Shirtless Plantain Show

Coach & Deen lament Valencia’s new reputation while covering all the worthy action in Europe’s top 5 leagues, during the least Arsenal friendly weekend of 2024.Tap in!

Coach is joined by Tomi once again to really have a deep dive into the goings on in the red side of Manchester after another predictable derby day defeat. Its a much longer pod than usual and for good reason; tactics, players, ETH and the sizeable gap between the two clubs are discussed at length. Tap In!

Join Mitch, Matheus, and for the first time this season, Emily, for the most stylish episode of the show yet. The crew discusses the new NWSL kits, USWNT's adventures, and the latest MLS action.Tap in!

Coach & Deen are back with the SPS Weekend Review, highlighted by Liverpool’s (anonymous) kids beating Chelsea’s (expensive) kids to the Carabao Cup trophy.As always, we covered all the best bits of league action from the continent as well, so……Tap in!

Gooners! Join Coach, Gabby, Deen, and friend of the pod, Elliot (@elliot__ross), for a gleeful chat about Arsenal’s spiteful thrashing of Newcastle.In other words, fuck Jason Tindall. Tap in!

Coach hs finally lost his rag and goes on a long rant on what he witnessed as Utd went down 2-1 at home to Fulham. Confused with why he still talking about issues that were prevalent at the start of the season he tries to make sense of it by reading out some concerns Utd fans sent in. Strap in it's an angry one.

MLS is back and so is the SPS Soccer Edition. Join Mitch and Matheus for a preview of the upcoming season ranging from scab refs and US Open Cup drama, to kit rankings and superlatives... but more importantly, the guys answer YOUR questions!

Somehow, Thomas Tuchel still has a job. We're mystified too. Join Coach and Deen as they investigate this mystery, round up the happenings all around Europe, and preview the midweek Champions League ties.Tap in!

Coach tries to make sense of a chaotic but fruitful visit to Kenilworth Road for Ten Haag's men while answering listener questions. Tap In!

SPS Arsenal Edition - Confidence - Episode 381Gooners! Join Gabby, Coach & Deen for a weirdly *stressful review of Arsenal’s confident 5-0 stroll at Burnley. (*We weren’t stressed about Arsenal. We recorded during a title race rival’s game!)

And just like that its all over. The Côte d'Ivoire are crowned Kings of Africa for the 3rd time in their history at the expense of a Nigeria side expected to disappoint pre tournament. Join Coach as he opines on the final and the future of AFCON with Zayn and Alasdair from our buddies at On The Whistle. Tap In!

You know the deal - it's the SPS Weekend Review. Mitch hops off the bench to talk the top 5 leagues (and some 2 Bundesliga and MLS like some sorta dweeb) alongside Coach and Deen.Yes, we're all extremely impressed by Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen. Almost as impressed as Bayern Munich were.Tap in!

Coach is joined by long time listener Tomiwa to have a good 'ol moan about Man Utd's performance despite an important win. The fellas covered line ups, subs. Bruno (of course!) and if they can catch Villa. Tap In!

Gooners! So much for all that open play goals chatter, eh? Join Mitch & Deen for a breezy dissection of a DOMINANT Arsenal performance away at The London Stadium.Tap in!

We made it, its finally here. Nigeria take on the hosts in what is one of the biggest fixtures in recent African Football history for the title of Kings of Africa. Coach is tagging along with OTW crew as they all give their thoughts on what may transpire. Tap In!

So we are almost there, Coach and Alasdair are joined by Courtney again to run through all the happenings between the Semi-Finalists. This is of course sandwiched between the banter of the obvious elephant in the room (Coach's Nigerian descent and Courtney's South African descent). Tap In!

SPS Weekend Review - Goal-Boy - Episode 374This week, Coach shows love to arguably the most underrated striker in Europe, Lois Openda, while Deen screams about kidneys & Eduardo Camavinga. Join us for our usual jaunt around the continent on a big derby weekend. Tap in!

The entire SPS Arsenal crew joins forces to hand Herr Klopp a massive L on his final visit to the place Arsene built. Join Coach, Gabi, Deen, and a returning Mitch for a thorough discussion of a thorough asskicking.Tap in!

We are back after a short hiatus and Man Utd have started clicking, Coach brings Imani back to discuss the win over West Ham along with other pressing matters such as Mainoo's ascension. Tap In!

Coach and Alasdair talk through all the Quarter Final Fixtures at the AFCON doing their best to make educated guesses on what the outcomes may be. There's also a special focus on just how important the Côte d'Ivoire vs Mali match is outside of football. Tap In!

Gooners! The schedule's looking regular-ish again and the boys made easy work of the trip to Nottingham. Join the SPS Arsenal crew for a celebration of Emile Smith-Rowe's return, thoughts on the fan base's attitude towards difficult performances, and our feelings about Mikel Arteta's standing in the game. It's a good one.Tap in!

Coach and Alasdair run down all but two of the knockout games so far with a special focus on Côte d'Ivoire's epic win over tournament favourites Senegal. Tap In!

Deen and Coach begrudgingly take a break from the greatest tournament on earth to discuss the inferior European product. A lot of praise and perspective for what Jurgen Klopp has done so far at Liverpool while discussing the rest of happenings in Europe including another major managerial departure. Tap In!

On this preview of the knockouts for the AFCON we changed the format a bit as Coach and Alasdair were joined by the full compliment of OTW (Courtney & Francis). We spoke about how all the match ups are finely poised due to so many intangibles. Its a great one so Tap In!

