1. Podcasts
  2. Football Ramble
  3. Basketbrawl
Football Ramble

27 May 2026 · 56m · 19 chapters

In short

Football Ramble discussion mixing Premier League/Championship managerial speculation, West Ham’s relegation fallout, a viral basketball brawl story involving Evangelos Maranakis, and World Cup logistics/talking points (Messi fitness, Iran’s HQ move, squad reveals). Also includes MLS news about Phil Neville leaving Portland Timbers.

Guests

No episode guests. Hosts are the Football Ramble regulars (e.g., Pete, Vish, Luke, Marcus) plus recurring references to other people (e.g., Mike Piri/Pirri for an intro line), but no interview guests appear.

Key claims

  • West Ham board want Nuno to stay despite relegation; fans are split; Mendes-linked recruitment is a concern.
  • Relegation is estimated to cost West Ham about £100m in lost income.
  • Phil Neville and Portland Timbers “mutually parted ways”; results “fell well short,” despite a 65-goal club scoring record.
  • Messi has muscle fatigue and is a doubt, but they expect him to play opener vs Algeria.
  • Iran moved World Cup HQ from Arizona to Tijuana for political reasons; logistics may create flashpoints.

Notable examples

  • Maranakis fight with Greek PM’s nephew during Olympiacos vs Real Madrid EuroLeague final.
  • West Ham candidates mentioned: Scott Parker, Bilic, Gary O’Neill, Craig Bellamy, Steve Cooper.
  • World Cup groups: Messi/Argentina vs Algeria; Iran in group with New Zealand, Belgium, Egypt.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

4:00

Weather and World Cup Anticipation

The hosts discuss the recent heatwave and upcoming World Cup preparations.

“I really look forward to, in a month's time, complaining about the England players not being able to deal with the heat.”
8:00

West Ham's Managerial Situation

A deeper dive into the West Ham managerial changes and fan sentiments.

“And Nuno's not even had the decency to be sacked.”
10:00

Discussion on Future Directions for West Ham

Explore potential candidates for West Ham's managerial role and their implications.

“I went past it and said, no narcs allowed.”
14:01

Analyzing West Ham's Management Choices

The discussion revolves around the potential hiring of Scott Parker and expectations from West Ham's management.

15:01

West Ham's Challenges and Opportunities

The hosts debate the various challenges West Ham faces, from poor decisions to the current state of their stadium.

“So to me it feels more likely and more sensible.”
17:41

Relegation Impacts on West Ham

A deep dive into the financial consequences of relegation for West Ham and the broader implications for the club.

“Yeah, but I think ultimately, given the timeline that Arteta's been on.”
20:51

Nuno's Future and Managerial Decisions

The conversation shifts to Nuno's position at West Ham, with varying opinions on his future as the manager.

“What the club probably need, well, somewhat joking aside, is as horrible as it is to say, huge money, huge wealthy investors to come in and basically build them a stadium somewhere around there and just get them out.”
24:01

Maranakis and the Basketball Brawl

A humorous recount of Evangelos Maranakis' altercation at a basketball game involving the Greek Prime Minister's nephew.

“The fight occurred during the EuroLeague final.”
28:00

Describing the Basketbrawl Incident

Explore the details and implications of a recent fight in football.

“No one's getting out of this with any credit.”
31:36

Phil Neville's Departure from Portland Timbers

Discuss the impact of Phil Neville's departure from the Timbers.

“We built Serval to automate the IT work that slows companies down.”
Show all 19 chapters
36:06

World Cup Discussions and Logistics

Analyze the logistics of Iran's World Cup preparations in the US.

42:00

Iran's World Cup Logistics Challenges

Discussing the complexities of Iran's participation in the World Cup and related logistical issues.

“They're in a group with New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt.”
45:20

Norway's Unique Squad Reveal

Exploring the creative squad reveal by Norway featuring King Harald and discussing its implications.

“And some of the shots and footage of Norway were beautiful.”
54:04

Crystal Palace's European Trophy Hopes

Analyzing Crystal Palace's chances in their European match against Rio Vallecano.

“Right, we've got the small matter of Crystal Palace versus Rio Vallecano tonight.”
56:01

Crystal Palace's Europa League Prospects

Discussion about the implications of Oliver Glasner's departure and the potential success of Crystal Palace.

“I would say to anybody who does the Palace admin for next season's Europa League, if you win the trophy, everyone will know you've won the trophy.”
57:25

Scruble Scramble and Trainspotting References

A humorous exchange about the game Scruble Scramble and its connections to Trainspotting.

“Scrooble Scramble yeah I know you're talking Scrooble Scramble 2 now by the way my niece got it for Christmas.”
58:21

Excitement Around the Conference League

Exploring the excitement and significance of the Conference League for Crystal Palace fans.

“you know Ewan McGregor lived in Scruble Scramble just to get into the role to paraphrase Harry Hill like heroin Scruble Scramble is a bit more-ish.”
1:00:09

Roy Hodgson's Reflections

Discussion of Roy Hodgson's comments on the current Crystal Palace team and management.

“Oh, what are they going to do with that?”
1:01:59

Email Banter and Future Plans

Hosts joking about emails and teasing upcoming segments on the show.

“What, there's a fucking chip shortage, Roy?”
A man walking through an airport, asking his phone a question

Ask about this episode

Get the gist, explore an idea or ask about something said.

Claude

On Football Ramble, what are the key points of this episode?

Searching your listening

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:01Pool days call for cookouts and lots of laundry. This Memorial Day at Lowe's. Save$80 on a Charbroil Performance Series 4-Burner Gas Grill. Now just$199. Plus, get up to 45 % off select major appliances to keep dishes, clothes, and food fresh. Having fun in the sun is easy with us in your corner. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valid for 527. While supplies last, selection varies by location. See associate or lowes.com for details. I tell myself, it's not about comparing. But then I start wondering, what can they lift? Are they adding more weight to their barbell than I am? And suddenly, I'm not training.

0:39Then I realize, my journey is not theirs. I've earned every step. So I smile. My smile is the shape resilience takes to keep me moving. To put more smiles out into the world, Colgate has supported female athletes for over 50 years with the Colgate Women's Games, the nation's longest-running indoor track and field series for girls and women. Colgate, your smile is your strength. Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts. Why did I search the internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that.

1:23Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. This is Felix Salmon from Slate Money, and I'm here to tell you about Apple Card. Even as a seasoned traveler, things can still get stressful, which is why I use Apple Card on my international trips. And with 2 % daily cash back on every purchase with Apple Pay, I'm actually earning daily cash as I travel. Instead of coming home feeling like I've drained my bank account, I come back with cash back I can put toward my next trip. Apply in the wallet app on iPhone.

2:05Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City Branch, terms and more at apple.co slash applecardbenefits. I'm Jake Stouck, co-founder and CEO of Serval. We built Serval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding, password resets, access to applications, my laptop stopped working. While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. IT desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Serval what you want to automate in plain English, and it's built. No drag-and-drop workflows, no expensive consultants.

2:43Employees get unblocked and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Serval, IT becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run IT. We guarantee you'll automate 50 % of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four-week pilot. Go to serval.com slash ACAST. That's S-E-R-V-A-L dot com slash ACAST.

3:40The Football Ramble

3:43Luke Moore: Welcome to the Football Ramble. It's a wonderful Wednesday. What a Wednesday it is, of course, at Ramble HQ. And in the kingdom in general, slightly cooler than yesterday. We've beaten the heat wave. We've done it for another year. If another one's coming, we'll be ready for your heat. Thank God summer's over. Summer's done. Bring on autumn. I really look forward to, in a month's time, complaining about the England players not being able to deal with the heat. I've refused to leave my house for the last two days. There's been a lot of revisionism from many Americans who have been in London this year who said, actually, I'm from a very hot part of Georgia or something, or Texas, and here it is more unbearable, actually.

4:23So there's been a lot of revisionism. We're fighting back people.

