S14E18 - Room 101

Really stubborn. Going all the way again here. And Leonard's kicked him out. Oh, this is incredible. This is quite incredible. Truly a glory, glory day for Tottenham Hotzma.

Hello and welcome to Echoes of Glory.

I'm asd and I am Jack.

How are you doing back from the.

Game today, Bournemouth at home. Desmond. It's another bonkers game of football, honestly.

Were we lucky?

I don't know what I'm watching.

Do you enjoy watching it?

I do. You know I do, I do. Because every single time I watch Spurs, I. I'm entertained. There's. There's no doubt about that. Good or bad, I'm entertained. I'm in the matches. It's a different question of whether or not I think this is good, what we're seeing. But today's game was absolutely bonkers. And I heard you just asked there, were we lucky? Tutu was not a fair reflection of the game whatsoever. That was a absolute best case for us. That was a 3:1 Bournemouth victory type of game.

It didn't even feel they. Like we were. We found a way to get the draw. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, it was. Do you know. Do you know what? I think that today the only difference, I would say is we've lost so many games this season. 21 narrowly, right, where we just. You're like, oh, like we just haven't got enough in the tank or we can't do anything to change the game. Just having a few more players back was the difference today is why we dug that draw out, but because he was able to make some subs. He was able to chuck on sun to chuck on Madison, you know, and. And just bring something slightly. Yeah. Something slightly different. Whereas, you know, in weeks gone by he's been chucking on Verna or. Do you know what I mean? A real young player or, you know, tail or more or someone like that. And it's like you're asking a lot for them to change it so that. That's the. I can see that improvement just in terms of he's got another option, but was driving back with. With my dad after the game and we're just sort of saying that. I'd love to just sit and go back and be like, look at all the games and has been in charge of spurs and you look at how he set us up and the personnel in the first minute versus what have we finished the game with. And it always feels to me like it's drastically different, which tells me that he changes it well, but actually it just got me thinking Earlier, I was like, everyone going, he doesn't have a plan B. Don't adapt. He does. I actually think the issue is plan A, because plan A never seems to work. Do you know what I mean? He's always having to make free subs or massively shift what we're doing to bring us back into the game. So I think I've gone not 360, 180. And I'm like, I was always a big believer that I think he tweaks and adapts really well and he's to bat away those points. I actually think the problem's how he's setting us up, because we don't start games well. We always seem to go behind and like, it always feels like from the first second we're on the back foot. I mean, we should have conceded after 25 seconds today with that bit of play from the man.

How often do we say that? How often do we say that?

It's every game.

Every game. We should have conceded with their first attack.

We had kickoff. We had kickoff.

This is why I didn't want to spend too much time.

It's incredible.

Angry about everything because I'm looking at the lineup. Vicario, Porro, Romero, Danto Spence, Ben Kasuma, Sal Johnson, Solanko De Be. That's not a bad team. I don't think it's a bad team.

We're not missing that many anymore.

Ki is missing, but what it shouldn't be is that the whole team performance rests on missing one or two players. We can't say we're missing Ki, so we fall apart. There's enough in that team. There's not much creativity in there because. But what I'm feeling, what I see is three very different parts of a team that don't seem connected. I, you've got the defense, and I have no idea what he's saying to them. The midfield. I don't know what you're saying to them. And then the strikers. I, I kind of get it. I, I don't understand how the whole team, yeah. Plays together. I think it's really amateur watching it sometimes. And that's why I asked. I, I don't like watching this Tottenham team at all.

I see. I, I, I enjoy watching it because in my head, the season was written off in December. So I'm just like, I'm just going into it, trying to enjoy the madness. Do you know what I mean? But like, that. How telling is that? Do you know what I mean? That it's like, I don't want to I don't want to say like I don't care because obviously I do. But it's like I'm just like give me madness for 90 minutes and I can get behind that for the rest of this season because I know we're not going to do anything. Like everyone today's going, oh, you know, winning. We ain't got hope in hell for an Europa League. I don't even know if we'll get through next week against AED Outmar a lot because they're scoring, there's no doubt about that. So it's whether or not we can get free and just let one in. But I get what your point about it's disjointed because when I saw the lineup today I actually again said to Mr. L Senior I was like, I think that's the team set up to actually plan counterattack. I looked at it and I was like, you've got two, not particularly Mobile City midfielders, Perum Benton Cord Sar's got legs and you got two Pacey wingers and Solankia. I envisaged us playing a bit more back to front and being a bit more direct and then we get the ball, you know, in the first 15 minutes they should have been free up Bournemouth if it weren't for Ficario who had an incredible game today. Absolutely incredible with some of the saves he made. Just some of it asc honestly I'm scratching my head watching it and I, I really, I always want our managers to do well and I sort of, I, I always say like stick with them beyond the point of what I should for pretty much every manager. But I watched a couple of the goal kicks today and like we, we're inviting a 4v4 in our own penalty area from a goal kick. I don't understand it like, but I'm just like in what world? I know when you play at any style, platform about play direct transition football, counter however you want to play, you're picking your style based on what you think is the most effective style to win that game. And I don't understand where there's ever a football match where from a goal kick you're going to have a 4v4 in your own penalty box. How is that the most effective way for that part of the game? That's the thing I can't understand like some of it, I get what he's trying to do and we just, we can't quite execute it but things like that and when we get throw ins and you're like, we're going back and putting ourselves under enormous pressure to entice teams onto us. When we've seen for the last year we're not particularly great at playing out from the back. We, we're just not very good at it. As a individuals and as a team, we're not very good at it. Most teams aren't. Most teams are very good at it.

