English Trio Concede 28 Goals In Champions League Humbling

Summary

The Rest Is Football

Episode: English Trio Concede 28 Goals In Champions League Humbling

Date: March 19, 2026
Hosts: Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards

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Episode Overview

This episode, recorded just after a bruising round of Champions League fixtures, sees Gary, Alan, and Micah reflect on a tough week for English clubs in Europe—highlighted by a combined 28 goals conceded across three teams. The trio dissect the reasons behind these humblings, compare European and Premier League demands, discuss managerial challenges, and debate the state of the English game. The mood veers from self-deprecating banter to serious tactical analysis, enriched by dressing-room tales and industry insights.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. English Suffering in the Champions League

[00:39]–[07:48]

• Only two of six English clubs made it to the quarterfinals; Chelsea, City, and Newcastle alone conceded 21 goals.
• Fatigue and Fixture Congestion:
  • Roy: “The rest of Europe, Germany have a break, Spain have a little break... [England] have that mad Christmas spell...” [04:27]
  • Gary: “...never going to get any sympathy...the Premier League have got more money than anyone else.” [05:56]
• Intensity vs. Quality:
  • Micah: “The Premier League is the most physical... but I’m not too sure about the quality. You see the real quality at this point, part of the Champions League.” [06:27]
  • Discussion on whether English clubs use their squad depth well enough.

2. Micah’s Emotional TV Moment

[01:18]–[03:14]

• Thierry Henry surprised Micah Richards live on air, praising him as an inspiration.
• Micah: “They started going on saying I’m an inspiration to him and all this sort of things... I keep everyone happy and like, I don’t worry about myself…” [02:31]
• Alan: “I was just like, where am I supposed to go with this?” [02:47]
• Warm laughs at the uncharacteristic sentimental turn.

3. Tactical & Psychological Analysis of Key Matches

Real Madrid vs. Man City
[10:21]–[13:25]

• Alan critiques City’s defending, praises Courtois' saves.
• Gary: “It’ll disappoint Pep that he’s only won it once because of his very high standards...” [12:53]
• Micah: “I still believe the Premier League’s harder to win because anyone can get beat.” [13:25]

Barcelona vs. Newcastle
[03:37]–[04:27], [34:18]–[35:46]

• Gary on Newcastle’s second-half humiliation: “The other half we got absolutely battered. Hansi Flick did a brilliant job at halftime...you can’t defend like that in any game of football, let alone in the Nou Camp in Barcelona.” [03:37]
• Micah: “[Newcastle] were aggressive...knew exactly what they were tactically, they got it spot on up until the mistakes.” [35:07]

Chelsea’s Woes
[37:19]–[41:17]

• Alan digs at Chelsea’s regression after a good run.
• Micah: “Trust me, stick with it. I can see it.” [37:32]
• The bizarre ‘huddle incident’ with the referee is dissected and ridiculed.

4. Champions League and Domestic Priorities

[15:46]–[16:50], [29:40]–[33:42]

• Motivation is higher for the Champions League at clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona than for La Liga due to their history.
  • Micah (on Courtois): “He said that the Madrid players are more motivated for the Champions League rather than the league…” [15:46]
• Arsenal’s pursuit of a quadruple is debated:
  • Gary: “For them to be being talked about like there’s a chance, that tells you how good they’ve been this season.” [30:09]
  • Micah: “I think Arsenal could win the Champions League without doubt.” [30:16]
  • On potential Arsenal-Barcelona clash: “If Barcelona play that high line... Arsenal will absolutely batter them.” [32:51]

5. Individual Performances and Season Standouts

[20:29]–[22:29]

• Roy’s current ‘Player of the Year’ shortlist: Bruno, Declan Rice, Szoboszlai, Gabriel, possible inclusion for Raya.
• Alan, on goalkeepers: “Raya makes a worldly save every single game... they’re not normal.” [21:05]
• Universal agreement on Courtois’ influence for Real Madrid: “He won that for them.” – Roy [22:47]

6. Conversations, Banter, and Dressing-Room Stories

[23:23]–[25:07]

• Roy recounts upcoming pod interviews with James Milner, John Terry, and Jamie Vardy.
• All three hosts praise Milner’s class and longevity.
• The gang reminisce about their favorite teammates and lighthearted stories (e.g., Gary and Ian Wright’s golf win) [36:39–37:06]

7. AFCON Controversy and VAR Frustrations

[45:25]–[48:49]

• Discussion on the Senegal-Morocco AFCON debacle, with Morocco awarded the trophy after an eight-week VAR review due to crowd trouble and an overturned penalty in the last minute.
  • Roy: “It was stupid. How could they not even see to overturn a decision of that nature at that stage of the game?” [46:12]
  • Gary: “To get that decision after eight weeks is just...absurd.” [47:38]
  • Micah: “I will be giving my medal back. Not a chance. That’s staying in my trophy cabinet.” [48:04]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Gary Lineker: “I have no defense, Micah. Very much like Newcastle.” [00:12]
• Micah Richards (on emotional tribute): “I keep everyone happy... I don’t worry about myself. I worry about everyone else.” [02:31]
• Alan Shearer (defending Newcastle’s loss): “You can’t expect to win any game of football defending like that.” [34:26]
• Roy Keane: “The Premier League doesn’t really protect its teams prior to Champions League weeks, which I’ve always thought was so odd...” [04:27]
• Micah Richards: “I think Arsenal could win the Champions League without doubt.” [30:16]
• Roy Keane (on Arsenal’s quadruple hopes): “No, I don’t. It’s unlikely, but it’s not inconceivable.” [30:05]
• Gary Lineker (on Premier League intensity): “You’re never going to get any sympathy...the Premier League have got more money than anyone else.” [05:56]
• Roy Keane (on VAR and AFCON): “It was all because of bloody VAR.” [48:15]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:18] – Micah’s on-air tribute from Thierry Henry
• [03:37] – Barcelona v Newcastle tactical breakdown
• [04:27] – Fixture congestion and English fatigue in Europe
• [10:21] – Real Madrid v Man City analysis and the costly red card
• [15:46] – Real Madrid and Barcelona's Champions League focus
• [20:29] – Player of the season discussion
• [29:40] – Arsenal’s quadruple chances dissected
• [32:51] – Arsenal’s tactical edge over Barcelona debated
• [35:07] – Newcastle defensive collapse and silver linings
• [37:19] – Chelsea’s ‘bizarre’ regression and huddle incident
• [45:25] – AFCON final, VAR controversy, and the fallout

