.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
In short
Podcast Notes: Football Weekly - Farewell Ange Postecoglou and Slot Slip Continues at Anfield
Episode Overview In this episode of *Football Weekly*, host Max Rushden is joined by panelists Barry Glendenning, John Brewin, and Seb Hutchinson. They discuss Manchester United's victory at Anfield against Liverpool, the sacking of Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest, and several key matches from the Premier League.
Key Themes
- Manchester United vs Liverpool
- Ange Postecoglou's Dismissal
- Premier League Match Highlights
- Managerial Changes and Analysis
Key Discussions
- Manchester United's Victory Over Liverpool
- Historic Win: Manchester United wins at Anfield for the first time in almost a decade, marking a significant achievement for manager Ruben Amorim.
- Match Dynamics:
- Manchester United showed strong performance, especially in the first half.
- Liverpool's tactical changes in the second half were ineffective, leading to a chaotic game.
- Notable performances included Casemiro’s impact and Harry Maguire scoring the winner.
- Ange Postecoglou's Sacking at Nottingham Forest
- Brief Tenure: Postecoglou was dismissed after just 39 days in charge, marking one of the shortest managerial stints in Premier League history.
- Performance Review:
- Forest's expectations were high after a solid previous season, but they struggled under Postecoglou with zero wins.
- Discussions around the lack of support from fans and the disconnect between the coach's philosophy and the team's execution.
- Premier League Match Highlights
- Arsenal's Win: Arsenal secured a narrow victory over Fulham, showcasing strong defensive performance.
- Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth: An entertaining match with a hat-trick from Mateta and a dramatic last-minute penalty.
- Burnley vs Leeds: Burnley secured a victory with a standout goal from Lume Chuna, showcasing the unpredictability of the league.
Key Takeaways
- United's Resurgence: Manchester United's victory signifies a potential turning point for the club under new management.
- Managerial Instability: The quick dismissal of Postecoglou highlights the volatility of managerial positions in top-flight football.
- Thrilling Matches: The weekend's matches delivered excitement, with several clubs fighting for points at both ends of the table.
Additional Notes
- Panelists discussed the broader implications of managerial changes and the performance of key players across various clubs.
- The episode intersperses humor with in-depth analysis, creating an engaging discussion for football fans.
Conclusion The episode wraps up with anticipation for upcoming matches and managerial changes, reflecting the dynamic nature of football. With the season still young, the panel notes the importance of maintaining form and adapting strategies for success.
*For more football insights and humorous discussions, check out future episodes of Football Weekly.*
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is The Guardian.
0:30famously isn't on target, and the mini-crisis continues. Big And is sacked after 39 days at the City ground. Chelsea really tried to give Forrest the lead, but another defeat and the conspicuous departure of Maranakis from his business-class seat meant the end as Sean Dyche is poised. Also today, a cracker at Selhurst Park. On the one hand, Mateta scored a hat-trick. On the other, he ballooned one over for the win in the 99th minute. Arsenal win one of those narrow, these are the games that win you titles matches at Fulham, while Erling Haaland propels City into second. Spurs could have ended the weekend second, but lose to two brilliant goals from Aston Villa, that Matty Cash pass.
1:01And then there's Sunderland going seventh, Danny Welbeck fine-wining it, and a real ball-stay ball at Turf Moor from Loom Shauna. All that, plus your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
1:15On the panel today, Barry Glendening, hello. Hi, Max. Welcome, John Bruin. Hello, Max. And good morning, Seb Hutchinson. Good morning, Max. Stephen says, no question, I just wanted to say it's nice as a Manchester United fan to actually look forward to the pod after Liverpool away. Two wins in a row for the first time in the league for Ruben Amorim. Their first away win since March. Their first win at Anfield in almost a decade. It is, John, and you are a Manchester United fan, just a huge result for him and for United and for the guy with the hair and for all Manchester United fans. It feels good, yeah.
1:49There's no doubt about that. I hate this fixture. I've always hated this fixture. It is torture to watch. And it was torture towards the end as well, because obviously where Liverpool equalise and you think that they're going to win in the way that they have done a few times this season and have done in that fixture before. But United saw it out and then it becomes a great fixture and, you know, really enjoyable. And I was thinking last time I watched that United win that, it was a Rooney goal. It was Louis van Gaal. I watched it in the company of Guardian Football Weekly alumni Paul Doyle Hi Paul if you're listening Yeah hi Paul We miss you, yeah great man, a great man We were at Stoke City together So we were a glamorous fixture of the day And that was a long time ago, let's put it that way And this felt, when you actually think of all the differences between Manchester United then and now There are so many changes and so many false dawns and Liverpool have been great almost the whole time since then.
2:56That's not to say Manchester United were particularly great in this game, though they did play very well in the first half, but they got it done against a team who are having problems, problems that we'll probably go into. There was a point in the second half when Casemiro, who played really, really well, but obviously cannot do 90 minutes anymore, that's fair, let's be fair, goes off and they started falling apart. And the thing is, Liverpool changed their tactics and went to this 4-2-4 formation. And this is it. Slots the gambler now, isn't he? He just chucks everything at it. But it does resemble that point when managers completely lose the run of themselves and just throw everything at it.
3:36I'm reminded, an Irish friend of mine reminded me of when Ireland beat the Dutch in 2001, when they had Hasselbank, Van Nistel, Roy, you know, Roy Mackay, and, you know, just every possible Dutch striker of the last 50 years up front. And it felt like Liverpool did that. And the thing is about Rupert Hammering, his refusal to change his tactics meant that Liverpool were getting at them. But one of his tactics is Harry Maguire, the resurrection man of Manchester United. Now, let's give some props to Harry Maguire, because there is a guy that has taken so much stick over the years and become the internet, piss-take, mean, whatever you want to call it, for years upon years.
