Chelsea trip up the champions in hunt for Europe – Football Weekly
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Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.
Chelsea inflict just Liverpool's third defeat of the season to help them in the race for fifth place, TM.
After a couple of months off, Cole Palmer was brilliant, while the Reds began the game at least on a well-deserved beach.
The supercomputer says Arsenal have a 99.9% chance of top five still, but defeat at home to Bournemouth with a full-strength side wasn't on the agenda.
Newcastle get three penalties, but only one penalty, as they get a point at Brighton while Man City beat Wolves on Friday night.
We'll do Manchester United and Spurs Europa League games while saying well done to Brentford and not so well done to West Ham.
Permutation Transistor Radio Day in the AFL.
Cov and Bristol City make the playoffs.
Luton relegated to the second season in a row.
And Paul Walsall finally won a game.
And we're going up until the deflected 96-minute winner for Bradford, which set 24,000 fans wild at Valley Parade.
We'll do all that.
Congratulate Harry Kane.
Answer your questions.
And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
On the panel today, Barry Glendenning.
Welcome.
Hi, Max.
Hello, Dan Bardell.
Morning.
And good morning, Jonathan Wilson.
Morning.
How are you doing?
I am very well.
Thanks for asking.
Let's start at Stanford Bridge.
Then Chelsea 3, Liverpool 1.
Very important win for Chelsea.
And Barry Cole Palmer was excellent.
And he hasn't been for quite a long time.
Yeah, it was a very important win for Chelsea.
I suppose you need to add the caveat that Chelsea could only beat what was in front of them yesterday.
And what was in front of them was a Liverpool team with quite a few changes.
Well,
a new midfield endo and Harvey Elliott getting starts and looking a bit rusty from the off.
And
a Liverpool team that had just won the championship and looked like they weren't really that fussed about what happened yesterday.
But Chelsea still had to beat them, did so in
fairly comfortable style.
And Cole Palmer, as you say, who has been suffering a poor run of form, a fairly dismal run of form, particularly in front of goal recently, he just ran the show.
He was absolutely superb.
We know how good a player is.
And he finally ended his goal drought, albeit from the penalty spot.
But they all count backs.
And he was
a little unlucky not to score another goal
that
shot from a tight angle that hit the foot of the far post, but didn't go in.
So I thought he was really good.
I thought Romeo Lavia, he makes a huge difference to this Chelsea team when he plays in midfield.
I thought Mark Cuccarella was
he's just a horrible man, but he was very good yesterday.
I think you've said before, he's the kind of guy you love to have him in your own team.
He's just a horrible, horrible man when he's against you.
But he kept Mo Sala on a very tight rein.
So it was a big, big win for Chelsea.
A fairly half-arst effort from Liverpool, who
quite understandably weren't really on it.
They may have been been on it for the last week on something else.
But they were, yeah, they weren't at the races yesterday, which was kind of lucky for Chelsea, but they took full advantage.
Yeah, I mean, I sort of have Coca-Cola down as I don't say a horrible man.
I think he's a shit, but I mean it in a kind of loving way.
I don't mean it in like a nasty way.
I just think, yeah, I bet he's absolutely, I bet he's such a great bloke off the field, but when he's on it, oh, he's so annoying unless he's he's your player.
What did you make of their performance, wilson they have slowly been getting a bit better again the last last few weeks um
but yeah they
um
i don't know god it sounds like you're really sort of yeah it's like the season is petering out we're all petering out aren't we can't help it there's nothing we can do it's just the nature of this season well wilson's petered out he's finally stopped this is a marvellous moment for all of us yes i was trying to think of something that barry hasn't already said and yeah lavier coming back is clearly a huge thing Lavia being there makes Andreo Fernandes look better.
Enzo Fernandes took his goal really nicely.
Cole Palmer has had this dip.
It's probably premature to say he's back, but this is his best performance for a long time.
And that little bit of movement in the build-up of the first goal was
really good.
And
he clearly then ran the game.
You have the centre working well.
It makes it easier for people like Madowake out wide.
I think Chelsea have always been better this season against teams who play slightly higher against them.
What they struggle against is a low block.
Madowake is good.
Netto's good when they've got space to run into.
They had some space to run into yesterday.
So in a sense, it was set up for them.
I mean that seems odd to say when they're playing against teams who only lost twice all season.
But Chelsea have tended to play well against that team, a certain type of team, particularly that type of team when, you know, as Anishlott said, there's a few percentage points off.
They've rested a few players.
They get the early goals, they can relax.
So I think a far bigger game for Chelsea is that game at St James's next Sunday.
Trying to think, Barry.
And I think you should take this as a great compliment.
I don't believe that Wilson's ever said, to be honest, Barry said everything I was going to say.
I feel this is a big...
Well, I wouldn't say I said anything particularly revelatory.
I just stated the blindingly obvious.
Maybe that's what Wilson.
You happened to ask me before you asked Wilson.
Maybe that's what Wilson's been doing the whole time, but we've been so in awe.
Dan, Wilson is right, isn't he?
This game, Chelsea Newcastle next weekend, is enormous game.
It should be fascinating.
Yeah, I mean, it's even more difficult for me to have to follow Barry and then Jonathan as well.
Two absolute powerhouses.
I'm not sure that I can add anything.
You've been set up to fail, Dan.
You're just in here to make us look good.
Do we need four people?
Shall I go now?
I'm happy to go back to bed.
We can't all want to leave.
We can't all want to leave.
Come on.
We've got a job to do here.
Yes, Dan.
The game next week is huge.
Obviously, from my football supporting perspective, I was quite annoyed that Liverpool decided not to take that game massively seriously yesterday because it's going to have a huge impact on who finishes where in the top five.
But Chelsea's fixtures actually, they've got to play Forest as well, haven't they, in the last few games?
A few weeks ago, I think I might have even been on here, we were all talking about Chelsea as if.
They've not got enough to be in the top five.
But I'm now looking at them and thinking, because of their fixtures and kind of, as Jonathan says hitting form at the right time players coming back I actually now look at it and think they're probably more likely than Villa more likely than Forest maybe more likely than Newcastle with the fixtures as well Chelsea are looking like that that they might just just do it now and I'll become the the third person to say how important Lavia is.
I think when Chelsea went on a good run earlier on in the season, he was in the team and Caicedo played a few games at right back.
