S15E8 - Not unexpected

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, welcome to Echoes of Glory. I'm Ast.

And I'm Jack.

And here we are after the international break where Wales got fairly embarrassed by England. Everyone's all like, oh, the second half was good. The England were 30 up with the second team out. Like they, they did not need to do anything in the second half. And then now we, we've, we haven't got our Tottenham back. But this is, we have been preparing for this on the podcast for a while. We've said we're not that good up front. We've got a good defense and we lost one of our defenders. This is not Panic stations. We haven't got a bad manager. But it's still very, very, very frustrating. It just feels like a waste of time. You know, it feels just so frustrating when we, when we go to the end of the season and we look back on this, this game, we won't remember it. We'll just go, oh, two great goals from them, a decent goal from us and you know, it's one of those. A very forgettable, frustrating game. Welcome to be in a Tottenham Hotspur fan in the 21st century.

It was frustrating. It's always disappointing to lose at home and the, the home form stretching back last couple of seasons. But like they share the stat on sky, which was that We've only got three wins in 18 at home in the league, which is just absolutely staggering, isn't it? That that's real. But you know, it is, it is. But it got me thinking earlier as well and I was like, actually I don't feel like we've been great at home since we've been in the new ground. Like, I don't feel like this is a necessarily just a Thomas Frank thing. It was a massive issue for Ange. But like, I don't feel like we've been a good home team for a while. Like, it feels like, you know, we, it used to be like we're at home, we're going to win, doesn't matter who we play at home. But like now I'm just like, I feel like we're so. I don't know if we're just used to like just losing to mid table sides at home. We're just used to it now.

But we didn't lose in the last season at Whitehall Lane, right. So it's, we're always going to compare to that is, you've gone on.

But I always go back further than that and go, like when I first started watching spurs in like the late 90s, early 2000s, like, we weren't a great side. We're always good at home. So, I mean, like, we. We won a lot more than we didn't at home. We obviously had defeats and that, obviously. But, like, we were. We were always sort of like good, entertaining team at home and we were always a little bit weak and a bit flimsy when we went away from home. But I don't know, it just seemed. I don't know, it feels like a little bit under Frank. We've sort of flipped it a little bit and we seem like more of an away side now. Do you know what I mean? We're a bit more counter attack and when we have to take the game's opposition, it's a bit. It's a little bit trickier at the moment. But I think that's because of what you said there. Like, again, I looked at the team sheet earlier and obviously you're always optimistic going into it. And I still go, if we've got a front three or front four, whatever I call it, and you've got tail.

And Ottobear, I was just thinking the exact same thing.

And then.

Such a weakness, isn't it?

You're slinging on Richarlison and Brendan Johnson. Yeah, And Colin Moani come on and look like he'd never seen a football before. But I feel for him because obviously he's not fit. But that's. That's what's like, frustrating, isn't it? But we knew, like you said, we knew that this was gonna. We knew this was going to be the scenario. We knew that these types of games are going to be the games that we find really hard most of this season until we get some of our injured players back. I think Kulusevsky, by the way, when he comes back, if he can get fit, he's gonna slide into this team. Amazingly. Yeah, amazingly. I think it'll really suit him as well. So it's a frustrating game.

But it's incredibly frustrating. It's not unpredictable or it is predictable. We are eight games into the season of a new manager who's taken on a team that was a complete mess because it wasn't the previous manager's team, it's not his team. He's got. It's a very odd bunch of players. It's not very good. I don't think this squad, Madsen, it would be great to see Madsen back and ki and drag us in. But it's not even our first. First first eleven. I find it hard to have confidence in the striker. For example like I don't have confidence in the striker that the midfield two because he's now on a 4231 more often than not. I. There's no spec. I don't know what the the two is. I'm happy with Paulinia and Bergval or Ben's current impact or Penny but I don't know what our identity is. And you've got to remember this is a manager's come in he has to change things so his stop us conceding goals. This was our first defeat. We haven't conceded a huge amount of goals. But he's only eight games into the league season. He's had players out. That's it. It's harder to create especially against a team who are just dropping back and scoring worldies. That pass from Matty Cash is the best is the pass of the season. Apart from Kane's passing. Yes. Did you see Kane's performance yesterday?

Like he's. He's in the absolute form of his life and he.

He's the best defensive midfielder and striker. Yeah.

He's a freaking heat. Because it's like it was those clips from him yesterday. He was like De Bruyne. Do you know what I mean? There was even a bit where he like got the ball off the back four and he had two men on him and he just turned them both.

