Pep’s Entertainers

0:00Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly. Welcome to the Football Ramble! Madness at the cottage and Spurs snatched a point. It's Wednesday 3rd of December. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Pete Donaldson.

0:24Hello everybody. Good to have you with us on this wonderful Wednesday at the Football Ramble. And thanks to Friend of the Ramble, Madeline, for giving us that intro line. if you want to submit an intro line for a future episode, then become a friend of the Ramble on our Patreon. Sign up for just five dollary-dos a month. You'll get an extended edition of today's Ramble. On last week's Ramble Uncut, we were inspired by the Adrissa Gay and Michael Keane moment and so discussed which Premier League teammates we'd like to see scrap. It was a debate to end all debates. My goodness, the findings were unbelievable.

0:57Head to patreon.com forward slash football ramble to get involved now. Peter hello can we have a little teaser as to what you might pull out for Ramble Uncut today or should we keep that under wraps we'll probably just do more Blondie lyrics for an entire 20 minutes that'll be that'll be a bit of fun won't it really sell it to them well very much like the Rapture obviously has is it the Rapture in that's kind of like a rap in the middle of the song yeah yeah yeah I thought you meant the band no Blondie have a song called Rapture don't they which has a rap in it and it's got a rap in it and that's what and is it by the band the Rapture what are you saying enough the Rapture are not involved New York's finest electro clash band are not involved at this point but they but I just think everything should have a rap so this show should have a rap do you know what you sound like so I'm gonna do a rap you sound like Robbie Williams yeah he would pop up with raps all the time he would wouldn't he do you remember in the song Rock DJ he if you listen back to it now he raps the verses and he really sounds like identical to the Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan once you notice it it's like yeah he really that's good he really does I hear that at the end of that song he screamed for five minutes about his skin being pulled off my skin that was the director said so it's more of that sort of stuff and I'll talk about a time a child mugged me off on a bus lovely good lovely also before we move on to Full of Man City thanks to everyone who voted for us in the FSA Awards not enough of you did though we're rebranding them the fuck's sake Awards but thank you really let everyone down there we gave you all the credit it last time.

2:30Yes. Because you voted for us. You're only as good as your last FSA as they say. Exactly. And clearly not that many of you wanted me to give that trophy a good old thrusting this year. No, exactly. But Pete's just put the 2024. Still there. Still there. And really that was the year to win it. Yeah. Don't get me tea. Yeah, there we go. It's a bit old hat winning it now, isn't it? It's over. This award's over. But we go again next year. We do go there. Well, we had a lovely old time. Right then. Fulham 4 Manchester City 5 I mean jeez you were there were you not have you just come down it pains me so much that I can't say Fulham 5 Man City 5 yeah I mean when you know there were a lot of games last night so I was switching between them and you know once I saw what was happening at the cottage I was like okay I'm going to focus on this one and I'm just thinking there's been like one 5-0 in the history of the Premier League is there weirdly was Alex Ferguson's last game against West Brom and I was just like Has it just been one final?

3:27I think so. Really? Unless there's one I'm missing. And I just think it's so statistically unlikely. I was like, Fulham could get six penalties and surely they're not going to score any of them. Just finals just do not happen. But it was, there were a couple of moments right at the end. Oh my goodness. I mean, that moment, it's funny because I turned to the lovely chap I sit next to and when Josh King came on, I thought, oh, what a time this would be to get his first Premier League goal. And he has that chance, which I think he does everything he can do with it. And Guardiola obviously clears it off the line.

4:00Really difficult to get it in from there. And do you know as well, because of the nature of the game, I did think to myself, because Fulham obviously were 5-1 down with just over half an hour to play. There would be eight minutes of injury time due to a very unnecessary lengthy Varkle. Because it was an offside. Get your semi-automated business in gear. But anyway, they got the fourth on 78 minutes and you thought, right, well, here's a chance. but of course they had conceded five at that point. So it's not like, oh, this is a sure thing. And I remember thinking, come on, the equaliser is there.

4:33But almost like, don't get it too early. And so if King had a score in the 90s, it would have been, but it wasn't. It is the epitome of the highs and lows of football because Manchester City fans, who are very vocal for most of the game, there was a distinct bit of the game where they were a bit quiet, but for most of the game, they're just loving their team, sort of lashing in great goals and so on. And Fulham fans are just sitting there. We're all going, oh, well, you know, at least we got out of the house tonight sort of thing. And then you get the highs and the absolute, I mean, I've never seen the cottage like that.

5:04I would go back to the Europa League run under Hodgson. It was like that. And to the point, I mean, now a lot of fans will kind of laugh and understandably sort of scoff at how sort of silly this is. But for the last, well, for the last sort of 12 minutes of normal time plus injury time, everyone at the cottage was stood up. And again, a lot of fans will go, So that's ridiculous. Now, firstly, actually, a lot of grounds, you're not meant to do that. You're not allowed to. But of course, a lot of people would. Away fans always stand up anyway. But like I say, this is Craven Cottage. It's a very, very nice family, middle class, etc., etc.

5:34But for that, like the atmosphere was quite something, but they couldn't quite do it. But I think this performance sums up what I certainly feel, and I think perhaps a lot of others, sums up Manchester City in this current side. they have quality going forward there's no doubt about that Erling Haaland scores he's a hundredth goal you know that is annoying what the game will be remembered for not an incredible comeback I don't know I think an incredible comeback I mean it didn't happen this is the thing you're a few inches away from it being one of the greatest nights you've ever witnessed at the cottage and all that but do you know I think it was like for Foden's first I think it was Leno punches the ball and you would never have seen you know somebody scoring such an amazing goal like that other than Phil Foden You know what?

