Manchester City have Arsenal in their sights – Football Weekly

25:40Max Rushden:They weren't good. They weren't terrible, but they lost again. I think they probably deserved to lose. I thought Sunderland was a better team. I really enjoyed the battle between Brian Broby and Christian Romero. Yeah. Broby was brilliant. Broby was brilliant. You mentioned Jokic's hold-up play. Broby's hold-up play was absolutely amazing in this game. Yeah, he does so much more than score goals and he's a real handful. Obviously, the battle in question ended with Romero going off with what looks like a serious knee injury, which will probably rule him out for the rest of the summer and the World Cup, so that's unfortunate for him.

26:18Max Rushden:And Broby probably should have been sent off, but he probably should have been booked for that shove that caused that injury, shoving Romero into Kinski. I was pleased Kinski had a good game for Spurs just after what happened to him. Atleti, yeah. Yeah, because I think it was important. He had a good game and he didn't do anything wrong. He played quite well. There's nothing he could do about the goal. I was obviously hoping Sunderland would win this. I wasn't sure how up for it they'd be. But I think teams are invested in sending Tottenham down, even if they have nothing else to play for. I really do.

26:54Max Rushden:And if you look through the Sunderland team here, Rinaldo, Le Fay, Alderete, Granit Xhaka, Brobby, Mucchielli, all played really well. All new signings. Well, Le Fay was on loan there for the second half last season, but he was only officially signed this summer. They're all new signings. They all played well. Luke Online there as well from the Sunderland Old Guard. And what a job Regis Labrie has done. I know we're supposed to be talking about Spurs, well, I just think he's done a sensational job this season. Spurs lost again. I've looked at their remaining fixtures. Hard to see where they're going to pick up points, even against Wolves.

27:38Yeah, I agree, Jacob. And I still don't, because they've never gone down in my lifetime, I still feel they won't go down. But I have nothing, I have nothing to base that on. They are, they're so out, they have no confidence. We talk about that anxiety of Arsenal. They've got nothing. They do nothing. Yeah, that's not a reason to think they won't go down. The fact you've never seen it. No, it isn't. No, but it's philosophically quite a good reason to think something isn't going to happen if you've never seen it happen. I've seen lots of things happen in my life. And I know they happen and this hasn't happened.

28:14But you're right. It is bad reasoning. It's bad logic. They're not good, Jacob. No, they're really bad. They are really bad. I mean, obviously they've not won in the league in 2026, and they just seem to have forgotten what that actually feels like. And they also can't score. Well, they do score some goals, but I think it's since the turn of the year, they've only scored more than once in two league games, which suggests a real problem. And obviously they're missing massive players in attack a whole season without Kulusevsky, Madison and much of the... well, it's been three or four months now without Kudus as well.

28:54Odderbeer, another player who has shown promise in patches as well. He's gone. I think obviously with Maddison and Kudusiewski there, if they had been there for some of these games, it might be different. They just have no replacement for that. And the lack of creativity is really being felt now. And you looked at that front three that started on Sunday. they're all decent players probably in their own right. But as a combination, they're all kind of the same player. And you're looking at it and thinking, well, who's going to make a goal for the other one? They had that small bit of success at Anfield where they played very direct.

29:35But in that game, Liverpool looked so unready for that approach from Tottenham. And Sunderland, I don't think that was the kind of thing that was going to scare them by playing long. and that lack of creativity now is a real problem. And it's another game where the big creative signing from last summer, signed for what, 50, 60 million pounds, Xabi Simons is on the bench. He can't even get into this side at the moment. So the real, real problems, and when you throw in the Romero injury as well, the lack of goals combined with now the problems in defence just makes it look even harder. I do think though at the same time when you look at the fixtures I do think that they're they're okay I think if you could ask for any then probably those would maybe just about be the ones you would you would want they have this potential obviously game looming with with Chelsea where that could be the one that sends them down on the penaltable weekend unless that gets changed by well I was listening to some Chelsea fans on the platform of West Brompton and they're starting to think that they might actually mess that up.

30:42So maybe there's hope. So yeah, they've got Brighton at home, then Wolves away, Villa away, Leeds at home, Chelsea away, Everton at home. What should Deserby do, Seb?

