Manchester is red and chaos at the Afcon final – Football Weekly

Summary

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Football Weekly – "Manchester is Red and Chaos at the Afcon Final"

The Guardian | January 19, 2026
Hosted by: Barry Glendenning, Max Rushden
Panelists: John Bruin, Seb Hutchinson, Asasu Obeyuana

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Overview

In this lively and humorous episode, the panel delves into a transformative Manchester Derby where United reclaim old swagger, dissect Spurs’ ongoing turmoil, assess managerial chaos at Crystal Palace, and unpack a genuinely bizarre and controversial AFCON final. The show balances sharp analysis with banter, providing both devoted and casual fans with perspectives on the week’s dramatic football stories across England and Africa.

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Episode Structure

1. Premier League: Manchester United’s Derby Triumph
2. Spurs in Crisis & The ‘Dr. Tottenham’ Myth
3. Crystal Palace: Glasner, Transfers & Ownership Turmoil
4. Other Premier League Highlights
5. Chaotic AFCON Final: Refereeing, Protest, & The Panenka That Wasn’t
6. Governance in African & World Football
7. Notable Quotes & Moments
8. Segment Timestamps

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1. Manchester United: Derby Day Resurrection

• Manchester United 2–0 Manchester City

• John Bruin, who attended the match, described a rare sense of emotional redemption at Old Trafford:

  • “I felt alive, Barry. I felt like I was back in my 20s and 30s and Old Trafford felt like that.” (03:32)
  • United’s performance echoed classic Fergie teams: intense, incisive, with the crowd and players locked in symbiosis.
  • “For one day only, Old Trafford was how it can be, how it used to be. And it was a privilege to be there.” (06:39)

• Panel Discussion:

  • Old Trafford’s atmosphere, the debate over renovating historic stadiums (“Would Liverpool tear down Anfield?” (06:10)), and how “older stadiums produce the best atmospheres.” (07:51)
  • Michael Carrick’s impact as caretaker manager:
    • Simplified tactics, trusted youth like Kobbie Mainoo, and restored belief.
    • “Put round pegs in round holes and it'll be fine. And you're sort of going, why didn't Amram do that for 15 months?” (08:13)
  • The perennial hope/danger of club ‘DNA’:
    • “I'm skeptical about DNA... but if you bring back somebody who is a legend at the club, it just... gives everyone a lift.” (12:07)

• Carrick’s Fan Connection:

  • He holds season tickets and claimed watching from the stands helped shape his management. “He’s obviously been sat in a stand saying don't play three at the back, you know, and free Kobbie Mainoo.” (14:32)

• Caveats:

  • United’s dominance is unlikely to last unless deeper systemic issues are addressed, but the panel relishes this fleeting resurrection.

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2. Spurs in Crisis & The “Dr. Tottenham” Effect

• Tottenham’s Dismal Form:

  • Suffering their “worst run in 19 years.” (03:03)
  • Thomas Frank heavily under pressure after abject results and fan unrest: “He seems to be widely liked because he appears to be a very, very nice man. But that'll only get you so far.” (16:43)
  • Barry Glendenning summarises: “You lose the fans and the players, you don’t really have anything.” (18:45)
  • ‘Dr. Tottenham’ is lampooned for reviving struggling opponents (“They don't just heal at this point, they can raise the dead.” (16:43))

• Managerial Uncertainty:

  • Substitute teachers Harry Redknapp and even Chas & Dave jokingly suggested as possible replacements.
  • Internal confusion post-Daniel Levy’s departure (“organizational drag”), leaving no discernible style and no clear leadership.

• Panel Consensus:

  • “Just get rid. Put him out of his misery... like if you're in a relationship that's gotten sour.” (17:53)
  • Interim manager likeliest option until summer managerial market clears (“There’ll be loads of managerial changes and churn... maybe get Potch back, who knows?” (23:18))

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3. Crystal Palace: Glasner’s Meltdown and Player Exodus

• Summary of Crisis:

  • Palace enduring a catastrophic week: FA Cup shock, captain Mark Gayle’s sale, and manager Glasner confirming he’ll leave at the end of the season.
  • Glasner lashes out: “I feel we’re being abandoned completely... If you get your heart torn out twice this season, what should I tell the players?” (26:00)

• Squad Depth & Ownership Tensions:

  • Only 12-13 players available. Glasner claims a lack of support—though John Bruin checks his math (“only one of the subs was under 20, so he could have brought on players if he wished.” (30:13))
  • Glasner accused of angling for the sack by publicly criticising the hierarchy (common managerial ‘exit’ tactic).

• Fan Perspective:

  • “If I was a Palace fan, I’d be pissed off, obviously, because they've lost Eze, Gay’s gone, who they might lose—other players will want out as well.” (30:13)
  • This is seen as part of a wider Premier League trend of managers engineering hostile exits.

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4. Other Noteworthy Premier League Talking Points

• Chelsea 2–Brentford 0:

  • Chelsea scrape a lucky win. “I thought they were very lucky. And if I was Keith Andrews, I’d be scratching my magnificent hair.” (35:59)
  • Credit for goalkeeper Sanchez but signs of managerial fortune.

• Liverpool 1–Burnley 1:

  • A “sad unbeaten run” for Liverpool; fans turning quickly on manager Arne Slot.
  • “They've drawn four of the last five; it seems like a sad unbeaten run... The spectrum of Xabi Alonso hanging over every Liverpool game now.” (36:28)

• Everton Upset:

  • Everton’s surprise win. TiarnBarry’s goal highlighted as “the finish of a very confident striker... That was such a difficult thing to do against an incredibly good goalkeeper.” (39:43)

• VAR & Handballs:

  • Arsenal denied a penalty in a key game—Max Rushden jests, “Maybe it might be better if you scored a goal, lads, and then you’d have won the game.” (42:00)
  • Consistent theme of VAR confusion and inconsistency.

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5. Chaos at the AFCON Final: Refereeing, Protest, and the Missed Panenka

• Match Recap:
  Senegal 1–0 Morocco (AET)

  • The final descends into farce with wild refereeing, a disallowed goal, a disputed penalty, a 15-minute delay for protest, and a catastrophic Panenka miss.

• Refereeing Woes:

  • Asasu Obeyuana offers a damning assessment: “The refereeing at this AFCON... has been appalling. Frankly, if there were a football prison for crimes against football, the referee yesterday should be in there. Serious. I’m not being facetious now, I’m serious.” (46:28)

  • Technical failures: “VAR room for some games didn't even work.” (47:36)

  • The final's “terrible penalty decision” and subsequent chaos stemmed from systemic governance failings at the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

• Protest & Delay:

  • Moroccan team come close to staging a walk-off in echo of 2019 African Champions League debacle: “If the players hadn't returned... it would have been the first time in 69 years of the African Cup of Nations that a final had been abandoned.” (48:50)

• The Diaz Miss:

  • Brahim Diaz’s infamous Panenka: waited 15 minutes amidst chaos, then chipped weakly into the keeper’s arms. Panel debates intent, psychology, and global attention.
  • “It was such a terrible Panenka. It just didn’t look real. I was like, am I watching something? Like, what is happening?” (53:42)
  • Obeyuana moots a dramatic theory: “I feel that he deliberately missed that penalty for the peace of the game.” (56:33)
  • The panel splits over whether it was psychological collapse or noble intention.

• Aftermath:

  • Fallout for CAF, for Morocco (“kids are crying, the press conferences were abandoned”), and the broader perception of African football.

