TheGame - Times Online - WBLG

TheGame Podcast: Manchester United were found out against Barcelona

 

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Tony Evans, Alyson Rudd and Nick Szczepanik. They discuss:

The Champions League

- Tony Evans, who acknowledges he is a bitter Liverpool fan, says Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were found out by Barcelona. He has been saying all season that United's midfield is rubbish.

- Ferguson got his tactics wrong with United uncharacteristically tame in trying to press their opponents. In one sequence Barcelona strung 26 passes together.

- Evans says Liverpool and Chelsea must be kicking themselves that they couldn't beat this United side to the Premier League title.

The FA Cup Final

- Everton did not look like winning the match at any time, even after their early goal.

- John Terry's refusal to leave the pitch at the end disproves the argument that the competition means nothing to the big four.

- Guus Hiddink will be remembered fondly by Chelsea. He started John Obi Mikel in place of Michael Ballack to make sure the young midfielder got to play in the Final.

Review of the season

- What was supposed to be a best and worst of the season degenerated into a familiar argument over refereeing. Alyson Rudd says the Respect campaign has been a total waste of time and she reckons that the rate referees are leaving the game will result in a crisis.

- Gabriele Marcotti still blames Howard Webb for effectively dooming Newcastle United to relegation after disallowing a Mark Viduka goal against Fulham and says bad referees get everything they deserve.

TheGame Podcast: which was the best team, Manchester United 1999 or 2009?

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Nick Szczepanik and Matt Dickinson, to discuss:

- The Champions. As United equal the 18 titles that Liverpool achieved, the panel feel the Merseyside club still edge ahead in terms of prestige but that doesn't take anything away from Sir Alex Ferguson's achievement, he just seems to get better and better

- United's starting XI from the 1999 treble-winning team would be stronger than the current 2009 team,

- Arsenal's irate fans might rue the day they shouted at Arsene Wenger as he reminds them that Real Madrid are interested in him over the summer

- Referee Howard Webb may well have doomed Newcastle United due to his error in disallowing Mark Viduka's goal

- If Everton are still interested in Michael Owen he could team up with Louis Saha and they could have their forward line sponsored by BUPA

TheGame Podcast: Tom Henning Ovrebo deserves praise for brave performance

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Nick Szczepanik and Alyson Rudd. They discuss:

The Manchester derby. Despite United's comfortable 2-0 victory over City, Alyson Rudd thinks that Wigan Athletic and Arsenal will help Liverpool win the title. Nick Szczepanik says the title race is over as United's previous wobbles have long gone.

Ronaldo's tantrum. Gabriele Marcotti insists that too much has been made of the forward's sulk and that it is good that he is so passionate.

Guus Hiddink. The team note how strange it is that Avram Grant was reviled as Chelsea manager when they finished second in the league and got to the Champions League final last season while the Dutchman will lead them to a third-place finish with only a chance to win the FA Cup and is hailed as Chelsea's saviour.

Arsenal's manager and fans. Arsene Wenger's use of Alexandre Song, who is normally OK as a holding player, backfired against Chelsea, but special criticism is reserved for the demanding crowd at the Emirates, especially those supporters who left as early as the 58th-minute and those that booed Emmanuel Adebayor.

Chelsea's Champions League exit. As a qualified ref, Alyson thought Tom Henning Ovrebo's performance at Stamford Bridge was strong and points out that only after several TV replays are penalty claims easy to see. She also argues that video replays will destroy football's natural pace.

TheGame Podcast: Michael Owen is Newcastle's worst ever signing

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Patrick Barclay, Gabriele Marcotti and Oliver Kay. They discuss:

- Michael Owen and Newcastle's plight. Patrick Barclay believes he has been Newcastle United's worst ever signing and the striker is up against some pretty stiff competition, remember Marcelino?

