Mailbag: Who is Harry Kane's successor?

0:00Hi, I'm Jack Crivelli, Kramer host of The Best One Yet. At T-Boy, we're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated. Whether I'm traveling, getting a workout in, or heading into a busy day, I keep Liquid IV on hand. It's clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone and contains three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. It's an easy addition to your daily routine and helps support hydration when you need it most. Shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV hydration that goes wherever life takes you.

0:34Oh, hello, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble Mailbag. Harry Kane's successor, like-for-like replacements, and World Cup host of the orders of the day. It's Tuesday 9th of September. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Pete Donaldson.

0:58Hello everybody, it's the Mailbag time and if you want to get involved with the Mailbag you can get in touch on xbluesky or Instagram comment on YouTube and email us showafootballramble.com and of course Friends of the Ramble get priority on the Discord lots of ways to get involved just like Friend of the Ramble K underscore Ashdown, or as I call him, K Ashdown, affectionately. Cut it out.

1:24Cashdown has got involved with this question. And if you thought we were done with England chat, we did warn you. Following England versus Andorra, there was some talk on the Football Ramble Discord about who might replace Harry Kane up top once the time comes. No one else really gets a look in. And at the moment, the only other alternatives are, this is quite a terrifying list when you see it written out like this. Would you call it exhaustive? Yes. So the other alternatives are Olly Watkins, Dominic Selanke, Liam DeLapp, Ivan Toney, Danny Welbeck, Tammy Abraham, Eddie Nketiah, Jay Stansfield, and last and perhaps least, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

2:09Most of these are out of favour, already due to age or injuries, or are just not established yet. So who is the successor to Kane? There are a few names in there that respectfully, and I do mean respectfully, you can maybe put to one side. But Jim, to answer the question, head on to start us off,

2:26Jim Campbell: who are you going for? So if right now Harry Kane picks up an injury and we know that he's not going to make the World Cup, it's Ollie Watkins, it just is. Right. I think taking a slightly longer view though, Watkins is 30 in December. So there is every chance that he will begin to wane as Kane does. Obviously, he's a bit younger. The Kane wane. Indeed. We've had wane, we've had Kane. Indeed. But Kane's longevity has been exceptional and is unusual, isn't it, I suppose, for a player to be that good for that long. So it's not unreasonable to suspect that the same could happen to Wally Watkins. And I think after him, it's a straight shootout between Dominic Solanke and Liam DeLapp.

3:04Jim Campbell: I think the rest of the names on that list probably won't even make squads. Tony aside or possibly barring an emergency and the kind of resurgence in form of Tammy Abraham. I think that's kind of going to be the case. So that's a really interesting shooter. I think, you know, none of those players do the same job that Kane does. But at the same time, there are good players there. I think you agree with me on this, Marcus. I look at the season that Liam DeLapp had last year. and I think there's a lot of raw talent there, really, really physical. It seems kind of very, very switched on as well. I think he has got a really, really good opportunity to establish himself as that guy going forward.

3:43Jim Campbell: Obviously, he's going to be competing with Gio Pedro for a lot of minutes in that position at Chelsea. So remains to be seen how much he'll actually play. Dominic Solanke's kind of been quite unlucky with injuries, really. So it's a big season for him as well in terms of how much he can establish himself at Spurs and Kale Mouane's there now as well. So again, minutes might be an issue. but yeah it's not it doesn't feel like there's any kind of great obvious successor coming through does it? I guess De Lapp is the closest we have to that so it makes me wonder would he maybe play Rashford there?

4:14Jim Campbell: Jared Bowen's also played as a striker those are kind of the options that you might be looking at if you're going to go for a real wild card Mikel Arteta has said that he might see Ethan Waniere as a striker in the future but that's obviously years and years away if he's going to establish himself there so it's a really well and at the same time no one is so it's kind of a kind of a really really tricky one Peter what do you think when this question entered your mailbox I think if they continue to play the way that they do and the insistence that they want sort of Harry Kane to be the focus of how England are going to play has to be Ivan Toney for me I know he's kind of hopefully be coming back sooner rather than later if he wants to take half of his money home to re-establish himself as quite a capable Premier League striker and hopefully he won't have missed a step at like 29, 30 years now I think I think they have to be looking at someone like Tony he's got a lot of miles, he's got a lot of intelligence on the ball and he can hold up play as well so yeah I think De Lapp's functioning a different football to Harry Kane and England seem to want to play in one way we're going to be he's going to be a long time retired I think Harry Kane for that England side and I think I think Tony's the one for me and has tournament experience with him tournament tournament tournament experience yeah exactly and he came on he played well at the times he's been kind of asked to do a job even like in the 10 minutes that he got at the end of the four matches he can take a penalty and he can take a bloody penalty as well which is increasingly important on the international stage and didn't he just during the Euros yeah I mean yeah the names mentioned I would be foolish to try and make a case for anyone else.

