Arsenal find a way as Chelsea bounce back to reach FA Cup final – Football Weekly podcast

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:30Gonzalez won it for City. Meanwhile, Chelsea players turned up and edged past Leeds. In the Premier League, Arsenal just did enough as a beautiful goal beating Newcastle. At the bottom, Spurs win their first game since the invention of the iPhone, but then Callum Wilson knocks the stuffing out of them while Forrest absolutely walloped Sunderland and should be just about okay. In Scotland, a wild Edinburgh derby sees Hearts beat nine-man Hibs while Rangers mess up at home to Motherwell. And perhaps the biggest moment of the weekend, Rochdale secure promotion in the 95th minute, pitch invasion, the lot, only for York City to really secure promotion in the 103rd.

1:00All that plus your questions and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

1:08On the panel today, Barry Glendening, welcome. Hi Max. Hello Sam Dalling. Hello Max Rushton. And good morning Dan Bardell. Hello Max. Let's start with the FA Cup semi-finals then. The better of the two games was on the Saturday, Man City 2, Southampton 1 and a brilliant last 20 minutes or so. Sam, you were at the game, also mowing the lawn at Wembley but we'll we'll get to that but from your vantage point which was pitch side I guess I mean you got to see the Azaz goal close up and and you know what that cheer was not just I said this to Baz on the radio it it wasn't just that's an amazing goal that was we're going to the cup final cheer wasn't it was amazing the Savanton fans were wonderfully loud all afternoon pre-game and throughout so I was sat on well four stalls behind the goal right behind James Trafford and by pure coincidence happened to be in the corner of the goal where that ball was curled into I mean it was one of those from that angle as soon as it leaves the foot you could you just know it's going in despite Trafford's best effort and you know I was thinking about this often I've been in crowds myself as a supporter where I've completely lost it and seen that emotion and often you get to see it on tv um but to be able to turn around and see the just pure joy on those southampton fans there was the the wall of noise and just the looks on people's faces you end up focusing in on a couple of people and there was this family um right in the front row dad and daughter and mum and son and mum and son were going nuts dad was just stood there in like a complete you know that that look of shock disbelief tears and the daughter's trying to get him going and he just can't like he is just completely stunned and there was just so much joy and i think yes it was short-lived but they got that couple of minutes and they did believe at that point i think what we are late 70s in terms of minutes so you think right this actually could be could be our day and then to turn around a couple of minutes later and see the despair.

3:14It was not fun, but again, it's that human emotion that football can bring out of you. And they did have a chance as well. At 1-1, they had another chance that Drafton tipped over the bar and the noise as they came forward was brilliant there. But yeah, I just really felt for them because having got that late and scored and the nature of that goal, how good it was, you think that's going to be a winner that's going to send us to a cup final. I mean I guess if you if you want to see that emotion you could either become a player for Southampton or just become a steward and then you get to face the crowd for the whole time Sam and you'd be absolutely fine um I mean and then and then Barry like Nico Gonzalez sort of one of those generic Man City players who kind of gets forgotten about scores perhaps a better goal I don't know

4:00Max Rushden:I mean it's such a pure strike well look they're both very very good goals but Azaz's was a A curler on the turn and Nico Gonzalez was just an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner from distance. There was no curl there. Brilliant strike, a strike worthy win in any semi-final, I suppose. I can't help but feel a little bit sorry for Southampton, a championship team who makes the semi-final. and they're up against second-ish string Manchester City side whose second-string players would walk into most Premier League teams, most top-flight teams across Europe. So it is very much a David and Goliath thing, and Goliath won, as he often does.

4:54Max Rushden:This is now City's fourth FA Cup final in a row, and while Pep is to be commended for taking the competition seriously when so many head coaches don't, Manchester City have just such an advantage over everyone else. It really seems a little unfair. I suppose it is a bit annoying, Dan, isn't it, for the neutral that it isn't because it would have meant so much more to Southampton and Leeds, right? And it doesn't mean it doesn't mean anything to City or Chelsea fans, but if you're used to something and winning trophies and there are two sides that do win trophies, then it's just not the same. You can understand why City fans think, actually, can we afford to go down to London and get another semi-final in?

