Liverpool lose late again at Wolves - could Everton reach the Champions League?

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1:40James Richardson: But, sure, I guess, the rest of Tuesday action too. Everson heading for Europe. Sunderland reaching 40 points. There's also talk of the Premier League's biggest ever blowouts. Tuesday we did get drama from Luke 09. But what's happened to all the 9-0s? That and much more in this Totally Football Show.

1:59James Richardson: Wednesday, the 4th of March, listener. And in the Tony studio today, fact-checking's Duncan Alexander. Hello. Freewheeling Jay Harris. Hello. and downbeat Tim Spears. How's it going, James? Pretty good, Tim. That's right, listener. It's a special They Couldn't Could They edition of Totally Football's show before They Couldn't Could They referred to beating Derby's infamous record. Come on. Come on. But now, Tim, now five days back-to-back wins against top five teams.

2:35Jay Harris: Yeah, I did study the fixtures last night. I'm starting to get it. It is so...

2:40James Richardson: All right, so Duncan, is it on? You've got 11 points to make up. You've got one, two, three, four, eight more games for them to play. 24 points, that's up for grabs.

2:49Jay Harris: Yeah.

2:50James Richardson: If they win all the remaining fixtures, they reach 40 points. The hallowed total. I mean, they're probably not going to do it,

2:58Duncan Alexander: but all season, our friends, the underlying numbers, have said that Wolves are not even one of the three worst teams in the Premier League. Who are the three worst teams, just to leap in there? as it stands it is

3:10Tim Spiers: should we guess go for it Jay well I'm going to obviously take the easy option say Burnley Burnley by some distance yeah

3:19Jay Harris: I think Sunderland are down there Sunderland are the

3:22Duncan Alexander: second yeah

3:23Jay Harris: Sunderland who

3:24James Richardson: this week reach 40 points

3:26Duncan Alexander: Wolves are now in the bottom three on the XG table but only by a single point and who have they just displaced well they are basically one point on XG behind Spurs and West Ham so so if you're looking for

3:40Jay Harris: with both those teams still to play

3:42Duncan Alexander: yeah

3:42Jay Harris: so in XG and in real life

3:45Duncan Alexander: they've taken 14 points since Christmas so all this derby chat can get in the bin permanently right yeah we're going for

3:51Jay Harris: Villa's total next I think they maybe got 17 and 15, 16 okay

3:55James Richardson: well you're also going for Burnley who are now only three points ahead so a strong chance that Wolves won't even finish the season bottom of the table well we played Burnley

4:04Jay Harris: on the last day so that's that's yeah It's going to be the big 19th, 20th match.

4:09Duncan Alexander: That's actually going to be a fun game because if, you know, if the axe has... Every wars game. Yeah. But like, you know, they can celebrate a season well done. There's no bad teams in this Premier League apart from maybe Spurs. Hmm.

4:22James Richardson: Amazing night, Tim. Amazing night. Robert Plant in tears. Was he in tears? I think, well, the camera cut to him after the winning goal. Yeah. And his eyes were glistening. They looked recently wiped, I would say.

4:36Jay Harris: That's confirmed, is it? I think so. Yeah, it was, you know, Villa on Friday night was a crazy good night. We weren't expecting it to be tops, but it probably was, to be honest. Just a mad match. I had Logan Roy's, you are not a serious football team quote in my head because, you know, didn't have a shot until the 77th minute. And that was the only shot you had? Yeah, at that point. And then trying to put the ball in the corner in the 93rd minute. and then somehow with Andre with his first goal for Wolves, which is, you know, heavily deflected. So then win it in the 95th minute and Rob Edwards is jumping into the South Bank.

5:13Jay Harris: And it's, yeah. Wow. Go again on Friday night? Yeah, Liverpool again on Friday. Yeah, and Wolves actually made a few changes for this match. Rested four, so it was a weakened team, really. So it could be 4-1 on Friday.

5:27James Richardson: That's in the FA Cup fifth round. We'll be touching on that and lots of other things. But first of all, let's get the results from Tuesday, which was a busy one. In the Premier League, Wolves beating Liverpool two goals to one. That's their second win in a row, as mentioned, against a top five team, having previously only won one game all season. It's also the fifth time this campaign that Liverpool have lost to a goal in stoppage time, which is a Premier League record. Wolves are now just three points behind Burnley, who lost on Tuesday 2-0 at Everton, Everton's first home win since December.

5:58James Richardson: That moves the Toffees just two points behind Chelsea in sixth. Chelsea play Wednesday night at Villa. Everton, meanwhile, are also only one point behind Brentford, who had a goalless draw at Bournemouth, followed by a dust-up in the tunnel. Also on Tuesday, Sunderland won 1-0 at Leeds. The Black Cats reaching the 40-point mark. No wins in four matches now for Leeds. And Wednesday's results could pull them right back into the relegation mix. Lots of other things happened on Tuesday from Barcelona to Brazil. We'll get on some of those later. But first up, more from Molyneux. This is the Totally Football Show with James Richardson, part of the Athletic FC podcast network.

6:46What are the odds?

6:47James Richardson: An extraordinary goal Tuesday night. Firstly, because it saw Wolves beat Liverpool. Secondly, because it was a Wolves player not named Gomez who scored it. Although, although, Tim... Well, it was heavily deflected off Joe Gomez.

