Eze Sinks Spurs Again

22 Feb 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 27 chapters

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In short

Podcast Summary: ESPN FC Episode - "Eze Sinks Spurs Again"

Episode Overview In this episode of ESPN FC, the crew discusses Arsenal's impressive 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby. They analyze the performance of Arsenal’s new signings, especially focusing on Eze and Gyokeres. Additionally, the crew reflects on Liverpool’s narrow win over Nottingham Forest and the implications of these matches for both teams.

Key Highlights

Arsenal vs. Tottenham

  • Match Outcome: Arsenal defeated Tottenham 4-1.
  • Key Players: Eze and Gyokeres showcased outstanding performances, each scoring crucial goals.
  • Match Events:
  • Eze opened the scoring, followed shortly by Kolomouani equalizing for Spurs.
  • Arsenal regained control, with Kjokeres scoring early in the second half, leading to a dominant display thereafter.
  • Tottenham had a goal disallowed for a foul, which shifted momentum heavily in Arsenal's favor.

Tactical Analysis

  • Arsenal's Strategy:
  • High pressing and quick transitions were pivotal.
  • New signings Eze and Gyokeres proved to be impactful, suggesting they are finally finding their form.
  • The crew emphasized the importance of consistent performances from key players like Eze, who has struggled with injuries and position changes.
  • Tottenham's Challenges:
  • Injuries and managerial instability have hampered Spurs, leading to poor performances.
  • The team showed some initial fight but lacked the quality to maintain pressure against a stronger Arsenal side.
  • Discussion about Spurs' relegation battle ensued, with the crew analyzing their current form and potential to stay up.

Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest

  • Match Outcome: Liverpool won 1-0 in a tightly contested match.
  • Key Moments:
  • Alisson's saves and defensive performances kept Liverpool in the game during a lackluster first half.
  • McAllister scored the late winner, despite an overall poor performance from the team.

Tactical Analysis

  • Liverpool's Struggles:
  • The crew noted Liverpool’s ongoing issues with consistency and performance levels.
  • Criticism was directed at the lack of midfield dominance and the need for improvement in possession play.
  • There were concerns about the team's mentality and preparation leading into matches.

General Observations

  • Arsenal's Title Challenge:
  • The crew believes Arsenal remains a strong contender for the Premier League title, emphasizing their depth and quality.
  • Previous slip-ups were seen as part of their growth process.
  • Future Outlook for Spurs:
  • The discussion encompassed the possibility of Spurs fighting relegation.
  • There were mixed feelings about the team's spirit and potential to avoid the drop, highlighting the need for tactical changes and a consistent squad.

Key Takeaways

  • Arsenal's resurgence in form, especially from new signings, may signal a turning point in their season.
  • Tottenham faces significant challenges that may jeopardize their Premier League position.
  • Liverpool’s upcoming matches are crucial as they strive to secure a Champions League spot amidst inconsistent performances.

Discussion Points

  • Player Development: The crew debated the importance of consistent game time for players like Eze to develop their skills and confidence.
  • Managerial Decisions: The tactical decisions of Arteta (Arsenal) and Slott (Liverpool) regarding player selections and formations were critically analyzed.
  • Team Dynamics: The importance of camaraderie and team spirit, especially for Spurs fighting relegation, was emphasized as essential for the remaining matches.

Conclusion The episode provided a comprehensive analysis of key matches in the Premier League, highlighting the implications for Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool as they navigate the challenges of the season. The discussions offered insights into player performances, tactical strategies, and the ever-evolving dynamics of the Premier League.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Premier League Recap: North London Derby

0:34 to 1:19

Discussion of the North London derby with Tottenham and Arsenal, highlighting Arsenal's victory and Eze's performance.

“Welcome in to the latest edition of ESPN FC.”

Analysis of Arsenal's Winning Strategy

1:19 to 3:27

In-depth analysis of Arsenal's gameplay and Eze's contributions amidst Tottenham's struggles.

“Jurgen, a massive win for Arsenal considering what happened midweek.”

Eze's Role and Importance

3:27 to 6:39

Discussion on Eze's potential and the need for consistent play to maximize his impact in the team.

“I think Tower of Terror is what it's like for Spurs at the moment.”

Managerial Decisions: Balancing the Line-up

6:39 to 9:35

Insights into Mikel Arteta's management style and how he balances selecting players like Eze.

“I think the player that plays up front is the player that's scoring goals.”

Relegation Battle: Tottenham's Prospects

9:35 to 12:11

Exploration of Tottenham's relegation battle and their potential to avoid dropping out of the Premier League.

“what we love from a fan perspective but then you also need the consistency as well and that's something that he probably talks to him every week about.”

Tottenham's Managerial Challenges

14:01 to 16:42

Discussion on Thomas Frank's suitability for Tottenham and the team's struggles.

“But you can't argue that, well, these players showed some spirit today.”

Crowd Support and Team Spirit

16:42 to 18:43

Analysis of crowd energy and its impact on Spurs' performance dynamics.

“It doesn't moan about watching football.”

The Drinking Culture in Football

18:43 to 21:52

Exploration of how managers and players approach camaraderie and team bonding.

“Just enjoy your friendship and get drunk if needed and go back the day after and work hard.”

Managerial Strategies and Team Dynamics

21:52 to 23:17

Discussion on how managers influence team dynamics and bonding outside of training.

“Yeah I think one part is that The players organize themselves and going out and having a good time.”

Liverpool's Recent Performance Insights

23:17 to 24:58

Review of Liverpool's recent match and analysis of their performance struggles.

“special watch part if you want to register just click on the QR code to get details how you can go there.”
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The Importance of Team Preparation

24:58 to 28:00

Critique of Liverpool's lackluster performance and the role of team preparation.

“I think it's pretty easily explained because they've been so mediocre all year but I'm not surprised I'm not surprised that Gravenberg and McAllister and Salah again.”

Analyzing Team Performance Issues

28:00 to 29:00

A discussion on Manchester United's and other teams' struggles in the league.

“But, you know, Chelsea play the same way.”

Managerial Accountability in Poor Performances

29:00 to 30:00

Exploration of the manager's role in the team's mental state and readiness for games.

“You're not telling me that they were all in the dressing room and there was a lot of energy and everybody's discussing where they should be and what they should be doing and then you walk out and do that.”

Player Fitness and Game Readiness

30:00 to 31:00

Discussion on player fitness levels and the impact on performance during games.

Mentality of Players in Critical Moments

31:00 to 32:00

Insight into players' mental states and decisions to play while not fully fit.

“if we went out to the warm-up, it'd have to be something that completely goes.”

Barcelona's Recent Performance and Strategy

32:00 to 34:10

Overview of Barcelona's strategies and performance following recent losses.

“That would be one of the questions, I think, going forward.”

The Importance of Early Goals in Games

34:10 to 36:20

How early goals can influence game dynamics and team confidence.

“So, yeah, I think the coach and the player, we identified what we could improve and now we're working on it.”

