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Football Weekly
All square between Arsenal and Atléti, plus a Premier League preview: Football Weekly Extra
00:46:06
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Lars Sivertsen to discuss Arsenal’s 1-1 draw in Madrid and preview the forthcoming Premier League fixtures
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- [00:00]
A
This is the Guardian.
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B
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
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Foreign.
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C
Max here. Barry's here too. Barry's not here. So Burnley and Scott Parker are parting ways by mutual consent. This obviously happened after we recorded the pod. It's not enough for an emergency pod. I respect to Burnley fans, but, you know, we apologize but we'll talk about it on Monday for a bit. I imagine this pod instead begins with the greatest game of all time. Athletic 1, Arsenal 1. Here it is. Thanks for listening, watching, etc. Hello and welcome to Guardian Football Weekly. All square then in Madrid. Athletic and Arsenal weren't going to give us PSG Bayern, but they gave us a different kind of entertaining. It was tense and it was controversial and Arteta and Simeone probably covered more ground than anyone else on the pitch. It's impossible not to talk about VAR or handball here, so apologies in advance, but get ready to tick off all your favorite phrases. Natural position, 80% chance of scoring a goal. Clear and obvious. I'm boring myself and we haven't even introduced the panel. But a good result for Arsenal, who can go back to stressing about the title race at the weekend home to Fulham, while Man City have to wait until Monday to go to Everton. Then there's the relegation dogfight. West Ham at Everton on Saturday, all new injury problems. Spurs at Villa on Sunday. If they both win big, if they could drag some others into it. Then there's the EFL permutations. Mudryk's four year ban. Your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today, Barry Glendenning. Welcome.
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A
Hi, Max.
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C
Hello. Nikki Bandini.
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D
Morning. Good morning.
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C
Lars Ibidson.
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E
Hello, Max.
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C
Let's start at the wand of Metropolitano. Spice says. How about some VAR chat for a change? Andy says there were more shots in the Athletic Arsenal match than PSG Bayern, but I guess that doesn't suit certain narratives, does it? I think. I think Andy is trying to make the case that this was a better game and it wasn't a better game. But Nikki with a dog in the fight. I mean, there was real tension and there was real drama in this game still.
- [02:28]
D
Yeah, I think it's really interesting. I think if you put this game as it was the night after PSG Buy in. Of course you go, huh. It wasn't. That wasn't as good as that one. If you put it next to Arsenal Newcastle, you think, wow, what a great game of football. So it's all about where you draw your contrast, isn't it? PSG buying was, was spectacular. Brilliant. Loved every second of it. And I think this was a different kind of game completely. And, and we can't game to, to hit that bar of best game you've seen all year. But I, I thought this was a, a game that was interesting and worthy of a Champions League semi final. I thought, I thought two teams that ebbed and flowed at different points the game had the upper hand. Two teams that both definitely had ideas about how they were going to try to win this time. Two teams that were perhaps weakest in, in the, in the finishing department and perhaps without the penalties, we would have ended up with a nil nil and we would have had a different perspective on it. But, but they both created chances from the start. Obviously Julian Alvarez gets that save out of David Ryan early, but I thought Arsenal did well in the first half. I thought again really early on you had Madame standing up that cross the back post that you had two players both running out that didn't quite go right. But I thought they were creating chances early on. I thought they had managed to do something that was really important by pushing the two fullbacks really, really high up in the first half. They really neutered that threat that Atletico can bring with their runners in transition. We barely saw Adam and Lookman in the first half and you had Simeone forced to, to drop back and he ends up coming off at halftime. And that was, was, I think a really important change by, by Athletico. And Athletico responded, which was nice. I, I like that back and forth when you see that between managers and they go, okay, that didn't work for us in the first half and, and we'll do something different. And then Athletico I thought were really, really good for the first half an hour of the second half. So yeah, I, I enjoyed it. I thought it was an interesting back and forth and I think that it's a shame that we will ultimately have to talk a lot about penalty decisions because they did of course decide how the game ends up.
- [04:29]
C
Yeah, I mean, on just on that change for Athleti, John says, is Simeone's decision to take his own son off at Halim in their biggest game of the season. The football equivalent of Michael Colone having Fredo killed at the end of Godfather Part 2. But it did change things, didn't it? Like, like it felt to me like Arsenal had that sort of Arsenal control in the first half and then Athletic were a lot better until perhaps as a more essay than Saka. But both of them came on and then Arsenal sort of got a bit of control back.
- [04:55]
E
I feel like Fredo Corleone was always kind of a waste man, you know, but. But Juliana Simeone was. Was obviously the key player in the tie against Barcelona. So he kind of came into this encounter with some merit. But, but, but yeah, clearly that was a change that, that, that helped quite a lot. I also just wonder if Giovanna just getting the penalty against which we aren't. I don't think that one was controversial really. That was kind of clumsy from Hanschko. But I wonder if that fired them up a little bit because they just seem more honest at the start of the second half they were more like what you expect from Atletico Madrid in the second half. They're not. It's not your dad's Athletico Madrid. They're not sort of sort of defensive titan anymore. But they are usually quite aggressive and feisty. I thought the second half of this was a good version of this game. I thought the first half was quite boring. But in the second half Atletico was kind of a little bit more fired up and I thought it got entertaining and maybe that switch mattered, getting Llorente a little bit more involved. But also I think there was a slight sort of attitude check as well. Maybe they got told off at halftime that that's also possible.
