Lamine Yamal Out of Spain Squad

22:10They're expecting to score the perfect goal they want. Mbappe wants to come short at times, and he's playing very well. Of course he is. And beat three players to get a shot away. Vinicius Junior wants to get it out wide and go up people and beat a couple of players and, you know, bend it in the corner. At times, you have to cross... When you're playing against a stubborn team, you have to get the ball wide, get crosses into the box, and get players in the box. I saw against Liverpool and I saw against Rio, sometimes the ball went wide and they didn't have anybody in the box. Belliam's trying to make it into the box, but other players are quite happy to receive it outside the box and start again, go to the other side.

22:43You have to score ugly goals when things aren't going your way. And at the moment, I can't see them scoring too many goals like the cross that Marcus Rashford hit for Lewandowski in the game against Celta Vigo. That's the goals that the Real Madrid aren't scoring and they need to score. Well, somebody that scored maybe ugly goals, maybe pretty goals, just goals all over La Liga and then some is Lionel Messi. And he's been in his fields reminiscing about his time at Barcelona. He had this to say, Last night I returned to a place I miss with my soul, a place where I was immensely happy, where you guys made me feel a thousand times the happiest person in the world.

23:21I hope one day I can come back and not just say goodbye as a player as I never got to. Now that's Lionel Messi. He went to go and see the new Spotify camp. Now, of course, we're waiting for Barcelona's official first game at their new ground. He made a little stop there on his way to Argentina's camp. Sid, just hearing Messi talk about this, it's no surprise. We know exactly what Barcelona means to him. But it's interesting because he literally just signed extension at Inter Miami until 2028. So do you see him having time to go back to Barcelona?

23:58As a player, it seems very unlikely, doesn't it? It seems very, very unlikely. In fact, I wonder about the timing of this, if there was part of him that wanted to ensure that he signed that deal with Miami before doing something like this. Or what's the point if he might have not done something like this had he not signed with Miami? Because that would have provoked all sorts of rumours about does this mean he's coming back? I think signing with Miami suggests he doesn't come back as a player. I think there's another really significant element about this. what he said has had enormous echo in part because he went to the Camp Nou while Barcelona are up in Vigo he went to the Camp Nou without the Barcelona board of directors or president knowing he was going he didn't tell anyone he was doing this and then he delivers a message which which hints it's not even a hint really it's pretty pretty explicit that he wasn't able to leave the way that he would have wanted to leave and he would like to come back in some capacity to the club and I think that really and truly this has been, apart from the emotion to it, and I'm absolutely not going to question that from Messi's point of view in the sense that maybe he was in Barcelona and he thought, you know what, I'd quite like to go and see the Camp Nou.

25:00Let's do it. Why not? Yeah, let's go and have a look. But I also think that this was quite pointed and I think this potentially does damage the current board of directors and president of the club. Well, finally, Sid, just one more as well. Speaking about Atletico de Madrid now, they now have a new majority owner out of the USA. What can you tell us about this and what does this mean for Diego Simeone.

25:23Well, what it means for Diego Simeone isn't yet clear. All of the assumptions so far has been that, at least in the short term, that there's no reason to change him. What may well change, and this, of course, would then change everything at the club, is the current CEO, the current president, and the whole, if you like, upstairs front office structure of the club. And then, of course, that would have a knock-on effect to Diego Simeone. I think it's far too early to know how this will play out. But if the investment is going to continue and there is a sense that this might actually push them into a position where they get that little bit closer to Madrid and Barcelona in terms of consistently investing, which actually over the last decade or so they've kind of done to some extent anyway.

26:03I think, of course, there's going to be implications for Simeone, but that's not immediate. I think the immediate implications are, what does this do to the actual structure of the club and the decision makers who would then make that decision over what this means for Simeone? All right, Sid, well, we're going to let you go. But before you do go, can you tell us exactly where are you? Because it looks like you're sitting on the floor of a bathroom.

26:27Well, you're half right. I am sitting on the floor. It's not of a bathroom. It's a hotel room. And when you're in a hotel room, There's quite often, I'm going to let people into a secret here. The way that we do this connection is through a screen, which I have to place in position. There was nowhere to place it except on a very, very, very low table, which means I can't be on a chair. I can be at the right height for the thing. I have to literally sit on the floor where I admit and I apologize that the lighting's not good. The connection's not that good. And of course, the guy talking to you, he's not that good either.

