Podcast

Sam's Army

From Barstool Sports Soccer, Sports

The wild and wonderful world of soccer from an American perspective. Samuel Army and a rotating cast of fans, athletes and athlete fans discuss all the relevant goings-on from both sides of the pond. Headlines and a weekly recap plus previews and predictions with an emphasis on the Premier League and Champions League, along with the US men's and women's national teams, and just enough from the rest of Europe, MLS and NWSL to be dangerous. Episodes also typically feature candid interviews with players, coaches and other people of interest from in and around the sport. We aim to keep things light and entertaining but with enough analysis to appeal to fans new and old. Many people are calling Sam's Army Podcast the best podcast they have ever listened to – not me, but many people. Note: true believers in #b2bwcw are eligible for a 22% to 26% discount at checkout. Holler!

Episodes
100
Releases
Weekly
Typical length
58 min
On air since
2024
Latest episode
2 weeks ago

Episodes

100 episodes, newest first

  1. City Stays Winning*, Lisandro Martinez DGAF + Chelsea Upset Alert? || Sam's Army

    Show notes

    Join our beautiful soccer community/discord and support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/c/samsarmy

    PREMIER LEAGUE: City stays winning*, Spurs "win" the El Sackico draw with United, fallout from Lisandro Martinez's postgame rant, why Mikey isn't stressing about Arsenal this season, Brighton are good good, youge weekend for n00bs and several upset alerts this weekend (looking at you Chelsea and Liverpool)

    POP QUIZ: updated Uefa coefficients

    ROUND THE WORLD: wild week in Champions League f/t PSG whuppCity, Roma collapse vs Real Madrid and goals galore

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    1 hr 2 min
  2. JJ Gabriel vs Man Utd. European Cinderellas. Does Poch Hate Pulisic? || Sam's Army

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: thoughts on Leeds' hot start, 10-man City holding off United, Arteta whining his balls off and HULL!

    MAILBAG: breaking down the ridiculous JJ Gabriel situation, first EPL manager fired, European Cinderella candidates, can Roma stay hot, Poch's USMNT roster f/t tons of exciting prospects but no Pulisic

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    50 min
  3. Balogun Burns Everton. Transfer Winners/Losers. Arsenal vs Chelsea Preview. || Sam's Army

    Show notes

    Join our beautiful soccer community/discord and support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/c/samsarmy

    PREMIER LEAGUE: Postmortem of Flo Balogun pulling (out) a fast one on Everton. Biggest winners and losers from the summer transfer window. Extra motivation for Newcastle and Aston Villa. Will Tottenham ever score again? Weekend preview f/t Arsenal vs Chelsea.

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    46 min
  4. Week 1 Over-Reactions + This Season's Floor/Ceiling for Every EPL Club || Sam's Army

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: knee-jerk reactions to week 1 results plus the highest and lowest finishing position all 20 clubs could realistically finish this season

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets + GOAWs

    1 hr 29 min
  5. Combining Concacaf+Conmebol. Leagues Cup Likes/Dislikes. Best & Worst EPL Transfers. || Sam's Army

    Show notes

    Join our beautiful soccer community/discord and support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/samsarmy

    HOT TOPICS: Gianni Infantino caught with hand in the cookie jar, Mexican Federation embarrasses themselves, Mikey's audacious plan to combine CONCACAF and CONMEBOL (that gets less ridiculous the more you think about it), temperature check on Leagues Cup and which Premier League transfers we like most and least.

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    58 min
  6. Italy NT Circus. Ballon d'Or Favorites. How MLS Should Leverage WC26. | Sam's Army

    Show notes

    HOT TOPICS: It's the summer silly season so, in lieu of actual soccer games, we hit some of the hot button topics and burning questions suggested by our beautiful Discord crew

    HALFTIME: Ballon d'Or pop quiz

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets + GOAWs

    47 min
  7. World Cup 2026 - Is Spain Best Ever? Argentina After Messi. Nixing 3rd Place Game.