- [05:59]
C
We do have to talk about the decisions. I guess that the first one. I think Barry, you know, it's a shove. You must be pleased to see a shove being penalised in the box. And Yokoz actually does well. I thought he did quite well in this game.
- [06:09]
A
I haven't been impressed at all, particularly with him this season. He's got 19 goals in all competitions, which is decent for his first season at a new team as good as Arsenal. But I still think he could offer a lot more. I think he's one footed and I don't think he. For such a big fella, he's not very good at holding up the ball. But he was quite good at it last night. I presume that's an. An area of his game that's been worked on and it's something that he can improve. He won that penalty. No problem with that being given at all. And he struck it, he absolutely leathered it. And I think all black's been getting some criticism for diving with his arms sort of like wide open scissors and it went through the gap, but I think he struck it so hard again, I'm going to stick up for goalkeepers like I did yesterday. I think the criticism being directed at all black is maybe a little unfair, but yeah, I thought Jocker has played well last night.
- [07:10]
C
The second penalty. Okay, Chris says, I'm convinced the ref and Var listened to Football weekly and made those decisions purely to wind you up. Now, I did speak to on talks. What? Yesterday I spoke to Graham Scott, the former Premier League referee, who is actually a really good talker on this and he. What was interesting was he did say that, you know, some referees get directives and they have to give decisions they don't want to give. And it's really annoying if you're a referee because you can't just stick your microphone on and go, I don't. I think this law is terrible.
- [07:35]
E
I personally think this is a load of nonsense. But I've been told this is the rule. So here we go. This is the penalty.
- [07:40]
C
But he said that UEFA specifically, but you know, ifab, FIFA, etc are trying to get the Premier League in line with the rest of Europe because we established yesterday that is probably not given in the Premier League. Alfonso Davis one isn't given in the Premier League. And what a relief that is because they are so desperate for consistency. And the head of referees. I was listening to five live and they were saying, I think John Murray had been to like a talk from this guy saying, these are handball penalties. We're getting this right. And John Murray was like, these are all the ones that are really annoying everyone or certainly annoying me. So I don't know, Lars or Nikki, if you can add anything to this debate. Just makes me so furious. But I'm so aware of repeating myself.
- [08:24]
D
It's kind of not a debate. I. I know that everyone in England is frustrated by it. I feel frustrated by it sometimes watching it. But this is how it's been applied in most the content. This is a lot close to how it's applied in Italy. Just think that this debate only exists in England and I'm not saying it's. It's whether it's right or wrong because I don't like it as a penalty and I think lots of Italians don't like it either. I don't think that's like saying no one in. In Europe thinks it's annoying, but it's just kind of. Everyone's got over it and I feel like the English audience hasn't got over it.
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C
I haven't got over it.
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D
Maybe never will. Maybe, maybe shouldn't. Maybe shouldn't.
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C
I really want to lead a revolution for this or like, be led by someone more charismatic that people will listen to?
- [09:01]
E
Lars, you're not turning to me for that man. If we can agree on one thing. But no, the only thing I'd give the UEFA standard of refereeing is that at least they are consistent on this. Like, this has been a penalty all year. It has been a penalty for several years. These, whether we like it or not. And the players at least know what to expect. I had a significant guffaw in my front room when I heard the sort of assorted pundits on the broadcast suggest that maybe the. Maybe the referees had watched yesterday's game in the hotel and looked at the handball that was given there and decided, well, we have to give a silly handball. It was like. I was like, have you ever watched a game in the Champions League before? Like, this is how it's refereed. It's always been like this. So it is. It's terrible for the game, I don't like it, but it is at least consistent.
- [09:51]
C
So then there's the non penalty or the overturned penalty. Barry Arteta afterwards. So as it gets touched, he goes down, the ref gives a penalty. He looks at the replay a million times. Arteta says, there's no clear and obvious error and this changes the course of the game. And at this level, I'm sorry, this cannot happen. A referee had to watch it 13 times. What's more clear than that? It's impossible and we're all fuming about it. And I, I have a lot of sympathy for Arteta on this, Barry.
- [10:17]
A
I think it was a foul personally. Apparently there's some angles available that suggest it wasn't a foul. I haven't seen them, but I have seen an angle that to me looks like a foul. And once the referee gives it, I'm not sure how he can overturn it because I don't know what he saw on the monitor. And he. Apparently he looked at it 12 or 13 times, but that made him think he'd made a mistake originally. If that exact situation happened, if the shoe was on the other foot and that was given against Arsenal, I think their fans would be outraged that it was given and would like it to have been overturned.
- [11:01]
C
We've probably all agreed. It seems strange. I mean, I hate it when people yell clear and obvious. It's just a phrase. I never wanted to exist in football, but it. But it's true. Like he does get touched. I'm not sure it's a penalty, but once it's given, I can't see how you overturn it. I think it has to stay with the on field decision if I understand the laws of the game.
