S15E15 - Moral Money, Minority Stakes, And Massive Pipes

0:28Hey Chicago, class it up with Crocs. Good energy in. Good energy out.

0:38Storm. Zero sugar, 200 milligrams of caffeine, and immunity support. Storm. Energy for life. 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 the fighting.

1:19It's the fighting. Clock. It's the fighting. It's the fighting. Cock, a camel, turn him! Believe that for... I've hit record, mate. I've hit record. Have you? Yeah, boy. Welcome to the back. Welcome to the back. Welcome to the back. What a great way to start this podcast. It's a nice time for a podcast. Welcome back to the Fighting Cock podcast. And can I just take a moment to apologise to the Tottenham Hotspur supporters trust. I'd agreed to come and be a part of their meet the podcasters evening which happened last night and I couldn't do it and I had to cancel relatively late notice so I just want to apologise for that, it was bad form it was out of my control but still apology is there if you're willing to accept it boys and girls and the night was supporting some really good causes so I'm going to push that for the podcasters way of reparation nice did you see Ben Bowman on the overlap he was great wasn't he yeah fantastic was he good was he was he alright was he I think they got their money's worth didn't they he's not he's not as pricey as a Mr.

2:43Bateman but you know of course not I've been doing this since before he was born but you know it's like Ben if you listen to if you're given an opportunity, don't go on there and be all funny and that and make it like an excellent joke that Jamie Carrigan, Paul Scholes love. Yeah. Don't do that. I know, making Paul Scholes laugh as well. I was like, fuck you now, he's really... Fucking Scholesy. He calls him Benny. Paul Scholes now calls Ben Bowman Benny. Oh my God. Lovely joke, Benny that. Do you think they're in a little WhatsApp group, Carragher, Skulls and Ben all together. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

3:32Literally, literally, I'm going, Ben, what the fuck was that? I'm doing all jokes and stuff and I'm not there. What are you doing? Anyway, fair play. It was very funny. And the joke, if you hadn't heard it, is Gokerez looks like he plays football in jeans. That's good. It was good. This is the Q &A podcast on Thursday. So welcome back. And thank you for joining us once again. You've already heard. Ricky and Cal are with us. How are you doing, boys? Yeah, fantastic. How are you? I'm good. Are you looking forward to a weekend where Xavi Simmonds starts for Tottenham? And maybe even a Randal Colo Mouane, who I like to call, as you know, Rolo.

4:17Do you think they'll start? Xavi Simmonds starts 100%. Yeah, definitely. they yeah um and moani probably but i think you'll start richarlison but i would start moani probably start him on the left you'll start johnson on the left 100 but that's what managers do though don't they like every every ounce of your being would be don't play brendan johnson on the left and you know every manager under the sun will definitely play him on the left Yeah, straight away. Been that way for years. Richarlison, when he got picked for Brazil, didn't he? He played his 50th game. So he might not get back till late.

4:56I don't know if he's back already from Brazil already. So if he gets back today, tomorrow, maybe he won't play Saturday. A couple of delays and we'll see more. Moani start. I don't want to be mean. I don't want to be mean. The last game wasn't great, but first two games of the season. Is Solanke still injured? I mean it depends who you want to believe some people say he's never going to play football again other people are saying it's just a couple of weeks I don't know what the answer to that is we should know really but I am weirdly kind of looking forward to watching the game so we'll see but that kind of balance of Xavi Simmonds Mwani through the middle I'd have to tell on the left after those two goals in the break?

5:45Oh, would you? I mean, the poor bastard. Like, he goes to play to France, albeit under-21s. Yeah. Tears it up every time. In my know-to-bed, nipping in and out. What, goals off the left foot? Yeah. Outside the box, top corner? Yeah. Yeah, that's what I do. He's like flying. He's been bought in for£35 million, plus about£10 million in loan fees. He's our player. Just unleash him. Let him go. Let's see, we've got something to prove the kid. Yeah. No, I agree. I'm just surprised. Do you agree? I'd rather start Tell there than Johnson, if I'm honest. Cal, you know, you and T, I think you've made a pact and you've decided that you hate Tell and that's that.

