Will Chelsea save their season with cup double? – Football Weekly Extra podcast

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Hello, and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

How Chelsea would it be to be garbage all season and end up with two trophies?

A really comfortable win at Villa Park, a place where teams until very recently lost all the time.

Is it worth even trying to work out what this means?

Apart from the fact that Poch has some good players and sometimes they will be good.

We'll do the other replays.

Forest needs penalties to see off Bristol City while all the other championship games go to form.

There's a Premier League preview.

Which of the title chasers is most likely to drop points?

City host Everton, Liverpool, Burnley, while Arsenal go to West Ham.

So probably none of them.

We've got the AFCON and Asian Cup semi-finals to run through.

Did we see the Wilson scenario in all its glory?

Also, is it worth flying across the world to watch eight minutes of football at the Abbey, Jonathan Pearce pierce in your local supermarket and football weekly sampled in german rap all that plus your questions and that's today's guardian football weekly

on the panel today barry glendening welcome hi max hello robin cowan Good morning, Max.

Hi and Jamie writes, by chance, I recently came across Nada Manuer laughing and joking with the BBC Football Daily podcast presenter.

It was so brazen like he wanted you to find find out.

I'm not angry.

I'm just disappointed.

You're spreading yourself a bit, you know, spreading a bit thin here, Nader May.

Yeah,

I know you're right.

It's like three hours of work a week.

This is way, way too much, Max.

It's time to dally back.

I think, yeah, you're right.

I think so.

Anyway, your final appearance on Football Weekly.

Let's make it a good one.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Aston Villa won Chelsea three in the FA Cup then yesterday.

Safe he says, how many corners are there in the Chelsea chaos trail?

All this turning has me dizzy.

Conor Gallagher, Nicholas Jackson, Enzo Enzo Fernandes with the goals in quite a good win.

And like I said in the intro, Barry, it would be really Chelsea, wouldn't it?

Normal rules don't apply to them.

They'd end up winning two trophies after this appalling season.

Yeah, I think it's slightly premature to hand them the Carabao Cup and particularly the FA Cup, but that was a really good performance.

Probably their best of the season on the back of what was arguably their worst performance of the season or back of their two two worst performances of the season they were absolutely diabolical against wolves on sunday and some of the players who really didn't show up there were outstanding last night i thought mois kaisero was really good last night and he he had a shocker against wolves you said in your intro they they have good players who will be good sometimes and

sometimes some of their good players are good and others are bad and then you have games like sunday when all of their good players are bad and last night all of their good players seem to be good.

Aston Villa then by contrast outstanding against Sheffield United at the weekend admittedly there's the Sheffield it's only Sheffield United caveat to that performance but they've been really good at home all season or most of the season and Chelsea just didn't give them a looking last night and the players you thought would inflict serious damage on Chelsea and I really did think Villa would win this game comfortably just weren't allowed to play their game and I suppose that's a testament to Maurizio Pocciatino's coaching ability because we know he does have coaching ability but he's been hiding as well he has thus far this season yeah I think it was you last season Nadum just saying like I think when Lampard was in charge of Chelsea like every time you look at the team sheet and go well they'll win this one

and and so maybe it's just the law of averages I find it really hard to find it hard to I was watching this going are they really good at this

yeah they

is this is annoying actually because lo and behold as a football expert that I am I was wrong again about them this week so I said that

I've given up on them I said that literally the day before the game and then they go to Villa Park and win comfortably so whatever I say basically just think the opposite but you see the moments you see the talent that they have and they are capable of winning any particular game it's just that a lot of the time you know they'll do something good for five minutes and something really bad for 10.

But it's the potential that they do have.

They, you know, they have a level of belief.

And as Barry was saying, like I said, they'll doing well after doing badly at the weekend.

That's the way I'd expect good players to be.

I don't expect them to have continuous bad games back to back to back and so on.

So that was a tough game for them in theory.

But I think most people are quite happy to write Chelsea off wherever they go, especially against a team who we see has got a good home record.

But fair play to Chelsea.

They got the job done.

And is it going to happen again, like two years ago where they just play liverpool in both cup finals is this it is this is this the thing and there's not going to be a single goal in either again both going to penalties and all this stuff i can see it happen already max yeah it could um enzo's free kick was was glorious robin the celebration i was it was normally when they lift a shirt up it's because they're lifting the shirt up of someone else who's had like a terrible tragedy or like has been really had a bad injury and enzo was doing it for himself and i'm like you're still alive mate well was the tragedy such a such a shit game at the weekend

yeah no it was pretty OTT but I think it I don't know there probably is a thing for him like he's a just to remind people you know I've won the I've won the World Cup you know and you know I'm pretty good and yeah I've got quite a lot of criticism probably some of it justified so yeah I mean I found this fascinating because I was at I was at the Wolves Chelsea Wolves game at the weekend and to be to the turnaround is just unbelievable but the the big thing coming out of that was that they're just so fragile.

So when just stuff started to turn against Wolves, they took the lead.

They just melted.

Whereas this, obviously the performance level was a lot better, but the sort of adversity wasn't there and they kept on going and going, going to their credit.

But I did feel, so, you know, obviously Villa got one back

right at the end and they were pushing.

Thought Chelsea were defending very well though, actually, unlike they did against Wolves.

And I did feel like maybe if that game had lasted a little bit longer we could have seen a little bit more crumbling right max i'm sorry to take your time here just three things because it's all running through my mind uh the first one

the first one with tiago silver's wife sending out the tweet was she trying to say to pochetino to get her husband out of the team so they could win that's part if she was she is a genius she's a genius yeah part two when the free kick goes into the top corner there's a man just to the left of the goal as we see it from fernandez's view who is furious with Martinez, point and say, why would you not save that?