- [11:20]
D
I found people's strength of reactions in both directions quite surprising because as Bas said, some people seem absolutely certain this wasn't a penalty, seemed to think it was ridiculous that this could be considered a penalty. And I don't see it as ridiculous. There's clear contact, how much the discussion is whether or not there's enough contact for it to justify the fall. And I think it's pretty clear. Again, it's clear that this contact is clear that Lookman makes the most of it. I think it sits in the gray area and I'm kind of okay with it being given or not being given. I do think that it's really boring to repeat it. But what everyone's saying, which is should the referee be overturning it, having made that decision, is kind of the talking point here. One of the interesting points I saw made there was a former official saying it somewhere I read this morning saying that maybe one thing that should come out of this is perhaps clubs shouldn't be allowed to decide where the pitch side monitor goes. Maybe that should go somewhere that's definitely away from having Diego Simeone. Yeah, I did think, like, I think that everyone's sort of blown all this up too much. I think also we're saying that at the other end, if this was a penalty, I think Lookman could have had a penalty not very long before and didn't go down.
- [12:27]
E
But the sentence, if he goes down, it's a penalty. It's not something we should ever say out loud like the referees should be able to call. There's. There's a foul here. Whether the player exaggerates or not, I agree with you.
- [12:36]
C
But like he's not. Lookman doesn't get a penalty because he stays on his feet and he gets a shot away. And if he does go down, he. I think he definitely gets a penalty because he gets the wrong side of Ben White, isn't it? And you know, there is definite. There is contact there and probably more contact than there is on Eze. Right.
- [12:52]
E
I was surprised it was overturned and I understand the frustration of Arsenal fans because these are typically given, I think, but entirely subjectively, irrespective of the laws of the game and current president, I would like to see them not Given not just in this case, but in general, because I think what happens there, it's pretty clear from the replays that as it feels, someone touch him and decides to lie down, and I'm not judging him for that, because penalties are so valuable, like a penalty is 80% of a goal. They matter so much in the course of a game. So players now are completely conditioned to. If you feel something, any kind of tap, you need to lie down. And if you don't, you might effectively cost your team.
- [13:33]
C
A goal.
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E
Like, this is how it's become now. And I think that's bad for the sport. I don't think it should work like that. I don't think when attackers get into the box, they should be like, oh, is someone going to touch me? Is someone going to touch me? I can lie down. Like, this is not good. And to change that, I think two things need to happen and it's important that they both happen. First of all, yes, you have to give penalties even when they try to get their shot away. And B, you have to not give penalties when people exaggerate. Now, that is my sort of utopian future of refereeing.
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C
Lead the revolution.
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E
Yeah, well, again, we need to find someone actually charismatic to lead the revolution. But. But what I want to make very clear is that that's sort of utopian thinking from me in the context of how the game is refereed in the year of our Lord 2026. I would not expect this to be overturned. And I understand why Arsenal fans are furious that it was.
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D
Do you know what the other weird thing with that is, though? Like, because everyone's agreed on this, I feel like I haven't heard one dissenting opinion on this. People saying they were surprised that it was overturned once the referees made the decision. But what is also true is, like, when did you last see a referee go to the monitor and go, no, I was right. Like, once they go to monitor once
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C
in the Premier League. Ferraj lam, Man City 2, Wolves nil. His Premier League debut as a ref, it was a Wolves hand ball so rare that you're like, yeah. Even if you're wrong, you're like, go for it, ref. Believe in yourself. This is like a. It's like a movie.
- [14:54]
E
And this is where I would want the practice of VAR to change. Because the way it is now, they look at it in the booth and then they go, hey, we have seen this. Do you want to. And we think it's this. Do you want to look at this? Whereas I just think it should be we're not sure about this one. If you want to see a couple of replays then you know that's, that's probably a good idea or maybe something like that. Because I do agree, I think the way it is now, the referees are put under too much pressure to change their minds.
- [15:20]
D
It's worth mentioning as well, like on the actual football part of it, whether or not it's a penalty, I think it's, it's definitely a very risky challenge by Hanko who also gave away the first penalty. And, and I know some people were saying couldn't he have gone for the first one because of denial of a scoring opportunity? And I think that with a double jeopardy definitely shouldn't be a red card that people have talk about it. So worth saying. But I think it's really interesting because we, we, we hyper focus on understandably these moments around penalties because they can decide games. But Hanker also made some really important challenges up the pitch, pressing high and playing aggressive and, and turning the ball over in that second half that led to nice attacks for Atletico. So I suppose just worth reminding ourselves that football games are 90 minutes and have, have moments, don't they?
- [16:01]
E
I mean, yes, Nicky, but also, do you reckon David Hansko, when he got into the dressing room after the game, went to Simeon and said, listen boss, I know I gave away one, but I did also make some good challenges.
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C
You mentioned Simeone. I mean, it was Barry a sort of vintage Simeone performance, wasn't it? John says, is Diego Simeone allowed to be more annoying than Arteta and get away with it as he looks like a low key B tier Sopranos character. I think there's some truth in that for some reason Simeone being annoying is less annoying than Arteta being annoying.
