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In short
Football Weekly (Guardian) covers Premier League opening weekend across multiple matches. Panelists (Barry Glendening, Nicky Bandini, Lars Sivertsson) discuss: Man United 0-1 Arsenal at Old Trafford, Liverpool 4-2 Bournemouth at Anfield, Sunderland 3-0 West Ham, plus other games including Chelsea 0-0 Palace, Forest 3-1 Brentford, and Man City’s win at Molineux featuring Tijani Reijnders.
Guests/panel
Barry Glendening, Nicky Bandini, Lars Sivertsson (with Max and Lars speaking on-air; no separate celebrity guests are named).
Key claims
Arsenal’s win was “unimpressive” but built on defensive resilience and set-piece efficiency; United were better overall but failed to finish. Goalkeeping/VAR debates center on Raya vs Bayern/Saliba set-piece contact and goalkeeper “coming with violence” versus VAR constraints. Liverpool’s openness in their system may leave defensive holes; Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo was brilliant and faced racist abuse, handled with strong solidarity. Sunderland’s youth and counterattacking energy overwhelmed West Ham; West Ham looked unfit. Reijnders’ freedom at City/AC Milan background makes him look like a top box-to-box creator.
Notable examples
Chiesa’s impact as a “super sub” (vs Jota tributes), Semenyo’s two goals, Sunderland’s debutants, and Eberechi Eze’s disallowed free-kick due to wall proximity rules.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOMatch Highlights and Key Moments
0:30 to 1:05
Discussion on key match moments and performances in recent games.
“swear the season kicked off with a great game at Anfield.”
Arsenal's Performance at Old Trafford
1:13 to 2:44
Analysis of Arsenal's win against Manchester United and their performance.
“I think Barry could say Man United were better, didn't they?”
Goalkeeping Analysis in the Match
2:44 to 3:56
Discussion on the goalkeeping errors and strategies observed during the match.
“gets to Calafiore, that is a clear chance, I think it's fair to say.”
Manchester United's Improvements
3:56 to 5:04
Exploration of Manchester United's improved play and tactics compared to last season.
“but we were always able to keep our heads and not panic in those moments.”
Midfield Battle Overview
5:04 to 6:14
Analysis of the midfield dynamics and player performances in the match.
“I think you'd be very hard pressed to give that as a free kick given there was several other contacts going on in the area at the same time that we're also on the same borderline.”
Arsenal's Defensive Strategy
6:14 to 7:57
Discussion on Arsenal's defensive tactics and reliance on their defensive resilience.
“I mean, it tends to be Ben White more often, doesn't it?”
Gökherz's Performance and Integration Issues
7:57 to 9:51
Examination of Gökherz's debut performance and the challenges he faced.
“I mean, look, the thing is, I thought, like we talked, United were more interesting.”
Liverpool's Opening Match
9:51 to 12:30
Discussion on Liverpool's first match of the season and the tributes to Diogo Jota.
“it did also occur to me that out of what we think will be the top three, I think Arsenal are the team who more than City and more than Liverpool are kind of happy sitting back and protecting a lead like they had to here.”
Chiesa's Impact and Performance
12:30 to 14:00
Analysis of Chiesa's influential performance and his role in the game.
“uh the season kicked off on Friday night I mean before the game Barry the tributes to Diogo Jota here and actually at Molyneux as well were incredibly moving, weren't they?”
Liverpool's Openness and Tactical Analysis
14:00 to 17:00
Explore Liverpool's attacking and defensive tactics in their recent match.
“the explosive talent we thought he was going to become after Euro 2020.”
Show all 32 chapters
Bournemouth's Resilience and Player Performances
17:00 to 19:10
Discuss the standout performances from Bournemouth and their resilience.
“But you're thinking, is he getting that goal if Ryan Gravenberch is there?”
Semenyo's Inspiring Response to Racial Abuse
19:10 to 20:30
Hear Semenyo's powerful statement following racial abuse during the match.
“But it's so present online now and it does feel like some of that online stuff is spilling more and more into the real world.”
Reflections on Racism in Football
20:30 to 24:00
A discussion on racism in football and the community's response.
“Yeah, I mean, he's very young and the amount that we've actually seen in play is still relatively little, but extremely highly thought of.”
Giovanni Leone's Potential Impact
24:00 to 27:40
An analysis of Giovanni Leone's transfer to Liverpool and his potential.
“And he went, but they should be above you because he forgot they're called Tottenham, not Spurs.”
Sunderland's Impressive Victory and West Ham's Struggles
27:40 to 28:03
Review Sunderland's win over West Ham and concerns about West Ham's performance.
“And if you're playing three center halves, And one of your wingbacks is Juan Bisaka, who's built like a center half anyway.”
Concerns About Team Performance
28:03 to 28:56
Discussion on player performances and team energy at the start of the season.
“As someone who is, generally speaking, Graham Potter positive, I am a Graham Potter enjoyer.”
Richarlison's Revival and Kudus’s Impact
28:57 to 30:05
Analysis of Richarlison's performance and the addition of Kudus to the team.
“And this was, there were reasons for enthusiasm last, I think, we suppose.”
Tactical Adjustments in Matches
30:06 to 31:15
Examination of Tottenham's tactical strategies and their implications in the game.
“I guess he realized this is a game where you're expecting to control possession a little bit.”
Celebrating an Impressive Goal
31:16 to 31:36
A highlight of Richarlison’s beautiful goal and its significance.
“I'm not sure I've got a minute in my locker for a...”
The Eight-Second Rule Analysis
31:37 to 32:58
Discussion on the enforcement of the new eight-second rule and its implications.
“Bob says, can we all celebrate the enforcement of the eight-second rule?”
Tijani Reinders' Stellar Performance
32:59 to 34:56
Insights into Tijani Reinders' impact in the match and his potential.
“But I think it's still progress, even if it's not completely consistently applied.”
Manchester City's Dominance
34:57 to 36:20
Analysis of Manchester City's performance and their squad depth.
“He's like Kevin De Bruyne, Barry, but who looks like a footballer.”
Oscar Bob's Emergence in City
36:21 to 37:28
Discussion on the emergence of Oscar Bob and his contributions in the match.
“There are, and we didn't really see any of them tested here.”
Chris Wood's Striking Ability
37:29 to 38:38
Exploration of Chris Wood’s performance and goal-scoring ability in the match.
“Nicky, we question on the preview pods whether Chris Wood could really do it again within five minutes.”
Morgan Gibbs-White's Performance
38:39 to 39:58
Analysis of Morgan Gibbs-White's contributions and form in the match.
“So yeah, Chris Wood, still Chris Wood, but I'm also interested to see how Dan and Doy Pans out there.”
Brentford's Struggles in the Match
39:59 to 41:28
Discussion on Brentford's performance and the issues faced during the game.
“He might have sent one of his protection detail out to follow him around.”
Chelsea vs Palace: A Lackluster Draw
41:29 to 42:03
Recap of the Chelsea vs Palace match and controversies surrounding disallowed goals.
“duels, running like demons and winning your set piece battle, that's just kind of the three basics that you have to do in every game.”
