Man City Go Top of the Table

28:07And actually, that's the point at which this model breaks down. So I think if Blueco are going to learn anything from this, they have to say, well, look, OK, if we want to go and get another inexperienced head coach, and there's chat about perhaps Cesc Fabregas at Como, who's doing well, Iriola, who's obviously leaving Bournemouth this season, a little bit more experienced, but it would still be a big step up for him. If they're going to look at that kind of profile of coach, someone who's stepping up into an elite position as obviously the Chelsea head coach role is then you have to be prepared to say if they're then successful in that role after a year after 18 months we give them more autonomy and you only need to look at someone like Mikel Arteta for example at Arsenal who was appointed as a head coach in a system that at the time had nine department heads at Arsenal they'd stripped away all the autonomy of a figure like Arsene Wenger who was such a dominant presence at that club and Mikel Arteta was promoted after that first season when he won the FA Cup literally he was made from manager from head coach he was made manager and gradually he grew into the position that he has now now that worked for Arsenal okay whether they win the league or not you can't deny the progress that has been undertaken by Arteta in those five or six years that he's had that role but his responsibility and the influence that he's had at the club has been upgraded over time And that's the bit I think that Blueco need to learn with whoever they go with next.

29:30And right now they've got an interim coach in Calum McFarlane. They've got that FA Cup game coming up against Leeds. How does he rally them? How does he remind them that they can actually score goals and try and salvage something this season? Well, he's got to make it personal. You know, he's got to get to every single one individually and figure out what gets them going. and why, I guess if I was taking over tomorrow, I would try and find out why the performance that we saw at Brighton happened. Was it really about Ressigno? Was it just about him? Was it about Blueco? Or is it individually everybody is, their heads all over the place because of what's going on at the club?

30:15It seems like Chelsea Football Club is just, every single day there's something else and generally it's things going wrong. So eventually that seeps its way into the dressing room. So if you can figure out whatever the problem is with the players, then you can get rid of that and just use this semi-final of the FA Cup as a new beginning and you start for everybody. There'll be a new... I'm not going to be in charge. I'm doing this to the end of the season. All you've got to do now is you make sure that when the next guy comes in, he's going to think you're the best thing that ever happened to Chelsea Football Club.

30:52And if he can go around every single one and build themselves up to do their job, then when they go out on that Wembley tough, and it's Wembley as well, because that's going to help. You know, any footballer, regardless of problems, you take a step out on Wembley. If that doesn't get you going, you're in the wrong job. So that's all he has to do. He doesn't have to be perfect tactically or any of that nonsense. All he has to do is make sure that every single one that's going to start that game is ready to give every single thing number one for themselves and their family and the club and the guys standing next to them.

31:30If he can do that, then they can win the game. As bad as they've been, they can win the game. That's one side of it, James. But if they are to not finish in the Champions League spots this season, how damaging is that for Chelsea? I mean, it's significant, to say the least. that they've posted huge financial losses again. And make no mistake about this, I mean, you know, with Liam Resenia, they wanted to judge him at the end of next season. That was the plan. They had the same sort of blueprint with Maresca, really. They wanted to give Liam Resenia a full summer, get into next season, obviously with the pre-season, with another transfer window, and sort of see how he managed in a full campaign.

32:14the reason he's gone is because Champions League football has disappeared from view that is above and beyond everything else that is the reason why you can talk about losing the dressing room or the fan backlash and obviously there are all factors to it but the timing of this is because they're not going to get in the Champions League as it stands next season it's not going to lead to a fire sale it's not going to necessarily mean that you're going to see top players being forced to sell from a financial point of view. But you can see what's happening at the moment. The last couple of weeks, they've given Moises Kaisado a new contract.

32:53Rhys James signs a few weeks before that. They're trying to sign Levo Colwell down to a longer term deal as well. And all of this is kind of related to the fact that Chelsea's basic wage, the way that their contracts work is their basic wages are quite low all of their contracts are really heavily incentivized and it's all based on appearances and goals and competitions they play in and things and if they're going to miss out on the Champions League you're going to have to go to Moises Kaisadio and say all right your basic wage is going to be a lot more you don't it's not going to be topped up by playing in the Champions League because we recognize you're a top player and you don't necessarily have to earn that portion of your salary if you like you've kind of you kind of get it because you've earned it already from the player that you've become and the contribution you've already made to the club.

