In short
Football Clichés Podcast Episode Summary
Episode Title
The last corner flag, acres of experience & Christianity's classy touches
Hosts
- Adam Hurrey
- Charlie Eccleshare
- David Walker
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Episode Overview
In this episode, the hosts discuss various aspects of football language, broadcasting changes influenced by their podcast, and recent developments in football management and semantics. The conversation touches on a club’s unique statement following a manager's sacking, new interpretations of handball, and the intriguing notion of measuring experience in "acres."
Key Discussions
- Podcast Influence on Broadcasting
- The hosts claim their podcast is influencing how UK broadcasters present football.
- Charlie notes improvements in Match of the Day 2's coverage, particularly regarding camera angles during goal scenes.
- There's a sense of relief that feedback is being taken seriously by high-level production teams.
- Managerial Changes and Symbolism
- Discussion around Graham Potter's sacking from West Ham and the use of a corner flag in the club's official statement.
- The hosts analyze this symbolism and its relevance in football communication.
- Mention of the decline in the use of corner flags in managerial announcements; the last was Sean Dyche in January 2025.
- Evolving Semantics in Decision Making
- The hosts elaborate on a recent change in handball laws, with the introduction of "justifiable position" to replace "unnatural position."
- Opinions vary on whether this change provides clarity or further complicates the rules.
- Experience as a Measurement Unit
- Charlie introduces the term "acres of experience" as a humorous and grandiose way to quantify a player’s experience, contrasting it with "bags of experience."
- A light-hearted debate ensues regarding the most fitting unit of measurement for experience in football.
- Commentary and Light-Hearted Anecdotes
- The episode includes amusing references to various commentators and their quirks, including John Champion’s handling of a pun during a live broadcast.
- An analysis of the difference between a player being an emergency option and being officially recognized in multiple positions.
- Cultural References in Football
- The hosts note how cultural references from various backgrounds have permeated football discourse, including a discussion about the impact of religion and notable personalities on football.
- Keys and Gray Corner
- The podcast wraps up with segments addressing Richard Keyes’ tweets regarding officiating and Andy Gray's views on metrics in football.
- The engaging criticisms showcase a blend of humor and insight into modern football broadcasting.
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Key Takeaways
- The podcast continues to shape how football is discussed in media, with notable improvements in broadcasting practices.
- The symbolism and language used in football communication are evolving, reflecting broader cultural conversations.
- Humor is a crucial element in discussions around football, as seen through the hosts’ playful banter and cultural references.
- The notion of "experience" in football is not just a numerical value but also a subjective measure that can influence perceptions of players.
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Call to Action
- Sign up for Dreamland, the members-only experience for exclusive content: [Dreamland Subscription](https://dreamland.footballcliches.com).
- Get tickets for the Football Clichés Live Tour: [Get Tickets](https://tickets.footballcliches.com).
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*This summary aims to capture the essence and humor of the podcast while providing insights into the discussions presented by the hosts.*
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Adam Hurrey:Does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just speaking into the void? But with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching the right decision makers, a network of 130 million of them, in fact. You can even target buyers by job title, industry, company, seniority, skills, and did I say job title? See how you can avoid the void and reach the right buyers with LinkedIn ads. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a free$250 credit for the next one. Get started at linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. They say you should learn something new every day. Like how you should only drink Jägermeister at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
0:36Adam Hurrey:Ice cold. Like those frozen cavemen they find. Which makes you wonder, what would a caveman think of Jägermeister? Well, if you served it warm, he'd probably throw it in your face, say, Oonga Boonga, and storm off. And nobody wants that. So drink it cold or not at all. Jägermeister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jägermeister liqueur, 35 % alcohol by volume. Imported by Masked Jägermeister, U.S., White Plains, New York.
0:57Charlie Eccleshare:Ugh, you said you were over him. but his hoodie is still in your rotation. It's time.
1:03Adam Hurrey:Grab your phone, snap a few pics, and sell it on Depop, listed in minutes, with no selling fees. And just like that, a guy 500 miles away just paid full price for your closure. And right on cue, Hey, still got my hoodie? Nope. But I've got tonight's dinner paid for. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste. List now with no selling fees. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details. I'm sorry you can sit there and look and play with all your silly machines as much as you like That's going to have a crack. Yes, you know
1:47Adam Hurrey:He loves himself six feet into the crowd Kung Fu kicked a supporter who was Without a shadow of a doubt giving him lip. Oh, I say. It's amazing. He does it tame and tame and tame again. Crank up the music. Charge a glass. This nation is going to dance all night.
2:12Charlie Eccleshare:Fletch holds his hands up about Brazilian beaches. Graham Potter spares Nuno a stilted appearance on Monday Night Football, the last sacked Premier League manager to get a corner flag in the club statement. The official new unit of measurement for experience. Mick McCarthy breaks America. Classy touches from rival Christian denominations. Football speak in A-level history coursework. Antiques Roadshow loses its football credibility. And Andy Gray versus football metrics. Brought to your ears by Goalhanger Podcasts. This is Football Clichés. Hello everyone and welcome to Football Clichés. I'm Adam Hurry.
2:50Charlie Eccleshare:This is the adjudication panel. Joining me, first of all, is Charlie Eccleshire. How are you doing?
2:55David Walker:Very well, thank you.
2:56Charlie Eccleshare:Great news for you. News reaches me that the Match of the Day 2 Saturday wrap-up was all from the main camera by the time the goal goes in, I'm told. So that's good news for you. Your feedback has been heard at the highest echelons of the BBC.
