Summer Series: Pete Pete Pete Pete Pete Pete (feat. James Allcott)

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3:47Pete Donaldson: Hello everybody, it's a thrilling Thursday here at the Football Ramble and it's the last of our Summer Series with that guy James Alcott! Hello! Hello Jamesy! Yes, I'm not Jamie Carragher! Put your team down! Sorry! Sorry! How are you? Very well. Not some of the cot, we've got all of the cot today. All the time. There we go. There we go. I mean, we've got a proper football match to talk about, you lucky thing. No!

4:12Jim Campbell: We've been stretching out half an hour like you wouldn't believe. But today we've got football match to talk about.

4:18Pete Donaldson: You've not had to watch Golden Shoes as prep. Yeah, you've missed Pete's Film Club. You're lucky sod. But we've got, it's not just any football match. It's a super cup. A super duper cup. I'm not as far as to say. Yes, indeed. What's your general feeling on the word super within football? I don't mind it if the next word is cup. If super is used as a word for very, then I don't do that. If others do, I don't lose any sleep over it. There was a period where there was this idea that certain teams needed a super coach. A super manager. Oh, super agent. Yeah. And I just, I absolutely hate it. The more supers, the more likely we're headed towards a super league, in my opinion.

4:59Super spreading.

5:00Pete Donaldson: Could be. That's the main catalyst. So with use of the word super there, do you feel that super has been replaced with elite? Elite coaches, elite who are elite class. Elite basics. Elite basics, elite training grounds. I think super's a sh... Can I swear? Yeah. It's a football round. Yeah, sorry. I thought so. Super's a shit word for elite. Oh, James. But ultimately it's saying it's just like, it's a crap word to say I'm better than you. Yes. Yeah. Which is nonsense because a super manager like Jose Mourinho, who obviously is at Real Madrid now, but he can end up at any club and he can also fail.

5:40So this idea that someone's immediately super, so if you get the super coach, everything's going to be fine. It's just, it's an opportunity to create a distance and create a gap.

5:48Jim Campbell: It's a bit of pass ag, isn't it? It's kind of like if I'm in an argument and someone says, yeah, no, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm super, I'm super. No, I don't think he is fine, actually.

5:55Pete Donaldson: Pass ag. Passive aggressive. I know what it is. What's happened to you? What do you mean?

5:59Jim Campbell: What's wrong with that? Come on. Why?

6:02Pete Donaldson: What's wrong with the same past time? He's a busy man. I'm a busy man. True enough.

6:05Jim Campbell: Even the Super League, the actual leagues within it, none of them were called the Super League. The top one was the Star League. Yes. Which everyone was saying was very Mario Kart.

6:13Pete Donaldson: The Super League was the one that Arsenal tried to do.

6:14Jim Campbell: That's right. Yeah, absolutely. It was a missed opportunity. But there is something to be said for like, in my heart, just seeing the word UEFA in a... Is it nice to be back? I don't know. UEFA Cup. I've got to deal with the Super in the middle, but UEFA Cup's back, guys. We're circling the wagons as well, aren't we? It's like we're all team UEFA right now. Yeah, UEFA are the good guys, aren't they? Yeah, yeah.

6:33Pete Donaldson: If you don't look over there or there or there or there. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Often the good guys are, you know, found by who are the worst guys. Are you talking about the A-team? No, that's the reverse, isn't it? No, I'm not talking about the A-team. I want to talk about the A-team. But we'll talk about the match. It was a UEFA Super Cup. PSG won it again. Unai Emery lost it again. And for a moment, I thought he was on for it here. The PSG won 2-1, of course, against Aston Villa. but this was a good game they were fantastic I mean James if you look at the they were if you looked at the two lineups you could be forgiven for thinking they're not going to get a paste in here yeah I mean I had to look up a couple of them Hemmings and Madjo who both are really really exciting in pre-season when I'm sort of doing my swatting up on on the different teams for Villa they're looking at him as you know a real option for them this season but you know you step into a game like that the Super Cup it's not just a cup It's a Super Cup.

7:28And you think this could be pretty grim, but I thought it highlighted probably how conditioning is important in football. Because it felt like Vettinia, who I love, I thought was really, really struggling throughout the game. Maybe because they're kind of knackered as much as anything else.

7:46Pete Donaldson: But I thought Villa were great. I thought Villa were great. They were. And I appreciate you. Last summer as well, when they played Spurs, they needed penalties. Spurs nearly had them. And I understand totally the point you made there, that PSG, yeah, those players, didn't play as many minutes as we know compared to Arsenal in the Champions League final but they still had long seasons, the better World Cup. As I say, tiredness is a thing despite how much money they make and I understand again they're probably looking at this thinking, oh, another Super Cup, it's not really what we're about. No, I don't think PSG look at it like that.

8:16Jim Campbell: I think they want to hoover up absolutely everything while they can and certainly dominance.

8:20Pete Donaldson: But as in the idea of them maybe not putting in their best performance in this game, I think we can maybe understand slightly. However, you've got to take it as it happened and Aston Villa again missing some of their bigger players Konza, Watkins, Martinez given extra time obviously their new signing Manzabi was injured so what did you think Jim? because the game starts and it kind of the pattern started to take shape as we would have expected

8:44Jim Campbell: yeah I think it feels like even though Villa sort of pushed them certainly kind of later on in the second half when they were sort of fighting to get back into it it does feel like this PSG era is still in full swing, doesn't it? Could have gone through a few more gears, you reckon? Yeah, I mean, I'm sure, you know, once they kind of get back to what they're, get back in the rhythm of playing regularly, they'll be the same force in the Champions League they have been in the last two seasons as well, because it is ultimately two really magic moments from Kovac Scalier and from Douay. Like the first, oh, excuse me, got emotional there, is a really funny one.

9:22Jim Campbell: It brings back bad memories. We should have been there. The first goal is an interesting one because it looks like Marco Bizot is at fault at first, but it's just when Kovac-Gele hits it. He hits it so early, doesn't he? And he's expecting to go one way and he has to go the other. And the Duhay goal, the curl on that, is really, really exquisite as well. He's made that look quite a bit more simple than it is, I think. And to beat Villa's off side trap in the way that he did as well, with a very close run, it's just these moments that are leaked, I suppose. There's a strength in the weakness of it, I think.

9:55They didn't totally seem themselves, but you still had two moments of individual brilliance that you kind of go, well, that is the difference if it doesn't feel like it's totally going your way. Because, yeah, like you say, I thought Villa were good. There's so many chances.

10:07Jim Campbell: Maggio had a chance before as well. The defender, he pushed the defender to the ground. Oh, my goodness. Screws it wide and stuff. What is the national dish of Luxembourg? Pre-workout. He's massive. He's 17 and he's massive.

10:18Pete Donaldson: He's absolutely enormous. I mean, he once described by a Luxembourgish journalist as a very tall guy built like a rock, athletic and technically interesting. You ever been described like that? Technically interesting.