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6. Global Football Governance: FIFA & CAF

• Obeyuana’s Perspective on Governance:
  • “When governance is not right, nothing on the field goes right. Everything that has happened in the final is a result of incompetent governance.” (58:43)
  • Criticises FIFA President Infantino for politicising football with Trump "peace prize": “When a world governing body feels that they are better placed than the Nobel Peace Prize committee... you know FIFA has come to a place it should never go.” (62:26)

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7. Notable Quotes and Moments

• On Atmosphere at Old Trafford:
  “Would Liverpool tear down Anfield? Because it's about what that stadium can do... why would you sell off that experience?” (06:10 – John Bruin)

• On the Football 'DNA' Fallacy:
  “I'm sceptical about DNA... but if you bring back somebody who is a legend at the club, it just gives everyone a lift.” (12:07 – Barry Glendenning)

• On the Dr. Tottenham Phenomenon:
  “They don’t just heal at this point, they can raise the dead.” (16:43 – Panel/Joke by Questioner)

• On AFCON Refereeing:
  “Frankly, if there were a football prison for crimes against football, the referee yesterday should be in there. Serious. I’m not being facetious now, I’m serious.” (46:28 – Asasu Obeyuana)

• On the Diaz Panenka:
  “It was such a terrible Panenka. It just didn’t look real. I was like, am I watching something? Like, what is happening?” (53:42 – Max Rushden)

• On FIFA’s Trump ‘Peace Prize’:
  “When a world governing body feels that they are better placed than the Nobel Peace Prize committee… you know FIFA has come to a place it should never go.” (62:26 – Asasu Obeyuana)

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8. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Manchester Derby analysis: 03:13 – 14:32
• Spurs/Frank turmoil: 16:43 – 23:50
• Crystal Palace meltdown: 26:00 – 33:37
• Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton short takes: 33:37 – 42:43
• VAR & Arsenal–Forest handball: 41:31 – 42:43
• AFCON final chaos: 45:39 – 61:09
• FIFA governance/Trump controversy: 61:09 – 64:13

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Final Thoughts

This episode masterfully blends detailed football analysis with the Guardian’s trademark wit and humour. It offers both catharsis for suffering fans and laughs for the neutral, while occasionally confronting the serious failures of the sport’s authorities at home and abroad. As Barry notes after his marathon fundraising plug:
“I still hate running. I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy it, but people’s generosity has been remarkable.” (64:33)

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This summary covers all major topics, offers memorable quotes, and provides precise timestamps—serving both those who missed the episode and die-hard listeners wanting a refresher.

Transcript

[Guardian Announcer]

This is the Guardian.

[Raj]

Hey, it's Raj and Noah. And we're back with a new season of Am I Doing It Wrong? The show that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.

[Noah]

Because we're still doing a lot of stuff wrong.

[Raj]

But who isn't? That's why each week we're talking about the topics that we could all use a little helping hit with. Whether it's making new friends as an adult, managing our emotions, or even dreaming.

[Noah]

We'll be talking to experts in their fields who are definitely doing things right, so the rest of us can be a bit wiser and a lot better equipped to handle whatever life throws at us.

[Raj]

Subscribe now and listen to new episodes of Am I Doing It Wrong? Dropping every Thursday starting January 1st, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noah]

And for the first time ever, we're gonna have full video episodes on YouTube. Because as long as there are things to get wrong, we're gonna be right here to help you do em better.

[Barry Glendenning]

Love y'.

[John Bruin]

All.

[Raj]

Lunch was great, but this traffic is awful.

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[Barry Glendenning]

Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. Happy Carrick, Sad Frank, Abandoned GL and the Mist Panenka. Manchester United completely dominate the Derby. Those fans got a chance to feel again. Is it as simple as just do all the things Amarim didn't? Meanwhile our city in crisis. Crises are relative, of course. Hello, Doctor. Tottenham rescuing West Ham for their worst run in 19 years. All the goodwill in the world is surely not enough to save Thomas Frank voice note Incoming. Meanwhile, poor abandoned Oli Glassner desperately tries but fails to do a Maresca. Wonder what those clear the air talks with Steve Parish on Sunday morning were like. Elsewhere, Liverpool continue their miserable unbeaten run. Liam Rossinha gets a lucky first Premier League win and Villa blow the chance to go second. And then to afcon. Just extraordinary. Brahim Diaz is presumably still lying in bed staring at the ceiling thinking, why didn't I just do a pressman? Sadio Mane getting his team back on Senegal, winning it in extra time. Just the kind of wild scenes no.1 brackets. Everyone wants to see. All that plus a glorious own goal in Stockport. Your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Week. On the panel today, Barry Glendennick. Welcome.

[John Bruin]

Hi, Max.

[Barry Glendenning]

Hello, John Bruin. Hello there and good morning, Seb Hutchinson.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Hello, Max.

[Barry Glendenning]

Let's start then. A lot of people saying let's start with afcon. We will get there, but we're going to do the Premier League first and we'll start at Old trafford. Manchester United 2, Manchester City nil. You were there, John. And it may be a flash in the pan, we don't know. But for Manchester United fans, how liberating just to feel something, anything again.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, it felt like I was alive again. It felt like I was. It doesn't sound like it's obviously express it in a. Some sort of.

[Barry Glendenning]

You got criticized last week for not being a happy enough Macclesfield fan. We know your tone.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, well, I was going to say to you, when we express. Express it like no coward or something, you know, I mean, be yourself. Yeah. You know there's always barriers who offer checks and balances, isn't there? But yeah, of course. But this time. Well, anyway, as I was getting to. I felt alive, Barry. I felt like I was back in my 20s and 30s and Old Trafford felt like that. And I was looking around and I was out in the town after and the celebrations, it were pretty wild because it was like. It was like going back with Fergie's boys. United played like we remembered United playing, you know, as Max alluded to, it may be just a one shot deal. You know, they'll go to Arsenal and you know Dig in and not defend very well or they'll play Fulham. And I think that the essence was that. That Michael Carrick asked the players to feed off the crowd and the crowd gave them something to feed off. And on the Stretford end, it was a flag day. Most of the flags were about Manchester City and 115, which will set aside. The City fans played the part as well. I mean, you know, as we think about it, your team is accused of all these things. How do you react? Well, you take the piss back, don't you? And the City fans were giving it back and it was. It made for an atmosphere. And I suppose it's. You feed off that atmosphere. And that's just what United did. Now City can say, listen, they had a very, very young defense, Max, Elaine in particular, Kusanov. But United just went at it like it was. I mean, Ferguson, we saw the pictures of him, but it was like those old days where there would be these games where his team had been through a slump and then suddenly they had to pull off a big result against a Chelsea or an Arsenal. And they came through and the crowd went with them. And I did the talking point for the. For, you know, for the Guardian Digest that we do every Monday. And I talked about Old Trafford. Now, Big Sur Jim's idea is that we knock down Old Trafford and build another super duper stadium, maybe a little bit like Tottenham's. And I just thought to myself, would Liverpool tear down Anfield? Because it's about what that stadium can do. And if you buy into the magic of Manchester United, if you see it as magic, not everyone does. We get a lot of complaints about that type of thing. But if you want to buy into the M. The legend of Manchester United, why would you sell off that experience? Why would you sell off the Old Trafford experience? And maybe for one day only, Old Trafford was how it can be, how it used to be. And it was a privilege to be there. Of course, I'm completely biased and it's completely ridiculous for someone who was there as a journalist to say all these things. I admit all that, but come on, it was just brilliant.

[Barry Glendenning]

Especially because all I've heard for about 10 years is how terrible Old Trafford is. But suddenly, if the players are good and run around a bit, the place is amazing.

[John Bruin]

It's the same with West Ham, isn't it? And they're a studio.

[Max Rushden]

No, no, no, no, no, no. Whoever the next owner of that club might be, their first project is to buy that group of houses in Upton park and try and reassemble Upton park and, and just, and this is the thing is I've never bought into this. Old Trafford is falling down, you know. Oh yeah, yeah. It's the antiquity, the feel that the place. It's like this is home. This is what people come from all around the world to see. And maybe it's a bit shabby in the corners and stuff. That stuff can be repaired. Liverpool have shown this can be done. Okay. Liverpool fans might point to the fact that, hey, getting tickets is a bit more difficult and the sea and there's some with the season tickets are tailing off and stuff like that. But please retain the essence of what made these football clubs great in the first place.

[Seb Hutchinson]

I mean, can you, can you imagine if you just put a football pitch in the middle of the Coliseum? It'd still be amazing. Wouldn't be an amazing atmosphere. I mean that building's quite old. I think people do go to stadiums for that.

