The Preview Show: Latter stage Oasis
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Do you get that Friday feeling, everybody? Welcome to the Football Ramble preview show brought to you by LifeScore Bet. It's the Manchester derby this weekend and it's Friday 13th of December. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Luke Moore. And I'm Andy Brattle. MUSIC

It comes round quick, doesn't it? It does come round quick. It's Friday again. I felt like in the intro you said Friday freeling. Did you? And I didn't question it because I thought I quite like it. Yeah. I quite like it. What would be the difference between the feeling and the freeling? I'll show you afterwards. LAUGHTER

You can always rely on him to show you. I'm pleased to be back in the studio. I haven't been in the studio for ages. It's been a while for you. Yeah. But I tell you what, the man who deserves his Cadbury's milk tray is Andy Brassel. Yeah, absolutely. You were in France only this morning. Yeah, you've not been. Which means I should really enter with some milk tray for you. I was going to say, I'm a bit of an abseiling. Yeah, but to me, that advert was all to cock.

because I thought to myself, he should be the one that eats that. And Andy shouldn't be, you know, out sailing into women's bedrooms under the cloak of darkness either. Whether he's in Europe or not. You don't really want to put this in my mind as well because I got into a taxi last night to the Lyon Stadium and the driver went, you're English. He goes, you're French, you're French is good, but you do sound a bit like James Bond. Oh,

Which one? I, I, um, well, are you asking me? Which one would you want to sound like? There is a correct answer here, by the way. If it was you in the back of the cab, we wouldn't even be asking the question, would we? Andy's pure Lazenby. He's David Niven. Come on. He's David Niven's James Bond. Come on, who would you want to sound like? I don't think I've ever said this on the show before. Come on. You ****. LAUGHTER

Great start. The answer, of course, is Luke. Sean Collery. Incorrect. Pierce Brosnan. Roger Moore. There you go. Yeah, the big man, Roger Moore. I was going to say that when Andy and I were in France together, we were in Paris.

And he went out to the check-in desk to do the hotel because he can speak French, obviously, and I can't. And the guy behind the desk was similarly impressed that Andy was English and could speak French so well. It's only Andy and Boris Johnson that can do it. Once again, both named in the same sentence. Well, the similarities never end. I don't think so. I'm glad you said sentence there. When the very Parisian concierge learned that Andy, in fact, learned his French in Lyon, all the love dropped from his eyes.

And he was very perfunctory after that. He didn't want to know, did he? He did not want to know. I suppose not. Don't they both enjoy the joke in French at my expense, which is fair enough. There's plenty of material there. There is. And there was plenty of material from Rangers 1, Spurs 1 last night. A battle of Britain, if you will. They love it, don't they, the authorities? The tabloid authorities, they love it. Battle of Britain this, it's a battle of Britain that. It's TNS versus, you know, it's a battle of Britain. I enjoyed that Rangers banner, keep politics out of football. Yeah.

And there was also another one, make Rangers great again. They don't help themselves, do they, sometimes? Sometimes they don't. But what's annoying to me is the Battle of Britain was quite famously between the Allies...

and Nazi Germany. And I don't see why the England-Scotland thing becomes a battle of Britain. I get they're both British, but to me it feels like it's a barcelonisation of the actual battle of Britain, which was nothing to do with that. I thought you meant it should be the top two from the champions of Scotland and England. But you're right, you've gone much deeper. I blame Andy for that, quite simply. Yeah, I think that's a fair... We need to raise the consciousness.

better than that. We do. And of course the man at the centre of it, Ange Postacoglu, is not from this island, but he did return to Glasgow, a city he knows well. Did that...

Did that influence perhaps the raucousness of the crowd and the energy of the Rangers players? You could argue that. I mean, look, Ibrox is often pumpkin on a European evening, but it did fail that the volume was turned up to a notch. They were so up for it. It was incredible. The atmosphere was amazing. And you do tend to see that at Scottish venues generally on European nights. If I could be neutral for a second. Venues. Don't worry, it won't last. And, um,

They really took the game to Spurs and I think it was a combination of things. I think it was the fact that they were playing against an English team, of course. It's a fact that Poster Coghlu is one of Celtic's most loved sons. And it was the fact... Fraser Forster in goal as well. Yeah, and it was the fact that they smelt a bit of blood. Because Spurs are vulnerable. Yeah, they showed themselves to be vulnerable. In actual fact, you said the game ended 1-0 and at half-time it was 0-0.

I thought Spurs were very lucky to get nil. I thought they were actually really vulnerable, really poor. Rangers, not quite out of sight by halftime, but certainly could have had a healthy lead. And of course, they then did take the lead shortly after halftime. I thought Spurs were...

were actually very poor and it was a damning indictment of the kind of form they're in at the moment I'd agree with that well Postacoclu said after the game with regards to Timo Werner who subbed it half time that was a damning assessment that he gave of Timo Werner Timo Werner wasn't playing anywhere near the levels he can it's not acceptable to me I told him that he's a senior international all I would say is he wouldn't say that if he didn't rate him

I mean that's I guess the other way of looking at it I know what you mean by that I think it's frustration though isn't it the position that Spurs find themselves in under his tenure and Werner is capable I mean he's obviously a very capable player but he's also one of those players who's capable of looking like he's absolutely dreadful and it

And it shows badly when he plays badly. But I think the interesting thing with Werner, even when he looks like he's never going to score another goal again, he's always of use to the team. He's never really a passenger. So for Postacoli to come out and have a pop at him, I think it's actually quite interesting. And I agree, a sort of reflection of where Tottenham are at the moment. Because, you know, let's get this straight for starters. Rangers are straight fire in Europe. And they have been since the Steven Gerrard years. You know, they've consistently overachieved.

They've been super hard to play against, particularly at Ibrox, but also they've got some really good away results as well. I mean, they have been hammered a few times at Ibrox. I mean, you think of Liverpool 7-0 and was it Lyon this year? 4-1. Yeah, but Liverpool was a couple of years ago. You're talking about really good sides in this case because Lyon have got a really good team this season. And what you do is you go to Ibrox and what Spurs should have aimed to do is go to Ibrox, ride out that incredibly difficult first half hour. Totally. Then...

and then be able to impose your class. But they just never look like doing the second bit. But the thing is, you say the second bit, the first bit, this Spurs team, with the odd exception, are utterly incapable of doing that. Now, I know that they were without their two first-choice centre-backs yesterday, which is a part of it, but they have...

