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In short
Guardian Football Weekly reviews a busy Premier League weekend, focusing on Arsenal’s late rescue vs Manchester City, Liverpool’s five straight league wins, Manchester United’s chaotic 2-1 win over Chelsea, and other results (Everton, Wolves, Brighton, Fulham, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Brentford, Burnley/Nottingham Forest).
Guests (panel)
Barry Glendening, John Bruin, Dan Bardell, and Max (host/regular). They discuss match tactics, manager pressure, and standout moments across multiple games.
Key claims
- Arsenal’s point vs City is “big” after looking doomed; Martinelli’s injury-time goal is the decisive moment, despite Arteta’s cautious/“rugby” tactical approach and Eze’s benching.
- Liverpool’s 5-from-5 start is significant and psychologically worrying; Slot’s squad management and Gravenberch’s contributions show depth.
- Graham Potter’s job at Chelsea feels increasingly untenable after a poor run and a loss at home to Palace.
- Manchester United’s win over Chelsea is hard to judge due to weather and early goalkeeper red card; Sanchez is criticized as a major problem.
Notable examples
- Martinelli’s two exquisite injury-time touches; City’s Donnarumma defending and counterattacks; Haaland’s pace and Doku’s rugby-like running.
- Gravenberch’s early half-volley goal and perfectly weighted assist to Eketike; Liverpool protecting “crown jewels” by benching key players.
- United: Sanchez red card after 4 minutes; Casemiro’s second yellow; wet, chaotic first half.
- Brighton 2-2 Spurs: Minteh and Ayari goals; Milner used to “rescue” them.
- Fulham vs Brentford: Ethan Pinnock’s shoulder/own-goal incident; Iwobi’s pass and Harry Wilson’s finish.
- Villa: Matty Cash red-card incident and Villa’s struggles; Sunderland’s late equalizer and deserved point.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOMartinelli's Late Heroics
0:46 to 1:13
Discussion on Martinelli's performance and its impact on Arsenal's match.
“Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.”
Liverpool's Dominance
1:13 to 2:28
Analysis of Liverpool's strong performance this season and their key players.
“but perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of it all are Liverpool.”
Arsenal vs. Man City Tactical Insights
2:28 to 4:28
In-depth analysis of the tactical approaches from Arsenal and Man City.
“So that Martinelli goal, John, it was about an hour ago.”
Game Reflections and Ratings
4:28 to 8:07
Panelists reflect on Arsenal's performance and give ratings post-match.
“It's very harsh on John Aldridge, Pat Nevin and Chris Malkin there.”
Haaland's Dominance and City Tactics
8:07 to 12:00
Discussion on Haaland's impact and how Man City's tactics evolved during the match.
“they've lost to Liverpool a few weeks ago in their big game.”
Closing Thoughts on Players' Performances
12:00 to 14:01
Final thoughts on individual performances from the match.
“But I think Arsenal's squad's so big now, we're talking about them having a player for each position.”
Liverpool's Dominance and Gravenberch's Impact
14:01 to 24:11
Explore Liverpool's performance and Gravenberch's key contributions to the team.
“staying chaser in horse racing you know like a Denman or an Arkell just that sort of putting the hammer down to the point where no one could live with him just to the build that no one can get on him.”
Liverpool's Dominance and Gravenberch's Impact
24:13 to 24:27
Explore Liverpool's performance and Gravenberch's key contributions to the team.
“Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.”
Manchester United vs Chelsea: A Rainy Showdown
24:27 to 28:00
Analysis of the chaotic match between Manchester United and Chelsea, including player performances.
“It's not happening for the great man, is it?”
Casemiro's Red Card Controversy
28:00 to 29:10
Discussing the implications of Casemiro's red card in the match.
“I thought the first half was just hilarious and really entertaining.”
Show all 20 chapters
Managerial Pressure on Graham Potter
29:10 to 30:30
Exploring the growing pressure on Graham Potter after recent poor performances.
“It's a good win, but I can't read anything into it, given the weather, given the conditions, given the Sanchez situation.”
West Ham's Managerial Challenges
30:30 to 33:10
Analyzing the difficulties faced by West Ham managers and fan expectations.
“Have six wins from 25 games since his appointment in January.”
Wolves' Struggles and Leeds' Resurgence
33:10 to 35:40
Reviewing Wolves' recent defeats and Leeds' surprising performance.
“It's a pretty damn good connection, yeah.”
Brighton vs Spurs: A Clash of Styles
35:40 to 40:00
Discussing the recent match between Brighton and Spurs, highlighting key moments.
“by scoring three in the first half against Wolves.”
Tribute to Matt Beard
40:00 to 41:55
Paying tribute to the late Matt Beard, reflecting on his contributions to women's football.
“Brighton, full of quality, a bit enigmatic.”
Fulham's Tactical Play and Ethan Pinnock's Header
42:00 to 45:01
Discussion on Fulham's recent match tactics and Ethan Pinnock's contributions.
“And that is with your good friend, Ethan Pinnock.”
Sunderland vs. Aston Villa: A Disappointing Draw
45:01 to 46:59
Analysis of the Sunderland and Aston Villa match highlighting Villa's struggles.
“We don't look like we're ever going to be able to break a team down again.”
Bournemouth's Struggles and Managerial Changes
46:59 to 51:05
Discussion on Bournemouth's performance and the challenges faced by managers.
“Yeah, I thought it was a heroic effort from Sunderland.”
Match Reviews and Listener Engagement
51:05 to 56:00
Reviews of recent matches and interactions with listeners sharing their thoughts.
“All those names, the Alan Kerbishley 14-1 sort of tribute.”
Match Reviews and Listener Engagement
56:14 to 57:09
Reviews of recent matches and interactions with listeners sharing their thoughts.
“Could AI help you do more of what you love?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Max Rushden:This is The Guardian.
0:30flares up right when it matters most. Your business is only as strong as your connection. AT &T Business is the reliable provider built for that exact brand of hustle, so you can stay focused on the work that builds your legacy. Powered by AT &T Business, built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com.
0:58Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. What a week for Gabrielle Martinelli. Two exquisite touches in injury time and a point for Arsenal when it looked like they'd never score against Gianluigi Donnarumma and the assorted 25 centre-backs that Pep ended up putting in front of him. Earlier, Erling Haaland had done some leaving defenders in his wake, but perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of it all are Liverpool. They are five from five. Ryan Gravenberch at the heart of things with a brilliant finish. and a glorious assist. Lots of fun in the rain at Old Trafford. Red cards, goals, and a real feel of rolling subs in a vets game with changes happening all the time.
