Are Aston Villa genuine title contenders? – Football Weekly podcast

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:30Weasel past Brighton. What a save from David Ryer at the end, while City win at Forest. Sean Dyche not happy with the decisions. Elsewhere, Crisis Club. Manchester United are sixth after beating Newcastle. Should Eddie Howe be under more pressure? Crisis Club. Liverpool are fourth after just getting past two points Wolves. Kevin Sharder scores a hat-trick for Brentford. Bournemouth's winless run continues. A good game at the Stadium of Light. West Ham look bleak. Spurs get a desperately needed victory. Burnley almost beat Everton. We'll do all that plus your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

1:01on the panel today john bruin welcome hello there hello jacob steinberg hello and welcome sam dalling hello max barry says not that barry what day is it i can confirm it is monday for those of you uh not too sure or maybe tuesday i mean it kind of depends when you're listening but it's monday when we record uh we'll start with aston villa their 11th straight win uh they won 2-1 at stanford bridge it's an amazing achievement and and jacob you were there and it was an odd game wasn't it because it's Chelsea was so much better for quite a long time Unai Emery changed it and then Villa just came and won the football match I guess they last 90 minutes and Chelsea didn't play for that long yeah Villa's xG at half time was zero so that was a reflection of how dominant Chelsea were in that game and how in the first half and how poor Aston Villa were they were quite passive um the system that emery used he used this sort of 4-2-2-2 with uh morgan rogers and doniel marlin through the middle and ollie ollie watkins on the bench which was a surprise to people who cover aston villa more closely than i do and it just didn't really work they also missed the physicality of inana in midfield they had these couple of early breaks where rogers got through the middle but there wasn't really enough support and he was closed down very quickly it just looked like they didn't really have quite enough attacking-wise to trouble Chelsea.

2:24It was probably about as well as I've seen Chelsea play for about an hour, 55 minutes this season. Certainly at home in the league, they were aggressive, intense. There were a few chances and then they get the goal that they fully deserved. And there's this period after that, certainly at the start of the second half, where they were really pummeling Villa. and even though Maresca was sitting behind us in the press box because he was serving this touchline ban, it looked like he had out-tacticked Unai Emery and that Emery had got it completely wrong and Chelsea really looked like they were going to get that second goal.

3:02It didn't come and it left Emery the room to make the changes and it could have come earlier. If he'd made three changes at half-time, he couldn't have argued against that. Instead, he makes them around the hour mark and straight away there was this complete shift once Watkins came on. He moved Tielemans further through the middle, a bit higher. Watkins, the pace and the directness just really stretched Chelsea. They didn't look like they were ready for it at all. There was no reaction from them and straight away there was this chance for camera. Sanchez makes the save, but the very next move is kind of a similar kind of move, a similar kind of attack through the middle.

3:40And Watkins scores. And after that, you could really only feel that one team were going to win it. Obviously, the goal comes quite late, but Villa had so many chances. And it's just testament to Emery's ability to change a game because those three substitutions, Inanna made a huge difference with how powerful he was in the middle. Jadon Sancho, who really hasn't been very good for Villa since joining them from Manchester United this season, came on. And obviously, this is a bit of a subplot because he was at Chelsea last season on loan and did okay, but they decided against signing him on a permanent last summer.

4:14And in that little half hour, he was really good. It was one of those games where Sancho looks like the player you thought he was five years ago. And they couldn't get the ball off him for half an hour, Chelsea. Maybe he had a bit of a point to prove. But Watkins as well also probably comes on with a bit of a point to prove after being left on the bench. And we've spoken before about how he's not had his best season. But the fact that they've been going so well without him scoring goals is firstly fantastic. And then the fact that he's then come on and maybe looks like he's going to maybe have a really big second half of the season scoring the second goal, which is brilliant, the header.