Sometimes you see more sympathetic Spurs fans to Posto Coglu's way of managing, saying things... And I know a lot of Spurs fans, and I go to Spurs a fair amount, as you guys know. You hear them saying things like, ''Yeah, but it's the way he wants them to play. ''He wants them to attack. ''He wants them to be open.''

it's just fucking bollocks. Like, you have to have a platform. And when you go... And Andy's right, completely spot on. You go to Ibrox, you know what it's going to be like. You know that actually, despite the fact that you're the team with the money, you play in the Premier League, you've got all these players, you are a better team than them, you have to put that to one side and say, first 20 minutes, we've got to kill this crowd. And if it just means we have to dominate possession...

and just take it easy, we'll do it. And we've got to snap into every tackle. We've got to want it. It's a cliched old Graham Sunez thing to say, but you have to do that. But it's a cliche for a reason. Exactly. And they weren't able to do that. And the reason they weren't able to do that is not even necessarily because they're intimidated by the atmosphere. It's because they're not capable of doing it.

and they've shown time and time again this season they are not capable of controlling games and that means you're only ever at the mercy you're like a windsock you're only ever at the mercy of what the other team wants to do and that was a huge problem for them nil-nil at half-time given the performance they should have snapped they would have snapped your hand off for that and on the Werner thing whilst I do generally agree with you about the fact that he's always an open game runner and he's

his sprints can be dangerous even when he's not scoring he puts chances on for other players as a wide forward

He didn't really do that last night. He was really hard. That's the point. If he's not doing the things that he can do in the absence of goals, then what is there for him? And I think, yes, Postacoglu says that because he thinks, well, Werner's had his critics before. This won't... Be new to him. Yeah, won't do anything like that. He's not going to say that about Mikey Moore, but the reason why he's not is because Werner is a Champions League winner, for crying out loud, and a senior international. So he should be...

stepping up whereas Spurs are you know few players injured they've got some youngsters playing in there and

in an intimidating atmosphere, you have to be thinking, right, look at this guy. He's one of the senior pros at this club and he's been in the game for a while. You've got to look to him. You've got to rely on him. You've got to do a bit more. I want to say a word for Fraser Forster, though, former Celtic keeper Fraser Forster. Yes. Because what you're saying there, Luke, is actually a big reason why Spurs managed to get something out of the game was because of him. Made some great saves. Really good. Yeah, he did. He was very good. And I think he also is a bit of a...

a leader of experience you saw him being very vocal shouting fucking wake up at one point to his players I don't think that's fair enough isn't it well I mean it seemed like the right thing to say you should not be sleeping in the middle of a game first and foremost that is unacceptable it is unacceptable I should be gutted about that on the Werner criticism I do think there's an element of that in the situation that they're currently in that it says a bit more about Posta Koglu and his position than perhaps Werner who

He's more than capable of turning out these performances. I thought it was weird that he...

The same way that sometimes I feel like this is a bit too broadsheet and a bit too kind of pseudo-intellectual when people say that teams are a reflection of their manager. Are you apologising already for having a thoughtful point? Well, listen, we wait to hear the point first. What a pre-emptive strike. You're beginning to sound like one of those experts, aren't you? Yeah, we've had enough of them. We've had enough of them. But my column, Michael Go's Spectator, is out on Monday.

No, it's that sometimes you feel like his teams can't control games and sometimes I feel like he can't control himself. And it comes across as quote-unquote refreshing and honest and great copy when it's going well. But I wonder whether that comment about Werner was the greatest thing to do. Yeah, I mean, I agree with you. And I have a lot of doubts about Ange Postacoglu at the moment and whether he is...

the coach for Spurs in the medium to long term. Having said that, I think it's really interesting reading a lot of people who cover Spurs a lot more closely than me defending him this week. It is clear that the way the wind's blowing, if Spurs were to get rid of him right now, it wouldn't be him that looks daft, it would be Daniel Levy that looks daft. He looks daft permanently. Which is a...

I think particularly at the moment, that is a problem. Where would you go, I guess, if you fired Poster Corp? Which is why I think that if they are to part ways, it will...

it will be at the earliest in the summer. Yeah. You said end of the season feels about right. But the reason why is I don't think Postercog's necessarily a bad manager. And I don't think that those who have recently come before Postercoglu have done a better job really, or anything like that. He's definitely done a lot of good for Tottenham. Yeah. And it's of a similar sort of level to certainly one or two of his predecessors, but Luke touches on something there. Um,

that his team can't control the game and when you play against Spurs you know you're always going to get chances and even if you're down a goal or two that you're still in the game and that is a problem and with that squad of players that shouldn't be the case when you're playing Spurs are you could make arguments that they're 5th, 6th, 7th best team in England whatever you want the majority of teams in the league are below them whether it's a slight majority not at the moment but indeed and there lies the problem Luke is that

As I say, when Fulham went there, you know, my team recently, you come away thinking, could have been more than a point. Spurs at home to Fulham. I know Fulham are a decent side. There's always a chance. There's always a chance. And this is the problem. And I just... With that group of players, they could be getting a bit more. And this argument of, oh, but it'll come good and it'll just...

I think we're not sure about that because actually the good bit seems to have happened when he first arrived and haven't really got back to that and it's very difficult to get back to that. That first bit was so good, wasn't it? It was. Both in terms of results and as importantly, really, just how it made the...

who go to watch Spurs in the stadium feel. Yeah. Yeah, I should also, I don't want to kind of ignore the fact that Rangers showed what they're capable of by playing with just a really high intensity. Yeah. They properly frightened Spurs. Yeah. Well, they come off that result where they won 4-1 at Nice, for goodness sakes. I mean, their results in Europe, I mean, they're looking on for finishing in the top eight. Well, they're currently eighth. Which should not be possible on their budget. It's really impressive. Yeah, well, they are currently eighth on goal difference. Spurs are ninth.

as well and Spurs themselves travel to Southampton at 7pm on Sunday funnily enough I could definitely see them losing that well this is the thing so you guys sorry Andy they're playing Southampton on Sunday I know and yet but you know you said you guys kind of not dismissively but were kind of pretty relaxed about the fact that you know yeah probably maybe they'll make a change at the end of the season

I agree with Andy. I think there's a chance here that they don't get a positive result against Southampton on Sunday night. And it becomes very difficult very quickly. What is this? And then the Man United Cup quarterfinal. It's a massive week for Spurs. They've had Liverpool after that as well. But Andy has said that Spurs... I mean, I said, I think if they part ways with Posto Guglielmo, it will be at the end of the season. Whereas Andy, actually, you said recently that it may happen...

sooner rather than later, if indeed it becomes...

obvious that you can't just throw away a season. Yeah, that's it, isn't it? And that is where they will be thinking, what do we do here? Especially this season. I mean, you touched on it, didn't you, when you said fifth, sixth or seventh. That's Champions League hopeful, really, isn't it? Yeah. But also, it's definitely very, very hopeful when you get to the point thinking that their next three league games are away to Southampton. We won't see what happens there. We've maybe been a bit speculative on that. But no, play Liverpool, who Liverpool are miles better than them.

and then they're away to Forest who had a really good start and they could find themselves in about 14th in going into Christmas I mean it's crazy it is well they are playing Southampton on Sunday evening and Southampton manager Russell Martin says the club's Premier League points tally so far this season is incredibly hurtful laughing

And embarrassing. Unbelievable. It's funny though, isn't it? Especially if you're a Portsmouth fan. I'm not embarrassed. You know, we were coming back. They're representing the South Coast here. Yeah, exactly. Me and my eldest son were coming back in the car from Harrogate away last Saturday. He loves it, doesn't he? He was looking on his phone and he's like, oh, Portsmouth Couch.