5:37We'll probably get to the final. Whereas for Southampton fans, it's like, I've got to get a ticket for love nor money. Yeah, I think the price of football does factor into it. At the moment, Manchester City have had a lot of success, so they've had a lot of those big games where you go to Embley or you go somewhere else and you have to pay a lot of money. So there's no doubting that it would have meant more to Southampton fans because, as you say, They would have done everything possible to make sure that they got there. Same with Leeds fans if they'd managed to advance as well. It is a bit boring.

6:05Look, if Southampton had knocked out Manchester City and knocked out Arsenal in the previous round as well, you've got to think that going up against anyone in the final, they would have had a little bit of belief and it would have been a fantastic story for a championship side to get to Wembley and have a genuine chance of lifting the trophy because, as I say, they'd have dispatched the two best teams in the Premier League and are so close to doing it as well. I was watching the Arsenal game for my sins instead of the Manchester City game and obviously keeping up with what was going on at the semi-final and I saw that Southampton had scored and I was like Sam and the Southampton fans I was like, yes, this is it.

6:42Oh my God, I said to my wife, Southampton are beating Manchester City there. They're going to get to Wembley the next time I look at my phone. It's 2-1. It was energy sapping and soul destroying. But I think Southampton can take a lot of heart actually from what's happened in the last few weeks into what's going to be a playoff campaign i think they've got a massive chance of of going up and playing those two huge games that they've played i think that will will bode well for them yeah well actually i mean they play ipswich in midweek and if they win that there is and we'll get to it an absolute bun fight for the final automatic promotion place in the premier league um why sam were you on a ride on mower what were you doing as part of the ground staff i think i've told you before max that you know as much as i like being a football writer i don't really like football and so anything that can get me um away from writing about football and doing behind the scenes style stuff so i had this idea of well can i spend the day on the ground staff somewhere and i thought well why not start at the top so i emailed wembley and actually they welcomed me in so i spent the full day and part of the day on thursday sort of doing a behind the scenes piece for the guardian and looking at what they do and they do an awful lot and stuff that you wouldn't necessarily expect i walked in on thursday and was greeted by a couple of falcons that they have going around weekly because wembley's increasingly residential so they need to ward off the pigeons and actually rather than just having me in there sort of standing around looking awkward they first sort of do you want to have a go mowing the pitch and i thought they were joking yes and initially i was nowhere I could do that and then I thought I can't look at myself and and say that I was given the opportunity to mow the Wembley pitch and I turned it down so I have never been more nervous

8:29they let me get properly involved so thanks to to Kyle and to Cam who you know who is his deputy and I'm sure he had much better things to do with his time on a work day than show me how to use a lawnmower. But they let me paint the penalty spot, so I was desperate for penalties. That would have been my penalty spot. I pinned up the sign that tells players where their designated warm-up areas are. So they obviously all walked past it. And I think Manchester City are notorious. It's a semi-final day. It's a bit more relaxed because there's no national anthems. there's no military um on the pitch so actually a little bit more relaxed but getting the players off for the warm-up is sometimes a little bit difficult and the manchester city uh one of pep's deputies likes to have a joke and he says yeah for the final you won't get us off on time you won't get us off on time um but i did a bit of divoting was out there afterwards i was there till about 10 o 'clock at night i uh properly got involved divoting up and down the pitch um i didn't want to be the journalist that turns up and then right game's gone gonna disappear um but it was a great And they do wonderful things and they bring in students and they work with the King's Trust.