- The title race. Barclay reckons that Manchester United may well drop points against Manchester City and Arsenal and Oliver Kay claims that Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, still believes his team can win the Premier League as long as Steve Bennett is not refereeing any of their remaining matches.

- Premier League quality. After Sunderland's awful performance against Everton, Barclay wonders if three relegations is enough considering the dire quality of some of the sides.

- Champions League semi-finals. The romantics on the panel would love to see Barcelona make it to the final, but the cynics say that Chelsea are too powerful and can exploit the weakness of Victor Valdes, Barca's goalkeeper, in the air.

- Arsenal just don't have the players or experience to turn their tie with United around. But Gabriele Marcotti thinks United's defence is vulnerable and Edwin van Der Sar is still likely to drop a few balls under pressure.

Hiddink's 8-1-1, Jenas and Gallagher and Overrating Klinsmann

Hiddink is a special manager

When Guus Hiddink's PSV Eindhoven faced AC Milan a few years ago, Carlo Ancelotti, the Milan boss, famously said: "I had never before faced an 8-1-1 formation."  Pep Guardiola might have said something similar after last night.  Chelsea defended in numbers with what can only be described as an "uber-catenaccio".  (Except, of course, that when English sides do it against foreign ones it's "good organization" whereas when the reverse happens it's "negative, sterile football".)  That said, you can only congratulate Hiddink on his result.  His job in this game wasn't to entertain or to provide cannon-fodder for Barcelona, it was to keep a clean sheet.  And his side did that exceptionally well.

There are probably few managers in the world who can so thoroughly change their sides tactical approach and philosophy based on the task at hand.  This is what makes Hiddink special.  Kudos also to Petr Cech.  He has had a rotten season, but last night he was outstanding.  This is what I mean when I say that a great goalkeeper can carry a team.

A final point on the referee, Wolfgang Stark.  What this guy is doing in a Champions' League semi-final is an absolute mystery to me.  He was terrible last night (arguably hurting both teams equally), just as he was awful in Arsenal v Villarreal.

TheGame Podcast: Manchester United would be foolish to let Carlos Tevez go

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Alyson Rudd and Nick Szczepanik. They discuss:

- Manchester United's comeback. Tottenham's performance in the second half at Old Trafford was the worst defensive display this season, according to Alyson Rudd. Referee Howard Webb gave a classic 'Old Trafford' penalty, but Spurs should have been disciplined enough to shut up shop and deny United the points. Gabriele Marcotti says Carlos Tevez was immense for the home side and United would be foolish to let him go at the end of the season.

- Liverpool's dogged title chase. Alyson still believes they can win every game and have a slim chance of catching United especially now they are out of the Champions League. The team agree that Dirk Kuyt's 'gesture' for his second goal was the funniest moment of the weekend and they note that Phil Brown is having a nightmare second half of the season and ask: would anyone have noticed him if he had just been mediocre throughout?

- Footballers in hoodies. Alyson doesn't approve of it as Cesc Fabregas is charged by the FA for the spit-gate incident. Gabriele points out that Barack Obama was wearing a hoodie recently.

- Wolverhampton's promotion. Mick McCarthy's side have a real chance of staying up if they plunder the three clubs that the team expect to drop from the Premier League and the manager learns from his mistakes the last time he was in the top flight.

Sir Alex Ferguson is feeling the threat from Liverpool

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Patrick Barclay and Matt Hughes. This week they discuss:

- Gesture-gate. The team reckon the fact that Sam Allardyce joined Sir Alex Ferguson in attempting to belittle Rafael Benitez suggests Fergie is genuinely worried by Liverpool's title threat.

- Manchester United's team selection. Everton, ITV and the fans cannot have been too pleased that Ferguson put out a B team for the FA Cup semi-final yesterday. However, Matt Hughes points out that the gamble nearly worked and it doesn't speak greatly of fifth-placed Everton that they struggled to beat United's youngsters.

