Mailbag: What’s going wrong at Aston Villa?

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3:09Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble Mailbag. substitutes Aston Villa and countdowns are the orders of the day. It's Tuesday 23rd September. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Lucian Hamdaraja.

3:34Hello everybody. Good to have you with us for the Mailbag. If you want a question on the Mailbag do get in touch on X Blue Sky or Instagram at Football Ramble. you can comment on YouTube you can email us at footballramble.com and of course friends of the Ramble get priority over on our Discord there's no excuses there Jim no frankly get over there yeah you'll have a nice time you'll have a lovely time

3:56Marcus Speller: and if you don't have a nice time tough you've already signed up and paid for it yeah at which point you've got to make the best of it haven't you yeah so stop complaining I mean they are sort of I would say not the views of the Football Ramble but they are the wishes of the Football Ramble that you sign up And if you don't want to visit it, just keep the recurring payments and leave it alone. If you don't want to sign up to our Discord, right, then you're wrong, quite frankly. Then we'll bring the Discord to you and see how you like it then. Hopefully very much. But if you don't, basically just give us your money.

4:30Yeah? Are we trying to mug people? I think we are. All right, well, let's start with this from Rory on the Discord. Aston Villa have lost key loan players from last season's strong finish, with Marco Asensio joining Fenerbahce and Marcus Rashford heading to Barcelona. Plus, they were forced to sell Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle PSR reasons. They've only scored one goal in the league so far. So given Unai Emery's track record and their sixth place finish last season, is this mainly down to losing those attacking players? Or are there deeper tactical issues? Should Matty Cash be playing up top? How worried should Villa fans realistically be?

5:09yes fair questions Jim Aston Villa have started very very poorly and of course when he says Matty Cash he's referring to Cash's goal at the weekend which is of course their only hit but their only goal of the campaign so far which is quite astonishing they scored against Brentford in the Carabao Cup they went out of that so that's not really much of a consolation there is it Rory raises an interesting point about Asensio and Marcus Rashford they sort of arrived as the cavalry really didn't they sort of giving some depth and obviously they sold John Duran in January even though that feels like it happened about three years ago yeah and obviously that kind of compensated for that that loss there but you know they brought Evan Gessend in as well he looks like he's got the potential to be quite a good player but they are light you know they had addressed that problem now they've kind of backslid a little bit and I think it's it probably is actually something that's contributing to it and I wonder is there essentially at Villa some quite unfortunately timed fatigue in a lot of different areas of the club.

6:10Now, Emery's been there a while. We know he tends to have this strange situation where things kind of just don't go a little bit wrong, but go quite spectacularly wrong when he leaves the club. Just everything stops working. That's why he leaves the club, do you think? Possibly. Yeah, I mean... I mean, when you say he's been there for a while, I understand the point, but he's only been there three years. I think that's around the sort of cycle or certainly around the amount of time that he spends at most clubs, isn't it? Well, it is funny, isn't it? It's a long time to spend

6:39Marcus Speller: with a specific group of players as well. Well, yeah, and at a Premier League club, I suppose. I mean, it was funny, wasn't it, with the old famous quote, you know, the third year is fatal, you know, for particular managers. Whereas actually three years in a top flight manager position, it's pretty good going. Actually, it's not too bad. So you'd have concerns over Emery and that pattern that we've seen perhaps I just wonder if it's the same thing happening again where things go a little bit stale. Don't know whether it's the players stop responding or perhaps teams have figured them out a little bit.

7:13And they are clearly a weaker proposition than they were last season on paper and on grass as well, which is more important. I wonder as well if, you know, Oli Watkins perhaps would have been, you know, certainly in January, he had his head turned by the idea of a move to Arsenal. he might have been thinking about a move this summer that seems like a long time ago as well doesn't it? when Arsenal was at 65 million or whatever they put a bid in I think that's what Villa wanted and that's what Arsenal weren't prepared to go to but you know this conversation isn't really about that I think maybe when you look at a lot of the players moving on in the summer in Morgan Rodgers' position as well perhaps he might have thought maybe I could get a big move somewhere this is obviously speculation because I don't know it just seems like these players are better than the performances they're putting in Rodgers in particular despite him having a fantastic performance for England in Serbia just doesn't look like the same player does he and it's confusing it just looks stale yeah I mean three points from five games over three draws and two losses one goal scored in the League 5 conceded I mean Vish what do you think of the situation of Villa at the moment what would you put it down to if you could rake through it

