Fabrizio Ratmano

0:08We'll see you next time.

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3:05Vithushan Ehantharajah: We're still glad all over everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble! Palace won the Shield and the Championship's underway. It's Monday 11th of August. I'm Marcus Feller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Vinicius Hanna-Rajal.

3:30Vithushan Ehantharajah: Welcome one and all to your magnificent Monday at the Football Ramble. Oh my goodness, we've had two Premier League teams facing off and a load of championship teams as well. What a weekend, Jim. The Premier League isn't ready just yet. It'll be ready soon, but you've got to say it was a good weekend of football.

3:47Jim Campbell: Well, Marcus, the curtain is raised, isn't it? The curtain has been raised. the showpiece event has taken part. So I suppose this is very much the keys to the season moment, isn't it? To put it in pit bull parlance. And it didn't disappoint at all, did it? It was a great game. We spoke on Friday, didn't we, about having a suspicion it would be really good. And we were proven right, which I think everyone should acknowledge and give us credit for. But it was end-to-end stuff at points, and I really enjoyed it. Well, talking of people being proved right, Jim,

4:21Vithushan Ehantharajah: Vish said that Liverpool would take a penalty shootout defeat. Vish! And didn't they look happy? Didn't they look happy? They were thrilled. They were thrilled with it. And all they thought was, you know what, we got legs into all our attacking players and one of the best defenders in the Premier League, certainly in Liverpool's history, looks like he's forgotten how to defend. We'll take that. They would have been thrilled by what they saw on Sunday. Managing to take this Palace side to penalties in what is effectively a final final. Not an easy feat. Man City would have loved that to have been able to get the penalties.

4:57Especially at this juncture, because the cast verdict hasn't come out, they're the first... At the time of recording. At the time of recording, they are the first English club to technically be in two European competitions at once.

5:16The might of that coming at a club like Liverpool they'll be happy with what they got.

5:23Vithushan Ehantharajah: They'll be very happy with what they got. Well of course it ended 2-2, the 3-2 on penalties. And I mean Jim, you know, it was a great game and it was, were you worried for Palace when Liverpool kind of scored early on and looked quite effective going forward?

5:40Jim Campbell: Yeah, I don't know if I'd characterise it as being worried so much for Palace as more for everybody else, Palace included. Because, you know, straight away Florian Verts and Hugo Eketike combining for that goal was frightening stuff, really. Really, really high quality. And you think, wow, they are sort of just ready to go right out of the gates. And I suppose kind of as the game wore on, they kind of didn't keep up that dizzying pace. Now, obviously, Frimpong's goal is a strange one, but a great one. And he looks like enormous fun straight away. So you're thinking that a lot of these new players already look like they fit right in.

6:17Jim Campbell: this could be a blistering start from them. But like I said, that did kind of fall away a little bit throughout the game, didn't it? And Palace managed to get themselves a foothold in it. And that's part of what is so great about this Palace side. They're really, really resilient. They kind of refuse to be beaten. Wembley almost feels like their home stadium at the moment. And yeah, I suppose it's encouraging, actually. It suggests that it's going to take Liverpool a while to fully get up to speed. And that hopefully will lead to an entertaining title race. I also hope that an FA Cup and a Community Shield combined is enough to get you into the Europa League.

6:51Jim Campbell: Hopefully they'll be submitting that this very morning as kind of late evidence.

6:58Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yes, exactly. The thing is, Palace, whatever the verdict is, and it may well, as I say, come out by the time you're listening to this. If Palace fans, if you get put up into the Europa League, lovely old job, if you stay in the Conference League, you will win it. OK, so for me, it's a win-win all round for Crystal Palace. It may not feel like that, depending on the verdict, but that's what it feels like to me. Now, Vish, we saw, obviously, Liverpool's attacking talent doing rather well, especially in those early stages. But then, as Jim says, as the game wore on, and as Arna Slott himself said post-match, his team need a little defensive adjustment.

7:36Vithushan Ehantharajah: They did look a little bit vulnerable back there, and Palace certainly took advantage at times. They did, yeah. Yeah, and I thought for a moment that they were going to just crash wave after wave into Palace and be, I don't know, 3-0 upper after 40 minutes. And maybe they should have been, but because they weren't, you know, when Palace had little moments, and it took Palace quite a while to get into the game, but when they did, they were almost reminded of who they are and what they can do in those fast-paced games, and they can actually affect tempo in their own ways. and the way they have that breakaway.

8:14Yeah, that's what I mean. So the way they have that breakaway for what turns out to be their equaliser in the end was kind of, in one way, vintage Palace, but also very much a 75 % Palace in a way that they were like, oh, you're actually building up to this as well. And so, yeah, when Slott talks about that tactical adjustment, I remember, well, defensive adjustments specifically, At the end of that game, I thought, this is good news, bad news for Palace. Because the good news is they've kept the good feeling going. The vibe when they were lifting the trophy was brilliant. That's what it should be about.

