11 Aug 2025 · 55 min
This is a podcast episode titled "S15E1 - The end of a feeling, the new beginning" recorded in August 2025. It features a conversational discussion between two hosts, Joe and Matt, focusing on Tottenham Hotspur football club. They reflect on the departure of key player Son Heung-min, the club's recent performances, player evaluations, managerial changes, and predictions for the upcoming season. The conversation is informal, rich with football insights, nostalgia, and fan perspectives.
Foreign. Welcome to season 15 of Echoes of Glory. I'm still ASD and I am still.
Jack and we are still here 15.
Seasons, years later, but European champions. European champions. That's what we are.
Soon to be. Double European champions Wednesday night. Do I mean the big one.
The big one.
Easy opposition.
I wasn't even going to talk about that.
Can't wait. What? How amazing. How amazing will it be for Thomas Frank? First competitive game.
Bang.
More European psg.
Yeah, that would be amazing. There's so much to talk about. Let's talk about Sun. It's the most important thing. How do you feel about it? I'm really sad. You? It's the best thing for everybody. We got money, he got to go to la, blah, blah, blah, blah. It. It feels like the end of an era for Tottenham.
Just feels like it's a long term relationship breakup and both, both people still love each other, but you just know we want different things. We want different things.
Do you know what? We've had a world class players for a long time. Modric and I'm defining world classes. Could go and play for any team. Let's say could go and play for Real Madrid. We have Modric. Then we had Bale who did go and play for Real Madrid. Then we had Kane who could have gone play for Real Madrid. And we had Son who could play for Real Madrid. Now do we have a world class player? I'm not sure we do. You could argue the two are the center backs. Right. And then you go.
I think so. Yeah. It was because you put that in the group channel, so that's really interesting. I, I'd never thought about that to be honest. But like, actually even in the dark years when I started going in like the late 90s, there was always a player that was like, you know, my early Davis, Teddy Sheringham.
An attacker.
Yeah. Spurs have always had great attacking players, even when we've been poor.
Yeah.
Like honestly, you could reel off 24ft. Johan Clemson was one of the best in Europe at the time. Like somehow we've always had them and I do think it's a really interesting one. I mean, I don't know if I'd put Romero in there as a world class center back, but I think there are people that would. So I, I guess you would say if you had to pick a player in the, in the spurs side, that's who could go and play at the highest level. I guess it is. He won the World cup, do you know? I mean, he's won cop America like Yeah, you probably have to say is him when he's fit. I think Udogi's a sensational left back. But start worrying a little bit like is he going to be one of them players that's got world class potential but can he get there because he's never on the pitch. Romero and Van Den are going to be absolutely crucial next season, this season to whatever we end up doing. And they are, if they're fit and available and they play the majority of the season like we'll be in the mix, top five, top six. But we're very, very, very reliant on that pairing, staying fit and being available all season long. But I, I, I think I probably agree with you that I guess we don't have anyone now, do we?
This is why the sun thing impacted me most because it's, it's the end of the thing that I love about spurs is the spursiness is there is pride, there is glory. And it feels like that's gone a little bit now. Not that there's no pride or no glory, but there's no, just no one's going to be afraid of Tottenham when they come. No one's afraid of Solanke, he's great player, but no one's afraid of Madison, no one's afraid of Kulusevsky, no one's afraid of Bentica, of Kudus. Not in the same way you might go, some will tear you apart. And we've lost a lot of memories there. And I've been thinking a lot about the Europa League as well within that because it's still, I'm still very flat about it because of the league position. And you watched the Levy interview with Gary? Yeah, really good.
I, I enjoyed it. And look, we've, we've said many times our views on Levy ownership and what we want to see, what we don't want to see and all of that. And I think that there is a point where it's like if he speaks, he gets the thing thrown at him of like, this is all just for his own publicity and if he doesn't, it's like, well, we don't hear from him. So I'm like, he's damned if he does, he's damned if he doesn't. I thought he was a really good interview and I, I think he, I think he spoke really well actually in, in all of that.
If you're rolling a dice, rolled a five with Levy, like, is he a little bit old school? Could he be pushing the. But like, should he do his deals a Little bit earlier, spend a little bit more to make sure things happen, whatever. Like we lost Morgan Gibbs White because of it. We didn't meet all the clause or whatever. Like, just, just go and get it done. But what more do you want from him? I, I, I don't know what more you want from him, but the point there is he talked about why he let Ange go. And the decision was, yeah, we won the Europa League, but spurs don't finish 17th. And that, that was my feeling throughout the Europa League because no matter what happened in that Europa League, we were finished in 17th. And you knew that when we went back and played with Brighton, we played afterwards in the B4 1. You knew that was going to happen. So it didn't, I couldn't enjoy it as much. And then I went back and listened to the BBC 5 live highlights of the Manchester City and then the IX game and I got so emotional, so emotional. Listen to them. And that, that felt more Tottenham to me. That felt more the Tottenham that I align with. In the same way I've got friends who are Chelsea fans now and I still judge them for it because you know what that club's about, what spurs is about is not finishing 17th and winning Europa League. And that's the thing, why I found the Europa League thing really difficult. Obviously it makes me emotional. But that, that thing that I love about Tottenham feels like it's gone a little bit with.