8:24Marcus Speller: I think Jim summed it up pretty nicely on the field they're just shooting less so they could have scored fewer goals that's how it works Man United have had a lot of shots on goal this season Yeah but Villa one of the things Villa did last season really well was shoot they were a lot more direct basically and I feel like they totally lost their width but even the phrase that you started with about the question started with about losing their loan signings it's like did you ever really have them in the first place? That's not really how it works obviously the big issue stems from not making the Champions League because that put them in a situation PSR wise where as Jim said they had to sell Jake and Ramsey but they couldn't really upgrade their squad I don't really think they were keen well it doesn't sound like they were keen on making Rashford's deal permanent anyway so they would have been in this situation but by not getting to Champions League football they've not really been able to I suppose cater for the wide spots I think the signing of Javier Elliott is outstanding business actually.

9:32Yes, I think it's a good one, yeah. And the type of guy who could get them going. Yeah, 100%. Although Emery, I think, apparently was a bit critical. He thought he was, Javier Elliott was trying to take too much of it on his shoulders in that game against suddenly. He was like, I'll be the man to do this. And so you could have a little bit of a teething problem there. Emery's going, no, play like this. And he feels his side are not playing in a certain way. But I've jumped in there, sorry.

9:52Marcus Speller: No, no, not at all. Because that brings us neatly onto the tactical side of it, which is why is a new signing as young as Harvey Elliott feeling he needs to do that? Well, there you go. And obviously that speaks to a lot of his qualities because he is an exceptional player, but it feels like there's a lack of... Leadership might be too strong because I don't really know any of the characters involved. We think Conza would be a leader back there, certainly. But I mean in terms of like taking leadership over the creativity of, and the decision making with the ball. Rodgers, as we said, really well for England.

10:34Marcus Speller: Maybe he's a bit more sussed out in the Premier League because they've seen enough of him. Watkins' lack of confidence seems to be a problem. But there needs to be a bit more thrust beyond them, and it doesn't seem to be happening. like John McGinn at least on the weekend was playing more centrally which was great but it felt like he was being countered or certainly even he had a bit too much to do Buendia the fact that he started is more of a creative force but again it feels like the structure around them isn't quite in place and I suppose that falls back on Emery doesn't it? I also wonder if I think you're absolutely right about the Champions League because it's been really devastating to miss out because obviously they've got that high wage bill that people talk about a lot which has hamstrung them a lot but also missing out on that has meant as you mentioned they have to sell Jacob Ramsey so there's a real kind of deficit to it that's not just missing out on the football itself there are consequences for that in terms of the personnel and I think a club like Villa if you're going to keep pushing you really need to be able to augment your squad with academy players and the current rules there's a big flaw in the rules which is that so many clubs have to sell those players so it's a funny one I also wonder if players like John McGinn again Watkins have had a nibble of the Champions League biscuit and those older players, no, they're probably not going to get that again.

11:49And what does that do to you? This is the point I was going to make, Jim. Yeah, to piggyback on that. Aston Villa have the joint oldest squad in the Premier League

11:57Marcus Speller: with Newcastle United. Now, Newcastle United, look at the seasons they both had last year. Newcastle weren't in the Champions League. They qualify for the Champions League and they win the League Cup. They go into this season, I know Isak's just gone, it's a bit of a blow, but I think they've done pretty well to respond to that with Valtemar who looks a player and Wissler going in there. But going into this season, they're thinking, wow, we're back in the Champions League. We've won a trophy. Can we go and do something and win another one this season? There's a lot more hope and expectation and excitement going.

12:32It's momentum, exactly. Whereas the previous year or the previous season, they didn't have that so much because they were in the Champions League. They got out of it. They didn't get back in to European competition under Eddie Howe. And what were we saying around Christmas time or maybe slightly before? There were a few little question marks beginning to pop up over Eddie Howe. Has he taken this team as far as he could, et cetera, et cetera. Well, they put that to bed, certainly. They win the cup and then they qualify for the Champions League and suddenly everything's rosy again and off they go.