6:29But any chance? Championship loan, to be honest. He's a championship nine. No. Yeah, he is. People are... people join the podcast to enjoy it cow understand that uh fucking uh do you genuinely i know i know i know you and i've known you for many many years so this is funny to me but do you genuinely i can't tell genuinely with a hand on your heart your wife's name at stake here are you saying are you genuinely saying you think he's a championship level number nine yes genuinely i think he's a championship nine genuinely i don't this is the thing right people are going you've seen enough of him to make that you're very true but people are talking about under 21s football and saying against serbia under 21s and going oh look at him we can do that in the premier league it's a totally different standard it's a completely different standard of football under 21s to premier league football championship nine you'll do great down there 20 goals no problem The problem is, what people listening at home won't know is that even if Tel puts up enough numbers this season to make that point ridiculous, Cal will remain with it until he's sold.

7:50Oh yeah, absolutely. Oh, shit. What was going on? That was a mistake. I dropped my vape. That was well good. I dropped my vape on the keyboard and then it did an old... I got this one as well. Nice. You can add your own. Anyway, this is the, like I said, the Q &A podcast. And we've gone to Reddit, the wonderful people at Reddit, and they always turn up the goods when we ask the questions. And we also went to Twitter as well. but while I was browsing r slash quiz there was a post that someone put up, his name is Seanster101 and he says the unique experience is Spurs managers, weird, funny or scary and see if you remember these boys, the obvious one would be, the first one was a fan running on the pitch to punch Frank Lampard White Hart Lane, March 2007 2007.

8:53We just got knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinal replay on penalties at home to Chelsea. Everyone was quite obviously very upset and angry, but it all got too much for one fan who managed to evade the stewards and charge towards Lampard, who was celebrating in front of the park lane. And I remember seeing him run towards Lampard, winding up a punch. And as I walked down the steps to the Paxson Road Inn, and then if you remember, the guy got to him and kind of second-guess-y situation and sort of didn't throw a punch but kind of half did. Do you remember that, Rick? Were you there? No, I don't remember that.

9:30You have no recollection of the fan running on the pitch to punch Frank Lampard? This is news to you. This is news to you. Yeah. I don't remember that. Cal, you remember it? I do not remember that at all. What? I do not remember that. You don't remember. You can't visualize. No, no, no, no, no. If someone said about punching a player, my mind goes to that Birmingham City fan, Grealish. That's all I can remember. Yeah, we had our own one. Yeah, I don't remember that. So they're just beating us. They're all celebrating, right? And out of the corner of your eye, you see a Spurs fan, young lad, maybe 21.

10:12He's running on the pitch. And you see, he actually gets to Lampard and tries to hit him. he misses because he doesn't fully compete he obviously got on the pitch and thought fuck i'm on the pitch i'm on the pitch i'm running at lampard i'm running at lampard what am i gonna do what am i i can't back out now what i'll do just stop and turn around of course not i'm running and i'm gonna lamp lampard and he tries to lamp him but he doesn't really throw a punch because i said he second guesses himself lampard ducks ducks the punch i can't believe i'm you've never heard this well no i probably if i watched it back i'd be like oh yeah i remember i remember but it doesn't live in my head rent free.

10:48Yeah, but I think it does live in, this exists in the heads of everybody who witnessed it and has never left. And what happened was he, as Lampard ducked under the punch or evaded it somehow, the Giza fell over and then all the Chelsea players just kicked the shit out of him. Lifetime ban, never allowed him to say to him again. Yeah, I don't remember that. Fuck. While we're talking, you can't Google it. I have just Googled it and you're right. There's a little YouTube video and, oh yeah, the stewards are all... Yeah, you're right. Exactly how you described it is how it is. He's running on, he doesn't really commit to it.

11:25And then he just gets jumped by about a load of Chelsea players and then the stewards take him away. I think if you watch closely, I think it might be Drogba was trying to stamp on him. Yeah. Oh my God, really? Yeah. And this is one I haven't heard. Shitty Pants Man, Wembley Stadium, 2010. Obviously, an FA Cup semi-final is an exciting thing, especially when you haven't been to an FA Cup final in 19 years, and especially when you're playing Portsmouth, who are rooted firmly to the bottom of the Premier League. It's a dream opportunity to get to a final, and fans are quite right to be excited. Unfortunately for one fan, the excitement was too much, and he may have overdone the pre-drinks.

12:05I was sat, quiet, high in the gods at Wembley when my brother's dad and I kept catching a really unpleasant waft. we were also getting to a bit put out at that at the same very sorry we were also getting a bit put out that the very same very drunk bloke kept making us get up every two or three minutes so he could stumble past us and go down the steps to the concourse i think it was several repeats of this then we realized the smell was actually emanating from the drunken fan who had completely shit his pants before the game had kicked off thankfully he went past us one last time and never returned to his seat, which reminds me of Alex from Bristol.

