Brighton Oozing Class, The Dark Cloud Over the Premier League & Newcastle Struggle Again

Brighton are brilliant again, but are the Seagulls genuine title-race outsiders or is a Champions League push the more realistic target? Arsenal struggle to break through in the first half yet again before another substitute rides to the rescue. Is the bench becoming their most important weapon, or a warning sign? Gary, Micah and Alan also turn their attention to Manchester City’s new-look midfield and their continued unbeaten run despite a cloud looming over them. Liverpool get back to winning ways despite still looking like they can be got at. And with Newcastle’s defensive struggles showing no sign of easing, how deep do their problems run? 10 for £100. Stay 10 nights, get £100 back in Hotels.com Cash. UK Customers Only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Hi, this is Garry Lineker from Goalhangers, the rest is football. This episode is brought to you by Wise. It's only when you start moving money between currencies that you really think about the exchange rate, the fee and what might be hidden away in the small print. Whether you're living abroad, paying someone overseas or just trying to manage your money across borders, you want a fair exchange rate and easy transfer and no surprises along the way. Wise keeps things simple. Wise is a smart way to move the currencies you need around the globe. It works in more than 160 countries and with over 40 currencies. Most transfers arrive instantly. Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate, like the one you see on Google, with no markups or hidden fees.

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• 3:07Speaker 00

  Hello and welcome to The Rest is Football with Alan Shearer, Micah Richardson and me, Garry Lineker. It's been a fairly routine weekend in the Premier League with the big story coming from the south coast again as Brighton dismantled Palace in the A23 derby. So I think we'll start there. But firstly, chaps, how are we? Micah, you've still wearing your range, I see.

• 3:31Speaker 05

  Yes, of course, still promoting. Always got to promote, you know. George, how are we looking? Fantastic, thank you very much.

• 3:37Speaker 00

  Looks a bit tight on you that one, Mike.

• 3:39Speaker 05

  You know what?

• 3:40Speaker 06

  Was that a good weekend? That's why I've been drinking and eating, that's why.

• 3:44Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 3:46Speaker 00

  Well, I saw you working yesterday.

• 3:48Speaker 05

  Yeah, I have been drinking. I, uh, I need to stop, I need to stop, I need to go on the, what is it, the Zero Guinness? I need some more Zero Guinness, please. If you could order me some of that, please, guys. That got me through last year, but yeah, I don't know, I've let myself go a little bit. I've only put on a K1KG now, if you must know. But guys, you're right, it does look a little bit tight around the chest area, doesn't it?

• 4:13Speaker 00

  You've been bench pressing again, have you? Alan, you a busy weekend? I didn't see you on anything.

• 4:18Speaker 06

  No, I had a weekend off, guys. I was at, I went to St James's Park, unfortunately on Saturday.

• 4:24Speaker 05

  Oh, did you?

• 4:25Speaker 00

  Oh dear.

• 4:26Speaker 06

  And then I had a day on the city watching football all day yesterday. So I'm nice and refreshed.

• 4:32Speaker 00

  I did exactly the same thing, bit of Sunday lunch as usual. Yeah, I think if you look at City, it was fairly routine. You look at Arsenal, it was very Arsenal, I suppose. They managed to get it over the line and then Chelsea won comfortably as well. But I thought the performance of the weekend had to be Brighton. Three up in 10 minutes, a tough one for Palace, that's for sure. And certainly the leading contender for goal of the season.

• 4:58Speaker 06

  I was on the city watching the Man United Leeds game and my texts were going mad about Brighton and I didn't see any of the first 15 or 20 minutes and it was goal, goal. And I was thinking, goodness me, then I started to flicking. And then of course that Gomez goal, wow. Whoa, gee, unbelievable. Do you know the trajectory of it? It was like it was proper ping, wasn't it?

• 5:18Speaker 00

  Drilled it.

• 5:18Speaker 06

  It was an unbelievable strike, yeah.

• 5:20Speaker 00

  Drilled it, a little bit like the Rooney one, it's slightly different. Remember when he hit that low kind of thing over the keeper? There was this, I saw them on, I think it was on Match of the Day. They found a post from someone that

• 5:33Speaker 06

  Yeah, I saw that.

• 5:33Speaker 00

  Said Sunday would seem like a good day for Gomez to score from the halfway line. Wow, that's Oracle. That is real Oracle stuff, Micah, that. But he has, he does have a pop at those. He's had a try a few times, but he caught that one absolutely sweet.

• 5:50Speaker 05

  Can I ask you a question, guys? Obviously you interviewed Hertzler, didn't you?

• 5:53Speaker 00

  Please don't ask me about shooting from that far out.

• 5:58Speaker 05

  Certainly not going to ask you about that.

• 5:59Speaker 00

  That was the one you need to ask about those.

• 6:02Speaker 05

  But I was, I was watching a little documentary yesterday on Brighton. It was on, I think it was around eight o'clock or whatever. And I was taking you around the, the training ground and all the different people from fat test, Jamie Redknapp called them, whether it be the structure from going from the youth to the 21, to the first team, having a pathway to see all that sort of thing. How much credit is Hertzler? Because you've been there, you've been with him, you've interviewed him. And how much credit has to go to the club and the infrastructure, would you say?

• 6:33Speaker 00

  Before I answer your question, Mark, I'm not sure you'd, you'd pass the fat test this morning.

• 6:44Speaker 05

  I thought you were going to say something very sincere.

• 6:47Speaker 00

  I was.

• 6:48Speaker 05

  You're coming.

• 6:49Speaker 00

  That's sincere. No, okay.