    Show notes

    WORLD CUP: The boys are back to run through the final games of the phenomenal WC26, including Spain's decimation of Argentina and what the ridiculous England/France game means for the future of the 3rd place game.

    HALFTIME: What If you had to guess which uncapped (or lightly capped) American will have the biggest impact on USMNT at World Cup 2030 plus Complement Corner for Gianni Infantino

    REST OF WORLD: preliminary look at Premier League transfer business

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    1 hr 7 min
  8. WC26 Biggest Winners & Losers. FIFA Shenanigans. Is France Unstoppable?

    Show notes

    Rapid recap of the quarterfinals and preview of this week's semifinals, plus biggest winners and losers from WC26 thus far. Also: STOPPAGE TIME f/t Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs.

    55 min
  9. World Cup 2026: Messi, Colombia, German Freddy + USMNT vs Bosnia-Herz

    Show notes

    Join our beautiful soccer community/discord and support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/c/samsarmy

    The band is back together to discuss the highlights (TONS!) and lowlights (a few) from the group stage of World Cup 2026, f/t biggest winners, losers, surprises and disappointments so far, plus we take a look at USMNT vs Bosnia-Herzegovina.

    50 min
  10. World Cup 2026 Preview + Predictions: Group Winners, Darkhorses & Locker Room Cancers

    Show notes

    Join our beautiful soccer community/discord and support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/c/samsarmy

    The lads break down the entire 48-team World Cup 2026 featuring group winners, darkhorses, who crashes out early, biggest locker room cancers (Mbappe vs Ronny), golden boot contenders, a gaggle of indy shot bets from our in-house savant plus predictions for who is gonna win this thing.

    1 hr 18 min
  11. All Hail Arsenal's Vincibles. Pep's (Untimely?) Farewell. Xabi Alonso vs Jozay Mourinho. (MW #38)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal get over the line in the most Arsenal-y way imaginable. Pep waves goodbye but timing strikes some as odd. Villa does Liverpool a huge favor. Spurs vs West Ham drunken dogfight for the ages goes down to the last day because of course it does.

    HALFTIME: What If you are EFL judge, jury and executioner and Southampton (hypothetically) gets caught dead to rights spying on Middlesbrough before a Championship playoff semifinal... what punishment fits the crime?

    ROUND THE WORLD: Xabi Alonso and Dear Leader take over at Chelsea and Real Madrid - who lasts longer and is there any way Mourinho's stint ends well? Also, extra spicy MLS minute (and a half)

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    1 hr 6 min
  12. VARsenal vs West Ham Controversy. Spurs/Leeds Instant Reaction. Break Up Bournemouth! (MW #37)

    Show notes

    Join our beautiful soccer community/discord and support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/samsarmy

    PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal take a big, albeit controversial step toward the title with VAR-marred win over West Ham. Tottenham fans have mixed emotions like you read about both that game and disappointing draw with Leeds. Liverpool fans turn on Arne Slot. Bournemouth go 16 straight without a loss. Look ahead to big week of title/relegation-related battles.

    ROUND THE WORLD: extra spicy MLS hit-it-n-quit-it minute

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    54 min
  13. Man City Blinks. United May Be Back. Will PSG-Bayern (Round 2) Disappoint?

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: Man City blow golden opportunity to go top in extremely un-Man City fashion. Everton remain an enigma. Bruno and Carrick execute another masterclass, this time on battered Liverpool. Spurs players finally give fans a shred of hope. Arsenal vs West Ham on Sunday is a real conundrum for Tottenham fans.

    ROUND THE WORLD: Where does PSG 5-4 Bayern stack up among best games in recent history? What will Arsenal's performance vs Atletico mean for title race?

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    54 min
  14. West Ham's Bowen Factor. Bruno's Legacy. Can PSG Take Down Bayern? (MW #35)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: clutch wins for all the relegation battlers does not mean the picture has not changed (though s/o to Spurs for losing even when they win). Jarrod Bowen vying to be the difference for West Ham. Arsenal hang on against a checked-out Newcastle. Another Bruno Fernandes masterclass - but what will his legacy be at United?

