1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 You're listening to the Footglish podcast. Love football, learn English. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:14,000 What on earth is happening with West Ham and are they going to sack their manager? 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,000 What do West Ham fans appreciate about Tomáš Souček? 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Is it all over at West Ham for Vladimir Tsofal? 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:29,000 And what does it mean if things go tits up? 6 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,000 What does it mean to be a football fan? 7 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Hello everyone! Are you ready for your weekly dose of football and English? 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:58,000 Well, make yourself comfortable, sit back, strap in and enjoy this episode. 9 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:08,000 My name is Denek Lukas, I'm a professional English teacher and my guest today is a passionate football fan and I believe an ex-footballer as well. 10 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,000 Welcome to the podcast, Clive. 11 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:12,000 Thank you very much. Thank you. 12 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,000 Yeah, ex-amateur footballer. Let's put that in there. 13 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Well, we have that in common. 14 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:26,000 I'm exactly the same. But it doesn't prevent us from talking about football and the Premier League. 15 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Not at all. Not at all. 16 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:37,000 Okay. Well, you're brave because as a West Ham fan, I think you're going through some sort of crisis these days. 17 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:51,000 Looking at the table, you are in the 14th place, which is not what I think you guys, you fans of West Ham, wanted at the beginning of the season. 18 00:01:52,000 --> 00:02:01,000 Indeed not. No. We were looking to improve on the season we had last season, which wasn't exactly great. 19 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:17,000 The season before, league-wise, wasn't great. Yes, we won the Conference League, but our league performances have been adequate and nothing better. 20 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:27,000 And this season, I think we've been below adequate. A lot. Yeah. A good distance below. 21 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:34,000 And yet, somehow, I think people expect West Ham to do way better. 22 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:41,000 It looks like you are punching below your weight in the last few years. Why is that? Why is that? What's going on? 23 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Well, for the last couple of seasons, I think there's been quite a lot of disharmony in the squad. 24 00:02:49,000 --> 00:03:02,000 Because I think it's been well documented that David Moyes, as a manager, was very regimented in the side that he wanted to put out every week. 25 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:09,000 He likes to work with a small squad and therefore a big squad is of no use to him. 26 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:18,000 Whereas with the manager we have now, it's quite the opposite. With Ulan Lopetegui, it's quite the opposite. 27 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:27,000 He likes to use a squad of players and he's been showing that quite often to the detriment of our results. 28 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:39,000 But I think there is a plan of action and I'm kind of sticking with it, if you like. I'm not calling for his head yet. 29 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Ah, okay. Well, then you're one of those that trust the process. 30 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:53,000 I'm not quite that deep. I believe that there is a process and I'd like to see it. 31 00:03:53,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Because I have high expectations of Mr Lopetegui because at Sevilla he maintained Europa League wins for three seasons. 32 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:17,000 He also coached the Spanish under-21 side very successfully. 33 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:24,000 He also wasn't in charge of the Spanish national team for a short time. 34 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:30,000 For a short time, but he agreed to go to Real Madrid, I believe it was. 35 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,000 There were some kind of wild circumstances. 36 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:43,000 I believe he agreed in principle to go to Real Madrid when his tenure at the national squad had finished. 37 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:54,000 Yeah, before it finished and maybe he was accused of basically not being exactly following the contract. 38 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:56,000 Not very professional. 39 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:03,000 No, that's right. That has been said. He wasn't very professional in that instance. 40 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:10,000 And also it's been said that he wasn't very professional in the way he left Wolframs and Wanderers. 41 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:16,000 But I believe that a man that has principles must stand by them. 42 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:24,000 And if your employer is blatantly lying to you, then you have to take action. 43 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,000 And I believe that that was the case. 44 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,000 That's all the reports that I've seen and heard. 45 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,000 So I'm quite happy to believe that that was the case. 46 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:41,000 And I think that's the case. He's struggling a lot at West Ham. 47 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,000 There is no doubt about that. 48 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,000 You guys are losing left, right and centre. 49 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:53,000 Somehow you managed to beat another team that has been underperforming heavily, Manchester United. 