• 6:53Speaker 00

  I would say, well, I think he has to take a lot of credit. Of course he does. I mean, it's impossible to say, to quantify exactly how much is him and how much is what the club do generally. Now, obviously we know the data driven.

• 7:09Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 7:09Speaker 00

  I'm sure more, or many, many football clubs are to a degree, but they haven't got that kind of super expert thing that comes down from the owner. And he's, he's, he's business. So obviously the recruitment, which I think is the most important thing in our game. Whatever your budget, if you spend it wisely, you'll get the best results. So I think, this is my opinion generally now of coaching across the board. I think it's so competitive in industry. They are pretty much all very good. I think there's a few exceptional ones that we've seen.

• 7:50Speaker 00

  Obviously you go Ferguson, Klopp, Pep Guardiola, just Luis Enrique, and there'll be a few more. But below them, I think they're probably all pretty, they're all very, very good and they come in and it's ultimately about the players you've got at your disposal. And if you've got good players, it gives you a chance. Now, the recruitment's really important, but I think the way Hertzler has done it, and he's only had one really sticky patch, and that was towards the latter stage of last season. I interviewed him, I was very impressed with the way he spoke and his confidence without being arrogant with his, obviously his tactical acumen. So I think at a ridiculously young age, he's already joined that bracket underneath,

• 8:35Speaker 00

  you know, the ones that, they're all good. But I think potentially he can possibly go on to be one of the, one of the absolute top coaches. You know, he's battling on two fronts, but he's got a squad now that he can make changes. I think seven were made for the team that played on Sunday. So it's too early to say yet, but I think he's got the potential to be one of the absolutely top coaches in world football.

• 8:58Speaker 06

  Do we now start talking about Brighton and Champions League football?

• 9:01Speaker 00

  Not only that, could they actually have a run at it this season? I mean, obviously we're only seven games in, but let me read you one or two stats I've got here. They've scored 23 Premier League goals this season. Their most ever at this stage of a campaign in the top four tiers. Only Barcelona have scored more goals than the Seagulls across the five leagues, the big five leagues this term. Only three sides in Premier League history have scored more goals in their first seven games of a season. That would have been Arsenal in 29-10, they got 24. United in 11-12 with 24 and City, they did it in 2019-20 with 27. Four clean sheets in a row as well, not only they're banging them in.

• 9:45Speaker 00

  So at what point do we go, can they do a Leicester?

• 9:49Speaker 05

  No, no, no, no, let's, let's, let's be real. That was one, one in a billion. Let's forget, let's not forget, when Leicester won the league,

• 9:58Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:59Speaker 05

  there was no, they had no Europe. Brighton have got Europe. Do I think Brighton can get the Champions League? Absolutely, absolutely. And that's why I asked you the question at the start. Really impressed with the manager who's just 33, by the way.

• 10:12Speaker 06

  I know.

• 10:13Speaker 05

  I think what he's doing is remarkable. But I think them having to play in Europe, and I know it's, I don't want to say only Conference League, but they, you would think they could get to quarters, semis without having to play their first 11, as it were. Like you said, they make a lot of changes when they're in Europe. But I think Champions League football is a realistic target for them. I don't, I don't think, I don't think winning the league.

• 10:39Speaker 06

  When you think about the, what the job entails as a football coach, stroke manager now, and I know, I know over the years it's slightly changed and 30 years ago, the manager in charge of everything, recruitment, blah, blah. But what you have to be very good at, it's not just having a set of 25 guys and coaching them and putting them into diff- you've got to be a psychologist, you've got to handle the media, you've got to be a brilliant football coach. The decisions and what you have to be very, very good at, it's just, it's so different to just going out onto a pitch and on a training ground and setting your team up. You've got to be able to handle a group of 25 guys who can be difficult at

• 11:20Speaker 06

  times. I mean, it's, the, the, the list is incredible what you have to be brilliant at being a coach.

• 11:26Speaker 05

  Hmm.

• 11:26Speaker 06

  And so for him to have all that at such a young age and doing the job that he's doing is remarkable.

• 11:32Speaker 05

  But you have to have people around you who, who you obviously trust as well. I think when I was watching a documentary, totally right in terms of all the things that he has to essentially oversee. But he has got a really good team around him as well, which he obviously trusts.

• 11:50Speaker 06

  But everyone looks to the coach, everyone looks to the manager. You know, when you've got to make these decisions, you've got to put sessions on, you've got to go and talk to the media, you've got, you've got to be that psychologist that you can make someone feel very special for you to go out and play and feel good. And then you've got issues with players who are not playing, you've got to handle that side of things, you know?

• 12:09Speaker 05

  So how hard is that? I know we have a laugh about you managing and all that sort of stuff. And I know we're going a little bit off topic, but how, how hard is, is that to do? You know, where you've got to face up to the media and then you've got to put a training session on. And then you've got all the stuff that comes with, with running a football.

• 12:25Speaker 06

  Yeah, it's tough. I mean, it's unbelievable. I guess, but I guess when you, when you talk about 25 or 30 years ago, the manager actually basically ran the club. It was his decision who came in. It was his decision to go and look at players. It was his decision to, how much to pay for, it's like, so from back then to what it is now, and I know it's such a difficult job, but years and years ago, when the manager was in charge of all of that, I mean, it's unbelievable when you think of it. But yeah, very, very difficult.

• 12:54Speaker 00

  Slight difference, I suppose, from, from back in our day, Alan, in the sense that you would have had a relatively small squad by comparison to now. There'd only probably been about realistically 14, 15, 16 maybe players that you would play. Well, I remember when I, this is how it's changed so much. When I played, right, we had, you'd have the manager, the first team coach, you'd have a physio.