I get it. Yeah, I get it. I get it. It's probably the last player that you have that emotional connection with. I mean, all of the players now, they're just players that play for Tottenham. They probably don't mean much more than that at the moment. New manager, we don't have much of a feeling towards the new man. Like, it's all very, we're not really sure about anyone. And expectations, despite having won last year at quite low as well. So I can, I completely get what you're saying. It's difficult. One, like I, I was probably in the minority that I was like, I think we could, I think we keep him for another year. But like, it's probably the right decision to let him go. He made his debut today, didn't he, for la. And it just, you know how, you know how certain players just don't suit certain kits. It's like it, it just, it just doesn't look right. It doesn't look right. I don't know if it's because he's been in a Spurs kit for too long, but certain players, they just, they Only really sort of suit.
Have you seen that video where Kaka goes and plays like six aside in the cages and you can just tell he's just better than everybody. That's what he looks like. He just looks quicker, sharper. You can see him go, oh my God, I'm gonna have a great time.
There's that brilliant bit in that Kaka video, isn't there? Where like some overweight 4 year olds like shouting, trying to get him to pass it and he's just like, I'll just drag it and put it bottom corner. It's great. So no, I, I do agree with your point about son. It's. Look, not nothing lasts forever, does it? And it's. We're lucky again that he's another one of those players that we can say in his absolute pomp. In his heyday, we saw him, it was incredible. He's. He scored certainly some of the best goals live that I've ever seen with.
Oh yeah, you know about the goals. I've been, I've been watching all of them.
So, so many like, so many like. And he's one of those players, isn't he? Where it's like his like catalog of goals, they're all like, well, the majority of them are great finishes, both feet, pure striker of the ball.
This is because a couple of seasons ago you were like, he's not, he needs to be more clinical.
More clinical. I was right.
He, since his debut, he's the most clinical player. He's overperformed his XG since better than anyone else. And since it's. I saw a good one today when I was doing my research for the pod. Better goals and assists than Kevin De Bruyne who came in in the same summer. That's incredible.
That's nuts. That's nuts. It's interesting that he's. If he's overperformed, you know, ever since because something definitely changed with him and he definitely. I don't know, maybe if it was just me, but you know how like you can look at stats and all of that, but nothing can give you the feeling you've got when a player goes clean through. And in his first three, four seasons, if he went clean through, I never felt goal. Whereas his final three or four, same with Kane in it, they go. Same with Defoe, you know, all those top players, they go through and you're just like, what's a goal?
If you are designing the perfect modern footballer, you go quite light because then they don't wear out. Quick right foot, left foot, able to play anywhere across the middle of the front three, intelligent, humble. He's that perfect player.
Oh, I thought you were talking about yourself. Sorry.
Oh yeah. I mean I retired a few apparently. If you. I saw somewhere, I saw someone they sent a letter to. It was actually to the Welsh fa, but that's probably why it got my notice. But somebody who'd never played football properly sent a letter informing them that he was going to withdraw himself from the ability to be selected. And then he got a letter back from the fa. So I'd encourage everybody to do that.
Fantastic. But I get what you mean. Like he's certainly in terms of left foot, right foot up there with as good as what we've scene.
He's that period of pain and then behind him, Delhi Erickson's son was the best attacking I've ever seen at Tottenham. Ah, you just couldn't pick him up. It was that Pochettino. I'm getting emotional because that, that was my era of going. But that what a player he was gone and give me. We've all seen all of his goals. We know the Burnley goal, we know we sort of scissor kick goals against Swansea where the goals are the good one, the West Ham one. Everyone's been showing the Chelsea goal, Wembley.
Where he ran, he ran like the length of the pitching.
My favorite of like all of them. Unbelievable.
Remember one of his early goals that he scored away at Watford which was like the ball come in and he like flicked was offside but it was in the last minute and. And they went into the crowd against Gomez. Yeah, it was absolute pandemonium.
There's the goal against the one against Dortmund is his second Champions League goal for us where he's coming in from the left and he hits it near post straight up. Unbelievable, that one.
And also the brace that he got at the Emirates last season. No, sorry, two seasons ago in the two, two. And like he just led us that day, do you know? I mean that was a captain's performance.
The first one of those was unbelievable. Where he had to, he, he had to do the perfect timing single touch in between three Arsenal defenders. And then yeah, that segment where they. Someone made an error and gave it to Madison or Kulisovsky and put it through for him. I, I love the man. Can you give me the starting lineup from his debut away at Sunderland on the 15th of January 2015.
God, what a question that is. Is that where his debut was? Why at Sunderland?
Why It's Sunderland. Defoe was playing for Sunderland. Was that nil Nil it was Ryan Mason scored. Oh, well, there's one of them.
One. No, no. If Mason scored, it was one nil. And it was late as well, wasn't it? Like 82nd.
Oh my God.
It's good. And he got injured in the goal, didn't he? Mason? He went for and like lifted it over the keeper and then got. Then got taken out. What was the spurs team that day? Larissa goal.
