Arne Slots Another Liverpool Loss

26:12and obviously if they can win the German Cup as well it's very prestigious in Germany and everybody wants to play the final there in Berlin in Olympic Stadium it's a nice thing to do as well but the real deal is the Champions League for Bayern Munich and that's where they're looking at and they definitely have the roster for it and in the beginning of the season some people said you know they're lacking maybe two three high-end players still in their roster I don't think so because now they found a young kid like Leonard Kahl. He's 17 years old and he's already showing pieces of brilliance at such a young age that it's exciting for all the Bayern Munich fans to follow this kid now the next couple of months.

26:52So the roster is very strong and the goal is clear, winning the Champions League. One thing we've seen with Vincent Kompany is he's not just keeping notes on his team and managing them. He's also keeping notes on Archie Rintut and what he's saying in these post-match interviews Archie. You are here to defend yourself now from that wobble wobble line. Don't need to defend myself Kay. I still believe it. It's 10 metres away from me. I saw a wobble tonight. Okay. By the very high standards that Bayern Munich have set this season. 14 wins out of 14 which is incredible. The point is that they're operating at such high standards that that first 30 minutes tonight they did have their chances.

27:32They also had a little slice of luck with their equaliser. Granted look, the way they came through it, bravo. But I've not seen them be put under that level of discomfort. I think that it's a good time for this to come now, for Bayern, for them to have this kind of challenge and to be able to come through it. Because the fact is, let's not forget, Bayern haven't won the DFB Cup since 2020. And in past seasons, would they have come through this? I don't know. And I think that this shows that they are making steps, even if they had a bit of a wobble. Back to you. Oh, I love it. Sticking by it. You see.

28:09And standing with it. Yeah, but he looked to see what Vincent Kompany was and then said wobble. Let's be honest. None of us want to be messing with Vincent Kompany. In other cup news, Bayer Leverkusen survived a chaotic extra time clash with Paderborn. They have gone through to the last 16, overcoming them in the end for two after extra time. So some tired legs as Bayer Leverkusen take on Bayern at the weekend on Saturday. When you take a look at recent results between the two, it's been a number of draws and Leverkusen wins. No Bayern win in that time there as it stands right now. But Jürgen, are you going to tell us that this is going to be the same again and this is going to be really difficult for Bayern at the weekend against Leverkusen?

28:55Leverkusen might be that team to put a stop to this winning run, yes? Well, I would say it is going to be really difficult for Bayer Leverkusen to come away with one point. No, I think a clear favourite is Bayern Munich. They are on the run and they're looking really, really good. And Bayer Leverkusen will go there. They will try everything, but anything else than a Bayern Munich win would be a big surprise. Cup competition, Champions League aside though, Archie. Hjulman has had Leverkusen on this unbeaten run. Can they get something against Bayern? When you say cup competitions, basically, apart from the PSG game, Leverkusen have been pretty good.

29:40Which is true. I was at that game. And the scary thing, I think, for the rest of Europe is I don't think PSG hit top gear. But this is a Leverkusen side which is growing. and for example players like Alish Garcia who he was having to fight for the same spot as Granit Xhaka in the team and also playing alongside him sometimes and playing in the same kind of spaces that Xhaka wanted to play in and I think we've seen this season that he's been able to step up a gear somebody like Alejandro Grimaldo as well he was already a key player for Leverkusen when they went unbeaten when they won the double under Xabi Alonso but he has also stepped into a new space now and I I think that we've seen sometimes when big figures and big characters in a team leave, it does enable others to step up to the plate.

30:27And looking at the way that Alejandro Grimaldo, just got that, I nearly said Barreno, Alejandro Grimaldo is able to take free kicks right now. He's taking them like they're penalties. In fact, he's having more problems with penalties than he is with free kicks right now. So, yeah, I think that they are still off for Bayern some interesting challenge. but yeah it's difficult to to weave away from the fact that Bayern are complete favorites for that one more thing Kay by the way do you know that thing when you remember like the argument that you should have said when somebody's next to you yeah right Vincent Kompany said to me last season I don't care what you journalists think well he seemed to care what I thought there didn't he so here's one thing whether or not you think Leverkusen are going to do anything the whole reason you have to watch our coverage on Saturday is to see Archie and Vincent company once again in the post-match.

