The ITV Football Football Show
The ITV Football Football ShowFootball, football, we all love the football - and, boy, do we need it more than ever now! To take you through a season like no other, Mark Pougatch teams up with Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend for a fortnightly look at the major talking points in the domestic and international game.
Following his glorious goal at Old Trafford during Soccer Aid, Yung Filly joins the lads to discuss all manner of things - from his love of Chunkz and Crystal Palace to the return of Gareth Bale. He also takes Andros on in a quiz, with mixed results.
We also reflect upon another weekend of exhilarating action and controversy - including the retaken penalty at the Theatre of Dreams. And Andros reveals his first Talk Of The Townsend - the young player that's really caught his eye in the open rounds of the season.
Euro 96 RelivedIn the first episode of a new podcast accompanying the replaying of Euro 96 on the ITV Hub, Tony Adams joins Mark Pougatch to discuss his recollections of the tournament.
By Tony's own admission, it was the year that changed his life - and possibly even saved it. Despite captaining England on their run to the semi-finals, his personal life was a mess as he wrestled with alcoholism.
Here, he speaks with stark honesty about his demons - and the part his journey through the competition played in confronting them.
Listen to the conversation in full below:
Next up are two old Tottenham boys.
On 8th June 1996, Tony Adams led his England team out to face Switzerland in the championship curtain-raiser at Wembley. 77,000 fans saw the spoils shared after Kubilay Turkyilmaz’s late penalty cancelled out Alan Shearer’s first half opener.
Two players on opposing sides that day were Darren Anderton and Ramon Vega. They’d later become teammates at Spurs, of course, so it was a great pleasure to reunite them via video link to share their memories of Euro 96 - and that game in particular - with Mark.
Among the many things they discuss, the infamous incident in Hong Kong involving a certain kind of chair ...
Listen to Mark, Darren and Ramon in full here:
In our third episode, Mark is joined by Steve McManaman & Ally McCoist to discuss one of the most intense rivalries in international sport.
When you think about all the great grudge matches in football - Germany against Holland, River Plate & Boca Juniors, El Clásico, of course - England versus Scotland is pretty close to the top of the pile. So when they were drawn to play each other in Group A at Euro 96, there was an audible gasp in the auditorium, not to mention a few nervous laughs.
It’s fair to say there was plenty at stake when the teams eventually met at Wembley in their second match of the tournament - and in purely dramatic terms, it didn't disappoint. There was also that iconic celebration ...
Listen to Mark, Steve and Ally in full here:
And so to a couple of Red Devils.
After the shaky start against the Swiss, England's Euro 96 was up-and-running with a 2-0 victory over Scotland - though things could have been very different had it not been for David Seaman’s elbow and Paul Gascoigne’s Midas touch.
Nonetheless, Terry Venables’s side went into their final Group A match against the Netherlands with a spring in their stride. What happened next, of course, is one of those JFK moments - where anyone with the remotest fondness for English football remembers what they were doing when the hosts put four past the Dutch at Wembley.
It was unquestionably one of the finest performances by an England side for at least a generation. Two people with contrasting memories of that day are Teddy Sheringham and Jordi Cruyff, who subsequently became teammates at Manchester United. Both joined Mark via video link in isolation to share their recollections of that day.
Listen in full here:
To reflect upon the first match in the knockout rounds, Mark was joined by Stuart Pearce and David Seaman.
As Britain baked beneath glorious sunshine, so Euro 96 really started to hot up - and with it the levels of expectation across the country. With the group phase done, eight teams remained. England's quarter final opponents were Spain, who - while not in the same class as more recent Iberian vintages - were nonetheless a formidable proposition. Following their performance against the Dutch, meanwhile, the host nation must surely have been fancying their chances of going all the way.
It was memorable for numerous reasons, not least Psycho's redemptive penalty ...
... and David's winning save.
Listen to the lads in full here: