Farewell, Pep

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1:01Luke Moore: Are they adding more weight to their barbell than I am? And suddenly, I'm not training. Then 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. Hi all, this is Kim and Penn Holderness from Lifeline. Summer is here, which means it's officially travel season. And when you're out there making plans, you need somewhere reliable to stay.

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3:00Luke Moore: Apply in the wallet app on iPhone. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City branch, terms and more at apple.co slash applecardbenefits. Good to have you with us, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. Arsenal are nearly home, but Pep's leaving this summer. It's Tuesday, 19th of May. I'm Marcus Speller. And I'm Luke Moore.

3:40Luke Moore: Well, hello, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. It is Tuesday, and what a Tuesday. We've got Premier League title chat to come, of course. Arsenal just getting past Burnley 1-0 on their way to a Premier League title, you might suggest. Manchester City, of course, tough task away to Bournemouth tonight. But the big news, the big news that broke during the Arsenal-Burnley game is that Pep Guardiola will be leaving Manchester City this summer. It's not a huge surprise. We did think this would happen. Luke Moore, what did you think? Did you think during Arsenal Burnley when the news broke, is this a mind game from Pep?

4:19That did cross my mind. I thought, is this his final kind of trick? He's going to send everyone mad. I can't believe he's done that. And they're going to lose their minds and then they're going to collapse because it's going to filter through to the players during the game and they're going to get excited and lose focus.

4:38Luke Moore: Carl Walker's got the news, right? He's off. Put it on the big screen. Someone put on the big screen. No, it was weird in terms of the timing. But as you've alluded to, and you said yourself, actually, you've been saying it all season, Marcus, to be fair to you, it looks like he's going to wrap his hand in at the end of this season. And now it's been confirmed. I mean, ultimately, Guardiola has been utterly seismic for English football. You know, I mean, obviously for European football as well, but for the context of this conversation, for English football. and you know he and Sir Alex Ferguson in the modern era head and shoulders above anything that's come in management terms in the club game here you could obviously argue that you know earlier in earlier in football's story there's been other managers as well but for the purposes of what we're talking about here and of our generation really these two are the guys there was probably a passing of the baton when Guardiola's Barcelona you know pumped Ferguson's Man United in the Champions League all those years ago, that he comes to these shores and he essentially not just wins and wins and wins because lots of managers have kind of done that.

5:45You know, if you look at, say, Ancelotti's won a lot, Mourinho's won a lot, there's other names as well. But Guardiola's impact is felt beyond that just because of the way football is now played, really at all levels. I mean, it's totally transformative. I'm old enough to know that when I would watch my team play, And so the second tier, perhaps before they came, Portsmouth came up to the Premier League, you know, you could get away with not being a great footballer, right? You could get away with not really playing much football, right? And maybe people would say it's kind of receded a bit this season at the top level.

6:21Maybe that's quite interesting as to why Magruder is leaving at the end of a season where the football was probably taken a little bit more of a backseat than usual in the Premier League. But ultimately, the point I'm making is you can now go down to 7th, 8th, 9th tier football now, as I have done this season. You can watch Gosport Borough. You can watch Peckham Town. You can watch Dulwich Hamlet. You can watch some of these other teams. And they're all trying to play football. And all the players that play for them now are essentially footballers. They're not lumps. They're not just athletes.

6:52They're not big, strong lads who can head it a long way. They all now have to play football. and that is because effectively, directly because of Pep Guardiola. So his impact has been felt far, far wider than just what he's done at Man City. Now, what he's achieved at Man City is a huge amount. Of course, the trophies he's won, we were talking about it on yesterday's show, you know, a quiet season for them is winning the domestic cup double, right? That's an underwhelming season for them. And if we leave to one side, the other things that come along with being at Man City, which we have touched on over and over again.

7:27But in terms of, if we're just talking about Guardiola here, I mean, he has achieved an incredible amount. And it'll be really interesting to see what he does next. I mean, 17 major trophies at Man City, I think, six Premier League titles, et cetera, et cetera. I mean, the list goes on. He has been truly transformative in the Premier League. And I will just hand it back over to you after I just say one final thing. If you remember, there were a lot of skeptics, A lot of tabloidy, old ex-pro kind of sceptics about, is the way he wants to play football going to translate to English football, to the Premier League?

8:06Has he got what it takes? Has he got the chops? People were very cynical about it. I'm looking at you, Tim Sherwood. I'm looking at one or two others as well. I think you've had your answer.

8:15Luke Moore: I think they have. And not only has he kind of come here and won all those trophies that you mentioned, some of there, what you said a few moments ago, he has transformed really the English psyche when it comes to football. And if you think about that, that is a stunning achievement. You know, you talked about teams playing non-league. Even when I was still playing recreational football, grassroots football on a Saturday morning, you could see players who were no spring chickens, guys in their 30s who would have grown up like I did with 4-4-2, hit the channels, all that good stuff. They started to play out from the back on bobbly pitches.

8:55Luke Moore: It ingrained the football here so much. Now, I'm not suddenly saying, oh, we're like Spain, for crying out loud, because obviously in some of the particularly more Mediterranean countries and other parts of the world, passing out from the back and all that kind of thing has been there. But Guardiola has taken that to the nth degree. And in this country, and I stress this country, it has been so transformative in every reach of football. Maybe now, while we have gone back to some more longer balls and longer throw-ins and all that kind of good stuff, Pep is leaving before the football leaves him.

