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- [00:00]
Ayo Akinwaleere
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Rory Smith
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Ayo Akinwaleere
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Rory Smith
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Ayo Akinwaleere
Minimum purchase required.
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Rory Smith
Daredevil Is Born Again on Disney plus.
- [00:35]
Jacob Tanswell
Why did you stop being a vigilante?
- [00:37]
Rory Smith
The line was crossed. Sometimes peace needs to be broken. Chaos must reign. On March 4th, the nine episode event begins.
- [00:46]
Jacob Tanswell
I was raised to believe in grace.
- [00:49]
Rory Smith
But I was also raised to believe in retribution.
- [00:53]
Jacob Tanswell
Marvel Television's Daredevil born again.
- [00:56]
Rory Smith
Don't miss the two episode premiere March 4th only on Disney Plus.
- [01:00]
Ayo Akinwaleere
I can say to my new Samsung.
- [01:02]
Rory Smith
Galaxy S25 Ultra, hey, find a keto.
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Jacob Tanswell
Friendly restaurant nearby and text it to Beth and Steve.
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Ayo Akinwaleere
And it does without me lifting a.
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Rory Smith
Finger so I can get in more squats anywhere I can. 1, 2, 3. Will that be cash or credit?
- [01:17]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Credit.
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Rory Smith
4 Galaxy S25 Ultra the AI companion.
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Jacob Tanswell
That does the heavy lifting so you can do. You get yours@samsung.com compatible with select apps.
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Rory Smith
Requires Google Gemini account. Results may vary based on input.
- [01:29]
Jacob Tanswell
Check responses for accuracy.
- [01:32]
Rory Smith
The Athletic FC Podcast Network.
- [01:39]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Welcome to the Athletic FC Podcast with me, Ayo Akimwaleere, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio couldn't save Aston Villa last night.
- [01:46]
Rory Smith
Done well and in.
- [01:48]
Jacob Tanswell
Oh, is that Akettia?
- [01:51]
Rory Smith
The icing on the cake for Crystal Palace.
- [01:54]
Ayo Akinwaleere
The two marquee signings were brought in to boost Unai Emery's side at the business end of the season, but our Rashford and Vicencio the solution to Villa's problems right now. Okay with us today we have the Athletics Aston Villa correspondent Jacob Tanswell and also senior writer Rory Smith as well. Jacob Whoa. A disappointing 41 defeat to Crystal palace last night for Aston Villa. But before we get into the nitty gritty of that match, just explain something to me. What have happened at half time?
- [02:27]
Jacob Tanswell
I mean, what.
- [02:28]
Ayo Akinwaleere
What's going on with the substitute keeper and the mascot and a child for goodness sake. Like what? What is that all about?
- [02:34]
Jacob Tanswell
It was absolute chaos. I came out of the press room and Leon Bailey walks past me. He's one of the first substitutes to come on and everyone's panic stations almost. And then I look to the far end and then Robin Olson is going through his warm up, which is a surprise at the best of times, but you know, something's wrong with Emmy Martinez. But then at halftime, some kids wanted to shooting the goal, but Robin Olson was just blocking the goal. And then the halftime presenter was asking Olsen to move and Olsen just carried on catching crosses. So it was just indicative of what would follow in the second half.
- [03:08]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah, for sure. I mean, we have to talk about Martinez as well. And he's had quite an interesting season so far. Probably not hit the heights he usually has, you know, World cup winner. And obviously last season he was absolutely brilliant for Aston Villa. What's the latest on his injury?
- [03:21]
Jacob Tanswell
At the moment, no one is sure of the exact issue. He was a muscle injury that happened in training a day. Martinez thought he could power through it. He's felt okay in the warm up, but over the first half he made it clear to the doctors that he could have continued for the second half. And it's the second time this season he's actually gone off at half time for Olsen and they've lost both games.
- [03:42]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah. All right, Rory. Like, the thing is we often look at the reasons as to why sides aren't performing so well. Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United. Now the reasons given for Aston Villa's woes right now, I guess are injuries. But do you think there's more to it than that? Are Villa actually playing?
