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In short
Guardian Football Weekly discusses tributes after Liverpool forward Diogo Jota’s death in a car crash in northern Spain; other athlete deaths; Club World Cup semi-finals and injuries; transfer talk; Thomas Partey’s rape charges and Arsenal’s handling; and England Women’s Euro 2025 defeat to France.
Guests (backgrounds)
Barry Glendening (Guardian/football writer on panel), Mark Langdon (Racing Post), Craig Hannan (Anfield Rap pod host), plus Susie Rack (Guardian women’s football correspondent) joins later.
Key claims
Jota’s impact is framed as personal as well as footballing; his timing and finishing are highlighted, with “just get Jota on” as a recurring theme. Jamal Musiala’s injury is treated as a freak incident despite Club World Cup context. Arsenal are heavily criticized for continuing to play Thomas Partey after multiple arrests/charges; burden-of-proof differences are debated. England’s Euro start is described as sloppy and uncharacteristically lacking answers to France’s press.
Notable examples
Jota’s wedding (11 days before death), his Leicester winning-penalty moment, Spurs and Everton goals, and Baby Shark celebration. Club World Cup: PSG’s late Hakimi-to-Dembele goal; Real Madrid’s Mbappé scissor kick; Chelsea’s Cole Palmer goal; pricing spikes for tickets. England: midfield disruption after Lauren James fades; late substitutions.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOFootball Updates
0:45 to 1:16
Discussion on recent football events and issues, including transfer news.
“Chelsea into the semis too, where they'll play Fluminese.”
Diogo Jota Tribute Introduction
1:16 to 1:52
Introduction of the topic regarding Diogo Jota's tragic passing.
Reflecting on Jota's Life
1:52 to 2:58
A heartfelt reflection on Diogo Jota's life, his family, and the tragedy of his loss.
“Liverpool posted a beautiful and heartbreaking film of him playing, talking about the game.”
Tributes from Teammates
2:58 to 4:50
Teammates share memories and tributes to Diogo Jota, emphasizing his character.
“It's less about the footballer that we all loved.”
Jota's Impact on Liverpool
4:50 to 6:34
Discussion on Diogo Jota's footballing skills and his contributions to Liverpool.
Grieving Process in Football
6:34 to 8:07
Exploration of the grieving process for players and fans following Jota's death.
“Probably not, but it sort of underlines the tragedy of a life lost so young with three kids, a wife, other family.”
Acknowledging Other Lives Lost
8:07 to 13:20
Recognition of other football players who have tragically lost their lives recently.
“And, you know, I thought Robertson's tribute, yeah, was difficult to read.”
Tributes to Fallen Footballers
14:00 to 14:42
Honoring the lives of Peter Rufay and John Clarke, who recently passed away.
“And Wilson, you wanted to talk about a couple of players as well who also sadly lost their lives.”
Injury Impact on Jamal Musiala
14:52 to 20:22
Discussion about Jamal Musiala's injury and its implications for Bayern and the World Cup.
“It's one of those sort of David Boost type injuries.”
Club World Cup Semi-Finals Preview
20:22 to 24:27
Previewing the semi-finals of the Club World Cup and notable match performances.
“And, you know, Hakimi's work for the second is ridiculous.”
Show all 20 chapters
Chelsea's Performance and Future Prospects
24:27 to 28:01
Analyzing Chelsea's recent performances and discussing player development strategies.
“So without Heysen, yeah, it will be interesting to just see how Real Madrid go.”
Debate over Goalkeeper Performance
28:01 to 29:17
The hosts discuss opinions on a recent goalkeeping performance and its implications.
“Which one of us knows nothing about the game?”
FIFA Club World Cup Pricing Controversy
29:17 to 30:48
The conversation shifts to the fluctuating ticket prices for the FIFA Club World Cup.
“I think Connor McNamara was on commentary.”
Mexico vs. USA: Gold Cup Analysis
30:48 to 32:36
Analysis of the recent Gold Cup match between Mexico and the USA, including controversial moments.
“and wasn't much surprised, really, that they managed to get the winner through Edson Alvarez.”
Thomas Partey Charged: Club's Response
32:36 to 38:40
Discussion regarding Thomas Partey's legal issues and Arsenal's handling of the situation.
“Gittins, they've sold Kepa to Arsenal, the Madweki Rumours and Waniere as well.”
Broader Implications of Legal Cases in Football
38:40 to 42:00
Exploration of the implications of legal proceedings on football clubs and their players.
“Andrew Mangan, better known to many as Arseblog, wrote a very eloquent piece about this and the undercurrent of simmering fury from him was very palpable.”
Scrutiny of England's Euro Performance
42:00 to 44:30
Discussion on England's disappointing loss to France in Euro 2025.
“until it has reached the stage of charging, which, you know, So I think, yeah, obviously the criticism of Arsenal is completely fair and I agree with it all.”
Critique of Team Dynamics and Substitutions
44:30 to 48:26
Analysis of England's team chemistry and substitution strategies in the match.
“The last Euros, 2022, it was Austria in the first game, who, you know, much better team than Haiti, much higher up the world rankings, but still one of the lowest ranked teams in the competition.”
Atmosphere and Experience at the Tournament
48:26 to 53:56
Description of the vibrant atmosphere at the tournament and fan experiences.
“So wholesale changes for the Netherlands game or just be better?”
Wedding Reflections and Generosity
56:00 to 57:06
The hosts share humorous anecdotes about a recent wedding and the generous acts of guests.
“But because he couldn't let me have that, on the weekend of my wedding, he couldn't let me be the generous one.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is The Guardian.
0:30Mark Langdon:and is invincible. And it has such an impact on fans of all the sides he played for because we do feel like we know these people that we've never met. Beyond that, our complex relationship with the Club World Cup continues. Dynamic pricing, a terrible and freak injury to Jamal Murciala. But at the same time, some great football matches as PSG beat Bayern and Real beat Dortmund. Chelsea into the semis too, where they'll play Fluminese. We'll do some transfer stuff and then we'll talk about what we can talk about regarding the multiple rape charges against Thomas Partey. And then back to the football, perhaps it's the ultimate sign of progress that England's women can put in a tournament a performance so reminiscent of their male counterparts even if serena viedman wanted to release the handbrake the french wouldn't let her they were very impressive england words as always we'll answer your questions and that's today's guardian football weekly
1:15Mark Langdon:on the panel today barry glendening welcome hi max jonathan wilson hello morning how you doing yeah good thank you and from the racing post mark langdon hi max uh and joining us to talk about diogo jota as well craig hannon from the anfield rap craig thanks so much for coming on i know you're at an airport and you're busy so we really appreciate your time all good thank you uh let's talk about diogo jota then uh who died last week in a car crash in northern spain was killed alongside his brother andre silver when the car they were traveling in veered off a road he leaves behind his wife ruta cardosa who he'd married just 11 days previously and three young children the news broke just as we finished thursday's pod it was one of those moments that stops me in your tracks.
