Premier League thrills while Dr Tottenham leaves it late: Football Weekly Extra

Summary

Football Weekly: Premier League Thrills while Dr Tottenham Leaves it Late

Date: January 8, 2026
Host: Max Rushden
Panel: Barry Glendenning, Johnny Liu, Lars Sivertsen

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into an electric night of Premier League action, with the panel unpacking dramatic late goals, controversial red cards, managerial pressure, and poignant off-field moments. The team covers Newcastle’s rollercoaster victory, Tottenham’s ongoing woes, Fulham’s derby triumph, Chelsea’s discipline crisis, Manchester City’s stumble, and more. The tone is classic Football Weekly—witty, insightful, and at times laugh-out-loud.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Newcastle 4–3 Leeds: St. James’ Park Magic

Timestamps: 00:48–05:49

• Wild match with two goals in injury time—an “advert for the Premier League.”
• Commentary on Managerial Pressure Shifts:
  “One goal, suddenly the whole picture changes. Maybe that means the picture was wrong to begin with, I don’t know.” —Lars (02:05)
• Harvey Barnes shined, scoring and continuing his “strange” scoring record against Leeds.
• Sympathy for Leeds, who had been on a great run but lost in gutting fashion.
• Emotional backdrop: Touching messages of support for club legend Kevin Keegan after his cancer diagnosis.
• Mention of Terry Yorath’s passing, adding to a somber news cycle.

“A brilliantly entertaining game. Newcastle fans got the result they wanted, but you feel hard done by if you’re Leeds.” —Barry (04:28)

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2. Dr Tottenham Leaves it Late—And Drifts

Timestamps: 05:49–17:08

• Antoine Semenyo’s epic 96th-minute winner and emotional goodbye lap as he heads for a transfer.

• Importance of fleeting stars for smaller clubs discussed with warmth.

• Thomas Frank and Tottenham’s continued mixed form (“not a terrible performance,” but “the vibes were in the negative”).

• ‘Coffee mug’ optics: Frank filmed drinking from a mug with an Arsenal crest; panel finds it trivial but notes “optics are not ideal.”

• Post-match discontent: Christian Romero’s Instagram post criticizes the club’s leadership:

  “At times like this it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t. As has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well to tell a few lies.” —Read by Max (12:29)

• Spurs in almost exactly the same league position as last year; lack of attacking threats underlined:

  “It’s harder when you don’t have any goals in the team… It’s a much harder trick to pull.” —Johnny (16:00)

• Tribute to former Spurs legend Martin Chivers who passed away.

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3. Fulham 2–1 Chelsea: Derby Drama and Chelsea’s Discipline

Timestamps: 18:42–25:02

• Harry Wilson praised as “one of the best players in the Premier League at the moment.” (19:01)
• Another reckless Chelsea red card—Cucurella grabbing Wilson’s arm.

  “He just dropped to his knees, arms out like Willem Defoe in Platoon.” —Barry (21:12)

• Chelsea’s red card crisis: 5 in 21 league games, 7 in all competitions.
• Chelsea’s lack of mature presence and a culture that’s “desperate, individualistic, and immature.” (Johnny: 23:10)
• Fulham’s Jimenez lauded for his vintage striker’s goal and post-injury bravery.

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4. Manchester City 1–1 Brighton: Title Race Slips

Timestamps: 25:02–29:21

• Three draws in a row for City; Arsenal threatening to run away with it.
• Despite returning starters, City lacked conviction.

  “Foden had six good weeks, maybe… Brighton just kept passing them the ball... and Haaland misses from two yards.” —Johnny (26:05)

• Haaland’s struggles reflect City’s drop in form; described as “getting a little yippee.”
• Praising Brighton’s chances and City’s defensive fragility despite a “return to 2022-23 City” in playing style.

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5. Manchester United 2–2 Burnley: Tactical Debates and Solskjaer Rumours

Timestamps: 29:45–37:24

• Fletcher’s debut as caretaker manager; United let Burnley in for a late draw.
• Ongoing system debate: Is the three-/four-at-the-back argument a red herring for United?

  “It’s so much more about individual errors and players not tracking back than systems.” —Johnny (31:11)

• Benjamin Sesko scores twice but discussed as a “work in progress” with expectations too high for young signings.
• Solskjaer linked with a return:

  “He does genuinely love the club in a way very few people in the football industry do... I think it’s kind of sweet in a way.” —Lars (34:30)

• Risks of a “caretaker bounce,” and what that could mean for managerial appointments.

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6. Everton 1–1 Wolves: Red Cards & Resilience

Timestamps: 37:56–42:32

• Everton finish match with nine men: Michael Keane sent off for a “classic” hair pull, Jack Grealish for sarcastic applause.

  “You can’t beat a good hair pull, can you? Straight out of kindergarten.” —Johnny (37:56)

• Wolves unlucky not to win; Pickford’s late save crucial.
• Praise for Wolves’ young star Matthias Manet and for resilience from both sides.
• Strand Larsen discussed as a solid, if overshadowed, number nine option.

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7. Brentford, Palace, Miscellaneous

Timestamps: 42:55–47:33

• Thiago’s red-hot form: “16 is the most a Brazilian has ever scored in a Premier League season.”
• Brentford’s rise to fifth: reflection on their improvement and philosophy. “He’s strong, he’s quick, got good touch for a big man. Two-footed—he’s really impressive.” —Barry (43:36)
• Panel chuckles at missed penalty antics and grumbles about over-the-top media criticism of players.
• Crystal Palace 0–0 Aston Villa: quickly summarized as a “meh” fixture; “some games are just a good matchup for them” (Johnny).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On fleeting stardom at smaller clubs:
  “These players make memories that last for decades and generations.” —Johnny (08:00)

• On the value of emotional narratives:
  “The atmosphere... is one of those football clichés that I suspect does live up to its name.” —Lars (02:05)

• On Chelsea’s immaturity:
  “You can see that urgency, almost that kind of desperation and also that the individualism... these red cards are for basically very selfish acts.” —Johnny (23:10)

• On social media after matches:
  “If you’ve just lost quite an emotional game, no posting from the team bus... maybe put the phone in a box and throw away the key.” —Lars (13:13)

