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Lauren's Journey and Matt Hughes on the Premier League Run-In

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The Premier League season is over and, in my humble opinion, United are deserving champions. Matt Hughes drops by to share his views on a dramatic final day and Steve Bennett gets little love from Guillem and Bill.
Guillem and I also grabbed some lunch with Lauren, the Portsmouth fullback (and accidental Cameroonian), who talks about what will be his fifth FA Cup Final, more than any other overseas player. One day they should make a film out of Lauren's early life, which featured military coups, desperate boat trips, polygamy, 22 brothers and sisters and a fair amount of juvenile delinquency.
We also treat you to some Quick Hits and Bill offers another statistical riff. Join the debate below...

Jeff Stelling and Tony Cascarino

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Tony Cascarino is back to help us sort out the Premier League run-in and the dramatic battle to avoid relegation. And we're also joined by Jeff Stelling, the man who embodies Sky Soccer Saturday, the six-hour football show with, as Jeff puts it, zero actual football on it.
Bill serves up another delicious stat and we've got a tasty helping of Quick Hits for you as well. Please join the debate below. You know you want to...

The Two Marks: Bright and Pougatch

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No Guillem this week (he's on a mini-break plotting fiendish plots), so you get more of me. Lucky you. You also get not one, but two, Marks: Pougatch and Bright. They help us dissect the aftermath of Chelsea v Mancheter United and what looks like a bona fide title race. Plus, we talk to Hammers boss Alan Curbishley who dispels few rumors and outlines his plans for the future.
Bright stands in for Guillem and shows that ex-footballers can Quick Hit with the best of them. And, of course, Bill Edgar, in a feisty mood, serves up another stat. As I write every week, please join the debate below.

When Eamon Met Alyson (and Nacho)

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He started out as a journeyman footballer, wrote one of the greatest football books in history (the much imitated "Only a Game"), went on to become a serious writer and journalist and is now the most famous (and controversial) broadcaster in Ireland. Yes, Eamon Dunphy one of the more interesting figures in the game today is on board this week.
We're also joined by Alyson Rudd, whose mere presence raises the Red ratio in the studio to uncomfortable levels. But that's OK, I just have to bear it as we run the rule over the title run-in and the small matter of the Champions' League semifinals. Plus, Guillem continues to drop hints over the identity of Liverpool's new signing, we've got our quick hits (featuring a surpise appearance by Rangers icon Nacho Novo) and Bill Edgar does his thing...

The Iceman Cometh and the Man Named after a Northern Town

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Eidur Gudjohnsen, a man who has played for two of the Champions' League semifinalists (and against the other two) chats to Guillem about Barcelona v Manchester United, Thierry Henry settling in Spain and all things Barca.
Mark Bolton, Guillem's co-hort from Sky's La Liga coverage is on board to help talk Spanish football and reflect on Arsene Wenger saying "Adieu" to the Premier League. We also look at the relegation scrap... looks like the fat lady won't be singing for a while.
Bill Edgar reveals who the worst moaners in the Premiership managerial fraternity are. And Guillem and I engage in some quick hitting (or, if you prefer, rapid strikes).

Boing Boing: Tony Mowbray's Here!

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Who better to discuss the FA Cup semi-finals than a man who was involved in one just 48 hours earlier? Yes, Tony Mowbray, the West Bromwich Albion boss, whose side are wowing the critics in the Championship, is on board this week.
Mark Chapman also joins us to go over events in the Premier League, with Arsenal and United both dropping points. And, with Mark around, we take an overdue look at Serie A (Liga fans be patient ... we'll be reviewing events in Spain next week).
Plus, Bill's stat answers a question I had posed him some time ago and, of course, we do some Quick Hitting...

The Rafa Report

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Guillem hangs out with the Liverpool boss and, this time, he takes his tape recorder along, allowing us to bring you his interview with Rafa Benitez (and it's worth a listen, covering issues he did not touch upon in the paper). Matt Hughes, who, like me, got sick in Paris, is in for the Premier League review and a look back England's unimpressive defeat against the World Cup runners-up. Curiously, I find myself being the most pro-O'Neill guy in the room, despite me revealing a stat his acolytes probably don't want you to know.
Bill journeys abroad for his stat of the week and, as ever Guilem and I do some quick hitting...