1:56Mark Langdon:Liverpool posted a beautiful and heartbreaking film of him playing, talking about the game. And one of the final clips was him kicking the ball about with his kids on the Anfield turf. I mean, Craig, it has obviously been a very difficult three days for everyone involved in that football club. Of course, the family. It's hard to process, isn't it? It really is. It's something that I can't think of that's happened in my lifetime. You know, the one thing that I continually think about is not about the footballer that we've lost. It's about the person. It's about the mothers who's lost two sons. It's about the wife and the kids who've lost their dad and their husband.
2:31And the thing that I continually think about is the picture of them in their wedding just two weeks ago. You see Diogo stood with his young family, his incredibly young family, and his wife. And they're looking at their family. Their brother will be in the crowd as well. And the one thing when they look at each other, they all think they have as time as a family. They've got time to grow old together, to experience life together, to watch their kids grow up together. but that's been stolen from them. And that's the heartbreaking bit about this. It's less about the footballer that we all loved.
3:00And he was a footballer that I enjoyed watching. He gave me incredible moments, incredible experiences, big goals and big games. But it's the person that's been lost here.
3:10Mark Langdon:Yeah. You're obviously closer to the club and the city and to the players as well. And it is so often said when somebody dies that they were a great person. But from what everyone has said and from all those tributes, Greg you really are left in no doubt that this was just a really good guy yeah absolutely the Anfield trap um interviewed him a few times and uh he was incredibly warm he gave answers that weren't the the standard footballer answer you know he would he would tell you what you really thought there was once when we spoke to him about he scores the winning penalty against Leicester in the cup and and knocks them out and Leicester had sung a few songs about Liverpool that he didn't like and we didn't like and Diogo very much showed them at the end what he thought of them and you He talked about that openly and said, I heard them singing songs and I wanted to give it to them.
3:56So he was someone who was incredibly warm and generous with his time and just a really, really nice fella. And that's the thing that comes across, as you say. It's him as a person, as much as the footballer, that the players will really sort of miss. You see it in the tributes that were paid to him across Instagram by the players. you see the turnout at his funeral and how many of his ex the pros that he played alongside with have turned up Andy Robertson, I don't know if you've seen Andy Robertson Andy Robertson is brilliant, there's a picture of Diogo and I think it's Andy Robertson, Cueven Keller, Connor Bradley and then they're at the race and they're at Cheltenham with all the other staff and it's just Liverpool's staff, these aren't players and that just shows that there was no one, Diogo wasn't too big for anyone it was like if he's your mate, he's your mate and so yeah that it will you know he was a he was a brilliant guy.
4:50Mark Langdon:Andy Robertson says yeah I want to talk about my mate my buddy the bloke I loved and will miss like crazy I could talk about him as a player for hours but none of that feels like it matters right now it's the man the person he was such a good guy the best so genuine just normal and real full of love for the people he cared about full of fun he was the most British foreign player I've ever met we used to joke he was really Irish I tried to claim him as Scottish obviously I even called him diogo mcjota we'd watch the darts together enjoy the horse racing going to chelten this season was a highlight one of the best we had the last time i saw him was the happiest day of his life his wedding day i want to remember his never ceasing smile from that magical day how much he was bursting with love for his wife and family i can't believe we're saying goodbye it's too soon and it hurts so much but thank you for being in my life mate and thank you for making it better love you diogo and i guess wilson it is that thing that we we feel two things one we feel sports stars are kind of invincible because they are you know the sort of physical zenith um and one that we feel we know them yeah i mean i i guess there's two slightly sort of paradoxical things there so on the one hand they exist in this other play and they are sort of superheroes that they they are um something you know beyond human and yet at the same time you do have a sense of of intimacy that you you do feel you you you know them because you go to see them every week or you see them on tv every week and you have that sense of their their struggles or their triumphs and you know i'm sure anybody who saw those pictures of his wedding you know is a liverpool fan or somebody who's seen him play over the last few years would have would have felt sort of a moment of happiness for him and then yeah i think the point craig makes that there's there's such a sense of a new phase beginning of possibility and potential and for that to last 11 days.
6:38Mark Langdon:Does it make it more tragic? Probably not, but it sort of underlines the tragedy of a life lost so young with three kids, a wife, other family. Yeah. He was some player, Mark. I mean, a sort of understated, underrated, brilliant movement, brilliant in the air. I mean, so much of his game was just like pure timing, I think. Yeah. I think, you know, if you were kind of building a football specimen, like he kind of wasn't the quickest, wasn't the tallest, wasn't the strongest. And yet when he played, he was so difficult to stop. And I think that what you said there about the timing and he runs into the box and he's intelligent and to know where the space is and the finishing was outstanding.
7:24I remember seeing him play for Wolves when that kind of Portuguese revolution was just starting at Molyneux. And he was loved there as well before he moved on to Liverpool. And a very versatile player would impact big matches as well. And I'm quite cynical when celebrities, when they die, and this public outpouring, because you don't know them. And yet this did feel very, very different. I mean, when I heard the news, I just had to sit down for a while, which shocked me, really, that it kind of impacted me in that way. And, you know, I thought Robertson's tribute, yeah, was difficult to read. It was great to read, but it was difficult to read.
8:16At the same time, Kelleher as well. And, yeah, just so sorry for everyone involved. Yeah.
8:22Mark Langdon:I mean, you said the same thing, Barry. I mean, we've just finished recording and just, that it was like a punch to the guts.
8:29Max Rushden:Yeah. I mean, I can't really do better than what anyone else has said, just with regard to Andy Robertson's post, which brought me, I wish he had been Irish.
8:43Mark Langdon:Craig, I mean, like you say, it's so hard to, I don't know if it feels right to talk about his greatest moments in a Liverpool show. People talk about that, you know, that goal against Spurs, which at the time I was pretty disappointed about, and a goal against Everton as well. Yeah, look, he had massive moments in a Liverpool show, There's a lovely tribute, and someone had printed it out and lay it by Anfield, and it said the words, just get Jota on. And it was this idea of Diogo Jota would just fix it in the big moments. If you needed a goal, someone mentioned the instinct there. He was a goal store that people would liken to Robbie Fowler in terms of his ability just to put it in the back of the net at times.
9:23Sometimes it's untidy, but just a brilliant finisher and a brilliant player. He's had so many moments. One of my favourites is I was in the away end at Goodison when he scores the third against Everton and he does the Baby Shark celebration and that was for one of his kids. It was right in front of the away end. He obviously has the Spurs goal. His last goal for Liverpool is against Everton. It's in the Merseyside derby. It's in a game where it's difficult. It's a derby. We need a spark. We need a player to ignite the fixture and he does that. He comes on. It's the most Diogo Jota goal, by the way.
