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In short
Podcast Summary: Football Weekly - Salah Fallout, Arsenal Slip, and a Wild World Cup Draw
General Information
- Podcast Title: Football Weekly
- Hosts: Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, John Brewin, Seb Hutchinson
- Date of Episode: [Insert Episode Date]
- Podcast Description: A panel discussion on the latest football action from various leagues, featuring analysis, humor, and diverse opinions from a range of guest pundits.
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Episode Highlights
- Mohamed Salah's Controversial Interview
- Main Discussion: Salah's explosive comments about Liverpool's performance and management have caused a stir.
- Salah accused Liverpool of "throwing him under the bus" during their poor title defense.
- His remarks were seen as a lack of leadership and self-indulgence.
- Guests' Opinions:
- John Brewin expressed sympathy for Salah but criticized his poor timing and lack of self-awareness.
- Seb Hutchinson highlighted the calculated nature of Salah's statements, indicating a potential endgame in his career at Liverpool.
- Barry Glendenning noted Salah's remarks have only added to Liverpool's existing issues.
- Arsenal's Late Defeat at Villa
- Game Summary: Arsenal lost late to Aston Villa, marking their first defeat after 18 unbeaten matches.
- Mikel Arteta remained measured, emphasizing the need to bounce back.
- Player reactions reflected deep disappointment, showing the emotional investment of the squad.
- Panel Insights:
- Discussion on whether Arsenal fans should be concerned about their title race prospects.
- Premier League Action
- A recap of key matches, including Leeds vs. Liverpool and Spurs' much-needed win against Brentford.
- Leeds vs. Liverpool:
- Dramatic game ending in a 3-3 draw highlighted Liverpool's defensive frailties.
- Leeds showcased resilience despite being down 2-0, earning a point at home.
- Spurs' Victory:
- Spurs secured a routine win, benefitting from players like Xavi Simons stepping up.
- World Cup Draw Commentary
- Draw Highlights:
- Gianni Infantino's controversial hosting of the draw was met with mixed reviews, highlighting awkward moments and cringe-worthy exchanges.
- England's draw includes Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.
- Discussion on how the draw impacts teams and the perceived bias against African teams due to FIFA's grouping rules.
- Panel Reactions:
- The absurdity of the event was likened to a fever dream, with humorous critiques of the hosts and the overall execution.
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Key Concepts Discussed
- Leadership in Football: The importance of taking responsibility in tough situations, as exhibited by Salah and contrasted with Liverpool's current team dynamics.
- Team Performance vs Individual Glory: The need for players to prioritize team success over personal grievances.
- Pressure in Managerial Positions: The increasing scrutiny faced by managers like Jurgen Klopp amidst underperformance.
- World Cup Dynamics: The complexities of international football draws and the implications for teams from different continents.
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Conclusions and Takeaways
- The episode provided a blend of serious analysis, humor, and insightful commentary on the current state of football, particularly focusing on Liverpool's struggles and Arsenal's resilience.
- The discussion around Salah's comments reflects broader themes of player dynamics and team cohesion.
- The World Cup draw served as a reminder of the spectacle surrounding international football and how perceptions may be shaped by media portrayals and public sentiments.
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Supporting Information
- Support the Podcast: Listeners are encouraged to support independent journalism via the provided link.
- Further Engagement: Follow the Football Weekly podcast on YouTube for visual content and additional discussions.
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This markdown file serves as a comprehensive summary for anyone interested in the discussed topics without needing to listen to the entire episode.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is The Guardian.
0:30Reds two up, pegged back, ahead again until Tanaka in the last minute rescued a point for Daniel Farker. Leeds have had a great week. Before that title, winners are still lost at Villa. A glorious goldmouth scramble to decide it in injury time. Ray and Cherki's Robona keep City on track. Palace are fourth. Everton are sixth. Pardon? Spurs win at home. And are we even allowed to tell you what happened at Brighton now Tony Bloom has banned the Guardian from the Amex? There's a World Cup draw to digest. Wayne Gretzky's North Macadamia. The insatiable chemistry between Hart and Klum. Rio is Permutation's man.
0:58And Gianni and Trump bringing peace to the world. one dynamically priced FIFA vomit fest at a time. We'll answer your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
1:15On the panel today, Barry Glendening, welcome. Hi, Max. Hello, John Bruin. Hello, Max. And from a hotel in Brighton, keep your head down, Seb. Seb Hutchison. Hello, Max. Let's start at Ellen Road. Leeds 3, Liverpool 3 we'll get to the game but before that the big story is Mo Salah Ian says using Mo Salah's selection criteria I used to be good so deserve to be picked forever are Liverpool going to solve their centre-back problems by playing a 3 with Van Dijk, Hansen and Loro or we'll slot up for a screen of Whelan and Souness in front of the 4 he was on the bench he didn't come on he spoke to Norwegian TV afterwards an amazing video of a press officer in the background going no, wincing don't say that Mo So apparently it's only the third time he's stopped for the media.
2:02Andy Hunter writing in the paper, the Egypt International twice accused Liverpool of throwing him under a bus in response to their dismal Premier League title defence. Salah made sure that everyone else at Liverpool, the club's hierarchy, head coach, and even teammates he professed to love would be under it with him. This was not leadership from Salah. It was pure self-indulgence and a betrayal of the dressing room. He said there was no relationship with the manager. He said someone wants him out of the club and said he should be starting because of how good he's been. What did you make of it, John?
2:29First of all, you have to have some sympathy for Salah because as great a footballer as he has been, the dying of the light can't be that easy for footballers, can it? And we've seen this with quite a few great footballers who have found it very difficult that when things have gone against them, they've kicked out. Now, Roy Keane at Manchester United is an example. Cristiano Ronaldo still wants to believe that he's still the greatest. but we forget, and they forget, football is a team sport. Unfortunately, Mohamed Salah had played like an absolute drain this season, and this is the thing he appears to forget in that statement, a lengthy statement, I mean, it sounds like a diatribe that he gave to the lads in the mix zone there, and it's true, he picks his moment.
