In short
Premier League season opener reactions, focusing on Newcastle vs Liverpool and whether Liverpool are ready, plus rapid “quick hits” from other leagues and clubs.
Guests
Gabby and Jules (co-hosts). No other guests are named in the transcript.
Guest backgrounds (from context)
Both are football analysts/commentators discussing tactics, recruitment, and match performance across the Premier League and Europe (e.g., formation analysis, transfer-window evaluation, player profiling).
Key claims
- Liverpool’s midfield/control is the main problem: Gravenberch and Szoboszlai aren’t defensive “6” types, leaving Liverpool open in transition.
- Newcastle’s vertical transition game (4-2-4) exploited Liverpool repeatedly; Liverpool also struggled to defend St James’ Park atmosphere and Keegan tribute.
- Liverpool’s recruitment is late/insufficient: only Araujo and Victor Muñoz so far; Curtis Jones departure raises urgency.
- Iraola’s stats comments (xG, opposition-box touches) are criticized as out-of-context.
Notable examples
- Newcastle carved Liverpool up in transition; Isak missed sitters (including one after Allison’s save).
- Liverpool needed a late penalty to draw at Newcastle; Man City avoided defeat vs Bournemouth late; Spurs lost to Brentford; Hull beat Man United.
- Quick hits: Mourinho’s La Liga return with Real Madrid; Bayern Super Cup win; City vs Bournemouth; Barcelona’s 5-0 vs Elche; United’s 2-0 loss to Hull; PSG’s draw saved by Ferran Torres.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOPremier League Opening Weekend Review
0:45 to 2:31
A recap of the first week of the Premier League season and key matches.
“City need two goals in the last, what, seven minutes to go and avoid defeat against Bournemouth.”
Newcastle vs. Liverpool Analysis
2:31 to 4:23
Discussion on Newcastle's performance against Liverpool and tactical insights.
“I think we have to start with Newcastle.”
Liverpool's Midfield Concerns
4:23 to 7:20
Examining Liverpool's midfield issues and their player dynamics.
“But for Newcastle, that side of the plan was perfect, was great.”
Transfer Window Worries
7:20 to 11:15
Gab and Juls discuss Liverpool's transfer needs and potential signings.
“Well, it doesn't work against a good team either that's going to have a lot of the ball.”
Recruitment Strategy and Future Outlook
11:15 to 14:00
Final thoughts on Liverpool's recruitment strategy and upcoming challenges.
“And I'm wondering what's going on and how much can this hurt them?”
Analyzing Liverpool's Transfer Needs
14:00 to 22:50
An in-depth discussion on Liverpool's current squad and potential signings.
“When he said, well, we had twice the expected goals and we had 36 touches in the opposition box, he says that completely out of context.”
Analyzing Liverpool's Transfer Needs
23:17 to 24:22
An in-depth discussion on Liverpool's current squad and potential signings.
“You know that purple ShopPay button you see at checkout?”
Quick Hits: Football Updates
24:26 to 28:00
A roundup of recent football news and performances across leagues.
“After 4 ,830 days, Jose Mourinho makes his return to La Liga.”
Manchester City's Tactical Adjustments
28:00 to 29:19
Exploring Manchester City's performance and tactical nuances against Bournemouth.
“He's obviously going to interpret the position differently.”
Barcelona's Strong Start to the Season
29:20 to 30:59
Analysis of Barcelona's impressive performance in their 5-0 win over Elche.
“have scored early and and and put that game to bed early holland missed two sitters gay missed an even bigger sitter.”
Show all 29 chapters
Manchester United's Struggles Against Hull City
31:00 to 33:09
Discussion on Manchester United's disappointing performance against Hull City.
“The only thing really was maybe a bit, Lamine was a little bit off it at times and was certainly not happy to be subbed off and looked like he clearly showed that unhappiness on the bench, the face like thunder he had.”
Transfer Rumors and Barcelona's Defense
33:10 to 35:14
Exploring transfer rumors surrounding Alejandro Balde and his impact on Barcelona's defense.
“But there is a lot of work to do and not much time to do it because they have European football.”
Inter Milan's Offensive Depth
35:15 to 37:16
Reviewing Inter Milan's attacking options and their recent performances.
“Inter Milan wrote to a 4-1 win over Monza.”
PSG's Inconsistent Form
37:17 to 39:44
Discussion on PSG's recent results and the challenges they face.
“for the next few weeks when you win two champions league titles you can or three even you can uh and you're a little mad.”
Aston Villa's Challenges
41:00 to 42:01
Discussing Aston Villa's poor performance and the Ollie Watkins situation.
“Brighton, we're a 4-0 up on Aston Villa after half an hour.”
Aston Villa's Fall from Grace
42:01 to 43:36
Discussion on Aston Villa's performance and player reactions to club decisions.
“And then one mistake and they fell apart to a point that we've seen them falling apart before.”
Ruben Amorim's Bold Decisions
43:37 to 45:00
Analysis of Ruben Amorim's coaching choices at Milan and the impact of young players.
“with a 2-1 win over Torino as young and old Alfa Sisse and Adrian Rabiot score Can we talk about Alfa Sisse?”
Olivier Giroud's Resilience
45:01 to 46:36
Reflecting on Olivier Giroud's performance and age in the current season.
“Jules, that handsome guy who opened the scoring looks a little bit familiar.”
Juventus's Struggles and Player Criticism
46:37 to 47:58
Discussion of Juventus's recent games and player performances, focusing on accountability.
“I don't know what they're going to do with him.”
Ipswich Town's Exciting Start
47:59 to 49:19
Review of Ipswich Town's victory and the strategy behind their performance.
“They're already destroying Jonathan David by trying to sell him all over the world, right?”
Napoli's Mixed Performance
49:20 to 50:47
Critique of Napoli's game against Genoa and analysis of tactical decisions.
“And again, Ligue 1, you know, Ligue 1 product.”
Referee Accountability in Championship
51:40 to 53:12
Discussion about referee decisions in the Championship and the implications for players.
“West Brom striker Aune Hegebel has been banned for two games for intentionally deceiving the referee.”
Political Pressure on Manchester City
53:13 to 55:11
Exploration of the political implications regarding Manchester City's sanctions.
“that a negative outcome or heavy sanction against Manchester City over those 115 charges, you know, against the Premier League could strain relations, that's the quote, between the two countries.”
Women's Under-20 World Cup Update
55:12 to 56:00
Updates on the Under-20 Women's World Cup and discussions on potential boycotts.
“a better team a bigger league and I think Betis who have Couto Hernandez up front of course could do with his sense his eyes for goal and, you know, his movement in the box and all of that.”
Women's World Cup Qualifying Concerns
56:00 to 56:44
Discussing the implications of potential boycotts on women's football.
“so theoretically the boycott should still be on the table.”
Post-World Cup Final Punishments
56:44 to 58:15
Analyzing the fairness of sanctions after the World Cup final brawl.
“we said Paredes should be banned for a long time.”
Shakhtar Donetsk's Champions League Plan
58:15 to 59:11
Debating the decision for Shakhtar Donetsk to play at Stamford Bridge.
“Lionel Messi scores, but Inter-Miami fall at Toronto FC 2-1.”
Cristiano Ronaldo's Scoring Record
59:11 to 1:00:31
Celebrating Ronaldo's remarkable achievement of scoring for 25 consecutive seasons.
