S16E19 - What Fresh Hell Is This?

28:06I think there's a call to be made. I think you either got to play Bentoncourt and Fernandes or Tonali and Fernandes. And he just has to pick. And if that means that dropping Bentoncourt, despite the fact he's been in great form, then so be it. Because I do think long-term, that was the whole point of bringing them in is that we didn't have a good balance. And we're back to sort of two more destroyer type, sort of six, eight, whatever you want to call them, in the pivot. And I do think that does give us a bit of a problem. So we should address that. and if you do that let's say it's Tonali and Fernandes which is who we thought it would be right let's say you take Benton Corr out then the next issue is the 10 well I don't think Maddison even if he's fit he can't play 90 minutes so you will need an alternative in there and I think as shite as Solanke has been playing Solanke as your 9 and Marmouche as a 10 the good thing about having Marmouche as a 10 is like Bondia he can shoot from range which is something that if you're playing against a low block sometimes you just do need someone who can get out of their feet and have a go and he's creative enough that he can kind of get close to the nine and plays off of him and then you can play Savio and Kudus either side I just think for the short term we have to just play that team for like a consistent amount of time and stop tinkering like every game like bringing someone in and changing things around just to build some consistency with the way we play because I do feel that's one of the issues that we have is that we're constantly chopping change and we're not a sort of good enough side where you go, okay, that's the baseline, and then you can bring in players to play off that.

29:36I think De Zerbe, he needs to hurry up and basically go, right, I'm going to play this team for five games in a row. The annoying thing there is that we now have a Porro injury. What is it? Is it a hamstring? I don't know. I thought it was his ankle.

29:50Ricky:Reading reports, early suggestion is hamstring six weeks. For fuck's sake. Which is really great that we got such a lot of money for Spence. Oh, no, we didn't. And now we don't have a backup right back. Brilliant. Yeah. Yeah. Great decision. And look, while I'm on a rant here, you know, when we were talking about who won the transfer window and stuff, this is why I don't like to make predictions about if players are good or players are bad or like Vuscovic now, everyone's going, oh, see, Spurs are fucked up. He's played five games. Let's just relax. We'll see over the fullness of time. It's exactly the same with our transfer window.

30:29like in hindsight we might go well this was actually a good window overall but like right now we are we were all pretty happy with the window me included but now like the spence one when you're looking at going we still we didn't sign a cover at right back so if poro gets injured we are with gray and we've seen that he's not a right back so now we're in a situation where for 25 million that was what we got for spence which is not a huge amount of money we've basically completely fucked up our right back scenario. I think that's, I think this, sometimes you have to take risks. Sometimes you have to take risks and I think we were all in favour and remain in favour of the fact that we've been much more aggressive in selling players that aren't at the level we need to be at.

31:12That's not including Jed Spence. That's saying like Brennan Johnson, for example, is, you know, we were right to do that. Sometimes you're going to get things wrong. We'll be right about Vyscovic and the grand scheme of things. Time will tell. perhaps perhaps not but it was a decision that was made the fact that what i got so frustrated with but probably didn't articulate enough was how there was such a passiveness to our to the transfer market and and i think that would have been the criticism of daniel levy for a long long time and then when the owners shift that and actually become super aggressive in both selling and buying, that after five games, you look at it and go, all right, well, it's not working or be frustrated by it.

31:59It means that unless we're winning loads of games that no one's going to be happy. That said, the fact that no one wants to see Gray as a right back really, although I feel like we're seeing a different version of Gray than we did previously. Yes. I've seen massive improvement, even when he came on. I thought he was absolutely fine.

32:21Ricky:Yeah, his last two games, he's been all right, actually. Yeah, but he's not a specialist right back. He's just someone who's going to fill in when Porro isn't available. But the whole narrative before that, and the narrative that would have been given to players, say we wanted to buy a manure from Palace. Who did he go to? Liverpool in the end of it? Forest. Forest, sorry. He would have gone, well, I'm not going to play, because Porro doesn't get injured, which is the irony of this situation. So I'm not going to sign for Spurs. So if you have Jed Spence there, unless Jed Spence is going, look, if I'm not playing, I don't want to be here, which could be the case as well.

32:56And he hasn't played a single game for Inter Milan yet. It's just a hard one to manage. You're going to have to gamble and get things. Things are going to go wrong. And all of it is amplified by the lack of points on the board for Spurs. So it is a tricky one. It is a tricky one. Are you boys confident that this... Ricky, because I think John sort of answered it's right. Are you confident this is going to be fixed and we'll be able to work our way around it? Or do you genuinely worry about being involved in another relegation dogfight?

