Newcastle crash out on a dramatic European night – Football Weekly Extra

This is The Guardian.

Day Scratchers from the California Lottery.

Play is everything.

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

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

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

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question.

Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams Scratchers from the California Lottery.

A little play can make your day.

Please play responsibly must be 18 years or older to purchase, play, or claim.

It's third down.

Did you see the game last night?

Of course you did, because you used Instacart to do your grocery restock.

Plus, you got snacks for the game, all without missing a single play.

And that's on multitasking.

So we're not saying that Instacart is a hack for game day, but it might be the ultimate play this football season.

Enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders.

Service fees apply.

For three orders in 14 days.

Excludes restaurants.

Instacart, we're here.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

Newcastle United crash out of Europe on a gripping night in the group of death.

They were through.

Then PSG were going out.

Then Dortmund scored.

One of those great cheers at a ground because of something happening elsewhere.

Transistor radio time, time, but then PSG, then Milan, then Milan again.

And it's PSG scraping through and Milan into the Europa League.

Not just goals, but goal line clearances.

Mike Mannion's right hand.

And a fear that the group stages we'll never see again are actually quite good.

Elsewhere, Porto have too much for Shaktar.

A famous win for Antwerp.

And Man City unearthed some excellent youngsters.

Boy, do they need them.

Celtic finally win a game.

There's a Premier League preview, Liverpool Manu and nine other matches.

You worry for United.

You really do.

There'll be a jubilant, gushing and laboured Fulham minute.

A bit on Kiolini's retirement and looking at this panel, some Nordicness somewhere or another.

All that possible questions.

And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

As Vonomir says, the greatest laughs of the pod assembled.

Archie Rin Tutt, welcome.

Hello.

Hello, Nikki Bandini.

I'm really looking forward to my Nordic minute.

Yes, I can't wait for that too.

Lil Sivitson, hello.

Hi, Max.

Nason says, with Newcastle and Manchester United both heading out of Europe, how does one balance the mixed feelings of it looking bad for the Premier League getting a fifth Champions League spot against it being absolutely hilarious?

Yeah, 10 years since two English sides have finished bottom of their group.

Newcastle's does feel pretty different to Manchester United's last night.

It was, Archie, such an exciting night, wasn't it?

I mean, I presume

you were focused on Dortmund PSG, but just so much was happening at both grounds.

Yeah, of course.

I was checking in regularly with what was happening at Newcastle.

I've got a few close friends who are Newcastle fans.

Some of my best friends are Newcastle fans.

I took one to the Dortmund game

a few weeks ago and I was continually getting texts of like, what's happening?

Why haven't Dortmund scored yet?

They have scored.

Why have they let PSG scored?

Why have they let PSG score even?

Yeah, it was.

And I think that to have a group where every team in it is playing for something right down to the final kick of it was was really exciting and and also both games were wild and brilliant and just

it everything felt like next goal wins from the very first moment and yeah loved it yeah there was a time last where basically basically both games were were there was no midfield in either and it was just basketball and it was impossible to know where to look yeah no it was utterly chaotic and

I guess that's what you get.

I mean Dortmund are Dortmund or Dortmund, as Archie will tell us more about.

But I just think Newcastle

it probably wasn't the smartest way to go about it, but I kind of enjoy how they just didn't adapt the way they played to Europe at all when they got into the Champions League.

They were like, we're going to still do this sort of England, the English sort of transitional, let's transitional game of getting everyone forward as quickly as we can and not really looking after possession and then everyone has to run back again.

So this sort of back and forth thing.

I'm not sure it necessarily did them any favours in this group, this approach, but it did make the games quite entertaining.

I'll say that, and this was certainly in that bracket.

All right, let's focus on St.

James's Park for a bit then.

Nikki, Newcastle started so well.

It was a brilliant first half.

It's a great question, you know, given that Keolini's retiring, you know, how it from Neil saying, how would Keolini have reacted to the Tamori block if he was a teammate?

He'd have been high-fiving and chest pumping.

And I mean, it's amazing clearance.

Joel Linson's goal is great, and Newcastle were great and AT Milan were not great in that first half.

Yeah, I think Kilini probably would have reacted about as enthusiastically as Anthony Gordon did to knocking the ball out for a throw-in after three minutes.

I mean that was it was such an aggressive start to the game from Newcastle.

And it was, I don't know, I was watching it and thinking actually the way Newcastle started that game.

A more

intelligent and self-confident team than Milan, I think right from the start might have thought there's some overenthusiasm here that we we can play with, right?

Like when a team's that riled up by their own crowd, sometimes they leave you space, they leave you opportunities.

But Milan aren't a very confident or smart team at the moment, and they didn't play like one in the first half, and Newcastle absolutely threatened to overwhelm them.

And,

you know, Newcastle played easily the better football in that first half.

I thought that it wasn't...

a revolutionary idea but it was certainly the right idea from eddie howard to look at raffaeliao who's just come back from injury, with Florenzi behind him instead of Theo Hernandez, who normally have quite a good sort of partnership and understanding and go, I bet there'll be some space down that side.

And there was.

Leiao kept trying to push up.

Florenzi doesn't push up as aggressively as Theo did.

There were gaps between them all the time.

And Kieran Trippi is an excellent fullback and was exploiting that really, really well.

It's a wonder that Milan got to nearly the hour mark, having only conceded one goal.

Of course, Ficayo Tomori's challenge,

you know, put it in the Louvre and all those other cliches.

It was a sensational challenge, and I thought he was absolutely magnificent tonight.

I know already we're going to talk about Newcastle's injury lists, but Milan are out five centre-backs at the moment.

Ficayo Tomori is the only fit centre-back in that squad.

But Newcastle have to score more than once with the domination that they had of the game for as long as they had it.

And when that goal came back for Milan...

I mean, even though Newcastle hit the bar afterwards, once Milan had a foothold in the game, I thought, I think this is going to go their way in the end, and it did.

I mean, obviously, you put that in the Louvre, but just slightly lower than Nicholas Sula's clearance from Mbappe.

But we'll get to that.

Michael says, with Christian Pulisic instrumental in knocking Newcastle out of the Champions League, is this the perfect day for the Football Weekly anti-agendas?

Yeah, I mean, Giroux's touch for Pulisic is so good, isn't it?

He's just such a

intelligent football.

There's so much going on, and he's so bright in that moment.

A bit like, I think, Phil Krug for Ada Yami, if I think, was it Phil Krug who played it to Ada Yami?