9:57It's the shimmy. It's the drop of the shoulder. it's a bit untidy but it's a great finish he was a brilliant footballer and over the past 5 or 6 months I think it's come out one of the reasons why he was driving was because he couldn't fly because he'd had some work on his lung which he'd obviously been struggling with over the past 5 or 6 months so this was a player that was 28 years old who had just won the league for Liverpool who had won the league cup and the FA Cup for Liverpool and played such a pivotal part in that season where it's the near quadruple season that people talk about it but they win two cups and Diogo's pivotal to that journey.
10:31He's had so many great moments, but there's a real sense that there was so many more to come. And that's where a lot of the sadness comes from him as a footballer. It's that he had so much more to achieve, both at Liverpool. He'd already done so much in his career. He'd fought his way to the top. This was not a player who, when he was at his youngest, was the greatest in every age group and was destined for the top. This was a player that fought his way to the top and found himself a Premier League winner and had so much more to do in the game.
10:57Mark Langdon:Yeah, and huge impact at Wolves as well. It moved to the Championship, absolute star in getting them promoted. A mate of mine, Martin, a Wolves fan, completely broken by it. Such the relentlessness of football is that Liverpool are starting pre-season. I think today, I think they're staggering it or changing what they're doing. But it will be incredibly hard for those players as well to focus on football. It is worth remembering that every human life is equal. is it? His brother was in the car as well, 25, played youth football at Porto, senior football in the Portuguese lower leagues at Gondomar, the club local to his family.
11:33Mark Langdon:He'd recently graduated from university in business management. And look, Craig, we bollock on about the football family a lot. And sometimes it feels disingenuous. But Liverpool as a club, of course, have experienced very sadly tragedy before, and they will do everything they can, not just to commemorate it in the games between now and the start of the season when the season starts, but to help the family as well, I'm sure. Yeah, massively. I mean, there's talk of the number 20 shirt being retired. There will be tributes when the fans come in. Like you say, it's such a short period of time until I think they're back in training on Tuesday properly.
12:10We're unsure in three weeks in Japan and Hong Kong. And football moves so fast. A lot happens in three weeks in football, but three weeks is no time to grieve, is it really? So it's going to be a really sort of difficult journey for the players, for the fans. You know, football fandom is irrational, isn't it? You know, we travel all over the country on coaches and buses and, you know, we spend all of our money watching these players and we sing songs about them at them. And this is a footballer, as she said, that I've never met. I don't know, but I feel a connection to because while I never met him, I spent every weekend with him, you know, and because he gave me all of these moments.
12:46So it's going to take fans a bit of time as well. but the players it's just so difficult if Liverpool were to start the season poorly this season I don't think any fan sort of looks at it and thinks like you know there's going to be sort of no pressure or nothing like that from us it's going to be very much like everyone needs to take their time because this is a this is a momentous thing that's happened and it's going to be difficult to process for the players and difficult to there's going to be a difficult grieving process for them
13:12Mark Langdon:Craig thanks so much for coming on really appreciate your time today mate thank you Craig Hannan there from the Almanfield rap. Just before we end part one, on the subject of each life mattering the same, a number of you got in touch and thank you for doing so about Mahanad Fadal Al-Lay, a Palestinian footballer who also died on Thursday after being wounded in an Israeli attack on his home. People saying that we would rightly be paying tribute to Diogo Jota, but we should not ignore Mahanad's death. The Palestinian Football Association said in a statement, a drone fired a missile at Mahanad's room on the third floor of his home, causing him to suffer a severe skull hemorrhage, which led to his death.
13:47Mark Langdon:The association noted that the footballer attempted to travel outside the blockaded strip to join his wife in Norway before the outbreak of the war. He was prevented from leaving, not able to see his family. His death brings the total number of athletes killed during Israel's 600-day war on Gaza to at least 585, 265 football players within the 57 ,130 Palestinians that have been killed in the last 21 months. And Wilson, you wanted to talk about a couple of players as well who also sadly lost their lives. Yeah, so Peter Rufay, who's Nigeria's goalkeeper when they won the Cup of Nations in 94. People might remember him, you know, part of that great Nigeria side of the 90s.
14:29Mark Langdon:He died at the end of last week. And John Clarke, who was 84, who was one of the Lisbon Lions, who won the European Cup with Celtic in 67. He also died at the end of last week. So, you know, we should also remember them. Absolutely right. We'll be back in a second.
14:51Mark Langdon:welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly uh so the club world cup then uh the semi-finals will be psg versus real madrid fluminati versus chelsea i guess barry the the main talking point is the injury to jamal murciala in a in a really entertaining game between psg and bayern cleared out by donnarumma um and i mean if you haven't seen it i would recommend not seeking it out if you have. It's one of those sort of David Boost type injuries. Probably puts his World Cup next summer in jeopardy. And much as I think a lot of us want to blame the Club World Cup for everything, I'm not sure you can for this.
15:29Mark Langdon:It seemed very much like a freak injury to me.
15:31Max Rushden:Well, you can only blame the Club World Cup insofar as it happened during the Club World Cup. But I think it was a total accident. Donnarumma went for a ball that I think it was up at McCann. I was trying to shepherd out over the byline, but the ball looked like it wouldn't make the byline. So Donnarumma decided to intervene. Moussiala decided to intervene. Donnarumma got there first and kind of took out. Moussiala, he also got the ball. I don't think there was any intent whatsoever. It was a very unfortunate accident. Donnarumma was quite distressed afterwards. Manuel Noir was critical of him after the game.
16:10Max Rushden:but I think Neuer, the point he made not particularly well was that in a tournament like this, you don't need to go for the ball like that and even risk such a thing happening. So I think it was just one of those things. It turns out Musiala has a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle, so that's going to be six months before he's even back on an exercise bike, you can imagine. That's just my guess. So he might make the World Cup, but it is a very unfortunate thing to happen to him.
16:48Mark Langdon:Manuel Noir said it was a situation where you don't have to go in like that. That's risk-taking. He was prepared to accept the risk of injuring his opponent. I went to him and said, don't you want to go and see our player? It's a matter of respect, of going there and wishing the guy all the best. He then did it. Fair play is always a part of it. I'd have reacted differently. As Barry said, Mark, that feels, I feel like that is harsh on Donnarumma. Yeah, I think emotions were running high after the game and maybe you don't always think clearly and logically when you talk and the kind of microphone is thrust in front of you.
