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In short
Premier League weekend review focused on Arsenal’s 2-1 title-decider win over Chelsea, Everton’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United featuring late drama, plus other matches and VAR/goal debates.
Guests
Barry Glendennig (football writer/commentator), Johnny Lou (writer/analyst), Jordan Jarrett-Brien (football writer). They discuss tactics, transfers, midfield balance, and refereeing/VAR.
Key claims
Arsenal look the most “well-rounded” and set for the title; Havertz’s dummy is highlighted as decisive, and Odegaard is “purring.” Chelsea’s midfield injuries (Lavia, Caicedo) and defensive setup are questioned despite a strong window. United’s late collapse is blamed on indecision/substitutions; Everton’s Moises substitutions are praised. Fulham’s early-season woes are framed as “unluckiest manager” rhetoric, with defensive structure criticized. Spurs are worried for not scoring yet; VAR handball decisions are debated but generally accepted.
Notable examples
Havertz dummy for Odegaard winner; Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ 96th-minute Everton screamer; Tyreek George’s tight-angle strike; Fulham 2-3 Palace (Mitchell/Chilwell goals); Newcastle 2-2 Bournemouth late lapses; Brentford/Sunderland and multiple disallowed goals.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOArsenal vs. Chelsea Match Recap
2:20 to 3:37
Discussion on Arsenal's victory over Chelsea, highlighting key moments.
“Can we start, Johnny, with the Kai Havertz dummy?”
Analysis of Player Performances
3:37 to 4:44
Panelists evaluate individual player performances, focusing on Havertz and Odegaard.
“we've been talking about Arsenal and are they what Arsenal we see this season and I thought they did a pretty entertaining job yesterday.”
Arsenal's Title Aspirations
4:44 to 6:45
A discussion on Arsenal's potential title run this season and their current form.
“they had chances but Arsenal were I think the better side.”
Midfield Dynamics in Premier League
6:45 to 9:20
Exploration of the importance of midfielders in top teams and comparison of Arsenal's midfield.
“so I think it was important that they did win this game.”
Goalkeeper Performances Review
9:20 to 10:37
Discussion on the goalkeepers' performances during the Arsenal vs. Chelsea match.
“And as a result, you're getting huge sums of money paid for midfielders that are, I think, more all-round talents than real genius, edge-of-your-seat midfielders.”
Chelsea's Offensive Challenges
10:37 to 12:05
Analysis of Chelsea's attacking play and the potential for improvement.
“or is it sometimes the ball is just right in the corner and that's okay?”
Everton vs. Manchester United Review
12:05 to 14:00
Discussion on the exciting draw between Everton and Manchester United highlighting key goals.
“I thought Pedro was really good, actually.”
Arsenal's Ainsley Maitland-Niles Impresses
14:00 to 14:49
Discussion on Ainsley Maitland-Niles and his performance in the match.
United's Late Collapse Against Everton
14:50 to 16:56
Analysis of Manchester United's performance and late goal conceded.
“But Tyreek George's opener for Everton as well was fantastic.”
Tactical Decisions in United's Loss
16:57 to 18:38
Critique of Michael Carrick's tactical decisions during the match.
“And I'm not saying there's questions of Michael Carrick, but I think there were some weird decisions, substitutions and tactics-wise in this match.”
Show all 32 chapters
Everton's Resilience and Player Performances
18:39 to 19:41
Exploration of Everton's player performances and recent struggles.
“That's kind of, you know, it's been a bit of an absurd week.”
Transition to Part Two and Upcoming Events
19:42 to 20:18
Announcement of transition to part two and upcoming live events.
“I mean that was the moment actually more than any other thought okay he's on it this season.”
Fulham's Struggles and Manager's Challenges
21:12 to 21:31
Examining Fulham's performance and the challenges faced by their manager.
“Wednesday night, thank you everyone who came to Dublin.”
Fulham's Struggles and Manager's Challenges
21:33 to 24:49
Examining Fulham's performance and the challenges faced by their manager.
“If you are not in or near Walthamstow, you still have absolutely no excuse, unless, I guess, you came to the Dublin show.”
Impactful Moments in Premier League Matches
24:50 to 26:15
Discussion on significant goals and moments in recent matches.
“But at the moment, it's very good news for the neutral and very bad news for the Spanish Ryland.”
Isak's Return and Liverpool's Gakpo
26:16 to 28:00
Analysis of Alexander Isak's performance and Liverpool's Gakpo's development.
“Jordan, a huge three minutes for Alexander.”
Evaluating Isak and Gakpo's Contributions
28:00 to 28:36
Discussion revolves around Isak's performance and Gakpo's unexpected rise at Liverpool.
“I think he's a brilliant player, but there's other players that have come to this league in the past that I just feel the Premier League isn't forward.”
Liverpool's Progression and Tactical Dynamics
28:36 to 29:41
Analysis of Liverpool's performance and tactical changes under Iriola.
“The second one in particular was lovely.”
Coventry's Struggles and Man City's Performance
29:41 to 31:08
Exploration of Coventry's missed opportunities against a mixed performance from Man City.
“And also, I think, encouraging that Iriola is happy to keep rotating their minutes.”
Burnley's Prospects and Championship Insights
31:08 to 32:29
Discussion on Burnley's potential and the challenges facing teams in the Championship.
“Sorry, I know you asked me about Donna Roma.”
Enzo Fernandes and Midfield Dynamics
32:29 to 33:38
Conversation on Enzo Fernandes' role and expectations within City's midfield.
Newcastle vs. Bournemouth Match Recap
33:38 to 35:01
Recap of a thrilling match between Newcastle and Bournemouth, highlighting key moments.
“He does a lot of the simple things well.”
Sunderland's Strong Performance Against Brentford
35:01 to 36:58
Analysis of Sunderland's impressive gameplay against Brentford and missed chances.
“Bournemouth have now dropped seven points from winning positions.”
VAR Decisions and Controversies in Recent Matches
36:58 to 38:30
Discussion of VAR controversies in matches, focusing on handball incidents and decisions.
“Anyway, that'll do for part two, part three.”
VAR Decisions and Controversies in Recent Matches
38:32 to 39:04
Discussion of VAR controversies in matches, focusing on handball incidents and decisions.
“Summer is here, which means the group chats are already spiralling with festival and summer plans.”
Tottenham's Goal Drought and Team Analysis
39:45 to 42:00
Analysis of Tottenham's struggles to score and overall performance issues.
