Russell's Brand new show

Russell Brand made a return to the airwaves for the first time since the so-called 'Sachsgate' scandal over which he resigned from his BBC radio show.

Brand appeared with Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher in a one-off two-hour special for talkSPORT last night.

The show has been generally well received with a particularly sycophantic review in the Media Guardian but I found it to be a tough listen.

Brand displayed none of the 'edgy' humour for which he is apparently famed and his screechy voice made constant mock apologies for anything which might be construed as anywhere near controversial.

Gallagher was all over the place. First he denied the impact of managers' mind games on their teams' success.

Then suggested that the only reason why Manchester United are so successful is because of the positivity in the minds of the crowd.

Maybe I took the show too seriously but then I've never found Brand's oddball humour to my taste.

And Gallagher, when he did get a word in, usually reserved it to have a dig at his home city's more successful team.

That was except for the moment when he showered mindless insults on the supporters of my team, Newcastle United, for appointing Alan Shearer as interim manager.

"I hope they go down for that," Gallagher said. "I just think it would be brilliant if they go down.

"I don't think there is any greater sight on Match of the Day than seeing fat Geordies crying. Topless Geordies crying.

"They should have it in the Olympics: make a Geordie cry."

When Brand, to his credit, took him to task for this, Gallagher quickly back-tracked.

"I'm not attacking the people," he said. "No, the people are alright."

Oh really, Noel? Because it didn't sound like it just before when you fell back on the laziest of stereotypes.

The last decent Oasis album (also the last one I bought) was Be Here Now, released in 1997.

So perhaps it's a good job that Oasis play in Sunderland this summer, rather than at St James Park.

It is expected by then that the Brand and Gallagher show will have become a regular part of talkSPORT's output.

But, in the long run, it's more likely to be little more than a stepping stone on the way to recovery for what talent Brand has while being a platform for Gallagher's ego.

You can listen to Brand and Gallagher here.