5:59I mean, Tammy Abraham's 27. He's a good footballer, but hasn't been involved with England. It would be very surprising. Not prolific. I think it would need a huge upturn in form. Eddie Nketiah. He's 26. Yeah, he's Eddie Nketiah. So, again... If he was going to make a steger claim, it probably would have happened before now. Quite possibly. Again, people... I mean, anything's possible in one regard, but, you know, the law of averages and even the law of below averages, it's unlikely that the form of, say, Eddie Nketty is going to warrant everybody to say, my goodness, we should be looking at him.

6:34Jay Stansfield's an interesting one. He's the only one. I mean, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, if he suddenly becomes the player and gets a right... But again, it's if. I think those days are gone. It's not even one if with Calvert-Lewin. There's a few there. Jay Stansfield is the only other one. But again, he's the same age as DeLapp. he's 22 and he's barely played in the top level in England. But I mean, if you look at Tony, it shows that it is possible for players to mature a bit later. So Jay Stansfield, you know, it's good for the England under 21s, of course. You know, he's been banging them in for Birmingham.

7:06He's been brilliant there. They got promoted. Jay Stansfield, let's see in two or three years time. I mean, if he can get into the Premier League and start scoring and start playing, then he's in the conversation. But in the here and now, I know DeLapp's injured right now at this moment, but it's got to be de Lapp really. I think Ivan Toni's time with England is not done yet. I know Luke is very, very passionately against the idea because he thinks if you go to Saudi, that's the end of you. I personally don't think that. I think there is an argument for it. I understand his thinking, but I agree.

7:40You have to come back and give at least half a season to prove that you are back where you were when you left. Mind you, talking about acclimatising though, I mean, he's used to warm weather players. Good coming, Andy. So, yes, I suspect, though, see, with Dominic Solanke, again, in the conversation, I would have him behind Watkins. Right now, Kane won, Watkins two, Solanke three, because Watkins has done something of note in an England shirt. And in the Euros, as it panned out, no disrespect to Kane, because he's one of the most reliable footballers England's probably ever produced. He wasn't fit, was he?

8:09He wasn't, he was injured. And actually, you know, I forget which journalist was saying this, but said it became very obvious to him, And I think it did indeed all of us in that final. After about half an hour, it was like Kane's not up to the task. And so at halftime, Watkins should have come on. I know he came on a little bit later. You saw the impact he had in the semifinal. So I think Watkins is there. England play in a different way with Watkins. But, and I think this is the best argument for Watkins, is I think Watkins starved running in behind and that kind of way. Much better against more attacking teams and better teams, I think.

8:42You just don't get the room against an Andorra, for example. Indeed. and I think that that compliments some of the players now that are coming into the England side.

8:51Jim Campbell: I think what should be said in Kane's defence though, right, is I think we're all broadly agreed that he didn't have the best tournament because he wasn't fully fit and he still scored a really impressive amount of goals that were very important for England despite not being at his best and that is a talent in itself, right? It's a score when you're not particularly playing that well or when you're not at the absolute top of your game. He's really reliable in a way that very few strikers in world football are. Just to add to that, by the way, and I'm not saying you were saying this, let us be clear, he's quite possibly the greatest forward that England have ever produced.

9:25Certainly one of, no doubt about that. So this is not a case, we're not doing that thing where it's like, is it time for Kane to sit on the bench? No, he's the first name for me, him or Rice are the first names on that team sheet. So this is very much... But that day will come, won't it? Yeah, but we are talking about a successor and we are also, as you mentioned on yesterday's pod, Peter, what is the plan if indeed Kane is tired or he's injured and so on. And yeah, so I just want to be absolutely clear in case anybody thinks that there was a... We're bashing Harry Kane. Exactly, it was clearly not the case.

9:51Give it another season though and it might become a toxic situation that we have to make a decision about. Well, I mean, do more than with Rooney, do amazing footballers, do amazing football international teams always have this problem where players are starting to age out a little bit. You build a team around someone that's always there even when they're injured. Is that a Portuguese example? I don't know. Well, he sort of had an amazing last season, hasn't he? Yeah, he's still delivering.

10:17Jim Campbell: Weird. Can I just make the point that Erling Haaland was born in Leeds? And if he doesn't switch allegiances to the country of his birth, he should be deported. Yeah, really capturing the current climate there, Jim. Yeah, should we campaign for the FIFA rules to change? Yeah, why not? The country you're born in, you have to play. Or we just ignore them and just see what happens. I mean, it seems to be the thing, isn't it? if we're going to sort of not bother with the European Court of Human Rights, why don't we just dip out of the whole world? The only problem is that Erling Haaland could overpower us all.

