The Game

Lee Carsley shocked England fans by playing a left footer on the left, and it worked, for the first half at least. Charlotte Duncker, Tom Allnutt and Alyson Rudd join Tom Clarke to assess the performance against Ireland. What does Tyrick Mitchell have to do to get a call up and has Angel Gomes ever driven a bus? Plus, a look at Craig Bellamy’s Wales and is it time for Ronaldo to retire?   Hos...

Who would you keep – Casimiro or Ten Hag? Trent, Salah or Van Dijk? Tony Cascarino, James Gheerbrant and Jonathan Northcroft join Tom Clarke to decide who stays and who goes. Plus a look at the finances at Leicester and Newcastle. After the break as Lee Carsley takes charge of England, will it be Carls-ball or Carsey-ball ? And the team pick their all-time combined England Ireland teams, which mus...

4 games down, how are things shaping up away from the Premier League? Gregor and Tom's EFL tour takes in Sunderland's near perfect start (again), Wrexham's Hollywood script (reluctantly) and a £15million League One striker(!). Plus are Morecambe showing why you should never get back with an ex? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liverpool, good? United, bad? Or is there more to it? Tom Clarke is joined by Alyson Rudd, Hamzah Khalique-Loonat and Gregor Robertson to dissect an embarrassing Old Trafford outing for Ten Hag and his players. Meanwhile Everton try to outdo United in the shame stakes. Salah has Liverpool “squealing” for more than one reason. And are Chelsea actually alright? The rest of the weekend’s action too....

Chelsea have about 20 players to sell and are still looking to buy. Liverpool have finally entered the market. What could Friday's transfer deadline bring? "Anything could happen", says Paul Hirst. He joins Tom Clarke, Charlotte Duncker and Gregor Robertson to dissect the week's transfer news, look back on the life and career of Sven-Göran Eriksson and preview the weekend's big clash: Nottingham F...

Chelsea served up a humble pie for Gregor Robertson in the form of a 6-2 away win. It's on the table, but will he tuck in? He joins Tom Clarke, Alyson Rudd and Tony Cascarino in the studio to discuss a shocker of a VAR decision at Bournemouth... Where does a sleeve begin and where does it end? And what do the resident Liverpool fans make of Slot's start? Is Alyson *coughs* "squealing"? Hosted on A...

On the agenda today, the crazy club, not Wimbledon circa 1980’s but Chelsea circa 2020’s. What does the future hold for their out of favour stars Sterling and Chilwell? Also, a look back at the Monday night game and as Martin Samuel and Jonathan Northcroft make their season debuts alongside Gregor and Tom we hear their thoughts on the first weekend. Finally, Premier League cult heroes…  Hoste...

The first of our fortnightly EFL shows reflecting the best of the Football League. Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson dive straight in looking at the teams who have made very strong starts to the season. But with the transfer window still wide open, will they manage to retain their best players..? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imperious, confused, blunt. Just some of Gregor Robertson’s first impressions of Premier League teams after the opening weekend of fixtures. Gregor is joined by Tony Cascarino, Alyson Rudd and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat as Chelsea put in a disjointed performance despite their spending; City won without playing well and Manchester United still lacked a cutting edge. Plus much more, of course... Hosted...

Alyson Rudd, Gregor Robertson and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat join Tom Clarke for the second part of the big Premier League season preview.   What is ‘mid table’ and who’ll be avoiding it, which owner does Gregor dislike and why can’t the richest club in football spend any money? More questions, more predictions and a reveal from Hamzah. And at the risk of ruining their professional credibility th...

Alyson Rudd, Gregor Robertson and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat join Tom Clarke for the big Premier League season preview. Who’ll be fighting it out at the top, will the new managers succeed, can the promoted teams survive and who are the signings to watch out for? The panel call on all their insider knowledge to muster some bold predictions and offer some surprising insights. Hopes, fears, exciteme...

The football season is back. As the EFL kicks off this weekend Gregor Robertson and Tom Clarke run the rule over the Championship, League One and League Two.   Gregor looks at the ‘distorting effects’ of parachute payments. Do the crumbs from the Premier League table unduly effect the championship? Who else can compete alongside the relegated teams?  After the break Tom speaks to au...

