Libero

121 | Is Michael Carrick Manchester United's Best Option?

Tue, 12 May 2026 04:00:00 -0000

We have a handful of tickets remaining for our live show on 22nd May, there will also be copies of the various books of the Liberi on sale and they may even sign them for you. Doors 7pm at The Venue on the ICMP Queens Park Campus in west London (home of the Long Play Sessions). The link for tickets is here 👍

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Michael Carrick has made Ruben Amorim's tactics board nightmare at Grimsby seem like a Manchester United of a different universe and restored order at Old Trafford, but is that enough?

Rory Smith, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson as they seek the unknowable answer to the question of how a super club selects the right leader.

P1: (09:59)

P2: (25:22)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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120 | Arsenal v PSG... A Meeting Of Europe's Best?

Fri, 08 May 2026 04:00:00 -0000

We are doing our first live show. It's on 22nd May, doors 7pm at The Venue on the ICMP Queens Park Campus in west London (home of the Long Play Sessions). There will also be copies of the various books of the Liberi on sale and they may even sign them for you. The link for tickets is here 👍

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We have spent much of this season wondering, like many others, whether Arsenal were about to bottle it. But after a brilliant week for Mikel Arteta's side, are they now on the brink of a historic achievement?

They're in the box seat for the Premier League title and can move one step closer if they beat West Ham on Sunday and in midweek reached their first Champions League final in 20 years.

On today’s Libero Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and John Brewin look at their turnaround and ask what caused it. Was it the fire, Declan Rice’s rousing speech, or simply having players back? Or did they, like Manchester City in 2012, have to lose the title in order to win it?

With PSG also reaching the showpiece fixture in Budapest, it looks like being the best final in years, with Europe’s two best teams meeting. Why does that happen so rarely? And what do these two finalists tell us about the modern game?

P1: (04:17)

P2: (30:31)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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119 | The Cult Of The Manager

Tue, 05 May 2026 04:00:00 -0000

Join ⁠SC Libero⁠, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: ⁠liberopodcast.com⁠.

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From Matt Busby to Liam Rosenior, even harking back from the Wilsonian era of the late 19th century, how has the role and the standing of the football manager changed? Certain football clubs may act as if managers and head coaches are no longer their most important employees but certain managers still overshadow their clubs.

Join Rory Smith, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson for the first of a two-parter, the second episode available only to SC Libero's Einsteins, Special Ones and El Puta Jefe later this week.

P1: (03:56)

P2: (35:40)

As you may have seen, we are doing our first live show. It's on 22nd May, doors 7pm at The Venue on the ICMP Queens Park Campus in west London (home of the Long Play Sessions). There will also be copies of the various books of the Liberi on sale and they may even sign them for you. The link for tickets is here.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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118 | Saudi Arabia: Football's House Of Cards

Fri, 01 May 2026 04:00:00 -0000

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs: liberopodcast.com.

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Amid a shifting landscape of Saudi Arabian sports investments, where does football sit in the PIF's list of priorities? Newcastle are at a crossroads in their journey with the House of Saud and the Pro League is no longer handing out cheques for fun. Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja discuss the implications if the retrenchment of the Gulf's wealthiest oil state hits football.

P1: (01:13)

P2: (31:25)

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Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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117 | Diego Simeone And Atletico Madrid, The Club Moulded In His Image

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

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Ahead of Atletico Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Arsenal, we take a look at one of European football's main characters, Diego Simeone. Cholo's impact on a club that were by no means destined to be in their lofty position has been profound, as have his unique and evolving tactics. James Horncastle, Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney, chart Simeone's journey in bending Atleti to his will and ask what the future holds for one of the great modern coaches.

P1: (01:31)

P2: (32:53)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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116 | Liam Rosenior, Chelsea And A Crisis Of Their Own Making

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

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Liam Rosenior is no longer the Chelsea manager, to nobody’s surprise and to many people’s relief, perhaps including Rosenior himself. Can any manager succeed at Stamford Bridge? Or has the club’s strategy under the BlueCo ownership made that near-impossible? Tariq Panja and Miguel Delaney, join John Brewin.

P1: (05:58)

P2: (38:13)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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115 | Was Manchester City's Win Against Arsenal Really A Title-Decider?

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: liberopodcast.com.

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Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday was a rare thing: a Premier League game that lived up to its billing, both for the importance of the game and the quality of the football.

On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson look back on the afternoon that saw City bring Mikel Arteta’s side into its grasp and ask why the vibes appear to favour Pep Guardiola's team so much more than the objective reality does. For all the fascination with Arsenal’s mental fragility, could their main problems be technical rather than psychological? And over a 38-game season why should this particular game be seen as any other dropped points? Can there ever be a true ‘title decider’ in a full league season. And if not, should the Premier League create one?

P1: (10:53)

P2: (34:40)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via ⁠getintouch@liberopodcast.com⁠

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 114 | Arne Slot, Liverpool Manager: The Case For And Against

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

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Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League means they will finish the season trophyless, and the only thing they have left to play for is a fifth-placed finish. Over the course of this season Arne Slot has lost all the credit with the fans he built up by winning last year’s Premier League title. So what should Liverpool do next?

On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and John Brewin discuss whether it is fair or not that Slot is facing calls for his dismissal. Especially given all the issues with Liverpool’s recruitment this season. They ask what exactly Liverpool might want in a manager if Slot no longer fits the bill. Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso are the two highest-profile names linked with the job, but would they necessarily be an improvement? And might there be another out-of-work manager who could be perfect for Liverpool?

P1: (07:11)

P2: (25:53)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 113 | Why Does No One Want Arsenal To Win It?

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

So it all comes down to this. Maybe. After Arsenal lost at home to Bournemouth and Manchester City swatted aside Chelsea, the Premier League has a genuine title decider: Mikel Arteta’s stumbling set-piece merchants against Pep Guardiola’s passing drones at the Etihad on Sunday. On today’s Libero, James Horncastle asks Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith whether the momentum has definitively shifted, if Arsenal are cracking under the pressure, and why it seems like everyone wants the team that always wins the title to win it again.

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P1: (03:48)

P2: (33:20)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 112 | Cracking The Code Of Premier League Survival

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, is now live! Join via liberopodcast.com.

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This time of year isn’t just about trophies and titles, it’s about trying to stay in the Premier League and this year will be the toughest route to survival in a generation.

On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson look at the survival battle, and the question of finding the optimal strategy to stay up.

Has the traditional fire-fighter - Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis - been left behind by the modern game? Or do struggling clubs still want the same things, just delivered by a younger man? And when Tottenham have appointed one of the world’s most interesting coaches in Roberto de Zerbi as their fire-fighter, what does that tell us about their own chances of staying up?

Also, our friends at the TheS**thouses have figured out how we attribute the quote at the start of every pod, check it out and have a go yourself here.

P1: (07:14)

P2: (33:41)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 111 | Football Has A Ticket Price Problem

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, is now live! Sign up at liberopodcast.com.

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What’s happened with the tickets for this summer is an absolute scandal but soaring prices is a trend that has an impact way beyond the World Cup. The exploitation of the match-going fan have seen tickets become tradable assets for the market to set the price for, all the while diminishing the value of the experience that is being put in the shop window. Rory Smith, Tariq Panja and Jonathan Wilson try to figure out how this been allowed to happen, as well as the long-term implications for football.

P1: (05:42)

P2: (35:54)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 110 | Will Infantino And Trump Break The World Cup?

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, is now live! Get on the bandwagon early, before broadsheet journalists start describing us as doing 'interesting things' at liberopodcast.com.

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From peace prizes to golden baubles, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has made it his mission to shower the US president in praise and treasure, while in the process inserting himself into Donald Trump’s inner circle. As Trump directs a bombing campaign on Iran, John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja ask whether Infantino’s personal ambitions risk irreparable harm to the beauty of the World Cup and football itself?

P1: (00:28)

P2: (33:15)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 109 | Can England Win The World Cup?

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0000

We are still in the soft launch phase of ⁠SC Libero⁠, but getting on the bandwagon early will give you the chance to lock-in a pay-what-you-want price for an annual subscription until we figure out exactly what perks we give to members. Take advantage of us now at ⁠liberopodcast.com⁠.

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Thomas Tuchel was appointed to the England job with one clear aim: to win the 2026 World Cup.

