The Game

When two actors decided to buy non-league football club Wrexham AFC, they brought the cameras with them to document every moment. With the Hollywood lights came a large injection of cash and mass media interest, but what has it meant for the club, the community - and for football more widely? Guest: Gregor Robertson, former professional footballer and columnist, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clip...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tony Cascarino - with Martyn Ziegler. Sean Dyche started his Everton career with a 1-0 win over leaders, Arsenal. Can he continue to make progress as the season continues? (00:00) Arsenal were let off by City’s loss at Tottenham but how will Mikel Arteta and the team react to this bump in the road? (13:40) Manchester City’s form conti...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, James Restall and Tom Allnutt - with Tom Roddy. Newcastle are through to their first final since 1999 - how significant is this moment in the club’s history? (00:00) Chelsea signed eight players in January. Does Graham Potter have a problem on his hands and how did they get around FFP whilst spending so much? (13:20) Everton failed to sign any player...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tom Roddy. The master beat the apprentice in the FA Cup fourth round - what did we learn from Manchester City vs Arsenal on Saturday? (00:00) Brighton beat Liverpool for the second time this season - but was it actually unexpected given their league position? (15:28) Wrexham nearly caused a huge upset against Sheffield United. Is it h...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Molly Hudson, Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson Newcastle get closer to a domestic cup final date at Wembley after beating Southampton in the first leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-Final but is their attack struggling? What does the future look like for Southampton with their Premier League status up in the air? (00:00) Manchester United breeze past Nottingham Forest in the...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Alyson Rudd, Tom Clarke and Tony Cascarino. Manchester United were beaten by a late minute goal at Arsenal - but did their performance show how far they’ve come under Erik ten Hag? In this extended conversation about the club, we look at which players are stepping up, what they did wrong against the Gunners and how ten Hag’s signings are fitting in (00:00) Everton hav...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Molly Hudson and Tom Allnutt - with Matt Lawton. Manchester United were denied second place in the Premier League table by a stunner at Selhurst Park and how much of an impact will this weekend’s game against Arsenal have on the title race? (00:00) Matt Lawton joins us to discuss The Times exclusive that David Moyes is set to be sacked by West Ham if...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tony Cascarino and Alyson Rudd to look back at the weekend's Premier League action, Are Manchester United now in a title race? What did you make of their performance at Old Trafford - has Erik ten Hag turned them back into an elite football club again? How do Manchester City adapt to playing with Erling Haaland? (00:00) Should Bruno Fernandes' contro...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Jonathan Northcroft to look back at the Carabao Cup action, and preview the weekend's Premier League fixtures. Newcastle reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals as they move one step closer to ending their long run without winning a trophy - how important would it be for the club to win silverware this season? (00:00) Nathan Jones eases the...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tony Cascarino. Chelsea were humbled by Manchester City in the FA Cup, hours after they lost to the same opponents in the Premier League. Is Graham Potter already doomed? (00:00) Stevenage and Wrexham both caused upsets, but it was Hugh that was most upset when a debate over club ownership took over (24:58) Newcastle lost to Sheffield...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Molly Hudson. Southampton are still rooted to the bottom of the Premier League after a 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest. The fans are already turning on Nathan Jones, but was his appointment a mistake? (00:00) Nottingham Forest are out of the relegation zone with that win - has Steve Cooper turned a corner as his almost entirely n...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd. Tottenham lost at home to Aston Villa and Antonio Conte with some classic deflection - but are Spurs fans expecting too much of the team? (00:00) Aston Villa were impressive once again under Unai Emery. How far can he take them? (19:30) Chelsea were eventually lucky to get a point, away at Nottingham Forest. Is Graham Potter too diffe...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd, with Paul Joyce and Martin Hardy. Erling Haaland picked up where he left off for Manchester City, but are they still the team to beat - despite Arsenal’s lead? (00:00) Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the Premier League after the first games after the World Cup - can they continue this form and what did we make of Arsene We...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Tom Clarke, Molly Hudson and Tom Allnutt. The EFL Cup is back and already we’ve seen some excellent football. Were people wrong about players feeling fatigue after the World Cup? (00:00) As 2022 comes to an end, we make some bold predictions for the second half of the season (17:32) We take a look back at the predictions we made at the end of 2021 and some are actuall...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd in London, with David Walsh in Qatar. Argentina have won their third World Cup in one of the most entertaining World Cup Finals ever - what impressed us most? (00:00) With the World Cup in Qatar over - what did we make of the action on the pitch throughout the tournament? (17:00) Lionel Messi finally gets his hands on the World Cup - b...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd in London, with Jonathan Northcroft in Qatar. We look ahead to the World Cup Final. Jonathan Northcroft joins us from Doha to share his thoughts and reflect on his time in Qatar (00:00) What can we expect from France? Do they have a better supporting cast around their leading man, Kylian Mbappé than Argentina do, to Messi? (12:01) Are...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Allnutt and Alyson Rudd. Morocco fell short of making the World Cup final as France won 2-0 in the second semi-final - but who were the better side? (00:00) Where was the game won and lost? Could Morocco have played it differently? (16:58) Does France’s performance make Argentina the clear favourites in the final on Sunday? (25:33) Gregor gives h...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd to review Argentina's 3-0 win over Croatia in the first 2022 World Cup semi-final. Were Argentina fortunate to have been awarded a penalty for their opening goal? Would the outcome of the game have been different in that wasn't given? How unlucky were Croatia? (01:35) Lionel Messi proves why he's considered the greatest of all-time by...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Molly Hudson and James Restall. We continue to look at where England go next following their World Cup exit and James and Molly add their thoughts to the questions over Gareth Southgate’s future (00:00) Do you want Gareth Southgate to stay or go? The Times polled 20,000 readers and there’s an overwhelming majority for one outcome (19:40) Argentina ta...

