Welcome to the latest Managerial Merry-Go-Round on this new Episode 31 of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom.

As we recorded this in mid-season, early January, and the transfer window is open, we are also in another managerial silly season.

Recent events at Man Utd and Celtic in particular mean we have no option but to give this our attention - the Managerial Merry-Go-Round is the gift that keeps giving and there is a lot to cover.....

We covered the principle of this in Episode 9 on 31st August towards the end of the summer transfer window, so this is not only a look forward with a crystal ball on what might happen in the second half of the season, but a (smuggish) look back on how accurate our discussions were in August too.

Covering the likes of:

• How Did We Do With Our August Managerial Predictions?
• Who Do We Give a BIG Apology To & Why?
• Man Utd - Culture & Succession Planning
• Interim & Temporary Managers
• Who Might Be In The Frame For The Next Knee-Jerk Appointment
• Is Liam Rosenior Already Under Pressure at Chelsea?
• The Celtic "S*it Show & Why They Deserve It
• Up & Coming Managers & Coaches
• Who Should Stay Put & Build Something?
• Current Vacancies & Name Drops
• Who Is Under Pressure & Might Not Survive?
• Why Some of This is MADNESS
• And More......

This is a really juicy subject that we really get stuck into, so why not comment, get involved and expand the debate. After all, this is and always has been a game of opinions.

We hope that you will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with this YouTube channel too.

Welcome to Episode 30 of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom.

We recorded this on the Friday morning of a (ridiculous) 4 day FA Cup 3rd Round Weekend, before the giant killing heroics of Macclesfield, Mansfield & Wigan and great games at Wrexham, Newcastle & Grimsby to name but a few……

But in the spirit of the podcast DNA it would seem natural for us to discuss "What's Wrong with The FA Cup in 2025/26".

Your Hosts are both of a certain age where we still love the FA Cup - it's history, it's heritage, it's legacy and the memories it has created that are seared into the brain of any football fan of a similar vintage. Hell, we can both still list EVERY FA Cup winner since 1970 in Nick's case and 1978 in Dom's case.......

But, it is fair to say that over recent years, it seems to be dying the death by a thousand cuts - some of which we cover in this episode.

• A Four Day 3rd Round Schedule
• No Replays / Straight to Penalties
• A Terrible TV Schedule
• Matches Chosen for TV
• Teams Playing Weakened Teams
• Same Division Fixtures
• Semi-Finals at Wembley
• Why the Final Was ALWAYS Appointment to View Watching
• Why Palace Winning it Last Season Was Great News for the Competition
• Snow Covered Pitches & Orange Balls
• And More.......

This is a real discussion podcast - so what is your view, and what is your age that supports that view?

Are we just looking at things with the benefit of hindsight through rose-tinted glasses, and are we just curmudgeonly old buggers - or should the FA Cup be resurrected in the hearts and minds of genuine football fans?

A clue - we think the latter!

We hope that you will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Why not comment, get involved and expand the debate. After all, this is and always has been a game of opinions. We hope that you will enjoy these episodes as much as we enjoyed recording them.

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.

Welcome to Part 2 of our DOUBLE Episode Special of "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom".

Released simultaneously, covering; “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly” in our review of football in 2025.

This DOUBLE Episode Special is a wide ranging review of the wider football landscape and neither Boro or Everton heavy or a concentration on the usual Premier League suspects.

So, whoever you support or follow, whether you are a match going fan or an armchair supporter, we think we have something for you across the 2 x episodes.

After covering the GOOD stuff in Episode 28, this Episode 29 concentrates on what we consider some of the BAD & UGLY aspects of football across the year - and there are some brilliant rants and discussions to get your teeth into, including.

• Why Some Clubs Never Seem to Get Penalties
• Own Goals v Former Clubs
• The Birmingham City New Year's Day Curse
• Celtic - Enough Said
• Crap Owners
• Mo Salah
• Alexander Isaak
• Alejandro Garnancho
• John Terry
• The National League Promotion & Playoff Picture
• Crap Managers
• FIFA
• Ticket Pricing
• VAR
• Refereeing Standards
• And Much More.......