6:20It looked like a great clearance. If it was just a little bit further, he wouldn't have had the time to do that. It annoyed me because I thought that's Tom Kearney's job, that is to do that. My thoughts on that were that he maybe had time to think about catching that. Yeah, that happens all the time, doesn't it? Leno is a big punter of the ball and he seems to kind of go for that rather than kind of setting himself to catch it. It's probably a little bit harsh because of the finish from Foden. I reckon probably the goal of the game, wasn't it? Oh, it's a beauty. nine very good goals yeah I thought that's one where maybe you'd probably be a little bit frustrated by that but again it's such an incredible hit from Foden well I mean yeah but then the fact is like you come away from the game you never got something from it but Fulham were 5-1 down in the second half like they've only got themselves to blame really and obviously Manchester City you know Harlan's first goal he thought to himself right I didn't get my goal last weekend which the previous weekend I should have done I'm going to make sure that this is going in the back of the net and my goodness didn't he just that stayed stayed hit he should have scored before that when he went through he actually hit the post I couldn't believe he missed that and he had a header which he hit the post with which he should have scored he was on great form despite not really being the headline other than the record but I think it must be incredibly frustrating that there have certainly been times at Fulham this season and obviously they've picked it up a little bit recently where goals have been very difficult to come by you score four really good goals as well they're all really good and it means nothing ultimately I feel like Fulham were playing in their heads like Man City of like two seasons ago I think you're absolutely right and Silva Silva was quite decisive and I think he changed things up obviously very well and you know it was pretty good but for Man City they right now they're a good side they've got a lot going forward but like the prerogative for that team used to be as soon as we lose the ball we get the ball back within a few seconds and now it's just not happening for Man City at this moment in time so therefore it should never have been 5-1 No but you're absolutely right Peter and they're my thoughts exactly that in the first half they were playing City of two or three seasons ago and Manchester City because they show glimmers of that because of course they do because Pep Guard is still in charge they've got quality players throughout that side and they can punish you should have been you know should have scored they should have scored more goals in that first half really with that Harlan chance and Rinders the way he finishes and then Foden whips one in you kind of go well bloody Nora obviously Smith-Rowe scores a lovely header but into that second half like again they were really sloppy at the back, Fulham.

8:46You know, the docker, well, it wasn't a docker go, it was a Sander Berger own goal. Which is so harsh. I think it was go, I think it was off. Even so, it's surely from that distance that's just a deflection, right? I think it's really harsh to give it as an own goal. When I look back at it, I thought I can see what they're getting at. But whatever happens, the fact is, I think it was Anderson, you know, a very reliable defender, just passes it straight out to an opposition player. It's those really little sloppy errors. And Man City have the players that will capitalise and punish you. Now, I promise you, when Alex Iwobi, and perhaps people watching picked up on this, when Alex Iwobi scored, it was a lovely goal to make it 5-2 or 2-5.

9:27Honestly, there was a wave of optimism around the stadium. Everyone was like, no, we can do this. And obviously, because it was so close to doing it, but didn't quite. And this is why I mean it sums up this Manchester City side for me. You give them chances, they will punish you because they have Haaland. You know, Rinders, who couldn't finish. we've seen him do that a couple of times this season it was a mixed bag but still Foden we know his quality Doku as well blah blah blah great quality but my goodness you have a go at them I mean this is why I don't think Manchester City are going to win the league there is absolutely no way that Arsenal put in a performance like this there's absolutely no way there's no way look at Leeds Leeds came away from the Etihad on the weekend thinking how on earth did we lose that game that's what I mean you pushed them I understand that they've got three points totally but they've conceded six goals in their last two games yes they've won Pep's side of the game it's way more fun this season they're putting a run together a winning run but they are being really entertaining about it which we've not seen before I think though there's a chance isn't there Marcus that despite that that Pep Bardiola is obviously a good enough coach that they can they can close this they can close those gaps rather than those gaps be something that defines them all season we've seen this a lot in the past and obviously I think you're right his peak is is almost certainly done.

10:42It is. There's no two ways about that. But in his kind of best teams, in this part of the season, they're never at their best, right? It's always later on where they really, really click into gear and they become the sort of kind of machine-like dominant force that we've seen of them. So I... But I think you're specifically talking about the treble winning season, though. That's where that happened. I think in other seasons, they've been very, very good throughout. No, I don't think it's just one season with them. I think that the titles they won in a row, I think that was a facet of all of them what like starting slowly not necessarily slowly but peaking late and then just becoming essentially like an unstoppable force a momentum side but look what happened against Leeds and Fulham and there are other figures you could say this is the same it's a similar kind of vibe of what Liverpool were doing earlier on in the season people go ah but they're still winning in the Liverpool spirit you go no no this is going to give at some point now with Man City I don't think they're necessarily going to have the wobble like they did last season but honestly, like, I can't, at 5-2, Fulham smelt blood.

11:45Do you know what I mean? And in the same way the Leeds did, you know, and other teams when they play against Man City now, look at the way they set up, go all the way back to the Arsenal game. It was a complete and utter, you're better than us, we're just going to have to do this and hope, and obviously they were very, very close, in a role reversal when Arsenal did that, Etihad. So, look, Man City fans will go, well, come on, we're only two points off Arsenal, yes, Arsenal have a game in hand. I just, you've got Rodri coming back and Kovacic well I mean Rodri would make a difference there's no two ways about that but right now if you're playing Manchester City you know don't make sloppy errors like Fulham did and you know that they can be got it they're so vulnerable at the back I couldn't believe I forgot John Stones was on the pitch he's one of the finest defenders I know he's playing a more defensive field role but I mean the way Chuck Wasey came on and he was just carving them up and so absolute pingers sign in on a perm bloody hell he's only on loan at the minute well Silva's kind of talked him down a little bit and I'm not sure whether that's just managing the fee they're eventually going to try and pay but I mean he's such a I mean he's been he's come back off international duty and he's been injured and obviously he's gone to AFCON very soon in Nigeria but so maybe he's waiting until like you know February to start building the side around him but you bloody should do he's flipping great yeah I mean he was good against Spurs the other week he's been well I mean he had to fight for his place obviously but what's interesting he often plays him a left footer on the left you know obviously went on the other side as well He can play anywhere in the front.