50 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:55,000 So that was a big win, right? 51 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:02,000 But the latest game we have to unfortunately mention here is your defeat to Nottingham Forest. 52 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,000 On paper, you wouldn't expect West Ham to lose. 53 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,000 But to be honest, if you look at the table and the table doesn't lie, sorry. 54 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:16,000 A lot of West Ham fans were saying that they would accept a draw against Nottingham Forest. 55 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:23,000 And that just goes to show you the level that we believe we're at. 56 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:29,000 Well, Clive, but they are currently in the third place in the table. 57 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:38,000 So I think this is a realistic reflection of where both teams are at the moment, I'm afraid. 58 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:47,000 Well, of course, yeah. But I mean, when you look at it from like a historical point of view, 59 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:54,000 then Nottingham Forest have always had that team that can get them there or thereabouts. 60 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Yeah, that's true. West Ham rarely have had. 61 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:00,000 That's true. That's true. 62 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:07,000 I think what confuses everyone is that Nottingham Forest have been out of the Premier League for a long time. 63 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,000 Yes, they have. And they struggled to get back. 64 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,000 But that was poor management, poor ownership. 65 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:22,000 And obviously, you know, the players weren't of the standard that they could or should have been. 66 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Yeah. But we should remind everyone, Clive, that Nottingham Forest are Champions League winners twice, right? 67 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,000 Whatever it was called before the Champions League, they won it twice. 68 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:39,000 They did. Two years running. They came up from what is now the championship, 69 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:46,000 which was the second division back then, into the first division, which is now the Premier League. 70 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:52,000 And within two years, they were winning the European trophy. 71 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:59,000 And then the following year, they backed it up with another one and a few domestic titles in between. 72 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Yeah. Well, you know, historically, Nottingham Forest have always been a club to be cautious of. 73 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,000 Well, in this game, it seems like you stood no chance. 74 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Although, obviously, there was sort of a moment in the game that made it easier for Nottingham Forest. 75 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:27,000 So you had one player sent off. It was Edison Alvarez at the end of the first half. 76 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,000 And it was while you were losing, you were losing 1-0. You were 1-0 down. 77 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,000 And then this happened. I think it was a real sucker punch. 78 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,000 And I don't think anyone believed from that moment that it would go. 79 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:47,000 I mean, from the moment Alvarez was red carded, we all knew that, you know, chips were down, if you like. 80 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Chips were down, yeah. 81 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:58,000 Yeah. And that was it, really. I mean, we were fighting an uphill battle the whole second half. 82 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,000 And unfortunately, you know, Nottingham Forest had the momentum. 83 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:10,000 They've got some very good players and they've got a really good coach right now. Really good coach. 84 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:12,000 You know? 85 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,000 So, Clive, tell me what exactly is wrong with West Ham these days? 86 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:22,000 So there might be some injured players, right? That's one thing, but not many, not many. 87 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:29,000 So what's going on? So you, okay, of course, you've got one really good player, Mohammed Koudous, 88 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:34,000 who got sent off in the previous game, I believe, or something like that. 89 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:40,000 And it was for a really bad, really bad incident. And I think he got like three match, three match ban or something. 90 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,000 Yeah. 91 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 But that's not the only problematic player in your team right now. 92 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,000 Then you have got Lucas Paqueta, right? What's going on with him? 93 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:59,000 So he's got, he's got, he's got. Well, in Spanish, Lucas Paqueta, he has these charges levied against him. 94 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,000 The betting scandal. 95 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Yes, that's correct. Yeah, the betting scandal. 96 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:11,000 Whether they are true or not is irrelevant at this point. 97 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Because at this point, the effect of the investigation and everything that goes along with that is affecting the way he approaches his job. 98 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:24,000 You think so, yeah? 99 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,000 I believe so. I absolutely, 100% believe that. 100 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:36,000 And, you know, nobody can do their job effectively if they're only 30% invested in it. 101 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Yeah. You know, he's obviously concerned about his playing career. He's obviously concerned about any money that he may have to return. 