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Summary Table: Hosts’ Champions League Semifinal Predictions

| Host | Prediction | |----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Roy Keane | PSG, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Arsenal | | Gary Lineker | PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal | | Micah Richards | Marginal preference for PSG (over Liverpool), Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona |

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Final Thoughts

Despite a bruising week for English clubs in Europe, the pod leavens post-mortem with sharp analysis, humor, and camaraderie. The hosts highlight fundamental challenges facing the Premier League’s role in Europe, reflect on the pressure of modern scheduling, and assess how elite teams and managers are judged. Arsenal’s brilliant form stands out, while Chelsea’s struggles and Newcastle’s collapse receive blunt assessments. The episode closes with a consensus on the absurdity of recent VAR controversies in AFCON, cementing the trio’s shared distaste for technology-driven controversy in football.

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Transcript

[Alan Shearer]

Can we talk about this?

[Micah Richards]

What did he say?

[Alan Shearer]

We were the better team for three halves. The mighty Alan Shearer. Always telling me it's about the goals. Goals change game. So go on. The floor is yours, Alan.

[Gary Lineker]

I have no defense, Micah. Very much like Newcastle

[Micah Richards]

pissed me off. Real Madrid, they get man City all the time and always beat us four

[Roy Keane]

times out of five.

[Micah Richards]

Honest.

[Alan Shearer]

God, he makes a worldly save every single game. Every single game.

[Gary Lineker]

Amazing. That is his job.

[Alan Shearer]

All right, Roy.

[Roy Keane]

Hello, and welcome to the Rest Is Football with Michael Richards, Alan Shearer and me. Gary Lineker recording this on Thursday after the week's Champions League fixtures, in which only two out of the six English clubs that were in the last 16 have made it through to the quarterfinals. Alan, you were working on Tuesday, did the Real Madrid City. Real Madrid game. Mike, you're doing your customary two nights for cbs. And I must say, Mike, I saw a clip this morning that moved me. Moved me. Thierry Henry waxing lyrical about our very own Big Meeks.

[Gary Lineker]

Ah, Tell us why. What happened, Micah?

[Alan Shearer]

You know, it caught me off guard, though.

[Micah Richards]

So basically, you know, I've got a good relationship with Thierry and we speak a lot on the phone. We pretty much speak every single day about something. And obviously my dad's not been well, my brother's not been well. It's been difficult and all that sort of thing. But that's not the point he was trying to make. The point is Kasper Schmeichel was on for a few days and he had to. Well, he's going through a bad injury at the moment. He's going to be out for about a year or something like that, and he's been getting a couple of daggers in the media about. Or he's been told he's not going to the World cup now. So that's why he's trying to say he's injured. But he. He's absolutely desperate to get back in and he only wanted to address it once. So he come on the show a few days and said that. And then it come around to me that I had to retire early through injury, but I was totally, totally fine with it. I have in my head I'd got over it and we spoke about certain things and whatnot. So, like, you know, the introduction and they normally hammer me. TT took over it and this.

[Alan Shearer]

This wasn't planned.

[Micah Richards]

It wasn't planned.

[Alan Shearer]

He took over.

[Roy Keane]

Definitely not planned, really.

[Micah Richards]

I swear.

[Roy Keane]

I just wonder whether he told everyone else but not you.

[Micah Richards]

No, because Kate on and was with Clint Dempsey as well this week. No one knew. So they started going on saying I'm an inspiration to him and all this sort of things. And I keep everyone happy and like, I don't worry about myself. I worry about everyone else and all that.

[Alan Shearer]

And I was just like, where am I supposed to go with this?

[Roy Keane]

Slightly embarrassed, but at the same time it was lovely.

[Gary Lineker]

Nice.

[Micah Richards]

It was amazing.

[Roy Keane]

It was lovely. Obviously he didn't really mean it,

[Alan Shearer]

But honestly, it caught me off guard now.

[Micah Richards]

So I was like. I was ready to, you know, figure somewhat weird to say about to Kate or whatever.

[Alan Shearer]

Then TT took over.

[Micah Richards]

I was just like, oh my God,

[Alan Shearer]

where do I go now?

[Gary Lineker]

Lovely. Nice. Nice touch.

[Roy Keane]

It was very nice of Cherry to do that. Love it. And you al. Well, we'll come to Newcastle shortly because we. We know you're a little bit.

[Gary Lineker]

You're not. Get it out of the way now. We'll do it later, shall we?

[Roy Keane]

Barcelona. I mean, I played there. I don't know whether I've ever mentioned it. And I love the way that they just teased with you for a game and a half and then just put the pedal down.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, the positives, we more than matched them for a game and a half, but the other half we got absolutely battered. Hansi Flick did a brilliant job at halftime in terms of. Because Newcastle went going for man for man and he just sort of got the forwards to drop a little bit deeper. Center halves went with the forwards which then created a space in behind and Tart Tonali didn't pick up his man. And. And once that fourth goal went in early in the second half. Yeah, done. That was it done. It was just a. It was watching. It was like that thinking, oh my God, this is getting embarrassing. And yeah, it was in the end. I mean, talking about forwards of Rafinha and Levandowski and Yamal and it's like, oh, goodness. But you can't. You can't defend like that in any game of football, let alone in the new camp in Barcelona.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah, they've got some talent. We'll go into that in more depth. But I just wanted to get a sort of more general point. Chelsea City, Newcastle conceded a combined 21 goals over the. Over the two legs. I wonder. This is after six teams got through to the knockout stages. And I look at it and I see how the rest of Europe is. Germany have a break. Spain have a little break. Italy have a. You know, they all do this. And then we carry on. We have that mad Christmas spell. FA cup midweek, league fixtures in that. And obviously the physicality of our game and map yardage that's covered by the players is far greater. We also have a Premier League that doesn't really protect its teams prior to Champions League weeks, which I've always thought was so odd because I think it's good for the Premier League if the English teams do well in the Champions League. So what I'm talking about, there is invariably some of our teams, and it was the same this weekend, would play on Sunday. Now, that doesn't happen in Europe, by and large, unless there's an exception. I think Barcelona did play on Sunday this time for a specific reason, but you could not find one other side from all the Europe teams that played on Sunday. So I wonder whether this round in particular is the one after all that, where I think a lot of our players, we looked a little bit off it, a little bit jaded by comparison.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, okay. I wouldn't argue that. And I also think the standard of the Premier League, as we said this year, is not anywhere near what it has been in previous years. It's probably only Arsenal that have been anywhere near consistent. Everyone else has been down on what they normally see. But you're never going to get any sympathy for that because the Premier League have got more money than anyone else. They've got bigger. They can spend bigger than anyone else, they can have bigger squads than anyone else. So they're never going to get any sympathy from Europe about that.

