The Preview Show: El Couponico

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4:15Pete Donaldson: Just calm down. You found me, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble Preview Show. The Premier League is back. It's Friday 9th of October. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. I'm Pete Donaldson. And I'm the Lucian of the Raja.

4:40Pete Donaldson: It's Friday. Come on. Come on. Top's off. Top's off. And then back on. We've got the Luxembourg lads with us. Pete and Vish. Yeah. This little sort of evening trip to Luxembourg. It's caught the imagination of the whole team. They want to know what went on. I could widen that to the whole nation. To the whole nation. It was good. It was good, wasn't it, Vish? I think so, yeah. We had a nice time.

5:05Marcus Speller: We had a lovely time. We somehow managed to not meet any locals, I think. Yeah, everyone we spoke to was either Bulgarian, South African, and there was somebody else, I think. French.

5:16Pete Donaldson: You were sat in the Bulgaria end. We were having cursed them. And the curse, therefore, presumably was reversed and then was whacked onto Luxembourg. Bulgari. No. Balgari. You Nazi. Yeah. Arbre boys. Arbre boys. Did you tell them that's not how you pronounce it? Is there a possibility that there aren't any Luxembourgers? I think after the curse reversed, they didn't want to talk to these two. It's a strange place that's bizarrely monoethnic and hilly as fuck. That's all I've got to

5:49Marcus Speller: It's very, we've got Belgium at home. Quite gothic. Very, yeah, very kind of built into the mountains. Lovely architecture though. Yeah, really nice. Everyone was really sound. You didn't actually talk to them though? No. From afar, we're like, they look all right. We were surrounded by Bulgarians that were kind of, they clearly all worked in banking. No, stay with us. Don't go and talk to them. They all worked in banking. And they were, one person was sort of talking about, it's Gruv, isn't he? who's in the Leeds squad. Oh yeah. I think he described him as being like the only financially viable player in the squad.

6:24Marcus Speller: He's the only, he was described as the only player on the pitch with the seven figure market value.

6:29Pete Donaldson: Yes, the seven figure market value. That's what it's all about. Classic. Classic. Did you mention, you know, did you have a little chat about Dimi Berbatov or Hustros Deutschkopf?

6:40Marcus Speller: I was immediately like, if anyone says anything, Stylian Petrov. Yes. That's how we engrossiate ourselves. We saw two fucking great goals, to be fair. Yeah, we did, yeah. A real team goal and a beautiful finish.

6:50Pete Donaldson: I mean, Luxembourg were terrible. Sadly, we can't talk about it though, because the great autumn international break of 21st is now over. It is, yes. I'm reliably informed. So we've got to concentrate on this Premier League muck. Well done, Sadiq. Exactly, yeah. We're back in the Eulé zone of football, aren't we? Anyway... Schenging this, Schenging that, come on, let's get back to the Prem. But it's lovely to have you boys back home safely. I assume... Why was that ever up for debate? I know! We are seasoned travellers and drinkers. At the level of Pele and Maradona. Mark, in your work. No, it's just an expression people use, don't they?

7:28Pete Donaldson: It is, yes. They do a concern when they say it to me. A dog-whistly expression that certain type of people use. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just after the warnings we gave Luxembourg, I'm amazed that they got back safely. There we are. Right. Will Manchester City have a safe time at Anfield on Sunday? Of course. Sunday 4.30. It's going to be a super Sunday. It's definitely a much watch, must watch Sunday. Much watch. It will be the first Premier League game Manchester City will play since all those announcements, you know, all that noise. All that noise, of course. Enzo Mareska was asked how he's feeling, and he said, personally, I'm very calm, to be honest.

8:06Pete Donaldson: He said the feeling is fantastic among the team and that we understand the noise, but the focus for us is just what we can control. The noise being obviously the guilty verdict. Yeah, yeah, we don't care. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Put me sunnies on, don't care. A criminal, not related to any of that being carted off. Well, it's just noise. Don't worry about it. It's a very like Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea kind of job, isn't it? It's kind of like, I can keep going. Tuchel did well though. There's a lot of crazy shit happening at the club. Yeah, but Tuchel did well though, if you remember that. He was very sort of statesman-like.

8:39And will we see the same from emotionally, you know, close to the heart? Enzo Maresco. Enzo Maresco.

8:45Pete Donaldson: I think the difference is the owners are still and will very much still be there. That's very interesting. If I know companies that are hitting the wall, two things will be happening. Well, one thing will be happening. You'll invest. There's going to be a lot of office theft. People are going to be peeling off those little security stickers on their laptops because when chaos happens, things go missing. So just enjoy it, guys. That's true. Do you know what, right? Of the recent... You know you get a lot of Star Wars spin-offs these days. There was a lovely detail in one of them where... I think someone was using like a computer and they were like, oh no, that's an imperial computer.

9:19Pete Donaldson: We don't use that in the world. I was like, that's great, that. You think the ships and the guns and the... No, no, fine. Not that laptop. No, no, no, we don't use Bluetooth mouse. That's imperial stuff, that. Get your wire up. Brilliant. So yeah, maybe there is going to be some... You think Muresko's also like, oh, he got paid twice.

9:37Marcus Speller: I've been getting paid once.

9:39Pete Donaldson: Yeah, I have wondered about all the other managers thinking that. Yeah. Maybe they're just able to... In reference to what Roberta Manchu said, of course. Yeah. I mean, this is potentially going to be like the most viewed Premier League game in history, isn't it? Oh, the press conferences, Will.

9:55Marcus Speller: Good Lord. Oh, man. The noise is going to be insane. I think if it's like the fact that it's at Anfield against the team who probably have been cheated the most out of success, given the bracket of time for the things that Man City have been found guilty of. And just also, if you think about it from fan base point of view, the mobilization of Liverpool fans for their team against others is probably certainly the strongest. I've got such a Thai fan place. And it's, I just, I cannot, I cannot comprehend, in the same way that I cannot comprehend like the level of cheating, I cannot comprehend the reaction until we actually see it on Sunday.

