Ekitike helps Resurgent Liverpool to Victory

24:26The West Ham were by far the better team. Had a reaction at half-time. The reaction of the team in the second half tells me that we've got something really, really special here if I can utilise the squad in the correct way. He's not short of confidence, is he? I'll tell you that. And in some sense, look, you can look at this a couple of ways from the Napoli game to this game and maybe some others. Brentford at home, which they won. They were completely outplayed by Keith Andrews' Brentford side, but won. you can look at it and say that we're an admirable second half performance exciting scored goals, came back, won the game they did, those things are not debatable but then you could say well he got his team selection wrong and they were outplayed by a poor West Ham side for 45 minutes and the fact that they're playing West Ham is the reason that they're back and won the game because West Ham cannot keep a clean sheet they're terrible defensively and then Nuno Espirito Santo brings Max Kelman on and they go back to your back five and they just invite the pressure on inviting more pressure and more pressure it's something we've seen from West Ham this year and then it was only going to go one way so yeah his record at Chelsea is very good at Liam Rossignor thus far but I think some of the games I would say he's got a little fortunate in terms of his team selection and then they've been bailed out with some good goals, some late victories and the fact that we're playing teams that have folded like West Ham.

26:01So it depends what side of your fence you sit on. I think if you're a Chelsea fan, you're OK because you've won all these games and things are going well. But I think when you look a little deeper down in some of the games he's been manager in, he's got a little bit fortunate in those games with his team selection. Jules, we heard obviously when Enzo Mareska left that maybe he wasn't completely in control of the starting 11, medical team, blah, blah, blah, other influences. Is that why we saw such a strange team selection for this tie? Or was this all Rossini? Because you watched, Chelsea, how good they were midweek and considering how you want to keep this momentum going.

26:37To bench someone like Jao Pedro is just a complete head-scratcher, isn't it? It is, I agree. Although there's a big game on Tuesday coming up with that League Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal at the MRS and you think the LAP should be able to hold the line well and do well tonight against West Ham at Stamford Bridge so we can keep Pedro fresher for the game on Tuesday because it's a massive game, maybe not as important as this one in terms of finishing in the top five in the Premier League but there's a final 90 minutes, 120 minutes away for Chelsea on Tuesday night against Arsenal so I can see why maybe he thought let me give a bit of rest to some of those players but this first half was embarrassing.

27:22This team was embarrassing really, the one that we see now on the graphic. It was embarrassing that Garnaccio, Gitenz got injured but Garnaccio was embarrassing. I thought the lap was embarrassing, I thought Hato was embarrassing and he had to change at half time anyway and maybe yeah I think there's no reason why the club would have changed what they were doing under Maresca. So yes I think the performance staff and the medical staff and the performance people are saying to him, listen, he should be rested. He can only play half an hour. And then it's still down to him to make those choices. But I'm glad he did what he did in the second half.

27:55I think at halftime, in the first half especially, they were far too predictable too, far too rigid. There was far more fluidity in the second half. Although for Palmer, this is not good because to put him wide on the right doesn't suit him. He clearly doesn't like it there. The ball never comes to him. There's something to fix there. But for the rest, there was far more fluidity than that first half where they were far too predictable. I think he probably underestimated that West Ham could have hurt them on the counter. Because when you look at that team, and if I'm alone in this, please tell me, I don't rate Gernachio.

28:31I don't rate Gettins. I don't think the laps are centre-forward in the Premier League either. And Cole Palmer was invisible today as a number 10. And then defensively, they were a shot. I mean, West Ham had 20 % of the ball in the first half. and walked in at halftime deservedly 2-0 up. So, yes, you've got to give credit. You know, you can't give too much credit, to be fair, because anybody would have made the changes, other than Fofana, that he made. Anybody, because he had to. He had absolutely no choice. And the fact they're at home, and the fact that it's West Ham, and you know, at the first sign of trouble, they crumble, and they did it again today.