Sometimes Palmer shifted to the right and Enzo played as
more of a number 10, but he does just give that control in there and I actually think they're a better team with Caesar playing into right back stepping into midfield as well I think it was a really nice tactical setup from Chelsea albeit Liverpool were not really there we're saying next week's game between Newcastle and Chelsea is huge it could also be quite insignificant if Forest lose tonight
and Villa lose next Saturday Would that mean it's not huge at all because of just a draw would suit both teams?
It's huge now, isn't it?
Because those things haven't happened.
Sorry, I don't want to reign on your parade, but I know we have very little to be enthused about as far as my Premier League is concerned.
It's not my parade.
I'm not head of comms for the Premier League.
I'm going to that Newcastle-Chelsea game, and I'm...
I'm having to stay in the North East for quite a long time because I was going up next week anyway.
So it's good.
I'm looking forward to my time in the North East.
But a lot of people had to be persuaded this is a good idea and to release funds to allow this to happen.
So let us hope that this is the high noon shootout
that it might be.
Who's releasing funds?
Are you saying like the Guardian?
Well, the Guardian to pay.
The Guardian can't do some serious investigative news journalism because we're putting you up in the Hotel Du Vin for five nights ahead of Newcastle, Chelsea.
The Hotel Du Vin is actually really inconvenient in Newcastle.
It's far too far to the east.
It takes ages to get in the city centre.
So if they were putting me in the Hotel Du Vin, I would kick off about that.
It's just not convenient at all.
It's the detail we wanted.
I should say, look, the top below below Liverpool, Arsenal have 67, Man City 64, Newcastle 63, Chelsea 63, in fifth, the final Champions League place.
Forrest and Villa have 60, but Forest obviously played Palace on Monday night.
May have happened while you are listening to this.
Let's move on to Arsenal-Bournemouth because Arsenal went very strong, Dan.
You know, they've obviously lost to PSG in the first leg.
They put out a full-strength side.
Slightly surprised they did.
Are you surprised that they did?
I mean, the idea, I guess, for Arteta was to seal up a top five place get a good confidence boosting win so to put that side out and then lose to bournemouth is i would say as lars would say suboptimal i was surprised i didn't think there was any chance that that sacker would would start would start the game i will say though you can put out a full strength team but players can still have one eye on a game to come and and i do think that's what what what's happened i think arteta's obviously he's left a couple of people out but he's gone pretty strong against bournemouth but the arsenal players obviously they know they're not going to finish outside the top five They'll already be thinking about midweek against Real Madrid.
I thought they started okay, obviously got the goal.
Sorry, what did I say, Real Madrid?
Real Madrid, yeah, they've already done that one.
Yeah, that's done.
They don't need to worry about that one anymore.
I mean, I'm in PSG.
So they've obviously got one eye on that.
Went 1-0 up, but then I think took their foot off the pedal in the second half.
If you're a footballer, I imagine you are worried about picking up an injury.
Maybe you don't go full throttle.
Maybe you're not playing fully intensity.
But in the end, I thought Bournemouth were good value for the three points.
And the set piece coach at Arsenal, who we spoke much about on this show, got out set pieced by Bournemouth, didn't he?
Two set piece goals.
You count a throwing goal as a set piece goal, can't you?
Yeah, I think so.
Absolutely.
Outset pieced.
Yeah, and who doesn't love a League 2 long throw into the box, Wilson, for
a goal at the highest level?
Well, yes, and Bournemouth's first goal against Arsenal at the Vitality was also a set piece.
So
Bournemouth have got Arsenal on set piece toast this season.
Right, I see.
Can you imagine?
If you and Nicolas Javert, can you imagine watching that Barcelona intergame, looking at that Barcelona defence and thinking, Christ, if we get to this final, we will score six, eight, ten goals?
This is too easy for me.
This is an insult to my craft.
It's too easy to score set pieces against Barcelona.
So maybe that's sort of distracted him.
This sort of this sort of he's salivating at the thought of riches riches to come.
But maybe I wonder if Nicolas Yover is like the attacking set pieces.
You know, that's when they step into the technical area.
You know, when it's defending a set piece, does he sort of like not really not really focus on that?
Possibly, I don't know.
I mean, maybe, maybe as we get more and more specialised, maybe
you have attacking set piece coaches, left-sided set piece coaches.
I don't know how precise is it going to become as backroom staffs get bigger and bigger.
Did Liverpool have a throw-in coach at one point?
Yeah, they did.
And actually, it was quite interesting like the the the discussion about it was obviously it was you know the sort of keys and grey was like absolutely like crying with laughter at the idea but actually the idea that you are actually when a throw-in is taken place you're sort of at a disadvantage on the pitch it was quite interesting because you are one man down because you've got a guy holding the ball well it's also like how many how many throw-ins do you do you have in a game like lots
uh i don't know 30 a game i i actually don't know but it's clearly more than you have corners so if you've got somebody to specialize on corners corners, there's a lot more throw-ins.
So it makes sense that you make sure you get them as right as you can.
If I was the throwing coach, I would just be saying, hit the line.
You know,
I'd see the thrower turn inside.
I'd say, no, I'd be yelling, no, no, no.
Hit the line.
Play the percentages.
Interesting that PSG actually rested everybody, even Donner Ummer, pretty much.
They lost 2-1 to Liam Rossini at Strasburg, but they should be fresher.
Big talking point was Evan Nielsen's winner, Barry.
Was it a handball?
Wasn't it?
it?
Ian Wright said that's definitely a handball.
Joe Hart said it's not a handball.
Where do you stand?
I stand directly equidistant from Joe Hart and Ian Wright in as far as I don't know.
I really don't.
But
it might have been, I watched it quite a few times.
I couldn't decide one way or the other.
What I would say is, Martin Odegaard had no business letting Evan Nielsen out muscle him like that to get to the ball.
Ultimately, this result almost certainly won't matter to Arsenal, but Odegaard's performance was a huge source of concern, and he didn't play well against PSG either.
This game is sort of symptomatic of Arsenal's season going into a winning position, dropping points.
I think it's the tenth time they've done it.
They've lost 21 points from winning positions.
Obviously, you're probably going to lose some points from winning positions, but 21 is quite a lot of points and they
some Marisol players just seem reluctant to shoot or
take chances presentable chances rather than preferring instead to shift the the responsibility elsewhere so it wasn't a great game to to prepare for the the psg match but
they might do better against the the french side i don't know we'll see yeah they might i have a a friend, Ben, who hates football.