No. And most teams are really good at putting pressure on that. I think it's much easier to put the pressure on people playing out the back than to play out the back. And the whole point is, if you put a little bit of variety, if there's four players in your box, that means there's not four players in the middle or in their half.

You've got Dom Solanke up top, who, if you put it up to him, he can at least stop the center back making clean contact. But then that was the other issue. It's like I got, I did get really frustrated watching it at times today because I just felt that there was some found football foundations lacking, like Sar, Basuma, Bentonkor. If the ball goes over your head and goes up to Slanky, one of you has got to get near him to help him because it's like he's not just going to bring a ball down. Do you know what I mean? Turn two center back. Like, it's just the foundations of football sometimes. Just thinking, missing. I'm really worried about Benton core. Like watching him like he is struggling big time at the minute. He seems to have lost his mobility and he's just forcing things. He doesn't look like as elegant as what he was. And I don't know if, like the injuries just done him. I don't know if his legs have. I don't know, but I don't know. Watching that assume a Bentonkor partnership today, Honestly, after about 15 minutes, I was just thinking, I can't wait to half time until one of them goes off because it's just not, it's not working.

I, I feel players get isolated in this style because they get a lot of responsibility for physicality and football intelligence put on them. You know, when you're, when you're exhausted, you, you know, when you got to take. It impacts everything you do. You're always thinking about it. It's like this, you have to have that extreme physicality which injures you, but then you're exhausted. But you're also trying to be super intelligent. You have to think very quickly in this, this style as well, because you're, you're trying to force a lot of randomness and I, it just doesn't work for me.

I just, it's. I don't know. I remember you saying something when, when Jose was in charge and you said, we play five at the back, we can't defend, we play four up front, we can't attack, we play five across the middle and we get over field and I sort of feel like it's the same. Like we set up to play this high, pressing, energetic, you know, basketball style football, and we just get overran every game. Like, I must say though, Iola has got that Bournemouth team set up so well. Like, talk about, talk about a team that plays to the strengths they've got. Like, it's fantastic.

That's all I want. And that's what drives me nuts about him, about how he, he's got an elite level game style, which I just don't think is feasible, maybe even in the Premier League. I honestly don't think it's. You can do what he wants to do in the Premier League because if you go to a poorer league, which is all. Aside from the Scottish League, which is a great league, all of his work is, is, is a lower standard and so it's quite easy to drive marginal gains. Whereas in the Premier League, like, the differences are actually quite small between the good and the great. And we, we're not great, we're not even good. I think we've overperformed this season so far. I, I can't remember just any consistency. Like, we always go, oh, you know, the injury started in November, the season only started a couple of months before that. We're almost finished the season. I'm. I'm a bit frustrated. I don't want to talk about Thursday either because that was some of the worst. We thought. We, we joked about it last weekend, classic classics. But I, it's worse than that. For me, that was. Or there was a guy on the Reddit, a Dutch guy who came over, just, it was like, hand in the air, peace, guys. Just a perspective from a Dutch fan. Like, what are you doing? You were awful. Basically, this is not the time I expected.

I just on the age of doubt my game quickly. How many times have you ever watched spurs away in Europe in the Champions League, Europa League or the Conference League? And, and I've ever really played well over 90 minutes.

Never.

Very, very rarely.

Right.

Have we ever actually just gone away and gone like, you know what? Good performance, controlled it, got a good win. And I don't want to come across arrogant that we should just go to Azatmor and Batterham because it is still knockout stage. But we were so much better than the performance we put in. Like, Troy Parrot is not a great forward. It was causing us mayhem.

No, no.

And you like.

Yeah. I don't want to get into it. What's the. Whenever you say, when you said the greatest away European performance, the first thing I thought of was that Chelsea and the Nou camp, you know, the Torres, Gary. Yeah, awful. Like that. That whole thing is awful. But that. That's, in a way, performance to be proud of. Yeah.

It's just digging in. In it and just start gritty and, you know.

Yeah. I think it's 20 years to the day since the Ronaldinho goal at Stamford Bridge while we're here. Yeah, I don't want it. Yeah, right.

Wow. That was. You know what? I just remember not understanding that goal for about a week.

I still don't. I still don't how. Because I've only ever seen the assist and the goal, but today I saw the. The play beforehand. It's quite a frenetic, like, Pacey game. And so suddenly he hasn't got time to make that decision to. I don't know how he gets it through the player the defender is.

But it's just like, you watch it and when someone, like, plays in slow motion, you're just like, why has no one blocked him or tackled him? But it's like you just. They just couldn't. Like, it's just one of those weird moments, isn't it, that, like, that's a. That's just a type of goal that you just don't ever see.

Yeah, Yeah. I. I still. I was reminiscing about that Barcelona team of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquet and Messi. Those four, surely that's the greatest four in the middle of a football pitch ever.

