In short
Tottenham’s preseason fallout and transfer priorities after James Maddison’s injury, debate over Daniel Levy’s approach (via Gary Neville interview), and analysis of new signing Rodrigo Bentancur? (discussed as “Paulina/Polinia,” a loan-to-buy defensive midfielder). They also discuss Son Heung-min’s £20m move to LAFC, and whether Tottenham should pursue Jack Grealish.
Guest backgrounds
The episode is hosted by “Fighting Cock” regulars (John, Mark, Flav). They’re Spurs-focused football fans who follow tactics/stats and discuss transfers and club governance.
Key claims
- Maddison’s absence could be “7–8 months” (possibly ACL), effectively ending the season and forcing Tottenham to sign a “10.”
- Levy won’t change his spending/decision-making style; he emphasizes stadium/PSR governance rather than committing to player spend.
- “Paulina/Polinia” is expected to be a dominant, disciplined No.6: strong at winning the ball, aerially, and protecting the back four; loan fee “£5m,” with “~£25m” option.
- Son’s departure is framed as deserved for his choice; his Spurs legacy is argued as top-tier/legend status.
- Grealish links are debated: possible solution for breaking down low blocks, but concerns about age/hunger and role fit.
Notable examples
- Comparisons to City’s Rodri vs Fernandinho.
- Maddison injury history stats cited (missed games across seasons).
- Mentions of Eze, Gibbs-White, and “Kudus” as hypothetical 10 options.
- Grealish’s City treble context and Villa role freedom.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOPredictions for the Season
0:00 to 1:09
We'll discuss key predictions about the upcoming soccer season.
“Before the season even kicks off, soccer fans are already making predictions.”
Predictions for the Season
1:12 to 1:30
We'll discuss key predictions about the upcoming soccer season.
“So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for.”
Transfer News and Player Updates
2:12 to 3:40
Discussion about player transfers including Son and Paulini.
“You know, Son Hunmin, he's gone, he's decided£20 million transfer to LAFC, confirmed.”
Whiskey Bottle Discussion
3:40 to 5:36
A light-hearted discussion about drinking whiskey from unusual containers.
“Yeah, he's still recording in Danish in your pod?”
Madison's Injury Impact
5:36 to 8:06
Analyzing the potential impact of Madison's injury on the team.
“I don't think so because I don't think there's any on there.”
Team's Future Without Madison
8:06 to 11:20
Discussion on how the team should prepare for life without Madison.
“No, I'd like to think that we get someone over the line.”
Levy's Interview Reactions
11:20 to 14:00
Reactions to Daniel Levy's interview with Gary Neville and its implications.
“On Mathers, though, like, he was, he's always been injury-prone.”
Discussion on Madison's Injury Record
14:00 to 15:50
The hosts discuss the concerning injury record of Tottenham player Madison.
Daniel Levy's Interview Critique
15:50 to 20:40
The hosts critique Daniel Levy's recent interview and its lack of substance regarding Tottenham's future.
“Well, I did, I did, I thought it was, look, John, you're right.”
Fans' Expectations vs. Reality
20:40 to 25:56
The hosts express frustration with fans' expectations from Levy's interview and the reality of club finances.
“thinking you were going to get lots of big reveals, then you're kidding yourself.”
Show all 28 chapters
Fans' Expectations vs. Reality
26:05 to 26:50
The hosts express frustration with fans' expectations from Levy's interview and the reality of club finances.
“So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for.”
Analysis of New Signing Paulina
26:50 to 28:00
The hosts analyze the potential impact of Paulina on Tottenham’s midfield.
“He might as well just fucking throw it back.”
Analyzing Paulina's Impact on the Team
28:00 to 28:52
Insights on how Paulina can enhance Tottenham's midfield strength.
“because the way we played and we fucking bombed on and just left the centre-backs alone.”
Paulina's Tackling Statistics and Comparison
28:52 to 31:08
Discussion on Paulina's tackling stats and his role compared to other players.
“Mark, tell us about the stat around his tackles because there was some debate in our group that it might not be true, but it is true.”
Transfer Insights: Bayern Munich Connections
31:08 to 33:08
Exploration of Tottenham's transfer strategies with players from Bayern Munich.
“for us to not sign him permanently by the end of the season.”
Son's Transfer and Legacy at Tottenham
33:08 to 34:24
Reflections on Son's transfer and his legendary status at the club.
“It is kind of a good tactic to just have a little look at those players.”
Defending Son's Status as a Tottenham Legend
34:24 to 37:24
Arguments supporting Son's place among the greatest players in Spurs history.
“Explaining the nuances of why we love Sonny the way we do means that someone outside the football club will never understand and they don't need to.”
Comparing Son to Tottenham Legends
37:24 to 40:04
Discussion on Son's achievements and his comparison to past Tottenham legends.
“fuck yeah that's actually kind of a lot of things that you have to consider He does bow under pressure quite easily, my dad.”
Son's Underrated Contributions and Legacy
40:04 to 42:00
Insights into the underappreciated aspects of Son's playing career at Spurs.
“and he gave it all to us in his peak years.”
Discussing Son and Kane's Penalty Records
42:00 to 44:32
Analyzing the impact of penalty duties on player scoring records.
“Every other single high-scoring player you see on these fucking Alan Shearer was banging in penalties on penalty duty for every club he played at.”
Sponsorship Segment: Facebook
44:32 to 46:01
Promoting community engagement through Facebook Marketplace.
“So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for.”
Evaluating Jack Grealish's Potential Transfer
46:01 to 53:52
Analyzing the pros and cons of signing Jack Grealish.
“What do you want from your career and your time at Spurs?”
Rebuilding Tottenham: Fan Perspectives
53:52 to 56:00
Discussing the concept of rebuilding the Tottenham squad and fan expectations.
“they bring in Trafford let's see you can't just talking about rebuild without talking about the need for also constantly developing your squad I think is a bit two-faced.”
Fan Perspectives on Transfer Window
56:00 to 57:08
Discussion on the emotional investment of fans versus casual supporters and transfer expectations.
“He's got stuff to do that interests him outside football.”
Assessing Tottenham's Transfer Activity
57:08 to 59:54
Analyzing the players Tottenham could have signed and the overall quality of the transfer window.
“Maybe in that eighth position, he is better than Berval and Sarra, whatever it is.”
Concerns About Squad Depth and Quality
59:54 to 1:02:33
Debate on whether Tottenham's squad is thin and if they can compete effectively this season.
“So let's move on to other things, you know, because we also have a lot of players we need to get rid of.”
Upcoming Social Event Announcement
1:02:33 to 1:04:02
Informal discussion about a sold-out social event for fans and plans for the day.
“as bad as it was last season It just isn't.”
Lighthearted Banter and Personal Tales
1:04:02 to 1:05:25
Humorous exchanges and personal anecdotes between the hosts.
