Set Piece Menu Football Podcast

The football: It's our last show, live in London (slightly edited for content like movies on ITV in the 1990s, but still self-indulgently long). We're joined by Nedum Onuoha and an audience of well-wishers to send you off into a future without SPM. There are multiple middle class heckles, some essential beepings out of inappropriate words, and by the end even the odd something in the eye as we say goodbye after five and half years of podding. To you all, wherever you are, and to whichever level you let us into your lives, thank you. It was about football, of course, but it was also all of us sitting around a virtual lunch or brunch table to have a chat, quite often about nonsense. We will miss you, and if you'd like, we're still available on setpiecemenu@gmail.com, and @setpiecemenu. On the latter, there will be stuff for you to have fun with even in the absence of our audio form. Hopefully we'll find a similarly self-regarding way to speak to you again in the future. But until then, there'll be a little hole for you to fill in your podcast schedule. Rory, Steven, Andy and Hugh.

***Nedum Onuoha will be our guest at the live show in London! He's joining us for our final episode on July 20th. Get your tickets here: https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00*** The football: With the emergence of European clubs and the nations a lot of their players serve, is the dominance of the US Women's National Team under threat, and what will Euro 2022 tell us about how next year's World Cup might go? Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: At time of recording, three players key to Ajax's recent success had already left during this transfer window, with potentially at least another three heading out (maybe all to Manchester United) before it's over. Rory is annoyed about the financial and demographic realities that has led to another exodus, and wants to tell us why. Steven prepares a whole string orchestra's worth of tiny violins... LIVE SHOW TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!!! Head to https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 to join us on 20th July at 21 Soho in London Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: Some Set Piece Menu nostalgia. You miss Andy Hinchcliffe, we do too. So in response to requests to revisit some of his stand out 'Soccer Story' moments, Hugh, Rory and Steven introduce a trip down memory lane. Whether it was crustaceans in the bath at Bellfield, Mrs Big Ron's platter of Kit-Kats or the injury that finally ended an entirely sufficient career, Chinch never failed us when a tale from his playing days with all adult behaviour and libel-worthy details removed was required.

The football: 2022 has brought about a notable conscious uncoupling. After 30 beautiful and productive years together the video game partnership between EA Sports and FIFA is ending. How did this happen, why does it matter and whose future looks brighter: the gaming behemoth or the owner of 'the brand'? Plus, a not inconsiderable announcement that we think will make a ticket to SPM Live in London on 20th July even more valuable... https://myticket.co.uk/artists/set-piece-menu-live Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com or twitter: @setpiecemenu

The football: Did Hugh say he'd written a book? Well just in case you missed it, he takes the opportunity of Rory and Steven being distracted by a combination of covid and foreign travel (not both at the same time) to chat with the subject of said book. Nedum Onuoha is a former Manchester City, QPR and Real Salt Lake footballer with a tale to tell about his career and those with whom he shared it, but Kicking Back is about so much more. This conversation focuses on the so much more. So now we have TWO plugs: The book is out in the UK, and can be bought here (and elsewhere): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kicking-Back-Nedum-Onuoha/dp/1785907476/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19PYI2J78MI62&keywords=nedum+onuoha+book&qid=1653580026&sprefix=nedum%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1 And tickets for our live show on the 20th July in London are here: https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

Our hiatus-interrupting continues with another new pod, and another reminder to join us for a special SPM LIVE in London on Wednesday 20th July. Get your tickets here: https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 The football: The end of the Premier League season brings a comforting inevitability, the Hot Takes and Takeaways episode. We also reveal the standings and stats behind the soaringly successful SPMPLPL. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

We're breaking into our hiatus to do two things: 1) be with you for a run of mini-pods to mark the end of the Premier League season and more, and 2) for naked financial gain. The football: It's more than a year since the European Super League came and very quickly went, but it seems all the decisions made by the powers that be since are benefiting those who wanted the ESL in the first place, rather than satisfying the movement that mobilised so passionately against it. So why does football keep doing things that benefit the big clubs? The financial gain: Our live show is back on! Head to www.myticket.co.uk to join us on Wednesday 20th July at 21 Soho in London as part of the Goals Aloud Podcast Festival. We'll give you more details of the show over the coming weeks, but it'll be a very special night, so get your ticket for SPM Live now!!! Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

SPM returns from hiatus to consider how the sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich will affect Chelsea, the Premier League, and football's billionaire bubble. We will now politely return to our mini-hibernation, but in the meanwhile if you'd like to send an email, setpiecemenu@gmail.com is permanently open for business.