27:01Oh, stop it. He just doesn't want to show us that he's staying in a suite in a five-star hotel somewhere exotic, as per usual, because it's written into his contract. All right, Sid Lowe, thank you so much for joining us, and I'm sure we'll chat to you again soon. All right, well, for more potential transfer news, remember the January transfer window is just around the corner. Make sure to check out Transfer Talk over on ESPN.com. Get summer going with a firework freeze five-hour energy shot. You get that iconic freezer pop flavor, but with zero sugar and a five-hour energy boost. Bursting with cherry, lime, and blue raspberry flavors, Firework Freeze five-hour energy shots bring a caffeine kick without the sugar.

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28:21All right. Well, a lot of the back pages in England are talking about Florian Wirtz, especially after Liverpool suffered quite a big loss to Manchester City in their last game. So much so that if Virats felt like everyone was against him, there is one man that is firmly in his corner, and that is the German head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who knows him very well. He says, look, we all know what he's capable of, and it's perfectly normal for a player of his age to go through a bit of a dip in form. We can't expect him to perform at the same level for three years straight. Instead, we all need to support him a little bit so that he can clear his head here.

28:59And then maybe Liverpool could also help him out by scoring some of the chances he creates. That would be one idea because he does create few chances. It's just that they somehow don't like to shoot the ball in. And that's also a part of the truth. Oh, man, I wish I had someone that had my back like Julian Nagelsmann has Florian Berts' back. Well, someone who always has our back when we call him Jan Agafiertop is joining us for this one. Jan, what are your thoughts on what Julian Nagelsmann just had to say about Wirtz? Well, don't you ever attack the golden sons of German football at the moment, Musiala and Wirtz.

29:39Then they will fight back. We know that. And we saw that with Julian Nagelsmann now. Florian Wirtz is very loved in Germany and is the hope, together with Musiala, when he comes back from injury to take them into the World Cup and take them into new trophies. What he's trying to do is to show Florian Witts, come back to me. Me, Julian, we'll look after you. To be fair to him, he got some points there because it's also a bit about timing. I'm not even starting by seeing the troubles Liverpool had, but he had some. And he also said about the, talking about the Chelsea when he came on, he did a fantastic trick and Salah didn't manage to score and so on.

30:25But I think that what he tries to say is, and he understands the situation in England, that I think that Florian Witts with no goals or no assists in the Premier League and costing so much, that is, we knew that will happen. That will happen to any player. But Julian Nagelsmann tries to defend him. I think the main problem now from Florian Witt is that he is now the symbol of bad Liverpool seasons. But I see him as a consequence of a bad Liverpool seasons, where there are a lot of different other reasons why that has happened. But now, with the price tag and no assists and no goals, he is a perfect symbol for them.

31:05Stevie, I mean, we just saw that stat there. He's actually creating chances, second most in the Premier League without an actual registered assist. Oh, he's actually creating chances? I've not missed him second of all Liverpool games this season. And if he's created 15 chances, then I need to go and change my glasses. I'm sorry. This is totally and utterly just trying to prop him up. There's only one thing I agree with him on, and that is that because Liverpool are struggling, then he clearly will struggle. He's a guy who operates in the final third. That's his place. but Liverpool right now can't string enough passes on to get in the final third, to get him on the ball where it matters most, where he's at his best.

31:51So that's the only thing I agree with. The rest of it is just, he's just buttering Verts up for when he comes back to play for Germany. That's all that is. Robert, what did you think? Exactly. I mean, the first three sentences were good. You know, he talked about him being low on confidence and he's a great player and he'll come good. But once he started mentioning Liverpool, that was the wrong thing to do. He didn't have to mention any of that. He just had to talk about the player himself. You know, he's a great player. He's lost confidence at the moment. He's gone to a new league, a new country.

32:24He's gone to a new club. It's going to be difficult for the first three or four months. You know, that's what he should have been saying. He's going to come back to Germany. He's going to be a sensational for us in the next couple of games. And he'll get his form back. That's what he should have been saying, rather than sort of starting to blame Liverpool, because that didn't go down particularly well. Yeah, yeah. And what do you think about what Robbo just had to say? that once he's brought Liverpool into this, it didn't go down particularly well. As a player, how would you feel seeing your national coach calling out your club teammates?