102 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,000 Basically, mentally he's not in the right place. 103 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,000 No, not at all. 104 00:10:52,000 --> 00:11:12,000 And a classic example of that is a few years back when West Ham were playing against Manchester United, Mark Noble, our captain at the time, was on the bench and he was playing out the end of his career. 105 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:19,000 It was towards the end of his career. And we got a penalty in the last moments of the game. 106 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,000 I remember that, yeah. 107 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Mark Noble was hastily brought on by David Moyes without any warm up, without any pep talks, get out there and score the penalty. 108 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,000 It was in the extra time, the final minute of the game. 109 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:48,000 At the same time, he was a really experienced player who had been known for being a great penalty taker. 110 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:54,000 His penalty record is incredible. I mean, for West Ham, he has the best penalty record out there. 111 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:01,000 But he stepped up and missed it. That was because of preparation, etc. 112 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:08,000 But it was also the fact that he was completely unprepared mentally. 113 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:15,000 His mind was on congratulating the players after the game on the draw. 114 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:21,000 And then he gets told, get out there and win us the game with the penalty. 115 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:29,000 A lot of pressure. Even on a really seasoned and experienced player, that's a lot of pressure. 116 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:37,000 And therefore, I believe that Lucas Piquet, we know he's an outstanding player at times. 117 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:45,000 He's been quoted as being one of the most technically gifted players at West Ham. 118 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,000 He's a Brazilian international as well. 119 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,000 He is indeed. And he's a regular starter for the national squad. 120 00:12:52,000 --> 00:13:02,000 But we know that his performances of late have been amateur. 121 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,000 But it shouldn't be just him. It's a combination of factors. 122 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,000 Everything is going wrong at West Ham currently. 123 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,000 Lopetegui, I don't know, but I've been watching your games. 124 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,000 As you know, I have a soft spot for West Ham because of the Czech players. 125 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:25,000 So it seems like he's experimenting a bit too much. 126 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:27,000 It seems like he doesn't exactly know. 127 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:35,000 Even the lineup, you could have accused David Mois for always sticking to the same starting eleven. 128 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:37,000 He might have been overloading the players. 129 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,000 He may have not given enough chance to the players that deserve the chance. 130 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,000 Okay, fair enough. But as you said at the beginning, Lopetegui seems to be the polar opposite of that. 131 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:53,000 And for some reason, he doesn't play ever the same team. 132 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,000 And it looks more like he's searching for that perfect starting eleven. 133 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,000 And it feels like everyone is letting him down. That's how it feels to me. 134 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,000 Yeah, but it could also be looked upon in this way. 135 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,000 He adapts his starting eleven for the team that we're playing and believes that he gets it right. 136 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:21,000 And then his substitutions are as a result of, ah, that player's not performing, I'll replace him. 137 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,000 Or I need more up front, so I'll bring these two off and bring them two on. 138 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Or whatever the case may be. That could be the case. 139 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:36,000 However, I don't believe it is. I really don't believe that you're right. 140 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,000 That he doesn't know his best eleven. 141 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,000 And even if he did, he probably wouldn't use them every week. 142 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,000 But Clive, doesn't that lead to players losing their confidence? 143 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:55,000 Because I don't know, if I'm looking at it from the point of view of Tomas Socek, someone, okay, maybe Jared Bowen will always play. 144 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,000 Okay, we can assume that. We can assume that Mohamed Kudus will always play. 145 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,000 But then there are a lot of players who might play or might not play. 146 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,000 And if you're Tomas Socek or someone like that, if you don't know if you're going to play that game, 147 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,000 what does it do with your confidence? Tomas Socek doesn't seem to be phased. 148 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,000 But okay, maybe someone else, like Summer Wheel. 