Yeah.

It was just like what. What can you do against him? Like I feel like he's tipped into this year with Bayern. There's nothing you can do. It's. How can you limit him? Like he's going to score. He's going to get an assistant. But like how can you just make it so he just does that once maybe in a game.

Have you heard of John Charles? The Welsh footballer? He's often cited as one of the greatest players of all time. He's often maybe the greatest all round footballer to come from the British. If you don't know him he's worth having a look. He's famous for his time at Leeds and Juventus. If you have a look at his positions on Wikipedia. Wikipedia. This is one of the best footballers of all time. He was a center forward and a center back.

Reminds me of like rude stuff as well. Wasn't it? It's just a footballer.

Yeah. And with Kane he just. I just feel he may be the player I'd want if I could only have one player in all outfield 10 positions. I think it would be him. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's like Kane Rooney.

Gerard is the other one. Yeah. Sky Sports simulated 11 Gary Nevilles versus 11. Jamie Carragher's on FIFA. Do you remember that?

I don't remember that. Was it Neil? Neil. Was it Neil? Neil.

It's all full.

No, I think. I think that must have been a Covid thing though. 100 that we can only show so many nostalgic games. Like let's let. What else can we do? We can only do so many all time Premier League 11s. My dad said to me the other.

Day he's just got sky on like a free sky channel and his Virgin, he went, do you know they show old Premier League games?

I love it. I love it.

Do you remember in Covid when they used to put the crowd noises over.

Over the top? That was the. One of the weird. You know what a lot of stuff went on in code and you just think what was what.

What was that like? What were we doing?

Yeah. Weird times.

Weird times. You can tell we've lost a game.

Because we're not talking about it. We've resorted to Covid chat about six minutes in. Big Ange.

See, I wanted to bite my lip then.

You were right. You were right. I've been, congratulations.

It's November 2023. I had tickets to go to that Chelsea game and I couldn't accept. I was told that to go to New York for work. I left just as it was kicking off and I was really excited to turn my phone off on because I thought we're going to smash it. My phone blew up as soon as I landed at JFK because we were. We were dreadful. And it was from. There you go. He went, I want my team to play like that. I will take the hits but it will result in accidents or whatever it was. And it didn't. And he didn't even do that. He just. I, I don't want to get angry because people. I know people are massive. Ange fans. I don't know why I. Let me. Let me pull up the stats of the final. People say, oh, the final was one of my best memories of a Spurs.

We had one shot on target, didn't we? But we did win it. You do have to say in the moment where he had to get us over the line in a one off game. They all collectively managed to do it. So you have to give him the credit for that.

We had 26% possession and we had One shot on target with one shot. I would argue Amarin had a greater hand in that, in giving us that memory than he did. I feel for him. Having said all that, I don't think he's a very good manager. I feel for him in the forest job because it was. He was never set up for success. I don't know how he'd ever set up going for taking over a new no team under that manager. He was never given enough time. I mean, he should have done something more than lose all those games. Did he?

No, he didn't win a game. And it's like, like, I know, it's like you've got to give managers time completely. It's nuts that someone after 39 days is out of the job. But actually, like, he has had. He's not had like two games. He's had five league games, hasn't won. He's had. Is it two Champions League games, hasn't won, and he's had a League cup game. And they were tuning up against the championship side and they lost. So it's like, yeah, you've got to give people time, but it's hardly like, oh, like, things are moving in the right direction. Like, we can see some stuff already. He. He's only had a few fewer games than what Frank's had at spurs. And it's like, yeah, okay, cooler. We've. We've lost a couple of home games that we're frustrated with, but we can see. But there is marginal improvements. You can see what he's trying to do. And you can be like, you can see. Understands the game and what exactly. And like, that is just poise. I just, I find it interesting now that there are people that are still like, you know, like, he's good manager and all that. I think he. He's a good manager. Not in the Premier League. Oh, I think that's. That's probably what. That's probably a fair statement. I just think the Premier League is just a different beast and a lot of managers before have not been able to cut it. And there'll be a lot after the computer. And that's okay. I mean, just like, understand where you're good and what your levels are and, you know, it's just not it.

And it's not. Well, it's a good. It's an interesting comparison taken over from the Frank comparison because you go, frank took over a team that was 17th, shouldn't have been 17th, but. But wasn't going to be top four. Whereas he took over a team that was seventh and has taken them all the way down with. It's a great squad of players.

And Forest as well. Like Forest this season are in a relegation battle.