17:23I mean, Donnarumma was basically in tears once he kind of realised what happened on the pitch. So there was no doubt in the fact that he was sorry that it happened. And Vincent Kompany afterwards sort of was more sensible in terms of saying that Donnarumma wasn't to blame. It was just a really unfortunate incident for a player that has suffered from a lot of injuries. I think he, when he plays and he gets into a rhythm, he looks like he's one of the best players in the world. And it's just been really unlucky for him that he just haven't seen enough of that. and he came into the tournament not fully fit and then has got an injury that, as you said, is going to rule him out for much of next season as well.
18:13So you can only wish him all the best and a big blow for him and for Bayern, really. But it will take away from what was a brilliant game of football, actually.
18:23Mark Langdon:Yeah, and actually was in the last 15 minutes was sort of ludicrous. Yeah, a good game that suddenly kind of became something that had happened in a World Cup or Champions League, we'd have been talking about it for weeks because it's, you know, suddenly the two reds. We still can if you want, Wilson. I mean, it's up to you. Yeah, the two red cards, which sort of, I think were both red cards, but sort of came from nowhere, which obviously then makes it much harder for PSG against Real Madrid in the semi-final. But I mean, I was sort of thinking Neuer's complaints. Like that challenge was nowhere near as bad as Neuer's foul on, well, not even given us a foul, a challenge on Higuain in the 2014 World Cup final, where he flies out at head height.
19:05So I think football does have an issue
19:09Mark Langdon:with keepers clattering into players. They get more leeway than an outfield player would. And maybe to an extent, that's just about understandable if they're not going with their feet. That was not by any means one of the worst of those you'll see. Whether there does need to be a bit of a conversation about how goalkeepers can challenge the ball in a way that doesn't potentially endanger opponents. But fundamentally, I think it's a freakish thing. I suspect the fact that Uppet McConaughey was so close made it more likely to happen. But it's obviously something to do with the angle where his foot was planted.
19:47Mark Langdon:I suspect you see that kind of thing a thousand times because the leg isn't on the ground. The player sort of flips over and you don't really even think about it. so yeah I think you know just hugely unfortunate thing whether it then starts to affect how European clubs look at the Club World Cup as you know I totally get it's not about the Club World Cup but equally if you weren't playing the games it wouldn't happen is it worth playing in a tournament or investing fully in a tournament when you don't really need or don't really want it when those risks are there and maybe irrational as it may be maybe that does start to play into the thinking Yeah.
20:25Mark Langdon:I mean, the PSG goals were nice, Barry. And, you know, Hakimi's work for the second is ridiculous.
20:30Max Rushden:It is. It was quite extraordinary. So they were a goal up, two men down. Bayern Munich are throwing the kitchen sink at them. And they break upfield. Neves is on the ball. Dembele is on his outside. Neves shuffles the ball out to it. Dembele spanks it off the crossbar. PSG recycle it. and Ashraf Hakimi, basically, this is about 97 minutes into this game. Everyone's knackered. He dribbles past three players and tees up Dembele, who scores into the bottom corner. Still room for more drama because Bayern Munich get a penalty, which is then overturned. But, yeah, a remarkable goal, especially considering they had two men fewer than Bayern at the time.
21:23Max Rushden:And, you know, one imagines if it had gone to extra time, Bayern would have won because they had the two men and everyone was very tired.
21:31Mark Langdon:Real Madrid beat Dortmund 3-2 in the other quarterfinal on that side of the draw. And a great bit of injury time this game had, Mark. It did, yeah. It felt like it was just drifting for much of the game. Real Madrid raced into two-goal lead and Dortmund didn't play with the belief that they were going to get back into it. Maybe they're what Jonathan was saying, where you kind of just accept your fate and don't need to push too hard and wonder if it's all worth it at that stage. And then Max Baier pulled a goal back, make it 2-1. Kylian Mbappe, who'd come on as a substitute, scored a great scissor kick volley.
Read the full transcript
22:10I think it might have been easier to just headed it in, But it was a great moment for Mbappe, who's been injured or absent for most of this tournament. And then there was still time for Gerasi to score from a penalty where Huyzen, who's been very good so far since he arrived from Bournemouth, was sent off for fouling him in the build-up. And I think it was like 90 plus 8. Sabit had an effort, a fantastic, brilliant stop from Courtois down low to his right that kept the game from going to extra time. And yeah, for most of that sort of 90 odd minutes, Real Madrid were really comfortable. I think they're the most interesting team in this competition, really, just to see how Xabi Alonso is getting on with them.
22:57They've been quite fluid in formation so far, played with a back three, they've played with a back four. To a many, he's kind of playing a hybrid role at times when he starts in defence and then moves into midfield. Gonzalo Garcia has kind of broke through, really, in this tournament.
23:15Mark Langdon:Yes, who is he, please, Mark? He's a young striker that was playing for the Castilla side. I mean, Xabi Alonso likened him to Real, which is about as high praise as you're going to get for Real Madrid. I think Alonso likes the fact that he works hard up front, unlike maybe some of the others that he's inherited within that team. And he actually, without naming names, he said, it's very important that all of the players are interested in all of the phases. So I'm not sure who he was maybe aiming at that. But yeah, so I mean, Gonzalo Garcia will be one of those that will have been pleased that we've got this tournament on because it's enabled him to push himself into the limelight.
24:00There's talk now that maybe Real Madrid will sell Rodrigo and that there should be more opportunities for him this season. I think Arda Goulet has done well. Another one that Alonso has kind of brought into the team that didn't get much in terms of action under Carlo Ancelotti. So a big step up in quality. They've beaten a couple of European teams in the knockouts in Juve and Borussia Dortmund, but Paris Saint-Germain are on a different level to those two. So without Heysen, yeah, it will be interesting to just see how Real Madrid go. But I think, yeah, in terms of the tournament, they're probably the team I'm watching the most just with one eye on what happens for the season ahead
24:40Mark Langdon:Chelsea Fluminese the other semi-final Chelsea beat Palmeiras 2-1 likes to see Cole Palmer I think the commentator was saying he hasn't scored he scored one in 25 or something not very good Wilson and this was a classic Cole Palmer goal wasn't it? The finish was just one of those really clever finishes where the keeper ends up looking a bit daft but clearly Palmer knows exactly what he's doing I saw loads of talk afterwards that are looking forward to seeing Parma and Estevão playing together. Are they going to be able to play together? It feels quite samey. I mean, maybe if you play with the two inside forwards, maybe they can.
