Are Everton fans 'delusional' to expect more from this squad? PLUS Nuno's colony of ants
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Yeah, sure thing.

Hey, you sold that car yet? Yeah, sold it to Carvana. Oh, I thought you were selling to that guy. The guy who wanted to pay me in foreign currency, no interest over 36 months? Yeah, no.

Carvana gave me an offer in minutes, picked it up and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient. Just like that. Yeah. No hassle. None. That is super convenient. Sell your car to Carvana and swap hassle for convenience. Pick up fees may apply. Chris, I have a question for you. When VAR was invented,

When some blokes with bald heads and glasses sat down and decided our game should be reduced from sport to an exercise in science and geometry, what do you think the fundamental idea actually was? Very, very short answer. What was the idea? To make sure they came to the correct decision, Ian? Exactly. Perfect. So why, therefore, does VAR choose not to get involved when Arsenal are

incorrectly and absolutely conclusively awarded a corner against Tottenham in the North London derby from which they score their equaliser on Wednesday night. Why does a bloke in the studio not have a word in the referees ear and say, mate, you've got that one wrong. It's a goal kick.

It's a very good question and a good point, but where could that lead if you're going to VAR on every eventuality? No, you're not going to VAR. The referee doesn't have to stop the game. I know what you mean, yeah. But what if VAR got involved in every little detail? How long would the game be? It'd be like American football.

Fair point, but I just think that some of the things that VAR get involved in, which you watch the replays 10 times and you still can't really work out whether it was a penalty or it was a handball or offside by an inch. And then something like that is absolutely clear. No doubt about it. It's a goal kick. They must see that at Stockley Park. Why don't they just say in his ear, in that 10 seconds before the corner is taken,

Sorry, mate. Stop you there. It's a goal kick. Anyway, I'm not saying that affected the outcome of it. Well, it did affect the outcome of the game because Arsenal only scored two goals and that was one of them. But Arsenal were the better team. They deserved to beat Tottenham in the game. But that did vex me. Could you have a league election on your hands for describing the people who invented VAR as bulls?

Bored and wearing glasses. Well, I suppose it depends whether you think that... Slightly offensive. Well, it depends on what your... You can't go people bald anymore. It depends what your view of bored people... I'm sitting here wearing a pair of glasses, so you're sitting there with your rapidly receding hairline, so...

You know, are you going to sue me? Are you going to sue me? It depends whether you think being bald is a defamatory comment, whether being bald is something to be ashamed of. Personally, I don't. I mean, I'm not bald, so I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I don't think it's defamatory.

Just wait. Just give it a few years. Give it a few years. When you think of a boffin, they're always bald with glasses on and wearing lab coats. That was the image I was going for. Anyway, there we go. VAR. Start the show with some VAR. Look, we're not going to label. Label? Labor at this point. Poor old Hans Postakoglu. He is in trouble, I think.

Another defeat. I don't think he'll be Spurs manager for much longer. Chris, I think that Carabao Cup second leg at Liverpool in a couple of weeks is beginning to feel like all or nothing for the Tottenham manager. It can't be allowed to go on much longer, I am afraid.

Well, he needs results and results quickly, doesn't he? West Ham have gone above them now in the Premier League. You see Palace are on the same points. You know, they can't become the worst team in London. It is a problem. He needs a result or two and you're right about the Liverpool game.

Spurs are at Everton on Sunday. That feels like a big old game for everybody concerned. David Moyes has gone from the youngest manager in the Premier League when he first took over at Everton back in the day, 2002, to the oldest manager in the Premier League now that he's back

at Goodison Park 23 years later. But nothing's changed in terms of the team he inherited from Sean Dyche. Everton are still the team that can't score, won't score. 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa last night, Wednesday.

What did we expect? Did we expect David Moyes to go in and flick a switch and all of a sudden Everton would become this free-scoring, expansive outfit and Everton would win 4-0? That was never going to be the case. And I think that, I mean, just watching Match of the Day and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he looks like a guy who has the weight of the world

on his shoulders. He looks hesitant. He could have had a couple of goals. In fairness, Aston Villa deserved to win the game. They had some big opportunities they didn't take. They were wasteful, but you can't get away from the fact if David Moyes is relying on Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the rest of this season, then they could be in a bit of bother. I still think that they have a good enough squad

to stay in the Premier League, a good enough team to stay in the Premier League, but blimey, 15 measly goals this season, but nothing was ever going to be like a quick change. So after the game on Wednesday night, Moyes said, I'm not a magician and says he needs new strikers.