8:49That's what it always should be about, even if it is just the community shield. But the bad news is they showed Liverpool why they need Mark Gay.

8:55Jim Campbell: Yeah, and there is chat this morning, isn't there, that Steve Parrish has said that they actually intend to sell him because it's that or lose him on a free next season, as we know, and they don't feel they're in a position where they can really do that. So they are effectively kind of tying him around this morning. And as you say, Vish, that's a defence in an extremely high-quality team that has a place going in it. So that would make all the sense in the world from Art Gay's point of view.

9:24Vithushan Ehantharajah: Well, Parrish also said they probably would have sold him last summer had Joachim Anderson not gone to Fulham. So they totally get it. Would it make, if Mark Gay was to run down his contract next time, would that make him a rat, Fish?

9:45Vithushan Ehantharajah: As our rat correspondent. Yeah.

9:50Oh, God. Fabrizio Ratmano, is that me? You are. Let me workshop that a bit. You know what? You wanted a simple answer. I'll give you one. Yes, it would make him a rat. Do you think? Yeah, but he would be... Is it a one-in, one-out wrap policy at Liverpool at the moment?

10:10Vithushan Ehantharajah: I don't know. I don't know. I tell you what, though. If his last two games for Palace are FA Cup final victory and Community Shield, it's a lovely old job. Yeah. Really is a lovely old job. I mean, the window is shutting soon, though. I mean, I suppose in football, you know, deals can be done sort of quite quickly. But he would be a huge loss. There's no two ways about that. However, he wasn't a huge loss in the end of this game because he goes off, Justin Deveni comes on and smashes home the winning penalty. In what was quite a poor penalty shootout, really. What was it? 3-2 and only five goals scored, Jim.

10:50Jim Campbell: But it was a dramatic one. Well, you say it was a poor penalty shootout, Marcus. but I would argue that it was actually a pretty good one because Dean Henderson made two pretty good saves there. Now, the McAllister one was excellent. Elliot's penalty wasn't great, but I think that contributes to it as a spectacle, and I really enjoyed it, actually. I was surprised that Ezra's wasn't retaken. I thought in the replay, I saw it looked like Alisson had come off his line, but maybe someone else saw differently. It was very close, certainly. Yeah, would have been an added little bit of drama. but yeah I actually thought it was a really enjoyable shootout

11:28Vithushan Ehantharajah: yeah I did note as I often do that what would have been only two English takers and Elliot both missed however Dean Henderson also English he was saving them so you know always looking at the big picture but it was a good penalty shootout and I'll tell you something when it went to Deveni the last penalty taker the young Northern Irish international I thought oh does he look a bit nervous and all that kind of stuff because I thought are Palace going to mess this up my goodness he rifles it home and apparently when they were deciding the takers he was very much I'll take the fifth one when they were deciding he said straight away Glasner was like not only did he volunteer but he basically demanded to take the fifth one and I appreciate these are lower stakes as far as penalties go but I was like yeah fair that's great that I mean I think they knew that obviously Mateta and Eze and I think Sarr were going to take the first three.

12:26Vithushan Ehantharajah: So, you know, are you going to take the fourth or the fifth? And he got his moment of glory quite fantastically as well, I may say. So, yeah, Palace, they did it. Did you enjoy Dean Henderson sort of doffing his cap after he saved one of the penalties? He's a confident young man. It is, and it's also a lovely touch because I feel like whenever goalkeepers wear caps to protect the sun, they look like they're on a day trip to Thorpe Park. Yes. a little bit. And it looks a bit naff, but then if you use the cap to do that, lovely stuff. Also, I noticed, I suppose there's various different marketing and advertising reasons for this, but it's weird seeing an unbranded baseball cap, isn't it?

13:08Jim Campbell: Yeah, I guess it is. It was almost like he was in a Marvel film. It was like, why don't you have, you know. At least have a club one. At least have a Yankees. Yeah, or like a Yankees cap, you know. Why Yankees? More famous baseball. Well, just because of the more familiar baseball caps you see around in life.

13:24Vithushan Ehantharajah: It would be in life.

13:25Jim Campbell: Surely it would be a Crystal Palace one. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, but a Yankees baseball cap is a very famous baseball cap, though. The point stands. Fine. It's just... And by the way, Marcus took umbrage with my using of in life as if that was the crazy bit. Oh, life.

13:41Vithushan Ehantharajah: You're always going on about life, you. You are. No, I think that... Why would you wear another sports team on when you've got plenty in the club? shop of your own that's that that is the point or one of those adidas oasis bucket hats which have been very popular this summer you know yeah that would have been a flex that would be good yeah i think we can all get behind there um yeah henderson though i mean he's he's had a very good season he had a great season last season with palace of course he started off well um look pickford is the number one for england but you know he's firmly number two isn't he now bring him on for pens well Pickford is pretty good with pens as well and he can take them if Dean Henderson starts taking penalties then that's real competition for the England number one that's all I'm saying everybody that's all I'm saying now Crystal Palace fans yes they held up a banner saying UEFA Mafia at kick off which of course once again just to remind everybody we will find out later today which European competition they're playing in but at the time of recording that has not come out so if you're shouting going how about their Europa League side?

14:46Vithushan Ehantharajah: We don't know yet, so sod off. We're in the past. What do you think of Palace's season? So far brilliant, actually. Well, indeed, yeah, Jim, you can't argue with it. We know they're a good cup side, but with the question hanging over Mark Gay, if indeed they were to sell, would you be concerned for them? Or would you think, you know what, they were so kind of solid, in particular in the second half of last season, as they were two seasons ago, you would think they've got enough vibes to carry them through and be perfectly fine?

15:23Jim Campbell: Personally, I think they'll be absolutely fine. Obviously, there's talk of them losing Gay, possibly Ezra as well. But I think there's such balance in that team, as we mentioned a lot last season. They've got a brilliant manager. There'll be an appealing prospect to players, kind of late in the window, of course. I would think they could still get some decent players in. and, you know, realistically, I mean, what are their aims? They're probably going to be trying to qualify for the Conference League through the Premier League, which might be difficult. Another cup run, I think they're in line to have another really fun season.

15:57Jim Campbell: If they win the Conference League this season, Jim, then, you know. Well, it'll be irrelevant, won't it, yeah.

16:02Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yeah, exactly. And, of course, if Eza did leave, then they would have Esa to fill his boots, which could be quite confusing for some people, Vish, but not us. No, yeah, because... Do you think people would likely be confused by that? What a way to get something going... A way for, like, Parish to get something over certain Palace fans would be like, no, we haven't sold him. He's just over there. Yeah, and he was always called Esser. Yeah, we should spell his name differently. You were squinting. Now your eyes have got better. It's two Esses, not a Z. Teams are doubling up on him, giving Palace a bit more room elsewhere on the pitch.

16:39Vithushan Ehantharajah: That could be quite a handy little tactic there. All right, everybody, coming up after this, Nathan Jones had a lovely weekend.

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19:32Vithushan Ehantharajah: Thank you. with us and other Ramble listeners. And remember, if you sign up for an annual subscription before the end of August, you will get 15 % off. Search patreon.com forward slash football ramble to get involved. Now, Jim, we've got a bit of correspondence, and it's heading your way. This is from Ratboy Slim on Insta, who asks this, can Jim explain how he got bitten by a fucking deer the next time he's on the pod? Bloody outrageous that was skipped over. the world needs to know so we can be prepared um excuse rat boy slim's language but yes jim can you explain how you got bitten by a deer you mentioned this and uh we foolishly moved on from

20:14Jim Campbell: it i've always got time for rat boy slim um despite this being my first interaction with him um but yes so i was in japan uh there's a place called nara um and in in nara there are lots of tame deer who come down from sort of like nearby hills in the daytime um to uh this place where they have the the largest i think wooden structure in the world it's this old temple and the monks that tend to the temple have been looking after the deer for a long long time like hundreds of years so it's become this strange thing where they come down every day and it's it's a tourist thing now so you go along and you get to the front of the park and a little old lady will show you a bag of what i can really only describe as deer biscuits um yeah dear oh i'm going off to see the monks and getting my deer biscuits jim yeah all right yeah exactly yeah none of this is a euphemism um but so i've got my deer biscuits and i'm thinking well this is lovely three deer just sort of saunter towards me i'm thinking this what a lovely sort of almost disney-like scenario then obviously they're they're the bad boys of nara because they rush me the middle one bites me in the stomach enough to like leave marks i i drop the deer biscuits and the three of them just savage them in front of me so i've been mugged by deer just fantastic yeah and then later that You're just another John Doe, aren't you?

21:31Jim Campbell: I am, yeah, just another statistic. Later that evening, I was trying to explain this to a Japanese man, and he was trying to tell me something. Don't do the accent again. I'm not going to do the accent. He was trying to tell me something which seemed really urgent, and obviously there was a language barrier, so it was difficult to understand at first. And I thought it was going to be some sort of, you know, it felt important, but what he had to tell me was simply that deer and kangaroos have got the same heads and i was like yeah that wasn't what i was expecting but yeah they kind of do and i think i think about that all the time so yeah it was a strange day

22:08Vithushan Ehantharajah: but i was bitten by a deer so jim got bitten on the stomach by a deer i mean arm and leg i get

22:14Jim Campbell: but stomach my goodness oh they knew what they were doing it was it was a legitimate mugging and they they'd done it before and i wouldn't be surprised if they've done it again i'd imagine and they're still at large. This was in 2015, I think. So I don't know how long deer... Oh, it's the 10-year anniversary of you getting bitten.

