Young stars in the FA Cup, football's financial powerhouses, and our favourite Subway order

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2:39Rachel: Welcome to Upfront. I'm Chloe Morgan. And I'm Rachel O'Sullivan. What a weekend of FA Cup action. No upsets, but millions of goals. And of course, there will be a fourth tier side in the fifth round. So very, very exciting. We also turn our attention to the upcoming League Cup semifinals with four big sides battling out for a chance at some Subway silverware on a silver Subway platter. Who needs the trophy the most? And honey, wake up. The 2025 Deloitte Money League has dropped.

3:14Rachel: Honey. Honey? Who wrote that? It's got very camp. hasn't it? This season. Is it not the 2026 Deloitte Money League report? No, because it hasn't happened yet, darling. No, but does it like, wasn't it? Sweetie. Oh, Christ. Stay focused. Gosh. All right. Anyway, moving on from that very camp entrance. I could definitely lean into it. Me too. I've spent my entire year being like a... You go, girlfriend. A soft-strung mask and actually... Let's go. Anyway, moving on from my identity crisis, your moments of the weekend. Mine's going to just be the enjoyment of the Bournemouth Manchester City game at AFC Tottenham it felt like a proper FA Cup fixture there was lots of people there it was very crowded they were all around the side of the pitch David versus Goliath type vibes I love it and then I just loved the excitement of some of the Bournemouth players as they swap shirts at the end made beelines for the players that they wanted and I just thought it was really sweet because there's some of the magic moments of the FA Cup Bournemouth are obviously on this incredible run at the moment in their own league where I don't think they've been beaten nearly a thousand days or something ridiculous like that so you know they're obviously doing very well coming up against top team in the WSL so there was a lot of excitement there and I think you know gave a good account of themselves at times um but yeah I just enjoy the kind of after moment of it all um and it was just like a proper proper FA Cup vibe so that's what you want isn't it from an FA Cup like proper homely hearty vibes like that's what the magic of the tournament is about like those lower league teams going against the Highleys and just kind of giving them a bit of a run for their money, you know.

4:48Rachel: I remember as well, when I was playing for Palace, we got absolutely battered, like battered, destroyed, like obliterated by Arsenal 9-0. That was good fun with me to score most of those. And I remember at the end of it, like just wanting to take her shirt, but I also just... Not take it. But like, I mean, like consensually. Ask her. Yeah. I wanted to get her shirt from her, even though she'd put all these goals behind. But also, because you're playing for Palace, you can't ask because it feels like the clubs were you in the WSL at the time no we're in the championship so it kind of felt like maybe I could have but then also like I was just so angry at what happened yeah fair enough um yeah so I just left it and I regret it ever since well I could have a if you're listening could have an actual match worn shirt by Vivian Miedema which would be worth millions um by now and I also shout out to Miedema who didn't take part in the warm-up sat on the bench for the warm-up um came on in the second half and scored two goals scored within two minutes of coming on as well I just rate that energy Christ I mean that's classic that's not frightening not even a fully warmed up Viv I'm not even surprised about it my moment of the weekend thanks for asking Rach was Vasa Sangare I mean scoring London City lowless only goal to get them through to the next round of the competition really really good game and top opposition as well against Sunderland yeah only 1-0 between them yeah I was at that game they put up a good fight could have had a goal themselves or two especially at the end you know it was right at the end where I got to the point where I couldn't really feel my fingers and I was like you know what if they score now I'm actually going to be annoyed no but they did come close and then on top of that Daniela Fandedonk yeah she's back she made her debut for London City great to see her on another big name for London City to call upon as well but you know she was quite contemplative afterwards she was quite contemplative afterwards about her return and how pleased she is to be back and how tough the injury has been and stuff so great to see her back worth showing out new manager as well yeah never played under the other one which is bonkers Bell even knew there was a change right the FA Cup Let's do a bit of a roundup because there's been so much action this past weekend.

6:46Rachel: Fair to say there were no upsets, but there definitely was a lot of goals, a lot of drama, a lot of action. On Sunday alone, there were 12 games and 55 goals. I think 68 in total, I think. 68? I think. I mean, that's what you want. Goals galore. That is what you want. I mean, kicking off on the goals front, Chelsea, bit of a statement win against Crystal Palace on Saturday, beating them 5-0. Palace currently obviously fifth in the WSL 2 Sam Kerr started the game played just over an hour and got a brace and then who else? My favourite person in the whole wide world Eliza Thompson got her sixth goal for the Blues this season yeah a very prolific win a very confident, calm, assured, controlled win by Chelsea very dominant just what Chelsea would want ahead of a Subway League Cup semi-final against Manchester City and then Arsenal on the weekend they love this time of year we spoke about it a couple of weeks back maybe last week and they've definitely got their shooting boots they got them for Christmas they're all wearing them and they've scored loads of goals so be afraid I think I think it was really lovely also I mean obviously so I was reading the stat that Chelsea had put 12 goals past Crystal Palace in three meetings last season it's unnecessary and it just kind of feels like this fixture does provide a lot of entertainment a lot of joy a lot of expression for them didn't they play last year in either the FA Cup or the sub, but it might have been the FA Cup, Leif Smyrard, I think it was his first game and they lost 1-0.

8:16No. It palisted. I think so. I'm sure our listeners will correct me if I'm wrong. Only 1-0? Yeah, everyone kind of went, oh my God, maybe Smyrard is the answer. He wasn't, but that was short-lived.

8:29Rachel: And I think it did feel quite prolific from Chelsea. It felt like Millie Bright was getting involved, Erin Cuthbert, Gura Wright, Les Thompson, Lexi Potter, Chloe Sarwee as well. and it kind of felt like they just looked very cool, calm and confident. It was really nice to also see, like I said, the sort of the youngsters in the second half, 19-year-old Lexi Potter replacing Vika Kapthine and then 17-year-old Chloe Sawi replacing Erin Cuthbert. Really lovely moment. This next little line here is unnecessary. Go on, read it out. Make us all feel really old. Sam Kerr was already playing for Perth Glory when Sawi was born.

9:02Rachel: Fuck's sake. You're right. It's just not necessary. I mean, Chloe Sawi is tipped to be the hottest, biggest, new, rising, young, shooting star of the WSL. Will she be appearing somewhere around the World Cup in 2027? Oh, what a prediction. Yeah, I mean, I'm calling it now. And I want this clipped. And I want this clipped. Chloe Sawi at the 2027 World Cup. That's only next year. Give her a minute. Look what happened to Shell. You give her one game, she scores. she gets on she becomes an MBE she should be that's pending that needs to we'll have a word ASAP yeah I was surprised that she wasn't in the Kings list this year and that's shocking actually from the Royal Family and I'll definitely let Charles know but I do think that she's got a very good chance like Serena does have a track record of having a lot of faith in these youngsters let's not put any pressure on her young shoulders but they're too late look we've already talked about how the youngsters deal with pressure they deal with it super super well they go on they score goals they are playing for these massive, massive clubs and they think nothing of it like it was a kickabout.

10:08Rachel: So pressure doth make a diamond. I don't know why you said that Shakespearean, but sure. As Shakespeare once said. I don't know why either. Moving swiftly on. Let's talk about Liverpool. Let's. They earned themselves a confidence-boosting 6-0 win over fourth-tier London Bees at the Hive in Barnet. God, that brings back such... It makes you shudder. Bad memories. Such an awful pitch to get to to play on to be a part of it's right next to a tube station what are you on about? no it's horrible it's really really horrible it's in the arse end of like the Jubilee line at least it's on a line when I was playing there we used to pick up dead rats before we used to when I was playing I'd get the horse and cart we didn't have trains we had pig's livers for bars anyway that's so gross what are you on about rats?

10:55that's disgusting I actually have a phobia of rats so I don't know if I want you to explain this

10:59Rachel: it was obviously like the pitch we used to play we used to train on the pitches the grass pitch opposite the London Hive. And it was like, I mean, you could barely see the markings. There were divots in the pitch. Like there was often like dead rats where the foxes had kind of been at them. The goals were kind of a bit of a slam. It was just not, it wasn't a great environment. And I can only imagine Alex Morgan's face arriving. I'm sure it was improved by then. No, it wasn't. That's the best thing. I don't know whether this has got out yet or not. and I don't like but Alex Morgan was playing at the Hive in Barnet for at least a couple of training sessions she was there you could literally get off the Jubilee line we were going to get complaints from no no this is truth you could literally get off the Jubilee line go to Barnet and watch Alex Morgan train for at least a couple of weeks before they moved her to the Spurs training ground you had moved her truth anyway we really really digress let's get back to Liverpool two debutantes got their first goals for the club Marta Thomas brought in on loan from Spurs and Rachel's favourite, go on.

