Liverpool surpass Galatasaray and Real Madrid outshine Manchester City: Big Match Breakdown 03/18/26

22:54Roger Bennett:This has been a season of radical honesty from managers. and it started with Ruben Amarin, who kept saying what was wrong with Manchester United, which was a really bad idea. And then I think Thomas Frank did it a little bit at Spurs. Enzo Moreska did it at Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel's done it with England and a couple of times he's kind of got himself into trouble. Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace. Glasner's a great example as well. Yeah, they are all saying what they think, which is a slightly weird thing for managers to do. As a journalist, I encourage it. Definitely keep on doing it, loving your work.

23:27Roger Bennett:for managers I'm slightly surprised people aren't saying you need to kind of rein this in a little bit because Tudor basically got a reputation for for answering questions pretty frankly and that means people will go to his his media engagements expecting right come on give us some give us some of the good stuff give me some of that clickbait and I think that is what has kind of happened to him that his his press conferences have become quite combative because people are looking for the Igor Tudor moment. Hopefully this week, those Tudor results kind of just puts the, just kind of dampens that a little bit because he now has a little bit of credit in the bank.

24:04God bless, Igor. Stand your ground. Crazy story. They'll have to wait for summer to play out. Major, major building steam reports in the English media about return for Mauricio Pochettino, which is a lot to process in so many levels. as was the game in Barcelona tonight. Barca 7, oh my God, Newcastle, what happened? 2-8-3 on aggregate. Really, less a game of football, more an obliteration of hope. Eddie Howe promised Newcastle would not, quote, shrink in Barcelona and his words came true hand-to-hand exchanges until at least the end of the first half when a blistering second 45. Barcelona raised the tempo and utterly broke Newcastle's back.

24:49Rafinha, Firmin Lopez, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine, Yamal were simply too good. It was like watching somebody tie a cherry stem into a knot using their tongue while Newcastle is just like, what, you can do that? I could ask you if Eddie Howe's time is nearing its end or if English defences have just become so used to defending the corners and the long throws that they don't know how to cope with this new thing called open play. But instead, I want to quickly ask you a positive question, Roar. How good are Barcelona? We were told they were susceptible to pace and counter. They just obliterated a paceful, counter-hungry team.

25:28Are Barcelona a true threat to Arsenal on their side of the bracket?

25:32Roger Bennett:It's going to be really interesting if those two get through. And look, I think we should expect Arsenal to beat Sporting as much as that is a real achievement for Sporting to get to the quarter-finals. Arsenal will be heavy favourites. Barcelona Atleti is tricky because they've just played in the Copa del Rey semi-finals Atleti beat them 4-0 in Madrid and then lost 3-0 in Barcelona. So that will be a tough game for Barca. But if they were to get through, the contrast in styles is really interesting. There is definitely a thing going on, Rog. We've seen it over the last two weeks. The Premier League teams aren't quite sure what to do when faced with teams that want to attack them and want to play them and can keep the ball.

26:11I think that's the crucial thing, that the style in the Premier League now

26:14Roger Bennett:is to play man-to-man all over the pitch. It comes from Marcelo Bielsa's leads. Various other kind of coaches have done it since. That is what teams are doing in the Premier League. It's kind of this endless battle of duels, like you've said frequently on the podcast. But in Europe, you're facing teams who are fine with that because they will pass the ball around you. They are good enough to pass the ball around you. They will keep it away from you. Newcastle, who are... I mean, I know they've had this kind of average season in the league, but to me, they are the most Premier League team. They are the team that kind of defines the modern Premier League.

26:48Roger Bennett:They are excellent. They've got really, really good footballers. Tonali's wonderful. They miss Bruno de Mares, but they've got really, really good footballers. But they are big. They are strong. They are quick. They want to play on the counterpunch. But they don't have that kind of technical expertise that you're going to get from teams like Barcelona or even Real Madrid. If you look at the technical level that the Real Madrid players have, it's extraordinary. Newcastle's kind of man-to-man, high-intensity, endlessly dynamic style, they just got bedazzled by Barcelona. It was like watching, this is a slightly weird reference, that's what it used to look like in the 90s when English teams went to play abroad because they almost couldn't understand the sort of continental sophistication.

