Will Villa Rest Players Against Spurs? | ENIC's Mess, Missing Harry Kane & Relegation Reality (Q&A)

13:02Lara:can't be right back up in the conversation again exactly exactly caveat to that being we have to

13:07Jack:get the things right it's a massive one but the potential is there it's not like we are you know

13:14Lara:well obviously you know they they've been punching above their weight for x number of seasons and now that you know this world is writing itself or whatever it's not that it's not there is no other reason other than chronic mismanagement for us to be where we are so if you can sort out the chronic mismanagement you would hope the rest should follow but yeah i think that's the one thing that's sort of keeping me completely, keeping me off, you know, off the edge completely. But yeah, to me, it comes down to entirely what happens up there, really, when this season ends, whichever way it lands.

13:52Jack:I mean, bad recruitment is one thing, but that is one part of a larger overall picture, which is really, and I think, you know, a lot of people have remarked on this, what seems to be a pretty rotten culture at Tottenham. You know, it feels like we need an entire cultural recess. We need to, you know, have a look at what our priorities are, again, at the football club. It should be to win football matches, to be a successful footballing side, and somewhere along the line that's gotten lost. So, I mean, look, you know, we sort of like, you know, it's like punching in a nightmare a lot of the time talking about Enoch because there's nothing that we can do.

14:31Jack:We can have massive protests, we can do it, But ultimately, until somebody wants to give them several billion pounds, they're not going to go anywhere. And even then they might not. So do you think it's possible? And if so, how can somebody like Enoch, even with all the baggage that they have, reset the culture at Spurs?

14:49Lara:It's got to be about recruitment below them, I think. It's that, I mean, it's blatantly obvious that they haven't got a clue football wise. And it feels like they keep putting their trust in the wrong people. and I think I don't know there's a bit for me around I think the thing that's that has bothered me most I mean I think I think the deserved appointment is a good thing like I was very on the fence about it just because I thought oh he's just going to come in and fall out with Enoch I mean that very much could still happen um but you know if what they have said is true I don't actually know if they've said it I don't know if that's just stuff I've seen on Twitter the noises that are coming out are true around them saying oh they'll you know they'll give him more control and things like that, well, maybe that's a good thing because, you know, one thing that is clear about Roberto de Zervi is that man eats, sleeps, breathes football.

15:38Lara:He gets it. So, you know, at least you'd be putting that power in the hands of somebody who's got a plan and knows what he's dealing with. But I think it's, yeah, it's that piece. The thing that's bothered me is just the way they seem to have, well, first, the obsession with Citigroup. It's like we can only recruit people from City Group or consult with people who've got something to do with City Group.

16:04Jack:Kazakhstan, Scott Munn. Is that who you're referring to?

16:07Lara:I don't know. I don't even know. There's been so many of them at this point. It's just it seems like anyone that gets linked at that level, there's always a connection somewhere, isn't there, to City Group.

16:15Jack:It feels like you sort of say to yourself, it can't be as binary as they see Man City as good. So if they get City people, it'll make us good. But you're sort of like, maybe it is.

16:27Lara:I actually think it could be because I don't think they know let's take Vinod and Langer out of it if you look at that level above it the Lewis kids and hangers-on and whoever is involved they just don't know what they're doing they really really don't know what they're doing it feels like for them it is almost as simple as well who's the best, who's been the best team who've they had, can we just nick some ideas off of them and it's like guys we've got a massive history here and yeah coming back around again went off on a tangent but the um yeah thing that's bothered me the most is the fact that you have got you've had so many people coming out and almost literally offering themselves to the board at tottenham say you know talk to me i'm here to help you know you've got glenn hoddle harry redknapp

17:12Jack:you know all these people throwing their hats in the ring maricia pochettino you know exactly i mean

17:16Lara:like not saying necessarily give them the manager's job but at least get some advice from them you You know, even people like David Pleat, you know, that we've got all these people around who've got masses of football knowledge between them. And it's not even necessarily just the football knowledge. It's actually the understanding of the club and the identity of the club. And it's not about necessarily employing them, but at least, you know, ask their advice. Just say, like, what are we doing wrong? Like, what are we missing here? What do you think the, you know, it doesn't feel like they're, it feels like they keep going to bloody management consultants instead of football people.

