was brought to the attention to a whole new generation of football fans. Why was it not something that more people instinctively knew about, or remembered? We ask how we strike the right balance between those historical achievements and the modern game. The food: Rory has visited his parents, and the deli nearby to pick up his favourite lunch item - a chicken tikka, tzatziki and mango chutney salad sandwich on twisted white cobb. He doesn't tell his parents this is actually why he visits them so regularly. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: www.teepublic.com (search for SPM or set piece menu)

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-old Saturday 3pm blackout was no longer fit for purpose. So we ask how fiercely we should preserve tradition, even if it seems anachronistic? It's a conversation that very quickly makes us appear like middle-aged men shouting into a void about teenagers. The food: A nice cup of hot crisps. Minutes before recording, Hugh makes the mistake of indulging in the two things he was once told you should never ingest in advance of broadcasting: a tea, and crisps. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: www.teepublic.com (just search for SPM or Set Piece Menu)

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 associated exposure could give the women's game a chance to forge a different path to the one the men travelled 30 years ago. For those who desire autonomy within the sport, might changing the structure be a (so far unconsidered)way to see that through into the long term future? The food: The food, according to Rory, is not actual food, but the chance to enjoy food on his own terms. He has sent his son off to pre-school, and immediately enjoyed the first ten minutes of his freedom by sitting in his favourite café. The email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com The merch: www.teepublic.com (search for SPM or Set Piece Menu) LAST CALL FOR SPMPLPL: Head to www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu to enter this year's competition in which we ask you to predict the final Premier League table. You have until the end of Friday 11th September!!

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 true, or is it the financial reality of how few clubs can afford to both secure the top players, and keep them, that is the determining factor? The food: Lightly cured mackerel, oscietra caviar, Jersey Royal potatoes with almond milk, sardine dressing & kalamata olives; Cumbrian lamb loin, red pepper, Yorkshire black garlic, pak choi, braised shoulder ‘corn dog’; Hetton meadow sweet cheesecake, blackberries, miso caramel and shortbread, sake lees crémeux. Seriously. MERCH: www.teepublic.com - search for SPM or Set Piece Menu EMAIL: setpiecemenu@gmail.com SPMPLPL: www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu - now with an extended deadline of Friday 11th September!

The football: Siege mentalities, or more pertinently, fake ones. Why has what once might have been a genuine management tactic turned into little more than a media trope, happily seized upon by managers looking for a distraction, and players looking for motivation. The food: Steven is at his parents' house, and has enjoyed a lengthy barbecue, plus chocolate cake, all in celebration of his brother's birthday. He also insists his only beer is that of the low-alcohol variety, but the others will take some convincing of that. ***MERCH is available at teepublic.com - just search for SPM or Set Piece Menu*** ***Enter the SPMPLPL now at www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu - the deadline is Friday 3rd September*** Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 anymore? The European Super League debacle spoke of the 'Big Six' trying to break away because they weren't, and haven't been, the 'Top Six' for a while. And if you are one of those 'Big Six', can you ever be replaced? The food: Chinch has two chocolate and hazelnut chunky cookies, which he's so enamoured with he eats at the same time, stacked like a sandwich. ***WEEKLY MERCH REMINDER*** Click on this link to see our range, and then buy our range. Our whole range. For everyone you know. https://www.teepublic.com/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast?ref_id=24300 The SPMPLPL is now live for your predictions of how the final Premier League table will look! All the details are at www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu Deadline: Friday 3rd September Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 says about modern football, and we come up with an answer: A LOT. The food: Rory has reinvested his most recent BBC fee into buying a fancy pot noodle from Waitrose. ***ANNOUNCEMENT*** We have a new range of Set Piece Menu merchandise, and we would recommend (insist) that you buy it. Literally all of it. Multiple times. Head here for the selection: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast?ref_id=24300 Also email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com, but understand that won't make us any money...

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 either like to be, or comfortable with the idea they scout and poach the best minds and philosophies from elsewhere. Then we conclude by indulging the very subject of our series, and outlining why the Premier League is indeed exceptional. The food: Here's Nicky Hinchcliffe's virtual dessert to round off our three course feast. Pear, plum and apple crumble with pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds, and dusted with toasted flaked almonds. Served with lashings of Madagascan vanilla custard.

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 there a tax for English clubs, because the rest of the world know they have more money than everyone else? And is there a complicity from abroad in allowing the Premier League to have more, and spend more, knowing there'll be a benefit to them? The food: We're on the main course of Nicky Hinchcliffe's virtual feast. Sit back and enjoy (think about) organic mini chicken breast fillets in a cream and brandy sauce with a hint of tarragon, served with fresh green beans, baby carrots and minted, buttered new potatoes.

The football: The summer series (aka filler content between organised domestic or international football) is back! We have three connected episodes coming at you over next three weeks considering the many different aspects to the idea of Premier League Exceptionalism. The English top flight might be the best, but could that also be the very root of what undermines its exceptionalism? And also is it literally an exception? Does what happens in the Premier League bear no resemblance to achievements or reputation elsewhere? The food: In a nod to the traditional accompaniment to a multi-part summer series - a multi-course Nicky Hinchcliffe feast - we have asked Chinch to imagine what she might cook were we able to be together. So, the starter: pan-fried scallops with pancetta, bacon and chorizo on a bed of fresh watercress with creme fraiche and zest of lemon dressing. We're taking a break from reading your emails on the show for these three episodes, but that doesn't mean you should stop sending them to setpie

SPM 239: Hot Takes and Takeaways (Euro 2020 Edition) by Rory Smith, Andy Hinchcliffe, Steven Wyeth, Hugh Ferris

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 really commit to its principles once he's workshopped it (had it pulled apart) by his pod colleagues. Step forward Steven, Hugh and Chinch to consider, a little too fully, the plight of Luxembourg. The food: A cardamom knot, which is part of Rory's bourgeois breakfast. Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com

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 find fault. What distorts our memories in favour of historical tournaments and subsequently raises expectations to an unreasonable level for their modern day equivalents? Plus, in a variation on the theme, a Soccer Story about Chinch not narrated by Chinch. And Steven deputises as host with Hugh cashing in all acceptable excuses for an absence in one go. Email setpiecemenu@gmail.com or find us on social media: @setpiecemenu