This week's Across The Continent is all about the Ballon d'Or.

It's an award that has changed a lot over time, but in recent years has stirred up plenty of online debate and social media indignation. We begin by discussing the way this discourse has changed the nature of it, then David reveals his own definitive top 10 and winner of this year's prize.

Then for David's topic, he takes over to North America, where the USL regular season is hurdling towards its conclusion. What's at stake as the playoff picture emerges in the USA's other top flight?

And finally, Maxwell discusses the state of Tottenham Hotspur after they finally win a league game. Are they headed in the right direction? He would argue, no, not really.

Cheers to Harry Kane!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

05:49 – David's Ballon d'Or top 10

15:16 – the top 3

24:25 – David's topic | USL Playoffs approaching

29:51 – Maxwell's topic | Tottenham finally win a football match

Today, we're celebrating our first Europa and Conference League double extravaganza, as 36 matches played out over the course of 5 hours on Thursday.

We begin with Europa, where Benfica and Leverkusen are staking their claim as the tournament's top contenders. Milan and Juventus also come out with big road victories, while Bournemouth and Sunderland tries to build momentum with wins – though Sunderland had to work hard for theirs against a pesky Torreense. Meanwhile, Besiktas took down another big-league opponent. Are they a legitimate challenger for the title?

We also discuss the teams struggling in the early days of the season, including Marseille, Hoffenheim, and Celta Vigo, who have no points to show for their first two outings. Can they turn things around?

In the Conference, most of the big boys came away with opening-day wins, with a few notable exceptions. Getafe could only manage a draw in Craiova. What're the ceiling for Bordalás' men in this competition? Ajax lost at Hajduk Split, continuing another poor run of form. Is there something rotten in their infrastructure? And Braga extends their bad start to the season, losing 3-0 at Copenhagen while looking a shell of their former selves.

It's not all doom and gloom, though, as a pesky Egnatia side earned a shock draw with Midtjylland, despite having to play outside of their usual home in Tirana.

Along the way, we give some winners and losers, panic meter scores, and choose the teams we believe can actually win the title in both tournaments.

Cheers to Nevil Dede!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

2:28 – Europa League | Results & Big Takeaways

10:32 – Europea League | Winners & Losers

20:09 – How many teams can actually win the Europa League?

26:30 – Europa League | Panic Meter

31:58 – Conference League | Results & Big Takeaways

36:23 – Conference League | Winners & Losers

45:36 – How many teams can actually win the Conference League?

48:56 – Conference League | Panic Meter

51:52 – David's Coefficient Corner

On today's Across The Continent, we're taking a look at clubs who have had surprising starts to their league campaigns and asking the question, are we BUYING or SELLING their position?

We debate the bright falls of Brighton, Lazio, Cagliari, Augsburg, Elversberg, Alavés, and Paris FC, then bring a couple of smaller-league teams to your attention, including Belgium's Sporting Charerloi, Turkey's Amed SK, Hungary's Vasas SC, and Albania's FK Teuta Durrës.

We also highlight a couple of struggling clubs in Tottenham, Fiorentina, and Marseille.

Then, Maxwell discusses the insane parity in La Liga's midtable – a featured carried over from last season – with 8 clubs all level on 8 points through 8 rounds of fixtures. What's real and what's not in this group, and who is likely to separate?

And finally, David tells us about Australian cup winners South Melbourne FC, a historic club, controversially cut off from the Aussie A League. How did they upset first division clubs en route to their triumphant victory in the final? And why are they joining the new Oceanic division?

Cheers to Sinisa Cohadzic!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

01:39 – teams we're buying & selling

18:50 – clubs outside the top 5 leagues

23:30 – clubs off to terrible starts

30:58 – Maxwell's topic | La Liga midtable parity

34:09 – David's topic | South Melbourne FC's cup triumph