10:30Jim Campbell: I don't think anyone's ever been described as interesting. No. Technically. Definitely want to see more of him this season. And right now, thank you. He looks like an absolute weapon. He really does, doesn't he? But it's the age of the big fuck-off striker, isn't it? It's like, he'll get there. Just need three more years of Harry Kane and this guy can step up.

10:49Pete Donaldson: Jim, I didn't think of that!

10:52Jim Campbell: He's got three caps for Luxembourg. But he's now declared... Sorry, Luxembourg. Sorry, Matt. You're quite simply too small and too rich.

10:59Pete Donaldson: We'll take it from here. He's obviously now declared for England because he's been playing for the England under-17s because he was born here. I think he's got Cameroonian parents. They moved to Luxembourg when he was quite young and obviously come back. But Unai Emery was very keen to sign him in January and they said, we can't sign somebody who's from abroad under the age of 18. They're like, he's from here, he's born here, he's born here. And eventually that kind of went through and obviously Villa got him. But again, you're looking at that starting lineup, you think, okay, he looks quite a good player.

11:30Pete Donaldson: My goodness. Again, I understand PSG are not fully at the races here because the season hasn't started, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But to do what he was doing to Marquinhos and Paco, ridiculous. I mean, that one where he ended up, the ball ended up hitting the post and it was a phenomenal block by Pacho actually the way he got back up and just managed to get a slight touch on it but the way he just pushed him over like it was

11:53Jim Campbell: it was unbelievable he pushed him over in a way that was his strength rather than him committing a foul which is a hell of a tight line yeah

12:00Pete Donaldson: I mean there were a couple of chances that he probably felt he might have done better with a couple of headers and whatnot but he was an absolute thorn in PSG's side he's got a lovely goal James as well yeah the hardest chance that he had of all the chances. Do you know what I felt like watching that first half? I thought the sort of strengths that you have, I can kind of see the rest of your career, like in this half. People are going to love you for your strength, your physicality. They're also going to, people are going to end up calling him a donkey at times for the exact same reasons, which I just thought was really interesting where you could see that at 17, you want to lord him and everything's fine.

12:41I think the 24-year-old version... When he's gone to Chelsea, yeah? Yeah, where he doesn't hit the ground running, there'll be a moment where fans... Because, again, at 17, you go, no, keep going, keep going. I think when he gets a little bit older, you've got to hope that...

12:56Jim Campbell: The chaos gets narrowed down a little bit. Yeah.

12:58Pete Donaldson: But I think, going back to that quote, technically interesting, but also Unai Emery said that he takes on information very quickly. That's great. And so it's not just harking back to sort of yesteryear, as you're kind of saying there. I mean, there have been comparisons. Some will say they're lazy. Although I do understand the comparisons with Romelu Lukaku. I think that's fair. Who's had that sort of tag before, hasn't he? You know, you look at his international scoring record, it's phenomenal. And obviously played for some huge clubs. And yet, and understandably, I don't want to start, you know, trying to be wise after a lot of his career, has had his critics.

13:33Jim Campbell: Do you not think that the age of football now is that we can deal with these kind of footballers? Do you know what I mean? Maybe we played a very different kind of football when Lukaku and Benteke and stuff were playing. He's kind of like, well, we could probably deal with like... Just fizz the balls into them, like use them a bit more. Yeah, just shoot them. And they're, you know, just a bit better, I think, with a ball at their feet. I think those kind of like large strikers.

13:55Pete Donaldson: Well, imagine. But that's the modern game, isn't it? You know, that's why Aston Villa won't be 17 for crying out loud. He broke Patrick Kluivert's record as the youngest scorer in the Super Cup final. Now, I know that's a very specific stat. It's very specific. It does sound good, doesn't it, when you get Patrick Kluiver in it. That's the name, exactly. When Kluiver's name is in there, I think you have to respect that. But he was brilliant. And I think PSG would have been relieved when he came off the pitch. I think the thing to focus on as well is the goal. Because Pacho's got his arms all over him.

14:24But he's still clever enough and strong enough to deal with a world-class centre-back and have a great technique in that moment. and I think with the way that teams play now sometimes it is transitional but also and I thought he ran about pretty well you can imagine him again at 30 where there's a lot of muscle there and maybe struggling by that point but him just going to the back post and John McGinn who John McGinn's so good John McGinn's so good his sort of crosses into the back post that's that's not going to age no so he's always going to be a threat it'll be interesting to see how much he plays and what that means for Tammy Abraham in all of this kind of similar yeah yeah

15:03Pete Donaldson: Do you think he'd start ahead of Watkins? Probably not, but I think two different options. He might come off the bench ahead of Abraham, which is what the opportunity is going to be for him this season. Yeah, and Watkins hasn't always started for Villa, you know, in sort of recent seasons. Champions League as well, right? Yeah, indeed. They've got loads going on this season. And it's interesting because John McGinn spoke of a new Aston Villa ahead of the match. And I know Emery doesn't seem perturbed by the players that they've sold this summer. and his coaching staff have moved on as well and obviously new faces have come in.

15:38Pete Donaldson: But Unai Emery seems to have the bit between his teeth, Jim, as well. And even in this game, again, Villa are unlucky, not at least to get it to penalties. My prediction of a Villa penalty, when I thought when they were coming forward in the late season, I was like, come on, we're off for this still. But obviously not to be. But I don't know, I think Villa will come away thinking, ah, that's a bit of a shame. They will quickly think to themselves, okay, it is only the Super Cup, despite the name, the Europa League was the big one to win. but there's a lot of positives here

16:04Jim Campbell: oh massively I mean you're going to want to win a European trophy right because there just aren't that many of them around even if the Super Cup is an unusual one so they will be disappointed Fulham have won the Intertops absolutely absolutely Arsenal won the Fairs Cup and the Cup Winners Cup as we all remember oh they were proper trophies absolutely but you know Buendia misses that yeah Fulham won the Algarve Cup last time well there we go we could be here all day Buendia missed that chance late on and you could see he was genuinely absolutely gutted to miss it because of that opportunity. But Villa are in a really interesting point where obviously you've mentioned they've sold some key players which would offset some of the financial necessities they have.

16:40Jim Campbell: Good news. Losing Amadou Inanna to injury is terrible news because he's probably going to miss the majority of the season if not the whole thing. But I think it suits Villa to be underestimated a bit. And I think that happens to them every season whatever they achieve. And I think the key figure is Unai Emery who at this point in his career I think can handle absolutely anything. And he's really good at recalibrating squads to play in slightly different ways based on personnel. They've got a really, really good player in Johan Manzambi coming through. They probably have a little bit of business left to do in the window.

17:11Jim Campbell: They've got strength in a couple of areas. But I think it's sort of, it feels like there's a sense that regardless of all the change and the challenges they have, it's probably likely to be business as usual for them, which is that they'll be kind of pushing for the Champions League spots. That was like second choice, centre-back, left-back, goalkeeper. Like defensive midfielder that hadn't played for a while. It's not bad, is it? No, it's not. And I know PSG, like we said, could have gone through the gears, but it was just... They created so many chances against really, really good defenders.

