Daniel: Welcome back, football fans, to the LMC podcast. If you're a new listener here, this is the podcast made by football fans for football fans. Today we're back with a weekly roundup. Club news never stops. Before we begin, give us a five star rein on your favourite streaming platform and hit that subscribe button. Got both of you back in the corner today. How are we getting on?
Jeeks: Depends what teams we're talking about. focusing on on the Adam's team, right? Not my team.
Adam: I'm happy to focus on Rangers, that's fine.
Daniel: Yeah. Glotch. Good answer. Yeah.
Jeeks: No, very good. Look at you. Clever.
Daniel: So obviously good jars out on the room, Adam was messing last week. You must be enjoying the fact you get to come back to two Rangers wins in a row. How are how are you doing? How was your holiday and how are you doing?
Adam: holiday was really good. I got to watch the first old film game. seen the 3-0 game, so that was really good. We had landed and got to the hotel on time. Last week's game I was on the plane for, and I can assure you, knowing there's an old film game going on while you're sat on a plane is not an enjoyable experience. For the first 40 minutes, it was fine. I thought I'd crack the code. You could pay for WiFi on the plane and get access to WhatsApp. So my dad and my cousin
Daniel: Right.
Adam: were sending me updates and I knew Rangers were winning them up. And then the WiFi cut out. So then I just had in my mind at that point in time a three hour wait until I knew how that finished and that was not enjoyable. Thankfully the very nice air steward told me the score halfway through the flight so I did know it finished one now and I was very very happy about that. But it's not the best way to watch football, just sitting hoping that an air steward will tell you a score at full time. I wouldn't recommend it.
Daniel: Where does the air through get the Wi Fi from?
Jeeks: I was gonna say, Wi Fi was only cut off for Adam. Everyone else got to use Wi
Adam: I feel like
Jeeks: Fi.
Daniel: Yeah. Where's their secret? Yeah.
Adam: maybe I was getting too expressive on the plane. Maybe I was getting too expressive and they just cut me off. Like normally you cut the alcohol, for me they just cut the wifi and that was it.
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: But I was very happy with the result either way and it was a good holiday down, thanks for asking.
Daniel: Yeah, well not a problem at all. So let's talk about the old firm game first of all. We kinda chatted last week, Jack, and we asked you how much did you think the stadium and atmosphere obviously for those that don't know Rangers were hosting the first game and right now with all hassle lapper lassies and fans can't go to each stadium. You thought there'd be a bit of a issue with that. I am quite dumbfounded. You obviously know where our allegiance is wide but dumbfounded at how little it seemed to matter. I thought there'd be a much more. What did you guys make of that? I know Adam, you probably don't watch it live as you were saying, but it is still bizarre to me. I'm sure you've if you're not managed to capture the game, at least you look at the stats and stuff. It Rangers outran outfought were better on the ball, but there any metric you could use, Rangers were better and there wasn't a single Rangers fan other than there than other than Chris Boit's shiny teeth. And I still don't understand how it was such
Jeeks: I mean the
Daniel: a one sided game.
Jeeks: what we were talking about last week about the you know, no away fans being there, we were a bit
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: tentative to make judgment sort of 'cause we'd only seen one game under these circumstances. Cup game, different from the league. So
Daniel: Yeah, a hundred percent.
Jeeks: we were we were a bit up in the air about whether it would have an impact on both fixtures like this second
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: old firm in a week as well. I think it did have an impact, but because of the way Celtic's performances for the previous two games had worked out, I think it had an
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: impact negatively for Celtic where they kinda walked into what should have been a full stadium of just their fans getting behind them. But because there was so much talk in the week building up to it about the performances being negative, being, you know really terrible, the results not good enough, a lot of questions about if O'Neal will stay, whether he'll walk or whether it'll end up getting sacked. I think you could see a nervousness to them about being around just their own fans. And they never had the away fans to kinda play off and get a bit of momentum going. Because as Dan says, during the game, Celtic were basically missing an action. a couple of moments here and there where it looked like maybe they're gonna start playing some
Daniel: It is
Jeeks: football, but I it was almost a lack of interest of them wanting to get involved in the game at times.
Daniel: What was worse what was worse, and just to jump on that, is that as the game went on, they got worse. You'd think you went one nil down at home to your biggest rivals, one of the biggest rivalries in the world. I think both fans can agree with that. And you got worse. Like you would think there'd be some sort of reaction. Like I just and we talk out of football fans quite a lot. We try and look at other stuff, we'll have stats, the rest of it. But there's something unforgivable when your team doesn't I'm sure we'll make talk out Jack with your other team later, but unforgivable when a team just doesn't try or doesn't look like they're try I on I I couldn't believe it. It just was so passive and then it looked like towards the end of the game, I don't know if it was on Neal, just players or what, that they just started chucking it along and they were losing it every time it would just come back again. Like it felt like a training game. And that's
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: not actually me trying to wind up a Celtic fancy or it felt like a training game.
Jeeks: Well, we also have talked in the past, even you guys as Rangers fans, where for the good of Scottish football, you want both these teams to be competitive, to make these games entertaining and interesting, and kind of to push each other so that you'll do better not just domestically, but in European competitions. And I think if that's the way Celtic are gonna approach old firms for the rest of the season, it's gonna be a really boring season of old firms because they just It doesn't look like they're even aware of the occasion they're playing in, which is insane when you think of how many players still in that team. It's not their first old firm, it's not even their second old firm. They've been there f they've got players who've been there for years and years and years.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: And something just seems missing. I they don't seem to understand that this is the biggest game of the season up to this point. It's a league fixture where you're unbeaten in the league, you're playing your biggest rivals at home, and there's no away support. This is the biggest game of the season so far.
Daniel: Yeah, it's a banker, yeah. Even if Celtic got a draw on that, that's
Jeeks: And they turn up and they put in a performance.
Daniel: what I don't understand. If even if it got played well and got a draw out of it, that would have suited a lot of Celtic fans. I think they would have come away a bit for shrugged, but with how the league table was looked good, mm that would have been a good point, I think, just to stop the rot. Yeah, that's it.
Jeeks: And with the way with the way the week had been going with previous results already, it was such a an easy kind of win to just go and make a statement, if not with the result, at least with the performance. And I thought they were incredibly disappointing. And from a neutral perspective, it made the game way, way worse than you'd expect an old firm game to be. You want this to be entertaining, you want something on your you know, at your weekend to look forward to and everyone. They built up a lot on Sky Sports. We talk a lot about the coverage. In fairness, they did push it very heavily for the weekend. And then the game itself, from a Celtic perspective, was a massive let down 'cause again they just didn't turn up. And yeah, I was I was disappointed. I wanted a good game.
Daniel: Yeah. Adam, obviously you did catch it live. What what are you making of the I guess, did you actually catch any but and if not, what was your kind of reaction to the fallout of it once you kinda fell down?
Adam: I watched most of it back on Sunday after we got home.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: The thing that was most surprising, the only thing I'd say on Celtic, to make the change for the week before going from the back four to the back three. It not actually changed anything significant about how they tried to play. They were so, so passing for the back, so slow playing it from the back.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: I thought it was... The week before I think Rangers had pressed so, well in that 3-0 game. And the tactics had very much caught Celtic by surprise.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: So I presumed we would see a change from Martin O'Neil because of that.
