Latest / Let's Kick It Off! / Ep 27: United's 24/5 Season - It's Been Emotional!

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Ep 27: United's 24/5 Season - It's Been Emotional! · Let's Kick It Off!

• 0:00
  I think he's going to be hard until the the end of the season.
• 0:04
  He's going to be a little bit of that roller coaster.
• 0:22
  Let's kick it off. I'm Steve and I'm joined by Ash
• 0:26
  and us, who I'm getting a little bit bored off since we spent
• 0:28
  some time out together in Spain, so we've had to call someone
• 0:32
  else in. Scott, welcome back to the pod.
• 0:35
  This is going to be a meaty one guys.
• 0:37
  We've got a lot to talk about. United won the last game of the
• 0:41
  season on Sunday against Aston Villa. 2 nil.
• 0:44
  Decided to turn up like prime Barcelona when we had nothing to
• 0:47
  play for. Since that, I think the team
• 0:49
  have gone out to Kuala Lumpur and lost to some 11 out there.
• 0:53
  One All Star seats, come on, give you all the stress.
• 0:56
  Come on. Bit bit Sebi singed as.
• 0:59
  Yeah, they've they've managed to lose to some.
• 1:02
  All of the Stars team, All of them.
• 1:05
  Oh, clearly it's it must be an amazing team, right?
• 1:07
  If it's an All Star team. Yeah, you're trying to say Asian
• 1:12
  teams aren't good. I've just, I don't know how you
• 1:15
  can fuck up at all so badly. You lose the first game.
• 1:18
  I've got Ahmad pulling the middle finger to the media
• 1:21
  today. It's like, what's going on?
• 1:23
  There was to to the fans, wasn't there?
• 1:26
  Yeah, I think there was saying stuff about his mum to be
• 1:28
  wouldn't call. Them fans, if they're doing
• 1:30
  that, yeah. So, you know, that's happened
• 1:33
  even just a few days after that game.
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  And then, yeah, we have to get Scott's view on the final.
• 1:39
  And then also Ruben, because, yeah, Ash as an eye and Ron, we
• 1:44
  spoke to it to death, really. So we need to get a fresh take
• 1:47
  on that. And then I think we're going to
• 1:49
  have a look back at the season really as a whole.
• 1:51
  So that's going to be some topic we're going to have to look at
• 1:55
  the decision to sack 10 hog, I think because you know, if you
• 1:59
  look at how the seasons played out, it's in your right to look
• 2:01
  back. We have to talk about my friends
• 2:03
  Ineos as well. I think looking back at the
• 2:05
  season and then just a little bit on recruitment, it seems
• 2:08
  like the Cunha deal is basically done.
• 2:11
  Guy Nacho has been told to find a new club and there's been lots
• 2:14
  of movements already. It looks like we've lost out on
• 2:17
  Liam de Lap already as well. So yeah, we'll try and jam that
• 2:21
  all into one pod. So I'm not going to come to
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  Scott Scott first. Scott, did you enjoy that two
• 2:26
  nil comfortable victory on Sunday?
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  Villa game yeah, it was it was surprising.
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  I think decisions went for us. I felt sorry for Villa, to be
• 2:39
  honest. It would have been nice for
• 2:41
  Villa to take the the Chelsea spot.
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  But yeah, I just I just there was those parts of me where that
• 2:46
  I think Martinez send it off. I me personally, I thought it
• 2:50
  was a bit 5050. It was kind of you could, you
• 2:54
  could just. 5050 there wasn't a goalkeeper in the goal.
• 3:00
  No, I know. And just because it's Rasmus Oil
• 3:02
  and he can't kick the ball straight, that's not how the
• 3:05
  rules work. The way I thought, the way I the
• 3:09
  way I looked at it is Rasmus did kick it away from the goal.
• 3:13
  He was never going to get get to that and and scored the goal
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  kind of thing from me. I don't think I.
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  Actually think he would have got to the ball, but he would have
• 3:20
  got to the ball and there was no goal.
• 3:22
  The thing is, if it was a defender, then you'd be like,
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  oh, but Rasmus still has to get the ball attacked the but
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  there's no goal. There's literally no goalkeeper
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  so. It's like, but Scott's.
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  Scott's probably right. He would have miscontrolled it
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  and probably put it wide with no.
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  One he definitely would have missed thought.
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  He was a he. Definitely would have missed.
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  He was a yard ahead. That's when I look at, when I
• 3:42
  look at his position, I think he was just a yard faster.
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  As in if his defenders were just a yard further back, I think he
• 3:50
  would have been a yellow and a freaking kind of thing.
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  So I don't think it had been because they would have had
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  cover. So I think he was just.
• 3:56
  No, but again, again, I think you're missing the point.
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  It was Emmy Martinez and not a defender, so it doesn't matter.
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  There's no, there's no goalkeeper, there's no
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  goalkeeper in the net. So it's like.
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  What, what? What's the?
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  What's the? Actual rule is the cloak.
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  You deny a clear goal scoring opportunity.
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  If there's no goalkeeper, it doesn't matter as long as Rasmus
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  Hoyland's going to get to the ball.
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  He has a shot on an open goal and I know he's going to miss
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  it, but he has a shot on an open goal.
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  That's a clear goal scoring opportunity.
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  And the other thing I'd say is Martinez deliberately takes him
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  out. So I know this isn't the rule in
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  football, but if I was in football, a rule change I would
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  have is a deliberate foul. It's just a red card, this
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  violent conduct. He smashes him.
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  He literally goes and shoulder charges him.
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  Just sending him off anyway. Deserves to get sent off.
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  Well, he tried to be slight, you know he just body cheques him,
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  but you know exactly what he's written.
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  Straight into him on purpose. It was.
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  It was a missed time challenge. Purpose, shithousery, challenge.
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  Again, he happens to be Argentinian and we talked about
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  Romero in the final. Yeah, but we don't discriminate
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  on this channel, so. Yeah.
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  I'm just hoping, I just hope he he listens and he goes well.
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  The the the United fans are really nice and I'm kind of
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  hoping they'll beside him. You want to get, you want to get
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  an honour out. That's that's the way you're
• 5:09
  being nice to him. You're trying to do a swap deal.
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  Just to clarify, right now I don't want Emmy Martinez, but I
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  do want a new goalkeeper. Carry on, Scott.
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  So yeah. But you thought, yeah, no, we
• 5:20
  were a bit unlucky. Yeah, Yeah, obviously, yeah.
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  It was ascending off. It was clear, it was clear.
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  But I just thought marginal in the sense that anyway, but
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  anyway the and obviously the goal referee in mistake, I just
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  thought again, decision went against them on that one.
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  I think that could have changed the way the game would have
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  gone. Can we just pause on that one
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  because I've got a what feels like a controversial view if I
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  give. Us the goalkeeper take.
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  I think he had control of it. I know if you slow it right
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  down, you can see that, you know, he doesn't have both hands
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  wrapped around the ball. But if you look at the the
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  rules, the rules aren't clear cut that both hands have to be
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  touched in the ball. It's just that he has to be in
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  control of it, which is subjective.
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  I felt he was in control of it. I know it wasn't.
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  Yeah, like I said, fully between the hands and that's why
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  everyone's kicking off and everyone on H United as well.
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  So there's that, but I personally didn't think it was a
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  clear cut foul anyway. I can see how.
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  The referee debate a massive blunder because I, I think I, I
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  would have given that as a goal myself, but at least as a ref
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  should know the rules better than all of us because they get
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  proper training and briefing. Should have at least had the
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  opportunity to go to the monitor, so to blow up and not
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  allow himself to have an opportunity to look at again was
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  horrific. That's the biggest mistake.
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  No, but. That's the biggest mistake
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  though. He has made a mistake there
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  though, Steve. Yeah, but everyone keeps saying
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  that, you know, people, they should delay the blown of the
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  whistle. But like, if that that's just so
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  you can get VAR to review it. So it's like if you're a referee
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  and you're in that moment, yeah. But if you're a referee and
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  you're in that moment, you can't just delay every whistle to get
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  VAR. You should because, because that
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  that's the, that's the point. You're, you're supposed to allow
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  play to happen, allow things to happen and then you blow up and
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  then you give yourself an opportunity then to look at it
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  on the monitor. That's what as is saying, and I
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  totally agree. Like he shot himself in the foot
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  basically. When I was watching in real
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  time, I thought that's a goal. And so when he blew, the tank
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  blew, I was like, oh wow, OK, we got away with one there.
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  Then I looked at the replay and like, we got away with one
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  there. I disagree.
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  The thing is just I disagree. I think you have control.
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  You got you got raised him in those glasses.
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  Is that is the rule though that because when you say he had
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  control there was, I would say there was a split second where
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  he had the ball between his hands and the grasp was
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  literally between the ball and him.
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  Is the rule not that he has to have control in terms of foot,
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  physically having the ball in his hands, but but more close to
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  his body kind of thing? You've got the rule though.
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  Yeah, I checked this on Sunday, right, 'cause I obviously had
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  to, you know, clarify whether I'm right.
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  I'm always right, as Ash, you pointed out the other day on
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  message. But the rule is, according to
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  the International Football Association board.
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  Who knows if they're real ChatGPT?
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  Might I fab is the official rule making body of.
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  OK, there you go. That's.
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  A start. So Chat GPT's got that right.
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  It's got one thing right. Yeah, we'll come on to things
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  it's got wrong later. But what it says is a goalkeeper
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  is considered to be in control of the ball and therefore cannot
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  be challenged or dispossessed. When first bullet they have the
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  ball in their hands with outstretched fingers or between
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  hand and any surface EG ground or body.
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  So for me the ball is between his hands and the ground, right?
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  So he's not, it doesn't say anything about it has to be
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  touching it. But that ball is quite clearly
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  in between both hands and the ground.
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  What you're misinterpreting it. What it means is I can either
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  have. You're misinterpreting it.
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  OK, I'm misinterpreting it, but I'm going to tell you what the
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  general interpretation of those paragraphs is.
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  Which is wrong because yours is the correct 1.
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  And that's what they should have gotten to, to be honest.
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  Is that either the balls in between the two hands or when it
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  talks about the ground and the hand, you know, sometimes you
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  can put your hand on top of the ball and that the ground is the
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  other kind of stable. Course not that those were true.
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  The ball was bouncing around between by India's hands and
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  Rogers nicked it off him. There was bouncing around like
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  there was no stability there where the ball stable in between
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  hand, ground, knee, torso, whatever you want it was it was
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  still moving. Do we know though?
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  I mean, I think this is interpretation and there won't
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  be a rule on it. Maybe there's a directive, but
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  do we know if it's even a split second of control on the ball?
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  Is that enough? Like, yeah, But he, he, I think
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  there was a moment where he has control, then he loses control
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  again. Right.
