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0:00Hi, I'm Max Rushton, the host of The Guardian Football Weekly, alongside me, Barry Glendening, my co-host. Hey, Barry. Hello. Now, although every American found us during the World Cup, for the two that didn't, what can they expect? Found us and fell in love with us, Max. They can expect three episodes each week of occasionally insightful analysis covering the Premier League, Champions League and beyond. Football Weekly is back. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Mark Bittman from the podcast Food with Mark Bittman. It's back-to-school time, which means many of us are going to be busier than ever.

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2:38That's O-L-L-Y dot com. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This message is brought to you by today's sponsor, Walden University. Set a course for change. Now is the time to make a real change in your life, career, and community. At Walden University, we give you the support and flexibility to get the W. Walden's online programs are designed for working professionals like you. You'll gain hands-on skills to take on real-world challenges and succeed. Your future is waiting, and Walden is here to help you achieve it.

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3:26Luke Moore: Excuse me while I kiss the sky, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. Chelsea are in the final and the Red Devils won't be televised. It's Wednesday, 9th of July. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Luke Moore. And I'm Andy Russell.

3:51Luke Moore: Welcome, everybody, to this wonderful Wednesday on the Football Ramble. Thanks to friend of the Ramble, Julian Robinson, for giving us that intro line. If you want to submit an intro line, then become a friend of the Ramble. Sign up for just$5 a month. You'll also get an extended edition of today's show where we're discussing some of football's best trios, Peter reads incredible trousers and celebrating how much Wazzaroonie is going to be on our screens next season. Just head to patreon.com forward slash football ramble to get involved. Absolutely. And you'll also get access to the Ramble, the famous, now famous Football Ramble Discord, where currently some of the more enthusiastic members are playing their own very own version of Jack's Encyclopedia during the summer break.

4:39and there's a there's a league table Marcus I mean shout out to guys at the top of the top of the rank is Notorious BMT Paddy Irish Kev Moon Joey Daniel and James PTFC they're all flying I mean Notorious BMT played three won five rounds eight points what I would say is if you are Damo or you're the sevens and nines or you're Johnny Eggs you need to step it up Damo's played three lost three it's Pete Donson-esque it's Andy Brassel-esque so get over there and you can partake in your very own game of Jackson Cyclopedia as well well worth it patreon.com forward slash football ramble

5:19Luke Moore: what I love about what the patrons are doing is obviously that version of Jackson Cyclopedia they're doing their thing but what is what is going to be great is how we do it obviously is that then we have the playoff right at the end of the season whereas this lot have agreed to meet in a park and fight with hockey sticks to see who's going to win it. And I'm intrigued. My money's on Casey Jones, but there we are. Bring your own hockey stick along, you get a discount on the Patreon. Indeed, indeed. Right, sorry, Andy, I know you're chomping at the bit to talk about the Club World Cup. The only person that I know, actually, no, one of a few people I know that have actually gone out there to watch it.

5:56Luke Moore: The other people I know did it for work, whereas it was just for the love of the game and the competition. Fluminense 0, Chelsea 2. it's happening Chelsea are on for the Club World Cup regrettably and I'll give you a peek behind the curtain here I didn't put this in any of my predictions but I did feel as the tournament was going on this will be Chelsea's whoever they face in the final they'll find a way but they beat Fluminense they've made it to the final Andy people say oh they were on the easiest side of the draw you can only beat what's put in front of you and if you're going to beat if you're going to if you're going to put a load of sorry South American slugs in front of them then Chelsea are going to put them to the sword, quite frankly.

6:38Luke Moore: Is that how you see it all, Andy, or have I gone over the top? Yeah, word for word, Marcus. That's all of it. I was just reading one of your articles. Yeah, that's right. It's a funny one, isn't it? Because I found it quite an entertaining game, but at the same time, you speak to people who follow Brazilian football closely, and the surprise over there that Fluminense have got this far is huge. They were really the fourth rated out of the four Brazilian teams. So for them to get this far is a great achievement. It felt to me like there was more jeopardy in the Palmeiras game in the quarterfinal, to be perfectly honest.

7:20And not just because of their Estavao angle and all that sort of stuff. Look, Fluminense had their good bits in this, but it always felt like Chelsea had it under control. I know what you mean about that creeping inevitability of Chelsea it's sort of I guess it's like the conference league in reverse isn't it because for most of that competition you're trying to look for a reason why they won't win it and there's belatedly a bit of jeopardy introduced in the first half of the final whereas this feels like the other way around like no one really believed in Chelsea at the beginning and as it's gone on I'm completely on the same page as you I think it has felt more and more like hang on they might actually be doing this it'll be a fascinating final anyway whoever gets there Yeah

8:10Luke Moore: João Pedro Luke Moore he stopped his holiday so he could get involved in this tournament Chelsea paid quite a lot of money some are saying that he's already paid off a third of his transfer fee because that game was worth about 20 million quid but we'll come to that in a minute but he started ahead of Nicholas Jackson there was much chat about where he's going to play for Chelsea because they've already got Jackson De Lapp's obviously a new signing Dillac was suspended for this game but he was put up top and has become I don't want to over egg this but he's come become one of the best players in the world two great goals you are full of beans you are absolutely full of beans today Marcus I can't wait for the rest of the show this is an incredible start from you this almost as good a start as Jao Pedro's well indeed I would say look two goals of supreme quality absolutely outstanding to watch if you're a Chelsea fan because there were and look there still may be because it's still early days and this is they're playing against a Brazilian club side and not the cream of European football but an amazing start there were question marks over whether he would be good enough to fill the gap that people have identified in that area of the pitch for Chelsea they would say they spent all this money they've been so busy in the transfer market yet they don't seem to have nailed down either the goalkeeping position which we can come on to in a minute if you like and the centre-forward position.

