Premier League Preview Part 1, presented by YETI: Men in Blazers 08/19/26

20:17I think it's probably, I mean, I get mogged off a lot, but this is probably peak mogging. sitting by Christian Norgard last night my mum came to my first ever my mum came to my first ever live show she's never talked about other men ever she leaves her, I said what do you think of the show mum? she goes, he's very hunky never heard my mum use that word before

20:37Roger Bennett:is that slightly disincerting? nah, it's how I felt after I left Shabby Alonso to be candid look, we don't know the answer to this question this is my first question that I asked him I'm going to ask this, explain this to me Shabby, great young coach, goes to Bayer Leverkusen, gives them their first league win ever in their 120-year history of trying. Most coveted young manager in football right after that. Decides, has all the pick of the big job, says, I'm going back to Real Madrid. Loses six games out of the 34 that he coaches. Looks about as comfortable as Ned Stark in King's Landing. I mean, he was so confused by a place he thought he knew.

21:20as a player. It was an experience that left him with, quote, in his own words, a scar. But explain this to me. He's still just 44 years old. He left Real Madrid because when you're spat out by Real Madrid, your reputation can remain intact. You can just point to it and be, you know what? It was just Real Madrid being a hyper-political club that did me in. And Chelsea, yeah, they're massive. But they've had six full-time managers in the last five years. Has nobody told Xabi what happened to Pochettino when he washed up there after being spat out by PSG. That was a disaster for him. It really eviscerated his reputation doing them back to back.

21:58What do you think about Chelsea Football Club made Alonso truly believe that that would be the right destination for him in the here and now?

22:06Roger Bennett:I think it's probably a combination of things. One is the profile of the team. The fact that it is Chelsea. They are established now and Xabi was around as a Liverpool player when that kind of reputation started to take root. They are one of the big teams in world football. They are a genuine colossus of the game. That's appealing. The profile of the player that he's working with, he will have made promises about the type of players they want to sign and I think Chelsea have been as good as their word. They've once again I think spent more money than anybody else this summer. That's what they do.

22:36Roger Bennett:He'll have wanted that. He'll have been like this is my chance to work with a truly elite squad. I think his experience at Real probably taught him that he might be better off with a younger squad rather than one that contains ready-made, ready-set superstars. But ultimately I think it's pragmatism, Rog. I think he wanted to get back into management this summer. I don't think he wanted to take another year away. Bayern Munich wasn't available. Liverpool wasn't a thing. And Chelsea was on the table. And at some point, managers want to work. People will dress it up as though he wants a multi-million pound contract.

23:13Roger Bennett:Xabi Alonso's got enough money. I don't think he's driven by that particularly. He wants to work. He wants to prove himself. He wants to be proven right. That's what they're all in it for. He wants to prove that he is the talented young coach who took Leverkusen unbeaten to a Bundesliga title for the first time in their history and not the guy who got spat out by Real Madrid after 34 games. And Chelsea's the best place for him to do that. Also, it is, here in your framework, it is that kind of epic Greek kind of challenge. Can you tame the wild bull of Chelsea? The club that no human being has been able to claim.

23:46Off a chaos journey last season of 10th, can you improve on that? I mean, to do it, one of the immediate keys, to get Cole Palmer back to, you know, not just the ice salesman that he's become. Got to get him back, find that lethality, find that confidence, find that consistency. You know, season of struggle, season of grind. They'll ultimately show him left off. A humiliation, really, the World Cup squad. genuinely to soar in America at the World Cup or to launch your own personal ice brand you know, funny enough, knowing him he'd probably prefer the ice brand, but Shabby to get the confidence back has brought 158 million big ones into Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, most expensive British player in history, it's a man that Cole loves, played with him I think since they were 14 years of age at the Manchester City Academy if I'm being honest Cole Palmer stole the Cole Palmer sellie from that man and then trademarked it behind his back that mad bastard, how do you see the two of them playing together in the shabby system because so much of the early Alonso tenure is going to be defined by whether he can get that duo's chemistry right.

25:00Roger Bennett:I think you can see that it should work as a kind of a pair of tens effectively I mean how they line up in a practical sense how they're placed on graphics, I think doesn't really matter particularly, but both will want to play behind a central striker. And they should be able to occupy that role. It sounds a bit Amarimi, to be honest, but they should be able to kind of dovetail quite nicely. And the fact they've got a pre-existing relationship is really important. If you're going to spend that much money on one player, you want that player, as much of a guarantee as possible, to complement your star.

25:33Roger Bennett:And that's what you get by signing your star's best mate in football. That made sense to me. I think there is real logic there. It's a lot of money from Ordon Rodgers. It feels very Premier League premium-y. But in the context of putting him alongside Cole Palmer, you can see why Chelsea have done it. And you can see how it works in an Alonso-style system. I think managers, we too easily kind of pigeonhole managers as, oh, they play that way or they play that way. I don't think Xabi Alonso has a... He's not Amorim. It's not like, I'm going to play three at the back. He's actually the opposite.

26:02Roger Bennett:He's quite tactically flexible. I think he's interested in the ideas of how you can be fluid within a system and I don't think it's the case that he will say right three four two one that's it that's how we play forever it will mature and it will evolve and it will change but the fact that those two get each other that's a brilliant starting point I mean a manager who's obsessed with culture and he's really tried to instantly transform that Chelsea locker room they've unked out Chavez made the ownership group see the folly of their perpetual obsession with where speculation on one raw young genius after another, baby after baby, in comes 35-year-old Danny Welbeck, fresh off that quite magnificent 14-goal season for Brighton.

26:4536-year-old Jordan Henderson, straight off that last scene breaking his hand for England while trying to jump over an advertising hoarding. Elite athletes are not like us. Wism leaders that suggest that within that culture, there was a deep element of leadership and that kind of link between coach and players it's been missing. I will say quickly and we'll see whether this is an issue. The goalkeeper still feels a bit like a self-inflicted wound. The ownership group will not go for that. Still error-strewn Robert Sanchez, Chelsea's number one. He's about to face a little bit of competition from 6 '7", 21-year-old Mike Penders, essentially Belgian Yao Ming.

27:24One of the most fascinating new arrivals. I'm really interested in this. That Braveheart stunt double, Austin McPhee. The set-piece coach prize from Aston Villa. I crap you not. Chelsea paid a release clause in his contract from an unknown but said to be record fee for an assistant coach. Look, Villa scored 29 times in dead ball situations last season. And on McPhee's three-year watch, they have excelled, scored 74 times in total. But it's kind of surreal now. This is where the Premier League is. This is where modern football is. It's kind of like assistant coaches becoming coveted. Us even talking about this, it's like the guy who holds the cue cards on Saturday Night Live becoming so famous that he gets his own sketches and his own segments on late night shows in his own right now.

28:13Roger Bennett:The fact that McPhee had a release clause in his contract, I mean, that's just a job. Being an assistant coach is a job. Do you not have a release clause in your Men in Blazers contract? I'll have to check, Rog, but I don't think so. That's not a come and get me play, I'm very happy. The news just in. The Sun have paid the very first release clause. When that story happened, it struck me as being a bit odd that he'd have a release clause. Surely he's just got a right to have another job. And if Chelsea didn't pay him more money, which I presume they are, then he's allowed to go and take it. I find it very odd.

28:43Roger Bennett:But yeah, it's distinctively kind of modern Premier League, isn't it? It's the signing, the really big signing. Like, all right, they've signed Morden Rogers for$158 million. But the really big signing is the guy who does the corners. That is very where we are into it. Like who'd have thought in 1992 when they relaunched the Premier League that it would lead to that? That was not what they foresaw. Like at some point, they'd be like, the guy who does the corners, he's a really important one. Big picture, where are you emotionally in shape? Let me get a gut check. I'm bullish. I've got to be candid.

