It was a vintage Thursday night across Europe, in which big-league clubs dropped like flies, and underdogs had some exceptional performances.

We start out examining the big upsets, including PAOK's instant-classic thriller in Lille, Go Ahead Eagles' historic win over Villa, and AEK Larnaca pulling a shock in South London.

We also debate the day's many controversial VAR moments, which favored Fenerbahce over Stuttgart and propelled Rayo Vallecano to the latest of equalizers at Häcken. Why is VAR usage so inconsistent, unpredictable, and frankly, incompetent, in these competitions — more so than any domestic league?

Then in a whip-around segment, we celebrate Lincoln Red Imp's first ever major European tournament win, throw the usual shade at hapless Nice, and lament that Scottish sides occupy the bottom spot of both tables.

Finally, we do some table takeaways, look ahead to the next match-day, and make some bold (or stupid) predictions.

Cheers to Juanjo Bezares!

With another international window in the books, it's time to dive back into AGT Thursdays!

We start with Nottingham Forest, who actually did the thing and sacked Ange Postecoglou, making his stint in charge the second-shortest in league history. We argue why this falls mostly on then shoulders of Marinakis rather than his Greek compatriot and wonder where the club goes from here.

Elsewhere in the Midlands, Villa stirred up controversy when the police banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from traveling to Birmingham for their match-day 4 clash. But is the situation misunderstood by the wider public?

We also touch on the recent international window, where Cape Verde became the second-smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup and congratulate their heach coach, Bubista.

We start with Nottingham Forest actually did the thing and sacked Ange Postecoglou, making his stint in charge the second-shortest in league history. We argue why this falls mostly on then shoulders of Marinakis rather than his Greek compatriot and wonder where the club goes from here.

Cheers Bubista!

Chapters

00:00 — Intro 02:28 — The international break 05:26 — Cape Verde's historic World Cup qualification 08:25 — Nottingham Forest sack Ange 11:17 — Rangers manager search 20:14 — Aston Villa controversy 31:15 — Viktoria Plzen gets a new owner 33:53 — FC Noah building new stadium 34:30 — MD 2 Europa League preview 39:17 — Nice is a terrible Europa League team 43:49 — MD 2 Conference League preview 47:34 — Strasbourg's historically young squad 51:10 — Fiorentina's ongoing struggles 55:23 — Cheers to Bubista

So — we weren't able to record an episode for MD 1 of the Conference League last week, but we've got the next best thing!

We've picked a few UECL teams to zero in on, all of which got big wins in this early stage of the league phase, including Lech Poznan, Shakhtar Donetsk, and AEK Larnaca.

But the main story is Slovenia's NK Celje, who keep defying expectations and dominating European opponents. We ask the important questions — Why are they so successful? How far can they go? And when can we visit?

We also introduce you to their new starman, Franko Kovacevic, who's taking both the Slovenian and Conference Leagues by storm this season. It may well be name to remember.

Finally, we bring you our new segment: The Big Boy Check In, where we do 60 second spots on each of the 5 "big league" teams (Palace, Fiorentina, Rayo, Mainz, Strasbourg). What's up with them? What direction are they going in? Who do we like to go all the way?

All that and some Aberdeen on today's show!

Cheers to Imanol Idiakez!