Manchester derby, Moldova’s misery and Zohran Mamdani – Football Weekly podcast

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

The bread and butter of the greatest league in the world returns and how a Manchester Derby Super Sunday at the Etihad.

City in crisis.

Who the hell knows with united and what a place for and postacoglu to start off for nottingham forest at the emirates mate he's had about no minutes to work with the players is that enough time to change new's winning formula inform everton who thought we'd say that played one point from three games aston villa and there's a couple of london derbies brentford chelsea and west ham spurs also today slightly out of the blue the democratic nominee for the mayor of new york city zoran mamdami asked to come on the podcast so we said sure hear his thoughts on FIFA, Gianni, Trump and dynamic pricing in part two.

And then Paul Watson knows his place.

Absolutely nailed on for the final part of the final international break pod with the stories you've missed, sinkholes in Austria, Venezuelan heartbreak, and how the Moldovans are really feeling.

All that, a classic wedding request, your questions.

And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

On the panel today, Barry Glendenning, welcome.

Hi, Max.

Seb Hutchinson, hello.

Hi, Max.

And from the Excellent Sweeper podcast, Paul Watson.

Welcome, Paul.

The intro was with love, of course.

Hi, Max.

Yeah, no, I know my place.

I can set my calendar by getting that text football weekly.

I'm like, oh, right, it's international week again, is it?

Let's start by looking ahead to the Premier League weekend, the Manchester Derby.

Barry,

who is looking forward to this game less, do you think?

I would say Manchester City fans are probably looking forward to it less because I think the expectations of Manchester United fans are low anyway.

They're away from home.

And

City,

I think we all, well, I certainly had thought

Pep had put that blip of last season well and truly behind him.

But lo and behold, they've started this season.

They've lost their past two games against Brighton and Spurs.

They have a big Champions League game coming up against Napoli at the weekend, and then they've Arsenal the following Sunday.

So I think City really need a win here just to steady the ship.

And I'm not so sure they're going to get it.

They may well win this Derby, but they played Manchester United three times last season.

Didn't beat them in any of those games.

I think Drew 2 lost one.

And Omar Marmouche, I read, is out.

I'm not sure how massive a loss that is for City, but

and they're also playing a Manchester United team who, despite no one really knowing if they're going to improve or not, do have the best XG in the division.

Ah, good.

Which is, you know, huge.

It's good insofar as they're creating chances and bad insofar as not scoring as many as they should.

So to answer your question, I'd say City are looking forward to this less than United.

Yeah, I mean, I know with the three-game, with the only three-game caveat, Sam, when City won that bad run last season, I think every game I just presumed well this will be the they'll win this one whatever it was and then it kept not happening I don't know they did one in 12 or something in something mad last season and I just just never ever really took it seriously I still presumed they'd win the league even when they clearly had even when Liverpool had won the league so I'm so fascinated to know how long this one will go yeah I felt the same last season I had to convince myself even when they lost their fourth or fifth game in a row that they would just go on on one of their famous runs and I think the second half of the season they showed more signs of that obviously got to the FA Cup final but the way this season started is so is quite bizarre in a strange way because the Wolves win

I mean I watched that game and I thought Wolves did have opportunities in the first half to break on City and just didn't have the craft to do it on that particular occasion and they look like they're a side who could struggle this season and then people are obviously praising Rinders after that display but it was a display where city could show their best and had the opposition to allow them to do so I mean since then it's been

it has been signs of that spell from last season absolutely and defensively they look like teams can get at them and even going forward I do wonder they don't have that same

we used to say inevitability every time they would keep the ball and move it left to right they would get to the byline pull it back or pull it back to the edge of the area and somebody would shoot or they'd cross it in and harlot they had so many ways ways of hurting the opposition.

They were good from set pieces.

This time around it's an unknown and I think it's that the side doesn't feel settled either.

I mean we know Haaland's going to be the fixture through the middle and he will always score goals for them.

But elsewhere, you know, the Cherky injury is badly timed.

Marmouche feels badly timed now.

I've always felt that people have been harsh on Jeremy Doku.

Every time I've seen him, he's looked like a player who can cause the opposition problems, but for some reason, he's not trusted totally.

and they've brought in new players who are trying to settle into that team so i'm i'm wondering now what is pep going to do in this situation what is what is a good season for city if you're looking at the league and thinking well liverpool surely city won't finish above this liverpool side no way so what is a good season for manchester city because anything but winning the league is a bad season for them Yeah, and Paul, for Manchester United, I mean, Grimsby aside, which is quite a big aside,

I feel like they've been good in parts of games.

Like, I think they've been okay at times, even though, you know, what they've got four points from the first three games, it hasn't clicked, but there have been moments where you thought, oh, well, that's kind of okay.

Yeah, I actually think they've looked fairly all right this season, which is quite a big compliment compared to where they've been before.

The Grimsby game, it's weird how much damage it's done because it's sort of already...

He's already got his sort of epitaph, hasn't he?

He's got his moment that everyone will remember when he's sacked and it's him hunkering down in that dugout, looking miserable, looking like he's looking for a thing of carpet samples um while his team is capitulating in grimsby you know he's almost almost sort of got his demise already there so i i just wonder psychologically how hard it is as a manager to sort of come back from a game like that because it shouldn't have been a big deal really do you think now managers sort of

they they have to think about not being memeable like constantly think about not becoming a meme like you've got to do the tactics as well but like really at the top of the gender is don't do that don't be in a situation where people can put operation or guess who don't hold that umbrella yeah exactly

it's weird isn't it it's crazy the amount of scrutiny there is on them because i i think like it's very obvious but the amount of stress these guys are under the amount of things going through their brain during the game they are in basically a panic attack the entire time they are having stimulus thrown at them that it can't handle the thought that you also have to be a bit like I didn't just like do a little face there or I didn't pick up a water bottle and put it down or because everything's a meme, right?

So yeah, I do wonder if ever they do think

that's the moment that everyone's going to pick apart and be like that that's what i've been remembered for it's funny you mentioned the thing about always thinking a team's going to come good i i think i'm basically because of my childhood growing up with man united being absolutely dominant it took me about eight years to realize they're not going to win the league every single year i was like god they're leaving it late this year down in 12th but they'll make their run

i still have a little bit of that envy that i still think they'll come good and i don't know what i need to see to convince me otherwise benjamin Sesco, for Manchester United, the top and the bottom of the pitch, or you know, if that's the right description, it doesn't sound right, but Sesco

it'd be interesting if he starts or when they start him.

And we'll get to Yokores in a minute.