“You decide to move away and you've got family and the kids.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Before the season even kicks off, soccer fans are already making predictions. Who wins the league? Who qualifies for Europe? And who's lifting the trophy at season's end? On Calci, America's number one prediction market platform, you're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house. And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position. For a limited time, download the Calci app and use code CUP26 to get$10 when you trade 10. K-A-L-S-H-I, Calci. Trade the beautiful game. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors.
0:32Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calsheet.com slash regulatory.
1:02The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott, in theaters August 28th. Get tickets now. Rated R. Under 17, not admitted without parents. This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message, and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook. It's a fighting.
1:43It's a fighting. Cock! It's a fighting. It's a fighting. Cock! Oh, come on, son! No! Hello boys, welcome back to the Fighting Cop podcast. Apologies for there not being an episode on Monday. I was away, I was doing work and none of the boys are available, too busy having lives. So yeah, there was no pod, but there was a lot happening. You know, Son Hunmin, he's gone, he's decided£20 million transfer to LAFC, confirmed. Paulini assigned, which was good. We played Newcastle and Daniel Levy did an interview with Gary Neville. so while most other podcasts I'm sure have already covered that we're going to cover it again and some more this would have been a Q &A podcast and some people might know especially if they use Reddit I'll put out a request are you drinking whiskey out of a book?
2:42what is that? no it's a flat bottle a flat bottle? why? yeah well it's much easier so if you think about a normal water bottle it's obviously like cylindrical and most people have like a backpack or like a holdall. Laptop bag maybe? Yeah, laptop bag, exactly. So a bottle doesn't fit in them. It's really annoying. So I saw this advert online for like flat water bottles and I was like, that's a fucking brilliant idea. So I bought one. But it does look like a whiskey flask. So I've been drinking it on client calls and I can see people going, is this geezer just fucking smashing whiskey? It looks like a device that alcoholics use to hide the fact they're drinking, like in Happy Gilmore 2, I don't know if you've seen that yet.
3:31There's basically everyday objects, but there's whiskey in them. It looks like one of them. I think it looks like a giant vape. Yeah, it does look like that. It does, yeah, it does. Right, you heard Mark as well. How you doing, Mark? Yeah, he's still recording in Danish in your pod? Yeah, we did one the other day. good yeah in danish so it doesn't matter there's no point in danish yeah the minute you start to record in english well you can promote it as much as you want um that's good okay yes so this was going to be a q a podcast on uh on on uh and and we request questions on reddit often and i posted it up and i'm like i better check see if there's been any response i've used my personal uh reddit account with my name on it and I have no idea what I've said on in that account over the last five years longer than that I've had it about 10 years I don't know what's on there at all so I've had to delete the lot I've deleted it got rid of it I don't know what's on there I'm pretty sure I'm cool I'm fine but I don't I've been drunk so much in that 10 period 10 10 year period but yep it's been deleted so I haven't got a reddit account anymore because of this stupid mistake.
4:52The thing is, right, you know, like, I get accused of it often. Well, we all do it for a joke, right? You see, like, someone tweet something absolutely insane and you'll be like, oh, this is Mark's burner account or this is Flav's burner account. Yeah. I genuinely don't know how people do it because I definitely would fuck up. Like, if I had a burner account, I would do it. I would make that mistake exactly and just tweet something completely insane. We've read it. Your icon is so small on the top right hand side that it's just, it's not like Twitter. It's sort of more difficult to find out. So, yeah, I've had to delete it.
5:23Ten years of my history just gone because I don't know what was on there. Maybe I did a racism ten years ago. I don't know. I don't think I did, but I just couldn't take that chance. How long was it up for? Do you think people might have already been on there and screenshots and stuff? Possibly. I don't think so because I don't think there's any on there. But if there is and I get caught, just please, you know, I've just got to feed the kids and the wife and I've just bought a house. Just got to deny it. It's the Epstein files all over again, isn't it? It never existed, yeah. It wasn't there. Very true.
5:58Hello, boys. How are you doing? Good. We haven't spoken since James Madison was injured.
6:07Catastrophic, I think. Could be. How many points do you think James Madison was worth to Spurs this season? 10? 15? Yeah, 15. Minimum. Yeah, I think even just outside of directly calculable goals and assists, just having that type of player available also contributes to points. It's a massive blow, absolutely enormous. I think this would have been massive if we'd have signed another 10 already and then we lost him, would have been massive. Now it's fucking Titanic scales. it's basically you know the sort of disaster film Tower and Inferno it's Tower and Inferno and Titanic so basically we're on the Titanic and it's on fire and it's sinking so you're either going to get engulfed by flame or you're going to drown that's what we're currently doing with having zero tens in this squad we need two one of them is injured so that's good well we're not don't like to be overdramatic you know me I like to keep it nice and sensible nice and calm I don't think we're going to there's no I mean, there is a chance because we've seen it before, but we're surely not going to go into this going, well, Kudus can play in the 10.
7:22They're going to sign someone, surely. Like, to your coach, you go, just pay the money, just get him through, right? At this point, it's so important that we do that, that I'm with you. I'll happily back you in this and just going, it doesn't matter if it costs 68 million to Baeza and you have to pay£35 million out front. Let's get it done. Let's go to... Do another share issue. Do whatever you need to do to raise the money to get Ezra in now. He's available. You can buy him. Madison could well be out for another fucking seven months, eight months. We can't go into this season without a 10. Not with Frank's system, you'd imagine.
8:13So please don't make this mistake. What do you think will happen, Mark? No, I'd like to think that we get someone over the line. Someone that can comfortably... Because, you know, we do need someone there. I'm loathe to say we just need anyone, but we're kind of getting to that point. I know he's been trialling Sar in that kind of more advanced role. And, you know, he got a couple of goals and all that sort of stuff. but it's pre-season, who cares? He isn't the creative outlet that we need there. But also to John's point, Madison is, you know, like genuinely, if Madison didn't have as many injury issues, he'd be our next captain.
8:58Like he's a huge part of the squad. You know, you hear so many interviews with him all the time. He's a big voice. He's a very senior player. He's an England international as well. obviously not enough caps but like I genuinely think he'd be up there competing with Romero about that armband but I just don't think he'll get it because he's just not going to play as much I mean he could be out if this is an ACL I don't think it's been confirmed what it is but that could be nine months from now like you know that's that's most of the season we start the season starts in just over just over yeah that's I mean if it's an ACL this season's done it's done it's done yeah there's no point accounting for him really I mean are we moving to a situation given the fact that he's had three significant injuries now what would this be his second that was his second season wasn't it he's had three and if it is an ACL that's missing for so many games are we going to have to start preparing or adapting for the future like the you know we love Madison I love Madison I've been banging his drum all summer saying watch what he does next year but we have to almost forget he exists now we have to we have to plan for his replacement and anyway most of us would have wanted two 10s like that anyway you could have said skied it out I don't know what the fuck is happening at Tottenham why we just can't keep our players just can't stay fit I don't know what's going on yeah everyone said it was I know it's just one injury and I know it's a freak injury to be fair but I don't know man yeah I think it's a combination of things I think we've definitely been unlucky and I think some of these players might be slightly more brittle than others but I do think Ange and the pressure of last season kind of got to them and I think we'll still see that affecting certainly we know it's affecting pre-season obviously we're talking about that right now but that's still going to affect us into next season but Frank's style will be less taxing on the players and hopefully the squad will be wider as well.
