Out in 2026: The curse of the Ramble

0:00Back to life, back to reality everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. Wolves got some New Year cheer and Amarim's angry. It's Monday for the Jan. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Luke Moore. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Pete Donaldson.

0:24Oh, Happy New Year. If I haven't said it already, I'll say it again. Happy New Year, everybody. Come on. Happy New Year, everyone. Happy New Year. Wish it. Yeah. to wish it and we wish it well nice it nice it baby exactly yeah what did you wish for Marcus over New Year's Eve what was your New Year's Eve wish Marcus World Cup glory yeah World Cup glory I will not back down from it it's your New Year's I'm on the charge all the way from here to New Jersey you're a good man that's where the final is I was going to say that's your favourite record where all the roads meet I tell you what if England gets to the final of the World Cup I'll be bloody happy to listen to the entirety of New Jersey slippery with white with you one in no that's the one after yeah come on come on respect the World Cup Pete yeah respect JBJ still thinking about that peace prize right yeah got his eyes on the war prize now done that one done that one right now it might be the first Monday of January but don't despair we've got just the thing to start the new year off right for the whole of January we're offering 15 % off all annual subscriptions to the Football Ramble Patreon.

1:32So that means bonus episodes, ad-free rambles, and access to the Discord for a whole year. And it will cost you little more than 40 quid. That really is outrageous value. Head to patreon.com forward slash football ramble or click the link in the show notes to get involved. It's 40 quid for a whole year. Unbelievable, isn't it? Great value. Eh? Depending on the stuff we come out with. Yeah. But it seems at this early stage... Let's not pull on that thread. Yeah, it might prove to be good value. That is the price of half a pint in London. It's like a little treat for us, you know, looking forward to a tax bill.

2:06A little bit of money off for us. Always with a tax bill. Always with a tax bill. It's January. You started to sweat now, aren't you? January is a tough month. I'm hoping that I could do a branding endorsement for HMRC. If I keep mentioning them on the show, they'll give me a reduction. That's good. Just give me one quarter off. Come on. They really need the exposure. They're looking to get their name out there. they're all about the profit margins aren't they exactly you're trying to help them there do the right thing absolutely now gentlemen we start with a new year good news story Wolverhampton Wanderers won a game they won 3-0 against West Ham oh West Ham oh West Ham let's focus on Wolves though shall we this was unbelievable stuff first win of the season of course the first clean sheet they doubled their points tally for the season so far lovely old job you've got to be happy for Robbie Edwards haven't you Jim?

2:59Absolutely and I wonder if Matt Doherty's words took effect because he was kind of brutal recently wasn't he saying do we want to be remembered as cowards or do we want to be remembered as people who stood up and fought but it was really really honest and open and emotional and he suggested that some of those players didn't even want to get on the pitch because they didn't want to be associated with what was happening and something clearly galvanised them possibly the quality of West Ham was a factor as well but they were great and there was a sense that in previous games they've almost been a bit kind of just scared even if they take the lead and that was something else that I think it might also be Doherty and then they realised there's absolutely nothing to be scared of yeah exactly so they just they kept going for it they cashed in their West Ham voucher absolutely completely when West Ham put their Wolves voucher through the wash which I'm sure a lot of people have done this new year as well it was the January sales but not as West Ham thought it was but like the idea that like I didn't see the direct quotes but Jim you just mentioned there that the idea that Matt Doherty says some of these players don't want to take to the pitch because they don't want to be associated with this.

4:00I would argue that if you refuse to take to the pitch, you are arguably more associated with the Messi than not. Because at least if you do take to the pitch, people are going to say, he tried his best. Yeah, completely. Completely. But I mean, Matthias Mane as well, you know, he's looked a bright spot for them and this is a breakout performance, I think. He gets that goal and he was involved in kind of essentially everything good they were doing. It's a bit of a free hit for the young players, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. You see that when Spurs were struggling badly in the league last season, Lucas Berg, Archie Gray, you can't really do much wrong because the fans are all just like, oh, he's a young lad trying his best kind of thing.

4:34So it kind of works both ways here. I don't know why in this situation, you know, managers don't look to young academy players more because you get a lot of Did you see West Ham? Well, they're planning it's the Academy of Football here, weren't they? Famously won the World Cup back in the day. So speaking of, Marcus, you must like West Ham because they won the World Cup. The Queen's team, they were apparently. Were they as well? That's my grandadoy used to say West Ham, the Queen's team. Nice. Okay, good. Yeah, I mean, you know, 10 of these are season wolves and you're away. Yeah. But, you know.

5:06Well, 10 of them you'd probably still get relegated. No, because what would that be? 30 points and then a handful of draws? Well, you didn't say draws. Yeah, well, you know what? 10 of these plus the draws. Well, there you go. Say that then. Well, you didn't say that, didn't you? Plus the draws. Right. How many draws? 28. Lovely. Yeah. Well, I mean, 30 points may well be enough this season to keep you up. Pete, did you think West Ham were good? No, I thought that they're... How did Frank Champion see it? He was just... Presumably you watched it with him. This is your fault. I saw him on FaceTime last night.

5:37He wasn't happy about it. Just the two of you, was it? Just the two. We have a little chat. Tops off. Jared Bourne, anonymous. Lucas Packett are inexplicably missed. Yeah. Those youngsters were thrown to the wolves, literally. Yes, they were. Terrible. Wolves fans shouting, you're nothing special. We'll see you next year. West Ham fans joining in with the Wolves fans, that just says it all. Tasty one tomorrow night, mate. Tasty one. Every game now you get, it's must win. It's a spicy meatball. Basically, it's not must win in terms of mathematically possible, but in terms of vibes, in terms of spirit.

6:14Morale. Well, that's the thing with Wolves, though. If you go back to, I think for me, I don't know if Wolves fans would agree with this, but perhaps the lowest point of their season and they've had a few was when Strand Larsen misses that penalty against Brentford and they lose 2-0 at home. Now obviously what Brentford did is that Everton and so on, Brentford can clearly score goals and they're not a bad side at all. But it was a game where you're thinking to yourself, right, there's a chance because Brentford, other than Everton really, they've been quite poor on the road. They were never in that game.

6:47That was where everyone, I think it was off the back of that one was it when Doherty said those comments. It looked like a lot of those players would wrap their hands in and the chat was every agent of any Wolves player is saying get us out of here in January George Mendes then yeah well yeah and if there's room for any other agents you know but so that you know and Strader Larson who is one of their better players in theory certainly last season started on the bench yesterday didn't need him misses that penalty and it was such a tepid penalty it summed it all up the following game they nearly get a point at Anfield which not that hard but still there was a spirited performance and then of course they get the draw at Old Trafford oh it's a lovely touch because Ruben Amrum thought the best way to build on this recent form is to play three at the back and two holding midfield players against the worst team in history let them in let them have a little tickle yes exactly Man United away to Burnley next but we will talk about Man United in just a moment so with Wolves since then and since those comments there has been a little bit of a reaction James PTFC asks us on Discord What is the great escape on?