17:37Pete Donaldson: Yeah, and we've talked a lot about Maggio, and we mentioned Hemmings, but he was brilliant. I mean, again, another day he scores, and I know it's only just one game, but it does bode well. And to me, it's just why Emery is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed going into the season. Because as you say, Jim, you remember last season, at the start of last season, it felt like they were a bit of a low ebb. Yeah, and maybe Emery might not last that much longer. I was talking,

17:59Jim Campbell: might have kind of, you know, run out of road a little bit and hit the natural point where a manager's done all they can and need to move on. But no, he's gone past that again. And, you know, being in the Premier League with the budgets available, it's a massive, it's like, it's a really good fit, isn't it? It's a really good match. And I also really enjoyed Alisson, the young Villa player, not the Liverpool goalkeeper, coming on, putting in a cross for, I think it was Ian Martsen and possibly Tammy Abraham. Martsen stopped his run. Yeah, exactly. Neither of them were where they should have been and he was just openly furious.

18:28Jim Campbell: That'll be on me, that. I want an assist. This is my moment.

18:31Pete Donaldson: Yes, indeed. Well, of course, Villa have lost a few players this summer. Yuri Tielemans was talking about this. He obviously moved to Manchester United. He said, I'm very thankful to Aston Villa. I owe them the world. It's a great club. But there are clubs above Villa. The Manchester United is one of them.

18:48Jim Campbell: Just leave that bit out, Yuri. Did he say it like that? Well, he could probably get out there like that.

18:54Pete Donaldson: The tone there was optional, and I chose to take that option. I enjoyed it There are clubs There are a few clubs There are a couple of clubs Yeah But you don't You just say But for me I wanted a new challenge And it was time to move on That's all you've got to say I mean It is quite funny How he's saying That Manchester United Is obviously Above Villa In the commercial sense They are However The night Villa Are playing the Super Cup final Against PSG Manchester United Are beating Leeds on penalties At Croke Park To win the Boyle Sports Cup Well they did win their trophy Which is a trophy that's up for grabs.

19:30Pete Donaldson: And fair play to Manchester United. You can only beat what's put in front of you. However, you achieve what's put in front of you as well.

19:37Jim Campbell: Your cup sounds like a boil being broken apart and spurting out. Is that what it is? It doesn't sound like an attractive proposition. The boil spurts cup. Yeah, true. But they're both in the Champions League.

19:49Pete Donaldson: And I'll tell you something. If I knew Ayemurey, knowing that man as we do, he'll want another crack at the Super Cup. Boy, if you want to do that, win the Champions League. That's what I'd recommend. Manchester United will be trying to do that as well. But talking of penalties, Fulham played Malaga last night away in a friendly. You know in some of the friendlies, like we saw at the Emirates Cup. Yeah, Arsenal did it last night. Yeah, I guess, where you arrange to have a penalty shootout no matter what the result. We've seen this, James. No! There's some friendly games that that's what they do.

20:17Pete Donaldson: Very new, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, so like, Arsenal lost to Borussia Dortmund in the final of the Emirates Cup the other week. Yes. Or the other day.

20:22Jim Campbell: But beat Como last night. Stopped leaving that out. Sorry.

20:25Pete Donaldson: Anti-Super League agenda. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My anti-arsenal agenda is already in full flow, clearly. So let's just have a penalty shoot after because it gives the fans a little something that gives us a bit of practice, right? Right. Which I thought PSG and Aston Villa could have done, but there we are, might have made a mockery of the competition. Anyway, in friendly matches, that's what they do. However, I don't know why Fulham did this. Malaga and Fulham, they drew two all away from home. Fulham were, so that's an away goals win. And Malaga then put the ball on the penalty spot as if they were playing penalties.

20:58Pete Donaldson: But the Fulham players walked off the pitch and then they got booed. And then the Malaga player just went there and put the ball in the empty net and they went away. And a little celebration. And then on Twitter, the official Twitter account for Fulham said, to clarify there was never any arrangement to have a penalty shoot after the game. I love that. Let's do heads and bollies. I don't... Those kind of penalty shooters like that, I don't think there's any good that comes from them. No. Because if you score, it's like, well... And if you don't score, then you just create a little bit of... A little pang of anxiety.

21:30Jim Campbell: And you might have won the match and lost the penalty shootout. You're like, well, we've spent ages doing this. I know. I've ruined it with some kind of varnish. The idea is to... Bad varnish. To practice penalties in a competitive environment. But that's what it's not. There's a crowd. I was at the Arsenal Cogbo game yesterday. it was not a competitive environment. How many Penenka's were there? The Penenka ratio.

21:55Pete Donaldson: You've either got an absolutely top corner here. Yeah. Yeah, anybody, these are penalties you have, you've got a Penenka or try and kiss the bar as it goes in. Yeah, you can't just be doing any old boring bollocks. But anyway, congratulations to Manchester United. Is this a sign of things to come, Peter? Is this a gateway cup for more trophies? Are playing in a team that finished, what were they, 13th, 14th leads?

22:15Jim Campbell: Again, you can only beat what's put in front of the game. You can only beat what's put in front of the game. Yes, it will. They're going to be top of the league by December. Wonderful. Wonderful.

22:23Pete Donaldson: To winning the Boyle Spurts Cup. This game was on ITV, by the way.

22:26Jim Campbell: Yeah. Yeah. Strange one, that, isn't it? I know. I imagine that cost them£10.

22:33Pete Donaldson: Was it a good old£10? A good old£10.

22:35Jim Campbell: Well, I remember when Ant and Dec used to... Didn't they pay for the broadcast rights for a really early round Europa League fixture? Ant and Dick. You had to go around the house. They were in the jungle, I think. And there was a very unlovable European fixture that Newcastle played in. Nobody was showing the football, but they bought the rights. And it was like 10 grand or something. And they showed it exclusively in wherever they were because they wanted to watch the football. In the jungle? In the jungle. I think it was in the jungle. It's probably... This story is probably widely different from where it started, but I'm fairly certain that was because they once bought the rights exclusively to broadcast some football that was like...

23:19Jim Campbell: Not even Satanta wanted it back then. Yeah. Just so they could watch it. Yeah. Just so they could watch it.

23:23Pete Donaldson: That's gone through your mind before, isn't it? Yeah. Well... You should do that. We'll all go around yours and watch... I don't know, like CSK Sophia. Yeah, just buy... I'm still trying to figure out if this is a link into a VPN read.

23:39Pete Donaldson: It could well be. It could well be. Well, let's finish this section with something completely different. We're going to go to South America. The comnable Sudamericana round of 16 has begun. That's the sort of South American Europa League, sort of equivalent, if you like.

23:57Jim Campbell: Why are we talking about this? Is Fizzer involved?