12:01Rachel: Denise O'Sullivan. Go on. Signing from North Carolina Courage the evening before. Yeah, that's crazy. And then she came on and scored in six minutes. Boom. That's how you make a debut. That's what she does. That is what she does. Runs in the name. Yeah, how impressed were you? With such a good way to start your life with the Reds. Delighted. I mean, big move for her. She's been over in America for a long time. I think since 2017. And she's, you know, had the odd loan spell. she came to Brighton for a bit but like to actually make the permanent move and to come to a team who is you know currently battling relegation big move I think it's a big signing record fee as well bringing her in so it's a really really good bit of business from Liverpool and of course getting Martha Thomas on loan as well who has had a little bit of a dry spell with Spurs so to come in and score in her first game pretty impressive maybe a sign of things to come and I also want to shout out Bergstrom because her two goals were unreal in the 87th and 88th like to score those two goals so close together please go and watch them minutes like seconds apart Chloe like absolutely insane um but yeah that's a as you say confidence boosting performance particularly given how much they've been struggling in front of goal I know they're playing London Bees I appreciate that but you know when you're struggling in front of goal you're struggling in front of goal right so getting six will be important and having debutants scoring as well will definitely give them a bit of confidence I reckon I think you're completely right I think you do need games like that where you just kind of shake off the dust a little bit and go like we can do this we just need to find that energy and that kind of belief again um we do have a really good question in from jane.s258 would love to know how you came up with that name section 258 of some kind of legislation falling on a keyboard and after saying your name don't say that about jane it's a really good question she asked on instagram uh does liverpool's win in the cup along with new signings mark an upturn in their season jane i don't want you to get put too much on this but yes I'm quietly excited about not just the win but the signings I think is key and that they've done a bit of business a good bit of business in the January transfer window there you know and I understand Gareth Taylor wasn't in for very long he's been desperately waiting for this window and so good to see them doing business and putting their hand in their pocket as well and so you know hopefully that will give them the boost that they need.

14:17Rachel: Shake that 2025 like cloud off. Difficult end to 2025 for them. 100 % I think. But another really positive story coming out of Liverpool. You've got an academy graduate Maisie Truman started in midfield. The Truman Show. Age. Okay, sorry. 16 years. 88 days old. Becoming the club's youngest ever player in the professional era. The worst thing is she was actually beaten by a very well-known WSL-er who do you think it might have been? Who do you think was the youngest ever player in the WSL? You'll know it really well really really well Okay I was going to say initially I thought it was Izzy Hobson but Nope I mean tell me I feel like I might have seen their debut so tell me Lauren James I think I saw it Lauren friggin James Maybe it wasn't against Millwall but I do remember seeing her play against Millwall in a cup game and she picked up the ball in the Arsenal box ran the length of the pitch and scored a goal and me and self were like well she'll be the next big thing and right you were uh so she was at 16 years and 30 days um yeah so a whole 58 days younger than uh than the youngest person at liverpool which is crazy how young can you really get this is getting a bit silly now it's becoming there's going to be some kind of child labor laws that that needs to be brought in that'll be the next um that's just to make us feel less old stop not let play until they're 20 yeah good until So they've been through some things and experienced some life.

15:49Rachel: Following on from our chat with Niamh Doody last week, we were, of course, rooting for York City to beat Chattentown in the battle of the fourth tier sides. But it wasn't to be. They lost 3-0 away from home. Raging. I was looking forward to that night out in London. I know. We were going to be invited to it. We'd been told we were going to get on the bus. Do you think they threw it because they didn't want us around? No. I think it's worth an ask. I just hope we aren't the bad luck charm. no because we spoke to Kirsten Kasperi and things have been going really well at City for her and the club so yeah I think that's you know so far so good sorry all the same this is the first time Chatham have ever made it this far in the competition they are now the lowest ranked side left in the cup Chatham Town's manager is Keith Bonas whose long and illustrious career in management includes winning the 2005 FA Cup with Charlton his assistant manager was the late great Matt Beard what a time what a full circle moment that the club is now going through the FA Cup run and sort of making history with the side but he said to reach this stage now at this level of the game with this club generally feels as good as it did in 2005 that's such a lovely thing Bonus also won the League Cup in 2004 and 2006 right man at the helm then I was going to say he's got a reputation for doing some big things in the competition so you never know yeah wishing them the absolute best of luck they've also got a really interesting story coming out of Chatham Town.

