S16E13 - The Day Of Discontent

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. Late night bites with friends already hard to beat. That first too hot bite of fries you couldn't wait for followed by ice cold Pepsi. Now that hits different. Suddenly the energy kicks back in. The night goes longer and the laughs don't stop because Pepsi brings out more flavor, more fun, and more of the moment. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a Pepsi Zero Sugar today. It's the fighting. It's the fighting. Cock. It's the fighting. It's the fighting. Cock. A camel channel. Hello and welcome back to the Fighting Cold Podcast.

1:26Today we're joined by Nick and Mark. How are you doing, boys? Good, man. Good. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. I'm just sort of trying to make sense of the last couple of days, because obviously we're recording as the transfer window is still open. I can't imagine we're going to do any more business after the massive bomber of bringing Mudrick out of a cocaine wilderness or whatever he was banned for. What was it? I hope it was clear. Probably some sort of i don't know what was it don't know it doesn't matter he just hasn't played for two years so why not come to spurs and rebuild your career uh and uh and obviously uh toson been brought in for danzo um and the reaction

2:09has been a lot i'm scared to say excessive right because it seems like so many people are angry and i don't want to alienate half the audience but i'm not as angry as other people but i'm acutely aware that I thought that Timo Werner was a good signing so and I couldn't have been more wrong um Nick what where are you at currently we're going to go into a lot of the stuff that's been happening over the last couple of days and before but where are you at as a top line uh I am all right I think is uh fair to say I'm picking up a lot of the a lot of the stuff over the last kind of uh 36 hours um third hand via the whatsapp group to be honest with you having dipped out of X like you recommended and many others did kind of months ago so I'm not getting that pure kind of um venom which comes alongside that nor am I but it keeps getting shared in the groups yeah so there's so there's a little bit of that you can't quit X can you no I'm aware it's in the ether it's um it's the trumpisms of the world it's just there I uh yeah I'm all right I don't I don't I'm just aware like there's just no point going off fucking full steam ahead at this stage however it's extremely disappointing generally you know to be in this place of feeling a little bit like spoiled like a spoiled child but also you know quite rightly after a lifetime of fucking misery so i'm trying to make fucking sense of it like you are boys you know i mean it's hard it's hard is that that is it in it it's like i'm thinking about the window as a whole and i'm thinking this has been pretty incredible really compared to what on paper compared to where we've been previously certainly in the last five or six years before this window um so i'm still sort of like vibing off of that um the fact that we brought in what is it a total of nine new players including the two from today with everyone it's 12 it's 12 with it with everyone yeah like we've well yeah it's it's nine seniors or 10 nine or 10 seniors and a couple of uh youngsters as well yeah a couple of youngsters that we'll never ever see play for spurs but other than other than yeah other than that i think like nine and i just think to tonales and fernandez tonales tonali or tonales just call them tonales both both of them that's his mexican cousin tonali and fernandez um that they were massive and van hecker's going to be a massive transfer as well so yeah i'm just i can kind of like separate the disappointment from not getting in jai because that is what we all wanted and it felt like such a progressive move and the right move.

4:44And then obviously the massive downgrade to Modric, not because he hasn't exhibited elements of quality, but because he fouled at Arsenal, fouled at, did he go to Arsenal? Sorry, he fouled at Chelsea and then got his ban. But then I'm thinking like, De Zerbi obviously is interested in him because he played with him under Shakhtar Donets and he was incredible there and was being touted around as the next big thing, the next big hope. And Arsenal and Chelsea went to war in getting him through the door. So there must be something there and Deserby knows what that is. So that's why I'm kind of reconciling that.

5:19But the disappointment is not getting NJ. And my issue with that disappointment is Man City, regardless of where we're at, have a bigger pull than Tottenham Hotspur. They always will in this... Well, they will in the short term. So to miss out on one target, effectively, Gakpo was going to remain at Liverpool as it transpires anyway. So to miss out on one target out of everyone we've gone for, I think we should be a little bit more philosophical about it, is my opinion. Mark, how do you? No, no, I completely agree. I think one thing I always try and... And we do this when we sit and do our end of season reviews and that, right?

6:00We sit and say to each other, We're like, oh, yeah, you know. I mean, you know, back in the, I don't know if you guys remember this, but like back in the heyday of the club when we'd finish like eighth and that, you know, we'd sit at the end of the season and say to each other, you know, at the start of the season, would you have taken, or maybe even, you know, further back, fourth, would you have taken fourth at the start of the season? And the answer is almost always yes. Like if we'd sat at the start of the window, summer window, and said, would you be happy if we signed 10 senior players this window and the likes of Tonali and Fernandes and so on.