3:22Remember last season when he suddenly accused the club of, maybe the phrase wasn't throwing him under the bus, but over his contract. And it looks cynical. Now, I don't know if Salah is a cynical chap. I suspect not. But it's poorly chosen. But he is aware of the media. I think Jamie Carragher's mentioned somewhere along in this screed, you know, oh, you're all going to talk about me. And then there was this talk about, well, people didn't do this about Harry Kane. Harry Kane is one of the most criticised footballers I could ever remember. And also, I don't remember a 10-game drought for him. Do you?
3:56No, there's never been one. Six is his longest drought. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Even I ran through the stats and thought, you're way off there. And so, ultimately, there has been this theory around for a while that in trying to reboot Liverpool, and that hasn't been a successful reboot, they were trying to build a team for a world without Salah. Well, it appears that Salah has just decided that he's going to be off. There's this talk, isn't there, about how his mum is going to come and watch the Brighton game if he should play. If she's allowed in. If she's allowed in.
4:33She's the culture editor for The Guardian. That's an issue, isn't it? I think if she's got a Guardian sub, it may not be allowed.
4:45We'll get to that. So the image is just amazing. Exactly. It's just brewing and stuff. Hello, Mrs Sala. It appears you've read 327 articles this year. Would you mind giving us some money? I think you're right, John. I mean, it does feel this is an end game play from Salah, Seb, isn't it? Yeah, of course it is. I think players of his stature, genuinely, I say it came out of the blue. These things are planned. It would have been bubbling up. He would have had a decision, I'm sure. He knows that the writing's on the wall because the way Liverpool have been playing this season, but particularly Salah, he's always been one of those players that his goal and assist return is the thing that's been so important to Liverpool.
5:26If that dries up, his general game for the team and the team structure hasn't always been to the team's benefit. So that's the manager's decision. The manager's own job and place at the club is dependent on the decision he makes and the players he picks. I've heard so many ex-pros be upset about this because when it comes down to it, every player probably inside wants to be able to say these things if they're not playing. Every player wants to come out and say, why isn't the manager playing me? Oh, I should be playing. I feel I'm better than that person. I think anybody in any organization or any business, but it's just the nature of the beast.
6:03When you're under that umbrella, whoever you are in that chain, there has to be at some point, you can never be bigger than that organization, however much you try. And just in humanity in general, it's either death or democracy that brings to end people who try and court power and try to control it. I'm not putting Mohamed Salah into that, you know, comparing him to any people of the past in that manner. Absolutely not. He is a fine footballer. But it definitely feels like considering his form, he's lacking people who are behind him on this. If he was still scoring goals and performing well for the team, a lot of supporters would be behind him and there would be that matchup with him and the manager.
6:45But this is just football in general. Age always catches up with you, whoever, however good you are. Well, maybe Cristiano Ronaldo debates that. And you are always going to be in a position where at some point you're not going to be in the team. And you as a player have to decide, do I just move away graciously or where do I feel? And when the Sunderland game was the first time he'd been on the bench in successive games. And that is in his career at Liverpool. And so that in itself made me think, hold on. I'm not who I am at this club anymore. and I have to make a decision while my stock is still, as a star, high.
7:22He does no favours for his teammates here, Barry. I mean, yesterday we were on the radio and I did have some sympathy because if you are on the bench and you're Mo Salah and you don't get on for a minute and your team don't win, you will just be fuming. But you made the point and, you know, since we chatted, it's so calculated that he only talks when he wants to make a statement. You know, it isn't off the cuff, this, is it? No, it's very calculated. I thought it was quite funny that in his post-match interview, Dominic Saboslay was talking about the absolute mess Liverpool find themselves in.
7:56He says, the only way we can get out of here is together. And Mo just goes, hold my beer, Dominic. The fact of the matter is he has not been playing well enough to be in the Liverpool side. And I can understand why he might be sitting in the bench looking at other people on the pitch who are also not playing well enough to be in the Liverpool side. But there are more options when it comes to replacing him than there are, say, when it comes to replacing Ibrahima Kanate, who's just a caricature of himself at this stage, or a caricature of the great defender he once was. Jamie Carragher has been relentlessly criticising Mo Salah for not coming out and speaking up in public.
8:43So he has now done that. I suspect this isn't exactly what Carragher had in mind when he was hoping he'd come out and speak up and take some responsibility. And I had a certain amount of sympathy for him yesterday, but the more I think about it, it's a very selfish act. Liverpool are already beset by a sort of problems on the pitch, off the pitch, and he has just added to them. Now, Liverpool are due to play Inter tomorrow at San Siro, which means Arnaz Slott will do a press conference this evening. That is going to attract an awful lot of attention, obviously, and it will be interesting to see if he brings Salah to Milan or includes him in the squad for the game.
9:28I suspect he won't. I don't see how he can without looking incredibly weak and undermining his already weak position. And, I mean, Roy Keane was more or less sacked by Manchester United for a less controversial outburst than this, which never saw the light of day. We heard snippets of it. But I don't think Liverpool will sack Salah, but I think what he did is borderline sackable offence, if not an actual sackable offence. And, John, it does Arna Slott no favours, right? And he is under real pressure here. It was interesting, you know, that there is a sentiment, and I think quite a surprising one, about how many Liverpool fans want him to go now.
10:12Like, it's got to that stage. And so this is the last thing he needs. It feels very un-Liverpool, doesn't it? And there is this tradition with Liverpool that they have never sacked a manager who has won a league title. Now, some of that might be to do with the fact that the people that won those titles were all men of a certain age. So Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan all retired because they were in their 60s. And Kenny Dalglish stepped down for personal reasons, as we know, and Jurgen Klopp went for reasons of fatigue. It's a different Liverpool now. They moved on from Jurgen Klopp. The club is essentially run now by two sporting directors, Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes.
10:57and it's on them. It's on them and FSG to make the decision. And we're in this more pressurised environment where managers getting sacked is a fairly common occurrence. You've seen Manchester United didn't sack managers for many, many years. Now they sack them every 18 months. Why should Liverpool be any different when things go as badly as they are now? Arne Slott was given a team with£500 ,000,£500 million, I should say, spent on it. It's gone very badly. Yeah, and we've talked about the impact of Diogo Jotra, and it's always worth remembering. But they are so, and if we go to the gate, if we presume, I mean, I don't know, Seb, presume this means that Salah is gone, right?