There's really like great composure there i'm surprised though max you've you've not gone in on you've not gone in on joel linton's goal

like yeah like of all but also just the way that he celebrated like he just stood there as if like yep i do this every week and just like how everybody around them is losing his and you can just stand there after scoring a goal like that and just be like yeah i just did that like what's going on maybe he hits those in training like every single day.

He's just been going through a strange sort of five, six-year period, never doing it in the games.

I mean, it doesn't seem likely, but.

Yeah, to be fair to Joel Linton, like, like, his kind of transformation is sort of, he's, he's sort of the epitome of what Eddie Howe can do to a player on the pitch, isn't he?

You know, he was a lump.

You know, he was a championship target, man.

The thing is, is what...

I don't know if it's...

I can't remember too many times when I've seen a player score the goal that they look like they they should score, look like they were made to score.

Like you look at Joel Linton and you would say, if you were going to score the goal that perfectly embodied you, it would be the goal that he scored last night.

Just a one touch and then thump into the top corner.

Like it was as if.

Yeah.

His efforts.

It's a good question that.

I mean, I can only think Yaboa, right?

Yaboa scores Yaboa goals, right?

Yeah, I mean, Aryan Robin scores Aryan Robin goals.

That's a great question, isn't it?

And then, Nikki, like, like, you're right.

There's that main Mike Mannion save, and actually, he's unsightly.

It's an outrageous save.

The more you see it, the more outrageous it becomes.

He can't see that ball until really late.

And of course, there's a slice of luck because it could easily go in off the underside of the bastard.

He only catches it with almost like the top part of his arm.

But it's a scandalous save.

I think that and the tomorrow moment are both just individual acts of

for their team heroism that turned the tide of this as well.

Because

it's it's an excellent shot.

The keeper doesn't see it till late and he still keeps it out.

And then Chiquesi's, it's a great goal.

It's a great finish, isn't it?

And he's barely on the pitch, right?

Yeah, but Chiquesi's been a colossal disappointment since arriving at Milan, to be honest.

He's been this player who I think was, by a lot of people, expected to be ahead of Pulisic in the pecking order as the second

winger in the starting 11 alongside Leal, the two of them.

Obviously, Pulisic was wanted and there were hopes for him, but I think Chiquesi was the one who came in with higher expectations and generally has not achieved much at all.

But he scored in the last round against Brusha Dortmund and he scored this goal here.

And in fact, it was a whole combination of Milan's summer arrivals who generally have been struggling to live up to expectations because it was Jovic who brought it forward, Okofor who had the touch onto Jigway and Jigueze who finishes it.

Jovic has had a couple of goals in the last couple of games and so has been starting to wake up.

And of course, his whole career has felt like it's been in this odd sort of stasis since he went to Real Madrid for 60 million euros, and since then, basically, has stopped scoring.

Um, but in terms of a redemption arc for Milan, um, this was wonderful having all of them involved in the goal.

But I think it also just spoke to how

ludicrous this game had become because Milan

just basically threw on everything they had.

They like looked at the bench and said, Right, you're a forward, you're a forward, you're a forward.

On you go, let's see what happens.

I mean, even right to the end of the game in in the 93rd minute,

when Dubravka comes forward for the corner and Toyo Hernandez absolutely should just play it to Chikways so his team can score again and win the game.

But instead he just takes a shot from halfway and misses.

And Newcastle can still bring the forkball forward one more time.

The loss of composure by everyone in the last part of the game was magnificent and brilliant to watch, but I'm not sure if it

necessarily had much rhythm or rhyme to it.

It was just chaos.

Am I being super harsh if I suggest that maybe Newcastle could have been a bit more savvy in that part of the game?

Like, because they were at, because at 1-1, they did have the Europa League spot there.

No, I don't think you're there.

And they knew that Milan had to go at them in a big way.

So surely that is the point to ease off a little bit and try to expose Milan on the counter when those opportunities come around, right?

But they just kept like being completely...

I do wonder how much the whole game was affected by the fact you could see people were learning what was happening in the other game.

The fact that Newcastle, I think, realised at a certain point, no, we really could stay in here if we get the win.

Like PSG aren't going to beat Dortmund or at least weren't beating Dortmund.

I do think that affected this game as well.

Sure, sure, they could have been Savior.

But that would have been so much worse for us to watch.

So much, most or less fun.

It reminds me of last season, people were saying the same thing about a similar situation when it was that group of Marseille, Sporting, Einstein, Frankfurt, and Spurs.

And Marseille, And people were wondering, could Marseille have been savvier?

Because they know they've got a spot potentially if they hang on.

No,

go at it.

Full guns blazing.

It did fit, to be fair, with the way that Newcastle have continually been caught out on the break during this Champions League campaign.

Both games against Dortmund, this one as well.

You could also argue that just little moments of luck have gone against them, whether it's against Dortmund, one or two saves from Gregor Corbel, off the crossbar as well.

There are moments

where you think it wasn't that far away from being completely different.

And the PSG handball, right?

In that game in Paris, is like...

Oh, that as well.

Yeah, there is that.

I mean, PSG probably should have scored 10 in that game, but still, that is a sickener.

I would argue that for the whole group.

I mean, in this game, Milan hit the woodwork twice.

True.

In Milan's first game against Newcastle, both teams could have scored.

In Milan's first game against Dortmund, both teams could have scored.

And I think you could argue it.

I mean, PSG, I think I've never seen a team as wasteful with chances as PSG have been through this group stage.

PSG could have scored 40 goals in this group

with some of the games they've played and the chance they've missed.

So I think you can play that card of, oh, well, if they just, this had gone differently with every one of these teams.

And maybe that's the point.

And maybe this is what we'll miss about having groups.

And I will say, there were a lot of very boring ends to groups last night.

There were a lot of groups that meant very little, but this is the good end to a group stage when there's every team's got something that's still riding on it.

Can I be a pedant?

I think when Tio is Hernandez is running through, Chiquesi is offside because Dubravka isn't there.

And he doesn't.

He's good.

Yeah, so he hasn't checked his, he needs to check his run.

So maybe, I mean, I don't know if Hernandez, he feels not the kind of player who would think like that.

He isn't going to

shoot anyway, but I did sort of think that.

Dylan, who is Barry's fictitious son, says, would even Archie approve of that Milan kit?

It's a pretty,

that is a, I mean, that's a good question, and it's asked to the right person, but it's a pretty, it's a disgraceful football kit.