Disallowed Goals and VAR Controversy
42:03 to 43:53
Discussion about the disallowed goal in the Chelsea vs. Palace match and the implications of VAR.
“I think interesting that Eze and Gaye both started for Palace.”
Chelsea's Performance Analysis
43:54 to 47:45
Analysis of Chelsea's performance against Crystal Palace and their attacking issues.
“But the interesting thing is on Eze, right?”
Brighton vs. Fulham Match Review
47:46 to 51:12
Review of the Brighton vs. Fulham match and Brighton's struggles in closing games.
“Maybe we can start making excuses for them.”
Newcastle's Forward Situation and Overall Performance
51:13 to 53:06
Discussion on Newcastle's need for a center forward and their performance challenges.
“and they had a sending off after about 65 minutes thereabouts.”
Listener Feedback and Show Wrap-Up
53:07 to 54:58
Addressing listener feedback and concluding remarks about various teams and events.
“The National League's approved the takeover by Panjab Warriors suspension on the club will be lifted upon receipt of the sale and purchase agreement.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Nicky Bandini:This is The Guardian.
0:30Nicky Bandini:swear the season kicked off with a great game at Anfield. Beautiful tributes for Diego Jota before a really open game. Surely Liverpool should do what they did last year. In the end, Federico Chiesa scored the key goal in a game marred by the racist abuse of Antoine Semenyo, who was quite brilliant on the night. Also, Tijani Rinders looks wonderful. Sunderland spent two hours at the top of the table and Richarlison scores a good goal and then a great goal as Thomas Frank sticks the knife into Ange by adapting his tactics for his opponents. Chris Wood carries on where he left off, Brighton carry on giving up points Eze and Gay start for Palace and Newcastle play well but look like they don't have a centre forward there's horrendous monorail correction to make your questions and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly
1:13Nicky Bandini:On the panel today Barry Glendening, good morning Good morning Max Welcome Nicky Bandini Morning And hello to Lars Sividsson Good morning Max Alright, one round of games let's jump to some conclusions beginning at Old Trafford, Manchester United 0, Arsenal 1. I think Barry could say Man United were better, didn't they? They were better than they were last season. They were the better side. Amram, after the game, said, we've proved today that we can win any game in the Premier League, which I think is a stretch. Because they didn't. They didn't.
1:44Max Rushden:But still. Yeah, they proved they could win any game in the Premier League except the one they just played. I would say, yeah, I think they did deserve to win. I think they were the better team I think the only positive Arsenal can take from that game and it's a very, very, very big one is that they won they were quite lucky to do so but they won because they exploited one of Manchester United's very obvious weaknesses which is their goalkeeping area because they maximised one of their own obvious strengths which is their defence and they were a little bit lucky but they got the three points and that's something they don't do very often at Old Trafford.
2:28Max Rushden:So while the performance, I don't think it's a stretch to say it was poor from Arsenal, they won and that could be a massive three points by the end of the season.
2:39Nicky Bandini:Yeah, I mean, they didn't really create, I can't think of a clear chance, Nicky. I mean, by the time the ball gets to Calafiore, that is a clear chance, I think it's fair to say. But it is, I mean, the key moment is the goal, isn't it? And it's so like it's just all the cliches of Arsenal being really good at seven pieces. Man United not being good at defending them. And then this kind of weird, I thought Joe Hart broke it down. I don't know if you saw a match today too quite well, comparing Raya and Bayern Deer and what you're meant to do as a goalkeeper. And why it's kind of a foul, but it's not a foul.
3:09Nicky Bandini:But at the end of the day, you sort of think, you know, Manchester United have spent loads of money, but yet haven't fixed anything back there. Yeah, I mean, first things first, definitely. me like just to profess this entire show like there's a phrase in Italian that August football is a lie and it is a bit right like I think taking sweeping conclusions for anything right now is is always a bit dangerous but yeah it's it's about as unimpressive as Arsenal could be while still winning the game which they did and impressive in some ways right because there was resilience there was a certain amount of I thought Mikel Arteta put it quite interestingly after the game where he said what we did well was that every time we made a mistake, we recovered basically.
3:50Every time we made a mistake, we got back to positions and defended well, which is, he said basically we made a lot of unforced errors, but we were always able to keep our heads and not panic in those moments. And I think that's probably the best thing you could say about Arsenal performance. Other than that, they also still know how to do set pieces really well and score from them. I thought that Man United were definitely the better side, even while laughing at Amarim because it's a ridiculous thing to say we've proven we can beat anyone when you haven't beaten someone. I mean, that's exactly the one thing that they didn't do was win the game.
4:24The goalkeeping thing, I think absolutely, I just want to, like you, defer to Joe Hart on this because he's really spoke about it, I thought, properly, thoughtfully and in detail in a way that we don't often hear from goalkeepers in analysis. That was really interesting. But there was also the much more basic version, I suppose that came from Roy Keane on the live coverage where he said you need to come for that ball with violence which of course is a very Roy Keane way to put it you need to come for it with violence but I think there was that contrast wasn't there with how passive by and it was in that moment because he did just let himself get bullied by Saliba Saliba got underneath him and whether it was a foul or not I think certainly when you look at the area on that ball going in I think you'd be very hard pressed to give that as a free kick given there was several other contacts going on in the area at the same time that we're also on the same borderline.
5:15I think you can certainly say Bayern did, does not use his force nearly well enough. And then later in the same game, you see David Raya come and really take a proper swing at a ball and get that strong fist on it and get it clear. And you see that's the contrast. That is what Roy Keane's version of it is, coming for the ball with violence. So I think it feels a bit silly to boil the whole game down to one thing. But sometimes, Ruben Amarin, the difference between showing you can win a game or not, is being able to take the chance. And I suppose taking the chance in this case would have been, by Andir, taking the chance to get that ball while he's still had a chance to.
5:56Nicky Bandini:Lars, do you want to analyse this game with violence?
5:59Lars Sivertsen:Well, yeah, it's far be it from Roy Keane to argue that violence is the solution to anything. This doesn't seem to happen very often. The thing that occurs to me with those situations is, especially when you have ex-pro comparing, well, back in my day, the goalkeeper would just lamp him. I think this is a sort of unintended consequence of VAR, to be honest, because we are seeing goalkeepers penalize more for when they go for the big punch and accidentally punch someone in the head, which is probably a good thing. I don't think they should be allowed to punch people in the head, but it does also mean they are at a kind of an imbalance in endorsed corner situations because the the attacker or the the player from the attacking team can lean on the goalkeeper all he wants because he doesn't really risk anything worst case scenario you give away a foul and you've lost the corner and it happens if the goalkeeper is going to give him a big shove and just kind of move him out the way there is a small chance that you give away a penalty doing that because just pushing people is kind of a foul now we don't see them given but one day we are going to see them given and I think the goalkeepers know at the back of their minds that they can't do whatever they want anymore and that just creates this sort of weird imbalance there I have some sympathy with what Amarim said he kind of needs to push the player away but then his arms which are supposed to be used to catch the ball are busy pushing the player away so it's a whole thing I think you're going to need players you almost need to task a defender by those set pieces that if someone's going to lean on the goalkeeper you need a bigger defender to lean on him and And we know Arsenal do this.