27:33Roger Bennett:And to me, what happened over the last 20 years is that the English teams brought that in. So you had this sort of blend of English industry and pace with foreign technique and tactics and strategy and sophistication. And over the last 18 months, I think the English teams have forgotten the last bit because Newcastle seemed totally baffled by the idea that it was seeing Pedri play on the half turn. Newcastle just didn't understand what he was doing. They'd not seen anyone do that for months. But every time he did a little drop of the shoulder, a little jink, a little half turn, and he had this whole space of midfield to play in, And it was how Lamine set up the fourth goal, I think.

28:12Roger Bennett:Just a little turn and suddenly he's away and Newcastle have been broken apart completely. And I think that is basically the story of the last two weeks, that they just couldn't get to grips with what Barcelona were trying to do. It's so different to what they have domestically. It's like you've seen a Kurosawa film in which poor fishermen in a village are attacked by ninjas and they just do not know what happened. Also similar, Bayern 4-Atlanta won 10-1 on aggregate. game wrapped up in the first leg, five goal deficit. We had the pre-match excitement of a possible goalkeeping drama. Jonas Erbig, unfortunately, well, fortunately for him, passed his concussion protocol.

28:52So no delicious 16-year-old New York-born Leonard Prescott making his debut. A remarkable reality that would have had the Germans scrambling to process a special permit. I love this, to allow a minor to work after 8pm. Oh, world football. In the end, Bayern strolled. Highlight Harry Kane scored twice in this one. The first, his fifth-minute penalty, was his 20th Champions League goal in the last two seasons, his 50th in the competition. In 66 Champions League appearances only, Haaland has done it faster, along with Ruud van Nistelrooy. We don't deserve him. Bayern strolled a night, which was really ultimately as casual as Vontan Kompany's sideline outfit.

29:37To last night, Arsenal 2, Leverkusen 0. Arsenal win, 3-1 on aggregate. If you can keep your head while all the other English Premier League teams are losing theirs and blaming it on you, Leverkusen felt dangerous coming in. They draw with Bayern Munich. They'd also won the social media delightfully going into this, but Arsenal cruised here to reach the last eight for the third year in succession, which is pretty remarkable for Mikel Arteta. stunning first half spin and strike from Eberichi Eze, followed by the karma celebration in which he talked about this in his interview with us. He really took on the pleasure that he just created all around the ground in that moment, which he lives to do.

30:20That level of empathy up there with his streetball skills, chef's kiss. Ro, I think we've all decided about Ebs. We like him again after his transfer now. Incredible stats, last four seasons. SAA's average 0.5 goal a game in March, April, May, missed the spring, while just 0.19 goals a game in autumn and winter. He's got the, he's essentially got the winter blues. We all feel better when the weather gets nicer, Rog.

30:45Roger Bennett:That's just logic. I know, he's the ultimate, genuinely. Suns out, guns out player, and amidst the craziness, Arsenal continues to be a model to calm an organisation. Quadruple still on. five possible more games in the Champions League to glory the eight in the league the Carabao final upcoming three more possible I think is it in the FA Cup Roar it is getting you know the smoke is clearing it is possible from bottlers to serial winners is the world ready? Well I mean we still need to you know there's still games to play Rog let's not get ahead of ourselves let's take Sunday first and then we'll see whether the Tudrupal is on or just merely the treble which would be a disappointment.

31:33Roger Bennett:Oh my god I'm just ready for like the Sunday doesn't go as planned Arsenal fans and the media be a spin like Tudrupal's a failure it's a disaster season they'll be so woefully but a quick one we do have to touch upon because there's a couple of questions I want to get to from our listeners as soon as I can you beautiful human beings waiting there we're coming to you but we have to touch upon I'm legally required And to call him their 16-year-old Max Dowman, after the run, the goal, trademark, the moment, trademark, trademark against Everton Football Club, certain sections of the English media, who are normally so logical and rational, I didn't expect this of them, Roar, are trying to will or ship Max Dowman to the England World Cup squad.

32:17Roar, after 60 minutes in 2026 in the Premier League, one magnificent game. It's a madness.

