The Game Football Podcast

Alyson Rudd, Gregor Robertson and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat join Tom Clarke for the second part of the big Premier League season preview. What is ‘mid table’ and who’ll be avoiding it, which owner does Gregor dislike and why can’t the richest club in football spend any money? More questions, more predictions and a reveal from Hamzah.And at the risk of ruining their professional credibility the team put together their final league table for the 24/25 season…it’s just a bit of fun, don’t hold them to it.

Alyson Rudd, Gregor Robertson and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat join Tom Clarke for the big Premier League season preview.Who’ll be fighting it out at the top, will the new managers succeed, can the promoted teams survive and who are the signings to watch out for? The panel call on all their insider knowledge to muster some bold predictions and offer some surprising insights.Hopes, fears, excitement, anticipation – it’s all here and its only part one, there is more to come!

The football season is back. As the EFL kicks off this weekend Gregor Robertson and Tom Clarke run the rule over the Championship, League One and League Two.  Gregor looks at the ‘distorting effects’ of parachute payments. Do the crumbs from the Premier League table unduly effect the championship? Who else can compete alongside the relegated teams? After the break Tom speaks to author and sports data analyst Ian Graham. Following his experience working as Liverpool’s head of research during their most successful period in the Premier League era; Ian has written a book: How to win the Premier League – The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution. The book is packed with stories and examples of the way data affects the modern game.  

Ahead of the EFL starting this week and the Premier League hot on its heels The Game is taking a look at VAR. This episode is a chance to listen again to a discussion the panel had during the season. Is VAR here to stay, and if it is, how on earth can it be improved…Tom Clarke speaks to Jonathan Northcroft, Gregor Robertson and James Gheerbrant about the dreaded VAR… 

A bonus edition of The Game as Tom Clarke catches up with Paul Hirst who is in America following all the pre season action. Paul is based in LA where he has been covering Manchester United’s tour, including the latest on new signing Leny Yoro. He is also keeping a close eye on Arsenal and as The Times Manchester reporter is across all the latest from neighbours Manchester City, including Pep Guardiola’s contract situation…

You thought we were done, didn't you? No chance. Martin Samuel has returned to the office just to say hello (but mostly to get his laptop fixed). Tom Clarke takes the opportunity to get his views on the final and who comes after Southgate, if Southgate leaves. And now we're fully over England's loss (we are, promise), Tom Clarke, Tom Allnutt and Gregor Robertson look back over the tournament in full to pick their favourite moments and pick The Game's Euros XI. We really are done now, for a couple of weeks at least. Stay tuned for the new season...

So near and yet so far…for the second Euros in a row England are runners up. A team and a nation left bereft.Tom Clarke, Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat try to make sense of where it went wrong for England. Was the captain fit, why couldn’t they retain the ball and were they always a safety-first team?  What on earth do England need to get over that final hurdle!? Spain are the first team to win every game at a Euros, so can England really complain, the best team won didn’t they? Where now for a team of world stars and a manager loved by his players but perhaps now doubted by many fans. Was getting to the final enough, or did performance and silverware matter? Many questions, but for now, few answers… just disappointment.

If it really is coming home, England will need to beat Spain. Tom Clarke is joined by Ian Hawkey, Tom Allnutt and Gregor Robertson for a Spanish deep dive in the first of two final preview shows. How much credit does Spain's manager, Luis de la Fuente, deserve for their success? Why has it seemingly clicked for Spain more than any other team in the tournament? And what are their weaknesses (good news for England fans, there are a few)?¡Está volviendo a casa!