In short
Football news and analysis, centered on Manchester City’s League Cup final win over Arsenal, plus quick hits from other leagues and matches.
Guests
Gab (host) and Stuart “Robbo” Robson (football pundit). Jules is referenced as “future Jules,” but Robson is the named guest.
Key claims
- Arsenal were “really, really disappointing” in the League Cup final; after a Saka/Havertz early chance, they created little until late.
- City dominated after halftime, scoring twice, and Arsenal lacked answers to City’s control from the back.
- Arsenal’s attacking patterns have declined without Odegaard and a fit Saka; chance creation from open play is weaker, making them reliant on mistakes/counters/set pieces.
- City’s title chances: Arsenal are nine points clear; City don’t control their destiny and need favorable results, with a head-to-head at the Etihad on April 19.
Notable examples
- Havertz taken off after losing aerial duels to Nathan Aké; Arsenal couldn’t manage long balls.
- Haaland had one shot and one goal.
- Other quick hits: Real Madrid beat Atlético 3-2; PSG won 4-0 at Nice; Tottenham lost heavily to Nottingham Forest; Liverpool’s defensive issues; Bayern’s 4-0 vs Union Berlin; Barcelona’s 1-0 vs Rayo with an Araujo goal.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOLeague Cup Final Overview
0:44 to 1:50
Discussion on Manchester City's victory over Arsenal in the League Cup final.
“Robbo, it's Blue Skies over West London, not over North London, because Manchester City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup.”
Arsenal's Disappointing Performance
1:50 to 5:00
Analysis of Arsenal's gameplay and their lack of attacking output against City.
“Arsenal were really disappointing, I thought, in this game.”
Manchester City's Tactical Strengths
5:00 to 7:10
Exploration of Manchester City's effective strategies and key player contributions.
“What really disappointed me about Arsenal is how little attacking output there is.”
Arsenal's Structural Issues
7:10 to 10:00
Discussion on Arsenal's structural problems and lack of creativity in their gameplay.
“and it started off with Ben White, Saka and Odegaard, was almost unstoppable.”
Future Challenges for Arsenal
10:00 to 12:00
Insights into the challenges Arsenal faces moving forward, especially in the Champions League.
“I was surprised when you need a passer on the pitch that you wouldn't turn to I mean Calafiore came on.”
Pep Guardiola's Reaction
12:00 to 14:00
Discussion on Pep Guardiola's mood and potential future plans following the League Cup win.
“And I think the problem is, as you try to grow as a team, I think you have to be multifaceted to some degree.”
Haaland's Ball Touches: A Comparison
14:00 to 15:00
Explore the contrasting ball touch statistics of Haaland and Jorginho.
“Haaland, touching the ball eight times a match.”
Pep's Frustrations and City’s Future
15:01 to 15:58
Discussion on Pep Guardiola's feelings post-League Cup victory and team challenges.
“He can't control games as he used to control games.”
City's Path to Premier League Title
15:59 to 17:12
Analysis of Manchester City's chances in the title race against Arsenal.
“they win the head-to-head, Arsenal will still have to drop three points somewhere else.”
Real Madrid's Performance Review
19:09 to 21:46
Discussion on Real Madrid's recent performance against Atlético Madrid.
“backs two goals as Real Madrid beat Atleti in the derby.”
Show all 30 chapters
Griezmann's Potential Move to Orlando
21:47 to 25:00
Debate on Antoine Griezmann's rumored transfer to Orlando City.
“He's a big fan of America, American culture, yeah, blah, blah, blah.”
Everton's Struggles and Managerial Critique
25:01 to 25:47
Review of Everton's recent performances and manager's decisions.
“It is because the performance wasn't great and they scored straight away with Pius Ballsito.”
Liverpool's Defensive Issues
26:44 to 28:00
Examination of Liverpool's recent defensive struggles during the season.
“Liverpool fall up right in 2-1 as Ugo Kitike limps off after eight minutes.”
Bayern's Dominance Over Union Berlin
28:00 to 29:00
Learn about Bayern's performance without key players and their adaptability.
“Then Conor Bradley gets injured, so then you're down three defenders.”
Barcelona's Narrow Win and Performance Challenges
29:00 to 30:00
Explore Barcelona's current form and their struggle against Rayo Vallecano.
“Without doubt, Barcelona are the best attacking side in world football at the moment.”
Juventus' Draw and Striker Dilemmas
30:00 to 31:20
Discuss Juventus' recent performances and striker management issues.
“To me, what's about volume is Arik Milik.”
Manchester United's Controversial Penalty Decisions
31:20 to 32:30
Analyze the recent penalty decisions affecting Manchester United.
“about their striker situation and what happens and should we give Spalletti a new contract now?”
PSG's Goal Scoring Prowess
32:30 to 33:20
Review PSG's impressive performance and emerging talents.
“And, you know, I don't like this stuff because does it mean that they need to take more care next time penalty?”
Tottenham's Struggles Against Nottingham Forest
33:20 to 34:20
Examine Tottenham's poor performance and lack of confidence against Nottingham.
“He was one of the ones I didn't expect to go, but he's done well.”
Aston Villa's Resurgence
34:20 to 35:40
Learn about Aston Villa's strategy and performance in their recent match.
“Now, Milan beat Torino 3-2 to move back within six points of Inter.”
Dortmund's Comeback Victory
35:40 to 36:50
Discuss Borussia Dortmund's resilience and game-changing performances.
“And a good goal he scored as well from the set play.”
Footballer's Code and Controversial Decisions
36:50 to 38:40
Explore controversial decisions in recent matches and their implications.
“And it's nice that they can get a reaction.”
Napoli's Resurgence and the Race for the Title
42:55 to 44:21
Discuss Napoli's recent form and the implications for the title race.
“Scott McTominay scored the only goal as Napoli went away to Cagliari.”
Chelsea's Points Penalty Controversy
44:21 to 46:49
Analyze the fairness of Chelsea escaping a points penalty for past transgressions.
“I know it would be more fun to hang out with.”
Brentford's Remarkable Season
46:49 to 48:51
Explore Brentford's success despite losing key players and their manager.
“Now, that would have really been scandalous.”
Recruitment Philosophy at Brentford
48:51 to 50:58
Delve into Brentford's recruitment strategy and the importance of fit over fame.
“But that's not why I'm asking you about them, Robbo.”
Como's Success and Future Prospects
50:58 to 54:45
Discuss Como's performance and the potential for Cesc Fabregas in the Champions League.
“Flecken was okay at the start of the year, then he got injured, so we give him a pass.”
Messi's Impact Ahead of the World Cup
54:45 to 56:00
Examine Messi's current form and what it means for Argentina in the World Cup.
“When you look at like Europe's traditional big cups, how many of them are going to have the same manager next year as they have now, right?”
World Cup Insights on Player Performance
56:00 to 56:45
Discussion on player performance expectations in the upcoming World Cup.
Gianni Infantino's Salary Analysis
56:45 to 58:00
Examination of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's salary and compensation.
“The reality is he made a base salary of$3.3 million, 2.6 million Swiss francs, and then$2.7 million in bonuses.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00So good, so good, so good. Spring styles are at Nordstrom Rack stores now, and they're up to 60 % off. Stock up and save on Rag & Bone, Madewell, Vince, All Saints, and more of your favorites. How did I not know Rack has Adidas? Why do we rack? For the hottest deals. Just so many good brands. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite Rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.
0:35I'm Gab, he's not Jules, he's future Jules, or Jules in the future. It's Stuart Robson joining me. I'm Jules, sorry, Jules, there you go. There we are, yeah. Robbo, it's Blue Skies over West London, not over North London, because Manchester City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup. Questions asked. That's going to be our main feature. but obviously plenty else going on. Bayern rolling along. What else do you know? Paris Saint-Germain as well. 4-0 away to Nice. You say about North London. What about Tottenham as well? Tottenham also, yes. Not in a good place right now. In fact, Liverpool and Chelsea also losing this weekend.
1:16All them big guns falling. And of course the Madrid derby. How about that Vinicius? I'm going to show Aberlois some love today, which few people were expecting. Yes. But let's start with the League Cup final because we have to view Arsenal against Man City in the context of the title race. I think that's how any reasonable person does it. And, of course, in the context of that big clash that's coming up, I think it's April 19th, Manchester City against Arsenal at the Etihad, which I think could well decide the title. Arsenal were really disappointing, I thought, in this game. I mean, they were really, really disappointing.
1:55There's some sort of crazy stat that after that initial Harvard-Saka double chance, really they didn't have anything reasonable other than a hincapier effort or whatever until the last 15 minutes. That's not good. It certainly wasn't. And it didn't look as though they had any answer to when things were going badly. It was after half-time when Man City started to dominate the play. The first time they'd really dominated the play for a while in the game. They were creating one or two chances. They obviously got the first and the second goal. but Arsenal didn't seem to know whether they should press them whether they should drop off when they had the ball I'm not sure what the goalkeeper was doing by standing on it for, I think it was once, 36 seconds what was he aiming to do?
2:37when they went long they didn't have enough players in the front areas to get it under control they didn't win balls that went into the front when Nathan Ake, who's not the biggest centre-back in the world kept on beating Havertz in the air that's why Havertz was taken off Xocherez didn't do enough to hold up the play Arsenal had no answer to what Man City were doing. And I don't just want to make it about Arsenal being bad on the flip side. Manchester City, I thought Kusanov, who I'm not a big fan of, I think Djokovic is still in his pocket somewhere. I think he completely took him out of the game.
3:08To go into this game without your two best defenders and deal with this threat of the team that's top of the table, I think this says a lot about where they are. I'm glad Ryan Shirky got the star and they put his faith in him. I think you need Ryan Shirky in this team right now. But if you're Pep, oh, and they won comprehensively without any meaningful contribution I saw from Erling Haaland or without Erling Haaland kind of being the game changer. He had one shot and goal the whole game. You're thinking, wow, maybe have I found my formula? Sort of once Ruben Diaz, Ruben Diaz comes back into the back line.
3:49but like I like this like like this works yeah but I also said the same when they beat Newcastle away in the FA Cup uh with a similar sort of some players at the back as well and they play some great football they destroyed Newcastle after the first 15-20 minutes exactly the respect to Newcastle in any how Newcastle not Arsenal yeah but it was still the same so everyone went yeah that's that was a great performance there's been signs this season where Man City have played well but they're not consistent enough and some of their worst performances have been when Kusinov has been alongside it wasn't Nathan Aki in the Champions League where they didn't know how to play out from that so teams could press them and Arsenal missed an opportunity to go and press the centre-backs because they're not particularly good on the ball Kustanov is quick you said he's strong he can read danger quite well but he's not good on the ball if he's put under pressure but you know that's fine I don't need my centre-backs to be berezzy if I have O 'Reilly and Mateus Nunez in the full-back positions and I've got Bernardo Silva dropping alongside but you do because the way that Man City want to play and control the game from the back.
4:50And then when they're under pressure in midfield, they go to their centre-halves. When they've had bad performances in the Champions League, it's when the opposition have been able to press them high up the field and win it back off Koussenault or Alain who was playing. What really disappointed me about Arsenal is how little attacking output there is. And Jules and I have described it. They've had this idea that in the early iterations of Arsenal under Arteta, you had Saka and Utegaard, and they were creating a ton of chances. This Arsenal side does not create chances from open play in the same way.
5:26Now, obviously, Utegaard wasn't there. Ebreze, also not there. And I might add Mikko Marino, who couldn't also play that role to some degree, not there either. So you're putting Kai Havertz in the number 10 position, which is something he's hardly played since joining Arsenal. Saka has, I thought he had a difficult game. And then all of a sudden, There's nothing. The only way they're going to score at that point is an opposition mistake, a counterattack, or a set piece, which, by the way, they got very few set pieces. It's not a knock. There's different ways to win a football match. But when you lose the football side of it, in situations like these, it becomes very, very difficult.
6:03All right, Robbo, I laid it out there. When Arteta arrived, we saw a very football-oriented Arsenal side. That's what he tried to build. He was a pep influence, whatever. This season, it's basically... And I know these guys come. I'm not dissing these guys' football ability, right? But basically, it's four center backs. When Utegaard isn't there, and then that's an alibi, Eze is very gifted, but a different sort of player. He's not necessarily the guy who's going to unlock defenses consistently the way Utegaard does. He's more of an individual. Saka has a tough year. You have Gjokras up front.
6:42And then, sure, you're not going to concede, and you're going to beat a lot of teams, which Arsenal have done. But I feel like the football side, in terms of chance creation, in terms of patterns of pay, Arsenal have created the fourth most chances in the Premier League this season from open play, which, considering they're top of the table, is, and I think the second highest goal scorers in the league, is pretty surprising. Well, not this season, but in previous seasons, the combination play between, and it started off with Ben White, Saka and Odegaard, was almost unstoppable. the little triangles down that right hand channel you think how would you defend against that how do you stop them playing because they seem to find passes that nobody else could on the other side they had the the full back coming in from from the wide area through the inside left Martinelli was making runs they were getting balls into the box they were playing higher up the field that's all gone from their game at the moment because I assume they've been winning there's a bit of fear in their play now Zubimendi you know everyone says what a great job he's done whenever I've seen him play in Spain and when I've seen him play for he scored more goals than I thought he would do but is he going to pick out passes, great passes?