Well, I. I actually think that Sergio Bisquettes is the.

You said this for years.

Greatest in his position. I actually think Bisquettes is the. The sort of. The deep midfielder is the furthest in front of anyone else in his position in all time. Yeah.

Yeah.

Because it's like. Like Messi, in my opinion, greatest ever. But that pe. People can argue, people can go, I prefer Maradona, I think Pele, I prefer Ronaldo. And it's like there's a. There's an argument to be had. Do you know what I mean? Like, I obviously, I think Messi, but I think you can have that. But the Biscuits role, I think the other names there have Been some great defensive midfielders, sitting midfielders. There have been. I just think that Bisquettes is so far in front of all of them. Like I know Roger is just won a Ballon d' or Biscuits is better than Rodri. Like I have. I have no doubt about that.

It helps when you're playing in front of like Puyol PK and then in front of you is Xavier Iniesta. I'm not. Not diminishing because that. That's great team. It's like the argument in Formula One, like why the best drivers and the best cars. Because the best drivers go to the best teams.

But Bisquettes was just. Oh, just quickly just on today's game, not talk about the actual match.

Trying not to talk about it. You're.

You're dragging me back in. This is. This is. This is not to the game. There were just some elite guests on the. The pitch. The women of the lane were. Were on, which was great to. To hear from them. Then it was Ledley and Sebastian Basong were on because they are. They're both playing in the Spurs Legends game in a couple of weeks against AC Milan, which really cool. And then randomly Adam Gilchrist, Australian quick keeper. Like, like that is like his sporting royalty. He's like the greatest wicket keeper in the history of cricket. And he was just there and he was like, yeah, big fan. Like love football. Like great Sean here. And like it felt like they didn't even know he was coming. It felt like he'd just gone and then someone's going, you should probably interview him. But great gifts.

That's great. Is there anything you want to cover off on the last two games? Because I. I don't want to talk about him. It's great to see Vande back. It's great to see or it wasn't great to see Romero. I thought he had quite a poor game. Great to see Solanke.

I think it's tough when you're out for a long period. Like, like Romero had a tough game today. We've got to be realistic about how long these players have been out for. There was a moment Van der Van got the ball and was sprinting up the left wing and everyone in the ground went like, not too fast. I was like, yeah, the Bournemouth number two at the back, the center half whose name escapes me a little bit. Hoijin. Dean Hoygen. Yeah, he's outstanding.

He.

My word, that was some performance today. But like he was. It's the first time I've seen him play live. So I, I don't watch Bournemouth so I can't remember what he's been like rest of the season. He had a calmness about him, a Virgil Van Dyke esque calmness in terms of, you know, you watch some center backs and it's like are you playing in slow motion? Yeah, like this looks easy. Was like, you know, you watch some center backs as great as they are, like Gabrielle, Ruben Diaz, even Romero and it feels frantic. Like they don't feel in control. He felt he was. I just felt like he was in control the whole game and I was just like, I, I don't know what we do against him. I thought he's really good.

Can't say Bournemouth. It's worth saying Bournemouth are eighth a point behind Villa with a game in hand. And you know how much everyone knows Villa and they were the bookies favorite to win today.

They were get Champions League for Bournemouth. They really could. They really could.

Yeah. At the moment it's, it's mad the league table really. Liverpool and Arsenal, I mean Arsenal embarrassing themselves again. I, I don't know how they're second. They've dropped points in five out of last nine games.

I would love nothing more than Arsenal third in a two horse race. Can you imagine how good that will be?

Forest? Yeah.

How good will that be?

Chelsea City, Brighton Villa, Bournemouth wearing Newcastle. Newcastle got the richest owners in the world, let's not forget.

It's a weird season. It's a weird season but if you've seen that we could end up there could end up being seven places in the champion. Seven English teams could be in the Champions League next year.

Really?

That's a possibility because it's going to be five, isn't it? Top five they're saying is pretty, pretty much nailed on. And then it's like if Aston Villa finished in the top five and won the Champions League then that would create another space and then if spurs or Man United won the Europa League, that would be the seventh team in. So it's like you could end up actually like if you finish in the top half of the Premier League, you're in Europe, which would be nuts. That would be nuts, wouldn't it?

Can I say we are one point ahead of Everton and West Ham. West Ham got a game in hand against.

We're shocking. We are.

I.

Where did you have us at the start of the season? Because I had a very, very optimistic. I think I had a really optimistic like fourth or fifth, two seconds.

I'm gonna. It was up there.

We were all bouncing, weren't we going into the season being like this is going to be.

Prediction. Jack finished position fourth. I had this in third. You're laughing at me. You've got us winning the Europa League. I've got quarters. You said third round. I said League Cup. You said fourth round. I said semi unexpected hero Archie Gray. I think that's done pretty well. What you said both of us. Oh yeah.

Nice. Great man.

Standout player. Van der Ven me. I think that's easy. You said Solanke 18 goals. The feeling at the end of the season you wanted consistency. Wait there. You concede fewer than we did last season. We conceded 61 last season. I forgot about that. And you wanted to win the derbies. Let's not talk about.