29:16I want to be bullish. What makes me believe or try and believe as much as you can? And it's deeply fluid. This league is going to make a fool out of all of us, by the way. In case you hadn't caught that scene. You're making me do predictions.

29:27Roger Bennett:I know, not making you, you begged. It's ridiculous. You begged, you said, otherwise I'm going to get the National Enquirer to trigger my release cause. Look, I believe partly because of Xabi, partly because of the lack of European competition, which means that they can really, really focus. Manchester United style almost on the task at hand. Do you see a return to what passes his stability in the top four? A hundred percent. Yeah, I think the key thing, Xabi's a really good coach. He'll have the respect to the squads. I think the profile of the squad suits him. I think the Welbeck and Henderson thing is a bit gimmicky.

29:59Roger Bennett:During the World Cup, did we talk about Umarels? There's so much. So the Umarel is the Italian building site guy, the old man who comes onto the building site to tell all the underbuilders they're doing it wrong. That's Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson. No, don't do it like that. It's Jordan Henderson, really. Danny Welbeck's going to play a lot. Jordan Henderson's transformation into culture guy is amazing. It is an amazing phenomenon within modern football. Again, maybe that's it. He's been brought in to be subbed in in the 79th minute. No, he's not there to play. He's there to be like, he's there to keep the younger guys on the straight and narrow.

30:35Roger Bennett:Between Auston McPhee. One of the Soprano guys doing a no-show job. Between McPhee and Henderson. He's going to sit in the deck chair with that sunning thing under his chin. Jordan Henderson's been signed to be linked in. That's what he is. That's what he's there for. But his late career arc is nuts. I think not being in Europe is massive. The caveat is that they still have far too many players. And as much as Premier League squads need to be bigger now to cope with the physical demands and stuff, they don't need to be that big. I think the last time I counted, there were 46 players with squad numbers at Chelsea.

31:06Roger Bennett:That's too many. They've got 10 days to try and ship some of them out. Some of those are younger players, admittedly, who you kind of want to be around. But they need to trim it down a bit. Otherwise, there will be problems within the squad. And if the ownership haven't learned that yet, then there's no help in it. Just sell a hotel to themselves, baby. Here's your quick question. who finishes with more goal contributions this season. Cole Palmer, cue Cole Palmer celebration, or Morgan Rodgers, cue Cole Palmer's lawyers suing Morgan Rodgers. They're going to do it both together. They'll both do it together, right?

31:35Roger Bennett:That'll be what it is. That'll be the celebration. It'll be really nice. Palmer takes penalties. Palmer. I think it'll be João Pedro. Next up, Tottenham Hotspur. Oh, my favourite. They've responded to a near-death experience. they had to say last season. Relegation dodged at the very last. That after winning the Europa League and holding a new dawn with Thomas Frank before the poor Dame was undone by. Just a slew of injuries and an Arsenal coffee cup. Spurs saved by Roberto De Zerbe. What a ferocious hero he is. 17 plays beckoned. Response was to spend like a big six team that they want to be.

32:18Club record,$321 million this summer. I love every interview Roberto De Zerbi said. He goes out his way. We are not the only team who has spent very, very big. Look, Marcos Inisi, plug from Bournemouth. Jean-Paul Van Heek from Brighton. Old man Andy Robertson bringing that will to win. The experience and leadership that you could say has been deeply absent. Then there was the club record fee. Shattered twice in quick succession. and Mateus Fernandes dispatched by West Ham in return for a cool$116 million. Smash once more when Sandro Tenali was sucked south from the Weatherspoons in Newcastle for 133 million.

33:01A whole new physically dominant spine roar. It's been a summer in which more Premier League footballers have had hair transplants. Matty Cash, Alexis McAllister, Fabian Herzl are amongst them. Is that what Spurs have done? Essentially, they've given themselves a club-level hair transplant, just like a vibe shift. But does it work to just radically expensively graft plastic hair onto a club, metaphorically, if you will? Stay with me here.

33:28Roger Bennett:I don't think that's the right transplant analogy. You don't? I think they've got a couple of new lungs and a kidney. I think that's what they've done. Try not to say boobs.

33:39Roger Bennett:It's not that. That's also not a transplant. I don't know. doctors manyblazers at gmail.com it feels like more radical surgery than nipping off the turkey and getting your plugs done that's so painful man I don't know how any of those players are going to head a ball you're not meant to disturb it that'll be a real problem is when a goal is conceded because a player didn't head the ball I'm not I don't do the head until October when it's settled I really like Spurs' business I think that it's been a real kind of, there's an element of political about it, just Daniel Levy obviously not there. It's saying, I think, to the fans, look, the purse string is a loser.

34:21Roger Bennett:We're going for it now. We're behaving like big boys. But at the same time, it's also a response to two seasons of kind of impossible underperformance. Like a team of Spurs' size shouldn't be able to finish 17th. They definitely shouldn't be able to finish 17th twice. So you go out and get probably Newcastle's best player last season apart from Bruno. Certainly West Ham's best player. You sign, yeah, Robertson, huge experience. Van Hector's been a brilliant kind of Premier League player for two or three years. St Nacy, really reliable. You say basically this is the team that finished 17th last season that came within a whisker of going down.

34:57Roger Bennett:That's not this team. They are completely different. I think there is still one glaring problem, and that's up front. But other than that, it looks like a Spurs team that has been completely transformed. It is more than a hair transplant. It's fascinating to watch. You've mentioned Daniel Levy, the old chair. dictatorial in his way. Spurs tried to be a bright young team under him, staying cheap in the transfer market. Then they tried to bring in big manager and big manager their way into the Champions League. Neither tactic really works sustainably. So they're almost doing both at the same time, just like spending big, bringing in the manager, smart, smart guy, see if it changes the reality.

35:39Then you realise, build a team that's befitting of our beautiful stadium. It's an identity that's polished, a worthy brand of London. When I was down in the capital last week, there were 20 Spurs legends, Michael Dawson, Fernando Llorente, Glenn Hoddle in my hotel.

35:57Roger Bennett:Is that in ascending order? You know what? I'd say they've got a fairly fast... I'd say it was in the semblance of cult heroes. I think it's probably the name. But speaking to them, they were like, Daniel Levy never did this, But what we want to try and do is reconnect the club to its heritage, to its story, where we've come from. Actually, he admired it. The players were super excited to be reconnected. They wanted them all to meet Roberto De Zerbe. For this club to really matter again, make noise, to splash the cash, to become that DNA entertaining again. Team who have looked into the abyss, seen their own death and are choosing rebirth.

36:37I honestly admire it. I really, really do. Whether it works ultimately depends on the culture that they can knit together in the here and now. In a way that, honestly, if I was a Spurs fan, tiny little worry thinking about Liverpool this time last season. But it also depends on De Zerbe. Leed is capricious. He's combustible. He has a will to lead that's intense. It does burn out. When I spoke to him last week, he did talk about needing to sign more bombas, a reliable striker, attacking midfielders. The possibility of Savinho still lingers for whatever purpose that is. Truth is, I think, Roel, we have no idea how Spurs are going to be.

37:16We don't know how all this is going to knit together. In a chaos season where there's so much unpredictable, Spurs are almost the identity, the totem of that.

37:24Roger Bennett:Yeah, because they've got so far to climb back up. But at the same time, you look at the players they've signed and the quality they already had. 17th to an extent was a false position. They shouldn't have been anywhere near that. And I know that's a sort of empty thing to say because they finished 17th twice, so they clearly should have been there. But they seem to have so much scope for recovery that normally you'd say, well, even after a great summer, a team couldn't go from 17th to 5th or from 17th to 3rd. But Spurs probably could because they've signed some high-quality players and they had a decent squad that just needed a bit of kind of shaping and management.