30:55Seb Hutchinson:Join in the summer? Go back in time and say, I don't want this job, yeah. I can't believe that Spurs went for Deserby at this point in time. It just didn't really make sense to me. I felt like it needed somebody who would just come in and just calm them down just go you know the players here are surely they're good enough to get more goals than they have got in recent games surely I mean we're talking about talented players on the surface but it's just not working and the interesting thing for me was when Romero started crying you knew it was because he was going to miss the World Cup you knew those tears were for Argentina that as soon as you sort of just thought this is going to be a bad injury because he's had injury problems before he's had multiple suspensions for spurs and van der Ven the way he was playing everything we spoke about Arsenal and their tension I think there's a tension in the Tottenham team now where they're forgetting how to do simple things when things go against them they're getting frustrated three of the back four was booked fairly early on in the game and once that snowball starts rolling it's really tough to stop it and it was a bad weekend when it comes to the other results and that's even before Leeds are playing as well.

32:07Yeah well let's talk about West Ham then. Beat Wolves 4-0, put Spurs in the relegation zone on Friday night. You are West Ham Jacob, you're alive figuratively. You know it looks rosier after this game. Well it's the first time that they've had it in their hands pretty much throughout the running. The first time they've been out to the bottom of three properly since I think November. By the end of the weekend they've had moments here and there where they've gone out and then been immediately put back in by the end of the weekend. The change is massive and it probably goes back to these two signings in attack that they've made, Pablo and Castellanos, who I still can't really work out if either of them are particularly good.

32:48They're probably overpaid for both of them, particularly Pablo, given that he was signed for not very much by his previous club in Portugal, Gil Vicente. But they've both made an impact. Unlike the Tottenham players in attack, they are making that impact by partly just running around and being a nuisance and occupying defenders, just being really annoying to play against, particularly in the case of Pablo, who hasn't actually scored yet for a missed, took a really bad penalty in the shootout against Leeds in the FA Cup quarterfinal last weekend. But without ever really looking like he might score, he is contributing to the side and then Castellanos as well he's got five goals since he turned up and these were probably the most important ones because the others have they've not been ones that have really made a huge difference to the to the final score in most cases but these two really sort of changed the mood in the stadium because it was it was quite nervous for much of the game I mean Wolves turned up and they dominated for about 40 minutes and it It felt like West Ham, because their fixtures are pretty hard from here, it felt like they knew they absolutely had to win this game.

33:59If they didn't, it would just be such a huge blow for them to take. And I'm not sure they would have recovered from it. They were sort of snatching at chances. And when that first goal goes in from Avropanos, who's another massive change in performances as well from him at the back, still it felt nervous. Wolves hit the post at the start of the second half. That first Castellanos goal just felt like it lifted all the tension in the stadium. And after that, they just ran through them. The other huge difference they've had in January was De Sassi, who coming in on loan from Chelsea at the back has just shored things up to a defence that previously was comfortably looked like the worst in the division, with particularly Kilman playing there.

34:38And since coming in, he's just made things much calmer, De Sassi. And at Chelsea, he was a player who really struggled with the whole playing out from the back thing. But I think if you just ask him to be a defender, then he's good at that. He can do all the things that a defender traditionally has to do. And he's also just a really good, really good character. And it feels like Nuno, from having had a really difficult start around December, January, the mood around the place was really, really bad. There were a lot of unhappy players and there was quite a lot of disquiet inside the building. It just feels like he's got the spirit in the team now and goals in the team, importantly.

35:18Despite the fixtures, I would now really think that they're going to stay up. And the interesting question as well is, if they don't, what do you do with Nuno? Because if you do go down, he's probably the guy you want to try and get you back up. Probably more the question is going to be, would he want to stay there? Would he start to think, I've got better options than this? I would say Castellanos is two of the worst hit strikes of a football of all time but you know it doesn't matter you need that luck I guess so Barry they've got Palace away Everton at home Brentford away Arsenal at home Newcastle away Leeds at home I mean it isn't easy but I know that final game against Leeds could be enormous for them

35:54Max Rushden:yeah they are tough assignments but the thing is West Ham are showing fight Leeds are showing fight Forrest are showing fight Spurs are not no fight at all so just on that alone you'd have to go for Spurs but Spurs definitely have easier fixtures but as I said I cannot see where Spurs are going to get even a point from their remaining fixtures playing the way they are At the city ground Forrest Drew won all with Villa I mean apologies for looking at this through a Spurs lens said but the chances Villa missed in this game were just sort of extraordinary. I mean, sales made some slaves, but that Rodgers miss, you know, I love it when you get to this stage of the season where you're so invested in other teams and you're like utterly furious with Aston Villa.

