Rice Strikes Twice

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25:56Yeah very much so They started very much on the front foot I don't think Forrest barely made a pass in the first 10 minutes of the game And that sort of carried on throughout the match itself They were very much on the front foot Trying to find that goal And obviously it takes a great finish from Watkins To sort of break that seal as such But from when they did that They were very much the better team From basically start to finish I think when they score to make it 2-1 You're thinking well is this going to be a collapse Are we going to see a side that maybe we're punching above their weight And so on but no, it's a really, really good Aston Villa performance in front of their fans and they can have that sort of belief again because I think in some ways, for that Arsenal game the belief was building up on a week-to-week-to-week basis and now all of a sudden we're going to go and play Arsenal again and we're going to go and beat them because we're in this title race and they probably felt a bit more pressure then they probably have been at any point during that run but I think that loss in some way takes the pressure back off them and I think they played with an element of freedom and quality today and you can see that from the stats, from the game, from the goals obviously apart from the goalkeeper sort of losing which zip code he was in.

26:56But a positive is a positive. A win is a win. Happy days. A win is a win. And Shaq, Nadam's right. We keep wondering if Aston Villa are punching above their weight. But when you look at it now in January, second place in the Premier League table, only just, of course, we're waiting for Manchester City to play. But what a job Unai Emery's doing. Without question. Given the start they had to the season and then the run that they put together, all right, comes crashing down against Arsenal. And you think lesser teams fooled. That was a proper beating they got from Arsenal. Lesser teams fold. And then you see the response.

27:27They'd come up against a very different test in Nottingham Forest, who sat deep, were happy to soak up pressure, and kind of invited Aston Villa to bring them down. This is kind of how Sean Dyche has always gone about his business. And then Ollie Watkins, a moment of magic from him, really made the difference. And then coming out to start the second half, and again doubled it. And Aston Villa just cruised from there. But you cannot. As you look at that table, regardless, and you look at who's there in the top four, where you're going to break it down to the top six, given Aston Villa's lack of spending, their PSR restrictions, the job that Unai Emery is doing cannot be understated.

28:09with what feels like a threadbare squad, feels like a squad that needs refreshing. Unai Emery keeps building these teams. And we wondered if that was the case earlier in the season. Keeps putting these teams out and getting performances. Even when he doesn't get performances, he often gets results. In a way that, I'll be honest, I'm not sure any other managers can boast of. Alec, do you know what? I think we've hit another level. We've got the Shaka Hislap Jamal Musiala voice, but now we have the Shaka Hislap Unai Emery praise voice. Well, that and BSR restrictions. Our boy does his homework. Yes, sir.

28:53You're the same guy that puts the power rankings together? BSR restrictions? Is that a thing? It's a new year. It's a new year. New year's resolution. New year's famous. The BSR restrictions. What? What? I was listening to the interview after the game by McGinn, in which he's talking about sort of the feeling in the locker room, and they asked him about the goal celebration, and it was sort of an inside joke within the locker room. But more importantly, he said, well, maybe this is the start of another 11-game winning streak. So it, in a way, tells me that if you're an Aston Villa player, player, you needed this win to put the Arsenal game behind you and the feelings of that Arsenal game and understand that you're not going to play Arsenal every week.

29:45So you have proven that you can beat everybody else. And if you're not having to beat Arsenal every week and play them every week and you don't have to concern about them, then you actually can string together results and you have proven that you can do that. But they needed this win to jumpstart yet another potential streak. Aston Villa, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We talk about the pressure on Arsenal, the pressure on Manchester City. Aston Villa right in the way. And it's a great place to be because all those other guys are expecting to do something. If you're Aston Villa, where you are right now, you're flying and you are playing with house money.

30:26Alright, well can I just say And PSR restrictions. And PSR restrictions as well. Nadim, did you want to chime in again on Aston Villa? Yeah, I was going to say, barring those PSR restrictions, which are obviously very tricky for Aston Villa, Shaka very once wisely said, I think this is a story of Emery with the coaching, but then with the belief. I think you saw that with Villa today. When the belief is there, I think everybody that's played, you can have the quality that you have, but when the belief comes with it, before you know it, you can find a level of performance that maybe other people didn't think that could be there.