38:02Roger Bennett:And they now have a manager who can do it. I don't know whether there's a ceiling on Deserby teams that might be something you would put in the con column that they do tend to have that very kind of formulate, it sounds damning it's not meant to, but that very kind of structured way of playing this is how we do things and I do think that the modern Premier League has moved a bit beyond that, someone said to me the other day the Premier League is a really quick study if you do one thing, the league has worked it out by the next time you play football you can't repeat, you have to keep changing.

38:33Roger Bennett:Whether De Zerbe can do that, I don't know. Maybe. They will definitely have a better season than the last two seasons, but whether they can make that leap quite as high as I think you might anticipate, Rog, I don't know. Spoiler alert. You know, what is fascinating, I take it one step forward. It's not just can they go from 17th to 5th, 4th, whatever, based on what they do. This is, within context, the Premier League of chaos. There are so many teams, including the The big teams that are set up top who are in deeply fragile, formative. It's almost more like a World Cup campaign than a Premier League.

39:09Teams are going to have to find themselves in this. The managers are going to have to define themselves. By the way, some will. One or two of them will not. These projects will absolutely nosedive under new management. And it's going to be fascinating. I'm going to say I interviewed De Zerbe last week. It was very interesting. I think politically he's got a lot of leverage at that club. but he has such a strong hand right now. When your front office has kind of disgraced itself by hiring Igor Tudor's disaster class, and then you come in and you save things, you have a lot of power in those corridors.

39:44How he uses it is fascinating. It was very, very interesting. He's not the only manager that's done this. He talked about how he wants to teach the squad courage, that value, very happy to talk about that, expressed loudly his desire for more bodies. He's been very explicit about that. But talking tactically about what very few of the new managers want to openly make predictions, even talk vividly about what they intend to do with their plan. So, Roar, you know, ultimately I asked him what is success for Tottenham this season and how would he measure it? And he kind of dodged, danced, kind of waffled a little bit.

40:22So how would you answer that question?

40:23Roger Bennett:I think they have to be back where they should be, whether it's in terms of economics or ambition or aspiration or quality of stadium. I don't think De Zerbe would be under pressure if Spurs finished sixth and missed out on the Champions League. That would not be kind of, oh, this has been disappointing after the outlay. I think there'll be an understanding that he is coming from a low base and that sixth place back into Europe, back into the conversation for Europe, is massive progress. But they could, and look, Roger, you're completely right, and this will be a recurring theme as we work our way through the teams.

40:52Roger Bennett:We know nothing. it's impossible to say where Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Spurs Villa, Chelsea, Newcastle those sort of six teams that you'd expect to be around Spurs and Arsenal in the top eight I've no idea the transfer window's still open all of them have left their business far too late they've mostly got new managers why are you still watching this? We don't know anything or managers who've been appointed within the last sort of six months you could make a case that all of them would finish second and you can make it case that all of them would finish tenth. This is the only Premier League preview where we're admitting up front, we have no idea what we're talking about.

41:32No one has any idea what we're talking about. The only thing I can say is that the more certain the pundits are in their definitiveness, the more divorced from reality they are right now. The quick question, yes or no, will Roberto De Zerbe finish this season as Tottenham's manager? Yeah, probably. Oh, interesting. I was going to say, he did that quick question very well. The one word, and then the second one came in, and it was a killer.

41:58Roger Bennett:He does have a streak in him, deservedly. It is possible that he will. He's not that kind of player. He is very much that kind of player. Okay, this segment should be called B is for Brains. We're delving into that section of the league. You're Bournemouth, you're Brightons, you're Brentfords. Let's start with one of my favourites, the Golden War Cherries of Bournemouth. Team who've seemed impervious to change, selling off star after star with a hydra-headed tenacity. Finished a historic six last season, qualified for Europe for the first time ever. How will they respond to their brain transplant?

42:34A whole new manager, Andoni Irola, that bookish Basque, is headed to Liverpool. Talk about him in episode two. Enter young German Marco Rosa. must now continue to try and summon the alchemy of his predecessor, who did not lose. This is still unbelievable to me, Roar. A game last season after selling Anton Semenyo, his best player, to Manchester City in January. Is Marco Rosa more handsome than Xabi Alonso? I can do the quick answer to that.

43:02Roger Bennett:No. It's close. It depends what your type is. He's quite athletic, Marco Rosa. Is he though? He's a little bit athletic. Is he? Yeah. I'd say little bits doing a lot of heavy lifting. He looks like an AI Rude Van Nistelrooy. Who is the most handsome coach in the Premier League this season? And why is it David Moyes? A bit of old rough. I've heard... I don't know where that came from. When you hear your mother say the word honky for the first time ever, you kind of throw some at you. You don't have to explain that. That wasn't on air. You'll have to explain that. What, the thing about... I think it was on air.

43:37Roger Bennett:Was it? Yeah. This podcast started five hours ago. We were always like... No idea. in this moment. It's really hard to tell. You're in your cups, baby. David Moyes has got a certain twinkly eye child. Men and Blazers, gmail.com, who's the honkiest manager in the Premier League? That's what the people want. That's the sort of preview the people want. By the way, I can make the case it is David Moyes. You can make the case, but I mean, it would be a real stretch. But then sometimes, you know, ultimately, there's no accounting for taste. A lot of people down on Bournemouth, but whether he's more handsome than Giambi Lonto or not, I think Rose has a really smart appointment.

44:06Roger Bennett:He's had this kind of impressive but understated career, Red Bull clubs, particularly RB Leipzig in Germany. He went to Dortmund. It didn't quite work for various reasons. I think he's a better coach than people are giving him credit for. And his style of play is quite similar to Iriola's. There won't be a massive kind of tactical shift for Bournemouth. I think it's a smart appointment. 49 years old? Yeah. You called him young. I was surprised by that. I think he's a young-looking 49, if I was being tactically correct. As a man who's closer to 49 than he wants to be, I would say 49 is the new 27.

44:4214 years of coaching. I mean, his LinkedIn resume, the thing that's interesting to me about him, played for Klopp, played for Tuchel, played for Rangnick. It was Klopp, actually, I think, who told him he should manage. He did win the German Cup, the Pokal, with RB Leipzig. The thing I'm interested in, he's managed up some real talent, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham at Dortmund. He took them to second place in the Bundesliga, led Borussia Mönchengladbach into the Champions League, won back-to-back Austrian League titles with Red Bull Salzburg, for what that's worth. Does play the kind of front foot attacking football that the American-owned Las Vegas Golden Knights, Bill Foley, loves.

45:20You know, the good news is little old, little old Bournemouth, tiny, tiny Bournemouth, as their fans call them. A team who were in the second tier, was it four years ago and now in the Europa League? Which means that squad's going to have to juggle that dreaded Thursday, Sunday schedule, which we're going to talk about a lot. It's probably the second deepest recurring theme for the mid-table, a mighty, meaty, aspirational mid-table. Good news is, teams held on to most of its stars. Alex Scott, Ryan, a junior croupy, 20-year-old sensation, who saw, came, conquered, whatever it is, double-figure goals, attracting the likes of PSG, but only because he's still like a knack at his foot and will be out for at least four months.

46:05But for Rose, a lot of our conversations in this preview are going to be at the manager. Can he? Will he? Is he going to be able to? What challenge is going to be harder for him? Adapting to the Premier League for the first time, which is a tremendous challenge. Taking this small squad into Europe for the first time. Or having to follow the quietly loud legacy of Andoni Erola.

46:28Roger Bennett:And when you put it like that, Roger, it all sounds very difficult, to be fair, if you do all three at once. I think the legacy thing will be an issue. Obviously, Bournemouth fans love De Raiola for obvious reasons. But Rosa is a natural fit. I think we look at Rosa's career, and because it didn't work out at Dortmund in the way that people wanted, everyone's very down on Marco Rosa. But if you look at what he's done, he's clearly a very competent manager. He might not be the world's greatest manager. He might not be the heir to Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola. But he's clearly really good at it.

