The Rest Is Football
Mansfield Miracle, Shocking Officiating & Gary and Alan vs Harry Kane
16 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
So who's better, you or Harry Kane?
What a stupid question.
VR has actually been the most damaging thing for our sport in my lifetime.
Lewis Hall has to start left back for England. His performances over the last two months have been outstanding.
How long did it take you to think of that question? Gaz, what would you do in this situation?
Such a brilliant, amazing question that took ages to think about.
It's not about the question. It's about the answer. And Gaz delivered.
Hello and welcome to The Rest Is Football with Micah Richards. Recovered, I hope. Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker. It's been FA Cup weekend, obviously. No major shocks other than probably Mansfield winning at Burnley. I don't think Tony will be listening to this. Indeed, Alistair Campbell is another Burnley fan. It was a tough one for them. But overall, Micah, how are you?
That's the most important thing. You've not been very well. Do you want the honest answer? Of course we want the honest answer.
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Chapter 2: What was the outcome of the FA Cup match between Newcastle and Villa?
Well, at least you didn't do it on a football pitch, Michael, because honestly, you never want to do that. It's quite embarrassing. But you're feeling a bit better. Yeah, I'm feeling better.
It's going to take its time the size of that arse to get rid of that, by the way.
Oh, well, we've started at the bottom in this podcast. It wasn't, I would say, the most exhilarating weekend of FA Cup football, but that, you know, that happens every now and again.
Which means all the so-called big boys have sort of done their job and did what they had to do, didn't they?
Can I just give a little bit of context to Burnley though? I actually watched that game and Burnley should have scored three or four goals. It wasn't like they were outplayed. Mansfield were brilliant as well on the day, but Burnley missed so many chances. The goal that they took, they took it really well. But it was, yeah, it was a good day for Cluffy, wasn't it?
Do you know anything I would say on that for Burnley?
It's been under pressure. So you win a game, a big game, and you suddenly get three points. You've suddenly got a little bit of the feel good factor. So you get a home game in the FA Cup and you think, oh, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll make nine changes. I honestly do not understand the logic behind that.
I guess he wants to protect it because he feels like the most important thing is staying up, which is highly, highly unlikely. But if it was to happen, it would happen because they grab a bit of momentum. So if they go into this game playing their best team and they win it again, suddenly two wins on the bounce, here we go.
Now, it might not happen anyway, and it might not make any difference, and obviously it's slightly hypothetical. But I just don't get it. It's not like they're playing in Europe. They're not playing in the Carabao Cup. They've only got league games once every week, really, now. I just... I genuinely, genuinely do not understand the thinking behind it.
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Chapter 3: How did officiating impact the FA Cup match at Villa Park?
I don't know, worth anything from half a million to a million if they get picked on a TV game, I guess. I don't know. But yeah, from a Burnley point of view, I certainly get what you're seeing, yeah.
The only thing I would say, though, to counteract that, Gaz, is the players who are not trusted in the Premier League They need to keep fit, don't they? And it's the only game really you can use them.
So if you think there's half a sniff of staying up in the Premier League and you've got all these players and they're not getting a game in the Premier League, it's one, like Alan said, they're probably not going to win the FA Cup. So I see both sides. I'm probably on your side more.
That momentum, you win that, and then, you know, the changing room's buzzing, and then you know what wins do to a group of players. Just gives you that little bit of confidence. But in terms of when you've got squad players, it's only real time they can get some football.
You both worked on the Friday night game, Hull versus Chelsea, which was obviously a very comfortable victory. for Chelsea. But there's been a little bit of complaint with that because obviously traditionally we've, you know, most of the games have either been on recent years, both by BBC and ITV, free to air.
Well, we can't talk because we, he works for Amazon and I work for Sky, which is behind the table. I don't know if anyone anymore like us. Don't, the hypocrisy, Alan, that's about to come out of your mouth.
I wasn't going to say anything like that. I was going to say, I didn't realise that the game that we did on Friday evening, Hull-Chelsea, and the game that I did yesterday was Villa-Newcastle, were also on TNT as well. That's all I was going to say. It was on both, yeah.
I was watching the other one because I couldn't count with you two. Not sure. Not sure at all. A perfect moment to take a little bit of an advertising break. This episode is brought to you by Fuse Energy. No one likes a panic buy on deadline day. The smart teams do their business early, not relying on dodgy fax machines. Are they still a thing?
Rushed medicals or watching a plan B target become a plan C.
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Chapter 4: What were the surprising results in the FA Cup, particularly Mansfield vs Burnley?
Sign up to Fuse Energy at fuseenergy.com slash football. Use the referral code football and you could also win a 1990 England shirt signed by the three of us. The rest is football. Let's start with the games. Obviously, we talked about the Burnley one, but probably the game of the weekend was also one that you certainly were there. Alan, weren't you?
Villa? Yeah, I did that for BBC as well. I was in the studio. I did the core comms Friday night, but then in the studio on Saturday.
What do you prefer? Do you prefer the co-coms or the studio?
Yeah, I much prefer the co-coms. It's harder, but I get a bigger buzz out of it because, I don't know, you have to call it within a second and you're in the cold, you're in the stadium, you're not in the studio, you're feeling everything, I guess, the fans are.
Let me ask you in a slightly different way. If I was still there, Alan, you'd obviously prefer to be in the studio.
Absolutely, yeah.
That's the answer I was looking for.
