Crystal Palace victorious in Europe and can Arsenal beat PSG? - Football Weekly

23:22So you've got somebody like Atalanta in the Conference League. That will be a tough test for Brighton. And I'm sure Ed will say the Conference League doesn't matter anymore now that Brighton could win it. And even like Freiburg, who the Europa League was too hot for them, still reach the final. They're in the Conference League, which feels about their level. The Europa League, Juventus, Milan. So Leverkusen as well. Sunderland. Yes, and the mighty Sunderland as well. So maybe it's just been a slight quirk. So Fiorentina this season were in the Conference League. They were in a relegation battle for most of the season.

23:59So actually, they had to concentrate on domestic matters after January. I don't think they played a full-strength team. I think they had a few injuries as well when they played Palace in that game, for example. Chelsea were just a complete fluke, really. Betis would have been great winners of the Conference League when they were in it. So I'd sort of just give it another couple of years before we completely rule it out. And there were times when it was Cup Winners' Cup when you might have one team, if they hadn't had a great league season, would be way better than some minnows that had won Cup.

24:33So I don't think it's kind of completely abnormal to kind of have a couple of really big teams that are up against sort of smaller ones.

24:42Mark Langdon:All right. A big story is from Dale Johnson. Crystal Palace winning the Conference League means there are nine Premier League teams in Europe, which has a knock-on effect. There will be a preliminary round of the Carabao Cup featuring Crawley, Rochdale, Tranmere and York, which is quite tricky because they have to be north and south. So one of Tramir, York or Rochdale will have to be a southern team. Anyway, Dale wrote a thread of about 50 posts. And I thought this is peak Dale Johnson. Any final thoughts, Ed, before we let you go? Well, yeah, I'm just going to soak it all up. And then I'm off to Budapest for Arsenal's, my second European final in a week.

25:20So best of luck to all the Arsenal fans heading out there. And hopefully they can make it three in a row. I'm sure there'll be lots of pieces about English dominance in Europe. how it's a bad thing and all that. But yeah, I look forward to that.

25:34Mark Langdon:Yeah, good stuff. Thank you, Ed. Thanks for coming on. Ed Aaron's there out in Leipzig and that'll do for part one. And we'll look ahead to the Champions League final in part two. Hi, Podfans. Max here. Barry's here too. Hello. Football Weekly is supported by Hotels.com. Now, Barry, question. When you're booking a hotel, do you use Hotels.com? Actually, you're probably just going to say, I don't know. Producer Joel does it. I don't know. Producer Joel does it. Well, I think you should give it a try for yourself. Obviously, it's a massive summer of soccer and loads of our listeners will be travelling to watch the tournament and needing to book somewhere great to stay.

26:04Mark Langdon:So it's good to know that when you're a Hotels.com member, you can save up to 20 % on hundreds of thousands of hotels, plus you earn rewards on every stay, so each trip you take helps pay for your future trips. Just use those rewards like cash, and importantly, there are never any blackout dates. What's a blackout date? Well, it's a date where you can't use travel rewards, frustratingly, usually on or around major holidays or other peak travel periods. But there are no blackout dates with Hotels.com rewards. Superb. Yes. So next time you're booking somewhere to stay, just book it at Hotels.com.

26:35Mark Langdon:Hotels.com, it's all in the name.

26:48Mark Langdon:Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. So PSG Arsenal at the Pushkos Arena in Budapest, 5pm UK time. Only nine teams have completed an unbeaten Champions League campaign. Arsenal one game from becoming the next PSG the first holders to reach the final since Real Madrid 2016-17 and 2017-18. Arsenal kept nine clean sheets only conceded four goals in the group stage PSG were on 44 goals one shot of Barcelona's record in the 99-2000 season. Mark is it simply attack versus defence on Saturday? First of all I'm so glad you mentioned it was five o 'clock because I might have tuned in at eight and completely missed it so Fake public service announcement.

27:27Well done, Max. Yes, it is going to be attack versus defence, unless PSG score in sort of first or second minute and it sort of changes the rhythm of the game. But I don't think Arsenal should be ashamed to play in a kind of cagey way. I think it's the best way to try to beat PSG. Bayern tried to go toe-to-toe with them and that didn't work out well for them. and if you leave space for all of their quality players in behind, they'll just destroy you. So you do have to play sensibly. You do have to wait for your moments. PSG play a risky sort of game because they want to have the ball all the time.