6:35Like Savio, would you be happy with that? We'd be over the moon, Marmouche. We'd be over the moon at the start of this window. Yeah. If we'd sat and, but I mean, again, it's all short-termisms and fatality. And it's just the way the world works now. If we would have just signed Tonali, Fernandes, Marmouche and Savio, you'd be like, that is a great window. in my opinion. It's almost like we've forgotten that we got the Marmouche deal and the Savio deal done because NGIE ended up going to Manchester City and the other option was Mudrick. And I think the one that is upset most is Tosin, maybe. Yeah, maybe also because we're buying Tosin outright, right?

7:19But like, you can only loan... How much is it? 7 million? Yeah, something like that. Close to 10, I think. 10 million is sort of less than Langshere. It's inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. for a fourth choice centre-back. It just doesn't really matter. Like, we've even, you know, he might even be fifth choice if Gennady Byfield continues to develop in the really positive way that he has been doing. So, like, people are just losing their shit over it. You can only, if, I'm sure if the rules were different and you could actually loan two players from the same club, we would have only loaned him, right?

7:54But, like, you can't. So what do we want? Do we want to buy him? Or do we want to buy Mudrik? I think the answer's clear. I think it all kind of bleeds into the two results though as well. It's not only about the transfer window, is it? It's not only about these rejections. It's not only about getting hold of a winger from a team that we laughed at when he fucking failed off the back of having another winger who failed from that fucking scummy club across the way. it's like it I think it's just like um like it's holistic in it do you know what I mean like if like we get a early goal which we definitely had chances and I know we'll come on to this you know at the weekend we're all feeling much better but the reality is it's pissing hard with rain across the UK for the first time in weeks we're all going back to fucking school and work and Tottenham are still fucking shit and that's and that's what detracts from it right it's not like the what the names we've already spoken about but also like you know Robertson you know looks really good Van Hecht looks really good and we'll talk about all this today but like it's stellar in it but it's not really as you said Mark it's not it's not really about Tosin is it like it it's just not like maybe that's his attitude Danso wants to go wants to play Tosin wants to come somewhere and prove himself.

9:18And if that's the attitude, like brilliant, like come in, man, like, you know, show us. But if not, fuck it. I have absolutely zero issue with Kevin Danso leaving the football club. Yeah. Like I don't think you can legitimately make a case for him being better than Tosin. I don't know where the evidence is. I think a lot of people haven't actually watched Tosin play very often. and I think given the system given what Danzo is good at and what he isn't good at I just don't think he's right for what we're trying to do anyway so the fact that he went and it's going to be a loan and they'll probably end up buying him I think it's good business again it's proactive selling on players at a fringe

10:05we've also got this the backdrop of disappointment endless disappointment which is not just the two games at the start of the season because you're right we've spent like 400 million pounds and we're still shit right that doesn't mean we will be shit in this situation but right now people are expecting a different level of performance and we haven't seen it and so that's where the disappointment comes it isn't necessarily just mudrick and tosing it's like the shawler broke the camel's back we're happy with these signings that have come in we're ecstatic we think the work that has been done in the transfer market generally this summer has been some of the best i've ever seen in my life right i'm thinking back to Vandervet's Vanderven sign-in Klingsman sign-in I can't think of many other really massive statement sign-ins that shifted the club significantly I think the work we've done overall in this summer will move the club in the right direction it's been so difficult being Spurs for so long and a time where we're seeing our rivals just continue to grow and the abuse you're receiving of which I've received insane amounts this weekend this the last 10 days i've never known anything like it the amount of grief i'm getting and a part of it is because you do these jobs for these companies and and they clip you up and they send you out and that's a part of it that's why you get paid and then people latch onto it and they remember what you've said and then they come and get you um but but you know we're all feeling that a little bit everyone's kind of laughing at spurs at the moment and it creates frustration and we we desperately want that to change i just don't think these two the final two transfers really have much impact but that's important mark isn't it the the impact and the difficulty that's been attached to supporting spurs buying the europa club win and a period under conte where we were moving in the right direction yeah i mean everything that we've just spoken about and and whatever negativity is is about massively is influenced by the context of us starting the season badly, right?

