Man Utd’s Muddled Strategy, Favourite European Nights & Gary’s Celebrity Big Brother Offer
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Hello and welcome to the Rest Is Football question and answer episode with Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker. Thank you once again for sending in your questions. There's some really good ones. I've been through them. And there's also some really difficult ones, chaps, including this first question from RacingDBG. If you had to pick...

out of Palmer and Saka to play for your team who would you pick?

Goodness me. That's a nice easy one to start, isn't it? This is exactly why I never wanted to be a manager. Because I'd go, oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll play you next week. Rotate them. We need some more context though, don't we? It's hard because one's a 10 and one plays on the wing. So they are different. I know, of course.

I know Kupala Cup play on the wing is like, oh.

You'd play them both, man. You'd play them both. No, we've got a goal, guys. You've got 11 spots in your team and you wouldn't put them in goals. So you've got 10 to choose from. I think there's a way of getting them both into your side. Absolutely. No doubt about it. You'd get both of those in. I love both of those. I think they're probably my two favourite English players that are playing in the Premier League at the present time. You know what it is? Their attitudes, both of them. I mean, Saka gets kicked out

He keeps coming back for more. It doesn't bother him at all. Palmer's so bloody cool. It's like unbelievable, isn't it? It's like so relaxed the way he plays. I think we're fudging this one. Yeah, we are, yeah. I think...

I sod that, but I don't know. If you were there and there was a guillotine on your head and you had to make that decision, otherwise you'd get your head cut off. I think I might just go Palmer because I think he can play more positions and that's the only reason. At least one of us manned up. Well done, Gaz. Well done. To use that term.

You can get the abuse. Moving on, simply. Moving on. Here's a question from In The Zone, and we covered it to a degree on a Monday episode. But here we go. Do we see any clear strategy from INEOS since they've taken over operations at Manchester United? Oh.

We have to say no. No clear strategy, is there? No. Of course there will be a strategy. Them people are not successful. You know, they don't get to that place without having strategies. Of course they'll have a strategy, but they've just not implemented it correctly. And there's been many things that have been dealt with badly. We know it's difficult because it's Man United, so everything is scrutinised.

But yeah, we talked about this on our last step and I'll go a little bit more if you want to go into that. But yeah, too much decisions have leaked out of the club and they're looking really amateurish at this moment in time. It's not a good look at all.

for them, is it? I mean, it's pretty bloody embarrassing what's gone on with Dan Ashworth leaving and the decisions that since they've been in there in terms of the money that they've spent, the decisions that they've made with Ten Hag extending his contract, sacking him, paying him off, giving him the players that they have in the summer then getting rid of him. And then...

Putting Dan Ashworth on guard and lead, getting him out in Newcastle, paying compensation for him, then getting rid of him after five months. It is laughable, really. It's such a terrible look. So yeah, I don't know. It's not a good look at all. Ultimately, the worst thing of all is the recruitment.

And the amount of money that they've paid out for players that have not realised what they obviously thought was good potential. So it just shows you down to football, whoever comes in, you've got to get that sign of it right, whatever your budget. And it's not always easy because you can never be sure of how a player is going to perform at a football club until he gets there. The only thing I would say on that one, in their defence, the players that they bought at the time

were playing really well. Where I think they've got it wrong is they've not bought players for a system. They've just bought individuals who have not performed, which has just made them look ridiculous. If you look at someone like Anthony, when he was at Ajax, he was on fire. But what was he playing? And like the new manager now, he likes to play free at the back, four in midfield, three up front. Like,

What is the strategy going forward now? That is what we have to see because you're right, Gary, there's been a lot of big decisions that have just been awful. It's all a bit of a mess at the moment. Right, here's one from Keith Mooring. Why is it that it's only penalties that are referred to as stonewall? You never hear of a stonewall corner or a stonewall outside. Yeah.

Any idea where the term Stonewall originates from? This is an interesting one because Stonewall is actually, it was a gay movement and it all happened way back in America, I think. And there were riots and stuff because of something happened. I think it was a pub, like a Stonewall Inn, it was called. So it became a movement. And this expression is actually wrong when people say, oh, that's a Stonewall penalty.