Mate, it's in the top corner.

Part three.

I think we should lobby then.

If an attacker can score a goal and lift their shirt up, I think a defender should be able to make a tackle, take their shirt off and just point it to the crowd, say, hey, look at me.

Look at what I did.

Look how great I am.

Get some of those iconic moments back.

The greatest example of part two is a Barnsley fan at Loftus Road when Trevor Sinclair scores that overhead kick.

Really, like standing up and like in absolute fury as if someone just run of the team just to stop that.

Just do that.

Just deal with it.

It's so easy, isn't it?

Yeah.

Tiago Silva's wife did

send another message saying, I'm sorry that my personal outburst as a passionate Chelsea fan has caused such an impact.

I'm passionate about the team.

I thrive on victories and I'm saddened by defeats.

We all want the same thing, a winning team.

Come on, Chelsea.

Can I ask you,

someone is, Mrs.

Rushman, literally no interest, as long as I don't get sacked, she doesn't really care if we have any listeners or not.

She probably wouldn't really care that much if i was sacked like did did did mrs anur in your career like was she passionate a passionate city fan qpr fan sunderland fan she's very passionate about me doing well and being in a good situation because she sees how it affects the day-to-day life that you have you know what i mean it's like whether or not you're going to have to try and move to a new place every season because you're getting booted around and so on but she's not

getting involved like that let's let's call it what it is it's the easiest thing in the world to not write something on twitter about your husband's employer the easiest thing in the world so then if you're doing it like were you expecting nobody to respond i would take it she's got more than maybe one follower on there so yeah it's not for me i don't think it's for many people but apparently i think she used to do this when she was in paris as well so i don't know it is one of those things i guess Bell Silva's tweet, I don't know if it's what led to Tiago Silva being dropped for this game, but I know it would interest it.

The Chelsea,

the average age of the starting lineup was just under 23.

And then when he was brought on later in the game, it probably rose to about 33.

Drew says, with Aston Veda somehow crashing out of the FA Cup against Chelsea, does that mean they can now focus on missing out on the Champions League spots?

Martin, am I a genuine curse?

As I've not seen Villa do anything other than get hammered every time I've watched them on TV this season, I keep hearing how well they're doing.

And Alex makes the point, I don't understand why Villa's injury problems are never really mentioned.

We started the Chelsea game with our fourth and fifth choice centre-backs.

Moreno was out for months, and now Dinha is.

Am I surprised the High Line now is not working?

No, Ramsey was out for months, as is Buendia.

I mean, this is not a disaster for Villa.

They've still got Europe.

They've still got top fours to play for.

And actually, Robin, like the Conference League is their best bet.

This is a team that do not routinely win trophies, and they should win that.

Well, that's the thing.

I think that was this meant a lot more to Chelsea because they basically got no chance of finishing probably in any European spot.

They are so mid-table, they're 11th.

So actually, this did mean more.

Maybe, you know, that reflected the performance levels.

I don't think Villa were bad, but yeah, they have a real chance.

I feel they have a real chance of finishing the top four.

They really do.

And as you say,

winning the conference leagues.

Yeah, so I agree.

I'm not sure.

Obviously, you want to win.

They want to keep this fortress tag up, which is slightly waning a little bit.

But no, I think it's still going to be a brilliant season, even if they do tail off a bit, which they might do.

as i say yeah i'd back them i mean unai emery will win a european trophy whether he's in it or not he just does somehow he'll get his hands on it how does the how does the placing go for europe say if we assume that say the premier league doesn't get the fifth place champions league spot so the carabao cup that'll go down a position won't it that european place and that'll be for the europa league so that takes it so that so that's

that's six isn't it so six gets you into europe and then for the fa cup

if it's two teams already qualified that'll take you to seven and then for the conference league we're looking at eight because if that's the case like i'm i can see chelsea doing it you know

hey chelsea chelsea are in europe next year

literally anything is possible anything is possible yeah just just go back briefly to the fernandez free kick am i alone in thinking telemetry didn't actually commit the foul it was just a complete air kick by fernandez and and hit with such venom that he like knocked himself over.

I think it looked soft.

I'm not saying there was no,

it wasn't, you know, contact.

I'm like, there was literally no, nobody touched him.

Yeah.

Chelsea played Leeds in the next round.

Leeds one 4-1 at Plymouth after extra time.

Rob says, will it be difficult for Leeds to play in the FA Cup final and the playoff final back-to-back?

They've got some good players still, you know, Nanto, Somerville, Ruta all scored.

There was a Funnel goal as well.

uh robin your thoughts on this one yeah mainly the weather it was uh just beautiful driving sideways rain um and yeah when it goes to extra time probably everyone's going off for god's sake yeah

i mean leeds fans had a 600 mile round trip for that and they brought a big crowd to the game to home park and i think plymouth had

seven or eight players out injured and leeds basically won it with with

the players they brought off the bench they were able to bring on Archie Gray, Bamford, Giorginio, Somerville, and Joe Gellhart.

And Plymouth just couldn't match them for that kind of quality.

Forrest needed penalties to beat Bristol City, won all after extra time.

They won 5-3 in the shootout.

Rob says Devoc Arrigia is at Nottingham Forest, and he's played nine times this season.

I can't be the only one who's missed that one.

Yeah,

the balls would have hit him and went in for Forrest's opener.

That was one great block on the line from Nuna Tavares in this game.

I'm not sure how Nacky Wells failed to score there.

It was like he was literally on the line when he met the cross and Tavarez kept it out.