32:25Roger Bennett:Well, yeah, but England have done weirder things, Rog. Theo Walcott went to the 2006 World Cup having never played in the Premier League. So in many ways, Max Downman has been a little bit too slow. He needs to tell him, pull your finger out, Max. Get in that England sport. Do you think you're special? Do you think you're special, Max? There is not all I can say in defence of both this country and His Majesty's press. I've not seen many serious suggestions that Downman should go to the World Cup I don't think it's there quite yet but look, you're not wrong if he scores a couple more times in the Premier League someone is going to say to Thomas Tuchel should you not get Max Downman in the squad and by the way when Raw's saying His Majesty's press the Majesty he is referring to is Mr Declan Rice slightly darker times from a Premier League perspective Manchester City 1 Real Madrid 2 Madrid ultimately cruised 5-1 on aggregate.

33:22We knew this was going to be a tall order. Madrid had never before dropped a 3-0 first leg lead. Pep admitted pre-game. The City required the perfect game. They got the opposite. Bernardo Silva sent off a handball early. Vinicius scoring a rarely spotted in the second half of the season. Early in Haaland equaliser. And a finish from Vinicius followed by his quite exquisite, this moved me on many levels, his crying celebration with which he mocked City fans who had mocked him with their stop crying your heart out Tifo when he failed to win the 2024 Ballon d 'Or behind Rodri. And that is how Manchester City exit the Champions League this season, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

34:06Raw, two questions. First of all, Pep's record in the Champions League at City, five times they've started as favourites in the competition. One playoff exit, two last 16s. I think it's four quarterfinals, one semifinal, one runner-up, one title. Given just the abundance of investment and talent that Pep Guardiola has assembled over the past decade, should he have won more Champions League titles? Because it's going to piss him off something massive that he hasn't, won't it?

34:38Roger Bennett:I mean, basically, yeah. there's kind of a clever answer which I suppose is he maybe should have got to more semi-finals more finals, you want to be putting yourself in the position to win it and then if you actually win it it's a little bit of a bounce of a ball, it's a roll of the dice but yeah, I don't think when he joined City if you'd said to him you're going to spend 10 years here and at the end of it you'll have one Champions League I don't think he'd have been satisfied with that. His record in the Champions League in general since he left Barcelona isn't what it should be. You know, he had a brilliant Bayern side, probably the best side in Europe for three years, didn't win it.

35:16Roger Bennett:He's then had a City team that has almost certainly been the best team in Europe for some of the last 10 years, and he's won it once. It is an underperformance. And I think give Sunday's Carabao a little more fraught storylining, because this could be, dot, dot, dot, a second trophy-less Guardiola season on the bounce, which is inconceivable. Pep was asked post-game. What his statement, we will be back, means, does it mean he'll stay? And he said cryptically, when I retire in 10 years, I will say we will be back because I'm part of that, like in Barcelona or Bayern. When I've been there, I'm part of the club.

35:53I'm very attached to Man City. Roar, cutting through all the crap, reports are going to trickle out. He's staying, he's going, blah, blah, blah. Last time we went through this, he ended up re-signing an extended contract. We don't know, I would guess, Roar, as a guardiologist, because he doesn't know right now.

36:12Roger Bennett:Yeah, we assume he doesn't know. I mean, I'm not certain that's the case. He may well have an idea in mind, but he's earned the right. And I think it's totally logical, totally kind of understandable. He's earned the right to make that decision for himself when he wants on his own terms. there's no question that he's he's like preparing the ground for him to leave whether that's this summer or next he I mean he his whole vibe is what I'm going to do on my holidays that is basically every comment he makes is kind of oh I can't wait to be on the beach guys I just you know I'm gonna go trekking it's gonna be amazing um yeah but he's always said that the first season I interviewed him at City um it was a game where I think Kun Aguero had just been sent off against Arsenal if I remember.

36:58They'd lost to Arsenal. It was embarrassing. It was, he'd just done there. I don't teach the tackles. He was completely, you know, confused by English football. And he shouted out to me then in the middle of the interview, if they don't want me, I go, I play golf. Bye-bye. I'm happy. I mean, he's always, never as a man who's more of a workaholic, talk more about the nice things he'd like to do with his life.

