EP. 360 | Les Ferdinand: “I Was Minutes From Man United…” From Goalkeeper To 90’s Prem Icon - Part 1

0:28Hello and welcome to that Peter Crouch podcast. career and you know socialize with him as well great guy when you're in his company have you met him before never oh you are gonna love him like he's so less for a reason he's just the best he for me is like premier league icon player he's he's he's one of those that is the it's sort of for me the original premier league the original game the the old school tv titles that yeah we used to watch yeah that we talked about on here yeah and it's even better when you meet him if Before he gets in, very quickly, how's your week? Yeah, really good. All good.

1:02And another week, another Watford manager. Briefly got to mention it. Mad scenes. So I heard Will... You've got a new manager. We've got another one, yeah. A new manager means, have you got one already? What do you mean? You've got a new manager in? Yeah. Who's it? Breaking news. I don't even know. No, I know, because we don't really shout about it as much anymore now. We talked about it last week. It's not on the yellow bar or anything. No, I know. Breaking news. Yeah, I know. It's got sacked. Yeah, yeah. So have you guys seen it? It got sacked. Yeah. Then I'm hearing Will Still. You know, Will Still.

1:39Yeah. Southampton. Southampton. Yeah. Well, he's going to be doing it. Well, that's what I heard. And then it pops up on TNT. It popped up. Ed Still is going to be Watford manager. I was like, well, they've got that wrong. his name's Will Still so I went to take a picture of it and fire into our WhatsApp group to go they've got the name wrong on TNT you might want to have a word with someone no it's Will Still's brother shut up that's where we're at now we're on the brothers I didn't even know he had a brother wow did you he is to be fair he is a manager he's a coach in his own right where was he working I think in Belgium yeah I'm not sure he's been working for a couple of years though and I'm not sure the records but you know as I say because I don't know too much about him in a way that excites me okay but yeah I just thought I'd update you Ed Steele Ed Steele it was the caretaker manager at Anderlecht did you know those?

2:40no did you know those? I read it a minute ago I swear I didn't even know he had a brother yeah but that was the strangest thing about it and do you know what I'm all for positivity and new appointments I just want someone to make it work at Watford that's happy for the owners there and happy for the fans and we go on and get into the Premier League I'm really hoping we get a new manager bounce with this guy well it's not just you guys is it you're looking at Spurs and Forest as well yeah new two managers but it's just you know when you're expecting a manager genuinely I had it on good authority Will Still was going to be doing it and then you find out it's actually the brother of his brother yeah at first I was worried it was you know like a Mike Bassett England manager where it's Benson and Hedges oh man and someone's without going full Holloway has written it down wrong because of these damn computers.

3:28Yeah, these damn computers. They're taking over the world. But no, look, best of luck to him and I'm very excited to learn about him as well. I quite like it where you hear new names and English coaches that are coming through and hopefully can make a good name for themselves as well. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, well, you know, we might throw our hat in for the Spurs job. You know, I was hoping Harry might get it, get the band back together. do you know you're still active on twitter aren't you yeah that's still your only one really listen i have a dabble with your instagram post but twitter's where it's at for me yeah i think because you're king of the one-liners yeah it works for you it works well for me because i i don't like revealing too much about me yeah although i am everywhere yeah but yeah do you know what i mean like i don't really like telling people what i'm doing so like yeah just a reaction to something suits me better yes so that news with that and then there was this talk of Harry Redknapp coming in getting the band back together of course yeah and you've said you put on there I'm ready 100 % ready he would take that wouldn't he Harry I think he would take it and I think he would keep them up like and I think he would do well yeah the last time he took over they were they were right down the bottom remember Ramos they got rid of Ramos they were in the bottom three or just above the relegation zone and we ended up you know easily top half in Champions League football within a season and Forrest as well by the way Sean Dyche didn't see that one coming Games Gone I do think that is my Games Gone should we put Sean Dyche sack in on the Games Gone board it's not so much the sack in it's literally they're going to have four managers in one season four managers in one season yeah is that is that an ad ship sort of thing is that if you own a club you can do what you want but still or four managers in one season, that is surely games gone.

5:24Yeah. Yeah, agreed. Do you think that would be, that would be an amazing rule to bring into football, wouldn't it? Especially as a fan of a club that changes their up a lot. Maybe it's, you can only have maximum one change per season. I mean, even that I think is ridiculous. I know what you mean. There's something to be said from a fan point of view about a continuity and a consistency in what's there. That's a good rule, I think. Yeah. You get one change. Especially if you've got like a mad king at the top. Like, you know, someone that is just sort of changing it up. I'm sorry. A mad king. What is that?

6:00No, I just mean like, I'm not saying who or anything. I'm just saying like, it's just, it's a bit silly. It is a bit silly.

6:15Well, welcome to Sir Les Ferdinand. Good morning. Sir Les I'm sure you've heard this a million times but where was it at Newcastle? No it's actually started at QPR Did it? Everyone thinks it was in Newcastle it started at QPR followed me to Turkey and then when I went to Newcastle it carried on I always say to people I've been called a lot worse up and down the country but it's not a bad nickname It's a beautiful nickname You're so celebrated on this podcast by the way like I was looking I was nearly late for this today and I was texting to the group I said oh boys really so I'm just running from the radio to get there and Crouchy puts you cannot be late for certain things no I suppose it's the respect you command right and that is an amazing thing I mean is that where it came from or is there a different story to why it's just respect mate I don't I really don't know you know I started getting called it I think it was in one of the I don't even know if it was a chant from the supporters and it was picked up by someone as something different.

7:24And he heard it as Salas, put it in the papers, and it's stuck ever since. Yeah, because Chris mentioned, you know, you being a legend on this podcast. Now, the thing is because I've just kind of spoken about you so many times on this podcast, because we've pushed paths, you know, many different ways. I mean, you're from West London, right? I grew up in Ealing. Where did you grow up? I grew up, all I grew up on, most of the, my first five years was in Labbergrove, but then the rest of my lifetime was on the Grenfell Estate. Yeah, okay. So you're not far from, you know, Stones Road from QPR. I remember watching you at QPR in one of the best QPR teams.