7:51No, he's a little bit like another Jorginho who's going to play square and backwards Don't be dissing Jorginho I always have dissed Jorginho unfortunately and I just don't see where his creativity is Declan Rice I think is a fantastic footballer but he needs somebody with creativity next to him because he's an up and downer who's going to win challenges he's going to get back and forwards He's going to make the right decisions, both defensively and in a sack. But he's not creative. And he needs somebody with creativity alongside him. But do you think this is just, because when we talk about Arsenal's depth, and Arsenal can beat you many different ways.
8:30See, obviously something always comes at the expense of something else. It's about resource allocation, right? So you're in a situation where you've been successful this way. And look, Arteta could say, well, hey, if Havertz buries that chance early on, Kepa doesn't spill the ball for the first goal, we win this game. Yeah. Right? You can say, oh, we got to play, blah, blah, blah. We weren't in control, blah, blah, blah. But sure, but we win this game. So that formula works and has worked for a lot of the season. Yep. I just think as we go forward, especially if they're going to do something in the Champions League, there's going to be situations where they need to, and they need to be able to raise that level.
9:12And I just find it interesting that Arteta's gone into a different direction. And his alibi can be, well, I haven't had the real Utegaard all year or the real Saka. Did you accept that? No, not really, because we've seen Meduake playing games and run past people for fun. He was on the bench. He's gone past people. There's two ways. You either pass your way, well, you'd like to be able to do both. You'd like to be able to pass your way through. you'd also like to have players that have got individual brilliance at the moment sack is not quite the player he has been over the last three or three years or whatever when he was arguably the best right winger in the world absolutely brilliant uh they haven't got a really good pastor of the ball now in urdegaard who's not playing in the team as as you said is a slightly different player because he can do a bit of both but you're never sure quite what you're going to get so i think it's been a there's just a lack of structure to the team at the moment in the attack and the worry for and you just mentioned it a little while ago when things started to go badly in the game against man city they didn't seem to be able to have any answer to what what are we going to change here to make it happen well that that's what surprised me because look hincapié is fantastic at many things but you know he's not beckinbauer on the ball no um and of course last year when you know when you had lewis skelly for all his faults or calafioli your left back.
10:30Both those guys can pass. I was surprised when you need a passer on the pitch that you wouldn't turn to I mean Calafiore came on. He was the first sub wasn't he? At 2-0 down. When you put it in that context, 2-0 down against City I mean that is a steep, steep hill to climb. So I feel like he's made these conscious choices almost as if I don't want to change what I've been doing all year because look, for all the haters out there and stuff we're still top of the league nine points um people understand their roles on this team i'm not going to obsess over bending backwards for udegaard and saka because it might unsettle other things yeah in the team i'm not going to worry about dropping giocaris because he's a confidence guy evidently whatever i mean is this the choice he's making you think yeah i think that's the case and also in the game that we've just been talking about at half time you You know, I'm watching the game and I'm thinking, although Man City have started to control the game in the second half of the first half, I couldn't ever see them scoring because Arsenal look so solid.
11:39They always had players around the ball and you thought maybe Arsenal on the counter-attack and this is the way the game's going to go and Arsenal get a set play and score. That might be the right way to go. But the problem you have when you're like that is sometimes you need to change it. And they couldn't change it. If you get into a situation, you just mentioned, if you do one thing very well, you lose out somewhere else. and they did the defending side so well in that first or the second part of the first half that when they needed to then become more creative they couldn't yeah I think the other problem with playing like that is there's a ceiling right to how good you can be like when we project this forward to how good can this team be um and look I I want to take it back into the I thought they played very well against Bayer Leverkusen but in the end their two goals came from outstanding individual efforts, which aren't the kind of things that you can legislate for.
12:28And I think the problem is, as you try to grow as a team, I think you have to be multifaceted to some degree. You have to add this other element, or in Arsenal's case, bring back this other element, which maybe they can only do with a fit, Udegaard, and a fit as a happy Saka. I don't know. Because if you don't have the patterns of play, I mean, we're talking about Gjokor it's off air that guy okay i'm not my favorite but whatever he puts in a shift he can get you goals if you get service and he had two touches in the box he had 20 i think 27 touches or 17 sorry 17 touches overall which isn't great but unfortunately football is mad at the moment you know i was speaking to one of the best coaches that i ever worked on a john cartwright i met him for a coffee the other day and we were talking about man city and talking about arsenal Now, I'm talking about how football is probably going the wrong way.
13:24Who's your best player? Harlan can almost be the best player in the world, best centre forward in the world. Xocharez is a very good centre forward, as he showed when he was playing in Portugal. They're touching the ball eight or nine times a half. The centre halves are touching it 60, 70 times a half. Who do you want? We're going the wrong way. So we're playing around the back and playing into midfield, playing it back into... The people are going to cause the most damage, the centre forward, the wide players, they're touching the ball less and less in football at the moment. That can't be right.
13:55You know, you've got a centre forward who you've paid millions of pounds for, who scores goals, is powerful, is quick, is good in the air. Haaland, touching the ball eight times a match. That can't be right. Whereas Jorginho, who you don't like, touches the ball 500 times a game, right? Let's go pick on him. Yeah, but it's the wrong way round. A word on City. Obviously Pep has been very sad sack this year. he said a few odd things. His behavior has been a little erratic. He's got a year left on his contract, but all the in-the-nose are saying, oh, he's gone and whatever happens at the end of the season.
14:29He seemed genuinely happy at winning the League Cup. And I'm wondering, does this, and coming after the disappointment of the Real Madrid elimination of the Champions League, do you think this might spur him on to review things and maybe stick around? If you saw him before the game and in the first half when he's scratching his head and he looks anxious and he looks jittery, which he has done for most of the season, they played well yesterday and got the result. But I think he realises that this new build-up that he's got, the team that he's trying to build, he's never going to quite do it. He can't control games as he used to control games.
15:11he's going to have the odd brilliant game like they have had but they're also going to have some bad games like they've had against Real Madrid on a couple of occasions like they've had in the league yeah they can't beat West Ham so he knows that this team isn't the sort of side and they can't dominate as much as he wants to and he knows that that's not going to happen over the next couple of years because some of the players he's brought in he probably doesn't think are quite good enough for what he wants to do so I think he's still frustrated there you go so uh of course you'd like to leave with a Premier League title.
15:40I like to ask Jules the percentages. Funnily enough, he's always kind of his low percentage for Arsenal. I'm curious, where do you see this now? On the back of this, obviously the league hasn't changed. Arsenal are nine points clear. City have a game in hand. And there's a big head-to-head. So, simply put, City do not control their destiny. If they win their game in hand, and they win the head-to-head, Arsenal will still have to drop three points somewhere else. um and let's bear in mind arsenal of course still in the champion thing how do you 90 90 90 90 90 i don't think man city can win every game from now to the end of the season which i think they probably will have to do so i will tell you the scenario that city fans are hoping for arsenal play four games in the build-up to the head-to-head yeah um city only play too.