37:19Roger Bennett:Yeah, like he is, like he's this person who can't survive without managing football teams without football. I'm not sure he has. It's not like Arsene Wenger who you always had that sense he'd quite like to be off in the world, kind of doing other things. Guardiola without a job would be... Did he really? Did he really? Because Wenger came on this show, a talk with very little regret about how much he sacrificed for football. With almost the shocking, like, you know, my children's lives, I didn't see, I didn't see them grow up. I mean, it was a very, like, a bad, late Frank Sinatra song about all the things he regrets in his life, but had no regret at the same time.

37:55I mean, they're very similar in that regard. It's fascinating. These human beings, you've taught me, their mindset is always, oh, I can fix that.

38:04Roger Bennett:Yeah, they don't have any room for self-doubt. It's not something that exists in their makeup. I think Wendor was a slightly more rounded character than Guardiola. I remember being at a dinner with Klopp and Guardiola, and Klopp was asked, kind of, what would you like to take from Guardiola? And he said, well, I'd like to care about it. Basically, I'd like to care about it as much as he does. Yeah. And I think Plot just wasn't, doesn't have that obsession. Whereas Guardiola does. Wenger's seen cultured. He did tell me he'd not been to the movies in 10 years. He just hadn't had time to get there.

38:35The one who was stealth really quite cultured, which is hilarious. Roy Hodgson always used to enjoy going to book readings in London more than he did football games, which I just kind of adore. I'd love to be in Roy Hodgson's book group. Keep the comments coming in the chat. Chris Evans 4514 says, everyone's going to blame Pep for the entire collapse of English football. this season. That's just how it goes. Chelsea nil. PSG three. Talking about collapse. PSG win 8-2 on aggregate. Chelsea ultimately is leaky on the field as their team sheets are off it. João Pedro said, we've got to score three against PSG like we did in the Club World Cup final.

39:13Turned out to be the other way round. The Chelsea faithful booed early on that often, including the Rosinha substitutes against a very young and brilliant PSG team who have an idea of football. They look like a very young, almost a futures team who didn't adrift, strange huddles and not much beyond. At Vidic, CFC said, Vecina said he was implementing a new style of pressing. It's called depressing. To lose with no emotion, no fight, no any kind of feeling. It's honestly, ultimately, I think the greatest Chelsea sin, this team, this club, more and more like, they remind me of Ray Liotta at the end of Goodfellas, where they're just like, I'm an average nobody, got to live out the rest of my life like a schnook.

39:59And the big subplot, Enzo Fernandes asked about his Chelsea future on Arsenal TV. I don't know, he said. When asked about his future, there are eight games left, the FA Cup, then the World Cup, and then we'll see. We will see, Roar. I'll just say that Club World Cup final and the five straight Rosinha wins that I remember at the beginning so deliciously, they feel like a lifetime again.

40:21Roger Bennett:Yeah, the Club World Cup, I think was not kind of an illusory moment, but it was maybe a little bit of a kind of, of a red herring in terms of where Chelsea were and how ready they were to compete. Rassinia, I think his first couple of months showed that he's clearly good, like he's good at this. He's tactically quite smart. I'm sure that he's been able to build up a rapport with the players. I think he seems like a good guy. He's clearly very intelligent. The last couple of weeks have been difficult and it's difficult to see how he kind of, it's going to be a long road back before he can have that kind of aura of this is going to be the guy to deliver Chelsea to wherever on earth it is that Beddad did Barley and Todd Bowley want them to be.

41:04Roger Bennett:I'm not sure what the end purpose of their investment is, but Resenia doesn't, he looks a little bit like he's out of his depth at the moment. And that's understandable because his last job was at Strasbourg. His job before that was at Hull. And now he's meant to be the guy who can find a way past PSG. That's a big old leap. But the problem is that at Chelsea, it's kind of sink or swim. And they've thrown him into it. And the question now is kind of how does he get out of it? Yeah, I mean, it's very, very difficult. He also comes across as a man that is reading his social media. So everything is like a reaction, a counter reaction, a counter counter reaction.

41:42He looks very, very inside his own head and just watching him like 83rd, 84th minute. you know the title long gone still scribbling tactical instructions to his players I found it really I found it hard to watch what's the solution at kmburn7279 in the chat says Chelsea will stick eight in the net against Everton Saturday you're welcome finally before we get to your questions say it ain't so raw Sporting Lisbon 5 Boto 0 oh my god the greatest thing out of Scandinavia since sentimental value you. Once Sporting tied the aggregate scores, I watched a tightrope walker look down across the Grand Canyon and be like, holy crap, that's a little tiny wire.