3:10David Walker:Yeah, I watched it, enjoyed it. I mean, yeah, it's still, as you say, camera one by the time the goal goes in. So they just did a bit of, you know, jazzy camera angles before. But yeah, I feel a bit like a pundit or a manager when a decision that's wrong gets corrected by VAR. You know, I'm happy that we've got there, but it shouldn't need a niche football podcast to call out for this sort of thing. Like, just get it right in the first place. You know, it's just this is where we are now. If you can't decide within two production meetings, just don't change it.
3:39Charlie Eccleshare:Don't change it. That's it.
3:41David Walker:I guess we've got to be relieved we got there in the end. We reached the right decision.
3:45Charlie Eccleshare:Alongside you on the adjudication panel, he too is finally back home from Newcastle. What a quiz that was by the way, David Walker.
3:54Adam Hurrey:Yes, great night up in Newcastle. A very enjoyable quiz, a great crowd, great drinks after the show. It all went very well, apart from some very, very slight mild controversy over who came second, which may well have been our fault, but the winning team won at such a distance. And also, they themselves came in for some criticism from the crowd. But I have faith that they won that quiz honourably.
4:22Charlie Eccleshare:Yeah, I shouldn't be reading a Twitter thread at 2am about potential Googling by opposition teams. Them firing back with, it's really dark in there. You would have seen if we had our phones out. So, just incredible arguing still going on in the wee hours after the quiz. But other than that, a superb quiz. Really enjoyed it. Plenty of prizes given out, including the NordVPN trophy and a few copies of Extra Time Beckons Penalties Loom. Speaking of which, I got an email this weekend from what looked like an expert book marketer, Charlie, claiming to help me get the book out there. And it was an email from an individual allegedly called David Peter.
5:00Charlie Eccleshare:And the headline was, amplifying your book's reach with expert marketing. And it took me about three seconds of reading this email to realise it was AI slop. Here it goes. Dear Adam, your upcoming book, Extra Time Beckons Penalties Loom is already shaping up to be a standout contribution to football literature. By focusing on the crucible of extra time and penalties, the most unforgiving stage in football, you captured a theme that resonates with every fan who has lived through those nail-biting moments. Whether it's the heartbreak of missed penalties or the exhilaration of sudden death glory, your book speaks directly to the drama, psychology and storytelling power that makes football more than just a game.
5:36David Walker:What if I had written a book about just that? That's brilliant. Your look at the beautiful game is a real AI buster because that would kind of make sense if you saw that. So yeah, good on you. Keeping us in jobs.
5:52Charlie Eccleshare:There are more literally Daves out there, Dave. Just taking my book title too literally and then trying to help me market it in a completely incorrect way.
5:59Adam Hurrey:And yet another reason for me to be worried about AI.
6:02Charlie Eccleshare:Yeah, it's going to get us all in the end. Speaking of cliches, live events, it is less than a week now until Clichés Live kicks off in earnest, in anger, at Comedia in Brighton on Monday 6th October. There may be a slightly irregular Clichés pod schedule as October unravels, I think it's fair to say, Dave, but we will deliver, won't we? Big time. Go to tickets.footballcliches.com and join us on tour. Right, adjudication panel time. Only one place to start. Brentford versus Manchester United on TNT Sports. and Darren Fletcher uses an overhit Brian and Bermocross as an opportunity to reflect on something from last week.
6:44Adam Hurrey:Just going back to that Cunha Rabona, there was a Brazilian player that did something when I was commentating the other night and I made the statement he probably learned that on the Copacabana and then somebody pointed out that he was born, the player that I was talking about was born a few hours away from the Copacabana by plane. so certainly didn't learn it on the Copa Cabana hence why I didn't mention that because I'm not quite sure which part of Brazil Matthias Cunha is from so if you were the person that pointed that out it's definitely in my head today cheers for that
7:15Charlie Eccleshare:the tentacles of this podcast Charlie grow even longer listener Dave Cotton from last week what have you done?
7:23David Walker:yeah I mean he takes it he takes it well to be fair in the right spirit but it is funny that he can't he's not been put off enough to point out that he wishes he could have used it. That was still the instinct. See a Brazilian player do something a little flashy, your mind does or his mind does just go to the Copacabana.
7:41Charlie Eccleshare:It's the only spirit to take it in, Dave, isn't it? This is what we want to encourage. A friendly back and forth between us and the mouthpieces of football.
7:49Adam Hurrey:Yeah, I mean, what was interesting as well with Fletch there, whilst, yeah, he did take it a bit better, as you say, Charlie, than I thought he might do when I first heard about it. Why wasn't he sort of mentioning specifically who he'd mentioned? It was weird that. It was as if he was talking about a different broadcaster. He could save Rafinha, couldn't he? Or he didn't have the rights to it or something.
8:07Charlie Eccleshare:He didn't even mention the Champions League, which is unlike Fletch actually.
8:10David Walker:It really sounded like it was for another channel or something. And then I would have understood it. In that way, there's this own murder where you can't talk about football on another broadcaster. But yeah, that was really strange. I don't have the rights to mention Rafinha on a Premier League game.
8:25Charlie Eccleshare:He's worried someone's going to go and watch it back on catch-up to see it. in real time.
8:30Adam Hurrey:But no, it's okay. Incidentally, Matheus Cunha was born in João Pessoa, a port city in northeastern Brazil. Right.