• On defensive tricks:
  “There’s a slightly snide streak to [centre-backs]... if the chance avails itself to just grab someone’s hair, you know, you just try and get some leverage.” —Johnny (38:30)

• On Solskjaer:
  “He has a kind of selfless affection for Manchester United, almost like that of a fan.” —Lars (34:30)

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Important Timestamps by Segment

• Newcastle 4–3 Leeds: 00:48–05:49
• Dr Tottenham/Bournemouth: 05:49–17:08
• Fulham 2–1 Chelsea: 18:42–25:02
• Man City 1–1 Brighton: 25:02–29:21
• Man Utd 2–2 Burnley, Solskjaer: 29:45–37:24
• Everton 1–1 Wolves: 37:56–42:32
• Brentford/Palace: 42:55–47:33

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Tone & Style

Football Weekly remains irreverent, sharp, and affectionate. The panel blends deep football analysis with jokes, cultural references, and the reliable running gags (e.g., Dr Tottenham, “limbs,” terrible post-match social media, and club DNA). Tributes to football figures are delivered with respect, and there’s just enough silliness to keep the pace brisk and engaging.

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Perfect for listeners who love a mix of tactical debate, genuine sentiment, and classic football banter.

Transcript

[A]

This is the Guardian, A PSA from instacart. It's Sunday, 5:00pm you had a non stop weekend. You're running on empty and so is your fridge. You're in the trenches of the Sunday scaries. You don't have it in you to go to the store, but this is your reminder. You don't have to. You can get everything you need delivered through Instacart so that you can get what you really need. More time to do whatever you want. Instacart for one less Sunday. Scary. We're here.

[B]

Hello and welcome to Guardian Football Weekly. Almost too much action for a Wednesday night. Where to begin? St. James's part, probably a 43 with two goals in injury time is just the kind of advert the Premier League needed. After those nil nils the other week. Dr. Tottenham Leave it late, but give Antoine Semenya the perfect way to say goodbye. Romero puts in his most commanding performance on Instagram. It's all bleak at spurs, but should they hold their nerve with Thomas Frank? Liam Rosenia is in the stands to see another Chelsea red card as Harry Wilson shines again for Fulham. Man City drop more points. Three draws in a row now. Darren Fletcher's in the dugout and plays a back four. But it's not enough to beat Burnley. There's Hare pulling at Everton. Wolves unbeaten in three and Brentford are up to fifth. We'll do all that, plus your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today, Barry Glendenning. Welcome.

[C]

Hi, Max.

[B]

Hello. Johnny Liu.

[A]

Hi. How you doing?

[B]

I'm very good, thank you and good morning. Lars Everton.

[D]

Hello, Max. How are you doing?

[B]

Yeah, I'm all right. Let's start at James's part, then Ashley says, Max 4 3, Newcastle. The perfect score for the big man on such a bad news day. As much as I don't like the Newcastle regime, I'll be happy for them today for Keegan and that score. Yeah. Newcastle four leads three and at the 90th minute, Lars, this was going to be, how much pressure is Eddie Howe under? And then it's not that question anymore.

[D]

Well, does that in itself speak to the ridiculousness that is inherent in some of those sort of narrative decisions that we make? You know, one goal, suddenly the whole picture changes. Maybe that means the picture was wrong to begin with, I don't know. But it was. It was one of those things where the pictures at full time with the celebrations and the limbs, as the young people would call, did look like an extraordinary place to be. Like it looked like the incredible memory for the people who were there. And it makes you one of those things that like there are cliches in football and I think the sort of the atmosphere, the life, the feeling of St. James's park at a moment like that is one of the football cliches that I suspect does live up to its his name. I mean it looked incredible. And I feel a little bad for Leeds especially because the nature of the 3, 3 goal which is one of those penalties that. That drive me insane.

[B]

Unbearable.

[D]

Don't want to. Don't want to take us straight to that territory Max. But I felt like it deserved a mention. But Newcastle of course deserve credit for the way they kept going. The way they, you know, kept at it and got the win in the end.

[B]

Yeah. And a brilliant the turn Johnny from Scotland's finest. Harvey Barnes is brilliant.

[A]

It is. Barnes had a great night. Barnes always seems to play well against Leed but you know there were great performances all over the pitch. You know Bruno Guimaraes who scored the equalizer and I think set up the set up the second. But yeah, I mean Barnes is one of those players who I think he gets. He gets a bit of an unfair rap amongst a lot of Newcastle fans. Certainly wider. Wider observers. But does seem to contribute. He does always seem to contribute in big moments. So yeah, that was a nice one for him.

[D]

Barnes actually does have seven goals now and eight in the league against Leeds which is weird. I mean these sort of. I. I'm one of those people. I like stats. I likes xg. I don't really believe in head to head records because they seem inherently ridiculous. But you look at something like that. Does he really hate Leeds? I mean because he's from. I don't think he's from anywhere geographically that would suggest that he has a particular animus with Leeds and he came through at Leicester. I don't think there's a big leads Lester rivalry. But Harvey Barnes just really turns it on against Leeds. Maybe they get his goat.

[B]

Yeah. Lovely cross from Guimarus for the. The Joelinton goal. I mean hard to analyze games like this. I think Barry apart from. I think both teams really contributed. It feels harsh. It feels really harsh on Leeds actually who had been on a brilliant run.

[C]

Yeah. I think both teams to be commended on probably serving up the game of the night on a night where there was eight Premier League games and I think seven of them were. Were good. The Villa palace was the only one that didn't have any goals and wasn't very entertaining. Obviously the players didn't know what was going on elsewhere. But really entertaining game. Leeds must have been gutted to lose in that manner. I wouldn't necessarily say they deserve to lose. James Justin had a header against the bar that you know was unlucky because it didn't quite fall to Dominic Calvert Lewin. But a tremendously entertaining game for everyone present at it. St. James's Park. The home crowd got the result they wanted. They're obviously going to be sad because it's been announced. As you alluded to the Kevin Keegan is ill with stomach cancer. Obviously we. We wish him well and I think leads can be kind of fed up insofar as the first and last goals they conceded I think were completely avoidable. It stemmed from them just failing repeatedly to clear the ball when it was there to be cleared. And Newcastle took full advantage.

