The Game

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Alyson Rudd. Nuno Espírito Santo has left Tottenham after just ten Premier League matches in charge. What went wrong, was it the right time for him to go and were the players equally to blame? (00:00) Manchester United beat Spurs 3-0 on Saturday - but does that result actually lessen the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjær? (30:28) Crystal...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Jonathan Northcroft. Walter Smith sadly passed away this week aged 73. We remember the former Rangers, Everton and Scotland manager (00:00) West Ham have become the first team to beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup for over 1800 days - can David Moyes’ side win the trophy? (10:28) Manchester United travel to Tottenham this weekend...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke, Paul Hirst and Alyson Rudd. Manchester United have suffered the most embarrassing loss in their Premier League history - but is Ole Gunnar Solskjær fully to blame? Did Liverpool even play to their full potential in their 5-0 victory? (00:00) Spurs have lost every London derby this season - what’s the issue with Nuno’s side and why are the...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Ian Hawkey. Manchester United looked to be heading to a Champions League defeat before a remarkable comeback win - but are the cracks just being papered-over at Old Trafford? (00:00) Liverpool were also on the right side of an eventful 3-2 Champions League tie. Did Jurgen Klopp’s side deserve to win at Atletico? (15:43) Daniel Meuren i...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Roddy and Alyson Rudd. Newcastle’s new chapter on the pitch has started, but things need some serious work to match the owners’ ambition. The Times’ Martin Hardy joins us, fresh from an eventful day at St James’ Park (00:00) Away from the North East, what was the reaction elsewhere? Does it seem strange that Steve Bruce was in the dugout consider...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Jonathan Northcroft. England ended the International break in lacklustre fashion at Wembley. Was it a mistake for Gareth Southgate to experiment with Mount and Foden playing? What did we learn from the two games? (00:00) FIFA are looking into the crowd trouble which lead to one arrest for an alleged racially aggravated public order off...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Alyson Rudd. We’re lucky to have Hugh after his comical trip to Andorra for the England game. Thankfully, he’s back to tell the tale and discuss the game (00:00) France are the new Nations League champions, but their winning goal has caused some debate. Gregor gives us a player’s perspective of Kylian Mbappé’s goal (10:42) Thibaut Cour...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Roddy and Tom Clarke. Newcastle United could very soon be the richest club in the world as the Saudi-backed takeover appears to be close to completion. The Times’ Martyn Ziegler joins us to discuss what’s changed since the deal stalled, last year (00:00) While the Saudi deal may be good for Newcastle fans who want Mike Ashley out of their club -...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Paul Hirst. Liverpool and Manchester City played a cagey first half, followed by a wild second at Anfield. Would City have taken all three points had they bought a Premier League quality striker in the summer? (00:00) Everton took a point from Manchester United, Andros Townsend mimicked Ronaldo’s celebration (but ended up with his shi...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Ian Hawkey. Chelsea left Turin disappointed after a 1-0 loss at the hands of Juventus. Did they miss Mason Mount and why couldn’t Romelu Lukaku get into the game? (00:00) Should Villarreal have had the game wrapped-up way before Cristiano Ronaldo scored Manchester United’s winner? Hugh thinks so and Gregor isn’t far behind him (5:30) PSG beat Manc...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tom Roddy. Arsenal and Spurs are going in opposite directions after Mikel Arteta’s side came out of the North London derby 3-1 winners. Have Arsenal turned the corner now and is Nuno really the right man for Spurs? (00:00) Manchester City got the result they wanted at Stamford Bridge as they ended the weekend level on points with Chel...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Jonathan Northcroft. Nuno returned to Molineux and left with a Carabao Cup victory over his former side. Pep Guardiola can’t make his mind up if he likes the competition or not and Manchester United crash out (00:00) Reading are set to be deducted points due to breaching EFL financial rules. In the same week Derby County were hit with a 12 point p...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tom Roddy. We begin by celebrating the life and career of Jimmy Greaves, who sadly passed away on Sunday aged 81. From 1966 World Cup heartbreak and a struggle with alcohol addiction - Greaves’ achievements on the pitch and reinvention as a television star made him a favourite with generations of fans (00:00) Two of Greavsie’s former...