“I think the reality is their country is at war.”
Pressure on FIFA President Infantino
1:00:31 to 1:02:28
Examining the mounting pressure on Infantino amid criticism from football leaders.
“I wonder, you say they'll never be beaten, but Lewandowski and Giroud, aren't they?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Julien Laurens:Sierra has all the best active and outdoor brands for the super athletic stuff, like running gear for cruising up the trail. Woo! And the super athletic-ish stuff, like fishing gear for chilling by the creek. Nice cast. Fitness apparel to push for higher reps. You got this! And golf balls priced so you can afford to lose one. Or a few. Head to Sierra or Sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athletic-ish, Sierra's got it.
0:35I'm Gabby's Jules Blue Skies over West London Jules we've had the first week of the season in the Premier League not just that other stuff around Europe Bayern winning the German Super Cup Real Madrid leading the late winner from the new Gonzalo Garcia Barcelona looking deadly Francesco Pio Esposito too but we need to focus on the Premier League Because remember we used to talk about the big six, right? Yeah. Okay, so Arsenal win. City need two goals in the last, what, seven minutes to go and avoid defeat against Bournemouth. Yeah. Liverpool need a penalty in the fifth minute of injury team to avoid defeat at Newcastle.
1:18Hull beat Manchester United. Spurs losing to Brentford. Chelsea don't want to jinx it. They play in a few hours away to Fulham, but the club's kind of chaotic right now. Sorry, before we get into Newcastle-Liverpool, which is our big game. Yeah, great first weekend. It's great because the big team's lost. Or does this kind of just reinforce what we said, that the gap is just enormous and these other teams are just behind right now. They're behind where they want to be in terms of preparation, in terms of chemistry. I mean, there's no other explanation, right?
1:48Julien Laurens:No, and you can question why you're not ready when the season starts, really, especially if you're a top club with a lot of resources, with a lot of money to sort out your recruitment, to sort out your transfer window, to get those players ready. And even if some were at the World Cup, some of them came back a long time ago. So it was good to see so many things happening. I don't think it's great for the Premier League that the big teams don't do that well on the first weekend. But again, they would get better. They would get stronger. For some of those teams, the starting XI will look very different in two weeks' time or even a month' time.
2:23Julien Laurens:So there's for some nothing to worry too much about. But I thought it was great that it was not so straightforward, especially for the big boys. Let's talk Newcastle and Liverpool. I think we have to start with Newcastle. We often point out flaws in the other team. But Newcastle, you have this guy, Matthias Gaisle. He's like the next big thing in football at Salzburg. Decides to take the money and go to El-Akhali in the Saudi Pro League. Some of us thought, all right, did he kind of lose his edge while he was out there? because it is a very different environment in which to work, comes back, replaces Eddie Han, what, three weeks ago?
3:01Yeah. On a team where confidence is low, they've had to sell everybody because, hey, guys, guess what? You can have very wealthy Saudi owners. You can be owned by Mubadah, or not Mubadah, but the public investment fund. Yeah. But you still have to follow the rules, and they're following the rules. And so Anthony Gordon leaves, Bruno Guimaraes leaves, Sandro Tonali leave and he just goes out with this 4-2-4 if you want to call it that fast guys solid defending a lot of guys missing Joe Linton, Dan Byrne and so on and I thought they just carved Liverpool up in transition time and again yeah
3:40Julien Laurens:I mean that's the game really it's that verticality the transition you know playing so quick forward and they will have issues because they can't play like that they need a plan B and there's no plan B so when they have when they play against teams that are not as open as Liverpool were on Sunday I think they will struggle maybe a bit more but for this game with the atmosphere that was there at St James' Park after the tribute especially beautiful tribute for Kevin Keegan obviously who passed away during the summer and played for both teams it was it was perfect that's exactly what Liverpool cannot defend against right now but that's also what Irola and Bournemouth last season struggled against those transitions so he will have to sort that out for the Reds.
4:23Julien Laurens:But for Newcastle, that side of the plan was perfect, was great. Wiesa is great in that. Ursula is great in that. The wingers are great for that. The problem is that it's difficult to do it over 90 minutes to start with. And also, at times, you need a bit of control. You need to keep the ball. You can't just go vertical all the time. All right, Dr. Jules, the area that we need to operate on in your view is midfield. Yeah, and again, I mean, I don't understand how we can be here now on August the 24th. And Liverpool still haven't signed a midfielder. They've lost another one in Curtis Jones. We've got Graven Bersh and Sobozlai, plus McAllister who came off the bench.
5:05Julien Laurens:And as you say, Gabi, they are good players. The problem is not the quality of the players. The problem is the way this team is going to play with two very attacking fullbacks, you need more control in that midfield. You need more defensive strength in that midfield, which neither Soboslai or Gravenbosch has. Neither of them is a six. Arguably, neither of them is really an eight either. And OK, you can make a case for Gravenbosch a little bit more than Soboslai, who Soboslai was an attacking wide player at ten, but certainly not. Again, he runs the law, he presses well, he's a great player. Again, we're not questioning the quality of the players.
5:46Julien Laurens:But this team was so open. And again, they're not going to play every single weekend against a team as good as this Newcastle team in transition. Sure, but still, that midfield is not good enough and certainly not what this team needs for the way the other players play. So here's how I see it. I agree with your assessment so far. I don't think McAllister, by the way, certainly if we get last season's McAllister who seemed to save himself for the World Cup that's not going to move the needle. But for me the difficulty is in the formation because if I have two guys there who are two specialist mean defensive midfielders fine, then I can carry the 4-2-3-1.
6:30For me, if you're going to play 4-2-3-1 with these kinds of attacking fullbacks and it might change when Connor Bradley's fit He can give you a little bit more, reads things a little better defensively. If you're going to play that, you have to kind of get it right. And you talked before about how Bournemouth got caught in transition sometimes last year. It takes time to build those mechanisms because when Bournemouth were good, the other team didn't see the ball, right? Other than like aimless balls and whatever. But to do that, you need a lot of time on the training pitch. You're not guaranteed to do it.
6:59And you're not guaranteed with these players who, let's face it, I think are less dynamic and less physical than the guys he had at Bournemouth. They're better players. And so to me, like, the midfield is definitely an issue. I think Sabaslai in a two is just against a decent team. Doesn't work. Because you know what? You said it doesn't work against a team that plays in transition like Newcastle. Well, it doesn't work against a good team either that's going to have a lot of the ball. Because you can make Sabaslai have him chase around all over the place.
7:28Julien Laurens:No, but you rarely have. Liverpool rarely have, you know, play against a team that has 70 % of the ball either. They don't need 70%. But even just a team with more quality that's going to want the ball more, I think it becomes a problem. I wonder if he needs to rethink this. And if you want to play 4-2-3-1, you put Salvaslay at 10, and you move Wurtz wide. I don't know why that conversation's gone off the table. You can't give up on Wurtz, given what you pay for him. But because Wurtz with Isak, it'll be different when Ikitika comes back. Isak Akitika is a much more aggressive player, a much more physical player.
8:08Not physical, Isak's obviously bigger than Isak or close to it, but he plays with a lot more energy, right? To me, the issue is in the formation as much as it is because if you can adjust the formation, now the question for Irola is, can I adjust my formation? Because I am playing towards replicating what I had at Bournemouth, which is what got me the job here. Can I do that with a different formation? And I'm not sure he can. I think that's the trade-off. That's what he's weighing up.