[B]

Bob says no question just to get well for King Kev. There was a really nice show of support for Kevin Keegan before kickoff on the big screen at St. James's his family said in a statement. Kevin was recently admitted to hospital for further evaluation of ongoing abdominal symptoms. These investigations have revealed a diagnosis of cancer for which Kevin will undergo treatment. Kevin is grateful to the medical team for their intervention and ongoing care during this difficult time. The family are requesting privacy. Be making no further comment. And breaking this morning. Which news the three of you probably don't know. And you'd have seen Gabby Logan left Match of the Day sort of mid episode. Father Terry Yth, former Leeds and Wells midfielder has died at the age of 75 following a short illness. Incredibly sad. He had a nine year spell at Leeds from 1967. He won the First Division title in 74 and a runners up medal in the FA Cup, European cup and Cup Winners cup as well. His children all said in a statement to most he was a revered footballing hero. But to us he was dad. A quiet, kind and gentle man. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort knowing that he will be reunited with our brother Daniel. So we obviously send our deepest sympathies to them. Back to the football and to the vitality. Connor says what. What can Robbie Keane achieve this season as interim manager at Tottenham Hotspur? I mean before we do Tottenham Johnny, we should say this is a. This is one of those. You couldn't script it. Could script it. You would script it like this. Moments for Antoine Semenya just to score the winner. Injury time to get, you know, substituted and get that ovation. Have a lap of honor as well. And like credit to him for sort of doing the reverse Alexander Isaac and playing right up until his medical. Basically.

[A]

Yeah, I honestly, you have to love him for that. And he, he has always been that sort of player who some somehow senses the occasion and can, can perform for it and can guild it. There are certain players who, who, you know, they're all about, about process and doing the things, you know, doing the things every week that, that you know, that need to be done and there are some players who could do that but then when the moment requires them to, to make a show of themselves, basically he can do it. And I think there is, there is something that I think only fans of, of smaller clubs will, will really grasp which is this, that when you get a player who is as good as, as he is, the clock is already ticking in a way and you know that your time with this player is going to be so fleeting and short and, and you're not going to get them at their peak. But you, you and you might not see someone like that player again for, you know, think, think Birmingham and, and how fondly they think of Jude Bellingham or, or Reading and Michael Alise. These players make, make memories that last for decades and generations even. And you know they're going to go at some point to have that moment and not have it, you know, to have it perfect last minute winner, like 96th minute winner against, against spurs and then he gets his substitution and then he takes the ovation of the crowd. There is something really poignant about and I think, you know, it's a real, real tribute to Semenya, his professionalism and, and the regard in which he holds the club and his fans that he did want to keep going right until that, that last minute and he wanted to keep playing.

[C]

Should, should it be that remarkable? Think it should?

[A]

Well, I think, I think it's fun. You know, we've seen lots of players who have, have played until, you know, they've, they've played until their transfer and they obviously don't want to get injured. They don't want to, you know, they're a little bit sort of 75, 25 in challenges and they're sort of running.

[C]

Around a pitch which ironically will almost certainly give you greater chance of being injured, but. I know. Exactly.

[A]

Well, ironically, yeah.

[D]

There's a thing to be said for release clauses though, speaking about that because it takes away a lot of the sort of players don't have to go on strike to force a move to get this sort of if you have a release clause that's a value that both you and the club kind of agreed on, then that that kind of smooths out the process and you don't have that problem.

[B]

But I think you make a really good point, Johnny, about being a lower league fan. And I mean, maybe it might be slightly different for Bournemouth because they're in the same division as Man City, but of course they are sort of eons apart in size. But the pride you, you feel of that player going on. And like. So for example, when Dion went to Manchester United for a million pounds from Cambridge, like we couldn't believe it. A million pounds. And like he. Whenever he scored for United or even when he went on for Coventry and Villa, or if you saw Cambridge players in the Premier League like Claridge or, you know, even players that didn't have amazing careers, there's like, you do feel like real pride, especially if they have come through, you know, as a young player at your club. I think it's a really, really good point. I feel for Thomas Frank here, Lars, you know, because Petrovic makes a brilliant save for you. Talk about, you know, if those moments don't happen, the narrative changes at St. James's Park. I know the narrative already exists here with Frank, but like Petrovich makes a great save and van event. Spurs actually were okay in this game. They weren't brilliant and I know Bournemouth had been out without a winning 10 or 11 or whatever it was, but that Semenio strike is also brilliant. Like you don't expect him to score from that and then it is. It is different to a defeat here.

[D]

I do agree with that and that this wasn't. I've been jumping up on down on Frank in Tottenham's head quite enthusiastically recently because I've kind of. I think they're very bad and I don't think they're going to get better, but this was not a terrible performance. Bournemouth gave a good account of themselves against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They were decent against Arsenal. Like there have been signs that they've been improving. And I concur in terms of the chances that were created, it could have gone either way. But it still ends up being a game where like the. The expected vibes were in the negative for spurs because they lose because you have this silly business with the coffee mug which I really don't think matters, but I think it's going to annoy a lot of people either way. You have confrontations between.

[C]

Sorry, Lars, could you explain what you mean by that for anyone who might.

[D]

Yeah. Thomas Frank was depicted drinking from a cup that had an Arsenal crest on it, which is a suboptimal visual for an under pressure.

[B]

The optics are bad. It's a Wilfried Nancy optics.

[D]

The optics are not ideal. It absolutely does not matter on any level, but the optics are not ideal. And then you also have. Speaking of optics, you have both Mickey Van de Ven and Pedro Porro confronting members of the away support after the game not knowing what was said. I have no idea what the background was or the justification, but it's still one of those things that don't look ideal. And you've got the captain Christian Romero coming out against the club on Instagram post game as well. The vibes are continuing to deteriorate, I think it's fair to say at the moment, romero said.