8:01I mean, I used to go as a kid, pay a fiver to sit on the lower paddock and watch QPR versus Man United, you know, and it's top London club. Yeah. You know, like what a time that was, it must have been. You know, we had some really, really good players and not just that we had some good players we played a really nice brand of football you know Jerry sort of like Jerry Francis when he became the manager sort of like had us all drilled to know what we were doing and where we needed to be but um yeah we had a good group of players that could I think individually we all could you know handle the ball and do a little bit so it was a good thing and I think about the the wingers that you had obviously for you personally like Andy Sinton or Andy Impey at the time maybe Trevor Sinclair exactly yeah you know and the fullbacks as well Rufus Brevitt you know David Barsley David Barsley yeah all kind of feeding you right it was a great time for you it was a brilliant time you know they knew what my strengths were and it was get the ball down get it into the box and I used to say don't look for me just put it in the box and I'll go I'll go and try and get on the end of it just stick it in an area and I'll be there I'll make sure I'm on the end of it I remember watching Les when I was younger and I think you was one of the first ones that I noticed how hard you could hit a football which is when you hit football you're known for your head and your aerial obviously abilities as well but I think one of my earliest memories of a couple of your goals was at Loftus Road was against United against Schmeichel as well yeah was it Arrow's one oh Arrow's fuck we stayed here didn't it now the net didn't bust as well it was brilliant I remember that was one of my earliest memories of like Premier League football as well brilliant loved it when you think about the career you've had and obviously you know the goals you've scored you know 160 odd is it in the Premier League it didn't start that way like how did you not get picked up earlier it's kind of really strange I mean well I'll say strange for probably the main reason was when I was at school I played in goal for three years yeah I know I know you're shaking your head no way I shake my head as well really because you know like you boys I I wonder who to send a forward he was a player so what happened was I'd gone to QBR it was the only only club that I'd ever been to watch a game at my uncle sort of like you know as you said we lived a stone throw from QBR my uncle was a QBR fan and he said one day he took me and my cousin he said I'll get you out of here of my mum and me auntie and sort of like we went off to Loftus Road I remember standing on the loft QBR played Leicester beaten 3-1 Phil Parks played in goal and he saved the penalty and he had no gloves on and like an idiot I just you know what I mean I wanted to be Phil Parks do you know what I mean so I played in goal in the school team for three years and Dennis Wise was in my class it was in my school team me and Wise were in the same class and we had some really good players so you know it was quite comfortable being in goal do you know what I mean I never really got tested too much and then one day a centre forward got injured and Wyse and this guy called Bobby Dixon said, let's go play up front because I used to play five-a-side on a Friday evening and I used to play against Wyse's team.

11:18They used to play for the rugby club. I played for the Harrah club. And so they knew I could play up front because I score goals all the time in the five-a-side on a Friday. So they went, let's go play up front. So we had a reserve goalkeeper, didn't have a reserve centre-forward. So I wouldn't have played up front. So you went straight from goalie to up front? Scored a hat-trick in the game and the schoolmaster went, you're never playing any goal for this school. and that was it that was the end of my goalkeeping where was that five a side do you remember do you remember where that was yeah I used to play it was a place called the Harrow Club I think it's still there yeah so like just near Latimer Road and Dennis Wise and Bobby Dixon and a lot of the boys from my school used to play for a place called the Rugby Club which was literally a mile two miles away from the Harrow Club so it was big rivalry so we used to play against these five a sides all the time Paul Mortimer was another one that used to play in that league as well yeah so you end up the team you go and join when you're a little bit old is it Hayes in Southall yeah so I was at Southall first I say first I was at a club called Viking Sport I know Viking mate I played at Viking one of my best mates shout out to Greg Chapman he's a Viking legend right I played at Vikings first that was my first taste of sort of like amateur football went there as a youth player and about there was about eight of us from the school team that went and started playing there.

12:39And then from there, I moved on to Southall. And then you know, like what happens is like, there's eight of you and then there's five of you that moved to Southall. And then as you grow and you start to develop, it just windles down because not everyone's playing. Whereas at the beginning, all eight of us was playing every Sunday. Then you move to Southall and only five of you travel and then four of you are playing and the other one goes, well, I ain't going anymore because I ain't playing. Do you know what I mean? Until it wilted down until it was just me. Right. I mean, I'd gone from sort of like, the reserves into the first team quite young.

13:10So 16, 17 when I got into the first team at Southwood. Wow. And did you feel like at that time, like you had a chance? You know, like, did you feel I could be a league player or did you, were you like, I could be a Premier League player? No, not at all. Never thought. I never ever thought I was going to play professional football. No way. I was playing non-league football and I was thinking, right, okay, I've passed the stage of doing an apprenticeship and so on and so forth. Now I'm 17. Do you know what I mean? And I'm thinking I'm never going to be a professional footballer. So I'm just going to enjoy non-league football and play at the highest level I can probably get to non-league football.

13:43But you would have been so physically different at that point as well. Yeah. Whereas, you know, we often talk about a lot of kids get picked up younger and they can just tell and they hope for a tradition. But the idea that you would have turned 17 by that point and still not be playing at the highest level, it's pretty amazing really. Yeah. you know but what it was I suppose I was getting booted about by grown men at 16, 17 you know what I mean so in non-league football you know one of them touch that ball again son and you'll see what happens you know what I mean and because I come from West London I'd have to touch it again wouldn't I just to see what might happen and so and that's how it was you got bullied about and kicked about and you just got up and you got on with it so I didn't do an apprenticeship but I think that was type that was kind of like my apprenticeship I was playing men's football at a young age.

14:31And then I played for Southall in the FA Vars final. So we got to the final. I think it was like 18 ,000 people turned up. Was that, would that have been at Wembley? Yeah, Wembley. So my first taste of playing at Wembley. And I remember sitting in the changing rooms and the manager standing in front of us before the game goes, look, chaps, you need to enjoy this. He said, maybe one of you might have the opportunity to come back here and play again. And you know, you start looking around the changing room. you're looking at the players, the good players. We had a fellow called Keith Jones who'd played sort of like lower league football, come out of it, gone to South.

15:05You looked at him, he knew he was a good player and you thought he might have a chance. And you look at all the other players, but we was all thinking that someone might have a chance playing in another Vars final or a trophy final, do you know what I mean? If you went up a level, no one ever thinking that someone was going to be back there as a professional footballer, do you know what I mean? And the next time I was in that same dressing room was when I made my debut for England against San Marino. I love them full circles. How good is that? And that's the old Wembley as well, isn't it? Yeah, exactly.

15:33The old Wembley, yeah. Oh, yeah. Brilliant. I just want to fast forward a little bit. Obviously, there's so much more I want to talk to you about. Obviously, I was in a youth team at Spurs when you were at Spurs. And that's why, obviously, you was a huge influence on my career. But I always remember there was a few little bits and pieces that always stood out about you that you wouldn't even maybe think about. but I remember I used to do the jobs and it was going into the first team dressing room and everyone had to tidy it, right? And you go in there and you get absolutely like, you know, it's a tough environment, right?

16:07For a young six foot four, about three stone player, right? Trying to hide out the way, stay out the way. Yeah, I'm trying to hide out. Just speaking around the door like that, just hoping a few of them weren't in there. And yeah, and I always remember you always just used to ask me questions, you know, like how are you doing? just little just little touches that were just so amazing for me personally you know and you probably wouldn't even know um even the to the point where i'd go around and i'd pick all the kit up enough to put it in the bin and everyone there's socks everywhere there people are lashing them you know throwing them on the floor and with every single day i went in there your kit was completely folded in the in the right place and the boots were like just tucked under like that and what was that?