12:59Aston Villa, it was kind of the opposite. Last season, very exciting run in the Champions League. You know, the PSG hierarchy was saying they were the best team we played in the competition. And on another night, maybe they knock them out, right? So, you know, there's Villa all the way to the quarterfinals. It's not ridiculous to say that in another season, yeah, okay, you know, chaos theory, but they could have gone even further. But a great campaign they had. They got to the semifinal of the FA Cup as well. It was all kind of like, oh my goodness, we are going somewhere. They get dumped out of the cup by Crystal Palace because that's just what Palace were doing to teams that year, fair enough, and they don't get the Champions League.

13:38And the reason why the older squad thing, I think, is important is something that you just touched on there, Jim, is it's the here and now. And Emery wants players for the here and now. He wants to achieve. He wants to win trophies at Villa now. And this season, you go into a competition. Yes, they're more likely to win the Europa League than the Champions League. But you don't have the buzz and excitement of it. And it feels this season, off the back of that disappointing end to last season, whatever's happened over summer, they've not picked it up. And they needed to do something. He needed to change it around.

14:07And maybe because of maybe the ages of the players the fact that they're over familiar with each other because it's a lot of the same players he's had for these few seasons they haven't refreshed and maybe his tactics etc etc we know this in football now that the game changes you need to refresh every year every season even the messaging

14:25Marcus Speller: totally and I think they go into the season and it's a bit like yeah it's not as exciting this season okay let's see what we can do even the goalkeeper Emi Martinez who you rightly said last season their highest profile player nearly left he was up for leaving and he doesn't leave for whatever reason, you know, whether they couldn't get the admin sorted out. I can't quite remember the detail. And even he's a bit like, okay, I'm back here, lads. All right, okay, let's... And that's the feeling. And they haven't managed to turn that round. And I think, Elliot, it was a good signing. Jadon Sancho...

14:57Who knows? Who knows? Potentially a good signing. It's someone, isn't it? Yeah, we know his quality, but is he going to provide? And I think that there is that feeling. and you worry for Emery and Villa a little bit in that if this goes on for another three or four months and you get to that Christmas period and they're not showing it, do Villa think, we're just drifting? And inertia set in and with the mention of Rodgers at England, you can see that he had a verve and an excitement and an enthusiasm and the quality he brought to England in that game against Serbia. Yeah, maybe in the Premier League, you know, the cutthrust of the Premier League, but look at that game against Sunderland.

15:39It's a similar kind of opposition, if you see what I mean. And Rodgers, when he went off, the Villa fans in the away end were applauding, cheering. They thought, this guy's not doing it for us. So where is that excitement that he had and quality playing for England that he's not bringing to Villa? It's a haze that's there. It's a fog and a mist that they need to clear. And if Emery can't do it in a few months' time, they may start thinking, do we need to switch it up? And I don't regret saying that, but that is modern football for you. Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, it really depends who's available, doesn't it?

16:14And how kind of much of a malaise they find themselves in if this is kind of carrying on in a few months. I do think... Potter will be available. Yeah. I do think the Europa League is a chance for them to... Totally. A hundred percent. Essentially, not just in terms of the sort of longer term ambitions of winning it, but just in the group stages. is essentially a break from this type of kind of fog as you say and shake them out of the stupor as well yeah exactly get the excitement of those European nights use that as fuel you know yeah because I mean it's still a good competition and one Emery knows how to win but they even got there to the final on that you know we talk often don't we about managers having a sort of peak or peak years and like the top top managers even the really really top ones apart from a few kind of outliers have about a decade at the top and you know Emery has been he joined Valencia here in 2008 and had a few jobs before that so it might be that he's just waning yeah I mean let me clarify that with Guardiola obviously it's longer than that but he's an exceptional case yeah I mean I think the exceptional case would probably be Alex Ferguson yeah there aren't many but that was reinventing himself constantly constantly and it's so difficult to do that as a manager so yeah I think that's right but it does appear also that Emery his message is not getting to the players I mean after the draw against Sunderland where Sunderland play for what was it an hour with 10 men and Villa can't win the game even though they had the lead as well, a very poor result for them.

17:39Terrible goal to concede as well. Bemery said after the game we need to play better, we need to control better, we need to dominate better, we need to get our style then the goals and assists will come and he's talked about the style and he's basically been saying the players aren't either listening to him or the message isn't getting through and having worked with a lot of those players for a long time now that doesn't bode well it's what happened at the end of his time at Arsenal it was a very very different situation obviously almost kind of slightly unfair to compare them more successful at Villa than at Arsenal yeah absolutely and obviously he was coming in after us and Wenger at Arsenal so there's lots of reasons it's very different but it did look a bit like this at the end of his time there you sense that the players didn't really know what they were supposed to be doing it was hard to identify what the game plan was yeah I think and the point you both touched on there is I think the Europa League Knights will really determine if that's a poor showing there, I think the writing's on the wall.

