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Football Weekly
England swipe Serbia aside and the return of Postecoglu – Football Weekly
00:49:27
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and John Brewin as England put in their best performance under Thomas Tuchel so far, beating Serbia 5-0
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- [00:00]
Max Rushden
This is the Guardian. Hi, POD fans of America. Max here. Barry's here too.
- [00:12]
John Bruin
Hello.
- [00:12]
Max Rushden
Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro. Now, if you're a regular listener to.
- [00:17]
Nicky Bandini
This show, you'll have heard us talk.
- [00:18]
Max Rushden
Before about the Remarkable Paper Pro. We already know that Remarkable is the leader in the paper tablet category. Digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper, but with the power of modern technology. But there's something new and exciting. The Remarkable Paper Pro move.
- [00:32]
Nicky Bandini
Remarkable.
- [00:33]
Barry
A brand name and an adjective.
- [00:35]
Max Rushden
Yeah, it's their most portable paper tablet yet. It holds all your notes to DOS and documents, but it's smaller than a paperback and an incredible 0.26 inches thin, so it slips easily into a bag or jacket pocket. Perfect for working professionals whose jobs take them out of the office. Like maybe a football journalist.
- [00:52]
Nicky Bandini
Barry. Although not like you.
- [00:56]
Barry
A proper football journalist.
- [00:57]
Max Rushden
Exactly. Too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out. This paper tablet doesn't. It'll never beep or buzz to try and grab your attention so you can devote your focus to what or who is in front of you. It has a display that looks, feels and even sounds like paper. Think and work like a writer, not a texter. And the battery performance is amazing. No worries about running out of power before the end of extra time. The Remarkable Paper Pro move can keep going for up to two weeks. And if you do need to recharge, you can. You can go from 0 to 90% in less than 45 minutes. Barry.
- [01:26]
Barry
Fantastic.
- [01:27]
Max Rushden
Why not give it a go for nothing? You can try Remarkable Paper Pro move for 100 days for free. If it's not what you're looking for, get your Money back. Visit remarkable.com to learn more and get your paper tablet today. Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. Panic over. Staple that St. George's Cross to your face.
- [01:53]
Nicky Bandini
England are good and are to win the World Cup. They made a tricky trip to Serbia on a Shagpal rug look simple.
- [01:58]
Max Rushden
Morgan Rodgers looked great in the 10. Madawake and Gordon were direct out wide.
- [02:01]
Nicky Bandini
And Elliot Anderson had another good game at the base of midfield.
- [02:04]
Max Rushden
England played quick and direct and looked.
- [02:06]
Nicky Bandini
Like they had a plan elsewhere. Ireland lose to 105th ranked in the world. Armenia, it's a disastrous defeat. Scotland win in an echoey empty stadium. In Belarus there's a huge late win.
- [02:15]
Max Rushden
For Italy and Norway score 11 brackets.
- [02:18]
Nicky Bandini
Write 11 in letters. Meanwhile Nuno out and Jin at Forest did the Marinakis blind trust thing.
- [02:24]
Max Rushden
Meant that he didn't see any spurs games in the Premier League last season. We'll discuss Nuno's legacy and celebrate the.
- [02:29]
Nicky Bandini
Fact that Postecoglou is back.
- [02:30]
Max Rushden
There's worrying news for Baz.
- [02:31]
Nicky Bandini
Some classic email vasectomy wedding hits your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today, John Bruin, welcome.
- [02:44]
John Bruin
Hello, Max Rushden.
- [02:44]
Nicky Bandini
Hello, Nicky Bandini.
- [02:45]
Nikki
Hello, Max Rushden.
- [02:47]
Nicky Bandini
And when I said worrying news, but it's nothing to actually worry about. But I don't want you to be on edge for the podcast.
- [02:51]
Barry
I'm already on edge. It's too late.
- [02:56]
Max Rushden
On edge after the.
- [02:57]
Nicky Bandini
Ireland performance, but we'll get to that. Let's start in Serbia, then Serbia nil. England 5. Charlie says where should England's victory parade start next summer? Yeah, Dave says where's the World Cup Final being held? And should us England fans book flights now? And Homer's Choice says, given how much the pod overreacts to poor performances by England, are you going to overreact to this good performance? I mean, John, it was, in a way, Tuchel's first real test in a competitive game. Serbia hadn't lost at home for two years. They hadn't conceded in qualifying until this game. Morgan Rogers, Anthony, Gordon Livramento all started. They all played well. In fact, England were just good. It was fun, it was quick. I enjoyed myself.
- [03:33]
John Bruin
England played English football as we've seen it, and it's taken a while under Thomas Tuchel that actually hasn't had that long. But there's been an impatience about him, hasn't there? Particularly after Andorra, which was a grind for all of us, let's be fair. We move on. And the sense is that they're playing in Serbia, they're playing purportedly better opponent, and England were able to raise their levels and play very, very well. And Thomas Tuchel as a manager is well used to English football. You know, was successful in English football. And okay, foreign appointments we've had previously. Sven Ericsson hadn't coached in English football. Fabio Capello tried to make England play like an Italian team. Tuchel, having been in the Premier League, realizes what the best facets of an England team are and is trying to implement that. He's slightly hamstrung by the fact that the England team that has, that we've had for the last few years is probably a bit over the top and he's having to find new players, but he's been pretty successful in that. Madiweki's been a success. Elliot Anderson's been a success. I was just looking actually at where the the World cup finals held? It's at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. And I was thinking whether post match celebrations could be held and of course Bada Bing from the Sopranos, surely they should be. The England team should be hiring that out for the World cup final celebrations, obviously.
- [05:03]
Nicky Bandini
And if it goes wrong, you know too. But Mark Bullingham just takes Thomas Tuchel out on a boat ride just for no reason.
- [05:10]
Max Rushden
And Thomas goes, oh, it's fancy boat ride, Tom.
- [05:13]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's good you're here, Nick. I mean it's always good you're here, obviously.
- [05:18]
Max Rushden
But as a who doesn't get carried.
- [05:21]
Nicky Bandini
Away for good or bad, where are you? And I know you obviously have, you know, Italy are probably the team that you would will to win the World cup the most. But watching this England performance, how carried away would you get?