16:53Like, what made you do that? And is that something from, I don't know, is that your family? Yeah, I mean, it was, I mean, it was always like, look after your stuff. Do you know what I mean? Don't, you know, my parents, I come from a poor family, so working class family. And so you was always taught to look after everything that you had. So even though I trained in it and I saw people throwing it, you know, once they, you know, you come off, you take your toe off, people throw around mine was it was a respect for for you guys it was a respect for the kit man as well that he wasn't going all around the dressing room to pick up my gear all over the place you know what I mean so it was just it was just a habit in me that I took my gear off and I didn't fold it up like you know what I mean back to how you'd get it out of the cupboard but it was folded up neatly and left on the side up there next to my boots so like you weren't chasing all around the place looking for my boots and pieces it just always sat with me you know like because they didn't need to be doing that you know so true I was exactly the same with Les when he come to Reading.

17:53And when he come, the training ground at the time was sort of being redone. So we was in port cabins and we'd go into the kit room first and our kit would be in like a box. And everyone had their own box. And same sort of thing. You'd take it to our dressing room and start getting undressed, train, come back and again, he'd put all his stuff in the box, take it to Ronnie Grant, the kit man. And again, same thing with you, that you would never know that I looked at it like I'd aspire to because when Les signed for Reading, it was probably one of the biggest signings in the club's history at the time.

18:27It was massive. And I remember just looking at him to see how he'd conduct himself and always say hello to everyone. Everyone. Stewards, cleaners, kitchen people, everyone. Made everyone feel exactly the same. Do you know what I mean? And I remember watching it going, that's how I want to be. Would you just do that for yourself or would you ever pull up other people when they didn't do that? I think I'd do it for myself It wasn't about other people It was just the way I was brought up My granddad always used to say to me And you know He's followed me all my life I see You never say You never say good morning to someone Because you think they've got something Say good morning to someone Because it's the polite thing to do And the right thing to do And he said You might say good morning to someone And they might ignore you And he said But never think That that person's ignored you Because they don't like you They might They might have woke up And be having a really tough day Yeah he said maybe say good morning to them again the next day if they ignore you the next day then you don't then it's better you know you never and he always he drew this into me and he said to me remember this son he went there's no one in this life that's better than you and I went yeah he goes but hang on there's no one in this life that you're better than yeah oh god he's the governor he was going to that's what he said this is why this podcast is an important one I think we're going to learn a lot today for me it's just about respecting people it doesn't matter what what you do where you come from it's just it's just a thing of respect but there's a couple of more stories when I'm around Spurs Lodge again right where I remember we had if you remember the Eggie-Boff game that we had going at Spurs where you know we for instance we used to do it after after training myself Ledley Narada Mills at a few of the lads the older ones were like that kind of group and we'd stay and do penalties after we did our jobs and the last person to score a penalty was Eggy Boff and they'd be left at the training ground and I always remember this one the ride up was left at the training ground and do you know the walk from Luxborough Lane along next to the train station it's a long walk so we're all laughing we've got in the car and as we've got in the car we've just about to take off we've seen your silver Ferrari right it's gone it's gone past us right and the lad we've left is in the passenger seat of Les's Ferrari with the arm up he's in the lift of the station I'm in the bashed out fucking Volkswagen polo games in an absolute escape how's he got in there oh that was that was a walk as well a horrendous walk but you give him a lift to the station absolutely killed us the only one I have to say I'm getting them all off my chest now was I struggled with my aerially you know I struggled in the air I couldn't you know you can get a wristler under my feet you know because I never had to jump my whole life I was and I could play but I knew I could play but I just couldn't I was losing headers against people and I remember coming to you for advice and remember you saying to me look at the way you're standing how are you going to win a header like that you know so I'm just standing still just because I've done that all my, like when I'm a kid, you still win headers like that, you know, because there's no one else's jumping.

21:47But when you're playing against other athletes, you know, they're going to come over the top of you because they're getting leverage. They're getting time to run. And you used to explain that to me and, you know, come away from the ball. Like if the ball's there, come away from it, give yourself five yards, then go and attack it. Right. And then you're using your height, right. And just a simple, tiny little thing from you that, that I genuinely don't know if I would, played you know without without that little tip you know i was talking to a player uh uh a senior player when i when i went back to qpr as a sporting director and and he was talking about a player had come in midfield player and that player was going to take his place i smashed him in training smashed him a couple of times why'd you smash him and he said well i thought he was coming to take my place i went all right okay so they said you would have done it i said and I wouldn't so young players coming up I thought it was my place to try and help them I didn't think they were going to take my place I said I just thought I'd help them do you know what I mean

22:51so I can always remember as you said that you used to just stand there because you were so big you know what I mean you could just flick things on and stuff like that but as you go up the stages people tend to be able to deal with it and they were using you as leverage to head the ball and I was thinking if I was your height there ain't no one in the world unless there was a basketball player they might be able to out jump me but if I was your height there's no one in the world that's going to out jump me you know what I mean I remember coming over the first time from the youth team to train with the first team and I was like because I've only ever seen you kind of at Loftus Road or on the telly I thought you were going to be like 6 '5 you know I just thought obviously the way you jump the way you hit the ball was that was that a natural gift like the timing the leap everything because I would class you as the best header of the board I've ever seen and like Duncan Ferguson probably attacking wise but you for me were the best in the Premier League I think we've seen in my opinion ever yeah totally agree I worked on it but I had this I had this ability my dad was a real powerful man he was really strong his legs were powerful and at his height he could squat over 500 pounds and stuff like that but that was really powerful so I kind of like inherited some of that and in terms of I knew that I was as you said I was playing against people that was 6 foot 3 6 foot 4 and one of the things I used to say I used to say the goalkeeper said just put it on his head don't ever look at me just put it on his head I'm going to go out jumping and if I go out jumping my mate's going to demoralise him because he's thinking how's he jumping above me because I'm just bordering 6 foot you know what I mean so I used to say just put it on his head I'm going to jump so what I used to do was come from that angle and knowing that I was going to get a leap on him and then bang once I got the leap I could stay there for a little bit and I'd do it one two one I remember you can see now one two hang time glance yeah yeah amazing do you remember Crouchy from when he first started knocking around there do you have any memories of Crouchy yeah like I said you could not miss him could you yeah he was six foot whatever do you know when coming in do you remember other players reaction to him yeah who's this kid do you know what I mean who's this kid can he play can he play that was the first reaction because someone Crouchy's size that's the first thing you're going to say and I remember Chris Ramsey in all that game have a look at his feet you know what I mean wait till the ball comes in to him you'll see him and when you see him play you go don't quite match his frame do you know what I mean what he's doing don't quite match his frame but yeah I do remember Crouchy and like I said that was the part because obviously being his heart I was thinking no one will be able to beat him in the air and that was the part I thought yeah this is the part of his game that he needs to to really work on and if he did then you know will he get to that level he did alright he did more than alright jeez but so Les obviously I'd love to stay more on QPR but you go to Turkey talk us through that I didn't even know this yeah didn't even know you went to Turkey but you're prolific out there as well it's funny on my way here Just had a call.