17:51Lara:is what it feels like it's like they're trying to that's I think that's where to me the disconnect is is they are very much trying to run it as a business and they are just completely missing the point of the core purpose of the organization if you want to call it that um and you know you can see it in all the you know the nonsense that's been on LinkedIn a couple of times with various people going and patting themselves on the back about something great they've done that's got nothing to do with football um and again that's a complete lack of awareness of the situation that we're in of what actually really matters here it's like you say they've become disconnected from the core purpose of of what what they're there for and yeah it just feels like i mean by all means talk to the management consultants about will you commercial crap do that fine you know clearly that's gone okay but stop asking them about the football like just yeah get some you You know, if you don't know what you're doing, and I'm sure not every football club owner in the world is like some sort of football expert, but then you've got to then get the right people in, haven't you, and trust the right people.

18:56Lara:And it just feels like they keep trusting the wrong people. And yeah, the persistence of Johan Langer at the club in whatever format, and even with the rumours of, you know, another director of football coming in, they're like, oh, to share the job with Johan Langer? Why? It's like, who's going to be interested in that? You get to come in and share with this guy who's absolutely useless.

19:20Jack:I think it's one of those things, isn't it, that people will immediately say, well, fans don't really understand the complexity of all of this. Fans don't really, they can't fathom all the various different things that go on behind the scenes. And I don't deny that. I'm fairly certain that is the case. But much like it is with politics, for example, I think you can compare football and politics quite a lot. You know, they're two, you know, public facing institutions where so much is going on, so much is playing out in the public eye, yet it's shrouded by this kind of veil of sort of semi secrecy in a way.

19:56Jack:You know, it's a very, it's a very strange world. And I think there are a lot of parallels there. And like with politics, you know, ultimately people will talk about the optics of a situation. And we can, you know, people can sit here and say, well, Vinay or Lange, right? Like the two of them, they are two of the most prominent football people at the football club right now. They have presided over Tottenham having a season where if they don't get relegated this season, they have gotten almost relegated. And if they do get relegated this season, then, well, who knows what happens from that point.

20:28Jack:There is simply no way on earth. There is no way on earth that the club can go forwards without at least one of their heads rolling. because whether it's entirely on them or not they're just there has to be there has to be a sign there has to be a sign to the fan base to the wider footballing community to the media that spurs see this as unacceptable that there has been a dereliction of duty and they are seeking to to amend that because you know even even if it's if they want to hold on to langer right let it be known publicly and humiliatingly for him and i'm not really buying into this sounds a bit mean spirit i really want to buy into some humiliation ritual for this guy but at least let it be known that he has been demoted he is he's back to being the guy that finds youth talent johan did a great job before exactly he found great he found this he found that he stepped up he tried to be the general director of football and he failed so he's back to going to kids matches and finding the next generation of talent, but we're going to hand the reins more to Doogie Friedman, whoever.

21:37Jack:I guess my point is that, you know, this cannot be seen as acceptable. We're talking about, I suppose, getting relegated. I know, it's mental, isn't it? But it is, isn't it? Like Phil, a friend of the show, Phil, we were chatting about this the other day. He was like, the mental thing is we keep thinking about relegation, we keep talking about it, But there's still that bit in all of us, I think. And I think I will say this, even for all the people at Posture and say, I knew we were going down since Christmas. Because I've been saying that as well. But I think we've all got that little inbuilt bit where we're like, we should be okay though.

22:12Jack:We're Tottenham. You know? Like somehow we'll get there.

22:16Lara:It can't really happen, can it? I mean, yeah, like obviously it's really, really bad. But it won't really happen, will it? It's not, you know, sort of waiting for the end of the movie

22:26Jack:where something comes out of nowhere and like yeah and Phil's point was that when we if when if we actually go down reckon it's going to feel way worse than anyone's ever imagined like it's going to be it's going to be horrific and I just think for that to happen and for us to be able to sit here and contemplate next season or contemplate a decade of Spurs being an irrelevant football team nobody nobody in their right mind can sit there and say right Langer and Venkatesham get to stay like they just like that you just that you can't i'm sorry that can't happen yeah it's

23:02Lara:not even just like i say it's not even just a bit of a bit of underperforming is it it's like uh well lads you literally like sort of took the took the lamborghini and drove it off a cliff exactly on the test drive you know but yeah yeah it's just yeah i mean like i said i don't know enough about the ins and outs of who's responsible for us i've never been able to work this out at Spurs, he's never clear.

23:24Jack:He really owns what and does what.