[B]

Apologies to all fans of you who follow us everywhere, who are always there and will continue to be. We are responsible, there's no doubt about that. I'm the first. But we will keep facing up to it and trying to turn the situation around for ourselves and for the club. At times like this it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don't. As has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well to tell a few lies. We'll stay here working, sticking together and giving our all to turn things around, especially at times like this. Keeping quiet, working harder and moving forward altogether is part of football altogether. It will be easier at spurs official heart. I don't know. What do you make of that, Barry?

[C]

It's very Father Ted Golden Clerics Award, isn't it? And now the liars. I don't know who he was alluding to. Should I?

[D]

Well, the assumption be in the before times everyone would would have considered that this was a dig at Daniel Levy. But of course it can't really be that anymore. There's new new liars in place. I think this should be this sort of rule of like if you've just lost quite an emotional game, no posting from the team bus. Just, just leave it. And when you're on the team bus away from the ground, maybe put the, put the phone into a box or something and throw away the key. And it's easy for him to just. He can probably come out now and say I was emotional after a bad day at the office, but it's not an ideal message from your captain. I do, I do like Romero as a player and as the sort of resident head case in the group there, but I'm not sure the resident sort of hothead should be the captain. I'm not entirely sure that's a good sort of thing that you want. And I do also worry on a more serious note, this wasn't by any means the worst Tottenham performance, but it is another game in which they've not won, they've not gotten a result. There is the sense that this is going nowhere under Thomas Frank. And I do think they're going to have real issues keeping hold of their best players this summer because they're going to finish somewhere in mid table under a coach who has not convinced in his first season. If you are one of the handful of players in that spurs squad who have big clubs that would be interested in you, Romero being one of them, why would you stay this summer? Like, really, if you have a contract you can get out of at least. So there might be some, some transfer tugs of war at that club, I think going forward next couple of months.

[C]

Spurs are in an identical league position now after 21 games, as they were last season, but they have three points more. And while I agreed they played quite well last night and it is possible to play well and still get beaten. This was textbook Dr. Tottenham. And I noticed the next league appointment in his or in his diary is at West Ham.

[B]

No, it's home to West Ham, I think. And then, and then Dr. Tottenham goes to Burnley. It gets worse, doesn't it? What do you think spurs should do, Johnny?

[A]

Well, if you look at those two goals, I mean, tell is basically kind of a pot shot from, from the corner of the area which, which the keeper should save. And then Paulina's overhead kick, which probably has a negative xg. Another. Another act of XG larceny from Tottenham. But, but I mean, the interesting thing is, right, like look at spurs top scorers from last season or all competitions. You have Brendan Johnson, 18, Solanke, 16, Madison, 12, Son, 11, Kulasevsky, 10, and then Pat Matassar on six. That's 73 gold. And none of those players are available. And in their place you have players who have never been a consistent goal threat. Kola Moani has never been a consistent goal threat, nor has Kudis or Tell or Auduber. I mean, it's ironic really, that when Frank came up with Brentford, they almost had this reputation as the entertainers of the championship. But they've always, his Brentford teams always had reliable goal threats and, and the team built around those goal threats and Frank can't do that at the moment. I mean, you know, and Postcode was getting killed last season because he didn't have a defense and he eventually sort of knuckled down, got his defenders back and won a Europa League. It's, it's harder when you don't have any goals in the team. You know, Richarlison's kind of, you know, obviously outperforming himself a little bit and is probably overplayed, but it's hard to just magic goals out of a team that doesn't have any goal scorers. That's a much harder trick to pull. And I think, you know, you can quite easily say, okay, there are no patterns of play here. They don't really seem to know what they're doing in possession. But when you, when you have a coach who, whose entire philosophy is built around getting the ball to proven goal scorers and get, and getting them to score and you don't give them any proven goal scorers or you don't have them for whatever reason, I think that that does kind of, it, it, it does affect how they should be seen and, and the kind of job they're doing.

[B]

I don't disagree. If they had some attackers, they'd probably have six more points or nine more points and then they'd be fine. But I might be wrong. I, I hope they hold their nerve, but they may not. More sad news. The former spurs in England forward Martin Chivers has died at the age of 80. He scored 174 goals in 367 for the club, winning the League cup twice as well as the UEFA cup. He scored 13 in 24 for England. Spurs said. It was with immense sadness we announced the passing of our legendary former striker Martin Chivers. We extend our deepest sympathies to Martin's family, friends and former teammates at this incredibly sad time. Rest in peace, Martin. One of the all time greats, yes, one of the players that my dad talks about. Not as much as Jimmy Greaves, but you know, he's on that list with the gill zines of, you know, this was bad. You should have seen Martin Chivers play, you know, et cetera, et cetera. So, yeah, our thoughts go to his family as well. We'll be back in a second where we'll begin part two at Craven Cottage.

[D]

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[B]

Of course you did.

[D]

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[B]

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[D]

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[A]

And that's on multitasking.

[D]

So we're not saying that Instacart is a hack for game day, but it might be the ultimate play this football season. Enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees apply for three orders in 14 days.

[B]

Excludes restaurants.

[D]

Instacart. We're here.

[B]

Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. Fulham 2, Chelsea 1. You had this on your main screen, Lars. Callum McFarlane's final game in charge. What an era. But firstly, another goal for Harry Wilson. He had one disallowed in the first half. He caused red card. I think it's not a stretch to say he is one of the best players in the Premier League at the moment.

[D]

No wonderful run of form for him. And he's such a. He is almost a bit of a throwback because he's not the fastest in the world or he's not like a brute force physical guy. He's clever and he's got a lovely left foot and he uses it really well. And I've frequently complained about not always enjoying watching Fulham. Not that they're bad, they're just not always very interesting. They're like quite good in a way that's not always interesting to watch. But currently Harry Wilson, very watchable. Very, very, very good. Very good to watch, I have to say. And yeah, you say forced the sending off. I mean that really was the sort of the big, the big moment of the game where Mark Cucurea, not sure what he was thinking. I mean, he is in theory supposed to be one of the more experienced players in this team, Kukurea. But yeah, Dec, just to grab hold of Wilson's arm and not let go as he was running through. Wilson almost made it into the penalty area. Certainly Marco Silva felt that he made it into the penalty area and that it should have been a penalty replays. Maybe he let go just on the edge or outside the edge. It is what it is. But it was one of those moments that it sparked the red card, sparked a bit of a melee where Enzo Fernandez, Tosin Adebayo and Cole Palmer were all booked and Marco Silva was booked. So there was just anger on all sides there. Expected aggro was incredibly high. But this has been the story of Chelsea season. I think that's their fifth red card in the Premier League. You know, five red cards and, and 21 games is too many. You know, you hamstring yourself massively by, by, by, by getting these players sent off and, and while they did get back into it with that equalizer from Liam Delap, I didn't think it was undeserved at all that Fulham found a winner. And you know, happy days for Fulham.

