Are you not entertained?
53:23 Share

The Acura ZDX is more than just 100% electric. It's 100% Acura energy. With nearly 500 horsepower and an impressive range rating, the ZDX Type S delivers 100% excitement and brings unprecedented performance to the Type S family.

And it's 100% loaded with innovative features like an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium sound system, available hands-free cruise, and Google built-in. Test drive the Acura ZDX and unlock electrified performance today.

This episode is supported by Merrill. With a dedicated Merrill advisor, you get a personalized plan for your financial goals. And when plans change, Merrill's with you every step of the way. Go to ml.com slash bullish to learn more. Merrill, a Bank of America company. What would you like the power to do? Investing involves risk. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated Registered Broker Dealer. Registered Investment Advisor. Member SIPC.

As you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM this season. We'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks, and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC, and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works.

Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code THEATHLETIC. Make your first deposit of at least $10, place your first bet on any game, and claim your voucher for a one-year subscription to The Athletic. See BetMGM.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C., Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Available in the U.S., call 877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY 467-369 in New York. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 in Massachusetts, or text HOPE-NY 467-369 in New York.

1-800-BETS-OFF in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1-800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager. The Athletic.

Hello everybody and welcome once again to The View from the Lane, the multi-award winning Tottenham Hotspur podcast from The Athletic. Joining me, your host Danny Kelly, are The Athletic's James Moore and back again now. A bit like Sergio Reguilón these days, turning up out of nowhere, Charlie Eccleshare is with us. Hi Charlie, hello James. Hi Danny, I was going more Jed Spence but yeah, Reguilón's maybe fairer.

In the way that Friends used to have those fantastic titles for episodes, this is the Are You Not Entertained episode after another astonishing night of football at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And since, Charlie, with your marathon running, your tennis knowledge, and your speaking of ancient Greek fluently, I'm going to assume you've also got some kind of minor degree in psychology. Asking for a friend, Charlie...

What should a person, let's call him Donnie for the sake of argument, who's a longtime Spurs fan say,

and is now teetering weekly on a tightrope between absolute delight that they have their free-flowing, goal-scoring, forward-looking, front-foot Spurs back, and absolute despair at some of the antics never tried before in professional football. What should Donny be doing? How should he be feeling this morning? Even I, as not a supporter, found it like a weirdly...

almost uncomfortable watch at times. It was like, you couldn't help but feel like viscerally for Fraser Forster. It was...

I mean, it was kind of crazy. I don't know. I mean, I don't know what coping mechanisms you can have for that sort of thing, Danny. I felt something for him, but it was near murderous rage. Yeah, yeah. I guess that's the difference between a fan and a non-fan. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know how you kind of manage these emotional swings. You know, I guess any fan, one tries to manage their expectations in the hope that that might help things, but that doesn't really...

actually work you know you as much as you can tell yourself even at 3-0 I know this isn't safe I know this isn't safe like you know there's gonna be more twists and turns to then concede those two goals like they did

It's tricky. My wife does have a psychology degree. I could ask her. Has she got 45 minutes now? Yeah, get her up. She might do, yeah. Let's have her. Come on. Let's have her over, as they say. James, you too have to walk this tightrope. Where are you this morning in a puddle of your own emotions? It's some tightrope with me and you on it, isn't it? Yeah.

It's a reinforced steel bond, yeah. You get used to it a bit, I think, don't you? I remember looking up at the clock in the ground and it must have been like 62 minutes, 3-0, and thinking, if I get to 70 at 3-0, then I'll feel way more comfortable and I think this is done. And by 70 minutes, obviously, it's 3-2 and they've conceded those two ludicrous goals. The entire atmosphere has changed. The entire energy of the game has changed.

The direction of travel in terms of pressure and possession and whatever has changed. I don't think I shared your murderous rage towards Fraser Forster. I felt incredibly sorry for him. I mean, it's not often you'll see a team win a big cup game at home in fairly, incredibly dramatic circumstances. And then one of the players walks straight down the tunnel after the game. I was kind of a bit uncomfortable with that, really. I thought it was a bit of a shame that he wasn't kind of cajoled out to...

you know, get his applause from the crowd because I don't think in a circumstance that I think he was going to get like vitriolic abuse at the end of the game or whatever. You know, you weren't there. Well, several things about it very quickly. For the first time in months, I was prepared to give the team very much the benefit of the doubt because it's,

Sooner or later, having none of your regular defenders except for Pedro Porro, it must catch up with you, I thought. And so I was sympathetic towards the whole team because it's just an incredible burden to carry. I was, as I say, simpatico towards all the players. And then Fraser did what he did. Those two goals are directly linked to that, though. Because if you watch it back,

And I mean, I don't know, we've not got a massive time, so I don't know if you want to go into the kind of minute detail of the two goals, or those two goals in particular. Well, you've started, so I'll let you finish, yeah. But the first one, Gray isn't really given an option by Spence, and then as I turn back and then plays a slightly awkward ball into Forster in a position I don't imagine he really would have wanted it.