Whatever about, you know, knowing or not knowing that DeVocarigi is at Forest, Andy King is at Bristol City.

Did not know that.

No, I didn't.

Leicester Legend.

I was thinking about that Tavares block, Nadim, and thinking, you know, the art of blocking is not talked about a lot, is it?

You know, players hurling themselves at footballs footballs.

It's quite a big part of the game, and yet we

is given very little airtime.

I wonder why, Max.

I wonder why the art of blocking is not discussed more on a wee-tweek basis within.

It's because nobody cares, Max.

I know you're trying to get into it, but nobody cares.

Do you know they know?

Some people.

Was there like a big part of your game?

Like, obviously, the great, the class, yes, centre-backs obviously never even go to ground, of course, Nadem.

You know, exactly, yeah.

You don't get shot against them.

No, I think there is the funny thing is, in this day and age, there is a, there's more than a skill to it.

They're being coached in terms of how to do it you know in terms of the way they position their bodies not just the one where you go out full speed and lunge out and hope for the best but like literal elements in terms of how they put their legs down which side of the goal they'll try and cover and all this but again

if you had five minutes worth of clips of people blocking shots or five minutes worth of like worldy goals which way are you gonna go you know what i mean oh look how good that block was hitting right in the back so i don't know you know i was quite interested in the that they're taught to block in different ways you know

i found that yeah but that's that's because you're like a football impervert, though.

So, you know what I mean?

Most people don't really care about that.

That's the difference, man.

I think it's a bit harsh, isn't it?

Well, I consider it a compliment because I'm similar to you.

Um, uh, Forest hosts Manchester United in the next round, Coventry City beat Chevy Wednesday 4-1, three goals in eight minutes in the second half.

Callum O'Hare and Casey Palmer look like very good footballers, don't they?

Mark Robbins continue to do a brilliant job.

They host Maidstone, Southampton beat Watford 3-0.

A brilliant goal by Seku Mara in this one, and they're on a brilliant run in the league.

Second in the championship.

I've caught up with it, switched town.

24 unbeaten.

24 games in all competitions.

Yeah.

It's impressive, isn't it?

The other games in the FA Cup, Blackburn, Newcastle, Walls, Brighton.

Bournemouth, Leicester, Luton, Man City, fifth round, play midweek at the end of Feb.

That's not on, is it?

It's not how football should be a midweek FA Cup fifth round.

But we will cover it, of course, when it comes around.

That'll do for part one.

At part two, we'll do a Premier League preview.

Hi, Pod fans of America.

Max here.

Barry's here, too.

Hello.

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A proper football journalist, mate.

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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.

So in the Premier League, Manchester City host Everton.

Rodri's gone an entire year without losing when he's in Manchester City's squad.

52 games in 52 weeks, naught defeats, 42 wins and 10 draws.

Must get boring for him.

We didn't talk a lot, Nadim, after the Brentford game because we were doing an Afghan pod, but it's looking a bit ominous.

It's looking quite ominous.

I mean, I know you're happy about it, but it's sort of boring for everyone else.

But it is.

I'm neutral, Max.

I'm neutral.

Of course you are.

But it is ominous.

It is looking ominous, do you think?

Yes and no.

They've still got some big games ahead of them and in some tough places.

One of them being the fact that they've got to go over to Anfield.

And you add in

the fact that in weeks to come, they've got to add more games and shuffle things around because of, say, Champions League runs and such, if they win the next round.

But yeah, they are looking good.

And I think as you look to their bench in recent weeks, players are back in now.

So Guardiola has the full array of players available to try and have the options to go approach any game the way that he wants.

Like they start the last game, like Doku and Grealish on the bench.

You know, they have other players who can come in and make a difference, whether it's at the back with Stones coming into midfield or Akanji coming back in.

So they do have that variability.

But I've got to say, special shout out to that Brentford goal against City.

I think that's the worst goal I've ever seen Guardiola concede.

The worst goal I've ever seen.

Like, without a doubt, I think any player, any centre-back that's played in the Football League will look at that goal and would be vomiting as they're seeing it.

Like

you literally, like, in a warm-up,

speaking to an attacker about this yesterday, attackers in warm-ups, they go and do shots and stuff.

As a defender, you literally do that for about five minutes.

Someone throws the ball up, says oh nadum's up and three people come round and you cover to conceive the goal like that i was just looking at my tv screen saying what what have i just seen forget inverted fullbacks just go and just nut the ball away or cover your teammate it's like historically bad historically bad goal that one makes um robin i presume the answer is no but have you been surprised at how quickly de Bruyne has just returned and been so effortlessly brilliant.

It's a difficult one because yeah, you always think when you're out for that long, it can take some time.

And there have been games previously when he's actually, it's more when he's been playing sort of semi-injured where he's not had much of an impact.

But it seems like he's fully recovered, done a load of school runs, apparently.

That was the thing that really spurred him on to get back as quickly as possible, I think.

And yeah, no, I just, again, he's...

What can you say about him?

He's just such an elegant, effortless footballer.

And yeah, I think, yeah, he's time to just run back to perfection.

And yeah, it's oh, I saw someone tweet the double treble is on, and that nearly made me vomit as well reading that.

Can you imagine?

Do you think Kevin De Bruyne is as effortlessly elegant on the school run when one of his kids can't find their shoes and another has lost his or her lunch box?

See, that's content I'd like.

If I had a choice between watching that or him kind of, you know, spraying balls around or laying on assists, I think I would prefer him trying to neutralize a toddler who's having a tantrum.

I'd love to watch that.

The archback and the pram.

I'd see De Bruyne just drop the shoulder and the baby just goes, all right, mate, I'm in.

