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FOOTBALL IS BACK (and Life)! · Football is Life

0:01
Hey folks, welcome to our latest episode of Football
0:04
is Life. We are back and we are full strength
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as we've got Waza back. Love to have you back
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in Waza. It's never the same without you. Happy
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Friday, boys. And how are we? 1 -1, I'll take
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it. I was going to say, Mike, how are you feeling?
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How are you feeling after that? we're going to
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get into that game obviously there was another
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game though that we have to talk holy if you
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that that is just the most polarizing set of
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pictures i've ever seen in my entire life like
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how can you go from just the highest of highs
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to to basically yogurt on white rice like jesus
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I know. I feel, yeah. But, Mike, you must be
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feeling okay, right, coming out of the Metropolitano
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with everything being level, taking to the Emirates.
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You're clearly a better team than them. I think
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that showed for most of that game. Most of it.
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They pressed hard in the second half, though.
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Holy cow. I don't know why. They had a lot of
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chances. Raya was like, he kept it 1 -1. Yeah,
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I think they are still defended well, but yeah,
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I think, I just don't know if they've got enough.
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They don't look like a team that have enough
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going forward to really trouble. I think that
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the, you know, worst case scenario, it's going
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to be a, you know, they could take you to penalties
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maybe, but we'll see. Anyway, let's start with
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the other fiction of the waza, right? Let's go
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to the beauty of football. We've been moaning
1:26
all season about... how boring football's become.
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There's no clash of styles. Everyone plays sideways
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and backwards. The Premier League is now all
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long throws and corners. And we don't really
1:39
have this room for creativity. And then what
1:41
we have, we have PSG against Bayern Munich in
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the Champions League. 5 -4 to PSG in Paris. One
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of my colleagues was there with his two sons.
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Yeah, PSG fan. What a night. They will never
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forget that night. And this is a game I think
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everyone was talking about in terms of like,
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just, yeah, this is like, yeah, this is, this
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is what we've been saying. This is what we're
2:02
missing. Like we want more of this. Right. So
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what was, yeah, what was your, what was your
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reaction to that? That outstanding, maybe, maybe
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the, one of the greatest semifinals ever in champions
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league football. I mean, you are referencing
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the one old, right? I don't know. I think that's
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because knockout football is the greatest piece
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of entertainment you can have because it's anyone's
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game. And I just wish that the Premier League
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felt a bit more knockout football -y. Obviously,
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it's a league, so it's a massive contradiction.
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But I don't know. I think what's actually fascinating
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is the fact that you have so many former Premier
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League players. playing out of their skins and
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looking like absolute Ballon d 'Or contenders
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here in each of these teams, right? It's fascinating.
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Like, look at Michel Alisse. He's about to, like,
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he's a genuine contender for the Ballon d 'Or.
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And from Palace? What? What was happening? Like,
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why was, where was this in Palace? Obviously,
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like, when you have a stacked team like Bayern
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Munich behind you, you're going to do exceptionally
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well, right? And Luis Diaz looks a whole different,
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a whole different player. He looks so consistent.
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Like, he looks so consistent in what he's doing.
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Like, his goal right at the end was an absolute
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worldie. But PSG, Kavaskelia, oh, my God. Oh,
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my goodness. I can't believe no British club
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got him. Like, I don't understand how that happened.
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But, like, dear God, he's on a mission. He's
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on an absolute mission. But, I mean, I think
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the thing that I walked away looking at that
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was, like, it's unfortunate that this is the
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semi -final this that is not the semi -final
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that can't be the semi -final because i swear
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like it's just too like that should be the final
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that should be the final game and i think that's
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the biggest takeaway for me of like i wish that
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i wish that the the the biggest travesty about
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this year's champions league has actually been
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the sort of knockout stages like how it was so
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divided of like having such an incredible one
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side And then the other one being like a warm
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glass of water. Like, I don't really understand.
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But I don't know. I'm here for it, though. I'm
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going to enjoy the semifinals while I can. I'm
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going to just cram whoever wins that final tie,
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the winner of the Champions League. I don't need
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to watch anymore. There you go. Wazza's paying
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out already once they get through that one, Mike.
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What did you make of that game, Mike, if you
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saw it all? So I was at my oldest son's graduation
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at Northeastern. Shout out Huskies. So I was
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watching the results on my phone and just like,
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wow. And went back and saw the highlights. What
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a game. Just from the highlights. Wish I could
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have seen it live, but I was cheering on my son.
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And yeah, I agree with Waza. For sure, this is
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the final. I'm watching that going, even if we
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get past Athletico. It's ridiculous. I mean,
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anything can happen in one game, but those two
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teams are obnoxious. They are just absolutely
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obnoxious. And it's a separate class. Nine goals
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in one match. I mean, it was fantastic. Do you
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know what the amazing thing was, though? I think
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it's amazing what happens when you actually play
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forward, right? Isn't it? Imagine that. Records
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abandoned. Imagine having players that... their
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first instinct is to play forward like I feel
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like it used to be. What's that? Yeah, yeah.
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And I think what happened is that you've got
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these, like, it was just, I think it's that the
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defending wasn't even like, you weren't going,
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oh, this is just like two calamitous defenses.
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It was the level of attacking plays was elite.
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And I mean, like Harry Kane, but this is what
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I said about Harry Kane, as much as, you know,
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obviously, you know. don't want England to do
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well at the World Cup. I've always said the same
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thing about Harry Kane is that he's not only
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a goal scorer, his vision of pass, like the pass
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for Diaz for the fourth goal was, I mean, it's
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just utter filth. It's outrageous, right? And
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he did that at Spurs. I remember when him and
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Son were playing together, like he would drop
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deep and make those passes that you'd see Wayne
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Rooney, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, those types
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of passes. You go, it's unbelievable to watch.
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two teams like you say and just going like yeah
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there wasn't i mean you can always analyze goals
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and go could you know could you have you know
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showed you know showed them down the line and
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there's always things but i just think it was
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just like two teams that believe that they're
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the best teams that actually when they're they're
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they're attacking players get the ball they weren't
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afraid of losing the ball right and people don't
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want to play forward and it's amazing like you
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show oh that's that's why it's called the beautiful
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game um we've somehow managed and i don't know
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what's happened i think it's like It was like,
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you know, maybe it starts with Pep and stuff
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like that, and it's this idea of more methodical
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possession -based football, and people start
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adopting the ideas and principles they don't
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have as good players, and then you start getting
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this dilute, and I think you're seeing this this
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year with people going, like you've heard Arne
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Slott talking about goals from open play being
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an issue. Mikel Arteta, two, three years ago,
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Arsenal were, to me, they were a free -flowing
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attacking team that I really enjoy watching,
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and they've become what we see now, and they're
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the poster boys now. in the Premier League for
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this, right? They get overly criticised for that
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reason. But you do start to sort of go, you know,
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it's like people are, it's almost like this over,
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like everyone's jumped on this bandwagon now
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where it's like, it's got to be long throws,
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it's got to be corners. And it's like, I think
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what PSG and Bayern proved is, guys, this still
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worked. like allowing your attacking players
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to go and do what they're really good at and
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giving them that freedom. Like, yeah, you will
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concede more goals, but nobody wants clean sheets.