- [03:59]
Rory Smith
I think they're playing well in patches. I thought they were. They were okay against Liverpool last. What, last week? Obviously what happened last night is not ideal from an Aston Villa point of view. And they've been, we shouldn't forget, they've been pretty good in the Champions League. They've. They qualified automatically, which for a team returning to the top table of European football for the first time in. I can date this because it's the same age as me. 40 years. 2 years is. Is pretty good, you know. So I think it has been a mixed bag of a season, which is a horrible cliche, but they have. There have been moments where Villa have looked great and there have been moments where they've been disappointed by the standards they set last season under. Under Unai Emery. And yeah, injuries are a part of that. I think fatigue is a part of that. It's maybe a slightly lazy parallel, but it feels like it. It does really hold true that Villa are going through to an extent what Newcastle went through the year that they got into the Champions League. They're discovering that that competing on two fronts with the intensity of European football does stretch a squad. And I think that's why they may be. JT will know much more about this than I do, but it strikes me that they looked at their resources in January and thought, okay, do you know what, we've come into this a little bit light. We maybe don't quite have the numbers that we needed. Obviously they then don't lose John Duran. So they've added Rashford and Asensio in an attempt basically to get the numbers up to keep that kind of energy levels up to resist the fatigue. Daniel Marlin as well. That is a lot of attacking firepower brought in in January. And that to me suggests that you have a club that has realized it's a lot harder competing on two fronts than just the one.
- [05:27]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Jacob, let's focus on the big name January signings, Asensio and Rashford. Right. They were meant to make the difference when they came on in the second half last night, just as they did when Villa played Chelsea. Rashford fires it acrossensio again. Jorgensen in goal will wonder how that slipped by him, but he did. Marco Asensio has a second and Villa.
- [05:56]
Rory Smith
From one nil down are two.
- [05:59]
Ayo Akinwaleere
I mean, there must have been an air of anticipation from the fans when those guys came on, right?
- [06:04]
Jacob Tanswell
Yeah. The issue for Villa is that they're still trying to build a sense of Rasha's fitness up and they feel, you know, Villa forgot five games for 13 days. They don't feel these two guys coming in, trying to hit the ground running. But playing successes games, you know, is viable, really, considering that Asensio was in another team at psg. Rashford was AWOL at Manchester United for the last few months under Amarim. So Emery doesn't want him to start them to stop at all games. But at the same time, you do want to return on them because you're paying significant salaries. They're excellent players. They've showed already, they can make an impact. But there is a feeling that if you do pay me do stretch them, they could break down and then, you know, their season will be over.
- [06:44]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah, I'm just looking at the options they also brought in and please both just jump in because, you know, I think the Sassi sent him back on loan. I mean, you can see they need a defensive cover. But Rory, I mean, there's. They've put a lot of money out there on two incredible attacking talents who obviously are trying to find form again. And you're asking yourself. They're also leaking in goals. I think that was, what, three clean sheets this season in 28 Premier League fixtures. I mean, that's. That's quite a lot for a team that's trying to push for Champions League.
- [07:14]
Rory Smith
Yeah, and it's. And it's. It's a lot for a team coached by Unai Emery, who's who. It's not fair to call him a defensive coach at all. I think what he's done at Villa shows the kind of how potent his attacks can be. But he is a coach who like, likes a good structure. I suspect that makes him, like, literally coaching world football. But, you know, he would look at that and think, that is not ideal for Villa trying to achieve what they're trying to achieve this season. It wouldn't be ideal for Villa if they were trying to finish 10th, to be honest. That kind of. What's the word? Like, vulnerability at the back. That fragility is not what. What you saw from Aston Villa last season. And again, yeah, to an extent, it's to do with. With injury and availability. Central defenders, anyone. Anyone who plays in defence. Everyone in football always sees their own job as the most important. But defenders generally will tell you it's about partnerships, it' understanding, it's about building that consistency of relationship. And I think that's been tricky for Villa this season and that maybe there comes a point where you do just have to kind of get bodies in. I actually thought Villa's business in January was relatively smart. Just because, all right, you're having to, you know, rebuild the fitness of Rashford and Asensio. You're probably having to rebuild, certainly, Rashford's confidence to an extent. Possibly Asensios as well. I'm not quite sure how much his confidence had suffered at PSG and with Disassi. It's not physical, but it is to do with getting the ring rust off, making him feel comfortable again. There's clearly a talented player in there. It hadn't been going well for him. So I think there is. That's why clubs don't like operating that much, to that extent in January, because you're trying to rebuild the plane while you're flying.