You've done me.

Barry, can you make a case for Everton here?

No.

Okay.

Liverpool Burnley.

Nadum, can you make a case for your mate, Vincent, here?

Absolutely not.

No, the Anfield, no chance.

No way.

No way.

Do you think

that's okay?

I mean, there are seven points of drift to safety and i i feel like no i don't apologize to you i said vincent i don't apologize to you don't tell you okay i was talking to you um i feel like they've made their peace with sticking with company and planning to bounce back up so the pressure won't really i feel like the pressure will be on him next season in a big way but it isn't now i think that is fair i think they had that in mind with their sort of hiring of him last year or whenever that it was you know i think the idea for them wasn't to necessarily go up in that first season but you know when you're up there you're up there so here they are trying to deal with this particular challenge.

But by all accounts, I think they've, and from what I hear from people within that camp, they've got some really good young players who weren't necessarily ready for this moment, but they will be ready in the future.

And yes, you don't want to be losing games every single week and have your fan base almost not look forward to going to watch their team.

But I think the experiences will matter.

And this game against Liverpool away, I mean, it's the ultimate test for like everyone.

So I don't expect much from them.

But I think he's the right guy for them.

And obviously, I'm going to say that because he's my friend.

But yeah, I think stability stability is not the worst thing in the world in their situation.

They were lucky to get a draw against Fulham because Fulham wasted an awful lot of chances and should have won at their leisure.

But at least the two signings he's brought in combined to score the two goals.

So that's something.

And with regard to Everton, I suppose the only case you can make for them is it's the early kickoff on a Saturday.

Sometimes that throws up weird results.

But that is the only case I can make for them.

Do you, I mean, how much do you think that defeat would for Liverpool against Arsenal should concern them, Robin?

Not, I'd say.

They're still in a really, really good position.

And

Liverpool just don't seem to be a team that go on a bad run, really.

I mean, especially not this season.

It's only their second defeat.

And the other one was pretty dodgy, wasn't it?

It was.

We won't keep bringing that up.

But so, I mean, obviously, there were some calamitous errors, but I just don't think I can't see them happening again.

And this is kind of a perfect fixture for them to bounce back, I would say.

West Ham Arsenal is on Sunday.

Declan Rice's second time back at the London Stadium.

And they lost Arsenal.

They 3-1 in the EFL Cup.

And actually, West Ham has quite a good record against big teams.

Have they, have I made that up?

They beat Arsenal in the reverse fixture, didn't they?

This must be the most infuriating thing for Arsenal fans, that they lose to West Ham.

I remember they battered them and they lost.

at the Emirates and then they lose games like Fulham and then they beat Liverpool.

It just must be really irritating.

Michael Antonio was on Monday Night Football and he was a wispy goatee beard away from looking like how I would draw an artist in a cartoon if I was asked.

He has a sort of a beret

with little glasses and like he just needed a long sort of blue goatee.

But he was good on it.

Joe says, hi, Max and Pod.

That's an interesting question.

I'll state my bias up front.

I'm a Leeds fan.

I'm getting in touch because I think we need to be really careful about the narrative that we start to form around Calvin Phillips, lest we collectively turn him into Harry Maguire 2.0.

We're talking about, by all accounts, a really nice young man who's overcome a lot in his life and through seemingly no fault of his own has been consigned to the touchline for 18 months.

I find it hard to believe who a player who demonstrated such talent, commitment, professionalism, and work rate to become the darling of Marcelo Bielsa has become a bad player.

Let's give him time to find his feet at West Ham and try to avoid turning him into a figure of fun.

Gareth Southgate's track record suggests he'll almost certainly be on that plane this summer.

And that being the case, he's a player we should all try and get behind rather than giggling at after a couple of early gaffes.

Is that reasonable, Barry?

Like,

or should we be able to laugh at anyone making mistakes?

I mean, even if they're nice, I don't think he's anywhere near becoming the figure of fun that Harry Maguire did earlier this season.

And Harry Maguire has

got through that difficult spell and is no longer a figure of fun.

But the fact of the matter is, I think everyone wants to see Calvin Phillips do well, and he got his move.

And then the very first thing he did after getting his move with pretty much his first touch of the ball in a West Arm shirt was give away a goal and then there was a high profile rick in his second game but

i would have few doubts about calvin phillips's mental resilience because he's had a tough 18 months and i've no doubt he'll do well for west ham because he is a good player

i mean it's interesting that line of criticism nadam and you know if a player does a something terrible we laugh at it like that's just sort of the nature of the beast isn't it?

Or does that make us all sort of terrible?

I understand the point he's making.

He's had a tough time, Calvin Phillips.

It's not just like a player who's played every week making a mistake, but when you make two mistakes like that.

Yeah, I think, I don't know, maybe it's just my circle or whatever.

But as I see Calvin Phillips, when he makes those mistakes, people are talking about mistakes, but they're not saying he's a bad player.

And I think that's ultimately the difference because with Harry Maguire for lots of people, they'd see him make a mistake and say, well, that confirms that he is a bad player.

And, you know, the idea of giving Calvin Phillips time,

we, most of us aren't West Ham fans, so we're not, we're not really going to be looking at it like that.

You know, a good spell for Calvin Phillips at West Ham might be us not talking about him for a few weeks and then assuming then as a consequence, he's doing well.

So

it's fine, but I think unfortunately for Calvin, he was in that spot where he was one of those players being selected for England who, for a spell, weren't playing for their club.

So it creates a new conversation because then they'll be playing ahead of someone who is playing for their club.

But I think, you know, he's gone to West Ham for a reason because he's a good player, was very good at leads.