4:25Luke Moore: I think London specifically. We're not built for heat. My wife's American family have often said that. They say it feels like a different type of heat. Is that why FIFA are scared to give us the World Cup? It could be, actually. One of the many reasons. But do you know England's going on to the World Cup thing straight away. Come on then. You mentioned America. One of the England games in the group stage is actually an air-conditioned, air-controlled, temperature-controlled stadium, isn't it? Right, yeah. So it should be fine. I think it's the Arlington one, the first game against Croatia, I believe, is going to be temperature-controlled, baby.

4:55Good luck, Croatia, because we're going to have it upset at that 15C. Yeah. Do you think they're going to, you know, they're going to fiddle with the thermometer? Well, that's why John Henderson's there, because he's the dad of the squad, isn't he? So he's going to have to make sure that nobody's He's going to assist the thermostat doesn't go anywhere because it costs money. It doesn't grow on trees.

5:13Luke Moore: How does it work then? It's got a big roof on it. Oh, it is a roof. Yeah, a big roof on it. I thought maybe, you know those heaters you get outside pubs? You've just got loads of them but do the... That would be the goalposts. You see them on holiday sometimes. They're fans but they've got like ice, like a refrigerant in the middle and they make it lovely and cool. We'll have temperature control at the World Cup watch parties that people can still buy tickets for. I don't know that's the case I'll tell you something though by which I mean there's an indoor area and an outdoor area the temperature control is drinking a can of delicious lager delicious lager exactly yeah the heat will be on though and that's a temperature control situation that's worked for Pete since about 1995 yeah and if you get too hot more lagers feel better do a piss get rid of the hot water piss we can't go a moment further without me saying thanks to friend of the ramble Mike Pirri for giving us that intro line yeah Pirri Pirai Mike Pissy.

6:07Luke Moore: Mike Pissy. Piri Piri. Yeah. So good they named him twice. Well, how hot is his Piri Piri? We don't know. Mike, get yourself involved. Extra hot. To the watch parties and we'll find out. Because we'll touch you appropriately to find out how hot you indeed are. If you want to submit an intro line and get the piss taken out of you like Mike did for a future episode and get an extended edition of today's show, then become a friend of the Ravel on our Patreon. just head to patreon.com forward slash football able to get involved now I tried to like a half-hearted World Cup party plug and it ended up with Pete just saying have a piss so we're doing great have a piss there will be toilets there get that on the tube there's toilets there Pete you know because you've been there exactly yeah Vish didn't come Vish didn't come to the photo shoot because he's above it but Pete definitely did come and he saw the toilet I would also like to add are you kicking all the stores who's in here what are you doing in here what are you doing you two you got any oh yeah two's on that there were squatters in the building before they were they were quite interesting and they'll be squatters again afterwards we're staying we're staying I'm going to be at the front like old DiCaprio in Wolf of Walsh you know what I'm staying I'm not leaving I'm staying for the next game yeah I mean yeah exactly we've got three pictures I'd love to see him like a David Blaine type art installation where he stays there he ties into the World Cup in a glass box and we pelt him with McDonald's burgers not in that heat I'll be on the remember he stood on the big plinth thing the big platform yeah yeah I'll give that one Nice block, he did nice block, didn't he?

7:35Do that.

7:35Luke Moore: I'm not doing the art. It would cool me down. We've got options, I think. I would like to chuck it out here. I mean, the intro to this show is probably revealed. We're in the kind of Premier League, World Cup perineum now, aren't we? I mean... Champions League final. We've got a European final tonight. Silly season. Yeah, both famously not part of the Premier League, but fair enough. No, but I think you've got to give that respect. I think you've got to talk about club football and international football. And Nuno's not even had the decency to be sacked. No. So we can't exactly talk about that.

8:05Luke Moore: You know he's going to go in a couple of hours when we're done. Yeah. We just talk about like he has been sacked. Come on then. We'll do two versions. Yeah, okay. Two different versions. I had two versions actually. I had a different version. But he is expected to leave West Ham this week after their relegation to the championship was of course confirmed on Sunday. Do they not want to keep him? I'm presuming... Is this him wanting to leave? I don't understand this at all. Yeah, I think... He's just gotten relegated. Yes. Does that help you understand it? Well, is he not going to have a nice time in the championship, is he?

8:34He did have Wolves, didn't he? He had a brilliant time with him. It's a fair point.

8:37Luke Moore: Well, I think... The fans appear somewhat split on this. I'm not going to give a percentage on it. I spent an inordinate amount of time on Knees Up Mother Brown, the West Ham fans forum yesterday. Right. And I can... Don't ask why. Is anyone else going to the March on the weekend? Yeah, exactly. That's uncalled for. Exactly, yeah. He looks at the very definition of a narc as well. Oh, really? They're dumping you in. Shots fired. Looking like a chilled out Bob Ross. Don't ever get the mustache again. Hey, guys. Does anybody know where I get some doobs? Hold on, hold on, hold on. Hey, guys. Anyone over here want to do any kind of racist stuff?

9:19Looking around. Listen. I was on the forum because I was doing research for the show. And I can conclude that I agree it is pretty split. Not a lot of people know whether they want them to go or not. I'm just saying. I completely agree with you. A lot of them are a little bit confused about some decision-making. The line-up against Newcastle from the starting position was strange. But the main thing that people have a problem with, which is kind of also his personal strength, is his close relationship with... Mendes. Mendes, isn't it? So there's that. He has brought in players probably above where West Ham would probably be fishing because of the relationship with George Mendes.

10:01you are kind of like on the forum always been the West Ham way though hasn't it having a close relationship

10:06Luke Moore: with agents if he does stay Mendes will be funneling players into the championship through West Ham come on that's someone to chat on this forum if he comes along with Mendes then we're fed up of it we're fed up of it yeah I mean that's the thing it's two things it works for Wolves yeah for a while it works in the championship they managed to get that like cut of Portuguese slash Portuguese based midfielder or you know forward they all look the same and all really good yes but but who would no one would really want to take a punt on them in the Premier League so they would just go to Wolves knowing that it was a stepping they literally like you know led to a surge in Portuguese cafes in Wolverhampton I mean their away kit was a tribute before they got to the Premier League their away kit one season was a tribute to Portugal I did a whole VT for Premier League productions in a Portuguese cafe in Wolverhampton it was wild it was like being in Portugal it was weird Yeah, yeah, yeah.

11:01But the... Since got banned from it. The two things... No. Just in... Listen, one pastel denat are too many. Yeah. It can happen to the best of us.

11:10Luke Moore: I went past it and said, no narcs allowed. No narcs. Brassley used to knock about with a little tub of cinnamon in his bag. He did, to pop it on. Dirty bastard. No, he did, he did. Dirty, dirty sauce. In case he saw Mike Perry.

11:27Be gone. I'm past the challenge. That makes sense now. Yeah. But the two things I would say is about West Ham, look at the people who are making decisions around Nuno. It's not just Nuno, is it? It's the problem. And the second thing is, what I always do, a little tip for people out there listening or watching when it comes to does a manager leave or not, and you've got a vested interest in it, look at the candidates who are coming in after. Look at the list of people they might be able to get, and then that will help you to inform your decision. That's what I would say.

11:52Luke Moore: Well, okay, shall I mention some of the names? Sure. So we should say that Daniel Kratinsky, the Czech billionaire the club's second largest shareholder does want Nuno to stay David Sullivan is understood to be less sure so there's your split David Sullivan's got other things to think about if I was a fan I'd think what does Sullivan want I want the opposite but Scott Parker is the bookies favourite with Slavin Bilic following behind Strasburg's Gary O 'Neill Wales' Craig Bellamy and recently sacked Bronby manager Steve Cooper are also being mentioned Parker seems like an easy fit doesn't it I mean, the man knows how to get out of that league.

