The Game Football Podcast

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 relegated?League One looks a little more settled. But League Two is remarkable, Carlisle are defying gravity and still have a chance of survival, at the top almost nine teams are still in it…two to go, all to play for.

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 it? Hamzah takes a closer look at Brentford and in particular Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo. The two front men have made the loss of Ivan Tony barely noticeable. Lastly the start of the greatest ever Premier League midfielders debate…what is the right question to ask?

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 Liverpool…could they cap the week by winning the league this weekend?And Newcastle are now third, could they be title contenders next season or do they need to strengthen? 

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 from a gripping round of EFL fixtures and dare to ask - what happens next?

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 Chelsea are showing signs of nerves in their pursuit of the Champions League places whereas Arsenal are only focused on Europe. Will Arsenal and Villa do it?

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 biggest challenge?Bukayo Saka showed his calibre as he terrorised a star studded Real team and Miles Lewis Skelly once again showed confidence beyond his years.For Villa it was a tough night albeit against an exceptional PSG side. Did Emi Martinez’s antics help or hinder his team? Is the tie over or could it be a famous night at Villa Park in a weeks’ time?

‘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 is all change in the play off places too, with West Brom and Coventry dropping out for Middlesborough and Bristol City. All have tough run ins to come. So, who will finish in the box seats?In League One Wrexham have finally opened a small gap on Wycombe, but with a squad which can bench two first choice strikers in Mullin and Palmer is it really a surprise?Walsall in League Two have dropped like a stone in recent weeks and now find themselves clinging on to third place. In the play off’s teams as far down as ninth are still involved, and they all have to play each other. What a league! 

Is there something ‘off’ this season? Run away leaders Liverpool lost, but Arsenal had already dropped points, and relegation was sorted out weeks ago. Yet Villa could win the Champions League, Newcastle won a trophy for the first time in seventy years, and Forest could be back in Europe. So, a great season or just a poor one? Gregor thinks the regular fate of promoted sides going straight back down is becoming a problem for English football.The team discuss all that a woeful Manchester derby, Liverpool contract talks and a look ahead to a huge week for Arsenal and Villa in the Champions League.

If ever a game highlighted the problems of VAR it was the Merseyside derby. There is universal agreement that James Tarkowski’s tackle on Alexis Mac Allister was a red card and Liverpool’s winning goal had what ‘appeared’ to be a clear offside. So, what went wrong? Gregor Robertson – fresh from a referee’s course – tries to shed some light.Jose Mourinho is grabbing headlines again… but for all the wrong reasons.On the pitch, Forest are not faltering, far from it, they have their eye on Arsenal in second. Ipswich get a rare win, and is Marcus Rashford back to his best?