42:28I mean, it was just like seeing someone's mortality just smack them in the face. Sporting their stadium, a ground that could fit 43 ,000 residents from the club's hometown, with almost 10 ,000 seats to spare. They've gone and beaten this club against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Athletic and Madrid, Inter Milan, and sporting in the first leg. And then, woof, they just imploded, leaving only the memories, the way they made our hearts soar, the way they made us all dream and feel good. Ultimately, reminder, there's no feel good. There's no romance in football, and definitely not in the bloody Champions League.

43:07Roger Bennett:Yeah, there's two things about that game that stood out to me. One was, I think it was because Bodo had something to lose. for the first time since they beat City in Norway back in January, they were under some sort of pressure. They had a 3-0 lead from the first leg. They had what everyone thought was kind of the easy draw, the other weakest team in the competition. And there was this place in the quarterfinals that I think a lot of people had assumed they got. I'm not going to name names, but several news organisations have commissioned pieces from Bodo for the quarterfinals, which will now not be written.

43:44Roger Bennett:Not me, I want to make that clear. But a lot of journalists are going to have to spend some time in the Arctic Circle with very little to do. Or just to render their flights. But the other thing that was really interesting, at the end of the first leg, as you were watching it and Bodo was celebrating and that tiny ground, the Asmira, was in tumult and everyone was excited. The sporting fans who'd made that journey were absolutely lambasting their players. And I remember, I watched that one with my son as well, and I remember saying to him, it's a bit weird that they're shouting at them so much because they must have realised by now that Bodo are pretty good.

44:21Roger Bennett:And, you know, Inter have been beaten there, Man City have been beaten there, Atleti lost in Madrid to Bodo Glimt. All right, you don't want to lose 3-0, but it felt a bit excessive. But I think it was a reminder that Sporting are the sort of team that are under pressure as well. They have, those big three Portuguese teams are enormous institutions in Portugal. So they would have had a lot of pride at stake in certainly giving a good account of themselves against Bodo and ideally in turning the tie round. And I think once they got up to two, they might have thought, okay, this is on. This is a team from Norway and we're sporting Club de Portugal.

44:57Roger Bennett:We can win this. And you sort of saw the whole place filled with confidence and belief and just a little bit of grandeur. Yeah, I mean, it is funny. I've watched one person on television with a straight face trying to explain how they believe Bouda Gimp could get all the way to the final. God bless football again. Crushes our souls, teaches us we know nothing. Quick one, I do want to get to the questions and get on my flight, but I do need to ask you this. Arsenal and Liverpool, they live on, but everybody else, Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle, Manchester City, really not even close. really beaten this Optus stat, astonishing.

45:37There's been three occasions since 1955 that an English team has conceded eight plus goals on aggregate in the European Cup tie. Two of them have come in the past couple of days. Pomi thinks, I thought, our league is so competitive. This is obviously the most obvious theory that the teams are just beating the crap out of each other. Brentford, Bournemouth, they're just exhausting us down this stretch of the season. So we've seen, for instance, Manchester United saw, partially because they have so relatively few games to play and they remain box fresh. But there is one thing to lose a competitive edge rule.

46:14There's another to be absolutely torn apart, to be smashed, as a couple of our teams really were. Just tell us quickly, how should we think about it? And what does it say about the wonder of football that we delight in, we feast on on a weekly basis?

46:28Roger Bennett:Fatigue is definitely part of it. But like I said before, I think some of it is stylistic. is that the English teams encountered, against Barca, against Real, against PSG particularly, a style that they're just not really used to seeing. They haven't seen it a lot for 18 months. They're not inoculated against it in the way that they might have been a few years ago. Even that, though, I'm not sure it explains the scale of it because, I mean, Barca put four past Newcastle in the second half tonight. That's too many. That's not warranted. I still think the Premier League is clearly the most competitive league in the world.

47:00Roger Bennett:But you know what? Mainly, I think it's a good thing. I think it is good that the richest lead in the world doesn't get to win the European Cup all of the time. That when they get into Europe, there is a level they have to find and aspire to. Because ultimately, if you don't have anything to aspire to, what's the point?