7:54It seems fanciful. It really does. It would be the greatest of escapes. It would be. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen this season, you would imagine. Well, the greatest of all. Well, because of everybody's patchy aware form. It's going to happen at Molyneux, isn't it? Imagine if Sunderland just gets slowly reeled in and the three-prite teams get relegated again. That would be so depressing. It really would. It really would be. But, I mean, look, it's still very unlikely that they're going to find themselves out of it. I mean, they are 12 points from safety. But they've had a little bit of a flick.

8:22I mean, Burnley, a lot of people thinking they're gone. West Ham are in serious trouble. You've then got Forest and Leeds. Well, Leeds are showing, aren't they? Whereas everybody keeps saying, you know, they are playing pretty damn well. I mean, unbeaten in their last six. Okay, five of them have been draws, but my goodness, you would take that, especially if you're down there. Thanks, waiting eight of those a season. What? Even 36 of the Buggers, Jim. I mean, you never know. It just gives them a little bit of something. And those Wolves fans have suffered so much. But that is important, isn't it?

8:50having that moment that kind of changes the vibe and the atmosphere and makes people believe again. Now, obviously, they're really, really up against it. It's extremely unlikely that they will stay up. But they've got to at least, you know, accept the challenge of it, which they weren't really doing up to the recent games. But that's a carrot that Rob Edwards now can sort of potentially dangle in front of them and go, okay, lads, look, we've improved a bit. Would you like a carrot? Yeah. Or a mince pie. Yeah. If you manage to do this, if we can do something here, we will be talked about for season after season.

9:20we talked about it it's I totally but that's what I'd imagine he'll be saying to those players and it's an ounce of a huge incentive I would say he'd also be saying because if you bear in mind that Areola makes a remarkable say from that header so it could have been four at half time right if you're Rob Edwards you're saying those things but you're presumably also saying look you know this team we played the weekend are above us in the league they're struggling they're relegation contenders we're miles better than them we show we are miles better than them Well, that's right. And then you look at who do they play next?

9:52Everton Wolves, I think. It's Everton. Everton have had an absolute nightmare at the weekend. Yeah. So, you know, you start to piece these little things together and make it a bit more of a platform. If they win their next game, the encouragement, or at least get some sort of performance and result, the encouragement that we'll give them will be huge. And I'd also say the Matthias Mane goal, it's the first, to be honest, I'll be honest with you, it's the first time I've seen him play. It was a goal of great quality. Yeah. To the point where you think, well, what have you really

10:19bed him in. And if they go to the championship next season, which looks likely, it's a great experience for him, but they can potentially rebuild around players like him. May know him. Cobby may know him. I probably wouldn't say that. I'd say Mane him. Ah, good. But the way he occupies that space and rifles that finish, it's a great goal. And so there's a lot, there is actually for the first time, basically this season, there's a load to be positive about. Yes. They can really use it as a platform. And I wonder whether he just taps into the new year, new me vibe right stick the love live life laugh on the wall I tell you something if it goes really well he'll have earned himself a little holiday say to North America Rob I'll see you in New Jersey for a bit of a Bon Jovi sing along there we go we know he likes it that'll get him up for it on Mane did you see his post-match interview where he was asked to sort of talk everybody through the goal as they often do and he explained the goal and he said and then I did a nice knee slide lovely thought they were banned that was the rumour of Christmas wasn't it Yes, that was the silliness.

11:21Well, sorry West Ham fans, but we have to talk about your team a little bit. It was Nuno's ninth game without a win. They didn't have a shot on target. Bearing in mind, Nuno's already been sacked once this season. There's chat that he may well go in the next game against, was it, Forest at home, which is huge. Who's circling, Marcus? Oh, goodness knows. Well, if Aston Villa was the biggest game of the season so far at the top of the table, which I think it was, this one's got to be the biggest at the bottom of the table. Well, it is. I mean, as Nuno said in the first half, you saw how angry he was on the sidelines.

11:52He said it was embarrassing. He bemoaned, as he put it, the lack of effort, discipline, organisation and responsibility. Now, there are some things that the manager obviously has to take the blame for. The way he set up might have been not the best and da-da-da-da. Some of his team selections are also baffling. Yeah. So I don't think he's covered himself in glory at all. I'm a bit concerned because Max Kielman's starting to not look like a£40 million player. And that's what really concerns me. He wants to move, doesn't he? Yeah, good luck, Mel. I'll tell you what, my next club, you can get me for 39.

12:22Are you worried that he's not looking like a£40 million player, Mark? I think some West Ham fans might agree with you. Poor old Max. But the lack of effort is the most stinging, isn't it? Four minutes into this and then 1-0 down and then, you know, they never really look like getting back in it. They didn't have a shot on target in the whole game. They should have been 4-0 down at half-time to their worst Premier League in history. Yeah, 64 % possession. And the problem I think West Ham have compared to the other teams in this scrap is actually Nuno, isn't it? Because he's only won two of those games.

12:52I think it's 15 Premier League games he's been in charge of now. They've only won two of them. But there's a lot of stories coming out of the club about how the training methods are confusing. There are certain players who feel that they don't have a route into the team and partially that's because of the communication. He's apparently quite distant and quite cold. There's like no one's enjoying it. No one's kind of pulling in the right direction because the leadership from him is essentially just confusing everybody. Because Maranac has ruined him. maybe maybe maybe Maranac has just tied him up with some mad contract where he's not actually able to try at West Ham otherwise he'll get sued yeah none of that I mean that would be genius he's thinking you're going to go to West Ham because they've got a vacancy and I know you want to get back into it oh if we could sink them yeah then we've got a real chance yeah so you cannot okay in the small print can't communicate in English to any of the players just shady people following Maranac everywhere it's like Operation Mincemeat they put like some different tactics in the breast pocket of a dead soldier Blimey And Nudo's got to implement them It has to be But it's gone under the radar But I tell you I said this a couple weeks ago Marcus to you I think You did The situation was because Nuno did such a good job with Forrest as soon as West Ham got him everyone was just like West Ham But you could understand that couldn't you?

14:02I couldn't understand at the time I said it was wrong at the time and I'm saying it's wrong now Did you say it was wrong at the time? I'm trying to reflect from the Arsenal chat We don't have that We don't have that quote on the soundboard It's funny that I wonder why that is Ask the producers why that is the case because they don't like you no it's true and fair enough fair enough but these stories about managers being distant and called they only ever come out when the team's ailing don't they nobody really cares if you're distant and called when you're really good but is the team ailing because of that though well you need to have some kind of human aspect to your role don't you let's get listen Frank Champion is your father-in-law who supports West Ham would be father-in-law would be if you could make the commitment man up yeah Frank Champy would be looking for someone to give West Ham a boost if he decides you're the man for the job what do you do on your first day?