17:15Rachel: So, among their starting 11 were identical twin sisters Madison and Amelia Woodgate who combined to score the second and third goals of the game. It's because the defenders didn't know who to defend. They're like, you're marking her. Wait. She's over there now. Oh, no, wait. That's what you should use that. You would. I think I was going blind. I think I was going see. I'd be like, it's fine. I've got her. And then I'd be like, wait, she's over there. No, they're identical twins. Oh, God, who am I marking? As a goalkeeper, that would actually tip me over the edge. Am I seeing double? they're both coming at me that would be my retirement point where i was like i love that though like it's one thing having siblings who play there are obviously quite a few examples but to have twins home guard is another example yeah i think danes have no they're danish i think there's another can't remember who it is but there are a couple of twins to both make it in in football is incredible it's such a cool story and then combine for goals that's just a bit like telepathic right they knew where the other one was going to be mind blown this is actually a really good tactic absolutely mind blown um so we had the uh the fifth round fixtures drawn uh there are 16 clubs and eight ties at the stage of this competition so that's going to take place on sunday the 22nd of february the winning clubs at this stage of the competition will receive 80 000 pounds from the prize fund with 20 grand for the losing teams um so eight games how many of them are wsl ties four like that's insane so I mean there's some interesting matchups in there definitely you've got the Liverpool Everton Chelsea Man United that's going to be a very tasty fixture did you see Chelsea's tweet last night no no no what's what's happened now they basically tweeted saying that they've played Manchester United twice in the FA Cup and have only I've never lost in the final or something along those lines and everyone's like guys you lost in the semi-final a couple of years back so it was quite an awkward one with it because i imagine admin went to bed do you know what i mean so it was up for a while um but yeah that was a bit our only two our only two fa cup games versus united have been wins in the final that is what was tweeted out and they've taken it down now machine well i hope so has it gone let me tell you now yeah awkward but that's a nightmare because like look i work in so i've done that like worked in social media you schedule something you put something up at night we've all made the mistake close your laptop go to bed and wake up and it's a dumpster fire and you're just like oh my god why do so many notifications 100 it happens it it happens okay you get things wrong you get stats wrong you forget about fixtures i get it i get it like we've all been there i sent an email two early ones to our like list of subscribers in an old job finished work went out for a run with some of my workmates came back in and someone came up and went your boss wants to see you something about an email and i was like oh my god what i'd sent it a day too early but and maybe this is a little bit of a tactic for people working in digital marketing the follow-up email where we were like because i worked for an animal charity we we woofed too soon uh you know please disregard the previous email blah blah got freaking loads of reads oh yeah so that's how you do it it's eating humble pie just people love it and everyone will open it apologize move on great open rates great click-throughs 100 that's a secret that's a pr win um and then you've also got Oxford United and Charlton Athletic which I think will be a really interesting one that's going to be a good little head to head as well and Oxford United left it real late in their game against Middlesbrough because they were 1-0 down in like the 73rd minute and they scored 3 goals in 9 minutes to win the game so they'll be buzzing and then you've also got Birmingham City versus Chatham Town which is another super interesting one can Chatham Town make further history in the competition and progress so I've seen a few different like opinions on social media and people you know bemoaning that there were no cup sets and that you could basically predict all the results etc etc and that it's boring whatever and then on the other hand you've got people going there's too many WSL ties in the next round such a shame that you know some of the teams lower down don't get to have like a big kind of game where they play a WSL team but then part of me is like but then you're guaranteed one of those sides to go through isn't that like also exciting because you know i'm sure chatham for example would love to have hosted a top team of the wsl not that birmingham city by any stretch of the imagination is an easy fixture but like you've also got on the other hand maybe maybe we could get through this one we can make history again so i feel like you could look at it both ways right there's a glimmer of hope there surely for sure and then for us like more wsl teams are knocked out so you might have a more chance of having a new name getting further that is the magic of the fa cup you don't know what's gonna happen like i love a cup set love it i'm here for it but if it happened all the time wouldn't be exciting it wouldn't be magical so you know well wait and see 22nd of february and we will know um coming up after this the 2025 deloitte money league is here

22:21Looking for soccer analysis more knowing than a Carlo Ancelotti eyebrow raise? With the World Cup around the corner, join me, Max Rushton, and the Guardian's expert soccer journalist on Football Weekly for all the latest soccer action and news throughout the week. We'll cover more ground than Drew Bellingham in a Champions League final with conversations sharper than an Arsenal set-piece. For fine margins, fun debates, and full-blooded tackles, Football Weekly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube.

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24:28Rachel: Ooh, I do love it when this report drops. I really, really love it. Like, this is the stuff about women's football that, like, really gets me going. Like, really gets me going. I'm glad. Love what happens on the pitch. Right. Love the goals. love the saves loves what you know like let's talk about the matches but we had very different reactions to this talk about the numbers and the commercial boom this is where it's at wow well please carry on where's your enthusiasm because the clubs that are investing a lot are top of it and the clubs that don't invest as much aren't at the top the clubs that are winning lots doing better that's a very top line view we're gonna get stuck in obviously sorry but there's no NWSL included in this so it kind of makes it a bit like good things caveat Yeah, definitely at the top.