7:30Lars Sivertsen:I mean, it tends to be Ben White more often, doesn't it? But in this case, it wasn't. But there tends to be someone from Arsenal who does this job. And I feel like you need to task a defender to stop it.
7:41Max Rushden:I mean, the thing about pushing the opposition player is what you need to do is get one of your own players between you and him. Then you can push your own player. That's fine. And he gets the other player out of the way.
7:55Nicky Bandini:So you need a sort of, you need a defender that's got a really good, something getting purchased on a player, like it's got a really sort of meaty torso or something, you know, just like a perfect handle, get a handle on a defender and then it would be a much better way. I mean, look, the thing is, I thought, like we talked, United were more interesting. It was more interesting to see how United have developed. You talked a lot about their midfield because we were expecting Cesco to start and then he didn't. and so they the lineup was perhaps not what we expected and i mentioned kunya in the intro but like he was exciting you know he is exciting right yeah i mean no one's no one is doubting
8:29Lars Sivertsen:that that kunya is an exciting player and that kunya because he's got so much initiative he's completely fearless he's not a he tries difficult things i mean he's certainly someone who will raise raise the floor i guess of a not very good team because you can stick him in any team and he will still do the Matias Kunia things. I thought Mbembo was pretty good as well. Made some good runs. And I guess really my surprise was you had that trio. I mean, you had Mason Mount in there, but he was playing in an attacking role. And then you had Fernandes and Casemiro in midfield. And I got to be honest, I kind of thought the Arsenal midfield of Reis Subimendi and Erdogan would kind of overrun that.
9:07Lars Sivertsen:And we didn't really see that happening. So all credit to Man Utd, who looked more aggressive and sharper physically than they did last year. Players just kind of looked a little bit more confident in this system and where they're supposed to be, which you would expect after a full preseason working on it, but they did. I thought Lenny Jorow had some good moments bringing the ball out from the back. We kind of forget about him because of the fact that he got really badly injured when they first signed him, but he's still just 19 and is considered an incredibly promising defender. So there were, as much as it sounds silly, the thing Amarim said about, yeah, we've proven we can beat anyone.
9:43Lars Sivertsen:I just thought there were a lot of positives there. I came away from this game thinking this was a lot better from United than I had expected. And also, just on the Arsenal side of things, it did also occur to me that out of what we think will be the top three, I think Arsenal are the team who more than City and more than Liverpool are kind of happy sitting back and protecting a lead like they had to here. I mean, they can sit back and trust their defence and goalkeeper in a way I think very few teams can in the league at the moment. So I think they maybe trusted them a little too much. I think you're not always going to get away with conceding as many chances as they did here.
10:22Lars Sivertsen:But they do have that defensive resilience to fall back on Arsenal, which got them three points here.
10:27Nicky Bandini:Quickly, Nikki, what did you make of Jacare? Again, I'm back in my August football and taking too much from it is silly. He didn't have a good first game. The service to him wasn't great. I think there was just a lot of, depending on how you view it, either rust or just some slightly worrying stuff in that Arsenal performance, wasn't there? I mean, if Giocares is going to thrive, you're going to need to lean into what suits him as a striker, which is getting those balls into the box. But then some of that starts at, how did Bukaya Saka play? I thought Saka had really not his best game at all. I thought he was giving away the ball too easily a couple of times when he got into that space on the right hand side.
11:04He thought, OK, this is a Bukaya Saka moment, right? He's one-on-one with the defender. And he was losing it. He wasn't winning those battles. And I think without that sort of support, it's hard to see that Gökherz makes an easy transition into this team. But he did look like a bit of a foreign object. I think certainly, as the guy's just been saying, the contrast with how well-integrated Beno and Kunja looked on the other end was really marked. And I do agree with what Lars was just saying. I think that on the one hand, yes, Arsenal, this is kind of what they do they are of that top group extremely good defensively you can't you can't expect to keep defending with your your one goal leads and never get punctured you're never going to get away with that for full season raya made a great save from kunya on that one shot across goal and another day he doesn't right as good as that save is as much as having a good goalkeeper is part of your team another day he doesn't and even if you concede that goal you don't even necessarily get a draw do you you don't know how the game goes after that so i think all across the pitch it was it was not spectacular I think everyone's going to hone in on Giocares and go you spent that money why isn't he brilliant right away he wasn't brilliant um his touch didn't look great he looked a bit sluggish but I think that's as much about the service to him and how the team is working around him as it is about him individually yeah I think we can still say do
12:25Nicky Bandini:Arsenal need to sign a striker um right let's go to let's go to Anfield Liverpool 4 Bournemouth 2 uh the season kicked off on Friday night I mean before the game Barry the tributes to Diogo Jota here and actually at Molyneux as well were incredibly moving, weren't they?
12:38Max Rushden:Yeah, pretty much what we were expecting, I suppose. His wife was at both grounds and that must have been at once difficult and maybe a little cathartic for her. And I think his parents might have been at Anfield and Molyneux as well. And obviously we wished them well. But both clubs handled it perfectly. I can't think of any both clubs and both sets of fans handled difficult occasions brilliantly I thought.
13:11Nicky Bandini:Salah's tears at the end are you know you sort of wonder is that just sort of a release for just for someone you know like playing the game is you're just in that intense moment and when it finishes and you sort of have that feeling and of course they played pre-season game but I wonder I don't know I just found myself very moved watching Mo Salah at the end of that game and actually Charlie Baker on the radio made a really good point to me on Saturday that when Chiesa comes on that is the moment when Jota probably would have come on the pitch right we felt like such a Jota moment for him and the Chiesa moment I mean I like Carragher going this is an odd substitution you know that's uh but what a but Nicky like what a moment for Chiesa who's had a really difficult time you you've spoken for years about how much you love this player and like it was a brilliant finish as well yeah I mean it's been a while since he's he's looked anything like the explosive talent we thought he was going to become after Euro 2020.
14:05But I will say that this is exactly what I think has been the best of Kier's career. I think in the end, even before he came to Liverpool, I was saying, is he just one of those players who is at his best as a super sub, who is at his best when you let him come off the bench and arrow at people in that way. He does so effectively. And this felt like a little blast from the past in that regard, that ability to when you've already been playing an extremely intense game, because this is a great game of football to watch, really, really intense game of football. Then you suddenly throw this guy on who will go right at you like that.
14:37I think he's at his best, can do that brilliantly. And yeah, from an Italian standpoint and from just the point of view of wishing well for someone whose career hasn't gone the way you or he would have hoped it would have done and with injuries and everything, it was fun to see him come on and be influential like that.
14:56Nicky Bandini:And perhaps the most interesting part of this game, Lars, was just Liverpool's openness. You know, producer Jarl saying, is it Ange slot? You know, because you've got like Frimpong and Kirkhead, they're sort of, they're wingers, aren't they? They're overlapping wingers. They're beyond wingers. And you know, without Gravenberch, and maybe he solves everything, I don't know, they just leave so many holes.