46:58Roger Bennett:He's had success with mid-range teams consistently. and he plays a style of play that's not a million miles away from an Iola. I think that bit will not be a problem. Adapting to the Premier League, I think, will be okay. Just because he's not walking into English football 30 years ago, it's an English football where most of the pressing triggers or whatever are stolen directly from the Bundesliga. They'll all be really familiar. He might be a little bit shocked by the meat wall. That might surprise him initially when he sees how Arsenal take corners. It's armless now. But if it's armless, then even that has been removed.

47:30The normless meatball. The modern football.

47:32Roger Bennett:Someone might have to explain to him how much Gary Neville there is. That will be a bit of a surprise to Marco Rosa. But other than that, I think it will all be very familiar. The challenge for Bournemouth, and I like their business this summer. They've been very smart. Kept hold of Kruppi, kept hold of Ryan, kept hold of Alex Scott so far. If that stays the case, then that's a great start. Antonio Silva, the central defender from Benfica, who they signed, who for a long time was kind of one of the big promising defenders in European football. Potentially a great signing. Alvaro Rodriguez, the striker from Elche, who's kind of a data darling, is a really smart signing, very Bournemouth.

48:03Roger Bennett:I think it will work. All of that works. All of that is promising. The issue has been in Europe. That's going to be the real problem for them. Marco Rosen, never mind the return on points. Just savour the hunkiness. Oh, just look at him. Look deep into the pools of his eyes. Don't look in his eyes. That would be my suggestion. Your quick question. I'm going to tick through the rounds of the Europa League. Stop me. when you think Bournemouth will get knocked out. Will they make it past the group stage? Knockout round of 16. Quarter finals. Semi-final for the Cherries. I think that's where you call it.

48:37Oh, bastards. They're going to win it all. Champions, Cherries. I wish you joy in that European journey. I actually hope to catch a game. To see Bournemouth in Europe is to be alive. Back in London to another tiny terrier of a club, the brains of Brentford. It's Keith Andrews too, electric boogaloo. Last season's revelation as a young manager when he was appointed. How we laughed. Brentford, I think, were everybody's favourites for relegation. What? A rookie manager? A set-piece coach? Brentford were much more than set-piece FC last season. The season was a delightful shock, I think, for everyone.

49:16We'd file it under. They pressed high with courage. They finished ninth place. They finished ahead of Chelsea. just outside the European places, where I think was an agony by goal difference alone. Andrew's been backed this summer. They signed young Marley in midfielder Mamadou Sangare from Lunds for a club record fee. Brentford do not spend big off. I think they've broken$40 million mark just twice before, once for Igor Thiago. Proved to be a, I think, I don't like to be hyperbolic, but a tantric striker. The other was for Dango Utara. This is the first time they've spent it on a midfielder. And Sangare is intelligent and he's a physical monster.

49:58He's tipped to become a real star, a European force. I can't wait to watch him. But Roar, for the Bs, does this season, I hate to keep reducing this to managers, to Keith Andrews' difficult second album. Other teams, you've said it already, they catch up with you. They understand you. They decode you. They diffuse you. They're going to be wiser. They're not going to be overlooking Brentford this season. as perhaps they did in the first half, at least, of the last campaign?

50:22Roger Bennett:I think in a lot of cases we do tend to focus too much on managers. I think in Brentford's case, there's no reason for it to be a difficult second season. As you say, it's not just Sangare, who's the kind of standout signing. A couple of really smart ones, Callum Wilson, bit of experience as cover for Thiago, and Jadon Anthony, who was one of Burnley's better players last season. I think both really smart signings. I have a sort of semi-theory, Rog. You've got a semi. No, not about Brentford. But I've got a bit of a theory that is kind of at odds with the kind of Premier League is a shark thing, which I do deep down just really believe.

50:56Roger Bennett:What? The Premier League is a shark. It keeps moving forward. So you have to keep moving or you get eaten. Does that work? Maybe not. But my other theory is that in this season of chaos, there is something to be said for, if not quite stasis, then consistency. And if you look at Arsenal, which we talked about at the top, that's what they've got going for them is that Arsenal haven't had this huge revolution they haven't got a new manager a new sense of identity a load of new players it feels like Arsenal from last season plus a bit, right? and I think Brentford are the same so they've had no major losses as we're recording none of Brentford's better players from last season have gone you've added, I think they've signed four players two of whom are probably starters in Sangare and Anthony Wilson will be a substitute they look like themselves they look like they know what they're doing they are we know we know how smart they are we know they've got all the data we know they'll have all that stuff that's kind of reinforcing their decision making I think Brentford won't be a surprise you're totally right they won't be a surprise this season but we know what Brentford are going to be they're going to be tough mid-table adaptable and flexible in how they play really versatile really smart and they're a finish somewhere between 8th and 12th depending on how the kind of the table pans out god when you were speaking i got lost in shark stuff i started to wonder what kind of shark would everton be and i google vegetarian shark hammerheads no hammerheads are amongst the most vicious creatures mate oh is it bastion sharks i've got to tell you i've got to tell you you have got a bone up on your nature just in case you do run into a hammerhead never heard a bonnet head shark before um which gets 60 or more of its nutrition from seagrass and seagrass alone is it like a walt shark it's a it's it's like where's um it wears a lot of pleather um here's your quick question i love it just pleasure shark skin not really um god i'm gonna lose myself in like the short wormhole i've come quite fascinated slash terrified of sharks i watched when i was a small child a documentary about sea snakes and spent about 10 years at least before I'd go to the toilet you know the sit down part just checking in Liverpool to make sure that the sewer system didn't have like a sea snake you should be frightened of sea snakes they're terrifying not as terrifying as the shark wooker art I roar um here's the quick question on Brentford how many of the traditional big six clubs will Brentford finish in front of anywhere from zero to six.

53:32Those are the numbers, Roar. Those are numbers. You tell me.

53:35Roger Bennett:None. God, you hate joy. You hate happiness. Not because they'll have a bad season, just as I don't think they'll finish above any of them. But Brentford, there is no kind of question marks over Brentford for me this season. They will finish mid-table. They will beat four of the traditional mid-takes. Don't just give a little tip, bitch. The shark woke an art eye. Wrapping up this tree of admirable, strategic, data-driven models of... It exists. sensible football. Brighton and Hove Albion, who are a team as much in transition as Fabian Herzl's hair, age 33. Don't like to go to this well again, Roar, but managed reportedly on his second hair transplant.

54:14I think that's an incredible, it's Wayne Rooney paste.

54:18Roger Bennett:Yeah, I saw a picture of him the other day with the kind of telltale signs, but it didn't show me that Fabian Herzl had bad hair. I think, I've got to tell you, there's a lot of Reddit, I'm not in it, but there's a lot of Reddit who are trying to work out what we were looking at on his head. Oh, is there? Yep. I think the bonnet headshot may actually eat a lot of it for its, you know, at least maybe not for dinner, but for lunch, baby. I just think when I look at him, I look at Alexis McAllister. Sorry to go off on this, but this is at the end of the day. It's a ball podcast masquerading as a football shindig.

54:50It looks so bloody painful, man. I don't know how they do it.

54:54Roger Bennett:Yeah, it looks like it really hurts. Yeah. but I there's obviously in Britain the place we associate with hair transplants and teeth is Turkey and I spoke to someone about my teeth a little while ago not in Turkey in Britain you know they have to shave it I was on board for it like oh you can do these magic braces where they kind of switch it and they were like yeah but first of all we'll have to shave your teeth and at that point I was like no no I'm out here like you're not shaving my teeth where are they taking their hair from for the hair transplants how are they attaching it to your head I don't think you want we just don't need it I think most is it I've not had it done I'm not even looking at it.