16:37And City, I think, play good games because it's like Liverpool in the FA Cup, it's Chelsea away in the league, so games where they're going to, not easy games, but games where they're going to have to be focused. Out of the Champions League now, every game is a Champions League. It's an easy message for a coach to send. And you're playing Liverpool and Chelsea, two big names who are not doing particularly well right now. So I think it's a perfect scenario. Arsenal have Sporting. If you've seen Sporting play in the Champions League, you know that you're likely to expect a slog. That's how Sporting beat Paris Saint-Germain.
17:11Like, hey, you don't want the ball? Eh, it's fine. We don't want the ball either, right? And then it's the on-nail. And it's tight. And then you have the return leg. And then Sporting park the bus. And then you're hoping that you somehow punch the ball through. And then it can get really, really nerve, and it can take a lot out of you. If something goes wrong in that game, and then they get beat at the Etihad, I think it's game on. I think psychologically, then it really becomes a test of bottle and nerve. So I think if you're a city, that is your pathway. You said 90%. I'm going to go lower. I'm going to go 75%.
17:42Not that much lower then. It's 15%. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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18:46So you're getting something that actually fuels you. And there's depth on the roster. Buttermilk 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. All right, enough League Cup. How about some quick hits instead? Vinicius Jr. backs two goals as Real Madrid beat Atleti in the derby. 3-2 to stay four points behind Barcelona. Robbo, how'd they look to you? They were better than I've seen them play in recent weeks in La Liga because I still think they play too slowly at times.
19:27there was a bit more penetration with their play brahim diaz is doing a good job playing as a sort of false center forward alongside vinicius jr will drift out wide at times i still think they've got a problem with carvajal at right back because and alexander trent alexander arnold at right back because carvajal's lost that little bit of pace and people can get in behind him uh they defended much better what's the problem yeah he can't defend exactly so that's why they've got a problem at right back uh valverde got himself sent off but he's a he's a you know he's a dynamic player so was that the right call was it the right call probably not it was a reckless challenge i have strong opinions on this it was a reckless challenge would i have sent him off no i wouldn't have sent him off 100 it's from behind it's if you watch it in real time he does it with such violence and i know kind of context matters you know he and i explained i got into uh got into a fistfight in the car park at Villarreal three years ago.
20:26So there's clearly previous there. In that case... No, but I have to say, I have to praise Adobinola because it would have been so easy to kind of sort of take your foot off the gas, you're heading into the international break, it's a big break for a lot of people. Barcelona had won earlier in the day. They went out there, they had the right intensity in the game. I think he made some big calls in resisting his temptation to bring Mbappe back to start um and Bellingham Bellingham was on the bench and Bellingham of course yeah um and I think the players responded to him so and he's getting the best out of me so do you think Arbeloa is the person that takes the intensity or the players that's my because why some days do they not show any intensity no it's it's obviously not only Arbeloa but ultimately I think if we criticize him when things go wrong and he's been horrendous in many ways yeah I don't think he's necessarily good but i think he prepared them in the right way um for this game and and and you know big they they were unfazed after lukeman scored and coming back and and he's getting the best out of vini good which you know which is difficult which is something to do now sticking with uh atletico madrid uh anton griezmann is reportedly in orlando today negotiating a move to orlando city gab is it the right decision for him to go um so jules has been telling us all year.
21:46No, no, no, he's gone. He wants to go to the US. He's a big fan of America, American culture, yeah, blah, blah, blah. I don't know if I'd necessarily move to Orlando if I want to move over for American culture, but hey-ho. It's just my own personal preference in those hot and steamy summers. But I think he's earned the right to do what he wants. I think, interesting from the Atletico perspective, I think they're obviously already preparing himself for it, right, with many of the signings that they made. I think he can still contribute this year. They're in the Champions League quarterfinals. they're in the Copa del Rey final these matter La Liga for Atlético doesn't really matter at this stage because they're a billion points clear of fifth place and they're not going to catch Barcelona or Real Madrid Everton demolish Chelsea 3-0 Robbo, four defeats on the spin for Liam Rossini do you have some sympathy?
22:36why would I have sympathy for him? he's a manager that hasn't really got the credentials I don't think every young manager has to build up and he's been at Hull and he's been at Strasbourg and he was coach at Derby County. But has he done enough to get a job in a top six side in the Premier League? And I've been watching him closely because I knew his dad very well. And I've been watching him. You can't judge a manager when things are going right. Oh, that was a good result, a good performance against Aston Villa and he seems to know what he's doing. When things have gone badly, I'm watching him very closely.
23:07And coming to the side of the pitch, clapping your hands three times and saying, come on, I'm not sure he's a great coaching tip. No, you don't even bring up the no passing. No, I'm not going to bring that up. But I just don't think, I think he's done it all. He's based his style of management on, I'm going to keep all the players happy, give them a cuddle, my players are doing this and we're going to do that and no problem. I just don't see where the coaching's coming in. When things have gone badly, I don't see him changing it. When they're doing things that are so obviously wrong in that Everton game, why they couldn't change it.
23:39When they were trying to play out from the back. Is he supposed to do, take off Robert Sanchez? No, but tell Sanchez to go longer. And the same with Jorgensen in the game against PSG. I'm doing the commentary. I can see they're going to have problems. He should see they've got to have problems. Go into the front areas a bit quicker. I don't think he can be judged. It doesn't mean that he needs to stay. He inherited a colossal mess. People may be like, oh, look, he's won 10 games. Yeah, I know. Once you take out the cup games against no marks, once you take out the games against relegation-threatened teams.
24:11I think he's only actually won. There's a big Chelsea supporter on the landing above us who, when I said, oh, he's doing okay, he said, you wait until the next month. And that's about a month ago. He said they're going to have problems, and he's absolutely right. But this is a really poorly constructed team, and this is something that he inherited from the Fab Five of sporting directors. The fact that suddenly we have a plan with wingers and that's where we're signing Garnaccio and Gittens and Esteval, and then all of a sudden he says, like, guys, the only way this is going to work is if I put another midfielder and put Cole Palmer wide.
24:44That, to me, speaks volumes. They're not on the same. Either the Fab Five, the brain trust, decided, ooh, this winger thing's not going to work. But he knew that when he took the job because he'd been working for the same time. Well, presumably he spoke to them. I don't know. Like, I do have sympathy for him. Sorry. Inter held away to Fiorentina, 1-0. Gab, is it two points dropped? It is because the performance wasn't great and they scored straight away with Pius Ballsito. But I'm not going to go and hammer them or hammer Kivu, by the way, wasn't even there, the way a lot of the Italian media are doing right now.