It's interesting these two signings that are taking time to find their feet, which is okay.

It can take players' time.

Yeah,

I mean, people are writing them both off already, which is ridiculous.

Sesco has played less than 90 minutes of Premier League football so far and has yet to score.

He will at some point score one presumes.

I'm more interested actually in the other end of the pitch, Max,

who will play in goal for United.

Yeah, it's a great question.

They've brought in Senna Lammons from Royal Antwerp.

I can't say a no thing about him.

I'd never heard of him until he started being linked to Manchester United.

Do you throw him in to a game of this magnitude for his debut?

Or do you risk going with Byender who's been terribly unconvincing in his three starts in the league for United

that's a big big shout really because I suppose you have to give Lammons the vote of confidence if you signed him and

you have to play him really but if he has a shocker

you're going to have more ridicule and scorn poured upon you.

So yeah,

I would be interested to see if

he starts.

I'm sure if Sesco doesn't start, I'm sure he'll get a run out.

Yeah, what do you make of the keeper situation?

Inanna has set to go to Trabs on spore, Seb.

More on his exploits with Cameroon later.

But it is fascinating, isn't it?

Because as Baz says, Bay and Deer looks so unconvincing.

And as soon as you get that moniker that you're not good at crosses, it's a bit like at Sunday League.

I've said this before, when you turn up and their keeper's really tiny and you go, the keeper's tiny, let's have some shots.

And you think, well, we should probably try and have some shots anyway.

Like, they don't go, well, the keeper's good, so let's not bother with set pieces.

But, like, they target behind it.

There were some sort of rumors that some of the players wanted Tom Heaton in.

I love these rumors.

Like, where do they come from?

And who knows?

Somebody was walking around the dress and going, Tom's got to come.

He's got to play.

I don't know why anybody goes in goal.

I really don't.

I mean, I went in goal for the ITV BBC game at the Euros last summer, and

I did it mainly because I didn't feel fit enough to play outfield and also nobody wanted to go in goal which is usually the way of things I thought I'll play and

the first minute I went to slide out me and Gary Neville went to slide out to block a shot and I took the skin off the front of my shin so

I'd actually rolled up my socks quite high and thought it was a 3g pitch I'll be okay but I wasn't at all I should have worn tracksuit bottoms took the skin off my off my shin and from that moment on basically my shin was bleeding but i didn't notice but i until about a minute after that and i thought oh my gosh but i stayed in as a trooper roy keen was furious with me he was not happy i think every shot on my goal went in um and he he desperately didn't want to have a go at me but at the same time i could give him glances across going oh is this

guy in goal shit um so i at one point he came over to me said do you want me to go in goal and i said yes say yes no i said i I said, Oh, no, it's okay, it's okay.

I'll stay out, I'll stay out.

And I could just feel him just twitch.

What are you out?

Anyway, after I think the 16th goal went in, I think we were losing 16, 13 or 16, 12 at that point.

I went outfield for the final five, ten minutes, and I was fantastic.

Wow, I was brilliant.

Nobody got past me.

We didn't concede another goal, and we actually won the game.

This is the moment where a Man United fan will say,

this is what we get.

You know, I want to hear about the Manchester United goalkeeping situation.

And Seb seems to have turned this.

I have to ask, Seb, were you wearing a flat cap in goal as you are now?

I had a bucket hat on, which doesn't make it any better.

And it stayed on the whole, with the whole...

I can imagine Roy Keen not being tremendously used.

And I didn't want to.

And if I think I'd showed him my bleeding shin, I think he would have said, oh, get on with it, man.

So what's your point, Seb?

Sorry, yeah.

Well,

Barry said he hadn't heard of this goalkeeper.

And that might be a good thing for Manchester United because there'll be no preconceived ideas, perhaps, about how he'll play, what they're expecting from him, the fans.

There'll just be hope.

So if he does chuck one in, they'll go, well, we didn't know much about him.

And if he is fantastic, he's starting from a low base.

And usually Manchester United signings start from a higher point.

But I think the team's interesting because in January when they signed Dorgu and Aiden Heather, and they gave two players who were also unknown to the Manchester United supporters, they gave them the whole welcome on the old Trafford pitch, and it was a big, they made a big deal of it.

I thought, I wonder where this club is at.

It feels like they don't really know what their plan is with their transfers.

It feels reactive, it feels opportunistic from them, and I know a lot of transfers can be.

But I've basically gone round the houses not to answer your question about Manchester United goalkeepers because I don't know much about his keeper.

I feel really bad for Inanna because I think the pylon is getting a bit ridiculous, really.

And I think it must affect him as a professional at the top level, especially as a goalkeeper, because you can't one mistake and people are criticising you, whereas outfield players can make a few and then make up for it.

I don't think goalkeepers can, even if they make 10 saves, one howler.

That's it, especially.

Meanwhile, Paul.

Meanwhile.

Manchester City have to choose between Man Mountain 6'6 Donna Rummer and the teeny tiny 6'7 James Trafford.

So what's this thing with James Trafford?

Everyone thinks he's shorter.

Is that a thing?

Everyone thinks he's exaggerated his height.

We thought he was short and then we were told he's actually enormous.

Oh, no, so it was just you watching it?

It was just a mistake on our part.

It wasn't my part.

Don't, don't roll me.

I make enough mistakes of my own, but I'm getting the credit for yours as well.

Was it?

No, no.

Listen, listen, whoever it was, I can't even remember now.

They'll never be on the pod again.

It was no mistake from anyone you can see on this call, Paul.

But that is an interesting choice.

You can't, it seems like if you bring Donner Roomer in, he has to start, right?

Yeah.

No, he's absolutely not a start.

No, you don't bring Donarim in to sit on a bench.

I don't know if if he's barely ever sat on a bench, has he Donner?

I can't remember the time he has.

He probably wouldn't know how to do it.

Well, didn't him and Caleb Nevas, didn't, was it those two that interchanged for PSG?

You're right.

No, you're right.

He probably, yeah, I guess he's probably got the technique down for sitting on benches.

But no, he's the guy.

You bring him in, you put him in.

It's a massive statement as a signing, isn't it, really, to be honest.

Sorry, Paul, I would say anyone who saw Israeli's game against Israel would question the wisdom of putting Donner on the street.

It's a good point.

But also changes the style, right?

It changes like him playing out the way Pep wants people to play out will be interesting to see.

Yeah, and it's going to take some adapting for sure.

Now, on the Italy-Israel thing, yeah, that game was pure mayhem and chaos, but I think that's more Gatuzo's Italy, which is just incredibly fun to watch, but baffling at times.