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I know that we, I think Simeone said, oh, he
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would have hated it if it was, you know, we've
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conceded four goals, five goals, but nobody's
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paying to watch like people scratching their
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way to like a clean sheet. Like, you know, you
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want to see, yeah, the blockbuster saves the
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blocks. It's exciting, but that's, but you want,
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what you want to see is attacking players. having
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the freedom to go and create. Right. And I think
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that's what we saw in spades. So what, what a
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game of football. I think it's great that a few
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years ago, they got rid of the whole notion of
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away goals matter more, which is why you see
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some of this, right? Like, because now it doesn't
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matter if it's five, four, and you don't have
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to win by seven. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, that
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was a smart move to fix that. Definitely. Well,
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then, then we have the other side of the coin
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and the other half of the draw, the diluted half,
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and then Arsenal were in, you know, was a, Very
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professional first half performance from Arsenal.
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Very controlled. They were the better team. They
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obviously get the penalty. And the second half,
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Atletico came back in. Arsenal finished quite
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strongly. Lots of controversy in terms of both
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managers' antics, but Simeone's mainly, as well
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as some of the... I mean, everything you can
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say and hate about Arteta. There is no manager
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of more shithousery. than that asshole. Well,
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do you know, Waza, am I not fair? Like, is this
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not a bit of pot kettle? No, it's not. No, it's
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not. There are degrees of shithousery. I think
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Arteta is just about as bad as, like, in his
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own way. Is he not, Waza? I mean... The qualifier
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there, in his own way. No, Simeone is in a league
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unto his own of being... No, he's just got tenure.
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He's just doing it longer. Oh, stop it. He's
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an asshole. I think that Simeone on the pitch
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is a complete arsehole. I think that Arteta off
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the pitch is a complete arsehole. I think that's
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like, because there is no, there is no press
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conference that I hate more than an Arteta press
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conference. It's just absolute agony. Like there
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will be the slimmest glimmer of an excuse that
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can be plucked out of the sky. And it's like,
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oh, dry grass. And it'll just be like, I want
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to just shoot myself in the face. Grass is too
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long. the grass and it's like yeah analysis my
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was analysis two i was like perfect that's it
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that's it yeah i'm sorry but and don't give me
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the thing is that you know what the thing is
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the reason that i actually forgive simione is
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here is because he's such a lovable villain like
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you love to hate him he is a villain that you
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absolutely like whenever whenever you as a neutral
10:26
watch an atletico match you always want it to
10:29
kick off. You always want to see Simeone get
10:32
a red card. Like, I think that he's, like, probably
10:34
got the record number apart from Jose. And, like,
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you want those lovable villains on the sideline.
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Like, I would love a Simeone -Jose Mourinho match.
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Oh, my God. Oh my god, that's going to be rated
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15 before you can even go ahead and start watching
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the stream. I don't think kids would be allowed.
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That's what I want. The thing that I think I
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get frustrated about Arteta is that he's kind
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of like a keyboard warrior of managers. He's
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just there cyberbullying. Grow up. Just get involved.
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Roll up your sleeves. Be a bit more aggressive.
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I don't know. I just want to say a bit more from
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Arteta. He talks about this fire. I don't really...
11:12
I never see it. It's more like just sort of a
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flicker from a lighter. Like, I don't know. Yeah.
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I mean, look, the interesting thing for me is
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this game. We're talking about antics, and there
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was no talk of... players being great or anything
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like that, to be honest, it was not. It was compelling
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in terms of it was tense. It was very intense.
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But what made it compelling was the decisions
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that were given and weren't given and overturned.
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And Mike, keen to get your take as an Arsenal
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fan on what you make, because Mikel Arteta gave
11:40
his thoughts after the game and so did Simeone.
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So, yeah, I don't know. What did you make of
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the controversy around the refereeing and VAR
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decisions in that game? Well, so generally speaking,
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it's a shame every time VAR has to ruin a match,
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regardless of the match, because they do a great
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job of that consistently. Unlike Arteta, sorry,
12:02
non -hot take, Eze sold it well, but it wasn't
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a foul. It wasn't a penalty for me. Like, if
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he had stepped on his foot, sure. But the feet
12:13
came side by side, and Eze sold it very well.
12:16
I didn't think it was a penalty. So I guess VAR
12:21
got that right. But yeah, just in general, the
12:26
refereeing and the VARing this year has been
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painful. So sorry. Sorry, fans. No hot take.
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Level -headed Arsenal fan here. I was going to
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come in hot here. I was ready for you, Mike.
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But I love the fact that you've diffused that
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situation. Listen, look, I had a big debate with
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my mates. One of my Arsenal fan friends is very
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passionate about it. I said the same thing. I
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said, look, if this thing about VR depends what
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you want, if it's clear and obvious, I'm like,
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you could easily just go with that on -field
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decision. I was like, look, that to me doesn't
13:02
seem like a massively egregious one to go. You
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could go either way. There was enough contact
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that it could have gone either way, but it wasn't,
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like I said, the feet came side by side. It wasn't.
13:16
on his foot. And for that reason, I get why they,
13:20
they overturned it. And I think the key is like,
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do you want the right decision or do you want,
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no, but I think that's a debate. And to me, to,
13:29
I agree with you, I'm like, we should not be
13:31
giving penalties for that. Cause as he bought
13:33
the penalty, right. And I think the difference,
13:36
the Giochris on that, I think Giochris bought
13:37
the penalty. Again, I didn't, there was more
13:40
contact there, which kind of made it harder for
13:43
them to disallow it. But, but my issue with those
13:44
ones are like, Michael Arteta being the buffoon
13:48
that he is, basically talked about consistency
13:51
and how it's criminal. And I'm like, well, you
13:54
didn't watch the PSG -Liverpool game then when
13:56
Alexis McAllister went down. We were awarded
13:58
a penalty. He got overturned. And I said that.
14:00
I was like, same thing. I said, you know what?
14:02
It is the right decision. He basically engineered
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the contact. There's an engineering of contact
14:08
there. He was playing for the contact. He was
14:12
not trying to go and get the ball there, right?
14:15
He was clearly in front and you could see the
14:18
hands in the back. That was the difference. I
14:20
think, again, I still think there's a little
14:22
bit, that to me is like on the fence, but the
14:23
one I will point to is in that game, Adam Ola
14:28
Lukman was through on goal, missed a big check.
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Like Ben White fouled him like a hundred percent.
14:34
Now what he did is he didn't go down because
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the contact wasn't enough. He did the right thing.
14:38
He then took a shot and it was a poor shot, right?
14:40
But to me, that just highlights the problem where
14:44
Lukman, being honest and genuinely trying to
14:46
play the ball, right? And I don't think Jokers
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had to go down there, by the way. There wasn't
14:50
enough. I think he chose to go down because he
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knew he'd get a penalty. And that's the thing.
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That's the thing I want out of the game. It's
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the choosing to go down. But referees have to
15:00
then be able to look. And that's why I do think
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VAR could help with the Lukman one and say...