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: You can't just change the shape and keep the exact same principles you play within that and think that things are going to get better. Wild to go out
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: and just ask the players to play the same way. Playing the boy Geran up front and largely... high balls into him up against Alexi Fernandes McAnha, just wild.
Daniel: Yeah. But even the commentators were saying just to jump in quickly, the commentators were saying that that that Fernandez was on a book already, Duran's a quick player who can hustle, chucking a diagonal behind the defender. Like they were obsessed with like way can win Ariel Jules and I'm like, just put the ball up behind. Like it is the most obvious basic football.
Adam: Yeah. Bizarre. Yeah. So bizarre. then to focus on range, I thought the... Obviously, if we go back a few weeks, Dan, and how negative things felt after the
Daniel: Yes.
Adam: European exit. And it's not... You're not going to suddenly pretend that everything's absolutely fine, but
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: to put the running wins together in the league that we have, the shrewing things up defensively and the keeping clean sheets has been a massive positive as well. But the... I mean, I think... Derek McInnes is the first Rangers manager from Screams Sooners to win his first two Old Fun games. Which is a massive, massive achievement. And I think the manner in which Rangers have managed to do it was very pleasantly surprising. And
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: I think the big thing for me in terms of just a few individuals I think deserve a bit of credit. McAnna has probably been Rangers signing the season so far at the back. He's been absolute. And to be
Daniel: Yeah, three million pounds.
Adam: fair... Even taking away those two Celtic games, I think he's been really, really good, but I he really came into his own in those games. The other one that gets a bit of criticism from the Rangers fans, but I would like to praise in terms of last Sunday, is Manny Fernandez, because playing at Celtic Park where booking for the 10th minute is a long, long time
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: to go to avoid another, and I thought he really grew into the game. And then the other one I liked, I remembered really liking James Penrice when he was at Livy and then he went to Harps, and when there was rumours of him coming to Rangers then, I... I like that
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: idea. I thought James Penn Rice was just a good energetic fullback, if I'm totally honest. I think the football intelligence he's shown in last two games and the trust that McInnes has had in him to go play that kind of weird time with Droghly's playing and
Daniel: Okay.
Adam: some of the positions we've seen him take up both on and off the ball in the last couple of weekends seem wild at times when you're watching it. But played absolutely outstanding. And the other one I was delighted for, I've said to you before, my massive fan of Ryan Ndiaye. He's not the most technically beautiful football player to watch at times, he looks a little bit unnatural in way he does things. But the power of work that he gets out of him is outstanding. And in big moments this season, whether it's been in European games as much as the European campaign didn't end well, or in the old fun games, he always seems to come up with moments for you in the just the right place at the right time on Sunday to finish the first one off. But I thought for watching the game back, I thought his overall performance again was really, really good. And it's just...
Daniel: Rang the DV was man of the match, but you picked out some brilliant names there. I'll be one to watch, though me and Jack were chatting last week and folks that watched podcast we talked about on the podcast. We've got an actual break now, which will be other we'll be chatting about the Scotland team. But might be one that we'll look at some of these teams and analyse where we're at. Celtic in particular, 'cause rumours about Mark R'Neal and stuff, so it'll be one to keep an eye on. It's always that's the thing, club news never does stop and that's what we promote. Talking of which we are on a round up though. All of us probably don't want to go near the Premier League. It was a bit of a bruising weekend for us all for one week reason or another. And I'm not used to saying that to you, Adam. I guess I'll come to you quickly first then. It's weird that you're lumped with us. Usually I mean Jack are sitting in the corner pretty upset and you get to have your time and just sit there quite smug. I really I'll be blunt, I didn't I was at the race game on Saturday and didn't see it coming and couldn't believe the score and then user chatting about in a group chat and I'm going Nah that like it can't
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: be right. was it as bad as the result shows or was it just did Wright just get the game plan right?
Adam: think a lot will be made out of it. I think it's just a really bad day at the office and then a really good
Daniel: Right, okay.
Adam: day at the office for the other side. think Brighton got everyone spot on. We went to Brighton last year and we won 1-0 and I thought Brighton were really, really good that night. And I've said to you before that think Fabian Hurtzler is capable of being very good manager. they seem like a weird team at Brighton at points and I think for the predictions... when we spoke about them, I still think it'll be really interesting to see what Brighton looked like when the Conference League fixtures start. As much as it's the Conference League and it's not the toughest fixtures, we've seen them struggle a couple of years ago when the Europa League started. But in terms of Saturday...
Daniel: Also the fan with Brighton quickly just to jump on there. There's that have you seen this in World Hot at the time? There's that December cursor sound they have and it's like I think they've won like one game in like the
Adam: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Daniel: last three years in the whole month of December. It's so bizarre, no matter the teams they're playing against. So you'll probably see them sitting
Adam: very strange. Yeah, it's very, very strange. mean...
Daniel: second and third and then just December will hit. For no and then they'll get good again for whatever reason. Sorry you were saying, but I felt glad to jump in there for your run.
Adam: Yeah, but yeah, I think certainly for what I see there, I thought they played very, very well. think they got just about everything right. And then for an alphabet, I think just one of those unfortunate days where you can get away with two, three, four players having a bad game sometimes. I think it's just one of those really bad days. I think that was more six, seven, eight players having a bad game.
Daniel: Right, okay.
Adam: So given the start to season, not massively concerned about it. It's one those weird things because like spoke with Rangers Celtic there. You can argue about whether that international break comes at a good or a bad time for any team, depending on what you're view pointing, isn't it?
Daniel: Yes.
Adam: So I could argue that it actually comes at a bad time for Brighton because they're flying. And maybe it comes at a good time for Arsenal because you've just come off the back of a bad defeat. You can argue the opposite, well if you're Arsenal you'd rather go get over that quick like anything.
Daniel: Yeah, you're stewing on it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Uhhuh.
Adam: But I think given the start to the season and the amount of Arsenal players that played a lot of minutes last year. and they've played a lot of minutes to start this season. I think the international break probably wasn't the worst time to take a bit of stock of where the seasons are. But definitely nothing but praise for Brighton for the result and so on.
Daniel: Yeah. Jack, I'm gonna come to you now. We're just sort of touching some of the games. United, is the criticism as bad as do you do they deserve the criticism they got? I think United might be one we talk about more in international break as one of our clubs to be fair, but just on the game itself. And the main thing I'm asking you about to be fair is there's
Jeeks: Yeah.
Daniel: been a lot made about the effort part, and that was the thing I was touching on earlier. I guess that's what I'm getting at. I think a draw at Fulham was not a great result, but you still got a point. But it's more than manner of it a lot of people are talking about. What did you make of that as a fan?
Jeeks: Yeah, I mean I I hate to say that I watched the game because it was an absolute slog.
Daniel: Very still.
Jeeks: yeah, I think I think the criticism is more than deserved. I think the performance was
Daniel: Right, okay.
Jeeks: I think some of it's a bit overblown. I think Gary Neville said that the first fifteen minutes of the second half was the worst he's ever seen from a My United team in his lifetime. And I think he must have short term memory loss if he doesn't remember some of the fifteen minutes we've had to deal with in the last ten years even. so I think maybe
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: that's a little bit over the top. but the the the performance was absolutely disgraceful.
Daniel: The Grimsby one comes to mind.