It's a pretty packed episode, indicating that there are many things that get proper football fans riled.......

• Do you agree with us in either or both special episodes?
• Have we missed some obvious scenarios and content?

Why not comment, get involved and expand the debate. After all, this is and always has been a game of opinions.

We hope that you will enjoy these episodes as much as we enjoyed recording them.

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.

Happy New Year from Nick & Dom at “The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom”.

We hope that 2026 will bring you health, happiness and some football joy (or at least not football heartache).

And do we have a New Year treat for you to kick off 2026……

Welcome to Part 1 of a DOUBLE Episode Special released simultaneously, covering;

“The Good, The Bad & The Ugly” in our review of football in 2025.

This DOUBLE Episode Special is a wide ranging review of the wider football landscape and neither Boro or Everton heavy or a concentration on the usual Premier League suspects.

So, whoever you support or follow, whether you are a match going fan or an armchair supporter, we think we have something for you across the 2 x episodes.

This Episode 28 concentrates on what we consider some of the GOOD aspects of football across the year - and there are some brilliant stories in there to celebrate.

• The Championship Run-In Last Season
• Why We Love "Smaller" Clubs Winning Stuff
• Scottish Football
• Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane & Erling Haaland (But Not Kylian Mbappe)
• Away Fans
• Community Clubs
• The Premier League Title Race
• Thomas Tuchel
• Morgan Rodgers
• And Much, More.......

Episode 29 covers what we consider the BAD and the UGLY side of the game, with some rants and some people and situations in the cross hairs.

• Do you agree with us in either or both episodes?
• Have we missed some obvious scenarios and content?

Why not comment, get involved and expand the debate. After all, this is and always has been a game of opinions.

We hope that you will enjoy these episodes as much as we enjoyed recording them.

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.

Welcome to Episode 27 of the Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom.

Have we got a pre-Christmas treat for you, and it might just be our best episode to date - let us know what you think.

We have called this episode "Back to the Future" because football seems to have re-discovered:

• The Long Throw
• The Set Piece
• Giant Centre Halves at Corners
• 442

Even at the top level of the Premier League, teams like Arsenal are ripping up the Pep Tikka Taka playbook (thank goodness) and trying "new" things, that to many, are not that new.....

Tony Pulis and Sam Alladyce must be loving it, but please don't expect the call to arms to fill a dugout position anytime soon Guys - your time has come and gone - we can but hope.

So, if we are indeed going "back to the future", does that mean we can expect to see the re-emergence of the genuine Football Maverick - a player who's off-field legend supports his on-field silky skills and unique approach to getting fans off their seats? Probably not as the lifestyle choices would certainly be seen as "questionable" in the modern era - but that's no excuse for us not to discuss;

• George Best
• Peter Osgood
• Stan Bowles
• Tony Currie
• Frank Worthington, and.....
• Gazza

What do they all have in common and who does Nick compare them to in terms of England Caps - to Dom's amazement?

Also, who do we think is the last genuine on-field Maverick - so difficult to manage that even Neil Warnock gave up and let him have free rein, to brilliant effect?

Finally, who is the genuine 1970's Football Maverick so potentially obscure that there is book written about him entitled "The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw"?

Whatever your age, whatever your vintage, whoever you support and grew up adoring, we think that proper football fans will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.

Welcome to Episode 26 of the Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom.

As match going football fans, we like to consider some of the more interesting subjects around world football and hope that they engage and entertain our audience - as well as creating discussion and debate.

There are plenty of podcasts that analyse games (some endlessly) - but we like to think we "observe" the game and share our thoughts - and that you enjoy our approach too.

On this episode, after another short initial rant about the ticket prices at the disgraceful FIFA World Cup 2026, we look at a fascinating area of football success in Spain and if or how that success could, might, or may never translate to any English team. That success is Athletic Club of Bilbao, one of only three teams NEVER to have been relegated from the top flight in Spain - you can probably guess the other two......