Portsmouth got a big win. He goes, Luke will be pleased. And I said, not as pleased as he will be about the Southampton result. That's not true. I only care about Portsmouth. I never think about Southampton, ever. I know why you've gone to Harrogate away, because it's a beautiful part of the world. He loves a spartan. He'd probably pick himself another...

and have a Montclair or two for the journey back. That's why. Both eyebrows raised there. Would have been welcome if it was Everton or Chile. I bet it was. Everton or Chile. Talking of Chile, Andy, last night Chelsea were away in Kazakhstan to face Astana. This was remarkable. 3-1 to Chelsea it was. I mean, look, you know I hate being drawn into sort of geopolitics and all that kind of stuff. They're basically playing in China. They're basically playing in China. Astana is not in Europe. No.

And nor is all of Kazakhstan. 200 miles away from the Chinese border they were playing. And 600 miles away from their home ground. Yeah. Which has been done up. I know that teams, and there's a few of them, you could start naming them, the likes of Azerbaijan and so on, where they want to play in UEFA competition. I understand that. What is the criteria? I mean, this is getting to sort of Australia into Eurovision stuff here. Yeah. But anyway, look, they've been... Japan in the Copa America. Well, that's an invite. So it doesn't... What do you think this is? Yeah.

This is not an invite. They're there. They are a UEFA nation. They're permanently invited. It's a permanent invite. They've got to sit on a council. They won't ever leave the party. No. Because they don't have to. They don't have to. They've moved in. Pedro Aneta said it was the coldest game he's ever played. That's because temperature during the game was at minus 14 degrees. Yeah. Wow. That is unbelievable. It was so cold that this starter keeper was wearing a hat. Yeah, I saw that. I've run a 5K. And an Arsene Wenger sleeper.

Sleeping bag suit. I've run a competitive 5k at minus 16 before. Bloody hell. And it was fucking awful. And I wasn't that prepared for it to the point where my wife's uncle saw me leaving the house in a pair of shorts and was like, you're not doing that. Listen, mate, you can't do that. I was like, yeah, but I'll warm up after I start. No, no, no. Come with me. And he made me wear a pair of tracksuit bottoms. The body can't do it. Yeah, all the players...

We're wearing tights and undergarments. This is the thing, because you don't have away games in Russia and Ukraine at the moment. There's almost a sort of...

you know, retro bit of UEFA football, wasn't it? But this was even colder than what it would normally be. I mean, games in December, of course. My goodness. Maresca made 10 changes for this game. A couple of the Conference League regulars, Joao Felix and Christopher and Kunku were arrested. Conference League regulars? It is. You're putting that on your Twitter bio, aren't you? Do they, I mean, did some of the players like Joao Felix go, look, I, I,

I've grown up in in in Iberia I've played all my football there like minus 14 inches isn't for me you've been signed but for 126 million euros

at one point. The fourth most expensive player of all time and you're a Europa League regular and you're labelled a prat. Absolute prat. Because it was so cold, it did feel a bit like when you're six and the school heating system is packed in and you're doing PE in your vest and pants. Why would you do it in vest and pants? You forgot your kit. Oh, never forget your kit. No, exactly. I think this was...

a remarkable occasion for many reasons, some of which you've covered. I would also like to, I mean, I don't spend a lot of my time praising Chelsea fans, but I will on this occasion. 500 of them. 500 of them going 7,000 miles round trip. This is wild. Took three flights to get there. It's absolutely crazy. And nearly 24 hours. It's crazy. And it's borderline insane. I tell you what, they're not in work this morning. No way. No way.

They're probably still at an airport somewhere. They might be at work on Monday. I wouldn't have thought by the sound of it. Flippin' heck. I mean, Andy, you think you're all grand coming back from Leon this morning. Look at these boys, eh? Have you been... Andy met Leon near a restaurant, by the way. Yeah, he was at the one at King's Cross Station. Was it also a 4G pitch? It looked like a 4G pitch.

No, it was under soil heating. Right, okay. Which is why... In which case, a very good quality pitch there. Yeah. Perhaps it's maybe part and part. A hybrid. It's a hybrid, exactly. But all pitches are hybrid these days, aren't they? Many. Maybe a bit more. But it's only like 5% or something as a hybrid of a lot of Premier League grounds, is it not? It's very low. I once did a series of columns...

lesser known things about football right and one of the Portsmouth about one of the they're not lesser known enough in my view one of them was about an interview with the groundsman at Arsenal about how the pitch is made oh yeah and it got spiked for being too boring laughing

Even for me, it was too boring. So I do know a little bit about it. It did feel like with some of the players that it's like, oh, you're not training hard enough, right? Get on that flight. Let's be honest. Those players didn't want to get on that flight. If you look at the sort of senior players, Neto is suspended at the weekend, which is why he... He was good, by the way. Yes, and he should be in this context. And Mark Geer was also very good. Yeah, he was. I think he's got something about him. Totally. He's a very, very crafty finisher.

I totally agree. You look at him and the way he plays, his goal, he wasn't actually given the second goal in the end, was he? But the first goal, I know he's probably not up against much given the relative resources, but it was a goal of great quality. This is super hard when you're not getting a chance in the Premier League. And it's like now, he's...

He's one of the senior ones in this context and yet he's still getting used to English football with very little frame of reference. I think he's just going to be a star in the future for sure. I agree. You have to turn up and you have to perform. And it's a good win because all this travelling and so on, they keep their 100% record, of course, in the competition. And...

It would be incredible if they don't win this trophy. Let's be honest. It is true, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Top of the table clash with Shamrock Rovers next. I can't wait for it. Rovers have done well, haven't they? Amazing. They have done very well. What do you think of Fiorentina at the moment? Because they're the other side.

other side. There would be the side, maybe them and Betis, if you wanted to get a big win last night as well. To me, when I look around this competition, you know, I think surely it's Chelsea because even their C team are strolling to victory. The only other two sides, I think, and obviously they're the bigger names of Fiorentina and Real Betis. How do you rate those two? Oh,

Betis have been poor haven't they Betis not highly I think the thing is as well you look at Fiorentina because you look at their context within this competition and the fact that they've reached the last two finals they are so much better this season than they have been for a very long time they're on an incredible run in Serie A they've won eight in a row

So draw permitting Chelsea for the Argentina final is that what we're saying? Marcus we really must move on and that's your job to say that but we really must but before we do you need to give a little mention to those magnificent Gorgie boys I think as well. Oh yeah. They're in the mix up mate. They'll be in the mix up don't worry about that. But we should say though that

with regards to the cold temperatures. We didn't see Cole Palmer doing his celebration there because I think that is a temperature which is too much. He's trying to trademark that shivery golf celebration. Good on him. That's the way of the world these days. Do you know what? More of that's happened than I realised. Do the Michael Buffer. Do the Michael Buffer. What's that? Michael Buffer has trademarked Let's Get Ready to Rumble. Yeah, that makes sense. And I think the astonishing figure involved, I think is, and we have to look it up to be sure, but I think it's something like it's earned him $400 million.

