World Cup Series Ep. 1 - The England Squad

With the club season for English teams now done and dusted, we turn our attention for the next two months to the biggest stage of all - the FIFA World Cup.

In the first part of our multi-part series, we discuss who we'd have picked for the England squad, our reaction to the selections made and our feelings about where England's strengths and weaknesses lie.

In future episodes we'll be covering World Cup history, controversies, shocks and tragedies, as well as - of course - discussing FIFA's sordid recent past and its impact on the game and the tournament as a whole.

The UEFA European Finals

With one extraordinarily happy host in Ben, who has worn nothing but Arsenal shirts since the final whistle blew in Bournemouth last week, we preview the three European finals (even the one that already happened) as he hopes to go from obnoxiously delighted to utterly unbearable with a Gunners win in Budapest.

But it's not just about Arsenal, far from it. We talk Europa and Conference League's too, about whether the former has been watered down by the ever growing number of Champions League qualifiers, and whether the latter is a tin pot or a magnificent opportunity for fans of traditionally smaller teams to experience a European run (ok, definitely option 2 on that one).

Finally, we go back to our favourite topic - has the Champions League become a closed shop for the giants of the European game, can a Crystal Palace or even arguably an Aston Villa really hope to be able to compete for it year after year, or does state investment, financial "fair play" regulations and unbalanced leagues outside of England make this an unachievable goal, even with sustained success?

The EFL Playoffs

The playoffs. The best, and the worst way to get promoted. A season coming down to one winner takes all match-up. The Championship final, the richest game in football, this year between Southampton and Hull City.

Or so we all thought...

The unexpected development of a football governing body growing a spine means that it will, pending appeal, be Middlesbrough playing Hull at Wembley. Couple this drama with the 40th anniversary of the playoffs, and these being the final edition played under current format... we picked a pretty good year to talk about this.

Alongside this year's drama we talk playoffs of yesteryear, including the best final, the greatest comeback and Troy Deeney's unbeatable moment in 2013. The playoffs deliver drama like no other, though to be fair, it usually just on the pitch.

Oil, Oligarchs and the FA Cup Final

Football has changed a lot since the glory days of the FA Cup. Some things are better left in the past - muddy Wembley pitches, heavy footballs and serious injuries every other final. Other things are still sorely missed - breakfast time coverage on Cup Final morning, joyous pitch invasions, and the genuine belief that almost anyone could win it.

That unpredictability fading away has perhaps done more than anything else to fuel claims that the magic of the Cup is disappearing. In the last thirty years, just five clubs have won all but four FA Cup finals: Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and this season’s finalists, Manchester City and Chelsea.

This episode stands in stark contrast to last year’s celebration of the competition’s glorious history. Instead, this is something of a rant - and at times, a genuinely concerned one - about modern football and the financial imbalance that increasingly defines it. No clubs embody that shift more clearly than City and Chelsea, both transformed from outsiders into serial winners by vast wealth in remarkably short periods of time.

Now, with accusations of financial impropriety hanging over one club and proven rule breaches with relatively limited punishment attached to the other, both stand at the forefront of a modern football economy dominated by a handful of superclubs. Clubs whose spending power - despite regulations supposedly designed to create financial fairness - continues to dwarf that of almost everyone else, while those same rules seem to be making it even harder for challengers to catch up.

Because ultimately, how can the FA Cup ever truly regain its old magic when the highest reaches of the game feel less accessible than ever before?

The Cheerleading Worlds with Special Guest Kelly Loughlin

The sport of cheerleading is probably a lot bigger than you think it is. In fact, for our British listeners, there is no sport growing faster amongst girls in our country, nor has there been for years. The number of competitors is now fast approaching six figures, across schools, universities and All-Star teams.

Today, we are extraordinarily lucky to have as a guest Kelly Loughlin, Program Director and Boss Lady of White Rose Cheer in Gildersome, Leeds. Kelly has been competing and coaching for nearly 20 years in competitive Cheerleading, and brings a level of experience and expertise to this episode that is generally absent on the Almanac.

As an Olympic pathway sport growing at an exponential rate - with the Cheerleading Worlds attracting 9000 competitors from over 40 countries and following hot on the heels of the ICU Junior World & World Cheerleading Championships - they may be taking over Orlando this week, but the future can only mean going for Gold on the biggest stage of all. Thanks to coaches and competitors across the globe, surely it's now a matter of when, not if.

Boston and London Marathons

490 BC. Ancient Greece. A messenger with a funny name and patriotism surging through his veins spots a Persian ship alter its course towards Athens. He is in Marathon, 26 miles and 385-ish yards away from his nations capital, but decides to do the unthinkable. He sheds his armour, his sword, and (being Ancient Greek) the rest of his clothes too. He runs, he makes it, he passes on a message of victory, and then he promptly expires on the spot.

2385 years later, a French academic looking to link Ancient and Modern Olympics creates the modern marathon, a battle of stamina and will against one's own limitations and common sense. And today, people dressed as rhinos, fridges and deep sea divers repeat the ancient feat for fun, and generally without it being terminal too.

The marathons of Boston and London present different histories, challenges and cultures, but both are undoubtedly incredible sporting events full of stories and people worth talking about. The former has some weird and wonderful tales of female participation against the usual strange male sensitivities. The latter, a charitable culture that has so far raised well over a billion pounds for others, as well as participants with astonishing tales of their own.

Both bring people together, no matter what others may do to divide them. This is where sport and wholesome, generous community spirit join hands, and all participants are heroes - from record breakers to ordinary people attempting to do the extraordinary alike.

The Sporting Almanac Birthday: The Masters and The Grand National

To celebrate one whole year of the Sporting Almanac Podcast we go back to where it all began, ahead of the Grand National and with the Masters underway at Augusta National. We share some reflections on the year past, and a few new stories about the weekends two events too, including Larry Mize's legendary chip and the Race That Never Was at Aintree.

One year older, but not really any wiser, expect the usual tangents, FIFA bashing and OJ Simpson references that all have very little to do with golf or horse racing....

Clips mentioned in the episode:

Larry Mize Chip-In https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1k62_1g7b0

Bubba's Recovery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLfhoD1kiuQ

The 1993 Grand National https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRP_5RBKm9I

The Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball

"The noblest art is that of making others happy."

P.T. Barnum

The purity of baseball is something a lot of people take very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that orthodox approaches will be followed until stadiums are empty, sponsors have left and the team owners move the team to pastures new in search of something different.

Such had been the case over and over in the famous city of Savannah, Georgia. For years teams came and went, changed their names and their backers and still failed to engage the local community. As the historic Grayson Stadium began to show its age alongside its charm, a man, his wife and a yellow tuxedo came into town.

Since 2016 the Savannah Bananas have divided opinions. They overturned norms; Nanas replaced cheerleaders, tickets came with unlimited hot dogs and soda, and first base coaches were hired for their dance moves ahead of their baseball nous. They were taking baseball orthodoxy and doing the exact opposite. It could never work, could it?

Today, the Savannah Bananas are the biggest team in baseball outside of the Majors, and there are plenty of MLB teams who envy their ability to fill the biggest arenas across the country. But they don't actually play baseball, not exactly. They play Banana Ball, an engaging mix of ball, circus and showmanship that has exploded on and off the field - millions of fans in seats and many more still on social media have made this a multi-million dollar business that doesn't look to be slowing down.

And their secret? Put the fans first, ignore the norms, don't be afraid to try new things or be called crazy for doing so, and always remember that it's far worse to be ignored than insulted. This is Banana Ball, and you can criticise it all you want, it doesn't make it any less fun.