25:17Mark Langdon:I suppose if you think about it, Chelsea don't really have any wide attackers. So maybe they will be forced to play two narrow terms. I mean, that's... Jamie Gittin signing, moving on, potentially, Maduike, It's just astonishing. It's getting better than Maduwick is. Chelsea seem to treat players in the way you would treat, I don't know, like an iPad, that you buy it, you keep it for a few years, its processing power starts to go, the battery starts to go, there's been new developments, you buy a new one. But there's sort of this process of decline. It's at its peak the moment you get it. And I don't know, maybe you install your particular apps or whatever, and that first sort of six months or so, that's when it's at its best but after that you're really just managing the decline and you just have to get a new one whereas i would like to think a football club would get a talented young player and then coach them i don't know if anybody's heard of this coaching it's a thing that people used to do yeah where does that where does that work in the ipad analogy take it to the mac store it works in analogy because i don't think an ipad is a player i think they're different right okay i think one of them is a bit of technology with opposite assets built in and one of them is a human being and i understand in the modern world the difference between a human and a product can often be it's difficult i understand your confusion i think you could argue that if you
26:41Max Rushden:have an ipad that is perfectly functional and adequate and then you get a new slightly more expensive shiny newer ipad you do have to spend the best part of a day getting that ipad up and running it takes time it you know you have to do all the installing of apps and all that crack takes ages. Whereas you could avoid that by just sticking with the iPad you already have, which is doing the job perfectly well.
27:11Mark Langdon:Well, especially if you've sort of, and again, I now realize I am using analogy again. If you've souped up the iPad, if you've coached the iPad, why would you then give it to one of your rivals in using iPads? We give it to the Totally Football Show. I give it to Jimbo. Here's an iPad for no reason. or maybe because they're looking at Waniere, aren't they, from Bad Aweke? They're looking at Waniere. So it's like Jimbo's got an iPad and I've got an iPad and we both just want to swap them for no fucking reason. Yeah, you would not know from this conversation that I've recently left an iPad on the Eurostar and I'm very much thinking about iPads.
27:48Mark Langdon:It is worth talking about Esteval's goal, Mark, because there's contention in the Football Weekly ranks. Producer Joel says he dinks it like he's trying to cross it back across the goal. and I'm saying that is a brilliant finish. Where do you stand? Which one of us knows nothing about the game? Well, it's not a dink. A dink could be some sort of chip or lob type effort. I wouldn't call it brilliant either. I'd be blaming the goalkeeper. I thought that... Oh, come on. That's harsh. I thought he'd pour for the goal. Sorry, I didn't realise that there was debate as to how good it was. I mean, when I saw it, I was just like, oh, you know, just further prove that Chelsea need the new goalkeeper.
28:28But clearly, Barry, I've hurt you there.
28:31Max Rushden:I think Joel and Mark should both be sacked immediately.
28:36Mark Langdon:Barry, that would mean we just had Wilson talking about iPads.
28:40Max Rushden:Yeah, that'd be fine. No, I think there's no question. It was definitely a shot and a very good shot. And I think it's, I mean, I'm not Robert Sanchez's greatest fan, but I think it's very harsh to blame him for that one. Yeah, I think so.
28:55Mark Langdon:Fluminense beat Al-Halal 2-1. So they are flying the flag for all non-European teams.
29:01Max Rushden:My only note from that game is that Thiago Silva plays for Fluminense. I didn't know that.
29:07Mark Langdon:And their keeper, Fabio's 44, he made one brilliant save. Producer Joel says, we have mentioned Thiago Silva a few times. Barry is also sacked. Doggy dog. One-man show, brilliant. Exactly, on this sinking ship. Hercules scored the winner. I think Connor McNamara was on commentary. that's a great name to yell for someone who scores a winning goal Hercules, it almost doesn't get better than that so they are through to play Chelsea It was quite a laboured finish from Hercules I thought Very good Did that deserve more praise?
29:45Max Rushden:No Conor McNamara actually went when you're in Orlando who better than Hercules to score with a certain amusement park down the road and I actually, it shows how petty a man I am. I wasn't quite sure Hercules was a Disney character, went and checked and yes, he is. So apologies, Conor.
30:07Mark Langdon:Adam Crafton tweeting the latest twist of FIFA Club World Cup pricing strategy. 72 hours ago, standard admission for the first semifinal, Chelsea Fulmini was$473.90. By yesterday, it was$44.60. Now it's$13.40. Those who bought on Wednesday paid 35 times a multiple of the price today. He then quote tweeted that to say, I may have triggered a spike in demand as these prices have now soared to$22.30. Something wrong with that. While we're in the States, the Gold Cup. Mexico beat the USA 2-1, not without controversy, Mark, but defeat for Maurizio Pochettino. Yeah, started the game well enough. Chris Richards put the US in front.
30:47By half-time, Mexico were definitely the dominant side, equalised through Raul Jimenez, and wasn't much surprised, really, that they managed to get the winner through Edson Alvarez. The US are not at full strength for this tournament, but the controversy was around the hand-ball call or non-call. Pochettino was convinced that the US should have had a penalty. Mexican defender fell on the ball and put his hand on it at one stage. I feel like it would get given more often than not, but I'm not gutted that it's been sort of just allowed to play on because it's not a deliberate action. It feels like a penalty is incredibly harsh at that point for what was just somebody stumbling over, really.
31:39But Pochettino was definitely worked up. There's a lot of work for him to do and he'll be hoping that some of those players that missed out on the Gold Cup, Pulisic being the biggest of those, that's able to have a much bigger impact next summer. But yeah, it wouldn't be the first host team to go into a World Cup with a lot of question marks. Most have managed to at least get some kind of respectability once they've got there. But yeah, they need to improve.
32:08Mark Langdon:Well, it is very much a sort of second string US side, isn't it? I mean, Pulisic, obviously. But there's also, I think there's 12 players who were in the provisional squad for this tournament. They've definitely got like Weyer, Dest. Yeah, there's a few others that definitely would have been in that starting XI. So there's 12 who were in Club World Cup squads. So they'd lost 12 for that, plus injuries. Just talking about transfers briefly. We've done Chelsea, I guess, confirming Jamie Gittins. Gittins, they've sold Kepa to Arsenal, the Madweki Rumours and Waniere as well. Arsenal, we won, have signed Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, which we all knew was going to happen, a deal worth almost £60 million.
32:47Mark Langdon:Talks for advancing with Jokeres as well, hasn't gone to pre-season with Sporting. Very, very disappointing if they do actually get a classic number nine. What will we talk about when they've got a number nine as opposed to, do Arsenal need a number nine, but feels like they are doing the things they need to do?
33:03Max Rushden:Yeah, and And if they do get Jokeres, I'm not convinced he's exactly what they need, but he's clearly a very, very good player. And I would go from, if they've got Zubimende, they've got him, I would go from giving them very little chance of winning the Premier League to giving them quite a decent chance of winning the Premier League, I have to say.
33:30Mark Langdon:George says, really enjoyed Max's article about how there are no surprise transfers anymore. right above an article about Kyle Walker's extremely surprising transfer to Burnley. Top trolling from whoever does the website. There it is. Transfer news has lost its sense of wonder in era of my sources tell me. And then Walker Seals shock 5 million move from Man City. Yes, that didn't help my case. I mean, is Wilson quite interesting to see that signing for Burnley? Yeah, it is. I mean, they obviously think he's still got something to offer. And I think maybe we're too quick to write off players who are no longer good enough for the very elite, but his experience at a newly promoted side, even if he hasn't got quite the pace he used to have, I mean, he hasn't suddenly become a slow player.