1:28But a big win for Ruben Amorim. Is it over for Graham Potter? It feels that way, although it's felt that way since he got the West Ham job. They lose to Palace. Wolves have nought points after a great win for Leeds at Molyneux. Thomas Frank hails Spurs' best performance of the season in getting a point at Brighton. And what's this? Another goal of the season contender from Ethan Pinnock. Baz has his say. Also today, Villa aren't good. Dan Bardell is sad. There's some Russian history and some US motorway pedantry. Your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
2:01On the panel today, Barry Glendening, welcome. Hi, Max. Hello, John Bruin.
2:05John Brewin:Hello, Max. Hi, Dan Bardell. A sad hello from me, Max. Yeah, although, you know, a sad Brummie. It sounds good. Sadness sounds good in Brummie, Dan, I would say. Yeah, it's normal, isn't it? People probably won't notice much difference to normal behaviour. Well, you'll be pleased to know it's not high up the running order, your draw with Sun. But we'll get to it. We'll begin at the Emirates. Aston 1, Man City 1. We're recording on Sunday night. So that Martinelli goal, John, it was about an hour ago. And what? I mean, it's just... I love a goal that takes a long time to go in. I mean, there was Zinchenko's own goal yesterday, which was similar in how long it took.
2:42Perhaps not as high quality. But this finish was absolutely beautiful.
2:47John Brewin:Yes, and it provided a denouement to a game that looked to be escaping from Arsenal for reasons of what we'd accused Mikhail Arteta of, of being chicken-hearted in his tactics, of being one-dimensional, of deciding that rugby was the best form of attack and defence. And yet, he's been talking this week about using rugby tactics. You know, like in the Rugby World Cup, you'll see the bomb squad come on for South Africa. You'll see like five grippers, all 22 stone that will be sent on to just smash through the New Zealand pack or whatever. Well, Mirkao Latteta is doing this in football. And what that involves is leaving Eberici Eze on the bench until half time.
3:37John Brewin:Now, Pep Guardiola, by contrast, I think is becoming the more traditional football man. And this is why Donnarumma's in the team. Big players win big matches. And Erling Haaland is one of those big players, who is also his team's best defender in the game. Whereas Arteta's trying to mix it up and be too clever by heart. In the end, both approaches sort of got what they want out of that game, I think. Pep seemed pretty happy. They were talking about fatigue. Arsenal have quality within the squad. Of course, Martinelli's goal shows that. Why don't we see enough of it? Why were they playing Tranmere Rovers football for 89 minutes?
4:20John Brewin:And then you have this moment of almost Michael Thomas-esque inspiration. We want to see more from Arsenal. That's what I want. It's very harsh on John Aldridge, Pat Nevin and Chris Malkin there. But I mean, the thing about that goal is, I know what you mean, John. You know, that phrase, this goal came from nowhere. It was like, Barry, there was just no way. like the way City were defending and they did have so many enormous people on the pitch I mean John mentioned rugby players coming on it was like Pep did that too and Donnarumma just punched it was like he got more power every time a corner came in he'd punch it and grow another foot like there was no way Arsenal were going to score in this game well Manchester City I'm not familiar with
5:00Max Rushden:today it was Manchester City who were happy to let their opponents have the ball who scored on one counter-attack and from then on more or less relied on Jeremy Docku and Erling Haaland to try and pick another one off on the break and then they parked the bus basically and that I haven't seen City do that before they might have done it before but I don't remember it and it was working for them. Arsenal kind of ran out of ideas after about before the first half had ended even they'd kind of run out of ideas and then they perked up a bit for the last 10 minutes of the first half and I thought oh this is going to be dangerous for Arteta because what they were trying to do clearly wasn't working but now they've they've played well for the final seven or eight minutes of the first half so maybe he'll decide everything's okay after all and he won't make any changes but he did make changes and he deserves credit for making those changes but like John I'm I'm baffled by the fact that Eze didn't start the game.
6:08Max Rushden:His midfield, you know, what was it, Zubimendi, Rice and Marino. Not much creativity in there, is there really? And then as the clock went past 90 minutes, I'm sort of preparing my moan, I suppose. Although it doesn't really affect me, but just how Arsenal had failed their second test, big test of the season out of two tests. but they didn't fail it in the end because of that Martinelli moment of magic. I'd give him a C +, nothing more really, B-C +, maybe. Usually, like you say, we're recording more or less straight after the game. Usually, you'd have a night to sleep on it and decide how good a result that is for Arsenal.
6:54Max Rushden:Obviously, it's a good point because it looked like they were going to come away empty-handed, But I think if I was an Arsenal fan and after I've had a while to ruminate on that, I'd be a bit disappointed with the approach. Have you done enough ruminating? Yeah, I think it's a pretty big point for Arsenal just in terms of actually around a year ago, they played City. And I think it was 2-2. John Stone scored in stoppage time. And that felt like a really pivotal moment in Arsenal season, even though it was pretty early in the season. And I actually think that game really, really deflated them and was actually a big moment in their title challenge that didn't last very long.
7:31And I think, you know, stakes always seem so high in Arsenal games, like they've got no room for error at all, because previously they've been up against Manchester City and last season that they're up against Liverpool and that they're both fantastic teams who win a lot of games. So even if Arsenal draw a game, it feels like a disaster to Arsenal. And if they lose, then I don't know what the next rung is down from a disaster or up from a disaster. but it feels like it's that if they lose. So to come back and be the ones that kind of get that point rather than be the ones that chuck it away like they did this time last year, I actually think that's a pretty big moment for Arsenal in their season.
8:06And I think Baz said about, or John said about, they've lost to Liverpool a few weeks ago in their big game. This was the next biggest game. I think to have lost both of them already would have really changed the narrative around their season. So I think what the point does, it salvages a bit of that for me. So I think it's a really good point for Arsenal. And I thought it was tough to play against Manchester City in the way they operated today. I thought it really was. So you're going, what, a B plus? Yeah, results-wise, I'd say a B plus. Maybe performance-wise, it'll be less than that. But in terms of getting the result the way they did, I think it's definitely a B plus at least.
