Salah Slams Slot's Style

27:33I mean, you think of the size of the club of Manchester United and he's actually carried it on his back. So, yeah, phenomenal. The fact that he's playing in a team that has struggled pretty much for most of the season, You look at De Bruyne, as Frank said, and Thierry Henry. They were playing with other superstars who were flying, who made it easy for them. This guy's done it on his own. Honestly. Every award he's getting, he absolutely, 100 % deserves it. Let's talk about Casemiro because he waved goodbye today. When he first signed for Manchester United, the criticism was there that maybe his time was up as a player.

28:11But what we have seen with him at Manchester United and given what he's given to them this season is a player who has fought for the team and a player who's got the fans on his side as well, Ale. Well, I think in Casemiro joining Manchester United, I don't know that I was in the camp that said, well, he's done as a player. But what I did know from observations towards the end of his time at Real Madrid is that the legs were not quite there as they had been before. And that was proven to be the case. At times, Casemiro struggled very much with the pace of play. And he was not helped by the players around him in that midfield.

28:49When we have talked of the concerns and struggles of Manchester United, one of the areas that was most concerning was that midfield, especially in moments of transition. And what do you need in moments of transition? Speed. Does Casemiro have that speed now in his career? No. But he does have professionalism. He does have qualities of leadership. He does have a presence about him that I believe the players around him respect what Casemiro has achieved in the game. And so that allows him to have some equity with his teammates and some equity with the fan base. And what you cannot criticize from Casemiro, whether you think he had the speed or not, or whether you want to go and criticize his performances or not, what you cannot criticize of Casemiro is his level of commitment.

29:32Every time he's on the field, he's giving you the best that he's got. Sometimes that's not as good as it used to be. But when he did play at a high level, which wasn't consistently so in his time with Manchester United, it was still a player that could be useful. I think his time at Manchester United, at least for me, was what I expected once he left Real Madrid. There'll be some good times, and then there'll be other times where like, Mommy, these legs are gone. And I think he felt it as well. But to be fair to him, he wasn't getting the help around him either, which then exposed his limitations at this point in his career even more.

30:09Stevie? Yeah, I actually think it's nice the way it's ended up for him. I agree with everything that Ali said. But I think it's nice that since Carrick took over, he has been settled in the team. He's done his job and some more. He's helped everybody around him. And so he's got to end his Manchester United career on a high because when he came off, he got a standing ovation from the whole stadium. And he deserves it for his career. So, yeah, I think it was great that it ended how it did. The fact is, had Carrick not come in, might not have ended in such a happy note. No, absolutely not. OK, let's move on to another game in the Premier League.

30:53Newcastle taking on West Ham. West Ham in trouble as it stands right now, and it wasn't about to get any better for them up at St James' Park. Hermanson playing the ball out here, and Harvey Barnes collects it. Puts it across for Nick Foltamade, who scores his first goal in the Premier League since December. Well, that in a nutshell is one of the reasons why this team's going to get relegated. Shocking from the keeper. Shocking defensively. And then they go behind. It's such an easy goal, but they've lost too many easy goals all season. 19th minute. Got to see some nice passing from Newcastle.

31:33William Azoulas through. He scores, makes it two. The amount of space available to Newcastle. There is no pressure whatsoever on the ball, on the runners. Give Azula some credit with the finish, Duna. Yeah, fans already leaving there. Penny for the thoughts of Nuno. 65th minute, West Ham, lose the ball. Joel Willick's going to cut it back for Azula to score a second for himself, a third for his team. It's the same old story, isn't it? I mean, look how easy this is. I mean, you know they're going to score. Nobody gets close to any of it there, and it's a simple finish. Tati Castellanos would come on.

32:17It was an instant impact in the 69th, getting himself on the score sheet here. What a great finish this is from Tati Castellanos now. It's just direct play. The ball is allowed to bounce and then sliding volley. Beautiful contact over the goalkeeper. Gorgeous goal. 74th minute. West Ham break here. Jared Bowen chooses not to pass but shoots straight at the keeper. Listen, if there's a guy you want with the ball in the attack at the top of the box, it's Jared Bowen. Unfortunately, the strike was straight at the goalkeeper. Castellanos again, this time with a volley that hits the crossbar. It's always rising the volley.