34:13Mark Langdon:He's just become a slower version of what he was, which was an extremely quick player. So that's still probably a fairly quick player. But I mean, Burnley's fullbacks aren't going to be bombing on next season, I assume. They'll be sitting quite deep. So I think that's, yeah, I don't see why that wouldn't work for them as long as they're not expecting them to be the Kyle Walker of old, which I'm sure they're not. All right, a statement signing from Birmingham to get Kyogo Furihashi from Celtic as they launch their campaign to get to the Premier League. Right, we're going to talk about Thomas Partey.
34:42Mark Langdon:Susie Rack, the Guardian's women's football correspondent, was going to join us for part three to talk about England's pretty dismal performance against France. We'll do that in a minute, but I wanted to get her involved in this conversation as well. She joins us now. Hey, Susie, you okay?
34:54Suzy Wrack:Hey, you're getting me on to talk about all the great news.
34:55Mark Langdon:Yes, I am. I am sorry, but I know you've written about this. So the news broke on Friday that Thomas Partey's been charged with five counts of rape, one count of sexual assault. The allegations relate to three women who reported incidents between 2021 and 2022. He's been charged with two counts of rape of one woman, three counts of rape of a second, and one count of sexual assault of a third woman. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on the 5th of August. Jaswant Narwal of the CPS said the Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised the prosecution of Thomas Partey for multiple counts of rape.
35:25Mark Langdon:After carefully reviewing a comprehensive file of evidence. Our prosecutors have worked closely with officers in the Metropolitan Police who've carried out the investigation to review the evidence and advise on the appropriate charges. We remind everyone that criminal proceedings are active. The defendant has a right to a fair trial. We know there will be significant public interest in this announcement, but it is absolutely vital that there is no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. Partey's lawyer said in the statement, Thomas Partey denies all the charges against him he's fully cooperated with the police and CPS throughout their three-year investigation he now welcomes the opportunity to finally clear his name given that there are now ongoing legal proceedings my client is unable to comment further an Arsenal spokesperson said the player's contract ended on June 30th due to ongoing legal proceedings the club is unable to comment on the case obviously there are things we can't talk about as mentioned above the criminal proceedings are active we got a lot of emails from Arsenal fans including this one from Matty who said Dear Max Baryan team, long term listener of the pod, first time I've engaged in this way but feel compelled to.
36:29Mark Langdon:I'm an Arsenal season ticket holder and regularly go with my mum and dad. Our family have supported the club through the generations. I'm really struggling to be an Arsenal fan today. How Arsenal Football Club, the exec, the manager, the PR team thought it appropriate to play a player who'd been arrested multiple times and released on bail on rape charges beggars believe. I find the statement the club gave on Friday pathetic to hide behind the legal proceedings and to actually put it in writing that the player is now out of contract with the club is disgraceful this from a club that has been at the forefront of the women's game for decades and do excellent work engaging in minority communities fans of most clubs have to put up with a lot of things out of their control that are that are unpalatable see for arsenal the cronkies emirate sponsorship money visit rwanda but this is on a different level i really hope arsenal fans engage with the club on this and demand better the whole episode has been depressing the behavior of arsenal the banter other fans have by singing songs at him the online defenses of the club by people i find it difficult to reconcile as arsenal fans all seeming to neglect the most important issue here the awful ordeal the alleged victims have been through all the best matty susie i just wonder what your thoughts were i mean it's a that's
37:33Suzy Wrack:a really strong email and i very much agree with it i wrote a piece in july 2022 which was about the premier league club of the unknown arrested player knowing of the rape allegations from the previous autumn so it's not like they weren't aware of it made repeatedly aware of it over the years and what I find jarring is that we've seen other clubs suspend players and while investigations are ongoing and Arsenal didn't and some of the statements that you know Mikel Arteta has made along the way about what a great player he is and how you know overcoming adversity and all of this stuff um I just just really tactless um even you know kind of social media posts where you know to promote matches where he's used as the as the image for those I mean just little like small level decisions that they've made that I just think really jar with with clearly what has been taking place off the pitch and what they've been fully aware of um so I think it's hugely disappointing I mean obviously I'm an arson sat here wearing an arsenal champ arsenal women Champions of Europe t-shirt like it's uh like been an extremely disappointing episode for the club and I don't think they this will go away for quite some time I think there's a lot of disquiet amongst fans about the way the club have handled him knowing that these allegations existed and I know there were legal complications but I don't understand how other clubs have managed to suspend players uh when they've been arrested and uh and you know kind of be under investigation for this kind of level of allegation versus not in this case um so i think that's quite confusing and deserves at least some clarity but also um yeah like really sort of beggars belief
39:19Mark Langdon:i mean we can't prejudice the trial everyone is innocent until proven guilty and everyone deserves a fair trial barry but we can say that burden of proof for employers is different to a court of law.
39:31Max Rushden:Andrew Mangan, better known to many as Arseblog, wrote a very eloquent piece about this and the undercurrent of simmering fury from him was very palpable. He's not happy at all and really, really disappointed in the club. The club have said it wouldn't be appropriate for them to comment on the case. People aren't asking them to comment on the case. People want to know why Parity was allowed to continue playing. People want to know why they spent all of last month trying to negotiate a new contract with him, which ultimately didn't come to pass and that it didn't come to pass because they couldn't agree financial terms.
40:13Max Rushden:Why didn't they just let his contract run down and then go, right, see you? They have questions to answer. Mikel Arteta has questions to answer, the owners, all the PR staff, everyone in the legal team have questions to answer. And those questions aren't going to go away. They will have to answer them at some point. And it's difficult to see how they will answer them adequately. He's been arrested seven times. You know, there's multiple women accused him of terrible, terrible crimes. So as you say, the burden of proof is nowhere near as strong in a workplace as it is in a court of law. So they could have done something, you know.
40:57Suzy Wrack:Yeah, I think there's questions to be asked of the club for sure. And that's, you know, what we're sort of able to discuss in a little bit more detail at the moment, because obviously it doesn't kind of get in the way of the legal case that's ongoing. But I think there also has to be questions of CPS too and why it's taken this long. You know, we're talking from sort of 2021 to 2022 for charges to actually be brought. And I think there's, you know, some broader points here about how long alleged victims of sexual abuse are having to wait through the legal system and the failures of the legal system to support alleged victims of sexual abuse through this process.