13:09Yeah, a glorious player. And then Kevin came on and he started doing it. Then you suddenly like... Yeah, Kevin had a couple of forays into the box that made me think, oh God, maybe this is on. But you know what the problem for Fulham is? Is Raul Jimenez, again, who's put a great shift in for Fulham over these last few seasons. To ask him to keep doing 90 minutes in high-octane games like that, it's tricky for any striker, but particularly one who's in his mid-30s now. if you had Rodrigo Munez to come off the bench I think they probably would have got the fifth goal but it's all shoulda, woulda, coulda you know come the January transfer window I think Silva will probably be wanting another forward because Munez is out until February and you never know with those injuries can they carry on but you know I think with Fulham in recent games you know they have picked up throughout November obviously that was yeah I understand that was in December but throughout November they picked up nine points I mean they're still 15th for crying out loud but there's six points between them and Leeds, obviously Leeds, with the game in hand.

14:08So they, I think that they're now looking more up rather than behind them in the league with those victories. As they should do. They've got the, they've got the firepower to get on there. It would be ridiculous if they were to be in a relegation scrap in, you know, come sort of February, March, but nothing's a given. You can say, oh, it's ridiculous and they've got a good squad. You've got a bloody win game. So didn't get anything out of this one, but my goodness, you know, absolute classic it's just an absolute classic of a Premier League game but the thing is though with these it's almost like because when you come away and you don't get that equalising goal it's like you're watching an amazing film I mean there's nothing like it obviously but just try and say you're watching this amazing film it's on the edge of your seat and then it ends yeah do you know what I mean you go what that was a bit the baddie clicks his fingers and the world ends but you didn't yeah exactly it's I know I know but look great for Man City and of course Erling Haaland his 100th Premier League goal in 111 games 13 fewer than the great Alan Shearer it's a weird I've always rated him I've always rated that guy I never thought this stat was really worth anything but I mean it just shows what an absolute what pace he sort of started his career at and continues to do so I hope he plays until he's very old and defeats all of the records yeah no you want to play until he's really old so you can just see what he's like when he's not that good at football anymore he's bodyguarding going, oh, he's just like the rest of us.

15:34Because he is like, honestly, especially when you see him in the flesh, Eddie Fowler said that, he's almost like this freak slash force of nature. You know what I mean? I think the thing that really strikes me about him is, he's very tall, obviously, but he's very light, isn't he? Yeah. You think of Haaland as being this big, like kind of muscle-bound kind of monster, and he's not, actually. Yeah, but every fiber in his being is just pure, unadulterated muscle. So I know what you mean. Yeah, he's not built like a sort of wrestler or something. but he's... It's all for something. Every nerve ending and every single is for something.

16:09Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I tell you what, seeing old Gigi Donnarumma quite close up, it was good to see him as well. Was he vertical or horizontal? Because he's usually does a lot of line down these days, doesn't he? Well, it's... To waste some time. Well, I mean, obviously it didn't matter in the end, but he was picking the ball out of the net a few times. Not that I didn't think that was his fault, but here's something for you. He saved 58 % of the shots he's faced in the Premier League this season which is the third worst record in the Premier League that is surprising now Alisson's down there as well so it does I know Alisson hasn't hasn't played but we're going on percentages it's a small sample size but again in recent years with what these two sides have done and how good those two goalkeepers are and I know Donnarum has just turned up to the Premier League it's you know I thought that was worth bringing to the table I think he probably expected a bit more protection that's why Luis Enrique shipped him out exactly but I mean yes we know he's a quality goalkeeper but it's just a surprising stat it is that I thought was noteworthy James Trafford of course is his now understudy at Manchester City reportedly wants to leave the club is he going to go back to his Cumbrian farm work on his tractor has he got a Cumbrian farm he's a big farm boy right so he should quit football totally yeah farm full time work on his bails is that what it is work on his bailing game well yeah he said that he was told he was going to be number one at Man City which was quite obvious and then it would appear that they weren't that happy with him.

17:36Either that or it was a market opportunity for Donnarumma, wasn't it? It's not really clear. Yeah, I think to suggest that it was all sort of James Trafford, I think maybe it's a touch harsh. But anyway, the fact of the matter is he's now very much number two. It's also sort of complicated by Stefan Ortega wanting to leave as well. So obviously they've got Marcus Batanelli in there, who's kind of the third choice, which has pushed Ortega down as well. But Ortega's been there a while, so you think they probably owe him a bit more in terms of letting him move. But there's talk Newcastle would be back in for Trafford if he was available, which is surprising to me given the stockpile of goalkeepers you already have.

18:09Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, I'll always say that Newcastle rarely have a keeper crisis, but I mean, I kind of felt sorry for Ramsdale. We'll come to Newcastle next, but I think he deserves a chance in bins, but I don't know why Howe seems so kind of duty-bound to just have a new goalkeeper every season. Would that be Ramsdale's luck? he finally is like usurp Nick Pope but then they go and sign James Trafford actually though I mean James Trafford is one of the few goalkeepers where you can say so far they've been more unlucky than Aaron Ramsdale so that would be interesting luck if he ends up at St James' Park surely wouldn't you know yeah just for the name's sake get him at Old Trafford you know what I mean young Trafford Old Trafford yeah I'd be I mean it'd be quite extraordinary considering you know signing for a few quid if they were then to try and ship him off I mean maybe he goes on loan for the rest of the season somewhere Well, he wants to be back in the England squad, doesn't he?

18:59Well, he knows that position is up for grabs there, really. So we shall see. So anyway, Manchester City, yeah, they're very much second in the league right now. Sitting pretty. Yes. Sitting ugly. The team who the league table would currently suggest is the second best side in England, you can get at them. If you're facing them soon, don't be shy. Don't be shy about just shooting from distance. Yeah, maybe, maybe. Now, gentlemen, before we go for a break, How about this? A hot air balloon football match took place recently. In the sky? Well, then if it's impressive on the ground, but in the sky.