12:49When Chelsea were beating us 4-0 at halftime in the FA Cup semifinal, he lost 5-1 in total. Alex was so upset that he did a sit-down wee with the cubicle door open in Wembley Stadium. Do you not remember that? Yeah. when i am when i was maybe 15 somewhere around there yeah 14 or 15 uh me and my mate went to an away day up at anfield and on the way back there was a couple of tottenham fans and they kind of like befriended each other there was two lads that were together on one guy on his own now the one guy on his own he had a bag of beers with him and he said lads can you look after my beers i'm going down the end of the carriage because that toilet there is out of use i've got to go down the other way so make sure no one steals my beers and he was gone for ages and these two lads are like fuck it we're cracking these beers open they started drinking the beers mate he comes back and is well annoyed they started drinking his beers and they start fighting fighting in that you know that middle bit of the carriage like you've got the two carriages then you've got that tiny little bit yeah frying punches me and my mate our faces are like against the window because they're like trying to get out of the way.

14:07And then the single guy on his own walks off and the two lads that were together, one of them turns around to him and goes, I've shit myself. He goes, what? He goes, I've shit myself. And he goes, what do you mean? He goes, I think it was the adrenaline. And then the smell, it was like in the back of my front. I was like saying to my mate, and he literally had shit himself because of the adrenaline and fighting. the next stop police came on dragged him off so not only that that happened the police nicked him and he's fucking shit himself as well what a terrible 10 minutes for that man he'd gone from just enjoying his can of well not his can of beer enjoying a can of someone else's beer to getting beaten up and shitting himself within 10 minutes I never predict that oh mate it's fucking brilliant absolutely brilliant yeah um and then someone replied and said Before the game, important seesaw.

15:03Before the game, a ball got kicked into the south stand as the players were warming up. My dad tried to throw it back, but we were quite far back. He successfully and accidentally nailed a ginger guy on his bald patch like it was a ginger target. The south stand cheered. It was a good memory. And B and the Yid replied, the real reason Flav doesn't go to games anymore. Out of the blue. I didn't know. I was just browsing the thread. I had no idea. Yeah, and I'm looking at it going, oh, here I am just trying to enjoy myself on the internet. He did apologise, to be fair. Should we do some questions then, boys?

15:45Yeah, why not?

15:49I think the first question, obviously, is going to be about Big Ang.

15:57Susie says, Because will we sing I'm loving Big Ang instead when Forrest visit and we batter them 5-0? What do you make of Angipostocoglu's return, boys? Go on, Rick. It doesn't really – I mean, like, it doesn't – I'm not bothered. Yeah, it doesn't bother me and it doesn't excite me. Do you know what I mean? I'm not happy for him to get another shot. Exactly. I'm happy for him to come back to the Premier League. I'm happy for him to get another job. And I hope he does well there, but not too well where he wins against us. And it's, you know, for our detriment, but yeah, I've got no feelings towards him.

16:38And, uh, you know, he, he helped us win the Europa league. So I like, there are no, there's no bad blood for me at all. So I'm just, I don't, I, if you, I don't, I'm not bothered by it. I'm actually, it's quite nice. that he's got another job. I didn't see a world where he would get another Premier League job because all of the evidence is there. Do I want him to do well? I don't want any team to do well. I want him... I don't know how I feel about it. I don't really care. I'm indifferent. I'm not happy that he's there. I know it's going to go tits up. Unless he's going to completely change who and what he is and the tactics involved that will require him to not get absolutely battered every fucking week, which is what we had to go through.

17:27It would be a little bit frustrating, Cal, if he suddenly becomes a little bit more pragmatic and sort of sensible counters, and they start winning, and you're like, what the fuck? We're just a guinea pig, are we? For you to learn on the job. Yeah. Rick said he has no bad blood towards him. I have no good blood towards him, to be honest. He can fuck off. Yeah, I don't particularly like Forrest. I don't think anybody does. And, yeah, fuck him. Like, I will take it to the grave. I think we won that trophy in spite of him. Not because of him. So, but, yeah.