28:08So there will be opportunities for Arsenal to hit on the counter-attack. They shouldn't feel ashamed at trying to win the game from set pieces. They'll have a clear kind of advantage when it comes to throw-ins and corners and free kicks. So play to your strengths. I think this game is closer than what neutrals kind of, or the way that I'm sort of hearing the game being spoken about. Like in sort of betting odds, it's like 60-40 PSG Arsenal. And the way I'm hearing it being spoken about is if like PSG are this dominant team that are just going to stroll to victory. Now, if they play at their best, maybe they will win the game.

28:44But I think it's a lot closer than kind of, I suppose, the average person sort of is assuming it will be.

28:50Mark Langdon:Well, you're well above the average person, of course, there. Let that slip in you, Mark Lander knows. He's above average. I mean, that is the point, though. Mere civilians think it would be a walk in the park. Come on, I was the one that was telling everyone to calm down when people assumed Tottenham would be relegated. I think the maths and the odds are very important to just kind of understanding the probability. Yeah, and Spurs survived with weeks to spare, as far as I can remember. But Paul, that is an important point though, isn't it? The way PSG attacked against Bayern, it's going to be different because Bayern were doing the same thing and Arsenal won't.

29:26Mark Langdon:So it's a more difficult job for PSG in a way. They will have less freedom to attack like they did against Bayern. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. I think Mark's spot on in all of that assessment actually with his superior knowledge. He's quite right, to be honest. I think as we saw... Mark's head in his hands now. No, I mean, it's quite something. like watching Da Vinci painting or something. But you know what I mean? He's right in that if you try and take them on at their own game, they're just going to pull you apart. But he's also quite right in this, the way the narrative has been spun to make it sound like Arsenal are a non-league team in the third round of the FA Cup.

30:05This is not going to be like that at all. This is a very tight game. And I think there were moments in the campaign so far where PSG have not looked entirely convincing for me. And it's especially, I think, when teams don't play the way that they would like them to play. And I think Arsenal are not going to play the way that PSG want them to play. I can expect them to make this into a really tight, nasty, physical battle. And I actually, I don't see why Arsenal can't win. I think most likely this is headed for penalties, to be honest. I think Arsenal can close this down, make it bitty and scrappy.

30:39And yeah, I think the way it's being talked about, it's as if Arsenal got no chance really. but it's a very close game, this one.

30:48Mark Langdon:Barry, Arsenal have a worry at right back. I mean, Hakimi might not be fit, in which case Zaire Emery would go in and he's done that before and he's brilliant there. But Ben White's out, Jurgen Timber has touch and go. And so I guess Mosquera could play there, but that is, or maybe Zubamendi, Arteta tried Zubamendi at right back, but it is Kvart Shalia who is sitting there going, I wonder who I'll be up against. And you kind of want your best right back up against Kvart Shalia.

31:13Max Rushden:Yeah, well, it looks like the best right back and the second best right back. And you can take your pick of either of them. I'm not sure who's better at White and Timber. But Timber sounds like he's not as, he's more go than touch. It sounds like, and I think the risk of putting him up against Kfereskelia, if he's not fully fit, that could be a disaster. But obviously only Arsenal know how fit Timber is. There's so many key battles in this game. How will Arsenal cope with Ruiz, Vatina and Neves in midfield with only one Declan Rice? I'm pretty sure they won't play Declan Rice at right back because they've tried that before.

31:58Max Rushden:It worked out badly, and I suspect they're going to need him elsewhere. What they need is about five Declan Rices, but that's not a viable option either. Will Bukayo Saka be able to get the better Nuno Mendes? Will Arsenal be able to disrupt the PSG rhythm? I suspect we'll be reading a lot about a clash of styles in the coming days. And I wonder if maybe Luis Enrique saw that City was at the Carabao Cup match where City made no effort whatsoever to press Arsenal. and that worked out well for them. So yeah, it's going to be a fascinating encounter. I could definitely give Arsenal a chance, but I think PSG would probably be too good for them.

32:50Max Rushden:But let's not forget, as good as this PSG team is, they got battered by Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. Villa ran them really close in last season's Champions League. They are beatable.