Wow. Gareth Bale tried to trademark the heart, didn't he? Did he manage to do it? I don't know. Because apparently Marcus Rashford with the pointing at the head celebration that he does, I think he trademarked that or he was certainly looking into it and killing it in a buffet. But it's only got any real value if commercial entities want to leverage it and use it. The reason Michael Buffer's got away with so much is because

it's been a trademark catchphrase that people want to use in a lot of other commercial things. That's why PJ and Duncan have changed the spelling of their song. Let's get ready to rumble because it infringed on Michael. So is it RH rumble? That's right. Oh, is that right? They had to do that. And that's why, um, we're the football ramble. Exactly. Um,

as opposed to... Don't come after Michael, your resources are massive. Yeah, exactly. Please don't get on that for crying out loud. And Alan Shearer, did he trademark his celebration? The one arm up? There was talk of it anyway, who cares? Trademark if you can, but maybe be a little bit more... Listen, be safe. Be trademarked. Be very safe. Absolutely right. Chelsea play Brentford 7pm on Sunday. I think that'll be a good one.

Although Brentford are away from home, so it should be a Chelsea win. Yeah, there we go. All right, coming up after this, Rasmus Hoyland and Ahmad Diallo have a little bit of a bust-up. See you in a moment.

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Moisey? OK, well, don't think we're that close.

Welcome back to the Football Ramble. Good old David Moyes, former Manchester United manager, of course. Yeah. Who could forget it? One of your more tenuous links, Marcus. Not that tenuous, is it? Famously Man United manager. Yeah, he is. Not famously good, though. True. Oh,

Oh, right, Andy. So we only remember the good times, do we? You've got to remember the bad times to appreciate the good times. Just ask Russell Martin. That's what he should have said rather than say he's embarrassed. There are no good times for him to remember at the moment. Victoria Poulsen won Manchester United 2. A big win for Manchester United in Chechia.

Or Czechia, should I say. Yes, you should. What a week Andre and Arnaz are having. Oh, man. That was brilliant, wasn't it? So funny. Brilliant. It's just so funny. It's a bit like if you go to the bar at Glastonbury and you come back with sort of 12 pints for your extended... 12 pints on a tray? Yeah. I mean, the reality is you're only ever going to make it back with eight. But the fact is, once you drop the first one, it's...

an absolute battle to keep the remaining ones in one piece. And I kind of feel that that's been an honor's week, really. Once one goes down, you're in trouble. To re-find your balance is very hard. It becomes precipitous because you start to overthink it. You start to try and adjust. Like, the way he ended the game against... Was it against Forest that they lost? Yes. Where he was mucking around with that free kick was farcical. Yes. And then this one to go a goal down to Victoria Paulson of Czechia, previously Czech Republic, but...

previously before that, Czechoslovakia. When they were involved with another country. Yeah, exactly. Was strange, like very strange. It's funny, there was a story this week about Altai, the second choice keeper, obviously looking for a move in January. Hang on a little bit, Monk. Because, well, yeah, but you would think, because the feeling is he's too good to just be the number two who never plays.

And if you're at this point and you're not playing in the Europa League, that would be your, yeah, I'm never going to play. Totally agree. And I think the whole point of getting in like a really decent quality second choice keeper is,

is that you have so many competitions to play in now and you do a lot of travelling and you should be playing. And if you didn't need him, if you did need him, he wouldn't be ready. Exactly. So I think that's more of a case of the situation may or may not have found themselves in with Ruben Amorim trying to work out what's what, who's good, who isn't, if we can keep it, we can't. And you can't really do that outside of a proper game environment.

So maybe he's a victim of that. But I totally agree with the principle. I thought that United did actually quite well to turn it around. They did, yeah. Because I think far too often at the moment, possibly because of the size of United as a club and because the narratives are so...

relentless people are assuming they're going to be good because Amarim's got a great reputation and because the ownership he's making the football decisions aren't the Glazers anymore and so it's automatically going to be good I mean that's not definitely going to be the case and at times last night they did not look good and so to turn it around and Hoyland who's found it difficult to score goals recently

to score a couple was helpful. The first goal, he didn't really know much about and almost did miss it. Yes. Which would have been absolutely terrible because it was basically an open goal. But besides that, I mean, Diallo, when you talk about Diallo before the break, Mark, Diallo's actually playing really well. He's the big winner of the Amarim period so far. I've been really impressed by him, yeah. Yeah, he's looked good. And they had a little bit of a...

A little bit of a falling out, it's fair to say, after the final whistle. A bit of a tete-a-tete, Andy, you might say. Yeah, I mean, apparently, according to Ruben Amarine, this is a good sign. It's perfect, is what he said. Yeah, that's right. Which means it couldn't be better in any way. So he wants them eventually to start knocking ten bells out of each other at the final whistle. Imagine that if you just saw a massive big pagger to use an Edinburgh...

That's excellent. Stramach, maybe. It would have to be more Glaswegian, but still, they all welcome these words. But yeah, the idea that you sort of need that because I think he said it means we're a family, doesn't it? I mean, presumably it didn't escalate because there wasn't a radiator on the pitch for one player to push the other's face up against it. Because that's the ultimate brotherhood. Leave your family politics. Yeah, that is. I think I always thought... We have...

a lot of this type of activity to talk about on this show when it comes to kind of training ground stuff. And I'm always of the opinion, you know, with the odd exception of a, of a Joey Barton here or a Craig Bellamy there, uh, or a John Hartson, should I say, I'm always of the opinion. They are massively overblown. You were talking about like, essentially with the odd exception, very successful, very young, uh,

very egotistical and very alpha males. Competitive. Yeah, competitive males who are rubbing up against each other every single day. In my view, it will happen 10 times more than it's even reported. Well, under Ferguson, they said that... Was it the Friday game or depending on which day they were playing, maybe Thursday, but certainly at the end of the week, they would have a game. Yeah, and it'd be super competitive. They were like...

the players of that era were saying and obviously there's a bit of a slight on the other teams in the league but you I think give them a bit of grace on it they were saying it's harder than playing another team sometimes thinking about Samson again aren't you laughing

not Marion Pahars in Southampton who of course won there done well against them but yeah you're right with all this kind of stuff and I get what Amarim said and I thought he handled that very very well indeed it wasn't much of a bust up one it was very kind of mild it was enough for us to mention it I enjoyed it but Hoyland though two goals

Does his confidence in the world look good? The second one took beautifully as well. It was a really lovely move, yeah. Speaking of the goals in this game, nice to see old Vidra's name pop up. Oh, Matty Vidra, yeah. Potso Watford royalty. Yeah. That's why those kind of European competitions are fun, right? Yeah. It's like when you occasionally catch a Turkish game. Like, oh yeah, all these players I've forgotten about. I love the way you say it, occasionally. Because I'm friends with you, that's why. Oh, Matty Vidra and Mikel Forsell are interchangeable to me. Hmm.

