The Game

Is this Madrid team the greatest ever in club football? After winning their fifteenth European cup could you argue they have three of the best five players in the world. With them also set to sign Kylian Mbappe can any team get close to them? Jose Mourinho is back, this time at Turkish side Fenerbahçe…will it be a marriage made in heaven or a tempestuous affair?   Gregor Robertson, Tom Allnut...

It’s been a long season…but it’s not over just yet. Some very big clubs are looking for new managers and some big managers are available. So, who goes where? Jonny Northcroft, Gregor Robertson and Martin Samuel join Tom Clarke to take a closer look at potential appointments. With Maresca looking likely to leave Leicester, where does that leave the football league champions? Wayne Rooney has been g...

On Friday Erik Ten Hag was supposedly out of a job. By Saturday evening the jury was out again. After a gripping FA Cup final, with a performance and result which surprised almost everyone could Ten Hag still be the man for the job? A very busy Manchester reporter Paul Hirst joins James Gheerbrant, Gregor Robertson and Tom Clarke to look at what happens next at Old Trafford? There seems to be a fo...

Two minutes in and player of the season Phil Foden puts City one up. Title race over. Great player, great team. Tom Clarke, Alyson Rudd, Tony Cascarino and Gregor Robertson consider why City are so good, how other teams can compete and if Foden and Bellingham can play together for England. After a very good season, where do Arsenal go next, a striker, a left back…? Gregor is off to watch the champ...

When is a fan not a fan? Tom Clarke, Tony Cascarino, Martin Samuel and Gregor Robertson discuss the bizarre atmosphere at the Tottenham stadium on Monday night as some Spurs fans struggled to cheer on their team against Man City. After Spurs didn’t do Arsenal a favour, could West Ham in the final game? In a word the universal opinion is… no. Premier League clubs meet next week to discuss the futur...

Arsenal have taken the title race to the final week of the season. But as Man City find their form on the run in, will it matter…? Aside from the title race Manchester United kept the score respectable at Old Trafford, but it was yet another lamentable performance from a club in the doldrums. What now for Casemiero et al? Tom Allnutt is confident that most Spurs fans will not want them to beat Cit...

Madrid do it again. Do they have better players, a better coach? Is it the ground, their history or all of it rolled together? Martin Samuel, Jonathan Northcroft and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke to look at just how special Real Madrid are. Mbappe ends his time with PSG with a whimper, where now for the French star? Domestically Crystal Palace are reborn under Oliver Glazner. Which of their tea...

Tony Cascarino and Alyson Rudd took a road trip to see Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate home game in charge. Whatever happened in the car stays in the car. Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson quiz them on Spurs’ alarming dip in form, and the performance of Harvey Elliot. Tony finally got to ask Klopp a question… In the title race Haaland and Rice are purring, Gregor is very impressed with the...

 English players star in Europe, but not the ones you might think. Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Tony Cascarino join Tom Clarke to discuss the fluctuating careers of Eric Dier and Jaden Sancho. Will either make the England squad? And why couldn’t Man Utd get the best out of a gifted player? Hindsight is twenty twenty but Kai Havertz now looks like a bargain at sixty million…Martin think...

And then there were two… It’s no longer a three-horse race, much to Alyson Rudd’s regret. Alyson joins Tom Allnutt, Gregor Robertson and Tom Clarke to pick over the bones of good wins for City and Arsenal, and touchline altercations for Liverpool and Mo Salah. Could this be the end of the ‘Egyptian King’ at Anfield? The race for fourth continues to ebb and flow, Villa threw away a two goal lead, b...

Martin Samuel and Tom Allnutt join Gregor Robertson to console Tony Cascarino as Liverpool’s title challenge hits the buffers. What can Liverpool’s bad form be put down to, fitness, desire, off field issues? Tony has a hunch… And is Arne Slot the man to right the ship…? Arsenal have the wind in their sails again can they now go unbeaten for the rest of season…? Chelsea, are a mystery to the entire...

Gregor Robertson joins Tony Cascarino, Alyson Rudd and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat to look back on a remarkable FA cup semi final. Did the last gasp VAR decision deny us an iconic FA cup memory? Gregor and Alyson think yes, ever the realist Hamzah is not so sure. Where does the result leave beleaguered Man Utd fans and their manager? Is an FA cup final enough or was this the final straw for Eric Ten Ha...

