Prime Time Football




Beyond The Pitch show

Summary: Anto is joined by former England international defender and Fox Soccer Channel analyst Warren Barton to take a look at the big issues involving the Premier League and European football, starting with the issues at Arsenal who have reached a key moment in their season and their future now that another season appears to be on the brink of no silverware. This comes on the heels of a huge loss at San Siro against AC Milan where the return leg now seems meaningless compounded by a massive point in their schedule that will shape whether fourth in the EPL is possible. We take a look at the key factor where the decline began and how the move to the new stadium has delivered a new business perspective upon the club and may ultimately come at the price of Robin Van Persie as he looks around the club to gauge its ambitions. Then we turn to the matter of Chelsea and Andre Villas-Boas who also seem to be on an escalated scale due to the size and scope of his experience in concert with a team of veterans who clearly do not have the confidence in the manager. We also examine the potential that the players have undermined the manager with Roman Abramovich due to their lack of faith in the plan and what could be next for the manager should it get knocked out of Europe. We also examine the situation for Spurs and Harry Redknapp and how calmer heads have prevailed to allow Tottenham the space to secure third and truly make Spurs one of the most desirable jobs in the Premier League. In closing we also evaluate the potential for an all-Manchester Europa League Final and how this might affect the outcome in the Premier League, then we also gauge whether the Champions League is undergoing a change in the guard with AC Milan now leap-frogging Bayern Munich as the dark horse as that tournament proceeds down the stretch, barring injuries. Vaishali Bhardwaj also makes her return with two world football updates in this episode.