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  But that's so that tolerance level when when he's got it in
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  control, then can it be, can it be seen as a foul if Rogers
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  touches the ball at that point? But Rogers doesn't it, I think
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  he loses control of it again. Yeah.
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  Yeah, I agree. And then Rogers Nicks it.
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  Yeah. One thing I'd say is I think
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  Villa scored that goal, they should probably win the game.
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  It would have been unjust because even though I want Villa
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  to go to to have one, we were the far the better team and for
• 10:14
  once we were the better team and we deservedly won.
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  So I think justice was somehow weirdly done because it was
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  going to be another thing where we dominate a game, lose the
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  first goal, then probably can't score a goal and and lose a
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  game. Well, we should have been
• 10:29
  leading at half time. We had about 3-4 chances.
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  It was ridiculous. Dallow hit the post, Casimiros
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  hit the post. There's like loads of plenty of
• 10:36
  chances in the whole game, a game that they needed to win.
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  I don't think they had generated one decent opportunity.
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  It just shows you like, you know, we're going to talk about
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  managers later. And I know like Unai Emery's
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  come up and I've always said he's too defensive, wouldn't
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  work at United. You've got must win game and if
• 10:53
  that's the best performance you can put up against the United
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  team that's on the floor after Europe, it was really
• 11:00
  disappointing from Villa that like really disappointing the
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  XG. For Villa was 0.39 and I was
• 11:07
  monitoring XG throughout the game because because we were
• 11:10
  playing that well. To Steve's point, it's like,
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  where the fuck has this been? There's 2.97 for us.
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  There you go. That's probably like one of our
• 11:18
  highest XGS of the season. It's ridiculous.
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  And Speaking of disappointing, I thought the statement Villa put
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  out on social media was really poor.
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  You know, this whole basically appealing.
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  You know, they're going to try and appeal the decision, right?
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  It's just like, come on, get over it.
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  Like you, you had a one game to get in the Champions League and
• 11:34
  you fluffed it just like us in the finals as well.
• 11:37
  Yeah, exactly. But I mean, Scott, I want, I
• 11:39
  want to know like how you feel about us turning up like prime
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  Barcelona on that game. That didn't matter.
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  Yeah, I thought I, I, I thought Villa, they were nervous.
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  They they're a young team as well.
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  If you think about their overall squad, they've got quite a lot
• 11:57
  of youthful plays in there and I just thought they would look
• 11:59
  nervous. It was very cagey on their side
• 12:02
  and you could tell you know all they needed to do was draw it.
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  Right. Was this a situation where
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  there's a huge I can't imagine they had that much desire.
• 12:11
  I think they were just coming out playing football, wanting to
• 12:14
  show that they're not useless, but not that this was a must win
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  game and you know, everything was on.
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  There's nothing, not much on the line, just pride playing in
• 12:22
  front of your home supporters. I think it was one of those
• 12:25
  cases. So does that show that they
• 12:27
  can't handle it at times then like, you know, they needed the
• 12:30
  pressure off to play good football.
• 12:31
  I think if you compare this game versus the final, absolutely.
• 12:35
  I think in the final you saw the pressure got to the players and
• 12:37
  they couldn't execute Bruno, very conservative.
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  Bruno Fernandez a key example, right.
• 12:42
  I thought he was, you know, flowing again, his his passes.
• 12:45
  Is that the, the, the, the cross for the goal was absolutely just
• 12:50
  just classic Bruno where he just cuts out the entire Villa team.
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  And then you've got the other difference that you saw.
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  And going back to the mentality, I think mentality from the
• 13:02
  manager in that. And I said this post final, I
• 13:04
  was so disappointed at Amarim's conservative approach to the
• 13:08
  especially the second-half of the game.
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  And while in this game, Ahmad, the two goals Ahmad scores from
• 13:14
  the wing back position coming around the back and the second
• 13:17
  goal Ahmad gets put through by Casimiro again from wing back
• 13:21
  and wins a penalty. And you know, if we keep saying
• 13:24
  it again and again, I want to see Ahmed in that right wing
• 13:27
  back role because I think he can be an attacking threat and get
• 13:30
  an the extra player on the pitch.
• 13:31
  Even Dalo when he was like we started with Mazrawi, but
• 13:34
  Mazrawi was almost it forced Ruben into the change.
• 13:38
  Dalo comes on Dalo's naturally more attacking than Mazrawi.
• 13:41
  He makes those runs into the penalty area and then I think he
• 13:44
  goes off at half time. I think it was injury as well
• 13:47
  and Ahmad's now wing back. So it forced the manager almost
• 13:50
  to. To get into the more attacking
• 13:53
  lineup that I prefer and and I think it shows.
• 13:57
  Isn't that a warning sign though to you about the fact that you
• 14:00
  say he's not conservative, but it took two people to be injured
• 14:05
  before he actually moved down out there?
• 14:07
  Yeah. It's like last resort basically,
• 14:09
  which is not great sign for next season.
• 14:12
  If if we start next season with the Mazarawi at right wing back
• 14:15
  then I would be or Dali be really worried.
• 14:18
  Dalo I, I I think is a quality issue rather than he's, you
• 14:23
  know, like terrible profile, but yeah, even even even Dallow, but
• 14:27
  Mazra, we especially and we've Mazra has played a lot of right
• 14:30
  wing back and I just, he's just not right wing back.
• 14:32
  So yeah, I'm we're going to probably hopefully talk about
• 14:36
  signings and what we need to do to upgrade the team.
• 14:38
  But one of the things I definitely want to see is and,
• 14:41
  and The thing is when Ameren was at Lisbon or Sporting club, I
• 14:43
  should say we're not shouldn't call them Lisbon.
• 14:45
  Sporting CP Mori, Andy Minton. Yeah, exactly.
• 14:49
  It was his right wing back. It was Kenda, and Kenda's been
• 14:52
  signed by Chelsea and Kenda's basically a right winger.
• 14:56
  So I was always like, oh, well, you know, he can.
• 14:59
  And it's not like Ahmed hasn't played right wing back a lot
• 15:02
  this season. He has and it just showed in
• 15:04
  that Villa game. When he's there, I think he does
• 15:06
  a good job. I really like the fact that he
• 15:08
  also did the other thing I said that can make the team more
• 15:10
  attacking, which is play Bruno in the middle.
• 15:12
  So it was like the midfield was Casimiro holding but Bruno ahead
• 15:16
  of him. So it was more like a three on
• 15:18
  three right and then the two wing backs and the striker.
• 15:21
  But you had and the two 10s. Bruno played quite high up and
• 15:25
  Casimiro stayed back and it just had a more attacking feel to it.
• 15:29
  Bruno was on the ball a lot, flowing, Ahmad was getting and
• 15:33
  Dallow were getting forward from the wing back position.
• 15:35
  It just felt a more offensive performance.
• 15:37
  Also when when when you don't play that double pivot.
• 15:41
  The thing I've talked about so much is this wide centre backs
• 15:44
  getting forward. Did Aiden Heaven play this game?
• 15:47
  Yeah, like I haven't. Every time he's played, I've
• 15:49
  been really impressed by him in in coming forward.
• 15:52
  And I think EUR good in that role.
• 15:54
  And then you you get when the centre backs push up and the
• 15:56
  wing backs are high and the second central midfield is high,
• 16:01
  you get a. Much more attacking team within
• 16:02
  the same formation. I want to see more of that next
• 16:05
  year, Steve. I've got one point I want to
• 16:07
  raise, though. Like, you know, obviously when
• 16:09
  you talk about prime Barcelona, one thing, and this goes back to
• 16:13
  what the guys were saying earlier about Villa's approach,
• 16:15
  because they they didn't really press us.
• 16:18
  They're very conservative. Like, you know, they just like
• 16:20
  kept men behind the ball. That's not going to happen week
• 16:23
  in week out in the Premier League next season.
• 16:25
  So don't be fooled by the fact that just because we look good
• 16:29
  in terms of like, yes, we did attack well, we are not going to
• 16:32
  get that time on the ball next season in a lot of games.
• 16:35
  And you know, that is the reason why we're languished in 17 for
• 16:39
  15 for whatever we finish this season.
• 16:41
  Like next season, most games will not be like that.
• 16:44
  It will be high pressing monster athleticism from the other
• 16:48
  teams. So you know, that's all my
• 16:51
  sight. You know a warning sign.
• 16:53
  Don't be fooled by what happened.
• 16:54
  Oh yeah, of course. And also like, the pressure's
• 16:56
  going to be back on. I think my frustration is like
• 16:59
  how well they played. But also it's just like fucking
• 17:02
  Tottenham going to lose 4-1 to Brighton.
• 17:04
  It's like so predictable. I mean, they were probably
• 17:06
  picked. Massively.
• 17:09
  But it's just like. Didn't they have a bus parade on
• 17:12
  Friday? Friday.
• 17:14
  Friday, yeah, it's just like, and this is the thing, yeah,
• 17:17
  couple of my bloody cousins were there.
• 17:18
  I can't believe that, I mean, that they were always going to
• 17:21
  lose their game. So yeah, wouldn't worry about
• 17:24
  too much. It doesn't matter.
• 17:25
  Like the Yeah. They won the final, they won the
• 17:28
  final. That's.
• 17:29
  All that matters. Maybe, I don't know, maybe like
• 17:32
  after the final, I think I spoke to you about this Ash, like, I
• 17:35
  don't know, Immediately it didn't hit me, the
• 17:37
  disappointment I was feeling a little bit philosophical out
• 17:40
  there in Spain. J Humphries, Yeah.
• 17:42
  Yeah, like you said, J Humphries.
• 17:43
  And then maybe it was on Sunday when it actually hit me and I
• 17:46
  felt pissed off that we lost to the shit Spurs team you were.
• 17:49
  Very pissed on Sunday. Very pissed off.
• 17:52
  Yeah, and you know, because we turned up when it didn't matter,
• 17:56
  you know, we've created chances, we scored goals, Tottenham lost
• 17:59
  four one. I think it just all hit me on
• 18:02
  Sunday, to be fair. But yeah, I mean, it was a
• 18:04
  nothing game for us really. Obviously we did stop Villa
• 18:07
  getting into the Champions League, so it had a big impact
• 18:10
  on the league as a whole. But I think we need to rewind a
• 18:13
  little bit for Scott's benefit because we want to get his view
• 18:17
  on the final just before hand. Over to Scott to tell us what
• 18:21
  you thought about the final. I'm just going to play a little
• 18:24
  clip just to remind us about how we were feeling pre final.
• 18:29
  So let's have a little listen to this.
• 18:31
  Let's kick it off. My name's Ash.
• 18:33
  I'm walking to the ground at Bilbao for Manchester United
• 18:37
  versus Tottenham in the Europa final.
