Left Field

In Episode 15, Wogan worries (again) that Liverpool's fine form is setting them up for a horrible fall, Bernardo Silva scores on the pitch and misses off it, the wheels are falling off Ole's bus and Allen is excited about a Leeds supporting Terminator and the timely demise of Tottenham Hotspur. After the break, we head to Japan where the Rugby World Cup has been in full swing. No tier-1 shocks yet, but the Uruguayans have taken the scalp of Fiji. A quick NFL review leads us, via Antonio Brown's return to college, to our Top 4 of Nerd Sportspeople. Enjoy! 

This week's Left Field is jam-packed with sporting goodness! In Part 1, Norwich get a pat on the back for their win over Man City and we run the rule over a couple of youngsters making waves in Europe. That’s before Wogan tries to persuade the world that Liverpool going five points clear at the top of the Premier League is bad, and Allen lays into his hapless Arsenal. Part two starts with our first ever guest interview. Ahead of the Rugby World Cup in Japan, we chat to Robbie Owen from the brilliant @SquidgeRugby. He’s in the Land of the Rising Sun to give us the lowdown on what we can expect over the coming weeks. We round things off with a quick post-mortem of the Ashes, mull over Tyson Fury’s bloody night in Vegas and take stock of ALL the NFL quarterback injuries. Enjoy! 

In an episode that critics are calling 'clearly recorded while one man is on an international break', Wogan and Allen discuss free-scoring England, happy Liechtensteiners, angry Albanians, a well-watched weekend of the Women's Super League and a Barcelona player in trouble for shooting a gun in a hospital. Part 1's football has a bit of everything this week. After the break, we pay homage to Australian droid Steve Smith (again), weigh up which US Open final was more significant – Rafa's win or Serena's defeat – then we end with NFL as Allen's New Orleans Saints start the season in dramatic fashion and Antonio Brown adds more chapters to his memoirs. Episode 13 is live. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 12 - an absolute banger, we promise! From Eric Cantona's cryptic speech to Michael Owen's feud with Alan Shearer, football's good and bad come in all shapes and sizes this week. After the break, Wogan invites Allen to finally pin his colours to the mast of an NFL franchise, all the men at the US Open have turned into John McEnroe and there's some chat about the rugby and boxing. Enjoy the show!

Bury's misery casts a long shadow over Episode 11 as Allen and Wogan reflect on a bad week for English football. On the pitch, Liverpool and Manchester City continue to set tongues wagging and Joe Linton is up and running for the Magpies. But it's bad news for Javi Gracia at Watford. In Part 2, we discuss Ben Stokes' heroics at Headingley, aided by friend of the show Jack Leach, chat US Open tennis (briefly) and pick our top 4 'what could have been' sportspeople after Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck announces his retirement. Enjoy the show. 

Left Field marks it's 10th episode celebrating a great week for football stuff beginning with 'A' - Adrian, Arsenal, Ashley and Aritz Aduriz all get a thumbs up. A bad week for Newcastle gets worse as Wogan sings an ode to Joelinton and Allen isn't amused by the new handball rule – or Robin van Persie's attempts to re-write history. The Ashes headlines the second half as Jofra vs Smith makes not football headlines, we look at Wales' rise to the top of the rugby rankings, check in on Antonio Brown's latest gripes and finish things off with a lesson in why hurling matters. The last time we'll ever end the show with hurling. Enjoy!

Premier League football grabs the headlines in Episode 9 as the boys look at the winners and losers of matchday one. Do the Hammers actually have a reason to be optimistic? Wogan thinks so! In the second half, we get a feel for NFL pre-season thanks to HBO's new season of Hard Knocks, and chat rugby as the world gears up for Japan 2019 – all before Allen goes off on a rant about the fuss being made over Saudi Arabia hosting the Ruiz vs Joshua rematch.

On Episode 8, the boys' loins are moistened by the return of competitive football. We ask, who had a good week? Who endured a nightmare start? And where does the plague fit in? With the Premier League kicking off on Saturday, we also reach for the crystal ball. In not football, Wogan welcomes Australia's crushing destruction of England in the Ashes' first test, while Allen is enthralled by baseball fisticuffs, both on the field and on social media. Finally, after NFL cyborg Tom Brady penned a new two-year deal at 42, we wonder who are the best aged sportsmen of all time? That's right – it's a Top Four of old guys. 

In this week's Left Field, Wogan and Allen limp towards the new football season. The spend the first half asking if pre-season tonkings matter, if Gareth Bale should learn Spanish and if Arsenal are subject to a voodoo curse, before debuting new segment Crystal Ball as they make predictions ahead of the Football League season kick-off. Just give us football, man. Then in the usual second half of not football, there's Ireland out-capitulating England in the cricket at Lord's, very wet Formula 1, Sergio Garcia being a dope, Jeremy Lin being sad, and a Top Four of young overachievers – despite Wogan's best attempts to introduce it wrong.

Twitter: @leftfield_pod
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Website: leftfieldpodcast.com

Wogan: @cathalwogan
Allen: @AAllenSport

Like a doomed manager switching formation yet again, Wogan and Allen try a fourth new microphone set-up for Episode 6. For a show that dedicates an entire half of its running time to football, it's slim pickings on the 'beautiful game' front but we still manage to cover Gareth Bale's trip to China, Steve Bruce's yin-yang managerial choices and all of the lovely and not so lovely new Premier League kits in a new edition of the further rebranded Top Four, Relegate Three. In the second half, we cover Shane Lowry's Open Championship celebrations, reflect on the Netball World Cup, and a half-heartedly attempt get to grip with the Tour de France. Wogan also boasts that he can run faster than a 96-year-old. Twice as fast! Enjoy.