Episode 4: Who Be This Ref Sef?

🏡 The ball house is always open for football conversations, whether that’s in the group chat, on our Instagram page or on X.  On every episode of Space for Crossandnod, we open the ball house to our X community thanks to X’s Spaces features. The result is an interesting Space conversation hosted by OG, with leading appearances from Elemosho and Dave. These conversations are punctuated by opinions, insights, banter and laughter from our community. We invite members to grab a hold of the microphone and let us know their thoughts on the topic under discussion. It’s a hoot. It’s a riot. It’s unfiltered. It’s unscripted. And most importantly, it’s a product of fans like yourself.  Convo Highlights ⚽ #EURO2024 so far ⚽ Best teams at EURO 2024 ⚽ The Gareth Southgate Experiment  ⚽ France without Mbappe Do Like, Subscribe and Share this pod! You can also: Join the ball house on INSTAGRAM -⁠ / ⁠⁠Crossandnod ⁠ Join the ball house on TWITTER -⁠   / ⁠⁠CrossandnodFT⁠ Join the ball house on FACEBOOK -⁠   / ⁠⁠Crossandnod⁠⁠  ⁠ Keep nodding those crosses in!

Over a long 38-game season, no team can compete without a firing number 9 up front. The ball house is open with Dave as the host, talking the lack of number 9 in big teams across Europe with OG, Elemosho and Banky.   We also manage to spotlight Africa’s reigning player of the year and Nigeria’s leading 9 — Victor Osimhen and his impending move this summer. Finally, we do a bit of mini-scouting, highlighting some of the underrated 9s across the planet. The ball house is now open for premium ball knowledge, banter, and punditry. Enjoyyy 🎧🔊 Say hello to Banky 👋🏽🙋🏽‍♂️ - 2:01s The impact of a striker: Haaland at City 🇳🇴 - 5:00s Thierry Henry, black gloves, long socks, danger man 🇫🇷⛔️ - 8:19s Less emphasis on 9s because football has become dynamic 📈- 11:11s Modern forwards are now hybrids 🤖- 15:20s Chelsea, Real Madrid, Serie A: Striker Talk 9️⃣ - 22:10s Clubs must scout better + go back to the drawing board 🕵🏽‍♂️- 26:42s The best destination for Victor Osimhen 🇳🇬🎯 - 29:23s Top underrated strikers in world football rn 🆙- 36:18s Do Like, Subscribe and Share this pod! You can also: Join the ball house on INSTAGRAM -⁠ / ⁠⁠Crossandnod ⁠ Join the ball house on TWITTER -⁠   / ⁠⁠CrossandnodFT⁠ Join the ball house on FACEBOOK -⁠   / ⁠⁠Crossandnod⁠⁠  ⁠ Keep nodding those crosses in!

AFCON, oh my God. The ball house is open for OG and Dave to talk all things AFCON. The guys spotlight the peak stories and entertainment value of the group games so far, Nigeria’s performance and predictions for the rest of the tournament. We also manage to share education on Ivory Coast’s stadiums, why it’s AFCON 2023 in 2024 and a little bit of AFCON hat trick history. No need to thank us, we don’t do it for the recognition. The ball house is now open for premium ball knowledge, banter, and punditry. Enjoyyy 🎧🔊 AFCON is banging this time 🏆🌍 - 1:03s Intro to AFCON2023: Why is it 2023? 2️⃣3️⃣ - 2:06s Nigeria isn’t doing badly 🇳🇬 - 3:06s Nothing for Ghana 😂🇬🇭  - 4:31s Officiating at AFCON has been top 🔝 - 5:46s Reviewing the Super Eagles at AFCON so far 🇳🇬🦅- 9:18s Nigeria’s best players at AFCON 2023 ✨🦅 - 12:29s Nigeria’s “not so best” players at AFCON 2023 😒  - 16:26s Who has impressed you at  AFCON? ⭐️⭐️ - 18:10s Predictions for the rest of the tournament 🏟️🏆- 22:10s Do Like, Subscribe and Share this pod! You can also: Join the ball house on INSTAGRAM - / Crossandnod  Join the ball house on TWITTER -   / CrossandnodFT Join the ball house on FACEBOOK -   / Crossandnod   Super Eagles all the way! 🇳🇬🦅