12:31Yeah, exactly. And I'd also say that if you look at the players that Nuno, I suppose, raised up during this semi-decent run with West Ham at the back end of the season, all of them are probably going to go. I don't think Mavon Palace is going to stay. Disassi is obviously going to go back. Oh, there'll be a clear out there. Somerville, obviously Fernandes, everyone's all over him. Bowen, obviously, as well. So it becomes a completely different job. and they have to sell as well oh yeah

13:00Luke Moore: there'll be a clear out whether people whether fans sort of want certain players to stay or go and I think there'll be a lot of players that will go and I think a lot of the fans will be very happy to see them go they'll have to go anyway because of the money yeah with Nuno in particular I just think like hold out for a bit of compensation but you don't want to be there at the start of next season either no I mean when you sort of remind me of that situation I think to myself yeah I can't see Nuno staying I don't think he wants that I know his stock will have fallen a little bit, but let's be honest, he's been managing in the Premier League for a fair few seasons now.

13:32Luke Moore: And I know he lost his job at Spurs, which is a bit of a funny one. Forrest, an even funnier one. And now what's happened here? But I don't think that he'll want to stay with all the upheaval that's going on there. And also with the fans being so split as well. By definition, that means that there's a sizable chunk of the fan base who don't want you there. but when you say as I completely agree with what you said about the situation I think that the next guy hired my feelings would be surely you want a guy who can just get you straight out of that league that's why I think Scott Parker might be an attractive proposition I don't you know if any fan might be thinking well hang on but we want to manage to take us up and then carry us on that is a very very very tall order and I don't know who could be the man to do that give it Brucey one of those managers who give it Warnock one of the few clubs he probably hasn't managed if my mind is feels like one of those do you reckon he's trying to complete all of them get every club out of the championship every single club he wants to manage I feel there's a metal ceiling there he can't even see it's more of an underground Iranian bunker isn't it imagine the only fast forward 15 years no 25 years a 94 year old Steve Bruce the only club he hasn't managed in England is Man City and he's just like bang just give me a game he barely fucking managed Newcastle let's see what happens with the charges because he's likely it may well may well increase quite significantly but who knows but what do you think then Luke I mean Parker the book he's favourite again in terms of he's quite West Ham coded isn't he I think he's got the West Ham energy he's an Essex man he's a man of Essex well when you were talking I was thinking was he born in that kind of area but apparently he was born in Lambeth so south of the river he went to score a new cross but it's can they be that big the West probably not but of all the players you've listed there the West Ham energy is I would say strongest in Parker yeah and I think or Billich oh Billich as well to be fair yeah but Billich has done it before I think because the other thing about West Ham it seems to me from the outside looking in is that they have a lot of battles to fight because the club have made so many poor decisions right so if you're fighting the fact that the stadium is going to be a gigantic white elephant even more than it already is in the championships and cost loads of money and generating the atmosphere which did kind of happen for a while didn't it and now it's obviously gone to shit again because they've been relegated you know to me if you're the ownership there a hiring of Scott Parker is quite an easy win it's kind of a bit like we've got Scott Parker he's West Ham you know and that will give people a positive start to the season plus the arguably more important fact is that he has shown to be a really adept championship manager but he has been really good in the championship in the past.

16:19So to me it feels more likely and more sensible. Callum Wilson up top doing a Dwight Gill knocking them in for fun in the championship. I think Callum Wilson

16:29Luke Moore: will be angling for a move. I don't know actually. He'll be on decent money. He's not going to start for a move. He might not enjoy it. Hang on. He was angling for a move a few months ago. No, they wanted to get rid of him in January. And then they couldn't really get anyone in. And then they couldn't offload him. I think he'll Yeah, I think it'll churn. He might end up being like a Kevin Phillips role. It'll just do, you know, loads of different, like, top half of the championship teams and just, you know, get them promoted and then jump to the next one. A lot of Spurs fans were enjoying replaying the clip of Mikel Antonio and Callum Wilson laughing at Richarlison for taking his shirt off for disallowed goals.

17:10Yeah. Right, okay. And saying, oi, how do you feel about that now? No, Mikel, Mikel's in a car crash. he was exactly I thought it was distasteful that's why I brought it up Vish

17:19Luke Moore: it's a very popular thing isn't it looking back to a particular moment where feelings could be very much understood in that moment and then everyone with hindsight going how do you feel about that now well obviously different I don't think you know the answer to that in fact that's a wasted question yeah it is absolutely can Antonio come back yeah he's like a tilt in the championship he's been he's been he's got big player manager energy that's what I want to ask that's what I want to ask a time of treo in him arms I tell you what if they keep hold a trower he'll have a nice time of the championship he'll have to come all the way back from Qatar could they prize former hammer Frank Lampard away from Coventry City that's funny isn't it because in another timeline in another situation you think that's Lampard all over do you no because they hate him yeah right I tell you what though give him credit he won this season's League Managers Association award last night and he was because he's been outstanding he has I was very pleased for him Mikel Arteta was named Premier League Manager of the season I think you've got to give that to him you do I think there's some other counter that's in the Premier League.

18:15Keith Andrews is a bit gutted. Andrew, Reggie Labriss? Another one, yeah. Yeah, but I think ultimately, given the timeline that Arteta's been on.

18:22Luke Moore: Labriss is pissed off that Man City didn't win the league, because he'd have that. He'd have had it all over, yeah. He would have had it. But you've got to be pleased for Lampard and Coventry, what they've done this season. They will be in the Premier League, whereas of course West Ham won't be next season. Relegation will reportedly cost West Ham about£100 million in lost income. Deary me. I mean, you said the other day. That's two stakers. I was, yeah, I think, yeah, you said the other day, mitigated disaster for West Ham. It's a shame because they seem to sort of find a bit of a system. Because when Potter was in charge, it was just like he tried a different formation every time and it wasn't working.

18:57And then Nuna comes in and he eventually sort of, they have some sort of identity by the end of it. I know what you mean. And it's just too little too late.

19:04Luke Moore: Well, that was it, PJ. Yeah, we did say, didn't we, that he got them going and then he gave them a fighting chance. But the problem is it was so crap for so long at the start. And that's ultimately what caused them. Yeah, between January and April, it wasn't too bad. Yeah. It wasn't too bad. But before January, I mean, it was just piss poor. Yeah, it was, yeah. It was piss poor. And the thing about, Pete, you say about Potter is that, like, it looked like Potter, like, it's such, like, an irredeemable nerd for it. Like, it felt like he was, you know, when you see those true crime, those kind of detective scenes where the detective is getting more and more into the case and become more and more complicated.

19:38And everyone around him is going, look, you just need to take a step back. Yeah. Stop putting those pinboards up. with the string everywhere. That's Potter. He's just got like a picture of Callum Wilson with like 15 strings coming off it. And at the bottom it's got like goalkeeper? Just take a step back, Ray.

19:54Luke Moore: I think it got so bad I think it was Memento. It was Memento. It was all over the place and then he realised it was me, isn't it? It's Football Manager 26 just click let the assistant manager. Yeah, the assistant do it. But Pete, your life is very similar to Memento. You wake up in the morning you've got a load of unexplained tattoos you can't know if anything's happened. People are screaming at you. There's a dog. Drink a can of Monster. Yeah. As he famously did. As he famously did. Yeah. The only thing that was missing in the film. Christian Bale actually did famously. Was it Christian Bale or was it Christian Bale?

20:21No, it wasn't. The Aussie blood. No, it wasn't. It's the Aussie blood. Guy Pearce. Guy Pearce. Guy Pearce. He looks a bit like Val Kilmer. Guy Pearce to get into the role whilst drinking eight Monsters a day. Answer the question then.

20:31Luke Moore: What? No, no. Stay or go? I think he should probably go. I think it should be a fresh start. Anyone think he should stay? I think he should stay. Really? well we already know Vish thinks he should get out of there yeah I think he's got mutual consent written all over it I agree 3 to 1 Peter we're split well it's going to happen then if it's 3 to 1 but the great thing is though Peter is if he actually stays you get to play this video and chuck it in our faces regularly there's been a lot of that lately I don't like it no it's the time thing again exactly yeah we do this every week we toss out fluff every week one thing we know for sure is that there will be a decision made as soon as we hit stop on the absolutely right yeah yeah Yeah, yeah.