15:16Lars Sivertsen:Yeah, this is kind of my worry about them going into the season in terms of them winning the league as a lot of people have predicted them to do. They're going to, they might have to score three or four in a lot of games because I think they're going to concede a fair few. just from the nature of playing essentially wingback. Fringepoing and Kierke is both extremely attacking fullbacks, as you say. Salah is still brilliant, but he's not doing much off the ball, and maybe you can't expect him to. You want him to conserve his energy for the moments when he can make an impact in front of goal. But then, yeah, Wirtz is a proper number 10 attacking guy.
15:48Lars Sivertsen:And the two sort of ostensibly holding midfielders, like this lot of deeper midfielders, are McAllister and Soboslai, who are definitely not defensive players at all. So you're kind of left with Van Dijk and Konate being the defenders who are there to defend. And I think against a lot of teams, that will get you into some trouble. And you allowed Bournemouth to counterattack their way back into the game here. And Bournemouth deserve credit for not, you know, rolling over, of course. But I think a lot of teams will look at that lineup and say, that is absolutely terrifying when it's running at you.
16:20Lars Sivertsen:But you can get at them if you can just avoid conceding four or five goals.
16:24Nicky Bandini:Yeah, I mean, Eketike had a good game. But I thought, Barry, in the Kite off, I thought dear Kite was actually more impressive than Eketike. And also the game, I thought, Baz, was like a good reminder when we spend the summer talking about transfers, that lots of players who are already at clubs are good. Yes. You know, lots of players at Bournemouth are good. Antoine Semenyo is good. Just because he didn't go anywhere, it doesn't mean he's not good and interesting.
16:48Max Rushden:Yeah, and he had a brilliant game. I mean, his two goals were superb. The cross from David Brooks was the first one. It was wonderful. And his finish was great. His second goal. I mean, he just ran in a straight line from one penalty to the other and scored with a lovely finish. But you're thinking, is he getting that goal if Ryan Gravenberch is there? You'd think not. But I couldn't believe the ease with which he scored. While it was a terrific goal, he literally just ran in a straight line.
17:21Nicky Bandini:Canate was sort of spinning around. It was like Canarte was looking for Mark Gay. He was like, is Mark Gay? Yeah, is Mark Gay. I don't know. It was really funny.
17:28Max Rushden:I know there were runners to his left and right sort of acting as decoys, but it was so easy for him. It looked more like an American football move. And it's a shame he was racially abused, but he had the last laugh, and it was nice to see. Well, he didn't really have the last laugh because Boreman went on to lose,
17:51Nicky Bandini:but you know what I mean. But he did have a brilliant game. I do, just on that, a 47-year-old man's been arrested after Anton Semenya reported being racially abused during the game. He posted, last night at Anfield was faith for me forever, not because of one person's words, but because of how the entire football family stood together. To my Bournemouth teammates who supported me in that moment, to the Liverpool players and fans who showed their true character, to the Premier League officials who handed it professionally, thank you. Football showed its best side when it mattered most. Scoring those goals felt like speaking the only language that truly matters on the pitch.
18:20Nicky Bandini:this is why I play for moments like this for my teammates for everyone who believes in what this beautiful game can be the overwhelming messages of support from across the football world remind me why I love this sport we keep moving forward together and actually Nikki beyond the obvious depressing nature and maybe this is too glass I'll fall because you know how depressing that on the opening day this happens and actually you know Matthias Tell was already you know racially abused online by Tottenham fans after missing a penalty in the Super Cup the way Semenya put that and actually the sort of humanity you saw in the moment and like the process that we talk about you know how do we deal with these things even when Anthony Taylor just like put his hand on his arm and just said like are you okay before they started playing again I don't know I felt kind of I don't know what the right word is not enthused but just kind of like it felt like people were taking this seriously yeah I definitely thought people were taking it seriously and and and certainly having covered a few instance in in seri over the last few years there was a a sense of relief that no one turned around and tried to make it well maybe said something to provoke them because that's happened a few times in in stories that i've covered and it's incredibly disheartening when it does so that much of it is positive i don't know how much i want to go with you on the glass half full because i do feel like the the stuff is so present online now and that's a whole story of its own, which maybe it's better not to spin into.
19:45But it's so present online now and it does feel like some of that online stuff is spilling more and more into the real world.
19:53Nicky Bandini:And actually, Kieran Maguire said it on the Future of Football thing, that that empowers, and also the way that, you know, some very high profile, you know, people in the world, be they in politics or just sort of, you know, influencers speak, that empowers people to act like that. And, you know, that whole idea that it is not for me to say glass half full, of course, because, you know, the white privileges, that doesn't happen to you, right? If you are white, any player or anyone. So, yeah, it was incredibly depressing, but it was, I thought Semenya's statement was nice to hear anyway. Liverpool have signed Giovanni Leone from Parma, who is very sought after.
20:31Nicky Bandini:Can you tell us about him? Yeah, I mean, he's very young and the amount that we've actually seen in play is still relatively little, but extremely highly thought of. Absolutely a young talent who had been already being touted as someone we're expecting to see break through into the national team in the next few years. and who has been compared to Andre Barzali in his style as someone who really, and Barzali was one of the really, really great cool heads and man markers when he was playing in that BBC defence at Juventus. So really it started half a season of top flight football, but certainly someone who there's high expectations for and who I'm intrigued to see.
21:18And certainly it feels like with a lot of young Italian players, taking that step to come to play in the Premier League is perceived as taking a step towards being more ambitious and testing yourself in what is perceived to be right now the most competitive league in Europe and giving yourself a chance to develop there.
Read the full transcript
21:35Nicky Bandini:Ted says, the unfiltered joy that Max must feel, that deliberate swiping handballs are allowed in the Premier League now. Happy for you, friend. Senesi's blatant handball was really fun, Barry. You know, I just couldn't believe. Well, I sort of think it's a difficult decision to send him off. But at the same time, it's such an obvious handball that VAR just ballsed it up. Yeah, I don't know how they missed it.
22:00Max Rushden:I do wonder, I don't like ragging on officials, but I do wonder sometimes how they come up with certain decisions. And that was one of them. It could not have been more blatant. I do think there is a, it's an issue that, and we know for a fact it has happened in the past because Mike Dean has admitted he's done it while working as a VAR official that they are afraid or don't want to undermine their mates on the pitch. I think that is a problem.
22:36Nicky Bandini:Anyway, that'll do for part one. Part two, we'll begin with Sunderland, who beat West Ham 3-0.
22:49Nicky Bandini:welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly uh live show still a few tickets available uh september the 11th at the troxy in london jonathan wilson johnny lou nikki you're coming along have you got your anecdote prepared will it shift 2 ,100 tickets a few tickets is it um i uh I hope so I don't know probably maybe who knows people have bought tickets they're not all available that would be sad wouldn't it you can get them at theguardian.com slash football weekly live and we're live streaming it around tickets from the same link and follow us on Instagram blue sky TikTok etc Sunderland 3 West Ham 0 Ian Dowie presumably not that one says does Barry want Sunderland to draw the real big boys of Europe in next season's Champions League or would he prefer a kind of group stage draw so they can go deeper, maybe win it?