31:27This is becoming gripping stuff this season. I bet you can't call them wobbly. I bet you can't say wobbly Bayern. We dare you. You're a little wobble midweek, Vincent. But you're all right today. Archie, thank you so much for being with us. We will see you again at the weekend as Bayern Munich hope to not wobble against Bayern Leverkusen. Our coverage will begin at 1pm Eastern. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks.

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32:46Rodrigo to come on. Yeah, Vinny Junior to come off and he is not happy at all. I don't think Javi Alonso is going to like this much. No, should he? Terrible. He has to bottle that up, doesn't he? As frustrated as he feels. Yes. For the sake of unity and straight back down the tunnel, not off to see his teammates. That's a tantrum, there's no other word for it really. There's what, Vinny Junior having an argument, that's not like him. Clásico muy caliente también. There are more clashes after the game which we do not want to see but we've always said it, this game is a passion play, we saw it so many times.

33:21I don't think this player will ever change from this type of behaviour, if I'm being honest. I'm with many positive things in the game, many good things in Vinny. We'll talk about it. And while you may be disappointed that you're taken off, you go and sit down and respect your teammates. You take yourself to the bench and you calm down. You do not walk down the tunnel when there is a classical on against your biggest rival. Xabi Alonso did not look best pleased about A, his antics and B, disappearing. The moment he thought that the spoiler wasn't on him, that it was on someone else, then he started making this drama about me being out of the game.

33:57Why me? Why always me? A little kid complaining about not being involved in the last 15 minutes of the game. It was histrionics. There was no need for it. You're 2-1 up. You saw Xabi Alonso on the side of the pitch just completely ignore him and almost walk away from him. And rightly so, it's ridiculous. It wasn't after 10 minutes. It was near the end of the game where they needed fresh legs. It drives me mad. It really does. It's not about him. It's about the collective and it should never do that again. Vinny Jr. has taken to Instagram to apologise. He said, today I want to apologise to all the Madridistas for my reaction when I was substituted in the Classical.

34:36Just as I have already done in person during today's training, I also want to apologise again to my teammates, the club and the president. Sometimes passion gets the better of me because I always want to win and help my team. My competitive character stems from the love I feel for this club and everything it represents. I promise to keep fighting every second for the good of Real Madrid as I have done since the first day. Alex Kirkland is joining us now from Madrid. Jürgen Klinsmann is still with us. So, Alex, we see this public apology, but there does seem to be a glaring omission. This has been picked up by the media in Spain, of course.

35:15We see my teammates, the club and the president. We don't see my coach, Shabby Alonso, mentioned there. Yeah, it's the first thing that everyone noticed, Kay, because like you say, he listed literally everybody else, the fans, teammates, the club, the president. He's almost listed the entire staff. Everyone accepts Xabi Alonso. And that is not an accident. There's no way. That is very much intentional because we know the relationship between these two is strange. And even if Vinny wanted to or was obliged to or ever to apologize for what he did, he's not happy with the coach for the way that he is being handled.

35:51And I think it's pretty clear that he wanted to make that clear in this statement, even as he was apologizing at the same time, which it kind of undermines the apology a little bit. Because what you're trying to do with an apology like this is to move on, right? It's to, you know, clean slate, let's start again, let's forget about this and move on. Everyone's talking about the fact that Xabi Alonso is not named in this statement. And so, like I say, it sort of renders the apology. I guess it's still kind of helpful. It does something to help everybody move on. But it undermines it in a pretty major way, I think.

36:23And, yeah, everyone's bought this straight away. And like I say, this is no accident. What do you make of it, Ale? that even in an attempt to make things right, you still make it wrong. Now, this apology by Vinny should have been right after the game. And there were other statements made that addressed the behavior post-match in terms of the potential fight with La Minha Mal and the Barcelona players. And he never addressed his own behavior coming off the field. So somebody, I have to imagine, must have gone to Vinny and said, Hey, Vinny, maybe we need to put something out. maybe you need to say something because it probably wasn't the best behavior.

37:04And I can imagine that the conversation was a back and forth in which Vinny said, well, hey, I'll say something about the club, the team, the fans. I'm not apologizing to that guy. I'm not apologizing to Chabellons. No, but Vinny, maybe. Hey, listen, let's put this behind. No, no, I'm not doing it. He can't get out of his own way. So even by doing something that he was supposed to do and was supposed to put everything behind us, everything behind Vinny, everything behind this whatever classical fallout that we seem to be hung up on. Why are we hung up on it? Because Vinny cannot get his apology right.

