The Game Football Podcast

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Tom Roddy and Molly Hudson to discuss the week's biggest football stories.Jose Mourinho misses the chance to win the Europa League after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla in Budapest, but will he stay in Serie A next season, or will he make the perfect International manager? (00:00)The Times' Manchester Correspondent Paul Hirst joins the show to preview the weekend's FA Cup final as Man United face Man City at Wembley, how motivated will United be to stop City winning the treble? How important a day is it for Manchester United? (09:25)Gregor, Tom and Molly continue building up to the FA Cup final. What type of game will we expect to see? Will City's complacency cost them with their eyes on the Champions League final? What do United need to do in the summer to strengthen? (24:30)Manchester United have reportedly agreed terms with Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount - how disappointed should Chelsea be to lose another homegrown player? What can Mount add to the Manchester United midfield? Will Declan Rice be a good signing for Bayern Munich? (34:45)Molly looks ahead to the start of the Women's World Cup, as Sarina Weigman names England's squad for the tournament this summer. Will their injuries catch up with them? When will the off-the-field problems such as broadcasting rights etc be solved? (46:55)Get more of The Times and The Sunday Times for less than £1 a day. Start your free trial: thetimes.co.uk/thegame

Gregor Robertson is joined by Tony Cascarino, Tom Allnutt and Alyson RuddThe curtain comes down on another Premier League season and the final day saw Leeds & Leicester drop down to the Championship.Despite survival is Sean Dyche the right man to keep Everton out of trouble and push them up the table?Where did it all go wrong for Leicester? Premier League and FA Cup winners drop down to the Championship after 9 years in the top flight.After going from Bielsa to Allardyce where do Leeds go from here? Spurs won't be playing any form of European football for the first time in 14 years despite victory on the final day. We discuss whether Ryan Mason should get the job permanently and of course what happens with Harry Kane.Aston Villa will be playing European football next season after Unai Emery's transformed them post Steven Gerrard. Why couldn't Gerrard get out the best from this squad?And we review the season as a whole which has seen the Premier League season break mid way through for the World Cup and and a record number of managers losing their jobs.

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Tom Clarke, Jonathan Northcroft & Gregor RobertsonAfter Leicester parked the bus against Newcastle to pick up an all important point we ask the question is it too little too late for The Foxes?How important will the fans be at Elland Road, King Power & Goodison Park as all three have must win home games on the final day.The panel predict who they think will drop out of the Premier League.Newcastle United will be playing Champions League football next season. What does that mean for their summer transfer plans?What is going on at Spurs as yet another manager turns down the club. Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has revealed that he plans to stay in the Netherlands.And we look ahead to the Championship play-off final between Luton Town & Coventry City.

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd and Tom Roddy to look back at the weekend's Premier League action and discuss the biggest stories of the week.Nottingham Forest have secured their Premier League status for another season after beating Arsenal 1-0 at the City Ground. They discuss just how well Steve Cooper has done this season, and ask if the owner Evangelos Marinakis deserves credit for showing faith in him. (00:00)Manchester City win the Premier League for a third consecutive season, how has Pep Guardiola been able to maintain the consistency at the club whilst also managing a number of world-class players? Will their dominance continue in the years to come? (14:55)Pep Guardiola's side have now won 5 Premier League titles in the last 6 seasons, but why do fans still not consider them to be one of the greatest teams in history? We'll ask if the 115 alleged breaches of financial rules from the Premier League has tarnished their legacy in how they are viewed. (26:05)Leeds United's Premier League status is hanging by a thread after losing 3-1 at home to West Ham. They have now lost 25 points from winning positions this season, so was it too late to make a change in the dugout? We'll also reflect on Everton's late equaliser at Wolves and why that makes them favourites to stay up heading into the final day. (45:35)Brighton have qualified for Europe for the first time in their history, with it looking likely they'll play in next season's Europa League - but how do they cope with the step up? What's their plan to be able to deal with the Thursday-Sunday schedule next season? (54:30)Roberto Firmino received an emotional send-off after his last home game as a Liverpool player - we discuss the legacy he has left behind and where he ranks amongst the greatest No.9s in Liverpool's history. (1:02:20)Get more of The Times and The Sunday Times for less than £1 a day. Start your free trial: thetimes.co.uk/thegame

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Gregor Robertson, Ian Harkey & Tom Allnutt.Man City produce a masterclass against Real Madrid to book their place in the Champions League final with some billing it as the best performance by any English side in European historyWe compare Pep Guardiola's Barcelona with his Man City side and ask why his current team lacks the romanticism of his previous success.England and Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been hit with an eight month ban after he was found guilty of betting charges.Is the ban harsh and does football and gambling have an unhealthy relationship?And we discuss the latest in the Championship as Luton and Coventry prepare to face each other in the play-off final.