14:50I would banning snoods and gloves banning snoods and gloves the usual stuff really yeah just a bit more razzle dazzle on Saturday afternoon at the London Stadium vending machine on the training ground what? with just Huel in it Kinder Buenos and Huel there we go it works for was it Bruno Kim? Bruno Kimmarsh yeah he loves them yeah even he's scoring goals scoring goals Those keen-eared listeners to Pete's output will know that he famously, quite recently, admitted to the worst drunken meal of all time. Right. Where you said you were on the way back to where you live from having a night out in town and you were hungry.

15:27And so he bought loads, loads of Tic Tacs and a bottle of Huel. Oh my God. That is a, that is a, Jesus. That's diarrhea, isn't it? The context of that was, sorry, Luke, I can't do any work tomorrow because my guts are in a bit of a state. Yeah. That's the kind of thing like your chemistry teacher in first year. If you get loads of huell and tic-tacs. Exactly. We'll make a volcano. Yeah, everyone stand back. You need to sign this. Sign this. Put the glasses on. Well, look, I mean, West Ham are all over. They've conceded 41 goals in the Prem this season. They're most after 20 games in a top flight campaign since 1965, 1966.

16:01Here we go. Nice to get a mention for it, you see? Yeah, absolutely. This all bodes well for this summer. I'll tell you what, what a sign. What a sign. it's incredible Joe Bynes on Martin Peters come on come on get him in there so yeah the reports are claiming that the result of tomorrow's game against Forrest will decide his future at West Ham just bounce back to Forrest can I just say as well you'd do twist wouldn't you yeah well maybe what I'd like to say is I want to put this out there because I don't want to be unfair to any kind of group of fans or whatever you know the West Ham fans have been very vocal you know a lot of them left before way before the end maybe you understand that it's a difficult period to travel even if you protest they just turn all the music up really loud in the stadium yeah that's what they've consistently done during the protest they did that at the old firm as well we'll get more on that later but what I just wanted to make absolutely clear to everyone is that West Ham fans aren't complaining about the performances or the results they're complaining about West Ham not playing football in the West Ham way right and if they just played football the West Ham way I think things will be a lot easier for Nuno and for the club good that you wanted to make sure you're on record saying that yeah just play the West Ham way and you'll find yourself right up the table yeah that could be and for anyone who knows what the West Ham way is just let me know well it's not Nuno it's been missing for a while it is not Nuno Espirito Santo who is I surely feel I mean the top brass at West Ham don't seem to know much about anything but you would twist the Bynum players yeah they do that every window though I'd like to hear from Jack Sullivan.

17:38Yeah. I'd love to hear from him. Yeah, I'm sure. I think genuinely part of the problem is that it is still actually David Sullivan who's doing the making choices in terms of transfers. Yeah. Because they got rid of the sporting director so he's just kind of doing it all now and they've signed a couple of players in this window which were apparently Nuno recommendations to both Jorge Mendes clients. So, yeah. They'd be better off with even Ronnie O'Sullivan. Sure. A non-footballing Sullivan I could think of. And he's not technically a Sullivan. He's got the O, of course. anyway, another Portuguese manager under pressure in the Premier is Ruben Amorim.

18:10This was remarkable. Yeah, hey, one old draw with Leeds. Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about what he said. Because just when, it's like, just when I thought I was out there dragging me back in, just when people think that, oh, it's actually starting to settle down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You start to get amazing stuff coming out of the club. Yeah. Like, at the start of the season, the new sporting director sat down with Amorim and said he has to change his formation. And the whole thing basically spirals from there. because he was saying some amazing stuff, Amorim. Well, of course, if I was Amorim, I'd have gone in there and sat down and apparently, according to some journalists, Amorim has still been fairly happy-go-lucky despite some of the comments.

18:48He still comes in. There's a little bit of a smile there. He's like, all right, okay, let's try and smooth things over. If I was Amorim, I would have walked in and gone, well, you've got to say, we've managed to stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring. Yeah. That was the first thing I would have said. No mean thing. Exactly. A point at Leeds, it's not a terrible result. You know, Dominic Calvert loser on the wall, maybe. Maybe. That would have been a flex, wouldn't it? Yeah. But they've got loads of players missing as well. And actually, like, it's fairly reasonable for Man United to say, look, okay, we've got three players away at AFCON, we've got such and such players out.

19:20Leeds fucking hate us. Leeds hate us. They're in good form. There's lots of ways you can look at this as kind of not a terrible result. And yet. And yet. What he went for, the option he selected was, I'll be leaving at the end of my contract. Which is, you know, I would call a low percentage player. And also, he's gone with, I'm the manager, I'm not the head coach. But his job title is literally head coach. But if his contract was up this summer, you could sort of go, look, I think I'll be off this summer. Even though I think that would be a bit premature. He's got 18 months left. Anyway, so let's do it then.

19:57In the post-merch press conference, he said, I just want to say that I came in to be manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. Which, of course, as Jim has said, is not correct. I know that my name is not Tuchel. it's not Conte it's not Mourinho but I'm the manager of Manchester United it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the ball decides to change so I got that wrong basically what he was trying to say was I'll be leaving at the end of my contract unless they sack me which they might please yeah we assume well that's the thing a lot of people are saying that he is trying to manoeuvre himself out of this well he's seen the Enzo Maresco masterclass and thought yeah I'm a fan of this well you got the feeling that the way the press conference went it got right to the very end and it was pretty sort of boilerplate standard stuff and then I think and the Telegraph asked a question about control and he just launched into it.

20:38Almost that he really wanted to get off his chest. He pre-written it. Pre-planned it, yeah. Pre-planned it. Like a Sam Matterface commentary line. Felt like a plant. Yeah, could have been. Felt like a plant. Could have been that, couldn't it? And you feel like he's wanted to say this for a long time but he wanted to do it from a relative position of strength. Wow, he's had lots of other stuff to say. So he got round to it, yeah. But I mean, it is remarkable. On Christmas Eve, he said, I have the feeling that if we play the perfect 343, we need to spend a lot of money and we need time. I'm starting to understand that that is not going to happen.

21:05And maybe I have to adapt. And then on Boxing Day, I have one idea. Jason and the board have another idea. Every decision that we make, we need to reach a common ground. And you can't say that they haven't spent money. No way. That's the problem. That's the thing. I mean, Jamie Carragher said he's not good enough to be Manchester United manager and kind of went in on Amorim. There's a number of angles you can take on this. But to me, it seems clear that he's thinking, if I don't get my own way in this January transfer window because I need more and I need more and you're thinking well they seem to have signed some players to try and help you out and it's not really happening and you have had time they've spent half a billion in the last two years exactly it's not like he hasn't had players to me this is Amorim saying you know if I don't get what I want then sack me then because he's clearly had enough that's how I see this and I'm sure a lot of people see it like that as well and he's also name checked Antonio Conte who famously did that at Spurs and thought just plant that little seed lovely stuff Mourinho as well I mean he's well that one have you got fair to say he's been quite tempestuous with balls before hasn't he they're in this kind of uniquely Man United situation where you know quite often they can sign quite big name players but they're often players that clubs are happy to let go right so you you have to question are they as perhaps or they're coming from smaller clubs yeah well yeah there's that as well or Rio Regalos that sort of I mean that's a long time ago now but they find themselves in a situation under Amarim where it's almost like they have to rebuild the rebuild they've already done for him because just none of it has worked.