Yeah.
I'm gonna. Then Walker.
Yeah.
Rose.
Nope. Davis.
The Tongan.
Tongan all the. Yep.
Let's be back for Mason and Interlap.
No.
Mason Dyer.
Dyer. By Munich. Well, Monaco now.
Yeah.
Is Dia gonna be in the midfield with what's his face, the old man United in Juventus. What's his name?
Pogba.
Pogba. Is it going to be a dire in Pogba midfield?
I don't think anyone will be putting Dire into midfield these days, but you never know.
This is true. Mason.
Son. Pain.
Yeah.
Erickson.
No.
Chadley.
That is the one I thought you wouldn't get. Yeah. And.
I feel like deli.
Deli, mate. That is strong work. Lamella Townsend. Carol Rose, Vaughan. Trippier winks on the bench.
You know what? Like that ain't a great side, is it?
Not at all.
Do you know what I mean? Shout out. Shout out to Ryan Mason as well. First gamers head coach for West Brom yesterday And they won 1 nil, didn't they? So, yeah, be great. It'd be great, wouldn't it, to see him. To take him up like that would just be fantastic.
Great club. Yeah.
10 years though of Sun. 10 years. If that was 2015, it's remarkable in it properly loved.
Properly loved. It just got better and better. And you're.
And your boy is still there. Ben Davis.
He's the last of the Champions League, isn't he? Yeah.
Still hanging about.
I hope he never plays a game. I hope he just sits there and I hope he comes into. Gets into management or backroom stuff or just something. He deserves something, doesn't he?
But he's still not that old though, is he? What is he, 32? 33? Maybe not even as old as that, do you know what I mean? Like he. He's still got.
Still got a few years in the legs or 1993. Oh my God, he's only 32. He just feels slow, doesn't he?
We've just known him for a long time, but you know what I mean, he's not old.
He's been this person's 2014. Yeah.
I wonder if There'll be. This is his last year and then does he have a last hurrah back at Swansea?
Can you imagine? No, he lives all his family here.
I was gonna say. Or is he. Is he? Wrexham.
Who lost yesterday, didn't they? Yeah.
Did you see Phil Parkinson saying that they haven't got the money to compete with teams like Southampton? I was like, that's great. That's great.
Sun huming top five all time spurs appearance maker. Above Hugo Larisse, above Glenn Hoddle, above Harry Kane, like legend of Spurs.
It's remarkable.
He is more. He's a high scoring overseas player. I've said it for a couple of seasons now. Our Greatest foreign player, 5th highest goal scorer in our history and he lifted the European trophy for us. I saw someone on Reddit say Bale had the highest peak we ever saw and I fully agree with that.
Yeah, agree.
Kane was like the greatest player we ever saw. Yeah. And some was the most loyal, the biggest legend, I think.
You know what, son? I feel like son's one of them players that he's liked by everyone, non spurs fans included. Like, he's one of those players that's just like, oh my God, Light and Golo Kante. You can't not love him. It's just one of those guys, isn't it, that you're just like. Yeah, you, you're just phenomenal.
Yeah, I, I've been watching back some of like the, the. Not the tour, the parade after that. And you can just see in his eyes, can't you? You can see he knew that, that parade.
Still, I. I still think for me that being along Tottenham High Roads with Jay Cana Holston, I was like, that was as good a. Yeah. Tottenham experience and memory. Probably the best one I've ever had. It was phenomenal.
I wish I would have. When we were. I was going somewhere, wasn't I? So I couldn't make it. I went to. I can't remember where I went, Wales or somewhere, but I really wish I went for that one. But hey. So son leaves with nothing. I hope he comes back, you know, when the MLS finishes. Or he can come back and just come onto the pitch and just be appreciated. It's a shame. Never got a proper song. But it'd be good if him and Hugo could come. Maybe they'd have a friendly against them next and it would be like their. Their game, the sun and Hugo.
You can see a little tournament of LA Spurs, Bayern, Monaco, couldn't you? A little, little tournament going on. Everyone back together.
Great. That'd be good. A US All Stars managed by Pochettino with a European Spurs All Stars. That would be pretty cool.
Managed by Tim Sherwood.
Yeah, that's an option. That is an option.
Managed by Ryan Mason.
That would. That is the best idea you've ever had, Joe. I was trying to work out and I can't find any way to do it is which spurs player has played with the most other spurs players. I think it will be Sung Kyung Min. Because we have more players in the modern era.
Yeah.
And he's had the most appearances.
That's a great shot. And a lot of turnover of players in the last like six, seven years.
I reckon some would have played for the most managers as well because he's. Oh well, Davis is. Davis has obviously played for all the same as son but he's been through Potch, Stellini Mason, Nuno Mourinho Conte and Frank Sherwood.
Yeah, Mason twice.
Mason twice.
One for the statos out there amongst us. That was. That's a great one.
It's a good one. Right?
Yeah.
Are we going to talk about Ange? I don't. I was so glad to see him gone. I just wish it had been done sooner. Finishing, you know my feelings. Yeah.