32:51Listen, I followed the first part of your show, which was very interesting, the soap opera in Spain. And I guess this is the balance. This is the way things are working now. When you do the press conference at the national team, I see the same thing with Erling Haaland and Martin Erdegaard coming back to Norway. the Norwegian journalists are queuing up, want to ask anything, and Erling won't come to press conference. That's another thing, that he will just maybe do one then and again. So there is a lot of things up for misunderstanding. What I would say, Rob was saying that he didn't have to put that in.

33:27I saw the headlines in the English media. Wasn't surprising. They kind of translated. It was a bit lost in translation. He didn't say, I blame Liverpool for his lack of form. He didn't say that, but he should know that that would be a kind of the thing that will happening when that happened. I self came to England in 93-94 season, not with the money that Flora Witts was on, but I was still a record signing in Swindon Town Football Club back in the Premier League season two, that old I am. And I felt the same when I came there. I played bad at the beginning, had a small injury. You're losing your confidence.

34:05and it's clearly we have all followed Florent Witt's career. We watched the Bundesliga. I've been close to seeing him in Leverkusen over the years. And of course, you see a player now losing slowly his confidence. And also, Steve is saying the right thing because he's just like floating around. He can't find his position. And that is a terrible thing because sometimes we pundits, we say, yeah, they are like machines. They have to produce. No, these are fragile young kids trying to find a place at the reigning champion of England. And if they're not working, if they're not playing well, well, you are the first victim because you don't get a platform to find your place at.

34:47If I was going to put a positive on Florian Verz, I would say that, number one, he's kept his mouth shut. You know, he's not in the papers talking about how he's not playing and blah, blah, blah. and the other thing I would say is that when he actually has been on the field, he's not hiding. He's looking for the ball. He's trying. He's not sulking. He's not walking around with his tail between his legs. He's actually trying to get involved. He's trying to do what he does. It's just not working out. But, I mean, to be fair, to a guy as young as he is, throwing all the other stuff about new team and all the rest of it, but he is not hiding.

35:26And that is really important for both the fans to watch, for the manager, and for the other players as well. Because, you know, they'll feel for him. But when they also see him not hiding and getting after it, even though it's not working out, that really matters. Do you feel like it's going to put him in an awkward situation in the dressing room when they come back? Nagelsmann's comments? No. Players are not interested in what international managers say. We all know that the headline is not what's probably been said. And quite frankly, if Liverpool players are worried about what Nagelsmann says, just add it to the list of worries at the moment.

36:04Well, Jan, I suppose it's not really a worry for your boy Erling Haaland, but he did show us that he can be human. He missed a penalty at the weekend. Well, but I've always said that. This man is not a machine, it's a human being. That makes it even more impressive. And we've seen lately, and I was at Etihad, I saw that penalty. I tried to watch his body language because lately his stats hasn't been that good. And then, of course, he delivers this one, which was amazing. That is just like a confident striker when you go up and the head doesn't hit the ball. The ball hits the head and you still go, the ball goes in, which is fantastic.

36:44It just shows you when you are on the run. But somehow his stats on penalties lately has not been good. Not for Manchester City. And remember, back when we played Israel, meaning Norway, he missed two. He could take it again and he missed that again. And he used to run up to the ball, watch the goalkeeper, Maracis Willi. He was very early going to his left on Sunday. But still, Erling had kind of decided that he would go to that side. And that he didn't do before. So he's not in a great run of penalties at the moment, which worries me. because in two days' time, we have to win a home game to get to the World Cup.

37:24And I would like to see our boy doing ever so well, even on penalties. Mark the day, because I think this was the first time we have ever heard Jan almost have something slightly critical to say about Erling Haaland. Statement. I'm always on fact. I mean, how can you say not fact when you score 30 goals in a bad season? But I think he's a bit worried about that because a penalty should be a safe goal. It should be an easy goal to do. But his stats show differently now. And will he take the first penalty for Norway? Yes. Would he like to take the first penalty for Manchester City again? Yes. But remember, surprise to all of us, the FA Cup finally gave it away to Mamouche.

38:08So, well, we shouldn't see a lot into that. But I think that he's not very happy with his penalty form. All right. Well, either way, I'm sure Manchester City are so happy to see the form that he's in. And Manchester City, Robbo, seem to have turned over a new leaf. We're finally seeing the likes of Phil Foden scoring as well. We've been talking about whether they're looking at least close to the city of old. And now we know that they have gained ground on Arsenal. They have caught Arsenal before and chased them down. So Arsenal have been in this situation before. Or do you see them at least at the moment becoming or being Arsenal's closest title challenger?