23:26Lara:Yeah, I mean, to my view, Langer feels like the easier one to, in some ways, more sensible one because his role is more on the football side. I mean, as much as, you know, I'm not Vinay's number one fan, you know, at the end of the day, he's not, his role is not just about the football, is it? It's all the other side of things. Whereas, you know, Langer is the one who really, the buck is stopping with at the moment. in terms of recruitment. And he's the face of the glorious January transfer window and all of that, isn't he? So, and really that's the thing that's probably screwed us the most. You know, that was our only, that was our only opportunity to do something about this.

24:10Lara:And we just went, no.

24:11Jack:It just is.

24:12Lara:Call me down and go, he'll do.

24:14Jack:Yeah, but I mean, it just, it's just unfathomable, isn't it? That's the thing. It's so frustrating and just embarrassing to this day to think that that's what they did in January. Everybody could see. Everybody could see the direction of travel.

24:32Lara:Yeah.

24:33Jack:We knew where we were headed. And to say we weren't going to panic is just awful. It's not even a surprise, is it, really?

24:40Lara:Because we've seen those transfer windows so many times before. I know we just were in less peril during those, but it's not really a great departure from what we've done in previous Januaries, is it? I guess it's the flip side, I suppose, of the getting Ryan Nelson and Louis Saha in when you find yourself in a title race, isn't it? It's the, you know, opportunity lost there and opportunity, well, not opportunity this time, basically, you know, disaster not averted this time.

25:11Jack:But Hoddle, I don't know if you saw Hoddle was chatting about that lately. he was saying you know Spurs what's caught up with them is that they never I think he said they don't shop in Harrods I think is I think it's yeah yeah he was saying in when he was our manager the scouts and everyone had found a young Samueletto and I remember back then we were linked with him from Mallorca for for for years um and they didn't want to they didn't want to pay him what was you know what was due and also you know Fernando Morientes who was another oft linked bucket to spurs that they just wouldn't stump up the money for you know it's it's that it's just that mentality it's that mentality as you say we've seen those transfer windows over and over again it's that mentality over and over and over and over again that has just whittled spurs down to this point that i'm they have been able to coast around they've been able to go we've you know they've been lucky in the fact that we're a london club we have a pool because of that we're a club that's well supported you know we've had tons of success before enic rocked up so we've got a huge fan base there's a whole generation there's generations of people that have watched spurs win stuff and that's been passed down and so we are we're a very well supported football club but you know that doesn't really amount to anything in i would say let's say post-covid when every single premier league club is owned by a billionaire and every single one of them wants to win.

26:36Jack:And we're not even talking Premier League clubs anymore. We're talking Birmingham City. We're talking Wrexham, you know?

26:42Lara:Exactly.

26:43Jack:Ambitious, ambitious driven owners that want to make their mark on the game. Whereas we've got people in charge of the club that have coasted. Yeah. I mean, honest, I don't know if you saw, Laurie, like the Athletic put out a piece about Tottenham's finances. I'll be brutally honest, I don't understand it. When it really starts getting into the technical data, I don't particularly understand it. There's a lot of people are arguing that the figures that have been presented is a way of getting around tax or something. Ultimately, I think regardless of what article you read or where you source your information from, one fact remains the same, which is Spurs have a lot of debt and next year a lot less money to help pay that debt.

27:30Jack:So I guess, do you see relegation as something that is potentially extinction level for Tottenham? It's not going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen in the first season. But if we don't get it right, if we're spending two, three years in the championship, we're going to be in big trouble, aren't we?

27:46Lara:No, I don't. I think this is where, I do think this is where the, I hate giving Daniel Levy credit, you know this, but. Is this your, you know.

27:57Jack:Yeah. I don't want to hand it to him, but I'm going to.