55:29I just assume it's bum hair that was on Herzl's head, but meninblazers at gmail.com for all of these things. You must really not appreciate the idea of inner beauty to get it done, but it's not the only transition. That's called the pivot after a season in which Brian's managed to just back on the jacks, but only just haven't they got a European place. Behold for Brighton Hove Abiel. Let's just say an eminently winnable conference league. James Miller, retired at an age that can only be described as Tim Remish. His fellow Unk, Danny Welbeck, we've already talked about. He decamped for a last dance at Chelsea.

56:06Yeah, the Premier League's most well-travelled trade route, now traversed by a 35-year-old. Solly Marsh, Adam Webster, also gone. So the heart of that locker room rule, in terms of experience, in terms of leadership, ripped out. Just old man Pascal Gross, fast appreciating warrior. Louis Dunk remaining. Also missing Jean-Paul Van Heek, who defended like he sounds last season. Just one swear word away from being an iconic action movie star. I can't wait to watch. I'm quite excited about this. Brighton brought for 62 million Spurs teen dream, Luka Vuscovic. Brighton's analytics team, I've got to say, they rarely miss.

56:43The 19-year-old Croatian never played a single game for Spurs. He's a ball-playing defender. He looks absolutely elegant from the moments I've seen of him. alongside him the arrival of Pascal Stroke from Leeds. I think that's a sophisticated pick-up. Give him time and space to ease in. I can't wait to watch both of them. Yassin Ayari, fresh off a sizzling World Cup, still there. Colos Beliba, for now, still there. One wrinkle roar. Brighton fans sang their hearts out when Roberto Zerbi got them into the Europa League three seasons ago. But remember what it did to their Premier League progress.

57:17It completely sank them. And they slipped down to, was it, 11th place, burnt out to Zerbi. can it be another way this time around?

57:24Roger Bennett:The slight complication for Herzl I think is that two of his big attacking threats are going to miss the first couple of months of the season so Mitoma's injured and Mintez injured that's a blow. I really like the Voskovic signing, I like it and I'm baffled by it. The Spurs bought him as a kid loaned him out to Hamburg where he was by all accounts one of the best players in the Bundesliga and then they sold him, which makes no sense to me and I get that Spurs are kind of in a weird context where you don't want to take a wrist on a 19-year-old central defender in his first Premier League season.

57:53Roger Bennett:But at the same time, if you've got hold of one of the most promising defensive prospects in Europe, maybe you don't sell him to Brighton. So I'm fascinated to see how he does. I think they will suffer from what Bournemouth will suffer from, and when we come onto them, Palace as well, that European burnout thing will be a factor. I'm not worried that Brighton will get relegated or anything like that, but as things stand, I don't know whether they have enough depth in the squad to sustain early-stage Conference League games and Premier League games, which might set the tone for the the season. One other signing I really like is Costinha from Olympiacos.

58:23Roger Bennett:He'll be a good player to watch. This quick question trademark, not actually Brighton specific row, but let's round out the B's. We're in Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton in the Odella finish in the B table. Wales within Wales. Who finishes top, middle and bottom of these three clubs? Oh, it's really hard. You know, this is quite tricky. Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton. I'm with you. Nice. Back into lovable London. You mentioned them. Crystal Palace, the pride of South London. Up the Eagles, I mean it. 15th last season, but champions of Europe. You'll never sing that. Can the club build on its defiantly potent, successful silver-laden era, aka the Oliver Glaston era, without, you know, Oliver Glaston.

59:10They won a third trophy inside 12 months. I mean, just absolutely magical. So unbelievably happy for Palace fans. that conference league glory. What a night. What memories were made. But football, man, it is better than real life. That brilliant Wiley tactician, Oliver Glasner, forever a Palace icon, decided good idea to move to Palace's sudden doom rivals, Nottingham Forest and Forest Roar, travel to Selhurst Park, October the 10th.

59:41Roger Bennett:Might that just be the stealth most can't wait rumble of the season? I like it when you get a new and slightly random rivalry in football. And they don't happen very often, but Palace Forest already feels like a more authentic derby to me than Palace Brighton. You know, there's a word in Yiddish for like hatreds that are based on reasons people can't remember. It's a bruggest, like the reason for it is pretty tangential, but the venom of anger, hate, detestation is at an 11. I mean, it's beautiful. It's a little bit like Crystal Palace and Brighton. And you hear a hundred reasons why those two teams hate each other.

1:00:20Roger Bennett:Well, it was a red card in 1973, actually, Rog. That's what it was. But just the hatred itself becomes the reason. And it's better when one of the clubs sues the other because of a ban of the fans show about the owner. As Crystal Palace fans showed, suggesting that Evangelos Marinatis, the Forest owner, was not necessarily the most delightful man in the world. And Marinatis has taken that literally. There were a lot of details. And because of the legal situation, I don't know if I want to talk about it. Allegedly. But it was definitely a banner. No, it's allegedly a banner. It was allegedly a banner.

1:00:50Roger Bennett:Allegedly, there was a banner that was offensive, allegedly, to Evangelos, allegedly, Maranakis. Yes. And allegedly, Evangelos Maranakis is suing Crystal Palace over it. Oh, no, he's definitely suing them. He's definitely doing the suing part. He's suing them. And I think that's nice, just the Premier League... I'll see you in court in Greek. ...has conquered all kind of types of TV. It offers a bit of everything that you want from every type of TV show. And increasingly, it's decided, right, we're going to branch out. Now this is a legal drama. I really like that. It's actually suits. Yeah. Law and Order Premier League.

1:01:21Replacing Glasner is the... CSI Premier League. I know. By the way, watch that. I would watch that.

1:01:27Roger Bennett:100%. Well, you would, wouldn't you? Replacing Glasner. Fascinating but impactful. PS Sarge. How do I say that? You like that, Rog? Do I really? Yeah. Got it right. Got it in one. By the way, if you want to know young children watching how you do this, You just take the word and you kind of pronounce it in the way you think is least likely to make any sense. And then you hold your breath to see if Roar corrects you. Who is he? He's a 47-year-old Frenchman. He's had a pretty unconventional, pretty rapid rise to the Premier League. Spent much of the last two decades working in the amateur bowels.

1:01:57I think they're called the anals of French football, Roar. Tell us how he made the leap into the spotlight.

1:02:03Roger Bennett:Well, he took a caretaker position in charge of Lyon and did a surprisingly good job at a club that was mired in chaos. Being head of their youth academy. Yeah, he was the caretaker guy, and then he got brought in, did well. The club was bottom of Ligue 1. Led them to six. Led them to six, and then got the job on a permanent basis. And from there, took over at Lens. And took Lens, which is a smallish team in industrial northern France. I was there just the other day. Took them to second in Ligue 1. Deux in Ligue 1. Deux in Ligue 1. And that was enough to get him the palace job. Won the French cup.

1:02:38Roger Bennett:He won the French cup as well, that's right. Don't take away his coupe. I will not take away his coupe. Bruno Gormorius has got his... He's got his suit on his body. Yeah, he's got his respect. So he wins the French Cup. Great season at Lens, but just one season at Lens. And he kind of, as you say, it's a slightly unusually meteoric rise for PSR, I would say. Yeah, so that reputation, methodical trainer, wins the respect of his players as he makes them better, favours courageous, hungry attacking play, which is going to be fascinating to watch him attempt with this squad they, well let's just say only Wolves scored I think fewer times than Palace did last season what do you think about Sarge Roar because it is kind of I don't know how you say this in French high risk, high reward Yeah, the emphasis on the first one I think it feels like a real roll of the dice that we talked about this a million times Rog, managers are really context dependent and as much as his work at Lyon and Lens was really good Both begin with an L maybe that's important Leeds future I just don't know whether you can say that he's suited to this squad or whether he'll be able to transfer that to English football.

