Set Piece Menu Football Podcast

Merry Christmas from Set Piece Menu! The football: Following a frankly below-average summer outing for the SPM Football Fun quiz, the clamour* has grown for a Christmas special edition, to both entertain you all, and provide easy content for us. Hugh dips back in to his question-a-day calendar to ask an advent-suitable number of 24 for our three intrepid contestants. Will Rory win again? Will Steve be able to answer any without speaking with his mouth full? And most importantly, will Chinch engage with the process at all? Find out with Set Piece Menu's Festive Football Fun! The food: A Christmas chilli, provided to an astounding level of tastiness by Steven. *There has been no clamour.

The football: If we accept we use the word 'great' too much, when should we use it? What do we mean when we talk of a player as 'great', or even 'a great', and while we're at it, should we perhaps find a better way of describing a goal as a 'great' goal? The food: Two sweet treats. One is a home-made non-beetroot brownie lovingly made by Nicky Hinchcliffe; the other is shop-bought off-brand stollen hurriedly purchased by Hugh. Contact: setpiecemenu@gmail.com @setpiecemenu facebook.com/setpiecemenu

The football: Which players have failed to live up to the hype they received when they were teenagers? Why are they considered the next best thing in the first place, and what are the reasons things turn out differently to those high expectations? And, most importantly, can we get a Select XI out of it? The food: Rory provides bacon sandwiches that are definitely now in the top 10 of all SPM bacon sandwiches (the other top nine are all courtesy of a Mrs N Hinchcliffe) Send in your suggestions for our Unfulfilled Potential Select XI to @setpiecemenu or setpiecemenu@gmail.com And we're also asking you to tell us the goal you want erased from memory so you can watch it again for the first time... send your ideas to the same addresses!

The football: In a world where some clubs are making it increasingly clear the manager's role is decreasing in significance, why then do we talk about them so much? Why do we hang on their every word, and why are the club's narratives driven so much by their successes and failures? The food: Cinnamon swirls that prove so tasty that Rory's wife Kate comes to grab one after hearing about them from upstairs. Send us an email to setpiecemenu@gmail.com Send us a tweet to @setpiecemenu

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: When is a club genuinely a crisis club? The word is used too often to describe a short term lurch into misfortune, but is a crisis club actually one more disposed to a longer period of malaise and underachievement? What is the blueprint of a crisis club, and is it one that doesn't have a blueprint? The food: Not satisfied with catering for the masses at the live show, Nicky Hinchcliffe has provided a hot pot (somehow even better than the last one), and a rhubarb crumble. Enough to need a post lunch nap. ***INCLUDES BONUS OUT OF CONTEXT REACHER FEATURE FROM SPM 100: THE LIVE SHOW!*** Don't forget to vote for Andy as Pundit of the Year, and Rory as Writer of the Year at the FSA Awards here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/fsa-awards-2019 Keep in touch via twitter @setpiecemenu Email - setpiecemenu@gmail.com

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. And this time they're doing it live! The 100th Episode Spectacular is upon us, as a room of (actually paying) guests join Andy, Rory, Steven and Hugh as part of the Manchester Podcast Festival. The football: It Must Have Been Love... But Is It Over Now? We discuss if the enjoyment we get out of football is now outweighed by the things we don't like about it - and wonder if there might even be a need for us both to go on a break. The issue is decided by the panel completing the kind of quiz you'd find in the pages of Just Seventeen. The food: Brownies (with a special ingredient), made for all 100-plus people in the room by Nicky Hinchcliffe, to whom we are eternally grateful. Thanks to all those who came to join us for our live show! Pics can be found in all the usual places, including: @setpiecemenu facebook.com/setpiecemenu And you can email the podcast on setpiecemenu@gmail.com

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: What the script said was not supposed to be a VAR episode... turned into a VAR episode. But there's more too! We ask if the new technology has highlighted a problem with referees, or whether it's shown that we expect too much of the officials. The food: Steven cooks a chorizo and red pepper omelette, while Hugh brings some left over birthday cake. Contact: @setpiecemenu setpiecemenu@gmail.com facebook.com/setpiecemenu

The latest Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Is it time we admitted we were wrong about some managers who have confounded our preconceptions? There's been a lot of Brendan Rodgers bashing, but his Leicester team are flying high; meanwhile Marco Silva - once the hipsters' choice - can't seem to make it work at Everton. Time for some SPM re-evaluation. The food: Much to Rory's disgust, having been away from us for a little while, it's another duty free offering from Hugh. Turkish delight from Crete. So Cretan delight then. The final few tickets remain available for our live show at the Manchester Podcast festival, so don't delay: https://www.manchesterpodcastfestival.com/set-piece-menu Contact: @setpiecemenu on twitter, and setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The latest edition of Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Should support be unwavering? Inspired by recent events at Southampton and Arsenal we discuss how and when the patience of fans justifiably cracks. Is it acceptable to beat an early, and hasty retreat in anticipation of a debacle, or send a clear and obvious message to a player you feel is underperforming? And on the subject of clear and obvious, how can we ignore the sudden VAR overcorrection!? The food: Never previously have we actually recorded at breakfast time, so Steven provides the necessary. Coffee, juice and a Kellogg's Variety Pack. Yes, we're big kids at heart. The final few tickets remain available for our live show at the Manchester Podcast festival, so don't delay: https://www.manchesterpodcastfestival.com/set-piece-menu Contact: @setpiecemenu on twitter, and setpiecemenu@gmail.com

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: A sequel to last week's pod, we ask how players do such remarkable things in an environment most of us couldn't imagine, with expectation levels we've never faced. The food: We're chez Hinchcliffe, and you know what that means. Nicky treats us to a two-course brunch which is indeed a remarkable thing produced despite high expectation levels. Don't forget to buy your tickets for the 100th Episode Live Spectacular! We will be part of the Manchester Podcast Festival on 13th November, and you can join us! Head to www.manchesterpodcastfestival.com RIGHT NOW!