- [16:31]
A
Well, I think it's for the likes of us who aren't exposed to Simeone being annoying as often as we are Arteta, that probably factors into the equation. I, for example, I don't find Jose Mourinho objectionable and annoying at all at the moment because I don't ever see him or very rarely see him because he's not really on my radar. But I see Arteta being annoying almost every week. I don't know if it was on television, but Marca picked it up. I saw it online this morning that at the end of the game when the players were walking off the pitch and going down the tunnel, there's an Atletico Madrid crest. I don't know if it's painted into the grass or a carpet at the entrance to the tunnel on the edge of the pitch. And Ben White had the audacity to walk across the crest rather than go around it in a performative show of respect. You know, of the kind Rio Ferdinand famously filmed himself doing. And Diego Simeone got the hump with him for. For sullying the crest with his muddy boots. And they had a bit of a shoving match before security intervened.
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C
If you don't want people to walk on something right at the entrance of a thing. Yeah, I mean, it seems completely built
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E
the house of cards just inside my front door once and someone came in and knocked it over. Nightmare. Is it legal to put a big club crest, like in your six yard box? It was like, we can't. No one's allowed to go here.
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C
This is.
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E
You can't go there.
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C
Once the dust settles. I can understand Nikki, that I test. Is Ann annoyed at the moment, but, like, that is not a terrible result. And to go back to the Emirates and you and I, and maybe I'm wrong, but I sort of feel like the vibe at the Emirates will be different on a Champions League night to the sort of abject terror of Fulham at home, which we'll get to at the weekend.
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D
Yeah, I think that'll depend a bit on how the game goes, obviously. And I think, like, the. The fear that we talk about can. Can come in depending on how a game goes. Almost. In some ways, you can almost imagine if Arsenal score early in that game and do what they do and immediately retreat into. Or we just sit on this. Now. I do think that for most fans, it feels like that the Premier League is this weighty thing, that there's been this club's need and this need for validation and they were. They were so far in front that they shouldn't blow it, that this feels different to the Champions League, where even now and even if they win this tie, they're not going to be the favorites. It is a different feeling. And I think that's been true not just for Arsenal, to be fair. I think that's true for most clubs playing in Europe. And I think that's why you see quite a few Premier League clubs this season have had these almost just pleasant breaks to Europe in between not so pleasant times in the Premier League laws.
- [19:11]
C
Yesterday, someone accused us of becoming a parody of ourselves because Wilson went straight in them. This game wasn't that great. To a lesser extent, Johnny. Johnny did say he did enjoy the game. It was left to me and Barry to be, you know, chief. This was quite a good game of football. But I just wondered if you wanted to have some. Well, I mean, it'd be funny if you said I thought also was a, you know, hopeless game, but I thought
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E
a lot about that. It gave me a sort of slight crisis of personality because on the one hand, yes, that was a bit buzzkilly by the Jonathans, Wilson in particular. But I also had to review my own WhatsApp groups and I realized the two hot takes I had in one of my football chats was this is mostly a consequence of the sort of ever increasing concentration of talent amongst a very small group of very wealthy clubs, first of all. Second of all, this is what happens when two teams that are kind of assembled and coached in order to put four or five goals past financially inferior opponents every week meet each other because they don't. They don't know how to defend because they don't really do it very often. So it turns out I had the exact same reaction as Jonathan Wilson, which of course has led me to do quite a lot of soul searching in the hours that followed. But I guess here's the thing. I think it's possible to think those things and still enjoy the spectacle of it. I think you have to, because this is kind of what we're left with. Like, this is what. This is what modern club football is in 2026. And I don't see it changing anytime soon. The development is that the wealthier clubs are getting a bigger and bigger slice of the pie. They are buying up more and more of the good players and the concentration of talent is extreme. And I think that's really bad for the sport. But the flip side is when they meet, the technical and physical levels of those games are unbelievable. And I think you have to just kind of enjoy that because if not, then what's the point? A number of years ago, I had a moment of sort of personal crisis when I just realized I kind of don't. Not sure I like this sport anymore because I started getting really fed up with, like, everything. Philippe always talks about, like, how grumpy everything is. And this development that I'm talking about now how everything seems to always be going in the wrong direction. And even things like the sort of relentless toxicity of a lot of online fandom and stuff like this was starting to really grind me down. I think, do I really enjoy this anymore? And the thing I kind of, in order to find some joy in it, I started to think, well, you have to really appreciate the things you do appreciate. Like, I was covering the Premier League at the time, so I was going to a lot of Chelsea games, and I think it was the season where Eden Hazard just went completely wild and was incredibly good. And I just found I really enjoy watching this slightly short Belgian man run with the ball across the grass and go past people. It's like an objectively beautiful thing to watch. And you can find, like, you can be aware of all these negative trends that Wilson and other panelists on this podcast are very, very good at pointing out. And I think it's important to point them out. I think you can be aware of those things and still find things that you enjoy about the sport. You can, you can carve out some comfort amongst the doom, which has become something of a mantra for me in general in life. If you cannot watch that game last night or the night before and just marvel at the speed and the technical quality and the audacity and the fact that you have two coaches who let them play like that in a Champions League semifinal as well, who don't try to just stop the game from taking place like some coaches do. You have to find the joy in that. I guess the counter argument is that is a bit like going to, I don't want to name Ape, but one of these undemocratic, slightly terrible places where the buildings are all very shiny and beautiful, but like the secret ingredient is oppression. There's a bit of that as well.
- [22:55]
C
Listening to great music of, you know, disgraced musician, etc, I still think, like,
- [23:01]
E
it's okay to like the nice things. You know the saying not seeing the forest for all the trees. I think sometimes we don't see the trees for all the forests. And I think there's an element of that. Like there were some good trees in that game.
