Top of the Table Bundesliga Battle

22:07Right. And this is a team, say, I remember a game last year when they were playing against Real Madrid, and Mbappe was off probably ten times in this game itself. Nine, yeah, yeah. Literally, so, so many times. and the critique was more about Mbappe says, oh, he should just do this, should just do that. But as the season went on, you'd hear opposition players talk about how they knew it was coming, but they didn't necessarily, they couldn't do it the way that they wanted to when the game actually came. And I think some of the practice, it can lead to one thing, but when you see it properly, I think it is different.

22:33And I think my concern from a Barcelona standpoint isn't necessarily about the line, which is high, which would make every defender sort of like feel a bit uncomfortable as you see it. Why is there not more pressure on the ball higher up the field? I think that, for me, is the starting point. In the game against Seville a couple of weeks ago, the amount of times the players were uncontested just playing the ball in behind, if the opposition are the ones who are dictating the timing, then the offside line is not going to work. If you can be Barcelona and really apply the pressure to make them essentially, you know, mistime some of the passes with the attackers and the midfielders, the defenders and so on, then before you know it, they have all those offsides again.

23:06And this is a side that won La Liga. So clearly it's not the worst system in the world. You're absolutely right, Nedim. You know, the pressing at the front has to be absolutely perfect. They've got to make sure nobody has time on the ball to pick those passes out. But if that's not the case, then the defenders have to see that and say, well, we can't press the ball now. We can't run up. Never have I worked with a team or seen a team play that actually run up to play offside. Usually you let people run offside. You hold your ground and let people run offside. Barcelona actually run up to play people offside.

23:33And they can't do it now because there's not so much pressure on the ball. They've not had the continuity of the back players, That's the two set of halves all last year with the same two. So they knew how to play it. So they have to see the danger. You squeeze up to then drop off so that when that ball's played up, played forward, you're then going back in to defend it. At the moment, they're still coming up as the ball's being played back in behind them. So the players that are running through not only two or three yards away from you. They're 15, 20 yards away from running 1v1 against the goalkeeper.

24:01They've just got to make better decisions as a back four. And the coach has got to instill that into them. All right. Well, like I said, some bouncing back four. Hansi Flick and Barcelona. to do. It will be on ESPN, that match. They are playing against Girona right before the Clasica, so make sure to tune in and join us 30 minutes before for the pre-show. Plenty more La Liga on ESPN coming your way, as well as Real Madrid will be in action away to Getafe on Sunday. Save money on your next oil change with O 'Reilly Auto Parts. Get a$15 O 'Reilly gift card after rebate when you buy five quarts of Mobile One full synthetic motor oil for just$35.95.

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25:57Shopify.com slash network.

26:03Let's talk about the Premier League, shall we? And have a look at the standings. Liverpool on top. Well, actually, Liverpool no longer on top. They're in second place, just one point behind Arsenal. And they are hosting Manchester United, who you'll find them down in 10th position. And that is a big one in the Premier League. This is always a game that we look forward to. And of course, we know that Liverpool, despite the fact that they have lost three in a row, Robbo, they will go into this one as favorites. However, if you do look at the stats in the last couple of games that these two have played at Anfield, Liverpool have only won twice.

26:37There have been a couple of draws, but that does include a 7-0 thrashing. So what on earth can we expect from this game? Well, we can't expect too much from Liverpool at the moment in terms of how they're performing because they haven't performed very well all season. They're second in the table, a little bit luckily because they've won games late on in matches, but they haven't played consistently well. The new players that have come into the side haven't played consistently well. Now is the time after the international break for some of those players to start performing. And they've got to start performing quickly and get the crowd on their side as well.

27:08Because they're against the Manchester United side who we just don't know who's going to turn up. There's been occasions when Manchester United, when they're playing against the bigger sides, put in decent performances. The players work much harder. They seem to have more agility about them. But you can't trust them. So I'm not sure how this game is going to pan out. I still fancy Liverpool to win it though. All right, so Robbo fancing Liverpool to win it, and that happens to be one of Diddy's former teams. Diddy, I'm going to come to you for this one as well, especially about a certain man that we've been talking about a lot this season, one of the big money signings that Liverpool brought in, and that's Florian Wirtz.

