The Game

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are reunited in the studio and are joined by Matt Dickinson and James Gheerbrant after FA Cup 3rd round weekend. Newport knock out Leicester in the most magical moment of the weekend but why do Premier League clubs, particularly those in mid-table, insist on resting star players when there’s a trophy up for grabs? Should we respect a coach’s right to manage their sq...

Natalie Sawyer brings you The Game podcast slightly later than usual – to take in the biggest game of the season so far with Henry Winter, Alyson Rudd and Alan Smith. Champions Manchester City inflict a first Premier League defeat of the season on league leaders Liverpool at the Etihad, closing the gap at the top to 4 points. Does Jurgen Klopp take encouragement from the level of performance it to...

For the final podcast of 2018, Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer bring you a one-off special, as the great writers at The Times give us their ideas for changing the game of football forever. What measures and rule changes would we bring in to improve the sport we love? Full-time buzzers? Physios in play? The ball never out of play? Hear from Henry Winter, Alyson Rudd, Oli Kay and many more. Also on...

After a Boxing Day full of goals and surprises, Natalie Sawyer is back alongside Alyson Rudd, Alan Smith and Paul Hirst to digest it all. Manchester City had lost 2 out of 61 Premier League games and have now lost 3 of their last 4 after defeat to Leicester at the King Power Stadium. Are they simply missing the fatherly Fernandinho? And with Liverpool now 7 points clear of the champions, are the R...

It’s Christmas Eve but Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are hard at work bringing you The Game podcast from The Times with Henry Winter and Gary Jacob. It’s time to critique an incredible Crystal Palace performance at the Etihad as they beat the champions Manchester City. It’s a result that sends Liverpool 4 points clear at the top of the table but Henry Winter is quick to highlight the humility of...

In a special episode, Alyson Rudd sits down at Sky Sports with the voice of football - Martin Tyler. We talk about Martin's days as a non-league striker at Wealdstone, his beginnings in broadcasting and the mechanics and workings of his commentary career. Whether he's stressed in Seville or lauding Rickie Lambert, this is the story of an iconic figure within the game we love as we discuss what mak...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Alyson Rudd, Oliver Kay and James Gheerbrant to discuss the biggest football story of the season, that being the sacking of Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager. In the eyes of the panel, there’s no conspiracy theory here. Mourinho was given money and support and didn’t deliver the major silverware the club expected. How much damage has been done...

Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are in the company of Oliver Kay and Matt Hughes, the morning after Liverpool sweep aside Manchester United at Anfield. Even if United persist with Jose Mourinho until the end of the season, the panel agree that United need to be putting the groundwork in right now to secure his summer replacement. As for Liverpool, they remain unbeaten and top of the league. Does K...

Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are joined by George Caulkin, Paul Joyce and Bill Edgar ahead of another seismic Saturday and Sunday in the Premier League. League leaders Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp’s men embracing control over chaos this season. Klopp appears to have cracked it when it comes to the goalkeeper, defence and attack. But will the rotation in midfiel...

Natalie Sawyer is joined by Alyson Rudd, Henry Winter and Matthew Syed to discuss a weighty issue in the world of football. Raheem Sterling was allegedly the victim of racist abuse during Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. On Sunday, Sterling took to social media and said that newspapers fuel racism when it comes to young black players. The panel discuss whether in...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Paul Hirst and Bill Edgar to discuss the headlines in the world of football. Arsenal make it 20 games unbeaten as they draw 2-2 at Old Trafford. We discuss Manchester United’s tactical approach. They lump it and the panel don’t like it. Plus with the fourth most expensive signing in United ‘s history – Fred – yet again not even making the bench, does t...

What a weekend in the Premier League and with a full set of midweek fixtures to come, Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are joined by Oliver Kay and Bill Edgar to digest all the action. The panel praise Unai Emery for his role in Arsenal’s North London derby win over Tottenham and the improvement in the players he has inherited. But was Pochettino too passive? And is something brewing between Emery...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Henry Winter and Gary Jacob ahead of a huge weekend of Premier League action. Tottenham have beaten Chelsea and Inter Milan this week and the panel praise Pochettino for not playing the percentages. Next up is the North London derby. The battle between Ozil and Eriksen could be crucial but how much longer will those players be at their respective clubs...