28:00Lara:You know, the strategy around the sustainability strategy that he's, you know, banged on about for years and years, all the stuff they have done around diversifying the income, I think that would be what should save us in that regard. Not saying, you know, that means we're going to come rocketing straight back, but in terms of, you know, not finding ourselves in, you know, absolute financial ruin. um you know I think that the loans are quite long term aren't they I think they've got quite favorable terms on them and obviously we are bringing in a hell of a lot of non-football income that other clubs in the championship are not so um I can't remember all the detail I listened to the um I think it was the episode of the lab that Flav did with I can't remember who who it was whether it was Levy Nomics or someone else um basically talking around what would what would our finances look like in the championship and the takeaway of that was basically yes it's a hit but it's not you know we'd be we'd be okay kind of thing um we just shouldn't have to be thinking

29:06Jack:about any of this I'm so annoyed right yeah it's yeah it's but you know I suppose that is I guess

29:15Lara:that's what Levy was getting at all those years when he was saying about the sustainability and all of that and yes you know great I suppose that that is what stops you essentially dropping off a cliff and going into financial ruin um that stuff was never really the do you know what that stuff's not never really the issue though it's the fact that it's the coasting like you say that's the thing that's that's most frustrating for me is like got no issue with doing the other stuff I can't argue that was sensible I guess staring down the barrel of relegation we now you know you can see that it was sensible to put some of that you know diverse diversification around it but at the end of the day your purpose is football I don't care if you do all of that as long as football's the priority and it's all going back into the football but it's essentially it's like they did all of that and just went off football just take care of itself really doesn't work like that and to your point around you know ambitious clubs coming up from the championship you know that that number is getting bigger every year of clubs that are owned by very rich people who actually only care about winning football trophies, don't really care about whether Beyonce's coming to their stadium or whoever else it might be.

30:25Lara:And I just feel like they've just been complacent with that. It's like the start of the strategy, good in terms of giving us sustainability. But again, I still think they've been too risk-averse in the past when they could have taken smaller calculated risks that would have pushed us over the edge. But I just think it's, yeah, it's a it's just a dereliction of of duty in terms of just being aware of what's happening around you I think it's like it's just like they've completely failed to notice there's all these other clubs now that are doing this and thinking no you know we'll plow on with the same thing we've been doing for 25 years and it will it will all be fine and then they've all sort of come in that well the Lewis kids have now come in and sort of trying to rip it all up but because it was a bit of a mess anyway they're just making more of a mess and yeah it's a just my shit show honestly what a shit show all around but the like i say the foundations for this were laid laid years ago and it's that yeah frustration for me of that we've they've got they've got like the the shell of it right in having that the income structures but everything else wrong well i Can't hear you now.

31:32Jack:Let's do some questions. Big John Bass says, why has nobody until now, aka me, questioned our training ground as the case for our injuries? Apparently it was designed to be a similar, it was designed to be similar to our matchday pitch. And that would explain why we have so many injuries, including youth players, etc. Thoughts? Where do you stand on this, Lara? Because, you know, again, As I keep saying, I'm not going to be one to rush out and poo-poo the theories. It's just mad conspiracy because there's a lot of injuries, right, happening at Spurs. And I know some of them are happening away from home, but still the accumulative fatigue, the accumulative stress, all that type of thing on players' joints.

32:18Jack:I mean, the main thing seems to be people say the pitch is shallow. It's contained within like a metal tray and it's quite shallow and not as spongy as other pitches may or may not be. I didn't know that about the training ground thanks John I guess maybe that is some context right?

32:35Lara:Yeah I don't know I mean it's got to be something that's the thing it's like this is beyond the point now where it's just like oh this is just unlucky isn't it you know this has been this has been sustained for a long time it feels and there has to be there has to be a reason for it whether it's the pitch in the stadium whether it's the pitch at the training ground whether it's something else there's something causing this and they need to get to the bottom of what it is like i don't know who looks into this kind of stuff but they need to be throwing in my view throwing some money at someone who is an expert in that kind of thing to to get to the bottom of what it is because we've got to sort it out but i haven't got a clue if it's the if it is the pitch it could be that i don't know

33:18Jack:but there is but there's got to be a reason for it um owen owen lloyder says if we go down or indeed if we stay up what would constitute smart business in your opinion for next season? Do we look to move on many of our big players who still hold value Vandervem Romero and Xavi and refresh the squad or do we try to build on the foundation that we have?

33:41Lara:That's a tricky one I mean I guess the problem is our squad is a bit of a mess anyway isn't it regardless of whether you're staying down going up it's not a cohesive squad it needs it needs refreshing anyway it needs balancing I think it's, to John's point on your pod earlier this week, it's about finding that right balance, isn't it? Of sort of refreshing, but not refreshing too much. Like you say, if you then start tailoring your team too much for the championship, so you become a championship team. So it's that finding the right balance, I suppose, isn't it? Of keeping some of that core. I mean, I can't see Romero staying if we go down.

34:23Lara:I just can't. I just, I don't know how long he's got left on his contract, but I would have thought.

