Are Nottingham Forest the real deal? – Football Weekly

This is The Guardian.

Hi Pod fans of America, Max here.

Barry's here too.

Hello.

Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro.

Now, if you're a regular listener to this show, you'll have heard us talk before about the remarkable Paper Pro.

We already know that Remarkable is the leader in the paper tablet category: digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper, but with the power of modern technology.

But there's something new and exciting: the remarkable paper pro move 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 like maybe a football journalist Barry although not like you

a proper football journalist mate exactly too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out.

This paper tablet doesn't.

It'll never beat or buzz to try and grab your attention, so you can devote your focus to what or who is in front of you.

It has a display that looks, feels, and even sounds like paper.

Think and work like a writer, not a texter.

And the battery performance is amazing.

No worries about running out of power before the end of extra time.

The Remarkable Paper Pro Move can keep going for up to two weeks.

And if you do need to recharge, you can go from naught to 90% in less than 45 minutes, Barry.

Fantastic.

Why not give it a go for nothing?

You can try Remarkable Paper Pro Move Move for 100 days for free.

If it's not what you're looking for, get your money back.

Visit remarkable.com to learn more and get your paper tablet today.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly and a really fun night of the greatest league in the world.

An exhausting game at the city ground.

Chris Wood big, Chris Wood early on.

Liverpool not quite at it.

Forrest defending heroically before the golden touch of Arna slot.

Two subs combining with their first touches.

Forrest were dead on their feet towards the end, but Matt Sells and co-mant they get a deserved point.

Elsewhere, Man City give up a two-goal lead with 10 minutes to go at Brentford, who could have won it right at the end.

A wonderful moment for Rhys James as Chelsea get a late point at home to Bournemouth, while a first win for Graham Potter at the London Stadium.

Some incredibly generous playing out from the back from Marco Silver's men to welcome Graham.

back to the Premier League.

There's some FA Cup to round up.

A salmon-esque header in Millwall and some penalties in Leighton.

Garnacho and Werner to Napoli will round up the transfer gossip.

And then there's a bit of time for some below-the-belt tweeting from Lazio's Falconer.

Your question?

And that's today's Guardian Football Week.

Tommy says, why has Barry been allowed a winter break while everyone else has had to work overtime?

Are you rested, Barry?

I am fully rested, yes, and refreshed.

Thank you.

No, no problem at all.

See, you are driving towards April and may now uh lots sibitson hello hello how are you max could you could you have done with a winter break you feel um i i it's a good question yes is the answer i reckon um robin cowan hello hi max i guess you you're wishing a winter break that that probably will come in about a month or two that uh your hope yes i absolutely will be um the arrival of willie rushton uh is it it's imminent that's all we can say um let's start the city ground ozing and forest one Liverpool won.

A brilliant game, I thought.

Forrest took the lead.

I think they were better for about an hour or so.

Liverpool weren't quite at it.

Then there was that double substitution.

And then Forrest were just

hurling themselves at it.

Barry, you were on the minute by minute.

Do you share my feelings?

Yeah, I really enjoyed the game.

And interestingly, you say in your intro that Forrest deserved a point.

I said as much at the end of my

minute report and got an angry email from someone who I presume is a Liverpool fan saying they didn't deserve that point.

All they did was park the bus, which I thought was a little bit harsh.

But

Forrest did what Forrest tend to do.

They ceded possession to their arrivals

and attacked on the counter.

And when they did cede possession to Liverpool, Liverpool didn't really know what to do with it.

They seemed to run out of ideas quite quickly.

In the opening half, I think they had nine pot shots from distance, none of which went anywhere near troubling Matt Sells in the forest goal.

They scored with their very first attack, which I think was pretty much the first time they got out of their own half.

Lovely, beautifully taken goal by Chris Wood after Mos Salad lost possession in his own half.

And then

Liverpool sort of flicked the switch around the, what was it, 65, 70 minute mark.

And having not really

you know forrest forced them wide made them send in crosses which Murillo and Milenkovich were well able to deal with but then

once Arnaslop made his substitution a double substitution which was inspired led to a goal immediately and Diogo Jotic kind of changed the game as Forrest got more tired the spaces opened up and having had to do practically nothing for 70 minutes Matt Sellers was the busiest man on the pitch in the last 20 minutes.

I mean, we are contractually obliged to say that Barry and I both predicted that Forrest would get relegated.

They've just scraped above 40 points now, so are probably safe.

But I mean, Robin, they're defending and we'll get to Liverpool.

And they did have way more chances.

And I, you know,

if once he would have won it, it would have been Liverpool.

But I thought Murillo was...

Just amazing in this game.

And that moment where he made a sort of block tackle and then shot from the halfway line.

Love that guy.

Yeah, I think Nuno probably wasn't best pleased about the subsequent decision of him to shoot from there.

But he's been amazing.

He's a really, he's a great player to watch.

You don't really say that about defenders, do you?

But he's fantastic.

Him and Milenkovich have formed a fantastic partnership.

And

I get why, if you're a Liverpool fan, you're frustrated, but parking the bus and throwing yourself at things and having a good goalkeeper is a legitimate way to try and hang on to a result.

You know, it's fine.

Actually, Brentford did a sort of not, they were slightly more progressive maybe against Man City's, you'll get to them, but it's kind of, it's fine.

That's, you know, you're allowed to do that.

I mean, Matt Sells again was absolutely unbelievable.

You know, they had such a problem, didn't they, with goalkeepers in the past two seasons, you know, Matt Turner and Vlakadimos, just that not up to scratch.

And,

you know, they got this guy, I think it was like six million or something.

And he's, he's been unbelievable.

I think he's on for the for the golden glove.

And yeah, fantastic for them.

Just another really impressive performance.

Again, it seemed like a really

just

great atmosphere at a great ground.

So yeah, I think they were good value for it, actually.

I think so.

And every time he and Malenkovich hit it clear, it goes about five miles.

I think they, you know, they, when they clear it, they do it properly and they can play.

I thought Nico Williams against Salah as well.