Yeah.

Like, because they're talking about dice. Shouldn't they going in.

I will bet you many that he's going to take us.

It looks. It's like a proper relegation battle now that they're. They're in.

They're on five points and three of those are from a game that was won before he joined.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But going back to spurs is a bit. It's frustrating when you lose games like this, but, like, you got to try and keep that perspective. And also looking at it and going, you know what, we're a point off the top four. We've got an identical record in the league so far to Chelsea, like, yeah, we're frustrated and it's all. It's the same old. Oh, like if we'd have beaten Bournemouth at home and Villa at home, we'd be top. It's like, yeah, but we didn't see. You know, you can't. You can't. You can't think like that. Like, we've had a steady start. There's a lot of improvements needed. Absolutely. But again, we know about it. The thing that's keeping me calm is there's nothing happening where I go or. I didn't know that was coming, but all of the problems of what we said in preseason. So it's like that. That makes me feel okay and like, it will get players back and we will get better going forward. So what.

What's the single thing you would have changed about this game to have beaten Villa?

Do you think it's hard today? Because, like, I felt. I don't know what the stats say in terms of big chances created in extra and all of that nonsense. I. It felt to me like we were the better side and it felt like one. The first half was quite even. There wasn't a lot in it. Again, I thought we were the better side. Roger scored a brilliant goal for them. Really nice guy. I was a little bit frustrated because I felt like you get that early goal and you're like, you know, we could. If you get that next goal early, two nil, like, absolutely kills it. So it's a little bit of what we couldn't go on and do that you get pegged back to one or when you're like, okay, cool. Half time. The first 20 minutes of the second half, I thought we were great. We had. We're putting balls in the box. We're creating chances like that. We should have scored at least two in the game today. Like Odeir had one. The color Muani chance right at the end as well was just like I got tell had a couple in the first half. Like we, I. I felt like despite what the stats may or may not say, I felt like we created enough chances to score two or three goals in a game. And I think if you do that in the Premier League, like you should probably win. But I was actually texting my brother during the second half and just said, I feel like we've not scored. This feels like a game where nothing to Sanchez or die give it away and bang. And it's two one and all right. It was another world in like sometimes you just go. You can't do a lot about it sometimes, but it was just a bit of frustrating. So what could he have changed? I don't really know. Like that I was reading a lot of stuff that a lot of people are like not liking the Benton Corpalinia combination because it's too defensive. But I thought they both play quite well today. Like, I get it, Like I get it is that you haven't got like an absolute playmaker in there. But like you play Bergwell in there, like, maybe he could have done that. But like footballing your bentacle done all right today. I actually thought that the main issue was with the free behind Tell up tell I'm not a massive fan of. I think that there's potential and all of that there, but he's. He's not what we need. And we're also not what he needs. I just don't think it's a good match at all. But it's the free behind that like Kudas. Kuda's had another great game, but we're so reliant on him. So reliant on him to create stuff. Xavi Simmons in the middle, I thought he was quite ported. I actually felt like this is a nice game for him here. Like, there's time on the ball. There's like you can get in there. I don't. It didn't do much for me today and Auduber has got potential, but again, you just don't know what you get when you've got Auduber and tell. There's two players there that both could have poor games. And like when that happens, well, you know, you're struggling and you're basically then saying to Kudas, can you win this game for us? Yeah, can you score a couple cracker for us? So I Don't really know what more he could done. There's not heaps on the bench in terms of attacking options and he did put Bergval in there. He did Chuck Colo Muani on after about an hour. So like he wasn't afraid to be like you know what I am going to roll the dice. But he can only do so much. I mean Richarlison come on all the subs that he could have made. I feel like he made to be totally honest with you like what could even like put Brendan Johnson on left back, didn't he in the last 10 minutes to just be like let's just try and go make something happen. And I think on, on what what should happened is we should have got an equalize and it should have finished too old Odiver should have scored color should have scored and you finish two all when you go okay. It's not disastrous result but you like you move forward. That's what's frustrating. Right.

This is why football's so interesting. Right. Because if it was just the better team wins which is what happens a lot of time in rugby where it's just. It's a war of attrition and the bigger team wins. But these we could, we could have won this 2:1 in a different world. Yeah. And we control what we could control I think. But I, I agree with you like Odd Burn Town. I don't know what the best game of each of those brings. Yeah. You know like I can tell you exactly what Kudas will do. But the problem with Kudis is now everyone just defends that and everyone attacks down our right hand side or our left hand side because even though Spence is unbelievable and he's great to see him play through and get his first start for England, you know that Kudos is going to be working hard going back. I just, I've got no confidence in that or the bear tell. It's just weak. It's just small.

