Essential Football

Lee Carsley's England honeymoon is over after a disjointed performance and awful result against Greece on Thursday night. Was his experimental line-up to blame? Was he right to be bold? And how will Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke have felt? Plus, how will England set up in Finland on Sunday? And if he doesn't get the job... Who does?

On the latest Essential Football podcast, Ron Walker, Pete Smith and Zinny Boswell discuss the rising pressure around Erik Ten Hag brought on by another poor start to the season at Man Utd. 

After Marcus Rashford's bewildering half-time withdrawal in Porto, last weekend's debacle at home to Tottenham and a huge test coming up on Super Sunday at Aston Villa, the panel ask whether this is make-or-break time for Ten Hag - and where it's all come undone barely a year after his impressive debut season.

You can follow all the action from Aston Villa against Manchester United across Sky Sports this Sunday. 

After a month of action, which Premier League teams have impressed, where are alarm bells ringing and which players deserve early-season appreciation?

Peter Smith is joined by fellow Sky Sports journalists Sam Blitz and Richard Morgan to assess the campaign so far - and predict what comes next!

Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay sits down with Sky Sports’ Luke Shanley for an exclusive interview as he discusses why the club sacked Steven Naismith, how they’ll appoint a new head coach, reports the club are in talks with Brighton owner Tony Bloom over investment and they use of his analytics company, the future of captain Lawrence Shankland, being linked with the Rangers CEO job and much more.

Rangers interim chairman John Gilligan sits down with Sky Sports’ Luke Shanley for an exclusive interview as he discusses when the club will appoint a new CEO, his backing for manager Philippe Clement, January transfer plans, why he thinks Rangers can catch Celtic, his take on criticism from former chairman Dave King and much more.