33:39So you can see that they're sort of future-proofing with that to some extent. But if they miss out on the Champions League and they don't get a big-name manager through the door, a manager that can galvanise this group and someone that the players can get behind, then you can see the likes of Enzo Fernandes and Cole Palmer and maybe one or two others thinking, well, you know, maybe my future's best off elsewhere. but then you come back to the issue of these long contracts. How easy is it going to be for these players to get themselves out of it? And then you've got potentially a situation where big players are trying to push for a move, but they can't and the club wants to tie them down, but the players want to go.

34:17It could be a very messy summer for Chelsea, particularly if they miss out on European football. James, while we've got you here and before we say goodbye, have you got any updates on Esteval?

34:29Well, they're waiting to hear the latest on that one. it doesn't sound good I think the results of a scan are going to dictate whether he can go to the World Cup or not the prognosis sounds pretty downbeat from what I've heard today but they're not ruling him in or out there's talk about him trying to see a specialist and really if you're going down the specialist route with whatever it is less than two months to go before the start of the tournament that sounds pretty ominous but we're going to have to wait to know conclusively Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start?

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35:42And it shows up fast. I'm talking fast and easy delivery. So level up your grill game and your outdoor chill game. And head to Wayfair.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season. Wayfair, every style, every home. Barcelona took on Celta at the camp now. One goal in it to give Barcelona three points. That goal coming from Laminya Mal with a penalty, but right after it he pulled off with an injury which forced him off. And now there are concerns about the extent of that injury for the young player. Luis Garcia is watching for us. Gemma Solaire is with us from the stadium, though. Gemma, is there any updates on what we're seeing from Laminya Mal tonight?

36:22First off.

36:25Hi, Kay. Well, not official yet, but we were able to ask and it looks like a torn hamstring. He will have more explorations tomorrow. If that torn is small, it can mean three to four weeks. This means out for El Clásico, but maybe he could end the season and be ready for the World Cup. If it's a little bit bigger, we could be talking about being out for the rest of the season and struggling to be at the beginning of the World Cup. But of course this will depend on the exploration that he will be having tomorrow in the sports city. And then there will be the official release by the club. It's true that when this happened, I was just behind the goal.

37:10I could see how he put his hand in the bicep femoris in that hamstring. And then Hansi Flick, I look at him and he look a little bit relieved, but it's broken. He went back to the locker room, and tomorrow he will go to more tests. Okay. Well, we wish him the best right now. B-sips for Morris. Perfect hamstring. Obviously. Hamstring. There we go. It's a technical term. I could have told you that. It's a technical term, you know. We're keeping it medically. We're keeping it right, and we are. Up to a certain level. And we're not going to make any assumptions. Obviously, as Gemma said, there's been nothing confirmed yet, but we're hoping for the best here, Luis, for Lamin-Yemal.

37:51Yeah, definitely. By the way, it happens. It shouldn't be bad if it's a hamstring, the real hamstring. But normally, if you have a problem when you're shooting in that back part, it's more about the tandem close to the puts together the hamstring and the butt calling this way than more as a pull in the hamstring. So hopefully it's not that long time. I think the Barcelona, and we've saw what happened during the game, needs badly LaMilla Mal. He was the biggest threat in the first 45 minutes. As soon as he left, Rony Bardalji came into the second half. But it looked like the attacking side of Barcelona just disappeared.

38:33There was no more creative way. Just a couple of chances from long digs and long crosses. But that's about it. And that's what it is on these days, Barcelona. La Millamal is almost 90 % of what Barcelona generates in the last third. Nine-point difference at the top of the table. It shouldn't be too much of a concern right now, should it? Well, I think that today's three points were really important for Barcelona. And while obviously it's disappointing to lose La Millamal, that highlights how important these three points were. Let me just tell you, the performance from Barcelona today was underwhelming.

39:10was slow and predictable and sloppy with the ball, turning the ball over time and time again in the last few minutes of the match instead of actually handling the possession of the ball, turning the ball over and allowing Celta de Vigo to then have a chance here and a chance there, have chances here, have chances there. Free kick by Marcos Alonso at the end that maybe could have been something more for Celta de Vigo. It was a stressful evening for Barcelona and unnecessarily so. And it became even more stressful when La Minha Mal went down because to Luis's point, they are very limited in the attack without La Minha Mal.