- [05:34]
Nikki
Yeah, it was really funny this last night because I actually watched it with some friends who got visiting and two Americans and one Canadian and one of the Americans is more of a football fan or a soccer fan and was. Was fairly understanding of everything that's going on. The other two not so much football fans and I was trying to brief them a bit and saying, listen, this might not be the finest example of football I could have shown you, right, this is the game I need to watch. But it's, it's perhaps going to be a bit boring, it's perhaps going to be a bit stiff because this England team, they're not really playing this exciting, flowing football. And then they went and played some really good football and I was like, oh, actually that was, that was quite a better example of football than I was hoping to or expecting to be able to give you. But I don't know. I think the problem with international football specifically is none of it is really equivalent to the bit that matters. The bit that matters for England is quarterfinals, semi finals, final of a knockout tournament. In those games, you're going to play the two or three teams in the world at any given moment who are capable of winning that tournament, right? There's going to be a very small section of teams that could win this World cup. And I think that England are in that group and I would have said that before this game. I do think there are things you take from this that feel really, really encouraging and there are concrete things like Elliot Anderson, because it feels like Elliot Anderson offers something different in that midfield role, something that perhaps plays really well for Declan Rice. Partly because there's just that always been that feeling with Rice that he feels when he feels more free to push on, he shows the best in himself. But I also thought that Anderson was just this brilliantly English directness and straightforwardness with the ball, always moving it forwards, always taking it forwards. That I think felt like the start of an identity, maybe as well. I. I really feel like in very little time at all, I'm looking at him and thinking, he has to be part of this, he has to be starting, because I think he's brings a character to the team that it didn't have before. And I think certainly when you. When you look at the second goal, how neatly it came together. That was the sort of football, I imagine, that Tuchel wants this team to deliver. And I think there was some really, really good stuff. And some of it isn't surprising. I think the depth of this England group has never been surprising. If I was to wave any flag of concern, it would be that actually, even at the Euros we were talking about, sometimes. Oh, but would it be better even if Harry Kane wasn't starting and Watkins was starting? Sometimes the depth can be a problem. And looking at how well England played this game, I'm like, well, is there some suggest maybe some of the players who we've assumed are definite starters shouldn't be assumed as definite starters because this group behind them can really do things. But come on, they won 5 nil. It was brilliant. I thought this was a really, really impressive England performance. And I'm trying to do. Because you want me to max. You want me to be that voice of reason.
- [08:29]
Nicky Bandini
No, you don't have to be. Go wild.
- [08:32]
Nikki
But I do think it was really impressive. Way above what I was expecting last night.
- [08:36]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah. And the interesting thing about Anderson, actually, Barry, is it's not like he's sitting in a role where someone goes, well, doesn't really matter how well you play someone else. As Niki alluded to, the interesting questions are about Morgan Rodgers was brilliant, but we presume Jude Bellingham plays there. Mado Ake was brilliant and we presume Saka plays there.
- [08:54]
Max Rushden
Part of me would like Tuchel to.
- [08:55]
Nicky Bandini
Give these guys the shirt next time and have Saka and Bellingham on the bench if they're available to say, you know, these guys have earned the right to keep those shirts.
- [09:04]
Barry
Yeah, he could do that, but he would get peltritious from the media, one imagines. I don't think he particularly cares what the media make of him. He seems to have quite a fractious relationship with them as. As most England managers do. Just, I would take exception to the fact that we overreact when England lose. As one correspondent suggested, as someone who has sat here with my jaw on the floor while various colleagues and other people in the media have lavished Garrett Southgate with excessive praise for throwing away assorted semi finals and finals over the years. But anyway, that. That's. That's in the past.
- [09:48]
John Bruin
Yeah. Doesn't mean you won't keep bringing it up, though, does it?
- [09:51]
Barry
Oh, no.
- [09:54]
Nicky Bandini
So I've got. The past is. Well, I don't know. Bringing up the past feels like a lot. Yeah.
- [09:59]
John Bruin
It's all I've got to be.
- [10:01]
Barry
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, certainly those players, you know, if you get the shirt and you don't do anything wrong, I sort of. I'm an advocate that you should get to keep it until you don't deserve it anymore. But if you're bringing in Elliot Anderson and starting him, and he has been superb over these two games, admittedly against poor opposition, who are you leaving out?
- [10:27]
Nicky Bandini
Well, I suppose that's the point, Anderson. You're not really leaving anyone out because it's sort of Adam Wharton who hasn't.
- [10:32]
Barry
To get in there yet.
- [10:34]
Nicky Bandini
But you're leaving out Bellingham and you're leaving out Saka if you play Madawake and Rogers.
- [10:39]
Barry
Yeah, I'm a big Wharton fan, but I certainly can't fault anything Anderson has done over these two games. He's made a case. Quite a few players have had a very good window, this international window, and. And the players who left out will, who weren't there for. Because they were injured, be looking on, going, whoo. They'll be worried, I'd say. And that's good.
- [11:03]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah, it is. And actually, we mentioned that, you know, you want to make those players hungry. Rashford came on and looked so much hungrier and better yesterday, perhaps because Anthony Gordon had had a brilliant game out there on the left.
- [11:15]
Nikki
I hated his penalty. I hated it so much. Even at 4 nil, I hated that penalty. But, yeah, I mean, he did come on and put in a sharp cameo. I think Baz has just alluded to it, and I do think, probably needs to be said, that Serbia were a disappointment as the team that everyone was looking at and going, oh, this is the tough game in the group.
- [11:33]
Max Rushden
I think that's generous.
- [11:34]
Nicky Bandini
I think that's generous.
- [11:37]
Nikki
It was. It was. It was not surprising what they did. Right? I mean, five, four, one and everything very, very squeezed together until they had that chance, any chance. They had to, to stretch the pitch. You did see in positioning, they tried but there just wasn't that much there. And I suppose that didn't come as a huge surprise when you looked at the team sheet. Perhaps you look at the team sheet and think, well, there's a couple of players at center back who I think are good players, Milankovic and Pavlovic. I've long not been the biggest enthusiast of Dusan Vlavic from what I've seen at Juventus. So I didn't feel like on the times they did come forward, I didn't think they were going to provide such a terrifying threat, and they didn't. It does need to be acknowledged that England in this group are absolutely in a different category of team to all the other teams in there with them. They haven't got a second team in this group who you would look at and think could go to the World cup and challenge, and that's where England should expect to be. But it's not easy to break down teams that do that, that do five, four, one, like that. And that's where I come back to Anderson just bringing that. It was the speed at which things happened. It was the speed at which those balls were played out of midfield. It was a very clear plan. It looked like early in the game to. To try to make space down the right. You had Mado Eke sometimes holding his. His position and staying a bit deeper, which was bringing Bimanchevic up the pitch. And that was making space for Rhys James or sometimes Morgan Rogers to go into. It felt like there was a plan for breaking down a team that was going to sit deep like that. And I thought that was one of the things that was really encouraging and one of the things that felt like a little Thomas Tuchel stamp on the situation that he had. He hadn't come in here not knowing what he wanted from this England team. Yes, Serbia didn't offer much, but you still have to break those teams down and it seemed like there was a plan for doing that.