4:53Again, maybe suggests that if they can get him going alongside Rodgers, they can stay in the race. And it's interesting with Emery how he said afterwards, although they were poor in the first half and they were deservedly behind, that they had the experience and the desire and the mentality to hang in there and make sure they weren't out of it. that they defended and and that they they stuck to it which is maybe slightly separates them from from Chelsea just that ability that experience to to stay in the game and take the chances when it came I suppose Sancho if he keeps doing these season-long loans eventually he'll have played for everyone in the Premier League and then he'll have a point to prove in every game he plays and that's when you sign him because I had and he was brilliant wasn't he and I'd completely forgotten that he was at Villa I suppose the question now John that we do have to ask is are they in the race and the last of their nine victories have been by one goal and as producer joel says not to be all mick mccarthy but it can't go on like this and maybe it can it can it can it can i mean they they play arsenal on tuesday now that is a title a title six pointer you know perhaps the schedulers didn't think it would be it's funny listening to jacob's analysis of it because I actually came into the game at 55 minutes.

6:10So I missed the Chelsea good bit. I was at Brentford and went to the pub next door, which is very nice. Villa were all over them. And it's something that I've found watching Chelsea quite a lot this season is the lack of discipline within that team, the amount of yellow cards. I think one of the first things I noticed in that game or saw was that, do you see when Rodgers was booked for shoving in the box? Do you see this incident? and he was booked, I don't know for what, because the Chelsea players were sort of shoving him in one of those box wrestles. Like a school bully. Yeah, yeah, just sort of shoving him around and then he gets booked and it was like, there's three of them at that.

6:50And, you know, the lack of discipline, I suppose, is reflected by the fact that, you know, Enzo is sat at the back of the press box, which I recognise very well. I recognise the rather uncomfortable seats, as Jacob will know much better than I do. And they just were, Chelsea looked to rabble in that game. And when you think about Villa's title challenge, think about the goals Morgan Rodgers scored against United, they're supplying big moments, aren't they? And Unai Emery is making those changes that get big moments from his players. And that's something that Chelsea perhaps aren't doing. And that's why they're not in the race.

7:28But Villa have been fantastic. and you know we all cast back to that doom and gloom over the summer now they will end the year on a high and it's been a good year for them overall with a couple of lows but Emery is the master as Jacob says of the in-game management which I'm not sure Enzo is well it's worth remembering it wasn't just a summer like just how bad they were at the start of the season they had two points from five games and only scored once and I watched them draw nil-nil at Everton and I And watch Morgan Rodgers try and make a very simple 15-yard pass. And there was no one around him.

8:03And he completely fluffed it. And there was ironic cheers from the Everton fans. He's just thinking, maybe this is the end of the Emery era. And he has done a magnificent job. And it pains me to give Villa credit. But they've won five away games in a row, having come from behind. That's the fans' dream, isn't it? As long as you know you're going to win, it's a bit like, well, I'd love to get promoted via the playoffs, as long as we know we're going to win at Wembley. And on Watkins, I was having a look at his career, right? He is a manager's dream. In nine and a half years since he's played his first full season with Exeter, he's only missed 13 games.

8:38There might be more talented, more exciting centre forwards out there, but to be available and always willing and then to score an average of 14 and a half a season and provide goals, I think is magnificent. And they've won 12 from 13 in the league. I know Emery tried to shut down talk of a title race, but he didn't really get the question, did he? He said, well, you know, if the season ends now, Arsenal win the league. Yeah, but you're definitely in the race. And yet, Jacob, I don't know. I reckon most people listening are like, they are in the race, but they're not going to win it. I don't think they'll win it.

9:12I think it's still between Arsenal and Manchester City. Villa fans were probably thinking back two years when they had that little similar kind of run. under Emery two seasons ago. And they beat Arsenal and Manchester City, I think, in the space of four days at home. And they had a chance, I think, to go top around Christmas. And they drew with Sheffield United at home. And it kind of slightly fizzled out. And it was still a fantastic season because they finished in the top four and qualified for the Champions League. But this time, they've actually been able to push that a little bit further and not immediately as soon as the talk of the title begins, immediately drop off so that's that's that's something that's that's different maybe this time it is incredible as well that they've they've picked up 18 points from losing positions this season i think it's i think they've gone one nil down in each of the last six away games and they've won five of those uh that takes in like the west ham the spurs games um there were two nil down so there were two nil down at brighton and came back so that mentality that he's that he's speaking about is probably in evidence there.