And he's, yes, he's had a tough 18 months, but he's also been around for a treble.

Like, what a weird, like, is the word

juxtaposition?

Is that the right thing to say?

Like, here's a guy struggling whilst also having one of the most iconic seasons in the history of English football.

But

he's fine.

He's a good guy.

He'll play well.

Aston Villa, Manchester United, Ilyos have started saying, Baz, they want to create a Wembley of the North.

Presumably, not everyone on Wembley Way with firecrackers up there, you know, etc.

Um, but you know, to make start making improvements to that stadium, which by all accounts is you know, it's sort of crumbling away, isn't it?

Uh, but it should be a good game, who knows?

Um, since Villa's Fortress, they've run out of hot oil to pour on people in the last couple of weeks, haven't they?

Son Jungmin could be back for Spurs.

It's unlikely they'd try him after South Korea were knocked out of the Asia Cup.

And Basuma and Sar might be back as well.

But Brighton hammered Spurs in the reverse fixture of this one, Buzz, didn't they?

i can't remember max i trust him don't i do

i do i do do you remember max it was such a wild game they were i'm sure they were like 4-1 up and then next thing it was 4-3 and spurs had a chance right at the very end like that maybe it yeah it's it's like a proper chaotic game because i think a lot with literally five minutes to go the game was basically done and then it wasn't it was as wild as it comes and i think this game's going to be exactly the same i think it's going to be probably game of the weekend for me uh loot and shepherd united loot haven't lost a game this year, Robin.

They've scored in every Premier League game since the 11th of November.

They've scored eight in their last two.

Shefford United have conceded eight in their last two, 15 in their last four.

Now we expect Luton to batter Shepherd United in this.

Yeah.

Although do you remember the reverse fixture in this one?

They were quite lucky to win.

So I think it was 3-2 and they were.

Oh, and they had no shots on, yeah, they had no shots on target.

Yeah.

I mean, yeah, in terms of form, obviously, this, we should go to, but I just wonder how much Chris Wilder's regretting his comments the sandwich thing is really i mean that's given us so much so much material not just us just everywhere and yeah you posted um on the whatsapp group the david squires cartoon which is just sensational i mean it is really it's one of his best but he's going to be known now and as the sandwich manager premier league manager isn't he it's just yeah you need to be careful of what what you say to the reader yes i mean he did say it it is his fault isn't it but yeah go and search go and find that david squires cartoon I know the bar is high with Squires, but

I thought that was one of his best.

The only thing I would say, Ben Brereton Diaz has started well at Sheffield United.

And I do find it funny.

I've made this comparison before, but when he was just Ben Brereton, he was a kind of okay

championship player.

And then

he found out he was Chilean and he added the Diaz and he became absolute world beater.

It does remind me of that episode of Kirby Enthusiasm where he thinks he's not Jewish anymore and he starts like having shots and mending roofs and singing loudly in church.

I just, yeah, it just really reminds me of that.

It's the real life Sam Aladici.

Exactly.

You know, who knows what might have happened.

Wolves, Brentford, Baz.

Wolves, four points off Europe.

Brentford, three points and three places.

off the relegation zone.

I am astonished at Brentford are below Crystal Palace.

Given like the narrative, given everything I've said about Pat, I can't believe Brentford are below Palace.

Yeah,

and there seems to be a general assumption that'll be fine.

And

I subscribe to that assumption.

I think they will be fine now that Ivan Toney is back.

But

yeah,

they need to...

you know, they're looking over their shoulders rather than up the table.

Three points.

Three points away from relegation, though.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, Lewton could overtake them.

I think Sheffield United and and Burnley are absolutely doomed.

So who's left?

I think Brentford are probably better than Everton.

They're probably better than Luton.

And

they should, yeah, they should be better than Crystal Palace, but they clearly aren't.

And

that is a concern.

I suppose the point is, the point is, Nadan, that Luton's renaissance has made what was going to be a really drab end of the season for a lot of teams, or for a lot of neutrals, at least watching the relegation dog bite, totally fascinating.

Yes, it has.

And I didn't see it early in the season.

I didn't see it.

I saw some of the games at home.

It was, oh, so close.

They did so well against this side.

But then when they go into like St.

James's Park and scoring four goals and they're going anywhere and feeling confident, they've got a style of play which is effective right now in this moment.

So, yeah, they are, they're good.

And I'm sure Everton won't be happy with that.

I'm sure Forrest won't be happy with that.

Brentford won't be happy with that.

Because as you said, this should have been cut and dry.

But instead, we're not in that position.

And you wonder,

is this who they are?

Or is this them on a hot streak?

Like, does this burn out or will it continue?

I think that will sort of decide their fate as such, because like we said, like Robin said, like, Brentford are only three points clear relegation zone.

But can the teams behind them continue to keep getting points?

That's, that is the question, isn't it?

I just think the fact that Luton did start so badly and now they've sort of found their rhythm and turned it around pretty consistently.

I feel that's, that's a good sign for them, I would say.

Like they seem to have found their feet now.

Yeah, the phrase is like they've learned the league.

I mean, I don't, is that something, like, is that something you do?

Like, do you, do you learn the league?

Surely like leagues, like teams are good and you play against them.

Do you know what?

I think you do learn the league, but there's being able to sort of like maximize your potential within it as well.

I think Luton have a style of play, which is obviously beyond the basic nature that a lot of us perceive them to be at the start of the season because they do score some good goals, move the ball well.