4:23And he stuck around. He wanted to stay at Manchester United. He actually speaks to someone who wants to do well for Manchester United. He always came out and gave these interviews that were fronted up, for which Roy Keane actually was often very dismissive of him. But he came through on a big game. And, you know, if you score the winner at Anfield for Manchester United, the scouse busting, they used to call it in the 1980s, you become a hero. So well done, Harry Maguire. Remember last season, actually, he missed one in the last minute. So he must have thought his chance to be that guy had gone.
4:59But he is that guy now. And credit to Manchester United. I had a big smile on my face for the first time watching that fixture in a decade. Which is great, yeah. Imagine I had only two points off for all, Seb. I mean, in previous weeks, we have talked about green shoots, or as my friend Mark Bosnich said, green sprouts. And there are some more here, especially down the right-hand side, Seb. What's the difference? What's the difference? Well, green sprouts are just green sprouts. They don't mean things are growing, are they? They've already grown. Greens do sprout. That's true. Well, that is true.
5:32But it's a good point now you make it. Anyway, down the right-hand side, you know, Ahmad and Mbouma. We saw it after a minute, right? We saw that was good against Sunderland. It was good again yesterday. Yeah, and I think Brian Mbouma, we look at all the transfer business that's been done by all the clubs and the money that's been spent. I actually think Manchester United's transfer business in the attacking areas was arguably the best of any club. I think Kunia and Mbouma are players who are going to score goals in the Premier League. I mean, it's not happened for Kunia as much as he would have liked, but I think he has that quality.
6:04and I believe Benjamin Sheshko when you look at the whole striker market he is seen as a project striker he's a player when you look at anything the only thing I feel he's missing is that edge to his game that edge that say Haaland has weirdly the edge that Jokeres has in the mentality of going in for a 50-50 and showing and using his frame he does seem a bit passive in that but he has the technical side I think he has the physical attributes to do that Brian Mbumo to finish that chance with his weaker foot and he falls into that category he's a rare say 3.5 pronunciation player and by that I mean there's and I've done it myself there's three ways I've said his name over the course of his career the 0.5 is for the native pronunciation that no one can ever nail but the three I've had Mbwemo I've had Mbumo I've had Mbomo I think there's another actually but there's something in there and that for a player who scored that many goals you thought thought we'd have nailed it by now but we haven't quite got there and he's a player also that you think players bounce off him even van dyke in a couple of moments was a bit unsure about should i go toe-to-toe with him because he has that big backside he has that big back he can block players off i mean i used to have it a little bit myself no sorry to go off on the tangent as i usually do of course yeah we have to have one of those got a lot to get through seb yeah sorry yeah um just going back to what we're talking about manchester united winning i I think they take a lot of credit from this because the mentality as well.
7:33My favourite moment of the game in some respects was Casemiro's wild challenge just before he came off because he knew he was coming off. And it's that free hit. That free hit. Looked across. Agate's coming on. I'm going for this. I'm never going to get there. He was miles off it. But he went in for the challenge and they had to have that concentration because I think against Liverpool, you know the waves are coming. Whoever you are, whatever form they're in, they're always going to score goals. and they're on this run now, I think it's 42 straight games in which they found the net. But this time, just like the last three matches, the opposition responds because the game is so open.
8:08It's so wild. That's the biggest concern for Liverpool, I think, going forward. Before we go to those concerns, fixer Jim, Barry, specifically mentioned when saying Amarin had his three years, that Arteta took a while and it was 35th game in charge, a win against Chelsea that was a turning point. And this was Amarin's 35th game in charge. I suppose we can't read too much into it unless we forward wind a year or two or three. And I don't know how significant it is because we don't know really how good Manchester United are. But I think for him, it's probably his biggest win as their manager, isn't it?
8:40Oh, without question, yeah. Winning at Anfield is really difficult. United, they had to ride their luck a little bit, but I think they deserved to win. It was a very chaotic game, very entertaining for me as a neutral. true and you're dead right you can't read too much into it uh from a united perspective until we see you know let's see how they get on again against brighton next weekend but it's certainly a step in the right direction i think tellingly that first goal that's the goal uh amarin wants united to score you know that's what his setup that is the goal they're supposed to score coming in from one of the wings or playing it out wide, coming in and finishing.
9:27It really knocked Liverpool out of their stride and I guess United were helped by the fact that Virgil van Dijk was uncharacteristically terrible and Mo Salah had another bad game in a match where I think quite a lot of us thought he'll get a goal here, he'll play well here because he always does against Manchester United. but it was another bad day at the office for Mo. But yeah, hats off to United. And I agree with John, but huge props for Harry Maguire. Yeah. I mean, meanwhile, John, I mean, Cody Gakpo almost scored two brilliant goals as well as the one he did score. And then missed a sitter later on.
10:10Salah skewed that one wide. Eketike put one wide. I mean, on another day, Liverpool win this comfortably, do they? I mean, I'm just trying to work out. They didn't. I know the result is the result, and that's how we view it. And it's four losses in a row. First time in about 11 years that's happened to Liverpool. It was under Brendan Rodgers. So there are definitely problems. The only thing they'd win it comfortably because nothing is coming off that easily for them, is it? Those chances are... They're playing with a level of anxiety that we didn't see last season. And a part of it is that it's a different team.
10:45It's a different team with, I mean, there's obvious stresses involved there. And we should mention the Jota thing that I know some people get annoyed by, but you cannot dismiss. But to move on to the actual football element of things, it is that he's trying to overhaul the team and he's playing it. Say Florian Virts is on the bench. Now, actually, I thought Florian Virts came on and looked quite good and is a very effective player. when they dropped him a bit deeper and he's given space by Manchester United's refusal to play any different tactics and he looked fine. But there are so many players just sort of scratching around, even Gakpo.
