Latest / Let's Kick It Off! / Ep 23: Countdown to Bilbao: Lads, it's Spurs!

Transcript

Ep 23: Countdown to Bilbao: Lads, it's Spurs! · Let's Kick It Off!

• 0:00
  Spurs, apparently have been in seven Finals.
• 0:03
  I have no idea what else they've done.
• 0:05
  So I've got 3 UEFA Cups they've been in and they won two and
• 0:09
  they lost one in 17. I really don't care about Spurs.
• 0:28
  Let's kick it off. I'm Steve and I'm joined by Ash
• 0:34
  and I thought. That's my Spanish name.
• 0:36
  That's my official Spanish name. I'm thinking fine.
• 0:38
  Yeah, I'm buzzing. First European final for me.
• 0:42
  Waited a long time for this. You boys have done a few.
• 0:44
  You done? Big smile on your face.
• 0:47
  Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, you guys did Rome 2009,
• 0:51
  right? Yeah, yeah.
• 0:53
  Which wasn't a good experience. Yeah.
• 0:55
  And you don't stop watching it. Well.
• 0:56
  The trip up to it was great, and then, yeah, the final happened.
• 1:00
  Yeah, and that final, like we had a we started well in that
• 1:03
  final, didn't we? Yeah.
• 1:04
  Was it Ronaldo had the chance? Yeah.
• 1:06
  I think it was like 1st 15 minutes, like we went for Barsa
• 1:10
  and then Samuel Leto just start out on the counter.
• 1:13
  Yeah. They were the better team.
• 1:15
  Key key to that game was obviously down Fletcher getting
• 1:18
  sent off in the semi final right?
• 1:20
  Yeah, at the Emirates, 2009. 2009 even.
• 1:23
  He was immense that year, wasn't it?
• 1:25
  Fletcher, Yeah. Big game player for Ferguson.
• 1:29
  Yeah, I'm in my book and I've just read the Down Fletcher
• 1:32
  chapter, so Mitten's book is. Oh, he has a defined role in
• 1:35
  that. Yeah, he does actually.
• 1:37
  He's got a clear roles and responsibilities in that book.
• 1:40
  So that book is basically covering 2000 to 2010.
• 1:45
  What a time to be alive, yeah? When you look back now, yeah, we
• 1:48
  took it for granted probably, but each chapter is the
• 1:51
  perspective of a different player.
• 1:52
  So I've done the Ollie chapter where he talks about using
• 1:56
  Football Manager back in the day.
• 1:58
  So that's why. So is this Ollie talking about
• 2:00
  2000 or just the whole just that period?
• 2:03
  So he talks, obviously. I think he he could have gone to
• 2:05
  Spurs. Was it?
• 2:06
  But. Yeah. 99 maybe?
• 2:09
  Yeah, I think 9. Yeah, before the trouble season,
• 2:12
  I think 98. Summer.
• 2:13
  Yeah, he had the option to go. Ferguson basically told him you
• 2:17
  can go if you want to, and Ollie said I'm going to stay.
• 2:20
  Thank God he did. Yeah.
• 2:21
  So it's just, it's a good reminder, isn't it, of some of
• 2:24
  the glory days. But saying that, even over the
• 2:26
  last 10 years, I think Ron brought up the stat, then the on
• 2:29
  the last pod, how many finals We've been into 9 finals I think
• 2:33
  in the last decade. Oh, you mean since Ferguson
• 2:36
  finished? Yeah, I think it was 80 said I
• 2:40
  finally had been in. Mourinho would count the the
• 2:42
  charities community Shields. Come on.
• 2:46
  David Moyes has won a trophy. Yeah, basically.
• 2:49
  Oh, right, of course. Yeah. 7th and a trophy.
• 2:52
  Oh yeah, because in in Stockholm that was winning the treble,
• 2:55
  right? Yeah, Marina was given the
• 2:56
  trevory. Yeah, but I'm buzzing for this.
• 3:00
  Got a couple of days before the game.
• 3:03
  Before you get into your excitement on this, give us the
• 3:06
  rundown of like why you missed the previous European.
• 3:10
  Fight. I mean, yeah, studying,
• 3:11
  basically. So 2009, what were you doing?
• 3:13
  I mean, even going back to 2008, I think we had a chance to get
• 3:17
  tickets to Moscow even as members back then.
• 3:19
  But I think it was the visa situation to to Russia, to
• 3:22
  Russia blows. People struggled to say we could
• 3:25
  have gone to Moscow technically, but.
• 3:28
  Definitely wish I did now, given what happened, yeah.
• 3:31
  So yeah, I missed that, but I watched that obviously great
• 3:34
  night. John Terry slipping on his ass.
• 3:37
  And us to running in the back garden like nut cases.
• 3:40
  Yeah. I think that I remember actually
• 3:42
  that like 2 week period we had the big United flag on Wall Pool
• 3:45
  Rd. Still remember a friend who was
• 3:48
  a West Ham fan who lived down the road?
• 3:50
  He takes me going. You've got some fit up on your
• 3:52
  window. That was the two week period
• 3:54
  obviously. Yeah, we had the we had the flag
• 3:57
  up and that's when Kixi scored at Wigan away and then Moscow
• 4:01
  and then yeah, so the following year obviously got to
• 4:03
  back-to-back finals. If we'd have won it, we would
• 4:06
  have been the first club to win back-to-back Champions League.
• 4:09
  Right. Yeah, since, yeah, since the
• 4:11
  Milan team. Yeah, but in champions, in the
• 4:13
  Champions League form because they won it as European Cup.
• 4:18
  And as I thought, you were going to retire from football if that
• 4:22
  had happened. Yeah.
• 4:23
  Would it be a good time to retire?
• 4:25
  Yeah. Right.
• 4:27
  Probably Sammy would have retired because it's like, what
• 4:29
  else would there have been to the?
• 4:30
  Scene football's just done yeah, that well, maybe it's a good
• 4:33
  thing we lost then and yet to. Even Sir Alex Ferguson, like in
• 4:37
  terms of pantheon of European competition winners, he's still
• 4:42
  up there. But he would have been different
• 4:44
  level if he'd won three. Yeah.
• 4:46
  He's like, is Paisley 3 or 4? Three, Yeah.
• 4:49
  So he would have been level with Paisley, Yeah, it would have
• 4:53
  been very fitting for him. Yeah, but I, I was doing A
• 4:56
  levels I think for 2009 Road, so I missed that.
• 4:59
  And then yeah, obviously 2011 Wembley, we didn't, you guys
• 5:03
  didn't go either because I think it was really hard to get
• 5:05
  tickets to because it's in London.
• 5:07
  Yeah, and the prices were just absolutely crazy.
• 5:10
  Yeah, and that game, even though we equalised in that game, we
• 5:13
  just got played off the. Party, I think deep down by his
• 5:17
  fans knew we didn't stand the chance, right?
• 5:20
  Yeah, that's. That one he's fairly got it
• 5:22
  wrong though. Yeah, as Rio would tell you as
• 5:25
  well. Yeah, it's the team selection.
• 5:26
  He went to attacking. He should, he should have.
• 5:29
  He should have played park and put park on bousquettes.
• 5:32
  But he didn't. Yeah.
• 5:33
  But we Man United, yeah. But interestingly, the year
• 5:37
  after he put Park on Pero and we won.
• 5:42
  I think maybe so we won an aggregate.
• 5:46
  Oh yeah, that's when Becks came back.
• 5:49
  Becks came back so we played anti grazing.
• 5:52
  Green and gold, yeah and Scott, yeah, yeah.
• 5:55
  And then since that we've had 2017 would have been the next
• 5:59
  European final, right? Yeah, Jose and.
• 6:03
  Why'd you miss that one? Did my uni finals, Yeah.
• 6:07
  So you Ron and I thought I went to that.
• 6:10
  How was Stockholm? Oh, it was great.
• 6:12
  Stockholm was really nice city, lovely weather.
• 6:17
  Only problem is how much is our Pizza Hut?
• 6:20
  Probably it's pricey. Yeah, Stockholm is pricey.
• 6:24
  Not as pricey as Oslo, but it's up there.
• 6:26
  Yeah, a large, large pizza was like 3540 quid maybe.
• 6:32
  Yeah, it. Was that much?
• 6:33
  But it was no, it was hard. It was.
• 6:35
  It was pricey, Yeah. I love that you went to
• 6:37
  Stockholm, went to pizza. I'm guessing Ron had something
• 6:39
  to do with. It that basically, yeah, yeah.
• 6:41
  You won't be surprised. You always say, well, we
• 6:43
  actually went to a really nice Indian restaurant.
• 6:45
  Yeah, that was good. We.
• 6:46
  Need to find an Indian for for Ron.
• 6:50
  I reckon in Bilbao there'll be one about one there.
• 6:52
  I think the best part of the Stockholm trip like was I
• 6:56
  managed to somehow fleek book in the same hotel as well.
• 7:01
  The Manchester United board was staying and ex players and
• 7:04
  ambassadors so me and I thought Matt Ryan, Robson, Dennis.
• 7:11
  Having breakfast with them, right?
• 7:12
  Fergie was there for breakfast, yeah, as well, yeah.
• 7:17
  We saw Edward with and Richard Arnold on the piss.
• 7:20
  Yeah. Joe Glaser.
• 7:22
  Yeah. Abby.
• 7:23
  Abby Glaser. Yeah, David, David Gill.
• 7:28
  David Gill, Bobby Charlton with his wife there's.
• 7:30
  A couple of memorable pictures that Ron's got on his wall,
• 7:33
  courtesy of a photographer over there.
• 7:35
  Yeah, yeah. It's the United Mafia in it,
• 7:38
  literally, right? I mean, if you could go back now
• 7:41
  what? What would you, by the way?
• 7:42
  I think Kathy was even there. He actually was.
• 7:45
  Yeah. Wow.
• 7:46
  Breakfast. If you could go back when?
• 7:48
  They denied Sir Alex breakfast, by the way.
• 7:49
  Yeah, I mean, it's one of my bug bears in life where you go to a
• 7:53
  hotel and they close up breakfast at 10:00 and you're
• 7:57
  talking one of the greatest of all time comes down with his
• 8:01
  wife wants a bit of breakfast, but sorry, I'm not going to
• 8:03
  serve you it's. Just extraordinary.
• 8:06
  It's the guy who who was telling Sir Alex that it's, you know,
• 8:10
  it's cut off time at 10. I actually tried.
• 8:12
  I told him it's like that is Sir Alex Ferguson.
• 8:15
  He was like the greatest Manchester United, one of the
• 8:18
  greatest football managers ever and he still didn't get it.
• 8:22
  As it is great. Tell us more about your
• 8:24
  breakfast at Hotel Theory. Like what would you do if?
• 8:27
  You're not a theory. I'm just, I'm just not a morning
• 8:29
  person. So I think, you know, the, the
• 8:32
  world caters to morning people more generally.
• 8:34
  I I I I genuinely believe that's, you know, it's always
• 8:38
  about morning routines and getting up at 5:00 AM and, you
• 8:41
  know, doing your breath work and you.