30:54And as you say, as you look at that Villa side, they can compete against absolutely anybody absolutely against everybody and as they go to the training ground tomorrow we've won again, we've won again, we've won again who's next, who's next, we've won again Europe's going to be kickstarting in a few weeks and everything's fantastic at that club at this moment in time and who's to say that they can't do that 11 game run again as Alice just mentioned Alright, well like I said, Aston Villa second in the Premier League table at the moment at least until Manchester City play tomorrow against Chelsea What a game that's going to be.

31:26But, Nadam, nobody's really talking about Manchester City in this one after the week that Chelsea has had. In case anyone's been living under a rock, we know that Enzo Maresca has left Chelsea after clashing with the club hierarchy. So, Nadam, before we get into exactly what you expect from this game, what do you make of Enzo Maresca's departure and the situation that Chelsea now find themselves in? It does feel very Chelsea, to be honest, to be attacking the manager. not too long after the guy's been successful. But with the new ownership in play, with some of the things that Mureska was saying just a few weeks ago about how it was the worst 48 hours he's ever had as a coach, you're sort of wondering what's going on behind the scenes.

32:06And we've seen this Chelsea side as well essentially drop out of form because not too long ago they're drawing against Arsenal with 10 players. And then next thing, I think they're 15 points behind them heading into this next game week. So something probably had to give. The feeling around the place has obviously dropped. And yeah, for him to be leaving in that manner is disappointing in some ways because I think in the grand scheme of things, overall, he did a good job and probably better than some people probably anticipated when he first got the job over a year ago. But the way that things go once that relationship breaks and I'm hearing it could be broken for so many different reasons, whether it's potentially speaking to another club, talking about wanting more experienced players, maybe the players themselves weren't so keen on it anymore, maybe the ownership group want more of a yes man.

32:46It's really complicated. It's a shame for him that he's left, but he leaves himself. I think it's quite a good Chelsea side and squad, at all 30 ,000 of them, it feels like. But the future could still be bright for Chelsea if they find the right person. Ale, on our show right before New Year's, we had Juergen Klinsmann, we had our boy Xhaka, who rarely gets things wrong. And I did ask both of them, do you see Enzo Mareska here at Chelsea at the end of the season? And when I tell you, they both said absolutely yes with their chests. And then fast forward to now, what do you make of the whole situation, Ale?

33:17Because you, of course, have been away on your luxury vacation. Okay, Alex. Oh, Enzo Mareska can probably join you on one now because he's got time. Yes, he could. We have the same haircut, too.

33:31Look, when evaluating Chelsea this season and analyzing this team, what was glaring to see is that this team lacked continuity, consistency, consistency of performances. That one day they will look great and the next day, well, not so much. how do you find and foster consistency and continuity if you change the manager whenever the manager disagrees with the ownership? It's a Chelsea way. Whenever you have a back and forth and the manager can't stand his ground and says, hey, look, I think this is what's best for the group of players. I know what my team is all about. I don't think this is the direction we should go.

34:13No, no, he disagrees. He gone. Never, ever, ever is it possible to find consistency and continuity if you don't allow managers to work. And it's important and critical for Chelsea going forward that whatever choice you make, you allow this person to work. And if you don't, we're going to have the same conversation and Shaq is going to be wrong again. And again and again, as he often is. Well, let's focus on the game now then, I suppose, Especially from the City perspective. After everything we just talked about Arsenal and what they've been able to do. Does this feel like a must win for City? Yeah, I would say so.

34:53But more so in terms of if you're chasing a team that's in first. Which game isn't a must win going forward? Are you going to take a draw here, take a draw there? No, you want to have aspirations to reach the summit. And then once you get there, you have to keep winning those games as well. So yeah, I think it is a must win. Given the fact that it's at home. Given the fact that Arsenal have just won their game as well. And Villa. You don't want to make that gap too big. because before you know it, the league title could be out of their hands, as we saw last year and I think a good few years ago as well.

35:18So it is a must win. And now, this sacking, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing for this game itself. I think in some ways it's a good thing that the person that's potentially in the dugout, the 21's manager for Chelsea or coach for Chelsea, he's not the most experienced person. Maybe tactically he doesn't necessarily understand the inner workings of how to get the best out of this bunch of players. But then also some of those players might sense a great sense of freedom because not everybody potentially liked the manager himself. And we wanted to start on a good foot for whoever's going to be coming in.