- [08:42]
Jacob Tanswell
Villa's defensive issues being magnified this season because obviously where they are and the lack of clean sheets, but this trend has been over the last two years, really. They conceded a lot of goals last year, but it was masked by this incredible efficiency. And now if you look at their XG, they should have 10 more goals than they already do. And when you're not scoring as many, there's going to be a spotlight on the defense and like Rory said, there's ever changing backline. Yes, there was a 12 different back line that, that Villa have used and they went to a back three yesterday. Emery said afterwards that he wanted to solidify, so it's clearly in his mind. But at the same time the injuries are still there. Buba Kamara who can play center back but is their defensive anchor, from our mind is is Village the best player and he completely changes how they play. Similar to Rodri Man City, he's inj. All these different factors are contributing to Villa's defence being in the spotlight.
- [09:33]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah, I'm interested in the Rashford and CIO deal because I mean look, two great players on form. But also I'm just thinking about the cost for Villa. Can you just break down like because I was reading somewhere and please correct me if I'm wrong, there's a chance that Villa could end up paying 90% of Marcus Rashford's fees.
- [09:51]
Jacob Tanswell
Yeah, it depends on his performance related bonuses. At the moment it's 75% of, you know, of salary that's upwards of 325,000 a week and then it could go to 90%. Right. And then got Asensio. They're covering a full salary. You know, he's going to be on a lot of money. The sassy straight loan fee of 5 million plus a hefty portion of of his salary. And it feels like with Villa so tight on psr, every single window they're trying to adapt and be nimble and people were asking what do you expect from Villa in January? And over the window. In truth, Villa don't really know because they're kind of adapting to market market conditions and you have this big recruitment structure. At most clubs Villa are manager led. Whatever Emery wants, Monchi Damian Vidhegani, director of football will try and facilitate that. And it's a deviation from the norm. Probably a bit more old fashioned nowadays. But Emery wants Rashford, Asensio and they have to make the salary and the wages work. And that's one of the reasons why Duran left from the outside.
- [10:47]
Rory Smith
And Jacob might be able to tell me if I'm wrong here, but from the outside it would look to me like Villa bought Daniel Marlon for a relatively cheap fee. You know, for a player of that quality with that experience, 21.5 million quid, not a huge amount of money in today's market. Just like frittering £21 million around. There's nothing casual casual. Got it in my pocket. But that looked like a kind of deal they'd been thinking about. They'd looked at him, they knew he was in need of a change. Always wanted to come back to England, not necessarily first choice at Dortmund. It looked like quite a smart piece of business. I think if they knew that both Rashford and Asensio would have been available in that window, they would not have signed Marlon. That would be my read from the outside.
- [11:24]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Do you think it's still a bit of a gamble? I know there's not much between where Villa are currently in 10th and obviously Chelsea in fourth, but, I mean, this is an expensive, I would say experiment in the hope that Villa actually make it to the Champions League. Because if the club is predicted to go on the trajectory it wants to, you have to be in the Champions League next season.
- [11:45]
Jacob Tanswell
You have to go all in on the Champions League because if you look at their revenue, they made a big celebration of being in the top 20 global clubs for revenue. But a lot of that is because of the Champions League and unlocking the riches. If you look at the commercial revenue, it's far down on half of west ham, but their 96% of their wage to turnover ratio is spent on wages. The next best in or the next highest in the top 20 is Chelsea at 72%. So the difference is huge. And if they obviously drop away from the Champions League, the whole club, commercially revenue, the appeal, the players they can buy, PSR is going to be all impacted.
- [12:19]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah. What do you reckon, Rory? I mean, this is a massive gamble. I know you said you thought the business was good, but if they don't make Champions League and they keep that money coming in and we've seen obviously Newcastle have been in this position time and time again, but, you know, this is massive if considering that they're putting down potentially 90% of Marcus Rashford's fees.