1:03:44Roger Bennett:Lens won the French equivalent of the Community Shield against PSG the other day. So it may well just be that Lens had quite well run and that he had some quite good players, including Sangari, who's at Brentford now. I'm quite worried about Palace. Who's more vital to Palace's success? I'd like to do a little button with something slightly optimistic. Is it Adam Wharton? Is it Jean-Philippe Mateta? Probably Wharton. I think Wharton is, if they can keep hold of Wharton over the next 10, 12 days, then that will give them something to build on. We've got used to Palace selling players, and Eze and Alise particularly, obviously.

1:04:21Roger Bennett:I think the expectation was that they'd lose Wharton this summer, and that would kind of just leave Ismail Assar. Max Lacois has gone. They've not done a huge amount in the transfer market. They signed a right-back from Union San Gilwaz, the Belgian team, who's apparently very good. I won't claim to have watched a lot of Belgian football, but they are excited by him. Don't come away with your weak opinions then. You put in the work rule or you don't. One of us does is all I'm saying. But I think there is a real risk. If you throw in Europe as well, I think there's reasons for Palace fans to be as concerned as they are.

1:04:55By the way, you talk about new bodies coming to Palace. Imminent, meant to be. Real Salt Lake winger Xavier Guzzo. Me, just 19 years of age. said to be joining Palace in the coming days to watch this kid from West Valley, Utah, just sharpen his game in the Premier League will be, by the way, with Chris Richards to mentor him, it's what America needs. It's one of the best valleys in Utah. Yeah, talking about America, I'd say it's top 10 valley. You tell us, meninblazersgmail.com. From Crystal Palace, very American to the most American historically. Full America. I'll miss those days. Fulham, the Tony West London team.

1:05:36Essentially, if Hugh Grant was an entire squad. Another team in true transition, a bit of a theme roar. 11th last season, quite a vanilla, innocuous ending to the Marco Silva reign. Five years of bubbling promise. The always on edge Portuguese decided to phone home to Benfica. In comes what? Lovers of alliteration delight. Alvaro Albaloa. Double A, a gent who, I guess the word is survived, a tumultuous five months at Real Madrid's management. We're all stepping in for poor befuddle Shabby Alonso and under his watch. Let me ask you, really, rather than me say it. In the low light, we all know it was a locker room fight between Chiuamani and Valverde in which the latter was left unconscious.

1:06:21Was there anything you saw in those five months that made you think, hmm, naive tactics, hmm, hot mess culture? And you were just like, yeah, that's just Real Madrid Madrid-ing. And in there, Obolo actually did stuff that made you think, Premier League manager in the making?

1:06:37Roger Bennett:Not really, but I don't know if it's fair to judge him by that because Real Madrid in that context was very much a kind of unique environment where something had broken within the squad. Whether they can fix it under Jose Mourinho is a different matter, not for the Fulham section of a Premier League preview podcast. Arbeloa had built up quite a good reputation as a youth coach, their second team Castilla, as a nurturer of players. he's clearly, he's not got to where he is by just being kind of friends with Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president. He has some coaching ability. He's used that to bring in two players from Real's academy, one of whom had played quite a lot for Real's first team, Gonzalo Garcia, the striker, and who was relatively well thought of in Spain, Cesar Palacios, the other one, is a little bit more low-key.

1:07:25Roger Bennett:But it's a risky appointment. It really is. All of this. I don't like to get conspiracy theory on your ass. But, you know, I do admire the work of one Alex Jones. And I'm trying to be the Alex Jones of football. Stay with me here, Rourke. Speaking to Fulham fans, I know a lot. A little worried. The owner, Shahid Khan. He's a client. Stay with me here. Of who? Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez. His engineering and construction firm. You know, ACS Construction Group. Stay with me here, people. It's US subsidiary, Turner Construction. just happens to be rebuilding the car-owned Jacksonville Jaguars, $1.4 billion.

1:08:04That's billion with a B, Raw. I think this is how Alex Jones would do it. Stadium renovation. I've never actually watched Alex Jones. He's just like a mad idea in my head. Fulham then, what do they do? They take Alvaro Arboleda from Real Madrid on Perez's word. And then they take, you've talked about, the two kids from Real Madrid, Gonzalo Garcia, Cesar Palacios. For what? for$58 million. Now, all three, the players in Arbolowa,

1:08:32Roger Bennett:who do they have as their agent? Same agent, Oscar Rebo. Who is he? Head of communications of Real Madrid under Perez. You seeing a pattern here? I am, yeah. Not great, Bob. It's that it's always sunny thing with the red string, isn't it? It is. Yeah, it's that vibe. But for reals, Rob. For reals, right? I mean, does it not feel like... We've always said, what is the point of a Fulham? That's where we've gotten to here. I'm starting to feel the point of a Fulham is that the fans are just there to cheer for Real Madrid's sloppy seconds. But I don't know whether, I mean, that conspiracy theory feels a little bit far-fetched, even for me, Rog.

1:09:06Roger Bennett:1.4 billion with a B! And you know I love a conspiracy theory. I think it's not a bad thing for Fulham to have that relationship with Real Madrid. Real Madrid's Academy, to put the positive spin on it, because we are recording this in a room with at least one Fulham fan, Real Madrid's academy is kind of what people think Barcelona's academy is. Real continually churn out players. I think generally they have the most graduates of any academy in the major European leads pretty much every season. Even more than Real Salt Lake. Even more than Real Salt Lake. And Gonzalo Zugo. Well, the thing is obviously that Real Madrid are named after Real Salt Lake.

1:09:42Roger Bennett:And Xavier Goso. Xavier Goso. Being named after Real Salt Lake, they feel they have to maintain that illusion. No, Real Madrid-Cestia, the youth academy, produces good players. Arbeloa had built up a decent reputation there. He was clearly massively out of his depth at Real Madrid. But we can't simultaneously... What a full of the shallow end. Very much so. We can't... They've got a pool in that new stand. We can't say Alonso shouldn't be judged by his tenure at Real Madrid because it's a madhouse, and then say, but Arbeloa failed at Real Madrid. You have to have the intellectual consistency, Rog.

1:10:17Roger Bennett:So I think Arbeloa is a risk. I don't think Fulham are going to have a good season, but I think it's not a bad thing to be the place that Real Madrid think they can send their youth players. Plus, in Josh King, Fulham have got a genuinely exciting homegrown prospect. So here's where I worry if I'm a Fulham fan, if I want me to get serious, like to do the Alex Jones serious voice. I'm assuming he has this, I don't know. Sell me some gummies. Helmut, oh my God, it's too late for that, man. We're like 35 minutes into this journey, baby. Helmut God, Raul Jimenez, gone to Wolves. Welsh banger, highlight reel, human being, Harry Wilson.

1:10:5619 of their 43 Premier League goals were scored last season by that duo. Both ducked out on free transfers. I think Fulham could really, really, really struggle this season. Or dot, dot, dot, surprise candidates to do a, I think the verb is a West Ham.

1:11:13Roger Bennett:Yeah, I think you'd have to have them down there. In fact, in our predicted tables that you're forcing me to do. They are towards the bottom of it. I think Marco Silva was a really good manager for Fulham. And there may be a point this season where we start to reassess just how well he did at Fulham. Now that he's not there anymore. He's gone for a hunky upgrade. It doesn't always work. What was wrong with Marco Silva? He was humourless. He didn't have Riz. Let's replace him with a guy who's got the hunky Riz. I don't know how much Riz Alvaro Abaloa has. You don't... No. He might have a bit of Riz.

1:11:49El Riz.