22:34And then, by the way, if you do want to rebuild it around his ideas, get on with it because he's going to be going in 18 months. And maybe this stems back to the idea that they made a really poor decision in keeping on Ten Hag, who they then went on to sack anyway, not long after they bought a load of players for him. That was ridiculous they kept him on. He's a dead man walking. We knew that. Now, this is the West Ham way. Yeah, yeah. Well, I wonder whether we're going to be in exactly the same situation. The thing that's, I understand this is kind of slightly later in the season, but it's so tempestuous at United that we were saying in October, it looks like he might go after his year or whatever.

23:13Well, we thought that, didn't we? And then it settled down. And the problem is, even when it settles down and results start to improve, it's clearly never more than just below the surface at any point. So I thought this was a remarkable interview. I really did. I mean, essentially, without naming him, he basically called out Jason Wilcox as well. Well, he did name him. Oh, he named him specifically, yeah? Well, in a different sentence, I think. Or director of football or something, yeah. In other quotes, he's mentioned him, yeah. And then you've also got to remember that the talk coming out of it from journalists with contacts there is that, as I said, the sporting director tells him he needs to change his formation at the start of the season, which is not the sporting director's job, by the way.

23:52They've got to have a conversation, I understand that, but it's not really his job. And then secondly, the context for that is that the other sporting director who he replaced went after something like four months in the shape of Dan Ashworth because he couldn't get on with the team or whatever it was that happened that time. So the whole thing is a mess off the pitch. I guess everyone's just trying to fix this huge, huge problem in a completely different way, right? And it just leads to this situation every time. and I wonder surely it gets to the point where actually it is a sporting director's job to be the only person with the authority to say look we do need to change this formation because the proof is not in the pudding of how it's not working the whole thing is just going back to what we talked about before which is the club has become so big it's so unwieldy it's impossible to manage it yeah absolutely right if the West Ham job comes up you know Rubenham of course the first job that he nearly took was West Ham I made the mistake once I won't make the same mistake again they'll fly back three I mean it's incredible isn't it really is and by the time you listen to this it's within the realms of possibility he might not be there oh they could just have a scrap Wilcox Wilcox is a black belt on judo isn't he good player I would suggest Amarim shouldn't have a scrap with him no exactly Blackburn yeah Blackburn when you first said that it seemed like a good idea but then when you say if they get turned off by Burnley at Turf Moor next it's going to get really interested it is indeed right coming up after this Chelsea's new era begins and more trouble for Wilfred Nancy

25:35but I don't like to make assumption I am a clear guy for the moment I cannot talk I shut my mouth because result Wilfred not good enough I shut my mouth and I take it but I know where we are going Welcome back to the Football Ramble everybody that was old Wilfried who'd lost his dog laughter laughter laughter after Celtic had lost the old firm derby thanks to Friend of the Ramble Teej for sending us that clip you can become a Friend of the Ramble too search patreon.com or click that join button on YouTube thanks to friend of the ramble to get involved Fenton Fenton for sending that in I like I like I know this was before the old firm which we're going to talk about but I liked that nothing gives you more like surety that someone's really struggling and really under pressure than a seven minute monologue to quite to quite an easy question that Wilfred Nonson gave him to press conference at the start at the end of last week remarkable keep it brief yeah seven minutes it was I know yeah You've got to hand it to him, haven't you?

26:45Yes, Rangers 1-3-1 at Paradise, as the locals there like to call it. Trouble in Paradise, you'd have to say. And of course, the magnificent Galgenais were six points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership after they dispatched, bottom of the table, Livingston 1-0 at home. That's what Leicester were doing down the stretch. Exactly. They're winning by the odd goal, but they're still winning. shows that championship stuff. Yeah, I mean... Rangers on the same points as Celtic now. How would they let that happen? Motherwell two points behind Celtic. We're 21 games into the season, everybody, or 20 games most of the time, and that is the state of play in Scotland, Peter.

27:30It is, yeah. Yang's goal was good, I thought. Yes. A very right-footed take the whole team on and then smash it past the key, who probably should have done it a bit better. A bit better. so it should have it should have been Bebetto it should have been Bebetto well to be something should have been Bebetto I mean if so if you were Wilfred Nolsey that would have been well Jan's got to go on didn't he he did yeah he's a lovely one listen I want to I want to give credit to a brilliant player there's time for that we'll do all that stuff later but let's really just focus on that yeah let's focus on what Paul Tilsner's wearing today I mean Paul Tilsner I mean lovely to hear his name give him a twirl Paul remind people what Paul's up to can I can I well He's directing football at Celtic.

28:13But can I... I think I'm right in saying that Paul Tisdale's recent record is sacked after three months at MK Dons due to their worst start to a season. Then sacked after three months at Bristol City. And then sacked after four months at Stevenage. Director of football at Celtic, please. The first British club to win the European Cup. One of the biggest clubs in Britain. I'll take that job, no problem. Was it because he's got a funny hat? Is it like a fucking Hanna-Barbera cartoon? Because he's friends with Andrew Lincoln. He's friends with Andrew Lincoln. He should have stayed at Exeter City.

28:49That's where we all liked him. I think it came to the end of the road, didn't he? He didn't get his contract renewed, did he? I mean, he's been there for years and years and years. But yeah, I mean, I'm surprised you're kind of... I mean, it's the whole board, really, at Celtic. It's incredible, isn't it? Oh! Keep that in! Keep it in! Keep that in! We're going back to that! Reuben Amarim's been sacked Come on Land news Reuben Amarim What a falling out Wow Explosive stuff Get him up to Celtic As sporting director See how hard you think the job is That's unbelievable Thank you Manchester United Incredible Thank you Who's reporting it Who's reporting it Who's reporting it We don't trust the productive team Hang on hang on Oi A man's lost his job Yes Just fucking respect Wow Yeah goodness Fabrizio Romano's reporting it Romano's reporting we want Ornstein we want Ornstein we want the BBC main news website page for crying out loud I'm texting David Ornstein right now while you're doing that Ornstein's done it six minutes ago yeah I see you know it's true it's probably what made Romano message it immediate effect after 14 months after 14 months following a breakdown in relations Darren Fletcher taking over get your sons in defletcher get your sons in the former player not the commentator no we don't know that we don't know that Fletch and Savarin yeah Sav's busy at least he's doing alright Sav isn't he yeah is he manages his team yeah but he used to play for Man United he used to play for Man United he's part of the Golden Generation exactly oh my goodness wow that's absolutely wild that is wild isn't it I think we kind of said really I just want to get back to the hearts here you know you are not dragging this back to the hearts after receiving news live on the show I've just messaged Ornstein Can you confirm it's Darren Fletcher, the player, and not the commentator?