- [23:13]
C
No, I agree with you. Speaking of finding joy, because you have to find joy on the radio yesterday, and this is not related, Charlie Baker and I, for some, for reasons that are too drawn out to get into, we're discussing who was the better singer out of Linvoy Primus, Portsmouth legend, and Craig Johnson, inventor of the press Predator. And we suggested we got them both to sing in the Air Tonight by Phil Collins and Linvoy Primus, nicest man in football was listening and sent me a voice note singing in the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. So, you know, that gave me some joy. In Europe tonight. Forest host Villa in the first leg of the Europa League semi final. Abraga hosting Freiburg in the other semi. And then palace are away to Shakhtar in the conference league. Ray of Cano hosting Strasbourg in the other Semi final. We'll cover those games on Monday and in part two we will do a Premier League Pre
- [24:03]
B
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- [24:40]
C
Welcome to Part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. So the top of the Premier League looks like this Arsenal 73 from 34 Man City 70 from 33 Arsenal play Fulham on Saturday at 5:30 with Man City going to Everton on Monday. So it is Barry definitely an advantage to go first as long as you win.
- [24:58]
A
Arsenal have Never lost in 32 home league games against Fulham apparently. Really?
- [25:06]
C
Yeah.
- [25:07]
A
Not losing is not enough for Arsenal. They probably need to win. The one thing I saw watching the game last night, Atletico were very dominant in the second half. I thought Arsenal were a little bit lucky to come away with a draw if I'm honest. They look very tired. They have played 57 games this season. I think Fulham have played 42, something like that. Considerably fewer. Anyway, Fulham can still qualify for Europe. Whether they're that fussed about qualifying for Europe or not is another matter. Arsenal should win this game home against Fulham. No excuses but I I know they're pre they're going to be preoccupied by the return leg against Atletico. They do look quite nervous in their league games. They look quite very nervous against Newcastle last time out and they look tired and it understandably so. I did hear someone talk in the radio the other day that Artesian perhaps should have used his squad more. He is a big squad but he doesn't use quite a lot of players. Christian Newergard has barely got a look in this season which I don't understand. Arteta clearly doesn't have any faith in him and I'm not sure why because Norgaard I think is a really good player. Well, you think maybe this is a game to throw him in and give Declan Rice a rest. But one suspects that won't happen because
- [26:26]
C
a lot's been made of look, they've built this squad where there's two players for every position. I know not everyone's fit. What starting 11 would you like to drop at 4pm or whenever it comes out.
- [26:35]
D
I do think it's particularly like the, the question like upfront with Gyoka is I thought I agree with what Lars was saying. I thought played a particular kind of game that Arsenal needed to play away from home in Europe and it was a battling game and he won a lot of aerial ball and he did the things that were needed of him and, and I think that those have been the settings where he has done better work for Arsenal and I think that I'm not just certain that's the kind of game they need at all against Fulham. It's, it's going to be a completely different kind of game. You're going to need to play on the front foot against them. Love Barry jinxing it there by saying I've never lost because we know they can all these records made to be broken. But yeah, it needs to be a front footer performance and I'm not certain he thrived in those settings. So who does start up front given that Havertz isn't available? I, I, I, I wish I had the answer Max and I think the answer is not easy to, to pull out. I don't think it's as simple as sticking one particular player in is going to change everything because really what it comes down to is to a great degree mindset and, and what players are physically capable of as well at this time in the season because it's really boring to keep coming back to it. But I, I did have this conversation with some friends. I've got them in my textile like, like months ago about how this Arsenal season just has such strong echoes for me of Inter. Last season when Inter were until was significantly better than everyone else nearly last season in my opinion, which Arsenal aren't. So the gap was bigger and Inter still managed to win nothing because they tried to do everything and they just wipe themselves out. And the real problem for Arsenal right now in my opinion isn't actually about which players are in the starting 11. It's the team looks burned out and I don't know how you pull that back from the brink this close to the end of the season.
- [28:18]
C
Yeah, yeah. If they do win, it will be like a marathon runner winning, you know, just like falling over the line and they're just like get the bouncy shoes, they'll just all be vomiting and they have to have like a massive tin foil like just like wrapped around them, won't they? Man City to go to Everton on Monday night. Then they've Got the cup final, haven't they? City. But apart from that, it's an easier run for them even if their games aren't necessarily easy.
- [28:40]
A
At last.
- [28:40]
E
That's an interesting point. Is it an easier run? Because I don't think City necessarily thrive in games where they have to unlock the opponents. They've seemed to be like quite happy with the open games this year which is not what we're used to seeing. They are a very un pep like City this year. So these games against Everton and Brentford and to an extent palace, though of course palace will be distracted. These are very big banana skins. I mean this is my hot take about the run in. I don't think either of City or Arsenal will win the rest of their games. There's a boo boo coming for probably both of them and I think City's running is kind of tricky on paper. Yeah, I agree with you and I think Everton. I'm aware that David Moyes record against the top teams is not good. I mean statistically it's not great. I just think the way Everton's set up, they're quite compact, they're quite physical. I don't think necessarily Holland and Semenu and the lads will have the kind of space to run into that they like. And I think this could be tricky for them.