The question on today’s episode, with Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin, is whether he is on the right track.

Tuchel’s England were immaculate in qualifying but they lack depth, as they showed against Uruguay on Friday, and are as dependent on Harry Kane as ever. So can he do what Gareth Southgate could not? And what are the differences between the approach of the two men?

P1: (09:37)

P2: (27:51)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 108 | Do National Teams All Play The Same Way Now?

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Join SC Libero! Our members’ only offering is now live, in a soft way. We're starting you off with ad-free episodes, but a host of other benefits are in what we call 'the pipeline'. Sign up now at liberopodcast.com and you get to pay what you want, because we’re suckers.

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All of football’s great nations used to have their own distinctive styles. Brazil meant Jogo Bonito. Italy meant defensive grit. Germany were ruthlessly efficient, the Netherlands inspirationally artistic, and England stuck it where it belonged: in the mixer.

But as football has globalised, have those individual styles started to disappear? In today’s Libero, Jonathan Wilson, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss where national football identity came from, what it represented, and whether it has disappeared.

P1: (07:23)

P2: (35:11)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 107 | Chelsea, The Oligarch And One Of Football's Biggest Scandals

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

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Chelsea’s fine for secret payments from the Premier League between 2011 and 2018 might have been a record £10 million but within the game that punishment and suspended transfer ban have brought complaints of leniency.

Do off-book payments that secured the likes of Eden Hazard sully the club’s successes during that period under Roman Abramovich’s ownership? Is that leniency protecting the Premier League product? And now, post-Abramovich, how is the club faring under the ownership of asset managers and venture capitalists. Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja discuss the then and now with John Brewin.

P1: (06:01)

P2: (38:11)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 106 | Are Arsenal's Lost Years Over? Why The Carabao Cup Final Matters

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

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Sunday’s Carabao Cup final could be a historic day for Arsenal. It is their first final since they won the 2020 FA Cup and could mark the start of a glorious climax to the 2025/26 season. On today’s episode Rory Smith, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jonathan Wilson ask what it would mean for Mikel Arteta to win his second major trophy as Arsenal manager and reflect on the club's wilderness years reaching back to thir last Premier League title under Arsene Wenger in 2003/04.

Was it to do with the lack of investment? Or an out-dated decision making structure? So have Arsenal stepped into the future, or have they just found a modern manager?

P1: (07:13)

P2: (29:06)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 105 | The Paradox Of The Premier League's European Struggles

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

For all of the Premier League's clubs financial advantages over their European rivals, they are facing a wipeout in the Champions League. Is it fatigue? Is it tactics? Is it a massive waste of resources? Or are Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Tariq Panja going to looking a bit silly on Thursday?

P1: (01:36)

P2: (28:26)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 104 | Where’s Your Famous Atmosphere? The Premier League’s Sanitised Matchday

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Atmosphere is one of the Premier League’s biggest selling points to broadcasters, but ask anyone who regularly goes to games and they will tell you that atmospheres in English grounds are in stark decline. If we do accept that atmospheres are getting worse, why is that?

On today’s episode John Brewin, Jack Pitt-Brooke and James Horncastle try to unpack what exactly we mean when we talk about a ‘good atmosphere’, and whether we are taking a selective view of English football's vibrant year gone by.

P1: (02:41)

P2: (31:19)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 103 | What Era Was Peak Champions League?

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Libero might like knocking the Champions League, but even we know there's nothing like European knock-out football for compelling drama. But with six English clubs in the last 16 and Manchester City playing Real Madrid, again, is this really as exciting as it should be? Is this as good as it once was? This week on Libero, Miguel Delaney, Tariq Panja and Rory Smith ask when the Champions League was at its best, what it was that made it so special, and whether that can be recaptured.

P1: (10:45)

P2: (37:11)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 102 | Trying To Make Sense Of The Business Of Football

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Every year football's rich and powerful gather at a West London hotel to do deals, shake hands and talk about the game in a way would be quite unfamiliar to anyone not in the posh seats at 3pm on a Saturday. Several Liberi were in attendance at the recent FT Business of Football Summit, so they found a quiet corridor to discuss what they'd overheard at the conference, as well as the detachment between those who seek to profit from football and the game itself. You'll hear from Tariq Panja, Rory Smith, Miguel Delaney and James Horncastle. There's also a fabulous cameo from The Mirror's John Cross.

P1: (00:27)

P2: (25:03)

Produced by: Tom Bassam, who apologises for the lack of proper video on this episode.

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 101 | Spurs In Peril... No Longer Too Big To Fail?

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

In recent years it has felt as if the Premier League was permanently stratified, with the poor teams unable to win and the rich teams unable to lose. But Tottenham Hotspur have the ninth biggest revenue in Europe and they are at increasing risk of going down.

On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson discuss the possibility of Spurs’ relegation from the top flight. Jonathan tells the story of their relegation in the 1970s, and the team ask whether that is comparable to a big team going down in 2026.

Because if Spurs do go - and they still have a four point gap - what would it mean for English football? Would it tell us that the Premier League is in fact starting to de-stratify?

P1: (05:39)

P2: (27:34)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 100 | Anxious Arsenal And The Definition Of A Bottle Job

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

It is – it turns out – quite difficult to pin down an accurate definition of what 'bottling it' means and, therefore, which teams can be fairly described as having committed this failure of will in the past. Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson give it their best shot at outlining the true meaning of the phrase and discuss the most famous 'bottle jobs' in football history. With the nerve of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal being severely tested as they seek to end a 26-year wait for a Premier League title, are we about to see another egregious example of 'bottling it' or would it be unfair to apply that description to this Gunners side? All covered in a landmark episode of Libero.

P1: (02:43)

P2: (27:46)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 099 | Has Jose Mourinho Burned His Bridges At Real Madrid?

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Jose Mourinho will take his Benfica team back to Real Madrid on Wednesday night, trying to get through to the last-16 of the Champions League.

It is now almost 13 years since Mourinho left Real Madrid but his three year spell there remains one of the most interesting periods in modern football. Never before or since has Florentino Perez handed over the keys to a coach so determined to work against his players rather than with them.

On today’s episode John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Jack Pitt-Brooke look back at Mourinho’s time at Real, the triumph of the 2011-12 La Liga win and the toxic descent in his final year. Was this the peak of his career? Or was it the turning point before it all started to go wrong?

P1: (06:26)

P2: (36:48)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 098 | Juventus, Benfica And The Plight of Europe's Forgotten Clubs

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

It’s Champions League punishment round week, which means clubs who were among the biggest and best in Europe 10 years ago are slogging it out to make it through to the last-16.

The question on today’s show is what these sides - especially Juventus, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund - can realistically achieve in a European game that is now stacked against them.

Jack Pitt-Brooke, Tariq Panja and James Horncastle discuss whether they ever build a competitive team to last, or whether they will just get picked off by the vultures at the first sign of success. And if they can’t hope to win any more, are they left with a sense of identity that they can fall back on?

P1: (10:28)

P2: (31:50)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 097| The Death Of Individualism

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

In a world where Jack Grealish becomes 'The Rest Station' and Jürgen Klopp insists that no playmaker can be as effective as counter-pressing, it is fair to say that the game's creative geniuses are being marginalised like never before. Has systems football stunted players' ability to think for themselves? Do free spirits have no place in modern tactics? A trio of Libero mavericks, Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Jonathan Wilson, attempt some free-thinking to discover the root cause of this troubling trend.

P1: (01:53)

P2: (27:44)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 096 | Lads, It’s Tottenham: The Fall Of Thomas Frank

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Another week, another manager departed from the big chair at a traditional English heavyweight. It turns out Dr Tottenham does not have a cure for the club's own malaise and so Thomas Frank must go. Are Spurs trapped in a gilded cage of being the Premier League's sixth biggest club? Are the demands in north London unreasonable? Where will the Lewis family turn for their first appointment of the post-Daniel Levy era? John Brewin, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson pick through the issues.

P1: (02:00)

P2: (31:15)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 095 | Slot And Guardiola: End Game?

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Resisting the temptation to get distracted by VAR, John Brewin, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Rory Smith discuss the more immediate consequences of Manchester City’s win at Anfield. It was a result that leaves Arne Slot with no margin for error as he tries to keep his job, but does it also tell us something about Pep Guardiola’s future? Is his new-found activist streak evidence that he’s in his final few months in the Premier League? And if he is, what will we talk about once a fortnight on Libero once he goes?