[Roy Keane]

I'm not asking for any sympathy, I'm just making a point. Yeah, I get that.

[Gary Lineker]

I get it. I understand it.

[Micah Richards]

We have this debate, didn't we, all the time. Intensity matters, though, really does, when other clubs can rest their players in the games at the weekend because you know they're going to win their domestic league. Of course it matters. And I think the Premier League is the most physical and it's the most intense by far. But I've always said I'm not too sure about the quality. And you see the real quality at this point, part of the. The Champions League. And you could see in abundance the. Even to be fair, psg, they've stumbled a little bit. They played a lot of games in the Chelsea look like they're jade.

[Roy Keane]

They had the weekend off, though, psg, they canceled their game. Exactly.

[Micah Richards]

And I'm not trying to make excuses for the English, because I'm not. But saying you've got, say, the bigger frame. Players like my sort of weight. It takes you an extra day to recover. It really does. And that's not, oh, well, trying to protect this or you just. It's nothing to do with that. It's just the way your muscles and that what the Premier League demands from you intensity wise it does take an extra day to recover so I have a little bit of sympathy for him but Alan's completely right. When you've got the most money and you've got the biggest squads. We keep talking about the squads then that maybe they should be using the squads better.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah, that's a good point. The Premier League teams may be running out of energy, but we're certainly not.

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[Roy Keane]

This episode is powered by Fuse Energy. Before we kick off a quick pre match warm up from Fuse one question, four options and two contestants. Today's little question for you lads. Which goalkeeper has the most clean sheets in Champions League history? Is it A, Iker Casillas, B Gianluigi Buffon, C Manuel Neuer or D Edwin van der Manuel Neuer?

[Gary Lineker]

For me, you know what?

[Micah Richards]

I'm going to be different. I'm going to go Buffon.

[Roy Keane]

You're going to go Buffon. Well, Micah, that was not correct. The answer was one Manuel Neuer. Well played. The best sides don't give things away. Should be the same with your energy. Get more than just lower [e-mail] football. Use the code football. All uppercase. When you sign up, save around £200 on your energy bill and get the chance to ask us your football questions on the pod. Full terms and conditions at Fused Energy. Shall we start with the English teams that went through Arsenal who were fairly comfortable in the end? Obviously they drew the first leg away from home. I watched most of that game because I gave up quite quickly on City soon as the red cards, Bernard Silver and a penalty just went. Well, that's that one.

[Gary Lineker]

City was a mad game though. The first half was mad. The first half an hour was crazy.

[Roy Keane]

They had so many chances, didn't they? Cities well, they played quite well over both legs, I thought.

[Gary Lineker]

But Valverde went through after a minute and missed a big chance and. And then City had. Honestly, they had three or four big, big chances and Courtois made some good saves. But then you're thinking, oh, they're going to get punished for that. And then of course the, the handball and the sending off and it sort of did spoil it a bit, to be honest. And from that moment onwards it was just going to be impossible. And they did all right, I don't think. I think they. They played well with 10 men and still created chances and got the goal from Haaland. It was tough enough anyway. But then once he got sent off Bernardo Silva, it was impossible.

[Roy Keane]

I prefer City playing that way with wide men and Haaland gets more chances and they've been playing so narrow lately. I mean, I know it's. Until recently it was going quite well for them, but I do prefer them playing that way. Better to watch.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah. I have to give a shout out to Kusanov though, because I thought Kusanov

[Alan Shearer]

was standing every time Vinicius was going

[Micah Richards]

around the back or Diaz, he just got back in. He read the game well. I think that's his best performance in his City shirt. I thought Ait Nori did well. I take your point about Doku. Get the ball to Doku early doors up against Trent, get him going because Trent is one of those players who he knows he wants to go forward and every time man City got the ball out to him wide, it would create some danger. I take your point about the narrow. The whole thing we talked about on a couple of pods, haven't we, where him and Semenya Haaland up top not really working. I would like to see Doku on one side and Semeno on the other side and then Haaland up front and then in midfield you can go what you want depending on who you you're playing against. If teams play a low block, maybe a Shirky in there and. And Rodri and Reinders or Rodri and Bernardo, but I actually thought City played really well.

[Roy Keane]

Do you think Pep will listen to this pod and go, actually, Marco, I'm definitely going to do that from here on in.

[Gary Lineker]

Still given far too many opportunities Uplum. I know they're playing good players, but they get still given far too many opportunities up in terms of defensively.

[Roy Keane]

In the 10 years of Pep's tenure, only one win in the Champions League. I know it's only one win, but it is A big win. It's the first ever in their history, but, you know, they're a different kind of club now than they were in the time before this particular era, so you should have won more than that. Shouldn't they, really?

[Gary Lineker]

I guess he'll think so. But you're. I mean, I said this. This the other night, is that when you look at the demands of Barcelona and Real Madrid and all of these huge clubs who are also going for that trophy, and with the experience of those clubs, I mean, because of that, they're miles ahead of Man City. It'll disappoint Pep that he's only won it once because of his very high standards, but you're going in against the very, very best who have been around for so many years, particularly in that competition, and they want to win it as well. Obviously, it's a tough one to win just a bit.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah, I would agree. I think he'd be disappointed in himself. I always go back to the final when Havertz scored 1 nil. I think he'd be kicking himself at that one, because Man City were the better team by far. On the day Havertz breaks forward, he scores a goal. On the day anyone can win the Champions League. I think what's been more inspirational is winning six Premier Leagues. When he come over here and everyone said he can't play that. That type of way, and people always ask me, what would you rather win, the Premier League or the Champions League? I still believe the Premier League's harder to win because anyone can get beat.

[Roy Keane]

Well, the best team wins the Premier League.

[Alan Shearer]

Correct.