I wouldn't say Donner Rummer covered himself in glory, but I would also say he's a brilliant goalkeeper.

I have just the most respect for him.

Let's move on to the Emirates.

It's the early game on Saturday.

Arsenal Nottingham Forest.

Seb, Seb, absolutely fascinating.

And you'll be in the dugout.

He hasn't had that much time with his players.

A lot of players have been on international break.

But what a brilliant place for his Forest career to begin.

Yeah, I listened to his first interview he did, which was obviously with the club because they always are.

And it was interesting the fact that he is fully aware of how people perceive him as a manager.

And he almost was reluctant to say, this is how I'll play.

But what he did promise was an exciting brand of football, essentially.

He's a front foot manager, a manager who wants to have his side in possession of the ball and a high-intensity way of playing.

He also repeated the fact he's been successful everywhere he's been.

And that Europa League win is so key to his whole, how you view him as a man.

It's everything.

Imagine he lost that final.

But what he does to it, it puts him in a special place because fans of Australia, or just Australians in general, and also Celtic supporters and his time in Japan, all these little elements, he's built up an army of supporters.

So a lot of Forest supporters, in fact, most of them were really disappointed with Nuno going and Posta Koklu coming in.

But then there would be a response to that from fans, even of Tottenham, saying, oh no, you'll go on a great ride.

It'll be a wild ride.

I think for Spurs support, it has to be that one win is what's flipped that because surely losing all those games last season cannot...

cannot make you think highly of a manager.

But it's just how we remember things.

And that's why he's coming into this job with all of that.

And Maranak is knowing that as well.

I think Maranak is, he believes that Forrester aside, who should be at the top of the tree.

With Cooper, he felt he hit his ceiling.

With Nuno, he felt he hit his ceiling, in his opinion.

Now it's the next manager to take you to the next spot, and he feels it's somebody who's won trophies and won that trophy for Spurs last season.

So I think the way he spoke probably will give a lot of Forest fans some heart.

And I think it's a good first game for him because it's a great one.

Yeah, I think, Paul, when Ange left Tottenham, and, you know, I was a bit sad, even though I think Thomas Frank is a brilliant manager, and it's probably a good decision.

I thought what was an advantage for Frank was Ange is lovable.

He can be, you know, snippy and all that, but he's got a lovable guy, and Thomas Frank is as well.

But the fact that Ange is lovable, I think, will really help him.

You know, he has a way to connect with his fan base.

He does.

And I've always wanted Ange to do well.

I was kind of gutted when he was struggling at Spurs because I know it can wind people up, his sort of slightly bravado-ish, you know, quite kind of forthright front of, you know, we're going to win things.

And, you know, I know that can wind some fans up, not fans of your club, but fans of other clubs.

But I actually, I really like him.

I like the way he engages with people.

I like the way he engages with the press.

And it is really telling that everywhere he's been.

generally he is beloved and as you say i've never known one game flip something as much as it did at spurs like he could have easily been seen as a as a failure there but this is a really interesting job for him.

I think if I was a Forest fan, I'd be excited to see him come in, even though obviously Nuno shouldn't have been sacked.

That was, in my opinion, a crazy decision.

But I'd be excited to see Ange come in.

I just wonder how this fits going to work.

It seems, I'm not a tactical expert, but it seems like Forrest play an entirely almost opposite way to how Ange wants to play.

So is he going to be more pragmatic here?

Is he going to gradually mold?

Or are we going to see a period where he tries to play a style of football that is entirely the opposite to what Forrest have been playing?

It'd be great if he just said, well, if plan A doesn't work, I've got plan B, C, D and E.

No one's ever asked me, Zeb.

I've commentated on two of Forrest's first three games, and their style had changed.

It's changed from last season.

It had, even under Nuno.

And the final, third passes, you like those sort of stats.

A lot of that is Elliott Anderson and Gibbs White, players who want to get on the ball, want to progress the play.

They've got quick wingers.

The whole question mark is, can their centre-backs play with a high line?

Varillo, possibly.

Milenkovich, as we saw in the England game, got sent off when he's caught out.

And I saw him play for Serbia against Cameroon in the World Cup.

They got caught and that defensive unit as well, playing high up.

He's relatively quick, but that's the big question mark, I think.

Think about Postakoglu's style with this current Forest side.

Interestingly, Ange's first four games in charge are all away from home.

So he could be very popular indeed or incredibly unpopular by the time Forrest faced Sunderland.

That's interesting.

And what about Arsenal Baz?

I mean, they lost at Liverpool.

The narrative afterwards was: look, this was a game for the taking.

They could have done it, and Arteta was not brave enough.

Ezek could start.

He didn't against Liverpool.

Martinelli's very out of form, isn't he?

Madowake was brilliant for England, so should hopefully come in with confidence.

And then there is the Yokarez question, which is not unlike the Sesco one.

I would expect Eze to start a

guest coming in from the left.

And

Jocker is,

I don't know what's going to happen with him.

He'll probably be fine.

I do believe, and a lot of people believe, that

Arteta was too negative in his approach against Liverpool.

A lot of Arsenal fans beg to differ.

They are perfectly entitled to their opinion, but the fact of the matter is they lost the game, and I definitely think they should have got something from it.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to this game just to see how Ange sets Forrest up, but I couldn't tell you what's going to happen.

What about Everton Villa, Barry?

I don't think we've spoken to you since Everton won the second game about...

Well, we haven't spoken to you about Everton.

Are you still relegating them?

Not particularly.

I mean,

they lost against Leeds.

They beat Brighton in their first game at the new stadium.

I thought Brighton were the better team, if I'm honest.

But Everton did win.

This game is interesting insofar as Everton are in form,

but their their record against Villa is absolutely atrocious, like staggeringly bad.

I don't think they've beaten Villa in any of their last 12 games in the Premier League.

So Villa's record against Everton is very good, but Villa haven't scored a goal yet this season in three games, and they've lost two of those games.

You also have the question at Villa over Emmy Martinez, who spent all of Deadline Day desperately hoping to move to Manchester United.

Will he come back?

How will the fans feel about him?

Obviously, Vill are away, so that won't be as much of an issue here.

So he needs to be reintegrated into the squad if Unai Emery wants him back into the team.

And Villa have also signed Harvey Elliott.

So does he start for them?

I guess he probably will, or he'll feature at some point.

So yeah, this is one of the more intriguing games of the weekend, I think.

Yeah, I think Elliot's a brilliant signing.

West Ham played Spurs, Seb.

