And welcome back to the PD football podcast.
My name is Presh. My name is Darren. And how
are you doing today? I'm good. I'm good. I'm
just super fatigued. Like I've been doing a lot
of socializing this week. So super tired, but
I'm okay. I'm good. I'm ready for the episode.
How's everything on your end? So last night was
Oscar night and I have opinions. But this is
not the correct avenue to address my gripes.
All I'll say is that, with the exception of Jesse
Buckley, the acting awards were a disgrace. Michael
B., Sean Penn, and Amy Madigan are the worst
group of winners in years. So, did you see the
Oscars? I don't care about the Oscars. Alright.
I'm curious to hear your viewpoint on the Oscars.
No, it's just a very milquetoast opinion, so
let's not go through it. This is a football podcast,
so... We should stick to football. But just know
I'm not happy. That's all I wanted to... Who
did you want to win the Best Actor award? Oh,
Chalamet. He was phenomenal in March Supreme.
I heard they did... He said something or something.
He said something like, I don't want cinema to
go the way of ballet and dancing or something
like that. And then the implication is that those
are dying genres. And then he said, oh no i've
just lost 46 uh 43 cents worth of viewing uh
numbers now after he said that so what what okay
what does that mean though he was just being
rude to ballet dancers and uh you know why did
the what the academy or whatever they called
why did they take it so personal so that's not
the case uh voting was already done uh after
oh when he made those comments so I can see how
in the future people will look back and say those
comments are what cost him. He was snubbed because
of those comments, but that's just not the case
at all. People just connected with Michael Bieb
more so in Sinners than Marty Supreme. But to
each their own. I disagree, but I've disagreed
with a lot of awards over the years. Like I said,
it's a disgrace, but the Oscars in general are
a disgrace. Amarim could have got one. I mean,
if he had finished the season. Yes, that's how
easy it is to get one. Ruben Amarim, very big
crook. A great actor. He got the biggest job
in England. Incredible stuff. So let's start
with West Ham 1, Man City 1. City made three
changes to the team that lost 3 -0 to Real Madrid,
with Ait Nouri in for Doku and a positional change
for Nico O 'Reilly. Mateus Nunes in for Ruben
Diaz, with Kushanov moving to centre -back, and
Mamouch in for Savio. Pep also changed formation
from a 4 -2 -3 -1 to a 4 -1 -3 -2. So I didn't
watch the Real Madrid match, so I can't say what
changed exactly, but I can only speak about this
match. Yeah, I mean, I guess the threat from
West Ham was never going to be the same against
Real Madrid. So West Ham made four changes to
the team that beat Brentford in the FA Cup. Nuno
also changed shape from a 4 -2 -3 -1 to a 3 -4
-1 -2. So West Ham were perfectly set up to sit
deep and counter. And the sit deep portion of
this plan worked extremely well because it was
early dominance from City. Which, for context,
West Ham only had 5 completed passes by the 12th
minute, and City had over 100. But, uh... I mean,
the game hardly fell out of that pattern, I mean...
Yes, well, I'll get to it now, but City just
had no threat. Not even half chances. Now, like
I said, this was partly because of West Ham sitting
deep and covering the space as well, but City
were just poor at creating. Semenya was playing
in the 10, which is not his strong suit, and
Mahmoud did very little as well. Yeah, I guess
Pip was just hoping. It seemed like they were
hoping to create a chaotic game and then profit
in the margins. But I guess West Ham kept their
discipline a bit. Well, to me, it's quite obvious.
And obviously, we're talking hindsight. So take
that with a grain of salt. But I thought this
is the perfect game for Doku and Cherki. Because
you're playing against a deep block. So they're
the two most creative players that you have.
I understand Doku is not the best at the final
ball, but he can actually beat a man. Yeah, and
he can create something. So Doku and Chucky are
the obvious players to be playing in a match
like this. More so than a Madrid game, which
I assume he didn't start them because of the...
I think he probably assumed they'd have enough
to win. Yeah, that's true as well. I mean, you
can understand his viewpoint. you don't like
i don't think it's an excuse because every game
in the premier league is should be taken seriously
any any game as long as you're competing for
something i guess but i think i would understand
his viewpoint in the sense that they they did
do enough to win the game as well it was like
uh hermanson also had a blinder which was uh
i don't think i think in like you said it's a
hindsight thing it could have worked the other
way and then everyone says okay if they have
a full team for real madrid it worked in our
favor you know but i do think in the end it was
a hefty price to pay because i think this is
probably the weekend where psychologically it's
it's right in in our group now you know bernardo
chips the keeper from the left wing it actually
looks to be a cross that went wrong or right
if you were city fan interpretation yeah i miss
it cross but uh it looked like a world -class
goal on first viewing so it was neither the system
nor individual brilliance that led to the goal
it was a mistake that got that you know they
got lucky with so very frustrating from city
and if you're supporting city which i was i mean
i guess as a city fan they would probably be
thinking like especially after Arsenal had won
that there's a lot resting on this game so I
think it's hard like hindsight is always easier
to go with you know it's easy to say you could
have done this you could have done that but I
think at the same time it could have worked they
did enough to win the game so it's hard to criticize
Pep's approach in terms of I think they could
have and should have won the game. It's not like
from a coaching perspective. I wouldn't say he
gave them the best chance of winning the game,
but I'd say he gave them a better chance than
West Ham. And thinking of Real Madrid, I guess,
was probably his main priority in the team selection.
So West Ham immediately responded with a headed
goal from Mavropanos. Donnarumma misses the ball
completely. Very poor from him. And I actually
haven't been impressed with him in recent weeks.
I mean, there's just an ex -Osno player probably
gifting us the title. Donnarumma... So his whole
thing is that he's not good with his feet. So
he needs to make up for it with exceptional saving
and collecting of crosses. And the fact is he's
not making up for his lack of ball playing with...
you know other portions of his game right now
in fact it's making it worse yeah i mean it's
like kind of the i guess the same problem man
united had a few seasons ago when the hair started
to fall out of form and then his distribution
didn't really leave them much you know but i
just think okay not i have no idea right but
i'm led to believe that trafford is really good
with his feet The times I've watched him is,
but I think with any goalkeeper that has to develop
the understanding of how to use their passing
range, I guess they're going to make a lot of
mistakes. Maybe Man City are just in the moment
where they need someone who guarantees you something.
Maybe that's what they thought. I don't think
it worked out, but I guess basing it off of last
season, you could see that perhaps they thought
Donnarumma was going to have a type of season
where he could win them the Champions League.
Now, the same pattern continues till roughly
the 60th minute when Doku and Chirky come on
and they start to make a difference. So, I was
being kind of facetious when I said it was in
hindsight because during the match as well, I
saw the difference that they made. City looked
far more dangerous and started to get some half
chances. Unfortunately for them, no one was clinical
enough to turn one of those half chances into
a goal. Yeah, I mean, I think once again, you
can probably see a bit of... holland like the
the problem we've said with holland when the
team is not playing well you know does he have
the or not just that it's when the spaces are
tiny he doesn't uh he's not good enough or nimble
enough to negotiate those uh situations but i
still think he had like at least two chances
where he would have taken at the start of the
season so It's still like, I don't think Haaland
has ever been the player who thrives in tight
spaces, but I think he's always been the type
of player that he will get two chances a game,
and he usually takes them. I agree with that,
yeah. I think with that dynamic going out, it's
hard to see what he offers. Maybe place Semenyo
up front, drop him for a bit. It makes more sense
right now to, like you said, get... Or Mamouch
up front and put Semenyo in the wing. I just
don't understand this, put Semenyo here, put
Semenyo there, when... He's just a winger. Let
him play on the wing. Yeah, but I think he can
play. He's played it under Ariel at false nine
quite a few times. Just because you can doesn't
mean... I think that was when he went through
his brightest scoring spell, he was playing through
the center. Well, that's kind of obvious that
if you're in the center, you want to be the focal.
I think he's the best finisher if Haaland is
not finishing. So it makes sense for the chances
to... I mean, you're going to get the creation
from Doku, maybe, and definitely from Ferky.
So I think... It makes sense to let the chances
fall to him if Haaland's not taking them, you
know. Okay, we're just going to have to disagree
about Simeon Foltz 9. I just think him on the
wing, him on the left wing, Chucky on the right
wing, that would be the, you know, preferred
or the strongest 11. I don't think he offers
much in terms of dribbling or creativity, so
I would rather have him where he has less of
that to do. Okay. Is the title race done? In
my opinion... Yes, but I've said for the longest
time I thought we'd win it comfortably. In like
November, you were already doing victory laps.
I've always felt, I think, and it's not like
I was just saying it as an Arsenal fan, I just
felt we were the only team that was complete.
in the premier league this season well i said
okay well coming into the season i thought you
guys would beat us for the first month or two
but once the season settled in i was pretty sure
you're gonna win it comfortably okay so this
predates the podcast but i thought arsenal won
quote unquote won the transfer window because
they replaced every single not replaced not even
replaced but they upgraded every position that
they needed to and got backups for the positions
that they already had so they and the most important
thing was getting a striker which your career
is you can argue about your career's quality
but They needed a striker and they bought a striker.
And I mean, he has got like some decisive goals.
I think his consistency is an argument at this
point, but you can't argue about the decisiveness
of the goals he's got, you know. So yeah, I think
it's hard to criticize. And we'll talk about
Arsenal later, of course. But I think, yeah,
maybe that's the thing. I'd say, obviously, there's
no comparison between him and Haaland. But I
think... In the margins this season, the decisiveness
of Haaland's goals haven't been the same as last
season or in the treble winning season. Well,
Haaland is a stat padder. He's not known for
scoring in the big games and being a decider
of the big games, I don't think. In my mind,
I should say. I would say, but I'd say he's still
got like, he scored against us, a hat -trick
or a brace. I think he scored against you guys,
scored against Man United. So I think it's more
the absolute biggest games, which you could level
that. I guess critique at a lot of players that
have even retired and would be still considered
some of the game's best players so I think being
part of a team that wins is more important and
if he can be the I guess the the shining light
in that team over the course of the season I
think every game matters as much as as the next
game it's why people could say oh okay you have
a player who's an exceptional big game player
but unless they have a player or players around
him who are consistent in every game. They'll
just be a big game player, you know. That's the
perfect bridge to talk about. Liverpool won,
Spurs won. And that player, his name is Sabotslai,
who plays out of his skin every week only to
be let down by his team. Time and time again.