9:32When Gael Padre gets over the line, you think, okay, could be an improvement, but there's still question marks. The goals he scored and the manner in which he scored them, the finishes were both sensational, sublime finishes. The second one off the bar is a beauty. He doesn't need to do that to score, but he does do it. And, you know, he may have kind of cancelled his holiday to do this, but he's still having a lovely time. Luke, is the lesson we should really take from this is holidays are good for you? so like a bit of a holiday he turns up and he's Superman I feel this I know what he's done

10:06Luke Moore: those were the actions of a fresh player yeah but what he's done is he's done what a lot of people do a lot of dads do yeah I'll book a two weeker halfway through the second week I'm bored of this now I want to go home I miss the local pub the kids are annoying me I'm happy to get back to work get a bit of peace and quiet and get my headphones in thanks very much so he's like look bad news I've had to go you guys carry on enjoy your holiday I'm going to go play football with the lads and the results speak for themselves. Yeah, I will apologise though if I score a goal. When that first one went in, he wanted to wheel the way and celebrate.

10:39Luke Moore: He wanted to go potting and he was like, oh yeah, I used to play for them. Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's one of the few, but it's one of the few, I mean, I'm not saying I defend it because I do think, I kind of broadly agree with you, Marcus, and your long-held position on this kind of thing. But I think if you were going to, you know, if you were going to sort of give him a little bit of credit, you'd say, well, he came through there. He clearly, yeah, they played a big role in his development as a player. It's not like he spent a couple of games there on loan or whatever. So I do kind of get it.

11:07But at the same time, you just scored a couple of beauties to get your team in the final of a competition. I think it's... You don't have to go into their face and, you know, start woolly coptering at them. But you can find some kind of middle ground.

11:17Luke Moore: The second goal was in front of the Chelsea fans. I think it's more the fact that he went to celebrate and then thought, I may move back there in later life. So I guess, Marcus, the fact is that the supplementary question to should you celebrate or not against your former club, which we already know the answer to, the three of us, is if you've done the I'm sorry the first time, do you do it again the second time? I mean, obviously, if you don't do it again the second time, it makes the first time look completely fake. Yeah, but it's also like, if you're that sorry, stop fucking doing it then. Stop doing it, you're that sorry.

11:50Luke Moore: I don't mind the muted celebration. It's the apology because you're meant to do it. Who was the Real Madrid player that celebrated with Jude Bellingham when they scored the last-minute goal at Man City? Was it Diaz? Who was the former Man City player? Yeah, yeah, Abraham Diaz. He scored the equaliser, did he not, and did like an apology or thing. And then when Jude Bellingham got the winner and did that funny little walk, oh, he was straight in there. Oh, he forgot himself there, didn't he? You see? That's called Scott Sinclairing, I think. That is when, obviously, he scored against Chelsea, and very few of the people at Stamford Bridge remembered that he'd actually played for Chelsea.

12:26I guess that's the thing. But the added thing with the João Pedro thing, of course, is I'm really sorry for doing that because I realised that as Brazilians, this competition means a lot more to you than it does to us, but I've done it anyway.

12:38Luke Moore: Well, it obviously meant a lot to a lot of people because there was over 70 ,000 people in the stadium and one of them was boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer who came out on the pitch and gave a big old let's get ready to rumble on the tannoy. Come on. The big buff. When you've got the big buff there, it's a massive event. It's great to see the big buff. Yeah. These days, the big buff, those of you who are listening who aren't big boxing fans, these days, Marcus, you'll love this if you're not already aware. The big buff will come in and do let's get ready to rumble for a big boxing event. But now I've noticed in his old age and the fact that he's made so much money, he's like richer than God.

13:14He doesn't even do the undercard fights now. He just comes out for the big main event. Of course. They get someone else to do the undercast. So it's great to see him.

13:23Luke Moore: They've really thought, how on earth could we? I mean, because tickets were going for$13.40. Yeah, we need to pull out all the stops here. Yes, indeed. And I think they, you know, get old Buffer in now. And it's bums on seats. It does make sense. So Chelsea are in the final. They will play a big hitter, it's fair to say, PSG versus Real Madrid, of course, later today. Now, depending on their exact participation fee and exchange rates, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah, the total prize money that Chelsea have earned so far in the competition is being reported by most people as around£80 million. I mean, that's not too shabby.

14:03Luke Moore: I mean, bearing in mind, we always like to remind people that winning the League Cup final gets you, what is it,£150 ,000? When did you Radcliffe have heard Chelsea earn this money? He basically just put his pint glass for the telly. Raging, he was. Yeah, I can't imagine what he was thinking. Maresca, when was asked about the Dosh, replied, Chelsea have made that money, not me. I prepare for the games in the same way, and I don't care about the money. We don't get any of it, unfortunately. I think Maresca is, up till now, quite underrated chaos merchant. You know, he's saying a lot of stuff around this Club World Cup.

14:45He did one about the weather not being accepted in America, which is amazing. Then he did one where he challenged the Brazilian journalists about the amount of games Brazilian teams have played and then found out in real time that the Brazilian teams had played more than the European teams had. I didn't know what to say. Now he's saying this. I think as we kind of get more used to him, I can see him being like an underrated prospect for an agent of chaos in the Premier League next season. I think he'd be pretty explosive. I think you can underrate him. Bear in mind that after the final day when Chelsea won at Forest, I mean, in quite a polite way, he basically told their critics to F off, didn't he?

15:24He said, I don't know how you would put it there, but I think that performance was the equivalent of what you call F off. I was like, did he really say that? That's lovely. Just because it's a second language and because he didn't actually say the word, he got a pass. So you're right. I think low key is creeping up very, very nicely.