18:31If they can get a bit of excitement and some of the feeling last season, then you never know. All right, coming up after this, do starting 11s matter as much as we think?

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21:52Matt has been in touch on Instagram. Matt asks, is there too much emphasis on starting 11s with a number of permitted subs now standing at five, half the number of outfield players? Should there be less hype and conversation about who actually starts a game, particularly with regards England? If Tuka were to not start Kane or Bellingham, Why can't that be discussed as a positive tactical decision, i.e. bringing big players on for impact when opposition are tiring, rather than a judgment of the player? To do otherwise feels old-fashioned. Thoughts? You demand Matt. I get his question totally. You're starting Kane, though.

22:25Yeah. You're starting your best player. I will start with a churlish point there. But I think he makes a point. We hear now starters and finishers, don't we? Yeah. That word finishes now is very much in football parlance. So there is something in it, particularly as Matt has highlighted there, with international football. I think that's a big thing. Players are tired at the end of the season, knockout football, all that kind of stuff. And you're trying to pack as many good players in the team without an imbalance. I think you'll see that a lot at Liverpool this season because they've got so many good players.

22:58I mean, Isaac converts on the bench. I understand Isak because he's just recently gone there and Eketike started so, so well. But it is an interesting thing because, yeah, we get fixated over starting 11s, particularly for England. And who's your starting 11? Well, that suggests that whether you're playing Andorra at home or Spain in a quarterfinal or a semifinal of a tournament, the starting 11 should be the same. And, of course, you're going to have a core of a side. I understand you don't want to chop and change. you want a bit of cohesion but there are different players for different occasions I think again you're going to have a core you're going to you know flitter around a little bit with one or two players but the idea of say England as Matt has highlighted here starting Cole Palmer Jude Bellingham Bakayosaka Eberetje you know you start to list all the players you cannot play all those players so I think I think Tuchel I suspect he will not shy away from making big decisions wouldn't shock me if say I mean I would have Bellingham as a starter don't think I've ever seen him come on in a game and have an impact but if he thought no that's what we're going to do he did it maybe in the friendly against Senegal

24:17Marcus Speller: how are we talking about England's tactics now? well because that Matt has highlighted it we stopped concentrating for two seconds well you stop concentrating Vish because in the question it says particularly with regards England if Tuchel were not to start Kane or Bellingham I don't remember that from the first time I think you've added that in yeah okay fine but you know Cole Palmer coming on for the last half an hour 25 minutes of an England game that's an exciting substitution to make yeah so you know I don't understand Florian Vert's coming on for Liverpool I mean it's like that's not too shabby I don't understand the question though in terms of like emphasis on starting 11s because I mean it's not something that we're doing foolishly or something we're doing ignorantly it's just the fact that it's released an hour and 15 minutes before the start of the game.

25:01Marcus Speller: Well, but that's why I think... And there's that much time to talk about it. I suppose the, you know, you mentioned that with the starters and finishes thing. I think it's just more to do with the fact that, you know, like, there's almost a thing of knowing that players, Premier League players, despite how fit they are, they can't last 90 minutes. And the rhythms of games are such that if you have a big squad, than you have players who fill in at certain points. For example, Rhys James is someone who's not going to consistently play 90 minutes. He is the best player in big games. So he will start big games.

25:37Marcus Speller: He will also come on with 35 minutes to go in other games where Malagusta will go ahead of him and things like that. I think it's quite common. I don't think it's something that's actually just come about because of the five subs. But it obviously, you know... That opens it up though. Yeah, it does. it does a little bit but I feel like this is something that's been going on for a while and I suppose the other intriguing side to it is you mentioned there about Liverpool I don't think Wurtz was at all happy to be starting on the bench I think even Izak coming back from well from little to no pre-season also wouldn't have been happy that he was starting on the bench and I suppose that's where your job as a manager is to work on the idea that these players should start for example you said there with Cole Palmer Thomas Tuchel's biggest job in that situation is convincing Kyle Palmer that he's the right man to be on the bench.