And yeah, he does undercook the ball to Dragosin, but Dragosin is also on his heels a bit. And that's, I suspect, born at least partly out of all three of those defenders not being vastly experienced in this team, in this system. And two of them really playing out of position. I don't really understand the decision to play that free kick backwards. And it is at odds with all the stuff we heard last summer, all the things that were in all of Charlie's long reads last summer about

Poster Coghlu losing his shit if someone played a backward pass and what that was going to mean for Pierre-Elmer Hoiberg or whatever. Maybe what happened next was an illustration of his kind of lack of experience in those circumstances, but also maybe a slight decline in physicality given his age. And, you know, the fact that he's a massive bloke, he can't move, you know. There's a longer period, as you and I know, Danny, there's a longer period between brain function and...

foot function or whatever else. I think that is a really good point though. Clearly that for him coming in and bearing in mind, he's doing something that he's really not comfortable doing. Like we all know that as soon as he came in for Vicario, that was the big worry. And bear in mind as well, going back to that age of long reads about Ange, when he did first come in, he kept talking about how important it was to have a ball playing goalkeeper. Vicario was the first signing he made. He kept saying how that was the kind of first building block. So yeah,

We all knew this was going to be a big issue. So for him to be doing that without... He is the experienced head, but he's also... He's both the most experienced player, but also the least experienced and comfortable really in playing this way. Because even the young kids in the team, most people in academies now...

play a sort of variation on that kind of way of playing whereas Forster does feel like he's from sort of a different age and just on him I did think it was incredible that he made those two gaffes and yet neither was the most sort of

Sunday League keeper moment of the game. That was the kick save, which was unreal. I involuntarily laughed at that because Neville said on commentary, which is kind of what I was thinking. Neville said it was like when an outfielder goes in goal in training. And it did remind me of when one of us goes in goal in Power League and you don't know what you're doing and the ball comes in and you just sort of swipe a leg at it. And I do think...

That came from a place of nerves, but I don't think he, because your feel is the thing that goes when you're really nervous. And I don't think he trusted himself.

You see this a lot in tennis. Players, when they're nervous, their field goal, they can't hit sort of drop shots, soft shots. They just hit it as hard as they can. And he did that. Like, I don't think he trusted himself to go down low and have to kind of claim the ball as he would have done. And yet the people on television by the end of the broadcast were claiming it was, you know, it was an Emi Martinez style brilliance, weren't they? Yeah.

He just booted it away. I mean, it was kind of incredible. If he had kicked the ball that far in those first two instances, he probably would have been nervous in the first place. The issue was, already, it was...

Weird, because James, you and I, after another recent massive lead, we played a little game of when you are finally comfortable. And when we were three up, first of all, I said to the Arsenal supporting other half, I said, this won't be enough. Because I thought Spurs at times, until they started giving away the ridiculous goals...

I thought there were times when they were playing the best football I've seen this season from them. They were brilliant at times. Bits and pieces of what Spence and Gray and Son were doing down the left-hand side. I thought there's a fluidity to this and the risk-taking looks worth it and all the rest of it. But equally, at the same time, Charlie, and help me with this, at the same time, I thought Manchester United were more likely to score than Spurs. It was a very odd game in places.

Yeah, it was weird. I mean, it was two pretty flawed teams. I guess that's what happens when you've got two pretty flawed teams going against each other. And again, with that caveat of Spurs, it being their second choice back four or whatever and missing other players. Totally, totally. Yeah, I did think...

The first half, I mean, Bruno Fernandes kept making that run basically unchecked. And if he had... There was no pressure on Eriksen, particularly playing the ball. Exactly, yeah. So that sort of combo. And, you know, I'm sure on the United pods, they're talking about the fact that their goalkeeper didn't cover himself in glory either. I mean, it wasn't only...

Forster and some of their defensive mistakes. I wonder if this morning, 12 hours later, he's still appealing for VAR. Yeah, that was so funny. Like, surely...

And maybe, I don't know if it was like a language thing or whatever, but surely all the players are told about the VAR thing because it must affect how you defend and how you play. Like, it matters, especially for the goalkeeper to know it. Maybe he did know and he was just sort of appealing to the line... I mean, because he was looking at the linesman, so...

quite a lot, hoping he'd get involved. But yeah, that was really weird. I mean, I wasn't watching the game on TV here, so I didn't hear Gary Neville's nonsense. But I assume he was as damning of the United keeper as he has been about Vicario over the last 12 months or so, in that instance. I mean, I know that's laced with sarcasm. Yes and no. He did say something. He was, and maybe this is kind of

me seeing what I wanted to see, but it did feel like Neville was desperately trying to find a foul or some offense on, but couldn't. And so then, and so then after like forensically sort of looking and I dare say, hoping for something, he then realized it wasn't. And then did finally say, I've got little sympathy for the goalkeeper. But yeah, I mean, he, I'm sure a lot of people, if they were watching the TV from a Spurs persuasion would have found Neville's,

kind of glee and how much he was sort of willing to come back to happen, quite irritating. Yeah, just for those who want to know, that mad moment when the goalkeeper obviously thought there was VAR and was losing his mind trying to get the officials to understand, come on, just go to the screen, you'll see that. About three hours later, I was watching American football and there was a decision in the American football, an incident that happened where...