29:11So, yeah, I mean, it always feels fantastic. to be 2-0 down, he'd come back and win 3-2. But you've got to look at it in a cold light of day. And he definitely made mistakes with the starting 11. There's no doubt about that. Did you want to add something? Were you looking anything up of interest? I was looking to see if there was anything of interest, and I can confirm there is not. Good. Okay, good to know. Looking at what that defeat means for West Ham. And, of course, their aspirations to get out of the relegation zone. They currently sit 18th, of course, 5 adrift of Forrest, who are still to play this weekend.

29:44Again, just to remind you of the rest of the matches that are remaining on Sunday for you. Villa against Brentford, United entertain Fulham, Forest against Palace, and the late games in Spurs against Manchester City. We'll, of course, be looking back at those big ties on the next edition of ESPN FC. Quick timeout. Some breakfast intel you want to know about. Kodiak frozen power waffles and flapjacks are built for busy mornings. Heat it, eat it, and you're out the door. No long prep, no complicated game plan. They're packed with 12 to 14 grams of protein per serving, a good source of fiber, and crafted with 100 % whole grains, not refined white flour.

30:25So you're getting something that actually fuels you. And there's depth on the roster. Butter, milk, and vanilla. Blueberry. Chocolate chip. Even gluten-free options. Breakfast that delivers. Snack that delivers. Find Kodiak frozen waffles and flapjacks in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. They're the ones with the bear on the box. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly.

31:00Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Granger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click granger.com, or just stop by.

31:20Thoroughly entertaining tie in La Liga between Elche and Barcelona. Laminya Ma would open the score in. Rodrigo says get the equalizer for Elche. Barcelona would hit the post a couple of times, but then Ferran Torres would make it 2-1. Marcus Rashford coming off the bench to replace Rafinha in the second half. We'll make it 3-1 to Barcelona who had 30 shots in total in the game. At the top of the table, Real Madrid of course in action tomorrow against Rayo. For more on this, let's welcome in, shall we? Luis Garcia joins us to reflect on what we saw in that game. Just a reminder, at the bottom of the table, Elche is getting 12.

31:56Three points clear for Mallorca in the drop zone. It's so close, isn't it? There in the bottom half. Right then. Luis, this is going to be 10.

32:08Yeah, I think it's much pressure on that side that is right now tonight's game of Barcelona where they found themselves creating chances but not capitalizing. And then in the end, I think they play with fire because Barcelona, I think until 60-something minutes, they allowed Elche to believe that they can get something. They stay on the game. They have chances. They keep putting Barcelona away. And in the end, it was that last goal of Rashford, who finally we saw getting the three points. But I think that this game should have put down to bed earlier. And just in the first 45, we saw many chances.

32:45Early in the second half, it started again the same way. We created Chelsea, having the ball, dominating. So many shots, not many on target. But definitely, Barcelona should take care of these kind of games because it's putting more pressure, more runs, more intensity. and they got another big game in midweek in Copa del Rey. So I'm sure the Hansel Flake is going to try to talk to them because at some point I felt that the players kind of play around trying to find the nicest goal, trying to flirt around with the goals and you need to put the game away earlier. Like every Barcelona game, it seems there's just a bunch of positives, but there's always, even in victory, there is always these negative connotations around the fact that...

33:27and again Barca fans will say well it didn't happen but Elchi whilst Barca could have scored 7 or 8 easy and that's the positive side they can open teams up particularly teams that are as weak defensively and as open as Elchi were we know Barcelona will do that to teams but you can't watch that game and say better teams would not have punished Barcelona's defenders and defensive issues so like every game Barcelona great to watch Elkji played into their hands, they want to play this open attacking football which is admirable and commendable, fine, that's the way you go about it but in the cold light of day, when you look at yourself in the mirror as a manager, is that the right approach when you've got Yamal and Rafinha and Lopez and Dani Omo and Ferran Torres and all these, Frankie de Jong, all these players is that the right approach, do you not need to adjust it slightly to try and get results they did not and they got punished Did anyone from Barcelona particularly catch your eye today Lewis, who was your man of the match?