Jeeks: The Grimsby won, there was a first fifteen, twenty minutes against Brentford a few seasons ago where we conceded like four goals really quickly. Like no one could get a pass together. There's been lots of bad performances. Now,
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: I do still find the criticism is more than deserved across the board. I think they were absolutely
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: terrible. no real fight to go and just take a game against Fulham
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: against like by the scruff of the neck, it was really disappointing to see. And I think maybe different from previous times where we've played poorly and there's been rotation for a cup game or a manager who's brought in a bunch of new players who haven't
Daniel: Yes.
Jeeks: settled yet. You look at this team and th there's no excuse for these players not performing the way that we know they can 'cause we've seen them do
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: it. The end of la the whole second half of last season, everyone was putting in a hundred percent effort every game and now you've got people just walking about not wanting to press and it when I was watching especially the first half, Gary and Neville can talk about the first fifteen of the second half, but like it went on for the whole of the first half. My United do this thing which I can only describe as a performative press, which is to try and make it look like you're pressing, and it'll look good on your stats. It'll look good on the stats. It'll say they attempted this many presses, they attempted this many high presses.
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: I would imagine the success rate in the first half for probably sixty odd presses in forty five minutes, because we just let Fulham have the ball, was probably zero percent. Because they were just walking to the ball. And it was I I
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: guess Cunha was playing striker in the first half. Who knows? but he'd start pressing up, Bruno would walk in behind them,
Daniel: Mm.
Jeeks: they'd do two passes to the side and then they're into the midfield already. And it's this I can only describe it as performative, where it's like you want to be seen as someone who's trying to get up the pitch and press. But you're not sprinting, you're not trying to close down a passing angle, you're barely even getting to the player who's on the ball. So you're just doing it so that your average position and the stats at the end of the game looks like, well, he was getting up the pitch. So he was he was pressing
Daniel: Yeah, he was doing that. Yeah.
Jeeks: the goalkeeper. And I think that's just unacceptable. If you are gonna go and press, just just give it a hundred percent. Why would you want to sit there and just wander your way to the ball and give the goalkeeper as much time as they want? And I should say, Fulham were as guilty of this as my united in the game, which is what made it from a neutral perspective if someone was watching it, one of the most like kind of boring games to watch like a like ever.
Daniel: I watched that.
Jeeks: Because neither team wanted to put pressure on the other team when they had the ball. They just went, You've got it, have a pass around, we'll see what you can do and then we'll get it back.
Daniel: Although what you're not saying though is that I think I you know I was watching it, but Jack and our group chat went, this is a horrible game to watch and just as we long scored I went, Well, I'm enjoying that
Jeeks: Whoa, whoa, no what I said what I said was after the own goal,
Adam: Hahaha!
Jeeks: I said a goal fitting the game, it's been a horrible watch and you went, I'm enjoying it 'cause that's who you are.
Daniel: And it just got left on right, I could feel
Adam: Hahaha!
Jeeks: But yeah, just a disgraceful performance. Like again, similar to what Adam's
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: saying, does this international break come at a good time or a bad time? I would say based on the last
Daniel: Yeah, it is. Yeah.
Jeeks: few performances it probably is more good a time for United to kinda get away from the get away from the media.
Daniel: I think I think for United it's definitely a good time. Particularly for Carrick.
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: I think it's a big time. And we could talk about United setup, I won't dwell too much on it 'cause I think there might be a team in our break. quick other mentions, I'll mention one team rough. Anyway, moving on. Great
Adam: I knew it.
Daniel: host I'll just I'll just quickly dodge it.
Jeeks: We just we could've all said that for our teams. We could have just gone, How was your weekend? Rough, rough, rough, right, on to the next podcast.
Daniel: Yeah, that's it. I could that it could be the quickest podcast ever. for Chelsea though, the only thing that I'm worried about are squad death. I've soldiers that already the midfield of Jordan Henderson and Barco starting in the Premier League I don't think is the one. Di Wellbeck's good there. So's Henderson, but starting both in a Premier League game in twenty twenty six for a team that's aspiring for a title charge probably is an indictment of where we're at. at the minute with
Adam: Hmm.
Daniel: a squad and I know a lot of fans.
Jeeks: You saw how much you missed Jau Pedro not being there.
Daniel: Yeah. I do think though, like Adams is, I do think it's been blown at proportion a little bit for a Chelsea perspective. I think a Chelsea team with a Caicedo and a Jal Pedro, which will probably be eighty percent of the games this season, wouldn't perform that way. I do think a couple of players changes that we'll see. yeah I also think, like what Adam said, Brentford were absolutely fantastic. They got it completely nailed. And I think that's what's lost with some of these bigger games. That's why the United film game is a bit weird for me. Both teams were very poor. It was a really weird game.
Adam: Yeah.
Jeeks: Yeah. I don't even get that excuse to say we played terribly but Fulham were on they were on it the day.
Daniel: Brentford were brilliant. Yeah, Brentford were brilliant. Brentford Brentford just knew what they were doing and they did it excellently. And yeah, they totally deserved the win. And to be honest,
Adam: Mm-hmm. I feel like...
Daniel: it probably could have been it could have been four or five.
Adam: Yeah, I like we did this last season anyway, but it's rough just remembering like the amount of people that's had to apologize to Keith Andrews for like joking about him getting the Brentford job. And then even
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: this summer, there were still some people like, well, loads of managers had a good season in the Premier League, maybe they'll fall apart.
Daniel: Yeah, yeah. And example off. Yeah. Uhhuh.
Adam: maybe if they're unbeaten still, like there's a few draws in there, but like they've
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: just been really, really good again. Maybe Keith Andrews is just a really good manager. Like maybe we'll have to accept
Jeeks: I mean another
Adam: that now.
Jeeks: another reference to our group chat over the weekend where I said I can't wait for Keith Andrews to get his big club move and they're not gonna give him the time to work it out, he's gonna end up in the exact same pattern as so many before him. But at this point, why make that move? Just stick with Brentford, like he's taken higher up the table than they've ever been, so no need to move.
Daniel: Yeah. Well, for Bre Bradford and Brighton, I that actually that's why we lumped them together. They're an interesting indictment on that, and maybe it has someone to chat about at another point. Like for Herzler and Andrews, they've seen their predecessors go to so called bigger clubs and fall apart. You must like, I could spend something here. Like these clubs are in a good place and they back them and they've got the trust of the board in that. I think the gaps bridge in between and we've talked about this on another podcast. between Premier League teams. If you're a Brighton
Adam: Yeah.
Daniel: or a Brentford, why go to like Spurs or at that this point
Adam: Yeah.
Daniel: like just now even even one club like Chelsea or United or that. Maybe Arsenal's a different 'cause also just won the league, but why would you make the move to maybe move up a couple of places on the table or for Brentford or Brighton? They're actually in Europe when Chelsea aren't. So what
Adam: Yeah.
Daniel: what what's the benefit other than history? Like you where you can build something that you've created yourself.
Adam: Yeah, like, Brentford's great example, Dan, especially. I was looking at their pictures before we came on the pod and I think they play Villa, Liverpool and Hull in like the first three as they come out of the break, like
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: Villa and Liverpool are sides that are going to have Champions League football to contend with and amongst that. If Brentford can keep that run going a little bit beyond the international break and not have European football to contend with, yeah.
Daniel: Yeah. Even if they take seven from that, yeah.
Adam: And that might be a draw with Hull given how Hull have started the season, be fair.
Daniel: That's what I'm saying, yeah.
