S15E29 - Mickey van de Ven Is Inevitable

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1:08I recently got back from a holiday in Bilek in Turkey. It was brilliant, but I did spend it looking longingly at the golf courses in the area. In reality, if I'd taken my clubs, I probably would have come back from that family holiday single. It's a brilliant place, stunning beaches, five-star hospitality in some of the best hotels on earth. but for me just getting out on those courses would have been the icing on the cake. Search Turkey on TripAdvisor now to book your ultimate golf holiday in the Turkish Riviera. It's the fighting. It's the fighting. Cock! It's the fighting. It's the fighting.

1:55Cock! A camel shirt! No! Hello and welcome back to the Fighting Cop podcast. Top of the Motspur. Last night, they beat Copenhagen for nil. Copium Hagen, as I thought. I'd like to welcome back once again, Jack to the pod. And also offer my congratulations because he's just brought a little baby into the world. I did. I, you know, it's 2025. I literally brought the baby into the world. I did. He were pregnant. That's it. That's it. yeah yeah look now that's now see now i've started this and it sounds like i'm making some really problematic gammon comment there doesn't it so i guess i've got to hold my hands up and i think what we what we all come to realize is that our dads were right about everything so yeah you know it's what has happened is it's that you've got the sort of woke left who are going oh that's a gammon take and then eventually when they become you know middle-aged they realize oh actually these gamins know a little bit about life so so you're saying you're not you're not tying the flag to the lamppost yet but you're holding the ladder for your dar as he does it kind of thing yeah i uh secretly when no one watches i hang it from my knob when i'm uh fully

3:15saluting yourself in the mirror i actually every morning i know someone who would hang a wet towel on the end of his knob because he wanted a harder erection. And he was convinced that like you were working your body if you were doing bicep curls or whatever, he believed that he could make his knob more impressive by hanging wet towels on it when he's erect. Was it case? Where is the logic in that? I don't know. He's got a big one. So I don't know where the logic is. I think the fact that he just knew that he could and then he must tell people. Like walking into his room and seeing it just hanging there it was something I'll never quite get over.

3:54Yeah, so congratulations, Jack. You've done a wonderful thing. Thank you. I can't believe that it's the same Jack who I met in 23 years ago. If not more, probably. So 2003 it was. Well, that's maybe when we first met, but I think we've been speaking on the internet since I was about 13 or 14. Don't say. I mean, you were only about 15 at the time. I lied about my age. No, I'm joking. We were both super young. Yeah, yeah. So it's mad that, you know, I did remember my first meeting in a pub in central London and looking across and thinking, is that JTS? Is that the, you know, on the message board that we both frequented about Tottenham Hotspur back in the day, which thankfully has been erased and there is no existence of any other content on there.

4:46but yeah just it's just it's just mental to see that the fact that our relationship is still intact and just about just about yeah been rocky down the years gal but you know we got there in the end we got there yeah it's been rocky at times mainly because of you but me I'm such a I'm such a such a placid character you know problematic man and I just noticed you've got fucking Ricky Sachs on your podcast noted i do i'm i'm moving up in the world mate sorry yeah where's my invite not knocking on your door anymore you know yeah well i mean it's closed now um ben how are you doing mate i'm good thanks i haven't just had a kid but um have i done anything that impressive recently i don't actually can we talk about your pub local pub yeah yeah where gemma works yeah oh yeah this is so this is 2025 this is a real thing and I don't know if it's okay in the modern era I think it's fine I think it's fine because Gemma's fine yeah she's doing it I haven't been there in a while so I don't know if she's doing it anymore but okay so what is it?

6:02what the Gemma special? yes so you go apparently and ask for a pint of Guinness and it just comes with a little added little bit of extra on the top what so she she basically gets her tit out and dips it in the pint of guinness and gives it to you yeah i'm not joking there's video it's not a joke it's not a joke this sounds like this sounds like a throwback to the 80s you ever you remember the old program bullseye gal back in the day yeah well back in the day there used to be this old like animated intro to it a cartoon intro going through this old this old pub and there's all you know barmaids with their knockers hanging out and everything like that.