- [12:37]
Rory Smith
But it's only on loan. That's. That's what I think was smart about it. The getting. As I say, I don't think they'd have signed. They'd have spent that money on Marlin if they knew how the market would play out. As Jacob says, they. They are reacting. They're being opportunistic to an extent, which is. Isn't meant as a criticism. It's a useful still in the market. I think that there's a lot of clubs that maybe aren't opportunistic enough these days. They're too kind of strategized, too, too rigid in Their thinking getting them on loan, I thought was, was crucial. I, I worry about Villa's financial position and I know there's a lot of fans. There's kind of two camps on this, both among fans, I think and to be honest among journalists that I did a radio thing with Paul Robinson, the former Leeds goal goalkeeper the other day and Paul's a really nice fellow, lives quite near me in a bigger house. And turns out Paul Robinson massively anti PSR just really doesn't like it. And I'm. I was genuinely a bit surprised as Paul Robinson would have been at Leeds, maybe not playing for Leeds when Leeds collapsed and Leeds would have been saved by psr. And Villa and Newcastle hold themselves up as the two, the two clubs who have been. Who are suffering the most. But Villa are kind of an example of, of kind of the risk that you're taking by really pushing against the limits that there are benefits, there are drawbacks to the rules, no one's disputing that, but there are benefits to them. And Villa have, have consistently voted against kind of cost control measures now at the, at the Premier League level for a while they've aligned themselves very much with Newcastle and Manchester City as, as kind of saying we want a free for all. But the risk of a free for all is if it doesn't work, if you assume that the money's going to keep on rolling, that everything is going to just be rosy and it's always going to be sunny. It's sunny every single day. There'll never be a rainy day. Great. Pump in as much money as you like. The problem comes if you don't meet your, your budgetary expectations. If you chase something and fall short. Football doesn't have that many kind of guardrails in place. And if to me, if you get rid of all of them, you're playing with the futures of the club. So yeah, Villa were smart to get Rashid and Asensio on loan. I presume if they don't make Champions League, those deals are then off the table. But even then, Villa have an issue. And they have an issue not because PSR exists. They have an issue because they've already spent so much money. And I find it really weird that that bit is always left out of the conversation that you're not talking about New Tesla and Villa not, you know, it's not like New Tesla have only signed free transfers and they've built everything kind of organically and they're completely kind of homegrown squads. They've spent an absolute shedload of money in the last few years to get where they are. All PSR does is say, try to restrain yourselves in the transfer market so that you don't kind of put the actual club at risk. You're still allowed to spend all the money you generate from being in the richest league in the world, plus 100 million twins worth of losses over the course of three years. That's a lot of money. It's more than. That's more money than AC milantrans. When you know Inter might get to the Champions League final this year, there's a pathway for Inter to get to the Champions League final. They couldn't dream of spending what Aston Villa have spent in the last few years. It's just impossible for any club basically outside the Premier League to do that. Villa have pushed right to the limit. And the problem with pushing right to the limit is that if you don't meet your expectations, if things happen over the course of a season that are not in your interest, as happens in sport, sport does not owe you a happy ending. Then you have a real severe financial problem and at that point you kind of have to cut your cloth accordingly. Which might mean, yeah, it might mean Villa have to cash in on someone they don't want to sell so that they can strengthen the spot again. And that is not ideal for Villa, but it's probably better than the alternative of just throwing money after it endlessly and hoping for the best.
- [16:01]
Ayo Akinwaleere
How do you genuinely break into that top six or get that Champions League football? Because no one foresaw Nottingham Forest being here, did we, Rory? I mean, the margins are so fine and, you know, if it's notham Forest potentially going to be another club that's batting on that door.
- [16:16]
Rory Smith
Well, yeah, so the, there's, there's kind of various things going on. I think there is a genuine issue to me with the way the financial controls apply to the promoted teams. And if you look at Villa and Forest, what, what they did to get round it was to kind of front load their costs. So you, you come up, you spend loads and you basically hope it pays off. Because if both of those teams had gone down and Forest certainly flirted with it, I think Villa in that first season came pretty close. Then you. That's when you've got a real problem because you're trying to sustain a Premier League squad on championship money. I don't, I mean, in terms of the, the debate, like, how do you break into the top six? What's the table? Liverpool are top, Arsenal second, Forester third. I think Chelsea are fourth at the moment, but then you've got what, two points between all these other clubs. Newcastle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Fulham Villa all within two points of fifth, which will probably be a Champions League place. They've all done it. Fulham have done it, Bournemouth have done it, Brighton have done it. It's not impossible. You don't need to spend all that money. You just don't. You just have to spend the money really well. You get enough. I basically my whole view on PSR is they all have enough money. They all have enough money. By the standards of global football, they've all got more than enough money and they shouldn't be complaining about it. You're listening to the Athletic FC podcast with IO Akinwaleere. Your data is like gold to hackers. They're selling your passwords, bank details and private messages.