Adam: But the... Given they don't have European football to contend with this season and lot of the sides around them do, if that
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: Benford side keep fit and keep playing the way they are, they will cause a lot of teams issues. It's really good to see given we were all very low on them last year, like the consistency of Keith Andrews keeping it going.
Daniel: Yeah. We've had a lot of humble pie. One team that probably we don't need humble pie for, which is fantastic and we'll end there, is and we need to talk about more probably it's kind of international break. Spurs just give us content, don't they? They just they finally decided to score, which was I'm really proud of them. They got the ball in the net, that was big. well done. But you still scored two and lost at home, which
Jeeks: Well
Daniel: And did you see can I tell you the stat actually before we talk about Spurs? And maybe I'll say live for a Spurs podcast, but I need to say it. Beyonce's performed more at the Spurs Stadium than Spurs have won in the last like I think since like twenty four or five or whenever it is. This is it
Adam: That's in this. That's fantastic.
Jeeks: Yeah, that's enough.
Daniel: cannot be real. I and it is like it's like fact checked. If I'm a Spurs fan, I'm thinking to myself What bigger what bigger in one stat. We say we'll have stats, but that's not even like a possession or a goal scored or whatever. What that precise stat shows all problems.
Jeeks: Yeah, I mean Spurs I mean this could be another twenty minutes of the podcast if you want. but yeah
Daniel: no, that's why I'm saying we'll mention it very quickly because spurs I think are a wider we don't talk more about the game itself. We can talk more as a spurs issue wider.
Jeeks: Yeah, look, I'll be honest, it's not their worst performance of the season so far or anything. Like they s they still have obviously lost and that's negative. But I do think there was some positives to take from the game. you know, some fine margins, especially at 1 0 where they had the offside goal. You know, it on another day, Andy Robertson's just a yard further back and you get that goal and you feel like you're back in it. but I think
Daniel: I really appreciate your trying, but yeah.
Jeeks: I think the way that they kind of shut off after that and especially as soon as Villa got their second goal, it was you like the the feeling around the club just looks really bad. And I think you could sense it in the stadium even from kickoff. And then th just the amount of people who left obviously at two nil, three nil and they missed the first goals of the season. It's subjectively quite funny that you've been waiting games
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: and games to get your first goal in the Premier League this season. And barely anyone's
Daniel: Mm.
Jeeks: in the stadium to actually see it when it comes. but yeah, I just I don't really understand Spurs and how they're trying to play and trying to set up. It doesn't even really read like the Zerbi ball that we've seen in the past. It's not even quite what I'd expect from that. And I think the pressure i is building quite quickly and quite heavily.
Daniel: Well, to be clear, they're bottom of the Premier League. I mean,
Jeeks: yeah.
Daniel: great win for Coventry, but and even film getting up like they're they deserve an inquest. Like any so called big six if they're bottom at the first international break, that deserves a chat straight up.
Jeeks: Well, I think bottom of the league
Adam: Hmm.
Jeeks: and then obviously the back to back seventeenth place finishes, it's i th there's just nothing to really be positive about at Spurs.
Daniel: Yeah, 'cause at what point yeah, 'cause at what point and we'll talk about this on another podcast, but at what point and so you sort of start to think at what point dispersed going, This is who we are now? Like I know there's
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: a meme about Ange going, it's who we are, mate, but like is it is that who is that like two is that six two seventeen finishes and then your bottom after the first five games? At what stage do you go, We are that team now?
Adam: Yeah.
Jeeks: And after spending six hundred million pound in the summer. Like this was supposed to be the season of like look we're gonna we've fixed the problems, we've got a whole new midfield, we've got a whole new back line, like w we've we've brought in two attackers from Man City, like we've really we've sorted the problems, it's gonna be fine this season.
Daniel: Yep. But you forget they also said the same things about they brought in j I don't know, probably my reminders in a second when they brought in Javi C monts and stuff like that and said, We've fixed that, we've done that. So
Jeeks: Yeah. I think the price tags this summer add an extra layer
Adam: Yeah.
Jeeks: of if this doesn't work out, the questions have to go to Deserby, be like you've been backed massively and you're getting nothing from it. Like the performances aren't good enough, you're bottom of the league, you've scored
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: two goals in what, seven games or whatever, five games.
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: It's just it's becoming a big question of how much time you give someone
Daniel: Adam.
Jeeks: who can't get you a win.
Daniel: Yeah. Adam's your favourite team. I will won't chat too much about it 'cause I'm sure it'll be a bigger thing. But quick comments on Spurs or maybe Villa or Mitchell the too?
Adam: Spurs, really funny. Highly enjoyable. I think actually I'd seen the other day, just in terms of you speaking about their home form, that. So I think that was their 50th home loss for the Open de Stadium. Which has took them, like I think, what, six, seven years. And it took Arsenal, I think, 13 to do the same thing. And this was going to be their fortress.
Daniel: Mm.
Adam: Another start, I think, in the last three or four seasons of went behind something like... don't know what the start was, but they've went behind in something like 60 % of their games over four seasons. And when you bear in mind the number of managers that we've now seen there in that time,
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: and the number of managers like Ang that have said that there's bigger problems at this club than just like the issues in the pitch. Yeah.
Daniel: Yeah. Respect these managers, yeah.
Adam: But I mean, you've already seen it with the Zerba. I say to you, it's wild to go all in on a manager that doesn't spend time at clubs like that. That alone was a weird concept to me. He's already started saying that the problems are much bigger than he realised and he started saying things in press conferences like, maybe I'm not the right coach for this team. We have seen this pattern at Spurs before. It's exactly the stuff that Josey was saying when he was there. It's exactly the stuff Ansh started to say towards the of his second season. In terms of Villa, I still can't totally tell how good I think this Villa side are yet. Obviously it's a really young side in so many ways and I think the... The balance in the European League football would be really interesting for them and I don't think there's a lot of depth in some positions and obviously why the Sainte-Gavnacho will still just remain a mystery until the end of the season.
Daniel: Do you think they have something Villa probably won't come up in our So I'll just ask this quite quickly to Both you. Do you think they have someone they have to sign a lone player they don't play, alienate them and send them back? Is that just like is it like a gimmick they like? Is it just part of the banner?
Adam: It kind of feels like it, doesn't it?
Daniel: Like Harvey Allen the last year seemed like there's no need for it. And I feel like this year
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: they went and even Emory, I remember in a press from Sasha went, that that is really bad, isn't it? We shouldn't have done that. It is really bad. Like he's a great kid. and then last year he's like, We'll get another one, we'll do it again. And there's something going on.
Jeeks: I mean I I think the Garnacho one is is just a complete misstep. I think it they're going based on we brought in Rashford on loan, he had a good six months of us, we brought in Sancho, he did all right for Villa. Well, this is another guy that we can bring in, kinda maybe revamp his career a w a little bit. But I think they've probably realised quite quickly that the Garnacho never had the credibility that Rashford and Sancho had before trying to rebuild his career. Like he had one and a half decent seasons at Mal United. And that's not the same as like Sancho breaking records in the Bundesliga, Rashford playing years and years, scoring, you know, many, many goals over many seasons for United. Garnacho, I think, they've tried to do something that they've done before and I just think they've misstepped massively. And me and Daniel could have told them that in the summer. I don't know why they didn't just ask us.
Daniel: Yeah. That's why you listen to this podcast. See, there you go. That's our selling point. So Villa fans or Emery, if you're listening, come and ask us. We'll get you on. but that's like a good place to wrap it in the corner. What did you make of the results this week? Have a great week, fans, as the season is into an international break.
