The Preview Show: Can you sniff it?

0:00Step into Christmas everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble Preview Show. Palace are off to Leeds and Moyes welcomes Mikel. It's Friday 19th of December. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Pete Donaldson.

0:24Hello everybody. It's the last Friday before the big day. Christmas Day, of course. So an extra celebration today for Friday. what a day it is Jim quite frankly this day or the coming day all of the days all of the days this time of year they're all good every last day is good oh yeah alright that sounds like a challenge I'll remind when you're having a terrible life crisis I'll say all the days are good just before Rome collapsed they're having a great time you said that not us you said that you've stepped into Christmas Jim yeah I've been here since December the 1st I've slipped on a bit Christmas got an advent calendar this year 1st of December you're right I'm up for it colours on the lot Yeah, well, I've got an advent calendar.

1:03It's amazing how quickly time flies when you market with chocolate. How is it the 19th already? Because you're not looking at the calendar going, go on, just not jump a couple of days. No, that's true. I never did that, to be fair. I've got bits of, I think it's a Wix calendar where you get bits of tools every day. Just bits of tools. Bits of tools. And then quite brilliantly, you then have to put the tools together and make your own notifices out of something at the end. And my daughter has a chocolate one And my dog has a dog one Don't give him a chocolate one Oh, I just remember I ate a dog biscuit last night I didn't mean to Oh, no It was a little decorative sort of Christmas biscuit And I ate it and I was like Did you go to sleep in the hostel again, Peter?

1:45I was like, that doesn't taste like chocolate Or sort of It doesn't taste like normal biscuit What categorises Or characterises rather a dog biscuit then? How did you know? It's just not as sweet The packaging And I was like, that's definitely a dog biscuit Because it was kind of in the area where the dog Yeah, I did It's well marked. You've got dog biscuit written on it. You shouldn't be falling for that. No. No. Not at my age. Definitely not. No, certainly not. Right. Something, though, that we can all consume is, of course, Christmas gifts. And there is less than one week until Christmas, and time is running out to finish all of your shopping.

2:16But before you go and buy another Lynx Africa set, we've got something better. You can gift a loved one a subscription to the Football Ramble Patreon this Christmas. You can even customise the length of the subscription, depending on how much you like the person or how much you trust us. So don't hang about. Click the link in the show notes now, and you can finish your Christmas shopping before Celtic sack Wilfried Nancy. So you've got about half an hour. Do get on that. They are playing soon. Now, gentlemen, let's turn our attention to last night's Europa Conference League action, Crystal Palace 2, Coups 2.

2:54lots of young fresh faces in that Palace starting line up they ultimately failed to win the match they finished 10th in the conference league league stage means they now have to play in the knockout phase playoffs despite all that we got a lovely goal from young Uche didn't we oh come on absolute peach off the outside of the boot that's so hard to do it's a conference pair I suppose it is does that make more sense it does the way he dragged it away from the defender to take him on as well absolute wonder it's a really stylish showboaty thing to do isn't it it feels like an announcement hey I could play in the first team you know look at the stuff I can do yeah but well Glasner has said that the same 11 who will play Leeds will not be anybody that was none of them will be any of the people that were involved against Cups yeah I think he said no one will start both games didn't he so I'm sure that there will be some crossover to some degree yeah I mean yeah by the law of quite a strange sort of decision Marcus in many ways well I mean they are kicking off against Leeds exactly two hours after they two hours that would be quite that would be yeah I think I think yeah you'd have to you'd have to have an inquiry there 48 hours so two days exactly from the kickoff against Cups kicking off against Leeds I mean it's crazy like three days is the sort of standard used to be oh that's a bit tight that's a bit tight but okay you've got your three days there I can't believe they're not playing on the Sunday I mean they are playing at 8pm but I mean still But the reason they're not playing on the Sunday is because they're playing on the Tuesday in the Carabao Cup Yeah, that'll do it They are kind of stuck There's football everywhere I think Joel Drake's Thomas is going to get another match I think so yeah And they can't play the Carabao Cup on the Wednesday because that's when they're having their Christmas due Yeah They really are up against it I still look at this and think okay, right, fair enough Palace, you know, obviously that is that's a ridiculous schedule, but I look at this Conference League campaign so far with Palace and I still think that they'll probably go on and win it don't worry, like that's it's looking pretty wobbly at this moment in time isn't it?

5:10Yeah, but how do you complain about fishing congestion, you've just created two fixtures Yeah, well exactly, that's my point it's a two-legged playoff at the end of February, thank you very much Yeah, that'll be fine. You put away this team from Finland who, with that point, they themselves qualified for their playoff round in 21st position. Had Palace had beaten them, Cups would have gone out of the competition. Yeah. And Palace would have finished in the top. I think they would have finished eighth. And it's like, you know, they were down to 10 men for the last 15 minutes. Palace score. It's a funny old campaign so far with Palace because, again, the team...