I didn't like it.

No.

Well, there you go.

For me, it's too loud for you, Archie, isn't it?

Nothing's too loud, but I'm just saying the colour combination doesn't work for me.

If I saw that in a shop, I'd go, no, sorry.

Fine.

Tim says, unlike Copenhagen's qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League last night, can we talk about PSG's fairy tale night tonight?

Yes.

This was after Philippe wouldn't let us have Copenhagen as a fairy tale.

They scraped through in second place.

I mean, they deserved to win this game, I think.

That Nicolas Sula goal line clearance.

I know Tomore's was good, but Sula's is extraordinary.

It's just wonderful, isn't it, Archie?

And also what's so nice is you've got this comparison between these two people who are both professional footballers but one is like the most graceful elegant possibly best footballer in the world and one like sort of has a bit of a pot belly in his shirt sort of riding up as he's lying on the floor with his foot in the air and it's like this is glorious i'm going to give you more details that lend itself to what you've said there max nicholas zula is known for being partial to um a meal at a fast food restaurant.

Yeah, you don't, it doesn't surprise me.

He is also known for being somebody who, when asked, you know, you can improve these little bits of your game, who has had the mentality of, being how I am has got me this far, so why would I change?

And so for him to then go and do what he did last night, where the thing that came into my mind was this is somebody who last performed this action whilst performatively farting on their couch.

Like, he is somebody who

he does not embody grace all of the time.

And to see him lift his leg to that angle, you were like, Really?

I mean,

it was as if he was doing a kind of an impression of the call on me video as well.

Like, there are so many things that kind of come to your mind when you see it in the slow-mo.

It was very enjoyable.

In that half, right?

So, PSG had all these chances.

There was that one where, was it Colin One?

He was through, and it was sort of like a putt that just wouldn't break.

It was like going, you were just like, He's got that perfectly.

That is just going to drop in.

And then it just never did.

It went, it took hours.

It took just so long before it went.

You make me think of once Colin Moani

has put the ball around him.

I'm now wanting to watch back the replay and be like, did he crouch down?

Did he crouch down?

Did I just watch it?

Are the PSG fans shouting in the hole as soon as it left his foot?

And then Donna Rummer makes this amazing save, like a couple of saves, and Hummels has that chance.

And we're still in the first half.

Yeah, we're still in the first half.

Question about Dona Ruma, Nikki, which Andy Brussels was saying that he, like,

he's got a bit of the de geas about him.

He's not that good with his feet.

And actually, PSG have had another guy come in because he's been suspended for a bit and they've been better.

And like, they try and play out and they can't because he's not very good at it.

Yeah, I think that's a fair criticism of Donaruma.

And in Italy, there's been this sort of discussion in the last year of,

well, I suppose less the last year, but especially the last few months since viccadio got to totnum and how well vicario has been playing at totnam people are going is toleroma still italy's number one is is that still a a conversation that's not open for discussion um but he can be at his best an excellent shot stopper and he was when his team needed to be in this game so sometimes it's um

i suppose different matches different different parts of your game are more important i'm still thinking about nicola sula's approach to life and and being a professional i really want him to go on one of those sort of self-help high performance podcasts and just talk about like all the marginal gains and stuff.

And he's like, no, no, I'll have a kebab and I'll just, no, that's fine.

That's what I've always done.

It'll be grand.

I think this is a much healthier model for life, really.

Yeah, a tip to the hat to Jamie Oliver.

No, I think there was a moment in the

Germany All or Nothing World Cup documentary where Josuer Kimmish is having a go at him and he's like...

Don't need to concern myself with what the little fish are saying.

You should say, Archie, for Dorman to win this group is a great achievement, right?

Because I've seen them so often in the Bundesliga this season, I'm wondering, is it because everybody in this group

is just not quite as good as we made them out to be?

So it's the sort of

group of serious illness.

It was the group of deathly names.

But I think

all of these clubs, with the exception of Newcastle, who

have

been hit by the injury

crisis that they've been facing, I think all of them would say these are not the best versions of ourselves.

And

I think that Dortmund have done well.

They've benefited as well from the fact that

teams aren't playing them in low blocks generally and they have a chance to break.

And

they've been accused

in Germany of not having a style to their play, of playing

to also being accused of playing underdog and outsider football, of not being able to recognise any real plan, which I think fits.

And the problem that they have in Germany right now is that they've got two clubs ahead of them playing much better football than them on budgets which are lower than theirs in Stuttgart's case, considerably.

The other one is by Alever Kusen under Chiabi Alonso.

And

they are so inconsistent.

It is Manchester United-like in terms of you don't know what is about to

come out of them.

So yeah,

it is the achievement of winning this Champions League group will keep Edin Terzic in a job.

There has been talk in the press of whether he should be coming under more pressure.

The CEO at Dortmund, Hans Joachim Vatska, is a big fan of him.

There's been talk of a fallout between Sebastian Kahl, the sporting director, and Edin Terzich over signings that were made and weren't made, namely Edson Alvarez going to West Ham and how they instead chose to invest in Emery Chan as the captain.

And yeah, there's a lot swirling at Dortmund.

And yet,

it feels...

I've never been so sure that a team was not going to qualify after two match days than Dortmund.

And then they win the group.

I'm like,

I'm glad in a way, because

long may football remain unpredictable.

Yeah, just for context, for people who aren't big sort of Eurofiles, Dortmund have one win in the last six in the Bundesliga now.

But I like this about you mentioned Vatsuke, who's

kind of come out and been quite vocal about supporting the coach, which is one thing I'd like to see more in England, actually, to see the people upstairs sometimes speak and sort of make themselves heard.

But it is such a it's such a Dortmund thing is that whilst they're sort of goofing around and not getting it done in the league, they've suddenly won a very, very competitive Champions League group that feels very on-brand for

an

endaringly chaotic club, I guess.

The other thing with this group is just it felt to me like every team was almost flawed in the same way.

Like every single one of these teams wanted to play quite attacking football that was quite reckless at the back and that's why almost every game it felt like yes even when a a team won, it could have gone the other way, right?

I don't think that any of Dortmund's games they won, they didn't give up several really good chances at the other end.

And that's why every team comes out of it either thinking, oh, but obviously teams that got through got through, but the teams that didn't, Milan and Newcastle, both come away with it thinking, oh, if we could have just taken that chance there or that chance here, because those chances were there for every team.