But their style in terms of the people at the back the way they say like doughties flying up the wings and so on barkley in midfield alongside lakonga looking further up the field they have a threat they can move the ball but they're solid but they have the ability to break and have quality in key areas as well and they're super competitive that's the thing i think other sides say sheffers united obviously they're struggling with their mix and so so are burnley at this moment in time but maybe it's just because of the profile of play they have at this moment That's not to say that one player is better than the other, but in the same way Burnley were better than Luton in the championship.

Luton Luton are better at Burnley in the Premier League because of, say, the way that they sort of operate, I think.

And the way that opposition teams are used to playing teams that play like Burnley.

Yeah.

But who are better than Burnley, I guess.

Forest, Newcastle, Fulham, Bournemouth, Palace, Chelsea's on Monday night.

Before we end part two, regarding...

us asking you to give us all of your money julius said uh the prospect of literally powering barry promised by max in his request for financial support of the guardian has finally driven me to contribute Forget groundbreaking vital journalism.

It was securing the future of commentary on Ethan Pinnock, the tightness of Mikel Arteta's trousers, and anything that gives Max a chance to say early doors that pushed me from mere registration to donation.

Do I say that a lot?

I feel like I don't say that very often, but maybe I do.

Love the pod.

In case you're wondering, my dream team is Barry, Nicky, Lars, and Philippe.

Sorry to Nadem and Robin.

Wilson having proven to just be a little too pedantic after many years of listening.

A little.

Anyway, again, if you'd like to support us just click the link in the description and that'll do for part two part three we'll do afcon and the asian cup

hi pod fans of america max here barry's here too hello football weekly is supported by the remarkable paper pro now if you're a regular listener to this show you'll have heard us talk before about the remarkable paper pro we already know that remarkable is the leader in the paper tablet category digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper but with the power of modern technology but there's something new and exciting the remarkable paper pro move remarkable a brand name and an adjective man yeah it's their most portable paper tablet yet it holds all your notes to-dos and documents but it's smaller than a paperback and an incredible 0.26 inches thin so it slips easily into a bag or jacket pocket perfect for working professionals whose jobs take them out of the office like maybe a football journalist barry although not like you

a proper football journalist man exactly too much technology draws us in and shuts the world out this paper tablet doesn't.

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Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

So the final of AFCON is set.

Nigeria will face hosts Ivory Coast, Nigeria's first AFCON final since becoming champions in 2013, Cote d'Ivoire's first since becoming champions in 2015, the first host nation to reach the final since 2006.

Jim says, has Nadam's heart rate gone back to normal after the penalty shootout yet?

Nigeria getting past South Africa on penalties.

What a bad game for Nigeria that was.

I thought this was going to be a procession.

They were so bad.

So, so, so bad.

And they should have...

lost it within the 90 minutes as well.

I thought South Africa played really well.

And like I say, they had a few chances towards the end.

And then I spent the whole show being told, ah, but Williams for South Africa, the goalie, saved four penalties in the last round, saved this many.

And then, I don't know if you heard it, Max, but then I thought to myself, why did he need to save four penalties?

Surely the shootout should have been over if you saved like two or three.

It's because

they missed penalties.

I was like, all right, cool.

Let's see this.

Went to the penalties.

I could not have been any more uncomfortable sitting down on that chair thinking, when these cameras come on, I'm either going to be in tears or like going crazy.

And thankfully they did it.

But the more alarming thing for me was how good Ivory Coast looked in the next game, especially with them being at home.

And unfortunately, being from Nigeria, you get a lot of enemies within West Africa.

And I've said a lot to a lot of them across the tournament.

So there's nothing better for them than a glorious failure of Nigeria at the final hurdle.

So

I'm hoping.

I'm hoping they can get it done.

And I promise I'll be humble.

I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise to every one of my African brothers and sisters out there.

Declan says, how close was that South Africa penalty to the Wilson scenario?

So 85th minute, Victor Ossaman scores for Nigeria to make it 2-0 on the counter.

But a South African player was adjudged to have been fouled in the box at the other end.

So VAR took it all the way back and gave a penalty to South Africa.

It was actually in the 85th minute.

It wasn't taken until the 90th minute because of how long VAR took.

I've been in touch with Wilson.

The Wilson scenario, which was really early on in VAR, was an accidental handball in your own box, belting it clear, and a forward scoring with the next touch.

This was when the hand ball rule was slightly different.

So the handball only becomes an offence because, in the immediate build-up to the goal,

so you concede a penalty because of the handball.

Whereas if your striker had missed, it wouldn't have been a hand ball.

That is the exact Wilson scenario.

I guess you wonder, Barry, would VAR have awarded a penalty if Nigeria hadn't scored?

I don't reckon, I don't even know they'd have looked at it.

Maybe they would have done.

Well, I don't know, is the answer to that question?

I was watching this as it unfolded

and it never even crossed my mind that I just saw, oh, they've disallowed the goal and I saw the reason why, but it didn't cross my mind.

Oh, they're going to get a penalty for that until the ref awarded the penalty.

And yeah, I just felt like a bit of an idiot, to be honest.

But I love the idea of the defender, like someone realizing and trying to yell to Adam Ola Luckman to stop running.

Like, stop going toward whatever you do, just don't don't do that i mean i don't know how you felt as a nigeria fan nadam how do you as that five minutes

like like the as that proceeded so i was watching it like quite intently to be honest and i saw something happen but i was like i think that's outside the box and let the game go on and then obviously they scored so i'm doing a stupid celebration And then there's the pause and I'm just like saying to the galleries, was that inside?

Was that outside?

Was that inside?

Was that outside?

And then they showed and it was inside.