32:58He's got to allow this to come further down. He does not. It's a straight of the crossbar now. So West Ham really do now need Chelsea to do them a favour when Spurs come to Stamford Bridge this weekend. West Ham are trailing Spurs, as you can see, by two points. There's a 13-goal difference in favour of Spurs as well. These are the games that are left. Tuesday at Chelsea for Spurs, Sunday against Everton. For West Ham, it's just Leeds that are left. If Spurs do lose to Chelsea, West Ham would need to beat Leeds at the London Stadium and hope that Everton win at Spurs next weekend. It is tight and it is tense.

33:37Let's get some predictions for Arsenal-Burnley. Oh, very similar predictions from many of us. Oh, boy. 3-0 for most. A little more conservative for me. I'm not surprised. Make sure to join the team tomorrow to take a look back at how Arsenal do play. Actually, it's me back in the chair tomorrow. We'll see if we're right. Yeah, Arsenal against Burnley. We'll be looking back on that and a lot more of the reaction from this weekend as well. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple ShopPay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy?

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36:15Help protect your family with life insurance through Ethos. Get your instant free quote at ethos.com slash sports. That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash sports. Application times and rates may vary. A dramatic day in La Liga at the bottom end of the table where Levante have pulled themselves out of the bottom three and Girona have found themselves in it. It is going to go down to the final day. Many of the teams still involved in this. These are the teams 15th through to 19th that could be going down and there is a direct battle on the final day between Girona and Elche. Riel Oviedo are already down.

36:57Two more teams will be joining them. Sid Lowe's with us. They certainly could. It's not quite as tight as it once was. There's not quite as many teams as there once were, but it's still five teams fighting to avoid those final two places. And as you just mentioned, one direct fight between Girona and Elche on the final day. Sevilla is safe, which is what everybody here really cared about this afternoon. Valencia is safe, Alavesa is safe. But for those five teams that are left, it's going to be very, very tense indeed on the final day of the season. Yeah, absolutely. And to see Girona dragged into it, Luis, is just crazy when you think of where they were just a couple of seasons ago.

37:36This is a team that were fighting in the top end of the table, surprising everyone. And now they find themselves in the bottom three today. Yeah, exactly, Kate. We've seen that before with the Real Madrid. I remember they managed to get in the Champions League and a year after they were relegated. And that's what happened when your expectations were so high, you make a fantastic team, you are strong, you compete with the biggest teams in the league. And suddenly the year after, some of the players, because they perform so well, they are sold, and they used to try to build again once it works, and it doesn't.

38:11And that's what Mitchell and Girona have in the season. They try to play the same way. They try to do exactly the same thing that they did. the previous season, but that doesn't fit again. That is not the same connection with the players. They are not the same players, not the same talented players. All the performances of the players are not the same, and they struggle to even stay in La Liga. They're still in their hands to stay in La Liga, but we've seen it quite many different times for Sevilla. A team that I said that no longer go there, they might go to relegation because of the situation, the momentum.

38:44Luis Garcia has done an amazing job with those fantastic three. wins in a row and get them out of those situations. Sevilla is a team of La Liga, it's a historic and definitely even though today we had the opportunity because they have options in front of goal, they have big chances to score at least that equaliser but in the end, no points that could have at least saved the crowd for very tight and stressing the few last minutes. Look how tight it is, 15-19 right now going into the final day and who these teams are up against next as we just saw there Sid mentioned it next weekend that's a direct battle Elche at Girona those two will be fighting out to see who does survive Real Oviedo at Mallorca as well Real Oviedo already down but Mallorca fighting to try and survive themselves Sid what's your instinct telling you who's going down

39:45that Girona Elche game the fact that Girona at home leans me towards Girona victory and Elche going down but I'm not sure I feel like I feel like Mallorca should get a result against Real Oviedo and then that of course drags even teams like Osasuna who a few weeks ago thought they were absolutely safe drags them into it oh man I mean a week ago I'd have said Alaves but Alaves have found a way out of it by beating Barcelona so all right let's go for it shall we let's say Oviedo, Elche, Mallorca. Oh Ale, what are you saying? See I'm concerned about Osasuna, I'm concerned about Girona as well but Girona have it in their hands in regards to playing against Elche at home so in that sense.