• 18:39
  We've got Steve to my left. Steve, what are we thinking?
• 18:43
  We've just heard Euro's going to be in the team.
• 18:46
  I'm not a clown, mate. We're obviously going to win.
• 18:50
  The game, Nah, I'm feeling good. I'm feeling confident.
• 18:51
  Yoro being back in the team is good news.
• 18:54
  Yeah, the omens are good. As we walk towards the stadium,
• 18:58
  we've just been like surrounded by Manchester United and
• 19:01
  Tottenham fans right ahead. What do we think?
• 19:04
  Super excited, mate, super excited.
• 19:06
  We're going to do this. Can't wait.
• 19:08
  It's been a awesome day so far and it's going to be an awesome
• 19:12
  night tonight. Let's do this United.
• 19:15
  Give me a score prediction as. I'm going to go with four nil
• 19:20
  United. Mate, do I look like a clown?
• 19:24
  You are a clown. It's fair to say we were feeling
• 19:27
  confident, probably being out in Bilbao helped.
• 19:30
  Scott, how are you feeling back home in the UK?
• 19:33
  Were you feeling confident pre match?
• 19:35
  Yeah, that's that's class, to be honest, Absolutely class.
• 19:38
  Just to confirm, we weren't on drugs, alcohol as well.
• 19:45
  Pure jello. No, that's brilliant.
• 19:47
  Yeah, I suppose. I thought one off game,
• 19:50
  everything that was riding on it, confident that we were going
• 19:53
  to get the result. I didn't think it was going to
• 19:55
  be a great game, which ended out true, but yeah, I thought it was
• 20:00
  going in there confident. Yeah.
• 20:03
  And then obviously as the game kicked off early, early part of
• 20:06
  the game. How are you feeling?
• 20:08
  I thought first half we controlled the ball but didn't
• 20:13
  pretty much do anything with it. A lot of passes, you know, side
• 20:17
  to side, back to front kind of thing didn't really do anything.
• 20:20
  Which to me, if somebody's standing on the sideline
• 20:23
  watching that team play quite easily, see what was not
• 20:28
  happening and where our weakness was down the left.
• 20:31
  And I just thought you should be making a change.
• 20:34
  You can see that so. What was the change you would
• 20:37
  have made, Scott? I thought mount didn't work,
• 20:40
  full stop. I thought that was that was a
• 20:42
  big no no. And I thought he'd left it too
• 20:44
  late. Did.
• 20:45
  You think it was the right move at the beginning, as in when you
• 20:49
  saw Matt on the team sheet, right?
• 20:50
  And who would you have gone? With I would have gotten that
• 20:52
  trip. I just.
• 20:54
  Yeah, OK. Yeah.
• 20:55
  I thought, I thought, I do feel sorry for the kid and we've got
• 20:57
  to remember that he's still 20. But for me, the game, these sort
• 21:01
  of games, finals and you go down history and you go down some
• 21:05
  greats. It's about management.
• 21:08
  You manage these games unless you're the superior team that
• 21:11
  can go and whitewash the opposition.
• 21:14
  But when you've got two teams that quite frankly similar
• 21:17
  performances through the season is that they were quite even.
• 21:21
  I would say on paper you're quite even.
• 21:24
  Evenly dog shit. Yeah, but I think it's all about
• 21:27
  management of the game and, and I thought Ang did it perfectly.
• 21:31
  He managed the occasion, he managed the game.
• 21:33
  He basically set out and said I'm going to throw everything
• 21:36
  out of the window and say I can't play the start of football
• 21:39
  I want to play. But what ends, what happens in
• 21:42
  the end is I get the result when I win the Cup.
• 21:44
  And that's where I think, you know, Ameren just basically felt
• 21:48
  he looked at the occasion and just thought, you know, I'm just
• 21:50
  going to stick with what I know best and it didn't work where I
• 21:55
  look at that and kind of go look down the greats.
• 21:57
  We can talk about Sir Alex, you can talk about Pep when they're
• 22:00
  in those types of games. They managed to get Jose
• 22:03
  exactly. They managed the games.
• 22:05
  Don't know about Pep Pep's bottled a lot of I mean the FA
• 22:09
  Cup final, the Champions League final.
• 22:11
  I would agree with you on on others like Fergie and and Jose
• 22:15
  and but to Scott's point, right, Pep's won way more finals than
• 22:19
  he no, but he's had an ultimately with the superior.
• 22:21
  But finals are but finals are about winning.
• 22:24
  It doesn't matter. Just just on the point of with
• 22:26
  the superior team. I mean, the Champions League
• 22:29
  finally dropped Rodri I remember and thinking what is he doing
• 22:31
  there? In all honesty, we could have
• 22:33
  had the stronger team but because of the manager that we
• 22:36
  had, we probably would have lost that final still.
• 22:39
  Well funnily enough I asked ChatGPT pre pod.
• 22:42
  Name me some of the biggest sporting failures of all time
• 22:46
  and it did. It did mention I think Man City
• 22:49
  lose in that Champions League final in 2021.
• 22:54
  Was it against? Crucial is a great guy at doing
• 22:57
  that. I think he did a job on Pep that
• 22:58
  day, which is why I think he'll do well with England.
• 23:01
  We'll we'll see. But yeah, absolutely right.
• 23:04
  Reuben didn't manage the game well.
• 23:05
  It's fine margin if that hoiling goal goes in, maybe we win and
• 23:08
  we talk differently and and got the goal.
• 23:12
  You know, if Tottenham don't score as well, would they have
• 23:15
  scored? I don't know because they didn't
• 23:17
  seem to create anything and it required a very fortuitous
• 23:21
  moment, let's say because I. Think that they had a goal in
• 23:25
  them still because what you got to appreciate is once they
• 23:28
  score, I think even and talks about it after the game, once
• 23:31
  they scored, they locked up because they they knew if they
• 23:35
  go and attack, they're more likely to give space United and
• 23:38
  there's more chance of a goal. But if you just look at the
• 23:41
  Premier League, the way we've been playing, we can't score a
• 23:44
  goal anyway. So why don't you know, why don't
• 23:46
  you just lock up and just see what happens?
• 23:48
  And that's basically what they did so.
• 23:50
  Maybe they maybe they would have scored anyway.
• 23:53
  Even if it was nil, nil at half time and but you, you are right
• 23:56
  though, as in that you've got to give yourself a chance.
• 23:58
  Get in at half time, nil, nil because we conceded, you know,
• 24:01
  just before half time. Yeah, I still think Spurs every
• 24:04
  way I look at it, it's like, yes, we obviously did have
• 24:07
  chances. Vicario made some good saves.
• 24:09
  I think an Anna made the save. But yeah, at the end, end of the
• 24:14
  day, Tottenham deserved their win.
• 24:16
  They they managed it and I think Scott's really bang on with
• 24:19
  that. Like, you know, Ange managed it
• 24:22
  and that's all you need to do. I just if, if it was any other,
• 24:26
  if, if we were playing a European teammate, we would have
• 24:29
  won that if, if we were playing an English team, we would have,
• 24:33
  the result would have been the same.
• 24:34
  I just think that's the style of football, the type of football
• 24:37
  that he plays. It's just not for the English
• 24:39
  game. And in Europe you could, you
• 24:42
  could argue that results have gone his way, performances have
• 24:46
  been better. But I just look at it and kind
• 24:49
  of go, the European style of football at this moment in time,
• 24:52
  when you look at how teams are set up and how they're played,
• 24:56
  you can see what he wants to do. But there's no Plan B, There's
• 25:01
  no Plan C. And I just look at it and kind
• 25:03
  of go, I don't think the English game is ready for that.
• 25:08
  Yeah. Then you could tell me.
• 25:10
  Tell me within the Premier League right now is playing the
• 25:13
  way that he does and he's winning.
• 25:16
  This. Leaves and titles.
• 25:18
  Yeah, this feels really like I remember, I don't know if you
• 25:20
  remember, Steve, when we were discussing when Mourinho came in
• 25:24
  and you were making the same argument about Guardiola in the
• 25:27
  Premier League. And I was saying I think he can
• 25:30
  do it. And I think he won X amount of
• 25:32
  leagues. I don't know, seven in nine or
• 25:34
  something, which you remember that conversation You said the
• 25:36
  style of football won't work in the Premier League.
• 25:38
  Yeah, are. You saying Steve was wrong?
• 25:40
  No, no, no, he wasn't wrong. He was.
• 25:42
  Just not Not he was. Right, but but pep one.
• 25:45
  Seven got lucky, yeah. No, no, I was definitely anti
• 25:48
  Pep when he I was a big Jose fan.
• 25:50
  But I think quickly after two or three years, once Pep you know,
• 25:53
  won the title, I start. I gave him credit.
• 25:55
  So when I am wrong I admit it. But yeah, I think when he first
• 25:59
  came in, I was doubtful about whether he could implement.
• 26:01
  And hasn't he proved that you can do the positional possession
• 26:05
  game in the Premier League and and win the league?
• 26:08
  Yeah, yeah. But that's one example in 30
• 26:10
  years. If you if you've got 2 to 300
• 26:12
  million to spend every year, yeah.
• 26:14
  Yes, that that I'm. One of the best.
• 26:17
  I'm one of the best managers ever, period.
• 26:20
  Like. And with an incredible track
• 26:22
  record, not just the no, no, no, I'm not he's he's not denying
• 26:25
  either of those things. I'm just just purely isolate
• 26:28
  this idea because I don't think it's the wrong idea because I do
• 26:32
  think generally speaking, you can And Pep even himself had to
• 26:35
  adapt with the amount of physicality you see him increase
• 26:39
  the physical profiles in his team to adapt to the Premier
• 26:42
  League. But it's an interesting one
• 26:44
  that, Yeah, is, is is it that even Amerin with, let's say he
• 26:48
  had unlimited budget, but that the style itself is incompatible
• 26:52
  with our league? Because that's an argument I
• 26:55
  just heard a lot. I remember when Guardiola face,
• 26:57
  it wasn't just use, it was, you know, Gary Neville and all these
• 26:59
  guys. Yeah.
• 27:00
  Same thing, yeah. It's an interesting one.
• 27:02
  Yeah. I think I've said, I've said
• 27:03
  this twice. I think I remember I said it
• 27:06
  under Ollie, I was like, you could give Ollie the best team
• 27:09
  with like Harry Kane, etcetera. He's still not going to win the
• 27:11
  league at that time against the manager who's he was up against.
• 27:15
  And I always enjoyed when Scott is on anyway because you know,
• 27:18
  he's a good guy. Formula One, But that was music
• 27:22
  to my ears. What you just said, because I
• 27:23
  think I don't know whether it's I've said it on a pod or I've
• 27:26
  definitely argued with one of you or both of you about it, is
• 27:29
  that I agree that this style is not suited for the Premier
• 27:34
  League that Reuben is executing. And that's the big point.
