1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,800 You're listening to the Footglitch Podcast. 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,600 Love football, learn English. 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:12,400 Do West Ham fans play down their victory over Ipswich Town? 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:17,600 Is Tomáš Socek loved or hated by the West Ham fans? 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:24,200 How come the struggling West Ham are above Manchester United in the Premier League table? 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:30,200 And what does being Spursy mean? 7 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:52,000 Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of the Footglitch Podcast. 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,800 My name is Denik Lukas and this is a podcast for all football enthusiasts 9 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:04,000 who want to develop their English listening skills and expand their vocabulary. 10 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:09,600 And today I'm joined by Ben from the To The Point English YouTube channel. 11 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,600 Ben, welcome to the Footglitch Podcast. 12 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,000 Hi, Denik. Thank you for having me again. It's good to be here again. 13 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,800 It's a pleasure to have you first time on this brand new podcast. 14 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,200 Yeah, on the brand new podcast. It's my first time. That's right. 15 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,400 We have spoken before. You've appeared on my YouTube channel and we've spoken before. 16 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,800 But yes, it's a pleasure to be here, as I said. 17 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:35,600 You know what's funny? Because obviously, as we record this, we can see each other, right? 18 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:40,600 This is also, this will be posted on the Teachers Denik YouTube channel as well. 19 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,800 But the people who are listening to this as an audio, they can't see us. 20 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:49,000 But the funniest thing that you immediately notice is that you, 21 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:55,200 the true hammer, the true West Ham fan, you don't have a West Ham shirt on. 22 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:01,200 And me, someone who is sort of just supporting West Ham as a second team, I do. 23 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,200 What's going on there? I don't know. I'm embarrassed, to be honest. 24 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,600 I couldn't find my West Ham shirt. I didn't. 25 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,000 I took it to England when I went a couple of a few weeks ago and I couldn't find it. 26 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 So I am a true West Ham fan. 27 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,000 I've been 48 years supporting West Ham, but I just don't have it. 28 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:20,000 48? Wow. 29 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,000 Well, since I was born, yeah. 30 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,400 My family supported West Ham, so it's not like it was a choice. 31 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,800 But probably when I was six or seven, it's when I knew what it was all about. 32 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:36,400 I started to understand what supporting a football team was and I kind of chose West Ham. 33 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,400 West Ham were chosen for me. 34 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:40,400 I guess there are two options. 35 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:49,400 Like when your father supports a club, obviously they are going to dress you up as a West Ham fan. 36 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:56,000 They might buy you those small shirts, small West Ham shirts, take you to the stadium, all that. 37 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:02,400 But there must come a point, right, when you are sort of in your puberty, when you are a teenager, 38 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,000 when you have a choice, you're kind of on a crossroad. 39 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:10,200 Will I follow this really for real or am I going to rebel? 40 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:16,800 I do something different from what my father is doing because maybe I don't like my father or whatever reason there is, right? 41 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,800 Yeah, I think a lot of people, adolescents or teenagers, 42 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:27,200 they want to really establish their own identity and distance themselves from their parents in a lot of ways. 43 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:32,800 But my dad was never really a fanatic footballer, or isn't, but when we were young. 44 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,600 So it wasn't like he pressured me to support West Ham. 45 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:41,200 It was just I was born in the East End of London or on the outskirts, 46 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:46,600 close to the East End of London, which is West Ham area, and my cousin supported West Ham. 47 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:52,600 And it was in the late 70s, early 80s, it was a good time to be a West Ham fan anyway. 48 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:57,600 We were actually, we won a couple of FA Cups, we were in Europe and playing entertaining football. 49 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,200 And we were everyone's second team at that time, or first team. 50 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:07,400 But it's like everybody sort of supported, well, not Tottenham, but others, or Arsenal or Chelsea. 51 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,200 But my United fans maybe used to follow West Ham. 52 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:12,800 It's not the case so much anymore. 53 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,200 But at that time, we were a popular team in England. 54 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:25,600 Of course. Well, I think you are still a popular team in England, one of the bigger teams, not the biggest teams, not the top six teams, 55 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,800 but one of the well-established teams in the Premier League. 56 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:37,200 And obviously, the reason I am supporting West Ham, or I would say I have a soft spot for West Ham, is the Czech players. 