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- [18:29]
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- [19:03]
Rory Smith
Decent ball across.
- [19:04]
Ayo Akinwaleere
And Rashford puts it in. How do you think both Rashford and Asensio are selling to the squad? The sample size is small. Let's not forget it is small.
- [19:16]
Jacob Tanswell
But with every game this seems to be growing into their roles. Understanding their roles. You know, I spoke to a few people close to a Sensor. They said one of the reasons he went to Villa ultimately over any other club is because Emery promised him to play in that number 10 position, which he's not played since Espanol 2015, 2016 season. He's playing in there. Morgan Rogers going to the right. So it shows you how much Emery believes in him. And with Rashford again, still early days, he's still finding his feet, but there's this anticipation every time he gets the ball at Villa. Pop. When he comes on, it's loud exercise. It's very much in his honeymoon period. But he looks like a player that's kind of just simplified his game again. And when he gets the ball, Emery wants him out wide. He wants him driving at the fullback. He wants making those out to win runs between fullback and center back. Everything that Marcus Trasher did really well. And although he's a score jet, he got a couple of assists against Chelsea. And you do feel that he's slowly building. But Villa need him to produce sooner rather than later at the mom money they're spending on him.
- [20:10]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah, Rory, where do you see these two changing the game? Obviously I Sensio I've seen quite quickly actually quite silky on the ball. But does he offer more than Rogers, Ramsey Watkins, I mean, that's a solid front line. T has had an okay season as well. It looked like he's gathering some momentum under Unai Emery.
- [20:29]
Rory Smith
Yeah, absolutely. And you wouldn't necessarily put Asensio for all that he's done, for all his kind of pedigree, you wouldn't necessarily put him above any of them automatically right now, immediately. I don't, you know, I don't think he's come in to take Morgan Rogers's place permanently. But I think what Emery looked at, looked at the squad and thought was we need options. We need to have players who can play in several positions. We need fresh legs. They are going to. Well, you don't assume anything, but they should get past club bruise in the Champions League. And that means a quarterfinal, a Champions League quarterfinal for Aston Villa, which is incredible. You need legs, you need options, you need numbers. And to an extent, you need experience. And both Rashford and Asensio have plenty of that.
- [21:06]
Jacob Tanswell
And also as well, whatever Emery wants, he gets. And this is the feeling reason why they spent so much money and they're kind of having to adapt every single window because Emery's constantly pushing for more. And although Newcastle can go a window without signing a player and Eddie Howell might not, might not be happy, but he accepts it. Emery won't so they could have easily just sat on their hands and had Emmy, Wendy, Jane and Village carrying off the rest of the season. They've been okay, but they're not fantastic. But Vil had to have this massive transfer activity in the in the window. They had to think get Buendia away, we need to put into a new contract to protect his value but move him on. Footagene goes after six months coming back and then you bring in these two big marquee Sarnics as well as Donyle Marlin to replace them. And it's because Emery every window wants more and more and at some point it's gonna be a bottleneck. Isn't that you think he can't keep pushing against the PSR ceiling.
- [21:59]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Time to hear from one of our Spanish football writers, Dermot Corrigan now on UNAI Emery's history of reinvigorating careers while working in Spain.
- [22:09]
D
The best example of Emery rehabilitating players was probably at Sevilla. The teams he coached that won the 2015 and 2016 Europa League trophies had lots of these type of examples. The idea was that Emery worked closely with them individually, got them motivated, got them fitter and got them to put their individual talents to the benefit of the team. Evra Bonega was especially striking. Emery knew the Argentine from time previously together at Valencia. He always had lots of talent but had never really shown it. But for a few years scatter at Sevilla. Bonega was a tremendous midfield creator, ran games from the centre of the park, showed leadership, decisive goals and assists in key moments. Other players like defender Daniel Carriso, things hadn't gone well for him in England. He came was really good for Sevilla was Antonio Reyes towards the end of his career had a bit of a renaissance under under Emery. Kevin Gameiro. Lots of examples of players at Sevilla at that time. Carlos Baca is another one. He won a Europa League with Sevilla, then had a big money move to Milan which didn't work out at all. Emery brought him back to Villarreal a couple of years later and they won another Europa League together, beating Man United in the final. Probably worth mentioning Villa sporting director Monci here too. During Monci's time at Sevilla, he often looked to bring in players who hid slumps in their careers at richer clubs, either loans or cut price deals, taking risks on players who other clubs maybe hadn't worked out or just looking to try to see if he could revitalize their careers as well. Often, you know, these didn't work out. Not all of them paid off at all, but Plenty did. If you look back over the years, players like Freddy Kanude, Alvaro Negredo, Adil Rami, Samir Nasri, Eric Lamella all arrived at Sevilla, you know, with their reputations under shadows for whatever reason. And all won trophies at Sevilla as well. So that was. Those were the ones which paid off for Monchi in his time there.