37:39And so all he had to do, if you're going to include, if you're going to include teammates, club, and fans, you have to include Xavi Alonso. If you're going to make it a general apology in which you're not including anybody, you just apologize generally, then so be it. But the moment you start counting and listing the people and the group of people that you're going to apologize to, Xabi Alonso has to be part of that group, and he was not. Jürgen, as a coach, how do you deal with a situation like this? What's to do here for Xabi Alonso?

38:15Well, I think for Xabi, the question is how fast can you sit down with him and have a one-on-one conversation with Vinicius. I mean, that's the only way to get clearance here. Obviously, as Alejandro said rightfully, you know, he didn't mention him in his apology, which is not the right way. Absolutely not. And you have situations when you take a player off that they are angry at you, that you're disappointed, that, yeah, maybe they do something. I remember myself, you know, getting subbed out by Giovanni Trapattoni at Bayern Munich one time. I hit an advertising board, you know, and that went viral all over the place.

38:55So there are moments where your extreme anger kind of plays games with you. But, I mean, obviously, the sequences that happened there in this game and then the apology that came from him late, really late, raises a lot, a lot of question marks. You know, if you are the manager, then you think about, you know, his environment, does he have the right people around him, do they consult him the right way, because the way he responded then after he did what he did, it's not clicking, it's not the right way. It's a good thing that Jürgen has turned the page on Giovanni Trapattone, taking him off the field.

39:37Do you know what, though? Jürgen has let it go. It's interesting that Jürgen says it, because I feel that all of you ex-players on the panel since talking about it have actually said in that moment as a player when you're taking off you do react in a way that you can't understand if you haven't played the game you are absolutely furious but has he just added more fuel to the fire here absolutely um for all the reasons that everybody just mentioned and listen and as players you want to sympathize when you're playing well as i mentioned right after the game i thought vinicius was playing was playing really well i was as surprised us as probably Vinny himself that his number went up and during a game you're caught up in so much emotion that sometimes small things kind of burn bigger than they really should be and I think that's what that's the case with Vinicius and while you could talk about some of his behaviors before one thing you cannot dispute is his talent and how he sometimes feeds off of that emotion on the field to be the player that he is and let's be honest he's still one of the best players on the planet today so you have to give him that leeway which is what i think xavier alonso is doing and stepping away and recognizing what's happening what he's going through and he just keeps himself out of it this is the player this is what makes him good but you have to take some of these uh histrionics um with it but you don't when everything cools down you don't do as a statement um has been kind of showing you you take ownership and while i i 100 percent agree with everything everybody has said and the glaring omission in the statement the other thing that just doesn't ring true to me is why do players excuse bad behavior for passion as i said come out and say i'm emotional and sometimes that works for me sometimes it works against me but don't come out and say i am saying all these things behind the coach's back because i'm passionate about the club.

41:33That doesn't make any sense to me. That really does. If you are that passionate about the club, whatever the club, and in this case, the manager asks you to do, you accept. So you can say, I accept being substituted without kicking up a hissy fit because I'm passionate about the club. You don't kick up a hissy fit because you're passionate. So there's just so much that it just does not ring true for Vinny in this case. And as I said, I am trying to find reasons to maybe side with Vinny on this, but he has just taken that away from anybody who is trying to see his side of this story. What's clear here, Shaka, is that this is not just about this substitution.

42:14It's almost as if Vinny, he's on the far side of the field and he sees that there are some subs coming and he's looking and he's kind of like, is this guy really going to take me out? And it's been building because of what has been reported as a strained relationship. About the fact that Xavi Alonso has put Vinny on the bench. Hasn't started in some games. Has come off the bench in another game. And this has been building up. And it's been bubbling. It's been there. It's been there. It's been there. And then El Clasico then brings this sort of passion that you're talking about. And this sort of emotion that you're talking about.

42:50And it's now become personal for Vinny. I don't think this is personal for Xavi Alonso. I think he's making decisions based upon what he thinks is best for the club and best for the team on the day. And he continues to make those sort of decisions. But it's become personal for the player. And a player who's highly emotional, who's highly passionate, who sometimes just loses his mind, could not handle the moment. What bothers me is that now we're three days removed from it. So there's been enough, plenty of time to cool down. Plenty of time to just kind of gather your thoughts. This is no longer about an emotional moment.