34:27For me, I think it was once again Frankie de Jong. The game just changed. I know that La Minha might get all the focus, the highlights, because his ability to find and break and defend on 1v1 situations, scoring goals and assists. But I think that when Frankie de Jong is involved in the game, the team just plays differently. It's almost fluent. The build-up is better. The spaces are well taken. He knows when he has to stay in the middle of the park or run into the space. We saw him going forward a lot more often that fantastic assess to Ferran Torre in the second one is just beautiful How composed he is he managed all the space and he managed all the The center of the field all by himself And I think that's something different on Barcelona when you have Rafinha, Ferran Torres, La Minha Mal Olmo, Fermin so many attractive players that they are beautiful to watch I think that Frank De Gio just brings something different on the game and we saw it what happened when he's not on the field against Copenhagen Good man, Luis.

35:25Thank you very much. As you mentioned, of course, the focus now turns to Copa del Rey midweek. Alvesete have already eliminated Real Madrid. Could they get rid of Barca as well? You can see that game live and exclusive on Tuesday, 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.

35:54fixes the problem. Finally, there's a proactive way to reduce equipment downtime. Thanks to MaintainX. MaintainX is the AI-powered maintenance and asset management system that brings your unplanned maintenance downtime to zero. MaintainX lets you build preventative maintenance schedules, manage work orders in real time, and access the data you need to make better decisions. Try MaintainX for free. Control the daily operations of your business and transform your maintenance program. Go to maintainx.com slash sports. That's maintain and the letter x dot com slash sports. Save money and get a better view of the road when you replace your worn out wiper blades at O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

36:38Right now, save$10 on a pair of Rain-X Latitude wiper blades. They feature beam blade technology to improve windshield contact for maximum visibility. The professional parts people will even install your new wiper blades for free. Choose Rain-X Latitude Wiper Blades at your local O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or online at OReillyAuto.com.

37:22A win for Borussia Dortmund, but it's six points then between the top two, given Bayern's run of late. Jules with us. Jules, do you watch this for us? What's going on with Bayern? It's interesting, isn't it? Because there's a defeat, obviously, last week in the derby against Augsburg, where they were very good in the second half. And then, as we said, I think we were together with Stevie on the show last week as well on Saturday, and we said they just stopped playing. They took it for granted that they were going to win that derby and that game, and Augsburg came back in the second half and took the chances well and put a lot of intensity.

37:54And I thought this afternoon was the same. Hamburg were really intense and went for it. And Bayern were far too open defensively, far too exposed, almost like if they thought, we don't really need to defend. It's only Hamburg, even away from home. They're not that good. And they're not that good, Hamburg. We know that they're going to fight not to go down, back down after just coming up last summer. And I think they took it for granted after the Luis Diaz goal. And it's just not good enough. again Pavlovich, Kimmich in that midfield were at time overrun Neuer came back and had to make a couple of really good saves as well to not concede more when we saw earlier the stats and the expected goals it's 2.3 expected goals against Bayern Munich since when do Bayern Munich give away so many chances, so many opportunities so disappointing again they mourn a lot about the referee after the game which I think shows you that they know their performance was no good because to try to deflect the attention onto the referee is because Kompany and the players knew that.

38:51And the referee wasn't good. Let's give him that for sure. But it's still not the reason why he didn't win the game today. Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt taking on Bayer Leverkusen. Plenty of goals in this game. We'll start the 26th minute and it would be Bayer Leverkusen who would take the lead here. Arthur into Grimaldo. We backseed it back into Arthur to make it 1-0. Yeah, a good combination play between the two. Cheeky little back heel, that's a good finish. Just take six minutes later for Bayle Everkusen to make it 2-0 here. Manly into Tillman, it's Manly Tillman who would make it 2.

39:35Yeah, the initial cross is sort of deflected just here. And then nothing really on apart from an oncoming player who he's unselfishly lays it back to. Into the second half, Robin Cockett with the chance. Initially it's saved. And the rebound. Thank you. Yeah, unfortunately it has to keep it with the first one. The second one, the second one's a little harder. He has to react quickly. Just can't keep it on for him. 20 minutes to go. Now this will be a yellow card here. The skiri. And there's only really one reason we show a yellow card because... Another one's coming. Indeed it is Stephen. Your big spoiler.