25:17They tried to manage the game. They've got players who were injured or coming back from injury who are not fully fit, like Hakan Shalanoglu and Denzel Dumfries. I think it was good to give them a run out. They're not moving the needle. And also Fiorentina right now are fighting to avoid the drop. And that's why they have this intensity, despite playing Thursday night in Europe. So, no, I'm... They're still going to win the title, aren't they? Yeah, I wouldn't count my chickens, but they're... More than 75 %? Yeah, I'll go 65%. All right. If you're ready for an oil change, trust the professional parts people at O 'Reilly Auto Parts to recommend the best products for your vehicle.
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26:32Join 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. Liverpool fall up right in 2-1 as Ugo Kitike limps off after eight minutes. They've lost 10 of 31 league games already. That's Brendan Rodgers, Roy Hodgson type stuff. It certainly is. and after the game against Galatasaray when they were absolutely magnificent. Were they magnificent? Or as we know now, Galatasaray was really bad in the real Liverpools, what we saw in the second half against Spurs.
27:11Yeah, but Liverpool played with intensity. They played some good football and I thought maybe this is the turning point but over the course of the season you can't turn it on and off and that's been the case. Their intensity was poor. Defensively, they were all over the place. Canate and Van Dijk. Why are they so bad? Is it because they have to play every single week? They have to play every single week, but I don't think they're reading danger. I don't think there seems to be an understanding between them. Van Dijk hasn't made the mistakes, but his positional play has been terrible this season.
27:38And his recovery runs have been poor. He blames everybody else around him. But Van Dijk's been fought for a lot of the bad things that have gone on in Liverpool's defending. And the people in front of them aren't defending with the same intensity. So they've got a problem. They don't want to be the dead horse here, Robbo. But they obviously felt they needed Marquet or they wouldn't have tried to sign him. So you're down one defender there. Then Leone gets injured, so then you're down two defenders. Then Conor Bradley gets injured, so then you're down three defenders. Did they sign anybody in January?
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28:05No, of course not. Now, Bayern thrashed Union Berlin 4-0. Gab, were they good? I thought they were good, and they were different. Look, you can say it's Union Berlin, but it's still sure. Then Union Berlin will still go and park the bus and make it difficult and be physical for you. They did this without five starters, right? Neuer, Alphonso Davies, Jermain Musiala, Jonathan Ta, and Luiz Sias. And Nico Jackson also out. They went more direct. They showed that they can beat you in different ways. They put up silly XG numbers. Great goals as well, weren't they? Scored some great goals. I think the fact that they're multifunctional, if that's the word in this context, I think it stands them in really, really good side.
28:49Barcelona stay four points clear in La Liga as they beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 with a goal from, of all people, Ronald Araujo. But Robbo, this is nervy. And again, St. Juan Garcia saved their backsides. Without doubt, Barcelona are the best attacking side in world football at the moment. They create chances for fun. They didn't do it against Rai Vaicano. They were slightly off the pace. The good players, Jamal, was okay. Rafinha had a really poor first half. Didn't really get going. At least he had two chances, which is true more than most of his teammates. mean lopez was making runs but the ball didn't come levandowski probably touched the ball about six times so they didn't play particularly well and it was a warm day they had a champions league game against newcastle they looked jaded both physically and mentally and they were lucky to get away with it because jean garcia made three or four very good saves yeah i i made this point um they're ready for an international break clear their minds and figure things out the rest of the season now Juventus are held at home by a Sassuolo 1-1 and Locatelli misses a penalty they're in serious danger missing out on the Champions League places they are they're fifth or three points behind Como I was happy when Locatelli had his penalty saved because should have never been a penalty one of the most absurd decisions wasn't a good penalty either was it was a terrible penalty not as bad as Brian Diaz in the AFCON final but not that far off so what I think is remarkable here is I think look, first of all, Sassuolo are not a bad side.
30:20They've done their midday. Well, they're playing freely. They've got some interesting players. To me, what's about volume is Arik Milik. Remember him? Who you haven't seen play in like two years? He came on as a substitute. Dusan Vlaovic came on as a substitute. This is after he decided to play without a centre-forward. He sends these two guys on. You know who he does not send on? There's two big summer signings, Lois Apenda and Jonathan David. I mean, this can be like totally underscores. I'd rather play the two old free agents who haven't played in years than the two bright young sparks. That for me is a concern.
31:00Now they can go and marinate in this for three weeks and figure it out. I don't think Juve were that bad. They create a lot of chances, didn't they? They create chances, yeah. Chico Conceição, I thought, played really well. But they need to... they obviously need to convert the chances and they need to most of all not freak out and not sit there and stew for two weeks about their striker situation and what happens and should we give Spalletti a new contract now? Just go and focus, grind out the results and see where you are at the end of the season. Now let's rewind to Friday. Manchester United held 2-2 at Bournemouth but Michael Carrick says he's baffled by the penalty denied in Madiallo.
31:36Multiple outlets say the club will send a formal written complaint to the PGMOL. That's going to do a lot of good, isn't it? Well, in case Howard Webb runs out of toilet paper. I mean, to be honest, whether it was a penalty or not, they've got a lot of time to defend the ball. It goes all the way up the other end. It was a penalty. It was a penalty. It was a penalty 100%. It was a back-off. He got pushed over. And the referee didn't give it. The VAR didn't give it. But you've got to get on with it. That's football. And Manchester United did some good stuff. And then they had, obviously, Harry Maguire sent off his shove.
32:10That was a penalty, too. Yeah, it was a penalty. And it was a sending off because he stopped a deliberate or a goal scoring opportunity. So everything deliberately did that. So I think they've got no complaints. This thing about writing, writing a formal written complaint, it is absolutely no good. Because look, Howard Webb either believes that the decision was correct, in which case he's going to laugh at you. Or he believes the decision is wrong, in which case he's going to go and shout at Pauce and Atwell. And send you an apology. Sorry. He's not going to apologize. He shouldn't apologize. The guys did their best.
32:38They weren't good enough. That's it. And, you know, I don't like this stuff because does it mean that they need to take more care next time penalty? United have the penalty? The only reason clubs do it, Real Madrid do it all the time. Well, yeah, I don't think that's a good example to follow. No, but they do it for a reason that they might get the next decision going their way, which is wrong. Joe Fernandes scores PSG's 100th goal of the season in all competitions as they win 4-0 at Nice. Good performance. They made it look easy, didn't they? Yeah, it got even easier because Nis had a guy sent off early in the second half and Nis just aren't particularly good.
33:11It's like they've won once at home in like the last three months. But yeah, Drell Fernandes looks really, really, really good. Never saw the best of him at Barcelona. He's 18 years old. Give him time. Give him time. He was one of the ones I didn't expect to go, but he's done well. Now, I guess a battling performance against Atletico Madrid might have been a blip after all because Tottenham Hotspur are awful as they get thrashed at home by Nottingham Forest? Well, they started with lots of enthusiasm at the beginning of the game. They played with energy, which they haven't always done. But once they went 1-0 down, you could see they had a real problem and there was too many spaces between their players.