26:31Yeah, absolutely. And managing that is a slightly... It's weird, isn't it? Now, more subs are available, so there are more opportunities for these players, but it does at the same time feel like you have to manage that better somehow, because therefore, your best players aren't always going to start every game if you want to keep everybody fresh. And I think the five subs change is probably the most significant change in sport in this century. It's a huge, huge change to it. It makes a massive, massive difference. And we're now seeing squads reflect that, built to try and get the best out of the fact that you can change half of your outfield teams, as Matt Reilly points out.

27:07And who wanted it? Who were the ones that really wanted five subs? The big clubs. Yeah, absolutely. And it obviously gives advantages to wealthy clubs, also potentially to clubs with quite large academy catchment areas, but also the academy system's very different now. The big clubs kind of hoover those up as well. so yeah I think it's we're starting to see that come to fruition and I do think actually yeah the squads feel bigger now because you quite often have a completely different team at the end of the game Vish mentioned it with the modern with modern football pressing is such an important thing well you can't press for 90 minutes it's not possible so and defending when you're back to the wall for 90 minutes is also very difficult with that as well but it's this is the bigger squads and all that of course it's in favour of the big teams they can afford that they can hoover up the talent they can they can hoard players like Chelsea do and they think well don't worry we can still give people a bit of a taste of the biscuit because we've got five subs now and so on I mean Charlie Austin said on Sky that the idea of finishes is a load of rubbish he said it's a joke yeah no he said for professional footballers you always want to start well absolutely but a professional footballer is thinking of themselves and the team because the manager is thinking of just the team really and And so it is within the manager.

28:23I mean, Mikel Arteta said after the Champions League, was it last week, that it's not about who starts, it's about who finishes. And he's trying to convince people, say like Martinelli, you've still got a big part to play. Now Martinelli wants to play 90 minutes. He doesn't want to play 30 minutes. But Arteta's then got to convince him of that. I mean, the master of this back in the day was Sir Alex Ferguson, who used to walk up to teams and walk up to players, apparently according to Neville and co, and would say, I've got you down for 25 games this season son and this isn't the game for you and he would give it now that's about starting specifically but look at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and sharing him that you know in those years he would say you are vitally important and they knew their role in the team was probably not going to start they would start here and there obviously injuries and a teensy bit of squad rotation

29:09Marcus Speller: it's an aspect of rotation isn't it yeah like that dealing with you know there's a great story with as you said a few players have spoken about it specifically under Alex Ferguson but Nicky Bartz tells the story of like, he was like, right, you're not playing this weekend because we're playing in two weeks' time against this team on this kind of pitch. I need you for that. And I need you, yeah. You know, it's going to be a bit more of a battle and I want you fresh for that. Yeah. In terms of 11s, like from a kind of, I suppose, I don't know, like a cultural and maybe like an analytical point of view, it would be interesting to see a flash up over the 11s in formation as they do at the start of the game for the start of the second half, particularly if they've noticed an actual shift, because whatever you get on the team sheet ends up being put out on the broadcast immediately before the start of the game and it's basically as it is on that sheet and you work it out there but by those initial 45 minutes you've seen basically what the actual shape is and maybe that would be quite useful just for our own purposes to see how that's changed and then I appreciate it doesn't necessarily pertain to the question about starting XI but I suppose it shows that like over the course of the game shape changes personnel would change and that might be quite cool every now and again having a flash up as they do often do in the cricket say with the state of the field so you basically know where things are because obviously you're just solely concentrated on the ball if you're watching it at home yeah I think that's right I think though that the mention of international football is definitely a thing who is your starting 11 for this team because I think in club football there is that much more recognition it's a long season you've got your subs and your squad whereas for England you can get into serious arguments with people we've found this when we've done ahead of tournaments this is our this is what we think is a sort of a ramble 11 we quite literally profit off it but you kind of go well you're feeling very capitalistic today, aren't you?

31:16You know, this is our combined sort of Ramble 11. How on earth could you have him in there? I'd have him. And people go mental. It's kind of like, well, hang on. This may not be the side that finishes. Yeah. So I think there's definitely something there.

31:30Marcus Speller: Vish, you've got the next question. I do. And it comes from Richard on Instagram. Celtic Legends played Manchester United Legends a couple of weeks ago. And during the game, a young lad ran onto the pitch and nicked one of the corner flags at Parkhead. It seemed like he got away with it too. My question is, if there was one thing you could nick from a football club, what would it be? All of Real Madrid's European Champions League cups. Nice. And then you'd keep them captive at the Ballon d 'Or war ceremony, which they'll refuse to go to. Yes. And so you'd try and tempt them back. That's exactly what I'd do.