[Roy Keane]

It's judged over a period of time, so luck doesn't really play a part. You have. You have good moments of fortune and bad moments of fortune. Everybody gets a few injuries here and there. In a knockout competition, obviously, there's. You can have the element of surprise in a team that is not necessarily the best can win not only the tour, but a match, certainly a match, and knock a great team out. And that's. That can happen, so. Of course it is. Yeah.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah. That's what I'm judging Pep on what he's done in the league and how he's transformed football. And I don't know, I feel like sometimes he gets judged by a higher standard. And we do the same with Haaland when he doesn't score, because we know what he can produce. But in terms of his tenure at Man City, he's been nothing short of sensational for me.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah, absolutely. His record is. It's incredible. It's Incredible. And I love how he get. Whenever the reporters ask him anything, he looks at them with such disdain, he just goes, yeah, yeah, Pep's useless. Yeah, I know Pep's useless.

[Gary Lineker]

He can say that when he's won so much, isn't it?

[Roy Keane]

Exactly. It makes a big difference.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, but isn't it. It's. No. There's no coincidence, by the way, that I've seen Real Madrid a few times this season and they just seem to come alive at this stage, as do psg, because they have to win that. That's what they're judged on. They're judged on this tournament, on the Champions League, man. City are not. And I'm not sure all the English clubs are that, but Real Madrid and Barcelona, they have to win that tournament.

[Micah Richards]

I was speaking to Courtois after the game, actually, when I was at the ground, in the. In the mix zone, and he was said that the Madrid players are more motivated for the Champions League rather than the league. He said, these are the games that they have to win. So they just step it up, don't they?

[Roy Keane]

Also, you've got to remember that one or other generally wins the league. So therefore, you know, the big difference is the Champions League. So that usurps La Liga. We talked earlier about you'd sooner win the Premier League and it's a better judge of things, who's the best team. Whereas in Spain, that's not. Obviously, they still desperately want to win La Liga, but the Champions League is the one that's different. So there's no question for me, this season, both teams would give up La Liga to win the Champions League. Even though obviously in football it doesn't work like that. But it is. It is of primary importance, particularly to Real Madrid, it seems probably mainly because they've won it so often they think it's their trophy.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, if they're going to do it this year, they have to do it the odd way of playing City home and away and beating them. Bayern Munich next as well. So I don't think this is the

[Roy Keane]

best Real Madrid team either. I mean, but. I mean, they've still had lots of success in this competition.

[Gary Lineker]

But, you know, I. I would agree with that, but I looked up. I looked at them the other night when Mbappe comes on coming back from injury, they've got Bellingham to come back from. From injury. And you just think they got a

[Roy Keane]

lot of players in.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah. So, yeah, I don't know. It's their competition, isn't it?

[Micah Richards]

Pissed me off. Real Madrid, they get Man, City all the time and always beat us four

[Roy Keane]

times out of five. Yeah.

[Micah Richards]

Honest.

[Roy Keane]

God, it's an odd one. You just thought that you'd been more even than that.

[Alan Shearer]

Yeah. But it was only because of Valverde's

[Micah Richards]

wonder performance in the first leg. You know, it's just a special player turned up at the right moment and then it was always to be tough to overturn that, wasn't it?

[Gary Lineker]

And.

[Roy Keane]

And the red car was. That was it, was it? It was like, oh, God, end of the game. Watching the first bit, I thought, oh, City got chances. Ah, this should probably have stuck one away. They only need one to get really in it. Y Then it was like, oh, that's it then. Penalty in 10 men.

[Gary Lineker]

No one. No one disagreed with it, did they? They had to send them off.

[Roy Keane]

I think that under the. The laws. Yeah. I mean, he did shove his arm out a little bit, didn't he?

[Gary Lineker]

He did, yeah.

[Roy Keane]

He should have left it. I'm not. I'm not sure it. Do you think it would have gone in?

[Gary Lineker]

I think so.

[Roy Keane]

Probably it's still better off actually before down than with 11 men, I think. I don't know. But it's instinctive, isn't it? You just go. And he's. That little lean across. But it was unfortunate. Who's the most impressive performance? The English clubs, do you think? Liverpool bouncing, I mean, Galatasaraya thought were awful. They didn't offer anything in that game, but at the same time take nothing away from Liverpool. It was a much better overall performance,

[Gary Lineker]

I think, in terms of energy and attitude and all of those things. I know Anfield was rocking. It's different again on Champions League night there. But I thought for all of those things that I said it was much better from Liverpool. Now, whether it was all of that and a bit of Galatasaray being really poor away from home as well, because they were, weren't they? I mean, they were pretty weak opposition away from home. I think it was. Stevie Gerrard said it after the game. He said it well, where's that energy and all of that in the league games? You know, where was that at the weekend against Tottenham. So they've got to. They've got to come back and go again.

[Micah Richards]

Liverpool on Liverpool. I. I don't know how much that's taught us though, because Galatasaray are not great.

[Roy Keane]

They were poor yesterday and obviously Osimhen was struggling. He wasn't fit. Was he up top?

[Micah Richards]

No, they're not. I. But I. I was buzzing for slot because it just Quiet down the noise a little bit. I really like slightly slot as a manager. Obviously he's won the league and he's had to deal with a lot of heat recently and he's been trying to tweak things and not quite getting it right. And it was good. He puts the most like back in midfield. They sort of played like a four box and then two like. And tactically everyone knew what they was doing a little bit more, had more energy, but they had the protection when it needed to put Frim prong back to right back and then he went forward at the right times. When you talk about energy and you mentioned Steven Gerrard, when he takes a boslide out the midfield, you're going to lose that energy because Mac Allister has not got the same levels. When he got the Bozlan there, it's totally different. And when they played spurs at the weekend, Szabozlai played right back and then that's how spurs got back into the game. And I just thought in terms of the balance and the structure of the team, it was way better.

[Gary Lineker]

He's been brilliant this season. Slobozli hasn't. He's been absolutely outstanding.

[Roy Keane]

I was going to say we talked about players of the season. I think my. My top three at present, and it's still early. Still early would be in no particular order. Bruno, Declan and Sabojlai, I would say. I mean, I never include defenders on this. Michael, you know what, Gabriel, I would put. Gabriella put in there as well.

[Alan Shearer]

But Raya, Raya. Raya's been.

[Roy Keane]

Come on, come on, come on.