Slamming Sunday and Niko Kranjcar

Never fear, following the enthusiastic response last week when Guillem wrote the podcast blog, I'm back, banging on the keyboard. Matt Dickinson, the Times' Chief Football Correspondent is on board, to help us review what one broadcaster called Grand Slam Sunday.
And Niko Kranjcar, the man who helped deny England a spot at Euro 2008 (and was indirectly responsible for Fabio Capello moving into Soho Square), drops by to tell us about his time at Portsmouth and why a teeny, tiny country like Croatia continues to punch way above its weight when it comes to sport.
Bill, of course, is here to placate his legions of adoring fans, and Guillem and I do some Quick Hitting...

TheGame Podcast: Nigel Winterburn on how to tame Fernando Torres

This blog should have been kicked off by me on Monday but ... well, it wasn’t. So as you can see we have been missing the great Marcotti in more ways than one. While Gab is on a very well deserved break, we invited Nigel Winterburn to explain to us what Arsenal have to do to get to the semifinals of the Champions League, but neither Alison or myself are very convinced they have the freshness necessary to put in practice their wonderful brand of football. I suggested weeks ago that Manchester United looked prepared to give the push needed to win the Premiership but I can see Chelsea happy with their calendar and the recuperation of key players at the right moment. They could be top of the table by Monday! Bill gives us the fascinating confirmation that English managers don’t learn the trade in enough clubs which could partly explain why chairman prefer to give the top jobs to foreigners. Anyway, tell us what you thought and apologies again for not having posted this earlier. - Guillem Balague

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Steve McClaren: Actor Turned Critic

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Yes, the former England manager joins us for an entire show. It's a McClarextravanza! He sits in with us to talk tactics and what makes a good manager and he also stars in our Review section, helping us make sense of what happened in the most amazing FA Cup weekend in recent memory... After 18 months of being the most scrutinized man in England, the poacher turns gamekeeper and it's his turn to play the pundit.
Bill's stat doesn't bode well for whoever gets promoted from the Championship. And Guillem and I do our Quick Hits thing...

Derby Head Honcho Adam Pearson, Tony Cascarino and Alyson Rudd

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No Guillem this week - he's off to Asia on a fact-finding mission - so we draft in Tony Cascarino and Alyson Rudd to provide some sparky discussion (Guillem, of course, is such a massive Liverpool fan that it takes two of them to replace him).
We're joined by a man with an awesome rebuilding job ahead of him: Adam Pearson, the Derby County chairman. With the Rams likely to be in the Championship next season, he outlines his plan to get them back on course (with a little help from the now familiar American investors).
And, at long last, we evaluate Guillem's pre-season predictions of his ten Premier League newcomers to watch. Some hits, some misses. (It's pre-recorded, do not be alarmed when you hear Guillem and Matt Dickinson getting it on).
We've also got our Premier League Review, Quick Hits (where Alyson does a fine Balague impression) and, of course, Mr. Bill Edgar.

Bride of Frankenvialli, Part II: The Sequel

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As the title implies, we offer up the final installment of our lunch with Gianluca Vialli and Frank Lampard.

Matt Dickinson drops in to celebrate Juande Ramos' first English trophy (OK, he gives kudos to Spurs as a whole: after all, it's not as if Ramos won the pitch) and we address the issue of whether we have a title race on our hands.

Bill Edgar's stat underlies just why the producer of Match of the Day is one of the most powerful men in English football. And Guillem and I do our Quick Hits thing...

Lunchin' with Luca and Lamps...

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Guillem and I go on the road again - well, Beauchamp Street anyway - and grab some lunch with Chelsea past and present in the form of Gianluca Vialli and Frank Lampard. Believe it or not, they'd never sat down to chew the fat together, which means that if you listen in, you'll witness history in the making.
Following a big FA Cup weekend, we call upon our old buddy Mark Pougatch and he immediately crosses swords with Guillem who asks "if clubs don't respect the FA Cup, why should we"?
We rumble through our Quick Hits and Bill Edgar tells us how League 2 could achieve something unprecedented in 350 attempts...

