The Soccernomics Podcast
By Simon Kuper, Stefan Szymanski, Ashish Malhotra
Categories: Sports, Soccer
Understand soccer better through the lens of Soccernomics. It's a New York Times Bestseller, but it's also a way of looking at the game that uncovers its hidden truths. Featuring Simon Kuper, Stefan Szymanski and Ashish Malhotra.
50 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- Gambling and Addiction: How Harmful is Sports Betting to Society?
Ashish is better, and we're back with a new episode! We take our first member audio question from Rishi Iyengar, who is also in first place in our Fantasy Premier League. Stefan answers, giving his view on whether the Ballon d'Or is the best way to assess the world's best player. But today's…
- Why Football's Transfer System Is A Form of Human Trafficking [Rerun]
Ashish is under the weather so we weren't able to record a new episode this week. But here's a repeat episode - where Stefan makes his case for why football's transfer system is an utterly immoral form of human trafficking. None of the dates or references have changed since we first published this…
- Salary Caps v Financial Fair Play: How Financial Restrictions in European Football Compare to US Sports
The ongoing Manchester City saga means financial regulations in sports leagues continue to be a hot topic. Some have suggested that what European football needs are salary caps, luxury taxes and second aprons - regulations we see in US Sports leagues. But what are these regulations, and could they…
- We Won a Bronze at The Signal Awards: But We Still Need Your Help!
There was some big news for The Soccernomics Podcast earlier this week: we won a Bronze at the Signal Awards in the sports genre! No show can win an award without an audience - so thank you all for being a part of this honor.But independent podcasting is tough. As Ashish shares in this message…
- Too Big To Fail: Well, They Might - But Here's Why Football Clubs Rarely Die
Last week, the UK's Independent Football Regulator (IFR) came out with its 'State of the Game' report which said that 94% of football clubs in the country are technically insolvent, and the majority on the edge of financial disaster.But we're here to let you in on a little secret. Despite the…
- Join The Soccernomics Podcast FC: Help Us Keep Going
Join The Soccernomics Podcast FC here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheSoccernomicsPodcast It's a big day at The Soccernomics Podcast. We're almost 40 episodes in, and we've loved connecting with all of you over the last five months. It's been incredible to find an audience that loves what we do…
- Simon Kuper weighs in on Manchester City and Infantino's Future at FIFA
Simon Kuper drops in to play peacemaker between Stefan and Ashish. Tune in to hear his views on the Manchester City fallout, and whether FIFA President Gianni Infantino has weathered the storm after his failed World Cup sell-off plan. Note: This episode was recorded before the Times of London…
- The Gloves Are Off: Manchester City Debate, Round Two — Szymanski v Malhotra (and the Listeners)
As we expected, we got quite a lot of messages and emails about Stefan's controversial position on Manchester City. And despite pushing back on that position last week, Ashish has also come back thinking he should have pushed even harder. Stefan, for his part, isn't really budging. The stage is…
- Understanding Stefan's Views on Financial Regulations in Football [Rerun]
Based on the feedback we've been getting, a lot of you had a lot of thoughts about Stefan's takes on the Manchester City case last week. We knew that was probably gonna be the case. Like many of you, Ashish is also not fully convinced about Stefan's arguments. So consider this Thursday's episode a…
- Manchester City Found Guilty: But Stefan Thinks the Outrage is Overblown
By now you've probably already heard the news. After years of investigation, Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of the 100 + charges they've been facing in relation to breaching the Premier League's financial regulations.If you know Stefan, you probably won't be surprised to…
- We're Finalists at The Signal Awards!
A quick check-in to explain why we didn't do an episode today, and to announce that we are finalists at the Signal Awards.It's one of the biggest awards competitions in the podcasting world, so it's a big honor for this independent podcast that didn't even exist five months ago.You can help us win…
- Has VAR made refereeing decisions more accurate?
VAR always produces a spirited debate, and today's episode is no different. Though Stefan has data that proves that VAR is highly effective, Ashish pushes back arguing that it's still used too subjectively, and that perceptions around its accuracy are a problem. What do you think? Hosted by…
- What Are The Best Leagues in the World?