“There were so many moments where you were like, well, that has to have gone in, and it hadn't.”
Disallowed Goals and Rule Controversies
42:00 to 43:31
Discussing the nuances of disallowed goals and inconsistencies in referee decisions.
“It feels unlucky even if it should be disallowed.”
Tottenham's Struggles and Team Dynamics
43:31 to 45:41
Analyzing Tottenham's performance challenges and team dynamics this season.
“And you can't take all of those goals out of the team without replacing them with something.”
Hull City's Strong Start to the Season
45:41 to 47:07
Exploring Hull City's surprising performance and expectations for the season.
“Not a classic, Baz, but look, Hull's start is brilliant and just at the end there was that ball whipped into the box.”
Villa's Goal Drought and Managerial Decisions
47:07 to 48:26
Debating Aston Villa's struggle to score and the implications of managerial choices.
“who are going to be circling the drain, they probably presume they would go straight back down like everyone else did, including me.”
Referee Mike Dean's Podcast Revelations
48:26 to 51:18
Discussing Mike Dean's comments on his refereeing experiences and their implications.
“They run like hell for Daniel Farker and that always makes for entertaining.”
Referee Reputation and Professionalism
51:18 to 54:16
Examining the impact of retired referees on current officials and the game's integrity.
“If he was at that crack, it's very unprofessional.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is The Guardian.
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1:26Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. Arsenal win the title decider at the Emirates 2-1 over Chelsea. They deserved it. Kai Havertz, beautiful dummy, setting up Martin Odegaard for the winner. Before that, Havertz had equalised with a bit of a P-roller, cancelling out Morgan Rodgers' shin and grubber kick. It was a good game. Goal of the weekend, unsurprisingly, came from the right boot of Ainsley, Maitland, Niles, who most of us had largely forgotten about until the 96th minute of Everton's game with Manchester United. Best game on Saturday at Craven Cottage. Three goals from left wing-backs for Palace as they won 3-2.
1:53Manchester City just beat Coventry. A great Friday night for Alexander Izak and a pretty good one for Cody Gakpo. And then lots of draws. Bournemouth conceded late for the third game in a row at Newcastle. Sunderland should have been 100-0 up at Brentford, but had to settle for a point. Did VAR Rob Forrest? Should Spurs consider scoring a goal this season? Hull's unbeaten start continues and Brian and Leeds draw one apiece. We'll do all that, answer your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
2:19On the panel today, Barry Glendennig, welcome. Hi, Max. Hello, Johnny Lou. Hello, Max. And welcome, Jordan Jarrett-Brien. Yo, yo, yo. Let's start. Yo, yo, yo, indeed. With Arsenal 2, Chelsea 1. Can we start, Johnny, with the Kai Havertz dummy? I thought they didn't make enough of it in commentary. I just thought it was so beautiful to have that awareness when the game is moving around you. And to set up the winner, I just thought I'd like a moment for the Kai Havertz dummy.
2:47Jonathan Liew:Yes, exactly. There are things that, I mean, in a game where everything can be logged and measured, and uh metriced this is this is something that just won't won't show up on on any of that and the nonchalance of it as well he almost kind of i don't know he could have tap danced over it a little bit it was it was uh solace on on the left and and that that move that we saw from the community shield as well where he sort of plays inside on his right foot and odegaard is waiting there uh at the edge of the area and but this time there's like a there's a third almost like you know there's a it's like choreographed it just totally wrongfoots the Chelsea defense and and yeah that is that was probably the moment of grace that I think the game deserved because it was a really good game and it deserved that that little moment of genius.
3:36Baz were you entertained we've been talking about Arsenal and are they what Arsenal we see this season and I thought they did a pretty entertaining job yesterday.
3:44Max Rushden:Yeah I enjoyed it just on that Havertz dummy he had tried one previously, I think, and it didn't quite come off. I think he probably should have shot on that occasion. So it wasn't his first faint of the game. I was impressed by Arsenal. I was entertained by them. An Arsenal side with Martin Odegaard purring in it is a completely different animal to the Arsenal. I think we saw last season where, for various reasons, mainly because he was playing through pain most of the time or out, that's a different animal. I thought he was sensational. yesterday Havertz was really good Califiori was good and they're doing interesting things with him playing him high up the pitch I think the fact they went behind so early probably helped the game evolve as a spectacle I thought Chelsea brought a fair bit to the party as well and Javi Lonzo was gutted afterwards not to have taken anything from the game and I don't think it would have been an unfair result if they had got a draw they had chances but Arsenal were I think the better side.
4:49Yeah, I think I agree with that totally. You know, Neto hits the post, doesn't he? I think that was at 1-1. So you could be annoyed if you were a Chelsea or not agreed if you were a Chelsea fan. You could have perhaps deserved a point, but I think Arsenal were. Estevão as well had that
5:01Max Rushden:chance at the end. Brilliant save by Rhea. Yeah, it was. Can I challenge that? Because everyone I thought was a brilliant save as well and then I looked at it a few more times and it's a good save, but actually it's not as in the corner as I think what I first thought. And as David Rye is a brilliant keeper, I think most will agree, probably the best keeper in the league. I think he should be saving that. I think there was a similar chance, similar save he made last year against Minta. I do remember that game against Brighton. I think it won save of the season. Very similar, but it was much more in the corner, therefore more impressive.
5:37I'm going to say that I think the save is slightly overrated. I hear that. I think keepers saved that shot, but it was still a chance. It looks better than I think it actually was. Robert Sanchez probably saves that. More broadly, Jordan, three wins from three. And we all sort of thought it before the season started, but you do look like Arsenal do look like the most well-rounded team in the league by some distance, I think. They really do. And I think that's why it's also important that Arsenal won that game yesterday because whilst their rivals are still betting in new players, have new managers and trying to figure out, you know, how they go about challenging for the title this season, or it might be top four, Arsenal just, who are set and have got their, do you know what they're doing, do win these games.
6:21And what Arsenal need to do is ensure that by the time the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool with new managers, all are up and running, Tottenham if you want as well, are all up and running and work out what they're doing. They look up and it's February and Arsenal are nine points clear. Arsenal have got to rack up those wins and really try and maximise the fact that they are a team that is set and do know what they're doing. so I think it was important that they did win this game. I thought it was a really good football game generally. I thought Chelsea, as Barry was saying, contributed to what was a really good game of football.