27:39However, we were waiting to see when he will finally recreate that form or at least shine as we saw when he was part of Leverkusen. He's not quite having that big instant impact that many of the Liverpool fans would have wanted to see. So when is it going to come? Well, I hope soon when he joined Liverpool. I said he's too good to fail, but it's been nine or ten games now. And I just wonder when the button drops, because it's been too long. He's not in an assist. He's not scored a goal. And what I don't like about Liverpool at the moment, I don't really see it getting better in the next three or four weeks, because there's not one thing where you put your finger on it.

28:18He said, well, if we change this, then I think we get the best out of the team. we get the best out of certain players. At the moment, he has to work really hard when they're tracking back, which is fine. But obviously, that's not the reason he was brought to the club. And I think sometimes he loses a bit or he misses a bit of concentration and maybe stamina when he's got the ball to make these drippings or to make them decisions and play these killer balls to score goals. So it's been very disappointing so far, I've got to say. I think the way the team plays doesn't really help him because they haven't really control over games.

28:49Last season, they controlled games and they suffocated other teams with their possession, which makes it easier for a forward player because the other teams get tired at some stage. The form of Salah probably doesn't help him either because I think Salah is not the player. He was four or five years ago. He found it hard to score goals from open play from Christmas onwards. So I think there's quite a few question marks. Kirk has been struggling. Konaté has been struggling. So I think there's quite a few players who underperform at the moment, which leads to a team that's not been balanced, that finds it hard to control games.

29:22And as I said, I don't really see where the improvement is going to come from. And I admire Robbo's confidence in Liverpool saying Liverpool is going to win. I think it's a tough, tough game against on Sunday. And if you ask me now, are they going to win? I say probably not. Just building on what you're saying about the balance there and how that's been missing from this Liverpool team, I think it's interesting how they brought so many players this summer who are used to being, right, well, I'm the main character here, except they don't have the room for all of these main characters right now.

29:55Once they'd got Eketike, did they need to go get Alexander Isak as well? Because, as Didier's, I've heard him say before, having two number one strikers, is that a great idea? OK, so if you go to the point where they brought Eketike in, then who were their forwards for the season? Do you remember them? Wow. You've got... Nunes was still there, probably. No, Nunes, I think Nunes had gone. Are you counting Salah? Yeah, count Salah. You count Salah. Gakpo. Gakpo. On top of that, not many. And that was the point. That was the point. I think as they went into the Community Shield, for example, they had all the starters out.

30:32Would you include Shaboshlai? No, I wouldn't do that. They had all their starters out, all the new signings, and it looked great. But then as the game was progressing and they wanted to make substitutions, before you know it, you saw a really young bench. And at that time, they had one or two players come back from injury, for example. But they were light in that department, for several reasons, as we know. So to go for Isaac, is the fact that it's Isaac and he's such a big name and such a big price tag, or is it a case of they've brought somebody in who's going to help that forward line because they didn't actually have the depth there at all?

30:59He wasn't pro there. I don't know. He's a squad player, didn't he? No, he's definitely a squad player. I think Archie makes a good point because last year, obviously, tragically, they lost Xhosa and in Diaz and in Nunes had hard-working players. And we see Diaz here. I don't think he's the most gifted player, but I think that's also a reason that Bayern Munich's doing so well because he does a lot of the dirty work, a lot of the work nobody sees. Now, last year they had these players and for all his faults Nunes had, he would always, when he did play, always create space, always occupy two or three defenders.

31:31Now, as you say, now they've brought these guys in, they want to play, they want to play with the ball. They've been the top players in their clubs, they come here to play but obviously somebody has to do the work and at the moment it doesn't seem to happen because they've got too many players who want to shine, but they don't get the balls to shine because the team is not balanced and they don't have control of games. Just asking Didi, you were saying earlier that Wirtz probably only got four or five games and he might then be left out the side if he doesn't start to perform. Is there a chance that you could play Eketike and Isaac up front as a pair and no number 10?