149 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,000 The classic example would be actually the other guy. 150 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,000 Which one is that? 151 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,000 Well, he's completely out of team. 152 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:30,000 He only gets in if Wampusaka is injured or suspended or on international duty. 153 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:37,000 But to be honest, Clive, do you know I've always been defending the Czech players, like even on some channels, 154 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,000 because I didn't like the way they were treated. 155 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:48,000 But with Wladimir Tsofal, I don't have a leg to stand on because Bezaka has been really good. 156 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:54,000 So for me, this is a no-brainer that Bezaka plays over Tsofal. 157 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Yes, I would like Tsofal to get a chance. 158 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,000 Maybe we could play him in a different position. 159 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000 You could shuffle the team around. 160 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:07,000 That's one thing that annoys us about David Moyes. 161 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:14,000 He was playing players out of position, like Lucas Piquet around on the left wing, for example. 162 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,000 But doesn't Lopetegu do it even more now? 163 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,000 Because he's been shown the way. 164 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:31,000 But we've got a perfectly good left winger in Kresencio Somerville, 165 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:37,000 the lad we picked up from Leeds last season, at the end of the season. 166 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000 Championship player of the year, no less. 167 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,000 And we got him because he wanted to come to West Ham, apparently. 168 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,000 And he's perfectly good at the job. 169 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:56,000 He's very forward-thinking and he can get back and defend if he has to. 170 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:05,000 But he has got Emerson behind him, Emerson Palmeiri, who is a seasoned, established Premier League player. 171 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,000 He used to play for Chelsea. 172 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,000 Every European title football can offer, he has. 173 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,000 Every single one of them. 174 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,000 Including the international. 175 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000 The only one he lacks is the World Cup. 176 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,000 That's true, because Breslau have been underperforming. 177 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,000 All of them, including players like Wan Busaka. 178 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:37,000 Wan Busaka has been doing his best and he's probably been one of the better players for West Ham. 179 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:45,000 I think so. Because he's trying to establish himself in the team and in the club. 180 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000 I watched most of the games, Clive, and I would say Busaka, Kilman. 181 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,000 These two guys have been the best players. 182 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,000 I think Max Kilman has earned his place. 183 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,000 And I think Jean-Claire Tizibo has also. 184 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,000 He's been on, right? 185 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,000 He's put his name down rather hard because he's been very good. 186 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,000 But have you noticed who we keep turning to though? 187 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,000 We keep turning to Tomas Socek. 188 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Because he is Mr. Reliable. 189 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:24,000 Because we know that if we need a box-to-box player, pop him on. 190 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,000 You know my opinion on Tomas Socek. 191 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,000 I love this guy. He's a hero for me. 192 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,000 He's a hero for me. 193 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:33,000 We all do. 194 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,000 There are better players in the club. 195 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:37,000 Are there though? 196 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,000 It depends how you define a good player. 197 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:42,000 Allegedly. 198 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,000 Because the problem is these days, right? 199 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,000 People love all the technical skills and the flicks and the flair. 200 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,000 Everybody is obsessed with this. 201 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000 It's the age of social media. 202 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,000 Everybody wants to see the beauty of everything. 203 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,000 Including the beauty of sports. 204 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:05,000 But I thought Wes Ham were about hard work, grit, determination, never give up attitude. 205 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:14,000 And that's why I was so surprised when the Wes Ham fans, and I've spoken about this with the other Wes Ham fans, kind of turned against Tomas Socek. 206 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,000 Someone who embodies these qualities. 207 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:28,000 I think a lot of fans have come to the conclusion in their minds that Tomas Socek's time at Wes Ham is done. 208 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:39,000 And therefore they're now finding minor faults and creating larger faults with that, if you understand what I mean. 209 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,000 I am not one of those. 