33:30Ricky:I'd be lying to say if I thought that we might be there. Because being bottom at the moment, two points, I never thought at this point in the season that we would be rock bottom looking up. And even looking up, I'm like, fuck it. Coventry what are you doing above us it's like you know you're at the bottom of a hole and Coventry have got their legs out but their waist is over it's like they're nearly you know I can't believe that Coventry it's just the money we spent but to answer your question I've seen enough of how we're playing how we're creating that we will get ourselves out of it and we'll start I think it's just as soon as we get our first win and we build up a bit of momentum after a couple of wins the confidence will start to come back um there'll be less second guessing indecisiveness unsureness of of people's ability and and what their decisions are during a match and it equally The way that they're playing, they are being taught differently from De Zerbe and what they need to be doing, who they need to be passing to, how they're supposed to be moving the ball.

34:55Ricky:So I think people get caught in two minds. And when you're at the game, you sense a frustration if a player hasn't got a pass on and they'll pass back and then there's groans and it's like, not backwards, forwards. and it's like you know that Zobin wants you to go forward and it's like if the pass isn't on, it bleeds into the team or bleeds into the players or their confidence. But I do think we will eventually get it right. But looking at it at the moment and looking where we are in the league and that there's an international break, injury to Porro, it does feel a bit shit is what I will say.

35:38Ricky:and there's no amount of and spending all that money and obviously being the butt of every single fucking banter account sky sports your mates in your whatsapps and all that lot um all the jokes going around it's very hard to kind of be uh pragmatic and level-headed i don't see any of that rick how do you how are you seeing it i know whatsapp groups is something you can't avoid obviously but yeah yeah i'm saying oh no i'm seeing what uh it's just stuff being passed me and WhatsApp groups? I accidentally clicked on, you know when you're on your phone, you're like, I need to do something. My brain needs some sort of shit from this phone.

36:18And I accidentally clicked on Twitter. The amount of Villa fans that were going for me, it was unreal. This food chain thing is really coming to haunt me. And I don't mind it. I think it's funny. And the reality is that despite us finishing 17th, we can still buy players that you want. And we're still considered to be a bigger football club, despite how badly you're proving my point. However, I don't want to see fucking 15 people screenshotting the table after five games and sending it to me. Just don't want it. No. John, what did you make of Kudus replacing Fernandes and going in the 10? Didn't work at all for me.

36:58Don't like it. One, because he's not looked great in his sort of prominent position yet because I think he's coming back from injury. I was a bit harsh. He pulled out of the Garner squad as well, by the way. As he actually, yeah. So he's obviously still coming back from injury, so I don't want to be too harsh on him, but he hasn't been great. He's not come back and ripped it up, and that's kind of understandable. But the 10 position is pretty difficult, and I think maybe in certain teams, when it's more of a sort of counter-attacking team, having him in the middle of the pitch, being able to drive with the ball through the middle, carrying it would make sense.

37:32but for a team trying to break teams down at a low blocking and stuff like that, I just don't see it working. You need a player who's sort of like a creative passer or can, like I said, can shoot from range and cause players to back off and is a bit cute. I feel like of all the players we have that aren't actual 10s, Marmouche is the most suited to that position. I'm not even saying that's his best position either, but I feel like of all the ones we have, he's the best suited to that and I'd like to see him give him more time to play in that position. But yeah, Kudis, I just don't think it worked.

38:04I don't think he's sort of suited to that position at all. And that's why we're saying, I think him and Savio on either wing, I think makes a lot more sense. And then Mamouche in the 10 with Solanke, as much again as I'm not thrilled with him, we just have to kind of persist with that and hope you can get a bit out of Solanke with that three around him, basically. It feels like we need to go into for Kruppi in January. They've just pumped this£120 million in. which means we're going to be active in January again. Every game day you show up for your team.

38:37Ricky:Now it's your time. We go V. We go V. Ask your prescriber about We Go V. Semaglutide Injection 2.4mg, a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOV or visit wegovy.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about We Go V. Why wait? We. Go. Be.

39:36This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field. That's why State Farm gets to know you, so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. It can't mean anything else. So, well, I think when Kruppi comes back from his broken foot. Do you think Kruppi is, I'm not saying we don't get him because I think he's obviously really talented, but do you think he's the right profile given what we're seeing in football currently is a trend towards having a big lump up front that you can build around and you can play off?