Like I say I think I spoke about after the Bodo Glink game when you've got like Odabertel Richarlison substitutes for me. I think even that it's like it's not a great front line but there's only so much we could. You know what I mean? There's only so much we can do with it. Like. Like we know, we know it's an issue. So then this is where it will be up to the manager and it like I'm confident that he'll be able to find solutions of. Okay, cool. If we've not Got that Those personnel to do what we need. How. What can we do then how. You know I actually think Destiny Doggy was a big miss today because I think him attacking up the left. I personally and I'm in the minority. I like the Udogi left back Javi Siemens off the left combination he rolls in and I think you can you get an extra body in a lot. I quite like that. So look it's just one of them. You just. Sometimes you just got to take it on the chin and you would defeat and. And just move forward with it like the good thing is there's games coming thick and fast. So there's an opportunity for us to regroup and try and put a bit of a run together again.

I interrupt this broadcast for a special announcement. Man United have just beaten Liverpool 21 away. Literally it's just gone full time FERNANDEZ in the 84th minute.

Wow.

This is the first time they've won there in almost a decade. This is Man United.

Liverpool have lost three of their first eight.

Four in a row in all competitions.

Wow. Arsenal to lose. No.

Well you think so? I just. It's Harland at the moment. I just can't understand how he's doing it. He's. He's superhuman.

I think it's wide open like my only thing with Arsenal will be is will they. Will they win enough?

I just don't think they're mentally strong enough. Yeah I've. We've said this before. I don't think the manager is a winning manager. I'm not a fan.

Three goals. Three goals conceded in eight games they've had. Which is phenomenal defensive record in it. Yeah, phenomenal.

The next best is man city were on 6th which is crazy.

And Sunderland who have only let in six as well.

What is going on there?

Like what like water seven. What a season.

Like. Yeah.

I think it's. Do you know what it does strike me as. I actually think for the first time this year it won't all be on head to heads for like the title for the top four. You know normally that's what it comes down beat. If you can get pickup points against the teams around you, you'll be okay because we'll all beat the rest. I actually I. I think this season it's unpredictable. I wouldn't even be surprised if you saw teams that finish in the top five like they have more defeats than ever before. You know what I mean? Like that just. That wouldn't surprise me. Apart from maybe the top you can't see many teams Beating Arsenal or City, like, really. But everybody else, it feels like they can all lose.

Yeah. Yeah.

Know what I mean? But that's. That's what I mean. Liverpool for. He's. He's under a bit of precious slot when them losing at home to United is. And Amarin. Bloody hell. We're only a point in front of United. Amarin is. Has Amarin turned the corner? That's a massive win for him, that.

It's one win. Like, let's, let's, let's. Let's calm this down. Like, slot won the Premier League last year. Like.

If we went to the Emirates whenever we're playing them and won, like, we'd be going, oh my.

Like, oh, it's massive. We would be going. Is his job in danger?

You know what Liverpool like, though, like their family, not their fans are like, there'll be pressure mountain. I don't know who they've got next. Let me have a quick look because, like, that's. I didn't expect to see that today. I watched the first half and I saw the Inbo go right at the start. I was just like, van Dijk looks. Van Dijk and Salah look like their legs have gone. Both of them.

There's all this chat. Well, yeah, I mean, Van Dyke has been slowing down for a long time. Like, he's always. He's never been the quickest defender in the world, but yeah, he's getting on. And Salah. Salah's just dropping off. People are going, listen to this.

Liverpool's next run of games. They've got Eintracht Frankfurt away in the Champions League in the week. They're not a great side, Frankfurt. We know that. No, then they're away at Brentford. Then they've got Tricky palace at home in the League Cup Villa at home. Real Madrid at home, Man City away.

It's aggressive.

Every. Every game, though. Do you know what I mean? When you lose like four on the bounce, every game then looks hard. Yeah.

Yeah. The next one of them, they've got two problems. Verts hasn't been doing it. And they've got the problem with the two strikers as well, which I think is the first. Like, he's actually gonna have to show his managerial class now to get the most out of verts who's 120 million and then work out what to do with. Etiquito didn't move on 80 million to be a second striker.

And he looked. He looks great, Ekatika.

He looks better than Isaac right now. Right.

