Rule The Roost

With the Welsh conquered for a second time away this season, another away win is up for discussion in the shape of Swansea City. Much more pressingly though, with this being our 26th episode of the podcast, we took special time to discuss the legend that is Ledley King, and come close to tears as we remember the player that was and the man that is. Manchester City come to Tottenham next, and with that we welcomed back Rob from TypicalCity with open arms, this time accompanied by his mate and fellow blogger Alex, who evened up the numbers. Looking through their Football Manager squad and season, we did our best not to hang up as we went over the 6-0 pasting away from earlier on in the season, while reassessing previous conversations and opinions held about both clubs managers, players and chances this season. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another win under Tim Sherwood to discuss, the lads look back to the Palace game, with special attention paid to poor old Jason Puncheon. Also discussed was Lewis Holtby's future, Nabil Bentaleb being the second coming and the possible passing of Capoue to Napoli. Then joined by Matt from Lost Boyos, this weekends game was firmly on the agenda. We talked Laudrup, Martinez and Rodgers, as well as players such as Bony, Caulker, Sigurdsson and Michu. Not to mention Gareth Bale's enormous, talent. I wouldn't listen if I was a Cardiff fan, we weren't very nice. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Back after a prolonged break over Christmas and New Year, the good ship Rule The Roost rides again in to 2014, discussing everything we've missed during the holidays. Looking forward to the home game against Crystal Palace, we have Chris and Albert from Holmesdale Radio on to discuss the game and sending each other's mothers raunchy pictures of ourselves. Warning: This show includes and accidental plug of John Bostock's short lived gospel rap music career. It's not our fault if you're stupid enough to go and listen to it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our second episode in as many days, and quite possibly, although not entirely confirmed, last before the New Year, we responded to some Redknapp talk from feedback received regarding the Villas-Boas special. We also had a word on Sherwood and his first public interview since the announcement was made yesterday. There was also a short preview of West-Ham in the cup. Moving back to some form of Rule The Roost normality though, we spoke to Southampton fan and owner of the SaintsWeb, Steve Grant. Brushing off any and all jealousy toward their flourishing season and apparent stability, we asked about their youth system, Marcelo Bielsa inspired coach and how scared they were of us now given the circumstances. We bottled asking which players wives Alan Pardew *allegedly* slept with though, unfortunately. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A few hasty text messages later, it was decided that André Villas-Boas deserved his own dedicated show. After a season and a quarter at the helm of Tottenham Hotspur, the undeniably handsome manager was given his marching orders, leaving the majority of Spurs fans unsure what to make of it. In a roundtable of distinctly down and baffled fans, ESPN and Bleacher Report writer Dan Fitch and voice of the people Danny McAvoy joined hosts Jack and Raj to try and make sense of the days events. Waving a teary goodbye and evaluating his tenure at the club, as well as assessing the rumoured replacements, this one is for you, Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Back in the hosting chair, Jack Hussey rejoined Raj Bains on this weeks show, making sure the audio equivalent of Ledley King (Bains) and Michael Dawson (Hussey) were back together again. They started by celebrating a good week for the club and three points against Sunderland, before turning their attention to Anji on Thursday and Liverpool on Sunday. With nobody in Dagestan willing to talk to us - we presume - we skipped ahead to Liverpool and spoke to Social Media godzilla Michael Sinnerton, who currently helps control Nike's online presence. We asked about the in form striker currently injured and the inform striker on loan from The Klan, as well as discussing a few pearls of wisdom from real life comic creation Brenton Rodgers. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stepping in to the hosting chair in the absence of Tottenham's Keith Chegwin, Raj and the SpursStatMan himself Jack look back on the Fulham game and make sure to point out that they're 100% not the same person with some form of mental illness. Joined by Sunderland fan Gareth, of Wise Men Say Podcast, we preview the upcoming game at the Stadium Of Light and find out more about the Premier League's current soap opera side. New manager, new players, new internal structure, new dawn? We find out just how seriously we should be taking The Black Cats and former Tottenham favourite Gus Poyet. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kicking off a double-bill of episodes this week as we do our best to combat the Premier League fixture congestion, we try and put to bed the Manchester United result as emphatically as André Villas-Boas did the press agenda against him, which was also discussed. Russ Goldman from Cottage Talk Podcast was our Fulham fan of choice to join us as we collectively conducted a candle lit vigil for the legendary Martin Jol after his recent sacking, although Fulham actually had the good grace to wait until the match had finished. Also on the agenda was their new boss René Meulensteen and reports on Tottenham rejects Berbatov, Parker, Bent and Taarabt. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Huddled in a corner together crying and shaking we do our best to contextualise what losing 6-0 away to Manchester City really means, and how it changes things at the club, if at all. We also mention the victory away at Tromsø, confirming that we've comprehensively won our group in the Europa League. Dale O'Donnell from Stretty News is our Manchester United guest this week, and Jack and Raj do their best to sound up for another stern test in the league. What matters more, the result or the performance? And would and should a loss be the end of the road for Villas-Boas? Also looking at Sir Alex, David Gill, and summer rumours at United in depth, we prioritised collectively rating just how attractive David Moyes' daughter really is above all else. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Putting the International break behind us and welcoming back club football with open arms, we turned our attention very quickly to the upcoming game away at the Etihad. Before that though, congratulations were in order for France captain Hugo Lloris, and we lent a shoulder to cry on for Sigurðsson, Chiricheș and the injured Christian Eriksen. Robert Pollard of TypicalCity fame was our guest as we got back in to the real groove of the show and discussed our opponents, taking special time out to allow him to profess his undying love for one Ledley King. With hosts Jack and Raj playing their usual good cop, bad cop roles, Mr Hussey compared a friendly chat about City in general, while Bains interrogated Rob on the legitimacy of Manchester City and the lack of morality required to support such a questionable entity. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yet another International Break, yet another disappointing result leading in to it. Discussing what went wrong, and what could have gone better against Newcastle was first on the agenda as Tottenham's answer to Gervais and Merchant invited on two fellow Spurs fans on to the pod. Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com and Abbi Summers of Fanzone were on board a much more introverted episode as we discussed the talking points from inside the club at a much greater length and detail than usual, and answered a number of burning questions from the listeners. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A first penalty win since 1994 is celebrated as we beat Hull again within a week and dump them out of the League cup. Everton away is discussed and dissected, with Lloris' indestructible skull up for praise. Sheriff and the impact of the 1882 also have a hefty hat tipped toward them. Joined by Taylor Payne from True Faith Podcast, we discussed duck size horses vs horse sized ducks, goat related bestiality, robbery related defecation and the legend of smelly Bob, may god rest his soul. There was also a little bit of football in there somewhere too, in case you were worried. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Discussing the eventual victory against Hull, addressing the atmosphere at White Hart Lane and previewing an unfortunate replay of the same game we've just suffered through, host's Jack and Raj breath a collective sigh of relief as they put Hull behind them. Joined by Si and Ballsy from NSNO.co.uk, we laughed and joked our way through an Everton preview. Deluded red rivals, Steven Pienaar and Roberto Malteaser were on all on the agenda, as was a legally questionable assessment of David Moyes' three-piece suit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Simultaneously reviewing the Aston Villa win and previewing Sheriff in the Europa League and Hull in both the league and League Cup, we had a lot to get through this week. Alongside Matthew Rudd from Amber Nectar, we were brought up to speed on Hull City in their present guise, and found out why they're not happy with being called Tigers. Praise for Huddlestone and Livermore too, with nods toward Andros Townsend and the return of Emmanuel Adebayor. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Keeping up to date with both our players involved in internationals and those training at home, we happily waved goodbye to the distraction from Tottenham and club football for the foreseeable future. Speaking to Sam Tighe from Bleacher Report, we discussed how Aston Villa and Tottenham went from being league rivals to poles apart despite being similar clubs in stature. Benteke, Lambert and tactics going in to the game were also points for discussion, and we definitely didn't refer to the game as the 'Alan Hutton derby' or bring up how he beat his own father. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Doing our best to draw the positives and digest the various negatives from the weekends loss to West-Ham, we drew a line under the game for good. Alongside SpursStatMan writer and blogger Ben Alfrey, we took advantage of yet another international break and did our best to evaluate and contextualise the season so far. Tactics, team selection, substitutions and more, we did our best to answer the various questions the season thus far has thrown at us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another week, another London derby. After discussing the performance and result against Chelsea we previewed cup final week for West Ham fans with the upcoming fixture at White Hart Lane firmly in mind. Joined by Sean Whetstone, a blogger, podcaster and influential supporter of West Ham, we quizzed him on life under Big Sam, how they expect to fill the Olympic stadium, summer transfer dealings and their stumbling season thus far. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After apologising for missing the Cardiff game and briefly revelling in yet another victory and clean sheet, we got back on our bike and took a lengthy look forward to Chelsea at home. Joined by loyal Chelsea season ticket holder Joe, host's Jack and Raj explored and debated the morals of being owned by such a shady character and the successes that come with it, the mystery of Lukaku and Mata, Andre Villas-Boas and the second coming of Mourinho. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Back to the usual show format, we look ahead to our next league opponents Norwich with a respected local club journalist and Canaries fan, Michael Bailey. Hosted as always by tehTrunk, and site editor Raj, we discussed the upcoming fixture, being owned by Delia Smith and who is worse out of Sebastian Bassong and Harry Kane. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the transfer window blissfully closed and international football causing an unwelcome break in premier league action, host Jack and editor Raj, alongside SpursStatMan's own 'Head Of Opposition Scouting' Rob Brown, took the opportunity to have a closer look at our own club. A frighteningly busy window has caused not only concerns over our ability to adapt and gel going forwards, but also the suitability of our current tactical outlook. Giving the new boys a once over, saying goodbye to Bale and pushing our tactical nous to its limits, we did our best to second guess the rest of the season. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ruletheroost.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.