35:45So it ends up making this Chelsea side a bit more dangerous. But I think it's fair to say, look at the league table in the last few weeks, City are the better side. So in some ways, yes, they have to win this game. Because otherwise, you know, this league title and this chase, it's just going to get harder and harder, isn't it? A must win for Manchester City, according to our Nadam. So let's see what the guys have predicted for this game. I wonder if Nadam's gone for a big win. Oh, Nadam's going Manchester City 3-1 So a couple Xhaka saying that City will just win without conceding a goal And Alec going for the 2-1 So Nadam, confident about that 3-1?

36:21Why are you giving Chelsea a goal? Listen, I'm not confident at all I was so anxious about this game That I was going to say the Blues were going to win So you can decide whichever way that's going to be Protect, cover two bases, you know what I mean? But yeah, I just fancy City to be able to do it Obviously, they dropped points away at Sunderland in midweek, but in my mind, they should have won that game for some of the chances that they had. And in recent weeks, they've started to get into a groove a little bit. And I know he's been out for a good period of time now, but with the addition of Rodri the other day, you could see a different type of City starting to kind of come to the fore.

36:53And if you can get more minutes tomorrow, then, yeah, I think you see a better version of them. So I fancy City to win. Like, Chelsea haven't been great. Yes, they are a dangerous side, but City are towards the top of the league with the second-best goal difference in the division. and so it must be for a reason. Everyone fancies City to win in this one. Shekhar, no hope at all for Chelsea? No, not for me, or at least there shouldn't be. Of course, Chelsea have a puncher's chance. But City at home, against arguably the best manager in world football, Chelsea away with an under-21s manager. I mean, kind of given the form that Chelsea have been in, I'm not sure, even with Maresca, that things would have gone well for them.

37:33Now you have somebody who, as Nadim points out, maybe doesn't understand the game, doesn't understand the nuances at the highest level of the game coming in. To Nadim's point that not everybody likes the manager. Maybe there's some kind of a response generally. The players who are playing like the manager. It's the ones who aren't playing that don't like the manager. So I just don't see where... I just feel that if you could pick a time to play Chelsea, it is this weekend. It is right now. and your Manchester City with all to play for, to your point, given what you saw from Arsenal today, I think City make easy work of this.

38:11Or should. Should. Oh, disclaimer. He said it confidently. I've gone for 3-0. He said it confidently and then he started to question himself. All right, well, Manchester City up against Chelsea. Undoubtedly, the headlining game on Sunday. But here's a look at the rest of the Premier League games coming your way. The early kickoff is a juicy one. leads against Manchester United. You'll know that that is an historic rivalry as well. And then Liverpool up against Fulham, where a lot of people actually fancy Fulham in this one. All right, where more English football is coming your way very soon on ESPN+.

38:47Yes, the FA Cup is back on our network. Things kick off on Friday. Wrexham up against Nottingham Forest. That's the 2 p.m. Eastern time kickoff. Then January 10th, Everton Sunderland. Nadam will keep his eye on that one. Man City will be in action against Exeter City. Spurs against Aston Villa. That'll be an all-Premier League showdown. And then Pompey on January 11th will be going up against Arsenal. This college basketball tournament moment is brought to you by Marriott Bonvoy. In the 2019 NCAA tournament, 12-seeded Murray State was led by projected lottery pick John Morant. In the opening round against fifth-seeded Marquette, Morant put up a rare triple-double, scoring 17 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds.

39:34Obviously, I wouldn't be able to get the triple-double without my teammates making shots. He followed that with 28 points against fourth-seeded Florida State. Marriott Bonvoy, where game day checks in. Clinton Yates here. Game day brings the excitement. Your stay should feel just as memorable. With Marriott Bonvoy, official hotel partner of the NCAA and U.S. soccer, you're connected to a portfolio of brands designed for how you travel. Some offer complimentary breakfast. Others give you room to spread out space to stay productive or extended stay comforts. So whether you're a traveling fan or part of the team, Marriott Bonvoy celebrates the moments that live on before and after the game Marriott Bonvoy where game day checks in.