• 27:37
  Reuben is executing. Like if there was any signs that
• 27:41
  this was going to work, we would not be languishing 15th having
• 27:45
  played really shit football all season, even if we had finished
• 27:48
  12th, right as an example. But you saw signs, like real
• 27:52
  signs. I'm not talking crumbs.
• 27:54
  Then I could argue against Scott, but I'm totally with
• 27:56
  Scott on this one. So Scott, I think you know, we
• 28:00
  us three, we released a pod just specifically talking about
• 28:02
  Ruben. So I want to hear from you,
• 28:04
  Scott, you know, carry on with that thought process about you
• 28:07
  don't think Ruben can implement this style.
• 28:08
  I think when you came on the last pod or one of the pods, you
• 28:11
  mentioned very early. You don't think Reuben can do
• 28:15
  it. And you know, you mentioned
• 28:16
  Carlo would be your man. Yeah.
• 28:17
  How is that thinking developed? Where are you at now with
• 28:20
  Reuben? And you know, if you want him
• 28:22
  out, who are the alternatives in mind?
• 28:24
  I'm still in the same position, quite frankly, and I don't know
• 28:27
  if it's me that I need to go get checked up or is this just the
• 28:32
  world that we live in now? Because I feel like the guy's
• 28:35
  delusional. You know, he's got this big grin
• 28:38
  and smile on his face and everybody's going, but he's all,
• 28:41
  he's like trustworthy. He he just says as it is and.
• 28:45
  Good communication. He's communication.
• 28:47
  And it's like and and I'm scratching my head going look
• 28:51
  through all managers that we've had and apart from, I would say
• 28:54
  apart from Ollie, take Ollie out the equation.
• 28:57
  All of our previous managers were outspoken.
• 29:00
  They could quite easily maintain and control a press conference.
• 29:05
  They can just basically stick it to players.
• 29:07
  They can stick it to the press and he's doing the same thing.
• 29:09
  But when I look at it and kind of go, what he's saying is the
• 29:13
  same thing. It's rinse and repeat.
• 29:15
  He's not saying anything new and he's not exposing anything new
• 29:19
  to the press. It's just the same thing again
• 29:21
  and again. And I just, I don't for me, it's
• 29:26
  worn thin for me now I'm just bored of hearing it.
• 29:29
  And to be honest, I'm bored of seeing his face because every
• 29:31
  time I see his face, he's got this big cheesy grin and smile.
• 29:35
  And you're kind of going, what are you smiling at?
• 29:37
  That's. What the viewers are saying
• 29:38
  about me as well. So I I.
• 29:42
  You're going to be fine seeing as well, don't worry.
• 29:46
  Look, I, I think and, and I think there's been a lot of
• 29:49
  discussions around and like he's his first six months at Sporting
• 29:53
  is pretty much a replica of the first six months here.
• 29:56
  And then he had 24 players or whatever it was that he got
• 29:59
  shipped out. We don't have that luxury.
• 30:01
  He doesn't have that luxury here in the sense that you can go and
• 30:04
  ship 24 players out and bring whatever in.
• 30:07
  We don't have the funds without the ability to do that.
• 30:10
  So I don't think he's going to get the same opportunity that he
• 30:13
  has had sported to say, I want to completely, you know, rewrite
• 30:17
  the the the football club and the football team.
• 30:20
  Is he going to get the same amount of games as 10 Arcat?
• 30:22
  Is he going to get 10 games to start our next season?
• 30:25
  And if we're still doing what we're essentially doing now,
• 30:29
  then do they have to have they go and make a decision because
• 30:32
  we can't have another season like this so.
• 30:35
  What's the point? What's the point though?
• 30:37
  You know of doing 10 games based on everything you said?
• 30:40
  Like what would you do? To me, he would have been gone
• 30:44
  after that final. I just think after after the
• 30:47
  season ends, it's go, you know, it's not working.
• 30:50
  There's been rumours and again, it's just rumours.
• 30:52
  You don't know if it's true or not that he's he wanted to
• 30:54
  resign and he wants to leave. And the sort of stuff that he
• 30:57
  says, even this after the the final saying, you know, I'm
• 31:00
  quite happy to leave without any compensation.
• 31:02
  I'm like, you're absolutely Man United.
• 31:04
  Yeah, Yeah, this is the the biggest club in the in world
• 31:07
  football and you all turn around and say no, I'll leave for
• 31:09
  nothing. And it's like, hang on a minute,
• 31:11
  you should be fighting tooth and nail to say no, I am the right
• 31:14
  person for this job, and then you.
• 31:15
  Know to be fair to him, he did say that.
• 31:17
  He said if if the people above don't think I'm the right person
• 31:20
  where there will be no conversation about compensation.
• 31:23
  But I will not quit. He said I will not quit.
• 31:25
  Did he need to say that he. Doesn't need to say the
• 31:27
  compensation like you got to be, you know, Scott's big on this,
• 31:31
  right and he's. Mentioning he's like white
• 31:33
  politicians never say anything because everyone picks up their
• 31:36
  words. He's basically saying but I
• 31:37
  don't want the money. I will go, I will go.
• 31:40
  It's clear message. Yeah, but it's I, I'd rather a
• 31:43
  manager say I'm not taking your money and I'm going to leave if
• 31:47
  you want me to. No, but what you're what you're
• 31:48
  missing do. You want to pay him 10 million?
• 31:51
  What you're missing missing is you're making headlines, right?
• 31:54
  And that's the job of the manager not to do that.
• 31:57
  He's made headlines by saying the compensation part.
• 32:00
  It's no different to like what me and Steve were talking to you
• 32:03
  about at the beginning when he signed or just before he was
• 32:06
  about to sign saying I actually didn't want to join, you know,
• 32:09
  until the end of the season. It's like, don't say that.
• 32:12
  Like, yes, it's true. And by the way, I keep on
• 32:16
  hearing the defence about the fact that, you know, he came, he
• 32:18
  wanted to join at the end of the season.
• 32:20
  Let me tell you, every fucking manager wants to join at the end
• 32:23
  of the season, right, Because they all want a pre season.
• 32:25
  So that's no different. So he's not like this special
• 32:28
  guy that, you know, needs. No, but that's his personality
• 32:31
  though. That is it.
• 32:32
  We, we can't. We can't expect it to change.
• 32:35
  No, but yeah, you're going to get you're going to go into it
• 32:37
  just before you go into the the NER side.
• 32:40
  Like Scott made a really good point.
• 32:42
  And I wanted to like, you know, just expand on it a little bit
• 32:44
  because I actually listened to another pod which has like Mark
• 32:49
  Ogden and a couple of other James Ollie on the ESPN.
• 32:53
  They mentioned this story, Scott that you talked about that it
• 32:56
  was either January or February. He like on the verge of quitting
• 33:01
  and then Steve has actually read the Laurie well, massive end of
• 33:05
  season article. It's a review of the of the
• 33:07
  season. Even in that article, I think I
• 33:10
  believe it's a couple of like United sources basically said
• 33:14
  like he was he was on the verge of quitting.
• 33:16
  Like he was really sick and tired of like, you know,
• 33:19
  obviously what was happening on the pitch, the organisation
• 33:22
  itself because of you know, Jim and any us.
• 33:24
  So the fact that he, he was even considering, you know, resigning
• 33:30
  or whatever you want to call it, even that is a massive warning
• 33:34
  sign about like next season. It's like if he was on the verge
• 33:37
  of doing that, the sustainability like in terms of
• 33:40
  his mental state as well. It's like, is it really there?
• 33:43
  I mean, even his press conferences on this tour that
• 33:45
  we're doing at the moment. I, I think, I think I remember
• 33:48
  messaging Steve and one of our colleagues from work and stuff
• 33:51
  and I said the same thing when he's, when he first said, no, I
• 33:58
  wanted to come in the summer. I'll be looking.
• 34:00
  I, I said at the time, no, if Manchester United come calling,
• 34:05
  you go if you don't want it and you want to be there at six
• 34:09
  months time. And I'm glad you United turned
• 34:10
  around and said no, we need you now.
• 34:12
  Otherwise it's never. And I look at him and kind of
• 34:15
  go, was your mindset right from the beginning.
• 34:18
  Yeah, true. You know, you kind of half eye
• 34:20
  took the job because we forced you into it.
• 34:23
  Either it was now or never we. Did but again he said, and the
• 34:26
  reason I took it is because this is the job I wanted.
• 34:30
  This is the so it's kind of like he's saying that he's almost
• 34:33
  like you guys prefer the Kia Starmer approach of don't say
• 34:36
  anything and I. I I like the honesty, yeah, but
• 34:40
  I could have gone to. The honesty has got you 15th and
• 34:43
  lost the Spurs in the final so. And I'd rather have the honesty
• 34:47
  than and and and and and and and him try and work it back.
• 34:51
  We're not asking for KISS, we're not asking for Kier Starmer.
• 34:53
  We're just asking for you to be smart.
• 34:55
  It's like me turn around and. Say Kier Starmer is not smart.
• 34:58
  It's like me turn around and say to you guys, I came on this pod,
• 35:00
  but I had options to go with Rio, but I'm here on this pod,
• 35:04
  that's what. I'm saying.
• 35:06
  I could have went on Rio. And I'll be like, well, exactly.
• 35:08
  Brilliant. Thank you, Scott.
• 35:09
  You've you've, you've. I'm watching.
• 35:12
  TV tonight I've. Looked up.
• 35:14
  You've you've undermined this, Scott.
• 35:16
  You've undermined. Let's kick it off.
• 35:17
  What's on TV tonight, Scott? What we made you miss?
• 35:22
  Emmerdale. No, EastEnders.
• 35:25
  Yeah, Scott, you wanted him to say he's the right man for the
• 35:28
  job, so I found the quote. I will always open.
• 35:31
  I'm always open. If the board and the fans feel
• 35:33
  I'm not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any
• 35:36
  conversation about compensation. But I will not quit.
• 35:39
  I am really confident in my job. As you can see.
• 35:42
  I will not change anything in the way I do things.
• 35:44
  So he's saying he's confident. He doesn't need to say it,
• 35:47
  though. You don't come out into a press
• 35:49
  conference and say. This is the thing, I think you
• 35:51
  guys just don't want him to say anything and he says too much.
• 35:54
  No, I just want you to, I just want you to be smart about what
• 35:57
  you say. And he's not smart.
• 35:58
  He's made so many headlines as like the fact that you can't
• 36:02
  recognise that. He hasn't made headlines, but
• 36:03
  why do you care about the headlines?
• 36:05
  Why does it? Because.
• 36:06
  It makes noise. It creates noise.
• 36:08
  Like Gary Neville talks about this all the time.
