We’re a quarter of a century into our podcast run, and this week we’re joined by Bardi from The Fighting Cock podcast.

The community question this week is the big one – who are you going to be playing as your first save in the full release of Football Manager 16? Happy Ed decides he’s going to play as Lyon, despite a “cacophony of shit” going down in the beta.

George is seriously considering continuing a Leeds save, despite his history of catastrophe when sitting in the dugout at Elland Road. Bardi is leaning towards Sassuolo in Serie A, mainly thanks to a certain player.

And then there’s all of this as well –

• Bardi shocks us with a confession about FM16. And he talks us through his FM15 save where he’s trying to rebuild the AC Milan dynasty after they were relegated to Serie B in the early 2020s.
• Ed talks about his beta save with Serbian side Čukarički, having the heart of the club ripped out by transfers, and how he can’t really face the consequences of his actions.
• We talk about picking up teams that we’ve heard a lot about in the media and the various ways we’ve messed those teams up.
• George’s first season at Leeds comes to an end with slight disappointment in a slightly bonkers but inevitable Championship scramble. But he lets his players run wild and free.
• Then we talk about the corridor of uncertainty for goalkeepers and why Robbie Savage might not be best placed to criticise keepers.
• Bardi talks us through his history with the series, from Championship Manager 2 to the present day. And how signing Ronaldo made him think it was an easy game. And how he made a business from it in school.

There’s lots more going on as well, so why not have a listen to the whole ‘cast in the SoundCloud player below. Or alternatively head to iTunes and search for Deep Lying Podcast.