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41:40The breakthrough for Barcelona came when Dani Olmo came on and scored this absolute stunner. So let's get some post-game reactions, starting with the man who scored that beautiful goal, Danny Olmo.

42:02Tell us about your goal. That was a huge relief for the whole team. Fermin does that great assist and you managed to get that perfect shot. Yeah, the pass from Fermin for me was perfect to shoot from the first touch. and my idea was to shoot there and I went in, so I'm really happy. Joan is kind of speechless, we know his quality, what he's capable of doing, but every game he's surprising and he's leaving us just speechless. So we are really happy to have him on score, he's a really important player inside and outside the pitch. You mentioned the team, the Spanish team needed to be more clinical in the chances they have, but they also have Joan Garcia, the former Spanish goalkeeper who did also an amazing game.

42:52Tonight he proved that he is at the moment one of the best goalkeepers in the world. It is nothing strange that he makes some huge saves in every game, so that's why he is on the level of what he is. It has been one of the most difficult games of this season, of this league. I think it was a fantastic atmosphere. It was a game with a lot of intensity. Espanol played really fantastic. So, at the end, we showed our quality, but 80 minutes, I think, we didn't deserve to win. But at the end, we take the three points here with us. it's important also when it's not the best game that you also win. And three points today was massive.

43:45As Hansi Flick said, a massive three points for Barcelona in this one. Gemma Soler was there pitch side, dodging, I believe, bottles and missiles and pretty much everything. Gemma, overall, looking at the atmosphere, how would you rate it for the Catalan Derby? And did you pick up any souvenirs? Did you get any toy rats, any dollar bills that said Judas Garcia? Anything to give us? Oh, boy. Yes, of course, Alexis. You know, here in Spain, we celebrate the three kings. We give presents. So I've got something for you, some souvenirs. As I know, you've been a very good girl this season. I'm sending you one dollar with the face of Joan Garcia.

44:26Maybe you cannot read the message, but it says in Spanish, you are not the rival, you are the enemy, Judas Garcia and everything. And I also got you a rat. A little rat! It's a tiny rat. So of course you will get this for the three kings. At the end, I think the atmosphere was extremely tense. A lot of boo, a lot of whistle. We talked a lot about extra-sportive things before the game. And at the end of the day, it was an amazing derby with a lot of football, a lot of chances with Espanyol, with that lack of being clinical in the final third, with Joan Garcia playing the game, the most impressive game since he joined Barcelona, but he was amazing against Villarreal too.

45:14So there was a lot of football. And what I'm more happy now is that after the Catalan Derby, we can talk about football, about chances, missing chances, not the referee, not the controversy. And I've seen Joan Garcia, he didn't celebrate any of the goals of his team. He got some lighters too there and some of these ruts and things. And he didn't want to do anything. He just threw it away. He didn't want to call the referee nothing. So we talk about football. And this is the most beautiful thing, I think, after this intense and exciting football game. The derby is alive and well. But interestingly enough, Xhaka, after the game when we heard Gemma speaking to Dmitrovic, he actually says, Joan Garcia, best in the world right now, you think?

45:56Yeah, and you do feel for Dmitrovic trying to come in and fill those shoes is a tough ask. You feel for Dmitrovic when Gemma's asking him about the other goalkeeper. Oh, man. But also, to Gemma's point, we may not be talking about Juan Garcia in the way that maybe some anticipated or some had hoped, but given his performance, we are still talking about him in glowing manners. footballing manners, but that is as good a response to everything you've seen from the fans, from the fan base coming into this, from him, both in terms of performance and in terms of just how he managed himself and what had to be a difficult situation for him.

46:42Well, Ale, if you're looking at this win for Barcelona from a Real Madrid perspective, you're kind of temblando un poquito in your boots because they are in action against Real Betis in the early kickoff on Sunday, but the big storyline is there is no Kylian Mbappe in this son, Ale. You say temblando un poquito, I say temblando muchito. Pocote. A whole lot of shaking going on for Real Madrid. Now, you think about when this league went into the break, the feeling about both Real Madrid and Barcelona and how polar opposites those feelings were. And while the distance in points wasn't dramatic, it just felt like these two clubs are in a completely different place.