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Alyson Rudd, Tom Roddy & Gregor Robertson.Arsenal's title bid finally comes to an end as they lose at home to Brighton by three goals.Are Brighton the best team to watch in the Premier League and are they the story of the season?How long can Brighton hold on to their star players and their manager Roberto De Zerbi with sharks already circling.We discuss Leeds and the impact that Sam Allardyce has made since joining on a short term deal until the end of the season.With Champions League qualification now mathematically impossible do Spurs even want to play in the Europa Conference league?Frank Lampard tells the Chelsea players they need to take a look at themselves after they dropped more points, this time at home to Nottingham Forest.And with Southampton's relegation finally confirmed we pick a part where it's gone so wrong this season for The Saints.

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Jonathan Northcroft, Gregor Robertson & Ian Hawkey.Following the 1-1 draw at The Bernabeu are Man City now heavy favourites or just favourites to reach the Champions League final.Kevin de Bruyne scored the goal for Man City as he continued his fine form but does he need to win the Champions League to go down as one of the all-time greats?In the other semi-final Inter Milan took the bragging rights and one foot in the final after a 2 nil win over AC Milan.Is Edin Dzeko the most underrated striker in Europe following his exploits at the San Siro?Inter Milan had the opportunity to make it 3 nil after they awarded a penalty in the first-half however the referee decided to overturn his own decision after consulting VAR. Was that the correct decision?As we head into the Championship play-offs who are favourites to make it to the promised land of the Premier League?In-form Sunderland's injury issues continue and take on Luton, who aim to become the first team to go from the National League to the Premier League.After all the issues Coventry have had in recent years would Mark Robins guiding the Sky Blues to promotion be the story of the season?

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Tom Clarke, Alyson Rudd, Gregor Robertson & Charlotte DunckerWas Everton's win the most bizarre result this season? A team that played more like champions elect as opposed to relegation threatened.Is Brighton's season tailing off and now in danger of missing out on European football next season? Following Nottingham Forest's thrilling win over Southampton does that put them in pole position to stay up this season? Are Leicester "too good to go down"? A 5-3 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage leaves the foxes in the bottom 3 and in real danger of losing their Premier League status.Arsenal playing Newcastle at their own game. A frustrated Eddie Howe complained about the time wasting from Arsenal although the stats show that it is Newcastle who have been the worst culprits of the dark arts this season.And finally what is going wrong at Manchester United with just 4 wins from the previous 10 games.

Tom Clarke is joined by Gregor Robertson and Tom Allnutt to look back at the week's Premier League action and discuss the biggest stories of the week.The Times' Chief Sports Correspondent Matt Lawton joins us to reflect on the news that Sam Allardyce has been appointed the new Leeds manager until the end of the season. He discusses what he can bring to the side, and explains why his long-standing assistant Sammy Lee won't be with him this time around. (00:00)The panel continue to discuss Sam Allardyce's appoint at Leeds and try make sense of it all. Gregor Robertson believes the appointment has no logic to it, whilst Tom Allnutt says Leeds no have identity, so he could understand why they have made the decision to bring him in. (08:10)Leicester drew 2-2 with Everton in a huge game at the bottom of the table on Monday night, they reflect on this result, and explain why a point may not be the worst result in the world for both teams as they look to stay in the Premier League. (18:00)Arsenal keep their slim hopes of winning the Premier League title alive with a 3-1 win at home to Chelsea in midweek, but just how bad have things got at Chelsea, and how much of a job does Mauricio Pochettino have on his hands if he were to be appointed the club's new manager? (24:00)Erling Haaland breaks the record for the most Premier League goals in a single season as his 35th helped Man City brush aside West Ham - they discuss that result and also reflect on Liverpool's 1-0 win at home to Fulham on Wednesday night. (34:20)Molly Hudson joins the show to reflect on Arsenal's defeat to Wolfsburg in their Champions League semi-final second leg at a sold-out Emirates Stadium, and also reflect on the news of a 4th Arsenal player picking up an ACL injury in just 6 months (47:15)We end the show by discussing Lionel Messi's future after he took some unauthorised leave from PSG, and we preview the final day of the Championship season, with so many teams still in contention for a possible play-off place. (55:45)Get more of The Times and The Sunday Times for less than £1 a day. Start your free trial: thetimes.co.uk/thegame