6:44No, they're not just out all the time. It's just only if you order a Gemma special. Yeah. That's it. Better than mine. So that's what you've been up to. Yeah. Well, I mean, the first time I think I brought that up to you was about a year ago. And I actually haven't been in there, I reckon, in over a year. It might be my favorite thing I've ever heard. It's great. And everyone's so happy. They're so happy. But when you watch this video, they're just like, here's your pint of Guinness. Can I have a Gemma special? Of course you can, love. There's nothing in it. It's not a sexual thing. It's not. No.

7:17It's just everybody involved is just super happy that this is happening. The men are cheering. Gemma looks ecstatic. Yeah. And everyone goes on about her evening, a little bit happier than they wouldn't have done if Gemma hadn't got a bap out. Anyway, bap. Luckily, we're recording this podcast after Tottenham 1 again, convincingly at home crucially uh ben you you was before the game you was going and and with good reason i and i can completely appreciate this but you're like i think around four o 'clock came around and you're like oh i don't want to go what is it what is it about something we pay fortunes to go and follow idolize and talk about every single day but often the game itself is the worst part of following a football club i remember going out when we were kids no i mean not even that it was like you'd go with your brothers or your dad or your mates and you'd grab a few beers and the old bell and air and everyone's like well happy and then you're like oh fucking hell 20 minutes will kick off for fuck's sake what do i have to go in there and watch tottenham play do i um but uh actually did you actually end up going yeah i did go yeah yeah i'm glad i did the foot i mean you're right the football does always tend to get in the way of a good day out for the most part certainly has in my experience watching tottenham for the last 23 years or whatever um but no i'm glad i did because i think i saw the best goal i think i've ever seen in a football stadium last night i think so interesting so we had a question about what is the best goal you've ever seen live Jack is there any you can pull out of a hat 100 % the Harry Kane mask goal 100 % yeah I think for context as well that probably in terms of the situation that probably is up there to be fair but the technique and the way he wrapped his foot around the ball to score off the post from the edge of the box not even like as I remember it he hasn't even gone past the corner of the box when he's hit it he's up right on the corner basically yeah it was disgusting and it was almost i don't know where you were in the stadium when you watched harry kane score that goal i was at the other end in the park lane and watching it you're like as soon as he hit it felt like it was flying in where was you jack i was i was shelf upper yeah and it like you say i think part of it like the narrative behind it as well was this is the kid through our academy that they all knew was good but all the discourse had been he's not he's a one season wonder blah blah blah blah blah and then he just stood stood up and did that obviously they let him go from the academy all that type of thing i just i honestly i honestly thought i was gonna have a stroke or something when that went in i was yeah i think that's the best moment i think i've had i think maybe one of the best moments i think i've had a while and i was paxton upper so i was right behind it like in that corner that he was shooting towards do you remember the um the year before when he scored the brace against them and there was that pirate geezer on af tv that was like Whose name is Harry Kane?

10:26Bully the Pirate. Is that what his name was? Yeah, Bully. Did you know why he disappeared? No. So he was a mainstay on AFTV back then. Yeah. And we, I say we, Spurs fan base at the time put together. Do you remember the story, Jack? They created a hashtag called slap bully. Right. And it was basically said, if you see this man on site, it's on site. You've got to slap him. And he didn't go. it wasn't that game it was one after and he quickly faded away from the limelight of AFTV remember the other AFTV guy who got run into the Greggs I think it was the last North London Derby at White Hart Lane yeah Mo Mo yeah yeah run into the Greggs there is an interesting story about that that I'm not sure I should share go on but no no no no it's not it's for our benefit that someone reached out to me and says I know where that story came from but I don't want to say it because it might shift the way we think about it anyway so I won't I'll tell you after the film please do yeah the that I think that moment was one of the one of the high points and the fact that it was the last was it the last season the last season at full capacity it was before they knocked my seat down basically oh is that what you it was the Lester year though he had the the chevron on yeah and then and then obviously we played Arsenal so I was really worried about our last season at White Art Lane when we were in the last two games I think were Arsenal the last penultimate game and then we had Man United last game and I was really really really concerned at the fact that Arsenal would somehow beat us in our last game at the stadium and and it'll be another thing for them to be able to beat us with we won 2-1 didn't we I'm pretty sure we won 2-1 and we beat Arsenal I think we won 2-0 2-0 yeah and we beat Man United 2-1 Kane and Dele Alli and I just remember basically that last game at White Hart Lane that last North London derby at White Hart Lane I should say just pretty much about 85 minutes of just people singing we've got Ali Dele Alli or he's one of our own he's one of our own it was yeah it was unbelievable it was one of the best days ever they didn't lay a glove on us that day either like not at all and it was just like I think it scored both the goals in the second half and then we just took I think we just it was like Olay football for like the last half an hour I want to go back I want to go back yeah I'd love to go back yeah that atmosphere has not been great recently is it do you know like the the the things on YouTube and TikTok and Instagram where they play this sort of melancholic music and then show you images of the 90s and it makes you want to just return to that era do you know You don't know what I'm talking about here.