Right. Call for us to move on. Reflecting on it over the summer, I am quite happy that he was the guy that broke out trophy, you know, drought. Because the reason I say that is because I think he's a nice man. Do you know what I mean? If you look at a lot of the managers that we value, let's face it, been proper and they. A lot of them like just not just, you know, I mean there haven't been people that we've been happy to get behind on a personal level. Do you know what I mean? And I know that you weren't Angie's biggest fan, but like he. He held himself with a lot of integrity, I thought. And I mean he seemed like a. He seemed like a good guy. Do you know what I mean? Whereas there's been a lot of them post parts that you just like you're not a good guy. Like you might be a good Portman, but you're not a good guy. So I'm happy in that respect that it was him. Like you can imagine if it had been Marino or Contact and all about them, but. And like even Ange now, I'm sure if people were to speak to him and he. I'm sure he'd be on doing some punditry in that soon. He will still sort of Put it all on the players and say it was Tottenham. Do you know what I mean? He's just quite a humble guy and I'm happy that, that we had him to do that, his personality to do that. I think Thomas Frank is an excellent appointment. I think that we have got to be very, very, very patient given it's not been the best window so far with players coming in, players going out, injuries. We're not going into the season primed and ready.
I don't think, I think we're weaker than we were last season, basically injuries.
So I, I, I think we've just got to be aware of that and if there are a few bumps to start with like that's okay. There's probably going to be, do you know what I mean? Like he's, he's definitely not got the squad he wanted but we have made the couple of bodies that have come in I'm quite pleased with but I think it's the right decision and I think that he will be a steady Eddie for us for the next few years who could go on to do something because he's tactically very good.
I work with a huge amount of Danes. I, I and I've been, I've been to Denmark six times. I went to dent mark six times in the first five months this year. I was meant, I'm meant to be there now. I meant to have moved there by now. He will be unspectacular but he'll be consistent, very human and I think he will just, it will just see marginal gains. Marginal gains. I, I think well we'll get on to what actions are. I'm. You said top six earlier. I'm thinking top half is, is where we will finish because you go we finished 17th last year. We're weaker. Liverpool, Liverpool look like world class. Some of the stuff they were doing today, there's some of their work on the break is unbelievable when that team settles.
I, I just, I just look round at the Premier League in general and no doubt Liverpool the strongest side and they've made some unbelievable attacking signings. All I would say on that is they were an unbelievably good attack inside last year.
Yep.
So it's like it's not as if they've gone from they're okay going forward to now they've got this far that Liverpool have always got firepower like they were fantastic going forward last year. They'll be fantastic this year. I don't know if it makes them spectacularly better than what they were. If I'M honest, I think if they went and got Isaac as well that maybe is the thing that changes it but. But I. You still have to have. You have to have Liverpool as the favorites but I don't know if it's going to be as our Liverpool have won it and as cut and dry as that as what people are saying. I think that you've got a really rejuvenated man City side that have got Rodri and Harland back this year and people forget Harland missed so many games last year as well. They've made signings Chelsea look good. You know they. I know they've just lost, lost Coldwell to long term injury but like I think they're going to be better. Arsenal are going to be right in the mix. I don't know if it's going to be as easy as people are saying for Liverpool and it feels like for a lot of pundits season's done. Liverpool got the best team. That's it. I'm not sure. I'm. I'm really not sure if it's going to be as simple as that. I think that this whole season if you look at people going for the league, people going for the Champions League spots, people going for Europa League, Conference League, I think it's absolutely wide open, as wide open as we've ever seen it going into this season and I think anybody could mount a challenge for anything at this point. So I'm quite excited for the season obviously as a Spurs fan but as. As a neutral as well. I'm quite excited to see what's going to happen with a lot of sides.
I think Liverpool losing three attackers, Jota may rest in peace, Diaz and Nunes. So like they had to make, they had to make some quite. Yeah. Changes. So I see what you're saying there. I've just seen Arsenal and Etsy. Looks like there's been an agreement. That's a massive, massive deal. I'd like, I'd like to us to have got. I'd say but I think we need to be a bit more specialist because we in the places where we really need support like just generic attackers. Not that he's a generic attacker, he's a wide player but we've got a fair few of them.
I've never been convinced with Eze. I think he's a really, really good player. I think he's madison level. I don't see him being the player that elevates the team to the next level. I think he's a good player but.
I Know you mean?
I'm not sure. I'm not sure. He might be exactly what Arsenal need that just slightly more off the cuff creative player but yeah, I don't know in our side I know we've lost him for injury but you've got Madison, you've got Kulasevsky, you've got bodies in.
There slow and constantly injured now and Madison's out with an ACL from six months at least I get that but.
Again I wonder if he's just looking at and going you know what I want Paulina who I think is a smart son. I was shouting for us a couple of seasons ago to be trying to get him.
It's a good one.