[B]

Yeah, and actually you Know, this discipline issue, Barry, is like. It will have caused. It's cost them points. It cost them points here, probably custom points. Old Trafford, I forget the other ones. And they would be in a really strong position, you know, perhaps not in the title race, but, you know, comfortably fourth. Say if they could have fixed this and maybe, well, whether Maresca would still be there is a different question. I guess probably not.

[C]

I don't think he would. But it's seven red cards in all competitions. It's clearly a problem. It's not the kind of first impression you want to make on a new manager who's sitting in the stands. Not sure why he was sitting in the stands and didn't take charge of the team, but that's clearly an arrangement that was agreed on between Rosinha and his new slash old employers. I loved Cucarella's hugely confident how a protest of innocence in the face of absolutely incontrovertible proof. Like seriously caught with his hand in the cookie jar and. No, no, no. And dropped to his knees, arms outfolded, like Willem Dafoe when he got shot in platoon. It's something that has to be sorted out. But if you can't really tell a player, you know, you can ask a player not to lose his head or not to do something stupid, but if they go and lose their head or do something stupid, I don't know what. What do you do about it?

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

So Cucurea did, of course, in one of the last international breaks, nearly hit a friend of Min. Golf buggy. Have to get that in yet again. So I took a screenshot as he was making these objections to the ref, I took a screenshot of his face and sent it to my friend and said, is this what he looked like when he nearly hit you with the buggy? And my friend confirmed it was very much the same. Gesturing was going on. So he has form for this. I wonder with Chelsea if they had just one slightly experienced, sensible defender back there. Just really. They had eight more points at least, because there's, like, they are not a bad team. There's a lot of good stuff going on there, but they need, like, an adult on deck to settle everyone down. I think at the back.

[A]

That should be Kukureya, right? Kukureya should. Should be that guy.

[D]

Yeah. Well, that's the problem. Yeah. If you look at their birth dates, you know, logically it should be, but it very clearly isn't.

[A]

But it is. It's. It is a problem of maturity and it's also a Problem of culture. Because you, you've signed these several dozen 18 to 24 year olds with the specific, with the specific message of like, this is your shop window. You have, you know, two or three, two or three good years and, and we'll sell you on and you know, you get you moved to your next club. This is your, this is your window. And I think, you know, you can see that, that urgency, almost that kind of desperation and also that the individualism. I mean, a lot of these, A lot of these red cards are for basically very selfish, very selfish acts. They are not, they're not team red cards. They're acts of pet or they are stupid. You know, Hollywood challenges from a, from a ridiculous angle. And you know, and this also manifests itself in the way that they can't really control the game. You know, when the time comes to, you know, when they need to slow the game down and, or manage the situation, they can't do it because they don't have the collective emotional maturity to be able to manage those situations.

[B]

If they're all young, then maybe there'll be no one, you know, old man in the dressing room to like talk to the younger players. So they'll just stay immature. They'll just be like those old people still going on 18 to 30s holidays, I guess. And Rosenia himself is, speaks very well, seems very mature, but is young and is inexperienced. It'll be interesting to see, you know, if he can have a, if he can sort of stop this happening.

[D]

I guess again, having kind of not maybe praised Fulham enough for winning a derby, which I think means, or I know means a lot to them. Also want to flag up the header for O Jimenez if you haven't seen the highlights, because of course there were a lot of highlights yesterday and Match of the Day was on very, very late. Unbelievable. Sort of old school, number nine strikers, header, you know, makes the move, gets in front of his defender, slightly optimistic cross into the box and it's such a good header from Jimenez and just vintage.

[B]

You're right. And actually, you know, it's now at the stage where we've completely forgotten about that head injury and what happened to him that he can get back and head with such bravery and like, you're right, he doesn't. He attacks it perfectly. The angle is brilliant and the celebration was great too. That sort of like flying fish celebration. Enjoyed it tremendously. To the Etihad man. City won. Brighton won their third consecutive draw. Johnny. I mean they can't afford to keep dropping points like this in the Title race with Arsenal looking so good.

[A]

No, I wonder whether it's one of those where the title race kind of looked illusory close for a bit. And now I think if Arsenal win tonight, it's eight points and, and they could very easily pull away from this point, you know, with, with the players coming back. City, obviously, they. They now. They've now drawn three in a row. And I wonder how much that late equalizer that. That Chelsea late equalizer took out of them, because there just wasn't. There wasn't a lot of conviction to them at all. Foden had six good weeks, maybe four really, really good weeks and. And is now just going back to sort of twiddling around and. And Brighton tried to give them.

[D]

Them.

[A]

They tried to give them so many chances.

[B]

They.

[A]

They just kept passing the ball to them in their own penalty area and saying, here, have another go. And then Harlan misses from two yards and then Turkey can't get the ball out of his feet. So. So, yeah, I think, I think there's a. There's a real issue there with. I think for as much as. As Pep was talking up, oh, you know, you know, we. We. We're over our. Our difficulties. We've got over the. The difficult period. We're clicking again. I think for people who watch them every week, they. That was never. That was never really the case. There has always been that certain brittleness to them that occasionally the brilliance of a Foden or a Turkey or a Rinders or a Doku would. Would paper over. And obviously they are now slipping back.

[B]

Yeah. And Barry, they like Brighton, really. City had loads of chances, but also in the first half, it looked like Brighton would just clean through. Every time you looked up some another Brighton player was in.