21:11Stick around for that. Press stop now. Yeah, yeah. Come back and get that.

21:14Luke Moore: What the club probably need, well, somewhat joking aside, is as horrible as it is to say, huge money, huge wealthy investors to come in and basically build them a stadium somewhere around there and just get them out. And it's not going to happen, I understand. They're in a great stadium, so just sort that one out. It's fine. I think the payments go down this year anyway. The payments do go down this year, but it's not a great stadium. I was about to say, It's the first bit of that I've had an issue with. It's fine. Stop whinging. That's what we need. They need Pete to go around and say, this is a great stadium.

21:45It's fine. Stop whinging. I've been there. It's a bit dry and stuff, but they could make slight improvements just to move it a little bit closer to...

21:53Luke Moore: I don't know whether they are allowed to make improvements. They tried doing that a few years ago and they were able to move the back part. You know, the stand behind the goal was a bit closer. They couldn't do it. They refused to do it with the away fan. What? Nunu's staying at West Ham. Hey! What a Pete! 3, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1. 3, 2, 1, 2, 1. There we go, Peter. Yeah. Well, I mean, to be honest, it's a long World Cup and it may have changed. Your contacts at West Ham must be rock solid. I know. It's incredible. I've been on the knees of Mother Brown. Frank Champion. Frank Champion. He's in deep. And I was playing opposite.

22:26Luke Moore: So we were split right there. Oh, no, Marcus. Peter and I. Nuno's staying. How about that? He wants to tilt at it. But that means the relationship with Mendes continues. That means players like, you know, your Pablos and your Castellanos and stuff. They might stick around for another one. Does Vitinha fancy another stint in England? Listen to this one. Trincao, come back. From West Ham, while the ultimate outcome on Sunday was a painful one, the board of directors believed there have been broader signs of improvement and progress in recent months, and we want Nuno to continue developing that progress.

22:57Luke Moore: Well, there you are. Have we heard from Nuno? No, apparently not. It's really great. It's proper Orwellian, that. Sullivan's had a U-turn here. There's been progress in recent months. You've been relegated. We want to continue that progress. What? Relegation? Come on, Bloke. All right. It's great to get an answer on the show. Be happy for them, okay? Nuno's staying. Be happy for us. Although, it says he's staying this week. So we'll see what happens next week. He's very much the right man for the moment. Of the moment. Is he the wrong answer to the right question, though? Well, I'll tell you who might be that.

23:33Luke Moore: Evangelos Maranakis. Great to ask. This is great. I wanted to lobby very hard for this to open the show today because it's related to Nuno. You can bounce straight onto Nuno easily. Start with this. That's what people come for. Well, we're going to bounce off Maranakis into this, if you will, as seen before what happened. The other night, yeah, old Evangelos got into a fight with the Greek Prime Minister's nephew. It's a great start. While watching Olympiacos' basketball team this weekend, or the weekend just gone. The fight occurred during the EuroLeague final. no less between Olympiacos and Real Madrid in Athens.

24:07Luke Moore: The Greek Prime Minister's nephew allegedly spat at Maranacos. Now, if he did that, in this country and a lot of other countries, that is the lowest of the low. Maranacos said he'd rather he broke his leg. Which he almost did. I'd rather I broke his leg than he spat at me. So he got in a fight with the Greek Prime Minister's nephew. So it's very much like Barry Fry getting in a fight with Tony Blair's son. Yeah. yeah I see what you mean yeah that's an interesting one didn't it did you watch it did you watch the footage I did watch the footage I mean he's a lot of I don't know obviously we didn't see the spitting it was on the stairs which makes it funnier yeah it's more perilous and people like constantly looking for their feet yeah I always wondered as I'm sure we all have done what Maranacus would look like not wearing a baggy white t-shirt because that's all we ever see him in he was wearing like an open neck shirt and for a moment we did see a bit of it didn't we because it was like it was was somebody trying to pulling back and we saw he looked a bit more Greek because it looked more like a tunic yes you know what I mean yeah yeah yeah Demis Roussos yeah yeah okay and then everyone just started chugging plates at each other but you know

25:16if anyone's going to spit down my shirt it's going to be me think about the credit I'm bad but you know that ripped shirt look it's only ever seen on men who've been in the fight yes there's no other reason to have the old buttons popped off and the shirt ripped are they taking it back as a ripped fucking rip you did that to me in a nightclub in Kiev true well that is because you got inside my t-shirt I'm just enjoying enjoying the space enjoying the space so we were in Kiev 2012 not long after and we were calling it Kiev back in those days yeah we were exactly not long after Pete's incident the famous incident the famous incident yeah and we had been drinking there's no way there's no way to soften this I'm just going to tell you right now we had quite simply been drinking for 12 hours it was about 8 in the morning the bars didn't close and so it's their fault sometimes I need they're complicit sometimes you need a place to close and Pete when I was not in a position to defend myself Pete climbed into my shirt so basically I'm standing here like this and Pete is in the shirt with his head coming out here like a parachute instructor yeah kind of like cross between that and an alien in Men in Black right and I was like just get out of my t-shirt no one's never done this before I don't know what to do I couldn't take mine off because it was too tight Squat as rights Screaming squat as rights I'm trying to erase the memories

26:35Luke Moore: of anybody who's seen anything Yeah and then and then when he finally got out the shirt was obviously ruined Brand new t-shirt It was like about 14 sizes You were in the elasticity of it don't you? I ripped his shirt buttons and so he was hanging on Bothered by ladies all night after that Not true That's the only part of the story that's not true I like the idea as well that you'd been drinking for 12 hours at 8am and Pete went sometimes you need somewhere to close, as if the sun wasn't already doing that job to tell you it was... He might have gone on a bit long. Yeah, but he went to Nestle in Luke's bosom.

27:08Luke Moore: It was an underground bar, one of those ones where you don't know what time it is. Well, the chap... I feel I can relate to Maranacos. We didn't have a fight. So whose side are you on in this? We know enough about Maranacos, but the chap who he was in the spat with, if you will, is Gregorius Dimitriadis, the Prime Minister's nephew. He resigned from his position as General Secretary following a phone tapping scandal in 2022. And he was exposed after an investigation reported by sections of the Greek media owned by Maranachis. It's very difficult to navigate this story without resorting to any kind of stereotype.

27:48And a knock at the door. And we failed. We failed at every second of this piece. But whenever I see people in positions of power in Greece, I look at it and I go, they're up to their neck in it. They're all up to their neck in it. No one's getting out of this with any credit. A proud EU member brothers. They're all in each other's T-shirts. They are. But I would say this. I mean, Pete, I don't know if you want to go into describing the fight in a bit more detail, but if one of them spat at the other one, I would say you're within your rights to throw hands after that. And I think I probably, on this very specific incident, is disgusting.

28:24Exactly. I'm on Maranakis' side. I'm very much the 10-year-old girl to Jamie Carragher's Greek Prime Minister's nephew.

28:31Luke Moore: Do you feel this is Alien v. Predator? It is a bit. Whatever happens, we lose. Exactly. But I like to see a very, very overweight man fighting on some precarious stairs. That seems to me like a recipe for a really good bit of entertainment. We go back to West Ham. Was it Nolsey? Nolsey. I was thinking Nolsey. Was it Feyenoord, I think? The semi-final of the Yeah, it was in the Netherlands, yeah. I don't remember this. What was this? Oh, Nolsey, the big West Ham fan. He was at the top of the stairs. That's right, yeah. And there was... The local fans were trying to get out the West Ham fans, but Nolsey, like a knight in shining armour at the top of the castle, was just battering him.

29:07Luke Moore: Hold on. Oh, yeah, I remember that. Hold on. Yeah. Hold on. Hold on, yeah. Great stuff. Yeah. All right, everybody. Enough of the nonsense. We're going to have a break. Coming up after this, Portland Timbers give Fizzer the mutually consented chop.