34:30Jack:I think it's a couple of seasons.

34:32Lara:Yeah. So, I mean, yeah, I guess that would be the time then to sell him, wouldn't it? While we'd still get a decent amount of value out of him. But then again, you've got to spend that money wisely. That's the thing, isn't it?

34:44Jack:I think even if we stay up, he's gone, to be honest with you.

34:48Lara:Yeah. Well, he's, yeah. He wants to win stuff, doesn't he? so it's what happens to anyone who wants to win stuff at Tottenham. But I think, yeah, it's a tricky one. I mean, 100 % I would keep Archie Gray. Definitely, you know, the younger players, definitely you would want to keep those around you. Berg, Archie Gray, Solanke.

35:07Jack:I mean, I do feel like there is a bit of a, I don't know if it's something that set in under Ange's time, not blaming Ange per se, but just the idea that like look we can throw matches let's put all our eggs in the basket of Europa League if that sort of mentality got normalized and if they've just not been able to snap out of it again look this is this is fans just assuming things about players there's plenty of players that have come out on record not Tottenham players but I've seen this conversation during the rounds and plenty of them say quite simply professional footballers do not go into games and accept losing the more likely thing is that they're sad or they're a bit scared you know we don't we don't really give them the grace to think that that might be the case with them i just i just wonder if like we're as a fan base quite scarred from these past two domestic seasons and if the players themselves are just a bit scarred and everybody just needs a bit of a a bit of a refresh and i think yeah there are big characters here there are big players here like romero for example who it would feel like it would it would feel to me anyway it would feel significant if Romero left the football club you know not only is he the club captain he has been one of our bigger players like him or hate him over the past few years after the Pochettino

36:29Lara:era shall we say anyway he's one of our only world class yeah probably our only world class

36:35Jack:player isn't he really and I think in some ways it's symbolic of especially after this year I think it will be symbolic letting go of somebody like him because I think it's a statement that right we're not we're not eating from that table anymore we we're acceptance of how far we've fallen in it exactly we rebuild but we can use this to be positive we can look to build a new era but i think we're not gonna we're not gonna inherit one is is what i'll say i don't think yeah i mean i think regardless there is squad turnover needs to happen in the summer i think

37:09Lara:absolutely regardless of what happens you almost need to i don't know it feels like you almost need to refresh half that squad like i say just because it's not even a balanced squad at the moment like it doesn't make it doesn't even make sense as a cohesive squad as it is today so yeah regardless of what happens there's gonna need to be turnover there but i think it's about again looking at who's gonna be on board with a new year and like i say if we do go down then you know people like kevin dance i think are gonna be really really important if that happens you know it's the looking at the ones who have got that you know he's got a good attitude and anyone who's going to kind of throw their toys out of the pram and just go into a big strop in some ways you're

37:48Jack:just better off not having them around i think that's half our fan base well true stavkoys at fpl stavler so says um remember when people blamed poch for the lack of transfers when we went 518 days without a player. They said he turned down numerous players. Well, Poch has admitted that he wanted Mane and Wijnaldum. Never, ever forget Levy's role in our downfall. Hmm.

38:18Lara:Sounds like one to add to my history of Enoch thread. More receipts come in.

38:23Jack:Well, it does. I haven't actually watched it yet, Pochettino, on the overlap. The few little clips I've seen, just a couple of them, it feels like maybe he's gotten the hint now that whoever it is at Spurs doesn't want him back and he's speaking a little bit more loosely about Enoch yeah yeah it feels that way it feels like

38:42Lara:that boat's missing out it's like if he was going to come back if he if you know the the window was when we when we signed when we ended up with Ange and he went to Chelsea that was the time when he really for him to come back and then this really was almost like the last felt like the last chance spiel if it was going to happen it needed to happen this summer if it's not then i do feel a

39:03Jack:little bit for him i know there's always i know people will to this point sort of revise history to a degree and put question marks over him you know andrew on something and he didn't and all that type of thing and also just what his career has gone on to be since leaving spurs it's been i don't think it's been as abject as people make out but there's still definitely been an air of uncertainty over how successful or not he has been since leaving Tottenham but whatever it is since that point what I do know is that Spurs he harnessed something there he harnessed something in those players it's not just a case that he had Kane and Son because you could you could just as easily say he in part turned Kane and Son into what they went on to become um he turned somebody like christian erickson who was a promising player into a truly world-class player exactly exactly exactly even carl walker to be fair yeah exactly you know yan for tongan another example you know another player who was always clearly very talented but lacked that required i don't know motivation or whatever it was pochettino harnessed something at the football club and it's just you know it's difficult it's difficult seeing them get it so wrong time and time again you know watching harry kane now we we all knew oh man we all know how good he is but