47:25And Barcelona, without having played a game up until today in the new year, were already winning by the fact that Kylian Mbappe was going to be out for three weeks. Now, Barcelona goes on to win this match against Espanyol, puts a whole lot of pressure on Real Madrid, and when Real Madrid go to sleep in preparation for the game against Betis, they are seven points behind Barcelona. And he puts pressure on a team that, frankly, hasn't played all that great, has struggled to get results. There's a lot of pressure still under Xabi Alonso. And your best player, the one player that actually have played at a high level for this team consistently, and that is, of course, Kylian Mbappe, the most productive player and the only productive player, he's not available for you.

48:11So if you're Real Madrid, yeah, you got to grind. You got to fight. You got to find results. you have no other choice, but try to keep up with Barcelona. Not try to gain on Barcelona, just try to keep up right now. Yeah, Gemma, as I said, I think after seeing what we saw from Barcelona and how they are still getting these results, looking at Real Madrid, they'll probably be temblando un poquito in their boots, but as Ale said, it's temblando un pocote, really and truly, especially now that they have to go up against Real Betis without their best player. Yeah, of course, because there is a Real Madrid when they have Mbappe, through also Thibaut Courtois, but when Mbappé is missing, they missed that much quality in the final third.

48:55And for Barcelona, it's nine wins in a row after this game. So all wins in La Liga after that defeat in El Clásico. And I think it was a turning point for Hansi Flick's squad. While Real Madrid, it's the opposite, with Xavi Alonso sitting on the hot seat. And they will be temblando muchito for tomorrow's game, but also because they have the Spanish Super Cup. They lost it against Barcelona last season. So on Monday, they need to fly to Saudi Arabia. They have the semifinal against Atletico and they might find Barcelona in yet another final. So it's quite a complicated beginning of the year for Real Madrid.

49:34And what a final that would be if we get an El Clásico in the Supercopa. And how much pressure will be on Xabi Alonso's shoulders for that one? All right, Gemma Soler is one of my good friends. I have accepted many presents from you in the last couple of years, but the raton may just be the best one. I cannot wait to see it. Yes. I am just waiting for you. I know. I haven't seen a raton that cute since probably my ex. Anyway. I'm sorry. What? Excuse me. What? I'm sorry. I didn't hear anything. I'm not. What? Hello, ratica. You know what? New Year's same me. New Year's same me. Gracias, Gemma. Yeah.

50:17I'm just being honest. I'm just being honest, Ale. You know. All right. There's plenty more. I think I'm coming your way. As we said, it's over to Real Madrid now in 2026 as they go up against Real Betis to try and keep pace with Barcelona. That's a 10.15 a.m. kickoff. But join our coverage at 9.45 a.m. on ESPN+.

50:37All right. Well, here is the top half of the City S standings. Juventus highlighted there in fourth position. They were in action today, and they could only muster up a 1-1 draw with Leche. But it is important for us because U.S. men's national team player, Weston McKinney, was the one who scored that one goal. Okay. Yeah. That's it? That's all you're bringing to the conversation? Well, because I'm pretty sure there's plenty more City Ad Talk over on the Gab and Jewel show. A fresh edition will be dropping on Monday. Don't miss it. All right, well, that's going to do it for us today. Ooh, count how many times we said Shaka-stropic or Shaktastic today.

51:16It was a nice little goalkeeper type of day. But we're not stopping there because Extra Time is next. So join us then.

51:31Welcome into Extra Time. I'm Alexis Younes, back with Ale and Shaka. And of course, Nadam Manoa, who is up late burning that midnight oil for us. Let's get into the first question. Ale, I must say it's good to have you back. Well, thank you, Alexis. I appreciate it. It's good to be back. Did you miss us? Did you on a scale of like one to ten? No, I did. Oh, you have little faith. Don't lie. I miss this crew. Other people, not so much. But by other people, do you mean Nadam? No, Nadam. I like Nadam. I like Nadam. In fact, I miss most of the crew, yeah. He misses most of the crew. I feel like you're just humoring us, Ali.