40:21There it is. This is just moments after he got his first by the way. You know the stupid thing about it is he actually, he knows exactly what he's doing and raises his leg the second time. He deserves it for stupidity. And Bayer Leverkusen would eventually make the most of that extra man as they would make it 3-1 here, Alex Garcia. Yeah, nice running behind, a nice finish. Rolls it home with the left peg.

40:52Ball's well held up here. Time to perfection. I think it's through the keeper's legs as well. Another good week then for Frankfurt as by Leverkusen get the victory.

41:08Horrible week for Marseille. Obviously knocked out of the Champions League after Benfica's late winner. And then today 2-0 up against Paris FC. Looked like they were cruising. In the end it finishes 2-2 to leave them seven points off Lens at the top of the table. Jules, just explain for those who haven't followed the story. What happened with Deserby midweek? There were talks of him quitting and is he still in charge? where are we with this? Yeah, he's still in charge. He had a massive meeting on Thursday afternoon with Pablo Longoria, the Marseille president, and Mehdi Benazia, the sporting director, where after what happened in Bruges, as you mentioned, their 3-0 defeat, combined with the win from Benfica and the last-minute goal from Trubin that knocked them out from the Champions League, which is really bad.

41:52It's an embarrassing result. It's a failure from the Zerbis for the club not to have qualified. I don't think he I was told he didn't offer his resignation but he said if I'm the problem I go they didn't want him to go he stayed but by that time he'd leaked everywhere that they had this big meeting and that he could have gone but he's still very much there but he's at war with the French media there's a lot of issues within the dressing room between the Zerbi and some of the players between Benatia and some of the players like Mason Greenwood where they don't talk to each other they don't even say hello to each other that's your star player best player and your sporting director that puts your manager in a difficult position because he's close to Greenwood but he's also close to Benatia so there's there's a bit of a mess everywhere and today they were in control for 80 minutes there was just Paris FC did nothing until that first goal from Iconet by the way former PhD Paris Bonham Bright player and then Kebal who is actually from Marseille the irony again and then they crumbled and Rulli who's been so good for them before made a massive mistake on Wednesday that cost them the first goal, made a massive mistake today that cost them two more points and if PSG won, Lens won already yesterday if PSG win tomorrow is Marseille who are back into the title race after they beat Lens last weekend will be too far away again and the crisis will deepen even more.

43:13Great stuff Jules thank you very much, are you doing anything tomorrow? Going to any games? Spurs City tomorrow. Lovely enjoy it, thank you very much Jules one last league to visit and that is Italy. Napoli with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina keeps them in the title race. Six adrift of Inter at the top. For a lot more, what's going on in Italy and indeed across Europe? Plus, Jules is very personal insight into Spurs against City. Check out the latest edition of the Gavin Jules podcast that drops on Monday. When was the last time you felt in control of your business finances? Expenses tracked, invoices sent, taxes ready?

43:49That's where Found comes in. Found brings your banking, bookkeeping, invoicing, and taxes together in one simple app. Manage expenses, invoice clients, send payments, and prep for tax time right where you bank. Join the hundreds of thousands who have already streamlined their finances with Found. Open a Found account for free at found.com. That's F-O-U-N-D dot com. Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by lead bank member FDIC. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin?

44:23Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews, all on the Thumbtack app. Download today.

44:42Oh yeah, they've got a win. Big win. Wow. Against Girona. Still getting relegated. Oh, they are. Yes, they are. Ilyas Karrar here with the goal. That's even closer than the Aubameyang's, isn't it? Two yards. We're getting closer to the goal line. Yep. Easy peasy. Oviedo then gets the victory. What did Sid say? 32 points he thought they might get? Yeah. I don't think even with that victory it is feasible. And they, of course, are now, well, six points of safety. Yeah. Don't miss what he said. Yeah. Not less than he said. Elsewhere, which Villarreal would turn up? The Champions League one or La Liga one?