Tottenham had that disappointing game against Bournemouth where they were absolutely, they lost 1-0, but they were battered and were hopeless.

And West Ham had that quite surprising win over Forrest, those three late goals.

And that was a huge win for Graham Potter.

But like Nuno is now circling, isn't he?

And you could just see him walking straight into the London Stadium.

Yeah.

It's incredible, isn't it?

That if that ends up being the case.

I did the Forest-West Ham game, and what I was impressed by, particularly from West Ham's point of view, was their defensive work.

I thought they changed their shape.

They went to four at the back.

I think Wanbissaka came out.

Walker Peters came in and they had to soak up a bit of pressure from Forrest, but they dealt with it really.

And as the game went on, the subs changed the game.

Somerville came on, looked electric, considering how long he's been out.

He looked a fantastic player, and it's a player they're missing, you know, could us leaving.

And Paketa and his celebration, and it was a tricky one on the day because you don't know whether to make, how big to make of that because it's still, you know, transfer deadline day the next day.

For Potter, it felt like such a timely win but it's in front of the home supporters as well that they need to put on a display like that and and pick up a few more wins i mean beating the spurs would be a fantastic thing but with so many links now with who might come in after potter it's really uneasy period for him still despite that victory and potter aside i think from west ham's point of view to get that win on the board was massive because there were so many doubts people were looking at the squad thinking is this squad good enough players were leaving they've just brought fabianski back in which i I think is quite a good thing because he's a popular player in the club and he's a player, maybe just to settle everybody down.

Go, we have enough quality here not to be in a relegation battle.

He's 40, Fabianski.

That's much older than I thought he was.

Anyway, you're going to be Seb at Burnley Liverpool, aren't you?

Yeah, the return to Turf more because I didn't do Burnley at all last season.

But then the seasons before, I've been there quite a lot.

And it feels different now because obviously when Company was there before, they played that way, that possession style, but possession in their own half that often led to problems.

Parker's team already in the first few games, they shipped a lot of chances against Manchester United.

People said they were unfortunate to lose.

I'm not so sure about that, actually.

I think Manchester United created enough to win that game comfortably on another day.

But they are more direct.

They are more in maybe the mold that helped them the last time they had a decent spell in the Premier League under Deitsch.

But again, I just worry about them getting enough points on the boards to survive ultimately in the Premier League.

But they have one win under their belt, and it was good to see all the promoter sides get that win.

But hosting Liverpool, I think they're just not going to stop Liverpool from scoring.

I'll lay that on the line.

I think Liverpool now are third on the all-time Premier League list for consecutive games in which they've scored.

I think they're on 37, two behind Spurs, who were on 39 for a run between.

I think it's 23-24.

And I think Arsenal hold the record for 55 about, I don't know, 20-odd years ago.

But you just feel that Liverpool are going to score in every game they play.

And now they've got two of the most aesthetically pleasing forwards for me, in Ekatike and Isak.

They're just players.

When you see them live as well, the way they move, it's just nice to watch them play football.

And it'd be nice to actually see Isak play some football, funnily enough, considering he only got a short amount of time for Sweden when they lost to Kosovo.

I doubt he would start at the weekend, perhaps.

And also, the question mark is, do you play them together?

I don't see how you can.

Does it matter that Liverpool rotate them a little bit and that will help them over the course of the season because both very talented players?

We don't have a huge amount of time to look ahead to all the other games because we heard every minute of Teb's goalkeeping career earlier.

But I wonder, Paul and Baz from those other fixtures, anything you wanted to pick out?

Is that what you, Baz?

Newcastle Wolves game is kind of interesting.

Wolves lost their opening three games.

Newcastle starting the post Isaac era officially.

Who starts up front of them I guess it'll be Nick Voltamede because he's match fit and he's been playing he played for Germany over the international break Joan Wissa I don't know how fit he is so it'll be interesting to see how they get on Newcastle I guess could be forgiven for having one eye on their match against Barcelona which is a massive game for them on on Thursday and Anthony Gordon's suspended so presumably Jacob Murphy will start And Wolves have a terrible record at St.

James's Park.

I think they've only won once in over 20 visits.

But if Newcastle were to lose this, it would be three league defeats in a row at home, which isn't great.

That's interesting.

They're on Thursday, because next week is just Champions League across Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, isn't it?

I just presumed it was Europa League on Thursday.

Blimey.

How do we do the pods, Barry?

When do we do an extra one?

Something to think about.

We can talk about it on the live show tonight, can't we?

Also, Brentford, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Brighton, Palace, Sunderland, Fulham, Leeds.

Paul, do you want to pick any of those out?

Fulham Leeds, I think.

I'm only going purely anecdotally on this, but I feel like when they play, it's always a really big goal fest when they play.

I would love to trace that back.

I bet it turns out they've all been nil-nil, but I feel like Fulham and Leeds is always quite an explosive game.

And Leeds are terrible at travelling to London.

Like leads always tend to lose in London.

And that's something they have to keep a little bit of an eye on because obviously this game has already got the feel of one of those that later on in the season you look back and you're like, that was quite an important, important three points there for either one of the sides.

Just on Crystal Palace Sunderland, the last time Sunderland played at Selhurst Park, Sam Allardyce was in charge of Palace and David Moyes was in charge of Sunderland, who won 4-0.

Oh, interesting.

Leeds 4, Fulham 3 in 2020, the 19th of September.

There was a 3-2 in 2003 and in 1982.

Leeds won 5-0 in 1968.

Leeds lost, sorry, 6-1 in 1956.

You see, these are the ones that are stuck in my head, Max.

They're the 68.

Well, that's 68-one.

That's a very 1956.

It is.

Slow scory.

Christmas Day, 1920, they drew 0-0.

But then they played again on the 27th of December, and Fulham won that 1-0.

Will that be on the players' minds, Max?

That's what I want.

That's a good question.

And what was the XG?

What was the XG?

That's good.

My XG stats only go back to 1921, sadly, Seb.

Anyway, that'll do for part one.

Part two, Barry and I will interview the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City, Zora Mamdani.

HiPod fans of America, Max here.

Barry's here, too.

Hello.

Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro.

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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.

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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, Matt.

Exactly.

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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Football Weekly.

So, Barry, yes, the other day, maybe yesterday, we were approached by the Democratic nominee for New York City's mayor, Zora Mamdani's people.

Would we like to have him on Football Weekly?

And we thought, sure, why not?

Well, I thought, who is this guy?

I've never heard of him.

The great thing about that, Barry, and it's nice of you to admit it now, you didn't to his face, was you said in the WhatsApp, I'm fairly tuned in.