30:42He's probably busy. What a strange time. They must have just had a terrible meeting. He said, I want to be... Is he getting fired so he can reapply for the manager's job rather than coach's job? Is that why that is? First thing I'm doing. The meeting's gone like this. Ruben, thanks for coming in. We didn't like the press conference yesterday. No. Jason over here's in tears yeah he's upset can you turn down the taking back Sunday please hang on can you change your links into head coach because it's head coach not manager the US helicopters are outside you're off he's got him in a blow file and the old earmuffs on where am I going he's like I want to go to Carrington this ain't Carrington why am I don't normally do this why am I RF Price Norton I mean they've renditioned him back to Lisbon They've got Burnley in two days' time, so enjoy that.

31:40So you are going to be buried at sea because we don't want it to become a shrine. Imagine if they escorted him back to Lisbon. Make sure you've gone. Ruben's gone. Oh, dear. He should stick around because, as I say, that West Ham job might be up for grabs soon and he nearly took it before. West Ham's up for grabs. Yeah. What else could be up for grabs? Hopefully not Chelsea. Chelsea! There you go. that hey the managerial America round we've never had it so good he's gone straight to the Mandarin Oriental and Park Lane that's what he's doing and big Todd's there Ruben that's it two weeks time come in and sit down you big Portuguese fuck I don't know why he's he's American I don't know why he's trying to blend in with the locals I've got an hotel you went on Calabi I've got on Calabi you've got on Calabi come in and sit down you big Portuguese fuck two weeks let's talk about the back for it Chelsea well that's what I mean yeah go out to Chelsea two weeks time Man United versus Man City 4-2 get in there let's have a let's have a Christmas tree let's have a Christmas tree let's have a fucking Christmas tree I tell you what if he goes if he goes to Chelsea he'll go up one place in the league that's what he'll do yes you're welcome sorry about these Scottish football fans yeah good enough we used to watch Paxonise you by now no exactly oh dear yeah a little mention for Mikey Moore yeah Yeah.

33:02Come on. I'll tell you what, have you seen the stats about Spurs' lack of progressive passes? Mikey Moore could be doing well back then. Well, he can't believe his luck, can he? He scored in the Old Firm. He's not playing for them anymore. At the Old Firm, they did, it was brilliant. I listened to the Old Firm derby on the radio. It was John Murray, I think, and Pat Nevin. Oh, yes. What a duo. One for Celtic fans there. And they did what they did and obviously Rangers turned the game around and when the game finished, it became almost impossible for Five Live to broadcast because Celtic turned the music up so loud because the Rangers fans who would, to be fair to them the Rangers fans had said they had to be in position by I think 10am to go so they had to be in Parkhead which is mad at 10am what was it, midday or 12.30 kickoff?

33:49yeah, 12.15 I think 12.30 maybe and then they had to stay in there for a decent amount of time after so I think they ended up being at Celtic in the stands for five or six hours. Wow. Just as well they were. Worth it. Worth it. They were cheering and cheering and singing and singing because obviously they're rightly saying, in my view, if you want to keep us in, we're going to celebrate this win. Can we have our playlist? Yeah. Play Welcome to Paradise. Yeah, Green Day. Good tune. Do you have the national anthem? You don't. Okay. They turned the music right up and then Pat Nevin was basically having to shout and scream down the mic while they're doing the summery.

34:25Poor Pat. poor old Pat yeah exactly Pat never loves his music he could have DJed I think that would have been a nice happy medium there too much top end yeah it's mad though isn't it at the moment but Ornstein's not even read that producer Rory is a Hearts fan he is and his prediction is Rangers are with Nike yeah I think Rory the Hearts fan is much more focused on the date Rangers win it rather than Hearts possibly winning it yeah exactly get as much bang for your buck as possible six points six points though as I said on, you know, recently on, on, on TalkSport, I said, if Nancy's still in the job, hearts are still in the title race.

35:01Right. Okay. Did you see Chris Boyd? Oh yeah. Right. Have you seen that piece? That was so funny. Chris Boyd was reacting to the, to the old firm. Obviously big Rangers man, Chris. And he, and he was asked about Winford Nancy and he was just going, they need to show patience. Better than that. They need to show patience. And then he just goes to the camera. Little smile. Yeah. No knee jerk reaction. hear the man out I'm delighted to be fair we should be delighted going back I'm still thinking about Amarim yeah I know absolutely we're in bits now that prediction of us mid-November it's not turned out that bad not bad six weeks out it's not bad it's not quite my Stuart Pearce one but it's not bad do you know the closest obviously the highest profile it wasn't a sacking of course but you remember when we did the show would it have been two seasons ago and we came out and then Jurgen Klopp made that announcement yeah we're like oh that was lucky we can go straight back in this is on air yeah the curse of the ramble was struck and we just disregarded it Jim did a Thierry Henry and touched my thigh maybe in 2026 the curse of the ramble's over well let's hope so it's a good start let's just see if Wilfred Nossi goes before the end of the show there will really be a clover yeah oh my goodness but we don't want that to happen do we no I don't mind okay yeah no dogging that alright then well Ornstein's replied what's he said laughing emoji probably is probably is the real stop wasting a man's time on a busy day that's all I do wait that's good though yeah oh he's acknowledged you that's all I wanted that's all you wanted here's Morgan that's all I wanted I'm going to tell him he's got good abs you're much better than that other guy yeah anyway let's move on to Manchester City won managerless Chelsea won at the time of recording shout out Callum McFarlane who couldn't even get into the training ground this is superb yeah first professional game you're up against Pep's Man City not a problem should get a point out of that yeah previously an academy coach not a problem against this Pep's Man City no he was previously an academy coach at Man City apparently didn't have the right staff pass to get into Chelsea's first team building on Friday sort that out that's poor it's the amount of staff these football clubs have got sort that out that's Clear Lake all over it is so shitty when you do that to a person like Callum McFarlane I like that they've got different areas it's like a video game it's like Metal Gear Solid or something you have to maybe that's it to get their pass but maybe it's a challenge you don't have the staff pass but you still have to get in and take training and if you can't do that then we'll just move on to someone else do you know what I really liked about this sorry to fast forward to the end of the game I really like spoilers that Rhys James made Calumet Farn go over and acknowledge the fans for engineering and a good point at City and he made sure he was part of it and I thought that was a really nice thing to do because he's obviously not going to do it much longer what a moment for him absolutely incredible did he ever do that with Maresca come on but then Rhys James is quite accommodating for people who haven't actually played the game to join in the celebrations right he let Donald Trump stay he is good when I say he let him stay technically he outranked him on that stage he did he didn't he say to him he was like are you staying and Trump was like you betcha what do you do if you're Rhys James get off my stage yeah looking back what's happened recently could have been worse for Rhys James could have been much worse could have been much worse yeah the US could be running Chelsea well sort of are yeah kind of oh I don't know I think Todd's not got as much power as you might think yeah but anyway that's one for the board to discuss but look it was a good point for Chelsea Discord member Jamhans Big Jam said yesterday my son just saw McFarlane on the screen and said who's that he doesn't look fancy enough to be Chelsea manager which is probably the same level of thought that Bowley puts into it and you just called him McFarlane so disrespect is everywhere no respect for him McFarlane sorry sorry Callum it's alright he's one of the few men who isn't like hiding a crappy jawline with a beard like he could do with shaving that off because he was a handsome young man when he was playing football yeah good to have that suggestion for him to make him look more fancy he just needs to shave off his big ginger beard you've fallen into the trap of thinking because he's the under 21 manager that he's really young I think he's 40 yeah exactly so yeah shave your beard and be a bit more on the front foot with your tactics you could have had three points there Can I lean into Discord member Jamhans' son, metaphorically?