19:39Yeah. Well, if it was on the ground, would it not be a cold air balloon? I guess so. Fair. Well, anyway, yes. The hot air balloon football match took place at an altitude of 1 ,800 metres. It's too high. That's incredibly high. You'll need some altitude training. Yeah, I mean, I know they say, you know, the ball shouldn't be in the air that much, but I mean, you know, you're forced to play the long ball. But that's claimed to have broken a record. So it's now a world record, this. Have you seen the footage of it? Oh my goodness. There's nothing around the side of the pitch. No. And the players are all wearing parachutes.

20:12Yes, the pitch seems very flimsy, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. Why do people need to do this? I mean, it looks like the sort of thing that, you know, Red Bull usually sponsor and you're like, that's too dangerous. It's only going to take one crash to never do anything like this again. I mean, might we say it was a one-on-one match. They did have officials. Yeah. I tell you what, the players look quite handy. Yeah, one of them scooped the ball over the top of the goalkeeper. Yeah, there was a Ronaldo celebration. There's a couple of... Yeah, we didn't need a shoe in the sky. No, there was a couple of light aircrafts circling around.

20:43I was like, people have got to watch it. You always get your perverts, don't you? Mate, air traffic control's fucked. I know. You can do what you want up there now. It's lawless. I never miss a football match, man. So there are they. I bought this season ticket. Wherever it's taken place, I've got to watch it. I mean, what I find funny is when you hear that that's happened at an altitude of 1 ,800 metres, you think, why did you need to go that? What's going on? It's like, oh, it broke a world record. Some other person has done it before, like 15, or whatever it was. Yeah, bloody hell. What happens if they, I don't know what the terminal velocity of a Mike Adela Premier League is, but what if they boot it and it comes off a post and it falls to the ground?

21:18You should say, by the way, that the pitch was being suspended by a hot air balloon. so it was on very very strong bits of string no it was on glad you weren't engineering it I brought the very strong string yeah it was being suspended as I say under a hot air balloon and the pitch was more stable than I thought it would be that's the very definition of sky sports Marcus which is confusing at first just an idea you can't get planning permission of anything around where you live so put it in the sky put it in the sky that would be something the whole stadium right everybody everybody ready for match day whoop up we go is it a bird as they go up is it a plane surely this is but this is the kind of idea do you remember ahead of like years before the Qatar World Cup when they got given it there was all those mad ideas about floating stadium and all that stuff the floating clouds and so on honestly they were like well there's not that much there's not that much landing because it's a very small country and they're going to be able to fill it well we'll just we'll just put some of the games in the sky in the sky I'm obsessed with that mine that the Americans put cheese in in the 60s.

22:24Excuse me? Probably one for uncut. But the Americans made too much cheese and then had to give away the cheese at a very reduced rate. To who? The people. Government cheese. It was a thing back in the day. It was Kennedy's time. Basically, when Kennedy got into office, I think it was Kennedy, or maybe they got after him, they said, we've got this mine full of cheese. Why do they keep it in a mine? I guess it's just, yeah, it should keep it cool. And it goes well with coal. Is this what's really at Area 51? Now there's no cheese there. It's all been sold off. Could we have football matches there?

23:00Yeah, we could have an underground one as well. I see what you're saying. Because America don't have enough stadiums, do they? No, exactly. That country's so big and there's so many sports complexes. When the World Cup's on there, there'll be people who live there who don't know it's on. There should be a secret match that's somewhere in America. In an abandoned cheese mine. No, you've just got to find it. It's been televised, televised, but you're trying to get clues. Geolocators are going, well, that mountain range looks kind of familiar. I wonder where this is, Peter. Let's just see what the Ukraine peace talks happen.

23:30Right. Putin and Trump, you know, settle on. Because there may well be a game featuring Russia in the World Cup and it might be in some minor underground. Yeah, do you think that's going to happen? I hope not, but you never put it past these. Okay. Right. I think we need to go for a break. Coming up after this, Christian Romero has had his Scott McTominay moment. Barely.

24:18Outro Music I'm not here. Clean out.

24:26I don't know why you're laughing. No, no, you're right. I shouldn't be laughing. My apologies, sorry. So, are you going to tell all your followers that I'm bit in you? No, because you currently ate one down. Yeah, this game's coming. I'm not... I don't care about this game. Well, back to the Football Ramble, everybody. Wayne Rooney, an angry ginger. there. Surely we want that on the undercard at Jake Paul against Anthony Joshua. Yeah, not for angry ginger's sake. I like that because it was like a playful, I'm going to knock you out. It was annoying, I'm going to knock you out. But if push comes to shove, I think knocking out is going to happen.

25:07Oh dear. Right. New Chelsea United 2. Tottenham Hottesburg 2. Seemed unlikely, didn't it? But they got it. Christian Romero scored a 95th minute overhead kick. equaliser. Yeah, it was a shinner and it kind of sort of whiffy. It was a whiffy basic kick. It's an overhead kick. Yeah. And if you score an overhead kick, even if it comes off your nuts, then fair play. He said, every day with the national team, I train with Messi. It was a beautiful goal. Good man. Yeah. Well done. I mean, it seemed unlikely that they were going to get something from the game, but they bloody well did. But ultimately, Peter, it's very disappointing from a Newcastle United side who hammered Everton at Hill Dickinson or whatever it's called.

25:48You think they could Could they not sort of kept a couple of goals back from the Everton match just to stick into this one? What did you make of this? Newcastle has such a funny side at the moment. We know the quality they have. Down in 13th, they've won five out of 14 Premier League games this season. Everyone, I think, is expecting them to go. And when they beat Everton 4-1 away from home, you're thinking, ah, okay, there's something. And this game, Tottenham Hotspur at home, you think, lovely old job. and again just another very unconvincing performance and here's a stat for you no side has dropped more points from winning positions in the league this season the Premier League this season than Newcastle level with Brentford what do you make of it all?