40:34I suppose I agree with Sid. It feels like Girona should be able to manage that match against Elche at home. Should. But here's the problem that I have with Osasuna and Girona for that matter. They didn't think they were going to be in this. See, teams like Mallorca have been here for the last three weeks or so, and they know that every point matters, everything counts, and you're feeling like every single game, every single play is stressful. And when you live in that environment, while it is stressful, you get used to the stress. For teams that were not in this to begin with, say three weeks ago, Osasuna would not have thought that they were going to be playing for their lives in the last match of the season.

41:14And now they have to go to Getafe. Is that fun? Not really. Is that where you go and get a result? No, I don't think so. Is that why we call the dentist? Well, that's what some people call the dentist, but it's a bad dentist. It's not the top of the line dentist. It's when your dentist is not available and It's on vacation. Go to the next one. That's the sort of dentist that Getafe are. You can't afford the pain reliever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't. See, so Osasuna, who were not in this, now they're in this. I'm afraid for Osasuna. And even though I think of all those teams that are there, they have seemed to have been the better team over the course of the length of the season.

41:48Well, it doesn't show in the standings. And now they have to get a result. I'm afraid for Osasuna.

41:55Lewandowski waving goodbye to Barcelona and given quite the fond farewell from his teammates, from the coaching staff and also from the fans. Let's get out to Gemma Soler to get some of the reaction from the camp now this evening. Gemma, you're with us right now. Tell us what it's been like to be there and tell us a little bit more about Lewandowski's send-off. Yes, Kay, it looks he doesn't want to leave because actually he's just behind us. He was with his family, with a lot of friends, with his kids as well, doing these last pictures. And right now, we can show him, he's in the middle of the pitch.

42:37He's taking a special picture. I don't know if you are going to be, but I assure you that he's behind the photographer. He's taking that last memory. The truth is, also the fans, they left a banner, a board here, saying, Robert, with you, everything started. And I think it means a lot, because when he arrived in Barcelona, They were struggling. They were unable to sign new players. Lionel Messi left the way he did. And there was a bit of a depression. And he brought back that competitiveness, trying to score another goal. He also became kind of a father figure, role model for this young generation that he has inspired a lot.

43:18He managed to get seven trophies in four seasons, three La Ligas, two Copa del Rey, the Super Cups. And more than this, he brought joy to this stadium. Being playing in Mojic as well, that was tough. So he always tried to score one more goal. I think it was a little bit what he tried today. Also defending Makambu in the corners. He couldn't score that last goal, but I think his memory will be very fond of him in this camp. The standing ovation was really long because the fans really love Robert Lewandowski. He's obviously played a very important part, as you've highlighted there, Gemma, but there had been talk about if he was going to go.

43:57We now know that he is going. It's still a role to fill that Barcelona would need, given everything that he has brought to this team for next season. Who are they looking at? Well, there is a pipe dream. It's Julian Alvarez. This is no secret. Barcelona have informed Atletico de Madrid. The agents, they know that also Julian Alvarez would be happy joining Barcelona, but also they are very well aware that there are very powerful clubs, especially in the Premier League, with way more money. It's true that Barcelona eventually, this summer, they will manage to get to the one-on-one rule, balancing the books and being able to sign, but they are not as powerful, talking about money, as the clubs in the Premier League.

44:43So Julian would be the main target. Otherwise, they are talking about Joe Pedro. They are talking even Lautaro Martinez, Murici, even Mallorca. This would be another striker, a very different style. But letting Lewandowski go, it's also opening the door to a top striker because they know, especially with the Hansi Flick system, they need that striker, that killer in the area to play that system. So they need to sign and it's what Deco, Laporta, and the board of members are trying to pursue now. Great. Thank you so much for being with us, Gemma. It's been great to get that report from you and to say goodbye and see the fond farewell that Robert Lewandowski was given.

45:27Thank you. Here we go. Wrestling Santander are heading back up to La Liga. It's been a while since they've been back in the top flight. I think it's 14 years, but they are back. Wrestling Santander will be playing their football in La Liga next season. Lots of tears today. Lots of tears everywhere. It only seems like yesterday that we were doing this with Oviedo, didn't it? Well, they're definitely taking their place. That didn't last as long as we would have wanted. Let's hope it can go a little bit better for Racing next season in La Liga than it did for Oviedo. Yes, they are back in the top flight after a little while out.