5:47I mean... It seems like a strange decision as discussed. why would you not go all out on this one? Just see that one to bed. Yeah. See that one to bed? Take that one to bed? See that one off? It doesn't matter. Win it. Win it. Win it. Win the football match. All of those gave us a little insight into how your mind works. Can I go back to bed? Can I go to bed? Can I see myself off in bed? It's basically the, I mean, concentrate on that one and then Leeds would potentially take care of itself, one would suggest. Just start a couple of regulars. This is easy with hindsight though, isn't it? presumably Glasner thought maybe we can have it all yeah maybe we can have it all well his Glasner's half full isn't it yeah very much so it was not this morning maybe but you're right I think the they've I'm amazed Palace have to go through in the playoffs I mean there was a couple of very sloppy results that home lost to there were was it Larnica I forget when they lost to home you think how on earth did they lose okay you can sort of say alright getting used to European competition but that game there last night especially in the first half where they were sort of dancing through them and so on and you think oh they'll be okay and I suppose for Glasner on another day Palace win that game and you're right he has it all the strength of the Premier League gives Glasner very few excuses for not winning that last night yeah but having to play a playoff as you said a two-legged playoff is a bit missing Bosnia or Prague maybe I think I can't remember where they are but it's certainly like it's further than Germany I know that much it is further than Germany yeah but against I mean there are some teams who have qualified for the playoff round in this tournament I've quite literally never heard of sure you know Mainz are in there as well and they are rock bottom of the Bundesliga and not in great shakes in Germany but does it not tell more of a story about what Palace have been prioritising because they knew that it would be a very unlikely and unmitigated disaster for them to not qualify at all they're fifth in the Premier League right which which is very impressive and has come about because they prioritised Premier League games over European games knowing as they do that it is as I say extremely unlikely that they won't be in that knockout phase so you know the proof's in the pudding a little bit right they are fifth in the Premier League in December Crystal Palace so it's really impressive they've been superb and they're still in the League Cup as Pete said worried about fixture congestion you've just seen several other couple but they're going for Europa League space whichever way and probably winning the Europa Conference League is probably the easiest way to get there and the more enjoyable one and also you know the League Cup is a route into Europe as well so they're probably they've got a decision to make on that haven't they about how seriously they don't want to go back and put a team out for that they've got unfinished or no they've got not started business with the Europa League well they're away to Leeds though this weekend and Leeds themselves oh by the way before we I've got a bit of conference league admin before we move on to that Aberdeen talking of underwhelming campaigns 35th out of 36th they finished Aberdeen Aberdeen I know Come on.

8:46Although, Celtic at the weekend, haven't they? There you are. Chance for a bit of a pick. A salve, if you will. At least they didn't finish bottom though, like Rapid Vienna. I mean, that is an astonishing, for that pedigree of club, I realise they're not where they used to be, but wow. Wowzers. Wowzers, trousers. Well, yeah, they were out, they were out a long time ago. But anyway, back to the Premier League. Leeds United hosting Crystal Palace, 8pm on Saturday. Yes, Glasner, We're going to see a very different side to the one that played against Cups, of course. Now, speaking of old Oli Glasner, it's been reported in Spain that he will not renew his contract with the club and will leave in the summer.

9:26I don't think to myself, what a Spanish media, where are you getting that from? Man's German, he applies his trade here, where are you stirring the pot? Right. Does he speak Spanish? Has he gone, you know what, I've got to tell the truth to somebody, I'll go over there, I'll have an interview, no one will pick it up. but of course that has been quite a bit of there's been quite a bit of chat about Glasner and his future and obviously in the transfer window when Mark Gay was potentially going to be sold and he said there was that chat wasn't there that if you sell him then I'm off he kind of denied that though so this is not anything new well it wasn't a massive kind of like Glasner sort of sneaked into the club and he's sneaking out again do you know what I mean and just Palace are just a good side and seems like anybody can manage them I think well I think that does where are you going with this a little bit of a disservice hey look if Glasner's going to turn up and draw two over cups he's clearly trying to fuck up his release I mean you can have him for now yeah if you're if you're on their first major trophy oh I mean he is in the chat of greatest Crystal Palace managers of all time he's in that conversation of course he is he just is for that trophy alone but obviously what they're doing but as you say Jim it's worth reminding ourselves that they are currently fifth in the Premier League table and we're well into December now, which is incredible.

10:44It really is. You can't overstate that too much. But with Glasner though, the way he's got them playing and we know all this, they are a very, very impressive side. If you are thinking, you know, if it is the case that Glasner does leave in the summer crying out loud, Manchester United that back three business look what he can do with that. So he will have a lot of options because what he's done at Palace and also as well what you did at Eintracht Frankfurt when they won the Europa League incredibly impressive as well it shows you and also what they're doing in the Premier League it shows you they're not just a cup side and even if you are just a cup side that is something to hang your hat on but what he's doing now you're a cup side not a coupe side well evidently so I think with Glasner it would be great if he was to stay there long term but the football ecosystem is thus and money speaks etc it makes it all the more kind of confusing that he would you know not turn out a great team or certainly an untested team in the conference league.

11:41But I think... To absolutely see that tournament off and then leave, that would be a great way to... Oh, it would be, yeah. But I mean, they still... Like I said, I still fancy them to go on and do it. It's just, to me, it's the whole inconvenience of those extra two games. Yeah. And he's just... He's essentially just managing too many fixtures, right? And one way or another, something's going to give with that. I think it was probably quite an exciting thing in some ways to see all those young players and see like... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like an alternative universe version of your team for Palace fans.

12:07I'll obviously be disappointed to not get the win, but I don't think this is a huge disaster. But do you see him staying beyond the summer? I think there's a reason that all this noise is happening, right? And I think, you know, however much you might deny the situation with Mark Gay, even if those conversations never happen, the spirit of it is there, isn't it? Palace are a team who regularly lose their best players, and obviously I'm sure they want to get out of that cycle, but it's very difficult to get at that thinking okay yeah exactly how do we do that and yeah i can see him moving on i'd be very interested to see where he goes because palace are a team who um more often than not have less possession than their opponents and if you go into a bigger team that kind of flips on its head a little bit and it doesn't always work out does it but glasner strikes me as someone with a lot about him with a lot of different kind of tools in his in his toolkit yeah it'd be really interesting to see just what kind of level of club he lands at do Palace have enough to stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin nobody has enough to stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the moment Marcus you gave him the sort of kiss of life at the start of the season didn't you and it's working out very well yeah Tabloids never got hold of that unfortunately they didn't but if he will wear those clothes Jim I'm coming around to it but Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored in four Premier League games in a row which is a nice run for him because when he went to Leeds everyone should shave their heads at that fact I think it's just so unnecessarily surprising he hasn't surely got close to this before it's been a while so it's been a while it's a while yeah well he um when he go when he went to Leeds like he is their most high profile player in Premier League terms you would say he also fits their style particularly this season but they but they it was I thought he was worth a gamble on because of course I would.

14:01But I did think that because it's all about keeping him fit. But you know what he can provide. Now, yes, he hasn't provided it very much. If you look at his goal scoring records, you look at his runs in teams. One and three men for England. Well, now you're talking. Now you're talking. You always have my respect for that. But he, you know, we know all about the injuries and so on. But his style of play, as you say, it for a team who were going to be scrapping, who were going to be all that sort of good stuff, you know, balls into the box, et cetera. I mean, they made a conscious effort, didn't they, to sign a lot of essentially very tall physical players in the summer.

14:36And he fits that profile. Well, it is. And I think Leeds, when you say that in the modern era, it's not like it. It sounds dismissive and it's not meant to be. But it's not dismissive. No, because teams, yes, back in the 90s or whenever, it would just be like a bit of long ball. Good old fashioned stuff. whereas you couldn't say that about teams in the Premier League because it would be so basic but if you have a side who is susceptible maybe to a high press and all that kind of stuff well it's okay going over that press sometimes and I think that with what he's done much has been made of Daniel Farker's change to sort of a 3-5-2 and playing two up there play to your strengths stay in the league and then build from there because he's trying to you know Farker himself whether he should have said this or not He recognised the limitations of that squad compared to other Premier League teams.

15:24And so when you've got Cavaluna and you think, come on, can we get a tune out of you? And the last handful of games, they are. He's involved. He's looking a bit more robust than he has done. And I was impressed the fact that they managed to dig out a draw against Brentford away. I know Brentford aren't a brilliant side, but it was one of those games where it was a stalemate and it was cagey. And they go 1-0 down fairly late on. and that's one of those sort of sick knockout blows where you kind of go oh bloody hell we could have done with the point here they managed to do it and a point on the road for the most part for quite a lot of teams and I'd include team I support Fulham in that as well is a good result so they're going well Leeds and they'll see this and think right okay Palace we know what they're about well let's test that back three but I mean again with what Palace have been doing this season Leeds at home with you know the onus will be on them you would think it will kind of play into Palace's hands and those players are a little bit they're well rested in theory yeah they're more rested than they might have been but with Cavill and I appreciate Leeds fans probably get fed up of everybody going straight to him with the chat you know the other players like Tanaka's impressed and and Padua and I think the back three have done pretty well all things considered now it is a back three but with Cavill he missed a few chances when he first started there you remember that game was it away to Sheffield Wednesday in the Cup I think he missed the he may have well missed the penalty in the shootout as well it wasn't a good start and there was a few games where he missed his chances as I say though but against Brentford he gets his chance boom and that's a point they've gained a point so with a bit of confidence and so on I think Leeds they are growing in confidence definitely these last sort of handful of games and you look down at the table they're 17th they're thinking right okay much has been made about Dyche and Forrest you think okay they'll be okay well maybe maybe not you've got Brentford above them dare I say Fulham although I think Fulham will be okay they're at the bottom of the injury table as well yeah they've barely got any injuries yeah exactly that goes for them use it in a really really busy area yeah Leeds United are thinking do you know what 16 points after 16 games West Ham are 3 points below them they're thinking we can do this make ourselves a problem exactly and I think there's a bit of confidence there the last few results as I say the formation change and so on whereas before that it was you know loss after loss so it wasn't looking great.

17:44So I think this is a tasty game. A Saturday evening treat. Yum, yum, yum. For the population. A lovely Yorkshire pudding of a fixture. And what could the Crystal Palace fans have? Peas, just loads of peas. Endless mushy peas. Okay. I thought you were going to maybe say toad in the owl or something like that. Toad in the owl, okay. Well, they'll be in Leeds as well, won't they? That's true. What Leeds people are eating. Okay, fine. Tonya Boar's favourite food. Whatever Leeds people are eating. Whatever Leeds people are eating. Whatever they eat. What are the Leeds people eating? I don't know. but we wish them all the best.