26:31You could probably sort of see Newcastle going back to their sort of shithousing best because their kind of refusal or inability to close out games is the one thing that's kind of preventing them from turning losses into draws and draws into wins because they just in this match they were dominant for 70 % 70 minutes of the match and you know they do look leggy there's a lot of game time in those legs but yeah I mean the spa weekend of Burnley the weekend could not have come could not come sooner to be quite frank but yeah there were some positive moments I think you know Valtomar was very quiet but Gordon looked like he was back to some sort of best he played really well his first goal since January in the Premier League apparently I was surprised to hear that in the commentary I mean yeah it's a penalty but like it's he looked a lot better he probably could have done with those kind of games off a little bit and he looked really really good last night but again it was a bit of a goalkeeper mistake you might say unsighted as it was at the end of the death there's a lot of players in his way aren't there so it's maybe a little bit harsh but I know what you mean you feel like you should maybe be alert to at least the possibility of it I know Anthony Alanga has had a lot of criticism as well for essentially having the best seat in the house for that and just letting like not even challenging when you can see the balls coming down He's had a lot of criticism this season.

27:47I thought he started on fire the way that he sort of stretched player, but Newcastle just aren't making the most of it, really, because he's just such a quick player. He's not doing it at the moment. Is the issue that he's not doing enough outside of that? Because that is pretty poor, really, isn't it, to not be committed in that moment. Any player in the box in the 96th minute, when the ball is up in the air like that, surely you've got to be alert to just getting your body where it's going to land. He's probably not used to having to provide any height in a team. Even Lewis Miley has managed to grow about a foot in the close season, which is like everyone's got big and swole.

28:24But yeah, I think Ramsdale's improved the side exponentially. I think he's just so much better than Bob's. And I would like to see him stay in nets for the rest of the season. Is he going to do some mad running out of goal? Because against Marseille, when Pope ran out of goal and I said, that's very unlike Nick Pope. You corrected me quite rightly. He does it quite a lot. You said, no, no, no. and they sent me a video and I was like yeah there are a few examples I don't know it's more that when he does it and he fucks it up or he manages at the last minute to header a ball out to the touchline he does that he's got that kind of who's a lady singer a queen not Brian Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury he's got the kind of Freddie Mercury sort of anxious teeth about him he goes oh I've done it again he's got Freddie Mercury Fredy's teeth.

29:16Yeah. Are you thinking of Frank Spencer? Oh, I've done it again, Brian. But he's got that kind of like, oh, oop. He's a cartoon bastard again. Oop. I'm really struggling to get the link to Freddie Mercury. He's got Freddie Mercury's teeth. Check him out. Okay, fine. He's got his gnashers. I will take your word for it. We'll never speak of that again. For me, I always think of Pope as very much a staying on the line kind of keeper. Right. But quite clearly, he does like a fray outside. He does like a fray. he's a shot stopper like every Premier League goalkeeper he's very very good but his delivery is pretty warful well it is I think apart from that throw he did that time well yeah that was great no I think Pope's been a solid keeper for Newcastle over the years but I think Ramsdale has the potential to turn it up a notch I agree it's all about whether he can just eradicate those little sloppy ones well it is that isn't it but there are very few goalkeepers who are perfect right so with most goalkeepers you have to take some sort of of course and enjoy the lack of exposure you get in Newcastle because Man United you are rinsed for whatever you do every rick you've got in you will be exposed but Newcastle a little bit more under the radar a lot of competitions to play in and stuff people aren't expecting that much from them so that does take the pressure off a little bit for goalkeepers at Newcastle yeah but he did fail to save a Christian Romero shinned overhead kick yeah I mean that written down doesn't sound great doesn't sound great a couple of steps to the right you would have got that one but he was unsighted but it did go through He did go through plays.

30:44It was also not long after centre-back, Christian Romero scored a diving header as well, which again does not tell the true story and does not paint a fair picture, but written down. I mean, that was a brilliant goal. A lot of a diving header was a pitch. Yeah, you couldn't do anything with that. Well, I mean, because Gimeraj scored a beauty, didn't he? Oh, he pressed his Brazil button for that one. Lovely, lovely finish. But then did Romero do Gimeraj's celebration in front of the fans? He did the ear-cupping, didn't he? He's an Argentinian defender. Of course he is. Enjoy it. Like trying to mug off a Brazilian.

31:16Yeah, I forgot that narrative. And English people at the same time. My goodness. Christmas came early for him. Yeah. Now, there was a big decision in the game, the penalty, of course. Thomas Frank vehemently disagreed with the decision. A lot of the pundits disagreed with the decision to give Newcastle a penalty. The referee didn't pick up on it. This was, of course, a tussle between Big Dan Byrne and Rodrigo Bentecourt for a corner. Jim, what did you make of this? I was surprised by the reaction to it, actually. because he's holding him for a long time. He's not looking at the ball. No, he's not looking at the ball.

31:47It kind of ticks a lot of the boxes for when that situation is a penalty. And I've actually seen, I saw some criticism of Byrne as well. It's like, well, look, he's running right into him. It's like, he's allowed to move. He's the one being held. So I think this is something that is so frustrating. Even if you play football at grassroots level, when you are physically blocked, suddenly people believe that defenders in football can play like NFL blockers. and you're literally just going to walk to the back post it's like I have to walk all the way around I'll walk behind the net if I need to and you're right I think with Dan okay so Dan Byrne right a forward doesn't want any contact with a defender at a corner you don't want any why would you why would you start you're not going to grab the defender and start bringing him say closer to you you might push him away and that's a foul of course and the referee often picks up on those fouls if an attacking player pushes the defender away.

32:42But you are, as an attacking player, at a corner, you don't want any real contact between you and the defender because that means they're close. Why would you? Logically speaking, that doesn't make sense. So when people were saying Byrne was, well, he was wrestling and so on, he was like, well, no, but if the defender engages, Byrne's then going to try and get him off him, isn't he? Do you see what I mean? He's like, get off him because I want to gain an advantage. And I do think, you know, you're allowed to have a little bit. I don't think the defenders can, you know, to counterbalance that. I don't think defenders need to kind of act as if, oh, you know, after you, good sir, you know, kind of thing.