32:08Because when Eketike was at Frankfurt and he was playing with Marmouche, that was when he was at his best and they played a front two. and those two players are outstanding, both with their pace, their ability to find space, their movement in behind. Is there a thought that you could play with two up front and leave that out the side? Well, I think Slot has to do something at some stage. Obviously, the problem with Isak is that he joined the club a few weeks ago and he wasn't fit because he was on strike, he didn't train and we see him now, he lasts 20 minutes, half an hour, he played for Sweden, hasn't really made an impact.

32:40And I think at some stage, there might be an option for Slot to play with two up front and Wirtz at some stage he's got to try to influence games going forward because this is the reason he was brought in and when I see him play my big worry about him is some of the games I've seen where he get pushed off the ball where I hope not but where I think has he lost confidence because obviously his confidence is lower than which is normal but has he lost confidence that he can make it in the Premier League because once that happens I think there's probably no way back and obviously we're not at that stage yet there's only 10 games but he's cost a lot of money expectations have been high yes I understand that but at some stage he's got to influence games going forward and I think as you rightly said from now to the next break for the international games mid-November I think we've got to see something I was just going to ask Naden what he thought in terms of who will come out on top I don't think United for as much as they've drawn a couple of games recently they've not won there I think in maybe 10 years and Alexis is desperate for me to say United actually no, maybe not because maybe she'll think I'm being a jinx so I'm not going to say anything like that but what I would say from the other perspective here, we're talking about Liverpool and some of the frailties that they've shown this season well when you're an opposition player you see those frailties and you start to believe for every week and every game whereby they're showing something whether it's really poor in transition, somebody like Avers for example as Diddy said at times is being pushed over Do you not think the manager is going to say to this player, listen, if you're near him, make it as physical as possible.

34:14If you're defending, just look how many bodies have they committed forward. This person's lacking confidence. Go and try and do this. Go and try and do that. So I think, weirdly, United are in a really good position having won their previous game and going to Anfield knowing that all the pressure's on Liverpool. Because if it goes wrong, four defeats in a row. Couldn't tell you when that last happened. You know what's interesting, though, Didier, of course, I wanted to get your opinion on this because this summer when we were monitoring the business that Liverpool were doing in the transfer window, you know, We were thinking, are you City in disguise?

34:41Because of all the money they were spending, all the big names, they were bringing in big names that we knew because of that price tag. That's a former City player there, you know. Have some respect. You've got two former City players. You've got two here. I know, I know. That's why I had to chuck it in. But still, we were saying, are you City in disguise? We get Arnest Otis trying to build a team that can potentially win the Premier League as well as the Champions League. You need a deep bench as well with some big names. But now with those hefty price tags attached to it, You're expecting all these players to immediately become a part of that starting XI.

35:10But now when you're seeing this imbalance that's going on at Liverpool, do you think he maybe should not have just tinkered with the team as much? Well, I don't think how much say Slot has got in the transfers, Alexis, because I think in Liverpool, the club pays the players. And I think the club saw an opportunity. As you say, City on a decline. Guardiola has been there for a long time. We don't know how much longer he'll be there. And obviously, Arsenal knocking on the door, but not going through it. I think they saw an opportunity to really move away from United, from City and maybe even from Arsenal.

35:52And as I said, I'm not sure how much say the manager had into the transfers because, as Archi rightly said, I'm not sure you want to have two number nines because obviously you want competition for places, but if you've got two-star players and you can't play them both, at some stage you might have to. I'm not sure this is a situation a manager really wants. And I think if you speak to people in Liverpool who are in leading positions, obviously the expectations were different. And I don't think they saw coming what has been happening for the last three or four months because everybody thought, well, this has got to be the team to beat.