26:03They've just invited me back in March. They play Galatasaray. So they've just invited me back for a game. But yeah, how that came about, I came into QBR the back end of the season, which was 1987. I came in round about the end of March. So there's two months to go. So I managed to make my debut in that time. And then the following season, it was my first pre-season ever that I'd ever done. and found it tough and kind of had a few niggles. So I didn't have a particularly good year in terms of like, I picked up some injuries and stuff like that. And I'll just put that down to my body changing from sort of non-league football working and so on and so forth.

26:48And so the following, at the end of that season, so this would be 88, 89 season, Gordon Mill, who was the manager at Besiktas in Turkey, he was good friends with Jim Smith the late Jim Smith who was the manager at QPR at the time and he needed his centre forward Jim Smith said look we got this kid here we think he could be anything or he could be nothing he said taking him away and him going out to Turkey might be a a great opportunity for him and Jim Smith come and spoke to me about it and at the beginning I was like yeah yeah alright yeah of course yeah yeah yeah I'll think about it and I'm thinking I'm not going to Turkey and then Gordon Mill came over and I remember sitting down with Gordon at the Hilton Hotel and having a chat with him about it and he was going like listen son they really think that you've got a chance of having a good career here and so on and so forth why don't you come out for a year and I just really like the way he put the project to me you know and the way he spoke and he's full of passion and I thought why not give it a go so I remember leaving my house two suitcases going to Turkey the only thing I knew about Turkey at the time was the film Midnight Express.

28:01Yeah. As you can tell by your reaction, it's not the greatest advert for Turkey's life. So anyway, I go off to the airport, meet Gordon Mill, and we travelled to Turkey together. And I always say to people, that was my apprenticeship into football. he spent a year sort of like guiding me and showing me and you know I ended up going from playing in front of a few hundred people in the reserves to my first training session was in front of 30 odd thousand people the stadium was packed and then from then on it was just like game after game after game you know I scored something like 17 goals in 30 odd games so it was like you know it was a really really good 21 goals in 33 games you weren't 10 minutes ever go and go.

28:55No, no, I wasn't. But the funny thing was when I went out there, it was like, it was, it was just, it was just a brilliant time. And it just opened my eyes and made me believe that I could be, I could be a professional. Was it challenging or did you find it relatively easy? Was you like thinking, I'm quite comfortable at this level. This is. Yeah. I think it's really strange because when, when, when I went into QBI, you know, I'd gone in and I hadn't done an apprenticeship and come out and non-league football. And I, and I think most, most people at some stage have this imposter syndrome and I think I had it at the time do you know what I'm looking at all these professional footballers who've come through the ranks and been in football for all their lives and here I am coming out of non-league football and you know part of this what's going on and you can't like feel like you're like I said you have a bit of that imposter syndrome and then um going out to Turkey just totally totally flicked my mindset because going out there there was an expectation from me from the players, from the supporters, because they had a high regard for English football at the time.

29:55And so there was things that was expected of me, so it was almost like I couldn't go there and fail. So it was kind of like a switching of the mindsets. What was the experience like, though, living in Istanbul, I suppose, right? Yeah. So what I did was, one of the most important things I did was I just went and engulfed myself in what they did. So I didn't go there thinking, this is not like London, the food's not like London, this is not like London. You know, I just went and just submerged myself in everything that the Turkish players were doing and just tried to fit in. Shisha? Hashcake? At the time, we got followed around quite a lot so we weren't allowed for the shisha.

30:40But no, you know, just rather than going there and thinking, I ain't enjoying this or something, I just engulfed myself in everything that was going on circus and what happens then how did you get the call from Newcastle so no no so I'm still under I'm still under contract at QPR so okay I've had I've had a good year at at Beshiktash and myself and Gordon Mill came back and Jim Smith had gone Jim Smith had gone to Newcastle right and Trevor Francis had taken over at QPR as the manager so we came back we sat down in front of Trevor and said look can you stay out for another year Yeah. So Trevor was saying, look, no, unless you're going to pay a transfer fee for him.

31:24He said, I don't know how good Les is, but I know he scored a load of goals. I'm not looking to play next season, so I'd rather bring him back. So this is funny. So I'm sitting there with Gordon Mill and he said, right, no, we're bringing him back. We want him to come back. So we go back to Turkey and I speak to the chairman of Beshutas and say, look, QBR want me to go back. he went I know I'll fix this so it wasn't no problem so he goes to the he goes to the Prime Minister he gets the Prime Minister to write a letter to Margaret Thatcher what to say because when we won the equivalent of the FA Cup and when we're at dinner the Prime Minister turns up at the dinner and they get involved in the football they love the football over there and so the Prime Minister wrote a letter to Margaret Thatcher to say can she intervene and make it so that I can stay out It's a political matter.

32:19What did Maggie say? I didn't even know she read the letter. Maggie said the letter, aren't you? But that's what happened. That sounds real. I don't think the top of the agenda for Margaret Thatcher at that time was a good time. Can you imagine when that was put away? Can you imagine? We've got a request from Turkey. Prime Minister of Turkey. subject so what happened then then so obviously she didn't reply so I came back to I came back to QPR and when I came back we saw like the team had changed somewhat you know the likes of Peter Reid were there Ray Wilkins had come in Nigel Spatman so the side was still a very good side I remember coming back and joining in training and stuff like that and I had this renewed confidence about me and I remember Peter Reid went when I came back Peter Reid always says this whenever I see him he went he came and he started training he's gone where the fuck has he come from like that and he goes and now he's gone oh he's been out on loan in Turkey he said well if he's been out on loan learning so who did we have here and he said he couldn't believe what he was watching when I came back and like I said I came back with renewed confidence and then I remember my first Trevor Francis gave me my debut I say my debut he gave me when he came in he gave me a game we played against Chelsea beat Chelsea 3-2 or 3-1 and that same day the club signed Roy Wigley for a million pounds so Roy Wigley was sitting in the stand I scored no it's 4-2 we beat him 4-2 I scored two Mark Falco scored one and Colin Clarke scored the other so all the three centre-forward scored and Roy Wigley sitting in the stand and the following week I don't know what happened but Trevor got sacked right Trevor left and Don Howe took over and me and Don Howe although he's one of the best coaches I ever worked with we had a bit of a clash of personalities you know and I knew I always remember sort of like going to the following game we go to Sheffield Wednesday and we're losing at Sheffield Wednesday at half time and he comes and he goes right Les you're coming off Roy Wigley's going on and I'm just about to go and Ray Wilkins comes and stands in front of me stands in front of me and he goes no no no no no no you're not going to do that now you're not going to do that now and I always remember him saying to me whenever you think you're doing well in this game someone will come and kick you in your bollocks and he said and that's just happened to you so now I want you to just just relax he was absolutely brilliant he was great when you mention all those names now like obviously growing up in that area like QPR as well like that was a special time for QPR you think about Roy Wegerley's on the bench and Les Verdinand's up front it's a good time to be alive as a QPR fan so yeah it was um and then and then Roy came in and and for a while I I kind of like was I wasn't involved and you know I was training but you know traveling and I went for a period because my mum was really ill at the time my mum was uh you know unfortunately she was dying of cancer so what was happening I was being I was being taken away on a on a on a Friday and you know it was back in the day where there's only two subs and I always brought that that that extra man just in case and I ended up being that extra man most weekends so I was traveling away with the team on a Friday so I weren't seeing her on a Friday then the game on a Saturday and then back then you used to everywhere you went you went by coach so by the time you got back I always remember I used to get back and I used to jump in my car I used to drive around to the hospice I used to go to the nation's I know it's late I know it's late but I've just come back from the game can I just see her for five minutes and they always used to let me in to go and see her do you know what I mean so yeah so that was and she always used to say to me don't worry son it'll be alright in the end it'll be alright in the end and I go she'd go did you play or was you involved and I go no She goes, don't worry, she'll be all right.