33:14So obviously it's a bit of give and take here. It is one of those ones where, generally speaking, I like them to be given as penalties because to me it's just outrageous to get a hold of the defender and he wasn't looking at the ball. The reaction is everyone says, well, you're going to give loads of them a game and so on and so forth. I don't tend to go in for those arguments particularly because... It's meant to be a deterrent, right? There was a directive at the start of the season saying that this exact scenario was going to be punished more to stop it happening. Yeah. And that's the point of punishing it more, right?

33:47Yeah. But on the other hand, this particular one... Yeah, I... Eddie Howe felt, as he probably would, it was a penalty. I mean, Thomas Frank started saying, oh, there were some players in... or he didn't say players or staff, but he said people from the Newcastle camp that didn't think it was a penalty either. I think you do have that attitude that still kind of prevails of oh well it's a little bit of a tussle at a corner and so on because the way the ball went it seemed like it would have reached that area that Byrne was in maybe corners should just be like the purge yeah or bets are off I think people are veering towards that opinion I don't know maybe we're soft I'm going to glance at the producers did you think it was a penalty thumbs up, thumbs down thumbs up one thumbs up one thumb up and there was an unconvincing wobbly hand that's all about we need an answer Bruno oh dear well fine so the general feel in the Ramble today is that the Ramble VAR yeah well that would take long wouldn't it if you think imagine pissing over what do you reckon I don't know I don't know should we do a podcast and talk about it is the mic on 40 minutes later yeah we think it probably was oh you finished the game so there we are sorry everybody if you're upset with that good process excellent process now it's been reported that there is confusion in the Spurs dressing room because Thomas Frank apparently will often change his tactics very close to kick-off.

35:09I mean, that would explain some of the performances they've had recently. An unhelpful leak. How do you mean, Jim? We're going to attack him. We're going to attack him. No, we're not. Right, get out of there. Shut up. Shut up. Yeah. I mean, it's a funny time to bring this in, isn't it? Because I think in the performance against Newcastle, they showed exactly the character that they've been lacking in some of those recent games. And obviously, the home form has been a massive, massive issue and the atmosphere there has been affected as a result of it and we've all seen what that can be like when there's a bit of a disconnect between the home crowd and the team.

35:44But yeah. I think you've been generous there. No, but I mean there have been times recently where it looks like Spurs don't really have much of a plan and I suppose that makes sense. But last night, Jim, I think you've been generous because look, they get a point and I get that and there's a bit of character there. Christian Romero's a good solid player. He's a really good player. In fact, he's calling him a good solid player slightly does him down a bit. He's a very handy operator back there and has grit and determination. Remember, they got a point because he scored a diving header and an overhead kick.

36:11Yeah, sure. Right? Not part of a plan. Not part of a plan, no. Again, for whatever anybody cares about XG, and I think it's a tool among lots of other stats and so on, it was incredibly low again. Newcastle United should have won this game without much of a fuss. And okay, they can rely on those... You shouldn't... You can't rely on Christian Romero doing that every week, by the way. but also I don't think you can expect to turn up at St James' Park and just sort of outplay them and turn them over it's a really tough place to go but that's you have to find a curious hole in the way haven't we so you would say to Spurs who are a Champions League club you'd say well you can't expect much at St James' Park I would say I mean yeah really in the form that they're in at the moment I would look at that fixture as a really really tough one I know that Newcastle aren't having the best sort of time at the moment but I think that's borne out by the fact that they struggle to create chances but a tough fixture is one thing but applying yourself and basically rolling over and hoping for something like that is another and how Spurs have played away from home this season we've spoken about like their home form versus their away form the pressures off away from home so you probably wouldn't be expecting a bit more of a performance from Spurs they've played very within themselves yeah I mean Spurs friends of mine were going I can't watch Spurs and then when the goals go in they're like whoa didn't expect that didn't see that coming and that's the thing what a shin when Frank says the character of the side was there yeah okay you have to say that because they got a point in the end that was not a good Spurs performance last night and Newcastle United should have won that game without too much of a fuss yeah I mean you're right Marcus in that the performance wasn't brilliant of course but I think given the form they've been in you've got to look at that result as a really really positive thing so that's why I think they'll be happy taking that away I'm surprised Jim Spurs is an Arsenal fan you're just not having an ounce of revelling in that but then you're not one to revelling I suppose I'll be honest while I was watching that game I was also putting up some Christmas decorations so you're filled with cheer season of goodwill to all people we had a Christmas playlist on and just after Spurs went 2-1 down Louis Armstrong came on and watching Spurs lose and listening to jazz is a great combination I must say so I got my revels don't you worry as long as you get your revels that's fine now quickly Bournemouth 0 Everton 1 I say quickly because you know this was the third most eye-catching result of the evening I don't think Evertonians will be too downbeat on me saying that but Jack Grealish got the winner that's something we can all get behind he kissed the Everton badge after he scored he said post-match that he loves David Moyes to pieces it's nice to see him happy it is isn't it and he'll have a year left on his deal when this loan expires and you think if the will is there from all parties because when he went there we wondered would Everton be able to afford him would this make sense later down the line etc etc but it's going really well.

39:00If anyone's going to take a pair cut for football reasons, I think it's going to be Jack Greenish. Well, exactly. I think the wages are likely to be the stumbling block, you would think. Yeah, it looks like potentially he could become a proper sort of hero there if he's not already. I think the stage is in his career, and even he said, he spoke about his time at Man City not long after he signed for Everton. He said, look, I loved my time there. He was very much talking about it in the past tense. I got the impression. Like, who knows? Who knows? Because clearly, he's done well this season. He started particularly well.