Coach and Alasdair try and make sense of Match Day 2 and the first round of Match Day 3 fixtures. Some excellent behind the scenes insight from our On the Whistle corespondent in regards to the Cameroon, Ghana and Egypt camps! Tap In!

Arsenal finally won a game of football but here's the real surprise... they scored not one but THREE goals from open play in the process of beating the snot out of Crystal Palace. Join Coach and Gabby as they take a close look at what effect the break in Dubai has had on the players and some thoughts on possible line ups in future. Tap In!

Coach and Alasdair round up all of the match day 1 fixtures with a special look at some of the underdogs. Lots of chatter on who's impressed and who's underwhelmed so far and who we expect to progress to the knockouts. Tap In!

The lads are in an AFCON State of Mind, but football happened in Europe & we're nothing if not dutiful, so join us for the usual roundup of the top 5 leagues and a rumination on whether the Premier League is a wrap now that KDB is back again.Tap in!

The AFCON is here and we kick off our first episode of our team up with On The Whistle Podcast. Alasdair is on the ground in Abidjan so we had a unique look at the build up to the opening game as well as chatter about the game and the post match press conference. Tap In!

African Football Heritage is back this weekend as the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) begins in Ivory Coast. We will be teaming up with the excellent people at On the Whistle (@otw_podcast) to provide in depth content throughout the tournament. Join tournament lovers, Coach and Deen, for a breezy preview of the tournament riddled with hot takes, Nigerian exceptionalism, and cowardly predictions.Tap in!

Happy New Year, Fam!Join Coach & Deen for the first SPS Weekend Review of 2024. Serie A and La Liga are back already, while the English never left. On the menu? League games, cup games, and bottoms.Tap in!

Happy Belated New Year, Gooner Fam!We usually don't cover cup games, but the schedule demanded SPS's attention in this instance. Join Mitch & Deen (Coach was freezing at The Emirates) for thoughts on the FA Cup home loss to Liverpool, the transfer window, and general thoughts about an undeniably poor run of (finishing) form.Tap in!

Happy New Year, Gooners!Coach & Deen reflect on a painful end to one of the best years to support Arsenal in recent memory, but things aren’t all bad in the grand scheme of things. We go again.Tap in!

Ten Haag's inconsistent Reds has left Coach perplexed at how they still are suffering from issues that were evident in his first year! Tap In!

Deen and Coach pick the bones of Arsenal's first home loss of the season, a lot of talk on individual performances, tactical issues and of course the elephant in the room Bukayo Saka's hair dye. Tap In!

Coach heaps praise on a resilient and inevitable Utd win against Aston Villa as they Ten Haag finally put together an XI that makes sense. Listener's questions are answered too!Tap In!

It's Xmas, but SPS don't stop!Join Coach and Deen for the usual trip around the Big 5 leagues as we celebrate Xmas and a spectacular feat from a new name in Ligue Un (Kamory Doumbia). Merry Christmas!Tap in.

Coach has a returning friend of the show Gabby (@NocturnalGunner) dissect an intense draw. They speak on the tactical set ups of both sides, individual performances, players and managers comments and for once very little on the officiating, all before answering listeners questions. Tap In!

Coach invites Susannah who's a friend of the pod and huge Porto and Man Utd fan to have a forensic look at more Man Utd woes. We also speak about the links between the problems in attack stemming from midfield. Tap In!

Coach and Deen cover the Williams brothers setting La Liga alight, Leverkusen remaining unbeaten, Inter staying top in Italy, Monaco making an early exit in the Ligue Un title race, all the new fit to print from the Premier League, and of course, the Champions League draw.Tap in!

Coach heaps praise on Utd's rear guard action as they fought for a hard earned point at a ground they lost 7-0 at last season. Where do they go from now? Coach offers his view on that among other talking points. Tap In!

Coach and Mitch gush over a fantastic performance against Arsenal's Bogey Teams, Brighton. A lot of chatter on how they restricted them to 0 expected goals and how the midfield is evolving. Tap In!

It’s the final matchday of the 23/24 Champions League group stage, and sadly for Coach & Deen, the final group stage for the foreseeable future as UEFA moves on to the ‘Swiss Model’. Anyway, footy happened, so footy we talked. Tap in!

Join Mitch & Matheus for the final time this (American) soccer season. There's some NWSL Expansion Draft chatter (thanks to a busy Emily), some general MLS talk, and of course, the Columbus Crew's win over LAFC in the MLS Cup Playoffs Final.Thanks for hanging out with us this season, folks.Tap in!

Frankfurt did their best against Bayern, but Girona made the biggest statement on the continent this season with an impressive win away at Barcelona.Join Coach & Deen for a review of those games, a double-shift in the Premier League, bangers all around Europe & a brief Champions League preview.Tap in!

Spoiler alert: Arsenal lost because they left their shooting boots back in London.But you want more than just the conclusion, right Gooners? Well, the SPS crew has the “process” too.Tap in!

Utd fell to a deserved 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth and Coach believe it or not is more confused and pissed off than he is rejoicing at what he witnessed. There's also a bunch of questions you wonderful listeners sent in that he goes through so tap in!

Coach heaps the praise on Man Utd ater a good win against another side under investigation for financial irregularities (what is it with teams that wear blue huh?). Its easier listening than the last one. Tap In!

The Soccer Edition gang powers through unexpected technical difficulties while discussing both MLS Conference Finals, Luis Suarez & the MLS Cup Final.Tap in!

It's always a family affair at SPS, but things are a bit family-er(?) this time as Deen invites the most special guest to examine Arsenal's chaotic last minute win at Kenilworth Rd.It's a fun one. Tap in!