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In short
Football Weekly Summary: Port Vale Provide FA Cup Magic and Arsenal’s Mansfield Scare
Podcast Title: Football Weekly Episode Title: Port Vale provide FA Cup magic and Arsenal’s Mansfield scare Participants: Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, George Elek, Sanny Rudravajhala Release Date: [Insert Date Here]
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Episode Overview
In this episode of Football Weekly, the panel discusses the recent FA Cup matches, focusing on the impressive victory of League One's Port Vale against Premier League side Sunderland, along with a review of Arsenal's close encounter with Mansfield Town. The conversation delves into various matches across several leagues, player performances, and the implications of these results.
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Key Discussions
Port Vale Upset Sunderland
- Match Result: Port Vale 1, Sunderland 0
- Port Vale, sitting at the bottom of League One, achieved a monumental win, marking their first FA Cup quarter-final appearance in decades.
- Sanny Rudravajhala attended the match and shared insights into the atmosphere, highlighting factors that contributed to the upset.
- The pitch conditions played a significant role, leveling the playing field.
- The passionate crowd and first-time experiences for many young fans enhanced the match's significance.
- Key Moments:
- Ben Wayne's Goal: Scored the crucial goal and celebrated in front of Sunderland fans, drawing attention from Alan Shearer on social media.
- Sunderland's Performance: Despite being the better team on paper, Sunderland failed to capitalize, with Barry Glendenning criticizing their lack of effort and excuses for the loss.
Arsenal's Narrow Escape
- Match Result: Mansfield Town 1, Arsenal 2
- Arsenal faced a surprising challenge against Mansfield but ultimately progressed in the FA Cup.
- Key Highlights:
- Will Evans' Equalizer: Evans scored early in the second half, pushing Arsenal to perform better.
- Mansfield's Resilience: Despite being a lower-league team, Mansfield put up a commendable fight, with their community's support evident throughout the match.
- Max Dowman: Notable mention of the young Arsenal player, who impressed the panel with his skills and composure despite his age.
Other Match Reviews
- Fulham 0, Southampton 1: Fulham's decision to make several changes backfired, leading to their exit from the FA Cup.
- Chelsea Win Against Wrexham: The commentary on Chelsea's performance and the ongoing narrative surrounding Wrexham's impressive rise under their Hollywood owners.
VAR Discussions
- The panel debated the impact of VAR on recent games, particularly in relation to controversial decisions that marred the enjoyment of key matches.
- Sanny expressed concerns about how VAR decisions can disrupt the flow of the game and alter perceptions based on slow-motion replays.
Tottenham's Struggles
- Discussion on Tottenham's poor performance and potential relegation woes.
- Barry and George discussed the implications of the club's management decisions and the direction they might take if relegated.
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Key Takeaways
- FA Cup Excitement: The magic of the FA Cup remains alive, as demonstrated by Port Vale's stunning upset.
- Community Impact: Both Port Vale and Mansfield Town highlighted the community's role in football, showcasing the emotional connection between clubs and their supporters.
- Debate on Management and Decisions: The episode included critical reflections on management styles and the importance of adapting to team needs, drawing parallels between successful teams and those struggling.
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Conclusion This episode of Football Weekly captures the unpredictable nature of football, emphasizing moments of joy, despair, and community engagement. The discussions not only cover match outcomes but also provide deeper insights into the cultural significance of football in various communities.
For further engagement and updates:
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Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOFA Cup Highlights and Premier League Updates
1:30 to 2:14
Summary of recent FA Cup games and league updates.
“Chelsea win at Wrexham, Man City are better than Newcastle, Liverpool beat Wolves and Leeds East past Norwich.”
Port Vale's Upset Victory Over Sunderland
2:14 to 4:14
Discussion on Port Vale's remarkable FA Cup win against Sunderland.
“Port Vale getting to the quarterfinals for the first time in decades and decades.”
Sunderland's Performance and VAR Decisions
4:14 to 6:43
Analysis of Sunderland's performance and VAR's controversial moments.
“Yeah, I mean, Ben Wayne scored the winner.”
Community Impact and Club Culture at Port Vale
6:43 to 10:43
Insight into the community aspects and culture at Port Vale FC.
“I don't think I'd have had any complaints if he'd been sent off for that.”
Fulham's FA Cup Exit and Tactical Decisions
10:43 to 14:01
Discussion on Fulham's unexpected loss in the FA Cup and team changes.
“And on the kit, by the way, it's the 150th anniversary year for Port Vale.”
Fulham's FA Cup Strategy and Wrexham's Journey
14:01 to 16:20
A discussion on Fulham's changes in strategy for the FA Cup and the narrative around Wrexham's ownership and community impact.
The VAR Debate in Recent Matches
16:21 to 18:10
Exploring the impact and controversies surrounding VAR decisions in recent football matches, including Wrexham's game.
“I mean, yeah, the game itself was fantastic.”
Wrexham's Financial Landscape and Community Focus
18:11 to 21:48
An analysis of Wrexham's financial investments and the balance between spending and community involvement in football.
“But when you see it back, even if it's not slowed down, I think it's obvious.”
Mansfield's Clash with Arsenal in the FA Cup
21:49 to 26:32
Detailing Mansfield's spirited performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup, highlighting key moments and player performances.
“Mansfield won Arsenal too, Sonny, I don't know where you weren't.”
Newcastle vs Man City Match Review
28:20 to 30:18
Analysis of the FA Cup match between Newcastle and Man City, highlighting key moments and performances.
“I think it's deliberate yeah Wow because you can see the angle from behind and he almost does kind of shift his left leg just a tiny bit just to kind of like angle the foot okay ridiculous like just very weird.”
Show all 19 chapters
Concerns for Newcastle's Future
30:19 to 32:20
Discussion on Newcastle's squad depth and their upcoming challenges in the Champions League.
“Like, the depth of their squad, the amount of games they've played, sort of felt quite some sympathy for them at the weekend.”
Liverpool's Recent Performance Review
32:21 to 33:55
Reviewing Liverpool's recent match against Wolves and the implications for their season.
“All I could think, Andy Robertson scored a lovely goal in the scoring.”
Spurs' Struggles and Management Issues
33:56 to 36:54
An in-depth look at Spurs' performance, management changes, and potential relegation.
“I would go on holiday the next two games.”
Potential Consequences of Relegation
36:55 to 40:35
Exploring the impacts of relegation for Spurs and their future in the Championship.
“Because, you know, they've gone after someone who's, you know, managed Juventus this season, like a bit of a name from Europe and it wouldn't have worked out.”
Old Firm Cup Match Reactions
40:36 to 42:01
Reactions and analysis of the Celtic vs Rangers cup match and the ensuing chaos.
“There's an interesting subplot that we, Oxford, have Jamie Donnelly on loan with an option to buy him for£4 million.”
Examining the Celtic vs Rangers Incident
42:01 to 46:15
A detailed discussion on the disturbing events and fan behavior during the Celtic vs Rangers match.
“You are like, oh, mate, what are you guys doing?”
EFL Playoffs Expansion Debate
46:51 to 50:58
Discussion on the proposed changes to the EFL playoffs and its implications for teams.
“Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.”
Current League Standings and Team Performances
50:59 to 56:01
An overview of team performances and rankings in the league, focusing on playoff contenders.
“Middlesbrough second, that was a big win yesterday against QPR, Sanny.”
FA Cup Semi-Final Draw Discussion
56:01 to 56:44
The hosts discuss the FA Cup semi-final draw, including notable teams.
“The Lioness is Bison 2-0, their World Cup qualifying group.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Barry Glendenning:This is The Guardian.
0:30Sanny Rudravajhala:innovation. Scotland. For the head, heart, and the spirit. Discover more at theguardian.com forward slash brand Scotland. This message was paid for by Brand Scotland.
1:00Barry Glendenning:States.
1:30George Elek:Chelsea win at Wrexham, Man City are better than Newcastle, Liverpool beat Wolves and Leeds East past Norwich. Also today, we haven't had a pod since Tottenham 1, Crystal Palace 3, the day everyone realised Spurs are getting relegated. Still sounds weird to say it out loud. In Fitbar, Celtic win the cup quarterfinal at Ibrox. Cue some pretty tense scenes afterwards. The toughest of us wear blue like Ribalaclavas. Then some EFL, five wins in a row for Coventry with Middlesbrough just ahead of the chasing pack. Two wins in a row for Oxford means it's very tight at the bottom. In a five-way bunt fight at the top of league two and a very stressful time at the bottom we'll answer your questions and that's today's guardian football weekly on the panel today barry glendinning welcome hi bex uh sanny rudrovagula hello hello and from not the top 20 george ellick all right george hello let's start then at uh vale park uh it is still vale park isn't it is to me anyway uh Port Vale 1, Sunderland 0.
2:30George Elek:Port Vale getting to the quarterfinals for the first time in decades and decades. Sunny, you were there. And sort of quite nice, almost all the ingredients for an upset.
2:41Sanny Rudravajhala:Yeah, I think it was all the ingredients because Port Vale bottom of League 1, no one expected them to be here in the first place. The match against Bristol City, which got rearranged because the pitch was deemed unplayable, that got played on Tuesday. I was at that game as well. and when it got to extra time, I think everyone in the stadium's heart just sank. Like, you know, we all just wanted this game to end one way or another. So to get through that, Ben Wayne was a scorer there and then to take it to Sunderland in the way they did was brilliant. You know, I spoke to Reggie Salabrese afterwards and he said how the pitch was a leveler, which is, you know, it wasn't level.
3:16Sanny Rudravajhala:It was definitely bobbly. But I don't, and this is kind of a wider point really because this also feeds into the Mansfield game I was at as well because he basically said that that kind of made things even. And I'm not sure that Premier League players on a pitch that's a bit patchy and bobbly then means that you're, what, the same standards of League One, which is kind of where he was coming with. Only two changes from that Sunderland side. So it was a full-strength, pretty much, team. And yeah, Port Vale were fantastic. And he'd only had a few days to turn it around as far as getting the tickets sold and everything.
3:50Sanny Rudravajhala:I think they were still selling tickets on the website for the Peterborough game that was supposed to be that day up until like the Thursday or something. So they were really kind of playing catch up with it. And, you know, a brilliant atmosphere. And you know what it's like when you're not one of those games. There'll be youngsters there. It's the first ever time. And what an experience they've got. And, you know, those, you know, Fairweather fans might be thinking, yeah, I'm going to go to Port Vale more often. And that's kind of what football is all about. So, yeah, fantastic times.
4:15George Elek:Yeah, I mean, Ben Wayne scored the winner. And, you know, all these stories, Newcastle fan. I was expecting this broad Geordie accent and he's actually a Kiwi, but you, you, Sani showed him Alan Shearer's tweet when he did the kind of Shearer celebration in front of the Sunderland fan.
4:30Sanny Rudravajhala:Yeah, that was really fun. Actually. It wasn't your usual press conference fair. It did like Port Bale had already decided, right. We're just going to have a bum fight on the sidelines at full time with like a huddle around each of the managers and stuff. So that was quite fun. So straight after talking to Labrisa, just like barged in, push John Cross out the way who'd already pushed me out the way earlier, which is, wow okay john you don't need to do that but got in with ben wayne and yeah in the middle of all his questions and so five live had tweeted the picture of him doing the sheer celebration and sheer had quote tweeted it and put his hand in the air so ben have you seen this and he's like oh my god amazing uh he kind of lost for words and said like he was too young to watch sheer play but he watches youtube videos said he did it watches youtube videos all the time and asked him like had he planned that before and yes he had uh and then i've tweeted that and sheer has liked that so do i then show ben wayne sheer a liking the fact that he liked his reaction and then what does ben wayne do and this could go on because i'm at portvale this evening ahead of the fa cup draw so i could actually do that we could keep this infinite content loop going or just reaction
5:34George Elek:to each other where does it end that's off yeah that that is what football is now um barry are you are you mortified that Sunderland are out?
5:43Max Rushden:No, they should be embarrassed. I had a bad feeling about this one, I won't lie. Mainly because a Mac and friend of mine here in London went to the game and any time he goes to a Sunderland away game, they get beaten. He's a real Jonah. But I don't think Sunderland can offer any excuses. Port Vale deserved to win. They wanted it more, as they say. I mean, I wouldn't say it was anywhere near a full strength Sunderland team because there's so many players out injured, but it was the best team they had available, and it should have been more than enough to see off a team at the bottom of League One, and it wasn't.
6:21Max Rushden:I thoroughly enjoyed Mel Karelborg's headed sail from that sensational Luco 9 back pass where he sprinted backwards 20 metres to launch this back pass. to try and lob his own goalkeeper. Brilliant save from Elberg. Obviously couldn't catch the ball, so he headed it over the bar while backpedalling furiously. And the same fella, Elberg, was... I don't think I'd have had any complaints if he'd been sent off for that. Bringing down George Hall outside the penalty area, that probably wasn't a clear and obvious goal-scoring opportunity because he was going wide as a goal. but I don't think he could have been complained and it would have been a big problem for Sunderland if he'd been sent off because he's a reserve goalkeeper he's only a kid and Robin Roof is currently out with a hamstring injury so if he was suspended I don't know who's next to step up but no complaints here at all but it's embarrassing for Sunderland but Sunderland are a club who are well used to embarrassment you know just another one to add to the list.
7:35Max Rushden:George?