7:00Jay Harris: Joe Gomez, sorry.

7:03Duncan Alexander: Amani Famous has never scored at the right end.

7:06James Richardson: Is that right? Good Lord, scenes in the 94th minute. Rob Edwards taking off down the touchline, as I'm sure Wolves fans all over the country were doing.

7:17Jay Harris: I didn't have a touchline to run down, but just a small living room to do a lap off. but yeah it's the second match in a row he's done that he did it after the Villa match on Friday and there's been some chat about whether he should have been booked because David Moyes got booked but apparently the difference with David Moyes' celebration from a few weeks ago was he entered the playing area you can go as far as you want as long as you're not on the pitch so you can do a lap of the pitch in theory so you can go down

7:43Tim Spiers: to the corner flag and celebrate with him there but as long as you see there's Lee Sharp

7:46Duncan Alexander: but the other side to a Vinnie Junior Duncan you enjoyed the first goal yeah I enjoyed Wolves reacting 1-0 singing 1-0 to the championship just good solid just solid banter from a beleaguered fan base who are now having a nice time

8:01Jay Harris: yeah enjoying sort of causing carnage to other teams seasons you know it was Arsenal at first then Villa now Liverpool sort of like a rogue like you know in a Formula 1 race in the first corner you get like a backmark just like ploughing into everyone and just causing carnage or a riderless

8:17James Richardson: nag in some horse race yeah Yeah.

8:21Jay Harris: Is that, you're talking about Wolves' ownership there just sort of, you know. That was my,

8:25James Richardson: yeah, clever parallel. No, so well done. Yeah, having borne the slings and arrows, et cetera, with great spirit, finally getting these rewards because it's not just these two results here. You've also got the draw with league-leading Arsenal to fact-change all this. What has Rob Edwards done apart from run up and down a touchline?

8:41Jay Harris: Yeah, I mean, teams with all this, it is pretty annoying to be fair that it's sort of, you know, taken this long. You know, Andre and Jagam was outstanding in midfield last night. I thought that was the key to where Wolves won the match. They've both been in Brazil's team until recently, but playing dreadfully for most of the season. So it's kind of, where's this been? And it was really interesting. I mean, what he's done, he's made it simpler. He had been experimenting with formations and tactics, but I think he's probably realised the limitations of the team. Because, as you said, the first shot was 77th minute last night.

9:16Jay Harris: It's not like they're trying to play a lot of football. their XG combined for these three home games that we're talking about is 1.93. So they're not creating, you know, a host of chances. But he's realised the limitations and made things a bit simpler. He also, interestingly, after the match last night, was sort of talking about motivation and suggesting it's been an issue, which I think is probably fair enough. Okay. Because, you know, what have you been playing for? So he's kind of been trying to get the players to channel what is your individual motivation for the rest of the season. And he was quite explicit about it.

9:44Jay Harris: That can be playing for a move. that can be you know trying to get in a world cup squad that can be just playing for yourself for pride for your families so he's kind of been asking everyone what you know does scream linkedin or a teacher doesn't it you're off to sixth form or maybe you're going to get an apprenticeship so

10:03Tim Spiers: what's your individual motivation in my history class yeah modern manager yeah yeah it's working

10:08Jay Harris: yeah he's i i think he's been on the high performance podcast which sort of speaks to his sort of management style. He's a dream, I think, for everyone, probably not. He is, you know, sort of universally positive, and he's been trying really, really hard to foster that sort of positivity and getting the fans together and the club and whatever, and the players. And he's had no results to sort of jump off the back of. But now they're finally stringing a run together. You know, we'll see where they go with it. Like I said, they're not playing especially brilliant football and dominating matches, but they're finding a way to win.

10:42Duncan Alexander: It's interesting, isn't it? Because obviously a few seasons ago, he had a similar sort of end to the campaign with Luton. I know that Luton were in a decent position and then really fell off. But everyone was like, this guy's the man to take them straight back up. And that obviously didn't happen. So he feels quite a streaky manager. But yeah, I mean, I think it's a really fun end to the season for Wolves. And I think it means Friday is really important for them because why not? Just, you know, just throw everything at the cup. You looked at the remaining fixtures.

11:13Jay Harris: What leaps out at you? Well, the Athletic put a graphic out last week saying sort of the easiest and hardest runs that all teams have got. And Wolves are second in that list. In terms of hardest fixtures?

11:23James Richardson: Easiest. Because one query I had, having looked at this run of results, Arsenal, Villa and Liverpool was, hang on, is it actually those kind of games that Wolves are a better place to win because of being able to sit deep, et cetera?

11:35Jay Harris: I did feel like, especially like Joe Gomez, like I said, was pretty outstanding last night and we haven't seen that for a while. Okay. And it's no coincidence that Villa at home on a Friday night where most of the country who's watching a match last night is watching that match. And last night, the second half, it's the only game on. And it's a high-profile game. Do you know what I mean? So they know that everyone's watching. But yeah. Well, they're on Monday Night Football in their next league game. Yeah, Brentford away. Really? Which is the toughest match they've got left now. So they've played no one in the top six.

12:06Duncan Alexander: Well, it was April. They play West Ham away, then Leeds away, then Tottenham at home. I mean, the kingmakers or doom mongers or whatever you want to call it, I think they're going to have a huge say in the relegation battle.