P1: (06:28)

P2: (36:32)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 094 | Can VAR Be Fixed?

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

There has been no bigger change to football in the 21st century than VAR. On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja want to do more than just complain about it, and the harm that it has done to the modern game. They also want to explore how we got into this position, from Gianni Infantino replacing Sepp Blatter through to its introduction at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

We are now about to head into our third men’s World Cup with VAR, and it does feel like a permanent part of the game. So is there any reason for optimism? The team discuss potential tweaks to VAR to improve it. And then whether we can ever be optimistic about bottom-up change, fans standing up together against VAR, and changing football for good.

P1: (5:28)

P2: (31:31)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 093 | When The Premier League Is The Man I Need

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

In Libero’s lifetime, the panelists have regularly lamented the spectacle served up by the Premier League, but after a bumper weekend, Rory Smith, James Horncastle and John Brewin dwell on whether we’re actually a bit spoilt and if viewers standards have risen with the quality of the football on offer. Drowned out by the often negative online noise, Libero remembers to enjoy itself in this episode, focusing on what’s still great about ‘our league’.

P1: (03:43)

P2: (27:36)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 092 | The Modern Premier League: Less Bump, More Grind?

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

"In the middle area of the pitch, those 24 metres, we feel the game has become stuck, particularly in the Premier League. Everybody has so much information now.” These were the words of Anthony Barry, Thomas Tuchel's number two, back in November, when discussing the what England players face week-to-week in the Premier League. On this episode, John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith discuss to what lengths that is true, why the game has developed in this way and what is being left behind as physicality becomes football's default setting.

P1: (04:28)

P2: (32:02)

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Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 091 | Bad In The Premier League, Winning In Europe

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Wednesday sees the climax of the Champions League's 144-game 'league phase', a TV bonanza featuring 18 fixtures, after which we will know who made the top eight, who faces the punishment round and who goes home. It's thrilling stuff, we're told.

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja discuss the second season of the new format and wonder whether the pay-off is worth the long slog. With six English teams vying for a spot in the top eight, it feels like the most Premier League dominated Champions League season yet. So why don’t English teams win the competition more often? And is this imbalance actually more of a problem than the format itself?

P1: (09:40)

P2: (31:01)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 090 | The Unbearable Weight Of Being Tottenham

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Thomas Frank may have delayed his departure with that surprisingly comfortable win over Borussia Dortmund, but that is only the tip of Tottenham’s problems. What is the club’s strategy? What do they want to be? Do they no longer have a sense of quest? To answer all of that are Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith.

P1: (05:14)

P2: (29:21)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 089 | How Afcon Descended Into Chaos

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

It was supposed to be the smoothest running Africa Cup of Nations in tournament history, all the edges levelled off. Then came Sunday’s final and unbelievable scenes in Rabat: dodgy penalties, an even dodgier Panenka, Brahim Diaz’s tears, riot police and Senegal denying what had looked a triumph custom-designed for the Moroccan hosts.

That Jonathan Wilson was there to see it - his 12th AfCon final, no less - grants Libero an eyewitness account of the drama, while John Brewin, also a visitor to the tournament, shares his thoughts and experiences of ground-hopping in Morocco. Tariq Panja joins them to consider the political implications of AfCon’s change to every four years, and the influence of Gianni Infantino on a decision few appear comfortable with or understand.

P1: (00:49)

P2: (28:52)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 088 | Real Madrid: Too Big To Manage

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

He might have been a playing legend but that ended up counting for nothing as Xabi Alonso became the latest Real Madrid manager to be crushed between the weight of galacticos and the biggest Madrileno of them all, Florentino Perez. Was it doomed from the start?

Good luck then, Alvaro Arbeloa, with taming the beast. Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith join John Brewin to discuss football’s most preposterous and haughty club. Has Xabi’s reputation as one of the best coaches in world football suffered? Does the white storm still possess the power of old? Are the galacticos as good as they think they are?

P1: (02:24)

P2: (28:24)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 087 | Chelsea, BlueCo And The Case Against Multi-Club Ownership

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

Rory Smith enjoyed going viral for his rant against Chelsea's egregious exploitation of Ligue 1 'sister club' Strasbourg so much that he wanted to make a whole podcast about it. Luckily, James Horncastle was keen to provide operatic hosting duties and Miguel Delaney has an opinion on the issue, so we did. Covered is the morality of the multi-club groups, the shades of grey offered by different approaches and, if any, the logic behind the concept.

P1: (01:05)

P2: (34:09)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 086 | Amorim, Maresca And The Battle For Power

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

That’s been quite a week, hasn’t it? On today’s Libero, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and James Horncastle explore how the sackings of Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim shed light on where power lies at Manchester United, Chelsea and in the modern Premier League. Is it with the manager? Or is it with the faceless technocrats in the front office?

P1: (02:38)

P2: (34:34)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 085 | The Downfall Of Ruben Amorim

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:05:00 -0000

Libero is not a coach. It is a manager. It has always wanted to be Ruben Amorim. Even on the day he was sacked by Manchester United. Rory Smith, James Horncastle and Tariq Panja unite to discuss the downfall of the radically honest Amorim, what his defenestration means for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s project and whether United can ever be saved.

P1: (01:25)

P2: (34:09)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 084 | The Things That Will Definitely Happen In Football This Year

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0000

It's the first Libero of 2026 and here to pick up the pieces of the festive period are Tariq Panja, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson. In a World Cup year the panel make some bold, and some less bold, predictions about what football has in store over the next 12 months and potentially even further into the future.

P1: (04:46)

P2: (28:11)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 083 | The Stories That Defined Football In 2025

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

As the year nears its end, Miguel Delaney, Tariq Panja, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jonathan Wilson take the opportunity to look back at 2025 to pick out football's major narratives.

P1: (10:04)

P2: (33:30)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 082 | Rabona Bans, Transfer Speak And 'United'... Christmas Dinner Debates

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

John Brewin, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith, Tariq Panja and Jonathan Wilson have all had a bit too much on Christmas Day and are ready to get into it with some of their pet hates in football. Pull up a chair, pour another Baileys and join us for the bit of Christmas dinner when everyone lets themself down a bit.

Want to join in? Let us know your biggest football gripe in the comments.

P1: (01:50)

P2: (34:06)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 081 | The First Annual Libero Personality Of The Year Award

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Black tie, ballgowns and montages... it's the Libero Personality of the Year award. Rory Smith is your host for this glittering event, where he is joined by the judging panel of John Brewin, Tariq Panja, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jonathan Wilson to crown the winner of this loosely defined prize for the figure who defined football in 2025. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments.

P1: (4:41)

P2: (29:58)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 080 | World Cup Tickets, Did It Need To Be Like This?

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

It's basic supply and demand, right? Fifa has stunned most of the world by making the 2026 World Cup the most expensive tournament ever for the match-going fan, with dynamic ticket prices that could see its flagship event deliver as much as $14 billion in revenues, because - ultimately - that is what football is all about. Here to question why the football powers that be are milking fans, the game's lifeblood, dry are John Brewin, Tariq Panja and Rory Smith.

P1: (02:23)

P2: (36:42)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 079 | What's Stopping Newcastle Becoming 'The New Manchester City'?

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Manchester City racked up another Premier League win this weekend, beating Crystal Palace 3-0 with another display of their new direct, powerful individualistic style. Their change of direction this season has shown us a new side of Pep Guardiola, more pragmatic, more ruthless, and back in the hunt for the title.

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson discuss City’s improving form and ask whether this new Guardiola is more akin to Sir Alex Ferguson or even Carlo Ancelotti.

But while City chase their ninth Premier League title in the Abu Dhabi era, the Saudi project at Newcastle United is making slower progress four years on. Discussion turns to why Newcastle have found it hard to emulate City’s success, ask whether they will ever have a moment like the one in 2012 that set up City’s era of dominance.

P1: (03:45)

P2: (30:47)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 078 | The Big Beautiful World Cup: Six Months To Go

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

With six months to go until the newly-expanded greatest show on Earth, today’s Libero considers what a World Cup designed by FIFA, Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump will look like. Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney ask how the football will play out, what the fan experience will feel like, and how political the whole event might be.