7:36Barry Glendenning:I liked how the Port Vale official Twitter account when describing the moment where Elbeg could have been sent off after Hall rounded him and was cleaned out said that Hall looked to have a tap-in when in reality he'd taken it towards the corner flag on the edge of the area. But it's an interesting debate where it feels like this happens the whole time this conversation around what is an obvious goal-screw opportunity. Is it an obvious opportunity where you're going to get a shot away at a goal? because if it is then even though it's not that likely to go in it was definitely a red card or is it a shot that is actually like kind of likely to go in um when you have it in which case it's probably not a red card it feels like no one really knows still you know obvious is that the the opportunity to shoot or is that the opportunity to score um if it's the foreman then it probably should have been a red also credit to wane i think for the header itself like it was a a looping ball he managed to get some kind of real power behind to get into the into the top corner it's a great um story this because even though portvale are rooted to the bottom of league one John Brady's come in and as best as you can when you come into a club who are detached kind of around the turn of the year he's brought in a real good feeling there and you know normally when a manager comes in and they improve results they improve things but they still go down you know the fingers still pointed at them for not saving them with Brady that won't be the case this FA Cup run is testament to that the only concerning thing for them is that they already have only played 32 games which is the fewest in League One this season there are some teams in the league they played 36 and now they're going to have their game over easter or i think both their games over easter postponed because the next round of the fa cup is over easter weekend on saturday and sunday when obviously efl teams play on the friday and the monday so they're going to suddenly have about seven games in hand to play in the last kind of six weeks of the season so in what's quite a small squad um they're going to be uh have a lot asked to them physically on
9:23Sanny Rudravajhala:the var call quite a surreal experience so elbow takes out uh hall the whole of vale park is suddenly chanting the var but you know no ef that's no efl crowd ever yeah then the decision goes against him everyone's like fuck var right that's how fickle we are fucking straight away and then i've got people like in the prep by the press box shouting like towards me and the other journos like ah this vir nonsense why you're doing what it's got nothing to do with me pal i'm sat here like rose zed zed it's nothing on me um but yeah just going back to the port vale story by the way um carol shanahan the owner of port vale who kind of came in and uh essentially saved the club and it's kind of changed the culture of what port vale is and how they do things and it's it's really small things uh you know all the staff are encouraged to all have the lunch together at 12 30 and if you're not there somebody might knock on your door and and check if you're okay um whenever there's a port bail fan who passes away and the club has to be informed and if the the the cortege does goes past the stadium all the staff and the players will will try and come out and and you know just give their condolences so little things like that they did a lot in in covid as well so there's a real community hub there um and i hope that story doesn't get lost And on the kit, by the way, it's the 150th anniversary year for Port Vale.
10:48Sanny Rudravajhala:And that kit is modelled on the 1954 team that got to the semifinals. So there's little echoes of where they're up to. It's quite nice.
10:58George Elek:Yeah, it was a lovely kit, wasn't it? Craven Cottage then, Fulham 0, Southampton 1. George, I don't know how much of a surprise this is, given how many changes Fulham made and the form that Southampton are in.
11:08Barry Glendenning:Sometimes there are these games where they're upsets, but when you look at the bookmaker's odds, actually the team who is perceived to be the kind of worst team are often kind of on a level playing field in terms of probability this wasn't that Fulham were heavy odds on favourites to win this game at kickoff I think Fulham fans will be pretty confused and bemused and frustrated as to why in a season where you know they're not really threatened by relegation and and any kind of ambitions to finish in a high European spot are gone why they made nine changes to their first team Marco Silva spoken about the importance of these games and about the FA Cup for their season but the actions themselves didn't really echo that.
11:44Barry Glendenning:Just one change made up until the 89th minute, which was a worry be coming on. Josh King and Raul Jimenez being introduced in the 89th and 90th. It all seemed a bit strange, really. Massive credit to Southampton, who Tonda Ekkert came in to replace Will Still, had a really good first run, and then results tailed off massively. But in the last five, six weeks, they've been up there with the best teams in the championship. And they were good here. Fina Zaz did well to win the penalty. dispatched brilliantly such a sweet strike from Ross Stewart who's obviously had some serious injury issues himself and if he can be fit for the last couple of months of the season will be a big help to Stampton who have put themselves you know in the last eight for the FA Cup but also you know on the fringes of the playoffs which didn't look like it was going to be likely at the beginning of the season so yeah Eckert's doing a very good job and again you always wonder with cup runs how it's going to impact league campaigns because of fixture congestion but it does feel like for Stampton continuing their good form in the league by going away from home to a Premier league club and winning um would only help them yeah i mean as marco silver said it was a very
12:44George Elek:very very bad afternoon and you can understand why chelsea made loads of changes right kind of some why man city did he can't understand why fulham would make this many changes and barry the almost as fun as luco nine's uh tremendous attempt to score an own goal was the fulham goal that was disallowed by jared gillett probably correctly but involving the southampton keeper absolutely belting it at his own teammate, Ryan Manning, who went down like platoon. But sort of fair enough, because he probably was not expecting that ball to be rifled into his midriff.
13:17Max Rushden:Yeah, Daniel Peretz threw the ball out to take a goal kick. It was still moving when he took the goal kick and flattened Ryan Manning, hitting him in the back. I think Jared Gillett thought he had hit Manning in the head, which is why he blew his whistle to stop play. He hadn't hit him in the head. But as the ball ricocheted off his back, Fulham scored. So it was the correct decision to rule out the goal because the ball was moving when the goalkeeper took the goal kick. But it was disallowed probably for the wrong reason because Gillette thought Manning had been struck in the head by this black thunderbolt.
14:05Max Rushden:the thing about the changes I can totally understand why Fulham fans would be frustrated by that but like Leeds made cold sale changes and won, it's fine to make those changes if you win but if you don't you end up looking an absolute chump and I guess Marco Silva just doesn't care about the FA Cup or he doesn't think Fulham have any chance of winning it
14:25George Elek:yeah maybe but like Leeds are still in danger of going down, there's a reason why, Fulham's the only reason
14:32Max Rushden:leads for making changes but i'm just saying it's fine to do that if you win of course of course but
14:39George Elek:like i all the other teams making changes in the premier league i think makes sense because they're fighting for something else whereas i don't think full of are really anyway uh chelsea made lots of changes they won at rexham rory says will hollywood versus var at the rave course leave reynolds and mclehenney wondering if they even want promotion to the premier league var is not good for the narrative mark says am i the only one delighted to see wrexham out it's a glorified vanity project it's interesting the sunny the journey of people finding the wrexham story beautiful and then hating it as they actually get nearer the premier league and and being good but like this was a this
15:12Sanny Rudravajhala:was a really good game wasn't it this was a great game and just on that um the the the hollywood journey what you got to remember is the people who are who are involved at wrexham you know besides
15:23George Elek:the owners they're just like you know just normal people they're just like normal people sonny normal real people like us like you and me just off the street right i'll give you one example so
15:33Sanny Rudravajhala:colin is the head of media at wrexham and he does a great job um he joined wrexham out of university i think he might have still been a student for as a volunteer running the media in the national league you know in the doldrums like right it was just his club so he went and joined him and he's come on this journey with the club right and now he's you know overseeing a championship operation and it's the nation's media descending pre-match as i was uh part of them in this tiny little room and you know and that that's the club you know the people who were at rexham four years ago five years ago you know seven years ago are the same people the online maybe and the americanization part of rexham is is quite irritating but the actual people who are there you know who have been there are all great.
16:20Sanny Rudravajhala:It's a great story. I mean, yeah, the game itself was fantastic. And, you know, we saw Sam Smith with that wonderful goal, a brilliant ball from the back, like perfectly flighted ball over the top. Again, our good friend Sanchez, Robert Sanchez, getting himself in all sorts of trouble. I mean, we've seen an iteration of this goal like several times, haven't we? Or several times where he's got himself in trouble. But yeah, Overall, just a great game. And I think, just like with VAR in Port Vale, I think that should have been a red, by the way, on the goalie. VAR reared its head in a way that I don't think we really needed.