39:24Yes. I just say that he's onto something there because I think if you look at the potential appointment of Liam Rossini, which we think is going to happen, that's really interesting because I think that Chelsea, at decision-making level, are kind of fed up with the big, explosive, potentially big-name manager. Sure. And it makes perfect. to say it, though, is it? It makes perfect sense for them, though, to hire someone like Rosinia. I'm not saying he's a yes man. He's obviously a very good, articulate young man and a great coach and all the rest of it. He'll do as he's told. Exactly. He already knows that structure, right?

40:01Look at some of the managers they've had in recent years. The rescuer himself, Conte, Tuchel, all these people. But, I mean, Tuchel was the one, wasn't he, that I think Chelsea fans, probably the last manager people were saying that maybe Chelsea fans really took to and was a great, very statesman-like when all that stuff was happening with Bramovich. But it eventually got too much, didn't it? But Tuka, he's also really outspoken and really volatile. He can be, absolutely. Where he's been previously, that can happen. But these owners don't want that. So many Chelsea fans have been saying they want a yes man who just does as he's told.

40:30And Mareska wasn't that. Now, for all of Mareska's faults, I thought Sakadin was not the right idea. But they've done it because he was outspoken. And again, you could often find a comment or a rant that a manager goes on. Hammer him. We've just had that. Literally one has just happened. And when Maresca said about the worst 48 hours of his time, whatever it was, you knew the writing was on the wall then. My point is just the type of characters they've hired over the years. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't imagine Graham Potter's too. Exactly. Graham Potter's not going to do that, is he? Yeah. But Graham Potter was almost, it was the opposite, wasn't it?

41:10It was out of his depth kind of thing. Yeah. And I suppose you might look at Liam Rossini in terms of his profile as someone similar, but the key thing is that he's coming from within that set-up, isn't he? So he knows what to expect from this organisation because presumably Strasburg works in a similar way. Yeah, he seems really impressive. So why go there? Why ruin it all? Well, this is it, isn't it? The only concern is... It's the deal you do if you're working for the Blue Co. Well, I suppose that's it, isn't it? But he's delivered Strasburg. I'm not sure if you guys said this last week, so forgive me if you did, but he's delivered Strasburg their best league finish for a long, old time.

41:38And people seem to really rate him. and I wonder whether it could be a really nice fit. Stay there. See. It might not have the choice. I know. It might look like if you work in retail and suddenly you're just working in a different shop. True. I mean, yeah. Yeah. If indeed he does take the job, which again, he's apparently in London already. He was spotted at the airport looking at an iPad, which made him look very sad because he was looking asconced. I saw the photo you shared, yeah. I didn't know what he was looking at because you cropped it weirdly. I didn't crop it. the press did it oh the press did it classic it would be great if he could come in there you know a young manager like him even though he did say he supports supporting Manchester United as a boy and all that sort of stuff yeah that means the age that everyone did yeah yeah can I just make a quick point about Man City if you don't mind reference the game yeah I said a few maybe a month or so ago that they City seemed to me to struggle with the physical stuff and it was kind of telling that even though Roger was back they kind of still did and even though Chelsea had players missing you know like crucially like Kosedo and the point I would just also like to make in addition to that is that with this Man City team they need to score two or three yes and I think all you've got to do is stick in and I think that's what's going to undo them when it comes to the end of the season you want to hear my take go for it I think Man City are running out of steam well I said Arsenal were badly running out of steam I didn't say Man City weren't running out of more steam yeah true there's so many people to stick the boot in Luke but just listen to it I mean you would say that it was very much two teams one team had two more days to prepare two more days to kind of relax and R &R it before this match and like like Roger he was amazing at full capacity but he only had 60 minutes of legs in him and he just he just fell off a lot despite playing the 90 but like you say Luke I mean if they if they bring in a defender or two that can deal with a press Man City might look better in sort of February time.

43:39When you said deal with the press, I thought it was Guardiola struggling. A lot of people are struggling with it lately. Exactly. Either that or playing it particularly well. But they need to bring it somewhere. I mean, Ruben Diaz and Jusquhko Cavardio picked up injuries and they've only got four foot defence. Yeah. I mean, I think... Foden looked like shit in this match. Proper 2024 vintage Foden that was. I think though, Callum McFarlane deserves a lot of credit because the change he made at a half time, bringing off Vesteval, who couldn't really get into the game for Andre Santos completely changed the dynamic of how Chelsea were playing.

44:11They were far, far more competitive and I thought they defended really well in their own box. They shut off Haaland and Foden really, really well. They were so quick to close them both down and that essentially is how they've come away with this point and I thought that was really, really impressive. You've basically just got to stick in there with City. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they can't not concede. They can't stop conceding. Is there a sense that they were maybe a little bit complacent with the score being 1-0? I could have maybe kind of pressed a bit harder for that second I just think I think this is this Man City side you know everyone knows what I think here they can always score goals they can but that's the thing with this Man City side it's always we're going to outscore you but Luke's already kind of addressed that and I kind of agree with him you can get at them in a different way in a way that I don't think you can with Arsenal because if you look at Arsenal some of the goals they can see you know against Bournemouth terrible error from Gabriel the other one was a beauty from range and you might say I'm just cherry-picking, you know, one or two here.

45:06But I honestly think the fear factor's not there with Man City. I wouldn't say it's there as much with Arsenal either, which I think is the beauty of this Premier League season, by the way. Anybody turns up at your stadium, you think, well, we've got a chance here. But I think, I mean, how nervous was the Etihad, particularly in that second half? You know, everyone's, oh, Arsenal getting a bit nervous and they're getting a bit this, that and the other. It's exactly the same. Bloody hell, Man City, the place was, you could feel it through the TV. Yeah, I think also I know their defensive record overall is pretty good cities.

45:36But what you're talking about there is articulating that feeling, the vibe that they can be got at. And that's really what I mean. And I also think coming into the new year, we've seen Man City teams in the past really put their foot on the throat. Yeah. It's the new year, right? And they've started this year now with, what, two draws? Yeah. In games that, given that Chelsea lost their manager and they're a bit volatile and a bit unpredictable. And given that the other team is a promoted team. Okay, Stundern haven't lost a game at home in their league this season. we've got to respect that. They still look flat.