- [13:25]
John Bruin
It's interesting you. You mentioned Jude Bellingham. In recent weeks, we've heard a bit about the. The Bellingham camp. We've heard a bit about Jude Bellingham. It was obviously he's out at the moment. He's having that shoulder operation or had that shoulder operation.
- [13:39]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah. Sorry, just to jump in, John, listeners might not have seen that. I think it was Ollie Holt in the Mail.
- [13:45]
John Bruin
Yes. Okay.
- [13:45]
Max Rushden
Piece about his dad sort of having.
- [13:47]
Nicky Bandini
An influence or something.
- [13:49]
John Bruin
Yeah, His. His father, Mark Bellingham, had a run in with the sporting director at Borussia Dortmund, Sebastian Kale, over his Son being substituted at halftime. That's the other son, Ollie Holt, a fine journalist. A schoolmate of mine, no less.
- [14:05]
Max Rushden
You atonians are everywhere.
- [14:10]
John Bruin
Ollie wrote a piece talking about how the Bellingham family, rather overbearing. The father was one of these dads, you know, like your Richard Williams, your Earl woods, that type of figure. Jude Bellingham hasn't convinced a few. There's a few people that are not convinced by Jude Bellingham for England. He's done some spectacular things. We've discussed this many times, Max. Making him compete for his place. How would that go? That's the interesting aspect to this. Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson, where you can probably, you know, that's one of those good headaches to have, you know, the great cliche. But this is the. This is where Two calls man management. And he is a good man manager. This is where it comes into play. What does he do with Bellingham? When you've got a player like Morgan Rogers, who seems to fit so well into the system, or Eze could play that role as well. Yeah, I mean, Phil Foden, I mean, this guy. This guy is, you know, booking for the Bahamas next summer or whatever at the moment. So the Bellingham question is a huge one that he's gonna have to answer. Now, whether that. Whether we can refer that back to his father or not, that's. That's a separate issue. But Morgan Rogers, you can't really drop him, as Barry said, you know, on those performances, he. He's. He is. He's such an intelligent player. And, you know, we talk about between the lines, and he links play between the lines in a way that. I'm sorry, we haven't seen Jude Bellingham do enough of that.
- [15:43]
Nicky Bandini
And actually, you know, the hard thing about breaking down a team, Barry, is that final pass, the bit of skill that Rodgers did to set madoieki away is the thing that we've been desperate to see, that we saw, didn't see at all against Andorra. And, you know, they can come off or they can't. Right. But. But it did come off. You know, Roy Keane compared without getting carried away to Gaza yesterday.
- [16:04]
John Bruin
Yeah.
- [16:04]
Nicky Bandini
I think it's so fascinating what Tuchel does in that 10 spot now.
- [16:07]
Barry
It is, yeah. And he doesn't have a huge amount of time to decide what it is he wants to do. But England last night were everything they weren't against Andorra, which sort of furthers my, or cements my theory that they have a mental block against these teams they're told will be hard to Break down because last night they were, they were intense, ruthless, quick, you know, really quick, showing a turn of foot and pace that they didn't against Andorra. And everyone seemed to be on the same wavelength and that's really important. So why would you want to scupper that just by crowbarring in someone who might not be on the same wavelength as everyone else?
- [16:54]
Nicky Bandini
And actually, Nikki, defensively, we haven't really talked about. They haven't conceded yet. And okay, you mentioned the opposition aren't amazing, but that is still something. They did concede against Senegal, didn't they? And that friendly. And we talked on Monday about, you know, what the back four would be, but actually adding Livermento, adding concert, when Jed Spence came on as well. There's so much speed in that back four now and they looking, they did look incredibly solid.
- [17:21]
Nikki
Yeah, it's a pretty nice day, isn't it, when you keep a clean sheet and both your centre backs score as well. Constant Gahi, I think, looked really, really comfortable and it is, unfortunately it's repetitive to say it, but it is difficult to know how much to take from a game where your opponent is offering so little going forward. But I do think there's a lot to be said for partnerships and there's a lot to be said for players who get used to playing together and build that confidence and relationship together. And that's another of those questions, isn't it? What happens for Jon St if he's coming back? Is he. Tuchel's spoken very positively about him. Is he someone who's going to be guaranteed that chance to return and be a starter? I think it's going to be one of the questions that Tuchel has to think about. But in terms of this game, nothing but encouraging signs from that group. Definitely.
- [18:11]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah. And I wonder, John, there's something interesting about if your England team, if the players play for Aston Villa and Crystal palace and Nottingham Forest as opposed to Real Madrid and Liverpool and Man City, that you sort of, you judge them but you sort of go in going, ah, centre backs of Villa and Palace. That's not elite, but probably doesn't matter if it works.
- [18:34]
John Bruin
It's funny, before the game I was sent a list of the team list and the clubs they play for and we were laughing at. It was like a sort of team list that you get in the late 80s, early 90s. It was like a Graham Taylor selection. You know, it's like, should the Aston Villa, you know, because we have become used to this, this dominance of players from Manchester United, Liverpool Chelsea, Arsenal, whatever. Manchester City. The Premier League's the, you know, the premium league in the world. These players are high quality. Someone like Mark Gwe would be a Liverpool player if things had gone slightly differently, but a lot of those players would be. I mean, Morgan Rogers was a Manchester City player. You know, it's. It's like the trick from. From the clubs at the top. There was another good thing where I saw Harry Kane give a little speech after. Have you seen this? Talking about how he'd obviously been on Tottenham when Jed Spence arrived and knew the journey that he'd been on to get there. And he said he was almost tearful to see how far he'd come from the player that arrived at Tottenham, which, you forget, that Harry Kane, you know, he's fairly implacable in public, but I think he's quite a leader. There's quite a. There's quite a power behind the throne now.