Well, on the sidelines, I suppose, between the two sides, 120 people were discussing an obscure rule to such an extent that eventually it became a free kick. And that's the exact word, not a penalty, a free kick to, I think, Los Angeles. And he scored the free kick.

And it hadn't happened for half a century. It's 50 years since the same ruling was made on the pitch. And you just think, even in these extraordinarily professional sports, all kinds of things are happening. Nobody, nobody understood what was going on except that one of the officials was able to go across to the 120 people on the sidelines and say, actually, you've got a second option here. The ruling is this. It was amazing. I mean, I did...

I still don't think he would have had a case, even with VAR. I don't think that goal's not going overturned. There's nothing in there. It wasn't a foul. Not even the Premier League in 2024 is that a foul. No way. And that is one of the benefits of the Carabao Cup, isn't it, having VAR? I think it makes a really big difference. I still had the same kind of momentary processing time of like, the goal has happened. Do I react? Oh, there's no VAR. Yeah, it's fine.

And you could tell the commentators grappling with it as well because they're so programmed now. You know, a goal nowadays is a kind of starting point for negotiations. It's not a goal. It's okay. That's our first offering. Let's see where we go from here. And they were still like when that corner goal went in. And as it stands, you know, Spurs are going through kind of thing. It's like, no,

The goal will not be... There's not going to be a 10-minute negotiation period. It would have been even worse, of course, if the teams had been level. But Spurs were still winning when they got the fourth goal, weren't they? Imagine if it had been 3-3...

And that had been the goal. You know, we're down to, we're down to Llorente now, aren't we? At Manchester City for hoping for the best from the officials. Look, we should talk about the Spurs goals and the periods in the game when there were

the better team, James, because as I say, you may not share my view as so often, but I thought they were doing some brilliant things, Spurs, when they were playing on the attack, they were doing some brilliant things. Yeah, I mean, there was a, what, kind of 15-minute spell at the start of the second half where they were completely dominant. And I mean, that, I guess, really, you'd say, well, they won the game given they scored two of the four goals in that spell. But yeah, they progressed. I mean, you mentioned Spence there.

It is incredible how little he's played over the last two years. I mean, he just looks such a good fit for this system in particular. But then you think back to Conte playing Emerson Royal as a right wing back and kind of seeming perplexed that the guy couldn't cross the ball. Yeah, I mean, really, really bizarre. But, you know, good that we've kind of come to this point where they've got a...

a solution there more cover because as we've mentioned many many times and this is maybe almost an issue again last night Poirot and Ndogi have played so much football in the last year and a bit probably way more than you'd really want them to given the amount of yards you want them to cover through a game and if Spence is capable of playing in even big games then yeah that seems like a pretty good solution but yeah I mean like I said that spell particularly early in the second half

I mean, I don't know if I'd go quite as far as to say it was the best I've seen in that kind of spell for this season or even last season. I mean, it all felt... I mean, coherent would be the word I'd use. Like, in a game that was, like, chaotic and peppered with ludicrous goals, that spell felt like the kind of highest quality spell of football in the game by quite a long distance by every team. I mean, Manchester United were much better in the first half than the second, I thought. I mean, you know, Charlie mentioned that space...

Obviously they were trying to exploit that space in behind Porro, putting the ball in there so often, as teams often do in this system. But yeah, I really do think, I was surprised to walk away from the game and see a lot of people saying Manchester United deserve to win. I know the XG numbers are doing the rounds, but I think you have to factor in, I don't know the breakdown of that, but I think the two comedy goals that we've talked about, presumably both quite high.