41:37Suzy Wrack:and also the level of evidence required just to reach charging is really, really high. A lot of cases don't even get to that stage. So, yeah, that it's taken this many years to get to this point and that Arsenal have been able to just kind of keep playing him because of that. It feels like a very, very long time for that to happen and for Arsenal to sort of be able to just sort of continue as is until it has reached the stage of charging, which, you know, So I think, yeah, obviously the criticism of Arsenal is completely fair and I agree with it all. But I think there are also wider questions to be asked as well, which, you know, we can't necessarily ask in extreme detail at the moment.
42:18Suzy Wrack:But I think as this case rumbles on, will and when it concludes, will be very, very kind of heavily scrutinised.
42:26Mark Langdon:Yeah. I mean, I've written about this as well. And it's hard to write about because you sort of can't really talk about anybody when you're writing about it. I guess the CPS would say, look, conviction rates are so low, 1%, I think, of cases that come to them that they want to be as sure as they can be that they have a case. But as you said, we will find this all out in the formals of time. All right, that'll do for part two. We'll do England's defeat to France in part three.
42:59Mark Langdon:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. so England lost their opening game of Euro 2025 2-1 to France I mean Susie they were good for 16 minutes and they could argue about some decisions and they did some great getting it launched for the last 10 but if we're honest I don't know about you I thought for most of that game they were pretty abject and you know so inferior to France
43:20Suzy Wrack:Yeah it was so so so sloppy passing the midfield I think I mean Lauren James we saw in the first sort of you know kind of 5-10 minutes how good she can be. But she faded after that. And when you put her into that midfield and you take an Ella Tuna or a Grace Clinton out, you really disrupt that midfield three that have some real chemistry. And I think the midfield completely overrun, out wide, just completely unable to cope with the French wingers. And as you say, really poor. I think Jess Carter in the mix zone afterwards was really good and really honest. She just went, it's extremely uncharacteristic for so many players to make so many mistakes at the same time.
44:05Suzy Wrack:But we did and we need to be better at that and stuff. And one of the questions I was asking before the tournament, quite a lot of players is the fact that there was no room for not being very good in the opening game. Because in 2023 at the World Cup in Australia, they played Haiti, won 1-0 for a penalty. It was not a great performance and it was Haiti. But they got through and they won it. The last Euros, 2022, it was Austria in the first game, who, you know, much better team than Haiti, much higher up the world rankings, but still one of the lowest ranked teams in the competition. They scraped through that 1-0.
44:43Suzy Wrack:So, like, their record in terms of sort of settling into major competitions isn't that great. So, I kept asking the question, are you ready to, like, hit the ground running? I think that's why they had the Jamaica friendly the week before, to sort of almost give them a little bit of a building to a big game. But yeah, they've put themselves in big, big trouble. And I think there's a real realistic prospect that by the third game, by the England-Wales game, both teams are out, which is obviously going to be an abject failure for the reigning champions not to get that far with a little asterisk of how hard the group is.
45:18Mark Langdon:Were you surprised? because it just looked like France were technically better, physically better, more organised. As you said, down the wings, you know, Cascarino with Almeida behind her, like so good on that side. Baltimore on the other side. I don't know if you were surprised at the difference in quality between the two sides.
45:39Suzy Wrack:Completely. I did not expect England to look like a team that hadn't played together. There was, you know, sort of no... like Chess Carter I think took quite a lot and Lucy Bronze took quite a lot of flack but they were sort of very much left alone the uh you know Leah Williamson and um and Alex Greenwood were quite narrow in the middle at the back and like there wasn't a huge amount of protection there there wasn't a huge amount of covering Hemp is generally quite good at tracking back I didn't see any real evidence of that Beth Mead too like it was just all over the place and that's it is as just kind of said really uncharacteristic for that team and the way they play the thing that concerned me the most because obviously everyone can have a bad day doing it in your opening game of the Euros against France is not the best idea but the thing that worried me the most is they didn't seem to really have an answer to it or a way of getting themselves out of it I thought the subs came too late coming in the 60th minute the first lot of subs bringing Michelle Ajamand on was a good idea but it was like with five minutes to play and she didn't really have enough time to sort of settle into her first major tournament, let alone kind of impact the game, you know, definitively.
46:48Suzy Wrack:So, you know, give her 15, give her 20 minutes, you know, she's 19, like give her a shot to do something because it wasn't working. And I think that there were problems there in that they just worked. They just didn't seem to have an answer to a quick dynamic. The French press was really strong. Yeah. So I just thought it was all over the place. And yeah, so I was really, really surprised by that but at the same time England haven't been great for some they've not been as good as the Euros since the Euros which is a bit of a problem even the World Cup they were quite fortunate in the games they played and fate and the teams they faced the performances until quite late in the competition weren't that convincing and they're now being caught out for some of the problems that haven't really gone away.
47:35Max Rushden:A lot of the media are sticking the boot into the team over that performance and if they lose against the Netherlands they'll get an absolute shooing and those players aren't used to being criticised and Serena isn't used to being criticised. How do you think they will deal with it?
47:50Suzy Wrack:Probably not very well because they aren't used to it and even small criticism can trigger some unhappiness but I mean I imagine that like if they go out in the group stage um after two games they will be the big the biggest critics as you know it's cliche we're the biggest critics of ourselves is what players say but I imagine they probably would be like I think the criticism would be pretty fair um yes obviously there are caveats of how tough the group is the retiring players and all that kind of stuff but at the same time you know it would it would be an abject failure to not get out of the group I think I sort of said but like repeatedly before the tournament that nothing can go upwards forever in a perfectly straight line and there are going to be ebbs and flows in the growth of a team but not getting out the group stage would be disastrous I mean it's be very different to the quarterfinals or the semifinals which I think whilst it wouldn't be amazing would be more forgivable because they're on a journey to be ridiculously cliched I mean I
48:54Mark Langdon:I can confidently say that we are not the fiercest critics of this podcast. I think it's worth pointing out. So wholesale changes for the Netherlands game or just be better?
49:06Suzy Wrack:A bit of both. I think, ridiculous as it sounds, you know, kind of pre-tournament, I wouldn't start Lauren James. I think it's too disruptive to the midfield unless you're going to put her out wide in the front three where she has played quite a lot as well so that you maintain her creativity on the pitch because you're just disrupting that midfield free and their flow and their dominance, which has been really, really strong. So I play Ella Toon or Grace Clinton and either have LJ Wider and coming in. And then I think there's a big debate over whether you play Jess Carter or Niamh Charles, a left back.