16:57Sanny Rudravajhala:I don't necessarily disagree with the decisions and the red card in the Wrexham game. My issue with VAR in particular, as well as hating it, is the fact that you watch replays that are slowed down. So you're artificially changing the perception that a referee saw in the first place. Because in real time, I don't think Dobson looks that bad. I think it's fine. It's yellow. and you start slowing it down. It's knee on knee. And we're into this, you know, we're into this again. So it was a great game. But as soon as Wrexham went down to 10 and it went to extra time, you only knew there was going to be one team.
17:25Sanny Rudravajhala:And by the way, I'll get this point in now. The tin pot goals that Wrexham have are a real issue. You cannot have sports centre 3G football goals that you can wheel on and off in the championship. Half the ground didn't know it was in, did they? With God actually was goal.
17:43Barry Glendenning:It was absolutely ridiculous. It's so weird that they have those goals anyway. And it must be pretty embarrassing for on the biggest stage, everyone tuning in a crucial goal in an FA Cup game and the goal goes in and no one in the stadium, but also no one watching on TV at home knows the ball's gone in. Like it's one of the weirdest like aesthetic. And you've got Garnaccio basically like turning around and saying, did anyone else see that go in or is it just me? It's bizarre. It's a funny one with VAR. Like I, you know, I hate VAR and if it's ever introduced into the EFL, I'll have to rethink my career.
18:13Barry Glendenning:but it's funny how in this instance the two big VAR decisions the red card for Dobson Brunt's goal being disallowed for offside and I still kind of think if Brunt had left that it maybe was going into the far post anyway they're both the right decision and I still hate it and I still wish it didn't exist like I don't understand how anyone even real time like Dobson's foul is like the things you judge a foul on are like excessive force obviously like he absolutely flew in there was no attempt to play the ball I think it's I can see why it wasn't given live because, you know, maybe the occasion or whatever.
18:45Barry Glendenning:But when you see it back, even if it's not slowed down, I think it's obvious. It's very cynical and has excessive force needed to clear that threshold. And it is offside. But even so, like, we don't need it. We don't need, we've got a referee, let him police it. He's going to make mistakes. Just let the AR make mistakes. And it's a shame that what was a brilliant cup die was decided by that, even if the decisions were right. The Dobson raid, it probably should have been a raid.
19:10Max Rushden:But the ref, it was his opinion that it was a bookable offence, and then he was overruled by someone else's opinion. So why is the second person's opinion more valid than the ref's? I don't know. But anyway, just about the Wrexham, sort of the backlash against them. Their squad was assembled for between 40 and 50 million quid. Players in that squad from their academy, players who come in for Blackburn versus City, Charlton, Bolton, Hull, Rotherham, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Ipswich, Leicester. Their most expensive signing was Nathan Broadhead, 10 million quid. He was on the bench.
19:53Max Rushden:I think Kiefer Moore is their highest earner on 30 grand a week, and he earns twice as much as the next highest earners. So it's not like they're hosing money around Man City, Chelsea style. I don't have a problem. They seem to be doing good work in the community, unlike other clubs that have been the subject of takeovers from very wealthy foreigners.
20:23Barry Glendenning:I think there are two ways of looking at it. The spend compared to the rest of the championship who haven't got parachute payments, and especially compared to any club that was in the National League three seasons ago, is absurd. like it is you know it's it's crazy what they've been able to do you know the fee for for for broadhead the wages they they can spend on kiefer moore and even conor cody when he came in like clubs that don't have the revenue streams that you get given if you have either a set out 40 000 um a week or you have perhaps you really can't even get anywhere near that you know i support a team that came up the season before rexham and our record signing is like two and half million pounds and none of our players will earn even a third of or half of what Moore's on so there's that regard but then I do also think there is you're right there is an element where they are doing things the right way in terms of an investment in in the local community you know if you're if you're a Wrexham fan you're being taken on an incredible journey and I think Phil Parkinson it kind of gets lost because of the story and because of the spend but Parkinson's doing an absolutely unbelievable job I assume there'll probably be a furore if he's put up for manager of the season or whatever in the championship in a couple of weeks because people will say well he's you know when you've got that money it doesn't matter it's still not easy it's still not normal to be able to take a team who just you know finished second in league one and take them into the into the top six and possibly been in touch and distance the premier league like I know Sunderland did that in their first season up but that's a completely different profile of the club so it's unbelievable what he's doing and again they gave a great account themselves against against Chelsea
21:56George Elek:yeah we should say that well done to Chelsea because they won and you know Liam Rossini made nine changes and like he's getting a tune out of this team. Mansfield won Arsenal too, Sonny, I don't know where you weren't. You seem to have been at every game so far. You were at this one, how was it?
22:11Sanny Rudravajhala:Yes, I was at this one. Again, it was great. I'll try not to repeat the vibe of Port Vale. So I did my teacher training in Mansfield. So I taught in the ex-mining towns or mining villages of Clipston. So I know exactly what these communities are like. And you drive through, and if you're not familiar with Mansfield and where it is like you know you'll see the you'll see the abandoned shuttered mines you'll see the the wheels that have been taken down and the put at the entrance to any town and stuff so you go through like these are forgotten towns like that that's not make any bones about it there's a reason politically why they are where they are and there's a reason why who they've elected in ashfield in the past for example is who they have and this is where a football club is so like crucial to give everyone a focal point regardless of how things are going and that's where that the Radfords coming in John and Caroline who I was I was I was live with in a car park and on Sky Sports News were saying that that that element was a huge part of why they kind of wanted to get involved because John the name of the stadiums after his company and stuff they've invested there and bought in and slowly like like Port Vale like like not quite Wrexham but they have invested in trying to build it up.
Read the full transcript
23:26Sanny Rudravajhala:So this was a huge moment for them and a culmination of all that hard work. Again, 10 ,000 there. So the game itself was great. Mansfield really kind of took it to Arsenal. And again, a huge moment for Mansfield. And let's see if they can kick on in the league as well. Yeah.
23:42George Elek:And look, Barry, they had the moment, right? You want that as a lower league fan. It's just a moment where you take the lead or you equalise or whatever. And they had that.
23:50Max Rushden:Yeah. Will Evans came on as a sobered halftime. took advantage of a poor pass from Marley Salmon and scored an equaliser for Mansfield. He has previous in the FA Cup, he scored one for Newport County against Manchester United a few years ago. And I thought Mansfield were terrific, to be honest. They were playing a below-strength Arsenal side, obviously, but I think in the build-up to the game, Nigel Clough was very much saying that, you know, this is a kind of Brucey bonus for us. Reading on Tuesday night is far more important. But after the game, when he was getting the condescending pats on the head about how brave his players' performance was, he seemed to think, ooh, we possibly could have done better in this game.