11:44I just don't, I can't see a way that that isn't happening. And he's, you know, it's something like six to one on that he's going to Saudi. He's already on£400 ,000 a week. He will get more in Saudi. and like in years to come he'll be looked back as one of the greatest Liverpool players ever and I guess when he goes we can have that conversation the game itself was fantastic and and you know it showed you really thought okay Liverpool are tuning up here but it just exposed their frailties and Barry mentioned Canate you know for Slott to say unfortunately for him he does a lot of things well but he's been a bit too much at the crime scene and that penalty is that it's not what you want to hear your manager say you know like Canate doesn't want to hear that uh you know just holding a bloodied knife going it wasn't me you know as the as the cups come in but like that penalty is just such a moment where you're like you can see he's trying to block the cross but it just looks so bad because Nonto stays on his feet football is unforgiving anytime a team's not in a good way just everything goes against them and that's that's just how it is with individual players as well Canate that was always going to happen in a game like this if you'd seen Leeds play their previous two matches, I'll say one and a half matches, they're a different team now.
12:54And from the position where we thought they're probably going to go down, they've given themselves a fighting chance here because they are fighting in the way they are. Even when it seems like the game's going against them, they're throwing everything at the opposition, which makes us think, is that the traditional way we look at the Premier League and what's supposed to be great about the Premier League is that the inverted commas smaller teams are able to bloody the nose of the bigger sides, even if the game's going against them, even if they're 2-0 down, they keep going. Remember Mesut Ozil saying a quote about that.
13:25He said, you know, when I played in Spain, if we were 3-0 up for Real Madrid, the other team would just not give up, but they just wouldn't put the effort in. But that doesn't happen in England. And this was a good example of that. Liverpool in form would have cantered to a victory. And actually, the end result, and even the equaliser at the end, none of that's a surprise in this game. having watched Liverpool this season. And I know it's been said several times, we go back to those first five games where everybody said it's a sign of champions where you're not playing well and you're winning matches.
13:57That phrase needs to be put to bed now. If you're playing well, you win games. Sometimes you win games you don't play well. And sometimes you lose games when you don't play well. And for Liverpool, that's where they are at the moment. That's not to say, are they out of the title race? Who knows? who knows it's still too early yeah it's a lot of time left and they probably are but you're right you know it's certainly not a sign of a good team if they're losing games or not winning games when playing badly i mean they didn't lose this game and actually that dummy from mccallister to let soberslay is like a beautiful moment of quite a few lovely moments on the pitch this weekend but then to concede again i don't know what graven birch is doing uh for that i says what barry but it is worth mentioning leads who have been completely forgotten about in this moment They had City, Chelsea and Liverpool in consecutive games.
14:47They pushed City so close we're unlucky. They beat Chelsea. They've got a point with Liverpool. That's so impressive for Daniel Farka, a man who looked like he might get sacked before a game was even played this season. Yeah, well, he almost was sacked before, like an hour after Leeds secured promotion. I think everyone expected him to be out of a job today, maybe. But his players are playing for him. They gave away two daft goals to go 2-0 down in this game. And as Seb says, Liverpool of last year would have just closed it out or won by 3-4, 5-0. Cody Gakpo had a chance to put Liverpool 3-0 ahead, but Lucas Perry, who I was impressed with in this game, although he was at fault for, I think, the second Liverpool goal, he saved well and leads dug in.
15:39Ibrahima Kanate threw them a lifeline. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scores the penalty, and you could see them going, right, we can get something out of this game. And they duly did. And to get it back to 2-2, go behind and restore parity again, it just shows great fight and great spirit. They may still go down, but they're going to go down swinging haymakers by the looks of things. And how on brand, even if they're swinging haymakers, John, Daniel Farquhar is saying, I'm just going to have a nice afternoon on the sofa with a slice of cake. Like, it's so, he's so non-football manager, isn't he? That's something I absolutely love about how softly spoken this guy is.
16:17Is he really going to sit and just have coffee and cake on his sofa? You don't believe him? Well, at things with Daniel Farker, he does look like a bouncer on a heavy metal club. So, you know, I could see him sort of going for, you know, travelling down to Nottingham's Rock City or something. So just, you know, let his hair down a bit or something like that. or, you know, put on Dito and Hosen for the afternoon and just rock out. I mean, he said he was just going to sit on the sofa, but I was thinking, what would he watch? You know, would he... I think he's got fine china. It's fine china. It's, you know, it's a flowerless orange cake.
16:55And he's watching... I think he's watching Murder, She Wrote. And I think he's absolutely in his element. That's where Daniel Fart, that's where he is. Escape to the country? Yeah, maybe a bit of that. Yeah, I think so. I think so. Yellowstone, maybe. Yeah. I know, that's a bit slow. It's a bit ponderous. It could be an F1 guy, though. It could be an F1. Oh, don't shatter the myth. Don't tell me that. Yeah, you're absolutely right. He really could be. Could be an F1 guy. It's a good point. John, which, you know, or Seb, you know, the two who go to more football matches, which noise is better? It's an impossible question.
17:28Ellen Road with that noise, Seb, or the Holt End that we heard in the 94th minute at Villa Park? There are two great noises in the Premier League. Oh. I mean, probably Elland Road as a whole. Right, yeah. But the whole tend to Villa Park, I think it's probably the most referred to end in my commentary of any game I do more than the Kop. Anytime Villa score at that end, it feels like the whole tend has assisted the goal. And the noise was, I mean, what made it great was the build in the crowd emotion because that ball could have been put in the net about four times before it actually went in for the winner.
18:09and I think that's the thing people often ask why do people support teams if they're not winning matches and it is for moments like this because you're facing the side to a league leaders and you are thinking you're on this winning run and we can close the gap on them can we dream, are we allowed to dream and then somebody, a player who probably you know a year or so ago were thinking would he ever play for Villa again is the guy to score the winner at that end and it takes an age for the board to go into the net and then I'm sure you'll get onto the Arsenal players reactions to that goal going in everything about it was a masterpiece of a moment in football and probably the the defining few seconds of the weekend on what I think was probably when you looked at the way all the teams have played over the last week not many shocks across the weekend three o 'clock theory holding very firm yeah it was John and and you're right the reaction of the Arsenal players it's on a team of Sammy Kofurs Isn't it all just beating the ground like this?