43:27This is no longer about passion. You're calmly sitting in the living room of your house, and you came up with this statement, and you thought, this is it. Let's go with that. That is a problem. That is the issue. So speaking about making decisions for Xabi Alonso, Alex, Valencia at the weekend for Real Madrid. Does Vinny Jr. start that game? It's going to be very interesting to see that, isn't it? Because like Ali says, this has been going on for a long time now. This started in the summer. It started at the Club World Cup. Remember, we reported on ESPN that Alonso was planning to leave Vinny Jr.

44:01out of the starting 11 for the Club World Cup semifinal with PSG. In the end, he couldn't because injuries elsewhere forced to rethink and Vinny was in the team. But Vinny knows that the plan was in that big game in the summer, he was going to be left out. It started there. It's carried on through the season. It's three games that Xabi Alonso has left Vinny out of the starting 11 when he's been fully fit and available to play, something that never happened in the past. And the other big thing, of course, the context, is that this is coming after the previous regime under Carlo Ancelotti, which was very laissez-faire.

44:30It was a very different environment, a different way of handling players. You've got two kind of different extremes on the coaching spectrum in Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso. So everyone is going to be looking very, very keenly when that starting XI comes out of the weekend. Is Vinian the XI or not? Now, it wouldn't surprise me if he was. you know, Xabi Lonzo knows that he's got to, whatever the long-term future for Vinny is, he's got to manage this situation and try and get the best out of him and not allow it to disrupt, you know, the team and the squad between now and, you know, at the end of the season or whenever those longer-term decisions have to be made.

45:00We haven't got any detail yet. We know that they were due to talk today one-to-one. We haven't yet been able to report details of what happened, what was said and what the outcome of that was. So lots of unanswered questions right now, but yeah, everyone's going to be waiting to see what happens with that starting XI at the weekend. Yeah, so there's been a lot of focus on Real Madrid and some of it being quite negative. But obviously they did win this Clasico. Meanwhile, when it comes to Lamin-Yemal, there's reports of the people around him having to intervene with his own public speaking. Alex, what more can you tell us about this situation?

45:31Yeah, he had this media appearance that was due to take place over the last couple of days and it was cancelled. And the reporting is that basically there's been a decision taken at the club that they need to kind of protect him a little bit. Now, you can't take him out of the spotlight. That's literally impossible. He is Lamin-Yama. That is not an option. But I think you can try and protect him a little bit more. And there's an acknowledgement that the fact that he was kind of exposed ahead of the Clasico, you know, going out there and giving this YouTube interview for the Kings League and saying what he said kind of about Real Madrid that then got made into a huge deal.

46:00And it was a huge deal in the end because, you know, you had Real Madrid players referring to it, you know, explicitly around this game and Danny Carvajal making that kind of, you know, you talk now, talk now gesture at the end of the Clasico. it got to made a huge deal and like I said I think he was sort of put in a position that he shouldn't have been put in and you know someone should have been done a better job of protecting him in that situation and so I think they're starting to realize that maybe it's a bit late maybe it's too late but they're starting to realize that I think we're going to see that now going forward a concerted effort you know from the club and from people around around the the player as well to protect him and to make sure they're a lot more careful about his public appearances public speaking and getting control over these things, which is what you have to have when you're talking about a player that's at this level.

46:45Is Jamal fully fit right now? Does he look that to you? He may be, he may not be. Probably not. He's just coming back from injury. But to protect Lamine Jamal, using the words that Alex is talking about and Barcelona are talking about and the reports that are coming out, it's code word for shut it! Just shut it, Lamine! Nobody needs this. Hey, you don't have to go out of your way to talk about this, that, and the other. Just focus and concentrate on being the best player that you can be for Barcelona, for your teammates, for yourself. And don't concern yourself with making an appearance here and an appearance there and talk to this person and talk to that person.

47:28You don't have to be everything to everybody. You have to be everything to Barcelona, to your teammates, and to yourself. And that's it. That's it. Up until you actually prove that you can handle all of these things that you're now juggling that are new things in your life, just focus on the things that you can control and the things that you can control as you perform it on the field. How you show up to the training sessions. How you show up to games. How you make a difference. Because you are a game changer. Because you are a difference maker. Making a difference in big games. Again, it's code word for somebody in Barcelona saying, somebody's got to keep this kid from talking all that much.

