Ruud’s reds thrash Leicester and Spurs surprise City – Football Weekly Extra podcast

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

Manchester City's first defeat of the season comes at the Tottenham Hot Spurs Stadium.

Not a happy place for them generally.

It wasn't their strongest 11, but it wasn't a bad one.

Spurs were good.

Here come the bucket loads for Timo Werner and a lovely strike from Pabesar.

Enough to get Ange through.

A night of great strikes.

Casemiro beginning the short Van Nistelroy revolution with a stunner and a 5-2 win over Leicester.

The deal for Ruben Amarin is apparently done.

We'll bring you the latest, which will probably be out of date by the time you listen to this.

Cody Gakpo scores a belter for Liverpool as they beat Brighton.

Ethan and Wary.

Does the same for Arsenal at Preston.

There are good wins for Palace at Villa.

And Newcastle at home to Chelsea.

We'll look ahead to a Premier League weekend with some good-looking fixtures.

We'll wonder what's going wrong with the Lionesses.

Another win for Aberdeen, this time against Rangers, and the League of Ireland is coming to an exciting climax.

All that plus one Hernier, your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

On the panel today, Barry Glendenning, welcome.

Hi, Max.

Hello, Lucy Ward.

Hi, Max.

And it's been a long time, Jordan Jarrett, Brian.

I mean, it's what's astonishing is how few people message to say, where's Jordan?

Has he been fired?

Maybe they were stunned into silence.

How are you?

I'm good, mate.

I'm good.

I've missed you guys too.

Yeah.

Well, just to be for the tape, we've asked Jordan a lot, but he's been very busy, very sought-after man.

So we're delighted to have you.

Let's start

at Spurs, who beat Man City to get through to the quarterfinal of the Carabao Cup.

Spurs put out a pretty strong side.

Pet promised a second team.

In reality, we got a mix.

But still, significant that it's City's first defeat of the season.

And it's significant that it's a great result for Spurs, Barry.

But actually, I just thought a brilliant, intense game of football.

The Caraback Cup, it's not a competition Pep treats frivolously, despite, you know,

he put out a...

poorish side insofar as Manchester City can put out a second string side.

But it's a defeat you imagine will rankle with Pep.

And I thought Spurs were more than worthy winners.

It's a good, good result for Ange Postakoglu, who got pelters last season

for putting out an understrength side in one of the, I think it was the very first time of asking in the competition for Spurs.

They got beaten and he got hammered for that.

because you know Spurs don't win trophies very often as is well documented.

He almost did the same thing again this season but got away with it.

But they've beaten City now and that's a very important win for Spurs, I would say.

A far more significant win for Spurs than it is a defeat for City.

Lucy, Timo Werner, I mean I've been saying for ages that

once he gets one, he'll get loads.

Yesterday proved that that is not necessarily the case, but he did get one.

And

I was just so delighted for it.

You could sense the sort of absolute delight amongst the fans.

He's quite a popular player despite missing missing all those chances.

Yeah, he just looks like a good lad.

That's that, that's what I, and I, and like you say, popular with the fans, popular with the players, so good to score early.

But even then, like, we switched it on after that, and he went through, and Neil just went, he's going to miss, and he missed, and he was like, he's shite.

I said, well, he isn't, he isn't, he's very good, but he just can't finish.

And I said, he's actually scored.

So he was like looking at his phone, he's going, are you sure?

Yeah, you know, reading out his sort of scoring record.

Just to be clear, just to be clear, if people weren't aware, the Neil in question is Neil Redfern.

And it's bold of Neil Redvern to say that Tim O'Verne is shite if you were to compare the two players.

But anyway, do carry on.

Do you know what?

He might not have said shite, so don't, you know, I don't want the Spurs fans to be able to do it.

Let's take it back, Neil.

He just says

he can't finish his dinner.

Something like that.

Something along those lines.

But yeah, I think Neil tweeted you actually last night, Max, to say,

ask Lucy how many goals each of us have scored.

And I think I've I've scored more than him, so we won't even go there.

But what we're talking about, Team Overt.

I'm so pleased, so pleased for him.

But I think it might take a little bit more to get his full confidence back.

And then the second goal, and there were some brilliant goals, Jordan, last night, but SARS, when you see the angle from behind the goal and how far out it begins, it's glorious.

It's lovely, yeah.

It's one of those goals where the camera angle makes it look even better.

Because as you say, it does

go out to in.

I I thought this was a game Burs deserve to win I thought overall they were the better team they they hung on in the second half for the expected onslaught from Manchester City

and and yeah

I thought they they they deserve to to go through to the next round it's not a defeat I don't think Pep's gonna be too upset about yet he likes to win these games we know that he's won this competition several times that does take it seriously but I think he'll sleep fine last night knowing that he has got bigger fish to fry.

It's obviously a disappointing

loss for Spurs having Van der Vena because he pulled up, didn't he, about halfway into the first half.

And they got a big game on the weekend against the mighty Aston Villa.

So that's probably the one downside for Spurs.

But we are closer and we'll get to the Newcastle game, I'm sure, but to a possible final between Newcastle and Tottenham, which got me thinking, who are those sets of supporters need a trophy more?

That's all I was thinking at the end of the day.

If that is the final, who would be funny for a neutral to watch lose that game all the more?

I couldn't quite work out the two.

Spurs and a trophy, even though they've had one more recently than Newcastle, it's just so.

It's a monkey on their back more than Newcastle, I would say.

And I think more people would take joy in Spurs getting to a final and losing it.

However,

I think we're quite a long way off from a Spurs-Newcastle final, given that Arsenal and Liverpool, amongst others, are still in this competition.

So, it's an interesting question, Barry, for Spurs:

they haven't started the league very well, and a trophy would be great.

Would there be any sense in Ange saying, Well, if we really go for the League Cup, the FA Cup, and Europa League,

there is a chance to win one of those, perhaps, much more than winning the Premier League.

And

you know, you will qualify for Europe if you win one of those trophies.

It could be the championship in the Europa League.

Could there be any sense in prioritising the Cups?

No,

I think it's the answer to that question.

Insofar are you saying just put out a super full strength team for all those competitions?

Sure.

Yeah, well I think now we're in the quarter finals.

Why not?

I can never understand why teams like Spurs, Palace,

mid-Newcastle, mid-table teams like that don't go all out to try and win the FA Cup at least

because they're not going to win the league.

But Spurs will obviously, fans still want to finish in the top four.

That could still happen.

It seems unlikely.

But

yeah, by all means, a fun fact for you actually about the League Cup.

Okay.

And I'm indebted to my friend Lawrence for pointing this out to me.

This is the first time all of Crystal Palace, Spurs and Manchester United have been in the quarterfinals since 1992-93, which is the year famously that Donald Trump and Greevesy did the draw for the quarterfinals.

And that signifies Trump will win the election?

I really hope not, but it might.

But I think Greevesy and Ian St.

John was sort of MC of the draw.

They gave Trump massive kudos for pairing Manchester United and Leeds.

But I'm pretty sure Leeds were last out of the bag.

So, like,

it was the only tie that could happen.

Maybe he's honest after all.

That's all I can say.

I suppose Ian says, why does Pep take Haaland all the way to London to make him sit on the bench and watch when they're a goal down?

Under what circumstances would he have actually got on?

I mean, Lucy, what do you think about that?

It seems strange to have him there if he wasn't going to come on Wednesday we're losing.

When he had opportunity, I mean, Savinho gets injured and he brought on, was it Jacob Wright, I think?

Yeah, and he brought a young centre-back on as well who did, who I thought did well as well.

But yeah, it's interesting because if you want to give him a rest, you give him a rest because even if you're on the bench, you've still got to go through, you know, the staying in a, I don't know if they stayed in a hotel and perhaps they went down,

they went on the day, but yeah, it still sort of takes it out of you as a player.

But I don't know, maybe he's just showing that he maybe is taking it seriously, but not really when he makes his substitutions because it probably will help City not being in the league cup, even though they've managed to sort of win it loads of times and win the league as well.

But perhaps he can sort of foresee that it might be a little bit more difficult in the Premier League this season.

But yeah, when I saw him sat on the bench, there was quite strange.

Nick O'Reilly played, James McCarty played, Jacob Wright came on.

Yeah, Jamai Simpson-Pusey was the centre-back who did look quite good, made his debut.

Pep was so smiley afterwards, I, you know, and sort of as the game was finishing that I thought he's putting that on and actually he cares more than he's, you know, he's so smiley that actually he does care.

But then he didn't bring Haaland on.

The only other thought I had was about Phil Foden, Jordan.

I don't know.

He just doesn't seem to be clicking at the moment, didn't click last night again.

No, he didn't.

I've been watching, as an Arsenal fan, I've been watching his kind of management of Phil Foden because it took him about five or six games before he even played a game from my vague memory.

And my thinking was: look, he's had a Euros, Player of the Year last year, long season, but second half of this season, you're my guy.

I need you fit and firing for when it really, really matters.

And if that's the case,

he's not anywhere near clicking into gear.

So, yeah, the last few games, he hasn't been particularly great, but I still have faith that, you know, come Christmas time onwards,

he'll pick it up and he'll be the full photo he saw last season.

Just on the subject of what you were saying about Haaland being brought down to London, sit in the bench and then go back home.

I've said this before in the pod.

Carlo Vancilotti made the point,

I think, earlier this season or before the season started, that he's just going to give players holidays during the season.

And this seems like an ideal time.

I am aware Erling Haaland is very rested because he wasn't at the Euros in the summer.

But,

you know, they've got Bournemouth at the weekend.

They had this game last night.

Just go, you know, have have ten days off, go and have a holiday.

I really think this is something managers should do with players during the season.

The best thing, Barry, that you can say to a player, the most favourite thing that the player hears is you've got a day off tomorrow, have you got two days off?

Players just loved it.

And I didn't believe that before I started working at a football club, so thinking, How can they not love football?

And right, it's true because it's obviously their job, they obviously love it, but not all of them love it, but a day off is a day off, and they just I mean, I think there was a clip of a team celebrating that they got three days off after the one and they were all singing three days off.

And

that is just indicative of football as they love a day off, don't we all?

Mark Langdon did tweet to say he lost his glasses at half-time and needed Ian Danter from Talksport to help him on the way home.

It's the idea of Mark Langdon sitting there during the second half, but having absolutely no idea what was going on,

but he did make it home.

Apparently, he'd had a couple after not drinking for all of October or something like that.

Anyway, to Old Trafford,

Stu says, I've sold Manchester United.

Just get a different guest ex-player, manager, every week.

Like how they change the host of Have I Got News for You.

That's a one and a half million pound consultancy fee, please, Idios.

He says, John Bruin had exactly the same idea.

Two games maximum, an overlap special, then on to the next man.

They beat Leicester 5-2.

It was only Leicester Reserves, Jordan, but still a nice evening for Manchester United.

Had a very shackles-off feel to the the game, didn't it?

They all just had a spring in their step because we read into this that they all hated Eric Ten Haag.

Yeah, I mean, I don't want to be the guy that starts off with a negative of the back of a 5-2-2 win, but you know, they did still concede two goals to a team that had, you know, that's not doing well in the Premier League, had nine changes, I think that counted to their starting 11s.

All right, they got five, but they're still let in two.

But yeah, they look like, you know,

the main man is gone.

Let's Let's have some fun.

Let's fill our boots.

Casemiro is shooting from all over the place.

That first goal was incredible.

Unbelievable.

He's literally put it.

I don't think you could get that any closer into the top corner than where he put it.

Are you about to say postage stamp?

I wasn't going to.

I wasn't going to.

I wasn't going to.

But I was definitely thinking it.

So fair play to him as well.

My only other kind of takeaway from this game, it's another weird one, is that...

That Joshua Xerxe guy, he looks, first of all, like twice as big as everybody else.

He just looks huge, But also, he doesn't look like, and this is going to sound really disrespectful.

I don't really, I don't mean it to sound disrespectful, but he looks like a guy that isn't a professional footballer.

I don't know if it's the socks by his ankles, but he looks like an amateur playing with professionals.

Whenever I watch him play, he looks really weird in the Man United kit.

Because

for Holland, he doesn't.

But for United, I just always find him looking a little bit odd.

Am I the only person that finds him, he stands out on the pitch in a really weird weird way is that is that is that just me well you need him next to angel gomez who you know obviously looks like the tiniest footballer that's ever been i know the only my only thought sort of aesthetic about xerxe was i wasn't concentrating i think at the weekend when he had a header that then i think casemiro put in and i was like has eric ten hog found marowan filany in a cupboard because he's got as much hair as as falany had but i haven't noticed him not looking like a footballer i mean i guess there are brilliant footballers like thomas muller doesn't look like a footballer in many ways kevin de bruyna doesn't look like a footballer like you can be utterly brilliant and not look like a footballer.

But Xerxe, when Xerxe got called up, he was a late call-up for Holland for the Euros, and he was on the holidays in Disney World in Florida.

And I'm just wondering now, you know, the way if you want to go on a ride, you have to be a certain height.

He was perhaps too big to get on some rides in Disney World.

It's possible.

What did you make of this game, Lucy?

needed I think they needed that in the Man United.

They're quite pleased with Van Disaroi.

Van Disaroi did so well at PSV and you sort of tend to think that, you know, when he came back to Man United, that this was always going to happen.

I think everybody thought that.

But then Eric Ten Hag let it happen.

I mean, there is a big thing amongst managers is that they don't allow somebody better than them to come into their coaching.

You know, they have these egos which don't allow that.

Instead of just using people's experience and and ability to make everything better and you look good at the end of it, which normal managers do of any other business, they don't tend to like it because they tend to think that they will take the job.

So, I was surprised when that happens, because you look everywhere else, and that doesn't happen.

They don't sort of allow a better coach into an academy or into the first team staff.

So, that you know, Ruvan Nistoroi taking the first team doesn't surprise me, but what does surprise me is that he's he's not doesn't look like he's even been considered for the main role.

Before we go on to Rubin, just to note that Steve Cooper was booked for complaining uh about united's second goal no var until the semi-finals of the carabals so uh he won't be in the dugout for the ipswich game at the weekend um on on to reuben amarin so dave brailsford was seen saying it's done uh on a tick tock uh that was being recorded by some fan hanging around old trafford uh they want him asap it could be announced at some point today he might it might be announced by the time you listen to this there is an option under discussion that he stays at sporting for three more games including a game against man city in the champions league then moves after the 10th of November during the international break.

Sporting are resigned to leaving him because of a release clause, but he has a 30-day notice period.

Michael says, would Jim Ratcliffe allow Ruben Amarin to work from home for the next 30 days?

He will be the next manager.

I mean, we sort of discussed it a bit on Tuesday, so I don't know if we have to go in deep on Amarin unless everyone has strong thoughts about him.

I just think it's quite interesting that

all the positives about him that are being flagged up are absolutely identical to the positives that were flagged up about Eric Tonhag before he arrived.

So, you know, players attacking football on the front foot, is good at bringing through young players.

So club...

the club he's at can sell them on for a big fee disciplinarian disciplinarian is has enjoyed success in a league none of us ever pay any attention to.

So, yeah,

he's basically the exact same as Eric Ten Hagg, except he has a full head of thick, lustrous hair.

Yeah,

I mean, it could mean that he'll only sign players from sporting now, which would be presumably a step up from Ajax.

Well, I believe

United are already being linked with two or three players for sporting.

Yeah, I mean, Gokarez is a brilliant footballer.

There's a small part of me that really, really hopes he'll turn them down, but I may well because he hasn't actually said he wants the job yet, has he?

He hasn't said he's going to take it.

He hasn't said he wants it.

I may well,

you know, he may well have accepted it by the time this pod goes out, but I would, it would be so funny if he turned them down.

Yeah, I wonder if he has,

you know, there's a lot of work that needs to do with that squad, but there aren't quite as many huge issues like Ronaldo or Greenwood or things for him to deal with with straight away.

I don't know if it'll be an easier step in than for Ten Haag.

But anyway, carry on, John.

I think just a slight one, a slight point on your point there.

Noticing Lesse's game, everyone was feeling their boots apart from Marcus Rashford.

He didn't play well.

And in a game where everybody did feel a little bit more free for whatever reason, to, in a tackling sense, express themselves a little bit better.

Rashford got hooked.

I think it was after, it was quite early.

Again, I can't remember the exact moment he got taken off.

But he didn't have a good game.

So I think that might be something he needs to address because if he wants to bring in a Yokarez, if he wants to bring in someone like that, you'd think that that's going to cost another 60, 70 million.

They've just brought in Xerxe.

They brought in the year before that Hoyland, who cost 70 million.

I can't see another expensive striker coming in unless they get somebody like Rashford off the books.

So I think sorting out.

Marcus Rashford will be one of the top things, him being the top earner, that the manager will have to address as soon as he arrives at Old Trafford.

63rd minute, Marcus Rashford was taking off.

Anyway, that'll do for part one.

Part two, we'll go through the other Carabao Cup games.

Hi, Pod fans of America.

Max here.

Barry's here too.

Hello.

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Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly to the Amex, Brighton 2, Liverpool 3.

I'd say loosely, not a classic 3-2, but a good 3-2, all the goals on the second half.

But it always felt like Liverpool had it.

Yeah,

I'm so impressed.

I mean, you know, when we do the Premier League preview, I'm just so impressed with

Slot.

I went out to do the Leipzig game.

That's not an easy game, even though Leipzig is not as good as Liverpool, but the atmosphere, etc.

And I just think he's quite calm, and that sort of resonates with the players.

But going to Brighton's not easy, is is it?

I mean, quite a lot of things that people have said, you know, Liverpool have not played anybody yet, keep saying it, but it isn't easy to

take over somebody that's a legend and left of their own accord.

And

I think it's more impressive than people are saying what Slot's done at Liverpool, you know, going to Brighton.

Yeah, they conceded those couple of later goals, but they just seemed in control, even though they made the changes.

Gakpost playing better.

Diaz is playing better.

I think that's the thing.

You look at the players, the individual players that are playing differently as well as the way that he's structured.

But yeah,

I quite like the look of Liverpool at the moment.

Both sides made eight changes.

I mean, of all the goals last night, I wonder if Gakpose is the best.

The purest strike, Barry.

No, I'm gonna say

Casemiro's was better.

I do enjoy how Lucy is making a trip to Brighton sound like Scott going to the Antarctic.

This arduous.

It's not an easy place to go.

It is.

It is a three-day camel ride from here and Liverpool.

Just get on the train, go down, have a nice fish and chips on the pier.

It's not that difficult, Lucy.

Unless the trains are playing up.

Yeah, exactly.

You forget where I live.

Did you have any thoughts on the game, Barry?

I mean, I'm happy with that.

No, I don't, Max, because I'll be honest, I didn't see all I've seen are the goals.

Well, then, shush, then.

Shush, talking about Brighton.

Can I just add one point, though?

Please, if you're not mind,

just to first of all agree with Lucy, I think that sometimes it's also very impressive for a manager to pick up from another manager who's doing well because the temptation I think is often to change things and do things my way.

But sometimes

it just to put your ego to one side and be like, well, this was kind of working and I want to slowly put my imprint on this team.

But I don't have to rip it up and show that I'm the big man.

So I think that in itself is a skill from Slot.

I thought Gakpo's, both his goals were really, really good.

The first one in particular, he's a really interesting player.

I mean, I've slagged off Xerxe unintentionally, but Gakpo, I'd actually

quite intentional.

I've got to tell you.

Well, Gakpo, I'll give him some love.

I'll be nice to Gakpo because he's the sort of striker that I think in most clubs I think would start, get you 15 Premier League goals.

But unlike Arsenal, where I think they're quite stacked defensively for a title charge, Liverpool are really stacked offensively.

Because if Gakpo your Caribou, okay, your Caribou cut striker,

you're doing pretty well.

So, I think he deserved a little bit of love.

Tarrett Lamptey had a bit of a mare despite getting a goal yesterday as well.

So, I thought he deserved a shout-out

too.

But I thought 3-2 kind of flattered Brighton a little bit.

I thought Liverpool were quite convincing in this one.

Yeah, I thought Lampty was good going forward, but not good going backwards.

And there was one brilliant save from the Liverpool keeper who is someone called Vitislav Yaros, who's been there since 2020.

but this was his first start.

He's been on loan in lots of things.

Oh, I got the sorry, Max.

I got the wrath of Liverpool fans when I said on Comment Show, when he came on for when Alison got injured and Kelleher wasn't on the bench.

Against Palace?

Yes, and I said, I quipped something like

everybody's googling, which I'm sure everybody apart from, and what I should have said is apart from obviously Liverpool fans, I got absolutely hammered for that.

But I obviously meant people who were just neutrals or or perhaps Palace fans who had no idea who Yaros was.

But

anyway, did well.

Well, I wasn't googling him then because I wasn't watching at that moment, but I did Google him this morning.

So

yes, yes, I'm on board with that.

Newcastle 2, Chelsea-nil.

Newcastle made five changes.

Chelsea made 11.

I mean, if anyone has the squad to make 11 changes, but mind you, Enzo, Jao Felix, and Kunku Mudrick and Jewsby Hall is quite a pricey reserve attack.

There was a fun miss by Joel Linton early on, if anyone wanted some 2019 Joel Linton nostalgia.

And then sort of two pretty poor goals defensively from Chelsea to give Newcastle the win.

Yeah, and it's a big win for Newcastle.

Their hunt for a trophy goes on, obviously.

And I'd imagine the hearts of Newcastle fans probably sank when they got drawn against Chelsea in this, but they've got Brentford now in the quarterfinals at home.

That's very winnable.

It's also very losable, but

it's something for Newcastle fans to be really positive about

in their team's quest for that elusive trophy.

Newcastle have had issues in the league.

They've only scored one goal in their last three.

They haven't scored more than two in any game they've played this season.

Their midfield is a bit of a mess

and

they've got Arsenal at home at the weekend, which could be an interesting game.

But,

yeah, this is a huge win for them, I would say.

I enjoyed this as his own goal.

He really made sure

sort of hammering it home.

There were concerns about when Chelsea would actually be able to play the quarterfinal if they got through, given clashes with the Europa Conference League in December.

So, that is a weight off our minds.

Aston Villa won Palace 2.

Two wins in two for Palace Jordan.

They played a very strong side, and Villa didn't, and that's probably why they won.

No, this Villa defeat wasn't funny at all.

But Palace have been weird this last week or so.

I mean,

they performed really well against Spurs, and this was a game where, again, I think

they were the better team.

They seem to be going for this competition

too.

Esay came off in the first half, but

I've not find any reports as to why if there was a really bad injury or if it was just tactical, because he came off halfway through

the first half, but I couldn't quite work out why they took him off um in in in that first half anyway it didn't matter they got they got the win on the go um a little bit like manchester city i'm not sure villa will be too upset about going out of this competition i think pushing for top four uh and doing well in the champions league i i think they'll see this as a competition they could probably do without being in so so yeah i i think i think for villa it's you know it's disappointing losing at home especially to a team that you'd probably expect to win against.

But I think they'll dust themselves down and move on to bigger and better very quickly on this one.

Yeah, just on Esse, Matt Woosnam, the palace reporter for the athletics, tweeted at the time, Esse's gone down off the ball with a problem, randomly pulled up, put his hand up, wasn't sprinting or anything.

He did score a brilliant header, and Kamada, who came on, scored the other goal.

If you were wondering where Matt Turner is, he was making his palace debut in goal.

And really good to see Tyro Mings back in Villa's starting lineup.

First start in

445 days.

Joe says, what were you doing when Ethan Wanyeri was born?

I'm sure we've done Wanyeri before, but yeah.

March the 21st, 2007, Walk This Way, The Sugar Babes versus Girls Aloud,

which we think was a Comic Relief single, was number one.

I hope so.

That, Lucy, another brilliant goal.

And he's a great player.

Yeah, he is.

And I think the one thing that you could level, I think Arteta is wonderful, but the one thing that you could level at Arteta is that he has got some absolutely wonderful kids and he doesn't play them enough.

That's what I would say in certain situations where he could play the kids.

I covered them a lot last year,

the last couple of years in Europe, and he didn't really use them.

He took them with him and he didn't really use them when everybody watching thinking, why is he not?

And you've got to trust them.

That's for a start, but you've got to be quite brave as a manager.

And perhaps in sort of where he is in his career, he's sort of thinking I'd rather just make sure than than put these kids in but there'll come a point where you know this kid has to play

particularly when you know that he's got some some injuries and I think at times Arteta would rather place a senior player out of position than play a young kid who is very very good in in in in that in wherever it is on the pitch yeah he's had two main criticisms Michael Arteta one of them as Lucy says is that he hasn't really brought through any any young kids and I think in the last decade Arsenal haven't haven't been great in getting their their youngsters into their first 11.

I think Zaka and Bellerin are the only two in the last decade who have come through and been mainstays of the 11 in the Arsenal team but the second criticism is his cup record I mean despite winning the FA Cup in his first six months at the club his cup record is is really really bad so it was really important that he not only won this game they won it convincingly

and that he goes deep into this competition just on the win generally for us for Arsenal some of the attackers are really concerning me at Arsenal because although three goals were scored and Ranieri got a brilliant goal, Sterling hasn't really, he actually played quite well, Sterling, but he still can't get into a rhythm of goals.

And although I see Sterling as when he starts, it gives Saka a rest and at times he needs a rest.

Second half of the season, I referred to Phil Foden in the second half of the season coming good.

You're going to need players like Sterling really stepping up.

And Sterling gets a little bit less slack because it's not like he's new to the league or he's a youngster he's established he's an international he shouldn't need time to kind of get up to speed and he hasn't really kind of lit it up yet so again we're hoping that he will he will warm up after Christmas but some of the Arsenal attackers aren't really doing it for me at the moment.

I've got faith that when they get their defenders back defensively, they'll be fine.

Offensively, I think Arsenal have to have to do a lot more work to keep up with City and Liverpool.

I mean, Kai Havertz is, and, you know, he's now trolling people who said he's not a striker by just repeatedly scoring classic number nine headers, and that was an absolute bullet.

I loved that header.

It was so, so good.

Just on the subject of Arteta and young players, it is interesting, Miles Lewis Skelly, who I keep thinking,

I'm sure he used to be in the Coral, the Merseyside

band, but he seems to have eclipsed Aleksander Zinchenko when it comes to sort of reserve left backery

at Arsenal.

Jordan, is it is his mum that's started that um you know looking after academy parents?

Brilliant.

Like she's done brilliant.

So basically she has a like an information.

I don't know whether it's an app or

an organisation that helps Academy parents deal with you know the the the journey through the academy which is obviously fraught with lots of difficulties and you know

it's very very difficult for parents as it is for kids and she's doing an amazing job sort of helping other parents, which I think is brilliant.

Southampton beat Stoke 3-2.

I had a bit of a scare.

They went 2-up, and then Stoke came back to make it 2-2

before James Bree got a late winner for Southampton and Brentford were held by Sheffield Wednesday.

A heartbreak for Liam Palmer, Sheffield Wednesday club legend making his 450th appearance but missed the decisive penalty.

Some of the penalties in the shootout were absolutely brilliant.

Quarter finals then, Spursman United, Arsenal Palace, Newcastle, Brentford, and Southampton, Liverpool.

Games to be played the week commencing the 16th of December.

And that'll do for part two.

Part three, we'll look at the Premier League games, do any other business.

HiPod fans of America, Max here.

Barry's here too.

Hello.

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Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

It was the new game day scratchers from the California lottery.

Play is everything.

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

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

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

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question.

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Hello, Jonathan Friedland here, host of the Guardian's Politics Weekly America podcast.

This week, we kicked off our special election road trip series.

On Thursday, my colleague Alice Herman was in Wisconsin.

Next Monday, I'll be reporting from the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, the state most believe could swing the entire election.

And for election week itself, I'll be in Washington, D.C., bringing you those all-important election results as we get them and all the fallout.

So do make sure to search for Politics Weekly America, wherever you get your podcasts, and hit subscribe.

Thank you.

Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

While we're recording,

Lucy just pointed this out.

Laurie Whitwell from the Athletic tweeting that's kind of what we said about what we thought might happen with Amarin seems to have been confirmed.

He'll start the international break, a fee of 11 million euros.

So sporting will keep him for those games, including once against Man City.

But he should be in charge of Manchester United for a game against Ipswich on November the 24th.

They play so Rude Ranis Roy Barry has a few more games to have fun.

They've got Chelsea at the weekend, which seems like an exciting one.

Yeah, it is, isn't it?

And every game is important for Manchester United now because they're obviously down in 14th.

I'm slightly concerned that

in our preseason predictions, I said they'd finish 10th.

Everyone,

it was a sharp intake of breath and it i was i was beginning to think maybe i'd i'd aimed too high for them i imagine uh mr amarim will probably drag them up the table yeah so manchester united come into this game on the back of i would say a somewhat unfortunate defeat an unlucky defeat against west ham chelsea beat newcastle i found it remarkable actually that uh last night bruno fernandez scored his first goals of the season you always assume he's popping up with a goal here and there.

So, yeah, I thought that was quite strange.

If Eric Tonhag was still in charge, I would say this would probably be a Chelsea win.

Now, we don't know.

The players were gambling around last night like

calves who've just been let out of a shed, having been kept in there for several months, and they've seen the green pasture.

It's a hard one to call, isn't it?

I still think Chelsea will probably win this game.

St.

James's Park, Newcastle Arsenal.

We've touched on it a little bit, Jordan, but just they're quite depleted at the back.

Saliba's back.

How do you think they will line up at the back there?

Because I thought they did okay.

I mean, that Liverpool game was decent.

I think they did well to get a point, actually.

Yeah, they did okay.

I think in a

Manchester citification of the league now, where you can't drop points, especially against your rivals, we see that as two points dropped.

But maybe it'll prove to be the team that had a a point gained.

Ben White played really well at centre-back.

We know that he can play there.

He was there before we turned him into a right-back.

Parte, I thought, was the best player actually for us in that game on Sunday at right-back.

So it wouldn't stun me if he stayed there.

And then you had someone like us in Chenko or Louis Skelly at left back.

I think it's a must-win for Arsenal.

I don't want to get all hyperbolic and the world's going to implode if Arsenal wins this game on the weekend.

But I don't think Arsenal can afford afford to

drop many points, really.

And just to my point earlier on, just to repeat, I think the attack needs to really find a way to create more chances.

I was at the Emirates on Sunday, and there just was a lack of chances in the central part of the pitch for Arsenal.

It was a massive odegaard-shaped hole of creativity that was lacking.

Unless Saka does something amazing, they do find it hard to create chances.

So I think defensively they'll be fine.

It's more up top that I'm concerned when they get the two or three goals to kill off a Newcastle team that seemed to be on the up.

We established earlier in the pod, Lucy, that

the trek from Liverpool to Brighton was arduous.

Is the trek from Brighton to Liverpool equally arduous?

Because that's the game we've got at the weekend.

It's uphill, yeah.

Yeah, that's true.

It is uphill.

Gest for Liverpool.

I mean, we will see two different teams, I mean, they both made changes.

So, like, it's a different game, this Liverpool Brighton, right?

Yeah, it is.

Brighton are difficult to play against.

They've always been, the last few seasons been difficult to play against.

But I don't really know what to make of Brighton because they've produced some really brilliant results and performances, and then a couple of games have flattered to deceive.

And I suppose that's why they're trying to get consistency under

a new manager.

But you look at where they are in the league, the sixth in the league.

They've obviously chosen well with the new manager, or

initial performances suggest that.

They're just a good club, aren't they?

They know how to.

You thought this season, perhaps

if you keep selling and keep selling, at some point it will have an effect on Brighton, and it really hasn't because the players there are just given the room to just step up and show how good they are and then get sold.

But yeah, Liverpool, I've talked about Liverpool.

I just think you can't underestimate how hard it is to come into a club like that.

And I think he's on a roll now.

And I think that because, like Jordan said earlier, how sort of he just he came in and didn't do much in terms of, you know, I think he sort of had enough respect for Klopp but confidence in himself without having to sort of tell everybody about it and and I think that's that's worked for Liverpool.

Brighton have a habit of dropping points against teams who they shouldn't drop points against, so it was specifically teams in the bottom three, but they do tend to raise their game against good sides.

Now it's too early to say really whether that's a Brighton thing or or if that will continue under under Fabian Herstler but I I reckon they could give Liverpool a good game.

What do you reckon to Spurs Villa, Barry?

I don't know what to reckon to that one.

Spurs are so up and down and Spursy.

I mean the win

last night was good for them

and we know how ratty and downright rude

Ange Postagoglu can get when things don't go his way.

I think if they lose this one

I'm not going to say there'll be pressure on

Ange Postacoglu, but

I think a lot of Spurs fans might start to revise their opinion.

I think actually the win last night will mean that if they lose on the weekend, I think he's bought himself a little bit of leeway because of the city win last night.

There's a lot of discussions going on about what's more important, top four or a cup.

Every Spurs fan I know says cup.

So

it won't be great if they lose on the weekend, but I think that he will get a slight pass if he does lose because of yesterday's win in a way that I don't think he would have if they'd have got knocked out last night.

Yeah, I think the worst fault is that they're inconsistent, but there's a narrative about them conceding and not playing well, but they've conceded the same amount of goals as Arsenal have, and they've scored one more goal in the league than Arsenal have.

So it isn't quite as bad.

And

I just think it's because

the way they play is so extreme.

I think that that is, you know,

that they don't always put two wins together or, you know, they like may lose against somebody they're not expected to.

But

I think losing

versus Palace was probably a blip, and those blips need to be spaced out more

so that the Spurs fans are not quite as concerned.

Yeah, they're better at home.

If Vanderben's out, that does make a big difference to them.

Man City to go to Bournemouth.

There are three teams without a win.

They could all feasibly get a win this weekend.

Ipswich are at home to Leicester.

Southampton are home to Everton and Wolves are home to Palace.

Barry, how many of those winless teams will get a win?

I would say there's a very good chance Ipswich will beat Leicester.

Palace got their win

last weekend and were very impressive in victory.

Wolves, they had that preposterous draw against Brighton.

So yeah, two teams who will be confident.

Wolves have home advantages, so yeah, we'll give them that one.

And what's the other one?

Southampton, Everton.

Oh, I think Everton will win that one.

Forests have a good chance to maintain their brilliant start.

They're home to West Ham, Fulham, Brentford's on Monday night.

Lucy, let's talk about the Lionesses.

Obviously, more on that on the Guardian Women's Football Weekly, which you'd listen to every week.

But they they haven't had a very convincing international break.

Lost 4-3 to Germany, just beat South Africa 2-1.

Should we read much into it?

It's just not since the Euros, it hasn't been plain sailing at all, has it?

I think probably say since the World Cup, during the World Cup, she changed formation, Serena Viebran, which she would, you know, she kept the same team all the way through the Euros and won it.

They just were a bit sloppy.

I did the game on Friday night at Wembley and just players that you wouldn't expect to give the ball away in areas you wouldn't expect them to even try to give the ball away, that happened and it was a bit of, I mean, it was great to watch because, you know, there were goals all over the place, but I just think that it just looks a bit tired.

It needs an injection of something, and I presume at this stage, it's an injection of younger players.

It's, you know,

she tends to have

a lot of core players that she trusts, like any manager, but you've still got to keep moving forwards.

And

there's a few players who are playing really well at the moment that didn't start for players that are probably not quite as inform as those others.

So So it's about getting that right.

And I know it's different at international level, but the one criticism that was aimed at Wiegman at the Netherlands was that she didn't evolve the group.

And you really don't want that to happen for England because

we've got youth players coming through that have won youth tournaments and you want to just keep bringing those through.

So it's just a little bit of a you'd rather have it now than at the Euros next summer, but it is quite interesting.

And then the next international break, they're playing USA at Wembley, so that'll be a real

where they're actually at because the USA are flying after winning the Olympics.

And if they were to lose that game, Lucy, would Viegman be under a bit of pressure, maybe?

No,

I think she's got so much credit in the bank, Baz.

I think that she will at least go through the Euros

and see what happens.

But I mean, one mention I must say is about Steph Horton, who I think was treated a little bit shabbily at the end of her England career.

And she was honoured at Wembley.

She led the team out.

I've never seen that before, a player that's retired.

And actually, she's just sent me a new book as well.

So I read a bit of that yesterday.

It's quite interesting because she's just had so much, you know, right at the start of her career when she came to Leeds.

She missed the first two tournaments, the World Cup 2007 and the Euros, just from getting injured right before the tournaments, but then went on to be England captain and just an absolute superstar.

But didn't end, she didn't, she wasn't part of the squad that won the Euros.

and then she sort of didn't get, she didn't get in the World Cup squad either.

So it was good that she got sort of her moment in the sun because I think that was quite important.

Ross says, another week Fitbar Corner to discuss the Dons title charge.

After Barry's Aberdeen Avenue on Tuesday pod, they beat Rangers last night, remain level, won 28 points with Celtic after 10 games.

Celtic won as well.

Edwards says, hello, Max Barry and everyone else.

Could you please cover the finish to the League of Ireland Premier Division this Friday?

The league that no one wants to win-Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City, even St Patrick Athletic, all within a handful of points of each other.

All have suffered yo-yo form as the season's climax approaches.

It will be by far the lowest winning total since the Premier Division was reduced to 10 teams in 2018.

Do you have any big thoughts, Barry?

Yeah, it's interesting.

The League of Ireland was famously described by

John Delaney, our old friend who used to be the CEO of

the FAI FAI,

as the problem child of Irish football.

But it's very exciting this season.

So

for anyone who doesn't know, the League of Ireland runs from February till November and it concludes this weekend.

And Shelburne, who are managed, a Dublin team, who are managed by our old pal Damien Duff,

they are two points clear of Shamrock Rovers who have won the last three titles.

Shamrock Rovers, I used to go and watch them week in, week out when I lived in Dublin because a friend of mine played for them.

Shells are two points clear of Shamrock Rovers with one game to play.

Shelburne travel to Derry City, who are one of the big two teams in the League of Ireland, Rovers being the other.

And Shamrock Rovers go to Waterford.

Damien Duff is in his third year in charge at Shelburne.

They play at Tolka Park, which is not a million miles away from Croke Park.

It has a reduced capacity of 4,000 supporters.

Shelburne,

I think quite recently, as recently maybe as four or five years ago, because of financial difficulties, almost went out of business.

They got relegated to the second division, but now they're on the verge of winning their first title since 2006.

Damien Duff is quite a divisive figure in Ireland.

He's very outspoken.

Shells fans obviously love him.

Fans of other teams, not so much.

But he has said that if Shelburne win this title, it will be the biggest achievement of his entire career in football.

Quote, and this is from

an excellent article by Michael Walker in The Athletic: it will blow everything else out of the water.

So he is seriously invested in managing Shells.

He's assisted by Joey O'Brien, who the former Bolton West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder.

So it's interesting.

And as I said, Shelburne travelled to Derry, so they have a much harder assignment than Shamrock Rovers.

But Derry can no longer win the title.

And they have one eye on the FAI Cup final, which is in two weeks' time.

So

it would be really...

I think it would be really good for Irish football if Shelburne could win this title under Damien Duff.

Yeah, is Damian Duff suggesting that winning this league would be a bigger deal than meeting me at the Natural History Museum at the Wildlife Photography of the Year exhibition?

In which case, do I have to retire that anecdote?

Maybe I do.

Well, I harbour a seething resentment of Damien Duff because I had to interview him once and he was three hours late

and didn't apologise for his tardiness.

And then during the course of the interview, he ate a bag of beef-flavoured hula hoops and a Twix and didn't offer me any hula hoops or a finger of Twix, which I thought was incredibly ungenerous of him.

I thought you were going to go slightly Chris Wilder and say, you know,

how dare he eat hula hoops?

Oh, no, no, he's welcome to eat hula hoops in my company in the presence of a journalist, but

just offer me some.

I was hungry.

I'd been waiting a long time.

You had, yeah.

Joe says, Dear Max and Barry, I've been listening to Football Weekly since the very first season, 06, 07, I think.

And as far as I know, haven't missed an episode.

Blimey.

I was certainly listening around the time of my vasectomy in 2014, back in the Jimbo era, and also during the time of my hernia operation in 2019, now under Max's stewardship, the show, not the operation, unfortunately.

It would never have occurred to me back then that writing to inform the podcast of such medical procedures would become a thing and therefore missed the chance to tell the Football Weekly fraternity about my ordeals under the surgeon's knife.

How excited I was therefore to learn a couple of years ago that I needed yet another hernia operation, this time a double whammy, knowing I'd be able to share the experience with well-meaning football fans throughout the planet.

As I lie gingerly in bed the day after the operation,

which took place a stone's throw from the stadium of Sid's beloved Real Oviedo, I can but lament the fact that the lengthy waiting list has meant that once again I appear to have missed out on the golden era for sharing such sensitive surgical information.

Any chance of one last hurrah?

Lots of love, Joe, of course, Joe.

And we wish you the best in your recovery from a double hernia.

And if you ever require any more operations, please do let us know.

We are open, of course, to emails about surgeries, car crashes, and football.

They seem to be the three main subjects at this time.

But, you know, anything else of interest?

Football weekly at theguardian.com.

that'll do for today.

Thank you, Jordan.

Nice to have you back.

Cheers, mate.

Thank you.

Thank you, Lucy.

Cheers, Max.

Could you just do tell Neil Redfern that you know, I would find it very hard.

I will do a phone-in on Sunday on the radio.

Who's better, Neil Redfern or Timo Werner?

Oh, please don't, because you'll go mad with me for saying that.

I don't want to incur his wrath.

Thank you, Barry.

Thank you.

Football Weekly is produced by Dale Grove.

Our executive producer is Phil Maynard.

This is The Guardian.