19:11You know, it's a war, it's platoon, it's everything. But the goal itself, Johnny, I saw that goal, I thought, I know someone who's going to love that goal, and it's John Bruin. It was 90s football, given the 2025 touch, wasn't it, of just scramble, no one can clear it, and then just it being forced in, and then ecstatic celebrations, like you would have seen at Prenton Park or Gig Lane back in the mid-90s. And obviously, yeah, I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? The Holt End, because Villiers Stadium has not really been the modernisation that others have or be a new ground, it's almost like the last of those old-style ends that you would have, you know, the various cops around the country and the Stratford End perhaps isn't the force that it used to be.
20:00Ellen Road, actually, if you actually manage to watch a game, I don't know, sometimes Seb may be commentating, if you've got HDR or Dolby Atmos or whatever, Ellen Road always sounds the best, I think, if you're watching at home. Whoever's doing the mics there is, you know, probably also works at Leeds Refectory doing the sound there or something, and it sounds beautiful. And also, I was on the desk at the weekend and I was doing the Clocko, and we raised the question, Arsenal fans, are you getting jittery? And one chap wrote in saying, yes, he was feeling very jittery as an Arsenal fan. You know, we've been here before.
20:39And another one wrote in saying that he thought that email was a fake and that I'd made that up. And actually, Arsenal fans aren't getting jittery at all because he's not getting jittery. And oh no, we're never going to get jittery because, you know, we've got the best. And they're getting jittery, aren't they? They're getting jittery. Because they'd won it three weeks ago. They'd won it three weeks ago. It was done. Yeah, did Arsenal win the league too early, asked Michael. I mean, someone who isn't getting jittery, and this would give me real faith as an Arsenal fan, Barry, is Mikel Arteta, who was incredibly measured after that defeat.
21:15Yeah, I thought so. He wasn't angry. I presumed, because this is the way football is now, I presumed that the Curtin Twitchers in Stockley Park would find some reason to rule out that winner. They didn't, and there was no reason to rule it out. but I thought Mikel Arteta might have discerned one somewhere. But he really took this on the chin. He wasn't crushed after the game. He was obviously disappointed, but he wasn't crushed. And he just said, look, it's the first game we've lost in after 18 unbeaten and we go again. And that's fair enough because the reaction of his players, like you say, it was like Platoon.
22:00David Rea doing the worm across the penalty area, various players beating the turf in frustration. So he needs to, you know, get them in the dressing room and go, look, it's not the end of the world. We're still at the top of the table. I didn't think Arsenal played that badly. Eberichi Eze had a terrible game, which was odd from him. He was shocking. Calafiore wasn't great either and I've really come to admire him this season but I thought Arsenal did okay and it's a game that could have gone either way but it went Villa's way and it was a great game of football Yeah, it was really good and actually it felt like that goal was coming that had chances and chances Tielemans was brilliant as well and they did open up Arsenal in a way that other teams haven't done so far I mean, the question said that, you know I think you're right.
22:56It's too early to decide who is in the title race or who isn't. But we sort of want, we really want one. Arsenal, I still think, look like the most solid team with the most depth. I feel it's only them or City over a whole season. But, you know, Villa fans will be saying, well, why not us? Nine wins in ten. Yeah. I actually think the reason why I think it's only Arsenal or City is more because of Man City. Because for me, the thing that City have over Arsenal, there's two things. I was discussing this with a player yesterday, And he said, obviously, they've got this experience of winning the title, but not all their players do.
23:29But Manchester City, the way they play and the way they win games is they're always so relaxed. They never feel there's never any tension, not at the Etihad, not amongst the players. Obviously, Pep's got that tense face. There was a Craven Cottage last week, Seb, I would say. Yeah, but I mean, it's mainly because if you're that far up, they got too relaxed in that game. They were too relaxed, perhaps, and they let them back in. But they still ultimately won the game. They got the win over Leeds. It was a nice run of fixtures they had on paper as well in a week where Arsenal had quite a difficult week and a half, considering they had Spurs, then Bayern, then Chelsea.
24:07And then the injury issues, they've lost both centre-halves. So you could get at them there. But the defence, they'll get their act together, I believe, and still be a side competing. but I do think that City's attacking flair and nobody else I think has that attacking flair in the same way. You look at the thing of Haaland and Doku and Foden, they're players that play with a freedom. I don't always feel that Arsenal attack with the same freedom and the ability to, they have players maybe that can do it and I think that's why Eze was brought in but like Barry's mentioned, he didn't play with that freedom.
24:45Pep's managed to provide a situation this season whereby defensively you can get at them but are you going to outscore them? Is it going to be a situation where they'll last? And that being relaxed and having that attacking freedom is what they have over Arsenal which probably stops Villa because do Villa have enough as much of that as City do? That's the difference. City beats Sunderland 3-0. We should talk about Ryan Cherky's Rabona, John. I mean, I accept it's a great skill but I'm sort of with Pep here. I'm not a big Rabona man, if you ask me. Way back in the dim and distant past pre-Football Weekly for Me podcast, I committed the malapropism of calling the Rabona the Rotunda, which amused my co-host very much for a long time.
25:32Now, this Rotunda, yeah, it did seem a little bit gratuitous, didn't it? But it was beautiful. and Phil Foden particularly enjoyed it in the way that he went to celebrate with Cherokee. You could tell that's the Friday afternoon, it's two minutes till they blow the whistle and it's time to go for lunch, sort of messing about moment. They all attempt and he did it in a game. Cherokee is one of those players, I think it was looked at by a lot of teams because of his great amount of skill. We weren't sure about his consistency. he's with the right manager with Pep they got him and Reinders didn't they in that sort of De Bruyne position and obviously they lost Gundogan as well and Reinders came on as a substitute and is Cherky going to be the man to assume that mantle well he's not the player Kevin De Bruyne is but he is a beautiful player to watch and I think the point Seb makes is that it's flair if Pep is going to depart football soon and we don't know that we don't know that he's decided he's going to do it by enjoying himself hasn't he he likes this team and he likes the way they play it's a bit late Wenger and late Brian Clough where it's like I just like to see him play nice football and that's what they do I'm not sure late Wenger I mean there's a lot of or late Clough really yeah and actually but Turkey you know actually his balance for the one where he set up Haaland was even better for me and Haaland should have scored.