47:32So we'll bring you up. But let's rattle through the callers because you're all gorgeous. Let's bring up Mighty JC. Tell us where you're from, JC. And what's your question? For the mighty, mighty Rory Smith. I'm from Nicaragua. You're calling in from Nicaragua? Yes, sir. I love the internet, baby. And I'd love to watch a game in your incredible country with you one day. What is your question for R. Smith?

47:57Roger Bennett:Just thoughts and noise. Basically drinking from the fountain of youth. you know being there when Rooney scored and then now getting repaid that's such a long and wonderful question I just googled Nicaraguan cuisine while I was listening to you I'm looking at pictures of Gallo Pinto Nacca Tamales oh my god that looks good savoury dough and banana leaves yeah that's good it's good today there's actually the FA Cup of Nicaragua going on. So it would have been interesting to see you down here. We're going to do it live together after those, you beautiful human being. You're asking a great question.

48:42How do you understand David Moyes' roar? This is a man who first, there in Moyes, was tenacious, young, believe it or not, he was young, guys. He fought with very little, tiny budgets. Teams always agonizingly fell short. Even when they got into the Champions League, they, you know, dumped cruelly quickly. It was very Sisyphus. He's gone away. He collapsed. I mean, just darkly. At Sunderland, you know, became almost a joke. Did think about coming over to the United States. Loves it here. And then with that glorious night with West Ham and his dad dancing, winning, becoming a champion at last. This next phase, you know, he's won it all raw.

49:29You should kind of like move off to pasture. Instead, to me, he's come back with that same like, oh, unfinished business. David Moyes too at Everton, Electric Boogaloo. How do you understand it though? Because it's been, he's got a tiny bit calmer, tiny bit more tactically adept. I think having the win finally has taken like an edge in anger, a complete and utter just fight, existential fight for life out of him. But how do you see it?

49:58Roger Bennett:I think he was probably like a really disciplinarian father, but a very soppy granddad. That's my basic understanding of David Moyes. Just lets his grandkids get away with anything, always buying them presents, actively makes it harder for his kids to be their parents. He's that kind of granddad, I think. That's the vibe of new Moyes. You know, I'd agree with that, but we have an interview that launches on YouTube with David Moyes tomorrow. And one of the questions I asked him was, you know, what's your philosophy on young players? What do they need to show you in training to come through? And he immediately goes, Tyler Dibbling needs to show me more.

50:35Roger Bennett:but I think you're right so the win at West Ham I think kind of validated him in a way that was necessary after such a long and really successful career but he does seem to have a kind of yeah like a calm like a serenity to him now I think he feels as though he's kind of proven that what happened at Manchester United was kind of context dependent he's over Sunderland, he's over Real Sociedad he's established himself as one of the senior figures, the elder statesman of English football. And the role really suits him. And so does having a squad at Everton, and I say this with respect and pride and to some extent love, is limited.

51:18Roger Bennett:It's very much a backed against the wall situation. It's we've got to make do and mend. And I think Moyes in that kind of environment really thrives. He just seems like he's at home. And that is an underrated thing. God bless. In every regard, I actually do think it's a miracle what he's achieved at Everton Football Club. I know a lot of Everton fans are very, very disappointed that the results have not remained consistent, particularly not at home. Talks about that in the interview tomorrow. But I think to do so much with a deeply, obviously tactically flawed team, no fullbacks, strikers, a problem as much as we love the Betos and the Barrys.

52:01I think it's nothing short of remarkable and I find him really fascinating to listen to. Let's bring on up the great. Couldn't be a big match breakdown without Josh Youngerman, your beautiful human being. Come on up, Josh, unmute. And then what's your question for King Rory Smith? Yeah, I have a serious and a goofy one. My goofy one is, is it right for me to be feeling this calm about the Premier League right now? My very serious question is, which trophy in the quintuplet is the most important? And that would be the Carabao, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Premier League, or Spurs getting relegated, which is the most important.