All Aboard the Martin Samuel Express

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In the week of the Manchester derby, Chelsea v Liverpool and England's debut under Fabio Capello it's only fitting that we call upon The Times' own Martin Samuel to sift through a big week in English football. We also look at the issue of the Premier League moving abroad (at least part-time) and - surprise! - we don't all universally condemn it.

Gilberto Silva Drops By as Capello's England Makes Its Debut

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Fabio Capello is expected to help England deliver a World Cup, so its rather fitting that on the eve of his debut, we talk to a World Cup winner, Arsenal's own Gilberto Silva. Matt Hughes helps us sift through the squad and we take turns guessing (educated guesses, of course) as to what Fabio's XI will look line. We also review events in the Premier League (gotta give credit to Spurs and stare in open-mouthed wonder at Newcastle) and offer up the usual faves, Bill's stat (which, for once is Old Firm-related) and Quick Hits.

David Moyes Dishes

David Moyes drops in to tell us just how crappy his weekend was, having to sit out and watch others play in the FA Cup. We reflect on the FA Cup weekend (despite Guillem's cynicism as to the magic of the Cup) and, like everyone else, we celebrate Havant and Waterlooville, giggle at Michael Ball and wonder why in God's green Earth did referee Alan Wiley not get rid of those stupid balloons. We also take a look at some of the controversy surrounding the commemoration of the Munich tragedy and remind everyone just how inappropriate a "minute's applause" is.

Roy Hodgson's Reality Check, Matt Dickinson and Serie A

We range far and wide this week. Roy Hodgson joins us to dissect the task facing him at Craven Cottage: keeping Fulham up, a tall order by any measure.
Matt Dickinson is on board to deal with the two biggies of the week in our Premier League Review: the Messiah's return to St. James' Park and the brewing storm clouds over Liverpool's owners.
We take a look at events in Serie A this season with Mark Chapman host of Five's Football Italiano. And, to the delight of his legions of adoring fans, Bill Edgar returns triumphantly to the show.

Rapping with Big Eck and Reflecting on life after Big Sam

Alex McLeish is on board this week and the Birmingham boss takes us through his plan for City (which he describes as a "very English" club).

Newcastle though is the big story and to figure things out what will happen in the A.B.S. (After Big Sam) Era, who better than Toon native son George Caulkin, the Times' man in the Northeast, to walk us through the different scenarios?

Alyson Rudd is on board as well, but - alas - Bill Edgar fans will have to wait another week to get their fix (he's still stuck in the Matrix with Neo, after ill-advisedly swallowing the Red Pill). And, with the help of Colin Udoh, Nigeria's finest, we take a look at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Didi Hamann on City's rise, Mark Chapman on the FA Cup

Guillem's back and, to celebrate, we've got a dandy of a show. Didi Hamann, the man who (indirectly) got Sven Goran Eriksson the England job by scoring the winning goal in the last-ever match at the old Wembley joins us to talk about Manchester City breaking into the top four (under, of course, the very same Eriksson).

Gary Jacob, The Times' transfer guru is also with us, as is Mark Chapman, who helps us reflect on my favorite day in the English footballing calendar, FA Cup third round day.

Alyson Rudd and the Wimbledon Boys...

I've been abandoned by the usual crew. Bill Edgar continues to look for those pesky Iraqi WMDs with Lord Lucan, Shergar and the Colombian drug dealers who killed Nicole Brown Simpson (which means his stat of the week has been pre-recorded) and Guillem Balague is off doing Catalan stuff which is why, a few hours from 2008, I was sitting there like a loser all by myself.

Fortunately, Alyson Rudd, Robbie Earle and Efan Ekoku were willing and able to drop in for a football chat. And scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen, the man who helped bring Lucio and Dimitar Berbatov to the big time, is kind enough to join us on the phone.

Santa Bright and Tony Christmas

Guillem Balague is struck down by the ol' Holiday Blues so he can only join us on the phone. And with Bill Edgar sequestered to some exotic location, he too can only chip in down the line.
But never fear, to make up for the shortfall, we bring you Mark Bright and Tony Cascarino...