[C]

Yeah. Pascal Gross had a good header saved by Donna Roma. Ferdy Kadioglu was put through by Reuter and his shot was weak. Easy for Don Roma. He should have done better. When Caro Moma beat. I think it was Matus Nunes down the left wing to latch on to. I think Nunes misjudged the. The crossfield ball. Mitoma squared it for Diego Gomez who somehow missed. I don't know how he missed that. And then m. The ball broke to Mitoma who hit it against the foot of the post from a very narrow angle. It's a game I think both teams will feel they should have won and a draw was probably fair, but yeah, there was a lot of chances for both. I think City had two cleared off the line as well, but Erling Haaland, I know he scored his 150th goal, quickest player ever to reach that in English football. But he's not playing particular. That was a penalty. He's not playing particularly well at the moment. And when he's not playing well, City tend not to play well. And I think that's why they're dropping all these points. But yeah, very, very good night for Arsenal, who didn't play.

[D]

It reminded me of last season, City, to be perfectly honest, because earlier in the season, City have looked different. They've been sitting off more, they've counter attacked much more, which has given them the kind of fast break attacks that Erling. Oh. And absolutely loves. And it's also been good for someone like Dooku, who's had more run to, more space to run into. Whereas here we were back to City playing a million square balls and really kind of boxing Brighton in, but then not having a lot of space to go into. That being said, yeah. Erling Holland had a header cleared off the line and he had at least two shooting chances in the box that you would expect him to score from close range that he kind of snatched out a little bit, which to me looks like he's almost trying a little too hard, that he's a little anxious, that he's shooting just a little too quickly. He's getting a little bit. Yippee. But. But the surprising thing was when you saw the lineup, you see they have a debutante in Max Alain and Kusanov playing next to him at center half and you think, oof, that's. It's not going to be good. And you expect the problem they're going to have is. Is defending. But. And they did in the first half have some issues with Brighton beating that high line. But overall in the game it was. It was City having possession, boxing Brighton and not finding an opening. So it was kind of odd. It was a throwback to last time season for me.

[B]

All right, James Milner came on, becomes just the fifth outfield player to play in the Premier league after turning 40, along with Sheringham gigs, Kevin Phillips and Gordon Strachan. Is he stracking a Coventry kit? I mean, he must have been over 50.

[C]

I remember Milner's debut for Leeds. That makes me feel so old. He was 16 years old.

[B]

You are quite old, Barry.

[C]

I think he might have been the youngest ever Premier League debut at the time.

[B]

Yeah, possible. David says. Will playing four at the back ever work for Man United in the Premier League? Burnley 2, Manchester United too we did do a Manchester United special on Tuesday, so listeners probably hoping for some reprieve. Johnny, you've been writing about Sir Jim and Jason Wilcox. Even got praise from Mark Goldbridge on your article on on X on this one. Lots of excellent shots of Wilcox and Omar Berada in the stands during this game.

[A]

Look, I can. I could top that actually. There's a. I've know someone who. Who from the world of cycling who knows Sir Jim quite well and apparently Sir Jim has read the article and loves it it. Which I great actually because considering that it was an article basically about how stupid he is. So it takes a certain self awareness, I think to appreciate that. Which I appreciate in turn. Yeah, I mean, I mean Burnley, Burnley, they're not good, are they? But they do keep coming at you. They do keep trying. I think that the fight they've shown despite basically going out and losing every week, playing really well and trying really hard and losing every week, I think that it's a credit to them that they still have the, you know, the wherewithal I think to keep creating chances and keep running at United and I think they deserve that point. It was never four at the back, three at the back. That was like. Honestly it was never the issue. I know they won with four at the back and then they drew against Wolves going back to the three but.

[B]

It feel like we've wasted a lot of podcasts if that wasn't the issue.

[A]

Well no, but it is so much more about individual errors and players not tracking back and players not doing their jobs. I mean ultimately it's very easy to blame this look at this system. But you know, three, four, three works. Three at the back. Works has worked for a lot of teams in this Premier League season. Leeds are playing it very well. Fulham are playing it. Crystal palace play it very well. The system is not all, you know, is not the whole issue here. It's the fact that United have a lot of players who for whatever reason over a period of years haven't been performing and that is cultural.

[B]

Benjamin Sesko did score twice, Lars. Yeah, he had a brilliant header saved in the first half and both his goals are sort of classic centre forward goals and you have probably watched him more than the rest of us. Do you have high hopes that this will be a big moment for him?

[D]

I thought the football writer Seb staffer Blore made a very good point about Sesko, which is that he is a work in progress and he looked like a work in progress in Germany as well. But because they paid so Much money for him. People are expecting him to be the finished article. And this is something that's happening now because teams increasingly are spending huge sums for players who are still young. It used to be like when you were in your late teens, early 20s, there was an acceptance that you're not the finished article and the big transfers would be guys in their mid to late 20s. But because teams have caught on to this resale value issues, amortization, all this sort of stuff, they're now paying huge, huge sums for players who are still not quite there, who are still there. They're buying the potential. And because those players come with a huge transfer fee, the expectation is because we paid this much. You have to be good right now with Sesko. He's never been super consistent. What he has is a lot of good ingredients. He's a big strong guy, he's fast for his size, he can hit the ball. But he's never been super consistent. And maybe we should be giving him and players other in that bracket a little bit more leeway. I can't quite decide if the two goals here were just a function of playing as a number nine in a non silly formation and put the ball in the box a lot and he'll probably score more goals. That could be true. Could also be that it was against Burnley. Thought United did look better here. I liked seeing Bruno Fernandes in a more creative forward role, not deeper in midfield. Freed him up a little bit, but yeah, and they had 30 shots in the game. United, I think on most other days this exact game would have ended with with Man United winning it.

[C]

I would say. Darren Fletcher went to bed last night wondering how on earth they didn't win. Because the score 2 they too cleared off the line. They hit the post, they had a goal disallowed. Shea Lacey curled a beauty of a shot off the post. They any other day that have won this. And while I think Burnley do deserve praise for the effort to put in, that's about as good as Burnley play. And they still were almost overwhelmed.