8:40John Brewin:Do you not think, though, that if Manchester City are forced to engage those tactics, which is, you know, eight grippers across the field and hold on, that they're there for the taking? This is a different Manchester City. And if you decide and you use the attacking players that you have, including Eberechik, Ezehu, tormented them in last season's FA Cup final, they were there for the taking. And you could hear Arsenal fans' exasperation. Now, there are a few stadiums that do exasperation quite like Arsenal. It's a sort of keening, high-pitched sort of moan that goes on there. It's not the goodest and grown.
9:23John Brewin:It's a slightly more different one. Villa has one of its own. Dan will be like, oh, and St James. Everyone has their sort of moaning, and Arsenal has its own sort of rather shrill. And that was happening, and nothing was really happening. And here's the thing. I mentioned Trammy Rose before. There is a reason that once Dave Challenger retired and Rory DeLapp retired, the long throw was abandoned as this great new tactic because it doesn't work that often. And launching long throws is a bit of a waste of time. And also they take so bloody long over them. How dare you? From the get it launched king.
10:03I can't believe I'm hearing this.
10:04John Brewin:No, but that's not get it launched. That's get it thrown. That's different. That's different. Isn't the point though, if you're trying, the difficulty is the final ball, right? Eze's ball is great. And if a team is defending deep, it sounds like we're talking about England breaking down a low block, but the difficulty is trying to play that ball. So if you've got the ball than your Arsenal and you think, am I the guy that plays the final ball or am I the guy that crosses it and you think, well, maybe I'll give it to Saka to see if he can do it. And so it is always that decision about keeping possession or playing the final ball and not working.
10:35And if you're playing against a 4-5-1 that are really deep, that final ball, there's just very, there's not much space to put it.
10:40John Brewin:But a confident team like a Guardiola Barcelona or something like that trusts itself. Pep's Barcelona, of course, is one of the greatest teams of all time, if not the greatest. But they never panicked at that point. You know, the NES, the goal against Chelsea in 2009, you just keep going, you keep going, you let it, and then eventually you grind the opposition down. Arsenal have the technical players to do something, if not of that level, akin to that, and yet we're watching the South African rugby team. I don't understand it because I think Arteta has the arsenal. within his squad to actually play better football than that and be more creative.
11:26I think we've just said, we've never seen Manchester City play like that. We've never seen that iteration of Manchester City. So I imagine Arsenal prepared for a lot of things in training this week. I can't imagine that they'd have prepared for what was put in front of them today at the Emirates. So maybe the element of not quite being sure what to do with Manchester City operating in that way. I think Arteta himself, if he had his time again, I think he'd pick a different team. Maybe he might make some different subs. I was surprised Maduweke went off at half-time rather than Trossard. But I think Arsenal's squad's so big now, we're talking about them having a player for each position.
12:05I think he's almost trying to keep everyone involved and throw people's starts here and there. As the season goes on, maybe that's for the greater good. But right now in that game, I think like Trossard starting I don't think was the right call. Obviously, look, he's made a good sub because Martijnaldi's come on and rescued to get the game for them. But I think there was a lot kind of going on in that game that Arsenal wouldn't have been ready for. And maybe that affects the manager as well with some of the choices he made. Barry, Erling Haaland we know is fast, right? And it's a bit like, you know, we know a racehorse is fast.
12:36But when you see it in motion, like the way he just left the defenders for dead, it was, it's just something so great about it, isn't it? He just says, right, I'm off. And everyone just goes, all right, he's gone.
12:51Max Rushden:Yeah, and the move started with him as well because he played this nice little ball around the corner to Tiziani Reinders. Then off he went, gobbling up the ground, left Gabriel, was it Gabriel or Saliba? I can't remember, or both of them. Absolutely opened up a 10-yard gap on them in no time at all. His finish was pretty straightforward by his standards, but still a good finish. And then he almost did it again, didn't he? When Doku sent him on his way. But on this occasion, he shot let him down. He fired straight at Raya. Doku as well, I thought, was probably the best player on the pitch. Because he had a very important role for City because they had so many people, deep lying and not really venturing forward.
13:42Max Rushden:Docu just making ground like a rugby player I suppose and holding on to the ball and drawing fouls and just earning City a lot of respite at important times
13:57John Brewin:He reminds me of not a rugby player but like a staying chaser in horse racing you know like a Denman or an Arkell just that sort of putting the hammer down to the point where no one could live with him just to the build that no one can get on him. I mean, I was saying this on Twitter before. There's this talk over the summer, oh, Liverpool are signing Alexander Isaac. He's the best striker in the Premier League. No, that is Erling Haaland. Erling Haaland is, that terrible phrase, generational talent. There is no one on that level in the Premier League. When he plays like that, you're just like, there's nothing.
14:38John Brewin:No one could touch him. You're absolutely right. It was like as he started running, he cleared the last fence. And then even though they were all level, he then won by 86 lengths. You know, there's Peter Bromley saying, The other bit I liked from this game was sort of Trossard and Bernardo Silva, you know, just kicking the ball in each other's groins or, you know, throwing the ball and then all like falling down. Just like this ridiculous, I mean, but quite sort of primary school. Everyone's just like punching someone else in the nuts and running away. both these men both these men have children and they were behaving like that it was oh dear anyway anyway at that point probably very good for Liverpool who beat Everson 2-1 in the early kick-off on Saturday 5 win from 5 we should start with the Gravenberch goal Dan Ali McCoyst called it a half volley for shame McCoyst I thought you were better than that he takes that so early the ball hasn't even got to him yet it is a we'll get to his assist but his goal is absolutely brilliant I had it in my head a hooked finish is that yeah Yeah, I'll take that thing.
15:40That's what I was calling it in my head. He's a really, really good player. If he can suddenly add goals to his game and assist to his game, he was the most deep-lying midfielder yesterday, and he was the most deep-lying midfielder for Liverpool the entirety of last season. But if he suddenly starts adding goals to his game, he's a really, really frightening player. And I think he's a player that really, really benefited from the fact that when Slott first came in, they just didn't do anything in the transfer market. Everyone said Liverpool need a number six. they still haven't replaced Fabinho that they need a number six.
16:10Slott kept his powder dry. He was evaluating what he'd got and he realised there was a ready-made solution for Liverpool's midfield already there who'd been in and out the team the season before. And I think sometimes players just need to know that they're going to play and know that they're going to have a run of games. And Gravenberg's just had that entirety of Slott's reign and they've got a superb squad now with loads of different options for him to get a goal and an assist yesterday. I think he's probably the first name on the team sheet for Liverpool. I think he's that important. And annoyingly, my dad put him in his fantasy football team for absolutely no reason at all.