22:29Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yeah, actually, it is actually, yeah. Well, I mean, if anybody's been bitten by a deer or an animal, which you wouldn't expect to get bitten by, then do get in touch with us, of course. Show at footballramble.com or at footballramble on socials. But I do encourage anybody, if you are approached by a deer, then don't mess around. Don't wait to be attacked. Give it a good old hook round the chops. Now, the championship returned on the weekend. Sheffield United lost 4-1 to Bristol City. I didn't see this coming, Vish. Did not see that coming. It was a lovely quality game, though. From Bristol City's point of view, yes.

23:08But the first 30 minutes were class. Tell that to Ruben Sellers. Yeah, I will do, yeah. When he was outside. Is that what he was saying? His first 30 minutes was brilliant, lads. Brilliant, more of that. We should just be happy to be a part of it, you know? Look, everyone's going home happy, not our fans, but, you know, a lot of them are.

23:27Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yeah, I mean, you did say on Friday that Sheffield United would be happy with a 4-1 defeat at home to Bristol City. Well, I said 3-1. I said they'd be happy with a 3-1 defeat, a high-quality 3-1 defeat, and everyone's happy at that point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you wonder what might have been... Yeah, I mean, Ruben Sellers' first game in charge of the Blades after replacing Chris Wilder, of course. He did a Phil Brown, didn't he, that full time? He gave his players an angry team talk on the pitch after the game. Usually doesn't bode well. We don't have many examples of this, Jim. To the point of a Sheffield United fan phoned up BBC Local Radio and he's asking for Sellers to resign after just one game.

24:05Jim Campbell: It seems a little premature, but in terms of the fury of that fan, it's obviously been exacerbated by this silly Phil Brown thing, isn't it? because a 4-1 defeat is bad and is embarrassing. But that is such a strange decision. And obviously, we associate it with that Phil Brown moment. So as you kind of implied there, Marcus, we've never seen an example of that being followed up by any sort of positivity. But it seems it's a silly way to try and assert your authority because you're also trying to shame your players in public. And obviously, they won't have had that long together. and it just seems a really desperate thing and a really, really kind of poor misjudgment from Celeste and the potential is to create an immediate rift between you and the players and obviously maybe he's that kind of manager where he wants them to be a bit scared of him, we don't know, but I cannot see how that could possibly have made the situation better.

25:03Jim Campbell: Yeah, would you concur, Vish? I would, yeah, but yeah, as Jim says, you're kind of setting his stall out early in that regard because you're... The one thing he wants to put across there is that he's a disciplinarian and he doesn't need to do it in that way. And yeah, it is misguided and it'll probably be something that we reflect on constantly, actually, throughout the season and maybe even when he gets sacked later this season if that is the case. Because as Jim said, you're already creating... You're creating an us versus them mentality when it's us, the coaching staff, and them, the players.

25:40Yeah. But we should say as well, how good was Scott Twine's free kick? Oh, yes.

25:46Jim Campbell: Lovely one. And kind of a lovely moment in like ball hitting sport where the first person who knows it's going in, who knows the contact is perfect, is the guy who's done it. Because he's already wheeling away while everyone is looking at the ball going in the goal. And just that lovely kind of little side foot technique as well. Just glorious.

26:05Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yeah, delicious. Yeah, so great start for Bristol City, bad one for Sheffield United. and of course staying with Sheffield sides things are even worse at Sheffield Wednesday of course they apparently are going to get a points deduction for not paying their players on time Chan Ciri the owner is still trying to sell the club players are said to be told that a deal will happen soon some players could walk away from their contracts they've only got 15 first team full first team players in the squad at the moment the one tiny little positive would have been a result at Leicester City. They lost 2-1 late on.

26:41Vithushan Ehantharajah: The current manager was pleased with the performance, but so many fan protests before the game. They came into their seats, what was it, five minutes after kick-off to again show their disgust and protest at Chancery. There was the old plane flew over. The plane protest was there. Leicester fans were applauding the Sheffield Wednesday fans in solidarity, which was good to see. it's still an absolute shit show at Sheffield Wednesday and I and and the whole footballing community should feel and I'm sure does feel for for Sheffield Wednesday fans the the hope was and it didn't seem to be much to kind of hang it out on that a deal would have been done before the season started the points deduction will happen which is a great shame and that will handicap at them severely, many people tipping them to be relegated.

27:34Vithushan Ehantharajah: But, you know, Chancery's still in charge of the club. And they are desperate to get that man out. I mean, it gets to the point now that John Texter's name was being linked. It seems sort of very tenuous as well. But Jim, like, such an awful situation.