And I just say nothing that I asked for has happened. No.

I wanted the players to improve. I want to see the young players bedded in which. But it's been forced and I don't want to feel like it's naive that he's naive.

And I still feel that it's telling that isn't it?

Yeah. Do you know I've got Rob. Rob's prediction here. Rob predictions. We finished sixth, which is better than both hours. But he just said for goal difference. He just wanted the plus plus four difference.

Plus one.

Right, let's move on to. Let's not talk about this anymore. I text you and I said we're gonna. We're gonna do a Tottenham 101. I also put it on Reddit just to see what came up. Vote Jeb Bush said centered badges on. So before we start. Room 101 was a program I used to watch when I grew up. And it. The premise is it's a. I think it's from. Well, I know it's from 1984. It's room 101. He's from there. But there was a TV show on the BBC, I think it was where celebs were bringing things that irritated them. Not like war or racism, but just little things and innocuous things that don't have a massive impact. So we're going to do it for Spurs. So I put it out there. Vote Jeb Bush had centered badges on kits. I like that. I got. You're going to be the judge for mine and for these. So I guess the justification is they don't fit for me when they have the manufacturer's bag badge not in the center. That drives me insane. Are you putting that through?

I had to kit. I've got a kit one in my list as well.

I've got a kit one in my list. I'm wondering. I'm wondering how many of these would be the same. And there's definitely some of mine which you are not going to agree with as well. Big Ange Bostecogloo says lasagna, which I've got down, which I should have saved. So let's wait on that. Brisbane Raw. Sissoko's right arm. So that's obviously a Champions League final reference. Ange from someone else, the late 1990s. Just in general. That's fair. This is from 4500X Charlie Adam. That's fair because he broke. Who's he injured? Bail. Didn't he. He break his ankle? Yeah, yeah. Extra photo says Glenn Hoddle on co comms, which. Something's harsh.

I love how specific some of these get.

It's a bit. If you just says Robbie Savage.

Spurs related.

Yeah. Right, let's go in. Let's share. I've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. You're going to judge if they're going into room 101. Should I go first?

Yeah, go on in.

Mooses. Ahsoka Most. The second most overrated player in the last 20 years. I just. I know he did a job, but I think we rolled the dice and we got two and he just did a job. He was quite athletic and he. He had a poor first touch. A horrendously poor first touch. No finishing. I know he wasn't in the squad to finish, but how they all. I can remember just times where he was in on goal and he should have scored and he didn't. 202 games, 5 goals, 16 assists. I know he was. He was really important in that Champions League run. He did the job. He's just not my. I think people remember him very fondly and he was a. He was a cart horse for us.

Interesting. I feel it's harsh because I look he wasn't great at all and like he was a big money signing. We give about 30. 30 odd mil for him, which at the time was big and he didn't deliver and he was a very limited player. But I don't know. Do. Do people remember him to be better than what he was? Do they like. I remember him being not great but being good in the Champions League. That the dozen Champions League games we had, we've had worse players. It probably getting our team at the moment. What does that tell you?

You reckon? Maybe. So you're saying he's not going into room 101, which I'm I'm not in.

I think it's a harsh one. I think it's a harsh one.

The next one's gone in. Have you got one?

I have and it is spurs. Because there are some specifics with it, but it's also wider football squad numbers. Stupid squad numbers. You should have a squad number that corresponds to your position.

Let's talk train. Alexander Arnold.

6. No, no. Like it's not right. Like it bugs me. Like. And I always think about Clint hated Clinton. I hated it that he played up top where in number two. It shouldn't happen. Like we know what. Basuma I think is the only one and Vicario that wear the right number for the position that they play in. It's. It really frustrates me. Like Udogi should be wearing three. Why is he wearing 13? The center half's 37 and 17. No, absolutely not. Like Kevin Danso, number four.

Cool.

Like, yeah, like that's fine.

Like son seven. That's fine.

Seven.

Kasuma eight. Richardson nine. Madsen ten. What are you talking about? Mathis, tell number 11 for someone.

Maybe. Yeah, maybe I can get away. But that's your right winger. So I can maybe get. Get away with the someone. There's a few in there. But there were. There are fundamentally like at spurs and across the board. The squad numbers are stupid and like you. You start in sort of 11 should be there or thereabouts in the corresponding numbers. And it really bugs me. In fact, the first time whenever I load up a football manager save or a FIFA save, I don't want to change all squad numbers. It really annoys me. Really annoys me.

I'm allowing that. I'm allowing that. No problem. Straight.

Smoke the hell out of me.

Yeah, but I'll allow that.

I just want to see a center back pairing where they're wearing, you know, numbers five and six. That's all I want to say. All I want to say.

Yeah. All right. I'm going to take you back to two dates. If you can guess what the connection is between these two. These two dates. I'll buy. I'm buying dinner next time. 17-11-2012, we play the game and 26-02-2012. So sorry. 2602-2012-1711-2012. They are the same match. So that we played the same team.

2012. Is this in a breadknap era?

I think so. My memory. I think so. I can remember where I was for one of these games.

Oh, this.

That's.

I want it I want, I really want to get it, but I'm just going to sit here in silence for 15 minutes.