He looks really good. And you just like. And he's scoring and then it's like, okay, cool, now he's not playing. You're like, oh, like the big. The big thing as well I think is like Salah just does not look the same player. And it's like, at what point does he go, you know what? Yeah, I'm gonna have to leave you out. I'm gonna have to like properly start rotating you. He's undropical though, because big decisions and that coming.

Big decisions, big decisions. We've got some big games. We've got Monaco got Eric Dyer. Lovely Eric Dyer. Weird period where Monaco had loads of money and they just went out and bought superstars.

Imagine Unreal side didn't when. When they beat us at Wembley.

Yeah.

In the Champions League. That was a team. I think I'm back. I was on the bench but that was a team of like.

Let me find it.

Benio, Bernardo Silva. There was a couple of others in there if I remember rightly was Benjamin Mendy was maybe playing at fullback but like players that like went on to then play at like some pretty big sides. Yeah.

Let me. Let me. I can't even find that.

I can't find it.

But it was.

They beat us 2 1. Here we go.

I've got.

I've got the. I've got the side that beat us. So this was in September 2016. Nearly 2.

It feels more recent than that.

The. The spurs side was Larissingale Walker or De Verrald, Vertongan and Davis. It was then Dyer and Delhi in midfield within Lamella Ericsson and Son behind Kane. Yeah pretty good side.

Their.

Their team was super stitching goal. Don't know about. Don't know him. Raggy at right back. Don't know him. Glick at center half.

So he. He's.

Is he the Polish like he's had a decent career. Jemison. I don't know. Sadia left back who's gone on to have an okay. I think he was at Everet. Their two center midfielders were then Bakoko who went to Chelsea for massive money and Fabinho who obviously like quality and then the front or the. The free in front of that were Dir. I don't know him. Then J. Matino obviously went on to play walls Bernardo Silva and Falcao up top.

Yeah I was going to say Falco. Yeah.

And then on the bench. Who plays. Who came on? They're Thomas Lamar. Yeah. Who's. Is he still athletico maybe now. So he went on to have a pretty good. Good Career. I don't know. I'm not familiar with too many other players, but, like, they caught us off guard that night, didn't they? That was one of them. It's like, oh, yeah, we'll win that. And then we Obviously, we went 2 nil down within half an hour. Bernardo Silva scored after 15 minutes, then Thomas Lamar scored. So he obviously came on. Someone must have got injured and he came on. And then all the varied. Right on half time and then we were chasing the game in the second half and our. Our attacking subs were Dembele. Fair enough. Sissoko and Vincent Janssen.

It's painful, isn't it? Sometimes, yeah. I'm not sure. Is that that game?

And then other unused subs were Michelle Vaughan, Victor Anyama, Kieran Trippier and Cameron Cotter. Vickers.

What I've seen us play. I've seen us play him in the Europa League, you know, so we battered.

Him with a Lamella hat trick or one.

Yeah, that's it. Larisse Trippier. Old World Vima Davis Dyer. Lewis Carroll. Lewis Carroll. Not Lewis Carroll. Tom Carroll. Lewis Carroll. Alice in Wonderland. Lamella Ng Onuma Son up front with Benton, Leb Deli and Chadley coming on. Yeah, Lamella. Lamella. Lamella.

Like we're still saying, like the attackers behind the striker are not it. We're having the same conversation now. Do what? I mean.

They had El Shirari, Al Sharari.

Wasn't that a game where Lamella scored a Rabona in that game? Because he scored two, didn't he, for us? He scored one against Arsenal.

No, that wasn't that one. No, no, that was against Lamella. Because there. There wasn't as many people there.

I remember I was there for that. The. The hat trick. I remember being like, wow, Lamella looks incredible.

I mean, he did at times, didn't he?

So funny. He's a weird player.

Very Tottenham, wasn't he?

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Lamella's rabona was in 24. The first one was in 2014.

That. The rabona that he scored against Arsenal. Where does that rank for you in terms of North London Derby goals? Because it's outrageous. It's. It's an outrageous goal.

We've talked about these Rabona.

I know you don't like it, but.

Use your right foot.

No, you don't like it.

I mean, it's ridiculous. But Sun's goal in the North London Derby was better. Kane's header in his first match was better than the one where he takes his mask off.

Jermaine Defoe scored a screamer in the 5, 4 home loss where he got the ball lot on the halfway. Bit similar to that great goal we got against West Ham. He got more just dribble. But this one, he just smashed it. Top corner. Yeah. That was a bonkers game.

The Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale duo where we. We beat him two nil. Yeah. Two one that I've never lost it more to two goals in. Than in that game. Oh. Because it was that you knew what was going to happen both times. One on one versus the smoking goalkeeper. What's his name? The one place. Barcelona.

Now Chesney. Chesney, smoking goalkeeper. Yes.

We got Monaco. What are you all going to do in that?

It is. And I think there's a lot of teams probably us included in the Champions League that we're all. We're all decent sides. So I feel like. Like we fancy it. They'll. They'll also fancy it. It's one of those that like it sort of could go either way because. Did they. They drew with City, didn't they?

Yeah, they drew yesterday as well. They're sixth in the table. They've won four, drawn two lost two. Like they're. They're a bit spursy it. And yeah, it's trivia about them, isn't it, that their stadium holds more than the population of Monaco. Isn't that right? Cool.

That's cool. That's cool. But if we can. If we can get a win there and there will be three games into it, two wins and a draw. It's a really good start. Yeah, it's a really. This is one of them that I'd normally. I'd be a bit like a draw. A draw be okay, but I feel like let's go there and win. I feel like that gives us the platform for the remaining games in this phase to then try and get into that top. You. This is the top. If you want to finish in the top eight of it. This is type of away game you need to go and win. Yeah.

This is the awake. Because it's always like win your home games. But then we need to be winning these games. We need to show that we're better than that.

Yeah. I don't think a draw's disastrous, but I wouldn't. If you offered me it, I probably wouldn't take it. I'd be like, nah, like I'll. I'll risk losing to. To try and win this one.

Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah. And then we've got Everton, that's a important game because that is the game we should be winning. Everton away. They've. They're not great. They're 12th and they've only won three games. I mean we've only won four. Google says that they're more likely to win it right now. I don't know what the odds are but we should be winning this.

We know this. And the games coming off the back of Europe are always hard. They're always hard. There'll be a well organized side that feels like that. That's a one nil either way that Everton game. Do you know what I mean? Like they get it and sit in and it's hard to break them down or we get it and we sit in. I feel like it's one of those But I could see that being like that's. That's the game that's lost on match of the Day. That's what I could see that being at the weekend.

I would like it to be professional Thomas Frank type game technically solid. Yeah just go in, do a job, bore everyone to tears any. Would you take any Everton players at.

Spurs at the moment hands down? Would have grealish hands down but that's only because of the injuries that we've got and we're lacking someone in that position.

Wait, so you wouldn't take him if.

We have Madison and Kulasevski fit and and like if the whole squad was fit I don't know if I would because it's like is he definitely gonna blood? Like I'm not. I'm just. He's a guy that he's got to play every week. Yeah, absolutely. So he's a good player. I know he's an inch at the moment but I do like not that he'd start but I do like Bram Flight at the back. I think he's very much a B Tech fan to then like I just a lot I like him. I think he's a decent player.

Everyone likes a bit of dibbling, didn't they?

Do you know what I just think ever another one of those sides. They've got some good pros in there. Got a good keeper. You know what? I'd probably take Pickford over Vicario. I probably would and again they're just another team. Like they're not outstanding. They've got a manager knows what he's doing. So I mean like I feel like Everton and Spurs we've always been quite similar but I feel like it's similar again now in terms of you're not Going to get shocks with Everton either way. And you're not going to get shocks with Thomas Frank's Tottenham either way. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's. It will do what. What they probably should do. That's a bit tricky game, but. Yeah, yeah, I'd like to. It looks a really cool stadium as well, doesn't it?

It looks a little bit like White Hart Lane did. Two stands, little thing through the middle, all connected. It reminds me of White Outline.

We need to. We need to win though, really, because, like, we've got. We've got some horrendous league games coming up after Elton. We've then got Chelsea, United, Arsenal. Yeah, like, that's. That. That's not fun.

Well, and then psg. Fulham, Newcastle, Brenford Forest. It's a shame.

Asd. Brentford at home. You know what's happening. Brentford at home. Like, come on.

We've got like the 6th and then the reverse on the 30th of December. Like, oh, God.

Like, we. We know. We know what is happening there. That is, you know, I mean, that's without a doubt really good spurs performance. And then like Nathan Collins from a set piece.

Arsenal games on Mrs. SD's birthday and.

That'S might be a blessing though, no.

Yeah.

I hate that fixture.

That away fixture is horrible. I hate their fans. I hate that ground. I hate their colors. I hate the hospitality.

I just.

