Left Field

It's been a while since a Premier League club has succumbed to Covid but with a clutch of cases in Conte's camp, Spurs have had matches with Rennes and Brighton postponed. Against the backdrop of vaccine passes being introduced for match-going fans in England, the arrival of winter has once again underlined that we're not out of the grip of this rather tedious pandemic.

Rather than get too down about things...

Robert Lewandowski had to settle for a sympathy award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony as Lionel Messi pipped him to the big one on a night when Jorginho took bronze as the best player in the world. We chew over the criteria behind a controversial list that had Mo Salah down in seventh.

Back in England, Newcastle United underlined their credentials for the drop with another limp performance, this time against Arsenal. Can ...

After a host of poor results, culminating in a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Watford, Manchester United's owners couldn't ignore the issue any longer. Finally, after 168 games in charge, they pulled the plug on the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era. It was painful for all involved, evident by the tears shed by the Norwegian in an interview with the club's in-house TV channel.

Where do United go from here? They don'...

We're pretty much done with international football for 2021. A select few countries can start booking flights to next year's World Cup in Qatar, others, including some big names, face nervy playoffs. 

We assess the winners and losers from a dramatic week that included spectacular bottle-jobs by Portugal and Italy, a formal complaint by South Africa to Fifa, England engaging in some superb stat-padding and Ireland, Wales an...

You take a week off and all hell breaks loose in the Premier League.

Left, right and centre, managers have lost their jobs with Norwich and Aston Villa following the lead of Newcastle and Spurs - the managerial merry-go-round always spins faster just before an international break. We mull over the comings and goings and what might happen next at the clubs affected.

A different type of manager has also come under t...

After a humiliating 5-0 defeat by Liverpool at Old Trafford, the end is nigh for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian labelled Sunday his 'darkest day' and rumours abound that the Glazer family may now pull the plug on a man they awarded a new contract to just three months ago.

For Jurgen Klopp, Mo Salah and the red side of Merseyside - utter bliss. The only unbeaten team in the Premier League have their swagger ...

New owners, same old Newcastle. Well...for now, at least. After a week of joyful scenes in the North East following a takeover by (not) Saudi Arabia, St James' Park was brought down to earth by another terrible performance by Steve Bruce's side. We discuss what happens next for the smash-nosed manager and the Geordies' project.

After a record-breaking 29 away games without defeat, the wheels finally came of...

What a game between Liverpool and Manchester City? End-to-end, fantastic goals and in Mo Salah and Phil Foden, two men of the match! We discuss the fallout from a Premier League cracker and what it says about the title race.

Will Manchester United, who've looked bang average for a couple of weeks, be able to keep pace? More dropped points at Old Trafford, this time against an Andros Townsend-inspired Everton, suggest ...

Only a couple of weeks ago, Spurs were top of the Premier League and Arsenal were bottom. Nuno Espirito Santo was manager of the month and Mikel Arteta was the bookies' favourite to be sacked. Now, courtesy of Sunday's derby win, it's the Gunners who are on the charge and the Lilywhites in freefall. We try and figure out what's happening in north London.

The top of the Premier League may have a familiar...

Should we be surprised that Chelsea are playing with such swagger? Given their status as reigning European champions, probably not. All the same, the Blues' impressive early season form, which continued at the weekend with an easy 3-0 win over London rivals Spurs, suggests they are the team to beat as the title race kicks up a gear.

For Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo, there's much work to do. A win in next weeken...

After a three week break, Ronaldo-mania finally catches up with Left Field. There's been no escaping the Portuguese striker since he returned to England. First he broke the all-time international scoring record against Wogan's Ireland, then he helped Manchester United demolish Newcastle. Is he the missing ingredient at Old Trafford or have Pep Guardiola and City pulled a fast one by luring their neighbours into a mad deal...

After 18 months of watching matches on TV, what was it like watching football in a full stadium? Having visited the Emirates and the Valley respectively, we compare and contrast our experiences as both Arsenal and Charlton lost 2-0 at home.

We don't want to labour the point in the episode notes, but the clock seems to be ticking on Mikel Arteta time in charge of the Gunners. Can he put together a good run before Chris...

The opening weekend of the Premier League was full of thrills, spills, fans and not a single draw.

Brentford got things off to a flyer with the most expected giant-killing of all time as they brushed past Arsenal 2-0. With games against Chelsea and Manchester City to come, Mikel Arteta is already feeling the heat. We assess how long he has to turn things around before Gunners fans reach for the pitchforks.

The two Mancheste...

Lionel Messi, the world's greatest footballer, will play for Paris Saint Germain this season after a remarkable roller-coaster week that started with him on the verge of renewing his contract at Barcelona before someone pointed out the Nou Camp outfit were completely broke.

Messi, after a tearful exit, will take a pay cut at the Parc des Princes as the Qatari owners pull off an incredible transfer coup just when it lo...

After a short break, we're celebrating our 100th episode with an Olympics Special.

Sure, we can barely remember the names of any of the athletes, our knowledge of most of the sports is sketchy and the time difference is an issue but it's fair to say, we've both enjoyed Japan's Not Football extravaganza.

So much has happened inside the first 10 days that we can barely scratch the surface but tha...

In the end, Euro 2020 came down to penalties. Somehow, we knew it would.

For the victors Italy; unbridled joy at a first major title in 15 years. For England, especially the three players who failed from 12-yards, utter despair. 

As the dust settles on another painful night for the Three Lions, we talk through the match, the penalties and the fact that after a month-long fling with football, much to Wogan's ...

So... it'll be England and Italy in Sunday evening's Euro 2020 final, a match set-up by a dodgy penalty award for the Three Lions and a decisive shootout win for the Azzurri. While Spain might argue otherwise and France will shake their head in disgust, it definitely feels like the tournament - and what a tournament it has been - will climax with the final it deserves. We review this week's semi-finals and look ahead...

Goals, drama, penalties, shocks...the last week of the European Championships has had it all. Was Monday's action the greatest ever day of tournament football? Quite possibly.

Spain's swashbuckling 5-3 extra-time win over Croatia proved to be a delicious appetiser before Switzerland came from 3-1 down to defeat mega-favourites France on penalties in Bucharest.

It remains to be seen whether Didier Descham...