12:18Jay Harris: Yeah, but we've always, as Duncan, I know you've said a few times, we've known that Wolves are not this bad. And really, they should be pretty close to the relegation line, probably, all things told. And the results have not been that bad. They haven't been thrashed for a while.

12:34James Richardson: 4-0 is your biggest defeat. And that was back to the opening day.

12:36Jay Harris: Yeah, so it's, you know, performances have not been too bad. It's just the results have been consistently, you know, defeats and draws.

12:45Tim Spiers: Can I just say one thing that made me laugh about the game last night? I don't know if you agree with this, but after you scored, after Wolves scored, it felt like they just had no idea whether to sit back or get another goal. And I think that's why Bellegarde gives the ball away, because there are a couple of occasions, Hugo Bueno did it first down the left, where he turns back, passes it backwards, and I think Salah or somebody intercepted it and Liverpool countered then. And then Bellegarde does it where he has the option, I think, to hit it long, turns backward, plays that pass, Salah intercepts.

13:17Tim Spiers: So there's this sense of, I guess, a little bit of nervousness, which is completely understandable. Like, oh my God, first shot of the game, we've gone 1-0 up, how do we hold on to this? And I think that's why there was a little bit of erraticness all of a sudden.

13:28Jay Harris: Liverpool contributed to that, I thought, because it wasn't like they were piling on the pressure. They were just sort of giving Wolves the ball back and then Wolves are like, oh, well, we don't really want it.

13:37James Richardson: That led to Mo Salah, that incident you mentioned, Jay, led to Mo Salah scoring his first goal since November?

13:42Tim Spiers: Yeah, I actually think it's a really clever goal from him as well. And I think the Wolves defender, Krejci, does absolutely everything right in terms of making Salah go towards his right foot, which is supposedly his weaker foot, and then Salah just hits him with the outside of his left boot. It's a very, very clever finish. But as much as Salah deserves praise for that, there's quite a pivotal moment a few minutes later where he's on the counter. I think he's got Eketika on the left, Soboslain, someone else on the right, and he underhits the pass. And if Liverpool had scored then, it would have been game over.

14:15Tim Spiers: And even Van Dijk has a header as well just before Andre scores.

14:18Jay Harris: Yeah, it was really, really bizarre. It's from a corner, which was Liverpool's best route to goal, to be honest, I thought. Quite damning on sort of their open play. But yeah, Curtis Jones is about to chest it in from a yard out open goal and Cody Gakpo in sort of the melee, I guess, sticks his boot out and diverts the ball upwards and onto the bar.

14:38James Richardson: A brilliant goal line clearance. Yeah, outstanding.

14:41Tim Spiers: That's probably because Gakpo's so... I don't watch Liverpool a lot, but I'm very aware of the sort of narrative around Gakpo that they don't think he should be starting and that's probably that sheer desperation of I want to just try and kickstart the end of my season. And I only watched the final 20 minutes of this game and Ingemo is quite something to watch and I can understand if you've got this 17-year-old who's just skipping past challenges like no other because I think he set up Van Dijk's header as well with the left-footed cross. I can't understand why Gapbo does desperate things like that.

15:14Jay Harris: Yeah, for some quite incredible save from Jose Sarra, actually Ingemo, where the ball goes through one wall player's legs and then diverts off Mosquera and this all happens really quickly. Sarra has to really get down very quickly and just tips it onto the post. It's a really good save.

15:29Duncan Alexander: It's classic Jose Salah, isn't it? They're both the most brilliant and hapless goalkeeper off doing the same game.

15:35Tim Spiers: Do you think you should have saved Salah's shot?

15:37Jay Harris: Yeah, I do think that.

15:39Tim Spiers: Canceled out now, though.

15:40Jay Harris: Yeah, I guess so, yeah. But the Anger Moa stuff's interesting because there was a lot of stick for Gap last night and I thought Salah was bang average again for most of the 90 minutes. And Friday's club game probably represents an ideal opportunity for Anger Moa to start.

15:53Duncan Alexander: Liverpool just playing like a team who don't believe in the game plan and players are terrified of being the one that makes the mistake. and just they're abdicating responsibility all the time. Everyone who supports or has watched the football team knows when their team is going through that sort of process. You see it with Spurs at the moment. And, yeah, it's just they're in... You know, we know that top five will get you Champions League, but that could be a very costly defeat. I mean, we'll come on to Everton in a bit, but they're only five points behind Liverpool now.

16:20Jay Harris: And also Dominic Zbosla is... I was about to say this.

16:24Tim Spiers: That should be an instant red card alone.

16:26James Richardson: it's the second biggest second most controversial change of hair that we've seen of late in football Tim Spears yeah

16:35Jay Harris: I thought better than Beckham's Cornrows but not as good as Rio's I think okay I was going to ask

16:41James Richardson: because I mentioned this stat about Liverpool losing five games thanks to goals in the 90th minute or after this season and that's a record

16:49Duncan Alexander: which is funny given the way Liverpool started the season with a series of 90th minute rules so true

16:53James Richardson: so is it rotten luck this run or is there something that they're consistently doing that is leading to this? Nick Miller pointing out that they tend to be piling on looking for late equalisers and then winners and leaving themselves exposed to the back. Greg Evans mentioning one common feature of three of the previous four such defeats, which is that Konati's been taken off by Slott in his pursuit of a late winner. And certainly he'd been replaced by Chiesa shortly after the opening goal at Molineux yesterday. What do you think? is Slott's how culpable is he in this?