13:20I'm a 90s kid. I was born in 98. I know what it was like. It's amazing when people say that and go, yeah, I was a 90s kid. When were you born? 1999. No, mate. The 90s were quality, weren't they, Jack? Yeah, I mean, again, I was fairly young, but it was halcyon days, wasn't it? Yeah. Do you know, the only thing that does annoy me is being just that bit too young when I think about Nirvana playing Reading Festival in 94. or Oasis playing Nedworth in 96, when I'm like nine, 10 years old. Do you know what I mean? If I was just that little bit older, I'd be able to go to some of those sort of big Halcyon days moments.

13:57They'll do it again next year though. They'll do Nedworth next year. So you go to that. Do you know what always blows my mind when you speak to Floney's filth? And he went to see, he went to see, he saw Biggie and Tupac at the fridge in Brixton in the 90s. Like that's insane. I thought you were about to say he was down at the East India docks when they first bought spices over. Elephants came off the galley and he was down there waving them all on. Let's talk about last night then. I guess the place to start is Van der Ven. You could see it happen before it happened because we've seen Van der Ven make that run many times.

14:42He's got an assist. I think he was at Man United. He'd done something similar and got an assist. And then a couple of weeks later, he did something similar at one. Everton at home, wasn't it? That's right. Yeah. I guess the question here is, who did it better? Son or Van der Ven? Van der Ven. I think it's incredibly bizarre that it's literally the same goal because he picks it up in pretty much exactly the same spot that Son did. But I just think by proxy of him being a centre-back and doing that, I think. and also like it's the way like when he gets into like on the halfway line and he's got them three players around him and he just slaloms in between them and it's like I think it's got to be van der Ven and the finish as well like to wrap it from the edge of the box like that into the bottom corner this is what I'm going to say take the run out of the equation even which is you know a big part to leave out of it the finish itself I honestly reckon any striker in the world is buzzing about hitting one like that it's a Harry Kane-esque finish you know what I mean that could have been Haaland like if you'd have swapped it from like the halfway line and you'd said that was Haaland being played in behind you wouldn't you wouldn't have been shocked would you like it was very similar like take and finish it was just ridiculous but that's got to be it's got to be push cash award already surely well if Son won it then that's got to win it surely just by like default right unless there's a that inter goal the other day was very good though you see that from the corner yes go and have a look at that side foot unbelievable goal yeah it was unbelievable we're not talking about that are we yet spaghetti farmers no but I'm just saying that could be it's competition but I think it'd be it yeah playing in a farmers league true yeah with farmer goalkeepers and that anyway I mean so my instinct so this was sort of posed on Twitter or no it wasn't posed we used something called fan narrative to to figure out what the general cusp of the point of how people were feeling about whether it was Son or Van de Ven and it was actually Son.

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18:33And make Laundry Day easier with two-in-one washer-dryer combo innovation that completes laundry in about 90 minutes. Shop top brand appliances now at the Home Depot. Offer valid June 17th, July at the US only C-Store online for details. Biv, I'd say, looks like about 60%, maybe 55 % saying Son rather than Van Der Ven. But then, like you say, that was Son's game. And it is Van Der Ven's game as well, but he's a forward. And he's done incredible to go through the Burnley team. And then to get into a position and finish. but the finish was easier in Son's position because of the work he'd done. Son passed, had to navigate more difficult defensive sort of positioning from Burnley.