10:51It will be his decision ultimately, which seems to be no. Yeah, so, I mean, it's an interesting one, isn't it? Because as you say, Peter, Kane is only going to get older. This chat is only going to get a bit louder. But right now, it's obviously Kane. Who's going to be the successor? Yeah, it's slim pickings. What I would say, though, there's something that's given me a little bit of hope as an England fan and I appreciate we've never won a major tournament in my lifetime, is when England because of the production line I mean, you have to say, academies like Manchester City and so on, but because of the production line now, and the young talent that does come through, whenever I tend to think England really need that type of player, a holding midfielder for example, and Adam Morton pops up, I know he's not been given much of a good We're adequately stocked in pretty much every position aren't we?

11:36Not amazingly stocked, but adequately stocked which we've not been at every step of England's last 30 years. Yeah, and I think that's right. And I think you remember the time when it was like England just don't have a certain type of player and you go, oh, it's a Gareth Barry-shaped hole and it's like it's put a lot on one player. So I think the production line does come along and players are produced. But let's say, you know, worst case scenario, something did happen to Kane and he's injured and he can't play, then putting in Watkins or Dominic Solanke, England have still got a lot of attacking players it's the players around and so on and so forth and other sides have won tournaments with not necessarily the most potent of strikers but with

12:18Jim Campbell: Mikel Ojozbel is a great example he's not someone that really pops up as someone that people consider to be up there with the best strikers in the world but he's really really effective and he works really really well in that system and he bloody well pops up in that annoying time didn't he just alright coming up after this at more of your questions.

12:45Hi, I'm Jack Cravici, Kramer host of The Best One Yet. At T-Boy, we're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated. Whether I'm traveling, getting a workout in, or heading into a busy day, I keep Liquid IV on hand. It's clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone and contains three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. It's an easy addition to your daily routine and helps support hydration when you need it most. Shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV hydration that goes wherever life takes you.

13:23Got a message from friend of the ramble, Big Con on the Discord. Given England games are exceptionally dull affairs and they're made even worse by the dullness of Matt Affair and Dixon, commentary who would the Rambles have as commentators to bring some excitement into an England game can be literally anyone you want that's a touch harsh on Sam Mataphose um I'd say he's pretty he's not the worst offender is he I suppose he's a safe pair of tonsils he's a safe pair of tonsils but yeah

13:50Jim Campbell: I think he's doing alright commentators it's okay though isn't it do we do we need it at all commentary yeah well we could have some sort of audio for sure but doesn't necessarily need to be related to the game at all exactly we're all used to sort of double screening and doing three or four things at once now could we get say you know Rebecca Vardy and Colleen Rooney in a room together and have them just mediate over the top of the game so there's something for everybody with artificial intelligence presumably you could get like anybody in history and just you could have it's like a silent discord I'm listening to one thing you're listening to another but how's it reacting to the match is there a soundboard and a very busy octopus working it as the game's going on It's just a server-side artificial intelligence machine that just basically gives you commentary from, I don't know, Silvio Bellasconi and Hitler.

14:40Whoever you want. You could have chosen anybody. I could have chosen everybody and I've chosen exactly who I wanted.

14:47Jim Campbell: I suppose another option would be to mic up a player on each team and they have to do it in-game. The captain of each team has to do it in-game. James Madison would be too up for that. Wouldn't he? let's be honest and what's his name who used to play for Brighton who moved to Marseille oh Neil Mopé yeah Neil Mopé's not captaining France anytime soon though is he true true true he's having a bad time at the moment isn't he Mopé oh is he yeah he's been bombed out Mopé and about poor Mopé I I I'd like an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard I think because you remember the old soundboard impression coming no no no impression coming but you know when Martin Tyler commentates and there's a I forget which game it was, but he just lets out a sort of cry.

15:34Right. And some commentators were just, ah, like just a minute.

15:37Jim Campbell: Yeah, the kind of signature noise has become a thing recently, isn't it? Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are always going, oh, in the background. Yeah. Imagine a sports player going, ah, aye, aye. Exactly. That would be great. That would be good. But that would be just, you know, as I say, we'll just keep that as a soundboard. So, you know. This is how low things have fallen. Yeah. Barry Davis and Trevor Brookett. There you go. with AI resurrect the greats with AI but to react to what's happening there's a blog who probably is on 90 terms of football a UK wrestler called Wade Barrett who talks like this all the time I'd like to hear him commentate on the soccer so early Jonathan Pearce yeah pretty much the way wrestling commentary often works is there's like a good guy and a bad guy they often argue maybe that would make it more interesting Yeah, just absolutely slating everything they're watching.

16:31What about Tony Blair and Gordon Brown? That'd be all right, wouldn't it? They always got on eventually, didn't they? It's a chance for them. It's a chance for them. Why don't we bring back the old, what was that, the Man City 5-0 or 5-1 at the Swamp guy? Oh, yeah.

16:47Jim Campbell: So, yeah, it was Fan Zone, wasn't it? Fan Zone. That got ditched for a reason. It did get ditched for a reason. But the Man City, Man United one, where City won 6-1, it would be influencers now, wouldn't it, if they did a thing like that? but they found this genuinely very authentic very funny Man City fan who was having the absolute time of his life just going yeah 6-1 at the swamp take it take it take it he was brilliant there was a rumour though that the Man United fan wasn't actually a Man City United fan that he was just the Man United fan apparently got ill or so couldn't come and they just chucked a poor bloke in there who just sat there immortalised I don't know I don't think we've answered that question, but I don't mind.