11:24I mean, he's a player that Liverpool fans haven't particularly taken to, even though he seems to be... He's productive in that he's scored a few goals, but there's a lot of misses go on there. And then you've got, I mean, Salah. I mean, this guy. there is a theory out there that Liverpool are playing are building a team for when Salah isn't there we're just having to play Salah in it at the moment which is he's sort of watching he's almost watching the team that's going to be when he's playing in Saudi Arabia whoever comes next to him and the defence Virgil van Dijk remember this cool guy that we used to know this sort of chilled out breezy and oh this is so easy for me look at this the face on this guy throughout that game the rage in Virgil van Dijk's face as he's looking at other defenders going what why have you not why have you why are you there and just he looked angry and he looked stressed.
12:26John can I touch on that do you remember the bit where the cross came in and van Dijk cleared it into Kirkus's face slapped him in the face and he's still angry at Kirkus why is your head there why are you there What are you doing there? You are not supposed to be there. This is not what we do here. And yeah, I mean, it's like there was afterwards Slott talked about, I mean, Slott was, this is a good thing. We didn't see this last season because there was no need for it. Slott is a poor loser, isn't he? He was such all, so many cliches. It's like every manager in EF in League One and League Two just says, well, they just knock it long and that is very hard to defend.
13:10They're just long balls and all that. It's like, mate, I don't know if you've watched the Premier League in the last year and a half. I mean, this is what happens. And actually, that wasn't a long ball performance. You weren't watching Dave Bassett. I mean, come on, man. But yeah, there is this sudden, maybe it's a Dutch thing of, you know, they're good winners, but they're bad losers. And listen, there is that point, isn't there? You'll never see a good loser be a good winner. That's the thing. But Liverpool, just every little bit is grinding. It's not working. And it feels like a team that is a champion team and won the league very well last season, yeah, four losses in a row.
13:51Crisis club. It feels like a long time since we've seen Liverpool on that level of angst, which shows you what a good job Jurgen Klopp did. And it showed you what a good job Slott did. And now it's anger. Yeah. I dropped Frankfurt away on Wednesday, Brentford away, Palace at home. So not impossible, but not simple. And also worth mentioning that Isaac hasn't hit the ground running. Oh, who? I mean, where was this guy? There was one shot, wasn't there? There was a sort of grubber that the goalie... United with a goalie. What a difference that makes. Nice to see Sir Alex and Sir Kenny eating chocolate buttons as well.
14:32That was a nice touch, wasn't it? Anyway, look, we've got a lot to get through. So Tommy says, my thoughts are with Max and the rest of Australia at this difficult time. Candid says, admit it, you want Maranakis on the touchline. Forrest nilled Chelsea three. Ange Postacoglu sacked about 20 minutes after the final whistle. He was in charge for eight games, no wins, 39 days, five Premier League games, the shortest in Premier League history. Les Reid's 41 days at Charlton looked impossible to beat. Sam Allardyce did 30 days for Leeds, but he was brought in to see them to the end of the season. So it doesn't quite count.
15:02and this amazing theatre about Maranakis, you know, filling the screen in that seat and then cutting back to the seat and there's nobody there. And it's, you know, it is thumbs down for Ange. I mean, it does, Seb, it's such an amazing descent from how good Forrest were last year under Nuno to getting rid of him, bringing in a completely different manager with a completely different style with no time to train the players, him not doing a good job and now they're where they are. It's sort of quite extraordinary. You can't predict this. No, no. I've been on a few Forest podcasts. They had this feeling, and I've probably done these podcasts for the last three years, and when they came into the Premier League, obviously the feeling was just stay up.
15:44And then they went on this run that had them in the mix for Champions League football. And once you go on a run like that, the whole feeling of the club changes. I think Aston Villa have been through it recently as well. Once you're in that mix, you don't want to drop out. and for the owner, for somebody who already has a Champions League club, he's used to seeing them in that competition and in his head, he's thinking, well, Forrester, where they should be and then that has overtaken his belief on where they should go and Nuno's style was working for a period. The back end of the season, they almost stuttered over the line and they almost missed out on Europe entirely or on the competitions they wanted to be in and they had the back route way in to the Europa League and you felt the tensions at the back of last season.
16:26the moment Nuno was let go and Postacoglu came in from that very moment press conference I think it was the Forrest supporters were not behind him at all because they'd seen the template in their eyes their temp you know football fans templates of how they view things are often quite short and they would have looked at the last year under Spurs and they thought what are we doing why are we going down this route why are we choosing this man and he didn't have them on side from the start and that created a problem for him. I did their second game against Swansea and I have to say, I don't think I saw in the entire 39 days Ange Postacoglu smile during a match.
17:06It was a constant, angry shake of the head for a full 90 minutes. And when you look at some of the games they played in that run, of course they played Arsenal first, but you look at some of the opponents, I mean, even Forrest from two seasons ago would have backed themselves to beat some of those sides that they faced. I mean, the Michelin one was particularly bad because they responded, went behind again. And when your own fans are chanting against you early doors, singing chants that you feel only the opposition would sing, but their Forest supporters are singing it. I haven't seen many Forest supporters who are almost upset about it.
17:43They're almost like, well, we knew this was going to happen. This was obviously going to happen. Maranakis sought it out. yeah i mean it does feel a bit like this game in a way is a sort of microcosm of angie's time at forest barry and that he has been a bit unlucky like they were never gonna score in this game they had like they could have been four nil up chelsea kept passing the ball and even when they're losing neko williams has that chance and then is it igor jesus managed to sort of hit the bar and post and bar and post like a pinball machine and then you think back to the swansea game where there's no way two swansea players strike the ball that beautifully within 10 seconds of each other for that winner.