24:48Max Rushden:And I think he's right. Arsenal were far from their best but obviously should have been more than good enough to win this game and they did win it but Mansfield gave them plenty of problems
24:59George Elek:Yeah, I mean like the Arsenal goals were very much we're better at this than you we'll just score really good goals there you go and they were two brilliant goals from Matawaki and Eze weren't they? But yeah, so Arsenal threw
25:11Sanny Rudravajhala:I think we'd be remiss not to mention Max Dowman I know he talked about him right at the start of the season how well he did against Leeds for Arsenal but he was on a complete other level. You talk about players who can make the difference there. He's still only 16, six foot, youngest ever starter, I think, for Arsenal in FA Cup, and just so good. I mean, if you can do it on that pitch, if you can do it when you've got, you know, players literally twice his age kicking the shit out of him, and he's able to drop a shoulder, beat a man, you know, using the ball in the right areas, using his strength, ghosting past players.
25:45Sanny Rudravajhala:You know, in an era where we're talking about nobody can beat a man anymore. This kid is really something special. I know it's only League One he was playing against, but what we saw there was just absolutely phenomenal. And Arsenal got a real prospect, not even prospect, he's already there. And I think what's also great is, like Marley Salmon, he again was only 16. Unlike, say, when we had Michael Owen playing for Liverpool, we've had youngsters play way too many games too quickly. We've seen what happens. it looks like Arsenal doing the right thing with him and just building you up gently and not getting too overexposed but he like really shone at Field Mill and I think if you hadn't seen him play you don't know so much about him Max Downman wants to watch because he's absolutely phenomenal
26:31George Elek:The quadruple alive for us or the quintuple if that includes Spurs getting relegated for Arsenal fans that'll do for part one part two we'll do the rest of the FA Cup and a bit of Spurs too
26:44Sanny Rudravajhala:Scotland has natural beauty in abundance but beyond the stunning landscapes it's a fertile ground to build, grow and succeed filled with people who are ready to push boundaries in the pursuit of breakthrough ideas That's why today, Scotland is a dynamic hub of opportunity across growth sectors from clean energy and life sciences to digital technology and space innovation Scotland, for the head, heart and the spirit Discover more at theguardian.com forward slash brand Scotland This message was paid for by Brand Scotland.
27:40Barry Glendenning:human experts who work together to handle the tedious stuff so you can get back to what actually grows your business. And because everything's streamlined on one platform, your customer management, accounting, expenses, and payroll all work seamlessly in one place. So go ahead, outdo it with Intuit QuickBooks. Get 50 % off QuickBooks online for three months. Terms and conditions apply. Feature availability may vary by product. Visit quickbooks.com for details.
28:18George Elek:welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly uh so newcastle one man city three what
28:23Barry Glendenning:do you make of this george yeah a decent cup tie uh newcastle obviously taking the lead relatively early before kind of city ground them down as they tend to do at the moment savinho's goal was one of the weirdest goals i've ever seen maybe like it's absolutely extraordinary what he did with the cross coming in initially when you watch it live you think he must have been unsighted and it must have kind of just hit him as he stood still but the more replays the more obvious it becomes that he basically knew the ball was coming towards his left foot and rather than actually trying to kick the ball he just let the ball hit him on the leg and then kind of dribbled over the line So you think it's just the most
28:55George Elek:you think it's pure nonchalance? I think it's deliberate yeah Wow
28:59Barry Glendenning:because you can see the angle from behind and he almost does kind of shift his left leg just a tiny bit just to kind of like angle the foot okay ridiculous like just very weird. I was a bit poorly over the weekend and thought I was in some kind of fever dream when it happened.
29:13Sanny Rudravajhala:In pro-evo terms, by the way, that's super cancel for anyone who knows. It's L1, R1, L2, R2, and the player stops doing anything and it just hits them. Okay, interesting. You know your old school pro-evo buttons. Can't do that on sensible soccer.
29:26George Elek:But look, I'm a big fan of any goal where the ball goes in incredibly slowly. I'm such a huge fan of those goals, and it was like that, wasn't it? It gave the Newcastle players There's enough chance to sort of get back, but not enough. But beyond that, George, City were really good. They made 10 changes, but were still really good.
29:47Barry Glendenning:Yeah, and Marmol's looking really lively. A kind of good poacher's goal to open and then a brilliant stroke from the edge of the area to score the second to make the game safe. And the way that City controlled, at times this season, I think City have been different in the way that they've played out of possession, where you've seen them against teams, let them have a lot more of the ball and press, a bit kind of less intently with less intensity but here they were brilliant they snapped into everything even in their 3-1 up they still dominated the ball it kind of felt like City iterations of the past and that is going to be a concern I guess with a big part to play in the Premier League title race and also the Champions League and the FA Cup so I mean it could still be a very successful season for Man City and it does feel like they've got the strength and depth between the end of the season to mount that challenge
30:32George Elek:Yeah and probably not a successful season for Newcastle Barrett I mean, they do have Barcelona. They're still in the Champions League. But it's just no shame, right? Like, the depth of their squad, the amount of games they've played, sort of felt quite some sympathy for them at the weekend.
30:46Max Rushden:They've played 47 games this season. Wouldn't imagine anyone's played more. The gulf in class here was just so obvious after the first half hour. Newcastle clearly don't have the same strength and depth as Man City. It's a big bone of contention with Newcastle fans that they're not allowed to spend all this money that the Saudi piff have. And this shows that maybe they have a point. They only had 15 touches in the opposition box compared to City's 64 in theirs. Nick Valtamada in midfield again looking like a fish out of water. Quite a big fish. Yes, a very big permed fish.
31:33George Elek:My favourite kind of fish. What is the market? What's the market fish of the day? It's the big permed voltmada on a bed of...
31:43Max Rushden:I don't think he even has a perm, but he just kind of looks like he should have one. To make him even more conspicuous in his midfield role. Yes, they were just outclassed. But that's the fifth time they've played City this season. City have won four of those games. and they're just much better than Newcastle. I'd be interested to see how Newcastle fare against Barcelona over two legs. I think it could be a bloodbath, but who knows? Who knows? They seem to be able to rise themselves for those big, big European games.
32:21George Elek:I'm on a new one Friday night. Liverpool won 3-1 at Wolves. All I could think, Andy Robertson scored a lovely goal in the scoring. Set up one was what a bullet he dodged because wasn't it a Liverpool, someone else was injured so they didn't let him go to Spurs and you just think, wow, lucky for you. Sani, on the few people saying that Arna Slott needs the FA Cup or needs something to keep his job, which does feel, I still think it feels hard. I still feel like you get a season's grace for winning the league. I don't know. I don't know if you think that is sort of fair enough when you're at this level, you're at the elite level and you don't win anything that if you have a poor season, that's it.
32:57Sanny Rudravajhala:I think there are clubs big enough with broad enough shoulders to be able to rail against that sort of clamour. Liverpool are one, Man United famously. The other, and I think given, especially, you know, out of all the games for that conversation to be around, you know, of course, you know, Diogo Jota's death, and that was brother, you know, this game was marked again, but with, you know, marks in remembrance during the game for him, obviously as a Wolves player and a former Liverpool player. and that, you know, continues to affect the players. So I do think, you know, it's really hard to say because I'm sure at the start of the season, everyone was like, you know, you get this season written off.