29:27This episode is sponsored by Momentus. I spend a lot of my time thinking about football, wrestling, Japanese things, and hypothetical DIY hacks that I'm too scared to try. What I hadn't thought about enough, though, is fiber. And I'm not alone. Modern diets and busy lifestyles mean nearly 95 % of people aren't getting enough fiber, even though it may be one of the most important parts of your health. That's why Momentous launched Fiber Plus, a triple-action formula combining soluble and insoluble fiber with prebiotic-resistant starch to support gut health and digestion. It helps your body absorb nutrients better, stabilizes blood sugar, and improves recovery.

30:04Where many products use a single source of fiber and are full of gut-disrupting additives, Fiber Plus combines three types of fiber, helping close a major gap in modern nutrition. Support your gut health and overall performance with Momentus Fiber Plus and get up to 35 % of your entire first order at livemomentus.com promo code RAMBLE. That's livemomentus.com promo code RAMBLE for up to 35 % off. livemomentus.com promo code RAMBLE. I thank you.

30:36Pool days call for cookouts and lots of laundry. This Memorial Day at Lowe's, save$80 on a Charbroil Performance Series 4-Burner Gas Grill. Now just$199. Plus, get up to 45 % off select major appliances to keep dishes, clothes, and food fresh. Having fun in the sun is easy with us in your corner. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valid through 527. While supplies last, selection varies by location. See associate or lowes.com for details. Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts. Why did I search the internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze.

31:22I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that. Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful. I'm Jake Stouck, co-founder and CEO of Serval. We built Serval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding, password resets, access to applications, my laptop stopped working. While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. IT desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Serval what you want to automate in plain English, and it's built. No drag-and-drop workflows, no expensive consultants.

32:03Employees get unblocked and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Serval, IT becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run IT. We guarantee you'll automate 50 % of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four-week pilot. Go to serval.com slash ACAST. That's S-E-R-V-A-L dot com slash ACAST.

32:41we we we won five we can i finish speaking are you going to interrupt can i finish speaking okay because i don't interrupt your question okay so don't interrupt mine show some respect so

32:58Luke Moore: sorry for the language the in in the sorry what was the question what about the football ramble everybody vice my mind is like a vice Phil Neville has left Portland Timbers the Rambles official MLS team of course yeah well they were I think they still are I think you know the fans stay whatever happens the fans stay and we're going to stay a lot of people have been in touch to share this news with us A lot of them getting involved on my Twitter account. Thank you, everybody who broke this news to me. The official wording of the departure is that they have mutually parted ways. Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said, In my nearly two decades of owning and operating the Portland Timbers, there are very few people I have enjoyed working with more than Phil Neville.

33:45Luke Moore: Phil has outstanding leadership qualities and a boundless sense of positivity, even in the face of adversity. I cannot thank Phil enough for his tireless dedication to this club and the Portland community, which he and his family truly embraced. That's nice, isn't it? 33 % win percentage. Well, the Timbers General Manager... Have you made that up? You can click on the link yourself. Listen, Vish, your man's just lost his job. Yeah, I have a bit of. Because you work at our solidarity. Exactly, yeah. Timbers General Manager Ned Grabbovoi said... Yeah, you're right, it's not made up, go on. Can't be made up, can it?

34:18Luke Moore: Yeah. It's an American name. He said... What's Grabbovoi said? Go on. he's grabbed a boy that's out of order he said he said this off season we had pointed grab a boy I hardly knew him this off season we had pointed discussions about the areas we needed to build on and improve ultimately we have not seen the progress we've needed to and most importantly results have fallen well short of expectations so there's the reason Fizzer himself did say to my staff thank you for your hard work to the most incredible bunch of players. Thank you for the effort, the good times, the good results, the bad results and all the laughs we shared together.

34:58Luke Moore: Yeah, I think he's shitloaded laughs. I realise we are in a results business though. Sorry, what was that laugh again? In 2024 though, Peter, I'll have you know that Portland set a single season club record, a scoring record. Club record. Club record. Scoring record with 65 goals. He wants to something, isn't it? Yeah. Was he knocking in balls from out deep? Maybe he's trying to position himself as one of the great entertainers yeah exactly and look they're currently 13th in the league they're safe from relegation so I cannot yes I know there's no relegation I cannot don't make it obvious I cannot it's actually the relegation couldn't be bothered with the admin I cannot respect the man until he comes and takes a moderate to poor job in England here we go Salford City it has to be that it has to be they've hit a glass ceiling Salford they've shown how difficult it can be with all the resources you need and all the stuff you want and the contacts and all the rest of it in the game and they've never been able they obviously missed that again this season what better man to go and fully confirm it is impossible to get out of that league him having Gary Neville as his boss I think it would be more of a group effort he would just be the to think so yeah I think so I think it would be like in the death of Starling you've seen that when they're all fusing on what to do next I mean people have been messaging me saying obviously if Marco Silva leaves Fulham that'll test you he will wouldn't he I'd love that because he would be contractually obliged to enjoy it at work he'd have to I think you'd see the best of me in my skills if he got that job I'd love it if you just went completely healed if he got the Fulham job it would be essentially me in a roundabout way campaigning in a by-election you know like you would be nosy you would be nosy you would I would get through it and think and people would be saying this guy should be a politician with that level of spin on manoeuvres from day one do you know how good like the England women's team is he's got a 54 % win ratio he won the She Believes Cup actually with them alright sorry I forgot about the She Believes Cup 54 % it's difficult for you isn't it because if you don't if you don't respect that you're disrespecting the women's football cup yeah what do you mean yeah well I don't know what the She Believes stop talking about win percentages who's funding it stop talking about it's the first time you've ever talked about win percentages it's bad you've only ever talked about them today I've never heard you mention win percentages ever because Phil Neville doesn't deserve to be on the shot and I'm trying to present stats to Marcus and Marcus does like a league table and he likes stats so I'm trying to wean him off it it's too early to look at the league table there's no there's no fizz or methadone for him there's no way out there's no intervention we can Marcus is going to start looking at the league table and group Ella the World Cup which England currently sits up off thank you very much thank you everybody well let's talk about the World Cup then do some more win percentages before the end of the show what's Lionel Messi's win percentage Messi win percentage And people will be all over that.

37:5273.2 % in the league at NBA. You're just timing win percentage into Google and being the first in the league.

37:59Luke Moore: Who is the goat in football? Speaking of politicians, there's an administration who could do with a man like you. But look, Lionel Messi, let's move on from Fizzer. Lionel Messi obviously playing at Inter Miami, Fizzer's old club. There's your link. He's been diagnosed with muscle fatigue. Now a doubt for the start of the World Cup. they are in a group with Algeria Austria and Jordan could probably sit those out couldn't you but Austria I don't know oh yeah your third place might be good enough to get I think that Lionel Messi will be playing for the first game on June 16th against Algeria in the World Cup that's my hot take on this situation Lionel Messi walked down the tunnel because he felt something in his hamstring fine was he walking though he was walking he was walking that's what they want you to believe had a pretty decent clip if you don't mind me saying it.

38:48He saw Maranakis coming down the stairs.

38:52Luke Moore: A quick spit on him and I'm off. Look, it's not time to really delve into the World Cup but I tell you what, old Specs in charge of Austria have got to have a plan for Messi. How exciting was he in the last tournament we watched? Austria were great. They were fantastic. They were very good. And he's bringing his bike, I'm in. Oh, absolutely, yeah. He'll save a few quid on the public transport in the US if he takes his bike. Absolutely. He was, I mean the thing about him, old Specs, Ralph Rangnick is he is an irredeemable nerd but he leans into it his bike thing came from the fact that he hurt his ankle and he couldn't get around the pitch very well just get myself a bike he's not thought at any point that is dad logic yeah it is he's the Francis bourgeois of football man at the time I was kind of like oh I kind of get it and then again with hindsight how do you feel about this now I do look back and I go what man you're not doing hiring him he actually Vich has got some things on this he actually did very well because he was basically brought in to be an auditor and he was like here are all the things wrong with Manchester United and they were like I don't say that in public because like what do you want me to do yeah exactly because he's a nerd he can't he's not going to party so Ruben Amarum was building on his fine PR work because it was actually the complete opposite because Amarum was like yeah they're all really rubbish but like I've got the right ideas we'll just play people out of position right Ralph Rannick is Jeff Goldblum on Independence Day he's inappropriate in the data and he's saying this is bad well I think he's more Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park.