46:03Let's get to Liga. Paris FC taking on PSG. PSG choosing to do their trophy lift before the match. Oh, all right. What? in front of their fans in the away end. OK. I mean, what is... So people were going to leave early or something? What? This was concerns here for Ousmane Dembele as he removed himself from the match due to injury. Gonzalo Ramos is going to come in for him and he goes straight to the locker room as well. 50th minute. Fabian Ruiz with a nice cross in here for Barcola. Who's that line in there trying to get out of the road?

46:41Free kick here for Paris FC. Alemami Gauri scores with a flick. Resourceful, creative finish. A little flick onto the far post. Beautiful. Luka Kalyosho on the break. And is eventually going to lay this ball off to Gauri for the winner. You might celebrate before the game with your trophy lift. But you might get beaten as well. Take that. They don't seem very concerned about it. All right. In the Serie A today, look at that at the top. Juventus lost at home to Fiorentina. And they've dropped down to six in the table. Napoli won, Milan won. Roma won the Rome derby against Lazio. Como won as well.

47:22And Juventus are now in trouble with one round left to go. Juventus must now win the final game of the season and hope for favorable results elsewhere. Gab Marcotti joining us now to talk about how it all turned out today for Juventus. What a disaster it would be for this club, Gab, if they are not to make the Champions League next season. Absolutely. It would be a huge, huge blow for the club. Obviously, everybody knows a situation that they inherited from the previous regime, shall we say, the massive losses, and obviously not having Champions League football means that the path to rebuilding this team and getting them back to where they were is that much narrower.

48:10The irony is that they didn't even play that bad against Fiorentina. McKennie and Vlávec having some goals disallowed, they created a number of chances, but you make stupid mistakes. Michele Di Gregorio once again at fault, and Sharon Doerr scoring the opener for Fiorentina, and then Orlando Mandragora scored a worldie and there's nothing you can do about that. Obviously, they don't control their own destiny on the final week of the season. So it's all very much uphill for Spalletti. And I wonder, even though I think Spalletti's done a good job and they're trending in the right direction, he is an expensive coach.

48:46And I wonder if maybe they regret after having initially signed him to a contract where he would get an automatic extension if they got into the Champions League. Then in April, they decide, oh, no, no, no, that's fine. You've convinced us. We'll give you another two years regardless. I wonder if they regret that a little bit. Yeah, we've just seen the massive spend as well, Gab. I just wonder how this is all going to go down in Italy. We're probably already seeing some of those signs. We've seen a revolving door of managers, of sporting directors. Just absolute turmoil at Juve. All that money spent to not be playing in the Champions League potentially is not going to go down well.

49:20No, and I have to say it's stupid. I mean, in Italy we have this weird condition where we have these massive knee-jerk reactions to results rather than performances, rather than broader trends. Spalletti took this team over, obviously, once a season had already started. Kind of the symbol of it, Jonathan David and Lois Apenda, unused subs on the bench, kind of like ghosts of Christmas past coming back to haunt them. But, you know, people will make mistakes. And the reality is Juventus, I think, have played some decent football under Spaletti, despite the results. The problem with Juve is that there's a certain brand of Juve fan who sits there and grumbles.

50:04And all they care about is the results. And all they care about is they look at the team and they say, you know, there's no Bonucci. There's no Chiellini. There's no Ale del Piero. Yeah, guys, all these guys are gone. But you know what? It took a while for Bonucci and Chiellini to become Bonucci and Chiellini. And the reality is until they get past that and realize that it takes patience to build something, and I'm talking about people in the media, I'm talking about certain parts of the fan base, then I think Juve will always be stuck in this doom loop. For my money, regardless of what happens, I think they should stick to Spalletti and I think they should build upon what they have.

50:43And if it means that they have to do it with a slightly smaller budget next season, so be it. I think they are on the right track. Look at that. A measured reaction from Gab Marcotti. No knee jerk there. That's what we got to see from him. You'll hear more from Gab on the Gab and Jules podcast that will be dropping on Monday. The latest edition of the show drops twice a week. So make sure to check it out wherever you get your podcasts. Buster Olney here for La Quinta by Wyndham. When you're on the road this summer traveling for work, your routine can fall behind faster than a 3-0 count, especially if your hotel gym is non-existent.