- [19:48]
Max Rushden
We're gonna win the World cup.
- [19:50]
John Bruin
So.
- [19:51]
Barry
Good, isn't it?
- [19:52]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah. Well, look, well done to Jed Spence and everyone. How exciting. The Open Top bus. You know, I can just see it. We'll be in New York, Barry. Apparently this is the plan. We could be there, Barry. You could be there to celebrate England's World cup win. Don't worry, you'll probably have the last laugh you have before. Anyway, that'll do for part one. Part two. We'll begin, I'm afraid, Barry, with the Republic of Ireland's disastrous performance in Armenia.
- [20:20]
Max Rushden
Hi, Pod fans of America. Max here. Barry's here, too.
- [20:23]
John Bruin
Hello.
- [20:24]
Max Rushden
Football Weekly is supported by the remarkable Paper Pro. Now, if you're a regular listener to this show, you'll have heard us talk before about the remarkable Paper Pro. We already know that Remarkable is the leader in the paper tablet category. Digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper, but with the power of modern technology. But there's something new and exciting. The remarkable Paper Pro move.
- [20:43]
Barry
Remarkable. A brand name and an adjective.
- [20:47]
Max Rushden
Yeah, it's their most portable paper tablet yet. It holds all your notes to do's and documents, but it's smaller than a paperback and an incredible 0.26 inches thin, so it slips easily into a bag or jacket pocket. Perfect for working professionals whose jobs take them out of the office. Like maybe a football journalist, Barry.
- [21:04]
Nicky Bandini
Although not like you.
- [21:07]
Barry
A proper football journalist.
- [21:08]
Max Rushden
Exactly. Too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out. This paper tablet doesn't. It'll never beep or buzz to try and grab your attention so you can devote your focus to what or who is in front of you. It has a display that looks, feels and even sounds like paper. Think and work like a writer, not a texter, and the battery performance is amazing. No worries about running out of power before the end of extra time. The Remarkable Paper Pro Move can keep the going for up to two weeks and if you do need to recharge, you can go from 0 to 90% in less than 45 minutes.
- [21:37]
Barry
Barry Fantastic.
- [21:38]
Max Rushden
Why not give it a go for nothing? You can try Remarkable Paper Pro move for 100 days for free. If it's not what you're looking for, get your Money back. Visit remarkable.com to learn more and get your paper tablet Today.
- [21:56]
Nicky Bandini
Foreign Part 2.
- [22:02]
Max Rushden
Of the Guardian Football Weekly David writes.
- [22:03]
Nicky Bandini
Dear Max Barry and producer Joel I'm a huge fan of the Pod. Came to it by a sort of happy coincidence when Max joined in August 2017 after having a bit of time on my hands following a very unexpected and fairly dramatic cardiac arrest on 11 August shortly after watching Arsenal 4 Leicester 3 on TV in the first match of the season. I'm a Spurs fan, but I don't think it was connected. Anyway, I recovered well, started listening to football weekly during my time off work. Haven't missed an episode since. Blimey. I also think I've attended pretty much every live show in London during this time. I'm of course coming to the Troxy on Thursday and really looking forward to it. I'm emailing as hoping to be able to put Max at ease regarding filling the Top tier, as he seems quite anxious about it. I was there a few days ago, the 5th of September to see the brilliant synth pop band Hot Chip. It was a great show, but it was clear looking up from the floor that the Top tier was very sparsely populated and far from full. It didn't detract at all from the show and if a band with six top 20 albums aren't filling it, then a podcast with one top 20 book? Shouldn't feel bad. Although admittedly by the second half of the Hot Chip show, the floor of the Troxy was a throbbing, pulsating mass of bodies writhing around ecstatically. So your halftime show and Wilson's anecdotes will have to go some to match that, but I have every confidence in you all. Thank you all for giving us such consistently terrific show. All the best, David. If we sell the Top tier, Barry, will you writhe?
- [23:19]
Max Rushden
Will you pulsate?
- [23:21]
Barry
I'm always writhing and pulsating, Max. I can only think of One hot chip hit and it's a very good one. Yeah, I was going to say, I reckon Bruin is a fan.
- [23:34]
John Bruin
Well, I would say a fan, but I have seen him live and they were really, really good. Yeah.
- [23:39]
Nicky Bandini
Fortunately, that gig is gone, so you.
- [23:41]
Max Rushden
Can'T go to that.
- [23:41]
Nicky Bandini
But you can go to Football Weekly on Thursday will all be there as well as Jonathan Wilson, Johnny Liu, Jordan's going to come down, Paul Watson's going to come down as well. And it's live streamed around the world and you can watch it a week on catch up. Theguardian.com FootballWeeklyLive there's some good bits. We've done some actual planning and we'll tell Barry about that a half an hour before the show begins.
- [24:04]
Barry
I am slightly concerned about the fact that I am not privy to any of these plans, which suggests that it's.
- [24:11]
Nicky Bandini
Not a stitch up. You're not being stitched up.
- [24:12]
Barry
I'm being stitched up.
- [24:14]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah. Although I think if we said, and Barry's going to get massively stitched up, I think we would fill the top tier. So maybe we should say that. Theguardian.com FootballWeeklyLive Come along, please. Right, Armenia 2, Ireland 1. After that great comeback against Hungary, I mean, I watched the. I watched Shay Given and Kevin Doyle on RTE after the game.
- [24:34]
Max Rushden
Kevin Doyle looked bereft.
- [24:36]
Nicky Bandini
Shay Given said it was probably one of the worst results in our history, you know, then listed the sort of five worst results.
- [24:41]
Barry
There's been a few.
- [24:42]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah, yeah. Kevin Dole said, we've had a Macedonia here and. And actually they both said, look, two one defeat flattered Ireland, Barry.
