Four At The Back

A quarter final exit at the hands of the runners-up, but Gareth Southgate is staying on until Euro 2024 in Germany. Pete, Joe and Neil talk through how the tournament went, and what the future holds for the manager and some of the more difficult to call positions in his team. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From a dead game to the most memorable final of all time, all in the space of about two minutes. Joe, Neil and Pete come together to relive the final and think about how the tournament will be remembered going forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since our last episode, England are out, as are Neymar and Ronaldo, and the stage is set for France vs Argentina in the final. Pete and Maz talk over the last two rounds, and look ahead to what might happen in the generational clash between Messi and Mbappe for the greatest prize in world football. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it the second round or the round of 16? Just one of the many questions covered as Maz and Neil get together to cover England vs Senegal, Netherlands vs USA, big wins for Brazil and Portugal and a famous win for Morocco over Spain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maz and Pete are joined by special guest Bobby Cash for a recap of the opening round of the World Cup. How good are the heavyweights, how do you make sense of the shock results, and just what does the future hold for casualties like Belgium, Germany, and Wales? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stoke City became one of the most divisive sides of the Premier League-era, but they also went from one of the least fancied to survive for around a decade. They're also completely inseparable from the idea of one man: the head coach who shaped the team through their years of consolidation, Tony Pulis. Joe, Pete, and Neil get together to discuss the legacy of Stoke City, how you compete against bigger teams with less money, and how football narratives often takeover what happens on the pitch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The record-breaking Derby County and their lowest ever points haul in Premier League history serve as a jumping off point for a chat about promotion, competitiveness, and just how do you go about becoming one of the worst teams to compete in the EPL? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twelve points clear, Keegan's rant, couldn't defend.... there's a lot of myths that have attached themselves to this team. Something that isn't a myth is that the 'Entertainers' were the clear neutral's choice, and for a short time at least, everyone's second team. Neil, Joe and Pete look at one of the most beloved teams in the Premier League, going from the importance of Peter Beardsley, trading Ginola stories, and looking how it all went wrong - and ended so soon after. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shearer and Sutton, Jack Walker's money, the progressive style of Graeme Le Saux and the committed defending of Colin Hendry - just a few of the topics up for discussion as the Four at the Back lads turn their attention to the 1994-95 Premier League Champions, Blackburn Rovers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the late 1990s, Chelsea went from a run of the mill Premier League team deprived of success to a cosmopolitan, trophy-laden outfit packed with superstars. Under Gianluca Vialli, they threatened to disrupt the established order of the English league. Then, just as quickly, Vialli was sacked and it was over. But during those years under both Vialli and Ruud Gullit, the groundwork was laid to make Chelsea attractive to foreign investors. Pete, Maz and Neil get together to look over how Chelsea went from also-rans to a global juggernaut. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a while, but season 4 of Four at the Back is nearly here..... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2018, Dele Alli was one of the stars of Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team, and one of the hottest prospects in football. Just four years later, he's failed to make an impact at relegation-threatened Everton and is off to Turkey on loan, his England career seemingly consigned to history. In this bonus episode, Neil and Pete go back over the last few years, picking out the details and the important matches to answer the question - what went wrong? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pete, Joe, and Neil continue their conversation about the biggest transfer disasters in Premier League history, this time by using the transfers involving their own clubs as a starting point. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are few things more joyous in football than when another club throws a lot of money away on a player that doesn't deliver. In the first episode of this two-part bonus, Joe, Pete, and Neil are here to talk about some of the biggest (or funniest) transfer disasters in Premier League history. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone is back again to finish our preview of the Premier League season, with this episode taking in the middle of the pack and the teams expected to struggle. Where did the likes of Aston Villa, Everton, Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton all finish? Listen and find out! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The gang are back together! For the first time in a while, all four members of the team are here to look over the chances of the teams ahead of Friday's curtain raiser for this season's Premier League. In this first part, we're focusing on the teams expected to finish in the top 8. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2015-16, Leicester City stunned the footballing world. In this bonus episode, Pete and Maz take a deeper look at the so-called 'big six', to ask just how did they allow an underdog to come through and win the league that year. Leicester were obviously great, but teams with much greater resources and better squads all fell by the wayside, so in this episode we ask - just what went wrong? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Arsene Wenger was the manager at Arsenal for more than 1200 games and won three titles, and multiple FA Cups. During that time he managed some of the great players in world football. But who would be the best Arsenal team across that period? Pete, Maz and Neil sit down to put together an 'ultimate' level based on Arsene's spell in North London.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A while ago the Match of the Day team talked through their lists of the greatest Premier League number tens, and the Four at the Back team decided to get in on the act. In this bonus episode, Pete and Maz get together to talk through the results, and just how do you get 17 players into a top ten? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2021, GQ ran a feature ranking the winners of the English Premier League. Maz, Neil and Pete got together to for a bonus episode to see what they made of their list.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 2021/22 season is in the book. Neil and Pete chat through the run-in and what might be next for the teams at both ends of the division. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Erik Ten Hag will be the next permanent manager of Manchester United, and he's taking over a club that has been poorly run for a decade, one bloated by excess and weighed down by the memories of a glorious past. With a huge rebuilding job on the horizon, Neil and Pete take a look at how Man United got here, and what the former Ajax manager will have to address when he arrives at Old Trafford.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Oldham Athletic becoming the first former Premier League club to drop out of the Football League entirely, Pete and Neil get together for an emergency bonus episode of the podcast to remember better times and chat about the damage bad ownership can do to some of our historic clubs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It wouldn't be the end of a campaign without furious speculation about which players make your team of the season. So Pete, Neil and Maz got together to look over season 3 to pick their Ultimate XI. At least one player from each side, which a second from any one team to make up the numbers. Send us yours at @4atbpod! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Under Martin O'Neill, a group of players came together and redefined what was possible for Leicester City in the late 1990s. This week, Maz, Neil and Pete get together to discuss one of the defining teams of the era, and there'll be plenty of chat about the League Cup. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a generation of being the small fish in Manchester, the blue half started a rapid climb up the league and ended a long wait for the league title. All the more compelling, it came in the last minute of the last game and denied another title to their glamorous opposition from across the City. This week, Neil, Maz and Pete get together to discuss a team that helped redefine the shape of the Premier League, and the most remarkable climax to a Premier League season we have ever seen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the ashes of failure to qualify for multiple tournaments, a group of French footballers redefined what was possible and wrote their names in the history books as some of the most talented players of their era. Neil is joined by Maz and Pete as they look over the team that won the World Cup on home soil to momentarily unite an often fractured nation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a brief mid-season interval, Pete, Neil and Maz are back and they're going back to the first year of the Premier League. For most of the season, Norwich City threatened to 'do a Leicester', leading the title race for most of the year playing freeflowing football and winning friends along the way. The following year saw memorable trips to Vitesse Arnhem and, more famously Bayern Munich. From Bryan Gunn to Jeremy Goss, and Mark Robins to Mark Bowen, relive a remarkable 18 months in the history of the Canaries... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When the Galacticos exploded, a great Barcelona team ascended to the top of the Spanish and European game. Their successors might get most of the attention nowadays, but Neil, Pete and Maz spend this episode talking about what made Frank Rijkaard's team one of the most popular major clubs with the neutrals. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Around the turn of the Millennium, the controversial Florentino Perez became the President of Real Madrid, promising to sign the world's best players to make the club a footballing and commercial powerhouse. The arrivals of Figo and Zidane heralded a new era - the much-vaunted 'Galacticos'. But did it actually work? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sometimes defeats hide more than they reveal. This week Four at the Back looks at the runners-up in the 1993 League and FA Cup finals to pay tribute to what was a remarkable Sheffield Wednesday side. Join us as we talk Chris Waddle, Mark Bright, the injuries of David Hirst and the versatility of Paul Warhurst! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Could a side win honours in the 1990s playing with five attackers? Maybe not, but this 1994/95 Spurs side certainly won their fair share of hearts. Adding international stars Jurgen Klinsmann, Ilie Dumitrescu, and Gica Popescu to a talented batch of English players, all of the eyes of the footballing world were on this corner of North London. If anything it was all too brief.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How hard is it to go an entire season unbeaten? Well, no one had done it for 115 years in the English top flight before this Arsenal team came along in the 2003/04 season. Maz, Neil and Pete get together to talk about Thierry Henry, Sol Campbell, Robert Pires and all the rest, and just what it was that made them capable of this once in a lifetime achievement.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been a while but we're glad to be back, and what better way to come back than getting a little bit crazy? Series 3 kicks off with our look at the underdogs of the early Premier League, and how they went from being the crazy gang to actually playing a bit of good football along the way.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce are out at Newcastle, the Saudi's and Eddie Howe are in. There's a lot going on in the North East, but how much are things actually going to change? And how great is this really for Eddie Howe? Can he do it outside of Bournemouth? Joe and Pete are here to unpack the revolution at one of England's oldest and biggest clubs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After the chaos of the summer, an early exit for Nuno seems completely predictable, but Antonio Conte taking over months after turning Daniel Levy down is a more surprising development. Neil and Pete get together to discuss the latest happenings in N17 and what the future holds under the highly-rated Italian coach. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Neil, Pete, and Maz get together as the new Premier League season looms to take a look at all that's coming up between now and next May. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