51:18But at La Quinta by Wyndham, every location features a full-size, fully-equipped fitness center. So whether it's cardio, weights, or a quick workout before a long day, you can stay on top of your game. No excuses, no shortcuts, just your full routine, ready when you are. And when you book at LaQuinta.com, you can earn Wyndham Rewards points with every qualified stay. Tonight, LaQuinta. Tomorrow you shine. Terms and conditions apply. I like things my way, my coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC.

51:59It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivGuardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. And talk to your doctor about VivGuard Hattrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. And that's all we've got time for on the latest edition of ESPN FC, kind of. Because ESPN FC ends here, but extra time starts next. And Frank and Gab are joining us over there. Can I talk about Nehemiah or anything? Sure, let's do that. Absolutely. You can do whatever you want. It's extra time. Anything goes. Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time.

52:38Ali and Stevie are here in the studio. And we've got Frank and Gab dancing along to the music here. All right. Who should Barcelona's next striker be, Ali? Gemma described it as a pipe dream. But in terms of fit, Julian Alvarez would seem to make a whole lot of sense. Now, whether financially they're able to make that work or not, that's for somebody else to figure out. But that is the mold that I would go after if I were Barcelona. Now, Gemma mentioned other names. When she said Murici, I almost fell off my chair. You talk about a player that does not fit the Barcelona way of playing. That is Murici.

53:20So I'm going more along the lines of a Julian Alvarez, and that I think would be best-guess scenario. For Mr. Nickel, as one of the greatest managers in MLS history, do you think there's much difference between the Jose Mourinho who first arrived in 2010 and the one who will most likely return to Real Madrid 16 years later?

53:46Well looking from the outside it would seem that he's a lot more interested in manipulating the media as opposed to the players. That's what it looks like to me. I think still back in 2010 you thought right, it's going to shut the players out, it's going to do this, they're going to be, you've got to say oh blah blah blah. it seems like it seems like he's chasing media now as opposed to they'd be chasing him and then he'd come out with all these classic lines it seems like it's gone the other way since then I might be right, I might be wrong but that's just how it seems to be for me I'm interested to know your thoughts Gab on Jose Mourinho's potential return to Real Madrid and how it could compare or differ to last time I mean look Last time he took over a team that had, I think, gotten 99 points or something, was one year removed from putting together probably the greatest transfer campaign in history, getting Xabi Alonso and Kaká and Karim Benzema and somebody named Cristiano Ronaldo all in one go.

54:59It was just a very, very different climate and very different task ahead. I disagree a little bit about, you know, sort of the media in the sense that he's always been somebody who, you know, enjoyed the relationship with the media. I think the difference is that 16 years ago, initially at least, the media were all eating out of his hand. Today he's come under, he's had ups and downs, and he just comes under a lot more scrutiny. It was interesting, though, sort of reading between the lines of what he said tonight, coming out so explicitly. about George Mendes having contacts with Real Madrid, just as he's deciding whether he's going to take up Benfica's offer of a new contract.

55:47I don't necessarily want to be a little bit cynical here, but it kind of makes you wonder a little bit about what's really going on. We asked, or you asked that question from the perspective of Jose Mourinho, and how different is he 2010 to 2026. Just as important, how different are the players from 2010 to 2026? And it's just 16 years, but it feels like this generation seems completely different than that generation. And being able to manage these players in this moment in time, you wonder how much gravitas does Jose Mourinho have walking into that locker room as compared to what he did back then.

56:35And it's a fair question to ask. And we don't know what that's going to be like and how these players are going to react to Jose Mourinho. We're assuming that he shows up and everything gets resolved. I think it's a big assumption because these players right now listen to something entirely different than what those players did back then. Hence why it was such a great job that Carlo Ancelotti was able to do with Real Madrid in sort of reinventing himself as a manager and somehow connecting with a much younger generation. Jose Mourinho is going to have to do that as well. Frank, you interviewed him back in the day, back at his time at Real Madrid.

57:10Is he still a special one for you? Well, I would be very happy if he's successful with Real Madrid once again, because I think he's a real leader. But I think what Ali just said is crucial. The world has changed. The football players have changed. Their mentality has changed. And we can see with all the statistics and the results that Jose Mourinho has had lately, it's not as good as it used to be. So I think it's hard for him to cope with the players. It's hard for him to simply yell as a player when he needs to because they don't care. And when you have Vinicius Jr., who he had problems with lately, and Kylian Mbappé, who don't want to track back, that's going to be an issue.