10:21I don't think that they're in the race as it stands. I don't think they'll win it, but it's hard to rule anything out when they're on this run at the moment. And perhaps with January coming, they obviously didn't do a lot in the summer, which was a big bone of contention. Maybe there's a couple of things they can do during the window to make this even more plausible. And look, Jacob, you covered Chelsea, right? So this and i've said it so many times that it feels like i'm just being lazy by saying they're an odd team but sometimes you watch them and it really clicks and you think these guys could really challenge and sometimes it doesn't and maybe it's an experience thing then you've had this weird time with mareska i think we've spoken to you since mareska sort of publicly said what a terrible time he two days at least that he's been having so that's how do you how do you work out what you think will happen will mareska be there will he get everything together like it sometimes looks like he will i would be at this stage the way things are post his terrible 48 hours before the everton game which he still hasn't really explained and it's left a lot of people at chelsea quite bemused baffled um and not really knowing what what he is exactly talking about because he's been reluctant to talk to explain it in i think in private and he's not explained it as well in in public despite being repeatedly questioned on it um by the media i would be surprised if he's the manager next season as it stands they they are reluctant chelsea to to make mid-season changes they obviously went through that quite extensively in the first season of this ownership and they appreciated probably how much that upheaval disrupted that that first season when they have started with tuchel potter end up with lampard as the interim manager if you look at pochettino they let it run until the the end of that first season then they had the review with Maresca, obviously because of the Club World Cup, there wasn't really the opportunity to do that last summer.

12:17They would like to go into the end of the season, have this review with him at the end of his second year. And I think at that point, I would be quite surprised if he remains their manager and we're not looking at someone else. I also think that there is the increasing possibility, the way that results have gone over the last few weeks, but not just the results, just this sense of a split between him and the hierarchy there, which never really ends, never looks like it's something that will end well, whether or not he does remain the manager. I think they have enough probably in that squad, and I think he has the buy-in from the players as well to keep ticking along.

13:00They will qualify for the latter stages of the Champions League, whether that's going to be through the top eight or they'll have to go through the playoff. what we'll have to see it probably looks like the latter at the moment they're obviously in this semi-final against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup FA Cup we don't know how that's going to play out but I would be very surprised as well if they're not in the top four uh come the end of the season so I'm not sure the results will get bad enough for him to um to be sacked before the end of the season but I don't think that that can be entirely ruled out because it's it's hard it's just as you say there's such an odd team it's hard to tell which way it goes and in contrast to Villa with the ability to win from losing positions Chelsea have dropped I think it's 13 points um overall from from winning positions this season and that's 11 of those are at home and that's from um you know that's the Brighton game Sunderland game which they which they managed to lose now this one is that the bench is that the mentality the inability from him to to manage manage these these situations that ends up with him having these tactical and technical feedback sessions with the uh with the sporting directors that maybe he doesn't didn't appreciate too much after the atalanta game um they're just they're such a strange side and worrying as well was probably that reaction from from cole palmer when when when he got taken off he really wasn't very happy mareska played it down afterwards but i think that's that's maybe going to be one to watch as the season progresses.

14:30To the Emirates, then Arsenal 2, Brighton 1. I mean, John, I fear of the amount of times I say, these are the sort of games you need to win to win the league. But you know, like it is, they all did it this weekend, didn't they? Yeah, yeah. And you need to win those games and you need to ride out wobbles in matches. And I mentioned moments before, and this time the match winner was the goalkeeper, which, and that counts, you know, because I was thinking about this, it's probably a little unfair. Who is the worst goalkeeper to have won a Premier League? Oh, good question. As in like the first, the starting keeper for a team.