• 36:10
  United is an island. You need to keep the noise down,
• 36:13
  right? You need to just focus on
• 36:16
  winning football matches and that's all.
• 36:18
  On that basis I would agree then he's the wrong person for the
• 36:21
  job because he's not a politician and that's why you
• 36:24
  you need a Gareth Southgate or a a Statesman character.
• 36:27
  You need a, You need a statesman character, Yeah.
• 36:29
  So, so Southgate and go. Let's bring, let's bring it on.
• 36:32
  Maybe he's he is too young and just just before we go.
• 36:35
  I don't know about the it's not the age, It's his cat.
• 36:37
  His personality is very passionate, very passionate.
• 36:39
  Very. No, it's his personality.
• 36:41
  Steve. Steve, you're going to get into
• 36:43
  any US, but I'm just going to give you a little shortcut right
• 36:45
  for me. And he also have massively
• 36:48
  underestimated and misjudged his character.
• 36:50
  A bit like the Dan Ashworth situation is poor profiling from
• 36:53
  them, but. Or they like or they prefer this
• 36:56
  because Jim's very much a more outspoken guy as well, so he
• 36:59
  might like Reuben. Yeah, well, Jim can like the
• 37:03
  opposite. The opposite character is the
• 37:05
  Dan Ashworth. And he got fired, right?
• 37:07
  Yeah well just hold it guys because you 2 have had yourself.
• 37:09
  I want to hear from Scott on on his alternatives.
• 37:12
  But just before we do a friend of the pod fires Al Islam.
• 37:15
  Let's just hear what he had to say on Reuben.
• 37:19
  Talking about Reuben, are you back in Reuben?
• 37:21
  No matter what happens, No matter what happens to the hell
• 37:24
  yes, you. You've got to.
• 37:25
  Even if we lose snow, you're back in ribbon.
• 37:28
  This is a random. This is a random 5050 game.
• 37:30
  And he'll probably end up on penalties and names like Eddie
• 37:32
  Howe, Gareth, Southgate. They don't excite you as a
• 37:34
  replacement. They might at some point.
• 37:36
  They Not particularly Southgate. What about Southgate?
• 37:40
  Who likes her? Did you do you know he was a
• 37:42
  United supporter? Yeah, he's big United.
• 37:43
  He told me Southgate is United. He's a big United support.
• 37:46
  No. Apparently he loves United.
• 37:48
  So that is a good start. Is it a good fit?
• 37:51
  Well, I I don't think so. Like if you're asking me, I
• 37:56
  don't think so. But like the things that you
• 37:58
  don't think work well, the culture that you got in England
• 38:01
  did I think Gareth Svensson was working when I was like 10?
• 38:03
  No. Has anything else worked?
• 38:07
  You know, it might be. Yeah.
• 38:08
  You know, I like the culture. I like the England team.
• 38:11
  He changed the culture. So, like, I don't, I don't want
• 38:14
  him to be. I'm not thinking, please go suck
• 38:16
  it. But it's one of those things
• 38:18
  that I'm willing to think I might be wrong about, and it may
• 38:22
  make the rest of the United system work.
• 38:24
  But for now, you've got all your eggs in Reuben's.
• 38:26
  Basket right. So that's what Pfizer Islam had
• 38:29
  to say pre final about potential alternatives.
• 38:32
  I think I must have been trying to sell him Southgate at that
• 38:34
  point but Scott talked to me about alternatives.
• 38:37
  Your man Carlo has gone to Brazil so I know you would have
• 38:40
  been gutted that you know we didn't swoop in for him.
• 38:43
  Yeah. Who's the names on your list?
• 38:44
  You make an interesting. Point about Southgate actually,
• 38:46
  because not being funny, but I think so if you think of the the
• 38:51
  England team and what he actually did for the England
• 38:54
  team is it's second to none apart from winning it.
• 38:58
  And if you think about the managers that have gone by,
• 39:00
  tried to do what we haven't done since 66 and stuff is he's
• 39:06
  probably right up there in terms of, you know, second best
• 39:09
  England manager that we've had. So and what he brings, I think,
• 39:13
  and again, maybe because obviously international football
• 39:15
  club football is completely different, but I think what he
• 39:17
  does bring is that team mentality.
• 39:20
  He's very good at creating a bond and a team atmosphere.
• 39:24
  Where is that what we actually do need?
• 39:26
  And what he's good at is structure.
• 39:28
  He has a style of football, structured football that is that
• 39:32
  what we need at this moment in time during this transitional
• 39:36
  phase to get us to that kind of, you know, challenging for those?
• 39:42
  Mid table challenging for those bit of stability.
• 39:44
  Challenge those you the only the only thing I don't, you know,
• 39:47
  the only thing that he hasn't proven yet is yes, he he can get
• 39:51
  to finals, but winning it and can he can he do that at club
• 39:56
  football? I think he'd be I think he'd be
• 39:58
  really good, solid in terms of building the base up, getting
• 40:02
  into a position where can he get us into the top 4?
• 40:06
  But can he take that step further?
• 40:08
  That's the only thing I don't know about.
• 40:09
  Does he have that capability of making that kind of cutthroat
• 40:12
  decisions, tactical, all that kind of stuff to win the big the
• 40:16
  big prizes. But I think he's probably a
• 40:18
  really good fit in the sense that he will get you to that
• 40:21
  foundation. Everything's there.
• 40:23
  It's ready. It's just can you take it over
• 40:26
  the line? If I had a golden ticket right
• 40:29
  now, apart from Carlo is I would go Eddie Howe, all everything in
• 40:34
  with Eddie Howe. I think the fact that yes.
• 40:37
  Scott. Come on, Scott.
• 40:38
  The fact that he's he's English, the fact that he's Premier
• 40:41
  League proven, the fact that he's doing probably wonders at
• 40:44
  Newcastle on a shoestring budget.
• 40:47
  I just look at it and kind of go again, he brings similar to what
• 40:50
  Southgate Springs in the sense that he's got a camaraderie,
• 40:54
  team spirit, he's got a foundation, a start of football,
• 40:57
  but with him, he's got a Plan B and Plan C.
• 41:01
  That's the difference I see with Eddie.
• 41:05
  Interesting. What's funny is like the names
• 41:07
  we're talking about now, Southgate, how even if you
• 41:10
  mention the likes of like Thomas Frank, you know, Premier League
• 41:13
  experience, it's all the names Ashworth mentioned and got
• 41:16
  sacked for, right? This is literally his shortlist.
• 41:20
  And Jim didn't like it and sacked Ashworth for it.
• 41:23
  And now we're circling back to a lot of the shouts, you know?
• 41:27
  Earlier just said maybe Jim likes Reuben's character.
• 41:30
  I've just had a look at the reading through the Whitwell
• 41:32
  article. It's a quote from from Jim.
• 41:36
  I really, really like Reuben, he said.
• 41:38
  He's a very thoughtful guy. Every time I go to the training
• 41:41
  ground, I speak to Reuben. I sit down and have a cup of
• 41:43
  coffee with him and tell him where it's going wrong and he
• 41:45
  tells me to fuck off. I like him.
• 41:47
  It's just like he likes the honesty, Yeah, the no nonsense.
• 41:52
  Does, but Jim shouldn't be picking the manager and that's.
• 41:54
  My no, but I think that's what I mean.
• 41:56
  I think you know that thing of they've mis profiled him.
• 41:58
  I actually think Jim likes this kind of character, that he's a
• 42:02
  he's a bit outspoken and honest. All all good managers are are
• 42:06
  honest and and can say fuck off like.
• 42:09
  Not to the owner, because I mean, Carlo is the ultimate, you
• 42:12
  know, Carlo Angelo. I'm a massive Carlo Ancelotti
• 42:14
  fan, but he is one of the greatest managers at managing up
• 42:17
  and keeping the president happy Berlusconi and managing the I
• 42:21
  need you. So I I really understand the
• 42:22
  Carlos shout. I just think that Carlo choosing
• 42:25
  Brazil over us is like Scott, you know, with him choosing this
• 42:28
  pod over Rios. So it's like this.
• 42:30
  There's there's levels and the Brazil national team going into
• 42:34
  a World Cup, you know. It's, I don't know if you saw
• 42:38
  it, but you know the, I think it was Sean Dyce.
• 42:40
  I think he was on the overlap and Sean Dyce said he would win
• 42:43
  more games at United this season than than.
• 42:46
  And I actually don't disagree with him.
• 42:48
  I agree with him. I agree with him.
• 42:50
  I've said that to these guys as well.
• 42:51
  It's like if you just get a manager in to set the team UP442
• 42:56
  basic style, you're going to get more short term results.
• 42:59
  The question is, could Sean Dyce?
• 43:01
  Eventually win the Premier League in that fashion as at the
• 43:05
  moment it doesn't matter. This is like 2122 time, right
• 43:08
  when we had the choice of Tenar, Pochettino, Me and C were very
• 43:13
  big on Pochettino purely because we wouldn't finish 15th right
• 43:18
  week or even 8th. We would be stable, probably get
• 43:22
  Champions League most years and look after 2-3 years or four
• 43:26
  years if if it doesn't look like, you know, it's a Scott's
• 43:29
  point, you're not winning big finals.
• 43:30
  Ron had the same concern with Pochettino.
• 43:33
  If it's clear that there isn't a path to win after like year 4/5.
• 43:38
  You change them, even Pochettino, you can't.
• 43:40
  You can't have a 10 year plan or a five year plan.
• 43:42
  Football doesn't work. Pochettino has more emphasis,
• 43:46
  for example, on pressing that requires a bit of coaching would
• 43:50
  and therefore would take Tino. When he came in at Spurs, it
• 43:53
  took him time to get it going. Even at Chelsea initially it was
• 43:57
  slow and then he got it going. So managers that have an
• 44:00
  emphasis on a bit more structured play, on structured
• 44:03
  pressing, it takes a bit of time for the players to adapt to
• 44:06
  that. To your point, right, you said
• 44:08
  the thing on the last part, you got jitters about Thomas Frank,
• 44:11
  right? If Thomas Frank comes in and
• 44:14
  finishes 5th and gets a Champions League, that's
• 44:16
  stability, that's progress, right?
• 44:19
  Then it's about year to year three.
• 44:21
  Yeah, I can't tell, right? We might be more direct, we
• 44:24
  might play more Jose Mourinho football, but as you pointed
• 44:27
  out, he scored 65 goals, so it can't be all that bad.
• 44:31
  Yeah, no, I do. Again, I'm another fan of Thomas
• 44:33
  Frank. I think he's a really good
• 44:34
  manager and very good for Brentford.