What they should be saying, I think, is stone cold, but it's drifted in to the language. But there were riots that took place, it was called. So it's an LGBTQ movement in some ways. So people do get a little bit confused in the punditry world with that. So whenever I hear them say Stonewall Penalty, I always think Stone Cold Penalty. Stone Cold Penalty.

You know, you remember Stone Cold the wrestler? I don't remember Stone Cold. You don't? Oh, dearie, dearie me. Don't watch wrestling. Stone Cold says so. Bold guy. Similar looking to Alan. Is he?

The fine, handsome young man. Not even handsome fella. Micah, that's baldism now. I'm going to report you. Oh yeah, that's like sexual harassment now, calling someone bald, isn't it? I'll take it back. I'm sorry. Too late, it's out there. I'm reporting you. Does that apply to earism as well? To what? Ear-ism. Yes! You've got it! You've got it!

He's got me! He's got me! No, you idiot! Oh, shit. I'm going to try and edit that out. Bollocks. Oh, no. I said I'd never get caught. Never. Do you know what? As soon as it came out of my stupid big mouth, I thought... I tried to suck it back in. Oh, dear. Oh!

Where were we, Alan? What were we just talking about? This explains the next question. Wes, apart from Gary, who is near retirement, and after that previous answer, I might just retire now completely. What other jobs would be your backup if this pundit thing finished tomorrow?

So if your pundit thing finished tomorrow, I think I just might start up a podcast business. What about you, Mike? Mikey, you could do a million things. You'd be on stage. What's Magic Mike? Is that another wrestler? Magic Mike.

Micah would go on Strictly, would you? You'd go on Strictly, Micah. No, I wouldn't do Strictly. I wouldn't do Dancing on Ice and I wouldn't do The Jungle. So, no, I wouldn't do any of those things. Big Brother? Nope, I wouldn't do Big Brother. Do you know last week I got a request to go on Celebrity Big Brother? Did you?

You got us to go on there, did you? Yeah, my agent sent it through jokingly and he replied, oh yes, Gary's fee will be 50 million. He did it completely as a joke, obviously, and they came back and said, oh, that's a little bit that's not within our budget. LAUGHTER

You're going to get more of that. You're going to get asked to go on all of them, Gaz. Well, I can tell you now, don't bother asking. Firefighter. An answer. Firefighter. I'd be a firefighter. You'd be a fire... Really? I don't like heights. Did you like fire engines when you were a kid and all that? Oh, I used to love fire engines. It was cool. All the gear and all that. Going up the ropes and all that. I'd be brilliant. Getting hold of a big hose. Are you frightened of heights, though?

I'm frightened of heights. Yeah, I'd be useless. I don't want to do the ones on a lower deck. You know what I mean? I want to go up, yeah, I want to go up high. Sorry I'd be a firefighter, but just don't put me up there. Yeah, don't put me anywhere near there's any fire. Yeah.

Let's move on. Ryan Scott, the greatest European night you've been involved in, watched live or on the telly? He says, mine is Liverpool Barca. I think that's the best atmosphere I've ever witnessed.

I mean, that night at Anfield. It was incredible, wasn't it? I was lucky enough to be there doing the core comms and I've never heard anything like it. When they got the first goal, I just thought, they can't, can they? And they get the second and it's like, oh my God, that night at Anfield was amazing.

here's one for you Barcelona PSG second leg you remember that one didn't they lose a 5-1 first and they came back and the Neymar right at the end a brilliant ball in and that was great that was incredible that was incredible

The Spurs-Man City game, remember that one? Yeah. Second leg there with the offside goal and the far and all that stuff and VAR turned it over and Pep claps to his knees. That was an amazing night. I was at that one. Micah, you were at Newcastle PSG last year, weren't you? That was great. That was a great game. Yeah, that was good. What about European nights that you've played in? I remember going to San Siro and Newcastle into Milan. 15,000 or 16,000 Geordies played.

the goal was amazing. The atmosphere that night was like fantastic. You bagged a couple, didn't you? Got a couple that night, yeah. Mike, are you? Going to Allianz Arena against Bayern when they had Robben and Rubery and

Schweinsteiger, oh, they was just immense. The atmosphere there, the beers, the stadiums. The beers, the beers. Everything about it was just class. What was the score? We got beat, we got beat. Yeah, don't want to mention it, but.