52:11No, no, no, Shaq. Ali was very happy to see you when you walked in full of song today, Shaq, in your Boston Celtics shirt. Yeah, yes, yes. And I sent you pictures. That's right. Merry Christmas. And some of us responded to your Merry Christmas picture. Did Shaqa? Yes. Yes, yes, he did. I did as well, but Luis Garcia did not. No, he did not. And so what that told me is, one, he hates me. Or two, is the fact that he doesn't have... He didn't have your number. He didn't have my number registered. I had his number, but he didn't think I was important enough for him to register. Can I also say, during the show today, we got into a very serious conversation about PSI regulation.

52:48Yes. And Natum dropped out to you. I wasn't expecting Natum to be dragged out. I expected that nonsense from you two. But I thought, if there's anybody who can carry a serious conversation as Natum. I'm sorry. New year, new Natum. New Year, new name. He's all about the 50-cent pettiness. I cannot believe you brought up PSR restrictions and kept a straight face. Well, well. In his serious voice. Did you read that this morning? My 2026, this is new 2026 Miami. Is there an algorithm for the PSR restrictions? All right. That's all. Well, I hope you're happy hearing Xhaka Hislop's voice because the first question is for our boy Xhaka.

53:31Xhaka, between Barcelona and Real Madrid, who do you think has a better chance at winning the Champions League this season? I think Barcelona are a better team. So, if you ask me who has the better chance of winning anything, I'm going to go Barcelona. Well, between Barcelona and Real Madrid. So, we're not adhering to the same argument that we've heard for the last how many seasons at Real Madrid. Despite their issues, Real Madrid in the Champions League is a different beast. I'm sticking with Barcelona, Alexis. That's all I've got. All right. What did the PSO say? You're going to influence Nadam next.

54:06You're going to influence Nadam to say something. Nadam, you've been on a fair share of Real Madrid beatings in the Champions League as a Manchester City boy. Are you agreeing with Xhaka that they're not looking like it this season? Why are those just spewing? I'm just spewing. It's a new year. You just come on the games. I always said New Year's same me because that was not the problem last year. All right. Okay. All right. I'm sorry, what are we talking about? Are we still talking about Real Madrid? I just want to know it made up this thing. Anyway. Listen, yeah, I think Xhaka makes a good point.

54:40And I think not least of all, by the fact that Real Madrid, I think their last home game in the Champions League, was against Man City, Alexis. And I think Man City won that game. So, yeah, cheers for all those beatings you were talking about. So, yeah, I'd go for Barcelona. They were in the semi-final last year. Who's to say they can't make it to the final this year? You know, when... Nadeem doesn't really get worked up. No, he doesn't. He's a cool guy, right? But there is something that's a giveaway. When he starts turning his face and closing his eyes like this, that's when you know you got something from him.

55:13He turns this way and gives you that. You know. I know. I've sat beside Nadeem many, many a time at FA Cup games with both United and City playing. And let me tell you, I know I've crossed the line on two occasions where he just went dead silent. Wouldn't even look at me. Would not even look at me. I offered him tea, coffee, everything. Did he give you a side look? What I hear Needham saying, just two? Just two. Just two occasions? Just saying. Just saying. Just two occasions. It's okay, Needham. It's all love. It's all love. You got to trade some love. What a guy. What a guy. Needham Manoa. Never change.

55:48Next question. If a team of 11 Declan Rices played in the Premier League, where would they finish? I don't know about his goalkeeping abilities. You have 11 of one type of player. You can't have 11 strikers. You can't have 11 Erling Haaland. That'd be a lot of goals. Well, I would say, give me a goalkeeper, and he can play the 10 other positions, and I would say we would comfortably finish mid-table. The big West Ham. Yeah, mid-table. Let me see. Ten Declan Rices and no goalkeeper would be West Ham. I'm having a tough time. Comfortably mid-table. Shekia, you've been broken. I'm having a tough time to result today.

56:25Shekia, you've been broken. Yeah, yeah. It's been tough. It's been tough. As a fellow broken person, I get you. I don't know what to say. Why do you want to be in that category? I'm not asking for any kind of clarification. Nathan, what about you? Eleven Declan Rices. If they played in the Premier League, where would they finish? Yeah, I think they'd stay up. I don't think they'd do that well though, to be honest. I don't see the 20 goals this season. But also, say compared to this current Arsenal side, if he gets those crosses into the box from the set pieces, I've noticed Declan Rice make many headers.