- [24:50]
Barry
It did. Quevin Kelleher had a very busy night in the Ireland goal and had to keep the score down. I noticed on Blue sky, the Athletic described this as a shock defeat and I have to say I wasn't surprised. It certainly wasn't a shock. Maybe a little bit of a surprise about how bad the Ireland performance was, but it wasn't surprised that we lost because it is exactly the kind of rake I expected Ireland to step on Sideshow Bob style and get slapped in the face with the handle. And they duly went and did it. We lost two one. They had a goal disallowed and as I said, Kevin Kelleher was probably the busiest man on the pitch. Ireland were absolutely dreadful. They started reasonably well, created a few chances, but as, as is now customary under Heimer Hellgrimson, they went behind and give them every match to go into. They give themselves a Mountain to climb. So they were 2 nil down. Pulled a goal back, but it wasn't enough. And Armenia were delighted to win. Should have won by more. I don't think a huge number of Ireland fans were surprised. There are murmurings, well, not particularly loud. Cause I was looking at the Irish media this morning saying maybe the time is up for Heimer Halgrimson, but I really don't know where Ireland go from here because he certainly, he can't be sending his team out to defend that badly. Nathan Collins had another mayor last night. He's one of the most experienced players on the team. He's ever present for Brentford, but for whatever reason, he's had two shockers in this window. Matt Daugherty, another senior player, he's a shocker on Saturday, was it? And he. He was dropped for this game. The fai, who are largely to blame for this message, they don't have the money to employ anyone better than Homer Helmgrimson. He asked for a psychologist. They said, no, we can't afford one. You know, this is where we are. And I look at the players that can't get in the England squad, I think, crikey, if we had even like two or three of them, we'd be brilliant. But Ireland football is very much in the doldrums. And I, I was disappointed with this result, but I wasn't surprised by it. If we beat Portugal home and away, we'll be fine.
- [27:30]
Nicky Bandini
I mean, but that's the thing, the expanded World cup, it made you think, oh, you know, teams like Ireland, that sort of size nation should have a much better chance. But feels. Feels miles away, John. Feels like. And I suppose the question that we've had with the other home nations is, you know, are the players, do they have enough good players? Because sometimes you go, look, you just sometimes don't have a gener. But as Barry's alluded to, there's some experience there. You know, Armenia are behind Kurdistan.
- [28:00]
John Bruin
It was. It was awful. Barry's described that, you know, we talked before about Thomas Turkle talking, you know, about ink bring about English football. Jaime has talked about bringing Irish football playing to Ireland strengths. Now, we've laughed and joked about this. What are those, you know, the, the corner, the throw, the. The knockdown from Quinny to. To Robbie Keane or. Or whoever. Island's use of corners and free kicks were was absolutely abominable. The long throw. Rory De Lapp, you know, Irishman basically patented the long throw. Jake o' Brien is not Roy De Lapp. Good lord. Above, like the throw is just not. I mean, the throw's got to be a. Yeah. Trajectory that is there to be headed at, not this sort of looping.
- [28:50]
Max Rushden
It's got to be flat.
- [28:50]
John Bruin
It's got. Yeah, it's got to be a flat trajectory. That's right. Yeah. Barry's correct in the fact that appointment Halgrim Some. It was a surprise, funny enough. I. I was told he was going to be appointed by someone and, well, a source, should I say, told me this and I. I forwarded this information to my Irish friends and they were like, what? Who? And within. You know, the news came out half an hour later or whatever and it was like, wow, you know, how. You know, what, why? And obviously he has a pedigree with Iceland, of course, but he has turned up and just thought, this is how we're going to have to do it. The problem is the players that aren't doing the jobs that he's picked them. As Barry says, Nathan Collins, he is one of the most inconsistent players, I think, in football. He can look absolutely calm, assured, really good at bringing out the ball. He scored a great goal against Ukraine a few years ago and he's a classy player and then he can have a performance like that. Although Darrow Shea was just as bad in the game. It was a disastrous performance and nobody came out of it with any credit for Ireland, apart from the goalkeeper, as Barry said. I. I'm sorry to pile on Island. It was awful. I would like island to be at the World Cup. Remember them in the USA back in 94. They lit up the tournament despite some of the games being. I've set I mentions before. Island Norway. If you really want to watch a bad game of football, that Eggie Olson versus Jack Charlton. I mean, listen, I am an advocate of get it launched, but good lord above, that is. That is just football on a level of. But that's so. But they. But that would be amusing because they would turn up and try and play that football because that's what. That's what he's trying to do and it's not going to work, sadly.
- [30:42]
Barry
I mean, I don't want to sound like I'm picking on Nathan Collins because they, as John said, they were all garbage. Apart from Kevin Kelleher, Boss. He is supposed to be the. The calming influence, the steady hand on the tiller and the capsim. Yeah, it just wasn't happening for him at all.
- [31:00]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah, I think I said Armenia ranked above Kurdistan. I meant to say Kyrgyzstan, if I pronounced that correctly.
- [31:08]
John Bruin
I need Paul, I've made that mistake in print, so don't worry about that.
- [31:10]
Barry
Yeah.
- [31:11]
Nicky Bandini
Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo cultural region in West Asia who would probably also beat Ireland, even though they don't have a team. Belarus nil. Scotland too. It was an empty stadium in Hungary because of Belarus support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It felt very covidy, didn't it? I mean it just. When you strip football back without the crowd, it does just sound like a Sunday league game. And so you just can't tell. I mean, Scotland looked good actually in the highlights that I saw.
- [31:40]
Barry
Yeah, they were decent. Totally dominant. One comfortably, very comfortable. Two nil. But yeah, you can hear the players shouting at each other. You can hear the instructions coming from the touchline. You could. There was one stage, John McGinn was stomping up the wing and you could hear his footsteps off the turf. The kind of game Scotland have lost in the past, shall we say. So I wasn't massively confident that there would be Belarus, but they did very, very comfortably. And because Denmark beat Greece, hammered them in Athens, which I think people weren't expecting given their performance against Scotland earlier in this break, it leaves that group wide open. So it's been a very good window for Scotland. Four points to joint top and with Denmark Greece a point behind. I think quite a few Scottish fans went to this, but they weren't allowed into the stadium. And I know the Italy Israel game, which we'll get to, was also played behind closed doors and there seemed, you know, there's a few hundred at that. They were. The fans that turned up seemed to be allowed in. But what I don't understand is this game was played behind closed doors on a neutral venue through no fault Scotland. So why aren't they allowed have a crowd in there? I don't get it. It seems unfair.
- [33:02]
John Bruin
They find goals hard to come by, don't they? A Scottish goal and I was looking at the. The top Scottish goal scorers of all time are still Kenny Dalglish and Dennis Law.
- [33:15]
Barry
No, Ellie, no.
- [33:16]
John Bruin
But Koist is like the last good striker they had. It's just some. Something's not happening there. I mean, Che Adams has got 10 goals for Scotland. He's a reason. He's a good player actually at championship level. It's not a bad player. J. Adams, as he's playing in Italy now, of course, but he, he. But no Dennis Law.