33:38Sanny Rudravajhala:I know you've said that as well, Max. And then it happens and you're like, right, well, you're going to stick with that. But I think it does mean he's on an incredibly short leash for next season. Did he need to win the FA Cup? Not to keep his job, I don't think so. But certainly as something to kind of almost, you know, mark the season and think you know draw a line under everything as much as one can do that that would be a great way to do it but they have no right to do so and but i do think i think slot's okay i honestly do you know i don't think you're doing a voice note anytime soon max no i i hope
34:11George Elek:so uh leeds beat norwich 3-0 um uh they were very very good leads in this game long staff's goal is absolutely brilliant the first touch and turn and finish was absolutely superb daniel farger's
34:22Sanny Rudravajhala:really upset in his pre-match build-up that he was unable to be on the sidelines for this because of his red card in the previous game and he said he's got an unblemished record and that really kind of hurt him he's quite a sensitive person i spent a lot of contractually obliged time with him with his one-to-one interviews uh and yeah that that really did hurt him a special moment for him kind of taking away and just on that just going back to the newcastle city game we probably should have mentioned as well that pep guardiola essentially squaring up to the fourth official is completely beyond the pale and i hope he gets the uh requisite reprimand because that isn't appropriate in the same way daniel farker maybe should have watched himself a little bit more checked himself he's reflected on that you you cannot just you know put your head up to a referee almost you know and think you can there's no reason for that no matter how emotional
35:13George Elek:you are yes pep said we have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards i want all the records and now I have it. Two game ban now. I would go on holiday the next two games. I mean, I wouldn't open with it, Pep, but you know, like, you know, for your tight 10 at the Hen and Chickens. Anyway, JS Dow says, just Spurs, please. It was Thursday night, which is a long time ago in football, but we haven't done a pod since. They lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace. 1-0 up, Van der Ven gets sent off. It's such a silly red card. And then they let in 3 before half-time. George, how much are you looking forward to covering Spurs in great detail on Not The Top 20 next season.
35:50Barry Glendenning:Yeah, it's funny with us because often it's these transient big teams that come down and pay us no attention on the podcast. It's the likes of Sunderland and Leeds who come down and stay down that we really like. I can't imagine too many Spurs fans are going to engage with League Two when they're down in the Championship. But no, it'll be fun. I mean, and it feels like it's possible and it's kind of bordering on likely. What would be one more defeat and terrible performance away from it becoming more likely than not kind of proposition it just feels like the appointment of Igor Tudor dates very very strangely not necessarily in terms of what he's done as a player or anything like that more just bringing in someone who's never managed England before who is coming in who's played like exclusively a back three in his managerial career and is doing that now for a squad that was built to play with a back four surely that's the first thing you look at with an interior manager like do you play a system that we have recruited to play and if the answer is no then they should be off the desk like immediately and yet here we are with a group of players being shoehorned into a system that doesn't really work players who seemingly want out as far as quickly as they possibly can horrendous disciplinary record as well post-match interviews where the interim managers saying exactly what the fans don't really want to hear it's just like a total and utter mess and I'm really intrigued because my assumption is if Spurs go down Igor Tudor will not be their manager on the day where they get relegated.
37:15Barry Glendenning:I'd be amazed if he was. So who's he going to be? Because, you know, they've gone after someone who's, you know, managed Juventus this season, like a bit of a name from Europe and it wouldn't have worked out. I mean, do they go like proper, get the book of Spurs legends out and see if we can get someone in to come and
37:31George Elek:do it? Gary Mabbit? Gary Mabbit could do it. I mean, I've mentioned Harry. He is 79, Harry Redknapp. Barry, do you think they've got, I mean, they need Atleti away like a hole in the head. Like, you know, Oh, an absolute disaster, that. Do they let Igor Tudor lose to Atleti, lose to Liverpool on Sunday, and then lose to Atleti again, and then change? Because then they've got Forrest at home, Sunderland away, Bryant at home, Wolves away, on what is perhaps the biggest month in the history of their Premier League life.
37:59Max Rushden:You're making it sound like Tudor has the option to lose those games. A friend of mine whose cabbie had Joe Cole in his cab on Saturday morning. Joe was bringing his boy to football a match I think playing in it and Joe told my mate that they've made approaches to Harry with a view to succeeding Igor.
38:27George Elek:Did Harry say I'll wait till Cheltenham's over? Is that what he said?
38:31Max Rushden:Obviously Harry is busy this week because he has a runner in the Cheltenham Gold Cup the jukebox man which is well fancied. I think it got nodded on the line a few years ago at Cheltenham in a different race. Looked home and hoes, got caught on the line. That may be a metaphor in there, but I don't know. I mean, that match against Christopalis was objectively hilarious from the moment when Ismail Assar was offside because he has a nose and a face. and then Spurs going ahead is immediately self-imploding. I think every single person on the planet with an interest in football who doesn't support Spurs is desperate to see them get relegated because it would just be funny.
39:21Max Rushden:And as you've said before, Max, there is no team. They may not be bottom of the league, but they are at the moment the worst team in the league by some distance, I think. And it's difficult to see where the next point is coming from.
39:35George Elek:Yeah. And also, George, I mean, obviously their squad would look so different next season if they were in the championship. But I don't think, I know the playoffs are increasing to eight teams, but I don't think they just go and walk that division. Like, I just think there's just, I just don't think they'd find it easy. You know better than me.
39:52Barry Glendenning:No, no, I think you're probably right. I mean, it's impossible to say without knowing who will still be there. But, you know, normally teams that come down from the Premier League to the championship have done it before and kind of understand what is needed. albeit Leicester did obviously did very well when they came down and appointed Maresca and hired a group of players that did very well and won the league but this is more similar in my mind to when you've got big teams that come down from the Championship to League 1 because this is the case like Sunderland like Ipswich teams who basically never thought that this was going to happen and that would be the stakes here and normally when that happens teams that come down from the Championship to League 1 tend to stay down there for a bit because they are complacent and they don't understand what they need to do and they make terrible decisions when it comes to recruitment of managers and players and the rest of it and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Spurs are like that.
40:35Barry Glendenning:I mean, they'd probably be the first ever team to be odds-on favourites to win a league before a ball's kicked because obviously it would be ridiculous in terms of the quantity of the players that they have and even if they sell most of them, which they would have to do, the ones that would be left over would still be very good. There's an interesting subplot that we, Oxford, have Jamie Donnelly on loan with an option to buy him for£4 million. I love the idea that we would stay up, they would come down and then we would have to buy one of the players that they'd like to keep for the championship off them for a fee that was already agreed in January.
41:08Barry Glendenning:But yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what happens. I do kind of, for the first time this weekend, think that there's got to be a pretty big chance it's going to happen.