I'd have to go the European Cup Winners' Cup Final, I think. Ooh! A little victory over Sampadoria. For those who don't know what that is... Well, that was previously the other European competition that was held, and that was...

For all the teams that had won the cup competitions in their various countries. So in England, the FA Cup and then obviously Copa del Rey and so forth and so on. So that no longer exists, obviously, but we now have three competitions. UEFA Cup was replaced by Europa League and I suppose in many ways, perhaps...

It's not the same because it's different qualifications levels because it's not a cup victory to go into it. Hence the reason it was called European Cup Winners Cup. But it was a European trophy and we beat a very good Sampdoria side with, well, Luca Vialli and Mancini up front. They were good, but we won. Yeah, it was great. Before we go to a quick break, we have a special segment in today's show brought to you in partnership with Google Pixel 9 with Gemini.

Google Pixel got in touch with the podcast and basically with Google Pixel 9, you can go live to talk with Gemini, its new personal AI assistant.

Gemini Live is like having a genius sidekick in your pocket. You can brainstorm ideas, just talk things out or use it to help solve your everyday challenges. It follows along even if you change your thoughts or interrupt. We've actually had a question in this week, which I think Gemini will be able to help with. And here it is.

Hi, Gemini. I've always played at centre-back for my team over 10 years and never scored a goal. I've just been made captain and I'm desperate to score a goal. Should I put myself on penalties or let our regular taker continue to take them?

That's a great question for a sports philosopher. Do you trust your penalty-taking skills? Do you think your teammates would respect you more if you took the responsibility? Or would it be better for the team's chances of winning if your regular taker took the penalty? It might help to talk to your coach or some of your teammates about it. They might have some valuable insights into the situation.

So there we go. Now, obviously I think the response from Gemini would have been different if it was you that was about to take the penalty, Micah, given your record. So what, what do you make of that advice? I like the advice. It's pretty good, isn't it? Solid. Um,

I mean, I've not scored a penalty at all. So I like being the person to step up. I think that's definitely one for big me. So I'd make myself penalty taker, 100%. If only Gemini was around when you were playing, Micah. Hi, Gemini. Who has the best penalty-taking record? Alan Shearer or Gary Lineker?

Alan Shearer has a slightly better penalty record than Gary Lineker. Shut up. Oh, dear. Well, that's good. It shows it's honest. So congratulations, Alan. I didn't put you in that, Micah, because obviously you've taken four, missed four. I was thinking if he takes the penalty for his team and he's not got that much experience of taking penalties and then he misses...

What's the best way for him to regain his confidence? That's a tough one. Missing a penalty can be a real confidence killer, especially in a big game. The best thing to do is probably focus on getting back to basics. First, it's important to remember that everyone misses penalties sometimes. Even the best players. It's part of the game. Second...

should focus on practicing his penalties in training. This will help him get back into the groove and regain his confidence. Finally, it's important for his teammates and coach to support him. They should remind him that he's a valuable player and that one missed penalty doesn't define him. Got a point. Gemini's good advice. Good advice, Gemini. Good advice, I think. Yeah, really good.

Sensible. So what's it like missing a pen then, you guys? Not nice. The worst feeling in the world. For me, it was always just like missing an opportunity to score, which is never, you know, as a striker, you want the chances to score goals. So for me, it was just another opportunity and an opportunity where the keeper is not allowed to

to move off his line. So I just treated it like any ordinary chance in a game, whereas you can always miss. But never be afraid. I think never be afraid to go again. Would you agree with that, Alan? Absolutely. If he misses a penalty, what should he do if he gets another penalty? Should he be brave and take it again?

Or should he wait and let somebody else take that opportunity? That's a tough one. And there's no right or wrong answer. Some players might want to step up again right away to prove they can do it. Others might feel more comfortable letting someone else take it. Ultimately, the best choice is what he's most comfortable with. He knows himself best and what he needs to do to get back into the game mentally.