8:39Charlie Eccleshare:So that's a good old trek as well, isn't it? Yeah, I think so. I mean, the roller coaster of this story, because someone got in touch to say that there is a Copper Cabana Beach where Rafinha was born. I looked it up. It's now permanently closed. It was a little sort of urban, sort of artificial beach resort, but it doesn't exist. So there's no avenues left for Fletch on that one. Right. the big Premier League news of the weekend, Dave, was Graham Potter sacked by West Ham within 24 hours of facing those inevitable, ludicrous questions about face swapping. Can we just revisit that moment? Again, took it in better humour than I expected.
9:12David Walker:Yeah, well, it made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot. So, as I said, you have to accept what comes with it, which is part of criticism. It's at times ridicule, but that's just that's just the the environment we're in and it is what it is i'm so glad this
9:31Charlie Eccleshare:got the it is what it is treatment dave i mean it's very much an is what it is candidate isn't
9:35Adam Hurrey:it yeah although does that reaction somehow sort of hint at one of the issues with graham potter is that a better manager would give that short shrift why are you being nice here it's good that you're nice but also just christ like i think the people think they can get away with this stuff with
9:53Charlie Eccleshare:you give him an inch they'll take a mile yeah i mean i mean probably being quite sort of you know respectful um to the to the journalist who felt compelled to ask the question presumably from directives from higher ups but the overall vibe i got from this line of questioning especially in the context of him being sacked within 24 hours of it happening there's just nothing unspoken in football anymore does this need to be asked is it does it really feed into his narrative arc in
10:20David Walker:any way i think it probably does i mean it was a talking point people probably do want to hear like what else especially for a manager who famously his press conferences are really boring especially the pre-match ones i'm sure if you were covering west ham you would be like oh my god finally something i can actually ask him about that he has because he has to engage either way you get a you know graham potter responds angrily to questions about face swap or he does engage and it's like oh wow that's quite nice and like it just was a talking point so i think it's fair to ask him.
10:51Charlie Eccleshare:OK, I accept that. Potter out, Nuno Espirito Santo in, Dave. Fair play to West Ham here because this must have been an irresistible option because it's about as good a template for this situation as possible for them. A manager who briefly but notably overperformed at a similarly sized club was perceived to have been treated a bit shabbily, left for ostensibly non-footballing reasons and is now available immediately to pick up where he left off. West Ham have basically been handed this on a plate. All the consensus is, a great appointment but it's like it's the only appointment yeah i'm quite annoyed by actually
11:24Adam Hurrey:that they've they've been able to appoint nuno here through no real yes foresight yeah exactly whereas there were some reports that they had spoken to slavin billich yeah which i've really
11:37David Walker:wanted that to happen yeah that would have been amazing i mean it does show as well and this is getting a bit actual football analysis but like when nuno was appointed forest manager everyone Forrest fans were largely up in arms because he'd been bad in his previous role. He was defensive, boring. You have one good stint and then you're so for Potter. If you're him, you've just got hope. I'm just one good period away and then I'm in the Nuno role of being the saviour of basically any bottom half club. And maybe even a bit higher. Nuno would have been the first guy they'd have wanted really for the reasons you've just said.
12:12David Walker:and especially the fact that he it was perfect because he he got sacked in a really harsh way yes you know so it's not like his stock had fallen it was just he was a victim of politics
12:22Charlie Eccleshare:yeah the trajectory of their respective stocks dave is quite interesting to me because potter did the monday night football appearance um was a little bit reticent but came across as someone quite clearly in demand and he you know he had some options open to him he was quite coy about where he was going to go next so and he was quite enjoying that side of things nuno hasn't even had to do the Monday Night Football thing, which I imagine it's a massive relief to him because I don't think he'd be a massive talker on MNF.
Read the full transcript
12:47Adam Hurrey:No, I don't think he would. The Potter thing is interesting because I sort of feel like there was a feeling that even though West Ham generally chaotic backdrop was there, you thought Potter would do better at West Ham. I think people thought that this would be the club where he puts the Chelsea debacle behind him and he just didn't, emphatically didn't. Now you're thinking, where does he... What's next? Can you do a second Monday Night Football?
13:16David Walker:Unprecedented. Having to go straight back again. On this Monday, it was pointed out to me, Gary O 'Neill was apparently on Saturday Night Football. I mean, that's a step back, isn't it?
13:27Charlie Eccleshare:Yes, that's a commitment to being a pundit. Yeah, exactly.
13:31David Walker:That's not a special guest, is it? That's quite significant.
13:35Charlie Eccleshare:Andy Reid's here as well, Gary. Is that okay? What, are you going to ask him about what his next job is? No. I thought it was just going to be me because I went to... More importantly, Elliot Stockdale asks Dave, after West Ham released their statement about Graham Potter, is the corner flag trope just finished now? I can't remember the last time a club used it. Maybe one to discuss on the pod. Well, I've done my research here, Dave. I didn't actually have to go that far, surprisingly. I can confirm we're currently on a run of seven Premier League managerial departures. That's sackings, mutual consent, resignations, and this also includes relegated clubs as well.
14:09Charlie Eccleshare:since a corner flag was used to announce a manager's departure. That was Sean Dyche at Everton in January 2025, which I think quite fitting. You can imagine Dyche insisting on getting the corner flag. I don't want the facade of the stadium. I don't want a picture of my face. I want a corner flag.
14:28Adam Hurrey:I think you're going to have to listen to his new podcast to try and hone that impression a bit, aren't you?