• 44:36
  I think Spurs if if, if Angie's actually a clown, should go for
• 44:41
  Thomas Frank. But I think for us, yeah, we'll
• 44:46
  see, we'll see. The main thing I, I think
• 44:49
  irrespective of who the manager is, we really need to improve
• 44:51
  the playing squad. We need to get the recruitment
• 44:53
  right. And one thing I do trust, we've
• 44:57
  got Kunia coming in, I feel is it, is it confirmed?
• 45:00
  I mean, when Fabrizio does here we go.
• 45:02
  We think it's basically done, right.
• 45:04
  It's not done done. Yeah, it's not done done, but I
• 45:06
  understand the wages are. He's done well because he
• 45:10
  obviously got a contract extension with Wolves in January
• 45:13
  which got him to about a hundred 120.
• 45:15
  And and the talk is I don't know if this is basic, but he will be
• 45:19
  getting around 200. Yeah.
• 45:21
  So he's done well for six months.
• 45:22
  So yeah, like. Is it is, is is that what we're
• 45:25
  saying? Is that that's the sort of
• 45:27
  player and type of player and level that we want?
• 45:30
  Yeah. At the moment, Scott, it has to
• 45:32
  be, I think so, because. Maybe I am delusional then,
• 45:36
  because I look at it and kind of go the players that we've lost,
• 45:39
  where you've lost Rice, you've lost Kane, you've lost even
• 45:42
  votes coming over. This is where United pulling
• 45:45
  power in years gone by, those players would have been signed
• 45:48
  instantly and I think the amount of money that we've wasted is
• 45:51
  there's no, there's no saying actually.
• 45:53
  This is you're right, we've wasted so much money, we're in
• 45:57
  such a financial predicament and we haven't qualified for it that
• 46:00
  even Liam Delap is rejecting us for to go to Chelsea.
• 46:05
  So we are in that position where we can't go crazy.
• 46:09
  Like 200 grand a week is decent money, but it's, you know, it's
• 46:12
  not Harry Kane 600 grand a week money, right?
• 46:14
  And we can't do that, unfortunately.
• 46:16
  We've got to look at Wolves. I think links with Brian and
• 46:19
  Bomo at Brentford. I really like that as a good
• 46:21
  player. 50 million * I do as well.
• 46:23
  Yeah, like, I know it's we're going to like the mid table of I
• 46:27
  think we were linked maybe with Eze, maybe with Mateta at
• 46:30
  Crystal Palace and you'd be like, oh, why are we buying
• 46:32
  Crystal Palace and Brentford players and we're Man United.
• 46:34
  But I actually like that. I mean, we used to do it with
• 46:37
  like a Dwight Yorker and Ashley Young or Michael Carrick.
• 46:41
  You know, we did go in the Premier League and look at.
• 46:43
  I think yeah, no, I agree with you as in terms of the profile
• 46:46
  of player, I mean like just on clean you very quickly.
• 46:49
  I do think he's a very good player and he's more than
• 46:52
  capable of playing for like a top 6 club.
• 46:54
  Not sure what Steve thinks about that, but just just quickly,
• 46:57
  like, I think we just need to just get back to reality.
• 47:01
  Like as much as I want to challenge for the league even
• 47:04
  next season, I'm delusion as well, Scott, right.
• 47:06
  I still think that this part of me is like, I don't want to do
• 47:09
  this right. I don't want to do Step 2, Step
• 47:12
  3, right. I want to hit the ceiling and
• 47:13
  you know, go for the league, right?
• 47:15
  We just got to face realities now because we've had the worst
• 47:18
  ever season right in 50 years. It can't get any worse.
• 47:22
  We just have to go back to basics and if that means a
• 47:25
  manager where I believe in 3-4 years time we're going to end up
• 47:28
  changing them, so be it. But I'm with you.
• 47:31
  I am a big Eddie Howe fan as these guys know and normally
• 47:34
  laugh at me about. He's proven everything over the
• 47:37
  next over the last few years. What's going to change that if
• 47:41
  we haven't got this big pile of gold that we're going to be
• 47:43
  spending a load of money on on these players?
• 47:45
  If we were only talking maybe 2, maybe 3 hour push, then what's
• 47:49
  what's changing? The bulk of your team is exactly
• 47:51
  the same. I can answer that he will get
• 47:54
  more from the current playing squad then certainly Reuben, no?
• 47:58
  No, no, I mean Reuben now, because listen, he's not going
• 48:01
  to get sacked, right? So he's going to start.
• 48:03
  Next season, yeah. Yeah.
• 48:04
  So what's what's actually changing, apart from the fact
• 48:07
  that you're going to bring in two, maybe three players?
• 48:10
  It's time on the train, time on the training field, That's what
• 48:12
  you're banking. And I do you think those, I
• 48:15
  think it will be 5 players that that will make a difference.
• 48:18
  That's what they're talking anyway, like to go and buy 2-3
• 48:22
  forwards in midfield and maybe a full back, straight wing back.
• 48:27
  Yeah. And the other thing is as long
• 48:30
  as you buy, I think there's a lot of controversy around or we
• 48:33
  shouldn't buy players for Ruben if you're going to sack him.
• 48:36
  I think as long as we buy players that we think if Eddie
• 48:38
  Howe was the manager, would he get something out of that that
• 48:41
  that player? And this was mentioned in the
• 48:44
  article that recruit recruitment is going to be very focused.
• 48:47
  On because I don't think you can get how now in this summer for
• 48:49
  sure. You can't get him now.
• 48:51
  You're not getting too sure, You're not getting Ancelotti.
• 48:53
  They're all going to the World Cup.
• 48:54
  There's a lot of managers locked in.
• 48:55
  Frank, I think is fairly realistic, but you're saying,
• 48:58
  oh, what's the point? I think if as long as you get
• 49:02
  the recruitment right and if you then end up sacking Reuben later
• 49:05
  on, you're still in this similar position but.
• 49:08
  What, what are you trying to prove though by keeping Reuben?
• 49:11
  So let's say you get the players irrespective of the manager.
• 49:14
  So we all agree we want players irrespective of the manager.
• 49:17
  So that comes in, we know the trajectory, we know what's
• 49:21
  happened. You guys have talked about the
• 49:23
  final, in particular about what's happened, what's going to
• 49:26
  change? That things will click a bit
• 49:29
  like the Villa game where you saw that, you know, do you
• 49:32
  remember the first Van Hall season where like this just
• 49:34
  doesn't make any sense? Then suddenly there was a
• 49:36
  stretch of game with Tottenham, Liverpool and Man City and we
• 49:40
  were just like, Oh my God, what's going on?
• 49:42
  This is the best football I've seen Man United play one.
• 49:44
  Yeah, 1 field was like, Liverpool can't touch us.
• 49:47
  We're playing this space age. You know, even the Villa game,
• 49:50
  the rotations are really good. Like Villa were confused, like
• 49:52
  Onana was like spinning around the midfield.
• 49:54
  I don't know who to pick up because Ahmad's moving here this
• 49:57
  And I was like that, this somehow that that that that you
• 50:00
  spend some time, the players finally get it because they've
• 50:02
  gone from the 10 haul chaos ball run around like nutters to I
• 50:06
  want you to stay in position. Please stop running around
• 50:09
  right. Be more fixed position and and
• 50:11
  and Ruben, you can see him getting pissed off on the
• 50:13
  sidelines when they're making the wrong runs or not making the
• 50:16
  run or hitting the shot when they shouldn't.
• 50:17
  Basically the idea is that somehow you get the right
• 50:20
  pieces, such as a decent striker, a replacement in, you
• 50:24
  know, it's like a #10 that isn't Mason Mountain who can score,
• 50:27
  which is, and hopefully Cunha and the rest of it clicks a
• 50:30
  little bit and then we start playing well.
• 50:32
  And if it doesn't, hopefully you've at least improved the
• 50:34
  squad in the meantime. And what you, yeah, what you're
• 50:37
  trying to prove, you're trying to prove Reuben Amrim, who won
• 50:40
  two Portuguese leagues and cups or whatever, is actually a
• 50:43
  decent league winning level manager.
• 50:47
  Maybe he isn't. Maybe he is a fraud.
• 50:49
  And the evidence so far suggests that I agree.
• 50:53
  Any criticism where he's like, he's only got a Plan A and no
• 50:55
  Plan B or CI? Kind of have to agree.
• 50:58
  That's what I've seen as well. The, the, what we're trying to
• 51:00
  prove is the Plan A works, which Scott says he doesn't think the
• 51:04
  Plan A can work. And but I guess let's, let's,
• 51:07
  let's. See, but which you know, again,
• 51:09
  he says that he can see these minor improvements and he said,
• 51:12
  what minor improvements? And then you've got this pre
• 51:14
  this so-called old pre season is going to make everything
• 51:16
  different. He he's literally had six months
• 51:19
  worth of pre season and I don't see an improvement.
• 51:22
  Yeah, I don't, I don't think, I don't, I don't.
• 51:25
  I think if he goes into next season with the exact same
• 51:28
  playing squad, we're in the shit.
• 51:30
  I also think that another manager like a how or a Daesh or
• 51:33
  whoever will get more out of this particular playing squad
• 51:36
  because Reuben is a little bit unadaptable it seems.
• 51:39
  I guess The thing is can he get the recruitment to put in
• 51:43
  relevant pieces that he can start playing?
• 51:47
  What is the Reuben football right?
• 51:49
  That the, the, the patterns that he wants from from the back
• 51:54
  building out from the goalkeeper through the lines, you know into
• 51:58
  those #10 so the wing backs are the right profiles that your
• 52:00
  striker is able to hold the ball up and bring relevant players
• 52:04
  into play and not just, it just doesn't bounce off him.
• 52:07
  No, but this is all the upside. We talk about that.
• 52:09
  So that's the upside. And if we if we have the current
• 52:11
  squad, I don't, I don't see it. Yeah, so you need you need the
• 52:15
  recruitment, but then you look at you look at the alternatives,
• 52:18
  right. So for Scott, I think that's why
• 52:20
  me and us, we're more like all the other alternatives don't
• 52:22
  really inspire us enough to say Ruben out, You know, I'd rather
• 52:27
  give him more time and like wait for the managers that are going
• 52:30
  to be available next summer, such as your man Carlo, such as
• 52:33
  Tuku, such as Pochettino, such as Naugles man.
• 52:36
  I think those names inspire me a lot more and I'm willing to give
• 52:40
  it more time because yeah, I'm not inspired by the other names
• 52:44
  that are available, just just. Even Eddie Howe, I think is more
• 52:46
  available in 12 months. I mean, Scott, how are you going
• 52:49
  to persuade Eddie Howe? What's the What's the pitch?
• 52:53
  But to be honest, that yeah, yeah.
• 52:55
  Swing the deck, swing the big Dick.
• 52:58
  I just wanted to talk on Carlo quickly.