11:09So we have, you know, I don't think we're going to be as injury-plagued as last season. Well, we can't. I hope not. Yeah, it's impossible. I mean, we might as well give up if it does. That's possible. Yeah, let's just stop. Just stop. On Mathers, though, like, he was, he's always been injury-prone. Like, I remember that season where Leicester got relegated. He was out for a lot of that and they were hoping that when he came back, it would make a difference. but he missed a massive chunk of that. I think he's always had his injury problems. He's that type of player, that sort of creative, diminutive kind of footballer that will take injuries.
11:47And yeah, he's just not robust enough to go through. This one obviously seems to be one of the worst he's had and I agree with Mark, it's probably a season over. So how old is he? He's 27, 28, right? So like if you have an ACL at that age, it's going to be pretty rough from here on in if you've already had this many injuries so I do think there is a world where I'm not saying in this summer by the way but we definitely need to sign one really decent 10 whether that's Eze or someone else and we should be looking at who is that next one because I think when we signed Bergvall I think a lot of people were like okay he's like a longer term 10 and I think what we're seeing with him is he's more likely to be a sort of box-to-box energetic eight type of player he doesn't at this moment in time doesn't look like a madison type so we're still going to need to sign another one um within the next couple of transfer windows uh in terms of are we going to do that you're right flav like we did stump up the money to like uh what we thought was going to release uh morgan gives white so that didn't happen in the end that was around the sort of 60 million mark so we're not talking about that much more to get Eze and obviously the structure of that yeah yeah exactly yeah that's the only issue that's like potentially difficult but as the sort of end of the transfer window gets closer and closer and closer Palace maybe look at that thing maybe this is the summer we do let him go and actually it's worth taking slightly different structural like payment terms on that blah blah so that that one remains to be seen and also look they obviously wanted to sign Warren Gibbs White I think that would have been a really good solution for a few different positions and would have been fine now had this happened and that disappearing means that they probably are looking at like alternative options and look i think one of our biggest issues it isn't as we've seen before isn't necessarily about spending money no we definitely do spend money we don't spend it very well and i think that we do take too long to do deals and watch other deals go by because we're sort of being indecisive and i think we're seeing a lot of movement for players that we could potentially move for just for whatever happened we haven't seen that at the moment and that might be because it's happening behind the scenes but either way it's not uh it's not comfortable because i think we all know that we need this position so hopefully can i hurry the fuck up and just sign someone please indeed someone decent um yeah he's just on madison's injury record um missed five games in his first full season five in the next 23 games he missed in 2021 2-8 the next two seasons and for Spurs it's been 13-11 and now potentially fucking 55 we'll see, we'll see what happens did you catch Daniel Levy's interview with Gary Neville?
14:32nah you didn't watch it John? I find it really boring, I find anything like that extremely boring and if it was good people would be talking about it but all that happens is you go do you see it yeah it was yeah it was just walking around talking yeah of course it was he's he's fucking daniel levy he's not he's not gonna go surprise i've got 400 billion here to spend on players lol i just thought i'd save it for this interview it is classic pr walking around talking about the stadium and talking about how they've done really well and how the the psr rules are blah blah blah and the finances are challenging and look what we've done since we moved ground and we're investing in this and they'll say all the right things about how they care about the football club and it's all about what happens on the pitch is really important it's the same shit over and over again whether it's gary neville whether it's v9 him talking about red wine or me and you flav down the pub with levy he's not going to say anything other than what he already says yeah i find anything like that mind-blowing didn't watch the v9 one didn't watch this won't watch the langer one no no i don't care about any of that I find it extremely boring just get me some better players and what I care about is what happens on the pitch that's it all this other stuff is fucking mind numbing it was quite interesting though for me I found it quite that's good that's great well that's you know it's more super cool isn't it I find it mind numbing if you found it interesting then it was it was worthwhile peak fighting cock this is peak fighting cock by the way Flavgards did any of you watch this thing John spends seven minutes slating the whole thing off, slagging it off and then flag goes, yeah, I was going to quit.
16:11Well, I did, I did, I thought it was, look, John, you're right. I did too, man. Huh? Go on. I did too, go on. Yeah, exactly. You're 100 % Spartan, we didn't find out anything. The most interesting parts, really, were about his, the Premier League structure and the governance and the sort of subtle comments about Daniel Levy and his views on regulation in football. I find that stuff quite interesting, but the Spurs bit, which, and I think a lot of Spurs fans went into this going, right, this is all going to be about Tottenham, and it weren't really. It was about the stadium, it was about governance, and there was a bit about Tottenham.
16:47But the alarming thing again for me was, he said, the question from Gary Neville is, will you back, well, he said, will you give everything Frank needs to be successful? And Daniel Levy said, of course, we'll try it. And then And he said, well, you give him the money. And he didn't say anything. Now, again, he's not ever going to quote on that. But what was clear is he's not going to shift from what he's been doing. And that he is still the power broker at the football club. And not that we didn't know that anyway. And he's not going to think outside the box. I think he thinks what Chelsea are doing and what Liverpool are doing in this summer isn't sustainable.
17:33and you know the Liverpool stuff isn't sustainable but they didn't spend previously and they won the league so there's plenty of money around for them but he's never going to operate the way somebody's other chairman operate in order to give their club the advantage and that if he's not if we're not going to spend in the way these other clubs spend in and including Arsenal we're never going to catch him and that's the worrying thing I don't know I love this idea that Harry Neville's like are you going to give Frank what he needs to be successful and leave you like yeah and he goes are you gonna give him the money for players and he doesn't say anything so in his mind he's like right i'm giving him all the things he needs to be successful so then i'm thinking well what is that right and frank's just in his office right day one levy just knocks on his door and just walks in with a couple of taste the difference chocolate muffins and goes here you go this is what you need to be successful frank's like well i could probably just do with some better players to be honest levy's like got it i'm with you i'll be back comes back with one of those like ikea like multiple tool sets you know it's got like a hammer in there and then like a little screwdriver and like all this thing and the next day he comes back with all this different stuff and ultimately frank's just like daniel why do you keep giving me all this stuff and he's like this is this is what you need for success and he's like no what i need is some fucking players you little mug because that's what else is it what else could it possibly be yeah we're gonna give everything he needs for success all he needs is fucking players what he doesn't need a bouncy Castle or a fucking two for one on Nando's deal.
19:01He needs better players. What else could it possibly be to give him? We've got the best training ground in the world getting him Beyonce tickets. Is that it? What is it? Daniel LV's rebuttal to that as he mentioned would have been that we've spent£700 million net since the stadium opened. The problem with that is that is true and we should have done so much better potentially with that£700 million. and perhaps this new structure that's been put in place with Venkatesham and Langer, and Langer's, I think, has been pretty much a net success since he took over. They've got to make these better decisions, basically.