The Times' North East Reporter Martin Hardy joins Hugh Woozencroft and Gregor Robertson to look into the current situation at Newcastle United. At the time of publishing, they sit second bottom of the Premier League table with just one point from four matches. Fans have been unhappy for many years under Mike Ashley - but will the club ever be sold without some reinvestment first? (This conversatio...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Paul Joyce. Liverpool nearly started their European campaign off poorly, but Jordan Henderson saved the day at Anfield. How important is he to Jurgen Klopp’s side? (00:00) Manchester City looked impressive going forward but also let in three goals last night. Have they shifted tactics or was it just a sloppy night for their defenders a...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson and Alyson Rudd. Cristiano scored twice on his return to Old Trafford. Has he silenced the doubters and does he have special powers at the club? (00:00) Were the club right to welcome Ryan Giggs back for the game - especially given the allegations against Ronaldo? (09:35) Sunday Times Reporter David Walsh joined us to describe the atmosphere at Old Tr...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Alyson Rudd. England ended the international break with seven points from nine, something Gareth Southgate sees as a success - but did the performances match up? The England manager didn’t make any substitutes - was that the right decision? (00:00) Is a World Cup every two years a good idea? UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has reiter...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Matt Lawton and Henry Winter. England have recorded back-to-back wins in World Cup qualifiers. The last game saw Jesse Lingard and Trent Alexander-Arnold return - but what does the future hold for both? (00:00) The Times’ Chief Football Writer, Henry Winter joins us with his thoughts on the England qualifier and whether Gareth Southgate has been gril...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Roddy and Jonathan Northcroft. Premier League clubs spent £1.1bn in the summer transfer window. Is this responsible given the current state or the world, or is this the norm? (00:00) We saw a late flurry of deals on deadline day - but who did the best business? Does Ronaldo make Manchester United challengers? (12:14) England play their first matc...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd, Tom Clarke and Henry Winter. Ronaldo is back! Was CR7 actually ever close to signing for Manchester City? His arrival means some of the younger attackers could miss out - are United taking a backwards step with this signing? (00:00) A fierce debate erupts on the topic of the use of VAR over the weekend after Paul Pogba wasn’t sent off fo...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Roddy and Tom Clarke. Harry Kane is staying at Spurs. Will his reputation be tarnished? Will the Tottenham fans forget about this? Will he leave next summer? So many questions! (00:00) Reports today suggest Cristiano Ronaldo has been offered to Manchester City for around £25m. Would he fit into Pep’s side and could he light up Manchester once aga...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Henry Winter. Chelsea beat Arsenal in one of the most predicted results of the season so far. Did Romalu Lukaku have the perfect second debut and how does Mikel Arteta win back the fans after a disastrous start to the season? (00:00) Manchester United dropped their first points at the weekend against Southampton. What’s Ole Gunnar Sol...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Jonathan Northcroft. Harry Kane remains a Tottenham player - he’s even posted a photo from the Spurs training ground. Will the Manchester City move happen and do they need to sell before they can complete the deal? (00:00) Romalu Lukaku is edging closer to his second Chelsea debut. He is the key to Thomas Tuchel’s side challenging this...

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Clarke and Henry Winter. Get more of The Times and The Sunday Times for less than £1 a day. Start your free trial: thetimes.co.uk/thegame Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Jonathan Northcroft, Tom Roddy and Paul Hirst. The new Premier League season is almost upon us - but which teams will do well and which teams face another rocky road ahead? (00:00) We’ve got several new managers in the league this season. Some are well known but some we know very little about. Which teams have made the smartest appointments? Will Raf...