27:48Jim Campbell: Your heart goes out to them. Oh, massively. And it seems to be that he essentially is out of his depth. Thought he could make this work in a way that he obviously can't. He's still deluded about how much money he should be commanding because you know he's essentially devalued his own asset um but seems to stubbornly think that it's worth a lot more than it that it actually is because of his you know his poor leadership and yeah you do feel for them because past the protests and past raising the temperature of the fury um there isn't a huge amount that you can do right you just got to keep at it and keep at it and essentially um just make sure he's doing his admin right it's it's just it's infuriating

28:28Vithushan Ehantharajah: yeah we'll make sure his brochure is particularly good in trying to sell the damn club i mean everybody knows it's up for sale everybody knows the situation as i say you're you're trying to attract people to buy a club which is a sinking ship at the moment it's a huge club with you know massive history and tradition so you hope sincerely that as you do with any football club that the right people can come along but it just seems to take absolutely anybody at the moment rather than him so you know we wish you all the best Sheffield Wednesday fans but my goodness you know something has to happen very very soon uh now moving on um to um Sal Hampton who beat Wrexham 2-1 you spoke of um uh the free kick uh at uh Bramall Lane fish what about that Ryan Manning goal what about that free kick to get Sal Hampton a very late equalizer absolute peach yeah and the great thing from Rexham's point of view, it's all content, isn't it?

29:25So it doesn't actually matter if you're winning up until the 90th minute and you end up losing the game. It's just going to look good in the documentary, isn't it? Slowed down, bit of reverb there. Ryan Reynolds looking upset.

29:39Jim Campbell: I have to say, I don't think it was that good a goal because you've got to factor in that Danny Ward was in goal, which is similar to having no one. Oh, no.

29:50Vithushan Ehantharajah: Outrageous, Jim. The hit and where, right in the side of the netting. But yeah, I always forget that you, yeah, he's not a favourite of yours, is Danny Ward. I just think he's rubbish. And that's all it takes, isn't it? That's all it takes in this game. That's all it is. Josh Windas scored Wrexham's goal, and it was their first goal in the second tier for 43 years. Which, again, I think that that will feature in the documentary, but not the rest of the game. But it was good for Selampton, I think, because what they went through last season and what those fans went through last season, you're 1-0 down to the newly promoted Hollywood boys on the block.

30:29Vithushan Ehantharajah: And you're like, oh, my goodness. And then to win it in quite dramatic fashion with a stunning equaliser and then obviously like a 96-minute winner, I thought, good on them. They've got a bit of cheer down on the South Coast, so I'm happy and I can say that because Luke's not on the pod. And Paul Smith won 2-0 down Luke, as you mentioned.

30:46Jim Campbell: so everyone's happy on the south coast we're broadly in favor of southampton doing really really well on this podcast aren't we generally for one reason

30:57Vithushan Ehantharajah: yeah and i'd like to see them come straight back up to have another swing in that game it was the oldest manager in the division phil parkinson against the youngest 32 year old will still i'm sure you're all very familiar with will still uh with every english journalist trying to get him to say you're you're english aren't you you're english you're english yeah i happen to speak english very well um but uh i'm i'm uh i identify as from elsewhere but the guardian released an interview with uh new sell after manager will still just before the season started um uh he spoke once again about how football manager has helped him at different points in his career which is quite enjoyable but i mean that is kind of quite standard uh thinking in in football i think these days um but he did say when you're working at clubs in Belgium that have no budget everyone looks at football manager so kind of reassuring um that that we're all in it together uh but they also look at transfer marked FIFA ratings but it didn't make me understand tactics better because in football manager you can play any system in the world and tweak it slightly and win the champions lead with Rochdale so that's a dig of the creators

32:00Jim Campbell: isn't it I think so also a bit of a flex I could win the champions lead with Rochdale on football manager yeah true enough yeah but have you tried jim no yeah exactly yeah i um i it's an interesting

32:14Vithushan Ehantharajah: one with will still we knew at some point he would come to england just because he speaks fluent

32:18Jim Campbell: english yeah and we're so impressed by any bilingual english person even if they're actually belgian and the fact and the fact that he's young and this constant yearning as we all do as all of us on this pod have to you know identify with younger people at his age you know in your early 30s that's young enough that we're like oh he learned all he knows from video games he actually learned he didn't learn about tactics from football manager he actually learned about tactics playing minecraft yeah and he learned about you know counter pressing playing fortnite yeah so you know like he's and he shows he shows his team's videos but they're really small condensed 30-second clips.

33:00So, you know, he's young and football's cool again because we need that.

33:05Vithushan Ehantharajah: Did he learn anything from Golden Eye or was he too young for that? He actually learned stuff from Pong. If you look at the defensive line, it just goes up and down. Terrible against the offside trap and nothing can get through. And he learned sneaky tactics from Prince of Persia, I don't know. From the Romans. Now, former Southampton manager Nathan Jones had a good weekend of the championship. His Charlton side scored a 94th minute winner to beat Watford at home. Of course, Watford, the home of football manager. He celebrated by running down the touchline and beating his chest.

33:38Jim Campbell: Come on, Jim.

33:38Vithushan Ehantharajah: The big celebrations are back.