- [29:35]
C
The relegation fight. Then Leeds have a brilliant chance to basically guarantee safety. They are home to Burnley on Friday night and a win would take them above Newcastle. Then on Saturday at three, West Ham go to Brentford. Brentford haven't won in six. Do you think that will continue, Barry? Or do you think West Ham will get something on the board? They are two points ahead of Tottenham at the moment.
- [29:56]
A
Brentford are undeniably having a good season. If you'd offered every Brentford fan their current position at the start of the season, they'd have you bitten your hand off. They've stopped winning. They're thrown away points. I thought they played very well against Manchester United. Just couldn't put away enough chances to beat them. I think they're in a position of vulnerability and West Ham need to exploit that could be a tough game for West Ham. Brentford need to win to to keep their hopes of qualifying for Europe again. But like Fulham, it's difficult to know whether they're fussed about qualifying for the Conference League. Would they have the squad depth to be able to compete on forefronts next season? Not. They certainly don't have it at the moment.
- [30:40]
C
The players definitely will want to. Right. You know, there's no doubt that they will be. I Don't think that gets into anyone's mind at Brentford. Oh, I'm not sure we don't want to win this. I'm not just trying to pump Brentford up for my own selfish dreams, but I. I just don't think that comes would be weird.
- [30:57]
A
I wouldn't necessarily agree with you, to be honest. I'm not sure if I was a footballer I'd be that fussed about playing in the Europa Conference League. I think it's aggravation. I happily do without.
- [31:11]
C
There are many reasons why you're not a footballer, Barry. But you know, seriously, I just think
- [31:17]
A
your idea of what goes on in the mind of professional footballers maybe a bit happy, clappy and idealistic.
- [31:25]
C
No, I think they all want to win every. I think any level. I mean that suggests that like teams in League One don't want to get in the playoffs because, you know, they don't. Can't really be. It's no different, you know, like for those Brentford, I think that haven't played in Europe.
- [31:37]
A
I think getting the playoffs to get promotion is a lot different to qualifying for the. The Europa Conference League. Just one thing. Look, we'll agree to differ on this one but. Or agree to disagree, but. Josh De Silva was in the Brentford squad that went to Old Trafford the other night. That was his first time in a Brentford squad in 816 days. He's been out with injury. Before that he was out for four months. Before that a year and before that another 18 months. So I mean the guy has just had such a rotten look run of luck with injuries. It would be lovely to see him out on the pitch again before the end of the season.
- [32:18]
D
Yeah.
- [32:19]
C
Good player, Lars. Spurs go to Villa on Sunday, I suspect hoping that Villa somehow get a lot of calf strains against Forest and it's very tight. Whatever happens between Villa and Forest, we don't need one side to hammer the other one.
- [32:34]
E
Aston Villa, those of us who spent the entire first half of the season going this cannot continue with Villa and their weird long shots and the XG and all the rest of it. Like we have kind of been proven right a little bit. Like they haven't been good since the turn of the year in the Premier League. They've got I think four wins in the last 14 in the Premier League. If the league started on the 1st of January, they'd be 13th. So like the, the regression monster came for Aston Villa, but they're still probably, I mean, almost certainly going to make the Champions League just because the other teams up there in particular, you. Chelsea are such a total mess. So they are going to get away with this, I think. But I think if you're spurs on paper, Villa are their fifth in the league. You know, Unai Emery, good players, scary stuff. But, but, but Aston Villa, who, who've got this Europa League game tonight, that might not be the worst opponent in the world to have at this point in time because again, they've not been great in the league recently.
- [33:34]
C
Villa, if you looked at the league table starting in January, it wouldn't look great for Tottenham.
- [33:38]
E
Well, I can tell you they would be second from bottom. They'd had one point more than Burnley, they'd be 19th. I've got it in front of me here table.
- [33:45]
D
It feels like a weekend where the order of the fixtures really matters. And you were saying before about, yeah, it's good for Arsenal if they win. It's terrible if they don't. Right, because then City look at that and go, they can win. I think it's the same a bit for Tottenham, isn't it? Because that West Ham game, when you look at West Ham's remaining games, this feels like one where they kind of need the points because the other games they've got, I mean, they've got to play Arsenal, they've got away at Newcastle, I think it is. So this one feels that they've got to take something from it. And so if they lose, as Lars says, I don't think Villa are that scary at the moment. I don't think Villa are that scary. But if, if West Ham have won, then it feels a lot, a lot heavier, doesn't it then Scott, We've got to get a result. But if West Ham have lost and it's a chance to gain things, it
- [34:24]
E
is possible that I have jinxed this phenomenally. Now Kinski will have headbutted the post again and everything is going badly wrong.
- [34:30]
C
And no Xavi Simmons and I think Solanke's out as well. So that is an issue for Tottenham. Forest go to Chelsea. I guess if West Ham and, and spurs have won by Monday night, then that puts more pressure on Forest going to a. Liam Rossini, Chelsea. McCarland Mudrick's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after he received a four year playing ban from the FA for the use of a bland. Of a bland substance. Not a bland.
- [34:55]
A
Porridge.