10:41Was it the Man United bus where someone threw a bottle of Strongbow Dark Fruits at it? And there's a great picture of the... It's good that you've got the brand and the flavour in it. It was the Strongbow Dark Fruits floating towards a bus and it was like, and I think it hit the back window and it smashed. smashed. Can you imagine, like, just a volley of, like, loads of bottles of dark fruit? Let's hope not, Peter.

11:01Pete Donaldson: I don't care. It'd be a waste, wouldn't it? We haven't got a vested interest. We are duty-bound to say that other Strongbow flavours are available. We're not the BBC. We don't have to do that at all. Marcus, if you were going to drink, what Strongbow dark fruit flavour would you go for? Probably that one. All right, OK.

11:16Marcus Speller: I think you'd be more of a Bulmer's boy. A Bulmer's boy. Could be. Could be. Could be a British friend. Could be a strongbow, though, eh?

11:21Pete Donaldson: Yeah. Keep it the bow that is... Earn your bow time. Yes, indeed. I think they should invite Jurgen Klopp and Brendan Rodgers. Oh, a little half-time. Basically everyone else who's been there the whole time as well. A little half-time entertainment at the end, yeah. Yeah, Arnest Slott, Wynum.

11:32Marcus Speller: I reckon Klopp would want to be there. Yeah, yeah. I want them to look me in the face when they kick off. And their children. Yes. Whose inheritance will be slightly smaller because of the win bonuses not being won. You know why daddy had to go back to Germany? Because of them.

11:49Pete Donaldson: Do you think Pep Guardiola would be there? He messaged, he posted on social, didn't he, that I'm still here, I'll always be here for you. I don't know how that works. Not in person, but I mean... Yeah. You can't get me.

12:00Marcus Speller: I'm not stepping foot back in the country. Apparently he's going to be at the PSG game. Yes, I did hear that. He will be.

12:07Pete Donaldson: I read that Nathan Fielder has moved in with him. Interesting. Erlen Haaland was asked about the charges. We have to stick together and we have to spread the love to each other. enjoy the ride and smile similar mantra that you boys had in Luxembourg he's one of those guys who probably would rise above it all but he is also genetically perfect for pulling copper wires out of walls so that's probably what he's doing down at the training ground get everything everything's going guys just take it all respect the process respect the process but if you end up with a lot of copper wires and maybe some copper tubing from the air conditioning ducts Enjoy.

12:49Yeah.

12:50Pete Donaldson: You're guilty until we've heard the appeal. No. That's not our way. Give me my wire.

12:56Marcus Speller: That's such a quintessential high caliber athlete talk, isn't it? Like it doesn't matter what he could be talking about there. Like, it is quite serious, but you could even ramp it up a few levels, and he'd still come up with, just got to enjoy the ride and smile. Like the level of dissociation, and I kind of understand it from a lot of the current players. I know Harlan's been there for a bit of time, but he's relatively new in the grand project. And if you think of someone like Anderson, Semenyo, Mark Gay, they must be looking internally as like, recently through the door as like, Jesus, we didn't ask for this.

13:33Marcus Speller: At no point, maybe we should have asked. Maybe we did ask. But there's a level of like, well, it's not our problem. And he probably feels it a bit more keenly, and is also like hardwired enough to like, well, it's people boo us and this will be the reason they're booing us is because we've won so much. Moreska could be the perfect manager for this. Just this siege mentality. Just, you know, back down the hatches. I don't know. They don't have a great record at Anfield, but this could be a turning point. I think the players will be massively affected by this.

14:06Pete Donaldson: This is what's so fascinating about this fixture, isn't it? Obviously, Haaland has to say that. None of the players are going to come out and go, yeah, we're quite worried, actually. This is pretty bad. But I think like the first goal in this game is going to be so, so interesting because I can totally see that siege mentality being something that the City players adopt. They're all very, very good players. They're all winners. They are kind of used to feeling like everyone hates them anyway. This noise around them is nothing new, is it? It's just there's a lot more detail on it. But at the same time, like the scale of it is absolutely unprecedented.

14:37Pete Donaldson: The noise at Anfield will be incredible. Liverpool are still finding their feet. They're unbeaten, but I think it's fair to say we've not seen the best of them yet, that we're likely to see under Iriola. So, like, this is going to be a psychodrama, sort of absolutely off the scale. I cannot wait. Yeah, I think... And the winner is Sky.

14:59Pete Donaldson: Yeah, I think this really does depend on which Liverpool we see. Because, you know, I think Man City... I would obviously Mareski will try and rev them up and ignore the noise and all that but I think if you're Liverpool you've got to be rubbing your hands together thinking there's no better time to play them and I think they should fly out the traps and go for it now I know that as you've already mentioned there there's still some sort of I don't know how would you describe it maybe not teething problem but there's still getting used to a new coach and all the rest of it but I just if you're Liverpool surely with the home crowd and all that's gone on.

15:36Pete Donaldson: I don't know, man. You've got to go out and blast them. It's like, you know, most football, or most really successful sports guys, they invent enemies, don't they? And if you're like the heel of the league, you're going to be kind of reveling that whole little guy. See? We told you everyone was against them. And it's low pressure because, you know, as Vish said, maybe they should have asked some questions. They're not on the hook for this. So just enjoy being the heel club for a bit and win the league and see how it pans out. Yeah, they seem to kind of like that anyway, right? I think we'll see a timid performance for a moment.

16:07Pete Donaldson: It'd be really interesting. I mean, like, so City started brilliantly, right? They've scored 13 goals this season, but that was before the international break, which in Man City years was about 10 years ago now. It was. Yeah, that would be my prediction. We'll see what happens, obviously, but I think it could be quite a timid performance.