The English Premier League is widely considered to be the best soccer league in the world, but how can we rank the rest of them? Opta, the British sports analytics company have come up with their latest power rankings. We discuss them, and metholodigies that can be used to rate the world's best…
- How Much Do Managers Really Matter? [Rerun]
Following on from our latest episode on why managers get fired so often, today we're republishing our episode on how much they really matter in the first place.This episode was first published on June 25. None of the dates or references have been changed since that time. Hosted by Simplecast, an…
- "You're Getting Sacked in the Morning": Why Managers Get Fired So Much
Football managers are constantly on the hot seat. Just a few weeks into the season, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Fiorentina and Valencia have already sacked their managers. What's behind the constant merry-go-round? And does it make sense from an economic point of view? Hosted by Simplecast, an…
- Why Don’t American Sports Have Promotion and Relegation?
At long last, we delve into the promotion/relegation in the context of Major League Soccer, but also American sports in general. Stefan explains the closed league system, and what it would take for it to change. We also discuss how US sports leagues avoid charges of collusion under antitrust…
- Can MLS Actually Become a Major League?
As an extension from our Thursday episode, we discuss the MLS experiment and where it is today. How did it survive after its lowest ebbs in the late 90s and early 2000s? What's behind high present day MLS club valuations? And why hasn't it taken off and actually become a major league? Hosted by…
- Before MLS: The Wild History of American Soccer
From the Boston Beaneaters of the ALFP, to the New York Cosmos of the NASL, we dig into the long history of professional soccer in the US, dating back to the 1890s. It sets us up for Stefan's critiques of Major League Soccer, and why he believes the league should bring in promotion and relegation…
- If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It: Stefan on Football’s Financial Rules
After a walking vacation in Ireland, Stefan has had a lot of time to think about football's financial regulations - and he's got a lot to say. Well let's be honest: both of those things are always the case, vacation or not. But with the English Premier and Football Leagues new Squad Cost Ratio…
- Why Does Messi Keep Missing Penalties? [Rerun]
As Stefan recently pointed out, Lionel Messi has missed three penalties in a row. That, along with Ashish's never ending debate with his friend Rishi over David De Gea, made today feel as good a time as any to republish our penalties episode. In it, we go beyond the pub talk, where Stefan and…
- The Soccernomics Podcast x NO SUCH THING
After Stefan recently fired back at people who didn't like his analysis about the origins of the word 'soccer', we thought we'd play you the entire conversation that led to the backlash in the first place - thanks to our friends at NO SUCH THING.Manny Fidel, Devan Joseph and Noah Friedman had us…
- Why Are Sports Teams Suddenly Worth So Much Money?
From Liverpool to the Lakers: its been a big week in the world of sports team ownership. Mark Walter's sale of his controlling stake of the Lakers, just 14 months after he bought it raised eyebrows in the NBA - as did the 25% profit he pocketed. Just days later Jeff Bezos bought 30% of Liverpool…
- Mailbag Part II: Soccer vs Football, Colonialism & Pay to Play
Stefan fights off the haters when it comes to his position on Soccer v Football. Seriously, if you haven't read his book, "It's Football, Not Soccer (And Vice Versa), co-authored with Silke-Maria Weineck. We also discuss the WAFCON, the effects of colonialism, pay to play, and compare the times…
- Mailbag: Penalties, the European Super League & Match Momentum Graphs
In our first listener questions episode, we get into a variety of topics - from penalties, to the European Super League and those weird "Match Momentum" graphs FOX kept showing during World Cup matches in the US. If you've written to us and didn't get your question answered, don't worry - we will…
- Kieran Maguire on Infantino, FIFA and Ebbsfleet United
A momentous day for The Soccernomics Podcast: Our first guest. Kieran Maguire, one of the world's leading football finance experts, and the author of "The Price is Football" joins Stefan and Ashish for a wide-ranging chat. Topics range from Infantino, to private equity, and the turmoil at…
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