I know what you mean. Okay. I know what you mean, yeah. From memory, you once fell foul of a big Jackson encyclopedia error with a foresail error, didn't you? Yeah, or a loop skate, whichever one it was. Because when you were saying, oh, of Watford, and I nearly went, chat, and yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's right. Man United seventh in the group.

They face Rangers next, which will be another battle of the United Kingdom. Yeah, exactly, yeah. Of course, the Europa League resumes in late January, so fans of it will have to wait. Non-fans of it will be celebrating. But we've got a big one this Sunday at 4.30. Manchester City host Manchester United. Which voucher will be the stronger one here? I think the vouchers might cancel each other out. LAUGHTER

Is there a Man United voucher at the moment? Most vouchers cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Do you remember that? So you have to probably cancel them out. Have they expired by now? They could have done. They could have done. We will find out. Manchester United haven't won at the Etihad since 2021.

But of course, Andy, the FA Cup final belonged to Eric Ten Hag and his Manchester United men. But I cannot wait to see how United perform in this. Simply because the scrutiny on Amarim has been ultra intense so far. And for the first time... Dan Ashworth's helped him out a bit. But for the first time, and on his team, in every game, and for the first time it won't be...

because people aren't looking to see how United do in this because, you know, everything that Amarim has said has sort of come to pass really in that he said, look, it's going to be uneven. There are going to be some ugly bits. I mean, you might argue if you're being uncharitable that this was a Portuguese way of Harry Redknapp turning up and say, look at all the old shit that the previous managers left me. But he was on the radio the other day having a pop at Spurs.

What, Redknapp or Amarim? No, Redknapp. They've never had it so good, have they? Yeah. But I think it's fascinating to think that Amarim will be

at his leisure to have nothing expected of him even though City are in this terrible run that's still not that much expected of United he will be able to try a few things knowing that all the pressure is on the greatest manager of his generation what an unusual what an enjoyable situation for him definitely Guardiola insisted he was so proud of his players after the loss to Juventus is he talking bollocks Luke?

You know, he's got to say something, hasn't he? And I don't think it's necessarily the worst tactic in the world to try and protect your player's confidence, which is obviously failing at the moment. Give them a rocket. Imagine if he gave them a rocket. Because we've not really seen that. He doesn't do that. I think it would be...

all encompassing he needs to roll it back to the Barcelona years signs Zlatan for a month yeah see what happens we'll get Mourinho back in the league give him the rub down I think I think it's very difficult to know what Guardiola should be doing because he's obviously found it's very difficult to arrest what's happening and

And what Andy says about Man Utd and Amrim and them not being the centre of attention necessarily, particularly away from home on Sunday, is true. But I also think it's a great opportunity for City, right? Because they've got a good record against United at FA Cup finalist side. And what better way to get back on the horse than to beat your rivals and show that actually rumours of their decline have been grossly exaggerated. I still think if you...

I still think if you put the teams in front of each other, you'd prefer to be at Averman City's team than Man Utd's. Oh, definitely. But I also think in the Premier League, and we kind of saw it, not even just in the Premier League, on top football generally, and we saw it with Spurs last night. You're not intense and you don't really go for it and you don't, and you don't,

fiercely fight for things it doesn't really matter and the problem I have with Man City at the moment is not just they're going for a bit of a blip like I said it was a week or two ago is that they just seem to be going for an emotion they seem to be a team when I saw them they don't seem to have that intensity in them at the moment do they? against Juventus they look like a team doing an impression of Man City and there was one moment where De Bruyne played an amazing ball through slide rule pass inch perfect for Haaland who tried to dink it and it was saved

and it was like a little glimpse. It was almost a little glimpse of a great band that you used to like still...

putting a chorus together. Do you know what I mean? And they need to arrest that really, really quickly. Are they latter stage Oasis? Oh God, that's amazing. That's a question for you. I'm not a fan. I think that... Oh, they beat the eye already. Oh, it's worse than I thought. It's like when Oasis came up with Lila. It's a great song. It's a brilliant song. That's my point. No, I know, because this is a downward trajectory, whereas Oasis, you know... It's still not... The best is yet to come, isn't it? Indeed. They've still got that album in them, but I think with Man City...

I think I'm a bit disappointed in you guys because I seem to be the only person in this parish that's saying it's gone. It's done. That's fair enough. And you boys were saying that... And when I say it's done, I don't think they're going to get relegated. I'm saying to get back to what they were. It was a bit like... I've made the comparison many times. Klopp's Liverpool.

Yes, in his final season, they were in a title race and they won the League Cup. I understand that. They never got back to regular, semi-regular Champions League finals, regularly finishing 90 points plus in the Premier League or whatever it was. You know, it was such an incredible level. It pushed Guardiola's Man City that high. And this season with Manchester City, I just feel that...

maybe Guardiola and Co will think, ah, should I have left in the summer? Can I get you to clarify that? So are you saying the bottom's fallen out of this season or the bottom's fallen out of the Guardiola-Manchester City project generally? I think... That's what I don't have clear, really. Right. So I think if you look at his time at Barcelona, his final season...

Where he just looked cooked. Yes, that's what I think this is. They still won the Copa del Rey that season, I believe. Yeah, they did. Against a team that was even more cooked. Yeah, right. The Alps is athletic. Indeed. Yeah, Hammond have been the final. They've got great players. They've got one of the best managers in the world. They'll be able to put in the odd performance here and there, at least. They'll be able to show these flashes, as you say, Luke, because of what they have.

But to me, we have enough of a sample size now with regards to this season and what they're doing to suggest that it's not going to suddenly click and they're going to do what they normally do in January and go on a run and win 15 games in a row or something. I guess the thing is, it feels like they won't do that without changing the personnel. But this has happened before the January transfer window is a definite plus. Now, if you look at the stories...

circulating at the moment that they're going to go and try and sign not just Martin Zubermendi who would make perfect sense obviously because he literally replaced Rodri in the Euro final and Bruno Guimaraes I mean it feels like that they haven't spent a wild amount recently for them to go especially as he just signed a new contract

and back Guardiola big in January, I think that makes it really interesting. They have to back him because they've just given him a contract. And if you're going to back anyone in world football, you'd back him. But there is an element, you said you're disappointed that we don't agree with you on it. I totally can see there's an element that it could be that he needs a reset. You know, we know that he, in the past, Guardiola has only signed rolling contracts from year to year. We know he's had to take time out in the past. We know that he gets burnt out. We know the intensity of the character he is. So it's definitely a chance of that.