like if you take those two out the two that Spurs have put on a plate for them then actually it's probably quite a lot closer yeah I thought Spence was so impressive and I think that's a really good point about the fact that the fullbacks haven't really been rested much and also bear in mind you know Ange spoke a lot in May about

that he basically how demanding that position is the fullback position he used that to explain why van der Veen hadn't played as a left back yet he was like he's not fit enough to play as a left back you know while he sort of comes back he you know and that it was only right towards the end when he felt he was ready so being able to rotate Poro Ndogi more the fact that Spence can seemingly play on either side very comfortably is huge and it does just deepen the mystery as

as to how little he's been used. He looks, and obviously there's lots going on there, but he just, when you watch him play, he looks brilliant. You know, his weight of passing. I mean, he must turn up for training in a pipe and slippers, mustn't he? Because he's annoyed. He has annoyed manager after manager, apparently annoyed, manager after manager after manager. But Spence was intercepting the ball as well. Now, some of that, of course, is because he's very athletic and he's long and

levered limbs and all the rest of it. Some of that, of course, I suppose, is just he's played so little football that he's just extraordinarily keen to get going and presumably fit as a flea apart from, you know, pipes and slippers and all the rest of it. And that should really help Udogi because, you know, Udogi, with Spence not there, there's every chance, I mean, we don't know exactly his fitness condition, but Ange hinted that, you know, he maybe was in line to play...

in the game yesterday but you know they didn't want to take a chance but if you don't have Spence there as we've seen before you do have to just take that chance and then maybe he does play and gets injured and then the sort of availability crisis deepens whereas you didn't have to rush him back and now if Udogi is feeling something

as Ange said he has been he doesn't have to play every game likewise Poro the first goal again you know the TV pundits bless them mainstream media were so busy going on about whether the goalkeeper should have done better with it with the save the palm whatever you call it not enough praise I thought for a brilliant touch by Solanke James yeah it was a really good finish that

And that's very much in the realm of goals. I mean, I've not seen the kind of freeze-frame moment of whether he was onside or offside, but that's definitely one of those ones that probably would have been looked at for half an hour. He's on. He was on, yeah. That's a shame in a way. But yeah, great finish. And we talked after the Southampton game

about how unusual it is to see a team win so convincingly and score so many goals in the centre-forward to not score or really even have chances. So it felt like a very good time for him to have one of his better games for Spurs and to score two very good goals. I mean, I think the second goal, I mean, we're going back into the second half again. The second goal was...

really incredible an incredible run and finish I mean I think having seen having heard the commentary of that on TV without wanting to go on about a TV commentary too much

I really think never undersold how well Solanke did to hold up the defenders, cut inside at exactly the right moment and then pull that shot into the bottom corner. Yeah, but that's a classic, isn't it? When your perspective is the defensive team, you're just like, that's really bad defending. Yeah, I'm sure we did it on this podcast all the time. Well, certainly Danny and I did. Sure. But yeah, really, really, really good goal there. Like a really good goal. That first one, I tweeted about this. I always...

When I think about how good a goal is, I think how hard is it to score and how few players could score it. And I actually think that Solanke goal is way better than it looks. I don't think there are that. I think that is such a hard chance to do what he does with it. There are so many players who would get that wrong.

There are lots of ways you can get it wrong. A, he needs to move his body to anticipate where the ball's going to drop, which he does perfectly. And then he hits it almost like a controlled half volley. It's a half volley, isn't it? Such a hard skill. All of the elements of that goal, I think, are brilliant. I think that's a low-key, really, really good finish. And I tweeted about that, and our friend...

John Wenham responded saying he thought the second goal was Harry Kane-esque. And I think there is something in that, the way he kind of just stands up the defenders and then finishes so clinically. Absolutely. I love that as well. He used his physical strength. I don't know what, I think Lautaro Martinez, no, not Lautaro, the other Martinez who isn't Emi or Lautaro, he had a mad game from Manchester. Lissandro. Lissandro, thank you. It was a mad game he was having.

I find players like him, they drive me mad because they present as these sort of hard men. Like that's his sort of vibe or the image he wants to put forward. That's his USP. Yeah, you're the big man making like nasty tackles on the halfway line. He's definitely not the big man. Yeah, yeah. Okay, the figuratively big man in his mind. You know, yeah, go and clean someone out on the halfway line. But you actually have to defend properly.

And you can't do it. And then you're sort of like moaning and pushing Son as he goes to take a corner. And it's just like, I don't know. I find that sort of breed of tough guy. Like there's nothing tough or brave about cleaning people out from behind when they can't see you coming. Like it's, yeah, I thought he, and then that defending was terrible. And just one thing on the Slanky thing, James, you said about, you know, people being really happy for him.

to score. I thought it was really funny and really revealing when for Kulosevsky's goal against Southampton, Solanke nearly scores and it drops to Kulosevsky and entirely instinctively, despite the fact Spurs have scored, he's gutted and he shows that, which is, of course he is. That's the most human response. But obviously all players, if he was asked about that, I'll have to be like, no, no, of course. I'm just, yeah, I'm just happy the team scored. Obviously he was desperate to score and he's really pissed off that he hasn't, even though Spurs have.