57 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,800 You know it, my listeners know it. 58 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:44,800 I think it's an easy link to make there, an easy connection. 59 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:54,400 So let us start by having a look at the results of this week's Premier League matches. 60 00:04:54,400 --> 00:05:00,400 So I'm going to share my screen for those of you that are watching us on the YouTube channel. 61 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:05,400 You will be able to see. Here we go. I'm going to make it slightly bigger. 62 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:12,000 And as we can see, there were two matchdays. 63 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:17,600 Crystal Palace beat Liverpool, sorry, Crystal Palace, nil, Liverpool won. 64 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,400 That was the first Saturday game. 65 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,200 Then Arsenal 3, Southampton 1. 66 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,800 Brentford 5, Wolves 3. 67 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,600 Leicester 1, Bournemouth nil. 68 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:31,800 Man City 3, Fulham 2. 69 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,000 West Ham 4, Ipswich 1. 70 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,600 Yes, get in there. 71 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,800 That's the game we're going to talk about. 72 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,400 Everton nil, Newcastle nil. 73 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,400 Aston Villa nil, Manchester United nil. 74 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,600 Chelsea 1, Nottingham Forest 1. 75 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:51,600 Brighton 3, Tottenham Hudson 2. 76 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,800 So these were the results. 77 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,800 Does anything stand out for you there? 78 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,400 For me, there are a couple of results that stand out. 79 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:07,000 I'm going to start with the Brighton Spurs match because that's just... 80 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:12,200 I don't know if your listeners will be familiar with the adjective Spursy, 81 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,600 but that's just the most Spursy match ever. 82 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:19,600 I know that Spurs were winning 2-nil or nil-2 at half time, I think, 83 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,600 and then they ended up losing 3-2. 84 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:28,200 So they threw away that lead, which as a West Ham fan, I do find that hilarious. 85 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:29,200 Of course. 86 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,600 As an Arsenal fan, it's even better. 87 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,000 Yeah. 88 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,600 Spurs fans are so cocky. 89 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,800 I have a couple of friends who are Spurs fans and they're particularly cocky. 90 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,800 So I don't know if they represent all Spurs fans, 91 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,800 but it is a typical Spurs result. 92 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:56,200 I read a statistic that Spurs have the record for the most times... 93 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:01,200 for the team that has thrown away a 2-nil lead the most times in the Premier League. 94 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:03,200 Imagine having a record like that. 95 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:04,200 Yeah. 96 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,200 That doesn't even include the match against West Ham a few years ago 97 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,200 when they were winning 3-nil with 10 minutes to go 98 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,200 and West Ham scored three goals in the last 10 minutes, so finished 3-3. 99 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,200 I remember that game. I watched that game. 100 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,200 Lanzini in the last minute. It was fantastic. 101 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,200 Lanzini scored the equaliser. 102 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,200 Scorcher, yeah. 103 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,800 All right. Well, for me, I see the Brentford Wolves game. 104 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,800 That's eight goals in a game. That's amazing, actually. 105 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:33,200 Kudos to those two teams, even though Wolves are bottom of the league right now. 106 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,200 But that's a spectacle for the fans. 107 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,200 Yeah. If they're scoring goals, they should be all right at the end of the season. 108 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:42,200 The problem is obviously the defence, 109 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:44,200 they're losing 5-nil or 4-nil. 110 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,200 For me, that's more worrying, obviously. 111 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:52,200 But if they're scoring goals, then they will win a few matches, I would think, at some point. 112 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,200 A couple of boring 0-0 results. 113 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:01,200 Goalless draws. Aston Villa United have it in Newcastle. 114 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,200 Not much to speak about there, I guess. 115 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,200 Well, I didn't see those matches, but I know that Pickford, 116 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,200 because I have Pickford in my fantasy team and he saved a penalty, 117 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,200 so he got plenty of points. 118 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,200 But I don't know if they were entertaining matches or not. 119 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:20,200 Obviously Man United are struggling still this season. 120 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:26,200 I think West Ham are above Man United in the league table now, so it always feels good. 121 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,200 Which is an achievement in itself. 122 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:29,200 Yeah. 123 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:34,200 Well, speaking of West Ham United, you beat Ipswich 4-1. 124 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:35,200 Yeah. 125 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,200 So now I've heard the opinion that this is only Ipswich. 