[Gary Lineker]

Defenders.

[Roy Keane]

It's too much. But I agree with you. Rye is. And yeah, so fantastic.

[Alan Shearer]

It makes a worldly save. Every single game. Every single game.

[Gary Lineker]

Amazing. That is his job.

[Alan Shearer]

All right, Roy.

[Roy Keane]

He's turned into Roy Keane.

[Alan Shearer]

No, but come on. Some of the saves that he makes. Yeah, they're not normal.

[Roy Keane]

He's incredibly athletic, isn't he?

[Micah Richards]

Yeah, proper agile.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah. Anyone else? Player of the year, top five, six. As soon as you got throwing goalkeepers in, you know, it's not been a great season.

[Gary Lineker]

I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't go anywhere other than those four or five you mentioned. Gabriel Chuck in there as well.

[Roy Keane]

Harland.

[Micah Richards]

If he scored number 10 by the end of the season and wins the league with Man City, you never know.

[Roy Keane]

No, you don't know. I mean, he could definitely do that and start turning on again. I think I said that a week or two ago that he could come into the equation. Him Scoring the other night as well might just lift, release something. Might be the time to start captaining him again in our fantasy teams.

[Gary Lineker]

But we'd had the discussion about. It's been. It's very different when you're playing with a partner up front than it is on your own. And it's no coincidence that he gets the goal when he's back on his

[Roy Keane]

own again and had chances as well. Near misses.

[Gary Lineker]

Yep, exactly.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah. It's Courtois the best. Oh, you've just mentioned Rya.

[Micah Richards]

No, no, no. Ray is the best in the. In the Premier League. But Courtois the best in.

[Gary Lineker]

Made some good saves the other night as well, didn't it?

[Micah Richards]

Everything he makes. Makes incredible saves.

[Alan Shearer]

You're like, how. How was he? How is he doing it?

[Roy Keane]

Yeah, he's one of the reasons that Real Madrid have been so good in this competition. Just if you remember, even the fight, remember the final against Liverpool in Paris?

[Micah Richards]

Yes.

[Roy Keane]

Oh, my word. He won that. He won that for them. I mean, absolutely. Liverpool would. I thought the better side in it.

[Gary Lineker]

And that big save last week from Nico O'Reilly, you know, and he stuck a leg out. I mean, that might have been very different. If that goes in, what is it? Three? Three. One. So different. But even that save was outstanding.

[Roy Keane]

So you're all pally with Courtois Tebow.

[Micah Richards]

We had a little chat after the game, you know.

[Roy Keane]

When's he coming on the pod then, Michael? When's he coming on the pod? I presume you asked him.

[Alan Shearer]

You know what, I didn't ask him. Well, I'll give him a text.

[Micah Richards]

I'll give a text. Don't worry about that.

[Roy Keane]

I missed some of the Newcastle Barcelona game last night, Alan, because I was doing interview with James Milner.

[Gary Lineker]

I hope you missed the second half.

[Roy Keane]

It was the second half I missed. Yes, unfortunately. I would have enjoyed that. So, yeah, I was interviewing James Milner for the podcast coming on later today. I'm going to be interviewing John Terry.

[Gary Lineker]

Oh, wow, Brilliant.

[Roy Keane]

On Monday I'm doing Jamie Vardy, so at least one of us is doing a bit of grass.

[Gary Lineker]

Love it. Guys, how nice is James Milner? What a lovely guy.

[Roy Keane]

A lovely guy. And yeah, he was really good. And you both played with him, of course, of which I asked him about. So that was.

[Micah Richards]

So when's that coming out?

[Roy Keane]

Next Friday? Not this Friday, coming the following Friday. So, yeah, he was great. James was here for quite a long time.

[Alan Shearer]

Oh, you come to your house. Do you do a bit of cooking and.

[Roy Keane]

Well, I was cooking anyway, but not because of that I was cooking because it was. It's football and footy. Sorry, honey. Food and football. Food and football. What the. Am I. Yeah.

[Micah Richards]

What the.

[Roy Keane]

The Fs. That came out weird, didn't it? Oh dear. You know going to give you a

[Alan Shearer]

little sneak peek about what. What was it about?

[Micah Richards]

Obviously I know what it was about. But did you go into any.

[Roy Keane]

I don't know whether you know, he says he's messaged you quite frequently about something about Terry Henry shirt.

[Alan Shearer]

Yeah.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah.

[Roy Keane]

But I'll but save that for that. I'll get your reaction to inside of events after. After it goes out Micah. But I must say he did he you both. He had a lot of love for both of you.

[Gary Lineker]

Feelings mutual.

[Roy Keane]

He told he said how lazy was I was pre season training and all that. He said so you know, you both got a little bit of stick but a lot of love. It's not quite as much love as Cherry gave you, but it did remind me of it.

[Micah Richards]

Let's.

[Roy Keane]

Let's take a break there because I have no idea where we are. This episode is brought to you by Microsoft 365 copilot guys, where would we be without our teammates? Who's your favorite teammate?

[Gary Lineker]

Mine would have to be Teddy Sheringham. Guys, with England, it's just one of those partnerships that worked that clicked for you.

[Roy Keane]

Micah. Pablo Zabaletta by any chance?

[Micah Richards]

How did I know he was gonna say that? I would have to pick Johar just on the pitch if I made a mistake. I just knew he had my back.

[Roy Keane]

I'm sure you kept him very busy. I would probably go probably Peter Beardsley, who I had amazing partnership with with England. I think I was about a goal, a game when he played well. Microsoft 365 copilot is that level of support off the Pitch. It's your AI assistant for work built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft 365 apps you use, helping you quickly write, analyze, create, create and summarize. Learn [e-mail] M365Copilot this episode is brought to you by Whoop. In the modern game, of course, there are a lot more games and that feeling of being slightly off by Monday.

[Gary Lineker]

And that's how it shows up, not as an injury. It's just fatigue creeping in.

[Roy Keane]

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[Roy Keane]

Go to your happy price Priceline. Welcome back to the Rest is Football with Alan Shearer, Michael Richards and me, Gary Lineker discussing the Champions League games and well, Arsenal just, they just carry on, you know, very solid, very reliable, difficult to score again still in all four competitions. You know, we've seen teams in the recent history, haven't we, with City and Liverpool both, you know, had his outside chances of a quadruple. It's, it's obviously still highly unlikely, but they've got a cup finally at the weekend, the Carabao cup against City obviously. So it's tough but if they win that, yeah, then you look ahead and you go, it's possible they're, you know, they're comfortably clear now in the Premier League. Very, very strong favorites to win that really good chance in the FA cup obviously. And now they're in the quarterfinals of the Champions League where they'll face Sporting and they'll be strong favorites to go through in that.