6:55I think, again, just to agree with Kai Havertz comments, I thought his general player was brilliant and I thought his goal was very un-Kai Havertz. I like the fact that he kind of, it was a self-made goal, which is not something I think you often say about Kai Havertz. I thought he was, I thought he shaded the man of the match. I know Odegaard got it, he was brilliant, but I thought Havertz just shaded it. but my big takeaway from Chelsea was that I thought they had the best window of everybody I thought they had a really good window got in a keeper upgrade they you know they got Lacroix in who I think elevates their defense slightly but actually to finish the game with two right backs in midfield I thought actually kind of highlighted that maybe they didn't have the kind of window that that I thought they wouldn't I think Alonso worked that out but it's concerning for them that their two best midfielders probably Lavia and Caicedo seem to have really big injury problems and I know they haven't got Europe to rack up the games so they might just have enough but I thought that was quite concerning that in the middle they seemed so full the money they've spent they seem so so so so weak and poor.
7:59Johnny you wrote an interesting piece the other week maybe it was this week about sort of mediocre midfields midfielders in the Premier League costing a lot of money but on this game I just thought it was quite interesting when you see that midfield of Rice, Erdogan, and Lewis Skelly, you see a midfield that work together and work well together. You know, they're all individually very good, but I just thought I wanted to do, I thought that piece was really interesting because I hadn't really considered it. I just, I just thought, well, all the midfielders are probably quite good, but there you do have an example of a three that work really nicely together.
8:27Jonathan Liew:Yes. Yeah. I mean, I mean, it's a big topic, but I think Arsenal's works really well and not just that, but having, you know, Marino and Zubomendi almost as, as kind of closes, they come on late on and lock the game down. And having those really defined roles is I think what every club is almost striving for with the midfield. It's that thing about the blanket, which doesn't quite cover your head or your toes. I think that's the problem that a lot of modern midfielders find or that clubs are trying to solve when you're buying that central midfielder is you want almost someone who could do pretty much everything on the pitch, who is physical and can dribble out of trouble.
9:07Jonathan Liew:but also provides a threat in the area, but could also break up attacks. And that's how you're getting these massive amounts of money spent on. And I don't think players like Eli Anderson or Enzo Fernandes are mediocre. I just think they're being asked to do too much. And as a result, you're getting huge sums of money paid for midfielders that are, I think, more all-round talents than real genius, edge-of-your-seat midfielders. or the sort of central midfielders that you think would define Premier League eras. So, you know, Vieira or Scholes or Keane or Kante or De Bruyne in a kind of more recent vintage.
9:45Jonathan Liew:I don't think any of the midfielders that we've seen changing... For that much money. For that much money. No, I think Rice might. I think Rice might. The way Rice sort of runs a game and the way he... I was just watching quite closely yesterday and just the way he moves with the ball as well. I think he, if there is one in this era, it could be him. I think Rice is about as close as you get in the Premier League and maybe Caicedo as well on a good day. But if you actually look at the great central midfielders, they're all playing out of the Premier League. Vettinia, Drew Bellingham, you know, Fede Valverde.
10:23Jonathan Liew:And I think that is, again, a product of the pace and physicality the Premier League is played at. And I think it's also a reason why we should all hope that Florian Vietz has a good season. Baz, did you think either keeper should have done better for either opening goal, or is it sometimes the ball is just right in the corner and that's okay?
10:42Max Rushden:I think Martinez will be very disappointed if he didn't save the Kai Havertz shot. And no, I thought the Morgan Rodgers one, without one to take away from Rodgers, it was a bit of a shinner, wasn't it? I thought it went right in the corner. I wouldn't blame the keeper for that. I did notice a lot of people seem to think Gabriel should have been sent off for booting Emi Martinez in the head. And I'm going to do something I don't do very often and stick up for Gabriel because I think it was a total accident which was that worse careless. So it probably should have been a foul but it wasn't reckless and it wasn't which would be yellow and he didn't use excessive force which being a red.
11:32Max Rushden:So I think he shouldn't have been sent off. Other people, a lot of other opinions are available. Of course. And just on Chelsea, because Cole Palmer started the season really well. Him and Rodgers, obviously Rodgers scored so early, Jordan. So you think, okay, this is a huge moment. But they didn't quite click. You can see it's there, right? Especially with Pedro. There was one move. I think Pedro played a beautiful reverse pass to Neto, I think. I don't know. I think there's real positivity there, even though you didn't quite see it yesterday. No, I agree. I thought Pedro was really good, actually.
12:07I think he's a brilliant centre forward. I really like him. I think his hold-up play is impressive. I think, again, he drives the ball for someone so big really well. Palmer didn't have his best game. I think he kind of flitted in and out of the game with some cute moments without really impacting the game too much. But I think that their performance up top is going to be predicated, going back to the midfield chat, about how good the midfield behind them is. Because they're not the sort of players that are going to do much going the other way. So they need a midfield base to kind of be solid, to platform what they can do really well.
12:40But I've no doubt that Xabi Alonso will have them playing some really good football and affecting games in a better way than they did yesterday. To the Hill Dickinson then, Everton 2, Manchester United 2. Now I was watching a very low grade game of cricket on a bench in London Fields yesterday. But there was the pub on the park. I could hear the cheers and I was trying to work out, you know, who'd scored when. but I hadn't there's no way from my bench Barry that I would have predicted Ainsley Maitland Niles scoring that goal I mean what an unbelievable goal it is I watched it so many I thought that must be a deflection like there's something but just the whip it's sort of Andy Gray you know what a hit son look at the bend on that ball it's just amazing yeah I mean I saw it happen in real
13:24Max Rushden:time and I wasn't convinced it had happened I was aware that Ainsley Maitland Niles was at Everton and when they signed him on deadline day I was like where's he been? So yeah he's been in Lyon for the last three seasons it turns out this was his second Premier League goal ever, his first in eight years and what a goal, what an introduction to his new fan base um it was an incredible shot uh after good work by jack greelish and hayden hackney i'm not sure who teed the ball up for him but it was some strike and just curling away from the keeper into the top bin unsavable i think and the thing is with ainsley maitland niles he i was aware of his existence when he was at arsenal but i can't really remember anything significantly done but I thought he was like a wafy winger type and then I see this big bulky guy coming off the bench for Everton and oh that's Ainsley Mason at Niles so um I'd kind of forgotten about him see also Ben Chilwell uh yes also popped up with a goal this season or this weekend um so yeah I mean I think Manchester United well obviously they'd be gutted to lose to a last-minute goal, and especially one like that.