9:30Luke Moore: But that seems very unlikely. But look, I jest, of course. But Guardiola, one of the greatest men in the history of football. There's no doubt about that. You know, he's a fabulous player, as we know, but an even better manager, you would argue. Yeah, for sure. And England, English football, despite Manchester City's dominance for a period, obviously they won four Premier League titles in a row, And people may eulogise over that, or people might bemoan that and say it's a little bit boring. Whatever you may think, English football and the England national team have benefited enormously from him being here.

10:00Luke Moore: Look at some of the players that he's either sort of transformed or indeed grown at the club since he's been there. Just his mark on English football, and as you say, world football, will be there for general. He will be talked about forever in football. In 200 years' time, he'll still be mentioned. I'm quite certain of that. It's an easy thing to say because none of us will be around here to know. But in terms of you hear the old names, obviously, Johan Cruyff, you know, and you go back to, you know, Rhinus Michels and all these types of, you know, very influential and sort of titans of the game.

10:40Luke Moore: He's a part of that lineage. And he is in an era where there's far more footage of what him and his teams have done, of course. but again, it's that word influence. I just keep coming back to the influence of, of Guardia cannot be understated for a moment. No, I think, I think that's right. I think, you know, if you look at San Ancelotti, who mentioned before, have they, has he changed the game? No, you know, he's, he's done an amazing, he's achieved an amazing amount, you know, as a player and a manager. But I don't, you know, the impact probably isn't going to be lasting, but with Guardia, it is about influence and it is about that, but it's also about other things.

11:16I think when I think of him, I think of him as almost the perfect combination of all the skills you need to be a top manager. So it's not just the tactical now and the kind of understanding of where he sits and where he takes his influences from. Obviously, that comes from the great Barcelona lineage, as we know. But it's also a maniacal attention to detail, right? Clearly, he's hugely attentive to detail, to an almost, you know, driven himself in distraction. Like Macello Bielsa level. Yeah, but he's also hugely charismatic. You know, I think that's pretty obvious that he is, he's got a bit of a cult of personality about him.

11:55He's clearly able to motivate and out-alpha a lot of football players. If you've seen the footage of him in dressing rooms and stuff like that, he's clearly treated with an incredible amount of respect, which he's earned. And he's also been able to evolve a lot, right? So you can't say the way Manchester City play now is the same as the way that great Barcelona team played, 15 odd years ago. He's clearly evolved and developed. And it's actually pretty rare for a top manager to be able to achieve at that level for as long as he has. And we expect, I'm sure, for him to continue in some capacity again after a break.

12:33I've not read anything at the time of recording saying he's not going to manage anymore. I presume he probably is. So yeah, just a one-off really. I think there's an argument to be made that he's the greatest club manager of all time. But I say, yeah, that's difficult to have those discussions when you're comparing across different areas for some of the reasons you've stated. But you're right to talk about how long his impact is going to be felt for. And it'll be interesting to see what comes next. I mean, we know that Enzo Bareska is going to take over the job. That's been a pretty badly kept secret.

13:01But I just mean, there's going to be a vacancy now at the very top of club football, all around Europe and beyond, for the best manager around. And I think that will be interesting to see who jockeys for that position too. So ultimately, you know, we have to caveat all these discussions. We have to see what comes out around the charges around Man City and stuff like that, because we don't know what the outcome of that is going to be yet, and whether that's going to affect his legacy or not for metaphorical, but also very practical reasons around trophies and that kind of thing. So we have to wait and see.

13:36So we have to put a pin in that for now. But in terms of what he's brought the game, and you're right to say, by the way, he's brought a lot of English players through, and maybe not a lot, but the ones he has brought through, he's improved greatly. And if we look at the sort of wider dynamic around what type of players England produces now, you can't argue that Pep Guardiola is responsible for that, but he certainly had an influence over it. And I think the way that he completely transformed how football is played with that great Barcelona side and then beyond has directly informed how academies work, how youth team coaches and academy coaches bring players on and understand what a player actually is, right?

14:20Because it wasn't that long ago there would be talk of, well, English players do this, and English players are good at doing that, and we coach the game in this way. And there's been a certain homogenisation across the board because that's the way the world is now. But Guardiola's impact, he's felt very, very keenly in those areas as well, And that's before you really get into the specific chat around a Phil Foden or a Nico O 'Reilly or a Rico Lewis or whatever, you know. So, and then you've got players who came through at Man City who flourished elsewhere, like a Carl Palmer or, you know, one or two others.

14:52So, look, across the board, he's touched every single area of our game. It's not that he's just turned up, managed for X amount of years, won 17 trophies and gone again. he's left a big, big imprint on the game in this country, regardless of what you think of him.

15:10Luke Moore: Indeed. His longevity as well. Yeah. You think about Barcelona. That was a long time ago now when he started there. It was a really long time ago. But ultimately, Marcus, perhaps his biggest impact that you would probably, I mean, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but his biggest impact that you would probably relate to is he's achieved one of your all-time great ambitions. A friend of Noel Gallagher. Which has become really good friends with Noel Gallagher. Exactly. So, I mean, find you a man who can do it all, eh? Yeah.