And speaking of Kulosevsky, James, at times there was one run down the right, well, obviously down the right-hand side because that's where I guess he was playing, where he bodies, I think is the modern phrase, several Manchester United players, nutmegs about six of them. You just think you've got to stop this now because if you do that as a player,

As consistent as he's currently doing, I think that's his fourth successive game where he scored as well, isn't it? Unfortunately, it means that the predators from Madrid and Barcelona will start looking at this fellow because he's in almost surreal form at times now. And in a team that's not, let's be honest about it, not great at times, he's fantastic. Yeah, I mean, that one you're talking about, I mean, it's that combination of like,

incredible control, incredible footwork and that upper body strength who would hold people off. I mean, we made that Dembele comparison before and obviously doesn't really stand out quite as well when he's scoring four goals in four games or playing out on the right wing again. But,

Yeah, it's so rare to see a player with a combination of those two things and to be at that level at both of those two things. It's really, really... The thing I've said before is what I like to see in football is stuff that you don't see all the time or stuff that you haven't seen before. And because that's so rare, it just makes them so good to watch. We've all seen nimble, waif, wide players who can drop a shoulder and go past people, hold people off, nip past people. But to see someone big do that

yeah it's great like the combination of like the power like the silk and the steel together is so good it must be a nightmare playing against him let's take a quick break still much to discuss about this game against Manchester United we'll also get on to the draw and maybe even preview some of the game at the weekend you're listening to of course James Moore me Danny Kelly and the now semi-regular again I'm delighted to say Charlie Eccleshire here on the View from the Lane music

This episode is supported by Merrill. With a dedicated Merrill advisor, you get a personalized plan for your financial goals. And when plans change, Merrill's with you every step of the way. Go to ml.com slash bullish to learn more. Merrill, a Bank of America company. What would you like the power to do?

Investing involves risk. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, registered broker dealer. Registered investment advisor. Member SIPC. Hey, it's Emma Chamberlain. I designed these new glasses for Warby Parker and I basically can't take them off. Like, I'm showering in them and sleeping in them. They're just that good. Go see them all at warbyparker.com. And you know what? Have a good day too. Okay? All right? Bye.

This episode is brought to you by Bleacher Report. How do you follow sports? From college football to the NBA, Bleacher Report brings you the latest news, live scores, and epic highlights from your favorite leagues, teams, and athletes all in one app. Dive into exclusive shows hosted by your favorite athletes and original Bleacher Report series with breaking news, rumors, and predictions all season long. Download Bleacher Report to personalize your coverage.

We discussed the goalkeeper's reaction to what turned out to be Spurs' winner, but it is also very rare these days to see a goal direct from a corner. I think they're going to come back though, aren't they? Because Arsenal have shown the value of pouring the ball down on top of goalkeepers who are, if not fouled all the time now, at least crowded. But Graef van der, in a game where...

In a game where we see a goalkeeper kick the ball off the line unnecessarily, two playing out from the backs go calamitously wrong, the goal direction from the corner almost gets forgotten. It was just such a mad game of football. But always lovely to see the goalkeeper flapping at the ball as it hits the side netting on the opposite side of the pitch. I hope this isn't a false memory, and it's good to have Charlie here because his memory is incredibly good. I'm sure earlier in the game, and you need a good memory because so much happened in the game,

Did Kulizevski kind of do a very simple... It looked like Kulizevski basically shot from the corner as well. Yeah, it definitely looked deliberate. And I do wonder if they identified this keeper as having that weak... As a flapper, yeah. That definitely feels possible.

Okay, fine. I'm glad that's the case because that was one of my key take-homes from the game, really. And there was, of course, my mind. When we got that fourth goal, I thought, ha, that's really good. In a season where Spurs have conceded a few goals from corners themselves and occasionally looked a bit wonky, it's great to see the karma wheel turn in their favour. Hang on. Hold my coat, say Spurs. And it was United's goal.

Johnny Evans got the credit. It looked to me, there was a moment where it looked like, I think it was Bissouma might have got the actual touch, put the ball in, you know, one way or another, there was the near post corner that actually worked. Speaking of Bissouma, what do we make of his game? I thought there were

There was moments of, he was breaking up a lot of their haphazard attacks, except the ones that were going over his head towards Bruno out on the left, or to the fullback out the far side, Dallo. Dallo. Yeah. Who was good, I thought. Yeah, he's having a great season, I think. There was also moments of foolishness, but that's what I suppose just marks the way the game is going, Charlie. Yeah.

Yeah, and there was that one actually because there's another one in which we're talking about another Forster gaffe, which is when he rolled out that pass and put a little bit too much on it and Basuma had to kind of quite nimbly get there just ahead of a United player and nick it away and win a free kick, I think.

But yeah, no, I thought he was good enough. And also, how much is he going to benefit when Bentancur comes back? Because speaking of Udogi being overplayed, I think Basuma could really do. I know he's just had a suspension and, you know, another one might not be far away, but he does it like he could do having a bit of a rest as well. I thought there were definitely good moments for him in the game. I mean, it's probably safe to say he was a bit up and down. But as Charlie says, maybe there is mitigation there.