- Goalkeepers. It was a bad week for Petr Cech and Lukasz Fabianski, who were both awful for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League. However, Tim Howard, the Manchester United reject, was outstanding at Wembley for Everton.

- Strength of English football. Premier League teams are conquering all before them in the Champions League but the margins of error were pretty tight in the quarter-finals with Porto and Villarreal running Manchester United and Arsenal very close. Patrick Barclay warns that this so-called golden age is based on huge amounts of debt which are unsustainable.

TheGame Podcast: Manchester United need to restore discipline

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Patrick Barclay and Tony Evans, this week they discuss:

- Manchester United's collapse of discipline at Fulham. While Ronaldo was petulant at least he tried to play, Berbatov's attitude was shameful, Scholes and Giggs both made silly errors and Wayne Rooney lost his temper. Sir Alex Ferguson has the international break to sort out the discipline otherwise Liverpool will run them very close in the title race.

- Liverpool's resurgence. Some fans may have wanted more of Liverpool's goals against Aston Villa to have come from open play rather then set pieces and long balls but in Steven Gerrard they can lay claim to arguably the Premier league's best player. Villa were awful but if John Carew had equalised it could have been a different game. Rafael Benitez's future has been sorted out at an opportune time.

- Say no to Rome campaign. In a change in billing we discuss Times Online's efforts to get the Champions League final moved from Italy's capital. Uefa have messed up the arrangements for what should be European league football's set piece by ignoring repeated stabbings of English football fans when they visit Rome.

TheGame Podcast: Mourinho compares well to young Clough

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by new signing Patrick Barclay, Gabriele Marcotti and Tony Evans to discuss:

The Damned United and Brian Clough

- Interview with Tom Hooper, director of The Damned United, on bringing Brian Clough to the big screen.

- The team agree he was a marvellous manager, but a deeply-flawed human being. They can see the Clough family's annoyance at the film as well.

- A young Clough would still be a magnificent manager today and there is much to compare between him and Jose Mourinho. Paddy reckons he's up there with Sir Alex Ferguson as one of Britain's best post-war managers, but only with Peter Taylor by his side.

The FA Cup quarter-finals

- Should there be a new law to outlaw the kind of 'attention' Maroune Fellaini was getting from Middlesbrough's defence? Paddy suggests an automatic free kick to punish these dirty tricks, but Tony Evans reckons it would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

- Whether Everton should move to a new stadium and would it be so bad if they shared a ground with Liverpool?

- Arsenal are a national treasure. Paddy reckons that those people who are carping about Arsene Wenger's position need to give him time. But Gabriele points out that we should wait and see if Fabregas, Adebayor and Van Persie follow Flamini and Hleb out of the door.

Premier League

- Very few teams at the wrong end of the table are safe from relegation and Paddy reckons even Fulham are not safe as it is so close this year.

TheGame Podcast: only Inter Milan can stop Manchester United sweep

Click here to download the podcast

Click here to stream the podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to subscribe via RSS

Phill Jupitus is joined by Gabriele Marcotti, Alyson Rudd and Oliver Kay to discuss:

The Carling Cup

- Ferguson looks as if he is going for five trophies after putting out a strong team at Wembley. He will need to continue resting key personnel, like Vidic, for it to happen. Oliver reckons only Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan look capable of stopping United on current form.

Middlesbrough v Liverpool

- On another day Liverpool would have taken their chances and beaten Boro, but the home played very well with Stewart Downing having an excellent game.

- Benitez is an enigma - Liverpool can beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu but lose to a team who haven't won since November.

- Oliver says we are seeing Liverpool's true character and that they were punching above their weight before Christmas.

Aston Villa v Stoke City

- In response to Martin O'Neill fielding a reserve team in the Uefa Cup, Oliver asks why bother with any football competition if you've got one eye on something else. Being called 'Uefa Cup winners' sounds much better than 'Got knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers one year when Arsenal were having a dodgy run of form'.