The Game

Will England be the best prepared team at next year’s World Cup? Will it matter? As they head into a friendly with Andorra how many true tests of his team will Thomas Tuchel face before the World Cup? And what has happened to England's forward line from the 2022 Euros…only one remains first choice at his club. Domestically teams are making early moves in the transfer market. Could Matheus Cunha an...

PSG finally have their European crown, and they look phenomenal in winning it. Did their demolition of Inter Milan set a new standard? Gone are gifted forwards who don’t work for the team, now talents such as Doue, Dembele and Kvaratskhelia putting in performances with breath taking effort from start to finish. What st them apart as a team this year? But… is their triumph tainted by where the mone...

Chelsea triumph in Wrocław (which is in Poland) to bring home the first major trophy of the Boehly-Clearlake era. So are things looking up for next season? Meanwhile United's post season, pre season friendly tour of Asia turned to misery as they lost 1-0 to Asean All-Stars to boos from the initially adoring Malaysian fans. Amorim astutely pointed out: ‘We should win these kind of games’. Tom Clark...

The play offs are done and dusted.  For Sunderland their manager Regis Le Bris championed his team’s togetherness, it showed as they scored another last gasp winner. For Sheffield united, heart break as their woeful Wembley record continues. In League One Charlton went through the play offs without conceding a goal, that was enough to see off Leyton Orient. Manager Nathan Jones made no apolog...

With the Champions League places decided it's time to evaluate who is happy with their season? Forest we're tipped for relegation but ended up in Europe. But after missing out on Champions League football will it still feel like a failure? Spurs finished 17th but won a trophy, did they have a better season than rivals Arsenal? And for Aston Villa, did their season come down to one officiating deci...

Is Spurs first trophy in seventeen years vindication for their manager Ange Postecoglou? Despite finishing 17th in the league they’ll be playing Champions League football next season and Ange was true to his word, he won a trophy in his second season. Will he stay? For the losers Manchester United it will be their worst finish in Premier League history, no European football next season and squad i...

It's play off finals weekend. Is it something fans love or hate? For some it is hard to enjoy the stomach churning, nerve shredding matches with so much at stack. For others it is a free hit at glory, a day out at the national stadium and the tantalising hope of what if we actually win… In the Championship both Sunderland and Sheffield United have appalling Wembley records, one will at least be ch...

Crystal Palace have won their first major trophy – the FA Cup! Oliver Glasner’s side beat Man City 1-0 giving Palace European football next season. How did they do it and will they be able to hold on to their best players and their manager? For runners up Manchester city where now? A star striker who didn’t want a penalty, a manager who may or may not stay and their first trophy less season since...

As Taiwo Awoniyi recovers from a very serious injury, is it time to review VAR protocols. If it is a clear and obvious offside, why are officials told not to flag? Are the consequences more injuries for players? With Saudi Arabia and Spain starting to attract some of the world’s top footballing talent is the Premier League getting complacent in its ability to retain the world’s best? He FA Cup fin...

The race for Europe is going down to the wire. After spending all season at the top are Forest on the brink of throwing it away, does a ‘passionate’ owner help or hinder? Newcastle look strong after a pivotal win over rivals Chelsea and with City faltering Aston Villa are still in contention for top five. Villa’s last two games are against Spurs and Man Utd. Any other season that would be tough, t...

The dream is over for Arsenal. How does Mikel Arteta turn his team from nearly men to winners? Is he even the man to do it? Arteta described Arsenal as the best team in Europe. None of the panel can understand how he justifies a statement like that. If he oversees the summer changes what is needed? Some even think that his team may have gone backwards this season. The other semi final was an all t...

The final day of the regular season didn’t disappoint. Twenty four thousand turned out for Bradford v Fleetwood…in the fourth tier. Leeds and Burnley both reach one hundred points in the Championship and Leyton Orient storm into the League One playoffs on the back of five straight wins. ‘Producer Neil’ joins Gregor Robertson to review the final day and ponder who makes it to the play off finals at...

Trent Alexander Arnold has finally confirmed what seemed inevitable – he is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. His destination is not yet confirmed, but it is widely thought to be Real Madrid. What will be the Liverpool fan’s reaction be to a player won everything with his childhood club? ‘How could you’ or ‘all the best’? And how will he fit in at Real? In the league the race for Europe...