36:28Now, after seven or eight games, you're one point behind Arsenal and you beat them at home. In a game you probably were fortunate to win through a wonder girl from Sjoerdsland. So I think things have to happen and change quickly at Liverpool. I'm not sure they will, but I think the manager is really under pressure for the first time. It was all well last season. It's easy to give interviews and press conference when you win. And he's been a bit thin-skinned because a couple of times he was going on about refereeing decisions in the Champions League. He said if we had this referee this week, we would have won the game.

37:00So these are things he didn't do last year. So maybe he's under a bit of pressure. Hopefully it'll change soon, but I think they couldn't have a tougher game, as Nadim rightly said, on Sunday. Yeah, the interesting thing, hindsight's a great thing, isn't it? Because, you know, at the beginning of the season, when we saw Fringpong go there, you thought, what a great signing that is. You know, they've lost Alexander-Arnold. Connor Bradley's a good right back and can fit in there. But if they want to play more expansive, you know, Fringpong has done that brilliantly for Leverkusen over the last...

37:29You look at Ekotiko, you saw him play for Frankfurt, and you thought, that's a great signing as well. The best left back in the league last year, everybody told me, was Kerkis. So he's now gone to Liverpool and doesn't look any sort of player whatsoever. So these are all... And Wertz, we all said, was going to be a top-class player. Hindsight's a great thing. They just haven't been able to form the right combination. That's been the problem. The players, I think, are still excellent players. Izak, maybe I've got a slight doubt about him. But the other players, I think, are excellent players and excellent signings.

37:56They just haven't been able to get the right balance. And that's the problem that Slott's got with him for the next few weeks. Well, as Nathan pointed out, begrudgingly, we do know that Manchester United have found a way to kind of raise the level of their game, especially in these kind of fixtures, Robbo. How do they do it in this one? How can they get something out of this? Well, they've got to, first of all, defend really well. The back three, you've got to make good decisions when to drop off, when to squeeze the ball. They've got to make sure the midfield don't get overrun, whether that's putting another player in there or whether it's getting one of the front players to drop into midfield when Liverpool have the ball.

38:28But they've also got to make sure that they're a threat on the counter-attack. And the wing-backs have got to get high enough to get balls played into the front players. They've got to get enough quality. If Liverpool want to go and press the ball from the goal kick, Chelsea tried to do that against Manchester United. Manchester United played beyond it. And Chesso did quite well at holding up the play and flicking balls on. But the key player for me on the counter-attack, Mbumo, I think he's been excellent for Manchester United. He's been one of the successes. So hopefully he has a good game. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy.

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39:31Mine is a yellow lad named Quinny. But finding a hotel that actually welcomes pets can feel like striking out. At La Quinta by Wyndham, pet-friendly stays are part of the game plan, so you don't have to leave your best travel companion behind. You can bring them along for every inning of the trip, because the road is better when the whole team's together, And when you book at LaQuinta.com, you can earn Wyndham Rewards points on your qualified stays along the way. Tonight, LaQuinta, tomorrow you shine. Terms and conditions apply. Since we are in Germany, we have to talk a little bit about at least a German who is now in charge of the three Lions of England.

40:12And that's Thomas Tuchel. And guys, he had some interesting comments to make recently. Let me pull up his quotes. He said, in terms of England being challengers for the World Cup next year, he said, well, I consider Brazil and Argentina and Spain as the top favorites for the World Cup. So this is my point of view. We will be the challengers. And first, we have to qualify. And once we are there, we will arrive as challengers and challenge the big nations. And we will challenge the favorites. Now, this, of course, is before England officially qualified for the World Cup, which they did after their game against Latvia.

40:46Archie, let me come to you first on this one because he mentioned Argentina, he's mentioned Brazil, who actually haven't been looking as strong as the Brazils of old. And he mentions Spain as well, but no room for his own country, Germany, in the favourites. What's up with that? So once upon a time, I had a sit-down interview for us with Thomas Tuchel. It was January before he ended up leaving Bayern Munich. And I remember asking him, does he feel appreciated in Germany? And he said no. Now, that was the serve, and then the ball's been played back, and this is his volley finishing them off. Because he also, I do think, he also just recognises that Germany doesn't have the level of players that they did have some 10 years ago when they won the World Cup.