45:29Fifteen minutes in, Nicolas Pepe would get brought down here. Would Arsenal pay for him? 75. Yeah, record fee at the time. Moreno, 1-0. Three minutes later, Victor Munoz here makes it 1-1. I think he just gets across the defender. Defender doesn't attack it and waits for it. And then into injury time in the first half. Osasuna make it 2-1. However, Villarreal will get the equaliser 20 minutes ago in the game. Pepe with the corner, Moreno. They get 2-2. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid can only manage a 0-0 draw against Levante, meaning Villarreal remain just three points off Simeone's side. Our feature game was of course Barcelona in action against Elche.

46:21Let's get some post-match reaction. How happy are you with the game of La Minja Mal and Frenkie de Jong? No, both are fantastic players, also very important for us. So I always like how we play as a team and this was good today also. And of course these two players are playing fantastic, especially in the offense. and keep the ball and also a lot of chances for us. So it's a good thing. The game was a bit more open today than normally, because Elche wants to play out from the back. They want to press high, they go even one against one lots of times. So then the game is more open and there's a bit more space to make your own actions and dribbles.

47:07Normally, mostly all the teams in La Liga, they go back against us. So there's less space. Today was a bit more space, so it was nice to play. And tell me about your assist with that double dribble for the Ferran goal. Yeah, I got the ball from Joan, I think. I played to Lamin, he played a good back. Ferran played to Lamin, Ferran to me. I even thought I was offside in the beginning, but luckily not, and Ferran scored a good goal. Gemma's still with us. Gemma, I just wanted to ask you about the fitness of Rafinha. Obviously, he had to come off at half-time. What are they saying about him?

47:45No, it's not serious. They are not concerned. Hansi Flick said that the plan was to make him play 60 minutes because he was coming a bit tired into this game, but he had some discomfort so they decided to change him in the half-time. And also I've just seen Jules Koundé, I asked him if he's okay, he's okay too. So they are not concerned, but of course out of precaution we will see if they will play against Albacete midweek. Barcelona should win this league, shouldn't they, Gemma?

48:18You never know, but it's true that they managed to win 11 of the last 12 games. And it's also that thing that they are good, they are not perfect, they are struggling in defence, but you look at the neighbours and they are worse. So I think this is the feeling of this Barcelona. They are optimistic. They know they need to improve, especially in defence, also in the midfield in soft games. but they look better than the neighbours Real and Atletico. Live tomorrow of course it is Real Madrid against Real Veracano. This is of course Real Madrid's first game after that defeat against Benfica. We know what the fans are like when they put in those sort of performances.

48:52Are we expecting whistles and which players in particular will be focused on?

49:00We will see. I think it will be quite general to the team but especially some players get the target Vinicius, Bellingham in some of the games too. And then it comes a time that if the things don't go well, especially in La Liga, because the kind of fan base that attends the La Liga games and the champions are different and La Liga, it's more the members, the people really, and not so many tourists. So we might see some whistles if things don't go well for Real Madrid. Brace, Lafgema, thank you very much. So, Real Madrid against Raio Vallecano then, live tomorrow here on ESPN+. Our preview courage with Kay and Ali begins at 7.30pm Eastern.

49:42That is it. That brings us to the end of today's show. As always, extra time to come. We'll be answering some of your questions. Just Craig and Stevie. Set pieces. Is that a dumpster? Arsenal. Yeah, stay with us for that, if you like.

50:00Welcome in to the latest edition of Extra Time. Stevie, what do you make of the fact that own goal is tied for second amongst Arsenal's leading scorers in the league? You know, people bring that up as if that's some sort of bad reflection on Arsenal or something else. But the reason that that happens is because of the pressure that Arsenal put on teams. It's part of the game. Yeah. So I don't understand. It feels like criticism. That's what it feels like when it shouldn't be. Shouldn't be. Yeah. No. The top of the league, they've just won 4-0. They were pitch perfect in the Champions League. It was eight wins out of eight.

50:40Yes, sir. They got the biggest squad. Yeah. I mean, lovely life. Stop having a go at them. Yeah. Stevie, have you ever been booked for celebrating a goal when you managed, like, what happened to Moyes today? Everton of course getting that late, late equalised, didn't they? I didn't see it. What did he do? He got booked for celebrating. Yeah, no. No. No? No. Funny enough, what we should have had on for this segment was Kieran Gibbs. Yes, he would have been. Who likes to pick out the crappiest games of the weekend. Kieran on Monday was like, I love watching the lower sides in the Premier League, not watching Arsenal.