15:44Luke Moore: I do like that. Who was it on Sky Sports News who said, well, I can't remember who it was and who they were talking about. They said, well, he's been acting a bit like a bit of a C-U-N-T and it's like, you can't just spell it. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's not a way around it. He's trying to spell the word bed so he doesn't know he's got to go to bed. Yeah. Do we have any C-A-K-E in the tin? These people can spell. They're adults. They're working. It's superb, isn't it? That's fine, isn't it? That shouldn't be. Oh, well, anyway, that's Jim White. It wasn't Jim White, don't worry. Much far more professional than that.

16:21Luke Moore: Who can't spell? Oh, Luke Moore. No, I like it. Take it up with him. Well, in uplifting Club World Cup news, FIFA have opened a new headquarters in New York City, which you think, well, Well, the World Cup is being held in North America. They've got to put it somewhere. They didn't have to put the office in Trump Tower, though, did they? They didn't have to. No. But, you know. Were they incentivised to, Andy Brassett? So the question is, you know they have a special Trump shop in Trump Tower. So if you're a visitor, you go in and... I genuinely don't, honestly. On the mezzanine, you can buy Trump coffee cups, Trump nappies for your child, all sorts of different stuff.

17:05Luke Moore: Massive walls that you can put around your house.

17:10Presumably, there's going to be some sort of collab in the shop, isn't there? Yeah, you'd hope so. This is just a latest in the long line of grifts from the Trump administration. I mean, we've come a long way since Jimmy Carter had to put his peanut farm in a blind trust to become president. Trust me. There's literally lines in the Constitution as to why this should not be happening from the Donald Trump side of the ledger. What do we expect from Gianni Infantino? Not a lot. Has he failed to even reach that standard we've expected? Yes, he has, again. the point is that like I was reading that FIFA under Infantino have already got a big office in Miami where they do all their work for the club World Cup they've got an office in Toronto as well Infantino seems to be obsessed with setting up offices and closing down he set up a really expensive one in Paris which he just had to close down again because they're not using it it's just another example of the billionaire class one rule for us and another rule for you.

18:17He doesn't care what he's spending his money on. He'd rather sidle up to Trump, possibly with a view to what he's going to do when he's no longer president of FIFA. And he knows what side his bread's buttered on. And it's a case of, do you want to get inside this massive corruption boat and be a part of it? Or do you want to see it leave the harbour without you?

18:36Luke Moore: I thought you were offering me. I don't think you're going to be that far. I would concede that if Trump was having to take any of us onto his boat, he'd probably go for you, Marcus. But I don't think you're anywhere near the front of the queue. I think that I'm the least threatening, the least demagogue-like. I think so, yeah. I'm the one who's most likely to be renditioned somewhere. Well, Infantino said about this movie, he said, we have to be in New York. So that should clear that up, Luke. Not just for the FIFA Club World Cup this year and the FIFA World Cup next year, we have to be in New York as well when it comes to where our offices are based.

19:12Luke Moore: So today we are opening an office of New York here in Trump Tower. Thanks, of course, to President Trump as well, who is a big soccer fan, which he clearly isn't. But I do love that. He said, no, no, no, it's not just for the FIFA Club World Cup. And you're thinking, oh, because an ounce of that may make sense. So is it for the World Cup next year? No, it's not for that either. So why are you doing it? Oh, because when it comes to where our offices are based, we need it. Right? Yeah. I mean you had you had like 20 % of an answer there and you've just throw that to one side and then you've just talked bollocks essentially but we're used to the man Trump Tower was of course the home of Chuck Blazer so maybe it's some sort of FIFA legacy thing I don't know there's also there's also an example of one of the FIFA executive committee when that when that bust happened around the time of Chuck Blazer I forget his name that might be Marine I think he was under house arrest at Trump Tower for a while so yeah yeah he had one apartment for him and one apartment for his cat as well.

20:07Luke Moore: Chuck Blazer did, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, one must specify the late, not so great Chuck Blazer. So, yeah, the FIFA Club World Cup. It is coming to its conclusion, everybody. You'll be pleased to know there's only a couple of games left. The only thing that it's spared us off, the Club World Cup and FIFA, is a third place playoff. Imagine if they'd have done that. Imagine Real Madrid having to go. That's a basic admin error from the lads. Yeah, it's a really bad admin error, especially when you consider the whole tone of modern football is punishment football. So whether that be the Carabao Cup for Premier League teams, or whether it be, for example, what has been officially dubbed the punishment round, the playoff to get into the last 16 in the Champions League.

20:55If you're going to be FIFA and you're going to properly compete with UEFA, you have to tick all the boxes. This is bad. Marcus, Andy's having a go at the Carabao. Yeah. No, I'm not. I'm having a go at Premier League teams' attitudes to it in the earlier rounds, which is quite different.

21:13Luke Moore: Although it's always won by a big side, Andy. Earlier rounds, like I said. Well, they managed to get through. Well, the Club World Cup wasn't... Maybe we could... Sorry, Marcus. Maybe we could host our own third, fourth place playoff. Yeah, maybe. You know, hire out Wembley like they do at Soccer Aid. Right. And get Fluminense and either one of Real Madrid and PSG to come. and all the proceeds from the third place playoff can go straight to Donald Trump without having to be funneled through FIFA first. If it's on that pitch on Cali Road with all the bold patches in the Astro, I'm into it. I'm going to stage it ourselves.

21:51Luke Moore: Yeah, that's good. Apologies to people at Soccer Aid. We do know it's hosted at Old Trafford and not Wembley. Oh, sorry. That's literally the extent of my knowledge of Soccer Aid. Basically, he's been trying for so many years to get an invite to it and you want to pull the rug from under him. What are you doing, Luke? We've got to get behind spells. Come on. Soccer Aid's great because they raise loads of money for charity. Listen, you're all rich and famous. Give the money anyway. It's like when they say, oh, you know, when a millionaire dentist from America goes to Africa and shoots a fucking rhino for a million dollars because it raises money for conservation.