Jeeks: Depends what teams we're talking about. focusing on on the Adam's team, right? Not my team.
Adam: I'm happy to focus on Rangers, that's fine.
Daniel: Yeah. Glotch. Good answer. Yeah.
Jeeks: No, very good. Look at you. Clever.
Daniel: So obviously good jars out on the room, Adam was messing last week. You must be enjoying the fact you get to come back to two Rangers wins in a row. How are how are you doing? How was your holiday and how are you doing?
Adam: holiday was really good. I got to watch the first old film game. seen the 3-0 game, so that was really good. We had landed and got to the hotel on time. Last week's game I was on the plane for, and I can assure you, knowing there's an old film game going on while you're sat on a plane is not an enjoyable experience. For the first 40 minutes, it was fine. I thought I'd crack the code. You could pay for WiFi on the plane and get access to WhatsApp. So my dad and my cousin
Daniel: Right.
Adam: were sending me updates and I knew Rangers were winning them up. And then the WiFi cut out. So then I just had in my mind at that point in time a three hour wait until I knew how that finished and that was not enjoyable. Thankfully the very nice air steward told me the score halfway through the flight so I did know it finished one now and I was very very happy about that. But it's not the best way to watch football, just sitting hoping that an air steward will tell you a score at full time. I wouldn't recommend it.
Daniel: Where does the air through get the Wi Fi from?
Jeeks: I was gonna say, Wi Fi was only cut off for Adam. Everyone else got to use Wi
Adam: I feel like
Jeeks: Fi.
Daniel: Yeah. Where's their secret? Yeah.
Adam: maybe I was getting too expressive on the plane. Maybe I was getting too expressive and they just cut me off. Like normally you cut the alcohol, for me they just cut the wifi and that was it.
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: But I was very happy with the result either way and it was a good holiday down, thanks for asking.
Daniel: Yeah, well not a problem at all. So let's talk about the old firm game first of all. We kinda chatted last week, Jack, and we asked you how much did you think the stadium and atmosphere obviously for those that don't know Rangers were hosting the first game and right now with all hassle lapper lassies and fans can't go to each stadium. You thought there'd be a bit of a issue with that. I am quite dumbfounded. You obviously know where our allegiance is wide but dumbfounded at how little it seemed to matter. I thought there'd be a much more. What did you guys make of that? I know Adam, you probably don't watch it live as you were saying, but it is still bizarre to me. I'm sure you've if you're not managed to capture the game, at least you look at the stats and stuff. It Rangers outran outfought were better on the ball, but there any metric you could use, Rangers were better and there wasn't a single Rangers fan other than there than other than Chris Boit's shiny teeth. And I still don't understand how it was such
Jeeks: I mean the
Daniel: a one sided game.
Jeeks: what we were talking about last week about the you know, no away fans being there, we were a bit
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: tentative to make judgment sort of 'cause we'd only seen one game under these circumstances. Cup game, different from the league. So
Daniel: Yeah, a hundred percent.
Jeeks: we were we were a bit up in the air about whether it would have an impact on both fixtures like this second
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: old firm in a week as well. I think it did have an impact, but because of the way Celtic's performances for the previous two games had worked out, I think it had an
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: impact negatively for Celtic where they kinda walked into what should have been a full stadium of just their fans getting behind them. But because there was so much talk in the week building up to it about the performances being negative, being, you know really terrible, the results not good enough, a lot of questions about if O'Neal will stay, whether he'll walk or whether it'll end up getting sacked. I think you could see a nervousness to them about being around just their own fans. And they never had the away fans to kinda play off and get a bit of momentum going. Because as Dan says, during the game, Celtic were basically missing an action. a couple of moments here and there where it looked like maybe they're gonna start playing some
Daniel: It is
Jeeks: football, but I it was almost a lack of interest of them wanting to get involved in the game at times.
Daniel: What was worse what was worse, and just to jump on that, is that as the game went on, they got worse. You'd think you went one nil down at home to your biggest rivals, one of the biggest rivalries in the world. I think both fans can agree with that. And you got worse. Like you would think there'd be some sort of reaction. Like I just and we talk out of football fans quite a lot. We try and look at other stuff, we'll have stats, the rest of it. But there's something unforgivable when your team doesn't I'm sure we'll make talk out Jack with your other team later, but unforgivable when a team just doesn't try or doesn't look like they're try I on I I couldn't believe it. It just was so passive and then it looked like towards the end of the game, I don't know if it was on Neal, just players or what, that they just started chucking it along and they were losing it every time it would just come back again. Like it felt like a training game. And that's
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: not actually me trying to wind up a Celtic fancy or it felt like a training game.
Jeeks: Well, we also have talked in the past, even you guys as Rangers fans, where for the good of Scottish football, you want both these teams to be competitive, to make these games entertaining and interesting, and kind of to push each other so that you'll do better not just domestically, but in European competitions. And I think if that's the way Celtic are gonna approach old firms for the rest of the season, it's gonna be a really boring season of old firms because they just It doesn't look like they're even aware of the occasion they're playing in, which is insane when you think of how many players still in that team. It's not their first old firm, it's not even their second old firm. They've been there f they've got players who've been there for years and years and years.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: And something just seems missing. I they don't seem to understand that this is the biggest game of the season up to this point. It's a league fixture where you're unbeaten in the league, you're playing your biggest rivals at home, and there's no away support. This is the biggest game of the season so far.
Daniel: Yeah, it's a banker, yeah. Even if Celtic got a draw on that, that's
Jeeks: And they turn up and they put in a performance.
Daniel: what I don't understand. If even if it got played well and got a draw out of it, that would have suited a lot of Celtic fans. I think they would have come away a bit for shrugged, but with how the league table was looked good, mm that would have been a good point, I think, just to stop the rot. Yeah, that's it.
Jeeks: And with the way with the way the week had been going with previous results already, it was such a an easy kind of win to just go and make a statement, if not with the result, at least with the performance. And I thought they were incredibly disappointing. And from a neutral perspective, it made the game way, way worse than you'd expect an old firm game to be. You want this to be entertaining, you want something on your you know, at your weekend to look forward to and everyone. They built up a lot on Sky Sports. We talk a lot about the coverage. In fairness, they did push it very heavily for the weekend. And then the game itself, from a Celtic perspective, was a massive let down 'cause again they just didn't turn up. And yeah, I was I was disappointed. I wanted a good game.
Daniel: Yeah. Adam, obviously you did catch it live. What what are you making of the I guess, did you actually catch any but and if not, what was your kind of reaction to the fallout of it once you kinda fell down?
Adam: I watched most of it back on Sunday after we got home.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: The thing that was most surprising, the only thing I'd say on Celtic, to make the change for the week before going from the back four to the back three. It not actually changed anything significant about how they tried to play. They were so, so passing for the back, so slow playing it from the back.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: I thought it was... The week before I think Rangers had pressed so, well in that 3-0 game. And the tactics had very much caught Celtic by surprise.
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: So I presumed we would see a change from Martin O'Neil because of that.
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: You can't just change the shape and keep the exact same principles you play within that and think that things are going to get better. Wild to go out
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: and just ask the players to play the same way. Playing the boy Geran up front and largely... high balls into him up against Alexi Fernandes McAnha, just wild.