9:41They give people opportunities and ground staff from all around the country come in on match day to provide support to the seven or eight core teams. There were a couple of students who were just on the pitch. They turned up, they'd signed up, they'd got this placement at Wembley, but they didn't know what they were going to do. So if you just said to them like 10 days before that they would be out on the pitch at Wembley at halftime divoting, like you could just see the smiles on their faces and and how much it went and the final thing i should say is wow putting in the goalposts it's like it was like this synchronized acrobatic masterpiece i watched lydia and brend do it and it was like lift counting in flipping them over like no room for error there um but they they get a lot of compliments for their pitch at wembley and it was it was beautiful to walk on you're like rome shanganathan and rob beckett but probably a more budget version for the guardian they've got that show where they go around and they try different things every time i do a show with you you've done something quite quite niche to do with football if anyone has can get me in to do some pre-season fitness testing um or i want to do a ground tour as well i want to learn how to do a stadium tour and then take a group round and and see what i'm like but yeah um always open to ideas well look the pitch looked good the next day uh when chelsea beat leeds so well done to you sam um not a classic it's a vintage chelsea thing to have a season like this and then end up winning something isn't it no matter how basket

11:01Max Rushden:at Casey they get they always seem to and no matter how many first team coaches they burn through they always seem to come up with silverware this wasn't a particularly good game and I think Leeds will be a bit disappointed that they didn't give a better account of themselves because we all know they can play better than they did here having said that Robert Sanchez was the busier the two goalkeepers. Lucas Perry didn't have a huge amount to do. There was very little he could do about that Enzo Fernandes goal. I think it was Pascal Streich gave the ball away midfield. Chelsea went forward with Pedro Neto on the ball and his cross.

11:42Max Rushden:James Justin possibly might have intercepted it but he mistimed his jump and Fernandes was there to nod home. Fernandes was the standout player in the pitch. I think that speaks volumes about his character and not much of it complimentary because he wasn't really trying very hard against Brighton. He had a stinker when Chelsea got beaten by Everton. He just didn't seem to fancy playing for Leemar senior. Daniel Farrakh said after the game that he thought his players were maybe a little bit nervous and overawed by the occasion, and that struck me as possibly being true. But they did have good chances.

12:19Max Rushden:Brendan Aronson could and probably should have put them ahead, and Anton Stack shot. Sanchez saved that brilliantly. So I think if Leeds had got a goal, especially if they'd got that early one through Aronson, it could have been a whole different ball game. But as it was, they didn't really show up. Yeah, and actually that Sanchez save from Aronson is also brilliant, isn't it? Because even though it's not in the corner and perhaps he should score, he's not got any time to get his foot down to that. And Mark Bosnich, when I worked with him, he'd always say, talk a lot about if the ball is quite close to you, obviously you can get your foot there quicker than your hand and some of the best keepers like david de gea is really well known for like getting his feet to those kind of chances so well done to robert sanchez and there is a story there dan about player power and and chelsea and i suppose i'd tell you what barry says but i guess part of being a manager is getting players to play for you and if they won't then you're not the right person to be the manager whether that's whether that's you know a criticism of the players as well that is just the truth of it look it's not just chelsea it's happened at many big clubs previously, it's actually happened at Chelsea a few times, there was that famous banner about Fabregas and Hazard that was unfurled at Stamford Bridge, I forget which manager it was, but you know it is a trending theme when a manager leaves, suddenly the next game players turn up, I saw a clip of Wayne Rooney this morning talking about it happening at Club C, so it's a trend in football, Chelsea turned up but they weren't absolutely fantastic were they, it wasn't like they came out and bust a gut to win that game.

13:52I think they just did the basics better than maybe they did with Liam Rossini. They actually tried to defend, which was an improvement on the Brighton game the week before. Fernandes was the best player on the pitch, but he wasn't a high bar. But I thought his role was quite interesting. He was covering off to the left quite a lot when Garnaccio was pushing up. Because let's face it, Garnaccio isn't going to work very hard the other way. I think what we saw from the game towards the end of Resenia's tenure, there's a massive drop-off when João Pedro doesn't play and Liam De Lapp's up front for Chelsea and they just look a better side when João Pedro's there.