41:31This is a different generation. And the thing is, I think that Bayern Munich actually fall into a bit of trap sometimes when they go, like, we want to have the best German players. Do you want to have the best German players right now? When I would say that they are not a match to what Thomas Tuchel is saying. This Germany team, you've seen it with what happened with great coaches in Hansi Flick. Julian Nagelsmann I would include in that. Like, they can't do what they want to. And I think that it's about this Germany team accepting the fact that they are not as good as previous generations. And they're going to have to do things that they don't usually do at their top clubs, which is work.

42:04Did he? Yeah, no, I think you had every right to leave Germany out at the moment. I don't think we are contenders. We've got to qualify first. about six or eight weeks ago we lost to Slovakia away from home. We've got a final against Slovakia at home, not in a few weeks' time. And yeah, I think that's at the moment, you know, we'll probably include France and Portugal. So I think that's probably, and England. So there's probably at least five or six nations at the moment that will go to the World Cup next year, better equipped than us. So yeah, I wouldn't blame him for the comments he made. Rob, would you agree?

42:43Absolutely. I mean, Germany at the moment aren't one of the top teams. But what they did many, many years ago, they had a look at themselves when they weren't doing particularly well. They had a couple of bad tournaments and they rebuilt the way they played. They rebuilt the academy system. They made sure that the players they were bringing on became better players, better equipped to play international football. Germany will do it again because they are a great footballer nation. They will get the coaching right at some point. They will have a look at themselves. They're not a country that will say, we're great and won't look at themselves.

43:10They're going to look at themselves and change the things they need to change. It won't happen this World Cup, but it might do in a couple. Natum, I know you're exactly a pessimist when it comes to England as well. Do you think this is mind games from Thomas Tuchel or England right up there with the favourites alongside the likes of Spain and Argentina? Alexis from the top rope there. Where's that come from? Hold on a second. I think the Argentina side of things, yes. I think you can see the quality in his England side as well and the fact that they've qualified, they've not conceded a goal. Some people say, well, you've played this team and that team and so on.

43:38like Diddy himself he's talking about Germany losing to Slovakia England have basically dominated their qualifying campaign and they're a side who are looking to sort of redeem themselves after losing in the European Championship final just a year ago so I think it's fair that he mentions that team in terms of European teams he could have mentioned Spain you know the team that oh he did mention Spain could have mentioned France you know the team that were in their last World Cup final but ultimately maybe he's trying to have a little jab at Germany and you know more power to him got the English guys on side I think for the first Germans are getting used to the fact that they go into a tournament with low expectations because there's there's a german word which was tournier manschaft meaning tournament team no matter what happens no matter how bad things have been we always get it right at the right moment that optimism has gone and there is no real fervor around them i think it could help them but i don't think it's going to help them win it oh look at archie they're dropping some fancy german on us always trying to show off that he knows another language don't worry we're up there that's because derek's not here.

44:37That's because, oh, wait till Derek Ray returns indeed, and he will be returning tomorrow on the call for the big one, the Classica, right here. It all goes down. Bayern Munich against Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena, and it's on ESPN. We will all be back. Please join us there. We're going to have a lot more fun, a lot more debate as well, and plenty of exciting football action. But that's all for our edition of ESPN FC from here. But don't go anywhere, because all the boys will be sticking around, and extra time is next. We'll be answering your questions.

45:18All right. Welcome into Extra Time, everyone. Here's where we have some more fun. Let me get the questions up because they came in flying when I said the Avengers Assemble that we have over here at the Allianz Arena. Well, to be honest, I actually only mentioned Natum and Robbo may have tweeted out kind of that Diddy was joining us after. I didn't mention Archie. I didn't know if it was big enough of a name. Just kidding, Archie. Just kidding, Archie. I've got the longest name of you all, okay, so you can fight down. And I'm still struggling to pronounce it. All right, let's get into the first question now from Brian.