17:30I think it's a pretty flippant question, if you ask me. Big con on the Discord. Who's your man? Abash. Oh, yeah. Have the two Bosch men. Have the two Bosch men. The two Bosch men. There's the man who's upset a lot of people by being quite anti-bots and all that. Okay. All the detractors come along with that. Who's the guy, the carpet guy, whatever it is. So he's the same guy. He's the guy who has roasts at like seven in the morning. And he insists that people are telling you that you can't have a fry-up. Exactly. even though no one's doing that. No one's told him that. And then the other guy. And then the other guy who's a bit, yeah, who's a bit more charitable, a bit more older, closer to death, the way he eats.

18:08Bit more older. Bit more older. And he's, yeah, he's a better slice of Bosch for me. Is he? Bosch. Oh, Bosch.

18:17Jim Campbell: So maybe they could have a Bosch off. Yeah, Bosch off. They could determine who can keep that. It's like the, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. when they score a goal. England v. Andorra. Like nothing's happening on the pitch. All you've got is that

18:32genuinely, yeah. How about the on board? How about the Aussie bloke? Which obviously, matey boy wouldn't be happy about that. How about the Aussie bloke who does the Della Sari, your mother does it now? Oh, yeah. What about him? Get the old old man in. No, I feel that was his moment. Was that his moment? Don't spread them to thin. To be fair, he's not been co-opted by, like, you know, a betting company. He's not been reused. He's never been found again. He's not like the Willstone Raider. Let's go out on a mission.

18:59Jim Campbell: Let's do a little searching for... Marcus, you love a 90s reference, so how about Bobcat Goldthwait and Gilbert Gottfried? Don't know. Bobcat Goldthwait is the police academy guy. Yes, okay. Gilbert Gottfried talks like this. Gilbert Gottfried talks like this. It's the parrot in Aladdin. I want the sound guy in as well. Oh, the bloke from Police Academy. Oh, yeah, Michael Winslow. That'd be brilliant, actually. There you go. We have answered the question. We have answered the question, actually. Perhaps we should have stopped short of answering it and moved on to the next question. Yes. So Josh Carr has been in touch on X, which you can find at twitter.com.

19:36Jim Campbell: What do you think of the increasing trend of young English talents who shine in their late teens slash early 20s before their careers begin to stall or nosedive in some cases? Rashford, Alley, Lingard, Sancho, Mount, and many more have followed a similar trajectory in recent years. Do you think it's down to the shift in players' peak years you discussed a few weeks back, burning players out early lack of good guidance the increasing mental health crisis among young people or a combination of the lot yeah well Josh you see there's a theme there for some of those players we'll take out Delhi for a moment Rashford Lingard I'm seeing a certain colour shirt there it's like the red shirt in Star Trek they're the ones who die first yeah exactly I think that might be your answer matey okay so I'll go through those ones I understand he's saying there's more but Rashford's had a very good career up until about two seasons ago or even one season ago Rashford when he burst onto the scene which he did but you know establishes himself as a starting player for Manchester United and a very important player scores some big goals wins some trophies yes the last couple of seasons as you say Peter haven't been great he's now playing for Barcelona it did seem quite an unlikely move we'll see how he gets on there so there's that as we used to call him Dele Alli or Dele Now he's recently been very open about his I suppose you'd call it mental health but his background addiction to sleeping pills Jesse Lingard the same as in he also has spoken about off field pressures and things exactly so there's those two Jadon Sancho I do look at Manchester United in this context because absolutely phenomenal at Borussia Dortmund goes to Manchester United it doesn't happen he goes back on loan to Dortmund and ends up playing in a Champions League final by the way didn't do too badly when he was there then goes on loan to Chelsea he didn't pull up too many trees but he did okay I suppose but not enough to warrant the move bothered some saplings but nothing good yeah exactly and then Mason Mount I always felt that was an odd move for him going to Manchester United and also he's been unlucky with injuries as well been unlucky with injuries, never really fitted into the side, and now under Amorim is being given another chance.

21:55So I think there will be other examples perhaps. So maybe that's unfair of me to just go through those ones systematically, but I understand why you've put that, Josh. It could be, I mean, I think you take it on a case-by-case basis. Yes, it could be a combination of the lot, as you say. There's clearly mental health stuff there due to people's backgrounds or whatever they have their reasons. Which again is case by case. Totally, absolutely, Jim, of course. Yeah, in terms of burnout, I'm not sure we're seeing that just yet. But I think the increase, to go back to Rashford, when he bursts on the scene and he's a young hopeful, what are we expecting of the man's career?