14:33Charlie Eccleshare:Have I gone too East Midlands?
14:35Adam Hurrey:Yeah, a little bit.
14:36David Walker:Yeah, it was quite, yeah.
14:37Adam Hurrey:Yeah, I was having a look at Watford's relatively recent sacking, seeing whether we went for a corner flag, because when we were losing at half time on Saturday, I noticed a few people saying it's time for the corner flag, guys. But we haven't gone for a corner flag for a little while now. So maybe it has been phased out. Maybe it became too much of a meme.
14:57Charlie Eccleshare:that's very possibly the case Charlie it must be a case that comms teams when they're putting this stuff together just think should we just go for the front of the stadium now or a wide angle view of the pitch because the corner flags it's a bit loaded now like it is a bit knowing like it might seem like they're taking the piss out of themselves
15:13David Walker:yeah I think it's definitely
15:15Adam Hurrey:possible should combat that by like using the corner flags for like more mundane things so an update about the community program or you know something else
15:25David Walker:with the corner flag
15:27Charlie Eccleshare:some fans hearts must skip a beat when they see a corner flag even still i'm speaking of the nuances of uh football communication during the aston villa fulham game matty cash was deemed not to have handled a goal-bound shot because his arm was sort of dangled behind him so he could possibly have known it was there and the premier league match center charlie tweeted out their official adjudication on this the referee's call of no penalty was checked and confirmed by var with the action from cash deemed not to be a handball offence with the arm in a justifiable position. Is this a new word in handball?
15:58David Walker:Yeah, that does sound like a new thing.
16:00Charlie Eccleshare:I feel like it works better than unnatural position because justifiable opens up a whole new can of words.
16:06David Walker:Yeah, I mean, it does a bit. Like, can you justify? I'm not sure you can justify. I think you can justify that. It was just, I mean, it feels quite subjective.
16:17Adam Hurrey:Yeah. Getting the plausible deniability into handball situations, it doesn't feel like that's the way to go, does it, really?
16:24Charlie Eccleshare:Well, unnatural didn't really do the job that people thought it did, Dave, because, I mean, it's a very big picture thing to apply to that sort of situation. What is a natural position? But a justifiable position for a hand, that I think covers a few bases that were left unchecked before. So in this situation, Matty Cash was attempting to block a shot side on and one of his arms extended backwards in the motion of doing it. So then you could argue that previously that was unnatural because it was away from his body, which was a ludicrous definition. And now it becomes justifiable. So justifiable is basically natural plus could happen.
16:59Charlie Eccleshare:It's perfectly plausible that it could happen. And those two things come together. I think we might see an improvement in things.
17:04Adam Hurrey:I guess so, maybe, yeah. I don't think the natural and unnatural thing really worked either. Endlessly picked apart, which is the problem. I think Jonathan Wilson wrote a piece about this today. It's just the endless scrutiny that the law just cannot bear.
17:18David Walker:Yeah, that's it. That's what I've said before. Like handballs basically function for like 100 years and you kind of know one when you see one. Like it was always this really hard thing to define and we just about got by with it. Like it just, there are so many grey areas and inconsistencies.
17:34Charlie Eccleshare:Because like 99.9 % of handballs, Charlie, are undeliberate anyway. Like no one wants to do it.
17:40David Walker:Yeah, that's it. which is always such a fallacy as well, yeah, about the intent and stuff. Well, good to get stuck into the laws of the game. Yeah.
17:48Charlie Eccleshare:Next up, this came from Jack Copper of listenfairplay.com fame. Here's John Champion leaving a very entry-level gag by Graeme Lasseau hanging in the St James' Park air on Sunday.
18:00Adam Hurrey:A few Newcastle supporters, if you get to get their tongues fully around his surname, they keep calling him Voldemort.
18:12David Walker:So far he's more of a hero than a villain.
18:42Oh!
18:46Charlie Eccleshare:David felt like a lifetime. John Champion's really good at this now. I think he's the number one of the art form. I'm just going to let you think about what you've done here, Graham. There's a rare twist on this one, Charlie. Normally, the commentator completely ignores it and then goes for the silence. This one got a sound that I vaguely remember from The Office. I think it's Gareth makes a joke too far and Brent goes,
19:10David Walker:oh yeah yeah yeah yeah it's that yeah i need to know what scene that's from i i've i consulted
19:16Charlie Eccleshare:the office expert darren richmond he couldn't find the correct scene i don't so it's up to someone out there to find the sound i'm thinking of but it was kind of like oh so no can't do that
19:26David Walker:not in the the get out i mean it get out yes yes oh maybe but that's not but no because he doesn't send um gareth out but i think it is that i think it might be that scene because they're all making sort of bawdy jokes and it's like i like to escape up her tunnel get out i mean it get out and i think earlier i think earlier gareth has made one and that's all right um anyway great
19:50Charlie Eccleshare:analysis there right this next one comes from murray burts he says i was catching up on bbc norfolk's the scrimmage which is norwich city's dedicated fanzine radio show and part of the preview ahead of the stoke game involved a stoke city fan joining the show to provide some insight into the opposition.
20:06Adam Hurrey:In my personal opinion, the last few years, the main problem with Stoke has been the defensive side of things. And this season, there isn't that. You look at our back line, you've got Aaron Cresswell, acres of Premier League experience. You've got Ashley Phillips, Boaston Loire, Ben Wilmot.