• 8:43
  It's like, I just want to have a light.
• 8:44
  I forget about 5:00 AM and you should be waking up at 4.
• 8:47
  Being at the gym for 5:00. Yeah.
• 8:49
  Can't we do anything a bit later?
• 8:51
  So every time I go to a hotel, it's like, you know, yeah,
• 8:53
  breakfast is included, Sir. I'm charging you extra for it.
• 8:57
  But it finishes at 10:00. And I'm thinking, yeah, but I'm
• 8:59
  still in bed at 10:00. When do you want me to eat?
• 9:03
  So yeah, if I had my own hotel, I would definitely have either
• 9:08
  at least extend it till 12. Yeah.
• 9:10
  Or in an ideal world, you should be able to have breakfast
• 9:13
  whenever you want. So if you, if you don't make it
• 9:15
  for, you know, down for breakfast that you can at least,
• 9:18
  you know, get your, I don't know, at least a coffee and a
• 9:20
  croissant or whatever. Yeah, well, it's sure.
• 9:22
  I mean, you know, I look. Forward to staying at hotel.
• 9:24
  I was going to say what name hotel I thought.
• 9:26
  Any ideas or names? Anyone name right?
• 9:29
  I don't know, maybe you know, champions of Europe when we win
• 9:35
  on Wednesday. Viva Bruno.
• 9:37
  Yeah, we can open it up, right. So, yeah, I mean, that's a bit
• 9:41
  of a European history or modern history I should say, because
• 9:44
  obviously 68 winning it at Wembley.
• 9:47
  So yeah, I think Manchester United have a lot of European
• 9:51
  final pedigree. It's bad to say even Tottenham
• 9:53
  do as well. Been doing a little bit of
• 9:55
  research. I think last night we thought
• 9:57
  this was their first European final, but we found out that
• 10:00
  they've actually won TTUA for cups I think, and the Cup
• 10:05
  Winners Cup was it. Yeah, I'm not going to do the
• 10:07
  Amge impression. I think there was a cup winners.
• 10:12
  Oh, do the impression. Well look mate, if you really
• 10:16
  want to coax it out of me, we won a final and 1963 Cup Winners
• 10:21
  Cup against Athletico Madrid and then the second one was in 1972
• 10:26
  against Wolves. Wow.
• 10:28
  And then the third final was in 1984 against Anderlecht
• 10:34
  actually. So good team.
• 10:35
  But as it's my second season, we're destined to leave on
• 10:39
  Wednesday. That's the feeling I'm getting
• 10:42
  from Spurs. I listened to the talk of the
• 10:44
  devil's preview. Pardon.
• 10:46
  I just get the feeling there nervous got a like a loser's
• 10:51
  mentality. Suppose yes, I understand.
• 10:54
  Going into it right? Are you getting that right?
• 10:56
  Yeah, but we've had a bad, we think we've had a bad season.
• 11:01
  They're below us in the league somehow.
• 11:03
  So I mean, in the same way we probably lack confidence but
• 11:09
  feel that there's something about the club that's great
• 11:12
  because we've we've just gone through that.
• 11:14
  We've still managed to get to finals, win trophies.
• 11:17
  They lack confidence and feel they can't win anything, right.
• 11:19
  So yeah, being pretty, pretty major, it'd be, I mean, a bit
• 11:24
  bit funny that Harry Kane leaves and they fucking, they're gonna
• 11:27
  have a trophy. Yeah, he's, he's, he's finally
• 11:31
  won his trophy though, isn't he? Oh, in Germany?
• 11:33
  Just as in it took, yeah. It took that long.
• 11:36
  Farmers leave, Harry. You're not counting that, are
• 11:39
  you? If you're listening, surely not.
• 11:41
  I mean, you know, Sonny gets the credit for sticking around and.
• 11:44
  It'll be the one if if, if they make it, but unfortunately
• 11:47
  they're going to lose on Wednesday.
• 11:48
  So you checked it yesterday, right?
• 11:51
  So Bayern actually finished fared in his debut season even
• 11:55
  though he was breaking all goal goal scoring records up until
• 11:59
  the latter part of the. Season.
• 12:01
  The curse of Kane has been lit. So yeah, Bayern missed the
• 12:07
  league and he obviously missed the euro.
• 12:10
  Yeah, got lost to Spain in the final.
• 12:13
  Yeah, it's broken. It's that finally.
• 12:15
  Yeah, it's it's hopefully not bad omen for us.
• 12:18
  Yeah, I mean, we'll come on to the combined 11 and talk about
• 12:23
  who we think it's got the stronger team.
• 12:24
  But yeah, that's what feeling are you getting going into the
• 12:27
  final, Just like the vibes that you feel in.
• 12:30
  My own vibes is mainly based on the badge.
• 12:34
  That's why I think it's going to take us to the win the actual
• 12:39
  game. Anything can happen, you know,
• 12:42
  It could be for free, it could be a tight affair.
• 12:46
  Is the badge a real thing? That's what I'd love to know.
• 12:49
  It is real, Real Madrid. Do you think if you just put in
• 12:54
  11 random people, but they're manifest united, yeah, they
• 12:58
  still lift. There's something that that that
• 13:01
  lift the elevates. And what is it?
• 13:04
  I can give you some examples of what it is.
• 13:07
  So when you put a cross in, for example, there's just those
• 13:13
  elements of luck certain clubs have.
• 13:16
  The football heritage means you jump higher.
• 13:18
  It is you, you can't put your finger on it but like you know
• 13:22
  the 2 finals that stand out in the last like 10 odd years is
• 13:26
  Athletico against Real Madrid. On paper and maybe if you look
• 13:31
  at the stats and re watch the games, Athletico were the better
• 13:34
  team in both finals but in the first final in 2014 this they've
• 13:38
  lost four, one in the end over extra time and but they got back
• 13:42
  into the final with Ramos header with like 7-8 minutes to go.
• 13:46
  But I've had to go with a better team.
• 13:48
  Same happening again at the San Siro final.
• 13:50
  I think that was a new one. So I believe in the the weight
• 13:53
  of the badge weighing A-Team down like Athletico that that
• 13:57
  that if you're so so I can imagine spurs the weight of
• 14:01
  that. This is where I where I I agree
• 14:03
  on that bit. Is there something where we
• 14:06
  elevate ourselves? So yeah, yeah, I know there's a
• 14:09
  elevation level. Like for example, like I can see
• 14:15
  a cross going in in the 82nd minute and Casimiro is going to
• 14:19
  stick it with top of the line. No.
• 14:21
  No, we just think God is. No, no, no, no.
• 14:24
  This history of it go back to 68.
• 14:27
  But how does history actually impact to that happening?
• 14:30
  That's what I. Went I think it's, I think it's,
• 14:32
  it's confidence. It's the universe.
• 14:35
  No, no, but it's the confidence as well because like you
• 14:37
  mentioned, you know, Spurs being weighed down by their history
• 14:40
  thinking, you know, Spurs won their last trophy in 2008.
• 14:44
  We've won two trophies in the last so.
• 14:45
  If you look at it purely neutral, like if let's say I've
• 14:49
  got no affinity to eye the club, if I looked at the football that
• 14:53
  is played, so don't look at the league table, I think Spurs
• 14:56
  favour, yes. Based on?
• 14:58
  Yeah. Based on.
• 14:58
  But you have to put all these other elements into the midst,
• 15:01
  the final, the pressure for Spurs to win.
• 15:05
  If you're being positive from a Spurs perspective, the whole and
• 15:08
  second season thing, right? Yeah, Like, these things happen
• 15:13
  for a reason. But you know, this is probably
• 15:15
  where as you might be not questioning it, but like, is it
• 15:19
  as real as we think? Like the stuff you pulled out
• 15:22
  about Casimiro 7 finals? But it's always so like, no
• 15:25
  shit, Sherlock, because he played around with Cristiano
• 15:28
  Ronaldo in there. So the Casimiro things, Real
• 15:31
  because you can point to Casimiro.
• 15:32
  I'm just talking the badge. Yeah, I know.
• 15:36
  To answer your question about if you put 11 roundings into the
• 15:38
  club, would the badge, not really, but I think this is
• 15:41
  where the big game players come into as well.
• 15:44
  So you've got the likes of Casimiro, Bruno Maguire, that
• 15:48
  combined with the badge, it's not like you can't measure it.
• 15:51
  It's all thrown into the pop, right?
• 15:53
  And. Yeah, obviously the team have to
• 15:55
  play well on Wednesday. That's a given, right?
• 15:57
  United can't win it just because of the devil.
• 15:59
  But what I'm saying is, you know, there's LM, you know, 21
• 16:02
  year over final, right? We actually dominated the the
• 16:06
  final like we we had the best chances.
• 16:08
  We had more possession even though.
• 16:10
  Villarreal bash didn't carry us through.
• 16:12
  On that, OK. It didn't carry us through,
• 16:13
  that's what I mean. It's like those, just those, you
• 16:16
  know, many moments. David Daher, like he was never
• 16:19
  going to score a penalty, to be fair.
• 16:20
  But. Should have saved one.
• 16:22
  Should say one, but you know what's the best example of like,
• 16:26
  magic? Ollie sticking his foot out.
• 16:28
  You know, from a teddy show. You don't rely on the badge on
• 16:32
  its own, it's part of the mix. That's also you're also
• 16:35
  selecting the moments where it went well and then during the
• 16:38
  time and did it even itself so. What's your view?
• 16:40
  Do you believe in the way of the badge?
• 16:42
  I, I do and, and my, my way of explaining it is, I think, but
• 16:49
  it comes through the universe, but the universe is the, the fan
• 16:52
  base. And I think that when you're on
• 16:54
  the pitch that you can feel the energy, the energy of the fans.
• 16:59
  And there is a certain element of confidence that we are never
• 17:03
  beaten and I do believe that there will be nervousness on the
• 17:06
  Spurs side from their fans and the weight of their history.
• 17:11
  And I do think there is something there that that that
• 17:13
  will help us. It doesn't guarantee anything,
• 17:15
  no. Yeah, definitely not guarantee.
• 17:17
  Anything but I do believe that the the support will give us 5.
• 17:22
  Percent and also an important factor is the belief in the
• 17:26
  manager at the moment. So it sounds like Angie's gone
• 17:29
  no matter what, even if he wins it, the talk is yeah, whereas on
• 17:32
  the Reuben side it seems like the opposite.
• 17:34
  He's. Firming already, Mike.
• 17:35
  Yeah, basically you've got me I've.
• 17:37
  Seen what I've done. You know, Joe, it's funny.
• 17:39
  Actually I so when he started bloody arguing with the fans
• 17:41
  like 2-3 months ago, you know, he's having like altercations
• 17:45
  with the away end and I'm like this guy is like toast.
• 17:48
  So I put money on him to be the next manager to be sacked, but
• 17:51
  no one's been sacked. Yeah, so.
• 17:52
  Crazy. He could still win.
• 17:54
  He could. Still win.
• 17:55
  Yeah, hopefully. They'll obviously get me.