14:27And if you look at the goal, he's very good at dropping deep, but he kind of just halts his run, which creates the space then for Enzo Fernandes to ghost him, which he's very good at, and get the goal. I wanted Leeds to get through. I think Leeds have been a really, really good watch this season. I think Daniel Fark has recovered a pretty untenable position at one point really, really well. And now they're going to stay up comfortably. I think he's probably in the top three or four managers of the season for me. So I wanted Leeds to win, but I think they'll look back and think they probably didn't really do themselves justice on the big occasion, which can happen because those Chelsea players are more used to the big occasion.

15:05It's worth saying well done to Callum McFarlane, who said it was the greatest moment of his career. and he comes from a family of Chelsea fans and is thrust into this role that he's had before and wins an FA Cup semi-final. So good for him. Should we do the Premier League then? Arsenal beating Newcastle 1-0. So they have 73 from 34 games. Man City 70 from 33. Arsenal play next as well before City play. So they could be six points clear. It was one of those Arsenal score one goal from a set piece. Then keep a clean sheet games. Remember from the start of the season, they are back. Although Sam, it was a different...

15:39kind of set piece from a newcastle perspective you look at it and go where's the defenders because you give ever it yesterday i think they said on match today that he scored the most goals from outside the box since like 2022 so to give him that kind of space but it was it was smart because it looked like newcastle was set up for that usual pack well they were definitely were set up for that pack the penalty box get in and around the goalkeeper set piece and they just they've done And there'd maybe been a warning sign just beforehand. But it came so early. It was a brilliant finish, another set-piece goal, as you say.

16:12And I just, well, felt a little bit... For the Arsenal fans, that must have been agony, to sit there and hang on to that. The Newcastle had a couple of chances as well. So, like, the nerves, and we've said it before, the tension, they are not making it easy. They are not a comfortable watch at the moment at Arsenal. yeah I suppose what was funny Baz I don't know if you noticed this and I had to watch it again this morning because I didn't I thought it happened then I wasn't sure it's like the second time they did that short corner so Eze's already had a go which shows that Newcastle should be wise to it but the second time they did short corner quite a lot of Arsenal fans groaned or sort of not quite booed but we're like we're not up for this and then it and then Eze scores this

16:52Max Rushden:absolutely brilliant goal yeah um well I think Arsenal had decided you know Newcastle are a physically big team who are, and Arsenal decided to try something different because they thought Newcastle might have their measure with high balls coming in. So, as you both pointed out, Newcastle were given a warning as a shot wide and then they didn't heed the warning and he put his next one in the top corner. It was not a particularly good Arsenal performance and Newcastle had chances and the pick of them fell to Joanne Wisse and in form firing Joanne Wisse scores that one and it finishes 1-1 and Arsenal, oh, that would have been a disastrous result for Arsenal.

17:42Max Rushden:But he didn't and they got to three points. I think they can go six points clearer before City play again. So it was a good result, but yeah, Arsenal really putting their fans through the ringer. I think their running is conspicuously easier, on paper at least, than Manchester City's. The Vultima da pass to Whistle was so good. It's of what he can do. And I don't know how simple the Whistle is. I like the Asula miss kick as well. Just touches his standing leg and then he just falls over. Here's a question, Sam. Carey says, if all the teams fighting relegation start picking up points, should Newcastle start worrying?