Wise words, wise words. It is about the individual penalty taking though, isn't it? I mean, I think Gemini's spot on and it also depends on the player. So I hope you're listening after all this. We've gone through a lot of trouble for you and Gemini's come up with a few answers. We think take a penalty, knock it in and all will be well with the world. A question which I think Gemini will definitely be able to help with

Hi Gemini, I wear the same kit every game I play in. I'm a bit superstitious, so if I am on a hot streak, I do not wash my kit. We've been on a winning streak for several matches, so needless to say my teammates are complaining about the smell. Should I give in and wash my jersey or keep the streak alive?

Hmm.

Maybe that's why they're winning because the opposition won't go near him either. Yeah, you get a bit more space than you normally would. Reminds me when I had a certain accident on the pitch and centre-half's got nowhere near me. Can you take us back to that moment, Gas? No, thanks, you don't have to do that, Gas. We know what happened. Hi, Gemini. What terrible accident happened to Gary Lineker against the Republic of Ireland?

There wasn't an accident in the traditional sense. Gary Lineker had a really unfortunate medical incident during that game. He had been feeling unwell and during the match he had an accident where he soiled himself on the pitch. It was a very embarrassing moment for him and he's talked about it openly since then. Wow. What about that? Gemini! Brilliant! Spot on! Yeah. I had a shirt superstition actually. Um...

If I scored in the first half, I wouldn't change my shirt at halftime. If I didn't score, I would change my shirt at halftime. Really? Yeah. I didn't wash it at halftime though, if that makes any difference.

But great answers from Gemini there. Fantastic. Is it better for footballers to wear long-sleeve shirts or short-sleeve shirts? Whether long or short sleeves are better for footballers depends on a few things. Some players like the extra coverage and warmth that long sleeves provide, especially in colder weather. Short sleeves, on the other hand, might feel more comfortable and give a wider range of motion. Ultimately, it's a matter of personal preference. If you've got really big biceps...

like Micah Richards, for example, is it a great opportunity to show your muscles off if you wear a short-sleeved shirt? That depends on what you mean by show off. If you want to flex for the crowd, a short-sleeved jersey is definitely the way to go. But if you're more focused on performance, it might not matter as much. Gemma Lime, fantastic! Wow! I wore a long-sleeved shirt if it was cold and a short-sleeved shirt if it was hot. Simple as that.

You, Alan? Did you have a preference? Yeah, I was always... On the very, very rare occasion, I had a long sleeve on because I had a broken knuckle and wrist and I still wanted to play, so I had a cast on. So to help hide the cast, I had a long sleeve shirt on. But any other time, even during the winter, I always wanted to wear a short sleeve shirt.

How should he write a text in the group chat with his teammates to make them understand why he is not going to wash his kit under any circumstances while things are going well? I wouldn't recommend trying to justify not washing your kit. The smell is a real problem for your teammates and trying to explain it away probably won't go over well. It's best to just apologise and say you'll wash it after the next game.

Agreed. Google Pixel 9 with Gemini Live. Now we're talking. Visit store.google.com to find out more. Sequences shortened. Gemini Live available for ages 18 plus. Internet required. Results are illustrative. Check responses for accuracy, feature and account compatibility limitations apply. We have one more act for you this evening.

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Welcome back to the Rest is Football question and answer episode with Alan Shearer, Mike Richards and me, Gary Lineker. Nav, if you each had to pick any former and current player to take the deciding penalty for your team to win the biggest honours, etc., who would it be? Well, I haven't seen Cole Palmer at the weekend. I wouldn't be reluctant of going for him. I suppose if you go to the past, you'd

Might have to go for someone like Matt Letizia, who I think missed one penalty out of 48, 49, I think. Yeah, something like that, yeah. He had a similar attitude to Cole Palmer in terms of how relaxed he was and didn't seem that bothered, and obviously he was. That, I guess, is a great thing to have when you're under such huge pressure and taking a penalty. So yeah, Cole Palmer, yeah, Matt Letizia, definitely.

Even Tony for me. I'm going to go with Tony. He was cool. When he steps up, you just think he's going to score every time. Yeah, you just know he's going to score. Chris McCready.