I just remember something I think I've heard Nikki say before, which is like that Pioli has been criticized in Italy for almost having a slightly English approach.

Like Milan play the way Milan play.

They don't adjust to scenarios very well, they don't adjust to opponents very well.

They have this almost sort of English Premier League thing.

We'll just go and play our game and it'll be fine.

So it's funny that they've got them in a group with Newcastle, who clearly have had that approach.

With Dortmund, who are also a little bit sort of unhinged, and then PSG, who are PSG.

So

it's been a group of fun, guys.

Yeah.

The group F, the group of fun.

And here's where it ends.

And we'll do the other groups of boredom in just a second in part two.

And we're back live during a flex alert.

Oh, we're pre-cooling before 4 p.m., folks.

And that's the end of the third.

Time to send it back to 78 from 4 to 9 p.m.

What a performance by Team California.

The power is ours.

Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

It was the new game, Day Scratchers from the California Lottery.

Play is everything.

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

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

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

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question.

Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams Scratchers from the California Lottery.

A little play can make your day.

Please play responsibly.

Must be 18 years or older to purchase, play, or claim.

Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Man City, then in Group G won every single game Leipzig go through in second.

We knew all of that anyway.

Man City won 3-2 in Red Star.

Pep called it a proper football game.

He didn't follow Arteta's lead from last night.

Fielded some kids.

Sean says, is Micah Hamilton better than Gorincha?

Yes, I can't expect any of you to have huge knowledge on Micah Hamilton, considering this was his debut.

But Lars, he looked really quite good at football, which I guess shouldn't be a surprise to any of us.

It is.

I mean, the Man City Academy, as we've read about many times, they've invested a lot of money in it, and they do seem to be producing very, very good players.

Some end up doing things at City and some don't.

And I guess that is one of the challenges you face when you have all this money and you can afford to buy everything is that you still want to sneak these guys in.

And it's interesting.

There's not a lot I can say about Mike Hamilton, but I'd like to make the point about Oscar Bob, who is in a fairly similar situation.

He's been getting more game time, but like he's actually 20 years old.

Like Oscar Bob has something like eight senior games in his uh eight senior appearances, uh something like that, might be might be the thereabouts.

And uh at the age of 20, which is quite unusual these days.

Usually people kind of make their debuts when they're younger because get at City you have a situation where the youth setup is like so highly regarded and seems to be very good.

I mean Hamilton is in the same situation.

He's also 20.

It's almost impossible to get into the first team, but it's clearly a very good place to learn.

So you're getting this sort of like Warren Zayer Emery is playing regularly for PSG and he's 17.

So

it's kind of strange to me that we're getting these sort of completely unknown kids who are who are 20 already.

But they seem to be developing very well

within the city structure.

So I guess it's fine.

The other side of the coin in this game, that sure you have Micah Hamilton, Oscar Bob, Rico Lewis, albeit Rico Lewis has been more of a regular in the city side.

You also had Calvin Phillips.

And

if I think back to, or if I try and think of players who have had to take what is personally a very pressured penalty in a game which for everyone else does not really matter, then I'm just imagining what was going on in Calvin Phillips' head when he was standing over the penalty at 2-1 thinking, if I miss this,

what is going to happen?

So

I was pleased for him that he was able to stick that away.

Really good point.

And And I mean, his celebration was pretty low-key

as if it spoke to the relief that must have gone through him because he knows that nothing he can do is really going to change his situation at this point.

So,

yeah,

I like that moment for him.

You feel like he has to go somewhere in January.

I wonder with, you know, Pep, and there must be examples of him playing players who are 16 and 17, so it might be nonsense.

Perhaps, I think Barney mentioned it on a pod a while ago.

So, you know, we sort of celebrate, oh, there's a 16-year-old at Barcelona or a 17-year-old at PSG, and like these are are actual children put into this huge pressurized situation and like what's the balance between celebrating like the sort of abulliance of youth and the the fearlessness of it and the sort of duty of care that you have for young people who just aren't fully developed because they're children and i and perhaps it's overstating to say it's interesting that a lot of city players don't seem to get onto the pitch until they are, you know, slightly older.

I mean, not that I knew anything at 20, but, you know, at some point you've got to be old enough.

I don't know what you think, Nikki.

I think we didn't mention that first part.

Lewis Miley, 17 years old, making an assist for Newcastle.

Milan threw on David Bartesagi at the end of that game as well, also 17 years old.

So it's definitely true that some get thrown in sooner and in some cases make everything out of that.

I don't know.

To some extent, that feels like a conversation that's been around almost someone's been watching football.

I mean, Wayne Rooney's whole sort of teenage burst onto the scene and then questions about whether or not he'd burned out earlier than he would have done if he'd started a little bit later.

I think those those those things have been around football not forever, but but certainly for a while.

But I think it's so difficult to have that conversation because it's such an individual thing from player to player.

Because like no one would ever say that like playing Dude Bellingham regularly in the championship at like twelve or whatever age he was like when he was incredibly young.

That clearly works.

He seems to yeah, I don't know.

He seems to be like a remarkably mature mature young man.

But then there are examples of young players who have been thrust into a situation who may be emotionally and

haven't been quite ready for it.

Like, without wanting to throw anyone on the best, I mean, I think he's spoken about it.

I think you can mention Boyan in that setting because he's been quite open about how he struggled with the pressures at Barcelona.

But I guess it's just up to the coaches to try to know the kids they're working with.

There's this fetishization of using young players in teams and

therefore the expectations that these young players can hit things that in reality

take until they are well into their mid-20s or later stages of their career to really have the consistency to do.

And I think of Chelsea with this right now, actually, that there's been too much expected from

Chelsea when signing these players that they are going to click and really hit it off.

When in reality, like, if you think of teams who have won things with very young players, they are the exception.

They are not the rule.

The rule is people finding their way.

And sometimes, after games, when we're like, we've seen the most ridiculous performance, I mean, I've seen it at Dortmund a lot over the years with some of these young players who come through and you're like, wow, Haaland, wow, Bellingham.

And then the next game, things don't quite go as well.

I mean, not in the case of Bellingham, because he's a freak.