18:16Like, it was just like he needed something to go in off his backside and it never did. And he was just, for whatever reason, screwed. I think we all had a fair idea it wasn't going to work out for him at Forest because he definitely needs a pre-season with the players to impart his ideas. Forest were decent in the first half here, but they were largely good because Chelsea made them look good, I think. Chelsea just kept giving them the ball. And despite all this charity, they couldn't score. Then Maresco made changes at halftime, Brolloin, Caicedo, Gissens and Gou. And that made a huge difference.
19:00Obviously, Caicedo is probably Chelsea's best player. And they go two up. Maranacos leaves his seat very pointedly. and I genuinely thought he might go down to the touchline and sack Big Ang on the spot like mid-second half, but he didn't. He spared him that humiliation and had the good grace to leave it until 20 minutes after the final whistle. The thing is, I look at Maranakis and be charitable. He's an eccentric and volatile character and you think, God, you'd have to be mad to work for him. And then, well, maybe you'd have to be mad not to work for him because Ange presumably leaves the city ground with a big lorry load of cash, a payoff.
19:56And I don't think his reputation has been particularly damaged by this short spell at Forrest. Do you think? I think everyone seems to have their view of Ange And I don't think anything he has done or not done here at Forest is going to change anyone's mind one way or the other. True. I guess, John, I guess it means taking this job means he doesn't get another Premier League job. Whereas if he doesn't take this one, there is one there. So maybe it doesn't change because this is the one. But if he'd waited, and I think Barry's alluded to, don't take this job. If he'd waited, he might have got a better chance at a different club.
20:32Coming in in a different, you know, don't follow the guy that everyone loves and then try and change everything when you've got no time on the training. Yeah, you could see him washing up at Wolves or something like that, but that isn't going to happen now. With all due respect to Wolves. Wolves are a club who can be trigger happy, let's put it that way. So I can't actually see the Wolves fans taking to that either. As Barry said, actually, I watched the first half of this game and thought they're playing quite well. And the thing is, with Ange Ball, it's quite exciting to watch. And yet it's difficult to take to when the team ends up losing every game.
21:05So that's what sullied his reputation, isn't it? The stats of his Premier League form are absolutely awful, like real relegation form. It is such an oddity. He's banked to payoffs. He's banked to Europa League. What follows next? I mean, Seb mentioned the lack of a smile. We saw it, didn't we? that picture of him leaving the ground with that young girl, young girl fan with this big grin on his face in his big car. Weighed down with leather holdalls of cash. It's funny. I hadn't, because I was at Brighton getting ready for the Brighton game. And when Barry's message came in on our WhatsApp group, it said, oh, he's left his seat.
21:52So I said this to everyone that we were up. Oh, he's left his seat. Everyone was, oh, oh, you know, we all know what's going to happen. But it turns out he just got in his car. And I was wondering what sort of car Maranakis has. Because remember Club Chairman, it always used to be a Rolls Royce, didn't it? Yeah, yeah. Or Jag, or Jag. What is it now? What's the car of the day? I'm going to say bulletproof Hummer. Matt Black. Some sort of oversized Lexus. Yeah, yeah. Something like that. Sorry, Max. John just gave me this image of Ange as like a horseshoe crab just sort of drifting towards like Mosley Old Hall or something like just outside Wolverhampton.
22:33And they said there is his final Premier League job. Oh dear. It was a great moment towards the end of this game when a note was sent on to the pitch for Rhys James. And Rhys James read it and gave various people instructions. And he had this folded piece of paper in his hand. And he didn't know what to do with it. And he spent, I'm not exaggerating, I would say three or four minutes with this note in his hat, and he was trying to... Just looking for the recycling bin. I think he was looking for Malogusto, not another red. He didn't want to roll it up and throw it on the pitch either because he's anti-litter or in case a Forest player picked it up and read whatever was on it.
23:17And he eventually stuck it in his sock, which is what I was willing him to do as I watched it. Put it in your sock, put it in your sock. and then about 10 seconds later whacked in Chelsea's third goal having got rid of this anxiety over what to do with this unwanted piece of paper. Sean Dyche is the favourite to take over at Forest Reports that they are in advanced talks and they've already been in talks so could be appointed today. So welcome back to the Premier League Sean Dyche and that'll do for part one part two we'll begin at Selhurst Park.
23:58Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. Dom says, so my Californian son is traveling around Europe, decided to go to his first ever Premier League game yesterday. Big moment. He was going to go to Fulham Arsenal, changed his mind, went down to South London for the Palace game. Imagine that being your first live game you ever saw. I told him he may never see another like that. He's still in shock. Yeah, so Barry, a Mateta hat trick, a penalty equaliser in the 97th minute. But he balloons that one over the 99th. And you're not quite sure, if he had a good game or not. Yeah, he scored a hat-trick.
24:30I said to you yesterday, upon being handed the match ball, he should have just handed it straight back because he should have had two hat-tricks, Max. He missed two chances in the first half. He missed that absolute sitter, the best chance he had all afternoon to win the game deep, deep in added time after scoring the equaliser from the spot. He was... I've never seen a man look so unhappy to score a hat-trick. It was quite the afternoon for old Jean-Philippe. But this was a brilliant, brilliant game of football. I really, really enjoyed it. Bournemouth went two up. Palace got back. Bournemouth went ahead again.
25:09You thought, oh, that's it. And then an absolutely stupid foul by Diakite on Marquet to give away the penalty from which Palace equalised. I think Areola wasn't happy with it. Yeah, I mean, I suppose feel weird to me. The only thing you could argue is that they're not always given, but this one was and you can't complain about it. Just an outstanding game between two really, really good teams. That hatchery comes off the back of his first goal for France and Wilfried Zaha getting very annoyed that Mateta remembered a time when a few Palace players laughed that he wouldn't make the French side.