23:42Nicky Bandini:I mean, yes, did Ian not notice the change of format? But I suppose you could still have tougher games in the Swiss League system. But for two sweet hours, Barry, you were top of the Premier League.
23:51Max Rushden:Yeah, on alphabetical order above Tottenham. So that was nice. And I said this to a friend, oh, we're top of the league above Spurs and alphabetical order. And he went, but they should be above you because he forgot they're called Tottenham, not Spurs. Anyway, yeah, I'm surprised and a little disappointed we didn't lead with this one, Max, today. It was a great win. I'll be honest, it wasn't an entirely unexpected win. When I saw Sunderland's opening fixtures, I thought, ooh, they're nice. They're kind. And West Ham at home is probably as nice as kind as it gets for the opening day. Now, to be fair, West Ham were on top in the first half, and it took a brilliant interception by Dan Ballard to stop them taking the lead through Malik Juve, who got in the end of a Jared Bone cross.
24:46Max Rushden:But second half, Sunderland were totally dominant, scored three goals. This is a team that had seven debutants in it. another one came on Alderete when Jenson had to go off with an injured back, I feel a bit for him because he's a young Dutch player who signed about two years ago but he's never really got a run out because he keeps getting injured, he got a chance on the opening day and had to go off injured again after landing awkwardly while contesting a handball but Sunderland scored three good goals, were emphatic winners I'm delighted Burnley away next week on the evidence of what I've seen so far that's another three points in the bag I'm really getting ahead of myself now so brilliant positive start for Sunderland and obviously as Nicky says football in August is a lie but that was a very worrying performance from a West Ham perspective because their players just didn't even look fit
25:53Nicky Bandini:let alone bother the 2010 the last time sundland won a premier league game uh and hold on that's that can't be right 2010 was the last time sundland won a premier league game in august did i say august did i say that no all right i mean they've been through the mill but they're not that fucking amazing those times they stayed up without winning a match yeah it's a crucial bit a crucial bit to leave out wasn't it i mean that's the thing is if you haven't been in the Premier League for a while last there's just something about it be that like just wanting it like the players the fan the noise was just brilliant man yeah it looked great and it's also
26:32Lars Sivertsen:that it's just watching watching bits of this they've assembled it's kind of fun watching because of course there's been a lot of talk about Xhaka going there and as the sort of experienced guy but he's got so many young players around him you know you've got Xhaka in the middle of midfield But then on one side of him is Diyara, who's 21. On the other side is Siddiqui, who's 20. So you've got, and up front, you've got, I mean, the rig is, what, 18? Isidor is 24. And, I mean, you've got all these young guys who are just kind of zooming around, and they had a lot of energy, a lot of effort. Because West Ham kind of had the majority of possession, it allowed Sunderland to kind of counter, and they looked snappy and quick.
27:14Lars Sivertsen:Like, I think this is, you touched on it, this is a nightmare for Potter and West Ham. Like, he's immediately shot to the head of the sack race. Bit harsh, maybe, after one game. He's gotten a vote of confidence from Karen Brady. That seems alarming. And it's just kind of, you go up to Sunderland, they're playing three at the back, and the first two goals they concede are just kind of, kind of crosses that are just kind of lifted. I mean, the first one is a pretty high cross that's kind of lofted in there. And if you're playing three center halves, And one of your wingbacks is Juan Bisaka, who's built like a center half anyway.
27:48Lars Sivertsen:You should have enough beef there to deal with these sort of big lofty balls into the box. That should be the one thing that you're not worried about when you're going into that game. So conceding two goals from a service like that and then conceding the third one off your own corner. This is very worrying stuff, I have to say. As someone who is, generally speaking, Graham Potter positive, I am a Graham Potter enjoyer. I'm quite concerned by that. Barry mentioned about there being seven debutantes on the team, but all three goals scored by players who were playing with Sunderland last season, weren't they, in the championship.
28:21So something in that as well, I think, when you talk about the enthusiasm of coming up to a new league and then combine that with what Lars was saying about the youth of the team, I think there's definitely a bit of that carryover energy, it feels like, in this team's start of the season.
28:32Nicky Bandini:For that Ballard header, Guy Mobran match of the day, he said, you know, for fans with long memories, that's Nicky Somerville to Niall Quinn. I was like, oh, that makes me feel older than, you know, when a player born in 07. I don't want to be a fan of the locker room. I want that to be, as I was saying to Barry, I want that to be Dennis Stewart and Jim Baxter. You know, just sort of names that I've heard of, but I never saw play. I did predict West Ham, Burnley and Wolves to go down. So stop the season now. Burnley lost 3-0 at Tottenham. And this was, there were reasons for enthusiasm last, I think, we suppose.
29:02Nicky Bandini:We did our preview pods before the Super Cup. So I've had two Tottenham games with two very different setups against two very, I think it's fair to say PSG and Burnley are quite different. football teams they approached them differently you know with the super cup it was just like kevin danced those long throws with this they played a more attacking team and i've never seen richarlison kudos looks great i've never seen richarlison play like this even if august is a
29:26Lars Sivertsen:lie i i have seen richarlison play well before people have kind of forgotten that richarlison had a couple of good years uh playing for everton but of course being like the the recognized starting number nine for brazil for a little while there richarlison is not a terrible player like he's He's gone through a period where things haven't quite gone his way. But there's something in him. I kind of always like the aggression that he brings. And yeah, great finishes. Kudus looks like a very Tottenham player, doesn't he? As a sort of maverick who is a little bit unhinged, but is someone who can create something out of very little, good in tight spaces, very technically clever.
30:00Lars Sivertsen:And I thought it was interesting that Thomas Frank decided to start with both Archie Gray and Lukas Bergmo in the midfield there. I guess he realized this is a game where you're expecting to control possession a little bit. This is a game where you can give minutes to these very young guys. I mean, you had, again, there's been a lot of me listing ages so far in this pod. But Archie Gray is 19. Lucas Bergwald is 19. And actually, Papsar is 22. So that is a very young midfield you start with there. Again, possibly because it's Burnley and it's at home. So it's a pretty comfortable time to give those some minutes.
30:33Lars Sivertsen:But I thought Bergwald looked very good. I mean, he has this wonderful athleticism and runs really well with the ball. A lot of positives here. But it is also the caveat that it was Burnley. And it should also be said that when it was still 1-0, Spurs did seem quite insistent on letting Burnley back into the game. Like, before Spurs made it 2-0, I actually think Burnley had had the more shots in the game. Except Burnley are not very good, so they weren't able to take any of those shots. But I was a little bit worried by that. Good to see a Tottenham manager adjust to circumstances. It's good to see that tactics are now a thing that's happening.
31:07Lars Sivertsen:But this is a game you should always win, and they want it.
31:10Nicky Bandini:Yeah. We should just spend a minute, Barry, on the second Richarlison goal. I mean, it's just beautiful.
