The Totally Football Show with James Richardson

Jimbo sits down in the studio with Duncan Alexander, Charlie Eccleshare, Natalie Gedra with a flying visit from Phil Hay as the FA Cup Final approaches and the title races in England and Scotland go right down to the wire.

There’s no blinking from Manchester City who beat Crystal Palace 3-0 to reduce the gap with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League to two points again. The Gunners host already-relegated Burnley on Monday.

City have to deal with the small matter of the FA Cup Final against Chelsea before then. Is an improbable domestic treble still on for Pep Guardiola’s men? Or can interim Blues boss Calum McFarlane put a spanner in the works?

VAR has certainly put a spanner in the celebration plans for Hearts in Scotland. Celtic awarded a 99th minute penalty to win 3-2 at Motherwell and take the Scottish Premiership title race to a final day showdown between the top two.

Can West Ham use last week’s disappointment to get a positive result against Newcastle in their fight for Premier League survival?

And Hull will play Southampton in the Championship Playoff Final, or will they? The team chat all things Spygate plus look ahead to all the rest of the weekend’s action.

Produced by Charlie Jones & Xavi Bird

RUNNING ORDER:
• PART 1: Double screening (03:00)
• PART 2: FA Cup Final - Chelsea v Man City (7:00)
• PART 3a: Premier League title race (22:00)
• PART 3b: Premier League relegation battle (35:00)
• PART 4: Scottish Premiership title race (42:00)
• PART 5a: Championship Playoff Spygate (52:00)
• PART 5b: The rest of the Premier League weekend (1:00:00)

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Jimbo is missing Seb Stafford-Bloor, but the usual gang of James Horncastle, Tom Williams and Pol Ballus still have more than enough to talk about as the football season nears its end on the Continent.

Barcelona become the first ever team to win La Liga in El Clasico. Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres score the goals as the Catalonians beat Real Madrid 2-0 to confirm the title, and compound misery on what’s been a disastrous week for Los Blancos. Might Jose Mourinho be the answer to their problems?

Desiré Doué was the answer for Champions League finalists PSG as they scored late to beat Brest 1-0 and re-establish a six point gap between themselves and second-placed Lens at the top of Ligue 1. Wouldn’t you know it, they play Lens next - a draw would secure the title for the Parisians.

In Germany, it’s a wild fight for survival with three teams at the bottom on the same points. And in Italy, the race for Champions League hots up as Roma leave it VERY late and Milan stumble again. And there’s the Coppa Italia Final between Lazio and Inter coming up.

Produced by Lucy Oliva and Xavi Bird.

Part 1: Moments of the week (3:00)
Part 2: Barca win La Liga + Mourinho back to Real? (8:00)
Part 3: Serie A race for top four hots up (28:00)
Part 4a: THREE English teams in European finals (40:00)
Part 4b: PSG a point away from Ligue 1 title (42:00)
Part 4c: Bundesliga fight for survival (49:00)

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Jimbo, Daniel Storey, Adrian Clarke and Matt Davies-Adams are in the studio reacting to Matchday 36 of the Premier League season.

Arsenal are two wins from the title after an incredible finale at West Ham that sees Leandro Trossard score, Callum Wilson equalise but VAR intervene for a foul on David Raya. Is their name on the trophy? And are the Hammers doomed to the drop?

Elliot Anderson rescues a point for Forest against his old club Newcastle to keep his current club up. And Bournemouth make it 16 games unbeaten to boost their very real Champions League hopes.

There are 2-2 draws for Europa League finalists Aston Villa and Conference League finalists Crystal Palace. Another draw at Anfield amid boos for Liverpool against Chelsea.

Plus National League play-off final drama and Saints are caught spying in Middlesbrough.

Produced by Charlie Jones

RUNNING ORDER:
• PART 1: That was intense (03:00)
• PART 2a: West Ham 0-1 Arsenal (06:00)
• PART 2b: Man City 3-0 Brentford (21:00)
• PART 3a: Spygate Part Two (31:00)
• PART 3b: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle (36:00)
• PART 3c: Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa + Palace 2-2 Everton (41:00)
• PART 4a: Goings on in Europe and Scotland (48:00)
• PART 4b: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea (50:00)
• PART 4c: Bournemouth in the Champions League? And Bruno player of the year? (57:00)
• PART 4d: Brighton 3-0 Wolves (66:00)
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Jimbo is joined by Daniel Storey, Tom Williams, Duncan Alexander and very special guest Paul Ince, to open up the Totally Almanac on one of the most iconic premier league players ever, Eric Cantona.

Born in Marseille, the enigmatic Frenchman was villainized in his home country after various misdemeanours, but thanks to Gérard Houllier was given a second chance in England.

He rocked up for a trial at Sheffield Wednesday, eventually joining Leeds, and before long Alex Ferguson couldn't believe his luck when he was offered the chance to sign the prodigious talent.

And the rest is history - Man Utd's new no. 7 was the final piece in Ferguson's puzzle, helping them win multiple trophies, including 4 league titles. His flair and his unique approach to the game changed the Premier League forever, and his infamous 'Kung Fu kick' only added to King Eric's cult status.

But how would he fare today? And what would he make of football in 2026?

Plus Duncan's Cantona themed quiz question.

Produced by Charlie Jones and Jesse Howard.

RUNNING ORDER:

• PART 1: Why King Eric? (0.40)
• PART 1b: Duncan’s Cantona quiz question (06.15)
• PART 2: The Totally Extra Almanac (07.40)
• PART 3a: Cantona’s troublesome French beginnings (13.10)
• PART 3b: Cantona crosses the channel (19.40)
• PART 4a: Fergie’s Cantona gamble pays off (22.30)
• PART 4b: Paul Ince on Cantona’s arrival (25.30)
• PART 4c: The infamous ‘Kung Fu kick’ (34.40)
• PART 4d: Paul Ince’s first hand account (42.05)
• PART 5a: What came next (45.20)
• PART 5b: The cult return (51.00)
• PART 5c: How would he fare today? (58.10)
• PART 5d: The answer to Duncan’s quiz question (1.06.20)
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Jimbo is joined by Duncan Alexander, Jay Harris and Mark Carey to look back on two eventful Champions League semi-finals, and discuss what could be a pivotal weekend of Premier League action.

Arsenal will play PSG in the Champions League Final in Budapest at the end of May. The Gunners overcame Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the second leg at the Emirates, winning the tie 2-1 on aggregate.

They’ll meet last year’s winners PSG who needed a different kind of performance from last week’s goal-glut to get past Bayern Munich. It finished 1-1 in Bavaria, with the Parisians winning 6-5 on aggregate. Luis Enrique is now looking to become only the second manager in the Champions League era to win the competition two years in a row.

Meanwhile, there are only three weekends left in the Premier League season. Manchester City need to beat Brentford to put the pressure on leaders Arsenal, who currently sit five points clear. The Gunners go away to West Ham, who start the weekend in the relegation zone, a point below Spurs who host Leeds on Monday.

Produced by Charlie Jones & Xavi Bird

RUNNING ORDER:
• PART 1: Arsenal v PSG (03:00)
• PART 2a: Bayern 1-1 PSG (8:00)
• PART 2b: Arsenal 1-0 Atletico (25:00)
• PART 3: Premier League title race + relegation battle (35:00)
• PART 4a: Hearts 2-1 Rangers (53:00)
• PART 4b: Rest of the Premier League (56:00)
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