15:41He does like his cigars, unlike you, by the way.

15:43Luke Moore: I knew where that was going. Now, you know me. It's just for the look. I don't like it. I know that, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, Guardiola, we will talk about Man City and going to Bournemouth a little bit later in the show, but a domestic treble is still on just about. Just. As I say, we'll talk about that in a bit. But yeah, Enzo Maresca, it looks like he's going to replace Guardiola. You said it's a terribly kept secret. Do you know what, Luke? I remember when he got Leicester promoted because it wasn't that long ago. And I thought about Maresca and I just thought he looks like the type of guy who's going to go to the top.

16:19Luke Moore: And Maresca, you can see, he's got great confidence in himself. I actually think, I'm intrigued to see what he can do because you always say, don't you? You don't want to be the guy to come in after the legend. With Maresca, I think they've given themselves the best chance. Who knows how it will go? It's an almighty task. And we will see how, if you see what I mean, how kind of well set up that club is in terms of its flexibility for another manager to come in. We've seen, I know it's much lower down the pecking order in terms of finances and whatnot, but we've seen how good Brentford's set up is, with Keith Andrews coming in, and Keith Andrews takes immense credit for that as well.

16:59Luke Moore: And you see one or two others where it's kind of everyone shifts over or someone comes in and it's all there ready for that manager to achieve. For Maresca, I mean, or for Man City rather, the whole club has really been moulded around Pep's image. So we will see next season just how that indeed plays out. But, you know, I think one or two clubs will be looking at this thinking, thank goodness he's gone, even though you would say his powers are waning. but as you mentioned earlier his powers are waning still won two domestic cups slight chance that they go win a domestic triple so yeah at the very least they're going to run very close and they've been a part of the conversation for the Premier League title all season again right exactly and even the season they didn't win it you know when Liverpool won it or whatever you know they were still part of it look I think I think Mureska is an interesting proposition I think because I think he's probably as close to a continuity candidate as you can get in terms of how he likes to play football and stuff, but I don't, I mean, I think the biggest mistake he, and obviously he, you know, without getting too kind of cliched, you know, sports horn about it, he does know the club, right?

18:06He's won, he won the Reserve League with Man City, he's been assistant to Guadalupe for at least a year, I think, and so look, there's a bit of continuity there. He is obviously, has obviously been influenced by how he likes to play football, on how he likes to play football by Guadalupe, but the key thing I think here is that to me the worst thing he can do is try and be Guardiola right because he I don't think he's got the charisma of Guardiola from what I've seen and he looks to be a bit more combustible than Guardiola as well right and for all of Guardiola's kind of madness and maniacal tendencies I always kind of felt like he's had a a decent reverence for the project he's a part of like you know I think I think certainly with Barcelona that's kind of obvious because he's Barcelona guy, right?

18:55But Man City, even when he's kind of been unhappy about stuff, you couldn't argue he's done what Maresca's done. I mean, Maresca did.

19:04Luke Moore: Oh, it's the worst 48 hours of my life, you know, because he had some falling out with some medical team member after the Club World Cup, right? But the point is, Marcus, you're going to say, oh, yeah, but you can't. The point is to compare them. That's the point of this conversation, to compare them. That's what we're doing here, isn't it? Well, I'm just saying that you have to also, I get what you're saying totally, but perhaps if Guardiola was managing this current Chelsea, maybe he would have said certain things. Sure, but the point, that's fine. But the point is surely that, but there's two responses to that.

19:40One is Guardiola would be probably clever enough not to take the Chelsea job. And secondly, if he did take the Chelsea job, the club wouldn't be in the status in because he's Pep Guardiola, right? So the conditions would need to be there. If you look at the conditions to when he went to Man City, they spent quite a long time preparing the ground for him to have everything he needed when he got there in terms of directors of football, set up investment, all that kind of shit that he wanted. Right now he can command that because he's Pep Guardiola. My point being, if Maresca goes in and perhaps shows some of the similarities to Guardiola, like attention to detail and slight similarities in the way they play football and the fact that he's got a big bald head, right?

20:18There's some comparisons there, right? I don't think he can fall into the trap of trying to behave like Guardiola because he hasn't earned the right to do so. And he's definitely more combustible than Guardiola. And so the point being that it's not going to be playing Slate Man City, as you've already alluded to, because you don't want to be the guy after the guy. Right. It's tough. It's going to be tough times. right but I do also think that I would also say that he clearly seemed Mariska to command the respect and the kind of attention of the players as far as I can make out I'm not the closest Chelsea observer but they won the Club World Cup right they won that and that was a pretty good effort so I think he's far more near the start of his journey than Guardiola is so we have to see how he can mature but I think you're right to say you're not saying you called it But when he was at Leicester, you said that he could go to the top and he looked like he had everything in his locker.

21:12And now we're about to find out.

21:14Luke Moore: We certainly are. We certainly are. Well, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. We should find out around August time, straight from the off. For those of you who aren't fans of pre-season or don't give a toss about that. Right. Coming up after this, we have a 1-0 victory at the Emirates to talk about.

21:42Hi, all.

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22:14Luke Moore: 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. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City Branch, terms and more at apple.co slash applecardbenefits.

23:00Luke Moore: Pool days call for cookouts and lots of laundry. This Memorial Day at Lowe's. Save$80 on a Char-Broil 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.