Daniel: Yeah. But even the commentators were saying just to jump in quickly, the commentators were saying that that that Fernandez was on a book already, Duran's a quick player who can hustle, chucking a diagonal behind the defender. Like they were obsessed with like way can win Ariel Jules and I'm like, just put the ball up behind. Like it is the most obvious basic football.
Adam: Yeah. Bizarre. Yeah. So bizarre. then to focus on range, I thought the... Obviously, if we go back a few weeks, Dan, and how negative things felt after the
Daniel: Yes.
Adam: European exit. And it's not... You're not going to suddenly pretend that everything's absolutely fine, but
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: to put the running wins together in the league that we have, the shrewing things up defensively and the keeping clean sheets has been a massive positive as well. But the... I mean, I think... Derek McInnes is the first Rangers manager from Screams Sooners to win his first two Old Fun games. Which is a massive, massive achievement. And I think the manner in which Rangers have managed to do it was very pleasantly surprising. And
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: I think the big thing for me in terms of just a few individuals I think deserve a bit of credit. McAnna has probably been Rangers signing the season so far at the back. He's been absolute. And to be
Daniel: Yeah, three million pounds.
Adam: fair... Even taking away those two Celtic games, I think he's been really, really good, but I he really came into his own in those games. The other one that gets a bit of criticism from the Rangers fans, but I would like to praise in terms of last Sunday, is Manny Fernandez, because playing at Celtic Park where booking for the 10th minute is a long, long time
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: to go to avoid another, and I thought he really grew into the game. And then the other one I liked, I remembered really liking James Penrice when he was at Livy and then he went to Harps, and when there was rumours of him coming to Rangers then, I... I like that
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: idea. I thought James Penn Rice was just a good energetic fullback, if I'm totally honest. I think the football intelligence he's shown in last two games and the trust that McInnes has had in him to go play that kind of weird time with Droghly's playing and
Daniel: Okay.
Adam: some of the positions we've seen him take up both on and off the ball in the last couple of weekends seem wild at times when you're watching it. But played absolutely outstanding. And the other one I was delighted for, I've said to you before, my massive fan of Ryan Ndiaye. He's not the most technically beautiful football player to watch at times, he looks a little bit unnatural in way he does things. But the power of work that he gets out of him is outstanding. And in big moments this season, whether it's been in European games as much as the European campaign didn't end well, or in the old fun games, he always seems to come up with moments for you in the just the right place at the right time on Sunday to finish the first one off. But I thought for watching the game back, I thought his overall performance again was really, really good. And it's just...
Daniel: Rang the DV was man of the match, but you picked out some brilliant names there. I'll be one to watch, though me and Jack were chatting last week and folks that watched podcast we talked about on the podcast. We've got an actual break now, which will be other we'll be chatting about the Scotland team. But might be one that we'll look at some of these teams and analyse where we're at. Celtic in particular, 'cause rumours about Mark R'Neal and stuff, so it'll be one to keep an eye on. It's always that's the thing, club news never does stop and that's what we promote. Talking of which we are on a round up though. All of us probably don't want to go near the Premier League. It was a bit of a bruising weekend for us all for one week reason or another. And I'm not used to saying that to you, Adam. I guess I'll come to you quickly first then. It's weird that you're lumped with us. Usually I mean Jack are sitting in the corner pretty upset and you get to have your time and just sit there quite smug. I really I'll be blunt, I didn't I was at the race game on Saturday and didn't see it coming and couldn't believe the score and then user chatting about in a group chat and I'm going Nah that like it can't
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: be right. was it as bad as the result shows or was it just did Wright just get the game plan right?
Adam: think a lot will be made out of it. I think it's just a really bad day at the office and then a really good
Daniel: Right, okay.
Adam: day at the office for the other side. think Brighton got everyone spot on. We went to Brighton last year and we won 1-0 and I thought Brighton were really, really good that night. And I've said to you before that think Fabian Hurtzler is capable of being very good manager. they seem like a weird team at Brighton at points and I think for the predictions... when we spoke about them, I still think it'll be really interesting to see what Brighton looked like when the Conference League fixtures start. As much as it's the Conference League and it's not the toughest fixtures, we've seen them struggle a couple of years ago when the Europa League started. But in terms of Saturday...
Daniel: Also the fan with Brighton quickly just to jump on there. There's that have you seen this in World Hot at the time? There's that December cursor sound they have and it's like I think they've won like one game in like the
Adam: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Daniel: last three years in the whole month of December. It's so bizarre, no matter the teams they're playing against. So you'll probably see them sitting
Adam: very strange. Yeah, it's very, very strange. mean...
Daniel: second and third and then just December will hit. For no and then they'll get good again for whatever reason. Sorry you were saying, but I felt glad to jump in there for your run.
Adam: Yeah, but yeah, I think certainly for what I see there, I thought they played very, very well. think they got just about everything right. And then for an alphabet, I think just one of those unfortunate days where you can get away with two, three, four players having a bad game sometimes. I think it's just one of those really bad days. I think that was more six, seven, eight players having a bad game.
Daniel: Right, okay.
Adam: So given the start to season, not massively concerned about it. It's one those weird things because like spoke with Rangers Celtic there. You can argue about whether that international break comes at a good or a bad time for any team, depending on what you're view pointing, isn't it?
Daniel: Yes.
Adam: So I could argue that it actually comes at a bad time for Brighton because they're flying. And maybe it comes at a good time for Arsenal because you've just come off the back of a bad defeat. You can argue the opposite, well if you're Arsenal you'd rather go get over that quick like anything.
Daniel: Yeah, you're stewing on it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Uhhuh.
Adam: But I think given the start to the season and the amount of Arsenal players that played a lot of minutes last year. and they've played a lot of minutes to start this season. I think the international break probably wasn't the worst time to take a bit of stock of where the seasons are. But definitely nothing but praise for Brighton for the result and so on.
Daniel: Yeah. Jack, I'm gonna come to you now. We're just sort of touching some of the games. United, is the criticism as bad as do you do they deserve the criticism they got? I think United might be one we talk about more in international break as one of our clubs to be fair, but just on the game itself. And the main thing I'm asking you about to be fair is there's
Jeeks: Yeah.
Daniel: been a lot made about the effort part, and that was the thing I was touching on earlier. I guess that's what I'm getting at. I think a draw at Fulham was not a great result, but you still got a point. But it's more than manner of it a lot of people are talking about. What did you make of that as a fan?
Jeeks: Yeah, I mean I I hate to say that I watched the game because it was an absolute slog.
Daniel: Very still.
Jeeks: yeah, I think I think the criticism is more than deserved. I think the performance was
Daniel: Right, okay.
Jeeks: I think some of it's a bit overblown. I think Gary Neville said that the first fifteen minutes of the second half was the worst he's ever seen from a My United team in his lifetime. And I think he must have short term memory loss if he doesn't remember some of the fifteen minutes we've had to deal with in the last ten years even. so I think maybe
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: that's a little bit over the top. but the the the performance was absolutely disgraceful.
Daniel: The Grimsby one comes to mind.
Jeeks: The Grimsby won, there was a first fifteen, twenty minutes against Brentford a few seasons ago where we conceded like four goals really quickly. Like no one could get a pass together. There's been lots of bad performances. Now,
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: I do still find the criticism is more than deserved across the board. I think they were absolutely
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: terrible. no real fight to go and just take a game against Fulham
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: against like by the scruff of the neck, it was really disappointing to see. And I think maybe different from previous times where we've played poorly and there's been rotation for a cup game or a manager who's brought in a bunch of new players who haven't
Daniel: Yes.