- [23:53]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah, Dermot, thanks for that. Jacob. I'm just wondering, you know, when it clicks well for Villa. Some players have really shone this season. Ramsey, we talk about Telemans, Rodgers. Let's not forget Unai Emery gave Bukaya Saka his debut at Arsenal. What is it about Emery and players that he can get the best out of them?
- [24:10]
Jacob Tanswell
It always feels like he wants to nurture these players and you know, Dermot touched on revitalize players careers. He sees it like a pet project. And with Morgan Rogers he's a complete different example to that he's not established. When Villa signed him it last January, 50 million. Middlesbrough thought they got quite a good deal. Most people thought they got quite a good deal because he hadn't really set the world a lot he'd done had a couple of loan spells, quite lukewarm. But Emery had seen him in preparation of Villa's third round FA cup targets. Middlesbrough always analysis. You know, watching Middlesbrough footage on this treadmill at home for 12 hours and he was enamored by Rogers and he saw something in him and he thought I can start to build this play in a perfect position that he's not really played before in this number nine to the right, almost like a right side of number 10 and use his ball carrying skills. And that's just an example of what he wants to do and what he wants to do with Sensei rushed more established players. But although he's not the most personable manager and you know, arm around the shoulder, he does feel that he can just simplify, get players back to the basics and in turn unearth them into what they used to be and probably higher value as well.
- [25:15]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Yeah, Rory, you know last time you talked about, you know, the pressures of playing for Manchester United and I want to think about Marcus Rashford here as well and I'm just thinking about I Aston Villa and you know, I told you I'll fly the flag for the Midland. It's where I'm from. But you know, for a team like Aston Villa, bit less pressure. Do you think it's easier for a player like him with his quality to integrate better into that kind of squad and actually play better football? Because it's Not Manchester United. The noise isn't as loud.
- [25:41]
Rory Smith
Yeah, that must be part of it, mustn't it? But the whole, the whole Rashford situation kind of baffles me because when, when you first saw him in a Villa shirt and you kind of got over that weirdness of. Hang on, he's wearing the wrong colour. Marcus Rashford wears red. That's not. Why is he in claret? You realise that Rashford doesn't look unfit. Like he's, you know, Jacob said he's obviously not fully match fit. He's not full speed and that's natural. He's not been playing, but he's not let himself go. He doesn't look like he's kind of forgotten how to play football. He doesn't. Certainly doesn't look like a player who's out of love with the game. So you wonder kind of, all right, so what was the problem? He definitely doesn't look, and I say this with all due respect, he doesn't look like a player who's not good enough to get in the Manchester United team. He's maybe not good enough to get in the Manchester United team 15 years ago, but he's definitely get good enough to get in the Manchester United team right now. And yet whether it's purely and simply like having a manager who believes in him, you know, Emory, I think Jacob said a couple of weeks ago, you know, Emory genuinely believes that Marcus Rashford is what is potentially one of the best forward players in the world. And it's, it's Fairly apparent that Eric 1010 Hard didn't think that, and Reuben Amarim definitely didn't think that. So maybe Rashford is, is a carrot guy rather than a stick guy. And that's, that's completely valid. It might be that not just the pressure of playing for United, but kind of all the stuff that had surrounded Rashford at United had become quite oppressive. I mean, it's a, it's a stupid comparison because there's no workplace like a Premier League football team. But, you know, I think most people will have had jobs where, you know, they don't click with the boss or they don't really like the rest of the staff or. I'm not saying that about the athletic. If you are in a, in a workplace culture that that doesn't really work with you anymore or doesn't kind of get the best out of you, it can be really hard to find your motivation. Maybe that's part of it. I suspect it's just that fresh start, that sense of, okay, this is different. Let's see how this, how this goes. Backed by a manager who thinks you are a solution, not a problem.