25:11Rachel: So obviously the Money League report always gets a lot of attention. So eight of the top 15 clubs that have made the most revenue are WSL clubs. So we've got Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton. Is that in the order? That's in the order. Arsenal are now top with a revenue of 21.5 million, a massive 43 % increase on 2024 total. and revenue is not profit just to point that out revenue is not profit so that is just money that's come into the club that doesn't account for all the money going out and therefore what profit the club actually makes in the year it's just purely money in obviously a great deal of sort of like where Arsenal really progressed in the last year in terms of the revenue has mainly been due to the the massive increase in commercial revenue and it's I mean that's not really a surprise to anyone I mean the amount of times that we get emails from an immediate perspective saying Arsenal have partnered with X, Arsenal have partnered with Deal, the HR platform, Arsenal have partnered with Stanley, Paramount, Starling Bank, Athletic Brewing.

26:14Rachel: We've seen so many of these. Guinness, I don't know if that's in the women's one, but that was all around the Emirates the other day. 100%. Obviously I noticed. So their commercial department has been doing absolute bits and I think obviously that also aligns with kind of what I'm seeing from a sad perspective too. I mean, last year especially, and I appreciate it obviously was in a Euros year, you do get more interest from brands, there's a lot more money, a lot more eyes on the women's game. which sort of drives them some of those greater prices but we have seen so many different brands want to enter the space whether that's of course food whether that's of course fashion whether that's of course music um there's this like cultural element and a lot of the brands now are thinking well let's get involved in these clubs while the the cost of getting involved is like relatively still small in comparison to what you pay for men's rights um and locking these deals in for two or three years time with the advantage of the fact that in three years time the value of the club the eyes on the club is going to be greatly different and they've got themselves a really really good deal I mean breaking news women's sport is a great place to invest 100 % like it I mean it's we can't keep banging the drum about it like it like you said it's you know the writing's on the wall but at the same time I mean you also have to give credit to the commercial departments of these clubs because they're they're you know making the club marketable they're going out and having these conversations and they're also trying to create partnerships that actually add value to the fans and to the players and are specific to the women's team so it's not you know i remember when liverpool i think became one of the first clubs to have a separate shirt sponsorship to the men's team you know and it was kind of a massive thing and you just think it it seems so obvious to us maybe because we're working in the game that you should be targeting different people for your women's team because it's a whole different like and there's some really clever ways to do that there's some really clever partnerships um out there and it makes so much sense so yeah it's it's no real surprise that the commercial side of things particularly around Chelsea and Arsenal is improving because I know we both know they've put a lot into that side behind the scenes and to increase that 100 % and also I mean moving away from the commercial side for Arsenal then you have to look at the match day revenue that is almost double the nearest person the nearest club Chelsea 3.6 million Arsenal got 7.7 million in match day revenue which is absolutely amazing um and it just kind of goes show what can happen in terms of match day revenue when you drive so much attention around your fan base when you really look at your fan base you try and ascertain as much data that you have around the fans who's coming to the games why are they coming to the games how do we reach out to new fan bases i mean no one can criticize our arsenal as one of the absolute gold standards leaders in the space for really getting that fan engagement piece right um do you know what i'd love to see more of and see more clubs try this more and this is something I saw when I was over in the NWSL in 2024 but it's providing opportunity to spend more money at the ground on the day definitely and you know I remember reading a report where fans of women's sport are something like 74 % more likely to spend on merchandise and I remember going to a San Diego game picking up a shirt from the club shop before the game going into the stands going around to the shirt printing section which overlooked the pitch put in who I wanted on the back and at halftime I got a text to say my shirt was ready so spent what like 70, 80 dollars I can't remember how much it was on the day and if you've got fans in there you're making that kind of revenue from the number of fans you're getting, the committed fans you have you know doing really good deals again partnerships, your Stella McCartney kind of collaboration stuff like that give people more options to spend the money at the stadium as well because I think people will do that.