15:04
Did Ben White's challenge impede him? I don't
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think it did massively, but there was a foul.
15:09
It was 100 % a foul. That was the biggest foul
15:11
out of all of them. And because he played on
15:14
and he didn't score the chance, now you can say,
15:16
yeah, he still had an equal chance to score a
15:18
goal. He did. I think that's fine to play on,
15:20
but I think that's the behavior you want to reward.
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And I think that's what people get frustrated
15:24
with. Now we're getting fixated and clear and
15:27
obvious. Really, it's about we want, and I think
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American sports do this quite well, like we want
15:31
the right call. We want the right decision, right?
15:34
And I do think they got to the right decision
15:35
in the end. I don't know what you think, Wazza,
15:37
if you saw it. I mean, I was actually just absolutely
15:41
still seething from the night before seeing the
15:44
Alphonso Davies penalty. That's the one, actually,
15:47
over the course of the two games that I just,
15:50
I cannot. believe that was given as a red, sorry,
15:55
a penalty. That was absolutely outstanding. Can
15:57
I ask you a question? How does that work? No,
16:00
no, can I ask, so they've been, so, and Arteta
16:02
did address this, so he did say, because the
16:05
one in the Arsenal, the, the athletical penalty
16:06
was a handball, similar, and in the Premier League,
16:10
they often are not given, right? So there's an
16:12
interpretation that's different, that they, in
16:15
Europe, they have been. pretty consistent with
16:17
this now the challenge i want to know your opinion
16:20
because i think i think my thing with this is
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there's two ways to do this right to me with
16:23
handball rule i don't like what we do in the
16:25
premier league i think it's really i don't even
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know if i understand what they're looking at
16:29
anymore in europe what they've kind of gone with
16:31
is look if it hits your hand that it's outside
16:33
that like we're just going to give it it's a
16:35
handball so it's cleaner or or you go to the
16:38
other extreme and say unless the referee or the
16:40
ver go yeah they look like you've deliberately
16:43
done something which is more subjective. So it
16:46
looks like in Europe, they've gone for the simpler
16:49
interpretation to make it clearer for everyone.
16:51
This is a penalty. And so it is easier. Are you,
16:54
are you okay with that? Was it, or do you, do
16:57
you still feel you don't like that application
16:59
of the law? I just think that there's no common
17:01
sense involved. Like it hit his thigh and then
17:04
it hit his arm that it was behind him. Like that
17:07
is like. I was just sat there. I was thinking,
17:11
because I was watching the highlights, and I
17:13
was thinking, oh, there was a penalty given at
17:15
some point to PSG. I wonder when that's going
17:19
to happen. Oh, they're showing a highlight of
17:21
something that must have been not given as a
17:23
penalty, and maybe PSG fans were upset about
17:26
it, but they couldn't be upset about it because
17:27
this is clearly not a penalty. Oh, shit, it's
17:29
a penalty. It's like, what is happening? This
17:32
is the thing. I think that the refereeing standards
17:34
in Europe are so... bad like consistently like
17:38
every week in the champions league there is a
17:40
howler or like ball and it's worse because there's
17:44
so few matches like in the premier league at
17:46
least like there are a lot of matches and over
17:48
the course of a season let's be perfectly honest
17:50
it balances out there is no conspiracy theory
17:52
against arsenal fans fundamentally though in
17:55
the champions league it is consistently piss
17:57
like it's bad and i don't know how they're going
18:01
to actually fix this like If they're taking supposedly
18:04
the quote -unquote best referees from Europe,
18:06
dear Lord, that bar is low. Do you think there's
18:10
an argument for actually it is simpler and better
18:13
that way where it's really clear and everyone
18:15
knows that that's going to be given and everyone
18:17
knows? So, actually, I was glad. I thought that,
18:22
I agree, the Ben White one would not have been
18:25
a handball in a Premier League match. Yes. And,
18:28
and so I'm, you know, for a moment, I'm like,
18:30
Oh, they're going to call that back. Cause that
18:32
was clearly not intentional. It's like, yes,
18:34
his hand was away from his body, but it didn't
18:36
mean to do it. Exactly. It just, the way that
18:38
ball bounced to hit his hand, I thought for sure
18:40
it was coming back. And then when it wasn't like,
18:42
all right, champions. So I know I prefer like.
18:47
I don't know if it was three or four. It was
18:49
like four years ago, maybe when it was just the
18:51
law was if the ball hits your hand, it's a handball.
18:54
And that was just ridiculous. So I think it I
18:58
think intent matters. And the fact that that
19:04
Europe doesn't call it that way, I think it just
19:07
a handball is like there has to be intent. There
19:12
has to be intent. See, I don't know. I'm a bit
19:14
in the fences. I'll tell you why. Right. So.
19:17
Like, you've got the problem at two ends of the
19:19
spectrum, right? So I don't know if you remember
19:20
the Tottenham -Liverpool Champions League final
19:22
where we got a penalty earlier on, Sadio Mane.
19:26
And honestly, I don't know if it's for sure,
19:28
but I feel like players will exploit the rules.
19:31
And Mane was like, he knew if you chip that against
19:34
his... There is an element of players, and players
19:36
can do that, right? They're accurate with the
19:37
ball, so they're professional, right? They're
19:39
the best in the world. So I think that's where
19:42
you kind of go where I think it did get into
19:44
a bit of like, yeah, you see people are going
19:45
to start just deliberately kicking that, trying
19:47
to basically chip this up onto your hand so you
19:49
could, they can get a penalty. Right. And I,
19:51
and I hate that. Right. And that's where I think
19:54
this idea of like deliberacy comes in. I think
19:56
the challenge for me is those like, it's like
19:58
the application is this, you're going to was
20:00
it is so nuanced where, for example, I believe
20:03
if, if you're a defender, you're trying to block
20:05
and you don't, and you need to put your hands
20:06
to support yourself, whatever your hands need
20:08
to be somewhere. If I hit a shot and it's going,
20:11
goal word and it hits your hand to me it feels
20:14
like that that feels like a penalty to me right
20:17
in terms of like well you've used a part of your
20:18
body that's elite that you're not meant to use
20:20
in the game that's blocked a shot on target what
20:23
is like other ones key word there is used i know
20:27
but it's but yeah but you can't but the problem
20:29
is you can't prove that only i know so because
20:31
here's the problem with what with the other argument
20:34
like what you're saying is this as i said the
20:36
problem before was attacking players will take
20:38
advantage of it and try and cause the ball to
20:41
hit people's hands or basically play it onto
20:44
the arm of players to get penalties, right? The
20:46
flip side though, defenders will do it where
20:48
they'll go, they will go, okay, and that's what
20:50
you're starting to see now. They're like, I can
20:51
use my arms, right? As long as I don't, as long
20:53
as I don't do something egregious and deliberate,
20:55
I can use my arms to make my silhouette bigger
20:58
by just having them here with my elbows out a
21:00
little bit, right? And I'm blocking shots that
21:02
normally I wouldn't be able to block. So I think
21:04
this is - You mean like Gabrielle a couple of
21:06
weeks ago? Well, exactly. That's it. That is,
21:09
therein lies the problem. The problem with intent,
21:12
it's subjective and it's going to slow the game
21:15
down because you're going to have to look at
21:16
it and really analyze it to go, right, does it
21:18
look like, I actually like, I know it sounds
21:21
crazy, even though I'm used to what the Premier
21:23
League do, I actually think it's better in Europe.