48:07Not yet. Not now. When he's ready, we'll get him out there. But until then, shut it. I'll say this. I'm a little bit amazed that it took Barcelona this long. It is weird, Chad, because we've heard it before from him. And then when he's delivered every single time, nobody's as bothered. But it seems to be more of a problem now that then Barcelona lose and he's spoken. That was coming. And now in Laminia Ma's defense, if there is one, he's 18 years old. And while we see him as this player, and rightly so, again, one of the best players on the planet, recognizing what he's able to do with the football, recognizing how much he earns thanks to what he can do with the football, he's 18 years old.

48:49And he's probably sitting at home and watching these YouTube channels and thinking it would be great to be on there and making his TikTok videos or whatever because he's 18 years old. Stop talking, Shaggy. You're too TikToker that you are. No, I'm just saying. This is what teenagers do. Oh. He should know. We're fathers of teenagers. Exactly. You're farther than me. We know what teenagers do. But how he sees himself is very differently how everybody else sees Laminia Mal. And I am amazed that the club didn't step in sooner. I am amazed that it took this for the club to say, listen, somebody really needs to get a hold of Lamina Mal and what he's doing and managing some of these appearances and some of these TikTok videos a little bit more carefully because this was coming.

49:36And I'm not even on TikTok. Apparently you are, Shaq. No, no. You're more of a Snapchat guy? No, no, I'm not. Are you an influencer? I'll tell you what's going to be viral. Alex's stash. Lord. Oh, yeah. That's something special. Obviously, because there's a lot of talk about the comments. We do love the stash. Yeah, that's a good one. Looking great. Looking lovely. With his fitness, there is talk about whether Lamin-Yemal is fully fit right now. What is that talk? Yeah, some of the reporting is that he's not fully fit. Remember, he had that injury during the international break. He wasn't available for Spain.

50:19He came back straight after the break a bit sooner than had been initially reported. and some of the reporting here is that he was rushed back because they need him, because Barca are struggling. They've had this slightly difficult run, haven't they, where they've lost the game to PSG, they lost the game to Sevilla, now they've lost the Clasico. And it certainly doesn't look like he's anything like it is best. So yes, the feeling is that he's working with an injury. They're trying to kind of nurse him through it and we're seeing the results on the pitch. Of course, the context as well is that they're missing other key players.

50:48The big news today, of course, was that Petri is going to be out for an extended period of time and that's pretty much the worst possible news for Barca. If you could choose a player not to lose, it's Petri. He's the one that makes them tick. There's even some reporting this evening that it could be even longer than it was initially thought to be. At first, people were talking about four or five weeks. Now there's some reports that it could be six or seven or even eight weeks and there are some big games coming up on the horizon against teams like Chelsea, against Atletico Madrid as well. If Petri were to be absent for that long, it's a huge blow because like I say, even with Petri, Barca were already struggling.

51:21So if you've got a not fully fit Laminya Mal, an absent Pedri, now you're talking about pretty serious problems for Barca. Yeah, let's take a look at those games that he could miss, Ale. The worst case scenario, they are reporting up to seven weeks without a player like Pedri. As you know, Cade, this hits me on a personal level. Given that it's just Sunday? Yes. He'd be free for Thanksgiving, though. Yeah, he will be. No, actually, he won't be fit for Thanksgiving. He'd be free. Oh, he'd be free, yes. He'd be free for Thanksgiving. Seat's been taken by my son after he scored. All I would say is, you want to take care of Pedri, right?

52:02Because of what his injury concerns have been in the past. But while everybody else was falling apart for Barcelona, Agua de Vaslamiña, Mal, Rafinha, Ferran Torres, Lewandowski, the one constant had been Pedri. And so if you're Hansi Flick, you were in this very difficult circumstance as a manager in which, okay, I want to give this guy a break at some point, but how can I give him a break if the team doesn't go and doesn't function without him on the field? And I don't have the resources available right now because of other injuries to actually take that chance. And I cannot take that chance because now I'm missing out on points and I am now trailing Real Madrid.

52:42And so it's the never-ending struggle for a manager and to say how long and how often do I push this player that I know has had a history of injuries in the past if he is everything to my team in this very moment. Hansi Flick push, push, push, push. And I don't blame him for it, again, given all the absences. But now we push a little too far and Pedri not being on the field. I've been arguing that there's nobody playing that position better than him in the world currently. And now you miss on that if you're a Barcelona and it's a real struggle to think, okay, how can you make up for his absence?