We are back with the latest edition of Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Why do footballers do stupid things? A number of recent incidents have brought a player's off field actions into a spotlight that seems to reveal some pretty poor decision making. Is it because they're footballers, or are these human frailties amplified by unique circumstances and scrutiny. The food: Fajitas, created by Steve, completely devoured by everyone else. Plus: Rory wanted to thank you all. @setpiecemenu setpiecemenu@gmail.com www.facebook.com/setpiecemenu

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Is it sufficient to simply support a club, a league, or a type of football outside the mainstream, or do you have to actively promote and proselytise to not be considered part of the problem it faces? Our case study is women's football, but our conversation is about much more. The food: Doughnuts. Not the expensive type found in a branded refrigerator at the local supermarket, but the cheaper ones just next to it. DEVELOPING STORY: We are, at last, doing our 100th episode! Set Piece Menu Live is happening on 13th November as part of the Manchester Podcast Festival. Tickets are available here: https://www.manchesterpodcastfestival.com/set-piece-menu

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: After high profile mistakes in recent months by England international defenders, we ask why players tend to make the kind of errors for their country that they wouldn't for their clubs, and whether it's because of the coaching they're getting at club level is the best it has ever been. The food: A stir-fry. Not prepared prior to the pod, but afterwards, because Hugh is concerned about juggling recording equipment and a very hot wok. BREAKING NEWS: We are, at last, doing our 100th episode! Set Piece Menu Live is happening on 13th November as part of the Manchester Podcast Festival. Tickets are available here: https://www.manchesterpodcastfestival.com/set-piece-menu

Welcome to the latest Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Which players are so underrated they're rated? Whether they're at an unfashionable club, or play in an unfashionable position, or they buck an expected trend, some players are described as underrated so much that they've become the opposite. We make some suggestions, and now we'd like your help in creating an SPM select XI! Send your players to @setpiecemenu or setpiecemenu@gmail.com The food: A delightful BLT, or BL, or B, depending on your taste. Preceded by that most traditional of hors d'oeuvres, the shortbread finger. Thanks for subscribing! Please leave nice 5 star reviews on iTunes, as the more sycophantic they are the more chance they have of being read out on the pod!

The latest Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: How would some of the best players from yesteryear fared in today's game? Did some have the skillset to survive, or are their talents non-transferable? The food: Lemon drizzle cake, shop bought by Rory, but presented in a way to suggest otherwise. Get in touch with subject suggestions, soccer stories and Out of Context Reacher passages: Twitter @setpiecemenu Email setpiecemenu@gmail.com www.facebook.com/setpiecmenu

This is the latest Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: In the context of Bury and Bolton's dramatic fight for financial survival, we ask if the Football League can sustain all of its professional clubs. Surprisingly, solutions are offered. Less surprisingly, nobody will pay attention. The food: Rory surpasses himself, with a lunchtime spread that would be appreciated by any number of the local delis. Except they won't sponsor us so he went to M&S. This is your final reminder for the SPMPLPL! The deadline for entries is August 30th at 6pm, so head to www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu right now! If you'd like to tinker with your original picks then click on 'Edit your submission' on the email received when you made your choices And send all your Soccer Stories and Out of Context Reacher extracts to setpiecemenu@gmail.com

This is the latest Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: The Entourage. Neymar has one. Messi has one. Hinchcliffe didn't have one. Who are they and do they actually help or hinder a superstar player's career? The food: Breakfast baps with a selection of fillings in, and this is crucial, home made muffins, provided by the inestimable Nicky Hinchcliffe. Don't forget to enter the SPMPLPL for the new Premier League season! Head to www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu - the deadline is the 30th August at 6pm. And get in touch with the podcast at setpiecemenu@gmail.com or on twitter @setpiecemenu

The latest Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Wayne Rooney's impending move to Derby posed some questions about the relationship between football and gambling, so we consider the two increasingly comfortable bed fellows. The food: Steven has prepared a vegetarian feast, because he was recently visited by a vegetarian, who clearly didn't eat enough of the feast to prevent the need for the disposal of leftovers. Don't forget to enter your predictions into this year's SPMPLPL! Head to www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu NOW! And you can get in touch with SPM via twitter: @setpiecemenu Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com www.facebook.com/setpiecemenu

This is Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: We have some questions, queries, and frankly a few quibbles (well, Rory does) ahead of the new Premier League season, so here is our opportunity to ask if there'll be a title race, if VAR is going to work, and whether the new rules (sorry, laws) will make a difference. The food: Steve's son George gets to decide, so we're having beans on toast. What's good enough for a growing five year old is good enough for us. MASSIVE NEWS: The SPMPLPL is back! Our incredibly successful and much copied game of predicting where the Premier League teams will finish the season is up and running. Entries are now open and can be submitted and edited until the 30th August at 6pm. Enter here: www.tinyurl.com/setpiecemenu And this season, to follow the trend set by football, we've changed the rules. We've added bonus points and a WILDCARD!!! See the details here: www.facebook.com/setpiecemenu Good luck!

The new episode of Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: Tactical Periodisation. A rather boring name for a vital part of the game. What is it, who came up with it, and how has it essentially become football's common sense approach to training. The food: Rory provides sandwiches, which are bought from the Co-op in the most testing of circumstances, as his sodden clothes can testify. Please email us on setpiecemenu@gmail.com We're also on twitter and facebook!