25:44Sort of quite legitimately, I think, at the time given who was playing up front for France 10 years ago or whenever it was. Probably not quite 10 years ago. Meanwhile, a young Frenchman, Eli Kruppi, 19. His first start in the league, two goals. He looks so happy. I mean, perhaps he's in the dressing room being laughed at by Alex Scott and Ryan Christie that he said he's going to play up front for France. And they're like, hmm, have you seen Mbappe? But he looks so happy, didn't he, to score those goals? He did. He did. I was chatting to someone over the weekend and they were telling me that in the world of the transfer market, there's this new phenomenon, which is agents are now saying that their players have...
26:22Bournemouth and Brighton have been looking at them to try and increase the price of them for other... Oh, really? Yeah, which is, you know... Oh, well, you know, because they have this, you know, this laser-focused scouting system. So everybody... Oh, what? They must be good if they're looking at them. And I think Brighton had linked with some sort of random Ukrainian last week and everyone starts to... He's never heard of them and started pretending their attention to him. Yeah, what a find. Another sore loser, which probably points for him to being a success in the future, Iriola. I mean, it wasn't a loser.
Read the full transcript
26:58He drew, obviously, but he didn't look very happy after that one, did he? It got away from them. Mateta, at the Olympics, he was a bit of a star man in that, wasn't he? So he's a really good player to watch, but he is one of those where it almost defines his career, is he could score an absolute hatful and he can miss them too. And that's it. And his teammates are well aware of this. I think that's possibly the point. Okay, let's do an advert for our league here. I think that when teams play in the style of how Crystal Palace and Bournemouth do, and I saw this at Brighton Newcastle, it's so relentless.
27:39And Seb will know this from being in a commentary box. It must be really hard because these players are just, they go from it from the start and they're just throwing themselves around and chances are created and just maybe we could do a pod where we watch a game from like 1997 or something and watch how games would just start off with like sort of nothing happening and just you know it's like people just lolling about thinking about yeah chatting away how's the missus yeah she's all right And then just off you go. And it is relentless. And when two teams, their style of play is to do that, what happens is that it is not possible for the human being to play that long.
28:26And so often by the end of the game is chaos. Now that's terrible for someone like me that often has to file at full time because the last 20 minutes are just absolute bedlam. And that's what that game was. brilliant brilliant yeah and sometimes sometimes you think it's on you you put it on accidentally on 1.5 speed you're just like this is going too fast isn't it oliver glasner uh confirmed mark gay will leave in the summer ahead of the game and we did get to hear jared gillett's voice i think we've heard it already and he stood by his decision he went to the monitor and stood by his call which is it's so rare that sort of it made me feel slightly euphoric supposedly mike dean was celebrating yes he was yeah he gave us like arms in the air he was so happy yeah really right that that's his that's his paul merson love bites and everything that's it you know there's been a vr vr review not overturned mike dean and he's like yes it's interesting because a few years ago before jerry gillette came over to england to work in the championship A clip did the rounds of him explaining some decision to players.
29:37It was just a compilation of his interactions with players during a game in the A-League. And everyone was pointing to this. Look at this brilliant Australian referee. This is why England needs to import foreign referees because he's so much better than anything we have. But then he came to the Championship and got promoted to the Premier League. And it would be fair to say he has made some extremely controversial decisions, got things wrong. He's also got a lot right. I don't want to get stuck into him. He got this one right. But he's been a controversial video assistant. He's been a controversial ref.
30:14And I think proved positive that the grass is not always greener down under or on the other side or wherever you like. You know, foreign referees are also fallible. I think he's pretty good as it goes. that's my complete Australian yeah yeah Rob says will this be the funniest season for Arsenal to finish second three points clear at the top another game this season where we say something like they wouldn't have won this last year Fulham were good they had chances but Seb it's another clean sheet it's another win for Arsenal their best start to a season defensively in their history three goals conceded in 11 games which is incredible yeah I mean I was going to say death by a thousand and corners.
30:57But actually, Arteta made a really good point after the game. The way Arsenal play, they force so many set pieces. They had quite a few poor corners during that match. Some of the deliveries, they were trying to mix things up, trying different things. I'd also heard somewhere, needs to be checked, that this season of players who have had more than three long throws in a match, Durian Timber has had the longest throw, right? But we haven't really seen Arsenal make use of that for example but they produce so many set pieces because of the way they play they force teams back they even did it to manchester city they have a structure it really unnerves the opposition which makes them think we can't engage them i think in previous seasons they've had trouble against what people might say is a mid block or a team that would be slightly higher up they don't have that problem anymore their main issue is maybe trying to break down low blocks now but that because of players califiori just watching him during a match is fascinating i mean He is an incredible athlete and he gets himself in positions players shouldn't be.
31:58There was a disallowed goal in this that would have been up there for one of the goals of the season. It was so good. It was a glorious moment, but you felt, oh, no, he's offside. I don't know if I would have given it the big one at the time because I just felt he was offside. And they had chances. Jokic had a couple of chances that he probably would have wanted to do better with. And Fulham didn't have a shot on target even though they got themselves into areas. I don't I'm getting a lot of feeling from Arsenal of Chelsea 0-4-0-5 seeing a lot of those teams a lot of the matches Sorry for me and Barry did Chelsea win the league in 0-4-0-5 I couldn't possibly remember Okay In 0-4-0-5 Mourinho's first season Chelsea conceded hardly any goals they were really difficult to get through they nicked a lot of games 1-0 their only defeat that season was a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City which I think ironically Anelka scored in When you come up against teams like that, it is tough because sometimes just one goal will do it.
32:55Now, Arsenal's main issue is, I still think in attacking areas and whether they create enough chances to put games out of sight. But as a base, they're in the strongest position they've been in for, well, I could say for 20 years, if I got my maths right. You know, seventh goal from a corner this season. Gabriel is so good. I mean, in both boxes, isn't he? And also, Barry, they deserve some praise for how their new signings have integrated pretty well. You know, we look at Liverpool and we're saying it's hard for them. It's a new team. Whereas Arsenal's, they haven't changed as much, obviously.