So the game ends 4-3. As I said, as we started, I didn't know how to respond at the end of it.

I was delighted, of course I'm delighted Spurs went through. I thought they played some lovely football and they also did some things I found breathtakingly hard to take. After the game, as always, there was a sort of massive split. The people paid to analyse the football in the television studio were just bewildered that Spurs didn't try and control the game better when they were two up and three up.

And the manager came out afterwards and said, with a big grin on his face, he did one of his happiest post-match interviews, are you not entertained? He was working up to that. You could see he was working his way up to that. Spurs won, they threw it to the semi-final, and in difficult circumstances with the team. But is he almost taunting us now with are you not entertained? In the nicest possible way. Possibly a bit. I mean, there was definitely a chunk of that game where I think anyone...

partial or favouring Spurs would have preferred a little bit more control but I think it's only really that second goal and the fact they've invited that so much so soon after the first mistake that I think

I would question. There was a big spell where they didn't have much of the ball and I think that's a slightly different thing, isn't it? That's not having control because the other team are on top, not because you're trying to get the ball out of the pitch and constantly giving the ball away. I don't think it was quite like that. I also think it's one of those slightly fatuous things for people to say like, oh, they needed to control the game better. That is obviously true, but the way teams often control the game is by

going short to their keeper and playing short passes. Like, hoofing the ball isn't a great way to control a game. And that seemed to be what most people were advocating. You know, so it's not easy to control. There are also two teams involved in a game. You know, United were there. They just chucked on three of their best players and were really looking to get back into it. And I'm not suggesting Spurs did manage the game well or that this isn't an issue. But I do think...

It's not always that straightforward to do. And the way that Ange's teams like to, in inverted commas, manage games, because I'm sure people will say they don't,

is by continuing to do what they do, is by continuing to trust in the way they play, is by playing out, not just by coughing up possession. Like, you know, how did Man City control games? By keeping the ball passing it. And I think that's kind of what Spurs were trying to do by playing out short. It just was executed incredibly badly, but by someone who's not really comfortable in that role. And we know that. I mean, do you think in the last five, 10 minutes of a game or in the five, 10 minutes before Son scores...

They did have, it felt like they had a lot more of the ball or the ball was kind of further from the first goal. I mean, how many chances did United have from 3-2 to 4-2? Has that Masraoui shot wide? There's a Masraoui one. Other than that, I'm not... Oh, and the infamous five-a-side save, I guess.

That's two. But that's already a chance even, is it? I mean, that's straight down the keeper's throat. One from 35 yards and one from a full-back from quite a tight angle. Like, there's not a centre forward getting an opportunity in a penalty area or whatever. So, look, I'm not suggesting that was an enjoyable spell of the game for Spurs, but it wasn't like Manchester United were really, really, really banging the door down.

No, the anxiety came from the fact that they'd just given up two mad goals and there was that feeling that anything could happen. And perhaps for those of us who weren't in the stadium, the anxiety was ratcheted up by the commentators and co-commentators absolutely expecting a Manchester United equaliser and winner. Very, very odd following of the scoreline rather than describing what you could actually see on the pitch.

There are times, I mean, I'm not advocating hoofing it long at all, but there are times when, for instance, Son on 12 yards from the edge of his own penalty area in a moment of extreme jeopardy in the game decides to try and beat three people in a closed-in position.

proximity to him. You know, there's an argument there for just getting the ball away from the danger area. I will never be convinced that there aren't moments when you can just clear your lines. Without talking about hoofing or the crowd all going, and all the rest of it, just clear your lines occasionally. If nothing else, to make the opposition think twice. Otherwise, their centre-backs are starting to camp, you know, 20 yards inside your half, aren't they? Yeah, no, I think...

that's fine that you know you can pick and choose your moments but I think also Spurs they did end up doing that you know there were some times where they went longer where normally they probably wouldn't have done it Dragasheen seemed particularly pleased with this change of tactics in his mind and of course he's a big lad he can belt it at a long distance he was pleased with himself

So the game, look, the game came to an end. More and more time being added on, all the rest of it. And it came to an end. And then came the draw. Again, I said to the anxiously waiting for the draw Arsenal fan in the house, I said...

She was hoping that Spurs and Arsenal wouldn't get drawn together for, I think, domestic harmony reasons. I said, well, the worst draw now for any team is to draw Liverpool with the first leg at home so that you have to go to Anfield for the second leg. Lo and behold, that's what's happened. What did you make of the draw, James? Are you happy with that sequence of events? Or would you like to have played Newcastle with the first leg at St. James's? I would like to have played Newcastle with the first leg at St. James's, not least because...