- [33:36]
Max Rushden
I mean, let me say he's not.
- [33:39]
John Bruin
Kenny Tuglish and, and they, and they played fewer internationals actually. Kenny played over 100. But it's like if Scotland had a goal scorer, we might have seen him at more championships is what I'm saying.
- [33:51]
Nikki
It's interesting that with just with reference to Ireland, because Evan Ferguson did get the one goal for them. I know they weren't good, but he's had a really encouraging start so far at Roma. So perhaps one little bright light for Ireland in. In what was. Apparently I didn't see that game, unfortunately, but apparently not.
- [34:06]
Barry
Oh no, don't. It wasn't unfortunate.
- [34:09]
Nicky Bandini
Don't show that to your American academia.
- [34:11]
Barry
Dodged a bullet.
- [34:12]
Max Rushden
Exactly.
- [34:12]
Nicky Bandini
And one more game to watch before we do. Italy's win against Israel.
- [34:17]
Max Rushden
Norway beat Moldova 11 1. Is that a table tennis score? Is that a squash score?
- [34:23]
Nicky Bandini
We have asked Lars to do a one minute voice note going through every goal if he could.
- [34:27]
Lars
So what do we learn? Norway good, Moldova bad. First goal, tap in from Felix Holmur from a Holland assist. Second goal, Moldova lose possession in their own box. Neat finish by Haaland. Third goal, Erdogano through ball for a trademark Haaland left footed finish. Fourth goal, deeper through ball from Erdogan to Holland this time. 5th goal, ball drops for Erdogan in the box. 6th goal, cross for Holland to head in from the edge of the six yard box. Seventh goal, blocked shot drops for Theodore Osgod in the box. Consolation goal for Moldova. Leo Estegaard puts a back pass into his own net for some reason. 8th goal, a saved Haaland header drops from Oscar in the box. 9th goal, Oscar Bob wins a penalty and Asgard converts. 10th goal. A powerful shot from Holland after a cross and the 11th goal. Haaland heads across across goal for Taylor Asgard to convert again. So Holland in the mood clearly. Moldova very bad at all the things. They even had a player who came on who was named Ross, which seemed a little bit on the nose. And Taylor Osgaard with four goals. All kind of poachers efforts, but there we go. Norway good, Moldova bad.
- [35:33]
Nicky Bandini
I did try and find some highlights, but it's one of those where I could only get someone's mobile phone footage of it. Anyway, Taylor Asgard came off the bench and scored four, but he didn't score as many as Erling haaland who scored 5 anyway. 11, 11 1. But there are of course no easy games in international football.
- [35:52]
Max Rushden
Let's talk about Italy.
- [35:53]
Nicky Bandini
They needed a win against Israel and they got it in a mad game. Nikki. They were what they were. They four two up with four minutes left. Then it was four four. And then Sandro Tonali wins It in injury time.
- [36:05]
Nikki
Yeah. So obviously this is the start. Well, and they played for Stoney a few days ago and beat them 5 nil. But this is the. The first window of the Gennaro Catuso time in charge and pretty inevitable I think, to reach for that famous Cartuzzo press conference. Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe cheap.
- [36:25]
Nicky Bandini
But yes, I say that a lot about things.
- [36:28]
Nikki
It was, it was absolutely that in microcosm because on the one hand in these two games Italy have scored 10 goals, which is quite something actually when you look at recent history and all the concern that's been about the attack and it does feel like Gattuzo has come in, he's gone straight to this front two of Retegui and Moisekine, which I really like. And even in this game there was some great stuff and actually across these two games Ortegi had two back heel assists. There was some real swagger. Moisekeen playing with real swagger as well for the national team, some really nice goals. But my God, were they awful at the back. They scored two own goals in this game and had another one punched into his own net by Donaruma that was just allowed a goal down, then 21 down against Israel, came back to lead 42 in the second half and blew that as well to go to 44 and then won it in injury time. It was a bonkers game of football. Extremely entertaining game of football, but my goodness, not the sort of game that makes you think this team is about to catch up to Norway in the group because of course Norway already beat it. Lee three zero, haven't dropped any of the games. So when Gattuza was appointed, one of the discussions was can Italy catch up to Norway on goal difference? Well, after Norway thumped Moldova 11 1, I'd say that's probably out of the window, but if nothing else, I suppose Italy have made it look a bit more certain that they will at least be heading to a playoff for a World cup spot. Unfortunately, those haven't gone so well in the last eight years, have they? So last two cycles.
- [38:04]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah. So Norway have 15 points, they won all their games. Italy have nine points from four games. Israel have nine points from five games. Estonia, Moldova out of the running. And Barry, you wanted to talk about Israel's participation in these qualifiers and you know, if they qualify for the World Cup.
- [38:22]
Barry
Well, I don't think they should be participating in these qualifiers. Russia are suspended from the competition because of their illegal invasion of Ukraine and I think Israel should be suspended as well because Under Benjamin Netanyahu and his idf, they're committing acts of genocide in Gaza and I'm aware other opinions are available. They're not opinions I share, but I fail to see how Russia can be suspended in Israel aren't and see also Belarus, who Scotland be. And I don't think that's a controversial opinion, but it probably will be. And I'll be accused of all sorts of being all sorts of things.
- [39:11]
John Bruin
I'm.
- [39:11]
Barry
I'm really not. But yeah, I, I don't think it's controversial to say that Israel shouldn't be in these qualifiers.
- [39:19]
John Bruin
I agree with Barry on the points he makes about netting your own the idf, absolutely. But the thing is, this decision is made by UEFA. If you look at it, Belarus are played. Scotland, Belarus are an ally of Russia in the Ukraine war. They're not banned. UEFA would probably let Russia back in if they could. They're a pretty slack organization. I think the reason there is a great debate, isn't it over the fact that Israel are in the UEFA region to start with. Because if they're in the Asian confederation, you would imagine they'd have been kicked out many years ago. It's one of those complicated things of world football governance. I think a few people would be absolutely delighted that Italy won that game and that Israel are unlikely to be at the World cup because that would cause all types of trouble.