• 17:57
  Dinner is on you. Yeah, let's, let's see someone
• 18:00
  else Rude might go, you know, soon as the season's over.
• 18:02
  True. I don't know.
• 18:03
  So. But yeah, I think that element
• 18:05
  as well, like the fans behind the manager as well, like
• 18:09
  Reuben's name is going to be sung no matter what and like,
• 18:12
  yeah, just that extra backing. I still feel the players are
• 18:15
  buying manager as well. Like so you mentioned, you know,
• 18:18
  Maguire, Casimiro, 2 players that fell out with 10 hug, well
• 18:23
  10 hug fell out with them. And then you know, important
• 18:27
  people in the dressing room, whatever you say about them.
• 18:29
  And I think there's a good relationship there with the
• 18:31
  manager and that's another little 5%.
• 18:35
  So hopefully that'll count for something, right.
• 18:38
  I did feel it in the in the Bilbao semi as well.
• 18:41
  Like the the initial stage of the game, we were nervous that
• 18:45
  the Bruno Casimiro, McGuire spine kind of held the team
• 18:48
  together. And then when we hit got the
• 18:51
  first goal, everyone settled down a bit.
• 18:53
  Yeah, we'll look back in the knockout stages.
• 18:56
  That's fine. Like if we win it, we'll be
• 18:58
  like, we won it because of that spine, the character, the goals,
• 19:02
  the performances. The other thing as well, if we
• 19:04
  do win it and we do end up in the Champions League, and you've
• 19:07
  obviously talked about last night, you're talking about
• 19:09
  winning the Champions League next year as well.
• 19:10
  But the route to that would be actually the FA Cup campaign
• 19:14
  last season because I've seen a reason we're in the Europa
• 19:17
  League. So that campaign last season, it
• 19:20
  was unbelievable, right? We beat Liverpool 4/3 at Old
• 19:23
  Trafford over the last minute. Ahmad Winner beat Coventry in
• 19:26
  the semi final. I was about to say, So we're
• 19:29
  we're going to pinpoint it all the way back to we're going to
• 19:33
  go the Ahmad goal or the Anthony goal, which one are we going
• 19:35
  for? That's just all of them.
• 19:38
  Yeah. And then also shout out to Scott
• 19:40
  then for getting the 1st. Yeah, but and obviously the City
• 19:43
  final, right, So you can trace it back all the way to to the FA
• 19:46
  Cup campaign last season. Oh, no honour in the penalty
• 19:49
  shootout against Coventry. I think Casimira missed the
• 19:51
  first one. Yes, you're right.
• 19:53
  You got all these, all these moments of great characters and
• 19:56
  the players with tremendous mentality against Liverpool
• 20:00
  penalty shootout and City of the Final.
• 20:03
  We're not going to question the mentality in the in the pre
• 20:06
  final part. We make it, yeah.
• 20:08
  We make it about like we have already discussed the I believe
• 20:12
  and I think you agree, Steve, that the, the, the spine over
• 20:15
  the Maguire, Casimiro Bruno has a mentality advantage over the
• 20:21
  Tottenham spine, right? Because I Romero for me is a
• 20:24
  good player, but he's a bit of a hot head.
• 20:26
  Let's be honest, don't have much experience in finals and
• 20:29
  winning, right? Yeah, the midfield is, is is
• 20:32
  inexperienced and I, we like Solanke, met him at the FA Cup
• 20:35
  final, said he would play for United if United came in.
• 20:38
  Is that? Because Ron asked him.
• 20:40
  And just I. Think I asked So you know he,
• 20:43
  he's a good player, but hasn't played at the highest level.
• 20:46
  Yeah, his son's there, One guy and he's been out for a while.
• 20:49
  I think he's he. He'll be back, but.
• 20:52
  Interestingly, played against Bitler because obviously, you
• 20:55
  know, there was debate about how, you know, the team that we
• 20:58
  sent. Well, let's, let's let's.
• 20:59
  Touch on that now, actually in terms of what United and Spurs
• 21:03
  did in the last Premier League games, both played on Friday
• 21:06
  night, Reuben took the approach of playing a strong team.
• 21:09
  Sounds very looks very much like what is set to be the final
• 21:13
  team. Maybe a few tweaks, whereas Ange
• 21:16
  rested everyone right? And there's been a big debate, I
• 21:19
  think, fair to say, in the. 500 message exchange on Friday to
• 21:23
  Saturday morning the. Listener of the pod Jay from
• 21:25
  Melbourne had some strong views on that.
• 21:26
  I think he thinks that Rupert's made a big mistake there.
• 21:31
  I said you can't judge until the final happens because he Jay's
• 21:35
  Jay's point is the objective failed that we we lost the game.
• 21:38
  We didn't build any confidence. I think, yeah, that was the
• 21:40
  argument that he suggested was that because we didn't win the
• 21:45
  Chelsea game, you have to then call that failure or whatever
• 21:50
  word you want to use for it. Yeah.
• 21:54
  Like I said, I don't want to talk too much about the game,
• 21:57
  but I don't think it would have made much of a difference.
• 22:00
  Like playing the strongest team or or resting them.
• 22:04
  Yeah. Would I have played this team as
• 22:07
  strong as that? Probably not.
• 22:09
  I probably would have rested this spine just because of
• 22:12
  protection for Wednesday because Can you imagine if Reuben, sorry
• 22:16
  they have done it again, Bruno, Harry or Castamero if they went
• 22:21
  down injured like Reuben would have been absolutely petted by
• 22:25
  the fans. Yeah, well, I thought you you
• 22:27
  kind of backed up Reuben's approach.
• 22:29
  What? What did you make of it?
• 22:31
  The thing we don't understand as fans is what is the actual
• 22:35
  physical condition of any individual player?
• 22:37
  We don't have the data and they had you've got, there's a the
• 22:42
  game before the Chelsea game was West Ham.
• 22:45
  There was a big rotation in that game.
• 22:47
  So I don't think McGuire played, Bruno might have played, Bruno
• 22:50
  started, Bruno played. I don't think Casimiro played
• 22:54
  right. Bruno Fernandez can basically
• 22:56
  play football every time. There's no issue there with him.
• 22:59
  He's never getting injured. So they thought of him getting
• 23:01
  injured. It will be the most ridiculous
• 23:04
  thing for him to get injured, right?
• 23:05
  So let's ignore Bruno McGuire hasn't played for a long time
• 23:08
  and nor is Casamiro now that now you've just got to ask, is it
• 23:11
  better to have a rhythm in the in, in in the mind and the legs
• 23:16
  with a with enough break from Friday to Wednesday or complete
• 23:20
  freshness? Me as a personally, I would
• 23:24
  rather play football to have the the game, the speed of the game
• 23:27
  and be up to the speed. So when I go out on Wednesday, I
• 23:31
  haven't had that long a gap, right.
• 23:33
  And and I would feel that your physical conditioning as well.
• 23:36
  I think he started the likes of Mount Ahmad Shore, who haven't
• 23:41
  really started a lot of games. So also to give them a few extra
• 23:44
  minutes in the legs. That's why I defended it because
• 23:48
  I can. I don't I don't feel that there
• 23:50
  was any sort of particular individual.
• 23:53
  I think's overly drained, right? I think he rested Agate whose
• 23:58
  legs he's maybe saving. So he I think he knows which
• 24:02
  players need a bit of rest and which players need a bit of
• 24:04
  extra game time. He also then I think subbed
• 24:08
  Casimiro 70 minutes, I think. Yeah.
• 24:11
  So kind of it was like, OK, you haven't played West Ham.
• 24:14
  You've had a long break up to now you're giving you 70 minutes
• 24:17
  and you've got another five days break.
• 24:19
  So 70 minutes in the course of two weeks.
• 24:21
  Yeah, I think it's all right. I don't think it's it's a
• 24:25
  problem. Now the question becomes, and
• 24:27
  we'll only really be able to judge this is in 100 and. 15th
• 24:31
  minute, is there an extra element of energy that he might
• 24:35
  have had if he'd had? But that's, you know, that's
• 24:38
  Jay's argument, isn't it? It's like you can't say what you
• 24:42
  did on Friday night has a bearing about Wednesday in terms
• 24:47
  of you've made that decision yet you know, that's it.
• 24:50
  You can't. Take Wednesday and put it back
• 24:53
  in terms of like, oh, that justifies, you know, for Friday.
• 24:57
  The thing that I think that people are missing the point is
• 25:00
  they somehow believe that rest is definitely better than
• 25:05
  playing. I don't agree with that.
• 25:06
  There's for me, this is an element of staying in the rhythm
• 25:09
  and just gone with the full protection and the rest is
• 25:13
  better than playing. So I'm not 100% sure.
• 25:17
  I think that if, if you've played that game against
• 25:20
  Chelsea, the moment you step out on Wednesday, you should start
• 25:23
  faster. So that is, do you finish
• 25:26
  slower? Because you're right, we should
• 25:28
  definitely start faster. But do we finish slow?
• 25:31
  And do we have do we have the extra battery and extra time?
• 25:34
  And that's, that's, that's we just don't know.
• 25:37
  And so Casimiro didn't play against West Ham at all.
• 25:41
  So he was on the bench. But he didn't.
• 25:42
  He didn't come on, come on. And he played 70 minutes.
• 25:45
  So it's a long time. I mean, yeah, there's two ways
• 25:48
  when it comes to selection before a big final like this.
• 25:53
  This is the point, Jamie. It's a fairpoint because we all
• 25:55
  would have agreed with it when he used to do it.
• 25:58
  Sir Alex always rested the game. Before if he could right if we
• 26:02
  can't go up to the. If it's, you know, if it's 2008,
• 26:06
  you have to play a strongest team against Wigan to secure the
• 26:08
  title. But then I think it was, yeah,
• 26:10
  it was either 2009 or before the 11 final.
• 26:13
  You rested everyone against Wolves who were in a relegation.
• 26:16
  By the way, everyone was worried about, you know, the validity of
• 26:19
  the league. And we still think Darren Gibson
• 26:21
  scored. But yeah, it's like the only the
• 26:24
  only thing I'd say with the Fergie team is that team was
• 26:27
  already in its rhythm. Yeah, of course.
• 26:29
  And therefore resting the team is we're trying to find rhythm
• 26:33
  with with. With this team and also certain
• 26:35
  individual. So it's a huge point to mention
• 26:38
  about Reuben. Press conference before the
• 26:41
  Chelsea game, he clearly said because he was so pissed about
• 26:44
  the West Ham performance, it was like a it wasn't any punishment
• 26:47
  to be like, you guys can't stop like switching off.
• 26:50
  There was a statement to statement to everyone, everyone
• 26:53
  that the league matters. What do you think?
• 26:55
  Yeah, so like I I'd listen to the latest part where with Ron
• 26:58
  on on the weekend and you know, you and Ron rightly hammer in
• 27:02
  the league for I mean, I don't you think it's unacceptable as
• 27:05
  well. I don't think any United fan.
• 27:07
  For acknowledging that every time I go into that, it's like,
• 27:10
  oh, it's all. Right.
• 27:11
  It's like it's not all right, it's.