16:44He's 1 % owned in the world in fantasy football. And that week my dad puts him in his fantasy football team, he gets a goal and an assist for the first time in a game for Liverpool. So it's been a frustrating weekend all round. Sure. I'm trying to work out what's less interesting than someone talking about their football team. Someone talking about their dad's fantasy football team. Yeah, it's pretty cool, isn't it? Well done for going there. I mean, his assist as well, Barry, was absolutely perfect for Eketike.
17:08Max Rushden:Yeah, absolutely beautifully weighted pass into the path of Eketike, who's Ronnie spotted, and Eketike's finish was great, shooting through Pickford's legs. And weirdly, after they went 2-0 up, Liverpool kind of fell apart, I thought. and it became apparent why they have this habit of throwing away two goal leads. I was doing the minute by minute in the Guardian. I said, yes, Liverpool 2-0 up. Now Everton have them exactly where they want them. And it almost came to pass because Everton hadn't really been in the game until that point, but they got better and better and better. They created chances.
17:58Max Rushden:Beto didn't have a good game for them. he missed a couple of half chances the ball wasn't sticking when they fired it his way but I thought Jack Grealish had another great game for Everton Illman Dye on the other wing was excellent both of them played a part in Idris Oganegay's goal it was a good goal and Everton were they'd probably come away from that thinking they should have got a point and they probably would have deserved a point I think Yeah, I don't know if I agree with you, Barry. I don't know what you think, John. I always felt that Everton were kind of, they were good and they have been playing well.
18:35And you're right about Grealish and they created stuff, but you always felt Liverpool had enough. And actually, I thought Slott, it was impressive, his starting selection of playing Connor Bradley, playing a proper right back against Grealish, bringing in McAllister, putting Verts on the bench, saying, look, we need a bit more steel for this game.
18:52John Brewin:Yeah, it's a big call, isn't it, to leave your£125 million new playmaker on the bench for that fixture. But I suppose when you consider the damage that's been done to Liverpool players in recent years in that fixture, Virgil van Dijk obviously leading that list, you've got to protect your crown jewels a little bit. This is the thing with Liverpool. They've got five wins from five. But in every game, they haven't had to play that well and they're good at just staying away from the opponent. which is what they did a lot last season it was a bit of a revive of last season where they didn't necessarily play 90 minutes through it was just excellent, there was no signature performance but they held off Everton, I think that's right if Everton thought they could get something in the game it was a fairly slim chance Liverpool were better and are better they looked like they could run away with it like they did last season because everyone else is fighting over scraps at this point.
19:55John Brewin:And we haven't even seen Izak properly yet. I mean, we've seen him for a few minutes. And we've not seen Virts particularly flower. We're not quite in the fraud department just yet. It's interesting taking him out of that game, but it worked. So Arne Slott, whatever he's doing, it's working. Yeah, Matthew says, how significant is Liverpool's five-point lead at this stage of the season? I was just looking at their fixtures, Dan. in the league, they go to Palace, which has not always been a happy place for them. Then they go to Chelsea. Then they're home to Manchester United, away to Brentford. In November, they have Villa, Manchester City and Forest.
20:34And they've also got to play Real Madrid in that period as well. I know that's the next month or two, but you're just sort of thinking, how early will they run away with it? Or how significant do you think this is? Because quite often, it's two or three points that wins you a league. Well, it wasn't for Liverpool last year, was it? It was about 100 points. It feels like they weren't too far away from going unbeaten last season. So far, they've won every single game in the league. And now you feel like they're more built to kind of fight on these multiple fronts, different selections for different games.
21:05This is a team that can pretty much beat anyone now, and they can do it in lots of different ways with lots of different team selections. They look the best equipped, obviously, because they've been at the top of the league and they've won every game. But Arsenal and Manchester, I spoke about that margin for error earlier. Already Arsenal fans, you'll be thinking, we can't slip up again for a month or so here because that gap's going to just get wider and wider and wider. And it is almost that psychological element at Liverpool. You'd think Liverpool, some people are saying they haven't even played well yet.
21:36They've not even clicked into gear at this point, yet they're still winning every single game. So I think it's very, very worrying for the rest of the title chasers, however many of them there may be. I did, Barry, enjoy Jack Grealish after the game talking sort of in the way that every fan would about the booking for Kiernan Dewsbury Hall for taking an early free kick and his own booking that he didn't even know had happened.
21:59Max Rushden:Yeah, it was like he was on a radio phone in an angry fan. Just to clear something up about the Kiernan Dewsbury Hall booking for taking a free kick too quickly. He had been warned previously. A lot of people don't seem to realize that. So while taking a free quickly is not necessarily a bookable defense, persistent infringements are. So that's why he got booked. He had been warned and the ref had said, wait for the whistle. And then he did it again. So that's why the booking was. I still think it's a bit fussy of the ref to book him for it. But that is the explanation for the booking. I kind of agree with Jack Grealish and David Moyes as well that three minutes didn't seem a whole lot of added time, but you could counter-argue that Everton didn't really turn up for the first 35 minutes.
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22:53Max Rushden:So was another two going to make that much difference or two or three minutes of added time? But yeah, I can understand that gripe. And Grealish didn't realize he'd been booked after the final whistle for dissent, I fully expected Darren England to produce a yellow and then a red during his post-match interview. At what point are you immune from getting another booking? You have to be in your house and have shut the front door and then Darren England is not allowed in. I think they are the rules. Anyway, that'll be for part one. Part two will begin at Old Trafford.
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24:26Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. so Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1 this was fun John it was so wet the first game in Premier League history to see two or more goals red cards and substitutions in the first half just all sorts of fun I don't know if the football was good I don't know if we can draw any conclusions about either side from the match but I don't mind I had a good time watching it
24:50John Brewin:my conclusion is that Jonathan Wilson's prediction that Chelsea are going to win the league is looking way off beam so let's And let's face it, we're all rejoicing in that. Let's take the positives, yes.
25:05John Brewin:It's not happening for the great man, is it? Well, Manchester United have found a way to win. It's get the goalkeeper sent off after four minutes or whatever. Maybe that's a tactic now. Launch it long for Mbwemo and get them on the chase and you do your worst. Yes, very odd game. Very funny game. The weather was amazing. We're speaking on Sunday, of course. where Le Classique in France was called off because of bad weather. But that doesn't happen in Manchester. That is just a Saturday night on the town, that type of weather. And yeah, there is no finer sight at times, is there, than the sliding tackle where momentum carries them off the pitch.