40:18Luke Moore: Yeah, okay. Well, and he was just on the training ground with the players going, must go faster, must go faster. Jeff Goldblum's too sexy in Jurassic Park. Yeah, he's a bit too sexy. But it's not a perfect analogy. But I think his entire vibe at Manchester United was, I don't think we should. Yeah, okay. We shouldn't be doing any of it. You shouldn't be doing any of it, yeah. Okay. So I think, anyway, I think in summary, Messi will be fine, everyone. But I want you to get your opinion. Who do you fancy in that group? I fancy Argentina. Okay, fair enough. Elsewhere in the World Cup, Iran are playing.

40:50Luke Moore: They are involved. This is a mad situation. But they've moved their World Cup headquarters from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico, just the other side of the border. With all the pissed up spring breakers, lovely stuff. Yeah, that'll do. Tijuana leader. Do you remember Gomez, that band? Yeah, I do. Whipping Piccadilly. I've actually very briefly been to Tijuana. Have you? No. Okay. Wasted on you, if you don't mind me saying. At that age, yeah. now though even why is that you wouldn't get pissed yeah there's a lot of other stuff you can do though go on don't say it like that no do say it like that whoa whoa we're fighting for our lives here for content you're fucking talking him down you're talking him down they're going to shut us down if he continues Mark is the sins of the flesh tour yeah oh no there was there was no bonking was there any nookie I tell you what though Pete you'd be all over this if you wanted and this was in the 90s but if you wanted slightly odd-looking Simpsons character ornaments.

41:46Right, yeah, nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

41:48Luke Moore: I'll tell you what. Does Pete want them? You'll find it. Oh, absolutely. You've been searching eBay up and down for them, but you get yourself to Tijuana. I don't know if they're still there. It was years ago. Perhaps they are, but Iran will be able to tell us because they're going to be based in Tijuana. They're in a group with New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt. I can't stress enough how big this World Cup is in terms of teams. Can I just interject here because basically, There's a lot of chat. I read the article on, I think it was The Athletic about this, and a lot of chat in the comments about what's actually happening here.

42:20How is this going to work? Because, of course, all of Iran's games in the group are in the US. That's right, yeah. LA and Seattle. And they're going to have to go through, I mean, LA, fine, but they're still going to have to go through some kind of immigration process, which as we imagine... Every time. Yeah, it's not going to be straightforward because it never fucking is. And they're Iran, right? They're on the same time zone, I guess, at least. But how does this actually work in terms of the logistics. So if you're going from Tijuana to Seattle, which is a long old hop, when are you going? How does it affect your plans that you've already got in place?

42:52How does the immigration work? Then you've got to go all the way back. If they get through the group, where are they playing next? It's a shit show.

42:58Luke Moore: They are very fair points you raise there, Luke. It's almost as if it's a bit of a shit show. Almost as if the country's unfit for purpose when it comes to hosting international sporting events. What frustrates me? Stick to the World Series. What frustrates me is just the way that FIFA, they go after all the stuff that isn't important. And then they just come out and they'll say, don't worry everyone, we've moved Iran to be based in... What's actually going to happen? How's it going to work? You're not going to need any detail on what's going on? I'm sure, politically, they'll be waived through.

43:31I don't think it'll be as difficult as you would imagine a normal block from Tehran. I don't know. I mean, again... It'll be waived. I generally think it's... They look petty and silly. Yeah, but I think we're getting into territory here where it could end up being quite dangerous because they're making it actively difficult for them to participate at this World Cup. The US, not even just FIFA, we're going to get to a situation where there are obviously going to be flashpoints at their games. And I think this is only going to add to the Aucklanders. But I mean, it was Iran who moved it themselves.

44:04Luke Moore: I think just so nobody's confused here, it's not the Americans who have said, off you go. that Iran have been complicit in this move. Yeah, sure, but... Yeah, but they've done it for their own... I just wanted to make sure that... But have they done it for a political reason or have they done it for a functional safety issue? No, no, they've done it for political reasons, would be my strong suspicion, and everybody else's. Look, it's... The reality is they're going to have to go... They're going to have to... Forget all that stuff, respectfully. Just forget all that for a minute, just because the original point I'm making is we are three weeks away from the World Cup and they've made their plans, and these plans would have been in place for a long time, And whether they've done it for political reasons or not, they felt like they've had to do it, which I think is understandable.

44:44And now they're going to have to go for a load of extra organization admin. They weren't going to have to go through before. And I just love to see FIFA say that what's the detail here? How's this actually going to work? Because ultimately this feels like it should have been in place a long time ago and it doesn't look like it isn't. And if you're going to get into a situation where, you know, FIFA just have a quick meeting and go, yeah, you were going to be based there, now you can be based there. There are international borders involved is what I'm saying. and I don't think the US has the best reputation at managing those borders when people are coming in, particularly recently so it's just a flashpoint that needs to be raised

45:19Luke Moore: Would you like a more positive World Cup story after that? Sure Norway did a squad reveal squad reveals are big things now we saw the England one which I thought was pretty good Yeah, it was good but Norway did their squad reveal and it was King Harald who revealed it quite brilliantly. And some of the shots and footage of Norway were beautiful. Oh, it was great. Vish, you were a fan of this one. I saw you putting it on Insta. Didn't give me a credit for sharing it with him, did he? Didn't give me a credit. You shared it from Horse and Hound magazine. Town and Country magazine, actually. Sorry.

45:58Why is it on Town and Country magazine? I don't know. It's just the first thing that came up on Google. I don't know why it was in there. Norway's a country, isn't it? Yeah, it's true. It has a town. Right. It has more than one, you would think. Yeah. You embarrassed yourself Pete? What's the town percentage of Norway? I think it's a Bauer production as well Is it really? We'd have a general meeting from Fraulein Bauer and come over and go if you have a very good year in newspapers and magazines radio not so good all down to you Peter

46:31Luke Moore: Hence you're here But Vish the reveal. The reveal? The reveal video. Yeah. I was a bit concerned saying the king did a reveal video. Sorry. It is a bit like a squad reveal. Yeah. A royal reveal. Yeah. Too many of them in this country. Yeah. Yes. You're all behind Norway then. They are in a proper group. Finally. There we go. Proper World Cup group. It's quite interesting they got the king to reveal it because the king King is an ex-professional sportsman himself, right? He's a world championship sailor. Right. What else has he got to do? That's so Norwegian, isn't it? Yeah, it is, yeah. And I think it made me think of, would we get King Charles to do our reveal?

47:15Probably not. I mean, we might do. Yeah, but you've got to be careful. But it'd be in a witty video with James Corden, wouldn't it, or someone like that? Well, Luke, let's be honest. And Paddington will be there. Yeah, always Paddington.

47:24Luke Moore: Let's be honest. The King, I mean, could have done Scotland's reveal video as well. He could have. Oh, he was formerly the Prince of Wales, of course. you couldn't do Wales because they wouldn't have one but in theory you could have there you go so I think it's probably wise you'd get Prince William to do it he's a big football guy no you'd want a royal who's good in the heat and somebody doesn't sweat Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor get him involved no longer a royal really yeah but you see Prince William though but he's currently the Prince of Wales that's right exactly so he shouldn't do I mean he's head of the FA so a conflict which English figure would you have liked Peter to do the reveal video for England oh would it have to be English well yeah I mean, it'd be a bit weird otherwise, wouldn't it?