36:46I haven't really bothered about anything they've done all year and suddenly I'm livid with Morgan Rodgers.

36:51Seb Hutchinson:Yeah, Forrest, they were the ones I was most worried about a couple of weeks ago because even though I felt they were going to stay up for a lot of the season, I was struggling where their goals were going to come from and Chris Wood's come back, which is great. But yes, I think they would have taken a point before that game. They know that Villa are a side who are well up the league and doing well. Although I think Villa have only scored three more goals than Spurs this season. So they've not been great goal scorers. And that probably showed by the chances they missed in the end. Every weekend is going to feel pivotal because Forest are still in the Europa League.

37:24Seb Hutchinson:And they're in a good position to progress in that. If they beat Porto, they're through to the semifinals. And then that's another game in the fixtures. But then the game after that is Burnley at home. And Burnley at home for any team now feels like the one where you just have to win that game. It's that sort of game. And that's what it was for West Ham on Friday. You have to beat Wolves. Even though we're talking down about Spurs' situation, the running is with West Ham at the moment. Of the four, they're the ones I'm most confident about staying up right now because they're hitting form. All the others still, Leeds, Spurs and Forest are struggling to score goals.

38:01Seb Hutchinson:and this could be the one where they have that those narrow defeats. Is this going to be the difference? And so that point against Villa, I think, was pretty big. Both of those guys played on Thursday night. Villa had a big win against Bologna away, beating the 3-1. Scored really late on for a crucial third goal. Forestry won all the way at Porto. Their goal was an excellent own goal. Palace won as well in the Conference League. Tonight, the other side endangered Leeds, go to Old Trafford. So we'll talk about that on Wednesday's pod. And that'll do for part two. Part three, we'll do the rest of the Premier League.

38:30a bit of AFL, a bit of fit bar. And that's about it.

38:41Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly at Liverpool 2, Fulham 0. This, Barry, felt... It was just nice for Liverpool, for them to see some good performances. You know, Ngamoa was great. Salah scored a good goal. It felt happy for a change.

38:54Max Rushden:Up to a point, Liverpool fans had a protest of sorts. I think they didn't have any banners on the Kop, apart from the one that said no to ticket price increases. So they're not happy with the club hierarchy over that. They're not happy with performances. I thought Fulham might get something here, but they didn't. They weren't terrible, but they missed a couple of decent chances. Raul Jimenez, Emile Smith-Rowe. A good win for Liverpool. I think at best it will paper over some gaping fissures. But N 'Gamoa, his performance was definitely something for the Liverpool fans to savour. I didn't realise quite how young he was.

39:39Max Rushden:He's only 17. His goal was absolutely brilliant. He played a pivotal part in setting up Salah to score a kind of mirror image inside the other post. His performance was really good. a much needed win for Liverpool but it is hardly going to do much to change the mood around Anfield Yeah Man United in that race for the Champions League spot have 55 from 31 obviously play Leeds tonight Villa 55 from 32 Liverpool now 52 from 32 Chelsea in 6th 48 from 32 and then Brentford and Everton both on 47 and Seb you sort of needed one of these sides to win to maintain their Champions League push and neither of them did

40:22Seb Hutchinson:If Everton or Brentford had won that game, then they would be above Chelsea right now. And even with Liverpool within range, and then you're dreaming about the draw, it just made it a meh result. But what it does to is keep both sides firmly thinking about the season. And for Thiago, I mean, incredible campaign. and you're looking at because of Haaland's goals relatively drying up, he's now in a position where the golden boot's in his sights and that would be some achievement. And of course, if he does pick the... he'll probably be leading the line for Brazil come the World Cup and it could be one of those great stories after the way his Brentford career began with that serious injury.