Very poor. Now, I didn't even make proper notes
for this match. It's just a lot of capital letters
and me screaming while I was typing this. Yeah,
I mean, I don't know. For me, like I said, this
season, he's been probably... I think him and
Declan Rice have bridled a gap between themselves
and the rest of the midfielders in the league
this season. In my opinion, at least. I think
they're comfortably the two best midfielders
in the league right now. But he's definitely
being let down by your system, you know. And
the fact that he's being played at right back.
Sure. Now, a few weeks ago, I said... Our starting
winger should be Rio on the left, Frimpong on
the right. Now, I said that with the understanding
that Joe Gomez would be the right back. Sabotslai
playing at right back, he's just not defensively
aware enough. And that's not his fault. Sabotslai
is a midfielder. How can you play a midfielder
out of position and then blame him for not having
the qualities needed for that? particular position
I mean I guess it's like one of those things
where I remember Wenger did the same thing where
he played someone out of I don't remember who
it was he played a player out of possession they
played decently and then he he continued to play
them there for almost the whole season and then
they started letting us down I think it was Kokelein
I think he played Kokelein at right back and
Not that he was a good midfielder either, but
at right back he was worse. Now, sometimes it
can work, playing a player out of position, and
they actually adapt and they prefer that position
later. Philipp Lahm? That could be, but there's
other players that they just look so bad because
you've misprofiled them, and they have one or
two qualities that could suit a position, but
just because somebody can play a position doesn't
mean they should, which is what I was trying
to say about Semenyo as well. I think just put
players in their best positions and let them,
you know, cook, you know? Yeah, I mean, I just
think Semenyo's best position is through the
center. I just think that's a fact. All right,
we're getting back to the Semenyo thing. Let's
just leave it in the, you know, we can agree
to disagree on that, right? I was just very frustrated
with arresting Ekotika and Salah, but refusing
to arrest a midfielder that is completely exhausted.
I made the same point last week that he refuses
to rotate. Trainy only got 10 minutes again.
I mean, generally the balance was terrible, you
know, from you guys. Because I think also you
have to bear in mind that at this point you guys
are playing probably the worst team maybe in
the top three leagues in terms of form right
now in Europe. I sent my brother a message saying,
we're playing the worst team in the league tomorrow.
But you know who actually played the worst team
in the league? Spurs. Spurs drew with the worst
team in the league, and Spurs should be embarrassed
that they got that result. They got held to a
draw at Anfield. Yes. That Wirtz, absolutely
poor again. You could maybe say that it's because
he's coming back from injury, but just cowardly.
If I can say that. Because there's so many times
when he could have just taken a shot or taken
initiative, but instead he passed it off to somebody
else. I mean, the sad thing, I think, if you're
a Tottenham fan, like you said, is that you guys
played a horrible game and still were the better
team. So I really struggle to see Tottenham staying
up right now, especially because they have the
hardest fixture list of all three teams. I see
Nottingham Forest playing better. Another gripe
I have. Playing Joe Gomez at centre -back. Now,
I know on paper he's a centre -back, but he's
had his best games at right -back. And, in fact,
in the League Cup, he had a stinker against Southampton
at centre -back. So, you know, if we're basing
it on past performance, he should not be starting
at... center back for us not at all um why not
give a youth player a shot and play gomez at
right back to kind of the youth center back or
the backup center half because i remember earlier
in the when we first started you were saying
that we have a center half crisis on one of the
earlier episodes oh no it was a right back sorry
where you said we've had several crises but i
got it confused so it was no uh leone our backup
center back got injured uh out for the season
Gomez. He played really well in the game and
got injured in the second half. One game. In
that one game, I was like, wow, this guy looks
good. And then... He gets injured in the same
game. Yeah. Very disappointing time for us. Yeah.
So, I mean, right now, I think, are you at the
point where you would rather not make the Champions
League so that slot gets sacked, but then that's
a season in the Europa League, so... Do you think
they'll still sack him even if he finishes fourth?
I'm not one of those people who wishes bad on
the club or who says, we need to lose so that
this can happen. It's both true that... Oh, I've
mentioned on this podcast that I want a slot
sack now. Even though the quote -unquote... Right
thing to do. The right thing would be to wait
until the summer where more coaches will be available.
The World Cup coaches will... For example, Thomas
Tuchel, who I'm just such a big fan of, would
be available. I've brought up this point before,
but Lampard said that he didn't have a top -four
quality Chelsea team. And then Tuchel took that
same team and won the Champions League. So this
idea that a replacement mid -season can't do
a better job or that kind of thing is just ridiculous
to me. I mean, I guess it's just a thing of maybe
if... The manager they do want, like you said,
is currently employed. Maybe they're waiting
for the... Yeah. But even then, don't you think
an interim could do better than slot? Because
it's not just the football that's dire. It's
the... The emotion. The feeling around the stadium
is like... Steven Gerrard on a six -month...