126 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,200 So where do you stand on that? 127 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:47,200 Well, I haven't seen much of Ipswich this season, if I'm honest. 128 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,200 But I've read a lot about them in the last few days. 129 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,200 People are generally saying they're not that bad. 130 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:57,200 I hope they're not that bad, because when you beat a team 4-1 131 00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,200 and everyone just says the other team were rubbish, 132 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,200 it takes away a lot of the merit from West Ham in this case. 133 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,200 But I don't think Ipswich are that bad. 134 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,200 There are no really bad teams in the Premier League this season, I don't think. 135 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:16,200 I mean, it's still early and maybe we'll see by the end of the season 136 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,200 that there really are some awful teams. 137 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,200 But I don't think Ipswich are that bad. 138 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,200 I think they're going to be OK. 139 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,200 They weren't good. They weren't great. 140 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:31,200 I mean, the first half was pretty even, but in the second half we were by far the better team. 141 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,200 But I think we played particularly well. 142 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:41,200 I think finally it looks like things are starting to click for West Ham with a new manager. 143 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:46,200 We were a better team, obviously, but Ipswich will be OK in my opinion. 144 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:51,200 I have a soft spot for Ipswich, actually, because although I was born in London, 145 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:58,200 I grew up in a village in Cambridgeshire, which is East Anglia, and Ipswich are relatively local. 146 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:02,200 Ipswich and Norwich are not far away. 147 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:10,200 Obviously, Ipswich are a newly promoted team, but they used to be regulars in the Premier League in the past, 148 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,200 but they haven't been around for a long time. 149 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,200 So it was obviously a huge achievement for them to be back. 150 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,200 But you should be beating. West Ham should be beating teams like that. 151 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:28,200 What I think made this a bit more, let's say, tough was the fact that 152 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,200 you hadn't been playing particularly well this season. 153 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:38,200 You have a new manager, as you said, and I think your fans, the fan base, started to get a bit nervous about this. 154 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:46,200 And they seem to be a bit unstable, your fans, in my experience, 155 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,200 because you've achieved a lot in the last few years. 156 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:55,200 And still a lot of your fans don't seem to be a very happy folk. 157 00:10:55,200 --> 00:11:00,200 Well, it's true. I was worried. I was nervous before the match. 158 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:07,200 As you said, we should be beating teams like Ipswich, but I wasn't that confident because we haven't started well. 159 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:15,200 I mean, we've had some difficult matches. We've played Aston Villa, Manchester City, Chelsea, if I remember rightly. 160 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:22,200 But even against the lower teams, we haven't been doing great. So I wasn't confident. 161 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:28,200 But I also have to say, I think, I don't know if this is true of all team supporters, 162 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:35,200 but I do feel that the younger supporters have a lot less patience and a lot more demanding. 163 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:44,200 We're going through still in a period of transition. We were with Mois. We had Mois as the manager for three years. 164 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:51,200 And now we've got this Lopetegui, the Spanish manager, and we've bought a lot of new players. 165 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:57,200 And we've sold some players. It's a transition period. So I think we need to be patient. 166 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,200 That was the seventh match, wasn't it? I think of the season. 167 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:08,200 Something like that, Ben. But there's always this phrase that managers use and pundits, trust the process. 168 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:15,200 But it has almost become toxic. A lot of fans cannot stand it. 169 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:23,200 I've noticed that nobody likes to hear that. Trust the process. It's like a swear word or something. 170 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:29,200 Yeah, I think Lopetegui, West Ham manager, said, judge me in May. 171 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:35,200 Judge me by where we are in May. So he's saying I need the whole season. And I think that's fair. 172 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:44,200 Yeah, of course. I think it has a lot to do with there are so many YouTube channels and podcasts and talking and analyzing everything. 173 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,200 Every day they have to make a video and they have to invent something to talk about. 174 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:57,200 So they start criticizing the manager or criticize. I watch West Ham YouTube channels and they're informative or they're interesting. 175 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:04,200 But they need to be controversial. They need clickbaits. And all that creates that sort of atmosphere. 176 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:09,200 And there's almost a division then within the fan base. And I've noticed it. 177 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:20,200 And for that reason, I think this game had sort of more importance than it possibly should have, because it almost seemed like a must win game for your manager. 178 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:31,200 Yeah, I don't think it seemed like that. I don't think it was. I think the owners of West Ham have a bad reputation, but actually they are quite loyal to their managers. 