27:08I like his sort of Bugsy Malone greased hair. That was really good. From a Sunderland point of view, they had a couple of chances at 2-0, Baz. If one of those goes in, maybe it does change the game, but they didn't. No, they didn't. Isidore probably should have scored. He robbed Ruben Diaz of the ball and his shot was well saved by Donnarumma. Gran Xhaka spanked one off the post. I have no problem with Sunderland losing this game City deserved to win what I did have a problem with was Luke O 'Neill getting sent off when Sunderland were already 3-0 down for a stupid challenge on Matthias News it is completely unnecessary we have spoken about how Sunderland are going to lose seven players to AFCon presumably they'll be off after next weekend and Luke O 'Neill's now got himself a three match ban when he will be needed.
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28:04It's dumb. And I love Luko Neen. I love him. I still don't know whether he's called Luko Neen or Luko 9. I keep hearing different people call him different things. So Luko 9. Everyone else calls him Luko 9. But, you know, it didn't stop you with Neymar for a decade. No, not everyone calls him Luko 9. What's the Neymar one? I used to call him Neymar. Neymar. Not everybody calls Luko 9, Luko 9. some commentators call him Luke Onine so yeah anyway it was dumb and I wish he hadn't done it yeah okay look that'll do for part one part two we'll look at the sides in the ludicrously tight race for fourth place my name is Luke Onion
28:58welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly i mean probably too early to call it the race for fourth place but yeah palace are fourth with 26 points manchester united are 12th with 22 points so it is tight in there and if anyone puts a run together uh you know they will at least be in those environs for a little bit. Palace won 2-1 at Fulham. And actually, I thought, John, this was a really entertaining game. Either side could have won it. I thought the Wharton pass to Nketiah was joyous and the Harry Wilson goal was even better. Yeah, great game. Great advert for the Premier League for what might have seemed an underwhelming Super Sunday.
29:37I think it's, well, I know it is next week. It's Brentford v Leeds. So for some reason, and Super Sunday is undercutting itself at the moment. We're not going for the Grand Slam Sundays at the moment, but how often do we see that Marco Silva grimace at the end of the game when his team play well, play nice attacking football and get caught out of the end? I do wonder how long Marco is going to be around at Fulham. They'll miss him when he's gone. The commentary, Jamie Carragher just keeps referring to Oliver Glasner as the greatest manager in Crystal Palace's history. and I do think that was a bit unfair on Steve Koppel and various others that have done a great job there.
30:18Oliver Glassner has done a fine job. He won them a trophy, the first in the history, but he's probably not there for a long time and he's not built the empire for someone like Steve Koppel. And Mark Gwey, who of course scored the winner, will be there next season. So it does feel Palace are having a great time. It's a very high point in their history enjoy it while you can i'm sorry that's the way football goes sometimes isn't it seb the harry wilson got i mean he's got a brilliant goal at tottenham with like the inside of his left foot and i this is this move it's just that the it's three perfect touches between him and him and his and that finish is just absolutely beautiful he's a he's a scorer of great goals harry wilson and he is one of those players when you're watching him you just do want him to shoot.
31:08When the fans cheers, shoot! And most of the time they're doing it ironically because it's a centre-half who's strolled forward. But in Harry Wilson's case, I just think there are certain players who just think if they get a bit of space and they get the room, just have a go. And he is definitely one of those players. And also, again, a player who you think, is he going to be playing a lot of Premier League games? Is he a player who's going to be starting week in, week out? He's certainly an important player for Fulham. although goals aren't proving to earn the points that Fulham need at the moment.
31:40And they're in a season where it had promised to begin with and refereeing decisions were going against them. But you start to look at them now, these narrow defeats, these gut-wrenching defeats, these heartbreaking games, they will just mean nothing by the end of the season if you're in the relegation zone. Yeah, they'll be fine. I think they'll be absolutely fine, I think. But look at the way Leeds are playing. Somebody's got to be dragged in there. West Ham picking up points. Who knows? But I agree with you. But even from a Fulham point of view, they'll be starting to get worried because the points are what matters.
32:16Everton are sixth, Barry. David said, who was more visibly delighted? Barry meeting Neil Redfern in real life or Tierno Barry scoring an actual factual goal. A bad day for the Everton funk. The delight for him and for everyone, the fans, the players, everyone. It was just such a joyous moment. Yeah, he was so thrilled and his teammates were obviously so thrilled on his behalf. It's been a long time coming. And when Everton broke upfield with Sinjai on the ball in a three-on-one, he had players to either side. I presumed he would slip it to the side. Thierno Barry wasn't on. I can't remember who was to his right, but he slipped it to Barry.
33:00Barry put it in the bottom corner. So delighted. He was almost certainly waiting for it to be chalked off. That didn't happen. Delighted for him. My prediction that Everton would finish 19th is looking increasingly stupid. I still think they're in a false position, but I also think they could conceivably be higher if they had strikers who could score goals. They're just having such an odd season. They've got points from games they probably shouldn't have. That's fine. That's allowed. But they could have won more games if Beto and Barry were scoring on an even remotely frequent basis. This could be the confidence booster he needs to go on a run.
33:42We don't know. Time will tell. So it's a very interesting season for Everton. Like you said yesterday, you just presumed they were 15. They're fifth. They're sixth now after yesterday's games. But David Moyes, after the game, said he refuses. He's too old to talk about them going down or getting into Europe. But you can see he definitely has his eye on a European spot. And I don't see why they shouldn't get one. I like David Moyes. You know, he's now so old, he's at that sort of Morgan Freeman at the parole officer age where he's like, ah, just, you know, I don't give a shit. Sign your form, Sonny.