33:02Mark Langdon:Ruiz is fit, isn't he? Because he's not been fit for a lot of the season, Mark. Yeah, so Fabian Ruiz, and there has been accusations that he kind of was not pushing himself to get back and kind of be ready earlier than maybe some of the Parisian-based journalists wanted him to be, and he was getting criticism for that. Ousmane Dembele went off in the last league game a couple of weeks ago, but has returned to training. Hakimi also returned to training late this week, but whether that's enough to start a Champions League final, hard to say at the moment. And I think from Arsenal's point of view, I would play Kai Havertz rather than Jochores up front.

33:46I just think that neither is going to get great change out of what is a very strong centre-back pairing of Marquinhos and Paco and if I was Arteta I would want the extra kind of midfield body because you don't want that midfield free of PSG getting into a rhythm Neves, Vitinha and Ruiz because if they do they have these spells 15-20 minutes where you feel like you just can't get near them and you kind of have to disrupt that as much as you can so I'd be in the Havertz campo over Jocharez.

34:18Mark Langdon:Yeah it's a really interesting choice isn't it because and actually it kind of works quite well if you give Yoko Reyes 20 minutes when they're a bit knackered to sort of, you know, try and be a bit more of a batting ram. And then you've got who Arteta plays in midfield, Paul, because, you know, we all expected Zubimendi to play against Atleti, wasn't it? And Lewis Skelly played. You sort of think, wow, that is, you know, Lewis Skelly is playing in this game against that midfield. I mean, you know, as they say, he's young and has no fear. If I was that young, I'd be absolutely flipping bricks to be playing in that Champions League final.

34:50Yeah, I guess this is where we perhaps aren't going to end up playing in a Champions League final. I hope I'm not speaking too soon for you, Max, but I feel like I maybe wouldn't be able to do that even now. No, I would put in, I would put Lewis Skelly. I think at this point you need to play with players that don't have that kind of fear. And every time that I think he's hit his ceiling, he seems to find a way past it. Not his ceiling, but his current ceiling. You know, every time I think, God, he's too young to be doing this, he always steps up. No, I personally, I would have him in there. And it sounds mental to be saying that, you know, it's a Champions League final.

35:26But I actually think that would be your your best option. I do think that's probably the area where when you look at the two on paper, it's that that midfield battle where PSG can just look absolutely invincible at points. So there are periods where you're just like, oh, this is just not, you can't beat this. And I think that is the worry. If they start to really flow through the midfield, then I don't know how Arsenal are going to deal with it. My vision of how Arsenal deal with it is basically that if they can neutralise it as best they can and maybe get one from a set piece. Because I do still think, there's been a lot of talk in the past about PSG being susceptible from set pieces.

36:03I still think they can be. I think that's probably one of the routes you can score against them.

36:07Mark Langdon:And then Eze or Odegaard, Mark? Probably Eze, right? I'd be Eze for you need to you do need to have a kind of a forward threat and just think with Odegaard he can make a difference but he too often is safe and Eze's just got that ability to take on a couple of players beat the PSG press smash one in from 25 yards to me he would be the difference maker and that's where I think you would compensate if Havertz is there as well. Like you can kind of, I think you can have that maybe more, just slightly more attack-minded player in the 10 position because you can, he can help you do that work. I think one area where Arsenal are better is in goal.

36:53You know, Safanov, and they spoke about him before, was it Barney that was suggesting he'd look like he'd come out of a Kent nightclub? I think it was. I don't know if he just looks dodgy because of the ponytail, but he's definitely unconventional in the way that he makes his saves. And Raya, He's just been exceptional for Arsenal. And he is capable of just having an incredible night and just saving everything that PSG throw at them. I'd probably go for a PSG narrow win, but those are the type of things Arsenal are going to need to go their way, I think, if they're to win. Ryan needs to play well.

37:32You need somebody to just do something special in that final third. I think it is about time that I admit that signing Raya

37:41Mark Langdon:and putting him in ahead of Aaron Ramsdale was the right call for Mikel Arteta. I think it probably is. Yeah, so well done, Mikel Arteta. The right decision. Baz, you wanted to bring up the fact that none of these European finals are on free-to-air TV. And is that the first time ever?