18:20They've lost four in a row. they've got Brighton Forest West Ham and Fulham I mean they could lose all I mean I'm saying this with obviously amazing amounts of hope and the idea that Tottenham will win all their games but are you is there like one percent of you that's nervous about relegation no uh just about got enough I mean these in looking back now there was that injury time winner in the 4-3 at home against Leeds and the one Willis who scored against Manchester United and I know you could do this all day long right but if you take those two sure out of it you're in real trouble I think that I'm not going to talk at length about Newcastle's problems and all of that because I could be here all day but what it's telling is that it is realistic that aside like Nottingham Forest for example who have been they've changed managers a couple of times they've been talking about fighting relegation the whole season they could well finish above Newcastle I think Newcastle could slip further behind Newcastle still have to go to Nottingham Forest it just looks like Like, as we saw in November, they're just real issues for Newcastle.

19:22They haven't worked out how... They were better at Arsenal, but the bar was so low. They spent all this money. The front three on Saturday for Newcastle was Willock, Asula and Jacob Murphy. And that's the kind of thing you'd expect in the FA Cup third round, but not when you spent a couple of hundred million pounds on forward players. And they were better because they get up for the good teams. he dropped Lewis Hall brought Dan Byrne I am going into Newcastle the short answer is not about relegation but they could easily finish below sides like Leeds and Nottingham Forest who have been fighting relegation all season and I think that is telling about the direction Newcastle are in and how it's it's very difficult to see a way out without big change Do you feel Sam that at the moment Eddie Howe is almost distancing himself from the summer business with that line-up to leave Valtemada Visser and Alanga on the bench who all cost a lot of money in the summer do you almost feel he's trying to distance himself from that summer business and say this season it's not on me Big old mess last summer and he ended up basically being in charge of recruitment having come out and said that we need to act fast, they then lost Paul Mitchell, he really pushed for Alanga, Alanga is very much an Eddie Howe signing, they were there for a couple of years, doesn't seem to know how to use Volta Marder, it's just playing him in midfield he's become the scapegoat particularly in the press so it's like whatever happens it's nick voltemar's fault and they can't keep a clean sheet um they're gonna lose players trippy's gonna go shower's gonna go they're gonna lose a couple of big players over the summer so yeah they're probably gonna have to have eight or nine changes in that squad um but looking back at last summer it's difficult for him to distance it it just feels like they'd written the season off in the Premier League and it's just treading water and they've done that from about 10 or 12 games to go um so yeah I don't know where it goes next I think big they've got a Pete they've got a summit at Matphen Hall the really nice Hogwarts-y hotel that Barcelona stayed in um where Piff actually fly over and they do it every year and it's all presentations and things but I think a big thing will be made of that um they could do with a bit of they could do with making a decision coming out and saying, right, Eddie Howe is either going to go in the summer or we're going to back him and keep him because I think there's just this limbo at the moment that is not healthy for anyone.

21:48All right, that'll do for part one. Part two, we'll do the relegation dogfight.

21:59Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. So the bottom of the table looks like this. Wolves and Burnley are down. Tottenham are 18th on 34. West Ham have 36. and then if you include them Forest 39 Leeds 40 and Newcastle 42 come on the more teams the more the merrier everyone and a real rollercoaster Dan especially for you know West Ham fans 80 minutes into these games at 3 o 'clock they're winning Spurs are drawing then Spurs score then Everson score Spurs are out of the relegation zone before Callum Wilson scores an injury time how big do you think that Callum Wilson goal is? Yeah it feels like one of those pivotal weekends doesn't it why did much of the day not do that thing where they play the two games at the same time and cut between, can that only be done on the last day of the season?

22:42Is it reserved for that? Because I was fully expecting that. It's what we're doing right now, isn't it? Unbelievable from you, Max. Thanks. When Tottenham scored and Everton equalised, you thought, you're not going to lie this, but as someone who is like a neutral in the relegation, well, not really a neutral in the relegation battle, I would like Tottenham to get relegated. I think it would be fascinating for a so-called big six team to be operating in the championship. So that's what I want to happen. That two, three minute spell when Tottenham scored and Everton equalised, I was crestfallen.