39:31I think he's done all right. Certainly not negative, but will he have done enough for when he goes back to Man City, whoever's in charge there next season, who's a pair for somebody else, will he have done enough to get back into that team? Time will tell. I suspect, though, at this stage of his career, I think he's better suited to this. Like being one of the more flashier, kind of skillful, talented players in that kind of, a solid Premier League side but not a side where you've got all sorts of new shiny toys and he's the main reference point he has a lot of freedom within that and I think he actually he's one of those players where he brings the best out of others around him and those kind of for want of a better word maverick players aren't always like that are they?

40:19but Grealish is a very sort of generous player in that regard as well I thought Evan kept players like Semenio really quiet last night they did you sort of get the sense that either teams have kind of got wise to him or they're focusing on him a little bit more or just he's I know he's apparently he's got an injury but he's sort of managing that game by game maybe he just needs a couple of games out because he was amazing he'll be a player that good as well they've really kind of fallen off a cliff haven't they it's five games without a win now and they were top of the league at one point not that long ago it was early days but that was still remarkable for a club like Bournemouth but you're right I mean they were up there I mean of course you know a win would take them potentially up into the European spots depending on other results but and obviously a number of sides above them haven't played tonight but yeah like down in 14th lost four of the last five you know not even getting draws in there how good they were it's almost like last season in microcosm has sort of happened and Iriola did say he was concerned after the game so yeah I mean Bournemouth they need to up it quite simply because they've got some tricky fixes coming up but let's before we move on I do want to say what David Moyes said about Jack Grealish he said Everson supporters love Jack he's really given the club something different I don't want to call him an entertainer I want to call him a top footballer he's not showboating he goes about his job and if he keeps scoring deflected winners then everyone will be happy absolutely alright coming up after this Jamie Vardy is living his best life at Cremonese

42:00Oh, look at this. It's 4th v 5th tonight in the Premier League. Brighton hosting Aston Villa. Unai Emery previewed this game very simply by saying, wow, what a match. He's not seen it yet. Can he see into the future? Yeah, there's a man who's in the... Is he bending spoons? He's back in the Europa League, isn't he? Yeah. That's what it is. Yeah, he played PSG last season. Aston Villa, they've won seven out of their last eight games. Jim, you and others understandably were concerned for Runa Emery Aston Villa saying it was this time when he's in charge he struggles to sort of wrestle in various hands before at the petticoats of other football teams.

42:36Yes, that's one interpretation. But a less sort of Dickensian one would say that Runa Emery's a football slut. And a less Mills and Booneyan one would say

42:55he's out there every night in his fineries his bright red pollen shirt pitch side crawling pitch side crawling outrageous making kissy faces linesman right anyway chairman marking who's gonna win this is genuinely he's managed to turn it round it would have I would expect way more than turn it round really really kind of hang on what's more than turning it round you'll be back on yourself think of the angles mate think of angles he's got back to the position that he initially wanted to be and then improved on that position he's the dirty little Emory he was dizzy he's figured out where he is and he's got an escalator now he's in the fancy floor of the shopping centre again.

43:50He's on the sky pitch looking down going, I see what's happening here. There we are, you see. There's six points off the top, can they do it? Well, I mean, this is a fascinating match, isn't it? Because as Unai Emery rightly pointed out, Brighton, as they are so good at doing, have quietly got into a really brilliant patch of form and they look a really kind of tough proposition at the moment. Under the old radar, Jim. Absolutely, and at home, it can be a really, really tough place to go. They make it a tough place to go. I think this will be a really entertaining match and there's been a lot of talk about Villa's goals from long range as well well they're on course to break the record for the most goals scored from outside the box in a Premier League season which is brilliant and obviously Brighton have Yasin Ayari who loves a screamer from outside the box so I would hope that both teams will kind of play into this and they'll just be bang shoot on sight all night so they should do the good thing and both play a deep line in defence yeah absolutely is this why Ollie Watkins isn't scoring that much this is why Watkins isn't scoring much every time they get four he's like pass it throw I was there my numbers guys my numbers yeah but our numbers though yeah I don't know does that sort of speak to slight desperation from Villa I reckon you you could say that if the goals weren't going in well yeah I mean I think there's clearly some sort of if they hadn't won five of the last six and weren't in you know in the top four and so on then maybe longer in short ponies I call them well it's working I mean they haven't scored that many goals in the league you'd have to go all the way down to Everton in ninth.

45:18But yeah, I mean, other than that, you know, the 16 goals they've scored, there's only, what I think, about six teams that have scored fewer goals than them. But they're in fourth. They're not conceding many, though. Very good defensively this season. Only Arsenal have conceded fewer goals than them. So it has been about keeping it tight at the back and then just pinging them in. Yeah. You know, and I say, it's working. It's quite old school. Yeah, but... Everyone's talking about long throws and things like that coming back. Villa were like, no, we're going to score long-range screamers. Yes, exactly.

45:44But will it work against Brighton and Danny Wilbeck? we shall see this evening. An interesting one. Now, a goalkeeper in Norway might have given Emi Martinez some new ideas of how to shithouse from penalties as if he needs any more. But during a penalty shootout in the Norwegian promotion relegation playoff final, one of the goalkeepers ran and booted the ball away just after the taker put the ball on the spot, which is out bloody rage. Is that a yellow? That feels like a yellow. Got to be, hasn't it? Yeah, it was. So obviously the keeper knows he's not on a yellow card. it'd be funny to get sent off at that point wouldn't it it'd be superb that is absolutely outrageous I do hated to add that the taker still scored the penalty to win the game it didn't really work but you love to see it but I think anybody watching that game unless you're a fan of that side you're thinking come on put this away what a dick thing to do it's quite funny in one sense but it's utterly outrageous Emi Martinez wouldn't be able to do it though because he'd already be on a booking it's a marginal gain thing with very very kind of you know low percentage chance that it's actually going to work.