25:47John Brewin:And Mark Cucurella is a player who rather enjoyed those conditions, didn't he? They added to his armoury of shithousery. and he wasn't the only one throwing in tackles. Casemiro, a guy who's been sent off an awful lot in his career. He's really good at the what me, innocent look, you know, when the cards come, when he clearly knows what is going to happen. I did think when that happened, oh God, United have blown it now. We're into Ruben Amirim out mode, but thankfully that is a cast aside for the moment. Instead, we're in Enzo Maresca. Is he all that mode? There's this really odd thing with Cole Palmer, with some of the substitutions.
26:29John Brewin:People are asking questions, is Maresca the right man for whatever it is the Chelsea project is? None of us really know what that is, do we? We'll get on to Maresca and his dad's working hours in a little bit. Deadliest catch. Yeah, exactly. Like Robert Sanchez. People don't include this in whether he's a good enough goalkeeper to be the Chelsea keeper. but he's had some decent performances recently and was good in the Club World Cup. But you have to add this in. It's like terrible decision-making at quite an important stage, i.e. right at the start of a football match. Yeah, pretty rash. Not only was it denying a goal-scoring opportunity, it was a pretty dangerous tackle.
27:08It was very, very high where he caught Mbwemo. When Jonathan Wilson was lauding them as title favourites, I said to him, you will never win a title with that guy in goal. It just won't happen. and he's not good enough for Chelsea. And he has had some decent moments in the last few months. But fundamentally, I don't think any other Premier League team would have him as their goalkeeper. I genuinely believe that. So he is a big, big problem because he is capable of these moments and it has cost them in a huge game. And Manchester United needed a gimme, something like that. I think it's massively papered over the cracks that they're able to play against 10 men and get some confidence and get the goal that they needed.
27:51in that time but i just think it has papered out the only progress i can still see from manchester after that game is that last time he absolutely hammered it down the roof leaked and i don't think the roof leaks this time so i guess we can say that the the project is making some form of progress but to answer your question sanchez is hopeless a marginal game there um i don't know what you made of this barry i mean we've sort of mentioned casemiro to get sent off when you're a man i mean clearly don't get sent off in any football match but totally ludicrous to be dafter than Robert Sanchez in this match.
28:22Max Rushden:Yeah, of the match, I loved it. I thought the first half was just hilarious and really entertaining. Casemiro, I think he was a bit unlucky with the second yellow card, to be honest. But he gave the ref a decision to make and there was no need for it. The first one was just stupid. One of the guys I was watching the game with said when he got booked, like, what the hell is he doing? That's just so daft. And he was completely right. And you kind of knew, oh, he's going to get another one, isn't he? And he duly did. But the substitutions Maresca made after the Sanchez red card, I think he rushed into that and got them wrong.
29:08Max Rushden:And Manchester United held on. It's a good win, but I can't read anything into it, given the weather, given the conditions, given the Sanchez situation. I can't read too much into that. Yeah, there were some good quotes before this game. One was Ruben Amrum asking if he would change 3-4-2-1. He said, no, no one will make him change it. Not even the Pope. Just think at what point the Pope would ring him up. Or would the Pope ring 6-0-6 and say, come on, Leo, Leo XIV's on the line from the Vatican. What's your point, Leo? And he says, yeah, Amrum's got to go 3-5. He's got to go 4-3-3. If he doesn't, I'll excommunicate him.
29:49Exactly. so that was good but then maresca sal saying since maresca doesn't seem to be supporting his dad the way everyone else in football does should we start a kickstarter for maresca senior he was talking about i think raheem sterling and the fact you know the whether footballers have it tough and very much sounded like a phone you know someone doing a phone-in saying you know this isn't tough you know my dad's a coal mine he said his dad is a fisherman who is 75 years old and still works 2am to 10am out on the boat on the trawlers to which me and charlie baker did the phone in what's your dad's name what's his job and what's his working hours to which someone just rang in and said ken dead all the time thank you so much for that call what's quite funny uh anyway uh let's talk about graham potter uh lots of reports that he's under significant pressure i think we knew that karen brady sounding out nuno and gary o 'neill some mention of slavin billich They lost at home to Crystal Palace.
30:46Have six wins from 25 games since his appointment in January. John, it's not. It's never been great. You know, it feels the air of inevitability is circling, Mr. Potter.
30:59John Brewin:It certainly is. It certainly is. And there was always this idea, wasn't there, that the ownership of West Ham tend to take the time over this. I mean, Slav and Bilic last time obviously had a season or so have been very good and it felt like a slow puncture from that point and you knew he was leaving at a certain point he just took so long Graham Potter I suspect that the moment of execution will come rather quicker than that Nuno and West Ham it just seems to fit to me I don't think they'll like it but they don't like much actually and haven't liked I mean they like Slaven Bilic funny enough but actually who was the last manager they liked?
31:42Because they didn't really love Moyes, even though he won them a trophy. No, Moyes was, I mean, you know, Moyes is doing a fine job at Everton,
31:49John Brewin:a club where he belongs. And yet he's been the best West Ham manager, but they still didn't. Being a West Ham manager, you know, Sam Allardyce did a fairly decent. John Lyle. John Lyle. They like John Lyle, but even he got sacked. You know, that was, he went to Ipswich and did a great job there. And it's like, being a West Ham manager is a tough old gig, really, because they just, again, we go back to the certain clubs have a complaining thing. And again, they've got, West Ham has a, when the London Stadium goes off, it's normally in outrage at the team's performances. It's not worked out. Graham Potter have proved a pretty poor fit when I think most of us, including myself, thought, yeah, there's a sensible head to get it sorted.
32:39John Brewin:Someone actually quite in the John Lyle mode, being quite calm, reserved, let the circus take place over there and I will just get on with my job. But it hasn't worked out. He's dealt a bad hand in a pretty weak squad and some rather odd transfer dealings. The thing is with Nuno is he's a well-connected guy and I think that's why a club might turn to him because you could get some decent players in because of his connections, which is sort of the way how football works these days. I mean, it's more connection singular, isn't it? But it is a good connection. It's a pretty damn good connection, yeah.
