Episode 1081: Trick Or Dive, Poch Philosophy, How To Make Chelsea Interesting, Neymar’s Years

Mauricio Pochettino has caused a ruckus with some remarks to the effect that diving is not really the worst thing in the world. He says football is a game of trickery and diving is another form of creativity, but does his argument stand up?

Pochettino says diving is a “minimal detail” and that overanalysis is “killing the game”. https://t.co/Y8CilyYtJM

— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) February 6, 2018

Meanwhile, as of this writing Antonio Conte is still the Chelsea manager, but the speculation now is not so much “will he be sacked” as “who will take over?” Rather than picking another familiar name from the coaching carousel, maybe it’s time for Chelsea to take a new direction.

70.3% – Antonio Conte has the joint-best win rate of any manager in Premier League history (min 5 games), level with Pep Guardiola. Tension. pic.twitter.com/AxhxPCE5kw

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 6, 2018

Tim Vickery joins us to talk about Neymar, who celebrated his 26th birthday last Sunday and is now therefore around the halfway point of his career, all going well. He’s the best-paid player in the world but has he delivered on his initial promise? And can he claim the game’s highest individual awards without submitting himself to the team ethic?

???? Neymar had a hand in 190 more goals than Ronaldo prior to turning 26. pic.twitter.com/8mAMGRCcn4

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 5, 2018

Plus there’s Eoin’s teeth, that Goodfellas painting and Ken and Murph reveal when they last cried.

Click the image at the top of the page to play the show. To listen to our programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with daily shows and lots of added extras.

Ken really enjoyed Justin Timberlake’s half-time performance pic.twitter.com/7DIaGzFOKW

— Second Captains (@SecondCaptains) February 7, 2018