England took an early lead but a fairly sorry stretch in the second half surrendered the initiative and led to yet more shootout heartbreak. Joe, Maz and Pete look back at the final and choose their team of the tournament. The catch? They can only take one player from each squad. Verratti or Chiellini? Stirling or Maguire? Stephen O'Donnell or Lyndon Dykes? There's some tough choices to be made..... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

England got through.... but was it a penalty? The Four at the Back crowd aren't sure. And exactly what is Mason Mount's role in this England team? These are two things on our mind as we talk through England's progress to their first major men's final in 55 years, and there's also time enough to discuss what was a minor classic in the other semi between Italy and Spain. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

England are growing into the tournament and, a couple of dodgy moments aside, did a very professional job of getting past Ukraine. All four of the boys are back to talk through what Southgate is getting right, how good it is to follow an England team that inspires enthusiasm, and where back-to-back Semi-Finals puts Southgate in the pantheon of England managers. They also wax lyrical about Italy, take a look at England's opponents in the next round in Denmark, and revisit Spain squeaking their way past tournament surprise package, Switzerland. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's safe to say the Round of 16 was eventful. England recorded a huge win over Germany, Switzerland stunned France in a classic only an hour after another truly memorable game between Switzerland and France, while the holders were also put out by Belgium. Maz, Neil and Pete get together to discuss all this, as well as Denmark's comfortable win over Wales, Italy needing extra time to beat Austria, the Czechs upsetting the Netherlands, and what Ukraine's victory over Sweden means for Southgate's men in the Quarter final. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the groups in the bag and sixteen countries safely through, Joe, Neil and Pete return to recap the group stage and briefly look ahead to the next round. Plus, what is this England team's identity? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

England all but assured their passage into the second round with a win over Scotland, so why are some of the lads so downbeat? Wales made it to the next round, the lads are warming up to Italy, and there's a first look at the group of death. Joe, Maz and Pete are all back within minutes of the final whistle of the game at Wembley to give their thoughts on the last few days of football from the UEFA European Championship.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

England defied the history books to open with a win over Croatia, Italy beat a surprisingly flat Turkey, while Belgium steamrollered Russia.... and just who did Wales think they were playing for the first hour? All this and more as Joe, Maz, Neil and Pete talk about the games from the opening weekend of UEFA Euro 2020. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Euro 2020 is finally here - better late than never! Maz, Neil, and Pete are back again to whet your appetite for the delayed tournament. How will England fare? How will the favourites cope with the Group of Death? And what can we expect from Belgium as their "golden generation" enter the last chance saloon? All this and more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another Premier League season has come and gone - Pete, Maz and Neil get together to look back on the highs and lows for their own clubs and for the rest of the division. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We love constructing a fantasy XI, so we've each built a Team Of The Season based on all of the sides we featured in Season 2 of Four At The Back! See who we picked - from Ferguson to Ferdinand, from McGrath to Muller - and who do you pick from that godawful Newcastle team of 2009? Not a simple task! See you for season 3 later in the summer... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Like most of the footballing community, we were all stunned by the audacity of the mooted European Super League before it fell apart quicker than it came together. We all got together and talked it out, what it means for the future of the Premier League and Champions League, and the ownership models of elite football clubs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are in the dying minutes of Season 2, and it's finally time to talk about Liverpool. Neil, Pete and Joe are going back a quarter of a century to when Fowler, McManaman, Redknapp and Collymore were running the show at Anfield to talk about an early 90s youth intake that didn't reach its potential, one of the most gifted forwards to ever grace the Premier League, and to discuss if this Liverpool team underachieved, or if they were simply left behind by poor management in previous regimes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The conclusion of our look at England's track record in major tournaments from 1996 to 2006 is here; discussion about Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign, the rise of Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard and the ultimate failure of the so-called "Golden Generation" to return a major trophy. Was it such a failure? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The relationship of the English national football team with its fans is complex, and over the last 25 years it has been through the wringer. In the first of a two-part special on England, the boys take a look back at the glorious failures of Euro '96 and France '98, track the emergence of the so-called 'Golden Generation' and try to work out where it all went wrong. From the dentist's chair to faith healers, there's a lot of nostalgia in this one! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.