Spurs stun Manchester City again and crisis already at West Ham? – Football Weekly

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

So last week's title winners, Manchester City, are now sensationally out of the race after a comprehensive 2-0 defeat at Home to Spurs, who were good all over the pitch for almost all of the game.

Weird.

Meanwhile, the biggest crisis claxon loomed over Graham Potter, hammered 5-1 at home by Chelsea West Ham fans, streaming out well before the final whistle.

Ah, the Premier League is back.

Although Nuno seems the most likely to be in voice note territory, how on earth could Forrest let go their best manager?

Maybe since Brian Clough?

Two words that rhyme with Bavangelos Faranakis, perhaps.

Arsenal Hammer leads some big positives including bringing on someone born in 2009, but injuries to Sackett and Odegaard.

Barry relegated Everton, christened their new new stadium with a win.

Brentford and Bournemouth get their first winter of the season while Villa, Manchester United, Fulham, Brighton and Wolves all remain winless.

We'll do all that, which is quite a lot.

Answer your questions.

And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

On the panel today, Nada Manuha.

Hello.

Hello, sir.

Hello, Dan Bardell.

Hello, Max.

And welcome, Sam Dalling.

Hello, Max.

Rob Wrights, Dear Football Weekly, as has been mentioned by several pod contributors and Barry over recent months.

Thomas Frank famously starts slowly in his new job.

Is Max excited for when he really gets going at Spurs?

Yeah, let's start the Etihad then, because we gave the title to City last week and now they don't have it anymore after being comprehensively.

Would you say Nadem comprehensively beaten by Tottenham?

Ooh, good question.

Asking the former Man City player and fan if they were comprehensively beaten.

So strong.

You've got to be honest with the listeners and with yourself.

Yeah, this is where I'm allegedly paid to be impartial, isn't it?

I was very, very impressed by Spurs.

And to be honest, before going into the game, I thought if Spurs didn't have Kulisewski playing, City might be all right.

You know, I'll be, that's what I thought, because Kuliswski is the one that enjoys playing against City more than any other player, I think, through history.

But then Spurs started and they played really well.

I think the way that they were very much on the front foot for the vast majority of the game.

And obviously, there were times when they had to withhold a bit of pressure from City and so on, and some opportunities which City had.

But it's impressive that they can go there, play in that manner, and look so good and feel so comfortable in doing it.

So I wouldn't necessarily say comprehensively outplayed as such, but as they walk off the pitch, they know that they deserve that result based on the moments that they had and the ones that limited City from getting.

I think City will be disappointed to have not scored.

But yes, it's another beautiful day at the Attihad for Spurs.

You know, it seems to be an annual thing at the moment.

Taking back to the old days when

they used to get slapped around by City, but those days are gone now.

I think that's six goals in a row now, is it?

Without City scoring against them in the last two games at the Attihad?

Yeah, I mean, I suppose that's the thing.

Yeah, well, no, that was 4-0 last last year, but you know, Spurs can beat City and be good and have bad seasons.

Every Tottenham fan is thinking that it's a tough, it's a tough read, and I'll be honest with you, this time of the season, I find the hardest to sort of be in media because there's the emotional side, then there's the logical side, and I try so hard to not overreact.

I try so, so hard, but sometimes you've got to do it both ways.

But I was impressed with Spurs, and given the fact of how they played last week at home to Burnley, so there's you know, that's the that's the range, isn't it?

How do you perform against like teams who you expect to be near the bottom?

how'd you perform against teams who are going to work near the top and that's two pretty consistent showings so far and what i like as well from thomas frank's perspective is that he made changes for both games to suit the needs of of the match itself so yeah they they look the spurs are all right you know i thought after the um the super cup all that talk of in fact speaking with uh kate mason legend that is kate mason we were talking about the the legend of being spursy and how it disappeared but we noticed it disappeared over time not in the space of games because they went from winning the europa League to then losing the Super Cup.

And there was no game in between, really, that took away that Spursy title.

But I think Thomas Frank Spurs might be different in the league, I guess.

Yeah, I mean, and the midfield Sam was

really good.

Benton Kurt, Paulina, and Pave Saar were brilliant in this game.

Yeah, they were.

And I think, I mean, that is...

like critical.

It's what they missed a lot last year as well.

I know we talked about the flying fullbacks and Angie's style and Angel Ball, so we don't need to go back over that.

But they missed that solidity in midfield.

And Benson Kirk sort of fell away from being the player he was that everyone expected him to be a couple of years ago.

So look, it was just a brilliant performance.

That is, to misquote Thomas Frank, I mean, that is an operation that does go well.

The patient did not die up at the Etihad.

I mean, you could say, well, they won their 4-0 last year under Ange, so in theory, it's not as good.

But yeah, it was a superb display.

And I just so impressed.

I hope, well, we'll see, isn't it?

It's so early to know whether that will continue.

I remember a couple of years ago under Ange, they were top, and everyone was talking to them title contenders.

But I like Frank, he's coming out with some good lines talking about falling in love with club and wants players who want to play for the club as well, which I think is a really good thing in a manager.

But yeah, yeah, a good result for Spurs.

And actually, you know, so much talked about last week about not getting as a down.

And the only player, well, they brought in two players, right?

That are making Paulina and Kudas.

And Kudas is is running with the ball.

And actually, his defensive work, just all around,

he's playing like the Kudas that we saw, I think, two years ago at West Ham.

And it makes such a difference.

Yeah, I think Nedham's right to call out the fact that, you know, there's no Kudas-esque, there's no Madison.

So everyone's asking, well, where's Spurs' creativity going to come from?

Actually, they didn't win that game with creativity.

They won that game with energy and pressing.

And in the first few games, obviously, in Spurs, Kudas has been a massive part of that.

He's a fun player to watch on the ball.

But like you say, he's worked very, very hard as well.

And Spurs did a great job.

Two clean sheets as well.

But it's not just stemming from the defence.

It's stemming from the whole team and the way Thomas Frank has set them up across the two games as well.

I wondered how would we judge where Spurs are at after they beat Burnley as well.

But to beat Man City beat Burnley,

I've got concerns about Manchester City still.

I don't think beating Wolves last week was the true barometer of perhaps where City are at because I think Wolves are going to be be pathetic by and large this season.

But I've got to say, Spurs have been really, really impressive.

Thomas Frank is such a good manager, such a likable manager, and it's a great start to the season for them.

City were great against Wolves, Nadam.

And, you know, Tijani Reinders was player of the year after that game.

He's now a total fraud after this one.

Harlan missed chances.

Trafford is really interesting.

Actually, Tombo says, I'd appreciate a defender's view from Nadum on Spurs' second goal, more on the setup at the goal kick than the ensuing fiasco.

Three players in your own six-yard box feels like it's asking for trouble.

And Trafford actually got more and more nervous as the game went on, I thought.

Yeah.

And

this is a really, really interesting point because I think you can almost split yourself into two camps here.

There's the camp

which features a lot of older players saying why are you playing the ball short in general?

But then there's the camp that sort of pushed back a little bit because it's the intent versus the execution.

And I think there's a really good camera shot from behind Trafford's goal when he tries to play the ball to Nico and fundamentally plays it to the wrong side.

Like if he plays it to Nico Gonzales' like left foot, then it changes the dynamic of the press from perhaps

because Saar ends up being the one who almost has the ball played to him.

But what I would say, like for James Trafford, and to be fair, lots of other people now, like you get a chance to appreciate how good Edison is because some of the time when there'd be that many players in and around that space, this is when you see Edison play like a longer ball that almost sets someone through on the other side for the city forwards.

And I think Trafford will probably get that in time.

But I think playing for the likes of Man City and so on, you're not really afforded time based on the mistakes that you make because every point in itself is so, is so crucial.