53:26The answer is you can't. Now, before we do say goodbye to Alex and his Tash and also Jürgen Klinsmann, we've got a question for you, Jürgen. We hear that you're in Italy recently. What were you doing there?

53:40I'm constantly on the go, yeah. No, I was in Italy to see, obviously, my son and he got an award as the best goalkeeper of Serie B in Italy for the last season, and that was really special. So we enjoyed a couple of days, and he's going strong. He's up with his team, Chisena. They're trying to get promoted in Serie A, and it was very enjoyable. Thank you. Oh, that's lovely. Congrats. So that's the hope then, obviously, Jürgen, that he can get up into the Serie A. Yeah, that's the team's goal. I mean, my time, you know, way back, you know, more than 30 years ago, they were in Serie A. Cesena was a club.

54:19It's close to Bologna. That's their major rival there. And they want to get back there. They want to badly go up and get promoted again. And he's part of that process. And getting this award was very special because it's very rare that foreign players really in Italy get the Player of the Year award, or the goalkeeper in this case, the Goalkeeper of the Year award. so it was something special and it was taken care of by the Olympic Committee of the Italian place and we got to do that in Rome at the Olympic Stadium and so there were a lot of kind of memories coming back because that's where we won the World Cup in 1990 so it was very enjoyable he's allowed January transfer windows coming up Jürgen, there could be some interest for him yeah, that could be Yep, you're absolutely right.

55:13Don't say anything else. Breaking news. Just leave it there. You know what? Look how happy Shaq is, though. Not often, you know, a foreign goalkeeper gets this, but goalkeepers getting some recognition. It's about time. It's about time goalkeepers get... Don't get enough of it on this show. Yes. Congrats, Jürgen. Yeah, congrats, Jürgen. Congrats, Jonathan. Congrats to Jonathan, yeah. And congrats to Alex on his tash, which he'll probably have to pay extra to get on. That's a big winner, too. Thanks for being with us, guys. What for that? It's not the Felici Pulici. No way! This is the upcoming La Liga schedule.

55:50Will Vinny Jr. start for Real Madrid against Valencia? You can find out on Saturday when Atleti also take on Sevilla. On Sunday, it's Barcelona against Elche. And things wrap up on Monday with Real Oviedo taking on Osasuna.

56:10That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with Power Boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell. So good, so good, so good. New summer arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack Stores now. Get ready to save big with up to 60 % off brands like Rag & Bone, Levi's, Adidas, and Free People. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more.

56:54Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Thanks so much for being with us on the latest edition of the SPN FC. These guys are sticking around. So too is Don to answer your questions in Extra Time. We'll see you there.

57:21All right. No fancy schmancy Extra Time. Little sting at the top of the show. But this is Extra Time. Thank you so much for sticking around. Don Hutchison has done so too to answer your questions. Thanks so much for sending them in. We have some technical difficulties. that's why yeah but as smooth as you like obviously we just dealt with that the fancy schmanchy button isn't working today that was an ode to Ray Hudson alright yes ok let's get your questions then shall we how many more excuses is Nicol going to make for Arna Slott and we'll put this to a former Liverpool player Don he's making a fair few I mean he's come out tonight and I think he's had a go and he's questioning Man City's 11 saying not one first team starter in Man City's 11 tonight.

58:07Well, that's because most of them were coming back off the treatment table. So he's making a fair few. And as I said before, I've got to say, Kay, I normally look at the players first when a manager gets a bad result, as they have done the last few weeks. But tonight was all on Arna Slott. Those kids, lambs to slaughter us tonight. Yeah, okay. I'm going to be, I'm going to defend Stevie Nichol. I don't think he's been making excuses for Arna Slott. Yeah, I think this is the wrong way around. I think maybe they're talking about the excuses that Arna Slott's making. Well, how many more excuses? That would be fair, right?

58:39No, obviously that's written wrong. But they're saying in my ear, perhaps it's the excuses that Arna Slott's making. I am reading the question that was sent by United. How many more excuses is Nicol going to make for Arna Slott? Now, you guys are making editorial changes in the production department and you as a host. I'm reading the question that is here and I'm going to defend Stevie Nicol. Stevie has not been making excuses for Arna Slott. he's been concerned about Liverpool from the very beginning of the season, in fact, before the season even started, and we kept telling him, hey, but you're winning, hey, but you're winning, and he kept saying, I don't like this, I don't like this, and quite frankly, he's been right.