32:02Yeah. I don't know how I'd pull this off. The famous cock? Spurs? Well, I'd have a crack at the Lazio Eagle. It's a daring heist. I'm going to get pecked. I might not even come out of it alive. No, but Juan Bernabe took it home, didn't he? Did he? Have they not got a replacement eagle? You would have thought so. To be honest, though, Jim, think about the type of person that would want to steal that eagle. You're going to be put in the same bracket as them. Do you really want to be found with Lazio's eagle on you? Well, the plan is I'd befriend the eagle. Right. And if anyone found me, I'd be like, what do you mean what am I doing with this eagle it's just my mate

32:41Marcus Speller: yeah it'd be lucky it's not a parrot some of the things it might come out with like that that parrot that grasped that Spanish referee by singing a Real Madrid song that was amazing that was superb live on Spanish TV yeah the former head of refereeing or something in Spain and the parrot was whistling the Real Madrid anthem in the background it was stunning stuff stunning stuff yeah no but what is the famous the Tottenham Hotspur sort of cock on a ball the chicken on a basketball thing the cockerel at the top of the stadium I thought you maybe want to nick that or you think what am I going to do with that destroy it no they can have their chicken okay fair enough fair enough I did think do you know what I'd quite like at Portland Timbers when they chop that the log the log not the log keep the log but just the little piece you chopped off nice you can get wood from anywhere though yeah but this is special wood isn't it it's a special football wood you can get corner flags from anywhere can't you you can get European cups from anywhere but I want their one do you not understand how this works Ben yeah what would you well mine's really basic Ruben Amarim's mind immediately I was like because you know the match balls are so good I was like I'll steal the match balls oh yeah just a bag of balls yeah that would be quite good surely you can buy those balls like that match day match ready yeah really expensive though I'd rather steal them and like be constantly looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life yeah or actually even just some kit because the shirts the players wear are different from the...

34:08You can buy the more expensive option, can't you? They'd look much more flattering on us, wouldn't they? Yeah, they would.

34:14Marcus Speller: They would. But they're breathable. Yeah. You can actually run in them. You don't have to wash them. It's a breathable. That's a point. I'm trying to think of like, is there, you know, like Jose Mourinho's notebook or something? Yes, yeah. It says no on every page. No. Whatever you're thinking, no. Yeah, actually, I wouldn't want to read that. He hates me. He doesn't even know me.

34:42It's not a football club at the Wembley Arch. You'd steal the Wembley Arch. Yeah, how are you getting that home? What are you transporting that in? I think I've gone too far. And I think we need a break. Coming up after this, have you ever done a Robert Sanchez?

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36:21Right then, this is from Mike on Blue Sky. In tribute to Robert Sanchez, what's your best example of a time that you got ready for something immediately shat the bed and ended up wishing you'd simply stayed at home instead. Pleasing rhyme there. I once was getting ready in a hurry because I was late to get to the studio. I did not secure my water bottle properly and accidentally poured it all over my laptop in my bag. So that cost me north of a grand. Oh, Jim. Jeez. Yeah, that was annoying. Yeah. What about you, Vish? When you turn up to a cricket ground or even a football ground as you used to do?

36:59Did you feel unprepared or something like that? You thought, you know what? I've never even heard of this lot, Everton.

37:08Marcus Speller: This, what do they call cricket teams a lot? Yeah. No, this summer I got all the way to, it's not actually that far from my house, but I got all the way to King's Cross and on a train to Leeds and realised I'd left my laptop at home and I was in Leeds for about nine days. That's a signal. And I just got off the train in time. went home to get it. So that doesn't really count. Although there was one time I went to a party and it was quite a fancy party. And so I was like dressed up in a tux. I was in a bit of a hurry and I bumped into someone and it was kind of my fault actually, but I got coffee on my shirt and I got home to change it.

37:48Marcus Speller: And I was like, you know what? I can't be asked. So I just stayed at home. Presumably you kept the tux on though. I'm just going to have a fancy night in. I paid 75 quid for the ticket and I was like, I just cannot be arsed now. Yeah, fair enough. I mean, I suppose I just squeeze this into this question from Mike. And I mentioned this actually in the Forward to the Football Ramble book that we wrote all those years ago. My mates and I, it was one of our friends' birthday parties and we thought, well, we'll... I'll tell you what we'll do. The World Cup's on. So we'll watch England v. Algeria before we go out to this birthday party.