20:20Charlie Eccleshare:Dave, I love acres of experience. It's weirdly brilliant. I think it should be now the official unit of measurement for experience. Acres of experience, because it implies that the experience is kind of sprawling out, spreading itself out to be admired. basking in the sunlight.
20:36Adam Hurrey:You've worked your whole career. You've got a massive property with loads of land. It does work nicely.
20:43Charlie Eccleshare:What is the incumbent unit of measurement for experience, Charlie? Is it bags? Bags of experience.
20:49David Walker:Bags of experience.
20:50Charlie Eccleshare:Yeah, I think so.
20:52Adam Hurrey:That doesn't feel grandiose enough. Doesn't feel like it has enough gravitas to it. Bags. Bags of experience.
20:58Charlie Eccleshare:Acres of experience, Charlie, implies a legacy, doesn't it? As Dave says, kind of, here is what I have built.
21:04David Walker:Yeah, you might go more route one if it was a manager and you just go with a unit of time and be like, he's got decades worth of experience at the top level or something like that, or even years worth.
21:15Charlie Eccleshare:Acres of experience. Incredible use of acres there. Next up, are footballers' names in things? It comes from a content aardvark on Reddit. This is Craig Charles with Keris Matthews.
21:30Adam Hurrey:Craig Charles this is brilliant thanks for bringing it in
21:33Charlie Eccleshare:thank you it's June isn't it
21:35Adam Hurrey:it's absolutely fantastic next week though it also looks brilliant you've got Richard Hawley coming in on Tuesday no we haven't haven't you? Tuesday the first Tuesday we've got Brad Friedel and John Hegley
21:51Charlie Eccleshare:what's Brad Friedel doing on Six Music what are you idiots talking about Brad
21:57David Walker:I can't imagine Brad Frieda being a sort of like lapsed DJ or something, you know, one of those like veteran DJs who sort of in his younger years was quite big in Ibiza.
22:08Adam Hurrey:Or maybe someone that's like turned to DJing, like Steve Davis has. Yeah, Jolly Lescott as well. Yeah, you know, just these sort of cute, oh, he actually likes DJing sort of thing. Loves his DJ. Proper like house DJ.
22:21Charlie Eccleshare:Got into it when he was at Galatasaray and just picked it back up again. But I think I can see what's happened here, Dave, because it's presumably to promote the Terminator Live, a screening of the 1984 sci-fi classic with a live orchestra playing the soundtrack as composed by Brad Fiedel. Oh. Yeah, he did the soundtrack to both Terminator, the first two Terminator films. It's spelled almost exactly the same. But yeah, there's Steve Sidwell as well. He's a sort of TV film music composer out there, Charlie. We could make a whole Barclays era team out of this lot.
22:53David Walker:Clearly a lot of overlap, yeah.
22:55Charlie Eccleshare:Yeah, Brad Friedel. Yeah, Craig Charles is a Liverpool fan. So you can see how doubly how that may have happened. So, but you never know, maybe it is Brad Friedel with his weird little accent coming on BBC Radio 6 Music. Next up, this came from Steve Bryant. Here is Kevin Clark on the Mina Kimes show, an NFL podcast.
23:16Adam Hurrey:Have you seen the It Can't Get Worse in this TikTok meme? No. Okay, I need to explain this. This is one of the funniest things in my life. And it's huge in Europe and it bleeds over to American TikTok, sports TikTok. There's this manager named Mick McCarthy. And he's been around the block. And he's like a John Fox type. He's like kind of a classic retread. Okay. And there's a question in a press conference where this guy goes, three points in 15 games. It can't go on like this. And Mick McCarthy just goes, it can.
23:47David Walker:It can.
23:48Adam Hurrey:It can. and like i i think i it is so deeply embedded in my cranium now whenever i think things can't get worse or things can't go on like this it can charlie i i think there are now too many things
24:00Charlie Eccleshare:out in in popular culture for mick mccarthy to be presented with and have to sigh about it between this and saipan he's got a lot in his play yes yeah it's just the go-to guy the world we're living isn't it um it's ringo star again why the world we live maybe that's what we sound
24:16Adam Hurrey:like when we're sort of trying to explain things about other sports other than football that we don't always really quite understand. We get the gist, but we're not quite bang on.
24:27Charlie Eccleshare:I mean, when we mentioned bunting in baseball the other day, I expected the flood of emails I get. So you didn't get it quite right. I was like, I don't care. I'm not going to get into any more detail than that. But I get the sense that this is exactly what the Chinese invented TikTok for, to make Nick McCarthy become a global reference point, whether he likes it or not. Indeed, yeah, yeah. Quite democratic, the meme process, isn't it? Anyway, this episode is brought to an association with NordVPN. For those who don't know, VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It secures your connection, protecting your personal information and online activity, especially on public Wi-Fi.
25:02Charlie Eccleshare:A VPN can also make your phone or laptop appear as if it's in another country, which is great for accessing content while travelling. Indeed, over to the Southern Hemisphere we go next. This is from Albie McIntosh. and he said you thought you'd enjoy this clip from a New Zealand provincial rugby game between Bay of Plenty and Waikato. Some great singing commentary as this winger scores a try. Johnston wants to go in and away, back inside.
25:31David Walker:And he had a lot for hot step and diving.
25:34Adam Hurrey:Oh my goodness, what a finish.
25:40Charlie Eccleshare:Incredible flourish at the end. the melody sets it up Charlie and then the lovely flourish at the end but God knows what tune it matches.