31:16Max Rushden:Yeah. I'm not sure I've got a minute in my locker for a... Go on, 10 seconds. It was a very good Kudus cross and a brilliant scissors kick. Very acrobatic and nailed it. Brian Mbwemo, I think, cried something similar from Manchester United. Wasn't able to pull it off. But yeah, an excellent goal from returns.
31:37Nicky Bandini:Bob says, can we all celebrate the enforcement of the eight-second rule? My old man is bringing a stopwatch to St. James' Park next weekend to use on the opposition only. Yes, Nicky, we got our first eight-second corner. How did you feel about it? The eight-second rule is interesting. I think the eight-second rule, and not to jump ahead to a different game this weekend, but it's one of a few rules that came to the fore this weekend where you just think, OK, but are you going to do that all season and are you going to do it consistently? because great if you want to stop keepers from having the ball and wasting time i like it i like the eight second rule i like the idea of of punishing it and giving the opposition something that isn't completely unreasonable a corner something that's valuable but it's not like giving them a penalty or something stupid um but yes do i believe that this was enforced even evenly across the whole weekend i'm not sure it was and so therefore where's the consistency gonna be and not be is the question i have no you're absolutely right and also i mean i was praying that David Rea got done after seven seconds, just for the internet
32:33Lars Sivertsen:to light up. Can I say that I actually think this is a rule that even if it's enforced inconsistently, I'm all for it. Maybe it can be one of those things. Sometimes the goalkeeper can hang on to it. Sometimes, no, no, that's a corner, and it'll just be an element of danger. At least the goalkeepers know they need to hurry up a little bit, or they risk losing the ball. I think that's fine. I think if you're going to nitpick over this insane person on the internet, then, you know, good luck to you. But I think it's still progress, even if it's not completely consistently applied.
33:05Nicky Bandini:It's made for internet videos with like four keepers in split screens with clocks underneath them, nine seconds, 12 seconds, seven seconds. It's perfect. Let's go to Molyneux. Nicky, talk to us about Tijani Rinders, right? Lots of people, this will be the first time they've seen him play. A goal, an assist, and actually even better, the opening goal, that run and the little dink to Rico Lewis. you will have seen more of him from his time at AC Milan. Will we see this every week? Well, every week is a big question again. I think there's always two parts of a story and Wolves were not good. Yeah, he's a brilliant player and he was a brilliant player last season at Milan.
33:42Definitely you would have said one of the absolute best midfielders in Serie A last season. But it was definitely kind of eye-opening seeing him playing in a good team, seeing like, oh, actually now and if you actually surround him with other good players, look what he can do and look at the freedom he's going to take. Because he looked like he was having a ball, didn't he? I mean, he really looked like he was having the absolute time of his life out there. He was clearly feeling empowered to make those runs forward, which he does so well. He's such a brilliant box-to-box player and he carries the ball so well.
34:13And he absolutely looked so, I suppose, to contrast what we were saying before about Gokker is maybe still looking like a bit of a foreign object in his Arsenal team. None of that with Reinders. And I think that's where you see the benefit of where actually he kind of joined at the end of last season, didn't he? Because he went to the Club World Cup. And when we were talking about the Club World Cup in the summer, we were saying, well, it's not really the 25, 26 season yet. It's the end of the 24, 25. And he kind of got a bonus bit of time there. And I think he clearly is looking like someone who's had that moment to get settled in, to understand teammates' movements, to know where Haaland's going to be with his runs.
34:51He is absolutely this player. he is again and I think at Milan I showed this definitely despite being on a great team a tremendous box-to-box runner who absolutely has that that vision and that anticipation I think in terms of where he puts his passes I think sometimes at Milan he was just asked to do a bit too much because they didn't have the depth of quality around him and I think seeing him be given that bit of I suppose freedom to just play the game he wants to play is what's going to bring
35:17Nicky Bandini:him on to another level again yeah it's probably a slightly unfair comparison for AC Milan but it It reminds me of Paul Merson when he said when he went to Walsall, he was playing all these brilliant passes, but just no one was running. And so he looked absolutely shite. I mean, he is riders. He's like Kevin De Bruyne, Barry, but who looks like a footballer. You know, that's what I thought. He's doing the same thing, but in a sort of graceful way.
35:38Max Rushden:Yeah, I was hugely impressed with him. He seems to glide rather than run. He's got great vision. He took his goal really well, provided it was one or if not two assists. City were clearly the standout team, I think, over the weekend, them and Sunderland. I don't think Sunderland will be challenging them for the title. A bit of a statement win from them against the Wolves team, who were okay until they went 1-0 down and then that was sort of it, lights out.
36:10Nicky Bandini:Yeah. The thing about City is not many people have predicted them to win the league. I have stopped the season now, But there are a lot of unknowns in there, aren't they, Lars?
36:22Lars Sivertsen:There are, and we didn't really see any of them tested here. I mean, my question mark is always how well this will hold up defensively because they have a lot of attack-minded players on the field there. But it certainly worked really well. Exciting to see. I mean, the Norwegian in the room here, we had four Norwegians starting in this game. We had Oscar Bob for all the money City have spent on this rebuild. Oscar Bob is starting on the first match day of the season. And Oscar Bob is such a strange... He is 22, but just because he's gone through the City Academy and he hasn't been on loan anywhere, we haven't seen him play a lot of football.
36:58Lars Sivertsen:We did see him start to break through. And it did look, you know, in the preseason for last season, it looked like he was going to be a big part of that team before he picked up that really bad injury. And Guardiola seems to really, really like him. And I thought he looked absolutely like he belonged there, having a nice assist for the first goal, but also having a couple of dribbling raids that were quite impressive. And yeah, for all the talk of signings and rebuild and all this, maybe Bob, look out for him.
37:27Nicky Bandini:Forest 3, Brentford 1. Nicky, we question on the preview pods whether Chris Wood could really do it again within five minutes. Yes. And actually, he takes both goals brilliantly. Like, this is an elite centre-forward play. Yeah, no, Chris Wood, what more do people want as evidence that he's a top level centre forward. I mean, there's always levels and levels, right? You don't have to sit there and say, oh, and therefore he's Erling Haaland. But he scores goals in the Premier League consistently and because he's got the technique and the timing to do that, he doesn't do it by accident. I have to admit that I was drawn a bit in this one in what felt like one of those weird weekends which you get sometimes at the start of the season and you're like, which league am I watching again?
38:11because of course we've just been talking about Rinders but Dan and Doy who last season was great for Bologna as well really a bit of a weird I don't know why I obviously knew that he'd gone there but it felt like a bit of a shock seeing him there playing for Forrest and scoring as well so really fascinated to see how he pans out because he was definitely a big part of Bologna well he scored he literally scored the goal that won them their first trophy in half a century in the Cup final the Coppa Italia final back in May I guess it was but he was kind of forced to play all over the attack at Bologna because really where he wants to play on the right-hand side, you had Ricciardo Orsolini, and so getting to see him immediately starting on the right for Forest, I think that is his best home, and I think he's got that, a bit like I was saying with Chiesa before, that directness and ability to just run inside of people, and I think he's going to be really interesting to watch.
39:01So yeah, Chris Wood, still Chris Wood, but I'm also interested to see how Dan and Doy Pans out there.