12:07Like two losses on paper, two bad losses. I don't know if you want to go into it, if it's kind of a moot point or whatever, but the underlying numbers between those two games, like statistically, the Newcastle was a lot better. I know the main stat goals was completely unchanged. So that's what win games and so on. But there was progression in there. It was a better performance at Newcastle. But ultimately, the points on the board is what matters. And that's what the club's got to find and figure out. That's De Zerbi's kind of biggest job here, right? It's to get that mentality shifted, get that confidence back into the squad.

12:52because otherwise everything they do will be viewed through that prism of losing games, not failing to get points on the board. So if he wants to make his job considerably easier and the players, right, they should start winning games and make everyone's lives better. Yeah, exactly. Has your faith in the Zerbi shifted at all, boys? no not for me yeah um i mean yeah what am i talking about really it's been in two minutes like and we've had this with certainly our long-term managers over the last you know post pandemic you know that there's been parts of the fan base who've been reactive to it but not not at all like how's he meant to do anything it's a complete sea change right like within the dressing room he's had very limited time lack of pre-season world cup etc et cetera.

13:51We know, we know on paper how good he is. I'm, I'm still with him. I've kind of like been looking a little bit for the fraud watch. Do you know what I mean? I've been waiting for it to come up. I haven't actually seen anything as yet, but I think he just needs to get them on the door because like this is just like he's accumulating a team, isn't he? And that's really obvious. Like you said, you struggle to find comparative sign-ins, But looking at the midfield, like Tanani and Fernandes in in one hit, that's such a good window, isn't it? Just that alone, you know, is just so powerful. And we know what he can do.

14:29It's just about time. And that's bollocks because we've run out of it. Like the summer's come to an end. The season's started, like I said. And, you know, now we haven't got the time. We're in real time. And people are going to turn up and think they can have a bit of us. And that's not great for anyone. It's a hell of a job, isn't it? Like it's a hell of a job for him. but I think he can do it. I think the team looks great. They're just not performing well at this stage. They're not a team, as he said. And that's going to take time. That's where patience needs to come into it, from the fan base.

14:57We're not going to get patience from the media. We won't get patience from other fans. But we have to create this sort of mentality that this is something we're in together and accept the fact that quality has come through the door but you bring in 10 players that can potentially start for the football club at some point this season and none of them have ever played together, let alone trained together. Like, Mammush came and played the day after he joined. I think he did one session. Savio played 20 minutes and then wasn't fit. So regardless of who you are, of how good a team, in order to compete in a Premier League where the standard is so high, they need time together.

15:36They need time together and accept that this is going to be difficult, really difficult for a short term. and fingers crossed. But the other side of me, I'm falling asleep last night. I'm thinking, maybe we'll never win a football match ever again.

15:54When I'm on my own, I've got no one to talk to. That's what I'm thinking. That's going through my head. Imagine if we should never win a game again. We did just batter high-flying championship side Charlton 5-1 to be fair. But yeah, in the Premier League. A real game of football, not against a fucking championship. Well, now you're just picking and choosing. I hear what you're both saying, and I'm clearly not the naysayer of the wider group and usually in the happy clapper camp and all that sort of stuff. But I will say that the club as a whole, not just Dezerbi, but the club as a whole, one of their biggest problems this season is that it's kind of like, is it the fourth, fifth time now that they're coming out saying, oh you just need to give us a bit of time like the manager needs a bit like there seems you know i will also take your kind of words there club and say look this is the first time the club has actually gone out and properly properly backed a manager in so so long i mean we haven't we haven't had when we last have a window we signed 10 players 10 senior players right um but but the club is is coming out every time we sign and get a new manager in we're baked within that is an expectation for fans to be patient and and fans and rightly so are starting to have less resistance to those expectations kind of as a result of those changes and i do i do have some sympathy for that because they do it does fucking needs to start clicking soon um the the difference though the big difference here and why i still have a lot of kind of faith and and patience a because i think roberto zerbi is a genuine elite manager and someone who uh you know should be in a top job um and also the club has actually backed him right like ang never got the players that he wanted no one else really i mean even going back to potch right like he got some of it but it's been drips and drabs this is the first window that i can remember where we've it seems like we have just genuinely handed the checkbook over to deservey and whatever players we haven't gotten to what you know based on what we said before is more of a an outside factors kind of thing we we're we're fishing in the same waters as as man city um and so we are going to get food you say that mark i think you're right broadly but the we there are players that have come through the door that spurs have been scouting way before deservey even showed up.