The point is, is it's like

uh

growth equals having a bad game and then learning from that and doing that in the spotlight is sometimes going to is going to cost you and is it's it's not always explainable i guess yeah um there was a nice video of uh of um that man city posted of of micah hamilton as a ball boy with pep already irritating the hell out of him to giving him tactical advice i'm yelling at him he's like oh i'm gonna have this for

the next 10 years um leipzig beat young boys 2 one they're through what where where do we uh where do you see leipzig figuring in this whole thing archie in saxony

i i wish i could have uh made the point that i just made

before on leipzig now because that's kind of that's kind of the constellation with them they've got some

outstanding young players that that they've gone and signed in uh loisapender from lans

uh and chavi uh as well who has been who, yeah, the way that he's able to cut inside and whip a shot from a good distance, along with all the other tricks that he's got up his sleeve,

they're exciting, they, but are also, they are young, they are raw, and therefore, I think, will struggle to find the consistency that is needed to either go far in this competition or indeed compete at the very top of the Bundesliga.

They did win away at Borussia Dortmund at the weekend.

I was there for that.

They did wobble quite a lot towards the end against what was a 10-man Borussia Dortmund team as well.

But they are going in

a good enough direction that Marco Rosa won't be worried about his job, even though they are out of the DFB Cup and first time in two years because they were reigning champions for the last two years.

Nice to see Tim O'Verner come on and hammer a chance about a thousand miles over the bar.

I feel sorry for him.

He's in a desperate state right now.

Whether he's able

to find a club for him to try and get back into the Germany Euro squad because he's not in that frame right now.

And to not be in the Germany Euro squad right now is also kind of impressive because

Germany are bad.

They are really, really bad right now.

So yeah, Timo Vernon is in a difficult spot because he's barely started a game or season for R.B.

Leipzig.

Sounds exactly like Germany are going to knock us out.

Now you've said that.

That's all I can, that's not all I can feel.

They'll do well to get beyond the group stages of right now, honestly.

I know everyone, like some people are going to be like totally bored as soon as this conversation comes up, but Leipzig going through obviously is part of this greater picture of who's going to get five Champions League spots.

Coefficient

and Germany have been the most successful of any league so far this year in terms of their coefficient.

Italy also, it's one of the sort of

weird subplots of that Newcastle Milan game is that actually Newcastle go out of Europe, Milan, despite not going through the Champions League, stay in Europe and have more chances to get points towards the coefficient.

And right now, Italy and Germany are the two teams that would get the fifth spot, but there's a lot of season left.

And of course, if City go on to win the Champions League, there's a lot of points that can be picked up by one team.

But it does still have an impact because every win you get is divided by the number of teams you had in Europe at the start, which for England is eight, and for other countries is less.

Technically, Brussia Dortmund are able to cover up their bad league form by performing well in the Champions League and meaning that a fifth spot in the Pundits League might be enough for them.

On the English side of things, I heard a few pundits yesterday say, oh, it's great for Newcastle to be out of the Europa League.

You know, it's very bad to be in there.

And I was like, you guys, you do realise what's happening this season, right?

I mean, it's entirely plausible, I think, for Newcastle to finish fifth.

I mean, the way things are going in the Premier League, I think that's a pretty likely outcome.

And if England lose that spot partially because everyone went down to Europe, like, yeah,

that's for a rat.

Come on, Lars.

There is no way Spurs aren't finishing fifth it's just written in the stars isn't it um let's go to group e um we'll get on to Adleti Lazio in a second but Celtic finally won a game the outlaw can we have 20 minutes on Celtic finally winning a Champions League tie they hadn't won in 15 games in the competition

and they won in the last minute

your mate Laga Bielke if I've pronounced that correctly, Lars,

heading the winner.

And just like,

it seems ridiculous.

It doesn't really make any difference that they won a game.

But just to have that moment, because it's been so long and they've been in so many games.

Remember last season under Ange, and they pushed around Madrid for a bit and they pushed other teams for a bit.

To actually get that win, Lars, is just

a sort of monkey off their back, isn't it?

Yeah, and Feynman are a good team.

I mean, they're not the biggest name in the competition, but I've watched a couple of their games and they've played really well.

So I wasn't able to see this, but I think beating them at home

is not a small thing.

And I think that crowd who, you know, I know it's a cliche, but they do make an incredible atmosphere for these knights.

So having one knife where it ends well, I think I'm very happy for everyone who were there.

Lazioto in second, Nikki.

They lost two

Athleti.

They're not having a brilliant season.

Can you make a case for them getting further than the last 16?

Obviously, bearing in mind, it's quite a long way away.

Yes, it's a long way away.

We don't know the draw.

I find it hard looking at the teams they could play to imagine one of them that they'd have any hope of beating, to be honest with you.

They haven't been impressive to me

really at almost any point this season last year.

They've found goals when they absolutely needed them in this group.

The draw against Atletico, which comes from Ivan Providel, the goalkeeper, going up in the first game of the group.

Goalkeeper scores in

injury time in the second half ends up being critical because they go into this last game not needing to get a result away to Atletico.

They left it until injury time to beat Celtic away from home.

They found goals when they needed them, and that's an impressive trait to have, but it's a team sorely lacking in quality.

And

the fact that they're currently sat in mid-table is indicative of their performances this season.

Rory says, if Atleti draw an English team, will anyone on TV notice that they've been playing fun attacking football all season before the games play it?

Is that so, Lars?

Yeah, they have been.

I mean,

it's been,

I feel like it's a conversation we've had every year for the last however many years.

Like, will Atleti now?

They have so many good attackers.

Will Simeone put the handbrakes off and attack more?

And it does seem a little bit like it's happening to some extent this season.

But I do also wonder, I think some of that's just to do with how good Griezmann has been as well.

Like, Griezmann has really found himself.

I'm so happy that he's back at a club where he fits in.

And he's not...

In terms of his positioning, he's not quite as deep as he often was for France, but he's definitely taken some of that sort of playmaker-y vibes with him to Atleti.

and it's really working and they're they're just a they're they're a pretty good team to watch.

I wish more players did a Grizzman and were willing to accept their status at

what is a very big club but instead of, I don't know, going and joining, say,

a city, for example, where you're one of many where you can actually

at Atletico, you can lead the you can lead the charge and create

what is a very recognizable force as well.

Well, he did for a bit.

He did go to Barcelona.

I know he did, but he's come back.

He's come back, is what I mean.

And many would be stubborn, I think.

Archie, I see what you're doing, Archie.

I'm just not sure João Polino listens to football.

Come on.

Andy Brussels was on TV with me yesterday.