Assessing Real Madrid's Form and Future

36:20 to 37:10

Analysis of Real Madrid's recent performances and their prospects in upcoming matches.

“In fact, his passing was almost as good as De Bruyne's when he went in there.”

Comparative Analysis of La Liga Teams

37:10 to 39:40

Discussion on how various La Liga teams are performing and their playing styles.

“I had that thought that, you know what, this just might be what they need.”

Casual Banter and Spurs Mourning

42:01 to 42:36

The hosts engage in light-hearted banter about Spurs and personal experiences.

“I don't expect anything from you anyway.”

Arsenal's Dominance and Odegaard's Future

42:36 to 44:38

Discussion centers on Arsenal's current form and Odegaard's potential exit.

“Is there a response from Arsenal received to recent form?”

Champions League Predictions

44:38 to 47:11

The hosts speculate on Arsenal's chances in the Premier League and Champions League.

“you know he's very elegant and everything but he's not influential anymore.”

Personal Experiences Against Teams

47:11 to 50:44

The hosts share their experiences of playing against specific teams and stadiums.

“Who's going to win the Champions League?”

Scottish Football Updates

50:44 to 55:58

Hosts discuss the current state of Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish leagues.

“But the stadium where I hated to play was Highbury.”

Exploring Past Relationships

56:01 to 56:58

The hosts discuss their past relationships and encounters in football.

“It's too much of the same every season, but I don't know if it will happen.”

Memorable Matches and Mistakes

56:59 to 57:26

The conversation shifts to memorable games, focusing on a notable mistake.

“Yes Yeah Just sticks with me that game It was like such a big game and there was so little on TV then.”

Athleticism and Recognition

57:27 to 57:44

Discussion on the athleticism of Stevie and how perceptions have changed.

“With that strip, John Barnes and all that.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00From 30 for 30 podcasts.

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0:34Welcome in to the latest edition of ESPN FC. I'm Dan Thomas, shown by Craig Burley and Stevie Nicholl. We'll kick things off in the Premier League. All eyes on the North London derby. Tottenham taking on Arsenal. Arsenal looking to bounce back, of course, after that blip against Wolves. And they did, in some style in the end, thrashing their rivals by four goals to one. Eze the star of the show once again, as he was, of course, when these two teams met earlier in the season. He would open the scoring with a quick equaliser from Mouane. Arsenal then making it 2-1. Spurs thought they got the equaliser, however it was chalked off for a push on Gabriel and Arsenal just ran away with it.

1:08Eze Jorcares on the score sheet as well. What that means at the top of the table then, Arsenal back to five clear of Manchester City. Joining us, Frank LePoeuf and Jurgen Klinsmann. Jurgen, a massive win for Arsenal considering what happened midweek. Absolutely a massive win. I mean, it was a highly interesting game. Obviously, you know, Tottenham with their back against the walls and they know that it's difficult times fighting our relegation suddenly and having a change of manager. So they went through a lot the last couple of days and Arsenal needed these three points also badly because Man City is coming back up.

1:50So from the beginning on, we saw a highly interesting game. I thought the energy in the stadium was unbelievable. At least it came across on TV. So supportive from the Spurs fans. They really believed in something special can happen. Even when Arsenal went up with Eze, his first goal, that was believed. They responded right away. Kolomouani scored the equalizer just two, three minutes after Arsenal's goal. And the atmosphere seemed to be boiling over. It was fantastic. But then right after halftime, you know, Kjokeres with his first one, like two, three minutes into the second half, you know, kind of killed almost everybody.

2:26You know, it's just like, no. And then the 3-1 then, you know, killed it off. Even if Richarlison, I think at the end, you know, if this goes in in the 83rd minute there, 3-2, we might have still an interesting game. Overall, there's no doubt that Arsenal was the better team over the whole 90 minutes, created far more chances. and Tottenham is now going through an emotional rollercoaster the next couple of weeks because they need desperately points, obviously, to fight relegation. At the same time, they play Champions League, as crazy as it sounds, in the middle of March. And to joggle these two things, it's not going to be easy for Tudor, but it's doable.

3:10I thought we saw some light things, some positives that they can definitely take away with. But obviously, when you hear then the result for one, it is for all of us as Spurs fans, it's a very, very bitter result. Yeah, rollercoaster, I think, complementor. I think Tower of Terror is what it's like for Spurs at the moment. We'll talk about that and their relegation scrap, which is definitely a fact later on. But for Arsenal, Craig, as I said, exactly what needed. And it's the two new signings that they spent a lot of money on, obviously, in the summer, who haven't maybe had the impact that we're expecting, had the impact today.

3:44Yeah, I mean, obviously, Jacques Reza had a lot of time and space for the first one, and he shrugged off young Archie Gray for the second. But that's part of the game. You have to deal with that. Eze, obviously, it has been a rollercoaster for him. He's a better player, I think, much better player than we've seen in terms of his consistency. But I think that's been plagued a little bit by Odegaard's return, and that kind of muddied the waters. So he spent a bit of time out of position. He spent a bit of time on the bench, and I think he's found it hard to get the consistency. We talked about Odegaard last year in the bigger games.

4:17He's a tidy player, but does he do it enough in terms of end product in the bigger games? And I think there is a question to be asked about that, whereas I think if you give Eze a run on the team, I do think he's got more end product to his game. You know, Odegaard does some lovely things in the middle of the park and some nice little link-up play and all that. I'm not taking that away from him, Stevie, but I just feel with Eze. he may not do he may sometimes look a little lazy a little lumber and maybe gives the ball away now and again but you just feel that he's got that special ingredient in him to play a pass to score a goal to do something different Remember what you said during the game you said Odegaard's not in the position in the box to score in the first goal Right and that really is that's been a problem for Arsenal all season somebody from the middle of the park getting in the box and putting the ball in the back of the net because Jokeres hasn't been as consistently doing that as we hoped.

5:13So yeah, I think personally I think Eze has to be given a chance in that spot in a run of games. It's unfair to put somebody in for a game, take them out for a game in for another game in such an important position because that is the key for Arsenal. They need somebody in the middle of the park to go forward and either create chances and he did that last week in the FA Cup and then today scoring goals. So he has to be able to get some consistent games together to give an opportunity to be the player we know he is. You keep taking him in and out. He's never going to do that consistently. I don't know how long after it was when he scored the hat-trick at the Emirates against Spurs that they played Villa away.

5:59I'm not saying it was the next game but it might have been a game or two. I don't know. I can't remember. But they played Villa away. They didn't play particularly well. Odegaard played and as he was shifted onto the left-hand side, which, by the way, is where he played for Crystal Palace, a lot. But he had a really poor game and he was subbed, I think, after 45 minutes, and he just felt that knocked his... Even though he scored the hat-trick not too long before, he just felt that knocked his confidence a little bit, thinking, I'm going to get shifted when Odegaard's back, I'm not going to play.