29:44Rachel: Definitely and I think it's not entirely clear from this in terms of like the match day and the merch stuff I'm not entirely sure whether that is like banked into the match day i'd say it's probably i feel like that's probably commercial because i think a lot of their merch stuff are partnerships with you know brands and stuff like that so that would make more of a commercial definitely um and i think the one thing is missing from all of these is essentially the revenue that we generated from the player sales which again is something that's emerging with with all clubs but um yeah i've got to say i mean arsenal in terms of sort of the the fan base and i've got to give a bit of a shout out to farah chowdhury who's the chair of the arsenal women's supporter club she has been doing the absolute most for years and years working with the club tirelessly behind the scenes helping them come up with these campaigns helping them come up with these initiatives to kind of really put arsenal at the forefront i mean it doesn't matter what club you're from what club you support if you go down to an arsenal game you're gonna get vibes good atmosphere good energy safety inclusion it's it's a nice space i will say as well it's not easy it's not all plain sailing for her as well she has to do a lot of hard work a lot of graft oh one hundred a lot of fires and fight a lot of fight so i think that is worth sharing it as well it's not an easy role to to have definitely it's quite political there's a lot of stakeholders involved in in all of this too um moving now then to chelsea obviously domestic treble winners um generated 21.3 million their revenue grew by nearly 90 percent um and this is mostly down to then generating commercial revenue 16 which is um yeah more than any other side i mean that's so so super impressive that's a big area that's improved and increased over the last couple of years and I think they've put real effort into building that team behind the scenes that commercial team behind the scenes and as I said going out to partners that are different to the men's team that make more sense for the women's team you know they've got like jewelry partnerships and stuff like that there's loads of different things that they've been thinking about so you know it's interesting that I think majority of their revenue came from the commercial side I think majority a big chunk of Arsenal's has come more from the fan side and it's like two different ways of approaching it um so yeah I think that they're doing a great job from a commercial perspective definitely and i think um i mean like like you said rates they're kind of built out bespoke ip around the women's side cars you look at the activations like skoda like you said d louise the jewelry brand here we flow uh also another great partner in terms of the uh the back of the short sponsor um sort of doing loads of promotion around periods and things uh rexona has obviously been a big one three with the we see network so there's like really women's specific activations that they're doing in the space and And also the fact they've got Carly Telford in-house, like they've got a player who is leading the commercial side who knows how to get the best out of players.

32:17Rachel: So yeah, massive credit to them for expanding their commercial. It is interesting though that Chelsea are obviously one of the best performing clubs across Europe in terms of the consistency of silverware, but at the same time still not doing as well as Arsenal in terms of their matchday revenue, which I think is really fascinating. Yeah, but it comes down to the different approaches, doesn't it? Definitely. but it just goes to show in terms of what is driving match days isn't necessarily like match day attendance and match day revenue isn't necessarily kind of like how successful the team is otherwise Chelsea would be absolutely bossing it they win pretty much everything bar the Champions League a team like Arsenal barely picks up silverware just about got the Champions League obviously not doing that well this season but create this kind of really amazing atmosphere at the Emirates that's what's driving fans on the match day experience yeah and I think both of these whether it be commercial or the fan experience etc are things that have taken a long time a lot of work behind the season that behind the scenes you know I know over the last couple of seasons it's really spiked for Arsenal but that's been a lot of groundwork over the years and you know I think Everton while up in the top 15 are a team I think that went backwards and made less um in 2025 than they did in 2024 and you know that for me I hope is a kind of short-term pain long-term gain type thing you You know, moving to Goodison Park is going to cost an awful lot more than playing at Walton Hall Park.

33:40You know, it's going to cost more to put a game on. It's going to take them that time to invest and build that fan base out to fill that ground more. And I think Arsenal are a good example that it can happen. But it is going to be that it's a process, right? And I know we expect things to happen in women's football quickly because the game is growing so quickly. But things like that don't happen overnight. So, you know, I think the step into Goodison was huge. it's just going to take a couple of seasons for them to start you know seeing their their

34:07Rachel: tendencies grow definitely um overall the world's top 15 clubs generated a total revenue of 132.8 million which represents a massive 35.5 percent increase on 2024 we've obviously touched on where clubs are generating that revenue but in terms of their spending that's also been absolutely huge uh we'll see some massive moves over in the uh in the summer transfer window especially london City Lionesses who have incredibly deep, huge pockets. But we're also seeing some big spending with Aston Villa. They just signed midfielder Orian Jean-Francois from Chelsea for a club record £450 ,000. That's huge.

34:49And it's also a club record sale for Chelsea. That's crazy. And I just think, yeah, this January transfer window, God, I'm catching whatever you have. I've heard a lot of people kind of say, God, this is going to be the biggest one yet. And it does feel like that. I don't know whether having a major tournament during the summer makes it harder to get deals done. Players obviously focusing on a national team for a good chunk of that. And then I think you've got a couple of teams as well in the WSL who have new managers who maybe haven't had the time to kind of get in who they want, to try to implement what they want in the club.

35:20So no huge surprise that we're seeing big moves. Mark Skinner at Manchester United has said a lot this season how much they need the January transfer window. Liverpool the same. and we're seeing them spend. Obviously, we touched on Denise O'Sullivan earlier, but that was also a club record fee for them, I think, in and around the£300 ,000 mark, which is more than what they got Olivia Smith for. So, you know, again, for Liverpool, it's good to see them putting their hands in their pockets and bringing in a number of players. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more. And I think as well, just seeing managers being quite open about their want and need for players.