The season starts here. Or at least season 2 starts here. It's December 2023, and season 2 of your favourite Nigerian football podcast is here. From angeball mate to Bellingoal and United's travails, there's been many talking points in the ball house of late. For our final episode of the year, OG, Dave, and Elemosho get together to share a particularly exciting one with you: a discussion on the stars who are getting their mainstream breakout season. The ball house is now open for premium ball knowledge, banter, and punditry. Enjoyyy 🎧🔊 Say hello to Elemosho - 0:55s FPL woes, no clean sheets this season - 2:36s Best game you've watched this season - 4:26s David's breakout star: Micky van de Ven  - 13:01s Elemosho's breakout star: Alejandro Garnacho - 18:07s OG’s breakout star: Mohammed Kudus- 27:25s Do Like, Subscribe and Share this pod! You can also: Join the ball house on INSTAGRAM -   / Crossandnod  Join the ball house on TWITTER -   / CrossandnodFT Join the ball house on FACEBOOK -   / Crossandnod   Happy New Year!

This episode explores the evolution of the goalkeeper position and the rise of the ball-playing goalkeeper. We deliver a brief history of the position, why most top teams want goalkeepers that are good with their feet, and whether this change is good for the game. All of this is covered with our usual brand of banter, humour, and premium punditry. Enjoyyy 🎧🔊 Arsenal fans conceding they’re in a title race - 2:19s OG’s criticism of Ramsdale conceding a goal from the halfway line - 5:00s A brief history lesson on the evolution of goalkeepers - 6:30s Pep’s influence on the evolution of the modern-day goalkeeper - 9:35s Comparing keepers from different eras: Ederson vs Van Der Sar - 11:30s Is this evolution good for the game? - 22:00s It’s not just playing from the back. Today GKs can go long, direct, and accurate - 31:45s FPL Segment: Plan for the Upcoming Double GameWeek - 35:16s Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @crossandnodft and tell your friends about Nigeria's number 1 football podcast ❤️⚽️

Welcome back to the CrossAnNod Pod, our latest episode discusses Manchester United's demolition at the hands of Liverpool. We connect that to mentality and the factors that combine to create the coveted BEAST mentality in famous title-winning sides. Manchester United Roast - 1:38s  What makes a team mentally strong? - 7:02s  Did United give up or lose their mentality vs Liverpool? - 12:23s  Mentality starts with a professional attitude to different facets of the game - 19:10s  Mentality also comes from previous bad experiences on the pitch - 20:47s  Mentality is intentional and can come from dark arts - 22:43s  Emotional side of mentality and using it to get the refs on your side - 33:17s  FPL talk - 41:48s Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @crossandnodft and tell your friends about Nigeria's number 1 football podcast ❤️⚽️

The episode starts with a lot of banter. With Real Madrid losing heavily in the El Classico, OG gets some well-deserved banter from the rest of the team. We quickly dissect why Real Madrid are in such poor form before moving over to the English Premier League.  There, we cover errant fan behaviour — from a Spurs fan kicking Ramsdale in the head after the North London derby to frustrated Everton fans waylaying Anthony Gordon and Yerry Mina on the way home after a game. Us fans need to do better! Finally, we delve into the crux of the matter, the upcoming United - Arsenal game and Casemiro vs Partey. Caesar and Dave go toe to toe, each one defending their player. And just like arguments with your friends, the Casemiro vs Partey segment ends in a cacophony of shouts, unmade points, and bias. The true Naija way 😂🇳🇬 Enjoy! And don't forget to hit the subscribe button. 

A banter-filled episode discussing how referees are selected for each game, their influence on the game, and their ability to affect perfectly laid game plans.  In typical CrossAndNod! fashion the conversation swings around to time-wasting, haram football, and how football rules can be tweaked to cut down on that. Lots of laughter, insightful football talk, and good vibes. Enjoy! P.S: Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and tell your friends about us  ❤️⚽️

Happy New Year! The episode starts with a recap of Pele's exploits. RIP to the king.  Up next, Caesar, OG, and Dave discuss their top football moments of 2022 before we proceed to the new year. Specifically, we invited each speaker to drop a bold take on what they want their clubs to achieve in 2023. Dave refuses to concede that Arsenal are in a title race and we dig into him. The episode ends with FPL talk. Thank you for rocking with us. Don't forget to tell your friends about us ❤️⚽️

It's time to start plotting your FPL teams and the CrossAndNod team is here to help. We discuss three different FPL drafts, players to consider, possible differential picks and captain picks (Read as Erling Haaland lol).  The pod ends with a bit of discussion about club football and which teams are likely to be in good form when the action resumes.  Sending you all of our love this Christmas season 🎅🏼🎄❤️ Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and follow us on Twitter @crossandnodFT.  ⚠️⚠️The FPL deadline is before noon on boxing day. Don't miss it!!