33:48It was too easy for Nottingham Forest to counter-attack. It was too easy for Nottingham Forest at times to keep the ball. But why? Why? Why is all the positivity suddenly gone? Because the players are so short on confidence, so short on belief. But shouldn't Liverpool, the second half against Liverpool and Liverpool and Liverpool have built it up? Well, maybe because Liverpool's performance wasn't a particularly good one in the second half. And Atletico Madrid came to try and not lose the game and didn't play physically well. So, yeah, they had problems. Spurs are in trouble. Would you sack Tudor?
34:18Would I sack him? Probably now, yes, I would. Now, Milan beat Torino 3-2 to move back within six points of Inter. Gabby, you're often critical of Max Allegri, but he turned things around at half-time, didn't he? He did. He just won one at half-time. Was that difficult for you to say there? Well, look, he did something positive. He just like, you know what? Let me take off one of my centre-backs. Let's go to, let's put in a winger like Atacama. Let's commit people forward. Let's try to actually win this game with passing and movement. I've got Modric and Rambio. Let's let them do their thing. And it worked.
34:53And they went 3-1 up and they looked a lot better. I think this is the way you have to play. This whole like defend and counter and then some margins, it just doesn't work anymore. Not if you're a top team, it doesn't. huge win for Aston Villa against your former club one of your former clubs West Ham United Robbo that six point lead over sixth place looks pretty impressive to me right now fair to say that their rough spot is over? Yeah there was a little spell in the second half where West Ham looked as if they might get back in the game but overall Aston Villa deserved it and I thought they played with more penetration than they have in recent weeks they didn't keep the ball at the back and the centre midfield players stand on it and go back to the centre half they tried to play with more intensity and it worked for them and there was a lot of forward movement, a lot of forward passes, and they deserve to win the game.
35:36So, yes, I think they're back on track. It helps to have John McGinn fit and firing up. And a good goal he scored as well from the set play. Now, Borussia Dortmund come from two goals down to beat Hamburg 3-2 with a little help from Ben Sabahini's penalties. Gab, they didn't crumble this time, did they? They did not. They crumpled in the first half going two goals down. Some really poor defending. I feel bad because the guy who was starting in the place of Ben Sabaini is a young, promising Italian, Reggiani, and he was not good. Oh, dear. Two goals down, and how often have we seen them fold and wilt away?
36:15And look, you wouldn't blame them, right? Because they're in that position where they're kind of like in an Atletico Madrid role, except they don't have the Champions League. They're second. They're not going to catch Bayern. Nobody's going to – they're not going to drop out of the top four. They know where they are. What do you do? how do you motivate people for the rest of the season? I'll tell you who was motivated. Rami Ben-Sabini, who everybody made fun of him because he had the worst game in the history of football against Atalanta in the Champions League. He comes back and, you know, Cooley slots away two penalties.
36:45But more importantly, Dortmund, I thought were really impressive in the second half. Their total XG was 6.62, which seems absurd. And it's nice that they can get a reaction. But what I did not like, actually, I want to get to, we're going to do a little detour here. I want to get to footballer's code judgments or rulings from you. One, on this game, it's the fifth minute of injury time in the second half. It's 3-2. The board has gone up saying that there's going to be five minutes. So literally, the whistle's going to go from one second to the other. Niko Kovac decides that he's going to send on Julian Brandt.
37:24Bit of a backstory here. Julian Brandt, he's going to walk as a free agent in a couple months. Hasn't had the best of time since Kovac had to write to the club, certainly not this season. Would you feel humiliated if you were the guy, you meet your 300th appearance at the club, you've been a club legend, and they send you on in those circumstances? The only thing that would back it up and you think, oh, I might want to go on is if he's got an appearance money. Exactly. That's the only way. because as an experienced player you wouldn't want to go on just to run down the clock that's embarrassing other thing which we didn't bring up before but bedway hacking down ryan jerky when john jerky starts juggling the ball where do you stand on that well arsenal got history of doing that haven't they over the years i remember when there was an fa cup tie and uh nanny did it and arson and uh flamini went into the back of him i think he might have got sent off right he booted the back and arsene wenger said it was he was disrespectful to the game nanny okay i don't i know what our wenger how wenger felt at the time what does robo think uh is it disrespectful no the player can do what he's want you're there winning the game they can do what they want you know you don't want them you might want to go but you can't defend the player who goes and kicks him really no that's interesting you might defend him in because i thought you'd be more old school about this I didn't like when when play but I didn't like when some players do it yeah and I'm not sure that was the case on I'm not sure that was the case but you can't say as a manager in the press conference you know he's the problem the Cherky flicking the ball up and I understand why he was kicked you might say in the dressing room but not to the press be my my way of thinking about things.
39:08Sunderland making a double over Newcastle United this season, beating them 2-1 at St. James Park. Robbo, the knives are out for Eddie Howe and I'm not sure how fair that is. I'm not an Eddie Howe fan and I especially don't like his assistant. Oh no, nobody really likes him, do they? That's a shame. I'm sure he's a nice person in real life, but he just looks like somebody who would be not nice. And I'm blanking on his name. yeah and uh tindall isn't it yes jason tindall jason tindall anyway um well newcastle i've seen over recent weeks and when they've started games quite well the man city in the fa cup they did quite well for against barcelona in the first half they were on top in this game against sunderland something happens in the second half where they lose control again and it all goes completely pear-shaped and they can't get it back they look like a team that are ragged and that's when you start looking at the manager to say what's he doing to get things organized how's he how's he restructuring the team is he going to make substitutions is he going to organize one or two things on the pitch and that seems to be the thing that he's struggled to do in recent games and that's why he's coming under pressure because over the course of the time he's been at Newcastle he's done a fairly decent job yeah I I feel like I want to give him so look I think we can point to mistakes he's made.
40:31But I think we also need to remember that this is not a very deep squad. They've had injuries. And he's also tended to, they've had the Champions League, and he's tended to play the same guys in every game. Which obviously, I mean, I think that might explain why they kind of fall off a cliff in the second half. Because I think some of these guys just really are genuinely tired. Should Howe have managed it better? Probably. Equally, let's not forget what happened in the summer with the ISAC situation and the WESA situation and the fact that he's got to go through the summer without a director of football and without a chief executive.
41:06And it's like him and the finance director making all the decisions until the transfer window closes. I think that just kind of set them off on a path where they were never going to achieve what they achieved last season. In today's world, planning ahead isn't always top of mind, but not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times. In many cases, loved ones are left managing expenses, debts, or long-term obligations without a clear plan in place. Life insurance is one of those ways to help provide financial security and support when it's needed most.