Why not? Because the fans actually booed at the
end of the Spurs game, which we're not that quote
-unquote type of club. we very rarely boo the
players or the manager even in bad times because
we're quote unquote classy and uh we're always
behind the team and we're kind of in comparison
to everton who constantly boo uh their manager
and players uh everything think they're real
madrid i guess well every team should think that
they're all madrid you know and like i mean there's
different culture culture in different clubs
i think for example i think you guys the motivating
factor works that's also more intimidating for
other teams because it's when you go to Anfield
on a Champions League night you could be dominating
Liverpool but the crowd is not going away they're
not stopping you know now it's interesting you
bring that up because I read a stat this week
not how not sure how true it is and my memory
is failing me but apparently we haven't won a
home fixture in the Champions League since Barcelona
in 2019 I tried to think about it and I cannot
remember The specifics, but that seems about
right to me. Since 2019? Yeah. That's crazy.
Did you guys beat Real Madrid this season at
Anfield? Not a knockout game. Oh, a knockout
game. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. If we're
talking about group stage games, we've won at
Anfield. Oh, a knockout game. In a knockout game,
we've always drawn at Anfield and beaten them
away or something like that. But we haven't won
since Barcelona 2019. Oh, okay. I didn't know
that. You know how ridiculous that is. That's
crazy because of the folklore around Anfield.
The Anfield factor has been non -existent for
years now. I wouldn't say that, though. Like,
it's happened in league games, but not like,
you know, what it's built up to be versus what
it has been. But I think maybe the continental
teams deal with the pressure better. A team from
La Liga or Germany, for example. wouldn't be
as intimidated going to Anfield because it's
the common sort of atmosphere there, especially
if you go to the south of Spain or Germany. It's
like throughout the whole country. France, the
same thing. So I think in England there's only
one atmosphere like that. So it's very intimidating
for, let's just say, Arsenal. I think we've,
even in the, let's say, three of the last four
seasons, we've been better than you guys but
still struggled at Anfield. I agree with that.
But yeah, I'm just talking about knockout football.
We've lost our mojo. A lot of people blame tourist
fans who they just, from whatever country, come
in to watch the game. It's not a xenophobic thing.
It's more that... They didn't grow up. No, no,
no, no, no, no. It has nothing to do with them.
They're saying the owners have priced out the
local people. So the only people who can afford
tickets are people coming from other countries,
you know. Yeah, I agree with it in that sense.
You should have a balance because I do think
the international fans, they're also the ones
who grew the game. Yeah, that's what makes you
a super club, having these international fans.
But making it so that locals can't... attend
games because it's the locals who make that special
landfill factor. But I guess that would be the
same as at all the top clubs because I think
you guys have the cheapest ticket prices from
the top six. Well, whatever the case is, we're
still overcharging local fans because that's
all we hear on Liverpool forums. We're even worse.
Arsenal are apparently the highest. In Europe,
yeah, I think. But to be fair, you have a much
better stadium than most places. So the... What's
the word? The infrastructure is better, so they
are able to charge a premium. I wonder, Tottenham
has the best stadium in the country, but they're
going to go down? how would that how would that
pan out yes and by the way no hard feelings to
Spurs Spurs came and did what they were supposed
to do we were exceptionally poor yeah I mean
like one thing I think I've generally always
given slot credit for throughout the season is
that he's always tried to pick a balanced team
even for better or worse even if his setup is
wrong I think he's always sought balance but
like the game against Galatasaray which I watched
and this game It just seemed like he's also lost
the balance, which then you're starting to think,
what does he offer? What can he improve on next
season? Let's just say he gets the signings right,
which technically he did get this season. You've
got the, who most people last season would have
considered the best player in the Premier League
for me and Isak. Maybe some people would have
said Haaland, but I think at the end of last
season, everyone was talking about Isak as the
most complete attacker in the Premier League.
And he's had injuries or whatever, but I don't
think Slot has found a way to bring him into
the team. I think Eketike developing faster than
people have expected at the start of the season
covered up a lot of problems for you guys. But
once the balance is gone now, it seems like he's
making erratic decisions even from a coaching
perspective and just hoping they pay off. So
speaking of which, we barely talked about play
because this is not the game. There's not a game
for that. This is the game for me to just be
upset and vent. I just thought everybody's kind
of forcing the ball to Rio, which, be clear,
it's fine if he's a cog in the machine and you're
passing to him because he's in the best position
to make use of the ball. But if you're forcing
the ball to him every time, even if he's not
in the best position, that's wrong. But it also
shows a bit of immaturity from the team because
it feels like... You're expecting the kid to
bail them out. Exactly. I know the fans have
been calling for Rio to play more, but the fans
haven't called for him to be the focal point.
The linchpin, yeah. I think people are still
expecting that of Wurz. I know we were talking
off -camera, you were completely dismayed by
Wurz's performance, let's say. I was going to
use stronger language. No, I swear we just talked
about it now on the pod. Oh, yeah. No, I think
you just mentioned that he was atrocious, but
I think when we were coming here, you were talking
about, oh, this is now the Wurz of the start
of the season. Well, he was very poor. It reminded
me of Morgan Gibbs -White, who's a player I don't
like. I know you rate him a lot. I rate him a
lot, yeah. For me, both Morgan Gibbs -White and
now Wurz, they're just kind of looking busy about
the pitch without doing much. They have a nice
flick here and there. will play one good ball
here and there, but for most of the time, they're
not doing much on the pitch, not pressing well,
not doing off -the -ball stuff. I think I rate
Morgan Gibbs -White based on the fact that I
think he's also been mismanaged his whole career.