16:24Marcus Speller: I don't disagree with you at all. I think there's a lot of, you know, there's a strange amount of in-game PR that would need to be done by City. Like, if City get the first goal, can't hold your hands up and like cup your ears to people booing you. Like, there is so many... Can't you? I mean, that would be funny, wouldn't it? No, no, you can, but there's an element of like, the emotion of the game wrapped up in what has unfolded takes the stuff off the field to a different level, I think. Yeah, I agree. People are just going to be even more furious and want even more justice. And I suppose like Liverpool's part in this would be to essentially get first dibs on punching City in the face.

17:08Marcus Speller: Yeah. Which is a general vibe. No, no, I think you're right.

17:11Pete Donaldson: I think that's exactly the way it will be perceived.

17:13Marcus Speller: And the other side of it is like, as Jim was saying about Iriola, like he would have, you know, seen this game in the fixture list when it came out and thought, this is a great asset test for where we could be after six games. and it has been a stop start. Little things like Bradley Barclay probably could do with quite a big performance. And now the game is completely flipped in context. It doesn't even really feel about Liverpool at this point.

17:36Pete Donaldson: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we will find out how far the non-caring shithouser of Enzo Fernandes can go in this game. Because as you said, if you talk about celebrations, if he can do the year-cupy celebration at Anfield Jordan, let's see. You know what I mean?

17:56Marcus Speller: If anyone can, he probably will. Exactly, yeah. Because I agree.

17:59Pete Donaldson: I think that the verdict and all the noise, as Manchester City would say, around them, this is not... How can I say? I think this is something that the players would be very worried about. And they would be thinking, do I have a long-term future here? What are the consequences? Because the consequences, we will hopefully find out at some time before we all die of old age, that actually this could affect their careers. And I think it's something that they're seriously worried about. If you're in your 20s, though, I mean, you're a footballer. By its very nature, you're transient, aren't you? Yeah, but Elliot Anderson's never good, though, right?

18:34Pete Donaldson: But Elliot Anderson's just gone there. You know, if he's just gone there for huge money, they're thinking... He'll have a home back at Newcastle if he wants it. Oh, you've changed your tune. Would Anthony Gordon still? What? Would Anthony Gordon? He's such a prick, that guy. He's had such a week of prickery. Really, you know, prickery and trickery.

18:52Marcus Speller: How have we in this section got to you calling Anthony Gordon a prick? Well, because it's... Because I asked him to be fair. It is kind of my fault. You didn't need to call him a prick though! No, you didn't.

19:01Pete Donaldson: You did not, Peter. That was a damning one. Well, look... 4.30, Sunday. It's gonna be explosive! Exactly. But Sky Sports will be the winner, as you say. All right, coming up after this, Avish gets to watch Manchester United this weekend.

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22:36Here's the problem. You've got champagne players where you need pint. You need beer players.

22:42Pete Donaldson: Welcome back to Football Rumble, everybody. I know exactly what he means.

22:46Marcus Speller: I know what he means as well.

22:47Pete Donaldson: I do know what he means. Who's he talking about? Who's he talking about? What's he talking about? Oh, well, let's find out in a minute. Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur. Saturday at 5.30. Vish couldn't watch it because it's on the telly.

22:59Marcus Speller: Yeah. He could go to the game. He's not banned. He's not got a banning order. That's the annoying thing. I think you mentioned it on Wednesday's show about the fact that, you know, the Premier League's back and the focus on the Man City Liverpool game and how quickly people will fall back into the storylines that we left about 10 years ago, as Jim made the point of saying. Yeah, and so when I saw the fixture list, I was like, you know, for the weekend, I was like, oh, for fuck's sake. We've got Man City United Spurs. It's a voucher derby, isn't it?

23:31Pete Donaldson: It is a bit.

23:32Marcus Speller: El Couponico.

23:35Pete Donaldson: So do you now wish that we were back in the great autumn international break of 2026?

23:40Marcus Speller: Can we get relegated? What if we got flying points?

23:43Pete Donaldson: I mean you flirted with it a couple of years ago, right?

23:46Marcus Speller: Steady on. Come on. We'll fight for the same team here.

23:50Pete Donaldson: Sorry mate.

23:51Marcus Speller: Part of the red cartel. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

23:55Pete Donaldson: Shh! Yeah, imagine you know it versus Tottenham Hotspur. I mean this is compulsive viewing, Peter, wouldn't you say? Spurs are for me they're kind of getting their shit together and Man United are chaotic at the back so I would go against the Optus supercomputer of saying this is a Man United win here but I do think Spurs have in the same way that I guess De Zerbe started his career quite slowly at Brighton and obviously it's kind of happening well it is happening again, you've got to hope it's happening again and it'll come good, but I thought they looked good the last couple of matches they've looked okay going forward they've looked scintillating at times but absolutely not in product alone yeah so do you I mean do you think bottom of the league Spurs are getting their shit together I think they're getting their shit together they've scored 2-5 I think they're getting their shit together I mean they have been a bit better I'll give you that they were 3-0 down when they scored the 2 they were which will go against that is a very fair point I think this is an intriguing game is Rashford and Manu are they in the front for coming back can we Manu currently being assessed Has it got any international players?

25:01Marcus Speller: Well, Van Hecker and Van Der Ven, I think I doubt for this. Yeah, Van Der Ven. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

25:05Pete Donaldson: Rashford's got no return date as well as it's listed right in front of me in a secret website that only I can access. So, yeah, I think, you know, there are a few injury doubts and absentees for this match. And Bwemar usually scores against Spurs, though, so you've probably got that. So it's at least a 1-0 deficit. I think Manchester United, I mean, they are statistically a much better goal-scoring form than Tottenham Hotspur. But do you worry about the defence, Vish? Because Pete rightly says, you know, Manchester United have not been too good at the back in recent years, you could say.