6:27And sometimes that gets into the mental side of a player's head. But I agree with Stevie, I think if they give him a run of games in that position, sometimes he gets a little frustrating during a game, but most of the time, he then pops up and he does something really good, he plays a lovely pass over the top or he turns it up, he scores a goal or he's on the end of something and I think at the moment if you asked most Arsenal fans who would you prefer in there, I think certainly from my point of view, Eze would be the one. And on the other point with the strikers we've had this conversation, I think Julian Laurent has said many times, oh Arteta will be horses for courses in terms of if it's Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus or Victor Jokeres that plays up front, I think that's smoke and mirrors.

7:12I think the player that plays up front is the player that's scoring goals. And the fact that Jokeres wasn't and Jesus was fit and Havertz was back was the reason he was on the bench. But if he goes on a run between now and end of the season, which will take them to the league title, by the way, he'll be the guy that starts, regardless whether they're playing Wolverhampton Wanderers or Manchester City. Jürgen, just going back to Eze, just explain it as a manager. How much... Obviously, Mick Arteza's got a plan, yeah? He knows exactly what he wants his 11 players out there to do. How much sway do you give new players like Eze, who maybe doesn't fit one of those boxes, yet can add a different dimension to what you're thinking?

7:48Obviously, the narrative was, oh, Arteta doesn't trust Eze. As a manager, how do you deal with balance? Well, I think, you know, Mikel Arteta is doing a fantastic job there. Evaluating those players every day, thinking about, you know, who's the next opponent, you know, what fits the best. also two-wood set opponent that they're playing. And, you know, he has obviously a high-quality roster with 16, 18 players at least, you know, where he can double the positions and he can, yeah, play different formats, play different ways. You know, I mean, look who's on the bench. I mean, Harvard's on the bench.

8:25Martinelli came in at the end, you know. And then it depends, you know, how do you want to kind of field yourself defensively. You know, when you have Eze on the field, you play him as a 10, and behind you have Odegaard, if you play him as well, then you need a really good number six, you know, cleaning up the mess, you know, which Declan Rice, you know, is usually doing that. It's a daily job. And probably throughout the week, you change a couple of times your ideas and your thoughts on who to field at the end of the day and on the weekend in the games. But this is what the beauty is of the job when you have, you know, know, so exceptional players, so many exceptional players in your roster that you have that choice on the weekend or during the week when you play Champions League games.

9:11And it's not an easy one. It's not an easy one because for us fans, it's a heated discussion, you know, who's the better one? I mean, obviously, when you see him play, you know, he's at the right time at the right spot. He's creative. He does a little bit of the crazier stuff. You know, sometimes he looks a little bit kind of off and then suddenly he turns it on and he can decide your game in a split second and that's what we love from a fan perspective but then you also need the consistency as well and that's something that he probably talks to him every week about. Frank, best to last as always.

9:46Overall, away from Jorquerez, away from Eze, you look at this and this is just a huge sigh of relief, isn't it, for Arsenal fans? Oh yes, definitely. I mean, that was a real challenge and especially for Derby, and you needed to win that game, and they did it. And even if the first half was, let's say, so-so in terms of fighting, and I think Tottenham were very courageous and they tried their best, as Jürgen mentioned, as soon as they scored a second goal, it was like already over. And it's only fair that Arsenal won that game because you can feel that they were much better than Spurs. Spurs had 10 men, 10 important men in their team away because of injury.

10:31So it was, you know, unbalanced, I would say, in a way. But overall, I have to say that I, and that was part of the debate, I'm very fond of Eze in the way that he pushes himself to go to the goal, where other guys are more somebody who's organizing or distributing the game. what I like about Eze because he does that he allows Giocheres to be free and to be more efficient as well so I think he shoots better the forward line when you have Eze I mean we've all played in big derbies haven't we yes Helston Helston against Malian sorry for you intruding in this conversation Daniel I'm sure you played in a big school derby or something but come on you said sigh of relief for Arsenal fans I suppose in a sense because they stuffed it up against Wolves.

11:26Exactly. And that, but the Derby point being is, you know, people say Derbys can throw up certain results, and yet they do now and again. But on paper, I think Stevie was 4-1 in his prediction on the show because yesterday or the day before, because this is where these teams are. It would have taken a second stinker of a performance from Arsenal and something a bit special from Spurs for this result to be any different. So to that point, Craig, let's take a look at the bottom of the table. How much trouble are they in? Well, actually, they're in a relegation battle. Personally, unless Igor Chudar completely loses the way, I don't think they will be relegated because I think Nottingham Forest and West Ham have way less to work with.

12:14Yeah, they have a lot of injuries, but Forest haven't got a goal in them. And, you know, West Ham got a very experienced manager and I think they may get out of it. I think Forrest are in a bit of trouble at this moment in time. And although Spurs are huddling towards it, fast as that table picks up. And you never say you're too good to go. I just feel they are better equipped than those two other teams. Was I the only one today that actually saw some spirit in Spurs? I know it finished 4-1, but I thought I saw some spirit there. And if you've got that, they've got enough good players. It's why they're going to be able to stay up.

12:54I said last week that the only job Igor Tudor had was to get the players together and get them playing for each other because of the talent they do have. Yes, they've got the injuries. So I thought I saw some spirit there today, particularly when they went one behind. We sat here and talked about, listen, if they go behind, the roof could cave in. They didn't. They took the punch and guess what? They ended up a couple of minutes later, they equalised and they kept going and kept fighting. They did lose 4-1 now. Yeah, I know, but in terms... But it was a low bar. In terms of the spirit, that's what I'm talking about.

13:27Well, even you... Because that's what's going to keep this team up. So during the first half... That's what they need. Right. So during the first half... They're not playing Arsenal every week either. I said to you during the first half, I just threw it out and I went, it's been a bit better first half from Spurs. And Stevie's like, they've only had one shot. I said, yeah, that's true. But it has been, if you looked at some of the first half performances under Thomas Frank, it's a really low bar. but it was a better first half because they at least competed but that's a sorry thing to say is it not yeah well as you say that's how low the bar that's suggesting that whether you know I think Thomas Frank but that's what it's going to take though isn't it I think Thomas Frank was at the wrong movie I think he was out of his depth at Tottenham and some may agree may not and I think he was at the wrong the wrong place the wrong club for him it was too big at this moment in time Brentford one thing Tottenham another.

14:20But you can't argue that, well, these players showed some spirit today. They've shown very little of it for most of the season. And that's why the manager was in the position that he was in. Having players ignoring him coming off the field, having the first half performances against Villa City and others that they had and got berated by the home crowd. We saw a little bit today. I think the worry was they've played a back three before this season, but he seems to want to go with a back three. Igor Tudor he was a centre half himself but those three at the back with Pelinho looked a little confused about their positioning at times I think sometimes when you play a back four and we saw it under Ruben Amarim who kept going with this back three and United were getting picked apart when you go with the three centre backs you have to work even harder at getting your space and your positioning correct and that's going to be difficult for them going forward particularly with a midfielder playing in the back line when your captain is suspended he will be back of course Romero but how long before he gets suspended again so you know he's got a lot of things to work out, Igor Tudor.