15:03The starting goalkeeper. Like who has been, I mean, because you run through the, you know, Schmeichel, Tim Flowers was an excellent goalkeeper, David Seaman. There's a couple of seasons where United had like Bosnich and Fabian Barthes that are probably the rookiest. Oh, come on. Let's not stop Bozza. No, of course. Bosnich had an unhappy... And a brilliant goalkeeper. A brilliant, brilliant goalkeeper. An unhappy time at Manchester United, let's say that. Yeah, no, that is true. That is true. But Barthez and then you've got Pacek, who was absolutely brilliant. It's difficult, isn't it? I mean, Kasper Schmeichel was a fantastic goalkeeper for Leicester.

15:38Essentially, what I'm saying is that Raya, who has, I suppose, exceeded my expectations and many others, pulling off those saves is a good sign. It's a vital sign. And, you know, Brighton are one of those teams that can cause people problems and with a player like Minta, who is very, very difficult to deal with, to ride out that slight wobble they had in the game. And I suppose the thing is, a friend of mine who was over from Australia, who is not particularly well-versed in the Premier League, who just said, people get very anxious at this team, don't they, at Arsenal? And it was the Wolves game, of course, which they won through those own goals.

16:21but she was taken with how enraged and on the edge of their seats people were. And yeah, it's going to be a tense season for Arsenal. They're fully capable of getting it done. Those are the games that you need to get done. Let's credit Raya for that one. Fantastic. Yeah, it is a brilliant save, Sam. It was the first sort of moment where I was like, I made an involuntary noise because I just thought it's some save. and then I couldn't work out a bit like John would say does every Premier League keeper save that it just looks brilliant or is that utter brilliance and like you're not a goalkeeper either so I I don't know what they are I don't know if you have an answer well you say that I was drawing back I was thinking about my time as goalkeeper for Churchingford under 16s we were a side um okay who used to get I take it back we got battered every week so it's one of those you could lose seven or eight nil and still be man of the match as the goal I think we went away to minehead town once and lost all that eight one yeah it was really tough under lights windy by the sea and afterwards one of my teammates told a member of the opposition coach that I was actually on trial at Manchester United and he believed him yes and that's probably my career highlights I could quite believe that yes um I think it was a speed actually if you look at it is it the reverse angle you see how little reaction time is and often again from my technical expertise as a goalkeeper often goalkeepers go top hand um so to the right they'd go left he actually went right-handed which maybe saved him a fraction of a second so what i'm saying is from a technical goalkeeping analysis it was a wonderful save does every goalkeeper in the premier league make it i don't think so you know i don't think so like it was a superb moment and it's that old cliche of that wow you might not have much to do in the game but actually it's those little moments yeah It's all very well playing for Churchill against Minehead, conceding eight, but still making eight saves.

18:16But when you've just got one save to make and the Premier League title is on the line, you need a goalkeeper who's going to make it. Brilliant signing. Yeah, and Odegaard scored one of those goals that he used to score every week about two or three years ago. Okay, look, it's another set piece. It's a bit frustrating, I think, for Brighton to concede that own goal from Moutier. But I suppose you have to credit Arsenal, Jacob, in the sense that they do have a lot of injury problems. And if this is their blip and they're still winning, another cliche alert then that is good yeah obviously they've built this massive squad and full of about 100 defenders and now they're down to about three califiori go out in the uh in the warm-up and miles lewis skelly comes in for his first league start of the season timber who pretty much never gets injured this season he's out as well out of nowhere so you end up with declin rice at right back um maybe not too unfamiliar for him because he played as a defender for West Ham when he came through, but he'd never played there for Arsenal, but it didn't affect them too much.

19:16The big thing for them is that while Muscara's out, Gabriel was back on the bench for the first time. It'd be interesting to see if he comes back in on Tuesday night because that would be massive for them. Declan Rice at right back, that's the position that top midfielders can do because I remember Steven Gerrard, when he played right back for Liverpool, just when he started out and he was absolutely immense as a right back. Roy Keane as well fulfilled it 30 years ago. He was absolutely amazing as a right back. And for some reason I was like, well, maybe we should keep him at right back. And it's like, that actually is quite a good midfielder.