18:15Now, before we go for a break, Morocco won the FIFA Arab Cup yesterday. Great scenes of celebration, of course. It was good. It looked like a lively match, let's say. It was one of those tournaments, the Arab Cup. I'm aware that it happens, but that's about it, really. It was like that PSG fixture from yesterday. Oh, the Intercontinental Cup. I can remember, though, from years gone by when it would be the team. They're all the sort of tournaments where it's all hosted by cash. They're just suddenly happening. you're aware of them oh it's just kicked off and it's all hosted in Cathy which this was yeah Morocco won if you haven't seen the opening goal in that game I know we've and one should never get bored of goals scored from inside a player's own half or around a halfway line but we've seen a few recently and I'm looking over at our producer Rory Scottish Rory there's a fine Scottish example I think this is the best one of the lot everyone has got McLean on the brain that is what's going on here McLean brain But that was a peach, Jim, wasn't it?

19:14It was amazing. It was as if he spun around and thought, I fancy it. Because there's two attending defenders as well. Well, not even defenders, midfielders. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Strikers, probably. Attending footballers who would try to take the ball off him and he just leathers it. Also, four minutes into the game. It's like the fourth minute in, exactly. It feels like the sort of thing you do right at the end, right? Sleepy. A bit of a desperate attempt. Sleepy keeper. But, I mean, every time did he get the ball? Shoot. He's taking goal kicks. Morocco won it 3-2 in the end against Jordan. There was a moment where a Jordanian player told the referee in Arabic, by God, there's nothing in it.

19:45And the Swedish referee replied in Arabic, by God, there is. Really? Which I think is a lovely moment. That is good. He's done his job. He's done that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Off your pop. Off your pop. That's great, that is. Well, there was another big story coming from the Arab couple. It was the third place playoff. Right. Obviously, they've got one. Imagine those ticket prices. Oh, I tell you what. In Qatar. dynamic pricing it was between the UAE and Saudi Arabia now it was suspended at half time due to adverse weather the score was nil-nil at half time and the referee said I think it was thunder and lightning very close to the stadium and the referee called it off he said no we can't do this so did he say by God there's nothing in it I have no idea he said ay caramba but FIFA have announced that the game wouldn't be replayed oh yeah shoring as a result we'll never know what happened well we do know what happened.

20:39Right. Because FIFA announced when... Dice roll. Well, maybe. They played a game of Mott. FIFA said that the game won't be replayed. The game's called off. That's it. That's your lot. Right. And then they said, but the result will be decided by a committee. Committee? Yes. Is that what we're doing now? Committee. Good. Right. They're not busy enough, are they? After a fleecing people? So you're thinking, all right, what are this committee going to do? There was a four hour wait for the decision. Right. And then it was decided that the third place title would be Shae! Just did the buffet alarm go off.

21:17They're like, oh my God, we've got time for another jolly here. Get on the jolly train. Is that the most pointless? Four hours of buffet. That's the most pointless four hours in the history of football. Absolutely. And the game itself is the third place playoff. So piss-paw. Basically, someone has asked somebody, oh yeah, he's at the buffet. We'll get him to answer in a minute. Yeah, fine. And then after... Eat a lobster tail. What's the fairest thing? Who cares about that? Basically, they didn't ask him, did they? They didn't ask the committee. The committee were at lunch. But anyway, the right decision was made.

21:52The third place title... The air decision was made. I love the thought that the fans were waiting around in the stadium. Nor respect for a disrespectful match. Have you seen what they're calling the third place playoff at the World Cup? That was the bronze medal match. The bronze final. The bronze final. The bronze final. The bronze medal match would have been way better. Well, what's the main match result? It would be the silver final, no? So who gets the silver and who gets the gold? That's the gold final. Yeah, but where do we get the silver final? Where's the silver final? If you lose, you're the silver finalist?

22:20That's what I mean. So it's the gold and silver finalist match into the World Cup final. So you've given them a great idea. Two matches in one. That's why the tickets are so expensive. Okay, I'm coming around to it now. So yeah, the winner of the third place playoff and the loser of the final play the silver final, presumably. That would be a good idea. And then they should get an extra match. exactly that's right more matches please or they could just decide by committee just a big old committee the final not being the last match of the tournament it's FIFA everybody alright coming up after this which injured Arsenal player has been filling his time by getting into fights it's Gabriel

22:57it's not Kai Havertz is it

23:06You can walk up there, you know. It's a vertigo-inducing climb. It's glass beneath your feet. And yes, you can touch the big golden cock. Hey! Welcome back to the Football Travel, everybody. He knows what he's doing, whatever that was. Hey! Everton host Arsenal on Saturday at 8pm. It's a long time to wait to find out if my weekend's going to be ruined, that. Oh, I see. Yeah. I see. well we've billed this as a crucial game for Arsenal Jim are you billing it as that yeah absolutely I think every game is a crucial game at the moment obviously particularly with City breathing down their necks City will very possibly be top at the time they're playing West Ham at home earlier that day you don't think West Ham can put up a fight I would love it if they could but I don't have much faith that they will with all due respect to them which is enough respect that I don't think you'll beat Man City at the Etihad had.