19:19There was more for Son to do, I thought. But Son isn't the fucking centre-back. So I would lean towards Son, but you're right. And the Van der Ven's finish, he was just arrived inside the box. And you're like, square it, square it, square it. and then whap and the sound of the net and then there's a video of someone took from the other end and you see it from the minute that Paulini makes a tackle and it falls to Van der Ben and Van der Ben just goes and the minute it hits the net you can hear the sound of it hitting the net and then the stadium just fucking explodes and also in that same video you can see two players I'm not sure it was it would have been a doggy it was a doggy with his hands on the head and there was two of them there's one might have been Bentancourt and they were like if this goes in this is insane and then the hands went up in the air as far as unbelievable I mean the question I put to either of you really is that you know you know like whenever you see sort of highlights coming out of Brazil or something Spurs or Chelsea whoever been linked to this young Brazilian striker and it will always be like a highlight of them running halfway down the pitch skinning four or five players and slotting one in and you'll always inevitably see people saying you can't score goals like that in England you can't score goals like that in the Premier League great that he's able to do this but that that sort of skill set won't translate to to over here do you think we just sometimes over complicate stuff here we like we set limit we impose these sort of limits on ourselves when you see a player like willing to give it a go like that someone like van der Ven you've seen Bale do it in the past you've seen probably Luis Suarez do it in the past a couple of other sort of you know notable probably mentions there yeah do you reckon this could be a legitimate tactic do you reckon we could just literally say you know North London derby no one scores against Arsenal because everyone overthinks it just give it van der Ven let him run at them just go just go I mean look he's got it he's done it he's run the entire pitch so many times and I was I don't know how you were feeling because obviously we just had no yeah we had we'd just gone down to 10 men and he picked up the ball and I was just thinking please don't blow your hamstring please don't break every single time he kicks the ball I think about his hamstrings I think about Van der Ven's hamstrings as much as I do anything relating to our football club it was just it was just wicked and there was the moment that made the goal was in midfield where he had three players around him and he just shifted it to his left foot body weight shifted and then he just went I've seen have you seen the interviews where he's just gone I just kept seeing the space like every single time it happened three or four times before I kept seeing the space and if I got an opportunity I'd attack it.

22:05It was quality. Center backs do not do that. They don't do it. We've arguably got one of the most unique players in world football in Land of End. There is literally no other defender that would be able to do what he did last night. And it's not the last time that he'll do it either. He will do it again. I saw Harry Brooks talking about it last night. He was like, I always bang on about the space in the center of the pitch. players just driving through it and it's like we've got a player that can do that I also think that I think the fact that we were down to 10 men actually makes it more impressive because I think it's another really good example of van der Ven taking responsibility like this season I think we spoke about it on the pod after Everton where it was like he's stepped up I think as a bit of a leader this year you can sort of sense it like I know he's done this before where he's gone on these kind of amazing runs but like it almost felt like it was like okay we're two in a while we've just gone down to 10 men.

23:00I don't want to sit on the edge of the box, on the edge of our own box for half an hour while we kind of let them have the ball. We've just taken Simmons off, obviously. We're obviously not looking to be a little bit more creative. He was like, I'm just going to take this into my own hands. I'm going to run with the ball and I'm just going to kill the game. Because doing something like that, and it happened against Man United when he did it for Johnson's goal, I think totally has the power to almost just discombobulate the team. Like Copenhagen, they were shit anyway, but they fell apart after that goal.

23:27like we we just kept going at them after that and it was almost just like he took the game into his hands literally by doing it but it was just like a i think a mental thing as well and another step towards him just really stepping up in this side it's one of my absolute favorite things in football that remember like the the germany brazil game all that sort of stuff when when games just suddenly go into this like little maniac phase because as you say ben it looked like every single time we went forwards we were going to score um and you sort of sat there thinking we're going to win this It's like 7-0 now.

23:58We're just not going to stop scoring. Every single time we get the ball, we're going to score a goal. And obviously, it didn't end up happening that way. But you just get it, don't you? You get that sense when players smell blood and they're just like, fuck it, let's do it. Let's have it. Let's just score loads of goals. Why not? The fact that Paulinho scored his goal like three minutes later and it was Romero with the assist, it felt like we were doshing Ange ball again. It was just mental. They sort of just went for it. And it was kind of the performance we were crying out for that we didn't necessarily know that Frank necessarily had it in his locker.