So I think for Trafford, he's tried to do the right thing.

And I thought, in fairness, in the first game against Wolves, I thought he did do well.

But as Dan's saying, maybe Wolves are going to be in the pits of hell this year.

Who knows?

But yeah, I think it's an execution standpoint.

And I think seeing someone like Edison or Tagas, those who've done it before, like for every we think, whether someone thinks about what they can save like or the general passing, they don't really give tons of opportunities like that up when they're playing playing in their normal flow and i don't think they get worse in games either and some of that will probably come with experience because for james this is um this is the biggest platform that he's probably seen so far the interesting thing sam is you know by all accounts city have agreed personal terms with donnaruma i mean you can agree personal terms and not get the player we've we've established that but that is interesting because he's sort of known as this unbelievable shotstopper but not not great with his feet Yeah, and I wondered the unsettling effect that might have on James Trafford because by all accounts, he was basically set to go to Newcastle.

Like people around him were saying saying that's where he's going.

And they had a bid accepted.

And Manchester City basically had this right to match.

And they came in and took him back.

And he'd said, he's not short of confidence, James Strafford.

He straddles that line between confidence and arrogance really well.

He is loved.

I spent some time talking to people around him.

Like, he's not the biggest for a goalkeeper.

But

he always wants.

to play right at 16 he texts the manager of curzon ashton when he was on the city's academy and said can i come and play for you and the curzon ashton manager went yeah yeah i'll ring you back shortly never ranging him back.

So they've missed out on that.

And he's only 22.

Jordan Pickford didn't play his first Premier League season until he's 22.

And he's come back from adversity a lot, James Trafford.

He was dropped by Accrington Stanley when he was out on loan after a few mistakes.

So spent time on the bench there.

Bolton fans didn't want him.

They were like, why are we getting an Accrington reject in?

And actually, he ended up falling in love with the club.

They fell in love with him.

He still goes to watch them.

Two days after he won that 21s Euros, he was back watching Bolton in the preseason friendly in the away end.

And people talk about about England, the 21s, right?

He kept all those clean sheets.

He actually only played one game in the qualifiers building up to that.

He was never the first choice.

He's always been a late developer physically.

So I just think at 22, he's gone in a city's number one.

It's big pressure, but he has played a lot of football.

Even at Burnley, he got dropped, right?

And he got dropped.

And then the day after, he had to walk into the England training grounds and like face everyone because it was international camp, having just been dropped.

So they talk about character and resilience.

It'll take him a bit of time.

But this Donna Rummer thing is like, hang on, you told me I was going to be number one.

And if Donna Rummer comes in, I'm not going to be number one.

Like, why am I here?

Because he's at the stage of his career where he wants to be number one.

So it's a funny one with Traffic.

I hope he does well.

He needs time.

As Nadam said, you don't always get that as a goalkeeper at somewhere like Man City.

Yeah, but fun if he's number one and Don Rummer is just, you know, just doing like the warm-up for him, you know, before

one other thing, specifically on his footwork, right?

He goes back in the summers and works with this non-league keeper at work.

He was at Workington Reds called Jim Atkinson.

He just loves this guy's footwork, his distribution.

So he knows it's something he's got to work on.

And he's humble enough to spend his summers going off and doing that.

And I think that speaks a lot about him.

There is nothing you don't know about James Trafford, Sam.

Who knew?

What a booking.

What a great booking for us today.

Look, well done to Tottenham and Brennan Johnson as well, who scores lots of goals.

And no one ever talks about him.

Scored another, didn't he?

Let's go to the London stadium.

West Ham won Chelsea five.

The constants in life, Dan.

West Ham fans streaming out of the stadium before before the final.

I think some before the half-time whistle.

I think they're probably just going to the bar at half-time.

I think if they'd been 5-1 down at halftime, perhaps you could say that they were leaving.

But at 3-1, I think most of them were probably just going to the bar to have a point and drown their sorrows, I would say.

But it doesn't take away from the fact that West Ham are in a sorry, sorry state.

I called them to go down before a ball was kicked.

And obviously, that's what I've seen in the first two games, conceding eight goals.

They're in big trouble.

I mean, there's a goalkeeper coming and letting eight goals in his first two games before.

Hermanson's coming, and it's just been a horrible time for him.

And they're just, I think, a mishmash of players, West Ham.

And what's happened in the summer is they've still got that mishmash of players, but they've lost their experienced players who weren't necessarily going to play, but were a big part of the dressing room.

And when the chips are down, you know, who are those players now looking at?

Bowen's a fantastic player.

He's their captain, but I wouldn't say

he's a natural leader.

So they've lost a lot of experience from that squad.

They've got players from kind of three, four managerial regimes now.

I'm not convinced any of them are the right type of player for Graham Potter.

I think they wasted their summer window 12 months ago and didn't really bring in any players that seriously improve the squad.

And I think he's already treading on a tightrope, Graham Potter.

I think West Ham could go down with three managers this season.

That's one of my early season predictions.

I think they're in huge, huge trouble.

You look at the fact the newly promoted teams have all already won games as well.

That didn't happen for a a long time into the last season.

They're just hopeless.

And

it's not a happy place, West Ham, at all.

I feel sorry for West Ham fans.

So who are your three?

Yeah,

who are your three?

Dice?

Dice is one of them.

And then what, Avram Grant?

Might throw Nuno in there.

Well, somebody.

You make that I think West Ham fans are desperate to Forrest to sack Nuno because then Nuno could go in and fix West Ham while Forrest and we'll get to them.

We'll do something insane with Ange or Joseph.

Yeah, I was just going to ask Dan, like, who are your three to go down then?

I had West Ham, Burnley, and Leeds at the start of the season.

I thought Sunderland would stay up.

And then obviously at the first week, I'm thinking I'm really clever when they win three and then not so clever this week.

And in regards to

those teams, then you mentioned Wolves as well.

Where did you see Wolves finishing this year?

Do you think they've gone backwards as such?

Yeah, every year you end up selling your best players and you're kind of circling the drain.

At some point, your luck will run out.

Now, I look at that Wolves lineup that played at the weekend and very little quality in there, very little experience.

I don't know how you've ended up with so little quality and so little kind of bona fide Premier League experience as well.

And the manager's well liked there because he goes to the pub after the games and things like that when they win.

I don't think you're going to see him in the pub too many times this season.

West Ham fans will be delighted that we haven't talked about West Ham

doing this.

What's interesting about him is they talk about, you know,

oh, you know, this midfielder's got no legs, which seems a bit harsh.

But you look at Ward Prowse and Suchek, and you go, you're often coming up against a three, and because of the way they play three at the back, okay, it's not just you have two people and no one else is allowed in that area, but that just doesn't

you need legs around Ward Prowse so he can have the ball and have time on the ball, right?

Uh,

could you explain that to me further?

Could you develop that point?

You need legs around him so that he can have more time on the ball.

How does that work?

What I mean is

he so, so I suppose that at the most simple level, neither of those players players can run in a way that we talked about papsar you know though you know can like really press right so that that means you don't get time on the ball if you're a center midfielder with quality you don't agree no it's not it's not necessarily that i just think it's it just depends how you want to perceive it so someone could say that they don't have legs in midfield as such but i'd imagine with those two if we looked at their running data they actually do cover a lot of ground i think somebody's probably come in in terms of say the ability to run at high speed, but someone like Pap Sa is more of like an exception with that as opposed to the norm.

So, yeah, it does feel funny for them in that midfield area.

But I think Graham Potter and the rest of the team would know that those are the strengths and weaknesses of those players and have a style which basically would suit them.

And I think I don't necessarily think that they're

always.

They don't seem to have it at the moment, do they?

Yeah, well, they don't have a style that suits them at the moment.