22:38Because he's playing for Barcelona right now and he has won trophies. I think sometimes, I honestly think still that everything has been skewed, especially for attacking talent by Ronaldo and Messi. Ronaldo and Messi burst on the stage youngsters absolutely phenomenal talents and then go on to break all the records win all the trophies and just do incredible things because Wayne Rooney he was in there with them you know for a little while and I do stress a little while oh is Rooney our version of them and of course it would turn out that they are such unique talents that they are the they are the top of the tree and then you have everybody else.

23:16Rooney was brilliant Rooney, you know, was England's top scorer, is Manchester United's top scorer all the time. He's won the Champions League, blah, blah, blah. And yet some people, I think, will still look at Rooney and go, yeah, but did he actually reach the highs? Well, what are you expecting of a youngster who comes in and shows a lot of promise?

23:33Jim Campbell: I also think that this is a great example of how difficult it is to establish yourself as a regular for an international team, especially a big international team, over a long period of time. In terms of, like, first names on the team sheet, in any generation, there aren't that many who are absolutely guaranteed starters. There's a few in the England set-up at the moment. There's always a few. You've got 11 places. Indeed, but there are eight players, I think, who have made over 100 appearances for England. There's some with more caps than that, but it's only eight who have made 100 appearances and that's quite telling in itself.

24:08Jim Campbell: I just think the level of players who can sustain that sort of international career as a starter for a long time is extremely, extremely high and you get very, very good players that don't manage that. And none of those players are defenders as well. Yeah, absolutely. Well, there's definitely that. And also, I would say, if you look at the 2010 squad, so that had Sean Wright Phillips, Joe Cole, Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott, I think you can make an argument that all of those players started well, burned fairly brightly for a bit and then dipped. Walcott would be the one there, maybe. Yeah, but I think all of those you can put in that bracket for different reasons, obviously.

24:43but nowadays with clips on social media Walcott scores those goals for was it the England under 21s where he does an Henri-esque run and Sven Joran Eriksson calling him up to that World Cup squad probably because of that goal 2006 World Cup squad sorry that really that put so much pressure on it and it was it was a poor choice he should have gone for the phone but anyway it was years ago now but with Walcott so much pressure those clips you know we start getting clips you know swashing around on social media and so on and you see him do that run as I say and it's like oh my goodness this guy's like Thierry Henry and then Arsenal soon sign him you're likening him to Thierry Henry one of the greatest forwards in the modern era we're putting that pressure what is his actual talent what is he actually going to do he goes on to what does he score over 100 goals for Arsenal he wins the FA Cup he plays for Arsenal for a number of years is that not is that too shabby do you know what I mean what are we expecting from him at the age of 16 we are projecting you know maybe not a little bit back then but you know you're projecting on someone Thierry Henry or Messi or Ronaldo these players are generational talents the only one I would say right now is is oh hang on what's going on with him is Phil Foden but again there's chat about off the field stuff with with Phil Foden we haven't got any detail and we don't seek to find any detail that's speculate but you know you know last season obviously not up to his high standards because the season before he was the best player in the league.

26:13Is that to do with burnout? Well, if you play for Guardiola for a number of seasons, I'd imagine you probably are flipping knackered after a bit. Again, the little tidbits that we've been given are to do with off-field stuff there. You know, we shall see what happens with Phil Foden. Is this a trend? If it certainly is a trend and people do see this, then we've got to look after footballers better. It's better than what it used to be. But if it is off-the-field stuff, you know, how do you help? But I do think, though, that one of the issues is you get a young player, particularly if they're a pacey, wide player, which a number of these players are, and you think, oh my goodness, look at them sprinting down the wing.

26:49They're going to be raw of the bleeding rovers and they're going to score 40 international goals or whatever it may be. And it's like, it just... Do you remember when, it was over the weekend actually, Wayne Rooney was on a show and he was basically, he was either hungover or still a little bit. He read from Jack Religious birthday party. but he said he did well to turn up but he was he was unguarded he was funny I love listening to Wayne Rooney and he was basically saying like over the weekend Michael Owen had a go at Wayne Rooney not had a go at him but as he said I was much better than him when I was you know breaking on the scene statistically yeah he's got a lot more goals than when he was a teenager and Wayne Rooney was beautifully sanguine he went yeah probably was I used to pretend that I was Michael Owen in the street and stuff that's the end of that yeah I completely agree but he basically said that he went on for like five minutes was he having a time at the time and then he went he's not scouts he's Welsh and then he basically but he was basically saying that Michael just couldn't look after his just couldn't deal with the injuries really and couldn't modify his game and it is sometimes about modifying how you play the game of football Wayne Rooney did manage it he wasn't this explosive kind of like running monster for a good bit and a fair old chunk he had an amazing career at an occasionally misfiring football club as well Rooney's one of the finest players that he would produce in the modern era there's no two ways about that but again though it's like anything you know when you look back at the body of work as we have done with Oasis this summer you kind of forget about some of the poor stuff and you go actually yeah incredible and that's with Wayne Rooney that you're wanting him to kind of go go on lead England in a major tournament and take us far and so on when he was playing for certainly in comparison poorer England squads really and also with injuries and and whatnot in 2000 and again 2004 of course it's that early promise where the stars align and he hits his he hits the ground running and you think right we want this all the time and of course he does that an enormous amount of time, hence the goals, hence the trophies.