It was a tough night for Arsenal at the Emirates as they were largely second best to PSG. What hope do they have for a second leg in Paris? Well, PSG don’t have a set piece coach, could that be Arsenal’s best bet? What if any weaknesses do PSG have? The other semi-final was a classic. Inter Milan showed all their guile and solidity to get a three three draw in Barcelona. But their performance was...

Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson round up the penultimate round of fixtures in the EFL. Slowly but surely the key places are being decided. In the Championship Sunderland are limping into the play offs, while Blackburn and Millwall are on a charge. Game of the final weekend is a winner takes all between Coventry and Middlesborough At the bottom Preston have been pulled into a late relegation fight....

Liverpool have finally clinched their 20th league title. Arne Slot has landed the big one in his first season in charge. How did he do it, can he repeat it next year and is it unfair to look at the legacy left by Jurgen Klopp? In the FA Cup Alyson Rudd is Crystal Palace’s lucky charm – she interviewed Oliver Glasner ahead of the final and was impressed by his bold approach. What now for Aston Vill...

Liverpool have won their 20th league title. In his first season in charge manager Arne Slot has led his side to the top of the English game. How big an achievement is it and how was it done? Times Northern Football Correspondent Paul Joyce has followed Liverpool, and Slot, since his appointment at the end of last season. Here he gives an inside track on how the feat was achieved. Ho...

All the talk is Ange Postecoglou could be on his way out of Tottenham. Not so fast says Martin Samuel…he might have done better than you think. Could a Europa League win - especially if its over Man Utd - change the narrative? Whoever is in charge next season Spurs are unlikely to be in 15th place again. But for the promoted clubs, what do they have to do to stay up? The gulf in wages, playing sta...

All the latest from the nail biting EFL with Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson. Congratulations to free scoring Leeds and rock solid Burnley who are both heading to the Premier League. How will they fare in the topflight? In the play offs many of the contenders are losing games. At the bottom of the Championship its wins all round for Luton Plymouth and Derby. Could it be a record total getting rele...

Leicester are relegated, would they have fared better if they had stuck with Steve Cooper? Manchester United, fresh from a thrilling European come back crashed back to earth with a home defeat to Wolves. Would they have fared better if they had stuck with Ruud Van Nistelrooy? While Amorim lost momentum, Mikel Arteta maintained it at Arsenal but was the cost of a potential Bukayo Saka injury worth...

Was Arenal’s win in Madrid a coming-of-age performance for Mikel Arteta’s side? After beating the fifteen-time champions Real Madrid what chance do they have against in form Paris Saint Germain? Is it best defence against best attack? Declan Rice shone in both games against Real, is he now one of the best in Europe? Domestically, Virgil Van Dijk has followed Mo Salah in signing a new contract with...

Cliché alert: A week is a long time in football. Nothing stays the same for long in the championship, Leagues One and Two  Leeds were sinking, now they are top. Wycombe had fallen away now they're back and Walsall were top for 119 days, they've now lost ten in a row but are still third - just. As for the bottom, where do we even start!? Tim Clarke and Gregor Robertson round up all the latest...

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are on course for their worst ever Premier League seasons. Do both now need massive re builds on and off the pitch? Or are they just a small change away from challenging at the top again? Both have eyes on winning a European trophy but will that make any difference to clubs sitting fourteenth and fifteenth in the table?   Meanwhile, Forest and Chel...

Was Arsenal’s win over Real Madrid their best performance under Mikel Arteta? At its heart was a dominant display from Declan Rice, topped off by two outstanding free kicks. Have you ever seen better? And where did Rice’s overall performance leave his England position? A six, an eight, a ten? How do Arsenal approach the second leg, sit back and defend or go for more goals? Could that be their bigg...

‘Crunch time’, ‘the pressure is on’, ‘squeaky bum time’… call it what you like now is when it matters. The EFL is an edge of the seat ride. Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson cover all the latest from the EFL. In the Championship Leeds started the week on top, dropped to second and now sit in third - are they about to live up to their tag of blowing it?. Burnley started third and now sit on top. It i...