38:26it's the most dreary affair I've enjoyed games where England have been hammered more than that one yeah and it was such a depressing affair it's been studied by scientists that yeah because despite you know there being lots of people on the pitch the ball moving around the phenomenology being very very present nothing happened science can't explain how that much nothing happened at once so shit awful I can still see

38:50Marcus Speller: the Emil Heskey step over really yeah it was so bad Because he goes to step over and his heel catches the ball and he goes out and play for a throw-in. I mean that was what, 2010 World Cup? Yeah. Awful, awful, awful. Dreadful business. And we sat around and we were gearing up to go out to this birthday party where a lot of our friends would have been. And there was probably, I don't know, six or seven of us. And we were so utterly depressed, we just looked at each other and we were like, yeah. We just sat around for the next hour just like staring into space. Incapable of celebrating. I just went home.

39:25We didn't go to the party. Yeah. Heady days. Jim, you've got the last question. I do. And it is from your friend and mine, absolute Discord legend, Jimmy to the B. Oh, there he is. So Jimmy to the B asks, should football be introducing countdowns for free kicks, corners, throw-ins, etc.? If the play isn't resumed within a set time frame, then the decision is reversed. Only if they had the countdown clock. before you took a call. Like the Royal Rumble.

39:59Goal kick! Yeah, didn't take it quick enough. Free kicks do take absolutely ages. Yeah. It feels like it's getting longer as well.

40:07Marcus Speller: Yeah, I feel like because of so much the modern game is now geared towards set pieces and different types of set pieces as well that require a bit of, I suppose, construction's the wrong word, but whatever. it feels so laboured now I don't disagree with this at all I think it's right they do it in other sports admittedly where timing needs to be something that they keep across for example in cricket or baseball as well time between pitches is sped up the game I think it should happen here but also I think it should be done with an actual time not like the goal kick thing where it's like it's 8 seconds or what the referee decides is eight seconds.

40:52Marcus Speller: Yeah, I think this could probably be on a screen, you know, bottom corner, counting down. I do think it should be on the referee as well to make teams get in place. Like, you're the PE teacher there, you nerd. Get involved. Make them do it. Hurry it up. Yeah, I mean, I did wonder, I mean, adding an extra layer of something into the ecosystem of football. I think it is a good idea, Jimmy. I think we're all with you on that. but you know what it's like people then say well it took the referee five seconds longer to start the clock this week than it did last week I just think it's another thing people are mind about do we need that in our lives you know like fans chipping off about another minor detail but should that fans chip off about everything I don't think like the internet chippy culture is a reason to not do something that would improve the game should we let that get in the way yeah I think it is a good idea because there was always that kind of myth wasn't there that I think fans thought that if someone's wasting time, don't worry, it'll be added on in injury time.

41:53I mean, that's just infactically not the case, of course, because we know how long the ball is in play and out of play. And when you see that, you're like, well, the ball was in play for like 49 minutes in the 90 or so, whatever it was, you know, it can be startlingly low. Seldom is it above 60 minutes, if I can remember correctly, but it is quite low. But I'm not a fan of stopping the clock when the ball goes out of play. I think that is just the ebb and flow of the game. Games would last a lot longer. I think it would be crazy.

42:18Marcus Speller: Which is why with that idea, they had the extension of the 30-minute halves idea. If you stop it, that's basically what it is. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I suppose this would bring that into... You'd be a little step towards that with this. Yeah. But I think with free kicks, it does take an eternity sometimes. And that is classic time-wasting. Whereas if you're kicking the ball out of play, I think you've earned the right to time-waste because you've got somewhat, depending on the possession of the ball, or you've got, you know, booting the ball, you've made a tackle. So if that goes into the stand, then that's your right to do that.

42:59Whereas I think time-wasting for free kicks. Referees are pretty hot with goal kicks, with goalkeepers, to be fair. No, they're not.