- [34:57]
C
Yeah. Margarine. Yeah. No, a banned substance. Meldonium. He's not played a competitive match since November 2024 after he failed the drugs test while on of duty under the terms of any four year ban. He'd not be eligible for selection until December 2028. If an appeal to Casper successful, he could possibly return next year. His contract with Chelsea runs until 2030. They wouldn't comment on the news, saying they had to let the process take its course. And the FAA not commenting on the proceedings either. Newcastle played Brighton three o' clock on Saturday. I mean one win for Newcastle, they're surely safe but if it doesn't come, the pressure will ramp up. Baz four defeats in a row. Piff are pulling the plug on live golf and if you're a Newcastle fan you would be going that seems strange. My understanding, for what it's worth, I don't know if I heard this on the pod or on the radio is that football is still something they really care about and they have the World cup in 2034 and so having owning a Premier League side is good. But like it's interesting the Snooker World
- [35:54]
A
Championships are on at the moment as well and earlier this week all the top players received an email telling them that Saudi Arabia have abandoned that lucrative tournament they hosted. I think the last two years it has equal prize money or even better prize money than the World Championships and I think the players were under the impression they were contracted to play in it for X number of years but that's been sacked off so they're upset about that because it was a nice little earner for them. As far as Newcastle United are concerned, I think is it this week or next week they're having the power summit at Methven Hall, a posh hotel in Northumberland where the the guys from PIFK are come over and Eddie Howe and assorted other club members of the club hierarchy have to go in and explain themselves. Could be a few awkward conversations there and finger pointing and whatnot. As far as the training ground is concerned they keep talking or feeding info to local journalists saying that, you know, oh, we've identified where the new trail, plush new training ground is going to be built but they haven't even bought the land yet, let alone stuck a spade in the ground. So that seems to be being put on the long finger. They still don't know whether they're going to do up St. James's park or move somewhere else altogether. So Newcastle are nowhere near where I think most of their fans and probably Eddie Howe as well thought they would be when Piff took over, what is
- [37:36]
C
it, four years ago now on the Snooker World Championships. I don't know if you saw this, it's not related to football. So my apologies. And I I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it did make me laugh. Watching the snooker, John Higgins complained about a noise from the audience. The ref told him the sound came from a person's breathing device, to which Higgins asked, could they turn it off? It feels a little bit harsher like
- [38:05]
E
because I've been exposed to some of the snooker because it's on in my gym, so sort of bored out of my mind on the treadmill. There's snooker right in front of me. They all look very sad. Is this because this sort of Saudi Arabian tournament or is that just how snooker players look?
- [38:19]
A
No, they're just generally Solomon demeanor.
- [38:22]
C
Yeah, there's not a lot of, you know, they don't see a lot of daylight, I guess, do they? You know, you can't just sit. You also just can't just sit grinning wildly. It just look odd if you were sat in your chair with your waistcoat on, grinning. Anyway, that'll do for Part two. Part three we'll give you some EFL permutations Solutions
- [38:40]
B
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- [39:18]
C
Welcome to Part three of the Guardian Football Weekly at the top of the championship, then it's Ipswich, Millwall or Middlesbrough that are going to go up automatically. Ipswich hosts QPR which looks straightforward on paper. Millwall host relegated Oxford so that also looks straightforward if Ipswich slip up and if they both slip up then Middlesbrough have to win at Wrexham which is not easy because Wrexham themselves need a win to give themselves the best chance of getting in the playoffs and they need to win by more than Hull win to be sure of getting in the playoffs because they have a one better goal difference than Hull at the moment. Hull are home to form side Norwich. Meanwhile Derby plays Sheffield United so they have the easiest game and they are one point behind Hul and Rexam so they could sneak into the playoffs. Southampton definitely in the playoffs and definitely can't get automatic B promoted in League one. The top two are Confirmed Lincoln and Cardiff, so it's a bum fight for the playoffs. Stockport need a point as to Bradford. Then it'll be between Stevenage, Luton and Plymouth to get in Stevenage in the box seat. At the bottom it is between Lane Orient and Exeter. Orient host Burton who are safe. Exeter host Bradford who are in the playoffs do need something. So it's very much Advantage Orient. Steven says are Cambridge going to bottle it? So it's between MK Dons and Bromley for the title. We go to crew who are 10th, have nothing to play for, but apparently we've only won two away games against the top 10 this season. If we don't win, Salford go to Crawley who are fighting for their lives. And if neither of us win, Knott's county can jump over us by beating Bristol Rovers at home. Oh, God, the agony of it.
- [40:51]
D
Max. If you could only choose one out of Cambridge promoted or Tottenham staying up, which is it?
- [40:57]
C
I'm afraid I'm Cambridge till I die, Nikki, so there's no contest. But I just sort of. I sort of feel them as quite different, even though they would just be one league apart, you know, after. If that. If that turned out. I'm almost liking it to liking chips and air. Like, chips are nice, but like, you know, push comes to shove, I can do without them. Much like the man at the snooker. Air is important for my life. And that's where Cambridge fit in all of this. But it's a very good question at the bottom, mightily close for who drops out. Barrow are probably down, but they're home to Newport so they can keep. They can drag Newport into this. Barrow need a ridiculous win and then Crawley to lose massively. But as we've said, Crawley plays Salford so they could get battered. Harrogate are home to Barnett, who have an outside chance of the playoffs. Barrow have 36 points, Harrogate 39, Crawley 39, Newport 40 and Tranmere 40. Trammere play. Grimsby also going for the playoffs. So very rare that the bottom of League 2 goes this far. So good luck to Italy. Nikki, briefly, can you tell us about the refereeing scandal? What's happened there?