18:06What I will say is the Loving Big Anjins Dead song, I hate it. Really? I never really, because I didn't really know the words to it. And I don't think anyone really did know. It was just like, we all knew the chorus, and then we're trying to sing along, and it's just muddled through, and it went a bit low, and then it picked up. but I do like that Ant-Postokoglu shows how simple you are what I mean everyone can get involved that was a simple song but all you can do there ain't no words to it it's two words mate when you're in the stadium it's loud and it's decent Ant-Postokoglu the Brighton game that went off the last season even I got involved to be fair like you know I was never a fan but look can I just say look because I would say that Alex from Bristol made supporting Spurs in our WhatsApp group quite difficult last season.

18:57Yeah, he did. I wouldn't shut up about how much he hated Ange Poskooglu and how shit Ange was. But we know, we've known since November this is how you feel. This has gone through now till May, and then we win the Europa League, and he's in my arms and he's sobbing. And I'm saying, right. I get you crying, and I get you happy, but what have you got to say about this i forgive him for everything that's what he said he said i forgive him for absolutely everything um and and then literally a little bit time passed forgets the europa league even existed that that experience that he had that i had a grown man five foot five bald little angry man with no neck sobbing into my chest saying i forgive you He wasn't even like, I mean, it was sobbing, but you know when people cry so hard their body convulses, he was like that, just shaking like a shitting dog.

19:55It's what you call an ugly cry, isn't it? Grim. I would call it grim. He had so much water coming out of his eyes. Yeah. His entire face was sopping wet. And it wasn't even hot in there. It was hot. It was fucking boiling. It was fucking boiling. It was swell hot. um yeah so uh i don't give a shit really um whatever yeah good luck to him like whatever i was messing about but i haven't really read um much into it but i did i see something that he's taken the previous staff along with him who's a sandwich i heard i heard from a bloke called greg who's a not an forest fan who is exceptionally well connected this guy i like You know people like ITK?

20:42I've got a bit of information about Spurs. I'm going to share it with you. And you always have to take it with a pinch of salt, otherwise you'd go mental, right? This geezer is about as well-connected as anybody possibly can be. And I can say this as a Lutton Forest fan, because I'm never going to get any information from him, other than from afar being mildly curious about what might be happening at Lutton Forest. he said that there are some staff they've taken Myles Yelenaq Ryan Mundo and Rob Birch he said they've taken from where? no taken from the job centre yeah from the job centre yeah I know was it free?

21:25he's known from going to club and not taking any coaches or staff so it's interesting that he's he's picked those boys that's a bit of a faff isn't it Like I've got these three lads that I know, or I've got to go in and go pick up some fucking dinner lady, Beth or something. Just go, Oh, what? She's going to be the coach. Is she like, bring them in? What? What's so it was free in total. Yeah. That's what it says on their website. There you go. It was free. And I said free and everyone went, no, doesn't Alex. He went, I thought he didn't take staff anywhere. Didn't he? Yeah. Greg's ITK came through.

22:02so if ever we were interested in a Forest player I'll ask Greg he'll know um okay let's four four Montgomery Raimundo Jedinak and Rob Birch was Raimundo I've never heard of Raimundo is he at Spurs yeah he's at Tottenham what was he doing made the tea he wasn't he wasn't set piece well they weren't doing no coaching there was they let's have it right key experiences He says, I don't know how heavily he was involved, but V and I was the CEO when Arsenal were protecting Partey. Does it bother you? Go on, Rick. Cheers for that, mate. Cheers for that scalding lava potato you've just thrown in my face.

22:52You want me to answer instead? Yeah, go on then, go on. Go on, Rick. What are we doing on the podcast if you can't have an opinion about something that's directly involved in Tottenham, Rick? Well, I mean, I don't even know. To answer that properly, I don't know whether Vinay was there. If actually, was he there? Yes, he was there. Yeah, he was. Right, okay. Okay, so it's a fair thing to ask. It is a fair thing to ask. And it's not a fair thing to ask our opinions, because what we're supposed to say is, no, get sack him, because that's not going to happen. It's not a world that we live in. the Arsenal apart a situation as far as I understand it and there's a precedent precedent being set by Mendy at Manchester City is is if he is found innocent and you've decided to remove him from the and not enable him to play then they've effectively derailed his career and Mendy has sued Manchester City to the tune of something like 12 million pounds, 13 million pounds, and was successful in doing it.

23:59So no football club, Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham, wherever it has happened, would never in this situation suspend a player before he's been found guilty. And you remember, regardless of what you think about partying, whether he's an Arsenal player or whether you think he's guilty, the justice system in the UK means that you are not guilty until it's been proven by a jury in the court. So in effect, the correct thing to do is to not at least sack him. The problem I have with what Arsenal have done and what perhaps Vino was across, not perhaps, probably was across, almost certainly, was using him in marketing materials, talking about him being on the side of billboards around the stadium.