37:56Max Rushden:It's the first time in 30 years, I think, that they haven't been on free-to-air TV in the UK. and it's down to a mixture of corporate strategy on the part of Warner Brothers who own TNT Sports who have the rights here and their rights end this year. Government policy in that the government don't have the legal clout to insist on these finals being free to air and expiring contracts as I've alluded to. So Warner Brothers Discovery are the parent company of TNT. In previous years, they voluntarily put these finals on, made them available to watch live on YouTube as a gesture of goodwill and a tactic for marketing.

38:43Max Rushden:This year they haven't. And that's because they're using coverage of the finals that we have to pay to drive subscriptions to HBO Max, which will have the rights from next season. It's quite boring. So they have no incentive to keep free viewers happy, basically. And UEFA could have inserted a clause in their contract with TNT to have a strict must-be-free for the final, but they didn't do that because it would cost them some money. so it's just down to greed basically on the part of it but I think it's a shame that a lot of people can't watch these finals no I mean I agree with you I suppose the

39:31Mark Langdon:you know the argument against it is you know there's no Premier League games on free to air for example they don't put the final day of the season on free to air if you buy the rights you

39:41Max Rushden:buy the rights yeah I mean you can make arguments and I'm always amazed actually if it's whether it's increased ticket prices or this kind of stuff or the price of replica english shirts you will always find a certain section of the people who are being fleeced will will rush to the defense of the people who are fleecing them and i don't understand it i just do not understand it but there are such people exist and i just find it very weird are you accusing me of that just because

40:10Mark Langdon:i asked that i'm in the devil's advocate no it's a legitimate question and i don't have the answer

40:14Max Rushden:to it. But at least, you know, the last day of the season, you can watch match of the day later.

40:19Mark Langdon:No, I know what you mean. It's just finding a tricky balance, right? And the money that they pay for the rights adds to the amount of money that clubs have to buy good players that make us like the teams more, etc, etc. I guess. But you're right. I don't have the answer either, but my general feeling is...

40:36Max Rushden:Well, I mean, most people support teams who don't have good players. LAUGHTER

40:44Mark Langdon:there is there is that anyway that'll do for part two uh part three we'll begin with some transfer news

40:56Mark Langdon:welcome to part three of the guardian football weekly barcelona have agreed personal terms with anthony gordon and a few 70 million pounds paul what do you think about this one i've got various views on it but um i i think i think it's actually in a way a very good signing for barcelona i just can't quite get over the price tag i feel like it's it's so much money for anthony gordon and i don't know if i'm still just very old and that that is actually just a completely fair amount to put on him but also i'm kind of imagining it from anthony gordon's perspective he must be absolutely over the moon right imagine he did just imagine signing for barcelona uh i don't feel like he's the kind of player that ever felt like he would sign for Barcelona but again maybe I'm maybe I'm still looking at things from an old lens where English players were less likely to do this but I just think you'd be so happy wouldn't you from what

41:43Max Rushden:I can tell about Anthony Gordon's extremely high opinion of himself he might consider Barcelona beneath him but that's just me that's a good question is there's a question of how good is he

41:57Mark Langdon:Mark and and what it means for Marcus Rashford I think after my average Joe faux pas earlier on maybe Anthony Gordon of football punditry. I think Gordon is underrated in the Premier League terms. And Barcelona and Bayern Munich wanted him. Thomas Tuchel loves him. It hasn't finished well this season for him, Newcastle. But there were times earlier on in the season and during his time at Newcastle where I felt like he was kind of ready for that next step. And Newcastle will feel like they are awaiting maybe the final step. but I think there's a lot of potential still there that's untapped. The way that he runs in behind causes a lot of problems for teams.

42:40I'm not actually sure that he's exactly what Barcelona need when I look at the quality they've got in that forward line already. I would have felt like spending that money on the centre forward, given Levin Dossie's age, might have been the wiser option. As far as Rashford goes, I would assume that he does a similar job. they're going to be competing aren't they for that England spot on the left hand side but you never say never with Barcelona because they have a weird way with kind of transfers and their policy for bringing in players but I wouldn't have thought you'd bring in both no I think so I

43:13Mark Langdon:mentioned I've confirmed Michael Carrick um while we've been between pods I mean not just his existence that he's gonna or like a Catholic no it's not a Catholic ceremony for Michael he's That is confirmation. Will Unwin writing that they've agreed a£37 million deal with Atalanta for Brazilian midfielder Edison. Who is Edison, Mark? Is he good? Casemiro, replacement defensive midfielder, has been very good. He was very good for Atalanta when they were Europa League winners and kind of knocking on the door of being one of them Champions League teams that was dangerous. I think Atalanta have gone backwards slightly this year, not through any thought of Edison.