210 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,000 I'm a firm believer that Tomas Socek is Mr. Reliable. 211 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,000 He might as well wear an edge on his blinking chest for all I care. 212 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,000 Because he is like Superman to us. 213 00:19:54,000 --> 00:20:02,000 When we need a goal in the dying moments of a game, we can always rely on Tomas Socek to be there to provide it. 214 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,000 To score it or provide it. 215 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,000 It's the same for the Czech national team. 216 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,000 You kind of know what you're getting from him, right? 217 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,000 And you know he will give his all. 218 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:19,000 And I was really surprised that Jarob Bowen was given the arm band captaincy and not Tomas Socek. 219 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,000 I believe that Tomas Socek had earned it. 220 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:32,000 I'll tell you what, there is a group of people in the Czech Republic who claim that Socek, I think Socek is a great captain. 221 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:41,000 And I like him not only for his footballing qualities, but for the sort of aura. He exudes some sort of leadership aura. 222 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,000 But that's me. 223 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:49,000 But there are some people in the Czech Republic who think that he's too nice to be a captain. 224 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,000 So maybe for this reason he wasn't selected. 225 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,000 Because he's very nice, right? He's just this gentleman. 226 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,000 He is. He is. 227 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:05,000 He's also, he may be very nice, but he's also 99 times out of 100. 228 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:11,000 If a player in the Premier League is wearing a headbandage, it's going to be Tomas Socek. 229 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Because he does tend to put his head where it's not needed at times. 230 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,000 Or where it's in danger. 231 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:24,000 So for me, he puts himself on the line. 232 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:35,000 But the counter argument is that these days you want to have some sort of, I don't know a better word than asshole. 233 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:44,000 You want someone who is going to use some dark arts and who is going to maybe provoke someone and who will fight. 234 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,000 And Tomas Socek, he will not fight. He's a diplomat. 235 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,000 Oh yeah, of course. 236 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000 Maybe this is the reason. 237 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000 He is a practical joker also. 238 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,000 He's someone I admire and I would follow a captain like that. 239 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,000 But that's me because I like this sort of attitude. 240 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,000 And when I played football, I didn't like to be shouted at. 241 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:09,000 I didn't like these captains who just shouted at you and that's how others followed them. 242 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:11,000 Not me. I'm different. 243 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,000 I prefer this kind of role model to Tomas Socek, but everyone is different. 244 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:22,000 Mark Noble, one of the greatest captains West Ham have ever had. 245 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,000 You mentioned the phrase dark arts. 246 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:35,000 Now to someone like Mark Noble, using the dark arts was things like, classic example. 247 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,000 We had Jesse Lingard on loan. 248 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:44,000 And the first day at the changing room, he sat down, he picked up his phone. 249 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:50,000 Mark Noble told him, if I see that phone in your hand again during training sessions, it's going down the toilet. 250 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,000 From that moment on... 251 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:54,000 Socek wouldn't have said that. 252 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,000 No, no. Tomas said to me, club rules do not allow over your phone now. 253 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,000 Exactly. 254 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,000 Mark Noble, a little bit of the dark arts, I'll put it down the toilet or something of that nature. 255 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,000 Exactly. 256 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Also, if there was an argument to be had, Mark Noble was quite willing and capable of participating or even leading that argument and winning it most of the time. 257 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,000 You need that. It's important. 258 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,000 Yeah. But I think, as you said, Tomas Socek is a diplomat. 259 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,000 He's a diplomat, yeah. 260 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:38,000 And one of the most admired England captains of all time was Alan Shearer. 261 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:45,000 And he was a diplomat. He wasn't a fighter. He was a big, tough, tough lad, but you wouldn't catch him fighting. 262 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 When we say fighter, this is misleading. 263 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Fighter, as in he's not going to punch someone in the face. 264 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000 He's not going to retaliate when somebody stamps on him. 265 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:00,000 He's not going to get a red card even because he knows he's smart enough and he knows. 