[Barry Glendenning]

I don't think the WI fi is that great in the Coliseum, but, you.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Know, that's fine, that's easily solvable. It's not great. Yeah, but I, I, it's one of the best. As I've said, the older stadiums produce the best atmospheres. I still believe that they have the best commentary positions as well. I'm speaking obviously selfishly. And Old Trafford is up there for that. I, I don't want them to move from there for sure. Just for my own selfish reasons.

[Barry Glendenning]

Barry, is it as simple as just go for the bat? It was interesting what Carrick did, you know, he bought in Kobbie Maino. Obviously I hadn't really played at all under Amarim. Harry Maguire started. He's quite fortunate, I guess that Ahmad and way more back. But like it did seem. Put round pegs in round holes and it'll be fine. And you're sort of going, why didn't Amram do that for 15 months?

[John Bruin]

Well, Amaram didn't want to do that for 15 months, but I think there's more to it, a lot more to it than playing 5:4 at the back. I mean this was an annihilation. The scoreline in Norway reflects United superiority to hit the woodwork twice. The three goals ruled out for offside and Donna Roma was brilliant. He had to pull off some super saves for City. So they were lucky to get away with a two nil defeat. But I have not seen a team ethic or a shift of that magnitude put in by United's players for a very, very long time. And if I can just, you know, check some balances. Baz. I'm curious to know, John, if any part of you was maybe a little bit annoyed that why haven't you played like this for the last 18 months? Because they've clearly been slacking and not putting in the, the effort on the evidence of that performance which should now. Now you're not going to play that well every week but that should be the very minimum that's expected now from now on. Because I just watching this United players just, you know, five or six red shirts charging forward on a counter attack. I can't remember the last time I've seen that. And then that first goal in particular, Fernand. You know, counterattacks, you can find odd players on the ball because it just happens to break to them or bounce their way. But Fernandez is really the guy you want on the ball when you've got that four on two or three on two, whatever it was. Yeah, I'd be, if I was a United fan, I'd be absolutely delighted with that performance. I'd be full of optimism. But I'd also be going, hang on, why haven't you played anywhere near that well for like over a year?

[Max Rushden]

Over a year is generous, Barry.

[Barry Glendenning]

Over 13 years.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah. There was a reason Ruben Amarim got a job in the first place because the previous lot played much like that as well. I mean, I subscribe to almost to the great man theory when it comes to big clubs. Now you can have a medium sized club or small club in case of Brentford or someone like that that has this structure where the manager might not be the most important person in the club, but it's felt like at United that drag between various sporting directors and, and big Sir Jim and the players has meant a manager is an isolated figure that can't deliver something. It almost certainly will not last. But Carrick is an insider figure that can talk about what the club is and what it can do. How long that message lasts, I don't know. But he was able to channel something within the club that makes these players look around and think, when I came to this club, everyone was supposed to be really good at this place and it's been great for all these years, yet we're rubbish. And Carrick was able to point them in that direction and show how you can do this. It's not sustainable. We do know that Manchester United is in great need of modernity and all the rest of it, but you know, for one day only, just, just make those players and fans feel and then you've got something to build on and we've seen it before. Remember when Kenny Dalglish went back to Liverpool 15 years ago and he made Liverpool feel like Liverpool again? And it didn't work out in the end, but it formed the revival of Liverpool from that point. And maybe that's what we're looking at with Michael Carrick.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, I mean, I'm skeptical about DNA. I think football clubs, we just want to believe that exists there. But I guess that I. I guess that if you bring back somebody who is a legend at the club, it just. It gives everyone a lift. I mean, I was saying before we went on and we'll get to Spurs, I wouldn't mind Harry Ridknap. Like, I really wouldn't. Just because, like, you know, Carrick comes in and everybody, everybody there is willing him to do well and, you know, the.

[Max Rushden]

And.

[Barry Glendenning]

And that doesn't mean he'll do. You know, I can so see a social situation happening where they're good, good enough for long enough that they give him the job and then it doesn't work out. But, like, it's actually not a stupid idea because everybody is on the same.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Side suddenly, certainly in the short term. I mean, history's told us when this happens, there's. There is a boost because supporters, when a manager's hired, and let's use Nottingham Forest as an example this season, Nuno went, Ange Postecoglou came in. The supporters were immediately on the back foot, immediately feeling, we don't want this man, or he has a connection that's failed elsewhere. We have no interest. Sean Deitch comes in, player with a connection to the club, speaks highly of the club, speaks about his. His history at the club, and it gives that man, in this particular instance, time. Think of Arteta and his. His connection with Arsenal, which probably kept him in the job longer than it did near the start of that particular tenure. Ultimately, it's down to results, isn't it? Over time, it's down to results. But it does help massively. Whether it worked for Tottenham is a completely another matter, because they fit into a different category for football clubs when it comes to these sort of things. But I do, I. No, you're right, I do think it does. It does help. And I think it's easy for owners as well. It's an easy thing for them, I think. How do we get the supporters off our back for a bit? Let's just hire somebody with a big connection to the club and let's tick that box because they can always turn back and said, we did this and it didn't work. So what do you want from us type feeling? It was incredible from that point of view because I think instantly when you have Carrick, who's always had been there before and he'd had the three games before in his first time in charge, I think he beat. I think he did beat Arsenal in that period as well.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, he did, yeah.

[Seb Hutchinson]

And that big, that big victory, it just helps and it sets the club going. And Manchester United have only. Only have the Premier League to focus on now. So it's going to be a case of if they get into the Champions League, it's considered a good season essentially. And let's, let's see what happens from there.

[Max Rushden]

It was interesting afterwards, listening to Carrick talk and he's a very calm speaker, but he made quite an interesting point which was he's actually got season tickets at Manchester United and takes his kids. And so he was saying, oh yeah, I'd seen quite a lot of the tea, but I knew what to. And so he's obviously been sat in a stand saying don't play three at.

[Seb Hutchinson]

The back, you know, and free copy now.

[Max Rushden]

You know, I suppose the other thing is the noise is off. I mean, I don't know if you were going to get to this but the, you know, the Lisandro Martinez kicking back at Skulls and Nikki but. And all this and I suppose the one person in the stadium of a Manchester United leanings that wasn't happy would be Roy Keane did ended up with this huge debate with him and. And Daniel Sturge over whether this is going to work and what's it for and I suppose that is. That's the issue we've talked about so many times with Manchester United. Whatever happens, they discussed the pundit. I can't even say the word. Punditocracy. Is that what we're calling them?

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, yeah, you can call them that.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Media class.

[Max Rushden]

Media. Well, are they. Media is ex pros, aren't they? We're media class. Lower media Class Class.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Media.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

I look down on him because he is lower media class. And it is worth saying that, you know, Dalot should have been sent off and maybe the game is totally different and it's astonishing that VAR didn't see that. We will get onto, you know, there is plenty of time in the next few weeks to talk about Man City, but we will move on to Spurs. I was just thinking who do they bring in? Yeah, is it Harry Redup? Is it Chaz or Dave? I forget which one is still around. Neil says Dr. Tottenham is an unfair moniker. They don't just heal at this point, they can raise the dead. The latest from David Heitner is that Thomas Frank oversaw training at spurs on Sunday and maintained a business as usual front before the Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. Despite the uncertainty that's raging over his future, situation is precarious. The directors have been reluctant to fire him. They're mindful of the problems he has faced, not all of them being his own making. During what was always like to be a transitional season. David Ornstein saying that, you know, some of the board want him to go. I mean, if he gets the sack, probably after we finish recording, most likely. Can he have any complaints? Barry?