40:18Even the very best teams in the league currently, like City, Haaland is an elite striker, but he is in the profile of big unit who you can like get it up to and he can hold it score headers. He can run in behind and he can cause damage but he is a big lump. He's not like a silky. Thiago at Brentford as well, isn't it? Thiago at Brentford even like Gokker is at the scum. Like go through the league the better teams are going for a lump.

40:43Ricky:80 million for Broby. Big time, mate. Big team Broby. But you know what I mean? You know what I mean? Like there's better footballers around but are they like Marmouche? she's a better footballer than Brobby. But Brobby's like fitting in with the current way that the game is being played. And that should be Solanke. Like he should be doing that for us, but he isn't. And Richarlison is the same sort of thing. He should be able to do that. We're obviously bombing him out, so it's not going to work. There feels like there's been a bit of a shift and that we could do with a player like that. And I'm not saying that's at the expense of Kruppi, but if we were to spend a hundred odd million on Kruppi, are we going to be in exactly the same scenario, which is like the ball don't stick and we can't play off our striker what this is a problem and we're in the same kind of mold which is that we've got loads of technically gifted players but we actually can't build any attacks because we don't have a center forwarder can hold the ball up so it will be interesting to see what happens because at the minute i don't think it's necessarily like the be all and end all but we don't even have an option and that's what and again langshear got sold for good money and i was happy with that and it makes sense but he would have been that type of striker, a big lump who can hold the ball up and finish.

41:56We got rid of him, and we got good money for him, so it's fine. But we didn't bring in someone else who could match that profile, and I do think that that is something that we should consider. And to be fair to Nicholas Jackson, as much as I slagged him off, and I still don't think he's a very good footballer, he showed exactly why we need that type of player. He was great. He caused a load of problems. He was great, but the way the game went suited him. If he was playing for Spurs, in that game where we had 67 % possession, you wouldn't have seen the performance that he had. If you want to sit back and soak up and break, which is something we were critical of, of Conte and Mourinho at the time.

42:35We were like, well, we don't want to play like this. It's boring. This is the way I'm going to make it work. But we don't have patience for it. Jackson in that system is absolutely fine. When you're up against a low block and we create a position where we're up against a low block because we are demanding of the possession of the ball means that they can find a way to... Everton did it and Villa did it better probably than Everton did because they managed to create goals out of their breakaways. But it's... Jackson isn't your hold-up man, is he? It's Brian Broby who is your hold-up man. Potentially it should be Solanke, like you say.

43:15I was really, really impressed by Jackson's display. I think he's much maligned and people are critical of his ability. And when we were linked with him, to a man, all of us were going, no, not Nicholas Jackson. It just shows the limitations of our knowledge of the game because in the right system, in the right environment, and asking players to do what they're good at, you get great performances out of them. But the thing with getting the best out of Nicholas Jackson is the rest of the system has to be playing a certain way.

43:50Yeah, that's why I'm saying not Nicholas Jackson because for exactly that reason, because he took his goal really well. Kinski, I think, should have probably done better. But he had a chance before that where he was in the middle of the goal and just smashed it wide. He's not great, but he fits their system. We need someone who fits our system. And I do think Marmouche is closer to what we need in the sense of he's a technically gifted attacking player who can play in central areas. But we do need someone... I mean, the perfect fit for us, and I think Cal said it on one of the Patreon pods, was Voltemada.

44:22Exactly the type of profile. He's a massive unit, but he's technically so good. That's what we really need. Someone who can, in tight spaces, control the ball, bring other players in, but can also tuck stuff away. And we weren't really linked with him at all, and we're not linked with any players that are like him. And I guess this is the concern, is when you go all in on a De Zerbi type manager and he can buy who he wants, are we thinking about things like more broadly around the type of profile or are you just going for players that he knows and that he wants that are quote-unquote prem-proven?

44:55And that narrows it down so much that we're now in this situation where Brian Brobby, that's it. Who else would we really be linked with? And I think this is the challenge for Vinay and Langer. I think we do need to start thinking outside the box a little bit. I mean, great. I got a lot of criticism because I was saying how good he was against Spurs when he was at Sunderland, when we played Sunderland last year and he pushed Romero and injured him, do you remember? Yeah, yeah. I was like, this guy's fucking, he's not pretty to look at, but he is a nightmare to deal with. And he can hold the ball up well and he can finish.

45:29I think maybe we need to look at the position we're in and realise that actually a Brian Broby might be more useful to our crusade than a Kruppi. However, the ceiling for him is, I mean, And he is going to be a world beater, that guy. If we can, anyway, if there's a world where we can buy him, we have to get that done. He's absolutely must. But we'll see. Could we have just a moment's pause and an appreciation for Conor Gallagher? Because everyone seems to just, you know, not want him at the football club. I thought it was a bad decision to buy him in, bring him in. I thought his performance, everything good that happened in that last sort of half of the second half was, came through Gallagher.