22:27Just give the money anyway.

22:28Luke Moore: Oh, right. Yeah, just give the money anyway. And then we haven't got to put up with fucking watching the base player from fucking the 1975 put a fucking goal past you know someone from Love Island I don't want it on the telly alright turn your telly off then I do so I didn't know it was at Old Trafford well as I as I tried to say it seems like a while ago the Club World Cup wasn't the only tournament underway yesterday the Champions League got underway the qualification began on Tuesday Never-ending story. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. The never-ending story. Is that what happened? Did some 80s kid find a book in the back of an old bookshop and opened it and it was cursed and now we have to watch Champions League football forever and ever until a horse dies?

23:19Luke Moore: I think so, yeah. Also, I think it was the quarter-final of the Scottish League Cup. It wasn't, it wasn't. So, 28 teams are in action this week in the Champions League qualifiers. I mean, what a sentence on the 9th of July, that is. You'll be pleased to know that Gibraltar champions, Lincoln Redimps are involved. Yeah. Did they beat Brendan Rodgers Celtic at one point? No, they beat Rangers. Did they? Yeah. I knew there was some kind of notable result against the Scottish team. Yeah. this time they faced Faroe Island side Viking Gore Redimps won the first leg 3-2 away in the Faroe Islands how about that everybody what a game yeah they've got a player called Lee Cassiaro who's 43 and he's played for the Redimps since 1998 hats off to him that's Matt Letizia levels of loyalty it's amazing because he's 43 and he's still doing it and he's played for Lincoln Redimps his whole career and he's got 66 caps for Gibraltar as well.

24:28But the fact that he's still doing it as a forward at 43 does tend to imply that maybe 15 years ago, he might have been a much better player and therefore could have played for a better team than Incan Red Ibs.

24:42Luke Moore: He made his debut in 1998. It's incredible, isn't it? He has the record for most titles with one club, 60 of the buggers. So you're right. Could he have left? 60 titles? 60 trophies? Incredible, isn't it? And I think, you know, one might say, could he have left? But Andy, it's the kind of loyalty that you just don't see in football much these days. It's a fairy tale. Yeah, it is. And I think you have to bear in mind the standards when you go back to 1998 of Gibraltarian football as well. I mean, remember when they entered the international arena, a lot of them had to be bought boots before their first UEFA qualifier.

25:19So, yeah, they've come a long way. and look, some big boys are involved as well. Some traditional names are involved as well. So in this first qualifying round, we have FCSB, the artist formerly known as Stauberka Rest. So Bacali's boys are involved tonight, I believe. Shakhtar Donetsk are playing in the first round of the Europa League as well on Thursday night. So when Luke started his song, and I always love to hear Luke sing, as you know, it's not without reason. some of you will have been sitting there going oh yeah but it's all teams that no one's heard of not true I'll tell you what Scotland would have heard of Lee Cassiaro because he scored a goal at Hampden in a competitive game once so that will undoubtedly be the highlight of his career yeah yeah

26:04Luke Moore: I know I'm mentioning this for good footballing reasons Luke right coming up after this Newcastle United close in on a Nottingham Forest star

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27:20Hi, it's Mark Bittman from the podcast Food with Mark Bittman. It's back to school time, which means many of us are going to be busier than ever. But from getting out the door in the morning to enjoying delicious meals together at the end of the day, Whole Foods Market can help with convenient options and delivery. Plus, because it's Whole Foods Market, you can feel good about the quality of the ingredients. Shop back-to-school must-haves at Whole Foods Market in-store or online.

28:13Or now at Wayfair.com.

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28:54Luke Moore: It's mad how quick it changed. Did it? Yeah. So, like, for me to go in with Duncan, obviously Stubbsy, obviously all of them who I grew up watching, and to then go and play with them, and train with them every day and play with them, and then so quickly I remember thinking these are crap well we're back to the football our world everybody it's one of my favourite quotes from football in general same it's so good and it really reminds me of that great Ian Wright quote as well when he said when he was when he got a trial with Crystal Palace it was obviously where he started his professional career but he'd been playing like recreational football grassroots football and he'd been going around doing trials and so on and when he got there and he managed to, as I say, get the trial.

29:41Luke Moore: He was playing with some of the big boys and he just said, I couldn't believe how slow they were. I love that so much. It's like, here we go, it's party time. Right, anyway, where were we? Newcastle United, they're closing in on Anthony Alanga. They've agreed a deal with Nottingham Forest worth£52.5 million plus bonuses. Forest initially rejected a£45 million bid in June. I feel like that was a naughty bid, Luke Moore. for us. Come on, come on. It was a little bit naughty, but I feel like the person we should have the most sympathy for if this goes through is your friend of mine, Mr. Jacob Murphy, who has had probably the season of his career.

30:23I know that we need, you know, top teams need competition for places and there's competition, different competitions to be fought for next season. But it's such a, that's the lot of a football player, isn't it? You are, one minute you're the guy and you're getting a match of the day kind of VTs about what a great season you're having. And the next day, they're bringing in a player for loads of money in your position and you've got to fight again really hard to get it. I think, you know, that option for them is great from a Newcastle point of view if they get the deal done. Langer's brilliant. He's really fast.

30:56He's really direct. His numbers are good. He's clearly a really talented player, one of the standout players in the Premier League last season. So I guess if he wants to go, history tells us that there's not much chance of him staying.