Yeah, I totally agree.

And it's a bit awkward with Graham Potter, just because, like, I personally, like, I've hold my hands up.

I think I like him, but I feel like being being in at West Ham is a tough job for who he is and how he carries himself because I don't think he necessarily fits in with how most of those fans like perceive their club and their football.

And as in the same way, for example, when he went to Chelsea, a lot of people were doubting him.

Like, he's gone to West Ham, a lot of people doubting him for like equal opposite reasons because of the sort of feel that he has within the club itself and its identity.

But yeah, those midfielders, I wouldn't say that they don't have legs because there'll be other games when they could be, say, applying more pressure and so on.

And I just think this

West Ham are really poor at the moment.

That's it.

We'll admit they're really, really poor.

But for example, would you say that, say, Will Hughes, has Will Hughes got way more legs than, say, like Sucek or Ward Prowse or someone?

Would you say that, yes or no?

I just haven't.

It's a good question because I don't know if I've studied, you know,

but I feel like Will Hughes.

But why?

I love Will Hughes.

I don't know.

Will Hughes, like I mentioned Will Hughes, not to call him out to shame.

I think Will Hughes is brilliant.

I remember playing against him like 10 plus years ago.

I thought he was brilliant then.

I think he's brilliant now.

But he,

himself and like Wharton in that midfield have got so much ground to cover.

That's not to say that they cover every single blade of grass.

And they don't, Will Hughes isn't the same as Paps are, but it still works really well within that space for Crystal Palace as an important cog in terms of how they play.

I think the fact that they can't really link the back line, the midfield, and the forward line and have something that looks cohesive and really hard to play against is probably a bigger concern because the better teams that we've seen so far this season, it all feels like one.

You know, we were talking about Spurs and how they looks like, you know, the two clean sheets have come because they're pressing well from the front, supporting from midfield, and there's matching aggression at the back.

I think that's the same for some of these other sides, like the way Chelsea took them apart.

Obviously, Barron Hermanson having one or two issues for the last week or so, is the whole heart, it's the whole approach, everyone's together and so on.

Whereas for West Ham, it just doesn't feel like that's the case.

I wouldn't necessarily go to legs first because one thing I'll say as well,

as a player, it's very awkward when people say you've got no legs.

Very awkward, my friend.

Especially when it's you, Max, when it's you, Max.

That's what makes it worse.

And actually, this is an interesting point about how you analyse the game because sometimes you try and look at the big picture and sometimes you pick out a part of the pitch, but obviously everything is connected, right?

Correct.

If Kudas is still there, then you've got somebody who is doing so much pressing that it doesn't really matter if you, inverted commas, don't have legs.

Sorry.

I think it's that...

They're very different kind of players and what their role is.

Like Will Hughes is an orchestrator.

I love watching him play, and I love the fact he's now a regular Premier League footballer.

Suchek feels like he's in that role where he actually isn't there to link the play, and that's a problem when you've got to.

He's basically making a career, and I know this is oversimplifying it, of arriving and being that goal-scoring midfielder, Kevin Nolan, the type who will get you 10, 12 goals from midfield.

So it's a very different role.

And when you've got a man in midfield who's doing that and you're carrying, not carrying him, but that's where I think you need another one in there to link that play because he's not designed to do that.

Chelsea were good.

It's worth saying, Dan.

Yeah.

Charl Pedro's so good as well, involved in pretty much every goal on Friday.

And night.

But yeah, I'm watching him, and he feels like he's an old player for them because of the club world.

He feels like he'd been there forever, but it's kind of second Premier League game.

And I just think Chelsea looked good with Al Palmer as well,

which is a really, really big thing.

Esteval looks like a breath of fresh air.

I think he's going to be a very, very good player.

One nil down, could have gone into themselves, didn't, got themselves back in the game and ended up absolutely thumping West Ham.

I think they've got a nice variety in their front players, the players that they can bring in now after

three, four years of Todd Boleyn bringing in every attacking player in existence.

Kind of finally, it feels like that attack is kind of well balanced.

So no doubt they'll go on and sign two or three players to add to that this week and make it unbalanced again.

Chelsea are really, really good.

I think Mareska's done a really good job there.

It was interesting.

Cole Palmer looked very sad and unseasonably warm, puffer jacket, doesn't he?

And I was watching it with the volume down while I was watching the Australian spin-off of Death in Paradise on the big TV with Mrs.

Rushton.

And I was like, God, Mareska's kept cutting to Cole Palmer.

And I was like, they've dropped Cole Palmer.

They didn't win last week.

This is a mad decision.

But it turns out that he got injured in the warm-up.

Yes, Sam.

You wanted to say something about Pedro as well, Sam.

Well, I mean, I just love him.

And it feels like this is now his stage to really become a world-class footballer.

It feels like, as Dan said, he's been around ages.

And my wife is a Watford season ticket holder.

And so I watched him a fair bit when he first came over.

And actually, when she was then my girlfriend, he saved her birthday once because we had a very late night in Leeds and we went to Huddersfield it was freezing cold we were not in a good way and the day didn't really start until he scored the first of two but like he has this ability to conjure stuff from nowhere and I think that is he can get on the end of things as he did with that header but also he's one of those players with the ball at his feet who can just make something happen and he's got this tattoo on his arm that's I think it says predestinado like predestined and it's like some players like Estavio comes in at 18 straight to stardom he has played a lot of football you know his his dad was was a professional footballer who was then in prison for murder over in brazil and so he had a tough upbringing with his mum um flumanese spotted him and and brought him across uh to their academy and he wasn't always the star and it was all that same old story of like physical development and like the club had to help his mum out with money and things like that and they came over and not really speaking any english and then it was locked down at watford and uh his stepfather who we'd been very close to and had come over to live with him and his mum like she died he died really suddenly i think he had acute pancreatitis.

So died three days after falling ill.

And two days after the funeral, he scored his first Premier League goal.

And I think he played at the Emirates five days after his stepdad died.

And they were really close.

So he's a really strong,

resilient character.

It feels like he's moved up through the steps.

He's done Watford, plenty of games there, Brighton.

And now he is at this stage where I really do think he can be.

one of the best players in the Premier League.

It's a wonderful story.

If you look at that story from a journalist narrative type of view,

it's that story, that rising.

I just love him.

I think he's brilliant.

All right.

That'll do for part one.

Part two will begin with what on earth is happening at Nottingham Forest.

Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

It was the new game, Day Scratchers from the California Lottery.

Players, everything.

Those games sent the team's energy through the roof.

Are you saying it was the off-field play that made the difference on the field?

Hey, a little play makes your day, and today it made the game.

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question: play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams scratchers from the California Lottery.

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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.

11th of September.

Few tickets left for the Troxy in London.

Let's fill it.

Two and a half thousand people or something.

We can, come on, that's the average attendance of, I don't know, Barrow.

Surely we're surely we're better than that.

Me, Barry Wilson, Nikki Bandini, Johnny Lou.

Cameos to come.

Tickets can be purchased by heading to theguardian.com slash football weekly live.

It'll be live streamed across the world.

So any of you listening to this have literally no excuse.

Let's go to Selhurst Park Palace 1 Forest 1.

David says, Has Nuno gone back to his dying Jedi persona?

Has he felt a great disturbance in the force?

As if a million voices cried out in terror and were then suddenly silenced.

It would explain Morgan Gibbs White signing that new deal.

Maybe Darth Maranakis found his lack of faith disturbing.

We'll get to the game, which wasn't bad, but the Nuno story is extraordinary.

On Friday, it was being reported he might be sat before the game.

He was incredibly open in his press conference.

You've probably heard it, where he said, I used to have a great relationship with the owner and now I don't, basically.