• 53:00
  Like I love, I love the idea of Carlo, but also just be wary
• 53:05
  that he needs a good team. He needs a good team and this is
• 53:09
  not a good team. This is this current squad and
• 53:13
  depending on which players we bring in in the summer, we know
• 53:15
  it's not going to be like the echelons of like averts or
• 53:18
  whatever, right? It's going to be a few a couple
• 53:21
  levels down. You know, a Carlo is not suited,
• 53:25
  you know, to this squad or even a squad in 12 months time.
• 53:28
  He he needs good players. There's there's a famous story
• 53:31
  when he was at Everton where he he asked for like basically Real
• 53:36
  Madrid second players and it's like this is Everton.
• 53:39
  I think they did get hammers in the end.
• 53:41
  But like Carlos still needs good players.
• 53:43
  So as much as he is a top manager of obviously, and I'd
• 53:46
  love to have him, the time to have got Carlo was, you know, in
• 53:50
  the previous years where we had better squads with like D Marias
• 53:53
  and the team or even Lukaku's upfront.
• 53:56
  Right at the moment we got no one upfront.
• 53:58
  Like we got a striker who can't score goals for shit.
• 54:01
  We've had the Ipswich striker reject us.
• 54:03
  So it doesn't really suggest that we're going to get anyone
• 54:06
  good, although Steve is going to give us a good transfer.
• 54:08
  Remark and Eddie Eddie Howe has Alec Dundry suck, so he's a
• 54:11
  great manager, but he's also got probably the best #9 maybe
• 54:14
  alongside Erling Harland in the league.
• 54:17
  Well, that's now when he had when he picked up Esak, he was
• 54:21
  not one of the best number nines in the world.
• 54:23
  So this is the point of like there's a bunch of managers out
• 54:26
  there who would get better at this squad and then therefore.
• 54:29
  So the plan is hire Howe and Howe makes Hoyland into Esak.
• 54:34
  Yeah, I mean he. He doesn't just do that.
• 54:38
  He actually makes Rashford back to Rashford that we know.
• 54:41
  He makes Guy NATO, the talent that is better.
• 54:45
  He likes ammo that's better. Yeah, that's.
• 54:47
  Scott, I wanna ask you on Ganache, how do you feel about
• 54:50
  the club selling it looks very likely they're gonna sell
• 54:53
  Ganache. How do you feel about that?
• 54:55
  It's ridiculous is a talent is 20.
• 54:58
  I liked what he said to show you know, he cared.
• 55:01
  Yes, a bit of arrogance, but there's no issues with arrogance
• 55:03
  as a player. But even out there was the the
• 55:06
  most arrogant player and still is the most arrogant player but.
• 55:08
  You're used to dealing with arrogant line reports.
• 55:11
  Yeah, absolutely dealt with him for long enough, but I just I
• 55:14
  think he's a bruche and again I come it comes down to the if
• 55:19
  turn out was in charge now, we wouldn't be talking about it.
• 55:22
  Rashford would be still here playing.
• 55:24
  He would again be the best hour. Rashford, he began the best I
• 55:26
  got actually Ahmed was coming through from 10 Haag.
• 55:30
  It wasn't just an Ameren find kind of thing.
• 55:33
  So I just I just look at the amount of management of and I
• 55:37
  just don't think Ameren can do it.
• 55:38
  So do you think we should not have sacked 10 Haag?
• 55:41
  I think he did say that to the previous.
• 55:43
  Part and this is what I mean they if I if I look at it and
• 55:46
  kind of go they brought what do they 5 plays right?
• 55:49
  I think it was 5 that we brought in in the summer and they were
• 55:52
  all key positions. Your centre back pairing was,
• 55:55
  was pretty much changed. You've got centre forwards that
• 56:00
  basically we didn't have a centre forward with martial kind
• 56:03
  of thing. So I, I just thought you'd give
• 56:07
  him 10 games. So my view then you give Ameren
• 56:09
  10 games, you're going to go sign five players if that's what
• 56:12
  we're going to be doing. You give him 10 games.
• 56:14
  If he's in the bottom half the table, you're second because
• 56:17
  essentially you, you, you've got to provide the same, you know,
• 56:21
  piece of paper landscape that you've given to hark because
• 56:24
  otherwise there's no. Progress.
• 56:25
  He had a very bad previous season, though.
• 56:27
  That's the thing. It wasn't just 10 games, right?
• 56:32
  The previous see the the underlying numbers of last
• 56:35
  season are worse than this season.
• 56:37
  And this season we're 16th and we were eighth.
• 56:39
  But the underlying metric numbers are worse last season,
• 56:43
  so that's the thing. We won the FA.
• 56:44
  Cup and we yeah, and we could have if we'd jammed the Europa
• 56:47
  League we could have you know it's do you know what I mean?
• 56:49
  It's but so so this is actually as this is where your quality of
• 56:54
  players come in right and you're going to laugh potentially what
• 56:57
  I'm about to say but it's fact right, given what's happened
• 57:01
  Scott Mctominy his ten goals last season is why we finished
• 57:05
  8th right, because your underlying numbers are correct
• 57:08
  as in like what was it 15th? Then you add Scott's goals in
• 57:13
  and then all of a sudden that's why we finished eight for
• 57:15
  whatever it was. It's also Scott.
• 57:17
  It's also Scott's point on the Rashford 1 is the big decision
• 57:21
  that Reuben made that basically killed this season because
• 57:24
  you've lost, you've already lost.
• 57:26
  You mentioned Scott as one of your main shooters from last
• 57:29
  season. Rashford was the big one.
• 57:31
  Who even first season of 10 Hog without Rashford, 10 Hog is not
• 57:35
  third and winning the AFL. And then the second season he
• 57:39
  doesn't perform as well, but he's still one of your main shot
• 57:42
  getters with Garnacho. Scott's nailed it with, you know
• 57:44
  how he's dealt with the Rashford situation.
• 57:46
  You know, Scott, you mentioned previous pods about the
• 57:49
  shenanigans of Rashford and that that that is something which I
• 57:53
  feel that he was yeah, he was too harsh on.
• 57:55
  But others would feel that the same with the Garnacho
• 57:58
  situation, that a cultural reset, as it is, is needed.
• 58:03
  And these arrogant characters that the team, the club needs to
• 58:07
  come before the individual. And it's interesting.
• 58:11
  I ask you that the players that we signed last summer, of those
• 58:16
  who's leaving. I think they were decent
• 58:18
  signings to be fair. So, so this is what I mean.
• 58:21
  He was given a very short space of time to embed essentially 5
• 58:26
  key signings that he brought in. So I look at it and kind of go,
• 58:29
  you didn't give him enough time. But what they didn't do the
• 58:32
  season before, they did not address certainly forward
• 58:35
  position. They've failed it for a number
• 58:37
  of seasons now. And you then you're relying on a
• 58:40
  kid that scored, what, 14 goals in?
• 58:44
  No, I Scott, I think that's Scott.
• 58:45
  That's where your Harry came point.
• 58:47
  Yeah, no, I think, I think on 10 hog, I think you're absolutely
• 58:50
  there's there's no doubt they moved too quickly.
• 58:52
  I think what's happened is there's clearly there was they
• 58:55
  he should have been fired in the summer before is the issue is
• 58:58
  what I'm saying. Or or even even prior to that,
• 59:01
  like you could argue December 23 all the way up to the FA Cup
• 59:04
  final. Yeah.
• 59:05
  So it should have been fired. And then I think there was a a
• 59:07
  rupture in the dressing room between manager and players that
• 59:11
  the new regime of Omar and Jason and Dan or Jim's friends came
• 59:16
  together and wanted to analyse it.
• 59:17
  And probably saw, OK, because we saw in a lot of Fallout
• 59:21
  articles, you know, with Iran, with Casimiro, etcetera, that
• 59:24
  there was this falling out between manager and players and
• 59:26
  probably probably Rashford as well.
• 59:28
  Probably the Rashford kind of situation that Amrem had to deal
• 59:31
  with was an overhang of his time under 10 Hog.
• 59:34
  Right there was it was building. It was not.
• 59:37
  Suddenly Rashford decides to go crazy.
• 59:39
  He had a bad season beforehand. The guy Nacho, there was a guy
• 59:42
  Nacho clash with 10 Hog before Ameren, right?
• 59:45
  There was things going on, leaks and this and something.
• 59:47
  But but, but just to be clear on Garnacho, right, because I am
• 59:50
  with Scott and you know, you guys have heard me defend
• 59:53
  Garnacho, right? Let's let's face facts.
• 59:56
  Even when he was in the youth team, he was a twat, right?
• 59:59
  So he is arrogant. He is like Cristiano at 18.
• 1:00:03
  Cristiano. Piano didn't have Twitter and
• 1:00:05
  Instagram to post because if he did, if if he was in that era,
• 1:00:09
  he would have done because that 18 year old Cristiano.
• 1:00:12
  So we have to face facts that he is an arrogant twat gone that
• 1:00:15
  show, but it doesn't mean you ostracise him right.
• 1:00:20
  And that's essentially what's going to happen with because
• 1:00:22
  he's been playing a lot of football.
• 1:00:24
  He has he's playing playing well, No, he's he's I think
• 1:00:26
  Ameren wants him out because he's doesn't think he's good
• 1:00:28
  enough. No, well, that could be the
• 1:00:32
  case. However, I think he thinks I'm
• 1:00:34
  surprised he's replacing. I'm surprised.
• 1:00:37
  I'm surprised you haven't mentioned this because you're so
• 1:00:39
  big on player liaison that he called out Garnacho in front of
• 1:00:43
  the whole team to say you're out, you know, a few days ago.
• 1:00:46
  So after the. Final so he do you know where?
• 1:00:49
  He got embarrassed in front of his peers.
• 1:00:50
  Yeah, I think, and I'm surprised you haven't mentioned that
• 1:00:53
  because if 10 hadn't done that, he would have been all.
• 1:00:55
  Over it. I think that.
• 1:00:56
  But again, I think there's been a long series of incidents with
• 1:00:59
  Garnacho. And I think what the way I
• 1:01:02
  interpreted the quote was, we know Gunn actually was trying to
• 1:01:04
  leave in January, right? He was trying to get a move.
• 1:01:07
  And I think Reuben's basically going.
• 1:01:08
  I hope you better be hope you can find that club because
• 1:01:12
  basically Gunn actually said he wants to leave, right?
• 1:01:14
  He's trying to go to Napoli. He wanted to go to Chelsea.
• 1:01:16
  He's been angling for a move. And I think even same with
• 1:01:19
  Cristiano. When Cristiano wanted to leave,
• 1:01:21
  you had to let the guy go because you can't have that in
• 1:01:23
  the in the squad. I'm not sure where it started
• 1:01:26
  though because I think Ruben identified pretty early that guy
• 1:01:29
  and actually doesn't really fit into his team.