The football: March 2020 was football's hiatus, January 2022 is ours. With changes afoot in the SPM family, and a relaunch expected later in the year, we thought we'd give you all a bit of a break. Consider it an extended deadline if you haven't yet listened to all the episodes, a cheat code for your homework. We will return, and if you have any strong opinions about how we look when we do (that we can either ignore or take as our own), send them to setpiecemenu@gmail.com We remain on social media - @setpiecemenu - and could well pop up in your feed at any moment, so stand by and get ready for SPM 2.0! The food: Steven, in a metaphor for today's pod, which is apparently timed to completely ruin his lunch plans, is snacking on the final few raisins of a bag.

The football: Is Serie A the most exciting league in football right now? And if so, does that mean it has at last shaken off its stereotype - one that hasn't been true on the pitch for a long while now - of dull, defensive football? The food: A gingerbread biscuit that Rory couldn't wait until the pod to eat. It was the shape of a bee, which leads the others to suggest he's hankering for his old home of Manchester. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: As the latest Africa Cup of Nations begins to unfortunate characterisations and complaints about scheduling and availability, we ask if those questioning the relevance of competitions that clash with the Premier League and others in Western Europe are guilty of a little too much navel-gazing. The food: Rory's dog Hector has eaten something, and it has made him ill. Is chicken two days past its sell-date the culprit, or as Rory's son Ed suggests, a poisonous plant (the kind not-at-all native to West Yorkshire)? Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: The Premier League likes attracting the best managerial talent, but what if that talent wants to change the Premier League? Thomas Tuchel, Pep Guardiola, Ralf Rangnick and Jurgen Klopp have all spoken about their opposition to how the festive schedule is unduly punitive on their players, but if they wanted the job in England shouldn't they just accept that's how it's done? Or can we, your humble SPMers, find a solution? The food: In a shocking twist to our pre-holiday predictions, Rory reveals the true fate of his Christmas nut roast. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: Part two of our Set Piece Menu Review of the Year allows us to skew negative, and yet it's a shorter episode. Go figure... The food: Having recorded the pod pre-Christmas, we undertake what has become an annual guessing game about what we ate on the big day, and how much we "enjoyed" it. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast

The football: We're getting festively reflective as we bring you our Set Piece Menu Review of the Year, which is in no way attempting to sound or feel like another annual retrospective (the one which Rory gets uppity about). We've split it up into two parts, and because it's Christmas, part one prompts us to be nice about things. The food: Hugh is desperate to spread the word about Knopper chocolate bars. If you're near an Aldi, seek them out. Now. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast

The football: What's the difference between watching a game on TV and being at the stadium itself? A listener poses the question, and we try not to sound too snobby in our response. The food: Steven is eating a clementine, which prompts Rory to reveal he and his family are lessening their food footprint, which means no more bananas. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast

The football: A listener who's relatively new to football wants us to put a little meat on the bones he regularly hears in the coverage of football about 'style', 'identity' and 'philosophy'. What does it all actually mean? The food: Rory has discovered potato latkes and is immediately devastated that it took him this long. The announcement: For reasons explained on the pod, we are having to postpone our live show in London. Please forgive us, and have a listen for what to do next! email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: After Paul Merson wondered whether Ralf Rangnick's lack of experience in English football might make him an inappropriate appointment by Manchester United, we ask if English football has an identity problem. In other words it doesn't really have one, and that's why there's no reason for Rangnick to have experienced it... The food: Steven has a hangover so severe he can't even eat the pain au raisin he bought from Euston Station. LIVE SHOW TICKETS: We are in London's Courtyard Theatre for a 5th anniversary live show on Thursday 16th December, and you can be there too! Click on this link for tickets: https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast

The football: In the unforeseen absence of two of our number, we fill their places with people who actually know what they're talking about. Peter Drury and Conor McNamara are some of the finest exponents of the art of commentary, and there's also Steven; together we have a conversation about what people don't realise about the life and craft of the person you might listen to a lot, but not know a lot about. The food: Hugh is struggling with his voice - which he insists is down to something spurious called Cooing Disease - and so is on a diet of VocalZones and Broncho Stops. LIVE SHOW TICKETS: We are in London's Courtyard Theatre for a 5th anniversary live show on Thursday 16th December, and you can be there too! Click on this link for tickets: https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast

The football: The qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup may well end up delivering familiar countries to the finals, but in getting there has it shown us that international football might have more of something than the best of the club game: jeopardy? The food: Steven has stolen four Viennese Whirls from his partner Katie. Rory, a great lover of biscuits, reveals he's never even had a Viennese Whirl. LIVE SHOW TICKETS: Here's the link to click on for tickets for our London Live Show, celebrating 5 years of SPM - https://myticket.co.uk/gigs/set-piece-menu-live-london-2021-12-16-19-00 Come and join us at the Courtyard Theatre on 16th December! Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/en-gb/stores/set-piece-menu-podcast

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

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

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

The football: After Benjamin White revealed he'd never watched a football game that he wasn't a part of himself, we ask Chinch how a player's relationship with the game can run so counter to what many of us assume, and what many more expect. The food: Chinch is home alone, and without the chef of the family has reduced his diet to crumpets. Only crumpets. Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com And tickets to our live show at the National Football Museum can be found here: https://t.co/JOw261zNKy?amp=1

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

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

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

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

The football: The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo's 're-debut' couldn't be shown on television in the UK was considered by some to be proof that the age-old Saturday 3pm blackout was no longer fit for purpose. So we ask how fiercely we should preserve tradition, even if it seems anachronistic? It's a conversation that very quickly makes us appear like middle-aged men shouting into a void about teenagers. The food: A nice cup of hot crisps. Minutes before recording, Hugh makes the mistake of indulging in the two things he was once told you should never ingest in advance of broadcasting: a tea, and crisps. Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com Merch: www.teepublic.com (just search for SPM or Set Piece Menu)

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

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

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

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

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

The football: In the final part of our series we ask why the Premier League isn't the centre for tactical innovation in the game, and whether they'd either like to be, or comfortable with the idea they scout and poach the best minds and philosophies from elsewhere. Then we conclude by indulging the very subject of our series, and outlining why the Premier League is indeed exceptional. The food: Here's Nicky Hinchcliffe's virtual dessert to round off our three course feast. Pear, plum and apple crumble with pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds, and dusted with toasted flaked almonds. Served with lashings of Madagascan vanilla custard.

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

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

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

The football: Rory has an idea of how an expanded Euros could be expanded further, to include 32 teams. He's very proud of it, but clearly can only really commit to its principles once he's workshopped it (had it pulled apart) by his pod colleagues. Step forward Steven, Hugh and Chinch to consider, a little too fully, the plight of Luxembourg. The food: A cardamom knot, which is part of Rory's bourgeois breakfast. Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The World Cups and Euros of our youth are acclaimed through the rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia. In our mature years we are much more likely to find fault. What distorts our memories in favour of historical tournaments and subsequently raises expectations to an unreasonable level for their modern day equivalents? Plus, in a variation on the theme, a Soccer Story about Chinch not narrated by Chinch. And Steven deputises as host with Hugh cashing in all acceptable excuses for an absence in one go. Email setpiecemenu@gmail.com or find us on social media: @setpiecemenu

Over time we've be inundated with excellent suggestions from you, the listener. Many have been used & attributed, some nefariously repurposed & claimed as our own and others saved for a rainy day. Well that day has come and the mailbag has produced a potpourri of pod content: the fluidity of nationality, the scarcity of ambipedal players, footballing frustrations worthy of sanction, how to react to a tragedy and the chicken/egg of players' positions. As for the food? Well after 4 and a half years together we finally discover what happens to Rory when it's 1.30 and he hasn't had lunch. Want to be in contention for credit next time we empty the mailbag? Email setpiecemenu@gmail.com or find us on social media: @setpiecemenu

The podcast where four friends - presenter Hugh Ferris, writer Rory Smith, commentator Steven Wyeth & pundit Andy Hinchcliffe - talk football over food. This week: footballing families and the impact a successful player has on their offspring's chance of success. In what seems an increasingly incestuous industry, is a legacy talent a help or a hindrance and does nepotism give a youngster an edge when tough judgements are made about a talent's potential for fulfilment? And does a genetic disposition and exposure & opportunity ultimately trump a similar talent that lacks the benefit of privilege and contacts? Plus if you're thinking footballing fathers & sons would make an ideal SPM Select XI then you are in luck! The food: Chinch consumes something that sounds like a salon quality shampoo or experimentally cocktail but is apparently good for him. Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com or find us on twitter @setpiecemenu