8:37Julien Laurens:Yeah, I don't think he would change the formation. The problem for Rahul as well is that this is a team that we love, like we saw on Sunday, a lot more the ball than his Bournemouth team used to have before. And he used to coach that Bournemouth team to be very good in that verticality in transition. But with the ball, the games where they had more than 50 % of the ball last season, they didn't do as well. with this team now this is a team that has the ball plays with the ball and there's much less verticality than anything before so even him will have to in a way change a little bit I think his approach and his philosophy to it the bottom line is there's a week left in the transfer window and they still need players to start with just need buddies they need more players in the squad because Victor Munoz did okay when he came on but he's a squad player and they just need more body, they need more wingers, they need more midfielders.
9:33Julien Laurens:And then they need players that would probably fit what he wants more, that are fitter, that are better defensively, certainly in that midfield, and probably a fullback. But they won't do that. They won't sign five players between 9 and 1 of the central window. No, there's no shot. If they have two, that will already be a result, I think. It was what we saw last year, even when they needed one player, i.e. Mark Gay or any kind of semi-competent centre-back, they ended up screwing it up on the last day of the transfer window and then did nothing in January. And that nearly cost them dear. So I don't follow that.
10:07They seem to be all in on wingers. They've been linked with Yacouba Minte. Before that, of course, they were linked with Yomande. They were linked with Barcola. Obviously, there's a type, the very fast, skillful winger who can run at people and run past them.
10:25Sure, very good player. Is he better than Cody Gakbo if you want to play a certain way? If you have him on the left or if you have him on the right, is he better than what Rio, who isn't even 18 years old yet, can give you? Sure. But even then, I don't know that this is a more serious problem than what you described before in the midfield. And maybe even having an alternative at left back, because in certain games, I'm not going to blame Kerkas for the first goal where Alanga runs past him, you're in a foot race with Alanga, right? You're not going to catch him. That's fine. He made the right run.
11:03But obviously, there's going to be vulnerability there off the ball. And in certain games, you might want to go for a more defensive option. So I look at all this. I look at the signing of Araujo. You talk about adding a body. And I'm wondering what's going on and how much can this hurt them?
11:21Julien Laurens:I mean, I think if they let Curtis Jones go, they already have a replacement in mind and I would expect that midfielder to arrive soon. I think for Minte the deal will happen. Whether it's a good deal or not, he's out for six weeks. It's a deal that you could have done much earlier in the summer because they've liked him from a long, long time. Even back in February, March, I was told that he was the one they wanted to replace Mo Salah on the right-hand side. His stats certainly went fit. I've been outstanding in the Premier League in everything with the ball, without the ball attacking-wise, defensively, all of that.
11:54Julien Laurens:So I can see it. And I think for 60 million, which might be a lot of money for Minte, I'm not saying that they're not overpaying, but I'm just saying this is the player that they want. That's the player that they wanted, that they want now, that Irola really wants for that right-hand side. So I get that. But it's just, it feels really late again. And right now, if at least that starting 11, which looks decent on paper, by the way. It's a good problem with the depth. If that was working, I think there would be less worries to have because you would have a starting 11 that is functioning well, that is coherence, that is getting to grip with what the new manager wants, all of that.
12:37Julien Laurens:But that's not even the case. So that is a problem. Your depth in your squad is a problem. Your recruitment so far has been an issue because we have one week left in the transfer window and all you brought is Arojo. and Victor Munoz, okay, but again. So, I don't know. I think that if I was a Liverpool fan, those seven days, I don't think I would sleep much. And I'm assuming at this stage you keep Kakpo, right? Because the other thing, let me remind you, the other thing we haven't talked about is Ikitika is out until the new year. This means Isak has to play every game. And if we see the Isak that we've seen now, it's not going to work.
13:17So, I don't know. I mean, again, had you moved earlier, maybe you think a striker on loan, maybe those for six months until he can take his fit again, who just can take some of his six minutes away, help him try to regain his form. That's kind of out the window, right? Unless you really want to play with Cody Gakbo up front, which is fine, but then you create a, then you're basically saying, even if Minte comes, unless I'm forgetting somebody, then you're saying my left-hand side is going to be Victor Munoz and Rio. Yeah. And they're also going to be my backup. One of them is going to be back up on the right-hand side, too.
13:50They're simply shorthanded.
13:51Julien Laurens:But they might have. Yeah, yeah. They're shorthanded. They need players. And maybe they have those deals lined up, by the way. We're saying that a week in a way. Yeah, maybe it's a strategy to go and do the deal at the end of the window. No, no, it's not. But because... They're obviously working on something. Yeah, yeah. They are, for sure. If we can see it, they can see it. So I think they... You could also hope and stay positive and just hope that they've got those lined up and there's a midfielder that will arrive and a winger or probably two will arrive maybe another attacking player and maybe like a full back that can play either right or left uh i don't know let's say like a livermento type i know he's injured and it won't be him but you see that kind of guy lewis hall was was mooted as well but that's not going to happen no and he can only really play on on the you know he's played both sides yeah but like livermento is probably more suited for both so but but for now it's not those signings are not there and and I think what we saw on Sunday and I think they were built despite good stats and good xg and things like that they were lucky to get that draw you know if if Lewis Hall doesn't make that silly file in the box where Munoz is going nowhere well you know they lose that game 2-1 and then and then it's it's tough even tougher that's the point I was gonna make Iraola, I have no issue with stats and analytics.
15:11I'm very pro stats and analytics. But it has to be a context to it. And Iraola's too smart. When he said, well, we had twice the expected goals and we had 36 touches in the opposition box, he says that completely out of context. He knows that he's talking nonsense. the reason you had twice the um the xg is because because of that penalty at the end right that's 0.79 on the xg that weighs pretty heavily yeah um that's not down to your sparkling play it's down to giving away a penalty which by the way you know could have also not been given i think it was the correct call but different referee if you put it it's the thing he doesn't give var is not going to step in yeah um touches in the opposition box i think it's a metric that needs to be contextualized.
16:01If the opposition sits deep, then it can be a pretty irrelevant stat. How about Johan Wiese to transition to Newcastle, who for me was man of the match. It was incredible to watch. That's what it's him as well this time. But then he's going to look back and say, man, I also missed two absolute sitters. One especially. The one... The Allison one.
16:23Julien Laurens:Yeah. Well, the other one where he doesn't connect, he's there, man. Yeah, yeah. You're a centre-forward. Yeah, I know. I think that's got to hurt him. It's weird that we can speak of him, of his glowing performance. Those two go in, Liverpool concede four goals, and then it's really uphill. Yeah, it is. I think it was incredible. Last season was a frustrating season for him with the injury to start with, and then obviously a tough season, I think, for Newcastle overall, despite the run into the Champions League, which was cool. but this suits him so well to play like that I think whether he's him the lone striker or he plays with Osula behind he gives you so much and I think the problem especially on the chance where Alisson makes the save and he could have hit it a little bit better it's a decent save it's just after running so much he was gassed so hard yeah when you get to the last 15 minutes or 20 minutes of the game he's going to start to be less lucid in front of goal which is again normal but yeah i think if jasler for him is perfect and he's perfect for what yes they want to do do you think so this was effectively a 4-2-4 right um are we gonna see especially as players come back as maybe they pick up another midfielder away from home especially do you think he's going to continue with 4-2-4 I think he has one way of playing, really.
