Hello and welcome to the game. Football podcast from The Times and Sunday Times. This is our

EFL extra show, normally bringing you action every two weeks, but there's so much to talk about

in the football league that we're back with a third episode in the space of three weeks. I'm Tom Clark

and joining me as always. We have the former football League legend. Gregor Robertson will be looking at the championship, League one and League two. Gregor, I said there's so much to talk about. Let's start in the championship because in terms of talking points, there aren't any bigger than Southampton at the moment. It was only a week ago on this EFL extra show that I said to you, could they?

Could they really charge and take that second automatic promotion place?

It's very, very tight now.

Results in the last week mean that it's Ipswich in second on 75 points, Millwall in third on 73,

and just behind them now, Southampton on 72 points level

with Middlesbrough who just keep plummeting out of that automatic contention.

Hull making up the sixth place in the table at the moment on 68 ahead of Wrexham.

How are you seeing it, Gregor? You will, I'm sure, mention of course, that Ipswich do still have that game in hand. But I was on the editing floor last night on the Times Sports Desk, and I was, I know you say you can't watch all games at once, Tom, but I was keeping an eye on Ipswich against Portsmouth. Portsmouth, a brilliant win for them will come on to the relegation scrap very shortly. But Ipswich, they were really struggling in this game. They looked like they didn't fancy the physical battle that Portsmouth presented. And it's all about momentum at this stage in the season, isn't it? And Southampton really have it. They certainly do. I mean, they did something vaguely similar in the year they went up under Russell Martin. I think it was 2024, but just kind of came up short in the end.

But that was because both Leeds and Burnley were so relentless.

And the thing is, everyone around them is now stuttering.

I mean, Middlesbrough haven't won in six.

Millwall have drawn and lost in the last two games.

They've only won one of the last five. And as you

say, Epswich, you thought that's kind of statement victory, as Kieran McKenna described it, in the

in the derby against Norwich at the weekend, was the kind of moment where they still had the

games in hand and they moved into second. You thought, okay, maybe this is it.

It looks ominous now.

And then, yeah, as you say, like, Portsmouth thoroughly deserved that win.

So Southampton, it's just remarkable.

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