17:28Tim Spiers: Yeah it's probably just a little bit of desperation when you know things are not going the way that you want to and you roll the dice but unfortunately that's what happens when you're a bit too risky in your approach.

17:38Jay Harris: I mean it also just speaks they just don't defend very well I mean that first goal last night Van Dijk gets really easily brushed off the ball by Arakadare and then he spins and plays a pass through to Rodrigo Gomez and Canate looks like he's got it covered to me and if he goes in with a sliding tackle he should block it but he just sort of tries to lean into Rodrigo Gomez

17:57Tim Spiers: he's a very weird defender it's quite strange that he scores with his right foot whereas when I first saw it I thought he must think that with his left but he somehow does it with his right even though he's closer to his right foot if you get what I mean by that it's quite strange

18:11James Richardson: do you get confused by which Gomez is which?

18:14Tim Spiers: okay

18:14James Richardson: they are

18:16Tim Spiers: they are the first what are they called on the training ground? I just guessed just by their first names

18:22Jay Harris: yeah they've all got none of them are just Gomez as in a name, they've all got something else going on, Totty Gomez When they're reading the register out

18:32Tim Spiers: at the beginning of training, is Gomez it?

18:35James Richardson: Steve Madley wrote a piece about this at Shielding Athletic, would you believe pointing out that this is the first instance of a Premier League team with four players in the same side sharing a surname, there'd never even been three before, to put that in perspective

18:50Tim Spiers: I did point out to Steve for that piece, that Brentford, their first season in the Premier League had three players with the first name Mads. Mads. Mads Bidstrup, Mads Beck Sorensen and Mads Rusliff. That was a little bit confusing.

19:03Duncan Alexander: You don't have to be Mads to work.

19:07Tim Spiers: Can't tell you how many times I heard that.

19:11James Richardson: Well, they go again on Friday night at Molyneux in the FA Cup fifth round. Oh, nice to see as well in the 18th minute, Wolves and Liverpool fans uniting for a tribute to Diogo Jota.

19:22Jay Harris: Yeah, they were loud and proud tributes from both sets of fans for quite a period. It was really nice.

19:29James Richardson: Well, more action to come on Wednesday relevant to Liverpool's quest for the top five. Chelsea will be facing Aston Villa in probably the key game of that set of fixtures. We'll be reporting back to you on Thursday morning, should you wish. But next up, let's get on to some more of Tuesday's events.

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22:33Jay Harris: best football writers around.

22:37James Richardson: There's a big chance. Gray finding Wayne. He's gone beyond the goalkeeper. The angle's tied. But he's done it.

22:47James Richardson: Ben Wayne for Port Vale. Also on Tuesday in football, Port Vale beat Bristol City 1-0 to reach the FA Cup fifth round. The first time they've managed that in 30 years. This was a fourth-ranked game, of course, postponed because of a waterlogged pitch. Port Vale are the bottom side in League One and they're also the lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup. They will be hosting Sunderland on Sunday. Meanwhile, in Europe, it was Remontada time and the Copa del Rey. Barcelona, a few weeks back, had gone down 4-0 away to Atletico Madrid in their semi-final first leg. Tuesday night, they needed an incredible comeback and they came close.

23:29James Richardson: They went 3-0 up with 20 minutes to go, but couldn't quite get a fourth over the line. It's Atleti to go through to the final, winning 4-3 on aggregate. They'll face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Club de Bilbao. They play Wednesday night with La Real 1-0 up from the first leg. Boom. Barcelona comforted probably by the fact that their Liga rivals, Real Madrid, on Monday night lost at Getafe. A lot of concern there. No Mbappe in that game once again for Real Madrid. A lot of concerns over his knee situation. And no Rodrigo. And no Rodrigo now as well. The Mbappe thing, there's concerns as well about whether his World Cup of France's prospects might be impacted.

24:16James Richardson: Of course, we'll be following that story. Thoughts with you if you chose on Tuesday night to follow the Coppa Italia semifinal in Italy instead. This saw Como taking on Inter. there was one shot on target at the home side who ended within XG and won. Inter's XG was 0.07 for the runaway Serie A leaders resting a bunch of players they were ahead of. Their derby clash with the team in second place currently in Serie A, Milan, this weekend. Less James Bond, more James Pond. Because of Como?

24:49Duncan Alexander: Yeah.

24:50James Richardson: Yeah.

24:51Duncan Alexander: I mean, it's tenuous. It totally works. It's tenuous. No, no.

24:56James Richardson: the other semi-final we'll see Lazio host Atalanta on Wednesday night first leg of that meanwhile in Brazil Felipe Luiz got sacked as Flamengo manager this week in itself you're thinking not so surprising however Luiz the former Chelsea left back had made Flamengo the top team in South America a lot of us enjoyed his well witnessed his Flamengo side beating Chelsea 3-1 remember in the Club World Cup last summer. He had led them to seven titles in his 100 matches in charge which averages a trophy every 14 games. I don't think there's ever been anything quite like that. They had just beaten Madureira 8-0 in the Campeonato Carioca in the semi-final of that actually.