40:28Lara:on tuesday honestly watching him on tuesday i just really stepped up to take that penalty i was like oh remember the days when you used to get a penalty and you just knew that was good well

40:37Jack:remember the days when you used to get a penalty yeah exactly we'll come on to that one you knew

40:41Lara:You got a penalty and Harry Kane was there and it was just like a done deal. Like, he never missed, did he? I think that's when he missed. I think he missed two. And the other one was one that the turf went underneath him at Southampton. But, yeah, you just think, oh, yeah, unreal. But, yeah, I do feel a bit for Potts in that regard. And actually, he was starting to make Chelsea look good. I was pleased that they ended up parting ways when they did because I thought, shit, he's starting to do there now what he did at Spurs. you could see it by the end of that series basically again once he started bringing in some of the younger players again wasn't it i don't know but yeah and it yeah it just feels

41:19Jack:like you know levy nick they just coasted they coasted as we sort of said at the top they coasted on that success and we find ourselves where we are where we are now um the hfc podcast andy perry says what players do we have to keep at all costs if and when we go down i mean for me archie gray is like one of the yeah absolutely have to keep him really like tell but i wouldn't say he's at an at all costs type player if i'm brutally honest i think there's very few players who i do think are in that bracket you know and that's again that's just kind of telling why we're here i was

41:57Lara:just trying to think myself like i've i know you got your issues with van der ven um he's pissed me off a bit this season i think people with me and van der ven somehow in his in my head he's like become very like interlinked with Jan Vertonghen.

42:10Jack:I don't know why.

42:11Lara:It's like, I can't take this lens off when I see him. I like see Jan Vertonghen and I remember what happened. Like, I remember being furious with Vertonghen at the end of the Sherwood era when he was having his, you know, like he'd rather be anywhere but here. And then I saw obviously what happened with turnaround when Pochettino came in and, you know, he was like a completely different player. So I think I'm always probably almost suffering a little bit from what Vinay has with the, well, we stuck with Arteta at Arsenal. and it all worked out, I think I've got this story playing out in my head of the, oh, now, you know, now does Erby's here.

42:44Lara:Maybe Van Der Ven will, you know, go on his Watongan arc. I don't know. But I mean, he, yeah, he's, I'd be sad, I would be sad to see Van Der Ven go, but I think more, it's more just I'm kind of sad how this whole thing has gone that we've got to a point where it's now like, yeah, he would want to go and we were so kind of excited to have him before. But yeah, I would, I would put Kevin Danso in the must keep basket.

43:06Jack:Yeah. Honestly, I would.

43:07Lara:I think he's getting into a bit of a leader off the pitch as well. And I just think in terms of someone that you would need to get yourself out of the championship, I don't think you could probably ask for much better than Kevin Danso, really, in terms of, you know, he'll slog his guts out for us.

43:25Jack:I quite like the look of that Sousa lad every time I've seen him play. We're going to need some bodies, aren't we?

43:30Lara:Yeah, I mean, Jed Spence, I imagine, will be thrilled. Oh, God.

43:35Jack:I think he'll go. I think yeah

43:37Lara:so there's a few of these where I think for me it is a little bit like the it is a bit like the start of the pop cheerer obviously in different scenario but it's that you know where we did a bit of a assessment of well look who's on board with this and who's not because actually if you're not it's just better to get read

43:53Jack:Jed's one of those I see a really random deal happening for him as in like really random as in like Liverpool fancy a punt or something do you know what I mean like one of those where they just kind of add him to the squad or maybe even someone like ac milan or something do you know i mean like just just add him in but i i do i feel like he's somebody will sell because we know we can probably get 20 odd mil or something for him i reckon maybe even a bit more than that um

44:24Lara:jacksy you lost your player that can play on basically you'll have to replace him with two players Spurs not one

44:32Jack:Jack Siat here for Spurs says if you could injure one player from West Ham Forest and Leeds for the remainder of the season which would have I mean Jared Bowen hands down easily for me out of West Ham's I reckon I mean

44:46Lara:Forest I'm sorry Morgan Gibbs why just because he pissed me off so much with his goal celebration when they scored against us I didn't that really really annoyed me because he was right in the corner near where I sit as well. I was like, Kim, hang on a minute. What have we done to you?