19:43Anyway, what were your take-homes, Mark? Yeah, no, look, I agree with all that, but it's kind of, I think the first thing that I took note of of the programme was that this wasn't for, even though it was billed as like, you know, Ange and Frank and Spurs and Levy and like, obviously it was clickbait for Spurs fans. It wasn't about Spurs. It was about a lot of different topics. And that makes sense because it's the overlap, right? It's a football, it's a general football program. It's not a Spurs program. So I got that. And I, you know, I thought some of the points he had, and you know, he is the longest serving chairman in the Premier League.
20:18So getting his opinion on things like PSR and regulator, you know, we have a government regulation coming in soon to the Premier League. All that stuff's boring. Jon Bass is already about to log off just because I'm talking about it. But getting his opinion on that, objectively seen from a football fan's perspective, is good and is interesting. But yeah, from a Spurs point of view, I didn't expect anything. But I think if you went into that thinking you were going to get lots of big reveals, then you're kidding yourself. It's Daniel Levy. I thought it was a good... Maybe, you know... We don't hear much from Levy, so you're always kind of wondering like what's you know what's he doing what's it what his focus is and all that sort of stuff and it is good to see him speaking about things and sometimes speaking about things that aren't spurs you sort of get a bit of a better understanding about the the guy um or the man the person the character and all that sort of stuff um so i thought it was interesting for that as well um but yeah i didn't expect him to say you know we're gonna sign rodrigo in this window or like you know we're aiming to win both the premier league and the champions league and this this is how we're going to do it.
21:21He just wasn't going to say that. So yeah, I thought it was interesting, but I like boring shit like that. The other thing that was worrying about it is that you were just mentioning regulation again and you're like, fucking no one's fucking talking about regulation, Daniel. We're not sitting here waiting for regulation to kick in. Spending restrictions, things are going to be much more difficult. It hasn't been the case. It has been for most people. PSR has teeth because if it didn't, Newcastle would be top of the league with all the players it does have teeth right it isn't ineffective it's just you can if you want be creative enough to get round it and Chelsea have been that so while there are clubs that are being able to get round it and creative enough to get round it weight and regulation isn't going to win us the league and we don't want you're you're right but what it will do is it will start to level the playing field and we look the other thing I'd It hasn't with certain clubs, has it?
22:21It's not with Chelsea. No, but you've also got to... PSR and FFP, these things are quite new. In the grand scheme of things... I'm a big fan of it. More macro. And so am I. I think there should be more regulation. I don't necessarily think the government's the right. Like, as Levy does, I agree with him on that. I don't know if the government's the right. But the FA just don't have the clout to do it right now. They're completely toothless. They can't do anything. It's too late. but there does need to be regulation otherwise we would have a situation where we're sat here completely outside of the top six because Newcastle have been bought by a nation state and can spend the reason why you have like an absolute avalanche of crying, moaning, fuming Newcastle fans all over social media right now because they're being blocked by PSR I love it I'm fucking getting no work done just injecting, crying scouters.
23:13The reason why they aren't beyond players isn't because of PSR it's because they would rather go anywhere else. Like Sesco Is that too but PSR too though? Of course it is PSR because they could just offer them like 500 grand a week. They could just offer 200 million like for stupid players and then they would eventually come. Like money talks and they just wouldn't be able to do that. But you're right they have to they're being forced to play sort of by the rules and then PSR does the last or sorry the city of Newcastle and their team does the rest of it and Eddie Howe um yeah well okay um what else was there uh Paulina signed that's positive I'm quite happy about that I've been watching all of the uh YouTube videos as I do I watch all the tactics guys and all the stats guys and most of them are saying what a great signing there was a guy from Athletic he's they know what they're talking about over there don't they he's used to work for the Athletic did a video on him and um I think we've probably signed the best number six in the world.
24:14I don't know. It seems like that anyway. So if we have, that's good. I like his demeanor as well. I mean, he's either six. He's passing stats as well, John. Like, we don't know, right? My understanding is that he just destroys people and he can't kick a ball, right? That's how people have described him. You watch him, he can fucking pass. Before the season even kicks off, soccer fans are already making predictions. Who wins the league? Who qualifies for Europe? and who's lifting the trophy at season's end. On Calci, America's number one prediction market platform, you're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house.
24:48And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position. For a limited time, download the Calci app and use code CUP26 to get$10 when you trade 10. K-A-L-S-H-I, Calci. Trade the beautiful game. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calsheet.com slash regulatory. Imagine buying your kid a toy only to find the batteries aren't included or buying furniture, but missing the tools to build it.
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26:02This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message, and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook. he's a professional football he's international for Portugal I can't bear I can't bear he's a six but he can't pass of course he can fucking pass you don't play in the Premier League you've got to pass like is he Pirlo no of course he's not but he can pass is he Xavi and Iniesta no of course he's not but he can fucking pass he only needs to pass it to someone who can pass as good as them that's what you're talking about this idea that every player has to have like every single attribute to like match this magic thing and this magic position it's not really the way it works what we need is forget the numbers and all the the stats and all that bullshit what were we missing last year when we were going forward we didn't have someone who could read and see danger and sniff it out that's what he is he sees danger he's always in great positions and he's really good at winning the ball back when we get it back i don't care what he does with it either pass it to someone who can do something with it or pass it yourself either way it will be fine this idea that oh no He gets the ball and then the ball just dissipates.
27:31He might as well just fucking throw it back. Is he a worse or better passer than his Pissouma? Yeah, this is it. Or Ben Zenghor. And look, I get it. If you could improve the passing of those two players, would you want that? Yeah, of course you would. So if you're going to sign another player, you'd want them to be better at passing than those two. I get the argument. I completely understand it. But we also do have a massive void in our midfield last year of people being able to recover the ball and just protect the back four. Now, I know a lot of that is structural and system-based because the way we played and we fucking bombed on and just left the centre-backs alone.
28:06But having someone who can do that in any team is super valuable. I mean, think about City when they had Fernandinho versus when they had Rodri. Rodri has all the ability that Fernandinho did, but he's just a better passer and he's much better going forward. But Fernandinho is basically the defensive side of Rodri. And City was still fucking great then. they weren't as good but they were still great and that's essentially what Paulina's going to be for us I think he's going to be a really really solid addition who'll make us a lot more robust and also he's just a bit of a thug and I think we need that we need some if you think now we're going to have Romero and Paulina in the same team in the spine of our team that's going to make us pretty horrible and I really like that I don't think we're ever going to concede a goal again never Mark, tell us about the stat around his tackles because there was some debate in our group that it might not be true, but it is true.
28:59It's just they got the date. Yeah. Yeah, so essentially they send out, the Premier League made a stat and, well, it had the Premier League label. I don't know if it was actually the Premier League, but, and they calculated all the tackles and maybe it was just actually tackles. I think it was just tackles from 22, 23 and 23, 24. But it was 21, 22, 23, 22, 23. So it's just, they just got the dates wrong. But yeah, he did 300 tackles, I think it was, in those two seasons. The nearest one, I believe, was Moises Cali Seido. Granted, he was both at Brighton and then Chelsea, so across the two clubs, but he only had 191.
