The Game

If ever a game highlighted the problems of VAR it was the Merseyside derby. There is universal agreement that James Tarkowski’s tackle on Alexis Mac Allister was a red card and Liverpool’s winning goal had what ‘appeared’ to be a clear offside. So, what went wrong? Gregor Robertson – fresh from a referee’s course – tries to shed some light.

Jose Mourinho is grabbing headlines again… but for all the wrong reasons.

On the pitch, Forest are not faltering, far from it, they have their eye on Arsenal in second. Ipswich get a rare win, and is Marcus Rashford back to his best? 

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With Forest, Villa and Palace all through it’s a varied FA Cup semi final line up…but does the presence of Manchester City have an inevitable fell to it? Alyson Rudd thinks not. Had Bournemouth been more bold they may well have beaten City and Palace and Forest both have the swagger to do so.

Can you name a cool right back that has played in the Premier League? Apart from Trent Alexander Arnold the team are struggling. But there are plenty cool left backs.

And finally, it’s prediction time, who will finish from 2nd to 7th in the Premier League?

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All the very latest from an enthralling EFL with Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson.

With eight games to go the EFL is far from over. In the Championship the top twelve teams still have an eye on the play offs. At the very top which of the top three will falter? At the bottom will Derby’s renaissance last?

In League One Wrexham are grindingly resilient, but Wycombe and Richard Kone are going nowhere. The play off’s look sewn up bar one spot, but with four or five teams fighting for it.

League Two Walsall who have been strong all season have stalled badly. At the bottom…Carlisle are in dire straits… 

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It looks like Trent Alexander Arnold is off to Real Madrid. Where does that leave Liverpool? Does it mean Salah and Van Dijk might now stay? Alexander Arnold’s numbers from right back are unique, can he be replaced and what is his best position? England will have two players playing at the Bernabeu, surely that is a good thing?

Speaking of England…Martin Samuel thinks Thomas Tuchel may not have a competitive game until July 9th 2026! What can he learn in the meantime?

And it’s FA cup weekend, who do the panel want to win it and who do they think will win it?

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Thomas Tuchel’s first game is out of the way…it wasn’t memorable. Did anyone learn anything from it? Did they lack leadership, is Lewis Skelly a left back for years to come?

The team pose the important question; is a lot of international football crap? If it is, how does a manager prepare a team for bigger fixtures once you reach the knockout stages of a tournament? Hamzah watched the under 21’s and saw much promise for the future; Gregor watched Scotland and saw none.

Gregor has also been following former players on a referee training course. It was eye opening, the rules are not always as they may appear…   

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Is Thomas Tuchel’s England squad a step forward or a step back? The selection of Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker with the omission of younger talent has raised a few eyebrows. He doesn’t have much time to assess his squad either, with only twenty-four training sessions ahead of next years world cup. Who will play this Friday and what can the new manager learn.

What of England’s last manager Gareth Southgate, following his high profile Dimbleby lecture, what is next…a job in football or outside of football? 

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Newcastle United won their first domestic trophy in 70 years. what does it mean to the club, the city and its fans? A well-deserved win on the pitch what happens now, is it a one of off or the first of many? And the awkward question, does the Saudi backing in any way tarnish the achievement?

For Liverpool it was their worst week of the season, knocked out of the Champions League and losing a cup final. Could it derail their season? Surely not…? 

Elsewhere Fulham are still chasing Europe; Arsenal vs Chelsea failed to inspire…what on earth is wrong at Chelsea? And what a week for Dan Burn, scores for his home town team in a winning cup final and gets an England call up.

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Is this why VAR was brought in, for a ‘perfectly good penalty’ to be ruled out?

It may be in the letter of the law, but what about the spirit?

Real Madrid are through, again. Some are sick of it…shouldn’t they be winning in style instead of grinding it out?

Villa await Liverpool conquerors PSG, will Emery work his European magic?

After the break, the panel review Manchester United’s new stadium plans. A two billion pound Eiffel tower of the north, or a two billion pound circus?  

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All the latest from the EFL as Gregor and Tom look at the top and bottom of the Championship and the best from Leagues One and Two.

It was a very spikey set of fixtures in the Championship as Leeds finally ended their seventeen game unbeaten run. But Sheff Utd and Burnley didn’t fully capitalise despite “throwing everything at it” in their respective draws. The play offs are equally tight with West Brom, Coventry and Bristol all falling over themselves trying to cement their place. At the bottom, Derby and Luton refuse to give up…are seven or eight teams still in the relegation fight?

After the break a look at Grimsby and Barrow in League Two and a managerial change in League One

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Arsenal stumbled – again. Manchester United were average – again. So, which teams do deserve the prime time 4pm Sunday slot? Spurs v Bournemouth put on a good show at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Bournemouth are a swash buckling side, will they be able to hold on to their star players? For Ange Postecoglou, the path to making something of this season is getting narrower, are the players still playing for him?

Nottingham Forest notched a “seismic” win against top four rivals Man City. Has anyone done better transfer business and might they have three players in the next England squad.

Talking of Champions League…what’s the point of getting into it if you don’t’ do anything in it…?

Alyson met up with David Brookes who has recovered from stage two Hodgkin's lymphoma.

And, is it time to feel sorry for Erling Haaland..?  

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