24:05So yeah, I mean, this is the kind of reality that Arsenal find themselves in now, right? Every game is going to have this pressure and they need to get used to it. Every game feels like a bit of a banana skin, but the Wolves game last weekend was terrible, but obviously they did win it. They've had a week to kind of get that out of the system and to sort of recalibrate a little bit and to get used to whatever tactics they're going to have against Everton at the weekend. Everton have been really fun this season. They're loving being in the new stadium. Fun and strong. I'll say that, Jim. Yeah, I think they've had some fun performances.

24:36It looks like 18 goals in 16 games. Fair enough, fair enough. But I think compared to a lot of recent seasons, it's probably quite a good time to be inevitable, right? And I think what's happening there is that there's not really much fear when anyone comes to town. The new stadium is built for occasions like this, right? And they'll be really, really up for Saturday night. It'll be a tough environment, I think. Yeah, I mean, I'd say either way, like Moyes will be up for this in the same way that a man squirts two-part epoxy into a lock to prevent someone accessing it. Like, it's really going to be a balling shoe ugly kind of performance.

25:13Some of the stuff you say, it just never enters my mind. When you... Why did you have to do that? People, vandals, try and ruin shopkeepers' lives by squirting two-part epoxy into the lock to stop people getting their keys in. Answer this question. Arsenal have a key, Everton have a lock, and Everton have squirted two-part epoxy into the lock so they're not going to access the gold. Two-part epoxy. Is that what it's called? Two-part epoxy. Apoxy, right. It's in the form of glue. I see. I don't use a lot of glue. Epoxy now. Peter, have you ever... Have a sniff, mate. You might enjoy yourself. Don't do that.

25:46Have some 8pm on Saturday. Get yourself right in that brown paper bag. I'm 43, Pete. I'm not getting into glue sniffing. Get into glue sniffing. It's great. I'm duty-bound to say that you should all be doing it. Peter we're not sponsored by glue sniffing absence are we oh god have you ever done this with a lock before no I've never no but I we're playing 11 side ones and someone had done the lock that locked the goals up so we couldn't so someone had to angle grind the lock open so he could liberate the goals I always forget that Pete grew up in the B night yeah yeah they're always glue sniffing and fucking cutting their angle grinders out to open up locks yeah I mean in the early draft so imagine they were sorry can you torn this down please Stephen this isn't who the best strict kids are it is it's got a flick knife but yeah I mean win convincingly and you you quieten the chatter or just win or just win I don't know win convincingly and the chatter starts to quieten you a little bit you are right I think that's an important thing because you know earlier on in the season Arsenal were playing very well and people having conversations about you know are they going to run away with it clearly that's not happened and I don't think it's likely to happen through the season but you're right one convincing win brings a bit of aura back doesn't it and it kind of you know it just settles those nerves a little bit and Arsenal can be their own worst enemies in terms of that sort of thing we've seen it many many times Get an early goal and just sit on it How about that lads No I agree with your point but this is what happens when you're in a title challenge Indeed with a side who know how to win it in Manchester City which they breathe I mean you would think Man City would beat West Ham on the weekend if Arsenal beat if you want to win the league though you need to be Everton have got absences it's really important I agree my point is going to be that if Arsenal say beat Everton 3-0 for example right then it's a convincing win and they play well I'll take that now I thought you would but the chat doesn't go away nah then they've got Palace in the cup and you think well okay if you know you're going to be fighting on all fronts you know fine the next game is at home to Brighton well it's a home game these are the games you've got to put away this will be it for Arsenal that's it for the season that's what I mean and they've got to get used to that with City probably being two points behind as well as possible you've got to do it you've got to basically keep winning until they mess up and they don't look like they're going to do that anytime soon and they need to win their next two league fixtures because in three league fixtures time they're going to be beaten by Aston Villa again well indeed so they've got to rack up the points is all I'm saying nothing to fear and in the spirit of Steve Clarke at the end of the season when the points are tallied up let's see if they've got enough to get them over the lighter.

28:27But you're right, that Villa game is a kind of beacon in a way, isn't it? And that's what I'm talking about in terms of getting that confidence back, really. That's a perfect example of a game where you really need to go into it with the wind in your sails and playing at your best. But I think that performance and result against Wolves, I think that there has been a slight little bit of complacency, maybe. I don't know, with Arsenal. Because again, that aura that they had in the first sort of 13 games or whatever it was in the season when teams couldn't even get a shot away or a shot on target against them.

29:01That's gone now. To get that back might be particularly difficult because it was so impressive. Part of that is, you know, Gabriel and Saliba. Yeah, of course, of course. That's all about aura, isn't it? But I wonder if, yeah, but I wonder if that result and performance against Wolves is enough to just sort of shake them a bit and go, look, you want to win this title, you have to be on it every minute of every bloody match. And it's a good time to have had a week between fixtures too. Yeah, exactly. Totally, yeah. You mentioned Gabriel there. He's been keeping himself busy while injured. He was spotted managing a team of Botafogo supporters in a six-a-side game down in Peckham in South London last week.

29:37Got into a bit of a confrontation with one of the opposition players after quite a tasty tackle. Apparently he sprinted across the face. Yeah, it was an onlooker who said, he didn't look injured by the way he moved. The team of Botafogo supporters included Gabriel's dad. That's great. I love this. It's brilliant. How do you even manage a six-a-side team? Stand at the sidelines and shout. Collect the ball, unglue the locks. I don't know what else you do, really. Bring your ankle grinder. They've got six first-team injuries, Arsenal. You could manage that team. No, they don't do it, mate. I really hope they're not making the injured players play five-a-side.