A team in Canada are trying to replicate that success - only recruiting and developing players from their own region - in Athletic Club's case, the Basque Region of Spain, in Canada, the French speaking Quebec region.

• Will it Work?
• What Are The Regional & Club Implications?
• What Would be the Impact on Academy & Youth Development?
• How Long Would It Take To Develop Resilience Like Athletic Club?
• Could a Club Hold It's Nerve Long Enough?

We also discuss which English League One club we think might be an ideal testbed to try to replicate the model in the English pyramid - League One being the highest level we think could even consider this approach.

We think proper football fans will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.

Despite us hanging FIFA out to dry with our take on the disgraceful ticketing and other issues around the World Cup in 2026 on our recent Episode 16, here we are, 9 episodes later and we cannot ignore another scandal and another blatant attempt to take the piss out of fans in favour of a desire to MAKE EVEN MORE MONEY.

And this was recorded BEFORE Donald Trump "won" the completely fictitious "FIFA Peace Award", which I am certain we would have caned in this episode had we recorded after the World Cup Draw debacle.

We hate the World Governing Body of the game we love and think that every other fan will have the same opinion.

Welcome to Episode 25 of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom.

We do however start with a celebration of:

• Scotland
• Northern Ireland
• Wales
• The Republic of Ireland
• Norway (Dark Horses to Win The World Cup)?
• Curacao
• Cape Verde &
• Haiti

We look at the demise of Italian football at international level and why the FIFA qualification process makes it harder to qualify from Europe than most other regions - and why FIFA seem to love this? Thanks to Pellegrino Riccardi & Mark Mortimer on Linkedin for sharing the following link on this:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pellegrino-riccardi-24425a9_italys-football-collapse-a-leadership-activity-7396152496743661569-HuAF?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGZUtIB7fehCgVOGNaPEGmSPZrP2n-4paI

Why attracting 48 teams to the tournament is a great idea for FIFA but why they also don't want ANY of the minnows to progress beyond the initial group stages.

Finally, we also consider final 4 seeding - which is an utter sham and a fix and why CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo is the ONLY player in world football to warrant the execution of a never before used Article 27 of the Governing Body Rules - setting him on probation for a recent red card for violent conduct rather than taking his ban, whereas the bans seem to be remaining in place with a case to answer for two other players in EXACTLY the same situation.

Is this also MONEY related, or just a case of "who you know"?

Whatever, it is, it is yet another disgrace!

We think proper football fans will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.

Inspired by a few recent and a couple of upcoming games - on Episode 24 of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom, we ask whether a game is a genuine derby match or just a rivalry (often bitter, but not technically a derby game).

We consider what we think constitutes a derby, who has one, and who doesn't and why we think that you can have ONLY ONE!

What does this mean for London?

What do non-fans of the London clubs involved think - and does this differ from the fans involved - we would be fascinated to get your opinions.

We discuss why we think Arsenal v Spurs IS a derby but Chelsea v Arsenal is only a rivalry......

Why we don't care about the likes of West Ham v Fulham and a few more, and apart from fans of the two clubs, nobody else does either.

Why do the likes of Boro, Coventry, Bournemouth, Palace, Brighton, Wrexham and a few more not even have a derby - because naming something after a Motorway or A Road doesn't make it one - trust us.

When a derby is played or due to be played between two teams of unequal stature or form, does a bitter rivalry with a different club seem more appealing and does it trump this for the fans of the more "successful" club for interest at that time?

We go international too and discuss some of the more appealing and attractive derbies in world football - and which ones we would love to go to, and why?

What would be on your bucket list by the way?

We think this is an episode that will have you nodding in agreement, tutting in disgust and shouting at your device in equal measure - so if that is the case, let us know with your comments what YOU think. We would LOVE to hear from you.....

The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there.

Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond.

We also have an open Group on LinkedIn - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information.

Thanks for your support with our YouTube channel too.