43:57And he feels like a Premier League-ready player. I don't think there'll be any, from a physical point of view, in the way that he gets around the pitch, he kind of should be suited to the Premier League.

44:08Mark Langdon:I'll also talk about Elliot Anderson, who Manchester United want, but is likely to go to City. Enzo Fernandes wants to leave Chelsea. They want£120 million. Doesn't seem there are that many people who are that interested in spending that much money on him.

44:22Max Rushden:I mean, Enzo Fernandes is a good player, but his attitude seems to stink, and that would put me off paying any amount of money for him, especially one that high. Chelsea got hammered by Everton not too long ago. He was terrible in that game, and he wasn't trying a leg, and he was part of that dressing room cabal that down tools when Leemar Sr. was there. Not for me, Clive. Just one other thing before you move on from Manchester United. A, I heard this talk yesterday on the radio of Ederson moving there. I was thinking, I presume they were talking about the Brazilian goalkeeper. That was my first thought.

45:02Max Rushden:And I was wondering, why is Lorne bringing up the fact he used to be a country goalkeeper? And is Sonny Lemon's not, like, pretty good? He's had a good season. So that's how much I knew about Ederson, the Atlanta midfielder, before I went and had a Google. See, he's not in the Brazil squad. it emerged yesterday that it cost Manchester United almost£17 million to get rid of Ruben Amaro and if you add that to the£11 million it costs them to bring him in it's a good job they sacked all those tea ladies and receptionists, isn't it? to make up that shortfall

45:39Mark Langdon:Arsenal want Morgan Rodgers we didn't just know where he would fit he's obviously a brilliant footballer I mean that's sort of interesting for Erdogan, Nese, etc etc. And then Andy Robertson to Spurs is on apparently. Feels sensible, Mark. Yeah, it was on and then off again in January. Ben Davis set to leave the club. So somebody that is very good in the dressing room, which everybody seems to think Andy Robertson is very experienced player, won't necessarily have to play every week, but is very strong competition through doggy at left back. There seems to be this belief that Tottenham will go for more experienced players this year after maybe focusing on young players previously.

46:22They have been also linked with John Stones as well. I've just got to be careful of going for too many of that type of player. You end up with like a Harry Redknapp style squad. Expendables. Yeah. In isolation, I think Robertson is a very clever and solid signing and yeah, just a good guy.

46:40Mark Langdon:What have you made, Mark, of the chat coming out of Spurs of Venkatesham saying they need a complete reset but not saying he needs to reset himself you know turn himself off and on again amongst other things yeah there was a letter from the non-executive chairman uh peter charrington as well that said exactly the same things that have been saying for years like it's actions will speak louder um dumb words i you know until they start up in the wage bill i don't think anybody would trust them and you know i mean venga keshin if he'd be lucky to still be in a job in in a couple of months. It wouldn't be my choice of the reset.

47:16Yeah, I mean, he's just blaming other people. He was as much to blame as just about anyone else for what happened this season.

47:23Mark Langdon:All right, Nuno's going to stay as West Ham manager, which we didn't expect, but that is perhaps good news for them. Can't quite work it out. Club sources estimate it will cost them £200 million in lost revenue getting relegated after a loss of more than£100 million in their latest accounts. So, you know, lots of their players will leave, as we expect. Mauricio Pochettino has emotionally defended himself, Paul, against charges that he didn't phone the players he left out of his squad for the World Cup. The players who didn't make the roster don't want to hear anything from me. Oh, I'm sorry. If I call, it's making it a bit about myself.

47:56Mark Langdon:Do you agree with... Because Tuchel called the players. Pochettino emailed the players. What's the right way to be told you're not going to be in the squad? Can you imagine? Checking your emails, checking your emails. Now, I think what I would want as a player is to have a set time by which you will be let know one way or the other. Because can you imagine if you don't get a call, you are literally sitting there. And you've probably got your teammates as well. You don't know whether they've got in. You don't know whether they're going to. So you've just got this complete tension. So I actually think you want to call as a player, whether you're in or out.