33:31But they've just brought in an extra person here and there who look really good. And you've got to have so much hope. I mean, I reckon it'd be panicked hope if you're an Arsenal fan. I think I'd be quite calm at the moment. I mean, there's so many things that could go wrong for them. and there's such a long way to go. When you've got that defensive base and you're not conceding goals, that's such a great foundation to have. So just scoring one is enough. And Fulham gave them plenty to think about on Saturday evening, but they got the job done. Seb often talks about teams who want to stay up winning those three o 'clock games on a Saturday that aren't on TV.
34:17They're the important ones. This was like one of those games, except it wasn't at three o 'clock. It was on TV. And Arsenal aren't trying to avoid relegation. They're trying to win the league. But it's a similar kind of thing. Just minimum of fuss, job done, and what's next for us. Most Arsenal fans of my acquaintance are not losing the run of themselves. They're not getting too excited. But I think they are quietly confident. but they're bound to have a blip at some stage and Arsenal they may Arsenal things up who knows they may and Man City may capitalise I guess for the third season of his career Erling Haaland has reached double figures in eight Premier League games 11 in the league already 23 for club and country this season he scored twice against Everton and what was interesting actually Seb I don't know if you saw this my original match of the day kind of broke down defensively how Everton defended both goals.
35:18And he basically said they defended both goals absolutely perfectly. It's just Erling Haaland's really good. I mean, I wouldn't say absolutely perfectly because of the end result. But yeah, I agree. I feel like it's time to stop being shy about this. I genuinely don't think there's been a striker like him that I can think of. Because he is one of those players where, I look around, I don't really see a weakness in him. and the things that have been applied to him as weaknesses are actually more about the way Manchester City play. I've seen his link-up play. I think it's top class sometimes. He can actually run with the ball.
35:54He can dribble past players. We don't get to see that too much, but I've seen him do it. He's amazing in the air. He's so quick. His mentality is, you know, to tell another manager to stay humble, I think, is a level of mentality and arrogance and confidence in how you feel everything's going. When he was asked about how he was going to do when he arrived in the Premier League, he just said, well, I had confidence about what I was going to score the goals. He hit the ground running as a signing, even though he was seen as a hot prospect still. He just took to the Premier League like it was nothing.
36:24He was bullying defenders. He can deal with the physical side. I would like somebody to give me somebody who is similar to him. And don't say Mateta. And he's racked up enough seasons now to start to have this hyperbole because I think a lot's going to depend on, obviously, if he stays in Manchester City, what their future is with regards to the charges whenever that happens. If he stays in Manchester City and he's able to be there for a long time, I have absolutely no doubt he'll break Shearer's record. I just think we've never seen a striker like this in profile. Where his career ends up, let's see in terms of number of goals and if he has an injury.
36:57But I can't think of anybody. I mean, help me out. I would compare him to Mateta insofar as he scored two goals here and should have got several more. Jordan Pickford put a stop to his gallop, denied him at least two more if not three yeah i mean he does but they're also like aesthetically he looks different you know he is you know like when he leaps for a header you know it does look like a comic you know it's like there's something quite incredible about about him uh just spurs villa villa one two one a game john where either side could have won this and it was settled by two brilliant villa goals you know thomas frank after was like well you know i'd have said yeah go and have a shot, that's fine, but they're only shots on target, and the second goal it's like one touch from Cash is beautiful, two touches from Dina are perfect, and then three from Buendia and it's in the net, it's an amazing goal.
37:51Yeah, I mean you would say on another day that pass of the weekend was Bruno Fernandes' but Matty Cash's is out of the absolute you know, if that's on the highlights reel of Zinedine Zidane, you'd say oh yeah that's what that guy does I mean it was absolutely insane quality and Wendia you know showed his real quality yeah Villa Crisis Club Villa I think one of the last times I was on his party it was oh it's all going wrong Dan was like oh you know what what if what if you know I leaves you know all this type of thing.
38:33They have always had, despite some complaints from their fans about not being able to recruit, they've always had a good squad. They've always had a good manager. They just needed to reset themselves a little bit. With Tottenham, it's an interesting question. It's one that I've seen raised a few places about how the Tottenham Stadium is too nice a place to play. and I believe this was raised at the press conference on Friday and Thomas Frank dealt with it in his usual diplomatic way, is that it's nice when you go there and the opposition are like, ooh, the dressing room's nice. And it is not the atmosphere of the ground because everyone's just too comfortable there.
39:17And it's, you know, I went there the other week to Tottenham, Doncaster, with some friends from up north and just did the whole fan thing because, you know, I sometimes do actually pay to go to football. Yeah, it was too nice. You could sit and have a beer and a bagel and all this. It's not like Hart Lane, which used to have, but when that went off, the crowd would get right on the opposition. Are these new stadiums, do they provide the colour that the Premier League thrives off, really? I'm not sure. How do you change it? I mean, what do you do? I mean, just sort of leave a dirty protest in the away dressing room.
39:53How do we go full John Beck and make it boiling hot in winter? How do they... Do the crazy gang thing where you've just got this ghetto blast of pumping out. Yeah, that's an interesting thing. I'm not sure the dirty protest would... I mean, you just need to win five in a row at home, don't you? That's what you need to do and make it a fortune. Yeah, you do. And also, let's be fair to Tottenham. They are missing something in the connection between the front players and midfield. It's Xavi Simmonds, it's not quite working out just yet. They are missing James Madison or were missing for most of the season.
40:31They're missing Kulosevsky. Maybe when those players return or Kulosevsky, whose return is mysterious, Spurs might have a bit more of a spark. But they're a little bit boring to watch. But it could have gone to either team. Let's be fair about that. Yeah. A Morgan Rodgers goal because Wendia's... I think about the thing about the Matty Cash passes, you know, we spend so much time analyzing football matches and we sort of forget. We don't talk about just the art of kicking a football. And, you know, Matty Cash, I mean, he's a perfectly decent Premier League right back. Right. But if he can kick the ball that well, like these guys can really kick the ball well.