41:09Max Rushden:Yeah, he and Rayan from Bournemouth both made their Brazil debuts during the international break in a match against Croatia and Florida, I think. Yeah, 22 goals, Haaland, 21, Igor Czerga. I mean, when it's going for you and one just hits him and goes in, as I'm just watching Solanke and Kolo Mouane, Richarlison just running around. Just let someone hit it and hit you, for goodness sake. There was some brilliant goalkeeping in this game. Kelleher made one amazing double save. Pickford made a couple of brilliant saves as well. Both having brilliant seasons. Newcastle not having a brilliant season, Jacob.

41:44I mean, Palace with a late comeback here. but he's got the pressure on anyhow is quite interesting and this idea that if he doesn't end the season well this could be it for him yeah it's another game where they they've thrown it away he talked a lot about how they he's not telling them to do this but they are sinking back in games and just trying to defend when they've got the lead they obviously lost the lead against Sunderland in previous game and they did it again here without ever this palace seeming to dominate the game and Newcastle nicked the goal at the end of the first half and unable to push on from there and the pressure in the end becomes too much and Eddie Howe told Spurk afterwards about how he wanted the team to go for more and instead they're just losing control in games not taking the initiative and annoyed by the fact that they're not taking even shots on when they have the chance which he said really annoyed him and that's just been a lot of the the story of the season for Newcastle where they just seem to lack the ability to see games through and control that.

42:48And maybe part of that at the moment comes through not having Bruno Gibraltar who's been out now for a long time and is such an important player for them in midfield. Another element that's obviously been a real part of their season is that the two strikers who've come in to replace Alexander Izak simply haven't done it. It's another game where they both start on the bench, Wiltamada and Johan Visser and Osula starts and scores instead, but the two expensive ones are on the bench. And there's been tension at Newcastle in recent transfer windows over how the signings were done with how much say Eddie Howe would have over things.

43:28He's always had quite a lot of power there. And there've been sort of clashes with recruitment staff in the past, particularly Paul Mitchell, who ended up leaving. you could just feel that maybe this is starting to come towards a natural ending but you've got this other problem for Newcastle where they're talking about potentially needing to sell players as well they're needing to sell a big player and there's there's constant talk of Arsenal looking at Anthony Gordon Manchester United looking at um looking at Sandra Itanali so it's it's very odd times at Newcastle. They've not had the season that they would have wanted.

44:09Max Rushden:You could tell a lot about both teams here from their respective benches. Palace started with Ismail Asar, Adam Wharton and Jan-Philippe Mateta on the bench because they were saving them for Europe. Newcastle started with Jacob Ramsey, Valtamada, Wissa and Ilanga on the bench because all these expensive signings are not good enough to get in the team. Newcastle's recruitment last summer has proved disastrous that's on eddie howe i think palace have played 12 games after conference league matches this season this is only the third one they've won but there are seems to be a section of newcastle fans who think that because eddie howe won them a trophy that should give him a lifetime residency at the helm in atst james's park and i mean you don't get rid of him unless you can bring someone else who will be better but uh it's not going well for them this season is it it's very sad very sad yeah well listen i mean like he can't control sven botman doing that in the night you know the 90th minutes i mean that is mad isn't it even if you know it's soft and they're often not given you don't need to do that um i suppose palettes are interesting seven that you know a while ago glass and i sort of down tools and was desperately trying to get sacked and then he's gone okay well i'm here i might as well try and win a european in competition and you know like he could like you know even more cement himself as the most successful palace manager of all time what an incredible story would be we're talking about

45:40Seb Hutchinson:managers winning trophies how and slot and then their jobs being under pressure Klasner could probably win a third title essentially because I'm counting the community shield for Crystal Palace and then just walk away and just be like yeah I'm done thank you very much uh I'm going to be a legend here and they will remember him as one even though he's had these dodgy moments this season where he's basically tried to be in a position where everything can be under his watch in terms of transfers ins and outs but he knows that's not the case at a club like Crystal Palace so he's vocally, he's earned the right to speak out about this stuff but you do get remembered for winning things as a manager this is what Sixers people is either that or playing great football think of Keegan at Newcastle couldn't get them over the line in the league but they still look fondly on that title run because of the way they were playing so these things are important and it would be quite the end to his time at Palace because you know he will walk away if he wins that competition for sure what an end that would be and Mateta is back in the good books as well Well done to Mats Viffer who scored two for Brighton at Burnley Sorry Max, I've got to cut you off because Mats Viffer, we're not going to have much chance to talk about him and I want to use him as an example why you should never trust AI for any football knowledge or anything you need to know because my father-in-law, West Ham season ticket holder, he was looking earlier this season for a central midfielder that, you know, who could West Ham get?