Like he must, he must right now be absolutely shattered.

Just the amount of just like, you know, all of the forest players I get.

And actually that midfield lads of Yates and Anderson and Gibbs White, like they're all good, technically good, and tireless.

Yeah, no, there's a lot of effort that goes into it.

I had a slightly different experience of this game because I sort of were watching the other games and tuned in for the last sort of 25 minutes, at which point there was only one team on the pitch, you know, as has been covered.

So I just thought Liverpool were desperately unlucky not to get the goal that their performances.

performance more than warranted.

But that, of course, is selling

Nottingham Forest short to to a little to some extent i guess but just a lot of this good knocking for us stuff happened while i was watching other things there's nothing wrong with like parking the bus but it requires some degree of luck i mean liverpool had 14 shots from inside the box in this game usually that'll get you more than one goal um but it is also fascinating to see how different the game of football becomes when you have one team that has no real interest in in leaving their box or going out or opening up space.

It becomes such a because there are few of those teams around in the Premier League now.

It is a real challenge for an attacking team to find openings.

And it kind of reminded, it looked at times as if like there was a power play in the ice hockey or it looked like handball, which is a good sport.

There was one team just against a very hunkered down

team that was just kind of trying to stop everything.

and trying to find openings where there are almost no openings.

It's kind of a difficult thing to do.

It occurred to me with Diogo Jotta when he comes on.

It's a real shame for Liverpool and for him that he keeps having these injury issues because he is very, very sharp.

And the way he just came on and immediately got a goal of that set piece.

I looked at his sort of average.

I mean, he's averaging, I think it's 0.67 goals per 90 on the field.

So if he could stay fit for an entire season, that's a 25-goal season.

But it's just, it doesn't look like that'll ever happen for him.

But, you know, tremendous defending.

But really, I think Liverpool were kind of unfortunate not not to go in really yeah i mean i guess that's sort of you know it's how you digest a football match isn't it if the first hour has been like really brilliant defending and a team that's taken the lead you're sort of and also the underdogs right so you have all that narrative leading to this last half hour where barry we have mentioned it but liverpool liverpool really stepped it up because they hadn't looked at it like they were like shooting from anywhere and those final balls weren't happening.

And I guess part of their thinking is, well, Forest will be knackered because if you don't have the ball, it's just much more tiring.

Yeah,

I get that.

I have a feeling that listening to Lara's analysis, a lot of Nottingham Forest fans will be quite angry that they're being reduced to this sort of merino at Porto status, which I think is a little unfair.

You know, they are second in the league.

They're not scrabbling around for points and a bid to stay up.

They're second in the league, second on merit.

If you look at their team, they're starting 11.

There's not a single player there who's not having an excellent season.

So what Nuno has done there, I appreciate he has spent a lot of money, or the club has spent a lot of money, but that is a really good team he's assembled.

And they're playing to their strengths.

Maybe they were a little lucky, but

as has been mentioned on the pod before, the goalkeeper is as important

a player as anyone else in the pitch.

So, you know, Matt Sells, it's his job to save, make good saves, and that's what he did.

But

while Liverpool probably should have won,

I think Mo Sala had a poor game last night.

He looks very tired, very leggy.

I've advocated in the past for managers, just and

my fellow great football mine, Carlo Anchilotti, has said the same.

You know, just give players a holiday during the season, give them two weeks off.

I think now might be a good time to send Morcello off to the Maldives to kick back for a couple of weeks and, you know, maybe pretend he's got a hamstring strain or something to appease the fans.

But

I think Forrest

did deserve a draw last night.

Their defending was outstanding.

And it's a shame, really, because the goal they gave away is really soft.

The smallest man on the pitch, scoring a header at a corner while being marked by Chris Wood and Murillo, that shouldn't have happened.

So

Chris Wood was kind of fed up about that after the game, and I can see why.

I guess deserve is an interesting word in this context, but like, because there's obviously no shortage of effort and spirit from the Noscombe Forest players.

And I've already caveated what I said by, I saw the last sort of 25 minutes of the game, in which point Liverpool had completely taken over.

And I'm sure they did a better job nullifying Liverpool before that.

I would just humbly submit that if you can see that many shots from that many from good locations that often you will most often not get any points.

But it's also clear that Nuno has them really well organized.

They know where to stand.

There's a really good sort of mix of graft and talent.

I mean, because they do have real threat when they run at the break.

I mean, Gibbs White, I didn't think

it wasn't super impactful because I guess it wasn't his kind of game by the time I was watching.

But, like, Ilanga and Hudson Nadoy can really run at you when you get out.

And Yates and Anderson are really like, there's a lot of running in this team when they have an opportunity to do so.

And Mario and Milenkovich is really one of the better center half paradigms in the league this season.

So I'm not taking anything away from their performance in that sense.

And also, I don't think it's necessarily backhanded to say that they were defending deep.

That's just a thing that happened.

You can do that really well.

Like,

there's no, that is part of football for sure i just want to talk about the the chriswood finish because that's kind of low-key a really really good finish uh a really great uh through ball it's his weaker foot i know it but that's just a man who's full of confidence that he took that first time and just knew exactly the sort of weight and the direction to put it i just think yeah obviously he's a man in absolute the form of his life but it just yeah and and yet you still don't think he's that good

he obviously is but do you know what i mean there's just something there's something so I've seen so many centre-forwards who look are that shape and move like that and aren't as good as him.

And I don't know if that means he's even better because he's just not blessed with like grace or pace or I wish I knew something else that rhymed with those two things.

But like, but I totally agree with you.

It's effortless, that finish.

And it really wasn't easy.

Liverpool's last four games, they've drawn with Manchester United, lost to Spurs, beaten Accrington and drawn with Forrest.

Is this like we're waiting for their blip, Barry.

Is this their blip?

I suppose it's a blip of sorts.

I think,

I mean,

when does a blip become a wobble, become a crisis?

Things move very quickly in football.

It's not wobble yet, is it?

We're not in wobble territory, is it?