45:47He says, hi, Alexis. Please ask Stuart, why is Vincent Kompany not really getting the credit he deserves given how he was almost a desperate choice for the job at Bayern after failing with Burnley? Does he not deserve to be ranked as one of the best managers currently in the world? Well, he's doing a great job at Bayern Munich. He had to rebuild them after Tuchel went because Tuchel had upset a lot of the players. He was saying that Goretzka wasn't good enough. Kimmich wasn't good enough. He's had to rebuild their careers. So I think he's done a good job. I still wouldn't say he's a magnificent coach.

46:20What he's done, he's managed the team very well. He's managed the players very well. They look as though they're a happy team now. They look as though they're together. And that's a big part of management. He might have coaches behind him who are doing a lot of the coaching work. But in terms of management, I think he's done an excellent job at Bayern Munich. Nadam, you're going to stick up for your boy. Robbo says he's not magnificent. I'm absolutely going to stick up for him. Come in. Come in. To be honest, I'd have given him more credit for the coaching job because I think seeing the way that a team play and some of the sort of varied styles that they have in certain games, I think you can see that the team has progressed over time.

46:52And knowing him the way that I do, like him on the coaching field is a big part of who he is. I think the management side of things, you could argue it's probably impossible to be a good enough manager as such for this Bayern Munich situation, especially in Bundesliga and so on. But from a coaching standpoint, I think he's bringing out the best in some of those players that we've maybe not seen the best from in years gone by. And some of the new signings that have come in, Michael Lisset looks top. Michael Lisset might not have fit into the system under a different sort of coach. I think seeing Naby now playing in that sort of position, seeing other players like Upe McConaughey playing some of his best football, I think he deserves credit for the coaching job as well.

47:24He's not had the chance to be called magnificent yet. That will come in April and May. That's the chance he gets to break through that glass ceiling. That's the next chance. At Bayern Munich, unless you're winning the Champions League, you don't enter that level of the game. But I think that what he has done so far, he's very good at managing the environment. You saw it actually with Thomas Tuchel and with Julian Nagelsmann. They both wanted to play the Munich media. You do not play the Munich media. The Munich media plays you. And Vincent Kompany's just gone, I'm leaving that. I have experience of what a big club is like in terms of working, having been at Anderlecht.

47:57He knows what that's like in terms of in Belgium. it has a similar status as Bayern does in Germany and I think he's done well, did he? No, he's done never so well, you've got to say. And as you say, he speaks really well. He's very down to earth, very humble and people like it because the last two managers we had here rather liked themselves.

48:21So he doesn't... He doesn't end... And as you say, the Champions League and the only thing I would say, last year they had a chance to win the Champions League without beating an English team. Inter, Leverkusen, then Celtic, or Celtic, Leverkusen, Inter, Barcelona, Paris. I know it would have been a tough way into the final and winning it, but you won't get another chance not having to beat an English side and that's my only worry when it comes to the Champions League because I think out of the five or six English teams, if you want to win it this year, you probably have to beat at least two. They've done Chelsea already, Arsenal coming up.

49:03Yeah, in a group game. I know, I know what you're saying. I can hear you. But they have improved. Nadim is right. They have progressed. He's kept everybody on side. He's seen a happy bunch. The only other thing is they haven't got any injuries. So you've got to wait till they get one or two because it's a pretty thin squad. I know Musiala and Itu hopefully are coming back in Davis, but you don't know when they come back. And when they do come back, you don't know how they come back. So I think it would be foolish to say, oh, these guys come back, we'll be fine then. But the last two are there at the moment, they do the business.

49:37All right, well, I think we're going to play that little clip of where Archie says that Vinny's not quite magnificent yet. Tomorrow and see Vinny still willing to give a post-match interview then. Or maybe because Naeem's down there, maybe. Next question is for Diddy. Diddy, how the hell did you guys beat AC Milan in 2005? How did that really happen? Not sure. It shouldn't have happened. I think AC Milan played as much a part as we did. They shouldn't have got in a position where it goes from 3-0 to 3-3 each. Obviously, we took it. And I think it just shows that sometimes you need a bit of luck.