It's an interesting question. Do you think that Sir Alex Ferguson could get the current Manchester United squad challenging for the Premier League or is the squad not good enough? Not with this current squad, no, because ultimately it's about players and it's about who the players that you bring in. It took Sir Alex quite a long time to get close to success at Manchester United. His first three seasons were fairly...

average and at one, I think one of the seasons, he only just avoided relegation. So in the current climate, he probably wouldn't have been given the time that he had back then, but then they got the recruitment right, which I'm sure he was heavily involved in. And therein lies the key because it's about players. Great managers can improve players and will improve players and get better results. And great managers will improve poor players and

But great managers can't turn average or not very good players into great players because it just can't happen. And you can't win things without really good players. Fair? Fair. Yeah, absolutely. He wouldn't be able to win the league with the current man United scored, no. I think he could challenge for top four though because I just think he had a certain aura about him. You know everyone's turning up on time. You know everyone's doing all the right things. He's the boss.

It took a lot of pressure away from the players at times. Now it feels like a lot of players are exposed and they're sort of on their own at times, not being protected. I think he was really good at that. I think he would have that team spirit. But yeah, I don't think he could win a league. Just challenge for top four. Adam Jones, do you think we'll ever see a Steve Bull type player where someone from League One gets called up to the England squad and

and actually gets minutes. Do you remember Steve Ball, Micah, a bit before your time? Before my time, yeah. Wolves, Wolves. Prolific goal scorer for Wolves. He was in the English squad that I was in. He was in the Italian 90 squad. Came on a couple of times in the competition.

Great lad, Bully. There was always this story that used to go around that Steve Ball punched me in training one day. It's one of those nonsense. I can categorically tell you that that was not the case. Always gone well with Bully. So I don't know where that story evolved, but it's nice to put it to bed. So I always get it, Wolves fans. Is it true that Steve Ball whacked you one day?

Well, righty did it as well, didn't he? Righty came from right at the very bottom, didn't he? Yeah, well, there's a lot of players come from there, but Steve Ball never played, did he, in the top flight? Oh.

So I think that's the difference. I believe that to be the case because he was at Wolves in a period when they weren't in the old first division. But he was a prolific goalie, really. He was, yeah. He could bang the goals in. Yeah. I think it's highly unlikely given the quality that we've got in the current England squad. Yeah, I'm not sure we'll see that again, no. No, I don't think we will, no. John, how

How many Manchester City Academy products are there currently in the top leagues who would have been useful to Pep if they were still at City given the current situation? He names Lavia and Palmer. Sancho. Probably the obvious one. Sancho as well. It's nice to see Jade and Sancho return in some sort of form, isn't it?

Oh, it's great, isn't it? From the difficult period at Manchester United. Obviously, he went back to Germany, didn't he? Back to Dortmund and had a really good season. I thought he was exceptional against Tottenham at the weekend, including a fabulous goal. Just shows you that, doesn't it? Confidence, a system.

A manager who believes in what you do, not just bought for big money and basically said, go out there and show us what you can do. And he's proven that. He's always a good player. It's just the only thing I found with Sancho at times when he was at Man United is...

He wasn't really taking anyone on, you know? He's always got really good feet. He can move the ball from side to side really well. He's good at them link-up one-touch, two-touch with them. At Man United, they just left him out on the wing to go and dribble past someone where... He actually watched him at Dortmund before that. It was more his link-up play, his football intelligence, what made him so good and his technique. So it looks like he's got that under Maresca at Chelsea. And yeah, it's good to see. Okay.

Pat, what has Maresca done that Potch or Potter...

couldn't do. Well, Potts was turning it round though, wasn't he? At the end of the season, he was turning it round. They finished sixth, didn't they? Yeah, they did. And it looked like there was going in the right direction. There was a fallout somewhere, wasn't there? I don't think it was down to his football or managing ability, should I say. I think it was just, there was so much going on at the time. It was very difficult, similar to what's happening at Man United, but it

I think Maresca's come in and just settled everything down. He came in, didn't he? And he made them bold decisions earlier on.

where he sort of alienated players and said there wasn't part of the squad, remember, with Sterling and Chalaba and Gallagher. He was just coming and just being bold, hasn't he? And then believing the players that he had, stuck with a system and it's working for him at the moment. I think it'll be difficult moving on. You've got that many players to pacify and keep all of those players happy. At the minute...