• 13:19Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 13:20Speaker 00

  And a kit man.

• 13:21Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 13:22Speaker 00

  And that was about it.

• 13:24Speaker 06

  Now you've got a different coach full of different analysts and.

• 13:27Speaker 00

  You've got two coaches.

• 13:28Speaker 06

  Exactly.

• 13:29Speaker 00

  You know, when they showed City sneaking in round the back of Anfield.

• 13:33Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 13:33Speaker 00

  And I thought, God, they have two coaches now, two bosses. Two bosses. Unbelievable. I mean, talk about it's moved on now. It's such, it's such an industry. And that's why I say to the fact that now, all the coaches are, they're obviously a pretty high level. And then you see this merry-go-round of clubs that are, and I think the owners use that situation as well. You know, let's blame the coach. It's the coach's fault, takes the pressure off us, the owners, and bring in a new coach who's probably of the same level. We've seen it. Take Forest, for example, over the last couple of years, they've brought in a coach, he's done all right for a few games, and then they get to back to actually the level they are. And then he gets sacked because of that. Then they bring, and they

• 14:15Speaker 00

  have a little start. Oh, that's quite nice. We're doing well again. And now, you know, now they've brought, you know, Glasner, who just came from Palace. And it's just like, it's, this, once you're in, you're in. And I think all these coaches are really, really good and an excellent level. But ultimately, I think Hertzler might well be a bit more, but I think he will be massively helped by what's going on and the way the football club is run. And if you look at clubs like United and, they struggle because it's not brilliantly run in the same way as a club like Brighton. Hertzler's been linked with, I mean, it's probably just pure rumours, with United already, should Carrick not go

• 14:56Speaker 00

  on for much longer. If you were Hertzler and they came, said something went wrong, I know this hypothetical, but something went wrong at a club like, would you go from Brighton to Manchester United, which sounds a ridiculous question a few years ago, but I think it's a relevant question now. Would you, if you were him, would you go, hmm, I'm doing quite well here with a good team?

• 15:19Speaker 06

  We saw that decision with Graham Potter, didn't we? Only left there and went to Chelsea, wasn't it? Yeah. And that didn't quite, I mean, financially it worked for him, but I guess it didn't quite work out for him professionally.

• 15:29Speaker 05

  What are the terms? What are the terms, guys?

• 15:31Speaker 00

  What, money?

• 15:32Speaker 05

  No, no, not, not money. Does he get a four-year at least project?

• 15:36Speaker 00

  Well.

• 15:37Speaker 05

  Well, that's what I mean. Well, that, well, that's what I mean.

• 15:39Speaker 00

  Who's ever guaranteed that?

• 15:41Speaker 05

  Look at Arteta. It took him six, seven years to, to win, win a trophy.

• 15:45Speaker 00

  But it's worked for them. At some point as a club, and I was going to say this about Manchester United, and we'll do it later anyway, but at some point a club has to go, right, this guy knows what he's doing. We need to support him and back him. Because if you just keep changing, you know, it's like, it's, it's Groundhog Day.

• 16:02Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 16:02Speaker 00

  That's what you get with a lot of clubs. And at some point, you've got to look at the, the clubs that have been successful over a long period of time have, have been the patient ones with their coach. If, if Sir Alex Ferguson had come into Manchester United now and performed like he did in his first, what, three seasons, it wouldn't have probably lasted anywhere near. But they obviously saw something in him and they were right to be patient and got the just rewards.

• 16:28Speaker 05

  But is it people like us? Is it people do podcasts? Is it, is it the media? Is it just social media in, in, in general where?

• 16:37Speaker 00

  Well, I don't think any of us have ever called for someone to get the sack. I mean, someone might find something from somewhere, but.

• 16:44Speaker 05

  Yeah, but we're in an environment where essentially what we say goes a long way and it does put pressure on. Our opinions are, are valid, aren't they? And that's why people listen to our, to our podcasts. Did you say some of us then?

• 16:58Speaker 06

  No, I said the noises. I was going to say the noises a lot, isn't it? No, I didn't say that.

• 17:05Speaker 05

  Well, the thing is though, you, you, if you're not working on, on Netflix, you're working on BBC, if you're not working on BBC, you're working on Amazon. Alan Shearer, if he says something, it holds weight, you know? And that does put pressure. And I think we'd like to give a balanced view and a fair view, definitely. But we are part of sometimes people applying that pressure.

• 17:27Speaker 00

  No, you're absolutely right. I mean, but, you know, there's, there's always been media. I mean, it's, it's, it's just, it's been enhanced a lot and obviously has probably a deeper effect now because you've got social media as well, which is new to our game. I remember watching United last week and they were getting boos in the first half. Now, United, I've always thought the club that actually their fans have been pretty patient with their players on the pitch. They don't tend to do that sort of stuff. But there is a, there's a, there is a shift now. And I think it might be down to, to Alan Shearer, to be honest, that he's, he's a part. Because when Alan Shearer speaks, the world listens. And, and I think obviously there's a lot of pressure. It's hugely well

• 18:11Speaker 00

  recompensed, the, the job, obviously. Once you've established yourself, you, you're almost certain to get another job. It's probably, aside from perhaps being a prime minister or something, the one job where you're pretty much guaranteed to get kicked out. I mean, there are very, very few examples of people who have not been sacked. Obviously Guardiola, Klopp, Ferguson, people like that, but very, very few over the years. So it's a testing role and.