23:58Pete Donaldson: Oi, come on. Show some fucking respect. There we go. There we are, you see. Well, there are... Fizzing. There are certain authorities who were involved in this story. So Sao Paulo travelled to Bolivar, which is in Bolivia, of course, in the first leg, ended 1-1. During the trip, though, Bolivian police reportedly seized more than 86 kilograms of marijuana from a bus bearing Sao Paulo FC branding. Now, everybody has been quick to distance Sao Paulo Football Club from this bus. But I love the fact that they thought, let's slap a little badge on the bus and we'll get away with this.

24:37Jim Campbell: They must have been giddy on how clever they were. But there were only three people on that bus, which is probably a bit of a giveaway, straight away, that this isn't a football team. Three people on the bus.

24:46Pete Donaldson: So the bus company, wonderfully called Cosmos, of course, dealing with marijuana, they were immediately, it was nothing to do with us, nothing to do with Sao Paulo FC. I think we've got to talk to the drivers about this. Yes.

24:58Jim Campbell: Yeah. So could they not fill it with, like, footballer-looking men? Yeah, surely. They'd all want to cut, though, wouldn't they? Yeah, that's a good point. Although I suppose you can then make the personal use, argument a bit clearer. Exactly, yeah, spread it out a bit. You can not see that three men are getting through 86 kilograms of weed. Just eating it out of the bag. So it's personal, it's personal, oh, this was a mistake. This is already a mistake. I suppose times are hard in South America in terms of bringing in commercial revenues. Maybe this is something Sao Paulo should explore. I mean, it's legal in America.

25:29Jim Campbell: MLS companies, MLS teams could do it. Yeah, you're joking. That's a very good point, actually. Yeah, but it's not legal where they're from. No, but I'm just saying MLS teams should start selling weed. Right. Okay. Just start moving weed step by step. Exactly. If European clubs can host like concerts and things like that and make money off Beyonce and Boyzone, why can't MLS teams make money off selling drugs? Okay. I fear that you're giving Gianni and Ventino all the stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was in Morocco.

25:57Pete Donaldson: Yeah. Oh, dear. Time for a break.

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28:15They play in the same play style as Queen's Park Races. You don't have to do that because then you please Queen's Park Raisins.

28:26Pete Donaldson: What about the football animal, everybody? Your beloved Queen's Park Raisins, James. Do you remember that one? My favourite snack, yeah. Your favourite snack and your favourite football team. Well, staying with Dutch things, Xavi Hernandez has been announced as the new Netherlands head coach. Yeah. Shunned Roberta Martinez. Arna Slott officially turned down the role as he wants to focus on club football. But Xavi Hernandez has been quite open about lifestyle and work-life balance. is a bit like, hey, international football, a team who wants to play in a particular style that was adopted by my beloved Barcelona.

29:00Pete Donaldson: It's a match made in heaven, isn't it, Tim?

29:01Jim Campbell: Yeah, absolutely. It's a really interesting fit, this, isn't it? He said in his opening sort of interview that he came through La Masia where the ideas of Jairn Kroes and Rinas Michel's were obviously huge. So there is a bit of a kind of DNA there if you want to talk of it like that, as Barcelona tend to like to. So at first it's like, huh, that seems a weird fit. But actually when you think about it for a bit, it's like actually this sort of makes sense in a historical sense. If you can even bring that sort of kind of harmony to the Dutch national team, I suppose that remains to be seen. But it's an intriguing one.

29:36Pete Donaldson: Do I think it should be a Dutchman then?

29:38Jim Campbell: It's not up to me.

29:41Pete Donaldson: Quick to say it when it's a non-Englishman. Louis van Gaal also sent an application, said he was ready to step in for a full spell in charge. Well, the Dutch FA have not followed up on his offer ever, didn't you, Peter? Is it an offer or a demand? I don't know. I have no idea. Maybe he failed the interview. But Xavi Hernandez, James, a small-ish sample size of his managerial career, but we kind of know what he's about, don't we? Yeah, it's fascinating, isn't it? It's so funny if he parted a bus. Just abandoned all the principles. It's interesting that... What's in that bus? If you think of the amount of...

30:18with the amount of great dutch managers uh you know to the i was thinking about sort of the two cool point within all of this for such a you know strong nation when it comes to football to not be able to find that person but also the person that you've found is kind of aligned with the history of your country that it does make sense but then i kind of go a step further i think about how the squad that i want to say holland holland have got i'm not sure it totally fits

30:46Pete Donaldson: what would Javi wants to do well I think it would it's not sort of a you can't get straight into it if you think of like I'm just thinking like Dumfries and Somerville Brian Brobby up front yeah you know all the centre backs it's not apart from De Jong I guess Rinders a little bit as well it's not your usual I don't know he was well resourced because he's a traditional wasn't he

31:08Jim Campbell: Al-Sahd and Barcelona he was well resourced in going forward but here it's a little different but he seems very traditional in that sense of like pass, pass, pass. So I think it would take a minute to get to where he wants them to be. So I get the logic. I wonder if it'll play out well. But I think, yeah,

31:26Pete Donaldson: but surely they'd be open to that because there's always a lot of chat in Netherlands with who the head coach is, the style of play and all that kind of thing. And obviously going out in the World Cup, I don't think anybody other than that German guru economics guy thought that they were going to win it. But they could have made an impression and I think going out early as they did to a decent Morocco side fair that was an early exit really for the Netherlands you've got obviously you've got well the Nations League in a year's time well it's going to start next month lest we forget but then obviously Euros in two years time is that enough time because I think I think Xavi I think it's an interesting appointment and I think with what he wants to do there especially when he walks into a dressing room people are going to listen you would think

32:11Jim Campbell: yeah for sure

32:11Pete Donaldson: I look at the squad I know what you mean but I think they have to try something. I think they want to try and get back to playing. Or, I say get back to playing. They want to try and bring a bit of that ethos in because it's maybe been a little bit fudged in recent times. It feels like maybe, yeah, the people in the Netherlands, you know, want that. It's such an incredible football culture. It feels like an overcorrection though, doesn't it? Maybe. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? But I just think, I mean, look, obviously they are starting a slot. So, you know, it's like it was all all the eggs were in the Javi basket, you know, so they asked a notable egg, Mr.

32:46Pete Donaldson: Slott, and he turned it down. So yeah, maybe we're overthinking it, you know, because perhaps they're looking for managers, you know, one or two have shown interest. Javi has said, you know, I wouldn't mind doing it. They've gone, well, actually, it's not the worst thing in the world. I don't think it is the worst thing in the world. I just think often with these things it's really difficult especially with international football that you are that you know the qualifying group you're generally generally okay unless you're italy and then it comes down to like what is success from there and and so for yeah for the netherlands they're they probably want to be close to winning these things yeah so to get to that point that's where he's going to end up being judged and so for for that to go well i think you need buy-in from the public and i wonder, I do not know at all, but because of his identity, I would imagine the Dutch people are

33:38Jim Campbell: like, yes, but will it work in practice? I'm not sure. I think it's one of those, it's comparable to Tuchel, I think, isn't it? And sometimes it's easy to kind of lose sight of this being quite a simple process where it's like, if you take away whether or not you should have someone of your own nationality managing the national team, who is the best option available? Javi is probably be quite clearly the best option available, certainly when you take on the slot out of the picture. So I'm not sure it's necessarily this kind of seismic thing. Or certainly the people making those decisions don't see it in that way.