• 27:13
  Understand. I can like understand.
• 27:15
  Justify being 16th in the league of the money we've spent right
• 27:19
  over the last few years. So that is an unacceptable fact.
• 27:22
  But Reuben has been hammered for the league form.
• 27:25
  So he wants to get a result in the league.
• 27:28
  He wants to build rhythm. I take that point.
• 27:30
  So I'm I was OK with it and. Certain minutes be certain
• 27:33
  players. Yeah, so I'm I was OK with the
• 27:35
  approach because it just feels like another stick to beat
• 27:38
  Reuben with. But the the other thing, as I
• 27:41
  said it right, I think the team could have had a month off play
• 27:45
  that game. So everything will be the same
• 27:47
  and maybe if anything, maybe more goals Chelsea could have
• 27:50
  scored, right. Yeah, it does in the context of
• 27:53
  this season. I think we're the way we're
• 27:55
  playing in the league, unfortunately, you know,
• 27:58
  painting me to say I think it makes.
• 27:59
  I think you're, I think you're right, because funny thing is
• 28:01
  we've started this part by talking about the one percents,
• 28:03
  2 percents to 5%. Let's not talk about the 80%.
• 28:07
  Let's talk. About not 84.
• 28:09
  Well, scarred by that number, but let's talk about the 80% of
• 28:13
  the players that are actually going to be on the pitch.
• 28:16
  Let's start by doing a combined 11 because that will be
• 28:18
  interesting to see who we think has actually got the stronger
• 28:22
  players. I'm going to be honest, I I
• 28:23
  don't know that much about the spurs.
• 28:26
  I haven't watched them much this season.
• 28:28
  So I'm going to let you two drive this.
• 28:30
  But I mean first of all, what formation we play?
• 28:35
  I just want to play the back 3. Five at the back low block.
• 28:39
  No, I think. I think the formation is
• 28:42
  dictated by blown because my team would be able to be set up
• 28:47
  in either formation because I would play Ahmad as a wingback
• 28:51
  so it doesn't really matter. You get an Ahmad in straight
• 28:53
  away. No, it's in when we talk about
• 28:55
  our team, people get, you know, like, oh, it's it's three or the
• 28:59
  and it's like it, it, it doesn't matter.
• 29:02
  You're you're about the 11 players.
• 29:03
  The 11 players will will will set them out as a 4231 or a for
• 29:07
  my 2 packs. I disagree with that theory, but
• 29:10
  you know. Fine.
• 29:10
  OK, well, let's go. I'm happy to go.
• 29:12
  Let's go to the team. It's a goalkeeper.
• 29:13
  Oh, so your players, your we'll, we'll do a United 11, but your
• 29:17
  United 11 would be different if you had a 4/4/14?
• 29:21
  No, I'm just saying in terms of, I know we've talked about it
• 29:24
  before, like you, you say you don't.
• 29:29
  I think it's a problem in terms of like you set the team up as a
• 29:32
  back 4 but inherently you're going to about 3 or a back 2
• 29:35
  because of the way your 4 backs move or your centre backs move.
• 29:38
  I'm saying the 11 players I'd pick for United would be the
• 29:41
  same irrespective of the formation.
• 29:43
  Fine, OK, Yeah, I, I. Think maybe same for me, just
• 29:47
  just depends am I? Am I the manager or you guys?
• 29:49
  Guys, we're not BBC Sport here, we don't need to get in 2D
• 29:52
  thing. It doesn't.
• 29:53
  It doesn't matter. Let's play.
• 29:54
  Yeah, it. Shouldn't matter for me, so
• 29:56
  let's. Let's get into the the line up,
• 29:58
  then it's a goalkeeper. I need to 1st I'm going to check
• 30:02
  who's available for Spurs. I mean for me the the goalkeeper
• 30:06
  is 5050. I prefer Onana because could you
• 30:10
  he's better in distribution, but Vicario's you know?
• 30:14
  Have you checked the stats on saves between the two of them?
• 30:18
  While I was doing that, yeah, keeping again for before you see
• 30:23
  the stats. If I was looking at both of them
• 30:27
  gut feeling, even though he meant mistakes as well, I'd go
• 30:30
  Bicaria. Interesting.
• 30:31
  Yeah, because Inana, in terms of possession, yeah, I've not seen
• 30:37
  enough of the Inter Milan stuff. You know the one thing about
• 30:40
  Anana, he's obviously made a lot of mistakes, but the guy who's
• 30:44
  got personality and character? To be fair, Bicaria has is where
• 30:47
  you are Spurs fans, but I take, I take it fully on board if
• 30:51
  people say yeah, Bicaria shit, as in I've seen him make some
• 30:55
  incredible saves. Um, he he, he's vocal and Spurs
• 30:59
  fans I think generally like him. But yeah, it is a tossable.
• 31:02
  It's like a Nana. It's like he's that high risk
• 31:05
  weight he could make an error. The finally could flap up 1.
• 31:08
  Then again, he could be the hero in the penalty shootout.
• 31:10
  You know he's that. Yeah, and also if he gets it
• 31:13
  right on the night in terms of pinging the ball around like
• 31:15
  they did at the Champions. League, yeah, and he was
• 31:17
  quality. You know, they did a case study
• 31:19
  on his performance in terms of his.
• 31:20
  Distribution. I think that's why watching that
• 31:22
  final is why do you. Know what it is?
• 31:24
  That's basically, you know, like someone potentially he makes
• 31:28
  less rickets, you know, yeah, only marginally, but versus
• 31:32
  someone who's got a high ceiling in an honour like in terms of
• 31:35
  distribution as well. So it's that same argument for
• 31:38
  the last three years. And even when we're talking
• 31:40
  about the manager like yeah, high ceiling versus an A
• 31:43
  consistent or like semi consistent.
• 31:46
  Yeah, I mean. But yeah, it's, I mean, what?
• 31:48
  You watch them enough, right? Who would you say like?
• 31:51
  I mean, I've not watched supposedly too much, but I just,
• 31:54
  like I said about an honour, just get that feeling start,
• 31:57
  Yeah. Like he could pull something
• 31:59
  off. He's that type of kind.
• 32:01
  Of interesting if I if if Ikario was in a red shirt.
• 32:04
  Or Oh yeah, there's a, there's a bit of bias in there, but yeah,
• 32:06
  I'm not going to wear. Anything interesting or fast?
• 32:08
  So statistically, it looks like Vicario's had the better season
• 32:15
  and so we're going to have to go in Bicaria.
• 32:17
  No, I don't. I don't think you have to just
• 32:18
  go based on the stats because Anana has made a lot of mistakes
• 32:21
  this year, so clearly the stats are going to point in One
• 32:23
  Direction. Good.
• 32:24
  Tell me what your gut says, Anana, right?
• 32:26
  I would go with Anana because we we started this whole
• 32:29
  conversation about the intangible.
• 32:32
  Factor. This is a guy who's played in
• 32:34
  the ROPA League final, which he lost, obviously against us.
• 32:38
  He's also played in the Champions League final, lost
• 32:40
  again, right? He's played in big games.
• 32:44
  Yeah, he's lost 2 finals. So when they were the weaker
• 32:48
  team in both finals. Yeah, he's played in big games.
• 32:51
  He's he's he's I agree on the character thing, Yeah.
• 32:55
  And in the situation where we discussed on the penalty shoot
• 32:59
  out, he's he's done well in that that Coventry game as an example
• 33:04
  where we went one down and he made the save so.
• 33:07
  Was there another shoot out of this season when he made the
• 33:09
  save or or or oh, maybe it was Arsenal was buying did, but
• 33:13
  yeah, no, you know what I was thinking of last season,
• 33:17
  Champions League. We were one at up in a group
• 33:21
  game against a Nordic team and then he saved it.
• 33:24
  I think he, Casimiro, sorry, that was it.
• 33:26
  Anana made a crazy pass, it got blocked.
• 33:30
  Casimir had to dive in and gave a penalty away and then Anana
• 33:34
  saved the penalty. So that's the man this that you
• 33:36
  talked about. He's got that Sarah Lemon.
• 33:39
  As he reminded the man you Matic, he has won a trophy with
• 33:44
  Manchester United so. Yeah, FA Cup, fine, that's what
• 33:47
  he's. He's got a bit of heritage
• 33:49
  behind him. But I don't, I don't think with
• 33:51
  these two, there's not much in it, no.
• 33:53
  So flip a coin, you could flip a coin.
• 33:55
  Technically speaking, on the stats, we should give it to the
• 33:58
  car. No, but you don't.
• 34:00
  What's what's the actual numbers just out of interest?
• 34:02
  Well, I mean, this is a thing. Goalkeeping stats are a bit.
• 34:06
  I'd like you as well. But let's just go with in the
• 34:10
  Premier League Vicario in his post shot XG against which is
• 34:15
  kind of shot stopping number, how many expected goals versus
• 34:18
  conceded? He's plus 2.3.
• 34:20
  So he saved 2.3 goals, 09 is only plus one.
• 34:24
  He's still positive. Yeah, which is good.
• 34:27
  The other thing I was looking at this out of curiosity was the
• 34:31
  cross stopping and I think, you know, for me he's this is in
• 34:34
  cross claiming. Then I wanted to see, you know,
• 34:37
  Vicario is good. So Vicario actually has got 10%
• 34:42
  cross or cross stopping of crosses, which is probably like
• 34:46
  fairly high in the Premier League.
• 34:47
  Number one's David Breyer who's 12.9.
• 34:49
  So he's up there and Onan is only 5.5.
• 34:53
  Where's Vicario again? Sorry. 1010 point. 10.1 that is
• 34:57
  high yeah it's rye is 12 yeah so yeah so based on the steps and.
• 35:04
  We'll, we'll go over now. He's also, he's also, I mean.
• 35:07
  This is the way Tottenham play. But in terms of his sweeping, so
• 35:12
  he, oh, he's about, yeah, I think he's about a sweeper
• 35:15
  keeper. Yeah, yeah.
• 35:16
  So defensive actions outside the penalty area this season he's
• 35:21
  made I mean, I. Was going to say like, it's not.
• 35:27
  Boring talk about goalkeepers for this stuff.
• 35:29
  That's a point in One Direction. So you know me, I like to go
• 35:32
  against the stats and back the guts, so we'll go over now if
• 35:35
  that's all right. Cool, so let's go.
• 35:37
  Into the defence. What defenders are we thrown
• 35:39
  into the mixes? We're basing this on the fit
• 35:41
  players, right? Yeah.
• 35:43
  Yeah. So I mean technically speaking.
• 35:47
  If you just again, this is not for a final, you'd probably say
• 35:52
  Tottenham back to assuming Romero and van the benefit,
• 35:57
  however. It's a.
• 35:59
  Final and if you're going to apply the same logic with Onana,
• 36:04
  Harry Maguire has got huge experience for both for United
• 36:09
  and for England. It's played in the Euros.
• 36:13
  Was it semi final? Yeah.
• 36:15
  Oh, finals. Sorry.
• 36:16
  Euro final 2. Euro final two.