51:15I mean, I checked it at half-time and unsurprisingly, the game was at the Amex down in Britain. And Everton being Everton, I was saying to you earlier, their expected goals was 0.08. Which is basically, you've not even got within a sniff of the penalty box. What was Barstas at half-time? Four and a half. And I thought to myself, this is a game that you should never watch. So I don't know what he's done, but anyway. I was thinking when you were swearing at the referee today, would you be the same on the touchline when you were at the revs? No. No. So you would kind of try and filter it? Well, I would be angry, I would be looking for something to kick, a punch, and I would be swearing, but I would make sure that the referee wouldn't see me doing it.

52:06Okay. I just go in a little bubble and go mental. Okay. Same with Because you're being mean to that referee today Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with Same with My first reaction was always anger But that was even when you played Yeah You had really angry celebrations Well it was always like a I can't say what I was going to say You're a bit like that when Somebody tries to You know Share your chips Aye No I was not I was definitely angry I was definitely angry A family packet Yeah But I A tent It was a tent Yeah Okay Gael Pedro tried to push Traure to defend Cucurella and had fear in his eyes.

52:46Walked back when Traure walked over to him. I wouldn't realise. Who would be the Traure of your era? I had a bit of this. Actually, I've told this story a hundred times. I'll keep it short. AD Akinbaye, Leicester City. When he took his top off in the tunnel, Leicester v Derby, East Midlands Derby, he was the same size as Adama Traore or bigger. Wow. And I took, now it wasn't just me, but it was a bunch of us. But I took him removing his shirt as a sign of aggression, not as a sign of let's try and find peace. And he was like, and he went like that as well. He went, and I went, all right, right lads, in the dressing room.

53:36But he was, yeah, when he come over But obviously most of it was pushing and shoving again But he got really angry, didn't he? Okay Traore, did you see that bit? Yeah It's just more pushing No one's throwing a punch Well there was actually a slap on the face that wasn't Yeah, that's not a punch And then the player was sent off for grabbing Yeah No, but you don't have to punch somebody to get sent off No, he should have gone I was surprised We said when they did the VAR check He didn't go for a little slap on Colt Harmon There's only one man that wouldn't back away from Traore Billy Whitehouse.

54:06Okay. Big Billy Whitehouse. The most feared man in the football league during the 80s. I mean, Billy was just an absolute monster. He knocked anybody, nobody, I don't remember anybody ever going up and pushing Billy or doing anything to Billy. Because they knew exactly what was going to happen. We played them when he was at Oxford. and he went for a challenge and he ended up I swear his brains weren't hanging out the back of his head seriously and Alan Hansen as Big Billy's going off he's looking over at me going like that so happy to see the back of Big Billy right I see five minutes later Big Billy appeared at the side with the biggest bandage you've ever seen coming back on he's coming and he's staring at the side like a bull and the Big Al looked across at me again and went oh no I heard something about Big Billy when Vinny Jones signed for Sheffield United.

55:03Now, as you know, Vinny's got a reputation that's a bit of a hardy. And I was at Chelsea as a youngster with him. He is a hardy guy, but he's a nice fella. But he can handle himself. But anyway, he signed for Sheffield United and Billy obviously knew Vinny's reputation. So they were in the dressing room one day and apparently Billy Whitehurst came in and said, who's that fancy car in the car park? And Jonesy went, that's mine. He went, oh, good, because I've just reversed into it. and he was looking for a reaction yeah and Vinny even Vinny Jones thought that it was like Kerry Dixon at Chelsea lovely guy remember we were playing Hull City who were in the lower leagues at the time our lower divisions and he said who's the centre halves for Hull he asked one of the coaches you'll know them Briggs it was Shorten and Briggs two guys that would a bit like Billy Whitehurst right yeah put it one way put it one way Off the ball, people were just getting...