15:23Do you agree with Steve though Jürgen, there was a flicker of hope today I totally agree with Steve absolutely because you sense the crowd in the first half usually it's the team that kind of picks up the crowd and gets it going but this was today was from the first minute on the crowd was behind the team, they wanted to help them, they wanted to push them, they wanted to give them energy and there was a lot of energy in the Spurs side. Yes, they didn't create that many chances as Arsenal did throughout the entire game, but there was a positive feeling. There was positive body language. They were throwing themselves into the battles.

15:59Here and there, still a little bit naive, like the last goal, for example, with Antigree kind of get pushed away from Giocares. And these moments, that's where you want more physicality in there. But I think that could come. I mean, now the next couple of weeks, it's an emotional situation there at Tottenham because on one extreme, you're fighting relegation, which they are not used to. And the other extreme is you in the Champions League still. So to handle these two topics, it's not going to be easy. But I felt in the first half that there was good energy there. There was good spirit there. And hopefully they continue that way.

16:41There's a headline there somewhere, isn't there? professional footballers run around. Well, yes, indeed. Well done. It's like football pun. It doesn't moan about watching football. Who's that? But actually, they were kind of huddling towards a relegation battle last year in victory in the Europa League. Yes. You know, they were, in the end, it was a little bit more... But both themselves and Man United last year at one point were just nose-diving down towards that bottom three. Not quite as bad as it is this year, which I think kind of tells you where they are in terms of their... I know they've got a lot of injuries but I look at their squad and it's far from perfect and I think there's no way they should have been both seasons down around 15th, 16th or 17th.

17:26Frankly, it's quite embarrassing. Meanwhile, at the other end of the table of course, still a very much title race on with Manchester City beating Newcastle yesterday. Pep Guardiola has told his players to go and enjoy themselves.

17:41I said to them, guys, what do you have to do, the mental course, you know, take a lot of caipirinhas, daiquiris in these three days. Enjoy life. And after that, make a proper three training sessions and go to Leeds. That is a proper way that always we did it. Because you said, no, if you win here, and now we're going to do that, or Stombila, and now we're going to do it. And after that, slap in your face and what you thought is completely the opposite. Finally, he's going old school. Finally, Manchester's getting to him. Daiquiri, capriniers, the whole shebang. Frank, if a manager had told you that back in the Chelsea days, how would some of your Chelsea colleagues have acted?

18:20Yes, it happened with Ruud Gullit, Craig's best friend, where I was injured and I was thinking too much. He said, you know what, we get out, we're going to go to the nightclub, we're going to drink, we're going to enjoy, and tomorrow's going to be another day. Well, that's the all-time spirit. And Craig, Jürgen and Stevie exactly know that, where sometimes you have to forget about it, whether it's going to be too positive or too negative. Forget about football. Just enjoy your friendship and get drunk if needed and go back the day after and work hard. You're forgetting one thing, Dan. Go on, Stephen.

18:54Nobody ever told us to go and enjoy ourselves. We absolutely knew how to do it. Right, I see. We didn't need to manage it. And by the way, those drinks that Guardiola was talking about? You couldn't have ordered one of those in the Liverpool cocktails. Robbie Moran would have had a go. You can't figure him out, though, can you? What, Pep? Yeah, there's like too many games. The players are tired. Now he's just going to get drunk. Going to switch off. Jürgen, are you on Pep's side here? Absolutely. No, when I came to Spurs, we played the first friendly game in Ireland and then after the game we won it 1-0 and he came and basically all the ideal is the manager and he gave everybody£20 to go out and drink.

19:38I said, what, you're going to give me now£20 to go out and drink? So we ended up obviously having a good time. As a manager, how careful do you have to be with your words though, Jürgen? Or is it kind of different with the players nowadays compared to this lot? I think it's a bit different nowadays because of obviously social media and the cameras are all over the place. It's not that easy for the young players to go out and have a couple of beers. Too many maybe here and there. It's totally fine. But it's good. It's good for the team spirit. It's good for the camaraderie. And especially now when you fight a battle against relegation like Spurs is doing now, it might be not the worst to go downtown into the city in London and have a good night out, the whole team with their wives or whatever they want to do because it just builds camaraderie and they need a lot of energy and a lot of good team spirit now.

20:30Frowned upon now, isn't it, I suppose? To be in that kind of... You remember looking back, talking about the modern-day footballer, and I suppose here is the effect it can have, is Jack Grealish had his best ever season. When they won the Champions League, they won the league, he made the big move from Villa, I think it was his second season, and after he's tripping the summer with England to the Euros or the World Cup, can't remember which one it was, he's a player who enjoys himself. But the counter-argument would be he sort of fell off a cliff with injuries and so forth. So all these sports scientists these days are just completely poo-pooing us.

21:10What we were doing in the day, which was you sort of played in the weekend, you trained in a Monday and Tuesday, you generally always had Wednesday off. So you went for a few beers on a Tuesday night. the lads did go out together and there's no team that has ever been successful I don't think in any sport without having the camaraderie and the team spirit because as soon as that breaks no matter how talented you are as soon as that bond breaks between the dressing room and there's a bunch of bad apples and you don't mix and you basically just see each other at work and that is it that's a recipe for disaster so that although people turn their nose up at the drinking culture and it certainly has changed for the better the camaraderie side of it going out and playing golf or doing whatever or going for dinners or going for a few beers within reason you still have to do that to keep that sort of togetherness in the dressing room that will never change never change Jürgen I imagine that has to be quite organic as well you can't have a manager all the time forcing you to go and do team building activities this is something that the players kind of find within themselves is that fair?

22:17Yeah I think one part is that The players organize themselves and going out and having a good time. The other thing is also the management. So, the manager and his coaches, you know, they're trying to push that. You know, they're trying to give them options, ideas and stuff. And I think it's really, really important. Maybe in a club team, not as necessary, you know, so often because you see each other all the time, every day. But in a national team environment, definitely it's important that they go out, that they have things to do, that they're not just sitting in their hotel rooms, you know, and build this camaraderie that at the end of the day is decisive for success.

22:59If we'd been waiting on Wim Janssen to book our long weekends to Dublin, we'd never have made a trip for good reason. I'm not sure if it's Caprinias or Daiquiri's at Tom's watch bar that Jürgen will be serving, but he will be there for the classifier. It will be Bayern against Borussia Dortmund. special watch part if you want to register just click on the QR code to get details how you can go there. Ali and Kay of course hosting coverage of that game live from LA.

23:33Liverpool left it late, very late. Pretty much the last action of the game we see McAllister bail them out and beat Forest by one goal to nil. Difficult to argue that either side deserved a win in this time. Frank the Book with us. Frank, I promise I'll come to you in a minute. Stevie, overall, as a Liverpool fan, it's just very lucky, I suppose. I tell you what, it's getting harder and harder, game after game. I'm glad that Anastasia Lott came out and was honest. He said the first half was the worst he's ever seen from Liverpool. 100%. I mean, it really was. And because of Alisson, Canati and Van Dijk, that's why he was 0-0 at half-time.