Where do you think he should be playing? Both
position -wise and club -wise. Club -wise, I
think... any one of the top teams he could fit
into. I would say he suits us most because I
would like him as an older guard replacement.
I think he has all the fundamentals. He leads
the press well. I think he's just been playing
his whole career in a low block where he's been
the main player every time. I don't think he's
meant to be the main player. I think if he goes
to a team where he's not expected to do everything
and he can focus on what he's good at, I don't
see many better profiles as an eight for me.
All right. Especially as a deep -lying eight.
And if he can free Declan Rice going up, because
I've been very impressed with Declan Rice carrying
the ball, I'd like him to carry it closer to
the opposition half. I would think he would suit
Arsenal, perhaps Chelsea as well. All right,
we're just going to have to disagree. Same about
Semenya Gibbs -White. You and I will have to
defer on that. The next point I wanted to say
is that, getting back to the Liverpool game,
is we're constantly conceding after the 90th
minute. And this has become a pattern. If it
happens once or twice, fair enough. But it could
be concentration. That could be one thing. But
the thing that everyone is talking about is conditioning.
So Alex Oxlade -Chamberlain said Klopp's training
was so hectic that when they actually got to
games, the games were much easier then. their
training yeah so slots training sessions must
be far less intense and far less uh demanding
i think uh saka said the same thing about uh
arsenal's training sessions that the games are
a bit easier because they're less intense as
well so yeah that in my mind that's how it should
be that's what a top coach does to differentiate
from you know like a top four club from the pack
yeah a top four club to a champions uh challenging
team that's the one of many things you can do
to differentiate yourself i think and uh so with
all that being said do you think you guys have
like a squad that i mean obviously now i think
it's evident arsenal have the best squad in the
league but do you think you guys should be above
man city if everything is managed correctly or
let's just say I think coming into the season
they added Semenyo and Kwehi you guys were going
to get Kwehi so like my thing is do you think
how much do you think you guys have underperformed
or where do you think you guys should be do you
want to go position by position or no not position
just you can do it you can speak okay so goalkeeper
I think we're totally fine in fact we're extending
Allison's contract or there was an option to
extend and we exercise that option now i i'm
totally in love with allison one of our best
players very rarely lets us down if ever the
best goalkeeper in in the league's history for
me the league's history wow that's a big one
but that's a big one i don't i don't uh i watch
peter trick at arsenal was uh but that's towards
the end of his career like yeah i assume people
are comparing prime to prime i didn't watch him
week to week at chelsea like uh I was still a
kid at that time, so I wouldn't have even understood
the fundamentals. But from everyone I've seen,
I think Allison's comfortably the best. All right,
right back, we're in big trouble. Connor Bradley's
just not good enough. Frimpong. He's never played
at right back. Slott just refuses to play him
there. Gomez is all right there, but we shouldn't
be relying on him because going forward, he's
not the best. So what's like playing right back?
Again, I've made my thoughts clear. He has some
good defensive instincts, but overall, he's just
not a defender. So we can't blame him for defensive
lapses and like that kind of thing. Center backs,
we've bought Leone and we've bought Jeremy Jacquet
now. Apparently, Konate is off and Van Dijk is
one year older. Gomez is just not good enough
to play center back. So we need, we've bought
like four youth center backs. So I'm assuming
one of them is going to make the jump up to cover
for that. But I still think we need one more
center back. So a right back and a center back.
Left back, Kirk is, I think he's a good player.
He just needs to... Imagine buying the most attacking
left back in the league and then playing him
defensively. It boggles the mind why you would
do something like that, but that's the honest
lot way. So far. Robertson has been poor, except
the match against Wolves last week. He had a
really poor game against Spurs this week, but
he's not even in the top five of culprits, so
that's why I'm not talking about him. Kostas
Simikas is a good enough replacement we can sell
Robertson. Left -back is fine. In midfield, we
need a Gravenberg replacement. Not replacement,
backup. And in fact, I would say Gravenberg can
be released to play eight and he would do not
much better, but he would still put up a very
good performance. So a specialised six or a backup
to Gravenberg, either or. Midfield, Sabotsai,
McAllister, Jones, that's a good mixture. like
verts also plays there so we got four decent
uh midfielders i don't think that's the issue
gagpo is the biggest problem in the squad not
because he's a bad player like i said he's a
six out of ten player but uh you'd prefer to
have him as a backup perhaps or no you don't
think he offers much impact either he's he has
one move and people have just found it out so
what can we do now yeah I mean, I agree. I think
he's too one -dimensional. He has no dribbling
bag, nothing. He'll never take on a man, which
is very disheartening, especially because when
he's in space, if he took on a man, he would,
you know, lead to more goals, in my opinion.
I think... That's why people are crying out for
N 'Gomoa. Sorry, carry on. No, I think this Man
City in the future, I think they might have similar
problems with Semenya, who we were speaking about,
because I think... You really don't like Semenya.
I rate him very highly, but I just think that...
Because I remember when we did the transfer window
episode, you were saying the unpopular opinion
is that, or your unpopular opinion is that Semenya
is not a good signing for... For Man City specifically.