But I think that they could easily, when I say turn it around, they could easily be good enough to push up into second, third, fourth. I don't necessarily think they're going to win the title this season, but I think they could push up there. And the reason why I think that is because...

This isn't the first time they've struggled slightly in the first half of the season. It's worse. It's definitely worse. It's different though. Fine, but the evidence tells us the last three seasons, their record in the second half of the Premier League has been not just good, remarkably good. You're right to say that, but I just think this feels different. And when you say they could finish second, third, fourth, yeah, they might.

But my point is to get back to that feeling, to get back to that we are the best team in Europe. We are the team to beat. We will dominate everybody. I think that has gone. I think they'll beat Man Utd this weekend. And so they should.

Do you know what I mean? They can't win then, can they? No, no, no. But I've just said. Your point was, yeah, but I think they can still have a good showing. That's what Klopp's Liverpool did when they've managed to finish in the top four. Manchester City... But that's a very different situation. Yeah, and that also doesn't make the whole thing cooked. You've won four in a row. They lose the intensity in the fifth one because it's impossible to do five. And they come third. That doesn't mean it's over, does it? The other thing, without Klopp's last season at Liverpool and setting the base that he has, they wouldn't be having the season they're having at the moment. Of course. But I...

So the comparisons, as I say, there's only slight comparisons. I think people are misunderstanding me here. When I say he's cooked and all the rest of it, I'm saying...

being that dominant force. You know, when empires decline, it doesn't mean that the nation at the centre of them disappears off the face of the planet. You know, I'm saying that the Manchester City that we've known in the last handful of years, I think that that is gone. But they are still a very good football team that can still achieve some things. But the idea of them being considered the top side in Europe, even the top side in England this season, I think that, certainly for this season, is gone. And while Guardiola is there, I'm not sure.

And Fabio Capello, he seems to kind of back me in that he says, Guardiola's a great coach, but he's far too arrogant. I wouldn't go that far. That's like me saying someone else is too loud. Fabio Capello is historically one of the most arrogant men in the history of football. Looks great in speedos, though. So he would know. He said he's even lost trophies because he wanted to prove that he was the one winning and not the player. So he's dropped key figures from his side in the big games. He's still harking back to that Chelsea Champions League final, isn't he?

I also love, you know, people when they get into a certain age where they get into the era where they don't care what they say. Because obviously... It is quite pub-bore end of the market, isn't it? Capello is one of the greatest names in European football. He's approaching 80 now, so he's got to that stage where he doesn't give a shit about what he says. What about Richarlison? He's not that... Oh, that's one of the quotes of the season. You know, he commented on an Instagram post detailing the man said he'd lost to Juventus saying, the curse of the Lord falls on the house of the thief. Shit is going down.

I love that. He kind of goes quite theological and quite lofty and then puts shit is going down. He's going to get a ban or something, probably. Yeah, I love that. The house of the thief. When Juve are playing Man City, I don't know. Exactly. I'll let you. They've both got their own houses. I'm going to leave that there. Anyway, it's time for the Football Rumble Bet Builder brought to you in partnership with Live Score Bet.

This season, you could experience total betting for yourself with LiveScore. Bet is everything you love about LiveScore, like the latest scores and cutting-edge stats, alongside great odds, offers, free-to-play games, and a slick bet builder. Everything is in one place. Now, every preview show throughout the season, we are placing a charity bet builder on the Saturday lunchtime kick-off with all proceeds going to charity. We've won two of them already, so we're hoping for more to come. There is no 12.30 game this weekend, though, so we're going to do Sunday's Manchester Derby, the aforementioned...

Marcus, you're up first with your pick.

With the leaky defences that will be on show, I've got to go both teams to score. Both teams to score. They've got it in them. And we know nowadays that Manchester City can be got at. Manchester United have been got at regularly over the last few seasons. Both teams to score. Manchester City have conceded so many chances these days. And both teams have scored in four of their last five Premier League games against each other. So it makes sense. Andy, are you saying desperate defending?

because I'm saying last ditch tackles and cards, cards, cards, cards, cards. Over 4.5 cards is what I'm going to say. Now, both of these teams average over two cards a game going into this. So it feels pretty plausible to me. And there'll be more at stake in this game. Of course. So that makes sense. So over 4.5 cards for Andy. So five cards or more.

for our sins and despite our better judgment we chose Peter to do the third pick of four and here's what he had to say I'm going to go for the milk fed farm boy that is Mr. Erling Harland score any time in this match I think Ruben Amirim is adjusting to a brand new system so I think they'll probably have a half chance or two in this match and also he needs to pull further ahead on the Premier League scoring tables in front of Cole Palmer and obviously Mo Salah who are in incredible form both of them so yeah

Erling Haaland to score at any point during this match. Nice one, Peter. Yeah, but not as dramatic as I was perhaps expecting. He did it like a BBC foreign correspondent. He did actually, yeah. He sounded like he was in his bathroom as well. So there we go. So Erling Haaland to score at any time. My pick is Man City to win. Oh. I said it earlier in the discussion. I believe they will win. I know they've only won one of their last five Premier League games.

but they have beaten Man Utd in four of their last five in the Premier League. Man Utd actually haven't been that good under Ambrim, as I keep saying. There's reasons for that. I'm not criticising him, but I think it was always going to be tricky for him. And I just think that the thing that's been missing from City...

is that intensity and that confidence. And if you can't do it against your big rivals in a game at home where the fans will be up for it and all the rest of it, you're probably never going to do it. So I think it's a bit of a high risk pick for me, but I think they will win. I think they're better than Man Utd still. So in summary, both teams to score over 4.5 cards, Erling Haan to score at any time and Man City to win a £10 stake with live score bet returns £80.

Thanks to LiveScoreBet, boosting the odds from 5-1 to 7-1. And if we win all that money, we'll be donating it to Prostate Cancer UK. Head over to the LiveScoreBet app to get involved and you can take advantage of that boost by going to the bets marked up as Football Ramble Boosts in the app. So look for Football Ramble Boosts to join us. Odds are subject to change. Teas and teas apply at 18+. Please bet responsibly. For more information on responsible gambling, head to gamblerware.org. All right, coming up after this, it's the M23 Derby.

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That's right, Brighton host Crystal Palace on Sunday at 2pm. A big one, Andy. This is always a big one between these two. What are you feeling, Andy, on this fabulous Friday about this match? I think Brighton are going to come out and give it both barrels because of...

Because of the way that they let that game at Leicester slip last week. And someone's got to pick up the pieces on the south coast, haven't they? And represent that part of the country. Yeah, exactly. That's exactly right. It was funny. I don't feel we've really seen...