25:48James Richardson: Was it the day before? I think so yeah. Extraordinary. There's clearly a big story behind this. You know who can tell us? The recently demustachioed Jack Lang. That was the other hairstyle change I was referring to, Tim. And he'll be joining us actually on Thursday, when Thursday is totally football shows. So I can't wait to find out what the Felipe Lewis backstory is. Jack, if you're listening, you could get reading up on that. Duncan, you on Tuesday night elected to follow Everton's clash with Burnley at the Hill Dickinson. How was it?

26:21Duncan Alexander: It was a game of football that happened and yeah it was obviously an important game for Everton because their home form has gone very team a new stadium but yeah it was just comfortable really Burnley's recent revival wasn't really visible. Everton have got a particularly good record against Burnley historically and yeah it just carried on. Okay they've also got a really good kickoff routine. Yeah that was probably the best bit of the game to be honest so it's like passed back flicked up and then just hit very very high

26:55Tim Spiers: so did they do that from kick off yeah well then they're such trendsetters that Brentford did it at half time so it caught on quickly really so they hoof it

27:04James Richardson: really really high kind of like in a rugby yeah

27:07Duncan Alexander: it's basically it's up and under up and under yeah I mean we've seen obviously it's very popular with French teams like PSG but kicking right for the corner which is again a rugby thing I mean it's more I guess it's also a bit like a punt in American football as well so it kind of worked because you know the ball dropped down Burnley cleared it and it went straight to an Everton player so I mean some people don't like it I think it's a bit of variety it's better than just doing what every other team in the country does which is pass straight back to the goalkeeper defenders have to try and block off the runner and then the goalkeeper then hits it forward so

27:43Tim Spiers: you're cutting out the goalkeeper cutting out the middle man

27:45James Richardson: basically yeah David Moyes cutting edge. As usual, other treats for Everton fans included James Darkowski's first goal of the season. I'm stunned that's his first of the season. However, he got that. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been on a bit of a run. That's his sixth. Dwight McNeil following his failed move to Palace. Looking back to his best.

28:05Duncan Alexander: Yeah, Paddy Boylan's done a nice piece on The Athletic this morning about McNeil because I think one of probably the saddest transfer sagas of the last few years. He was basically almost signed and sealed at Palace and it fell through and his partner went on social media and sort of explained how upsetting the whole thing was and in what I can only describe as a very David Moyes style manoeuvre he apparently said to McNeil in training that he's just got to get on with it but McNeil has got on with it has trained really well apparently came in for the Newcastle game did well and did well again last night and is you know I think from being a figure the Everton fans were sort of fallen out of love with a bit, they're kind of behind him now.

28:48Duncan Alexander: I think he'll probably still move on in the summer, but with the injuries that they've had, I think he's a decent option. You know, we've got to remember, he's still pretty young and he was a very valued prospect at one point.

29:02James Richardson: Indeed. James Garner as well, having praise heaped on him, had the most touches, the most tackles and created the most chances of any player, although the bar not necessarily that high in that game, not sure.

29:15Duncan Alexander: No, I mean Everton completed 505 of their 579 passes which isn't that Everton but it was just the most kind of run-of-the-mill one of the 380 games of the Premier League this season but as we mentioned a little while back Everton, if they can start picking up some home wins their away form's great they've got an outside chance of getting into the top five and Moyes has done that.

29:39James Richardson: Outside chance of getting into the top five. How many points, Duncan?

29:41Duncan Alexander: They're five points behind Liverpool.

29:44James Richardson: There's a lot of teams trying to get into that top five.

29:46Duncan Alexander: Yeah, but Moyes has done it before. Remember 2004-05 when Liverpool won the Champions League? Everton came fourth that year.

29:52Tim Spiers: Do you know who they play on the final day of the season? Spurs. Away.

29:57Duncan Alexander: So, I mean, that could be when to stay up for Spurs, when to get into the Champions League for Everton. Our league, and it's absolute pomp.

30:05James Richardson: Well, they're currently one point behind Brentford. and what would be a conference league spot. So there's every chance of a continental campaign. But many thanks for that. Jay, meantime, on Tuesday, you were following Bournemouth-Brentford, which saw no goals. What was the post-match brawl?

30:25Tim Spiers: I'm still trying to work that out. I think, to put it simply, Henderson was kicking off at full time. But I actually want to take you back a little bit earlier when he gets subbed off because he was raging. And I won't repeat exactly what the cameras picked up, but there was a lot of swearing. And he said something along the lines of, every time it's me that's subbed. And that was picked up by the television cameras.

30:49James Richardson: So that was at his manager?

30:51Tim Spiers: It wasn't at his manager. It probably was at Keith Andrews, but as he's walking off the pitch. So he's probably still around the halfway line when this happens. So he's not on the touchline saying it to Keith Andrews.

31:01James Richardson: But it surely wasn't the Brentford staff that he was being held back from.

31:05Tim Spiers: It looks like he was kicking off at Bournemouth stuff, but I'm saying he was clearly already angry and he sensed that he'd come off for Yeho Yarmouyuk. And I think, you know, Henderson needs to remember he's 35. Brentford, you know, have a policy of bringing through young players. And Yeho Yarmouyuk, he's still a young player, but he's played loads of games with Brentford. So it was within reason to make that substitution, especially if you're looking for a bit more energy and impetus to go and win the game. And I don't think Brentford played particularly well. But yeah, when the full-time whistle goes, Henderson is sort of separated by Ethan Pinnock, one of Brentford's substitutes, and a few other people from, I think, Bournemouth's assistant coach, Sean Cooper.