33:14John Brewin:But I mean, and that, George Mendes, of course. And this is how the games run. And I don't know if they would like that style of football, but it feels to me that we talk a little less about the West Ham way these days. It feels like it's gone a little bit. I think they just want it to be not crap anymore. I think that does. Just make it okay. 3 ,000 West Ham fans protested ahead of the game. Fans had banners and flags directed the owners saying sack the board during it. It's worth mentioning Tarek Mitchell's volley, which was absolutely beautiful and is wrong foot. That win took them briefly fourth.
33:51I'm beating nine in all competitions this season as well. So, you know, we know Palace are good.
33:55Max Rushden:Well, they haven't lost in the league in about, is it 16 games? 17, I think it is. Yeah, I read earlier. Just on the noon or thing, if I was him, I would avoid that place like the plague. And he'll surely get a better offer than that.
34:09John Brewin:He seems to, I mean, think of where, he went to Wolves. Okay, that was a nice gig. But he went to Spurs when he wasn't wanted. And then he took on Forrest, which, you know, is a, let's just say managing up at that place is a reasonably difficult task. And he likes to challenge Nuno. And he is one of football's great diplomats. So, you know. Until recently. Well, it's very true, Dan, but I think he managed that situation rather well. He's like, I want out of here, so I will let you know. Can I just say a sack the board process? Has a board ever been sacked after that? I don't think I've ever seen a board sacked in my life anyway.
34:49No, I think you're probably right. I'm just wondering, would I watch an hour-long documentary called Football's Greatest Diplomats? Maybe I would. Kate Delsey, does the reintroduced Areola's new look help or hinder Barry's ability to identify where Sam keeps? He did look like a bloke that just found him, put on a white sweatshirt. For a sec, when he first got the ball, I was like, who's that? That's not the keeper. Oh, and then I looked at him and went, who's that? And I went, oh, and I checked, it's Areola. All right, maybe he's just trying to make himself look as unlike Fabianski just to help Barry and the rest of us.
35:18Let's go to Molineux. Wolves won Leeds 3. What did you make of this one, Baz?
35:22Max Rushden:Well, I think I sat here on this very podcast, was it maybe last Monday, and said that for all their endeavor in huff and puff, I thought Leeds were going to go down because I couldn't see where the goals were going to come from. So lo and behold, they're going to make a fool of me on Saturday by scoring three in the first half against Wolves. And Wolves obviously took the lead. I thought Wolves would win this game. I really did. And their latest defeat, fifth in a row, has knocked me out of the game of last man standing. but yeah fair play to Leeds Dominic Calvert-Loon got a good goal they got three decent goals I think Anton Stack with a rocket of a free kick Okafor a lovely finish after Agbedou had gifted possession to Leeds and Dominic Calvert-Loon got between two defenders to score a very good header Calvert-Loon seems like a smashing fella but he's injury prone I don't think he's never going to be the most prolific striker in the world but it's good that he's got off the mark for Leeds.
36:30Max Rushden:Vitor Pereira looked totally baffled as to what to do next before he went in for the halftime break. And he made three changes and they didn't really help in any way. So they lost again. But just silly mistakes are costing them. He's got a new contract though, hasn't he? New three-year deal. Lost every single game and got a new contract. Wolves, I predict them to go down every season and they didn't do it this season. so that might mean that they finally do go down. But, you know, every now and again, when someone makes a sub and the crowd will go, who? I feel like when you name the Wolves 11, I'm doing that at every single player.
37:06I don't know who anyone is anymore for Wolves. It's a good point. Yeah, I did win the goal. The goal scored. It was a lovely goal, actually, wasn't it? Crecci scored. Who is he? I Wikipedia'd him and said he was a centre-back. I was like, is he? I mean, I don't know. So I don't know what he was doing there. But he was on the end of a beautiful move. But, yes, Pereira says, I'm not worried about my future. I don't need to answer because I'm not worried about my future. I'm worried about the results. Of course I'm confident I can turn it around. But yes, 0 points from 5 games.
37:34Max Rushden:Why would he be worried about his future? He's just signed a new 3 year contract. He's a journeyman. He's well travelled and if he gets sacked he'll get another job somewhere else. Why worry? And he'll just get 3 years money. That's insane isn't it? I'd be like give me the boot. I'll take it. What will he get? He's probably on 3 million a year. It could take£9 million to have three years off. I could do it. To the Amex, John, you were there. Brighton 2 Spurs 2. Thomas Frank said it was their best performance of the season. Do you agree?
38:06John Brewin:Well, no, but Spurs have actually played very well quite a lot of this season, haven't they? And I didn't, listen, I've sat through quite a lot of Thomas Frank press conferences and he's a vibes guy. So what you do is at that point he's saying, hey, he liked the bits that were difficult and it was that they found some strength through adversity rather than it all going their way. The two goals Brighton scored were against the run of play. I mean, Mince's goal was pretty much all his own work. Nice ball from Rutter, of course. Lovely finish for a team that does struggle a bit to score. Ayari's goal, a beauty as well.
38:46John Brewin:One of those hit early. So the keeper's wrong-footed. And then... Did you hear him in the post-match when whoever on the match they said, you know, is that one of your best goals? He went, not really. Confident young man. Confident young man. And they are full, this is it with Brighton, they're full of confident young players. But when they bring on James Milner to rescue things, you can see that that is possibly the problem that they have. It is probably a bit too much promising up and coming. Carlos Baleba, you know, a player that's been talked about an awful lot, subbed off at half-time because he was tired.
39:23John Brewin:And Fabian Hurtzler did quite a long sermon about how young players, it's an oscillation. You're not always going to be brilliant. There's points where they drop off and he's had his head turned. I did enjoy Brighton's protest at Richarlison's goal because the goal was so scrappy. They just disappeared. They appeared to be appealing for anything. And it was just like... This is not a good enough goal to grace the Premier League. This goal was so crap. There's no way this could be allowed to stand. And even appealing for offside as Lewis Dunk is on the line, flailing at the ball. And then, of course, they concede an own goal.
40:01John Brewin:Brighton, full of quality, a bit enigmatic. Spurs are going in the right direction. And I continue to be a huge fan of Thomas Frank and what he's doing now. Before we end part two, just to mention the sad news about Matt Beard, the former Liverpool women's manager and Chelsea women's manager as well. Liverpool's match at Aston Villa was postponed on Sunday. He led them to back-to-back WSL titles in 2013 and 2014 and returned for a second spell in 2021. In a statement, Liverpool paid tribute to an extremely committed and successful manager. He was also a person of real integrity and warmth. who will always be remembered with genuine fondness by everyone he worked with at the club.