47:16Seb Hutchinson:So he used AI to try and find who would be the best midfield signing for West Ham. Is he like part of the recruitment? It sounds like how West Ham was doing. Well, that's a fan, isn't it? That's how they think. I guess they do. And AI returned. And you should look at Mats Wiefer. He's a central midfielder for Atletico Madrid who's been brilliant under Diego Simeone and helped them win the La Liga title. And I'll leave it at that. He's been playing right back most of this season.

47:44Max Rushden:On the subject of people getting things wrong, sorry, I just noticed in Fabian Herzler's press conference on Friday ahead of the Burnley game, he said we can't take them lightly because Burnley have proved in recent weeks that they can beat anyone in the Premier League. And I said, hold on a minute. So I went and checked. And since the start of November, Burnley have won one Premier League match against Crystal Palace, and that was on the 11th of February. So I actually think Fabian Herzler might have been not being sure who his team were playing going into his pre-match press conference because it was just an extraordinarily wrong thing to say.

48:30Categorically, Burnley have proved they can't beat anyone in the Premier League, can't they? In the EFL, Ipswich won the East Anglia derby at Carrow Road. Two points clear of Millwall and have two games in hand. So they're in a great spot to join Coventry, who are basically up. I think they need one point for maths. They only drew 0-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Terrible week for Wrexham. Lost two in a row. Four-point gap between them and Hull, who are in six. So it's Millwall, Borough, Saints and Hull in the playoff spots. Terrible weekend for Leicester. They lost while Oxford and Portsmouth both won.

49:02So they are on 41 points in 23rd. Oxford have 44, Portsmouth 45, West Brom 46, Blackburn 48, Charlton 49. In League One, great for Cardiff, who beat fourth place, Bolton 2-0. Third place, Bradford also lost to Stevenage. So Cardiff are basically up. That win for Stevenage, huge for them. They look set for the playoffs, along with Stockport, Bolton and Bradford. in the Devon Derby. Exeter conceded a 90th minute equaliser at Plymouth. So that could really cost them. You could feasibly be 12th in League One and still get relegated. Unlikely. Barnsley would have to have a terrible time. You know, Rotherham, Northampton and Port Vale basically down.

49:38And then it is pick one from as many as you like. Enormous weekend in League Two. The top four played each other. Leaders Bromley lost 2-1 at MK Dons. Cambridge leapfrog Notts County after hammering them 4-0. So we're back into the automatics. A bunt fight for the last playoff spot and a bit of daylight at the bottom now. Barrow and Harrogate both on 33 and then a four-point gap between them and Newport, Crawley and Tranmere on 37. In Fitbar, all three teams won, but Hearts left it very late for their victory. Rangers were 2-0 down at Falkirk. We won 6-3 in the end. Celtic won as well. So it's as you were.

50:14Hearts on 70. Rangers 69, Celtic 67. And in running, we should finish the pod with running. A big congratulations to producer Joel, who run a sub three hour Milan marathon at the weekend. So well done to him. And that'll do pretty much for today. I'm only kidding, Barry. We've had lots of messages, but well done to Joel. Sub three is pretty impressive.

50:34Max Rushden:Yes, he's well chuffed with that. I think it's his first sub three. John says, Dear Football Weekly team, as I continue my recovery from a nasty bout of anorexia nervosa, any discussion of running and personal best, et cetera, can be extremely triggering. I can't tell you how refreshing it's been to listen to Barry's total disdain for the whole concept of what he's put his body through these last few months. Barry, your total refusal to turn into a pretentious twat, wanging on about how great it feels to go for a run, has bordered on the heroic. Great pod, keep up the good work, says John. Johnny says, Today I ran the London landmarks half marathon for the incredible charity Tommies.