25:47David Walker:Yeah there was a bit earlier on and I thought that was it which made more sense in a way as you're kind of getting more excited as you realise and then but then he's yeah he's obviously I'm just going to fully commit to it now.
25:56Charlie Eccleshare:That's rugby of course Dave but can you imagine oh my goodness what a finish ever happening in football what kind of goal could that possibly be? Maybe Martinelli's against Manchester City the lob might work. oh my goodness I mean
26:16Adam Hurrey:when you said there was going to be some singing commentary I didn't quite expect that to be honest I think that is the most ridiculous example we've had yet they'd be at the end there it's like someone saying one minute, be with you in a minute
26:31Charlie Eccleshare:that is the intonation I'll be with you in a minute anyway if you want to try NordVPN for yourself go to nordvpn.com slash cliches and our link will also give you four extra months on the two-year plan. It's the best discount available. There's no risk with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee and the link is also in our podcast description if you need it. We'll be back very shortly.
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28:17David Walker:Go to your happy price. Priceline.
28:22Oh, look at that. That is wonderful. Wonderful.
28:30Charlie Eccleshare:Welcome back to Football Clichés. Dreamland episode eight is out this week and we are going deep, Charlie, on the Champions League. So many avenues into this for us. We're not going to have trouble filling an hour, I suspect.
28:46David Walker:No, a sequel to the Champions League 11 that we did, what, 2021 or something like that? That's right. Quite a while ago, yeah. And that was great. So, yes, we will go deep.
28:57Charlie Eccleshare:Yeah, looking at the Champions League, not just from a footballing perspective, but a cultural one as well. And it's a cultural behemoth, the Champions League. Yes, go to dreamland.footballcliches.com. And for£5.99 a month, you'll get ad-free listing of all of our episodes, plus two episodes a month of Dreamland, our exclusive news show, and other things as well. Right, first item for the second half. The news broke this week that Russell M. Nelson, the oldest serving president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka the Mormons, died at the weekend at the age of 101. Now, on their Reddit page, Charlie, Latter-day Saints posted a message saying, President Nelson just passed away.
29:35Charlie Eccleshare:One of the comments underneath, coming on here as a Lutheran, I offer my sincere condolences. He was truly a great man of God who elevated and inspired worldwide. I mean, this just device.
29:44David Walker:Yeah. Lutheran fan here, but. Not a so-and-so, but this is class. Yeah. I mean, I guess there is quite a lot. You do see this when, you know, there's someone who like, he brought people, they brought people together. And even though I didn't always agree with their beliefs necessarily. And it is quite comparable to, you know, this opposition manager or whatever. I, you know, there were times I despised them, but you couldn't disagree with their kind of principles or whatever.
30:11Charlie Eccleshare:Yeah. Never, never nice to see the head of another church lose his life. But, you know, this is very much, this is more of a slight variation on the theme though, isn't it? This is a Lutheran fan here coming in peace. Anyway. Next, a teacher writes in, Charlie. It said, marking a piece of A-level history work this week, I found this gem about Queen Elizabeth I. For context, the question was about the extent to which her gender limited her ability to rule effectively. And the answer, part of the answer goes, it negatively impacted her ability to rule as she had to silence the doubters in her first few years.
30:44David Walker:Very much so, yeah.
30:46Charlie Eccleshare:The boo boys.
30:47David Walker:I mean, that would have been, could have done a good, like her intray would have, you know, would have had a lot of similarities to managers. Bringing a divided country together and, you know, a lot of uniting that needed to happen. Put the smiles back on their faces.
31:00Charlie Eccleshare:Wheeling away.
31:01David Walker:Bloody Mary's reigned.
31:02Charlie Eccleshare:Hushed mouths. Yeah. But yeah, the teacher asks, Dave, should today's junior historians be taking this kind of cue from football coverage? Don't mind it. I think silencing the doubters isn't too flippant a phrase to use here.
31:14Adam Hurrey:Yeah, I think it works perfectly. I suppose the only other question, Charlie, is would Queen Elizabeth I have been a bringing back ketchup monarch or a banning ketchup monarch? That's a good question.
31:25David Walker:I think, well, I mean, because Mary I was defined by how sort of violent and brutal she was in going after non-believers. So I think it would have been a bringing back ketchup sort of situation.
31:38Adam Hurrey:So Elizabeth I was more of an arm around the shoulder ruler.
31:41David Walker:Compared to Mary, yeah. Okay.
31:45Charlie Eccleshare:How have we not saved this for the live show? This could be a whole Charlie Eccleshire segment. Bringing the rest is history for a bit of a collab. Right, this was sent to me by cliches royalty, Doc Brown. Here's Connor Cody on Five Live, ideally placed to comment on the latest spin of the managerial merry-go-round.
32:03Adam Hurrey:Obviously, Connor, with you having played under Nuno,
32:07Charlie Eccleshare:straight away coming to you for a take on that appointment. Brilliant appointment. Really, really good. I think I actually said it to me a missus a few weeks ago on the coach, if I'm being honest, that when he left Forest, I just thought it was an absolute tap-in, really. West Ham, we're obviously struggling. We know what football is. Charlie, it's great that Connor Cody's earnest, punditry thoughts are just being uttered at home while they're relaxing around the house.
32:29David Walker:I believe it. I totally believe it. He would have raised that.