I'll give you a big clue. The score was the same as well. The score was the same and the teams were the same. We were playing away at somewhere. All right. Both of those games are where we lost 52 to Arsenal. Do you remember them? Do you remember Ad boy or getting sent off?

Oh, we're tuning up in one of them as well, weren't we?

We were 2 nil up I think at half time as well. Remember them?

That was a horrible feeling. That was.

I can just see Ricki somewhere.

Sanya, Sonya.

It was that team just thinking more. I just thought that Fabas goal where it comes from the replay. But we, we'll come on to that. But those five twos were so embarrassing. I can just remember on that second one. It's happened again. Yeah, it's happened again.

I got a message from one of my best mates, Ryan, who's big Arsenal fan. He text me after the second one. He said Christmas comes but once a year. Spurs five are. Sorry. Arsenal five, spurs two. However, I just didn't speak to him for about a month.

Five, two, five goals. You shouldn't. That shouldn't happen.

Annihilation. Annihilation.

It's awful, isn't it? Just bear the games.

You remember that, that can go in any like. Like anyone that's ever listened to this podcast for more than one episode will know that the darb is just means so much to me and like they're so painful. Honestly, like if you look back over the time we've been watching spurs, like we haven't had much Derby success against anyone.

No. Tell you what I did, I did watch the other day was that the three one against Chelsea where we went one nil down. Yeah. Where Erickson scored the worldly Delhi scored my favorite goal last 20 years. And then he scored the second goal the his second hour third because cartage free captain did a brilliant review of the game where instead of giving play he did players out of 10. But then that famous picture of Delhi cupping his ear in front of Chelsea fans and then going mental. He had, he had taken specific people out of that picture to represent their marks out the players marks out of 10. I mean we haven't had many great derbies. The best.

I miss the love I had for that team.

Yeah, me too.

You know, in my time like, you know, since I've been going. I mean I started going late 90s early 2000s and like I Can genuinely have only really loved a couple of the spurs teams. And like that Pochettino team was just. I loved it.

I've got a really specific memory of being with you at the last game while it was lovely to be with you. And we beat Man United 2 1. Some Man United fans have stayed. It was a really nice atmosphere. Everyone was crowded on the pitch. Started to rain a little bit. Everyone went off the pitch. Rainbow. And you saw all the legends came out and there was all this again. And you saw Pochettino just sort of turn and smile. And I just felt like something good is happening here. Something great is going to happen. We've got to go to Wembley for a bit, but that's great. I've got a season ticket next year. This is going to be great. I love that team. Like, I properly love that team. I love the. That Redknapp team as well. The Champions League. That one. Yeah.

That can go in the five. Two. Definitely.

Yeah. Both of them. Awful.

Awful.

Yep. Go then.

My next one is Tottenham breaking the infamous record of being the only Premier League team in its history to not buy anybody in a transfer window.

Right, right.

Because we were so close. We were so, so close. Again talking to Mr. El Senior today about it. And I said to him, they should have made the call like that last year at White Hart Lane. They should have gone, this is going to cost us probably half a billion pounds. Delay, delay moving. We're staying here for another season and we're putting the money into the playing squad. Genuinely, if they'd have injected 100 million, we were two players away from winning the league. I think we got 86 points like you, you, you're two wins away from winning the league there with that. And it was it within touching distance. And I just think that if that. Again, this brings me to slightly separate bit of like, are we just destined to be the club that nearly does it? Like, is that just what we like? Genuinely, is that what we are? And the reason I say that is like, how many times are we gonna say we were so close, we could have done it, we just didn't quite do it. And that for me just sums up like that was. That was a team that start in 11 with maybe one or two off the bench, that with another couple of players that was a title winning team that like, there's no doubt about that in my head whatsoever. And if you'd have gone and added a Bruno Fernandez at the time or do you know what I mean? Or if you'd have gone and Added another goal score. Whoever it was that, you know that the players were out there at the time, that would have been that genuinely. That would have been the difference. It really would have. That was a phenomenal, phenomenal team that we had there.

And wait, so what are you putting into room 101?

The facts. The fact that we went a transfer window without, without buying a single player. Because if you put that in there, we have to buy. And that might have been the difference.

Yeah. That sort of was the signal, wasn't it, that we're gonna squeeze this team. It's an asset. It's a proper sliding doors.

Absolutely, absolutely.

All right. I don't want to give you too much, but, yeah, that's laden. All right, then I'm gonna give one. You're not going to allow everybody's memories of Musa then Belly, what's wrong with you?

You're just going after the Mooses.

It's probably based on Race as well, if we're being honest. But I know what you're saying. Chat's covered his face. I know what you're saying. I'm too tired to deny it.

The, the two Mooses that are listening have just switched off.

It's got nothing to do with Race. To be very, very clear, everybody thinks Moose's deadbelly was amazing because they watch videos of interviews with people who played with him saying, oh, we couldn't get the ball off him. Brilliant. Brilliant. What Musa Dembele did was he, he turned in a couple of circles and let the other team set. Beat a man and then passed it sideways. He should have had more assists and he should have had more goals. He was born, couldn't run.

I agree with you on that.