40:44Rest in peace, Matt. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly on Tuesday will do a tribute to Matt Beard. Farrah Williams did a very emotional interview on Five Live on Sunday. Tom Gary has written a really nice piece in The Guardian. Barry and I spoke to Ian Abraham's The Moose on Talk Sport who does a lot of women's football and he was really cut up and knew Matt Beard really well. I saw Flo Lloyd-Hughes wrote a really nice piece as well in tribute to Matt Beard. So BarlowCount's a lovely, lovely guy, lost way too soon. And we send, of course, our thoughts to his family and his wife and his children and his friends as well.
41:18And we'll be back in a second.
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42:11welcome to part three of the guardian football weekly uh to craven cottage hold on now a second there is only we're all right we're into part three and you're going
42:19Max Rushden:to craven cottage you've got a villa fan on a sunderland fan on and you're off to craven cottage are you fine fine then i'm okay with that to be honest well i'll tell you why barry because there's only one place to start part three. And that is with your good friend, Ethan Pinnock. Is that why you don't want us to start with part three? David says, can we have the usual comparison of Ethan Pinnock's latest header, bracket shoulder, with Barry's? I mean, the funniest part of it is, it's the second game where Fulham have got a goal by one of the opposition players just standing there and hitting him and going in.
42:53This is a brilliant tactic from Marco Silva.
42:56Max Rushden:Poor old Ethan was stitched up by whichever of his teammates it was that jumped, missed the header, impaired his view. So that he, I think he was, he wasn't quite standing there. I think he was trying to get out of the way of the ball, but it did hit his shoulder and ricochet into the back of the net. It was undeniably funny. He looked suitably crestfallen when it went in. but ultimately it didn't really make any difference because it was Fulham's third goal. It was a good result for them. They came from behind to win the game. Josh King had a very unfortunate rick to give Brentford their opener, Mikkel Damsgaard's opener.
43:40Max Rushden:But I thought the goal of this game was undeniably Fulham's second. Oh, yeah. Brilliant, precise pass from Alex Iwobi and then a splendid finish from Harry Wilson, the Welsh fellow. Just a lovely curl, first-time finish into the corner. But I thought Iwobi's pass was sensational. Iwobi's so good. Iwobi's been such a good player for Fulham. I thought he was unlucky not to be in the PFA team of the year last year. I thought he was brilliant for a lot of the season. Iwobi, and he's just continued. Sometimes a player just suits a club. Iwobi's brilliant for Fulham every single week and Wilson loves a goal against Brentford.
44:17I think he scored the winner against Brentford last season, if my memory serves me correctly as well. Yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah, I'm a big Harry Wilson fan. Okay, then to the Stadium of Light, Barry. Sunderland won, Villa won, the Glendening-Bardell derby. Who wants to start? Dan, you can as a sad Villa fan. Oh, Villa will not get a better chance to get their first win of the season than that, but they're notoriously bad against playing against 10 men. Sorry, I text Barry as soon as we went down to 10 men and said, Villa are hopeless against 10 men. And so that trend continued. I mean, before Matty Cash scored, the best thing that any Villa player had done this season was Matty Cash getting kicked in the bollocks in the same game.
44:58And we are just not very good at the moment. We are slow. We don't look like we're ever going to be able to break a team down again. Even when we go 1-0 up, we don't build on it. And we end up letting in what I thought was a pretty poor goal. Unai Emery described it as lazy. I'd be inclined to agree with him. It's just hard to see how it turns for Villa at the moment. And I thought this season might be more difficult than the kind of last few under Unai Emery. But I can't say that I envisage this level of rubbishness from us because we are just hopeless at the moment. Yeah. You know, you said a few weeks ago, look, in Unai Emery we trust.
45:33Are you still in Unai Emery we trust? Yeah. I honestly think if Unai Emery walked out on this club tomorrow, we would go down. I really think he's that important. The whole club is built around Unai Emery. There's clearly something very, very wrong at the moment. Even the way he walked down the tunnel before the final whistle, I thought that was quite strange. He's not really much of a showman. Emery, that's the kind of thing you associate with someone like Jose Mourinho. The fact it was the 54th minute really was. I mean, I would have understood if he had decided to do that. He's talking about them not playing the way he wants them to play, but even just the way we're setting up at the moment, I don't understand team selection.
46:14Sometimes the subs are a bit weird and I don't think this is what's happening but just watching Villa, they do have the look of a team that's not playing for the manager which is a bit concerning because I can't believe that that would be the case given what Emery's done for all those players because we were going nowhere until he came in and many of those players were part of that Villa team that was going nowhere and he's got them, he turned them into Champions League players like last season and the club's been really highly positioned in Europe consecutively. I can't believe that that would be the case, but unfortunately that is what it looks like at the moment because we are useless.
46:48Barry from Meanwhile Sunderland, seventh in the league, eight points from five games and another point, you know, yes, and with 10 men to salvage a point when you're one down, it's pretty impressive.
46:59Max Rushden:Yeah, I thought it was a heroic effort from Sunderland. John spoke earlier about Aronis Slott protecting Liverpool's crown jewels. Sadly, Matty Cash's crown jewels were afforded no such protection when he fell on Rynaldo, our left back, who took exception to it and lashed out and caught Matty in the sore spot. And I have absolutely no complaints about the red card. It was a silly thing to do. But it took him so long to leave the pitch, and he was protesting his innocence. And you're just, I'll just get off, man. You're an idiot. And I presumed at that point, because there was still over an hour left, I thought, yeah, there's no way Sunderland are getting anything for this game.
47:45Max Rushden:They were actually the better team in the second half, I thought. They hit the bar. They were getting crosses into the box. Then they went behind Robin Roos, who was so good against Palace last season, letting a very soft one. That cash shot from distance. It did swerve in the air, but he got both hands on it and still let it in. I thought the equaliser from Wilson Isidore was thoroughly deserved. A lovely cushioned header over the top from Granit Xhaka. And he volleyed it in despite having two men on him. So well done him. Well done Sunderland. Well done Sunderland. Burnley won, Forrest won. And just wait for a first win goes on, John.
48:28I've seen progress in the last seven days, he says. I know it was Arsenal away, but the general approach, we've made enormous progress. All that takes time, but that's the exciting bit, says Ange.