23:35Luke Moore: From the beginning, when something was wrong, I said, hey, dilly-ding, dilly-dong, wake up, wake up. And during all the training sessions, sometimes, dilly-ding, dilly-dong, and on Christmas Day, I said, OK, I boot for all the players, all the staff, to everybody, a little bell. Dilly-ding, dilly-dong. Well, back at the Football Rebel, everybody. Another former Leicester City manager there. Always nice to hear about the dilly ding dilly dong Luke Moore Arsenal 1 Burnley 0 It's all about Getting over the line Despite how uninspiring it may be Yeah They got the job done didn't they The atmosphere seemed incredible Particularly before the game Again you give Arsenal crowns credit for that Some of the scenes coming out of the Environment around the Emirates Looked pretty amazing actually but the performance was you know just about enough I think a large part of that was because you know Burnley didn't really have anything I mean you know it's a little regret in there for me not because I don't want Arsenal to win it and not because I hate Arsenal or anything like that but because I do desperately want to see like a final day showdown I think I'd be great for a neutral and I am a neutral in this and I was just disappointed because I felt like if they were playing if Arsenal were playing someone who was able to put them under a bit more pressure, it might have been a bit more interesting.

24:59I just think Burnley didn't really have anything to offer. There was a couple of flashpoints where they broke and it was almost like they'd never counter-attacked before. They didn't know what to do. Well, that was partly

25:11Luke Moore: Arsenal's set-up, though. I mean, look, I'll... But they did get caught on the break once or twice, Marcus. You have to say that. Yeah, of course. But I'm on record as saying I'd rather Arsenal win the league than Man City this season. Because I just think it's, Arsenal haven't won the league for many, many years. I don't hate their fan base or loathe them as much as a lot of other people seem to do. Maybe that's because I pick and choose what I actually consume on social media a bit more, whatever these reasons are. So yeah, I was happy for Arsenal that they won. But my goodness, it was so uninspiring.

25:47Luke Moore: I mean, they're playing already relegated Burnley. And you think to yourself, all right, go out and just put this game to bed. And let's be honest, they were nerves at the end. Now, clearly, as you say, Burnley had nothing. Yes, you're open to an absolutely spectacular end. You know, someone cracks one in from 30 yards or whatever. But clearly the way Arsenal set up in certainly in the last, I don't know, 20 minutes, half an hour of the game, it was that sort of, as we say nowadays, that mid block. And Burnley just didn't know what to do with that because, you know, why would they? Arsenal are very, very good defensively.

26:21Luke Moore: Burnley are not good in attacking sense. So you kind of think, well, actually, Arsenal, all they're trying to do is win this Premier League title. So I understand that. Both things can be true. They can absolutely get the job done and be utterly uninspiring while they're doing it. And they would immediately argue, why do we have to be inspiring? And yeah, again, I take that point. But I just was looking at that thinking, oh, Arsenal, what are you doing? Like not hanging on. That's not the right way to describe it. But bloody hell, you just want a little bit more. But how many times have we said this this season?

26:58Luke Moore: This is not the season for that. This is not the team for that. They are almost certainly going to win the Premier League and they could win it tonight if Bournemouth get any kind of result against Man City. I look at a performance like this and I think, bloody hell, you are going to have a rude awakening when you play PSG in the European Champions League final. But when all said and done, they did win the match. and I understand that the nerves have been there for a while. You compare from the earlier parts of the season when Arsenal were playing and they were playing some great football and playing, well, not great football, but they were playing a lot better and they were a lot more engaging.

27:34Luke Moore: Whereas this last night, it was just like, you can see what's going to happen here. Yeah, but I think, no, I don't think you said anything incorrect there, but I do think contextually, you know, it is a tricky thing to execute because, you know, Burnley have got nothing to lose, right? Nothing. Burnley essentially are just cameo bit part players in this whole jamboree, right? And they're also, crucially, they are rubbish, right? So Arsenal are trying to complete another chapter towards a massive, really important book, right? And last night was evidence of the fact that it's quite difficult to get out of your own way when that's the case.

28:17They did hit the woodwork a couple of times, they had lots of chances early on and I think what tends to happen not just with Arsenal but generally speaking in this situation or situations like it you don't get an early goal it starts to play on your mind a wee bit and I think the goal came a little bit later than they would have liked because then obviously you stop starting before you get into half time and in half time so how do you really approach it and but but I do think also conversely in a weird way Burnley being that shit meant that Arsenal's hand wasn't really forced because Arsenal kind of pushed and pushed and had dominated the possession for the most part.

28:55Burnley would break and it would fall to Hannibal or to Jadon Anthony or to Zeran Fleming. And they just got no quality. But even when there's a chance, ball comes across the box, it comes to Hannibal, I think it was. He's got to hit that first time. A confident forward player hits that first time, right? He takes a touch, it flim-flams around. it was just a really difficult what it's like, it felt like to me I know I use boxing analogies a lot but obviously I do watch a lot of boxing you have a good fighter and against a good boxer and the good boxer does not want to be in a fight, he wants to box and a good fighter will drag a boxer into the trenches and make him get into a fight and Burnley almost made him get into a fight last night and thankfully for Arsenal they are monsters in both penalty boxes right and so they get it done with a great header from Havertz and they're able to soak up anything that you know that Burnley can throw at them because it's not really a lot and Burnley aren't really up to the level so I also think I really want to make this final point and throw it back at you because I think that you have been quite famously to my mind on the record as being quite complimentary to Leicester when they just kept rolling out 1-0 and getting it done I was going to mention that yeah Arsenal are have done that in their last three games.