48:28Because if it's that thing of if you get a call, you're in. You're literally sat there waiting with your phone out all day. right so but the one thing you definitely need is to know which way around it is you don't want to be sat there waiting your phone goes it's pochettino and then it turns out he's telling you you're not in so i kind of get what you're saying but i think he just should have had a stronger policy on it i also think an email is a rough way to find out isn't it and i think to be honest i get his point no one wants to hear from me if i'm if they're not in but i think that is part of your job isn't it is to these players might be not for him but for other people these players might be your players for years to come, you've got to let them know in person they're not going to be in the squad.

49:05I think it's, to be honest, I did think that was quite poor from him.

49:08Mark Langdon:Yeah, I don't know. I think you want judges' houses. You want Louis Walsh going, it's not good news. It's great news. He's coming to America. I think, I kind of think Pogesino might have a point, Barry. There's no good way, is it? There's no good way to do this. Maybe there is. The grown men,

49:26Max Rushden:it's not an under 11 team. They don't necessarily deserve of an explanation as to why they're not on the team. I had this image yesterday of a tearful Gio Reyna looking at his inbox and then going to his trash folder on the off chance and suddenly finding, oh, I have been called up despite only playing 140 minutes for Borussia Mönchengladbach this year and despite being a really disruptive influence in the squad last season, I have no problem with the manner in which Pochettino did it Phone calls probably grand. If it was me, I wouldn't want to hear from the manager. I don't want to have a chat with him.

50:07Max Rushden:I've been left out. Fine, get on with it. I haven't been hugely impressed with Potch's behavior otherwise to build up to this pub because he had a go at Timothy Weah for criticizing the price of World Cup tickets, and he sort of slapped him down and said, you know, stay in your lane, Tim. football brings people together and unites the world. He's very much parroting the FIFA line, the Gianni line. And I thought, ah, come on, Potch, you're better than that. But apparently he isn't. So I was sad. I wasn't angry. I was disappointed with Potch. And I hope he sits looking at his bowl of lemons and has to think about what he said there.

50:52I just wonder if Thomas Tuchel should have emailed Harry Maguire's mum and maybe that would just calm her down.

50:59Mark Langdon:On FIFA, a non-profit organisation which supports people with serial spinal injury was forced to cancel a raffle for two World Cup tickets after receiving a cease and desist letter from a law firm representing FIFA. This is Adam Crafton in The Athletic. Spinal cord injury, BC organised a promotion which invited people to enter a draw to secure two tickets to New Zealand against Egypt at BC Place on the 21st of June with proceeds intended to benefit various programmes times uh chris mcbride executive director of that uh charity told the athletic the legal letter told us we were in violation of fifa's trademark and their ticketing policy the letter added that contravening fifa's trademark and policies may result in them not being released at all to the buyer fifa's ticketing regulations for the world cup state a ticket holder shall not use a ticket for advertising contests sweepstakes or other commercial promotional or marketing activities unless they have authorization from fifa to do so so yeah that's good stuff isn't it um well done Well done.

51:55Mark Langdon:Well done, Gianni. Paul, you've written a book called Around the World in 80 Clubs. Tell us all about it. Yeah, I have. So it's loads of little short stories about the weird and wonderful places that I am obsessed with and football all around the world. When I come on this pod, I tend to tell you a load of really odd little stories from weird places. And this is a whole book of them. It's about 80 of my Guardian Football Weekly segments in one book, basically. So I don't know if I'm selling that at all. But if you're someone who naturally...

52:28Max Rushden:Do we get a cost of the profits? You got an acknowledgement. Oh, that's good. Basically just simply because I know you love an acknowledgement and also because you do put up with my world football nonsense on a regular basis.

52:44Mark Langdon:I enjoy it tremendously. Give us a couple then. So we've got Ibis, the club in Brazil, who labelled themselves the worst in the world, and now their fans get on the back of the team if they win any games. So if you ever see Ibis win a game, their fans post on social media, and this is a disgrace. And at one point, they got on a winning run, and their fans, the ultras, called a meeting with the players and said, this has to stop. We're winning too many matches. And they had this old hero, this legendary old player called Mauro Shampoo, which sadly isn't his real name, but he was a hairdresser and a player.