24:11And Forrest. Yeah, well Forrest missing that particular chance For Hudson-Odoi But Alisson's come up with a save And Canati had his best game of the season, no question So that three kept Liverpool in the game I have never in my life seen Liverpool Giving the ball away so much Yes, again, credit Forrest, putting pressure on But still, not acceptable And it could only get better in the second half And it did And they did create chances We saw their Jones could have scored Ekitiki, as Craig said absolutely should have scored and they get a little break at the end with McAllister but the truth is if you're Forrest how did you lose this game?

24:51Liverpool thanking the lucky stars but sometimes you get a bit of luck and you take it when it comes. How did they be so bad in that first half, Greg? How do you explain it? They've got something to play for. I think it's pretty easily explained because they've been so mediocre all year but I'm not surprised I'm not surprised that Gravenberg and McAllister and Salah again. The list goes on. And they did defend better today, which has been a big struggle for them all season. But I don't think any performance... I think the surprise performance is when Liverpool put a really good one together. That's where the surprise comes.

25:31This season, it's like, where was that? The unsurprising thing is this, as bad as it was. and I think the lucky side for them is if they cough that ball up as often as they did today against a side that's not as toothless going forward which is Forrest's big problem, they're a very well organised side they've got some good players but in the final third, Chris Wood has been out for a while who's hardly a superstar but they're absolutely crying for him to be back because he needs somebody to put it in the back of the net and had they played a team today with a bit of nous and a bit of guile in the final third and a finisher, Liverpool, that game could have been over at half-time.

26:11So luckily for them, it wasn't. What surprised me was after the final whistle, I looked at the table and they're still six with three points. That tells you how tight it's going to be. In fact, if they missed out in Champions League football next year, I wouldn't be surprised. I would not be surprised. Yeah, this leaves them level on points with United and Chelsea, Frank. How as a player do you explain that first half when there is so much at stake? They didn't play midweek, did they, Liverpool? They weren't in the Champions League. You've had the week to prepare for this game, yet you come into this and you're just so lackluster.

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26:49That's unbearable for me in the way that, as you said, they should be prepared for that. You play against a team fighting for the relegation. You try to get into the Champions League. So you should be, at least if you're not good, you should be dominating, which wasn't the case. But a good thing, you know, we've been so critical towards Van Dijk and Konaté, and they've been absolutely very good, especially the first half, and Stevie eluded it, it's because of them that it was only 0-0 at halftime. But sometimes life is not fair. When you see how horrendous some players have been, and I'm highly ranked, that player I'm going to mention, McAllister, I think he's a world-class player and he's a World Cup champion, and he showed since he's been at Liverpool and he's a very influential player.

27:38But today was the worst game ever that I've seen McAllister on. But he scored the goal and made the three points in the pocket to Liverpool. That's for me saying why football is not fair because Liverpool never should have gotten the three points. A draw, let's say, would have been fair, especially the second round where they readjust some stuff. but really, that was so poor. That was so poor. But, you know, Chelsea play the same way. Well, being poor, we're going to see Manchester United tomorrow. You know, except, let's say, Manchester City and Arsenal, everybody and a little bit of Aston Villa, a little bit less, those teams are not good enough to compete for anything, I would say.

28:24There's no question. Arnest Slott is a huge part of the problem in this first half. for him to send his team out in the mental state they were in. I mean, I was trying to figure it out watching it. Do they feel sorry for themselves? Are they that low in confidence? Does Florian Furt's pulling out make any difference? No, absolutely not. No, no. Zero. Not at all. This to me, yes, the players have to prepare for the kick-off, for the whistle to go and be ready. But the manager has... The manager and his coaching staff have to smell in the dressing room that something's not quite right. You're not telling me that they were all in the dressing room and there was a lot of energy and everybody's discussing where they should be and what they should be doing and then you walk out and do that.

29:11That's generally a quiet dressing room that starts a game like that. And that's down to the manager to smell it, see it and do something about it. Because clearly, they weren't ready for the game. I mean, the Florian, I'd like to know. Stevie, go on Frank. Stevie, I just want to say something, you know, because you're talking about Arnold Slott. How come, and it was a very good decision, he kept McAllister on the field? He was losing so many balls. He wasn't into the game. And he kept him. And looking for him, McAllister scored the goal. But you would have been the coach. Would you have kept McAllister?

29:49I don't, Frank, I don't think he had any choices. He already switched Curtis Jones from the middle of the park to right back and move Solvay's life from right back into the middle and then you look at the bench, I don't think he had another choice, he didn't have another midfielder on the bench so yeah, I agree McAllister in particular wasn't at his best even though he got the winner but I don't think Slott had any choices Again, the first thing I don't know, I'd like to know because maybe it all goes into the same pot here away from home, not in Forest fighting I might be I mean if I'm wrong I'm wrong but he was feeling his back a little bit wasn't quite 100 % what do you mean not quite 100 % 80 % 90 % you're right to play I mean most most players I believe he went out for the warm up right I believe I think so yeah that's where he got hit yeah I mean I don't know is there a mentality at Liverpool like that as Stevie said feeling sorry for themselves maybe low in confidence feeling a little niggle don't want to play there's going to be a better battle today at Forest.

30:54Is there a bit of that creeping in? I don't know. Maybe I'm completely wrong about that. But I know from our perspective, if we went out to the warm-up, it'd have to be something that completely goes. You'd have to have done your hamstring in the warm-up. Your calf keeps going. You can barely get off the field. If it's a little knock, you're playing. Unless you're thinking long-term, well, you say to the manager, I don't want to miss those Champions League games coming up eventually. They've got to buy it at the moment. Maybe there's a little bit of that. So they're saying basically he was nowhere near 100%, is what Slott's saying, after the game.

31:29So maybe he was risking him and then he just went, no. He was nowhere near 100%. Yeah. Anyway, they won the game. They did win the game. I would know. Nobody said they won any 100%. I would, sorry. When you see things like that, unless it's something absolutely concrete that you can't play, it was a bit like the Real Asensio thing. In a Real Madrid game a couple of weeks ago, he said he wasn't fit to play and they had no bodies and he was asked to play. He said, well, if you ask me to play, I can play. So it's like, you know, are these players, some of them willing to put themselves in a difficult position for a manager on their team that are in a difficult position?

32:02That would be one of the questions, I think, going forward. A lot more. Craig, have you ever played? Have you ever played? Sorry, Craig, have you ever played at 100 %? No. In your game? Well, that's what it is. You know, everybody... I played a game at Celtic away from home and I didn't even go out for the warm-up because my back was sore. Poor Florian, he's got back aches. Leave me alone. Oh, he's got a little back ache. Where did that come from? Soft. Gabbag. Oh, yeah, here we go. Don't start. I'm not going to see it. Gabbagals, of course, were both off on Thursday. They returned today, though.

32:38Hopefully, they'll be OK in the warm-up. You can check out their show. Bad back. I can't do the podcast. I've got a bad back.