46:03They did. I mean, Harland couldn't get in the game at all. Well, that's what I think. I think it's basically, you know what to do when you play against Man City now. And it's very much easier said than done. But if you can block off, you know, one or two teams, Sunderland will be one, have given you the blueprint there. Make sure there's no service to Harland. Again, easier said than done. I totally get that. And if you can get, you know, you can take Foden out of the game. I think they lack a little bit. Whereas I think Arsenal have got more players in their forward line and a little bit more goals can come from different angles.

46:32And Arsenal also can't be bullied. No. And Arsenal defensively, I think, are better. City play Brighton next and they lost to Brighton already this season. I still think that Man City home fixture against Arsenal, it's late, what's that, April? It's late on. It's late on. I still think that's going to be a really good... Could be done by then, though, couldn't it? It's going to be done by then. I don't know. If Arsenal find that steam again. Yeah. Could be done by then. It's not steam. Look, before we go for a break, Gary O 'Neill being linked to Strasbourg. I know, that's the thing. I was going to say that that's the problem that's the thing that lets down the whole thing so I like that Lee and Rosina might go to Chelsea I don't like that it means Portsmouth are going to miss out on Gary O 'Neill in the summer but then having said that Gag could take the job now and be gone by the summer so we still welcome him he's too big for Portsmouth now mate you've got to let it go no it was too big for Portsmouth boy yeah well you seem to be you're not there anymore oh I go back there all the time I did the Great South Run in October well done out respect for the city yeah yeah and the good people at the Alzheimer's Society I see what you're going to say about that.

47:29I think, how many, when's the last time you went back to Ashton and did a great South run or any kind of run, any kind of run. I was in Ashton over the, over the Christmas period. Collecting your taxes. I was running up and down. Collecting your taxes where you're herring. Outrageous. Collecting taxes and applause. Yeah. On a ratio, on a sort of, you know, gold to, to silver, um, tickets, Crystal May style. Yeah. What is the booing, booing to cheering ratio when you do the South run when you're there? I actually got, the, the, I'll tell you, the race announcement celebrated me over the line. Did he?

48:01The Luke Moore from the Football Ramble and everyone cheered. That genuinely happened. And everyone cheered. I was well surprised. Blimey. They didn't know who I was, but they just cheered. There's an absent people, aren't they? Yeah. That's lovely, that is. Yeah, I'm not telling you my time. All right. Most people have gone home. Hey, you gave them your time and that's the most important thing. And the money. Coming up after this, Fulham are still on the march.

48:31Right then Liverpool 2 Fulham 2 Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool They thought they'd won it hadn't they? They really did I think we all thought they'd won it Harrison Reid thought they'd won it and right until the moment that went into the net Were you at the game? Do you know what? Annoyingly I wasn't at the game I missed this one I missed this one sadly Plastic Plastic Fulham fan There's no plastic in Fulham We recycle responsibly Exactly Pet only Pet plastic only Yes exactly And it's platinum But yeah It's all about that Harrison Reid goal Yeah That's the goal of the season For me Yeah The way it drops And it comes off the post Doesn't it I think it nips the bar On the way in The only other goal That could knock it off A goal of the season so far Would be the one At Cavaloon one At Sunderland I was about to say that Literally Which one goal of the month Obviously for Sure but I think you do When you're talking about Goals of the season it's your own kind of personal view because that goal is so different to the Harrison 3 ones that they're both great but I think it's a sensational strike because I find that I've been to Fulham a bunch of times with you Marcus as you will remember and without me yeah and regularly Fulham seem to get undone late on by big teams and for it to go the other way is nice it's nice for you it's bloody lovely because there was a game they opened the season before last at home to Liverpool and they drew 2-1 Oh, I mean, you go back a while because Mitrovic scored that day.

50:00Yeah, maybe three seasons ago and they should have won that game. They were brilliant. Yeah. And that was when Liverpool were fucking good. You don't have to go back that far. They beat them 3-2 last season. True. Good point. So I just thought given that rescue's a point for them, it's an amazing, amazing goal. What a great moment. It's a kind of moment if you're a young lad supporting your team and going for the first season or whatever, you'll remember that goal forever. For that reason, they're more memorable aren't they than the team goals, I think. Yeah. It's a great strike. It's a great strike.

50:23And it also, you know, they go 1-0 up and they're looking pretty good as well. Fulham look good at 1-0. Lovely goal from Harry Wilson. When Liverpool score, you think, oh God, here we go. And then to feel like you've lost the game so late on is an absolute sickener. Whereas minutes before that, you were disappointed to be getting a draw. By the end of it, you are absolutely euphoric with that point. It's one of the great things about football that it can be such an emotional rollercoaster like that. And that was just a perfect example of that phenomenon. Well, fans of particularly American sports don't understand the whole idea of getting a draw.

50:56But, you know, it feels like a win sometimes. Definitely. Absolutely. But I'm so pleased for Harrison Reid because he was only on the pitch for about five minutes. But described by the, you know, people very high up at the club as a good club man and a guy who is very popular with the players. I mean, they saw... It's like Tom Canney last week. They're all getting in on that. Oh, come on. But, yeah, with Reid, he doesn't... England and a 20 international. Yes, there you are, you see. He's, you know, he's represented us. but it's yeah very very pleasing he's that type of player that everyone who supports Fulham everyone has this type of player doesn't play that much but you all love him and you know what a good presence he is around the team he hasn't started a Premier League game for ages does he not for a while but a good squad player technically good I like him when he plays in Mifuli he recycles the ball well and we're forgiven for coming from Southampton if you can but that the thing about that is you know as we talk so often on this show and just generally about football.

51:52The modern game, the top managers are just trying to control as much as they can. They're controlling all the controllables and giving themselves the best chance to win. And it's great that in football, a team, a player can still do that. And there's nothing you do about it. There's nothing Liverpool can point to, apart from the old kind of token, you could have got out to them a bit quicker. There's nothing anyone could do to stop that. You hold your hands up. Three goalkeepers ain't stopping that. To beat Alisson from there as well. Exactly, it's great. But also, I mean, you're talking about the...

52:17It's chaos and we like it. Trying to control everything. Absolutely right. That's why Villa have flourished hitting them from range. If you look at Villa, you look at the stats, they have been scoring a lot of goals from range. Now, more recently, they've thought, you know what, actually, I think we've proved our point. Now teams have to set up differently because teams were dropping off and basically saying, right, okay, you're not going to come through. So Emery was quite coy sometimes, sort of saying, ah, well, you know, we can't rely on this. And yeah, you can't rely on 20, 25 yarders all the time, but it was surely by design that they were hammering the mid.

52:50and teams then cotton on and teams go ah we're going to have to get out to them that leaves a bit of a gap and it's been working as a child for them what's really interesting about the Villa thing is that the way that they've been doing it the way they've been scoring goals which has propelled them right up to the very top of the table it's completely upset the XG model because people are now saying well they're outperforming their XG by like 15 goals it's like well yeah because XG doesn't if teams only shoot from miles out XG finds it very hard to deal with that because it's going to say on paper this is a very low quality chance.