31:10Luke Moore: Andy, what do you reckon of this? Because to me, that's a great sign. And it's a shame for the Murphy lovers among us, of which I know you count yourself as one. I think it's a good thing. Give us some hope. Realistically, they are hoping to make a better fist of the season. A season in which they still play quite well. Of course, they've scored a record amount of goals in the season before last, where they didn't make Europe. But, you know, they look weary at various points. And the squad does still have a little whiff of Mike Ashley about it, which is something that they need to get rid of because some of those players are still from those times.

31:48Now, the fact that they've been able to succeed, really without going anywhere near mad in the last couple of transfer windows, it's really because Eddie Howe's such a good coach and he's made many of those players who, some of them didn't even look Premier League serviceable if we're being perfectly honest and Jacob Murphy would probably fall into that and with a combination of his hard work and how's coaching players like him have become really really good performers at a good level I don't think it's reasonable to ask him to play every one of the following 60 games though that they will be hoping to play next season and I would actually back Newcastle to do alright in the Champions League.

32:31I mean, you think they've... They're probably looking at 10 games minimum. And then you add the cups to that. It's a lot of time. Look, they've been after a longer for a really long time. They've saved up, as we all did as children, to get the things that we really wanted. And I think it feels like... It feels like a better deal for Newcastle than it does for Forrest, to me, to be perfectly honest. Marcus, he always plays as well. he's like he's almost ever present right and and that feeds in again into what Andy's saying you know you're going to be fighting on more fronts and a higher level again next season obviously it's no good having a player who isn't always available Lange's featured in every Premier League game for Forest last season in some kind of capacity and was effective so um yeah clearly you want to crack you want to crack at the Champions League right yeah definitely I think

33:24Luke Moore: I think it's a great sign. And I think with what Eddie Howe wants from his players, to be powerful, pacey, work their socks off, all that kind of stuff, I think he's a good fit. And, you know, obviously we talk about Murphy and so on, but Andy's right. They need more strength and depth. They need to raise the floor of that side as well. Alanga improves that squad. He maybe even improves the starting 11 because you would imagine he'll start more than Murphy on that right side if that's kind of how they want to play, which I suspect they will. So I think it's an excellent signing. Good news all round, though, is that Manchester United are due to receive a significant sell-on fee, apparently 15 % of the transfer.

34:05Luke Moore: You see, this is good, actually, because I think if you look at Manchester United's difficulties in selling the players that they really don't want, so Rashford, Garnaccio, to lesser extent Jadon Sancho, although it looks like they might get that over the line sometime in the next week. that was a plan that was never a proper plan. Whereas actually, the thing that's going to work for Ineos is the fact that they're going to get a sell-on from Alanga. They're going to get a big sell-on from Antonio Carreras when he leaves Benfica and joins Real Madrid in the next couple of weeks as well. You're looking at probably 10 million plus there as well.

34:43So, yeah, finally some good news. It's good news for Manchester United. It's terrible news for those who had the temerity to question Man Utd's transfer policy. They're noticeable by their silence at the moment, aren't they? Man Utd are getting 15 % of 50-odd million for doing nothing. Exactly. It's absolute Ratcliffe ball, that. Great to see. This is like how the bikes in London are called Boris bikes when he had nothing to do with setting up the scheme. It's proper Ratcliffe ball. Proper Ratcliffe ball is, what it means in reality is having to start training late because the training ground's flooded and then having a really dry cheese sandwich afterwards.

35:25Luke Moore: Count me in for the cheese sandwich. Now, speaking of Nottingham Forest, after rumours linking them with Lyon's Malek Fofana, there was some speculation that they were deliberately trying to help Lyon stay at Ligue 1 and the Europa League in order to get rid of Crystal Palace from the competition. What do you think of that, Luke? I don't think Maranakis would do that. I think you're out of order even suggesting it. And he's about to throw fire to this conspiracy theory. It's all part of the specialist special relationship in European football, isn't it? Between Lyon and Nottingham Forest, which if Lyon's relegation is confirmed, that might be a bit of a problem for Nottingham Forest because they won't have the tax, the money, to pay 31 million for Moussa Diacate anymore.

36:13Luke Moore: Well, I mentioned earlier that Newcastle bidding for a Santana Langa in June for£45 million. A bit of a naughty bid. How about this for a naughty bid? Spurs put in a£50 million bid for West Ham wing and Mohamed Kudus. West Ham turned it down, and they were reportedly unimpressed by the add-ons Spurs included in their offer. West Ham want a guaranteed£60 million for Kudus. But reportedly, Spurs'£50 million and the add-ons would only be triggered if Spurs won the Premier League or the Champions League. you gotta hand it to them yeah it got to the final a few years ago listen have a bit of respect we just won the Europa League we're going up we know how to win trophies now these are the add-ons my friend yeah there are tons of add-ons you're gonna get yours we're gonna get ours and we're sad I like the idea that they've offered 50 million pound for a player from a rival club who cost them 40 million pound yeah like it's not the most lucrative like attractive offer is it but i guess i guess at some point the deal will be will be done but i mean spurs just doing the usual thing they do and and trying to get it as cheap as possible and the problem is like levy does this type of stuff and he has put his hand in his pocket in like recent years but he always seems to not be able to keep control of the pr and it just further adds fuel to the fire that he's the type of guy that he seems to be when it comes to business maybe having said that West Ham could basically just be seeding this out to try and get more money I suppose I think that is it really I mean the detail is ludicrous and ludicrously funny and thank goodness they did it but on the other hand if we're looking at the actual numbers forget the bonuses for a bit how much should Spurs realistically be playing for goodness I don't know because you're looking at a player who the idea of him is much better than him at this point.