41:16George Elek:Yeah, worth mentioning Adam Wharton's assists, you know, the Adam Wharton klaxon. You know, get him on the plane. Just such a joy to watch. Glenn says, is it worth having away fans at the old firm if it's going to put players, staff and police in harm's way? Yeah, normally in league games, much lower away fans at Ibrox or Celtic Park because it was the Scottish Cup quarterfinal. There were many more Celtic fans at Ibrox. It was goalless after extra time. Celtic won 4-2 on penalties. And then afterwards, the seeds turned pretty ugly. I mean, Celtic fans came on in celebration, probably inadvisable.
41:53George Elek:And then a few Rangers fans, you put a picture of the Blue Man group in the WhatsApp group, Barry, and it did look like that, didn't it? You are like, oh, mate, what are you guys doing? They sort of wandered on to be like, come on, who's with us? Looked around and no one had gone with them. And eventually a lot of Rangers fans came on and they were sort of throwing fireworks at the Celtic fans. I think some were coming the other way and a few of the players or staff had to be sort of ushered off the pitch pretty quickly. The police said afterwards the behaviour of a number of supporters at the game was shameful.
42:27George Elek:It must be condemned by everyone involved in football and wider society. A number of arrests have been made. Police Scotland will now work with both clubs and the SFA to carry out a robust investigation following the scenes on the pitch at the conclusion of the match. Officers and stewards were faced with extreme hostility and violence over a sustained period with many individuals having armed themselves with items clearly intended to cause harm. Officers and members of the public have been injured. I mean, it just seems unsurprising what happened there. and maybe it's too soon to apportion blame.
42:59George Elek:I wouldn't run on the pitch if I was a Celtic fan there and I wouldn't put a blue balaclava on and run on the pitch if I was a Rangers fan there. I don't have one in my dressing up box.
43:12Max Rushden:Quite apart from the fact that it's not a particularly fetching piece of headwear. Look, there's a lot of blame to go around and obviously, as is always the case, There's plenty of finger-pointing and rancour and whataboutery and belligerent sanctimony from both sets of supporters, each claiming that the other side's shameful behaviour was more shameful than our shameful behaviour. I think it's a matter of fact that a lot of Celtic fans jibbed in for free into the Broome loan stand after storming the turnstiles. They spilled onto the pitch after the winning penalty. They vandalised their end of the ground.
43:59There was 7 ,500 of them there, which is clearly too many if they can't be trusted to behave themselves.
44:06Max Rushden:And I think the Raiders fans who came on the pitch didn't cover themselves in glory either. The clubs say that they'll work with the police to identify these culprits, but I think both clubs are guilty of indulging the hooligan, undesirable aspects of their fan bases. And they should have a long, hard look at themselves and the nonsense they put up with from these sets of fans who were misbehaving yesterday.
44:35Sanny Rudravajhala:It was disappointing as well that both Martin O 'Neill and Danny Rule in the post-match interviews didn't really condemn the action. Like, you know, Martin O 'Neill was very much like, couldn't really see it, blah, blah, blah. You could just blank say, neither set of fans should be coming on the pitch. This isn't right. You know, you can say that. You can say something clear, even if you didn't see the details. So that would have been something. And just a wider point, like every match going family will recognize the sort of young fan, the ones who were jibbing in for the broom loan stand. Like there are some fans who genuinely don't know how to behave at football.
45:14Sanny Rudravajhala:Some younger fans, because you think, you know, what, COVID pandemic was what, five years ago. So there are 15 year old kids who in the formative time where they could have been learning about what's appropriate and what's not in a football stadium. didn't get any of that experience because he would 10, 11, those years were lost to them. And there is a section of a match-going fan base, youngsters who don't know where the line is and they keep going past it. And it's every game, every ground has this set of fans. They'll be in all black, but they're all like little street urchins. They're all malnourished, but they're all there trying to be hard.
45:52Sanny Rudravajhala:And this is, I think, an extreme example of that. I don't think it's all that. but I think there is an element of youngsters who don't know how to behave who've missed the educational period where they could have learned how to behave and just taking things far too far in the first place anyway.
46:06George Elek:That's five years where it's don't get a lycra balaclava in the colours of your team and put it on your head at any point during the fixture. That'll do for part two. Part three, we'll do some AFL.
46:20Sanny Rudravajhala:Scotland has natural beauty in abundance but beyond the stunning landscapes, it's a fertile ground to build, grow and succeed, filled with people who are ready to push boundaries in the pursuit of breakthrough ideas. That's why today, Scotland is a dynamic hub of opportunity across growth sectors, from clean energy and life sciences to digital technology and space innovation. Scotland, for the head, heart and the spirit. Discover more at theguardian.com forward slash brand Scotland. This message was paid for by Brand Scotland.
46:59George Elek:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. So look, from the EFL, before we get into the results, the idea there'll be two more playoff places, so it'll go down to eighth place. What did you make of that?
47:09Barry Glendenning:I don't love it myself. It feels like the playoffs are pretty good as they are. I don't really see why there's any need or desire to change them. Having said that, the clubs voted almost unanimously in favour of the change. I can see why the clubs would do that. It gives them more of an opportunity to finish in the playoffs and therefore a bit higher chance of promotion. It also probably benefits the teams that finish third and fourth more because they have more of an advantage when it comes to the knockout between the four teams beneath them. They play fewer games, they have more chance of getting through to the final.
47:37Barry Glendenning:I just don't really see the point. It just, you know, it feels like in football and in everything in the sport, there are always people who want to change things and the playoffs in themselves, you know, there's like a sporting integrity argument about this where it's like, well, you know, why should the team who finished eighth have a chance of getting promoted? In the same way, why should a team finish sixth how much time is getting promoted compared to a team in third like the playoffs are inherently pretty stupid if you want the best teams to get promoted but they're incredible theatre and incredible drama but they are that now and I also do wonder if there could be more dead rubbers towards the end of seasons where teams especially the championship where there's often quite a big gap between the top two or three and the rest because of parachute payments and we could have more teams like Sunday last season who basically knew in early April that they were going to finish somewhere in the top six.
48:26Barry Glendenning:So they basically downed tools, played a weakened team, lost four games in a row. You know, if you're broadening the bracket of teams that will finish in the playoffs, then there's more chance there'll be more games like that towards the end of the campaigns where that's where sports integrity is really bad. Where if you're a team battling relegation and one of you is playing against a side in fourth or fifth, who basically know the way they're going to finish, then they'll play a weakened team ahead of the playoffs. It could get quite messy there. So I don't really see why it's been done. I can understand why it was proposed and where the clubs want it.
48:54Barry Glendenning:But I'm not sure it's something that fans necessarily want.
48:57Sanny Rudravajhala:But that's funny, George, because the EFL's argument is the converse, right? They argue that there'll be fewer dead rubbers in the middle because there's more teams who can get the eighth place. But I haven't thought of it like that.
49:07Barry Glendenning:Yeah, I think it's kind of, it'll change season on season. It's like when they start introducing third teams qualifying from World Cup groups, the argument was that there'll be fewer dead rubbers. It's clearly meant there are more dead rubbers. so yeah the proof will be in the pudding but I think we'll see especially on final day we will see more games where one team has less to play for or even more games where one team will be incentivised to play weakened teams because they know where they're going to finish
49:37George Elek:At the table then Coventry top 74 points from 36 games 5 points clear of Middlesbrough who have 69 points Millwall in third have 65 Ipswich 64 Hull have 60 and Wrexham, the final playoff place of 57. Coventry, last time we were on, George, had gone on this sort of mini blip. We were starting to think, oh, could the wheels fall off? Then they've won five in a row. So they've done absolutely brilliant.