Fabian Hurtzler angry yet, but he felt, you know, that parental zone where you go, where your parents go to you, I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. There was a strong sense of that after that Leicester game, which, you know, they had enough chances to win twice, really, and they were so much better than Leicester for most of that and just completely took their eye off the ball in the closing stages. With that said, we were talking about how competitive you want a derby to be. Remove it from the derby context and

And there's something a bit more about Palace. You know, they haven't exactly surged away from the bottom of the table. They've definitely improved though. But they have improved a lot, certainly. And when you think of the hole they dug themselves at the start of the season, it's impressive. You're right. And going back to Brighton, you look at the Premier League table, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City, Forest, Villa and then Brighton.

Brighton have 24 points. Incredibly, as did Bournemouth as well. Another South Coast side doing good things. But Brighton are looking up the table, no doubt about that. They're a point behind Villa and Forest. I mean, if they hadn't been so poor in the last few games, giving up points and all that, they'd be right up there because they haven't won in the last three. And that's the thing with Herzl. And as Andy says, we might see him get rather irritated because...

Looking around, I think the top three, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, you'd be surprised certainly if Liverpool and Arsenal fall out of that top three. And the way Chelsea are going, they look like they could be sticking around. Man City, jury's still out on them, but you'd expect them to be fourth, fifth, you know, around there perhaps as time goes on. It's Forest, can they keep it up?

And Aston Villa have had a bit of a sticky patch. But Villa, again, would be still hoping to finish in the top four this season.

there's a chance for Brighton here to do something really special I know they've had European competition in recent seasons but my goodness last season well indeed that's what checked them so the season before that they finished 6th yeah but I'm just look at Villa when they finished 4th it was a huge effort but they did it and look at the way they've been in the Champions League this season it's been remarkable now Villa are a bigger club than Brighton and in Emery they've got a very good manager who knows his way around the game a little bit more than Herzl does but

But that is the frustration for a side like Brighton. These little inconsistencies. And of course, that's what separates those who do and those who don't. And if they can just tighten up, come the end of the season, they really could be on for something special. In that season, they finished sixth. They won 18 games. And the thing that actually let them down finishing even higher was they couldn't turn a few of those losses. They'd lost 12. And six draws this season. It's those draws. Yeah, and...

Villa came fourth last season with 68 points which isn't

It's not massive. I don't feel like it's beyond them. Yeah. But obviously it depends what the other teams do. I think Brighton deserve an immense amount of credit for the way they've been able to continually replace managers and not drop off their level. 100%. There's little differences here and there, but ultimately they've been so consistent. And Crystal Palace's record, last season Brighton hammered Palace at home. They beat them 4-1. But on Brighton though, they sit 7th, as I say. They're three points off 4th.

I don't think people really bat an eyelid at that nowadays, which shows you the immense amount of work and effort and...

brilliant execution that's gone down there. I totally agree. It's amazing. And when you think about, I know they've got an infrastructure that works and all that sort of stuff. And as Luke says, you can see that with the way that they've been able to replace coaches so effectively. But I think you can underrate what they do, as you say, because they are a prime candidate to be the sort of club who get promoted, have a little bit of success, maybe a European title,

campaign and then just gradually fade away and end up back in the championship that is not them they are not a side that will end up treading water in the Premier League when you look at the size of them that's amazing because you could easily be Palace who are never going down but they're not qualifying for Europe either you know in that sort of weird Premier League netherworld and Swansea got stuck in that for a bit and then obviously went back down to the championship and now on far reduced means and

It feels that their planning is so good. They can continue to grow, not at a wild level, not at a we're going to qualify for the Champions League or going to win the title sort of level, but the fact that they are able to just keep going and get incrementally better and

as the years go by it's really really impressive it doesn't feel like they're going to get stuck in that sort of boring Premier League netherworld any time soon and you know what I think Hurtzler is going to go all the way to the top he's got so much about him as a coach obviously he did a brilliant job getting St. Pauli to win the league last season if you want to in the seconds here if you want to good to clarify yeah that is particularly sickening for Harry Kane wouldn't

Of all the teams that can knock you off the top. Actually, we went to St. Pauli and did a film there recently, which you can see on the OTC YouTube channel as well. See how I manufactured that link? Nice link. But I think with Herzlert, the thing that's so impressive is the point at which he picked Brighton up. As Luke was saying, they were burnt a little bit by it there.

the European campaign but they were really quite dreadful in the bottom third of last season and it would be easy for that to turn into negative momentum and for Herzl to shake them out of that I know he's got good support from a good club and a good infrastructure the way he's infused that team with personality and especially when you think of what's happened to

Evan Ferguson, how he sort of drifted and they would expect him to be an absolute superstar by now. I mean, look, Danny Welbeck's been brilliant this season. He's been fantastic. But they were not at a point where a season ago they expected that Welbeck would be regularly leading the line for them. I mean, they are...

like a superstar striker away from, I know a lot of teams could say this, but they genuinely are a superstar striker away from being brushing fifth, sixth, definitely. Absolutely right. You said that he's added a bit of personality into the team. I think you're absolutely right. It seems that if reports are to be believed that they might want even more personality in the side because they have been linked with Cruz Azul keeper, Kevin Meyer, the Colombian. If anybody has seen a video of Meyer,

playing football. It's René Higuita stuff. He makes Higuita look like Brad Friedel. I mean, it's incredible. He's basically joining the defence. He is playing like this proper sweeper-keeper stuff. Yeah, a lot of tactics. But to the point of it's like, oh, they've got that extra man. It's Manuel Neuer, defensive midfielder. Mate, it's incredible. A lot of tactical nerds think that that's the next iteration of what's going to happen to a goalkeeper. Get him in the Prem. Yeah, he's very young still, isn't he? 24. Yeah.

Okay, right. Yeah, not capped for Colombia yet. Could that be the next big FIFA change or the next big IFAB change? Goalkeepers can't use their hands. What I was actually going to say. Just in their own half. What I was actually going to say. That's Arsene Wenger. I was going to say that part of the reason Herzl and May get annoyed is because his team find it very difficult not to concede goals. They haven't had many clean sheets this season. They've conceded more goals season on season since they've been in the Premier League. Lewis Dunne looks permanently annoyed.

Yeah, and so I think that that's something they absolutely need to address. So yeah, so why not sign a keeper then play him in midfield? I don't fucking know. You know, so Crystal Pirates have shown signs as well. They've improved a decent amount. Like I said, they didn't play very well against Brighton in this fixture last season. They haven't had a huge amount of joy against Brighton in the last few years. I think it's three years or so since they've beaten them. Yeah.

So, you know, it's a Sunday treat for us all. In fact, Sunday's football this week, this weekend, is a really great Sunday. It's genuinely a super Sunday because it's Brighton v Palace, as we've said. It's Man City versus Man United. And then it's Spurs' banana skin for a Sunday night treat. So it should be good.