56:59So yeah, maybe that threat dies. So yeah, I think they'd stay up, but I don't think it'd be the best season we could imagine. Do you think they'd beat West Ham? Yeah. Yeah, I think they would beat West Ham, yeah. I think given the fact that worse still for today's game against Wolves, A lot of people fancied Wolves to get their first win of the season. I think that says a lot about the position that West Ham are in right now. I was watching that and thinking, oh, after Forrest lose, I'm like, oh, really, what, three points behind four, wherever it was, and then 45 minutes later. You're going down, Shaq.

57:33Yeah, yeah, yeah. Going down. I had hope this morning. I woke up this morning full of hope. It's the hope that gives us. Full of hope for my hammers. But yeah, yeah, no. At least you have Newcastle. Yeah, I most certainly do. And you'll be leaning on. Yeah, I'll be leaning heavier than you have. Ah, to me too, teams. All right, next question. Is Arna Slott's style of play a misfit at Liverpool? This slow, sluggish build-up with no teeth going forward just isn't the Liverpool way. Has this hurt the club's identity on the pitch? Ale, what do you think? Did they not win the Premier League last year?

58:14And was Arnest Lund not the manager? I don't. It's amazing how quickly we forget. And sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct answer. You change the personality of a team because of all the personnel changes that you have made. You have changed the makeup of half of the group. So it's a new group of players. And so therefore, it does take time. People don't want to hear this, but it does take time for things to actually fit together. And it may be that some of this personnel that you acquired doesn't quite fit the other pieces. And so you are trying to fit pieces that do not match, that don't quite see the game the same way.

59:02And hence why sometimes we see Liverpool as a team that seems disconnected. as a team that doesn't quite know with certainty that when I turn here to the outside, I know that guy's going to be there. When I come back this way, I know he's going to make that run. Things that are instinctive and natural when you know the players that are around you are not happening for Liverpool. And you add that lack of confidence, you add that lack of results, you add that controversy with Mohamed Salah, you add all sorts of things going on. So it's not just Arnazlaut. It's a bunch of stuff that are going on with Liverpool.

59:37It's not just one answer. Even if it was just one answer, don't you think that a manager that has gone to this level would be able to figure it out? Sometimes it's more complicated than just, well, the manager just stinks. Nedim, what do you think? No, I think Ali's spot on. I think it's good to have him back as well. Oh wow. Oh wow. Listen, the word that he's hit there is like disconnected. And I think that's the best way to describe them because if they were like free-flowing but playing in a style which people didn't like, then they can be more critical. Whereas as he's mentioned, you've seen so many new faces trying to find their feet amongst really solid established players for Liverpool across the last five to ten years.

1:00:18So you can see that the relationships aren't quite there yet. So as a consequence, it doesn't look at its best. I think if Slott was training them to look like this, it obviously would have bigger issues. But the very first point he made, Liverpool raiding champions of the Premier League. If the style worked last year, who's to say they can't work this year? Maybe not to win a league title, but can't work this year and find some better football for them, especially in the second half of the season. Wow, moral of the story. Ale Moreno, never take vacation again because now that makes three of us that missed your present.

1:00:46And I missed all of you. Wow, I haven't heard that in a while. Next question, back for our boy, Shaka Hislav. Shaka, as a former Hammer of the Year, how would you rate Joan Garcia's performance today And have you ever had a similar experience playing against your former club? Just an absolute worldie against one of your exes. Ex-clubs. Ex-clubs. Unless we want to go down the other road. The answer is no. I can't think of having that kind of performance against. Are you saying that you didn't have worldies? Against one of my ex-clubs. You never showed them what they were missing? they were just always thankful that you left.

1:01:32Yeah, they were like, thank goodness. Thank goodness. That entity pitched out.

1:01:42What was the other part of the question? How would you rate Joan Garcia's performance? It was always that, I think, covered up in the show. In Xhaka's power rankings, would he be at the top of your goalkeeper power rankings? In regards to what? I suppose this week. This week we've had some good saves, you know. Yeah. You had Raya, you had Henderson, Areola, even in that loss against Wolves. You wanted to say it was looking safer this season. Yeah. Even though I'm trying to put the whole game out of my memory entirely, that really was an outstanding save by Areola. So we've had a really good week goalkeeping-wise.