39:05Nicky Bandini:Yeah, Elliot Anderson passed for Wood's second, and that was, you know, that slide rule, That's what Slide Rule is. That's what I'm trying to say, Barry. It was really great. I wanted to ask you actually more about Morgan Gibbs-White because they did really well to keep him and he seems to be having a good time.
39:25Max Rushden:Yeah, he was as good, I think, as I've ever seen him play. He almost capped a splendid performance with a brilliant goal, but he put it over the bar. He was everywhere. He looked incredibly enthusiastic. That was a slight concern of mine after seeing the interview where he signed his new and improved deal and was standing beside Evangelist Maranakis.
39:53Nicky Bandini:Were you surprised Maranakis wasn't just next to him on the pitch at all times? I'm not saying he'd keep up.
39:58Max Rushden:I think Maranakis would have struggled to keep up with him. He might have sent one of his protection detail out to follow him around. I'd imagine those lads are fairly fit. Yeah, it was a brilliant performance and very much put to bed my minor concerns that Gibbs White might be playing under duress.
40:20Nicky Bandini:Josh says, please don't talk about Brentford. We're still trying to figure it out. You know, a bit like the opening for West Ham. It's a tough start for them. Forest away is a difficult game. Yes.
40:31Max Rushden:I think Forest caught Brentford on the hop because it wasn't the Forest we're used to seeing. They were very front foot, aggressive. They weren't sitting back playing on the counter. And I just think Brentford weren't ready for it, weren't expecting that and didn't know how to deal with it. But they gave a better account of themselves in the second half after being totally blitzed in the first.
40:55Lars Sivertsen:Yes, but also the goals they concede are so disappointing if you're Brentford. Like conceding first from a set piece shouldn't happen or it can happen obviously. but if you're Brentford that's like one of the things you can control one of the things you can work on. Second again it's a cross into the box, it's a really good cross by Gibbs White but it's not the kind of thing that should really happen and the third is like a daft giveaway that again you can't be doing that and it just reminds me again the thing that Thomas Frank would say when he was coach for Brentford is that for a team like Brentford to survive in the Premier League it's all about you know winning your duels, running like demons and winning your set piece battle, that's just kind of the three basics that you have to do in every game.
41:35Lars Sivertsen:And I didn't think they really did those things in this game. And that worries me a little bit.
41:40Nicky Bandini:Yeah, they've completed a club record deal of up to 42.5 million for Dango Wattara from Bournemouth. Forest have also brought in Amari Hutchinson and James McAtee on five-year contracts. They're both good players, aren't they? Anyway, that'll do for part two. Part three will begin at Stamford Bridge.
42:02Nicky Bandini:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. Chelsea nil, Palace nil. So not a modern day classic. I think interesting that Eze and Gaye both started for Palace. And you alluded to this, Nicky, the goal that was disallowed. And I guess Gaye was too close to the wall when the ball is struck brilliantly by Eze. So it's the right decision, but I don't like it. I don't like that. I think find a way of making that a goal, I think. Well, I think this just goes back to exactly what I was saying before, because within minutes of this happening, I'm seeing, maybe it wasn't even minutes, maybe it was seconds, I'm seeing on social media, someone's found a Chelsea free kick that they've scored in the last couple of years that exactly the same thing happens.
42:47and it's a rule that was introduced in 2019. And so clearly it hasn't been being consistently applied over the last six years. And maybe we don't apply any of these rules consistently and maybe that's part of why we all keep coming back and watching this silly game is because we like to have these arguments about why one team got one thing and the other one got the other thing. But it certainly, as a spectacle, feels sad when you see a great goal and then you have to imagine it never happened. And I think certainly the thing that everyone was pointing out for poor Eze is he did exactly the same thing on the first day of last season, different reason for it being disallowed.
43:20In fact, the whistle that time went as he was, basically as he was striking it. But last season, he opened the season with an even better free kick off the inside of the post and that got disallowed. And then this happens. The rule's the rule. I'm not here to argue that the referee shouldn't apply the rules. Aside from this, wasn't especially, I think that's part of why it feels like it's a little bit sadder is the game wasn't especially sparkling. and so you've got the one sparkling moment at the game that really made you jump out of your seat doesn't actually count but again the rule's the rule if they want to apply it they're going to apply it
43:53Nicky Bandini:Darren England I wonder if all refs have that voice I've got a sense they probably all do unless it's like a tape recording I do think at the end of the season Barry maybe we'll do a blind voice like the voice we'll sit on big red chairs and then you'll just hear one ref going I've disallowed the goal offside and then I mean they don't all sound like that and then you press your button if you know it is and you spin around and you announce, I think that is Peter Banks. But the interesting thing is on Eze, right? Is that his last game? We don't know. Like Glasner seemed to say afterwards, maybe he'll play in the European Conference League qualifier they've got on Thursday.
44:28Nicky Bandini:The ovation, then you're reading into things, right? His ovation to the fans when he was taken off looked quite final. Mark Gay ignored Glasner. Mystic Baz, Bastradamus. What's going to happen to those two this week?
44:39Max Rushden:It looks like Eze is going to go to Spurs. I think Christopoulos have always given the impression that they'd be open to selling gay and I don't know what's going to happen is the answer I mean Palace are now I think they haven't lost any of their last 10 games and I thought they were the better team yesterday I have to say I don't think Henderson he had to make one save I think now I I'm only so highlighted this game because I watched Forrest Brentford as far as I can tell Henderson only made one save which was a delapsed shot straight at him and And a couple of Chelsea players ballooned over the bar when they should have hit the target.
45:18Max Rushden:But I thought Palace were the better team. Another great performance from Adam Wharton. I hope he stays there. If they lost Wharton, Esle and Gay, I don't care how good Glasner is, it's going to be hard to...
45:31Nicky Bandini:Yeah, and to lose them so late with the window closing in 12 days. A stat from Colin Miller saying their last 10 games have included Arsenal away, Liverpool away, Chelsea away, Spurs away, a semi-final versus Villa, a final versus Man City, Community Shield versus Liverpool. They're unbeaten in all those 10 games and won two trophies. And actually, I thought their starting XI looked more balanced than Chelsea's. They had a very young centre-back Chelsea. I think Maresca wants a centre-back, but, you know, I think Todd Bowley only wants to sign strikers. I had fun tweeting, maybe Chelsea should sign some attackers.
46:00Nicky Bandini:Lol, just to see what the internet would do with that. They weren't happy. What did you make of it from a Chelsea point of view? I was just going to say in terms of who played the better game, Chelsea had way more of the ball, but it kind of depends how you define a better game. I thought Palace's defending was really exceptional. That was the thing. They let Chelsea have the ball. And this was picked up really well as well. Actually, on Sunday, Saturday, Sunday, I've lost all sense of time. They were constantly pressing in twos. They were letting two men shut the ball down every time and cutting down angles for their Chelsea players to go anywhere with it.
