Arsenal turn another corner in title race and Spurs lack ‘everything’: Football Weekly

15:37Max Rushden:Leeds did have chances in the second half. and I think Leeds had a half-decent shout for a penalty as well for a Matthias Nunes handball that wasn't given, and at the end of the match we saw very uncharacteristically chippy Daniel Fark get red-carded for having the audacity to approach refereeing Peter Banks at the final whistle, looking mildly annoyed.

16:04Barry Glendenning:Like angry Farker.

16:06Max Rushden:I don't think I've ever seen a red card brandished in a more contemptuous and arrogant fashion as that one by Mr. Banks.

16:15Barry Glendenning:Yeah. He was sort of looking, it wasn't even looking him in the eye. A no-look red card. Red card. Yeah, angry Farka is a new type of Farka. So, I mean, Man City are five points behind Arsenal. They've got a game in hand. They've still got to play each other as well, Barney. And you've got that Carabao Cup final, which some people say whoever wins that will definitely go on and win the league. I don't know if that necessarily follows, but it does add to the story that you don't want to know the end of.

16:38Barney Ronay:Because of the sort of psychodrama that is either happening or we're projecting onto the fact that lots of teams are very good and, you know, that's why teams drop points. I don't know which one it is, but I like both of them. That final does feel relevant because a lot of this is about can Arsenal continue to win? I mean, it's really important. And they're obviously good enough to do that. if you look they've got nine games left um i would say three of them are on paper the trickier ones city brighton away newcastle home just because of previous results against newcastle i'm not being disrespectful to the other teams i'm just looking at the table and who's been playing the champions

17:14Barry Glendenning:league recently brian away's this wednesday yeah that's a really big game but you would expect

17:19Barney Ronay:arsenal to be able to win those games on the other hand the games where they drop points have been you know wolves um although wolves are a pretty good team these days and it does feel a lot of it is to do with um with that sort of psychological fear angle and the interesting thing with city i think the the best thing they've got at the moment is that they're really enjoying it looks happy pep's got a really good jacket he's sorted out his he's really sorry there's look it looks good it's not like business shoes tracksuit bottoms hoodie anymore it's he's got a really good jacket he's smiling anton simenio's playing the guitar well philippe's i don't know what he was he's playing chords wasn't he yes playing chords i had that sort of you could like george it was more George Foreman style.

17:58Barry Glendenning:George Foreman B.

17:59Barney Ronay:Yeah, George Foreman style.

18:01Philippe Auclair:Trying with boxing gloves is really easy. I wondered if it was a mock. For the barres.

18:04Barney Ronay:Was it a mocking Oasis reference? Because he was blandly strunging three chords.

18:08Philippe Auclair:Oh, in which case he's gone up in my estimation even more.

18:10Barney Ronay:Yeah, I don't know what was happening there, but it looked fun and I liked it. And I thought, yeah, you're not afraid. You actually are on the fun bus. You know what a fun bus is. You know what fun is. It's not just a phrase. And I think it's a tactic. I think Pepper sat down, crunched the numbers, and he's decided that fun is important and it's going to be factored into the, it's what they have that Arsenal don't seem to have at the moment.

18:32Philippe Auclair:One thing I was, I did my own little research for this. That's why I've got my notepad with me. Because people think, I mean, like Arsenal have got an experience of losing the league, right? It's happened quite a few times over the recent years. So there's that, which is feeding the fear. And on the other hand, people say, oh, Manchester City have the experience of winning it. In fact, I thought, actually of these players, how many have won the league? Hardly any. Really? Yeah. Because if you look at the team that was at Leeds, those players, I mean, O 'Reilly, the first season, 24-25, Semeno, 25-26, Gay, 25-26, Aitnuri, 25-26, Marmouche, 24-25, arriving in January, Donnarumma, 25-26, Cherokee, 25-26.

19:20Philippe Auclair:these are actually players who have just joined

19:24Barry Glendenning:but do you think you just

19:26Philippe Auclair:imbibe the feel from being from the manager certainly

19:30Barney Ronay:yeah a certain Pep Guardiola yeah

19:33Philippe Auclair:from the manager

19:34Barney Ronay:the winningest man in winging

19:36Philippe Auclair:but I would also say it's a very young team and therefore there's a certain fearlessness that you would associate with a young team and the fact that actually they haven't been in this kind of situation before and in a way chasing is easier when you're in this situation and because they really didn't have everything their own way at all. They don't look, you know, like the big Pep Guardiola size, which could go on winning 15 games on the trot. They don't look like that. They look like they could lose. And, you know, if Calvert-Lewin, you said one chance, you had three. And some of them more difficult than others, but you had many chances.

20:13Barry Glendenning:Yeah, Pep's called on football supporters to respect religion and diversity after some fans booed a brief stoppage in play at Ellen Road to allow Muslim players to break their Ramadan fast. He said, you see what's happening in the world today. Respect religion, diversity. That's the point. The Premier League says you can have one or two minutes. You can have for the fasting players to break their fast. We took on a little bit of vitamins because Ray and Cherky ran at Norrie did not eat today. No more than that. The question is, can they do it or not? What's the problem? Kick it out said it's massively disappointing.