25:39Marcus Speller: Yeah, I think just generally the defensiveness of the team is a bit of an issue because they press from the front well, they don't move, but they don't move particularly well like deep in midfield. There's always spaces in front of that back line. One of the remedies of that could potentially be Carlos Buleba coming in and starting his first game. played in a behind closed doors friendly earlier this week, I think, or maybe back in the last week. So like he's clearly being primed to, to come in and that's, that's quite a big deal. Cause I mean, I don't totally agree with Pete, but I feel like a lot of Spurs open play at the start of games has been quite good.

26:20Marcus Speller: Like they, they have, they have shown a decent amount. Basically what I will say for this particular matchup, I think they've shown enough to worry Manchester United. given where Manchester United's flaws are.

26:31Pete Donaldson: Do you feel Spurs, not too dissimilar to say Fulham, because there have been periods of play this season where I thought, oh yeah, I can see what they're trying to do, but then there's the sort of the other 70 minutes of the game.

26:40Marcus Speller: You feel a little bit like Will Smith and iRobot, it's like, I'm not crazy, like I have seen it, there is good play there and people are like, well, you're bottom of the league or you're in the recommendation zone.

26:49Pete Donaldson: But obviously Fulham gave Man United a few problems. I mean, the goal Manchester United conceded was obviously calamitous and they ended up getting a draw, but I know what you mean, it could play out sort of similarly to what it did at Grey Cottage it's a good tea time matches this weekend lovely tea time fun Jim any thoughts on Manchester United Spurs yeah I think part of the problem that Spurs in particular have had has been when they're playing well and they go 1-0 down and then they get into that kind of fog and it's we've all seen our teams go through periods like that and it's really really difficult to sort of dig your way out of it but I don't know why I'm surprised by this given how the last couple of seasons have gone I mean we're five games in and both of these teams badly need a win here already at this point in the season.

27:29Pete Donaldson: They've got one win between them, which was Man United beating Ipswich in late August. And yeah, something really has to give here. I wonder if actually the international break would have been a good thing for both teams here to sort of just reset, calm down a little bit, quell some of the noise, and they could kind of maybe go again. You would think Man United at home here have the big advantage. Both sets of fans are kind of frustrated and a little bit angry with their teams. and I think home advantage is massive there. Who do you think is more under pressure? De Zerbe or Carrick? I think Carrick, just because he's been there a bit longer, really.

28:05Pete Donaldson: Because if you sack De Zerbe, what on earth do you do? Exactly. It's not that dissimilar situation to Man Utd, of course, but I think he's in a situation where he'll be quite well compensated if they do that as well, right? So there are many reasons for Spurs not to sack him right now. I think there's a lot of noise around Carrick, isn't there? There's a sort of lads, it's Tottenham kind of quality to this at the moment as well. So there's a lot of pressure there for him. Yeah, a lot of noise in Manchester at the moment, it would appear. Well, Antonio Conte, former Spurs manager, some are saying has made a subtle pitch for the Manchester United job after being linked with the job, of course, in the past.

28:39Pete Donaldson: He was speaking to The Athletic and he said, if you go to a club where the history speaks for itself, history made up of trophies, league titles and victories, you can only honour that history in one way by having the ambition to bring that club back. If it isn't there today to fight for those goals. He continued and said, I know full well that only one team can win every year, but I must carry in my heart and instill in the hearts of the fans, my players and my directors, that spark, that hope that makes you say, fuck, we can win. Strange one there. He also spoke about his time at Spurs and said, I remember once we'd lost or drawn a game and I sent Daniel Levy a message.

29:12Pete Donaldson: He replied, don't worry, we'll win the next one. I thought, what the fuck? I kept saying to him, look! He gets off on this stuff. Oh yeah. It's not good news if he's identified your club as a place he wants to be. Because he knows it's a mess. And he knows he's going to get off on the drama of it. Is that when the wolf on the phone? What on earth has happened? Why is the wolf calling me?

29:33Marcus Speller: I'm not a Spurs fan. And I find like, but I find the way he talks about Spurs really off. Like, I remember that second leg against Milan where he, with no due respect to him, he basically tanked that for his own means. Like he was bringing on, I think he brought on Davinson Sanchez when they're chasing a goal. Oh, I remember something like that. In the last 15 minutes. Like I thought he was a disgrace in that game and he was a disgrace after the game as well. And then I've also been in press conferences where, I think he was the manager, wasn't he? When Spurs beat Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022 when Holden got sent off after like 20 minutes.

30:16Marcus Speller: And he used four press conferences that were for like the day after the game, sorry, the evening of the game, the day after the game and then for the weekend, basically just to belittle Arteta, just go out of his way and almost play like the caricature thing of like a Spurs. I'm Spurs man, we've beaten Arsenal, I'm going to really lord out of this guy and talking about how he's really inexperienced stuff like that. And now he's like mouthing off to anyone who listened to him while Arteta is like a defending Premier League champion.

30:42Pete Donaldson: Oh, this is very, this is a little bit clear that we're doing the red cartel thing. We did say that we were trying to be a bit more subtle about this being real. Which it's not.

30:51Marcus Speller: But yeah, I find him so... He really irks me. I don't know why.

30:57Pete Donaldson: I know what you mean. I think, would you want him turning up at your club? Absolutely not. I know he's obviously won Napoli the league in 2025. So he's got a recent top flight title in a very good league. He was star's order, but I would argue that Manchester United aren't the crazy club that they were, you know, a couple of years ago. I don't think that order necessarily needs to be restored. It feels like that's never that far away, though, doesn't it? Right, yeah. If you put him into the mix, then it's very likely to come back. But he's saying... However, though, to flip it, so he's talking about Spurs in the way he does.

31:32Pete Donaldson: Mourinho talks about Spurs in the way he does. Two pricks, to be fair. Yeah, they are. However, they've been at a lot of places. I mean, Mourinho, the way he talks about the Turkish Super League, is quite frankly disgraceful. well. So maybe I shouldn't say, oh look, two absolute idiots are saying this should we believe them. But, you know, Spurs are where they are. I mean, even Ange Postacoglu was saying stuff as well about Spurs. You know, I mean, there is a pattern. So I understand Igor Tudor piped up. It'd be rich, wouldn't it? It would be a bit rich. So, I mean, De Zerbe has this season as well about the team he's currently bloody managing.