266 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:02,000 Yeah, yeah. That's how you mean. 267 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:08,000 He's not arrogant. He's humble enough to know where his limits are and what he can do. 268 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:14,000 But also, at the same time, he will give his all. He will fight, right? 269 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:24,000 In a sense of on the pitch, he will put in tackles, as you said, put his head into the area jewels and all that. 270 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:30,000 Sometimes even the first one in the children's ward at the hospital and the last one to leave. 271 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:36,000 You know, that is leadership quality. 272 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:43,000 For me, I would follow that, but I understand why some people say something else. 273 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,000 So I don't have a problem with Bowen. He has been great. No problem. 274 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,000 But I had a problem with Socek being out of the team. 275 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,000 And I'm glad that it seems like West Ham fans have realized now. 276 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,000 I'm watching the channels. They're not talking about Socek the way they talked about him before. 277 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:06,000 So I think they've realized that he's not the problem because it seemed like he was being the scapegoat. 278 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,000 Yes. Yeah, he was. 279 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:17,000 And like I said, some fans believe that his time at the club was up and therefore he's still here. 280 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Why is he still here? Well, we must find fault in him because he's not supposed to be here. 281 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,000 That's the mentality of some people. 282 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:33,000 They always said this thing that it's because of Mois loves him, because of Mois wants him, because of Mois. 283 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:39,000 This just isn't right. Now we can see that Lopetegui likes him too. 284 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:47,000 He didn't play this game against Nottingham Forest, but he didn't play only because he was sick. 285 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,000 He was ill. He put the message on Twitter that he was sick. 286 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,000 So that's why you couldn't have him in the team. 287 00:25:54,000 --> 00:26:01,000 Yeah. So I have to ask you, Clive, about the other Czech player, Vladimir Tsofal. 288 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,000 It seems like you are frozen currently. Are you back? 289 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:12,000 I was. It froze, but my Wi-Fi just blinks on and off. So that's probably why. 290 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,000 So when I spoke to the other West Ham fan on this podcast, on the Footgris podcast, 291 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:23,000 we sort of speculated over Vladimir Tsofal's future at West Ham. 292 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:33,000 It seemed that we agreed that Vladimir Tsofal's days are numbered at West Ham, which is a shame, but it looks like it, doesn't it? 293 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:40,000 Yeah, it does. As you've probably seen on a lot of the other channels, 294 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:48,000 the call now among the fans is, let's get another right back to back up Wambasaka. 295 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:53,000 They're kind of dismissing Tsofal now. 296 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,000 I think that's unfair because I still think he's got a role to play. 297 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:05,000 He's produced some of the greatest crosses to provide for goals and stuff in the last few years. 298 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:12,000 And like Thomas Socek, he will get stuck in. He will put his head into places. 299 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,000 It might not be best of her. 300 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:25,000 But what we call them is warriors. They're warriors like Billy Bond of old. 301 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:35,000 Ron Harris at Chelsea and there's so many of them, even more recently Roy Keane at Man United. 302 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,000 I know that's not recent, but it's more recent than the ones I mentioned. 303 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,000 He's a pundit now, a very famous pundit. 304 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:52,000 Yeah, so I have to ask you about this upcoming game against Everton because how many times has this happened? 305 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:59,000 It seems like it's one of those games that if the manager loses it, he could be out of the club, right? 306 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,000 It could be a game that he needs to win. 307 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:09,000 I think that is kind of the feeling amongst fans and stuff. 308 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,000 But I really don't believe that that's what the club are thinking. 309 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,000 The club have signed him up for two years. 310 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:29,000 And David Sullivan isn't the sort of person to go and waste money and buy him out of his contract. 311 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,000 There's a phrase for you. He isn't trigger happy. 312 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000 There you go. He's not trigger happy. 313 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:45,000 Look, Lopetegui came in with a minimum fee and decent wages. 314 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,000 We didn't have to buy him out of a contract or anything like that. 315 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:58,000 Same with David Moyes, the same with Pellegrini, the same with David Moyes before that, the same with Slavin Billish before that, the same with Sam Allardyce before that. 316 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:08,000 The same. Well, need I go on? David Sullivan does not like spending money on the coach or the manager. 