He has no interest in football, but he once heard someone at a party saying, the thing about Arsenal is they just try and walk it in.
So whenever football comes up, he just says it.
And it was nice and nostalgic.
I thought for them to try and do that again today, you know, at the weekend.
So very Venger, very late Venger.
Actually, the entire Venger regime.
I just wonder, Wilson, is
we've got through this Arsenal chapter so far without you talking about a mental fragility, which has in the past inflamed people.
But, you know,
is this
an example of that with Arsenal and do you do you what hope do you give them for the PSG game they are only a goal there uh yeah they're only a goal behind I I look I think if you're if 10 times in 35 league games you're going ahead and not winning the game I mean it doesn't really matter what you call that whether you call that a mental fragility or
I mean I'm not really sure what other words you'd find for it but it's a problem right it's a thing that needs addressing you can't win the league by going going ahead in 10 games and then not winning the 21 points you should do from those or you could do from those games.
And Barry's right, there will be a handful of games, but it should be three or four, it shouldn't be 10.
And you contrast that with Liverpool, who 13 times this season have improved the results in the second half.
So they've gone from a draw to a win or a defeat to either a draw or a win.
And that basically is the difference between the two sides this season.
So it's something that Arsenal need to address.
I sort of feel this is a this goes right back to the to the maybe even the mid Wenger days, certainly the late Venger days.
But Arsenal have this capacity to just make things hard for themselves for no reason.
So,
why did PSG get the goal they did in the first leg?
It's because there's nobody in that central area who could have stopped the ball out to Dembele, and then when the attack develops, Rice comes across to the crowd, Skellia to double up on him as Lewis Skelly goes over, but fair enough.
And you see, four times Rice looks over his left shoulder at Dembele at the edge of the box.
Now, I don't know if he shouts or not, you can't tell that.
But either he should be shouting, or anyway, somebody should be filling it.
I think Martinelli is is the one who should slide across, and they don't.
But the reason this doesn't happen is because it's unnatural to those players.
Because Party, who should be doing that job, isn't there.
And you might say that if Jorginho had been fit, he'd have played.
I suspect he wouldn't, but a season ago, maybe he'd have played.
But Jorginho's not fit, so it's party not being there.
Why is Party not being there?
Not, why is Party not there?
Because he got a daft yellow card five minutes from the end of the previous
game against Real Madrid.
So it's entirely a self-inflicted wound.
They just do daft things and make things harder for themselves.
Under Wenger, they had this habit of playing really well in European games once they they were already two or three nil down.
And then we come away from it going, oh, yeah, they actually played quite well there.
Yeah, but the first half hour of the game or the first leg of the game, it was as if
they had to get themselves in a position where it was impossible to win before they could be sort of released.
That they have to sort of destroy their own chances first.
And as a sense, I think
that legacy goes on.
So I don't really care what you call it, but that they...
that is a problem and they they have not addressed it and it's been a problem there for 15 years.
I mean I'm already looking ahead to the start of next season when we do our predictions for the Premier League, you know, over two pods.
And I'm thinking, God, it's going to be really tough, really, really particularly difficult.
But the only things I put the farm on already are that Christopher's will finish 12th, and Arsenal will not win the league next season.
Take it to the bank.
And just Tottenham to come second.
I think that's what I had them this year.
Anyway, look, that'll do for part one.
Part two will begin with Newcastle's draw at Brighton.
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Barry's here too.
Hello.
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Remarkable, a brand name and an adjective, man.
Yeah, it's their most portable paper tablet yet.
It holds all your notes, to-dos, and documents, but it's smaller than a paperback and an incredible 0.26 inches thin, so it slips easily into a bag or jacket pocket.
Perfect for working professionals whose jobs take them out of the office.
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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.
So the race for fifth continued.
Brighton won, Newcastle won.
Newcastle needed a last-minute penalty.
What did you make of this one, Dan?
Yeah, it was a particularly good day for VAR.
We don't often talk about VAR having having great days.
Obviously, then Wayne Rooney said on Match of the Day too, that it wasn't a great day for the ref.
But I thought all the penalty decisions, all three of them, were absolutely spot on.
Still find Brighton a very, very strange team to watch.
I don't know whether Brighton fans would be happy with their season.
or not.
I'm not sure they're going to get into Europe.
So they're looking at finishing
9th or 10th.
I just think across the the second half of the season, they've been.
I don't know what I quite mean by this, but a little bit stodgy.
I've not enjoyed watching them when I've watched them.
I thought Minter had a good game, as he did last time they played against his old team, Newcastle, as well.
Strange goal celebration.
I didn't really understand the message.
What was it?
A sort of non-celebration celebration.
I was really confused by it.
It had everything, yeah.
Had everything.
Well, he scored against Newcastle earlier this season.
In the Cup, it's the James's fifth round of the Cup.
Yeah, in the Cup.
And he very pointedly didn't celebrate, despite never having actually played a minute for Newcastle, as far as I can am aware.
And then this one seemed to start as a non-celebration celebration.
I think he might have got some grief from the away end.
And then he suddenly changed his mind and kind of went, ah, fuck you.
I'm going to celebrate after all.
But that was my read, but I could be wrong.
Hit a celebrations, coach.
It's difficult.
Someone should be able to come out after the game and explain that to me.
He did look frustrated, though, didn't he?
Then Welbeck was desperate for him to get away from there as well.
Yeah.
I don't know what Ayari is doing for that, for the penalty that was a penalty, Wilson.
No, no, no.
I mean, I was at this game, and yeah,
it's no reason for his hand to be away from his body as it is.
And then, I mean, I guess it's an instinct, but he does sort of flinch towards the ball.
So
I think Dan's right, and this is what they showed on Match for Day 2.
The three three Newcastle penalty decisions, they were all correct.
And Eddie Howe was perfectly happy that the first two shouldn't have been penalties, that the one on Gordon was fracturing outside the box.
Willick, then, let's be kind, say, anticipates a contact and goes down over the top of contact, which isn't actually there.
But what they didn't show on match of day two, and what Fabian Hertz was, I think, rightly sort of irritated by, is Tenali goes through the back of Matt O'Reilly.
It must have been
between the second and third Newcastle appeals.
Where he sort of comes across.
rightly moves his body across.
