Brighton stun City and Liverpool go five clear: Football Weekly

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

The first time ever that Pep Guardiola has lost four in a row as a coach, the first time Man City have lost four in a row since 2006 a 2-1 defeat at Brighton a brilliant second half turnaround vital changes from Fabian Herzler it means Liverpool are five points clear is Austin McPhee a fraud Liverpool clean through five seconds after every Aston Villa set piece Arsenal a toe poke away from three points at Stamford Bridge Martin Odegaard back to pull the strings but Pedro Netto gets Chelsea a point oh Spurs seriously a wonderful performance and a wonderful first win of the season for Ipswich Town.

Elsewhere, more fun at Brentford, a first win for Wolves, Roode, successful mini-run at Manchester United ends well.

Newcastle versus Nottingham Forest, Bubble, Fulham with Easley at Palace, and we'll try and run out of time before West Ham Everton.

We'll cover the depressing violence in Amsterdam before the Ajax Maccabi Tel Aviv game.

And then a gear change to Chris Wilder singing in the pub.

The extraordinary number of questions we've had about the Cambridge Derby.

We'll answer your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

On the panel today, Barry Glendenning.

Hello.

Hi, Max.

Welcome, Seb Hutchinson.

Hello.

And hello, Nick Ames.

Hello, Max Rushton.

Been too long, Nick, but you know, we'll get to Ipswich's first win of the season.

So absolutely delighted to be here for that.

Let's start in Brighton.

Dan says, is it about now that Pep should be saying that City are so, so good?

As I said in the intro, four successive game, they lost, and we will get to Brighton.

Crises are all sort of relative, Seb, but for City and Pep,

this is uncharted territory, isn't it?

Yes, I think we've spent the last few seasons thinking if you're going to beat Manchester City, everything has to go right for you on the day, and you have to be a very, very good team as well to do that.

But from the moment, it felt like a few minutes into the second half, the way that second half played out, it felt inevitable, which is strange to say that they were going to lose that game.

Brighton were creating chance after chance.

The substitutions made them even stronger.

I thought their midfield had more power in it, more carry.

And

Haaland, you could see him getting more and more frustrated as the game went on.

Normally, he's happy with this process of him not touching the ball much, but he could see that the possession patterns weren't there for him to get a chance eventually.

And I was truly scratching my eyes in the sense that this season, I've noticed they've had a vulnerability, particularly on the counter-attack against sides, which they're usually quite good at snuffing out.

But on this occasion,

they were all over the place.

And we rarely, rarely say that.

I mean, I'm trying to think of an example where even in the defeats they've had recently, they weren't as all over the place in the second half as they were in this one.

It felt, and even Herzler's celebration at the end, he thought, well, yeah, we should have won that one, actually.

And we're not used to being in that situation, are we?

Yeah.

You're scratching your eyes or scratching your head.

I mean, that sounds quite painful to be scratching your eyes around the whole situation.

Yeah, well, I mean, I think there's a difference, isn't there, between literal meaning and when you

say something metaphorically, I don't know if you're aware of

it's a very good point and do you know what my 45 i should know that sort of thing shouldn't i

thought you would

nick is it as simple as no rodery and beyond that no stones no diaz no grealish de bruyne are not fully fit is is that enough or or is there something deeper than that i mean that's a big part of it i mean

it's it's a point that's often been made in the last few weeks but without rodri they are so loose on on those transitions and on those counters counters through midfield.

And it feels like it takes two passes to pick Man City apart, which it never quite felt before.

Something I've been wondering about is their recruitment really as well.

I mean, there hasn't been much of it, has there, in the last year or two.

And over the summer, we just saw Savinho, who had a very good first half, by the way, the other day, really had SD Pinyan's number and probably should have, you know, scored at least once.

Only he came in from their partner club.

And they just look a little bit thin in those key areas.

Where's the load to take off Harland?

Where is the load to take off Roderie?

Which is now the key point.

So I just wonder whether they've let things lie and trusted in their own internal processes a little bit too much and not bashing things up enough.

I also wonder whether this league now is so good that

when you do drop five to ten percent,

someone else just catches you or even in Liverpool's case at a moment quite wildly overtakes you.

I think it's a little coalescence of things and you can never rule out Pep Guardiola from arresting it and he was very strident afterwards wasn't he?

He was talking about the run that was by the way nowhere near this bad

that they had before they went on that ridiculous winning run before

and pointing out that they can do the same thing.

But it just doesn't look like it at the moment.

And I do think the Roderay absence is so significant, but it shouldn't be as significant as it is proving to be.

Pep said after the game, after seven years of winning the Premier League, maybe it's time for someone else to win.

First time Haaland's lost a Premier League match in which he scored, having won 40 and drawn six of the previous 46.

So it'll be interesting to see their reaction, Barry, after this.

I mean, they've got, after the international break, Spurs at home.

I mean, that's an absolute dream game.

That's a shoe-in.

There's a shoe-in for them.

No, it isn't a shoe-in.

There's every chance they could lose.

Spurs will obviously be looking for a reaction after that

pretty pitiful defeat at the hands of Ipswich.

Look, I think it's far too early to sound the crisis clacks, and they've lost their last two Premier League games.

It's far from the end of the world,

but Liverpool are showing no signs of letting up, really, apart from that defeat at the hands of Forrest.

I thought City played pretty well in the first half of this game and should have been further ahead at halftime and Verbruggen had to make a couple of important stops.

But once Brighton made their changes, once they brought on Carlos Baliba for Yassini Yari at halftime,

the whole complexion of the game changed and Brighton did deserve to win.

In the end, they were much, much better at than City in the second half.

I don't necessarily agree with Jamie Redknapp's assessment that was he just kept describing city's second half performance as being abject i i think that's over egging it slightly but i suppose by the very high standards they've set themselves it was pretty poor john says uh not a question would love an acknowledgement of us albion fans singing uh you're getting sacked in the morning to pep it was very funny uh yeah i mean not many people have sung that to him carlos balebo said it's it's interesting isn't it that

i mean obviously he had a brilliant half it doesn't mean he's the complete central midfielder but you sort of go they you know if you think about it, they lost Basuma and everyone went, wow, that's their midfield done.

They got Kaisedo, they lost him, they've got this guy.

I mean, they have others as well, of course.

The recruitment of this club is insane.

It's amazing, really, when you look at their squad.

They have depth to it as well.

The players they were bringing off the bench improved them as a side.

And it felt that they had more oomph with those substitutions than Man City did, which is very rare to say as well.

But I think it's a thing I've noticed actually across the league how much power all the teams have.

And Nick mentioned it about if you drop your level, you're going to be in trouble.

And I think a lot of the games, when you're there in person watching them, you think there's not actually much between many of these sides at all.

And on any given day, it's just that, you know, as we always say, that moment of quality, everything else.

But Brighton had that as well by the end.

I mean, they gave it a few goes, I have to say.

Labour's another example of with Brighton, situation where they're perfectly comfortable with other clubs being interested in their players.

That's their model.

They have this set, but they will make sure they protect themselves with the knowledge of if we're going to sell this player, then we have somebody else who will come through and replace them.

And, you know, that's sensible recruitment for all clubs, essentially.

You can't just have your team sold.

And I think

to an extent, you know, Palace struggled with this

season.

The thing about it is it's so hard.

And again, Barry mentioned it.

It's so hard to get a bigger picture on any of these sides because everybody's dropping points by Liverpool, really, at the moment.

And the difference between clubs in the league, there isn't that much.

I mean, we're going to get on to the Chelsea Arsenal game, but Arsenal and Chelsea are as close to Everton as they are to Liverpool right now in the league.

So that's how bunched up it's starting to get below Liverpool at the moment.

Sorry to use Everton as a gauge, but they tend to be one.

No, that's fine.

It's a concertina, isn't it?

It's what we want.

Yes, Nick.

Just on voting, just to further that, I mean, they finished sick a couple of seasons ago, obviously.

They're sick now.

And I think

only three or four of that team played yesterday and

Hinschell were in a completely different position.

And it just shows, just to emphasise the point,

how clever their phased transition through players, but also through managers, as we've seen with

Herzegovina coming in and not needing too much adaptation is.

And

it just shows how the structure and planning behind that club has been implemented to survive players leaving and managers leaving.

And yeah, Belaba, great example of that.

The boy's only 20, and every time I watch him play, I think he's absolutely dominant.

So, yeah, fantastic job.

You know, in some ways, the team is completely unrecognisable to the one from two years ago.

In others, it looks very, very similar.

And that is a real credit to them.

And worth mentioning, Joe Pedro, who'd been out for a while, coming back, scoring goal, and Matt O'Reilly as well, who got injured in pre-season, I think or in a in a league cup game got injured in a carabao cup game it was nine minutes into his bright and debut was a horrible nasty challenge so um that's right and uh but he he uh he was very thoughtful afterwards and uh the first time i've heard a footballer sort of say actually i didn't mind being injured just got me a chance to sort of get to know everybody and you know

see who everybody was find my place and uh yeah he did brilliantly to score his goal let's go to anfield then liverpool two aston villain nil liverpool go five points clear at the top of the table 28 points from 11 games.

Their second best start to a Premier League season, only betted by 31.

They reached after 11 games in 2019.

The year they won the league on 99 points.

Stan says, I'm here for the self-indulgence of set-piece coaches taking positions in the technical area to influence a corner 60 yards away, only to perform acrobatics on camera, then concede on the counter.

Kim says, is Austin McPhee under pressure after Liverpool had a counter-attack after almost every Aston Villa corner?

I mean, if we praise them so much, Seb, we have to hang them out to dry when it doesn't work.

Yeah, that Austin McPhee part did actually make me laugh a bit.

Everybody was ignoring him.

When they cut to the close-up of him on the touchline, I don't think a single Villa player was looking at him during those corners, and he was getting more and more irritated.

Do you know the cameras are on me?

But

Villa, again, I think they, from the start, the way the game panned out, I thought Villa could cause Liverpool problems and they could match Liverpool, mentioned the power element, they could match Liverpool's power, and they had great runners on the pitch, and they had players who could get in behind but I do think Liverpool at the moment

the reason why they've got this edge is I feel like they have goals from lots of different areas I feel they've got goal threats both you know in their front line they've got depth in their front line they've sorted out the midfield for now and it's working and Canate and Van Dijk at the back I always think when you think back to Man City and a big reason why they were able to stop sides from countering on them is that they would have Kyle Walker back there they'd have Ruben Diaz back there players who could cover that ground and close out chances and to me Canate and Leon Bailey almost summed up the two side situations whenever Leon Bailey was in a position where he could show his athleticism or his ability to get away from a player or his first touch to cut inside everything else was everything he tried to do was stopped by Liverpool essentially and I've now mentioned Canate three times and that's because for me he was a standout for them because we've seen the way teams when they have gone one against one with Villa at the back and Ollie Watkins has caused a few problems to Pamicano in the buy-in game I think more often than not Canate did very well in that department and if you can't counter against a side that's dominant on the ball then you're in real trouble because these sides press so hard and the difference in the end I think Villa did have spells in the second half where they were on top but then Liverpool were able to counter on them and Villa couldn't do what Liverpool could do and that was the difference I don't think Liverpool were dominant at all in the sense of watching the game, but those are the differences.

I think the teams that take it away when Arsenal were on a good run last season, you had Saliba who was able to fulfill that role for them.

These centre-backs that can do more than just head the ball away are some of the most important players in these top sites.

At least you ward on Co-Comms, Baz, said it was like an under-10s game because it was so end-to-end while on TNT.

I think probably referring to that Nunes goal and then that Nunes chance later.

But Nunes is interesting, isn't he?

I just wonder if, you know, on that sort of Adama Troyore axis where Troyore misses chances, but he misses chances that only he would get.

Do we put Nunes sort of similar on a similar level?

Because his pace is so extraordinary and his willingness to get into those positions that he you sort of have to credit him for getting there before you say he's hit and miss.

Yeah, I think his problem

generally seems to be that the more time he has to think about what he's going to do next,

the bigger the chance there is he'll mess it up.

So yeah, after he'd scored his excellent goal, hooking the ball in from that tight angle, Liverpool broke up field from another corner and he had all the time in the world to think about what he's going to do.

It was arguably an easier opportunity and he blazed the ball over the bar and nobody was particularly surprised that he'd done that.

But

I love watching him play.

He had another good chance later in the game.

I think he sent a header wide that he probably could have scored with.

But

on another day, I think Villa, you know, there's talk of them being in a slump.

I think they could have got something from this game.

They had a lot of decent chances.

Keller had to make some important saves, and I think Villa could argue they might have had two penalties.

So one for a Canada, Chauvin Watkins, and another for Connor Bradley, Togon Paltora's shirt.

When Bradley pulled Paltor's shirt, I think Van Dijk told him to get up, said you're six foot four, mate.

I mean, I wonder if there's a height where shirt pulls don't count.

I don't know if I agree, Baz.

I don't know what you think, Nick.

I felt Liverpool were always comfortable.

I agree that, you know, Villa had, you know, chances, but is it Liverpool's title to lose now?

Or hopefully, will they have a slump as well?

And then they'll all get bunched up.

That's what we want.

I think it is their title to lose.

Like, you look at the points, Tally, you look at results, you look by and large at the performances.

Like,

I see a few, I mean, but you should never judge through people's wilder online takes, but I see quite a lot of fans, especially Arsenal supporters, going, Oh,

they'll fall away.

What about the players who there's a bit of doubt about their future at the end of a season?

Van Dijk, Salah, Alexandra, and will their hearts be in it?

Of course, your hearts are going to be in it if you're chasing another Premier League title and look to end this period of Man City dominance in this feebile and environment as Anfield.

I think Liverpool have the depth, they have the performance levels, and they have a coach who clearly knows what he's doing and has come in and adapted brilliantly.

I think they're in this for the long haul, and I think they have to be favours now.

And you're right, I never really felt they were in a huge amount of danger as such of not winning the game the other day.

Just on a Villa Villa point,

a lot of Villa's games at the moment, especially away from home, are turning into basketball matches a bit, I think.

They had the issue at Spurs the other week,

going back a month or two at Ipswich, they should probably have lost.

It's all a bit loose and getting picked apart on the transition.

Reminds me a little bit of Emery's later days at Arsenal actually, when this was having quite a lot.

And there's clearly something they need to sort out there.

It's not an Aston Villa in crisis point, but it's a how do Aston Villa evolve and gain a bit more control in games?

And I thought Liverpool exploited that lack of control really well and were they worth the win.

And yeah, I genuinely can't see them going away.

Chappers had a good stat on Match of the Day too last night that he finished up on saying that six times in the Premier League era, a team has been this far or further ahead than Liverpool at this point of the season after 11 games and all the other five have gone on to win the title.

So that gives them a good chance, doesn't it?

Before the season, we certainly thought that Arsenal would be in a better position than Liverpool.

We certainly didn't think that Chelsea would be.

And Chelsea and Arsenal are now level on points in the Premier League.

They've both got 19.

They sit third and fourth.

Chelsea third, Arsenal fourth.

I mean, it is so ridiculously tight.

Man United 13th on 15 points.

So it could all change very quickly.

But honours even at at Stamford Bridge.

Nick, you cover Arsenal a lot.

What did you make of this game?

And do you think they possibly will feel like of the two sides that they could have won it?

Yeah, there was a couple of good chances first half with the score and 0-0.

Obviously, those two chances near the end, the glaring one for Trossard, although I think they would have both been pulled up for offside.

I think this was a good result for both teams.

I think Arsenal needed to go to an inform Chelsea that I think will finish in the top four and show that they could present themselves, play their football, at least look composed and fairly dominant.

And I think they did that.

I think this was a lot closer to the Arsenal.

We've seen physically very good.

I thought Marino was very good in there in that midfield.

Obviously, the big talking point was Eau Degarde.

The fact that he came back and just brings the level up of all of the patterns, all of the rotations, all the movements.

Players know that when Odegaard has got the ball, he's going to find them.

So they'll make that run, they'll make that little dart, they'll put themselves in space, they'll look for him.

I think that made a huge difference.

Again, as I think has been discussed in the past, it doesn't say a lot for the deputy options when he's not there.

But he made a massive difference.

It was a beautiful ball for Martinelli to score that goal to put them ahead.

And at that point, you think they're probably going to win.

Pedro Neto, who I I thought played very well when I watched Chelsea a couple of weeks ago against Newcastle, actually,

got a bit too much space to score a very good goal from 20-odd yards.

And after that, it could have been anyone's.

I think Arsenal definitely

had the better chances.

And I think they should have probably won the game on balance.

But I don't think anyone will be too upset with that point.

I think it's studies for ship.

It comes talk of

some kind of crisis or terrible run from Arsenal and it gives them a springboard now and a chance and it is fair to say that a lot of their tougher away games on paper now have passed so I think it was probably

about the right result but they can be happy with their performance I think it's a good thing to build on.

Years ago, Seb, during the Soccer Round Glory years, I played in a charity game against some Portsmouth Legends and Teddy Sherringham was playing for Portsmouth.

And he must have been 45 by the time we played this.

And we were quite a young fit side yet every time he got the ball he was in about 20 yards of space and i and i look at oddegaard and i'm like how is he in space every time like the players he's playing against they're all fit they can all run we talked about chelsea centre midfield last week how is it that some players just have this sort of drifting ability which is so hard to stop he's just always got time and space well i

spent the large portion of the start of this podcast talking about power but actually the biggest difference when you're watching top-level football is the speed of thought of the top-level players, the decisions they make, the spaces they're able to find in a blink of an eye.

And it is that thing, whenever you're playing against somebody who is better than you, usually your first thought isn't that they're quicker or stronger.

Your first thought is they're just doing things faster than I am.

And that is the major difference.

I always think back to when people used to say, well, people used to say, I mean, most tournaments would say, why can't England keep the ball against some of these sides?

But it's also when you're there and you're close and you can see it happening they're trying to they're trying to but you get pressured so quickly because everyone's an athlete and they're closing you down so you have to have that speed of thought to make the decisions and he's excellent for that I think Mourinho will grow as a player for Arsenal with Erdoga back because I think they think on the same plane as such and and that will help Arsenal massively I think their injuries

They were last season they didn't have an issue with injuries as such by Timber who's been very good this season and that helped them massively.

They're a side that, if they have everybody fit, they can go on these runs because they're an excellent team.

I do think, though, they are still missing that X factor in attack, and they don't have enough of those players.

And I think Chelsea do have those players, funnily enough.

And they're a side, we just feel like they're going to get there.

They're going to get there because they have all the tools.

All the pieces are there.

All the great young talents are there.

Maybe missing a few defenders to take them to that next level and a goalkeeper.

But actually,

I think they'll cause any team problems in this league.

I think City were fortunate to have Chelsea away on their opening game because as that season goes on, that will become a harder, a tougher away game for teams, which Liverpool might find when they go there.

But otherwise, I think for Arsenal, Liverpool's great start is obviously going to give them alarm bells, and it's a lot for them to catch up.

But

they are a side in this league capable of going on one of those runs.

And we say one of those runs now.

I don't think we used to say that, but I think Man City and their title races have meant that you have to go on one of those runs.

I don't know how many games are in one of those runs.

I'll just throw a number out, 10, because.

Yeah, 10 upwards.

10.

Because we could do the maths on 10.

We could do the maths on 10, can't we?

Yeah.

Barry, it would be so frustrating for Arsenal fans, you know, for City to fall away and yet someone else comes along and wins the title ahead of them after they push City so close.

I mean, they would have to obviously come second to feel annoyed about that, which is no guarantee of that, really.

No, there isn't at the moment.

I do worry that Arsenal fans have become so obsessed with just staying in touch with City and getting ahead of City that they won't actually focus on Liverpool cantering off into the distance.

Yeah, that would be frustrating for Arsenal fans, but

that's that's just tough, isn't it?

Yeah, I'm not sure what else to say, really.

You know, be better.

I think this was a fair result,

but I do think Arsenal will see this probably two points dropped.

Yeah.

And Trossard actually had just that chance when he nicks it off Havertz's feet right at the end.

It's just absolute sickening.

You can just see all the Arsenal players and Arteta go.

It's not happening for all Leandro at the moment, is it?

No, no, it isn't.

Good for Martinez to get on the score sheet.

And, you know, obviously beautifully set up by Martinegarda.

Right, that'll do for part one.

Part two will begin with Ipswich's first win in the Premier League for 22 years.

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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Simon says, is there anything I can take to overcome being a Spurs fan?

Jack says, which one of you bastards said Spurs, Ipswich was a cert?

One of you did.

It's my fault.

I picked them for a last man standing, Barry,

late on Friday.

Well, I'm in a last man standing and them getting beaten yesterday was a bloodbath.

I can imagine.

Kieran McKenna noted that Liam DeLap and Amari Hutchinson, who both played brilliantly, weren't born the last time Ipswich won in the Premier League.

You were born the last time.

They won, not on that day, many years before, Nick, but you were there in your capacity as a journalist, I suspect as a fan, too.

Did you manage to stay seated when Ipswich went to Nila?

I stayed seated, but I might have thumped the desk a little bit, as Tom Gibbs from The Telegraph will probably happily tell you as he was sitting next to me and had to experience it.

But no,

what an afternoon for Ipswich.

You could see by the, as people say these days, limbs in the away end at full time exactly what that meant after 22 and a half years.

And it was fully deserved.

We can come onto Spurs, and we definitely should because they were well below par, and there's a bit of an issue there at the moment, I think.

But

I've seen bits of punditry in my last 12 to 15 hours saying, you know, this wasn't a tactics thing, this was just Ip Switch wanting it more running harder, being more hungry.

And okay, that element is true.

But this was Kiri McKenna doing a number on Spurs and Prosticolu.

And this was maybe

the most obvious and visible example so far as a Premier League manager of McKenna really coming into his own and really outdoing somebody.

And they played a fantastic first half of Ipswich.

I think it was an absolute textbook example of what you need to do as an underdog coming to a place like Spurs.

He set up a bit more defensively than he normally might

on paper, doubled up on Son with Ben Johnson and Manaxel Twan Zebi.

The distances were absolutely spot on, the compactness was spot on.

And then when they came forward, they did so with menace.

They threw men forward with pace.

Amari Hutchinson, who you mentioned was phenomenal all afternoon.

They couldn't get the ball off him.

Jens Kadjust, who was only playing in midfield because Carvin Phillips was suspended, was fantastic at receiving the ball in tight areas, at breaking the lines again, getting them up the pitch.

And they come close to scoring twice before they did.

Deservedly got a second through Liam De Lap, who it's hard to believe that De Lap is 21 years old, frankly.

Spurs supporting friend of mine compared him to playing up against Kevin Davis for Bolton, which I think is actually probably a bit of a compliment for a 21-year-old.

The guy is an absolute menace, but

he knows where the goal is.

So 2-0 halftime, and you had to say that the better team were in front, amazing as it sounds to say.

And then second half, you thought Spurs would come back and blow them away a bit, possibly like they did against Villa and West Ham in previous weeks.

And

it almost felt as if Spurs expected to do that a bit.

And it never quite happened.

They had a good spell after the interval.

Solanke goal disallowed for a handball by VAR.

Finally got one back through Bentinker.

And then you thought, okay, this is it.

They will turn the screw.

But it never quite happened.

I think Ipswich, again, quite clever.

They pushed them 10 or 15 yards up a pitch, boxed them in, a bit of gamesmanship, caused a long stretch where nothing really happened.

And then there was a big save by the keeper Murich at the end from Solanke, but otherwise they weren't very troubled.

So really good afternoon for them.

Great afternoon for McKenna, who I have to say, and as an Ipswich fan, I shouldn't say this, but you could easily see in Poster Cogli's chair this time next year.

I think that would be a very good fit, to be honest.

And proof that Ipswich, I think their performances have been leading up to this.

They've been worth this kind of result, thankfully.

And they look like a credible Premier League team.

Long year ahead for them, but they've got a chance.

Seb, I sort of feel that phrase that Nick used.

I've heard quite a few times.

Specifically, sort of young manager has done a job, done a number on Ange, Costa Coglu.

It feels like he's the manager that a lot of other managers have done a number on.

And actually, their record, as Berkshire Ghost says, just 16 league wins in 12 months.

You obviously had that great start last year from November 23 to October 24.

That is not

enough, is it?

I think in the start of the season, they played Leicester, and after that game, Angel Postoglu went, I don't want to see another draw for the rest of this season.

So, that's how every game's played out.

They either win the game or they lose the game.

The other thing is, what we'll try to do is any side that's struggling for a win or needs points, we'll make sure we'll give them to them.

Yeah, so we'll make sure Palace get their first win, Ipswich get their first win, and Leicester get on the board board at the start of the season but then we will beat good sides when we need to just to make sure that everyone remembers oh no no we are a good team we're in this um

they are i don't know what to make of them as a side besides that because they've conceded the same number of goals as man city and scored more goals than them so that would tell you that they're an entertaining side to watch yet they are nowhere near near the top of the league as far as people thinking that they're going to be in the mix as it stands.

And because of the nature of the league, you could look at it two ways: that they'll always be in touch because they can win game, lose a game, win game, lose a game, and that's what a lot of teams are doing.

But at the same time, you can't back them.

I mean, I can't believe you thought you'd use them as a marker for a winning team at a weekend.

I just thought that was quite

shambolic, actually.

But

to be honest with you, Andrew Postacoro, I don't really know what to make because, as a football fan watching a game as a neutral, I think you like to watch Spurs games because of that unpredictability.

So part of me is almost like I don't want to be negative about it because I enjoy watching those games.

Now, obviously Totten supporters might think differently, but I think most other neutral supporters watching it, and obviously it was yesterday, enjoy that.

That's what I want to see.

I want to see this happen in the Premier League.

I want to have that feeling of, I go into a game and think, oh, what's going to happen here?

And that had the game.

I didn't actually see this game.

And yet I enjoyed it because I was at Forest.

But yeah, I still enjoyed.

I just enjoyed watching the highlights of it because I thought it would be interesting.

Yeah.

Barry, we talk about the injuries at City and Roderick missing, but

Dragassin for Van der Wen is such a trade down, especially in the way that Tottenham play.

I reckon in a kind of West Ham, he might be quite a good centre-back, like we saw at the Euros, didn't we?

Or, you know, for Romania, he was he's like their talisman, he's great in a team that defend quite deep, but he just, it's just not sort of not right.

Yeah, uh I mean Mickey Van Deven is something else and his pace is incredible and is sort of critical to the way in which Ange wants to set up.

But even in the first minute yesterday, Dragerson completely failed to deal with what should have been a straightforward header and almost gifted Ipswich a goal.

So that's going to give his teammates the heebie-jeebies straight away.

I wouldn't say he was

standout bad or anything, but I thought you know Spurs are now eight places and ten points worse off this season than they were at this point last season now obviously they got off to a credible start last season but

Ange after the game said oh this is on me but

I would imagine he did not say that in the dressing room because

I mean, I suppose if you look at Ipswich's second goal, it actually started from a Moorish error.

You know, the Moorish doing Moorish things with a terrible pass out.

And

you thought, oh, God, he's gifted Spurs a goal here.

But it was a bad decision from Son, who's cross failed to pick out a teammate.

And then

O'Mari Hutchinson was way too strong for Benton Court.

Just dance past him.

He plays it wide, and Leif Davis and Sammy Smodic are both unmarked out.

And the left, the ball comes in to the feet.

I think it was Smodic's cross was parried by Vicario to defeat of Draguson, who was facing his own goal.

I think it would have been an own goal, even if

the lap hadn't been there to smash it home on the line.

So just a catalogue of errors and bad decisions from the Spurs.

And I think Benton Kerr was particularly culpable for the manner in which he let Hutchinson dance past him.

And you could have a team meeting for an hour to pick the bones out of that.

Everything everyone did wrong and where everyone was found wanting.

The one thing that someone did right was Liam DeLap absolutely hammering it when he obviously just sort of toe-poked it in.

As Jim says, the completely unnecessary power that Liam DeLap put into his goal was delightful.

Also getting their first win, Wolves, who beat Southampton.

Seb, I mean, Matthias Kunya's goal is it's worth a win, isn't it?

I mean, there may have been two fouls on Southampton players in the build-up, but the finish is glorious.

But it doesn't surprise me.

I'm always impressed by him.

He's almost

the sort of player he'll take on a challenge.

up front for Wolves.

And by that I mean he's prepared to take anybody on.

He's prepared to try things.

He's prepared to link up.

You can feel his emotion in the game as well.

He gets quite irritated when things aren't going well for the side.

People aren't passing to him.

And people might see that as a negative, but I also think it shows he cares.

And when you're in a side competing down the bottom, I think fans want to see that.

And

I did Wolves's previous match against Palace, and when they were ahead, the ground felt so different because it's that stress of we have to get off the mark, we have to win our first game, can we do it?

And really,

while with this sort of game, you think you know, they're expected to win, and a lot of people say, no, if they don't win this, then, you know, Gary O'Neill's in big trouble and he can't keep his job, but but you still have to go out there and perform on the day.

And I think fans know that deep down.

Even if they're any side, if they're 1-0 up in a game and they feel like they're not comfortable, then they're going to feel uncomfortable.

I really like Cunha as a player.

Weirdly, I almost can't see him anywhere else but Wolves now.

It seems set now that he'll be there for a while.

And I hope he is because I think he'll go down

as a memorable player for them.

There was a Saints equalizer, or should have been, wasn't there, that was

disallowed by VAR, and it was just one of those frustrating ones where you wonder what this referees call

edict that was brought in at the start of a season is for, where basically, if there isn't enough doubt, then the referee's decision on the pitch is given precedence.

And we're seeing week in, week out, that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.

And there's just no consistency.

And I think in this particular case, there is a coming together between two players, but certainly in real time, no obvious and egregious offence

either side.

And I mean, Saints were like to be fuming about that.

It looked a good goal.

And

whatever the rights or wrongs in super slow motion,

this referee's cool facility isn't really working because it's not being used enough.

And it's very, very frustrating, in my opinion.

Others might think it was a bit more clear-cut.

No, I agree with you.

I mean, I watched it a million times and was sort of flitting back and forth on whether it was a foul or not.

But actually,

if it was a foul, it was probably a foul by the Wolves player on the Southampton player.

And also, it ruled out an absolutely stunning finish, wasn't it?

That's like an arrow into the top corner.

Wolves, by the way, the next five games are Liverpool, Brighton, Chelsea, Villa, and Spurs.

So certainly the first four are tricky.

Who knows?

The fifth one.

Let's go to Old Trafford.

Man United three, Leicester Nil, Van Nistroy's last game in charge, undefeated in his four-game reign.

It'll be like Alladyce, the most successful England manager ever.

Ruf Van Nistroy, the most successful Man United manager of all time.

It looks like he's not going to stay there.

He did a very long, long goodbye and, you know, waved and applauded.

And

probably for the best, Barry, you know, that Amarim is coming in, he's bringing in his backroom staff.

Van Nisroy's done a good job.

Do you want someone hanging around there who, you know, has done really well previously?

Unless Amarim has a specific role in mind for him.

There's no point in just keeping him hanging around the place for the sake of it.

I'm sure sure Van Isleroy

wouldn't particularly want that either, you know, unless he's desperate for some sort of desperate for a gig, which I presume he probably isn't.

And it's hard to know what to make of this game, really.

It's because we're just waiting for Amirim to take over to see what happens next.

Van Isleroy kept United ticking over pretty nicely while he was there.

During his four games, job done, off you go.

And

if it all goes horribly, horribly pear-shaped with Amarim, they can always get him in again for an interim role if needs be.

No, sorry.

I guess the interesting thing, Nick, is a lot of talk about sort of the tactics of Amarim and who plays where.

And Fernandez, who was brilliant in this game, actually,

you know, will probably play.

My understanding is if Amarim does his 3-4-3, he has like two tens

up alongside a centre-forward.

And so Fernandes will go push a bit forward, which might be be good for him, it might not.

It's a bit diff a change for him, I think.

I think there was a lot on show in that game to show what Amrim has got to work with.

It was almost a bit of a sort of advertisement, reel, wasn't it, for what man for what Manchester United can do at their best, especially that first goal?

It was a lovely, lovely move

to Fernandez for his finish.

And then the second goal, okay, it's an own goal by, I think it was Christensen, wasn't it?

But very, very good late run and a good instinct from Fernandez, I think, to um to get in there and and and force the era wonderful third goal as well by garnaccio so so i think um i think maybe fernandez in that kind of setup can do well he's he's able to um to score goals from range able to find those little areas as we saw the other day and i think again it was just

a display overall and and all-round performance because Leicester didn't have too many clear chances.

I think Ndidi had had one from a long ball, didn't he?

There was maybe a couple of other sniffs.

was just one of those things that can show an incoming manager, okay, I'm not dealing with a complete nightmare here.

I've got a lot of raw materials that I can build something with.

And I think Fernandez, exactly the sort of performance that you would want to see as well.

He looked engaged,

he looked potent, he looked ready.

So very excited to see what Amberm can do with him.

Yeah, and with the Gato as well, Sam, who looked good yesterday.

I think he sort of, in many ways, summed up Manchester United's recruitment recently in that they buy good players, but w without any idea of where they're going to fit in.

And I think with signs that you feel are going on good runs, you know

that when they bring in a player, that's where they're going to be.

And sometimes the manager will surprise you, but you have a sense that there's a plan there.

And Manchester United signings don't feel like they have a plan.

So that will be the most interesting aspect, I think, when the new man comes in because...

Will Annamarin want to bring in players that fit his system?

And then will the players that are currently there, there might be an awkward situation for him to work out, or will he think, well, I've got a few exporting players here, I'll make this work, I've seen them under my guys, and obviously Agate is one of those.

So

he will be maybe one of the main beneficiaries, but we'll see, because there's the other argument says that if you leave a club, if you're at a club and you leave the club and the manager's got used to being without you, and somebody thinks, oh, well, you're back again.

What do I do with you now?

That, to me, is the most interesting factor is the way he, not necessarily how Manchester United will play, but the signings they'll make with this man in charge.

Moonlight Hanger says, given that Manchester United haven't managed to sort out a visa for Ruben Arrowhead yet, is there anything Big Sir Jim could possibly have done differently to make it easier for UK companies to hire people from the EU?

It's an excellent question that a lot of us would like to know the answer to.

Anyway, it's not talk politics.

Let's go to the G-Tech Seb.

Why haven't we talked about Brentford-Bournemouth until now?

What a brilliant game, as they always are.

I know

when Brentford play at home, I was waiting for you to ask.

I couldn't even let you finish a sentence there.

I was so excited.

I think

my rule now for this season, besides obviously the three o'clock rule, is the other rule is the fact that if Joan Whiser scores, it's going to be a cracking game.

It's going to be an eventful game.

Things are going on.

He always seems to be what the centre.

There's a barnstorming game at Brentford.

Who's on the score sheet?

Whiser's on the score sheet.

And they're one of my favourite teams in the Premier League Brentford.

I think

they almost buck the trend of so many other sides.

You think to yourself, if you come up from the division below, you've got to spend lots of cash to really give yourself a chance.

And they showed you don't really have to do that.

If you already have good players for a start, that helps.

And they did when they came up.

But their recruitment's been pretty good.

Maybe not as impactful as Brighton's and eye-catching.

And their players aren't as sought after as Brighton.

Maybe I don't know what the reasoning is for that.

Is it warmer down on the south coast?

I don't know.

But I like their place.

They've created their own special place in the Premier League Brentford.

And I do hear a lot of people say, you know, when they throw out, I say, oh, the game that's going to be last on match of the day is going to be this team and that team.

I feel like Brentford are falling out of that because I don't know why Fulham and Bournemouth.

Because West Ham and Everton are in the Premier League.

Do you think that's part of the reason?

That's a big part of it.

It should be, yeah.

Brentford should not be in that mix because generally their games, I know they don't get picked for TV often.

But they are,

they are tricky for the big sides to go to.

And nobody in this league, I don't care what they say, can say, oh, that's a guaranteed three points, or we should be beating Brentford.

I don't care what team you are.

I don't think that's the case.

And Bort Bournemouth ago.

That is true.

I mean, there were some lovely goals in this.

And Wissa, actually, you mentioned him.

He scored seven.

Just shows you how much they're not missing Ivan Tony.

And Wisser scored one shit goal and one brilliant goal.

And, you know, I love both those types of goals.

He was, you know, for the first couple of years when he was there, maybe the first two and a half years, really, he was the third guy, really, behind Tony Annan Burmo.

He was, you weren't quite sure what his best position was or quite what his thing was.

Now he's the leading man, seven goals in eight games.

Such a clever mover, has the habit of ghosting into positions, I think, and just being right place at the right time.

You know,

he's really at the peak of his powers.

And it takes quite something, I think, to

rise up like that and become the main guy.

And I think he undoubtedly is there now.

Yeah,

well, just a word on Bournemouth's opener, which

I would love to talk to Seth Vandenberg because I have this theory.

He sent this horrendously undercooked pass back in the direction of Mark Flecken.

And my theory is that Evan Nielsen was so perfectly...

hidden, concealed behind whatever defender was alongside him, I think Vandenberg didn't know he was there.

Because I was froze this.

I can't see Evan Nielsen when Vandenberg,

you know, the exact moment he goes to hit the pass.

You can't see Evan Elson from his point of view because there's a Brentford defender blocking.

Now, that could be nonsense, but only Vandenberg knows.

And I'm sure he'll claim that is the case because it might get him off the hook.

But anyway,

Brentford's third goal was just

fantastic move.

The pass from

a pinnock up the touchline, Yanel's dummy, and then he makes

the run and gets a receive pass from or return pass from Keene Lewis Potter.

Beautiful weighted pass and then Wiss's clip finish was sublime.

Just a brilliant team goal and it must be so pleasing if you're Thomas Frank to see them pull that off like like just because so many things have to go right

but it's presumably something they've practiced hard in training Nuno Espirito Sanso won manager of the month Chris Wood one player of the month for October so obviously said they lost

and you were there to see it I was do you know I really really enjoyed this game I didn't think Forrest played that badly ultimately and I was very impressed by Newcastle and I do think Eddie Howe

I know people talk about him a lot but he has to get a lot of credit because I really look at Newcastle and I think he's putting together a side here that can be, if it all clicks for them, one of the most difficult sides to play against in the league.

I thought in this game they were very patient because it was quite frustrating for them because they had a lot of the ball.

They were getting around that penalty area and getting into good positions, but they couldn't make it happen.

And I thought Forrest were defending very well.

And Murillo's one of my favorite players in the league.

I love watching him.

And to see him score, I was glad to be there because his celebration went on for 20 minutes.

And that's a reflection of a man who's never scored even even in Brazil so I was pleased for him that respect and he was on course to be the player of the match and I said it on air as if he's on course and I knew that it would just crumble away for Forrest after that and that was the case and

Joel Linton most fascinating player in the Premier League.

He's had this season a job to mark Harland out of the game.

He's had jobs where he's had to play on the left, play in the middle, never up front, which is where he was signed to play.

And afterwards, I heard his interview afterwards afterwards and he credited eddie how

and he said he basically said he was talking and you don't i don't actually hear this that often from premier league players praising the manager without being prompted and and he went out of his way to do that and there was they were trying something different we expected earlier this season when harvey barn was playing well it's going to be a question of would it be gordon or barnes on the left Well, actually, it was neither for this one.

Gordon's played out on the right against Arsenal was effective there and stayed on the right for this one.

And on the left, they had this interesting dynamic where it was almost a rotation between Isak and Joel Linton and Willock, who really stood out.

And in fact, if he'd finished the rest of the game, he might have been the standout player.

So Newcastle now, I think Boyd Buy the win over Arsenal are going to be a side.

You'd think, can they go on the run?

Can they find that consistency?

Because they have an elite striker, I think, in Isak.

They'd love to have Bottman back.

I think it would help them.

But I think Dan Burns playing pretty well.

They've got two young fullbacks who are playing very well.

Their midfield is full of running and covers lots of ground and going back to the power thing.

They've got plenty of that.

Longstaff has it.

And the quality would give them a rise.

So you look at them as a whole and you think, well, can you imagine if they were allowed to spend that Saudi Arabian money where they would go?

Because right now...

They look a solid side.

It's just that consistency.

And I'll speak about Forrest briefly without going on too much.

I don't think they should take too much from this or be too disheartened from it.

I think they didn't play that badly.

They played in a way that I've seen them play for a lot of this season.

They've got a great defensive base.

They're still the team after Liverpool have conceded the fewest goals.

And

they've got a tough run now.

They've got to go to City.

They've got to go to Arsenal.

They have to go to Old Trafford with ANRI in charge.

And they've got a home game against Ipswich.

They've got four very, very difficult games.

I love that Gimmerish of Charisma that went just over the bar.

That was such a lovely effort, wasn't it?

I like the idea that you said about, I I think, pretty much every team,

could they go on a run?

I suppose

they can't all do that, can they?

Did anyone want to come in?

I thought Forrest played into Newcastle's hands a bit yesterday after they conceded the first goal.

They were a lot more high up the pitch, weren't they?

gave Newcastle counter-attacking opportunities, which they don't normally give up to teams.

and that's how Newcastle got their goals but Nuno didn't look too fussed afterwards he just said they were better than us and he was right yeah on the day sometimes teams are better than other teams that'll do for part two part three we'll do the other Premier League games and a bit of any other business

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.

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Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Palace nil Fulham 2.

Mikey said, Did any of the panel actually manage to watch the Fulham game this week, or are we to look forward to more of Max just sort of telling us what happened without even a Harry Wilson scored again, didn't he, Barry?

I mean, Fulham went six with this win, Nick.

It was only 2-0, but they battered Palace.

I thought.

Yeah, they look good, don't they?

They've got that lively ex-Arsenal triumvirate by me, of Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Nelson, lots and lots of movement, lots of aggression.

I thought that first goal from ML Smith Rowe was beautifully taken into a far corner.

It's so nice to see him applying himself and showing that cutting edge that he did show quite a lot two or three years ago at Arsenal.

I'm impressed by them.

They look fairly defensively solid.

They can spring forward.

They can hurt you.

They can definitely take advantage of a Paris side that has got issues.

I mean, their injury problems are fairly well documented.

I think anyone would miss the likes of Eze and Nell Wharton.

And

they've now got a problem with Kamada sent off, who I think is going to be a missing in their next three games, including a potentially important relegation game against Ipswickship at the start of December.

So big problems there, problems that you wouldn't have necessarily anticipated when Glasnar oversaw a very impressive and well-coached run at the end of last season.

But Fulham, yeah, a triumph of so far, quite clever under the radar recruitment and coaching from Marco Silver, who I've undenied about during his career.

I often thought early on in his time in England that he was a bit overhyped, to be honest,

on the back of not quite keeping hull up.

But he's proved himself.

I think he's doing a fantastic job there.

And from what I've seen, they're well worth their place in my table.

Toby says, do you think you'll spend the whole of of the programme or just part one on the West Ham Everton game?

Yeah, goalless.

No notes.

I think West Ham should have won that game.

I think they were a bit unlucky, to be honest, but yeah, it was dire.

Pickford made an excellent save later on, didn't he?

And

it's the Somerville hit the post.

Jimmy Somerville.

Jimmy Somerville.

Yeah, yeah.

He hit the post.

Jimmy Somerville put through by Paketar.

But yeah, it was goalless.

So Owen says, you guys never, brackets, rarely shy away from the tricky stuff.

I'm hoping you'll do something on the events in Amsterdam midweek and how these have been reported.

Look, we should start by saying that information is still partial on this.

A police investigation in Amsterdam is ongoing following the incidents last week around the Europa League match in Amsterdam between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In a press conference called by the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halseymer, she said violence aimed at Maccabi fans had left five people in hospital and 20 to 30 with minor injuries.

There were reports of fireworks set off, people being thrown into canals, some Maccabi supporters being asked for identity documents in order to be allowed back to their hotels.

There were several incidents across the city starting on Wednesday night, the night before the game, when Maccabi fans tore down a Palestinian flag from the facade of a building in the city and shouted, fuck you, Palestine.

Amsterdam police chief Peter Holler said Maccabi fans had vandalized a taxi, which was then followed by a a quote online call to mobilize other taxi drivers to a casino where 400 Israeli supporters were present.

A social media video that's been verified by Reuters showed Maccabi fans setting off flares and chanting, Ole, Ole, let the IDF win, we will fuck the Arabs, referring, of course, to the Israel.

Defense forces.

The police chief said a large crowd of Maccabi supporters had then gathered on Dam Square on Thursday lunchtime and there had been quote fights on both sides.

Afterwards when Maccabi fans had made their way into the center of Amsterdam, according to the mayor, rioters carried out several attacks on Israelis in various locations.

She said on Friday there was an outburst of anti-Semitism with hit-and-run attacks attacks on the visiting supporters.

Men on scooters criss-crossed the city looking for Israeli football fans.

It was a hit and run.

I can easily understand that this brings back memories of pogroms.

Meanwhile, the Israeli national team is heading to Paris shortly for Thursday's match against France.

Israeli authorities are urging fans to stay away.

And that is within the context of what we talked about last Tuesday, about FIFA and UEFA not making a decision on whether Israel should continue to play and whether Israeli club side should continue to play in Europe.

The story has clearly got some way to run still.

You can follow other developments and are reporting on it on our website, theguardian.com.

And this happened last Tuesday.

It's quite a gear change to the EFL and to Mark Robbins and him getting sacked by Coventry City.

And Sean says, is sacking Mark Robbins, a man worshipped by Coventry fans, potentially replacing him with Frank Lampard, one of the most obvious owner knows nothing about football decisions of the season.

Barry, Mark Robbins did such an amazing job at Coventry.

And

they're not doing brilliantly at the moment but if anyone had bought themselves time it was Mark Robbins.

You would think so and I can't help but wonder if there's not more to the story than just the fact they're not doing particularly well this season.

It's difficult not to feel sympathy for Mark Morbins but one imagines he will not be out of work for long if he doesn't want to be and on the evidence of what I've seen so far I can't understand why anyone would give uh Frank Lampard a managerial position, particularly at a club that's struggling

near the foot of the championship.

So,

yeah, I'm going to just speculate idly that there is more to this story than meets the eye, that Robbins wasn't just sacked for

because,

you know, he might have had a falling out with someone behind the scenes or disagreement or whatever.

I think they just want to get Lee Carsley in.

That's what I think.

Coventry.

They're just waiting.

They know this is his last round of games.

They'll wait for this to finish and then they'll just hire him as manager.

That to me seems...

Lee Carsley.

Well, you said Teddy Sherringham was a Portsmouth legend earlier.

I mean, I don't know what the...

Well,

I mean, did he play for them?

I can't even remember.

I can only see him in an Everton show.

I don't think Carsley.

I don't think so.

He's from Birmingham, isn't he?

2010, 2011.

25 games, no goals for Coventry.

2000 to 2002, 47 games, four goals for Coventry.

So there you go.

You just knew knew it.

Deep down.

And we all stand corrected.

Christian says, I hope you've got two minutes for Chris Wilder's post-Derby escapades.

He was last seen in the local leading the whole pub in a chance of sausage roll, aimed at his Wednesday counterpart, Danny Roll, at the top of his voice.

Clearly, worse for wear.

Everything about it is probably going to get criticised, but the best bit is that's exactly what he does when he isn't managing Sheffield United.

He's standing on pub tables singing sausage roll.

He is from another era.

Joe Root happened to be in that pub as well.

It was a big blade uh after sheffield united beat sheffield wednesday 1-0 in the steel city derby not the biggest derby of the weekend james says would you rather lose 6-1 to your local rivals or 5-0

I literally cannot begin to comprehend how either of those things feel and it's with reference

to our result away at Peterborough last season and our result away at Peterborough this season.

JB game says given our usual trouncing of our poorer neighbours to the south of the county should Cambridge should be renamed Peterbroughshire to reflect our all-round superiority And Osh says, bad week to be a Spurs team who win things fan, who also supports Cambridge, Max.

You're bloody right, it is.

Peterborough 6, Cambridge 1.

As I said to you, Barry, on the radio, just the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller.

What are we meant to do?

It was still 0-0 at the after 25 minutes.

Our time will come.

Jed says, can we have a shout-out to Droheda United for winning the FAI Cup today?

A fantastic 2-0 win over Derry City, building momentum for the relegation playoff next week.

Come on, the drogs.

Do you have anything to add on that, Barry?

I don't, I'm afraid.

I was aware the game was on, but I can't.

And I was aware Draw had a won, so

fair play to them.

I didn't see it.

Well, maybe they'll go on a run and stay up.

It's possible, isn't it?

Anyway, that'll do for today.

Thanks, everybody.

Thank you, Nick.

Thank you, Max.

Cheers, Seb.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Baz.

Thank you.

Football Weekly is produced by Silas Gray.

Our executive producer is Phil Maynard.

We'll be back on Wednesday.

This is The Guardian.