45:06Jack:It's like the Eze thing, isn't it? I get the,

45:09Lara:I mean, obviously I hate Eze and I think he's a prick as well. But at least with that, you get the rival, you know, you get the rival. He obviously wanted to go there. He's obviously trying to ingratiate himself to the Arsenal fans and all of this nonsense. As much as, yeah, he's a prick and I hate him, I also kind of get it. But with, Gibbs White I was just a bit like did we do that for? I just yeah I just thought it was weird really weird so he's annoyed me so now I'm going to injure him sorry Morgan

45:38Jack:and I mean Leeds I don't know I don't know enough about Leeds if I'm honest with you no I was the same

45:44Lara:I don't yeah I haven't got a clue Somerville Somerville's good isn't he

45:47Jack:yeah there we go

45:49Lara:we'd injure him but yeah Jarrod Bowen from West Ham and yeah Gibbs White can go from Forrest

45:56Jack:TTID at TTID XTHFC says if Randall Kulamawani bagged five goals to keep us up, would anyone want us to keep him?

46:05Lara:No.

46:05Jack:No. It would be a nice way to say goodbye, wouldn't it, basically? That would be the way I'd see those five goals.

46:12Lara:I'll take the goals, Randall, but no, sorry.

46:15Jack:Laters, mate. Adam Mickey says, we haven't had a penalty in the Premier League all season. Are we just unlucky? Is it that there is a refereeing conspiracy? Are the laws just applied too haphazardly? or are we just not in the opposition box enough for it to happen? We've only been awarded six in the last 110 Premier League matches. By comparison, with randomly selected clubs, we've had 24 less than Chelsea, 18 less than Brentford, 17 less than Man United and 15 less than Crystal Palace.

46:51Lara:God.

46:52Jack:What are your thoughts on that?

46:53Lara:I mean, I'm going to be honest and say I don't even think I already know what a penalty is anymore because I, seems to be like whatever whoever's whoever's in the VAR books that day what way what way did they get out of bed yeah I find it really hard now to understand the logic behind what is a penalty and what's not a penalty but yeah I mean it just feels like we've been refed so badly this year it really stands out this year as well it's like every team thinks that the refs are against them all of that and you know we've had things in previous seasons where stuff's a knowledge but this season really has felt like every game it's like we get nothing and on the converse we get like overly punished it almost seems for what what we do honestly I don't know I don't I'm not sure I believe it's necessarily a refereeing conspiracy but I don't know I think ever since that bloody interview clip came out with was it Richard Scudemore I can't remember the one who said that they talked about how they have ways of making sure that you know they have a new yeah and i was a bit like but how no that really hasn't sat right with me and i know it was a while ago it's not a new clip was it but i was a bit like oh just it's two three seasons ago i don't think it's that long without screwing with things somehow so like now in my head that's sort of turning into a is there somewhere and somewhere basically writing like WWE style scripts for you know I'm not saying it's that script you know scripted to the point of but it's almost like suggests they have like storylines in their head that they'd like to see play out and I've got no idea how they would implement that or it'd even be possible to do so but one thing I can say is it doesn't feel like we've been rough early this season at all how we have no penalty but it's not the first time is it we can't remember what season it was no I was here I can't remember but

48:47Jack:I saw somebody say on Twitter, like, when was the last time a team didn't get a penalty in the season? They were like, it was in blah, blah, blah season. And it was Spurs. Yeah, yeah.

48:56Lara:I'm sure it was one of Bale's seasons. It's when he got pegged as a diver, I think. And they just weren't giving him anything.

49:04Jack:Yeah, and he was just getting kicked and hacked. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

49:07Lara:But yeah, second time it happened to us. But yeah, it does feel, especially when you see stuff like the Everton non-penalty last week as well. I don't know. It does feel, like I say, it just feels like something, everything that could go against us this season has done. But I don't, I don't know. I don't think it's necessarily a refereeing conspiracy. I don't know. I don't know what it is. I don't even know if it's just a subconscious thing where they're all a bit like, oh, lol, this would be funny, wouldn't it? And I don't know. What do you think?