He made a really good point about Rodrigo de Paul, who's also had his hair dyed blonde, so that occasionally you think,

you know, he's done something good, but actually, it's just Griezmann doing good things and

making yourself look like you're a really good footballer.

Not that he's a bad one, of course.

Group H, Charlie says, just a moment to admire Barcelona's commitment to losing that game, please.

Yeah, Antwerp has lost all their games,

but they beat Barcelona 3-2.

Barcelona equalized in the 90th minute and then let one in straight away at the end.

And just a wonderful point for Antwerp.

And a wonderful point for Vincent Janssen loss, who was denied with an offside goal.

And then he got his moment.

Yeah, and I mean,

Vincent Janssen scoring and being one of the better players on the park, and Robert Lewandowski sort of being subbed and not doing much.

That is not something I thought I'd ever see in the Champions League, I have to say.

This tournament is full of surprises.

Listen, this didn't matter to Barcelona in a sense, but

in another sense, I mean, coming just off that awful defeat to Girona, this wasn't ideal for them.

And there was the story, it has been refuted, I should stress, but there was a story in the Spanish media that they initially picked a very sort of rotated squad for this.

And then supposedly, Juan Laporta sort of lent on the manager and said, no, no, no, you got to bring the big guns because we, you know, there's money at stake.

You do get some money from winning these games, and Barcelona needs their money.

Now, what's been it has been refuted, and they say it's to do with scheduling and logistics and stuff, but it's just not a good look for the whole situation.

And yeah, vibes are bad.

The vibes are continuing to deteriorate.

This ties together with the Celtic game, but I just

seeing highlights of this game afterwards.

Obviously, I was focusing on other games during the game.

The limbs when Antwerp score that winning goal, that's one of the most sort of chaotic sort of celebrations I've seen.

And you think, yeah, they're the bottom of the group.

That's zero points before this.

But for the fans, that was clearly a goal they enjoyed a lot.

Yeah, totally.

Beating Barcelona is always going to be beating Barcelona, isn't it?

And

yeah, you're so right.

And also right to compare it to the Celtic moment in the last minute.

Like just the sort of relief and joy

all together.

Shaktar could have got through if they'd won in Porto they didn't Porto won 5-3

totally ridiculous football match

with with you know I think the most fun moment was obviously Shaktar's equalizer where the referees assistant put the flag up for offside and then it wasn't offside and the ref basically Porto all stopped playing and Shaktar scored and then the ref went well it is a goal and the liner was like it's my fault and you know at a time when referees are being attacked like fair you know you sort of hope people would just go yeah it is your fault but Porto was slightly disappointed at the time.

But this might be a slightly dystopian idea, but I would like someone to round up every single commentator and pundit who's complained about the heavy flags.

And so just wave your flag, what's the point of it?

Like, just round them up, like, send the vans around to where they live, round them up at gunpoint, and put them in the room, and tie them to chairs, and just tape their eyes open.

And then you put that goal on the screen in front of them on, like, repeat for at least 48 hours.

You maybe feed them occasionally if you have to, so they don't die.

But like make them watch it over and over again and say, this is why we do the heavy flags.

Like honestly, this is why we do the heavy flags.

It's not complicated.

It's really obvious.

The room that you're in right now, Lars, makes it seem even more conducive to you saying this.

It's such an evil super villain kind of thing to be saying.

Like,

what's behind those black walls that you're there right now?

To the side of the screen, Darren Cam is just eating the one sandwich that you've given him for the last 48 hours.

Oh, no, it's not a linesman, is it?

Sorry, forgive me.

It's Jonathan.

No, we can have a linesman be in there and eat a sandwich in front of everyone where no one actually gets anything.

Very good.

Even more evil.

Yes.

The next section of the podcast is brought to you by TNT Sports.

This season, you can stream exclusive UAF Champions League and Premier League football on TNT Sports.

It's the end of the group games.

The Champions League will reconvene in February with the knockouts.

We're going to ask the panel who they think will win the tournament, who they'd like to see win it.

Obviously, you know, caveated, as we've said, with the teams might be completely different after a transfer window and injuries and fitness, and we have no idea.

But head and heart, Archie, who do you want to win it?

Who do you think will win it?

I like the thought of Arsenal.

I think coming back into it for the first time in a while, they have a certain energy to them

that I think could

could could do well in the in the I you're you're grimacing as if to say, I don't see it.

No, no no not at all i i sort of agree with you i think it would be nice to see i'm just wondering how you know arteta would just sort of get wildly ridiculous by the end of the moment but they're exciting they play lovely football i love martone and saka and deckton rice i i think they could be a better bet than city this year even if they've got players to come back uh my dark horses would be athletico right now because of that of course i mean that's like saying turkey for the euros

i feel it more than in previous years that they've they've just got that bit of quality to to knock through i'm not convinced maybe because i see too much of them by buying munich and i see that those defensive flaws that just continually don't get um swept up as for my uh

heart would like to see winn it uh i'd i'd like to see

I'm always a fan of an underdog surprise.

And therefore, just because of also the way that Copenhagen took it to buy Munich in the group stages.

And

I mean, they only got a point from their two games, but I was really impressed by

the way that Jakob Nistrup set up his team and with Rooney Baji as well, very exciting teenager, who we should, of course, make sure doesn't have too much pressure on him and is allowed to evolve and grow in the coming years.

I think, think, yeah,

it would be fun to see them go another few steps further.

Wild if Copenhagen won it.

Nikki?

It's no secret on this podcast here, I support.

I'm an Arsenal fan, but I think we could be magnanimous and say, aside from City, because they won it last year, any of the Premier League clubs still in the competition, I'd be happy to see win.

I think, you know, I really have felt like watching Intel this season.

They're a better team than they were last season.

They went to a final last season, and I've thought they have a real shot at winning this competition.

But that said, they didn't win their group.

And so now there's a real possibility they run into a horrendous draw in the next round.

They could run into Man City or Real Madrid and it suddenly becomes a much trickier path.

So I still think they could.

But if you're asking me who I would stick my house on if I had to stick my house on someone, I think it's probably still City, despite the fact they're having a bit of a wobble to start this season.

I just think the quality is there.

And I think right behind them for me, there's the other obvious name, which is Real Madrid, who quietly, as well as having Dude Bellingham scoring buckets of goals and being brilliant, I believe they have the best defence in the league right now as well.

And that's the sort of thing that tells over a season.

Finally, Lars.

Yeah, can I be the least interesting person in the world yet again and just say probably Man City?

Now, it's because...