- [40:14]
Nicky Bandini
This is what Alexander Schifferin told Politico. He said, regards Israel, first of all, what's happening with civilians there is personally hurting, killing me. He said, from the other point of view, I'm not a supporter of banning the athletes because what can an athlete do to their government to stop the war? It's very, very hard. Now, the ban for Russian teams is I think, three and a half years. Did the war in Ukraine stop? It didn't. Regarding FIFA, their general secretary, Matthias Grafstrom addressed the 75th Congress, said the work of the Governance Audits and Compliance Committee and the work of the disciplinary committee remains ongoing. This is regards Palestine FA calling for Israel to be banned. They are, quote, working diligently to conclude what is clearly a highly complex topic. Critics of them accuse them of just kicking the can down the road because that's not the first time they've said, we've had a meeting, to have a meeting, to have a meeting. The Palestinian FAA have said the number of footballers killed or died from starvation has reached 421, including 103 children. According to the PFA, 288 sports facilities have been damaged or reduced to rubble across Gaza and the west bank, from stadiums and training grounds to gyms and clubhouses. The vast majority, 268, were in Gaza. Twenty were in the west bank, with about half serving football directly. And latest reports are that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli actions there. Anyway, as Barry said, other views are available. I'm sure we'll get some interesting feedback on that. But yeah, I share your views, Barry. Anyway, that'll do for part two. Part three. We'll begin with. As we all predicted, Ange Postecoglou being the manager of Nottingham Forest on 10th September 2025.
- [42:01]
Max Rushden
Hi Pod fans of America. Max here. Barry's here too.
- [42:03]
John Bruin
Hello.
- [42:04]
Max Rushden
Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro. Now, if you're a regular listener to this show, you'll have heard us talked before about the Remarkable Paper Pro. We already know that Remarkable is the leader in the Paper Tablet category. Digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper, but with the power of modern technology. But there's something new and exciting. The Remarkable Paper Pro Move.
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Barry
Remarkable. A brand name and an adjective.
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Max Rushden
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Nicky Bandini
Like maybe a football journalist, Barry. Although not like you.
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Barry
A proper football journalist.
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Max Rushden
Exactly. Too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out. This paper tablet doesn't. It'll never beep or buzz to try and grab your attention. So you can devote your focus to what or who is in front of you. It has a display that looks, feels and even sounds. Sounds like paper. Think and work like a writer, not a texter. And the battery performance is amazing. No worries about running out of power before the end of extra time. The Remarkable Paper Pro move can keep going for up to two weeks. And if you do need to recharge, you can go from 0 to 90% in less than 45 minutes. Barry.
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Barry
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- [43:37]
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- [44:16]
Nicky Bandini
Welcome to part three of.
- [44:17]
Max Rushden
The Guardian Football Weekly. Rigor but says can we get a voice note from. From Johnny Liu about how happy he.
- [44:20]
Nicky Bandini
Is to have Ange back managing in the Premier League? Jamie says why can't we Forest fans have nice things? Elwood, how many goals will Forest concede this season? Yes. Nothing. Forest released their announcement at one in the morning, which is when you normally release these kind of.
- [44:33]
Barry
It was quarter past 12.
- [44:34]
Nicky Bandini
Oh, was it?
- [44:35]
Max Rushden
Quarter past 12.
- [44:35]
Nicky Bandini
My apologies. Nuno Espirito Santo sacked by Forest Ange Postecoglou hired Forrest statement thanked Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at the city ground. Said he would always hold a special place in their journey. It's been very public about his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis that has deteriorated over the summer. And disagreements with Edu, the new sporting director as well. He took over in December 2023. Kept Forest up last season. Took them to seventh, their highest finish since 94, 95. Qualified for Europe for the first time in 30 years.
- [45:09]
Max Rushden
Built a team.
- [45:10]
Nicky Bandini
John on defensive solidity. Quick on the break, but very hard to break down. Here comes Ange Postecoglou. I mean, if you're not a Nottingham Forest fan, it's all very exciting. If you are, it's agony, right?
- [45:25]
John Bruin
It could be golden. Yeah. First thing, Milenkovic, judging by last night in a high Ange line mate is gonna be quite amusing. Murillo alongside him as well. We're gonna have to. This is the. These are. This is the fun that Ange is going to bring back to the Premier League. Talking of Evangelos Marinakis not afraid of slaying sacred cows, is he really? Steve Cooper idolized by Nottingham Forest fans. Goodbye, Steve. Nuno beloved. You know, this, this, this charming man, he completely won over the public.
- [46:01]
Nicky Bandini
He's sort of the best manager they've had since Clough. Right, Is that. Who else is there? Billy Davis did well. I don't know.
- [46:06]
John Bruin
I think people would say Steve Cooper gave so long was such. It was such a real achievement and, and you know, the, the love for him is still there. It's one of those inside football, inside baseball things, isn't it? That. It's a lot of. It's to do with agents, you know, Edu is a acolyte of keirjarabchin. Nuno is, of course, the first ever client of George Mendez, which means he'll probably be okay for getting a job soon. You know, the shift to Edu meant a shift in essentially the agencies that deal with Evangelos Marinakis. That's where the heart of the quarrel between Nuno and Edu, and that's where, and such is the way these days that the. The chairman. Well, the. The president, actually, as I've noticed, Ange postecocoly calls him, which he did call him over the summer, the president makes the decision to stick with the sporting director rather than the manager. So therefore we have Ange. I. I'm not quite in. In Johnny's camp with Ange, but he did get so baited, so angry, so miserable towards the end of his time at Tottenham. Has he had long enough off to be restored to the sunny Lou Carpenter guy we saw two or three years ago? Or are we going to get this sort of slightly, slightly morose, miserable, defensive Ange the last eight or nine months of that spurs reign? I mean, all right, he won a trophy, all that. It was pretty tough going. If you ever went to the press conference, it's pretty tense and you know this. And we knew this guy wanted to kick back and whittle some, but it just won't happen.
- [47:40]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah, I mean, I suppose you can't. I probably can't dismiss winning a trophy and all that for Tottenham. I think Tottenham fans know that. Well, that's true, but. But Tottenham fans know that Forest will come to. To White Hart Lane. I think it's quite late in the season and absolutely play them off the park, absolute Ange ball and hammer them. I don't know. What do you. What do you. I should just. I've just checked Billy Davis, Nottingham Forest record.
- [48:05]
Max Rushden
Yes. I shouldn't have mentioned that.
- [48:06]
Nicky Bandini
You know, that was. That was really plucking an aim out of the sky. Please delete from the record. My apologies. Niki, what do you make of this whole situation?