Yeah. Yeah, I think he could have been good at
another club. I just... I don't see... Like,
I think Manchester City... Like, Haaland is their
golden boy right now. I don't see them letting
him go. I don't see another, like, Barcelona
or Real Madrid really wanting him, which would
be the two clubs he could go to, or PSG. So I
think they would both need the system built around
them. So it's like, who would Manchester City
go with? The player who's already a club legend
or someone who still has to prove himself? I
still think Simeone has a very high ceiling as
a player, but I think he needs to go somewhere
where he's going to be the main player. All right.
At forward, we have both Ekatike and Isaac. I
think they are good. a decent striker line. At
right wing, we have Frimpong. But then long term
with that, I don't think either of them are going
to accept sitting on the bench. So what's the
solution there? My thought was a positional change
to make use of both of them. And then we, instead
of buying another winger, we buy another striker.
Because at the moment, wingers are at a premium
and there's some good strikers out there in my
mind. So not, I guess 4 -4 -2. you know whatever
the new manager simeon is going back to a 442
seems to be working for him so far so whatever
the new manager wants to do we'll we'll see but
to me making the best use out of the squad is
playing with two strikers so right back center
back left wing those are problem positions and
a backup for cdm aside from that i think we're
good okay so you guys you think you guys should
be second no i think we should win the league
no i'm saying based on How everything has panned
out this season on the squad debut. Oh, no, no.
We should be like sixth or seventh. You think
you have the sixth best squad in the league?
No, not squad -wise. I'm saying the squad has
been mismanaged to the point where we should
be sixth or seventh. Fair enough. I think you
guys have probably the best. in my opinion the
best attacking options in the league i'd just
say that yeah the squad is out of balance and
before i thought the system might have been like
covering up and at least slot was trying to achieve
some balance even if he was playing defensively
but i think the last three or four games i don't
see any balance so So, do you have anything else
to say about Liverpool? Because we haven't touched
Spurs at all. No, I don't. We should speak about
Tottenham though. Kudos to them for getting a
point. Richarlison especially, I thought. Aside
from the goal, he was also decent. Had a few
good chances. Caused problems for the back line.
The goal, Gomez gave him too much space. And
that's, you know, I was saying Gomez is not good
enough for centre -back. He's the one who left
all that space open for... For Richarlison to
run into. Yeah. Well, he wasn't running into,
he was just standing there. He was just standing
there, practically unmarked. Yes, that's the
issue. And it was a horrible pass from Vicario
that I think was just... Robertson didn't deal
with it. Yeah. Van Dijk is kind of left stranded
because Robertson's poor clearance and Gomez
leaving the space. So, yeah, very poor. What
can you do about it? I mean, I just, at least
from a neutral perspective, I hope Tottenham
stay up. Well, like I said, I would never want
Everton to get relegated. You need somebody to
dunk on. Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, I hope this
point, they pick up a few more points till the
end of the season enough to stay up. But I still,
they're looking like the most likely. Like, I
think you guys played terribly. They unlocked
you guys. But the fact that you guys played terribly
and still, Should have won the game comfortably
is just a bad sign for Tottenham. Should we have
won the game comfortably? Like, what really big
chances did we have? I wouldn't say you had,
like, big chances, but you had the territory,
like, enough where... Possession doesn't win
you games, bro. No, I'm not saying, like, but
I don't think Tottenham really offered anything
either. It wasn't like I saw something in Tottenham
that would say, oh, okay, you guys are going
to stay up. Like, you guys were horribly out
of form and they needed, like, a... a terrible
individual error to level up the game. Sabasa's
goal, we haven't even spoke about that either.
I thought it wasn't the best free kick, but Vicario
was poor at defending it. Or not defending it,
at saving it. I remember Tottenham fans were
very happy when they got Vicario instead of Raya,
so I'm glad it worked out that way for us. Vicario
is so poor, bro. I'm not a fan of him, even in
the slightest. uh we need to move on now because
at least like 20 minutes i'm looking at the timer
yeah but uh we should not uh be dedicating 20
minutes to a game anyway uh do you have anything
else to say before we wrap this up i think i've
spoken everything i need to okay so in the miscellaneous
section now burnley nil born with no And I'd
like to say that this is a shock because we know
Bournemouth to be this crazy attack -orientated
team. But in recent weeks, they've drawn 0 -0
with West Ham, Brentford and now Burnley. The
last time they scored three goals was against
the worst team in the league, Liverpool Football
Club. Kudos to Burnley for the draw, but once
again, it's too late for them. Perhaps these
good results will keep Scott Parker in a job
when they come back to the league. Yeah, I mean,
he's... If only he can get teams up from the
championship. I wouldn't be surprised to see
Burnley back season after next, you know, if
they keep him. But with Bournemouth, I guess
maybe... something they could be happy about
is that they're keeping clean feats now. There
was a big criticism of Areola before. But at
the expense of the attack. At the expense. I
mean, yeah, I think the attacking dynamics will
come back. They've had a lot of injuries as well
from what I understand. And losing Semenyo. Yeah,
losing their best player as well. So I think...
Irelia is doing as much as he can. I don't think
he'll stay at Bournemouth beyond this season.