And then he's going to the monitor and i'm thinking annoyingly that's the right decision and it's gone from the euphoria thinking you've made it to a final in a 2-0 to now they're stepping up to take a penalty to make it 1-1 and at that point you know some people bizarrely don't believe in the idea of like momentum in sports but nigeria had nothing like nothing so the next five six minutes after that penalty was scored is genuinely the most stressed I've felt in years.

In years, Max, honestly.

Are you okay now?

No, I'm not because I'm thinking about it.

Like, all of a sudden, the weekends, Sundays kicked in, I'm going to be sitting next to Carl Lotore, like, as I'm watching Nigeria versus Ivory Cole.

Couldn't think of a worse position to be in, to be honest.

He was matching Antonio in the, he was, he looked very cool, customer yesterday in the studio with you.

Talk me through his get up.

Well, just he's got a tiny little white in his beard.

It just looks very sage.

Very sage, I'd say.

That is really nice.

So, yeah, Ivory Cole's beat, Dio Congo, 1-0, Sebastian Alair,

first start he's had in this tournament, scored, I mean, Barryante, the luckiest volley you could possibly score.

I don't know what you think.

I'm not going to lie, Max, I haven't seen this game, but I heard his volley described as, and I quote, most unorthodox.

So talk me through it.

I'd say he just stuck a leg out, didn't he?

And then it was like

when you know, so it went right into the ground and then bounced up.

And the goalkeeper, it's like you know, you're going to fall over.

He's going,

and it just dropped right over his head.

So it was, yeah.

If he meant it, it's the greatest volley of all time because it was like completely unstoppable.

But there's no way he did it.

I mean, actually, Nadim, he should have had about five in this game, shouldn't he?

Yeah, he should have.

Yeah, he's had far better opportunities than that.

But that's must be such a nice feeling for him.

And it's, it's one of those stupid things within football.

As I saw it first time, I thought, that's just a ridiculous goal.

Like, that should never go in.

But the goalie is like three yards off his line.

Halla's struck the volley from like 12 yards out.

And at the position of the goalie three yards out, the ball must have been about 10 feet in the air, if not higher.

Physics, physics shouldn't allow it.

That shouldn't happen after somebody.

Yeah, it literally just dips under the crossbar just before it went in.

Like, the goalie would be thinking, he's getting so much grief.

He's so unfortunate.

And it's just a wild finish.

But he did.

Hallelujah first start in the tournament did enough.

Which question is, will he start in the final?

That is the question.

NHS manager has been in touch

to say two Irish players have played for African sides in AFCON.

We were asking this question on Tuesday.

Ayman Zayed and Ayman Ben Mohamed.

Ayman made it to a qualifier for AFCON.

Never actually played in the 2012 AFCON.

Ayman plays for Tunisia, was called up for Tunisia while playing in the League of Ireland.

Thank you so much for getting in touch.

So the final eight o'clock on Sunday, British time, and I think Côte d'Ivoire time.

I think it's the same time zone, isn't it?

In the Asian Cup, Jordan beat South Korea 2-0.

As a disappointment for Kyung Min some...

Bittersweet happiness for Totland fans that he's back.

Totally deserved.

Jordan were much the better side in this.

Yassan al-Naimat with a little dink and Musa al-Tamari scored a brilliant goal for their victory.

Kieran says, how are Qatar going for two in a row in the Asian Cup, but couldn't hit a barn door in the World Cup?

Yeah, they beat Iran 3-2.

It was a pretty good game.

Afif scored a belter belter for Qatar's second.

Rory got in touch to say, watch the penalty Iran got today.

They got one of the most ridiculous handballs, one of those handballs.

And no one seemed to bat an eyelid.

And I was just utterly furious about it.

But Qatar took the lead, and then down to 10 men, Iran.

In the 13th minute of injury time, Jahan Bash, a handbag, hit the inside of the post, but not enough.

So Qatar go through.

And that is Saturday, three o'clock UK time.

Alan says, I hope Max enjoyed all nine minutes of the first ever Elias Kachunga derby of the season on Tuesday with Bolton's fixture congestion.

Can we just get Max or one half of Groove Armada to play Vernon Kay on FIFA?

Winner takes all.

Yes, this is the Cambridge Bolton game abandoned because of incredible weather after eight or nine minutes.

One Bolton fan had flown in from China.

Well, he'd flown back from China to the UK for two weeks and happened to go to this game.

I don't think he'd actually just flown literally from China to the Abbey Stadium, to Marshalls Airport down the road to go and watch this.

It was quite entertaining, nine minutes of football.

And it was nine minutes more than the last time I went on iFollow to watch a floodlight failure in Stevenage.

I don't know if I get my money back.

I don't know, you know, when they say tickets are still valid.

I don't know what the iFollow rules are.

Somebody help me.

Stars of Bozone are set to attend a football match at Chorley FC amid rumors the group are eyeing a bid to buy shares in the club.

Chorley said it was part of discussions that could see the Irish musicians become the face of the club.

You put this in the whatsapp group robin it's exciting moment for chori

what does that mean that they're the face of the club i mean does it does it mean they on the badge you have or do they do they did do the did chori run out to love me for a reason

is that boyzone or is it west life i don't know

i think that's boyzone i mean they're very very interchangeable i mean i could tell my west life flying without wings anecdote about getting thrown out of a bar in sicily by one of Westlife and being shown a red card.

Have I not told you this, Robin?

I'm just definitely told it on the pod.

I was in a bar in Sicily and I think it was Nikki from Westlife was in it and they had printed out the lyrics to Flying Without Wings for everybody in the bar and everyone was singing it and they had some of those Irish drums and whatnot and I was absolutely obliterated and probably being a dickhead.

I mean, it was a long time ago.