I was like, oh, are you?

This guy's been on the news every day for months.

Zeitgeist Baz, they call me.

Yeah, well, Zoran

failed to make it onto my radar, but I did my due diligence ahead of the interview.

I'm ashamed to say I tried to stick up for FIFA's dynamic pricing, and I thought it was an interesting chat.

Yeah, and here it is.

We're joined by the Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City and a big Arsenal fan, Zoran Mamdani.

Zoran, thanks so much for coming on.

Very, very welcome.

It's a real joy to be here.

Not all guests say that.

Look, before we get to whether you think Yokarez is a massive waste of money, we should probably ask you some serious questions.

Now, look, it would be giving us too much credit to say we had the forethought to ask you for an interview.

You approached us.

You're a very busy man.

Why on earth do you want to talk to me and Barry?

To make very clear that the crisis of affordability is also one that impacts football and soccer fans across the world.

And, you know, know, I'm running right now to be the mayor of New York City.

We would be one of the host cities for the final next year.

And today is the first day that pre-sale tickets open up for purchase, or rather for the right to purchase.

And what we're finding is that FIFA is engaging in dynamic pricing for the first time in its history.

It's setting up a resale market that has no caps to resale prices, and it has no set-aside allocations for local residents without any discount.

And so we've put together a

call and a demand on FIFA to put game over greed and to end dynamic pricing, to end

this idea of a resale market with no caps and to finally put 15% of its tickets aside for local residents.

You say game over greed.

Are you aware of FIFA?

If I speak, I'll be in big trouble.

It's interesting, you know, like Infantino will be in New York.

I just wonder if you're a fan of Gianni.

You know, I think

I have long been

quite troubled by how the supposed stewards of the game have opted for profit time and time again at the expense of the people that love this game.

And I think what

is stunning to me is these demands that we are putting forward, they are just demands that FIFA goes back to what it has done in previous World Cups.

And yet what they are seeing with the World Cup here in the United States, Mexico, and Canada is the prospect of increasing their revenues close to 400% compared to what they were in Qatar.

And it just boggles the mind that when we had the World Cup in the United States last time, you could buy a ticket for the final in today's dollars for less than 200 bucks.

And now

they will sell tickets for more than $6,000.

for that same final.

And

there's just no chance for so many who love this game so much to actually be be able to go and see this, of course.

I mean, do you think FIFA will listen?

Look, I think that if you don't ask, you cannot win, and I think that they announced this recently in a quiet press conference with

media availability.

And I think there's still so many people who have not even heard of an affront to the game.

And I'm hopeful just in the last few hours since we've launched this, thousands of people have added their names, and we're going to keep making the case.

Zorin, I feel kind of dirty doing this, but I'm going to attempt to mount a defense for FIFA.

How could you, Barry?

For an event like the World Cup.

Yes.

I'll have a bath afterwards.

Don't worry.

For an event like the World Cup, where demand for tickets massively outstrips supply,

tickets are inevitably going to be sold for much, much higher prices on the secondary market.

So why shouldn't FIFA get that extra money instead of it going to Stubhub or Vivid Seats or some other broker?

You know, I just think of what FIFA is doing in Mexico, where they're setting up a resale market with a cap on the price that that resale can be.

And

if you look at scalping and then your only answer is that FIFA must become the scalper themselves, it misses the problem, which is that we should have a venue where the encouragement is to resell the ticket at its actual value, as opposed to a place where not only does someone, you know, or oftentimes a bot make that profit, but then FIFA also gets in on it too.

And my concern is that

this also has a real impact on the potential for the atmosphere of the World Cup and just how many fans will actually be there.

Because so often the people who get the tickets quickest are not the ones who are actually the most eager to be there.

They're the ones who are the most excited at the prospect of a profit.

On the subject of fans being there, are you concerned?

And we were worried about this with the Club World Cup.

I don't know if we really saw it, but are you worried about ICE, you know, being at grounds?

Are you worried about, you know, there are travel bans for certain countries, players, staff, fans from around the world being able to get in to New York City and the United States?

I am.

I am.

And I think that it's an affront to both the history of this tournament and also what so many of us love about soccer is this being the world's game.

And yet

I have heard from so many already who are terrified of the prospect of being in public life during the World Cup.

And you can see that even now in New York City, where so often we measure this just in the statistics of arrests that are taking place, of six-year-old children that are being detained and deported from a middle school in Queens.

But also you can see it in the hollowing out of immigrant neighborhoods across our city.

And this must be an opportunity for us to make it clear that the world is welcome here in this city and that the values, the tradition, the laws of the city are at odds with the Trump administration's approach to immigration.

I mean, there's a chance, if you become mayor, that there'll be a game where you're sat with Donald Trump on one side and Gianni on the other.

Would that be a pleasurable place for you to watch a football match?

It'll be a place where I will make the case once and again for the working class New Yorkers that they're leaving behind.

And we've seen Donald Trump be booed.

uh you know at the u.pen in new york how how do you think he'll be received at the world cup similarly there's no amount of censorship that can

quiet the actual response of people when they see this president in person because we're talking about someone who is already

attacking the very fabric of life in this city.

And, you know, I am a lifelong soccer fan.

I went to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

I remember how much I enjoyed that experience in and out of the stadium, with the exception I was...

I watched the Ghana-Uruguay game, and that was one of the first times I cried in public.

Luis Suarez, anyway,

I won't say any more about him about that moment.

But the experience of being a fan and how

we were welcomed into not only this country, but just life as it was.

And a fear that if we are not serious about ensuring that is the same for so many who come here, that they will have a fundamentally different experience if they have one at all.

Politicians are notoriously terrible at talking about sport or sort of making up the fact that they like it.

But

you are an Arsenal fan.

I mean, I don't mind footballers being decades younger than me.

Politicians is a blow.

You're 33, I think, born in 91.

Brian Adams was number one here.

I mean, he was number one for 20 years.

That's fine.

So I'm working it out.

An Arsenal fan, tell us why you're an Arsenal fan.

And like, the Invincibles must have been when you were about 12 or 13.

That is peak.

I love football years.

Those were, you know,

I had them as magnets on my fridge.

My uncle introduced me to Arsenal.

And, you know, I was born in Uganda, in East Africa.

And Arsen Wenger was one of the first coaches to bring in a number of African players into the team.

And some of my early memories are memories

of Kanu, of Lauren, of Kolo Ture, of Emmanuel Lebuy, Alex Song.

And I would say that Arsenal, although this is a contested point, is the most popular team in Uganda.

And growing up, it has been a real part of

just my life and my identity.