35:57You know, sometimes we're used to them being a bit coy and a bit like, oh, well, you know, we'll see. We're happy, whatever. Managers just outwardly saying, we want more players. We want as many in as we can get kind of thing. So it's so interesting because we don't have a major tournament in the summer. So you don't have like a load of players desperately in need of minutes. So managers have been saying that's made it quite tricky. They always find the January transfer window the harder one. It's hard for players to leave a club mid-season, which is probably why so many Swedes are coming over because they're not mid-season.

36:28but yeah I just think it should be quite an interesting one I think there's quite a few clubs who like need a number nine for example and they are few and far between like top level number nines are hard to come by so I'm excited for it I think it could be really interesting as the as the door starts to close on the January transfer window

36:44Rachel: Well you were talking there about a couple of like new managers who haven't quite yet managed to settle and kind of figure out what it is that their club needs or like their style of play and like which players will fit with that but then you've got a club like London City Lionesses obviously just brought in someone new and then straight away big entry into the January transfer window landing Danielle Cascarino although for no fee because she terminated her contract with San Diego Wave That's odd That's weird But it's like huge But also not Spanish I thought they wanted to play like with the Spanish flair Yeah but it's different this time But I find the whole thing unusual where they agreed to terminate a contract and didn't pay any money Cascarino has mentioned that she would actually the move was made because you said she wanted to be a little bit closer to home okay well i mean that makes sense and you know london club but look another big name look this account the accountancy situation in wsl is going to be very very creative with all these new mcos if i carry the one and subtract the 10 and then hide this over here and move this player over here and if i transfer this player to here to here and if i move this across here and if we send someone to the cayman islands we should be able to create some kind of weird pocket of budget that's still legal um yeah very very interesting massive massive signing for them uh so be interested to see how another massive name fits into the london city lionesses lineup um but pending uh coming up after this we look ahead to those league cup semi-finals

38:10Rachel: we need to have a look at the league cup semi-final um in terms of fixtures obviously I mean, none of these are particularly... Surprising? Yeah, they're quite... Unsurprising? Boring. Arsenal host Man Utd, while Man City host Chelsea, both on Wednesday night. Do you know what? I don't think it's boring. Who saw it coming? Everyone. But I don't think it's boring. It's a boring match-up in the sense that, like, you just know... Who's going to win? Yeah. Who? Well, no, not who's going to win. You know who's going to be matched up. You know who's going to be in the final four, essentially. Well, quite.

38:46Rachel: and I hate to say that like I want more jeopardy I want more kind of unknown I want more uncertainty people can be really particular about their Subway okay they know what they want they want the same thing in it every time they go and that's basically what's happening here you've got your your same order the same bread the same filling the same sauce do you? what's your Subway order? I like an Italian BMT on Italian bread great shout yeah I do like some cheese yeah and I'm a bit maybe more unusual with my toppings I like sweet corn and pickles on top of mine with honey mustard dressing toasted that's a really lovely order man I'd love one right now that is a really lovely order what's yours?

39:23Rachel: I do like the Italian BMT is it oh there's a herbs herbs and cheese one there is yeah yeah the heart hearty herbs the most amount of calories you can fit into a Subway basically a meatball sub are we going for enough? no but it's the Italian BMT because it's got like three different types of meats in it double cheese oh okay yeah and I I always like to get in my five a day so I throw in a couple of peppers there a couple of onions oh sorry yes I forgot onions it's a good addition yeah the red onions yeah the sweet corn and then I used to like going for like barbecue but also mayonnaise on there as well it's a weird combo but it works but my point is people know what they want yeah apparently we get the same thing with the Sunway League 100 % same order it would be nice to see a little bit of variety so three of the current top four in the WSL will be battling it out for a place in the final but who do we think needs this trophy the most it's not Chelsea no I'm going to take that out Their cabinet's full.

