Impressive Cityzens

Manchester City spent their pre season tour in the United States and to say I found their entire set-up impressive is an understatement. Coolest thing of all was the time they spent with fans. Definitely flew the flag proudly for the Premier League!

Premier League Grades & the New Season…

As the new season approaches, I’m joined by Oliver Wilson to hand out grades for last season and also look at how they’ve improved their squads in this insane transfer market that has gone totally balls up nuts! Who is Grade A material and who is failing miserably?

You can find Oliver @O_J_Wilson. Follow me @soccerdiva. Also this coming season, I’m joining the Gooner Girls Ramble podcast for some Arsenal chat…and much more! Check out www.thegoonerramble.com for deets!

NBC Sports Premier League Host Rebecca Lowe

NBC Sports Premier League Host Rebecca Lowe joins the junkie crew for a good old natter about Jose Mourinho and the new unauthorized book on The Special One written by Rob Beasley. Did Beasley break the journalist code? Will Mourinho trust a journalist ever again?

Plus we are giving away two signed copies of Liverpool legend Stevie Nicol’s new book “5 League Titles and a Packet of Crisps. Look at us talking books and stuff! Who said reading books was dead?!

Premier League Friday Night Lights

The Premier League goes Friday Night Lights on everyone! We love it and think fans we love it too. We also chat all things Pep and look at whether or not Pep is getting used to the league or does the league need to get used to Pep’s genius? Should Man Utd panic? Have Spurs bitten off more than they can choose playing at Wembley? Get stuck in. Join the conversation.

The One After the Summer…

gareth-bale-real-madrid_4[1] The summer has gone and with it the transfer window is now a thing of the past too – at least until January.

Gareth Bale is finally a Real Madrid player, La Liga is underway again and Barcelona have a new coach – although not the centre-back they so badly needed. Sophie and Ben return to discuss all of that and more on the latest La Liga Lounge.

The One After the Summer. Tune in and join us as we catch up on all the stories.
We’re back in the Lounge for our laid-back look at the game in Spain…

The One with Neymar to Barcelona…

messi-et-neymar-barcelone-santos-10604955ghaax_1879 La Liga Lounge returns with a Brazilian blend, dedicating the entire show to one man…Neymar!

The most talked about transfer in football over the last two seasons is finally done. Neymar joins Barcelona from Santos and we look at how this deal could work out.

Will Neymar complement Messi or will he try to compete with him? Can these two superstars co-exist? Or are there too many cooks in the Camp Nou kitchen?

Neymar is also slight and doesn’t carry too much weight. Can he bulk up and also change his style of football to adapt playing in Europe? Will he be a huge success like Ronaldinho or will he end up a high-profile flop? Remember Keirrison?

We dissect this subject like a frog and are also joined by Brazil legend and 1970’s World Cup winner and captain Carlos Alberto. The scorer of the greatest goal ever seen in the World Cup doesn’t hold back when talking about Brazil’s current football starlet.

Sit back. Relax. Grab a chair in the lounge. It’s happy hour. It’s a special. It’s “The One with Neymar to Barcelona.”

The One with the Spanish Inquisition…

The_Spanish_Inquisition_by_lyonlamb You didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition?

Ben and Sophie return to the Lounge to discuss where it all went wrong for Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League this week.

Was Messi selfish to start? Who is helping Ronaldo? Is it time these teams looked beyond their individual icons in favour of collective choreography? Did Mourinho mess up? Why didn’t Tito react? Is a miracle comeback possible for either side? Just where do they go from here?

Let’s credit Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for their beautiful performances. They certainly shocked Spanish football to its core and have started a debate about the rise of German football. Is it premature? Is everyone getting carried away with their claims that Spanish football is dead?

Sophie and Ben discuss it all in La Liga Lounge. And if you agree or disagree with any of their opinions, let them have it volley style @LaLigaLounge. It’s always happy hour here.

The One with El Clasico Special…

Two Clásico clashes in five days and both were won by Real Madrid. We haven’t seen that for a while. Sophie and Ben discuss the two latest installments of the famous fixture in an hour-long special not to be missed!

What is wrong with Barcelona? Qué pasa con Messi? We also talk Tito and Roura, Pique and Alves, the penalty incident and much more!

And then there’s Madrid, of course. Is Mourinho having the last laugh? Is Ronaldo the world’s best player right now? We look ahead to the Champions League clashes, talk Milan and Manchester United and even made some predictions for our respective teams in the North London Derby!

It’s an epic! So join us for our Happy Hour special!!

The One with the Ballon d’Or…

Sophie and Ben’s laid-back look at the game in Spain has been very laid-back of late, but they return to discuss Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the fight for the Ballon d’Or. How would Ronaldo cope if he lost out to Messi again? What would it mean if Messi won for a fourth time at the age of 25?

The Lounge staff continue the Messi dialogue and chat about his pursuit of Gerd Muller’s single season scoring record. How would Barcelona cope if he were injured? And it wouldn’t be a fulfilling show without a little Mourinho at Madrid and the possible destination for both he and his great rival Pep Guardiola next season.

There’s also some weekend picks and much, much more. Join us in the Lounge for our laid-back look at the game in Spain.

The One Where Ronaldo is Sad…

La Liga Lounge is an exciting new project I’m working on with Ben Hayward from Goal.com. We take a laid-back look at the game in Spain. Join us in the La Liga Lounge for happy hour each week! Drinks are on us.

In this episode, we tackle Ronaldo and his sadness. What could possibly be bringing one of the world’s best footballers down? He has a hot job, a hot car, a hot girlfriend! What is there to be sad about CR7?

It doesn’t seem Ronaldo is alone in the sad department either. Cesc Fabregas is having a rough ole’ ride at Barcelona and the La Liga Lounge bar staff delve into why! There’s even a little room to talk Falcao, Javi Martinez, Pep Guardiola and Catalan independence.

Don’t miss Ben and Sophie’s predictions for some of the top fixtures in La Liga this weekend. Join in the banter and fun. Follow us on Twitter @LaLigaLounge and you can also join our Facebook community too.