38:16I think that's a fair comment. Yeah, I think it's a semi-fair point. I mean, what I mean by that is it's possibly a little bit harsh on him because season before last he was good. Last season he dropped off, but then West Ham kind of dropped off at a bit more of a tumultuous season. And what I would say about Kudos is when he's in an environment where the team are thriving, he's decent. His ceiling's pretty high and he's also super versatile. you look at the different positions he's played for West Ham over the last year or two he's played through the middle off the left he's played off the right as well he's become a bit of a Swiss Army knife and I don't know if they'll want to play him like that if he does move but I think that he's definitely got a high C and got a lot of potential I just feel like we've seen enough of him to know he'd be good if he's in the right environment now I'm not saying Spurs is the right environment because who knows right who knows what's going to happen it's a brand new coach and last season in the Premier League, they were pretty desperate.

39:15So we'll see, but I think he's earned enough, you know, enough kind of currency to have been forgiven a kind of average season last season in a fairly poor side. I think the other side to that from the Tottenham perspective is why not test West Ham out a bit? You know they need the money. They can't do anything until they get the money on board.

39:39Luke Moore: Indeed. All right, gentlemen, coming up after this, Will Manchester United make the documentary that we all want to see?

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41:45Luke Moore: Welcome back to the Ramble, everybody. Yes, now Magic United have reportedly scrapped plans for a brand new all or nothing documentary, which would have made them more than 10 million pounds. It would have been the most Amazon has paid for an all or nothing documentary. Incredible that Ruben Amarim and the boys didn't go for this. but according to reports the club decided that the cameras could negatively impact performances on the pitch and therefore Amarim and co were not comfortable with it and that's gutting for Sir Jim it's not just the most money potentially paid by Amazon for one of these it's the first one that's going to sit in their true crime section as well

42:24this is beyond the power from Man United they've had some pretty poor decisions over the last year or two I forgive some of them I can't forgive this you need you owe it to us think of the content producers around the world we need to see this this would be more worth watching Andy yeah do you not reckon part of it is Amarim's like probably watched well he's definitely watched the Spurs one hasn't he and he thought Pochettino didn't last very long in that I don't really fancy like boxing up my stuff in October or wondering who they would bring in you know would they bring Mourinho back to give it a boost because the sense at the time wasn't it that maybe Spurs have made this, even what at the time seemed like quite an unusual move of bringing in Mourinho just to give the Amazon documentary a bit of a boost.

43:12Luke Moore: I tell you what. There's no way. There's not enough money to be spent there, or is there? I don't know. Yeah, I think it's a real shame because these are the documentaries that are worth watching because when you watch them and they're essentially kind of PR exercise, I know they're all PR exercises, but when it's all polished and professional and everything's going well and da-da-de-da, that's why people love the Sunderland Till I Die one there was this will be yeah the problem is though the all or nothing ones are far more sanitised than Sunderland Till I Die was yeah but there's only so much you can sanitise at Man United at the moment you can't and that's probably why I'm not doing it that's probably why I'm not doing it because there will be all sorts of complicated processes around sign off and editorial control and that kind of thing and I don't reckon United run a tight enough ship to go anywhere near something acceptable it's not going to embarrass them around the world even further and to their minimal credit i suppose they probably realized that and they think you know it's no good earning 10 million pound from a documentary series if you're going to have hundreds of millions wiped off your value by you know shit in your pants every episode yeah that's a sponsorship with you know kleenex or something like that or some sort of but we live in you know i think that'll be something quite different mark oh yeah i was gonna say yeah i couldn't think of it charming that was one what about Bounty, the strongest opica-upper.

44:32Luke Moore: Was that what I can't? I was the Taste of Paradise. I'm getting confused. Anyways, it's not going to happen, Andy. It seems to be the case, which is a great shame. Let's start a petition. It is a great shame. Yeah, but I think they probably thought to themselves, and I think this is the kind of chats they would have in the Man United boardroom at the moment. They thought, what would the football ramble want? They'd want the documentary. Right, let's not do the documentary. And that's the end of that. And I think, given Amarim's frankness, it's a shame that he's put the he's he's put the mockers on it because he's i think the reason why it would be so watchable there's no way he's agreeing to it no no totally but i think you know when you look at you know i guess you'd see some of sir jim ratcliffe and it would be as luke says like laughable and presumably they've got at least one pr professional in who said No, no, no, no.

45:24We can't allow you to do this. Ratcliffe couldn't get through 40 minutes with Gary Neville. No. Without completely shit in the bed. Exactly. Exactly. I mean, it should have been like watching Graham Hick batting for Worcestershire in the early 90s. And it ended up looking like Prince Andrew on fucking news night is what it ended up looking like.

45:42Luke Moore: Yeah, it was. Lovely cricket reference there. I'm sure Vish appreciated that one. Well, gentlemen, on the subject of questionable owners, we spoke at length on the mailbag yesterday about Sheffield Wednesday's plight. So do give that a listen, because if you're unaware of what's going on with Sheffield Wednesday at the moment, I mean, it is truly quite shocking. Last night, MPs in the House of Commons voted to establish an independent regulator to oversee the men's game in England's top five divisions, which is good news. The legislation will give powers to a body that is separate to the government and football authorities because its aim will be to ensure the financial sustainability of football clubs.

46:22Luke Moore: Now, I know yesterday, Luke, that you said, you know, it's hard to unring a bell. And I think those sentiments are fair enough. But this is good news, though. I didn't say it's hard to unring a bell. I say it's impossible to. You can't unring a bell quite literally. Indeed. I've yet to see someone do it. But yeah, it's good news, but the caveat for me would just be, we don't know the detail of what powers they've got, what teeth they're going to have and how sharp they are, right? So it depends on the detail of how much power the independent regulator will actually have, what they can demand from clubs, what they can see, what they can't see, how it's actually going to work and when it's going to be implemented.