So I wonder if I wonder if I think the VAR said there wasn't enough in it.
I mean, I would say it was very similar to the one that Casimira got the penalty for against Leon in the Europa League.
Yeah, yeah, true.
It just, you know, he
look in real time, didn't really notice it.
But when you see the replay, Tenale kicks him on the back of the heel.
So
it wouldn't be an issue if VAR didn't exist, but VAR does exist.
And you think, well, I'm not really sure how you look at that and say that Tenale hasn't kicked him because he has.
But having said that, Newcastle were much a better side in the second half, and I think we're well worth at least a point.
Yeah, I mean, it was a shame that the hand ball was given just because Mabruggin made an absolutely amazing save from Callum Wilson that meant absolutely nothing.
And then when he conceded the penalty, some absolutely brilliant goalkeeper holding onto the ball, attackers trying to get the ball.
One of my favourite bits of football.
But this is another problem Vars created.
Does anyone even understand the Advantage law anymore?
because
if if the advantage is played which presumably it was for Callum Wilson to have that header can you then go back and say well he's missed it so we're going to give the penalty
because in the old days I'm pretty sure that once play has been waved on it keeps going oh we miss the old days don't we Wilson eh I I couldn't find trying to find this this morning I couldn't find the football routing for this but in hockey And unless the law has changed since I stopped playing hockey, the law was, as an umpire, you played on.
In hockey, you have to sort of gesture to show you're playing the advantage, and once a shot has been taken, the advantage has ceased.
I'm not saying it necessarily is the same law, but in all I'm saying is in hockey, that would not have been a penalty.
I mean, there is a risk in just going down other sports.
What about wrestling?
How does this work?
You know, what if, what if a Brugen is hit by a chair by the undercliff?
Do we do we play on?
I don't know.
Anyway, it does set up that Chelsea Newcastle game at the moment as huge, Barry.
Um, on Saturday, Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 Dan you were there must win you just about did enough you know what I wasn't there
I have missed what missed the last two home games due to wedding related activity I've watched 90 minutes of them both watched them live but I was was not there which is fine I'm happy to how long is your wedding how is like what sort of wedding is this how long like an Indian wedding had a small wedding
small wedding two weeks two weeks ago like a family family wedding and then kind of had a party this weekend so it was
yeah it was uh that was they both fell on on villa home games
right interesting i did know this was the case that villa were playing when i organized it but i kept thinking that oh they might get moved for tv and shifted the other day and then but also i thought it was a 1230 kickoff it was but the party started early because there was a there was stuff to do and there was kind of a mini ceremony kind of thing beforehand and a few speeches
i didn't want to be rushing and cutting it fine and getting trouble so i made the decision not to go but is that is that it for weddings now is that yeah i'm done now anymore okay
i mean we have noticed that interestingly since you got married aston villa's former has fallen off a cliff we don't know if they're related um but look you're a tillerman's tillerman scored the goal there was one moment when he just did this amazing turn this beautiful through ball as well he he has been brilliant for you this season hasn't he yeah he is i always liked him when when he was at leicester but i can obviously acknowledge his last season at leicester wasn't brilliant and villa got a little bit laughed at by the leicester fans when they picked him up on obviously quite high wages because he was a he was a free transfer transfer signing at the end of his contract.
Had a little bit of a bitty season last time round, but has become, as John McGinn said after the game, Villa's best and most important player.
He's just been ultra consistent for the entirety of the season.
He's played over 50 games.
He never seems to run out of energy.
You know, for a player who was labelled as lazy and couldn't get around the pitch, that is not what I see.
in an Aston Villa shirt at all.
He's a wonderful player on the ball, the way he manipulates the ball and can wriggle into space, lovely technique.
People thought Villa might struggle a little bit without Douglas Louise, who was obviously a really big player for them last season.
But to have replaced from within with Yori Tillermans, Villa spent 50 million on a nana to replace Douglas Louise, but it's Tillamans who's ended up being Douglas Louise's replacement and actually, you know, take away goals because Louise took a lot of penalties.
Other than that, Tillamans has been an upgrade in every single way and Villa haven't missed Douglas Louise at all.
And he was wonderful again on Saturday.
And genuinely, he's been one of the best central midfielders in the league this season.
The highlight, Barry, for both of us was Unai Emery getting incredibly cross with Ezru Konza.
Yeah, Ezri Conse
lost the ball to Raul Jimenez, who I think might have fouled him.
But anyway, he lost the ball.
Jimenez played it wide to Alex Awobi, who crossed for Harry Wilson, who wasn't able to beat Emmy Martinez, but it was a decent chance.
And Unai Emery really spectacularly lost the plot with Conse for losing the ball.
And Conse was not impressed and gave him both barrels back.
But
Emery was gesticulating so furiously.
I was genuinely concerned he might dislocate one or both shoulders.
Who was that goalkeeper who famously dislocated his jaw while shouting at his defenders?
Alex Stepney or someone.
Yeah, I thought, oh, Emery, he might dislocate a shoulder here because he really, really
lost it.
He really did.
And then he meant
gestured to the bench, and I thought, oh, Constance's going off now.
But he stayed on the pitch.
He took off three other people, I think.
But you can't fault his spirits and enthusiasm, I suppose.
I mean, as we said on the radio yesterday, Bas, it's a strange line of work where this is completely justifiable behaviour for a boss.
It's maddened if anyone's boss just in an office started doing that.
It's completely ridiculous.
Wilson, Villa have got Bournemouth, then Spurs and Man United, who presumably will rest all their players.
It's sort of like a dream last two matches.
Yeah, I mean, I'm sort of surprised by the Opta Supercomputer giving Villa only a 13% chance.
So I know of getting into the top five.
Isn't the Opta Supercomputer with all due respect completely stupid and
gets an awful lot wrong.
I know that's what football is, but it just changes on a weekly basis.
Nothing fancy about it.
I can sit here and say, well, Chelsea have got more chance of qualifying for the Champions League now because of the way the results have gone this week, and I don't think it's that clever.
Do you think
if it wasn't called super, we just wouldn't be that impressed?
But the fact
if they call it the supercomputer, we think it must be this extraordinary thing.
Anyway, you are.
However useless the supercomputer is, Wilson,
you question its villa logic.
Just think that, okay, I know they're three points behind.
I mean, we could be if if Forrest went tonight, there'd be three points behind behind three sides.