34:12Jim Campbell: Quite possibly, Jim.

34:13Pete Donaldson: Quite possibly. And let's go back to club football. Transfer news. Tis the season. Jim, it was reported earlier this week that Arsenal had offered Myles Lewis Skelly to both Chelsea and Manchester United, which is against the rules. He can only go to one club, of course. However, the Athletic have since reported that Arsenal maintain they have not actively offered Lewis Scully out for transfer. Yeah, so there's some intermediaries drunk with power here,

34:35Jim Campbell: is one possible explanation. Let them drink. Yeah, but after this happened, some anonymous Chelsea sources told The Athletic that they were offered him. So I think the reality is probably that there isn't as much of a market for players like Fabio Vieira, Reece Nelson, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli as Arsenal would hope. I think they're probably seeing if they have to sell someone else, if there's a market for him. I think the idea that this is complete nonsense, as seems to have been suggested after the initial outrage to it, is probably wider than Mark. It's a confusing one.

35:09Pete Donaldson: Do you think it's how they worded it? Because if they said, would you want us to offer him to you? Yes. That's not actually offering him. It's all intermediaries, isn't it? It's exactly what you've got. Oh, they've offered him. They've never actually offered him. We asked if you were interested in the offer.

35:20Jim Campbell: Are you interested in the MLS?

35:22Pete Donaldson: You're like, what do you mean by that? I don't know what you think it means. Yeah, exactly. yeah there's a bit of funny business going on there I mean it would be a shame though Pete if Miles Lewis-Curley was sold I mean it starts with the Champions League final and he's one of their own and all that

35:34Jim Campbell: but like Jim says it sounds like they need to sell even though I thought they were buying Vinicius Union five minutes ago they need to sell I think just to make things a little bit more comfortable for them well I don't know that's what's the Vinicius thing really throws this into darkness really because they had a contract ready to go for him I can't imagine his wages would have bounced if he'd turned up. So Arsenal's finances are, as ever, a bit of a mystery to me. Yeah, it would be a big shame if he were to leave. He's 19 years old, as you said, just starting the Champions League final. He's a great squad player.

36:06Jim Campbell: Absolutely. And he's 19. I think he's ready to accept that role as a squad player as well, which is a hard thing to find. He's only going to get better. He's only going to get more valuable, even if you want to look at it that way as well. And like he is like, he's Arsenal through and through. I know we all kind of sometimes have to let go of this idea in the age of... Mike Hibbert, here's Harry Kane. He's Arsenal through. Absolutely, yeah, from the academy. But I guess Elliot Anderson would be the other example where sometimes you have to let that go because of the pure profit thing, which I really hate because it means these players end up leaving.

36:37Jim Campbell: Nobody ever talks about him.

36:38Pete Donaldson: I'm just surprised that Arsenal are in that situation. Is it?

36:41Jim Campbell: Yeah, again, I don't know if they are, because as Pete says, we were going to sign Vinicius Junior 10 minutes ago. Is it not more of a need for funds or possible need for funds to get that wide left play? Possibly, I would think so. And I think that there's no other market for Fabio Vieira. So he had an agreement. Well, Arsenal and Hamburg had an agreement that he would be available for X amount of euros after the end of his loan. And Hamburg have come back and said, can we pay half of that? And Arsenal are like, this again. Which is not no. And I think it's kind of similar. It's just bad at selling, I love it.

37:17Jim Campbell: Seven million for a midfielder. Get out of there, no. But the fee that was agreed would have been a record for them. So if you're selling outside the Premier League, you can't really expect massive fees in the same way.

37:31Pete Donaldson: Have Arsenal not given Fulham a call? You think so.

37:35Jim Campbell: But apparently not. Pick up the phone. Come on deadline day, I'm sure of it. You're not better than us. Take him, Willock. We'll take one of your castoffs.

37:44Pete Donaldson: Yeah, there you go, you see.

37:45Jim Campbell: Use him constantly.

37:47Pete Donaldson: Lewis Gulley did start and score in that pre-season friendly against Kobo last night. I went and it was so boring. But you saw it. That happened. That happened, yeah. Okay.

37:57Jim Campbell: There was a journalist arrested in Turkey for saying that Jamal Moussiyalna was going to Galatasaray. So these people got to be careful.

38:03Pete Donaldson: Now I saw this! What was that about then? And as a number of journalists were saying, like, obviously, you know, it is annoying when people pump out the fake news. And it is annoying when journalists just make up stuff for clicks and blah blah blah. That aside, this is truly shocking!

38:19Jim Campbell: Horrendous. Absolutely horrendous. I mean, it's like he is... On the face of it, I don't know any more about this guy, by the way,

38:25Pete Donaldson: just in case other stuff comes out about him. We drive a little bus that says Galatasaray.

38:32Jim Campbell: Oh, this is about the transfers, is it? We need to make sure that's... Don't check the bus. But yeah, apparently it was for spreading disinformation or misinformation. It's like, that's a very poor use of that law. Very, very poor use of that.

38:48Pete Donaldson: It's Erdogan's turkey, baby. Anyway, back to England. Karl Walker is reportedly a target for Everton to play in Burnley. He scored a winning penalty for Burnley in the League Cup not long ago. So Karl Walker, a target for Everton. I like this because... England? Yeah. And I want them to get greelish. Because of England. What do you think of this, Jack? I mean, obviously Walker, I mean, he's, you know, what is Walker? He's at mid-30s now. He's still a good defender. He's still got something to offer. Yeah, I think so. I think that my initial reaction when I read that was, I know Everton fans and I know they will have seen that news and just looked to the sky and screamed because it's another, it's another really old right back when they have been screaming for a right back for like at least five years yeah so to go like what was it Coleman Ashley as it comes to Collegiate

39:47Jim Campbell: Moyes will get a tune out one for the future he's essentially replacing the absence of Seamus Coleman isn't he yes yeah I mean yes when I say I like it I'm not thinking about Evertonian no no no I get that and look Jacob Ryan playing right back that kind of needs to stop and he's probably got more in him than you saw with Burnley because Burnley was sort of struggling so much. I guess you don't really know the truth with him in terms of the decline from Man City to Burnley because you're actually trying to get him back in the middle now. But I would imagine the only reason it would be a bad signing is if, you know, like some, he's obviously very, very quick.

40:26And I remember seeing interviews with him where he'd say he didn't do any work for that, which I hate him for, obviously. But there might be sometimes with those plays, you've got that pace and then overnight it's gone. And so if that has gone, which I don't think it probably has, but if it has, then that's his main strength.