They're not quite themselves in England right now, but here's the thing about the Champions League.

Not being quite yourself domestically in November, December doesn't matter.

Because you can get it together by the time the knockout games start.

Kevin De Bruyne is coming back.

They're pressing a lot less, which is slightly odd to see, but I think it means they're going to be less knackered when we get to the business end of the season, possibly.

I'm clutching a little bit here, but I think there could be something there.

I think they are a little bit more of a well-rounded team.

Stones is going to be fully integrated into the team again.

Holland's going to be scoring even more goals.

So I think by the time the knockouts come back, I suspect City are still going to be the team to beat.

And that's also because

you've made a case for a few of them, but I don't really trust any of the other frontrunners.

Like, as Archie has alluded to, Bayern are thoroughly untrustworthy.

Real Madrid are, you know, I can see that for sure, but they're also a little bit of a work in progress, I feel.

And

Arsenal, it just doesn't feel right that that should be a thing.

Barcelona are not settled, PSG or PSG.

Like, there's not, like, there aren't a lot of the big dogs that I fully like think they're going to be brilliant.

So I just think City will do it again, basically.

I mean, being the least interesting, saying maybe City, but being quite interesting, saying everyone's shite is actually quite fun.

So, you know, I enjoyed that.

The head answer was Man City.

The heart answer is, of course, also Man City, but with Holland scoring a hat-trick in every game for book sales.

Please buy my book.

Good.

Yeah.

Buy.

Buy Lazar's book.

Anyway, this isn't just football.

This is the Champions League.

With TNT Sports, you get exclusive UA for Champions League and Premier League football, along with the best of rugby, NBA, boxing, UFC, WWE, Moto GP, and more.

Stream TNT Sports on Discovery Plus or watch watch TNT Sports channels on BT Sky and Virgin Media.

Subscription required.

Age 18 Plus T's and C's apply.

That'll do for part two.

We'll do a Premier League preview in part three.

New products to launch?

New people to develop?

New goals to crush?

Workday Go is designed for small and mid-sized businesses.

By bringing HR and finance together on one AI platform, you'll have everything you need to think big, go big, and grow big.

And activation is fast.

It takes just 30 to 60 business days to get you up and running.

Simplify your SMB on an AI platform you'll never outgrow.

Workday go.

Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

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

Play is everything.

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

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

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

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question.

Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams scratchers from the California Lottery.

A little play can make your day.

Please play responsibly.

Must be 18 years or older to purchase, play, or claim.

Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

Let's start with Liverpool, Manchester United.

It's clearly the game of the weekend.

Liverpool, top of the league by stealth.

No one's really talked about them yet.

They've only lost once this season, and that was

that VAR goal and the last-minute winner for Tottenham.

Man United lost this game 7-0 last season.

They're in a much worse position now than they were then.

So what is this, Archie?

14-0 or like a scratchy 2-1 win with a lake McTominay header?

It's a weird one where you feel like the result that there should be happened last season.

also because of how freak a result that was, if I remember the game correctly.

it didn't feel like a 7-0.

It might even have been 0-0 after 40 minutes.

I may be making that up, but it was something Lucy.

No, no, no, no, that sounds correct.

I think that if it was possible, Liverpool have quietly been building Steam for this title challenge.

And I think it's more the way that Liverpool have been winning some of these games.

Like the game against Fulham, where they are scoring four absolute worldies,

but also to turn a game in the space of 90 seconds as well, and to win the game away at Crystal Palace last weekend.

These are the sort of characteristics that we like to associate with title-winning teams.

And

if you're predicting anything else than Liverpool wiping the floor with Manchester United, that for me would be interesting because I can't see anything else right now.

No, but I suppose the interesting thing is that none of these sides at the top, you know, know, including Liverpool, and you're right, they have this kind of belligerence and this, you know, will to win and get over the line and

win from losing positions.

No one is convincing at the moment, which is what is making the Premier League really quite interesting at the moment.

The Sun are reporting last that Jim Ratcliffe has met with Graham Potter.

I mean, I presume over the job at Manchester United, not just for a crumpet.

And I can't see it.

Can you see it?

No, it sounds like a terrible idea.

And I say that as someone who likes and rates graham potter it's just that it seems to me that he's a very good coach and i think he deserves a lot of respect for the journey he's been on and getting to where he's gotten to but it did just look at chelsea like the job was too big for him like the pressure and the personalities and everything just kind of ate him up now granted they were in a difficult situation but it just didn't seem like that was the stage he was uh he had the gravitas for frankly so then throwing him in at man united which is arguably a more even more demanding spotlight and it just seems like a a horrific idea to me.

And I really hope he sort of goes to a club where he finds his mojo because I think he's a good coach who does good work.

But this sounds like an atrocious idea.

Graham Potter at Manchester United kind of

his end days at Chelsea reminded me of when Ed Miliband was trying to say, Am I tough enough to be Prime Minister?

Yeah, I am.

That's exactly it.

And I just think he's

probably too nice at this stage.

Maybe in 10 years.

I think his best bet would be to not go to a Premier League job now and to go and build something in

a sensible country, in a sensible footballing environment that is not the

soap opera that is the Premier League right now.

But I doubt that'll happen.

Andy says, where did Jonathan Faduba get the stat that Sancho's the last attacker to score for Manchester United in the league?

Gonacho, Martial and Rushwood all scored against Everton.

Gonacho's goal, a

fairly memorable one for what it's worth.

It's a very good point.

He did mean at Old Trafford.

And

I wasn't really concentrating.

But yes, that Gonacho goal was quite good.

Newcastle, Fulham.

Autumn says, what makes Archie more happy?

A five-goal Fulham victory or driving a snow tractor in Helsinki.

Look, far away, Archie.

You've won two games, 5-0.

Fulham don't do that in the Premier League.

That's very championship Fulham.

That's very sort of, it's March.

Fulham are on the run.

They're going to win the championship.

They win two games, 5-0 against, I don't know, Birmingham and Stoke.

It's not a Premier League thing for Fulham to do.

It's ludicrous.

Yeah.

You're repeating what you said on Monday, just without the bit that I'm going to be laboured and gushing.

So thank you.

That's okay.

I think,

to be honest, I listened to Monday's pod.

You covered everything.

I was listening to

it's rare, I think, that you get

fans saying, you covered our team correctly, but no, spot on, to be honest.

Why do you talk about our club exactly the right amount?

It's not.

I listened to it.