36:09And unfortunately she never got to see any of my career develop. But yeah, that was tough for me at the time. But she was right. Yeah, she was right. So, you know, Don Howard took over a bit. And it was really weird because, like I said, we had a clash of personalities. I was that kid that shouldn't have had an opinion, but I did. And so there's a big clash of personalities we've done. And then I remember Roy Wrigley got injured, Colin Clark got injured. I think we had Dean Coney or someone else. There was another four, Mark Falco. Sorry, got injured. It was only me and Bradley Allen as the forwards left.

36:47So my first game was against Luton away, scored two goals there. And then I just went on a scoring spree where I scored sort of like seven in the last nine games and pulled us away from the relegation zone. And then Don Howe left in the summer, Gerry came in. And that was when Gerry put his arm around me and said, this is it. This is where we take off. Yeah, brilliant. And it kicked on then. and I remember some of the goals. I mean, I was always in the ground. You wouldn't have known me. I was in the ground for a lot of the goals and I always just wanted to watch you, you know, and just think, that's what I want to be like, you know, and just like watch you like peel away when the winger was getting the ball, just peel around the back and little fingers from your game that I just tried to pick up and use.

37:28And I mean, you just exploded, right, at QPR that time. And then what happens then? Where do you go after that? so you know I stayed at QBR probably when I look back on it now probably a little bit longer than I should have done you know I felt like because there were times where I remember our chairman used to be an Arsenal fan and he lived in the same building as George Graham and he always used to go to me do you want to go to Arsenal should have been speaking to George again do you know what I mean and Arsenal came in two or three times really to try and sign me and I was the other half of North London so it was always a difficult this decision like you know when I supported Tottenham and I knew if I went there it might not so um did the offer get increasingly better every time in terms of I always remember one of the things that happened was one of the years George was coming um he must have asked the chairman what was earning and stuff like that and the chairman told him and he said he's going to have to take a pay cut to come to Arsenal and I was like okay no problem um so that didn't happen and then the situation with Man United happened where um Ray Wilkins calls me and says to me about, you know, you know, he's been speaking to Alex Ferguson and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

38:40And Man United want to sign you, blah, blah. Next day, Man United put a bid in, get told about it. I go to the chairman, I say, chairman, I want to, this is one that I'd like to do. Says, okay, let me speak to Jerry. Goes back to Jerry, tells Jerry and Jerry says, all right, I'm done. I'm resigning. And Jerry, Jerry, Jerry tells this story himself. And he always says to me, he said, I knew that if we lost you, we were losing 20 goals and I wouldn't be able to replace that so I'd always said to the club if we sell Les that's me done it's a bit harsh on you though because that's going that's going to potentially brilliant moves for you yeah and that's what happened unless you see the first ever joint manager and player oh yeah sure if he goes I go we're to the same club but you know that those we talk about those sliding doors moments we all talk about players that could have gone somewhere and what would have happened even imagining them in the kit just imagine that in the red shirt like oh what kit would that have been just thinking about it what date would that have been this would have been was that before Andy Cole then yeah so this would have been around about 94 wow yeah so that yellow and green oh yeah I'm just away 94 that's the second Premier League season so that would have been yeah that would have been like the yellow and green that would be your way kit yeah yeah and what would happen they had to sign me before they had to sign me by December because they wanted me for the second part of the Champions League and so they said to QBR look we've asked before and you've said at the end of the season we can't afford to do it at the end of the season we want to do it now and and so the chairman says to me look Les I'm sure you understand I can't lose my star centre forward and manager in the same in the same week so he goes let me give us a bit of time to try and work something out here so Jerry Jerry goes on his way and I'm sitting there and I'm waiting and waiting and waiting and I get a call from the chairman and says look we might have been able to resolve this he said we're thinking we've had a chat with the board and we're thinking of bringing Ray Wilkins back and at the time the fans loved Ray you know he was like and Ray had gone on to Crystal Palace as a player he said we're thinking of bringing him back as player manager I went the crowd I love that everyone would go with that that'd be that'd be the perfect scenario so left it about another week and you know everyone's getting a little bit restless and the chairman calls me up and he says, good news and bad news.

41:05I said, okay. He said, good news, his race coming back. He said, he's agreed to come back. I said, that's great. Everyone's going to absolutely love that. He said, the bad news, he's coming back under one condition. What's that? He says, can't sell you. This is unbelievable, isn't it? It's a double stitch up. So, and it's funny what you just said. Right at the beginning, you said about, you know, people stitching you up and you not being able to go to somewhere where you want to go. I remember him coming back as manager and obviously the first thing I'd do is knock on his door and he went to me, I was expecting that.

41:37So I walk in, I go, that's a razor light. I mean, you're the one that called me about this and told me all about it and everything's, you know, snowballed because of what you said and now you're saying I can't go or you only come back if I go. And he goes, son, I've just taught you the most important lesson in life. I went, yeah, what's that? He's gone, you look after number one.

42:03so you know I could have I suppose I could have thrown my toys out the pram and go and play and all this but that's that just wasn't my character do you know what I mean and you know I remember all the in fact my little girl was going through some of the newspaper articles and stuff like that and they got they've got I saw one that says Les Miserable I vaguely remember this I just scored two goals against West Ham and he went does he look like he's he's miserable like to know him but that was the headline because everyone kind of like knew what happened at the time and thought like you know I was going to down tools and not play and stuff like that but I went on and probably had my most successful season in QBR before Newcastle did you ever speak to Sir Alex?