33:40Jim Campbell: The big dog's back. I mean, to be fair, it's the first game after promotion, right? So there's a reason for a sort of euphoric outpouring of emotion from Nathan Jones. I mean, he doesn't tend to need much of an excuse. I, for one, am all for it. I hope to see more of him because I can't look away from that lunatic

34:01Vithushan Ehantharajah: I'm glad that he's kind of

34:05Vithushan Ehantharajah: he's sort of picked up where he left off I think from last season which is quite enjoyable so good luck to him and Charlton good luck to him and Charlton but good luck to Southampton as well I think we can all endorse that idea can't we on this podcast I think we've already said it Jim haven't we but we extend that good luck to Charlton as well. Let's talk about another former Southampton manager, Russell Martin. In Scotland, his Rangers side drew one all at home with Dundee. That means they have failed to win their opening two league games for the first time in 36 years. They got a 92nd minute penalty to spare their blushes.

34:47Vithushan Ehantharajah: I may say this on behalf of most of Scotland, if it was up the other end i wonder if it'd been given

35:00Vithushan Ehantharajah: and then they had a they had a disallowed goal a couple of minutes later rangers which was offside uh which as we know now which is against the laws yeah which as we know now whether it's a toenail or a pubic hair offside you're you're offside according to var um but So no need for the conspiracy theories. But yeah, he's not having a good time, Vish, Russell Martin. He said there's going to be a bit more pain before presumably no pain, which he's talking about his methods. You can't say that when you're one of the only two clubs who win stuff up there. You just cannot do that. It's not been a good start.

35:37Vithushan Ehantharajah: He's already playing some familiar tunes. I am a bit worried about that Rangers. I suppose it's a good example of why when you go up to Scotland and coach one of Rangers or Celtic, the language you use is so important. Like you don't, they're probably, and obviously we're being, I'm specifically being wise after the event here, but there is a way of talking about it that's almost like we're going to play the best football that has been in the Scottish Premiership for however many years. And you sell it that way as like a stylistic change. You don't talk about the teething problems that will get you to this stylistic change.

36:14Yeah, well, he is now. Yeah, so that's just not good. Yeah, and he shouldn't, you know, And I'm saying, Marcus, he shouldn't have done that.

36:20Vithushan Ehantharajah: Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. From literally my bedroom, I'm telling you, he shouldn't have done that. Yeah, well, Rangers down in sixth. But of course, top of the league, it's the Magnus and Georgie Brees. Lovely victory. Which is where they'll stay come the end of the season, obviously. Yeah, I'm telling you now, they're in for a title race, Celtic, with hearts this season. It's happening. It's happening. Right, let's go for a break before I say anything else silly. Coming up after this, there is a new addition to the Manchester United Bomb Squad.

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38:51Vithushan Ehantharajah: Welcome back to the Football Ramble, everybody. Yes, it's time to turn our attention to Manchester United. Vish, were your cockles warmed when David De Gea came out at Old Trafford as Manchester United took on Fiorentina on the weekend? They were, yeah. It was all told quite an unsavory end for a goalkeeper who gave United a hell of a lot. So it was nice to see the reception he got. It was nice to see how happy he was to get that moment. There's obviously these clips that came out, I think Fiorentina put them out actually, of meeting up with Sir Alex Ferguson again. That was very sweet, especially because he's just an old man now and it's like meeting your granddad.

39:35For a coffee. And yeah, no, that was very nice. Obviously, it was nice for him to keep up his penalty shootout record. And he lost one this time. He was taken off. Oh, he was substituted, actually. He was in the 87 minutes.

39:46Vithushan Ehantharajah: Maybe Fiorentina knew that and they thought, right, let's change them off. They can win this, but they didn't. They lost 5-4 on pens after one all in normal time. But he was given a great reception, though. He was, yeah. I mean, he was a brilliant player for Manchester United. I mean, even through the shit, he was Manchester United's player of the season consistently because he was the one, you know, shit was getting through. but he was still pushing the door up and trying to maintain some semblance of respect, ultimately. Yeah, incredible that he essentially took a gap year and then got back into football.

40:16You paid him a shitload, to be fair. We paid him a fucking shitload. Well, OK, fine. But I mean, in terms of...

40:23Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yeah, he wasn't doing bar work on that gap year, was he? Yeah. Well, anyway, he's doing well at Fiorentina. Yeah, I think he signed a new contract there. So well done him. now what about Manchester United though was it nice to see Mason Mount played up front in a false nine role with Rasmus Hoyland on the bench I mean it was nice to see him played yeah yeah Benjamin Sheshko in the stands but surely Rasmus Hoyland I mean that's yeah I mean he's been told that he needs to leave the club really that he's surplus to requirements which is something that we've known for a little while I feel a bit I feel I feel a bit sad for him because when they played that pre-season match was in Chicago he was very clear in his post-match press conferences or post-match comments that he wanted to stay and he wanted to fight for his place and it's just seemingly that's just not the situation for him at Manchester United Jim.