[B]

I mean, obviously Darren Fletcher would have to ring Sir Alex before he went to bed to just find out if it was okay for him to go to bed. Anthony's equalizer is brilliant. Jade. Nancy's equalizer. Solskjaer. From your contacts in Norway, Lars, suggests that that is a done deal. Is it? Are you. Are you dusting down the Solskjaer table? And why would you go back to Solskjaer? Why would they do that?

[D]

I should stress in this case my Contact in Norway is reading the paper. If I had to hazard a guess, I would suspect that that's his agent letting it be known. But certainly the story in the Norwegian press has been that they've been discussing terms, I don't know, man, like, as a temporary thing. So we all remember how it ended with Olga Solskjaer at Manchester United, with the team not being able to, you know, develop their own game in possession, with the team having a couple of humiliating defeats, with him having a very sad goodbye interview, like those were not happy times at Old Trafford. But there is something about Olga Sausa is that. I know it's a cliche and I know it's easy to be sarky and make fun of, but he does genuinely love the club in a way very few people in the football industry do like. He has a kind of selfless affection for Manchester United, which is almost like that of a fan with a total lack of cynicism, which I think is very unusual in the football industry. You don't see it very often. He is someone who will always answer the call and it's easy for snide people such as ourselves to make fun of that. But I'm going to make an effort not to because maybe I'm getting older, but I think it's kind of sweet in a way, what he does. Well, Solskjaer is, and I was in Istanbul for his first game in charge of Beiktas. When they played Athletic Club Club, he'd just come in, he got them organized, set them up to play on the counter and beat Athletic Club 4 1. And while he was in charge of Besiktas, he was the only manager who beat Gal Tasseray in Turkey that season. They also beat Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce. But the problem he had at Besiktas was consistently beating the lesser teams who came and sat back against them. So for Man United fans, this will be familiar. At United, he often did well in the big games, struggled to develop up their own play, to break down, quote, unquote, weaker teams. But I'm not sure that matters between now and the end of the season. If you want a pair of hands who can go in, the players love playing from the last time he was popular in the dressing room. He's not going to reinvent the wheel tactically, but to make people, players feel good about themselves, just for a couple of months. You're not going to make a big appointment right now anyway, because lots of good big managers are available in the Summer I, I think there are worse ideas out there to be perfectly honest, than getting someone who will be happy to take it for a few months, will then step away, invests and, and, and I think United's got a really decent chance of making the Champions League. If you look at where the table is, it's very, you know, it's very tight. Now they are seventh but they're just two points off a fourth. I think having him as a more experienced caretaker than Dan Fletcher for instance and as someone who will be probably will accept a short term engagement. I guess the trouble is what if he does really well?

[B]

Well yeah, I mean that could happen.

[D]

What if he comes in, does really well, takes him to the Champions League and the temptation to give him a four year contract will be there and that probably wouldn't be a great idea.

[B]

I mean I guess one other problem he had with us is he didn't understand the DNA of the club because that's true. He understands the DNA of Manchester United. Along with Fletcher, Danny Murphy suggested Roy Keane which is, let's face it, it what we all want. Anyway, that'll do for part two. Part three will begin at Everton. Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. To the Hill Dickinson. Everton won. Wolves 1. Everton finished this game with nine men. Which of the sendings off did you prefer Johnny?

[A]

You can't beat a good hair pull, can you?

[B]

No.

[A]

Straight out of kindergarten. You know a lot of Everton fans out there trying to. Oh, he was just putting his hand on his back and, and they're happened to be hair there and he just happened to close his fingers around the ringlets of hair which is what any professional would do in that situation. And now we're going to have players growing ponytails willy nilly in an attempt to game the system and, and, and going up for aerials if. Do you remember the, remember the, the fight they had at Old Trafford? Him and, and gay Idrissa Garner Gray.

[B]

Yes. Yeah.

[A]

KE basically starts that fight sides Keane basically shoves him and, and that, that's what, that's what you know, Addressa reacts to. There's always been that side to Keane's game and you know I think all central defenders have this kind of. There's a, there's a slightly snide streak to them, little dig in the elbows, whatever. And occasionally if, if the chance avails itself to just grab someone's, just grab someone's hair. You know I think it's hardwired into a lot of defenders from a pre camera age that you Know, you just try and you just try and get some leverage over. Over the attacker whichever way you can. I don't know how he thought he was going to get away with it. It wasn't innocuous. It's really like. It's really horrible having your hair pulled. If you've ever had long hair. I had long hair for a bit. If you ever had it pulled, eg, by a child. It's not. It's not very nice. It's basically like you can't move. You can't move because someone's pulling your hair and it really hurts. Yeah, that's my analysis of Michael Keat's hairpool.

[C]

I thought it was quite funny that with one red, Moyes was quite happy to defend the indefensible because that hair pull is quite clearly a red card. But then when he was asked if he wanted to defend Jack Greish's two yellows and subsequent red, he went no. As in, he has no excuse whatsoever. Jack hadn't pulled anyone's hair. He'd come an act of dissent. And then sarcastic applause. I love a bit of sarcastic applause, especially when someone gets sent off for it.

[A]

Joe Linton should arguably have been sent off for Newcastle before he got a chance to score because he dives and then he sarcastically applauds the referee and he probably should have. And he took. I think it was Aaronson out in the air earlier. So he probably should have had three yellow cards instead of one.

[D]

And I will say, listen, it's stupid. I'm not arguing against the yellow card and you shouldn't do it. And you should know better as he's not a young guy anymore. Grealish. We just get kicked around all day. Like every. Every game he plays, he gets kicked constantly and he probably doesn't get quite as many of those free kicks as he wants. And maybe the frustration builds up and like, you know, the sarcastic applause is always daft. It's. It's always very daft when you're already on the booking. But I guess with him, I can kind of see a little bit why that happens.

[B]

Yeah. Wolves I'm beating in three, Barry. God, they'll be gutted not to get a winner against nine men.

[C]

And they should have. I mean, they were very unlucky. That brilliant shot right at the end from Hugo Bueno and Jordan Pickford pulled off a superb save to keep that out. Poured away. I thought Wolves would win this game, I must say. And when I saw the Keena being sent off, I was thinking, oh, here we go. But Everton just about hung in there.