41:10It sounds like such a dumb, obvious bit of analysis. But God, they're good at kicking this like and like we should praise them. We've all kicked a ball. We've all tried to kick a ball with your laces like that. And that is something else, the way he's done that. So well done all these players for being good at kicking the ball. Now, on Thursday, Aston Villa said the city's safety advisory group decided that fans of Maccabee Tel Aviv should not be permitted to attend the Europa League fixture on the 6th of November. Over safety concerns, West Midlands police said it had classified the fixture as high risk based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including, quote, violent clashes and hate crime offences between Ajax and Maccabee fans before a game in Amsterdam in November 2024.
41:51More than 60 people were arrested over the violence, which city officials described as a toxic combination of anti-Semitism, hooliganism and anger. Ten of those arrests were McAbee fans. The government has then since said they're doing everything in our power, not Football Weekly's power, in the government's power, to overturn the ban. No one should be stopped from watching a football game simply because of who they are, a government spokesperson said. In a statement on their website, Villa said the club are in continuous dialogue with McAbee, Tel Aviv and the local authorities throughout this ongoing process with the safety of supporters attending the match and the safety of local residents at the forefront of any decision.
42:26It's become a political mess. Politicians on both sides of the debate, the Prime Minister, the leader of opposition, both saying that McAbee fans should go. From what I've read, and I've read a lot, my understanding, Barry, is that this isn't a debate about Israel's actions in Gaza. That is a separate one. And a debate about whether McAbee or any other side from Israel, club team, should be playing in European competitions, or the national team should be playing. is a different debate. So then the debate should be, should McAbee fans be allowed because of the hooligan element within their supporter base?
42:58That has nothing to do with their ethnicity. Fans are regularly banned from attending matches. So do the actions of McAbee fans in previous games warrant being banned from going to Villa? That seems to be the question to which I don't have the answer. I suppose you could argue that West Midland Police could do more to facilitate these travelling fans and make more of an effort rather than just decide to ban them. But they are working, as you say, on information they've got from Interpol about the past actions of these fans. What the problem, it seems to be, is the way it's been framed in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister, by the leader of the opposition, by Robert Jenrick, who came up with this recollection of his days going to the away end at Villa with his dad during the 80s, a time that was really toxic and unpleasant in English football.
43:51And he portrayed this racism and hooliganism of that time as just banter between chums. So that's nonsense. But Labour and the Tories have framed this as if the police are stopping Maccabee Tel Aviv fans from coming because they can't ensure their safety. That's extremely disingenuous. And it's difficult to imagine these people would have got involved at all if the team in question was just to pluck a random couple of teams out of thin air, Fiorentina or Leisure Warsaw. It's purely because they come from Israel. And they also said that banning a set of fans from attending a football match would set a dangerous precedent.
44:41But it wouldn't because it happens all the time. hooligans from European clubs are often banned from travelling and I don't see the harm in it Hello, we should point out there are others who agree with the government and the opposition's take that this is some form of discrimination Bernie Roney wrote a piece at the weekend disagreeing with the decision to ban Maccabee Televive fans you can find that on the Guardian website and that will do for part 2 Part 3 will begin at the Stadium of Light
45:18welcome to part three of the guardian football weekly sunderland two wolves nil you were worried ahead of this game barry sunderland had quite a few injuries nothing to worry about seventh after eight games 10 points from four home games um some good football a funny own goal everything you want yeah it was quite comfortable win for sunderland in the end i was worried because of a mounting injury mini crisis but the players i was worried about were able to play in this game so that was okay. One of them, Muki Ely, scored an excellent goal, and Wolves did threaten to get back in the game. They had a few good chances.
45:55João Gomez in particular missed one, and Robin Roos made a good save from Maneci. Sunderland finished the game panic-free because of the comedy-owned goal from Ladislav Kreczi, who diverted a hopeful cross-pass his own, hopefully wrong for the goalkeeper. Worrying times for Wolves, I think. Is it Burnley they have next? Yeah, they play Burnley next in the league, yeah. What time is that game? I don't know. That can't be a TV game, can I? It has the whiff of three o 'clock on a Saturday about it. Yeah, we're really getting into must-win territory for Wolves now, but this was another very impressive win for Sunderland in a game I thought they would possibly struggle in.
46:45And what a job Regis LeBrie is doing up on Wearside. He doesn't seem to get the same amount of plaudits as Oliver Glasner and Anthony Irola or even Fabian Herzler. But I think he's getting there. He will be soon. 2 p.m. Sunday, by the way, which in many ways is the new 3 p.m. Saturday. oh no am I doing that game I don't have your diary John you were at the Amex for Brighton 2 Newcastle 1 you got to experience the fun flicks of big old Volta Marda and the eternal Danny Welbeck who is like from Cocoon he's in Cocoon isn't he that's what he is he is a much better player than he was as a 22 year old I used to watch at Old Trafford who was prone to missing chances and could be quite frustrating but he's one of football's good guys isn't he he's a really nice chap cast aside I think his contract ran down at Watford taken on by Brighton five years later he is I mean this is it with Brighton when you actually look at how young the rest of the players are in the team apart from James Milner of course and Lewis Dunk you've got this they had the midfielder Balaba and Ayari are playing against the Newcastle midfield, which is generally agreed is among the best, if not the best, in the Premier League when on song.
48:16Balei, Brunayari took them apart, really. I mean, really, really good players. But they get tired. And then it's like you've got the old guard holding the team together, Dunk at the back and then Dunk and Voltemada was a good clash. Voltemada is great to watch. Go and watch him if you can. He's superb. Such skills. And, you know, it really lifts the fans. It's great to watch. And then Danny Welbeck, that first goal, it's a beauty, isn't it? You know, just like... People describe it as a dink. My match reporter described it as a dab. He just sort of pokes at it and it sort of... And then the second finish, you know, ball...