And also my willingness to eternally believe in

that this is the year and this is the season.

And did you have that same opinion last season and the season before, Zoran?

Yes, yes, I did.

Oh, well, you're a bona fide Arsenal fan, then no one can doubt your credentials.

God,

there have been many trials and tribulations, but it's a good, it's a good preparation for being a democratic socialist.

So

Arsenal prepared me well.

Sure.

I mean, there is a danger, obviously, that

making some sort of joke about them perenni coming second which is not not something that you particularly want i guess no it it it uh it taught me about the the

the the anguish that comes with the perennial runner-up status um but we were we were proud to win the primary and we'll be proud to still to to defeat andrew cuomo once again in the general election yeah sure why is it that obviously i understand why republicans aren't you know big fans of yours but why is it that not every democrat is behind you do you think you know, maybe they support dynamic rising.

I can tell you that there are

there are an ever-growing number that are joining our campaign each and every day.

And it's a campaign that started

at 1%.

Maybe if I had to characterize it in terms of a recent upset, maybe this is the lesser of the campaigns.

Okay.

You know, we won the primary by 13 points.

And we did that by beating a former governor who not only did people know his name, but also his father's name and a real legacy of familiarity and so i think there are still many that we are introducing ourselves to um but i'm excited to to earn earn their support well i would love ranieri to be the mayor of new york i've got to say that that would be great carry

my my knowledge of of new york mayoral politics is is not all it should be but how big a deal would it be for you as a socialist

how big a deal would it be for the city if you get elected there have been a number of of socialist mayors prior to me uh the most recent being david dinkins who was the mayor in the in the early 90s who was a member of the democratic socialists of america and i think it would be a reflection of the fact that what new yorkers want is a future of dignity where they actually are able to enjoy life in this city with an understanding that it's city government's responsibility to deliver that which is necessary for them to live here.

I mean, we're talking about the wealthiest city and the wealthiest country in the history of the world where one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, where 500,000 kids are going to sleep hungry.

I mean,

the

stark contrast of realities for so many New Yorkers is one that has really led to a hunger for a different kind of politics that puts working people first.

You're sitting in front of some campaign slogans.

Fast and free buses, child care for all, freeze the rent.

These are all very noble ambitions.

And we're in London.

We'd love to have all those here, but it's a pipe dream for us in London anyway.

Is it the same in New York?

No, you know, I think there were many that thought my campaign was a pipe dream at the beginning of it.

You know, and from that 1% winning by 13 points.

But I will tell you, these are not just slogans.

These are policies and commitments that the real question is whether you have the political will to deliver on.

I mean, child care for all, it costs $25,000 a year on average now now for a family to have childcare for one child in New York City.

Fast and free buses, it costs $2.90 to ride the bus in New York City, and that's even just that is out of reach for one in five New Yorkers.

Freezing the rent, the mayor of New York City determines whether the rent will increase for more than 2 million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments.

Mayors have frozen the rent in the past.

It's just that we haven't had one for a little bit under Eric Adams.

So to me,

it's a real question of just if you want to fight for these things in the same way as it actually pertains to the World Cup do you want to fight for a tournament that working people can be a part of or do you just want it to be something where we are relegated to watching it on screen these interviews are always very tight for time so just finally just on freeze for rent freeze for rent barry and i and football weekly we're planning to be in new york city for the whole world cup do you have a five bed

house maybe brooklyn heights over we don't have to tell anyone about it just you could sort us out i think it would be really good for us we'd talk you up during the campaign we've got a big new york office could you sort that you've You've got the wrong mayor.

If you

don't steal,

damn it.

Vote Republican.

I would love to see you guys

when you come.

Oh, well,

you say that now, but we'll be knocking on your door, I'm sure.

Listen, good luck with the campaign.

We obviously extend the invite to any of the mayoral candidates who'd like to come on Football Weekly.

Good luck to Arsenal, but with my Spurs hat on, I don't really mean it.

Thank you for your time.

We really appreciate it.

What do we think of Tottenham?

I'm not answering that question.

Thank you, Zoran.

Thank you, guys.

Truly, this was a pleasure.

So there was our chat with Zora Mamdani.

As we said at the end of that, anyone else who is running for mayor of New York City, if you'd like to come on during an international break, you are very welcome.

And that'll do for part two.

Part three, Paul Watson's World of Football.

HiPod fans of America, Max here.

Barry's here, too.

Hello.

Football Weekly is supported by the Remarkable Paper Pro.

Now, if you're a regular listener to this show, you'll have heard us talk before about the Remarkable Paper Pro.

We already know that Remarkable is the leader in the paper tablet category digital notebooks that give you everything you love about paper but with the power of modern technology but there's something new and exciting the remarkable paper pro move remarkable a brand name and an adjective man yeah it's their most portable paper tablet yet it holds all your notes to-dos and documents but it's smaller than a paperback and an incredible 0.26 inches thin so it slips easily into a bag or jacket pocket perfect for working professionals whose jobs take them out of the office like maybe a football journalist, Barry.

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.

Look, we're playing the Troxy tonight.

So, I don't know how many of you will listen to this and think, actually, I could buy a ticket if you haven't bought a ticket already, but there's still a top tier to fill, I believe.

I'm not sure if it's totally full yet.

So, look, thanks to everyone who's bought a ticket and people who are going to negotiate the tube strike and still get to the Troxy.

I think it's quite near an Overland station, isn't it?

So, that is useful for everybody.

And yeah, we have big plans.

And I think it'll be fun, Barry.

Well, I, as I said yesterday, I'm no one will tell me what these plans are.

So I'm convinced it'll be fun for everyone except me.

You're coming, Paul.

Aren't you for a bit?

Yeah, yeah, I'm popping in.

I'm popping in.

I want to, my idea would have been if there'd been nobody in the top tier, I could have been the one person in the top tier, like a sort of fan of a really tiny club.

It would have been quite a good bit, wouldn't it?

Like I could have my Samarino flag.

But no, I think there might be other plans.

I'll be an impact sub.

I'll come on and do two minutes somewhere.

Perfect.

It's going to be live streamed.

So go to theguardian.com slash football weekly live and it'll be nice to see you, whether in person or virtually.

Where do you want to start, Paul?

Venezuelan heartbreak.

Yeah, I felt very sad about this one actually.

Venezuela are the only team in Convo Bowl who've never qualified for a World Cup.

And it is going to continue to be the case.

They were basically, they were holding the spot for the Intercontinental Playoff, that seventh spot, and it capitulated in quite dramatic style.