39:47And it feels weird to say that about a team that scores as many goals as Barcelona has this season. And yet, without him, there isn't enough creativity. There just isn't enough dynamic movement. There just isn't enough that other teams could fear. So it's important that Rafinha comes back. As La Minha Mal goes off injured, it's important that Rafinha finds some level of fitness so that he can be part of this picture going forward. But it was critically important that they got the three points today because you still keep that distance from Real Madrid. And it wasn't pretty, and it wasn't convincing.

40:22As I just mentioned, it was underwhelming. And yet, it still counts for three points. And it still maintains Real Madrid at a point to where they don't actually believe they're capable of doing this. had Barcelona drop points today and Real Madrid won, unconvincingly so, but they won yesterday. And then La Minha Mal is saying, if you're Real Madrid, you're sitting back and you go, away! Espere un momentico. Hold on a second. Maybe we do have something here. I don't think that's the case right now. Nine points, Luis. Real Madrid are obviously in that running, though. Six more games left in La Liga.

40:57Barcelona not at their best today. Do you have any concerns whatsoever? Not for now. I think that meanwhile Barcelona keeps on the momentum, even though the performances, as Ale was mentioning, that it wasn't the best performance of Barcelona, but you managed to get a good result. And the pressure that maybe they felt in the beginning of the game is gone. Now they're going to go to play away at Getafe. That is not going to be easy. Getafe just won today against Real Sociedad and he's fighting to get into the European position. But Real Madrid also is going to play away against Real Betis. another team that is fighting for for European position even try to catch that champs league spot so yeah noticing games for the two teams in the coming but the problem is that for Real Madrid is that they cannot miss a game they have to win every single game if they want to have a chance of winning the Liga all being to the race and that's I think gonna be a very very difficult situation because they haven't done it during the season why should do why they could do it at this stage of the season when players are tired the team start looking to what is going to happen in the future and a lot of players as we saw yesterday Real Madrid some of them they were playing all for themselves just trying to score my goal do my action, do my things because right now is when everyone is looking at what is going to happen next year.

42:21Yes they are. Thank you so much for being with us Luis we will be hearing a lot more from you as the season continues here on ESPN Plus, in fact, Luis will be back on Friday when Real Betis take on Real Madrid. Our coverage will begin at 2.30pm Eastern. For all the build-up, kick off at 3.00pm. Make sure to be with us on ESPN+. Bayern have booked their spot in the Pokal this season with a 2-0 win over Leverkusen in the semi-final. Goals from Harry Kane and Luis Diaz after the match actually in touch and Thomas Zitzelsberger caught up with Vincent Kompany. But first, here's Harry Kane. As Harry Kane's t-shirt says, guess who's back in Berlin by Munich?

43:01It will be your first DFB Cup final. How does that feel? Feels good. It was a big game for us at the start of the season. We said to ourselves as a team, it's been too long since we've been there. Obviously, I've not been there since I've been at this great club. And, you know, how dominant we are in the league, we need to show that in the Cup as well. And, yeah, we're there. A lot of tough games, a lot of away games. Another tough one here tonight, I thought. First half was outstanding from us. We should have been two or three goals up. Second half was a bit chaotic. We still could have scored, but we let them back in the game a little bit.

43:32But overall, just really happy. Can you just name the elements that make it outstanding for you? Can you just break that down? I think the press, the counter press, whenever we lost the ball, we won it back really quick. Caused them a lot of problems. Good runs in behind, created good chances, and conceded very little. Every time they went long, we seemed to win the first ball. We picked up the second ball and then continued from there. So, yeah, the only complaint is that we weren't clinical enough in this type of game. But in the semi-final, the most important thing is getting through to the next one.

44:00Vincent, Bayern will be in the DFB Cup final. Firstly, how does that feel? It's a big moment because I wouldn't say it got mentioned before the Champions League, but it got mentioned a lot that the team, the club wanted to be in the final, wanted to win the trophy. so we can't win the trophy today but we'll prepare, we'll look forward. I think you have to also enjoy the experience of going to the final and then hopefully we'll be able to have our best level on the day. You can't approach these games with any fear whatsoever. Fear will consume you and in all the successful seasons I've been privileged to be a part of you have to just continue being who you are and that's what we did today.

44:45Vincent, thank you. Thank you. Bayern Munich on the treble hunt. So one down, that is the Bundesliga secured. They're now into the final of the Pokal, where they will face Stuttgart or Freiburg. We'll find out tomorrow, but favourites, whoever it's going to be, that's for sure. And in the semi-finals of the Champions League, this is the interesting one, up against PSG. What a couple of games that's going to be. But they're favourites in everything right now, Jan. Should they be? Well, they could win the treble. They've done that before. and it is basically very, very possible the way they're playing.