20:45Barry Glendenning:Some Leeds fans jeered. when the City players broke their fast during the first half. This was compounded by the fact an explanation was displayed on a big screen inside the stadium. Pausing the game to allow Muslim players to break their fast has been an agreed protocol for several years. It's an important, visible part of making the game welcoming for Muslim players and communities. Nick got in touch to say, I expect the Leeds booing might get a mention, and rightly so. Can I just point out how small the big screen at Ellen Road is, though? It was stupid to expect a written message on there to be enough for everyone to know what was going on.

21:15Barry Glendenning:some would have booed anyway uh of course but they just made it worse i guess that's the point barry isn't it that we know religious intolerance exists and that is shameful but it's possible that some leeds fans didn't know what was happening and we're just booing a stoppage yeah i've seen

21:32Max Rushden:on social media some leeds fans say they were booing because they thought their team was on top at the time and Pep used this break to have one of his tactical discussions on the sideline with his players gathered around him. Others said, were saying openly that yes, we were booing the fact that these Muslim players are allowed to interrupt the game to take refreshments on board and I'd say quite a sizable proportion were just booing because other people were booing and they didn't really know why um i have no problem with the game being interrupted for uh so players can break their fast um i guess other opinions are available but certainly there are more worse things in football that annoy longer than that yeah yeah i mean i think respect is the right

22:29Barney Ronay:word i mean it's it's not a referendum on whether you believe in certain deities it's just respect for somebody having a drink. And it's also, this is their job. In jobs all over the country and the world, people will stop at this moment to break their fast. And do you want to see players able to play and concentrate properly?

22:52Barry Glendenning:I'd rather they faint. I'm going to boo and I'd rather they faint.

22:56Barney Ronay:I really don't want to believe that anyone was actually booing this because they were booing a religion. And it is football, and I do respect people's right I did just shout things. But it was very disrespectful, and let's not get into that.

23:10Philippe Auclair:We mentioned what happened in France this weekend, because in France, as you know, laïcité is very important. So all displays of religious faith in the public sphere, that is not the private sphere, obviously, but the public sphere, are prohibited. And because of that, in France, you cannot have breaks for players breaking their fast. And what happened, it's the game Lyon against Nantes, and the keeper from Lyon, Anthony Lopez, the Portuguese keeper, feigned injury during the game so that his Muslim teammates could actually have a drink and some protein, which hasn't been taken very well in some parts.

24:01Philippe Auclair:So you have a completely different culture. It's actually fascinating. But the fact that a keeper felt compelled to feign injury, I'm sure it was pre-agreed with his teammates.

24:11Barney Ronay:And it's supporting his mates, right?

24:12Philippe Auclair:Yeah.

24:13Barney Ronay:I mean, as a serious point, we do have a problem in football, which is very integrated in lots of ways with representation of South Asian population in the UK. And if doing this makes five kids think, oh, that looks good, I might be welcome there too, what's the problem? Like, only connect. It doesn't hurt anyone. It's just saying it's fine. And surely everybody wants people to integrate with each other. Like, this is just a tiny little thing that helps. I'm sure everyone knows. I would say it's a... I mean, I may have been having a... You've been on a journey. I already have. Max, you've been in Australia.

24:50Barney Ronay:You've been in Australia for too long, Max.

24:52Barry Glendenning:Everyone loves each other here, do they now? Yeah, yeah. I missed that. Anyway, yeah, you're absolutely right. And that'll do for part one. Part two, we'll begin in Burnley.

25:03Max Rushden:Scotland has natural beauty in abundance, but beyond the stunning landscapes, it's a fertile ground to build, grow and succeed, filled with people who are ready to push boundaries in the pursuit of breakthrough ideas. That's why today, Scotland is a dynamic hub of opportunity across growth sectors, from clean energy and life sciences to digital technology and space innovation. Scotland, for the head, heart and the spirit. Discover more at theguardian.com forward slash brand Scotland. This message was paid for by Brand Scotland.

26:00Barry Glendenning:Barns' left arm is the thing we stare at for hours and hours. And it gets grainier and grainier as you get closer in to the point where you're not sure it's actually an arm. But you know it belongs to Ashley Barns.

26:10Max Rushden:For most of this season, I wasn't even aware that Ashley Barron was still at Burnley or even playing football. And now you know. And now I feel I've seen far more of Ashley Barron's than I ever need to. I've had my quota of Ashley Barron's for a lifetime. I think the important thing it got to the stage where I just didn't care whether the ball had hit his arm or not and I'm still not sure whether it did or not, it probably did but if it takes VAR five minutes to It's taken you two days and you're still not sure If it's taken VAR five minutes to figure it out, probably give him the benefit of the doubt Who wants this though?

26:54Max Rushden:Who wants this? Lots of people want it This is the game people wanted. Do you not care about rules, Max?

27:01Barney Ronay:Do rules mean nothing? Can I trust you if this is your attitude to rules?

27:04Max Rushden:What I find interesting is that some of the most high-profile journalist broadcasters who were demanding VAR, however many years ago it was introduced, are now among its most vocal critics.

27:17Barney Ronay:Name names, Barry. Name names. Don't talk in the abstract.