59:22Arnazler may come up with excuses, I don't think Stevie has been coming up with excuses, there you go, Stevie. I don't know what K's trying to do to you, I'm sticking up for Stevie. I'm going to take one for the team, Pete. All right, Don, why are Liverpool so bad defensively right now? How long can this continue?

59:39My days. How long we got? How long we got? I mean, do you know the biggest comparison when you look at Arsenal's back four and you see four leaders across the back four and the two centre-backs are amazing, but you look at Calafiore and you see Timba and you go, proper defenders, don't get bullied. You look at Kerkhez, look at Andy Robertson, diminutive. Frimpon's been injured, but he hasn't done it so far. Bradley's not at the best start to the season. We all thought he was going to be different after Trent's gone. And then the problems just go forward. How do you try and get all these fancy-schmancy players into a system that has been so successful?

1:00:15And it's like you can't. So that's why maybe he tried something tonight, playing three at the back and a couple of wing-backs. He's got a world of problems. I think what Liverpool can do now, or they have to do now, in my humble opinion. And Arnaz Slott has to be all in here now. They need another rebuild, another half of a rebuild in the summer. Half of it's been done, but they haven't got defenders in. When I talk about Calafiore, if they had spent the extra five million on Mark Gehi, he could have been playing at Liverpool left back now. And then you go, oh, Gehi, Canate, Van Dijk, Bradley.

1:00:49That's not too bad. They've just gone like Hollywood signings, Real Madrid, Galacticos at the top end of the pitch. And it ain't working. I wish somebody in my life would look at me with the eyes, with the same type of sparkling eyes that Don gets when he talks about Calafiore. Oh, he loves him. Oh, man, he loves some Calafiore. Proper player, though. Proper player, Ali. And what's the best thing that he does, Don? He is a very elegant runner, according to Don Hodgson. Yeah, I remember when he was talking about his ring. He called him the prince. We actually have the receipts. He called him the prince right here on this show.

1:01:29He was just waxing. It was when he was here in studio, remember, he was just falling in love more and more. Who is he here? He's an elegant runner. But, Kay, I have to say, Ali, I have to say, because that's what my initial impressions were when I was watching him. Beautiful footballer. I've got to say, he's like, you know, he's a proper fella playing at fullback who doesn't get bullied. You know, he's hard as nails. He's a good size, the same as Timber. He's essentially got four centre-backs playing across the back four. It's perfect. Liverpool are weak. You see the ice shine in there? Oh, boy.

1:02:02I'm a little concerned by the adjectives that he chooses to use for Calle Fiori, which I won't repeat. Bonnie Tyler's holding up for a hero playing in the background. He's beautiful. OK, let me take the Newcastle fans out of the equation here, Ale. Is Nick Valtamadi the best English club signing from the summer, and why is the answer yes? Well, we said when it was happening that the personality of Nick Voltomado fit Newcastle. Now, I don't know Newcastle like Shaka Hisslow knows Newcastle or Dunn knows Newcastle, but it felt like the personality and the player himself would seem to be a really good fit to Newcastle as a team and Newcastle as a city.

1:02:50He is a hardworking, tough player with a lot of personality as well and who's not afraid of taking the responsibility that it is required to lead the team in the front line and to score important goals. And so far, so good for big Nick, Nick Valtamada. He was excellent at Stuttgart, and he's carried all of that to Newcastle as well. Shaka, how did you... Was that all right? Was that all right? Was that fair? That was great. He's a beautiful footballer. Do you know what that was, Ali? Do you know what that was, Ali? What was that? That was like Calafiore speaking there. It was beautiful. Thank you.

1:03:29Thank you, Don. I learned from the best, Don. Thank you. Shaka, how difficult is it for a second-choice keeper who only gets the occasional cup start? How can they be match-sharp? It's very tough indeed. I'll say this. Iron Ramsdale, I thought, was very good for Newcastle today. and that is a difficult ask. That is an ask you're more used to with older players who are a little bit more experienced who kind of understand that, what it takes to come in and play every so often. You speak with a lot of experience. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's me. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've played that role fantastically well.