And his close control was better than anyone I've ever seen. Insane, but not effective. I'd rather he did lesson but did more. That's my beef with him. I've always had that beef.

I know.

You know, I've always had.

You know, I know you have and I feel like you've, you've always said, don't like him from, from the start, and that's why I really rate that. You've just, you've never backed down with it, so I will let you have that one because I know that that is a big one. But I, I, I disagree on the statement because he was at the heartbeat of the best Premier League team we've had and he was, he was the driving force of it. I've always said the points on goals and assists. Yeah, he didn't contribute enough There. But I counted a bit about it wasn't. He wasn't effective. I think he was the most effective player in his position that we've had. Yeah. Like, he was magnificent in there.

I think you could replace him and take that team up at a level.

Do you think? We're still trying to replace him. We tried to replace him and move to Sissoko.

Trying to place Kane, trying to replace Luis. We've done Toby and Yan. Trying to replace Walker.

Still. You know what? Do you know what I'm hoping is that Harry Kane can be the next one in the line of replacing a player with themselves. Because we did it with Bail, we did it with Robbie Keane, we did it with Jermaine Defoe. So could Harry Kane be Pascal Chimbonda? So could he be. Could Kane be the next player? I did find those memes funny. But, you know when Bale came back and it was like, the spurs have finally replaced Gareth Bale with Gareth Bale.

Been watching a lot of Gareth Bale.

Like, this is what I mean. Are we just that club? Is that just who we are? Do we just need to just, like next season, do we need to just embrace that we are just that team that, like, we're not quite gonna do it?

Yeah.

Everyone takes a piss out of us.

We should stop doing a podcast. We should stop investing in SoundCloud hosting and just buy spurs shares because they're doing well. They're doing better than the club that's in. Right. One of yours. I got three more.

My next one is also on the. The record breaking front.

Brilliant.

Can we put it as a question?

Can you do that?

Maybe you can rephrase it because you're more articulate than me, but I just want. I want to put in room 101 Spurs's FA cup semi final record.

My next one is about an FA cup semi final, but it's something very.

We've lost. Is it nine in a row.

I don't want to.

Which is an FA cup record. We've lost nine consecutive FA cup semi finals. Like, I'm not asking for us to win them all. I'm not even asking for us to have to win. To win more than half. I'd be happy with three. Do you know what I mean? Just a third of them. I'll be really, really happy with that. But that. Do you know what? Like, I'm gutted. I've never. I'm 31. We've not made an FA cup final in my life. And every year we get knocked out the FA Cup.

I see the 91.

I was put. I was born 93.

Oh my God.

Every, every year we go out the FA Cup I see the pain in Mr. El Senior's face because it means so much to him that, that cup since we.

We beat Forest in the final. Don't you hear some teams that have been in the. Who have won FA cup semi finals? Sunderland. Sheffield Wednesday. Everton. Middlesbrough. I'm trying to think Carter. City definitely Portsmouth. Hull. Wigan Palace. Watford. Leicester. Leicester won it in 2021.

Painful, Joe. And next season is going to be hard because the likelihood this year is that as long as it's not City, you're going to get a team winning the FA cup that has even not won it for sort of 50, 60 years or it's a first time win. And the thing that I've always seen a lot of spurs fans say, oh, it's hard to win domestically because all the tournaments just won by the top teams. And it's like actually this year Newcastle could win the Carabao cup and Fulham could win the FA Cup. Do you know what I mean? And it's like that's not beyond the realms of impossibility. But I would like that semi final record to, to go away, please. So if we could put that in the room, that would be lovely.

Sure. We're joint third most successful FA cup team in history still Joint move. Chelsea and Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. And we've won eight out of our total. Nine finals. It's pretty good.

Just can't get to one now.

I just can't get to him. Yeah, you can't lose them if you're not in them. So you're going with the FA cup semi fight. Yeah, that's going in. Okay, I've got, I've got a specific semi final. April 22, 2017. We played Chelsea. We lost 4, 2. I was there. A great goal if you remember Matic. Yeah, that one. But I'm talking about Ericsson's delivery for Lamella. Yeah. If anyone listening has not seen that, look up that goal. It's the 2017 FA cup semi final. One of the best balls I've ever seen from a Tottenham player. Pochino started that game with a brand new formation. He tried a 352 if you remember. I can't remember the team. Let me, let me do. I should have done this. Yeah. And don't do that. Here we go.

But yeah, I know exactly where you're going with this. This was painful.

I mean the whole game was great. Wasn't great facing. I think it was Conte for them. I'm just looking for our line.

Played well. I remember we played really, really well.

That was. I took Emma, I think, and I think I was with Noah maybe, and I. I came out feeling pretty good. Like they. They were much better than us. So we had Hugo, Toby. So we had older for Tongk and Dyer, I think at the back. Yeah. And then Dembele and when Yama in front son Trippier Deli Ericson. Yeah. Kane up top.

343 was son at left wing back.

Yeah. Didn't work out, did it? And we had 64% possession.

He give a penalty away, son, didn't he? On Victor Moses.

That's it. That's it. Scored as well, didn't he?

William scored a free kick after about four minutes, didn't he?

That's it. Five minutes and he scored. The penalty.

Yeah. And then it went. Yeah, it was Willan and then Kane. Kane one one. Yeah. Willan penalty. 21. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matic screamer.

Your memory is amazing.

Matic screamer on about 70 and then hazard like 85 when it's something like.

That other way around. Matic horrible, horrible. I hated this team. Let me qua David Louise, AK Aspen, Aeta, Matic Kante. Marcus Alonso killed someone. Alleged. They didn't. He killed someone. Drunk driving. Victor Moses, Batshuai, Pedro William. But Diego Costa and Fabregas came on.

Yeah, that was the difference.

Yeah. I mean you have a look at their substitutes. Costa, Fabregas, Azad. Ours was in Kudo and Carl Walker and we left Bimmer, Sissoko, Davis Janssen and Paul Lopez on the boat on the bench. There's the difference. Right.

We're. We're overdue A. Oh, no. Actually Matthias Tell was filled the void. Isn't as if the young French winger. I was gonna say we're overdue one, but actually we had in Kudu Clinton and G. Mattius Tell now. So it's good that.

That that sort of the cycle's back.

Not you having that enough French. Yeah. 100 in as a horrible day. That cool.

I've got two more.

I. They were all my ones but I did. I did ask Chat GPT for some suggestions. So do you want me to read out one or two from there?

Because have you checked if they're true or have you verified it?

Well, they're all.

They're all.

They all seem true but like some of them are just utterly bizarre. And I'm like, like, how has this come Up. So there's some classic ones like the Pochettino sacking the Champions League final. What Neville was. You know all of that stuff which. Yep. Understand all of that. Some of the weird ones and like I can't understand what this is but one of the ones it suggested is the Eric Dyer long range shot. And I was like general and it says forget that time. Eric Dyer launched a world class long range shot that somehow ended up in rosette. And fans spent the next five years pretending it never happened. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Anyway, there was one on here which was.

Wait, wait. There's only one player that gets associated with the ball. It goes in Rose Ed. If you sit in Rosette and the ball hits your head, that's Zamora.

Great song.

Yes.

The one good one I liked which is not quite. It's not Quite a room 101 but it's like an alternative story is Daily Alley's return to form. This is a version where Dele Alli becomes world class again, scores incredible goals, plays like a true superstar instead of a forgotten figure on loan. And I was like a little bit harsh at the end but yeah, I love Chat GPT for stuff and it's just like some of these suggestions would. Would just a little bit odd. Yeah.

Yeah.

The other one that was on here was just the Spursy moments. Just raising those classic Spursy moments. The time spurs were comfor winning then in true Tottenham style somehow managed to lose in the last few minutes. So Chat GPT knows as well.

What is the name? My brain is totally gone. They're on prime. Ex Liverpool striker who had the cup. He played for Chelsea as well. That one. He does prime. He was on prime.

I don't know. Not back. Not back. Try.

No, no. Liverpool striker. The.

Storage. Daniel Sturridge.

Exactly. I'd love to see Delhi do a bit of that. Like retire. Retire. Come on tv. So just. I don't know. I just want to see him, the boy happy again.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just feel for him. The Sanji Gate. Easy. So they went to a hotel the night before playing West Ham and we just needed to match Wigan's result who were playing Arsenals. They should have lost. But West Ham beat us because half our team had the shits. Yeah. From some lasagna.

Like there's a video of Michael Carrick actually throwing up as they come out the tunnel before kickoff.

Yeah. There was just no worthy to play, was there?

Yeah, definitely and definitely. And that was another. Another dark moment.

Final one. And I Think I've got it wrong looking at it. But Nike, I'm gonna. No Nike as a kit manufacturer because I think they've had some shockers. Their first one had that weird crest around the badge. Didn't like that. Second one had that weird, like the dark blue bit at the bottom which sort of faded up for some reason. Like it being dipped in dye. Yeah, yeah. The third one, class, like white shirt, just dark blue collar, dark blue cuffs. Having that then. 20, 20, 21, the one Gareth Bale came back in with, it had. It was white but with like gray bits on it, blue bits around the arm. Awful. And 2122 was just a white T shirt with the badge on it. It cost 70 quid. I think the increase in price. I think design's lazy and poor. I've. I'm not having it.

I've always been an Adidas over Nike guy.

Or like the old. I mean, is that your peak ads? We only had them for a couple of years, didn't we?

Oh, you know what? I used to really. I really liked the Under Armour kit that we had. I was a big fan of that.

The Under Armor. Yeah. Who's the first player you think of? I've got Palino, I've got Sigurdson.

I think of Bale in the black and like gray split. You know, when he scores that goal at West Brom.

West Brom. We. We were there. I think that's where we drove up. And I was sat in the home end and you were sat in there away. And I just winter cockney that black. I've got two of those black and gray kids. They make you look so buff.

Because that's the kit I remember. And I remember Bale with his like gelled hair. That. That's. That's what I remember.

That when he had the sort of tram lines at the side, that spike bit over those Adidas, they were sort of pink. You just knew. Bombs. Game over. I. I've been watching a lot of bail videos recently after we chatted about him. I don't think people really understand how devastating he was. There's no player in the Premier League who is matching what he did then. Not even Salah. Like, Salah's numbers are amazing, but he's not winning games just outright for Liverpool. I. I can't remember another game like another player like it.

He was just doing that especially like I do think, like, I think Salah's incredible, but I think the fact that Bale was doing it like Kane was in a significantly lesser Side. I think it just elevates you to like a whole nother level. It's like the whole one. You know the, the job that Gerard did for Liverpool for his whole career is phenomenal. When you look at it like what he did was phenomenal. Like he led that team to chat to a Champions League. Like it's remarkable. So I think a player doing it in a lesser team as well is you just have to say wow, you're just unbelievable.

Special, isn't it? Good sesh concession. I've forgotten about the game today which is, which is pleasant. It's frustrating. Right, we've got Fulham. Well, we've got Az outmark quickly. Are we gonna beat him? I mean I, I mean that's phase of literally who knows?

That's what we say. It could be any score line. I think we beat them but we go out on aggregate or like go out in extra time penalties like we're beating in 90 minutes. But it goes on and it ends up being. But we could turn. We could put performance to them in 3 nil or we could just absolutely stink it out and get done. Like there is no way of knowing. There's absolutely no way of going. I think that it's. Without sounding negative, even if we do get through, I don't give us a, a hope because I, I'm not confident. If you go around all of the top leagues in Europe, a team in the top half of any of those leagues, I'm not confident we could beat him over two legs.

No, especially these, these European sides were just gritty. I think we'll be outma.

I hope so. I hope so.

Because what if you're them? What are you doing? You go in and saying we know how spurs are, we're gonna go and just play a normal game. Are you playing defensive? What are you doing?

I think they'll try and play us on the. I think that they will try and get an early. They'll go first 15. I think they'll break it out and they'll play 15 minute games and they'll be able to try and get that goal first 15. If we can't fine the next 15, we frustrate, we slow it down, we get the crowd frustrated and I think you break it down like that. Yeah, I think they're definitely scoring like I, I can't. I just, I don't, I don't go into any game where I think we're going to keep a clean sheet. So it just means that we're gonna, you know, to win in 90 minutes and knock them out. You've got to get free.

Do you buy what he said about the pitch? Do you see that? What Aaron says?

Nonsense. A pitch has got nothing to do with your ability to compete. Get on second balls run has nothing to do with it after. I've never, ever, ever been a believer in that.

Yeah.

I just think it's nonsense. You're professional footballers. You're like technically in the top 0.1% of your profession. Like, it'd be like you rocking up to work and be like, sorry, I can't deliver this great campaign. I've got an old laptop.

I mean, I mean you're a bit close to the bone there. And if you're like, oh, it's too hot. I haven't worked without a fan for like last 20 years. So.

But you know what I mean? I just, I just think it's like I said that. I just think it worries me when I hear a manager saying that because he's putting excuses. Yeah, there's no accountability. Our dodgy pitch. Oh, there's nothing we could have done. Nonsense. Nonsense.

Yep.

What do you reckon? You think we'll get through?

I think we'll get a two or three one win. I really do. Fulham.

We'Re getting beat there away form this season's been atrocious and I, I just think like, whatever happens Thursday, I'm just like, we, we beat AZ 4 nil. Brilliant. And it's like it's the come down at the weekend against Fulham. So it's like, ah, that's reality check for Spurs. Or it's like AZ beat us in the week, we go to Fulham, we can't shake it off without defeats. You know, really, I'm just like, I just don't see a world where we go with, go to Fulham and win.

We're being Fulham as well. I'm going to be positive you're going.

Two wins this week. That would be.

Wow. What else to do, mate, I just, I hate it so much at the moment. I just, I've got to be hopeful. Yeah. All right, mate, well see you next week. And don't forget, if you just bright, if you just really like. Come on, you Spurs.

I always thought there was very, very.

Many people interested in football and I.

Always thought that football was a very important game.

But I never realized until today just.

How important it is. Whether the wonder boys of Python are or are not the team of the century can't possibly be more than a.

Matter of a pitch. Well, they're the finest team in Great.

Britain and one of the best in the world.

We are about the glory of the game. We are about playing with style. We are Tottenham Hotspur. The curve of the ball, the billow of the net. The beating of the trap and the picking of the lock. The swiftness of thought, the lightness of touch. We are Ginelet, Greaves, Klinsman. We are the collective gasp, the intake of breath, the flick, the trick, the 30 yard free kick. We are Hodl Mappets. We are the lob, the chip, the dummy and the volley. We are the hat trick, the scissor kick. We are Bill Nick.

That is schoolboy's own stuff.

We are the outside of the boot, the inside of the net. And those seconds that last forever.

Vanderva to level it up. Rafael van der Vaart. Two, two. It's quite a gap. Isn't it always?

We are Jennings Defoe and Perryman. Glory past, glory future. What was, what is, what's next? We are Blanch, Flower, Adelis and baal. We are about winning with a flourish. We are about winning with style. We are about the glory of the game. Daring to try, daring to risk, Daring to dream. To dare is to do.

It's all over top and we're won the cup. Really stubborn. Going all the way. Leonard's kicked him out. Oh, this is incredible. This is quite incredible. Truly a glory, glory day for Tottenham Hotspur.