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P1: (05:50)

P2: (36:04)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 077 | Mo Salah, Player Power And Undignified Exits

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

"I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season. Now I’m sitting on the bench and I don’t know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus." These were the words of Mo Salah after Liverpool's dispiriting 3-3 draw with Leeds at the weekend. A match where Salah, last season's top scorer and the club's perennial talisman, did not make it off the substitutes bench. As Liverpool's title defence melts away amid a multitude of problems beyond the misfiring Egyptian, why does it appear Salah appear to be heading for the exit, how has it comes to this and why do heroes so rarely get the goodbyes they want? John Brewin, Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney try to answer those questions, and others, on the latest Libero.

P1: (2:57)

P2: (27:44)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 076 | The Long Barclays... Is Football Trapped In The 90s?

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Rory Smith is joined by John Brewin and James Horncastle, who – like the anxious middle-aged men they are – are seeking refuge in the past. But a past that informs our present in a way that is actually quite odd, because in many ways it does feel like football can’t quite escape the 1990s.

Today's kits are based on designs from the 90s, the famous pundits who shape how we understand the game, largely started their playing careers in the 90s. We're still listening to Oasis. Why is this? Is this obsession with the not-too-distant past unique to our current era? Are we bound to 'Live Forever', forever?

P1: (08:19)

P2: (33:03)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 075 | Are Chelsea Actually Good?

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Chelsea held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw on Sunday even though they were reduced to 10 men in the first half. They looked like a proper Chelsea team, playing in a proper Chelsea atmosphere. And even though they missed the chance to go second, and close the gap to three points, it felt like a day that strengthened their reputation, and that of their coach Enzo Maresca.

So on today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson discuss Chelsea’s strong progress. And they ask whether we might all need to re-assess our views of Maresca, the coaching job he has done there, and maybe even the recruitment strategy of Todd Boehly and Clearlake too. Because some of their much-criticised signings now look like far-sighted investments.

P1: (12:14)

P2: (27:43)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 074 | How You Watch Football Is About To Change All Over Again

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Football is ultimately a TV show, however much we might want to see it differently. The story of the rise of football over the last 40 or so years inseparable from the changes in technology, not least satellite TV in the UK and the relationship between the Premier League and what is now Sky Sports, dating back to 1992. You cannot understand the Premier League or modern football independent of that.

But nothing lasts forever and this month saw news that could change the football TV landscape. Paramount+ has won the rights to show the Champions League in the UK and Germany, another step forward for the US-backed streamers who want to show the European game. Amazon Prime has already had Premier League and Champions League rights, and everyone is wondering whether Netflix will ever get involved.

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and John Brewin look at the changing picture of football and TV, explain why technology is the most important story in the game, and ask whether the Premier League may eventually choose to own its own platform to compete.

P1: (06:34)

P2: (26:42)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 073 | Why Is It So Hard To Retain The Premier League Title?

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Only three managers have ever won back-to-back Premier League titles and that figure does not look likely grow this season. Managerial greats such as Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte have all failed, so what is it about the Premier League that is so difficult to hang on to and is that going to change in an era where the top clubs have more advantages than ever before? James Horncastle asks the questions, while Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney search for answers.

P1: (05:17)

P2: (26:13)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 072 | Arsenal v Tottenham: Who Really Owns North London?

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0000

A team of interlopers from Kent are now arguably London's biggest club and with the pendulum of power swinging back Arsenal's way in recent years, a league title appears possible again. Did North London's original club, Tottenham, miss the opportunity to retake primacy? And what are the origins of one of the Premier League's great fixtures? Jonathan Wilson, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Miguel Delaney go deep on the North London Derby.

P1: (4:35)

P2: (25:33)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 71b | ACTUALLY The Greatest Week Of Football Ever

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 16:30:00 -0000

Last week Libero called this the greatest week in football but little did we know the drama to come. In fact, there was so much to talk about we decided a bonus episode was in order. Here to talk through all things World Cup qualification are Miguel Delaney, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja.

P1: (1:31)

P2: (18:53)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 071 | Cristiano Ronaldo’s Search For A Happy Ending

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Cristiano Ronaldo might not have done it exactly how he would have wanted — getting sent off while losing to Ireland — but the 40-year-old Al Nassr frontman is now on his way to a sixth World Cup with Portugal. On this week’s Libero, John Brewin, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss addiction: Ronaldo’s addiction to playing and Portugal’s addiction to Ronaldo, and contemplate whether his wealth, his celebrity and his prominence have started to affect how he is perceived as a player. Do we, somehow, manage not to give one of the greatest players of all time his due? And is that our fault, or his?

P1: (7:49)

P2: (33:04)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 070 | Why This Is The Best Week In Football

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0000

The international break can often seem a chore, but this time around there are bountiful reasons for optimism. Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Jonathan Wilson discuss why this week - and specifically this week - is one of the best in world football. There is just nothing like the joy of qualifying for the World Cup, a feat more pronounced because it occurs only once every four years. The lads look back at the years that have made this week what it is - particularly 1993 - and why this purity still persists despite so many questionable changes to the game.

P1: (3:30)

P2: (34:13)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 069 | Liverpool's Mo Salah Conundrum

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Liverpool fans rejoiced when the club signed Mo Salah to a new contract. With Liverpool’s title defence in tatters, the team in chaos, have Liverpool got a Mo Salah problem? The Egyptian has lit up Anfield for the best part of a decade but would last season’s title have been the right time to move on? John Brewin, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja try to answer the question and wonder why it’s so hard to say goodbye. They also look at whether we now have an Arsenal against Manchester City title race, consider why the table is so congested, and provide a comprehensive list of Premier League fans who are actually happy.

P1: (00:44)

P2: (36:16)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 068 | The Premier League’s Goldilocks Clubs

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 05:30:00 -0000

There is one big question that today's Libero is seeking to answer and that is: is it fundamentally easier to change the fortunes of a club with less historical baggage? Are the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton really following in the footsteps of 2003 Chelsea? To do so Rory Smith is joined by Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin for a discussion that covers a lot of ground.

P1: (08:57)

P2: (40:25)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 067 | Is The Premier League Boring?

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0000

A quarter of the way through this Premier League season, people are starting to ask: is the football we are watching this year any good? Or has the rise of set pieces turned it into a different game? For almost a decade, Pep Guardiola’s brand of possession football felt like the dominant form but even Manchester City are now playing in a different way. Is there no future in the positional game? Or does Andoni Iraola carry the torch for attacking football?

On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson try to explain why the game has changed so much, and why even the best teams have decided to take a more direct approach.

P1: (11:08)

P2: (29:03)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 066 | Celtic And Rangers On The Brink... Is The Old Firm Dying?

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 06:00:00 -0000

The rule of thumb in Scottish football is that if one Old Firm club is doing badly, then the other is doing well. So what happens when both Celtic and Rangers are both in troubled times concurrently? With Brendan Rogers axed as Celtic boss shortly after the departure of Russell Martin from Ibrox, a Hearts team powered by the analytics of Tony Bloom are top of the Scottish Premiership. It seems there has never been a more likely time for an outsider to end Glasgow's hegemony north of Hadrian's Wall, but how have the Old Firm clubs found themselves in such a perilous position? When did buying 'Championship jobbers' stop being good enough? Has the obsession with beating each other hindered their ability to succeed in Europe? Much to discuss for Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Rory Smith.

P1: (03:56)

P2: (32:36)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 065 | The Diego Maradona Episode

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 06:09:51 -0000

Many words have been written and spoken about Diego Maradona, but not yet on Libero. That changes now. To celebrate the 65th birthday of the greatest footballer of all time, James Horncastle is joined by Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja. There's singing, Scottish accents and anecdotes for all.

P1: (00:35)

P2: (36:09)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 064 | Real Madrid v Barcelona: A Health Check On El Clasico

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

John Brewin, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja are here to talk about the world’s biggest domestic fixture - self-styled, perhaps, but deservedly so - it's 'El Clasico'. Real Madrid v Barcelona, as the fixture will be this Sunday, comes at a tumultuous time for La Liga, with the contentious battle over playing matches overseas very much a hot topic. That is discussed, plus the game's history, the two teams' differing tactical styles and management.