27:23Max Rushden:But when they're now criticising it, they never hark back you know it's okay to change your mind but at least let everyone know you know i i really wanted this six years ago now i hate it i do think they should um provide that sort of

27:41Barry Glendenning:well i don't know i don't know what your journey's been philip mine was my journey's been i'm not sure i'll see how it goes i'm indifferent i definitely don't want it that's my being honest being trustworthy. Yeah, it's absolutely

27:53Philippe Auclair:fine to have no opinion. That's the thing, you don't have to have an opinion. I've got one now. You have one now? Okay, good. I'm not too sure myself, and I think it's got to do more with the laws themselves and the interpretation of the laws than with the actual varying. So there we go down this maze, this moral maze and legal maze. My first reaction, what I hate is the interruption that's what I hate more than anything you have to by the way salute the equanimity of Scott Parker after the game when he was asked about that because he could have used that as a means to well like Sean Dutch would have done for example to say well you know the reason why we in the end we didn't take any points is because of this ridiculous interpretation but he said no offside is offside handball is handball which I thought was remarkably fairly fair-minded of him.

28:51Barry Glendenning:In the spirit, I don't want either of those goals to be disallowed, Barney. No.

28:55Philippe Auclair:The first one's ridiculous.

28:56Barney Ronay:The first one's absurd. I mean, there's no advantage in there. His shoulder is offside. If you can't see it with the eye, that means that there's no advantage. Just because you can find a part of your body which is ridiculous. That was a really brave... You could have scored his shoulder

29:13Philippe Auclair:from 20 yards out.

29:15Barney Ronay:Yeah, well, maybe. But it was a brave, invented, creative moment of football in a game that's increasingly, you know, very tight and difficult. And it was really, it's a kind of ideological view that you're going to say, I'm going to disallow that. It's not, you can't just say, well, these are the rules, live by the rules. You're taking a view that this is the way we're going to do it. And it's creeping, you know, there are going to be more. VAR is getting bigger. There's a meeting at the moment, isn't there, of IFAB. They want to VAR attacking corners. If it's an attacking team, you can re-VAR that.

29:48Barry Glendenning:second yellow cards what happens in the meeting that closes the door again i think bar's going

29:51Barney Ronay:well guys let's have some more i mean i am i i was always i was really anti it to begin with and then i tried to kind of get on board because some people who i i listened to people i respected was like no no this is this could be good this is good and they're i mean i'm completely luddite on it now and can i just say the luddites are misrepresented the idea is that you hated technology we don't want technology actually the luddites were resisting mechanization that reduced the quality of the product and lost kind of artisanal skills that men with man buns and tattoos are currently trying to reinsert into our society everywhere um to correct this so the Luddites actually had a point they were saying what we do is really good if you introduce these machines it will be of a lower quality but there'll be more of it um and so I'm I'm very Luddite on on but I don't know how you put it back in the box I disagree with Philippe in one sense that I think part of the problem is the people who are administrating it it's the same people I mean you you just have a larger kind of canvas for your incompetence and and the the way it's structured the way that they feel they're being i'm very sympathetic to them as well because referees feel they're being constant well they are being constantly judged but they're being judged from everywhere from outside from within and that's why we have these ludicrous sorry i probably

31:05Philippe Auclair:misrepresented what you said that's not the referees i had in mind it's the law setters which is completely different the referees have to do their job and if they don't do their job properly they lose their job so they they're in i don't think they do their job very well um but

31:16Barry Glendenning:i fab i haven't it's you know infantino and i'm not i mean i have a problem with him but you know uh calina and ellery in that you know whatever castle they're in saying handball is going about

31:28Philippe Auclair:is var so if you to pursue the luddite argument is is var basically to football what ai is to

31:36Barney Ronay:academic research uh well yeah i guess so i mean ai is another another topic isn't it yeah i know

31:43Philippe Auclair:but it's it's it's a case of a technology going mad and not actually offering what it's supposed to offer yeah and people defending it no but i think ai is something that will it's a product we're being sort of sold it's essentially a google search ai var is on the way there's absolutely no doubt about that just one thing about this game because you were mentioning the one moment of imagination there's one player i thought who shone in in that game and it's not the first time i've seen him do very very well indeed for burnley it's hannibal yeah yeah he's really good he looks really really wonderful some of his passing was just absolutely exquisite when he's

32:20Barney Ronay:involved in two of the goals he's really aggressive and fearless i you know he's great he actually is now playing in a way that entirely justifies his hair yeah and then his name being named after

32:30Barry Glendenning:being called Hannibal of the A-team, of course. Brentford are seventh. Keith Andrews just signed a new contract. Stay there, Keith. Look at what's happened to all the Brentford managers who've moved on. Liverpool beat West Ham 5-2, won six of the last seven. They're in a good run. Was this not a very exciting 5-2? You know, you see 5-2, Barry, and you think, what a great game. But I sort of watched it thinking, I'm not sure how good this was.

32:55Max Rushden:Well, we are obliged, of course, to point out that Liverpool did score three goals from corners their first three goals were from corners which I think it made seven goals in a row that scored from set pieces seven from nine yeah so we have to say that or our fans will get upset West Ham played well but still got hammered so that's I suppose their XG was better than Liverpool's but if you are conceding three goals from corners then you are not going it's very unlikely that you're going to get it anything from the game. And while they did create several good chances, they didn't score enough of them.

33:37Max Rushden:And yeah, I'd agree. It probably wasn't a very good 5-2.

33:41Barney Ronay:I think what you were groping for there, Max.

33:44Max Rushden:Yes.

33:45Barry Glendenning:Figuratively. Please.

33:46Barney Ronay:Was it felt like a game that happened in May, the end of May, that you never remember. A 5-2 at the end of the season. Andy Carroll scored an overhead kick. Someone's been sent off. No one will remember it next season. And it was really strange. It felt like everything was slightly collapsing around it.