14:50Max Rushden:But Tyreek George's opener for Everton as well was fantastic. Like, what a strike from a really tight angle. And I don't think, you know, goalkeepers get criticised for being beaten at their near post. I don't think there was any stopping that.
15:03Jonathan Liew:I always call those finishes a real power league goal. That's a real power league goal for Tyreek George. Just like one touch to set yourself, one touch to twat it. Yeah, I agree with you. whereas the main the Maitland-Niles isn't a power league goal it's when you watch it it's just a side foot pass I do bang on about this being the greatest skill in football but to get that much power and that much precision and afterwards I think they were the match of the day commentator was like you know is that your best goal ever he was like well you could say that and now Barry I'd like to see his other goal if you know if it's up there I've got a friend an Arsenal fan a friend of mine who wasn't the biggest fan of him when he was at Arsenal doesn't rate him at all and he was so cruel he said to me yesterday yeah it's a great goal but I think he's going for the other corner to try and insinuate that actually he's that bad he wasn't actually going for the corner where he went for I just thought it was really mean really cool and now I've seen it again I can't unsee the fact that maybe he was aiming for the other one but he probably wasn't you know I suppose when you try and bend a ball like that you are more likely trying to bend it into the top right yeah than the top left I can remember Beckham doing a few sort of top left from there with your right foot oh such a brilliant moment i mean it was a really Jordan it was a really good game i thought the second half especially was great it was a good game united fans will be will be gutted about you know not seeing that that match out and it was a good game for someone like me the neutral had no investment in it uh some some great goals in there but i think from a man united point of view it's it's another game where you have to really question how much they can dig in and see these sorts of games out no we don't know when united are going to finish this season but you think an Everton team that didn't get the players in that they wanted in this summer window and there's a little bit of animosity between the fans and the club about that, you'd have thought United could have gone there and taken advantage of that and really kind of got out of there with three points, but to kind of, you know, be ahead and give it away so late.
16:56I thought it was really poor for Manchester United, really poor of them. And I'm not saying there's questions of Michael Carrick, but I think there were some weird decisions, substitutions and tactics-wise in this match. that if I was a United fan, I'd be. Like what? I don't understand the Dogu thing for me. I know he won the ball back for the second goal, I think it was. But I think where he deploys Dogu, I don't rate Dogu, but where he deploys him, I just think it's really, really odd. And I think it unsettles the team. I thought Rashford had a really good game. I don't know why he came off.
17:30That was really weird to me. He was probably the one attacking player that I thought was causing problems. And he's done that a couple of times now, taking off players when they're playing well. The back four, the changes to the back four, I just thought were odd as well. And I thought it unnecessarily disturbed what I thought was at that point a solid away performance from United. What do you make of it, Johnny?
17:51Jonathan Liew:I thought maybe Carrick was caught a little bit in between two stalls in terms of, do you go for the second goal or do you try and lock down that game? I don't think he really committed to either strategy. And I think you could sense that sort of indecision in the way they approached the final minutes. And, you know, in contrast, Moises' substitutions worked really well. I mean, he doesn't have many players left, but the ones that he deployed, he deployed well. You know, Grealish came on and did really well. You know, obviously Maitland-Niles and Hayden Hackney came on as well. I think he laid on Tyreek George's goal.
18:22Jonathan Liew:And I think for Everton, it's like after the week that they've had, kind of a farcical week, really humiliating week for a lot of fans. I think a lot of fans will say they feel kind of humiliated by the Balogun stuff and how all of that finished. And to have that week end on that moment, a really lovely moment for a player who wouldn't have been at the club if Everton had been able to sign Kenny Tete from Fulham. That's kind of, you know, it's been a bit of an absurd week. Would Tete have put it in the other corner? That's the question. they would have put it in the right quarter at least I mean we should mention Boumo's goal was brilliant and there was an amazing tackle from Tarkovsky on Kunia which I reckon somewhere else on the pitch Barry they might give a foul I don't know like it comes from behind but it is brilliant it's sort of there's no way Kunia can't score until this enormous leg appears yeah
19:13Max Rushden:Marcus Rashford had been on the ball running towards the byline he ran out of road so rolled it back into Kuna's path. He had an empty net to stroke from closed range and Tarkowski came in from behind but he won the ball completely cleanly. I guess it was his momentum that brought Kuna down. I think that would have been very harsh to give a penalty for that. I don't think it was a foul.
19:39Jonathan Liew:It was a brilliant bit of improvisation. It was a improvisation by Rashford actually. I mean that was the moment actually more than any other thought okay he's on it this season. Alright that'll do for part one, part two. We'll begin at Craven Cottage.
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21:11Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. Wednesday night, thank you everyone who came to Dublin. We had a nice time, Barry, didn't we? We did indeed, yes. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Dublin. And we're going to do the same again on Wednesday at the Soho Theatre in Walthamstow. Johnny is going to be there, along with Nicky Bandini and Foods Mark Langdon. There are a few tickets still remaining. Go to theguardian.co.uk slash footballweeklylive. It would be lovely to see you. And we're live-streaming it. If you are not in or near Walthamstow, you still have absolutely no excuse, unless, I guess, you came to the Dublin show.
21:43Then I think it's OK if you don't live-stream. I'm not saying they'll be the same, of course. different panel different stuff uh but yeah guardian.co.uk slash football weekly live be lovely to see you uh fulham 2 crystal palace 3 um i mean if if uh tyreek george scored the best goal for a tyreek this this weekend then i think tyreek mitchell scored the worst baz wow i loved his second goal so much i still don't know what happened and i don't think he did but i'm just delighted that goals like that can be scored in the Premier League.
22:15Max Rushden:Yeah well I mean he had pre-empted his namesake's goal with a near post surface to wear a rasper to equalise for Palace and then his second one it was very weird he sort of advanced with the ball had took a shot his shot was blocked across the area but only half cleared as far as him again and the ball basically clanked off his standing leg, I think. It was rolling, very strundling towards the line, at which point Gonzalo Garcia swung a mighty boot at it to hack it clear but just completely missed the ball and then watched in horror as it sort of wiped its feet and then crossed the line almost apologetically.