41:23Jim Campbell: Yeah I mean it would seem to be entirely about clawing back some money from some of the players and they're not extracting any other sort of value from and I suppose Hoyland is probably an easier sell than Joshua Zerksi but I would also argue he's probably a better squad option than Joshua Zerksi how do you feel about that Vish obviously you watch them more closely than I do and obviously Zerksi was only there for a season so far so perhaps he needs a little bit longer to bed in. Yeah I think if you look at the system Manchester United played against Fiume Jr on the weekend that is better suited to someone like Zerksi when you've got Kunja and Bumo running off him.

42:01I have a lot of affection for Hoyland. I think it was quite unfair what was asked of him, really. It was a lot too soon for a young striker coming to a league that he didn't know, who actually hadn't even really grown into the striker that he may turn out to be. There were a lot of green shoots. There was a lot of potential and promise. And you're coming to the place where no one really develops. and he didn't necessarily have a defined role. And it clearly got to him. And the more he had to play because of the lack of options, the more you could see his confidence waning. I just, yeah, obviously for his sakes, it should be, you know, he should go out and go to somewhere where he will enjoy playing.

42:43There's obviously a lot of talk about a return to Serie A and things like that. But I think ultimately, like, if he ends up being alone with a big chunk of money at the start, then Manchester United should take that. because he's so young, you never know, really. You see a lot of these players that end up leaving Manchester United and actually enjoying their football and actually progressing in their ability as well. So he's definitely one I'm curious to keep tabs on, regardless of whether this is a permanent departure or not. But I suppose, yeah, to go back to answer your question, Jim, I think Xerxes is a better squad option, showed a lot more than Hoyland.

43:22Though I appreciate you'd often want a different profile of forwards, rather than a lesser version of what you might have. But yeah, that's just my opinion anyway.

43:31Vithushan Ehantharajah: Yeah, well, we'll soon find out how the Manchester United front line is going to click. It's obviously straight into the season next weekend and Sesco's first game for Manchester United will be in the Premier League, you know, barring disaster. So, you know, a complete new look front line for them. I mean, it's an obvious question, but how do you feel about that? Because I look at that Manchester United front line, They really, really have given an overhaul. And surely, surely it will be improved from last season. I think everyone would be in agreement there. Yes, things will have to click and have to kind of work it out.

44:05Vithushan Ehantharajah: But with Mbumo and Kunyun there, you've already mentioned, with the two wingbacks as well, who actually played all right, especially Diallo, of course, has been one of the few positive notes under Amarim or even further than that. I mean I'm expecting not huge things but certainly better things from Manchester United yeah yeah um I don't know I couldn't put a position on that for you but yeah without a doubt I think the I think we talked about this on Friday but all the noises coming out pre-season was of a shift in the culture and a change in the attitude and you know you're only really going to see that on the pitch but if you've got players who work hard like someone like Bumo does and certainly Kunia does going forward when he's got the ball at his feet yeah yeah that's kind of what I mean that's almost why they play Mount in that position on the weekend it's for like right it's more for off the ball rather than on the ball um so yeah like it should he's had a summer now hasn't he and I appreciate they've traveled every which way as teams often do in pre-season but he's had the summer, he's had exactly what he's wanted he's wanted time on the training field and we'll see how that pans out over the next month.

45:18Vithushan Ehantharajah: No excuses Yeah, there aren't any are there there are fewer excuses now than there ever were and that's even after United spent£1.5 billion so Fair enough, well let's turn it to Manchester City, their new signing Tiani Rinders scored a brace in a pre-season friendly victory over Palermo, they spelt his name wrong on the back of the shirt Jim

45:41Jim Campbell: poor admin it is very very poor admin um tricky name to spell it is a tricky name to spell but it is a big part of your job isn't it where printing the names on the shirts is uh is is on you do you think they're doing it for their charges reason they're like look you claim that we should have been better at dotting the i's and crossing the t's well look at this we're clearly not good with our eyes eyes all over the shop that what we've put in an extra eye we're so confused see what you do to us? Don't get me started on the tease. Have you seen Man City's new third kit? Dreadful. It's grey with spots of rain on it.

46:17Jim Campbell: I think it is up there with the worst kits we've seen in the Premier League. Yes, not their official third kit yet. At the time of recording, it's just

46:25Vithushan Ehantharajah: a leak. It's really bad. It is kind of it's acknowledging the surroundings because as we all know, it rains a lot in Manchester. Yeah, absolutely. But they don't need goes so far, doesn't it? True. Yeah, I think it's... Have you seen it, Vish, or have you... I'm trying to look at it now.

46:46Jim Campbell: That sounds like you've got an image in front of you, but your eyes just won't let you. They simply won't focus on this. They have had a few... Yeah, it says I have to use AI to confirm my age. What's this about?