48:03I would want the, well, it's kind of an English kind of, you know, parallel with England, I suppose. The Bjergir Lillian, the bloke who did the Princess Diana. Oh, that guy. Oh, you know what I mean? Can you hear me? You guys took one hell of a beating. Yeah. Is he still alive? He can't be still alive. No, I don't. He just goes through the name of the squad like that. Yeah, I don't hate that. I think that's the right noise. Because he's got a lot of players with three or more syllables in them. He'd be fucked with Dan Byrne. Jed Spence. Surely, though. I think Elliot Henderson. Yeah, that's nice.

48:38Jude Bellingham. Jordan Henderson. And at the end, he could say, the rest of you guys will take a hell of a beating. Yeah. That'd be great. Surely, though, if he quite crucially wasn't dead. Mr. Blarby.

48:48Luke Moore: So if this guy's no longer here, surely then the next best thing is the guy who channels that, and obviously is very much piggybacking his work, Jason Gunley with a mask on. Oh, that you're talking. That's it, isn't it? That would be great. You know, that's what he's doing. So basically, you get Jamie O 'Hara to say the name, and it just deadpan cuts to Cundi wearing a mask of that player. Yeah. And if it's a player he doesn't agree with, he has the old bow tie and the count hat on. For some reason, though, I think to myself, let's just do it in the Ange mask. I don't know why. I don't know why.

49:19Luke Moore: Do it in the Ange. Oh, Ange, do it. Would we want him to? No, I think that would be a bit... Not an Aussie. No, you can't have an Aussie. Not after the ashes. you just can't do that there's a series of countries I've made them very clear on this show over the recent months in a World Cup there's a series of countries that you cannot give any credit to they are France they are Germany they are Argentina and they are quite simply Australia although I understand the Australian rivalry in football isn't that big we've just had a devastating if you are going to have an Aussie do it it has to be an Aussie who has been anglicised a lot Nick Cave Harris Jason Donovan Who?

49:56Luke Moore: You said Ralph Harris. I just said Harris. I would like to see it done by Jim Davidson. Yeah, lovely. My dad met Jim Davidson in a pub once and shook his hand because he loved Big Break. What was the other show he did? It was Generation Game. Yeah, was it Generation Game? Yeah, the Generation Game. I would have been about seven at the time and he told me this and we'd watch it every weekend. And then maybe about 10 years later, I was like, Dad, what are you doing? I don't think you really knew back then. Did we know much about people then? If you've actually seen him do stand-up, you might not know.

50:32Luke Moore: And everyone gets there eventually. My dad was checking out of a hotel, and Jim Davison was in front of him at the reception. And I won't say the exact thing my father said, because I don't say those words on the pod, but let's say Jim Davison was acting rather diva-ish and demanding this. than a cunny. By the way, Bjorga Lillian, he died in 1987. I know you are, you see. A long time ago now. I think Brian Blessed would be great for the squad reveal. That would be really good. Do you think also like, like, God burn! Yeah, that would be fantastic. David Attenborough would be, That would be quite nice.

51:08Because also, in the typical kind of nature documentarist way, he couldn't get involved so he'd have to read out Jordan Henderson, Dan Byrne, regardless of whether he wanted to or not. Yeah, it's true. But he will famously I see David Antwerp only ever do animals. He won't do... He occasionally does plant. We'll only do animals.

51:24Luke Moore: But aren't we all animals at the end of the day? Yeah. Yeah, it's true, actually. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, all right. Now, coming up after this, the Eagles are eyeing up European glory.

51:45Pool days call for cookouts and lots of laundry. This Memorial Day at Lowe's. Save$80 on a Charbroil Performance Series 4-Burner Gas Grill. Now just$199. Plus, get up to 45 % off select major appliances to keep dishes, clothes, and food fresh. Having fun in the sun is easy with us in your corner. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valid for 527. While supplies last, selection varies by location. See associate or lowes.com for details. I'm Jake Stouck, co-founder and CEO of Serval. We built Serval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding, password resets, access to applications, my laptop stopped working.

52:26While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. IT desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Serval what you want to automate in plain English, and it's built. No drag-and-drop workflows, no expensive consultants. Employees get unblocked and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Serval, IT becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run IT. We guarantee you'll automate 50 % of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four-week pilot. Go to serval.com slash ACAST.

53:04That's S-E-R-V-A-L dot com slash ACAST.

53:13This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. This is Felix Salmon from Slate Money, and I'm here to tell you about Apple Card. Even as a seasoned traveler, things can still get stressful, which is why I use Apple Card on my international trips. And with 2 % daily cash back on every purchase with Apple Pay, I'm actually earning daily cash as I travel. Instead of coming home feeling like I've drained my bank account, I come back with cash back I can put toward my next trip. Apply in the Wallet app on iPhone. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City Branch.

53:52Terms and more at apple.co slash applecardbenefits.

54:04Luke Moore: Welcome back, everybody. Right, we've got the small matter of Crystal Palace versus Rio Vallecano tonight. Palace have a chance to win a first European trophy in the club's history. However, Rio Vallecano are hardly a trophy-laden club themselves. No, they're not. So whoever wins, the romance will be in the air, Vish. I think we can all agree. Yeah, definitely. You've suddenly got me feeling for Rio Vallecano. Have Palace not won enough recently? Yeah, yeah. They had a trophy lift at Salas Park on the weekend. I love the way I loved how long they waited made us to wait for that you could see if you know a little bit about TV David Jones was fighting for his life he was absolutely fighting for his life for like an hour they clearly had some kind of miscommunication where they thought the trophy was going to be because he first announced it at 6.15pm then he went 6.30 and it only ended up just after 7 and he's just going back to Roy Keane asking him all sorts of questions but Jones is very professional he's great he's really good and Keane knows that because if you go cast your minds back to some of the best footage I've seen of a game involving England he does was when Adrian Charles and Roy Keane I forget who the others were in Poland for an England qualifier when it monsooned that's right that's right good reference so Keane was there good call back but it was I mean we have to remember also Crystal Palace were only doing this because they fucked up their admin but we said at the start we said this right at the start of the season Palace I know it's very frustrating don't worry you will almost certainly win this trophy and then you'll get you'll get a trophy and then you get to play in the Europa League proper next season.

55:35If you do the admin.

55:37Luke Moore: No, no, no. They buggered the admin, therefore. They've still got to do the admin again to get into the Europa League again. Oh, I see what you mean. You've still got to answer the email. Do they, though? I think so. I think it's good. Do you fancy it again? No, I don't think so. I would say... Steve Parrish was the one in charge of Iran's admin. He's running there in Mexico. Oh, sorry. The email went to info at iranfootball.com. It's not a monitored email address. We didn't think it was. I would say to anybody who does the Palace admin for next season's Europa League, if you win the trophy, everyone will know you've won the trophy.

56:08Luke Moore: It'll take care of itself. Don't worry about it. Don't dump up a checker. Yeah, you'll be absolutely fine. Just go and join the World Cup. Something we do know that it'll be Oliver Glasner's final game in charge of Crystal Palace this evening. A chance for him to write another chapter of history in the fine club's history books. Pete Donaldson, will you be sad to see Oliver Glasner go? Yeah, it's been a hell of a run, hasn't it, the last, well, I guess two seasons, wasn't it? where they really start a kick on. But I mean, like, in recent history, I mean, they're obviously massive favourites for this match and they're going to do it and Arsenal are going to do it and everyone's...

