Max Rushden and co have their say on VAR’s latest outings, dig into some transfer rumours and uncover a secret about the retiring Ronaldinho Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts,Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and debutant John Brewin for a morning-after-the-night-before chat on the use (or not) of VAR at Stamford Bridge, where Premier League Champions Chelsea needed penalties to beat Norwich and progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Continue reading...
Max Rushden and co discuss the best and worst of the League Cup, Philippe Coutinho’s grand unveiling and recall Tommy Lawton’s transfer dealRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts,Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul Doyle and debutant Ben Fisher for a Carabao Cup special as Lee Johnson’s Bristol City almost pulled off a draw at the Etihad against Manchester City, while Chelsea and Arsenal did their best to support the argument that League Cup semis should not be played over two legs. Continue reading...
Glenn Murray’s late goal was reviewed by the VAR in a quick and accurate fashion as the technology enjoyed a low-key, trouble free first match on English soilFor the grand arrival of VAR in English domestic football there ought to have been a fanfare of whistles, a cheerleading display of referee’s assistants waving flags and the two groups of players drawing rectangles instead of the pre-match handshake. As it turned out the handy monitor on the touchline waited, tucked on its stand, quietly inactive, like an unplugged robot, a few yards to the left of the managers’ technical areas. But if that is the glitzy side of VAR, the drama for all to see if and when a referee chooses...
Stronger Premier League lineups, teams intent on attack and third-round upsets have helped revive the profile of football’s oldest competitionAnfield, Friday. While Virgil van Dijk humbly celebrates scoring Liverpool’s late winner the TV cameras pan out to capture one of the images of the season: Jürgen Klopp shaking his fists with the jittery frenzy of someone suddenly plugged into the national grid while yards away the Everton assistant manager, Sammy Lee, simultaneously twists his body, shuts his eyes and barks a pained expletive.The Ricoh Arena, Saturday. The Coventry City defender Jack Grimmer meanders unchallenged towards the Stoke City box, swings his right foot and seems stunned as it evades a stuck‑in‑the-mud Jack Butland to put the Sky Blues ahead. Then...
Mark Robins’ eye-catching Coventry deserve their headlines, Liverpool have a bargain in Andrew Robertson and Wolves are already good enough for top flightAmid all the hoopla over the departing Mark Hughes, it is right to take a moment to praise Coventry City. They were deserved winners of the third-round tie at the Ricoh Arena, despite giving up the greater number of chances to the visitors. The Sky Blues played with a determination and energy you might expect of a team assuming the David role in a Goliath encounter. But they were also calm on the ball and often quite cute on it, too. Their play was all the more striking, given the starting XI had an average age of 24...