52:41That's such a leading question, Your Honor. Josh, you'd be a very good trial lawyer. Josh Youngerman, Arsenal fan, is he right to suddenly be feeling very relaxed to watch his team honestly playing very free football, if we're going to be honest, and jump to a conclusion after one game? But which trophies are most important? Leading question, Your Honour. I think you shouldn't be calm,

53:03Roger Bennett:but a lot of the kind of antsiness of Arsenal fans should be starting to just ebb away a little bit because City drawing with West Ham, having drawn with Forest, those are significant results. That is a genuine kind of... There is now daylight and that is important. But look, it'll be nervy until it's mathematically certain and that's how it should be. Winning titles isn't easy. Which is the most important? I don't think it would be fair for Arsenal to win the lead in the same year as Spurs got relegated. That's too much. I'm not sure people could cope with that level of happiness. Look at it this way.

53:38Roger Bennett:How would anything ever compare? Nothing would ever compare. It's just, it's not good for you. I think that's the question. By the way, asking which trophy Arsenal want to win most is a bit like asking Captain Ahab which whale he wants to catch the most. I mean, you know what I mean? it's kind of it's kind of obvious but I do wonder that's a fascinating question which will give and I remember Spurs fans I feel your pay as an Everton fan you are said this many times the Everton of the south I don't think that makes them feel better Rog which will give you don't do you know no I don't think that's what they want to hear is that like me being like that's a sick man I think you're like me I'm sorry Spurs you you've got your own wonder your own singular wonder which I admire because it's kind of reminiscent of mine but the as one bald man I really admire your baldness the asking Arsenal fans what they would actually long term remember more with more pleasure that's crazy whether the year after 22 years of dreaming and shattered dreams who finally won the title, or that year the Spurs were relegated.

54:57Roger Bennett:That's not even a question. The genuine answer to that question is of what would give Arsenal fans more lasting pleasure, winning the lead title or Spurs being relegated. It is obviously Spurs being relegated. Because the thing is, once you've won the lead, and I say this as someone who remembers winning the lead last year, or my team winning the lead, you start to worry pretty quickly afterwards. It's like, can we defend it? Are we signing the right players? Do we need to win it better? Will Roy Keane call us bad champions? Whereas if Spurs were relegated, they would enjoy, I mean, Arsenal fans would wake up every day for an entire year with a spring in their step.

55:34Roger Bennett:And then even if Spurs came back, it would still be just every so often. Even when Spurs got relegated, that is the most important. From an Arsenal perspective, if you lose all four trophies, but Spurs get relegated, you'll still really love this season. I mean, this is amazing. I'm looking at one of my friends who's an Arsenal fan at the text that he sends me in game. Even when Arsenal are winning, the agony, its mentality, we've got to get our centre-backs, just always seeing the darkness. And I'm looking at this text now when Spurs play, and he wrote, we're going to need a new word. Schadenfreude, don't cut it no more.

56:16There are no words for this joyous pleasure. so I do think you are there but I'd love to know and please meninblazers.gmail.com Arsenal fans by the way I'm not relishing this I'm just fascinated from a human perspective this is this is this is one of the greatest like crazy psychological tests that you could possibly do it's like the prisoner test or whatever this is almost too perfect this is a psychological moment rule

56:42Roger Bennett:do you know what it is a friend of mine who's also a Liverpool fan has this has a similar test which I think is really really interesting would you rather win the Carabao Cup or win a game 10-0? What are you talking about? If you win a game if you win a Carabao Cup Yeah for most clubs it will be one of several honours that you I mean obviously maybe not for kind of Port Vale or Doncaster Rovers but if you're a if you're Aston Villa or even if you're Everton it will fall into line with with kind of lots of others that you have won that your club has won over a long period of time in Everton's case, Rog.

57:18Roger Bennett:There will be other nights, there'll be other years where you might win a trophy. How many times do you win a game 10-0? You never win a game 10-0. Can I just tell you, you're a spoiled little, overprivileged little knob when you're asking that question, Roar. You've won too much. You've gotten bored. You're getting a little dilettante. I've got to tell you, as someone that is still marking solemnly with my friends in an almost Masonic celebration, the anniversary of every year that passes when we won the Florida Cup, Ru. I can tell you how... Would you rather win the Florida Cup or a game 10-0?

57:56Florida Cup. Man, that meant something. The emotions, my crying child by me. Just, Dad, I'll never forget this moment. It doesn't get... Football doesn't get better than this. I don't know, Ru, but I do know we've got a peach of a question from a very patient human being who's going to close the show so I can get on the flight to London. it's the mighty Nadika. Tell us where you are. Remind us, big Nadiks. Tell us what you're going to ask Rourke. It's beautiful. Hi. I'm Nadika from Fargo, North Dakota. And since MIB seems to have one Yorkshireman per live limit, I want to ask Rourke, who is the greatest Yorkshire sportsperson ever?