[John Bruin]

I don't think so, no. And the thing about Thomas Frank is he seems to be widely liked because he appears to be a very, very nice man. But that'll only get you so far. Results haven't been good enough, Performances aren't good enough. The style of play is at times extremely painful to watch. I think what coaches and players and journalists, to an extent, a lesser extent, often forget is that fans pay a lot of good money to go to watch their teams play. And I think a season ticket at spurs, you're not getting much change out of 900 quid, minimum. That's a lot of money. So you at least want to be entertained because it's supposed to be fun. Spurs have this reputation for being an attractive team to watch, if not a particularly successful one, and he hasn't delivered on any front and he seems confident that he can turn things around. He's using the oil tanker analogy, which I'm not sure is the cleverest one to pull out. But he has lost the fans, they have no faith in him, they don't like him. They boo him with just relentless monotony. Now it's, you know, it's just a thing they do. Let's boo Thomas Franklin. I don't see how he can come back from that. I do think you will definitely be in voice note territory, if not today, certainly Thursday at the latest. And I think when it comes down to, oh, we'll give him the Dortmund game, we'll give him the next two games, just. Just get rid. Put him out of his misery. Rather than. It's like if he. You're in a relationship that's gotten sour and, oh, we'll go out for. We'll go on a holiday, we'll buy a dog, you know, just. Just end.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, I suppose. Sorry, Baz. I suppose Seb, you know, the Dr. Tottenham thing is objectively hilarious. Bournemouth hadn't won in 11. West Ham are winless in 10. Spurs go to Turf. Moore next. Bernie won in 13. I mean, it's so extraordinary that they could lose that one. But my understanding is that he's lost some of the players as well, which is, you know, you lose the fans and the players, we. You don't really have anything. And it's, It's. There is no discernible style, like what are they trying to do?

[Seb Hutchinson]

It's. It's not clear. I feel like with the Thomas Frank situation, it's that case of he's sticking to his guns. He believes deep down that he'll come through. But I suppose in another way, there's no other way for him to. To explain this, because he's not in a position where some of the other managers we're going to go on to talk about are in, where they're looking above. You're not supporting me, you're not backing me, because he's just come in and he's got nothing behind him to fall back on in that respect. It's just been the most miserable few weeks for him from a manager's point of view. Not only with the results on the pitch. The issue with the Arsenal cup, while it's not his fault, it is still. It just looks so bad on so many levels and because he's such a candid guy and he's so honest and earnest and people quite like him as an individual, that from the outside, it also feels you feel for him as well. But ultimately, from a Tottenham point of view, he has to. I think this result is a particularly bad one because we're speaking about Dr. Tottenham, but West Ham haven't had anything like this this season. Maybe the. When they won at Forest, that's one. But the rest of their season's been so miserable. I mean, I did West Ham last week and then losing a home to Forest and you're thinking they are down and to pull this result out. And we're going to be. Of course, we didn't speak about City before, but because obviously you spoke a lot about Manchester United, we do have to speak about the teams on the other foot in this particular weekend, because I think credit to West Ham in a game like this, because I saw when Somerville scored, he's running to the bench. They're having to dig deep. They know to the only way they're going to get out of this, we're going to talk about Everton. We're going to talk about Forest in this respect and on this particular weekend it's a reminder that in the Premier League there are teams that can trip you up all the time, whether they're in the bottom three or not. And that needs to be remembered, especially when sides have injuries and Tottenham have added to that in this, this course the last week or so cannot take away from that. And while I think this is probably a result too far for him in this particular situation, normally the overreaction we do have to obviously take it on a game by game basis.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, I mean that is true. That West Ham John looked really good and I just don't know if suddenly they decided to be good or just Tottenham can make anyone look this good.

[Max Rushden]

I think it could be a bit of both, don't you? Maybe. Maybe Nuno, I think. Well, West Ham fans in particular have written off Nuno, but I think he's quite a capable manager and has got teams out of this position before did it at Forest. So I wouldn't rule West Ham out of a. At least being giving themselves some hope. When we would talk about Tottenham, I always think it's quite amusing when things like this happen. I saw some Tottenham fans wishing that Daniel Levy was still around because. Because at least Daniel would have got the job done and got rid of Thomas Frank by now. But. And I suppose that is something to do with perhaps Thomas Frank is a victim of himself. That again, we've got that organizational drag, haven't we? Because Daniel Levy went and we knew the club was all about what Daniel Levy want and now we've got the, the ownership that were, you know, the Lewis family and then. And the other guy, Vinay, who quite a lot of excitement because he was at the training ground on Sunday which obviously people think, well, it's, it's voice note time when that happen happens. But of course Vinay, who's he associated with? Well, Arsenal and yeah it's. It all feeds into this self loathing that seems to rule at Tottenham at the moment.

[Barry Glendenning]

Johnny Heising has been brought in as an assistant which apparently Thomas Frank wanted. Thing is, Barry, you know, he doesn't have a history with, you know, if Frank goes and they put heighting him in charge, it won't be like Carrick at Man United. There'll be just another guy that go, well, he didn't do that well at Ajax, you know. So why don't they get Harry Redknappers?

[Seb Hutchinson]

You are fighting it.

[John Bruin]

You want Harry Redknapper, Robbie Keane, don't you?

[Max Rushden]

What's Alan Nielsen up to?

[Seb Hutchinson]

You know, Mason, Ryan Mason.

[Max Rushden]

He's in Dubai, probably after West Brom, isn't he? So as soon as he comes out back from that, you know, maybe he's about.

[John Bruin]

I mean, at this stage, the only reason I can see to keep Frank on is that come the summer, when the World cup ends, there'll be loads of managerial changes and churn and it would probably be the best time to get one, see who's. Who's knocking around, maybe get Potch back, who knows? Yeah, an interim manager seems to be. They're in vogue now, aren't they? So I'd have no objections to Harry Redknapp coming back and I'm sure Harry wouldn't either. Yeah, it would be interesting to see what happens.

[Guardian Announcer]

It will.

[Barry Glendenning]

And Ollie Glasner, currently the favorite for the Tottenham job, despite the fact that palace that he had cleared the air, talks with Steve Parish on Sunday morning. And we will talk about his outburst at the top of Part two.

[Raj]

Hey, it's Raj and Noah. And we're back with a new season of Am I Doing It Wrong? The show that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.

[Noah]

Because we're still doing a lot of stuff wrong.

[Raj]

But who isn't? That's why each week we're talking about the topics that we could all use a little helping hit with. Whether it's making new friends as an adult, managing our emotions or even dreaming.

[Noah]

We'Ll be talking to experts in their fields who are definitely doing things right. So the rest of us can be a bit wiser and a lot better equipped to handle whatever life throws at us.

[Raj]

Subscribe now and listen to new episodes of Am I Doing It Wrong? Dropping every Thursday starting January 1st, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noah]

And for the first time ever, we're going to have full video episodes on YouTube. Because as long as there are things to get wrong, you, we're going to be right here to help you do them better.

[Barry Glendenning]

Love y'.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

All.

[Raj]

Lunch was great, but this traffic is awful.

[Creon Advertisement Voice]

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[Guardian Announcer]

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[Barry Glendenning]

Welcome to Part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. Phil says any top flight club ever had a more catastrophic week than the one in just endured by Crystal Palace. The greatest FA cup upset of all time. Mark Gay going to City. Glasner confirming he's leaving at the end of the season. He didn't make any substitutions in this game, despite the fact that palace looked completely knackered and the quotes after were sort of incredible. I feel we're being abandoned completely. I can't play many players. They did everything they could and this has been going on for weeks and months now. We have 12, 13 players from the squad available. We feel no support. The worst thing is selling our captain one day before playing a Premier League game. I've always kept my mouth shut, but I can't because I have to defend these players because it was the 35th game today. If you get your heart torn out twice this season, one day before a game, it was with Eze in the summit, it was with Gay. Now what should I tell the players all the time, what should I tell them? And then I see the performance today for 50, 60 minutes. It was not easy with all the circumstances going here with 12 players from the squad. And then on Sunday he rang up Steve Parrish or Steve rang him up and he went, oh, it's like, okay, do you think Seb, it's kind of because we all presume that is untenable now. But you think Steve Paris is like spite keeping him there. Like, how is this going to be for the next few months?