55:59And this was no VAR, obviously, back in those days. No VAR. Two cameras, one at each end. Yeah. But you don't see that. That's a good thing. Because you don't want to see people getting elbowed in the face and your nose getting splattered. Because that's what used to happen. Look at Mariners' nose. It did. Oxford had a golf day. Right. So Big Billy... Big Billy just kind of... Go see his own beat. You know what I mean? So Big Billy was walking on the green with his clubs, just dropping them on the green and then putting them. Right. And there was a green keeper watching them and followed them.

56:35So after about five holes, they get on the green, Big Billy does the same, takes the clubs off, just drops them right on the middle of the green. Close to the cold as you can. And the green keeper came up and went, Excuse me, excuse me! Billy's like that. He said, what? The greenkeeper went, you're not supposed to put your clubs on the green, you're supposed to leave your clubs off the green and then you take your potter and you do that. And Billy went, who are you? And he went, I'm the greenkeeper. And he went, alright. He grabbed them, picked them up, like that. He picked up the greenkeeper.

57:06He picked up the greenkeeper, walked across to the bunker and threw the guy in the bunker. The guy never, the guy never. They're not quite right. Trust me. I don't think I would have gone on with him at all. I could tell you a thousand big bullies. After a game. Four pints. Four pints. You know, we couldn't wait to get in to get a pint. Big Billy with a four layup in Oxford. They knew Big Billy. So they had four waiting for him. As soon as he walked in, just threw them down his neck. People used to... Honestly, Billy. People used to... The centre-halves used to panic just playing against them, didn't they?

57:43Oh. Fortunately, it was before my time. Just, just, just. Thoughts on Liam Rossini, Craig? Now he's managed a few games at Chelsea. He seems like a very intelligent and calm guy with a bright future. How do you know he's intelligent? Well, he's articulate. Yeah, I mean, he says the right thing, but he doesn't say the right things. He talks, I think, a little bit. What's the right terminology I need to use here? It's manager speak. He talks in ways that he's trying to almost befuddle people that haven't played the game, that we don't understand. It's a little bit too much, but you can't argue against results.

58:27I don't think the performances have been always great, but results have been one apart, they've been pretty good. So, yeah, I mean, you can't ask for much more than that, but I think there's a long way to go before we see what happens there. But yeah, pretty good start for a young manager. Is Garnaccio worthy of the Chelsea shirt, Stephen?

58:51I'm not a fan of Garnaccio. I'm just not a fan of Garnaccio. From a lot of angles. Not just on the football field. I don't like his demeanour and his attitude. I don't like his final ball. Generally, in my opinion, his final ball lets him down. way, you know, because of his pace he's got a wee bit of a step, he gets himself half a yard or a yard on defenders, but too many times he picks the wrong pass or makes the wrong decision, and again I don't like the way he plays the game. I don't think it's a disaster having him there, but I think he's, to me he's a technical player he's a technical player that comes on in 75 80 minutes when everybody's knackered and there's a bit of space and he used his pace and he might do something, he might not.

59:44But for a starter? At Chelsea anyway, as a starter, no. Can you imagine him playing 25 years ago? 20 years ago? He'd be in the hospital most weekends. I mean, and one of the things that we were always told... Big Billy getting hooded, McGee. One of the things we were always told was don't do anything to make the opposition or the fans or anybody who's trying to beat you don't do anything, encourage them to try hard. And he's the type of guy, just by the way he plays the game and his demeanour, makes everybody who's against him want to make sure he doesn't do right. Isn't there a clip of you pointing to an imaginary watch in a game to wind up the opponents?

1:00:29Yeah, well, listen, we all slip up now. I can assure you, I'm not... What was the watch thing then? So he's in the corner dancing with the ball and then points at his watch to wind him up. I remember Terry Phelan played left back. I played with him. No, I played with him at Chelsea. Terry closed me down but was too far off me, basically. He was basically the width of this table for me. And we were winning. And I'm basically in the corner trying to waste time. And then for some reason I've given it to one of them. Because I'm standing doing all this and then I went like that. But that wasn't normally me.