46:20He drew frowes, he was resistant, he won the ball back.

46:23Ricky:Scored. Yes, he scored as well. Yeah. Is there a world where Gallagher plays minutes in that Spurs team? Like significant minutes, does he start for Spurs? Is he going to be a mainstay like what Bentancourt has become? like you mentioned earlier just quickly on Bentoncourt John is the Fernandez and Tonali is the kind of midfielder I think we all want to see but Bentoncourt's performances have been more impressive than both of those I think so it should be Bentoncourt's position to lose rather than anything else I don't know how Gallagher gets in that double pivot if it isn't a 10 what is it going to be I don't know Rick how do you feel about Gallagher well him coming on in the second half he was excellent and everything you've just said you know a second that him playing as a 10 creatively he i personally i don't think he's suited to 10 um but fernandez didn't really do anything either and the way that gallagher almost kind of sets the sets the press as in he's so busy going forward or just pressing and closing down and he's aggressive, he doesn't stop and he won't stop for the 90 minutes.

47:44Ricky:That is an asset to how we want to play. And I think it's tough because I don't think Fernandes or Gallagher particularly suit that 10-roll and they're not that creative. So it's a toss-up between what it is that you want. I think Fernandes is slightly more creative.

48:08Ricky:but he changed the game when Gallagher, when he came on, he was excellent. And could have, John, like you were saying that, I don't think he particularly suits that 10 roll at all, but he was picking the ball up in the middle of the park and driving forward. And Villa could not get anywhere near him and his control and his drive, his motivation, pushing forward and just like just smashing through them and still controlling the ball and then being able to lay it off. that's what dragged us up in those that last 10 minutes and to get those to get those goals and what we were kind of missing but I think if you'd played them for the night for the entire 90 minutes in those positions probably wouldn't have been any more creative I think it was just those those parts where it was different to what we were doing and maybe that we were 3-0 down already that it allowed us to kind of get back in the game.

49:05Ricky:But if you're saying, if the question is, will Gallagher be playing 90 minutes as a starting XI going forward? Probably not. But we would need everyone fit and firing and back. But Gallagher definitely has something to offer for sure. I've got a real tasty hot take here for you, lads. and this will never, ever, ever happen but I genuinely think this could be transformational for Spurs. Let me just ask you a couple of ground questions here. When a team doesn't have a natural striker, what they tend to do is create a false nine, right? Someone who can play in that space and then you get a 10 who's a bit more able to kind of rotate with that player and get into spaces to score goals, right?

49:54We don't have currently a really solid out-and-out number nine who's ripping up trees so maybe we could consider this. Connor Gallagher, when he was at Palace, I think, when he just was scoring every week from the edge of the area or like West Brom, and even this season has shown that he can take chances when presented with it, right? We just said we could do with a physical presence. He's a six-foot Englishman, right? Strong as an ox, and his work rate is incredible, shutting down, you know, pressing high up the pitch. Why don't we play Connor Gallagher as a false nine and play Marmouche just off of him, and then those two can just rotate.

50:30And it's not that he needs to be the one who was in the box or he's trying to create chances for Conor Gallagher, but basically just use him as just that big unit who just can run around, chase the back four, try and get the ball back, win the ball high up the pitch. And if chance is full to him, he's clearly a decent finisher. He can take chances. He scored a couple of good goals last season. And then you can play Marmouche as someone who's a bit more silky and creative off of him and they can kind of fill each other's spaces and move in and around. That might cause more problems than the current setup that we've got.

51:04I think that would be worth exploring. It will never happen. Yeah, because imagine if you see the lineup and Gallagher is like the number nine, the reaction to that beat. I'm not saying you're wrong, John. I'm just saying what the reaction would be from fan base. I'm like, what the fuck is going on? Yeah, but you just put it as Marmoushe's the nine and everyone will be fine with it. And then when you're in the game, yeah, you just go fucking up front. I honestly think it would cause way more chaos than Solanke is currently causing and he would be no worse in front of goal currently we used to play Pro Evolution Soccer when we were kids with my brother and he used to put Roberto Carlos up front Lacos goal score yeah and you're like you can't do that he's a left back because in the game he was rapid and he had the best shot in the game and you're like well I can do that it's my team it's good management it's good management you're like no but you're you're bending the rules of reality Carlos Carlos is never, Roberto Carlos is never, ever going to be playing up front for anybody.