- [48:14]
Nikki
I mean, definitely fascinated to see which trophy that Forest is going to win next season, because as Ange told us with great delight in the spring, he always wins in his second season. So they're on for something, aren't they?
- [48:26]
Barry
But the championship.
- [48:29]
Nikki
Maybe, maybe. I mean, it just feels so absolutely extraordinary, doesn't it? When you look at what Nuno achieved, taking over a team that was 17th, I think they'd won, what was it, one in 13 games before he took over? Kept them up that season and, and then takes them to, in the end, the Europa League. But for such a long time, last season, being in the Champions League fight and, and, and that jump in such a short space of time. We think about the players that he brought on and, and made better in his time in charge. I mean, we were raving this, this podcast. Well, I've been raving about Elliot Anderson, this podcast and I think about. That's part Nuno, isn't it? That's part of the job, the job that he did and the work he did. And there was this extraordinary photo after the, in fact, after the Serbia England game of Morgan, Gibbs White and Elliot Anderson and Nicola Milankovic all outside the locker room in a little huddle. And you think, well, pretty obvious what they're talking about. So it does feel pretty. I don't know, to me, it feels damning of the club that they've allowed the situation to unfold this way. That you had a manager who'd done such a brilliant job to. I don't know if slip away from you is the right way, but be thrown away so quickly because of going out to get a sporting director without checking how that was going to. Thinking about how that was all going to work together. Clearly Maranakis is his own man who's not afraid to take his own decisions. I think that's probably about the most neutral way you could put it. There's certainly some strong feelings about him, aren't there? And I think this is not going to soften any of those. But I don't know, I think it feels like it's going to be an atmosphere that becomes very toxic very quickly if Ange isn't able to walk in there and start winning right away because of all the goodwill that the fans have. And I think clearly some of the players as well have for Nuno.
- [50:17]
Nicky Bandini
It's interesting, you know, you mentioned Milinkovic there, John, but like Chris Wood has been huge for Forest, but he's, you know, Ange likes a center forward that can run 25km and go chase down every single. And that's not Chris, that's not Chris woods game at all. Right. It's interesting. I mean, the midfield I think could kind of work, right? Gibbs White and Anderson and Gibbs, Gibbs.
- [50:39]
John Bruin
White can, can certainly press, can't he? Yeah, he's very good at it. Ange's inherited a squad that is not custom designed to his needs. I suppose one thing is that, that Nuno managed to, to change that squad and fit it. So it's a Real test of Andrews and manager. Now the difference between those two is Nuno is a pragmatic enough manager to. To make do amend, make the adjustments it's needed and get the best from the players. Ange has one style of play and that's what he wants to do. It doesn't really make much sense apart from the sort of I don't know, who knows who in football really, doesn't it? I mean, you know, he's a Australian Greek manager going to work for a Greek billionaire, you know, and that's, you know, that's interesting. Fair enough. I don't have any issue with that, with that. But I think some of the Forest fans might do. The thing is what you've got to do at Forest. Forest is a club where the fans are. If you go to the city ground, it's a great atmosphere. Forest was an inherent to what Forest are about. They're not one of these clubs that, you know, it can exist off its, off its foreign following or anything like that. It's about the collective of the club and those fans have got to be on your side because the city ground has got to be a fearsome place to go so. And has got to do some severe PR work is what I'm saying.
- [52:04]
Nicky Bandini
And as he's good at that. He is good at that, yeah. And I think, I mean he did change for the Europa League, right? You know, like Tottenham, Man United, they absolutely parked the bus like that was Nuno football?
- [52:15]
John Bruin
Almost. Maybe he just plays his Europa League style.
- [52:18]
Nicky Bandini
It's possible, yeah. And he's not an idiot. Like he's been successful everywhere and right, he's, you know, he's not an idiot. But it will be absolutely fascinating to see how it works out. Timmy says prayers for Baz. This is your worrying news, Barry, as it's been reported in the last couple of days that Lukas Fabianski is back at the London Stadium set to start talks to re sign as the third choice keeper. You thought you were safe, but you're not, I'm afraid. This is from Andy says. Hi Football Weekly. Long time listener, first time writer and all that. Having been lucky enough to have a daughter via IVF three years ago, my wife and I have made the decision that one child is enough for us. Why or why would you want more? Oh, Andy, that's a good question. Anyway, on Wednesday I shall be joining the select band of Football Weekly brethren undergoing a vasectomy while listening to Barry's smooth tones to help keep me calm. My plan is to hold back on Monday's part, as I imagine you'll do one on Wednesday after the England game, which will be too late to listen to during the procedure. The downside of this means I won't be able to come to the live show this week, as I'll be bed bound for a few days. It doesn't mean I'll be primed to join the billions around the globe in watching the live stream with ice packed down my underwear and hoping I can get to a show in the not too distant future. Look forward to it.
- [53:28]
John Bruin
And I was wondering, Max, is part of the fact that you've not told Barry. Maybe I'm spoiling surprise here, is that he's going to have a live vasectomy?
- [53:39]
Barry
I'll tell you what, John, I don't need a vasectomy to avoid having children.
- [53:43]
John Bruin
That'll fill the top tier, won't it?
- [53:45]
Barry
I find abstinence works for me. Involuntary abstinence. All I'm hearing from Andy are excuses.
- [53:52]
Nicky Bandini
He.
- [53:52]
Barry
We've got a whole top tier. We could, you know, he could come along, pushing his swollen gonads in a wheelbarrow. We can arrange a chairlift of some sort for him and he can have the whole top tier to himself. He could sit in one chair, these spoiled and plums hanging over the arm in the next one.
- [54:14]
Nicky Bandini
Anyway, on that note, seems like a nice time to end it, doesn't it? Thanks, everybody. Thank you, John.
- [54:19]
John Bruin
Thank you, Max. Thank you for having me.
- [54:21]
Nicky Bandini
Thanks, Nicky.
- [54:21]
Nikki
Thanks.
- [54:22]
Max Rushden
Cheers, Barry.
- [54:23]
Nicky Bandini
Yeah.
- [54:23]
Barry
Andy will of course have to buy two tickets, one for each plum.
- [54:29]
Max Rushden
Three tickets.
- [54:30]
Nicky Bandini
Purple Weekly is produced by Joel Grove. Our executive producer is. Danielle Stevens will be back tomorrow.
- [54:41]
Max Rushden
This is the Guardian.