34:23Put me in the rally. Put me in 15th again. I don't care. and he goes, actually, fifth. There you go, mate. John, you wanted to come in. From Tiny Acorns, this, because I was at Bournemouth Everton on Tuesday and someone told me that when Barry had a shot in that game, that was his first shot on target of the entire Premier League season. Amazing. And so he followed that up with a goal at the weekend. John, he's now had two shots on target in the Premier League season. He has also hit the woodwork, which Troy Townsend would have us believe is a shot at target. And I think he's had at least one, if not two goals ruled out.
35:02Well, it could be, you're right. It could be, he could be a giant oak tree by the end of all this. Spurs beat Brentford 2-0. Their first home win since the opening weekend of the season. Their first win in six. I mean, Barry, God, they needed this. And like, you know, Spurs regulation 2-0 win over a side they should beat is remarkable in the fact that it never, ever happens. but like they were really good. They were good all game. Xavi Simmonds was excellent. You know, move on. Yeah. I mean, this very much was a must win game for Thomas Frank, I think, because if Brentford, his former club, had gone to Spurs and won, I don't know if there'd have been any coming back from that for Thomas Frank, given the low opinion, quite sizable proportion of the Spurs fans already seem to have of him.
35:51Xavi Simmonds, I'm a big fan of, as you know, he assisted and scored. And it was a routine victory, but not routine insofar as there was a lot of pressure on Frank and Spurs for this game. And it was a good performance for them. On match of the day, they put up stats that show that Spurs are a considerably better team when Xavi Simmonds plays for them. so they're better in every metric yeah but they should probably pick him I was surprised with those stats but people have talked about his physicality in the same way as Florian Vert and obviously his technique everyone goes well he's good but he's just a waif but he looked quick and strong in this game which I think Spurs fans would be pleased with and Archie Gray was excellent too to the Amex if we can Thomas says can any of you now report about Brighton or go to the stadium anymore?
36:44Seb you were there not for the Guardian I don't know if you're allowed to talk about it now now john you were you are assigned reporter for this game when did you find out that uh you were not allowed to go well i went to bed very early on saturday evening in readiness for my trip to brighton and uh just as i was stepping out the door and i'd already been out the door and decided my shoes were not befitting of the weather conditions and might rub so i came back in got a text from uh one of the chaps at brighton who i know well to say have you read your email and I read my email and it told me that journalists and photographers are no longer allowed at Brighton due to reporting on Tony Bloom, the owner.
37:29So yes, the match report was done from my front room. This is from the paper. Brian Hove Albion have banned The Guardian reporters and photographers from attending matches at the Amex after The Guardian reported on allegations relating to the Premier League club's owner, Tony Bloom. The club notified The Guardian on Sunday by email to John Bruin to say it felt it would be inappropriate for journalists and photographers to be accredited to matches. There have been reports in The Guardian that have raised questions from MPs about the activities of Bloom, who is a billionaire who made his money from gambling.
38:01The Guardian revealed last week Bloom is being sued in a lawsuit that alleges front men were sometimes used when his gambling syndicate placed bets on sports events. The syndicate makes around£600 million each year in winnings, according to that document. Bloom has yet to file a defence to the lawsuit. He didn't respond to questions from The Guardian about the claim. On Friday, The Guardian published a second story which focused on allegations Bloom could be an anonymous gambler behind£52 million in winnings, which allegedly included bets on his football teams. Bloom declined to comment about this specific claim, but through a source made clear, he denied betting on his own teams or competitions that involved them, describing any allegations as entirely false following the publication of the story he issued a public statement through brighton hove albion which said i can categorically assure our supporters i've not placed bets on any brighton hove albion matches since becoming the owner of the club in 2009 a spokesperson for the guardian said it's a worrying development that brighton has introduced this ban the questions raised by our reporting are in the public interest and have been pursued in a responsible manner i mean i guess i think barry this normally happens with a local paper and a local journo not being able to go in because he's asking annoying questions of you know a club and i think we've always maintained we think is a bad look for a club it feels to me a bad look for brighton but i'm aware that we are part of the story yeah we are i mean we personally aren't you and me or john well john is because he was banned it's never a good look when a club bans a reporter.
39:36Brighton have had a few PR ricks in the past couple of weeks. There was that photo shoot with Caro Mitoma and some other young player holding a photograph of a Japanese soldier which offended a lot of people in China. And now this, there's also the Streisand effect because it's banning the Guardian is just going to draw more attention to this Tony Bloom case. The Inns and outs of which I am not aware of. I am struck by the huge number of winnings involved. So it will be interesting to see what happens from now because it's not good optics for Brighton. And as far as I can tell, all this stuff the Guardian has reported is in the public domain.
40:26Yes, as opposed to sort of an investigation by the paper. I mean, you'd imagine in most places the Guardian had no chance against a football club, but in Brighton, it's as Guardian as it gets. you know so many conflicted fans but anyway to the game itself West Ham scored pretty late on and looked like that had sealed the points and then they looked like they're is it Mavropanos could if he goes down holding his head I think that goal is disallowed yeah and I was discussing this afterwards with Martin Tyler has obviously watched a lot more games than I have and some people will say you know we want to see overhead kicks in the game you know we don't want to discourage them but at the same time if an overhead kick results in somebody being struck to the head what's more important you know in the grand scheme of things the handball obviously i have var in my ear and i have to just relay what they say i mean at that point i'm not giving an opinion i've handed over to the co-commentator but actually when somebody handles the ball and then there's a slight not much time passes after that and it's basically perceived as it's not close enough to the goal an accidental hand ball can only disallow a goal if it directly leads the ball going into the net essentially it's the next action and it wasn't the case um when it came to router i mean the biggest the biggest thing about it is and the most galling thing for west ham is they defended very well in the game they played very well and brighton's first in fact all their shots on target all four of their shots on target were the 90th minute onwards so they'd left it they'd gone that long without really troubling the goal and then for that to be the goal that won it with I think actually in the build-up to that goal three of the shots from target were in that build-up really tough to take for West Ham because they did deserve to win the game I think overall and they offered enough they had some good chances for Bruggen made a double save that on another they would have gone in even Mavropanos with the last kick of the game or last head of the game it should have scored as they say I did feel for West Ham in that moment not just because on another day the goal could have been disallowed If Areola doesn't save that first rooter shot and it goes in it would have been disallowed for the handball there's no question It's his fault it's his fault for saving it Fabianski wouldn't have saved it Yeah exactly so it's it's another vagary of var and well Nuno was gutted afterwards and I could totally understand his frustration but if you look past the high boot and we're looking you know that's a lot to look past the correct procedure was followed and that shouldn't be the correct procedure Newcastle beat Burnley 2-1 I mean we talked about that Mavropano said I said and And actually, Burnley do have a chance.