• 18:45Speaker 00

  But also, I suppose, once you get in there, once you're on the merry-go-round, it's kind of ka-ching in some ways. Texas on to United, I suppose, in a way. They played Leeds, Leeds, Leeds. And actually, both games I watched yesterday weren't great. That was one. And then I watched the Arsenal game. So, I mean, we've been talking the previous week, hadn't we, and after the Champions League about, oh, everyone seems to be really having a go now and it's so much better. And then as soon as you open your big mouth, you get a fairly turgid weekend.

• 19:17Speaker 06

  Well, I did the same as you guys. That's why I was mainly watching those two games. And they were a bit flat, weren't they? Man United did all right. I thought the couple of changes that he made, Carrick, put in a decent performance in that in the first half, went 1-0 up. And Buemo, he missed a couple before that. And I was thinking, here we go again. Because I watched them in Madrid in the week and they missed chances there. But Leeds came back second half, deserved a point. And it was a bit of a, it was a bit of a drab game, I thought.

• 19:45Speaker 00

  Players now, when the ball's coming over, they try and side flick it in, rather than just head it straight on with the forehead. That's the art of heading. I know that you, obviously, we used to train a lot with, with heading balls. And nowadays, that's not deemed as wise for obvious reasons, for your brain health, etc. So they probably do way less practice than we did. And you can see, you don't see too many great headers of the ball in the game now. And I wonder if is this anything to do with that? And I think it's obviously, I've always, I said for a long time, they shouldn't allow heading in training, and then just restrict it just to games. But, but there will be, because of that, a lack of, lack of know-how into how to head a ball.

• 20:29Speaker 06

  Although the Lewis Potter one for Brentford was a brilliant header, wasn't it?

• 20:33Speaker 00

  There are plenty of examples of people that do head it properly. But I've just seen this general thing where people come in and just try, and generally, a guy that goes, never goes in.

• 20:44Speaker 06

  No, I get, I totally understand that. And that's, you're probably right in what you, what you say with less training and less doing it, then you're going to see it less often, I guess. But I was impressed with his movement for his goal eventually, when the ball came in from the right hand side. Telemans whipped it in. His movement was brilliant to, to finish it off. But Leeds came back into it second half. Calvert-Lewin again, scoring a good goal, good finish. But it was probably a fair result, wasn't it? It wasn't, I don't think either team did enough to win the game.

• 21:13Speaker 05

  I think we've got to give Carrick a little bit of credit for the way he set up. In terms of the game, it wasn't, like you guys said, it wasn't, it wasn't a brilliant game. But there was a lot more effort. And they went to three at the back. And they sort of had Ahmad on one side and Dalot on the other side. Up front, and they had Santos and Belieber in midfield. But then it was weird what they was doing up front. Like, Fernandez was the furthest man forward at times in the middle. Telemans was sort of just to the right of him. And then, and Buemo wasn't quite on the left, but was then going centrally when Fernandez dropped deep. So it was, it was interesting. When we got the team sheet, I was looking at, I think, what's he gonna do here? I was saying before the game, United just need to go back to basics. You know, against Atletico

• 21:58Speaker 05

  Madrid, it wasn't great, all doom and gloom. But to go to Leeds, Ellen Road, with the high energy that they have at that ground, I thought it was a much better performance. Not, not great. But in terms of the circumstances, the pressure that Carrick was under, for him, he's been challenged tactically, I would say, this season. I think last season, it was more sit in a low block, counter-attack, that's what United are. This season, when they've got to take it to, take the game for somebody, they don't quite know what they're doing. But in the game yesterday, I saw few signs to say, okay, they've got a little bit more than what they've shown this season so far.

• 22:40Speaker 00

  Where can Leeds finish, Micah?

• 22:42Speaker 05

  Leeds are a really good outfit, you know. Honestly, watching the movement, I think Bogle's a really good player. I think Justin, although he got caught on the, on the goal, but how do you know, he was so funny yesterday, I'll do the game, right? And the Leeds centre-half is caught, like, I don't, I just basically went, Marmarovic. I just, I just moved on. Marmarovic. And no one got on it because I said it so.

• 23:08Speaker 00

  It's not an easy role.

• 23:10Speaker 05

  Like, if it goes slow on this, I'm gonna fuck it up.

• 23:15Speaker 00

  Berharemovic, isn't it? It's a tricky one. It's a good player as well.

• 23:19Speaker 05

  Mahemovic. And I just went, and no one looked at me. I was like, yes, I've got away with it. But it was, it was so tough. But he, he's, and he's, he's a good player. LBD not, not bad as well. In the midfield, I love Stack and his energy. I wish he had a little bit more composure at times. Gunnarsson offers a width on the, on the left hand side as well. And the rotations between the team, they look really good. How high can they finish? I think top 10.

• 23:53Speaker 00

  Yeah, just around the mid-table.

• 23:54Speaker 05

  Would be a realistic target for Leeds. Because I think in games though, as well, some of the games that they've drawn, they could have got over the line. And I think Calvert-Lewin needs someone else to help him with the goals as well.

• 24:06Speaker 00

  I think they've been better since he went to a back three.

• 24:09Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 24:10Speaker 00

  They've been much more consistent, and it seems to have worked for him.

• 24:13Speaker 05

  The only thing is though, guys, do Leeds themselves expose though? Because when they go, they all go. Had Man United been a little bit sharper on the counter-attack, they would have got punished. But it's how they play. Daniel Farx doing a, doing a brilliant job. And they're an exciting watch, which is the most important. Come on, the Leeds.

• 24:33Speaker 00

  Dominic Calvert-Lewin, I mean, he's, he's had a run of, of being fit.