179 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:42,200 People were calling for Moyes' head a year ago, really. But they stuck with him maybe a little bit too long. I don't know. 180 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:48,200 But I think they dealt with the whole Moyes situation quite well. I think they respected him and respected the fans. 181 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:57,200 I was happy that he left, but I think it was the right time. I don't think it was too early or too late. 182 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:12,200 And I'm sure that West Ham owners will give Lopetegui, I think, well, I can't be sure about anything, but I think until the end of the season, unless we're really in an expert relegation battle, that may make a difference. 183 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:27,200 If you believe everything you read on Twitter or X or here on podcasts and YouTube channels, you'd think that every match is a win or lose, a do or die. It's not the case. 184 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:42,200 I think we will get a bit carried away. But again, having said that, I wouldn't say we needed to beat Ipswich, but I would have been very worried if we hadn't beaten Ipswich. In the end, we beat them and we beat them well. 185 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:46,200 It was the kind of result we really wanted to see. 186 00:14:46,200 --> 00:15:00,200 That's right. A comfortable 4-1 win. And so, you know, after those few games, would you say that Lopetegui has its own style, tactic? Is there something you've noticed? 187 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:06,200 And how is he different from the previous manager David Mois in your books? 188 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:22,200 Well, at first, the first few matches, really up until Ipswich, it wasn't clear. It was a bit confusing. It was like he didn't know what formation to play or is making changes very early in the match, which that's the big difference between him and Mois. 189 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:36,200 Mois would always wait too long. We could be losing and he wouldn't make any changes until the 80th minute or the 85th minute. It's like he'd send Danny Ings on the striker with five minutes left. 190 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,200 For the last corner. 191 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:52,200 Exactly. Lopetegui is the complete opposite. He's made changes at half time. I think even in the first half, he made a substitution and not for injury. So that's kind of gone a bit too far to the other extreme. 192 00:15:52,200 --> 00:16:01,200 That just suggests he doesn't know what he's doing when he puts the initial line up of the first 11 players and then he's making changes so early in the match. 193 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:13,200 It's like, did you know what your plan was? But having said that, as I said, he needs time and I think he's getting to know the players and which players should play in which position. 194 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:28,200 And yeah, I think he's quite defensive. He's not that different to Mois, but he seems to be less risk adverse. I think he's more willing to attack. 195 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:37,200 He's a possession based sort of manager. He likes to keep possession unlike Mois who was sort of more counter attacking, right? 196 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:51,200 Yeah, Mois was very defensive and ironically we had one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League last season and we didn't really start this season that well, but I think now we have a really good defense. 197 00:16:51,200 --> 00:17:00,200 And yeah, I think he likes, he's a Spanish manager and I live in Spain and I've always wanted West Ham to have a Spanish manager. 198 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:08,200 I wouldn't have chosen him necessarily, but I'm 100% behind him and I want him to do well. 199 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:26,200 And yeah, Spanish managers are more tactical, more technical minded, more about possession. And yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic with Lopetegui. I think he can potentially do good things and I think we have a really good strong squad now. 200 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,200 So let's see what he can do with it. 201 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:38,200 Fair enough. Of course, I have to ask you and you knew I was going to ask you this. I need to ask you about the Czech players because as you know, I'm Czech. 202 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:47,200 So the reason I started supporting West Ham is the Czech players. So we have got Vladimir Zoufal and Tomáš Souček at the club. 203 00:17:47,200 --> 00:18:01,200 So what, where do you see, where do you see these two players right now and what sort of future do you think they have? It looks like Vladimir Zoufal's days at West Ham might be numbered, right? 204 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:13,200 Because now we have this new player, Visaka, Zoufal's contract is running out. I think at the end of the season he will be a free player. So his days seem to be numbered. 205 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,200 What do you think? 206 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:22,200 Yeah, well, first I'll say I love Zoufal and Souček. I think most, pretty much all West Ham fans love them. 207 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:30,200 They're the type of players, you know, really hardworking players. They never seem to complain. They just do the job. 208 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:46,200 You know, they've had their ups and downs. Zoufal especially is really good. He has months where he's really good, West Ham player, and then months where he kind of goes off the boil a little bit. 209 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:55,200 It's a bit inconsistent. So they're really popular players and I think they're going to be remembered as West Ham legends, whatever happens this season. 210 00:18:55,200 --> 00:19:06,200 Zoufal, yeah, I think he may be on his way out. One Visaka has taken his position and Zoufal has done nothing wrong. So it's kind of sad. 211 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:17,200 I have to admit Visaka is a good player. So I mean, at least there is some proof, there's some evidence, and he's faster, he's more sort of physical, he seems to be defending better. 212 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:29,200 The only thing I would say Zoufal is good at and you know, you might lack Visaka is the crossing ability, which I think Zoufal is particularly good at and the long throws. 213 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:37,200 But I think that that might be a good trade off for you. But now let's talk about Tomáš Souček, because I have to be honest with you. 214 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:53,200 I found it really hard to hear the YouTube videos produced by different YouTube channels dedicated to West Ham. I have been really struggling with what I had to hear at times because of the way Tomáš Souček was treated. 