• 36:18
  Yeah. He missed the last year because
• 36:19
  he was injured. Oh right.
• 36:20
  Yeah. Yeah, 2020 B Euro.
• 36:22
  Final, World Cup quarter, final, World Cup semi final.
• 36:25
  Yeah, with England and he's never looked like the guy who in
• 36:30
  the pressure situation lowers his.
• 36:32
  In fact, I feel he raises his game in the big games.
• 36:35
  Did he play in the FA Cup final? Last year, no, it didn't.
• 36:39
  Did it? No.
• 36:40
  It was as hearteners and yeah, Bahran and maybe he played.
• 36:44
  He must have played the Oh no, Jose Mourinho was in charge, so
• 36:49
  he wasn't there. OK, so yeah, he's not got much.
• 36:51
  He's only played the Villarreal final.
• 36:54
  Oh, no, he missed it. Oh, it's.
• 36:56
  Shit, what was it? It's going.
• 36:57
  To be Harry's. First final, final, you know.
• 37:00
  Probably. Yeah, because he.
• 37:02
  Joined in 19 so we lost the FA Cup in 17.
• 37:05
  That was it. Phil James and get the penalty
• 37:07
  away. So yeah, he's, I think he's And
• 37:13
  then, yeah, he missed the League Cup final because 10 Hog dropped
• 37:16
  him and then he came on right at the end to lift the trophy.
• 37:19
  Yeah. So we say McGuire.
• 37:21
  Is the one we. Put forward then I'm I'm I'm I'm
• 37:24
  I'm being a big. Boy, what about you?
• 37:26
  You are being incredibly biassed.
• 37:27
  Because the Spurs fans would laugh.
• 37:28
  What about Yeah? Oh, of course the.
• 37:30
  United fan mostly. United fan base would love them.
• 37:32
  What about Lenny? Euro good is enough.
• 37:35
  He's young first. We don't know if he's.
• 37:36
  Fit Secondly, you're not picking euro over Vanderben or Romero.
• 37:39
  OK, All right. I think we I.
• 37:41
  Think we have to go the Spurs back too then.
• 37:43
  I mean, Vanderben is the best one.
• 37:44
  Centre back, you let him choose the centre back, they're the
• 37:47
  best too, right? So that's technically they are
• 37:49
  the best. So full backs slash wing.
• 37:52
  Bats what we say it's, it's probably the Spurs guy.
• 37:55
  Yeah, Pedro Poro like. I don't know how good he is
• 37:59
  defensively, but attacking wise is brilliant so and good signing
• 38:03
  for us. As if you get hold of Poro.
• 38:05
  Yeah, a lot of FPL, yeah, by FPL takes.
• 38:08
  Another point of where? You know we.
• 38:10
  Can sign players who can play in the back four and they're
• 38:12
  perfectly good as a wing back. They're just attack good
• 38:15
  attacking players and Poro's a great example of that.
• 38:17
  He's very dangerous, but I think Spurs have extra even guys,
• 38:21
  isn't it? Pedro Para, I think he played at
• 38:24
  Lisbon, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 38:26
  I think Spurs have the the back four basically.
• 38:29
  I was going to say, we've been honouring cover.
• 38:32
  Yeah, the only argument if. Luke Sherwood played the whole
• 38:34
  season consistently. Oh, that's that's not a bad.
• 38:37
  Shot because he's technically fit, right?
• 38:40
  As in, yeah, he's playing minutes on.
• 38:43
  Wednesday is well, depending if he's going to start well, I can
• 38:47
  see Ruben. Doing something like a small
• 38:50
  surprise, you know, like Luke Shaw starts or Hoyer doesn't
• 38:55
  start, he does a false knife, so on Luke Shaw.
• 38:58
  Do you think he will start? I could.
• 39:01
  Do can we? Can we?
• 39:02
  Get Luke Shaw on the team, I think we we're going to do.
• 39:05
  A Man United 11, aren't we? What's your predicted 11 my
• 39:08
  predicted 11. I would be really surprised if
• 39:11
  he doesn't play Shaw. Let's get make sure on the
• 39:13
  beginning can. We get the Luke Shaw on the.
• 39:15
  Combined 11 then. I don't.
• 39:18
  Think. Well, it's not.
• 39:19
  Playing it's not I felt like he's he's fit.
• 39:22
  Enough to feature, yeah, but like a doggie's like more.
• 39:26
  Athletic, isn't he? Yeah, but the fluke Shaw's got
• 39:29
  great delivery. Luke.
• 39:32
  Shaw's passing ability is is probably the best passing
• 39:37
  ability on the pitch of both teams.
• 39:42
  Wow. Statistically, no.
• 39:43
  I'm just thinking just like his. Passing ability.
• 39:47
  Is too deep if you're if you're really anal Kristen Erickson but
• 39:50
  yeah. Yeah, but Kristen.
• 39:53
  Erickson can't. Move.
• 39:54
  No, he might, he might. Come on, though, he's going to
• 39:56
  change the game. You never know.
• 39:57
  He's the only one who keeps the ball apart from Bruno this
• 40:00
  season. I'm just being anal.
• 40:02
  Like, to be fair that Dolby's going to start, isn't he?
• 40:03
  For? Us would you say?
• 40:07
  Yes, but I think. They're both still D.
• 40:08
  Out Do you think Shaw will be a left side?
• 40:10
  Oh yeah, you think Reuben's? Going to do that or?
• 40:12
  You would do that I think. Reuben and I would play.
• 40:16
  Wouldn't you start Dorgu? Isn't Dorgu going to start
• 40:19
  start? I just think make sure he's.
• 40:23
  Going to come off the bench, so who's going to play left centre
• 40:27
  back? That is the question.
• 40:29
  Well, let's come. I'm asking you.
• 40:31
  No, it depends. On the fitness.
• 40:33
  You think about that, let's. Let's come on to the United
• 40:34
  team, but going through the combined level, we're going to
• 40:37
  Spurs back 4 then yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 40:39
  So 2IN centre midfield, who's in the mix?
• 40:43
  Casamiro got So if this was a Premier League game.
• 40:48
  We would never pick Casamiro, it'd be silly, but because it's
• 40:52
  a European game and it's a European final and he has done
• 40:58
  very well for us as well in the last few European games.
• 41:02
  So you can say right, Stepped up, big man, big present, won 7
• 41:06
  finals. Surely you've got to give
• 41:08
  Casimiro got the central midfield position, and then I
• 41:11
  know who you're going to pick next to him because he's your
• 41:13
  good, good friend, Benton, Benton Kerr.
• 41:16
  It says, you know I. I personally would say that's a
• 41:19
  fair enough call. Like Benton Kerr or Ugarte.
• 41:22
  Yeah, Ugarte. Struggled a.
• 41:24
  Little bit. And more so in the league, but
• 41:26
  recently so if it was me and not Ruben.
• 41:29
  I'd have kept Kobe Mania in there, but I don't think Kobe
• 41:31
  Mania is going to start. Yeah, no.
• 41:34
  False. 9 He might start as a false. 9 But he's not starting.
• 41:37
  He's not comfortable in any of the positions.
• 41:39
  For Reuben, is he either sent to midfield or the 10s?
• 41:42
  He's just, I don't think he's had enough time.
• 41:44
  Yeah, I was. Going to say he's not mastered.
• 41:45
  It like, no, I don't think he's mastered I.
• 41:48
  Just don't think Reuben's given him enough time to like get in
• 41:51
  to play these positions. The one the one time he did have
• 41:53
  success. Was the Leon Semi final where he
• 41:56
  got where he got the goal right, Kobe?
• 41:58
  I think that's that's ability is what?
• 42:00
  Yeah, that's. Confident that's higher up the
• 42:02
  pitch. Yeah, where he's playing him, I
• 42:04
  would personally I'd like to see in the long term Kobe played
• 42:06
  deeper in midfield, OK. But for this game, for this one
• 42:10
  off game where you're probably not looking to dominate
• 42:13
  possession and it's going to be a scrap.
• 42:15
  Yeah, I can see for this is going with Ruben, Casimiro,
• 42:18
  Nogata as the two. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 42:20
  And therefore I think it's now it's I'm going to say let's stay
• 42:23
  with Casimiro because we're talking football heritage and
• 42:26
  now choose between Agate and Pentacle.
• 42:29
  Yeah, there's a curb ago with Barrack.
• 42:30
  And on that basis, yeah, no, Brainer Gart has not done quite
• 42:33
  enough, I think, to get in. He's he's so excited.
• 42:36
  He's he's, he's I. Think he's going to?
• 42:38
  Produce a final, hopefully. Obviously he's going to say.
• 42:41
  He's great at scrapping. But you know the his best
• 42:45
  performance of the season was in January against Liverpool Field,
• 42:49
  but I haven't really seen those levels since and if anything,
• 42:53
  he's struggled in Europe. Bilbao away, he was really
• 42:57
  uncomfortable on the ball and Reuben's taken him off quite a
• 43:00
  few times. He does and this is someone who
• 43:03
  knows him really well because Reuben managed him at Sporting.
• 43:08
  So to be fair, Bilbao away he. Got 2 assists and he got the
• 43:14
  interception for the penalty thing.
• 43:16
  So like he's on the ball. He's not hasn't been good.
• 43:19
  But off the ball in the final, sometimes you just need that,
• 43:23
  that the energy. So I think it'll be important
• 43:25
  for us. But in the combined 11,
• 43:27
  unfortunately just misses, just misses now.
• 43:29
  No, no, that's fair. That's a pretty solid 2.
• 43:32
  I think it's fairly obvious. Some has to play on the left,
• 43:35
  Yeah, and. Bruno #10 Bruno has to be in the
• 43:39
  10. It has to be Solanke upfront and
• 43:42
  now it's a case of Brennan Johnson or Gun Nacho, isn't it?
• 43:49
  Yeah, no. And I think that's the hardest
• 43:52
  decision. If it was me, I'd obviously play
• 43:55
  Ahmed and there'd be a no brainer for me.
• 43:57
  Yeah, same for me. I think that he is.
• 44:00
  Hard because I love him. But yeah, if you want to put
• 44:03
  some equilibrium into, yeah, some stats quickly because
• 44:06
  Ahmed's not. Playing much Look.
• 44:09
  Brendan Johnson, the former player, has had eleven goals in
• 44:12
  the Premier League. What about goal?
• 44:15
  And here's and the stat. We always look at is gold plus
• 44:19
  assists for 90, which is good nought .6 Yeah, that's really
• 44:25
  which is really good. Yeah, that's really.
• 44:27
  Good. So yeah, that's going to be a
• 44:29
  what's Samad's out of interest, Imad?
• 44:31
  'S is going to actually be really good because yeah.
• 44:33
  Yeah, it's not the games, isn't it?
• 44:34
  So we're. Going to, we're going to.
• 44:35
  It could be similar, could be like nought point we had before.
• 44:38
  We're going to use the. Stats to our benefit.
• 44:40
  You know what it is big game. He scored.
• 44:45
  He scored against. Liverpool he scored in.
• 44:46
  City just I know he, he and he works.