31:42Tim Spiers: But no idea what happened, but something must have been said because he reacted really angrily. I know Keith Andrews was asked about it and he said he had no idea. Because you can also see towards the end, Keith Andrews get involved.

31:52Jay Harris: Did it pass the brawl threshold? No, I don't think it did. I wrote a piece about this a few... Thank goodness, Tim. days ago after the huge fines for West Ham and Chelsea 300 grand each for that was termed a brawl and that had more brawl I think someone has to get hurt probably

32:11Duncan Alexander: or thrown around yeah I think the industry standard would be the Manchester United Arsenal one in 1991 where both teams got docked points because it was so bad

32:22Jay Harris: but not quite a battle which I think was top of my list so Spurs

32:27James Richardson: Chelsea Spurs that's a battle why is that a battle just because it's sustained sustained as opposed to one flashpoint

32:35Duncan Alexander: and breaking out in different yes exactly

32:37James Richardson: and remember Dembele

32:38Tim Spiers: you can't remember whose eye he gouged but you gouged someone's eye

32:42James Richardson: to what extent is your whole kind of view on the parameters of brawl battle etc affected by having witnessed the ice hockey Olympic final between America and Canada and some real battle and brawling

32:56Jay Harris: yeah I mean they would call our brawls you know tickles really

32:59James Richardson: I don't I can't remember the last time I saw there was an I think it was Valencia game which involved players running around and kicking each other and then running as fast as they can yeah that ruins a better but that's the

33:09Duncan Alexander: Maradona at Barcelona game oh yeah yeah was it Athletic Club

33:14Tim Spiers: to Bilbao I think so yeah well it nearly happened in the Wolves-Liverpool game when was it Santiago Bueno pulled down Eketique and Van Dijk I think clattered Andre off his feet

33:25James Richardson: yeah that got tasty

33:28Jay Harris: yeah yeah it did yeah but I think I think yeah Bournemouth was more of uh handbags I would say that's in the handbags sort of mould all right should say that I think at the end of the season

33:39Tim Spiers: Brentford will look back on this as a valuable point because they didn't play particularly well

33:43James Richardson: right Cherries twice went close to scoring and were outraged that they weren't awarded a penalty when Tavernier was brought down by Coyote it was I think so brought down was he brought down?

33:57Tim Spiers: Yeah, I think he was. The cross is coming in from the right-hand side and Coyote and Tavernier running into the box and Coyote is looking at the ball but you can see that I think it's his left foot kicks Tavernier's, sort of like Achilles, the back of his leg as he goes to hit the ball and Tavernier makes contact and he hits the post but Coyote making that contact clearly impacts his action and how smoothly he hits the ball and without that he probably scores but nothing was given by VAR and then maybe a few minutes later Tavernier hits the woodwork again and then you've got this bizarre situation I think it was in the final minutes of the game where El Kruppi has this shot and it is deflected wide by Ines Unal but otherwise it was going right in the bottom corner so Brentford I think a little bit lucky to escape because I think they maybe had one or two shots on target but offered very little

34:47Duncan Alexander: and the win of the weekend was a bit chaotic so the four points for those two games is decent

34:54James Richardson: Brentford stays seventh in the table if seventh gets you Europe you've got one, two, three, four teams within four points I think whatever happens

35:04Tim Spiers: whether Brentford get European football or not they might argue differently because of where they currently are it's been a fantastic season for them considering the people that they lost in the summer the fact that they went reasonably far in the Carabao Cup and they're in the fifth round of the FA Cup and they've got West Ham United it's very plausible they'll get through to the next round. I think I certainly didn't predict it when you consider everything that happened in the summer, the changes. So it would be amazing if they got into Europe. It'd be the first time in the club's history that they do that.

35:34Tim Spiers: I'll be there. Whoever they play in the Europa Conference League. You'll go along. Well, I'd like to think so. Maybe reality's different. It would be incredible. But if it doesn't happen and they fall short, I think they should still look back on the season and think, you know, lots of people predicted they'd maybe not get relegated, but 15th, 16th, 17th. They made a mockery of those suggestions. What was their best finish under Thomas Frank? They finished, I think, ninth in the 22-23 season and I think they had 59 points maybe. I think they finished a point behind Brighton and two points behind Aston Villa.

36:08So they were really, really unlucky.

36:11Tim Spiers: But that's the year when Tony scored 20 goals in the Premier League and then was banned for the final few games. Right, right. Not saying that Tony's ban is why they didn't qualify for Europe, but it impacted it.

36:23James Richardson: Certainly. Certainly see how that would have been the case. Very good. Leeds Sunderland also happened on Tuesday. We'll get on to that next.

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40:02Jay Harris: You're listening to The Totally Football Show with James Richardson. Now we do four times a week. Keep up to date with us on Insta and enjoy seeing glorious Technicolour on YouTube at The Totally Show.

40:13James Richardson: It's March the 4th as we record this listener. On this day in 1995, Man United beat Ipswich 9-0 at Old Trafford. Inst is in there. Here's Cole with his back to goal. It didn't make any difference.