• 24:37Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 24:37Speaker 00

  For quite a while. And I think that, and it reminds you of the fact that actually, he's, he's a bit of a handful up front. You know, he can hold it up, he's good in the air, he can get a goal, which he's, he's doing. He's obviously, he takes the penalties as well. So he's, and he's had a pretty good start to the season. I would say, at present, he's probably number two as a nine behind Kane, isn't he?

• 25:01Speaker 05

  Ooh, good question. So who've we got? We've got Tony, who didn't get picked in the last squad. Obviously, he's playing in Saudi.

• 25:09Speaker 00

  Ollie Watkins has gone to Saudi, obviously. You've got De Lap, who's.

• 25:15Speaker 05

  It was looking really good, but like, the game, the game yesterday, I was, I was thinking, come on.

• 25:21Speaker 00

  He took a very quick, good throw-in.

• 25:23Speaker 05

  Come on, I know, but the balls, like, it feels like he's, he's got everything to be whatever he wants to be. But then, there's zero conviction. I don't know, I don't even know if it's confidence. I just feel like he needs to believe in himself more because he's got it. He's there. He just needs to finish off the chances when he gets there.

• 25:43Speaker 06

  I think with regards to Calvert-Lewin, you have to play a specific way. You have to, you have, and I think Leeds do it without doubt. It's noticeable if they can get an early ball in every opportunity, that's their first thought. And I like that with him. Because he needs to be fed. He needs to have balls up to him and balls into him. He's that, he's that type of forward. He thrives on that. And he's, there's no doubt, when you do that, he's a handful. He can be really awkward to play against, yeah.

• 26:10Speaker 00

  Let's take a break there and discuss some of the other games when we come back.

• 26:16Speaker 00

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• 27:10Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground, or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you, so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

• 27:38Speaker 02

  Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change, your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.

• 27:50Speaker 03

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• 27:53Speaker 00

  Welcome back to The Rest Is Football with Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and me Gary Lineker. Let's talk Arsenal. I mean, that was more the performance we saw probably from them a few times last season. Forest had their opportunities in the game, even after Arsenal took the lead. I think it was their first shot on target, wasn't it, when they scored? But you could sort of see it coming. It was going to be a 1-0 to the Arsenal.

• 28:18Speaker 06

  It was a, I mean, it wasn't a pretty game again, but we've seen it so many times that with teams and we always say it, doesn't have to be, you just have to find a way. But their squad again, I guess, hauling players off at half time. You're going to put you in in terms of Eze and if you don't work, you're coming off straight away. And there was no mess in the run, was there, off at half time?

• 28:39Speaker 00

  Have any of you seen this stat? How many 1-0s Arsenal have had in the last year, in the last 366 days?

• 28:46Speaker 05

  Is it 16?

• 28:48Speaker 00

  Not quite that many.

• 28:49Speaker 05

  Oh.

• 28:49Speaker 00

  13 1-0 wins against Fulham, Palace, Everton, Chelsea, Brighton, Sporting, Newcastle, obviously Al, Atletico, West Ham, Burnley, Villa, Napoli and Forest. That's incredible, isn't it? I mean, it just shows you how strong they are defensively and how good the goalkeeper is as well.

• 29:11Speaker 06

  Although you did see, I mean, there was the chance, wasn't there, Chris Wood when they broke?

• 29:15Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 29:16Speaker 06

  Oh my, his first touch was terrible. He brought it back inside instead of pushing it out onto his right and getting his strike away. It was...

• 29:24Speaker 00

  Marilla had that good effort right, near the end and they just high and wide, which, um, yeah, so they, I mean, they do defend well, but they got away with it. They certainly weren't very free flowing yesterday, but they, you know, obviously they've been playing in midweek. So, I mean, they're steady Eddie as you go, isn't it? I mean, I find it, I don't know about you two and I'm going to bring it up again, but, and City winning their match. Sorry, Micah, but it's just, you know, City going with a good lead at the minute, you just keep thinking, well, what is the top of the table? What's going to happen? When's it going to happen? How long they're going to wait? Are they going to wait till

• 30:05Speaker 00

  after the appeal before they give out, which I don't understand. So, do you sit there and think, even when you're watching City and they're playing some great stuff and they've got an unbelievably good squad and there again lies question marks. So, you just go, oh, brilliant City and now they're a few points clear and, but are they? You know what I mean?

• 30:26Speaker 06

  You have to think that because that's the situation that we're in.

• 30:29Speaker 00

  And which adds to the chances of teams like probably Brighton to challenge a little bit. Maybe they're Arsenal's closest challengers at present or Chelsea or Liverpool. We don't know. But, you know, are City in, are City in this league or are they not in this league? Are there going to be deducted points? I mean, there's so many question marks around it. It's all a little bit peculiar, I think.

• 30:51Speaker 05

  Don't you think it's, it's great for Man City players though, how they're able to sort of shut out all the noise, no matter what was going to happen?

• 31:01Speaker 00

  You think this is great for Man City's players?

• 31:03Speaker 05

  Don't you think being able to just block all the noise out and still be able to perform? A mentality? Do you not think?

• 31:09Speaker 00

  I think they might use the world's against us thing and you can see that with the fans as well. They've all gone very tribal, as you would expect. But I don't know if I was a player, because also I think naturally you'd be thinking, what, what's going to happen here? What does this mean?

• 31:23Speaker 05

  No, no, I think you're talking more, bigger picture. Yes, I understand what you're saying.

• 31:27Speaker 00

  I'm talking bigger picture.

• 31:28Speaker 05

  I'm talking more, Man City having to deal with all this noise around, but still being able to perform on the, on the pitch?