[Seb Hutchinson]

Well, it's tricky, isn't it? I think people were speaking from the outside looking at palace and they can't keep this up because the squad is so thin. Obviously haven't got a big enough squad to cope with the competitions that they're in. And now when I think back that they had, they were on this decent unbeaten run at home and then they lost at home to Manchester United. I mean, since then, they haven't won at home. I think their last home win was early November. It's not been creeping, but it feels like they've fallen off the edge of a cliff. Essentially, everything going wrong that a manager could think of and he is highly touted, which goes back to what I was saying before. The difference between him and Frank is he's got so much to work with. Glassner, from the point of view, he's somebody who's won palace that huge trophy. He's a player who's been coveted, a manager who's been coveted from elsewhere. He's in a stronger position that a manager can be at a club at this moment in time. Of course, if you keep losing games, then people lose faith in you, even if your squad is weak. And I think the FA cup win was an example of that. Even if palace had put out some of their academy players and, you know, they should have put in a better performance and he even admitted that himself, so it was coming. When the manager does, though, whoever they are, start to criticize the club as a whole, you, you know, they're walking. I don't understand the clear the air talks because we know he's leaving. We know he's not going to carry on after this summer. Whether he leaves now, it suits him because, you know, the time he's got left on his contract, if he just almost forces them to leave, they have to come up with a reason to let him go. Him criticizing the hierarchy is a good reason to let him go, obviously, but they might come to an agreement. From his point of view, he's thinking, what positions are there for me to take, for me to move on. You mentioned Tottenham. Most people in any job they're in, they're only as good as their options. People suffer in the work that they do because they feel, you know, I have to get paid, I need this money, but could I go elsewhere? Do I have options elsewhere? And he has options elsewhere at this moment. That might change as things drag on. I feel they're probably going to come to a decision before the end of the season to resolve this one way or another and announce it publicly what he's going to do again. But football turns. I mean, look at Mark Gay's situation. I felt that in my head. I thought, well, he'll have the choice of the world come the summer. But then he's thrown a contract and a situation where he thinks actually palace feels like the Crystal palace is burning and I have to get out now and maybe win a trophy with City before the season ends. And then that becomes a good move for him, that that will happen. And everyone fleeing suggests that he won't be the only one to leave in the near future.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, Matata rumored to go to Uve. I mean, I, I. What should Crystal palace fans feel, Barry? Because, you know, this ownership won them the FA cup like Glasner did it. But Steve Parish has done a brilliant job at Crystal Palace. You know, is it, and you know, is this calculated from Glassner, like he, he's trying to get the, he's trying to get the sack. At least he was until these, this chat on Sunday.

[John Bruin]

Yeah, I, I think it was very obvious he wanted to be fired. We've seen it with Nuno, Wolves, Mareska, Chelsea, Amarima, Manchester United. They all criticize the hierarchy. They all got the bullet. I'm sure Glassner noticed that as well. He also has formed for doing this at other clubs. If I was a Palace fan, I'd be pissed off, obviously, because they've lost as a gaze, gone who, who they might lose. Matesha, one presumes. Other players in the dressing room, Ishmael, Maxence, Lacroix, other, you know, big name, good players. They'll want out as well. I think Glasner was slightly disingenuous with his comments. He made out that he had nothing on his bench but kids. That's not true. The three internationals only won of the players was under the age of 20, only one of the subs. So he could have brought on players if he wished to. I think it was one of those statements, you know, I have no one to bring on. I want new players. But if he wants to be sacked, why does he care whether he gets new players or not? Palace are in a difficult position. As far as I know, he didn't actually speak to Steve Parrish on Sunday. He spoke to Palace's director of football, whoever that is. But one imagines that the director of football was speaking on Parish's behalf or peddling the Parish line at the very least. But look, if I was a Palace fan, I'd be fed up, but I, I wouldn't. Well, I, I don't get upset about these things anyway, so I, I can't speak for palace fans.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yes. The director of football on the line, Steve Paris is there on speakerphone going. Keep him on the line for one more minute and then we can find out where he is, we can triangulate where he's hiding. I mean, speaking of new players, spare thought for Brennan. Johnson going from one bin fire to another. And just quickly because, you know, as Seb said, we should mention the other teams as far as Sunderland concerned, John, a brilliant finish from Brian. Robbie Brobby, like, it's such a great goal, isn't it?

[Max Rushden]

It was fantastic. And the celebration was unique.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

The cramp.

[Max Rushden]

The cramp celebration and, and the enjoyment his teammates got in forcing out the cramp in that way that we became, you know, it reminded me of the, you know, the 1987 FA Cup Final or something, you know, where the players go down with cramp. That's. That's the way to do it. But, yeah, this was the summer of the. Last summer, was the summer of the number nines. And Brobie was one of those that crept in under the. Under the radar a little bit. I'd seen him play at Ajax, I wasn't too impressed. But I have to say he's completely exceeded my expectations. He's not quite on Igor Thiago levels, but he's been very, very good. Well done. Sunderland for yet another good deal. Their transfer business this summer was. Was excellent. And let's, let's garland Sunderland with praise because they really do deserve it for this season. Although at both times I've seen them, they've been absolutely rubbish. So I don't know what it is.

[Seb Hutchinson]

But can we just add that they get that? Sunderland got through AFCON brilliantly.

[Max Rushden]

Yes. Amazing.

[Barry Glendenning]

When you think about it, it could.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Have crumbled and now they have those players back, so, you know, they'll push on from here, I think.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, they did better than Morocco, but we'll get to that. Chelsea. Chelsea 2, Brentford nil. It's interesting, Seb. You know, we're talking about luck that a manager needs and, you know, Carrick gets a bit of luck because Dallas not sent off. Thomas Frank has no luck. Doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to go. Rossinia wins his first Premier League game, but it's a game where they could easily have lost. I mean, there are so many amazing misses in this game and Brentford had so many chances and sometimes, you know, you can be good. You have to be good. You have to be. Know what you're doing. But luck is such a key part of life and. And it looked like he got It. On the weekend.

[John Bruin]

Yeah.

[Seb Hutchinson]

When you. When you watch the. The highlights of that game, the number of chances that Brentford had are incredible situation. But managers, we know that every game they're under this pressure of the result dictating their whole week. And from Liam's point of view, in the midweek, obviously facing Arsenal, there was something he could take out of that game. He was missing so many players. Even though Chelsea have a lot of players, that was an interesting situation. The League Cup Final, I looked at their bench and thought, well, they still have quite a lot of senior pros who can come on here and do something. And Garnacho was one of those. In the end, in a game like this, he just needed to, in front of the Chelsea supporters, come out and just win the game. I think just to start because it's too soon to. To maybe see him implement a style per se or on the side, but he does need to hit the ground running because of the club he's at, because of the competitions he's in, and to have his first four games in four different competitions, I. I think that helps him, actually, because if he'd had four Premier League games and had a scratchy start, he might have been in a lot of trouble. But because there's cup matches in there and cup matches which he can afford to lose a couple of them because they don't really affect the ultimate destination, you know, he could still go to the Emirates and win that game. You know, in the Champions League, they could still be in a position where they can. Well, they're still in a position where they can carry on. So these things are in many ways just helpful for him. And in a game like this against a side who are in a really good run of form, it's a good result. And this incredible situation of this weekend, with a top five didn't win and only one of them scored a goal, I don't think you've got to look back and think, how often has that situation happened?

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, no, I totally agree. What did you make of it, Buzz?

[John Bruin]

I don't have much to say about this one, apart from the fact that I didn't think Chelsea played well at all. I thought they were very lucky. And if I was Keith Andrews, I'd be scratching my magnificent hair and wondering how on earth my team didn't take something from that game. It was remarkable, but just really weird. A mixture of bad luck and really weird decision making, particularly by Kevin Shadow One in one instance.