- [27:35]
Jacob Tanswell
He's almost still in the background, but he's still coming on. He's still got the adulation supporter, but he's not supposed to be the main man. He doesn't feel like the guy that's got the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's still coming on like a 21 year old, 22 or Marcus coming on, 30 minutes to go and trying to make an impact to the game. And just those small details, you know, coming away from that intense spotlight I think is really key for him.
- [27:55]
Ayo Akinwaleere
When Rory spoke about fresh start, I'm just thinking actually about a few of the most recent signings at Villa. Russ Barkley, shrewd signing from Luton. Donyan Marlin we've spoken about, obviously wasn't getting into that Dortmund squad. I feel like getting a bit of a reputation here. You know, read between the lines, man. That's N.C. rashford. If you want to get your career back on track. Villa are that team potentially. But because of where they want to get to, there's a chance you're going to be like Champions League football.
- [28:21]
Jacob Tanswell
Exactly. And it almost feels like players that were once seen these high potential players and haven't quite fulfilled their potential for whatever reason should go to Emory. You know, Steve Sparkly con, lost his way, had a good seasoning at Luton. And then Emery's like, okay, I can work with this player and then bring him in for 5 million. And he's proves actually to be a really good deal financially. So all these players that have not quite hit the heights for whatever reason, as I say, Emery sees this as a pet project. He always thinks of what's their best attribute. He always thinks I'm going to get the best of them rather than the worst of them.
- [28:53]
Rory Smith
But it's such a smart play in the market as well, isn't it? Because Villa probably can't, well, financially at the moment, they can't like go and sign your global superstars, they can't pay those wages, they can't pay those fees. But also probably even if, you know, even if PSL is not a factor or, or if it's not an issue, at least for Villa, they're not, they're not going to be able to compete with PSG and Bayern Munich and Manchester City for players just on a, on a financial and a kind of glamour level. So you kind of need to go and get players who can push you forward. And drive you on and improve the quality of your squad at a lower price. For whom Villa is a step up rather than a step down. I think we've seen plenty of teams of that kind of same class who've spent a lot of money on players who very much feel like they are doing the team a favour by being Villa, have avoided that trap, I think. And the way to do that is to recognise that these people don't become bad footballers overnight. There are Jacob's a lot better at football than I am, but if you're making it as a Premier League footballer, you're good at. You're really good at football, like you are unimaginably good at football. And if you have sustained a career as a Premier League footballer, even if your form has dipped, or even if you've proved surplus to requirements at psg, you're still incredibly talented. And there is a way that you can help a team. It's just a case of finding the right coach for you, the right circumstance for you and the right kind of context for you. And I think what Villa have done is recognize that they can provide that context for quite a lot of players. They can give you a coach who, as Jacob says, wants to work with players, wants to improve them, sees his job as being a coach, sees his job as similar to Arne Slott. I think, you know, kind of as to. As improving individuals rather than implementing some grand vision of how football should be played. Emery's a lot more pragmatic than that. That means that you can have access to people like Barkley, like Rashford, like Asensio and say, come here and you will rediscover what made you special in the first place. We still believe that you can be incredible, that you can fulfill your potential. We're not just going to write you off because you've one bad season, two bad seasons playing for a manager who doesn't really like you or doesn't suit you, or at a club where, you know, the system has changed and your, your skill set is not particularly well suited anymore. Villa have said, you know, you're right for us and we can help you thrive. And that's a really smart position to take. I think.
- [31:15]
Jacob Tanswell
Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you know, to check the Jumbotron.
- [31:22]
Rory Smith
First before attempting to eat a stack.
- [31:24]
Jacob Tanswell
Of supreme nachos in one bite. Now you're just a meme that everyone.
- [31:28]
Rory Smith
Shares on game day.
- [31:29]
Jacob Tanswell
Checking first is smart.
- [31:30]
Ayo Akinwaleere
So check Allstate first for A quote.
- [31:32]
Jacob Tanswell
That could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Savings vary subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.
- [31:42]
Rory Smith
Hey, it's Noah Chestnut from the Athletic. If you're into games and sports, pay attention. I'm going to give you four sports terms. You tell me the common threads. Ready? Axel Loop, Lutz Sow Cow. That's Axel Loop. Lutz Salchow. This one's like medium hard. The answer is figure skating jumps. Now, what if I gave you 16 different terms and you figure out how they come together into four different groups? If you're up for the challenge, you'll want to check out Connections Sports Edition. It's a new daily game for sports fans. There'll be some that are going to stump you, some that make you laugh, and some that remind you when you were a kid watching sports for the first time. Connection Sports Edition. To play today's puzzle, go to theathletic.com connections. This is the Athletic FC podcast with IO Acemoler.