30:12That would explain a lot, actually. Exactly, yeah. Apparently, this six-a-side game finished after that tackle and Gabriel got involved. According to the reports, everyone just went, that'll do us. nah, or do us but he wasn't his father wasn't the one who was tackled by the way right, okay so it wasn't this time it's personal what would he have done if that had happened? I hate to think Peter he would have injured himself again I bet Gabrielle's dad's like 40 or something annoyingly young very tough and 40 and also called Gabrielle yeah, probably because Gabrielle's wife is called Gabrielle really?

30:43that was a good joke Gabrielle, that was good thanks Peter not my best not your best but definitely something we can all agree it's definitely not your worst it'll stay in and that's another sentence out of the way for the football ramble on a Friday and that's all we need we're a sentence closer to the finish line this is something quite lovely Miles Lewis-Skelly revealed he once did a week's work experience at Arsenal when he was 15 not long before he started well this was at the community hub it wasn't doing work experience playing football I missed myself there work experience and went in an office for a week could have been playing for us exactly Exactly.

31:21I could have got 10 minutes in the League Cup. So this community hub, a lot of the footballers pop down and do a couple of hours and stuff. It's a really nice sort of focal point for the community. I think it should count those hours served as future community service and when they wrap their Ferrari around a tree or punch someone in a nightclub. They go, I've only done three hours at the community hub. You're not having them, judge. We don't know that it's not that. They're in the bank. Peter, how many hours at your local community haven't you done? You'll never catch me alive, copper. Oh dear Oh did you see that video of Jack Grealish going into the school to visit that young lad St.

31:59Jack Yeah He's so good at that He's just lovely isn't he I know like it sounds really weird to say but he is really good at that Yeah he's absolutely fantastic in that role Yeah I love that Oh man Can he come in here to the Ramble studio Can I give you a hug Jack He would make everyone feel better Imagine he'd be looking at us going You're 44 Yeah you're a lot older than me You're 44 alright you're 43 then right good on you time marches on I'm never diving everything's lovely or whatever it was sometimes you come into the football ramble studio and Marcus is in the mood of that little bastard paper clip that you used to get on Word documents oh are you sure you don't mean this oh this is slightly wrong oh I know you didn't ask for me to correct you but I'm going to do it every single time Luke's been off for two shores so he's got to do something someone's got to fill in for him someone's got to fill in for him with a pedantry but yeah we spotted it before we got it it's going to be one of them is it right fine it's for the listeners I'm doing this it's for the listeners yeah live fact checking it's for the people but when Erling Haaland Haaland dressed up as Santa with that Man City supporting family you know they asked what his favourite footballer was and one of the kids and they said Jack Grealish so Jack's a friend to the children indeed yeah as was Duncan Ferguson when he was in prison let me clarify that further Wayne Rooney has revealed he used to write letters to Duncan Ferguson as a child still not great still not great Ferguson was in jail you know what that link that quality of link is why he can be a dick when he wants to be exactly thank you Jim Rooney recently revealed he said I was a young boy sported evidence so I used to write to him in jail and then he'd write back I was just telling him how much I loved him and loved the club and so on he'd say thanks it means a lot Ferguson said when he was in jail he used to receive thousands of letters and he said it really helped he said I feel like a school organized this though.

33:53Well, wait for the rest of this sentence. So he said people would write a lot of letters and he said, he did say it would really help kill time, as you could imagine it would. He said people would send me books. He said books about pigeons was wild. He said books about football, all sorts. And he went, someone even sent me a sex doll, but it got confiscated. That's absolutely wild. I mean, every new week when Rooney says something, you go, fuck. like I just I know it's a technically a rival podcast but fuck me like there's always something coming out of it I don't think they look at us as a rival true well anyway that's lovely stuff so yes Arsenal Everton v Arsenal should I say at 8pm on Saturday and of course you've got Leeds vs Palace nine games on Saturday blimey that's lovely that's an accumulator isn't it that's a one shot accumulator yeah you'd say so you would say so Peter Bad news for Celtic Football Club is that they're going to have to wait until Sunday to see if their weekend is ruined.

34:56They're playing Aberdeen at home. More ruined? More ruined. More ruined, yeah. They're not having a good time up there. Wilfred Noltsy has responded to criticism for his poor start by claiming that he knows Scottish football. And the reason why he knows Scottish football, in his words, is because he nearly joined Carlisle United as a player. Yeah, for our non-European fans in particular, or our non-British fans, Carlisle is very much in England. He's had a stunk in there. He didn't even go there as well. Surely give him some benefit of the doubt and say maybe he meant to say British football? Yeah.

35:31That would be even worse. It's still not great. It's still not great. He's struggling. You feel for a fellow human being who is struggling very much so. He got his MLS Coach of the Year trophy less than a year ago. just well he should have let that breathe a bit he's got the he's got the spot of Henri he said let him cook he's like yeah but he's let him cook they'll end up with food poisoning he's pouring Evian into the deep fat fryer he's just he's having a terrible time there's glue in the oven there's glue in the oven he's put glue on all the dials do you know what though on the grill if you have any kind of love for Heart of Midlothian you don't want him sacked no So Celtic, you want Celtic to win against Aberdeen.