Grand Slam Sunday and Simon Barnes

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For Gabriele Marcotti on why the Capello Mafia jokes just aren't funny, scroll down to the comment section - and don't forget to have your say.

We call in the heavy hitters this week as Simon Barnes, The Times' Chief Sportswriter join us to discuss England. Simon's writing has been described as poetry and his rather more studied reflections will no doubt be a welcome respite for those who can barely put up with my and Guillem's chatterings. He tells us just why - when a new manager is appointed - the press have their knives out from day one, why football seeps into the lives of non football fans as well and why it's somewhat incongruous to demand a domestic England boss. In the club v country debate, I suggest that your relationship with your club is like the one you have with your spouse or significant other, whereas the one with your country is like the one you share with your mother. Prompting Simon to suggest that this would make the England manager some kind of Oedipal figure you wish to kill. Which makes a lot of sense to me. Matt Hughes also joins us to sift through Grand Slam Sunday...

The Kid, The King and Cas...

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We had an ulterior motive for going to Liverpool last week. And now you know what it was. Hanging out with Liverpool's past and Liverpool's present (we're still working on the future). Kenny Dalglish and Fernando Torres. They're our machine-gun style interview of the week, but it doesn't end there. Oh no! Tony Cascarino joins us in the studio to reflect upon Arsenal losing their unbeaten status, Chelsea doing better without Mourinho than with him and, of course, the England manager situation...

On the Road... and Harry, Part 2

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We may not be Question Time, but, occasionally, Guillem and I like to take the show on the road. This week sees us in Liverpool on assignment (more of this later ... let's just say it involves a Kid and a King). So we hook up with Tony Barrett who covers Liverpool for the Echo. Tony is that rarest of animals: a football writer who is also a season ticketholder (in The Kop no less). We also serve up Part 2 of our Harry Redknapp Opus, in which Harry reveals a thing or two you might not have known. And we take a look at the recent stories of match-fixing in Eastern Europe and, of course, Redknapp's legal troubles (which took place AFTER our interview)...

Hangin' in Harry's Kitchen...

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Who wants to go on a field trip? Guillem and I did, so we drove down to see Harry Redknapp at his home on the South Coast. Sitting in Harry's kitchen for a couple hours led to a wide-ranging conversation on a variety of issues, ranging from the England job to what's wrong with youth coaching to yoga and the importance of telling Nwankwo Kanu just how good he is. We think it's pretty fascinating stuff (especially Harry's verdict on where he ranks compared to the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger) and we hope you do. In fact, we cover so much ground that we split the chat into two parts, with part two to follow next week. England, of course, is the other big topic following last week's disappointment. Matt Dickinson joins us to run the rule over the candidates and offer up our final verdict on the McClaren era.

Times Trifecta: Carra, Pougatch and Dicko

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This week Guillem and I are up for a fight so we welcome in a talented top-notch trio of sparring partners in Liverpool Native Son Jamie Carragher, Five Live Football Deity Mark Pougatch and the irrepressible Matt Dickinson, The Times' own Chief Sports Correspondent: three guys who can hold their own in a verbal bar fight. We run the rule over England's on-again, off-again, on-again qualification for Euro 2008 as well as Scotland's against-all-odds (sorry, no Bravehart references here) campaign which saw them more than hold their own against both the world champions and runners-up. (On that subject, Matt goes all counterintuitive on us, suggesting he would NOT swap Steve McClaren for Alex McLeish) With England coming within a post of watching the Euros on television we also take on the thorny issue of foreigners in the English game and whether its time to impose some limits. Jamie Carragher weighs on that one and his thoughts might surpise a few...

Gerard Pique and La Liga Fun...

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Guillem Balague is earning his keep: this week he interviews Manchester United's Gerard Pique. It's a good time to speak to the up-and-coming defender as he has just scored his first Champions' League goal for United. Guillem's in Spain, so Bill and I are joined in the studio by Kevin Day and Tony Cascarino. Nevertheless, Guillem is on the line to give us the lowdown on La Liga this year, with Real Madrid breaking records and the "little people" coming to the fore: Leo Messi, Kun Aguero, Wesley Sneijder, Giuseppe Rossi... Smurfs Rule OK in Spain. In our Premiership review, Cas stirs the pot by effectively calling today's Premiership footballers pansies for the reaction to Joey Barton's "challenge" on Dickson Etuhu in the Northeast derby. Naturally, the rest of us beg to differ: attempting to stomp on Etuhu's scrotum is bad form in our opinion. We also reveal some details regarding Wayne Rooney's injury...