38:49Yes, but I don't think it's going to be close come the end of the season. I still think Manchester City, yeah, they are playing much better. Dock, who I thought was magnificent against Liverpool. I did the Dortmund game and they played well in that game. They scored three goals and then... But they still can't actually dominate games as they used to. They can't dictate the pace of a game as they once did before. when Rodri was dominating midfield, when they kept the ball for fun and the opposition were frightened of them. People aren't frightened of Manchester City anymore. And that's a key thing.

39:16You know, they're happy to go and press Man City a bit higher. They think they can win the ball back. They're happy to stick it in behind Man City because they think they can cause problems. So Man City aren't unbeatable by any means, but they are better than they were earlier in the season. And I think they will be the closest rifles to Arsenal if not close come the end of the season in terms of points. Yeah, and what do you think? Interesting to hear Robbo say that City don't have that fear factor especially when Haaland is in fearsome form. Well, fair. But I did the game on Sunday. I did my stats since the beginning of April.

39:47No teams in England have got more points than Manchester City. And yes, they don't dominate the games as they used to do. That's why Guardiola has changed around a bit. Because this is a guy who always looks a bit forward. What can I do to make the game, our team, better? I don't agree 100 % with Robbo there. I think Arteta would love Liverpool to win that game. He is so afraid of Manchester City. He is so afraid of Pep Guardiola. He can't sleep at night. When he see them coming back now and get three points against Liverpool the weekend, did he get one point at Sunderland? That was the worst thing that could happen to him.

40:29Can you imagine his nightmares when he see Pep Guardiola coming again with a big, big left back? He see Haaland scoring goals for fun. He see Foden coming into it. And suddenly, the coup is Lionel Messi. Nobody told him that, that that should happen. I think Arsenal are so afraid of Manchester City that don't want to... And I hear you, Robbie, but I don't see it. Tell you what. Who's going to win the title then? Who's going to win the title, Jan? Jan's kids must have loved story time at night. I love it. I love how Jan described it. That's a great story, Jan. I will give Arsenal the best title they ever have, Robbo.

41:08I will give their favourite title 11th of November 2025. Let's see in 2026, in May. I'm not 100 % sure, Robbo. Are you? Yes, I'm 100 % sure that Arsenal win the title. Fair enough. Wow, I don't think I've ever seen, Robbo, this confidence in Arsenal. Not 100%, but he said 100%. All right, well, we will 100 % be back taking your questions over on Extra Time. Jan's sticking around, so is Robbo and Stevie. They'll be answering them today, so you know you've got to tune in. The world's biggest soccer tournament has arrived, and you can trade the entire tournament on Kalshi. On Kalshi, you can trade every match from the opening stage all the way to the final.

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43:10All right, this is a look at the top half of the Premier League standings. As we showed and talked about, Arsenal still at the top. But I want to focus on the team in sixth. Aston Villa, big win over Bournemouth at the weekend, winning five of their last six league games. Now, James Olley and Rob Dawson spoke to Matty Cash about Villa's style of play on a recent episode of The Football Reporters. At Villa, we try and mix it up. We try and play and gain confidence from being good in build-up because you can have success from it. If you build up really well, you can obviously lose the ball and they score.

43:44but Unai always says to us, if we lose the ball and give it away, we just keep trying, we keep doing it. But obviously, yeah, old-fashioned way is to get it into the striker, hold it up and play second balls, isn't it? And that can be effective as well. So yeah, trying to find a balance really. And I guess the manager is obviously a big part of that as well. I mean, just talk to us a bit about what makes him such a great coach. He's known for his very long video meetings. Are they as long as people say they are? they're getting longer to be honest yeah it's funny because when you win a few games in a row he gets more demanding and the videos go double as long um so yeah we've definitely been in the video room for sometimes over an hour and 40 minutes easily well um yeah we have like obviously when we play we then the week after watch the last game and he'll clip everything literally hour and 40 minutes easily of what we can do it's funny because when we score he then when he shows the clip of the goal he'll then show other things we could do even though we've just scored it's like it's like we've just scored and he's like showing us different like lines of where we could have played and that just shows the detail and the the the intensity that he's at and what he what he uh yeah what he like how how intense he is and what he how how much he wants us to improve you know you have a dedicated fullback coach right is that is that right villa yeah yeah yeah because that's that's not common i don't think is it i mean was it is that something you'd experience before Unai came in?