48:58It's a little unlucky because Dan Byrne puts in a fine tackle. He strokes it at home. Words, actually, for another young player, Mintate, who actually was a Newcastle player. Yeah, it was a PSR sale, wasn't it? Yeah, he is so quick, so quick. And Dan Byrne had a pretty bad afternoon against him. And yeah, you actually look at those PSR sales. Elliot Anderson, England regular. Mintay is Brighton's, you know, they don't miss Mitoma when he's in the team because he's that out ball. Brighton are great to watch. They can be a little fragile because of the youth in the team. That's what will happen when you gamble so much, or not again, but you play so much faith in young players.
49:40But they're another of those teams where it's warp speed stuff. And at the end of the game, there's always too much stuff happening for someone in my profession. Yeah, just say, slow down, Minter. Yeah, the ball from Ayari to Viffer in the lead up to the Welbeck goal is such a brilliant pass. And Brighton have already beaten Newcastle, Chelsea and City this season, drawn with Spurs. So, you know, they have overcome a pretty tricky start to the season. Their only wins are over Champions League opposition, which shows you the ceiling that they've got and then the sort of selection. You know, it's interesting.
50:13He is an interesting manager. It's difficult to know where his ceiling is. Burnley two leads, Neil. I mean, the cross from Karl Walker for the first goal is great, but the second goal, Barry, is such a joy, isn't it? It's one of those goals where a player gets the ball in a pocket of space outside the penalty area, doesn't really know what to do next because it doesn't really have any options. and then decides, ah, I might as well just whack it, see what happens. And this is what happened to Lume Chuma, a player I must confess I wasn't too familiar with. He wasn't closed down by the Leeds defenders and had a look around, not really much open on for me here, and then just pinged a rocket into the top corner.
51:01Have that, Carl Daryl, and a wonderful goal. I said to you yesterday, Max, in January, this game at Turf Moor Burnley Leeds in the championship was the worst game of football I have ever seen by some distance. And this one was way better, but it was still last on match of the day. So make of that what you will. But Leeds should have done better here. They had way more shots, way more touches in the opposition box. All the stats were in their favour, except the only stat that matters. And they just missed too many chances. Nicholas says, I listened to the Premier League preview from last week. I'm a Burnley fan, excited for some searing insights on the battle at the bottom.
51:46We got, the manager's names rhyme. You then had the audacity to call part three any other business. God knows what that must be about. Someone texted Matt McNally got in touch to say McGleesh versus Dalgleesh in 2012, which isn't bad. Someone did text me on TalkSport to say Guardiola versus Iraiola. Love the fact that we missed that, but did get Steve Tilson versus Danny Wilson in League One in 2009. We'll cover West Ham Brentford on Wednesday's pod after the Champions League. Whilst recording, Sean Dyche has reached a verbal agreement. It's my job, I'll take it. That's a verbal agreement. To be Forrest's boss.
52:22I'm due to what, I'm going to the Bournemouth game at the weekend. I mean, is it Bournemouth Forest? It just feels like I spend a lot of time listening to Sean Dyche. and I thought those days were over but I thought he was headed back to the championship but no, no. Max, John mentioned earlier about sort of being confused as a commentator. I think the game I'm doing tonight has really got my brain working because you have Nuno who's in charge doing his first home game as West Ham manager. He's taking on Brentford who he already played this season for his only win was against Brentford under Nuno opening game which is Brentford's opening game of the season.
53:02And sometimes these, I think, I feel like I've been here before. I've seen these two managers on the touchline. It's a different team. But then Nuno's second game, he lost to West Ham. So he's already played West Ham as a manager this season. He's already played Brentford as a manager this season. And now tonight, I don't even know how to begin with this one. I think I've written it down. Well, you've confused me already. That's the plan. It's a sort of, you know, we've had a busy weekend. You can have one eye on that. I mean, you probably need to really focus since you're commentating, but it might be a one-eyed job for me.
53:33Well done to Reyes Cleary of Barnsley, who scored from 60 yards in their tour with Bradford. Brilliant, brilliant goal. I mean, absolutely perfect. Jim says, is Barry aware the head of FIFA and the entire 1966 England World Cup squad have donated to his half-marathon fundraiser? Yes, Gianni Infantino,£2.50 plus 63p gift aid. And the team of 66 have donated£19 and 66p. and this one says Max Rushton 22 hours ago hi everyone Max here Barry's here too I can't stop the VAR chat but I can donate the minimum amount annoyingly it's much more than I was hoping to give two pounds plus 50p I'm yet to officially give you a donation at one point on Saturday Max I was the leading fundraiser for next year's London landmarks half marathon and I have our listeners to thank for that so uh it's a huge amount of pressure i'm under now i went running on saturday it was horrific and uh but thank you everyone i'm genuinely uh in awe of your generosity barry glendening just giving uh by the way i forgot to mention that a great ormond street uh children's charity uh very worthy cause we didn't have time to get into the fact that in the whatsapp group john bruin admitted he had never seen jurassic park one of the stone cold of a generation i was at the time how old was that at the time i was probably 17 or 18 when that came out i mean come on what i've a friend who's never seen back to the future i saw that yeah i've never seen back to the future two or three oh they're very good oh they're all well three struggles a little but two is an absolute classic there is no time for this what do you mean it was a time of this is the this is the gold people like it was a time of reservoir dogs and bad lieutenant and all that it was just just uh just just fade them down that'll do that'll do coventry played well coventry doing well yeah we have no no time for any of this thanks barry thank you thank you sam thank you cheers john cheers football weekly is produced by dog grove our executive producer is danielle stevens we'll be back on wednesday
55:48This is The Guardian.