40:41Pete Donaldson: I mean, he was one of the quickest players I think England have ever had. And so even if he loses a bit of that pace, you know, he still should be all right. Still quick. Yeah, but there are those moments, we all have those moments where you see those older players and you're probably looking for it a lot of the time. I know what you mean. There's a moment where I remember it happened with him. He got done by someone. You're right. And I know the moment you're saying because it was against Fulham. I think it was Traore, to be fair. It was a done by Traore. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, true, true. But it was a slight indication.

41:07But that was his thing, wasn't it? That was Kyle Walker's thing. I think there was another one. I remember Thiago Silva against Newcastle, I think. He sort of went into the corner and his legs, and we've all been there, like your legs just don't move anymore. And you go, oh, there's just a moment. So has he had his own moment? I don't know. Yeah. But yeah, it's not the worst. More as you'll get a tune, like you say.

41:25Jim Campbell: It could be a little bit trippier. Couple of good years and then out. Yeah. Oh, I like that. I also think... I'm surprised I didn't get trippier. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do think with Kyle Walker, and perhaps this is just because England sometimes played with three at the back. He might get a bit more juice out of his career if he becomes a centre-back at this point. He's played the position.

41:45Pete Donaldson: The right side of a three.

41:45Jim Campbell: Yeah, that could be a handy option. I don't know if you have him in there as a two, though. It seems risky. Well, who knows?

41:51Pete Donaldson: Does O 'Brien suddenly become a right wing back? Maybe. O 'Brien's never given away. You're asking a lot of Moyes' pragmatism, which doesn't have a lot of... He's a back four man, Jim. Don't start that. Well, when Karl Walker was asked about footballers being mocked, He said, I think they try to create, what is it called? Memes now? They'll try and create memes out of me. He's 60. And I can assure you that I'm not becoming anyone's meme. This is a disaster.

42:16Jim Campbell: Yeah, I mean, like, you can demand that nobody makes memes of you, but you impregnated your mistress twice. So that's memeable, innit? Like, everything he does.

42:26Pete Donaldson: When you say he impregnated his mistress twice, that's not...

42:28Jim Campbell: He made his mistress pregnant twice.

42:31Pete Donaldson: Oh, mistress.

42:32Jim Campbell: Mistress. I think he said missus. Well, she was pregnant at the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there we go. Right, right, right. But he's very memeable, is my, you know, the things that he got up to outside of the football pitch. One might suggest that he is very memeable. So he can say that he doesn't want to be a meme all he wants, but he's the most memeable man of all. This is a great example of what the problem is, right? Because all that stuff, his business, whatever. But this reminds me of a teacher at my school who came to our school. Here we go. And in his first lesson, he tried to lay down the law to this class and said, I've just come from a school in Blackburn that is much tougher than this.

43:06Jim Campbell: So don't try anything with me because you're not going to be able to handle it. By the first break, which was obviously two lessons in, got around the school, there's a new teacher who wants you to be disruptive, who wants you to throw everything you've got at him because he says he can handle it. And by the end of day one, he was like, I've made a huge mistake. And his life was hell at our school. and he never taught again, did he, Jim?

43:32Pete Donaldson: Possibly, like, genuinely. Yeah. You must be very proud of yourself. Just making some Kyle Walker memes. Stay quiet. Pete, isn't one of your best mates always worried that you're going to make him into a meme?

43:41Jim Campbell: Yeah, he's always worried that he's going to become a meme even though he has absolutely no digital footprint whatsoever. But that is... Alex Gonzala, Clinical Innovation Lead at the NHS. So if you're interested... Do meme him hard. There's only one picture of him on the internet. I don't know why. I don't know how he's managed that as a 45-year-old man. You've got loads of pictures of him. I know. Peter. Whenever we go away on a little weekend away, I make a little...

44:06Pete Donaldson: Every other weekend, by the way. I make a little T-shirt of him.

44:09Jim Campbell: If you Google him, it does come up straight away, that picture. Yeah. But, I mean, I'm amazed he's got to that level.

44:16Pete Donaldson: Yeah. Fine footballer. Fine footballer. I will say that about him. But if you are best friends with Pete Donaldson, then... You're going to get memed, baby. At some point, and that is the worry. It's going to happen.

44:27Jim Campbell: He chose you as a best friend. Goodness knows why, but he did. He's got 3D printed versions of both of our heads, doesn't he? Pete does. Yeah. Have you got one of mine? I think I've got one of Jim's. Like a lovely statue.

44:38Pete Donaldson: Yeah. Do you kiss it?

44:41Jim Campbell: If I'm in the same room.

44:45Pete Donaldson: Join us, James. Join the team, James. See what happens, James, when you come on here. Anyway, let's stop talking about that. Let's talk about Calvin Phillips. He's one of former England players. He's re-signed for Sheffield United on a season-long loan after being there last season. He only made three appearances. Still got two years left on his six-year contract with Man City. What in the Jack Rodwell is going on there? Absolutely. This man started the Euros final for England. He was a brilliant footballer.

45:14Jim Campbell: And it's like... It's just a sign of a bad move, isn't it? Like the wrong move at the wrong time. He did a couple of fuck-ups, which in essence are memes. He got memed.

45:24Pete Donaldson: He did, but look, James, you know, one of the things that you do exceptionally well, tactics, right? You look at teams and so on and so forth and you break it down, brilliant at that. With Calvin Phillips, it's not just about football. It's not just about how he's been used. I'm pleased you said that, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think, look, for me, like, you know, I agree with you when you say that. I appreciate I make those kind of videos, but you always have to accept, which I think you guys are great at, it's like all the other elements of football because they're integral, right? Well, that sounded like Richard Keys.

45:54Life. Life, my friends. Yeah, and there's... Because it's not a video game. It's not a video game. And so, you know, with him, you're almost wary of talking about it, aren't you? Because something else is at play here in some way, shape or form. And maybe it's one where in terms of the loan moves that he's had, they've been at clubs where maybe it's not been going brilliantly. Because that's the other thing I always think of with with those teams down the bottom there can be you can sort of turn your nose up at these teams a lot of the time I mean Sheffield

46:27Pete Donaldson: is not a huge club and where he is in his career it's a good move for him to play a proper championship you're only going to get the clubs that kind of want you but I actually meant more when he's moved to I think it was at Ipswich and he was at was it West Ham as well maybe the West Ham one

46:41Jim Campbell: was a disaster he had a really bad debut and it never recovered it's hard to go to those it's like a a striker does really well in the championship and then they don't do well in the Premier League It's because they've had four chances all season long. All these things kind of matter. And from that position in the pitch as well, it's sometimes hard to affect the game. You can avoid falling over. That's bare minimum, which he didn't manage to do at West Ham. But he certainly... I don't know if he's lost his way or was it just perfect for him at Leeds? That's what it feels like, doesn't it? I think it probably was that.

47:13And then people were expecting that a little bit more from him. I thought it was very cruel what occurred at Man City because it wasn't just, and look, you can't have a go at Pep Guardiola, he's got to make decisions, but they bought him, but they did not give him an opportunity at all. And, you know, he's been scurrying around since, which is, I mean, such a shame, but there has to still be a player in there.