34:03Barry Glendenning:Yeah. For West Ham, I mean, I'm looking at this from a very Spurs lens. And they have a tricky run. This is part of their tricky run, Philippe. They go to Fulham, then City at home, then Villa away. Okay, Villa have fallen off a cliff, haven't they, actually? But tell me they'll get no points, is what I'm saying. Okay, they'll get no points. Perfect. Thank you.

34:23Barney Ronay:West Ham playing quite well, Max. They are. Be worried, be worried. I think this was a blip. Jacob is confident I'm just going to say that

34:29Philippe Auclair:No I mean look And from that game I will add one thing Which is That was another demonstration Of how good Hugo Ekitike is Oh yeah And the fact And in France This is not going unnoticed And that There are more and more people Thinking He should actually Be obviously On the plane But not just that He should actually start For France And where would he Down the middle Down the middle With Bappe Going back to the left hand side And if he's fit Because you know He's got some serious Problems Fitness problems At the moment With his knee who's on the right in that oh but you've got Dembele you can put on the right ever heard of him a certain

35:03Barney Ronay:Ousmane Dembele yeah

35:05Philippe Auclair:Desiree Dway can play on both rubbish

35:07Barney Ronay:yeah

35:09Philippe Auclair:Bacola as well rubbish it's kind of good isn't it it's not too bad but the first goal was just

35:14Barney Ronay:his balance is incredible he's a really intelligent player as well I like him

35:19Barry Glendenning:at Newcastle 2 Everton 3 we should start Philippe with that save from Pickford oh god it is unbelievable it's the moment of all I think it might be the greatest bit of football of the weekend. Just the moment where I was like, some people were saying it was actually sort of just a sort of normal save. It's an unbelievable save.

35:35Philippe Auclair:It's the pace of the ball. I mean, you would have expected the hand to fly off, at least the glove to fly and the ball to go in. It was incredible. And Pickford certainly made sure that we all noticed it was incredible. He did three separate movements, didn't he?

35:50Barney Ronay:He embodied three emojis all at once.

35:53Philippe Auclair:The reason why it is maybe the most memorable moment is also because the strike is absolutely phenomenal. It's just beautiful. It's the kind of clean strike with the ball staying almost still and invade with such power. So it's the... And it mattered, right?

36:08Barry Glendenning:It was 3-2 at the time, wasn't it? Yeah. Oh, yeah, it was right at the end. And also, obviously,

36:13Barney Ronay:the thing with the celebration was that he'd been being told he was a Sunderland, whatever, by the fans behind the goal. The fact he was so in that moment was really fun. He really is one of those people who's just out there, like he's just engaging with every moment. He's such a good goalkeeper. I really hope he stays at Everton forever, by the way, because it's really great that a player that good stays at a club.

36:35Barry Glendenning:A nice juxtaposition from that moment of skill, Barry, to Barry's winner. You know, and many people getting in touch to say, you know, if you just need one to go in off your arse, it's great when a goal actually goes in off your arse.

36:46Max Rushden:Yeah, and I think he was shoved in the build-up, wasn't he? So that, it wasn't actually his fault it went in off his backside. I mean, Everton are crying out for a decent striker and if they had one, I mean, they must look at Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Leeds and go, hmm, maybe we should have offered him a new deal. But I'm not sure he'd be that much of an upgrade on what they have at the moment. But Everton are doing really well. I mean, we all know I predicted they'd get relegated. They could qualify for Europe. and Newcastle are a bit of a mess on the domestic front at least. I think when the Saudis took over, Newcastle fans had very high hopes and expectations and I suspect they didn't expect to be behind Sunderland in the Premier League table because Sunderland were a League One side at the time.

37:37Barry Glendenning:Tiano Barry now the top scoring Barry in Everton history. Gareth Barry, he has six. Gareth Barry, five. Barry Horne, three. And Barry Rees, two. So well done to him.

37:46Philippe Auclair:Lewis will get an assist for what he did because if he doesn't push Barry, the ball needs not score.

37:51Barry Glendenning:Actually, I think Tonali pushes Brunthwaite before his header for the goal as well. So that's two assists for Newcastle players. Lee says, what makes everyone think Spurs have too much to go down? Increasingly, I don't think everyone thinks that, Lee. As Spurs fan, we are the worst team in the league and are going down. I mean, they picked up a bit in the second half, but honestly, the apathy. Igor Tudor said, we were not good. We lacked everything.

38:14Barney Ronay:Yes, everything. Everything. But, I mean, they are, they're just, like, they haven't got any feet left. The feet have been shot off completely. They're running on stumps. And those stumps are being shot off as well. They're being shot down to the knee. Like, how much more shooting off can they do? Appointing... Sounds a bit like Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Well, appointing Igor Tudor on this, what everybody knows is a temporary contract, and expecting disenfranchised players who have already sort of disrespected one manager out of a job to take this seriously is insane he's making them just do sort of john beck type army camps well yeah i know i was talking to someone who who works for spurs who told me that well this is just hearsay but he's got like players are doing press-ups he got them doing press-ups like what what what's press-ups going to do is that really going to motivate this to be

39:07Barry Glendenning:fair they you know everyone near calvin bassey needed to do some more yeah calvin bassey is

39:12Barney Ronay:immense but i tell my teenage sons to do press-ups so the press-ups are good but i don't know that they also don't listen to me and they're not on uh 300 000 pounds a week but he um he's already distancing himself from the team he's already thinking what's my legacy here i need to say that these players are weak rubbish and it's not my fault but it's you've already two days in got this guy cutting the parachute cords and whatever the correct metaphor is and and leaping out of the back of the of the open cargo plane like tom cruise like it's um which tom is basically always doing isn't one of those things um it's it's a terrible terrible piece of mismanagement i still think that they'll get that's what everyone's saying no no i know that it's now become a thing to say oh you're saying they're gonna go but i think i'm now going the other way and saying well actually there is a reason for that that someone you know someone will score

40:03Barry Glendenning:a goal somewhere but who uh there's no creativity at all they can't pass it to each other yes but

40:10Barney Ronay:Burnley are probably going to go down as well. So it's three teams, isn't it? And probably West Ham four points behind her. Someone will rescue Spurs. I think it's a great story for Spurs to get relegated. It's probably the only interesting thing that could happen to Spurs at this stage because it's an amazing piece of narrative that you build that stadium and get...

40:30Barry Glendenning:And they'll be so bad in the championship. They'll be so bad in it.

40:33Barney Ronay:Win a trophy, get into the Champions League and get relegated. It's an incredible story arc. In a way, Spurs fans would kind of love it. And it's like a paring back. At some point, you will think, why not? You know, we're still going to exist. There'll still be a Tottenham Hotspur. I don't really like the way this thing is, so burn it all down and see where the cards land. I kind of, in a way, a part of me quite likes that, kind of just get rid of it all. It's like a post-globalist view of, you'll still have a club. There'll still be a Spurs. It's fine. Rebuild.

41:01Barry Glendenning:Could be the best Arsenal season ever, couldn't it?

41:03Philippe Auclair:Yeah. Shadon Freude is not my game. No.

41:07Barry Glendenning:Okay.

41:07Philippe Auclair:He said with a smile. A little bit.

41:09Max Rushden:It's a tiny bit of your game. I think Tudor's been hugely unimpressive so far. He's come in, he's done the usual thing of slagging off, well, tacitly slagging off the previous head coach by criticising his players' lack of fitness. Yesterday he was blaming the referee.

41:31Max Rushden:He's overseen two games. Spurs lost them both. They should have lost by a lot more yesterday, That 2-1 scoreline flattered them immensely. Yeah, he's tried two different formations. Neither of them worked. And the players very much look like they think a relegation battle is beneath them. And that would be my main concern. I think they'll probably be okay just because West Ham and Forrest are slightly worse than them. I don't know if they are. Or if not, on the same level of badness but with fewer points.

42:03Barry Glendenning:That's true. It's worth pointing out Iwobi's finish was absolutely sensational. I love the way he's so casual

42:09Barney Ronay:when he's being good. He's not really casual. He just looks like he's sort of playing with a bag on his shoulder. He's just been walking past that. Can I just come in and play? He's really had a great time at Fulham. He's a very good player.

42:23Philippe Auclair:I wonder, we have to mention because that's a boat bear of mine, another one. The fact that Richarlison was not sent off. for strangling Bassie did you see Bassie's face while that was happening he was laughing

42:37Barney Ronay:you can't strangle Calvin Bassie he's like trying to

42:41Philippe Auclair:strangle I think but Bassie

42:42Barry Glendenning:was annoying as I was first man I was like let go of the ball Calvin

42:45Philippe Auclair:there's no reason why he should let go of the ball the ball has been scored the ball belongs to the team which has been scored against I think it belongs to the

42:54Barney Ronay:referee I don't think it

42:56Philippe Auclair:belongs to Calvin Bassie hugging it like it like it's his child bringing it home he's basically saying you know ease off man and the reaction from Richarlison is totally well Richarlison-esque

43:07Barney Ronay:also can I say does Richarlison not understand the multi-ball system yeah

43:10Philippe Auclair:has nobody told

43:11Barney Ronay:Richarlison about the multi-ball system

43:12Philippe Auclair:well

43:13Barry Glendenning:that's the point here well maybe not but anyway I think you know I liked how Calvin was laughing while I was talking I can't remember

43:21Max Rushden:what game it was it was one a goal was scored in it might have been the United game yesterday and one of the players by way of celebration kicked one of the multi-balls off a tee. And the ball boy was like, looked so angry with him.

43:37Barry Glendenning:That's my ball. All his hard work. He put it on that plinth. You're right. All right, that'll do for part two. Part three, we'll rattle through the other games.

43:47Max Rushden:Scotland has natural beauty in abundance, but beyond the stunning landscapes, it's a fertile ground to build, grow and succeed, filled with people who are ready to push boundaries in the pursuit of breakthrough ideas. That's why today, Scotland is a dynamic hub of opportunity across growth sectors. From clean energy and life sciences to digital technology and space innovation. Scotland. For the head, heart and the spirit. Discover more at theguardian.com forward slash brand Scotland. This message was paid for by Brand Scotland.

44:27Barry Glendenning:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. Man United 2, Palace 1. Man United coming back from behind. And actually, Barney, the Sesco header is brilliant, isn't it?