21:25
Do you know why? Because it's more clear. It's
21:27
like, look, this is going to be given and it
21:30
makes it easier. And I just think as long as
21:32
it's consistent, I actually prefer that. I'm
21:35
going to put that out there. I swear, I swear
21:38
if Big Verge had that done to him, you would
21:41
be going to, like, you would be on an absolute,
21:44
like, killing streak. That is a load of crap,
21:48
Ross. I know you. I'm sorry, but if that was
21:50
the case, you'd be like, the intent from Verge
21:52
is like, I'm sorry, it hit his thigh and then
21:54
his arm. Why is that given? I'm sorry, but that's,
21:56
any fan, any fan from any club should be completely
22:00
incensed at that. penalties given against them
22:02
like i would be absolutely seething if the the
22:05
ball hit ruben diaz's thigh his arms were completely
22:09
back but then it hit his arm which is what happened
22:11
with little he's not like i was like he wasn't
22:14
doing anything he was literally like turning
22:16
away his arms were tucked in it was just unfortunate
22:18
that it hit his thigh and then it hit his arm
22:20
but the fact that it hit his thigh like i don't
22:22
i i cannot that's like and then the thing is
22:24
that general Yeah, and the thing is that, Ross,
22:28
I hear what you're saying, but fundamentally,
22:29
if the argument is, if it hits your arm, it's
22:32
a penalty. It doesn't matter how it does it,
22:34
but if it does, then it does. Then what is the
22:36
point in bar? Like, in terms of, like, doing
22:38
so many replays. As soon as, like, you might
22:40
as well go for the cricket approach of, like,
22:42
a snickometer of, like, has it hit the arm? Cool,
22:45
right, like a heat map kind of thing. Okay, cool,
22:47
it hit the arm. Penalty, done. I'm okay with
22:50
that. You see the thigh? I don't have it. I understand.
22:54
Because that's clear. You go, if it hits another
22:56
part of your body and then hits your arm, you
22:57
can say that's not. I'm okay with that, right?
22:59
But I'm talking about if your arm is outside
23:01
the silhouette of your body and it hit, like,
23:03
that's how. I just think it's so much. Because
23:06
you're saying I complain. I wouldn't. My complaint
23:09
would be it's the inconsistency. You see, if
23:11
the night before, a different team had gotten
23:13
advantage and it's the same thing happening,
23:15
that's what's hard. Where I see if it's the same
23:17
for everyone. So that's always a better option,
23:20
in my opinion, where you go, if you can make
23:21
it consistent and it seems fair, you just say,
23:24
look, you know, I don't love the fact that defenders
23:26
defend with their arms behind their back and
23:27
all that kind of stuff. I don't like it. I think,
23:29
you know, before, you know, maybe it was better
23:33
before that, you know, in a way where it was
23:35
like, but then it was like, if it hits your hand,
23:37
you take that risk. It's like, you know, whereas
23:39
I think there is an element of your hands on
23:41
the floor, you're planning to go down. I don't
23:44
think that should be a penalty, right? It doesn't
23:45
feel like it should be a penalty. But I think
23:47
the problem is you've got so much interpretation
23:49
around it that it becomes really hard to get
23:51
consistency. The only thing, the thing that we
23:54
haven't really discussed from what you were talking
23:56
about, Ross and Waz, I'd love your take on this,
23:58
is that are professional athletes really going
24:00
to aim at arms instead of the net? What the hell
24:03
is that? Yeah. Stop it. I'm in the 18. I'm going
24:09
to aim for his arm, not the goal. Come on. No,
24:11
no, no, no. It wasn't that. It was Mane. Watch
24:13
that. Watch it back. I'm telling you, people,
24:15
I think that's what caused the change. Mane was
24:18
like, genuinely, he was like that. I'm going
24:19
to, like, honestly, that's what players do, though.
24:22
They will exploit the rules. And I'm not saying
24:24
if they have a shot and goal, they'll shoot.
24:26
What I'm saying, though, is if they get in the
24:27
box one and you're two yards in front of me,
24:30
I can just, it's crosses. I know if I just play
24:33
this, if your arm's outside your body, I can
24:35
play it onto your arm and I'll get a penalty.
24:37
Of course, they'll take advantage of that because.
24:39
It's better than crossing the ball in, isn't
24:41
it? You know you're going to get a penalty. Why
24:42
would you not do that? I don't know. I just feel
24:46
like that's a step too far. I'm going to aim
24:49
for the arm. I'm telling you. Waza, what do you
24:52
think? I think that's a load of tripe. You are
24:54
completely wrong here. In what world? No, I can
24:59
see people fishing for a penalty and falling
25:01
over, but then actually going, you know what,
25:03
I'm going to pinpoint this absolute rocket into
25:05
an arm. The only person that could feasibly target
25:07
an arm accidentally is Danny Welbeck in his Arsenal
25:10
prime. That's literally the only person that
25:12
could manage to do this. No one is targeting
25:15
an arm. No one. Thank you, Waza. I'm going to
25:19
send you boys a montage of clips and show you.
25:23
Please do. Please do. We'll create a reel for
25:25
that of all the times that professional footballers
25:28
have aimed for arms instead of the goal. Yes.
25:31
And then, well, listen, we'll move on. What about
25:33
last night? So we did have Aston Villa against
25:35
Nottingham Forest. So Forest came out with a
25:37
penalty and a handball again in that one, Luca
25:40
Dean. But there was Unai Emery was, yeah, he
25:43
was talking about BR, BR. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
25:47
Yeah, he was fuming about the Elliot Anderson
25:50
challenge on Ollie Watkins. It was a pretty bad
25:54
challenge. I don't know if you saw it. It was
25:56
pretty bad. Like, I have to say, I think he's
25:59
probably... I'm shocked that, again, in a Premier
26:02
League game, I'm sure that's a VAR red card decision.
26:04
It's an ankle snapper. It's one of those ones.
26:08
Like, it meets all the criteria. And yeah, he
26:10
was fuming. And I actually think fair play. Like,
26:13
that was a... shocking decision. I thought it
26:16
was a terrible challenge. Elliot Anderson was
26:18
the best player on the pitch, by the way. He
26:20
was unbelievable, but he probably should have
26:23
been sent off. Yeah. Yeah. Sets up for a good
26:30
second leg. Yep. Yes. Okay, good. Well, let's
26:35
turn our attention towards Premier League action
26:38
this weekend. Shall we? We do have a number of
26:42
things, as we know, there's a title race, there's
26:44
a relegation battle, there's a race for Europe.