32:09Pete Donaldson: I mean, he's there. So... I think managers who know their worth are the loudest in this area. would that be fair, sir? Yeah, yeah. As loathed as I am to try and give Antonio Conte some sort of leeway here, I don't know. But perhaps it is a little bit unnecessary, but there we are. One former Spurs man is perhaps sharing himself in a bit more glory. It's their former player, Ramon Vega. He says he intends to stand as a candidate in next year's FIFA presidential election. Now, before we think, oh, there's a credible candidate to take on Gianni Infantino, he has previously offered to run for the position when Blatter was suspended in 2015 and 2019, and he said he would stand against Infantino, but he failed to get enough support to be included in the ballot.

32:50Pete Donaldson: And to be an official candidate, you require the backing of just five of FIFA's 211 member federations. That is poor, isn't it? That's a poor term. Be proposed by a member association and have played an active role in the game for two of the past five years, as well as passing an eligibility check by a review committee. So if you can't pass that for FIFA. I mean, he's from Zurich or near Zurich, which has basically been forged in the fires of football administration. That's just what you do. Close commute. And he looks like Rafa Benitez right now. His hair's gone pleasingly raff. Has he? And so I think if you can't get those five votes from the members, I think that's preposterous for you to think that you could challenge him.

33:30Pete Donaldson: Yeah, it's just a pipe dream he's not giving up on. Do you not admire the ambition yet? In the same way that I'd quite like to be a leading man in a movie. Right, yeah. Like, I'm not actively taking any steps towards that. No, but you're open to office. Yeah, I wouldn't say no. It seems to me that's how he feels about being FIFA president. Okay. Yeah, I see what you mean. Not lobby. You do have to lobby. You do have to try to, you know, talk to people. Well, maybe he has. Maybe he has. Maybe there's just a big old conspiracy against him. I don't know. Gentlemen, before we go for a break, you see the breaking news this morning.

34:00Pete Donaldson: Everton's owners, the frequent group, obviously bought Everton only in 2024, just under two years ago. They're open to selling Everton already. Have they kept the receipts? is what I would ask. But yeah, they did say that they're open to selling, but if the right person or group to take the club to the next level isn't available at the moment, they're happy to continue. Okay, so don't worry. They're not just going to walk off because I don't think that's how it works. But they did say that they've been happy that they've taken Everton to the next... Sorry, they've stabilized the club, obviously getting the stadium sorted, staving away any sort of relegation chat, bringing in David Moyes.

34:38Pete Donaldson: but they're saying someone needs to take them to the next level. I mean, if that isn't how it ends up panning out and they get good owners off the back of it, I mean, is that like the most successful ownership in Premier League history? Like, just come in, all positive, gone. Yeah. Well, it's not been all positive. Well, I mean, they've steadied the ship, though. They've said it was all positive. Right, sure. Whereas the fans, if you remember when the transfer window was closing. Fair, fair, fair. They dealt with the points deductions, I suppose, haven't they? Yeah. That was them, wasn't it? I mean, look, I understand what you mean.

35:06Pete Donaldson: It's not been all bad. I think I'll leave it to Everton fans to kind of decide whether they've enjoyed it or not. Clearly there has been some positives, as they point out, but the lack of activity in the transfer. Part of that was... He was down to following Balogun himself, though, wasn't he? It was, but... And obviously the financial situation as well, but even Moyes himself was just a bit pissed off. If you want your stadium, you'll have a few quiet years. It happens with everybody apart from Man City. They sort of... Was that noisy years, of course? Yeah, exactly. I mean, I guess they're a massive investment firm and, you know, they've put their money somewhere for a bit, they'll take out and maybe they need it somewhere else.

35:46They're off for an NHL team, so maybe that's where it's going. Right, exactly. It's just so quiet at the Premier League. It's just such a cheap option compared to everything else here, even though there's more eyes on the product.

35:54Marcus Speller: Yeah, the Cayman Islands over there.

35:57Pete Donaldson: Why not turn the Hill Dickinson into an ice rink? And they're never going to play their football elsewhere.

36:01Marcus Speller: But do you not... Is that not part of it? Do they feel... Is it kind of like they've come in... I don't think that's part of it. No, no, no, but they come in, they've done up the house, and they're like, well, we can flip this. It's probably, probably.

36:11Pete Donaldson: It's location, location. Indeed it is. Which was the one where they... You missed one. Location, location, location. Right. Is it three? Do you mean Grand Designs? I think Grand Designs, yeah. Yeah, I can see why you got those confused. Where a stupid dad just ruins his family's life. Yeah. There's some folly. That was one particular episode. We're hoping to be in at Christmas. Yeah. We're hoping to be in at Christmas.

36:29Marcus Speller: You're not going to be in at Christmas, and your wife's going to get pregnant. Don't ask any questions. Is that the one where they like surprise them though and sometimes they hate it? What do you mean as in? Oh no, no, no, no.

36:38Pete Donaldson: That's your home made perfect. Yeah. Bloody hell boys. Grand Designs is where the man of the house decides that he wants to spend all of his family's inheritance on a turret. And they're always, always inherited. They're always fucking minted and they take an old dilapidated lighthouse and convert it into a fucking house. Again, you're speaking of one particular episode. Kevin MacLeod says, Kevin MacLeod goes, this is a terrible idea. Keep the cameras rolling. Keep the cameras rolling. This is a bad idea. They make an obscene eyesore that shouldn't be allowed. And then the wife leaves because the man's terrible.

37:09Yeah. Did he ever end up in that lighthouse? No, I think the lighthouse one he didn't actually. No, I think he did it up and then he had to sell it because he'd spent too much money. Someone massively undercats. And the older ones are always like, Ernest, we're going to be in by Christmas. 2020. It's like, oh no, you don't know Covid's coming, you dickheads.