44:36Barney Ronay:Yes, he's a really good finisher. He's scored some really... He's old school. He scores goals that look like the goals Alan Shearer would score. I'm not saying he's anything like Alan Shearer, but it's a 90s goal. He scores quite a few of them. I'm really pleased for him. I like his prodigious leap. I like his gazelle-like kind of quality of innocence. And I think he's just quite young and needs to get ready for it. And Man United will finish in the top four.

45:02Barry Glendenning:The red cards for Lacroix. Some people are wondering if, you know, the double jeopardy of a penalty and a foul. But if you're not going for the ball, Philippe, what do you think?

45:11Philippe Auclair:That's why I'm really sitting on the fence. I thought that the penalty decision was soft. Yes. Yeah. Very, very soft. So it seems a bit harsh. Also, the ball is already a few yards away from him, but the keeper hasn't left his line. So probably, according to the letter of the law, correct, but it didn't feel right and certainly changed the whole game. Six wins and a draw from seven games for Michael Carrick.

45:33Barry Glendenning:It's almost a bigger risk not to hire him if this carries on, Barry.

45:41Max Rushden:I think if it carries on it would be I think it'd be hard not to give him the job I'd love to know what Ruben Amaran makes of all this

45:51Barry Glendenning:he's on holiday with Thomas Frank somewhere going oh dear I'd say laughing my head off at the Man United game where the ref from Yorkshire announced the VAR decision they really do all come from the same place it's so funny every time they say after review I'm like hold on hold on it's so funny I still need to do that radio quiz where you play the ref's name and you have to guess who it is because they are all exactly the same. Wolves beat Villa 2-0. The end of Villa's title race, according to Unai Emery. And, you know, Robedo was getting a 2-0 of this Wolves side for the game.

46:23Philippe Auclair:Yeah, so we've been talking about that for a few weeks now, yeah. And you wonder what could have been the case if he'd had the chance to do something. I mean, it might be the fact that, you know, they don't have any fear whatsoever. they know that they're doomed. I mean, it would take an absolute miracle for them to get up of the bottom three. And therefore they play. And that's one thing, when you see the quality of some of their football, there is the argument that what we're seeing is also because the quality has improved a lot in the Premier League. I think that exhibit A would be Wolves.

47:02Barry Glendenning:Yes, because that's interesting, because you say often about teams who are sort of 15th to 18th, whatever, about, oh, their squad's too good to be there. But then you say, well, whose squad isn't?

47:10Barney Ronay:Yeah. Well, this is the extreme wealth of the Premier League. You create a situation where your 20th club is the kind of 30th richest club in the world. And the other side of what Philippe just said is looking at leagues in the rest of Europe, which have been completely denuded of talent and don't have proper title races.

47:25Philippe Auclair:I think Wolves made more money, more TV money than Barcelona last season. Is that true? From La Liga, yeah.

47:32Barney Ronay:If you compare, yeah. Even with the way they organize things in Spain. if I'm Barcelona I'm going direct to consumer I'm going Barca flicks

47:40Max Rushden:it is fun though because they're going down with the going down swinging haymakers bloody and a few big noses on the way you know they got that draw with Ars and they beat Villa yeah

47:49Barry Glendenning:all past them and they finished on they've gone above Derby's 11 points now and they finished with four Gomez's on the pitch excellent which is great and two Buenos

47:57Barney Ronay:there are also weird sort of common themes in these teams down there isn't there could we have a season where all three teams go down have been managed by Nuno Espirito Santo and there's kind of an Ange in the mix as well there's a strange kind of synergy down there

48:10Barry Glendenning:Brighton beat Forest 2-1 all the goals in the opening 15 minutes so that's another good win for Brighton two in a row after there was some pressure on Herzog and Vitor Pereira still without a win as Forest boss they have looked better under him

48:25Max Rushden:yeah I thought they were desperately unlucky enough to get something from the game against Liverpool was it and decent and obvious yesterday, but there's no point looking good if you're not getting points. Actually, I don't think they were particularly good yesterday. They thoroughly deserved to lose that game. But, so, scrap that. I've immediately... Even as I was saying that, I was going, no, that's not right.

48:49Barney Ronay:You need the square brackets and subs, please, editor.

48:52Barry Glendenning:I mean, the odds of us editing that out are slim, I would say, Barry. This is exactly

48:55Barney Ronay:like when Boris Johnson wrote two articles about the EU, Barry.

48:59Max Rushden:Oh, hold on. Here's my Nottingham Forest for Brilliant. Yeah, they weren't good yesterday. They were unlucky against them. They just need to get points on the board, however they do it.

49:09Barry Glendenning:You wanted to have a quick word about Jared Gillett, the only non-Yorkshireman. Not really. I had a word about it. Lots of people say that the solution... This is in the Bournemouth Sunderland game.

49:19Max Rushden:Yeah, Bournemouth Sunderland 1-1, probably a fair result. Lots of people say the solution to the refereeing crisis, such as it is in the Premier League, is to bring in foreign referees. Jared Gillett is a foreign referee. His performance in that game between between Boreham and Sondlander was pretty bad.

49:35Barry Glendenning:Champions League draw then, it's quite lopsided, isn't it? PSG Chelsea, Galatasaray Liverpool, Real Madrid City, Atalanta Bayern on one side, Newcastle Barca, Atleti Spurs, Bodo Sporting and Leverkusen Arsenal on the other. When the draw was made, I was in the talk sport office and there's lots of Arsenal fans there because there are lots of Arsenal fans everywhere and they basically said, you might as well just give us the trophy now after that draw.