49:39Suzy Wrack:England struggled with producing decent left backs coming through generally. You know, Rachel Daly, who is a striker, was playing there at the last Euros and the World Cup. So it's a position that they struggle with. I don't think either Carter or Charles have like covered themselves in glory in the past few games but I don't expect more changes beyond that because again like it was really uncharacteristic like we know those players are good and they don't just suddenly become bad in one game so I think it's gonna be interesting to see I again if it's not looking good I think they've got to make substitutions early and I think that was a general criticism it was quite interesting listening to Millie Bright and Rachel Daly's podcast Rachel Daly was saying like for the first time when you're in camp you're not you're not really aware of the noise around things like substitutions in a game and when they're made and the fact that serena always makes them after 60 minutes rachel was saying i didn't i hadn't even realized and uh she said when i was watching it i i realized that um oh wait a minute i i get it i get it now i see it i see why everyone is shouting for it because
50:40Mark Langdon:i'm here shouting at the tv for it too yeah so interesting which was a really weird weird take
50:46Suzy Wrack:to hear from someone who's been in that environment has literally been part of it. So yeah, I think that's going to be a really, really kind of interesting aspect because so many thought that they just left it too late and stuck too true to sort of a formula.
51:00Mark Langdon:I said it in the intro, perhaps it's the ultimate sign of progress that England's women have delivered a performance so reminiscent of England's men. Substitution's too late. Can't find a left back. Tippy tapping it about the back. Get to the final third. Can't do anything completely open. Someone yelling, I don't know, get the handbrake off Serena. Now, elsewhere, I mean, look, the Netherlands beat Wales 3-0. Miedermar scoring a brilliant goal just before half-time, and then it was pretty straightforward for them. I mean, it's always good when the hosts do well, Susie. So, good to see Switzerland beat Iceland last night 2-0.
51:29Mark Langdon:You know, just give us a sense of the vibe and the atmosphere. We had Chris Paros on the radio yesterday saying, it's great, although a mediocre pizza cost£32. I did wonder if that's what it said on the menu. But, like, is the vibe good?
51:40Suzy Wrack:I got fleeced for some sun cream in town yesterday. that cost me about 30 quid for a tiny bottle of fact 50 it's like agonizingly expensive the atmosphere has been fantastic like um what's really impressive actually about the just i'll come back to the swiss but the england fan zone uh which is run by the fsa and the free line s's has been supported by the fa this year and so they've put loads of money into it and it looks fantastic it's not just you know previously it's sort of been them doing it themselves with a bit of sponsorship from outside companies and you know just in a bar with some like magazines to give out and a few flags and things like that now it's like a proper massive installation and you can go and you can hang out there and you can get drinks and things and it's it's really cool and it's got a really great vibe so like that's really good from an England point of view Swiss wise it's been fantastic I was at the opening game in Basel and I didn't expect it to be that loud throughout a match it's weird for international women's fixtures in that like Like in these bigger stadiums, you generally have quite a lot of new fans, you know, particularly in a country like Switzerland where, you know, they don't get bigger tendencies.
52:46Suzy Wrack:I think the biggest attendance is like 10 ,000 for a women's match prior to this tournament. You expect it to be fairly quiet because people don't necessarily have chants yet or know them or are listening and thinking, oh, you know, little kid is thinking, oh, I can hear some people chanting over there. I'll learn that for next time kind of thing. So generally it's quite quiet sometimes at some of these big games. It wasn't. it was like completely like loud throughout which is like quite unusual and quite cool um and they had a fan march that was like sort of similar to the dutch through the streets to get to the stadium and things like that um and they're just creating a really good atmosphere it's uh you know they're really up for it and i think you know the group the draw for the group has been incredibly generous to them but they should get out of it and like it's obviously always good for the hosts to sort progress not just from like the football point of view but like when you're talking women's football in terms of like development of women's football in switzerland it's taking people on a journey with them which uh helps grow the game as we saw in in 2022 in england so it's great for me from an arsenal fan perspective because leo 40 has been playing phenomenally well as well which is nice to
53:52Mark Langdon:see of course women's football weekly uh is on three times a week uh throughout the tournament so uh download that subscribe to that wherever you get your podcasts finally wilson many congratulations newlywed Jonathan Wilson uh candid says what was the table arrangement at Wilson's wedding talk us through it and also before we went on air you you began a great anecdote uh regards Barry so and a black pudding I've now that was only the beginning of it I've never seen Barry as happy as he was the day after the wedding like I whatever had happened on the day of the wedding he was as as gleeful as joyous as full of joie de vivre as I've ever ever known him it begins you know having breakfast the day after the wedding and he's at the table behind me and i hear him summoning over the waitress i'm like oh god what's happened and he just wants to tell her that it's the the black pudding is the best thing he's ever eaten and he's he made a point saying and i'm saying this as an irishman i don't know if the irish have a particular affinity to the black pudding so it's the best the black pudding which is dorian's black pudding is you know it's the best thing he's ever eaten he then goes to what he describes as one of the top 10 pubs I've ever been to.
55:00Max Rushden:The Crown Posada in Newcastle. Great city, Newcastle. I've been there before, but lovely city, I have to say. We're very critical of the football team. The city is great and the Crown Posada pub, fantastic.
55:13Mark Langdon:We then have an excellent curry, the stragglers from the wedding. There's eight of us. And as we're walking back to the metro station afterwards, you've got the metro line to one side, walking down the street and there's some back streets down to the left. And I I don't know why, but those back streets, the wheelie bins are lined up with unbelievable precision. They're just the straightest things you've ever seen.
55:36Max Rushden:They're like cars on the grid at the start of a Formula One race. And Barry's just looking down there going, it's one of the wonders of the world.
55:45Mark Langdon:I've just never seen anything like that. So that's how happy he was. It must be like 50 or 60 wheelie bins lined up perfectly straight, street after street after street. he's so on top of the world he's describing that as one of it's the equivalent of the great hanging gardens the temple of jupiter at balbeck oh well look congratulations thank you very much i had a great day
56:12Max Rushden:i have to say it was a fantastic wedding uh great setting great company great food and wilson has i think an entirely deserved reputation for being tight there was a free bar all day and all night. Fantastic.
56:30Mark Langdon:How to please Barry in two easy steps. But because he couldn't let me have that, on the weekend of my wedding, he couldn't let me be the generous one. He insisted, like a complete prick, on paying for the curry for everybody the next night. He snuck off just before all the people left and went, I'm paying for it all.
56:51Max Rushden:That was, that's my wedding. No, no, thank you very much. It was very much appreciated. A performative act of generosity just to outdo Wilson. And two of the people there
56:59Mark Langdon:are regular pod listeners from Copenhagen, Lickie and Morton. So, yeah. Thank you very much for coming. I hope you had as lovely a weekend as we did. All right. That'll do it for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Barry. Thank you. Thanks, Wilson. You asked about the table plans. It was the hungry team that beat England in 1953. Thank you. You're welcome. Of course it was. Don't list them. Thank you, Mark. Thank you, Mark. Cheers, Susie. Nice one. Thanks. Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove. Our executive producer is Danielle Stephens.
57:29Max Rushden:This is The Guardian.