37:31Marcus Speller: I do love Kevin MacLeod, but like it's the voice over when they're like, yeah, it just be our dream home. You see, come over the top. It won't be. It'll be yon. It was a fucking shit idea.

37:43Pete Donaldson: Is living in a lighthouse good? Why do so many people want to do that? I don't know. It's quite fair. I think it's because you can be lifted. Yeah? It's one for you. I can that. Back to the 90s.

37:53Marcus Speller: It'd be annoying if just like, if you leave something at the door. Yeah. Or you want to put a shelf up. Yeah. I've got to get curved shells. I'd put a big slide in. They're very hard to find. Put a big slide in. If a kid knocked on your door and ran away, you'd be fucking livid, wouldn't you? You would.

38:09Pete Donaldson: Yeah. You'd have to stay away on Halloween, wouldn't you? Yeah, you would, yeah. Yeah, I would say, yeah. The light doesn't go down there, shit. Yeah. Hull City will be hosting Everton this weekend. Are Hull going to just pick it up where they left off in the Premier League? The castle laid a glove on them. Oh, well that was a shame. That was a shame. That was a shame. The castle needed that. Yeah, I think for the... Okay, fine. Marks, have you noticed I'm dressed like Matthias Ysler? Are you were? Yes! Yeah, you're looking very sexy. White trainers I bought from Peacocks for 20 quid. Well done.

38:38Yeah, thanks. Excellent. Excellent. Other birds are available.

38:42Marcus Speller: Is that the most normal you've ever dressed? Yeah, I think so, yeah. After the Luxembourg debacle. There were some unkind words said on the last ramble, I heard yours.

38:51Pete Donaldson: I didn't say that. You were all getting involved. They were quotes from you.

38:56Marcus Speller: Pete, on the Ryanair flight, we weren't sat next to each other, because that would be mental, apparently. I love it.

39:08It was ten quid extra on the Tuesday seats.

39:11Marcus Speller: We were so far apart, we got on different parts of the plane. Yeah. Pete was in the cockpit, presumably. Pete messaged me saying, because it was boiling hot on the plane, he went, I'm going to take my shirt off and I was like, sure. Got out at the other end. He was wearing a shirt.

39:29Pete Donaldson: Yeah.

39:29Marcus Speller: Sorry, he was wearing a blazer. I didn't realise that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt underneath. That's good stuff. Like a wrestler. He came to the luggage claim looking like a wrestler. I did take my shirt completely. I tried to put the t-shirt, because it was so hot and it was just waiting on the tarmac and I tried to change my t-shirt with another t-shirt on but I couldn't so I was like fuck it I'll just take my, so I just did have my top off on a Ryanair flight the interesting thing is, I think I mentioned it on the Instagram but I didn't explain it properly, I was, there was a lady near me who was just travelling along with a baby, she's always a fucking nightmare, she had three big old bags she's the nightmare isn't she?

40:08she's the nightmare, I put the bags on the plane for her up the stairs and then at the other end at Luxembourg I took the bags off her and I said let me help you to the passport she's like no you alright? well so I had both of her bags, she took one off me and she went through passport and I had to go somewhere else because we're not EU anymore and she was Portuguese. So I was like, I'm just importing a woman's bags. That's naughty that, innit? Have you packed your bag yourself, sir? No, I don't know what's in it.

40:35Marcus Speller: And he got me to stop the woman. She was genuinely looking quite panicked. And she was like looking around. I was like, oh, my friend has your bag. And she was like, who are you? And I showed them the message that I sent Pete. I was like, no, he's coming through. My friend has your bag and your

40:53Pete Donaldson: baby. Alright, let's go for a break. Coming up after this, the Spygate Saga continues.

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42:45Pete Donaldson: Welcome back to the Football Ramble, everybody. Oh, my goodness. The Premier League is back this weekend. We're, of course, extremely excited about that. But what's even more exciting, dare I suggest, is that we'll be recording the Football Ramble live on Monday morning. It's going to be live, baby. so join us live on our YouTube channel at 9.30am sharp on Monday for our reaction to all the weekend's football live, warts and all the football ramble 9.30 on our YouTube channel oh my goodness, do not miss out on that the pod will be in your ears at the normal time and all the rest of it, but if you want to get ahead of the game join us 9.30 on Monday right, Arsenal the Premier League champions will face Leeds United on Saturday at 12.30 Daniel Farker when asked about Manchester City's charges he said not my topic my topic is football that's great we've not heard about the topics in a while but it's good that he's on topic though Jim Cabell you have to say Leeds United have been because they currently sit fifth they are in line for European positions dare I suggest with all this Man City stuff that's going to affect them they're six points off the top could we see a little challenge for the title

43:54Marcus Speller: you answer that you answer that yeah I think they could

43:57Pete Donaldson: okay you're going to put some money down now your turn to answer. I agree. Hey, got him. Yeah, I'm asked, this is a nice fixture. It is. This is a very, very different proposition from the Leeds of last year. Arsenal beat them 5-0 or 4-0, but I don't think anybody's going to be getting results like that against Leeds this year. They look really, really different, look really, really good. They've kind of lent into what's worked for them really well in terms of adding very sort of physically impressive but technically capable players as well. I think it's going to be a really, really tough afternoon.

44:31Pete Donaldson: And obviously, Arsenal come off the back of a really chastening 3-0 defeat by Brighton, where a lack of pace was exposed and was a clear problem. Obviously, it's slightly different at home in terms of the atmosphere and things like that. But, you know, Arsenal have some questions over them. And this is a trickier game than I think people realise it is. Leeds are still unbeaten. I know that a few teams are. But, yeah, it's going to be a tricky afternoon, I think. Yeah, it's funny to think that Arsenal, that gave me away to Brighton. I've forgotten about it because we've had so much international football.

45:01Pete Donaldson: But he's right, Vish. Leeds will be going there with high hopes.