Well, you know, blimey. Talk about stating the obvious. If he can't come in and change it, why... What do you want him to say? I'm not blaming him. But if you can't come in and change things, then what's the point of making him managerial change? And if David Moyes needs strikers, then Sean Dyche needed strikers. All I'll say is, I've got to ask you a simple question. If you look at the Everton squad,

Where would you expect them to be in the league table if all things were equal? If you had to rank the squads in order of ability, depth, competence, et cetera, where would you have the Everton squad? Just above the relegation zone. Yeah, where they are. So if you look at the, they are 16th at the moment, a point above Ipswich. The three teams above them are Man United, Crystal Palace,

Tottenham. And then you go West Ham, Brighton. Actually, as questions go, that's a really great question from you. So are they any, is the Everton squad better than the Man United squad? No. Better than the Palace squad? Probably not. Better than the Tottenham squad? Definitely not. Better than the West Ham, Brighton, Brentford, Fulham, Bournemouth, and you're up to eighth. They're not. So they are where they should be.

They are where they should be. So why this great feeling of injustice around Goodison about the fact that Sean Dice had them where they are? And I know the style of play was an issue. I get it. I get it. But equally, they are where they would expect to be. And I'll tell you what will happen now. Well, not the Everton fans. And that's the point. The Everton fans...

Their thought process was that they should be competing possibly mid-table, possibly higher up. And that was, well, that is delusion. Absolutely. Delusion is at work, if that is what they think. I know, I can imagine that they look at some of those clubs that I mentioned, particularly Brighton, Brentford,

and think, well, we're bigger clubs than them. We're better clubs than them. We've got a bigger stadium. We've got more history on our side. But that's all true, but it's all irrelevant because those clubs have shown themselves to be progressive and shown themselves to be managed and run by joined-up thinkers who have good recruitment policies. And Everton have had none of that.

Everton have none of that. So Sean Dice is the latest bloke to take the fall for that. And David Moyes is the latest bloke to be asked to fix it. I think what will happen... Is he the right appointment? It's impossible to say he's a bad appointment. Was he the right appointment for you? I might have preferred them to go for a slightly longer term vision. To me, would Graham Potter have been a better choice to build that club as they go into Bramley Moor Dock?

Yes. Why? Yes.

Because I think that's what he does, okay? I think he would have the energy and the vision to sit there and think, I'll do this for five years. And I think David... Is that an age thing? This is not a criticism of David. Yeah, well, hang on a minute. Hang on, let me finish. Because I don't want you to think this is a criticism of David. But if David, at his end of his career, is looking at it as more like a two-year stability job, I wouldn't blame him. I wouldn't blame him at all. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.

I'd have been more inclined to give Potter five and say, right, get us to where we need. And as long as you keep us up this season, you've got five years to get us where we need. I see David as more of a get us through this rocky period appointment, which is what Sean Dice was. It sounds like an age thing for you. It's not an age. I'm not... But that's the way it sounds. But...

In terms of building clubs, isn't that a bit of a myth about, or that you're saying that Graham Potler should have been given that opportunity over David Moyes? I mean, when you're looking to employ a manager, do you look at track records?

Yes, there's a strong argument for both candidates, Chris. And I'm not saying that David's a bad appointment. I'd be an idiot to say that. And I'm not saying that. I can see the logic. But he's a appointment that comes with smaller parameters and smaller requirements. I don't understand that. I don't understand what you are basing that on. David Moyes isn't going to be there in five years, whatever happens.