I expect someone to take him, so we'll see. I
still don't think, ultimately, I think he reminds
me a bit of Unai Emery. I think he can raise
a team. I don't think he can get to the absolute
elite level, but we'll see. Sunderland 0, Brighton
1. So again, not a shock result. Sunderland have
had some really poor results recently, and Brighton
have been in good form. So that being said, watching
the highlights, it seemed like a very close game.
And the goal was just like Bernardo's. It was
a freaking incident. It wasn't anything like
exceptional play or whatever. So anything else
you want to say about Sunderland 0 Brighton 1?
No, I'm just surprised with Sunderland dropping
off a bit. But I guess it's like... It's their
first season in the Prem, so it's a long season
for them. I still think overall they would, for
me, outside of Arsenal, if Arsenal, whoever wins
the league would be the team of the season, and
then I would say Sunderland would still be my
second team of the season based on the whole.
Chelsea 0, Newcastle 1. So two teams looking
to bounce back after disappointment in Europe.
The build -up to Newcastle's goal was an almost
carbon copy of the goal they scored against City.
What did you make of Chelsea's huddle? Surrounding
the referee. I love that picture of the referee
looking at the camera like Jim from The Office.
It made me chuckle. Sorry, back to the game.
Chelsea's left centre -back went forward while
the rest of the back line dropped off, leaving
a huge gap which Newcastle exploited. So either
both City and Chelsea made the same mistake,
or Newcastle are finding ways to disrupt the
back line to cause these gaps. So if that's the
case, then kudos to Eddie Howe for this tactical
innovation. What you've said from this week to
last week, it seems like Eddie Howe's developing
his defensive attributes, maybe focusing more
on transitional moments as opposed to getting
everything off the counter press. I really like
Eddie Howe. I like him as a person. I like him
as a coach. I wish the best for him. So it's
a good sign. Chelsea had a bunch of half chances
but nothing concrete. Even in highlight form,
they look toothless. Cole Palmer had one sitter
that he missed. That was the only chance I can
recall of Chelsea having a clear -cut chance.
They had a few long -range shots, that trouble
-keeper, but other than that, it was very tame
in my eyes. Then we can... Oh, sorry, anything
else? I think Chelsea is just, you know, having
one of those seasons where I guess they're just
hoping to get in the Champions League and then
start again from the pre -season, you know. So,
Arsenal 2, Everton 0. And I predicted a 0 -0
because both teams are defensive, so I thought
it would be difficult for both teams to score.
And things were going to plan until the 89th
minute when young Max Daumann played an excellent
cross, which Hinkapie hit back across the area
for Jokers to finish. Max Daumann then scores
the goal, which seals the win. Last week I laughed
when I read an Arsenal fan tweet, quote, Lamin
Yamal and Max Daumann are the new Messi and Neymar.
So perhaps I was wrong. I rate Max Thelman very
highly from what I've seen, but I think Lamine's
the best player in the world, so I don't think
he's anywhere near that level yet. But we'll
see. Time will tell. They said the same thing
about Foden, so I don't want to get carried away
on Premier League hype yet or British player
hype. But I really like Max. Everything we've
seen from him, he seems like he has the makings
of a top -level player. hopefully like uh his
development continues he gets more minutes in
the team he's very exciting very direct you know
the type of thing that gets like your blood pumping
yeah as a fan or neutral i should say yeah and
i think especially with how defensive our system
is it also allows him like a lot more responsibility
with it's like something you would have seen
with hazard and the content is it's up to you
to yeah he gives like I guess that's the the
one thing Oteta does like figure it out yourself
a bit you know so well it depends on your point
of view but you could be like he leaves them
uncoached or you could say he gives them the
freedom to express themselves depending on your
point I think it's like certain players like
I think Diamond would probably fall into like
the same bracket as like Saka or Odegaard where
he'd give them a lot of freedom so it depends
I think I think Saka could benefit from being
more structurally managed, but I don't think
Dalman's going to get those minutes yet. I think
he'll play a lot till the end of the season.
I expect from next season he'll probably be more
a starter than this season. Who would you replace?
I would think Saka would move centrally like
for me I would play him on the right or left
wing but if Arteta is not going to play Eze on
the left wing I would be okay with putting Diamond
on the left to start because it's still Madueke
Martinelli Trossard you know for either wing
so I think yeah those are all good backup options
you know I think those should be the backups
Madueke as a backup Martinelli as a backup those
are very good options Trossard I would still
think I want Havertz as the main nine so I would
think Havertz again Diamond's not going to be
a first option next season either I don't think
that's another thing that would maybe for me
like you know I don't see anyone being very close
to Lamine right now except Pedri who's in his
team so I don't I wouldn't make that comparison
yet because Lamine he I think he's the player
in the world who has the biggest ability to make
something happen from nothing right now. And
Dalman's just done it for one game. So let's
see if he does it more, you know. Okay. Crystal
Palace 0, Leeds 0. So despite the scoreline,
it seems like a high drama match. Calvert -Lewin
missed a penalty. Goodmanson got a red card.
And Palace had a goal ruled out. So pretty much
everything you want in a game. Not everything
you want in a game. But... A lot of high drama
moments, I should say. Yeah, entertaining. Yeah.