23:02Max Rushden:It was a fine goal. This game was bonkers. It was really good, and it was also massively enhanced by some hideously bad defending by both teams. I think four of the five goals were very, very avoidable. There seemed to be a lot of ricochets, scrambles, deflections, pot not, but a great game. Fulham remain winless, and they've got Liverpool away next, and Man Utd at home after that. Yeah, a tough start to the season for them. After that, they play the three promoted sides, but at least two of whom are showing signs of a lot of life, I would say. Yeah, actually, Cov's showing a bit of life, aren't they?
23:48I mean, I guess, Johnny, how soon do you get worried having no points? Is three games not enough games to worry about having no points if you're Fulham?
23:58Jonathan Liew:No, I mean, especially the way the fixtures turn after the international break. But if I, I mean, a lot of Fulham fans are worried. I mean, they are worried about Abloa. After the Chelsea game, he said, we didn't deserve to lose this game. After the Sunderland defeat, he said, it was a tough game for us. We didn't deserve it. And after this game, he said, we didn't deserve to lose this game. And I think Fulham, it's bad news for Fulham. They appear to have signed the world's unluckiest manager, who keeps getting beaten undeservedly. There is obviously a lot of promise there. You can see what body's trying to do, but they just need to tighten up.
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24:32Jonathan Liew:New signings look good. But, you know, that second goal, which obviously ends in a farcical fashion, but also like where the hell is Anthony Robinson? Why is Garcia having to sprint back 80 yards to his own goal to try and clear the ball? Where is the structure there? So, yeah, obviously it's a team that's bedding in and it's a coach that's adapting to the league. But at the moment, it's very good news for the neutral and very bad news for the Spanish Ryland. This was a bad one, I thought, for Fulham because from what I hear from most football fans and journalists, of the teams that were in the Premier League last season, Fulham, Palace and Sunderland are the three teams I hear likely, people think are likely to go down if it's not the three that came up.
25:10and for Fulham to lose to Palace at home, that was a bad one. And I agree with Johnny. I think the excuses and the rhetoric coming out of Arbeloa, that kind of woe is me needs to kind of stop now because the three teams that came up all look okay. And in the case of Hull, they've got points on the board in a big way. So Fulham needs to really fix up quickly.
25:33Max Rushden:They could have got a point here. Rodrigo Munez had two good chances right at the end. a point wouldn't have been unfair. They're still 12th for me. I reckon they're still 12th. I think they're fine. And look, you mentioned it, Baz, but it is a great moment for Ben Chilwell, right? We were talking about Maitland Lars, but at one point he was sort of heir apparent for the England... He was the England left-back, or at least competing with Luke Shaw. Was it him and Luke Shaw at the same time? And got a bad injury, sort of career stalled a bit. Who knows how well he'll go at Palace, but just that must be a real moment when you haven't had a great time for a while to get a winner in a 3-2 ding-dong.
26:13Max Rushden:I mean, he's been at Palace before, obviously, when he was out of favour at Chelsea, and then he's, like Maitland-Niles, I guess, kind of the forgotten man, so he arrives back and announces himself by scoring with his, I think it was his first touch after coming off the bench, so yeah, fair play to him. It was with Arsenal Liverpool 2. Jordan, a huge three minutes for Alexander. isak here yeah it's massive yeah he needed this he really needed this because um uh he didn't have the best of seasons last year and obviously he had that leg break that that could tell this season but he needed to just kind of flex again his show remind the league that i am still the premier striker in this league a lot of people talking as i mentioned earlier about pedro joe pedro chelsea being like the best striker in the league after harland i think it's clearly isak and i think to showcase that he's still an elite player.
27:07I think the finishes were really good as well from him in this game. But can I just make a quick point about Florian Verts? Because I don't think he'll be at Liverpool next season. I think he's massively struggling. He's doing that thing. People talk about the best creative players in the world, in history, that when they're playing, the game stops and time stands still and they really have the game played at their tempo. when I watch him play and I'm a big fan of his by the way I feel like he's doing the opposite he's he's rushing and I think he's so conscious that the tempo and the speed and the pace of the Premier League is so different to Germany he gets the ball and I think he's just he's rushing so quickly and I don't know if he'll be able to get over that I think he's not I think he's really struggling to really get used to the the tempo of this of this league and I can see Liverpool cutting their losses in the summer and moving on.
28:00I think he's a brilliant player, but there's other players that have come to this league in the past that I just feel the Premier League isn't forward. I think he could be not long for this league. I agree with you on Isak, especially the way he took his second goal, but the pass, Barry, from Gakpo. Gakpo, who sort of seemed to be surplus to requirements, but is turning out to be Liverpool's best player at the moment.
28:22Max Rushden:I think the Liverpool fans, they were getting very frustrated with him last season. It wouldn't have been particularly... Sorry to see him go if he had been sold in the window, but he started the season exceptionally well. And the two passes for both goals were brilliant. The second one in particular was lovely. I mean, he had a bit of help from the Ipswich set up, leaving so much space in behind for Isaac to run into. But yeah, he's had a great start to the season. Yeah, I'm not quite sure what Sherpin in the Ipswich goal was doing for the second goal, but Isaac still had a lot of work to do.
29:02What have you made of Liverpool so far, Johnny?
29:03Jonathan Liew:I think we've seen from the opening game against Newcastle, progression in terms of performances and progression in terms of the understandings that they were developing. We saw glimpses of, you know, the relationship between Isaac and Veers that we were seeing in pre-season. And then Newcastle just seemed like, it just seemed like last season's Liverpool all over again. But we are seeing, I think, a progression from Iriola and Isak scoring Newcastle-type goals. That first finish, that was the sort of goal he was banging in at Newcastle with regularity. Not even half chances, quarter chances, a lot of them.
29:44Jonathan Liew:And really emphatically as well. And also, I think, encouraging that Iriola is happy to keep rotating their minutes. so Isak comes off about 60 minutes Barkler comes on who I think is a good signing he looked very bright and Munoz I think has started the season quite well as we all know it's just what happens when they get countered it's what happens when a team can just run straight through the middle of them that is going to be the thing that Areola needs to fix Man City are top of the league Baz I mean Coventry had some chances in this game and Donnarumma had a sort of really odd game where he made some brilliant saves but also looked absolutely terrible at the same time.