I hate Finsbury Park. I hate the signs as you go past Finsbury park on the train. I take everything about it. It just. It feels smarmy. They remind me of cats. I just. I just don't like them.

Do you?

I mean, just arrogant based on nothing.

Yeah, I. I just. I just dread that game because it's. It feels like that's the same game every single year. We go there with a bit of optimism. The first 10 minutes we go, we're looking all right here and then, you know.

Yeah.

But let's hope Romero's injury from today wasn't too bad because I thought. By the way, I thought Kevin Dance had played quite well today. Like, I don't mind him. Like, I think he's all right. I really think he's all right. It's hard for him because, like, with Romero, Van Deven fit, like, he's just never going to get a game, like, ever. But like, he's a good sort of like your third center back's never the same level, but like, that's a good player to be able to have him come in and I feel like he knows he Knows what he is as well, do you know what I mean? Which I think helps.

He's got choices. Do you want to go be first choice at Everton type team or do you want to be, you know, second choice? I suppose like the first choice.

Yeah.

After the. The boys.

Yeah.

So what do you want to see? So we got till Christmas now. So we're two and a half months till Christmas. What do you want to see? What do you want to look back before the January window starts and be able to go, this is what we did after the Villa defeat.

I think. Oh, that's. I think it's such a difficult question because the natural thing would be look cool. It'd be. It'd be great now if we could just start to see us just scoring more in games. Which sounds really. It sounds really simple.

Right.

But that's the area where we've been a little bit like it doesn't look great is just that front four creating and scoring. So that would be great for me. Like I, I don't want to say more of the same because we've had a couple of like home defeats that are frustrating but like I feel like we're moving in the right direction with it. I, I want to have the same feeling that Frank knows what he's doing. Like, we're fine. Like I'm not. I'm not worried about the season, blah, blah. Are we going to be dark horse for the League? No, that's fine. Are we going to be about where we should be? Yeah. And like I'm, I'm. I'm fine with that. I actually hope that we've progressed in the cups. I think that there's opportunities. League cup. If we could get through that Newcastle game like that, that would be cool. So. So really it's just like I just want to be in the mix still.

Come Christmas and this is. So we're sort of. Half my questions have been going because actually we're not off course right now. Like we are. We're not performing the absolute best. We're not in the 99 of everybody's capability, but we're going in the right direction.

Absolutely. And we're a point off a fourth.

We finished 70 plus season. I'm not expecting us to beat Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, I'm not. So we've got to be. We've got to think about what we want from those games. We'd like to beat them, but we, we should have. We going into this we would have said we wanted to compete and I think we competed we weren't exceptional, but we did what we needed to do and it didn't turn out. And we did as well as we could with the players that we had.

Yeah. And I think, as well, like, when you play against sides like Villa and Bournemouth and these types of teams, like, they're not, like, it feels like we should win them because I think we're probably basing that off of, like, well, we're like, we. We're just better. But, like, right now, there's not. There's not a lot in it with those sites. Like, if you look back over, how have we done against the Bournemouths, the Brightons, the Fulhams and the Villas the last three or four years? Like, we probably win some and lose some. It's not, you know, I mean, it's not. It's not. I. I still have that. That I think about the Redknap era, the Pochettino era, and I go, we're at home against someone that's not trying to win the league. We'll win this. No doubt about that. And it's like, actually, like, we're not there anymore either. Well. And I think with Frank, we'll get back to that point. But sometimes it's just also about having that, like, oh, like, we should be winning that game. And it's like, yeah, but like, the squad.

It's the squad. Because the Redknap era, you had Vanderv, Modrich, Crouch, Pav. Pav wasn't great, but I think he'd play in this team with Sandro and.

Lenin and Bale, Wide.

Dawson. And then Potino had Son, Deli, Ericson, Kane, Dyer, Al, the Tongan, Walker, Rose, Laryse. Amazing. Yeah. Both of those teams would destroy this team. Right now. We just don't have a good enough squad. But the thing that's been interesting for me is watching son. Son is having the greatest time of his life because he's gone in and gone. Oh, my God. This is actually quite easy. And you just see the difference in levels.

We're missing him.

Of course we are.

I've been saying that left wing spot's been a massive problem for us all season. It's like. Well, yeah, because our greatest ever player that played there isn't here anymore. So it's like, I think we're really feeling. And I don't think that's really been spoken about that much that we're really feeling him not being there.

And. Can I.