After a big weekend in the Premier League, it’s an even bigger week to come in the Champions League. Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Alyson Rudd and Matt Dickinson. Tottenham’s dismantling of Chelsea leads to another chapter in the Kante/Jorginho debate. Gab sticks up for Sarri as the panel heap praise on Spurs and their manager, ahead of the make or break clash with the Spursiest te...

The Premier League is back and so are Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti, aided admirably by Bill Edgar and George Caulkin. It’s a big weekend at the bottom with Ranieri taking charge of Fulham for the first time against fellow strugglers Southampton. Can Claudio cook up some chemistry? What will he do with Seri and Sessegnon? And are we about to witness the end of Mark Hughes’s managerial career in...

Gab Marcotti is joined by Matt Dickinson and Matt Hughes in the aftermath of England’s progression to the Nations League finals after victory over Croatia. Iceland feels like a long time ago. In the best Wembley atmosphere since Springsteen, Gareth Southgate continues to find answers to questions as England manager, including proving his tactical flexibility and showing the squad does have strengt...

It’s not quite awards season but with a third of the Premier League season gone, Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are joined by Gregor Robertson and Matt Furniss from Opta to review the best and worst performers of the campaign so far. There’s plenty of love for Wolves while we also try to determine what went wrong for Jokanovic at Fulham. It’s been a better season than you think for Hugo Lloris as...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Alyson Rudd and Oliver Kay after a massive Manchester derby. Events at the Etihad throw up a number of questions. Is Jose Mourinho getting the best out of this United squad? How have they spent so much to look so average? And despite a slender lead at the top of the table, is it inevitable that City will retain the title? After another virtuoso display...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by James Gheerbrant and Paul Hirst ahead of the Manchester derby. While United were securing a famous win in Turin, City were smashing Shakhtar but with the help of a bizarre penalty awarded to Raheem Sterling. With no foul committed, should Sterling have owned up to the referee? And with revelations about City allegedly circumventing financial fair play,...

Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are joined by Alyson Rudd and Alan Smith in the studio to tackle some thorny issues in the football world. England’s friendly with the USA will now be a farewell appearance for record goal scorer Wayne Rooney. The match will be called The Wayne Rooney Foundation International, with proceeds going to charity. But does Rooney deserve such a tribute and does Rooney’s a...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Jonathan Northcroft and James Gheerbrant ahead of another huge weekend of football. How will Liverpool, arguably with their most solid defensive structure since the days of Rafa Benitez, fare against Emery’s speedier, more dynamic Arsenal? And can these teams help us fall in love with the team goal again as opposed to the long-range screamer? Across No...

It’s been a weekend where shocking events off the field have overshadowed football. On Saturday night, after Leicester City’s game with West Ham, Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was among those to lose his life when a helicopter carrying him and 4 others crashed outside the King Power Stadium. Under his stewardship, Leicester despite odds of 5,000 to 1, won the Premier League title in 201...

Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are privileged to be joined by Henry Winter and Matthew Syed after a Champions League week that’s thrown up a number of broader talker points. It’s another howler from Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal away in Eindhoven. The panel examine the mindset of a modern-day goalkeeper and to what extent they are under-appreciated and over-analysed. Manchester United meekly...

Gab Marcotti is joined by Paul Hirst, Gary Jacob and Bill Edgar after a big weekend of football and ahead of a big week to come. With Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford with Juventus, Lucy Holden has been to Turin and his birthplace Madeira to study the devotion to a football icon, in the midst of rape allegations that Ronaldo has denied. After a fiery conclusion to Chelsea’s draw with Ma...

Gab Marcotti and Natalie Sawyer are joined by Matt Dickinson and James Gheerbrant as the Premier League returns from the international break with a vengeance. Unbeaten Chelsea host Manchester United as Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge. Are Sarri’s side title contenders? Does Paul Pogba need a less rigid attacking system? Plus Gab has serious sympathy for Mourinho when it comes to his lates...