43:17And they're right at the death. They've scored late on. They've got a penalty. Fleming's put it away. And, you know, Newcastle, who let a 2-1 lead slip against Spurs, if that happened again, it would have been desperate at St James'. And that's the thing we were talking about Fulham a moment or two ago. Just moments, I think, if Newcastle had conceded an equaliser to Burnley, playing against 10 men, it would have really racked up the pressure on Eddie Howe, actually, funnily enough. Because when you look at them this season, I think there's a lot of belief that they should be doing better. Although the problem with the table is it's so tight and a couple of wins and the team all of a sudden this season looks great.
43:57That's the situation they're in. Burnley, I feel for them. Every time they turn out, I just think every goal they concede, you can just see the look on the players. It's not that they're not. It's just like, we're not really going to stay up, are we? We'll give it a go. And maybe that's the situation is they give it as much as go as they can. They fall behind, maybe fall another goal behind, and then they had nothing to lose at that point when they were down to 10. So they threw everything at it and tried to build on maybe nerves in St. James' Park at that situation. And you do think about it.
44:28It's the same with the Fulham-Man City game. If Fulham had got that chance at the end and it got in, again, it changes the whole complexion, not just of Fulham season, of Manchester City, the title race, everything. But it didn't happen. And ultimately, that's the situation with Burnley. they are more confident than them, much more than I was with Leeds a couple of weeks ago, of course. But I think Burnley, it's not going to happen for them, is it? And look, well done to Bruno Gimoresh for scoring direct from a corner. But, you know, it's called an Olympico, but it gets far too much credit. No one's trying to do that.
44:59I don't believe anyone's trying to do it. And it's just, they're just sticking it in the mixer. I think he probably was trying to do it. I'm surprised more players don't try to do it. De Kuyper almost did it yesterday for Brighton. and it was the conditions that did it. Weirdly, the conditions helped it swing in and then the conditions took it away from the goal at the same time. So they helped and then hindered in the space of a couple of seconds. Maybe I'm just a killjoy, but I don't want Rabonis and I don't want Olympicos. Bournemouth 0-0, Chelsea 0, with apologies to both. Look, it was a game of two halves.
45:33Bournemouth should have been four up by halftime. Chelsea should have made it 4-4 by the end, but no one scored. And we won't talk about it because I want to talk about the World Cup draw and we'll do that in part three.
45:50Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. I mean, so where did we even... Baz, where do we even start on this? I mean, I found it so mesmerizing. Like, there were so many parts of it that were just... And I've done some bad shows, you know? Did you get a peace prize for those? But I was watching this, Barry, and I was like, wow. I don't know. You take it in whatever direction you want to take it. I loved it. It was so bad and so cringe. It was good. Parts of it were incredibly distasteful, mainly the bit in the middle that descended into what was ostensibly a Trump rally. Nobody wants that, but we all knew it was coming.
46:39Gianni Infantino's obsequiousness in the face of the American president. Two thoroughly despicable men seemed to know no bounds. He gave Trump his medal, which Trump couldn't get around his own neck fast enough. Infantino more or less said, you know, you are a wonderful man and you can do whatever. On behalf of all football fans, I give you carte blanche to do whatever you want. well you know you're not speaking for me there Gianni and you're not speaking for for lots of people uh despite your claims to the contrary but that aside I really enjoyed it the really unfunny scripted gags the really unfunny ad-lib banter the little and large combo of Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart.
47:33The stilted conversation between Rio Ferdinand, Samantha Johnson, and that Ramirez chap who was going around the audience interviewing people. It was glorious. It dragged on, obviously, as these things tend to do. But I couldn't get enough of it. I couldn't look away. It was like a fever dream. And you just didn't know where it was going next. Yeah, there were lots of comparisons, you know, to Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood with Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum, John. And I just love Heidi Klum. It's just this kind of, it's all, you know, she's almost impervious. In fact, there was so little reaction from the crowd at all points.
48:17You know, I just couldn't hear another person say, I said good evening. You know, like I just couldn't, I just like, it was like, oh God, let it go. And she's doing these lines, you know, Oh, Kevin, with these Forever Russia, you must be spoiling us. Anyway, and then, oh, I don't know. Then, you know, Gianni's, everyone say USA, USA, USA. Somebody sometime really made a bad mistake, and someone needs to correct this mistake. Somebody told Gianni and Fantina he was funny. And I did the build-up to this on the live blog and then hand it over to Barry in the Terry Wogan slash Graham Norton role.
49:01And so I stayed watching it. But there were points when I had to go into the kitchen because it was so grim. You know when you go to a party and you maybe overdo it and you go in the kitchen and sort of retch in the sink or something like that? I mean, it's been a long time. But that was how I felt. and I have several questions Robbie Williams and Nicole Schertzinger, what the what was that song? Even Robbie while he was singing it was like, this is rubbish isn't it you know and it was pointed to me that Kevin Hart is in a series of not very successful things and why was he there? He's seen as a safe pair of hands John, he does a lot of those kind of awards ceremonies Right, okay.
49:51Obviously, that was only one big award at this ceremony. But yeah, he's very much a safe pair of hands. No, I agree with you. I think he was not... I think he was a terrible... But I think everybody was terribly cast. It's a movie where they're like, why is he doing this? Why is Rio Ferdinand doing the permutations? This is amazing. Isn't there an accusation that Rio got the draw wrong with Uzbekistan and Panama? No, he didn't get it wrong. He just didn't explain why Uzbekistan ended up in the group. So that confused everybody in a night of confusion. Well, I got the impression he thought Uzbekistan was in Europe, which, you know, because Kazakhstan played UEFA, you might make that mistake, I suppose.