32:34Charlie Eccleshare:Weird thing to specify to me. I don't know why. Yeah, it's a bit odd. But yeah, don't take your work home with you, Connor Cody. He's still playing, son. Don't worry about it. Right, next question comes from Hen Cowan. Gary Doherty was widely acknowledged to be a centre-forward and a centre-half. Dion Dublin too. Mark Hughes and Dwight York both centre-forwards who became holding midfielders. Dan Byrne would be listed as a centre-half and a left-back. How many games does someone have to play for their second position to become officially one they can play? Harry Maguire has come on a fair bit up top, but it feels too emergency option for it to be said that Harry Maguire can also play up top.
33:08Charlie Eccleshare:And you'd be very surprised to see him start there. So maybe it's about starting games. But then Mikel Moreno, would it be said he's a centre mid who can also play up top? Would he be listed on Wikipedia as a centre midfielder and centre forward? If not, when does one progress to being accepted as someone who can play in two positions? Charlie, starting a game, does that feel like a good criteria?
33:27David Walker:Yeah, I do think that is a difference. I mean, there's a big difference between to actually start a game means you've kind of got to know what you're doing a little bit, or at least try and work out what you need to do in that position. if you're just getting chucked if you're just going up there you know late doors to try and salvage a goal i mean i guess this does raise the thing that football doesn't have a kind of definitive lister of positions i mean people use different sources for this don't they there's not it's not like you know you earn a qualification to become yep he's got his doctorate in center forward play he can play there now you know some people might go on wikipedia some might go on transfer marks transfer marks it has them exactly yeah I mean Mikel Marino is an interesting example I suppose because he was fully an emergency centre forward but things were so stretched he actually had to play there I think he still kind of is in that bracket I don't think he's I don't think many people would be thinking of him as like a viable option to be starting games there
34:29Charlie Eccleshare:how many games has he started up front must be close to double figures
34:33David Walker:because there was a really long period where he was basically the only option last season. But someone like Dirk Cout, do you remember, he came as a striker and then was a winger, you know, was a right winger, basically. That was all he did. So I don't know what point that would have officially changed.
34:52Adam Hurrey:The sort of right winger that just does not exist anymore in football. Functional, hardworking, sort of wide man.
34:58David Walker:I'd say someone like Jacob Murphy is in that kind of category. He plays as much for his sort of scrapping and helping out defensively, like incredible attitude and engine. He's not someone you're playing necessarily. I know he does get and has improved his output, but I think he's primarily just like an incredibly good, reliable pro in the way that Dirk Kowt was.
35:21Charlie Eccleshare:So to have your emergency second position welcomed into your official CV, Dave, we're looking at at least half a dozen starts in that position and not during a sort of makeshifty kind of injury crisis either. When it comes to the point where you're trusted in that role. So obviously Harry Maguire will never be starting up front for Manchester United, no matter how many times he excels there in extremis.
35:45Adam Hurrey:It's not like he's being brought on with half an hour left either to play up front. It's like he literally gets put up front for the last five minutes or moved up the pitch for the last five minutes to try and help. A deluxe example of somebody like this would be like David Alaba, who, if hard pressed, I'm not sure I'd necessarily know exactly what his best position is. Yeah, position of this man, basically now.
36:08David Walker:I mean, Philipp Lahm became a midfielder, didn't he? And like a legit one, even though it was then moving him back that sort of won Germany the World Cup. But isn't this as one, I'm far from an expert on it, but isn't FPL partly about getting those players who are kind of on the borderline and are graded as a midfielder, even though they're sort of on that borderline? There is a bit of discussion sometimes.
36:28Adam Hurrey:Like, for example, Jared Bowen is a striker in FPL this season. Right. Whereas Salah is a midfielder.
36:34Charlie Eccleshare:That is mad. They're essentially the same player. That's strange. Wow. Yeah. Okay, interesting question from Hen Cowan there. Right. Finally, this came from Tapioca Head. They say, I don't think I can trust anything anyone on Antiques Roadshow says anymore as someone brings in a painting that depicts a historic moment for English football.
36:53David Walker:Must be 1966, the World Cup final. Here we can see Geoff Hurst about to score the winner.
37:01Charlie Eccleshare:I'll stop you there, son. You're supposed to be an expert on this stuff. That's Geoff Hurst ramming home the four.
37:09David Walker:The game's settler.
37:11Charlie Eccleshare:What perturbs you more, Dave? the fact that he might think it's the winning goal or he thinks that the fourth goal in a 4-2 is the winner? The latter, I think. Right. Yeah. Either way, don't take that valuation. Get a second opinion is what I'm saying. Yeah. Because it's going to be deeply inaccurate. Anyway, as Dan Weaver says on Reddit, speaking of antiques spreading misinformation, it's time for Keys and Grey Corner.
37:48Charlie Eccleshare:Ford Super Sunday. Great to outsource this for once. Right, first item is Richard Keyes. Great on Twitter this weekend, by the way. Here he is talking about the West Ham situation. Karen Brady should follow Potter out of the door. Remember, we've appointed the right man to continue our success. Everything is in place. Clearly not. What a shambles. See you at 2pm Mecca.
38:16Charlie Eccleshare:Oh, I love a Mecca. I love it when he touches the Mecca. Absolutely class. Right, let's get into the real stuff. Here is Keezy on Graham Potter. Basically, just what a seal of approval this is from the big man.
38:28Adam Hurrey:I agree with you. I think the big unrest with West Ham fans is the stadium. He's a myth. I'm afraid he gained a reputation for playing nice football in an era when football was played the right way. And he's delivered nothing. And he's a nice guy. And I wish him well and he'll get a championship job, I suppose. He's a myth. He is a myth.