17:53Julien Laurens:We watched him for many years now, even in Saudi, and he had success, he won trophies, big ones. But, you know, I think that's very much his DNA. I'm sure he can do different things and stuff like that. But I think that's the way they play. And again, yesterday, even with the crowd pushing them every time to go forward or that, they could and should have had more control, especially in that second half. And I just thought the penalty given away by Wohol is unfortunate in a way because it's clumsy. But they kind of invited that, I thought, a little bit towards the end and they would have to correct that because in the Premier League especially, in the Bundesliga it's a bit different because it seems like everybody, apart from Bayern, I guess, maybe, and Dortmund, just play like that.
18:43Julien Laurens:So it's very much a basketball game. in the Premier League, we'd have to do a bit different. Yeah, I'd be curious to see how they line up against teams that put like eight guys in the box. Final point, going back to Liverpool for a minute. You talked about a midfielder. Let's profile what we're thinking or what you're thinking, right? Because we know funds are not unlimited, especially after last summer spending. Are you thinking of a starting caliber guy who can maybe be a squad player but can fill in for Gravenbertsch or McAllister? Or are you thinking about a guy that becomes a starter? And secondly, where does Soboslai go?
19:25Julien Laurens:Yeah, I mean, I think you need options. You need competition for places too, whether that's Vert and Soboslai as a 10 and just pick the best one. And drop one of them. And drop one of them or move another one somewhere else. To the wing, yeah. Versus to the wing, I've been... No, I'm not a fan at all. I know, we disagree on this one. Yes, on the wing, it's all. But he has to play somewhere, right? Well, I guess so, yeah. I would, you know, I would go and spend, I think they need, I think they've been crying out for a midfielder, and they tried Caicedo, which would have been perfect, and obviously missed out on Caicedo two or 18 months ago.
20:03Julien Laurens:They tried to be Mendy, who, again, they missed out. And yet, those players, who were clearly very, who had the right profiles and the right player for what they wanted in those positions. And then you've just stopped chasing those kind of profiles, which I don't understand. I'm going to pull a name out of thin air. A guy who did well in Lyon last year. I admired him. I'd never seen him in the flash until the World Cup. Lemine Kamara. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that the profile? Yeah, yeah, completely. And that's not somebody who needs to start every game if he moves to Liverpool. Oh, yeah, sure. But he's probably better in that role.
20:42And also frees up Ravenberg to do other stuff too. Exactly. Ravenberg's head playing with Sabaslay must explode. Yeah, yeah. Defensively, right? When you've got people running all over the place.
20:50Julien Laurens:Exactly, yeah. It's difficult for him. But even, I think even a Wharton type, you know, those kind of guys, I think would be good for them. And there are a lot of options. I don't buy the... Buadi would have been great. Buadi is young and Buadi is super expensive. and maybe they don't have that money to spend on a midfielder like that. So maybe Wharton as well is too expensive, maybe. But there are options out there that they could have signed a month ago even. Will Kamara be substantially cheaper than Boadi? Yeah, yeah. Kamara is now£100 million. No, but I mean, why are we talking like in the 40-50 range?
21:26Julien Laurens:Yeah, yeah, yeah. They must have that money. Well, I would rather spend it on that than on Minte, frankly, right now. Because you know what? Because I know Minte is better, right? But if you have to only choose one, I would choose the midfielder now. You've basically convinced me because I would assume that when Ike Tike returns, like Isak's not going away, right? So you have to think in terms of the positive, which is Isak will get back close to the level he was at, but it's going to take time. So it doesn't mean that Isak's going to be relegated to the bench immediately when Ike Tike comes back.
21:59so that means Ike Tike or Isak become an option in a wide area both have played there before in the past right and I have and I still have Victor Munoz who's young and I have Rio and I have Cody Gakpo if I don't shift him and I may need to find a home for Wiertz like you can do a rejiggering there yeah that's not Irola's type though it's completely not but you know what you signed him you knew Isak and Wiertz were there when he arrived he knew they were there so he said I'm not necessarily going to play the way I played at Bournemouth. I'm going to adapt it. He's a very smart guy. I have a lot of faith in him.
22:35I hope people will give him the time.
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24:33Let's go, God. After 4 ,830 days, Jose Mourinho makes his return to La Liga. Real Madrid win 2-1 at Espanol, but Jules takes a late scrambled goal from the new Gonzalo Garcia, Carlos Espy, to get it done.
24:48Julien Laurens:Yeah, it was not the best of performances despite an early goal on set piece. Goula for Bellingham. Goula who started on the right hand side with a lot of freedom to leave that right hand side too. Denzel Dumfries who started ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right hand side and was bombing forward and all of that. So you could see already what Mourinho is trying to do with Bellingham as a 10 and Vini and Mbappe and then a double pivot. There's still a lot of work I think to do there and that also means Jan Jomonde on your bench for example. he came on and didn't really do too much when he came on but for Mourinho that looked I thought quite a lot and the camera kept panning on him through the whole game obviously because he was the attraction, he was the big star he looked quite worried I thought for a lot of the game until the 90 whatever minute it was and when Espíritu scored that scruffy goal to win it, he had to it's all about winning for him, he had to start with a win of course but there's a lot of work to do with this team.
25:50Yeah, but I think what you described there with Chormeni in for Bernardo
25:59and Cucurea in left-back, leaving aside Militao, who at this point is kind of virtual. I think this is his idea of the team. And Diomande can be a guy coming off the bench to change games and so on, but I really think he wants to give Arda Guller a chance. I got to talk about Carlos Espec just for a second. You know, I was a big Gonzalo Garcia fan. I thought it was ridiculous how Arbeloa kind of didn't really give him a chance until kind of the season was over and Mbappe and Vini started saving themselves for the World Cup. I thought it was even funnier that then he goes and signs him for Fulham.
26:35Makes no sense. But there's a basic reality in football that if the other team is defending deep and you're desperate for a goal, simply having a large man up front who's going to put himself about is going to change things. It's a simple reference, a simple law of football. Even Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. Late in the game, we need a goal. What do we do? Gerard Pique, go up front. It's a simple thing. There's no shame in it. And I'm so happy for this kid. And I'm so happy that somebody there was bright enough to realize, all right, Gonzalo, whatever. Let's bring somebody else in who can do that.
27:10And the kid looks so happy.
27:12Julien Laurens:Yeah. Bayern win the German Super Cup beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1. Got my boy Michael Olisse looking good again. Yeah. First half especially. Well, all the Bayern look good in the first half. Kobol felt like made like a million saves. And then as Bayern sometimes do, they kind of backed it in a little bit. What surprised me, and obviously Dortmund pulled one back late, maybe could have even equalized. Like, oh no. What surprised me again is Vincent Kompany. Okay, I understand Musiala's out. Carl is out. Sergeant Avery's obviously out. But hey, look, let me put Nathaniel Brown in attacking midfield.
27:58That was crazy. Pulling that out of the hat. He scored a goal. He's obviously going to interpret the position differently. But I like, this is why I love Vincent Kompany. He's thinking one step ahead. He's trying different things. And I thought in that first half, they looked, like you said, they look tremendous. It's kind of like, this is all we need to do. Manchester City, leave it late to turn things around against Bournemouth, winning 2-1. Jules, deserved. And more importantly, though, how about Haaland's haircut?