Chelsea Brentford as well. You can't argue with that, can you? Yeah. Well, we have to wait for Super Sunday, but I think you'll all agree it's a fabulous Friday because we've got Luke versus Brassel. Dean Smith also says we're an encyclopedia of football. A what? An encyclopedia of football.

I don't know what that means. Of course he doesn't, but we do, everybody. Welcome to Jack's Encyclopedia, a simple game of categories. As you know, if you go too slow when trying to think of an answer, Gary Neville will spunkin'. Whose idea was it for you to host because you were embarrassed by Andy last week? Andy hammered me last week. This is like being made to play away at Astana, basically, isn't it? Yeah, I thought you might like a little run-up at it.

I thought you'd like another run-up at it. I think when your mind fails and you can't name a single referee in the Premier League, you have to take your medicine. You've got to take your medicine, Luke. It's an official suspension. You're smiling now, but you don't know what you're up against, do you? Exactly. Raining champion. I just thought, Andy, if you mess with the bull, you get the horn. And you're playing Luke Moore today. And I think I'm just happy to be here, quite frankly. I want this so fucking bad. I want this so bad. After my performance last week, I thought I was going to get a studio ban.

And I thought, if you're only listening to this, not watching it on YouTube, A, you're missing out, and B, Luke is actually clenching his fists. When you do something like you did last week to someone like Marcus Speller, that's personal for me. Do you know what? But right now, I feel like Stanley Tuchis. Probably like Michael Jordan with the iPad. LAUGHTER

I feel a bit like Stanley Tucci's character in Hunger Games. Oh, yeah. Have you not? No. Oh, he's brilliant, isn't he? And very much my type of role. Okay, right. But you two, yes. Who's going first? It's got to be me going first. It's not as violent as Hunger Games, this, but... We'll see. You know, there's a first for everything. Yeah. So, yeah, Simple Game of Categories, as you know. I think...

after last week's performance Andy and those comments you reportedly said about me behind my back Luke is going to go first and this is a nice one let him butter you up no the host gets a lot of leeway in this game yeah the host can decide whether they accept the answers or not they can choose who goes first it's a very important role indeed indeed take your tongue out of his arse come on

You've already called me a see you next Tuesday on the show today. Yeah, or Thursday. Andy, we don't need that kind of smut, quite frankly. That's beneath you, that. It is beneath you. Right, this is a lovely one. The category is Newcastle United's top 20 transfer sales as per TransferMacht.

He lives in Newcastle. It's not fair. Yeah, but does he spend a lot of time on Transfermarkt? Yes. So I'm looking for the 20 players that have been sold by Newcastle for the highest transfer fee. I'm going first. Luke Moore, over to you. Alexander Mitrovic. Of course. Love that. I love that that you went for Mitrovic first. Man after my own heart. This is quite retro. Andy Cole?

Andy Cole. Can't be high enough fee, surely. Andy Brassel. It's 1-0 to more. It's a terrible... That's great, because I had nothing other than Andy Carroll. Yeah. Sam Maximan, Andros Townsend, Osy Perez, Chris Wood, Dietmar Hamann, Elliot Anderson, Florian Tolvin, Gigi Muenaldem, James Milner, Jermaine Pennant, Woodgate Dyer, Debussy... Minta as well. Marino, yeah, Sissoko, Martins, Minte and Kabay. Andy Cole is 22nd. Oh!

Oh, it's too long ago for the fee. Yeah, I think that's it. The problem is you try looking at Marcus and not thinking of Kevin Keegan on the steps of St. James' Park. It's true. I'm delighted with that. I've only had to do one guess. And Mitrovic again gets the win. Andy Carroll must have been in there, right? Andy Carroll, yeah, absolutely. Okay, Brassel, you need this. You really, really do.

But this is one of those ones where you think, oh, this is a tricky one, this. Every Premier League player with five or more yellow cards this season. Oh, come on. What do you mean, come on? Right, Brassel, OK? I'd love you to get us underway now. And this is tricky. To be fair, Andy, this is really tough. I think this is, it's guessable, but it's tricky. Andy's blank. Andy could be going home with nothing here. Mateo Kovacic. Mateo Kovacic.

Chance for Luke. I think I've got a couple. Go on then. I am pretty sure... It could be a very, very straightforward victory this for Luke. Yeah, you know what I mean? I'm pretty sure... I've got three down here. Which one shall I go for? I mean, Kovacic obviously... Out of respect for you, Marcus, the host who I love, I'm going to go for Fulham's Calvin Bassi. Oh, no! Yes! Yes!

Well played, Seth. He's absolutely hatless and I love it. It's meridio, Jeff. So the other one I had, do you want the other ones I had? Go on. Alexis McAllister? Yeah, yeah, that would have been a correct answer. And the guy, Fecundo Buonannotte, who plays for Leicester, he's always booked as well. Uh,

Fortuna Poonanotte was a correct answer as well. Just a few. Antoine Semenyo. Oh, yeah. Yeah, just a few. Dan Byrne, Emerson, Israel Gomez, Kobi Mainu, Lissandra Martinez, Marco Correa, Pedro Neto, Ron Christie, Sassou Lukic from Fulham as well, Taylor Bellis, Tyler Dibling, Fafana Q, and there's others there. Kovacic has three. Andy, I'm disappointed in you, mate. Well,

Well, no. You see, I'm a team player and I thought the show was running a bit long. Oh, fair enough. So, appreciate it. Yeah, I'll take the win. I don't feel like I've really been in a fight yet. I've had some epic battles with Speller. You're like John Terry at the European Cup final. Not a bit of dirt on you. No, I've actually played though. I've actually played. Do you want to go another few rounds then? Yeah. I'm getting...

producer Rory's looking at me going, no. That's because they're running out of quiz questions. This will be like Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park. They literally pulled the plug. There we are. Good win for Luke Moore then. Luke Nation. It's a lovely thing. Do you know what? I think that that feels like you thought you had something big at work. You've done it early and then you can relax and enjoy the rest of your Friday. But you must be disappointed with that performance after a very play against you last week. I'm quite pleased, I think.

That's taken the heat off me. Thank you very much for listening to the Football Ramble, part of the Acast Creator Network. We're back tomorrow for the mailbag. Yes, us three beauties will be in your ear for that one. So do get on that mailbag. May I say it's been fantastic of late. It's always good, but my goodness. Oh, we're going to do follow-ups to the 3pm Blackout. We are. A lot of follow-ups on that. So do get your ears around that lot. And do follow us on XBlueSky, TikTok and Instagram at FootballRamble. Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. The keys are in the lock.

the gate to the weekend has been flung open. Don't stop to party! Yeah, yeah, yeah! On the plane this morning, I had a completely bold man wearing shade sat next to me. Nice. And that is how you do it, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Luke Mole. Thank you. Thank you, Andy Brassel. And once again, will the thanks never stop for the man. Thank you, Pitbull. The Football Ramble is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creative Network.

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