49:58Max Rushden:I mean, if Mikel Lorteta had been allowed just to make the draw and check all the balls and make it himself. That's pretty much what he would have come up with.

50:07Philippe Auclair:I think if it had been Real Madrid in that position, people would have said it was a corrupt draw.

50:12Barry Glendenning:But it is a good draw, isn't it? Yes. Fitbar, which we'll do properly soon. Hearts 1.

50:18Barney Ronay:It's a brilliant weekend for Hearts. The draw is perfect for them. And in fact, we could now have a two-horse race that is Motherwell and Hearts and doesn't involve them. You're right.

50:29Barry Glendenning:The use of Trimitti overhead kick for Rangers is absolutely brilliant. And then Riyah Otata, he got great stats for that penalty because he gets two shots on target that were both the penalty saved. Then the rebound is saved by Jack Butler. And then he puts in the third. So to get three shots on target, very good for his stats there. But, yeah, we'll do it properly. Anyway, on to Iran. Brian says at this point, would everyone feel just a bit relieved if the World Cup was cancelled? So over the weekend, there were U.S. and Israeli missile strikes on Iran. you probably all know this the iranian leader ayatollah al-khamenei was killed um there is a joint episode from today in focus and politics weekly america uh which we'll go into detail on that and that is that now so you can listen to that as a football weekly listener we asked the question about what this means for the world cup philippe because iran has said they might pull out of the world cup they're in a group with new zealand belgium and egypt all those games scheduled to play in the US.

51:24Barry Glendenning:Yeah, Los Angeles and Seattle, yeah. So if they do pull out, what happens?

51:30Philippe Auclair:Nobody knows, is the short and long of we, because it's a question that I and a few colleagues have been putting to FIFA to ask them, what if Iran just withdraws from the competition? And there doesn't seem to be anything in the regulations and the statutes which says, OK, like, for example, if they had taken part in a playoff, the other team would automatically be qualified. In this particular case, they topped their group in front of Uzbekistan, I believe. So you would think, well, maybe Uzbekistan. But the way that the qualification worked in the Asian confederation means that would be so unfair to all the other teams.

52:13Philippe Auclair:So there's absolutely nothing in place and no comment from the time being. FIFA is satisfying itself with saying we are closely monitoring the situation. And to be honest, the problem is not just Iran, but I mean, it has an impact, obviously, on football in the whole region. You will have seen that the Gulf states have suspended their domestic leagues, that we were supposed to have the final cima, which is the intercontinental cup between Spain and Argentina taking place at the end of the month. Well, that in Qatar, and that's probably not going to happen if what we see in Iran carries on, which unfortunately it might well do.

52:55Philippe Auclair:So at the moment, I think nobody knows. Nobody has a clue of what is going to go on. I mean, Medhi Taj, the president of the Iranian Federation, good friend of Gianni Infantino, by the way, who had complimented him on his reelection to the top of the Iran FA, said basically the decision was in the hands of the people who are the head of sports, the ministry of sports, basically, of Iran. And so basically the government. So nobody knows. Sure.

53:25Barry Glendenning:And there might be regime change and then.

53:27Barney Ronay:There might be regime change.

53:28Philippe Auclair:Absolutely. There's also.

53:29Barney Ronay:I mean, there's not going to be regime change. In that time. How is that possibly going to happen? You saw Donald Trump's absurd message calling on the people of Iran to throw themselves in front of the bullets of the. Yeah. I mean, ridiculous. We remember what happened after the first Gulf War when he called on the Kurds to rise up against Saddam Hussein and they were slaughtered. I mean, he was speaking there to some distant historical narrative of how he can justify this. It was a ridiculous speech. It feels ridiculous to talk about football, but we are a football podcast. But football has blood on its hands here.

54:09Barney Ronay:Gianni Infantino has, you know, the hat that Trump was wearing while he made that. It's the same hat that Infantino was wearing at the Board of Peace meeting, just a different shape.

54:19Philippe Auclair:Laughing his head off.

54:19Barney Ronay:It's a piece of Trump merchandise. He's literally selling merch while delivering a message to the people of Iran. This is the person football has aggressively aligned itself. In a way, you do not have to do that. You don't have to do it. The World Cup will still happen.

54:33Barry Glendenning:But there are no implications for Infantino. Not for the time being.

54:36Barney Ronay:Not for the time being, but he is the propaganda minister for someone who I, you know, you don't need me to describe this person. And he has winningly accepted that role. He did not have to do it. And he's dragging us all with him. and it is, from a purely sport point of view, utterly grotesque.

54:53Barry Glendenning:But what do you think the consequences, the immediate consequences for Infantino was zero? Yes. But will there ever be a comeuppance for him from...

55:02Barney Ronay:Oh, there'll be a comeuppance in the end for everyone, but it won't come because he's done something that's considered morally wrong. It will come because a different faction decides it's time to get rid of him.

55:12Barry Glendenning:And it is worth saying, and you were saying in the WhatsApp group, Iran's repressive regime has, of course, because football is part of society, lots of footballers have been killed

55:20Philippe Auclair:Iran should have been kicked out of FIFA a long time ago banned by FIFA a long time ago I mean we're preparing something with Yosemar actually one of the pieces that has caused me the most grief and I really mean that literally by a young Iranian journalist who has compiled the names of all the footballers male and female who've been killed by this awful regime I mean it was very very hard work and this has been happening for a long time in fact we think that just on 8th and 9th January when the bloodshed was its highest the regime killed enough footballers and I mean quite a high level footballers to have two teams on the pitch killed them footballers as young as 15 who were with you know in the development team of some of the Iran Gulf Pro League and so forth so it is It is one of those where, I mean, your heart goes out to that country and the people there just don't deserve that.