28:26Julien Laurens:Yeah, I mean, I don't care too much about Haaland's new haircut. Yeah, I think they had enough chances to certainly not lose that game. They looked shaky defensively on the goal and a couple of other occasions. Mareska is still tinkering with his midfield and Gehi there, who even he was surprised to play there. I'd never played there before. So I'm not really sure exactly what Mareska tried to do. And I don't think Gehi, by the way, who did okay, but I don't think he was comfortable at all in that position. He was also playing ahead of Elia Anderson. Yeah, for a lot of it. I think he struggled to find the right position for himself and to move and all of that.
29:05Julien Laurens:but um but in the end i think shirky saved the day with two assists late one one on set piece and then a wonderful pass for guardiol um to almost spare the blushes for mareska and city who will have to do much better but again they could easily have done some they could easily have scored early and and and put that game to bed early holland missed two sitters gay missed an even bigger sitter. Ryan Shirky needs to play. Enough of this tactical balance stuff. We saw today, Foden can play wide, right? Well, he can't really play wide. But he put him wide. Yeah, but he was terrible. The back hill was nice.
29:44Julien Laurens:The early back hill. And then it kind of disappeared after that. And sticking with City, Gabby, multiple sources including us on the website on ESPN reporting that City have agreed a fee of£85 million for Ayubo Adi. It's a ton of money for an 18-year-old. It doesn't change that. Now, in the modern game, immortalization, all that, if he's just mid for three years, you sell him for 50 million and you net out. So that's the downside. The upside, if he lives up to the hype, to what we've seen, he's going to be tremendous. But Jules, you pointed out that maybe he's not ready to start straight away.
30:19Maybe you ease him into the team.
30:21Julien Laurens:I'll start him, but it's just what you expect from him then because it would take a bit of time, but he's got everything to be one of your star players two goals apiece for Rafinha and Fermin Lopez as Barcelona stomp Elche away 5-0 who needs a center forward huh Jules how'd they look yeah I thought they looked great Gab Rafinha has done number nine if you want or force number nine whatever was outstanding uh involved in pretty much everything Fermin has a 10 looked great and looked really really sharp after his injury earlier in the summer and then we had Anthony Gordon coming on with two assists in transition, they played great in transition, they played good with the ball.
31:00Julien Laurens:The only thing really was maybe a bit, Lamine was a little bit off it at times and was certainly not happy to be subbed off and looked like he clearly showed that unhappiness on the bench, the face like thunder he had. But perfect way for them, I think, to start the season when you think there was no De Jong, no Rodri, no Cubansi, no Koundé, no Pedri. some of these guys came off the bench yeah for Gavi who who seemed to have picked up another injury so I really enjoyed that performance Manchester United 4-2 newly promoted Hull City away 2-0 on Saturday Gab no Gustav or Michael Carrick no I thought this was horrible I thought this was a really really look you'd been telling me how overmatched Hull City were in the Premier League most people have them destined to go down I'm not going to say they're terrible side, but because they thoroughly deserved the win, they carved United up again in transition, they were better on set pieces that midfield of Andre Santos and Uri Tielemans, like, we love Tielemans Tielemans does not run around the pitch like a madman, right?
32:11I mean, he's not even the least athletic central midfielder they have because obviously Kabi Menuh is still there Andre Santos looks overmatched, and again, you you're a big fan maybe he'll develop over time i don't know i hope so um matthias cuña does nothing i know sesco i would have wanted to see sesco start he was obviously injured in preseason i'm assuming this is why but the message has to be clear we spent a zillion pounds on sesco sesco needs to be the person we build around and get a pass to this one because he's not fit but i would expect kerrick to have a lineup and a formation that suits sesco and it's going to to be built around Seska going forward.
32:50I'm telling you, this is going to be, he needs, he's got a lot of things to work on. He might get some help from the transfer window. Obviously, Carlos Baleba, we think, is on his way. That's fine. I don't know, by the way, Baleba comes, if you're going to continue playing 4-2-3-1, how psyched some of these guys, especially Andres Santos, is going to be, because then do I slip back in the pecking order now. Yeah. But there is a lot of work to do and not much time to do it because they have European football. Oh yeah, we've mentioned this. Sticking with United, the good news is that Baleba almost done, but also now they're linked to Alejandro Balde.
33:25Do you like this, Jules? Are you a bit surprised too about how things are souring with Barcelona?
33:29Julien Laurens:Yeah, for Balde, yeah. I mean, I know he's not the best defensively, obviously, but the attacking strength that he has, the pace, and the technical ability, I think are great. Maybe there's been issues with, I don't know, attitude, which we don't know about, maybe the injuries of the past and I worry for some at Barcelona so they put him on the transfer market I know United were looking for a left back through the whole summer and were linked with different ones like Lewis Hall who was just I think too expensive in the end I don't know if Alejandro Balde is the answer for them again I think they need a full left back or right back by the way because I think they could do with another right back Balde can cover both yeah but as a proper left footed is probably better on the left hand side but with that defense better but when i look at that defense against hull city of masraoui maguire heaven and show i mean this is monster united we're talking about that this is a ranked defense delict will be coming back at some point maybe lenny oro will be good for sure but so balde question mark for me uh baliba is a big yes because I think they need, as we said on Thursday, that kind of profile, the physicality, running with the ball, you know, the carrying the ball, all of that.
34:49Julien Laurens:I think they need that. But again, how fit is he? And his last season didn't have a good season either. I'm assuming Barcelona are doing this to balance the books. I think so. It seems kind of like, it seems like Barcelona players, especially ones who are homegrown, love being there, but they also have to accept that the club will try to drive them out when they need to because we saw the same thing with Firmin Lopez and then it didn't happen. Yeah, exactly. Inter Milan wrote to a 4-1 win over Monza. Gab Francesco Pio Esposito is pretty good and scored a pretty good score. Oh, yes, yes. You like that?
35:24Julien Laurens:The little back heel flick? It's still not the goal of the weekend because I'm sure we'll mention, for me, the goal of the weekend a bit later but yeah, that was sweet. Chana Noglu might want to have a word as well. Isn't it the same? Even that can't be good. I just love the amount of energy and unselfishness that he brings. Go center forwards with his profile. Don't always play with this much energy. Inter have a proper rotation now. Takes pressure off of Lautaro, who is going to have to ease into the season. He wasn't particularly good. Takes pressure off of Marcos Turam. He was hoping to play a little more at the World Cup.
35:58And then Androian Yamboni is there. He's got to be smart how he uses his four forwards. but that is a deep attacking core. Ferran Torres has to come off the bench to rescue Paris Saint-Germain away to Rennes. Jules, reason to be conserter? Should we just celebrate the genius of Luis Enrique? People were laughing at Ferran Torres.