46:47But I like it. I'm all for it. Especially if you're having to go at the other goal. They've left it unguarded I'm going to smash it into the net. Surely all of the subs get a yellow each, right? What do you mean? All of the unused subs of each team can take a yellow in a similar circumstance. So you can have one guy for penalty just run over and tackle the penalty taker. The winning penalty. I think this has opened the door for some great stuff. The manager's like who's not on a booking right where you're going to make sure this penalty takes ages to be taken yeah very much the spirit of the game I wonder how many you know subs it would take for the referee to call a match off because at some point like you're bringing the game into the dispute and you just have to stop the game I want a number in the IFabs please I think if it happened just a second time you reckon they'd abandon the game no because I think he would dish out a red and he'd be like anyone else yeah but if you're already if it's the end of the game I think you would say in an FA Cup final penalty shootout who gives a shit?

47:47Well I think you say if anybody else red card and obviously what is it is it four red cards or five when the game's abandoned? Oh right yes okay Well yeah stay under that number then fine I think what we need to do is we need a team to be brave and actually do this Yeah but you can't the referee can't just sort of say I'm going to give everyone else a red card when it was a yellow card offence in the first instance is it? Yeah you found It's not fair is it? This Norwegian keeper with the help of you have found a loop He's had a lovely time. He has opened Pandora's jar. It was originally a jar.

48:18Is that right? Yeah. From nowhere to yesware. There we are. Let's bring the game into disrepute. It's the only way. Now, Arsenal host Brentford tonight at 7.30. Ooh, eh? Thank you for reminding me it's an early kick call. Jordan Henderson is turning up to play Arsenal. Now, Mikel Arteta has given an update on Arsenal's injuries. He said Saliba should return in a matter of days, whereas it will be weeks before Kai Havertz returns. I'll be honest with you, Jim, I kind of forgot about him. Yeah, he went off in the first game against Man United. Crazy. With injury, yeah. So he will be a big, big plus when he comes back.

48:57He plays very differently from... He's a big, big man. Yeah, obviously from Jokerez and from incredible auxiliary striker Mikel Moreno, who I think Arsenal's most attacking, kind of most fluent attacking performances have come with Moreno up top. but yeah Havertz has been a big miss just in terms of the minutes that were in Jokeres' legs by the time he got his injury as well so I'm looking forward to seeing him come back he looked really fit and kind of mobile and kind of hench in pre-season as well so hopefully he can hit the ground running again Did you know he had beef with Dan Byrne previously?

49:30Yeah, I had an idea of like a general beef I didn't realise it was particularly personal between them and it goes back to his Chelsea days apparently as well He elved him in the face He gave Dan Byrne an elbow to the face And it was quite obvious that what happened because Dan Byrne had like a big welt on his cheek. Yeah. Well, Dan Byrne revealed that he's apparently settled any feud he had with Kai Havertz. He said, I saw him in pre-season. We had time where we could go and have a few drinks. And where was this? It's in Singapore. I was going to say, it had to have been pre-season. Arsenal and Newcastle were both on pre-season tour.

50:00Apparently the Newcastle boys went out for a drink and some of the Arsenal players were in the bar they went into and they just naturally, as you would, gravitate towards each other and had a little chat. Singapore slings all around. Well, he said I got chatting to him. He's actually, frustratingly enough, quite a nice guy. Have you had drinks in Singapore, Peter? Never been to Singapore. Never dirty my boots in Singapore. You surprise me. Yeah, I surprise myself sometimes. It's one of those things that the BBC always do. They're overnight broadcasting from Singapore. And I feel, whenever I think about that kind of, that building with the three towers and two between it, I always think, oh.

50:35Banner. It's midnight. It's always midnight in Singapore. I hope that Singapore slings his drinks go absolutely yeah now we previously spoke about Arsenal wanting to sign Durian Timbers' twin brother Quinton well it has been twin Quinton twin Quinton yeah that's why twin Quinton here reporting from a shooting well it's been reported that Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign 16 year old Ecuadorian twins Edwin and Holger Quintero Quintero I'm thrilled with this I obviously really hope that Arsenal do manage to sign Quinton Timber. He apparently would be available on a free in the summer as well because a thing we do not see enough of in football is, of course, the old switcheroo.

51:15And that gives you a lot of opportunity for that. Well, now you've got two sets of twins, then who knows who's who? Yeah, you could be making subs, nobody knows. Exactly. Now, Jamie Vardy, of course, a previous transfer target for Arsenal, is now playing in Serie A with Kremlase. He scored two the other night against Solon. He's really started to affect the team, hasn't he? In a positive way. In all sorts of ways. with Jamie Vardy you do very much have to clarify you do well the Creminesian manager Davide Nicola has admitted that he has changed the team's eating plans and menu to accommodate Vardy's dark I think all the players used to eat from a set menu a trough a big a big trough that's right yeah just protein mulch yeah what is this don't worry about that get your mouth around that heel tube they're doing shots at half time post game Jaegers well Nicola said each player has his own personal menu there's no need to monitor these things because they're part of the players lifestyles and he said you know other players have different cultures and so on but then he said Jamie is a point of reference for us and I was like oh blimey second half of the season is just going to go right down the same article said that cans of Red Bull have been spotted on the bench nice just strewn all over the bench the Vardy effect in full flow so lads listen so what is this Jamie skittles in vodka right okay we're all going to do skittles in vodka pre-match and then we're going to run around like nut jobs someone keeps leaking stories about me to the press what's going on here oh I love it spice bags everywhere lovely I bloody love it yeah it was only for that Peter some hot chips oh okay not the drug the chips you're obsessed sunshine do not point at me like that absolutely outrageous right thank you for listening to the Football Ramble and well done for making this far in the pod.

53:10Of course, we're part of the Aircast Creator Network. Our friends of the Ramble don't go anywhere. Keep listening for Ramble Uncut and if you're not a friend of the Ramble, head over to patreon.com forward slash football ramble to sign up now. Thank you, Jim. Thank you. Thank you, Peter. It's not drugs. Thank you, Jamie Vardy. We'll see you for Uncut in a moment.

53:36The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.