And he said, you know, there's no smoke without fire.

There's also apparently a rift between him and Edu, the new head of recruitment that came in from Arsenal.

But

Nadam, if you're a Forest fan, you are thinking, why would we possibly mess this up?

It's going so well.

What are we doing?

Valid point.

Valid point.

When they were going to the game

yesterday, I think I was on radio and there were a few few fans that were speaking and they were actually defending both parties said oh we we love new no we love new no but the owners helped us out so much and this that and the other and they didn't really want to like fully attach themselves to something too aggressively at this moment in time because in theory like the owner has helped them be in a position which they probably never thought they'd be in but then tells new no as well so it It's weird that you're having this level of like car crash in the same week where you've signed like Hutchinson, you sign McAtee and another player.

You know you're going to be in the Europa League and things seem to be positive.

And especially going into the, you know, the

big game that we never thought we'd see between Forrest and Palace, the two European rivals, you know, on at least from a litigation standpoint, anyway.

It's disappointing.

Like, I think most fans, most fans, probably say every fan, probably like it when there's good things being reported about their football club and the football is the main point, and that can be spoken about.

But whenever it's all this stuff behind the scenes and they've got no real say in it, you almost feel a bit embarrassed by it.

And in some ways, I think this does feel a bit embarrassing.

And as I look at it from Nuno's standpoint, you wonder, like, why is he saying the things that he's saying?

What is his own end goal as such?

Because if there's no relationship there, then sort of like airing out your grievances in public isn't necessarily going to make it any easier, especially against an owner who's not shy of speaking up himself and making his own decisions.

So yeah, it must be tough to be a Forest fan right now because you can't just talk about the football and look forward to the season ahead.

But you hope that somehow it's sorted, but I just don't see it.

With a new director of football and Edu coming in,

maybe he would never have picked Nuno in a million years if if he could start over.

And I guess that's going to be the narrative that rumbles on until one of those decides to make the decision.

Sure.

And I mean, the thing is, Dan, if, if, if, like, Nuno's not going to go to Tepper's Covers and say that if he thinks he's staying, right?

There's just no way.

I mean, it's odd that you would say it anyway, like, because if you're not going to, if you're going to go, you're going to go.

But, and someone will pick him up because he's such a good manager, right?

He's proved it at Wolves, he's proved it at Forest.

But I mean,

maybe there is

the only thing you can think, I guess, is:

does he think if he publicly stands up to Maranakis, a bit like Trump likes a strong guy you know maybe Maranakis likes a strong guy too I don't I don't know yeah only other thing I can think of is that he would expect the fans to come out and be up in arms about it and side with him and like Nedham says maybe that's not what's happened because they do love love the owner as well

I kind of felt like the writing was on the wall a little bit at the back end of last season I can't remember the game but when Maranakis stormed on the pitch and kind of had that to do with Nuno I did think this isn't going to last and they looked like they were certs for the Champions League.

And I think the owner would have thought, we're going to get into the Champions League here.

And then they didn't.

And they dropped down to the Conference League.

And now they're back in the Europa League.

But I do always think now that now Forest have reached a level with all that's going on around the club now and the changes in the hierarchy and behind the scenes.

Standards are going to be elevated.

They're going to be very, very high.

And whether that be results on the pitch or the way Nuno handles themselves,

it doesn't feel too far away for me from a parting of ways.

And I don't know whether there's some agent stuff going on here as well, because Edu likes to work with Keir Drapchin, who's just brought Douglas Louise to the club.

Nuno's got a different agent who I think has been heavily involved in the transfer policy up until now.

So it's almost like the two worlds are colliding.

And at the end of the day, you know, Maranakis is the owner.

Nuno's not going to come out the right side of this.

So to hear him speak in the way he's speaking, I found a little bit confusing.

Rumours of Ange, Jose, Brendan Rogers.

I mean, Jose and Maranakis sounds fun, doesn't it, Sam?

But like, you know, if you've come from Nuno ball to Ange ball, that would also be odd.

But I mean, I'm all for Posta Cogley back in the Premier League as soon as possible.

Yeah, so am I, but I don't think you are if you're a Nottingham Forest fan.

That would be a terrible move, right?

Because

they would go from being this side.

They were so solid last year, right?

They didn't mind not having the ball.

And look, they only had 50% or more of possession in seven Premier League games last year, which for a team that was in the Champions League spots for that long is not what you'd expect.

And the most they had was 55, right?

They like to play solid defense.

They've got Matt Sells in, and they hit teams on the break with pace.

And they use Chris Wood.

So, like, it's very,

it's not a squad that's molded in the and mode.

So, I would be a little bit worried.

I mean, it's just all strange, isn't it?

I mean, how can Nuno come out and say it's absurd that people are suggesting that I'm going to lose my job?

It's like, well, it's not really absurd, mate, because you came out in a press conference and said something you didn't really need to see, say whatsoever.

um and the the jump is i mean football journalists do tend to make some quite big jumps in terms of what people say and what the headline is but it it was a relatively small like little stream that most have jumped over to reach this discussion so yeah it's odd but not ange uh mourinho and maranakis i mean wow that could like properly

be fun be fun for the neutral not for notting forest who have had such a good couple of years and are on this upward trajectory just to then chuck a couple of fireworks in and explode it Nah, not for them.

Yeah, speaking of chucking fireworks in, Philippe O'Claire says, that banner, please discuss.

No, Philippe, we're not going to discuss it, but we're going to tell you what it said.

Palace fans unveiled a...

It wasn't quite a TIFO.

It was just a big banner with a picture of Maranakis with a gun to the head of Morgan Gibbs White.

And Gibbs White is quoted saying, Mr.

Maranakis is not in red pen involved in blackmail match fixing, drug trafficking, or corruption.

The Football Association is investigating the banner.

Maranakis has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to all such allegations.

I mean the game itself, Nathan.

Palace better first half, Forrest better second.

Highlight of the game, that pass from Dan and Doy to Hudson Adoy was so good, wasn't it?

Yeah, it was a great pass.

It was a great pass.

I think you summed up the game pretty well there.

But yeah, to give credit to that ball, as a defender, sometimes you get caught in this sense of like, oh, everything's all right.

There's nothing to worry about.

And then every so often, because it is the Premier League, because these are some of the best, you know, in and around Europe and the world, they can just find that little moment, see a pass that maybe no one else can see.

And then good luck to you trying to catch like Hudson Adoy when he's running through like that.

So yeah, it's a beautiful moment for them.

It's a fantastic bit of football.

And obviously there was so much more surrounding the game itself, but I like the fact that there was some quality in there to discuss as well.

So yeah, that's a great ball.

It's a great goal.

And I'm just like I said, I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about things like that anymore on the pitch in front of tens of thousands of people.

Yeah, Burris almost won.

Igor Jesus hitting the post in injury time.

Amari Hutchinson had a chance even later than that.

Palace did beat Frederick Statt 1-0 in the Europa Conference League playoff first leg on Thursday night to the Emirates.

Arsenal 5 leads 0.

Down lots of positives for Arsenal, some negatives.

Should we start with the good stuff?

Victor Jokarez with his first goals for the club.

And the way he took his first as well would be, I was going to say, music to the ears.

Well, I guess it is for the Arsenal fans because, you know, it was just like he did it all by himself.

Yeah, lovely goal.

I did think the dialogue around him was a bit OTT after the first game.

He played one game.

He didn't score in his first game.

It was like an absolute disaster.

I liked his penalty as well, the way he kind of brushed himself off and took the penalty.

It was a great penalty.

I thought it was a great day for Arsenal, first, first home game of the season.

Just these set piece, I know we talk about it every time.

It's boring now, probably, to an extent, but it's almost like a get out of jail-free card.