[Gary Lineker]

Is it conceivable the noise will get a lot louder if they win on Sunday, clearly. But they, I think without doubt them and Bayern Munich in the Champions League have been for me the outstanding teams this season for different reasons in terms of goals and tough to beat and everything else being the most reliable. I mean, God, four trophies. Goodness me, I don't think they'll do it. Well, no, I don't.

[Roy Keane]

No, no, do I? It's unlikely, but it is, it's, it's not inconceivable.

[Gary Lineker]

But for them to be actually being talked about as if there's a chance, then that tells you how good they've been this season.

[Micah Richards]

Arsenal could win the Champions League without doubt. I think there's going to be another twist in the League.

[Gary Lineker]

You're hoping or you think?

[Micah Richards]

No, no, I, I think there will be because I think Arsenal have got a lot of games and obviously they've got extra games with the Champions League. I think a lot's going to rest on, on the Cup Final this weekend and that could go anywhere. I think from Man City point of view, they'll take a lot of confidence from Real Madrid with 10 men to play like that, that I thought was outstanding. But it's just whether Arsenal think, okay, let's go for the Champions League, let's concentrate on the League because I think, I think they can win both of them.

[Roy Keane]

And do you think you can do that, Mike? Do you think you can have a conversation before the Carabao Cup Final and go, right, let's just focus. It doesn't really work like that. This is a Cup final, you're going to go all out to win it. Because the momentum and the impact that that victory would have, I mean, also takes a little bit of the heat off because they've not won it, what is it, five years since they won anything. So it takes the heat off and then if you go into it and think, well, you know, we'll play a second string a little bit and we'll, folks make sure we win the League and then you don't win that game and then all of a sudden, momentum, lose it a bit.

[Micah Richards]

I don't know, you make some valid points and you're totally right. Arsenal are not going to approach the game and thinking, well, we'll play a second string team, not at all, but Arsenal might not be in this. You know, when you look at the League, in the Premier League, Man City been off. We talked about Chelsea, we talked about Liverpool. Man United have come back stronger now this is an opportunity for them to capitalize on two big trophies. I look at the Champions League and the way Arsenal play defensively, and I said it a couple of weeks ago, they can win it. They would be one of My favorite. They've got a better chance to win that because defensively and they'll always nick a goal with the Premier League. I thought it'd be closer now and I thought it would just go to the Man City game. They've got their little edge on that now. So if you're looking at what Arsenal's route to potential final in the Champions League, you take it all day and then you're thinking you've got that little buffer in the Premier League. I'd be looking at that, the League cup thinking, yes, it's a trophy, we all want a trophy. But it's not the biggest of the trophies. So if they were to lose that, I wouldn't be losing sleep over it. Because they're in a perfect position now to win two humongous trophies.

[Roy Keane]

Likely semi final, isn't it? I would think Barcelona versus Arsenal.

[Micah Richards]

Arsenal would beat Barcelona. If Barcelona play that high line and we've talked about it then Arsenal will absolutely batter them. If they take it back five yards. Barcelona could. Could absolutely batter Arsenal. You know they could.

[Roy Keane]

Because do you think Arsenal have got the players that can capitalize on that highlight to get behind Martinelli? 100% shout Martinelli.

[Micah Richards]

Martinelli would absolutely love to play against that. Yeah, without doubt.

[Alan Shearer]

Even Yerez Yokerez, he's not the quickest

[Micah Richards]

but he's a strong runner. If you want all his goals before when he was in that sporting.

[Alan Shearer]

That's what he used to do. That's what he used to do.

[Micah Richards]

So I think if they play that high line against Arsenal, Arsenal will absolutely batter him.

[Roy Keane]

Well, they will play it. Yeah.

[Gary Lineker]

They're not going to change now are they Barcelona? No, that's the way they play. That's got any squad.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah, certainly are scored Newcastle, that's for sure.

[Alan Shearer]

Can we talk about this? Because he was giving it. We were the better team for three halves. This guy. The mighty Allen Shearer. Always telling me, well it's not about. It's about the goals. Goals. Goals change game. So go on. Since there was so many goals in this game, the floor is yours, Alan.

[Gary Lineker]

I have no defense. Micah. Very much like new kids.

[Micah Richards]

Castle.

[Gary Lineker]

God. Defensively, Newcastle were hopeless. I mean that's been their season that summed their season up last. I mean they go to Chelsea and we get it. We play Barcelona at home. And I didn't. I didn't expect us to go then win. I didn't expect that to happen to us. I mean it was just terrible at the back. So many. So many errors. Even the set Piece they scored from was like, come on. Can't concede goals like that. So it was really, really disappointing. As. As good as the first game was at home. As good as parts of the first half were when Newcastle put them under pressure. But you can't expect to win any game of football defending like that. Let alone against some world class players.

[Micah Richards]

Newcastle could take heart from that though. Until they started making the silly errors. I thought it was really good. I thought it was outstanding in fact. And Alanga to get a couple of goals. Obviously being struggling in the Premier League. Come to the Champions League. That'll do him the world of good with his confidence. But I was watching Newcastle thinking, Yes, I. I like what I'm seeing here. There was aggressive. There was. There was pace in the team. They knew exactly what they were tactically. They got it spot on up until the mistakes. And if you go to Barcelona, you make mistakes, you get punished. But I, I, I, I come away thinking fair play. Newcastle. You know, you give it a right good go.

[Gary Lineker]

I think all will be forgotten on Sunday afternoon if they beat Sunderland.

[Roy Keane]

I'm going to that game, Alan.

[Gary Lineker]

You are? Yes.

[Roy Keane]

I've never been to. What do they call it? Time we're Derby.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah.

[Roy Keane]

What they call it. Yeah. Thought so. Have announced it about 400 times in over my years. So. Yeah. Looking forward to that. Going to have a little foodie trip up in the lovely northeast and taking. Taking a St. James's Park. I love it, guys. Looking forward to it. I'm sorry you're not going to be there with me.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, I'm doing. I'm doing Match of the Day Saturday and I'm doing PLP on Sunday. Yeah.