40:16Rachel: Yeah. Okay. Arsenal. No, they could buy a new cabinet. It's fine. Yeah, for sure. Arsenal, admittedly, just had a major trophy in the cabinet. Maybe a little bit of pressure off. Sure, but they're not doing well this season. No. So if you're an Arsenal fan, you're like, we need that. Yeah. But then if you look at the Manchester teams in terms of silverware. Man City would love to get their hands on it, set them up for the rest of the season. 100%. United also. I mean. They've never won it before. Yeah. I think there's something in that as well I mean anyone but Chelsea essentially Chelsea fans are not going to appreciate that Chloe no but we're talking about who needs it do Chelsea need another trophy right now to justify how amazing they are no they don't everyone knows they're amazing they win silver where it's consistent even as a Chelsea fan you could admit that they can admit that they win a lot yes for sure would you like a little Manchester Derby Subway League Cup final always we should do an at the match we should what happens if neither of them get through we still want to do an at the match yeah with some subways when was the last time you sent us out on the road yeah it's been a long time coming it has we should actually get some subways sorted as well we should get some subways do you know what I know the subway team I'll get us sorted out don't worry Finn I'll do your job I'll sort the trains out I'll get us up to the game I'll get us some subways and we'll go outside and we'll do an at the match I'd love that and all the fans can come and join us and have subways with us and we could film us just eating beyond teas it'd be like what ASMR it's like weird football content and that's some kind of weird only fans type listen it's another revenue stream i'm not for me personally some of us might need it more than you and sofa going in your snow palace but like not for me that's not where the 2026 is going 2026 is wholesome no you know me no hyroxes better eating apart from subway with the most calories possible yeah that's different though so man city lost last year in the subway league cup final to chelsea 2-1 i mean since then obviously the two sides have played four times with Chelsea winning three including at the start of the season in the league uh what do we make of this fixture I mean this is the this is this is big dog I'm surprisingly excited about this fixture and not because of anything bad it's just because obviously we watched them so many times last season that I didn't think I'd be excited to watch this fixture again but actually you know given the first game of the season where it was you know relatively close Chelsea winning it and then Man City being unbeaten since you're like okay I kind of want to see how this Man City now gets on against this Chelsea because Chelsea are in like their goal scoring era the start of the season, the start of the year which they love and seem to really kind of turn up the heat on.

42:50Manchester City have found their rhythm the likes of Bunny Shaw is on fire you know, Lauren Hemp is back Carolyn, although Carolyn wasn't around at the FA Cup need to find out more about that but my point is they feel like they're in a different place now than they were at the beginning of the season. I just think it's really interesting to see how these two match up because of course Chelsea are chasing City in the league how's that going to happen when they play each other again in the not too distant future um it does feel loaded this one it kind of feels like a is this like a preemption of like what how the league is gonna go if Chelsea win do they go well now we know like we know we can't do it we can't do it when we come against you in the league if City if City lose are they like oh my god we haven't lost in ages like we don't know what this feels like this feels weird we don't like it that means like when we play Chelsea or you know there's a whole lot more narrative to that than the Arsenal United game although arguably Arsenal will be annoyed that they drew nil-nil with Manchester United the last time they played each other definitely United want to say we didn't play that well then we want to show we can play better new signings have found their feet a bit more you know so it could exciting they're interesting fixtures which one are you going to uh we've got work for the Arsenal Manchester United game.

44:02Nice, nice, nice, nice.

44:04Rachel: I don't actually know which one I'm going to go to. I want to go to one of them. I guess whichever one offers you the box. Essentially, yeah. Like finding a box in Borromwood. And I'm up for sale, essentially. She will whore herself out to whatever team I'll have her. It honestly doesn't matter. Like, I've got no morals. Give her a warm seat and a glass of bubbles and she'll be there. Honestly, that's literally what all it is. I mean, like a glass of bubbles is nine quid. I'll literally sell myself for nine pounds. Yeah. Jesus, I thought you said we weren't doing that kind of stuff in 2026 but here you are whoring yourself out for nine quid.

44:33I'm a bit more expensive than that. The distinguishing factor is I'm not an OnlyFans. I never said I was. You said that. That's where your mind went. It's been a weird pod this one hasn't it? We should wrap up soon.

44:45Rachel: We're in a weird weird mood. I don't know where we're going to end up if we keep going. There's a weird vibe and there's been a lot of people who are telling me they listen to this podcast in the car and I just really hope that people have managed to concentrate on their journeys. Where are you going right now? We've gone on quite a few tangents. What's the weather like? What's the traffic like? Tell us about your journey. tell us where you listen to us uh whilst you're yeah where are you off to what are you doing whilst you're listening to up front i would actually love to know like what like the madness of like what we're saying and like how we are supporting you and your and sorry commutes or whatever it is annoying yeah apologies and have a safe are you in the gym because what i find is when i listen to a part that makes me laugh in the gym that can be quite dangerous when you're lifting weights because i don't know about you but like my whole body just goes to jelly when i laugh a lot so far what no no i might drop the weights you weird oh my gosh we do need to wrap this part up jesus christ anyway thank you for listening to our front join us next week for more from the top of your cell and this wild january transfer window wilder than this pod in the meantime you can find us on instagram and x last twitter i'm at morgy underscore 89 rages at girls on the ball and we are at up front underscore pod you can also find us on youtube at up front pod see you next way confirm this will be normal

46:11where did farting come from Jesus Christ no like you're shaking

46:15Rachel: uncontrolling me no I just go to jelly and I drop the weights or like have you ever tried to do push-ups while you're something makes you laugh and I just go completely collapsed. I don't know where Chloe's had one. Same, you know. Upfront is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

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