He's doing a really, really good job. And for his sake, I hope it continues. I think it will be more difficult if they go out with cup competitions, when players get to bigger games in terms of maybe cup finals or the big games, you know, trying to keep everyone happy. At the minute, he's doing a really good job in doing that. Well, I suppose in some ways, not quite to the extent of Chelsea, that Manchester City, and let's forget this season, but let's take the last...

six seasons. Pep's managed to do that, hasn't he? Because, you know, they have two really, really good players in pretty much every position. And he's managed to keep the ship on an even keel. But he's allowed big players to leave. If you don't, if you're not happy, you can go. And that has been the difference. You look at someone like Alvarez,

World Cup winner. He doesn't want to play second fiddle to Haaland, allowed him to go. Arguably should have probably kept Mahrez for another season or two with his quality. No, you can go. Cancelo was probably the best forward

full-back in world football when he allowed him to leave and everyone, you know, were questioning it. It goes on and still wins the league. So that's the difference with Pep. He makes the big decision and said, okay, I'm the boss. If you want to leave, you can go. And Alan's totally right in saying

when they come to a situation where, say they're just fighting for the Premier League and everything's going really, really well, you can sort of filter players through to European competitions, keep them out, they're still getting minutes and then they might come on and you can make six changes to a lesser team

But if you're going for the league and you're constantly on the bench, that's when the problems will arise. Okay. Which takes me on nicely actually to the next question from Haz. Do you think more of the wealthy clubs will follow the Chelsea system?

having a team for the Premier League and a team for the other competitions. They're not far off it now. Most of the teams almost do that anyway, don't they? But I think what's different here with Chelsea is that they're doing it in European competition, whereas you wouldn't normally see that. Now, I don't think for one minute he would do that if he was in the Champions League.

so I'm not sure that would stack up. A lot of the bigger clubs now are not far off that and I mean if they could put another 11 out if they wished because of the size of the squads and they need that but it

It's a bit different at Chelsea, haven't they? Because they've paid big door for a lot of players and they're on long, long contracts. We're going to finish this episode with, we've got three of those questions, ones with bench sell and all that stuff. Let me start with Matt Rawlinson. One for you, Micah. If Micah was manager and had to pick one of Gary or Alan in their prime...

to play up front in their primes Micah who would he pick alright so what are we talking are we talking domestic football or are we talking for the country we're just talking about being a player Micah it doesn't matter international or the league

Oh, my. What was your best season in terms of goals, Gaz? 40. Was it? For Everton. What was yours? 37. Oh, what's that? What about international goals, Al? LAUGHTER

Yeah, you know what? Let's do this. Present your case to me, both of you, please. You can start, Gary. I'm far too modest. I think Alan was a better player than me. There you go. In his dreams. My case, I don't know. I don't know. I did it, obviously, in another country. Okay.

for one of the biggest football clubs in the world. Did you used to play for Barcelona? You know, Barcelona or Blackburn, you make the decision. 48 goals for England against Allen's Poultry. What was it? 30, 31? 30, yeah. Oh, shit.

Poultry. But Al could shoot hard. Go on, give your case, Alan. Come on. 34, 34, 31. That's all I'm going to say to you, Mike. Three consecutive seasons. You make your pick. Premier League as well, wasn't it? Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Whereas World Cup golden boot winner, classic hat trick, four goals away in the Bernabeu against Spain. Be quiet. It's Alan's time, not yours. You had your time to present your case. I didn't realise he was just going to bring it down to three seasons. I didn't know. That's why. So I'm going to...

In your prime, you said. Come on, Micah, it's up to you. In the prime? Okay, let me think of it. If I've got a scenario, last minute of the game, and I need all sorts of different goals. So you was a movement player, Gaz, you know what I mean? Delicate, lovely finishing. I don't like the way this is leading. There's a butt coming. Butt! Butt!

But remember, remember who's your boss, Monica. Now that you mention that. But I have to say, Alan's all-around goals, whether it be headers, whether it be long ranges, whether it be penalties...

you know hang on a minute one second one second Micah that's it for this week's episode of the rest is to be continued goodbye from me forever I think the word you're looking for Micah is complete complete yes complete bellend

I'm going to move it on from this. I've got the gist, Mike. Okay, let's move to... Right, here's one. I just wanted to finish with these. We've got three more, briefly. Stephen Lucas. Keane versus Vieira. Who was better in your opinion? Oh, they were both giants, weren't they? They were similar in a way. I think Vieira was better technically, but I think Keane just had the edge on...