26:46
Right. So that's lots and lots and lots of things
26:48
going on. So as we look, we've got, you know,
26:52
Arsenal. Wedged in between these two athletic
26:54
games, Mike, they're welcoming Fulham, who are
26:57
in the hunt for European football themselves,
26:59
to the Emirates. So another home game for them,
27:02
which is probably welcomed after going out to
27:04
Madrid. That's tomorrow, 5 .30pm UK time kick
27:08
-off. So that's obviously the big game because
27:11
Man City don't play until after Arsenal go. I
27:13
think it's Monday they play against Everton.
27:15
So how are you feeling going into that game?
27:19
You were quite bullish going into the Newcastle
27:20
game. fucking nervy and it was like squeaky bum
27:24
time I was right they didn't start Saka as well
27:27
you're right they didn't and he seems to be not
27:29
he's clearly not quite right I think I'll be
27:33
surprised if he doesn't start Fulham because
27:35
of the time he got in the previous two matches
27:39
so I think they've been kind of planning for
27:40
that I think they'll win you know it's home and
27:48
Yeah, I think the defense is getting healthier.
27:51
The midfield is pretty much completely healthy
27:53
at this point, I think. So they're almost back
27:57
to a full squad. A couple of key players that
27:59
are not there. But overall, they're back to a
28:02
full squad. And I think it's probably... So here's
28:05
the thing, right? It's still about goal differential.
28:09
So it's going to be very defensive. I think their
28:13
target is going to be clean sheet more than attack
28:16
and score a bunch, which I don't love. But I
28:19
think 2 -0 Arsenal is probably about right for
28:22
that one. I think the bookies have Arsenal at
28:27
a 44 % chance of a clean sheet, which is ridiculously
28:31
high. So I think they're going to play with that
28:35
kind of mindset for sure. So, yeah, I think it's
28:37
2 -0. Okay. Was it you? I've got a feeling you
28:41
might smell a little banana skin here. No? What
28:44
do you think? I don't understand how we have
28:47
seen literally a week of football where taking
28:49
risks is often rewarded and often recommended.
28:53
And the likelihood is that Arsenal will continue
28:56
to not take risks. I'm fully predicting that
28:59
this is going to be a Guerra -like season. You
29:01
know what? If Arsenal keep... If Arsenal keep
29:03
playing pedestrian, trying not to concede, and
29:07
they win one goal at a time and everything like
29:10
that, we're winning the league. No doubt about
29:12
it. The second that goal difference gap increases,
29:15
I see the fear in the Arsenal squad rising because
29:19
they know that then if City keep hitting those
29:22
notes, the gap is going to just become too big
29:27
and they're not going to actually be able to
29:28
close it. And you have players like Eze. like
29:31
Eze is a is a Michelle Elise kind of player like
29:35
he's a kind of player that will run at people
29:36
make things happen take risks and that is how
29:39
you get your goal differential like it's great
29:41
that Saka is not playing right now if anything
29:43
I would probably have a front three of like Habits,
29:47
Martinelli and Eze. Like, in the sense that Habits
29:49
can actually, he has a role. He's doing it well.
29:52
And then Martinelli actually runs at people and
29:54
can make things happen. Trossard is a bit, I
29:56
don't know. Madueke kind of just keeps running
29:58
until he hits the, like, row Z. Like, he just
30:01
will not stop running forward. But, like, I just,
30:05
I just don't get how after the past month of,
30:09
like, going in second gear only, Arteta would
30:13
not. try to stretch the team's legs a bit, take
30:16
some risks, push the goal differential, and put
30:18
the pressure back on City to take more risks
30:20
as well. I don't see how he's not using this
30:23
as a threat. I don't disagree, and I think especially
30:27
given the fact that City did not hang five on
30:30
Burnley last week, that left the door open. But
30:34
you need to score goals. And the thing is, Fulham,
30:38
very well coached under Marco Silva. Defensively,
30:42
usually quite... quite tough to play against
30:45
and away you know they're going to play very
30:47
yeah and they have some guys that can hurt so
30:51
i don't i i feel this could be again it's like
30:54
it's like everything again you you you get to
30:56
halftime and it's nil nil that stadium is not
30:59
it again that there feels like a fragility to
31:02
the stadium and the atmosphere as well in terms
31:04
of like the belief can waver quite quickly i
31:06
think um I think that's going to be a fascinating
31:10
game because it's the 5 .30 kick -off. It gives
31:13
them a little bit more time. There is one eye
31:15
on that Atletico Madrid game mid -week, no matter
31:17
what people say in terms of team selection. I
31:19
do think you're right, Mike. I think we'll come
31:21
to fantasy, but I do believe Saka starts. I think
31:24
Madawiki gets a rest and then maybe plays mid
31:26
-week. I think he'll have to be with some of
31:28
those guys that are maybe not fully match fit
31:31
yet. swapping them in and out. But yeah, look,
31:34
I mean, it's, it's going to be a fascinating,
31:37
but again, I feel like they can win that game.
31:39
So I feel like the other three games, things
31:41
are way West Ham pals. I don't know. Like part
31:44
of me thinks, yeah, they should win those games,
31:46
but away from home, I do think that, you know,
31:48
these are Darby's West Ham. It means something
31:50
to them. Obviously we'll talk about the relegation
31:52
battle in a minute, but yeah, London for the
31:54
rest of their play. Exactly. Exactly. So it's
31:57
like, it's going to be a fascinating run. And
31:58
yeah, obviously they have Burnley as well. Yep.
32:01
But yes, let's see what happens. So, Ross, you've
32:04
been itching for me all season, or at least for
32:07
the past couple of months, to try and be a bit
32:08
arrogant about City's chances. Because you're
32:11
like, oh, I'm the Liverpool fan here. I would
32:12
be saying that they can win every single match.
32:15
I think after seeing their pretty lacklustre
32:18
performance against Newcastle, and then their
32:21
relatively tame performance against Atletico
32:23
Madrid, and the Atletico Madrid side that they
32:26
played, has conceded, I think, the third most
32:28
number of goals in the Champions League this
32:30
year. Not a good say. I'm going to be pretty
32:34
bullish and say that we've got the league. I
32:36
cannot. If City keep playing how they do, which
32:40
I think they can because they're only in one
32:42
competition right now. Yes, they have four games
32:46
in 11 days. I don't care. I think we can do it.
32:49
Ryan Cherky is coming into some sensational form.
32:52
And when you have a player of his calibre who
32:55
can just turn a game completely on its side.
32:59
I don't see how we lose this league. This is
33:02
ours to lose now. I love it. Listen, why is this
33:04
finally glass half full, mate? This does not
33:06
happen very often. And the thing is, it's spurred
33:09
on because I see the absolute passive nature
33:12
of Arsenal and I'm thinking, right, well, okay,
33:15
if they're going to, you know, lie down and let
33:17
us rub their tummies, then sure, let's do it.