58:40My vote is for Lynn Hutton. I'm curious what Ravi thinks

58:45Roger Bennett:who's the greatest Yorkshire sport team can we just say Nadika what an incredible question that is to close the show to make this as accessible as possible I mean you've got to remember Roar's from Yorkshire it's like its own kind of republic in Liverpool very stoic very proud very no nonsense yeah I mean it's just a very I don't know how you'd describe Yorkshire you've obviously spent the last couple of years describing it with me Roar but I'm trying to build a drum roll crescendo to this answer as you explain it it's it's kind of yeah it's it's its own thing it has a very kind of strong regional identity of not really having emotions not giving praise easily generally being kind of happy with very little that's Yorkshire doesn't it takes a lot to please Yorkshire folk Len Hutton would definitely be a good shout I think a lot of people would say Geoffrey Boycott who was um who was a batsman but was a deeply problematic figure so we're not going to say him.

59:43Roger Bennett:Deeply problematic because, I mean, he was just a, I mean, finish that sentence. Well, his personal life contained several demons, Jeff Boycott. So, I mean, he wasn't, as a sportsman, he wasn't as spectacular. He was a very boring batter. But, yeah, personally, he's a difficult man to admire. I'm going to Google. Go on. Keep going, baby. I think you'd give a shout out to Amir Khan, the boxer. either Brownlee brother the triathletes they would definitely be in there Nicola Adams the Olympic gold winning boxer as well more recently there's just so many Fred Truman Fred Truman is probably the canon answer but then Joe Root the England cricketer Gordon Banks is Gordon Banks from Yorkshire?

1:00:30I'm just googling I mean it wouldn't be on Google if it weren't true would it let me look it up

1:00:35Roger Bennett:Fred Truman is what most people would say I think. I mean, it was proper Yorkshire, that man, wasn't it? Yeah. James Horncastle. James Horncastle, but I mean, to be fair, Marcelo Bielsa, honorary Yorkshireman, there's not many honorary Yorkshiremen, but Marcelo Bielsa is one of them. He's from Sheffield, Sheffield is Banksy. And then the other, the other great Yorkshire, probably the defining Yorkshire sporting figure, just for his attitude to life, is David Batty, who was a tough tackling midfielder in a Leeds team that won the championship. I think he was at Blackburn no he joined Blackburn after they won the league played for Newcastle and then retired remembered that he hated football and disappeared that is the most Yorkshire sporting career by the way you've missed James Milner in the modern period Sheffield's finest next time we'll do the best band for Yorkshire and that will go on no it's got to be Heaven 17 or Human League they're all well Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys They're all from Sheffield.

1:01:37Roger Bennett:That's the shame of it. They're all from Sheffield. I mean, that's genuinely an amazing, amazing, amazing story in its own right. The Bridewell Taxis, what a band they were in the day. I'm going off on one, so I'm going to rein this one in to close it, because that is it for tonight. A note on two upcoming joys in my life, one tomorrow on the Men In Blazers YouTube channel. And we're dropping that interview I've already talked about with my footballing dad, Mr. David Moyes talking about his own big plans for the rest of this season. Second, huge news. We're going to be joined at our Atlanta live show March 27th by an extraterrestrial musical icon beaming in from Stanconia.

1:02:18It's Atlanta's favorite icon, Big Boy, a remarkable man. He's been on this show before. I find him really inspirational. Talk about that city. There's a couple of tickets left. Get yours in the link in the show notes below. come and raise a pint with us. We can't wait to be with you on the 27th. But, Roar, it's been a joy to be with you, you incredible human being. Thanks for making our lives feel fleetingly joy-filled.

1:02:43Roger Bennett:It's just a pleasure to pick the bones apart of the shame of the Premier League, Rog. God bless. And Nadika, thank you for saving the day with that beauty at the end. To you, Roar, to all of you, huge, huge love. It's not take a second of watching football together for granted. Even us Everton and Tottenham fans Sounds right, same. Same-ties.