30:25Max Rushden:Yeah, well, he almost gifted an opener to Coventry when he first touched of a street mugger when Kushinov sent a fairly straightforward back pass his way, very nearly let it roll over the line, but hacked it clear just before it did. I thought Coventry were extremely unlucky not to take anything from this game. They had four big, big chances and were almost gifted that comedy-owned goal. I thought it was an excellent performance from them. And it took a really, really good Man City goal to beat them. So I know Coventry have not – they haven't scored yet and they haven't got a point yet. But if I was a Coventry fan, I'd be delighted with that performance.
31:12Max Rushden:Sorry, I know you asked me about Donna Roma. No, no, no. That's where I meandered. No, no, no. It was the right place to go because, I mean, like Awani has such a massive chance Jordan doesn't he and then the Rodoni how Donnarumma saves the chance from Rodoni I don't know but yeah if you're Kov you're just there going you know it's a free hit but unlike the Arsenal game it's a free hit and you lose comfortably okay fair enough this is a free hit where you go actually as the game progressing it's a hit it's not a free hit it's just a hit hit or whatever it is you know Awani's got to score that chance for me I mean I actually really like him and he's not the best centre forward in the world he's got limitations but i i actually thought it was a good signing from from minor forest and i mean i wonder vadi's just gone to burnley and i wonder if vadi was worth a punt for for coventry who knows how good vadi is this is true this is true but um no i think they should take something away from the performers but they've got to get some points on the board really soon because um you know as i mentioned hull are up and running in in a big way and ibswitch lost yes uh on friday but they look they look good yeah before you know it they could be a drift they've got Brighton next so they'll be looking at that game to get their first points on the board yeah actually they've got what Brighton Forest Newcastle Tottenham Fulham Sunderland I mean they could lose all of them right but you know that's not like a terrifying set of fixtures I think I think if Burnley were going to take a chance on a top podcaster with a short term contract she'd have gone for me really
32:47or or mike dean of course i could have done with this do with a season of championship wages oh i'd love to see you and ashley barnes up front together is he still there that would be wonderful another flick on from barnes and glendening latches onto it and puts it away it's stoke nil the burnley three where does enzo fit on your uh mediocre midfield list Johnny or what have you made he got the pre-assist assists I think if we're counting them I don't even know how many passes before the assist it was a good ball down the line yeah fair enough
33:20Jonathan Liew:he wasn't going to start but I think it was O 'Reilly got injured in the warm-up so we have to caveat it with he maybe wasn't he's maybe still not 100 % fit I find it baffling that Enzo Fernandes is the first player to come on two£100 million transfer fees he's alright he's all right. He does a lot of the simple things well. And, you know, City do have an absolute wealth of options in the centre of the pitch now. You actually do wonder where Foden fits into this now with, you know, Cherky and Enzo Fernandes and Buadi coming in and Undi. And yeah, there was a real wealth of talent to bed in there.
34:05Jonathan Liew:But am I the only one who's kind of expecting a little bit more from City? like four shots on target against Coventry they've yes they're 100 % yes it's a kind of a team in transition but also they haven't really played anyone that good yet Palace and Bournemouth you know haven't obviously been able to strengthen this summer because of because of the UEFA's SCR rules through in European competition this season and Porto who they play is it tomorrow night I think in the Champions League have started the season really well and I it would not surprise me if Porto turned City over that's interesting I mean it is simultaneously a sign of a good side if you're winning games when you're not playing well.
34:40And then Liverpool, who won five in a row at the start of last season, and then actually weren't a good team and they weren't playing well, you can be a team who aren't very good and not play well. I mean, that is eminently possible. Elliot Anderson made 155 passes in the game. That seems a lot, doesn't it? Is that real? That's so many. It's sort of like constant, just constantly passing the ball. Anyway, St James's Park, Newcastle 2, Bournemouth 2. This was a fun one, Baz, wasn't it?
35:03Max Rushden:Yeah, I really enjoyed this one. Bournemouth rolled out of the traps in this one they were by far the better team in the first half and should have been home and hosed by half time really I think but Newcastle managed to turn it around after going 2-0 down probably the goal of the game from Harvey Barnes kept them in it and then Jacob Ramsey scored a late equaliser after Bournemouth had repeatedly failed to clear across from the right. Bournemouth have now dropped seven points from winning positions. They've conceded goals in the 84th minute, the 91st minute twice, and the 88th minute. So that's something that needs to be addressed.
35:51Max Rushden:And it was put to Marco Rose afterwards, and he said, yeah. But the more we address it, the more it becomes ingrained in us and it becomes a recurring thing. So, yeah, but it is something that needs to be addressed, these late lapses in concentration. Newcastle have now faced 59 shots in three games, which seems to be a lot of shots, 20 a game pretty much. But I think they were lucky to stay in the game because between Bournemouth's two goals, Evan Nielsen missed a glorious chance. so they could have been three up they could have been even further ahead I think but yeah Newcastle did well to to rescue a point.
36:38Tavernier is slightly catching my eye and back in the large part of last season I was watching a bit of him and this season I think he started really well too but Alex Scott is just one of the one of my favorite players in the Premier League and we did the Premier League preview a few weeks ago and he was my rogue shot for player of the year um and and i just love watching him play and i think there's definitely a big move i think he's a midfielder that actually would be worth uh to johnny's article about midfielders going for big money i think he's one of the few midfielders actually would be worth um you know a figure of that fee i think he's a crazy talent and i think he would really elevate most most midfields in the premier league but i was also wondering to myself what is the weirdest goal of the weekend that the the Tyreek Mitchell goal or the Alex Scott deflected one that went over and looped I've seen loopy ones many you don't see often just a ball going in so slowly like I don't know when the you know it hit his leg in like the 27th minute and went in in like the 31st minute like that that for me that was special uh yeah look Alex Scott can do everything he's quite quite a generic face and a generic name and I reckon that might count against him you know as someone with the generic face i know it's definitely counting against me despite my intense immense talent at doing everything you know i think alex got he's from guernsey that's his thing is that he's from guernsey okay so from guernsey or jersey was it's either so was from lesseau's from jersey leticia was from is from guernsey yeah okay right and any from alderney have they produced anyone yet.
38:16Probably not. The much forgotten Channel Island. Anyway, that'll do for part two, part three. We'll go through all the other draws in the Premier League.