43:06Marcus Speller: They're not. Oh, do you think? Yeah. I mean, I was at Fulham there. Bert Lenner got booked. It looked like he was waiting for the referee to blow his whistle. Yeah. Donnarumma was booked at the Emirates on Sunday. And Vish and I both kind of laughed at this. after he'd been booked he just took ages again you know he's just going like you're not going to send me off are you you're just not that would have been hilarious but when they basically they should book people immediately for time wasting they shouldn't like so Donnarumma got booked in like the 76th minute or something like that he was time wasting from the 10th minute right or taking an age over his free kicks anyway book him early and so like he won't do it again yeah but I think that it's just very unlikely because we've said this That's what I'm saying.

43:47It is unlikely. It should happen. But what you're... No, but you see, Jimmy to the B is saying and implement a new sort of system in place, whereas you're saying tighten up the current ones. But how many times have we heard that? Well, tighten up things like holding with penalties at corners. You know, you've got to give them... We're just seeing a little bit of that now.

44:08Marcus Speller: But it's different, isn't it? Because the penalty isn't necessarily about... Like, so he's talking about the shot clock thing, which I think is a good idea. It would be quicker implementing that and getting the results rather than what you're saying. Yeah, but then you said, we don't want to introduce it because of this, but there is existing rules that allow for referees to speed up the game. It's by booking someone. You don't even need to overturn the free kick. When goalkeepers get booked for wasting time, it doesn't suddenly become a corner, does it? You can just book them early. The infringement happens in front of you.

44:45It happens to book them. So you would say that you don't need to introduce countdowns in a kind of an official capacity? No, no. Not an official in a kind of...

44:51Marcus Speller: I think it's a good idea with the current state of the game, but if you're not going to introduce that, there is a way of doing it with the existing framework, which is just by booking them. Which is more informal, which therefore... But it formalises that process, doesn't it? No, but as in it's more informal because the referee is thinking, he's going, hurry up, get on with it, get on with it. he's not going right 10, 9, 8, 7 so it's to the referee's discretion yeah, well put and you're thinking that's something that they need to look at like holding at corners or the like to give penalties that people, referees around the world need to tighten up on you'd prefer that rather than having like like an actual clock like an actual clock ticking down going right you've got 20 seconds because then you get the gamesmanship of like the ball boys and girls are they giving the ball quick enough back you know like all that kind of you see what i mean like well no but like even but it still happens now for example um man city were running down the clock against arsenal on the weekend and they had a throw in and no one went to get the ball for the throw in in that situation who does the referee book yeah yeah no i do agree so like there were loads of people are finding different ways to get around it if you had a timer and then you're flipping it then someone would get there wouldn't they that's true and And if you don't take it quick enough, then the throw goes the other way or the corner becomes a goal kick.

46:15I suppose the argument against it though is that are you going to see more rushed decisions and therefore a lower quality of game? When you say rushed decisions, as in the corner... So if you have to take a free kick within a certain amount of time and it makes it hard for you to get set with the set piece that you've got planned or if a throw-in is essentially rushed because you've just got to release it rather than pick a better option, that is potentially going to make the game worse. But I would say I think there'd be enough time. I think that, yes, if the time, the clock was too short, if it was 10 seconds, I think that would be too little.

46:51But I think you would give enough time to say, look, we all know if you're going to set up for a long throw or a corner or a free kick where you're going to deliver it or even have a shot, you've got enough time to do it within the realms of decency. And that's what fans kick off about. I don't think fans are thinking, come on, hurry up, get over there and take the corner now before your centre half's even up there.

47:11Marcus Speller: That would be really funny though if, for example, if a team are defending really deep and they hoof the ball so far that it gets to the other side of the pitch and the team cannot then go back and take the throw in so they end up getting a throw in deep on that side. Obviously, it will never happen. Or you'd have to just start shooting from corners. Well, you weren't there. I had to have a go, didn't I? I think it's... I wonder if that will become a thing with fans demanding it. maybe not because it's more tricky to implement or the broadcasters would love it though because they'd love a little clock wouldn't they in the corner there's almost like a shot clock in basketball they would love to have a little bit of a thing there something else to sponsor isn't it there you go you see hub lot are you listening right thank you very much for listening to the football ramble part of the ACAST creator network I'm back tomorrow with Luke and Pete where we'll be reacting to the third round of the league cup please do send us your responses opinions and questions for next week's mailbag and subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your pods.

48:09Thanks Vish. Cheers. Thanks Jimmy. Thank you. And thanks Jimmy to the bee.

48:21The Football Ramble is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

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