P1 (01:31)

P2: (38:47)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 063 | Ange Postecoglou’s Main Character Energy

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Ange Postecoglou was sacked as Nottingham Forest manager on Saturday, after just 39 days in charge. On today’s episode, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jack Pitt-Brooke discuss his brief tenure and ask why Postecoglou took that difficult job in the first place.

Postecoglou has had a distinctive career and remains an interesting figure. So what is it about him and his skills that stands out? Is it his attacking style of play? Or is it his capacity to talk persuasively in public and frame a narrative around himself? And in the modern Premier League era, is that one of the most important skills of all?

P1: (19:57)

P2: (30:58)

Produced by: Tom Bassam, who apologises for a slightly rougher edit than usual. Unfortunately the AWS outage reduced the available edit time.

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Libero 062 | Arsenal, First The Worst, Second The Best

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

The Premier League is back, and Arsenal are top of it. There are plenty of reasons to believe they can stay there, too: the deepest squad in the country, an outstanding manager, an uncanny ability to score 95th minute goals from corners. So why does it feel as though every week brings a referendum on their character? Do we undervalue the work Mikel Arteta has done? Is it all part of a PGMOL plot? Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Falklands Islands resident Jonathan Wilson ask whether Arsenal are treated differently to everyone else.

P1: (09:40)

P2: (42:04)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 061 | England's Jude Bellingham Problem

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Jude Bellingham is seen as England's biggest star, which is why it's very glaring that Thomas Tuchel has broken with decades of protocol and left the Real Madrid man out of his latest squad. Amid talks of the need for squad harmony and the manager's previous comments about Bellingham "intimidating" teammates, there's clearly more to his absence than fitness. Is Tuchel just laying down the law? Or is there an actual danger of Bellingham missing out on the World Cup? Three men who know a thing or two about giant egos, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney, discuss this, England's historical, craven need to pick the big names players at any cost and who is actually the national team's current 'best' player.

P1: (00:14)

P2: (36:21)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 060 | The Premier League: Thatcher’s Greatest Triumph

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Hated, adored, never ignored, Margaret Thatcher is one of the most important figures in the history of the country that is home to the world's wealthiest domestic league – this cannot be a coincidence. Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Rory Smith discuss how the Premier League has become almost entirely a-political, whether this is a key reason for its rise and if Thatcher's greatest legacy is the creation of an English success story in a sport she cared so little for.

P1: (04:04)

P2: (43:06)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 059: What’s Wrong With Liverpool?

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Saturday brought Liverpool’s third defeat in a week, following reverses at Crystal Palace and the cauldron of RAMS Park, home to Galatasaray. If you were a football doctor and were looking to diagnose reasons for Arne Slot's team looking more like pretenders than champions, what would say? To answer that question Rory Smith is joined Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja.

P1: (01:35)

P2: (40:33)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 058: Is Football Too Online?

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Dressing rooms sharing posts about refereeing decisions, managers complaining about their nicknames on X and social media troll campaigns, football is very online these days. Is this just another case of football predicting society? Is it completely a bad thing? Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Tariq Panja discuss.

P1: (12:56)

P2: (36:40)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 057: All or Nothing... Do We Need More Football Documentaries?

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

No progressive football club’s project is complete without an authorised streaming documentary series. They’ve become a significant contribution to football’s reinvention as a content provider. Does authenticity matter? Is Wrexham’s celebrity-assisted rise to be welcomed? John Brewin, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Rory Smith enter the scripted realities of Phil Parkinson, Tom Brady, Brendan Rodgers et al to discuss whether the real story is always left on the cutting-room floor.

P1: (11:30)

P2: (42:07)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 056: The Premier League's Triangle Of Sadness

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

What does Aston Villa’s sudden fall from grace say about the wisdom of basing a football club around one man in Unai Emery? Rory Smith, James Horncastle and John Brewin consider a club dogged by PSR and VAR and the implications of transfer guru Monchi stepping away. Villa aren’t alone in their start to the season being poor. West Ham and Wolves are also in the crisis club category, with open rebellion against their ownerships. Where did it all go wrong?

P1: (00:33)

P2: (40:50)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 055: Arsenal, Tottenham, Succession And Serious People

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Two of the biggest Premier League stories in September came away from the pitch, and specifically in the boardrooms of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. First was the sacking of Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s seemingly all-powerful chairman, after 24 years running Spurs in his own unique way. Then, one week later, came the removal of Tim Lewis, Arsenal’s executive vice-chair, who had run Arsenal for the last few years.

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja look at these moves and explain why exactly Levy and Tim Lewis were fired. Was it because of performance? Or was it because a new generation of owners want to operate their clubs differently?

These two stories have been compared to ‘Succession’, and both point to the tension between the ultra-wealthy owners of these generational assets and the executive class who run them. So is this the central tension that defines modern clubs? And are we - as Miguel suggests - now in ‘the age of the owner’?

P1: (09:48)

P2: (36:34)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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The Sam Wallace column mentioned in the podcast can be found here, you will need to get past The Telegraph paywall.

Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 054: 'Ballon d'Or!' Rio screams, 13 times

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Ruud Gullit has been booked. iShowSpeed is getting his tuxedo ready. Kaka will be around, probably. That’s right: it’s Ballon d’Or time, and on today’s Libero, John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith — Libero’s balls of gold — discuss the shifting meaning of the trophy, whether the obsession with it is an exclusively modern phenomenon, and the tension of individual awards in a team sport.

P1: (10:41)

P2: (38:18)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 053: The Things That Matter As The Champions League Returns

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

The Champions League is back. Or more specifically, the league phase, which starts with matchday one spread over the course of this week.

On today’s episode, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Jonathan Wilson all look forward to this season’s competition and ask whether anyone will be able to challenge Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain for the crown. James explains why this might be the year that Antonio Conte makes an impression with his new-look Napoli side.

This will be the second year of the Champions League’s new format, where 144 games are played between September and January to trim 36 teams down to 24. What are the lessons of the new system? Does it mean there is less riding on each game? And does the tournament as a whole have the same weight and prestige in the era of the Club World Cup?

P1: (01:58)

P2: (34:08)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 052: Does The Manchester Derby Still Matter?

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Sunday sees the first Meeting of Manchester United and Manchester City of the season at the Etihad. On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and John Brewin look at the fixture and ask whether it is still one of the biggest in the Premier League calendar.

The dynamic between the two clubs has been flipped in the last 15 years, with City now the dominant team of this era and United lurching from crisis. The fixture has lost its edge since its golden period between 2009 and 2013, when City were the rising force trying to topple Sir Alex Ferguson’s United.

And while the local rivalry is a huge part of Premier League marketing, the question is whether a game like this can become a global product while still retaining its local appeal. Does it still matter in the same way?

P1: (02:43)

P2: (33:57)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 051: Long Throws And Set Pieces... Is Football Going Back To The Mixer?

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Libero returns with its smuggest and most chin-strokey lineup ever, as the first-time combination of Rory Smith, Jonathan Wilson and James Horncastle talk about the evolution of tactics. Have we seen football's final great innovation? What does the renewed focus on set-piece mastery say about modern coaching? Does intuition trump all? Can they answer any of these questions without talking about Pep Guardiola?

P1: (1:30)

P2: (37:36)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 050: Arsene Wenger, A Proper Football Man

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

He’s the greatest manager in Arsenal’s modern history and the Emirates a monument to his reinvention of the club. Arsene Wenger is one of the most influential figures of the Premier League era but also in French football from his time at Monaco, and is still involved in the game he loves as an employee of Fifa.

But could he have won more in France and England? He never got to write his own epitaph with one more major triumph. Meanwhile, his Fifa role and closeness to certain forces within the game have gone against previously strong-held principles.

Miguel Delany and Tariq Panja join John Brewin consider the enigma and legacy of Le Professeur.

P1: (00:55)

P2: (29:44)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 049: The Premier League’s Three Billion Pound Summer

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0000

What's that you say? Every Libero squad member on one podcast? That's right, in order of appearance, Rory Smith, Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin, Miguel Delaney, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Tariq Panja and James Horncastle are here to talk about the most financially lubricated summer in football history - the Premier League's great (and late) spending splurge.