24:32And so obviously there has to be a conversation about what we want going forward from Frank's football. But before that, Van der Ven is a superstar. There's no question in now. You think about moments, the moments where he is the one player in the 22 in the pitch that stands out by doing something special. What he did in Bilbao, what he's done before that, the leadership that he showed at Everton, the reaction to the crowd against Chelsea, and then to rebound and score that kind of goal. The man is a superstar. He is de facto the most influential player at Tottenham. He should be captain or vice-captain.

25:19And it's that kind of level of performance. We have a player that, God forbid, he'll ever want to leave the football club that will be worth an absolute fortune. We're talking the level of Van Dijk Saliba is that kind of level that we're talking about. He might not have the defensive numbers to put up, but he's also not playing in, and hasn't played thus far in a system that really suits centre-backs. But he kind of is now. And the guy's magic. is absolute, absolute magic. I adore him. Top scorer. Six goals. Same out of the goals as Jokeres. In the Premier League or across all? All comps, I think.

25:59Six goals from centre-back. Is that good? Is that good? I don't know. It's not bad. I remember when Vertonghen came from Ajax and we signed him and he said he scored 10 league goals for Ajax before we signed him. Yeah. And you're like, that was mental. how many could he get he could end up with 15 this year as a centre-back well Van der Ven yeah I mean if Gabriel can get whatever he's going to get for Arsenal there's no reason why Van der Ven the end of a set piece is not the same as what Van der Ven's doing no but Van der Ven can do that as well he did it twice against Everton he'll get at least double figures Van der Ven if he stays fit Hutchwood which is a miracle really Gal if you can separate the obvious emotional side of this would you still take Romero and Van de Ven over Saliba and Gabriel?

26:52I can't separate. What you asked me is that I cannot do it. So yes, I would always take Romero and Van de Ven over them, two little scumbags. Look, you can't deny what a good centre-back pairing they are and what they, you know, yeah. No, so I'll ask you a question. I really don't think though that if you put them in that Arsenal team with the way that Arteta wants to play, I really don't think you'd see that much of a difference right let me ask you a question Jack Vertonghen or Van der Ven

27:30I still do you know the thing is mate I haven't wanted to sort of like piss them because I think like I agree Van der Ven is a very exciting player and everything if I'm to be like really boring about it I do think he needs to work on his bread and butter side of his game a little bit more. I think he is a player that is, you know, he is liable to get skinned every now and again. He can switch off a little bit. I just want to see a bit more maturity from him at all times. And for that reason, I probably still have to go Vertonghen, I think, who I think is one of the finest defenders the club's ever had.

28:06And that's not supposed to be a slight on Van der Ven. it's just quite simply I think Vittongen was on was on another level to a lot of other players really but the physicality of Van der Ven is something that you know is so unique and it's it does separate him it does allow him to cover a few of the mistakes that he does make every now and again um which I'm not saying are constant I'm not saying he's like he's a massive liability or anything. I just think I would say like these past few games you notice a bit of a drop-off when he's not alongside Romero. That's all. That's all I'd say right now.

28:43What about you, Ben? I don't know. I think I think I'd probably still edge it to Jan but I think by the time that Van der Ven's Tottenham career is done I think it's it might have shifted the other way. I think if we can kind of go on and maybe match the ambition that they keep saying and get back to a point where maybe we were more consistently when Vertonghen was in the team, I think it might end up shifting the other way just because of how unique Van der Ven is and the capability to do what he does do. But I do agree with Jack in terms of his actual defending, but I think that's got better this season.

29:20I do think that. I think the Everton game is a really good example of that. They're both very good on the ball, like Rolls-Royces. Vertonghen obviously didn't have what Van der Ven does have in terms of that acceleration, but Vertonghen would go kind of marauding up the pitch as well I remember that goal that he scored at Swansea remember that away from home it was unbelievable Dortmund at home Dortmund yeah that was one of my favourite goals ever that Dortmund goal in the Champions League I'd probably still edge at Jan now he's my favourite player one of my favourite players on that team but Van der Ven's there as well I think he's got that sort of I also think Van der Ven's got a very similar kind of cult status within the fan base as well like and he's got he's had big moments like in the final like you said I don't know it's close but I'd probably still edge Vertonghen right now um i i would yeah same photographer right now but i think in the fullness of time it'll probably be van de ven um i've got a message boys i got an email from a bloke um called pkd82 and he says hi gareth gareth i said he's quoted what i've said it's like we've gone through living in the bush in nam in 78 which is what I mentioned about the fact that it was like supporting Spurs.