1:11:50Roger Bennett:El Rizzo. I'm going to ask you the quick one. Yes or no? Will Rizzo or Boloa survive the season as Fulham manager? No. Yeah, I agree with that, baby. That's enough talk about relegation. Let's revel in our new friends, the newly promoted role. This is where we get geographically difficult. There's two of these that are not in the South, but go on. Yes, but you know what I mean. We stretch to make do because that's how we operate. And both of these towns have Second World War significance. Let's start with Coventry, which, by the way, before you do your hate mail about why are they in the south, because this is the south section of our preview.

1:12:31It's the most southern of the Midlands three. Villa, Forest and Coventry have got out my ruler. I measured the geographic latitude because I'm pretty finickety raw.

1:12:40Roger Bennett:Well, I can give you even more evidence than that, Rog. Can you? In the olden days, there was not Premier League, Championship, League 1, League 2. There was 1, 2, 3, and then 3rd, South and North. And Coventry were one of the teams that flipped in between. Did they really? Well, they had to switch it around depending on who came down and who got promoted. And my grandad played for them in both. Did he really? He did. What was his name? Give him a shout out. Bernard Smith. He is long dead. Yeah, but it wouldn't stop Chelsea coming in for 25 million. to have experience in a locker in Bernard Smith.

1:13:14A lot of experience

1:13:16Roger Bennett:in Bernard Smith, in Bernard Smith, yeah, absolutely. I bet you, how many more minutes do you think Jordan Henderson will play in the Premier League than the dead Bernard Smith? My granddad who died in 1984. Yeah. 27. Minutes. Yeah, more minutes. Which one, Bernard or Jordan? Jordan. Bold if true. No, not as bad as that, but yeah, they will make a similar contribution to their Premier League campaign. By the way, Chelsea scouts Googling Bernard Smith as they speak. With a left back. They may need a 117-year-old left back. By the way, it's just the only piece we need to go over. We don't have a dead man.

1:13:52By the way, that would be amazing.

1:13:54Roger Bennett:You stick a dead man in the corner of the locker room. One of the sporting directors saying, I think what we're lacking here is a corpse.

1:14:05What's football's version of necrophilia? Meninblazers at gmail.com. Pulling this back, I've lost it, mate. Coventry. We are, we're talking about, I want to talk about the town first of all, Coventry. Ro, how would you describe a Coventry? I know to me, I think of like a city post-industrially, it's essentially become Britain's Detroit. It was the centre of the motor industry, which is now almost, I would say, largely defunct. Do they make a car in Coventry?

1:14:35Roger Bennett:Do they make cars in Coventry? Britain does still make cars. It's a bit like if you took Detroit, but it had been raised to the ground by the Germans in World War II. Yeah, they did a job. The Germans, that's what you think of. You think of a town that's utterly wiped out during the Battle of Britain. In modern times, you have Detroit, you've got your soul music. Coventry's got a beautiful, beautiful sound. English ska, the two-tone label that gave such epic bands as the specials to the world, singing beautiful songs about the bleakness of life, the unemployment, the heroine, the social unrest.

1:15:08Where? In Coventry. Am I selling it to you, America? How do you think about Coventry?

1:15:12Roger Bennett:Do you have the phrase sent to Coventry, America? Explain it. Do we have the phrase sent to Coventry? You will now have it, courtesy of the Men in Blazes podcast, which is really, at the end of the day, about teeth, dental surgery, hunkiness of managers, necrophilia, and now English phrases. Come on. We're getting there. Explain it. You've started, so you'll finish. Come on. If you're sent to Coventry, it means that you are ignored for misbehaviour. Correct. So Coventry has always had this like negative... So if you're in a group and you exile one of the guys, if you kick them out of the WhatsApp group, they've been sent to Coventry.

1:15:47It's actually an ancient... I'd looked this up when I was doing this research. It's not like a new thing. It's not because Coventry is so dull and awful in the modern period, which it may or may not be. It's not. It's quite nice. It is. I like it. It's got a beautiful cathedral. It does. But it comes from like the 16th century-ish where I think there was like prisons and stuff and it was like literally, you were literally in prison from the WhatsApp group.

1:16:09Roger Bennett:I did not know that. They obviously didn't have WhatsApp back then. It was all I messaged. Lady Godiva, Coventry. Yeah, do you know Lady Godiva in America? Famous aristocratic nudist. Yeah, a bit like in Game of Thrones where they make you walk through the street, shame, shame, shame, nudie. Lady Godiva. That was Coventry. Coventry plays quite an outsize. We're really working quite hard to sell Coventry to America here. So the thing about Coventry is that... Oh, Coventry. Nudie women, German blitzes being kicked out of WhatsApp group. You win. If you're one of those things, this is your team, America.

1:16:40Roger Bennett:The Coventry, to people of my generation, and I suspect yours, Rog, are kind of like a canon Premier League team. They were a Premier League time in the 90s. Great strip. And so we kind of bang on about Coventry. Yeah. Coventry, to people of our generation, Rog, are a canon Premier League team. Yeah. And so for me, it's quite nice to have them back. Nine years ago, they were in the fourth tier. Yeah. and it's getting on for 30 years since they were in the Premier League last. It is a big, proper one-club city. It is a place of intense local pride and their way to come back is not far off that of Nottingham Forest.

1:17:14Roger Bennett:So if you think about the energy around Forest when they came back a couple of years ago, Coventry is kind of similar. I'm so happy they're back. This is a fan base that has suffered nine years ago. This team that, you're right, institutionally we do. I grew up with them being like, you know, not exactly a big team, but kind of like they're a mid-table team, Coventry, a little bit of flair, fancy outfit. I mean, they were pretty avant-garde Jersey pioneers and I love them. I had the indignity along the way of being homeless for three years. I had to share Birmingham City, St. Andrews, which I think, I mean, truly, to have to share the stadium with a local rival.

1:17:47And now they're back. Smart recruitment underpin it. And I'm so happy. The leadership of Super Frank Lampard, I think you could say he's re-pieced together, is his coaching reputation by coaching a side that's played courageous, swarming collective football last season, overwhelmed all comers in the championship, scored from all over the field. Healthy set piece playbook, which I think is going to come in handy this season too. The fans are elated. They've actually been able to sign permanently. They're hero in that race. The goalkeeper, Cole Rushworth, made him a permanent feature for a club record signing from Brighton for$31 million.

1:18:24The negative, not a lot of Premier League experience in the squad role. They're going to have to adapt the dominant style which got them there. They had a very direct attacking approach. Striker Ellis Sims, my American love had you right. I'd just say that style that I think will be a disaster if it's employed against Premier League opponents. Oh, and worse role, they play Arsenal and Manchester City in two of their first three games.

1:18:46Roger Bennett:Which seems to happen to one of the newly promoted sides relatively regularly, that they get two really difficult games really early on. I think my instinct is that Coventry will struggle. because I was actually at the game where they got promoted, Rog, last season. They were away at Blackburn. They drew one all, stored an equaliser from a free kit or a corner in like the 85th minute. And the fans stayed behind in Ewood Park, Blackburn's Ground, for an hour and a half, just singing every single song they could think of. There's a local band called The Enemy who were kind of a big British band in the late 2000s, early 2010s.

1:19:19Roger Bennett:One really good album, one so-so album. But they've got a song that sums up Coventry or the modern idea of Coventry and the chorus line is we'll live and die in these towns. It's that sort of place and it's been adopted as an anthem by the fans and it was really moving and really meaningful to be there when they got promoted to see this end way. It really tickled that kind of part of me that loves seeing football at its most meaningful. Don't love the Enemy's first album. I do love the Enemy's first album. Not at all. But I really love seeing football meaning that much to people. It's when it's at its most beautiful.

1:19:52Roger Bennett:I think this is now when reality sets that they've made two or three really smart signings Jarenki, the Dane midfielder who you might remember from the World Cup who I think is a really smart bit of business Taiwi Awani from Forest who I always thought sort of deserved to play more games for Nottingham Forest than he really did He was there and then he didn't kept out the side by an 87 year old Kiwi Exactly, we are all powerless in the face of Chris Wood but they've made two or three really judicious kind of signings. The worry is they've got a lot of players in that squad who are kind of championship lifers and I don't know if they have enough quality to survive in the Premier League.