42:45no I mean what had happened was Grey had told me all the information and he told me that they were going to make the bid the next day and he said they were going to fax it in and that's exactly what they did and that was it was that but it wasn't it wasn't in Sir Alex's it wasn't a personal thing there like he understood the situation yeah he knew it wasn't me that didn't win it's what occurred and what had happened yeah and the reason why and at the time you know what it's like when you're down south and there's talk about clubs that wanted you up in because at one stage you know Liverpool and all you know there was loads of clubs that were interested and the press down there kept saying he's a London boy he doesn't want to go up north if he wants to stay down.

43:29So what Alex was trying to find out was whether I would settle in Manchester and all that. And Ray was like, he said I gave him the most glowing report I could possibly give anybody about your character and what you'd be like in the dressing room. So he said he didn't need to know about your football. He knew everything he needed to know about that. It was just about you as a character and whether you'd settle in Manchester and stuff.

43:52Welcome back to that Peter Crouch podcast. It feels like a good time to end our chat there with part one of our chat with Les. What a legend Les is, by the way. Top guy. One of the good guys in football. That's what he is. So look, at the time of recording, it's very, very exciting because we've got this Macclesfield stuff happening tonight. Some of the voice notes you're firing into our WhatsApp group right now as well, Crouchy, are brilliant. Obviously, people will see how this plays out. But are you excited for tonight? Yeah, I'm very, very excited, obviously. So it's big for us, you know, and it's good for now.

44:26I spoke to Maccasfield and they're absolutely buzzing to be involved as well with us so it's kind of worked both ways and obviously it's great passing to the pod and it's massive for us but yeah I spoke to Darren Fletcher obviously commentating on the game and to Joe Cole who's actually doing the draw after and if some of the things that you know have been chatted about come off then that will be listen if you listen to this they probably didn't but if they did I think it's going to be great I think it could be our finest passing at the pod it really could be massive couldn't it if love it does come off especially with the draw if one of them look let's just say it for hours if one of them boys wears the the jacket during the draw huge absolutely huge for them well it's it's been talked about the only thing is there's a few carls behind the camera we've discussed these before a lot of the carls like these people you know there's a lot of people that get involved and very um kind of admin heavy behind the camera.

45:26If they put their oar in, I don't know what the branding or sponsorship stuff's like these days, but you never know, is what I'm trying to say. Would this be one of our biggest to date passing of the past? I think it's up there. I mean, I've only been on here a couple of years, boys. I think it's up there. I think Prince William bringing a Samrat in was good passing. I remember Lewis Capaldi, he was our ambassador for a little while, wasn't he? and we had Pete Doherty for a little while. He was an ambassador for us. I remember that. Elton passed the pod a couple of times. There's been some big stuff, but I just think game-wise, I don't think we've been involved in a live fixture to this magnitude.

46:12Obviously, Farnham was a big deal for us. That was a huge pass from the pod. That was a big one. But it feels like FA Cup, kind of, you know, the only televised game in that particular moment. You know, huge giant killing from Macca's fill. We're obviously all behind Macca's fill. Feels like it could be one of our finest hours. Absolutely, yeah. I feel there's a real groundswell of support around this podcast at the moment. And we get so many messages from people wanting to pass the pod. Obviously, this will take it to another level. Just before we get into predictions, I want to shout out, there's an Instagram account called Greatest Kits and from the looks of it, I've had a little look at it it's just a fella who puts up sort of iconic footballers and the kits they're wearing.

46:57The reason I'm saying it is he got in touch with me and basically said he's found a load of old Watford programmes and would I be interested in them and they arrived today and I'm just having a look here, it's like Watford, Coventry they've sent over a few, they've also sent, and I thought this would be of interest to you boys, look at this it's a shoot an original shoot from 1982 30 pounds love that fantastic love that brilliant very kind gesture what he's also done is he's sent a few player cards I don't know I'm going to try to show you boys they're mainly Watford ones but I've just been flicking through them and the reason why I've wanted to give him a shout out is he's also included a Steve Sidwell and a couple of crouches.

47:47And I thought, I just wanted to see if these sort of jogged any memories for you. Crouchy, what order would you like this? Would you like yours first or Sid's? Oh, I don't mind. Let's go for a Sidwell. All right. So this is Steve Sidwell shootout card from Reading. Have a look at that. Oh, look at that. Christ. Look at the thighs on it. Look at the thighs on it.

48:18what silky smooth or just being the power look at the power in those fires no wonder your dad wanted you to wear some Johnny Barnes ones there's no Photoshop there is there this was all free AI in size unbelievable chalk and cheese they're chasing me and SIDS aren't they chalk and cheese yeah then I'll give I can give you SIDS you can choose do you want Crouchy at Stoke or do you want Crouchy at Portsmouth oh we've got to go Crouchy at Portsmouth come on there he is his stats defence 26 attack 75 there he is look at that look at that great cards though great cards so yeah look I just appreciate I appreciate the gift and I thought we could get a couple of them up in the Chamba 1 bar anyway but he sent a couple of Corinthians as well just as a quick side note his Here's David Platt as a Corinthian.

49:16Yeah? We've all seen that before. Look at the tan. I never clocked this one as a kid. Look at the tan they've given Peter Beardsley. One second. Look at this. Oh. Tell you what Beardo looks well. That's a great likeness of Peter Beardsley. Yeah. That's the best I've seen. But I mean, any old football tats, send it to us and we can get up in the Chumba One bar and thanks to the guys there for the kind gesture. Make sure you bring that in, Chris. Just one last bit of admin before we get into the league. I did the Brentford versus Arsenal game. It was a great game. It was a draw. And I don't know, like Sid, you'll be familiar with this, but Chris, quite often, right, we go up to the studio.

50:00Then when we've got to get down, we've got to stay just pitch side for when the kickoff goes so we can get back onto the pitch. So I've been in the studio and basically we're in a holding pen and we're kind of like in the crowd waiting for the whistle to go. And as we're in the crowd, like some people kind of escape early and there was one particular fella. So there's kind of security with us as well. So like, you know, nothing can happen on, you know, when you're in with the fans, whatever. And anyway, he's kind of slipped the security and come over to me. And I've got my hands in my pocket, so it's freezing.

50:35And he's grabbed my arm like that. And he started pulling my hand out of my pocket. I thought, what's he going to do? I thought he was going to like try and mug me or something. Anyway, he's pulled my hand out. He's pulled it towards him and he's kissed the ring.

50:51He's kissed. Kissed the ring. Did not say one word. Not one word. This guy, this fellow at Brentford, you know who you are and you'll be listening now. He kissed the ring and then he gave me a wink and just walked off into the night. normal as anything as if that's just normal behavior i said like these two boys what are security guys they're like as if like are you all right with that and i was like i've never been more fired with that it's just this pod this podcast it's i told you boys that last time we were together i said like i was walking through london two two lads walked around the corner and obviously you get this a lot you get people shouting catchphrases from the podcast normal as anything they didn't break strides they both looked up at me one at a time just nodded their head went regards to the family regards to your family didn't stop didn't have a conversation just carried on around the rest of soho it's like there's a weird sort of um what what is it freemasons kind of thing yeah it's like a secret society isn't it yeah bizarre But brilliant and we should encourage it.