23:18And the Tottenham fans must have been thinking at that point, oh my God, things have turned. This is it. This is the moment that we've been waiting for. But then Callum Wilson to pop up and score that goal, that's got to be energy sapping for everyone involved at Tottenham. The players, the manager, the fans because you've won and look it's the first time Tottenham have won in 2026 so it's a big moment but if you'd have won and West Ham have dropped points and you're out of the relegation zone the whole mood feels completely different as it happens now Spurs have won but nothing's changed they're still in that bottom three West Ham have won Nottingham Forest have won so you do feel like that really could have been a pivotal moment for Spurs and I think it is but not in the way that you'd hope.

24:00Yeah. I mean, Wilson does really well, I think, Barry. Like, you know, it's not the hardest finish, but he does take it very calmly considering the pressure.

24:11Max Rushden:He took it very calmly, placed it very precisely into the gap. On another day, he might have smashed it over the bar, like into the stand. So I think he deserves a lot of credit for that finish given the lateness of the hour and the circumstances in which he scored it, how much is at stake. Yeah, eight goals in nine games against Everton for Callum Wilson. It's an amazing arc he's had within this year because West Ham fans had turned against him. Free signing, the game they lost to Brentford, they got battered at home and Wilson was left on the bench. He didn't start and then they brought a young lad on whose squad number was in the 50s or 60s ahead of Callum Wilson.

24:52And they went to Wolves and they lost, Wolves' first win. and it was all this talk about how Wilson they're basically going to rip his contract up he was going to leave on a free I don't think he played the following week against Forest but he came on he scored the winner against Spurs didn't he uh yeah he was on the pitch for like one minute that is an enormous goal now yeah exactly so actually he's going to turn in at Christmas or January they're writing him off thinking oh what a terrible signing and actually he having scored those two goals now I think if they could if they keep West Ham up wow what a free signing he's turned out to be and Suchek Dan like he scored a good header but his header to stop Tieno Barry's header is absolutely ridiculous I mean I don't know how much he knows about it but you've got to react a bit that's an extraordinary clearance yeah he's a such a bizarre player isn't he Suchek because you watch him and it looks like he can't move sometimes you watch a footballer and think that might be how I look if if I if I'm on the football pitch it happens occasionally with Premier League goalkeepers and I think Suchek's another one but my god he's got a big moment in him the amount of important goals he scored for that football club and that's as good as a goal isn't it that clearance Forest the same on Friday they're used to having a talisman and I think they've got three or four contenders that could be the ones to keep them up and then Spurs I know this isn't what you asked me it felt like it might be Xavi Simons and he goes off injured and I don't think he can play again for the rest of the season.

26:21Everything is pointing towards that those other two clubs are going to be able to galvanise themselves and get themselves to stay up. Tottenham might galvanise themselves to get a few wins, but I think the other two might do the same, which if that happens, Tottenham are down. I suppose it could drag more teams into it. I think Everton did deserve something from this game, Barry. I don't think I'm being myopic about this. They could have had a penalty sort of on the moment. yeah and they had some really good chances as well yeah i think they should have had a penalty

26:51Max Rushden:for that matthews fernandez handball when he had his arms around barry down with the byline maybe they deserve something they didn't get anything i think you're just delaying the inevitable spurs chat okay let's have it let's have it barry no so i mean i suppose that's the point is they uh they hadn't won for 118 days in the premier league their first win in 2026 and obviously like if you can't beat Wolves fair enough but Wolves last three games were beating Villa beating Liverpool and drawing with Arsenal at home so like it it isn't it isn't like ridiculous to suggest it's it's uh not worthy getting this win and so I guess the question is just like how much of it can this lead to some psychological change or they've got Solanke and Simmons injured and everyone else is winning, so it doesn't matter at all.