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39:44Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. Brentford won, Sunderland won. I mean, Barry, Sunderland. There were so many moments where you were like, well, that has to have gone in, and it hadn't. And, you know, this sort of like peerless, unbeatable Brentford side, you made them look absolutely hopeless for 45 minutes. Sunderland were brilliant, and to not win this game is a travesty.
40:06Max Rushden:Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen Sunderland play as well as they did in the first half of this game. Now, I mean, the bar is quite low, I will concede, but they were astonishingly good. Just so good going forward. And Brentford had no real answers for them. They had a goal disallowed. Fair enough, I think. Dan Ballard scored with a low shot, but Kevin Danso was standing in front of Queeve and Kelleher in an offside position. I don't think Kelleher would have got near the ball anyway, but them's the rules. so that's fair enough. Enzo Le Fay smashed a shot off the post. Thomas Meunier had a shot blocked on the line by Yannick Schuster.
40:48Max Rushden:Suddenly monstered Brentford in the first half. And so, of course, it came to pass. They went behind. But they managed to salvage an equaliser with a penalty from Enzo Le Fay, who I think, I love watching him play. He's a great player. So they should have won. Got a point away that it's all right. but they were so good though. Yeah, I still think this if the keeper's not going to get it. It's good to see Kevin Danso doing everything he can as an ex-spurs player to make sure a goal isn't scored. He's telling him to go on that attempt for no goals at all from anyone this season. But I just think the keeper's not getting it so I'm happy for other people to think it's fair.
41:31Max Rushden:There were more contentious disallowed goals. Yes, well should we get to that then? Other City grounds, I mean, the story here is Nico Williams' handball or not handball. Williams himself said VAR was guessing. The still image looks like he's catching it, but still images don't always tell the story. I mean, I don't know what you think, Jordan. It does look like it hits his wrist, I think. It does. I mean, I could be once again on my own here, but I don't see the debate. The correct decision was met. It had to be disallowed. It feels unlucky even if it should be disallowed. Oh, no, that's exactly what it is.
42:06It is unlucky, but it's the right decision ultimately. So I didn't have a massive issue with the final call on this one.
42:14Jonathan Liew:It feels particularly unlucky that Harry Maguire last weekend got given his goal, even though he handballed it, because his shot was actually going wide. And so it technically counted as an own goal. So Harry Maguire gets to keep his goal after handballing it on the basis of his own shit shot, which I think that's an unfairness in the rules. Sure, so if Nico Williams had sort of headed it, bundled it with his hand, but wide, which would have been quite impressive from that distance. More impressive. And then Tonali, who Lord knows what he was doing, had managed to then hook it in. He would have counted as a goal.
42:51I mean, no goals so far this season for Tottenham, no shots on target in this game, Johnny. Do you think they should score a goal soon? Yeah, I mean, I think it would be a very good idea.
43:01Jonathan Liew:It's like what Gandhi said about Western civilization. I think it would be a very good idea. There is a problem, I think, in that you can't just keep tossing away the guys who have scored goals for you in the past, in previous seasons. And obviously, for good rational reasons, without feeling that at some point. Richarlison has gone. Son, Brennan Johnson, Kulusevsky, Madison injured. Solanke injured. Romero got. Romero is one of their top scorers for the last two or three seasons. And you can't take all of those goals out of the team without replacing them with something. And that something at the moment is a number nine in Omar Mahmoud, who we're not even sure actually is a number nine.
43:42Jonathan Liew:You know, at City, at Frankfurt as well, he played a much sort of more nuanced kind of sort of hybrid, wide attacker, coming into central areas sort of role. so I think that is something that De Zerbe still has to work out as long as as well as all the other stuff he has to work out uh but I think these things become they become hardwired after a while I think you know teams forget how to score a goal and when when teams are humming it almost the goal is almost kind of incidental because the processes are working so well Tottenham almost kind of have to will a goal out of something I think it will come because they have enough talent to do it but it's kind of worrying at the moment.
44:20Yeah, what's that? Mahmoud, Saviotel, Kudus, Mudrik and Solanke, Baz, unless I've forgotten anyone, how many goals are there?
44:27Max Rushden:None at the moment. They're going to score goals. They're a football team. Are they? A very expensively assembled football team. They will score goals at some point. This is one prediction I would be really happy to get wrong if Spurs can go an entire Premier League season without scoring a single goal.
44:46Jonathan Liew:It's the opposite of the invincibles. so I wish that's it. It's vincible, isn't it? They're just totally vincible. Yeah, and lots of questions about the midfield as well. Tonali hasn't done anything yet apart from contriving to help Nico Williams score that goal that was dislad. Forrest without a win so far as well, Jordan. And they didn't... Spurs were probably better than them in this game as well, which might be a worry for Glasner. They look good at Liverpool but not here. No, I think Forrest will be fine this season. I think Spurs over the course of this game were just about the better team and if you had to kind of make a call on who deserved to get the three points, I think you would probably lean towards Spurs.
45:24But I think Forrest would be okay and I saw enough from Forrest in this game and the previous game to think that they're going to be fine. And I read Glasner, I think he's a really good manager and I think once he kind of gets his hands on that team, I think there's a mid-table finish for them at the bare minimum. Hull nil, Villa nil. Not a classic, Baz, but look, Hull's start is brilliant and just at the end there was that ball whipped into the box. McBurney took it off someone else's feet, didn't they? They could have got all three points in it.
45:52Max Rushden:They could have. I think they should have, actually. We all predicted that Hull would get off to this great start to the season. They're doing us proud, I have to say. I think they probably had the better chances in what wasn't a very good game, but Mo Balumi he had an amazing effort that came off the bar whipped shot from a really tight angle Oli McBurney's chances you say Cho had a really good chance and Emi Bandia probably missed Villa's best chance he shanked one over the bar when scoring looked easier but Villa's season is off to a poor start similarly poor to last season not scoring goals not winning games.
46:40Max Rushden:Hull are surprising everyone. And look, they'll be delighted to have seven points after three games, but it could be nine. And I think it possibly should have been nine. But look, it's far too early to predict what's going to happen to them. But the early signs and statistics of previous teams who have acquired seven or more points after three games suggest they will be fine, which is a worry for other teams who are going to be circling the drain, they probably presume they would go straight back down like everyone else did, including me. Yeah, I think their manager is like, you know, he has them really well set up.