Jeeks: settled yet. You look at this team and th there's no excuse for these players not performing the way that we know they can 'cause we've seen them do
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: it. The end of la the whole second half of last season, everyone was putting in a hundred percent effort every game and now you've got people just walking about not wanting to press and it when I was watching especially the first half, Gary and Neville can talk about the first fifteen of the second half, but like it went on for the whole of the first half. My United do this thing which I can only describe as a performative press, which is to try and make it look like you're pressing, and it'll look good on your stats. It'll look good on the stats. It'll say they attempted this many presses, they attempted this many high presses.
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: I would imagine the success rate in the first half for probably sixty odd presses in forty five minutes, because we just let Fulham have the ball, was probably zero percent. Because they were just walking to the ball. And it was I I
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: guess Cunha was playing striker in the first half. Who knows? but he'd start pressing up, Bruno would walk in behind them,
Daniel: Mm.
Jeeks: they'd do two passes to the side and then they're into the midfield already. And it's this I can only describe it as performative, where it's like you want to be seen as someone who's trying to get up the pitch and press. But you're not sprinting, you're not trying to close down a passing angle, you're barely even getting to the player who's on the ball. So you're just doing it so that your average position and the stats at the end of the game looks like, well, he was getting up the pitch. So he was he was pressing
Daniel: Yeah, he was doing that. Yeah.
Jeeks: the goalkeeper. And I think that's just unacceptable. If you are gonna go and press, just just give it a hundred percent. Why would you want to sit there and just wander your way to the ball and give the goalkeeper as much time as they want? And I should say, Fulham were as guilty of this as my united in the game, which is what made it from a neutral perspective if someone was watching it, one of the most like kind of boring games to watch like a like ever.
Daniel: I watched that.
Jeeks: Because neither team wanted to put pressure on the other team when they had the ball. They just went, You've got it, have a pass around, we'll see what you can do and then we'll get it back.
Daniel: Although what you're not saying though is that I think I you know I was watching it, but Jack and our group chat went, this is a horrible game to watch and just as we long scored I went, Well, I'm enjoying that
Jeeks: Whoa, whoa, no what I said what I said was after the own goal,
Adam: Hahaha!
Jeeks: I said a goal fitting the game, it's been a horrible watch and you went, I'm enjoying it 'cause that's who you are.
Daniel: And it just got left on right, I could feel
Adam: Hahaha!
Jeeks: But yeah, just a disgraceful performance. Like again, similar to what Adam's
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: saying, does this international break come at a good time or a bad time? I would say based on the last
Daniel: Yeah, it is. Yeah.
Jeeks: few performances it probably is more good a time for United to kinda get away from the get away from the media.
Daniel: I think I think for United it's definitely a good time. Particularly for Carrick.
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: I think it's a big time. And we could talk about United setup, I won't dwell too much on it 'cause I think there might be a team in our break. quick other mentions, I'll mention one team rough. Anyway, moving on. Great
Adam: I knew it.
Daniel: host I'll just I'll just quickly dodge it.
Jeeks: We just we could've all said that for our teams. We could have just gone, How was your weekend? Rough, rough, rough, right, on to the next podcast.
Daniel: Yeah, that's it. I could that it could be the quickest podcast ever. for Chelsea though, the only thing that I'm worried about are squad death. I've soldiers that already the midfield of Jordan Henderson and Barco starting in the Premier League I don't think is the one. Di Wellbeck's good there. So's Henderson, but starting both in a Premier League game in twenty twenty six for a team that's aspiring for a title charge probably is an indictment of where we're at. at the minute with
Adam: Hmm.
Daniel: a squad and I know a lot of fans.
Jeeks: You saw how much you missed Jau Pedro not being there.
Daniel: Yeah. I do think though, like Adams is, I do think it's been blown at proportion a little bit for a Chelsea perspective. I think a Chelsea team with a Caicedo and a Jal Pedro, which will probably be eighty percent of the games this season, wouldn't perform that way. I do think a couple of players changes that we'll see. yeah I also think, like what Adam said, Brentford were absolutely fantastic. They got it completely nailed. And I think that's what's lost with some of these bigger games. That's why the United film game is a bit weird for me. Both teams were very poor. It was a really weird game.
Adam: Yeah.
Jeeks: Yeah. I don't even get that excuse to say we played terribly but Fulham were on they were on it the day.
Daniel: Brentford were brilliant. Yeah, Brentford were brilliant. Brentford Brentford just knew what they were doing and they did it excellently. And yeah, they totally deserved the win. And to be honest,
Adam: Mm-hmm. I feel like...
Daniel: it probably could have been it could have been four or five.
Adam: Yeah, I like we did this last season anyway, but it's rough just remembering like the amount of people that's had to apologize to Keith Andrews for like joking about him getting the Brentford job. And then even
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: this summer, there were still some people like, well, loads of managers had a good season in the Premier League, maybe they'll fall apart.
Daniel: Yeah, yeah. And example off. Yeah. Uhhuh.
Adam: maybe if they're unbeaten still, like there's a few draws in there, but like they've
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: just been really, really good again. Maybe Keith Andrews is just a really good manager. Like maybe we'll have to accept
Jeeks: I mean another
Adam: that now.
Jeeks: another reference to our group chat over the weekend where I said I can't wait for Keith Andrews to get his big club move and they're not gonna give him the time to work it out, he's gonna end up in the exact same pattern as so many before him. But at this point, why make that move? Just stick with Brentford, like he's taken higher up the table than they've ever been, so no need to move.
Daniel: Yeah. Well, for Bre Bradford and Brighton, I that actually that's why we lumped them together. They're an interesting indictment on that, and maybe it has someone to chat about at another point. Like for Herzler and Andrews, they've seen their predecessors go to so called bigger clubs and fall apart. You must like, I could spend something here. Like these clubs are in a good place and they back them and they've got the trust of the board in that. I think the gaps bridge in between and we've talked about this on another podcast. between Premier League teams. If you're a Brighton
Adam: Yeah.
Daniel: or a Brentford, why go to like Spurs or at that this point
Adam: Yeah.
Daniel: like just now even even one club like Chelsea or United or that. Maybe Arsenal's a different 'cause also just won the league, but why would you make the move to maybe move up a couple of places on the table or for Brentford or Brighton? They're actually in Europe when Chelsea aren't. So what
Adam: Yeah.
Daniel: what what's the benefit other than history? Like you where you can build something that you've created yourself.
Adam: Yeah, like, Brentford's great example, Dan, especially. I was looking at their pictures before we came on the pod and I think they play Villa, Liverpool and Hull in like the first three as they come out of the break, like
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: Villa and Liverpool are sides that are going to have Champions League football to contend with and amongst that. If Brentford can keep that run going a little bit beyond the international break and not have European football to contend with, yeah.
Daniel: Yeah. Even if they take seven from that, yeah.
Adam: And that might be a draw with Hull given how Hull have started the season, be fair.
Daniel: That's what I'm saying, yeah.
Adam: But the... Given they don't have European football to contend with this season and lot of the sides around them do, if that
Daniel: Yeah.
Adam: Benford side keep fit and keep playing the way they are, they will cause a lot of teams issues. It's really good to see given we were all very low on them last year, like the consistency of Keith Andrews keeping it going.