18:25True. Like, you've got Savio, Sonesi, and Robertson, and apparently, without sounding too much like a cock, Fernandes was a Tottenham signing and Tonali was very much deserving signing. So, I think there is some sort of cohesive plan. Actually, here's a point, actually, is how cohesive do you think this transfer window has been? Because this much upheaval typically would nod to I'm not sure rather than a scattergun approach to signing players rather than a plan but I think it went back to what De Zerbi was saying at the end of the season like he's got 10 or 11 players he can kind of I'm not he's not his words directly but just trust that you have the mentality and so he needed to bring other players in it does feel the ending to it feels a little bit scattergun that's probably not unfair to say but I think again I think it's a result of factors outside of our control like if you you know these are all rumours right but if you are if we say we are to believe the rumours then you're right these players were on lists before De Zerbi and so on they were also on lists of other clubs like Gakpo was on City's list right when Gakpo fails to go to City he's clearly not going to come to us the next name on their list is then Ilamaninjaya who's our next is Ilamaninjaya who's then our next one is then Mudrik right so it what I would say and what some people have also pointed out online and on various pods is the difference between those players is quite big, right?

19:59The difference between Gakpo and then Njai and then Mudrik is they're three different profiles. They're all forwards, I get that, but in terms of what their output and so on, there's a lot of versatility in the first two, not so much with Mudrik. So I think that's maybe what people are picking up on. But again, it's like, I don't know, I do go back to What do we want? Do we want the club to just go, well, we didn't get Gakpo because he's now decided to stay at Liverpool because Liverpool couldn't get a replacement, so they wanted to keep him. City have then swooped in and got in Jai, out of our control.

20:34Do we want, as fans, do we want the club to just go, okay, well, that's fine, I guess we're just not going to sign anyone? Or do we want the club to go out and find someone? And then the last thing, sorry, I know I've waffled on a lot, but I think there is a difference in strategy in this window where we've had a Premier League proven overrider on everything. Like these players that we're getting in have to be Premier League proven. And so whereas in the past we would have gone to Europe and kind of looked if we wasn't getting our first or second target, that doesn't really seem to have been an approach this time.

21:03So, yeah, I think that's why it's ended up being felt a little bit like. 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. 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.

21:37Event 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. This episode is brought to you by Palmolive. Family time isn't just the big moments. It's weeknight dinners, sitting around the table, everyone talking all at once. So when the plates are empty and the sink is full, use Palmolive Ultra. Palmolive's most powerful formula removes up to 99.9 % of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. And the new convenient pump makes cleaning even easier, so you can spend less time tackling dishes and more time together.

22:14Shop now at palmolive.com. The perfect lunch combo. That first bite of your favorite sub, followed by ice-cold Pepsi. Add a couple of friends, and now that's next level. Suddenly, the laughs get louder, the stories keep flowing, and the food tastes better. because Pepsi brings out more flavor, more fun, and more of the moment. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a Pepsi Zero Sugar today. This is the thing is that there's expected to be, but you're not operating properly as a football club if you have a first, second, and third choice about a particular position that you want to fill, are you? Because I think the sentiment amongst a lot of fan base, certainly the most angriest, are just get your first choice.

23:02I don't care about all the other choices. Just get your first choice. But that's just never going to be a reality that you can do it. And in fact, we've done that many times this season. So this summer, actually got our first choice through the door. Do you think that Tornali and Fernandes weren't Man United's first choice? Of course they would. They won't go in there because Spurs were willing to pay more than Man United, which shows you something. And so they brought in Santos and Tielemans. Second choice. If we'd have bought Santos and Tielemans instead of Fernandes and Tonali, you would be kind of scratching your head.

23:35Or you'd go, yeah, typical Tottenham. We're not going to be able to bring in who we really want, who will really improve us. So we'll end up with£35 million Tielemans from Aston Villa, which wouldn't have made you feel much different at all. In fact, we'd have probably been going, jumping at obstacles to find ways to explain why this was an excellent signing for Spurs, where it just, as a matter of fact, It's an excellent signing that Spurs have brought in Fernandes and Tonali. So it's fine if you don't get your first target through the door. If you consistently fail to do that, that is a problem.

24:07But we haven't this summer. So it's going to be all right. It certainly is. If the issues this season aren't going to be about recruitment, it will be because these players can't play together or De Zerbi can't get it working. But he will. I think it's going to be fine. He's got a little bit more patience, I think. A little bit. The Mudrick thing is just, it's hard to defend, though, that one. It's a funny one, that. It doesn't, the carpet doesn't match the drapes though, does it? Do you know what I mean? Because we've shown the ambition in the midfield and then we've… He's got brown pubes. Yeah.