I wonder if he's looking at that guy. And look I've got Paulina. He seems to quite like Sar doesn't he in pre season and Bergval and maybe he's looking at and going actually do we want to play without a traditional number 10? Do you know what I mean? Do we. Do we want to be a little bit different with how we set our midfield up? You forget like some of the. The great Klopp Liverpool side didn't have enough didn't have a number 10 do you know what I mean? Like you don't have So I just wonder if he's looking at it going I'm gonna play slightly differently. I I think you're going to see from spurs this year and more physical, fitter, more aggressive in terms of running side and I can just see if you've got Palinia, Sar, Berkv, Kudis, tell Johnson, Solanke, whatever combinations they go with there Kuliski is when he's back back does cover a lot of ground. I look at that and go are you going to see a. A slightly different type of Tottenham this year as opposed to one that necessarily tries to control the game all time. I think we might be a bit more direct and by that I don't mean going to lump it. I just think. I think that this season we might be going let's try and score with 5 passes rather than with 15. Know what I mean? And you can't, you can play different ways and I just I wonder if that's how he. He has to go not getting Gibbs White. I really disappointed that that was a signing. I was really excited about that when I saw that one I was like seeing him live against us really good aggressive player with the ball, make stuff happen, multiple position. I thought it would have been really good. So that would gut it to have not Got that one over the line. What did you. What have you made of who we have, bro? See Kudas. Kudas on the wing, Palino in the middle.
So Buskovich looked. Looked great in the preseason friendly, but friendlies, you. You cannot take anything from. It was brilliant, wasn't it? Because we went. Beat Arsenal one there and everyone's like, well, we're back. And then we went and lost to. Who did we lose to? And it was the one in the middle and people going, oh, it looks. We don't look very good. It's a preseason friendly. It means nothing. And that, you know, they're in Hong Kong, then they're flying everywhere else. Now we've got to play PSG. I'm expecting to get hammered by PSG, like 3 or 4 nil. And it won't. It won't mean anything.
You just don't know. Like, honestly, you really don't know, like, PSG are just coming off the back of the World Club Championships, aren't they as well? They've played.
I'm prepared. I. I won't be bothered if we win it or we lose it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I just. I just think you.
It.
It is. It is basically a glorified friendly Wednesday. But it's. But we're the only nation, though, that actually don't really put anything on this trophy every else in Europe. It's quite a prestigious thing to go and win. So, like, it would be amazing for us to do it. You just don't know you. I don't. I'll be honest with you. I haven't followed football much over the summer. I have no idea where a PSG in their preseason, who have they signed, who's not fit, who's back? So do you know what I mean? It's not going to be the PSG side that played the Champions League final two months ago. Do you know what I mean? Like, we're not facing that just because of where we're at in the season. I mean, having said that, they're still massive favorites, but I just think that type of game, pretty much anything can happen really, to an.
In the Super League, the Champions League winners have won it 29 times and lost it 20 times. And the Europa League teams have won it eight times and lost it 17. So we can. We can chill a little bit on transferred. So we've got kudos in West Ham. Love it. It's a lot of money, but it seems perfect for us. The video where he was doing his medical and he said, when the guy was listening to his heartbeat and he was like, can you hear that? That is Tottenham. That was my favorite thing because it wound up all my West Ham mates so much. It was so angry. It reminded me. Do you remember the kl, the unveiling video when he left Arsenal and went to Marseille and he took off the Arsenal shirt to reveal the Versation. It's so disrespectful. Matthew's tail looked fine. Dano looks pretty good. I'd start Dano over. What's his name? Dragosin. Are you aligned to that?
I don't like Jackson at all. No, I've just. But he, he might look like a different player under Thomas Frank with a different style. If you, if you ask him to do less with the ball and not be on the halfway line, he, he will probably be a better player this year. But I think Danso looked all right.
Yeah, I'm expecting our defense to be way better than they were last year. I'm expecting Van de Ven to be far fitter because he won't have to make so many sprints.
I think I expect on the defense for there to be moans in October about the fact that Pyro, New Doggy and Spence, they're not getting assists that I'm expect. I'm expecting those kind of bits to come up because he will ask them to do a little bit less I.
Think going forward and then I've got the player Paulinia I'm really, really excited about. He didn't play much last year but he just, he, he isn't companies type of player so he just didn't play. I'm really excited by him.
Physicality in, in there and a bit of aggression and a bit of like a bit of nastiness, you know. He's what he's one though. He, he, he does miss a lot of games through suspensions. If you look back like he picks up a lot of yellow cards like so we've just got a brace for that. But like I think our midfields lacked a bit of that for quite some time probably since the one Yamadaya days. Just a bit of physicality in there. Do you know what I mean?
Well, Hoiberg's left to Marseille officially now. He was, he was that role for a little bit.
He was all right. He was, he was all right for.
Us and that is what Frank will be. They're both Danes. He will just be straight down the middle. Talking of Danes, Christian Eriksen is without a club still. I, I'm not suggesting we go in for him. Like I, I wouldn't want him on a free la. Maybe. Maybe.
That would be great. That would be great. No. And Delhi, Delhi's without a clay. You should want to see them all.
Oh my God. Delhi, we're going to move you to la. But don't get distracted. Never going to happen.
It's when you, it's when all that happens and then you, you hear Danny Rose is coming out of retirement and he's also going to la. They're all going to la. Car Walker, he's ripped up his Burnley deal. How weird is that? Carl Walker going to Burnley.