And it must be such a sapper, energy sapper for the opposition that you're in the game, you're doing okay.

Manchester United last week, they started that game well, they're doing well.

And then Arsenal get a corner and they just score off it.

It must be so demoralising as a as an opposition defender and once they go ahead they're going to go on and win that game and I just thought it was telling that you know uh Erdoga and Saka have gone off injured and we'd be talking about that like it's an absolute disaster and obviously they are Arsenal's two best players but just look at the squad now they've got so many different options if those two players weren't to play next week I still think Arsenal would be okay now so I think they've they've recruited really well in the summer I think the new sporting directors come in and really made a statement got business done Arsenal looked well set to me.

And, you know, once they went one, the result was only going to ever go one way.

And it was that Arsenal were going to score a lot of goals and win that game comfortably.

Yeah.

Although they do play Liverpool next week.

So maybe.

No, no, I still think they'd be okay.

Yeah.

That's so interesting, isn't it?

Well, we'll get to Odegaard and Saka.

You mentioned the set pieces.

Declan Rice's delivery is so good, Nadam.

And,

I mean, it's like a free kick, isn't it?

Should there be more players who are as good at that, given they just train all week kicking a ball?

You know, shouldn't each team have someone who can just whip it under the crossbar nine times out of ten?

Well, I think if it was that easy, then everyone would be of the same level.

Um, yeah, Mr.

Rushton.

I don't think that's the way football works.

No, I think that everyone would be scoring penalties all the time, you know, like a Kane or a Tony.

It's also not the way it works.

Then also, everyone within like the NBA would always be making their free throws as well because you can practice millions of those if you want.

You can, but I think it's just the skill that he has himself, and I think his teammates' appreciation of exactly where it's going to go.

And you can put it into a certain area, like if you practice, practice, practice, but it's the speed of it as well.

You know, it's the height of it.

Like some of the better players,

it's like it's not even going that high.

Say the higher it goes, the more chance a goalkeeper's got of being able to get to it or someone being able to address it and so on.

But it comes in so flat, relatively speaking, with such speed that realistically, even if an Arsenal player doesn't get their head on it, it's just chaos.

Like, that's what he serves up so well.

Put yourself, put a ball into the six-yard box, basically, where there will probably be five to ten bodies.

and at which point as a defender as an attacker whoever touches it it's probably not going to be fully cleared and it might just go in anyway because it's it's so so tough to play against so you know credit to arsenal and i'm i'm with dan as well like

it's what arsenal do it's not like exciting but it's really effective incredibly effective and every time they get a set piece you're thinking well here it comes and that must be a great tool to have and maybe something they'll need to lean on maybe for a little while at least if they'll if sacker and odd guard are going to be out for a little period 15 year old max Dauman came on.

It's interesting how excited we are by someone who's essentially a child, just someone so young.

The difference between that and an 18-year-old coming on the pitch.

There's the genuine joy when he came on from the Arsenal fans.

Born New Year's Eve, 2009.

Number one was Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine.

I think it was the X Factor Protest song.

It's interesting, Sam, that you can't, just if you start the game really young, it doesn't guarantee success.

If you look at the top 20, there are some good names in there of the youngest ever.

Rain Rooney, the 20th 20th youngest.

Aaron Lennon in there as well.

Manyeri.

But it's no guarantee of success.

But he does look useful, Dalman, doesn't he?

He does.

And I was trying to think what I was doing at 15.

And I think I got GCSE math statistics a year early, and I thought I was doing really well.

I was winning at life.

And then someone comes on in a Premier League game and asks someone, look, the beauty of them is I...

I think Dan's absolutely right.

The squad, the depth they've got, you run through their attacking options means it won't be quite like Nanieri, where he might have to play more, more like out of necessity.

I think Arteta can use him carefully and try and keep the hype down.

I mean, he had that volley chance, didn't he, that you were thinking, oh, is this his moment?

And then the penalty at the end, I suspect there were some Arsenal fans going, oh, go on, give it Max, give it Max.

I don't think that was ever going to happen.

Like, Gokarez, the penalties will be interesting for Arsenal because Saka takes them normally.

He was off the pitch, but I think Gokarez had scored something like 27 out of 28 in the last two seasons.

So he is quite a good penalty taker.

And even if you take those goals out, the penalty goals out out of his record, he's still got 60-odd for sporting in the last couple of years.

So it'd be interesting to see how that goes.

I mean, Arsenal weren't even that good.

And I know that sounds weird because they've won 5-0, but they only had five shots on target.

Arsenal can get much better.

They were clinical.

And I think they need to because Arteta's under a little bit of pressure, right?

He spent nearly a billion quid now.

He's got the players in that he wanted.

He's got his centre-forward, got his midfielder.

I think he almost has to win the league.

You look at five, six years in, one FA Cup.

I know we talk about, but you look at Wenger's last six years, he won three FA Cups.

So I think Arteta, if he doesn't win this year,

he might be in a bit of trouble.

Yeah.

Just to say that we have checked it out.

There is no confirmation that Max Dauman 2009 was named after the then host of Soccer AM during the glory years.

We can't be sure.

The glory is.

But

that's what most people think.

Danny,

you were saying you don't think, because I think I heard a guard and sack of being injured.

We obviously don't know how long it is.

That could be the difference between the title and not the title.

You imagine Arsenal will be up there and that could be five points or seven points or whatever.

I think maybe it was clumsy wording.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be bad news for Erdegard and Saka to be out because they are Arsenal's two most crucial players.

What I think I'm trying to say is that I feel like they can cover it off.

a lot better this season than they would have been able to this season and just that they've got different different weapons now so before everything kind of went through soccer and erdegaard now now they've got other players for things to go through.

Now, they've got a genuine centre forward to occupy defenses.

So, I think just if they were to be missing for a period of time, I think Arsenal are okay.

They will still win football matches.

They will still score lots of goals from set pieces.

They've got a centre forward.

I just think they're better set than they would have been 12 months ago.

Yeah, and actually, if Erdoga is out, not that that is a good thing, but if it means as they go, oh, yeah, we haven't even mentioned him yet.

It'll be fascinating, fascinating to see.

Let's go to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

First game for Everton there.

They beat Brighton 2-0.

I mean, the game could have gone either way, I think, Sam.

First of all, you were there.

It does look amazing.

Yeah, it's incredible.

It is a beautiful ground.

We took some photos.

I was lucky enough to be there, as you're saying.

We took some photos outside, and then we looked at them.

And it's like, you know, those AI-generated images that you get before a new ground is built.

Like the actual real photos of it look like that.

And everyone was up there really early.

The acoustics in it were absolutely exceptional.

The noise that home end can make, I don't know what it does, I don't know much about architecture, but they have designed it.

Obviously, there were quiet periods, but when that noise got going,

I think it will be the loudest ground in the league.

I really do.

I never know the sirens thing I always find a little bit weird, but my word, that was loud.

Like the PA system, they have probably, that's probably the most money they've spent on the PA system.

It was absolutely deafening.

It was brilliant.

Look, it was a privilege to be there.

They've got to sort a few things out.

We got in, luckily enough to get an invite into some hospitality, how the other world lives.

And 40 minutes after we ordered, we chased the food a couple of times and we were told that the food order hadn't actually been through.

And then to make up for it, they brought all three courses at once.

So by the time I got to my sticky toffee pudding, it was both cold and the ice cream had melted completely.

So there's my

first world problems.

It was a tough day out for me.

And it was a good game.

And I think think Everton got a little bit lucky, to be honest.

Like, I thought Brighton were the better side.

I think Everton are going to struggle this year.

I think Grealish gives them a punch as chance.

It's just Grealish and Undai, who I think is a bit wasted out on the right.

But yeah, any other day, other than the first day in the new ground, I think Brighton win that game quite comfortably.