• 31:36Speaker 00

  I think players generally just get on with these things. Some of them will be more thoughtful about it than others. But I get what you're saying. You just want to go out and show that, you know, a bit of world's against us and, and I suppose you're playing without, I don't know, are you playing with less stress because of this or more stress because of this? Or, we don't really know. And I think each, each different players will be affected differently. I was going to ask you, right? So, this is another hypothetical question, but is it that hypothetical? Should City get a massive punishment and which sees them go in the lower leagues or whatever? Obviously, a lot of these players will, will want out. Who could afford Haaland and how much would he fucking cost?

• 32:22Speaker 06

  Newcastle?

• 32:27Speaker 00

  He's done it again, Micah.

• 32:31Speaker 00

  Not the way they're playing, Al.

• 32:33Speaker 06

  Oh, yeah. We'll get onto that in a minute.

• 32:35Speaker 00

  I mean, how much would he cost for a start?

• 32:38Speaker 05

  It wouldn't cost a thing because he's not going anywhere. He's not going anywhere.

• 32:42Speaker 06

  When he signed that new deal, you'd imagine he'd have some sort of clause in there that if this were to happen, his agent would, would have managed that situation and put a clause in it. It's some sort of price you'd guess, no?

• 32:55Speaker 00

  I also wonder about the players that they've signed this summer, you know, the likes of Anderson and Buardi, who I thought was really, really good again. I mean, of course, he is, he's very, very good at football. But I wonder whether they, because everyone knows this has been hanging over Manchester City for a long time. We all knew it was going to be fairly imminent. I wonder whether they've got clauses?

• 33:19Speaker 06

  They have to, they have to.

• 33:21Speaker 00

  You would think so, wouldn't you? To get out?

• 33:23Speaker 06

  You would have to.

• 33:25Speaker 00

  You know, because otherwise, Anderson and Buardi, two most exciting young talents on the planet, particularly, obviously Buardi's younger, but, and I just think to myself, you just don't know now. What, what are you going to be? What's going to happen? Whether you're going to be dock lots of points?

• 33:42Speaker 05

  Do you think they knew that? Come on, come on.

• 33:44Speaker 00

  But every, every interview about City for years has been, the charges, the charges.

• 33:51Speaker 06

  Micah, if you're one of those players coming in in the summer, Buardi or Anderson or whoever, their agent would have to, have to. I mean, if, if he or she haven't, then clearly it wouldn't be doing their job right. And I know they would have maybe asked the question and the, and the answer would have come back from City, yeah, we're, we're not guilty at all. But to have a client of yours, you'd have to be so sure. And to be so sure, you'd say, well, okay, Man City, if you're that adamant you're not guilty, then you have to put some sort of clause in my client's contract. Because if the worst were to happen, then they, they have to be given that opportunity to somehow get out. You'd think so.

• 34:33Speaker 00

  I would agree. If the players' agents have not taken this into account, have not put in some kind of clause should the worst happen, then I don't think they've been doing their job brilliantly. None of us know anything at the moment, but it's just that, it's that cloud hanging over everything in the Premier League at present. Let's go, I just want to go one little thing back to Arsenal for a second because the, the last six games they've played, they haven't scored in the first half. He's been kind of changing things up top and they've still not plugged that hole up now, have they? Really?

• 35:10Speaker 06

  Well, he's, I mean, his preference obviously is Havertz, which he's played. I know he brought Yocares on, but his preference is Havertz. But when you look at the different options in terms of Saka and Eze and Madweke and Yocares and who else have I missed? Goodness knows who else I've...

• 35:26Speaker 05

  Odegaard.

• 35:27Speaker 06

  Odegaard and he's got Downman on there, which it's like, their options are incredible. Um, but he does, he does prefer Havertz, doesn't he?

• 35:35Speaker 00

  Oh, he seems to. I mean, I don't think Havertz has ever been getting 25 goals a season. He's a different sort of player. Drifts in, he's, he's probably more of a, more of a 10, I think, uh, Micah. But yeah, I think, I mean, there's another one, Haaland to Arsenal. I mean, imagine them with, with...

• 35:53Speaker 05

  I don't like, this is going to be all season now, isn't it? Just this speculation. Oh, I can't deal with it, guys. I can't deal with it.

• 36:00Speaker 00

  I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's difficult for someone who's played for City for a long time, but let alone what might be going through your mind if you're actually playing now.

• 36:09Speaker 05

  Hmm. Exactly why I said what they're doing on the field is so remarkable.

• 36:13Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:13Speaker 05

  You know?

• 36:14Speaker 00

  They've definitely used it to, I, I suspect, use that the world's against us thing.

• 36:19Speaker 06

  Yeah, yeah.

• 36:20Speaker 00

  I mean, Haaland bagged another two. Harry triple capped him. Sorry, Al. He's marching on. I think the only other talking point probably is that obviously they, Mark Gaye made a mistake for the Ipswich goals. In fact, you could say two.

• 36:35Speaker 06

  Two, yeah.

• 36:35Speaker 00

  And one or two errors creep. Is it just a spell? Because obviously there was one at the end of last season with the back pass and then there was one during with the England game where he made a mistake when Lamine Yamal got in behind him. So, there's a few mistakes in there at present, but I suppose that happens to defenders, Micah, over the period and just...