215 00:19:53,200 --> 00:20:10,200 And I just couldn't believe it, couldn't understand it. And I always wanted to sort of argue with these people, but there was no point because it seems like 99% of the fan base where a lot of times against Tomáš Souček didn't want him in the team. 216 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:26,200 Every time there was a new sort of signing on the way, they would always be excited about them wanting those new signings to replace Souček. I didn't understand. But now, again, it seems like they are warming up to Souček. 217 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,200 So explain this to me because I am so baffled by this. 218 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:40,200 You should be baffled. It doesn't make sense. I think there are a few reasons for that. As you said, it seems like 99% of the fan base are against Souček. That's not the case. 219 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:49,200 Again, that's sort of the YouTube channels and Twitter and everything, social media exaggerating things. 220 00:20:49,200 --> 00:21:04,200 And I think even though a lot of the fans don't understand what he brings to the team because they don't understand football, I think they still like him. 221 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:19,200 But the thing is Souček is a strange player. He doesn't have those silky skills. He has scored some really good goals and he scores regularly. He is Mr. Consistent. He's, again, never done anything wrong. 222 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:32,200 He even scored some beautiful goals for you. This is what I don't understand. Why everybody keeps saying he can't pass the ball, he's not so pleasing on the eye and you always compare him to player Paketa. 223 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:46,200 Why would you even compare those two players? These are completely different players coming from a completely different country. Brazil, everybody is good with their feet in Brazil, right? So I still don't get it. 224 00:21:46,200 --> 00:22:07,200 I mean, Souček doesn't look... You said Paketa. He's just naturally skillful, Brazilian as you said, and he's almost the complete opposite to Souček in that he is a fantastic player, but he's not consistent. He's like sometimes you get really frustrated with Paketa because he doesn't track back or he doesn't... 225 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:22,200 Like he switches off sometimes in matches, whereas Souček is always there. He's always in the right place and it just doesn't look like a footballer as much as Paketa does. For example, he looks a little bit clumsy. 226 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:38,200 He does. I give you that. Like his sort of running style is a bit different. But then again, he has the stats. He does the job. He's very effective in each of the boxes, each of the two boxes, the defensive one, the offensive one. He scores goals. 227 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:56,200 He often bails you out when you need a goal. He's there for you. He's proven himself. He's more consistent. Yeah. So I honestly, I don't know what to say. I think personally, the way I see it, Wesem needs Souček. 228 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:12,200 But we will see. We will see. It looks like Lopetegui. I thought maybe Lopetegui would take him out of the team or maybe even sell him because I wasn't sure if he would be convinced by him. 229 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:26,200 Because we've bought a lot of midfield players this season. We've got a lot of options in midfield. But I think Lopetegui, he did drop him for a couple of matches, but I think he's realized now. He's understood the value of Souček. 230 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:36,200 There is more to it than just... I still don't get it, Ben. I don't think people understand. Why is he... Okay, I know the Czech national team is not the best team in the world. 231 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:48,200 Definitely not. And we are struggling a little bit at the moment as well. But still, to be a captain of the national team, you have to have certain even leadership qualities to become that guy that all other players are going to follow. 232 00:23:48,200 --> 00:24:00,200 And Souček has that, right? He has this sort of aura around him. And he is a likable guy and he will give you everything. He will almost die for you on the pitch. 233 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:16,200 And he has the qualities that I would say a West Ham fan might appreciate. The hard work, the grit, the never give up attitude, doesn't dive. He has everything that a West Ham fan should want. 234 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:24,200 But yet, yet, something has gone wrong. But now, it seems to be going in the right direction again. 235 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:34,200 I honestly think the vast majority of West Ham fans like Souček and understand his value and what he brings to West Ham. 236 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:46,200 I know what you are saying. You do get these stupid YouTube channels. And it's click bait, as you said. They need a scapegoat. They need a target. 237 00:24:46,200 --> 00:25:03,200 And because people like Kudos and Takeda and Bowen, they are more popular, especially with younger fans, I think, because they are more skillful. They do more spectacular things. 238 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:11,200 As I said, Souček has scored some nice goals. But generally, he is, you know, the YouTube, what do you call those videos? 239 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:12,200 YouTube warriors. 240 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:22,200 No, I mean, the videos where they start compilation videos where they show the best moments of the careers, like the highlights, the best moments. 241 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:26,200 But do you remember the goals Souček scored last year? 242 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:27,200 Yes. 243 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:36,200 Do you remember the kind of goals he scored? Volleys, top corner finishes. I still don't understand this because he has skills too. 244 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:44,200 He has skills too. They are just different skills and the kind of skills, as you say, maybe young people don't appreciate. Heading skills and stuff like that. 245 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:59,200 No, but I honestly think if we did a poll of West Ham fans, like true West Ham fans, not just the TikTokers and YouTubers and things, I think you'd see that he's popular and respected and he will be remembered as a West Ham legend, I think. 246 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:00,200 I hope so. 247 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,200 If he stays for another couple of seasons, he definitely will be. 248 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:08,200 It would be nice if he won something with you, make a couple. 