Beyond the 90 Podcast

When the Premier League season kicks off under the lights at Craven Cottage, all eyes will be on the West London derby—but underneath the local rivalry exists a fascinating tactical dynamic straight out of the Bernabéu. On opening night, Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea step onto the pitch to face Álvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham.
Two former Real Madrid teammates, both forged within Madrid's tactical system, are launching their Premier League projects on the very same stage. From Alonso securing full managerial authority at Stamford Bridge to Arbeloa bringing his La Fábrica development blueprint to Fulham, this encounter isn't just about local bragging rights—it’s the start of a tactical matchup between two managers with shared roots on very different missions this season.



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The over regulation of football which was began in the late 2000’s continues. No one is denying lots of clubs have financial difficulty and that the general trajectory of the sport might be unsustainable but in a truly free market you allow the chips to fall where they make and you don’t use regulation to stifle the ability of a challenger to arise. Besides these regulations do nothing about real problems in the game like the debt loads of certain clubs and ownership families that take out dividends to pay themselves against the clubs assets.



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Man City 2026 looks like Man United under Ed Woodward.



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Yes I added context to a story after two people I respect gave me some negative feedback on my initial podcast. Yes upon seeing the numbers and talking to experts I know my original report was accurate and I knew that because I was using the same numbers the experts and insider sources sent me. I never did not have confidence in my own reporting.
But…
I always think it’s a stand-up thing to add layers of context and amend things to explain better which maybe I did not do in the first place.
Anyway, here’s a video about that. And hopefully we can move on from this discussion. I’m hoping this is finally put to bed since it seems to be a raging conversation still.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthe90.substack.com/subscribe