The football: Do trophies have a different value depending on who wins them, how often, and whether they are claimed by a player that's also associated with individual achievements? Harry Kane has a chance to move from a club that hasn't won anything to one that wins everything, but will those potential future achievements have the same value to him as breaking the Premier League, or England goal-scoring record at some point in his career? The food: Steven, who according to the MailOnline is living in a no-go area for white people, is forced to eat a dish which is typical of Didsbury, clearly proving the august publication's point: mango chutney-glazed spiced chicken breast with cumin bulgur wheat and roasted carrots. Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: After Pep Guardiola seemed to lean into the very narrative that appears to annoy his acolytes more than any other for the Champions League final, we discuss whether something being pre-determined also dictates that it should be the singular cause of any outcome. Did Pep overthink his team? Or did they just play badly? Or, more importantly for this episode, do we have to understand that two things can be true? The food: Chinch and Steven discuss the relative merits of florentines with either milk or dark chocolate, in what proves to be the most alienating of all the elitist, middle-class conversations we've had over the years. Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: The Premier League season has come to an end, but it can't be officially 'put in the books' until we've delivered our annual hot takes and takeaways. Sit back and let these completely unstructured thoughts wash over you... The food: Rory goes against his wife's specific instructions to not order an ice cream sundae for his son when out for an anniversary meal. It turns out she is not surprised, to the extent she can predict every ingredient within said sundae before it arrives. We also reveal the new SPMPLPL champion, and prepare to shower them with glory and trinkets, all of which will be priceless (to the extent that they have no value attached to them). Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: How does a manager put together a squad for a major international tournament? Is it the 'best 23 players', as the requirement from those who shout the loudest dictates, or is there much more importance in the balance of the squad: the right fit for the right system? And what value should be given to a player's versatility? The food: Rory insists he hasn't succumbed to a lemsip, as he completely milks the symptoms he's progressing through having had his first shot of the Covid vaccine. Email us at setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: As a follow up to last week's pod, which turned out to be an inadequate answer to a question posed by a listener, we try to actually answer that question. What factors should players like Harry Kane and Jack Grealish consider when weighing up a potential move away from the club they love, and has brought them to this stage in their career; a stage that may fall short of either what their talent demands, or what those watching on would consider a fulfilment of their potential? The food: Chinch has been given his wife Nicky's special "Porridge with Two Fruits". One of those two leads to a conversation about whether a kiwi fruit should be subjected to the kind of treatment a Manscaped product might offer. Also: a very special Soccer Story. Do not miss it. Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: Erling Haaland, his dad, and his agent, all have a plan. They've been plotting the player's career ever since he started as a teenager at Bryne in Norway. This is a prime example of a player pathway: when an elite prospect that has the luxury of choosing where to play now, and next, predetermines the route their career will take. We ask if it happens elsewhere (and less publicly), and what goes into making those decisions. The food: Rory has bought a pizza stone, so that he can cook pizzas using his garden chiminea. If you think this sounds wildly bourgeois, rest assured that he completely botched the whole process. Emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: The European Super League seemed to re-frame the tribalism that's become such a huge part of modern football culture. Instead of fans railing against each other, they joined together to rail against a new, apparently more pressing foe which, ironically, in some cases appeared to be acting in order to meet the demands of their fanbase. And even though supporters' protests were undeniably a significant contributor to the ESL's precipitous collapse, in opposing the future set out by the 'Dirty Dozen' are they actually consigning their club to a status quo that isn't actually that different? The food: In a rare pandemic-era lunchtime recording, three of the group take advantage by eating either during, or just moments before joining the zoom. So enjoy some lip-smacking over a chicken pesto salad with blueberries, a chorizo and cheese roll with carrot batons, and, typically from a Yorkshireman, a simple ham sandwich. Emails to: setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The podcast where four friends - presenter Hugh Ferris, writer Rory Smith, commentator Steven Wyeth & pundit Andy Hinchcliffe - talk football over food. The football: The Super League, blink and you'd have missed it. The ambitions of the owners of the self-proclaimed elite clubs to revolutionise European football wasn't well planned, was terribly executed and a PR disaster for all involved. What will be the consequences, what punishment should they face and what, if anything, will anyone learn? The food: Wherever Chinch goes, so does his plug-in lunchbox. And that's left a stench of fish pie on gantries from Elland Road to Carrow Road and beyond... Get in touch via @setpiecemenu and via setpiecemenu@gmail.com

The football: The European Super League appears to have transitioned from being used in a game of brinkmanship to become a thing of potential reality. Cue the outrage. We have the temerity to think you'd like to hear our views on both the idea, and the fury that followed, so here is a bonus edition to scratch that itch. The food: THERE'S NO TIME TO EAT, DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW ANGRY EVERYONE IS????!!!! Any emails to setpiecemenu@gmail.com