51:12I had a secret dream of meeting the one and only Barry Glendening. I've been a listener to Football Weekly for over 10 years. I knew this would be my best chance, although not in his natural habitat. I feared the odds were not in my favor with 20 ,000 people running. But when a start notification pinged just 20 minutes before my start time that Barry was underway, I had the hope of hunting him down. The first 7K of the run flew by with my eyes not fixed on the numerous landmarks, but scanning the sea of runners in the opposite direction for Barry's face. At last, I spotted him and following another few Ks, I caught him starstruck and in awe.

51:47I very much bottled theme of the weekend, the opportunity, giving him a thumbs up and telling him he was an inspiration. The rest of the race dragged following that high and left me with a distinct hollow feeling of regret at my encounter. So I did what any loyal listener would do. And I waited around at the finish line in the hopes for a second meeting. Swarms of finishers passed me with no sign until there he was riding fairly low off that runner's high. I waited for him and introduced myself with the line, long time listener, first time stalker. My conversation with Barry was everything I wanted as we shared a walk to the nearest tube station and for him to find a quiet place to talk with max and charlie on the radio the money raised by barry and the surrounding listener family is nothing short of incredible he deserves immense credit i offered him the choice of the london marathon and he promptly replied with fuck that uh good on you bas photo attached johnny uh long-suffering villa fan uh you did it barry congratulations

52:37Max Rushden:yeah i was chatting to johnny after the very soon after the finish and i had my arm around his shoulders for the selfie. And then I became a parent that all 17 stone of me was just leaning on him. And he was more or less propping me up. So it was nice to meet him. Thank you to the few Football Weekly fans who recognized me and cheered me on. It was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. And if anyone would like to buy a pair of secondhand ASICs with one careful owner about 200 miles on the clock, we can sort something out. But thanks to you and Charlie as well. I haven't heard it, but I know you did a telethon on the radio yesterday, and you and the TalkSport listeners raised, I think, about 20 grand while I was on the road.

53:32Yeah.

53:33Max Rushden:And, yeah, I'm never doing that again. It was hideous.

53:38Seb Hutchinson:Yeah.

53:39Max Rushden:Just a really horrible thing to do, but an interesting experience. Yeah. I mean, a fair play to you. I'm simultaneously amazed you've done it because it's a half marathon and I've never seen you run a step in your life. But I know you're such a stubborn bastard that once you said you'd do it, you'd do it. And once the money started getting big, you were like, okay. But yeah, the Football Weekly audience have been amazing. And then on the radio, you'd raise 65 grand. So me and Charlie said, come on, let's get to 70 by the end of the show. And we'd raise 70 grand in 15 minutes. And the total now is£87 ,008 for Great Ormond Street Hospital, which is staggering.

54:23Max Rushden:Including gift aid, it's over 100 grand. Unbelievable. I'm just glad it's over, this exercise in woke virtue signaling and self-aggrandizement. I don't like to talk up my achievements because I think I'm a quite humble man, but I think this puts me in the holy trinity of Irish humanitarians. That is Bono, Bob Geldof and Barry Glendening. How were the righteous pints, Baz? I tell you, they went down like hemlock. I was just shattered and empty and I didn't enjoy them. I forced a few down because I'm a trooper, I didn't get hammered or anything. But yeah, thanks to everyone. And can we please never speak of it again?

55:10All right. Well, well done, Barry. I am proud of you. And, you know, I didn't mean to patronize you, but, you know, I quite like doing that. But no, it's an amazing. It's an absolutely amazing achievement. And I think you would have inspired a lot of sedentary people to actually start running. And I know you walk a lot, but like, yeah, it's unbelievable. So well done to you. and thanks everybody for your donations. Greatly appreciated. And that will do for today. Thanks everybody. Thank you, Seb. Thank you. Thanks, Jacob. Thank you. Cheers, Baz. Yeah, I look forward to Great Ormond Street Hospital

55:43Max Rushden:naming a ward if not a wing after me. Or they can just give me half the money. Because I know the kids need it. I know the kids are poorly, but I did all the work. That's true. I mean, I'm pleased you didn't die, but I wouldn't have minded your flat. But look, we can talk about that later. Football Weekly is produced by Tyler Papula and Jesse Howard. Our executive producer is Ian Chambers. We'll be back on Wednesday.

56:19Seb Hutchinson:This is The Guardian.