45:03Marcus Speller: Yeah, they will fancy something, not least because Arsenal have so many injuries to contend with. So Havertz is out, definitely. Yeah. Saliba's out, definitely.

45:11Pete Donaldson: Yeah.

45:11Marcus Speller: What's the situation with Rice?

45:13Pete Donaldson: I think Rice was just rested over the international break, but I'm not 100 % sure on that.

45:19Marcus Speller: Because Alex Scott was sacrificed at the altar of that. Yes, he was.

45:22Pete Donaldson: I mean, he's in line for a place, but you have to wait and see. But there's also Esri Konza and Christos Solis as well, as well as Max Daumann, apparently. so he probably wouldn't start but might have featured so yeah that that's a factor as well

45:34Marcus Speller: big game for Eze I think likely to start I you know I think we're all fans of him I think if you're a fan of football you're a fan of somebody who plays like him but he's a really strange few months perhaps maybe you can extend it to the back end of last season where I suppose he just like stopped scoring stopped playing um I don't really know like it feels like he is at quite crucial juncture in his career.

45:59Pete Donaldson: It's interesting you say that, because obviously watching him for England. Yeah, yeah.

46:03Marcus Speller: That's what triggered that, actually.

46:05Pete Donaldson: Yeah, I know what you mean. Yeah, I mean, back in the last season, we got that goal against Newcastle, of course, but... I know what you mean. Has he had the impact, maybe, that he and some of the fans would have hoped for? They've won the league in his first season, so it's not too shabby. And he's made contributions to that as well. Yeah, yeah. And in the Champions League as well. Well, you can pick out moments where the goal against Bayer Leverkusen was stunning. It's probably Arsenal's best goal of the season. Yeah, but what you have with Eza is something that everybody knew what he did at Crystal Palace.

46:33Pete Donaldson: The nature of playing for Crystal Palace is you're going to have to pick your moments. And you're going to have those, you know, he has, you know, a handful or two handfuls of great moments every season. With Arsenal, it's got to be week in, week out, really. And when I say great moments, maybe that's a little bit too much of a high ceiling for the vast majority of players. But I take it with Eza that, you know, he looks great on the pitch. you know what he can bring. But if you start really scrutinizing it, you might go, okay, we need a little bit more end product maybe or something. His style is really interesting, isn't it?

47:05Pete Donaldson: Because he's very patient. I love him as a player. It's very, very calm. And there are times where you feel like, maybe just make a sprint there though or like press a bit harder there or whatnot. So I wonder if that's something we'll see from him a little bit more. I also think playing him and Calafuri together if you're starting as on the left isn't the best fit because Calafuri roams around a lot and ends up in the spaces where Ezzer is most effective. He actually played in a sort of inside left position for Crystal Palace quite a lot and was very good there. So he can play that position, but I think he needs a fullback going on the outside.

47:36Pete Donaldson: So I suspect if you play Ezzer and Hincapié together on the left side, that's probably the way you get the best out of Ezzer. But Calafuri has been, by far and away, Arsenal's best player in that position. So it's a little bit of an imperfect solution at the moment. Leeds United might be without Daniel James, who had a pretty good international break, didn't he? You know, for Wales, he was involved a lot against Norway. They'll be without Joe Roden as well. So, you know...

48:07Marcus Speller: Is Harry Wilson still out as well?

48:09Pete Donaldson: Well, he's being assessed as well. So, I mean, I think with Leeds, though... What happened in the Wales camp? Yeah. I don't know. Maybe Daniel James, one of his legs just went, I am eventually tired. Can I lose a yard yet? we've got so many yards we can lose I was about to say you can lose 10 of them and you'll still be alright

48:25Marcus Speller: oh mate it's not that serious get out

48:28Pete Donaldson: yeah indeed well gentlemen Mikel Arteta was speaking about his first day in charge of Arsenal all those years ago now and he walked in and sounds to me like Antonio Conte he said I demolished the office I just destroyed the office and put everything on the floor the computers, the laptops, the cables then I brought everybody in and I said if you want me to help you enjoy your profession and your life and the passion that we all share you have two minutes to put this in order and be ready to work together I'm so mad man it's been like that from the start that also makes it sound like the office is made of Lego doesn't it there's no way you're smashing things and people are putting them together in two minutes I love the thought yeah like there's just broken glass everything it's like we'll put it back together that's just a bad idea we've got the means Peter I like the fact that when you're doing the story Vish demolishes on mic stand taking inspiration He undid it, so now tidy it up.

49:21Pete Donaldson: You're a man who loves a computer and a wire. Would you relish this challenge or would you be utterly disgusted? I'd be up to the task, I think, of getting everything back together really quickly, but I think winning the league was the worst thing that could happen to football for that manager. Worse than the manseekster. Yeah, yeah. Because it just encourages him, it encourages people like him. Oh, Pete. Nothing doesn't encourage him. That's the thing He's powered by some unknown fuel source As hitherto yet to be discovered Some kind of space juice He'd be like this regardless

49:59Marcus Speller: I mean this is day one This is a story from day one Also a Ramble listener Who I won't name Has been in Mikel Arteta's office After a game

50:11Pete Donaldson: I think I know who that is

50:12Marcus Speller: And sent me a photo of His office and it looks like they didn't really clear it up. It's a bit chaotic. It's not full of the camera, but there are just wires everywhere. Right, okay. Is he just pulling out wires? I'm back on board. Remember that Japanese lady who got people up? Marikondo. Yeah, that's it. Get her in there. Did she quit tidying up? Yeah, she was like, oh, fuck it, I can't be arsed. She retired.

50:41Pete Donaldson: So everything's just a mess now. She went a bit punk. She was like, ah. Does smashing your business up bring you joy, Mikel? Maybe she saw that bit in Pinocchio, when they all bashed the place up. How do you say that again? Pinocchio. Well, I wanted to say Pinocchio, because that's probably how you'd say it. Nokia. For those who are influenced by our American cousins, Pinocchio. Right. I don't even remember the bit of the film. Oh, it's just as well. As noise gets long, I think he smokes a cigar at one point. They all turn into donkeys on that island. It's just before the donkey bit. Right. Why are they turning into donkeys?