27:39Max Rushden:Look, the win was crucial, but it was far from convincing. I think Wolves probably deserve something from this game. Kinski had to make two good saves, one of them outstanding from João Gomez in one of the last kicks of the game. Good to see him back on track after the Atletico Madrid fiasco. The first half was totally uneventful, but for Dominic Solanke going off with a hamstring injury, which you would presume will rule him out for the remaining games. And then the second half, they lost Savvy Simmons, and it's since emerged what most suspected he's done is ACL. So he's gone for the rest of the season, and he missed the World Cup.

28:21Max Rushden:That's sad for him. So the only positive, and it is a massive positive for Spurs on the day, was the fact that they managed to crawl over the line against the Premier League's bottom side. I don't think Leeds are safe. Everyone's presuming that because they've got 40 points, they're safe. I'm not so sure about that. I think they might need a couple more. Yeah, well, I mean, I think you say that, but if you look at the fixtures, and we'll do Forest win in a second, Leeds do have Burnley at home next, and that feels like a win. They also have to play West Ham and Spurs. They do, yeah, and Brighton.

28:57So Spurs have to go to Villa, And hopefully, Villa will lie down in between the Europa League semifinals against Forrest. Home to Leeds, away to Chelsea at some point, and then home to Everton. West Ham, go to Brentford, home to Arsenal, away to Newcastle, home to Leeds. And Forrest, go to Chelsea, home to Newcastle, away to Man United, home to Bournemouth. I suppose it's a case, Sam, that lots of teams in the Premier League are good. You could make a case for all those sides losing all those games, pretty much. There aren't many meaningless games in the Premier League left as well. a lot of those sides they're going to, even the ones that you would get, in inverted commas, go sort of mid-table.

29:35Actually, they're still fighting to be in Europe. You know, Everton last day of the season. Spurs have got Bournemouth. So there's a lot to play for. They haven't, it's probably Newcastle and Crystal Palace, just about. I haven't, I've not got the table in front of me, but other teams that are just sort of already meandering towards the summer. I just, I can't see Spurs getting out of it now. now it just feels I know I bring it back to Newcastle but it feels like the Newcastle side of 09 where all these star names but just not a team and as Dan has already said the other sides are showing something and showing a bit of fight and a bit of togetherness and Spurs have got players who know they won't be there next season regardless and all right they'll they'll play and they'll they'll celebrate and yeah but it's a long way out and as Dan says I'll have a smile on my face if it does happen.

30:30Yeah, I mean, you say teams are showing together. Nottingham Forest, Barry, on Friday night. I didn't see this game live. I woke up and saw the score. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. This is ridiculous. 5-0 win, 4-0 up after 40 minutes, including three in six minutes. As you were saying, teams are invested in Tottenham getting relegated. Would you include Sunderland in that? How dare they?

30:50Max Rushden:I'm not sure what Tottenham have done to upset Sunderland, but they really seem to have it in for them. They beat them and then total capitulation against Forrest. They conceded pretty much the same goal twice, either side of Robin Roof's gifting Forrest their second goal. So that's them 3-0 down in jig time. Igor Jesus makes it 4-0 by halftime. Sunderland fans start streaming for the exits of the stadium alight. And who can blame them, to be honest, Friday night? Would you rather be in the pub or watching that dreck? but Regis LeBree said afterwards when you drop your standards by 10 % your opponents can kill you and I would say it was being extremely kind to suggest Sunderland had only dropped their standards by 10 % it was an absolutely abysmal performance I'll be honest I wouldn't have minded Sunderland losing that game but to get absolutely thumped like that was not good they were pitiful.

31:57Max Rushden:You can only beat what's in front of you and Nottingham Forest made extremely short work of what was in front of them. Adam says, Morgan Gibbs-White hitting form for goals and assists for Forest. And Cole Palmer struggling with fitness and form with Morgan Rodgers and Jude Bellingham being Thomas Suckel's preferred players for 10. Should he be considering Gibbs-White for the squad especially as he seems to be more adept at playing on the wings as well as the 10 providing greater tactical flexibility off the bench whereas Palmer seems to be less creative from the wings. I don't know what you think, Dan.