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42:20That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash sports. Application times and rates may vary. 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? Or 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. Okay, let's rewind to Friday, Gavin. All right, it's okay. You don't like Eddie Howe, that's fine. No, he's okay.
43:00Scott McTominay scored the only goal as Napoli went away to Cagliari. They're now seven points back, and more importantly, they've got their injured guys back. Does Antonio Conte have one more miracle in him? Surely not. Just the one? I thought they played really well against Galliardy. And I think one of the big differences here was they scored early with McTominay. And in the past, we might have seen them when Conte was insecure and unhappy and freaked out. Like, you know, they would sit back, try to hit on the counter. And, you know, they would concede and suffer to the end. And he'd talk about working and blah, blah, blah.
43:32And, you know, usual stuff he says. No, no. This time they kept attacking. Galliardy had not a bad side, especially at home. And that's encouraging. De Bruyne is back. Andre Frank Zambon-Ghies is back. Di Lorenzo will be back after the international break. Romelu Lukaku, not involved. He's had a setback, but he's going to be back in the mix. I think all of a sudden, you add legit players. Are they legit enough to make up seven points? I think this next game after the break, they host Milan at the Maradona. I think if it's a draw, Inter are going to laugh all the way to the bank. But whichever one of these two teams wins, I think we'll have a shot to go and really put pressure on Inter.
44:13And I think Napoli actually are better equipped than Milan. You like Conti more than Allegri, don't you? That's what it is. That's what it is, Gab. I know it would be more fun to hang out with. Robbo, an ethical question for you. You get all the ethical questions. I gave you the Footballer's Code one before, right, about Brandt and Ryan Scherke. Here's another one. And this involves your old pal Davey Moyes. Obviously, as we know, Chelsea escaped a points penalty from the Premier League last week for making more than£40 million in illegal payments to agents and allegedly former sporting director Frank Arneson.
44:50Now, we're waiting on what the... By the way, this stuff here is not in dispute. This stuff is... We know it's true because Chelsea self-reported. Chelsea's new owner says, Oh, look, this is what the guys before us did, which is bad and wrong and against the rules, right? we're waiting what the FA does but the impression is that because this was under previous ownership and they self-reported as I mentioned they're going to avoid a sporting sanction no points penalty David Moyes thinks it's unfair do you well it's unfair if other clubs have been docked points because they've done something that's illegal but it's also unfair on these new owners if they get fined for something that somebody else does but surely when you take over a club or any sort of business if you you have to do your due diligence that's what they did but obviously they didn't do it very well did they no no they did they did it really well actually because when they paid um so the price was 2.5 billion look i i've been critical to boli but and in bali but in this occasion they were very smart when they did the due diligence i said whoa there's a whole bunch of stuff here which doesn't add up i think they also had people telling them like hey you need to some some stuff was paid so we're going to hold back 100 million to set it aside to pay for potential fines from uefa or the premier league because we think that when we go into this more we're going to find stuff that's illegal here so they but but chelsea have still gained gained an advantage chelsea won titles yeah one time chelsea won titles with illegal things with things that they've done illegal so should they be stripped of the title uh well i don't think people get stripped of the title these days do they well but this is the thing right this is where i struggle with so yes you could make the argument that winning stuff in the past made them better today right i i get that and so that that's the davy moise argument problem with that is it's hard to penalize a current owners what you can do you could potentially if you think they're grave enough strip them of titles in the past yeah would that be a fair outcome in your view i don't think i don't think people would i don't think the clubs that would then become the get the title would think oh that's great we won that because when you actually play the game that's what it's all about playing the game you haven't won the title so i i wouldn't take the titles away from them there has to be some sort of fine on whatever but i'm sure they won't get dot points that's the point juventus make about the um about the titles that were taken away from them um following calciopoli uh interestingly enough i heard this reported that if Chelsea hadn't self-reported, if the Premier League had found all this stuff out on their own, that their punishment would have been a two-window transfer ban.
47:33Now, that would have really been scandalous. If Chelsea had not self-reported this, if they had known that this illegal stuff happened and they didn't come forth with it, surely you would have had to take much more serious punishment. Of course you would, yeah. Now, Long's bounced back from defeat last week to beat Angers 5-1 and stay one point behind PSG, who have a game in hand. Gab, they are keeping up the pressure, aren't they? Yes, that's right. Pierre Saj, Stonewise, as Jules called them. This team are fun. They play well. They have a good mix of players. It's nice to see Tovan kind of reliving his youth.
48:12But it's not just him. It's also an Eduard. It's a bunch of others.
48:20I think they did ratchet up the pressure. If they hadn't won so convincing against Angers, I'm not sure Paris Saint-Germain would have taken the game against Nice this past weekend so seriously. They're going to give it their all, right? It does make a big difference that Paris Saint-Germain have that game in hand, but Paris Saint-Germain also have a whole bunch of champions. You've liked your percentages so far. PSG for the title? Okay, if Jules were here, it'd be all negative and say like 50-50. But no, it's obvious. No, I'm going to go 70%. Okay. Brentford drew nil-nil at Leeds. But that's not why I'm asking you about them, Robbo.
48:57I want to take this opportunity that you're here because we don't get to talk about them that much. But Brentford are seventh in the table. They're two points behind Chelsea, three points behind Liverpool, clubs with far bigger budgets. And this is after a summer in which they lost their manager, the man with two first names, Thomas Frank. And they also lost a bunch of big hitters, like Brian Mbumo, Johan Wiesa, the goalkeeper, Mark Flecken, who went to Bayer Leverkusen, Christian Norgard, the whole defensive midfielder. You can't get a game for Arsenal. Whatever. But you're supposed to get worse when your genius manager leaves and you lose four starters in one summer.
49:39Do you have an explanation? Is Keith Andrews a genius? I wouldn't say he's a genius, but he's done a very good job. But I think it speaks more about the recruitment of players at Brentford, the fact that they can sell players and then bring in new players that do exactly the same job and do it just as well. Oh, is there more love for Michael Coyote? The philosophy of the club and the way they go about things has been very good. What is it? Explain it to those who don't know. Well, in terms of they look at all clubs all around the world, they try and bring in players that they can see would be ideal ideal for the system of play.
50:11Their stats are good and they don't have to pay a fortune for them because they're not the best players that they can possibly buy. They're the best players in their eyes for what they want and that's the key to recruitment. Getting the best players you can for the positions you want them to play and you know what the manager wants at them. So Keith Andrews has done a good job by talking to the recruitment, which doesn't always happen, and saying this is the style of football i'm going to play this is what i won't expect from this player go and find me the best player you can in that position who does those things that's not going to cost us a fortune and that's what they go and do i look i i know people talk and people praise lavish praise of brentford and brighton and being smart and punching above their weight but for me the fact that they're doing it again um it's pretty remarkable as is the fact that when i look at these four.