50:13I think we had it on the night. Obviously, we believe we knew if we get the first goal, we might get another one. We got three in six minutes, which we didn't expect. And then in the last minute of extra time, Shevchenko had a chance from, what, a yard out. It was probably harder to miss than to score. Fortunately, he hit Dudek's hand. And once it went to penalties, I thought, if we don't beat him now, we never will. Unfortunately, we did. Robert, you remember that final. I do remember the final, but I'm going to just ask Diddy another question. What does it feel like, Diddy, to ruin Kevin Keegan's international management career?

50:50Well, obviously, you know, you play for the team and I match him afterwards. at Anfield because I've not met him for years and I had a quick chat about it. You know, how can I say it? You don't care, do you, really? No, I do, I do. Sometimes I don't, but in this case, and obviously I walked down the tunnel when he walked down and the sticky guy was just, yeah, it wasn't good. And obviously he made a decision on the spot. maybe should have slept on it and waited till the next day. I think one of his words or one of his sentences if I can't contain Diddy a man I've got to give up management. Yeah, he wasn't wrong.

51:34Sliding doors though because after he leaves that job one of his next jobs is Man City and that Man City gives this guy his debut so without Diddy doing that would he be here today? How did that go? Yeah, it was great. Great 16 years. And who came to England? It was Sven. Yes. Sven who was our manager then at Man City and he took me to Leicester. Yes. As a first team coach. So it's a merry-go-round. It's a merry-go-round indeed. Next question is for Nadam. Nadam, which one is harder, being a$100 million transfer or pound transfer from within the Premier League, like Grealish or Rice, or like Vir, it's$115 plus million from abroad?

52:12Do players talk smack during game time regarding transfer fees to set players off? I'm glad the question went the other way there, because I didn't think I was a specialist on being a$100 million player. Yeah, I know. I think it was approximately 3.75 million pounds. Oh, big money back in the day, though. Big money back in the day. No, it wasn't. It wasn't. But it was money. I think in regards to people's transfer fees, like I've seen times where, for example, you joke around with one of your teammates, no matter what the price is, if somebody new comes in and they're having a tough time at the start, almost like a way to break the ice.

52:43You could be in a rondo. Someone's in all the time. You're like, oh, how much? Ooh. Can you send them back? Ooh. Stuff like that. And then when it comes down to people that you're playing against, it does take a lot to try and get under someone's skin in that manner but certain things have been said to many a player in the past and realistically it's a good it's a good test for them because did their heads go down did they laugh it off but when does it get said like at a set piece are you just like creeping up behind someone to be like the best time to criticize someone's value is when they're doing something that is of no value to anybody at all if somebody is like tripping over their feet they're putting bad balls into the box you've like oh it's not great that is it it's not great and sometimes it's best to even say it to say if it happens to an opposition player say to one of their teammates.

53:22How much did you pay for him? Nedum was a bully, wasn't he? I'm seeing another side to Nedum. He's come out of his shell. He was a bully. Munich Nedum is a different Nedum. Different beast. Let's not do that. Nedum talking smack. Never thought I would see the day. Next question is for Archie. Archie, which is your favorite ground in Germany to visit for games? He got his head in German. Oh. Röhrstadion. Ah. VfL Bochum. They're no longer in the Bundesliga. They will be back, hopefully. But I am a big fan of a rickety old stadium with old-style floodlights and why the place rocks when it is full.

54:05When it's half full, it is absolutely buzzing. Look at the smile on Diddy's face. Diddy knows what that place is like. It is special. I just wondered how we get Herbert Grönemeyer into Janssen now. Because the guys probably wouldn't know him. How am I going to explain in 10 seconds to you that Herbert Gronemeyer, one of the famous sons and musicians of the Ruhr Valley, has this famous song where they sing about Bochum and how, look, it may not be the prettiest city, but it's our city and we love it and it's one of the best anthems. And if you've not gone to Bochum yet, then you need to. No, I agree.