[Alan Shearer]

Double bubble.

[Gary Lineker]

Double header. Double bubble. Yeah.

[Micah Richards]

Hey, guess who I'm working with on Sunday?

[Roy Keane]

Who?

[Micah Richards]

Ian.

[Roy Keane]

Right. Right, right, right.

[Gary Lineker]

Doing the. You're doing the cup final.

[Micah Richards]

Doing the cup final with Righty and Jamie Redknapp.

[Gary Lineker]

Ah, brilliant.

[Roy Keane]

Oh, nice.

[Gary Lineker]

Love it.

[Roy Keane]

Give the. Give the. Give the great man a hug from me, please.

[Gary Lineker]

He might have sobered up from last weekend.

[Roy Keane]

He was at your bash, wasn't he? Yeah, he was. Yeah. Did you beat him at golf?

[Gary Lineker]

No. He was my partner. So. We. We won the golf. Me and what? Right. You beat the young boys. Yeah. So.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah. Well done. So it's good to get a victory elsewhere. PSG Coming into a bit of form. Bayern Munich. Look, really. We saw Chelsea go out. What do we think of Chelsea? I mean it's just quite battering they got, didn't they?

[Alan Shearer]

Said Chelsea were cooking.

[Micah Richards]

Mate.

[Alan Shearer]

They've gone backwards. What's.

[Roy Keane]

I was going to say, you were going, listen, the oracle speaking here. And since then, I was going to raise that point. M. But you got in. You got in ahead of me.

[Micah Richards]

No, but trust me, stick with it. I can see it.

[Roy Keane]

It's. Well, they. Well, they stick. Well, they stick with him, won't they? Because it's too early. You never know with Chelsea. That's the thing. You don't know what they're thinking. And because some strange little things and perhaps a little bit of an inexperience in the sense. You've got the huddle thing in the halfway line, which he says is nothing to him. The referee thing the other day was

[Gary Lineker]

so bizarre, wasn't it?

[Roy Keane]

So bizarre from both. I mean, the ref should have just got.

[Micah Richards]

Can you explain that to me, though, guys? You're very good at these sort of things.

[Alan Shearer]

So we.

[Micah Richards]

We know they do the huddle. Yeah, Nothing wrong with the huddle. Whether you like it or not, a

[Roy Keane]

lot of teams do the huddle. A lot of teams do a huddle.

[Alan Shearer]

But why was the referee there? Why was the referee actually in between the huddle? No one's actually giving me an explanation. I'm thinking, why is he there?

[Gary Lineker]

My guess is that he has tried to prevent it from it going ahead, and they've just thought, oh, sudden, we're going to do it anyway and we're going to get you in it. Whereas he stood there thinking, they will not get me in the middle of it. They might just do it a few yards either way. And that's my guess.

[Roy Keane]

I actually thought it was quite funny. I mean, it was bizarre. But.

[Alan Shearer]

And.

[Roy Keane]

And was it Tierney? And he was. He was in the middle there. You could see Cole Palmer wanted to make a joke or something, and they just. And it just kind of carried on, this huddle. I mean, I know lots of people been speaking about him. I just find it. It was just weird.

[Gary Lineker]

I know it's difficult. It's. And it's easier to say after games, but the. The noise is loud enough. You don't need to give anything back in terms of the referee in the middle. And then the words are, we need to respect the ball when we're thinking. And then you're. And. And then it was like. I don't know what it was. Seven, two down or something like that with three minutes ago. And you're given a piece of paper to go Nacho. And it's like that. That. That just brings noise on yourself, doesn't it?

[Roy Keane]

That's What?

[Gary Lineker]

I'm on the football club. It's just unnecessary noise that you're creating. No problem with a huddle, I suspect.

[Roy Keane]

And the reason he did that note thing at the end is that, right, we don't give up, we're still playing seriously. But I agree with you, people are going to look at that and go, what are you doing? Yeah, what are you doing? Stick to the coaching, which obviously you can see the patterns of play and this sort of thing. Stick to that. Don't over. He's. Don't overdo your press conferences. Don't try to come over. Just be, just, just answer it a little bit. Be more like Michael Carrick and, and less like Reuben Amarim in terms of the way you speak it in your press conference, etc. I mean he's young, he's an experienced manager, it looks like. He's obviously, you know, in terms of coaching really, you, you've seen it, Micah and he, you know, he's got a talent, there's no question about that. But sometimes help yourself a little bit.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, bring self awareness.

[Micah Richards]

But what did I tell you? I remember when we first did the podcast and I said he's, he's being naive with the media, he's speaking too much. And I said that from a protection point of thing because they're gonna hang on absolutely every word. And now look, now that you have a few bad results now everything becomes even bigger. And that was the worry. You can tell he's got it coaching wise. Definitely. He's not, he's not helped by having to have to bring players off after 60 minutes all the time to protect them and all that sort of stuff with a sports science that's not helping the situation. However, I just think he needs to understand that the media are not there to help you.

[Alan Shearer]

You know, they're not looking for an angle, they're looking for a story.

[Micah Richards]

And that's their job and rightly so because that's what everyone's got their opinion on football. And he's just giving them a little bit too much at the moment.

[Roy Keane]

Defeat two for spurs, but at least they. Well, a win for Spurs, I should say, really. Second leg to be athletica little bit of green, shoots of possible something a few of the players coming back from injury. So I'm a little bit more hopeful that spurs will stay up than I was last week. But you know, big game against Forest coming up as well, I think. A word on Bayern Munich. They've been really good in this competition. Did you see Harry Kane's second Guy first as a penalty. The second goal.

[Gary Lineker]

Wow.

[Roy Keane]

The foot. I was like blimey, work.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah. Quick, wasn't it? Pings into the top corner.

[Roy Keane]

What a player.

[Gary Lineker]

Magnificent player.

[Roy Keane]

They'll take some stopping by Munich in this.

[Micah Richards]

Don't know yet though guys.

[Roy Keane]

PSG are coming into form as well though, aren't they? The light they did last season. So it could be. That's. That's a semi final.

[Micah Richards]

Did you watch them in the Bundesliga A couple of weeks ago against Dortmund and it wasn't. It wasn't great. They'll outscore everyone like PSG and all that sort of thing. Like Barcelona. Defensively I'm not 100 sure yet.