- [32:45]
Ayo Akinwaleere
I'm thinking now there are another two competitions we have for the next weeks. To play in FA cup and to play as well in Champions League. And Will White the next match in Premier League. Trying to recover our consistency like we did more or less before or last year. But this year it's been more difficult in Premier League. That was Unai Emery there after last night's defeat, speaking about the struggles for Villa in maintaining their consistency in the Premier League, giving their European endeavors. Rory, it's been challenging. You know, Villa looked great in the Champions League. You know, we talk about Una Emery being one of the European cup specialists. I think the most decorated, one of the most decorated European coaches in that respect. But we've seen it with Newcastle juggling Champions League, European football and Premier League football is so difficult. They're currently, you know, 10th in the Premier League. Not far off city. If they don't get Champions League football this season for next season, how does this team measure success?
- [33:45]
Rory Smith
Yeah, it's a question I think a lot of teams might have to answer in the next, what, four months? Because, you know, two points is not. That is not kind of a gap of statistical relevance like that is a, it's a margin for error, isn't it really? It's a bad decision. It's an unfortunate injury. It's a poor pass. To be honest. The. That's the difference between 5th and 10th in the premier League. And you know, if, if Marlins draw that last minute winner Against Liverpool. Then suddenly we're probably not having this conversation. Even if they, they don't want to lose 41 against palace, there will be a point where all of those teams in that race for fourth, say third or fourth, where they have to assess depending on where they finish, whether it's been a good season or a bad season. So City could finish third and would probably look at this and say, right, this has been a bad season, which it would have been equally. Forest could finish ninth and probably look back and think, you know what, that was quite a lot of fun. We did really well. Then we've massively overachieved. It wouldn't feel like that at the time. For Villa, for Chelsea, for Newcastle, it's a bit trickier because you may well finish sixth and miss out on the x100 million you get from the Champions League by a point. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you should sack your manager or that you failed. It just means that the Premier League has an incredible strength in depth at the moment. And yeah, Villa are suffering because they're learning that that competing on two fronts is almost like a natural corrective in football. It's something that gives the elite a challenge that the others don't have to face. In a sport that is doing its level best to get rid of the level playing field, it's the one thing that kind of evens things out a little bit. So Villa suddenly have to deal with two games a week that are really meaningful. They can't do what Chelsea have done and shove the reserves into their European games. They have to play their full strength team ish every week and they're competing in the FA cup as well. They should very much be looking at the FA cup as a potential route for silverware this season. And that brings with it its own challenges. And even if you fall short a little bit, I don't think it constitutes failure. What Newcastle did was stick with what they were doing when they missed out on the Champions League for the second year. And that I think is, is the roadmap that Villa should follow.
- [35:46]
Jacob Tanswell
Yeah, Villa are still waiting to click. You know, they've won back to back games four times this season. Two of them came in a three game winning running back in September. And in the league Emery said it, you know, they're still, still I'm in an area and they're still not quite hitting their straps really in the Champions League they've had famous nights and even in the Premier League when they're under the lights against a big team, they will produce the best of themselves. But it's those other games, you know, when they go to Monaco away, when they go to Club Bruges away, now there's they're really bad games and then they go to Crystal palace away. Those teams where you expect them to beat, they don't do it. And it's a feeling with Emery Son, this big contract, the owners think he can replicate Sir X Ferguson, Arsene Wenger in terms of longevity, but you just feel with the money spent and of course, Champions League riches, great rubber stamping this era with a trophy would be fantastic for any Villa fan. That's all they want. And the FA cup, like Rory touched on, they've got a fantastic opportunity. They've got Cardiff next. They win that, they're one game away from a Wembley fixture and with all the teams that have gone out of it, you just feel maybe if they finish ninth, but they win the FA cup, that could be even better season than last year, you know, in years to come, when you're looking back.
- [36:52]
Ayo Akinwaleere
Right, let's end it there. Rory, Jacob, thank you so much for your time and Dermot, for your voice. Note a little earlier as well. We'll be back tomorrow. Right, the Athletic FC podcast network.