54:39When I actually said it, if you're there and they play their song, because it's obviously called Bochum, where he's from, when they play their song 10 minutes before the start of the game, the place is bouncing. Chills. Literal chills. And also, the curry verse that you get there. We're talking about chopped up sausage. Coach Mike, next question. Come on. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Enough's enough. We're talking about chopped up sausage with this kind of ketchup-y gravy. So we need to get you some of this on your next. Why not? What's this about? Classics only for me. I don't know if ketchup-y gravy is on my list of favorite things I'd like to try.

55:23Yeah, yeah. Turns out that's what we're having for dinner tonight. Lovely, lovely treat. Next question is for Nadam again. It's more of a statement. Nadam, Bobby Zamora called you the strongest player he ever played with. Questionable. What did you see as your best athletic trait? Your speed or your strength? It's got to be strength. What about his skill? Yeah, good one, Robert. Have you seen his arms? Come on. I think from when I was younger, it was definitely my speed. Like the strength part of it. Pound for pound, however, most people you play against are pretty strong. And it's more so about how you use it in any particular moment.

55:58Like some of the smaller players that you would see, you know, looking at the likes of like an Aguero and a Tevez and so on, they could push anybody over if they get their balance right. Whereas from the speed standpoint, the trouble it could get you out of, the sort of recovery speed that we see, for example, with, say, Kyle Walker, his best years at City. City had that sort of safety blanket because they knew he could get back into position, whereas the players who don't really have it, you know, you can't get in the gym and all of a sudden just be a lot quicker. Nedim, you were the same age as Micah Richards.

56:23You played in the under-21s with him. Who was the quickest? I was quickest. Oh, OK. It's not even a question. What you don't know, Robbo, is before I turned pro, I used to do athletics. I was second fastest in the country. Wow. A lot of meters from my age. Yeah, a lot of people said you were really an athlete that played football rather than a football that was a good athlete. Do you know what? I'm going to take that because it's from you. Okay. Come on, Nadam. Bite back. No, we'll discuss it later. I'll meet you in the tunnel. I'll meet you in the tunnel. This is like a second coming of Roy Keane versus Patrick Fiera.

56:55He'll say something to you first, though. He'll whisper something in your ear first to just kind of get you thinking. Yeah, yeah. Of course, yeah, of course. It's always the way. We found that out. Yeah, it's always the way. All right. Well, just like that, we're on to our final question because Robbo and Nadam have a date in the tunnel after this. Who is the biggest loss for Liverpool? Let's go to Diddy first for this one. Alisson, Konate or Gravenberg? Well, he won't be Konate the way he's playing at the moment. Well, Mama Dashvili come in now, the keeper. He's done okay. He might be capable of doing it.

57:28I think that holding role that, you know, if you want to win a game, you need to control the game and you win the games in midfield. It's the engine room. And Gravenberg was probably a player of the season last year. As much as I wouldn't like to lose Alisson, I probably will say at the moment Gravenberg. Imagine selling Ryan Gravenberg. Imagine doing that. Imagine a defensive midfielder saying a defensive midfielder is the most important person. Crazy times. It is absolutely right. The game is won and lost in central midfield. They're the most important players. Forget the forwards and the defenders.

58:06It's midfield players that win and lose games. I didn't say that I disagreed. I just said it's interesting that it would come from Diddy Haramama. I didn't go as far as to say if you've got a good midfield, it doesn't matter who plays fullback. Do that next time. I've heard that. Yeah, sure, sure. All right. Well, just like that, all our fun has ended. Thank you so much to everyone for sending in your extra time questions. We'll be taking a lot more tomorrow. Remember, De Clasica is coming to you live from right here. The Allianz Arena coverage is on ESPN. Be sure to join us as well as for ESPN FC right after.

58:42Bye for now.