• 36:54Speaker 05

  Yeah, I think it's just a spell. Obviously, he's a ball playing centre half as well as being a leader, especially at Palace. When we was analysing the game at Palace, we were, was talking about how good he was on the ball, where he was receiving the ball, how he was playing through the lines, all that sort of thing. But he does need to tighten up. When you're playing for Man City, you're getting scrutinised a lot more and England. And some of the things, the mistakes that he's making, he, he doesn't really need to make. Remember his one against Everton last season when they was going for the league? Like, he, he's, he's a lot better than that. And I feel though, he's switching off when he doesn't need to switch off. He's, he's very consistent in the way, the way he plays

• 37:36Speaker 05

  and his attitude towards a game. And I would agree with you. I think it's just a little bit of a blip, but you don't want to be known for, for someone who keeps giving away soft goals because that's when, uh, people will play on that. But yeah, I just feel he's going through a little bit of a, a tough patch.

• 37:51Speaker 06

  There was two, wasn't there? Even the, uh, the penalty that he gave, that he gave where he was sloppy as well, wasn't he, towards the end?

• 37:57Speaker 05

  Yeah, it just, it, it's just, it was just a little bit sloppy, but I think he's just going through one of those phases at the moment. I don't think that's what he is.

• 38:05Speaker 00

  I think so. Their midfield is, I mean, they've got some options in there.

• 38:10Speaker 06

  Well, he left Fernandez out, didn't he? And Anderson, was it? He played Buardi and Kovacic.

• 38:15Speaker 00

  I mean, he rested quite a lot of players and but Buardi, who I thought was absolutely sensational when he came on against PSG.

• 38:23Speaker 06

  He was.

• 38:23Speaker 00

  Was also really good again. I mean, I think he's quite special, Micah. And I think Mareska said, didn't he? And he was asked about him and he went, not bad, eh?

• 38:34Speaker 05

  He's class. He's class, honestly. But you know what? I didn't know he had the oracle. The oracle missed it, let's say. The oracle missed it. I thought he was just more of a Rodri type.

• 38:49Speaker 00

  Well, Rodri's not bad.

• 38:50Speaker 05

  No, but not, I didn't say Rodri, Rodri type, who wants to sit, sit in front of the back four and then dictate the game. As I saw for Morocco.

• 39:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:02Speaker 05

  But he's actually got that burst of pace where he can go past players and he's got a Cruyff and all that sort of stuff, which I didn't see. Against PSG, when he came on, he absolutely changed the game with his press. So, yeah, he does look tasty. And I think that's going to be the midfield going forward in the harder game.

• 39:22Speaker 00

  Again, you've got to go asterix. That's the midfield going forward. Who's their best midfield though?

• 39:27Speaker 05

  You've got Shirky and the way he started this season, if you're playing against a team where you need to be a little bit more creative, you probably would go with Shirky in a number 10, the way he's performed this season and the end.

• 39:39Speaker 00

  I think he's in the doghouse, Shirky.

• 39:41Speaker 05

  I know, yeah, but that's.

• 39:42Speaker 00

  After that performance, he is.

• 39:45Speaker 05

  That happens though. Come on. We all know Shirky's not great off the ball. We know that. We've said that. So can we judge him by that? Yes, at times because he needs to do more, but he's a creative player. He's a creative genius. That's what he does. If you're playing against a team who've got good running power, you play Buardi, probably Enzo and probably Anderson. But if not, the Shirks, you've got to play. There's many times where I would play Buardi or Anderson just sitting and play Foden and Shirky ahead of them, you know? It can change depending on who you're playing against. I would go.

• 40:23Speaker 00

  Quick word on Liverpool and then I just, I just need a little Alan Shearer rant on his team before we go. But Verts creates nine chances, he created from open play, the most since Sadio Mane against Burnley in 2021.

• 40:40Speaker 00

  And obviously ended with his assist for Munoz as well. So I suppose a good response because he's been getting a lot. Every, every social media chat, I think around Liverpool seems to be talking about him. And, and that's all he can do is, is try and respond by making chances and, and scoring goals. So a little bit of a grain of hope.

• 41:03Speaker 06

  You would hope so. I mean, clearly the sending off was a massive part of that game, wasn't it? You're all looking at it. It's little.

• 41:11Speaker 00

  What was he doing?

• 41:12Speaker 06

  Stupid, wasn't it?

• 41:13Speaker 00

  I mean, I can't, I mean, I just thought, as soon as you saw the first replay, you went, well, he's, he's got to go. I mean, even though it was only, you know, it was just, what are you doing? Given the opportunity for that sort of decision.

• 41:28Speaker 05

  It wasn't that bad though, was it? Yeah, I agree with you. But it wasn't, it wasn't.

• 41:33Speaker 00

  But he was fat, wasn't he?

• 41:33Speaker 05

  It was just, it was stupid. Yes, I agree with you.

• 41:35Speaker 00

  It was just stupid.

• 41:37Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah.

• 41:38Speaker 06

  He was annoying what Jacque was doing. So I could, I sort of understood the frustration, but you can't do that. No.

• 41:44Speaker 00

  It's just, why, why would you? It's like when they run off and take their shirts off and they know they're going to get a yellow card. You think this is more serious, but you just, which is a stupid law, but the headbutt law is pretty plain for it. If you stick your head in someone and there's movement and then you're going to be in trouble. And when your team's one up as well, I mean, I don't know sometimes what they're thinking.

• 42:07Speaker 06

  But you're right. In terms of little shoots, a little, a little improvement, a little bit better for Verts. It has to start from somewhere. So you would hope that going forward and starting tomorrow, Villarreal, they've got tomorrow, I'm doing that game. You would hope that he picks up a little bit of belief and confidence going forward.

• 42:26Speaker 00

  Your take on Liverpool, Micah? Still look relatively easy, not easy, but relatively comfortable to play against.