52:07And yeah, I mean, as long as you're fine with it, Crouchy, if people do have the opportunity to kiss the ring, then we want to encourage it more. Right, let's get into the finest football league in the world, really. It's just me and Chris with the one points there. Sidds is already on the beach. I feel like I could be catching Sidds here. I'm on 50 points. Sidds on 52. Chris, you've fallen away on 40 now, mate. We struggled there. We all had Villa to win. Obviously, Newcastle played really, really well. Me and Chris had Wolves to beat Grimsby. That happened. And that's where we got our points.

52:49I don't know if you loved it. I loved the Wolves-Grimsby game, I have to say. We were just talking about it off air, Chris, there. Some of the sponsors and obviously the pitch was a serious throwback to some of the good times. It was brilliant. some of the challenges as well because of it. But it was when they clocked that all they need to do is just lump the ball forward and the ball will not run off the pitch and then just chase after it. And then those jewels that were happening in the corner, it was fantastic. As you say, the sponsors around the pitch as well. What was the one you spotted?

53:22It was brilliant. We only sing when we're fitting. That's it. And then on the bench you had a winner-winner chicken dinner. I actually loved it it was really good and also it was just no VAR the thing caked in mud it was it was kind of perfect FA Cup really that was one of the reasons why I went for a an upset with Brimsby I thought the pitch would play a part but there we go no Cup upset even Birmingham as well so what can we do oh yeah alright let's fly into this week's games this next part of the podcast Arsenal supported by Paddy Power. The big weekend fix shot is, of course, the North London derby.

54:06It's Tottenham versus Arsenal. Okay, let's start, as always, with the odds. Tottenham, huge underdogs here. 11-2, believe it or not, at home. Draws 3-1. Arsenal, clear favourites, one to do. I quite like this one. I don't like it because I want Tottenham to win. But a repeat of the last meeting, 4-1 to Arsenal. Is this possible? Surely not with the new manager. It's 18-1, though. Tottenham got a new manager here, Igor Tudor, ex-Juventus. I don't know what to make of that, if I'm being perfectly honest. Arsenal need to bounce back. I say they need to bounce back. I think that was a decent draw, actually, at Brentford.

54:45That's a difficult place to go. How do we see this one, Guy? What do you think about the... Well, you called the Brentford thing bang on, actually. We had a quick tap-ass before you went.

55:02a quick tapas and and um and you said it was going to be a tree you said it was going to be a tricky one that we sound like a right pair of bellens don't we but he went for a quick tapas the game's gone isn't it pod's gone remember we used to go for a few beers i'm gonna have to i'm gonna have to throw this one onto the podcast because since you've experienced this before crouchy's got this bizarre thing where we finished the podcast you know where like you finish work and someone might turn around to go do you fancy a quick pint in the in the exact same tone and language he leans he leans down towards my ear and basically whispers fancy a quick tapas the thing is mate it's not even the first time this has happened he loves it he'll go before you see him on your TV, right, at the end of the working day or Saturday morning, just know the man is squeezed in a tapas in 15 minutes.

56:03His TNT car waiting outside and he has a speedy tapas. It's bizarre. Tapas Pete. He loves it. He's telling the driver five minutes, just gonna finish. I'm just finishing off my Patata Brava, just wiping it up. Honestly, mate, even the lady in the tapas place, and he's what's even funny is where we record the podcast he's located three separate tapas joints within half a mile and and he did as we're walking into this one he was like oh that's good this one there's he said there's a slightly nicer one down the road but but you know we'll press for time as we walk in the lady goes oh we need the table back in in half an hour right because they're shutting up he's like yeah no problem at all like like he's there regular you know seat up by the window anyway we had a quick tap pass before the game we were looking at and Crouchy was saying it's going to be a struggle that one I think Brentford had lost two at home all season something like that and it did turn out to go that way but then look at the FA Cup I mean it feels like that sort of reset the dial again you know what the thing is with this one is that I feel like with Spurs they've got a blueprint now of playing against Arsenal I think Brentford played really well.

57:23They played perfection. They were deep, obviously. They didn't give them much space, but they were good on the break. They were strong. They were direct. You know, we'll see what happens. I've been reading about Igor Tudor's tactical now, right? He's known for his electroshock style of football, which focuses on fitness and running. One of his quotes is, if you don't run, you don't play. Electroshock. Is that going to catch on? I mean, is this one for the games gone? Yeah. Electroshock. Is that just another word of saying, I don't know, high press? Absolutely. Relentless high press. Gegen press.

58:10It sounds like a Eurovision act to me. Electroshock. Yeah, I can imagine. I can see the guy as well. like he's like kind of sticky up hair and like a bit of leather with maybe some leather gloves with the finger cut out playing the guitar so what are you saying then are you saying there that it sounds like there could be a little new manager bounce from Spurs in this game this is this is why it's so difficult to call I think because the new manager no one knows how they're going to react do you want to go first go on in I don't know I'm just having a quick look on Instagram here so many people pile into this now by the way it's mad just flicking through the DMs Roman Kemp has offered up a prediction for this one as well he thinks that'll be too old Roman Kemp's like he thinks it'll be too old he must think there's a new manager balance yeah do you know what there's quite a few people here Alex Mayers Luke Mayhew Baldy Bev Baldy Bev's gone Arsenal 3 Spurs 0 Oh Doorbell My doorbell sounds like do you remember Noel's house party?

59:31Yeah it does Mate Mate that is the most stereotypical doorbell if everyone's seen heard a doorbell that was literally a ding dong I actually love that Noel Williams Do you reckon delivery driver or something. Go and check it out, mate. We'll be on tenderhooks here. I never thought like... This is unbelievable. I never thought delivery. Receiving... Oh, he's got a package. Open it. Open it. Get it open. Get it open. Oh, I can't wait. I hope it's something juicy. The anticipation is building. Oh my God, this could be anything. What is it, bedding? What have we got? What the fuck is that? What is that?

1:00:22Is that a pillowcase? I don't know what this is. Not an orthopaedic pillow, is it? Have you heard about my bed? Did I tell you about it? What is this? I've got a bed that lifts. It is like an orthopaedic bed. It vibrates. It goes... Oh, my God. What a pervert. I don't know what this is. What's that? Listen, if you don't go for a horny 2-1... What's this? What's that? What is that? What the fuck is that? I don't know what she's done. Do you know the amount of shit that arrives in this house constantly? Is that a rug? Is that like a mattress topper or something? I don't know because it's tiny, mate.