19:53Maybe put him in there. But you've got to have faith that Rice could be in that position. But yeah, that game, it's huge. I didn't realise until last night that I will be there and I think it's going to be tense at the Emirates. and Villa are good away, aren't they? And good on the break. Oli Watkins, who was linked to Arsenal, I think back in January, they considered making a move for him, something to prove. Yeah. I mean, I am not going to dismiss Villa's chances of the title. Jacob mentioned XG at the start. They're outperforming XG, aren't they, to a ridiculous level. So shades of Leicester type of thing.

20:33Leicester 2015-16. um though the the chatting to wilson he is of the view that in this era of set pieces and throw-ins and all that that xg is not quite the measure it used to be so maybe that's it villa are the team of the future there's another thing that around that which is that you know the xg people are very unhappy i think with them scoring so many long-range goals but i guess maybe that's also a function of them playing against deep defenses and you're going to have more shots from outside the area and if you've got people like rogers and telemans maybe they're going to end up in the in the top corner like the idea that xg people are angry they're going to release a statement going aston miller have got to start underperforming their xg this is not good enough you have to fit the stats you can't you can't you can't this these stats are too important you know crisis at xg towers as morgan rogers hammers in another one at 25 yards and they have to have a meeting about it get everyone in any ideas dave at the back any ideas um let's go to the city grounds man city won 2-1 two points behind arsenal after 18 games they've won five on the spin really good game this i thought sam i thought forest were really good in this and perhaps unlucky not to come away with something yeah i enjoyed watching it completely i enjoyed their goal in particular it was almost it was so easy like it was so difficult but yet so easy it was the kind of goal that you might expect to see a Premier League side playing at home to a League Two side in the FA Cup where there's no sort of magic and they just score goals on demand.

22:03It was a lovely move. Rinders takes a bad touch on the edge of the area and Morgan Gibbs-White nicks it away, does those couple of stepovers and suddenly Forrest are away and it's just a quick counter-attack. And the space at the back post that Hutchinson is left with, I'm glad that Hutchinson gets his goal he's one of those big money signing young English player in the summer didn't quite start like Forrest really needed him to having lost Alanga on that right hand side of midfield but yeah it was a beautiful goal like you could see Guardiola just like how we can see did that Lewis Skelly's given him so like I don't quite know who's you know being a goalkeeper I'm not quite sure as to how to analyze defenders but someone didn't go with their man left too much space there I thought I've talked about him loads Elliot Anderson was brilliant he plays one Gerrard-esque pass across the field from left to right touches him where you go oh there's definitely shades of there and so Forrest okay they're still hovering a little bit above the relegation zone there is a gap there but they're starting to find their feet in a bit of identity under Daesh and maybe I like is Ruben Diaz a little bit lucky not to get a second yellow does that change it flip it in Forrest's favor a little bit I think it probably does interesting with the goalkeeping situation as well Matt Sells was so brilliant for Forrest last year but actually Victor one of the the three signings they got over from Brazil is keeping him out of the side and I thought he had a decent game he makes a very good save at his near post from Cherokee where he tipped it on to the post so yeah in answer to your very simple question yes Forrest were a bit unlucky John you are a huge admirer of Pep's so so good uh moments and he was he was all he was so he was on real so so good form sean dyche is so good he has a team with huge personality it's so difficult to break igor jesus won all the jewels you know gibbs white is brilliant and then he was pep linders is so so good maybe i'm just the assistant and maybe he's like a really generous giving guy but i always feel like i just don't buy it i i think he thinks he's the best but you know maybe that's maybe that's unfair of me what are you suggesting max uh yeah that he's uh genuflecting towards the the cult of Pep.

24:18We'll miss his patronising when it's gone, won't we? Yeah, we will. You know, from the days of, you know, when Eddie Howe was an up-and-coming manager at Bournemouth, where the way they play is so, so good, and they'd win 4-0. And, you know, he is so good at it. But the thing is, he does, he spares an extra special so, so good for the real football man. You're Warnock's, you're, Sean Dyche, obviously, is the descendant of the Allardyce, Pulis, Warnock school, isn't he? And, of course, you know, he feels that he's among, you know, stout English yeomen and really wants to show that he's among these people.