29:34So, you know, like his stats are great in the areas that we want him to be great, if that makes sense. And so, you know, we lacked a lot of that last season. Yeah, Bissouma is kind of the closest to him in terms of profile. Benton Kaur is a different player, even though we've tried to play him in a sixth. He just isn't that six. He wants to drift. He wants to be an eight. And he sometimes pops up in positions he probably shouldn't be in. Polinia is extremely, that's something I'm really looking forward to and something I don't think people have spoken about that much is Polinia is, likes other elements of the game than Bissouma and Benton.
30:14He's much more disciplined and much more sort of tactical in his outlook. He enjoys the game being controlled and keeping the ball out of our final third. He's not interested in roaming. He isn't a box crasher. He's quite a lump. He's really good in the air. His aerial stats are really, really good, which is something we've also missed a bit. So he can do that, but he doesn't naturally drift towards it like all our other midfielders really do. We don't have that sort of naturally inclined defensive midfielder. and we get it with this guy. I mean, you know, for 5 million loan fee, it's a snip. It looks like it's a 25 million pound fee if we want to buy him, which we've got an option for.
31:03He's already got the number six. I mean, you know, honestly, I think a lot of things would have to go wrong for us to not sign him permanently by the end of the season. I think, yes, it would be injury that prevents him. I don't think performance is going to be a problem. I think actually, if we'd have signed him for Poster Cogli, it wouldn't have worked. I think the demands of what his limitations in being kind of press resistant and about to turn on the ball, that's not what he's about. And in that system, I think he would have struggled. But in Frank's system, I don't think he'll play every game either.
31:35I don't think in certain circumstances where it might not be necessary for us to be as defensively solid that perhaps he will get rested. But in terms of Champions League, where he's going to come on top at stages, he's going to be perfect. I think it's an excellent signing shrewd bit of business and Bayern Munich just loves selling us players we've been linked with really good players I can't remember his name Kim Min-J Kim Min-J Kim Min-J are you sure that's what you said? yeah I don't think you said that this is your intrusive thoughts now just because you're always getting names wrong doing some sort of also by me highlighting it it makes me the problem doesn't it really because we just carry on.
32:19I'm learning, boys. I'm evolving. I'm learning. I'm becoming more well-rounded. Growing. I'm the problem. Yeah, so he's a fucking unit. We've been linked with him in every transfer window that we've ever had since he was at Leverkusen. Was it Leverkusen? No, I didn't. Can't remember. Hamburg, maybe. Hamburg. Is it Hamburg? Anyway, and it just feels like any player we want that they don't want, we can have, which is not bad for a Bayern Munich situation. and they're always going to have a fall-off. There's always pretty good players who don't, for whatever reason, make it. So it's a pretty... You know, there's a spell where we went for Juventus, for example, like Kuliseski, Benskopp.
32:59They're both pretty solid players. PSG, Oriar and Luz Moro. Yeah, there's always these large clubs who have players who, for whatever reason, don't make it into the side. It is kind of a good tactic to just have a little look at those players. You can get some pretty good value from those players. And it's not always a reflection on them. so yeah I'd be I'd be into that Sonny's gone boys he's gone 20 million quid though I thought that's decent decent amount of money is it fair or what didn't we how much didn't we pay like 22 25 so we've nearly I know it's obviously different but we've nearly got our money back I know he's now from like one of the glory football sure like it but it's kind of it's pretty nice isn't it just to be like okay we've pretty much got our money back on literally one of our greatest ever players.
33:45I thought 20 million was high, Mark. I thought we'd probably end up getting like 12, something like that. Yeah, I was fully expecting us to get 10, 12 million for him. And I would have been absolutely fine with that. Like he, literally, if this is what Sonny wants, which by all accounts, it sounds like it is, this is his choice of a club to go to. He could have gone for free in my estimation. we would have just you know ripped up his contract and all that sort of stuff like i the guy deserves whatever he wants from us as far as i'm concerned and should have a box for life at the you should have harry kane's box actually that that big plush one that we saw in that video with levy with a massive kitchen like a one bedroom um yeah it's massive yeah good money um still had a year left right i think that was his that was player option a year but um uh yeah like that's really good money interestingly frank asked him to stay he wanted him to play he wanted to be a big part of spurs this season and i don't know if that is a case of like it would have been a weird situation for frank to walk into the football club and go right you're gone because obviously he's gonna offer him a role but it was sonny's decision to leave and i think that's fine you know i've had lots of conversations this week defending Sonny as a legend for Spurs and it's supposed to be a constant conversation and my kind of takeaway from it when I was listening to a Chelsea fan and an Arsenal fan tell me that they were downplaying these achievements and what has he done to be a legend, I suddenly found myself not caring what they thought it doesn't matter what you think I think this is what I've experienced this is what he's done this is what it meant when he signed the new contract and so other people they hear is he signed a new contract so what, that happens all the time It's not that.
35:33Explaining the nuances of why we love Sonny the way we do means that someone outside the football club will never understand and they don't need to. But yeah, 100%. Although my dad, myself, John, and Ben Bowman and my old man went to watch England play India in the cricket. We had a lovely day, didn't we, John? Oh, mate, it was great. But we were talking to my dad and we were like, what you've been watching Spurs for a long time what where do you rank Sonny is you know best players ever and he went top 30 I was like what dad I was expecting to say top 10 top 30 easily top 30 easily he said and he thought he was giving him he thought he was being generous yeah yeah he went mentoring top 30 so mate is it us does my dad know what he's talking about is he going see now what is happening there we were shocked just cracked up the lot of us yeah absolutely cracked me up the thing is it's one of those things where and the more we sort of pushed your old man to be like but what about this and what about this reason and what about that reason and why is this person better there was never a reason why he wasn't better than that person so if we'd have literally run through that top 30 list I think we could have got Sonny into the top 5 because even when we were talking about certain players even by dad's admission it was more like who his favourites were like less around like objectively who is better because I was just going like look at like the European trophies if you've won one of them then surely like that puts you into the close bracket and if you've won one of them as a captain and then if you've you know been there Premier League all-time assists and then if you've you know if you're you know X place what is he fifth on the goal scorer list surely that push and more he started reading this stuff off you could see him going fuck yeah that's actually kind of a lot of things that you have to consider He does bow under pressure quite easily, my dad.
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37:30I've noticed that through the years as well. So it might not be... But John, the question is who... If we had better players than Humminsson, you could probably pick 10 that might be better than him. But who is a legend? I don't think there's many you could pick much more. I mean, obviously there's obvious ones like Blanche Flower and Dave Mackay and...
