A Game of Two Halves » Podcast

http://www.agameoftwohalves.com/files/show_1213_31.mp3 The last week of the English Premier League season of 2012/13 and it was…well…all a bit of a let-down really. Sure, West Brom and title-winners Man Utd served up a 5-5 draw, something of a rarity in the English Premier League but it wasn’t serious stuff and where it was serious – at Stamford […] The post 2012/13 Show 31::Season ends with a whimper appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

The extremes of the English Premier League were on display this week as Ferguson bid goodbye  after 26 years and Mancini was sacked after only 3 and a half. It ended for Ferguson much happier than it began, as a trademark late United goal scored perhaps surprisingly but fittingly by Rio Ferdinand gave United a […] The post 2012/13 Show 30::Highs and Robertos of the English Premier League appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

Wigan’s loss to Swansea may have taken the wind out of the English Premier League’s relegation battle sails but that was quickly forgotten with Alex Ferguson’s surprise retirement announcement. Is Moye’s the right choice? Perhaps even more surprising is that David Moyes is apparently SAF’s successor at the English Premier League’s most successful club. True, […] The post 2012/13 Show 29:: Will David replace Goliath at United? appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

It was, of course, the week that Manchester United won their 13th English Premier League title but all the talk has been about Luis Suarez and his mid-match snack. The Liverpool forward showed why he is a human headline: the very deliberate handball to give Chelsea a penalty; the madness of biting Ivanovic’s arm; the […] The post 2012/3 Show 28::Big clubs still keen to fish whilst Suarez biting? appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

The Tyne & Wear derby delivered perhaps the biggest surprise so far in this English Premier League season and left us wondering is Paolo Di Canio really completely bonkers? He’s clearly a man of extremes and it’s hard to tell whether this is a man who wears not just his heart but practically all his […] The post 2012/3 Show 27:: Di Canio’s plan as easy as 1-2-3 appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

Since our last show not one but two English Premier League managerial appointments, neither of which makes any sense. Reading have taken a great deal of time to appoint the freely available Nigel Adkins and given him the task that his previous club, Southampton, felt he wasn’t capable of completing, namely keeping them in the […] The post 2012/13 Show 26::Chaos reigns at Stadium of Plight appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

At times, the unique perspective that some of the English Premier League managers seem to have is simultaneously bewildering and breathtaking. Villa’s English Premier League form never short of fantastic according to Lambert Every week, without fail, Paul Lambert starts his post-match interview with the words: “I thought we were fantastic today”. Clearly, even the […] The post 2012/13 Show 25 :: Lambert watching one-eyed through rose-tinted glasses appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

If there was one thing that the English Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League taught us this week it was that teams seem to perform better when there is just one option. QPR, Barcelona and Arsenal all started their respective matches knowing anything less than a win would be disaster. Chelsea knew […] The post 2012/13 Show 24::QPR, Barca, Gunners and Chelsea KISS and make up appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

Will Wayne be playing English Premier League at Old Trafford next season? A mixed bag for Man Utd fans this week. They see their team maintain their iron grip on the English Premier League title-race but lose out to Real Madrid in the Champions League and in controversial circumstances. All the talk about Nani’s red […] The post 2012/13 Show 23::Is Rooney on his way out of Man Utd? appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

Europol warned that the English Premier League was not immune from match-fixing and how right they were – although even the Euro cops probably didn’t mean by the body that runs the game. Swansea game a “gimme” for Liverpool Just what the English Premier League suits were thinking in re-arranging this game for the FA […] The post 2012/13 Show 22::Gunners at the crossroads appeared first on A Game of Two Halves.

It’s been an almost perfect week for English Premier League leaders Man Utd, with City’s loss to Southampton and a draw at the Bernabeu leaving them 12pts clear at the top of the English Premier League and a 0-0 draw away from a Champions League semi-final. Could SAF had hoped for such a week and [...] The post 2012/13 Show 21:The almost perfect week for Fergie appeared first on A Game of Two Halves - Talking English football since 2005.

In a week when the English Premier League was told by Europol that it would be naive to think that it wasn’t affected by the match-fixing scandal, it’s tempting to think that Paul Lambert might have friends in mysterious Asia-based gambling syndicates. Despite his team giving up a 3-1 lead and, therefore, stretching their winless [...] The post 2012/13 Show 20::Villa in need of a quick (match) fix? appeared first on A Game of Two Halves - Talking English football since 2005.

The League Cup, the much maligned  and little respected poor cousin to the English Premier League and the FA Cup gave us prime examples this week of everything football should be and everything it shouldn’t be. It was teary-eyed, lumpy throat stuff at the final whistle at Villa Park where League Two’s Bradford City held [...] The post 2012/13 Show 19::Lambert benefitting from slow Lerner appeared first on A Game of Two Halves - Talking English football since 2005.

Happy New Year to all our listeners as the longest running podcast on the English Premier League enters 2013 – that’s more than 7 years and 270 shows ago. As Christmas / New Years periods go, this one was a bit of a fizzer. The only 100% record was Norwich City’s and that was 4 [...] The post 2012/13 Show 18::Crackerless Christmas but sill comfort and joy for United. appeared first on A Game of Two Halves - Talking English football since 2005.

The English Premier League Christmas / New Year period with it’s 40-game schedule can often be a defining period for an season but we wonder if that’s the case this year. The race for the English Premier League title looks like a two horse race at best although United’s 3-2 victory at Eastlands suggests that [...] The post 2012/13 Show 17::It’s English Premier League Christmas! Bah! Humdrum! appeared first on A Game of Two Halves - Talking English football since 2005.