But if if they win at Bournemouth and Bournemouth's form has been iffy, and Villa's form, okay, the two games before the Fulham game, they'd lost, they were pretty poor in the in the cup semi-final.
But if they get back to the way they were playing before that, they should beat Bournemouth, and then we've got, you know, they'll be gifted six points on a on a platter for the last two games of the season, because that's definitely how football works.
And that puts a lot of pressure on other teams, some of whom are playing each other.
So, I don't know, thirteen percent my my gut says low.
I think it should be a bit higher than that.
Raise it, supercomputer.
Man City beat Wolves 1-0.
Kevin De Bruyne is scoring the only goal.
It's on Friday night.
Afterwards, he said, I don't know about the future.
I've shown I can still play here.
Otherwise, I don't do what I do these last four or five weeks.
A lot of teammates have spoken to me.
They are sad also that I have to go.
It goes like this in life, but the way I'm performing is the way I should be.
Can you see him staying in the Premier League, Bats?
I think he could easily do a job for a quite
good Premier League team.
I'd say possibly for
reasons that aren't necessarily to do with football.
He might go elsewhere,
family reasons.
I don't think he's the kind of player.
Like, someone told me over the weekend, and I find this difficult to believe, but it might be true, that Jamie Farley has said he doesn't want to play in the championship because he doesn't want to play against Leicester, which seems a bit dim or not daft to me, but I can't see Kevin De Bruyne having any compunction about playing against City.
In fact, I think if they let him go and he signed for another Premier League team, he'd absolutely relish the prospect of playing against City and playing very well against City and hopefully beating them.
And I don't think there'll be any kind of non-celebration celebrations going on there.
I could be completely wrong.
It's just a hunch.
But I suspect he probably won't sign for another Premier Premier League team.
I reckon there'll be a lot of interest in him from Premier League teams.
Wolves had a few chances early on in this game, so you know, it wasn't
another win for City.
They're nine unbeaten.
Four points clear of Forest in sixth, having played a game more.
I thought Wolves was the better team in this game, actually.
That ball across the goal in the first half was one of the worst pieces of attacking play I think I've ever seen in my life.
Oh, yeah.
Who was it?
Was Manetzi?
Did he?
I can't remember which way around.
Did he play in the past?
I can't remember.
Bellagard crossed for Manetzi.
Oh, it was
painful to watch.
Well, he should have played it so much earlier, shouldn't he?
But yeah, you're right.
Wolves did play really, really well in this game.
A bit unlucky.
That's the end of their winning run.
We have mentioned Palace Forest tonight.
Almost feel like we've built it up to be the most important.
football match in the history of the game, but there it is.
We'll talk about it on Wednesday after the Champions League semifinal on Tuesday.
Yes?
There was also Max the Premier League.
You know the way Seb talks about
you stay up or you you win the league, those Saturday, three o'clock games that no one's really watching.
Well, the game like nobody was watching was Forrest Brentford on
Thursday night.
And Brentford showed how to beat Forrest and just to hoi long balls into the box
and score two goals.
Yeah, they did, didn't they?
Job done.
Look, we'll get to their victory over Majesty United in a second.
While we're on Palace, who played Forrest, Eberici Eza, won a celebrity chess tournament this week.
Chess.com said that Eza showed that he's as good at defending as he is attacking, taking advantage of Sapnapp, who was the opposition player, who
I presume is an influencer of some kind.
Could be a singer.
I don't know.
Could be a celebrity chef.
I don't know.
He's not on my radar, but you know, good luck to you, Sapkna.
Missed a key attacking idea, which led to an unfortunate brain fart and peace blunder, which Eberici Yezzi pounced upon.
I think he won like 20 grand or something.
So well done, Eberici.
He only started playing in 2023 when Michael Elise started teaching him.
Anyway, Brentford followed up that win with another win, which means they are in the hunt now for this
Conference League place.
As low as 10th could get a place in the Conference League, depending on who finishes where and who wins the FA Cup, etc.
They beat Manchester United 4-3.
Very rotated Manchester United side.
understandably because they have the second leg against athletic Bill Bauer on Thursday.
It was their three up.
We'll get to that in a second.
But, Wilson, you know, this Schader, Whisser, and Bemo and Buemo combination is really great for Brentford.
And like it would, we sort of touched on it on Thursday, but they got into Europe.
I think that would be wonderful.
Yeah, I mean, I think they're the first club this season to have three different players all get to 10 goals, aren't they?
Which is, you know, those three Shadow, Whistler and Buemo.
Yeah, it'd be great if it got into Europe.
And I think there'd be a club who'd absolutely relish being, whether it's Conference League, I mean, I guess Europe League League probably is beyond them, but even if it's a Conference League, it's a European campaign.
I mean, we just haven't experienced that.
And
I sort of feel that's what the Conference League is for.
It's not for Chelsea to sort of, in a slightly bored, dismissive way, hammer a load of teams you've never heard of by four or five goals.
It's meant to be for
the bigger teams from the smaller nations and the smaller teams from the bigger nations.
And that's what makes it fun.
That's what made West Hamers run the competition fun.
I really hope that the Premier League team who is in that competition is
a Brentford or a Bournemouth, maybe.
I mean, I know Brighton have recent European experience, but a club that's not bored of Europe, but a club that doesn't matter who they're playing away, their fans will make a real effort to go on the grounds that they, yeah, who knows when they next have the opportunity to do that.
Totally agree.
And actually, although I do think when they set up the Conference League, the whole aim was just to get Christopher and Kunku some minutes.
But, you know,
you're absolutely right on that.
Look, regardless of Manchester United, great shame that Luke Shaw didn't score an home goal after a minute.
Felt a bit for them that De Licht was down when Shada scored, but, you know, that happens in the game.
But we should talk about Thursday night.
This victory on Thursday night against Bill Bauer, none of us predicted it.
3-0.
They were under the Kosh.
Casimiro scored.
The red card changes things, obviously.
But even still, to go there and get such a convincing lead into the second leg is enormous for them.
Yeah, obviously the perfect first leg.
away from home.
I don't see a way that Manchester United throw this away.
Old Trafford with a fan base that will be totally up for it and obviously their strongest team, which isn't what we saw them do this weekend against Brentford.
It's obviously huge for Spurs as well.
Their result, I do think there's some caveats to their result more so than more so than Manchester United.
It's full focus on the Europa League is, isn't it now?
They're not going to be too concerned with what happens to them in the Premier League.
But I don't think many people would have predicted them to go to Bilbo and win in such a convincing manner.
Some of their historic big names really turned up and put in stellar displays in the past country.
So yeah, credit to them.
It's not easy to go away from home in Europe and pull off a result like that, even if it is against 10 men.
So they've put themselves in a wonderful position for that second leg and frighteningly have a massive shot at getting Champions League football next season.
Harry Maguire on the wing was something to behold, wasn't it?
It did really, really well.
You were saying before we came on here, wasn't it?
If Manchester United had win this Europa League, just sort of the sort of madness of their fortunate FA Cup run and then this run that has had some ridiculous games as well as a way of qualifying for the Champions League over two years.
It's sort of ridiculous.
Oh, completely.
I mean, if you think that if you think of the quarterfinal of the FA Cup when they beat Liverpool 4-3 in what was one of the most bonkers games I think I've ever seen, you know, Amagello scores the winner
in extra time, but they ended up with Anthony playing at left back in that game, Bruno Finange playing at the back of midfield.
Now they're playing Harry Maguire on the right wing.
It's sort of it's
been one of those runs that makes you think,
or even the Coventry semi-final when they, you have the 3-0 lead overturned, the very tight offside, the Lyon game, obviously.
I mean, I know they've actually played pretty well in Europe this season.
I mean, Leon, they were clearly very fortunate, but
they're the only unbeaten side still in Europe this season, and I guess they deserve credit for that.
But yeah, this would have been
one of the weirder runs to win a competition if they do win it.
And even that game against Athletic, first 20 minutes, you were watching that going, Christ, they're so slow.
Athletic, you're absolutely ripping them apart.
Yeah.
And then Casemiro, I think, is actually come back into form the last month, six weeks or so, and was key to that comeback against Leon.
He plays really well, gets the goal.
And then obviously the red cards changes everything.
That United Spurs game, if Spurs do get there, and I think A, it's Spurs, B, Buddha glimpsed away is difficult on the artificial pitch.
Their home records are much, much better than their way record.
But if it is Spurs United in the final.
There is no way Tottenham win that game.
There's just no way.
Even though they've beaten them three times this season, there's not one Spurs fan that would give them a hope.
They would go with hope, but they would just know the muscle memory of Manchester United, who can win things when they're shit.
And Tottenham can't win things when they're good.
Like, this is just an absolute disaster for Tottenham.
But that plus Ange in the second season, who always wins a trophy.
Yeah.
And the thought of
100,000, 120,000 fans descending on Bill Barrow.
And look, it's not, again, it's not what the Europa League's for.
The Europa League shouldn't be for fallen, struggling English giants to kind of get a back door into
the Champions League.
But equally, after a pretty anticlimactic end to the Premier League season,
it almost feels like we deserve this apocalyptic game.
And
I'm already booked for it, so I'm delighted.
Like two really old boxers who just shouldn't be fighting anymore.
Everyone just looking away going, we can't, we can't, but we have to watch.
I mean, look, you mentioned it, Dan.
Like, Spurs were cruising against Bodo Glint, and then they let in that goal in the 83rd minute.
They did play well.
Bodo were missing two or three of their most key players who are back.
But just letting in that goal, you could just feel the energy just being sucked out of every Tottenham fan going, oh, fuck.
Yeah, if you're going to that game as a Spurs fan, your levels of anxiety now just by one goal going.
I mean, I think Spurs fans would have been quite happy if they'd have been told they were going to win 3-1 before the game.
But but just the way it's happened after being so comfortable to just ship that goal and have that element of doubt creep in that will no doubt seep into the players as well, I'm sure.
I think if I was a Spurs fan,
that does worry me.
But then, like you've all just said, if you get to the final, you're probably worried about that.
Anyway, losing to Manchester United because Manchester United
know how to win trophies, whereas Tottenham don't.
So even though they're in a nice position, Tottenham, you don't feel as happy as a Manchester United fan would be feeling, I'd imagine.
Were United team all down to Newport in the Cup?
Have I made that up?
That happened last season.
No, that's yeah, yeah, that did.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
They won 4-2 in there, didn't they?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anthony did the sort of look to the sky, like, like, amazing celebration.
Like, he'd won the World Cup because he'd just equalised against Newport or something at Rodney Parade.
There's not many paths who have been glory who have begun two goals down at Rodney Parade.
You're right.
By the way, Max Sap Knapp is a 24-year-old Texan YouTuber known for his Minecraft.
Ah, of course.
And he bears a striking resemblance, I would say, to Quevine Keller.
Okay, interesting.
I'll check him out.
I probably won't, but like, that's not, with all due respect, satnav, I just quite time-poor at the moment.
I don't need to see Minecraft on YouTube.
Simon says, any truth in the rumors that due to a shortage of anesthetics, the NHS is apparently showing the West Ham Spurs game before major operations.
Yeah, look, Spurs made eight changes, but let's talk about West Ham.
They were, Barry, bad again.
They are bad.
I mean, Graham Potter needs time, but you know, when it's not working at West Ham, it does feel a very hard club to turn things around.
They should have won this game.
Spurs made eight changes, and then a very early mistake by Max Kilman, whose move from Wolves to West Ham hasn't been a success, I would say.
He couldn't deal with a long ball up the wing, and
Spurs went ahead on the back of that mistake.
West Ham,
like we were talking to Ari Redknapp on the radio yesterday, and he asked, Where would West Ham be without Jared Bowen?
And it's a pretty good question.
They'd probably only be six points here in the relegation zone instead of whatever it is fourteen or fifteen they are at the minute.
But
I
presume Graham Potter won't be handed his P forty-five before he has a chance to use the window and we'll get a better idea of how he's going to fare out West Tam next season when he's had a chance to bring in some players.
But I don't think they should be as bad as they are because they do have some decent players who just aren't performing for whatever reason.
The big takeaway from that Harry Rednap interview is that he'd just beaten Tony Pulis at golf and then dropped him home.
And when I did ask, how does Tony Pullis play golf?
He does just get it launched.
You know, he grubbers it down the middle.
Of course, he does.
Just hoys the thing.
Isn't that how everyone plays golf?
Well, you know, I think Harry would be like a bit more flamboyant, wouldn't he?
You know, little dinks and this and, you know, Seve style.
But Tony Pulis is, you know, baseball hat trainers and just get it launched.
Anyway, it's interesting Lucas Pakatar bursting into tears when he got booked.
And obviously...
you know, we don't know, but you just do wonder how much that betting case is playing on his mind and hope he is okay.
Well, I would say it's playing on on his mind massively because it could finish his career
no i totally agree and i feel for him like like like the the the details of the case aside you just on a totally human level you just feel for this guy who if he if that is the case and he's thinking these might be my last ever football matches and we don't know well the thing is if if the worst should happen it seems to have been a very small time ham-fisted operation.
No one was making millions of pounds out of it.
No, you're totally right.
And, you know, we have talked on many occasions about the
sort of curiousness of gambling being everywhere within football, and yet the only people who ever seem to get punished are the players.
Maybe he was sad that his last few games of football could be of that standard playing for West Ham.
Because for West Ham.
Honestly, I've put here there were two teams that just gave up on hating each other and just ended up feeling sorry for one another.
It didn't feel like a derby at all, did it?
No, no, not at all.
Anyway, part three will run off the Premier League and do do the EFL.
Hi Pod fans of America, Max here.
Barry's here too.
Hello.
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welcome to part three of the guardian football weekly uh let's rattle through the premier league games then leisure beat southampton 2-0 does this barry change your view on who's the worst ever premier league team you've ever seen uh yes i was trying to think what players from either team will still be in the premier league next season.
El Canusa, Leicester, he's good.
He's class act.
And
I think Taylor Harlbert Bellis will probably get signed by someone.
I don't know
how good he is, but
he's.
Kyle Walker-Peters might, I think.
Kyle Walker-Peters, probably.
Aaron Ramsdale will take someone down, no doubt.
Yeah, Ramsdale.
Well, there's talk of him possibly going to West Ham, so that was
another relegation on his CV.
but there's not too many not too many no Jamie Vardy scored lovely goal actually it was their first goal in about five years the commentator says and that's what they do I was like I just that isn't what they've been doing recently that's for sure
and then he blew the referee's whistle which to amid great hilarity I did think and I don't know if I'm just you know becoming Mary Whitehouse the fact that David Webb looked like he was unconscious sort of took a bit away from the the uh blowing the whistle but I don't know if I'm doing Vardy a disservice and he was trying to alert everybody to what was happening.
I don't know, Wilson, you look
concerned.
No,
I was merely thinking that all that remains for Southampton is assuming they're not going to get any more points this season, what they need to do is not let in 12 goals, and then they have at least been better than Derby in 2008.
Right, okay, that's good.
Any thoughts on the Vardy blowing the whistle thing?
Well,
my instinct, and I can't say I've reviewed it
from 360 degrees, was that he was blowing the whistle to stop the game and it was sort of a sort of practical act rather than a
showing the ref a yellow card or something.
I don't think he, it wasn't that he sort of, you know, that he, he sort of, either he's a terrible actor or he was just blowing the whistle.
It wasn't like he was doing this great impression of a referee.
But it was hard to do it because the whistle was on the floor, wasn't it?
Because the ref was on the floor.
But anyway, we hope David Webb is okay.
And Jordan I did score a nice goal.
Although the co-comms I had was still groaning about the free kick as the ball went into the back of the net.
Lester's first home win for six months there.
And then Everton drew 2-2 at Ips, which
their last 3pm Saturday afternoon kickoff at Goodison.
First game there was in 1893.
See, the balls didn't swerve like that back then, like the one that Dwight McNeill hit, did it?
I mean, that went everywhere, didn't it?
Today is actually the...
Hang on, what year are we in?
2025.
2025.
Yeah, so today's the 97th anniversary of Dixie Dean scoring his 60th goal in the 27-8 season.
He scored a hat-trick against Arsenal on the final day of the season, as won the league, and 60 goals in a season, of course.
It broke George Campsell's record of the previous season, and it remains a record.
How do you know that?
What alerted you to that this morning?
If you read my weekly newsletter, you'd know I did an on this day section.
I am subscribed, but
I don't think I read it too frequently.
But I am subscribed.
Well, yeah.
I mean, I'd sort of spoil the shock for three o'clock this afternoon if it was going going to be a surprise.
Anyway, look, we'll do a bit more in Everton, no doubt, when they play their last home game.
Let's do the EFL then.
David says, say, lead stuff.
Yeah, Burnley were top for most of the afternoon.
It doesn't really matter who wins the title, but leads won it in the last minute at Plymouth, Manel Solomon with a lovely goal.
Both finished 100 points.
I mean, the big news coming out of this, Baz, is that Daniel Farker will be staying on, which I think is the right thing.
Well, we'll find out.
Yeah.
i suppose well no just for ethically in the same way that i think and should keep the job if spurs win the europa league i think daniel farkel if you win the championship and go to the premier league you shouldn't then get sacked that is just that's just i mean football is silly but that is really silly well i was wondering would would you have a case for unfair dismissal if that happened could you take them to court for unfair dismissal because it does seem quite unfair.
I see I slightly disagree with this.
I mean, obviously on a human level,
you don't want to see it but a director of a former director of a Premier League football club said to me that he was at a club that was promoted in the 90s and he said he recommended to the board they should sack the manager straight away because he didn't think he had it for the premiership as it was then
and the board was sort of like we can't do that.
His argument was just because a bloke's good at running a corner shop doesn't mean he can run a multinational.
And he argued that even then
running a first official club and running a premiership club are totally different jobs.
And I sort of do see that argument.
And I think in Italy, you have managers who are sort of promotion specialists and regularly will get a team promoted and then don't
carry on in Serie A Kirbishley, John Dehan, Mike Walker.
Who are we talking about?
Can you not?
You can't divulge.
I think I know.
I think I can guess.
Well, let's do that off later.
Okay, it must be a Sunderland one, actually, isn't it?
So it's, you know, I don't know.
It's definitely not Kirbishley, says uh, Charlton fan, producer Joel.
Uh, Sunderland are in the playoffs.
How do you reckon they'll get on?
They're on an amazing run of form, Wilson.
Yeah, five defeats in a row.
They scored three goals in the last nine.
Um, I think there was some logic in wresting players and sort of giving some squad players a bit of a chance sort of six weeks ago.
Last two games, uh, they'd managed to lose to Oxford and QPR, who, if you look at the table, are nowhere near the top half, uh, despite playing pretty much a full-strength side.