Superagent Kia Joorabchian, Supertranslator Gus Poyet and Superstud Mark Chapman

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It's a pioneering week on The Game Podcast. Guillem and I are joined by Kia Joorabchian, the man who introduced third-party ownership to these shores, Gustavo Poyet, the man helping to spread the word of Tottenham's messiah, Juande Ramos, to the Premiership and Mark Chapman, the new face of Italian football on terrestrial television.

With such an all-star cast, we dive straight into the weekend's big clash between Arsenal and Manchester United. Guillem sheds light on the Lehmann-Almunia quandary, revealing, among other things, that Lehmann made Almunia cry, which perhaps ought to worry Arsenal fans. Kia - a not-so-closeted Gooner (business aside) - believes that Almunia is the man for Arsenal. Mark, whose Old Trafford allegiances are well known, makes the point that Sir Alex's complaints about referee Howard Webb are just part of what we once called "mind games".

We look at Newcastle, where Sam Allardcye was booed off the pitch. Kia sticks up for Big Sam, I'm not fully sold. The conversation then turns to Kia himself and his line of work, which is really interesting...

Rijkaard, Parlour, Sherwood, Rudd - This Week's Starting Midfield...

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Guillem Balague's legion of admirers may be disappointed to hear that he's not in the studio this week, which means Alyson Rudd fills his Spanish zapatas. But never fear, he's out there working hard on our behalf. He caught up with Frank Rijkaard, the Barcelona boss, and shares his interview with us. Among other things, Rijkaard suggests that Leo Messi's monster year thus far has to do with the fact that: "Last year, he dribbled around eleven men before shooting at goal. This year, he's happy with beating two guys before having a crack."

Our new Game Podcast

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First off, an apology to those expecting to hear us chatting to Walter Smith, the Rangers manager. We were due to speak to him on Monday morning, but he was unable to squeeze us in, despite his best efforts. We don't hold grudges here at The Game Podcast and, after all, he does have a match to prepare for against some rinky-dink third rate Catalan side in the Champions League. Walter, we'll speak to you soon.

The Game Podcast: England Rolls On, Zaltzman and Lovejoy Weigh In

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No Guillem this week - he's in Spain for some high-level, top secret meetings - so we draft in two guys to fill his ample shoes: Tim Lovejoy, the man who (along with Helen Chamberlain) gave us a reason to wake up before noon on Saturdays, and funny man Andy Zaltzman, who includes Sports Editor of the Oxford Student newspaper in his impressive resume.

It's international week, England and Scotland come off impressive international victories, so we get stuck right in. Tim says he has never booed one of his own guys (not even Winston Bogarde - though he admits he did laugh at him) and therefore isn't happy with those England supporters who had a go at Frank Lampard at Wembley. I don't have a problem with booing your own players, but I'm not sure what Lampard has done to deserve it.

We weigh in on whether McClaren should change things around (as appears likely) by fielding a 4-3-3 formation against Russia. Nobody seems to love the idea, though I guess right now it's the only way to shoehorn Lampard and Gerrard in the same side. Andy provides some valuable insight from his experiences playing at the not-so-highest level on a plastic pitch at his local rec center (McClaren, if you're listening, remember: no "rotating goalkeepers").

Meet the Alonso brothers on The Game Podcast

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Yet another packed show as we turn our focus to the Premiership and the upcoming England qualifiers. However, we do deviate a bit from football after events in the rugby World Cup last weekend. France upset New Zealand and every non-Antipodean celebrates. Except there were two very obvious forward passes in the build-up to Les Bleus decisive try. And yet, curiously, nobody seems to care. Can you imagine if something like this happened in the football World Cup? What would happen if Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Sweden because of a blatant refereeing error? We'd never heard the end of it (we're still hearing about the Hand of God 21 years later).

Arsene Wenger, Nigel Winterburn, Heather Mills and Pete Doherty - TheGame Podcast has it all

No Guillem Balague this week - he's off to Spain "on assignment" - but Kevin Day fills in admirably (the fact that I refrain verbally from slapping him down like I did in Episode 4 no doubt helps). Tony Cascarino is in the studio alongside - as ever - Bill Edgar.

Our Premiership review kicks off with the 11 goal car-wreck/extravaganza (depending on your point of view) at Fratton Park. Tony and Kevin insist that such games are fine when they're one offs but would hate it if they became the norm. Fair enough. But I do wonder about something. They play football in just about every country around the world and the goals per game are remarkably similar on average - between two and three a match - ... why is that? Isn't that some kind of weird statistical quirk? Wouldn't you think the averages would be more spread out?

The Game Podcast: Thierry Henry interview and The Great Mourinho Debate

Extreme times call for extreme measures. And with the twin extremes of Jose Mourinho's departure from Chelsea and Thierry Henry stopping by for a chat with Guillem, we opted for a bi-thematic (as opposed to monothematic or multi-thematic) show. Guillem, Bill and I have not one, but two guests: Alyson Rudd and Israeli journalist, Shaul Adar, perhaps the journalist who knows Avram Grant best on these shores.

Coming on Monday: Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry’s switch from Arsenal to Barcelona was the shock move of the English close season.

Many predicted that shorn of the prolific France international, their all-time leading scorer, Arsene Wenger’s side would struggle to maintain their place as one of the top-flight’s Big Four.

Instead, they have raced to the top of the Barclays Premier League, playing arguably their most attractive football in years.

We all know that Arsenal are thriving, but how has Henry settled into life in La Liga, and what does the former Emirates golden boy think of the start made by his old team-mates?

These questions and many, many more besides are answered by the mercurial Frenchman in what, let's face it, is a bit of a coup for Guillem Balague on the TheGame Podcast this week.

You can download the Podcast from 5pm on Monday. Don’t miss it because you just know it will be the only topic of conversation down the pub later that night.

Craig Bellamy and Craig Brown on TheGame Podcast

This week Gabriele was on holiday, so we invited Robbie Earle and Kevin Day to give us their well balanced views on this idea about the real power and strength of the second tier of Premiership clubs as the table has started showing the difference there is suppose to be between the big four and the rest.

Kevin and I insist the Portsmouths, Newcastles, Man Citys and Evertons will take more points from the big four than in previous years despite what the table says, but Robbie Earle can see Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal taking over soon and staying there the rest of the year.

Graeme Le Saux and England on TheGame Podcast

It’s international week, but no holiday for the podcast.  We look, of course, at England’s resounding victory over Israel and what it means in the bigger context.  As I see it, it’s the usual England rollercoaster: they beat a poor side and, all of a sudden, everybody jumps back on the bandwagon. The minute England hits the next roadbump, everyone will jump off again.  Which is far from healthy.

Jamie Carragher on TheGame Podcast

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We had a packed show this week, but that was always going to be inevitable given the events of the last seventy-two hours ... Rafa Benitez loses his assistant, a Russian oligarch's buys a big chunk of Arsenal, Roman Abramovich gets upset and Chelsea lose, Manchester United play poorly and win (again), Uefa boss Michel Platini announces a radical overhaul of the Champions' League and, of course, there's the small matter of two crucial England internationals coming up.  Is that enough for you?

Inside the Game Podcast

This week, Mark Bright joins Guillem, Bill and me in the studio.  We take a look at Manchester United after their unimpressive - but crucial - win over Tottenham Hotspur.  Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, so self-assured last season looked shaky, the much vaunted frontline had plenty of possession but created few chances and, with Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick in midfield, there looked to be a distinct lack of creativity in the middle of the park.  Are all these issues simply going to disappear when Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo return to the fold? Or is there a deeper issue involved, one which stems from a lack of a natural centre forward?

Guillem leans towards the latter, Mark and I rather enjoy the strikerless United, Bill points out that, on the day of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's retirement, United have even fewer options up front.