47:32Pete Donaldson: Well, you would think. You would think. I mean, maybe slightly older than one might think. I mean, he's 30 now. Really? So I really hope that he has a good season with Sheffield United.

47:43Jim Campbell: Well, he only made three appearances for them last season, but they have re-signed him. So there's obviously something they're seeing there. Sheffield United is a weird place right now. In terms of the signings that they would kind of want to make, that's not really occurring right now. There's something going on there, which again, yeah, to your point, you wonder if they even did want to totally sign him if he's only playing three games. But it's what they can get right now. And he'll be on decent wages, won't he? I would have thought so.

48:10Pete Donaldson: Well, he's still contracted to Man City, so, you know. Hopefully, we will come back to the Championship in a moment. Great deal, though, by the way. six years did they get it I mean it's all bad it's good money Barcelona have reportedly made an improved 60 million euros bid for Rodri that feels like that'll do it that feels like

48:31Jim Campbell: more like it yeah it'll end up being 75 or something

48:34Pete Donaldson: oh did you say 60 million pounds oh sorry we thought it was euros come on pay the money it feels like it's

48:40Jim Campbell: the right direction

48:40Pete Donaldson: speaking of those have you seen what Chelsea have done or have said with regard to Enzo Fernandes they're just so annoyed that people are going oh do we want Enzo Fernandes and obviously the player himself talked about going to Madrid one thing or another blah blah blah Chelsea have said right enough enough's enough Manchester City if you want to if you want to submit a bid for Enzo Fernandes you've got 5 until 5pm on Friday this week

49:04Jim Campbell: haven't they set a number as well yeah 120 million 120 million quid that's it

49:07Pete Donaldson: if you want him 120 million 5pm this Friday

49:09Jim Campbell: have a little ticker a live ticker on Twitter or something who's going to blink who's going to blink Jack Bauer 24 yeah yeah yeah they should do the whole thing over a day in an auction house. Yes. It's an absolutely must-watch TV. Yeah. That's a bit NFL, isn't it? Yeah, but just one season. See how it goes.

49:25Pete Donaldson: Okay. Not sure about that.

49:27Jim Campbell: They do have another place to sell a lot, do they? Right. I'm used to follow up to the whole thing.

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51:29Pete Donaldson: James, let's talk about the championship. It returns this weekend. West Ham are currently favourites to win the championship. They have reportedly inquired about the availability of Jamie Vardy quite wonderfully. Come on. That is lovely. He left Cremonese this summer, scored seven times in 29 Serie A appearances. One player of the month, at least once. We always hang our hat on these players.

51:53Jim Campbell: They go, bro, and we're like, yes, go on. Show them how the football is supposed to be played, but they're never as good as they need to be to secure another season. You did a flip, though. He did a flip when he scored at one point.

52:06Pete Donaldson: You can understand why West Ham are favourites, though. I mean, keeping Bowen, obviously, was big. Tati Castellanos as well. Castellanos, I think. could do very well indeed. Wolves are second favourites to win the championships, apparently. They've signed Kieran Trippier. That's why Everton couldn't do it. And re-sign Raul Jimenez, which I was sad to see him go leave Fulham, but glad he went there. Wolves are playing Blackburn, I think, tomorrow night, getting things underway. But James, your team QPR are currently 6-1 to be relegated. Yeah, bizarre. They start the season away to Luke Moore's...

52:38Pete Donaldson: Feel the anger there. How are you feeling about the championship? I'm so excited. And it's my mate's a Stoke fan. And so we have both. I think Stoke have been like 16th, 14th, 17th, 16th, 14th over the last eight years. Bit of consistency. And QPR just finished 15th. Even without a game being played. Guess where we are in the league? 15th. Yes. Alphabetical order doesn't lie. No. And when we sort of chat and you have like good moments and bad moments. He said something to me and it just stays in my head all the time. It's like it's nice to pretend. because there was a moment where we were like second and third in the league.

53:13It's nice to pretend. That said, the signings that we're bringing in, we've got this sort of young CEO, Christian Norrie, who rubs some people up the wrong way, but seems very, very smart in his recruitment overall. And this summer, we've brought some really exciting players that we have a squad that could all be injured, but they could also all be available. And if they are, all of a sudden, but we signed Dennis Serkin yesterday which is an amazing signing for us Tarek Lamptey again obviously he's got to come back and you're worried about those things yeah we've got a lot of little lads actually but we've got we've got an alright squad so that's nonsense this 6-1 thing I'm not having that

53:55Pete Donaldson: so you don't think they'd be fine to the only thing that's a shame is when you then look at the other squads and people are I find that about when I'd be a Fulham fan in the Premier League and look at the other squads and go oh yeah probably won't get European plays this season Well, that's it, because you go, oh, he's good, he's good, he's good. All right, if I look at that from a distance, that's quite a good team. But I think with the championship, with it going to eight teams in the playoffs, which I love, if I'm honest. You do love that purely for personal gain, potential personal gain. Let me put it to you.

54:24So say it was, say in the Premier League, which is something I've been canvassing for, if there was a playoffs for Champions League and it went down to eighth, would you be excited about that?

54:37Pete Donaldson: That is a very fair question. And I'm going to use that when we're talking about championship playoff stuff. Being a purist, no. Pollock. If all of them could finish eighth, maybe. Because it's nice to pretend. So you want to get yourself into eighth, and all of a sudden you're dreaming. And if you can somehow get there, all of a sudden you're in the Premier League. James, as you know about me, as everybody knows about me, I like to look at the bigger picture, which of course is England. And I don't want more matches for our English boys in the Premier League. So I'd have to say no to that. There's a tournament next year.

55:09Pete Donaldson: There is a tournament next year. It's called the UEFA Nations League. Thank you very much. You won't get him on anything unrelated. UEFA Super Nations League. Right, okay. What do you think about that though?

55:21Jim Campbell: He's an Arsenal fan. He's happy where he is. He's happy with his life.

55:24Pete Donaldson: I'd have taken that a few years ago.

55:26Jim Campbell: It's definitely more exciting. Like, no doubt about that. But is there not an argument that it sort of undermines the whole point of finishing in those positions in the first place? Great point. So the way it works out, though, as well, is that, so I'll butcher this a little bit, but ultimately, if you sneak in an eighth, you've then got to play, so God, I'll get the numbers wrong. Third and fourth, they're okay. It's five, six, seven, eight.