He's just not. But what's to say Graham Potter's going to be, would have been there in five years? Everybody thought he was going to go long at Chelsea. How long was he there for? It wasn't even there a season. I would have liked to have seen the vision. That's all. I keep repeating myself. David Moyes is not a bad appointment. I'll tell you what will happen now, mate. I'll tell you what will happen now. Everything looked like they're in trouble.

well, they are in trouble. One point off the relegation zone, they're in trouble. What will happen is that they'll give this appearance of being in trouble. Then they'll go on a run of two or three games where they'll win games and they'll pull themselves out of it and everybody will say, oh, brilliant. This is why we hired David Moyes. That would have happened if Sean Dyson stayed because that's what happened last season. I 100% agree. There we go. Um,

Everton Spurs, Sunday, Goodison Park, not one to miss. Let us know what you think about that. Am I being mean to David Moyes? Am I being a bit of a fantasist thinking that a younger manager with less experience like Graham Potter can go in there and turn... Who doesn't have the track record that David Moyes does, but you think that he should have been employed. And turn...

into a bigger version of Brighton. Maybe I am. What do you think about the VAR call at the Emirates? Should VAR be getting involved with things like that? Or as Chris intimated, do you think it should just be for the really big offsides, penalties, et cetera? And is Ange in trouble or is that the most rhetorical questions anybody's ever asked? Let us know what you think about that. You can find us on the socials.

Ian Laderman, Chris Sutton, stupid name and famous name. And you can also hit us up at Malesports Instagram account, TikTok account on our YouTube channel. You'll also find us at Facebook. A couple of comments here on Spotify appertaining to what we talked about on Monday, Chris. We talked quite a lot, didn't we, about FA Cup and replays and whether they should be scrapped.

Steve on Spotify says, I suggest just scrapping replays for ties involving teams from the same division.

No one at any level of the pyramid wants to see those. Steve's suggesting that Tottenham Tamworth should go to a replay, but say Sheffield Wednesday Coventry shouldn't go to a replay, for example. That's his take. And we also talked about Kyle Walker, of course. Kyle Walker. Come back to that in a minute, Chris. Kyle Walker on his way out of Manchester City. Christian Tonnies on Spotify. Kyle Walker will be missed forever.

massively. I don't think he's all of a sudden lost his qualities because of his age. I wonder if some of his off-field issues are affecting him and he wants to get away from the England and the English media. A bit harsh that, Christian. Replace, Chris. Exactly. Replace, Chris. You got a comeback on that? No, I actually think that's quite an interesting suggestion, really. But then if you're...

So replays when it's big against little, but no replays when it's, say, Arsenal versus Man United or, like I say, Sheffield Wednesday versus Compton. But you still do have big and little in the Premier League, don't you? So I still think that, yeah, as a whole. And I think if you start tweaking...

Things like that, you have to go through the whole system. But that is, I do like that thought process, though. Bit of blue sky thinking. And we do like Big and Little. We certainly like Big and Little on this podcast. Bit more Big and Little in West London this weekend. Liverpool over at Brentford. I'm there.

Oh, you're getting a nice one. Well, it won't be dull because it never is at the G-Tech. It shan't be dull. We had a little nibble at Thomas Frank, didn't we, on Monday for making nine changes, I think, for his FA Cup tie at home to Plymouth, which Brentford lost. But,

Brentford then go and play Manchester City on Tuesday and come from 2-0 down to level it in the last five minutes. That was, I suppose, his justification for the... That would be the way that Thomas Frank looks at it. That's a justification for resting players in the FA Cup when you've got big Premier League games coming up. You're pulling your face, no?

No. No? I mean, if you're a Brentford fan, you want to see your team go deep in the FA Cup, not getting a point at home to Manchester City where the wheels have fallen off.

So Liverpool's lead has been cut at the top of the Premier League. They drew at Forest and that really absorbing game that I was at on Tuesday night, won all. Arsenal, my tip for the title are back in it. They beat Tottenham, as we know. Jamie Carragher made a point that caught my eye, thinks that Liverpool have lost their defensive stability and should buy somebody in the window. I had a look at the stats and the stats back him up.

First 10 Premier League games of this season, Liverpool had five clean sheets and conceded six goals. The second 10 Premier League games, they had three clean sheets and conceded 14 goals. So he does have a point, just not sure whether the transfer market is Liverpool's way out of it. While Liverpool, you know, a really attractive club to go to, it's okay if you get better in than what you've got, but...