30:15I know one of them was a Champions League game, but in their last kind of, I think maybe three of their last four Premier League games, they've won one now. Yeah.

30:22Luke Moore: And that was, I was actually going to bring that in. This is akin to Leicester City. Leicester City, the team who were nearly relegated the season before, the team who everyone was going, what on earth is happening here? I can't, they've not been anywhere near, those players would have not even dreamt of being anywhere near European football, let alone title winning, a title winning season. So that's why it was kind of like, ah, right, okay, we have to do something. This Arsenal side are, again, in the latter stages, they've gone one better in the Champions League, they've reached the final. This is, look, again, both things can be true.

31:01Luke Moore: It can be completely uninspiring and it can get the job done. And I am of the belief that get the job done and then, oh, well, if you can inspire in a season or two with your football playing, then great. I mean, how many times have we seen Jose Mourinho in the past win titles and it'd be a bit drab or whatever, but, you know, the title is theirs. So it is more observation, I suppose, for the most part. But my point is that with Arsenal, when they play like that, they are leaving themselves open. There is no fudge room. If Kai Havertz gets sent off, which a lot of people thought he should have done, suddenly they're down to 10 men and they've got, what, 25 minutes or whatever to play at whatever it was.

31:37Luke Moore: And it's like, ah, crap, you know, that changes the complexity. They've got to play Crystal Palace on the last day of the season away. Again, it depends what happens. Bournemouth could get a result against Man City and then they're done and they're home and hosed and fair enough. But if you go to Crystal Palace, who are a better side than Burnley, yes, Palace have a European final a few days later and I've made a point about how they're not going to be at the races potentially or they're going to rest players. They've been terrible in the league recently anyway. Yeah, I mean, you know, okay against Brentford, but yeah, okay, fine.

32:06Luke Moore: But their minds are pointing towards that cup final. But with Arsenal, if Manchester City win tonight, then Arsenal, again, there's no room for error because they can't draw the game if Man City then beat Villa. So that is my point. My point is they are bringing a little bit of unnecessary jeopardy into this when Burnley at home, just go and beat them bloody 2-3-0. I'm quite sure that was the plan. But they are in this mindset and have been for months and months and months now, However, I go back to the point. They're top of the league. They just need to win on the last day. Might not even need to win, as I say, depending on tonight.

32:49Luke Moore: They're in a Champions League final. So at the same time, I'm giving them credit for what they've done because you have to, quite simply. But at the same time, I'm a bit like, yeah, I'm not one of these people who go, oh, you're going to be the worst champions of the world and all that kind of stuff. I wouldn't give a damn. I wouldn't have given a damn had England won the Euros in 2024 for and stunk up the place with their dreadful performances all the way to the final. Again, you get over the line, all those cliches. But I just, for Arsenal fans' sake, I think there are some nerves and some, as I say, potential, and it is only potential jeopardy that they're bringing into this while not being as attacking as they might be.

33:28Luke Moore: But look, we are where we are. I'm going around in circles now. I think Burnley did defend pretty well, as I said, what I've said, for large parts of it. What would you make of the Haberts decision then? I thought it was going to be a red card. I think the argument is the force used wasn't very strong and all that kind of stuff. And that's clearly something that's relatively new coming into those types of tackles. For many years, that type of tackle, it would be a straight red. Whereas now you're hearing a bit about the force and so on and so forth. There was one, Phil Foden put one on a Fulham player at the Etihad about a couple of months ago, whenever it was.

34:07Luke Moore: and I was a bit like surely that's that's a red card and it was kind of similar there's not really any malicious intent that the all that kind of stuff but my goodness it is high and it's with the studs but my initial reaction is that's a red card yeah I kind of feel the same yeah I feel the same I think um didn't look great I mean and I know that things don't tend to look great in slow but it didn't look great in real time and it's only standing leg and it could have been nasty and there's absolutely no reason for his foot to be that high and his studs to be that up. And I think if you, weirdly, like I also think that he kind of benefited a bit from the ball, not being, it sounds like a weird thing to say, but like he benefited a bit from the ball being a bit further away.

34:53Luke Moore: Cause I think if you go over the top of the ball in that way and the angle slightly different, it tends to be a red without much thought. and this, because the angle was slightly different, he was on the ground, the ball was in a different place. It looked like, because it looked like what he was trying to do was catch his back leg just to stop an attack, and it's a yellow card straight kind of cynical professional foul type thing. But it was more than that, right? So to me, yeah, I kind of, I admittedly, because I am like an impartial observer here, and I just want to be entertained, it would have unquestioned been far more entertaining if I was to go down to 10 men.

35:27So maybe I'm just extrapolating that. But I was a bit surprised. I think he's very lucky.