24:58And the Lindus thing's interesting, isn't it? Because he obviously shared that. I think I've compared it before to his ones for the kids. Roy Baraclough and Les Dawson's relationship they had with Juanma Lillo. That sort of like, ooh, I know, yeah, ooh. you know sort of you know the snug of the of the rover to return but slightly more former relationship with pepin linders a bit more yeah but he did blow smoke right up him you know i like this guy you know working with jürgen as well and of course as i said yeah we'll miss him he is patronized just about everybody in the league and it's it's very different from the days when managers were openly hostile to each other this is just a different type of hostile isn't it it's the other way around yeah who was that clip that was just i mean you must have seen it it's doing the rounds where jimmy hill is in between is it malcolm allison and alan mullery alan mullery yeah and basically you know malcolm has just said i think you're not very good and then they have a long chat about whether he's good or not it's like absolutely brilliant clip from the 70s or something where you're just like why doesn't this happen more it's a man-to-man chat in the way that things used to be and you know it that's how it's done now listen do you know what i actually think pep probably does mean what he says when he's saying it yeah but you know that that's just but that's just that's just how he is and i suppose one thing about pep we should say this is that he has enjoyed english football you know he's not he's not come here and just sort of said all right yeah um you know that was easy i've just smashed you all and see you later he seems to like being in the muck and nettles of English football.

26:37It appears to be what Jose Mourinho used to call it his natural habitat. And I think that's the same for Pep. He gets the buzz, doesn't he? You can see that. It's worth giving Cherky some credit. Lovely little ball for Rinders. And, you know, good winner as well. There's controversy over the winner, whether O 'Reilly failed Gibbs-White or Gibbs-White failed O 'Reilly. Before the game, tributes were paid to John Robertson. Complete club legends, you know, who passed away at the age of 72 last week. Scored the only goal when Nottingham Forest retained the European Cup by beating Hamburg in 1980.

27:11He put in the cross from which Trevor Francis headed home the previous season against Malmo. Forest have announced the stand will be renamed after him at the city ground. He was still in and around the club doing lots of things for the club. I met him once. He was a delightful guy. Ewan Murray wrote a brilliant tribute. We'll put a link to him in the show notes. It said Robertson was two-footed, albeit much more devastating with his left. capable of bamboozling switch of pace over five yards at a wondrous crosser he was brian clough's favorite for goodness sake a footballer key to two crucial european cup final goals it's a pity that only now may robertson be properly cherished in scotland he was very different in style to dennis law and kenny dalglish it should not be sacrilege to suggest he was their footballing peer yeah so look we uh obviously send our best wishes to his uh friends and family but an absolutely wonderful footballer and we'll be back in a second