- [42:02]
D
Yeah, fairly major story in Italy. Certainly gobble up all the headlines at the beginning of this week about the head of the referees committee for the top two divisions. Gianlucarrocchi stood down because he's under investigation by the Milan prosecutor's office. So did Andrea Gervasoni, who is the video assistant referee supervisor for the same Body Rock. He is not going to be interviewed. Actually, we thought he was Going to be interviewed by the prosecutor today, but his lawyer has said that he's decided to make decision for his client not to go ahead with that until the charges are made more clear to them. Jennifer Zorni, I believe, is going to be interviewed today on Thursday. We still may not know the full extent of everything that's under investigation. Should be said that as of today, they've been pretty clear that no clubs are under investigation. This is a case relating specifically to refereeing and how certain refereeing decisions were made, about which referees get designated to certain matches, and also about how VAR is used. There was this particular game that was picked up where you had two officials discussing a VAR decision in the game between Udinesa and Parma last season, where Florian Tovan's shot hit the arm of Botan Balog inside the penalty box. The VAR official, Daniela Paterna, they have a situation similar to in England, where the VAR headquarters are done for. The International Broadcast center was seen basically saying not a penalty with his assistant and then turns off camera. On the camera you can see and clearly gets a gesture from someone that perhaps this is worth reconsidering because he can. You can see him mouthing it's penalty and then he tells the referee to have a look at it again and then ends up giving a decision for a penalty. So discussion about who exactly that was, who said that to him, and whether that was the appropriate protocol. It's a lot of stuff about protocol and stuff about designating referees. But of course, of course, we're 20 years on from Cali, which was a big scandal about how referees are designated. So it is very tense and sensitive ground. But again, just to say, at the moment, at least, the investigators have said no clubs under investigation. This is an investigation about the refereeing processes. Also, it's saying that these people were talking about Jerazani, Rocky Paterna, who's the VR official. They are all denied wrongdoing and. And it's an open case. So to be clear, this is all very much under investigation for now.
- [44:22]
C
All right. And you've written a column, so go and read Nikki's column as you always should. Of course. Let's finish with this email from Sasha, who says, dear Max, Barry and all of the panel, despite being an avid listener, since my discovery of podcasts in the 2010s, this is my first correspondent. I have listened to the Pod avidly since, never missing an episode. Wow. This is requiring increasing stoicism recently as I'm a Scottish Arsenal fan who firmly believes the season should have ended in November. Back then we qualified for the World cup and the quadruple was in the bag. Sadly, I'm a creature of habit and have continued to listen to every episode, even as Scotland and Arsenal appear determined to outdo each other in who can serve up the drab of football as the quad bottle nears its painful climax. It would mean a lot to me if Barry could offer up some sage marriage advice before I'm lucky enough to marry Eleanor this Saturday 2nd May. She has no real interest in football, but finds listening to you lot a fair price to pay for me driving us up to our wedding in Scotland. Throughout our relationship, your work has provided the listening entertainment for all our travels and Eleanor is regularly a guide past by her accidental knowledge of football, acquired passively on these occasions. She's kept up to date with Barry's half marathon and Max's weans and probably has a good idea about where Sergio Ramos is as the rest of us. A shout out from Barry would go a long way to ensuring our kids will get to listen to football weekly in years to come, even after it makes me wince with memories of my own vasectomy. Cheers, Sasha. So off we go, Barry, Sasha and Eleanor driving to their wedding, currently listening to this.
- [45:42]
A
Yeah, I, I mean I don't know how far the journey is, but they should possibly have left their wedding till after the World cup because if Sasha is to keep up his record of having listened to every single episode since 2010 or whatever, he's, he's going to be have a lot to listen to during the World Cup I reckon. But yeah, I, I wish them every happiness. Happiness. I have attended one wedding in Scotland which was at St Andrews and if they're getting married there, they're very lucky because it's a beautiful location but I'm sure there are plenty of other beautiful Scottish wedding locations.
- [46:23]
C
Yeah, it's a niche. On the off chance you're not getting married at St Andrews, we also hope you have a nice time.
- [46:29]
A
Incidentally, the girl Madeline whose wedding I was at in Scotland, I lived with her in a a flat share when I first arrived in London and she got in touch me recently to send me a picture of her son who I presumed to be about 8 years old. He's 20 and he's a cage fighter and he looks ripped like he looks like Cristiano Ronaldo that ripped. I was stunned. But the Madeleine I know, I can't imagine her at a cage fight but that is what her son to us we're all aging.
- [47:09]
C
It's happening to everyone, all at the same time. Anyway, that'll do for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Lars.
- [47:14]
E
Thank you, Max.
- [47:15]
C
Thanks, Nikki.
- [47:16]
D
Thanks.
- [47:17]
C
Cheers, Baz.
- [47:18]
A
Thank you.
- [47:19]
C
Football Weekly is produced by Silas Gray and our executive producer is Joel Grove. And we'll be back on Monday.
- [47:30]
A
This is the Guardian.
- [47:40]
B
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.