35:32Luke Moore: I think he's lucky that he's not been sent off. And they've had a player sent off all season, Arsenal, which is kind of interesting. Well, it is incredible, yeah. If they're getting those decisions, then maybe that's why. Anyway, I mentioned earlier, Luke, that obviously Arsenal are in that European Champions League final against PSG. Good news. TNT Sports have confirmed that Arsenal's Champions League final against PSG will not, I repeat, not be free to watch in the UK for the first time in history. TNC Sports have opted to restrict access to customers and subscribers to HBO Max. And this is really good news because it means that we all have to work harder to get our football.

36:10Luke Moore: And harder work means that we become better people if any of the high performance types are to be listened to. So it's great news you're out, Luke. I think we could agree. I've got quite a lot to say on this. So I'll just be as brief as I can. It's a fucking disgrace is what it is. It is a disgrace. But, you know, first of all, the contract that the UEFA seem to have dished out or agreed with these broadcasters, even to my untrained eye, looks less than watertight. I mean, apparently broadcasters need to, quote, make the very best efforts to make the final three to air. It's like, well, I mean, that could be anything.

36:56The very best effort. I don't see anything. And you know that UEFA have dropped a bollock there because they came back and said it breaks the spirit of the contract, right? I mean, well, thanks very much for that. But if you are going to make people pay billions for your product, don't be surprised when they try and squeeze every last bit of value they can out of that. And if you can't get your contracts written properly, that's on you. So don't try and swerve it. But secondly, I mean, there's two other points I want to make. One is that ultimately we as a society are asked to pay far too much money to watch football anyway.

37:33And the fig leaf of giving the final out for free to people is just exactly that. It's a fig leaf. And you could also argue that that actually undermines what the people who do pay for the product are actually getting. Because if you're going to dish out the biggest game of the season for free anyway, and what's the point of any of it um so it's a fig leaf anyway we want our fig leaf back yeah we want our fig leaf back exactly get that put on a red cap marcus um and and so that's just bullshit and ultimately it needs to repeatedly be said that we are asked to pay an extortionate amount of money but for this i mean i pay i think 35 pounds a month just for tnt sports and that's before you get into all the other nonsense around sky sports we stuck over 130 30 quid for all the stuff that I need to do my job, basically.

38:23And the final thing I'd say now is, you know, it's escaped a lot of attention how bad TNT sports actually is. Now, I don't watch a lot of the other sports they cover, so I'm happy to be told if I'm wrong about those. But in terms of the decisions that I know about on the sports I've watched delivered to me by TNT Sports. I mean, it has been almost universally appalling. I mean, the commentary teams on TNT Sports are totally unacceptable. They're really, really poor. Darren Fletcher, probably the worst commentator of football I've ever listened to. The decisions made at the top of the game, some of the presenters they use, dreadful.

39:09The decisions they made around cricket, they get the ashes and then not broadcast it properly, not even send people to Australia and not have anyone commentating on the Ashes that know anything about cricket. Over and over again, pun intended, they've dropped the ball. So we shouldn't be surprised they've made this decision as well. 27-28, they are not going to have the Champions League anymore and they're not going to have the Europa League or the Conference League either. I really hope that can be a fresh start and we can start to see an improvement in the broadcasting, accompanying football, particularly given the amount of money that we all pay.

39:45It's a rip-off and the standard of broadcasting is abysmal. I know I don't get any points from anyone at the Ramble for continually slagging off all the other broadcasters, but ultimately it's just how I feel. So there we go.

39:58Luke Moore: The Europa League and the Europa Conference League finals will also not be free to air. Give us the Conference League final for crying out loud. That's nothing to you. Maybe I still won't watch the Conference League then. I don't know. Yeah. But as you said, Luke, UEFA are understood to be irritated by the decision. Oh, well, that makes it all right then. I'll guarantee you they're not as irritated as me. And the, well, I would just like to say, actually, by the way, speaking of the Conference League, a week or two ago, I was just doing a show with David, just me and Dave Cartledge. And I was trying to be cool and take the piss out of the Conference League.

40:37And I was just showing off, really, which is one of my one of my more regrettable yeah one of my dislikeable tendencies and I think I kind of accidentally really undermined what Crystal Palace have achieved and I felt quite bad about it because they're my local club and I don't quite like Crystal Palace so I want to apologise for Crystal Palace fans who've been in my mentions for not acknowledging how good it's been they've got to a European final so I'd like to put that record straight now as well yeah

41:02Luke Moore: yeah yeah no we're well sorry you it's not your worst character trait oh no no it's definitely in the conversation uh right coming up after this the battle of the bridge returns

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43:15Luke Moore: Welcome back to the Football Ramble, everybody. Right, Chelsea versus Tottenham Hotspur tonight at Stamford Bridge. Luke Moore, surely we're going to get another battle at the bridge. Chelsea, they're not in the business of giving West Ham favours, but if it means doing Spurs over, they might just be. Tottenham Hotspur know that any kind of result really keeps themselves... Because of the goal difference, a draw would be enough, let's be honest. But there's an awful lot going on this game. Chelsea, as well as wanting to get one over on Spurs, they are still just about in the mix for European places.

43:53Luke Moore: So I tell you what, all eyes on this. It's a good evening of football we've got, and I'm glad that you can watch the first half of Bournemouth v Man City before Chelsea Spurs kicks off tonight. But we're in for an intriguing evening, I think. Yeah, I agree. I mean, it will be a bit disappointing if it falls over tonight and we don't have any jeopardy on the final day at all in terms of the title or the relegation picture because we were kind of gearing up for a really dramatic end to the season and it might just fall short. That said... So what would you like to see? Would you like to see a Chelsea and Man City win then, you old romantic?