We hear about what it's like to try and cover the flurry of transfer dealings on the last day of the window before discussing the driving forces behind the ever-increasing volume of moves, as well as how the power of the English pound reverberates across European football.

Part one: (1:29)

Part two: (12:27)

Part three: (32:03)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 048: Ruben Amorim And The Philosopher’s Clones

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United tenure reached a new low on Wednesday night as they were knocked out of the League Cup by Grimsby Town. Critics say he is too wedded to his 3-4-3 system, but has his ideological approach bought him more time than a more pragmatic manager would get?

On today’s Libero, Rory Smith, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jonathan Wilson discuss Amorim’s struggles and the importance of having a philosophy in the modern game.

English football has traditionally rejected abstract ideas but that looks to have changed over the last 10 years since Pep Guardiola’s arrival. Is it now possible to get a big job without a clear set of ideas? Or are we starting to see a turn back towards pragmatism through managers like Thomas Frank?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 047: Euro-trouble... is the Premier League's financial might causing problems on the continent?

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

The European club season is now underway, with the Champions League draw to follow on Thursday. James Horncastle and Miguel Delaney join John Brewin to discuss some of the key questions from the continent. The rest of Europe is taking some surprising decisions to keep up with the Premier League’s riches. Each of the so-called top-five leagues have taken different approaches. Can they work? Or are the major clubs now in control? Plus, some more logs are thrown on the PSR fire.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

DISCLAIMER: Producer Tom experienced significant technical issues while editing this episode and as a result the audio quality is not up to the usual standard. We apologise profusely and will ensure a return to normal service for episode 048.

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Libero 046: Alexander Isak v Newcastle: A Player Power Battle

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

The biggest story of this summer’s transfer window is Alexander Isak. The Newcastle United striker is so desperate for a move that he has not been training with Newcastle United, and on Tuesday night he finally went public about his desire to leave.

On today’s Libero, Jonathan Wilson, Rory Smith and Jack Pitt-Brooke try to get to the bottom of the story of the summer. How outraged should we be by Isak’s conduct? Is he ‘on strike’, insulting the fans, or is he just playing one of the few cards available to him?

This summer has shown how clubs treat players, whether Manchester United with their bomb squad, or Nottingham Forest denying Morgan Gibbs-White a move to Tottenham. So in that context does it make sense for a player to try to force his way out? And how can players claw back any power in the marketplace? Is the only route for them to stop signing long-term contracts when they are at the moment of maximum leverage?

P1: (00:36)

P2: (38:08)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 045: In Defence Of PSR

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

It’s the initialism on many people’s lips as the transfer window rages on. PSR, profit and sustainability rules: what are they good for? Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja join John Brewin to pick through the weeds of surrounding what is, in reality, a rather a dry financial regulation covering accountancy to stop clubs spending beyond their means. Though, of course, as it’s modern football, where self-interest rules, it can never be that simple. Can there really be such a thing as financial fair play? Are the scales weighted to serve established elite? Why can’t everybody spend what they want?

P1: (00:59)

P2: (34:15)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 044: Liverpool, Arsenal And The Premier League’s New Era (Maybe)

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0000

Is there a chance that Manchester City's imperial era is over, and might Arsenal-Liverpool be what replaces it? As everyone - again - waits for 'the City case' to end, there are other new uncertainties about Pep Guardiola and his team, whereas we know much more about what the champions and Arsenal are about. Could this herald a new rivalry at the top? Have Arsenal done enough? Have Liverpool done too much? And what of world champions, Chelsea?

P1: (03:46)

P2: (40:37)

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Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 043: Five Questions For The Premier League Season

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Jonathan Wilson sets the new season’s agenda for Jack Pitt-Brooke and John Brewin ahead of Friday’s big kick-off. The title, the drop, the transfer market coming back in a big way and (30:17) the current trend for hulking No 9s are all discussed. Every team gets a mention. Well, apart from one. Can you guess who?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 042: Welcome To The Championship: Hollywood Endings, Parachutes And Cliff Edges

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s Libero Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja turn their attention to the Championship.

Is it still the most competitive league in the world? Or has that myth gone the same way as similar claims about the Premier League. With parachute payments distorting the competitive balance of the Championship so much, does it make the promotion race more predictable than ever? It’s hard to look past Ipswich Town for the top two places this season.

And given the effect of parachute payments, does it make sense for Championship clubs to make their own documentaries? Wrexham and Birmingham City both have TV shows. And while none of the three on the show have watched them, is it the only way to compete?

P1 (00:00)

P2: (38:30)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 041: The Last Dance Of Pep Guardiola?

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

He’s the undoubted coaching genius of 21st century football, admired, aspired to, much imitated and rarely bettered, but this summer has been one of unusual uncertainty for Pep Guardiola. Can Manchester City be revived? Does he have the players to achieve that? Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin and Miguel Delaney share their memories of Guardiola’s 17 years at the pinnacle of the game and (37:10) wonder if he has more reinventions to come.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 040: Is Jose Mourinho More Like Liam Gallagher Or Lenin?

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s podcast, James Horncastle, Jonathan Wilson and Jack Pitt-Brooke turn their attention to next week’s Champions League qualifiers, and particularly Jose Mourinho, who will take his Fenerbahce team to Feyenoord.

So why are we still so fascinated by Mourinho even as his career moves further away from the top of the game? Does he embody something that the modern game is short of? And why did football start moving beyond him 10 or so years ago (35:07)?

Ultimately it comes down to how you measure or assess greatness, and the episode ends with the question of where Mourinho ranks compared to Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson et al, and what his managerial legacy is.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 039: Proper England And Liverpool Spend, Spend, Spend

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

James Horncastle and Miguel Delaney join John Brewin in extending congratulations to England’s Lionesses, and handle the hot potato of patriotism. Will our brave girls really get arrested for saying they’re English?

After that (22:23), as Luis Diaz joins Bayern Munich, the stars align for Liverpool’s move for Alexander Isak. What’s brought on all this Liverpool spending? What now for Newcastle? As the picture clears on the summer of strikers, which other deals do they see happening before the window closes?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 038: Manchester United and the LinkedIn saviours

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s pod James Horncastle, Tariq Panja and Jack Pitt-Brooke continue the discussion on Manchester United and ask: is there any way back to the top for them?

(38:00) James points to the examples of how the Milan clubs have dealt with their own loss of status in recent years, and Tariq explains how Valencia have gone from two-time Champions League finalists to a complete mess in recent years. So what does the path back from here to success look like for United? And can anyone guide them along it?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 037: The Absolute State Of Manchester United

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Hated, adored, never ignored, not least because their downfall entertains those who endured the glory years with gritted teeth. Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin and Rory Smith try to pinpoint where it went wrong for Manchester United, the club that was previously too big to fail, and is now so big a farce that nobody knows how long the decline can last and to what depths the fall will reach. Fergie, the Glazers, Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ole, Bruno, Andy Tate: is no-one innocent?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 036: Todd Boehly, football genius?

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja put the politics of the Club World Cup to one side and stick to the football. Specifically Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, who can now call themselves world champions for the next four years. It has been a remarkable few months for Maresca and his team, and suddenly all of the doubts about his appointment, and indeed the whole Chelsea project, look like they have lost their sting. Maybe Todd Boehly and Clearlake know what they are doing after all?

The second half of the show (37:24) focuses on Crystal Palace, who have been told by UEFA that they will not be allowed into the Europa League next season because of a breach of multi-club ownership rules. Tariq explains why this is one of the very few MCO cases that UEFA chooses to enforce, and why Palace fans are so furious about it.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 035: Trump, Infantino And The Meaning Of The Club World Cup

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 06:07:56 -0000

Now that the Club World Cup is over, Libero’s Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss what Gianni Infantino’s great jamboree means for football: not just the Saudi money that (indirectly) bankrolled the tournament, but the impetus of American private equity that brought it to this point. Before that, though, they unpack the defining image of the tournament, and possibly all modern football: President Donald Trump making it very clear that he would be celebrating Chelsea’s victory on the podium, in front of the world. Is the whole thing going to be forgotten, as critics say of the football, or are we actually talking about “a transformative moment for the game”?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 034: Sesko Reimagined As A Giant Turkey

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney discuss with John Brewin a big week for Arsenal, and a fever dream featuring one of the Gunners’ potential new strikers. Is the pressure on Mikel Arteta or is that just a perception created by the myth of managers being capable of dragging a team over 'the line', whatever that is?