I have completely missed that. Yeah.
How weird. That like that was great. That happened, happened about a month ago.
I must have missed that. That is crazy. Must be some. Maybe he's got some baby Scott Parker. Yeah. Oh, I do remember this. Good luck to him. Right, I need your predictions. Do you know, I was looking up Champions League wins by club in the UK because I've been on a little bit of one look at. Because I'm going to Cardiff my summer. I've started a cycling club. I've done a lot of cycling. I'm feeling great. And so I watched the Tour de France properly for the first time. And Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France a few years ago. He's one of the three that were in the class with Gareth Bale. So he's Olympic gold medalist. The other one was Sam Warburton, captain Lions for a long time.
Bright bread, great bread.
And do you know the English clubs, how many times they've won it?
So are you counting? Are you, Are you Champions League, European Cup? Okay.
Yeah.
So Liverpool six, aren't they?
Liverpool have won at six times.
And then what you got? United three or four.
Yeah. Yeah. And then Chelsea have got two, Gareth Bale's got five. It's, it still blows my mind. I know. Obviously he's at Chelsea two main night three. City have got one, Forest have got two. Villa have got one. G Bell's got five Champions Leagues. I know.
No, it's unbelievable is.
You think like people go in and they expect to. If they win it once, it's the best thing in their life. He's, he's got five. I can imagine winning three Champions League and going, you still got more. You're still going to score the winning goal in two Champions League finals.
Ridiculous. I, I, I, I do think we speak about B a lot but I do think he is one of the most underrated players in the history of football.
The greatest Champions League final goal. And the only reason he came up, Zidane hated him. And the only reason they brought him on because they needed one of the greatest players to ever play the game to come on. He went and scored that goal. He scored two in that final, didn't he? Against carriers.
He got one, didn't he? From 25 yards at Carish, chucked in and then he got the overhead right.
I need your predictions for this year to finish us off. So last year, I'm going to go through the categories and tell you what you said last year, and then I'm going to ask you for this year. So where do we finish in the league? Neither of us got it right. You said four. I said third. What are you doing?
That's ambitious, wouldn't it? This year I'm gonna say.
Seventh. I just went eight and I changed that from 12.
Seventh. Slightly. Slightly pessimistic. I think we might do better than that.
But.
That'S sort of what. That's sort of what I expect.
Champions League, Europa League. Last year, do you know what you said? Gotta win it. Look how right you were. I said, and I say, caught, obviously.
This time last year I had a couple of drinks by going, we're gonna win the Europa League and finish fourth.
So he's saying, champions League.
The format. It's the new format, isn't it? We won't be in the top eight. That will go straight through. We'll. I think we'll. We'll qualify out of the league. Oh, I don't think we'll be in the bottom, whatever it is, because you've only got to really be sort of in the mid, mid 16, haven't you?
Yeah.
To, like, get into the knockout or like the knockout playoffs, I think, there and then. And then out.
Yeah, I'm the same. We'll get to the playoffs and then get knocked out. I think.
Yeah, we'll get to knockout stage and then be.
Yeah. Oh, you're saying knockouts? I'm saying, yeah. Knocked out of the playoffs?
No, I think so. I think qualifying to the playoffs, win the playoff game and then.
And then.
And then basically, you. You're into the top sides, aren't you? But again, again, we. We might do better than You've got to think. Didn't Villa finish, like, second last year?
Were amazing.
Like, it's all about if. We've always said this, back to the early days in the Champions League, win your home games, and if you win your home games, you'll be fine.
You'll get through I just had some flashbacks to the Barcelona game where we got hammered and that Bayern Munich game. Do you remember that point Gnabry?
Yeah, absolutely. That was your plan on football manager. And you've figured out the tactic to score against the computer and they don't respond and it's just goal, goal.
That.
That was exactly what that game was.
That was awful. League cup. You said Four Thrones. I said semi final.
Good. From that was when you beat Liverpool 1 nil. And we were like, we're gonna do it. And they absolutely annihilated us, didn't they? We didn't have a shot, did we? Was it 4 nil or 5 nil? It was just a distraction, wasn't it?
Didn't. What's his face, the big center back, Van Dyke scoring that one. Did he score the first goal in that? I can't remember. Don't want to talk about that. So what are you.
Oh, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go third round. I'm gonna go early exit like the. The game. You know the game that's like end of September.
Yeah.
And I'm gonna have us to draw a decent team away and just get beat.
I'm going forefront. I really don't think Frank is going to focus on the cups. I think he. He has to get that lead position. But FA cup last year you said quarters and I said third round.
Gonna go quarters again. Fourth round and we'll be beaten disappointingly at home to a side struggling, performing the Premier League. Just make that, make seven changes and beat us two one second half comeback. Now you know what's happening there. We're get. We're gonna get knocked out by Brentford.
The only thing I can guarantee is we will play someone with a plastic pitch. That is what will happen to us. Whether it's the Champions League, the FA cup of the League Cup. It will be plastic pitch, unexpected hero. You said Archie Grail Vicario. I'm gonna give you that for last year. I said Archie Great is one of my favorite players last year. Who is your unexpected hero this year?