50:03Barry Glendenning:Yeah, the blip was just a blip. And they put it right in the incredibly high pressure Monday night game a few weeks ago where they hosted Middlesbrough at a time where they'd been taken off their perch and they put in a brilliant display and a 3-1 win and then to follow that up with four consecutive victories off the back of it five wins and they're five points clear of Barra now and they're what nine points clear of Millwall in third like it's it's a credit to Lampard Edwards and their staff for overseeing this because it was looking really precarious for a moment and not just in terms of the title but also the top two because of Ipswich being in decent form but they're now yeah they're back in good form Hadji Wright was on a kind of barren goal scoring run he's now scoring freely including the hat-trick against Borough and a goal in the 2-0 win over Bristol City last weekend too.
50:54Barry Glendenning:So yeah, it feels like it would be some collapse from here and the chances are we're going to see Coventry as a Premier League side for the first time in a long time next season.
51:03George Elek:Middlesbrough second, that was a big win yesterday against QPR, Sanny. Hayden Hattling scored a lovely goal in that one. We expect them to, four points isn't huge with 10 games to go, but they are the second best team in this division.
51:17Sanny Rudravajhala:yeah absolutely um and a lovely moment as well you might have seen on the socials of uh neil warnock now the talkie united interim manager of course in the efl sky studio uh talking to hayden hackney after the match and saying you know well done uh you know look forward to playing in the premier league and i gave you your debut and hackney was like he's and he's you know he's very kind of unassuming he was like you know not sure i was good enough to get my debut under you I was a bit young which is quite nice to hear yeah he's excellent and yeah he'll be in the Premier League no matter what and Middlesbrough have been fantastic chasing them is Millwall who I saw the other week and they are excellent actually really really really good they've got they've had a lot of injuries you know I did a little social media video and said they hadn't had too many and I was kind of referring to the core and all these Millwall fans were like we had 12 injuries earlier in the season but the centre-halves Cooper and Kramer at the back have been really solid.
52:09Sanny Rudravajhala:Coburn just like takes a lot of hits and Demi Aziz who you recall was great at Reading has been excellent for Millwall is that one player who can unlock a defence but I think they haven't quite got enough to catch Middlesbrough but they did just dispatch Hull City and going back to the whole teams that aren't great but are in the playoffs there's quite a few of them now so maybe that does kind of give the argument to expand it if they're all kind of middling but Millwall are definitely the best of the rest I don't think they're going to catch
52:36George Elek:borough though yeah although that whole game i i wouldn't i mean dispatch makes it sound straightforward i mean hull seemed to hit the bar about 100 times and they had this goal disallowed and i couldn't quite work out what it was for george yeah it was i mean hull all season have
52:51Barry Glendenning:been this team who um have defied underlying numbers and anyone who's watched them they seem to win games very clinical in front of goal concede loads of chances and um don't concede very many compared to the opposition but this was their whole season in reverse where suddenly they were the team creating loads they were the team who couldn't force force the board in the back of the net and it was the opposition who were clinical against them but yeah and the balance of play the whole were very unlucky not to go ahead in this game or very unlucky not to kind of take a pretty good lead by the time they're pegged back to 2-1 Panda who's been such a massive player for them this season their goalkeeper who's made so many big saves to keep them in games or win them games you know he should have done better with a cross um that was then prodded home by Ivanovic but yeah they had a lot of chances and weren't able to convert them which will be damaging for them but Millwall's season just continues to be phenomenal and Alex Neal's doing an absolutely incredible job there in terms of not only getting them to where they are but it feels like they're kind of improving week by week now and they seem to they lost to Portsmouth at home a couple of weeks ago and bounced back straight away with a victory it doesn't seem like when they're beaten it doesn't seem to hurt them too much they're going to keep Borough honest I'm sure of that
54:01George Elek:George, Oxford have won two in a row no one else in the bottom six has won any of the last three games, so now Sheffield Wednesday down obviously, then Oxford have 35 Leicester 35, West Brom 36 Blackburn 39, Portsmouth 40 so that has made it really interesting down there.
54:16Barry Glendenning:Yeah it has done two really big wins for Oxford, I think Oxford's last six goals have all come from set pieces directly or indirectly, one against Stoke two against West Brom and then all three here against Preston on Friday night, which for a team that are going to struggle to create loads of open play is going to be really important it was set piece goals that for the most part kept Oxford up last season under Rowett with Leicester really struggling albeit with a good point away from home at Ipswich with Baggy struggling albeit with a good point away from home against Sheffield United but the big game for Oxford now comes on Wednesday night where we host Blackburn I will be there and that just feels huge because Blackburn are struggling a bit there's also a really nice kind of subplot here where Michael O 'Neill is a Northern Ireland manager and we're heading into an international break for hopefully two of Northern Ireland's biggest ever games in terms of their World Cup qualification playoffs.
55:06Barry Glendenning:And Oxford have loads of Northern Ireland internationals. You've got Kieran Brown, Jamie Donnelly, Jamie McDonnell, Brodie Spencer. So it's going to be a funny kind of caveat here where Oxford players will be playing in front of their international manager as they try and force their way into the squad. O 'Neill himself is going to know them incredibly well and their games very well. We'll also probably want them not to get injured. it's just quite a weird situation to have going into what is just a huge game for both teams
55:32George Elek:we're basically out of time so I should just say look at the league one and league two table and you will know who's where that seems like we haven't done them justice but well done to Lincoln who won at Cardiff so they are now top of league one and Cambridge third Bromley have five points clear at the top of league two they've played a game more and it is very tight there and very tight at the bottom of League Two. Normally, two teams are gone. But Harrogate have 27, Newport 28, Barrow 28, and Crawley 29. So, incredibly, incredibly tight. The Lioness is Bison 2-0, their World Cup qualifying group.
56:05George Elek:Guardian Women's Football Weekly is out tomorrow, so listen to that. But that's pretty much all we have time for. Unless, Barrow, you have anything salient you want to finish with on this episode?
56:15Max Rushden:Well, I think we forgot to mention in all our righteous indignation over the behaviour of Celtic and Rangers, fans that St Mirren Dunfermline and Falkirk also join Celtic in the semi-finals so it's Celtic, St Mirren and Dunfermline, Athletic against Falkirk, that's the draw
56:37George Elek:Right, so St Mirren could win two cups this season, if I remember the League Cup correctly Thank you Barry, and that'll do for today, thanks everybody Thank you Sani.
56:45Sanny Rudravajhala:Cheers, thank you, I'm off to Port Vale now, we didn't mention West Ham-Brentford tonight, the FA Cup game that nobody really cares about but yeah looking forward to that one in the draw okay i presume we'll be there
56:54George Elek:and you'll be at every game and from now until the rest of time thanks george thanks max cheers barry thanks uh football weekly is produced by tayo papula our executive producer is joel grove a promotion for joel well done
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