I think they've got a couple of players suspended, haven't they? I think Shah and De Gea-Morais are both suspended for that first leg, which would obviously be handy. So I'm just looking at Liverpool's fixtures for the start of the year. I mean, obviously, right, I'm just thinking, and I got United on the 5th of Jan. I mean, that's so... Yeah, we're straight in the wake of that. And the second leg is going to be...

Man City away like in the kind of couple of weeks later I mean they'll definitely rotate a bit I just don't think it'll be a priority for them but as we know with Liverpool over the last few years when they've rotated in cup competitions generally you know they've done well so yeah they seem to have another real good crop of kids as well yeah people like Bradley or whatever would you rather have got Arsenal or Liverpool I'd rather lose the final to Liverpool than Arsenal so I mean maybe there's that I

I suppose more likely to be Arsenal over two legs than Liverpool. I guess that's the question. And I'd say possibly yes. Slightly more likely, yeah. Slightly more likely. I think the downside of this one is I think it would be such... To have to play, to have two North Under derbies is incredibly demanding and emotional at a time when you're thinking, could Spurs do with getting a few players back and everything like that? And I think that would really...

dominate that month in a way that might not be that helpful it would be free wouldn't it by the way because there's a league one as well and there's the league one as well yeah so that would be I think that's just that's a lot of emotional energy I mean maybe I'm talking more about the fans than the players necessarily maybe they you know they're probably better at coping with that

We have one more act for you this evening.

I don't even need to say his name. Mr. Bob Dylan! A complete unknown is now a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice nominee for Best Picture. Bobby, what do you want to be? Whatever it is, they don't want me to be. Timothee Chalamet astonishes as Bob Dylan in one of the best performances of the year. And critics rave Edward Norton is absolutely fantastic. 70,000 people are here and Bobby is the reason for it. This Christmas. They just want me singing Blowing in the Wind for the rest of my life. Hey!

Don't miss the movie critics are healing. Five stars. It's pure cinematic magic. Turn it down! Play it loud! And named to AFI and the National Board of Review's Top Ten Films of the Year. Make some noise, BD. Track some mud on the carpet. A Complete Unknown. Only in theaters Christmas Day. Rated R. Under $17.99 without parent.

Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven-layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals on game day food. No matter what you're craving, from two-for-one pizza to buy one, get one wings, Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week, all season long. Uber Eats, official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details.

Yeah, welcome back to The View from the Lane. Look, I hope we're a community, those of us who are on this and those of you who download. I hope we're a community, so forgive me if I do something personal here. I heard this week about somebody that I used to go to Spurs with had passed away. John O'Sullivan was his name, one of the funniest men I've ever met. Gone far too soon, younger than me. And I really want to – I've got to pronounce the lad's name right –

The generational thing is amazing because John starts to take another friend's son to Spurs and now Jananea Davigi, who is a massive fan of the view from the lane, has lost the person that he used to go with, albeit they were, say, a generation apart. Enjoy everybody that you care and love in the world of football and beyond because you can't be sure how long you'll have their company. They have said their names now as a tribute to both of those people.

One no longer going to Spurs, sadly. And the other one, I think, got a whole lifetime ahead of him of going and watching the kind of stuff that we do. So Spurs, oh, handbrake turn. Spurs have lost their appeal against the Benton Curse seven-game suspension. I can't say, Charlie, there's any surprise in that. I mean, the reasons for the seven games were laid out pretty clearly by the authorities. Couldn't see what the grounds for appeal would be. Yeah, I think the whole...

been dealt with pretty badly. And I thought it was instructive hearing from Kick It Out saying they've had a lot of comments from people from the East Asian community and other communities saying that

you know, constantly relitigating it and going over it again has really made things worse for them. So I hope that gives everyone a bit of pause for thought. Okay. Which takes us then, having discussed, we'll be playing Liverpool, it turns out, still the best team in the country or are Chelsea currently in even more amazing form? But let's call Liverpool the best team. They're at the top of the table now. We played them three times in the next six weeks, including this weekend, James. Home advantage,

For Spurs, and still a bare-bones team, what are you expecting on the weekend? Yeah. It's Sunday. It's Sunday, yeah. It doesn't feel like a great time from a Spurs perspective, purely on the basis of how much last night would have taken out of them. I mean, I suppose you could argue that winning that game means this one has probably quite a lot less riding on it. My sense is that Spurs will win one of those three games against Liverpool. And I guess it's a question of whether...

whether it's one of those League Cup games and whether it's enough to get them through. But I just think the way they play, the way they seem to be performing in these games against the big teams, like winning one in three doesn't seem overly ambitious. So this wouldn't be a surprise if they won one of the three. But on the basis of fatigue and... I mean, we'll hear from Angela today on...

on the kind of returning players if there are any but I don't imagine it's massively likely bar Udogi there's anyone else back in the team from last night so that is going to be a massive challenge against a team who have started the season incredibly well although I mean they've had a tiny bit of a wobble in the last couple of games they've drawn the last two games in the league so maybe there will be doubts creeping in there but it does feel like one of those games where if they get their noses in front Liverpool it may be

a bit tricky for Spurs Charlie as a neutral watching Liverpool do what they do again and let's assume Spurs play well within the parameters that we talked about to start the show it might be a fantastic game of football

It should be. And this fixture does tend to be a lot of fun. I was thinking back to this fixture almost exactly three years ago, just before Christmas. It was 2-2. Dele Alli played and Dombele played. Both teams were, especially Liverpool, were pretty COVID hit just to date. It was December 2021. It was 2-2.