53:16and shampoo came to meet with the with with the players and said yeah you've got to stop winning like you're destroying the legacy we created uh as players so there's that one uh the seychelles one of my favorite stories in the book is when the seychelles national team accidentally appointed a guy on holiday as their national coach uh it was it was a case of mistaken identity a guy called andrew amos morrison who was a he was a football coach but he was a kind of community coach very good coach but right just a community coach was there on holiday uh the Seychelles Football Federation thought it was Andy Morrison the Man City player so they just offered him their national job on the spot and Andy Morrison the Man City player only found out because a journalist from the Seychelles phoned him up and he was I think somewhere in Wales at the time phoned him up said what are your plans for the Seychelles national team he said I don't know I've never been there and the best thing is the statement the Seychelles FA put out initially they were going to give the other guy six months to prove himself they then took his contract away and put out a statement saying he was not the man for the job it's like well quite literally he wasn't the man so yeah there's that one and my other my other favorite one is um this game there's these two islands in estonia um hyuma and sarima and they they're like rival little islands off estonia and they wanted to play a match against each other they couldn't agree on where it'd be played so they decided to play on the ferry that goes between the two islands and so they kitted out a ferry to have a five-a-side match um that they had and and one of the funniest bits about this as well is that they had loads of obstructions on this ferry so they were like they were like barriers and there were like rails in the way um and one of the the teams said that the other team would have an advantage um because the pitch on that island has an oak tree growing in the middle of it and it's It does.

55:09They've got an oak tree on this pitch that just grows right in the middle of the pitch. And so they said, well, you're going to have the advantage because you're used to playing around an oak tree.

55:18Mark Langdon:So buy that book, everybody. Around the World in 80 Clubs by Paul Watson. Benjamin writes, hello to everyone at the pod. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an abundance of messages the other day from friends sending me photos of Barry wearing my band T-shirt on an episode. I gave Barry the T-shirt after shaking his surprisingly smooth and gentle hand at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. After disappointing my bad mates upon the declaration that I was going to leave our after show party, I raced back to the hotel for some much needed sleep to wake up early and attend your enlightening live podcast recording.

55:50Mark Langdon:I then presented Barry with our T-shirt with no shameless request that he wear it. Just a token to say thank you for all the amazing work you do. It's truly a touching moment to see the Dharma chain shirt was worn. Barry, you're a true man of the people. being a musician is a difficult career to pursue moments like this make it all worth it i wonder if someone could persuade jonathan wilson to review our album could we be the band finally convince him that music is a beautiful thing after all john bruit no doubt would love it on a serious note maybe the members of the pod could share a song or album that they loved recently barry the dharma chain send their love and appreciation as we enjoy your our inevitable fame and riches surely coming our way we will never forget you ben there you are barry you're

56:28Max Rushden:launching new music oh yeah i mean i went to see um the super furry animals at brixton academy over the weekend and met a lot of super furry animal fans who also listened to football weekly uh beforehand in the pub and they were so good it's their sort of 30th anniversary of their first album fuzzy logic which makes me feel really old they were so good on the friday that i went again on the Saturday and I had a wonderful time both nights so that's my most recent um musical experience oh I love this we were discussing this my favorite band growing up so I love the superfury so much but do you remember when they were they they used to do crazy things for their live shows and there was this one time they bought an actual tank they owned a tank that they drove around to there yeah oh the superfuries were amazing absolutely love them it was fitted out as a sound system and they subsequently sold it to Don Henley from the Eagles.

57:29Max Rushden:I didn't know that. What I did know is they were often late to their gigs. They were always like crazy late. If you ever went to see them, they came on like an hour after stage time.

57:35Mark Langdon:Oh, I would be so furious. No, well, it built this amazing atmosphere and I was like, wow, what showmen? And someone asked them, this is way back in the days of old style computers like Amigas. And someone said, what do you do? Why are you so late? And they're like, we're playing Worms on the Amiga and we just get really stop playing it well now suddenly fair enough that you know they're on level they're on megalomania and they just can't stop playing well me and barry in austin had this discussion of what was the last gig we went to and i said well i definitely saw the red hot chili peppers being supported by james brown in hyde park we established that james brown had died in 2006 but then i did see alanis morissette in austin so that's my last gig um mark i have to ask you this question.