46:34So Chelsea had a lot of the ball, but they didn't do a lot with it. And I think that's a bit of, there's two sides there, and that one is were Chelsea creative enough but the other one is yes Palace's defending was really really impressive as it was last season
46:47Nicky Bandini:Yeah I mean I like Esteval for Chelsea Lars but you know if you are a Chelsea fan you've spent all this money and all these players going forward and you don't score home to Palace you're a bit sad walking out of Stamford Bridge I think
46:58Lars Sivertsen:Yeah and I didn't think there was a bit of a lack of a spark there now maybe that is easily explained by what Nicky just explained that Palace were defending really diligently and that's true But I'm just expecting that in a game where Chelsea have as much control as they do and they have as much possession, they're at home, Palace aren't really threatening a lot. You'd think that would be like prime Cole Palmer territory to do something fancy. Or if not, Cole Palmer, one of the other bazillion attackers they brought in. You know, Neto was there and played football. Estevão came on, he's very young, but of course he showed a couple of moments of something.
47:32Lars Sivertsen:I was kind of expecting something from this very, very expensively assembled group that some people are arguing could be title challengers this season. Again, against the tough nut to crack. I just thought it was just a little bit not great. So that's very unsighted. Not great punditry, perhaps. But it felt a little flat. Maybe we can start making excuses for them. They've not had a lot of time off this summer. Maybe this was a team that could have done with another week of holiday, possibly. But everything was just kind of there for them. This was a home game. A lot of control. time for the fancy players to do the fancy things and no one really did the fancy things
48:10Nicky Bandini:let's go to the amex brighton one full and one you predicted brighton to be fourth barry you said they left a lot of points on the table last season and they did again yes two points dropped
48:21Max Rushden:very much so uh they should have won this game and they didn't and that's brighton for you they left 22 points out there last season and they've already left two out there this season throwing away leads is something they do against and look teams throw away leads but you should be able to close out a game like this against Fulham at home and they couldn't do it they missed a good chance to go two up before Fulham nicked their late equaliser but I wouldn't worry too much yet. Fulham had two penalty shouts in this game, I will say that. One of them was, I think, definitely a penalty where Josh King had the back of his heel kicked by Ayari and the ref didn't spot it and VAR didn't see fit to overturn it.
49:21Max Rushden:Marco Silva was very unhappy about those. But Brighton had the pick of the chances. they went 1-0 up through the penalty after Sandeberg brought down Jorginho Reuter. Brighton will see that as two points dropped I think.
49:36Nicky Bandini:Yeah I think so. Marco Silva did celebrate like Tardelli when the equaliser went in. James Milner has played in 17 opening games. He came off the bench. Frank Lampard the only player ahead of him with 18. I saw somewhere that he was the only person born in the 80s who played in the Premier League at the weekend. And finally, Villa nil, Newcastle nil. No Alexander-Izac in the squad, Lars. Felt like a game Newcastle might have won if they'd had Alexander-Izac playing.
50:03Lars Sivertsen:Yeah, if they had a centre-forward. I mean, it was such a weird game because Newcastle obviously had the better of it and were the better team even before the sending off. Newcastle very, very comprehensively won the midfield battle, I thought. Newcastle's midfield is very, very good and Villa were struggling to get a passing game going. They were struggling to find any kind of rhythm. in this but when Newcastle did attack they just wasn't like Anthony Gordon's not a bad player but he's not a center forward especially when you're like kind of pushing and you get into crossing positions and all this sort of stuff you can't really launch it into Gordon in the mixer that's not really what you want right and also by playing him in the middle you're taking away the creativity that he brings when he's down the flanks so so that just didn't I mean that didn't seem to work for me and they it does bring a hammer home the the reality that they do need to resolve the situation and actually did i think they need to sign the center forward even if is is staying right because they do need a backup and and osula is probably not it they need to sign one forward they probably need to sign two if is is gonna go eventually and i think that was the big thing this this game was missing a little bit worried about villa okay newcastle are a good and they had a sending off after about 65 minutes thereabouts.
51:19Lars Sivertsen:But they had three shots over 90 minutes at home on the opening of the season. That's not very good.
51:24Nicky Bandini:Nicky, how should the EZAC situation be resolved if you were in charge of all of the pieces in the jigsaw? I mean, this is a terribly unfair question to ask, Max, because as a fan of a team in the title race, I really would just love him to be anywhere not involved in the title race. I mean, I don't know. it's a horrible situation is it for Newcastle you know how good this player is you don't want to let him go somewhere that is going to harm you as a rival at the same time this is the reality of the Premier League the Premier League is where all the money is where else is he going to go there's not somewhere else that you can you can see him off to so I don't honestly know Max what the happy resolution is to all of this in the end and I also don't know that there's an amount of money that makes it alright when your owners are rich beyond imagining anyway so I suppose for PSR reasons, it's good to bring in a good amount of money.
52:16But probably the happiest outcome for Newcastle is somehow persuading Isaac that he doesn't want to be in the Premier League. He wants to go off to Saudi. But the more realistic answer is probably that, I mean, it's hard to give you an answer that isn't Liverpool, isn't it?
52:33Nicky Bandini:Sure, sure. I like the idea that the exclusive is that Nicky wants him to rot in the reserve and never play football again. Which is clearly not true, by the way, because he's a great footballer and he deserves to be thriving at a good club. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting to see how he, you know, who advises you and what you decide to do because obviously Eze and Gay take a risk by playing and getting a big injury which could, you know, make a huge impact on their future earnings and their career but they still both played and Isaac isn't. Leeds play Everton tonight. We'll cover that on tomorrow's pod.
53:03Nicky Bandini:Sid also joining us to find out how he's getting on. Some good news from Morecambe FC. The National League's approved the takeover by Panjab Warriors suspension on the club will be lifted upon receipt of the sale and purchase agreement. Transfer embargo will remain until player staff, creditors and the HMRC have been paid. The season's yet to begin. Three of their fixtures are already postponed at the start of the season. So quite a lot of work to do. A lot of people messaged me in annoyance because Cambridge's failure to beat Harrogate at home cost them their ACKers. I don't play for them. I'm not the manager.
53:38Nicky Bandini:I'm not assistant coach of Cambridge United. but if it makes you feel better, they really should have won. Battered Harrogate for the first half. That really isn't going to make them feel better. No. And a lot of feedback on the preview pods. Many comments. Not many happy Everton fans with you, Barry.
53:57Max Rushden:Yeah, I think Everton fans need to learn that just because I think Everton might finish 19th, that doesn't mean Everton will finish 19th. We'll see. We'll see, yeah. But I do fervently hope after all the abuse I've got that they get absolutely walloped by Leeds tonight.
54:13Nicky Bandini:Well, once again, that will make them feel better. Arsenal fans a bit annoyed with us as well. But the most annoyed people were Simpsons fans. I believe, Barry, it was your fault for mistakenly saying the Monorail guy in the Simpsons built a Monorail in Shelbyville, unless Johnny Luz said it. As has been pointed out thousands of times, he helped put Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook on the map. but no mention of Shelbyville and the monorail there anyway that'll do for today thanks everybody thanks Lars thank you Max thank you Nicky thanks cheers Baz thank you Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove our executive producer is Danielle Stephens
54:56Max Rushden:this is The Guardian