So I thought about this earlier and I've got a. It's a. It's a personal unexpected hero because I'm going to say Romero. And the reason I'm saying unexpected hero is because he's going to change my opinion of him this year.
Wow.
Which is what makes him my unexpected hero. That at the end of the year I'm just going to be raving about him.
Okay. Unexpected hero. I am going to go. Oh, it's a tricky one that when you know Madison because he's going to come back and change the trajectory of where we were going. We were big shout going 12th but he comes in assists, some goals to make us finish. Hate standout player. You had Solanki with 18, a prediction of 18 goals didn't hit that. But he. I'm really looking forward to seeing Solanke this year. I think he will fit in.
I agree with you. I think we're gonna play to his strengths more this season and I think you'll see him get, let's face it, like his poacher is good in the box. He's. I think you'll see him score a lot more scrappier goals which doesn't sound like that, it doesn't sound a compliment but like he's great at that. And I think we'll get him in the six hour box more often than what we did last year.
Right place, right time. Yeah, yeah. But who's your standout player?
I am going to go for Paulina.
Oh, are we going to make him permanent?
I'm gonna say no. But not, not, not through one of trying.
I reckon we will.
I think he'll be great and then he'll go somewhere else after because he's 31, isn't he?
Yeah, he's not young but I think we'll get him for like 5 million or something really cheap.
Just the reason I've gone with him is I just think that's such a key position and we've, we've struggled there for a few years and any and any team that does anything that's okay. Normally that player, even you think last year you think of like Brighton, like Carlos Baleba, brilliant for them, Chelsea, Casado, like those players tend to be the ones that will drive.
Yeah. So I'm going Vanderban because I think this is the Aegos. Right. You're not in your first year, you're not in your early years. This is the. Or is it Bergfell? I think Bergval will become not just the like the youth player I think he will become.
I hope so. And that's the only. I think silver lining with the Madison injury is that there's no reason Bergfeld doesn't play now. No reason at all. My controversial take is this is Mickey Vandervan's last season at Spurs.
That's what. That's where I was going. But he just gets his move to Madrid.
Huge. Yeah. Barcelona. Yeah, I could see him at Barcelona. Hansi Flick plays on the halfway Line.
Like, yeah, yeah, he'll be the first hundred million player we sent about that. We sell your feeling at the end of the season. Last year you said that you wanted to feel like with that consistency that we conceded fewer. Did we concede fewer than the season before and that we win the derbies, which any happen. Oh, my God.
We did get consistency. We did get consistency.
We were consistent. So we conceded 61 the season before. We conceded 65 last season. So we, we didn't hit that either.
I want at the end of the season or this is. It's really how I want to feel just during this season and the first year under Thomas Frank is. I want to feel confident going into games because the last 12 months, every single game I've gone into, I've gone. We're losing this.
You know what I've been when people have been to ask me, am I sad about son, am I sad about Ange? How do you feel about the Europa League? I say on the podcast, we looked at the last six games live on the show and we said we're not going to win any of them. And then we didn't. And that was unacceptable. And you're right. Having feeling that we could at least draw and hopefully win.
Yeah. And the, the, the most obvious, obvious thing because Ange did so poorly in them is you've got to get a result against Arsenal. Like, do you know what I mean? He's got to do that. Like. Yeah, we need. We what. What we really need is to beat him at home and beat them well. Like, we've not done that. What if they beat us three seasons in a row, haven't they, at our place? Like we, we need to beat them this year. Like we really do.
Son's goal against Arsenal during co Chris was there. That was one of my favorites because he doesn't do it like that that often.
Screamer. That was an absolute screamer.
That was unstoppable, that one. But.
No, I was going to say but. But just for me, I just. I want to have almost a bit of a delusioned belief going into games been like, we can win this.
I want to feel like there's a plan that we're going away to Stamford Bridge. We're not going to it up, excuse my language. We're not going to just be ignorant that we. If we lose, it'll be one nil and it'll be hard for. They'll be spent at the end. Yeah, I'm put not eight.
And my other thing is, I'd like for us to not be out fought and out fought like we were pretty much every week there's going to be some games we are, but more often than not I want us to be like, did we do everything we could have? And if we have, if, if this season he, we look at it and we're, we're quite level headed fans and we look back and we go. Frank was flexible. He adapted, he tried different things, he stuck, but he stuck to his core principles in terms of how we play and him and the group gave us everything. At the end of the year, I can't then be sat here going, oh, he's got to go. But like I'm actually like, what more can he do? And if, if that gets us seventh and out in all the cups early and out of the Champions League early, it's a little bit like that's where.
We'Re at then, you know we finished 17th. Yeah. And we massively benefited from a very different and new Europa League where Champions League teams don't drop into it and then we face a poor Man United third in the final. Like that's our level right now. Which is cool. Yeah, that's cool.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
We, we've lost a player who was in his final days in his footballing career but that shut the door on the world class game changer players. So now we need to have a plan and a team. We can't just rely on Kane, we can't just rely on Son to pull us out of things. We need to do something. I don't know where to put it in here, but I really want to see Gray get in the team. I'm a big fan of his, you know, I don't know what position does he play, all of that stuff, but I'd really, really like to see him play.