33:19
Love it. Love it. There we go. We'll see what
33:21
happens. Let's talk about the race for Europe
33:23
and we'll get to the relegation battle. Massive
33:26
game. Liverpool go to Old Trafford. You've then
33:29
got Aston Villa have got Spurs. They'll be seething
33:34
after that Nottingham Forest game. That's at
33:38
home. That'll be interesting. That's got, again,
33:41
permutations for both the top and the bottom
33:43
because if Brighton can win, I think they play
33:45
Newcastle this weekend, they're going well. They
33:48
could then put some real pressure on Aston Villa
33:50
who are trying to manage the European tournament
33:52
as well. The Liverpool -Man United game, the
33:55
winner of that feels like is... I mean, Man United
33:59
are pretty much almost secured anyway. I think
34:00
a draw was okay for them. But if Liverpool, if
34:02
we can win that, I think, or even get a draw,
34:05
it kind of feels like they're both kind of cemented
34:09
in that top five. But yeah, it should be an interesting
34:13
game. Yeah, I mean, eight points is a lot with
34:17
four games left to go. It's a lot. That's a lot.
34:19
I feel like Villa would have to have an epic
34:24
meltdown. I want to say, if Villa lose the next
34:27
two games, then they're in trouble. Because they
34:29
play Liverpool as well. So I think that's the
34:31
thing. So there's that. But I think this weekend,
34:34
to me, will determine if anyone else has a chance.
34:38
And that will be like, again, because look, it's
34:40
conceivable Liverpool are not going to be favourites
34:41
going to Old Trafford for the first time in a
34:43
long time. And rightly so, shouldn't be. And
34:46
if Man United win that game, and Aston Villa,
34:51
Spurs' desperate situation, if they get beat,
34:54
That goes down to five with three games to go.
34:56
It just, the pressure comes in, they play each
34:58
other. So there could be a spot that opens up
35:01
there if one of the two teams isn't good enough.
35:04
And again, I think we'll be okay. I do like,
35:07
I'm not like, it's not been a great season. I
35:09
just feel like we'll have enough to get over
35:11
the line. But I think Villa are showing a bit
35:14
of like, and again, there is this, and they've
35:16
got a lot of players, I think, out of form at
35:18
the moment, I feel like. Yeah, I can see if anything's
35:22
going to happen. If they lost to Spurs, I'd be
35:25
worried about them because their fixtures don't
35:26
get easier. So yeah, I think that's going to
35:29
be interesting. And then at the bottom, Spurs,
35:31
we have to talk about that. So Spurs, they obviously
35:33
go to Villa, right? We have West Ham this weekend.
35:37
Who do they play at? So I'm going to go, let
35:39
me just double check. Their fixture isn't. Dreadful,
35:43
I don't think. Brentford away, actually. Yeah,
35:45
not easy. So they go away to Brentford. Then
35:46
I think Forest play Monday night. They play Nottingham
35:49
Forest. They're away to Chelsea. Away to Chelsea,
35:51
yep. So Forest with a tough... Again, well, hard
35:55
to say what Chelsea will be right now. They obviously
35:57
got to the FA Cup final. They have to travel
36:00
there in between the European games. That'll
36:02
be interesting. You have West Ham with a tough
36:06
assignment. Brentford team that do are in the
36:08
European places and pushing. But, yeah, I mean,
36:12
this feels like a critical weekend. Spurs going
36:15
to Villa. Are any of the three teams favored
36:18
in those ties? Maybe Forrest, maybe? Forrest
36:21
will beat Chelsea. Yeah, I think probably. They're
36:24
in really good form. Depends on who he picks,
36:25
though, and the team he goes with. But I think
36:28
they've won their last eight games. They are
36:30
on the up, and Chelsea is on the down. But I
36:36
think going to Villa is tough. Going to Brentford
36:39
is tough. Yeah. I think if one of those teams,
36:43
if Spurs or West Ham, one wins and the other
36:46
doesn't, if West Ham win and Spurs don't and
36:49
that opens up, it then becomes a long way back
36:52
for Spurs. So it feels like Spurs have got to
36:55
get something at Villa to have a chance, I think.
36:58
I don't know. Yeah, West Ham. Do you think they'd
37:02
get something at Brentford? No, I think both
37:04
West Ham and Spurs lose. Maybe West Ham with
37:06
the draw. Maybe, but I think... Honestly, I think
37:10
they both lose. I think West Ham win. Really?
37:14
I think they win. I think they win because the
37:16
thing is that there's a difference between fighting
37:19
for survival and fighting for aspiration. And
37:23
I think that teams like West Ham have done it
37:25
numerous times, like where they have been in
37:28
the drop zone and they have fought that time
37:29
and time again. Brentford are still like, Brentford
37:32
are doing well, don't get me wrong. They're doing
37:34
perfectly fine. But I think that that's more
37:36
of a reflection of how bad the league is around
37:38
them rather than how well they've been playing.
37:40
So I wouldn't say that, like, I think that West
37:43
Ham can pull the win out of the bag. Okay. Love
37:47
it. Make my day if they did. I might be delighted.
37:50
A West Ham win and an Arsenal win, you'd be delighted.
37:54
That would be the double for me. Arsenal dropping
37:57
points. Arsenal drop points. So, Wazza, you feel
38:00
good about everything? You've got a whole week
38:01
to prepare. You're feeling the boys will show
38:04
up and take care of business there? I think it'll
38:07
be squeaky. I don't think that it's going to
38:09
be a huge win. I think this is the one where
38:11
it's going to be like a 1 -0 and then we try
38:13
and capitalise at home against other teams. I
38:17
do not, like, I just, they're just such an annoying
38:20
team. Like, they're just actually deceptively
38:22
good. I mean, the only thing that we can hope
38:25
for is Jordan Pickford to have a brain fart like
38:27
he did against Arsenal and gift us a couple of
38:29
goals right at the death. But they are just like...
38:32
It's a big deal, though. I mean, their back line
38:35
is pretty significantly with that. I don't, I
38:39
mean... I would say... Everton are a pain in
38:41
the ass, but I still think City win. I would
38:44
say it was. I think this is, to me, there is
38:47
only two banana skins. This is one of them. So
38:49
if City, regardless of what Arsenal do, if they
38:52
beat Everton with that, again, the whole week
38:54
to prepare me, yeah, they have to win that game.
38:56
It then becomes all about that trip to Bournemouth,
38:58
I think, for City. I think that's the only other
39:02
game because, again, I think they're at home.
39:03
All the other games are home. I know that they
39:06
think Villa visit, but, again, I expect... It's
39:08
the end of the season. Yeah. I think that'll
39:11
be fine. So I think that that Bournemouth get,
39:13
and again, depending on where Bournemouth are,
39:15
they should still have something to play for
39:17
in terms of European spots because it's tight.
39:20
I think it's that, that this to me is like, is
39:23
hurdle one of two for Man City. I think if they
39:25
win it ever in Arsenal, fans just start to get
39:27
really worried. regardless of what they did,
39:30
unless Arsenal go and do something significant
39:32
against Fulham. Because, yeah, I mean, look,
39:35
City with a week to prepare, I mean, you know,
39:37
they could, it's going to be a fascinating watch.
39:40
So I'm really looking forward to watching those
39:41
games. But let's see what happens. It's going
39:44
to be exciting. Let's talk a bit about fantasy
39:46
football, Mike. So we are, now we do have the,
39:49
we've been revealed the... The final double game
39:51
week. Final double game week, 36. So thankfully
39:53
it's only two teams and they don't have the crazy
39:55
Bournemouth scenario that they were talking about,
39:57
which would have made my head hurt. So yeah,
39:59
Palace and City double in 36. That's right. Yeah,
40:04
so City obviously, yeah, Palace have Everton
40:06
at home and then they have City away. Yeah. Yeah,
40:09
so again, I just feel like, wow. And yeah, and
40:12
then City have a double game week as well, as
40:14
you said. So they've got the two home games.