And he got out of his wallet.

He had a yellow and red card in his wallet.

And he took out a red card and he showed it to me.

And dutifully, I decided it was time to leave the bar and I left.

So it worked.

No complaints about that one, Rushton.

No.

Hot take, Max.

I reckon you've got a more recognizable voice than him.

What do you reckon?

What, singing voice or speaking voice?

Just voice in general, because you mentioned, you said his name and you said the band, but I can't think of his voice.

You're more famous than him.

You're more important than that.

Nikki was more of a sort of backings section, wasn't he?

That's my point.

You're the lead, lead, Match.

You're always the lead.

I think, Nadim, it probably depends on the audience.

And I suspect there are.

No, I don't know, you know.

I don't know.

I don't know.

I can't think of a solo for him anyway.

I can confirm that Love Mover for a Reason is a boy's own song.

And it probably shouldn't be Trolley's run out music because it contains the lyric because of the games that you play keep driving me away.

Oh, right.

Zach says, around Christmas time, I saw Jonathan Pierce shopping in my local Liddle, stopping up for the festive season.

What's robin's supermarket of choice are all the match of the day team on the lookout for a bargain robin well i don't think that applies just to match the day team does it everyone's on lookout for a bargain little is superb isn't it you get the isle of dreams of of course random stuff i was in there yet just yesterday actually um and uh

Yeah, they've got bird feeders and then sort of welly boots.

I mean,

you never know what you're going to get.

Yeah.

Robin went for a loaf of bread and came out with night vision goggles and a kayak.

That's the little experience there.

Nadam, onto your WhatsApp group that we discussed the last time you were on.

Is Jolian Lescott in Nadam's WhatsApp group?

Not in this one, right?

Not in this one.

Yeah,

there was a question, a follow-up question about accidentally posting pictures

back in the day.

And actually, do you know what?

I interviewed Joanne Lescott about that once, and he said it was an accident.

And I obviously didn't believe him.

But my phone has got a bit wrong.

And it's really tragic.

Like, I'm walking around and it's just making noises, or I've logged into something, or I'm like, the torch is on, like an old man.

So I actually can see it's possible.

I'm not one to, I'm not one to, you know, obviously he's my friend, so I will be biased.

But when he explained it recently, I could see the plausibility.

I could see it.

Like what he said kind of made sense.

So I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to ride with my guy and say, yeah, he's, uh, he did it by accident.

Yeah.

That's the one.

Ben says, hi chaps, long time listener, first-time email and no-time consumer of the pod during invasive medical procedures i always enjoy when nadam's on he seems like a thoroughly nice chap i used to work with a guy around 16 years ago who said he was friends with nadam and he said that nadam bought him an xbox i get the general vibe that this is the kind of thing nadam would do so it'd be good to know if it indeed happened and he's as good an egg as he seems if it helps jog his memory the xbox recipient in question was very ginger not that that's a bad thing Very ginger.

Did you buy?

I can't give his name.

He's just called Very Ginger.

Is that his name?

First name, Very, second name Ginger.

Was it Dave Kitson?

Did you buy Dave Kitson in Xbox?

No, I didn't

15 years ago.

Do you know what?

Again,

it's possible.

It's possible, but without a name,

I can't be confirming that type of thing.

It's not something you do routinely.

Yes, it's what you do for leverage.

You buy people an Xbox and people say

you're a nice guy.

See, played a long go.

But you see, like, it does suggest that you've bought many Xboxes for people.

Because if I'd bought someone an Xbox, I would know I bought them an Xbox.

In fact, I once sent my brother-in-law a PlayStation because I didn't want it and he is a gamer and I vividly remember this is the only time that I have delivered a games console to somebody.

Yeah.

I know what you're saying, but we're at the end point with the story of saying that I bought someone an Xbox, but the lead into that could explain how it ended up happening.

Right.

And it might be a bit more reasonable.

Do you know what I mean?

So

it's not to say I'm not going to rule it out completely, but it's something that I definitely could have done.

Yes, because I'm a good egg.

Were you being blackmailed?

Is that what you're saying?

We'll talk after the podmax, yeah.

Um, Emil says, Dear Max Barry and the gang, like so many others, I'm not only a long-time listener, but also found myself really needing the podcast in these last turbulent years.

It gave me peace and refuge to listen to you, lot, where my own life seemed to not offer much.

I found your podcast to be the one coping strategy that would help when all else failed.

Aside from my fascination for football, I'm a musician by the name of Fellowsoff.

For my latest record, which was released digitally and on vinyl on the 26th of January, I made a song about coping strategies entitled football weekly I'd love you to listen and if you want a record let me know if you want to play out on the podcast I'll forward the file and he has done

so thank you and we'll play out with a bit of it it samples the theme at the start and then it is a wrap in German so my A-level German is you know it's not as good as it used to be but I've got a few of the words but I did understand the words fussball and podcast amongst other things but yeah well thanks so much for sending it in and we'll play out with it and that'll do for for today.

Thank you, Nadam.

Thank you very much.

Thanks, Baz.

Thanks, Max.

Thanks, Robin.

Here's Matt.

Our Football Weekly is produced by Silas Gray, and our executive producer is Christian Bennett.

we

have the information.

Ich Tag Sobam be wonderful.

In the Hofn das Man Levin, we lost the break.

The eine game Jogen staut.

The annual watkin in the blue.

Matt to dine more.

Mopetur of Butan, Michael Weiter Podcastmal, the Einen Game Jogenstautsigan, the Anna Brochen Vodka in the Blue Pan, Mattudine Mopetur of Butan, Michael Weiter Podcastmal.

This is the Guardian.