51:59He's like, yeah, but it's good management. What do you want me to do? And he would go up top and he'd put the free ball for it and he'd smash it in there over and over and over again. Cunt. So what you're in, you're saying Gallagher, yeah? Nine. Yeah, he would like that. He would definitely like that. Before we finish, boys, what have you made the Savio start as a person? three opportunities. The second one where he shot at Suzuki. The first one, he had moments to react, which is the ball that came across. Solanke kind of, I don't know what the fuck Solanke was doing, to be honest. Yeah, fucking hell.

52:31No idea what he was doing, but he got to Savio, he hit the ball straight at the keeper, come back, again, straight at the keeper, but he tipped it over. And then he had a shot from outside the box at Suzuki. It made it look much more spectacular than it needed to be, but he's taking the player on he's nutmegging players he looks dangerous he's causing problems there was three players on him at one time yep what do you make of his start to Spurs because the City fans I've been talking to they're like oh we've pulled your pants down there and I just I know 85 million pounds is a lot or whatever we paid for him but I don't think we've had our pants fall down yet I think he's actually been it's been a really encouraging sign to him

53:15Ricky:yeah well I mean no No, everything you've just said, basically. He is taking on players. He is driving forward. He is shooting. And like, yeah, okay, so he's not scoring yet. But we had, when was it, last season, where Kudus was the only player who was that kind of tricky driving forward winger, and he was out injured, and we were dead. We were literally dead in the water. and now Savio's come along that can pick up that mantle. And he's a player that I find exciting. When he gets the ball, I feel like something is going to happen. And like you're saying, you're watching teams put two, sometimes three players on him.

54:04And it's like, even if he is then nullified

54:08Ricky:because he's been totally marked out of the game, surely that is positive because they're putting more players on him And it should open up the other side of the pitch. We should be able to be using that. And when we have Curtis and Savio fit and playing together 90 minutes, teams aren't going to be able to double mark both sides all the time. And it should be a point in that we'll be able to switch it and we'll have a lot more space on the opposite wing. If you're looking at it and saying, is he worth 80 million from what we've seen so far? probably not Tonali is he worth 100 million probably not you know you could but there's other players from other teams in the prem that what they've paid and are they worth that probably not but we're five games in like we I don't feel that you know ask ask the question again when we've got all our players back when they have got through their injuries, when they're comfortable with their body, when they're comfortable with how Zerbi is asking them to play, when everyone has got, you know, in a rhythm with each other, when everyone has a better understanding and the partnership of when Solanke, when Marmouche is going forward and Solanke's dropping back or someone's making a run down the channel, but they look inside, you know, all these things that are just, you know, that it's just slightly out of time, just slightly.

55:42Ricky:But once that comes back in and we are kind of purring, those players will look a lot more closer to what we bought them for. And so I just find it a bit, I don't know. I just don't find it useful to be able to say, we bought him for 80 million, is he an 80 million pound player? because I think it's unfair. It puts a lot of pressure on them. And from what I've seen so far, I love what I'm seeing, but there is more to come. Yeah, there is. There's signs, guys. There's signs, positive signs. There's things that are happening in Spurs. We'll start winning games. I don't think we deserve to be in the position we're in.

56:30I think the performances mean that we should have got something out of it. and I'm quietly confident that everything is going to be absolutely fine. Just got to ride this out. Listen to the John... What? Sorry. No, I was just going to wrap up then.

56:48Ricky:Right, okay, go on then, wrap up. Well, no, you might say something genius. I've got to wait and see. Hang on a second. John, do you think that Ricky's about to say something genius? Yeah, because everything Ricky says is genius. Exactly. It's the genius of the man. Listen, we're waiting and we're bait of breath. So is the audience. Brilliant, brilliant. well I was just going to ask you a question ask you all a question what are your thoughts on deserve

57:35Ricky:I don't know. She don't see box Everybody wanna come and run it But they're funny like a dummy In the barbie of your mommy Ha ha Fighting cock and we don't give a shit Everybody knows flat baits and prick We can get a sticky and a mini suck a willy When you're getting grilly Yeah you gotta bang the milli Bang bang

57:57Ricky:Ha ha F I G H T I N G Cock Cock Cock Cock Cock Bang bang

58:10Ricky:Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time. We Go V! We Go V! Ask your prescriber about We Go V, semaglutide injection 2.4 milligrams, a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-We Go V or visit WeGoV.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about We Go V. Why wait? We Go V!

58:41This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field. That's why State Farm gets to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.