45:12Nah, never, nah, nah. Yeah, we've got fullback coaches and obviously the coach does do a lot of stuff with other positions as well but in terms of fullbacks for me I do loads of like one-to-one stuff. Even for example, the day before we played City, I'd done 20 minutes just alone with him on marking Doku on how to mark him and I do a lot of research myself and studying on winners and stuff but it was like 20 minutes and then Doku didn't even start the next day. so it's like oh done all that for no reason because I did plan for him to play and then I didn't Savinho ended up playing left wing as well so I was watching loads of clips on Doku thinking this is how I'm going to defend him one to one he can start so yeah so that was annoying but wow in my 11 years of working at ESPN I don't think I've ever seen a Rob Dawson smile so much and he wasn't even talking to a Manchester player but anyways interesting to hear there's Stevie video sessions of about an hour and 40 minutes long.

46:08I think if you're going to sit me down for that long, you might start passing out snacks, maybe a drink or two, but you a fan of those methods from Unai Emery? Who am I to argue with Unai Emery? He's obviously a great coach and he's got his way of working, so who am I to poo-poo and he does? How long would you realistically last? Would you sit down there? However, if you think people are sitting in there for more than 10-15 minutes and not falling asleep and sticking matches in their eyes to look as though they're listening and watching what you're saying. You're absolutely kidding yourself on.

46:43You are kidding yourself on. You know, absolutely. You know, if you want to get a fullback and do little clips for them on who the opposition are or what they're doing, you sit a squad of players in a room for an hour and 40 minutes. Good luck. You're kidding yourself on. If you think, the only time they listen is if it's about them or it's in their spot. And as soon as it moves somewhere else... They're out. Hey, the earmuffs are back on and it wakes me up when it's my turn. Yeah, and you were laughing there or chuckling. You seemed to enjoy that little clip from Matty Cash. What stood out to you?

47:22Oh, well, first of all, Cash was so honest. I love that. We should have more of those interviews and I think footballers and clubs should do them. But I got that Mr Bean feeling when Mr Bean is in the church and he tried to concentrate. Yeah. And he kind of... Because there are no players that can, like Stevie is saying, for one hour and 40 minutes. I've never met a player who loves to be in there for 15 minutes. And my favourite story, we played Aston Villa with Ravanelli and he didn't understand a word and I had a translator next to him. And Brian Robson, our manager, we have some kind of analysis.

47:55And he asked Ravanelli, is that OK, Rav? And Rav went into a rant. I've never heard a rant like that in my life in Italian. And we had a translator sitting next to him. And all the words came out, catastrophe, defense, catastrophe. And when he was finished, the translator looked at Brian Robson and said, yes, it's OK. And I just get that feeling in team meetings. And I grew up in the 90s with our national coach, Egil Olsen. we had something called a video cassette that we analysed the games on with FF and REW, forward and back. And I swear to God, we hardly couldn't... We couldn't sleep afterwards because we were sleeping during the meeting.

48:40Robert, what did you think? I love how Jan had to explain VHS right there. Fast forward and rewind. Well, if I was Hansi Flick, I'd spend two hours working on the back four looking at videos, what they could and shouldn't have done. because you could spend all day long and you could go through every moment of the game and say, well, you should have pressed the ball and you should have dropped off. So it needs to be done on occasions, but I agree with Steve. You can only do it for, what, maximum half an hour. And what we used to do at Wimbledon when I was the head coach there, we had a sports analyst who used to clip up all the players' touches and we'd send them to the players on whatever it was, on links, and then they could have a look at it and decide, and then if they wanted to come and speak to you about anything, they could.

49:21So that was the way we did it. But anything more than half an hour, the players are going to get absolutely bored. Ah, footballers have the attention span of a puppy. I'm telling you, I work with them. On a good day. All right. Well, for the full interview with Matty Cash, you can check it out over on the latest edition of the Football Reporters. Look, the economy is a lot right now. And if you're a small business owner, you probably feel it. You can't control interest rates or tariffs, but you can control how efficiently your business operates. Automating payroll and HR with Gusto is one of the fastest ways to cut friction and focus on what actually moves the needle.