• 44:49
  As he was the best. When Reuben first came.
• 44:51
  In his work rate Ahmad, he was just shining light and without
• 44:55
  his points even against the shit.
• 44:56
  Teams. God knows.
• 44:58
  Yeah, how close. We would have.
• 45:00
  Been to bottom. 3 So Ahmad seven goals and six assists.
• 45:04
  Premier League, we can, we can do all comps at a different
• 45:07
  time, but that that means obviously Johnson is ahead in
• 45:11
  terms of that. But in the P90, it's .65.
• 45:14
  That's what I was thinking. Yeah, it's good.
• 45:16
  Stats back us up, so we're going to get we get Ahmed.
• 45:20
  I also think Ahmed is the. Thing is with stats is goals and
• 45:24
  assists tell you at output but they don't tell you but the
• 45:27
  whole story. Brendan Johnson essentially's
• 45:30
  game is about scoring goals. Ahmad has a much more rounded
• 45:34
  all round games. So if he can match Johnson on
• 45:36
  output and he has to get in the team because he's overall
• 45:40
  passing, pressing and everything is.
• 45:41
  Better then working up and down the line, you know?
• 45:45
  Yeah, I agree. But yeah, Spurs found.
• 45:48
  Would obviously say Johnson because of his season that he's
• 45:52
  had despite Spurs being shined. Yeah, OK.
• 45:55
  But yeah, I'm not going to deny our boy So.
• 45:59
  So in summary. We've got, you know, the night
• 46:02
  person who said we've got Anana Casimiro Bruno Ahmad, right?
• 46:07
  Yeah. So we've got 4IN.
• 46:10
  Yeah, that's actually pretty fair because.
• 46:12
  You know who who said they would not have a single Is it Gary
• 46:16
  Neville? Gary Neville?
• 46:17
  Was it Gary Neville, Mr apart from Bruno?
• 46:20
  Apart from Bruno and we and we. Didn't even try to shove in an
• 46:23
  Ana. So like we still got this is on
• 46:26
  the basis of. Fit players, yeah, slightly
• 46:28
  different, but yeah, I mean, that shows you the actual final
• 46:31
  was relatively evenly matched, especially when you throw in the
• 46:35
  football heritage factor, right? So it's going to be a tight
• 46:38
  affair, I think. I mean issue is.
• 46:43
  How do we score a girl? That's what it comes down to.
• 46:46
  And if you look at the Spurs options in attack, Solanke.
• 46:51
  Son. John, they now have score goals,
• 46:54
  they've got a few more goal scorers on the pitch than us and
• 46:56
  that's that's where probably you'd say there's a slight
• 46:59
  differential and we've decided they've got the the back too.
• 47:03
  So they've got a stronger defence, the stronger attack and
• 47:06
  they're relying on Casaviro's vibes to carry all roads lead
• 47:11
  to. Bilbao in this final break, you
• 47:13
  know, we need to win this bloody game on Wednesday.
• 47:16
  So yeah, what's the United lineup we're going with before I
• 47:21
  ask you for your prediction? And so obviously an honour and
• 47:24
  goal back three. What we think the issue is, we
• 47:28
  don't know who's fit because. Yeah, you know, people say that
• 47:32
  Spurs have had injuries. Yeah, we're literally listening.
• 47:35
  4 of what you would, you would technically think could be a
• 47:39
  starting back 4 right in delect, in Euro, in Dalo and there's one
• 47:46
  more whose name pass me, but we are missing like key players,
• 47:52
  right? So Martinez, did you say?
• 47:54
  Yeah, Alessandro. Yeah.
• 47:56
  So you could you? Could make you could say there's
• 47:57
  four defenders that you potentially start.
• 48:00
  I don't know. We haven't seen Euro in delect
• 48:04
  in any of the recent games, so they might be out.
• 48:07
  Are we going to assume they're not playing?
• 48:09
  Let's assume they're not. For now, But yeah, if they do
• 48:12
  play, that's a bonus, I guess so.
• 48:14
  So we're going to say you're always out, Yeah.
• 48:16
  Yeah, I mean if. If he is out, I mean, you've got
• 48:19
  a team. Big pain, but they.
• 48:22
  You know, let's talk around that.
• 48:23
  Even didn't rule it out in terms of him.
• 48:26
  Starting let's Let's say he is out.
• 48:28
  And then obviously if he isn't out, you know, we can do that as
• 48:31
  well. So if he is out, is it sure,
• 48:34
  sure. Playing with Maguire, yeah, for
• 48:37
  me personally. And I, I personally don't want
• 48:41
  Lindelof, but I think Lindelof will start.
• 48:43
  I would play Mazarawi. I think he'll play Lindelof and
• 48:48
  Mazarawi right wing back. I would play Mazarawi right side
• 48:51
  centre back and Ahmad right right wing back.
• 48:55
  I think he'll go more defensive than mine.
• 48:57
  This is why I was like oh it doesn't matter what formation
• 48:59
  because I'm still going to play 4 defenders.
• 49:01
  I think Ruby might play 5 defenders.
• 49:04
  I agree, that's what it's going to do.
• 49:06
  And I will do what you you would do.
• 49:09
  So assuming euro is. Fit.
• 49:11
  How does that change it? It's it's it's.
• 49:15
  It's a touch and go Euro versus sure because sure is the best
• 49:20
  passer from deep and I think Ruben will play Casimiro Legate
• 49:24
  and Shaw's distribution would be really useful in this game.
• 49:28
  Euro, I think carries the ball really well and he's more
• 49:32
  athletic. And I think when you've got the,
• 49:35
  you know, we're talking to Brandon Johnson speed, you'd
• 49:39
  probably say yeah, if Euro's fit, I'm.
• 49:42
  Starting him and then at some point, not necessarily taking
• 49:46
  the sorry euro off, but then I'd get Luke sure on the pitch.
• 49:50
  So you say you'd play Euro, McGuire and Matsum Warren.
• 49:55
  So you're back free. So who?
• 49:58
  Who, Who's in what? Position Who's on the left?
• 50:01
  So wingback would. Be no, no, sorry, the left
• 50:03
  centre back. Who you put but euro?
• 50:06
  So you put playing euro on the left side again and then yeah,
• 50:08
  left wing back is doggy, right? Yeah, no matter what.
• 50:11
  And then right wing back you say you'd do how bad?
• 50:13
  But you think he'll actually go Mesrawi?
• 50:16
  I think so, yeah. Because he'll.
• 50:17
  Do Lindelof on the right. Side of the defence and then as
• 50:20
  worry is the wing back, yeah. And then either euro or sure.
• 50:23
  As left centre back, yes, yeah and.
• 50:26
  But for my team, as the right wing back, I would have Ahmad.
• 50:29
  Yeah, OK, fine. So yeah.
• 50:31
  And then the. To I think he plays Castamero
• 50:33
  with guard. I think so, yeah.
• 50:34
  That's what he's been doing in this big game you got the legs
• 50:37
  with. A guard, say, yeah, Castamero.
• 50:40
  You know, he does what he's been doing in his campaign and he's
• 50:44
  Castamero. Key set piece threat yeah
• 50:47
  leader, leader, but he's. He's one who?
• 50:50
  Can pass it forward. Yeah, he's got the line, Brain.
• 50:53
  And that will allow Bruno to. To play higher up.
• 50:56
  I think that's, again, I wouldn't do it.
• 50:58
  Yeah, but. And technically speaking,
• 51:01
  Casimiro probably shouldn't start this game, but it's a
• 51:04
  final. Yeah, it's a final, but he, he.
• 51:07
  Is the one in midfield who can only pass it forward like, well,
• 51:11
  as in you play Bruno deeper, it's the other option, right?
• 51:14
  Yeah. But yeah, I wouldn't do that for
• 51:18
  for this. So.
• 51:18
  So Bruno's, obviously. Playing in one of the advanced
• 51:21
  tennis positions and then I think, I think the manager.
• 51:26
  Goes with Ahmed and I think. He will just.
• 51:31
  About somehow play Boyland, I don't know how I think I would
• 51:37
  take a risk. I think I'd go completely
• 51:40
  different team for what I predict Ruben will be.
• 51:43
  So I'm going to have a mad at right wing back which will
• 51:46
  allow. Me to play.
• 51:48
  Garnacho and I would start Garnacho in the 10 position.
• 51:53
  Yeah, yeah. So you've got ammo and on the
• 51:56
  Bruno 10, Bruno 10, and now the big.
• 52:00
  Decision of the striker. I might be tempted COVID to push
• 52:10
  Garnacho. Up 1 and give him a.
• 52:12
  Free roll. It's basic fault 9 basically
• 52:15
  have no striker and play another someone at 10 that would that
• 52:20
  would probably for me Mason mount.
• 52:23
  OK, yeah, because I like Mason Mount, so no concept catch.
• 52:26
  So I, I, I I. Would if I could, I would think
• 52:30
  about Kobe instead of Bugatti, but I don't think he will and
• 52:34
  he'll want the legs. But I'm very attacked.
• 52:37
  I just naturally want to play. It was like Fergie.
• 52:41
  In the I naturally want to play football, so.
• 52:42
  This is why I'm like the 343 can be very offensive or very
• 52:47
  defensive depending on what players you put on the pitch.
• 52:50
  And, and I feel Reuben will will be more conservative, but I
• 52:55
  don't mind that because it is a final and it's also potentially
• 53:00
  OK. There's a difference between
• 53:01
  league football and cup football and the difference in cup
• 53:04
  football is the draw score line is is is not as negative as in
• 53:09
  league football. In league football because of
• 53:11
  one point for a win. Sorry, three player for a win,
• 53:13
  one for a draw. You have to be more naturally
• 53:16
  attacking while in cut football, the draw game state is actually
• 53:20
  fine and and therefore and also you got 120 minutes potentially.
• 53:25
  So if you want to turn the levers and this is how I see
• 53:28
  Ruben doing it. I think he goes to his bench and
• 53:31
  you will see that the mounts and the guard nachos come from the
• 53:34
  bench and I'm more natural to go, oh, you know what, just
• 53:36
  start these guys, They just go for them.
• 53:38
  I I see him basically holding them back.
• 53:42
  Yeah. And at 60 minutes you'll see him
• 53:44
  release his bench guides. And it might be Luke Short, it
• 53:46
  might be Garnacho and it might be Mason Mount in a triple sub
• 53:50
  on 65 to turn the game. And hopefully we're, we're,
• 53:54
  we're in the game stage where it's where it's level or ahead.
• 53:58
  And we saw that the, the, the Bilbao second leg as an example,
• 54:03
  right? It was all a bit messy.
• 54:04
  It was all a bit. And then he went to the bench
• 54:07
  and they turned the game. Well, that's what I'm hoping.
• 54:09
  God help our nerves in that situation.
• 54:11
  Yeah, I know. What do you think with the line
• 54:13
  up? What?
• 54:13
  What would you? What would you go with?
• 54:16
  So with the 2. 10s I'm going to obviously go Bruno, I'd go
• 54:20
  Garnacho and then I would play Kobe as the Force 9 and then,
• 54:28
  yeah, I'd get him to drop in and then Garnacho as the most
• 54:33
  advanced, you know, running through.