53:21Which is why you're not encouraged. But you've got so many players who can strike them so well. Emery, who's such a great coach, has said, right, we can lean into this. And then, as you say, they can adapt when people start to adapt. It helps when the goalkeeper comes out of his goal. Oh, yeah. That always helps. And McGinn can just slot in. But it's right, though. It's why, you know, again, it goes back almost to like Pep Guardiola's tactics and all that kind of stuff is how many times, especially his Barcelona side or even when like Raheem Sterling was in the team, down the wing and square it for the tap-in, you know.

53:46So De Bruyne was clearly given a little bit more freedom with regard to that because he was so bloody good at whacking them in. But, you know, it's been enjoyable. How many of those Barcelona goals were like, that ball inside the full-back to Dani Alves? Yeah, totally, yeah. Messi, all right, I'll give you a little bit more. He's part of it, yeah. He's got to be a rob. Yeah, it's hard, he's got a lot to think about. Yeah, and I'm just saying, in the spirit of that, maybe Marco Silva will give Harrison Reid a bit more hope. Yeah, exactly. You know, with that. Another disappointing draw for Liverpool, who weren't great, let's be honest.

54:15and that Verts one, you can see it's offside. Yeah, it's a controversial one. I mean, I never talked about this earlier. Yeah. But Jim's got a take, haven't you, Jim? So I was just, I hadn't really seen all the controversy around it till this morning. No, I didn't really think about it. I was looking at it and there is, Jamie Carragher makes the point that there's, because of the positioning of the penalty spot, there is an angle of it that makes it look like Verts is very obviously offside, but it's easy to fall in the trap of the angle that you're looking at the screenshot from, right? So I would presume that it's one of those things that is a trick of an eye.

54:47I agree with you, Marcus. From the stills I've seen, it looks offside, but the automated offside will probably be drawing a different line. Well, they explained it on Matt of the Day and how they give it a five centimetre sort of grace area, whereas they say in the mainland European leagues, the top ones there, they are doing it right to the toenail. I mean, we do want the attackers to be given more of an advantage, right? We want goals. fine but you got I mean the line will be drawn somewhere sure quite literally anyway it doesn't matter Harrison Reid scored so we can leave that alone I mean it looked offside to the eye first time round obviously the linesman gives it offside it's a strange situation we're trying to be so specific and so accurate that it's gonna and then all of a sudden it feels to me the type of people who are complaining about that the type of people who wanted it in the first place and now they're saying well it's obvious well you want the technology but then we can't trust I know it's done automatically now but we can't trust because before VAR people were coming out saying yeah we accidentally drew the lines in the wrong place or we didn't see that player off the camera shot so it's not perfect is it clearly it isn't perfect but Harrison Reid had the last laugh and it ended 2-2 did you see former Liverpool man James Mill that turned 40 yesterday made his 649th Premier League appearance on Saturday in Brighton's win over Burnley just four away from Gareth Barry's record yeah there is no reason to bring him on for 10 minutes every match just to beat Gareth Barry's record well yeah for Milner I'm sure he'd love that but I think I don't think Brighton really need this today oh come on it's a great little great little fillet for the league Milner's been an amazing servant he's also the second youngest player to have played in the Premier League as well which is amazing given that I think I'm right in saying the average professional footballer's career is I think two and a half years long if you take the whole group of freshmen he's been here for so long so what I'm hearing is there are loads of players who've not managed to have a career because Milner's been hoarding all this minutes that's exactly it do you think that he'll have earned his move to Brentford next season yeah it'll be lovely do you want to do you want to a couple of things about the oldest used players in the Premier League yeah only two goalkeepers in that list yeah surprising I was going to say you'd expect you'd expect these records to all be held by goalkeepers so this season you've got Milner right at the top Coleman Dubravka Idrissa Gare Ashley Barnes Kyle Walker John Henderson Horny Kieran at Newcastle Danny Welbeck and Carl Darlow Oh this season hence I said Brad Friedel was my guess If he had played this season he'd be really old If someone took a chance on him he must be 50 Exactly Someone's just signed Fraser Forster Yeah Yeah haven't they Oldest used players makes them sound like a car Yeah exactly They're on a lot Refurbed How many miles on the clock I mentioned Brentford we've got to give old Thiago his his flat haven't we hat-trick at Everton he's what a signing he's been 14 goals this season only Haaland's got more in the Brent it's really satisfying to see a player who had a difficult first season because of injury flourish in the second season as well they're often forgotten about aren't they yes and the context of how well he's done is that we talked all summer about how many goals Brentford have lost and if you think of the players that have come through at Brentford and been known for scoring Ivan Toni Brian Imbuomo Ioan Visser they've all gone and it fell upon someone to do the business and if he carries on the way he's going he might get more goals than all of them got in individual seasons yeah but you've got to give Andrews a lot of credit of course and the players and so on again it shows you how well run that club is you would think because it's all just kind of seamlessly it all just slots into place doesn't it all just carried on I actually don't think they're a great squad either I don't think they've got a great squad of players did you enjoy Thiago hugging Beto that was weird they must be mates they must be even then it's inappropriate he's playing for the other team no it's pronounced Bebeto is it very good is it inappropriate if Beto had hugged him back it would have been inappropriate but do you remember when Cissé celebrated with the Man City players after they won the league when he was a GPO yes was that inappropriate yes absolutely although if season was finished he was never going to stick around oh fine then yeah yeah great come on get involved what you're not on the curtains on the way out then was it inappropriate for the Portsmouth fans to celebrate with the West Brom fans when they stayed up at the Expo Southampton that was top draw absolutely That was one of my favourite ever Premier League moments.

59:10Was it really? Yeah. But I mean, it's a terrible result for Everton, by the way. It is, yeah. They've had a couple of funny results at home, haven't they? They lost to Spurs badly, didn't they, at home? Newcastle as well. Yeah, and another one there. But when Thiago's on that form, you can't deny the man. No, you can't. That third goal as well. Yeah. All the way through, on his own. Lovely. Just, yeah, yeah. Essentially, it was a dink finish. It was a dink. Beautiful. Up there with the Morgan Gibbs-White dink, in my view. there we are that was a lovely dink as well but that one meant something from Thiago who wanted the match ball there and then after he scored that goal so just wait till the end of the day anyway thank you for listening to the Football Ramble Park the Acast Creator Network we're back tomorrow for the mailbag so do join us for that in the meantime Happy New Year and thank you Luke Moore thank you very much Happy New Year to everyone thank you Pete Donaldson Happy New Year and farewell to the worst win rate in the Premier League of any permanent Manchester United manager happy New Year well Darren bless you I can respect thank you Jim Carville thank you and happy new year everyone and of course thank you ladies and gentlemen we got it the football ramble is a stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network