44:29Well, I think you have. I mean based on the bigger picture sometimes you've got to lose a battle to win in war Marcus you do need to understand the big picture I think ultimately that's what you need to hope for so we get a little bit of jeopardy on the final day of the season right I mean clearly that's got to be what we hope for look I don't think it's going to make much difference I don't think Spurs' record at Chelsea is poor I mean they've beaten once at Stamford Bridge in the League Cup a long old time ago might have beaten once in the League perhaps under Pochettino maybe other than that their record there is really really bad I believe despite the fact they've taken 6 points or whatever it is or 8 points sorry for their last 4 games I still believe Spurs are broadly a poor team I was incredibly disheartened by how bad West Ham's performance at St James' Park was I said that at the time I thought it was absolutely visible really given what the stakes were and there's no excuse for it and they've got one last chance to get it right but obviously it's out of their hands now I think I think we could see Spurs stay up on the final day I think they probably will stay up now I mean the odds are in their favour I think it might go down at the final day because I don't trust them to get anything at Stamford Bridge Chelsea

45:41Luke Moore: I fancy them to get a point tonight I don't know what it is no but you see you see like I understand he might not play tonight but you look at some of the stuff Rhys James has said I mean and their fan base they're desperate to beat Spurs They love beating Spurs. They absolutely love it. And they've still got a chance, as you say, to do something and rescue their season, even in some small way. But I honestly just don't think they need any more motivation to beat Spurs or to put performances against them. And I think if you look at the Spurs' results recently, I mean, it's a little bit overrated what they've done.

46:21I mean, they've drawn with Brighton at home, fine. They beat Wolves. Wolves are historically poor. they beat an absolutely disgraceful Aston Villa I mean Villa if Villa had played anywhere near their potential and picked anywhere near the team they should have done I understand why they didn't do it and ultimately the end will justify the means because they'll probably win the Europa League but that was a great bit of timing for Spurs that was very much been a lucky general rather than a good one from De Zerbi and they drew it home against Leeds I mean great so what Leeds are quite hard to beat fine but they're not brilliant Well talk me through Chelsea's results of late then Chelsea have been terrible

46:56Luke Moore: which is why I think Spurs have a chance tonight to put this to bed because they don't want to go into they always got a chance of course they got a chance which is why I think they might do it I think with a hook or by crook I think and almost you could argue that that derby atmosphere suits Spurs because everyone's up for it everyone's pumping I mean if they lose tonight then of course it goes to the final day they've got to play Everton Everton I mean there's so many you know number of teams in that pack for European places. It seems less likely that Everton might clinch a European place after that very odd defeat at home to Sunderland.

47:32Luke Moore: But, you know, they'll still be gunning for a victory. West Ham at home to Leeds. Leeds don't have much to play for. Leeds have been in much better form and West Ham at the moment you wouldn't put it past them to drop the ball there. So I think I think De Zerbe and Spurs... Well, it might not matter. It might not matter. Well, indeed, I think there'll be... I think there'll be... I think we'll see the Spurs that played Aston Villa I think that's the kind of Spurs that you'll get. It's that type of performance. Are Chelsea going to be as appallingly bad as you said Villa were that night? Probably not.

48:03But I think De Zerbe, they're nearly there.

48:07Luke Moore: They are so close. Just a point will do it. I think Spurs will get a point, at least in their next two games, which will be enough. I think that's all fair comment. Of course, Spurs have got a chance. Of course, Chelsea have been poor. But you've got to factor in things like, you know, Chelsea know who their new manager is going to be now, right? The players, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if Alonso might even be there tonight, right? You know what football players are like. You know, when the new manager's coming in, they've got to find something to lift themselves to try and impress a new coach.

48:37I mean, that happens all the time in football. So, you know, there's a lot of things, a lot of factors at play here. I think that despite their travails, Chelsea are a better team than Spurs. Yeah, they are. There's no doubt about that. And Chelsea are at home. And they've got something to play for. And they've got a new manager coming in. And there's a load of factors.

48:55Luke Moore: Callum McFarland will join Javi Alonso's coaching staff in the summer. That's quite nice for young Cal. Sensible. A bit of continuity. I think, as I said to you before, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that Javi Alonso's gone there. But he has. And you can't make any sour grapes about it. You've got to give Chelsea their flowers for getting him. One thing you would say about Chelsea, by the way, is that despite all this mad stuff that goes on, they do tend to get their business done pretty early and pretty quickly. They do. And they've done it again there. So, you know, Callum McFarlane seems like a good fella.

49:25He loves a tweet, as you said, Marcus. He seems like a normal bloke.

49:30Luke Moore: Huh? Normal bloke? He seems like a normal bloke. I would reserve my judgment for saying he's good or bad. Fair enough. Tonight also, Bournemouth versus Manchester City. Manchester City will concede the title if they fail to beat Bournemouth. And this is it. This is what we want. They need to go there and win. But Bournemouth, Bournemouth can sniff a Champions League spot next season. and that is something I find utterly intriguing because they'll be hoping obviously Villa win the Europa League which they're favourites to do so Bournemouth could be in the Champions League next season there's chat of Andoni Iriola going to Crystal Palace we're not sure if there's much in that surely if they get a Champions League spot he'll go I was only joking come on that's why the timing of it is so strange right Andoni we've already got your successor in charge yeah just have a quick word about him though Marco Rosse, I mean, he's presumably hoping to become a Chavis League manager having not done anything, which is great.