• 54:36
  And then Reuben, that's right. Britain, that's got the ability
• 54:40
  to obviously get into space as well.
• 54:42
  Plus you've got Ahmad who's up and down, so he should be able
• 54:45
  to penetrate the lines as well. And then I would actually do
• 54:50
  probably what Reuben would do on the night if the game's tight in
• 54:53
  terms of bringing on the likes of Luke Shaw, Mason Mount.
• 54:56
  I believe like, especially when you watch footballs over the
• 54:59
  last say, like 1520 years, that generally does win you finals
• 55:04
  rather than going gun high as much as I want to.
• 55:07
  But just generally like Mourinho changed football in that sense
• 55:11
  of like how to win finals. He he, he made it even more draw
• 55:16
  state within finals. And that's why as much as I
• 55:20
  would love to go for the 1st 20 minutes, Allen, Manchester
• 55:22
  United, we got to be in the game.
• 55:25
  So it is the classic 60 minutes being there.
• 55:28
  And then if we're leading grade, then you can change it up
• 55:30
  anyway. And then if we're chasing, I
• 55:33
  think the momentum of a Linkshaw, a Mason Mount coming
• 55:36
  off the bench, even a Hoyland, because Hoyland would.
• 55:40
  Give a little bit of. Chaos because you could just
• 55:42
  tell him you're fresh, just smash them, right, in terms of
• 55:47
  like trying with the runs and if he is going to get into a WWF
• 55:50
  fight, at least try and get Romero to, you know, get a red
• 55:54
  card. So I'll go with the mayhem, like
• 55:57
  with the Subs. Yeah.
• 55:58
  All right, Steve. Yeah, give it to your 11.
• 56:00
  Yeah, I was just thinking about them by andeering goal going for
• 56:03
  the riffs. I mean, I mean, I'm going to get
• 56:04
  a. Hyundai pack, I think there's
• 56:07
  one. Position I'm not sure about, but
• 56:08
  as I say it, I might decide. So obviously Ananda McGuire,
• 56:13
  yeah, in terms of the right centre back, I think McGuire got
• 56:16
  great character. By the way.
• 56:17
  Do you hear Ron say that on the line?
• 56:18
  Yeah, I did. I did.
• 56:19
  Perhaps you're on? Laughing here.
• 56:21
  Yeah. McGuire I'm going to assume
• 56:23
  Yoro's going to play. You know what?
• 56:26
  I'd play Luke Shaw even even if you've got to take him up, just,
• 56:29
  you know, switch it up. Distribution, like you said,
• 56:31
  Casimiro and a guy, Shame he's going to come up after 10
• 56:34
  minutes. Because you've I know you've
• 56:35
  always stretched it, but that's fine.
• 56:38
  Yeah, because then. You can OK last him as an
• 56:41
  attacking optional no, so I might be 1 so the OK the
• 56:44
  interesting thing. Is if you believe that Luke Shaw
• 56:46
  is a fitness risk, yeah, you should start.
• 56:50
  Because the problem is if you bring him on and then no, then
• 56:53
  he gets injured, you're double subbing.
• 56:55
  Yeah, that's true. So you should always, if you
• 56:57
  have a fitness first player and you don't know how many minutes
• 56:59
  they can do, Yeah, You basically run them and you tell them the
• 57:02
  moment you're gassed. Yes.
• 57:03
  Signed. Did he start the euro?
• 57:05
  Final and he started the semi final in the euro think he
• 57:09
  started he started the last two games.
• 57:11
  So if you if you don't know if he can.
• 57:12
  Do 4560 ninety 120. Yeah.
• 57:17
  Because if you've subbed someone on and they hit, it's the
• 57:20
  problem. Yes, I'd go with that.
• 57:22
  As the three, I think that's. Pretty decent.
• 57:24
  And then yeah, Dogu, left wing back.
• 57:25
  I agree with you. Ahmad, right wing back, just the
• 57:28
  energy, the attacking threat. I'd have them on the right,
• 57:31
  Casanero and Agate holding Bruno, obviously as a 10.
• 57:36
  And then my second ten, I was decided between Garnacho or
• 57:40
  Mason Melon. I think I'm going to go Mason,
• 57:43
  Mel, just you know, that the, oh, you're going to say Kobe
• 57:45
  Manning for a second. No, we're going through the big
• 57:48
  game again, yeah. England finals.
• 57:50
  League finals. Champions League finals,
• 57:52
  obviously. Buzzing from the second leg
• 57:53
  against Bilbao at Old Trafford. Get the two goals energy yeah.
• 57:58
  So I'd go with them to and I would play Hoylan just I know
• 58:02
  he's shot, but just he's a, he's a, he's a big guy, right?
• 58:06
  He's a he's a presence, At least the other reason I do.
• 58:10
  Kobe, he's never going to do that.
• 58:12
  Well, actually he might, but it's unlikely.
• 58:14
  But the other reason why I would do the Kobe mainly thing is
• 58:17
  because it will mind fuck Spurs a little bit.
• 58:20
  Like the way they're going to set up possibly, but then I
• 58:23
  think so. Based on that team on the bench,
• 58:26
  I've got Kobe Gonacho. That's about it in.
• 58:30
  Terms of my threat I. Guess like you know if.
• 58:33
  As a create those two on though I was going to say.
• 58:36
  Because because of what? Hoyland's done in the last two
• 58:38
  games. We're going to assume it would
• 58:40
  be the same. And then bring on Kobe and he's
• 58:43
  in and around the penalty area. He can do his.
• 58:46
  And Garnett. You know what?
• 58:47
  Garnett. Is like he wants to score a goal
• 58:49
  in the European final. He will run like crazy against
• 58:52
  them. So dribble in and going for it
• 58:54
  like. That's my team, I think, and
• 58:57
  what your team I. Think it's an interesting
• 59:00
  discussion. A lot of people look at the the
• 59:02
  system and go, oh, you're outnumbered in midfield in the
• 59:05
  system. Yeah, by nature.
• 59:07
  I've heard that so many times. I'm like, you don't have to be.
• 59:10
  If you play Mason Brass, you played in Bruno.
• 59:13
  Regarding Casimiro, you're four against three.
• 59:15
  You're outnumber Spurs. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 59:17
  And they're quite. But you got you got to give it
• 59:19
  to Spurs. Athletically, they're miles
• 59:21
  better than us, but they're they're because they've got
• 59:23
  injuries in. Centre midfield, right, So in
• 59:26
  the engine ring. Not so much.
• 59:28
  It's more their number 8 attacking side of it.
• 59:32
  Their engine room is gonna be good so.
• 59:35
  Yeah, but what he's done is my point is, which is smart is you
• 59:38
  could make some mount in there. So you've you've you've gone
• 59:41
  matched them with Ng with I'd love to play Dynacho or I'm out.
• 59:45
  There by just you've got 2, you've got 4.
• 59:47
  Midfielders, right, So you've got an opportunity to.
• 59:50
  Take on Spurs in the centre of the pitch with his team.
• 59:54
  You could potentially do more of a Bilbao first stuff in the in
• 59:59
  the first leg, you know, take it out, take it away from them.
• 1:00:03
  Yeah, it's just going to be one of the.
• 1:00:04
  Great trips if we do win on Wednesday at one of the great
• 1:00:08
  podcast series. As well, I think that this will.
• 1:00:12
  Overtake Stockholm for me, we had a similar feeling because
• 1:00:18
  going into that it was Champions League on the line as well.
• 1:00:21
  You'd on Sky Sports News. I didn't feel your favourite
• 1:00:25
  word pivotal. I didn't feel it was as pivotal.
• 1:00:27
  I felt at the time we probably did.
• 1:00:29
  That I don't know. We felt it at the time, looking
• 1:00:31
  back now. Even I'm saying.
• 1:00:32
  Even at the time I. Felt it was pivotal and saying I
• 1:00:35
  feel at the time now, yeah, this is double double pivot.
• 1:00:39
  This is this is my double pivot before 231.
• 1:00:43
  This is like, you know? We're in shock and like we need
• 1:00:48
  our heart resuscitated like we do like that, that that is the
• 1:00:52
  boost the defib out. Yeah.
• 1:00:53
  The defib the the result on Wednesday.
• 1:00:56
  It it's it's critical. I think the difference with
• 1:00:59
  Stockholm there was always, there's an element of, yeah, we
• 1:01:04
  were the favourites for that final as as much as Jose
• 1:01:08
  Bastard's fight the the game. Yeah, yeah, we were the we
• 1:01:11
  weren't the favourites for that final.
• 1:01:14
  This is a coin, coin toss. And the the jeopardy is that
• 1:01:19
  because we played so bad in the Premier League, we don't know,
• 1:01:22
  right? Because in Europa we're
• 1:01:24
  undefeated. Well, Spurs are the only team
• 1:01:26
  that are worse than us. That haven't been relegated, but
• 1:01:27
  we're undefeated in Europa I. Know the counter argument is
• 1:01:30
  going to be like I was the premiership only team that are
• 1:01:33
  undefeated in. Europe, I think, yeah, it's
• 1:01:35
  really interesting. I haven't gone.
• 1:01:37
  Through the stats properly, but I was listening to this overlap
• 1:01:41
  pod. They do breakdown.
• 1:01:43
  Is it breakdown? And I'd got in like 1/3 into it.
• 1:01:47
  But they were looking at the stats comparing United in the
• 1:01:49
  Premier League versus the Europe and Spurs in the Premier League
• 1:01:53
  versus Europe. And they're saying, oh, United's
• 1:01:55
  much, much better in Europe than in the Premier League.
• 1:01:57
  But the difference with Spurs wasn't as much, right?
• 1:01:59
  OK, yeah. And I don't know whether they
• 1:02:00
  discussed this, but it just clicked in my head.
• 1:02:02
  It just shows you that what what we've talked about, which is
• 1:02:06
  that when the physicality level goes down, this team can play.
• 1:02:10
  And I think with Spurs it it doesn't make any difference.
• 1:02:13
  The team's already physical. They've they've got the runners,
• 1:02:16
  they've got the the energy and they score enough goals.
• 1:02:18
  They score enough goals. While for us, that dip in, in
• 1:02:24
  physicality that allows us to compete.
• 1:02:26
  So it shows this, these aren't a bunch of bad players.
• 1:02:29
  It's just that in the Premier League when you come against the
• 1:02:32
  the extra level of physicality, we haven't coped with it.
• 1:02:34
  But in the Europa League we've done well.
• 1:02:37
  Yeah, we've actually played, we've actually done well.
• 1:02:38
  We've we've you know, we've had our negative moments, we've had
• 1:02:42
  our difficult moments as well. Where do you stand on the fact
• 1:02:45
  that because it's Spurs and let's try and park the whole.
• 1:02:49
  Final side like if it's Premier League team and it's Spurs who
• 1:02:55
  who generally like to high press and obviously you know they can
• 1:02:58
  school goals like what do you have concerns or like how do you
• 1:03:03
  feel that would play out the. Thing is though, Spurs are below
• 1:03:07
  us in the league so it's not like I know but.