With Canate back, I still think they've got good cover. I know Gomez, I think, is out injured still. They've got Kwanzaa. So they have strength and depth. I think from Liverpool's perspective, there's no real need for...

to panic this may be the uh the period which they're going through where you know they're just having a little bit of a blip but i don't see too many things wrong with liverpool they should have won the game at uh at nottingham forest they should have and i would possibly say that if there was a if there was an issue that needed addressing uh liverpool it's probably not the two central defenders it's probably the chap who sits sits in front of the central defense i think if they had

A Rodri, and we always use Rodri as an example, but that's because he's the best in the world at it. He's injured at the minute. Yeah, exactly. He could sit there in his wheelchair. If we had a Rodri sitting there, then I think that may make a difference. I have to say, Virgil van Dijk does look a little bit like he's going through one of those overconfident periods, which he can do. His formless scenes has been exceptional. I have to say he was asleep sometimes.

when Chris Wood scored that goal for Forest on Tuesday. Two or three yards behind his back four colleagues, playing Wood clearly onside. He does have those periods, Van Dijk. And Canarte, who I said earlier this season I thought was the most improved player at any top six club in the Premier League, has looked a little bit rusty since he's come back from his injury.

I would expect him to improve. Why are you laughing? That's just analysis. That's what we're supposed to be doing. Why are you laughing at me? Everything is such, and I'm not saying this about you, but because of the nature of the Premier League, everything's such an overreaction. If you go back to the Arsenal-Tottenham game, had Arsenal lost that game,

Because they'd lost to Newcastle, because they're out of the FA Cup. You know, Arsenal fans are feeling really disgruntled and all of a sudden that win against the rivals and they're the best team

best in the world again as such. And all of a sudden, you know, with Liverpool, they should have won the game at the City ground and they didn't. And now I think sometimes we are, we're always looking for things, all point of podcasts and newspapers, but sometimes they're not there to the extreme which, you know,

I mean, you are right. You are right. It's also raised a question, who on earth are Liverpool going to find in January that is actually better than Van Dijk or Canarsie? But, and you are right, it was Louis van Gaal, the great Louis van Gaal, who said to the BBC, actually, after being sacked at Man United, that the problem with the English media is that they judge football on the back of only results. And it's,

easy for him to say, just been sacked on the back of poor results at Man United. But I took his point and we are like that. And it's not just the English media. We are like that. We do look at... Oh, team wins means team are good. Team loses, team are bad. And we know it's not like that. That result at the Emirates on Sunday in the FA Cup, Arsenal versus Manchester United, could have been way different. Way different. You know, and...

And then Arsenal, having missed all those chances against United, get a goal off Solanke's backside to equalise from a corner that shouldn't have been given. And it swings again. And now they're back in the title race, Arsenal are. And I actually looked up, in terms of the Premier League,

All this talk about an Arsenal striker, the need for a striker. They were two goals better off before the Tottenham game this season than they were last season. The pressure for Arsenal is they churned out 16 wins in the last 18 games this season. They're going to have to go on a run, but with a big run and finish as they did last season. But with Liverpool...

Only four points. And people saying it's Liverpool's to lose. They did follow at the end of last season. There's a long way to go. That's why Arsenal are my tip. You do make me laugh though when you say, oh, we're overreacting to things. I mean, if we don't kind of overreact and uber-analyse things, then we don't have a twice a week podcast, mate. So just maybe keep a lid on it.

that point of view. Very quickly on this one, we mentioned Forrest there, won all against Liverpool on Tuesday. They're at home to Southampton. Very quickly on this subject. How does a team with the lowest possession stats in the Premier League manage to score the first goal in 17 out of their 21 games so far and sit third?

in the table. It's an extraordinary way that Nuno Espirito Santo has his team playing at the City Grand. Liverpool had 70, 7-0 percent possession after an hour on Tuesday and hadn't had a shot on target. How is that working? They're like an ant colony, aren't they? Nottingham Forest. They all know their jobs.

Don't they? I mean, you watch, have you never sort of viewed? I understand the analogy now, yeah. And, you know, they all know their roles within the team. They know what they are and that's down to Nuno. And, I mean, you go through the team, the goalkeepers,

Really impressed me, actually. I didn't know a lot about Sells before he came to Nottingham Forest, but he's a good shot stopper. He's calm. You look at the fullbacks, Aina and Williams, 1v1 situations they can defend. I think arguably the best centre-half partnership in the Premier League, Milinkovic and Murilla, and they sit in a mid-low block.