55:50Pete Donaldson: You've got to go somewhere. You've basically got to win in midweek, and then you've got a two-leg thing against the best team. Yeah. So it's uphill. Sure. Should we have a third-place playoff in the championship playoffs? That's the big question. or the Champions League playoffs no the Champions League both third and the championship and fourth bottom in the Premier League if you lose the semi-final of the playoffs of the championship you get a little consolation that is true and they're allowed to play

56:17Jim Campbell: one Premier League match a season there you go they'll be a pop in it's a 39th game that's what it is I think the more fluid it is the better because the money side of it like Hull right everyone's going to go God Hull are awful Hull are living my dream right now get up get the money give yourself a new foothold to actually possibly walk towards being a Premier League club that's like anyone who's kind of turns the nose up a hole this year they've won the lottery getting up pretty much

56:43Pete Donaldson: I do take the point because I think sometimes you do get that purest argument of we're not ready to go up and it's usually said by fans of teams who nearly went up and that's how you're trying to console yourself whereas I think very very few fans would say no if they were in a position no we're probably not ready to go I think any fan as you say for those reasons And sadly, because the finances, and I say sadly, it's been like this for decades for crying out loud. It's nothing new. The finances are so important. And everyone just goes, just get promoted. Just do it. Absolutely. Because if you can, you never know how it clicks the next season or whatever it may be.

57:16Pete Donaldson: Yes, you can look at examples of clubs who have then the parachute payments, they go down and it's all gone to pot. But there are other examples of teams who were up and got relegated and it went to pot as well. So it's not a one size fits all because it just can't be like that. That's also on you as a club. Of course. Of course, every example is different. Yeah, if you can, and look, it's a competition, so you want to put yourself out there and give yourself a chance. But I think if you can, like, accept it, then, yeah, again, I don't see it as a huge problem. I don't think anyone's really committed to accepting that they will go down properly yet.

57:50And I could see that occurring in time.

57:53Pete Donaldson: But I think the eight-team playoff business, I mean, you're right. I think, yeah, if you slip into eighth, you've really got to earn going out. It's going to be very, very difficult. but it is one of those slightly annoying things in football when you look at it as I say from the sort of the purest point of view because let's be honest the playoffs themselves when they came in were very controversial because why should the team who finished third not go up instead of the team who was six and all that kind of stuff so immediately but they've been a great success and often these big changes in football we've seen it like even to a lesser degree but the Champions League when they opened that up we all thought oh this is just going to be bollocks blah blah blah blah to be honest I don't I think it's been a success as well, you would say.

58:34Pete Donaldson: The 48-team World Cup, another one in international football, the 24-team Euros, you know, no one's going to row back on these things, let's be honest. But you can see how they have their merits. And an eight-team championship, I think those who hold dear to the six-team championship playoffs, they know that the eight-team championship is here to stay. Yeah, it's also about getting used to these things. Yeah. Like, any of those, once you know the rules are the rules, and you, at the start of it, that's the thing that... What about the substitutes? How many substitutes? I mean, back in the day, when we started watching football, it was great.

59:03Pete Donaldson: Two substitutes. It's the same for everyone.

59:05Jim Campbell: As you alluded to there.

59:06Pete Donaldson: Yeah. And there's also a safeguarding there to a point of, say, a West Ham. So I was listening to Not the Top 20 podcast and they've got them like fourth or fifth, West Ham. Whereas everyone's understandably going, West Ham will probably win it, right? Say they have an absolute disaster, that eighth is saving them. In a big way. And they need saving. Yeah. Let's be honest. so it's all you can spin it out I love that that's how we'll end the argument for the 18th championship will somebody just think of West Ham I'm just trying to look after West Ham indeed you are you love all the London clubs particularly Queen's Park Rangers there we are we've come to the end of our time thanks for listening to the Football Ramble part of the Acast Creator Network if you want to hear more from James Alcott you can find him on YouTube and Instagram at James Lawrence Alcott she's having in another little name there yes we spoke about that before we came on I am forever I'm not embarrassed of my name, but I'm embarrassed that I put that out there on the channel.

1:00:02I don't know why I did that. Was there another James Alcott in there? No. James L. When I was on MySpace,

1:00:08Jim Campbell: it was myspace.com forward slash Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete. Someone had five Peets. And you thought,

1:00:14Pete Donaldson: well, I'll go for the six. I take that every five times. How did you check to see if anyone had had just one, two, three, or four Peets?

1:00:19Jim Campbell: Well, yeah, that's what I had done. I want me five Peets.

1:00:25Pete Donaldson: Oh, yeah. Can you still... Can we still... Oh, God. Confusing.

1:00:30Jim Campbell: I took that in before we finished. Can we still access your MySpace page? Was MySpace gone? I think MySpace went a long time ago.

1:00:35Pete Donaldson: I think you're still... They're relaunching, aren't they?

1:00:37Jim Campbell: Yeah. They're always saying that, though, aren't they?

1:00:38Pete Donaldson: Yeah, that's true. And MySpace, lest we forget, and I do enjoy telling people that it's where the football ramble started.

1:00:44Jim Campbell: Yes. Yes, it was. It was an absolute nightmare uploading the audio file to that MySpace page. But we did it, Jim.

1:00:51Pete Donaldson: We did. Us and the Arctic Monkeys, we did it, baby. I'm of absolute pleasure having you on, James. Real bucket list thing for me to be honest, to go back to the start, honestly, I had the first thing I ever did to sit next to Pete. Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete.

1:01:05Jim Campbell: Sorry if I said shit. James, shitty old car. The first thing I ever did was this podcast called Great Touch for a Big Lab. I remember. Which didn't do well because we then tried to call it GT4 AV and it was just a disaster.

1:01:20Pete Donaldson: You used to sit two in front and two behind. Yeah, we did, yeah. Oh, that's interesting. Like you were in a car. Yeah. A little bit. A little bit. In the end. I don't think. I think. Oh no that's one video we did to be fair. That was just one video. It was a great video. Thank you for watching that. I appreciate it. You stopped doing that and I thought I'm out. Yeah. Fair point. And that's why. Yeah. That's why. Don't have the new formation. But I remember like. Right at that start of that. It was sort of. There was. Everyone was sort of scrabbling about. And then there was you guys. And you guys are still like soaring.

1:01:48So congratulations on everything. Oh that's pretty cool. It's really cool for me to kind of sit with you. We've not stalled. We've not stalled. That's very kind of exciting.

1:01:55Pete Donaldson: But look at you, you know, on YouTube and Instagram, also on Premier League Productions. Yes, yeah, yeah. Although we can't access them. We need a VPN for that, do we? No, no, no. It's on the YouTube channel. It's on the YouTube channel. Sorry, but Premier League Productions generally, though, we can't watch. No. Sadly. This is another link to VPN. We can watch you, Peter.

1:02:14Jim Campbell: If you'd like to watch Bongolf movies on your sofa in England without having to sign in, get yourself to NordVPN.com. There we are, you see. Used to call it Bongo. Yeah, there we are. Alternatively, Trouser Badger is quite good as well. Is that right? What's Trouser Badger? Something completely different.

1:02:31Pete Donaldson: James, you'll be back on Friday, though, to take on Jim at My Biddy Aunt. Nice. Lovely stuff. Love that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. James versus Jim. Hey, beautiful stuff. There we are. Thank you indeed, Jim Campbell. Thank you. Thank you, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, Donaldson. Goodbye. Thank you, James Lawrence Alcott. Thank you. and thank you the Championship Playoffs

1:03:02The Football Ramble is a stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network

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