1:02:24I know Ali's going to talk about But who's goalkeeper was it? Forrest. Forrest goalkeeper. Who came out. I was going to talk about Forrest goalkeeper. I wasn't going to talk about it. Yeah, you were. Yeah, you were. It happens, you know, sometimes. This time of year, the lights and then, you know. Oh, the lights. Lights and then, you know. It's January, so it's. It's January. Sometimes, you know, just seasonal. As a random, random point. You go through seasonal depression and all that. Oh, dear. It's a random point about, sort of side note about non-enforced. That was an unnecessary change in the goalkeeping position.

1:03:03Yeah. I don't, and why would you make that sort of change? It doesn't quite, I can't quite figure it out. But neither here nor there. Let me apologize on behalf of Alexis. What did I do now? Well, because he has... For what exactly? Because there's a list there. Let me just say that I know you have a really difficult time putting together your regular power ranking. with your algorithm. So doing that one list is a lot of work. A lot of data. And then she says, she goes over the top of it and says, goalkeeper. Which is his area of expertise. Maybe so, but if you give Shaka right now the homework to put together a list of 10 goalkeepers to make his power rankings, I think we get to 6 or 7.

1:03:52Then after that, we're struggling. Okay, number one. We're struggling. First name on that list, Joan Garcia. We're thinking right now. Yes or no. We'll start turning. Yeah or no. What are we talking about? First name on the list, Joan Garcia. What are we talking about? Individual games or saves? Individual. This week, performances. Goalkeepers. Performances. Joan Garcia gets a good performance. There you go. See, we got there in the end. Individual saves? That's a different list. I know. There you go. Do you want to make another? No, no, no. I'm just letting you know. Shag is getting flustered.

1:04:25I'm not flustered. I'm very calm and collected. All right, final question. Would Shagby be the right replacement for Enzo Maresca considering his strong track record with young talent and the board strategy? Naydum, what do you think? Board strategy is it? Yeah, I'm the board strategy. Chelsea's board strategy. talking about i just want to clear that up carry on i think to be honest in my opinion i think it's the type of name that i'm sure the chelsea fans would want but not necessarily the right fit for what the owners would want in my opinion i think they'll be looking for somebody who maybe isn't the biggest name somebody who can almost develop the same way that the players are developing i don't think they're going to see xavi's being that type of manager yes he could do a good job that maybe his football style could transfer into the Premier League as such and make this Chelsea team potential winners.

1:05:24But I just don't see Xavi being interested in that job or them being interested in him, to be honest. Again, people's memories just disappear entirely. Part of the reason as to why Xavi was let go from Barcelona is because he came out and spoke about the realities of the club and spoke about the realities of his team and what the limitations of that specific team were. And it was a very objective analysis of his own team. And guess what? The board didn't like it. They didn't like it. We're talking about Chelsea, who if you have a manager that is willing to say, maybe we do it differently, he gone.

1:06:13Yep. So, look, you want to look in that direction, so be it. But don't tell me that Xavi hasn't had issues with the board before and that those issues may come about once again. And that's part of the reason as to why Enzo Maresca is not available. So, people, let's just have some perspective. Xavi, if you had a manager power ranking... Oh, God.

1:06:47You cannot handle another list. No, no. I've got six list of years. Where would Shavi rank in your managerial power rankings? Wrap this up. Oh, all right. Well, Shaka's off to go work on his next power ranking. Shaka is working on an AFCON one. Shaka, when's your next power ranking? Next week. Next week. All right. So you need at least a week? by Thursday, right? Thursday. Three week after. What? What? You need two weeks to work on a power ranking? A lot of data. A lot of data. Oh. What happened? You're part-time in this. You're part-time in this. A lot of data. That's what I'm saying. Well, we'll do a goalkeeper power ranking and a managerial power ranking.

1:07:30For teams, Xavi could fit. Four weeks. Four weeks now. Four weeks. All right. All right. Thanks for watching. You're welcome. Sure. Yeah.

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