58:15Well, my last gig was Oasis last year, so that feels a bit populous, isn't it? But yeah, I was at Wembley. I did see somebody reading Jonathan Wilson's book on a train two days ago, though. So yeah, the two brothers. They seemed engrossed as well.

58:31Mark Langdon:Finally, Callum says, Dear Guardian Football Weekly, long-time listener, first-time emailer here. You recently had an email from a long-suffering Scottish Arsenal fan who was about to get married. My friend Matt and I fit the same demographic. We're from five Arsenal fans to our dads, and in this case, on Saturday the 30th of May, the day of the Champions League final, Matt is getting married to his fiancée Hannah. As the reception overlaps with the final, Matt said he's going to screen the match on his laptop and implement some kind of incomprehensible rotor to allow guests to watch in 10-minute increments.

58:58Mark Langdon:I can't wait, he says. If Barry could wish the couple luck in getting through the day, if not the rest of their lives, it would mean a lot to give Barry something to work with. Matt and I met in school when we were 12. We're now pushing 40. Have been listening to Football Weekly since about 2011, whereas I'm a natural Arsenal pessimist who's hardly been able to tolerate a game for the last few months. We kind of prefer it if we won nothing. Matt is a crazed optimist with a long history of abysmal Arsenal-related opinions. For instance, he was the only person in the world calling for Owen Coyle to replace Wenger circa 2010.

59:27Mark Langdon:He was adamant that Dwight McNeil, who he called a pure 10, should be signed as an upgrade on Mesut Ozil circa 2019. More recently predicted Raheem Sterling's loan signing would be transformational. But just as Sterling's signing they'd match suddenly to rate him so he brings the same blind loyalties to his friendships which is why i love him and while he'll be a great husband he recently moved from london where i live back to glasgow i miss him very much football weekly has continued to be a crucial tie keeping us in touch with thanks for all that you do best wishes callum so it is matt and he is getting

59:57Max Rushden:married to his fiance hannah well it's very much a rookie error to book your wedding day on the day of a major final that the team you support might be in. But maybe they didn't have such high hopes for Arsenal this season. But I have been at such weddings. There's no point in not trying to show the game. People will watch it anyway. And it's a very shaky foundation on which to build a marriage. But it sounds like they've been together for a long time. They're probably sick of each other. The proposal was probably just because they ran out of things to say to each other and someone said, will we get married?

1:00:38Mark Langdon:That's lovely. Have a lovely day and enjoy the Champions League final. We'll review the Champions League on Monday then we'll get on with our World Cup previews then we'll fly to LA and kill each other and I look forward to all of those things. Paul's joining us for a week. You're joining us for a week as well, Mark. So that'll be great. So we'll see you in person soon. But that'll do for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Paul. Thank you. Good luck with the book. Thank you, Mark. Thank you, Max. Thank you, Barry. Thanks, lad. Football Weekly is produced by Tyra Papula, our executive producer is Joel Grove back on Monday.

1:01:14This is The Guardian.

1:01:24Mark Langdon:Hi Pod fans, Max here. Barry's here too. Hello. Football Weekly is supported by Hotels.com. Now Barry, question, when you're booking a hotel, do you use Hotels.com Actually, you're probably just going to say, I don't know. Producer Joel does it. I don't know. Producer Joel does it. Well, I think you should give it a try for yourself. Obviously, it's a massive summer of soccer and loads of our listeners will be traveling to watch the tournament and needing to book somewhere great to stay. So it's good to know that when you're a Hotels.com member, you can save up to 20 % on hundreds of thousands of hotels.

1:01:51Mark Langdon:Plus, you earn rewards on every stay. So each trip you take helps pay for your future trips. Just use those rewards like cash. And importantly, there are never any blackout dates. What's a blackout date? Well, it's a date where you can't use travel rewards. Frustratingly, usually on or around major holidays or other peak travel periods. But there are no blackout dates with Hotels.com rewards. Superb. Yes. So next time you're booking somewhere to stay, just book it at Hotels.com. Hotels.com, it's all in the name.