51:01Okay. Flecken was okay at the start of the year, then he got injured, so we give him a pass. Mbumu's been good. I don't know if he's lived up to his transfer fee, but he's been good. For a while, he was Man City United's most dangerous player. Norgaard can't get a game. Probably wasn't expecting to get a game, but can't get a game, like you said. And Johan Wiesa, I think, fair to say, nowhere near the transfer fee they paid for him, and not lived up to things so far. There's also something to be said about when players leave Brentford, they're often not as good. No. Not always, obviously Ollie Watkins was and stuff, but, you know.
51:35There's a good feeling at Brentford. If you go to Brentford, there's a good feeling about the club and the atmosphere and everything around it at the moment. And just to provide people context about sort of historically where Brentford were, like when you were a little boy, probably right up until you were an older man. When I was coaching at Wimbledon, which was just coming up to 2000, they were in the fourth tier of English football. Right. They were League Two. They were League Two. And they had... And with no prospect of ever approving. The chairman was the manager, Ron Nodes, was the chairman and the manager of the football club, with Steve Coppola's somewhere down below him, that Brian Sparrow.
52:12They had a committee of four people, and they were in the fourth tier of English football. So the chairman is the manager. Chairman is the manager, Ron Nodes. There you go. That's the Crystal Palace, Ron Nodes, right? Yeah, the same one, yes. Now, Como keep getting it done, Gap. They destroy Pisa 5-0 and are fourth with a three-point lead over Juventus, who you spoke about earlier. Are we going to see Cesc Fabregas in the Champions League next year with Como? Yeah, that's the operative word. Are we going to see him there with Como next year? Bunch of questions here. One is, it's not entirely clear because they have spent a lot of money and it's a small stadium and it's a small town.
52:48They spent the money really well, but they've still spent the money. Are they going to have financial restrictions potentially? That is, I think, a big question that's going to have to become clear at some point. I suppose they can do a settlement agreement, but I don't know how that would work. But the question is, says Fabregas. Is the key for their success that they've got hardly any Italians playing for them? No, that's not true. That's just so stupid. No, they've got good players. They've got good players who they're recycling from other leagues. Players like Kakaray, or who people thought have gone a little bit off the boil.
53:23They get him back. They get him motivated. A bit like Girona in La Liga? were a couple of years ago? Girona are a bit skeevy for obvious reasons. Yes. So let's not put them in the same category as Girona. But I can see why people, to be fair, would have made that parallel. Morata's come back to Italy, the country he loves. Not really moved the needle this year, but obviously they have a Sanjau. They've got a bunch of... They've got guys like Duvickis who scored some goals in La Liga. Then he comes to Italy and starts scoring again. They've got a good goalkeeper. I obviously have one legit megastar in Nico Pass and I don't I don't know like I get romantic when I see him play so obviously you know we all have favorite players and I had a favorite player for Grit when I was a little boy but I also had a favorite player for talent imagination who made the game effortlessness and that player was Manuel Rui Costa this guy plays so effortless that it's a joy to behold.
54:26Everything, nothing looks difficult. Everything looks easy for him. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe I'm overhyping him, but. Well, I look forward to seeing him in the Champions League next year. Yeah. And will it be for Cuomo? But it's funny though, if you're Cesar, I'm not being funny here, but like more broadly, well, we've touched upon it before. When you look at like Europe's traditional big cups, how many of them are going to have the same manager next year as they have now, right? Like in England, in the Big Six, I think Arteta's definitely back. Yeah. I don't know that anybody else in the Big Six is definitely returning.
55:03Maybe Michael Carrick. So there's going to be a lot of changes to managers, and they'll all be looking at the best managers around Europe. And is Cesc Madrid going to be one of them? Well, that's the thing. I mean, Arbeloa, obviously, I don't think is going to be back. No. Kovac. But, you know, there's going to be a lot of upheaval, a lot of changes in managerial positions. and Cesc is ideally, ideally. I mean, the guy's like a synthesis of three different European cultures. Yeah, I'll tell you, Cesc and Xavi Alonso are going to... They're going to be the main ones, are they? I think so. They'll be the biggest in-demand names in the managerial market this summer.
55:38Big win for Inter-Miami and MLS as they come from behind to beat New York City FC. That Lionel Messi guy scores again. Robbo, big response after getting knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup by Nashville in midweek. but let me ask you about Messi he has started this campaign five goals in six games unlike some of his teammates he isn't permanently injured he plays every minute of every game what does this bode for the world cup what does it bode for the worker now he's always going to have moments of pure magic he's always going to have an eye for goal but he's got a lot of people are going to do his running for him got to have the energy and to find himself that time on the ball to do the things he wants to do we saw at the club world cup which many people rubbished but when they were playing in that he couldn't get on the ball because the game bypassed him but in the world cup there's going to be some poor teams and argentina are going to probably outscore most of the teams are going to play in the group stages so he would he will have one or two good games but in the very when they play against the big teams i think he might struggle right i've just been impressed obviously yes no rodrigo depaul who and suarez is on the bench i don't know if he's if he's just old and likes him but messages that's one of the key things he's always stayed fit now fifa published their annual accounts for the 2025 fiscal year and gab we discovered how much gianni infantino earns not as much as you probably but no he makes marginally less than me but still i want to i want to come out and say this about johnny fattino this is the problem with like ceos or whatever we're totally desensitized to these numbers so whatever here and people say oh, it's too much because they don't like Infantina, because they don't like the peace price, some of the dumb things he said and whatever, right?
57:22The reality is he made a base salary of$3.3 million, 2.6 million Swiss francs, and then$2.7 million in bonuses. That's about$6 million. And yes, he gets free travel and a high stipend, whatever, right? When you compare it to other organizations, to, say, the commissioner of the NFL, or people in similar roles, he does not make a lot of money. He really doesn't. Is he making it up in other ways? Blah, blah, blah. He's not going to starve. But this is not an obscene amount of money. And if he were here, he would point out that the people who elect him, since he took over, they have seen their funding go up eight times.
58:12So that's why they reward him. and you know. He must be worried about retirement whether he can retire. I think he has enough friends around the world at this stage that he'll be very well taken care of in retirement. Alright, this brings us to an end. Robbo, thanks for stepping in. Jules is going to be back on Thursday when we look forward to that very unpleasant thing that we call World Cup playoffs. Until then, love the game. Love your neighbour. Love yourself.
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From the publisher
Gab Marcotti & Stewart Robson discuss Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and ask if the result will have
any impact on the Premier League title race. They also discuss Real Madrid’s 3-2 win in the Madrid derby, Chelsea’s 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Everton and the ongoing nightmare at Tottenham Hotspur.
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