32:48Barcelona back to winning ways as they would comfortably beat Levante by three goals to nil. Jalcan solo back for Barca and providing a couple of assists. Let's get some reaction now from Hansi Flick, but first Jules Koundé. It was very necessary a reaction after back-to-back defeat. You managed to get this early goal, not conceding and going back to the top. Yeah, it was very important, especially after two losses and more than the result also. What we put in the tour of the game, I think it was not enough. So today we wanted to take advantage also of the loss than our rivals. So I think we did a great job.

33:31We put a lot of intensity and we scored early, which is always great, especially against this team who play kind of a middle-low block and they're waiting for counter-attacks. So, yeah, I think we played a solid game. So, you talk a lot in the locker room as Hansi Flick has admitted. Do you think you have detected what were the mistakes you were doing and you have the diagnosis and you can... this can be a turning point from now on? Yeah, I think it can be. It's up to us to now, after talking and communicating, because at the end of the day, it happened in a season where we're not at the level that we want and we don't have the results as we wanted, especially the past two games.

34:17So, yeah, I think the coach and the player, we identified what we could improve and now we're working on it. And hopefully today I think it's just a first step in the right direction. How important has been the score so soon to be very calm in the game? Very important. You could see that today also that we had not the confidence in the beginning. But I think with the minutes we get better in the game and yeah, important was today the win. How important is it for Barcelona to recover in the first place so soon? No, it's important. We get this chance about the result yesterday and so we get it, we take it and this is a good thing.

35:09Had the chance Took the chance Back to the top of the table Levante of course Are not going to be Some of the opponents That Barcelona are going to face Between now and the end of the season But after two defeats They get the job done Did the bookies really make Real Madrid favourites? Yeah Real Madrid favourites This time last week Before yesterday's debacle Before yesterday's defeat Yes Well I know Barca have had a stumble And two losses But There is always something there To keep you Hopeful if you're a Barca fan Say well we'll get better at that and we will score goals. There's not a lot to say.

35:44Levante created two or three really good chances in the game, particularly early on, which Barcelona always give you. And after that, it was pretty much a walk in the park, a training game per se. Jao Cancelo man in the match. Obviously, when they signed him, we were like, look, he's great going forward for the defensive end. Listen, Jao Cancelo man in the match. Perfect for this game. Yeah, exactly. against a team that's going to do very little attacking, against a team that you're just pushing back. He doesn't have to defend much. That's perfect for João Cancelo because he's a brilliant footballer.

36:17I mean, here's a guy when he was at Man City going in the middle of the park and not look out of place with his passing. In fact, his passing was almost as good as De Bruyne's when he went in there. The problem is, and City have this in abundance, they have full-backs that can't really defend. So today was a perfect day for him. When you get João Cancelo in a wide position, I suppose it can be frustrating for a striker because he cuts back all the time, but he usually sits the defender on his backside. He's a really good player going forward. That being said, the recent woes are behind them. Who the hell knows what the challenge is going to be from Real Madrid because it's up and down.

36:55They were a debacle again yesterday, got outplayed by Ossesuna and deservedly lost. but this Basa side are going to keep it interesting because of their defence I suppose that is the one thing if they had a really really strong defence that played a played a a sensible high line and you added that to the rest of the team they'd walk away with this league they just walk away with it but they don't have that they don't have it so they go about it a certain way and that way is it's super exciting to watch but it gives teams opportunities one of the reasons they lost last week against Girona was for that reason the interesting thing is going to be the La Liga title race and how this back line is going to cope in the Champions League that's going to be fun to watch going forward Cancel is not going to help that that's for sure I actually can understand why the bookies maybe made Real Madrid favourites because for a couple of games they weren't sparkling but they were better Barcelona's dropped and we've been waiting all season for Real Madrid to be better.

38:00So there was kind of a thought. I had that thought that, you know what, this just might be what they need. Get top of the league and then change gear and off you go. Clearly not. How do you change? But I understand. They were down geared. Yeah, I've got a stick on mine. I think most people do now. No. Well, they have a stick. All right, fair enough. You're right, all right. You're right. All right, I'm wrong, you're right. I think the question here is, Do you think Arbeloa has slightly switch it from Basa do you think Arbeloa has just stumbled on it for a couple of games and yesterday was back to just normality outplayed by Osasuna the Osasuna midfield were knocking it around as if they were Real Madrid and Real Madrid have been getting results on individual moments whether it's been Mbappe or Vinicius doing some special which is part of the game I get it but it really hasn't much been about a team effort.

38:58And you watch even the Osasunas of this world who are kind of mid-table. You watch how they play. You watch even how Elche plays in via Cano. It's kind of a team. They pass it. They move. You just don't see that from Real Madrid. They're relying on somebody, for the most part, doing a bit of individual genius. And when that goes away and they get caught defensively like they did yesterday, that's what happens. And so they deserve to get what they got yesterday, which was absolutely nothing. Well, it's good for us because it makes for a great title race between now and the end of the season. You can, of course, follow it live on ESPN+.

39:34Barca against Villarreal is our early game on Saturday. Then next Sunday, Real Madrid... Next Monday, Real Madrid against Getafe.

39:47We're going to Bulgaria because we want to show you this goal here. King of the pitch. King of the pitch. Tune in tomorrow to find out I don't believe that will take over As king of the pitch Who's the one that's still It's the volley from Corner kick Straight to the top of the box First time volley We'll of course find out on the next edition of ESPN FC Of course you discussed, was it yesterday? Shaka won't be here tomorrow Because The mysterious airplane cancellation He can't fly He is here in second That's where we're on on the cruise, oh good old days. Xhaka, of course, used to time on the beach, and that's exactly where he's going to be spending it.

40:33Happy birthday to Xhaka. I'm sure you're glued to your television watching this. But thank goodness we've got a man who can come and step in. It is our very own. It's the oldest one in the book, isn't it? My flight has been cancelled. Of course, the East Coast is going to see a lot of snow. good luck if you have to deal with that. We'll be in, probably just watch a bit of TV, Stevie. Oh absolutely, I'll have the fire on.

41:04Welcome in then to the latest edition of Extra Time Preparations of course here on the East Coast for a lot of snow that's on its way. Heavy snow. Me and Stevie are off tomorrow so unfortunately we'll have to deal with it. Craig Burley though. I'm lucky. What are you going to do? Are you going to stay the night here tonight so you have to drive in? That's cheating. That's cheating. You just want to drive in in the snow. Listen, I think you'll find when we had the last snowstorm, he's Nibs and I. Yes, I know. We put a life on the line driving home. We did as well. You got stuck, didn't you? I got stuck.

41:36He had an argument with a plough. No plough guy. Yeah, exactly. I couldn't see out the window in the room. No, no, I'll be coming in. Wow. I'm planning to come in, unless my flight is Gansk. Xhaka will not be coming in. It's Xhaka's birthday today. Believe it, happy birthday to him. He is still at Carnival and couldn't make it because his flight was cancelled. Frank, how are you? We haven't spoken to you. I've ignored you a bit today. Oh, that's all right. Don't worry. I don't expect anything from you anyway. But I'm good. I'm good. Thank you. I just came back from... It wasn't done. Excuse me?