40:15
So Brentford and Palace come into the Etihad.
40:19
that's a juicy fantasy. I'm, I'm loaded up and
40:22
set you forwards, which I feel good about. Um,
40:24
but yeah, you might want to consider making sure
40:26
you are sufficiently loaded up for that game.
40:28
Yeah. It's, it's a tricky one, right? Like palace,
40:31
if they weren't playing city, then you might,
40:34
I, I think for me, it'll probably just be Daniel
40:38
Manos. I think that's it. Like I, I can't see
40:42
myself loading up on crystal palace, uh, for,
40:45
uh, And the thing is, because they're so focused
40:51
on the European side of things, he's going to
40:54
rotate the shit out of that team. Figuring out
40:56
who's going to start is good luck. Good luck.
40:59
And even if they do, they're going to start one,
41:01
not both. Leave it alone, I would say. The only
41:03
one I would say you could consider for Palace,
41:05
actually, I think who will play the Premier League
41:07
games is Strand Larsson over, I think he wants
41:09
to keep Mateta sharp because he's really important.
41:12
He's their best striker. I do think that if you
41:14
needed a sneaky... like punt on somebody, he
41:16
could be a good like game week punt that you're
41:19
for a transfer in. You get two games. He's a
41:22
decent player. But yeah, I agree. I'm actually
41:25
going nowhere near Palace. I'm just loading up
41:27
on City. I already am. So I feel comfortable
41:30
going into that. I'm a good spot. Yeah. What
41:33
about the last four weeks of the season? Again,
41:35
where people will be in tight leagues, maybe
41:36
vying for a title, maybe vying for position and
41:39
bragging rights. Mike, any advice for the last
41:42
four weeks you have in terms of Again, players
41:45
you like, teams you like, or yeah, you know,
41:48
I mean, look, I don't think anyone's got many
41:49
chips to play now. Pretty much spent at this
41:53
point. The only one that's still out there that
41:55
I'm frustrated that I lit fire to was the triple
41:59
captain on Gabrielle and his second worst performing
42:01
week of the season and just brutal because anyone
42:06
who still has it. You've got to put it on Holland
42:09
for that double in 36. That's the only chip out
42:12
there, I think. Did you argue Cherokee? Did you
42:15
do Cherokee? You put it on Cherokee. Cherokee
42:20
is going to be the difference in every single
42:23
game that we play. I think the difference, the
42:26
only reason I say Cherokee, Mike, is because...
42:28
Haaland has just not been as potent. Like Bruno
42:31
Fernandes, he seems to be involved in almost
42:33
everything. Obviously, Nico O 'Reilly is the
42:36
other one, the obvious one, right? But I think
42:38
Semenyo's had a great start and has been pretty
42:40
poor recently, but could explode as well. So
42:43
I think that there is like, so I've got Cherky,
42:45
Semenyo and Haaland. I'm just like, because I
42:47
just think they need to score goals. They need
42:48
to win games. So I went in on that when the title
42:50
race reignited because I'd emptied on them. So
42:53
yeah, it's going to be interesting. Well, I'm
42:57
going to call something out. Brighton deserve
42:59
attention. Their fixtures don't look, they look
43:02
kind of grey. They go to a struggling Newcastle
43:05
team. They then are at home against Wolves. They
43:08
then go to Leeds team that will be safe at that
43:10
point and have nothing to play for. And then
43:12
they finish at home against Man United, who should
43:14
be home and hosed and on the beach. So Brighton
43:17
are one that I think, I know a lot of people
43:19
picked up some players for the... which is good,
43:25
but they're playing well. You can look at the
43:28
defenders, midfield, forwards. There's people
43:31
to pick up in every position. There's them and
43:33
also Man Utd's fixtures. I know it's Liverpool
43:35
at home, but a weakened Liverpool team not going
43:37
so well. They travel to Sunderland, who feel
43:38
like they're on the beach already. They are at
43:40
home against Forest, who will maybe have one
43:42
eye on a European final. And then they finish
43:44
away to Brighton, which, again, I don't know
43:47
what will happen. There could be goals. I know
43:49
people are in Bruno, but I think that there is
43:51
an opportunity there. Whether you look at somebody
43:53
like Kunja, you pick up a defender. So I think
43:56
they're, in terms of the whole stretch of four
43:58
games, they're the two teams that I'm looking
43:59
at. Casemiro's the one. He's in epic form right
44:02
now for a 100 -year -old footballer. He sure
44:05
is. He's certainly showing up the Arsenal midfielders,
44:08
isn't he? Yeah, he is. But what about captaincy
44:11
this week? I've just gone with them, channeling
44:14
my inner Waza. I'm captaining Dominic Calvert
44:16
-Lewin over Erling Haaland this week. Hot take,
44:21
Waza. What do you think about that? Because Leeds...
44:24
are at home against Burnley, who've just fired
44:26
their manager. And we just say, or Scott Parker,
44:28
by the way, some of the worst fucking clobber.
44:32
Unforgivable. Honestly, the cardigan. I'm just
44:35
like, somebody tell him. I don't know who's picking
44:38
his clothes, but for that alone, you deserve
44:40
to be sacked, mate. Yeah, but have you seen his
44:44
lid? He has a sensational lid. I'm not, I'm not
44:50
like, look, he's just a bit of a, I actually
44:53
really liked him as a player, but my God, as
44:55
a man, like again, shite clobber, shite team,
44:58
shite manager, shite guy. Goodbye, Scott Parker.
45:01
I don't think he's, look, obviously good luck
45:03
on what you do. You should be the championship.
45:04
That's where you belong. And just stay down there.
45:07
Right. Thank you very much. And good night. Yes.
45:12
But yes, Scott, but yes, captaincy this week.
45:14
What do we think? uh look i uh i'm leading most
45:19
of my mini leagues so i have to hedge so even
45:22
keel it's holland with with bruno as the vice
45:25
because i'm protecting so well yeah was any i
45:30
mean usually something outrageous god knows what
45:32
he's going to say i want to say harry wilson
45:36
He's been in shocking form since the... I don't
45:41
know, but Dr. Arsenal manages to fix up teams
45:43
like Bournemouth, who were on a three -game losing
45:45
streak or something like that, and then they
45:47
visited the Emirates. I love that. I don't know.
45:50
I just feel like... I don't know. But genuinely
45:53
speaking, I feel like... I think it's just a
45:57
trap going for anyone chasing for Europe right
45:59
now. I think that it's more of a, who is going
46:02
to audition for a bigger club next year? I think
46:04
we're in that part of the season more than anything.