• 42:34Speaker 05

  Yeah, Danny Murphy did a piece on Match of the Day, didn't he? They said it was still going through midfield, which, which you would expect. They've, they've had injuries. They need to tighten up a little bit more, but I was more positive within Munoz. I thought Munoz was a story really. After watching him against Man City live and seeing how active he is and how willing he is to run in behind and, and press and all those sort of things. I actually thought he, he was a story. He's 23 year old coming to a different, different country, playing at Liverpool. It's massive what, what he's doing now. And everyone's talking about Rio, obviously because he's English. But I thought Munoz is doing a really good job.

• 43:18Speaker 00

  I was worried when he went down injured. I thought it looked like it might be a crucial.

• 43:23Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Yeah.

• 43:25Speaker 00

  I was thinking, oh, it's one of those where he's jarred, he's no one around. So, but he does look, I've, I've been really impressed with him.

• 43:31Speaker 05

  Before he goes on his rant, who got player of the match for Aston Villa, Alan?

• 43:35Speaker 06

  Was it Nicholas Jackson?

• 43:36Speaker 05

  Of course it was.

• 43:38Speaker 06

  I find that really strange actually because I was there watching the game.

• 43:42Speaker 00

  Should have been M'Zambi for me.

• 43:43Speaker 06

  Yeah, him or Tyrone Mings, I thought. I mean, a centre forward that doesn't score, doesn't assist, has one effort on target and gets man of the match.

• 43:54Speaker 05

  Hey, I listen, listen, I, I, I didn't, I didn't pick him out. I, I didn't pick him, you know?

• 44:00Speaker 06

  I said, I thought he was a bit strange. I thought he did all right, but.

• 44:03Speaker 05

  Well, well, since, well, since I've said it, he scored three and got, I think he's had like three player of matches and then got player of, yeah. So, you know, anyway.

• 44:10Speaker 06

  Yeah, I think because Unai Emery knows him and the way he handles him and manages him, I think he's responding to that. There's no doubt. I think he's, he's a good player, Micah. And I guess Villa weren't the only club that were interested in him. But he gives them, he gives them a different option because he's, he goes the other way and he stretches the team. But oh my goodness, Newcastle were so bad.

• 44:34Speaker 00

  What's wrong with the minute now? Because a couple of weeks ago, you were telling us, oh, Champions League, I'm behind the head. And then now it's all gone flat for you.

• 44:42Speaker 06

  Well, yeah, it has because I look at their performance against Coventry, it was terrible. And I'm thinking, what, what response have we got at home, St James' Park against Villa? And there was nothing. He didn't create. He had one shot on target, which was Botman, it was in the second half. And other than that, no creativity, no one with that killer pass. We were just, we were terrible. We were, we were really, we're, fuck off, Micah.

• 45:12Speaker 06

  We were really, really bad.

• 45:16Speaker 05

  Why I'm laughing? Not because you're spilling your heart out and you're passionate for your club. I love all that side of things, but Gaz is exactly right. Do you remember when we was talking about top four? And he goes, Newcastle are playing tomorrow.

• 45:31Speaker 06

  No, but what I did say is, I did say, I did say that it's going to be a yo-yo season.

• 45:37Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 45:37Speaker 06

  And I did have them finishing 13th or 14th and I still think that'll be the case.

• 45:43Speaker 06

  But there was just no, there was no response from that really poor performance at Coventry. I was expecting a lot more. And they were really weak, tepid. There was nothing to their performance at all. Like you could come away and think, oh, we did all right there. They were terrible.

• 45:59Speaker 00

  Newcastle are now without a home clean sheet in each of their last 16 games in all competitions. Longest run in their history.

• 46:08Speaker 06

  Too easy to play through, they were. I said to you about, we didn't create anything, which is worrying. But the way teams can play through Newcastle, because if you beat that press with a front six, there's such huge holes in the middle.

• 46:20Speaker 00

  I've got some quite alarming stats. Goals conceded, 13th, 20th in the Premier League. Ex-Gear against, we're all big fans of this, 19th, 18th. Shots faced per game, over 17, that's 19th. Shots faced from fast breaks, 20th. Errors leading to shots, 20th. Final third pressures per game, 18th.

• 46:42Speaker 06

  Yeah, worrying.

• 46:42Speaker 00

  Those stats, Alan, were before the Villa game, so they wouldn't have improved.

• 46:47Speaker 06

  Yeah, it was concerning, definitely. I see, I seen all of that, Coventry and Aston Villa. And those two performances would, would really worry me. Just a lack, there was a lack of everything. As I said, creativity, they don't look, they don't look solid and they're missing, they were missing that, that killer pass.

• 47:11Speaker 06

  I said to you about the youngster, Sean Stir, who could play that pass. He chose not to play him or bring him on.

• 47:19Speaker 06

  Yeah, it was a worrying performance on Saturday, definitely.

• 47:22Speaker 00

  I want to finish on a little something that I saw. Manchester City's Erling Haaland has now netted 100 non-penalty goals in the Premier League, reaching this milestone in fewer appearances than any other player, 139. The previous fewest was 150 appearances by Alan Shearer in 1996. Another record gone now.

• 47:48Speaker 06

  Yeah, well, the sooner they get relegated, he can leave.

• 47:55Speaker 00

  What a way to finish. That's it for this episode of The Rest Is Football. Goodbye from me.

• 48:00Speaker 05

  Goodbye from me.

• 48:01Speaker 06

  Goodbye from me. Have a great week.

• 48:18Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

• 48:46Speaker 02

  Your sausage muffin with egg didn't change. Your receipt did. The sausage muffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.

• 48:58Speaker 03

  Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.

• 49:01Speaker 07

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