249 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:14,200 Yeah, I mean, that would be, that will be heroes then to win the FA Cup. 250 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,200 Make a statue of him. 251 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,200 Yes. 252 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:29,200 For me, it's difficult to talk to West Ham fans about Souček. I mean, you are a reasonable one, but to other West Ham fans, because obviously I will naturally be biased and I will come across as biased and I am biased. 253 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,200 Yeah, yeah, of course. 254 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:48,200 I could be biased with Vladimir Tsofal yet. I don't feel in the same way about him. Of course, I would love him to play and, you know, get his place back over Bissaka, but I admit when I see proof and evidence that, you know, that Bissaka deserves to play now. 255 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:58,200 So I don't see the same with Souček when people say he shouldn't play. I don't, it makes absolutely no sense to me because he's just, he should, he has to play, in my opinion. 256 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:11,200 I think it's got a lot to do with when we sign new players, people get, fans get very excited, oh, we've signed this and where is he going to play? They can't take Kudus out, they can't take Paquetá, they can't take Bo, oh, well it's Souček. 257 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,200 Let's sacrifice Souček, yeah. 258 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:32,200 And sometimes it happens, but a couple of games later he's back in the team because he's proven, I think he's a type of player that, there are very few football players like Souček, I think he's special and it's difficult to find someone who can play that way. 259 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:43,200 So, you know, we keep signing more and more midfield players and somehow, well, not somehow, but Souček survives, he's still there all these seasons later, so he's doing something right. 260 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:50,200 Whatever you think, whatever you think you know about football, the manager knows more than we do. So if he's there, it's because he's good. 261 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:57,200 I have to say it's lovely to talk to someone reasonable about this, if we can see both sides. 262 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:05,200 Right. We have the international break now and after that I believe you're going to play against Tottenham. 263 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,200 So that will be a tough game for you, right? 264 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:15,200 Yes, I think there are tougher games in the Premier League now, but yeah, I mean Tottenham is always a big game for West Ham. 265 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:26,200 They always say it's our cup final because we get very excited about it and they don't care so much, but it's a big game and they're a good team obviously, but they're struggling at the moment. 266 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:30,200 So I think we can get something from that match. 267 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:42,200 And here's the table, here's the Premier League table, Ben. So for those of you watching us on the YouTube channel, you will be able to see that Liverpool are top of the league. 268 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:54,200 Only one point clear of Manchester City and Arsenal though, who are right behind with 17 points, then three point gap Chelsea-Aston Villa. 269 00:28:54,200 --> 00:29:07,200 Then we have Brighton in the sixth place, then Newcastle-Polham, Tottenham on 10 points, Nottingham-Forest-Branford, West Ham 12th with eight points. 270 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:14,200 Hopefully this gets better, but you are right. Manchester United also on eight points, but you have a better goal difference. 271 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:20,200 Yeah, and we're only two points behind Tottenham, so there's not a big difference there either. 272 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:24,200 I'm obsessed with Tottenham, aren't I? Of course. 273 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:35,200 Things could have been a lot worse. It's not the best start to a season for us, but we're 12th and not starting well. 274 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:43,200 So things should get better, I think, so we can start moving up the table and maybe get into Europe again this season. 275 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:49,200 But as I said, I think it's a transition season, so maybe we can be a bit more patient. 276 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:55,200 You can see quite a few games have been played and still it's very unclear what's going to happen in the relegation zone, 277 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,200 because I think there are a lot of teams there at the moment. 278 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:05,200 Of course, it looks like Southampton and Wolves with one point, that's not good, but then Crystal Palace only three points. 279 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:13,200 I've just realized that they didn't win a game yet this season. Crystal Palace of all teams. Wow. 280 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:20,200 Yeah, I didn't realize. There are four teams there that haven't won a match yet. Ipswich have drawn four, Crystal Palace have drawn three. 281 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:26,200 That's right. It's strange to see them. They had a good season last year, didn't they? 282 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,200 They've had a few good seasons, Crystal Palace, but struggling this year. 283 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:38,200 Exactly. All right, Ben, at this point on the Footgush podcast, I would be asking you about your hero of the week, your villain of the week and all that. 284 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:50,200 But actually, guys, I've decided to create a separate show about this and it's going to be broadcast live every Sunday at 8.30 p.m. Central European Time. 285 00:30:50,200 --> 00:31:00,200 And I'm going to invite all of you to join to give us your heroes, teams, villains and takeaways of the week. 286 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:08,200 And join us in the comments, please. Every Sunday live. And so we're not doing it here, Ben. I hope you're OK with that. 287 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:16,200 No, no, no problem. I don't know. I don't pay enough attention to the other matches. I only think about West Ham. 288 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:23,200 So it doesn't matter on the show there. So it's been wonderful to talk to you, Ben. Thank you very much for accepting the invitation. 