47:19Do you think Alston Villa will score a goal this season? I hope they don't, but I think what was interesting was that they had Tammy Abraham on the bench. Yeah. I think he started on the bench. I think Tammy Abraham is the best striker they've got. So if they are going to score a goal, I don't understand why they're not playing him or maybe it's a fitness thing.
47:37Max Rushden:I think the problem is that Unai Emery just doesn't like Tammy Abrahams, it doesn't rate him. He wanted to get rid of him during the window, but Abraham refused to go. And there was one, probably one of the highlights of this game was when Unai Emery threw an absolute shit fit on the sideline because he was trying to bring on Abraham and Aaron Wan-Bissaka and neither of them were ready. And I saw a writer on Football 365 flagged up the fact that Alejandro Garnaccio was sitting on the Villa bench wearing like six or seven earrings. So that doesn't smack of a player whose head is in the game and ready to come on if required.
48:18Brighton won Leeds one. What do you make of this, Jordan? A good game. I like Leeds. I mean, I've got Leeds having a really good season. I like watching Leeds. They're my fun team to watch. There's so much energy, so much pace. They run like hell for Daniel Farker and that always makes for entertaining. watch whenever I do see Leeds. I think they'll be a bit annoyed they didn't take all three points here. I think they will be regretting that they let this one go. But yeah, they're definitely my fun team to watch.
48:46Max Rushden:They can't win at the Amex. They've been to the Amex 11 times and never won.
48:52Jonathan Liew:I was at the game the last time Leeds won at Brighton and it was at the Withdean. It was 2009. It was one of the first games I ever covered as a reporter. And it was at the with the old athletics track just outside Brighton, where there were six stands, and the Leeds fans, they put them all on a temporary stand. It was driving rain, absolutely pissing down, and the Leeds fans were having to watch this game through the discus cage. Anyone who worked with the Withdeed. It was a place with lots and lots of character, and almost kind of suited Leeds. But that was back in League One. That was a League One game.
49:26Robert Snodgrass, Jermaine Beckford, and Neil Kilkenny were your goal scorers. Of course, yes. There they are.
49:31Jonathan Liew:It was all done by half-time, as I remember. Yeah, 2-0 up by half-time for a cub reporter. Barry, well, we wondered about the sort of Mike Dean story and how big a story and giving him oxygen or addressing this thing, which might be quite serious. He went on a podcast. Who was he? Was this the Jamie Vardy? Jamie Vardy's podcast. Jamie Vardy and Mike Dean having a party. And on this, Mike Dean said that he used to try and not see how long he'd go without leaving the centre circle. like every amateur ref I've ever played. They've been doing that game for years. At least he didn't sit in his car and use his indicators to signal which way the ball was, his decisions were going.
50:14And then he tried to see how long he'd go without blowing the whistle in games. And the real sadness is for them people who've had to go and watch every Mike Dean game. HMRC, HMRC of football podcasts. Yeah, this is like, oh no. Now I've got to watch every Mike Dean game. There was a game against West Brom where he didn't blow the whistle for about 19 minutes. I don't know what. I sort of think, what are you doing, Mike? Either doing it is stupid or saying it is stupid or both is stupid. I said it years ago. I think he just wants to be on Strictly. But anyway.
50:46Max Rushden:Yeah. When it came out first, I assumed he was bullshitting just to impress the bigger boys who were interviewing him. A lot of people seem to share my view. But then, as you say, evidence was uncovered that he did play at least one game where he didn't blow the whistle for almost 20 minutes. But Dale Johnson said, yeah, I've watched that game. And to be honest, he didn't really have any reason to blow his whistle for the first 19 minutes. So I'm paraphrasing there. So I don't know what to make of it. If he was at that crack, it's very unprofessional. He can't be punished retrospectively. if he is found to have been acting unprofessionally or bringing the game into disrepute.
51:29Max Rushden:What he's really not doing the current crop of referees any favours because there are a lot of people out there in social media land who are convinced referees are corrupt. I don't think that's the case. I think it's a really tough job and almost all of them are doing their very best under very difficult circumstances. But stupid comments like that from him don't help. i just get i want to be loved vibes i want to be in the i want to be with a cool kids vibe i want to be attention i just i've always just thought this guy is just someone that is not particularly liked and he will say whatever he needs to say to get attention and to seem cool and funny it's like even if he did do this why would you feel the need to say that even on the podcast it's just and i think the more serious part is what barry says is i think it's just now putting so much more pressure on current referees it's just like just be quiet just because you've retired and got your cushy job at Sky.
52:24Think about the people that are still doing the job that are now going to be under more pressure because of what you've been saying.
52:29Max Rushden:I watched the whole interview rather than just the pertinent bits about his mini games within games. And one thing he did say in the interview, which has gone unremarked upon, is they asked him if, when he was a referee, he ever had it in for certain players. And he said yes, which I think that's equally alarming. And I suppose it's human nature. If certain players are constantly on your back, you are going to have it in for them. But to admit it is quite alarming. And the thing is, when he was saying this, Faraday and Josh, Josh and Jamie, they didn't dig into it. They didn't ask him for examples or, like I suspect a more experienced journalist or a TV presenter or a radio host might have.
53:21Max Rushden:So they just seemed a bit surprised and then moved on to the next topic. Does he come across, because sometimes you see the clip and you go out somewhere, but when you see a whole thing, they actually come across much more human or not? I very much got the vibe, you know, I don't have much of interest to say, but I'm trying to big myself up to impress these guys. That's the vibe I got.
53:45Jonathan Liew:It's the whole referee vibe. I mean, no kid dreams of becoming a referee. How many of them are doing it out of the sheer love of refereeing? I mean, obviously, there's an element of proximity to this incredible orb of fame and attention. I think that is clearly why a lot of referees do it. And not to tarnish the whole profession, which I guess I am doing. But there is always an element of that with referees. They do want to be at the centre of things a lot of the time. okay that'll do for today we're back on Wednesday and Friday to go through a return of the Champions League and we'll see you on Wednesday night of course at the Soho Theatre in Walthamstow come along if you and I don't know how many tickets are left you and a hundred friends want to come that would be great guardian.co.uk slash footballweekly live WSL is back we've got all that covered on Women's Football Weekly Faye Carruthers your host for that one but thank you everybody thank you Jordan cheers mate thank you Johnny thanks Max cheers Baz thank you Football Weekly is produced by James Pike, Watson and Tayo Papula.
54:48Our executive producer is Joel Grove back on Wednesday.
54:56This is The Guardian.