28:04welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly um to old trafford their matches you had won newcastle nil sam you went there for an 8 p.m boxing day kickoff at what point did you regret that decision that's a good question probably about 15 20 minutes into the second half where i just felt i've seen this from newcastle so many times lots of the ball um there's a question people say Newcastle controlled the second half I'm not so sure they did I think actually it was it's very rare to see Manchester United sit back like they do and invite a team onto them at Old Trafford but I think they were actually quite comfortable so probably 15-20 minutes into the second half I would say when it became evident that just pumping aimless crosses somewhere in the direction of the penalty box probably wasn't going to work out well for Newcastle you wanted to talk about Eddie Howe actually look like United winning is always a story they're sick the dog's goal was brilliant but you're sort of interested in the lack of pressure that eddie howe is under it just feels a bit strange and there's a growing sense in the media in particular there's no question marks you look at someone like thomas frank who's been under immense pressure at tottenham and he's got three points more than eddie howe and this is one of those um occasions in life and there are plenty of them where two things can be true at the same time and it seems to be that a lot of people can't get their head around that you can say that and he had but this is a true statement is that Eddie Howe has done an absolutely magnificent job at Newcastle he's brought Newcastle fans like memories most haven't had in a lifetime and will unless he does something Isaac-esque always be a legend like that can be true and then also saying he might have reached a ceiling at Newcastle United and there are question marks as to whether he is the man to take them forward that can also be true at the same time and it just seems that like every premier league manager should be under pressure right it's the it's a very top level and people then say oh they go back to this whole oh yeah you're deluded remember where you're from remember where you were a few years ago giving away like 10 000 season tickets and like at what point do you have to let that go right you don't go right my iphone camera isn't working so well so i'm to go into the apple store and speak to a genius in a blue cotton t-shirt and you would not expect to hear ah yeah but do you remember the days where you just got 20 photos on it on a camera and you had to take it into jessops to get it developed like that's not an adequate answer to that question and so where do you where are my expectations as a fan i don't know but i said it before on this podcast right the club is coming out and openly saying wants to be uh in the conversation for the number one in the world by 2030 so I think being top five in England right now is probably not unreasonable and it's just this lack of identity right not taking a point having gone behind this season drop 13 having gone in front um plus games in the Champions League and like Howard's had a lot of control and you looked at it okay we need a goal right well he's he's taking one striker off bringing on another and he's bringing on runners there's a lot of athletes a lot of focus on this old style Newcastle where they didn't have possession and used to break on sides.

31:12And they're trying to develop it and they just haven't. I think of the seven league games, they've had 55 % or more possession this year. They've won two of them, single goal victories against Wolves and Burnley. They just haven't found a style. They need an unlocker. They need someone with a little bit of guy or and there's Ross Wilson is coming as sporting director how's had a lot of control over transfers and he certainly did in the summer be interesting I think he needs someone a little bit stronger above him and so I think there were definite questions and he should be under pressure like you know six points from nine away league games right extrapolate that over a full season and you get to what 12 maybe let's say 13 being generous Well, Ipswich finished third bottom last year and they had 15 points away from home and Newcastle still haven't been to Man City, to Liverpool, to Chelsea or to Arsenal.

32:07They've had games they could and should have been winning. So it's this idea that it's OK to question and say, hmm, maybe he can't go to the next level. Who do you get instead? That's another fair question. But I just find it this sort of complete shutting down, though you're an idiot, you're entitled if you dare question the man that brought Newcastle the trophy. The same things can be true at the same time. I was going to say it's a different media environment, isn't it, than perhaps in years gone by. Newcastle is a one-club city, and you almost have to be on the bandwagon, don't you, these days?

32:49A lot of reporters can be partisan, can be pro the club. it's not like in times gone by a lot of the reporters were not from the area and just happened to end up working in the area and therefore are able to be a bit more critical of the club but I suppose in these days sometimes in return for access and stuff like that in return for knowing the manager you have to give more positive coverage and maybe the local media isn't as critical as they have been of well certainly previous managers when you think of Steve McLaren and Steve Bruce the treatment they received and media coverage has changed.

33:27People have, clubs have cub reporters, beat reporters as they call it in the States and they report them in a slightly different way to the way that, you know, back in the days when, you know, the Manchester Review News would be critical of Manchester United if they were bad. As would the City reporters, Paul Hintz was his name, and he would hammer City even though they was a big City fan. You'd say Paul Hintz. His name was Paul Hintz. He was a former City player. Right, got it. I like the idea of the governor. The governor playing for Man United and reporting on City. They were garbage again.

