Share
The Game Football Podcast
Gunners misfire, replay rows and free pints
Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Martin Hardy join Tom Clarke to discuss why Arsenal are stumbling, who paid for the Newcastle beers and if we should re-record the whole podcast.
First up Arsenal’s blunt strike force, do they have the answer or do they need to buy. A character building win for Liverpool, but do either team have enough to trouble Man City in the league.
Martin Hardy reflects on an important result for Newcastle and Eddie Howe, and the difference a weeks rest made. For Sunderland it was a week to forget.
Finally, to replay or not to replay? It depends on who you ask, Gregor has little sympathy for elite teams setting the agenda for all of the football pyramid.
Timeline:
Arsenal v Liverpool
2’ Are wheels coming off Arsenal. Arteta has referenced a mental block around scoring.
4’ Arsenal should have bought a top class forward. Their current strikers are not top class.
5’ Are there as many top class forwards in the premier league now?
6’ Havertz a box crasher.
8’ Should Arteta be speaking out? Where will goals come from?
9’ Liverpool looked good. Still lacked a clinical edge though, but more resilience.
11’ Liverpool are a different side second half in most games. So many goals after 75mins.
13’ Both teams good, but are either good enough to finish above Man City?
14’ Nunez a handful but will he win you a title?
Wear Tyne derby
16’ crazy derby stories, ghosts, Di Canio, horses and graffiti.
19’ Sunderland were not ready for the occasion.
21’ Odd tactical choice by Michael Beale.
22’ Newcastle looked like they had had a weeks rest
24’ Why play out from the back against a team who love to press.
25’ Tripper looked back. Springboard for the rest of the season, injuries returning.
27’ Very important win for Eddie howe and Newcastle.
Weekend highlights
31’ Maidstone, penalty saves, away followings and Patrick Bamford’s worldie.
Replays
35’ Good idea of not?
36’ Removal of a replay might create teams who play for penalties. It used to be three replay’s
37’ Replay’s look likely to be dropped.
40’ We shouldn’t be changing the calendar for 16 elite teams.
42’ Replays are great for teams seeking revenue and hope. They’re not for big teams seeking a break.
43’ The problem highlights the vast financial differences between all the levels of football.
48’ Given the money on offer for one extra point in the premier league, do cups matter anymore?
50’ “Domestic football should not be shaped in the image of 6 to 8 rich elite owners.”
Transfers
53’ Where should Henderson or Mbappe go?
More episodes
View all episodes
Will Newcastle or Spurs win the cup? And is Potter the answer for West Ham?
01:03:07|How many Newcastle players would get in a Premier League team of the season - two, three…five?!Would any manager other than Ange Postecoglou buy a twenty-one-year-old goalkeeper on Monday and play him in a cup semi-final on Wednesday?After big results for both teams what’s next.For Arsenal, have they progressed this season or was their best chance last year?After the break how will a rejuvenated Graham Potter fare at West Ham and Martin Samuel thinks Forest could win the title…why not!?EFL Extra – Managers on the move, promotion places and the FA Cup
46:33|A must listen for fans of teams in the football league. With Stoke, Millwall, West Brom, Oxford, Hull just some of the clubs who’ve changed manager. But, will it change the table?It’s a two from five for automatic promotion in the Championship. Sheffield United are in it but they’ve had a bumpy Christmas. Across the City Could Sheffield Wednesday make a push for the play offs The Times’ Paul Hirst thinks they might… In League One is it already a three horse race at the top. Who are the lower league strikers in demand and will their be an FA Cup shock?Have Amorim's Manchester United turned a corner?
01:00:09|Manchester United were more than worthy of their draw at Anfield. Should they have won? Was this an exception or a sign of things to come? Plus, Arsenal concede a penalty for a header, Bournemouth fans are getting excited and Ange Postecoglou is still Ange Postecoglou. Join Tom Clarke, Paul Hirst, Gregor Robertson and Peter Rutzler for a dissection of the weekend's action.Title race, Chelsea’s belief, Liverpool’s contracts and Amorim’s system
01:03:31|Arsenal go within six points of Liverpool, could they make it a proper title race? Chelsea have slipped up Martin Samuel thinks it is self-inflicted and questions Enzo Maresca’s approach. But he is very impressed with the work done by Nottingham Forest, does it set a template for PSR?Why did it go wrong for Wayne Rooney? Tony Cascarino and Gregor Robertson think it could be tactics…Martin thinks the same could apply to Ruben Amorim ahead of his trip to Anfield on Sunday. Can anyone make a case for a Man Utd win…?Predictions for 2025 and are Manchester United in a relegation fight?
01:01:00|It goes from bad to worse at Old Trafford, are they really in a relegation fight? Will Amorim change his system, can he change his system? Ipswich have their first win in the Premier League this season at Portman Road; it came at the expense of a stuttering Chelsea side. Are Maresca’s problems self-inflicted ?It’s time to give Nottingham Forest enormous credit, and Nuno Espirito Santo in particular. Forest are second, will they hold on to Champions league football?Finally, Alyson Rudd, Charlotte Duncker and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke to offer their bold predictions for 2025.What on earth is wrong at Man City and Man Utd? Plus, Newcastle, Fulham and Forest are flying.
01:03:43|Could Manchester United be in a relegation fight? Could Manchester City finish mid table and could Fulham or Forest make the top four? It might have sounded fanciful at the start of the season, but not now.Paul Hirst, Martin Hardy and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke to look at a resurgent Newcastle, the two floundering Manchester clubs and predict the top four come May.A Happy Christmas for Liverpool; Bah Humbug for Spurs, United and City
01:02:51|Another pulsating game at the Tottenham stadium, another win for Liverpool another six conceded for Spurs. Is the title Liverpool’s to lose? For Ange Postecoglou is it injuries or game management?Rubin Amorim was left scratching his head as Manchester United were beaten at home - again - by Bournemouth.Across Manchester, City continue to struggle…could Pep even walk?Plus, when did Burnley beat Manchester united 6-1?Tom Clarke, Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Hamzah Khalique Loonat look back at all the weekends action.What next for Marcus Rashford? And a great League Cup line up
01:00:01|Marcus Rashford looks to be on his way out of Manchester United.A tail of a talent lost or stalled? Martin Samuel, Jonathan Northcroft and Tony Cascarino join Tom Clarke to discuss how he ended up here and what happens next for him and the club.Everton have finally secured a take over deal. Where is their true place in the pecking order - big club or a midtable club?After the break a thorough look at the League Cup and is the Community Shield a trophy – Mikel Arteta thinks so…City keep losing; Chelsea keep winning. Plus sackings and the greatest saves
56:42|If Pep Guardiola is the greatest manager of the modern era, its time for him to prove his worth.Manchester City are a “crumbling dynasty” losing again in a derby where they looked nervous throughout. While a Chelsea team with four ex City players in it and a manager honed under Guardiola are now two off the top and “having a lot of fun, playing with palpable joy.”Rubin Amorim has again showed who is in charge by dropping Marcus Rashford from the squad and has his tram playing in his patterns.Elsewhere, time to give Nottingham Forest due credit; managerial sackings and great saves.Paul hirst, Tom Allnutt, Alyson Rudd and James Gheerbrant join Tom Clarke to analyse a very busy weekend.