49:34Jack:I have, I'm beyond knowing anymore. You know, I just, I think one of my main thoughts, like you say, I think there's the power of the subconscious is a big thing, you know, not to get too sort of farty about it but the sort of the sense that people are a part of something like they were with Leicester part of history seeing Spurs get relegated it's very like I was there and I maybe subconsciously just sort of pushed gave the universe a nudge further in that

50:05Lara:direction I don't know you know because seeing the man drowning and just choosing to pretend you

50:11Jack:haven't seen it no phil collinson isn't it um yeah i don't know it's uh yeah it's whatever it is it's not working well for spurs this whole var refereeing luck and it there's i it just feels like with every single game my blood is boiling but then i'm like is it just a sort of confirmation bias are we also just like see look another chance another sort of challenge that didn't go our way when that probably happens to most clubs. It just seems to be that it's in the big instances of things. Things haven't gone our way and it's just been that sort of water torture effect, hasn't it?

50:53Lara:It does play out in the stats if you look at it. So you like, you know, those stats that have been shared about the number of fouls per booking and things like that. We are getting punished more, rewarded less, but whether that is just because we are rubbish, I don't know. I mean, we've not helped ourselves in some instances, but yeah it just it does it does feel like we're we are almost being judged harshly it's another reason why villa can get in the bin with their whole big six blah blah i'm like it always annoyed me about us getting included in this sky six thing i'm like when have we ever seen the benefit of that like if you're going to include us in that and poke holes at us because of it at least let

51:31Jack:us have some of the like let's at least get something out exactly exactly let's let's let's end on this one, Laura. Giorgio Di Maria says, is it genuinely time to fold the club if we get relegated at Stamford Bridge and Arsenal do the double? And what a double as well, you know, Champions League and Premier League.

51:52Lara:No, no, please, please, please, football gods. If there are any football gods out there and they have any good in them, please at least give us the quadruple.

52:04Jack:What are you asking them for? They're the ones that have got us in this. in this missing the first place, Lara.

52:10Lara:Who's the one we did? Who did we do the deal with to get the Europa League? Whoever did that, can you just sort the bottle out?

52:17Jack:That's it, yeah.

52:18Lara:Just to take the edge off. But, oh, God, yeah, I mean, it's not... Like I said last time I was on Twitter, I can't remember. I suppose it's that, yeah, if that happens, well they've peaked and the only way for us is back up isn't it? it's weird because I've sort of stopped thinking about Arsenal in really because well after the first two bottlings I've sort of gone into a place where I'm like well hopefully they'll kind of mess it up at this point I'm not sure I think the only thing that's going to make me feel better is us staying up so if we go down it's not great either way Best thing to do, just mute all the words on Twitter.

53:02Lara:I muted all Arsenal-related words, plus the word champions, I think, about two months ago. Just so I don't have to see any of the... Because I was even getting, you know, your Premier League account comes up with like, oh, look at this great goal from Eze. Oh, look at Arsenal on March. I'm like, I don't want to see it. Mute, thank you.

53:19Jack:Don't want to see it. Don't want to hear it. Nothing.

53:22Lara:Time to start the coping strategies now. Just whatever you can do to slightly take the edge off. it's like when Chelsea won the Champions League and stole our Champions League qualification spot somehow I managed to avoid seeing anything to do with that for the whole summer I didn't see any footage of them lifting the trophy if I heard it starting to come on the TV TV went off that's what will happen if Arsenal win the league they'll be doing exactly the same thing

53:46Jack:2019 Liverpool I just couldn't look at it I couldn't look at any of it

53:49Lara:I had to mute that one as well I only realised recently when I went in I still had loads of Liverpool stuff I think I'd even muted the hashtag, you'll never walk alone. All of it, I'd gone full.

54:02Jack:Jesus.

54:03Lara:But yeah, mute the words and just... Mute the words, echo chambers. Find a safe space in your brain.

54:08Jack:Yeah, that's it, that's it. Lara, it's always a pleasure. We'll beat Villa, won't we?

54:16Lara:I don't know. I don't dare say. I don't dare say. Let's just... Let's just pray we don't get any more injuries.

54:25Jack:Let's live in hope. We're living out.

54:26Lara:Let's live in out. We're going to do it. We're going to stay up. Come on.

54:29Jack:Come on, you Spurs. Up the Spurs.

54:30Lara:Let's channel what we did last year in the Europa League. This time, we're going to do it. We'll get it over the line.