50:29I mean, at Bournemouth, I mean. Look, I think the timing that was strange for the reasons you've basically just mentioned. It is an interesting game tonight. Bournemouth are really, really hard to beat, right? When I was looking into this game ahead of the show today, for the first time, it just hit me. They've only lost seven games this season. It's only Arsenal and Man City have lost fewer games. That's right. They've stuck in there and drawn an awful lot of games and they've made themselves hard to beat. And also, they are a good team. Bournemouth are a good team. They're very good. Genuinely really good.

51:00And you wouldn't think that City, when they've got the eyes on the prize in this way, would drop the ball. But that draw against Everton, you know, and the fact that they're not the team that they were and blah, blah, blah. It'd be interesting to see how the dynamic changes now the Guardiola news has come out. I suspect the players probably already knew, but we don't know that. But here's the thing. Bournemouth's record against Man City is really, really bad. I think they've only been once in their entire history. And so the odds are going to favour Man City. But we'll see. And if Bournemouth do win tonight and they end City's title hopes, they will be a point off Champions League.

51:42They play Nottingham Forest on the last day. And Liverpool, who are entirely unreliable, play Brentford at home. Brentford have had a really good season as well. What a way to sign off for them winning at Anfield on the final day.

51:54Luke Moore: Well, and maybe clinching a European spot themselves. You could see it happening because just because of the way that Liverpool have capitulated various key moments in games. And I can't stop thinking about that point they handed Spurs when Spurs were in a right old state. And they couldn't get it done against Spurs at home when Spurs, it was the nadir of Spurs really. and they let Richarlison score in the last minute to get a point. So you wouldn't put it past two historic moments in terms of Bournemouth and Brentford both getting European football. But tonight, I do think City will get it done.

52:31Luke Moore: I fancy two draws. I fancy Spurs to get a point to keep them up. And I think the title will be Arsenal's tonight. That's what I'm predicting, Luke Moore. Two entertaining draws. If I may bring something that's irked me to the table, which nobody cares about. we talk about all these European spots potentially on the last day of the season Bournemouth Brentford Brighton maybe slight chance Everton Chelsea whatever Fulham beat Wolves you go into the last day and you've got a chance and you give the fans a little bit of excitement and we get to check our phones and go oh they're losing and oh what's it going on they didn't beat Wolves did they so nothing to play for on the final day yeah Marco Silva it's been a pleasure if you get a better offer I don't blame you anymore quite frankly The Benfica job is up for grabs.

53:19Luke Moore: He may think, do you know what? Yeah, they're in the Europa League. Fine, that'll do me. He wants to manage in Europe. You don't want to be the guy after the guy. Well, that guy's not the guy anymore. Unbeaten season for Benfica this season. Finished third. Loves a draw. Bite your hand off for a one-all draw. Will Jose Maria these days. Before we go, though, Luke Moore, I want to go to Major League Soccer. something quite wonderful happened there FC Dallas beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 FC Dallas' Sam Sarver scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute as he was celebrating a couple of beer cans were chucked down towards him he picked one of them up and gave it a little chug and off he went two points on that one is that it was Modelo which is a really great beer and secondly he he kind of thought about shotgunning it realised it had already been open so there was no pressure in there and then just pouring it all over his face.

54:15Luke Moore: Yeah. It was right up there with the Lawrence Shanklin biting of the pie. It was that kind of energy. A little bit. Should you be drinking on the job? Probably not. No. But as it worked for me in the past, yes, it has. So I'm not going to be a hypocrite about it. And you're not going to say which job that was? No. Because you could get in serious trouble. Serious trouble, yeah. Hello. Hello. Is that the manager of Safeway Supermarket? in 1999 I got pissed and then came to work I might not get in trouble for that all I'm saying is Safeway don't exist anymore you that's true yeah Morrison's now you're safe from them you have led a very very effective campaign for many many years to ensure that the football ramble does not have an HR department well when that goes through and it will be when you'll have a lot of answering to do I'll die on that hill it'll be over my dead body though so don't worry about that you certainly will be dying on that hill and I'll get that HR department to pay for my funeral expenses well there we are everybody thanks for listening to the Football Ramble part of the Acast created network Luke and I will be back with Jim tomorrow will Jim turn up all happy because his beloved Arsenal have won the league you're going to have to tune in to find out because there'll be no other way of knowing remember to subscribe to the Football Ramble in your podcast app so you never miss an episode from myself and that guy Luke Aaron Moore ta-ta for now see you tomorrow

55:42Luke Moore: The Football Ramble is a stacked production and part of the A-Cast Creator Network.

56:09So wherever you're headed, make it count with this limited time offer.

56:13Luke Moore: Life's a trip. Make the most of it at BestWestern.com. No additional purchase necessary for sweeps. See bonus points, T's and C's and sweeps rules for details and visit BestWestern.com for complete terms and conditions. Pool 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.

56:52Luke Moore: See associate or lowes.com for details.