46:07
And I think that, strangely enough, I feel like
46:10
Harry Wilson is exactly the kind of player that
46:12
Spurs need. And so I feel like if somehow Spurs
46:16
manage to pull this off, they're still a club
46:18
with very deep pockets. And we're getting to
46:21
that part of the season. I need some help. Again,
46:23
I've been going back and forth. I was, you know,
46:26
I do currently, I did pop Calvert -Lewin ahead
46:28
of the podcast and my captain temporarily. It
46:30
is between him, Bruno. I am tempted wise. I want
46:33
you to like, Cherokee is the one that, I don't
46:35
know what it is. There's just something here
46:37
that's going. And I know it's Everton away and
46:40
I don't, you know, Everton are tough to play
46:42
against and it might not be a lot of goals. They've
46:44
had a whole week to prepare. I think, look, Liverpool,
46:46
our defence and midfield, like Bruno is involved
46:49
in everything. I expect him to have. to produce
46:51
points as he has almost every game. Calvert -Lewin
46:55
against Burnley, he's not been scoring that many
46:59
of late. What do you guys think? Any strong opinion
47:02
in those three? Where would you lean? I'd go
47:04
for Calvert -Lewin. Generally speaking, I think
47:07
out of all the... Yeah, I know, because the thing
47:10
is, you bullied me out of swapping Calvert -Lewin
47:12
back in the season. After that, I just sort of
47:14
gave up on Fancy. Calvert -Lewin against a Burnley
47:18
team, and they need to make sure that they don't
47:20
get dragged into the relegation fight. This is
47:24
a surefire way. This is three free points to
47:26
let them get away from this mess that Spurs are
47:29
in. Okay, Mike? Yeah, I mean, if you're chasing,
47:34
I think Calvert -Lewin or Chirky are both really
47:36
good picks for differential. But I would probably
47:42
lean towards Calvert -Lewin as well. Home, especially.
47:46
That's the only thing that has me nervous about
47:48
the Holland pick is he's much better at home
47:50
than he is away. And away to Everton, I mean,
47:54
I'm not expecting a haul from him, but I've just
47:56
got to protect against effective ownership. Yeah,
47:59
that's smart, Mike. Smart move. Okay, yes. Well,
48:03
I am protecting in some ways, but you know me,
48:05
I always just take risks just because I like
48:07
to, you know, I just, I can't, yeah, I can't.
48:09
I've got to go a little bit off piece, but I
48:11
might stick with Calvert -Lewin just for you,
48:13
Waza. Please do. Before we sign off, we actually
48:17
have a question from a longtime listener, Patrick
48:20
Malarkey. And he's actually, for what feels like
48:24
a lifetime, he's actually asked a pretty decent
48:26
question here. You always see this. You always
48:28
see this, and it never is. No, no, not always.
48:30
Not always. Not always. Sometimes it's just by
48:32
the punch. But he has asked a very poignant question,
48:35
which is, what is the more, what is one... this
48:40
season? Like what has been the best thing this
48:42
season for a team? The schedule or the quality
48:44
of players that they have? Because you look at,
48:46
for example, one side of the Champions League
48:48
with Bayern and PSG, they have great players,
48:51
but their schedules have been far more forgiving.
48:53
And so their players have been able to actually
48:55
do a lot better. And then you look at on the
48:57
other side, like Arsenal is probably the absolute
49:01
epitome of this, where quote unquote, their schedule
49:03
has been pretty packed. And the quality of their
49:05
players, although they're good, like it doesn't
49:07
feel like it's enough. So like what has really
49:10
had the biggest impact on a team season here?
49:13
Like, is it having the best players or is it
49:15
like having a more forgiving schedule? So, I
49:18
mean, I'll answer this in context. So Patrick,
49:21
this actually isn't a horrible, quite like, so
49:24
this is actually definitely better than normal.
49:26
So you're, this is appreciated. First of all,
49:28
so thank you. It is growth. I was thinking about
49:32
like player of the season. There's a lot of chat
49:34
about Bruno Fernandes, right? For the player
49:36
of the season. I don't think he'll have played
49:43
40 games this year. So there is an element of
49:46
like, yeah, you've got one competition, you're
49:50
doing one thing, whereas you've got like Declan
49:53
Rice will have played, I don't know by the end
49:54
of the season how many games he'll have played,
49:55
but it'll be a hell of a lot more, any Arsenal
49:57
player, a hell of a lot more than the amount
50:00
of games at Brunner. So I do think that that
50:01
does count for something in terms of, because
50:04
I always say the same thing, right? I do think
50:06
your schedule, like you look at the Champions
50:07
League. That has a huge impact. Again, and that's
50:11
part of luck, right? And you make your own luck
50:13
argument. Last year, Liverpool did the Arsenal
50:16
in the Champions League and got screwed over
50:17
by the schedule, right? So it just can work out
50:20
different ways. This year, it panned out where
50:22
that actually favoured them massively. I don't
50:24
think Arsenal would have gotten nearly as deep
50:26
in the Champions League this year based upon
50:27
what I know they've done well in that competition,
50:29
but I genuinely think that they would have struggled
50:32
against some of these. teams in the other half
50:34
of the draw so um so yeah i i do think that the
50:37
schedule has a massive impact man united will
50:39
be nowhere near where they are with with more
50:42
competitions i don't know what you think mike
50:43
but i think that no i completely agree i think
50:45
it's absolutely the the schedule is uh is is
50:49
has had a huge huge impact and even if you just
50:51
look at the the game against the game against
50:54
athletico i think because arsenal has been challenging
50:58
for all of these things. And, you know, it was
51:00
in four different competitions at one time. I
51:04
thought it goes so cut a drift from what's going
51:07
on in La Liga that, you know, it doesn't matter
51:09
in the season rest everybody. Cause it's all
51:11
about going all in on champions league. And so
51:13
I absolutely think the schedule is. Like the
51:16
Arsenal, like that Arsenal game, like you play
51:19
a better team. You should be playing a great
51:20
team. See if they had to go to Paris or something
51:22
like that. They would be, I would say Fulham
51:24
will be like. you'd be goosed. Whereas actually
51:26
the first half they managed it. They had the
51:28
ball for most of the first half. So that's helpful.
51:30
But in terms of fantasy, I think I see this,
51:33
Miro, you think that the fixture difficulty rating
51:36
is the almost always the clearest indicator of
51:40
like good outcomes. Right. And in terms of like
51:42
the first thing you go to, as you look at, like
51:44
you said, Mike, about the way players perform
51:46
at home versus the way teams home versus like
51:48
it is, and it's not always perfect, but it's
51:50
a really good, if you just want to be lazy, look
51:53
at that. make your picks based on that generally
51:56
speaking it will help more than any other one
52:00
data point if that i don't know if you agree
52:02
mike that's that's my view yeah yeah i think
52:05
so i think that makes sense yeah there you go
52:08
patrick well listen keep them coming patrick
52:10
this is good progress um but listen that's us
52:13
now we're at time look at that just perfectly
52:14
on time um thanks everyone for listening and
52:17
uh as always we'll uh Like, subscribe. We'll
52:21
see you on the socials. They're up -leveling
52:23
thanks to fantastic Boston Mike. But yeah, have
52:26
a good weekend, everyone. Enjoy the football.
52:28
Cheers all. Go on, Harry Wilson.