46:58Vithushan Ehantharajah: They have had a few bad kits in recent years. Yeah. Now you've had a look at the Manchester City 3rd kit, Vish, what are your thoughts? Do you think it's disrespectful to the climate in the local area? I think it's reflective of the climate in the local area. They're not in the tropical southeast like us. Yeah, it's a microclimate down here, isn't it?

47:19Jim Campbell: Yeah, it's all sandbanks. Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? Although I don't mind people owning their particular area in that way. Is it reflective?

47:30Vithushan Ehantharajah: Is it to do with that? I can't be sure. It's a shit kit, obviously. It's a rubbish kit. Oh, it is to do with that, Jim.

47:35Jim Campbell: yeah yeah it's it's you know it's a it's an acknowledgement that it rains a lot in manchester which it does and it does rain more than it than it does in a lot of parts of the country um i've

47:43Vithushan Ehantharajah: often said the west side of the island gets more rain and when i say i've often said that it's not an opinion it's fact okay i'm not constantly driving from one side to the other go yeah it was raining there it wasn't raining over there um but ultimately it rains uh yeah we just leave Leave off the rain for crying out loud.

48:03Jim Campbell: Yeah, I've got no problem with a kit that references, you know, some element of the club or the area it's in. I just think this aesthetically looks crazy.

48:11Vithushan Ehantharajah: All right, Jim, I think you've said enough. Man City have confirmed that Rodri will likely miss the first month of the new season. That, Jim, is a sick nap for Man City.

48:21Jim Campbell: It is a blow, isn't it? But at the same time, I suppose they have, with the signing of Nico Gonzalez in January, sort of addressed this situation already. They have depth there in a way that they didn't. Obviously, you can't really replace Roger. He's the best player in the world in his position. But they are kind of set up for it to be less of a disaster this season than it was last season. Fair enough.

48:45Vithushan Ehantharajah: Well, Man City and you'll be hoping Arsenal, Jim, will potentially challenge Liverpool for the title in the coming season. And Victor Jokeres scored his first Arsenal goal. They beat Athletic Club or Athletic Bilbao, as we like to call them here. 3-0 at the Emirates. Were you at the game? I didn't go to that one, no. You went to the loss and the penalty shootout loss. Oh, so that's right. Yes, so you did. You thought you've seen enough of this nonsense. But they beat Athletic Club 3-0. You were very down on Arsenal on last week's pod towards the end of the week. How are you feeling now after that victory and Big Vic getting his first?

49:26Vithushan Ehantharajah: Can I shock you? Has it shifted the dial?

49:29Jim Campbell: We are so back. We are so back. No, I think generally, you know, I was down on Arsenal's title prospects on the show on Friday. And my broad feeling is that plugging the gap between Arsenal and Liverpool based on last season, I think is still going to be a bit too much of a stretch. but if you'd given me the opportunity to create a set of circumstances within the result I'd have gone for it pretty much exactly what happened of clean sheet defensively they looked a lot more strong obviously the first choice midfield of Rice, Zubermendi and Odegaard started the game for the first time that looked very good Jokeres getting a goal and getting a header I don't think he scored a single header last season and that's been a criticism of him that's obviously great as well and Kai Havertz coming on scoring the type of goal you'd actually expect Jokeres to score so he's obviously you know hopefully got the you know the fire in his belly and something to prove and and yeah in in terms of preparation that was that was ideal excellent excellent well um gentlemen i'd like to

50:32Vithushan Ehantharajah: finish today's pod with uh something that appeared on facebook the other day a nottingham forest shirt with gibbs snake 10 on the back uh was was up there um vish they've gone for snake rather than rat. Is it because you're a rat if you leave when your contract runs down, but you're a snake if you try to leave but stay? Is this what we're going with? No, I think it's like the Chinese calendar. I think 24-25 was the season of the rat and 25-26 is the season of the snake. And then I think 26-27 is the buffalo.

51:09Jim Campbell: Right. Ooh. Yeah. So I think that's basically how it works. Do buffalo migrate? It's a bit like a transfer, isn't it? I wouldn't know, mate. I haven't got any friends who are buffaloes because they're fucking snakes, a lot of them.

51:22Vithushan Ehantharajah: You classify us as colleagues, don't you? Yeah. You should be clear on that. Yeah, well, yeah, not buffaloes, certainly. Certainly not. Well, thanks to Simon Chadwick for sending us that on X, where all the good, wholesome stuff is. Thank you very much for listening to the Football Ramble, part of the ACAST Creator Network. We're back tomorrow for a brand new mailbag. In the meantime, follow us on X, TikTok, Blue Sky, Instagram and YouTube by searching Football Ramble. Loads of options there. You've no excuses, much like Reuben Amorim. So, yes, back tomorrow for a brand new mailbag. Thank you, Jim Campbell.

51:55Vithushan Ehantharajah: Thank you. Thank you, Vidushin Hantaraja. Thank you. And thank you, Morgan Gibbs, Snake White.

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