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50:43Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash FC and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash FC. One more time, gusto.com slash FC. Save$2 when you buy two cans of Superior Products Coverall Tire Dressing. Plus receive four times O rewards points now at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. Coverall delivers long-lasting shine. Visit your O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or OReillyAuto.com. All right. Well, Football Americas. You know we like to wear jerseys on Football Americas. And look at that Ale Moreno getting out of a suit. What is that? Which jersey is that we said?

51:27Oh, this is his college jersey. Oh. Are you a fan of it? The kind of retro look. No. It's a good thing you can still fit in. It looks like a jockey still. It's a good thing you can fit in. Can you still fit into your college clothes? Did you even go to college? No, you didn't. No. That explains a lot. But we still love you. Thanks for watching Extra Time is next.

51:50Welcome into Extra Time everyone. Alexis hanging out with Jan, Robbo and our Stevie Nichol who never went to college. Did any of you guys go to college? Jan, Robbo, no you were busy getting a million dollars? I got to college in Norway. No, I certainly didn't go to college. Oh, okay. Three years. Yeah. Look at that. Did you go to college? Well, I had to. I wasn't getting a million-dollar contract at 18 years old to play professional football. Who did? Only Stevie did go out. Only Stevie. All right, first question now. Who is a better team right now, Bayern Munich or Arsenal? Robbo, what did you think?

52:30Ooh. Ooh. Well, I'm going to go with, for the stats, it has to be. Bayern Munich because they've won everything that's been thrown at them. They're winning games by three and four and five. They're playing some great football. They're defending very well and they're doing well in the Champions League. So I'm going to say at the moment, just based on stats and the scorelines, it has to be Bayern Munich. Oh, it's a good thing that these two are going to play each other soon. Jan, what about you? I was desperate for Robo no going for Arsenal, so I could have an argument. But yes, I would say Bayern Munich, but I will give I will give Arsenal a bit of encouragement because this weekend, after 16 games in a row in all competitions winning, they only got a 2-2 at Union Berlin.

53:20And Harry Kane equalizes in 90 plus three. Vincent Kompany was celebrating and now their conspiracy is that Vincent Kompany is desperate to go through the season without losing like Bayer Leverkusen did a couple of seasons ago. but that's going to be one fantastic football game between Bayern Munich and Arsenal but I still think also based on the known fact that now that Bayern Munich will be slight favourites. Stevie, what say you? I think you'd have to go with Bayern because of the manner of the victories. Yeah. You know, Arsenal have gotten victories in all kinds of different ways. generally Bayern have done it by just basically outplaying, outcreating, outscoring for fun the opposition.

54:06So right now, you would have to go with Bayern. Alright, everyone going with the German Giants. Hard to argue there. Robbo, next question for you. Eze was kind of invisible in the game against Sunderland, so should Arteta look to play him a little higher up, closer to the forwards?

54:27Well, his favourite position is sort of when he was at Crystal Palace, was playing on the left hand side but just tuck it in so he's almost playing through an inside left position and that seems to be his best position but Arteta's got to play the formation that he wants to play and he's got several other players that can play in that role so uh Ezra can play anywhere along the front line I think and he can play as an attacking midfield player so no I don't think Arteta has to has to sort of say oh you've got to play closer to the front players he's a good player and over the course of the season he'll score and create goals for Arsenal not always in the side but he always create and score goals.

54:59Jan, this is your area of the pitch. What do you think? Well, I think it's a bit under-communicated and I'm not speaking for my Norwegians again now, but I think it's a bit under-communicated that Arsenal is missing Martin Odegaard. Yes, they were having... Of course they are. I was just going to say that as well. I'm a Norwegian because he's playing in there and Arsenal is winning in different ways. It's a trend now to say that they only win through set pieces, but that is a part of our football. We respect them for that. But for Arsenal to win the league, they also need to have a great game plan.

55:34And the conductor there, you can be as English as much as you want and celebrate in Declan Rice, but the conductor for Arsenal is Martin Odegaard and they need to get him back. Stevie, you want to give any two cents? You and Dan had a bit of a debate over Eze when he first joined Arsenal. Did we? Yeah. I believe you said that he should play now. I can't remember exactly, but I'm going to guess Dan was wrong. Let's put it that way. Yeah, I think if there was one game not to judge Ezio on, it would be Sunderland. Sunderland in general were missing out in the middle of the park and making it a physical battle.

56:09So Sunderland wouldn't be the right place to judge him. I understand what Jan's getting at with Odegaard. You know, in the final third, he goes about it in a different way. he sees a little gap pass that a lot of players don't see but I quite like Ezzie in there. I've got to say that. He is a special player. Next question is for all except Stevie. Oh, you've been included. Is it time to give Manchester United Oh, I see why. Is it time to give Manchester United some credit for their transfer business? Islam and Zanobomo especially seem to have changed the team drastically. I did not send in this question.

56:59Stevie, this is for everyone except you. Robbo, what say you? Well, I like him, Bermot. I liked him when he was at Brentford and he's been their best player when I've seen him for Manchester United. So it's a good signing. But, you know, you can't suddenly say all Manchester United signings are good just based on that one and the goalkeeper. And Bermot was a very good player. He always was at Brentford and he's transitioned well to Manchester United and is playing with confidence. So at the moment, he looks a very good signing. I would say that counts as some credit. Jan, what about you? I think we have to give Manchester United some credit.

57:35I'm not saying they turned it around, but at least they've stopped the negative spiral. Do you say that in English? Yeah, English spiral. Spiral? Spiral. They've turned it around. And I was at Old Trafford the first game. I would throw in Cunha there as well. because they found their position in that space between midfield and the striker very good. I'm not saying this to be negative, but I will see some more games of the goalkeeper. Don't throw him in now that he's the biggest thing since Peter Schmeichel. I will wait a bit for that one, but I like the way Manchester United have somehow managed to get better players in that fits more the way of playing.

58:19And that has not been the case the last three, four seasons. Oh, Jan, such a breath of fresh air. I love when Jan is on. You're not allowed to... Where am I United? You're not allowed to speak in this question, Stevie. We're moving on to the next one. Yeah, where's Liverpool? When was the last time United won the league? Oh, steady, Jan. When was the last time Liverpool won a game? You're sitting here like a Cheshire cat and you're in seventh. Listen, I was better than 17. Seriously? I just am a smiling person. Yeah. Gosh, so negative. All right, next question. Who is more likely to qualify for the World Cup, Scotland or Norway?

59:02I don't know who Norway is playing. I'll just give you the scenario. Yes. We have the best goal difference since Elvis was in Las Vegas. We beat it to Italy 3-0. So Thursday at 6 o 'clock Central European time, we are playing Estonia at home. Estonia ranked 130 in the world and we just need to win. But I've been living next door to Alice for 25 years and I've been just waiting for Norway to get to a World Cup. I'm getting more and more nervous as close as we get. Yes, I hear you. You will say we will beat Estonia, but I just need to get us over the line. Oh, Jan, we know exactly how you feel. Yeah, as a joke, I know exactly how you feel.

59:49And yes, 100 % Norway has a better chance. Yeah, Scotland have Greece. We've got Greece away. And let me tell you, English people would prefer Norway at the World Cup than they would Scottish play. Here he is, here he is. It's weird that Robbo says that. Why? Well, because there's not many English people say that. That they would prefer Norway. I feel like they're quite vocal about their... Maybe it's just the English people I know, but they always say to me... Hang on, hang on. They always say to me... Scotland hates England. Wales hate England. Northern Ireland and era hate England. Yes. Sometimes England hate the other nations as well.

1:00:26Scotland. But it's... They only speak... Now they love them. It's quite real. I would love to see Scotland as a World Cup. Me too. I love Scotland there. I love Scotland. It's like Norway. Just not the big chance that we have now to get to the world. Get the bagpipes out. Robbo's in a small club of Englishmen that don't want Scotland there. I know. Robbo's always one to express his hate. What's the biggest rugby game? When England play Scotland at rugby, you hate the Scots. You're desperate for England to win. Oh, you're going to fire up Stevie now. That's what I say. That's different. If it's England v Scotland, then that's different.

1:01:07That's a different argument. Then it can't take away our dignity. We have to need some films coming here. Well, let's just hope that Norway, Scotland, and Jamaica all qualify after this week. And then we can all have a party. Well, we have Xhaka's Trinidad and Tobago this weekend. And Trinidad and Tobago need to win that one. I don't know if I feel like doing Xhaka a favor there. And then it all goes down to Kingston on the 18th of November. We play against Curacao. But, Jan, same thing. You would think we could take care of Curacao. But I'm nervous as well. So we will see. What Robbo didn't explain to you there was.