56:23Philippe Auclair:And as to Infantino, people talk about the verdict of history. That verdict usually comes very, very late and too late, but it won't be a kind one, that's for sure.

56:34Barry Glendenning:And like you say, Barney, talking about football seems ridiculous. People questioning whether this World Cup will go ahead, like they always do.

56:41Barney Ronay:It's not ridiculous because football's forced itself into this conversation. it's entirely right because he's wearing a hat that made by trump incorporated so yeah it is ridiculous but it's also not it's entirely understandable um i thought a weekly gear change

56:56Barry Glendenning:to barney celebrity vaping i mean i i don't know how to do that in a it's meant to be a skilled

57:02Barney Ronay:way to get from one thing to another i'm not sure i mean this was this was really just a behind the scenes glimpse um barry is obviously right now there's a good chance to publicize barry's charitable work that he does not like to talk he hates it look at him now he's actually

57:19Barry Glendenning:he's quivering squirming about but he ran nine miles on saturday yeah he ran nine you can actually

57:24Barney Ronay:proud of you and you can still you can still sponsor barry you can still get behind him you still get around barry and his campaign single-handedly uh well to save the world actually donating thousands of pounds to Great Ormond Street. Not my money. Yeah, no, but you're rallying people to do it. And I'm increasingly resenting every penny. Stop backing away from this. Allow yourself to do something good. Okay. No, it's great. But as part of this discussion, I questioned Barry on whether he had, as a consequence, cut out all vices from his life.

57:55Barry Glendenning:To which he delivered the line.

57:56Barney Ronay:The epic line, which I think he's just got on speed dial in his pocket. No, I'm actually drinking a lot more.

58:01Barry Glendenning:You better think I'm drinking more.

58:02Barney Ronay:Yeah, so, but he did say that he stopped smoking, at which point I said, but you're still vaping, aren't you? And he said, oh yeah, of course, of course. And I was able to reassure Barry that the other day I went to a kind of PR company's drinks. It was actually an amazing PR company. In their lobby, they have the drum from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's. Oh, right. Yeah, it's really bizarre. Yeah, there it was. So obviously I had a big bang on that and rolled it around. Yeah, yeah, good. Yeah, yeah. but i i met at this do the most famous health i mean like just just think through the roof name name your most doctor dr hillary what's his name clinton dr ben that guy hillary you know no hillary hillary hillary jones is he still alive is he still alive max yeah yeah and the

58:52Barry Glendenning:most famous you said before the most famous person in the world no well the most famous

58:56Barney Ronay:person you would connect to celebrity vaping advice. Right. Yes. And he told me vaping's absolutely fine.

59:04Max Rushden:I'm massively underwhelmed by this. I was led to believe that you were Beyonce or Taylor Swift.

59:11Barney Ronay:And he's done to Hillary. No, he's massive. No, sorry, he is huge. Is he? Well, I know who he is. Yeah, exactly.

59:20Barry Glendenning:Martin says, dear Max Barron, everyone, my friend Victor is celebrating his 69th birthday on March the 2nd today. Victor has, as my much older and less handsome friend, I'll turn 50 this year, been a role model, band mate, great friend over the years. Most importantly, introduced me to the joys and pain of football fandom and Football Weekly. We're both religious listeners. I'd love it if you could give a shout out to Victor on or near his birthday. He's a huge Manchester United fan, season ticket holder to the Vermont Green in USL2, who had a great run to the championship last year. He's such a good friend that he missed that last championship game because of a prearranged visit to see me and attend a Philadelphia Union friendly, a terrible mistake.

59:56Barry Glendenning:I hope you'll consider wishing Victor a happy birthday. We're hoping to coordinate on a 70th birthday celebration trip across the pond in 2027 to see Manchester United and a Football Weekly live show, which we haven't planned yet. Thanks for all you do in providing both humour and coverage of serious issues in the game. Martin, would you like to give

1:00:15Max Rushden:him a shout? I have considered wishing Victor a happy 60th round's birthday and I've decided I'm not called. Oh, why not?

1:00:24Barry Glendenning:I mean that is mead

1:00:27Max Rushden:there's a really big builder well am I not tacitly wishing him a happy birthday by acknowledging the fact that it's his birthday

1:00:34Barney Ronay:it's a sideways glance

1:00:35Barry Glendenning:it is that's what we are I'll wish you a happy birthday Victor I hope you have a lovely day producer Joel says there are alternative views on vaping I'm sure anyway there we are thanks all too for today thanks everybody thank you Barry thank you Barney thanks Max thank you Philippe thank you Max Football Weekly is produced by Taya Papula. Our executive producer is Joel Grove. And Robin Cowan will be hosting on Wednesday. I'll be in midair.

1:01:21Max Rushden:That's why today, Scotland is a dynamic hub of opportunity across growth sectors. From clean energy and life sciences to digital technology and space innovation. Scotland. For the head, heart and the spirit. Discover more at theguardian.com forward slash brand Scotland. This message was paid for by Brand Scotland.