40:31James Richardson: Into the nets. Off the woodwork. It doesn't matter how they end up in the United 9th. Which was, at the time, the biggest win in Premier League history, which, at the time, only amounted to, what, three seasons. So, yeah, not that impressive. But still, no one's ever gone beyond a 9-0. We've had three since, two of them involving Ralph Harves and Huttles, Southampton, and then, more recently, Scott Parker's Bournemouth. They lost to Danfield 9-0 August 2022. When's the next one, Duncan? Where's our 9-0 this season?

41:07Duncan Alexander: Well, the one before the Manchester United one was Liverpool beating Palace 9-0 at Anfield. So we've had two, if you count that, at Anfield. We've had two involving Hasenhutl. We've had two at Old Trafford. So there's a sort of nexus of possibility. I mean, I think my favourite is Leicester's, because it's away, obviously, at Southampton. And they're the only team I've seen of those matches where they knew that 10-0 would have been something spectacular. and Johnny Evans missed a really good chance with about five minutes to go and Jamie Vardy absolutely berates him because he knew. Obviously, there hasn't been a team scoring 10 in the top flight since the most hated day of all, Boxing Day 1963, so it would be good to...

41:48Duncan Alexander: Don't even mention that day. I don't upset myself. That day belongs in infamy.

41:51Jay Harris: I was looking at the numbers earlier. I don't know how unusual this is, I'm sure Duncan will tell me, but there's only been one 5-0 this season.

41:57James Richardson: Who was that?

41:58Jay Harris: That was Arsenal beat Leeds. Okay. And there's only been four instances of a team scoring five goals. There's only so many corners you can win, though. Liverpool 5-2, West Ham. Man City's 5-4 at Fulham. And Chelsea winning 5-1 at West Ham. So only four instances of five goals feels like not very many. Yeah, that is lower than normal. But is there a reason for that, or is it just one of those seasons?

42:23Duncan Alexander: It's a very competitive season. Is it? It feels that way. Yeah. We've reached a point where every team in the Premier League Even Wolves, who are bottom, are pretty good at football, which is kind of what people wanted, right? People wanted a competitive Premier League, and this is kind of what you get. They quite want a 9-0, though. It's been a while. They feel a bit distasteful, I'd say. I don't think anyone's watched a 9-0 and left and gone, oh, really, that's what football was about.

42:47James Richardson: No, but had it gone to 10-0, they would have left going, good Lord, we were there.

42:53James Richardson: That's the thing. All right, well, falling nine goals short on Tuesday night were Sunderland in their 1-0 victory away at Erland Road. Still pretty impressive stuff, given how much of a fortress that ground had become of late, and Leeds' recent form. Although, as I say that, when you check the numbers, it's actually not that good for Leeds. They've only had two wins in their last 12 matches.

43:16Jay Harris: That is the way you want to look at it. They've only lost four of 16. Right. It's like a glass. Yeah, exactly. I actually thought this was one of Sunderland's best results of the season because they're missing half the team. Robin Roofs was a late withdrawal with a hamstring injury. Apparently, he pulled his hamstring while making a good save in training. But shouldn't be out for too long. And then they're also missing Brian Brodby up front, who sort of holds the ball up well for them. Granit Xhaka was rested because he's still come back from injury. And then they're missing Mookie Ali and Ranildo at the back.

43:49Jay Harris: And they played that way because they knew that a lot of the good players were out. So they had 15 % possession in the first 10 minutes. And eventually just ground Leeds down and then got a slightly dodgy penalty and then that was it really.

44:03Tim Spiers: I'm smiling because you're reminding me of something really random when you mentioned Robin Roos' injury. But a couple of years ago when I was covering Brentford, their goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha. Man who fell off a church.

44:16James Richardson: No, I was just thinking like Robin Roos' injury.

44:19Tim Spiers: Their goalkeeper, I think he was only second choice at the time, but goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha suffered an injury in training. ankle ligament injury so he's out for a while saving a penalty fair enough but he was saving a penalty from Christopher Ayer their centre back so it's just like it's such a bizarre situation to end up in but you saying Robin Roos just reminded me of that quirky incident

44:38James Richardson: 100 % there you go that was their only shot on target of the match that penalty from Habib Diara

44:44Jay Harris: and it was terrible it was bad it was really bad it was so bad that the keeper dived too far because the direction was bad but also the pace was bad because it should hit him and rebound back. It should hit the keeper and rebound back. But because it's so slow, he sort of tips it into the net and the crowd actually cheer because they see a save. But because of what happens in slow motion, he then sort of pushes it into the net. It's really, really bad and indicative of a terrible football match.

45:13Duncan Alexander: Good Lord. Although I did enjoy Luke O9's yellow card. Okay, that was another treat.

45:19James Richardson: So what happened there, Duncan?

45:20Duncan Alexander: So, two balls, basically. And O9, who's obviously the captain, but was a big hero of Sunderland in the Championship and League One era, but hasn't had many opportunities in the Premier League, drafted in, as Tim was saying, Sunderland down to bare bones. So this season, I don't know if you would agree with me, refs have been a lot more lenient about two balls on the pitch. Like, if they see a ball, because obviously with the multiple system, There's a lot of times when the ball, often it's the crowd up to no good, chucking the ball on, but it generally just bounces onto the edge of the pitch. And I've seen plenty of games where the ref kind of spots it, but kind of goes, well, that's not really interfering with play, and waits for someone just to run past and knock it out and doesn't stop the game.