[A]

Matthias Manet is incredible, by the way. He's going to be some players, like 18, I think, who, like the. The first touch for. For his goal was incredible. Afterwards he said, you know, I. I have got no illusions. I. I belong here. You know, you've got to have confidence. You belong here. And I think based on that evidence, he's probably too good for wolves already. I don't think. I don't think he belongs there.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. He doesn't need to point to the badge and go, here I am. It's like he should be pointing to his release clause. He should have his release clause on a T shirt. Shouldn't he just lift it up and go, 25 million on strand. Lars. And Lars. Lots of people want Strand Larsen, should they want him?

[D]

Oh, he's a decent number nine. I mean, from a Norwegian perspective, it's unfortunate for him that he's hit around at the same time as Erling Holland and Alex olos because he's not going to get a lot of minutes for the national team because we have a plethora of big number nines at the moment. I think he needs service. He's not the fastest, but he's a handful physically and he is intelligent. I think he's a striker who makes the most of the chances he does get, but he doesn't fashion a bunch of them for himself.

[A]

So.

[D]

So if you're a team that gets the ball into the box a fair bit and you want someone to finish a reasonable amount of those balls into the box, he'd be good. Everton, for instance. Be a good shout for Everton. You know, they keep having this issue of, unfortunately, Beto and Barry just getting a lot of service in the area that they can't convert. I mean, that'd be a good match.

[B]

Must be so sad for Beto and Barry. Do you think they sit together at training, you know, in the canteen? No one else talks to the poor guys. It'll come good eventually, I'm sure.

[C]

Knocking over the ketchup.

[B]

Missing their mouth with the fork. Yeah.

[C]

Oh, you're right.

[A]

One of them does the first half hour. One of them does have a half an hour in the canteen. And then the little board goes off and then Barry comes. Albeto comes on to get his lunch.

[B]

To the G Tech, you know. Thiago, meanwhile, can't stop scoring another two. 16 is the most a Brazilian has ever scored in a Premier League season. Yeah, I know, it's amazing. Stat 5 in his last two and he should get some more right. There's quite a lot of the season to go. I was chatting to Tim Vickery on the radio video who's saying that Brazil are a bit snobby about someone playing for Brentford, you know, as being their number nine. But like they should look. And Brentford are fifth in the league. Like don't pick Richarlison, pick this guy. He's good. Brentford are better and like it's a.

[A]

He's. He's great.

[B]

Like he is a really, really good player.

[D]

Barry.

[B]

I know that's not an original question.

[C]

Yeah, he scored two great goals last night. Should have had a third. Probably his finish where he latched on to that through ball from Janelt. I think it was great pass and just the confidence he showed just without breaking stride to take it past Robin Roos and slot at home from a tight angle was brilliant. I don't know who else is in contention to be Brazil's number nine outside of those who play in England. So I don't know what. But I, I don't think there's any competition for him as far as Brazilian England based Brazilian number nines go. He's. He's a great player. He's strong, he's quick, he's got good touch for a big man. And two footage, you know, can. Can shoot with both feet. He's really impressive. I think this game was all about Enzo Le Fay's penalty though.

[B]

Yeah, of course it was. Yeah.

[C]

Because some of them were only one nil down when they. He got that penalty. They weren't playing well. They deserve to lose this game. They look tired, but what a penalty. And I applaud anyone for trying a penang. You look such a chump when it comes when the goalkeeper just stands still and you just dump it straight into his hand. And fair play to Keevin Keller. He's a great penalty saver. How did he know? How did he know he was. That's what he was going to try?

[B]

Like the Welbeck one was funny because it's the bar. But you're right if the keeper is just standing there and catches it, it just looks dark. It looks so daft. And on Match of the Day, Jonathan Pierce was absolutely furious. I reckon he was more furious than Regis Labriz. I mean he was like absolutely apoplectic. Not on my.

[C]

I really thought his criticism was over the top. Like really over the top. It was like that England cricketer Jamie Smith who got out to a really stupid shot. A pudding balled at him by Mariners.

[B]

Labasheen Oh, God, don't just get me started.

[C]

And he played this incredibly stupid shot and the, the ball was caught and he was out. But I thought the, the abuse he got for that was completely over the top.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

He, he ain't the only England cricketer who's played a stupid shot. And that Ashes tour.

[B]

You're absolutely true. And you can hear me, Ali Martin, Barney, Ronnie, Jeff Lemon and Emma John reviewing the whole Ashes series on the Guardian, Ashes Weekly out tomorrow. But yeah, it's not all about Jamie Smith, but that was Tamars. Come on. Not to Manus. Look at him. Where next? Palace nil. Villa nil. Any strong thoughts on this one, Johnny?

[A]

I interviewed Will Hughes last, last season ahead of the FA Cup Final, and he said that some, you know, some, some games are just good matchups for them. And he said Villa are a really like just one of those teams that, that palace love playing against. The styles just, just, just suit them. And I think, you know, if you look back, they do have a pretty good record against Villa obviously beat them in the, in the semi final of the FA cup last season. But we are really kind of sk. I didn't watch a minute of this game, so I'm just talking.

[B]

Fair enough. You are forgiven. There were lots of games and there were no goals in this match. Neil, Nil is not necessarily a bad game, but it wasn't a classic class.

[D]

No. Do you know. Do you know who played in James Milner's debut? I just looked this up while we were talking about this game.

[B]

Yes, I do know. Hang on. I've seen this before. I do know it's very topical.

[D]

I mean, obviously a lot of people played in that game and many of their names are funny, but there's one in particular very topical this week. Jason Wilcox, just man of the hour. Jason Wilcox was playing for Leeds as. On the. It was. It was against West Ham United. Playing for West Ham United that game. Nigel Winterburn was in the side, as was Trevor Sinclair and Paula Dicano.

[B]

So there we go. That is our review of Crystal palace nil, Aston Villa nil, Arsenal, Liverpool tonight. We'll look back at that on Monday, of course, but that'll take for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Barry.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

Thank you, Johnny.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Cheers, Lars.

[D]

Anytime, Max.

[B]

Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove. Our executive producer is Phil Maynard.

[A]

This is the Guardian.