Absolutely incredible game, end-to-end sort of thing. And obviously this game last season was, if not a great game, but one of the most eventful ones. That was the Wild and Boys good process game. The wrongly disallowed goal. So I'm expected to be really entertaining. I do share James's feeling about the effect of yesterday. I was watching it thinking,

I wonder if the big winners here are Liverpool because Spurs have had an exhausting win in which they've not really rotated, barely made subs, and their keeper's confidence has been absolutely shredded, which is going to make it interesting on Sunday. Liverpool are going to be all over him. I'm sure Ange is going to, I'm sure we'll ask him. The message, of course, will be,

Keep doing what you're doing. You know, we can't change the way we play. You've got to trust that this is the way to do it. But he is going to be

so apprehensive and anxious about that game. Surely he wouldn't be human if he wasn't. And Liverpool, if not quite the raptor press that they had under Klopp, they're still pretty good up front pressing, aren't they? And they'll have three, because they've now got Jota and Chiesa back, haven't they? So they can really rotate and freshen up in the second half in a way that Spurs can't really. So even if this game's close after an hour, they'll have the far stronger bench. So I think it's going to be really tough, but it has been a season in which

you know, just when you think Spurs have turned a corner in a good way, they have a bad result. And likewise, the other way that, you know, they'll go and beat City 4-0. So it is just really hard to predict what Spurs will turn up. That substitution point is a good point. I mean, that was clearly quite a big factor in the game last night. Like when...

Spurs are 3-0 up after an hour or so and look like they're cruising and United make those three substitutions if they bring on Xerxes, Mainu and Ahmad. Like, yeah, they've improved their team with their substitutions whereas Spurs are like

I think that Chelsea plays like that started.

And clearly things have kind of unraveled as the game has gone on. So that'll be a big difference. But also, I mean, Liverpool, having had that Merseyside derby postponed a couple of weeks ago and rotated massively in the League Cup in midweek and I think in their Champions League game the week before, they will just have that freshness too. So it's not just the numbers, but also like,

the kind of miles in the legs of the players that we'll play, if you like, will be way different. Thank you very much, Charlie. And you're rushing off now, I think, to the press conference where you'll hear Andrew Postacoglu's latest thoughts, no doubt both on that game, the draw for the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and the upcoming game against Liverpool. Thank you very much,

for all of that. You'll hear Charlie's thoughts on the press conference in a few seconds time here on The View from the Lane, which has now come towards its end. Thank you very much for listening to us. Thank you, James. Again, thank you, Charlie, for being with us. Let me remind you, as always, the show has its official home on xStroke Twitter.

Hi, everyone.

yeah just got back from and just press conference as ever very interesting the top line really was him talking about some of the criticism he gets and yeah he said that these are exact words said at the appropriate time I'll call it out some of it is just offensive towards me and

I'm up here with a silly accent and maybe I don't take things as seriously as people want me to. So yeah, I think he was kind of getting at the fact that there may be preconceptions about him and that slightly informs the way he's talked about. I think he's hinted before that because his background is in leagues that generally are considered

to not be at the very top. Obviously, his background is in Australia, in Japan, in Scotland, and the fact that he's Australian, which isn't a kind of footballing hotbed. He seems to think that informs the way he's talked about, and I'm sure there's something in that. The way we talk about Australian football managers or American football managers would be a good comparison. It's different to nations we kind of associate with being strong footballing countries.

So yeah, it was interesting. As ever, he's pretty thought-provoking. And we had a little exchange at the start about me going to Melbourne in January, his hometown, of course, or where he spent most of his formative years anyway. And injury-wise, he said that Udogi will be available, which is good. Hopefully, Werner would have recovered soon.

The Athletic

The first ever 12 team college football playoff is set and you can join me, David Ubbin and me two-time national champion, Alabama, Damian Harris and me, Chris Vanini, two-time national champion in the college football 25 video game on until Saturday, the athletics college football podcast for all the playoff previews, predictions, coaching carousel and transfer portal news four times a week throughout the CFP.

Dame, how do you think Bama's going to do in the playoffs? Shut up, David. Listen, the time may be out of the playoffs, but I'm super excited to see the 12 best teams in the nation play. All the banter, insights, and more on Until Saturday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.