• 1:03:09
  If you know, everyone keeps bringing up about the fact that
• 1:03:12
  they've beaten us three times this season and is undefeated I
• 1:03:16
  think against us since he's taken over, lads of Spurs, lads
• 1:03:20
  of Spurs. So that element of like and nice
• 1:03:25
  had to play against us, right? In terms of like the football
• 1:03:27
  he's he's using, he can score goals against us.
• 1:03:31
  So like where do you say with that in terms of how how the
• 1:03:35
  game could simulate? I I think if it's Alan, she
• 1:03:37
  knows something special. I just think that we by his
• 1:03:41
  style clearly fits right. Like they battered us all
• 1:03:44
  traffic. Didn't you went to that?
• 1:03:46
  Doesn't really know yet, but I think with the game of white.
• 1:03:48
  Hart Lane was more evenly matched, was certainly 10 Hogs
• 1:03:50
  still live first, yes. Yeah, and that there's a big
• 1:03:53
  difference. For one, we would, this is what
• 1:03:54
  I keep saying. Under 10 hog, we're defensively
• 1:03:56
  useless. I feel that we can defend now.
• 1:03:58
  And the bit we haven't sold is Spurs generally, and I've seen
• 1:04:02
  them, it hasn't been this case, play a very high line and it
• 1:04:05
  seemed to have gone away from that.
• 1:04:07
  And they apparently in the Boded Glim game, they went away from
• 1:04:10
  that. Yeah, stop pressing so high and
• 1:04:12
  playing a much more conservative.
• 1:04:14
  So it'd be really interesting to see what they do.
• 1:04:17
  And This is why I'm I'm interested in why I was saying
• 1:04:20
  Garnacho. He's the one guy I think could
• 1:04:21
  get in maybe in behind Yeah, from from their highline, but we
• 1:04:25
  don't know how they're going to play Yeah, and but God actually
• 1:04:27
  could affect the. Game from the bench or start, I
• 1:04:30
  almost feel because it's the final.
• 1:04:32
  And just going to compromise and not be as highline as you would
• 1:04:37
  in the Premier League, say early on in the season as an example,
• 1:04:40
  or even in the League Cup game, right, Was we like 3-4, one
• 1:04:45
  down, 4 nil down, then we got it back to 4/3.
• 1:04:47
  Was it? Yeah, There you go.
• 1:04:48
  So and we. Were all over them.
• 1:04:51
  Yeah, they could have. Yeah, first class.
• 1:04:52
  We had enough chances. To to be in front of them.
• 1:04:55
  But yeah, this is what? I mean, so like I'm curious to
• 1:04:58
  see because you're saying and has this way of doing us over,
• 1:05:02
  but then now you're saying, but he's not going to use it.
• 1:05:03
  He's going to revert to. So because it's final.
• 1:05:06
  That's that's what. Happens, but that's The thing
• 1:05:08
  is. It does it then play into our
• 1:05:10
  hands. Yeah.
• 1:05:10
  But this is the thing of the intangibles of the final that
• 1:05:14
  you've just said. He then makes a decision that
• 1:05:17
  is. Detrimental, like Pep Guardiola,
• 1:05:20
  is the ultimate. One of doing yeah, true.
• 1:05:21
  I mean we have the FA Cup final Yeah, just now on the was it
• 1:05:26
  Saturday and he brings in a guy I've never heard of off the
• 1:05:30
  bench. Overthinks it.
• 1:05:32
  It was like what what sorry. He bring puts Foden on he puts
• 1:05:36
  on the wing and then some Argentinian kid who I don't I've
• 1:05:39
  never heard of who played for City yeah comes on.
• 1:05:42
  I'm like, you're trying to win this game, what are you actually
• 1:05:46
  doing? Which is overthinking it.
• 1:05:49
  And he does it all the. Time and so.
• 1:05:50
  I think the Mason Mount, the Chelsea, the Chelsea final, the
• 1:05:54
  Hammerts final, I'm going to call it the Mason Mount final
• 1:05:57
  because he gave the assist. He's he's our in house lorry.
• 1:05:59
  Yeah, I was. Saying I do like Mason Mount.
• 1:06:02
  He's. He's a good player.
• 1:06:04
  I think he's going to say, good God, I think I.
• 1:06:06
  Think what else has he done with it?
• 1:06:07
  I think he's going to say I love Laurie Whitwell.
• 1:06:09
  Yeah, it it would be great if if.
• 1:06:11
  I mean, he's had his moment in the in that semi, but it would
• 1:06:13
  be good if and he does get an opportunity to do something good
• 1:06:17
  here because he's he's obviously, well, he's ex
• 1:06:19
  Chelsea. So there's that.
• 1:06:21
  But in that final, I think Pep didn't play.
• 1:06:25
  He doesn't, yeah. Yeah, it was.
• 1:06:28
  It's just it's. So this is a thing of of finals
• 1:06:31
  do matter and and is will what will he do?
• 1:06:37
  Will he go with the and way when the and football the he's got?
• 1:06:41
  They score a lot of goals is by playing a 217 formation, which
• 1:06:44
  is just done. And that's why they they concede
• 1:06:47
  a lot of goals, right. And I don't think they're going
• 1:06:50
  to do that. I think they will be more
• 1:06:51
  reserved. Naturally.
• 1:06:52
  The players on the pitch also will be, you know, will we see
• 1:06:55
  Pyro and the doggy just flying up into the penalty area?
• 1:06:58
  I'm not sure we'll see and I think hopefully it's it is more
• 1:07:03
  like KG battle where the intangibles, the badge, the
• 1:07:06
  support of the heritage, the. Heritage and all of that comes
• 1:07:10
  into play. The big thing is the first goal
• 1:07:12
  because obviously we consistently we we give up the
• 1:07:15
  first goal. So it depends like who gets it,
• 1:07:19
  how, how quickly so many factors the one thing left to.
• 1:07:23
  Do you guys and that is predictions so Ash still.
• 1:07:28
  View what's. Going to happen on Wednesday
• 1:07:31
  night, Manchester United. To Tottenham Hotspur 1 Is that
• 1:07:37
  was it 90 minutes? Yeah, I thought I was going to
• 1:07:43
  say 21, I said 2. One before the FA Cup final
• 1:07:45
  where all of you predicted we were going to lose and we won.
• 1:07:49
  And I'm going to predict we're definitely going to win this
• 1:07:51
  game, I think, or 90 minutes. I really do.
• 1:07:56
  But I, I, you know what's going to happen.
• 1:07:58
  It's going to go to extra time. Someone's going to get injured
• 1:08:00
  and we're going to get a text from Jay of that's how would you
• 1:08:03
  say about not resting and then he.
• 1:08:07
  Scores the winner. I'm going to go, I'm going to go
• 1:08:10
  22 penalties and an honour is the hero.
• 1:08:15
  He's going to pull off. He's going to pull off some some
• 1:08:18
  craziness and the winning penalty will be Ratsmith
• 1:08:22
  Hoyland, not Marcus Rashford. Yeah, Well, well, because
• 1:08:28
  Rashford wouldn't be. Well, Marcus Sancho, Rashford
• 1:08:31
  and Anthony. No, I mean a red shirt they'd be
• 1:08:35
  if you could pick. You know, is it WWE when it's
• 1:08:40
  like the the money guy comes in and everyone's like shocked and
• 1:08:44
  like someone's come out of nowhere.
• 1:08:46
  Oh OK, if you could pick. 1. Guy to come out of nowhere in a
• 1:08:51
  kind of appearance to off the bat, Joshua Zerksy turns up with
• 1:08:57
  his hamstrings OK, and he comes on.
• 1:09:01
  The And he does the gun, he's. Going to do it anyway.
• 1:09:05
  So like the surprise Joshua Zerksy penalty could be the one.
• 1:09:09
  But no, I mean, yeah, I'm going to say 2 two dozen 2254 on pens.
• 1:09:20
  I don't care if we. Win.
• 1:09:21
  I'm going to. Be all over during Ron's going
• 1:09:23
  to be all over you tip? Yeah.
• 1:09:24
  He's going to have the Red Bull. Bruise knees and Mike fall off.
• 1:09:28
  So, you know, I'm better check my private medical if it covers
• 1:09:31
  being in Spain and and and and we're going to be two one down.
• 1:09:35
  So we're going to, it's going to be McGuire with an 89th minute
• 1:09:39
  or 119th minute, whatever. We laughed.
• 1:09:42
  But this actually. Happened against Leon Ray with
• 1:09:44
  the last minute winner Stay Yeah.
• 1:09:47
  Well, I'm going to be sitting in my prawn.
• 1:09:49
  Sandwich seats near gym in and amongst the inner slots.
• 1:09:52
  If I bump into one of them I might give them a stats pack 10.
• 1:09:55
  Pounds tell them what I feel. But yeah, I think it's.
• 1:09:58
  It's going to be cagey. I can't see it being a
• 1:10:00
  comfortable win. I think, yeah, I can see it
• 1:10:03
  going to extra time. So I'm going to go one O during
• 1:10:06
  the 90 minutes. I think maybe Mason Mount might
• 1:10:10
  score in the 19, get our goal, we'll concede obviously.
• 1:10:14
  And then in extra time, Bruno Fernandez is going to get the
• 1:10:19
  winner and we're going to win 21 and we're going to win the most
• 1:10:22
  pivotal match since who knows, maybe in the last few decades it
• 1:10:27
  could be since the 2008 European Cup.
• 1:10:31
  I could argue it's more pivotal. Than that, because at that time
• 1:10:34
  we were winning and if we'd have lost then it would have been
• 1:10:36
  disappointing. But from where you can go, the
• 1:10:40
  two scenarios I mentioned, I think it's that pivotal, yeah.
• 1:10:45
  So if. 1990 FA. Cup final going all that way
• 1:10:49
  back? Possibly yeah, possibly.
• 1:10:50
  That's the. Question.
• 1:10:51
  Yeah, that's what's that 35 years, 35 years ago, obviously.
• 1:10:56
  You can read it back to Nothing. Forests winning that game in the
• 1:11:02
  FA Cup, was it Fifth round, Fourth round?
• 1:11:05
  Mark Robbins. Yeah.
• 1:11:06
  One nil that that pivotal goal. And then it got into the final
• 1:11:10
  and then they, you know. To your point, the the kudos and
• 1:11:14
  that led to the Top Winners Cup in 1991.
• 1:11:17
  So what you're saying, Steve, is when we're in Budapest at the
• 1:11:19
  Champions League final next year, oh, then we're going to
• 1:11:22
  trace you up all the way back to Anthony's equaliser against
• 1:11:26
  Liverpool and Ahmed in March 20. 23 yeah, but yeah, it does feel
• 1:11:34
  23 yeah. So there's only one thing left
• 1:11:37
  to. Say for one last time on this
• 1:11:39
  podcast series, out the fucking Reds.
• 1:11:41
  Let's. Go kids.
• 1:11:59
  Won't take them. Anywhere.