36:14Let him put that egg in the microwave. If they lose that game, he might well be sacked. If they lose the next two, I think he'd be gone. Lookie on the WhatsApp saying that Nancy, there's talk of him being fired now. Right now. Right now. He could be in the directors. Hey, let him cook. Let him cook, for crying out loud. This will presumably mean that Martin O 'Neill will have some sort of five games on, five games off. Looks like it. routine for the whole season. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. Presumably they have to compensate everyone they sack and therefore the pool dwindles and the options become cheaper and therefore worse and Martin O 'Neill gets a lovely time.

36:51I think that after this contract there'll be more small print in Celtic manager contracts, definitely. Okay, coming up after this, could Pep Guardiola finally be leaving Manchester City?

37:13Welcome back to the Football Amble, everybody. Now, before those 8pm kick-offs on Saturday, we've got a little 5.30 treat. It's 11th versus 7th. That could only mean one thing. It's Spurs versus Liverpool, Peter. Yes. Oh, get your chops around this. Can I just kind of sniff it first to see what kind of performance we're going to see from Spurs at home? A lot of sniffing chat on today's pod. It's quite actually, yeah. Spurs are... awful to watch at home. You should just call them spores. Spores. I think that's kind of... And yes, you can look at the cock. What was the thing we had earlier on? The big cock.

37:50The big cock. They are big cocks at home. They are an absolute mess. But there's people going very short on Eketike having a lovely time this afternoon. Is that right? I mean, they're five unbeaten now, Liverpool. They're looking a lot steadier. Yeah. As you say, Eketike's in excellent form. We all know kind of the troubles we've had at home. So this looks like a tricky one because Spurs against Forest were just all of the bad habits they'd been sort of slowly undoing were just right back there. And I think this is a potentially tricky one for them. Well, Liverpool are fortunate they don't have that grift of Mo Salah in this one.

38:27They've found a very novel, if noisy, way to get used to him not being available, haven't they? So that's not going to be a problem now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I think it's too early to say it's resurgent Liverpool. Yeah. but they look like they're beginning to turn a corner I mean it's not been scintillating by any stretch but that was always going to be how they rebuild right just doing the basic stuff well evidently it is I mean against Brighton at home they were quite fortunate to win that game I mean Brighton there should be chances in this game for both sides you would think it was 6-3 to Liverpool last season in this fixture was it really?

39:09do you know I'd completely forgotten that they were 6-1 up at one point so I can almost guarantee goals and as I've said I can't imagine this will be 0-0 no surely not no they beat them 5-1 at home and they hammered them in the Carabao as well so it's just that was a very different Liverpool and a quite different Spurs I don't know man yeah hard to say if they keep it tighter than that it'll be a great result for those home Spurs fans who have had a terrible season for their season to get money. Yeah, I mean, I do miss Ange's Spurs, don't get me wrong. Did you see that Mickey van der Ven was saying that him and other Spurs players were persuading Ange to change his tactics?

39:52Particularly in the Europa League, I think. Right. It was like, if we go 1-0 up, can we just try and be sensible? Because it did seem odd that in that competition, the way they played was quite different to in the Premier League. But anyway, they got over. But that's what Mickey van der Ven was saying. little sort of the way Van der Ven was talking though I think some Spurs fans are a little bit worried that he may be thinking you know what I think I might leave this book club for somewhere else but anyway time will tell but it has been reported that Spurs are open to selling Brennan Johnson the Europa League final hero he's a funny player Johnson isn't he because I know he's a source of frustration for a lot of Tottenham fans but he's got 27 goals and 105 appearances if what I'm seeing in front of me is correct and I have no reason to believe it isn't 18 goals in all competitions last season I mean yeah it's a strange one isn't it like all he does is score that's kind of useful maybe he's in a position where they just don't expect people to score quite so much I mean it's great I feel sorry because like he's so far down the pecking order through kind of north like Kudis you know is an incredible footballer but even he can be quite frustrating sometimes yeah absolutely it's maybe he's just become a bit of a lightning rod obviously I don't watch him every week perhaps you know the rest of his game is lacking in some way or he doesn't suit you know the system that they're trying to implement it just seems a bit unusual from the outside I think it's probably classic Spurs that they're selling him like four months too late as well they would have made most of their money in the summer if he'd gone then but no just Frank doesn't fancy him I mean there's a player in there we know that about Brennan Johnson and you know the old Brennan Johnson at the back post you know he's quite got a keen eye for goal I mean he's only got four goals this season to be fair which again though isn't terrible I don't think I'd be surprised if there'd be a huge outcry among the Spurs fans I mean I think he's only 24 good god I think he'd go to another Premier League side and do pretty well there there's talk of Palace being linked to him which I think would be a good move yeah agreed yeah I could see that but I think this game is quite intriguing as I say I think if Liverpool wanted to be even though they've shipped quite a lot of goals I think Liverpool now they have the potential to be quite sort of industrious and just kind of play for like a one or two nil victory if you see what I mean it's easier said than done but as in be a little bit less swashbuckling you know they've got some quality on that pitch do you know what I mean I almost sort of stifle Spurs a bit and just wait for the mistakes and that should be enough you know whereas Spurs themselves I would like to see them be a little bit more I'm sure a lot of Spurs would be a little bit more attacking at home yeah and Liverpool are a funny proposition they are because you know that if you get up and at them or certainly we've seen examples of it earlier in the season if you attack them they themselves are quite liable to mistakes yeah and you know that's essentially what Spurs have been crying out for at home isn't it just a bit more kind of a bit more kind of taking of the you know setting the agenda really yeah indeed I agree gentlemen Manchester City are hosting West Ham as we mentioned earlier Saturday 3pm how novel having a game at that time on a Saturday yeah it's been reported that Manchester City are advancing their contingency planning in case Pep Guardiola leaves Manchester City in the summer I mean, you generally get these new stories when teams start to challenge the title, don't they?