47:05And I don't think those details have become clear yet. but it's a positive step as you rightly say I mean football has shown you know empirically over the last couple of decades or whatever it is now that they can't keep their own house in order so they need to be able to do so the fear the fear I have for it is just that the Premier League is tremendously powerful and it knows its own power and it knows how culturally significant it is around the world as an export and how important it is to the UK and so it's all very well having a regulator but it depends what they what power they can wield over what is undeniably one of the most powerful organisations in the UK so look it's great it's a good positive step it was something you can tell it's a positive step as you mentioned or you alluded to yesterday Marcus it's a positive step and you know why it is because the Premier League fought two for now for literally years to stop it happening so that tells you what everything you you need to know about the principle of it we just need to wait and see what the detail is.

48:10Exactly. That's it entirely, Luke. I think you put it all brilliantly, but I think you do look at the people who are against it, like John Texter, for example. I don't really want to go back to him, but he went on a big rant about the worst thing that could be happening to English football is they wanted to bring in an independent regulator because it'd stop basically cowboys like me doing whatever we want. And the worst thing that actually could happen to English football is people like you being involved. That's exactly it. But I think going back to briefly to what you were talking about yesterday, you just have to look at the numbers in League One, which at the moment it looks like where Sheffield Wednesday are going to end up in the near future and League Two.

48:55And the level of unsustainability, I think, is absolutely staggering, really. I mean, you look at, like, Carlisle United, who recently had a US takeover. They've had successive relegations. They had the highest wage bill in League Two last season and managed to get relegated. You know, I think it's clear that the fit and proper person's test in the Premier League and in the EFL is not really doing what it should. I feel like the financial model of football is totally, totally out of control. And as Luke says, I mean, we can talk about the Premier League being a great export. For me, as I've said time and time again on here, I think one of the things, maybe the thing we have the most to be proud of as a football nation is the fact that we have clubs that are driven, champions, supported by their communities all the way down.

49:55And a lot of them are looking down the barrel of not existing anymore in the near future because it's just a mess and something needs to be done. It's not just about the Premier League. And the fit and proper person test is a really interesting thing because we all know what we think about it and we've joked about it before and remarked about how unfit for purpose it is, ironically itself, right? But the point about that, I think, is when you look at the detail on it, is that it feels to me that the fit and proper person test needs to almost necessarily be watered down and encouraging of people coming in.

50:30Because invariably, these people who are coming in are coming in to save football clubs. And so if you make the fit and proper person test too stringent, you necessarily limit the pool of the potential investors who can come in. and therefore clubs go to the wall, which is a disaster for so many different reasons. Therefore, the step that people take is they say, we'll have the fit and proper person test like this because we'd rather take a chance that a wealthy person is going to be a good person rather than essentially condemn a football club, a community asset to no longer existing. So the fit and proper person test is kind of a, the way that it works is kind of a canary in the mine.

51:07The problem is the mine is full of poison gas, right? Yeah, and also, really, it shouldn't be just about, you know, what have you done before? Have you got any criminal convictions? Have you run businesses into the ground before? Football is a business completely apart from any other. And we've seen that with owner after owner after owner who think, my business is successful, therefore, I will apply those exact same principles to football. And it simply doesn't work. And they simply don't have a handle or understanding on how to make a football club succeed. and by the time you've worked that out it's too late you know the club or various clubs are in a mess and we can't have more berries No so now exactly now what we need to see is we need to see the detail we need to know who's going to spearhead it who's going to be involved in the regulator what their credentials are how they're going to work and the powers they've got because it's all very good for you know Lisa Nani to stand up and make a kind of quite bombastic speech about how much it's a great day for football and list all the clubs that have been in trouble and why this regulator is there to stop that happening again.

52:10But we need to see the detail on it now. And once we see that, we'll be able to assess it properly. I'm cynical about it, but then, you know, why wouldn't you be given what's happened in the past? So we'll see.

52:21Luke Moore: I think you're probably right to be cynical about it. Don't count your chickens, et cetera, et cetera. Well, MPs also voted down a motion to have 10 Premier League games on free-to-air TV each season. And I know that some, well, evidently a minority of MPs, a very small minority of MPs were quite passionate about this to see Premier League games on free-to-air TV, but it's not happening. Luke, they voted that down. Were you surprised? Or disappointed, maybe? Well, my broad take on it, and I don't actually know in detail what the Premier League themselves position was on this. I mean, I suspect they probably fought against it, but I actually think that's quite self sorry quite short-sighted of them if they did and I think it would have been a good move to do 10 games basically look at like what one a month I think I'm right and certain they have that in Spain and France and other places that one a game one game a month or something is on free to wear but Andy better for the detail on that but my take though is that if you look at the viewing figures for the Premier League and for the Champions League on TNT obviously for those who are listening outside of the UK Premier League is almost exclusively on Sky Sports.

53:32We have a package that's on TNT and then TNT exclusively have European football for the most part. The amount of money the Premier League are able to command for this, effectively for this content, it goes up here deal on deal. But actually last season, the viewing figures were pretty dangerously down. And I think that there's probably a load of different reasons for that that you don't necessarily have to go into now. Now, but I actually thought that if the Premier League could, you know, effectively arrange for a free-to-air option in a minimal way that gives almost a taste of the biscuit to people who haven't taken the plunge for football on Sky because it's punitively expensive or they perhaps don't want to make that decision because they're not as into it, it could serve as a really effective marketing tool from the Premier League's point of view.

54:20Now, look, I'm not here to do Premier League's marketing for them and they don't need me. But to me, it feels like a bit of a short-sighted thing. I think it would have perhaps gone some way to arrest the sliding viewing figures. The motivation that the MPs had for voting against this motion is probably slightly different. But to me, I think it would have been a good thing. I think it would have been great to take the national sport and get more people to watch it, because I think that seems like the fair thing to do. And I think it would have worked for everyone, actually, if you think about it properly.