30:32And he said, the United States withdrew their combat troops from Vietnam in early 1973, and the conflict was officially over by 1975. I guess that's why you shill erection pills for a living. Take care, Phil. And what I want to say to you, Phil, is it isn't just erection pills. actually med express can actually help you by sorting out your premature ejaculation which i was like thinking about you jack and i was thinking i was thinking like you've got a baby which means you've not got any issue with the erection but you can still have premature ejaculation and make a baby yeah that's that that is true um look you know i don't i don't comment on any sort of salacious rumors or anything but it has been said that some men can you know get get a bit bit too excited like we all need to be excited we all need to save our passion for the bedroom as marizio pochettino once said right but sometimes a bit too much passion sometimes i'm not even excited and it happens i'm like what's what's going on here i'm getting nothing from this and there's issue everywhere anyway um did you know that one in five men in the UK experience changes in sexual performance as they get older if you did you're not alone and MedExpress can help MedExpress has one of the country's leading online pharmacists since 2013 trusted by over one and a half million customers there's loads of you out there no one wants to go into bloody boots and go can I have some Viagra because I need it because my dick don't work properly no one wants to do that you can do it in with privacy you don't have to visit your GP, you get the medication delivered direct to your door, and it's hard to feel like yourself when your personal health issues affect you, but MedExpress offers discreet and convenient professional guidance when you need it most.

32:26So visit medexpress.co.uk to check your eligibility and get£30 off with the code TFC. That's medexpress.co.uk, 30 pound off with the code TFC so Phil put that in your pipe and smoke it you probably need them visit MedExpress why are you listening to the podcast and digging me out I don't understand, have I said something that's wound you up in that moment? he's a hate watcher, or a hate listener yeah that's what it is isn't it when you get some people that leave those comments it's like on 32 minutes and 46 seconds you said this thing you're an idiot like what are you doing sitting there listening to me jabbering on for half an hour then you know yeah and that's this is the line i've never had an email from phil before this is the first thing this is the line this was the line this is when i've had enough the nam shit getting nam wrong by 78 oh mate i'm sorry i apologize for maybe he was Yeah, maybe.

33:29If you are, I don't know what to say. Take the boner pills and cheer up, mate. There you go. Go and enjoy your wife, and your wife enjoy you as well. That's the most important thing. Let's talk about Xavi Simmons. Because, Ben, there are some people that think he's crap, that he's too lightweight. I heard a small man say to me that he could turn him upside down. And I won't let you know who that small man was, but he is small. And this was the kind of performance that we were looking for, an archetypal number 10, vision, time on the ball, picking up spaces, not in central midfield necessarily, but going out wide or in that half space and finding time to bring his teammates into play.

34:23and then you realise, actually, we've got a good player. Now, obviously, you caveat this with the fact that Copenhagen are of a certain level. They're a Champions League side, but given the way that the team, the competition is run, you do end up in games that you should be winning at home. But it was encouraging. He was given man of the match by the people of the Champions League, of whoever, why they decided and what they do and what their criteria is. He was given it, given the trophy, and he's had a tough time of it, but it was really encouraging to see. The ball for Johnson was superb, but it was lots of his link-up play that was really satisfying to watch him.