    HALFTIME: Pop Quiz on Ballon d'Or contenders

    ROUND THE WORLD: Champions League chatter previewing semifinal 1st legs

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    1 hr
  15. Haaland & Gabriel - BFFs? Xavi Simons' Resting Sad Face. Lazy LinkedIn Liam. (MW #34)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: City's win over Arsenal feels like a title decider and Erling Haaland + Gabriel Magalhaes = enemies or frienemies? Leeds, Forest and West Ham know they are in a relegation battle -- unlike Tottenham. Most incredible statistic of all time about LinkedIn Liam's Chelsea squad. Nobody has checked out harder than Newcastle.

    HALFTIME: What If we lived in a fascist dictatorship... who on the pod would be the best and worst dictator?

    ROUND THE WORLD: US Open Cup feels extra chalky this year and spiciest MLS Minute on record

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    54 min
  16. North London Nightmares: Arteta's Fear vs Pep's Poise + Spurs Surrender. Which UCL Underdog Could Prevail? (MW #33)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: this weekend crystallized Arsenal's great fears. City really feeling themselves. Modest vindication for Arne Slot and Mo Salah (and "Rui" Ngamoha). Relegation battle featuring three clubs and one clownshow. Preview of Sunday's all-important Arsenal at City fixture.

    HALFTIME: fascism-related weekly what if postponed to next week... stay tuned

    ROUND THE WORLD: Champions League chatter - which club has the best and worst chance of overturning their first leg deficit plus an extra spicy MLS hit-it-n-quit-it minute

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    55 min
  17. Ripip Arsenal Quadruplet. Liverpool Manhandled. EPL Players Longing for La Liga. (MW #32)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal's quadruple dreams up in smoke - more disappointment to come? Liverpool gets belt-to-assed by City and clock is running out for Arne Slot. Weekend preview featuring critical battles at top (City/Chelsea) and bottom (Leeds, Forest, Spurs and Hammies) of table.

    HALFTIME: What If - you controlled Christian Pulisic's social life... do you want him going into the World Cup single and hungry or booed up and comfortable?

    ROUND THE WORLD: Champions League chatter plus the spiciest ML Minute yet

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    59 min
  18. USMNT vs Belgium/Portugal Postmortem. De Zerbi to Spurs. Ivan Toney's Best Bets.

    Show notes

    ROUND THE WORLD: Breakdown of USMNT's wasted window f/t belts to ass from Belgium and Portugal. Did we answer ANY questions? Is Poch playing the long game or flailing wildly? What is our best XI right now?

    HALFTIME: What If the French national team played in the Premier League... where are they finishing?

    PREMIER LEAGUE: What is the best-case scenario for Tottenham's 5-year deal - LOL - for Roberto De Zerbi? Arsenal's (shrewd) shamelessness continues.

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    40 min
  19. City's Cupset. Arsenal Angst. Toodles Tudor. USMNT vs Belgium Preview. (MW #31)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: City sends shivers down (some) Arsenal spines with dominant League Cup final win. Tottenham fail yet another must-win test in embarrassing fashion results in massive (and impressive) win for Forest. Tyler reacts to the confirmed and rumored departures of Salah and Slot -- respectively. Laim is losing the plot at Chelsea.

    HALFTIME: Pop Quiz on EPL relegation favorites

    ROUND THE WORLD: A look ahead at what matters in USMNT vs Belgium and fears of what it could lead to...

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    44 min
  20. Chelsea Chuddles & Rosenior Roast. AFCON Debacle. Gio Reyna Returns. (MW #30)

    Show notes

    PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea's pregame chuddles and thoughts on how performative/gimmicky Rosenior (aka "Liam") is. Sam thinks Spurs are so back (yikes). Huge weekend in title race but another one still to come. Preview of Sunday's twin toilet bowls.

    HALFTIME: What If - you played for Morocco and were suddenly * hypothetically * handed the AFCON title two months after the fact... how are you reacting/celebrating?

    ROUND THE WORLD: Champions League roundup plus brief thoughts on Poch's USMNT roster

    STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs

    1 hr 8 min