[Barry Glendenning]

And I suppose that we should give Robert Sanchez a bit of Credit because he did make a couple of good saves after the bad game he had in midweek. And Liam Racinia has, you know he's been getting teased about his sort of verbal diarrhea coaching wise and actually he came out and took the piss out of himself and I thought he was quite funny and so I give him some credit for that. Although he has says he wants to be called Rossinia despite his name being Rosenia. So that's. We're going back to Rossenia. His dad disagrees, you know and so we'll do what Liam says and we'll call Leroy Rosenia. That's totally fine. Liverpool won Burnley one. They're five unbeaten, John. They've drawn four of them. It seems like a sad unbeaten run. Like Slot is under real pressure here, John. You know the spectra of Jabby Alonso hanging over every Liverpool game now. Lots of booze at Anfield. I mean they should have won this game easily. I thought Verts was great. They missed the penalty, you know. But it isn't clicking.

[Max Rushden]

No, no it's not though. Vertz is clicking and I enjoy watching him. Really good player to watch.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, so much.

[Max Rushden]

Fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah. I mean again it felt like voice note special, didn't it? You know and then the, the you see on social media the Liverpool have no son's plans to part company with Arne Slot and are willing to work and you know it's obviously a briefing coming from the. From the press team. Why would Liverpool sack Slot at the moment? Obviously the top performance aren't good. The fans seem to have turned against him. But what do they gain by. By making that decision? Xabi Alonso isn't going to arrive till the summer because I think he's made a couple of hasty decisions already. I think he already regrets going to Real Madrid so quickly. It was pointed out to me that he joined by Leverkusen mid season. But that's not joining Liverpool mid season, is it? It's not going to happen. So Liverpool's run reminded me of something that as a Manchester United fan I remember for about 20 years ago when they did. They wouldn't lose games but they were still awful and, and there was a phrase about that. We called them the crap Invincibles and that appears to be what Liverpool are going through at the moment. It isn't clicking. SOB is like penalty was a horror.

[Barry Glendenning]

And well I mean penalties are all relative. We'll get to a horror penalty later. But yes, he struck it quite well if you ask me.

[Max Rushden]

Shall we offer credit to Scott Parker And Burnley for digging in and getting a good result. Anfield, which is very much unexpected. Well done, Scott.

[Barry Glendenning]

I totally agree. And they're still playing for him. Definitely. And you know, I'm. I think he deserves a lot of credit.

[John Bruin]

That's. Liverpool have now failed to beat the three promoted sides at home. That's not good.

[Max Rushden]

I think that's the first time ever, isn't it, that's happened.

[John Bruin]

Promoted or from for. Yeah, you know, defending champions. Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

That's interesting. Mark says good day for Barry. Wasn't it, Barry? Ben says, hi, gang. Now that he scored 4 and 8, including a finish so delightful that Barry would call it goal of the season if Ethan Pinnock had done it. Can we have some analysis of Everton and Tiano Barry, that isn't. Wow. He scored a goal. We're all shocked. Thanks, Ben. I mean, if you hadn't written that, Ben, I'm sure that's what we'd have done. But like, it was a brilliant finish from Barry and was a great win for Everton. Given that Villa. That's a shame for the title race. But, you know, I don't think anyone gave Everton a sniff in this game.

[John Bruin]

I certainly didn't. I thought Villa would beat them quite comfortably. But Everton seemed to have this knack of pulling out performances that surprise everybody. And I think I'd say some of their own fans are probably quite surprised because David Moyes has been getting a bit of heat over team selections, over stodgy tactics and whatnot. I think this is a game that probably could have gone either way, but it went Everton's way and James Garner was outstanding for them. Thought he was a little bit lucky not to get sent off. He was on a yellow and he shoved over Mark Morgan Rogers. Brilliant shove in the back as Rogers was bearing down on the penalty area. But he'll have impressed Thomas Tuchel, who was present to watch this game. The goal. Tiernabarry's goal. Really brilliant finish and it was the finish of a very confident striker. And I suspect Tierra Nabarri is not a striker who's full of confidence going into this game, but probably will be coming out of it because, yeah, that was such a difficult thing to do against an incredibly good goalkeeper and he absolutely nailed it. That Dink Martinez probably should have held the Dwight McNeil shot, which wasn't particularly powerful, but when the ball fell to Barry, you. You didn't expect what happened next, put it that way. But it was a really, really good goal and he was clearly delighted with himself. And I get the impression David Moyes was asked about him before the game. Moyes doesn't rate him. You know, he was saying the right things, but he clearly does not rate him or better. But who knows? He could. This could be the making of him.

[Barry Glendenning]

It could be. Now, look, with apologies, we want to get to afcon. So look, Wolves nil. Newcastle, no. Brilliant win for Leeds over Fulham. Just quick one on Forest. Arsenal, which was the controversial moment, I guess, John, was this Ola Aina handball where his teammate pushes him into the. You know, into the ball and he does keep it in play with his arm. I think I hate all handballs, so I didn't mind that it wasn't given, but I think maybe Arsenal have a. The way Sean Dice went on about how it definitely wasn't a penalty. Maybe think maybe it probably was.

[Max Rushden]

I mean, yeah, it probably was a penalty. Arsenal didn't really deserve that much from the game. And really Arsenal on balance did okay out of the weekend. So maybe count your blessings a little bit. I know that it caused an almighty storm on social media. Let's face it, what doesn't? And you know, of course PGMO are called in all types of. They should disband them for not giving this decision or whatever the latest complaint is. But get on, play on. Maybe it might be better if you scored a goal, lads, and then you'd have won the game. But it didn't happen. Move on. Not a bad result. Arsenal have done okay at the weekend.

[John Bruin]

I think it's worth noting how would Arsenal fans react if a similar penalty was given against them?

[Max Rushden]

Well, North London would be ablaze, Barry. That's the thing, wouldn't it?

[John Bruin]

My takeaway from this game is it's really not happening for Gayokores, is it? He's. It's not happening. And I think, look, Arsenal came out the weekend one point further ahead in the title race than they were before going in, so that's good for them. But I would be concerned with the lack of productivity of all their forward players. I saw someone posted on social media that Gyokras, Jesus, Madueke, Martinelli, Saka, Trossard, Odegaard, they're all struggling to score goals, they're all struggling to provide assists, but they're probably getting enough goals to get by.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, it's all relative, isn't it? And speaking of the pgmol, will they hire the reference from the AFCON final? We'll find out in just a second.

[Raj]

Hey, it's Raj and Noah and we're back with a new season of Am I Doing It Wrong? The show that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.

[Noah]

Because we're still doing a lot of stuff wrong.

[Raj]

But who isn't? That's why each week we're talking about the topics that we could all use a little helping hit with. Whether it's making new friends as an adult, managing our emotions, or even dreaming.

[Noah]

We'Ll be talking to experts in their fields who are definitely doing things right so the rest of us can be a bit wiser and a lot better equipped to handle whatever life throws at us.

[Raj]

Subscribe now and listen to new episodes of Am I Doing It Wrong? Dropping every Thursday starting January 1st, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noah]

And for the first time ever, we're going to have full video episodes on YouTube. Because as long as there are things to get wrong, we're going to be right here to help you do them better.

[Barry Glendenning]

Love y'.

[Max Rushden]

All.

[Raj]

Lunch was great, but this traffic is awful.

[Creon Advertisement Voice]

Um, can we stop at a bathroom? Are you alright? And keep having stomach aches, issues after eating like diarrhea, gas and bloating, abdominal pain and sometimes oily stools. Sound familiar? Those stomach issues may actually be a pancreas issue called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or epi. Creon pancrelipase may help manage epi. Creon is a prescription medicine used to treat people who can't digest food normally because their pancreas doesn't make enough enzymes.

[Guardian Announcer]

Creon may increase your chance of fibrosing colonopathy, a rare bowel disorder. Tell your doctor if you have a history of intestinal blockage or scarring or thickening of your bowel wall, if you are allergic to port or if you have gout, kidney problems or worsening of pain swollen joints. Call your doctor if you have any unusual or severe gastrointestinal symptoms or allergic reactions. Take Creon as directed by your doctor and always with food. Do not chew capsules as this may cause mouth irritation. Other side effects may include blood sugar changes, gas, dizziness, sore throat and cough. These are not all the side effects of Creon. Call 800-633-9110 or visit creoninfo.com to learn more. That's creoninfo.com I'm asking my doctor about.

[Creon Advertisement Voice]

Epi and if Creon could help.

[Barry Glendenning]

Welcome to Part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. Right, let's bring in Asasu Obeyuana, who joined us last week, has been covering Afcon for many years and covering for the Guardian observer, this time around. Wow. Senegal won Morocco nil. Gaze goal after extra time, 94th minute. It doesn't really tell the whole story of the game, does it? Andy says. Why, if you had 15 minutes to decide what you were going to do with a penalty, would you stop on that? Possibly to take all the attention away from the Stockport county own goal from yesterday. Jonah, how angry is Jonathan Pierce? John, given the context, was this the worst penalty of all time? Given everything we mentioned before, was it even possible to score that penalty? Panenka or otherwise? I mean, Assassin.

[John Bruin]

We should.

[Barry Glendenning]

Should we start with that? Just how was it in the stadium from sort of the 91st minute to, I guess, the end of extra time?

[Asasu Obeyuana]

Rather than start from the 91st minute, I'd rather start from the beginning of the tournament because I think discuss what happened during the final. You need to look at things in their proper context. The refereeing at this afcon, and I'm just being diplomatic, has been appalling. Absolutely appalling. It's really sad because at the previous tournament in the Ivory coast, the refereeing was excellent. And VAR decisions at that last AFCON were being used as. As a benchmark for even how the Premier League should manage their war room. Sadly, the person who was in charge of refereeing in caf was summarily removed just before the start of the Championship of African nations, which took place in August in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. And there has been no explanation to the public or even to staff within CAF why the head of refereeing, his name is an Ivorian Dueh Nomandias, was removed from his position. And we have seen a marked decline in the quality of refereeing in CAF competition since he left that position. What has happened at this caf are things that I really cannot understand. Why the VAR room for some games didn't even work. It didn't work in the game between Benin and Dr. Congo, where Chancellor lbemba had a clear handball as clear as night and day, and the penalty wasn't awarded. And there were so many other instances. Frankly, if there were a football prison for crimes against football, the referee yesterday should be in there. Serious? I'm not being facetious now, I'm serious. Because what he did yesterday contributed to the fiasco we saw. Sure, okay, let's be honest. There is no excuse for Paptiao to do what he did. You should never do that in a football game. To walk off a pitch, you should never, ever do that. That is totally unacceptable. However, everything has a context. The day before, when we had the pre match press conference, I could sense the tension in the air. You could cut it with several knives, not just one knife. It was not good. You could see that he had reached a point of no return in terms of being fed up with what he felt were acts of gamesmanship to ensure that they lost yesterday's game. And it was clear to me that if he was triggered in yesterday's game, he was going to do something. I didn't know he would go this far, but he was that triggered that he decided to take his team off. And in all of that, even while it seems like it was a rash action, my view is that he was very deliberate in what he did because it was an act of gamesmanship to put Kaaf under pressure. Because when he took the team off, the first fear was, oh, my God. We are back to what happened during the African Champions league final in 2019 between Esperance Tunis and Widard Casablanca, where the Widard players walked off the pitch and the game was abandoned. That was the first time in the history of the Champions League that a game had been abandoned. And if the players hadn't returned to the pitch yesterday, it would have been the first time in 69 years of the African cup of nations that a final had been abandoned. That would have been a terrible advertisement for African football, and sad considering the high quality of football we have had in this tournament. So back to the matter at hand. It was an act of gamesmanship on their part and it worked for them. It worked for them really well. Because by the time they came back, like, people were now scared that, oh, no, if we mess around with these guys anymore, something really, really bad could happen here. And then they scored that Fanta Gay scored that, you know, that cracker of a goal and that was it.

[Barry Glendenning]

But I mean, the. I mean, that's right. Isn't because the. The disallowed goal. I don't know what you think, Seb.

[Max Rushden]

You.

[Barry Glendenning]

I mean, you've covered the last couple of AFCONs. The disallowed goal is a terrible decision. The penalty is a terrible decision.

[Max Rushden]

Right?

[Barry Glendenning]

And it's sort of mad in this time. And then you're going, well, this is. Then you're thinking, well, what happens if they go off? Like you, obviously, I agree with you, you can't go off. But at the same time, not giving Morocco the win because they're obviously going to score this penalty, it's a sort of. It was just a mad moment. And you could tell that, you know, so many of my Friends who don't really watch football, let alone Afcon, just started to be going, you know, like, whatsapps. Everywhere going. We're watching this because this is. This is sort of mad, what we're watching.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Well, the interesting thing about the incident was that Jif was in bits, really. Once the decision was given, he thought, I've cost. He had the face of somebody, feels like, I've cost my country here. Because he knows, I think in general play, referees may give a penalty like that because they see a man go down, they see the arm around the shoulder and they give the penalty. I agree, but it's the fact that Var got involved and felt they had to tell the official. No, no, no, no, no, you're wrong. On this occasion, you have to do it. This is a penalty. This is absolutely a penalty. That was the big issue with this in football.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

Var cannot overrule a referee. Never, ever. The final decision as to what happens is always the referee's decision. Var only gives the referee the information needed to take the most informed decision you can. The only time, as far as I know, that issues of technology can overrule a referee is when you have goal line technology to decide whether something is a goal or not a goal.

[Seb Hutchinson]

That is.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

No, a referee's decision. That's a technology decision. But anything concerning a decision, a penalty, it's the referee who decides it. So the referee. That's why I am really, really, really tough on this referee. He is responsible for the mess we saw yesterday. And this guy is going to the World cup as a referee.

[Barry Glendenning]

Oh, great.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

Can you imagine?

[Barry Glendenning]

No, I. I can. And listen, I know it's serious. I'm looking forward to that. John, that penalty. I'm just trying to. I mean, do we have sympathy for Diaz because he had to wait for 15 minutes, or do you. Do you never get sympathy if you try Panenka and it doesn't work? It's the third Panenka in, like, recent weeks that hasn't worked.

[Max Rushden]

But it was a.

[Barry Glendenning]

It was such a terrible Paneka. It just didn't look real. I was like, is this I. Am I watching something? Like, what is happening?

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, I mean, I suppose the Panenka scale, you've got Peel O V. Joe Hart and then the Enzo Le Fay against. Between Kelleher and that was lower than the. The Lefe one. It just hit it. Listen, Diaz has been the star of the tournament in Morocco, you know, and it's got all those goals and, you know, it's his moment to. To say that his you know, the country that he, he represents and is representative with such. I mean, he's been the. One of the best players in the tournament. To show that, like, this is mine. You know, Zidane attempted this in a World cup final and only just got away with it. We won't recall.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

Yeah, yeah.

[Max Rushden]

Even Zidane, perhaps the one of the greatest of all, nearly messed this up. So for Brahim Diaz, who is a good player, but not that good to attempt that is. Is a piece of showmanship. But the problem with being a showrun, if, if your show goes wrong, you look a complete and utter wally, don't you? And that was an incredible, incredible miss. And there's all types of conspiracy to talk that he meant to miss it in the interest of fairness and all that stuff. But look at the tears rolling down that lad's face. To know that he thought it was his moment and he's made a complete mess of it.

[John Bruin]

I, I think you've been a little bit harsh on Diaz, John. It's the most important kick of his career. He's had 15 minutes to think about what he's got to do with it and then, you know, the Senegal players go off, then they come back on and then he puts the ball on the spot. Then Sadio Mane is up in his grill, then the goalkeeper's up in his grill.

[Max Rushden]

The goalie was in his grill for quite a long time, wasn't he? I suppose, yeah.

[John Bruin]

And I, I just think he had so much time and there was so much distraction going around because while all this was happening, like a steward was carried off the pitch, injured by some of his colleagues, there were fans spilling out on. Just, Just so much stuff going on. I, I just think he. He had a more or less a little mini breakdown and that's what led to this awful, awful shot.

[Max Rushden]

But, Barry, if you, if you were having a mini breakdown, surely you just give it the leather rather than.