58:07So how are you going to psychologically deal with them? I don't know. It's really up to him. And again, I want to see it. I think it's going to be a special entertainment. but I want to see him successful, being successful, but I have doubts. I really have doubts. I think his time has passed. I think he's lost kind of his mojo of success, but I wish him the best. Gav, what sticks out as a memory or theme for this season? A memory from this season? Or a theme for this season? I will give you a very recent one. Sorry? Yeah, continue. continue. I will give you a very recent one from tonight because I was actually watching the Paris derby between Paris FC and Paris Saint-Germain and I am so looking forward to trolling Jules tomorrow because, you know what, Paris Saint-Germain may end up becoming the kings of Europe if they beat Arsenal in the Champions League final in Budapest.

59:07But Paris FC are the kings of Paris this season having beaten Paris Saint-Germain twice. Of course, he did in the Coupe de France as well. And might I add, and I'm so disappointed you didn't point this out when you did the highlight, the guy who set up the winning goal, Luca Koleosho, he's not Paris born and bred, he's Norwalk, Connecticut born and bred, just down the road from UK. Not just that, he plays for Italy. Huge football. Or the Italian under-21 side anyway. Huge football. How cool is that? My apologies. That's very cool. With all that paper that you have there, all the information that you accumulate.

59:45I missed the most important point of the day. And you skip over that. You let yourself down. I'm really sorry, God. What a shame. Forgive me on this one occasion. Forgive me on this. A memory or a theme for the season? Set pieces? Well, in the Premier League. I'll tell you, a theme, and the one thing I'll remember of this season. Just remember, you have to play the games. before a ball was kicked the majority of us were sat here talking about who's going to beat Liverpool and there it is always remember always remember you still have to play the games it's not played on paper it's played on grass or astroturf but you've got to play and it just doesn't get handed to you on a play we'll be asking you again at the beginning of the new season and we'll do it all over again in terms of a memory for this season, the first leg of PSG Bayern Munich.

1:00:46That, that, that's how we like to watch games. And that's how we enjoy the game. And I know there are some in this panel, to my right,

1:01:00that feel very strongly about the lack of defending in that game. But I rather think about the offensive greatness and explosion and dynamic movement and creativity that we saw in full display that night. Yes. Okay. Frank Leboeuf, would you like to pick one? Well, yes. I want to support the person on Ali's right because I thought I was defending very badly. So, but that's what it is. Yes, Stevie. Well done. But for me, once again, I have to say the level of the Premier League overall went down. I think the inconsistency of most clubs, of their performances, showed us that the Premier League has to wake up.

1:01:53Money-wise, entertainment-wise, I guess it's still the best league in the world. but for the two last season, that hasn't been very good. So wake up guys, because we love you, but we want to see better performances, better results and more consistency. I have a feeling there's no need to ask Stevie the next question, but you can correct me if I'm wrong, but you and Frank maybe. Have you guys ever wanted to air out a coach in public like Mo Salah did to Slot? I mean... I knew he'd say no. No. You want to do it, but you don't do it. There are a lot of things that you want to do as a player, but you show better judgment.

1:02:36You take a step back. You surround yourself with people that love you and care for you. And they take you out for dinner and remind you of the good things in life. And then you say, all right, it's not worthwhile. And then you move on with your life. But you have wanted to. You want to speak your mind. But you know that it's not the best neither for you, and more importantly, it's not the best for the team. That's a novel concept. Think of the team, your teammates, the team. The team wins and the team loses. It's the team that's important here. There's no thought of that here from Mohamed Salah.

1:03:16He's focusing on his feelings, and that's why he just kind of runs his math. You know, 99 times out of 100, when you do that, you actually make yourself look worse than the guy that you're supposedly trying to out. So I've never understood it. You know, why do you need to tell anybody what you think about the coach? All you need to know is what you think. Why do you think you have to tell everybody else? Is it like taking responsibility off of you? It's not your fault because you don't think he's a good coach. I've never got that mentality. You always, not every single time, but generally, you always look bad for saying things like that.