289 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:30,200 And yeah, I hope to be able to catch up with you again in the future. Yeah, definitely. I always enjoy it. 290 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:36,200 It's a pleasure. So thank you for having me. You're very welcome. Take care, Ben. 291 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:44,200 Thank you. Welcome back to the language corner. 292 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:54,200 If you've been listening to the Footgrish podcast for some time, then you will probably know that in this part of the show, I teach. 293 00:31:54,200 --> 00:32:02,200 That's right, because I'm an English teacher. So my job is to teach. That's what I do for a living. 294 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:12,200 This podcast, of course, is something I do on the side. I do it as my passion project. OK, so let's do it. 295 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:17,200 Today, I'm going to take a look at five items of vocabulary. 296 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:25,200 And some of these phrases or idioms, sometimes even words, were used by myself. 297 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:30,200 And some of them were used by my guest, Ben. The first one. 298 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:40,200 The reason I have a soft spot for West Ham is the Czech players. That's right. Tomáš Souček, Wladimir Coufa are the reasons that I like West Ham. 299 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:48,200 And I watch their games. I will be honest with you, I watch most of their games because I really want to know how these Czech players will do in the Premier League. 300 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:57,200 We don't have that many players there right now. So you can imagine they are one of the reasons I like watching the Premier League as well. 301 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:05,200 But I'm looking at the phrase to have a soft spot for someone, which is another way of saying to like someone. 302 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:13,200 If you feel a strong liking for something or someone. That's basically what this means. 303 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:30,200 OK, I like it because to me it seems that this phrase is slightly gives you the idea that this liking is slightly less direct or maybe less obvious upon first sight. 304 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:36,200 And it's just very playful. It's a very playful phrase to use in the English language. 305 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:40,200 So I highly recommend learning this one to have a soft spot for West Ham. 306 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:51,200 I hope you guys have a soft spot for the Footgrish podcast. And if you do, don't forget to support it on my hero hero page. 307 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:58,200 The link is in the description. I want to see at least one one supporter of the Footgrish podcast there. 308 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:04,200 OK, one subscriber. Why not? We have to start somewhere, right? 309 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:11,200 OK, so here we go. Ben said I have a soft spot for Ipswich actually. 310 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:18,200 Right. So the same same item of vocabulary. Ben used exactly the same phrase. He's a copycat. 311 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:22,200 Just joking, Ben, if in case you are listening to this. 312 00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:27,200 All right. I don't know if your listeners are familiar with the word Spursy. 313 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,200 Ben said this and then I looked it up for you. 314 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:37,200 Basically, of course, it refers to the team Spurs, right? To Tottenham Hotspur team. 315 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:52,200 We call them Spurs. And to be Spursy means to have a weakness or fragility in that you constantly fail to live up to expectations. 316 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:58,200 OK, and crumble. You crumble within sight of victory. 317 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:04,200 So you you're doing well in the game. Maybe you are one or two nil up. 318 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:12,200 And then you still manage to lose the game because when it comes to the important moments, you crumble. 319 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:19,200 Right. You bottle it. OK. And that's what being Spursy mean. 320 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:22,200 Nobody wants to be Spursy. It's a very negative phrase to use. 321 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:29,200 And it's football banter, right? Football teams, football supporters, they make fun of each other's teams. 322 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,200 It's quite common. It's quite normal. 323 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:38,200 So I'm sure Spurs supporters do exactly the same about West Ham or Arsenal. 324 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:45,200 OK. Then I said, I've heard that it's only Ipswich. 325 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:49,200 And I asked Ben, where do you stand on that? 326 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:53,200 So basically, I was speaking about the game, West Ham Ipswich. 327 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:59,200 And I've heard from a lot of West Ham fans that, you know, this is the kind of game they should be winning. 328 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:03,200 And it's only Ipswich, you know, a newly promoted team. 329 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,200 They should be beating them. Right. But I wanted to know Ben's opinion. 330 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:10,200 So I asked, where do you stand on that? 331 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,200 And this is a lovely way of asking someone for their opinion. 332 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:19,200 There are a few of these. For example, what do you make of this is another one. 333 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:23,200 Where do you stand on it? Where do you stand on that? Right. 334 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:30,200 So it's nice to vary your language, not to always use what's your opinion or what do you think. 335 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,200 OK. Where do you stand on that? 336 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:38,200 By the way, where do you stand on that game? West Ham Ipswich. 337 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:41,200 What did you make of it? What did you think of it? 338 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,200 What's your opinion on the game? 339 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:49,200 You see how many different expressions I can use and they all mean the same. 340 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:55,200 OK. People were calling for Moises head a year ago, really. 