24:49and the way Arteta spoke about him and the things he was going through, that's an issue. That's something that would need to be corrected. But what you've got, essentially, if people are judging Venkatesham at the moment, is you've got a bunch of fans who feel very strongly about this situation, and so you should. And I do, because I have a daughter of 17, nearly 18, and the fact that these sexual assault cases and rape cases are so difficult to prove mean that perhaps the scales of justice lean in the way of people that are potentially guilty in this instance. I'm acutely aware of how sensitive this is, but what would you do in that situation knowing that despite our assumption that he is guilty, that he may not be.

25:52What do you do? Do you sack him? Do you suspend him? What do you do? I mean, so to answer your question, given how involved Vina Venkatesian was at Arsenal, I'm not sure legitimately and genuinely what else he could do. So that's how I feel, I guess. Could he be stuck on gardening leave or anything like that? If there's an investigation about someone in your office. Yeah, maybe that was an answer. So not suspend them, but on full pay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I think what you said is right. They continue to pick him. They continue to play him. And Arteta spoke about him in glowing terms throughout.

26:38And I think that was probably the most distasteful. I think, I don't know, I don't want to defend the club, But like you said, they were in a sticky situation because of the Mendy case. You can't be proven innocent. You can't be proven not guilty. But regardless, it's not. That's the thing, isn't it? That's the thing that overhangs all this stuff. It's like not a football discussion, is it? It's a kind of ethical discussion. Like you can't, even if he's innocent, he might not be innocent. Yeah. That's why they say in a court of law, guilty or not guilty. They don't say innocent. It's what have we proven would be under reasonable doubt.

27:15That's it. You're never really innocent. I guess it's definitely a footnote for people to think about when Venkatesham is spoken about, I guess. I mean, you had a role in all this, for sure. So I don't know, man. I mean, you've really chucked us a fucking, like you say, a hot potato there, a nuclear potato. And I don't know any way we can answer this is going to upset people. so fucking don't do that again alright but I did try to answer it I guess you did very well what about Forrest just quickly on and Ange do you think he will win something in his second season at Forrest playoffs yeah something like that just on that far conclusion it says who will win in a jello wrestling match between Big Ange and Mr.

28:06Maranakis jello is jelly right yeah yeah uh jelly for them is jam isn't it yes yeah such a backward country isn't it none of that makes sense

28:26did we not have jam before i think we had jam before their entire country existed yeah probably yeah so any americans listen to this we had jam before your country existed so just take the word jam and use it whether they use will they say jammies over there yeah jelly yeah jelly yeah but peanut butter and jelly isn't it yeah oh right so oh i see uh burger burger destroyer says uh depends what flavor is jello So, is that jelly at all, boys? Not really, no. It's all right. It's fine. All right, let's move on because that was riveting, wasn't it?

29:09Nice Possession says, what member of the England coaching staff got it first from Jed? I think Harry Kane got it first from Jed. The sex, yeah. The sex, yes. The rest of the sex. What did you make of Harry Kane, you know, sort of saying Jez Pence brilliant first team I know what he's gone through it is incredible really what Jez Pence is not that it's any kind of unique hardship and stuff but we like literally 24 months ago we were going just sell him get 8 million for him and from that point given all of the discussions from Warnock from you know the fact that Postacoglu was moving him out Conte saying he was a club signing all of this pressure from outside saying you're not good enough who you are isn't good enough and you'll never make it to as as harry kane said becoming one of you know he mentioned specifically about being a part of this and how difficult that is it was it was i was quite um i just not moved but i was kind of like this is that's very like kudos you know i mean fair play yeah no i i mean watching it and kane was saying that he was getting emotional, knowing what he's gone through, how hard it is to get there.

30:29And as a player, to represent your country, whatever your thoughts are, it's an amazing feat to get there, to get that call up for your family, everyone that's backing you, all your mates and stuff like that. And with pride as well, you're going to go up and play for your country. It's fucking quality. And for someone that, like Kane, who's the captain, top goal scorer, Mr. England at the moment and for him to kind of give him his flowers in front of his teammates and give him his cap and stuff like that. I did actually think it was moving. Very touching indeed. So fair play. You hated it, did you, Cal?