1:04:02Frank? Yeah, and I'm going to look bad again because I kind of, well, I talked about Gianluca Viali some months before he got sacked by Chelsea where I said that I didn't recognize him. He was my best friend when we played together, then became a Chelsea coach and got a step, some step away from all the players that he was close to, which is absolutely normal, but a little bit too far. And I said that I didn't recognize him. So it was kind of criticism. And then when he got sacked, people thought it was because of my comment. So giving me more, I would say, how would you say that? more power inside the club because of course I wasn't able to to to sack Gianluca Vialli but they with the game after that he was sacked I was booed like crazy at Stamford Bridge and I think it was I think it was a game European first first leg game and fortunately for me I had a very good game so they kind of forgave me but that was a hard moment for me because of course I loved Vialli and it was more saying, I don't recognize him.

1:05:20The guy went too far away and he's not having fun with us and the way that we see him is not the same way that we enjoy Gianluca Vialli. And I so regretted it. And on top of it, the guy is not there anymore. And I feel so bad again. I would have loved to talk to him about that. And it's why when Salah said that, he said, sometimes, you know, just shut up. because, as Stevie said, for 99 % of the time, you don't look good. And after, you feel bad. You really feel bad. Hindsight is always 20-20, right, Frank? OK, Gab, what will happen first? An Italian team winning the Champions League or Italy qualifying for the World Cup?

1:06:04Neither has happened since 2014. Wow. OK, well, we did with the Euros in 2021. Can I just quickly address that? That's not the question. That's not the question, Gap. That's not the question, Gap. I'll get to that. Let him get to that. Let him answer the prank there. Yes, go on. Go on, Gap. If I go, just on the back of what Frank said, I had some, as you know, I had some insight in it because obviously I wrote a couple of books with Gianluca Viali and I knew the situation from kind of his perspective and how much he struggled with the distance that he felt he needed with the players. and I think there were things that when he became manager, things that he regretted.

1:06:43But I think the big difference between this and the Mohamed Salah context is that when Bialy was sacked and Frank made that comment at the time, he was still hugely popular with the fan base, which is why Frank got booed in that game. Making these comments now about Arna Slott, it's kind of like kicking somebody when he's down, where you know you've got 90 minutes left at the club and you're going away and you'll be gone. And I think that's why it's a different context. And in some ways I'm with the guys. It is a bit disappointing from Salah at this stage. As for Italy qualifying for the World Cup versus the Champions League, well, you're basically asking is, will an Italian club win the Champions League in the next four years?

1:07:32And what I would say to that is in the four years previous, Italy did send two Italian clubs to the Champions League final. One of them got spanked, one of them less so. But yes, logic would say that it's more likely that Italy will qualify for the World Cup. But at this point I believe there's some sort of curse of Ozymandias or some other horrendous figure from the past. So I'm going to suggest it's more likely that an Italian club win the Champions League. We need to get to Norwalk and find more Italians and maybe they're the answer, Gab. In etiquette. Don't try to make it up now, okay? You missed it, just own it and move on.

1:08:17Yeah, hindsight's 20-20. I know, hindsight's very much 20-20. For Gab, serious question. If I was to take a lasagna and put it on top of another, am I eating two lasagnas or one?

1:08:34that's a funny one that would depend on the architecture how many layers are too many layers of said lasagna no I there are some parts of Italy where the lasagna is is made up of more layers I mean I think normally you would probably go for three to four layers I think that is the standard issue lasagna. But there's, I suppose you would have to probably adjust the cooking time if you made it, if you made a bigger one. I don't know. Stevie loves lasagna. Stevie, would you like it? Stevie cooked it. Would you enjoy an eight layer lasagna? Eight layer lasagna? Well, don't cook it at one time. Do them both in different ovens and cook four in four.

1:09:24And then you put them on and it becomes one. That's going to be tough to put it on top of the other though, isn't it? No. Just go like that.

1:09:35You cook them both at the same time with the same amount of stuff, the whole thing even the same in two different ovens and you put them together it becomes one lasagna. So it is one lasagna. And it's cooked properly. Okay. Oh, it's one. The way that you're giving these directions, you make it sound as if you are heavily involved in the production. I like filling my plate so I know how to tie stuff up. He likes overcooking this pasta too. Well, we call it a one too much lasagna then. A one too much lasagna. There you go. Okay, there we go. Thank you so much for sending in your questions, even the serious ones at the end.

1:10:09We will be back tomorrow to do it all over again.

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