24:40And then the twink's got ginger pubes. Got another little blonde bitch. Mudrick's got ginger pubes. Yeah, it's an odd move. And it'll be odd for him as well. Like, it's hard. I think it's going to be harder for him in this scenario than it would have been if he would have come through the door first. It's a little bit off. But still, on paper, the ceiling is extremely high. And I think the difference potentially between what we've been talking about in the Levy era and the lack of funds or perceived lack of funds and all of that is the ambition. The feeling of ambition is different by sorting that midfield out, I feel.

25:24That's the kind of clincher for me. that we do need times, boring, all the rest of it, but like the club are operating in a slightly different way, I think. And it really might, really might come home now, I think. Chickens. Chickens. Chickens. Chickens are up to something. He was provisionally suspended in December 2024. Where are we at now? So it's been 18 months. Yes, 18 months. which is a long time out of football was he allowed to train? he must be fit are we not going to see him until January? I don't know he will need to but I mean you know we've got a few like that I had a dream that Xavi Simmons made the squad this weekend I don't know where that came from that would be nice Kulisevsky's back in full training but he needs a ton of time as well I imagine they've probably had That's, well, Mudrik, I would imagine, like, actual physical fitness should be further ahead.

26:32Further ahead than Kulisevsky. You'd imagine he'd kept up his stamina levels and so on. Yeah. But match fitness and kind of the mentality side of it, they'll be in similar places, I imagine. You know, so that will take a bit of time and they will need a bit of patience. in some ways I think it will probably you know benefit him that he wasn't a start of the window signing and so there's not a ton of expectations towards him like you know you look at you look at a player like Tonali where I certainly had very high expectations to him and I don't think he started that well obviously he's going to get after it he's an elite player and so on but he hasn't had two great games let's be honest I grew into the game against Newcastle I think the first 10 minutes it was as bad as it could be when he was yeah he was very far he was very wide five times in 10 minutes that's mental yeah i was i was my my uh two-year-old almost two-year-old was sat on my lap my little beautiful princess baby girl who i love dearly and i had to so many times go just not swear not launch the baby at the wall just absolutely like just grab her by both legs and smash her against the TV.

27:44You fucking Italian! Anyway, but yeah, man, like I had just, but then this is the thing, right? And as much as you want to sit here and be all clever in that, every midfield, like I put in the, I kick myself in the cock when I put that, oh, every midfielder in the Premier League costs a hundred million now. Ha ha ha. Fucking. Like, but that, you know. You sounded so much like that to me. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. that's a reference for the kids there yeah um but yeah like you know when you are 100 million pounds you're signed as you know the big and all the pundits are wetting themselves over it and calling it the best trot for the window and all that kind of stuff expectations are ramped up right so like he um he's got a harder time he'll have a hard time with the fans the fans already you're saying mudrics is a is a a bum signing so yeah you know he doesn't have much to live up to but um he needs to he does need to get there yeah it was um what was it it was my fuck i just had it what you got suspended for it was basically meldonium yeah yeah it's it's um it's a medicine right or um but to help with like heart disease and stuff i think it might be blood thinning so it's probably it's not allowed it's banned whatever it is oh it's definitely banned yeah

29:09um and of course richarlison came in for a lot of stick uh yesterday well so so in my understanding and this is what we've been fed by people as you know esteemed in their reputation as giving the absolute truth at all times. Even Ornstein, his tweets have been unclear about, and it may be down to how they're written. Romanos have been a terrible, they've just been a Holocaust. But it wasn't sure whether Njai and Richarlison deal was linked at all. And at one point it sort of made it come across like they're not linked, they're two separate deals. And then it kind of, the messaging came across yesterday or the day before yesterday, They are linked in some way.

29:55And Charleston not agreeing to deal with the terms with Everton is what was holding it up. And people went mental. They were at him. They were just abusing him. And he came out with a statement, which I think was generally fair, is I should be in charge of my own destiny, right? I should be able to choose, pick and choose where I should go. And every time someone has made a decision for me in the past, it's not worked out. And I was like, well, what does that mean? Because Everton, Watford, it worked out for you. Everton, it worked out for you. He wanted to come to Spurs to play Champions League football.