45:21Of course, the game today, they were a lot better than Leverkusen, but we saw Tela and Neuer, the best goalkeeper in Germany, of course, now going to the World Cup. That's what Eula Nagelsmann says is a good idea. But that's another discussion. But they haven't been, they've been so dominant and they haven't been in Berlin since 2020 in a final. It's unbelievable stats, by the way. And don't underestimate how important the cup is in Germany because we fahren nach Berlin, we're going to Berlin. That is a slogan. Everybody wants to end their season. They're going there. They fill up Berlin. They fill up the Olympia Stadium in Berlin.

46:00And this is a good one, not to the understatement of the day. It's very good for Vincent Kompany because if he only wins the league, people will say, well, everybody wins the league with Bayern. But they have to go there now. they can get the double and the trouble is in there and the way they're playing it's possible and as a small thing that I was watching on two screens today I was watching City and Bayern of course and just about the same time Erling was doing his brilliant goal when he waited waited on the goalkeeper get him a bit down and chipped it in and I'm with Stevie that the first touch of Kane was not good but wow did he repair it afterwards because there was just one place he could put the ball and he just did it so clinical.

46:45Brilliant goal from Harry Kane. Of course, Harry Kane. Favourites in it all, Ale? Well, yeah. Look, I know that Vincent Kompany makes himself available to us in our coverage quite often. And we appreciate that. Yeah. For the manager of Bayern Munich to be talking about fear. Yeah. Don't let fear consume you. Wait a minute. Wait. You think teams in Bundesliga are also comfortable playing Bayern Munich? The fear has to be for everybody else. When you're Bayern Munich and you're playing at the level that they're playing, fear is the last thing in their minds. This is a team that knows they're a good team, that trusts each other, that respects each other, that works well together, that individually they are at a high level, world-class elite level, and as a group they're doing that as well.

47:37It's difficult to pick out a weakness for this team. I've said it that defending set pieces may be just that. But in terms of the totality of their game, nobody in Europe is playing better than Bayern Munich. And no team should be fearful if you're a Bayern Munich player. If you're a Bayern Munich player, the last thing in your mind is fear. All you have going with you is what everybody else is trying to get, which is certainty and confidence. And you have that in bunches. Maybe fearful of Archie's jacket in front of you. Yes, that's a good reason to be fearful. There's a few to choose from. Seeing as though he brought it up, how do you feel seeing Luis Diaz doing what he's doing?

48:22Are we going to end on a good night? What a loaded question. Are you happy for him, right? Have a guess. How do you think you feel? I'm sick to my teeth watching him scoring goals. Every time we turn the telly on and watch the Bundesliga, Diaz is running around. And Champions League. And Champions League running around celebrating scoring goals. How do you think I feel? We had to ask. Sorry about that. But I'm glad for him. All right. Let's find out who does face Bayern tomorrow and Stuttgart take on Freiburg in the other semifinal. Our coverage will begin at 2.30 p.m. Eastern. And then the kickoff is at 2.45.

48:58Be sure to be with us on ESPNU and ESPN+.

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50:21Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. here's how things are looking in the Coppa Italia it is Lazio who were up against Atalanta and put them out there was a big show in from their goalkeeper today as well this is how things are shaping up Inter beating Como as well and it is an Inter Lazio final make sure to check out the Gavin Jules show, they'll have you covered tomorrow looking back on all of it and a whole lot more there is so much to discuss check them out wherever you get your podcasts To the English Championship we go.

51:06Charlton hosting Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town looking good for promotion this season. First minute, ball given away here. And the initial shot is going to be saved, but Greg Doherty scores the rebound and puts Charlton ahead. I mean, it's a distance here from the goalkeeper. He gets lucky with that strike. There's 36, furlong, equalises. It goes through a lot of bodies but hits it so well next to the post. The goalkeeper can't get there, 1-1. Furlong would then be dragged down in the 57th and it would be a penalty for Ipswich. Honestly. You okay, Stevie? Honestly. Jaden Filagene's penalty on the keeper.

51:52No, what? Alright, you know what? This is a seldom seen jackastrophic on a penalty kick. That is a big comeback win for Ipswich Town. As you can see, they are in that second automatic spot where they would be following Coventry City up to the Premier League. And they played a game less than those around them right now. So Ipswich sending themselves in good stead. That is an important three points for them today. It's getting tied for Middlesbrough. It is. They actually won today. So let's celebrate something, shall we? They actually won today. They're taking a lot of water. Let's just expect that it's going to be the playoffs.

52:30Let's start picking up, start winning now, and go into the playoffs in great ball. We're going down! We're going down! Stick around, extra time on the way. Jan needs to come in. Jan's going to have my back. Jan Agafiotoft is answering the questions with these guys. Jan, help me. Extra time is here. They're picking on me because of Middlesbrough. Come on, Borough. Thanks, Jan. Abandon ship. Look, my mum's been telling me, you need to tell Jan there's a flag flying for Norway outside the Riverside Stadium. All our international players, all their names are mentioned there, his name's there. She's going to take a picture and send it to us.

53:08Nice, yeah. I would like a copy. I would like a copy. Yeah, we'll get you one of those, Jan. Arsenal will now play two Premier games before City play their next one. It could possibly be 76 points for Arsenal and 70 for City. do you think this could play a big factor on the title race for Arsenal? Do you think it's an advantage for Arsenal? Well, it's always an advantage if you can... Oh, sorry, Jan. Go on. No, no, no. Go on, Stephen. It's always an advantage if you can be on top and be ahead. Points are in the bag. You'll take the points on the table every day of the week. So it's only an advantage, though, if they win.

53:49That's the problem. That's the problem. Well, go ahead, Jan. Yeah, I think that Arsenal got more advantages than John McEnroe had against Bjorn Borg in those famous finals. Advantage, Mr McEnroe, and Bjorn Borg always came back. But it's a good question because it could be a factor. Because if you manage to go six points up, then the Monday night game will be Everton against Manchester City. So there is a chance. But I think that the main thing for Arsenal is to concentrate on Arsenal. All these fixtures, these are easy, this, okay, Newcastle is coming there on Saturday. Won't be easy anyway because they are like a wounded lion.

54:31They have to bounce back. Then Fulham, that is a London derby and so on. And Manchester City, when they are in the flow, they like to play football games because these guys know how to win. The problem is with Arsenal at the moment, they don't know how to win titles. So Pep Guardiola can only say, remember what happened last April? Remember what happened the year before? And Arteta can say, remember, no, I can't remember. Okay. If Jan lets his hair go a little bit more and you put a headband on him, definite, definite Bjorn Borg situation going on. I'm just saying, you can work on that. That is a good head of hair, Jan.

55:11I'm going for it now. I got a hairstyle for the World Cup now. Yeah, give him a wooden racket and he'll be in. City have gone top ahead of Arsenal on goals scored. Gab has said multiple times that goals scored, or even the goal difference for that matter, should not decide a title if the teams have the same points. And he proposes a one-game playoff instead. What do the guys think? Yeah, I agree. Do you agree? Yep. Why do you agree? Not just going on the head-to-head of the professional season. Well, because I've lost the title on goal difference. All right. So clearly I will agree.

55:541989, for those who know, 1989 for Arsenal against Liverpool, because there are some younger viewers under 80 here as well. They can't remember that. But yeah, you know, there is some leagues and I see I'm in Austria now and Austria have this kind of thing that after the season, no, after the half of the season, they kind of make half the season. They have the same in Denmark and then they halve the points. I don't like, in terms of football, I'm very old fashioned. Goal score, that's just the way to do it, I think. Just out of principle, the fact that we're being asked about Gab's opinion, when Gab's not here and it's Gab, and if you know Gab, you do not in any way want to tell him that he's anywhere near being right, because he'll be the first one to remind you how smart and how right he is 100 % of the time.

56:48So I'm going to disagree with Gap and what I would suggest, if you don't want goal differential, then head-to-head. Ding, ding, ding. Because you have played this team twice. You couldn't quite figure out over the course of the season who was better, but you could decide it as to who was better between the two of us. Head-to-head would be... And if a draw, going to count corners. Okay, well then you can talk to Gab if you so desire he'll give you the answer Jan. Then we can have the playoff. But head to head is working in other leagues. So yeah anyway, Stevie's yeah. How many leagues? How many leagues?