56:41Is Arsenal going to do it? Clean sweep. Dominated. Go a bit further. One further. England. One further. England's World Cup. There we are. All right, that'll be a good summer. England's going to win the Conference League. Christoph Piers going to win the Champions League. We'll take Arsenal to the England and we're going to win the World Cup. Yeah, that'll be good. You'd rather, wouldn't you? I like the fact that he's probably going to... I mean, we don't know, but he's probably they'll be favourites to lift a European trophy tonight and for a while now Glausner's been a bit like I don't give a shit he's basically actively pissing off the ownership like just giving like really demob happy interviews from time to time and he might still just sign off with a big trophy

57:19Luke Moore: he's been a lot happier in the last couple of months because he knows he's going he's not going he's skipping meetings he's bringing in Scrooble Scramble yeah I know you're talking Scrooble Scramble 2 now by the way my niece got it for Christmas. Quite. About time. Who knew? Nobody talks about it. I don't think we need it. I think... It's been out for years and you can actually connect the two together as well. You can. You can. Basically, what you're hoping for is like Trainspotting. The first one is so good. It's absolutely fine but you need it so much time and you go, okay, what's this? You go, you know what?

57:45Luke Moore: Is the second one okay? I think it's... Realistically, it's as good as it could be. I think I bought it. Have you seen the second one? I've seen the second one, yeah. It came out about five years ago. I haven't seen the first one.

58:00Luke Moore: Scruble Scramble before you play the second one you have to do that otherwise you just simply won't get Scruble Scramble whoever wins we lose avoid the heroin and stuff in Scruble Scramble 1 don't use it it's not romantic to get there's a lot of people they'll play Scruble Scramble before they know it they've disappeared down the rabbit hole and they're off their tits you know Ewan McGregor lived in Scruble Scramble just to get into the role to paraphrase Harry Hill like heroin Scruble Scramble is a bit more-ish. Is Ewan McGregor in Scruble Scramble too? He's in Trainspot in turn of he's in Scruble Scramble too.

58:37Luke Moore: That's why I went to uni in Edinburgh so that's why I know a fair bit about Scruble Scramble. You've lived Scruble Scramble you'll understand it. But going back to Palace if we can it would be it would be a great thing for them all joking aside because obviously coming FA Cup is manageable for a club like that. You know they've lost finals fairly recently but this time round they're favourites for a European competition. I can't imagine how excited the fans are when you say it's manageable the FA Cup it was the first trophy ever in their history yeah but they've been to finals before in recent history right and fairly so you're saying the colossal nature of this tie is overwhelming much bigger than yeah much bigger than the FA Cup so I can't imagine how exciting this is well look it's exciting I know where you're coming from you've got to get into the position to actually be in the competition the FA Cup you win this Headnessford Towns involved you win this in a cracker this is conference fee yeah You've got to go to places like Mostar to go.

59:30Luke Moore: Maybe that's what, maybe Glaser, even though I'm sure those places are delightful and you've got the famous bridge there and other places. They went to Florence for crying out loud. Do you think Glaser, though, in the earlier rounds of the conference, he's like, where are we going? I've never even heard of it. He thinks he's better than that, for sure. Whereas when it warmed up, he's a bit like, oh, okay, Florence, this isn't bad. I want to find, oh, anyway, this is me. Here I am. The first, the first, like, few stages of the conference, a little bit jet to holidays, aren't they? Oh, definitely.

59:55Yeah. Definitely. and also the finals being played in Leipzig right? in Leipzig right? it's not even a real place in Germany and Glasner's been a Red Bull guy hasn't he? he was a assistant manager well he'll be up all night then

1:00:12Luke Moore: it has been a bad start though for Crystal Palace because according to the BBC police say 60 Crystal Palace fans classified as known troublemakers were ordered to leave Leipzig City Centre on Tuesday evening What I would love though If the police like March them And then right You can't go past that line And then you do The vanishing spray Yeah I like that Did you use the vanishing spray or not Because if you did They'll be back in a minute They'll be back in a minute Exactly How do you get 16 known Troublemakers together That feels like Quite a tough task It does yeah It does Maybe you attract them With trouble No The absence of trouble Yeah Like the trouble vacuum It's like a mousetrap They'll be attracted to it I was thinking about Mousetrap But then the board game Yeah That's where we are now Scramble yeah Leave a scaffolding pole out.

1:00:56Oh, dear.

1:00:57Luke Moore: Oh, what are they going to do with that? Well, we're looking forward to the game. I think that we can all say that. I was disrespectful about the Conference League a while back. Yeah. I've got a lot of pushback. So I want to kind of redeem myself and say I'm really excited for the game. I hope Crystal Palace do it. I think it'll be great if they do it. It's great for my local area. I live about three or four streets away from Crystal Palace. And I think, yeah, with regard to the final and Crystal Palace tonight, I think we'll leave the last thoughts to one of their favourite former managers, Roy Hodgson.

1:01:24Luke Moore: Reflecting on his time at the club and the job Oliver Glasner has done since taking over for him, Hodgson says, all one does is one's job and one tries to help players and the team as best one can. But it's the person who's in charge at any time of that team that needs to get the credit for any results that are achieved. Good luck to everyone on Wednesday. I shall be keeping my fingers crossed that any luck this game will go Palace's way. That's the rheumatism. He's always fine. Why is he talking about one? It's not rheumatism in your fingers, you mean arthritis? Whatever. I mean, so what's he saying there?

1:01:58He's basically saying that one should be respected because one was the manager. I read this interview. What, there's a fucking chip shortage, Roy? I read the whole thing on the Crystal Palace website and I just thought, why have they done this? Why have they got an interview with someone who didn't do this, made a talk about how he hasn't done it himself and then make them do good? Who's this for? Who's this interview for? I think it's for us. Yeah, I guess it probably is. Annoyingly, I just tried to post a picture of a sexy owl in the running order but I forgot I was using my own running order and so I've just basically put a picture of a sexy owl for my own delectation and nobody else's a sexy owl if you're wondering

1:02:34Luke Moore: what a sexy owl looks like it's an owl instead of it's got it's got its little feet tucked into his feathers it's a pair of a pair of ladies legs with stockings it's just wearing stockings also I don't know why it's the way it's trotting but your it's on the trot your email's just popped up and I'm going to read it all out but what the fuck is whizzer and chips Oh, that's his email address. And if you really think about it, it's very easy to email me now. Yeah, I was about to say. He's always been Wizarding Chips, hasn't he? Always been Wizarding Chips, yeah. Which is an old comic, an old 80s comic.

1:03:04Wizarding Chips, yeah. Yeah, I remember it.

1:03:06Luke Moore: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He gets a lot of mail there. And it's very hot. What's coming up on Uncut later, Marcus? We're going to do Jamie Vardy, aren't we? We're going to go through my emails like famous island owners. We're going to drink three glasses of wine and see if we podcast worse. Yes. and then we're going to do a bit of Jeremy Vardy at Cremonente, right? All that business, yeah. So if friends of the Ramble don't go anywhere, don't go anywhere. Don't take your stockings off just yet. Keep listening for Ramble Uncut. And if you're not a friend of the Ramble, what are you doing? Head over to patreon.com forward slash football Ramble to sign up now and get tickets to our World Cup party right now.

1:03:39Luke Moore: There we are. Thanks for listening to the Football Ramble part of the Acast Creator Network. It's been an absolute pleasure. For those of you who will be listening to Uncut, hang fire. Hold your what's-its. We're going to have fun there. and for those of you who are not then what are you doing with your lives? Sign up at patreon.com as I say forward slash football ramble and we'll see you tomorrow. Thank you Luke Moore. Thank you. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you. Thank you Pete Dalton. Thank you. And thank you to sexy elves everywhere.

1:04:13The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

1:04:48We'll be right back. While supplies last, selection varies by location. See associate or lowes.com for details.

From the publisher

The curse of the Ramble strikes again! There we were, chatting away about whether West Ham should stick with Nuno Espírito Santo or bin him off after relegation, and then bang! He's staying. The grotmeister general has made his choice, but is it the right one?


Marcus, Luke, Pete and Vish are here to react to that bombshell news. Plus, Portland Timbers give Fizzer the mutually consented chop and Palace have a date with destiny. Who better to send them on their merry way than Roy 'the boy' Hodgson. Talons crossed they can bring home the big one tonight.


Get your Ramble World Cup watch party tickets here


Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: [email protected].


Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble.


***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** 

The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday throughout the Premier League season and every day throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Football Ramble

All episodes