36:17Julien Laurens:Who's laughing now? Well, Greg Coaching because, you know, everything he did in terms of match management, in-game management, sorry, for Luis Enrique worked yesterday. We were not good at all in our first half, although we had a big chance to come back to 1-1. but considered twice in transition which was poor the race defense a bit like the Liverpool race defense was not good enough on Sunday night for PSG but then Fabian Riz and Ferran Torres Mika Gotts as well coming on and all having a really good impact but the two goals that Ferran scored the movement that he had and you know I'm not a fan I've never been a fan but I have to say I was saying my kids like I don't like him and then yeah he saved us it's two games now the last defeat the previous weekend this draw there uh which i think again i expected it because they're not ready and they're not fair lucenrique took off vaskelia and dembele half time strong strong words against them belly uh in his post-match interviews as well so it'd be fun for the next few weeks when you win two champions league titles you can or three even you can uh and you're a little mad.
37:25You can act like loose any of this.
37:27Julien Laurens:Brentford destroyed Spurs 3-0. Gab Roberto De Zerbi said they were unprepared and had no soul. Yes, he's 100 % correct. Is it his job to prepare them? He might be, but he's got a long injury list. They were just terrible. It doesn't excuse us. Who's unprepared? Wait, Tonali, what did you do this summer? Hey, how'd you enjoy the World Cup? Gallagher, hey, how was your World Cup? Oh, wait. How they could be unprepared physically, I don't know. They should be unprepared tactically because they've been working with with the Zerbi credit to Brentford that the guy in midfield who they who they picked up was uh Sangare from Lens that's what he's gonna do to you it's devastating you know imagine that guy at Liverpool um that's the kind of profile they needed but uh there's a lot to work on look they're gonna make more moves in the transfer window I suppose that'll help I don't love the guys you're talking about signing Savino and Marmouche yeah no I don't but that's who they're gonna sign I think the improvement will come when their injured guys come back because they have a super long injury list.
38:25This is way back on Friday, but Arsenal began their campaign with a 3-0 win over Covetry City.
38:30Julien Laurens:Yeah, I mean, Covetry are not good at all, but Arsenal were outstanding from start to finish, even just in second gear. They didn't even have to play more than second gear. Kai Havertz again, scoring after counter-pricing and everything. I thought it looked sharp. Yeah, it was great to start this season. Julian Alvarez gets booed before, during and after the Atletico Madrid's 2-2 draw with Villarreal on Sunday. Gab, any sympathy? I have none whatsoever. He deserves everything he gets. There is a way. You have to be an adult about this. I don't blame Barcelona in this because they make an offer.
39:04They're told, hey, this is here. It is a little sketch when his agent also happens to be Hansi Flick's agent. But no, I will always side with the fans. I don't know if Atleti are going to stick it out until the end or try to sell him somewhere else or whatever, but this is bad. That's for the game itself. It finished 2-2, two penalties. That's he not happy with that but they also did go down to 10 men after Robin and Armand went off. I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe which contains Efgar Tegamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC.
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41:02Brighton, we're a 4-0 up on Aston Villa after half an hour. Jules, this is really ugly for Unai Emery. And he also has an Ollie Watkins problem.
41:12Julien Laurens:Yeah, he has because Watkins was not even in the match desk squad. He refused to play, refused to train all week. He wants to move away, probably to Saudi Arabia. I think they're the only team really linked for him right now. And if you're Villa, until your final replacement, whether that's for Lauren Balogun, for example, who they really like and they've been in touch with Monaco over him, you can't let Ole Watkins go if there's no replacement because that leaves you with Tammy Abraham. And then... Oh, Tammy, Tammy. Tommy is good, but he's not Watkins. And then you also need a backup at some point.
41:45But they have the other guy there who played against Paris Saint-Germain. Maggio, is that the name?
41:49Julien Laurens:Yeah, Maggio, who's in Dunab. He's the size of a building. Yeah, yeah. And maybe that's it then. This is Aston Villa we're talking about. Yeah, no, you're right. Maybe. Although I think they would push to do Balogun. For the game in itself. They started well. And then one mistake and they fell apart to a point that we've seen them falling apart before. even under Unai Emery and having the lack of reaction sometimes but that was horrendous this is where I struggle with and look we haven't heard Ollie Walken's side of the story and Unai Emery certainly certainly gave the impression that it was Ollie Walken's choice not to go so you know when you only hear the club side whatever I I just really wonder about what sort of people some of these guys are and the same goes for Alvarez and look I'm cynical Clubs will screw players over when they can.
42:39It's a business. I get that, right? But you had your eyes wide open. You knew Aston Villa's financial situation. You knew that there was a sell Morgan Rogers for a lot of money and stuff like that. You have an agent whose job it is to go and keep track of these things. You should be making a commitment to the club at a certain point, not trying to force moves or whatever, given what the club has given you. And you've given to the club, too. but you also are a highly paid professional. I just find this really, really disappointing from Watkins. Not as bad as Alvarez, because there's other elements there going on.
43:18But it's a rough one. And they also have an Emi Martinez situation, which is a different one.
43:24Julien Laurens:Yeah, yeah, yeah. But again, is there an order of operations problem here? Like maybe don't blow 30 million on a goalkeeper until you've moved your starting goalkeeper? Yeah. Ruben Amorim begins his Milan career with a 2-1 win over Torino as young and old Alfa Sisse and Adrian Rabiot score Can we talk about Alfa Sisse? I don't know Ruben Amorim A year ago he was in Serie B has a ton of faults we know this we've seen him up close, right? but to have the freedom to say oh look this guy had a bad injury played with Catanzaro let me chuck him into the starting lineup he had a really good preseason good preseason I know but you also had Salamakers there and Diego Moreira there to go, I'm sorry do you think Max Allegri would have ever done this?
44:18do you think Max Allegri knows who Alpha Cisse is even though Milan signed him back in January? no I'll tell you, he has no idea so I think it takes guts I like the fact that big Italian clubs are playing the kids occasionally especially Italian clits like this guy he's from Treviso though obviously he's of Africa Guinean I think descent and I thought he played really really well should have won a penalty as
44:42Julien Laurens:well played really well to be fair but the goal of the weekend is Che Adams's goal incredible goal by far the goal of the weekend but I thought Milan and especially in the first half where I was standing it's Serie A is where you go for your for your highlight reel Che Adams take a bow son Calcio is back. David Ancelotti gets all three points on his debut for Lille away to Angers. Jules, that handsome guy who opened the scoring looks a little bit familiar. Yeah, Olivier Giroud, 40 years young, very soon. Next month, he will turn 40 years old, scored after 11 minutes, scores on the opening game on the opening day of last season, after 11 minutes as well for Lille.
45:23Julien Laurens:Then it was a bit more difficult for him, obviously at that age, and he was not supposed to be the starting number nine really this season because Fernandes Pardo, as we mentioned, I think on Thursday, he was supposed to be the one, but a bit like Villa and Watkins, Lille have a problem with him, who wants to leave. Very solid from David Ancelotti, coherent in the team that he picked up and the performances that he had individually, collectively as well, that was sound, so good start for him. This is his big shot, isn't it? Yeah, it is, and so far, so good. Gelson Bremer scores to give you Vences a 1-0 win away of Frozinone newly promoted Frozinone but Gab why was Paletti so mean to my boy Rondal Kolomwani back back to the club he's from I put Paris Bar and Bread in the script he's from Bondi he's not even the most famous he's not the most famous footballer from Bondi is he he's probably not even in the top well not top 2 for sure top 3 5 maybe top 8 who's the other one Mbappe Saliba Saliba, that's right.