42:09It wasn't done. It said in the email from the producer. Yeah, the email said, don't go to Frank. Ignore Frank. No Frank. Oh, that's okay. The guy's a Spurs fan, you know, he's mourning right now, so he's OK. He's got a lot of issues. Even the Vokes boss, he's got lots of issues. Craig, was today a response from Arsenal received to recent form, or can this be put down to Derby Dynamics, and therefore a one-off performance? Hold on, I was adjusting the thing. Oh, OK. All right. You ready? Is there a response from Arsenal received to recent form? No, they're just... Just a better team. They're just a much better team.

42:44They're the best team in England at the moment, even though they've had a slip-up. And they have the best roster, probably, in European football. Not saying they're the best, they're going to win the Champions League or anything like that. But to be able to make changes, they have a better ability than anybody. Yeah. To make changes to that first XI. There's no doubt about that. How was your holiday? You had a holiday, of course. Did you have a nice time? Mexico. Yeah. That's all you need to know. Okay. Weather was good, no snow. You did show me your feet that you burnt. That's a lovely sight.

43:18I did. I made a schoolboy error. You laughed at me because I had my socks on. Where did you have your socks on? When I was down in Philly. I had my socks on. Now you know why. Yes. Listen. Hold on a second. Did you or did you not? Did your feet get swollen up and you couldn't put your shoes on? No, I could put them on. It was a struggle. There you go. But I'd rather have that struggle than wear those socks. No. No, I think you're wrong there. Get your socks on, son. We discussed this on the show because obviously we're pressed with SA today, Stevie. What does Arteta do with Odegaard going forward?

43:50Odegaard might be leaving Arsenal. What's up next, Stevie? That's quite a statement. Well, if you're Odegaard and you're the captain and 18 months ago you were the guy and all of a sudden, I know he's had a couple of injuries, but all of a sudden there's question marks whether he actually starts in the 11 because of Izzy, maybe even because of the way he's been playing somebody else might get ahead of him as well so if you're Odegaard, do you stick around? I don't think you do Wow, Frank? I agree, I agree I always liked Odegaard the way he was playing you know he's very elegant and everything but he's not influential anymore.

44:44As I said, he's there to start the action, to organize, to distribute the ball, maybe on the horizontal way. And when you have Eze right now, you see that the move are not the same, that he's more vertical, he's more influential, he's gonna help Diokeres. So it's gonna be a hard time for the guard and he would have to make a very good choice, a big choice maybe at the end of the season. Where's Jan? Where's Jan when you need him? Oh, Jan. Odegaard could be the worst player on the planet. And Erling Haaland could have not scored for 20 games. And Jan's not going to A. Anyway, you get ADHD. What do you mean?

45:25You're always writing when people are talking. I don't think that's ADHD. I think it's just... You're just bored. I was watching you before. Frank's talk. That's just sketchy. I always doodle. It's part of. It's everywhere. You're not even writing anything. No, it's just, I don't know. It's what you do down like that. I do, yeah. I've been doing it for 13 years. It calms them down, is that right? It must do. It does something to them. Do that and chew my pen. There's something wrong with that. Coming from you. Not good for your liver. Chew it, man. Oh, yeah, prove it. Stevie, do you think with Arsenal's performance today and Jokor is finally scoring a couple of centre-forward style goals that Arsenal have their mojo back and are still the favourites to win the Premier League?

46:11Well, I think they're still favourites to win the Premier League. And, furthermore, go on to win the Champions League.

46:21I don't know about the Champions League, but I would definitely say they're favourites to win the Premier League still. They did today what they do best. They put pressure on the opposition constantly. and today, once they got the ball back from that pressure, they had some good passing, some good moving and a couple of good goals. So, yeah, I don't think the mojo per se had gone. I think they had made some mistakes defensively and then they'd be getting caught out. I mean, they lost another goal today. That back line that just couldn't be broken at the start of the season is getting broken. but listen if Jocker starts doing what he did today and as he starts getting a run of games he will score more goals so yeah I think Arsenal absolutely are still firm favourites for the Premier League.

47:11Champions League I don't know. Who's going to win the Champions League? I don't know. If you had to bet right now.

47:19I know PSG haven't been at the best but if they can get everybody fit I don't want to play against them right yeah PSG I'll go with PSG yeah Frank I agree and I talked about that last time that I was in the show that PSG are not the same than comparing to last year but if they if they they go back to what they they are capable of doing and they have all the players for that when you see that Dembele got injured last game and Dewey came on and he scored two goals they They have the bench, they have the depth, they have the spirit, they can win the Champions League. But yeah, definitely Arsenal can be one of the contenders, for sure.

48:01And they are, they are the favourite but they deserve to win the Premier League. Because for me they've been the best team. Have you ever dominated a team with individual performances like Eze against Spurs this season? Do you have a team in particular who did well against Stevie? Newcastle. Yeah, you got the hat-trick obviously, the famous thing against Newcastle. I scored a few goals against Newcastle, particularly away from home. I mean, again, nobody can ever put their finger on why, but it just kind of happens sometimes. Newcastle was the team I enjoyed playing against. Did you? I don't know if you heard this.

48:36Some grounds you prefer playing that to others, away from your own ground. You know, when you're going away, sometimes you... I don't know why, maybe you've had a string of good games there or you just like the app or the pitch. I just felt that for me was like some of the grounds I just didn't like going to but I always liked going to like when Frank was there at Chelsea we know even though they had a better side and we were up and coming we generally always get some really good results at Old Trafford okay two or three years in the spin I mean here we got to the cup final 94 I think we beat them twice and certainly beat them one nil at Old Trafford then we beat them up there I I think two years in the spin when Gianluca Vialli scored for my Frank.

49:20So those kind of places, I always felt... Because Man United would let you play. And the pitch was quite big. You got a bit of space. Whereas if you went to other grounds, like West Ham maybe, or Blackburn or something like that. The Dell. It felt as if you could throw a blanket on everybody. There was no space. You went to Old Trafford, they were good players. Cantona, Keane, all that. But you got a bit of time and space to play. Man City was the same. Man City had the biggest pitch in the league. Unfortunately, they didn't have a very good team. Right. And so, any good teams would crucify them.

49:56I mean, because they couldn't get close to you. Was that Main Road? Yeah, Main Road. Yeah, the pitch was huge. Frank, did you have a place you liked going?

50:09Not necessarily, but it's true that Old Trafford, you know, that was pretty magical, especially the year where I played with Craig. But I liked playing against Leicester. I scored like two, three goals against Leicester. I saved in the line. In a cup game, we had to do the replay at Stamford Bridge. But that was a hell of a stadium, the former stadium that they had. And that was awful. But I liked to play there. That was a very hard team to play against with very physical players. But I enjoyed it. and I remember saving on the line the last minute of the game and we had to do the replay. But the stadium where I hated to play was Highbury.