That's interesting, yeah, because like Matoma hit the bar, didn't hit 0-0.

Wellbeck had a great chance.

Van Hecker hit the post and O'Reilly had a massive chance at 1-0.

Pickford says that, but Danny Welbeck penalty after an obscene handball.

I mean, I suppose,

like, and I, Nadam, we've talked about it before, but he's such an exciting player.

Scored the last goal at Goodison, the first goal here.

Are you a pub quiz question anywhere, Nadam?

Kind of.

Kind of, yeah.

Oh,

what is the question?

I think as it stands, well, to be fair, no, I nearly was.

I take that back.

I was nearly the person who in 2011, 12, I would have been the only player to have played for a team that won the Premier League and got relegated in the same season when I went from City's QPR.

So I'm quite glad I avoided that one because that's a bit embarrassing, isn't it?

Talk about a drop-off.

Who else is there now?

Couldn't tell you.

Couldn't tell you like from that extent.

But yeah, talk about flipping belief in someone's ability.

No, you're not going to win the league, but you know, maybe championships for you.

But yeah, NGI,

I think he's awesome.

And I think it is a shame that he won't play on that left-hand side because I think it really suits him.

And the way that he plays and the magic that he has.

I was caught in between two places with Everton because I love the fact that, you know, it's a family club.

But then I'm also still attached to like the Daish years where I didn't really enjoy watching them as such.

but then i think back to the david moise years and it was people like steven p and i'd be playing that left hand side and they were so good to watch pian baines down that left hand side like i loved all that this is when everton were a lot more progressive and i think in jai in some ways reminded me more of a piano back in those days for the way that they would play and put you under so much pressure so it's a shame that he will be out on that right hand side but his impact definitely is there and those fans like You can see that they love him for the way that he plays through some dark times in terms of them being

respectfully quite boring.

You know, he always seems to find that little bit of magic.

And if he can form that sort of relationship with Grealish and others in and around there, then yeah, they'll be all right.

I don't know if they'll be amazing.

I think I'm with you guys as well that Brighton probably deserve more from that game.

But for the history books, we're probably glad that Everton won their first game

at home.

And then they can sort of look, think positively, like nothing beats that first memory of a new place being a positive one with a good result, with new signing making a difference.

And yeah, the energy being up there.

Producer Joel says, you know, if the first cheers are good, the first booze are going to be good.

Can you imagine?

Around the hill dickinson but i mean it's interesting they could just play couldn't you just play greedish in the ten and a die on the left and that you know that might work anyway anyway uh that'll do for part two uh part three begin with uh full and man united

coach the energy out there felt different what changed for the team today it was the new game day scratches from the california lottery play is everything those games sent the team's energy through the roof are you saying it was the off-field play that made the difference on the field hey a little play makes your day and today it made made the game.

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question!

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Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Alex says, did that one-all draw prove that United can beat anybody?

Do you know what?

The penalty, Dan, is interesting right

because

bassy is holding mount but sure is fouling moonies at the same time i think and lars has made the point there's a total imbalance in the risk of an attacker committing a foul and a defender and i maybe that has always been the the case

but now they can look at them and decide well that's a foul and that's a foul but we'll give that foul and and it's illustrated by the fact that lenny euro pushes bassie for the united goal but that doesn't matter because if he gets penalized well he gets penalized

so i don't know i i got slightly irked by that whole situation.

I guess it's based on where they think the ball is going to go and they'll focus on the foul that is nearer where the ball is

going to go.

I'm no expert on these things.

Well,

to jump in there, the ball actually went closer to the foul behind Bassey.

Because if you remember

being a back post header.

Oh, right.

Yeah.

I think yesterday, and sorry to jump in.

No, please do.

I didn't know that question, to be honest.

Listen, I don't want to handle it either.

But I think they were saying in the commentary that the Bassey foul happened first.

Right.

So that's what they were focusing on.

And I don't know, man.

It was weird to even be looking at it thinking, is that a foul?

You know what I mean?

Because Mount himself even didn't fully sell it either.

It's like something's happened.

Mount's in the way of Bassey trying to go and do something else.

So I was wondering, as a player, what...

Obviously, you can't necessarily grab someone, throw them, whatever, but what do you do at that point?

You say, oh, well, unfortunately, I can't get back there because this guy's a...

Because I hate the number of penalties there are.

I just wonder if you say, okay, VAR look at it and they go, well,

if an attacker is fouling a defender anywhere, that takes priority.

So like if you want a penalty, then none of your attackers can be committing a foul in the box.

Because that evens it up slightly.

Because at the moment, it's like, well, the attacker can do all sorts of pushing and pulling because it doesn't really matter.

And the defender has to just...

You know, the defender's already got his arms behind his back in case it's a handball.

Now you'll just have to replace it with, you know, you just have to turn into a lemon.

There's nothing you can do.

Yeah, you're basically just a mannequin from set pieces.

And it's a good point.

It's good to see you've got your Defenders Union card with you as well this year.

I'm a big, big fan of that, Max.

But again, listening to what they were saying in the commentary about how they're going to be trying to clamp down on that this season, I just think

it's disappointing because as the defender, like it's a really physical game and the people you're playing against are also incredibly strong and they've got a huge desire to try and score in the goal that's probably about two, three yards away.

So sometimes like your body will be put into positions which you're not thinking about consciously, but it's just happening due to like just general jostling within a game.

Not least of all, because some of the way that you jostle with the player is similar to like when a long ball comes up to the striker, you don't have your hands behind your back.

Like you're both jostling for the ball, but the attacker might be in front of you, but the ref won't give a free kick there.

But if that same thing happens in the box, then it's a penalty.

And I think that's

a shame.

And just going off pure vibes, because obviously the rules are the rules or laws of laws or whatever.

The push from Euro felt like more of a foul to me

than

the penalty they gave against Bassey.

Because I was like, well, he's put two hands in his back.

Bassey's basically like, if Bassey was smaller and he's laying on the floor,

it's probably a free kick.

Because Bassey's stronger, he's penalized.

And it's like, well, unlucky.

Just got to be stronger yourself.

Yeah.

And actually, they say, oh, he's got to be stronger there.

It's a sort of kick.

And it's just like, it doesn't matter if you're a big unit.

If somebody pushes you in the back, you're still pushed in the back.

Like, that affects what you do and it affects where the ball goes.

Beyond that, Sam, the penalty was interesting, wasn't it?

I think Bruno has criticized Chris Kavanagh, another northern voice.

I'm really looking forward to the,

I'm going to play, I'm going to play all the referees' voices at the end of the season without seeing who they are and see if anyone can guess who they are because they've all got exactly the same voice.

But like Bruno criticising Chris Kavanaugh for sort of getting in his way when he's in his zone.

Does he have a point?

Well, and it was like he didn't mind him doing it.

It was the lack of an apology from the referee.

That's what Bruno seemed to.

I'm sure he wouldn't, ideally wouldn't have liked him to enter his zone.

But yeah, it was, well, he didn't apologise to me.

And that put me off in between starting my run-up and then going back to this stuttering run-up.

That feels a little bit like excuses to me.

I mean, you probably shouldn't let that.

The ref was just doing his job, right?

Interesting how Chris Cavan, he said Fulham and then just Manchester.

It wasn't Manchester United.

Yeah, just Manchester.

Like what we play in Pro-Evolution soccer.

We haven't got rights to the actual team of names.

Yeah, I think so.

It's a bit Larry David from Bruno, wasn't it?

The commensurate apology for

what you have done.

What did you make of...

I thought Man United actually down were quite good in the first half in this game.

Yeah, bit like last week.

Lots to like about them, just not quite all coming together.

They couldn't seem to get that goal in the first half.