46:25I knew. Jeremy Jacquet from Liverpool. Paul, you were putting Jeremy Jacquet ahead of Colombo. It's a bit early in his career. I mean, you know. Anyway, I should tell you what Spalletti said. Yes. So, Juve created chance. As you know, they're not very good. Juve created chance. They weren't great. Douglas Luiz got the start. It was late a turd, as you'd expect. I don't know what they're going to do with him. Juve haven't finished. They're not done. I think we'll see a lot of ins and outs. but Colin Mwani missed an absolute sitter early he missed another one later and Smaletti comes out and says well if he hasn't played in two years he hasn't scored in two years is what he meant to say there must be a reason sometimes you think you're exceptional and that leads you to forget what made you great now he only scored one league goal last season in 30 odd appearances for Tottenham which is not good but man why did you take this guy back
47:15Julien Laurens:because they like him and he likes it there and I know there's a good player because he was good when he went on loan there the season before last he wasn't that good he was good he started really well 50 million commitment to Paris Saint-Germain 4 million euros and then 34 million if you've been qualified for Europe they have to spend 34 million to make the deal permanent I really hope they qualify for Europe I thought you might I thought you might I don't want to have a go at him but it seems so bizarre of Spalletti to go obviously this not every player People say, oh, it's confidence. Confidence.
47:50Some players rely more on confidence, some less. I don't know if it's an issue with this guy. But why would you go and undermine him when you said to the club, yeah, yeah, let's get him, right? They're already destroying Jonathan David by trying to sell him all over the world, right? I know that you're in a bad financial position, but why call him Warnie? I don't get this. Two out of three newly promoted teams start with a win. Jules, let's hear it for Ipswich Town, who beats Sunderland with a late Jack Clark goal.
48:18Julien Laurens:Yeah, and a massive mistake from Sunderland. Why are you trying to play out from the back? You almost got caught a few minutes before in a similar position. And this time you are made to pay for it. Good from Ipswich and Gary O 'Neill in terms of, again, the energy, the intensity a bit, what we saw with Hull City against United. And we knew they were going to play like that. And Cissot was outstanding because when he runs at you and when he has that kind of freedom, he can be really good. but I thought Sunderland, especially after coming back to 1-1 with Angulo free kick, just had it there. Even just a point, but they had chances, they should have won it probably, but then at least if you can't win it, don't lose it and they did.
48:58Julien Laurens:So well done to Ipswich, a lovely goal by Jack Clarke. I think they've spent a lot of money on it and on their squads this summer. A lot of money,£150 million, that's a lot of money from Ipswich to give them all the tools to be able to stay up. So let's see. But at least it was the perfect start. And Emerson, of course, has an extra M in his name, which probably makes him better than the other Emersons we've seen. And again, Ligue 1, you know, Ligue 1 product. That's what you do. Napoli win 2-0 away to Genoa. Gab Orwell for Max Allegri on his debut? No, no, no. And again, narrative. You know, De La Rente is Napoli's president.
49:34Oh, we won. Yeah, the only good thing here is that you got the three points. Napoli's XG, minute 60. 0.10. And you're playing Genoa. You're not playing Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona. You're playing Genoa.
49:48Julien Laurens:Who had chances, by the way. Who had chances as well. Yeah, my boy Baldanzi sneaking around in there. They have big Vitinha as well. The other thing, which obviously completely incensed Genoa and Daniele De Rossi in the club, was De Bruyne's goal. Sorry, that's the other thing, right? Allegri, because the two subs scored, De Bruyne and Vergara, like oh look his changes first of all Dunceic a genius descend on De Bruyne second of all De Rossi thought it was a foul I can I could have been like the thing is you got to call those all season long if you're going to do this right so I can see why he's upset the other one yeah okay Otoa doesn't short out his seat and basically like shepherds the ball into the net for the Vergara goal so I don't think you have anything to be crowing about or being happy about So Rasmus Hoyland and Lorenzo Luca combined for zero shots and one touch in the opposition box.
50:50Those are your center forwards. I rest my case. Right now, O 'Reilly Auto Parts gets you back to savings. Pick up select Royal Purple Fuel System additives. Buy one, get one free. Plus receive four times O rewards points.
51:03Julien Laurens:Stop by your local O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop online at OReillyAuto.com. Sierra has all the best active and outdoor brands for the super athletic stuff, like running gear for cruising up the trail. Woo! And the super athletic-ish stuff, like fishing gear for chilling by the creek. Nice cast. Fitness apparel to push for higher reps. You got this! And golf balls priced so you can afford to lose one. Or a few. Head to Sierra or Sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athletic-ish, Sierra's got it. Let's go to the championship. West Brom striker Aune Hegebel has been banned for two games for intentionally deceiving the referee.
51:47Remember, this is the guy who scored with his hand against Norwich.
51:50Julien Laurens:Yeah, and Philippe Clement, the Norwich manager, really not happy. As you would understand, there's no VAR in the championship. And what he did in his press conference before the game at the weekend was to read up the list of the 81 leagues and 81 countries. Some have VAR in the two top leagues, top two leagues, sorry, where they have VAR to highlight the fact that how come the championship in England doesn't have the VAR. So he started like, he started by alphabetical order. It was amazing to watch. If you have like five minutes to waste in your life, go and listen. Because he has the list and he goes, Algeria, Albania.
52:30Julien Laurens:It's just, it's amazing. and he goes through the whole country all the countries and he's right he's right I also understand culturally the football league is different this country is different whatever I would have done the exact same thing he did actually I wouldn't have been creative enough well done Philippe what I find shocking here is that people aren't blaming Hegebo people are blaming the referees for not catching him both really Hegebo should have said Hegebo cheated yeah he should have said listen he should have been suspended for longer He should have been, and this isn't the first time we've had it.
53:02We've seen it happen in the Premier League as well, right? Paul Scholes a couple years ago.
53:06Julien Laurens:Yeah. Like, I'm sorry. I know, I agree. It's not a good situation. Bloomberg report that UAE officials warned the British government that a negative outcome or heavy sanction against Manchester City over those 115 charges, you know, against the Premier League could strain relations, that's the quote, between the two countries. Is this a big deal? Is this for real? Bloomberg reports it, so I'm assuming it's well-sourced. If I'm Khaldun al-Mubarak, the first thing I do is I get on the phone with my boss and I say, please find whatever government officials in our government went and did this and, I don't know, leave him in a room with me and a baseball bat because this is one of the worst things that could happen.
53:50There's two readings of this, right? This does not help Manchester City. I think Manchester City are furious that this happened. Yeah. One reading is, oh, they're worried, and so they're trying to exert political pressure. I don't believe that's right at all. First of all, because I actually believe the whole process is pretty watertight. I know it's absurd. It's been years, and we still don't have a verdict, even though proceedings ended a long time ago. But I don't think Citi have any knowledge whatsoever, worried one way or the other. I don't think anything's leaking. secondly city are too smart, city know that anything like this is only going to make them look worse so I think they would have been totally against them whoever thought that this was going to be clever, this crap doesn't work in this country the Premier League is its own animal, they don't like listening to the government and come on, think about who's in charge of the government now here in this country, Andy Burnham no chance Betis and our boy on Friday night 1-0 and Jules they're getting help in the form of Troy Parrott for 60 million yeah he was there
55:01Julien Laurens:in the stands watching has been outstanding last season really in the area with Alkmaar it's a big move for him I think to obviously a better team a bigger league and I think Betis who have Couto Hernandez up front of course could do with his sense his eyes for goal and, you know, his movement in the box and all of that. So I'm looking forward to seeing... It's an alternative. Yeah, it's an alternative and seeing if he does well or not. England, France and Spain are among the countries that have named squads for the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland next month. Gab, does this mean they won't boycott it?