37:52Hoddle, for example. Hoddle would be a great example. But Hoddle left. and for me, as good as Hoddle was, he joined Arsenal Fingers Monaco before all the Arsenal shit happened. As good as Hoddle was, and amazing, and before my time, Son stayed. So they're better players, potentially, but not, in terms of legend status, I would put Son ahead of Hoddle. I would put Son ahead of anybody who chose to leave the football club because he didn't. I mean, I know LAFC doesn't really count. So it's better players. There's ones like Modric and Bale and Kane was a better footer than him.
38:34This was one of the things I was saying to your dad, which was there's a difference between players who are incredible footballers who've had amazing careers, but the majority of the stuff that they did was amazing wasn't with Spurs. Modric is the perfect example of that. Modric, to me, is one of the best players to ever live. He would be easily top 10 for me, personally. He's the most decorated Real Madrid player in history. Yeah, and also just like, well, not just one of these players who sort of just let the game pass him by. I mean that in like a nice sense in the way of like, just happened to win loads of trophies, was just part of a great team and won a shitload of stuff.
39:09Like there's a couple of Real Madrid players who've won shitloads who most people wouldn't even know what their name is. He sort of was a key player in that side and also a key player in a Croatia side that got to like finals of major tournaments against all odds and he was absolutely instrumental. And just a lovely player to watch. like the, you know, very iconic player, very recognizable, all that stuff. Bale, what a fucking player he was. But again, we saw a bit of it, and then he went to Real Madrid and absolutely fucking ripped it out. Berbatov, like all these players, and there's loads in the past as well who've done loads of stuff for other teams.
39:44Even Kane, to a certain extent, right? Like he left at his actual peak, and then went and won something else with somebody else, and left. Son basically went, nah, like I'm going to double down and give this club my peak. I'm going to give them everything that I've got left. And I think we're seeing that now. He's got nothing left at this level, and he gave it all to us in his peak years. And like I said, you start throwing in where he is on the all-time goal scorer list, considering he's not a striker either. He's more of a wide forward. He's the number one assist leader. He's won a European trophy, a trophy that we've got a lot of heritage with as a club that we won twice before.
40:22As captain, those things, and then you just throw in like how recognizable he is on a global stage the goals that he scored puskas winning goals golden boots like it starts to add up where you just go this guy has to be considered like top five greatest legends of all time and in this era like since i've been alive i never saw like blanche flower and all these boys so since i've been alive i think he might have to be number one i think he has to be number one i agree with a lot of what john says and And because, and I think, I think there's a bit of kind of reverse recency bias going on here because he's still around and he's only just left us.
41:02I think, I don't think we fully grasp how good of a player he actually, I guess the right term now was for us. And John has just beautifully listed it all there and taken all my points. But yeah, just, just those two last points, the Puskas, the Puskas award and the golden boot, right? Like, yeah, it was shared with Salah, but Salah is a Premier League, great, a Premier League legend. And it's done things that no one else will probably ever do. I do feel like there's honestly it kind of it's kind of a thing for Son's career we've spoken about it on this pod several times has he been underrated his whole career I think there's definitely still a point about that and I think there's definitely still Spurs fans out I'm not slagging off your dad here but that's still not thinking of him in as great terms as I think he deserves in terms of his player not just in terms of his legend status but look at some of his other stats as well he's almost got a 50-50 split between his left foot and right foot goals in the Premier League.
41:56He's only scored two penalties for us. The rest are non-penalty goals. Those are huge stats. Every other single high-scoring player you see on these fucking Alan Shearer was banging in penalties on penalty duty for every club he played at. Kane, penalty duty for every club he ever played at. Kane, his son is never on penalty duty. There's so much underratedness still going on when you're talking about son. And I think until we get a few years past this point, I don't think people will really realise it. Do you think you can have my dad? Yeah. Yeah. Have you seen him? He's fucking massive. Just his legs.
42:37Have you seen his calves? They're like the size of him. Do you think you could have my dad, Mark? Because you... Or me? No, your dad's hard. Your dad's... Correct. Correct. Thank you. Absolutely not. So English. Yeah. The only person I could have is probably Spooky. He's just that old. I love that you had to tell us one person you could have. I've got to big myself up a little bit. Of course you do. Of course you do. Have I missed any major stories that have happened? Did you hear today that we might be in for Grealish Romano? We've had a conversation about the availability. What is that? I know some people hate Fabrizio Romano for some reason.
43:20I don't hate him. I think he adds an interesting amount of information to the wider conversation, which generally is filled with guff. When Romano tweets something, it's worth something. Worth less than it was before, but it's worth something. He's not Ornstein, but he's still valuable. But the problem with that is, him saying that Tottenham have inquired about the situation with Grealish, it's so it's like the first part of the story before it's even begun we know the situation with Grealish right? we know he's available we know Pep doesn't you know I think he said he needs to play first team football so if anyway I don't know why I'm ranting about this what do you make of that?
44:06I don't hate it but I also feel like perhaps a hunger might have gone from Jack Grealish I might be wrong completely It's not based on anything. My gut feeling is what I would like to see Dracula just come in, and I think it would be a bit vibes-y. I don't think he... I don't think the hunger is there. I don't know why I think that. It's just my gut feeling. This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message, and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew.
44:50Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook. Hey Chicago, class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local Crocs store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Crocs store today. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Shave ice by the beach.
45:35A trip to the state fair. and a throwback flick at the local drive-in. They're more than just items to check off the summer bucket list. There are also opportunities to earn 2 % daily cash back when you use your Apple Card with Apple Pay. Apply for Apple Card now and use In Minutes with Apple Pay. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. What do you think of it, John? I think this is a little bit like and I can't remember which sign it was but I remember we were discussing either a player that we were linked to or a player that we ended up signing and it was when Ange was basically saying I speak to every player before we sign them and I decide whether or not I think they'll fit in with the group or whether I think they've got the right mentality and I think we were saying at the time that has to be what we as fans have to take that as the metric because we're never going to get a chance to ask Jack Grealish where's your hunger level what do you still want to achieve in the game?
46:33What do you want from your career and your time at Spurs? And look in his eyes and see if the hunger's still there and see what he looks like. And we're never going to get access to that. So I feel like if we're linked with him and we then make a move for him after Frank has spoken to him, then I think we have to take it that he at least meets the no dickheads policy and Frank considers that he would add some value to his squad. He's a good egg. He's a good egg. Yeah, exactly. And so I don't think it's a personality thing. I do think the hunger point is fair enough. He's literally won the treble.
47:04He's won it all with City. And he is towards the latter end of his career. And it might be a bit of a challenge. It's not like going back to his boyhood club, for example, where there's that sort of motivation. So it would be a risk from the outside. But if all of that is fine, and Frank's like, no, he's desperate to play. He wants to play. He wants to prove to everyone how good a player he is. Just from a playing perspective, you've got to find a space in there for me. You've got to find a space in the squad. he can play from the left or you can play him as a tent give him a free roll just say to him like you've got all the discipline from your time at city you know how to play in a system but we want you to express yourself we want you to be able to do things in those spaces i think a lot of the concern about um not having like a deep line ball progressive midfielder and a six a lot of the thought is that when we play these sort of teams that sit in how do you break those teams down how do you move the ball quickly one of the best players i've ever seen for like basically going past people inside small spaces on the edge of the box or finding little pockets of space is grealish so i'm like that would to me would make a lot of sense for a i mean look you've seen at city when they have a lot of the ball right when grealish was in his pomp when they were in that treble season there were a lot of goals created by him just going past a man or finding a little run or finding a little bit of space i think it'd be a great sign and i think if you could do the right deal with City where they would pay most of the money, right?