Daniel: Yeah. We've had a lot of humble pie. One team that probably we don't need humble pie for, which is fantastic and we'll end there, is and we need to talk about more probably it's kind of international break. Spurs just give us content, don't they? They just they finally decided to score, which was I'm really proud of them. They got the ball in the net, that was big. well done. But you still scored two and lost at home, which
Jeeks: Well
Daniel: And did you see can I tell you the stat actually before we talk about Spurs? And maybe I'll say live for a Spurs podcast, but I need to say it. Beyonce's performed more at the Spurs Stadium than Spurs have won in the last like I think since like twenty four or five or whenever it is. This is it
Adam: That's in this. That's fantastic.
Jeeks: Yeah, that's enough.
Daniel: cannot be real. I and it is like it's like fact checked. If I'm a Spurs fan, I'm thinking to myself What bigger what bigger in one stat. We say we'll have stats, but that's not even like a possession or a goal scored or whatever. What that precise stat shows all problems.
Jeeks: Yeah, I mean Spurs I mean this could be another twenty minutes of the podcast if you want. but yeah
Daniel: no, that's why I'm saying we'll mention it very quickly because spurs I think are a wider we don't talk more about the game itself. We can talk more as a spurs issue wider.
Jeeks: Yeah, look, I'll be honest, it's not their worst performance of the season so far or anything. Like they s they still have obviously lost and that's negative. But I do think there was some positives to take from the game. you know, some fine margins, especially at 1 0 where they had the offside goal. You know, it on another day, Andy Robertson's just a yard further back and you get that goal and you feel like you're back in it. but I think
Daniel: I really appreciate your trying, but yeah.
Jeeks: I think the way that they kind of shut off after that and especially as soon as Villa got their second goal, it was you like the the feeling around the club just looks really bad. And I think you could sense it in the stadium even from kickoff. And then th just the amount of people who left obviously at two nil, three nil and they missed the first goals of the season. It's subjectively quite funny that you've been waiting games
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: and games to get your first goal in the Premier League this season. And barely anyone's
Daniel: Mm.
Jeeks: in the stadium to actually see it when it comes. but yeah, I just I don't really understand Spurs and how they're trying to play and trying to set up. It doesn't even really read like the Zerbi ball that we've seen in the past. It's not even quite what I'd expect from that. And I think the pressure i is building quite quickly and quite heavily.
Daniel: Well, to be clear, they're bottom of the Premier League. I mean,
Jeeks: yeah.
Daniel: great win for Coventry, but and even film getting up like they're they deserve an inquest. Like any so called big six if they're bottom at the first international break, that deserves a chat straight up.
Jeeks: Well, I think bottom of the league
Adam: Hmm.
Jeeks: and then obviously the back to back seventeenth place finishes, it's i th there's just nothing to really be positive about at Spurs.
Daniel: Yeah, 'cause at what point yeah, 'cause at what point and we'll talk about this on another podcast, but at what point and so you sort of start to think at what point dispersed going, This is who we are now? Like I know there's
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: a meme about Ange going, it's who we are, mate, but like is it is that who is that like two is that six two seventeen finishes and then your bottom after the first five games? At what stage do you go, We are that team now?
Adam: Yeah.
Jeeks: And after spending six hundred million pound in the summer. Like this was supposed to be the season of like look we're gonna we've fixed the problems, we've got a whole new midfield, we've got a whole new back line, like w we've we've brought in two attackers from Man City, like we've really we've sorted the problems, it's gonna be fine this season.
Daniel: Yep. But you forget they also said the same things about they brought in j I don't know, probably my reminders in a second when they brought in Javi C monts and stuff like that and said, We've fixed that, we've done that. So
Jeeks: Yeah. I think the price tags this summer add an extra layer
Adam: Yeah.
Jeeks: of if this doesn't work out, the questions have to go to Deserby, be like you've been backed massively and you're getting nothing from it. Like the performances aren't good enough, you're bottom of the league, you've scored
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Jeeks: two goals in what, seven games or whatever, five games.
Daniel: Yeah.
Jeeks: It's just it's becoming a big question of how much time you give someone
Daniel: Adam.
Jeeks: who can't get you a win.
Daniel: Yeah. Adam's your favourite team. I will won't chat too much about it 'cause I'm sure it'll be a bigger thing. But quick comments on Spurs or maybe Villa or Mitchell the too?
Adam: Spurs, really funny. Highly enjoyable. I think actually I'd seen the other day, just in terms of you speaking about their home form, that. So I think that was their 50th home loss for the Open de Stadium. Which has took them, like I think, what, six, seven years. And it took Arsenal, I think, 13 to do the same thing. And this was going to be their fortress.
Daniel: Mm.
Adam: Another start, I think, in the last three or four seasons of went behind something like... don't know what the start was, but they've went behind in something like 60 % of their games over four seasons. And when you bear in mind the number of managers that we've now seen there in that time,
Daniel: Mm-hmm.
Adam: and the number of managers like Ang that have said that there's bigger problems at this club than just like the issues in the pitch. Yeah.
Daniel: Yeah. Respect these managers, yeah.
Adam: But I mean, you've already seen it with the Zerba. I say to you, it's wild to go all in on a manager that doesn't spend time at clubs like that. That alone was a weird concept to me. He's already started saying that the problems are much bigger than he realised and he started saying things in press conferences like, maybe I'm not the right coach for this team. We have seen this pattern at Spurs before. It's exactly the stuff that Josey was saying when he was there. It's exactly the stuff Ansh started to say towards the of his second season. In terms of Villa, I still can't totally tell how good I think this Villa side are yet. Obviously it's a really young side in so many ways and I think the... The balance in the European League football would be really interesting for them and I don't think there's a lot of depth in some positions and obviously why the Sainte-Gavnacho will still just remain a mystery until the end of the season.
Daniel: Do you think they have something Villa probably won't come up in our So I'll just ask this quite quickly to Both you. Do you think they have someone they have to sign a lone player they don't play, alienate them and send them back? Is that just like is it like a gimmick they like? Is it just part of the banner?
Adam: It kind of feels like it, doesn't it?
Daniel: Like Harvey Allen the last year seemed like there's no need for it. And I feel like this year
Adam: Mm-hmm.
Daniel: they went and even Emory, I remember in a press from Sasha went, that that is really bad, isn't it? We shouldn't have done that. It is really bad. Like he's a great kid. and then last year he's like, We'll get another one, we'll do it again. And there's something going on.
Jeeks: I mean I I think the Garnacho one is is just a complete misstep. I think it they're going based on we brought in Rashford on loan, he had a good six months of us, we brought in Sancho, he did all right for Villa. Well, this is another guy that we can bring in, kinda maybe revamp his career a w a little bit. But I think they've probably realised quite quickly that the Garnacho never had the credibility that Rashford and Sancho had before trying to rebuild his career. Like he had one and a half decent seasons at Mal United. And that's not the same as like Sancho breaking records in the Bundesliga, Rashford playing years and years, scoring, you know, many, many goals over many seasons for United. Garnacho, I think, they've tried to do something that they've done before and I just think they've misstepped massively. And me and Daniel could have told them that in the summer. I don't know why they didn't just ask us.
Daniel: Yeah. That's why you listen to this podcast. See, there you go. That's our selling point. So Villa fans or Emery, if you're listening, come and ask us. We'll get you on. but that's like a good place to wrap it in the corner. What did you make of the results this week? Have a great week, fans, as the season is into an international break.