1:04:09In the whole career. Who would say the wind beneath their wings, Shaq? What? Our second-choice keepers are the wind beneath the wings of the first choice keeper. Okay, okay. All right. I'm just trying to help you, Shaq. Thank you very much. I'll take it. Whatever it is, I'll take it. Boy, she said. Don and Xhaka, what percentage chance do you give West Ham to stay up and avoid relegation? Boy. Oh, my days.

1:04:42I mean, 20? So 80 % on West Ham are going to go down? Yeah. You've seen that squad? Yeah, I wasn't going to go that high, but... Algorithm, you see algorithms, Shaq, it never fails you. I'm still... I'm not a 50-50, I'm not. I'm trying to say 50-50. Can't be 50-50. Let's snap your hands off a 50-50. I want to say 50-50, but even I don't believe in them. I know I would believe myself. Where are you looking for this answer? I don't know. I don't know. 60%. 60-40. That they... What? 40 %? That they stay up. Okay. And 60 % they go down. Ale, around 28 % of Premier League goals this season have come from set pieces.

1:05:37Up 7 % from last season. Is this the trend, such as having a long throw leading to new tactical elements? like NFL special teams training? What is the word he wants? That's a hard question. That's too much words for me. It's a lot of percentages. Yeah, too much words and signs and stats. Things that Laura Within has done. Yeah. A lot of percentages. Still reading it? Well, can I just say, Kay, can I just say, what year is it? It's like the 1990s. It's like we're going long ball, we're taking long throws, Martin O 'Neill's back at Celtic The Classico's having fights After games What year is it?

1:06:19Everyone's dressing like it's the 90s The coolest I would also say that Tinker Taylor Marine That took some reading there Maybe you were Not paying attention when Rory The lab was just Throwing balls in For Stoke but it felt like, well, that was specific to that team because that's how they're going to create chances and that's how they're going to score their goals. If you have somebody that can give you a long throw, I think more so than anything, you got to make a decision as a staff and as a team that you're not above it. I think sometimes the long throw has been looked upon as like, ah, that's for those that can't create on their own.

1:07:06We, we don't need to do that. But if you have somebody that can do it effectively, there's absolutely nothing wrong in manufacturing chaos inside the 18-yard box. Because more times than not, the ball will drop to somebody and you will have an opportunity to shoot on target. So if you're not above it and you have somebody that can actually execute the long throw, then why not take advantage of one more way to score a goal? You didn't rub it first. I forgot. I have to rub the machine. You got to put it underneath. underneath you gotta put it well you sort of got it underneath already Oh wow you ready there's gonna be some singing for me and you are whatever we call it Ali you ready for Don since Shaq has a chant for himself which is Bundesliga Shaq yeah yeah which is actually yeah yeah we'll do it in German yes do you think you should have one like Like, Serie A, Don, Si, Si.

1:08:03So basically... I ain't going to call him Don C. So, Saka played on some Bundesliga duty again last weekend. And so, Ale made up a song that goes... Yeah, but wait. Before I go with the song, I would also say that people must remember this. Saka tries to sabotage his time in Bundesliga just openly. That's true. I have never seen somebody try to sabotage his participation in Bundesliga coverage as much as Xhaka does. Do what it's time to me. I just do what I'm told. So we found out that he was on Bundesliga coverage. And I took, we were in studio at the time. And I took a full sprint from here to where we watched the games, which I don't know.

1:08:47Took a long time. Yeah. Just to get Xhaka and let him know Bundesliga Xhaka. Yeah. Yeah. Bundesliga Xhaka. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Don, do you like it? Yes, I do. I do. I do. Would you like Seria a Don? Si, si. Seria a Don. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Seria a Don? Si, si. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it, Kay. I'm feeling it. Come on. Who's listening to us doing the Bundesliga Shack? I know, but there's a difference between me saying And Bundozica said, yeah, yeah. And Kay saying, seria, don't, si, si. She started getting her the shoulder. She went rockets. Yeah, she went, si, si.

1:09:35Wait a minute, wait a minute. I didn't know. I didn't know there was choreography with this. Absolutely. It's a full commitment. Can you show the people what you were doing? No. Oh. Raise the bar, cuss. Come on, Kay, raise the bar. Seria, don't, si, si. Just for you, Don. Just for you, Don. And for all the Serie A fans, because we love you. All right. That's all we've got time for. More shenanigans tomorrow on Extra Time. More songs, maybe. Who knows? Oh, boy.

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