30:24So what are you even talking about? But the level of abuse and stuff he got, the stuff I saw, I was just like, it was like, if that was me and I'm getting it, I'm probably thinking, fuck you lot. I'm doing what I want. I'm getting dogs abuse here. And now I've got to do exactly what you all want. Maybe that, I don't know. He's probably alluding less to what fans are saying and what agents and the club were trying to make him do. but his reputation is if he doesn't leave today I'm not sure he should play for us again no well I agree with that and I think Deserby initially said that it was because he kept asking to go that he left him out right so I think therefore the large I think there's a large proportion of the fan base who dislike Richarlison based on performance and potentially other reasons like he is not really i don't feel that he's ever really connected with the club um or the fan base like for me like me as a fan my opinion is i've never felt any kind of congruence with him at all like i don't ever really believe what he's saying or what he's doing in the in the media and i think this was another example of that like you know for someone who doesn't essentially speak the language correct me if i'm wrong like it doesn't doesn't not fluently right so so has very little to say like kind of releasing a large statement giving it like giving it the big and essentially is gonna excuse the pun ruffles and fucking pigeon feathers or whatever but like i i just think like he burnt his bridges quite a long time ago i think we backed him when he went through his mental health issues um fully like he got he got really good support over that as well he should but he just, I don't know, like he's, there's something up with him, man.

32:22There's something up with him. And I find it hard to put my finger on it because I don't want to just say that I don't really like the bloke when he represents our team and he scored, well, he got into double figures last year, right? Like in terms of goals, despite everything that was going on. But I just think like, be professional. Shut up, mate. Do you think it was his fault the entire deal didn't happen? because that's the bone of contention. No, I think that's all a load of bollocks, but then stay in your lane. Don't leave yourself open to be added and abused and all the rest of it. That just seems like, again, poor management decisions.

32:59You may be right here, and I'm just playing devil's advocate, but was he not being added at and stuff before he released the statement? No doubt. No doubt people are at it all the time, which is why you've got to manage that in terms of socials and all the rest of it. I'm sure he was and I'm sure it escalated to exorbitant proportions because that's what happens, isn't it? It just feels to me like that he's chucked a match over his shoulder and rather than working his way out of the club, I think God knows where he'll end up now because who wants someone who carries himself like that? For me, he's just never carried himself well at all.

33:44how do you feel about him yeah similarly if i'm honest with you i think i like i'm i i see both sides of it to be honest like i i'm never like one to really you know players are players are people as well right like and i'm not going to say a big soft store and all that kind of stuff but like this is you know their careers are short they've got to they've they've got to make the most of it while they while they can do it um and so on so i i i have empathy for his situation in terms of him wanting to make the right next step and all that kind of stuff and i get all that but the the other side of me sits here and goes he's he's never consistently justified the money we spent for him or spent on him like his his wages his injury record's been pretty pretty bad it's a sensible move for the club to sell him how we go about that it's a different but it but the but the change in his sort of direction from our point of view towards him is is is sensible does erby clearly wants a different type of forward right um i think like i think we should treat him in the right way and everyone should leave in the right way and so on but to to to nick's point and yours like that's a two-way street um and that that statement was a little bit too emotional uh i i i thought i didn't think it was that it was well considered um it could have been you know him going to Everton regardless of NJ going the other way yeah he does no he does and the fans still love him like my next door neighbor is an Everton fan my father-in-law is an Everton fan they still love him they've still got a real soft spot for him and he managed to build again to Nick's point a real connection with those fans even though he didn't speak the language and all that kind of stuff and he just never really did with us but then he was never available for us really so yeah I I think he could have been handled slightly better, but it is what it is.

35:40But it's essentially from this point, unless something massive happens, he's written off a year of his career. Yeah. The perfect lunch combo. That first bite of your favourite sub, followed by ice cold Pepsi. Add a couple of friends, and now that's next level. Suddenly, the laughs get louder, the stories keep flowing, and the food tastes better. because Pepsi brings out more flavor, more fun, and more of the moment. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a Pepsi Zero Sugar today. The wild world of college football continues Labor Day weekend. On Saturday, East Carolina looks to shock Alabama, and Baylor and Auburn battle it out in Atlanta in the Aflac kickoff game.

36:25Then Clemson hits the road, looking to spoil Lane Kiffin's Death Valley debut. Sunday night, it's Louisville versus Ole Miss in Nashville in the inaugural Liberty Mutual Music City kickoff game. College football Labor Day weekend continues Saturday and Sunday on ABC and the ESPN app. This episode is brought to you by ChatGPT. Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Have you guys heard about ChatGPT work? It's the new way to use ChatGPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, Give ChatGPT work access to your apps and files, and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports.