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The Game Football Podcast
Top 3.. Is Ronaldo Speaking Sense?
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Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Tom Clarke, Alyson Rudd and Jonathan Northcroft.
Spurs put out another ‘cup side’ in their second leg Carabao Cup loss to Chelsea last night. Is Antonio Conte trying to send a message to the club and how long will he stick around if they don’t back him with signings? (00:00)
Aston Villa have added Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho in the last few days - but what can we expect from Steven Gerrard’s side in the second half of the season? (15:23)
Cristiano Ronaldo has come out with some strong words about Manchester United and Ralf Rangnick. Has he hit the nail on the head or are his comments wide of the mark? (27:12)
The Africa Cup of Nations has faced criticism already over the quality of football being played. Is a lack of preparation to blame? (32:30)
Chris Maguire scored a hat trick for Lincoln against his former side Sunderland. His celebration involved going up to Lee Johnson and giving him some choice words. Which other players have come back to show up their former sides? (41:26)
Chelsea play Manchester City this weekend in the Premier League. Does a win for City mean the title race is over already? (48:06)
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"There is jeopardy everywhere you look!”
32:39|‘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 this a great season or an awful season?
58:11|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.Jose Mourinho – a great or a clown? And VAR … again
58:55|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?Best ever full backs and Premier League predictions
01:00:12|With Forest, Villa and Palace all through it’s a varied FA Cup semi final line up…but does the presence of Manchester City have an inevitable fell to it? Alyson Rudd thinks not. Had Bournemouth been more bold they may well have beaten City and Palace and Forest both have the swagger to do so.Can you name a cool right back that has played in the Premier League? Apart from Trent Alexander Arnold the team are struggling. But there are plenty cool left backs.And finally, it’s prediction time, who will finish from 2nd to 7th in the Premier League?EFL prediction time: Who's going up and who's going down?
37:03|All the very latest from an enthralling EFL with Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson.With eight games to go the EFL is far from over. In the Championship the top twelve teams still have an eye on the play offs. At the very top which of the top three will falter? At the bottom will Derby’s renaissance last?In League One Wrexham are grindingly resilient, but Wycombe and Richard Kone are going nowhere. The play off’s look sewn up bar one spot, but with four or five teams fighting for it. League Two Walsall who have been strong all season have stalled badly. At the bottom…Carlisle are in dire straits…How do Liverpool replace Trent Alexander Arnold?
50:58|It looks like Trent Alexander Arnold is off to Real Madrid. Where does that leave Liverpool? Does it mean Salah and Van Dijk might now stay? Alexander Arnold’s numbers from right back are unique, can he be replaced and what is his best position? England will have two players playing at the Bernabeu, surely that is a good thing?Speaking of England…Martin Samuel thinks Thomas Tuchel may not have a competitive game until July 9th 2026! What can he learn in the meantime?And it’s FA cup weekend, who do the panel want to win it and who do they think will win it?"Is international football crap?”
59:00|Thomas Tuchel’s first game is out of the way…it wasn’t memorable. Did anyone learn anything from it? Did they lack leadership, is Lewis Skelly a left back for years to come? The team pose the important question; is a lot of international football crap? If it is, how does a manager prepare a team for bigger fixtures once you reach the knockout stages of a tournament? Hamzah watched the under 21’s and saw much promise for the future; Gregor watched Scotland and saw none.Gregor has also been following former players on a referee training course. It was eye opening, the rules are not always as they may appear…Does Thomas Tuchel need to win the World Cup?
57:23|Is Thomas Tuchel’s England squad a step forward or a step back? The selection of Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker with the omission of younger talent has raised a few eyebrows. He doesn’t have much time to assess his squad either, with only twenty-four training sessions ahead of next years world cup. Who will play this Friday and what can the new manager learn.What of England’s last manager Gareth Southgate, following his high profile Dimbleby lecture, what is next…a job in football or outside of football?Newcastle United win! A one off or the first of many?
01:00:00|Newcastle United won their first domestic trophy in 70 years. what does it mean to the club, the city and its fans? A well-deserved win on the pitch what happens now, is it a one of off or the first of many? And the awkward question, does the Saudi backing in any way tarnish the achievement?For Liverpool it was their worst week of the season, knocked out of the Champions League and losing a cup final. Could it derail their season? Surely not…? Elsewhere Fulham are still chasing Europe; Arsenal vs Chelsea failed to inspire…what on earth is wrong at Chelsea? And what a week for Dan Burn, scores for his home town team in a winning cup final and gets an England call up.