317 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:14,000 He'll pay him a decent wage and he'll give him bonuses, etc. 318 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:21,000 But he won't buy him out of contracts and he won't sack him when they still got 18 months of a contract left. 319 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,000 So it seems like it's both a curse and a blessing. 320 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:37,000 In some respects. So we've got him until at least next summer minimum and if not the summer after. 321 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:53,000 But if we get European football by any way, by miracle, we get European football in these two seasons, he gets another year. 322 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,000 Can I say something like, yeah, okay. 323 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:10,000 Well, it's interesting that you mentioned this because not a long time ago I watched a video on the West Ham Network channel, which I believe you are also part of. 324 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,000 I'm one of the guests. 325 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,000 You have a show there. You have a show, the old school hammers. 326 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:19,000 That's correct. 327 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:32,000 With your mate. So Wednesday evening. So if anyone wants to watch that, you appear on this show called Old School Hammers and it's on the West Ham Network YouTube channel. 328 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:39,000 And today I watched a video from them and the host said an interesting thing. 329 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:48,000 He said that West Ham are six points off the relegation zone and seven points off the Champions League places. 330 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:57,000 So that shows that the league is really, it's quite even this season. 331 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,000 Anything could happen, right? 332 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,000 Yeah. I mean, it also shows how early in the league we are. 333 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:06,000 Yeah. 334 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:12,000 Some people are saying, oh my God, we're a quarter of the way through already and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 335 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,000 Doom and gloom. Woe is our fate. 336 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:22,000 No, I look at it like this. Oh, great. We're only a quarter of the way in. 337 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,000 We've still got three quarters of the season to pick this up. 338 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,000 I'm more the glass half full. 339 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,000 Full. 340 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,000 Half empty. There you go. 341 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:41,000 But, you know, look, don't get me wrong. 342 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:49,000 I do have a moan about our club and the manager, the coach, sorry, and his tactics, etc. 343 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,000 I do moan. Of course I do. 344 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,000 I have every right to, you know, especially if I'm buying a ticket to go and watch it at the stadium. 345 00:31:58,000 --> 00:31:59,000 No, do you? 346 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,000 This season, yeah. Do you have a season ticket? 347 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:04,000 To go to West Ham games? 348 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,000 No, no, no. Until they re-employed Gianfranco Zola as the coach, I'm not going to. 349 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,000 Oh, okay. What about David Moyes? Would you take him back now? 350 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,000 No, I wouldn't actually. 351 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:24,000 And I was kind of indifferent when he left. I was like, oh, okay, yeah, they have decided this time. 352 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,000 Yeah. It was a joke. 353 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:31,000 I'm just teasing. It's not going to happen. 354 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:41,000 No, it's not going to happen. But if by any stretch it did happen, I would be highly disappointed with the club. 355 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:53,000 You know, it really would because it got a little toxic for David Moyes and the club and the supporters. 356 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,000 That's why I don't think they're going to do it. 357 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000 Yeah, you wouldn't bring toxicity back to the club. 358 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:07,000 Or the instrument of that toxicity because that's really what it was. 359 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,000 All of that was aimed at David Moyes and his leadership. 360 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:14,000 Yeah. 361 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,000 All right, Clive, I think we have come to an end of this wonderful podcast. 362 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:25,000 Thank you very much. It's always great to talk to you because you're so eloquent and well spoken. 363 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:30,000 And I enjoy that as an English teacher who has a podcast about learning English and football. 364 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,000 This is exactly what we want to do. 365 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:36,000 I'm actually quite conscious of it. So I do make even more of an effort. 366 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:43,000 Are you saying that if you knew this wasn't about English, you would sound like a proper cockney from the street? 367 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:49,000 I'm never a proper cockney because I was never born in London. 