Also, (36:14) if Joe Root sat in the seat next to you in a pub, would you recognise the greatest living English cricketer? Or has football’s dominance dampened his legacy? Is Kevin Keegan still more famous than Harry Kane?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 033: Can We Not Just Be More Like Wimbledon?

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s episode Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss the Club World Cup, where James saw the start of the tournament, with Rory now in New York to see its climax. They ask whether this is the future of football, or just a very clear view of its present.

Then conversation returns to last week’s question (27:05): what could threaten football’s dominant place in global culture? Could it be a threat from within football, with the game churning out so much content, or starting to fragment? Or are its threats coming from outside, whether from fast-adapting different sports (cricket or F1), or the technological threats to our attention spans?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 032: Jesus Had A 2,000-Year Headstart On Ronaldo

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

This episode was recorded before the tragic news about the death of Diogo Jota and his brother.

Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and, eventually (18:41), James Horncastle try to get their heads around the sheer size of modern football. What happened to other sports? What special advantage does football have over everything else? And what is it about football that has allowed it to become the dominant cultural force in the modern world.

And with football now in such a powerful position in the media landscape, the natural next question is whether or not this is actually good for the game.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 031: In Sarina We Trust?

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Can women’s football sustain its exponential growth? Have the men just had a sliding doors without knowing it? The Women’s Euro 2025 gets underway in Switzerland this week with England nursing both (relatively) high hopes and (comparatively) low expectations. Why have two key players withdrawn from the squad? Can England retain their crown? What will failing to do so mean for Sarina Wiegman? And, if tournaments are always a barometer for the game, what will this say about women's football?

Rory Smith, Miguel Delaney and John Brewin try to answer those questions while acknowledging that they are all men, or very close approximations of it. They also discuss England’s glorious win in the European Under-21 Championship (35:57), thanks to the great genius of anthem refusenik Lee Carsley - and whether the FA may have made a decision they end up regretting.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 030: John Textor, Skateboard Champion

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Tariq Panja and John Brewin ask the big question of the summer so far: who is John Textor? And what is going on with the ownership of Lyon and Crystal Palace? Lyon used to be one of Europe’s model clubs but now they are facing the prospect of relegation to Ligue 2. What does this tell us, not only about Textor, but about the multi-club model in general? Is there any upside at all in it for clubs.

There is one Textor club that is having a great summer, though, with Botafogo through to the last-16 of the Club World Cup. All four Brazilian teams, in fact, have progressed from the groups. (31:27) Why is Brazilian club football so strong again? And does that change how we feel about Gianni Infantino’s big party in the USA?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 029: Argentina And The Pie Of Football Mystique

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Another summer, another tournament enlivened by marauding hordes of Argentina fans taking over beaches and shopping centres. On today’s Libero, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson discuss what it is that makes Argentinian football culture so passionate and so appealing to outsiders, whether we overlook the reality of it in favour of the romance, and whether its allure is really a measure of our anxiety over the sanitised, commercial world of European football. James Horncastle dials in, too, to offer his thoughts after experiencing the imported South American atmosphere in Miami, and we contemplate the impact of conflict in Iran on next year’s World Cup (50:05).

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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Libero 028: Talking About Talking About Transfers

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Here we go, right into transfer season, so Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson discuss how it all actually works from a media perspective, as well as how reporting on it has evolved into an entire industry of its own, an adjunct to the actual football. We also (38:06), aware of our own hypocrisy, discuss an actual big transfer: Florian Wirtz to Liverpool.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 027: Miami Vibes And The Tale Of Walter Da Silva

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Libero goes on location as James Horncastle reports from the Hard Rock Stadium after Boca Juniors v Benfica. Is our Italian stallion getting swept up by Gianni Infantino’s Club World Cup? Then, back across the Atlantic where John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja share their thoughts on the tourney so far, where they’re watching on a channel better known for serial killer documentaries.

Then, at (24:36), they start the real quiz. Transfers, better than the football itself? The team considers the changing face of the recruitment game, from pushy parents to blue-chip, fully corporate agencies. Are the bad old days of third-party ownership coming back? Which clubs do things differently? Will a couple of high-profile legal cases turn things upside down?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 026: Hate-Watching The Club World Cup

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

It’s Club World Cup time, and Libero are just as excited as you are. Today, Miguel Delaney, John Brewin and Rory Smith discuss how this tournament came to be, and what its existence tells us about the power (im)balance of world football. In the second half (38:18), they discuss what the tournament might bring as a sporting spectacle: for all the misgivings over how it came about, will it produce any football worth watching? And is part of the problem that most football, no matter how artificial and commercialised, is worth watching?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 025: Bearded Dragons Being Driven By Trained Pigs

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s episode James Horncastle, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja discuss Luciano Spalletti’s shock (is it?) departure as Italy boss and what bigger meaning does it point to about that state of the Azzurri. Before moving on to the status of the Nations League and asking whether the competition finally hit the big time? Or is it just another needless extra in football’s bursting-at-the seams calendar?

In part two (27:24), Jonathan takes us on a magical mystery tour of his attempt to get to one game in one city in the United States of America. Full of twists, turns and a baffling array of chance encounters, Jonathan’s journey offers an insight to what might be in store for fans attending this summer’s Club World Cup.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 024: Data Is A Condiment

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Today Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss the most wonderful time of the year: the transfer market between football executives. They ask why we have become so fascinated by sporting directors, and why some of them have become almost as famous as the players themselves.

James explains the history of the role in Italy, and Rory and Jack try to work out when and why it finally became a big part of the Premier League landscape. (39:46) They try to pick apart what the role actually does, whether you want a Monchi, a Fabio Paratici or a Michael Edwards, and what best practice recruitment actually looks like in 2025.

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Libero 023: Held Hostage by Hodgson

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

With Paris Saint-Germain finally ending their cash soaked Qatari quest for a Champions League title John Brewin, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja discuss how its likeable young team’s emphatic trouncing of Inter may have shielded the owners from the sort of scrutiny they should have received. They get it here.

In part two (36:38), discussion turns to the Club World Cup and what FIFA’s game is with a competition that few had been asking for. Is bribing exhausted star clubs with a $125m prize for a month’s work and feeding the transfer-industrial complex really what’s expected from Gianni Infantino and co.? Well, yes.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 022: Crying Into The Dolmio

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Brought to you live from the Allianz Arena Munich Football Arena, Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith discuss the fallout from PSG's destruction of Inter Milan in the Champions League final.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 021: Champions League Final, Premface Edition

Thu, 29 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Today on Libero Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and James Horncastle look forward to Saturday’s Champions League final between Paris Saint Germain and Inter Milan.

First up is the question of what actually makes for a good Champions League final, whether we ever get what we really want from these games, and whether there being no English team, Real Madrid or Barcelona makes this final a tough sell to English viewers. Does this make us - to borrow a phrase from the internet - ‘Premfaces’?

(25:26) Then James explains Simone Inzaghi’s remarkable tenure at Inter since he replaced Antonio Conte in 2021. Is he one of the best managers in the world right now? And then to Luis Enrique, a brilliant manager with a touching personal story, who has coached some of the most exciting teams in Europe over the last 10 years. Could this be the game that turns him into one of the greats?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 020: Never Go Full John Terry

Wed, 28 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

As European domestic seasons draw to their close, Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin and Tariq Panja consider how and why a different set of clubs have lifted trophies across Europe. They discuss the collapse of the pay-TV market in France to suggest not all is milk and honey within the global game. Has football finance’s growth in importance turned us all into reluctant accountants? (28:58) And, as the Champions League final in Munich beckons, they share memories of 2012 and Chelsea’s achievement of Roman Abramovich’s dream, and that night’s setting of trends for future trophy celebrations.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 019: The James Horncastle Origin Story

Fri, 23 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Dispatches from Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English European final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead James Horncastle, John Brewin and Rory Smith discuss the Italian perspective on football in 2025 and how Serie A lost its status as the premier domestic competition. (30:38) We also learn how a restaurant catering to Hull's theatre crowd led Horncastle to a career covering the game in Italy.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 018: A Fight In The Portsmouth Ferry Port

Tue, 20 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney have crossed the Bay of Biscay to see the teams currently 16th and 17th in the Premier League duke it out in the Basque Country with not only Europe's second biggest prize on the line, but also a place in the Champions League. Up front, Libero's intrepid trio of travellers mull over the plotlines for Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and their respective coaches. We also find out the real reason why Jack decided to take the ferry to Bilbao.