I don't know why. I don't know if it's my era. I don't know. I just always thought, oh, up against Keane today. You know, when I was an arse, when I was a porter, I was like, up against Keane today. I was nervous. So I would just say Keane edges it just for me. I don't know if it's leadership or it's the way he used to drag his teammates through games. That's what I remember when I was growing up anyway. I wouldn't argue against that, no. But don't...

remember the amazing runs that Vieira used to go on like his one touch and flare I know he was amazing they were both absolutely top top class players I might go Vieira or I might go Keane if I met him because Keane's girls were good but

Oh, it's too, too tough. Too tough. James, start, bench, sell. Listen to these three, by the way. Ronaldo, that's R9. Thierry Henry or Marco Van Basten? Oh, my word. They are three forwards there. Start R9.

Yeah, I would say that, yeah. Definitely the three. I think probably Van Basten as more of a nine. If we're going nines here, Thierry Henry's a bit more of a left side a little bit sometimes. But how can you put Thierry Henry at bottom of those? But then...

Do you know how good Van Basten was? I know, yeah, but it was before my time. Three bounders, I think. He was an unbelievable player, he was, yeah. All three of them. Definitely start R9. Definitely start R9. We can agree on that, yeah. Yeah, I think he's one of the greatest players ever.

Well, without his injuries, I think you'd be talking him in the same terms as the very, very, very best. Yes. So I would agree with that. And then between the other three, blimey. It's difficult, isn't it? I benched Thierry Henry because he's a little bit different and give you something else. And then what kind of idiot sells Marco Van Basten? But this one does. Only because of his knee injuries, wasn't it? His knee, wasn't it? He had really bad knees, didn't he? Ronaldo. Ronaldo.

The knees. Van Basten was the ankles. Was it ankle? I think it was ankle, yeah. Terrible injury. Yeah, he did, unfortunately. Final question from Haraldur Ingi. Who is a better passer, Beckham or Trent? I think I'd go Trent.

Would you? Yeah, I think just. Beckham is as good a crosser as I've ever seen, as is Trent. I just think Trent's range is a little bit, he can, like the outside of the foot things and the, with both feet as well, left foot, incredible. Yeah, Beckham could move it, ping it as well. I know. Oh, Beckham was, I mean, it,

I think he's actually, do you know what about David Beckham? I think he's actually slightly underrated as a footballer because he's been such a celebrity and his life obviously with, you know, with Victoria and they've become this kind of global superstar couple. I think sometimes you forget how good a player David Beckham was. Yeah. And I always remember because he emerged as,

after my career had finished and I used to get asked if there's one player you'd like to play with from the current game who would it be and I always said Beckham because his crossing I would have scored so many goals with David Beckham so it's a tough one because I would say Beckham just only because I played with him yeah I played with Becks and he was brilliant but I mean yeah Trent's amazing too I would say Beckham just and the reason why I say that is the

When you play midfield, you've got less time to make them passes. Where Trent, sometimes when he goes from the right back into midfield, he's almost sort of playing as a quarterback. Sometimes the passes Beckham would play under pressure were phenomenal. So I would just give it to Beckham, but both superb. Not much in it, but I might go Trent. I think just the all-round rage, the outside of the foot pass, the swerves. The one he did the other day, do you remember? Yeah.

And he sort of dropped. It's almost like it was going out and the ball just dropped into, was it Salah's path? I was like, this guy is ridiculous. I think they're the best two English passes I've seen in the game aside from probably Glenn Hoddle. Yeah, Glenn. I think maybe your top three. I'm bound to have forgotten someone, but those three were incredible. Kuzia! Is that it? Joliet! Aye, aye.

Oh, look who's come in. Look at the Man City ambassadors. Look at them.

It's a really good place, that area. Yeah, but we're just here for a great time, you know. How are you, Jolion? You well? Yeah, I'm good, thanks. You? I love your Bill and Ben hat as opposed to Micah's fedora. 30 degrees out there, I've got to keep the sun up my face. I feel for you, it must be really difficult. Well, have a good one, chaps, and safe travels home. That's it for this episode. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me.