LAUGHTER Oh, don't. There's a headline there. Alan Shearer prefers to work with Gary Lineker.
We are joking. We are joking. Let's make it abundantly clear for everyone. This is, as they say, banter.
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Chapter 5: Is Dominik Szoboszlai considered a world-class player?
That's my point. So I asked him a question and thought, I gathered my thoughts and thought... What can I do? Say something interesting, say something interesting. And then I think I was working with Kelly Cage, asked an interesting question. I was like, phew, because he reads the game really well, Danny Murphy. So you've always got to get in there first if you want to say something.
I prefer sitting at the end because when you're in the middle, you feel squashed. you know? Well, you would, yeah. Stretch out and flex it. I like to pretend that I'm the second presenter on the desk, you know? I'm just sitting back, relaxing, see what the presenter says. I'm waiting to see if they mess up or anything just to prop them up a little bit.
I always felt like you were after my job. I'm sad you didn't give it.
Do you remember the Euros? This is what you did. We had no strikers on the panel. I don't think we did. One game, a couple of games. I think we had, Alan was in co-coms and you was the only striker. So I thought, you know what? Here's my moment. You want to be, you want to venture into that presenting type of role, but you don't want to be a presenter. You just want to ask a few questions.
So I said, Gaz, what would you do in that situation? And he went on this. Oh, everyone covered it. And I thought, it was absolutely fantastic.
How long did it take you to think of that question? Gaz, what would you do in this situation?
Such a brilliant, amazing question that took ages to think about. It's not about the question, it's about the answer.
A gas delivered.
I have to tell you also, by the way, the box for the studio that they used at Villa Park, goodness me, it must be the worst box for TV in the world. You can only see half a pitch. Can you? Honestly, it's like you end up watching it on the television in front of you.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of VAR on modern football officiating?
But yeah, I mean, surely, where's the comfort blanket come from? The one that's clearly in the box and he puts his arm... I mean, he did actually give the handball. That would have been the one.
He gave the handball, the assistant was 12 yards away looking directly at it.
Correct. But that can't be about a comfort blanket.
Well, he must have thought, honestly, well, I don't know what he was thinking. You need a big blanket to be that far outside the box. I mean, Digne should have been sent off for a terrible tackle. The assistant who missed the handball also missed the offside for the goal. Simple decision. Maybe he only could see off the pitch like you in the studio.
I'm not sure he can see any of the pitch judging by his decisions. I know it's a hard job and it's a difficult job, but... Right. We all have a bad day, but come on, guys. They have to be better. They have to do at this level of football, the importance of it. Luckily, Newcastle won the game, right, because of the decisions that went against them.
But can you imagine if Newcastle hadn't gone through the backlash that would have happened?
You at half-time, Al, was hilarious. And for full-time. I don't know if you watched the coverage, guys, but it was seething. It just won it. It cut back to when I was in the studio and you still had to get a dig in about the refs.
It was hilarious. I had to calm... That was me calmed down. You should have seen me during it when the decisions were being made or the decisions weren't being made. Whatever, I wouldn't look at it. Oh, God, I was raging. And the Newcastle fans were right in front of the box as well and they were...
They were obviously going mad and rightly so as well because the assistant referee on the side that we were sat at, he did miss another two or three clear offsides as well. They're terrible, do you?
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Chapter 7: How did Newcastle perform without Bruno Guimaraes?
Yeah, we all had bad days. But the one thing I would say is that I'd still take that over VAR. I just, at least it's quick mistakes. I mean, even VR, they still make mistakes anyway. So it's not really improved it that much. There are things that would have been turned over. And this brings me to the point that I've made 8,457,603 times about an appeal system. It's the only way out of this.
I mean, obviously they would have appealed straight away, Newcastle. They would have won their appeal and it would have been happened. We don't look at every fucking goal. We don't look at every corner for trying to find something. We don't do this. We only do it if there's an appeal and so-and-so says he pushed him, not me. Or try and find us something from a corner or whatever.
And it's the only way out of this because VR is unacceptably slow. It's embarrassing. It's just not helped the game whatsoever. It's actually been the most damaging thing for our sport in my lifetime. And I think I can say that the way it's been done. I don't blame the referees. I don't even blame the VAR people.
But because of the nature of it and the fact that we've gone down this thing about high bars and then we put it a bit lower and then it's up again, then it's down. And it's become an important part of the game. And they said it wasn't going to be a second referee. And yes, it is. It's just not worked. It's not worked. But the appeals thing is the way out and it will come.
I guarantee it will come and it can't come soon enough.
I do feel sorry for the referees, believe it or not, because I think they've just made it impossible for them. I was for VAR and I would just like VAR to be as they told us. And they have gone so far from what they told us. Clear and obvious, not going to re-referee, maximum benefit, minimum interference. I mean, they have gone so far from that. It's incredible.
So I would like what they actually told us.
I think that's impossible though, unless they go to an appeal system. It's the only way out of this. The only way I think. Can we get Howard Webb on again? Yeah, I'd happily have him on at all. I mean, we all have bad days. Referees have bad days. VAR have bad days. Just the pressure from their side, Gaz, you know? Hardly anyone I know likes VAR.
I mean, it's because it's so dreadfully slow and then they've got to go, oh, is it enough of a foul to give a penalty? I mean, What does that even mean? It's either a foul or it's not a foul. But you can't do it because otherwise it's not a clear and obvious ever. I feel sorry for them because it's impossible for them. You can't get it right all the time.
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