Kunya did everything but score.

That touch from the long goal kick was absolutely majestic.

I think probably everyone in the world, although everyone hates Manchester United, probably not, but I wanted him to score because it was such a good touch, such a beautiful bit of football.

And also, he was in my fantasy football team.

So I did have that as well.

I really, really wanted him to score.

He didn't.

I think they're the kind of you can see what Manchester United are trying to do.

I think Mounts really interested me in the first couple of games, his role in the way he's played.

He's such a good footballer, such a clever footballer, and seeing him play a couple of games for Manchester United.

You feel that if he can stay fit, he'll be a real critical player and that he'll probably get himself, he'll probably be in the next England squad.

Him and Garrett will probably get themselves in the next England squad by virtue of just having a couple of good games because I think Tuchel will lean on experience.

They need midfielder.

They need a central midfielder.

It's pretty desperate in there, I would say, and a goalkeeper

as well.

Every corner Fulham had, you felt like Fulham were Arsenal.

You felt like something might happen because the keeper was just so, so weak.

Did you think Fulham were Arsenal just because all their players used to play for Arsenal?

Was that all that?

That does help as well, doesn't it?

But there was delivering the, was it Lukic who was actually delivering the ball like Declan Rice?

He'd obviously been doing some set-piece practice.

Not John Lukic, not John Lukic.

Have I said his name right?

He's Lucic.

No, no, no, you are.

Sasha Lukic, yeah.

Sasha Lukic must have been working on the training ground this week, Max, because some of his his deliveries were Declan Ross-esque.

Yeah.

Burnley 2, Sunderland, 0.

So it means all three promoted sides have won a game, which I think is that is good, Nadine.

Are we going to have an exciting Premier League season at the bottom, or is it still August?

And as Nikki said last week, football lies in August and the, you know, the promoted sides will all be the bottom three come November.

So I don't think the three promoted sides will go down this year, but I'm.

I'm firstly rooting for Sunderland to be the team that stays up.

But I don't, I don't know.

It's so easy to overreact at this point in the season.

I think realistically, when you'll see what's what is when these next like three international breaks are over and you're heading in towards a time in like November, December time where it's just games, games, games, games, games.

To say that like the first win on the board doesn't matter would be a lie because it does having been somebody who previously held the record for longest period to start a season without winning.

Thank you to Sheffield United for taking that record away from my QPR team of 2013-14.

Thank you very much, guys.

Or 2012-13 rather.

It does matter just for like energy, you know what I mean?

And the fact that all three teams have won at home, that brings a sense of belief.

And the fan bases will always think that when they're coming to a home game now, that there's a chance that the team's going to win.

And I think the longer that goes, you can sense it as a player in the crowd.

You know, the way that people start talking about you, the media and stuff changes.

So the way that managers get questioned changes.

And then you feel like a narrative switch because now...

The media is almost feeding stuff into your fan base.

Like, you guys are no good.

You've got no chance whatsoever.

Why are you even here?

And so you make a mistake in a week and say, oh, this is what such and such was saying about on that show or whatever but yeah those those wins definitely do matter but in reality these teams will be will be make or breakers like can you win consecutive games can you go a stretch of time unbeaten can you stay intact with everyone else around you and at the moment in terms of what the bottom is like you know united have got like one point but do we think that they're worse than burnley leeds and sunderland absolutely not so yeah let's not let's not lie to ourselves too much in august but still celebrate those moments because they'll probably be few and far between as the season progresses.

And actually, like, yeah, first goal is crucial, Brian.

But, you know, Sunday had chances in this game.

My end had a really good chance in the early.

But Bernie scored the goals.

And actually, Sam, I loved both goals.

Like, the setup from Anthony for Cullen is great.

The pass from Cullen to Anthony is great.

Yeah, it is.

Cullen has almost taken over from Josh Brownhill, who I think was offered a new contract and he was their player of the year last year, and he didn't take it up.

I'm not sure he's found a club yet, but Cullen's a company man.

He came over from Andalek with him to be their metronome.

so it's great to hear him it's great to see Jaden Anthony as well I know he went from Bournemouth to Leeds and I think his mum passed away midway through the season so he's dealt with a bit and to see him score that goal was absolutely wonderful I do think it is really important I know it's only the first two games and I take what Nadim's saying but I think if Sunderland go and win that game and then again I know it's two games into season but suddenly Burnley are six points behind Sunderland already so yes there's still 38 games to go but I think psychologically for Burnley not to be six points behind another fellow newly promoted side is really big.

Yeah, um, I also like the strobing floodlights and slightly annoyed that they turned them off to carry on the game and didn't just start playing, you know, set you free by Entrance or whatever.

Um, uh, Brentford beat Villa 1-0.

Like, this is a huge win this dam

for Keith Andrews.

And I loved what he said afterwards.

It was scrappy, it was ugly, and I loved it.

I hated it.

Keith feels the opposite about the game to me.

Villa kind of made it easy for Brentford, but Villa looked toothless.

We could still be playing now, and Villa wouldn't have scored in that game.

Brentford dug in, were resilient, needed a reaction off the back of what happened last week, and

they got it.

I think it was two kind of stale teams who haven't obviously lost players in the summer, haven't done loads of transfer business, but I think Brentford, just by having one new addition to their front three, it gave them something.

It gave the fans something to get behind because they had a new player, and I think that's what won them the game.

Ultimately, Villa, I think, could could have named most of that starting lineup in 2021 and looked very, very stale, I've got to say.

So

I think a draw probably would have been a fair result, but to watch Villa kind of outplayed by a midfielder, well, Villa lose to a midfield of Henderson and Yarmaluk and not really ever get a grip on that midfield was disappointing.

But Keith Andrews needed a good result because if they'd lost again, there'd have been a load of noise around him that I think would have probably been unfair.

So well done to Brentford, but I thought Villa from Villa's perspective is a travesty in the last two weeks has your mood slightly changed because I you know as interview at the start of the season you were like look Emery's there the squad's good this is fine we haven't bought anyone but it's fine doesn't sound like that now no I'm hoping that Nikki's right and that kind of August is a lie because I've not enjoyed August so far from a Villa perspective both on and off the pitch with losing players and being hamstrung and not being able to really do anything in unless we sell it it's hard because the manager's so good I loathe to criticize the manager because what he's done at this club has been absolutely phenomenal.

I've never seen anything like it.

I think tactically he's got a few things wrong in the first couple of games.

We've looked toothless.

We haven't scored in the first two games.

And if I think Emery's kind of raining at Villa, it's about scoring goals and lots of goals.

But the first two games, we haven't got a lot we were going to score once.

I haven't got excited once, but I do think off the pitch, it's kind of bled

on the pitch.

Now, since Jacob Ramsey's gone, it seems to have done some real damage to the dressing room.

And they just look like a lack of belief and kind of players that are walking around, kind of not knowing if they're going to be there or not at the end of the window because of the rules and the constraints and how Villa are working under them.

It doesn't feel like a happy, cohesive place at the moment.

And I just want the transfer window to shut.

It's almost like we're waiting for the transfer window to shut for our season to start.

Sure.

And like PSR obviously is hard if you're this club.

But have they done things wrong?

Oh, yeah.

Their wage spend is 90% of their total revenue or something like that so so is that the is that the mistake i'm trying to work out where obviously i can understand if you're a villa fan newcastle fan you're saying psr is bullshit and if it wasn't there we'd be great but are there things villa could have done differently in the last few years to not put themselves in this position it's maybe more prior to emory they could have done stuff differently but i still look at who i think villa's best best players are in the in the main or in their best 11 and the bulk of them were already at the club when who and i emery walked through the door i think i saw a stat yesterday that since he's been at the club emery villa are 10 million in profit.

