The Game Football Podcast

Did Rafa Stand a Chance?

Hugh Woozencroft is joined by Tom Clarke, Alyson Rudd and Matt Dickinson. Manchester City are 11 points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. Is there any way they can lose the title from here? (00:00) Romalu Lukaku might be back in the Chelsea starting line-up, but how must his re-inclusion have gone down with his teammates? (10:16) Rafa Benitez didn’t last the season at Everton. As the Spaniard departs, did he ever stand a chance of succeeding? (15:08) The North London derby was called off over a lack of players with reportedly few Covid cases in either squad. Is it time to change the rules on postponements to stop teams abusing the system? (31:30) Matt Dickinson has been absent from The Game for a while - he explains his new direction and his favourite stories he’s been across since we last heard from him (42:40) Dickinson’s Diaries. Needs no introduction! (52:30) Get more of The Times and The Sunday Times for less than £1 a day. Start your free trial: <a href="http://thetimes.co.uk/thegame" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thetimes.co.uk/thegame</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The Game Football Podcast is the thinking fan's podcast for the debate, the tactics, the personalities, injuries, goals and analysis. From The Times and Sunday Times, it's the place for nuanced discussion around all the action throughout the 2024/25 season. Presented by Tom Clarke with contributors including Martin Samuel, Jonathan Northcroft, Charlotte Duncker, Hamzah Khalique-Loonat, Gregor Robertson, Alyson Rudd, Tom Allnutt and others. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.