48:28So it would be very affordable for us. I'd be looking to get it done. 200 grand cleared up out of the wage bill from Son now. But what about this, Mark? That he wouldn't, because he doesn't suit the profile of a wide player that Frank would usually buy. By that I mean like if you look at Sharder and you look at Mbwemo, they're direct right? And they go past players and he definitely has that in his locker as John just mentioned but if he's a replacement or an option as a 10 while Kulusevsky comes back if it isn't Ezza do you hate that? No no I don't but there's you know there's a lot of ifs about him which I think is is the summary of what John said there is that there's you know if certainly the hunger and the attitude and the We know the character's there.
49:19We know the talent is there, although he's 30 in a month. So some of that sharpness would have gone. But his footballing brain is still there. And if we give him a different role and we give him freedom to express himself, which is what he had at Villa, if we could get 80 % of Aston Villa, Jack Grealish, I would be all over it. I mean, he's on 300K at City, and John's right. I'm sure he would be alone initially, so they would have to foot some of that and then he'd still need to take a pay cut because I think Madison is our second highest at 170 so there's quite a gap but no, I mean, look, playing-wise personality-wise yeah, I think he'd fit right in he's got a couple of England buddies there as well he'd love it he'd be loved and he would love him and Jack Grealish him and James Madison were just essentially the same human being pretty much I'm so gutted about that medicine injury I really am I've just felt like he was going to explode this season gutted can I just say John your profile is sensational what do you mean you keep looking out the window and I just think what a handsome man you are thanks mate I really appreciate that and I would say that you're probably the best dressed man I've met for a long long time John you're also best dressed thank you very nice of him but he's not six foot to give him something six foot three he's got to give him something feed him he's like fuck no Mark Mark is Mark is extremely drippy as the kids say he's got a very identifiable style definitely and also outside of the norm right he does what he does and he carries it off well and there's no insult coming Mark I promise you you're just I'm just waiting for it I know I know that but I'm trying to become a better person a well rounded person and Do you want to say anything nice about me?
51:17No, leave it. Let's do some questions then. Jason Posey says, how do you define a rebuild? I think winning the Europa League was ahead of schedule. A rebuild is selling unneeded players and building with youth, not breaking the bank. They're doing that. The club is going to be a monster soon. We, the fans, just need to be patient.
51:43there's some truth in parts of that I think well we're not going to be patient fans aren't patient so I think if the club is expecting that I think they'll have a top selling unneeded players I agree until it starts coming together selling unneeded players is right quite patient we do need we do need good we do need good youth prospects but it's not we're not back in the 90s mid 90s anymore where you could play the kids. You have to have experience running through a squad. So I think it's a bit more nuanced than what's explained there in terms of the player profiles that you get in. Because, Jason, there are other people out there that think the club's burning down.
52:24They think directly opposite to you. They'll have heard that, what I've just read out and you tweeted, and they'll be fuming. What the fuck? That bloke's a part of the problem. I think a lot of us at the end of this journey and say a rebuild, it feels like we've been rebuilding for years. So when is it going to kind of click? We'll see. Isn't there an argument that you have to... Maybe you just don't call it rebuild, but maybe you're just developing the squad. There's no such thing as a rebuild. I mean, there is such thing as a rebuild, right? But there's no such thing as a rebuild if you're playing well or winning games.
53:01You're not in a transitional phase if you're doing well. It's only when things are average and shit that you just think, oh no, it's a transition. We've been in transition for five years since Pochettino left. So it isn't transition. It's just a series of really poor decisions made from the top.
53:23You can't sit on your hands in this league. Look at what's happening to City. I think City will still struggle during parts of this season. Although they have bought very well, they have spent a shit ton of money. there were still gaps in that squad towards the end of last season because they didn't strengthen enough they didn't develop their squad quickly enough they haven't found a natural replacement for Kevin De Bruyne so there's a lot of Edison's on his way out there's a lot of questions they bring in Trafford let's see you can't just talking about rebuild without talking about the need for also constantly developing your squad I think is a bit two-faced.
54:06Yeah, I also think the be patient thing, I kind of understand the point, which is that be patient with this incarnation of this team. Yeah. And they will need time. I agree, right? You've got to give Frank the time to settle in the newer players. And also we do have a lot of young players. So I do agree with the sentiment thereof, like there's a level of patience with this team. I do think though that there has been a lot of patience with the club a lot right we had 17 years before we won this trophy and this one kind of you know to to that point as well this one kind of came out of nowhere kind of was a little bit of a surprise so it wasn't like we were planning towards going for this and that's I think been people's issue people have been patient because we've been decent at times right the Pochettino side was really good but that was luck like the more you look at it was lucky circumstances we We had a player like Kane that came out of nowhere and a lot of strategic signs that ended up working out because we had a coach that brought them all together.
55:06But ultimately, we didn't win anything. We didn't get it over the line. We should have done. Exactly. And we didn't double down when we should have. And fans stuck with it. They were still supporting the club. There still aren't now mass protests. The protest movement against Enoch is growing. But there's a certain level of patience through that whole period where we're like, well, hang on, we are doing this and we are doing that. There has been a lot of patience. So I don't necessarily buy this idea that Spurs fans particularly haven't or aren't patient. I think we are some of the most extremely patient fans there are in this whole league.
55:45So yeah, I'm always a little bit protective of this idea that we're not patient. I think we're very patient. Yeah. But this squad definitely needs time. Also, the more time you spend on social media, you will get an unfair representation of how en masse Spurs fans feel 80 % of them are pretty much indifferent like my dad really wants us to win he doesn't spend all day thinking about Tottenham like we do and he's lived through everything like when we play and you know we get battered every week he got you know it would upset him and stuff but most of the time he's thinking about his shed he's building and and the gardening that he's done and the shit I need to buy in the new house he that wasn't a humble bag it sounded like one it's just he's constantly giving me tips for what I should put in the house that we've bought.
56:30Anyway, he's got hobbies. He's got stuff to do that interests him outside football. If you spend time on social media, you'll hear all the most extreme views.
56:46Big Ange Energy, he says, how disappointed has this transfer window been for us? We just won the Europa League. I expected fireworks. Wonder if they're looking at Liverpool not really making any signings in slots first summer and assessing the squad. I mean, we would have had Paulina, Gibbs-White and Kudus. Those are three players that directly improve our first team, maybe. Maybe not Gibbs-White, maybe he does. I don't know. Maybe in that eighth position, he is better than Berval and Sarra, whatever it is. The reason why Gibbs-White came through wasn't because of Tottenham, it was because of Maranakis.