Maybe more. Maybe even more so than when Kane left.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Because when I think When Kane went Sun sort of become the striker for the first season and like, yeah, the drops are dropped, but you've still got an amazing player in that plan in that place. Whereas right now we've gone from sun's not there. I know last season wasn't his best year, but you're either then looking at an odd bear, a tell. Sometimes a richarlison might go there and it's like, that drops huge. That is a huge drop.

Can also put to bed the rumors that Harry Kane is coming back to Tottenham. He will never, ever, ever come back to Tottenham. Why would you go, do you want to come back to a team that's going to be mid table and earn less money and maybe try and go for the record? No. Why would you do that?

The only, the only counter, the only two things that I would say is, number one, it's personal and family reasons that it could be. Actually, you know what, we've come on this adventure for a few years. It's been amazing. I've won stuff actually, like, let's go home. Do you know what I mean? Like, and that's a very human, human thing that could happen. But it doesn't look like they're not enjoyed. Do you know what I mean? I know you don't know, but it doesn't look like they're not enjoying it. He's immersed himself in the culture and all of that, isn't it? Looks like every time he's like, the only thing that I can hold on to the fact is that he wins the World cup with England, the Champions League with Bayern, and is like, I've just completed football. I could stay at Bayern and try and do that again. Or I could go back to the Premier League and then also break that record and have. Have done everything and go down as. As I said controversially the other week, 1. Obviously not the greatest strikers of all time. Yeah, that would be if he had the Premier League, all time record, Bundesliga titles, Champions League and a World Cup. He's in the conversation.

Oh, he absolutely is.

He's in the conversation. He hasn't got them.

I will say on record, if England win the World Cup, I will. I'm not going to buy you a car. I will. I will buy you a football shirt of any team that you want anywhere in the world. Deal?

Deal. He didn't say I had to be the men's team. He didn't say it to be seniors. You said if England win the World cup, you didn't even say it was football. So thanks for that.

The connection. Well, Harry Payne is only going to be playing for the men's senior World cup team.

Who knows? Who know? He looks like he could bloody play any sport, that he could play cricket. 2020. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I think that's a safe bet. Asd though, that personally.

Yeah. I mean, England. Yeah. On a personal note, Jessica Fishlock, she kept. In Wales. She was in my year at my school. She was in the other half of the year, but she's in my school. She's the. She's been playing for Wales all her life and she's got the most appearances for Wales of any football player of all time. I think she's just retired. She has 165 appearances for Wales.

That's insane. 165.

Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. And she's just been playing international football for the last few years.

What, no club?

No, she went to America and then she. She. She stopped playing football. Yeah. Incredible. Incredible record, so. And just stocks of awards. A lot of personal rewards. A few. Like, she went to Altmar when we were younger, so she went to play in the women's league up in the Netherlands and then went to America, went to Australia to play, Went to France to play. Won the Champions League, done well. She's been player of the year and they've. Yeah, she. She's just been amazing. So. Congratulations, Jessica. I reached out for her to get a slime photo for my girls. Ignored me, so we weren't that good friends. Good luck to her. Little does she know you could be.

Helping her with her digital and data marketing.

What's she gonna do now?

Who's the real winner? You know?

All right, man. I've just bought an Ab Roller. I'm gonna do. I'm not doing the gym this year. I'm gonna do some stuff at home.

Roll your apps.

Roll my abs. That's. That's the plan. Watch me. Just gonna have monstrous apps. That's the plan. Have you used one? They are brutal.

Lethal.

You know when you go to the gym and you see there's some machines which are never used, the row machine, it's just because they're hard. It's the same with the Apple machines.

Rammed at mine all the time. If you want to get on the road, you've got a queue.

Oh, really? Yeah. Mine is never used just because it's just brutal. It's exhausting. And the. Sorry, the aero rower, you know the one where you do the hands as well?

Yeah, that.

That one's always answered. Because it's brutal as well.

Yeah, right.

I've got sneezing fit. I've had Covid the last two weeks. It's been horrible. Right, I'm gonna. I'll see you next week. Next Sunday. Next week I will be solo parenting. So I might be. I might be irritated. So let's see. Don't forget, the future's bright, the future's nearly white. 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 Pieteart Lane are or are not the team of the century, top possibly be more than a matter of opinion.

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 board, 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, Mappet 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 seconds that last forever.

Van der Vaart to level it up. Raphael Van der Vaart. 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, Adelis 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.

It's all over something. We're fighting the top. Really stubborn, going all the way. Manners kicked him out. Oh, this is incredible. This is quite incredible. Truly a glory, glory day for Tottenham Hotzma.