341 00:36:55,200 --> 00:37:01,200 So when someone is calling for someone's head, I don't know, does this come from the medieval times 342 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,200 where people were chopping off people's heads? 343 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,200 Basically, this doesn't mean that. 344 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:12,200 It means that usually this is something that the fans are doing, right? 345 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,200 They are calling for their manager's head. 346 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:21,200 They are not satisfied with the coach, with the manager, and they want the manager to be punished. 347 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:31,200 So if you demand that someone is punished, right, typically by losing their job or their position 348 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,200 because they've done something wrong. 349 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:39,200 If you want that, if you demand a manager's resignation 350 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:46,200 or if you demand that the manager is fired by the owner, then you are calling for someone's head, 351 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:48,200 which is a lovely, lovely expression, as I said. 352 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:59,200 And I'm pretty sure that, for example, Manchester United right now, a lot of supporters are calling for Ten Hog's head. 353 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:02,200 It was kind of hard for me to say Ten Hog's head. 354 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:06,200 It's a tongue twister. It's a mouthful. Ten Hog's head. 355 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:12,200 Can you say that? Ten Hog's head. It's almost impossible to say. 356 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:14,200 Anyway, guys, I guess that's it. 357 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,200 Do you want one more? I have one more. 358 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:21,200 It looks like Vladimir Stouffel's days might be numbered. 359 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,200 I said that. I'm very proud of that phrase. 360 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:31,200 Because if someone's days are numbered, or in this case I said might be numbered, just to make it less certain, 361 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:38,200 it means that it looks like this player is bound to fail. 362 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,200 It looks like this player will fail. 363 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:47,200 And so if someone's days are numbered, this person will fail or he will end. 364 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:52,200 This person will end something. You know, it's not looking good. 365 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,200 Someone's days are numbered. 366 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:58,200 And that's exactly, unfortunately, Vladimir Stouffel's situation, 367 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:01,200 because he hasn't signed a new contract yet. 368 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,200 I still hope he will. 369 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:08,200 I still hope they offer him a new contract, even if it's just a one-year extension, 370 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:12,200 because it would be sad to see Vladimir Stouffel go. 371 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:16,200 But at his age, I also understand the club. 372 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:26,200 At the age of 32, you know, usually these players are not kept at the club for a long time. 373 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:28,200 But it is what it is. 374 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:31,200 OK, guys, this has been the Language Corner. 375 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:35,200 I have been Zdenek Lukas. Yes, that's still my name. 376 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:39,200 My guest has been Ben Gill from the To The Point English. 377 00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:46,200 And one more thing, don't forget, I've started a new show, which I broadcast live. 378 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,200 That's right. Not like this podcast. 379 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:51,200 This podcast is pre-recorded, right? 380 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:56,200 I pre-recorded, then I edited and then I release it and I publish it. 381 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:59,200 But the live show is something different. 382 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:07,200 It's where I will be telling you, not just I, but my guests and I will be telling you our heroes, 383 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:15,200 villains, teams, takeaways and sometimes even vocabulary of the week. 384 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:19,200 That's right. It will be kind of freestyle, you know, 385 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:22,200 with a good atmosphere, hopefully. 386 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:29,200 We are inviting you guys to join in on the Teachers' Denek YouTube channel every Sunday at 8.30 p.m. 387 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:31,200 Central European Time. 388 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,200 Join in in the comments. 389 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,200 Give us your opinion. 390 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:39,200 Vent your frustrations from the weekend. 391 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:46,200 Come to tell us about the referee villains and also tell us about your heroes. 392 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:49,200 We want to know what your picks are. 393 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:54,200 Mostly I will be joined by my friend Nrup, who has been on this podcast, 394 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:57,200 but you know, we may have some other people as well. 395 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:02,200 It's the kind of show where there may be more voices at the same time, 396 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:05,200 not just one guest, but maybe three, four people. 397 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,200 We will see. He will see how popular it gets. 398 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:12,200 But you guys can come and support the show. Why not? 399 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:16,200 OK, that's all for today's episode of the Footgrish Podcast. 400 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:43,200 Thank you very much for listening and until next time. Bye bye.