So, I think it's well, look, I don't think Sunderland should come up.
I think the...
I know football isn't easy.
I know it doesn't work like this.
But this squad, if it went up, would get absolutely torn apart in the Premier League.
So there's no point...
Okay, and the money would be useful, obviously.
But psychologically, I think it would be a very bad thing to go up and get destroyed.
A better thing would be to stay down.
We know Tommy Watson's going to Brighton for $11 million.
I think almost certainly Joe Bellingham will leave.
I think there's a good chance one or both of Dan Neal and Chris Rigg will leave.
That would raise, let's say, sixty million.
Sixty million spent well on a centre forward who could score a goal and a midfielder could actually tackle, would make Sunday the much stronger squad.
They've been they've proved very good at promoting kids from the Academy.
If they can carry on doing that, I think bringing in at least two experienced high level players would make them a lot stronger.
I think the championship next season will be significantly weaker at its top end than this season.
So I'm pretty sure Birmingham and and Wrexham
will do well coming up from League One.
But you look at the sides going down and
I don't think there's anything to be terrified of.
And that Ipswich squad, if they lose Liam DeLapp and possibly Leif Davis, which I think they will, I think Leicester are dreadful.
Southampton, I mean, I think they've fortunately promoted and haven't got any better.
So
the better thing would be for Sundom to stay down and go up next season.
I think they'll lose to Coventry on Friday because their record against Coventry is absolutely abysmal.
Coventry, of course, relegated them by cheating in 1977 and that remained a psychological block.
So no, no, no chance of going up if that was.
Was that the question?
I can't remember now, but yeah.
I can't remember.
I mean, this answer has been going on for so long, we've basically run out of time, but it was entertaining and interesting in some sense.
Bristol City got the last playoff spot
and they will play Sheffield United.
They were 2-0 down to Preston.
It didn't actually sort of matter in the end,
but they took it back to 2-2.
The results at the bottom mean that Luton are down two relegations in a row.
It's a complete complete disaster.
Everyone else picked up at least a point, so they needed a point and they didn't get it.
They got hammered
5-3 by West Brom.
They were 5-1 down.
So they go into league one with Plymouth and Cardiff.
We knew that Birmingham Wrexham were up.
Reading missed out in the playoffs, more important than their league position.
Their sale has been agreed.
Rob Kuwig has finalised an agreement to buy Reading, ending the controversial/slash absolutely appalling reign of Dai Young.
So that that is very good.
It includes Young shares, the stadium and the training ground.
Leighton Orient made the final playoff spot.
They've been on an absolutely brilliant run, 1-6 on the spin.
They face Stockport.
Charlton Wickham is the other semi-final.
We don't need to worry about League One's relegation.
League 2, amazing final day.
Walsaw had gone 13 without a win.
They were looking to sneak back into third with a they beat crew 1-0.
It meant that Bradford had to beat Fleetwood.
It was 0-0 going to the 97th minute.
minute, and then Bradford scored one of the shitty sculpts.
It's an absolute classic League Two goal, hoi it into the box, you know, stick it in the mixer, comes back onto the edge of the box, miss hit shot, deflects, goes in.
The scenes in Bradford are amazing, the joy.
But the scenes in Walsall, which are quite hard to find.
But I watched the highlights, and like, I think players are like asking fans, what's the score?
Like, one of the guys is going, is it still 0-0, like doing that with his hands?
And then they find out that they haven't gone up.
Anyway, they're in the playoffs, so good luck to them there.
Doncaster, one league, two, Port Valera, second.
The playoffs will be Walsaw, Wimbledon, Knott County, and Chesterfield.
A note on Dean Lewington, who made it on for the final minute of MK Don's game against Swindon.
His 917th career game and final appearance for the club.
He's been caretaker manager three times.
So well done to Dean.
Jack says, Is anyone else enjoying watching Harry Kane get more and more drunk on Instagram?
He's won his first trophy.
Bayer Labour Cousin drew 2-2 with Freiburg yesterday.
So Bayern won.
He posted posted quite a few videos, him and Eric Dyer, and the rest of the squad saying we are the champions.
And Barry, honestly, it gave me so much joy to see how happy he is and was last night.
Yeah, I had a feeling you'd be pleased.
Look, I don't think anyone would begrudge him his winner's medal, first one of his career, obviously.
I think it's kind of fitting he won it while not on the pitch, given his history of
costing teams medals by insisting on playing while injured.
But he's done really well at Bayern Munich.
Scored 44 goals his first season, 36 this,
loads of assists, hugely popular with the fans, really
immersed himself in Bavarian culture,
particularly last night.
And
yeah, congratulations to Harry.
Yeah, well done, Harry.
I would say, if I'm going to be pernickety just for the sake of it, Max, one
league medal across the course of two seasons is the absolute bare minimum, really, you would expect him to have trousered at this stage.
Right, well, we'll let him know, bring him back down to earth after his celebrations.
Finally, congratulations to London City Lionesses, who became the first fully professional independent women's club to compete in the WSL.
They got the point they needed at Birmingham to win the championship.
As always, please listen to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly.
And finally, all over the internet, people have been asking, could 100 men beat a gorilla?
Because we've been through this question already, haven't we?
I don't know what the internet said, but David says, could 100 Barrys beat a gorilla?
Do you back your chances, Barry?
No, no, I don't think so.
I think he'd
crush one Barry with his giant fists, and then the other 99 Barries would run away.
I think so.
Well, at least your running has been worthwhile then.
Anyway, that'll do for today.
Thanks, everybody.
Thank you, Wilson.
Cheers.
Thank you.
Thanks, Dan.
Thank you.
Thank you, Barry.
Thanks.
Can I just give Robin Cohen a shout out?
Because I don't know if anyone else noticed, but yesterday, May the Force.
Obviously, May the Force be with you.
I did notice.
And then Garinacho had a rasper of a shot.
He scored with it.
And Robin said that the Force was strong with that one, which I presume was connected to the date.
Yeah,
I hadn't her pegged as a Star Wars nerd, but there you go.
You learn something new every day.
She'll be at Comic-Con, she'll have a stall at Comic-Con, won't she, next week?
Yeah, anyway, for weekly, it's produced by Joel Grove.
Our executive producer is Phil Maynard back on Wednesday.
This is The Guardian.