They lost to Colombia 6-3, which is a result you only really see in tennis, but they absolutely blew up and lost that one, Venezuela.

So then all they needed was Bolivia to not do the unthinkable and beat Brazil.

And Bolivia went and beat Brazil.

But the key to this is Bolivia did something really clever that they've done with their international matches, that Bolivia is obviously at really high altitude.

They used to be playing in La Paz, which is like relatively lower.

It's like about 3,600 meters.

It's still certainly high enough.

They've moved their games to El Alto, which is 4,150 meters above sea level.

What a name.

What a name.

Yeah,

they're not being subtle about it either, are they?

Where are you playing your games?

The high.

Well, I did.

I mean, I've told this story before, but I was backpacking around Bolivia.

With there was about six lads who we'd all met.

We were quite good footballers.

I was probably the oldest.

I was only about 30.

And we played a team of Bolivian farmers on a mountainside.

and they were all over 60 and we couldn't breathe.

They absolutely battered us.

It was like, it was insane.

You just couldn't, after two steps, you just couldn't move.

Roy would say there's no excuses for that, by the way.

Roy would say no excuses.

But I mean, you're looking at the kind of altitude where obviously teams come in and do like special oxygen training with oxygen masks on and they're doing all this kind of crazy stuff and or like anti-oxygen masks, as it were, like getting themselves ready for it.

But yeah, it still works.

And this is really interesting because Bolivia have now secured this seventh spot.

They'll go into the intercontinental playoffs.

They'll play two teams from CONCACAF, one from Africa, one from Asia, and Oceania.

That's New Caledonia.

But it's an amazing thing.

If you look at how big a factor this home advantage is, they lost all but one of their away games.

and yet they've still managed to make it through at this point.

And in fact, between 1993 and 2024, they haven't won a single competitive game away from home, Bolivia.

so wow it's it's like there's home advantage and then there's this it's it's pretty crazy and you do just have to feel for venezuela because um as i say they've they've they've never qualified for a world cup this really felt like quite a good chance because even though they were only going to get that seventh spot the intercontinental playoff is there for the taking you'd you'd think if you're in if you're a south american side you'd think you'd have a pretty good shot at that so how does that playoff work you have to there's like a mini league between those teams or is it just a one-off game between they draw that it's a little tournament in mexico yeah i think i'm pretty sure it's in mexico um next year i think it's in march next year we might have to look that check that but um it's yeah little mini tournament and um yeah i i would i would think that the the team coming in from south america is probably always going to be amongst the the favorites for that so um bolivia will still fancy their chances but i don't think they'll be able to move it to la paz or el alto yeah for just for context what was that 4 000 meters above sea level the highest ground above sea level in english football is the hawthorns uh which is 168 meters

above sea level.

I did see as well Ecuador beat Argentina at home.

I had my annual bet on Ecuador.

It's always a nice way to make a few quid.

Congratulations.

Already qualified Argentina going to Ecuador.

There's only going to be one winner there.

Yeah, and there was a bit of that with Brazil.

Brazil were qualified, obviously, well qualified.

And Ancelotti won't be delighted, they only finished fifth, Brazil, which is not great.

They're not massively blowing anyone away at the moment but yeah they were pretty demotivated going into that I imagine let's talk about the Austrian sinkhole which

Barry was deeply unimpressed by but it is still worth discussing because you don't often get a sinkhole at a football match yes Barry I saw a headline

a football match had been interrupted by a sinkhole and

thought oh this is interesting and fully expecting half the pitch and several players just have disappeared into some bottomless abyss but no

it wasn't that good.

Your standard for sinkholes is pretty high.

I mean, yeah, it was weird.

So it was about 75 minutes in Austria against Cyprus.

And just near the Austria box, there's just a hole in the pitch.

And it was big enough, apparently, for a whole football to go inside it.

So it's a pretty significant hole.

And if you think in the context of these players running full tilt around that, it would potentially be a pretty career-ending injury there.

Yeah, the game was stopped.

This is in Lintz at the Reifhausen Arena.

They stopped the game, patched it up as best they could, finished it off.

Austria won it 2-1.

The weird thing, though, is not just this one sinkhole, it's a second Austrian sinkhole.

So in 2022, at a completely different stadium in the game between Austrian Denmark and the Nations League at the Ernst Happel Stadium, a really similar thing happened.

A little kind of sinkhole appeared in the pitch.

And so it's just weird.

This has happened in Austria twice.

Like they have a sinkhole problem.

But the real highlight of the game for me was, did you see Ralph Randik on his bike?

Yes, that's it.

So he's done his ankle or something.

So he cycles across the pitch.

Yeah, it just looked amazing.

So he cycled across the pitch for his halftime team talk, like on an e-bike.

It's a great look.

You could see everyone completely baffled, but he's got

this like ankle operation he's got to have.

So yeah, he did the sensible thing and rode his bike across the pitch.

Good if he was on a line bike and then halfway down the pitch, that's when, you know, when sometimes you're on one and then it says, oh, you can't cycle on here and it just stops working.

And then he's stuck in the sense of the sinkhole in a sinkhole.

And I guess, like, in the context of football, if a football fits in the sinkhole, that feels like it's big enough to be an issue for a football match.

I think when we're judging sinkholes.

Barry wanted deaths, he wanted players sucked into the abyss.

I know what you mean, Barry.

A sinkhole's not a sinkhole unless there's a lorry halfway in.

You're absolutely right.

Look, we talked about Norway beating Moldova at 11-1, but we didn't really talk about Moldova losing 11-1.

What is the Moldovan view of this?

Yeah, well, there's

quite a stunned reaction because Moldova actually haven't been doing that badly.

They actually only lost two of their 10 games in 2024.

Like, they're generally on a

fairly good trajectory.

This one's hit them pretty hard.

I don't know if you saw this.

I don't know if you mentioned this before, but the Moldova goalkeeper, Christian Alfram, said that Holland, when he scored his five goals, was coming up to him and apologising.

as he picked the ball out of the net.

He was saying, he apparently said, he said, he was apologising to me for rushing because obviously they were clean to rack up as many goals as they could.

And apparently, every time he got the ball out of the goal, hole and was like it's not your fault mate so the goalkeeper i think wishes it away the most insulting

wasn't saying that to seb was he no it was not

um but the the real victims obviously are italy because this now takes the goal difference pretty much unassailable so if norway beat israel uh and estonia they then play italy but italy can't overtake them even i think they'd have to rack up something crazy that 20 goals so but but in moldova yeah the coach is i don't think sacked yet sergei klashenko He, I don't believe, resigned afterwards.