Hugh Woozencroft is in Qatar and Tom Clarke, Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd are in London. England are out of the World Cup. What have we learned from their time in Qatar, did they get it wrong against France and where do they go from here? (00:00) Gareth Southgate has a contract until the Euros in 2024. Should he stay in the job or is it time for a change? (24:05) Morocco have quickly become th...

Hugh Woozencroft is in Qatar and Tom Clarke and Alyson Rudd are in London. Argentina lost a 2-0 lead but eventually triumphed on penalties against the Netherlands. Does this further back up Hugh’s idea that they’re really not very good? (00:00) The game was quite feisty, the Netherlands comeback was a bit confusing and are we a bit sick of the Messi love-in? (23:30) The dream semi-final between Br...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Tom Roddy, Matt Lawton and Owen Slot in Qatar. From last minute u-turns to questions over the authenticity of some fans - what are our experiences of the World Cup in Qatar so far? (00:00) How will Qatar 2022 be seen in the future? Will football ever be the same again? (19:22) England are a day away from their quarter final against France - has Raheem Sterling’s situa...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Jonathan Northcroft and Matt Dickinson in Qatar. What has Qatar 2022 been like for our journalists so far? Has the lack of alcohol and location made the event feel safer? (00:00) We discuss our best moments on the pitch as two teams stand out (09:52) Morocco take on Portugal after beating Spain. Do they have what it takes to make the World Cup semi finals? (20:05) Cro...

Hugh Woozencroft is in Qatar - with Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd in London. Morocco have provided us with the latest World Cup shock - beating Spain on penalties to become the first Arabic-speaking country to make the quarter finals. Was it a case of Spain missing their chances or Morocco being too good for their opponents? (00:00) Some are saying this Morocco win is a victory for Africa. We d...

Hugh Woozencroft is in Qatar - with Gregor Robertson and Tom Clarke in London. Brazil danced their way to a 4-1 victory over South Korea. Can anyone realistically stop them? (00:00) Speaking of dancing - did their goal celebrations go too far? (13:12) Japan came up short against Croatia as 2018’s World Cup finalists progressed. Do the Croatians have any hope of getting past Brazil? (16:44) Hugh ha...