29:08Only one go at a World Cup though, Rooney. Indeed. But I think that sometimes the expectation and the excitement of the fans is actually what needs to be checked.

29:21Jim Campbell: Yeah, sure. But, you know, we're excitable football fans. Yeah, exactly. Your daydreams have no limits on them, right? Completely. Completely. Alright, coming up after this, a couple more of your questions.

29:33Hi, I'm Jack Cravici, Kramer host of The Best One Yet. At T-Boy, we're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated. Whether I'm traveling, getting a workout in, or heading into a busy day, I keep Liquid IV on hand. It's clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone and contains three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. It's an easy addition to your daily routine and helps support hydration when you need it most. Shop now at liquidiv.com. Liquid IV dehydration that goes wherever life takes you.

30:11Got a question from Richard on Instagram. With Andre Unana seemingly on the way out just two years after he replaced David De Gea on the way out of Manchester United, we should state. Do you think there's been a worse like-for-like swap of players in Premier League history? Negative question from Richard, but we do understand it, Jim. It's spicy, I like it. We do. But, you know,

30:32Jim Campbell: he won things, didn't he? So, you know, I'm sure there are worse examples. I mean, Man United themselves replaced Peter Schmeichel with Mark Bosnich. Yeah, that one, which is easy to forget. Was it Roy Keane or one of the former Man United players who's obviously in the media a lot who was moaning about Mark Bosnich and how unprofessional he was? Yeah, I think he was three hours late to his first training session. He just saw for Man United replacing maybe their most iconic goalkeeper ever. He's three hours late Three hours Don't they only trade For about four We don't hear about Ferguson's losses Like that do we You know Because we obviously Talk about how well He would recycle And you know He would have These succession plans For different footballers Who were leaving And Man United Had the money They had the resources And everybody wanted To play football In a red-dell shirt So it's kind of It's inexcusable That Alex Ferguson Couldn't get it right But Bosnich was a good keeper He was He was He was obviously Good at Villa He earned the move He loved Korken Yeah I mean, I'd imagine he kept that quiet.

31:32Maybe. By the way, sir. You'd think he'd be earlier. By the way, Alex, before you sign me, you do need to know this. I absolutely love the chisel.

31:43And you're saying Adrian Muto. Hooray. Oh, dear. So, yeah, I mean, there are a few at Manchester United, aren't there?

31:52Jim Campbell: Yeah, I mean, another really obvious one, which seems very harsh on the player, but because of the nature of this question, I think it applies more to goalkeepers, doesn't it? Because quite often it's rare that there is a like for like replacement in terms of squad building and stuff. But Gabriel Obertan was another one who came in when Cristiano Ronaldo left. And I don't think anybody's thinking, oh, he's going to step up and do exactly the same. But the contrast is quite stark. Talk to me about Bebe. Bebe, of course, yeah. But I know what you mean, though. Again, was it like for like and when did they sign him?

32:21Whereas the goalkeeper is the obvious position for this. Or maybe a striker. You make your own kind of look, I suppose. you make the difference so stark when you have really talented footballers in it so you've only got yourself to blame true be average indeed be a mid-table jobber of a team exactly I mean we could stay with Man United for a while we could even extrapolate it out to managers and I hate to you know drag the good name David Moyes through the mud and it wasn't really you know his fault arguably but well I mean I think history would judge that he went too early yeah well could have done with another season I think history will judge that anybody go into that football club after Ferguson.

33:00Yeah. He's on a hide into nothing.

33:02Jim Campbell: I think, again, this seems quite harsh and there's a lot of context that needs to be thought about here. But when Thierry Henry left Arsenal, they brought in Eduardo. Yeah. And obviously he had a horrific injury and we don't really know what level he would have hit if he'd not had that injury. But it was quite the stark step down. It was. Regardless. I mean, Eduardo, yeah. Yeah, because he was a talent. He was. Oh, dear. Can we move on? Can I bring another example in that's sort of slightly adjacent to this question? It's more about a transfer that sort of cost Barcelona more than they gained.

33:42Jim Campbell: When they signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter, they spent about£55 million on him, which seems like good business. And they sent Samuel Etto the other way, which is just it seems so baffling now because it wasn't like he was on the wane and so obviously we know it didn't really work out under Guardiola at Barcelona I think he played 29 games and he was eventually loaned to AC Milan and went there permanently but Inter used that money to sign a lot of the players that they went on to win the treble with and obviously Etto was a big part of that as well that is an astonishing piece of business that's a really good one Jim yeah because back to back Champions Leagues with two different clubs with Etto I don't know if anybody else has done that but if they have, it's a very select group and Eto 'o was so integral with the pressing and with the way they wanted to play he pretty much was never going to do that it was an absolutely baffling decision it was always a weird choice it always goes back to our England succession plan doesn't it really post-Cairn so I think probably Guardiola wasn't fully up to speed yet because really that side that beat Manchester United in the final at Wembley, that was them in full flow, where it was more...