I don't think he's been sacked yet, but there is a countdown clock.

The press are running a countdown clock until he resigns.

Does that have 12 or is it a special 11-hour clock?

It's like the doomsday clock.

For my money, he was the most miserable-looking man I've ever seen at that game, Klishenko.

But he also looks a bit like Bob Mortimer.

Okay.

I would urge people to have a look at this.

I think he looks enough like Mortimer for there to have to be questioned.

Listen, if Bob Mortimer became the manager of Moldova, i would change my allegiance almost immediately i would say um let's talk about cape verde beat cameroon 1-0

they did and this is a massive massive win uh they are now four points clear uh two games left they just need one win and they qualify and they've still got to play e swatini who have one of the longest winless runs in international football so they are with one foot in the world cup cape verde and that will be their first world cup they'll be the second smallest nation by population to ever make it to a World Cup.

The goal, which I think

I've seen a lot about the goal, and it all revolves around Onana.

So Liv Ramento from Cape Verde De Lon, Liv Ramento gets the ball and runs a full 50 yards with it.

You know, it's a massive, massive run.

And Onana just kind of shelters on his line.

He just doesn't make any move at all.

And the ball's like lashed past him.

Obviously, Onana's taken a lot of stick for this.

Like it's, it wasn't good goalkeeping.

It wasn't confident goalkeeping.

He made it pretty easy but i think you also have to look at the fact that that he was allowed to run 50 yards before he put the ball in the net i don't think it was a you know it's been referred to as a blunder i think i saw it referred to by anano a blunder is when you don't catch a cross and you drop the ball on someone's foot like a blunder isn't someone runs 50 yards and blasts the ball past you but you you should have come out and sort of made it harder No, I agree.

And look, he has some blunders that he can look at without wanting to add to the Inanna pilot.

So no, that's not a blunder.

Yes,

yeah, in the post-match.

Yeah, he stopped in the mix zone to say, no, no, no, no, no.

Let me show you a blunder.

Anything else, Paul, that you want to

tell us about?

Yeah, Jamaica won the Steve McLaren-Dwight York battle.

Jamaica beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0.

Big resolve for Steve McLaren, going to ease things for him.

Jamaica taking charge of that group.

Dwight York, on the other hand, is in a bit of trouble.

They didn't do well at the Gold Cup.

There were also some players who broke curfew at the Gold Cup and went out having a lot of fun, and that caused some problem trouble in the press so there's a feeling dwight york is not particularly popular also he's being paid a fortune but this game had a slight other thing that dwight york applied for the jamaker job before steve mclaren got it so it was a real uh big moment for steve mclaren i actually did a bit of earcuffing for that one Seb, you mentioned the WhatsApp group that the sheep had their second shearing yesterday.

This got us all very excited.

How did it go?

How are they?

Well, I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but the shearer, Danny, brought two two other helpers with her this time.

So last time I was helping her.

Yeah, this second time round, I thought,

I cannot get this man involved in this process.

I don't know what I did wrong.

So right, so you're now more like a sort of director of shearing.

Honestly, I was off painting a bench somewhere else, you know, with wood preserver or something.

Right.

But yeah, I just basically moved away from the area and let her get on with it.

It's interesting that you would shear them at the end of the summer.

Like, they sort of needed to be sheared two months ago, and now they need a woolly a woolly jacket.

Well I'm glad you asked because their fleece grows so quickly this breed of sheep that they do need it done twice a year which is obviously inconvenient from a point of view of having to do it twice a year

but it grows so fast so so we know the coldest months in Britain really are you know January late December January and February so by the time we reach December their coat will be thick enough to protect them and it will be at its thickest in February January February

Didn't bring Alan and Duncan Shearer?

Yeah, I don't know.

Danny Shearer feels like somebody should be playing for England under 17s now, but they were very efficient, far quicker than us doing it earlier this year.

And I think the template has been set for future shears.

I love Max coming in with his shearing opinions as well.

It must be what it's supposed to be an international football manager and have someone go,

you know,

Max coming in with shearing a little bit late there, aren't you?

There's nothing I don't know about sheep shearing.

Let's finish with this from Tommy.

He says, hey, on Saturday, the 13th of September, I will be marrying the love of my life, Grace, in Derry, which will be followed by a literal piss-up in a brewery.

He says, we've been going out for eight and a half years, almost exactly half of the time I've been in a relationship with Barry and the Football Weekly podcast in all its many forms, all the way back to Euro 2008 with Jimbo and Barry in their house chair.

It's been a staple in my life ever since, going with me on walks, car journeys, housework, and when I was supposed to be doing actual work as well.

It's got me in trouble with Grace as I moved around the house chuckling to myself with one earphone in and getting stern looks for not making both ears available to her at all times.

So now I have to listen to you all on loudspeaker, and Grace now enjoys hearing the latest musings of Daro Brian.

Brackets, Barry.

I would absolutely love a shout-out and an excoriating comment on the institution of marriage from the man himself.

Grace is a period drama book nerd from Newery.

Are you taking notes, Barry?

And I am a Liverpool-supporting computer nerd from Derry.

She doesn't enjoy football herself, but loves watching my ridiculous over-the-top reactions to the action on screen and loves Mo Sala because he pulls his sleeves over his hands.

I can't wait for Saturday and spending the rest of my life with Grace and hope that Barry and the Football Weekly gang remain as another slightly less important constant in my life.

Tommy.

Oh, well, I think Tommy's being very fickle there, that he's getting married and immediately going to put us on the back burner.

But it's a very Northern Irish wedding.

I hope they have a lovely marriage.

I don't know why personally you'd bother after eight and a half years.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But

maybe

Grace put some pressure on Tommy because she certainly seems to wear the trousers in that household, as from what I can tell just from that email.

But yeah, I wish them a lovely day and every happiness.

Yeah, good luck to you both.

And thanks for listening.

And thanks to everyone who is.

Oh, and Grace, it would be interesting to know that I have

wearing a hoodie that has little thumb holes in the

cuffs.

So I've got my

sleeves over my hands, Salah style as well.

It's not too late, Grace.

Ditch Tommy.

The similarities between you and Mo Salah are unending, aren't they, Barry?

Anyway, that'll do for today.

Thanks, everybody.

Thanks, Seb.

Thank you.

Thanks, Paul.

Thank you.

Thanks, Barry.

Thank you.

See you at the live show tonight.

And if you're listening after the live show and you came to the live show, thanks for coming to the live show.

Football Weekly is produced by Silas Gray and Joel Grove.

Our executive producer is Phil Maynard.

This is The Guardian.