Gregor Robertson, Jonny Northcroft and Martin Samuel join Tom Clarke to perform the post-mortem on Man City and Arsenal’s exit from the champions league. Did they just meet better teams or was there any mental fragility or fatigue on show? Will last nights results have a bearing on the title race, if so, who could benefit? For Manchester City is the form of Erling Haaland a worry? 21 touches in th...

Liverpool to finish fourth. Arsenal stumbling. Villa masterclass and City…back on top.   Liverpool and Arsenal lose at home - is that the final twist in the title race, or just the first? Tom Clarke is joined by Alyson Rudd, Gregor Robertson and a despondent Tony Cascarino who thinks Liverpool looked so bad they could even finish fourth behind Villa. Arsenal looked edgy but was that down to a...

Fresh off the Eurostar having watched PSG v Barca Gregor Robertson joins Tom Clarke and Martin Samuel to review a thrilling set of Champions League quarter finals. Are Arsenal and Man City now favourites to meet in the semis? And is City v Madrid really the final everybody wanted? In the other half of the draw do any of the four have a chance, Gregor thinks Barca might… In the Premier League Evert...

Has Pep ruined football? Arsenal’s proper squad, the leagues most adaptable players and ‘treadmill to oblivion’.   Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Henry Winter join Tom Clarke to reflect on a show of squad strength from Arsenal and City. Are the Gunners now at the same level as Man City and Liverpool in terms of squad depth? Who took their chance to shine and who didn’t? As Ben White star...

Pep gave up, Thomas Frank is special, and goals galore…despite VAR.   Tom Clarke, Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tony Cascarino contrast the snooze fest at the Etihad with the and to end fest at Anfield. Arsenal proved a point to get a point, but City could be happy with the easier run in to come. Liverpool put in their best performance against Brighton, but with Alonso not available who r...

Tom Clarke, Gregor Robertson, Jonny Northcroft and Martin Samuel pick their England starting 11’s for the opening game of the Euros. There are some surprising omissions, Jonny has a left field suggestion and Martin has been swayed by recent performances. Kobbie Mainoo may have written his name on the team sheet, but will Henderson, Rashford or Grealish even make the squad? Following on from the fo...

England disappointed, but does it matter? Gareth Southgate and his team conspired to lower expectations after a lacklustre display at Wembley; Tom Clarke, Tony Cascarino, Gregor Robertson and Matt Dickinson discuss who played well, who didn’t and why England looked so blunt. After the break a look at the production line of new footballers – academies. Young players are now given a holistic program...

Are points deductions fair, what's the point of a football regulator, and should Kobbie Mainoo start for England? Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Tony Cascarino join Tom Clarke to ask if you’d rather have a good centre forward or a good lawyer? As Nottingham Forest fall foul of the regulator are points deductions the best way to tackle the problem? Should more money go to the wider football py...

A pulsating game won in the 120th minute with a raucous atmosphere and ending their arch-rivals fairy tale in the process - has Eric Ten Hag suddenly seen what is possible at Old Trafford? Will the result be a turning point in Man Utd’s season or just another glimpse of potential? For Liverpool did tiredness catch up with them? Gregor Robertson thinks Mark Robins is doing some of the best coaching...

Are footballers stupid? Why do footballers cut holes in their socks? And how to write a match report in 2 minutes. Martin Samuel, Jonathan Northcroft, Gregor Robertson and Tom Clarke discuss the dark arts of football and sports writing. On the pitch they were exemplified by Porto on Tuesday night. But what are the dark arts of the press box? How do writers produce a piece when the result turns aro...

It’s a three-horse title race, the first in years, so who did the result at the weekend benefit the most? Tom Allnutt, Alyson Rudd and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke to predict who will win the league. Was a point at Anfield good for City, was Liverpool’s momentum stalled and will Arsenal handle the pressure of going top? Who has the tougher run in and who is each team’s most important player? S...

Gregor Robertson mediates as Martin Samuel and Tony Cascarino discuss sabbaticals, John Peel and Yu-Gi-Oh! Oh, and some of the week's biggest football talking points: Are Sheffield United the worst team to ever play in the Premier League? Has the Champions League become too predictable? And who will win Sunday's era ending game between Liverpool and Man City? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Tom Clarke reviews a bumper weekend of Premier League talking points with Gregor Robertson, Tony Cascarino and Paul Hirst... ... What level are Manchester United at? Who is currently the best player in the League (Guardiola thinks it's Phil Foden)? And why on earth have Nottingham Forest hired Mark Clattenburg?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.