57:27Well La Liga for one. Serie A. So if they are exactly on the same point, they have another game yeah? If they're on exactly the same points and the head to head was a draw in each case. Okay, and then they have a playoff. Then maybe, yeah. But otherwise, look at the two games across the season. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I hear you. Ali hears me. Okay. All right. And my flag is not flying outside the Riverside Stadium. No, it is not. And Gabi's also saying if Italy losing a playoff final, they should still go to the World Cup. Yes, absolutely. I disagree. I disagree on that one as well. Okay. If Frank Lampard is offered the Chelsea job, would you advise him to take it, Stevie?

58:15Or should he stick with promoted Coventry for at least one season? Well, it depends. If he wants money, then take it. Because he'll not last long and he'll get a payout. Like, William Messina. Three months work. I believe Chelsea have to pay him£4 million. So if you want money, then yes. Otherwise, no. we didn't say that in the show but I mean in the Rosseño interview this last interview he said after the game against Brighton that the buck stopped by me a buck means money doesn't it and it absolutely stopped by him because they were reported today that he would get 24 million pounds but I would say that Frank Lampard when you're building up a long football life what he's doing now going down take Coventry up again in the long term that would be better to get fired at Chelsea again.

59:11I'm nothing if not a romantic. How about the fact that you've done what you've done if you're Frank Lampard with commentary and at least give it a go in the Premier League with the team that you brought up. Then after that, all bets are off and then you can go wherever you desire. And obviously, we are assuming that there'll be success for commentary. That will open even more doors for him. So I'm just saying a little bit of romanticism goes a long way. Right, like it. With Bernardo Silva still playing at a high level and still relatively young, where do you see him playing next season, Jan? Barcelona or staying in the Premier League?

59:51I can't stay in the Premier League, can I? I mean, there will be a statue of him soon outside Etihad. So there's no way that he can play there. We thought that maybe Kevin De Bruyne will have a go at City and play for another team. I can see him go home. There are some good clubs in Portugal as well. Can he go home and play? Enjoy life in Portugal? It's so cold sometimes in England. I mean, he should go home. I went on Sunday. Sunday, I did two games. I did two games on Sunday. I did Everton at Hill Dickinson. And then I went to Manchester. It was sunny and we were still freezing. Try to explain that.

1:00:35I did Everton at Hill Dickinson. That's how much people don't care about you guys anymore. It was the Merseyside Derby, and it's just Everton at Hill Dickinson. Can we go back to Middlesbrough and the promotion push? We should. Hey. We probably should. I tell you what, you're giving me the hand of the day, aren't you? He did it. No, that was no intention. Honestly, I started with Luis Diaz. I would never, oh, you don't even get a mention. I'm going to say so. In 1989, Stephen. Hey, hold on. And the other night, the day before the game, you never even brought the game up. Well, that's why the context is as well, because he was very upset that it's so brief.

1:01:13I do not get a say on what's in the room now. Yeah, right. All right, what's the biggest surprise? Spurs looking for a sports psychologist or that they don't already have one? Yeah. Yeah. The shock's got to be they don't have one. I mean, they've got oven. They've got... We've got substitute warm-up coach. I mean... No, but... Hi, boys. Boys and girls. Boys and girls, it can't be a surprise that they don't have a psychologist. I mean, look at them. I mean, there's no chance they have one. So that can't be a surprise. There's no way they don't have a sports psychologist. There's no chance. Can you imagine...

1:01:55It must be very bad then. Well, we've probably got the sack by now, but there's no way they never had one. Can you imagine if they had like a players-only meeting, right? Because they don't have the sports psychologist. You can't bounce things off of the psychologist. So now we're going to meet together. And now here comes Cristian Romero to give you the leadership. Sort of like here comes the speech that is going to rile you up. And you're thinking, if you're somebody else in the locker room, it's like, I think this guy's missing something. Like cables are not connecting quite correctly in his head.

1:02:26So we're not going to listen to him. So now who do we listen to? And that, I think, is a picture of Spurs that's troubling, that there is nobody in that team that you can actually rally around and say, yeah, this is a guy that you can trust to do the job consistently. So Jan. One Borough story, Kay. One Borough story. I came to Borough. I was the record signing at that time, 1.3 million pounds. And there was an old physiotherapist at the club. And I've told the story before, but I could put it in now how it was back in the 90s. and John Henry had a problem with his knee. And here's his knee, and this guy, this old therapist, he's like, ha!