48:37John Brewin:Yeah, he said, didn't he, that Wednesday would be when it kicked off and obviously they lost at Swansea. And this one was, I mean, how do we gauge Ange? The fact is he wasn't quite looking completely towards the floor in his post-match interview. He was a bit more happy about this performance. Burned tough nuts to crack, aren't they, for quite a lot of teams. I continue to be impressed by Scott Parker as a manager which is a question did you ever think that Scott Parker would be a manager? There's certain players but then I think but actually but then I think that Yeah I think so I think he had that sort of leadership and you know when he was playing for England and sort of in a sort of Jordan Henderson style you know I was thinking about this because he was remember he won the, famously won the Football Writers' Brow of the Year when West Ham got relegated.
49:34John Brewin:And famously, at that time in particular, there was a lot of West Ham fans within the press corps. But he was known. The voting committee was Ray Winston. Yeah. Danny Dyer. Danny Dyer and a pot of Jelly Deal. Yeah. And the ceremony was at Ken's Calf on Green Street. Yeah, of course. But I think part of that was that he was known for delivering these Churchillian speeches as a player at half-time. And, you know, we've seen him a couple of times where he's given actually very lucid interviews. And I find him just quite an impressive character. And he's prepared, you know, he will have made good money out of the game, but he's prepared to get himself in the muck and nettles of management.
50:19John Brewin:Clearly loves the game, loves the challenges. I mean, Bournemouth, I suppose, he got them promoted and was cast aside. but hey, well done to him. He's on that sort of revolving door of managers, isn't he? There's a few of them. Nuno. I mean, we've gone past the Allardyce and Pulis era. We're now in Nuno, Ange. Scott Parker would be one of those. These managers that sort of move around clubs, they're the new, maybe Unai Emery might be another one in a while, Dan. Let's hope not, John. Well, I know, I'm not trying to, well, actually I am trying to make you feel bad. I think that's the new revolving door of managers.
50:56John Brewin:We need this, don't we? Graham Potter is another, perhaps, in there. Yeah, Gary O 'Neill. He's on that. Gary O 'Neill, yeah. All those names, the Alan Kerbishley 14-1 sort of tribute. Finally, Bournemouth-Nil Newcastle-Nil. John, you had your eyes on this while Barry and Dan were firmly gawping at the game at the Stadium of Light. I wish I'd watched that game even though it was new. Well done, honestly. Producer Joel detailed me with this, and I could say that I saw absolutely nothing of interest in it. Actually, that is. I saw absolutely nothing of interest in that game. It sounded so flat, wasn't it?
51:35You know when there's just absolute silence for the vitality.
51:39John Brewin:Yeah, there was no vitality. I suppose I saw a couple of decent touches for a big man from Volta Marder. That was all right. But, yeah, God, it was flat. But Bournemouth actually seems to be better at defending now that they've sold off their entire defence, which is quite interesting. You know, they cashed in, probably got over 100 million or something for their defenders. I like True Fair. True Fair looks good. Yeah. I think I mentioned already, Charlie Baker says, it does sound like what the kids say when they agree with you. Yeah, no, True Fair. Calm, calm, calm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, Newcastle did play Barcelona on Thursday night.
52:23We forgot to mention Manchester City beating Napoli. It's worth mentioning those goals from Rashford, Barry, because they were both absolutely brilliant. And the second is such a great goal.
52:32Max Rushden:Yeah, big occasion at Newcastle. Good atmosphere at the ground. They had the TIFO and the flags, the ACDC-themed TIFO. But Barcelona were ultimately just too good for them. Newcastle played well in the first half. Could have scored two goals. Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon both missed presentable chances. And, yeah, Barcelona bossed the second half. Newcastle got a late consolation, but it looked like they might snatch a point. But I think, yeah, sorry, you asked me about Rashford and I've gone off on a mad tangent. That's okay. Very, very good header. And his second goal, an absolute smashing shot.
53:13Max Rushden:Oh, and there was one instance in this. He tried another shot and he hit Fabian Schaer, smashed the ball into his face. Schar went down, needed treatment, wasn't taken off. And then about 10 minutes later, hunkered down, looking very disoriented and had to be taken off. So just a little mild diversion on my high horse. I think he should have been taken off immediately, but he wasn't. But yeah, a very good performance from Rashford. And they were his first goals for Barcelona, I believe. so presumably he'll kick on. Hansi Flick seems to be a big fan of his and we know Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of his so this could be a big season for him.
53:55I was listening to someone saying Laminya Mal used to play Rashford on Feta or something. I was very excited to see him there. Jim says, Hello, long-time listener, first-time email. In regards to the claim on the last pod that Oliver Glasner and Nikita Khrushchev were more Stalin than Stalin, it is worth pointing out that de-Stalinisation was one of the central policies of Khrushchev following his rise to power a policy most famously exemplified by his secret speech denouncing Stalin's cult of personality thank you Jim as a Liverpool fan writing an email about the Soviet Union please feel free to make as many jokes as needed about my support for the Reds thanks love the pod Graham says hey guys American listener here would love to purchase some I-35 to Philadelphia merch when you make it over to the state on a live tour a hilarious statement from Max considering that I-35 runs north south from Minnesota to Texas it's closest point to philly as it passes through iowa or missouri is somewhere no fault on the intricacies of the freeway interstate system max it's probably a great road for finding you some real gas station barbecue he says uh and then he sent me uh a long link to what highway numbers actually mean in the united states which i confess uh i haven't read yet but graham trust me i will thank you for the great shows every week thank you graham and thanks everybody that'll do uh for today's podcast thank
55:13Max Rushden:You can print that highway guide off and read it on your flight back to Australia tomorrow. It might help you nod off. Honestly.
55:2324 hours on an aeroplane with two young children is just the worst thing you can ever do to yourself. So I will speak to everybody on Wednesday and you may detect exhaustion from me. Thank you, John.
55:36John Brewin:How secret was this speech? If we are talking about it on, presumably 70 years later on a football podcast. Well, no, this is the first time it's ever been mentioned. So, you know, we're trying to crack into the, you know, the history market because apparently those podcasts are quite successful, John. So if we just drop in a little bit of... We're coming for you, Tom Holland. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Max. Good luck on your travels. Thank you and cheer up. Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove. Our executive producer is Danielle Stephens. We'll be back on Wednesday.
56:13Max Rushden:This is The Guardian.
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