1:01:04I don't know why that happened. Did Terry not run at you? Because he's not the biggest Terry, but he's also got a little bit of madness about him. No, he can leave a little bit. But he didn't. Has there ever been a player, Craig, more consistently inconsistent as Ferran Torres? Could have scored a lot today. Obviously got one. I think that's harsh. Today could have had a lot. Oh, sorry. Could have had, you know, a heartful today, really. But over the last 18 months in particular, he's been very good. He's been very good as a... He's keeping Lewandowski on. He was a supplement to Lewandowski to give him some rest, take him off in games.

1:01:44He was the guy that would come on wide right, wide left, through the middle, whatever it was and do a job. He's now the guy. So, yeah, he's been consistent. Today he just wasn't very clinical in front of goal. Final question Stevie As a Patriots fan Are you still a Patriots fan? I am Are you back on the bandwagon now? No I have to say I've lost touch with it But I still wanted to win Okay You think like You know There'd be some sort of bitterness there I'm not just saying because you were No I'm just pointing out the obvious No not at all Stevie's not bitter is he really? No Why would he be bitter?

1:02:28No, I mean, I don't have sacked you. No, I know, I'm just saying some people... If I was them, I'd have sacked me or not. Some people... Because he was crap to sack me. If I was them, I would have done that. I mean, I'm not suggesting I would, I just didn't bother him, but some people would. Suggesting I hold a grudge. I don't hold a grudge. I actually don't, really, to be honest. But some people would, in that situation, be like, never going back there again. Right, what's your reaction to Bill Belichick not being selected? Absolute scarlet, it just shows you. Absolute garbage. I'll tell you what, there's...

1:03:05And was that because... I don't think there's ever been a decision that a group of people have made that has personal written all over it. It's completely and utterly a personal decision that all these Muppets haven't voted for him. Because if you wanted to stick to what he's done, how he's coached, titles, you name it, players that he's made better, he would be number one. You would have to actually have a discussion on who was better than him and the history of the game. So the fact that he's been elbowed, it's just frightening. That's like having Messi, not in the Hall of Fame. Did you have a relationship with him?

1:03:52No. Did you have any conversations ever? No, we'd pass in the corridor and say hello Right, that was it No story No, he's a man of few Well, he used to be a man of few worlds But he never got voted in Right By some of the I don't even know who he was voting Some of these people that are voting You say it was personal That's because of some of the stuff That was alleged to have happened Off the field The Spygate stuff and all that I believe that's why some of them Right. Dim. Yeah. Yeah. But even Tick, Tick, I'm not suggesting that's right, I'm just saying that's why. Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

1:04:33There we go. Will you go to the Super Bowl? Not this time, no. Have you been to a Super Bowl? I have been to a couple. To San Francisco. You've been to a couple, haven't you? Yeah. Which ones did you go to? Both Patriots winning ones? Yes. Freebies? Yes. Nice. Of course it was a freebie. Told you that's from Banzi and I won. That's when you were drunk on the TV at half-time. I was drunk. I had about eight pints in me. I was walking around the stadium with my son, my own Michael. Yes. And this guy stopped me and went, hey, Stevie. I was like, hi, how are you doing? He said, hey, by the way, we've got Banzi in the stadium.

1:05:06I was like, say hello. He said, no, would you come on at half-time and talk to Banzi in the studio? I was like, ah, of course I will. So sure enough, I get a phone call from the guy about 20 minutes before the half time He said, can you come up, blah blah blah, where are you? I'll send somebody down, honestly So I'm drunk, Barnsley wasn't And we're sitting talking about American football Why was Barnsley there? I have no idea Was he not presenting for Channel 4? Something like that Channel 5, sorry, he did some presenting The thing is, my Michael played making football. So I kind of knew some things.

1:05:49Right. So we, I think, I mean, I think we got away with it, but... I think we got away with it. I doubt that. I doubt that. Well, people at home watching it wouldn't know anyway. We wouldn't know whether we're talking rubbish or not. So that's why we got away with it. It's a niche audience, I would imagine. Exactly. That is it. That brings us to the end of today's show. We are back tomorrow to reflect on Spurs against Manchester City plus Real Madrid, of course, in action. It'd be interesting to see We're at reception there. Players get at the Santiago Bernabeu. Be sure to join us.

1:06:44your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by.