So we've qualified for Europe every single season without actually spending a penny in terms of transfer fees because we're £10 million in profit.

We've done some sensible business over the years and we've done some bad business over the years as well.

But

it's this revenue thing.

We are never going to have the revenue that Manchester United have.

that Chelsea have, that Manchester City have.

It's just, just not going to happen.

And you've been penalised for something that you're almost not in control of.

And then the club can then try and put prices up and whatnot because they say they need to for PSR.

And then that impacts the fans as well.

So I just think all around PSR, it's impacting everyone involved with Aston Villa, but not in a positive way.

I understand there has to be rules, but I do think it needs to be looked at because it's absolutely killing us right now.

Just a word on Mikel Damascard, who had some twinkle toes and played really well in that game.

Finally, Bournemouth beat Wolves, their first win of the season.

I liked Pereira after the game, not complaining about the red card, just saying it's a pity if only all managers did that after they had their centre-back sent off.

But we fear for wolves, do we, Nadem?

No, I don't fear for wolves.

Don't talk about that one.

Tell me more about fearing for wolves, Dan.

Do you look at that team and think that's a team that's not going to be involved in a relegation battle?

And once you're involved in one, there's obviously then a chance that you're going to go down.

Yeah, I don't necessarily look at them.

I don't think they'll be going down and I don't think they'll be in a full battle as such.

But again, it's like it's tough because, again, it's August.

Like, that's why, like, everything, every take I have at this point in the season always comes with that caveat: like, oh, it's early.

You know what I mean?

Like, Yocher has didn't do much last week, ah, but it's early.

Does well this week, yeah, but it's early.

Like, this team's not doing, yeah, but it's early.

So, I don't think, I personally don't think they'll be involved in a proper dogfight as such, because I still think they do have enough quality to carry themselves a little bit above, say, the potential bottom three.

But, you know, they do need to find some level of format.

I understand what you're saying, but I wouldn't necessarily judge them based on, like, say, losing a game to City or away at Bournemouth, to be honest, even though Bournemouth aren't necessarily going to have the season that they had last year.

I don't know who their next fixtures are, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got a result in the next in the coming weeks.

How can you not know?

I know, I know, I know.

Plastic Wall swaps.

Absolutely outrageous, but that's okay.

Newcastle play Liverpool tonight.

We'll cover that on tomorrow's pod.

Sam,

your feelings going into this?

My feelings.

I mean, how long have we got?

It's not long.

Two minutes, maybe one.

I'm looking forward to it, right?

It's going to be a cracking night.

There are obvious extra spicy elements to it.

It's, I can't, I like Dan, can't wait for the transfer window to shut.

I think the big name is Alexander Isak.

I do think he will be a Newcastle player actually come the transfer window closing.

I think we'll see a lovely statement on September the 1st, written by his agent again, probably saying, Oh, you know, there's been a lot of misunderstanding going on this summer.

I'd like to apologise to the Newcastle fans, who I've always loved, and Eddie Howe, who my relationship with him has never wavered.

Let's look forward to a good season.

Hashtag Kaway the Lads.

And I think he'll spell it incorrectly and use like the Sunderland spelling or something like that.

But look, tonight is

big.

On the game itself, I think it was free all last year.

High intensity.

I'm looking forward to it.

Liverpool have got defensively, they're still

growing, sorting themselves out, right?

They haven't got a right back.

Kirk has still settling in.

I wish we had a centre forward.

Yes, of course I do.

But we've got Nicassell have got pace.

The midfield battle will be brilliant.

I don't think Slot and Eddie Howe are the kind of characters to like the stuff that's going on transfer-wise is way above their heads.

I don't think that will impact them.

It will definitely impact the crowd.

It will turn it up a decibel

or two.

I mean,

without going into the exact stuff in detail, that's all I can say, really.

It's been done plenty of times, and there's probably nothing new I can add.

A word on commentary about QBR 7-1.

It's like your old days named him at Loftus Road.

Don't do that.

Same day the club.

Same day the club announced they bought their ground.

Apparently, the XG was just over one.

Although, looking at the highlights, it definitely didn't look.

It looked more than one watching them score seven, I must admit.

Highlight of the game was the optimistic QPR player picking the ball out of the net in like the 92nd minute or something and running back to the center circle.

You know, seven, we're still in this, lads.

Oh, Max.

I honestly hate you so much.

Mark Langland messaged me this.

Lots of people have seen it.

Knox County subs yesterday.

Gordon and Bennett and just standing there, perfectly next to each other.

It's a lovely picture.

We've got an EFL pod next Tuesday.

Producer Joel Hope and QPL stay terrible until the weekend when they host Charlton, following presumably a humbling.

Charlton's humbling at Cambridge in the producer-presenter Football Weekly Derby in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

Sam, finally, you're at Morecambe.

You had a busy weekend.

You're at Morecambe for this injury time winner for their new manager.

It was wonderful.

You know what?

I mentioned Everton earlier, right?

When I was sat there waiting for my dinner, watching, was it Ashley Young and Louis Saha speaking from on top of a hotel stand with a swimming pool at Fulham and then padding to poor Palace fans who'd been screwed over from multi-club ownership.

I was just wishing I was back at Morecambe where football was so pure.

Sanny has done a brilliant job, our colleague, of covering the story.

But I was chatting to fans outside.

Like there was this whole family, like three generations were there.

There was this Scottish guy called Willie who'd come down 35 years ago to work at the power plant and become a ground.

He's not the groundskeeper.

Not the groundskeeper.

He was talking about how it would have just leapt such a vacuum in his life.

I chatted to Keith, who was the drummer, who started crying as he was telling me memories of holding his son in his first game in the terrace.

And they were like, What a difference a week makes.

They were a week away from there being no football this season.

And they were told they had to play the game because it was on Dazone.

Manager out, manager in.

They had five senior players on Monday.

I think they signed a dozen.

They had two training sessions together, which had to be limited to 60 minutes because the players haven't had a pre-season, right?

You couldn't buy hot food.

A a tube of pringles is all you could get in the ground the new owners were there they were introduced to punjab warriors and they scored after six minutes and this guy announcer mark swindlehurst who's been there 32 years it was the best announcement i've ever heard six minutes in they score and it just goes well well well

the crowd just went absolutely bananas and then ultram equalized

And second half, they're holding on, right?

Literally half of the Morecambe side are down with cramp.

They really like cannot cope.

The players aren't physically in the place to be playing this game.

And the manager, Ashvir Singh Jahao, who's a very interesting character, he switched his formation.

And he said to me afterwards, we hadn't played 5-3-2.

So actually, the players had to run over.

I wrote it down on a bit of paper where they were all going to play.

And I showed it to them.

10 minutes injury time.

He is absolutely fuming.

And then in the eighth minute,

they break.

And I watched him.

And he had his hands on his head.

And a couple of seconds later, the ball ends up in the back of the net.

And he is running down the touchline.

It's almost Mourinho S.

The ground is exploding swindlehurst is back going well well well and it was just the sheer joy the owners are up there celebrating like the fans had said to me beforehand if we get relegated this season it doesn't matter because at least it's football we get to talk about again it's not stuff off the field and like you couldn't have scripted it any better it was absolutely perfect um

the next day sunday having all cramped up they had a coach to older shot where they've got a game older shot on bank holiday monday they've got a whole node of new players, but they're just playing football and they have a football club and it was wonderful.

Listen, beautifully articulated there, Sam.

No better place to end this podcast, I think.

Thanks, everybody.

Thanks, Sam.

Thanks, Max.

Thanks, Nathan.

Thank you very much.

Cheers, Dan.

Thank you, Max.

Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove.

Our executive producer is Danielle Stevens.

We'll be back tomorrow.

This is The Guardian.