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35:45Energy for life. They say you can tell a lot about a person by the contents of their freezer. So what does a bottle of Jägermeister say? It says you have standards. You don't cut corners. And you like your Jägermeister shots the way they're meant to be enjoyed. Ice cold. As for the frozen taquitos and mystery leftovers, we'll keep that between us. Drink it cold or don't drink it at all. Jägermeister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jägermeister liqueur, 35 % alcohol by volume. Imported by Masked Jägermeister, U.S. White Plains, New York. Yeah, really, really good. obviously Saturday was a bit disappointing for him and naturally when you play in a game like that against Chelsea there's going to be more eyes on it yeah and it's like the fact that he got double subbed people were making a big thing about that even though he came on in the fifth minute and then went off in like the 70 odds so he still played a good chunk of the game more than he actually did last night to be fair so people are getting on his case even Spurs fans as well I had a kid come up to me at half time right who recognised me from my content before the game and then as I was walking down the steps a half time he asked me for a photo and then went admit javi's not good enough and i was like what and i was like did you not watch the first half and he was like no he's not good enough right and i was like okay he's not good enough what do you want me to say i was like that first half and come to that conclusion it was mental i was just like it was it was so much better and i think the um the shifting system massively helps him out because you don't necessarily need him to drop quite as deep but you're also committing more bodies in the final third getting better players in and around them as well i thought he linked up nicely with odabair and people might not be convinced about odabair but he's a good technical player he's a good smart player and they can kind of rotate into each other's kind of little pockets and stuff romero being back in the team to be able to sort of punch those balls through the lines that simmons can take in the spaces that he wants to take it happened quite a lot like the first 15 minutes of the game where he'd get the ball in really good areas but he'd either sort of get brushed off it or like not quite make the right pass and people start to groan and whatever but the more you give him the ball in those kind of areas the more likely he is to do something with it and I think you've seen moments with him at Spurs so far where he has looked a little bit short on confidence or like not happy when he's been subbed and all those kind of things but I don't think on the pitch I've seen him get his head down really like he keeps going and I think last night was the most amount of touches or nearly the most amount of touches he's had in a game for us he had like 40 odd in the first half and it just proved that the more you give him the ball the more he's going to grow into bit and he obviously got the assist which I think sharpened everything up because like I said he was getting into good areas and trying to make things happen before the assist and they just weren't quite coming off but then that almost just gave him that sort of confidence to then everything else just sharpened up a little bit off that the football for the Kola Mawani chance that was him and Odderbeer linking up was beautiful the cross for Kola Mawani as well at the end of the first half was really really good it kind of reminded me quite a lot of Madison like and that's what we've brought Simmons in to kind of be that guy but I just think yeah the system helped him out like Benton Kohl was a lot more progressive I thought behind him like little first time balls around the corner that just like you just want him like it means he can get the ball in the areas quicker where he actually wants to get it and he can affect the game so I think he was he was really good and it was his best performance I think so far but I think a lot of it was aided by actually being able to get in the ball I thought I saw a stat that he's in like the bottom 15 percentile for progressive passes received in out of like all attacking midfielders in Europe it's like that's not good enough like you can sit and criticize him and say that he's not done enough when he's had the ball, which is valid.

39:14But if you don't give him the ball enough, his confidence is going to be probably more limited when he actually does have the opportunity to do things and make things work. So the more you give him the ball in the areas he wants to get it, the more he's going to make happen. So I was really pleased with him last night. He was really good. Jack, if I would say to you, Mawani, Mawani, rub your tits all over my body. I'll be honest, I've had that stuck in my head from you singing it to Ricky Alvarez.

39:42If I say that to you, what would you say about his performance yesterday? It was pretty impressive, wasn't it? There's something about the boy. Yeah, there is. There is. He's got that little spark, hasn't he, where you're kind of like, there is something special here. Obviously, you know, fluffed his lines a few times when it came to actually finishing it. Yeah, there was that great move, wasn't there, in the first half when it came to him and he put it wide and the header, which he should have at least made to keep it safe. but it was one of those performances where you don't really, I don't, I don't like my, my sort of my gut reaction to reflecting on that performance isn't it was good, but if only he'd scored those chances, maybe that's because we did score four goals and whatever, but still I look at it.

40:27I think he contributed massive. I mean, you know, he, he assisted one of them, didn't he? Was it one? Yeah. He charged the keeper down. It went looped up in the air. He, he controlled it the first time and then played it back to Odabert. Yeah. I just, I like how sort of dynamic he looks in possession. I like the way he kind of can easily sort of like glide, glide around with the ball. He seems to have that sort of, that ability to sort of switch direction really quickly. He's got nice close control. He reads the game really well. He seems like a really smart player. I just, you know, it's nice.

41:03It's, do you know what I think it is like there's somewhere, I think there's just somewhere in the back of my head where it's like, don't get too attached to a lone player. Don't get too attached to a lone player. you know and yeah but we made a club now that we can buy if he's good he will be a Tottenham player yeah I think so yeah don't worry you can get attached Jack what if what if Real Madrid want him I think he's had a world year of a season if Real Madrid want him and we're all in a better 40 goals yeah just think about him rubbing his tits all over your body Jack because it's happening if he does well there is going to be no issue who was it do you remember that old Twitter account this is going back a few years footballers with tits.