Playing with a Pro, Brits Abroad & The Future Language of Football

The Athletic's Adam Hurrey, Charlie Eccleshare and Seb Stafford-Bloor gather for episode 42 of the Football Cliches podcast and begin with tales of what it's like to actually play football with a proper professional player. Why are such seemingly average ex-pros so unbelievably good when they enter the mortal realm of the 5-a-side pitch? And why is Nigel Winterburn so bloody difficult to nutmeg? There's also discussion of Mauricio Pochettino's MNF punditry appearance/job interview, Mick McCarthy signing up to be the latest Brit Abroad after taking the APOEL Nicosia job, and with the help of Peter Reid we discuss whether terms like 'half-space' and 'high press' are really just a load of old bollocks or genuinely worthy of their place in the modern-day footballing vocabulary. Sign up to The Athletic for just £1-a-week by heading to theathletic.com/footballcliches Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices