Will Leeds or Southampton come out on top in playoff final? Football Weekly

This is The Guardian.

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell.

And if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car.

Selling a car?

Not so much.

We're really doing this, huh?

Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy.

Answer a few questions, put in your van or license, and done.

We sold ours in minutes this morning, and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

Goodbye, Trucky.

Of course, we kept the favorite.

Hello, other trucky.

Sell your car with Carvana today.

Terms and conditions apply.

Hi, I'm Doreena, co-founder of Open Phone.

My dad is a business owner, and growing up, I'll never forget his old ringtone.

He made it as loud as it could go because he could not afford to miss a single customer call.

That stuck with me.

When we started OpenPhone, our mission was to help businesses not just stay in touch, but make every customer feel valued, no matter when they might call.

OpenPhone gives your team business phone numbers to call and text customers, all through an app on your phone or computer.

Your calls, messages, and contacts live in one workspace, so your team can stay fully aligned and reply faster.

And with our AI agent answering 24-7, you'll really never miss a customer.

Over 60,000 businesses use OpenPhone.

Try it now and get 20% off your first six months at openphone.com/slash business.

And we can port your existing numbers over for free.

Open phone, no missed calls, no missed customers.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

Let's round up the EFL 4U1 game to go, the championship playoff final, Leeds versus Southampton.

Is this the game the neutrals would have chosen?

Once we knew the four, Leeds blitzed Norwich in the first half of the second leg at Ellen Ellen Road.

It was too much for Delia Smith, or whoever owns Norwich these days, who promptly sacked David Wagner.

All the talk is Leeds, but Saints did the double over them this season and saw off West Brom to make it to the final.

We'll talk parachute payments filtering back up to the Premier League, the Malays at Sunderland, and whether Kieran McKenna will stay put at Portman Road.

Then we have excitable content from all brackets, both of our Oxford fans, after an oddly straightforward win over fancied Bolton in the playoffs.

And then we'll form an orderly queue to apologise in some form to Crawley, who beat Crewe in the League 2 playoff final.

After this pod discovered, Adam Wharton will let you know of some of the other players to watch out for.

We'll talk the Sky EFL deal, retained list, released players, answer your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

On the panel today, Barry Glendenning, welcome.

Hi, Max.

And our job is very much to sit back and listen to not the top 20s, Ali Maxwell and George Elec.

Hey, Ali.

Hi, Max.

How are you doing?

Yeah, good.

Hi, George.

Hello, Max.

So we could have just put your last pod on our feed, really, and all just done nothing.

Great.

But anyway, uh let's start with uh the championship then uh leeds play southampton um on sunday at three o'clock at wembley as i said in the intro ali is this is this the game the neutrals wanted i mean i'm going to get yelled at but it feels more interesting than norwich v west brom to me I couldn't possibly comment on things like that.

What I will say is it's the match between the third and fourth best team in the championship, the only two of the four playoff teams that ever sort of felt like a promotion contender throughout the season in Leeds who had one particularly incredible run just after the turn of year and Southampton who at one point went I think it was 22 games unbeaten so at the very least it is is clearly the two best teams of the four over the course of the season and clearly both of them will be feeling that special bit of desperation I think that really makes a playoff final because for any team that comes down from the Premier League it's a shock to the system and you're desperate to go straight back up whereas the reality for West Brom and Norwich felt a little bit different.

And George and I were at the League 2 playoff on Sunday, where it felt like Crawley and crew fans, it felt like a bit of a free hit for both of them because they were so surprised and delighted to have made it.

So I'm kind of happy that we've got this incredible tension and jeopardy this Sunday at Wembley.

And George Leeds, I mean, in that first half against Norwich, it sort of felt like one of those games where you couldn't really analyse it because every time Leeds attacked, they'd scored.

Or went close to.

I mean, they very nearly went 4-0 up in the first half half uh and ended um the half-ended 3-0 I think it must have been played into their hands that they scored a kind of Joe Bryan play-off final goal light and that is assuming some knowledge from the listener there where Joe Bryan scored a a a shot from a free kick that everyone thought he was going to cross in the playoff final a few years ago and Gruev did it early on in that game and that meant it really opened up the first leg was was a terrible terrible game between Leeds and Norwich where I think Leeds went to Carroll Road thinking if we can just make sure that not very many goals are scored in this game then we we can take it back to Ellen Road and beat them at our place and when Gruv scored it meant that Norwich had to come out and try and score themselves and by doing so they opened up defensively and enabled the likes of Rutaire and Somerville and all these players who haven't been in great form recently to

find their feet but it's interesting because for certainly for Leeds that their run of form going into that second leg against Sampson was really really poor like they weren't playing well from an attacking standpoint their defence had had been the best in the league all season in the championship.

But if you look at the end of the campaign, it was actually Leicester who conceded the fewest goals because they conceded four against QPR, three against Borough, two against Sampton on final day.

And so, for Daniel Farker in his side, he returned to the starting 11 that had been so incredibly successful, that led them on that incredible winning run at the beginning of the calendar year, moving Grey back to right back, playing the kind of 4-2-3-1 that we saw with Ruther is the 10 at Peru up front, and it really worked.

And I think for Leeds fans to have back-to-back clean sheets and to go into the final knowing that that whatever that lapse was defensively is now over, will give them massive confidence going into the game.

Yeah, I was shocked by how bad Norwich were in that first half against Leeds, and they really shot themselves in the foot.

Angus Gunn didn't cover himself in glory.

Uh,

Ireland's Shane Duffy didn't play very well after

quite a torrid week off the pitch, I believe.

Yeah, that they made it very easy for Leeds.

i i'd slightly argue with allie's um there's a risk this is a risk barry they're experts

no i know they are but that every team who who gets relegated wants to go straight back up i would i would suggest that uh sheff united really don't want to go straight back up after the season they've had and i suspect quite a few burnley fans might feel the same

It's a fair point, and we regularly have conversations with fans of clubs who go up to the Premier League.

Clearly, you celebrate that about as strongly as anything that you've ever celebrated in football.

And then often when they come back down, they say, actually, it's not that fun anyway.

And particularly losing more than half of your games and traveling the country to watch Manchester City metronomically keep the ball against your poor side is quite difficult.

So I definitely take the point.

I suppose, you know, when push comes to shove, I mean, one of our best mates is a Villa fan, and he loved the first season that Villa were down.

He found the whole thing very novel, almost in quite a condescending way.

The away trips and a few more wins, but they didn't go up.

And then the second season started really badly, and suddenly I think the reality dawned that they weren't definitely going to go up at some point unless they really got their act together.

So definitely take the point, but I don't know.

Don't you think that Southampton, after their recent history in the Premier League, that relegation was a shock to the system?

I think they felt established as a Premier League club.

Leeds having worked so hard to get up.

And then that was a pretty traumatic relegation as well.

So I think with these two, I do get a sense of desperation, but I do take the overall point.

The EFL is much more fun.

In terms of leads, George,

if they make it, I suppose, or if they don't, actually, it's probably more pertinent if they don't.

Those players that you mentioned, like Somerville, Ruta, Nanto, Archie Gray, like, can they keep hold of those?

And the potential of those players, people, listeners who don't watch the EFL, right?

You know, how good are those?

They, they, every time I see them, they look really so special, especially Archie Gray, actually.

Yeah, that, I mean, they're all players who are destined.

I mean, I say they're destined for the top, they're all players who were destined to the top before the relegation.

Like, their move to Leeds wasn't meant to be a step back in their career.

Like, Jorginho Rutair signed for Leeds for 30 million Euros, I think it was.

So,

and Nonto is someone who has been linked to elite clubs across Europe last season when he was doing well.

He was leaders Bright Spark in the Premier League.

Somerville's maybe the more surprising one, purely in terms of I didn't necessarily have him down as being the best player in the championship this season before the season started, and that's what he became.

Just one of those classic modern-day inside forwards off the left-hand side who is so good at getting on the ball and drifting space and finding himself in good shooting positions.

And like a lot of players in his position, he's also very good at it.

Like he's a good finisher too.

So,

you know, they came under new ownership last summer, which meant that the summer's preparation for the season wasn't ideal.

It took them a while to get Farker in place.

It took them a while to,

you know, either confirm that certain players were staying or, in the case of Sinistiera, that certain players were leaving and bringing reinforcements too.

But when you look at the players they did bring in, Ethan Ampidou, for example, has been certainly one of the signings of the season in the championship.

And Farka, despite the fact that I know a lot of leads fans out there will basically see Sunday as if we win, Farka's done a good job.

If we lose, Farka's done a bad job.

You know, I personally don't see things as being that binary, but in my mind, Farka's been a very good appointment.

Where, again, if you go back to early July last summer, nobody really fancied Leeds because things felt so unsettled off the pitch.

So

if they are able to do this, I think it'll be a job incredibly well done.

If they don't,

it feels to me like they're in safe hands.

And yes, I'm sure one or two of those will leave.

I personally think Archie Gray is someone who will benefit massively from another season of the championship as his stature in the game continues to grow.

He's still only 18 years old.

I think we might be talking about him a bit later as well in the pod, so I won't go too far.

But he's

an exciting player.

So I'd be positive for both sides, to be honest, even if they don't come away with a win.

Farker's so softly spoken, isn't he, as a manager?

I'd love to see his teacup, his sort of hairdryer.

Can you imagine him just hand the player a teacup?

While he yells him.

Do you know what?

I once saw him at about 2 a.m.

at the very end of the EFL Awards when he was Norwich manager.

And it made me realize that, you know, the the the immaculate persona that we see on the touchline in post-match interviews, he's got it in him to let his hair down, that's for sure, because the managers never stay that late really

they're always gone as soon as the awards are done.

But Farca was loving life, just sort of skulking around the lobby, looking for one extra beer.

It was brilliant, great.

I could imagine if he really let himself go, he could go almost, I mean, not in every sense, but like

slightly Gerard Depadge, you know, like that kind of,

you know, like a really far gone, letting himself go, been sacked and gets no job for like 10 years.

And then it's just full depodge,

which I, you know, nobody wants to be, I would say.

Dave says, does anything remind us of the cold nature of football more than a manager being sacked immediately after losing a playoff game?

Whereas Richard says, please don't be outraged about Wagner.

A look at Norwich would see that he was pretty doomed from the moment Nappa arrived.

Poor tactics, baffling subs, team selections often bizarre.

He took us as low as 17th before rising up again only to stumble into the playoffs.

George, can you answer that while explaining who Nappa is?

So Ben Nappa is the new sporting director at Norwich City who was hired mid-season

from Arsenal, where he was the loans manager and has a very good reputation.

I actually wrote an article on this on the day that David Wagner was sacked on our website, NTT20.com, where this is a classic case where if you're an outsider, if you're a neutral football fan and you see this news the next day, you're going to think it's unfair.

You're going to think it's a ridiculous decision.

You know, they finished sixth.

They got in the playoffs semi-final.

But things are often, I think, a bit more nuanced than that.

And, you know, we mentioned Nappa because the previous sporting director was Stuart Webber, who had an amazing success taking Hoddersfield up to the Premier League with David Wagner, had amazing success with Daniel Farker at Norwich, taking them twice to the Premier League.

But things have unraveled very quickly and the relationship between Weber and the Norwich fans spiralled and he ended up leaving early.

You know, he's set to leave at the end of the season.

He left midway through it because things weren't going very well.

And David Wagner is inextricably linked to Stuart Webber.

And therefore...

I mean, he went on a run of form towards the end of the season, rising up from 13th into 6th.

If you look at the games this season where Josh Sargent, their striker, one of their best players was Fit.

They took 46 points from 24 games, meaning that over the course of the season, that would equate to 92, which would have been up there for athletic promotion.

There are loads of reasons why David Wagner was actually doing an okay job, but it's kind of irrelevant because the fans want a new era.

They don't want someone who is associated with Weber.

They don't really want someone who is part of that era.

They want a clean slate and they want to entrust their faith in Ben Nappa to get it right.

And that's why, in my mind, I think Weber possibly even could have won promotion.

I mean, may have seen this decision come at the end of the season because it's time for a clean slate and a blank canvas.

So,

even though I'm not necessarily sure, the fact that Norwich were once 17th is as pertinent as the fact that they finished sixth under Wagner, but I still just think the whole question and the whole conversation around whether it was fair or not is largely irrelevant when it comes down to the decision.

I noticed that Liam Russ Sr., who's left Hull,

seems to be being linked with every job going in the EFL.

And I think I've seen him even linked with the Brighton job.

He's been linked with Sunderland.

He's apparently turned down Plymouth.

He's been linked with Norwich.

Is he all that?

As a manager,

he's a good bloke by all accounts.

But did he do a really good job at Hull?

I think he did a good job at Hull.

I think that this season, you'd say, particularly the way that they finished the season, it felt like they had a really good chance of making the playoffs.

And as the owner was keen to point out in his statement when sacking him, he had bought him lots of exciting lone players in January, and he'd been expecting loads of goals and loads of points, and they didn't quite hit the

objective.

I think overall he did a very good job.

When he came into Hull, they were a bit of a mess.

The owner, who is the Turkish Simon Cowell, as he's often described, because of his

TV personality and

a very successful TV exec, I believe, over in Turkey.

And he's got very high expectations and it's not just about winning for Ajun illegally.

He wants to see loads of goals being scored and he basically sacked Rossinia because he wasn't feeling that excited watching the games.

So again, we're looking at a sacking that is not apparently down to results.

And this is happening more and more, I would suggest, across football, where it's not as cut and dried as bad results equals sacking, good results equals keep your job.

But Rossinha did a good job.

You know, I don't think he's been absolutely incredible.

You know, everyone pales in comparison to Kieran McKenna at the moment in terms of young EFL managers.

But if you take Kieran McKenna, who's basically done the best job I think I've ever seen a rookie manager do in the EFL, if you take him out the equation as the exception, I would certainly say that Rossinha is a really attractive prospect as someone who plays a style of possession-based football that it's not high octane.

I kind of agree with the owner.

It wasn't particularly exciting.

They still played some pretty good stuff.

And I think overall it's the kind of approach that often a very good team would play that way.

So I do think at some point it could click for him.

And, you know, he's very young.

He's a strong character.

You know, you can see that

he's not shy.

He's he seems like a pretty strong leader.

So I would predict good things for Rosinho, but I, you know, as I say, it wasn't an unbelievable job that he did necessarily.

I think it was ended a little early.

You're going to have to push me hard to watch a low-octane Hull City on a night off,

I would say.

So, look, Southampton won the other semi-final, beat West Brom, 3-1 in the second leg, couple for Adam Armstrong.

George, was this routine for them?

Yeah, relatively so.

Again, the first leg was a really poor game with lots of corners.

Again, I feel like Southampton approached it the same way as Leeds, where they went to the Hawthorns and just thought, look, let's be pragmatic here.

Let's not really take the game to them.

Let's take it back to St.

Mary's on level terms.

They did that, and then they kind of eased themselves clear, having gone in a 0-0 at halftime.

Carlos Corbran tried to kind of sit off Southampton and hit them on the break,

but eventually it was a decent Will Smallbone goal that was actually Samson kind of breaking clear

that got them ahead.

And then once they got ahead

and Westbrom had to come at Southampton, you know, it became clear there was only going to be one winner.

So, you know, Saints have

key times this season that they've kind of got close to the top three and looked like automatic promotion contenders a couple of times before falling away.

Um, and this is a massive challenge for Us on Martin, who's another manager who's been linked to the Brighton job in the past, who has received massive plaudits from us and from everyone about his style of play at MK Dons at Swansea

at Southampton.

Um, he talks about the game brilliantly.

He's the kind of manager I think that you want to be in charge of your club, both in terms of the way he carries himself, the football that he plays.

But he's never finished higher than 11th before this season, and this is a play-off final with massive expectations.

So

it's going to be a really interesting tactical battle between two sides who both like to get the ball down and play, who both press pretty aggressively.

But when you consider that 10 of the last 11 championship finals have seen

two or fewer goals, that three of the last eleven have been nil-nil draws, and that nine of the last eleven play-off finals in general across the EFL have seen under seen two or fewer goals.

Generally, these games are incredibly cagey and that is because there is so much at stake.

There's a massive prize at the end of it.

And I wonder if the way that we saw the first legs go, if we might see a bit of stalemate in this one rather than both teams letting their attackers off the leash.

Who's impressed you most, Dali, from this score?

It feels like they haven't.

It's not massively different in this squad to the one that went down.

I know David Brooks and Flynn Downs are on loan, but they feel very Southampton-y anyway.

If that makes any sense.

I know what you mean.

I felt that...

So Russell Martin was linked with Leeds.

I think he was linked with Leicester before Mareska was appointed and ultimately ended up at Southampton.

So he was courted by, we believe, all three of those teams.

And

I'm not even sure how you define this, but he felt very Southampton rather than Leeds or Leicester.

So I kind of agree with you that it all feels quite Southampton and I like that.

I think the way that they play has broadly suited the fan base and certainly when things have been good as they were for such a long unbeaten run, you know, they've been pretty pleased with how things have gone after what was a really poor season last season.

Of course, they finished fourth, which isn't particularly standout, but they're in great form at the moment.

They looked pretty in control against West Brom overall, an obdurate West Brom team that are not easy to break down.

And in terms of players, I mean, Taylor Harwood Bellis certainly stands out for me.

He's a central defender on loan from Manchester City.

He's been in the championship on loan for a couple of seasons now with Burnley last season, and he's an excellent operator.

And, you know, if City can get the next loan right, because I doubt he's slotting into their back line yet, but I think in two or three years, I would have no surprises if Harwood Bellis is playing for City and playing for England.

He's a brilliant operator and a great passer.

Flynn Downs in midfield has been really good as well, sort of sits at the base and he's incredibly tenacious.

He wins the ball back a lot, but he can also bring quality on the ball.

And Armstrong, Adam Armstrong, that is, and Shea Adams have brought the goals.

And yeah, they were both there last season and

at different points in their Premier League career have struggled, but at this level are excellent and have struck up a great partnership.

I mean, they have one player in Kyle Walker-Peters, who Spurs fans will know from their academy, who is just an excellent player who should never really be playing in the championship.

So, yeah, they're not a team with like a standout star, like a Somerville, for example, but a really good collective and Martin Scottland playing excellently.

An obdurate West Brom suddenly makes a Lobok team.

Hull City sounds slightly more exciting, doesn't it?

Who's going to win then?

Barry, I'll start with you.

I think Leeds will win, but

I have no strong feelings as to why.

I just think Leeds will win.

George, can I predict that it'll get an extra time or penalties?

Is my prediction?

Because I just think it's incredibly tight to call.

And then it's down to Lady Luck.

Well, that makes it easy, doesn't it?

I think Southampton will win narrowly.

Right, perfect.

It's all set up.

Interesting tweet from Kieran Maguire, our friend, and from the Prize of Football podcast, saying that Leicester and one of Leeds or Southampton are going to be promoted to the Premier League.

This will save the Premier League 103 million in parachute payments

to two of those clubs.

That $103 million will be split between Premier League clubs after a vote by Premier League clubs.

Self-regulation equals self-interest.

I mean, George, if anything was an example of why a regulator matters and why this deal between the Premier League and the EFL, and forgive me, I have not quite up to speed of as to where it is, that is it, isn't it?

It's just completely ridiculous.

Yeah, that's the first I've heard of that, and that makes me pretty annoyed.

Yeah, it's a joke, to be honest.

Like, the idea is, you know, that's part of the financial package that is is given to EFL clubs.

And, you know, before we get into the issues with parachute payments and how there's a fair argument that they are one of the biggest issues themselves in the disparity between the elite and the rest,

the fact that that gets redistributed amongst the Premier League clubs rather than within the EFL or even grassroots football is frankly ridiculous.

So yeah, that is

yeah, a very good advert, I guess, for why we need the independent regulator as soon as possible.

And it makes me quite happy that I think it's pretty unlikely we're going to see Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton go up next season, in which case they won't be able to do it again.

With the Premier League being so desperate to show that they don't need a regulator, does that not seem quite a.

For what for many Premier League clubs is a trifling amount of money,

is that not an objective lesson in sort of self-harm to vote to give themselves this money, where instead they could sort of send it down the pyramid and go, oh,

look at our largest.

We don't need regulating.

I guess it's that, is there no limit to your greed?

The answer is no.

But I also think that the way that things are set up to be put to a vote and the majority

14 of the 20, I believe, needing to be a yes to vote something through.

I just think that set up makes it hard for benevolence to win out.

Like, you need...

Even if it's false benevolence.

Right, because

exactly.

Because I think ultimately,

when you tick yes or no, even if you have this lingering feeling that maybe you should be not acting in your own self-interest

in this instance, I kind of think you probably think, well, you know, no one else is going to vote for this, so I won't either.

It's incredibly difficult to swallow, to be honest.

And

yeah,

not my favourite piece of news from the last few days.

Interesting question from Mr.

E.

saying: Given Everton and Forrest stayed up despite breaching PSR, finishing one in three players, one in three places above the promoted teams who didn't and were relegated, is it more worth the promoted sites taking the risk of the value the breach is worth versus getting a few points docked?

Get three wins versus two wins chalked off.

I mean, I know it's relative depending on how much you blow out of the walls of PSI, but Barry, you could spend absolutely buckets, get a four-point deduction, and have some better players.

Yeah, I saw that question.

It's a good one.

And I don't really have an answer to it.

Obviously, you shouldn't cheat.

But we have seen in many, many, many, many sports, not just football, that cheating often pays.

And

I don't know if

there may well be some sort of loophole that prevents

wanton cheating.

And it's a bit of a gamble.

It's a really morally bankrupt version of Rem paying Will Still's fine every time he was in the dugout.

You know,

you take your fine knowing you're committing an offence.

Everyone likes that, but

this would be slightly different.

It's rich people, it's rich people with sports cars.

They don't care about the ticket, do they?

They just park in the disabled bay, the bastards.

Anyway, that'll do for part one, part two.

We'll do the league one and league two playoffs.

Thanks for selling your car to Carvana.

Here's your check.

Whoa, when did I get here?

What do you mean?

I swear it was just moments ago that I accepted a great offer from Carvana Online.

I must have time traveled to the future.

It was just moments ago.

We do same-day pickup.

Here's your check for that great offer.

It is the future.

It's the present and just the convenience of Carvana.

Sorry to blow your mind.

It's all good.

Happens all the time.

Sell your car the convenient way to Carvana.

Pickup times may vary and fees may apply.

Suffs!

The new musical has made Tony award-winning history on Broadway.

We demand to be home.

Winner, best score.

We demand to be seen.

Winner, best book.

We demand to be quality.

It's a theatrical masterpiece that's thrilling, inspiring, dazzlingly entertaining, and unquestionably the most emotionally stirring musical this season.

Suffs.

Playing the Orpheum Theater, October 22nd through November 9th.

Tickets at BroadwaySF.com.

Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Lots of people asking for a Robin Cowan voice note after Oxford United got promotion, beating Bolton in the League One playoff final.

And so here it is.

Oh, wow.

What has happened?

Oxford United are a championship side.

I sort of forgot that when you win the play-off final, you get promoted.

And I missed all of it, the whole lot, because I was covering the most dismal finish to a WSL title race in history.

Oh, we gave it the big build-up.

But Manchester United did a much more convincing job than the Spurs men's side of making sure their rivals didn't win the title.

Some absolutely extraordinary defending in that game.

Anyway.

Oxford United.

I didn't give them a prayer.

Bolton beat us 5-0 back in March.

Des Buckingham, no relation to Eddie, close to the sack at that point.

Somehow, we regroup, sneak into the playoffs on the final day, edge into the final against Peterborough, nothing to lose.

Bolton are a much better side than us.

Wrong.

We showed Naus at Wembley, a perfectly executed game plan.

Two goals from Josh Murphy, who was told to get a new club at the beginning of the season by Liam Manning, showing the sort of redemptive arc only seen in a truly classic year of neighbours.

He's out of contract, by the way.

That was definitely just a flash in the pan, that performance at Wembley.

Des Buckingham himself from Oxford, Cowley Boy, coached the youth team with Chris Wilder when we were in the conference, leading this team to the championship for the first time since 1999.

Oh wow, we are so ill-equipped for the championship, but who cares?

What a day, What a team.

What a performance.

Bolton didn't have a single shot on target on Saturday.

And I'll just finish by saying I'm so used to hearing these voice notes from Ellis James.

So I'll just end by mentioning Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, John Toshak.

Up the yellows.

Thank you, Robin.

And as Robin said, she couldn't go to the game because she was commentating on the WSL.

And if you'd like to hear all about Emma Hayes winning the Women's Super League, please go and listen to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

Weekly.

Faye, Susie, and the panel discussing that.

That is also out today.

Chris says, on a scale of Roy Keene to Chris Akabusi, how happy is George at Oxford's promotion?

Yeah, congratulations, George.

Thank you very much.

All fully Agabusi over here.

I've been Agabusi since about six o'clock on Saturday.

So, yes, it's been a very, my voice is starting to return.

It's been a good few days.

That's so good.

Well, talk us through it.

I mean, there's nothing better than your team, especially if you don't go to Wembley that often, you know, seeing your colours on Wembley Way and then winning.

It's obviously shit if you lose, but winning is just, there's just nothing like it, I don't think.

You know, I kind of think if I was, you know, a Luton fan last season or whoever wins on Sunday, when you got to the Premier League, you're celebrating.

It's incredible, but you kind of know you're celebrating and you're just going to have a miserable 10 months.

And with the championship,

the disparity is still there, but it's the novelty, like the shift in gear from the teams that you play week after week is so different in League One to to the championship and no disrespect to cambridge max but first game of last season was cambridge away yeah my first game of next season could be leads away like it's just it's it's a different ball game um so the day was amazing i was there with all my extended family including six nieces and nephews um i sat two rows back from them just in case they didn't like my language during the game but luckily there wasn't any need for any foul language because josh murphy scored and a deflective strike to start and then a brilliantly taken one-on-one way round of the keeper after after a sublime clipped through ball from Ruben Rodriguez.

So good.

I mean, he was playing National League football last season.

He was the star in the National League playoff final at Wembley for Knotts County.

And then Jamie Cumming, Oxford's goalkeeper.

You know, normally Game State, when you're 2-up in a playoff final, you would sit back and defend.

But Jamie Cumming, he didn't touch the ball with his glove.

all game.

He didn't make a single save.

It was Josh Murphy who missed a couple of opportunities for his hat-trick in the second half.

It was as kind of comfortable a playoff final win as we were going to get, which is even more incredible when you consider that the Docs were outsiders after the game.

And I also had a, luckily from doing mine and Ali's pod and doing a pod with Robin Cowan called the dub on BBC Radio Oxford.

It means that a few Oxford fans know who I am.

And what was even better about it was that for the next five hours, I had...

loads of Oxford fans come and give me a massive hug, which was, I think, the best way you could possibly celebrate a promotion is by hugging lots of fellow people in yellow.

Yeah, I mean, a playoff final is supposed to be stressful, but Bolton really let themselves down.

They were pitiful.

It was a pitiful performance from them.

And I think, if I'm not mistaken, they finished 10 points above Oxford, battered them seven weeks ago.

But they had no control of midfield in this game, and it was, didn't have a single shot on target.

It was

very surprising.

I don't know if they went into it feeling it was going to be easy or if they were overwhelmed by the occasion or what happened to them, but it was a shockingly bad effort from the Trotters.

Yeah,

I've got a theory.

It's nothing more than a theory, but

they beat Barnsley 3-1 in the first leg of the semi-final.

And Bolton are one of the highest possession, highest pressing teams in the whole of League One.

And that's the way that Ian Everett has always played.

A barrow and a Bolton.

That is the style of play that he implements.

And against Barnsley in the first game of, in that first leg, they went route one.

and it caught Barnsley by surprise to an extent they won the game 3-1

I'm not convinced that any of the three goals were massively as a result of them going direct especially given one was direct from a corner and one was a penalty um but after the game Ian Everton and his side were absolutely buzzing they'd sprung this surprise and they'd and they'd managed to do one over Barnsley and I kind of think that meant that they overthought it a bit against Oxford where

they looked like they tried to do it again.

They hit the channels so much in the first 20 minutes and the ball just kept us dribbling out of play for goal kicks.

And I was sitting there thinking, why aren't they doing what Peterborough did to us, where they pinned us back and they used their technical ability and their pressing ability to really stop Oxford from getting out?

And it played into our hands, and it meant that we were able to get on the ball as much as we wanted.

We, you know, I interviewed a couple of Oxford players in the lead up to the game who were saying that what we're working on this week is how we don't get pinned like we did against Peterborough.

But it was easy not to be because they didn't even try and have play that high line or try and impart that on us.

So, but don't you think

some credit should go to Des Buckingham and the Oxford players?

Because

there is a lot of focus on what teams do in possession, whether they're good or whether they're struggling.

But if your out-of-possession shape is perfect and disciplined, you can suffocate the team that have the ball.

And that's what I saw.

Oxford basically suffocating Bolton, not with crazy high press, but just by denying them...

any easy passes, tracking their men perfectly, letting Bolton have the ball at the back and nowhere else.

And so, I think, credit to Des Buckingham and the Oxford players because

they looked dead and buried after that 5-0 defeat against Bolton.

We watched them lose to Lincoln a couple of weeks before the playoffs, which I thought meant that they would not make the play-offs.

And then, somehow, they just found this incredible discipline and the out-of-possession tactics in particular that stood out and got them over the line in the playoffs.

Where maybe there's a theory that you know being disciplined and

being good out of possession

is kind of almost like a stronger thread for success than being a team that plays really pretty football because you know when when you're in a situation that you've never been in before playing at Wembley and then the nerves are heightened, you know, maybe that just leads to a little bit of slippage in execution.

I can't be the first person, George, to wonder if to suggest that they they they stole Jacob Murphy from Newcastle just for the day and just stuck him there in for his twin brother.

But it's not even for the day, because Josh Murphy's Oxford career is

a redemption arc on par with Severus Snape and Harry Potter, I would say.

And sorry for the spoiler for anyone who hasn't finished yet.

But where Josh Murphy came in as under Kyle Robinson two years ago, you know, understand he went to Cardiff for £11 million

just four seasons ago.

And he was suddenly arriving in League One.

£11 million.

£11 million, yeah.

I mean, he was meant to be the better Murphy.

Like, that was the whole, he was the more talented one.

And it didn't work out at Cardiff.

You're on a loan to press and didn't work out there, was released.

And went to go and play with Kyle Robinson, who had him on loan at MK Dons, where he won, I think, either one Player of the Year or MK Don's Player of the Year when he was 19 or something.

And

he was the marquee signing.

And last season was a disaster.

Robinson's very good tenure up to that point completely nosedived.

And Murphy was the villain of the piece because he was one of our highest earners.

And he barely got on the pitch for whatever reason.

And Liam Manning came in.

And I went to a game against Bolton at the back end of last season where Murphy was booed off when he was subbed around half-time.

He was absolutely terrible that day.

And then Liam Manning, according to Murphy himself in an interview, tried to get rid of him this season, told him he didn't have a part to play.

There's a fair chance, and you know, he is now my hero, so this is going to turn around.

But it's a fair chance to say that Josh Murphy, up until about January, was one of Oxford's worst ever signings.

And then from January through to May, he's been the best player in League One.

I mean, Des Buckingham deserves immense credit for turning his career around, to getting him back into a headspace and into the physical form to do what he's done.

Murphy said that the birth of his first kid has been a massive part in the reasoning for his turnaround to form, but he's suddenly now looking like...

Fucking exhausted.

How does that work?

I mean,

George has invoked Severus Snape and Harry Potter.

But Max, I'm intrigued by, you know, this plot is thickening when it comes to the swapping of the Murphy twins.

This is more like the parent trap.

Yeah, absolutely right.

Although I can't, I mean, I can't remember.

I mean, I get the analogy, but I just can't remember the parent trap well enough to acknowledge it.

They did swap, but I can't remember her scoring twice to Emberly.

I mean, that's a good point.

But

yeah, whereas Severus Snake did get a couple, didn't he, in the 1973 League Cup final.

Unless we have any.

Well, I mean, just quickly, Des Buckingham is an interesting story, isn't he?

He's a bit like Mark Bonner at Cambridge, isn't he?

Desmond Buckingham was an Oxford fan.

And that is so, it's so rare, but it's like you can't ask for more in having a manager.

Like you say, like Russell Martin is like the guy that you want to have as your manager, but having someone who is a fan of your club and also someone called Des who's under the age of 75, absolutely brilliant.

There are about to be loads of Desmonds in Oxfordshire, I think, over the next couple of years.

He, yeah, it's amazing.

I mean, he's a guy, he's a guy from Cowley.

He's a used to go to Oxford Games as a kid with his granny.

He was a massive fan.

He was a youth team player, a goalkeeper before being

turned into a coach.

And his mentor was Mickey Lewis, who,

you know, is Oxford have lost three men who were a huge part of the football club when I was growing up in Jim Smith, Mickey Lewis, and Joey Beacham.

And, you know, Mickey Lewis is, you know, Des often talks about how he still sees Mickey Lewis's

wife and kids.

Often now, he's somebody who gets very emotional.

He's talking about him as the key inspiration in his coaching career.

And then he had to, as is the pathway now, kind of move further afield in order to get his chance.

He went to coach in New Zealand, in Australia, joined the city football group in Australia when he was Melbourne City's assistant manager, and then became Mumbai City's manager.

And, you know, the pathway from Mumbai to Oxford isn't one you normally see, or Mumbai, you know, the Indian League to the EFL is one you normally see.

And there were a few people questioning the decision, but he had a massive homecoming welcome when he came back to the club, as you'd expect.

And just seeing his emotion, you know, he went through some pretty tough times.

I think a lot of people thought that after the 5-0 defeat against Bolton, his time might even be up.

But he came into a club in second under Liam Manning, which I think is difficult because you're coming into a side where expectations are probably higher than they would have been, or certainly higher they would have been at the beginning of the season, especially for a club who just avoided relegation last season.

And he had to ride that out.

Ali has coined his formation as the reverse mullet, which made its way into some mainstream media in the last week because it's party at the front, business at the back,

rather than vice versa.

A very flat back for one midfielder and then basically five five attackers.

And it's worked incredibly well.

So I'm not sure how much Des likes the reverse mullet, but I think it's here to stay.

Let's do the League Two player final then.

Crawley beating crew 2-0.

Who wants to apologise for?

I think, Barry, we need to, don't we?

Do we?

I don't think we do, Max.

Okay.

I don't think we do.

Right.

So

the crypto bros, Preston Johnson and Eben Smith, took over at Crawley.

They

you know, were they were all about the blockchain and the NFTs which they minted

and they were the subject of considerable ridicule and I think it's ridicule they deserved.

They went through five managers in 12 months.

I think they barely avoided relegation last season.

They sold in a season in which they sold a star player to relegation rival the Gillingham.

They were odds on to get relegated this season.

So I think the

ridicule that was heaped upon them was pretty much deserved.

But they very much deserve a

tip of the hat for getting their act together and turning things around.

I think Preston Johnson addressed, you know, they've rode back on the NFTs and the blockchain stuff.

They've Preston Johnson talked sort of was keeping a low profile.

At one stage last season, he was it's like sitting in the dugout.

He was getting awful abuse from Crawley fans.

So he took sort of took a step back and then addressed the fan forum this season and said, look, everyone tells new owners, especially American owners, you have no idea what you're getting into.

And you're like, yeah, yeah, whatever.

But like, or but you definitely have no clue what you're getting into.

I was humbled for sure.

So he'd miss he made a lot of mistakes last season.

uh he seems to have done his best to rectify them and

uh

yeah they go they they went to Wembley for the very first time and they they won and now they're going to be in league one so the lads probably know a lot more about it than I do but I don't think we owe him an apology but I think he does deserve uh kudos for for what he's done this season would you agree boys I don't need to sell my house and buy florania

the latest uh uh yeah over to you.

I mean,

I see on your pod, on Not the Top 20,

you had Crawley at rock bottom of League Two.

Ali,

you can be humble first if you want.

Or not.

It suits me to say this, but I absolutely love that.

I love the fact that that is the case.

And I feel somewhat better about it because, you know, during 1 to 24 season, as we call it, about a week or two weeks before the start of the season, everyone does them

on social media, on whatever platform

where they put out their thoughts, and everyone had them in the bottom two.

So, you know, that this is genuinely something that

defied logic.

And we're all trying to make sense of football, and it's fun to make predictions.

And you either make them based on a five-minute glance at the league table, or you spend hours and days, as George and I do over the summer, trying to make them as informed as possible.

But in League Two, in particular,

you're always wrong because there is scope for a team to do this in League Two because of

the difference in, well, there's a smaller range of budgets from the top teams and the bottom teams in League Two.

I mean, less so this year than ever with Wrexham and Stockport and Mansfield, you know, with kind of hefty financial advantage, and now they've all gone up.

There is always scope for a surprise.

prize promotion and there almost always is a surprise promotion.

Last season, it was Stevenage, who many thought would finish towards the bottom, and they won promotion.

So I love this about League Two and it has just been the absolute joy of the season to cover this team because very early on George and I were talking about, you know, how wrong have we got this?

They look amazing, but in like such a surprising way where not only have they signed a load of non-league players who have stepped up brilliantly,

but they're also playing like incredible champagne football.

And the whole vibe at the club seemed to have changed in part down to, you know, the owners stepping back and letting Scott Lindsay do his work.

You know, it wasn't playing sailing for the whole season.

They only finished seventh, so let's not go too far and say they were this unbelievable team all year.

But boy, did they peak at the right time, beating MK Don's eight one in the semi-finals on aggregate, the biggest ever EFL playoff win and one of the best performances I've ever seen in the playoffs, and winning very comfortably at Wembley on Sunday and doing it their way, playing the sort of expansive football that I I assume people who don't watch much League Two would have been very surprised and kind of entertained by.

George, I'm frantically looking for four teams in League One who will be worse than Cambridge United next season.

Also, I'm pinning a lot on Crawley.

Am I wrong to do so?

Possibly.

I mean,

it's easy to have massive recency bias with Crawley.

Like, they've always been really entertaining this season and amazing to watch.

But it would be wrong to suggest they've been as good over the whole campaign as they have been, certainly in the three playoff games, but also in the last kind of month or so.

They were a team who, back in kind of February or March, looked like they were destined to finish mid-table without really troubling anyone above them.

So, I mean, Scott Lindsay, I think, is going to be a very, very attractive proposition for a lot of clubs, mainly in League One, I'd have thought, in terms of a new manager search, because of the way that he plays, because of the freedom that he seems to give players to go out and express themselves, and couple that with success.

There aren't many managers in the lower leagues that have done that.

So that might derail things.

And at the same time, will their style of play marry up when they come up against

teams who have way better players, in effect, and have much bigger resources than them?

Or will Scott Lindsay look to change that?

We'll have to see.

But League One does look,

I would say at the top end, it doesn't look too competitive, but towards the bottom, because of how strong Mansfield, Stockport and Wrexham should be after promotion.

And as I say, I wouldn't be saying right now that I think Crawley a certainty is for the drop because I think they're building something quite good there.

It looks like it could be a bit of a scrap down towards the bottom.

All right, that'll do for part two, part three.

We will talk about Sky's EFL deal and we'll talk about George and Ali's 21 under 21 list.

Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better, clean and cold water?

Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it, even in cold.

Butter?

Yep.

Chocolate ice cream?

Sure thing.

Barbecue sauce?

Tide's got you covered.

You don't need to use warm water.

Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology.

Just remember, if it's got to be clean, it's got to be Tide.

High interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face.

Unless you power up with a SoFi personal loan.

A SoFi personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low fixed rate rate monthly payment.

It's even got super speed, since you can get the funds as soon as the same day you sign.

Visit sofi.com/slash power to learn more.

That's SOFI.com/slash P-O-W-E-R.

Loans originated by SoFi Bank NA, member FDIC.

Terms and conditions apply, NMLS 696891.

Welcome to part three of the Guardian Guardian Football Weekly.

James says, can you revisit the new Sky EFL deal, please?

Reduced number of Saturday 3pm kickoffs across the board.

Is it worth it?

And Ali,

can you just explain what it is and if it's good for EFL fans and EFL clubs?

I can certainly try.

There's still

more clarity needed, I think.

It would be great if

they could,

if Sky Sports andor the EFL could actually map out

what a weekend is going to look like and in particular map out you know the big question for fans is is the one we've been asked there about 3 p.m.

kickoffs and how many fewer 3pm kickoffs are championship league one and league two teams going to have because that the headlines about the deal and what they're pushing is that they're going to show tons more live games and people are wondering well in in which slots because i quite like going to watch my team at 3 p.m on a saturday for many people it's it's a huge bonus of supporting a club in the lower leagues that you can have a routine and, you know, it's like a comfy pair of slippers.

And I think most people are of the opinion that 3pm on Saturday is the best time for football, is the sort of obvious time for football.

So we're still working out exactly how many 3pm slots teams will lose.

And I think it might be fewer than...

the assumption right now because

the sky have said something along the lines of we will show every club live 20 times and that makes it feel like loads of those are going to be 3 p.m.

games that are moved but of those 20 particularly when we're talking about league one and league two clubs you know all of the midweek fixtures count to that number so that's seven or eight games they're still going to be on Tuesday at 745 they just will also be on the on the new sky sports plus channel the international weekend fixtures have always been non uh 3pm blackout games so your games at 3pm on international weekends can be shown live.

So that will contribute to the 20x fixture.

Boxing Day, New Year's Day, both sets of Easter games, those will contribute to the, we'll show every club 20x fixture.

So I'm hopeful, I think, that League One and League Two clubs, I mean they will lose one or two or three or four, maybe, but I don't think it will be as many as maybe they are worried about.

I think championship clubs will be much more effective.

I think there will be many more games moved in the championship.

So I think it will be tougher for championship fans and league one and league two fans.

But I just feel like the way that it's been announced and explained so far has led to some scaremongering, basically, but because of a lack of clarity in the comms.

Right.

And what does this mean for iFollow, George?

For fans...

You know, in the UK.

I know fans outside of the UK can watch every game, but fans in the UK can watch every game apart from the 3PMs.

So iFollow, from what I can glean, will no longer be be a thing in the UK.

It'll purely be all down to

the new Sky channel or app.

Whereas iFollow will continue to be a product for overseas viewers.

So I think for you watching Cambridge, no change in the UK, that the all-live TV coverage, all live EFL coverage will be produced by Sky and put out on Sky.

Does that mean that, you know...

A you know, a Cambridge fan or a Stevens fan or whatever won't get all the Tuesday night away games that they were getting on iPhone.

They'll all be on the Sky App.

And just

I want to clarify one thing further: is that, again, this hasn't been laid out definitively, but I've been trying to do some calculations basically based on what we have been told.

And I think a general EFL weekend will have probably a championship game on the Friday night, which is already the case.

Saturday, 12:30, is going to be the sort of shiny new slot, I think, on Sky Sports for EFL games.

And I think that what they're they're going to do is show six or seven games at 12.30, which you could watch live.

But I assume there will also be some programming around it, kind of like a Gillette Soccer Saturday early show, where they will be able to run in the goals because it won't be 3 p.m.

So, as a TV product, that will be interesting.

It'll be interesting to see how popular it is

because you could see that being in the pub when you're on your way to your team's 3pm game and being quite entertaining.

But then maybe the reality is that pubs will show whatever the Premier League TNT game is at 12.30 anyway.

And then there'll be games on Sunday as well, Sunday lunchtime, I think, probably one, two, or three EFL games.

There's been talk of a Thursday night slot as well and kind of mixed messaging on that front.

But that's broadly what it's going to look like over the weekend next season, we think, for EFL loving TV fans.

Phil says, with Ben Fisher calling Adam Wharton the next big thing on last season's EFL roundup, which current player should I I be pinning all of my England hopes on next season?

And you guys do this.

You look through the EFL and you do 21 under 21.

George, tell us about it.

Yeah, we did it with Sky.

It was shown live on Sky.

Well, not live.

It was shown on Sky Sports for the last two seasons.

And this year we're producing it ourselves and we're putting it out on our own channel on entity20.com.

And

we just go through the EFL and pick the 21 players that we believe have the best capabilities and probabilities and talent to make it at the top level.

So we, you know, last year, the two that kind of we said were that were the best two were Alex Scott and Adam Walton, who've both obviously moved to the Premier League and done incredibly well.

Prior to that, we had you know, James Madison has been part of it, Michael Lise.

Um, they haven't all done incredibly well, but for the most part, um, you know, that I think there's a very clear pathway from the championship, certainly, but from the EFL into the Premier League now.

To the extent that I kind of think it's crazy that Crystal Palace seems to be the only team who are regularly willing to spend money for the best talent in the championship.

But I I think in five or six years, when we look back at how much money they're going to make by signing players like Elise Eze Wharton, it's going to be pretty staggering.

And just to say as well, it's about celebrating EFL Academy talent.

So this isn't a list of 21 names of which half of them are on loan from Manchester City.

This is about those on a permanent contract with EFL clubs who have been developed by EFL clubs because it's something we're really passionate about.

And the EFL are always keen to point out that, you there's a lot of focus on elite academies but what League One and League Two teams do for young aspiring pros in their area, most of them,

is incredible.

And so many of them do have a pathway to the very top of the game.

And I guess Jared Branthwaite is a good example of that.

Someone who cut his teeth at Carlisle United and now might be going to the Euros, what, four years later?

George, you don't have to give us the entire list, but can you give us one or two?

So, yeah, Archie Gray is obviously on there, who's just a phenomenal talent at 18 years old, a centre midfielder by trade.

He's played right back this season for Leeds and at right back he's been for an 18 year old centre midfielder like an unbelievable positional switch where his defensive work is one-on-one defending has been a big reason why Leeds' defensive record this season for the most part has been so good.

I'm sure he'll move back to central midfield.

He's a rangy player with brilliant feet, amazing work rate and just so talented on the ball.

And then one to keep an eye on who I think will definitely move this summer is Jordan James, who's a boxer box midfielder at Birmingham who were relegated.

He scored eight goals this season all from open play.

Big, physical, really talented, you know, good passing ability, can use his body really well.

Unsurprisingly, he has been linked to Crystal Palace, which shows that he's probably

doing the right kind of things.

Nearly went to Atalanta in January and attracting interest from Syriat as well.

So they'd be my two to watch.

And I just wanted to ask you before we go about like the retained, like all lower league fans just wait until like three days after the season to see which players they've retained.

And there's so much churn in League One and and league two especially i guess in the championship too and and also it just means there's just all these released players who are now just sort of i presume sort of looking at google maps and looking at offers and thinking do i want to can i do i want to move there my kids are in school where am i going to you know all these sort of practicalities that we don't really think about for sure yeah that the the transfer market in the efl particularly in league one league two is just so different from the premier league and the way that you know it's it's it's exciting it's kind of scary for the players, I think.

But, you know, we decided on ntt20.com to try and provide a regularly updated list of all the players that have been released.

And it's a nightmare because there are so many, as you say, I think on our last count, there are more than 800 players on the list now.

Not all of those have been released.

Some have been retained.

Some are considering their options and considering contract offers.

But yet, hundreds of free agents, an uncertain time, but all part of, I guess, the sort of rich tapestry of covering these leagues, which is it's never dull, that's for sure.

I was looking at some of the championship retained and released, and you just see these names pop up that you'd sort of completely forgotten about, like Derby County, Dwight Gale has been released, Hull release, Aaron Connolly, Cyrus Christie, Billy Sharp, Middlesbrough released, Paddy McNair, Sunderland have released Corey Evans, and Bradley Dak.

Bradley Dak.

So, yeah, Bradley Bradley Dak, yeah.

So, um, but it must be very stressful if you're a like a league two player, um, you know, when you get release.

And yeah, I'm sure.

These guys aren't millionaires, right?

They've got mortgages, they've got wives, they've got kids, and they, they don't have

endless amounts of money because so many players get released.

It means that so many clubs are looking for players.

And there is that

kind of merry-go-round where I think if you're a, you know, if you're a championship or league one player, you're probably going to find a club fairly comfortably.

But it depends.

Do you want to just take the interest early on, or do you want to bide your time and see if when clubs get desperate towards the end of the window, if you can, you know, take somewhere a bit higher.

In the championship, obviously, these players are paid fairly well, and therefore, you know, they can probably afford to go to Dubai for six weeks.

But as you say, in League Two, it's

a bit more jeopardy.

Yeah, and I always think of those, you know, the aging players, and they just think, they must spend all season going, oh i've got to be good to get one more year because otherwise i have to think about what i'm going to do with my life and then you've got to deliver on the pitch as well when you're having these sort of existential crises about you know

i think the path to happiness is not through being a footballer i think it's very whatever level i just think it must be really hard i mean okay 300 grand a week would ease the burden but like a league two player is like a hard it's a hard old run isn't it anyway uh that's all we have time for today thank you gentlemen we send everyone in your direction as as we don't do the EFL justice on Football Weekly.

Please go and listen to Not the Top 20.

I mean, after you've listened to us, listen to them.

But, you know, it's allowed to be second on

your playlist.

Thank you, Ali.

Thank you, George.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you so much for having us on.

Cheers, Barry.

Thanks, Max.

Football Weekly is produced by Charlie Deere.

Our executive producer is Danielle Stevens.

This is The Guardian.