50:51It was too small for me because on top of playing against a very good team, the field, I didn't feel comfortable playing there. I enjoyed playing there. I mean Liverpool, obviously Anfield, I really enjoyed playing at Anfield. Unfortunately, I don't remember many good results at Anfield, even with Celtic when we played the UEFA Cup, we drew 0-0 there. But I was the opposite. I liked Highbury because it felt very traditional. It was only 30-odd thousand. Even though they were a big club, it wasn't a big stadium. And it was a tight pitch, but I just enjoyed playing. I mean, Frank, I think Frank played in the game.

51:26It was a midweek game. It was 3-3. It was just bonkers. It was a bonkers game. I just, I remember, and then we had the FA Cup semi-final there. Right. When Zola scored this great goal to make it, I think, 3-1 or whatever the score was. 3-0 I can't remember. So I actually enjoyed Highbury. I don't know, did you? Nah, it was a little tight. Well it was tight. It was a little tight, a lot of the time it was a bun fight. Because there weren't that much space and you got two teams going at it, there weren't a lot of space, a lot of challenges, a lot of, which was fun but obviously you'd. Which was probably the reason if you think back to those tit for tats with Wenger and Ferguson with Keane and...

52:08Because everyone is just... Well, yeah. Your tunnel, I mean, your tunnel's that size for a starter. Yeah. So you've got the niggles in the tunnel, you don't like them, and the pitch is small, so you can get close to people to make tackles. There's only room for one. Honestly. Right. It's one person. There's only room for one person to go down. Yeah. And you're trying to get two teams down. And so before the game, even before the game, you're actually making contact. And then you start going like that. Like a bottle of me. You're shoving me. You're shoving me. I tell you what though, they're going to love the little players lounge at the top.

52:38Oh, lovely. Right at the top of the tunnel. Where's the players lounge, Frankie? Oh, nice little lounge. It's funny, I remember Craig in a semi-final against Wimbledon that we played at Highbury. Do you remember we were waiting in the tunnel and Vinnie Jones were yelling and screaming, come on, guys, we're going to walk on them and blah, blah, blah. And really good, it came close to him and he said, guys, don't worry, don't worry. People are yelling like that. It's because they're scared. They have a real big fear and I thought it would be a fight and that was insane. But that was a hell of a game, it's true.

53:10That was a very good performance from us. Scotland, either of you two following what's going on? Rangers and Celtic actively trying to hand Hearts the title. I don't know what's happened today or this weekend. Someone sent me results, Mike sent me to... Celtic won Hibs 2, Livingston 2, Rangers 2. Rangers have been on a mental run. Danny Roel took over at Rangers, a young German coach, I believe. And they were on a bit of a tear because they weren't even in the title race. And then they were back in. And they beat Hearts, I believe they beat Hearts 4-2 last week. Two weeks ago. So this is a little, two weeks ago, whatever it was.

53:47This is a little blip for them. Right. I think the worry for Celtic is that it's no fault of Mark the Neil, really. But I think the Celtic board are getting it absolutely hammered. because they did no business in the transfer window. They got battered by Stuttgart in the European competition a week or so ago, whatever it was, when they played last Thursday I think it was. And they've now lost at home, so trust me, I've been up there in the east end of Glasgow. The knives are up. I've been there when it's gone really well and we were successful and that's hard enough. when it's going the other way.

54:30Your family, Rangers, supporters, Steve, they were playing Livingston. Livingston have only won once all season. They couldn't win. No, he can't. Yeah, but, I mean, the problem is, you're going to drop points and you don't know when it's coming. Well, it gets to Livingston. And when you've been, well, hold on a second. When you've been on... Literally, we're down to 10 men. They've only won once this season. Let me know where you've finished. 28 games. Let me know where you've finished. A Livingston fan. He won't even know where Livingston is. Where's Livingston? Scotland. It's Colin. I know. Are you done?

54:57Yes, sorry. I don't know exactly, but Rangers have been on an incredible run winning the last 13 or something stupid. So there's going to be a game where they drop points. Now, you don't know when it's coming. You just know that it's coming. And unfortunately, it was against a team that have been struggling. They drew against Motherwell. They drew against Motherwell two games ago. All right, they've been on a 15, 16 game unbeaten. They drew against Hibbs before that. Unbeaten. You said they've won every game. Unbeaten. Oh sorry, I thought you said they'd won every game. Not just that, but Scotland are...

55:28If you follow our former colleague Dale Johnson, it's all going south up there really. They're losing their coefficient for European competitions as well. So the chances of them getting in on anything... How are living sting there? Do you think Indy Scotland knows what coefficient of? Well they think that... In Scotland they think you're coefficient. That's where you get your lager. Hey John, we're losing the coefficient. What's that? What are you on about? That's where you get your beer. I'll be honest with you, I think the best thing that could happen up there is hearts to win the league anyway.

55:59Okay, that's nice. It's too much of the same every season, but I don't know if it will happen. Anyway, just because you've spilled food in your shirt. I have. Look at that. The camera can't see it, so it doesn't count. When did Stevie and Craig meet? Did you have a relationship before you came here? No. Well, actually, we did. We played against each other. When I was working in London, he was doing shows here. When I was doing, when you were here. Yes. You were here. I was here. You remember. He was here. Yes. I was in London. Frank came on. He's almost 10 years older than me, so he was coming at the end at Sheffield Wednesday.

56:35I didn't play against him at Liverpool because when we were up there in 94, he was on the bench on his way. I was a little there. You were still there. And then when he was at Sheffield... I played against him when he was at Sheffield Wednesday. But again, he was... If I said to you before you'd met him, Steve Nichol, what would come to mind from what you've heard about him? Like amongst Oh no Well I watched What do you mean? Well like what sort of reputation Did Stevie have? I don't know I didn't really know anybody Right All I know is If he said to me his name I would have thought back to like The late 80s Particularly the Arsenal game Yes I remember that vividly His mistake that led to Arsenal win Yeah well he dived in on Mickey Thomas Yeah And he flipped it over his head No We didn't have as much TV In the telly Uruguay Was that a Friday night game?

57:19Yes Yeah Just sticks with me that game It was like such a big game and there was so little on TV then. Yeah. That can be Liverpool of the... Yes. With that strip, John Barnes and all that. I didn't know he was like such an athlete. We didn't know. I mean, I had a fair idea. It's a physical specimen that Stevie is. That's a fair idea. That is it. I think that's it. That will bring us to the end of today's show. Good luck, of course, if you're going to have to face the snow on the East Coast. Shut up. Shaka! For sure. Shaka Heslop, everybody's hero.

From the publisher

The FC crew react to Arsenal's dominant 4-1 win over Spurs and argue if the Gunners' new signings are finally turning a corner after a pair of goals from both Eze and Gyokeres. Plus, the guys break down Liverpool's win over Nottingham Forest and explain why the Reds got away with a victory today.
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