• 1:01:31
  So I don't know if it started even on the club side that they
• 1:01:34
  identified that he's not going to fit in and encouraged him to
• 1:01:38
  look for moves as well. As Ash mentioned, he's had this
• 1:01:41
  history of he thinks he's amazing, but he thinks he's the
• 1:01:43
  second coming of Christian. Yeah, but.
• 1:01:45
  I think this, this goes to Scott's point as well.
• 1:01:47
  Like there's been talent in the past that's been arrogant.
• 1:01:49
  Is it a failure on the management or is it that he's
• 1:01:52
  all or is it all? These players are arrogant and
• 1:01:55
  you know the like. No, I think you need to deal
• 1:01:57
  with I think. The management is.
• 1:01:59
  Being I think Cunha is, it got an arrogant streak to him as
• 1:02:02
  well. But I think there's a line where
• 1:02:03
  you cross the line where you're arrogant means that you've have
• 1:02:06
  certain behaviours. I think you're allowed to be
• 1:02:08
  arrogant. Cantona was arrogant shirt in
• 1:02:10
  the background. You have certain behaviours that
• 1:02:12
  you have to say maybe you've crossed the line and then are
• 1:02:16
  you good enough? Like Ronaldo, Cristiano was good
• 1:02:18
  enough. You, Fergie, had to kind of
• 1:02:20
  tolerate it. Actually, 20, he's he's got so
• 1:02:23
  much talent, like until what Scott's saying, right?
• 1:02:26
  You give like a full free, free manager.
• 1:02:29
  Watch him flourish. OK, eventually, yeah, he's been
• 1:02:32
  flourishing in this team. He's been.
• 1:02:35
  But at the end he's been like, he's the main guy who can drive
• 1:02:38
  past players and get a shot off. But yeah, and we're going to
• 1:02:41
  sell him like that's criminal. Yeah, but his brother, the
• 1:02:45
  attitudes. Run.
• 1:02:46
  He wants to leave. I think you should let him go.
• 1:02:48
  Don't you think if he if he wants to go, he's not happy?
• 1:02:51
  Because you have to sometimes you have to battle through,
• 1:02:53
  right? Like you know, if Ferguson, like
• 1:02:56
  everyone talks about the famous stories were like once the
• 1:02:58
  relationships done, he sells, but he obviously managed those
• 1:03:02
  relationships as well. Like Canton are like you said at
• 1:03:05
  different times, didn't do what the rest of the team would do
• 1:03:08
  and Ferguson had to manage that. That's Rubens job and Scott
• 1:03:12
  quoted that before. That's the managers job right?
• 1:03:16
  To manage egos and to obviously get the best out of them, like.
• 1:03:21
  No, but also to identify which players he doesn't think are
• 1:03:23
  going to fit into. Yeah, this is the question.
• 1:03:25
  So how does? Then you're then you're just
• 1:03:27
  going to get a bunch of soldiers in then.
• 1:03:29
  How does Coon fit into? That yeah, that's that's a good.
• 1:03:32
  Point as well how does he actually because he hasn't been
• 1:03:34
  playing this in this kind of formation in style of football
• 1:03:37
  so you. Saying that he's been he's been
• 1:03:39
  playing as a 10 in a similar system at Wolves.
• 1:03:41
  But to your point, Scott, he's been, he's been told by fans
• 1:03:46
  like, you know, he's lazy. Steve has got the stats and
• 1:03:49
  like, you know, walk in. But you know, even the walk in
• 1:03:51
  stats are a little bit of a fallacy.
• 1:03:53
  For them, they came, I think they came from Scott, to be
• 1:03:55
  fair. The Walking stats, I think, I
• 1:03:56
  think that's the BBC trying to invent stats to yeah, I mean
• 1:03:59
  united. As might want to chime in here
• 1:04:02
  as well, but like, I don't buy, you know, walk in stats are a
• 1:04:05
  bit of a fallacy because it depends on.
• 1:04:08
  Game, I mean #2 #2 on that list is Virgil Van Dyke, and I don't
• 1:04:11
  think it's. Not even just game sex, the way
• 1:04:12
  Wolves play quite in a deep block and you'd want your
• 1:04:15
  forward to kind of be waiting for the opportunity to for the.
• 1:04:19
  But the thing fundamentally, Cuny's output in the last two
• 1:04:23
  seasons has been really good. You know, he passes well, he
• 1:04:26
  dribbles well, he shoots well. If Garnacha had put more of
• 1:04:29
  those opportunities away, he feels like he's still a 20 year
• 1:04:33
  old is what you're saying. And maybe we just need to get
• 1:04:36
  the 26 year old version of that player.
• 1:04:38
  And also I do think there is a cultural issue in terms of his
• 1:04:43
  personality that I think Reuben wants does I think it was the
• 1:04:47
  word used soldiers. Soldiers.
• 1:04:49
  Reuben wants more soldiers in the team.
• 1:04:54
  Yeah, so I mean, I think it's fair to say this has been the
• 1:04:57
  worst season of our lifetime. Liverpool won the league, we
• 1:05:01
  finished 15th. To be fair, relatively happy
• 1:05:04
  that Newcastle won a trophy. Fair play to them, you know,
• 1:05:07
  first time in 50 years. Fair play, Tottenham.
• 1:05:09
  Yeah, even Tottenham. Don't begrudge them winning a
• 1:05:12
  trophy. Just a shame it had to happen
• 1:05:14
  against us. At least the Champions League is
• 1:05:18
  not going to be won by another English team.
• 1:05:20
  So just very quickly, let's end with our Champions League
• 1:05:24
  predictions. How do we think that game's
• 1:05:27
  going to go? I'll go first.
• 1:05:29
  Yeah, I think PSG and Qatar are going to bring the trophy home
• 1:05:33
  back to Paris slash Doha. So I think it's PS GS time.
• 1:05:37
  Louis Enrique obviously amazing story with his daughter.
• 1:05:40
  You know, you really hope he can do it just for losing his
• 1:05:44
  daughter a few years ago. So I'm all in the PSG camp.
• 1:05:49
  I think it's 10th anniversary of that story, or nine years, I
• 1:05:52
  think maybe. Yeah, yeah.
• 1:05:55
  So I'm going PSG, Ash, how'd you say it again?
• 1:05:58
  Yeah, my my head and my heart both say PSG, the heart purely
• 1:06:03
  for Louis Enrique. So the story, the quick version
• 1:06:07
  for those who don't know, I think it was the Champions
• 1:06:09
  League final, Barcelona versus Juventus, I think 2016.
• 1:06:13
  Barcelona won. Louis Enrique celebrated with
• 1:06:16
  his daughter. His daughter put like a flag in
• 1:06:19
  the middle of the pitch, you know, showing that they won.
• 1:06:22
  It was a bastard flag. And then unfortunately, a few
• 1:06:25
  years ago, she passed away from cancer.
• 1:06:28
  And Louis Enrique's been talking all throughout the Champions
• 1:06:31
  League campaign about the spirit of her daughter, like living him
• 1:06:35
  in him. And you know, back on the
• 1:06:37
  football pitch, they have been the best team in the Champions
• 1:06:40
  League. They've been absolutely
• 1:06:41
  incredible. Boss Liverpool over 2 legs.
• 1:06:44
  And yeah, they beat Arsenal as well.
• 1:06:46
  So yeah, I'm going Barcelona. Sorry.
• 1:06:48
  I'm going PSG even. Nice as.
• 1:06:55
  Talking of 1991 and the underdog, always loved an
• 1:06:59
  underdog story. So I'm hoping in to win and I
• 1:07:03
  think they could do it. Probably going to have to use
• 1:07:05
  their physicality on set pieces. Probably have to use Dumfries.
• 1:07:10
  Yeah, they've got yeah, Dumfries.
• 1:07:13
  I think man of the match performance in the Barsa game,
• 1:07:16
  he was excellent. It will be 1 for the for the
• 1:07:20
  three at the back as well because it's a 3, three at the
• 1:07:23
  back versus 4 at the back game. So we'll win for the three.
• 1:07:28
  Also for Sarah, they haven't, I don't think, won a Champions
• 1:07:31
  League for a long time as well. So that would be underdog story.
• 1:07:35
  They were not fancied to get through the through Basa and I
• 1:07:39
  thought Basa would win the whole thing.
• 1:07:42
  So yeah, I'm going to sneaky one on Inter.
• 1:07:46
  I think that PSG should win the game.
• 1:07:48
  They are the favourites. They have got all the the the
• 1:07:51
  money behind them. But in Zargy, he lost out to
• 1:07:55
  Scott. You can't can't beat them all
• 1:07:58
  because, you know, if you're up against Lukaku and McDonnell in
• 1:08:01
  the league, it's it's going to be difficult.
• 1:08:03
  But let's see if you can get through Den Ballet and, you
• 1:08:07
  know, do a Kravitz failure and all these guys.
• 1:08:10
  They've got a brilliant team, PSG.
• 1:08:12
  So I just hope it's a good game, better than the Europa final,
• 1:08:16
  because that won't be hard, yeah.
• 1:08:20
  Yeah, fair play, Scott. Yeah, I'm going.
• 1:08:22
  Do you reckon I'm going to go? PSGI wouldn't have done T3 years
• 1:08:25
  ago. I hated them.
• 1:08:27
  But I think if you talk about ownership and a manager who can
• 1:08:30
  change the way the football club is perceived and how they play
• 1:08:36
  in that short space of time, you know, literally the style of
• 1:08:40
  football that they're playing now is, is the one of the best.
• 1:08:43
  I really do like what to watch. But yeah, 2-3 years ago, I
• 1:08:45
  would, I would have said no, absolutely not.
• 1:08:47
  No chance. PSG winning it.
• 1:08:49
  I hated them with, with, with all my kind of thing.
• 1:08:51
  But yeah, I do like what they've done over the last couple of
• 1:08:54
  years. Definitely, definitely the the
• 1:08:57
  style of football and the way to go, how to play football as well
• 1:09:00
  and not have all of these superstars in dictated things.
• 1:09:04
  Yeah, fair play. And I think with Chelsea winning
• 1:09:06
  the Conference League last night, I definitely wouldn't
• 1:09:09
  have been able to handle an English team winning it.
• 1:09:11
  I think that would have sent me over the edge.
• 1:09:13
  So yeah, that's one good thing we have left.
• 1:09:15
  So yeah, I think getting to the end of the podcast episodes this
• 1:09:20
  season, there's probably still a couple left to go.
• 1:09:22
  Need to get deeper into the recruitment.
• 1:09:24
  And yeah, I think there's going to be more stories surfacing
• 1:09:27
  about that. But yeah, we'll wrap it up
• 1:09:29
  there. Thanks for tuning into this
• 1:09:31
  episode, and we'll catch you on the next one.