57:23So if we'd signed those three players, John, and it was just that, or Mark rather, sorry, if we signed just those three players, would you have been happy? You'd maybe want him one more? Yeah, I would have been a lot happier. Yeah, no, I mean, I got some stick in the WhatsApp the other week for saying, I don't think it's a terrible window, but I think the Morgan Gibbs-White transfer would have made a window that long. Is it a great window? Yeah, all of a sudden it does. And that's how fickle these things sometimes are. But we are also talking, you know, most clubs in that sort of top eight, top six kind of bracket, you're going to sign minimum two sort of 50, 60, 70 million pound players in a summer transfer.
58:04I think United have added three. Arsenal have added three. Chelsea have added 45. Like, you know, you're going to do that. we're only really one off doing that because also don't forget we had a lot of loan players that we had to pay for this window which they're already here so they don't count I'm talking Dan SoTel etc etc but we're spending money on it they do count because we're spending money on it yeah so we have been signing we've been spending money we've been signing players it's a boring thing to say but it's true I think we'll still get one I think yeah go on we'll get one if we get one more through a big one like a 10 then I don't think we could probably ask for much more.
58:49But the problem is, the track record of us is that we've always seemed to go into a season lacking something. Like last year, it was Solanke and these kids that we brought in and they may well be good. But it always feels like we don't just, we don't, it isn't par, it's just beneath par all the time. No one's saying that we don't spend money. We do spend money, but it always feels like we're going into a season just a little bit half cooked. and how the clubs aren't going into season half. One, I think, slight criticism, and look, the window's nowhere near finished yet, but we're getting towards the end.
59:27One slight criticism I would have is it doesn't seem like there's been a lot of plan Bs. Maybe because we were so, with Gibbs-White is the obvious example, maybe we were just so kind of convinced that that would come through that we didn't really have a plan B. I mean, you know, why do we need to have a plan B? We've triggered the release clause. The player's keen to come. He's already passed his medical. You know, Franken Langer, you know, put a pin in him really early on. That's the guy we want. And, you know, oh, we can get him. Great. So let's move on to other things, you know, because we also have a lot of players we need to get rid of.
1:00:04That also takes bandwidth for the talent team. So I would have liked that to have probably, like for us to be quite quickly able to pivot on to someone else. It does seem a little bit panicked now. I mean, the fact that we're now, you know, walking to City about Grealish seems a bit panicked, if I'm honest. So yeah. It's the time these deals take as well. Like I think, you know, like Mark said, if we were now to get Enes over the line, it's great. But he has now missed most of our pre-season games, right? So it's just time to prepare and be part of the squad. And you mentioned before, Flub, about these other clubs who have made three or four sign-ins of this level.
1:00:46They've gotten through the door already. They've been there. They've got their business done early so they can get these players in. It always feels like it's lastminute.com. We're trying to look to do deals. Even this Grealish one feels a little bit like that, doesn't it? It's like, yeah, he's a good player. And as we've discussed, it could work. But it does feel a little bit more like plan C and D. and like, oh yeah, there's a deal to be done there because they're not happy and we can maybe get him on loan and they can pay half the wages. Will that work? Will that fit in? Like, it just doesn't really feel like, you know, the other clubs, they just have identified who they want and it's bang, bang, bang, the deals are over the line.
1:01:18You could make the argument, well, Frank's new and he needs time, but that happens every window, regardless of who the manager is and how long they've been here. So that's the bit to me that is frustrating is that it seems like indecision is final and we're just unwilling to get things done early. and that earliness is what gives you the better preparation for the season. So I think we will get some more sign-ins, but the reason that I'm gone from being pre-annoyed to now just actually annoyed is that we have just lost valuable time that we could have used to integrate them with the squad so that we see maximum impact from them.
1:01:55So yeah, that's my frustration, I think. Good question here from Jorgen, Michael Jorgen. He says, are we going to fight relegation with this Finn squad and four competitions? I hope the squad is deep it's just not there isn't a great deal of significant quality that's the problem are we going to fight relegation? I can't tell if he's trying to wind me up or wind you guys up or he genuinely thinks that Spurs are in a relegation dogfight this year I hope not because I think that's probably pretty unique yeah I like it's not going to be it's just it's not going to be as bad as it was last season It just isn't.
1:02:36And, you know, we've gone over the reasons for all that before. I think we'll be markedly better in so many places. I don't really agree that the squad is thin. I think, like, we need more kind of suited players for the system that Frank wants to play is a better way, in my opinion, of explaining it. But, you know, certainly midfield. Certainly, I think we lack a little bit of firepower. I mean, Son, for all his, you know, as much as he was waning and he was kind of on a downturn, he's still putting goals and assists and we need to replace that. That would be one concern. You know, I would have loved to have signed a full-back or like a left-back who could deputise at centre-back as well.
1:03:19I think a lot of people are saying that. I don't think it's a thin squad at all. I think we have a lot of players who didn't perform that well last season, who we're probably forgetting about a little bit who just need to step up this season. So, yeah. Cool. All right.
1:03:41I think that'll do. Just a quick one to say that the social sold out next Wednesday. So, yeah. I don't know why I'm saying it. You can't come. So anyone listening to this and you wanted to come, you had your chance. You didn't buy a ticket. so it's sold out but it's going to be a lovely day in London 25 degrees something like that a few beers John you got a you got a day off yeah don't work on Wednesdays so I'll be there mate I've got to work in the morning but I'll be up down early do you fancy sitting in the park and taking loads of mushrooms before brilliant sounds like a lovely day have you got any mushroom chocolate yeah have you got some mushroom chocolate yeah do you want to go and sit in Regent's Park and take mushrooms before the game why not sounds like a lovely afternoon.
1:04:27What time? 1pm? Yeah, see you there. I'll be wearing a red cravat. With chocolate bars? Yeah. I'm not joking. Do you have any? No, but I'm sure we can source some. I'm in London. How hard can it be? Yeah, it's true. Mark, are you joining us? I can't. You decide to move away and you've got family and the kids. Party training. It's fucking harrowing. Mate, you'll get there. You'll get there. Just sit on it. Sit on it and eventually it'll come out. When it comes out, just sit there for a bit. Wipe your ass before standing up. Yeah. And then you move on to toilets and it's the same thing, but just flush afterwards.
1:05:09I'm more comfortable. It's better on the knees as well, mate. Yeah, loads better. Is this one of these Danish things where you just shit yourselves? Piss therapy. We just piss at each other. Heal stuff. Yeah, is that an axe wound? Your head, yeah. alright nice one boys what's the name of that Spurs podcast you listen to again mate
1:05:52you matched on hinge you're vibing then her energy completely changes what do you do i'm raven smith and i wrote and read a real love story about this exact sitch listen to the free audiobook now i'm not giving up i am selling the building the final season of fx is the bear the restaurant is flooded everything's either they're gonna be okay? No, stop! Or not. We are outgunned and we are outmanned. We have each other.
From the publisher
Sonny leaves, Joao Palhinha arrives, Madders injured, and where's our number 10?
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