1:03:08And I was saying, why are you doing that? And I say, oh, that worked before. So this is only 30 years ago. So come on, Spurs, show us your staff. Because you have to be made of steel if you play for Middlesbrough, that's fine. Exactly. It's just normal behaviour. All right, what's the biggest... Oh, no, we've been on that one. For Jan, who's been your player of the season in the Bundesliga that doesn't play for Bayern?

1:03:37Oh, where did that come from? Yeah, I saw the game Frankfurt against Leipzig, the whole game. I had time to see, he helped me out, Diamande. Diamande, I'm writing it here, I knew you were going to say him. No, because I think he was against Frankfurt. unbelievable and I've seen his stats, I've seen his highlights but this game I could follow him for 90 minutes. His movements, how it took on people, so I will go Diomanda and he's 19 or something so he won't be player of the year because that's why the question is so good but I will go for him. It is a name usually comes quicker to the head without but Bayern's dominance has just overtaken so much, hasn't it?

1:04:21Yeah, well, the question itself is, it's quite loaded, and it's impossible to answer if you don't have a Bayern player in there because they have been so very dominant. But if I am going to give a little love tap, a little shout out, I would say Hoffenheim and the season that they have had. And you cannot mention Hoffenheim in Bundesliga without talking about Andre Crammery, friend of the show, by the way, Andre Crammery. And so... Potty mouth, Andre Crammery. Well, yes, honest, I would say. Honest, yes. Sincere in his assessment of Hoffenheim in years past. And what we have seen both from him and his team.

1:04:57He's scoring important goals for them, and they are having a great season. So I'll give a shout-out to Andre Kramer. Okay, the production team are a little bit upset. Undav wasn't mentioned, who is the second-top scorer after Harry Kane. Oh, good shout as well. How did you see Nagelsmann having a goal at him? And to be fair to Nagelsmann, because I hammered Nagelsmann, because of his criticism of Undav, But he's been out now apologizing after he talked to his wife. Well done, Julian. Well done. Why do you hate Nagelsmann so much, Jan? Because I think he's a bad leader. And let me just say... Is that a fair answer?

1:05:33Yeah, well, I agree with both Jan Agafjortov and Bjorn Borg. He is 100 % correct on that. Did Nagelsmann say why he wasn't taking Neuer? in the World Cup. But we all know that. We all know that. It's because it's rift and things. And it's, I mean, Oliver Baumann, good goalkeeper. He's 35. He's steady Eddie. He will do his job. But I think it's unbelievable the way that this one-man show of German football, this proud football nation, you're ending up having trouble with all your players. Manuel Neuer, Dennis Undov, who's the only guy who will score goals for him as a number nine and so on. So, well, I can be the first one to say it, but Germany will be a big disappointment at this World Cup.

1:06:23We'll definitely clip that up and we'll remind you you said it. Please do. Bitter, bitter, bitter. Bitter. Ale, with Estefan now likely to miss the World Cup because of injury and Rodrigo already out, does the pressure build on Ancelotti to name Neymar to the Brazilian World Cup squad? With every name that goes down, that name of Neymar gets bigger and bigger and bigger. And the pressure exists. It is the one and only conversation surrounding Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazilian national team is whether he's going to select Neymar or not. It's not a question as to whether Neymar has actually been playing well or not, as to whether he's fit enough or not.

1:07:03No, no. Carlo, are you going to name Neymar to the World Cup? And if it is just about naming Neymar to the World Cup, I would say no. He still is trying to find full level of fitness, and it's something that I've been very consistent with. However, if Rodrigo is not available and Estevão is not available and now you seem to find a space for him, maybe Carlo Ancelotti does that. But in doing that, he is creating a headache and creating a problem for himself. because now Neymar going to the World Cup, you have to play him. He's not going to go there just to sit because he is Neymar. And so in trying to play him and forcing him on the field when he hasn't been fit enough to do so with Santos for years now, then you change everything about your team.

1:07:57And the player right now, Neymar, is not worth that sort of effort. The juice is not worth the squeeze. That's all right. The juice is not worth the squeeze right now. For a name, I will stay away. But every name that goes down puts a lot more pressure on Cam Nachalotti to go and pick him. Jan? I had the pleasure to have our colleague Jürgen Klinsmann in Norway a couple of weeks ago. We had a conference there. And he made some interesting comments. First of all, he said that Brazil is a bit underestimated. It could be a favorite there. But he said another thing. He said the worst thing for a national coach.