55:39Well, they were keen to point out that they didn't just want to, if you remember UEFA, threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions or saying they would boycott Al-Fifa unless Gianni Fantino's plan for the football forward thing wasn't just withdrawn, but that they would make a pledge never to do this ever again. He hasn't done the pledge, so theoretically the boycott should still be on the table. I think I hope to learn more when I get to hang out with all the UEFA folk in Monaco next week. But the under-20 World Cup in Poland, you can move it. You can move it. You can have alternative competitions.
56:14You can just play later in the year. you're not going to deny these women these chances of playing. The problem is October 9th, because October 9th, this is when you've got the Women's World Cup qualifying playoffs. That is where the rubber hits the road. You boycott that, then you have an issue, because there is a Women's World Cup in 2027. So we'll see which way this goes. Punishments have been handed out for the brawl post-World Cup final, Jules. Do they seem fair to you? Yeah, I mean, remember we did the show straight after the final,
56:42Julien Laurens:and we said... You were angry. We were angry. we said Paredes should be banned for a long time. He got a 10-game ban, which I think is fair for the fight that he created by himself. Molina, seven, again I think he's right. Then you've got Thiago Almada and Gaby with one for a little scruffle. I'm glad to see that Paredes with a hefty final, although the money is not a problem for neither of them or the Argentine federation anyway but they got heavily sanctioned yeah and i think they're also going to have to pay some games at 50 capacity i don't know how heavy a sanction this is i mean how many official games i mean i kind of imagine argentina's next 10 games are all going to be friendly yeah yeah um or there about no yeah the guardian reported on plans for a combined ufa conca cup nations league gap, this seems an obvious attempt to say come back and Gianni Infantino and FIFA.
57:38Yeah, this is a little bit naughty, but you want to play out the scenario? You put the UEFA teams, the CONCACAF teams, maybe their friends in Asia, who of course also signed that statement against Infantino. And then all of a sudden, could you imagine a Nations League where, I don't know how it worked, presumably you wouldn't fly across the world regularly to play each other, but maybe the top 16 qualify for a tournament instead of a Final Four. We'll have a Sweet 16 at the end. And that might be a little miniature World Cup somewhere. That's what they're trying to do, I think. Lionel Messi scores, but Inter-Miami fall at Toronto FC 2-1.
58:21Jules, one point from their last five MLS and League's Cup games.
58:26Julien Laurens:Yeah, it's tough. They consider a lot of goals. They miss a lot of chances as well because, again, I think in this game the defeat is a little harsh considering how many chances they had and how well they played at the time. But there's a lot of frustration, I think, for Leo Messi too. There were a few incidents. He slapped the back of the head of one of his opponents and things that you don't usually see him doing. And obviously a lot happened during the World Cup and the final loss. Then after that, his father, everything. So you can completely understand the frustration. They're human beings as well, those players.
58:59Julien Laurens:But yeah, poor patch of form certainly not so much for him but for the team. Shakhtar Donetsk will play their home Champions League games at Stamford Bridge this season. Gab, is this a good idea? I think it's a good idea. I think the reality is their country is at war. They were attacked by Russia. They've had to play away from home, although they play in Germany where they had a lot of... Yeah, Poland, yeah. Or Poland where they had support and it's obviously nearby. But you take it to London, you take it to a bigger dimension. Stanford Bridge is not in use. And for me personally, and very selfishly, I like the fact that I will have more than one Champions League football option on Champions League match nights.
59:40Yes, exactly. Cristiano Ronaldo scored back on Friday in El Nasser's 4-0 win over El Riyad. Jules, it's 25 straight seasons with at least one goal.
59:50Julien Laurens:Yeah, incredible. It's a good finish as well if you haven't seen it. In a game that they dominated, sorry, quite heavily and Ensch Postekoglou was very happy and there will be much tougher games where he might not be as efficient and in that kind of goal scoring form but I mean we've run out of superlatives anyway of his career and how incredible of a goal scorer he's been. I don't think this will ever be beaten really 25 seasons in a row to score in one of the big leagues, as in like of the top flights of the top flights of our country. This is still a big league, you know, He's still the top flight in Saudi Arabia.
1:00:28Julien Laurens:I think he's just remarkable. And that's, for what we say, it's probably his last season. I wonder, you say they'll never be beaten, but Lewandowski and Giroud, aren't they? Oh, no, because Giroud took a while to get going. He was at Grenoble. Lewandowski, 25 years, 25 seasons in a row. He's at 20, 21. Eh, who knows? Probably not. 25 is a lot. It is a lot. You know, it's a lot. FIFA president Gianni Infantino is still under pressure, Gabi. Congregat President Victor Montaliani asked him not to attend an event in the Caribbean and UFR President Alexander Seferin said mean things about him for a change.
1:01:04Yeah, it's bad cop and good cop, isn't it? Yeah, so the Montaliani thing, they had the Caribbean Football Union meeting. He sent a letter, and the letter was made public. We had it at ESPN as well, basically saying, like, it's not appropriate for you to be here. So what does he do? He comes anyway. He can't stop him from coming. and to be fair to Infantino, obviously, you know, and I would have done exactly the same thing. You know, he meets with the head of the Olympic Committee and the sports minister and this and that because these countries hedge their bets. They don't know who's going to win.
1:01:35As for Alexander Cheferin, he appeared on Alistair Campbell's podcast and he was extremely clear. He said Infantino needs to resign. He says, so there's two options. Either he realizes, and I quote here, he realizes he doesn't have the support, not only the political support of the ones who vote, which ultimately is what's going to matter, but the political support of the football community, the political support of fans, the political support of players, former players and coaches. The problem is these guys don't vote, although they can put pressure on their FAs if they want to. Or the second option is that he's going to go to the elections in March.
1:02:11In that case, I think somebody will stand against him. I don't know yet who. Cheffron said it's not going to be him, which is good, because Cheffron would lose. and he said he doesn't think it's going to be Nasser. If he says this, it's pretty obvious it's not going to be Nasser. So the question is, who's it going to be? Will it be the good cop, Victor Montagliani? Will somebody else come out of the woodwork? Stay tuned. Or will it even get to that? Because it's entirely possible that if he resigns before, somehow, we'll get an interim boss through March and then maybe it'll be two totally different candidates.
1:02:48Jules, this brings us to an end I'm not going to be here on Thursday I will be in Monaco at the Champions League draw you'll be holding down the fort with Don Hutchinson I believe so until then, love the game love your neighbor, love yourself
1:03:09close your eyes exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-CONTACTS. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order.
1:03:31Julien Laurens:Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-CONTACTS.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-CONTACTS.
From the publisher
Gab Marcotti & Julien Laurens discuss Newcastle’s 2-2 draw against Liverpool and argue that Andoni Iraola’s side need more depth in midfield before they can compete at the level their fans expect. The guys also discuss Jose Mourinho’s first LALIGA game back in charge of Real Madrid, Enzo Maresca’s tactical swings & why Gianni Infantino was asked to stay away from a CONCACAF event.
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