[John Bruin]

Yeah, you'd think so, yeah. I mean, if, If I was one of his teammates, I wouldn't be really pissed off with him. I wouldn't be able to look at him in the dressing room afterwards.

[Barry Glendenning]

Sassy. What was it like in the ground when he took that penalty?

[Asasu Obeyuana]

It was a surreal experience, obviously, considering everything that was going on at that moment. But I'm going to say something which I don't know whether some of you would find it controversial or shocking, but do you know, I feel that he deliberately missed that penalty for the piece of the game.

[Barry Glendenning]

Do you think so?

[Asasu Obeyuana]

I don't think He. I don't think he. He took that with the deliberateness that you would expect from a player of his level.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, but isn't it like mishitting a sand wedge? Like what you think, do you think because. For that to happen, because he's really fallen theatric for the penalty, in that 15 minutes, he's had a sort of.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

He might have had a.

[Barry Glendenning]

A sort of Road to Damascus moment?

[Asasu Obeyuana]

I think so. I think so.

[John Bruin]

I. I don't agree, because he looks so upset afterwards.

[Seb Hutchinson]

I think the thing that really struck me with the whole situation was when you feel something's unjust and it goes against you and you're emotional and you want. You. You feel that somebody's done something to you that shouldn't have happened, and then it just flips in one moment and you. And you feel, oh, oh, actually, it's all okay again. And you could feel the Senegal players, when he failed from the spot, they'd gone through so much in that 10, 20 minutes, and then they went, oh, actually, oh, it doesn't matter anymore. That's what's so funny about football. When you turn these things around, you think, was it so important in the end that we behaved this way? We felt like they were in the moment. But if Morocco had scored the penalty and then Senegal had gone through their protest, it would have felt completely different. And I think in many ways, the world might have been with them in some respect. But after that, it was just a bit like, oh, we went through all of that and he's fluffed his lines, and I think he did fluff his lines.

[John Bruin]

I think.

[Seb Hutchinson]

I don't think you can be in a position where you are stepping up for your country at home and decide in your head for the piece of the stadium. I should do that. Maybe if the game had been in Senegal, that might have gone through his mind, but in this situation, surely not as a professional player as well, or.

[Barry Glendenning]

You put it wide, I guess it's asking, what is the fallout of all of this? We saw at the press conference, we saw the Moroccan manager. People were saying, you've got to go, you should be fired. Kids are crying. The Senegal press conference was abandoned. I mean, this is. There's so much fallout from this. What do you think happens?

[Asasu Obeyuana]

To put it in French, pas perfect. I am not only a journalist, I see myself as a stakeholder in African football. I have given over 30 years of my life to this sport. More than 30 years. Not only just being a journalist and a broadcaster, I've been involved in Governance issues for the Nigerian football Federation. FIFA have also asked me to serve on a task force on racism and anti discrimination. So for me, I look at football from so many parameters, and I have to say that when governance is not right, nothing on the field goes right. Everything that has happened in the final is a result of incompetent governance. Good governance would have ensured that we had a quality referee that would have given us an excellent final yesterday. There was no need for the fiasco we had yesterday. A lot of people say, oh, Morocco are trying to dominate everything and it's too much for Moroccans. And my answer is, I have no issue with Morocco. Why? Because, as you can see from the wider world of geopolitics, every country seeks an advantage in the global playing field, whether it is in politics, whether it's in economics, whether it's in football. Okay? This is the reality of life, and let's not make any bones about this. What is important is that those who are the custodians of football, those who have the responsibility for the governance of football, should not shirk in their responsibility to ensure that an even playing field is created for everybody. So for those who blame Morocco, I say you are pointing your fingers in the wrong direction. Point them in the direction of those who are responsible for the governance of football on the continent. Do your job without fear or favour, and if you are principled and ethics are your watchwords, things will go well regardless, because you will refuse the pressure. But if you cave into the pressure, if you are lackadastical in the way you approach governance issues, what we saw yesterday is the natural consequence. It will certainly happen.

[Barry Glendenning]

On the subject of governance and ethics, you've written a really good piece about people within FIFA feeling embarrassed if they weren't already, about Gianni giving Trump this peace prize and the process in which they came about him giving the peace prize. I. I want to give Donald Trump a peace prize. Really interesting that you spoke to people at FIFA. Obviously, no one stepped forward and gave their name, which is also unsurprising.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

You know, FIFA should never, ever descend into this murky world. I am not a naive person. I know that football and politics, sports and politics are interwoven. But the involvement of sport in the political world should be for the benefit of sport. It should be for political authorities to respect sport and to help create the best possible environment for sport. When a world governing body feels that they are better placed than the Nobel Peace Prize committee in Oslo to decide who deserves a prize for peace or not, then you know Hafifa has come to a place it should never go.

[Barry Glendenning]

Absolutely.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

And every and everybody knows that this decision is Infantino's and nobody else's. It is no one else's. But he's the president. He's an imperial president. And who within FIFA will even have the guts to tell him, president, you know what you're doing is really bs. You can't do this, Nobody can do it. So he's on a hiding to nothing on this.

[Barry Glendenning]

Sure. But it's interesting that people off the record are happy to tell you, I.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

Think, even of course, because they know it's wrong. Oh, they know it's wrong. They know it's wrong and they know for the World cup it's going to be extremely difficult to manage. If I tell you who told me that, you'd be really shocked. He said, look, he knows that this is going to be extremely tough to manage because Donald Trump is a narcissist and he is somebody whose mood swings from day to day. I think from a business point of view, if I'm to look in the mind of Infantino, he's saying, look, we need to make the most money we can from the World cup in the us the best way to do this is to kiss Trump's behind so that all the things we need from the US government in order to maximize our profit from this World cup is given to us. I think that is his strategy, but he's not caring about the reputational damage for FIFA and there will be reputational damage for FIFA in the years ahead because of what he's doing.

[Barry Glendenning]

A spokesperson for FIFA said FIFA strongly supports its annual Peace Prize, an award to recognize exceptional actions for peace and unity. FIFA Notes the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corino Mercado, has given her medal to Donald Trump.

[John Bruin]

Jump.

[Barry Glendenning]

So there we are. That's what FIFA said. On the record, as I said, thanks so much. It's been a total pleasure. Hopefully we'll catch up with you at the World cup if it happens. Before we go, quick mention. Barry, you wrote a brilliant column about your running. You're up to £27,000 now. Donations rolling back in. It's extraordinary. How are you feeling?

[John Bruin]

Yeah, pretty good. I still hate running. I don't think I'll ever enjoy it, but people's generosity has been remarkable. It's. It's genuinely overwhelming. I didn't think, I thought I might raise maybe five grand. So to be up to 27 with nearly three months to go is just mind boggling. And I hate every single one of those people who've done it because it means I have to do it and I can't stop.

[Barry Glendenning]

Well, you're inspiring a nation.

[John Bruin]

Yes. Barry Glendenning. Just giving. If anyone else would like to add to the kitty.

[Barry Glendenning]

Big shout out for Stockport's Joe Alowu's own goal in their 32 win over Rotherham. Not really his fault. The keeper absolutely smashed it into his back and it bounced over his head. It is tremendous viewing. They were the first three goals in that game were own goals, but that was by far the best. That'll do for today. Got through a lot, didn't we? Thank you, everybody. Thank you, John.

[Max Rushden]

Thank you, Max.

[Barry Glendenning]

Thank you, Seb.

[Seb Hutchinson]

Can I just give a shout out to Pat Gay's winning goal in AFCON 5? I don't know if we mentioned that.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, terrific. It was some hit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Probably right. Thanks, Barry.

[John Bruin]

Thank you.

[Barry Glendenning]

Thanks, Asasu.

[Asasu Obeyuana]

Cheers.

[Barry Glendenning]

Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove. Our executive producer is Danielle Stevens will be back on Wednesday.

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[John Bruin]

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[Barry Glendenning]

Ooh, who's there?

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All.

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Lunch was great, but this traffic is awful.

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