1:08:32He was on the stage together with our national coach, Stolle Solbaken. And he said that he extended the squad from 22 men to 26. Then you got four more players who won't play a big role at the World Cup. And can you imagine if the 25th in your squad is Neymar? I mean, wow. I mean, how can you handle that? That the guy who is most likely won't get any minutes, he's going to sit there and be the guy that everybody talks about. So I see this as a non-starter. And if even Angelotti will go under that pressure that Al is now doing so good and explaining, well, then footballer must give up. The last question is from Dan Thomas.

1:09:16OK. I've had a preview on this. Dan Thomas? No, but I can't wait. Please ask Stevie about all of this. OK. Ready? What in the world? Steve Nichols Testimonial match Sunday 10th of October Liverpool against Terry Venables Great Britain featuring LWT which was the network The Gladiators stars from Coronation Street Brookside and EastEnders that's the biggest soap operas back home Fun for all the family tickets now on sale at Anfield did you just say that must have been some day Billy Billy's blue I don't even remember it I tell you what I wish somebody had I wish somebody had a testimonial I was too busy panicking about making sure everyone was alright.

1:10:02I didn't even get a chance to enjoy it. You didn't get to meet the Coronation Street stars and the EastEnders stars. Well, I'd met them before, but to be able to have just gone to it would have been great. Who are the Baylis Blues and the Wallis Reds? Two teams that were put together from celebrities. So they played the game before the testimonial game. Right, the Mandarin Cup. And while that was all going on, they had the gladiators. Now, the gladiators back then were huge in the UK. It was like the top. It was like the American gladiators? Yeah. Yeah. So you had nitrons. Aye, all these guys.

1:10:37Yeah, this was prime Saturday night TV, prime time. So they were all on the field doing their thing. Yeah. What about the Dublin rugs there? Dublin rugs. Well, you've got to have everything. You need a bit of music. Yeah, that was your band. Oh, they had the band playing. What year was this? This was 94 Yes, 94 Yeah, just the end of the season That brings rocks Yeah, no, it was great As I said, I wish I could have sat and watched it You were special for that To have the gladiators and all the big soaps there At their absolute pump I tell you, it was great Stevie, did you do any money? Well, not as much as I wanted They were paying all the stars.

1:11:26Somebody's got to pay the gladiators. It was Jet there, at least. Oh, my. It was the favourite, wasn't it? Yeah, they were all there. Yeah, a lot of them. There we go. Yep, from the northeast, of course, Jan, Jet. Yes, of course. Yeah, if you remember. What a picture they drew of you. Oh, what? It was a belter, wasn't it? A brilliant picture. It's a belter, yeah. Oh. Oh, Stevie Nichols' testimonial back in the 90s. I think there should be a reunion of the Beatles in that testimonial. Stevie Nichol. Stevie Nichol. I wish I thought that. She's on the Beatles. I wish I thought that at the time more people would have turned up.

1:12:02John wouldn't have turned up, but the rest of them could have turned up. Here we go. Was there anything other than what you just told us there that did stand out from that day? No, just the whole day was fantastic, and I had a do-it night as well. getting piped in with the papers and all my family was there. A load of the boys that I played with at United came down in a van. I mean, it was just fantastic. It was a great, absolutely fantastic night. And what was their name? Wally's Reds or? They were driving at the time while the game was going on. Can you remember anyone on Terry Venable's Great Britain team?

1:12:47Were some of those lads in there? Their team was Steve Bruce who got absolutely slaughtered every time he touched the ball. Every time he touched it he got absolutely slaughtered. Xhaka's mate played. Man United centre forward, I can't remember his name right now. Dwight York? Dwight York was playing. I'm trying to remember. Peter Reid was playing. Maurice Johnston. Big Nally played. Right. McAnally. Yeah. Chris Waddle. Big Nally. Big Nally. All the current viewers that remember Big Nally. Kay, I think that to Dan to put this question in, I think that shows his love for Stevie because sometimes we need to remember how a great player Stevie was in a great, great Liverpool team.

1:13:49And I'm always proud when I go to these ceremonies and I see the big photo of Player of the Year, Stevie Nicholls. So respect, Stevie. Respect. Thank you. See, the whole show, K, was bringing you down, just cutting you down at the knees, then just to bring you back up. Totally redeemed yourself. Yes, yes. You've totally redeemed yourself. We absolutely cannot deny it. Yeah. Top man. player top man Luiz is still playing for Bayern Munich but that's a whole no need for that join us tomorrow for more on ESPN FC

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