1:01:10It wouldn't be a mattress. Is it like a yoga mat or something? sarong or something the hell do you reckon it could be a yoga mat might be onto something there but it doesn't let's go back to a vibrating bed really quickly I will let you know I know it will be on your mind Sid just wants to go back to the vibrating bed got a few questions yes so what it does is I've got a bed that it comes with a remote comes with a remote And then what it does is you could be lying flat like that, press the button, and it lifts you up like a hospital bed. Wow. Okay. And then you just vibrate. There's a button on it to vibrate.

1:01:58And the whole thing just goes. Oh, my God. Wow. Wow. If you do it, I was excited at that, but I don't really understand the point of that function. if I get you boys round at some point I'll definitely let you have a go if you don't go for a horny draw now you're going to disappoint me out of this game well a lot of people are saying too but the problem is I still think Arsenal win here is the sensible option I don't know if I can go with a draw go for it say your score that doesn't feel right to me he won't go he won't go 2-2 he won't I'll go go on then I'll go Desmond two all

1:02:48okay I'm going to go I'm going to I'm going to stick with Arsenal here I don't think there's enough of a bounce I think Arsenal win 3-1 okay I'm going to go Arsenal 2-0 okay we do have the Paddy's Boost this is where we each pick a leg of the CrouchPod bet builder the odds on that bet builder we'll put on the website and on the special section of the app as well it's boosted by 20%. So, get involved. I will go for player to score first, Bukayo Saka. I'm going to go player to be carded, Mickey Van Der Ven. Okay, I'll go for a player to have two shots or more on target. I'll go for Giocares. Okay, the odds are correct at the time of recording.

1:03:33Please gamble responsibly. Moving on, another cracking game. Manchester City versus Newcastle. City putting pressure on. Feels like they're hitting form now. Scored 12 goals, lost five games. It feels like they're hitting form at the right time and I think that could be squeaky bum time for Arsenal. Two big results for Newcastle recently, Spurs and Villa. Watched both of those games, played really well and deserved them. Are they? They could be back. So, interesting game this, tough one to call. Yeah, I think there's going to be goals in this game. I actually think this could be one of them games that's going to have four or more goals, which would give someone a bonus point.

1:04:19Nice. I could see a 3-2 or a 4-2 or even like a mad one, like a 4-3, high scoring thriller. Yeah, both teams are in form, aren't they, at the minute in terms of scoring goals and getting things done.

1:04:36I'm going to come... Go on, Pete, you go first. well I'm just going to nick what exactly you said there Sid and go with 3-2 to Manchester City

1:04:53I liked everything you said I liked everything you said there okay I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to do the same but I'm going to I'm going to say there's goals I'm going to go 4-1 Man City 4-1 4-1 it's a bit strong for me there It's a bit strong for me, that, Sid. You know, missionary. What have you gone for, Crouchy? 3-2 to New Jersey. Looks like he's doing countdown.

1:05:31I'm going to go Man City 3, Newcastle 1. Please, Colin.

1:05:43all right let's go last game of the day uh new sorry nottingham forest versus liverpool uh new manager for for forest um i'm not sure how much that does i think liverpool i thought they played really well in the cup game with brighton um brighton came out of the traps playing really good stuff i thought they were playing really well and so to win that as comfortably as they did I thought was superb great goal from St Bosley football was beautiful and the cleanest of strikes thought Kirkhead probably had his best game in a red shirt as well so and Virts looks good as well I feel like you know things are getting things are looking brighter for Liverpool and Salah amongst the goals again so I can't see anything other than Liverpool win if I want to be fair yeah I agree I agree on that they're just starting to turn it a little bit aren't they so Bozla he's been their go-to man hasn't he scores well-de-goals I think a few others need to start taking a bit of ownership really and you know putting in some big performances which they are of late but I agree I think I can't see anything past Liverpool beating Forest I just don't look four managers in one season that's mad and I'm not sure about this manager either so I'm going to go for a Liverpool win I'm going to come out the blocks boys I'm going to say Liverpool get this done I'm going to say this is going to be 3-0 Liverpool.

1:07:08I like that score. Chris is in a world of pain here, isn't he? He's reading a lot of messages, isn't he? He's getting mixed messages here. Yeah, on this one, especially. Oscar Petit here. What a name. Manu's brother. He says, hello there. You've been a bit ballsy in recent weeks. Probably why it's not worked out for you. and then give him the scores and then put enjoy the nine pointer Christopher I like his confidence so I'm going to follow him in here with a a 2-1 2-1 Liverpool win okay nicely done I'm going to go with 3-1 Liverpool I don't know about this Tottenham Arsenal prediction oh he's gone back he's gone he's gone all the way back he's away whoa can this can this be done can this be done I thought he was locked in go on I'd love it if you change in his 2-2 I would I'd love it I'd love it I'd love it I'm going to allow him to change if you really want to change Chris in a world of pain he's desperate to change he's desperate to change go on change go on Chris change I think he's deliberating what the hell is in that package personally yeah he zoned out I'm going to go 2-0 I'm going to stick with 2-0 I think my missus just got back let me find out okay Ria Ria he's going to ask his missus he's going to ask his missus live on the podcast Ria what this is for Ria Ria yeah you've got to keep going you've got to keep going Ria it sounds like mum Milo mum Milo Ria Yes.

1:09:02Oh, my God. What is my note? What is that? What's the package? That said that the chair doesn't hurt the carpet. Oh, is it? A mat? Yes, a mat. What do you think it was? Oh, it's a mat. It's a mat for the chair, so it doesn't damage the carpet. Oh, God. Quickly, Arsenal Tottenham. What's going on? Someone.

1:09:31she's got 3-1 Arsenal 3-1 Arsenal 3-1 Arsenal to be fair that was wasn't that my one I'm going to stick to all boys do you know if it's 3-1 I'm going to get extra satisfaction yeah your missus has chosen he's he's putting the map down already I see it's just it makes total sense now yeah alright well good pod this really good there was a lot going on there really enjoyed every moment of it loved it loved it i think i think that that should be almost like a i think we might have to segue that into like a like a like a regular segment that like a live parcel opening on on any of these recordings i think the rule needs to be if we're doing this bit of the podcast which sometimes we do do remote so it can come out really close to the podcast coming out and stuff but if someone knocks at the door, they have to get involved in the predictions.

1:10:34It's just a straight up rule. Yeah, they have to get involved in the pod of some sort. Yeah. Definitely. Come on, the pod at some stage. I'm doing the thumbs up again, look. Yeah, if you're watching this on YouTube, you've had an extra treat today because I've only just clocked the whole way through this last bit of the podcast. Steve Sidwell's been, his camera is totally the wrong way around. Boom. listen this is what we do okay it's just about getting on what we do best giving giving the people what they want doesn't matter how it all comes out the producers that's down to them to edit it and sort it all out so true okay and listen you know hopefully you've enjoyed today's podcast we loved Les Ferdinand we loved him that much that we kept him there for like two and a half hours and we condensed it down to a two part special the first part hopefully you enjoyed that just then The second part is out next week, and you're going to absolutely love it.