34:57I mean, David Villa was the forward then, and not a classic forward, even though he scored a lot of goals and was obviously, you know, more of a wide... In that, Thierry Henry was the wide forward that would come in and so on. That was a bit more like Villa. But yeah, Ibrahimovic of Barcelona under Guardiola seems mad, particularly because of the personality clash as well. But perhaps there was with Eto 'o, there'd be other stuff going on there. but yeah Inter certainly benefited when Barcelona lost out Can I introduce you in Benzema to Hossolu? Yeah

35:29Jim Campbell: Yeah that's a good one Although I mean Hossolu He's got his goals back in the Spain squad Got his goals against Bayern I mean I think I think I think you're about what would it be like a couple of years too late with that one It could have been the case Could have been the case But those goals put him in immortality But Peter you've got the last question I do indeed It's from friend of the Ramble The Real Michael on Patreon which country has been your favourite host of a major international tournament and why Qatar yes they got to you Hamad Bin Khalifa Alteni you did a great job putting on the emir of Qatar this is an interesting I mean obviously with these tournaments it depends what age you are and so on the impression because here I go again but Italy 90 but Italy's a very fitting place it is because of the iconic stadiums and that is a big big part of it also that You know, the passion they have for football, you know, such an ancient country, or, well, an ancient land, should I say.

36:27Big old boat. Yeah. Compared to some of these new lands. Well, because Italy as a country itself is not actually that old, but the land, of course, is... Yeah, but, you know, all lands are fairly old, isn't it?

36:38Jim Campbell: You get those volcanic islands that pop off. I'm a pantheon. I'm a pantheon, occasionally, but... We all are, Peter. That's disgusting. Okay, as an inhabited land. Keep going. anyway let's move on more Asterix than Man City these days South Korea and Japan I thought they were good only because well a number of reasons it felt really different it felt like whoa because I mean America was quite different in 94 but again didn't really watch that much because it was on so late and again the age it was and also we know what America's like from all kinds of different cultures you expect them to put on a good show and England obviously weren't there so you had less of a connection perhaps, but South Korea and Japan.

37:20Japan I particularly liked because a lot of them had England as their second team and I thought they're alright with me. They're alright with me. But South Africa. The linear connection. Yeah, South Africa was one that stood out. First World Cup in Africa. Because we actually got to it. We got a bit of a taste of the biscuit, the Vuvuzelas and so on. Which we're all for. Not once you're there.

37:40Jim Campbell: Oh, I don't know. Oh, Jim. When you're like, oh, the sound of the Vuvuzelas, you get there like, give me one of them. So I think because I think when you digest a tournament unless you're there which we tend not to be the way you digest it is through the BBC or ITV and how does their coverage look and what kind of paraphernalia are they going with and so on and so forth and I think the Africa one was just very strong in that regard it was very different but it was very colourful and it was stuff we're all familiar with the type of animals they have there and all the rest of it. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that one was one that stood out for me.

38:24It's about, I suppose, the culture of a

38:26Jim Campbell: country kind of... Bit of Sing Sing Africa, PT! Also being represented by its football, isn't it? Yeah, we all enjoyed the official theme of that particular thing. Yeah, we had a great time in Johannes Bay, didn't we? Yeah. We were bloody great. Brazil also looked fantastic again, because it is a nation with such a historic tie to football, and they're absolutely crazy about it. That's how we follow. Just shout all over it though for me. I think a Brazil World Cup and I think, oh yeah, they got beat and they're all crying. Nah, can't do it. Taking a lot of romanticism. Yeah, it really did. A country though that has hosted a World Cup and obviously the most recent Euros, Germany put on a good show.

39:00Yeah. Although I didn't, I wasn't there and didn't have to, you know, apparently the public transport wasn't what it was stereotypically should have been. But I do think they put on a good show because again, you've got the huge stadiums, you've got a huge national team with enormous history and so on. So I did quite enjoy them. And the saxophone guy. Remember leading the old saxophonist in the German shirt? Oh, yes. Leading the charm? Yes, I seem to remember him. I think Jim's forgotten. Yeah, no, it rings a vague bell. I might just be remembering saxophones. For that summer, he was the most important man in Europe.