Okay, well, yeah, it's certainly a blip going by their previously high standards.

Forest are still the only team that have beaten them in the league.

They've now taken four points off them, which I imagine most forest fans would not have expected before the start of the season but they're still six points ahead with the game in hand so uh and that a deficit which may be reduced if arsenal uh beat spurs tonight isn't it yes yeah so i i think they're all right yeah i mean it's probably a better point for them than forest if we're talking specifically about the title race um robin do you

do you see forest finishing in the top four is it a case of getting out for every game like this one?

I mean,

clearly they are, you know, they've lasted quite a lot of the course, haven't they?

No, exactly.

And I think the sample size is big enough now that we can say, yes, absolutely.

It's interesting, the comparisons with Leicester.

It's not the same because Leicester sort of got a massive lead, didn't they?

And

they didn't really let it go and everyone sort of fell away.

So in terms of title race, I think, you know, it's obviously still Liverpool's.

It was Liz McColgan.

She would do that, wouldn't she?

Exactly.

And then just like be just crawl over the line.

Exactly.

Chorus haven't done that.

No, no.

So this kind of, in terms of title, they're technically chasing, but it does feel a bit like Leicester in terms of they are on an absolute roll and they have the same, very similar starting 11.

And they just, as Lars was saying, they just know their jobs, they know where to stand, they know exactly what they're doing.

I did, I remember that I did their, I did their 1-0 win over at Southampton very early on in the season.

I wasn't that impressed with them.

They were, they kind of got over the line just about, And our Southampton had quite a lot of chances, actually, I remember in that game, but that was pretty back in August or September.

So it just showed, they've just been slowly building, building, building.

And when you get on that role, I think that

obviously, tactically, they're set up really well by Nuno, and he's got the component parts.

But I do think a lot of it is momentum and confidence in what they're doing with a lot of very talented.

players like like Leicester did have you know they had Mares Cante and and Vardi was obviously and um so yeah it does it there are are similarities.

And yeah, as I say, I don't, I think, a bit like the Leicester season, there are enough teams that are inconsistent enough for them to get in the top four.

I think so.

Being my usual boring self, looking at the XG, defensively, they are the real deal.

Like,

according to like, they've conceded the third lowest XG number in the league, which you mentioned, the world sample size.

I mean, after 21 games, there's nothing flukish about that.

They are a genuinely brilliant defensive team.

Down the other end, it's a little bit more iffy.

I think there's something like 15th in the league for XG created.

And you are kind of relying on Chris Wood scoring almost every time the ball goes near him in the box, which he seems to be doing.

So, I mean, that is a slightly more sort of logic-defying thing that I maybe wouldn't expect to last for 38 games.

But again,

I don't think their position in the upper end of the table is totally flukish because their defense is the real deal.

So the G-Tech, Brentford 2, Man City 2.

And I guess in Forrest's favour for top four, is the other candidates keep dropping points.

Um, and just when you thought Robin Man City were back on the horse, they let in two in the last 10 minutes.

And could have Brentford could have won it in injury time, which would have been sensational.

Yeah, no, it was a really good game, uh, really end-to-end.

And um, yeah, both teams had loads of chance to score in the first half.

Somehow, it was nil-nil.

And then, yeah, City, two really good finishes from Phil Foden.

The first is so the first is amazing.

The deft finish, I mean, and

an absolutely awesome assist from De Bruyne, who was excellent today.

But

it just, again, shows they have a really soft underbelly.

And like

the goal from Wisser was one you don't really see in the Premier League a lot to make it 2-1.

I know it kind of was a bit fortunate.

Ake sort of missed a header and it dropped to him in sort of the six-yard box.

But it seemed like he had time to sort of make a cup of tea and drink it and then put it in there.

It was really, it was a bit mad.

At 2-1, City were pushing and they were pushing really high and getting, you know, looking to get a third.

And I really thought, okay, this does look slightly different from City because they weren't sort of starting to panic.

But then,

again, Cross, they just couldn't deal with a Cross.

Norgar with a really good header, Akanji sort of missed it and he looked absolutely devastated.

And then, yeah, as you say, right at the end, Ake had his one off the line from Brian and Burmo.

So, yeah, they were actually quite lucky to get away.

The fact they were 2-0 up, it's just kind of, it's real symptomatic of what they're going through at the moment.

I don't know if you saw post-match.

Did you see Pep with Ortega?

Did you not see that?

Well, goodness me.

Or was he doing some more classic pet

some

performative dressing down of a player in front of people?

Yeah, again, like right in the middle of the pitch, he was kind of

shouting at him, but sort of hugging him at the same time.

Really weird stuff.

And it was a real case of like to Ortega, like blink twice if you need help because this looked really it would it kind of made me feel uncomfortable actually.

it was very odd and i don't know about it's so unbearable when he does oh my god yeah i mean it's it's worth checking out but it's kind of yeah as i said it's really you know pep's weird it's uncomfortable and um

yeah it's just i guess we'll see you know it sounds like they you know they're going to make a few signings in january um we'll see if that turns things on its on their head but it just seems like it's a mentality thing at the moment i also massively enjoyed this game and i would argue that city are like for the neutral the most fun they've been in a very long time.

Because the thing that City did when they were at their best, that they just kind of strangled the opponent and just stopped a football game from breaking out just by being so sharp in possession and so quick to regain it.

But they are not those things at the moment, they're not able to keep the ball the way they used to, they're not quick in regaining it.

So, at some point last night, there were four games I wanted to watch at the same time.

Like, the games were all interesting in some way.

There was, there was, it was like, and I can't do it, I can two is my limit.

So, so when City go 2-0 up, your immediately thought is, well, okay, we'll put on something else then.

But then, hang on,

you just kind of don't.

Because at no point did you feel that it would be impossible for Brentford to score two goals here.

Because as much as City has started getting some results, they're still doing that thing that they were doing a few months ago and that we were talking about so much of just every time someone runs at them, that they find a way through.

Like, they can't stop opponents from running at them and creating things.

And for a neutral, it makes them a lot, arguably, more fun to watch, but they're still phenomenally dysfunctional as a unit.

And yeah.

But I did also enjoy having been very, I enjoyed the Kevin De Bruyne cross for the first goal.

I thought it was wonderfully old school because it's like you don't typically see the sort of outside of the fullback cross.

Yeah, usually they'll try to nip past him or go on the inside.

That was like an old-fashioned sort of David Beckham sort of, I'm not fast enough to run past this guy.

I'm just going to swing the cross around him.

Beautiful stuff.

I enjoyed that.

Sticking with you, the city have are looking at uh a few players um

i would have sharnov from lans uh vito rice from palmaris andrea cambiaso from juve and omar marmouche from eintracht um i've just written over to lars yeah different players i mean they're kind of uh adding a bunch of defenders which i guess kind of makes sense Marmouch is an interesting one.

He's kind of a wide forward type of guy.

I mean, he plays as a striker, but as part of a two, so he's not a number nine as such.

I guess the very, very simplified version of saying it is that he's probably meant to fill the sort of Alvarez shaped hole in that attack as someone who can both play as a striker if Holland needs a rest, but can also back up Holland on the field.

He's very fast.

He scored a lot of goals in the Bundesliga.

So he will inject something into that attack.

And in terms, I've heard good things about Kusanov Falance.

I don't watch as much Liga as maybe I should, but he's a sort of

20-year-old defender from Uzbekistan.

Love that.

Gonna get some people from Central Asia involved in the Premier League.

We don't have enough of those.

You're right.

I can't think of the last Uzbek

who made it.

There'll be huge excitement in Tashkent

if this transfer goes through.

I would imagine.

Jamaluddin Abdu-Japarov is my favourite Uzbek.

The Tashkent terror who used to

win sprints in the tour de France all the time.

Okay.

We did briefly mention that Kyle Walker, you know, Kyle Walker potentially leaving on Monday's pod.

I'm wondering if this is a big start of a, you know, if this is a start of a big clear-out.

And I'm just surprised Pep can be bothered, Barry.

Just seems like, you know, from what he's achieved, seems like there's such a lot he's got to do now.

Yeah.

Kyle Walker was in the squad last night.

Looks like he's off.

Not sure where he's going to go.

I can kind of understand why he might want to leave the UK because he's just become tabloid fodder relating to stuff that's not really anyone's business apart from his and his wife.

As for Pep being bothered, I was sure he would leave at the end of the season.

I was surprised when he signed the new contract.

He doesn't seem to be enjoying what's going on.

Obviously, we'll have the result of the

inquiry and the charges in the coming weeks.

So who knows what will happen then

and his team are not playing according to his wishes, which must be a source of great infuriation for him.

But he clearly has decided,

yes, I want to stay.

And

sure.

Look, he can leave any time he wants, whether he signed a new contract or not.

He has earned that right.

Yeah, true.

Before we end part one, coincidentally, Jonathan Wilson was talking about Tony Book on Monday's pod.

And the former Man City captain and managers passed away at the age of 90.

Honours as a city player included a First Division title in 1968, the FA Cup a year later.

City said it's with huge sadness and the heaviest of hearts that we announced the passing of former Man City captain and manager Tony Book, age 90.

A true club legend in every sense of the word.

He made 315 appearances for City in total between 1966 and 1974.

May he rest in peace.

We'll be back in a sec.

HiPod fans of America.

Max here.

Barry's here too.

Hello.

Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro.

Now, if you're a regular listener to this show, you'll have heard us talk before about the Remarkable Paper Pro.

We already know that Remarkable is the leader in the paper tablet category, digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper, but with the power of modern technology.

But there's something new and exciting.

The remarkable Paper Pro move.

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.

Like maybe a football journalist, Barry.

Although not like you.

A proper football journalist, man.

Exactly.

Too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out.

This paper tablet doesn't.

It'll never beat or buzz to try and grab your attention, so you can devote your focus to what or who is in front of you.

It has a display that looks, feels, and even sounds like paper.

Think and work like a writer, not a texter.

And the battery performance is amazing.

No worries about running out of power before the end of extra time.

The remarkable paper pro move can keep going for up to two weeks.

And if you do need to recharge, you can go from naught to 90% in less than 45 minutes, Barry.

Fantastic.

Why not give it a go for nothing?

You can try Remarkable Paper Pro Move for 100 days for free.

If it's not what you're looking for, get your money back.

Visit visit remarkable.com to learn more and get your paper tablet today

welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly so chelsea 2 bournemouth 2 let's start with that free kick from rhys james baz because what a what a moment for him and without injury he could be top of the very long list of england right backs he's only played five times this season.

Last appearance in the league was eight minutes against Arsenal.

He's only started eight games since the start of last season.

So just to see him on a pitch and then doing something, you know, lovely is lovely.

Yeah, I mean, he's one of those players who seems to have been out for so long.

I'd kind of completely forgotten he existed, which is, you know.

He won't care, but it does speak to the fact that he hasn't been around for a long time because he just has rotten rotten luck with injuries for whatever reason.

To see him score that goal was great.

I mean he had a lot of help from Bournemouth whose wall left a lot to be desired.

If a builder did that to you you'd you'd think twice about paying for their work or get them to knock it down and rebuild it where you wanted it originally.

But fair play to him and rescue the point for Chelsea who I imagine will be very frustrated at not winning that game because Bournemouth have so many players out through injury.

I think the word was they only had 12 or 13 fit senior players, and they were well worth their point in the end.

Probably should have taken all three.

They didn't have a fit striker, so Semenya played and he won a penalty, scored a wonderful goal.

That's now five games out of win for Chelsea in the top flight,

Is that wobble?

Is that wobble?

That's a wobble.

Big time.

Yeah, I think Bournemouth were quite lucky not to finish the game with 10 men because I think David Brooks should definitely have been sent off.

Although, I think you probably do deserve a pass if it's Mark Cuccarella who's riled you up to the point of

committing assault and battery.

Was it a hair tug or a clothesline?

I've watched it a few times.

I'm not quite sure.

Evidence was inconclusive, I thought, on that one, actually, because I saw a lot of people be upset.

Oh, he's pulled his hair, which is what Jack Stevens did, and he got sent off.

But I've looked at the replay many times.

I don't think it's entirely clear that he does pull the hair, or as you said, it was more of a clothesline, at which point I guess the yellow card you can get away with.

I quite like that the ref was sent to the monitor and went...

I think a clothesline feels like a red card offense.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, I think that was definitely a red card offense, whatever it was.

He doesn't hit him.

He kind of, he sticks an arm out.

I like the fact that the ref was sent to the monitor and looked at it and went, no, I'm happy with the yellow for that.

I'm going to stick by that decision.

I think the referee should have the authority to do that.

And to, you know, I've seen the replay.

I'm confident in what I'm looking at.

And I think this is a yellow, not a red.

I think

that's completely fine, really.

Interestingly, in the

Liverpool Forest game, at one stage, Alexis McAllister committed a foul and the whistle blew.

And the ball broke towards Trent Alexander Arnold.

He went to punch it back in the direction of the site of the free kick, but it accidentally punched Elliot Anderson in the face.

Yeah, he did.

And he looked so worried.

He really looked worried.

And the ref sort of was listening to the var, and you could see the colour drain out of Alexander Arnold's face, but he quite rightly got away with it because it was a total accident.

Yeah, I mean, I think making the most of it could be described as the way Elliot Anderson treated that slight brush to his face.

See also Mark Cucarello.

Well, oh, of course.

And the way he wrote, I mean, I've said it before, he is such a shit, isn't he?

Like, he really did.

Like, he totally, he almost knocked David Brooks out early in the game.

And I don't know if that's influenced the ref's decision.

The PGMOL said VAR recommended an on-field review for a possible red card to Brooks for violent conduct.

Upon review, the referee deemed that the challenge on Cucarella was a reckless action and not violent conduct and issued a yellow card to Brooks, which sounds to me like the PGML just tweeting, we had a look and we've decided that Devil's gonna swing the little face that's what it that's what it sort of felt like there's an amendment to the laws of the game which I would support which is that after a certain number of rotations on the side of the victim whatever the offense was it gets downgraded like if you roll a certain number of time it gets taken down from a red to a yellow or for a yellow to nothing depending on like the number of rotations i think that that that should be implemented there's really no

there's no reason to behave like this it was surprising that he was on the pitch.

I thought.

We talked about that Phil Foden finish, Robin.

Cold Palmer's finish.

I have it as an eight out of 10 on the Glenn Hoddle v.

Oxford sitting down the keeper scale.

On Monday, we were talking about how, you know, Team Overna cannot score a one-on-one.

And it's quite astonishing.

But the way Palmer makes that look so easy is beautiful.

Well, and actually, it's the darting run in behind.

He totally loses the defender.

And then, yeah, I know it's, you know, his celebration, it's cold, Cold Palmer, but is there anyone

who's that composed when in front of a goalkeeper?

And

there's a great photo of him sort of looking at Mark Travers sort of with almost sort of disdain

after he's put it in the back of the net.

You just think, oh, my word, he just, I'm not sure he'd recover from that.

He's just, as I say,

his composure is just unmatched, I think.

It's unbelievable.

Sorry,

have I missed something here?

I presume the celebration was Chilli Palmer, as in

what's that film with John Travolta and Danny Beatle.

What's the film with John Travolta and Danny DeVito in it?

I don't know.

Saturday Night Fever?

Is Danny DeVito the lead in Greece alongside John Travolta?

I'd be very surprised if you couldn't.

John Travolta's character called Chili Palmer.

Cole Palmer didn't really know who Dennis Burkhat was, so I'm not sure.

Has Cole Palmer seen Beacon?

Get Shorty is the movie.

Get Shorty.

I really don't think Cole Palmer has.

He may have done.

Has Cole Palmer a seen Get Shorty?

I think that's very.

If it was like a cine file from the sort of 90s, 80s films, I'd love that.

Is it a sort of

movie deep cut or is it a slightly nef pun on his name?

You be the judge.

Which is the more likely thing here?

No, no.

I can see Cole Palmer and Mark Kamod doing a podcast together and us enjoying it tremendously.

Anyway,

who knows if he has seen Get Shorty?

Producer Joel thought it was a film called Be Cool.

I mean, I don't know that film, but maybe Travolta and DeVito have got a whole oeuvre together.

Who knows?

I did think that Chelsea probably deserved to win this game.

I I mean, I thought they had.

I thought Nicholas Jackson, who has had a good season.

Be Cool, sorry, more importantly, is apparently a sequel to Get Shorty.

So, like, if he loved Get Shorty enough to develop his own celebration, he's almost certainly seen Be Cool, hasn't he?

Yes, Nicholas Jackson, Robin, is on the Tim O'Verna scare of things.

I mean, he's nowhere near down there, but do you know what I mean?

Like, he blows hot and cold, I guess.

Yeah, he does.

I mean, yeah, I think comparing him with Tim O'Verna, is a little bit harsh.

But yeah, he had just had one of those games, didn't he?

Hit the post, and then he really should have scored from a header.

I think

their XG was a lot better than Bournemouth's.

But, you know, that's, again, it's a side of Bournemouth are just a really, really impressive side, as mentioned.

The fact they managed to dig that out after so many injuries, playing with such clarity,

really, really impressive.

I thought there were shades of the Palace game, really, for Chelsea in the sense that there was a game where they were in total control, where they had enough chances to put the ball to bed.

Well, you could do that.

You could also put the game to bed.

But they were just a little bit wasteful.

And then there's something about they can't quite manage these situations well enough.

Maybe they're

a little bit of a lack of experience, maybe a little bit lack of know-how.

Defense isn't quite as solid as it should be.

And it's just...

They've got a few games now without winning.

I wouldn't necessarily call it like a big crisis yet, just because I think the performances are still pretty good.

Like the game against Palace, the game here, even the game against Ipswich, where they created many, many more chances than the opponent.

They're not playing badly.

They're just not managing the game super well.

And

the subject of Be Cool, I mean, that's very much what Nico Jackson.

needs to i mean he's the one who needs to see that never i mean call palmer is cool enough already he doesn't need to watch this film but uh but nico jackson i think had seven shots in this game and I think his sort of heart rate was pretty high

when he launched them.

He can learn from his strike partner, I think,

or from John Travolta, as it were.

Yeah, I like the idea of

watching films about being cool, making you cool, and then you act like, you know, like I would have just acted like the Fonds all day, and I just don't think I'd have carried it off

to be honest.

Yeah, exactly.

Hey, that's how I should start every Football Weekly, shouldn't I?

To the London Stadium, West Ham 3, Fulham 2.

Fun game for Graham Potter's first

game in charge of West Ham, home game in charge of West Ham.

Big win against the good side.

I felt, Robin, they were helped quite a lot by Fulham in this.

Yeah, I think this was a slightly fortunate win

for West Ham.

You know, you take it obviously all day.

But, you know, they showed signs in their FA Cup game against Aston Villa and again today, just a little bit more attacking intent.

But yeah, they had four shots and resulted in three goals.

So, pretty clinical, perhaps not sustainable.

Fulham had 21 shots, five on target, and as you mentioned, um, a couple of gifts from um, well, from Burt Leno, who which is sort of fair enough, right?

I mean, it's almost like he forgot that Danny Ings was still a thing, and uh, suddenly he was there, not the only one, fair enough, yeah, exactly,

which is fair.

Um, and yeah, uh, Pereira obviously just passing it to Carlos Soler as well.

um so i mean marco silver must be absolutely fuming um after that and not getting anything because they had a had a lot of a lot of chances and yeah right at the end mentioning lack of composure treore who just went for power

shot

and found rose z from about a yard out i mean it's kind of impressive would you see have him in a similar spot of the rankings to tim ilver

i think i would i don't know i think triore yeah you'd like you the opposite of your household.

Yeah, maybe, but I think Triore creates more

things for himself that just wouldn't happen otherwise.

I mean, you could say

similar for Vernon.

It's interesting that Fulham had 21 shots, considering neither of their goals were shots.

I think that's

quite a good stat, isn't it?

What did you make of this game, Lance?

Jacob Steinberg described it in the match report as baffling, which I think

kind of covers it.

I mean, the four shots, three go in type of thing.

That's a good

bounce for the I know that's not what the new manager bounce refers to as, but sometimes you just get a bit of luck, I suppose.

And

I think a lot, I think Graham Potter is this sort of immediately sympathetic character.

He's such a likable guy.

Whenever you listen to him, he seems like a very logical heir to the

Garrett Southgate throne, really, in terms of like a very likable football coach and

a nice, seemingly nice guy in an industry where there are not that many of them.

So I'm glad that the gods of football smiled on him and bequeathed him with goals out of absolutely nothing to get his reign

off to a good start.

But yeah, they're going to have to improve quite a lot.

Starting with finding, I mean, this breaking news that Danny Ngs is still a thing is exciting because they have no other strikers.

You know, they started with Lucas Paqueta up front because Bo and Fulkrug and Antonio are all unavailable.

So I'm guessing we'll see some kind of transfer activities from West Ham.

Is this the the most doomed position in all of football?

Is the West Ham striker?

You could have an entire episode of the pod where we just name people who have played up front for West Ham in the last 15 years, and it would be a wild time because there have been some so many strange and curious people have ended up there, and it doesn't seem to work out well.

The tragedy is I'm absolutely bang up for that.

Do you know what I mean?

Like, I was thinking, actually, that is right up my street.

Maybe one, if they, you know, John Lucas Kamaka, here we go.

Yeah, Elon, remember him?

Yeah.

Antonio, though, will be there.

He'll be, you know, he will have, hopefully, will have recovered.

And he'll still be after signing another sort of 10-11 strikers, he'll be there at sort of 56, still going, well, we've got Antonio.

He could do a job.

It's all right.

Yeah, so no one plows a lonelier furrow, do they, than Antonio

when he's playing.

So who's the last genuinely successful West Ham centre forward?

Do you think?

Tony Coffee.

There we go.

Surely someone.

clive allens surely someone like surely someone in the 2000s who scored some goals dikanio wasn't really a strike frank mciaveni from although frank mcaveni doesn't count because all his goals came during the blackout when there was no football being shown at the end producer joel says marlon hairwood was he i mean carlt coal was kind of useful for them God it is actually, it is incredible, isn't it?

Although Carlton Cole doesn't really strike me as anything better than a one in four man.

or they could be doing him an injustice now i haven't checked that or anything andy carroll was there briefly yeah but was it successful probably not wow amazing dean ash dean ashton dean ashton there you go dean ashton was

certainly absolutely brilliant footballer you know and had his career not been cut by injury i think he would have gone on to be you know he could have scored a lot of goals for inmate as well so um i'm not sure what his west hand record was but yes four games tonight everton villa leicester palace newcastle Walls, and the North London Derby.

Big game for both, isn't it?

There will be a lot of noise if Arsenal don't win,

given their little

blip/slash wobble.

Barry, you enjoyed Sol Campbell's trolling Google adverts because it was.

They get it note perfect, don't they, to be fair?

Yeah, it's really good.

Where he's well, he's basically advertising to switch to

some Google product.

Google Pixel or something?

Yeah, whatever that is.

And it's

an advert that is,

I think, very funny, but will absolutely send loads of Spurs fans over the edge into the madness.

They will not see the funny sign.

Yeah.

If you are circling the madness, if you're close to the madness,

this could really drop you in it, couldn't it?

Anyway, that'll do for part two.

We'll do the FA Cup and any other business in part three.

HiPod fans of America.

Max here.

Barry's here, too.

Hello.

Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro.

Now if you're a regular listener to this show, you'll have heard us talk before about the Remarkable Paper Pro.

We already know that Remarkable's the leader in the paper tablet category, digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper but with the power of modern technology.

But there's something new and exciting.

The remarkable paper pro move.

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, like maybe a football journalist, Barry.

Although not like you.

A proper football journalist, Max.

Exactly.

Too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out.

This paper tablet doesn't.

It'll never beat or buzz to try and grab your attention, so you can devote your focus to what or who is in front of you.

It has a display that looks, feels and even sounds like paper.

Think and work like a writer, not a texter.

And the battery performance is amazing.

No worries about running out of power before the end of extra time.

The Remarkable Paper Pro Move can keep going for up to two weeks.

And if you do need to recharge, you can go from naught to 90% in less than 45 minutes, Barry.

Fantastic.

Why not give it a go for nothing?

You can try Remarkable Paper Pro Move for 100 days for free.

If it's not what you're looking for, get your money back.

Visit remarkable.com to learn more and get your paper tablet today.

Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Some FA Cup business then to wrap up from Monday and Tuesday night.

Layton Orient beat Derby on penalties to set up a home game against Manchester City.

Wigan won 2-0 at Mansfield.

They host Fulham, Preston, beat Charlton 2-1, then I'll host Wiccan.

Millwall 3, Dagger and Redbridge 0.

Millwall go to Leeds.

Jack says, Can we please come up with an appropriate name for the style of header scored by Millwall's Mihailo Ivanovich against Dagenham and Redbridge in Monday's FA Cup third round tie?

I said it was salmon-like

in the intro, Robin.

How would you describe it?

Yeah, no, I've struggled with this because it starts off salmon-like, but the sort of rutting of the fact that he kind of nods...

nods the ball over the line with his head is um um it's kind of

i don't know sort of goat-like almost isn't it um yeah no it's remarkable goal absolutely loved it yeah i mean if you haven't seen it he's lying on the ground and the ball ricochets i don't know if he's had the the first shot and the keeper saved it he's he's had a volley that's hit the keeper keeper couldn't hold it and the ball is on the floor and he's on the floor so he just knocks it in while lying on the floor with a little wriggle but he can only he can't get his foot anywhere near it so he has to sort of head he does really get a lot of purchase with his head, it sort of bounces into the ground.

Yeah, yeah.

So the salmon thing, they're typically thought of for their great leaps, which I mean, he's not doing that.

But on the other hand, if you've ever caught a salmon, what he does is kind of what the fish do when they're on the on the land, you know, they wiggle more sort of horizontally.

So it's it's like it's like it's a fish that's been that's on the fit on the ground, that's on the land.

Well, they're suffocating.

Yes, yes,

dying horribly.

You should kill them very quickly, actually.

It's the humane thing to do.

Yeah, the caught fish.

Not Milwaukee Strikers.

Speaking of Wickham, which I think I mentioned a second ago, they're flying in League One.

They're set to lose their manager, Matt Bloomfield, to Luton.

Will says, Does Lars know anything about the swathe of Danish players signing for Wickham?

Anders Hagelskjier and Magnus Vestergaard so far, maybe more, and a manager on the way.

Do you know these?

You're from Scandinavia.

Yeah.

Tell us.

Yeah, we do get occasionally.

There's random Scandinavians that I've hardly ever known.

I do know Wickham.

Aren't they owned by a guy from Georgia, though?

Yeah, I think they're at least part owned by a Georgian gentleman, which is very exciting for Wickham Wanderers.

You don't expect that for Wickham to be owned by a gentleman from the Caucasus.

But maybe there's a Danish connection there.

I don't know.

Should do some research on that.

I mean, probably

we should talk about...

Garnacho to Napoli ahead of Wickham's incomings with our apologies to our friends at Adams Park.

So Napoli interested in Garnacho because it looks like Farat Shelley is going to PSG and that would be good in terms of PSR I think because he's a pure-profit guy do we think

what do we how do we feel about this Lars I'll go to you you're probably more across all of this I guess it's a PSR it sounds like a PSR I mean he's not terrible so

You'd think this would be a player who in the perfect world...

I hope you're not his agent.

No,

but this is the thing.

I think there's enough.

I think we've seen enough from him in his time at United to think he could be, he's still 20.

He could be very good.

He can be frustrating sometimes.

He's a very headstrong young man, but he's someone who's not cowed by the pressures of playing for Man United.

And he's not an...

obvious fit maybe for the new Amarim system, but he's not a complete misfit either.

He can play in one of those roles behind the striker.

You could maybe play him as a wing back in some games if you're well on top of things.

It seems like if it's happening, the kind of transfer they might not necessarily want to make, but that they maybe have to make for PSR reasons.

I don't.

It seems like an odd one.

If you were going to trim the fat off the United Squad, that's not necessarily where you'd start.

But then again, you don't pick the buyers.

You know, there's plenty.

If you could find someone to throw a lot of money at you for Casemiro, you probably would, but there's no way of doing that.

So maybe you do end up having to let go some of your more valuable assets.

Loz, are you sad Kavaroo Shelia's chosen PSG, if that's what's happening?

It's felt so inevitable for years.

Like it's it's been a while since

it's such an obvious fit because PSG, if that team, that entity makes any sense, it has to have like this kind of showbiz element.

It has to be fun.

It has to have players on the team that you as a neutral want to watch

to draw some attention to them.

And Kvarashkelya makes perfect sense from that regard.

And he's someone who's he's not been on a huge contract at Nopoli because they signed him basically from the the Georgian league.

Uh, he was he was in Russia and then had to leave Russia because of the war.

And then he was in Georgia briefly and then they signed him from there.

So he's on a small, small contract.

He's he's one of very few footballers in the world who can legitimately argue that he's underpaid.

I think very few footballers can say that with a straight face, but Bakwara definitely is.

So him going to like a money bags club to get himself paid makes total sense for him.

And they have the money to meet whatever asking price Napoli will set on him.

So So it makes total sense.

It's kind of sad.

I had him paid.

Maybe they don't have the money for it.

I thought he'd be a great signing for Arsenal, to be honest, to sort of bolster that left flank.

And the sort of tall, urbane, swarthy sort of Georgian technician would go down very well in North London, I thought.

But you know,

it's one of those things that makes total sense.

But you're right, it is a little bit sad.

Is he tall?

I had him as like five foot four.

You know, he's the Georgian.

No, no, no, he's not.

He's not tall, He's got a kind of high centre of gravity.

So he is.

And he's taller than most sort of dribbly wingers.

I'd say he's six foot.

He is.

Bang on six foot.

There you go.

Yes, there we go.

Surprise me.

Surprise me.

Someone should make a game where people guess how tall players are.

It's really exciting.

It's a very good idea.

Speaking of PSR, the Premier League has not charged any clubs for breaches of its profit and sustainability rules after all were deemed financially compliant for the 2023-24 season.

I love that that's niggers.

Others are like, ah, I know what he charged.

Yeah.

So, on the face of it, it feels good.

I guess if you dig beneath the surface, they've all just worked out.

Sell some kids somewhere else for buckets.

So, I don't know if the rules will change.

Do love the lower league transfer window.

I don't know how Oxford are doing in that.

Cambridge just bought a keeper from Plymouth called Marco Morosi.

And I looked at the comments, which is always fun.

Unbelievable shot stopper, but his distribution is horror.

Good luck to him, though.

Bloke will kick it more times to your gaffer on the sidelines than a player on the pitch as he fills you with this sort of enthusiasm but if he can save a shot then i'm i'm all behind marco um how are uh oxford doing robin gary row oh gary rowat came in changed things in the league but how you got you got done in the fa cup

yeah that was disappointing but uh no um you know we interviewed him on our on the oxford night podcast we do on a monday uh gary rowatto who was interested seems like a lovely bloke but you know

sacking des buckingham i'm just again, I'm just not, I'm not sure I'm quite ready for a new dad yet.

You know, it's still, it's still quite raw.

When you were interviewing him, did you sort of give off those vibes?

Were you like sort of not talking to him and just like ignoring him?

And he like kept showering you with gifts during the podcast.

That's it.

Yeah, you backed up.

Yeah.

You get me someone decent in the transfer window, then maybe we can talk.

Yeah.

No,

to be fair, I think that the chances of Oxford staying up now have increased dramatically.

He knows what he's doing.

But yeah, broke a transfer record on a guy called Ole Romani.

Yeah,

who no one really knows too much about.

He's come from the Era Debusi, and he's definitely a ownership signing from Gary Rowitt's comments.

that basically he doesn't know who the hell he is.

And he's seen a few clips.

So yeah, it's a bit odd because he's,

yeah, he's got Indonesian sort of descent, which is our

ownership.

So basically, they've signed him because of that.

So I'm not sure if he's any kind of a bad person.

And

what is Oxford's transfer record?

So I think I need to look this up.

I mean,

it's not that impressive, but it's interesting that we've broken the transfer record for someone who I'm not sure we're going to see.

very much play.

Yeah.

So we'll see.

Oh,

two million Euros.

There we go.

Okay.

Am I correct in thinking Patrick Clivert's just become the manager of English?

Correct.

Yes.

Which means he might be rocking up just to watch Oxford run the rule over this kid.

He'll enjoy the three-sided stadium with the beautiful view of Frankie and Benny's to his left.

Yeah.

That's the real Oxford they all enjoy.

Patrick says, any of the panel ever been fired from a falconry roll before?

Ben?

Hi, Max Barry, and everyone.

No comment to make.

Wanted to make sure you and Producer Joel were aware of this.

No further questions, information required.

Didn't dare click on the story on my work computer, says Ben.

The headline, Lazio fire far-right eagle mascot handler over his social media penis posts.

Lazio fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot on Monday after he posted a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis online.

Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olympia the Eagles since 2010-2011, posted the footage after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance.

Lazio said they had terminated with immediate effect their relationship with Bonabe due to the seriousness of his conduct, adding they were shocked by the images.

The Serie Arclub added that his dismissal would mean that fans would be deprived of Olympia's presence in Lazio's upcoming home matches, their next being against Rails Sociedad in the Europa League on the 23rd of January, unless they can find another Falconer.

Unless, of course, the Eagle goes with Bonabe.

Bonabe Bonabe defended his decision to publish the videos, telling radio station Radio24 he was trying to bring awareness to the operation and shared it on his private social media, adding that nudity is normal.

I grew up in an open-minded naturist family.

Does anyone have any strong thoughts on this?

Well, he's clearly very proud of this surgery he's had done or this procedure below stairs.

Unlike our correspondent, I did start googling penile prosthesis yesterday, and it was quite a fascinating voyage of discovery.

They are prone to mechanical failure and erosion.

And Mr.

Bernarde probably shouldn't have been showing it off.

until a six-week period has a recovery period has elapsed, but he's clearly very proud of it.

It's kind of interesting where Lazio draw the line because a few years ago he was merely suspended for espousing some very far-right views and chanting in favor or in homage to Benito Mussolini following a Lazio game against Inter

with

Olympia the Eagle while holding her him.

Beautiful bird, by the way.

He was only suspended for hard-right views, but fired for hard-on views.

That's lovely stuff.

I just wonder if that's the next set of, was he listening to the Guardian Football Weekly when he was getting this procedure?

Is this the progression from the vasectomy?

Can you get a two for one?

And when you get a vasectomy, can you get?

Erosion sounds because erosion to me is, you know, it happens, you know, on like a gradually over a long, long period of time.

Yeah.

But it's like, it's like, it's like heavy sea winds crashing against the cliffs.

Like, what are you, where's he he standing for his penis to be eroded away you know over time on the cliffs of dover

exactly uh anyway seems like that'll do for today um thank you everybody thank you barry uh thank you uh thanks lars thank you max thank you robin thanks max football weekly is produced by dollgrove our executive producer is phil maynard we'll be back tomorrow

this is the guardian