54:53But it's not happened. Yeah, I mean, few overseas countries do free-to-air games or free-to-air league games. So the exception, the main exception being Germany. I think 10 is quite a high number. So if you're aiming towards three and five, which is, say, the Bundesliga marker, I think that makes a lot of sense. I agree. I think in terms of, it's something that, I know this is separate because MPs have voted against it And as you say, we wait to hear what the Premier League's view on it or their reasoning towards it would be. But really, the Premier League has been a bit slow with this, I think, behind not just the Bundesliga, but if you compare it to American sports, which I think really the Premier League would probably put itself more in line with.

55:42That idea that, you know, this is what's happening. Why don't you come and join the party? To me, that seems obvious. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's just a great way of advertising your product, which the viewing figures, as Luke says, are not nearly as big as they should be at the moment. I know we kind of live in an environment, and our audience too, where we're a community that love football and think about it all the time. And you can assume that everyone is like that and everyone's got Sky or TNT or both or whatever, but it's expensive for people. And I think you really have to encourage people to make that commitment.

56:22Luke Moore: I think that they... I think they could all take a leaf out of the zones book and make the whole competition free to air. Forever. Once again, trailblazing that they are. Be sure to close your accounts once the Club World Cup's open, if indeed you haven't opened them, though. But no, appreciate your thoughts there, gentlemen. And I think it will wrangle on this stuff because the money men do not like being told what to do and how to do it. Anyway, let's get away from the money men. Club World Cup, PSG versus Real Madrid. myself and David Cartledge will be bringing you a brand new Ramble react straight after this game so don't miss out I mean it it is a big game no matter how much you you you scrutinize that tournament and we should whatever way you cut it this is a big game and a lot of the talk is about Kieran Mbappe coming up against his I'm going to say old employers because it very much felt like that towards the end of his time there bearing in mind he filed a moral harassment case against them for the way he was treated when he revealed his desire to leave in 2023.

57:20Luke Moore: Although, according to Le Keep, he dropped that case on Tuesday. Andy, is this the Kylian Mbappe derby that we did or didn't need in this competition? A hundred percent. And moral harassment case or not, I think he's far more bothered about the 55 million that he says they still owe him. That's a lot, that, isn't it? Yeah. That's a lot of money. An awful lot of money. Very, very tough to let that go. Prize money for this tournament. Yeah, exactly. it's half of it isn't it look i know that i know the modern world isn't great with nuance and and certainly killing and bapé's reputation has suffered a little bit from that he's always been quite like the argument i've got over the people who own psg not with psg not with my former teammates of course we know he's best he's with uh ashraf hakimi and and all that but yeah there's there's no other way of framing it really is there and i guess the other side of that is the fact that obviously he was really unwell at the start of the tournament.

58:20He was hospitalised. He's only been gradually put back bit by bit into the team. He's not actually started a game yet, so I'd be interested to see if he starts. But he looked fire when he came on against Dortmund. So the idea that A, he'll have plenty in the tank and he'll be really up for this, and B, they've got two of their defenders suspended, of course. William Pacho, who was their best defender last season, and Luca Hernandez. It's also the next chapter in the world's most horrendous new European football rivalry, isn't it? Because you've got the old money of Real Madrid, 15 European titles and the new money of PSG, one European title finally.

59:00And Real Madrid, of course, will be desperate to not feel like there's been some kind of symbolic handing over of the baton in European football to PSG. So they'll be, I mean, I don't know if it quite translates to the players, but you can, you know, bet your bollocks to a barn dance that the ownership at Real Madrid and the powers that be will be desperate to not lose to PSG because they will want to avoid any talk of the fact that there's new kids on the block now and all the rest of it. So that's tedious for the rest of us. Whoever wins, we lose. It's Alien versus Predator. But put your feet up and front of the telly and have a good time.

59:34That's what I'd say.

59:34Luke Moore: And listen to David and I pick the bones out of it after the game for Ramble of Reacts. I mean, whatever happens, they are two huge clubs in European football, world football, damn it all, It's going to be a, the result is going to send shockwaves through a small part of wherever the stadium is based. And the winner of the game will manage to conspire to lose Chelsea in the final. I'm telling you, I am telling you. So yeah, we, we look forward to that, I suppose. So one thing we are looking forward to later today is that the Lionesses are back in action in the Euros, of course. Yeah. They face the Netherlands.

1:00:10Luke Moore: It's, it really is a must win game if they want to keep their group dequalification hopes are live. If they draw, they're still in it, but if you think about it and look at all the permutations, they really, really need a win here. Do catch Chloe and Rachel's reaction tomorrow over on Upfront because, yeah, it's a huge game. It really is for the Lionesses. So I wish them all the best of luck and thank you very much for listening to the Football Ramble, part of the ACAST Creator Network. Patreon subscribers don't go anywhere. Keep listening for Ramble Uncut and if you're not a Patreon subscriber, sign up to get Ramble Uncut every single Wednesday.

1:00:45Luke Moore: Head over to patreon.com forward slash football ramble now. There we are. Thank you very much, Luke Moore. Thank you very much. Thank you, Andy Brassel. Thank you. And good luck to the Linus tonight.

1:01:04Luke Moore: The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

1:01:40We'll be right back. details.

1:02:14Hi, Pod fans. Max Rushton here from the chart-topping Guardian Football Weekly Podcast. Don't like to crow. If you enjoyed the World Cup with us, you'll be glad to know we're back for the new Premier League season. Expect three episodes a week, questionable predictions, and the biggest stories in soccer from the Premier League to the Champions League and beyond. Watch now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Jack Ravici, Kramer host of The Best One Yet. At T-Boy, we're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated.

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