Palace don't have much to play for because they're
safe in the league. So they're probably going
to go all out in the Conference League to try
and win that. To try and get in the Europa League
as well, yeah. So Leeds are also probably safe,
but they're still within distance of relegation,
so they shouldn't relax, in my opinion. Yeah,
I mean, I think they're playing well enough,
though. I think Leeds are probably the team I
would be least worried about from... Leeds, Tottenham,
Nottingham Forest and West Ham. Are we done yet?
Yeah. Man United 3, Aston Villa 1. So this is
the only result of the weekend that I predicted
correctly because the pattern of this game was
so obvious to me. United scored from a set piece,
a moment of Bruno magic and a late Sesco goal,
which that's what they've just been doing recently.
I think Emery is now also a bit like slot. The
balance is completely off. Aston Villa are getting
played through consistently. But to be fair,
the Villa board haven't backed him. Yeah, I mean,
you could say to an extent they haven't backed
him. But I guess we never really know what happens
behind the scenes at clubs. Because I think he
was backed to a similar degree as Arteta at Arsenal.
But the recruitment wasn't anywhere near the
same, you know. Aston Villa being, okay, so while
conceding a goal because of poor marking, I would
argue that this is another poor performance masked
by the scoreline. Aston Villa being even more
poor and individual brilliance, especially from
Bruno, has covered up this poor performance.
Yeah, I mean, I think we were speaking about
it, the Carrick situation over the last couple
of weeks. I think... You know, is it Carrick
or is it Bruno Fernandes? That's the real genius,
you know, right now. Because speaking of which,
he's on course to break the assist record for
a single season. He has 16 assists and the record
is 20. I hope he breaks it because, I mean, it's
Henry's record. As an Arsenal fan, I wouldn't
want him to break it. But as a human, I'd want
him to get as many assists as possible. I like
watching him play as well. But I also think that,
you know, people have been in this position before
and seem to always struggle to get the last four
like uh i'm just gonna correct you a little bit
it's a shared record And De Bruyne, yes. Yes,
KDB and Henry, 20 assists in a season. And I
really thought KDB would get like 25 that season,
but that's just not how it works. And I think
there was a time Ozil got to 16 in an even quicker
time than De Bruyne. I mean, even quicker time
than Fernandes, but also couldn't get the last
four. I think he finished on 19. Even last season,
Salah looked like he was on course to... To break
it, yeah, to get the 20 -20. But he... I'm not
sure what he... He was actually going to be a
30 -20, but he just fell off. He finished on
18, eh? I don't know how many he finished off
on, but whatever the case is, are we done with
United Villa, or do you have anything else to
say? Yeah, I don't have much else to add. Nottingham
Forest, no. Fulham, no. So based on highlights,
Nottingham Forest absolutely battered Fulham,
but they just weren't clinical enough. I think
Vitor Pereira is a good coach, and he'll keep
them in the league. So, you're saying Tottenham's
going down? West Ham are staying up. Forrest
are staying up. Leeds are staying up. You've
been very vehement on West Ham staying up. Love
West Ham. I guess Tottenham's the one. Yeah.
I mean, I would take Van der Veen on the trip
if that happened, but that's the only good thing
that would come out of that, I think. Apparently,
Van der Veen is the Liverpool fan. So, a lot
of people have been speaking about him. I mean,
we don't need him. I'm just saying, I think any
club could take him on the trip. That's true.
Anything you want to say about this game? I just,
I have nothing to say about Fulham. Oh no, Forrest.
Two clubs I have not followed very closely this
season. Yeah, me neither. I mean, I've watched
like a couple of Fulham games just to see how
the old Arsenal boys are doing, but I wouldn't
say like, I think they're in the same position
they were last season, just a good mid -table
team, you know. Do you have anything else you
want to say about any of the matches? I just
didn't highlight that I think probably the player
I want to... I know Max Diamond got man of the
match, but I think the best player on the field
was Saliba for me by a distance. The last three
games, he's been back to his best. I think especially
with regards to being played through or playing
through the opposition, his passing is crazy.
I don't think I pointed that out. I'm just glad
to have him. I think he's the best defender in
the world when he plays like this. Yeah, I think
I just wanted to give him some props for getting
back to form and stabilising our defence because
Gabriel has been making a lot of mistakes. I
think they've been covered up by Saliba and Gabriel
gets a goal. So people are like, oh, Gabriel's
the better one. But I've always been... Saying
that Saliba is the glue of the back four for
me more than Gabriel. And I think now, especially
in the most important games, the Champions League
games, the bigger games, the high -pressure games,
I think we're seeing that there's a different
level to Saliba compared to any of Arsenal's
defenders. Yeah, well, you should judge a defender
on their defensive work, in my opinion. And I
think his defensive work has also been the best
in the last five seasons. No, but I'm saying
comparing him with Gabriel. I think he's a better
defender than Gabriel. No, but I'm saying Gabriel
gets a lot of plaudits because of his attacking
work. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Oh, yeah,
sorry, sorry. Okay, I thought you were saying
charging them on their tackles or something.
No, no, I'm saying you should judge defenders
based on defending, not Gabriel's goals. That's
what I was trying to get at. Sorry if that wasn't
clear. I think Rice and Saliba have been carrying
him a lot this season. But he's also carried
us in the moment of getting the goals, getting
some good definitive. passes, but I think the
last five games especially have shown that Saliba
and Declan Rice are by far our most important
players. Alright, well thank you for listening.
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