1:20:33Roger Bennett:But Lampard will be important because he has the experience. He's been there. He's done it. The players will listen to him. He will have total buy-in. I think he's their best chance of survival as much as that kind of recreates the Frank Lampard's Coventry City myth. The chairman, Doug King, said they're going to do it the quote, Cove way, which I just love. I think he means we're going to do it the Brentford way with sensible strategic recruitment, as opposed to the Sunderland way of just splashing a huge amount of cash. But this season will show us, Roar, exactly what the Cove way of life is.

1:21:04It may turn out I've been living the Cove way my whole life and I didn't know it. Here's your quick question. Is Coventry City one of the biggest 20 clubs in England, all things considered? In other words, if we're doing an all-time Premier League based on size, the Cove way in it?

1:21:20Roger Bennett:for me yeah it does of how old I am but for I'm really conscious that for younger listeners people below the age of Marco Rosa people younger than me and Marco Rosa and possibly less handsome I don't know you tell me if you are minuteblazersgmail.com I don't know how much attractiveness plays a part probably not they've been on for a long long time what did someone write about Roar during the World Cup I don't know if I want this quoted and then there was an 87 year old woman I loved it she was 76 Rog was it still fed it's my mum you're always a hunk for somebody out there listening to us um finally ipswich town a new old friend back at the first attempt had sheeran's boys a yo-yo club that rarefied football air that exists somewhere between first class and economy but upgrade you kind of hope is a real possibility remind us what ipswich is i love it it's a completely singular kind of magical Kingdom Lodge, flat agricultural area, number of American air bases, legacies of relics really of the Second World War.

1:22:23Around them historic connection between club and the American servicemen and women who've served there that they carry with them back to the States, which I love. How would you describe it? It really is a frame of mind.

1:22:35Roger Bennett:These two podcasts are kind of delineated by North and South in Ipswiches neither because it's East. It's really far east it's as far east as you can get if you're not in holland it's it is a part of the country that is proudly and defiantly different to everywhere else east and lear um norwich are their big local rivals that's that's norfolk which is suffolk um it's a yeah it's his own it's his own little place and i'm not little it's very much his own place ipswich i would say they came back up after a 22-year exile in 2024 massive underdogs after back-to-back promotions to get there. I think absolutely chasen by their Premier League.

1:23:14One had done in which they won just 22 points, playing naive, not ready for primetime football. Let's see if they emerge. I think this is a plan, more pragmatic, a little more wizened, a defensively more robust team, strengthened by the signing of that giant Moroccan wardrobe, Issa Diop, up front. They lack true firepower. They've been strengthened by the arrival of Dyson Maeda from Celtic and club transfer record. 22-year-old Brazilian striker Emerson. That's Emerson with two Ns from Toulouse in France. $32.5 million, a record they broke again last night when they signed 22-year-old Paraguayan bottle-blonde attacker.

1:23:54It's true blonde, it's natural. Julio Enciso from Strasbourg in France, sealing a return to Portman Road, where they fell in love with a lone player during the Tractor Boys' last Premier League campaign. Here's a wrench in this story, though, Roar. Their bright young manager, Kieran McKenna, just 40 years old, shrewd technician, so savvy in his peak. Manchester United were looking at him with salacious eyes. Chelsea were also linked to him. He just resigned as soon as he got them promoted to, quote, take a break. He's been replaced by whom? By old friend Gary O 'Neill, the man whose purpose is to achieve Premier League survival when a heavy, heavy favourite to be relocated.

1:24:34which kind of, you know, it's like a tool. Does what it says on the box, baby. I'd say it's an uninspiring appointment for many Ipswich fans who are acting like the time your mum tried to swap out Raisin Bran for the Kroger own brand knockoff and hope you wouldn't notice. But Raw is a stern, realistic, pragmatic, tell it like it is, Gary O 'Neill approach. Is that exactly what Ipswich need? He kept Bournemouth up, kept Wolves up against the odds in previous tenures? And I've got what?

1:25:03Roger Bennett:Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with you, Rog. I think it feels uninspired. It felt like McKenna's decision caught them by surprise and they weren't quite sure. They maybe didn't have that thing that most really well-run clubs, Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth, they would always have a list of people who were going to replace the manager. Brighton came on this very show and said, when do you start looking for your next manager? The day you hire your last one, which kind of blows my mind. It doesn't feel, I mean, I presume that's how you approach co-hosts. It doesn't feel as though the... That's how my wife approaches husband.

1:25:34Roger Bennett:It doesn't feel that Ipswich maybe had that list, because O 'Neill, as much as he did keep Bournemouth up, and he did keep Wolves up, he also took Wolves down, and his reputation has maybe not been strengthened. His reputation has not been strengthened over the last couple of years. It felt a bit like, OK, he'll do. It's very much a knows-the-lead appointment. It's one step up from giving it to Scott Parker. That's the worry. The positive, Ipswich are currently, again, as they stand, the fifth biggest spenders in drumroll Europe. They're clearly taking the Sunderland approach. They've worked out that the way you get to the Premier League and stay in the Premier League is you spend a lot of money.

1:26:13Roger Bennett:And to be honest, a lot of their signings make a lot of sense. So Dyson Maeda is a really good player who will not store that many goals, but he will kind of buzz and harry in attack. That looks so cool. And he will look extremely cool doing it. I think Florentino Luis from Burnley is a really smart bit of business. He looked really good for Burnley last year in a difficult team. There's NCZO, but there's also Fatawu from Leicester, who will be an impact sub, but is really exciting. Ipswich look to me like they've worked out that you need to store some goals. They've put money into storing goals.

1:26:42Roger Bennett:That is how you will stay up. And that gives them a chance, even if O 'Neill isn't the most exciting appointment. So here's the big picture question. Last season, two of the three promoted teams stayed up. Mind-blowing. Will more or fewer than newly promoted teams replicate that feat this season? Fewer. But it will still be one that stays up. That's called a cliffhanger. I'm going to give you a real honest to God World Cup letter. At Rory Smith, I've laughed with you in your lovely wit, purred at the silvery sentences you weave. I love that you weave them, Rory. Shared the joy you exude. Wish I could share some of that.

1:27:19Love the love you show for your wife and family. Oh my God, I know what's coming now. I admit too to pressing pause and gazing at beautiful Rory for a minute or two or three, you may not realise yet that even at 76, a woman can fully appreciate that kind of gorgeous.

1:27:38Roger Bennett:Well, if we establish that 49 is the new 27, Rog, then 76 is probably the new 33. That's fine. That works for me. I love love. I love love. Rory, I appreciate that kind of gorgeous. Okay, that's enough for the South 10 clubs. And as promised, let's reveal the rest of the top four. What have you got in second room? So coming into this, Rog, I had Aston Villa. What? But now I might swap it out for Chelsea. This is a heavy London season. I am a shabby Alonso Belieber. Chelsea for me too, baby. But, Roar, tell us now, who will, spoiler alert, it's going to win the whole thing? It's really easy. Arsenal.

1:28:19I'm going with Everton Football Club in my dreams. Yeah, in a season of chaos, it's got to be the stable team, right? It is. Arsenal, dynasty, loading. We've got a pod special coming out where we go from 1 to 20. That is coming out right before the season starts. Find out here what we think of where your team will end up and let us know what you think. Meninblazers at gmail.com. That's it. We'll be back with part two of this Premier League preview series where we head up north to ask if Andoni Erola's signature bass call can work in that frothing bear pit of Anfield. Oh, the shark. Wooker Rortai.

1:28:58The hunky reds, allegedly.