38:48Charlie Eccleshare:Wow. Doesn't exist, Andy. Nope. For some reason, Charlie, being called a myth seemed more harmless than saying he'll get a championship job, maybe.
38:59David Walker:Yeah. Yeah. The implication would be that he'd be lucky to get that. He'll be going abroad.
39:03Adam Hurrey:Good luck to Potter. And the thing that you wish you can't see if you're listening there is when Kesey's talking about playing football the right way. he's doing the little thing he's like doing that how you describe it he's like as if he's like holding a pen and just sort of flicking his hands out I was thinking it's like
39:18Charlie Eccleshare:sowing seeds yeah distributing the ball I'm so glad that he decides that is the universal gesture for playing the right way which by the way they think is on the way out Charlie playing football the right way yeah
39:31David Walker:that's been a big discourse this season
39:34Charlie Eccleshare:indeed speaking of going back to old school basics here this is great from Andy Gray on Ruben Ameren.
39:41Adam Hurrey:I know what Jason's saying about metrics stats. I know what they'll do. I know he will have it out there. There's the stats. There's the metrics. Simple fact of the matter is, you don't win a football match on metrics and stats. You win a football match and create chances and scoring goals. If you don't do that, you can take all the metrics that you have. You can say, we've had 900 passes. You've only had two. We've upped our percentage of accurate passes. We've upped our XG all over the pitch. But sorry, there's one XG that you haven't quite got the better of. See that little thing with the three posts at one end of the pitch?
40:15Adam Hurrey:Well, there's two of them. One you try and put the ball into and the other you try and keep it out of. They're not very good at either at the moment, I don't think.
40:22Charlie Eccleshare:I mean, what is the best bit from that, Charlie? For me, it's the hypothetical scenario of a team having 900 passes and the other team having two.
40:30David Walker:The great thing as well is that XG is about creating chances. So they are like... And that is where they're doing quite well. Yeah, I mean, it's just all great, isn't it? the the the sort of again you can't see it but the the pride in kesey's face through a lot of this and he's laughing i think when he does the xg and then i can't remember now were there inverted commas there may have been the most aggressive inverted commas i've ever seen so you know that's another myth and the pride kesey as he's doing it it's like you well done
40:58Charlie Eccleshare:well done lad he signs off he signs off there dave with um one of those classic hyper simplifications of football that is usually attributed to a great manager from back there. He used to say, keep the ball out that goal at the other end and score him in that one. And there's a certain demographic of football people who love to just relay those stories because it's a simple game, football. It's a simple one.
41:23Adam Hurrey:He did say, see that thing at the end with three posts.
41:27Charlie Eccleshare:Which is an incredible way of phrasing it. How can I make this really, really simple? if anything he's gone too complicated on the oversimplification he's got himself in knots absolute knots right finally between 1.07pm on Saturday and 6.23pm on Sunday there were just the 13 tweets from Keezy about Premier League officiating in some form he really got on it this weekend Charlie but this little trio in the space of about 57 minutes on Saturday were great referees have got to stop players travelling so far down touchlines they're all at it it's wrong ref cam stop it what a waste of time how is that not a red card because it starts off with it's a great trio Charlie because it starts off with a new bugbear a new campaign yeah yeah second thing like a completely innocuous thing to get stuck into and then finally just a just a sort of splurged out thought from nowhere
42:23David Walker:what's his point what is the thing he's talking about on the first one the referees have got to stop players travelling on throw-ins right yeah it must be creepy
42:30Adam Hurrey:yards yeah yeah yeah yeah he's tweeted about that quite a lot lately it's definitely his new thing he's moved on from Arteta and managers going out the technical area to yeah players are just constantly stealing yards yeah it feels like this season more than any other Charlie he's turned
42:45Charlie Eccleshare:into the real nemesis of PGM well he's really got stuck into them more but we've had the ongoing vendettas but now it feels like a real-time kind of checking procedure if like he has become the new Premier League match centre.
42:58David Walker:He's like the, there's Dale Johnson on one side and then Kesey on the other. Dale Johnson's got precedent
43:03Charlie Eccleshare:and logic.
43:05David Walker:Yeah, there's one to sort of explain them and the other is just to completely bash sort of everything they do.
43:11Charlie Eccleshare:Just get those two together. That'd be a good ref watch, wouldn't it? Could be a good podcast. Call it the Football Authorities or something like that. Right, brilliant stuff today. Thanks to you, Charlie Eccleshire. Thank you. Thanks to you, Dave Walker. Thank you. Thanks to everyone for listening. We'll be back on Thursday. See you then.
43:33David Walker:It's a season two playoff race with TGL presented by SoFi. Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern, Jupiter Lynx versus Boston Common Golf. Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern, Los Angeles Golf Club versus New York Golf Club. Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern, the Bay Golf Club versus Jupiter Lynx. Keep up, it's golf. Watch on ESPN, ESPN2, and the ESPN app.
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From the publisher
Adam Hurrey is joined on the Adjudication Panel by Charlie Eccleshare and David Walker. On the agenda: the Clichés pod continues to influence UK broadcasters, the club statement about a sacked Premier League manager to use a corner flag photo, a development in PGMOL handball semantics, the official new unit of measurement for experience, classy touches from rival Christian denominations, footballspeak in A-Level history coursework and Andy Gray taking on modern football metrics.
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