368 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:54,000 I was born in Crawley, which is south of London. 369 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:58,000 But you've heard me talk casually. 370 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:05,000 I use phrases that you mentioned before when I've been on your channel. 371 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,000 When I said it goes tits up for us and things like that. 372 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,000 I've tried to be a little more eloquent than that. 373 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,000 What was it again? It goes tits up. 374 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,000 Well, let's hope it doesn't go tits up for you against Everton. 375 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,000 Fingers crossed. All the best to you, Clive. 376 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:30,000 And this is exactly the kind of phrase that I might explain in the language corner, which will follow this interview. 377 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,000 So thank you very much, Clive. All the best to you. 378 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,000 I hope to catch up with you soon on this podcast or another show. It doesn't matter. 379 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,000 Yeah, great. And thanks for the invitation. 380 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,000 Yeah, no worries. 381 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:45,000 It's always a pleasure chatting with you. 382 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,000 Keep doing what you're doing. Keep growing the channel as you are. 383 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:54,000 It's great. And all of your students, this is the man. 384 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:59,000 This is the man that will teach you. And if he can't teach you, nobody can. 385 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,000 I wouldn't go that far, but... 386 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:09,000 You know, you know, you know, you know, let's say, let's say I can do the job. 387 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:11,000 OK, let's put it that way. 388 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:13,000 You teach practical English. 389 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:15,000 I do. 390 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,000 You teach English to people that they can use in the street or in a shop or something. 391 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:26,000 You know what? You know what? I'm actually quite lucky because these days I teach one football manager from the first Czech League. 392 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:33,000 I teach three football journalists and one ex footballer, a female, which is interesting. 393 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:35,000 Fantastic. 394 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:44,000 So I hope to get more people from the football industry because I think I can do a good job because I'm passionate about football. 395 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:51,000 And we will always have something. And I can teach English through football. I know how to do it. 396 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:55,000 Yeah. Anyway, enough of this self promotion. 397 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,000 It's been too much. Thank you. Thank you, Clive. 398 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,000 Have a good one, man. 399 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:03,000 Take care. Bye bye. 400 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:14,000 Welcome back to the Language Corner. In this part of the show, as always, you're going to learn something. 401 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:23,000 Hopefully you will. And that's because I'm an English teacher and of course my job is to teach English and you are the learners, right? 402 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:30,000 I know some of you aren't. That's fine. For whatever reason you're watching, you can keep watching. 403 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:36,000 But if you are here to learn something, well, now comes the time for you to learn something. 404 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:41,000 And we're going to have a look at a slightly vulgar phrase. 405 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:53,000 So if you haven't been 18 yet, huh, you should ask your parents before you hear this because we are going to talk about the phrase to go tits up. 406 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000 First of all, let's explain what tits are. 407 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:07,000 Tits are woman's breasts. It's a vulgar way of saying woman's breasts. It's a slang way of referring to, you know, breasts. 408 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:17,000 And imagine if the tits go up. I think because we have gravity, tits should be going down. 409 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:24,000 I'm not a doctor, but I think so. So that's a bad thing. 410 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:29,000 If things go tits up, it basically means things go wrong. 411 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:41,000 So at the end of the show, I said to Clive, I hope that things don't go tits up in your game against Everton, which means I hope you guys don't lose again. 412 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:48,000 All right. Tough stuff, tough stuff to deal with as a teacher. 413 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000 Well, sometimes you have to teach these as well. 414 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:59,000 And I like challenges like these, but of course we are on a dangerous ground. 415 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:13,000 Anyway, if you guys enjoy this and if you like what I do and if you want me to grow this channel and to grow this podcast, why don't you become my hero hero subscriber? 416 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,000 That's a way you can really support me. 417 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,000 Check out the link in the description of this episode. 418 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,000 And that's all for today. Thank you very much for listening. 419 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:47,000 And until next time, bye bye.