51:16Pete Donaldson: Spoilers. Have you ever gone to a naughty island or something? Naughty boy island? Cigars are bad. I can't remember what it's really saying. Is it about the Tate brothers? It feels like a man. The big news is for Arsenal. Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are close to signing new deals with the club. Of course, Arteta got himself a new deal. Are you excited by this, Jim? Yeah. I mean, more of this is good. You've been here. You've seen what I've lived through. Yeah. You know, the dark days when this branch of the red cartel was really not pulling its weight. Yeah, not getting new deals for players and then leaving.

51:48Pete Donaldson: Absolutely, yeah. Tie them down.

51:49Marcus Speller: Have you thought about paying him twice? Absolutely, yeah.

51:52Pete Donaldson: I think Declan Rice should be literally tied down, so he actually rests. But I hope that's what's been happening over this international window. Does Victor Jokic deserve a new deal? He scored in every Nations League match during the great autumn international break of 2020. If he has a contract with Sweden, he absolutely deserves a new one. It's really interesting, this kind of juxtaposition. He's only started two games this season, but he's not been particularly involved. And I think there's a clear problem in terms of him making the right runs and certainly his teammates finding him in the right moments.

52:22Pete Donaldson: And at some point, I know that the quality of opposition they're up against in the Nations League is a lot different, but there needs to be some work done on the relationship between Jokrez and everyone around him. Yeah, it does feel like to me that if, like last season, you could say, well, it's the first season and he's adapting and he could have all those arguments. It doesn't look like much has changed this season. You think this could be, it might well be his last season. Yeah, I think that's very, very possible. But he's a baffling player in that he scored 21 goals last season. That's more than anyone has scored for Mikel Arteta.

52:56Pete Donaldson: And obviously that's not been the case so far this season. but he's going to start I mean if Mikel Moreno starts the writing is really on the wall but I think Jokoriz will start at the weekend so he'll get a chance and you know it's got to be hard without a run of games and he should get that now he should get it he should get it alright everybody let's sort of dip down into the championship for a brief moment because the Southampton Spygate saga has got its latest update an FA independent regulatory commission has given Tonda Eckert a six week suspended ban from all football until the end of the season, as well as a£28 ,000 fine.

53:33Pete Donaldson: So he will stay on as Southampton manager for the foreseeable future. So it's a suspended ban. Has he got away lightly? Or as his and maybe some other people's arguments, are we getting too hit up about this? I suppose it depends, like, when they put that suspension in. It should just loom over him. It should be any day.

53:54Marcus Speller: Well, I mean, but that's what it is. Until the end of the season, yeah. So like, but a suspended ban is don't do that again. Yeah, effectively. For this season. It was a similar thing with the Granit Xhaka suspended fine. You're like, well, he's not going to do another COVID voucher, is he? Unless, does it count for the Russian one that's coming off? I don't know. Maybe. You're spying again, not behind a tree. Different wine. I mean, obviously like there,

54:22Pete Donaldson: the punishment was what happened to them in the playoffs, right? That was the club. But I mean, Eckert himself, who obviously sanctioned the spying. Yeah, what counts as spying? What, were they peeking through somebody's letterbox? Or behind a tree into the trailer? Through a glory hole? Right. There was no need for that. I think actually... From a cuck chair? Spying through a glory hole is actually quite an innocent use of it, Marcus. Yeah, genuinely. That's technically a crime, so it wouldn't contravene his... Suddenly he's clicked in a...

54:52Marcus Speller: It's also one of the worst... A place to put your eye. Yeah, it's not a great place to smile on anything. Well, one person has to put their face near it. Crack on.

55:02Pete Donaldson: He'll stay on a sell-out to manage it. He wasn't like this in Luxembourg.

55:06Marcus Speller: He's only like this over here.

55:08Pete Donaldson: No, I wasn't. That's interesting, isn't it? It's almost like it's to wind you up. It's the closer I get to... To the Queen's house. To the Queen's house. We do have a Queen. We do have a Queen. Lest we forget. Southampton face Portsmouth in the South Coast Derby on Sunday. Love it. Of course it's on Sunday because they can't trust them otherwise.

55:37If you could spy on someone from Portsmouth, what would you see? What would you see right now? It's Friday, it's quarter past ten. Yeah Ben's gone to childcare So What's he going to be doing with his life? I don't know I really don't know Probably watching a documentary about the war Probably

55:55Marcus Speller: He loves war, doesn't he? He loves war Yeah I'm just saying

55:58Pete Donaldson: And he tells me every time Settling disputes Settling disputes A good laugh He says sometimes If a Derby gang was kicking off at 12pm on a Sunday You know that they can't be trusted Yeah

56:12Marcus Speller: Maybe I've misremembered this but I'm sure there was once an old firm game that kicked off at 11am really yeah on a Monday morning

56:22Pete Donaldson: surprise match we'll get it done before you've got to go to work on Monday let's not tell them

56:26Marcus Speller: let's just play it let's see what happens

56:29Pete Donaldson: oh dear they couldn't find a neutral ground so anyway alright everybody Jack's Encyclopedia is happening this afternoon it's Marcus vs Vish vs Jim it'll be available to listen to later today so make sure to subscribe to the Football Ramble in your podcast app so that you do not miss it. It promises to be a classic. Thanks for listening to the Football Ramble part of the ACAR's Created Network. We'll see you later for Jack's Encyclopedia of course and remember to join us live on YouTube 9.30 Monday morning for us to give you a live review of all the weekend's action. Until then thank you Peter.

57:03Pete Donaldson: Thank you. Thank you Vish. Cheers. Thank you Jim. Thank you. And thank you Luxembourg.

57:15The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the ACAST Creator Network.

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