Left Field

In-form Rashford, Big Dunc’s passion, Sonaldo’s solo stunner, broke Irishmen, blackout kits, a two-horse title race (?) and Arsenal finally win at the expense of Manuel’s dud Hammers. We cover the lot (and more) in a riveting first half of Football. After the break in Not Football, we discuss Russia’s big doping ban, review Anthony Joshua’s pummelling of a fat lad, pay homage to Caroline Wozniacki on her impending retirement and get excited about a high-scoring NFL game. There’s even some festive cheer along the way. Enjoy!

Arsenal turn to Freddie, City stutter, Grealish proves kickable, Sanchez Flores sackable, tearful Hammertime and Messi, after another stunning goal, has too many golden balls to count. The boys also discuss Amazon's foray into Premier League football and the Euro 2020 draw. After the break, we turn to dropped catches, a Miami Dolphin doozy, Lakers' form and question why nobody cares about the Joshua vs Ruiz rematch. Enjoy!

Smug Mourinho, angry Allardyce and soon-to-be-sacked (?) Silva, Emery & Pellegrini; managers of all shapes and sizes come under the microscope in the first half. There's also room for Phil Jones, Zlatan, Aaron Ramsey and we discuss an epic 24 hours for Flamengo. After the interval, we cast an eye over the Davis Cup, half-heartedly talk cricket, question when Jon Hamm got so good at golf, marvel at a big punch and run through the BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominees. Enjoy!

Episode 21 sees the boys run the rule over champions-elect Liverpool after their comprehensive win over Man City. A great week for the Reds came at the expense of Raheem Sterling, whose frustration has spilled into the international break. How has Unai Emery ended up having a good week? Has the poppyfication of football gone too far? And what have FIFA done to annoy player agents. We ask the big questions. And provide dubious answers. After the break, conversation veers all over the place. A discussion about NFL kickers leads to us questioning the sporting prowess of coxswains. There's a quick bit of cricket, a dash of tennis and even some thoughts on the YouTuber boxing showdown that broke the internet. Enjoy!

Episode 20 is jam-packed with football goodness and badness. A horrible injury to Andre Gomes, Leicester's fine form and Chris Wilder's heroics all get airtime before the boys discuss the Guardiola vs Klopp mind games ahead of this weekend's mouthwatering clash between the top two. There are also heated discussions about Dennis Bergkamp's quality and VAR's fascination with armpits. After the break, Wogan can barely contain his delight at England's defeat to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final, Donald Trump welcomes the victorious Washington Nationals to the White House, a high-profile injury robs the NBA of one its finest and Lewis Hamilton conquers Formula 1 for the sixth time. Enjoy. 

In a development that will come as a surprise to literally nobody, Southampton's 9-0 home defeat to Leicester City, VAR and Granit Xhaka are all on the agenda as the boys chew over the good and bad of an eventful week of football. Spanish minnows, the lesser spotted Jack Rodwell and punched testicles also get a shout-out. After the break, the boys, much to Wogan's chagrin, fawn over Eddie Jones' England and look ahead to the Rugby World Cup final, before attention turns to the return of the NBA, the climax of MLB's World Series and a rejuvenated Tiger Woods. Enjoy.

Week 18 sees the boys get hot under the collar for sexy goals, there's a run through the Ballon d'Or shortlist and we weigh up if United were actually good or if Liverpool were just bad. In the week that a new study claims professional footballers are more prone to neurological disorders we ask, is heading the ball dangerous? That's before Allen goes off on another rant about Arsenal's tediousness. In the second half, we review the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals and learn why the All Blacks drove Wogan to give up his booze ban. Attention then turns to MLB's World Series and a shoddy attempt to name any of the pitchers taking part before we spend 10 minutes trying to make sense of the draft for cricket's new competition, The Hundred.

After a week off, the boys are champing at the bit to discuss the biggest football story of the year – Coleen Rooney's interweb spat with Rebekah Vardy! Guardiola, Ronaldo, Europe's Golden Boys, Irish woe and a remarkable media blackout also make the cut in Part One. After the break, we turn our attention to athletics and a remarkable roller-coaster week for long-distance running. We end with conflicting predictions for the Rugby World Cup's quarter-finals and get Allen's (sort of) first-hand take on the LA Dodgers defeat to the Washington Nationals. Enjoy! 

This week, Wogan and Allen face a challenge – how do you address the startling mediocrity that was on show during Arsenal's trip to Manchester United? Elsewhere in football's good and bad, two goalkeepers mess up, two careers are revived in Germany, and one club is literally a car crash. In part twol, Wogan forces himself to revisit Ireland's Rugby World Cup defeat to Japan, before the boys struggle to get to grips with the World Athletics Championships playing out in an empty stadium in Qatar, and a player too violent for the NFL. Bye, Vontaze.