Yeah, I, I, I get it.
I don't know where.
I don't know. Well, for me, for me his position is quite clear. For me it's defender. From the first time I've seen him like it, it's not midfield player for me but wherever you play him, the, the issue I think he's got this season is where the hell is he getting minutes? Because it's not a center half unless there's massive injuries. We've just gone and got Palina like so he's not playing there. He's not mobile enough to play any of the other midfield roles in my opinion. He might maybe sneak in at fullback early on with your doggies injury. He might, I know that it'll go Poro and Spence. But then if he needs to. I just don't know where he's going to get in that. That's what's hard.
Would you go bottom five team? Bottom five team. The teams are going to finish bottom five next year. So Leads and all the others, you go. We're just gonna have a different set of that partnership for those games. We're not just gonna play. No.
And I. And I think the reason is Frank hasn't got like, what depends on if we don't get results in those games.
Then you're saying that we have to play the same center back partnership every game.
Most games, yeah.
Yeah.
But I think most teams do that. Look, I know, I agree with you. It's almost like you need there to be a game every two weeks where you're allowed 12 players and he can get some minutes. But that my. The, the issue. I think the hard thing for him is going to be is it's not just minutes. Like he needs starts and he needs 90 minutes. And where's that going to come from? I don't know. I think. I think he might be the one. There's 20 minutes to go and you tune your up, sling him on, but you're not really going to develop. The only thing, the only thing I might say with it is Frank does go free at the back quite a lot at Brenford. He's done it. And if you look at when he was at Bronby, he's done it there. He does do that quite a lot. That's a weigh in for Gray because his passing's good from the back. So that, that, that's the only area where I think potentially you might see him getting a little bit.
Yeah, okay.
I get it though. It's so hard with young players. Like if they're going to develop, you got to play them. But then if you play him and they don't, if he. Imagine if he starts him and he struggles and we don't get results and we're 15th after 10 games. That's the thing. He'll be gone, wouldn't he? That. That's the thing. That's the thing.
Yeah. Okay. The goal difference last year you said plus 24. I said plus 25. It was minus one.
It's going to be, it's going to be positive this season because surely. Because we're going to concede less.
Yeah.
Plus 10.
10. Yeah. I'm gonna go eight. I've gone similar to you, just a little bit worse on everything.
Yeah.
Which, yeah, we're both quite positive by these things. The shame Chris isn't here. She's driving back from Cornwall. There's a film being made about England and Gareth Southgate and one of Emma's friend's brother is the. Is Kieran Trippier in it and.
Oh, not a documentary film. Like people are acting.
People are acting.
That's weird.
He's mixed race and I'm not sure Kieran Trippy's mixed race, but he does look like Kieran Tripper a little bit. He's got short hair.
Quite know what to say to that.
It's really odd, isn't it? It's really odd how many signings we're going to make before the end of the window. I think we've got one, at least one more in us.
I mean, we. I think we need two. We need. We need another attacking player, striker. But who is. Just don't know. Do you know what I mean? I've got absolutely no idea who that player is. That we could. That we could. That we can go and get. That's a good forward. I'm nervous that we might be done.
Yeah, a little bit.
I'm totally honest with you.
Yeah, I reckon get at least one more in.
Feel like they've got to go and get an attacker because we've just lost some. You feel like they need to go and do that and. And with the Madison injury as well.
Who's captain?
I assume it's going to be Romero.
Romero, yeah. I'm not sure about that, but I guess who else would it be?
That's it. That's it. I. I think it probably is him.
But.
I said I'm going to try and be a lot more positive about Romero this year. This is his year. He's got the armband now. Like, this is your moment now. Like go and kick it on. Do you know what I mean? Make it what you want it to be.
You're not like the 23 year old that won the World cup or how royalty was like. You are entering your peak now. You want to move to athletic. Cool. Do it next year. Make them pay for you. Be this. All right. It's good to be back pod in. I sort of. I've enjoyed having my Sunday evenings, but enjoyed this more. So. Thank you. And I. I mean, I told you for years, years that the future by the future was lily white. And I was right. So hopefully for this season, future's bright, the future's lily white. Come on, you Spurs.
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 to how important it is.
Whether the wonder boys of Pieteart Lane are or are not the team of.
The century can't possibly be more than.
A matter of opinion. Well, they're the finest team in Great Britain. One of the best in the world.
We are about the glory of the game. We are about playing with style. We are talking 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 Gineler, Greaves, Klinsman. We are the collective gasp, the intake of breath, the F flick, the trick, the 30 yard free kick. We are Hoddle, Mabbit and King. 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 second that last forever.
Vanderva to level it up. Raphael Vandervaert. Two, two. It's quite a game, 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 and Bale. 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.
Fantastic scenes here. He's all over top and we're one. The top. Really stubborn. Going all the way again here and le kicked him out. Oh, this is incredible. This is quite incredible. Truly a glory, glory day for Tottenham. Hot.