In the second half (33:02), talk turns to what such an abjectly anticipated final means for the Europa League and whether the changes to the competition are the result or cause of this less-than-desirable eventuality.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 017: Bring On The Mezzanine

Fri, 16 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s Libero, Jonathan Wilson, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Miguel Delaney start by looking forward to Saturday’s FA Cup final. Everyone knows that the final is no longer the climax of the English football season, but the big question is why? They look at the rising prominence of the league in the 1980s, the advent of the Premier League in 1992 and Manchester United’s decision to pull out in 2000.

The following Saturday at Wembley is the Championship play-off final between Sunderland and Sheffield United. (32:20) Jonathan talks about his personal connection to this game, and the realities of supporting a team with little chance in the top flight. Jack asks whether this really is such a big game any more, given the struggles of promoted teams to make an impact in the Premier League. Is there any hope beyond just become a yo-yo club, or in Jonathan’s phrase, a ‘mezzanine club’?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 016: Don Carlo

Wed, 14 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s episode of Libero, Rory Smith, John Brewin and James Horncastle wonder whether anyone not named Carlo Ancelotti can make sense of the modern Real Madrid, and assess the prospects for Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu. In part two (33:36) James also takes great pleasure in decreeing that Ancelotti’s appointment as Brazil manager is proof of the ultimate triumph of Italy in determining the game’s dominant culture.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 015: The Greatest Champions League Semi Of All?

Fri, 09 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

There was nowhere else to start than San Siro after the Champions League semi-final between Inter and Barcelona. Was it the best of all? Why are semis over two legs usually miles more entertaining than finals? Jonathan Wilson, Miguel Delaney and John Brewin share their memories, and hail gambling man Hansi Flick as football’s greatest ringmaster.

After that (16:55): a missive from Mexico triggers a conversation on the cult of the football hipster. Is that era over? Or did books like Wilson’s 'Inverting the Pyramid' trigger an enduring legacy of earnest investigation into Sparta Rotterdam’s use of Wiel Coerver’s methods and the like? We lounge on Athletic Club cushions to consider the fashion(!), the music and the writing a wider perspective on football has added to modern culture.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 014: It's A Bit Like Severance

Wed, 07 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

With the Europa League final looking likely to be an all-English affair, Jack Pitt-Brook, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja discuss why - given the Premier League's clear financial advantages - Europe's secondary competition has never really been a priority for the clubs of the 'Best League in the World™'.

In part two (42:02), talk turns to Lamine Yamal and whether playing a starring role for Barcelona, or any club in a foreign land, will allow him to reach the levels of fame that his talent deserves. Is it true that Anglophone-centric media struggles to acknowledge talent from overseas?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 013: Barca's Bloated Mess

Fri, 02 May 2025 05:00:00 -0000

In the interest of debunking beauty, the first part of the latest episode of Libero starts with Jonathan Wilson, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja discussing why Barcelona's thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter Milan should never have happened, largely due to the Catalan club's dire financial circumstances and the problems caused by its presidential model, while also trying to identify what ideal football club ownership looks like.

The second half (38:16) focuses on the role of the modern Europa League, the ideal composition of of the competition's latter stages and the puzzle of finding a satisfactory host city for the final.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 012: Marathon Wolf Hall Sessions

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

Today’s episode starts with a look to the Arctic circle, where Bodø/Glimt have become one of the best stories in European football this decade. The small club from northern Norway have won four of the last five league titles and face Tottenham in the Europa League semi-final this week. So how did they do it, and what can the rest of Europe learn from their success?

Then conversation moves on to Anfield (29:34), where Rory watched Liverpool seal the Premier League title on Sunday. He explains why it meant so much to him, how Liverpool have done it, and whether this is the most successful title of the FSG era.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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You can read Rory's 2020 feature on Bodø/Glimt via the New York Times' archive here.

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Libero 011: Steve Parish Saint-Germain

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On today’s episode, Rory Smith, John Brewin and Jack Pitt-Brooke start off with a look at Paris Saint-Germain, who, for the first time, might well be the best team to watch in Europe. Have they finally moved on from their era of stars? Is a new focus on French talent a sign that they are finally putting football first? Or is it yet another cynical marketing ploy?

Then discussion moves on to another team who play in red and blue: Crystal Palace. They are also from an area that produces plenty of good footballers, many of whom have made it into the Palace team. So is their local authenticity something to protect in the homogenous Premier League of 2025?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 010: It’s Really More Of A Helix

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

What is it about the early 2000s that football finds so fascinating? Why is the game still so captivated by the career paths and podcast empires of the principal characters from an era that is now a generation past? On today’s Libero, Rory Smith, Tariq Panja and Jonathan Wilson try to answer that question, and also work out whether Pep Guardiola has the power to stop time.

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 009: The Bountiful South

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On Libero today, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin and Miguel Delaney consider the Tottenham Hotspur odyssey as Ange Postecoglou faces down his near-certain fate. Can any Spurs manager succeed under the current ownership structure? Has the “Glory Game” been sacrificed for the security of a profitable business?

And later in the show, the gang consider English football’s north-south divide: how come the Premier League’s upwardly mobile middle class are from Greater London and the Home Counties rather than Yorkshire and Lancashire? Is it really just about airports?

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero 008: Prime Barclays Extended Universe

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On Libero today, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith, John Brewin and Tariq Panja ask whatever happened to the lost generation of footballers born in the second half of the 1990s? They should be at their peak now, dominating the global game. And yet it feels as if football belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for so long that they will ultimately be replaced by the Gen Z players, born in the 21st century.

Later on the show they discuss the 'cult of the pundit' in English football, whereby Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville are now far more famous than they ever were as players, setting the news agenda with their every word. How have they managed to become so big?

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Libero 007: Slapping Brest With a 57 Percent Tariff

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 07:44:57 -0000

On Libero today, Jonathan Wilson, James Horncastle, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja discuss the new Champions League format. Is it better than what came before? Were there really more surprises? And what tweaks would they like to see.

Then they discuss whether a football club can have a DNA — something that for better or worse, often intangible, that makes the club what it is, and explains why Sunderland will not win the playoffs.

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Libero 006: Defund the PGMOL

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On Libero today, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson discuss whether or not the 2024-25 season has been good or not. What do we mean when we talk about a good season? How do we find the right balance between quality, competitiveness and drama? Then they discuss why football journalists can never get as angry about referees and PGMOL as fans do, and hear why the cult of the celebrity referee actually started in Italy.

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Libero 005: Andrea Berta Fan Fiction

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0000

On Libero today, Jonathan Liew, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson discuss whether elite football is trying to do away with fans, whether it is OK that Chelsea sold their own women's team to themselves, and discover that Jonathan Wilson knows who Angry Ginge is.

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Libero 004 - Trent, Transfers and Traitors

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0000

Libero 4 with Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle, Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin covers Trent's 'defection', some reflections on classic transfer market shenanigans and the FA Cup - has Wembley really lost it's mythological status?

Trent AA (02:30) FA Cup (35:30)

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Libero 003 - The MAGA World Cup

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:14:19 -0000

How should journalists report Trump's World Cup? Are expectations for Slot's Liverpool unfair?.. and the weird world of the Sports Journalism awards.

Today's Liberi are Tariq Panja, Miguel Delaney and Barney Ronay.

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Libero 002 - Give us the jam now, Thomas

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:28:19 -0000

Episode two of Libero discusses Thomas Tuchel's chances as the German England football manager (02:00) and the rise of the 'middle class' of well run Premier League clubs (18:42)

The Liberi: Jonathan Wilson, Rory Smith, John Brewin

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Libero 001 - Has this podcast officially begun?

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 23:26:47 -0000

Welcome to Libero. The first episode includes a segment on the Geordie Nation and Saudi sportwashing (06:15) and Sir Jim Ratcliffe's grand vision (41:01)

Today's Liberi are Miguel Delaney, Jonathan Liew, Barney Ronay and John Brewin

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