1:01:47What? Well, he's talking about when England play Scotland. They all want to drop Scotland, right? Yeah. What he's not telling you is that that's the only game where the majority of English people feel that way. Where if you turn it the other way, Scottish people, it doesn't have to be just us against England when we want them to lose. We don't care who they're playing. We want them to lose. Stevie, I'll tell you a quick story. I'll make it very quick. Years ago when I was in the 1974 World Cup, my dad was picking me up from school and I had a very posh headmaster. I went to a private school and I was around his house.

1:02:27And as he came out, he said to my dad, I say, Scotland have just taken the lead against Zaire. And my dad said, oh, that's bad news, isn't it? And the headmaster went, you can't say that. You're being anti-UK. My dad went, I hate Scotland. Whoa, beautiful. Now we know where Robbo gets it from. I know. We know where Robbo gets it from. But, oh, I understand the rivalry. I mean, I don't like, I was with Freddie Jungba, the Swede, this Sunday. And, of course, I'm having a go at him. I don't want Sweden to be there. Norway should be their own. But deep inside, I would like Sweden to be there, like Denmark to be there.

1:03:04And you can't, I mean, you have to love Scotland. Robbo, it's not possible. The Scots are so nice. They're so wonderful. I love England as well. The Scots are great. Have you seen the Scots when they've had a drink? That's why we love them so much. That's why they're our favourite. There's the dopey drunks and there's the aggressive drunks. Yeah, of course. But if you're going to hate everybody getting drunk, it's not only to the Scottish. Exactly, exactly. All right, final question, and it's for Robbo. Robbo, what are your favorite and least favorite stadiums to call a match from? I love, love going to Dortmund because the atmosphere is absolutely sensational.

1:03:49I like going to Bayern Munich as well. That's a good stadium. I enjoyed going to the San Siro, which is going to be knocked down soon apparently, but that's got a lovely atmosphere, great position as well. So there's plenty of grounds. Don't I like going to? I didn't like going to Girona. That was a strange old ground. You had the deck chair almost doing the commentary from there. Very small ground. And I never liked going to the Emirates. It's soulless, I would say. Oh, Robbo. I just thought I'd get that in. You'd never know that this was a man who proudly donned the Arsenal shirt many a time.

1:04:27Was it over 100 caps, Robbo? You should know what he's talking about then, shouldn't you? 180 games for Arsenal, yeah. He would have done it, of course, at Highbury. And, of course, in comparison, that is the thing. The Emirates is a bit soulless in comparison. You're talking about polar opposites. Yeah, total opposites. I like it. I like it when, Alexis, you know, when we do the pitch side interviews, I like to be at stadiums when you are based, when the players are going to the dressing rooms. Because then you've got something under control. Dortmund, fantastic. I mean, the atmosphere, same as Bayern.

1:05:01But also for us pitch side reporters, we are standing in the kind of corridor by the dress rooms. And then somehow you feel at least it's easier to deal with the head of communication, UEFA or the Premier League. And I love to be at City as well. But sometimes we just basically are in that room just waiting. But every time the door opens and someone coming from Premier League and saying, it's only us. And we just wait for players and wait for players. But I still think that Etihad got too much criticism. Sometimes there is a great atmosphere even at Etihad. I'll tell you which stadium I enjoyed.

1:05:36Plymouth Argyle. When they took out Liverpool. It's a great stadium. Small, you're in, you're out. Good snacks. Oh, we're good, we're not so much. Oh, I see what you did there. So that's what it comes down to. Good snacks. Yeah, I love my food. Oh yeah, you need good snacks. Riyan knows. We need to be fed. We're hard-working people. Yeah, exactly. So much so. Hang on. Hard-working, Alexis. I remember going to a game at Chelsea with you. I think it was against Plymouth in the FA Cup. And you spent the whole of the second half in the players' tunnel. Not watching the game. Robbo. Because there was nice snacks, if you remember rightly.

1:06:13That was not why. That was not why. It's because I was fighting for my life from the cold, OK? Jamaicans, we cannot function in that Baltic atmosphere. Only people with no heart and soul like Robbo can. All right. We're going to go get some more snacks right now. Can I have some more? Can I have some more? We will be back tomorrow. But Stamford Bridge, some of the best media food, I would say, in the Premier League, for sure. 100%.

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