Ahead of the EFL starting this week and the Premier League hot on its heels The Game is taking a look at VAR. This episode is a chance to listen again to a discussion the panel had during the season. Is VAR here to stay, and if it is, how on earth can it be improved… Tom Clarke speaks to Jonathan Northcroft, Gregor Robertson and James Gheerbrant about the dreaded VAR…  Hosted on Acast. See ac...

A bonus edition of The Game as Tom Clarke catches up with Paul Hirst who is in America following all the pre season action. Paul is based in LA where he has been covering Manchester United’s tour, including the latest on new signing Leny Yoro. He is also keeping a close eye on Arsenal and as The Times Manchester reporter is across all the latest from neighbours Manchester City, including Pep...

You thought we were done, didn't you? No chance. Martin Samuel has returned to the office just to say hello (but mostly to get his laptop fixed). Tom Clarke takes the opportunity to get his views on the final and who comes after Southgate, if Southgate leaves.  And now we're fully over England's loss (we are, promise), Tom Clarke, Tom Allnutt and Gregor Robertson look back over the tourn...

So near and yet so far…for the second Euros in a row England are runners up. A team and a nation left bereft. Tom Clarke, Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat try to make sense of where it went wrong for England. Was the captain fit, why couldn’t they retain the ball and were they always a safety-first team?  What on earth do England need to get over that final hurdle!? Sp...

It's finally here: England v Spain. One more for European glory. All eyes on Berlin. Still, there's plenty of time to debate who should start at left back. Tom Clarke is joined by Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Jonathan Northcroft, who's very excited, or in his words has a 'frisson of interest'.  If England win, IF, could Southgate stay? If he doesn't, who is there to replace him? How do...

If it really is coming home, England will need to beat Spain. Tom Clarke is joined by Ian Hawkey, Tom Allnutt and Gregor Robertson for a Spanish deep dive in the first of two final preview shows.  How much credit does Spain's manager, Luis de la Fuente, deserve for their success? Why has it seemingly clicked for Spain more than any other team in the tournament? And what are their weaknes...

Chief sports writer Owen Slot is England’s lucky charm. He has covered the whole tournament but until the semi-final he hadn’t covered England. He turned up and they put in their best performance and won. He’s booked for the final. Tom Clarke joins Owen to discuss the atmosphere around the England team, the depth and togetherness of the squad and England manager Gareth Southgate.   Owen then...

They’ve done it, and what a way to do it! Another last minute, last gasp winner, this time from Ollie Watkins. Weston-Super-Mare to the Euros final, yes! Gregor Robertson, Jonathan Northcroft and James Gheerbrant join Tom Clarke to react to a fantastic win and – say it quietly – a good performance. Does this vindicate the approach of Gareth Southgate; another final, the first on foreign soil, sure...

One semi down, one to go. Tom Clarke is joined by Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat to marvel at a very impressive Spanish 16 year old(!). Whoever Spain face in the final, surely they've got to be favourites?  And are we actually looking forward to a penalty shootout tonight? No, not really. But it could be England's best route to another Euros final. ...

It is semi-final day, dare we even consider who England would prefer to play out of France and Spain? Let’s indulge ourselves; Tom Allnutt and Gregor Robertson look at the strengths and weaknesses of both teams. IF England were to beat the Netherlands, how would they fair against the irresistible force of the Spanish team, or the immovable object that are the French? Paul Joyce joins Tom Clarke an...

A second look at England’s win over Switzerland. Some would call it resilient, a friend of Martin’s called it a ‘filthy’ win, but that’s football. Gregor Robertson, Martin Samuel and Tom Clarke take a detailed look at the performance and the changing narrative around Gareth Southgate. If you win, does it matter how you play? Is resilience more valuable than cohesion...? Captain Kane has drawn some...

Penalties... no problem. In his press conference, Gareth Southgate was asked if his side were the 'new Germany': the team that doesn't play well but is very good from 12 yards. Jonathan Northcroft and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke to discuss.  Was the 3 at the back experiment a success? Who do you now pick between Guéhi and Konsa? Do England still need to sort out their left...

  Here we go again…do England have a ‘performance’ in them? If so, will it materialise today? Gregor Robertson, Ian Hawkey and Hamzah Khalique Loonat join Tom Clarke to discuss if a back three from Gareth Southgate will be the magic formula. Gregor is fearful of playing Luke Shaw, Hamzah thinks England could be Sheffield United in disguise and Ian knows how good Switzerland are. But… they als...