I was like, oh, well, that was quite good.

The only thing I think.

Quite kid.

Put that on the comment section.

Quite good.

I don't know if it never happens.

The only thing I'd add was, I think at centre-back, there's been an important switch in Tim Reem sadly being dropped, but was necessary just because he'd had a few too many ricks recently, I think.

And physically,

having Calvin Bassey and Tosinada Rebayo, they are quicker than him.

And the balls out the back have been better as well.

But as you said, Tom Kearney, Raul Jimenez, those are making the difference.

Ticket prices still remain an absolute shambles.

I have to continue raising that because

it's a weird thing in media where it's like if you continually raise a point, then it starts to get kind of seen as being dull.

But also it's just the importance of it is you if you don't keep saying it then it gets swept under the carpet so i will continue to say that they it is shameless greed from the club uh to continue to be charging these things and then for the club to also be like oh well um but there's uh for marco so it'll be like yeah but it'd be good if we could get a bit more atmosphere in here and it's like well

i'm not i'm it doesn't guarantee a better atmosphere at fulham uh the smile on your face max suggests that yeah come on it's fulham which is kind of the point and the the struggle, but I think you've got a better chance, at least.

Are you saying millionaires with their golden hats aren't going to yell as much as people could actually afford it?

Fulham fans are renowned to be all-millionaires who all have cheese boards on the train

to end your way.

So, yeah.

Arsenal played Brighton.

It's a very good point you make, Archie, and I wholeheartedly agree with you.

Arsenal played Brighton, Nikki.

I mean, that Villa game,

it was different to when Villa Hammond City.

Like, Arsenal probably should have won that game, shouldn't they?

Yeah, and I sort of can't imagine this game playing out like that game because Villa very much got a goal and then locked things down as best they could, and Arsenal saw the chances, but that was the approach, and you just can't see a deservedly team coming with that approach.

Obviously, Brighton have Europa League football on Thursday night, which makes an impact.

Both teams have got a few injuries at the moment, but I think from Arsenal's point of view,

even though it's a difficult game, because it's Brighton, who are a very good team, I think at home they have to expect and want this this to be a big bounce back game.

City play Palace.

Spurs go to Forest on Friday night.

Chelsea play Sheffield United.

Feels like a disaster for Chelsea.

Isn't it like Chris Wilder turning up, getting something there and us continuing to be confused about Chelsea?

Gavin says, read the last pod and Chelsea's accounts.

Remarkably, it would be at least three sets, not the two you suggested, Premier League UEFA and Inland Revenue Tax Accountants.

as all have different rules.

A hugely exciting thought for us accountants, says Gavin.

Thank you so much.

Sean Deich returns to Burnley with Everton.

That should be fun.

Nikki, a word please on Giorgio Chiellini and him retiring.

Yeah, I don't have one word to do it.

He's been such a defining player of

being Italian and watching football for a huge chapter, I suppose.

I grew up with

the Maldinis and

that era, the Balesis as the first sort of

great Italian defenders I was coming into contact with.

And then there was this generation that perhaps wasn't as deep in its quality but which always had Giorgio Cellini at the front of it and at his best obviously winning things with Italy and and also

very much the the centrepiece or or

leader of a Juventus team that I think punched above its weight to go to a couple of Champions League finals.

He's a a brilliant footballer and an interesting character because he has such a aggressive and you were talking before about celebrating tackles on pitch persona and then you meet him off the the pitch and he's he's so softly spoken he's he's sort of this complete contrast with the the gorilla is what he calls himself on the pitch he's even had cartoon version of himself that he sort of celebrated and used in his merch and things like that and then you can meet him off the pitch and he's this studious thoughtful man and um

it's it's a sad moment to see him winding things down but i'm certain he's going to be involved in football because

obviously he's he's had a master's degree in business that he's gone and done and and he's going to i expect end up back at juventus helping them finally sam Sam says, hello, pod, long time listener, first-time writer.

I'm writing this message from the small seaside town of Marsk in the northeast.

Despite our tiny population, every other Saturday at three o'clock comes Sea Fret or Storm, you will hear the raucous cheer of the Seasiders.

Founded in 1954, Marsk FC has been a beacon of pride in our community, serving as a hub where locals gather, friendships are forged, and the spirit of the beautiful game is celebrated by all.

Two seasons ago, the club gave promotion to the northern premiere, the highest tier of football maskers seen.

And after surviving this first nail-biting season, we're still in the division, meaning our 400 strong fans and volunteers were able to continue to watch huge clashes with Titans like Macclesfield and FC United of Manchester.

We're in dreamland, arguably punching above our weight on the pitch, however, has had a drastic effect off the pitch.

Rising operating and travel costs, financial mismanagement with our now departed owner, and just general costs for a small club like ours to stay in the big league have placed us in severe financial need.

Since taking on a new board, the decision was made to raise funds via a fan share option.

However, the Northern Premier League have not permitted this to happen at such short notice and therefore left the club with a difficult position of facing collapse.

Our fixtures have been cancelled.

The league have given us 10 days to produce evidence of financial security in order for us to survive.

Our fans and volunteers have been left to pick up the pieces as the thought of Mask FC not being around anymore is just incomprehensible.

Not only would this be a loss to employees in the club's shop, community centre staff and match day security, but also our thriving girls, boys and walking football teams, as well as our food bank and community outreach volunteers.

We have a long way to go in such a short time, but if you could just share the following Just Giving page, it would mean the world.

Agreements are in place to start the fan ownership next season survival this season must happen first thank you Sam

well look thank you so much for getting in touch and you know football of course is more than just the Champions League and the Premier League and although we concentrate on that we care about what football means to communities like yours so yeah you have our support if you just search for mask fc m-a-r-s-k-e it's their pinned tweet

or there is a just giving page as well if you search mask fc on just giving so good luck to you and that will do for today.

Thanks, Archie.

Thanks, mate.

Thanks, Nikki.

Thank you, Max.

Thank you, Lars.

Sorry, that was not me.

No, that's not you, Lars.

It's okay.

I'll do you now.

Are you ready?

Are you ready?

I'm kind of keen to get out of here.

Thank you, Lars.

Thank you, Max.

Why are you keen to get out of here?

I thought you had a nice time.

Absolute outrage.

It's as if you're doing another podcast.

That would be a total disgrace.

You'd never do that, you massive splitter.

Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove.

Our executive producer is Max Sanderson.

This is The Guardian.