50:36Yeah. I suppose to give him his dues, Rio, like Wayne Gretzky really took the biscuit for, you know, not knowing what's going on. Like everyone else, you know. Shaquille O 'Neal was pretty, you know, he was slow at all of this. I like, was it Samantha Johnson? It kept going, you know, you're doing really well, Shaq. Keep going. You know, like talking to like your kid at the Egg and Spoon race who's right at the back. And then Gretzky coming out and like completely baffled why he's got, you know, the four teams every time he pulls out a card. He's like, why have I got all these names? You know, and, you know, Krakow instead of Curacao and North Macadamia.
51:08I mean, that's so, well, he didn't get stitched up, Seb. He didn't get stitched up. They are to their countries that are in the World Cup. I know, I know. But if you'd thrown that to Shaquille O 'Neal, I bet he would have thrown a few macadamias in and bosnias and whatever. That's what I'm saying. He drew the short straw. I was going to, you develop a newfound respect for Giorgio Marchetti, don't you, that does the Champions League draw. That's slick. That's how it's done, you know. or game show hosts. I mean, Rio Ferdinand, I don't think he's going to be hosting a game show after that, which may be the end game here, you know.
51:50I mean, it did look at one point like 15 to 1 when you had Gianni and you had the presidents of the United States, Mexico and Canada all lined up, the Prime Minister of Canada, I should say, lined up. And that bit where they pulled out their own... The thing is, there was a point where when Trump's looking the most level guy on there and he's sort of looking at Gianni thinking, you're going a bit far here, mate. You know you've got problems then, don't you? Trump looked embarrassed for him. There was one stage where Trump actually cracked a funny gag. So Mark Carney and Claudia Sheinbaum had just picked out Canada and Mexico respectively and Trump just sort of looks at Gianni.
52:38it's his turn he goes i think i know what this is going to be and it was just the timing was you know for the first time in my life i went that was that was funny trump good man i think when he said the u.s is hot as well yeah he had just won a peace prize which you know i mean that was the sequence we all knew it was the least surprising thing in the world and it was just that uh you know just as we've talked before if you have no shame these two men are standing there They're going, you know, everyone is going, this is ridiculous. But they just crack on and just do it with such conviction. At the end of it all, Seb, we do have a draw.
53:11In England have Croatia, Ghana and Panama. Thank you to everyone in my mentions for saying, are Croatia tired by now? And it's my own fault, you know, that I've trained you. Does everyone just say that? Dallas, Boston and New York. I think they're under a roof, aren't they, in Dallas for that game. It's a good draw, I think, for England, Seb, isn't it? Yeah, and all these locations, I mean, except for the people who are travelling and paying a lot of money to go and see these games, will forget about those locations unless England lose and then it will become that night in Dallas or whatever. But the draw to me, I love World Cups and the draw is the most interesting part in many ways because a lot of those games, there's going to be little jeopardy for the big sides.
53:57All it might do is knock them on a pathway where they're more likely to play a bigger side earlier. whereas some of the sides it will give some some teams some of the outsiders a chance to get through and it's not you know for a side like scotland for example it's not clear cut but i'll be brutally honest with you because of the nature of the draw of the whole evening i and i my son watched part of it and i think you get a view of a whole these events like this by what children say i mean my son started by just saying he's bald when he was talking about Infantino. He's bald. Didn't say he was funny.
54:33He didn't say anything else like that. It was a night where having to explain the draw constantly is an issue. Even in a group of football people, 99 % were men in there, which my wife pointed out she wasn't very happy about. and you looked at that audience and you thought they don't understand the coaches don't understand what's going on here why certain teams are in this group and the knock-on effect I mean I'd worked it out a long time ago that England were going to have Ghana in their group by the time it came around to that final team coming out which meant the draw felt a bit pointless because of all those restrictions and you do think what's the way around that I think African teams get done in this scenario because Europe can only have two teams in and Africa has a fair number of countries and some strong teams, they do get done over a bit.
55:20They do end up being in tough groups by that very nature. And then everybody says it's a group of death, mainly because one of the African teams is in that group. So France and Senegal. Using this opportunity, you asked me about England's group. I wanted to mention some other things from the evening that stood out to me. Mainly Lionel Scaloni's answering in Spanish. Yeah, it's really nice. I mean, no idea what he said. and then Ramirez who does know what people are saying when they're speaking in Spanish not translating to the audience which I thought was also interesting. Lauren Hill trying to G up a crowd of middle-aged blokes who don't listen to her music was also interesting and if the village people can't be asked at the end of the night I don't think I've seen more lacklustre singing of that song by anybody I mean they are getting on a bit.
56:11Well, someone did say some of the village people, they can't lift their arms up to do the why anymore, which I thought was... I think they were asking themselves why. There's only one original member, I believe. It's the black singer is the only one that remains. So it's like Buck's Fizz, Bobby G's village people. It's like Trigger's broom, isn't it? Scotland have Haiti, Morocco and Brazil. they play someone a Scottish fan did a great thing because they're talking about the kick-off times because England kick-off at 9pm twice and 10pm which is actually pretty good given the time difference but Scotland kick-off at 2am 11pm and 11pm but someone said Scotland kick-off against Haiti at 2am Morocco at 11pm and Brazil at 11pm 11.06 11.25 11.5 midday 12.32 but anyway just one win and it gets you through anyway look We've talked for too long.
57:08So that will do for today. Obviously, lots of time to go into the draw and the next instructional break, et cetera, et cetera. We will be doing daily pods during the World Cup. And so they will be tiring, but we won't mention it. And that'll do for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, John. Cheers. Thank you, Seb. I just want to say it was an honour to meet Barry in person at the FSA Awards. I mean, he didn't mention that he'd met me. But anyway, it was an honour to meet him. I was overwhelmed by meeting Neil Redford. I'm sorry Redfern was the highlight well not for me he nearly took my hand off it was nice to meet the current Mrs Hutchinson as well I presume current unless something's happened since the FSAs thank you Barry Football Weekly is produced by Silas Gray our executive producer is Danielle Stephens back on Wednesday
58:10This is The Guardian.