34:02He had a similar relationship with Alex Ferguson, as Paul Idds, actually, towards the end. But anyway, you would have a guy that would come out and say, this isn't good enough. And I do wonder if that happens now. Now, I'm not digging out my colleagues in the press, because you have to do things a slightly different way, because fans want to read nice things about their club. that's what you find as a reporter i suppose that's interesting isn't it jacob if you had an in with mareska right and he was giving feeding you all sorts of like juicy lines like you've got your integrities as well like you know what do you what do you do with that you say i'm still going to say you were rubbish on saturday and that dries up as it's a different kind of journalism i guess unless you do have a great in with mareska i don't know i thought you were well in with enzo oh enzo loves the media yeah i mean that's why he sat right behind us on it wasn't because the press box it wasn't even banned yeah yeah conveniently located for the stanford bridge dressing rooms that's that's that's not why he was there yeah when he went one all he was asking us for for advice what do you do how do i turn this around lads uh quick one on united um quick one of united john sort of lovely goal what else is there to say i i ate a heaven good player isn't he uh talented apologies for this frippery but have you noticed that the terrace songs now have this bit where everyone does a high voice bit you've heard this everton have one where what the falsetto yeah there's a falsetto is big on the terraces i've noticed that brentford have got one and everton do this one which is uh everton never shone so brightly and is a bit where they go whoo okay now i was thinking the ultimate ultimate high voice would be to do the bg's too much heaven which is uh if you listen back to it is incredibly high vocals i would love to hear the stratford end attempt too much heaven danny baker used to get i think used to get people to ring up to sing life on mars and obviously gets higher and higher and it's really hard wherever they start the caller eventually they will just not be able to do it doesn't it wherever you pitch it at the start it's just um anyway well done to Manchester United uh Liverpool 1-2-1 against Wolves um not a convincing way I'm a really emotional day obviously because of the connection with Diogo Jota to Wolves and to Liverpool and for his kids to walk out on the pitch I mean they're incredibly young but like I don't know it just really hits you doesn't it and and i thought both those clubs have since that tragedy done everything that they possibly could and they did this incredibly well and uh you know we should never forget that that happened you know it wasn't a convincing win jacob but it was still a win and they're now fourth liverpool in this terrible season that they're having and i guess it's only wolves who looked okay for for only having two points yeah big for liverpool that they finally got the goal from Florian Wurtz, who obviously it's been a wait for him to finally score.

37:05But I think over the last few weeks, there's been more from him. I think he's shown a few flashes. I thought he was very good against West Ham, especially in the first half. I thought that everything during that game, which was obviously the start of the move away from Salah, everything kind of went through him. And I think he was unlucky not to score in that game. and then gets the assist against Liverpool for Tottenham for Isaac last week, which was obviously extremely frustrating because they've been waiting for this moment where the£200 million players finally click and then one of them in that moment breaks his leg.

37:43But obviously it's massive for them that he's finally got off the mark and they'll hope that, especially with Isaac out and Salah not here, that this can be the moment where Virts really steps up because it's slightly strange with Liverpool in that they obviously spent so much on the attack last summer, bringing in Ekotike and Izak, but they slightly look a little bit light there at the moment. Gakpo's been out and obviously Salah's not here at the moment. And people are sort of looking at it and going, why are they suddenly being linked again with Semenya? Don't they have enough? and then you sort of look at it and go, well, okay, but he started Chiesa on Saturday against Wolves and Chiesa more or less has not had much, well, he's just not had a look in at all really on the slot.

38:33He's come up with a few important goals here and there, but he doesn't seem to trust him at all. Not sure he's really, he's a bit of an afterthought of a signing and not sure he's really cut out for the physicality of the Premier League. And then I think that Ngemoor has been on the bench quite a lot and although he's had that huge moment against Newcastle early this season, he's only a kid. So they just feel with the injuries and the absences at the moment that they're a little bit light up there. So if Wurtz can really start to produce what they expected from him in the summer, that would be massive for them during this period.

39:10And they still don't look very convincing. But ever since that thing with Salah's happened, for whatever reason, they've been able to dig out the results a little bit more. I don't know whether there's been an element of a reassertion of authority from slot or whether there's been just without Salah there, there's been a little bit more removed towards a bit more solidity. It looks a little bit more encouraging, but I wouldn't say entirely, entirely convinced yet. To the GTEC, Brentford 4, Bournemouth 1, you were there, John, to see a Kevin Sharder hat-trick. Yeah, Brentford were really, really good.