[Roy Keane]

They play Real Madrid next as well, don't they? What a game that is. Yeah. Psg.

[Gary Lineker]

I'm like you Micah, I think in there. So strong in most positions but I still have doubts defensively.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah. Correct.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah. Who's going to get to the semis then before we go PSG play Liverpool. Who's winning that one? I think it's time. I think at the under current form you. I don't know.

[Micah Richards]

First leg will be.

[Roy Keane]

PSG are at home first so they have to go back to Liverpool and Anfield.

[Gary Lineker]

Same as last year.

[Roy Keane]

That was extraordinary, wasn't it? And Donna Rummer was unbelievable, wasn't he? Kept away. So you know Liverpool have been a bit hit and miss this season there. So who's your.

[Gary Lineker]

Who's your fault to get through then?

[Roy Keane]

That's what I'm asking. So I'd probably just edge with PSG at the moment because they seem to be doing what they did last year. I would have Bayern Munich to edge Real Madrid which is probably stupid. I think that's really tough to call Atletico Madrid. Barca Bar Athletico beat Barca over two legs in the Copa del Rey. But they won the first leg 4 nil. Barca won the second leg 3 nil.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah.

[Roy Keane]

So that I suspect in this competition though. I think Barcelona should edge that. And then you have to go Arsenal ahead of sport in Lisbon. So you'd have semi final of Barcelona, Arsenal.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah. My four would be your four. My four would be Real Madrid, psg, Arsenal and Barca.

[Chevrolet Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Roy Keane]

What about you Micah? Come on.

[Micah Richards]

I'm just looking at that second leg at Anfield. I know Liverpool of not being great. That's the only. I think it's a 50, 50 game.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah.

[Micah Richards]

Maybe 55 to. To PSG just because they come into a bit of form. So yeah I'd probably just edge if you asked me right Now I'd go psg but the second leg at Anfield is going to be going to be tasty.

[Roy Keane]

Real Madrid or Bayern Munich? That's. That's.

[Micah Richards]

Every time I go against Real Madrid they go through. So I'm going Real Madrid, obviously. Arsenal.

[Roy Keane]

I just think there's something about Vincent company's baggy trousers that seen them.

[Alan Shearer]

I haven't seen them. How big does he want them actually?

[Roy Keane]

I mean what a season he's having on and off the pitch.

[Alan Shearer]

I mean there was never a fashionista.

[Micah Richards]

I know that much.

[Roy Keane]

Well, he can carry it off, I think. I don't know. They are very, very. Yeah.

[Gary Lineker]

For Amazon we're doing sport and Arsenal on the Tuesday.

[Roy Keane]

Oh yeah.

[Gary Lineker]

And then the following Tuesday we're doing that Liverpool PSG game and field.

[Roy Keane]

That could be set up. What you don't want there is it to be 4 nil on the field. Although it could be a Barcelona.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, that's true. Yeah.

[Roy Keane]

So it's going to be exciting. I mean it's. Once it gets the quarter final stage, the Champions League there's nothing quite like it. Obviously it was a shame that Bodo Glint capitulated a bit against Sporting Lisbon. Not so good away from homes at home. But they gave us a little bit of something this season. And before we go, have you seen the AFCON who turned over the final result? A real shame I think for African football that something like that should happen. Bizarre really that they suddenly decided Morocco won 3 nil because of the scenes that that happened. Senegal are going to appeal and you can understand that. I think it. I don't know.

[Gary Lineker]

After eight weeks.

[Roy Keane]

Yeah. And do you know who's fucking all this was? I mean, yes, the players shouldn't have responded like they did and there was trouble in the crowd and all that. But what started this? A really, really, really bad var intervention. If they hadn't have got involved with that. They didn't need to. It was to overturn and give a penalty on field. None of this would have happened. So you know, I'm why I'm not blaming VR for the player's response. I'm blaming var for creating this situation. That was a possibility. It was stupid. How could they not even see to. To overturn a decision of that nature at that stage of the game? It's when it's goalless the very, very last minute and give a penalty which was. I don't think it was. It certainly was not clear error was. Was absurd and stupid and who. And you know. And all the players will pay the price. Senegal players thought they eventually won it. Yes. They shouldn't have got off the pitch. Mane got them back out. So it's not like they, you know, they didn't carry on the game. At some point, they, you know, eventually common sense prevailed on that. I just. I don't know. It's such a shame. I don't think. Bloody Var. I talked to James Milnes that he was quite interested on VR hates it. He said vast majority of players don't like it.

[Gary Lineker]

Totally understand that. But to get to. To get that decision after eight weeks is just. That's absurd as well.

[Roy Keane]

So what they're gonna do? Knock on their doors and ask for the medals? Yeah. What do you think, Micah?

[Micah Richards]

I can't even take it seriously.

[Alan Shearer]

It's.

[Micah Richards]

It's just laughable, isn't it? Like. Like Alan's like, if you're gonna do it, like, you know, do it, you know, after it, you know, everything. Calm down. The main decision. But to do it now.

[Alan Shearer]

Not a chance.

[Micah Richards]

I will be giving my medal back. Not a chance. That stayed in my trophy cabinet.

[Roy Keane]

Those teams will be claiming their boy. It, I think forever.

[Micah Richards]

I mean, Senegal have won it.

[Alan Shearer]

Come on.

[Roy Keane]

It's a shame for African football because they put on a really good tournament. The final was amazing. The stadium was great. We were there and it was. It was. It was a joyous occasion and it was spoiled by that. And it was all because of bloody Var.

[Micah Richards]

Yeah. But then it goes bigger than that. Then everyone's talking about, oh, this could already happen in afco.

[Roy Keane]

Exact. Exactly my point.

[Micah Richards]

Picture. And that's the most frustrating thing. It's opened up a can of worms now for everyone to have a go. It pissed me off.

[Roy Keane]

It's such a.

[Micah Richards]

The champions. We all saw it with our own eyes. It's as simple as that.

[Roy Keane]

And they were the better team, to be honest. Overall, not means necessary winning football. But what an odd decision. What an odd, strange night that was. But yeah. Oh, bloody veal. Okay, let's call it a day, though. Goodbye from me.

[Micah Richards]

Goodbye from me.

[Gary Lineker]

Goodbye from me.

[Jackson Hewitt Ad Voice]

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