46:07Duncan Alexander: What Lugo Nien did was basically play a through ball into the middle of where the game was going on. Right. And that kind of felt like an elevation that I've not seen. and I kind of respect. So he was booked and you felt rightly changed.

46:23Tim Spiers: Yeah, I mean, I think it's absolutely hilarious.

46:25James Richardson: Leeds are on the attack and he basically boots the ball towards...

46:28Tim Spiers: He knows exactly what he's doing. You think so? Yeah, if you look at the footage, the fact he's kicking it into the middle of the pitch, he's running from the sideline back towards the centre of the pitch so he's kicking it further towards the middle of the pitch. He sort of looks up to see where the play is before he does it anyways. I've seen people do it on Sunday League which is why I find it funny because it never gets punished there so I just find it hilarious that it actually has been punished.

46:50Duncan Alexander: Fair play. But he did resuscitate a dog on the beach, we've got to remember.

46:54James Richardson: Okay, let's hear about that story.

46:56Duncan Alexander: I'm not saying he's a bad guy. No, no, but I think we need to sort of balance the good and bad in Luco 9. He was strolling...

47:03James Richardson: Not so much Luco 9 as K9. Well, very much.

47:06Duncan Alexander: He was strolling along Seaburn Beach a couple of years ago. Where's that? Near Sunderland. And saw an elderly Labrador in distress. Okay. and it was dragged out and he did see it.

47:18James Richardson: It had been dragged out to sea?

47:20Duncan Alexander: Well, no, it was pulled out of the... Oh, I see, right, yeah. He rushed in and carried it onto the beach and, yeah. How did he resuscitate it? Your classic, you know, Baywatch-esque.

47:33James Richardson: Well, yeah, because... I mean, was it just pumping up and down on the chest or did he go... I think so, yeah.

47:38Duncan Alexander: I don't think he went... I don't think he did, you know... Mouth to mouth. No. It was quite trickling at Labrador.

47:43James Richardson: I don't know.

47:45Duncan Alexander: Big. Anyway. Anyway, he's rescued a dog, but he's also kicked an extra football onto the pitch at Ellum Road.

47:55James Richardson: Indeed. It is only the fifth time in the Premier League this season that a team has been victorious with only one shot on target. Sunderland have had two of those, by the way, because they also did it against Newcastle United in December. Leeds, though, Tim, you were mentioning the positive side their recent record but they are now only six points clear of West Ham in 18th spot and that could be only three points by Thursday morning yeah and Thomas Frank um not Thomas Frank what's

48:28Jay Harris: his name Daniel Farker uh was quite sort of philosophical about after the match he said look we've come close to sort of getting a win and a draw in our last few matches and that would probably be enough to to keep us up now he said we'd have had the champagne last night if things has gone slightly differently. And yeah, they had a sort of narrow offside goal at 0-0, and if that goes in, you know, it's a different match. But yeah, it is two defeats in a row at home, 1-0. It's also the second home match in a row where they had a first half stoppage that Leeds fans were not very happy about after the incident with the stoppage for Ramadan on the weekend against Man City.

49:05Jay Harris: This time, with Sunderland having barely touched the ball in the opening 19 minutes, their new keeper, El Borg, just went down. for no reason. He was almost smiling, actually. And the team went over to the dugout and had a big chat, you know, in the time-honoured fashion and were much better after that. And the Leeds fans were furious. I'm not sure how you get around that. I'm hearing talk of a player having to be subbed off for a minute or leave the field for a minute.

49:31James Richardson: There'd be a mandatory time that you have to be off the field to receive treatment.

49:34Jay Harris: It's one of the worst examples I've seen. It was very good. Really? Yeah, it was just so obvious.

49:37Duncan Alexander: I saw a Wickham game a few weeks ago where the Wickham keeper, Will Norris, did it. I think, four times in the second half, which feels excessive. But maybe his hamstring was just feeling a little bit tight.

49:48Tim Spiers: Maybe in that scenario you just say, if you do that, the captain has to come off for a minute.

49:55Duncan Alexander: Or you kick three balls onto the pitch and say, you know, it's like a sort of power play thing.

50:01James Richardson: How ironic listeners are thinking that they're discussing people wasting time trying to get to an allotted amount. But here we are. We've kind of reached the end then, unless there's anything else about Leeds Sunderland. Well done to the Black Cats for reaching the 40-point mark. And we'll wait to see what Wednesday night's games do to everybody who played on Tuesday and their current positions. A lot of intrigue to come, and we'll be rounding that up on Thursday morning in our next Totally Football Show. And looking forward, of course, to the FA Cup fifth round. And for now, many, many thanks to Tim, to Jay, to Duncan, to Grayson and Charlie in the booth and you, listener.

50:44James Richardson: Another Totally awaits on Thursday if you'd like to join us for that for now. From all of us here, it's goodbye.

50:50Jay Harris: You've been listening to The Totally Football Show, part of the Athletic FC podcast network. For other great podcasts just like this one, including The Athletic FC and our dedicated club podcasts, search for The Athletic in all the usual places. We're also at The Totally Show on Insta and at The Totally Show on YouTube. The Totally Football Show is an Athletic Media Company production.

51:17Duncan Alexander: The Athletic FC.

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