43:10They're like, right, okay. I'm hearing dark forces. That would be nice to finish with a title. Oozing out of the club. Indeed. If Man City win the title, surely he'd have to be off. You would think so, yeah. I think they'd probably make it more likely than if they didn't, but I think even if they don't, the fact that we're hearing about this story, I don't think it's coming from nowhere, is it? Well, you know that he's in the twilight of his time. Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, the people who might be coming in, I mean, you're talking about company, Maresca more bold frauds it's funny that's the brief it's a bold fraud brief clearly this brief is coming from somewhere about Maresca isn't it it's like Mo Salah and then Bruno Fernandes had his little pop at Man United in the summer when talking about you know feeling let down that they wanted to sell him to Saudi and then you had Maresca himself the other week like is everyone trying to have their own Lily Allen moment why is everybody he's so messy at the moment let's write a song for crying out loud more of that isn't it talking about their door jaws apparently Enzo Moresca is high among the candidates Man City are considering again I I can see that I don't think it's ridiculous some Chelsea fans might think I'm going mad I think Moresca I think he's a decent manager and I think he's got more pedigree than probably someone like company you would say I know companies coming from a side not CV one I think companies companies done well at buying yeah that was inexplicable from how he ended the season with Burnley admittedly yes he was like the 8th choice candidate or something I'd be surprised if company was just even though obviously we'd love to go to Man City surely you feel like I mean Maresca did get George Mendes as his agent in the summer so maybe that explains all of this you have to be a prick now I'm afraid but if you're a manager would you be bothered about the charges which seem further away than ever I know like the liabilities are coming soon but then you'll have the appeal and then you'll have the charges after that.

45:05That is something for the next Man City manager, isn't it? You inherit that. I think about three managers after that. Maresco knows how to win the championship so if they did go down, he'd be the perfect man, surely. Exactly. Man City, though, have been quite charitable in recent days. They allowed Brentford to use their training ground and stay in their hotel following Brentford's League Cup clash on Wednesday with them. I like that. I think that's really grown up. Well, the reason why they did that is Brentford wanted to start north before they play Wolves at Molineux on Saturday. But before anybody tweets me, I know Wolves is not the north, it's the Midlands.

45:38But basically they didn't want to go all the way back down to London and then back up. But that was nice of Man City. I mean, it's easier if they win. If Brentford had won, I don't know if they'd have done that. No, it's a good point. Keith Andrews did say, yeah, we're going to be there. Hopefully I managed to grab a coffee with Pep Guardiola, which would be nice. Guardiola sits down and looks at him and goes, so you thought Kuzinov should have got sent off? Let's talk. Use the salt and pepper and talk me through that. Show me. Yeah, I will explain to you with all my winners' medals why I didn't think it was.

46:05But Man City-West Ham, of course, is the game on Saturday. Jim, any argument for a West Ham win here? I don't see one. I really don't. Producer George is going up and he says he allows himself one away match per season as a West Ham season ticket holder. I mean, God knows why he's choosing this one. Yeah. Or he sees some good football. He wants the guarantee for a change to see some good football and he wants a night out in Manchester. yeah I mean it's the night out in Manchester isn't it really yeah yeah yeah exactly he wants to recreate that Christmas photo in Manchester you know when it was all mayhem and the bloke lined up with a bottle that'll be the West Ham defence

46:44oh dearie obviously they've been better under Nuno Jim don't worry about it don't worry about it don't worry about it Jim it's fine it's fine you don't have to give them that right then everybody we've come to the end of the show My Biddy Aunt of course will be available to listen to later today so make sure to subscribe to the Football Ramble in your podcast app so you never miss an episode and on today's My Biddy Aunt for the first time ever I face off against Pete Diggory Donaldson bring it on here we go scared you'd taste something lager boy I am I very much am so it's going to be a clash of the ages I'm going to be off my face on glue I do hope so so My Biddy Aunt later that is when the weekend officially opens so do make sure you listen to that sorry Marcus it's My Biddy Aunt sponsored by Gorilla Glue there you go just make sure to chop that in appreciate that and sitting by a canal right thanks for listening to the Footwear Abble part of the Acast Creator Network yep My Biddy Aunt is happening later so do not miss that thanks Jim thank you thanks Petey see you later for My Biddy Aunt

48:06Well, let's turn our attention to Evertonian things, if you like. I've got to edit that out. Edit that out. Don't edit that out. Don't edit that out. Edit that out.

48:24Come on. The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.