39:33Yeah, okay. I am looking forward, though, to, I'm already looking forward to the 2030 World Cup because I think Spain and Portugal and Morocco. I think that's a lovely flavour. You've got to start eating better, man. It's a long time away You've had three Jummy Dodgers this morning I've had one You watch out I've had one I've had a Jummy Dodger as well Yeah, you've had a Jummy Dodger as well I have It's perfectly It's within the realms of possibility I may be up to three by the time I leave the building But a little peek behind the curtain

40:02Jim Campbell: The building we're in now has free snacks And Marcus Beller is like a dog with unlimited appendages They don't even need to be out on the table Because he's found the car Yeah, he knows where they are One of your most pathetic moments, Peter. Right. You're all missing. You're the one stealing jammy dodgers from cupboards. Let me clarify my comments. Oh, you know, Captain Chaos himself, Donaldson. I said, oh, should we go and see if the snacks are out? Once you agreed. Yeah. And then you went, oh, they're not out. And I went, oh, they're just up in this cupboard here. And you went, no, no, but the man comes along and takes them out.

40:32He does, yeah. His name is either Mikhail or Antonion. I can't remember which one. That's good. I think it's Antonio Is it Antonio? He's not like the gatekeeper Of the snack cupboard Yeah I mean You think he's going to Disrespect him You've got to wait Until Daddy Antonio Puts him out Do you think Do you think He would honestly kick off If he saw me having a jaffa Before he I was going to put him out I'll do it for you Antonio That's fine No bother Pete's cowering in the corner Marcus thought he was going to Hit you You don't use a scoop You just stick your head In and eat you out It's disgusting There we are Yeah Different styles Different styles So yeah So there's a few countries there What about Old England, Jim?

41:11Jim Campbell: Yeah, I like it. It's local to me. It's more convenient. Easy to break into the national stadium if you fancy it. There you go. I fancy just pushing you in. Everyone's invited to the final. Everyone's invited. Bundle! Yeah, of course, Ghana would be another one for me because I went to the African Cup of Nations when I was out there. Very nice. Yeah, that would be decent. Yeah. I'd let her do something. But do you have a particular favourite though, Peter? I did see a lot of the remnants some, god, what would it have been maybe six years later after the Korean adventures. Like a lot of the paraphernalia was still sort of kicking around.

41:52There's like a train station that's the last train station before Pyongyang, basically on obviously South Korean soil. And there was like a lot of World Cup bits and bits, like big massive sort of ball statues and stuff. That's great, isn't it? I do like that when you have the legacy of it. Massively.

42:08Jim Campbell: 2002 obviously they hosted I was in Portugal shortly after Euro 2004 and all of the stuff was still up and it was pretty great and also Portugal had that amazing stadium, it's Braga Stadium isn't it? I think it's certainly in that region Estadio Municipal de Braga I don't think you say it like that but that was the one where part of it is just a cliffside isn't it? It was an aquarium or wherever it was built I don't think that was for I think it was built for the tournament Oh right I'd like to see it's never going to happen because it would be politically spicy and there's probably no money in it for FIFA but the Basque country Taiwan Taiwan would be really good great train I don't think they've got that many stadiums there but it'd be a very it has the infrastructure to have a festival of football and Saipan's nearby if anybody wants to go pre pre-tournament training I mean I've said this before as well and I know we're sort of answering a slightly different question here but I think I think a Scandinavian joint endeavour would be great for something.

43:08Jim Campbell: I mean, Marcus, I know you're of the opinion they probably don't have a stadium big enough to host the final. They don't. But maybe the FIFA fat cats and bigwigs could give up their seats and then more of the regular Joes could come. I don't think they would. We could have like one air matches in the sunshine. Oh, that'd be nice. On a fjord. Svalbard. That's where I want to see it. Is that right? Yeah. Is that where Santa lives? Practically, yeah. It's very, very northern. I think it's one of those places that's like dark for six months of the year and light for six months we need to take Greenland we need to take Greenland strategically important for World Cup we're going to have it in Greenland I think we should have a World Cup in Greenland or the North Pole because let's see how all these fancy dans get on when it's cold weather exactly we all talk about warm weather training come and train in Wales that's why the SS is the best in the world god damn it because they're always in a boggy marsh in Wales or Scotland Peter or Scotland you've got the Black Watch up in Northern Scotland there you go there we are the real Michael and you said you've never seen Game of Thrones yeah isn't that in Northern Ireland no it's the Black Watch Dark Watch I don't know what they're called just sounded a bit Game of Thrones-y but it's filmed in Northern Ireland I'm sure it is right good we should have had this conversation off Mike in the future when the mics are off I believe I believe some of it is filmed in Christ the hot pizza right let's get out of here and have I've got what two more Jeremy Dodgers two more Jeremy Dodgers I'm not too shabby I'm already one up your jam level is very low thank you very much for listening to the Football Ramble Mailbag part of the Acast Created Network Jim and I will be back tomorrow with Big Lukey Lou where we'll be reacting to England's trip to Serbia please do send us your responses opinions and questions for next week's Mailbag and subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts we do love hearing from you and we do do follow ups so any of any of that nonsense we've just been talking about do get involved in the chat thank you everybody it's been a pleasure We're all off for some Jamie.

45:14I'm concerned about this England match, Marcus. I'm scared. Get a German Dodger in your gob and shut up. The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

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