Yates and Anderson, I think Anderson's a better footballer than Yates, but they give that back for great protection. But then they have the ball carriers, Alanga and Hudson-Odoi in wide areas, and they can feed the ball to them. They can get them up the pitch. Then they have the craft of Gibbs White and the finishing of Chris Wood. That is a pretty good outfit. As we've seen this season, they are well-balanced. They know what they are.

They don't try and pretend to be something that they are not. And that's a testament to the manager. And the support can see that. But they are a club when...

And I think I may have been one of them when they were spending wildly. We were all thinking, what on earth are they doing? You know, what was the plan? This is madness. And maybe there was a method with all that spending. And Nuno has just come in and found that balance. It's All Kicking Off is supported by our friends at Paddy Power.

Now then, it's time for Paddy Power's Bet Your Bottom Quid Challenge. It's part of the show where Ian and I face off making selections on the chosen fixture. For this instalment, we're focusing on Brentford versus Liverpool. That's Saturday at 3pm. To give us a hand with this, as usual, it's Lewis Richards, aka Paddy Power's resident guru. Welcome, Lewis.

Morning, guys. Let's try and kick this year off with some winners. We didn't end the year very well. Let's start the new year with a bang. Well, we didn't end last year very well. We didn't begin it very well. It wasn't very good in the middle either. But apart from that, we did very well. Right, I'm going to go first, Lewis. So what are we looking at for a Ryan Gravenberg showdown?

shot on target in each half of this game. These odds shouldn't surprise you. This is 10-1. Nice.

Before we look at a couple of stats, Ian, can you explain your thoughts? Just explain yourself. The stats aren't backing your selection up here. My thoughts were having watched him play for Liverpool at Forest on Tuesday night. He seemed to get in some quite good positions and also wasn't shy of taking shots. Admittedly, none of them were on target.

But I just presumed he was having a bad night. And this will be the day when he finally wakes up and realises where the goal actually is. That's a great bet. That's my thinking. You say it's a great bet. The stats suggest that he's had 11 shots all season with only two of them on target. So that's averaging one shot on target every 10 games. Must have had another one on Tuesday night.

10-1, I would much rather be on the same market but with Trent at 16-1. I think that's a great bet because, I mean, he's due, isn't he? He's due to get a couple of shots on target. So I love that bet, Ian.

Every dog has his day. Like it. Got a feeling for that one. Chris, what about yourself? I've gone really brave with this one. I've gone for Brian and Bermo to score or assist. Yeah, I'd say Ian went brave with Graven Birch and the shot on target on each half. You've gone a bit safer. He's eight to five to score or get an assist.

But listen, Brentford's top goal scorer with 13. Now, a lot of people are talking about Chris Woods and what a great season he's having. And Bermuda's in the same. He has three in his last three, so he is in form. Great day. The big step for me is that Liverpool have only kept three clean sheets in the last 10. In the last 10 games altogether. And that was against Accrington, Stanley, West Ham and Girona. So if Brentford are to score, and you certainly think Liverpool will let one in...

And Brevo is certainly one of the favourites to get that. So, 8-5, I'll take that. Did you say that Trent Alexander-Arnold was 16-1 to have a shot on target in each half? Yes. Those are good odds. I like how you mentioned Trent, because that segues quite nicely into the question you were about to ask me. Yes, what about you? I am going for Trent to get an assist.

at 11-5 in this game. I'm going with my gut on this one. I'm thinking the transfer arrangements have quietened down a bit. It's time to get your head down. There have been some dodgy results as of late with Liverpool and I'm hoping this is the game that cements them back as title challengers. I'm hoping Trent comes on form again. Four assists for the season, 11-5 to get an assist in this game. Well, thanks for all that, mate. And remember, odds are correct at the time of recording. Please gamble responsibly.

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You mentioned Matt Sells, the goalkeeper, a year ago, last January window, he was their fourth choice. Sorry, the fourth choice of goalkeeper that they wanted to buy. Look at him now, he was magnificent on...

Tuesday night against Liverpool, as you say, he was a one-man flood barrier as Liverpool poured forward in the last 20 minutes of that game. I've gone back to supporting them, not being a forest. I support them as a youngster. I bet you have. I do think it's extraordinary. You've just given a very good description of the individual attributes of the players in that team, but I still find it extraordinary the way they play, the way they just sit.

Whoever they play against, they just sit. They don't try to press. They just sit.

And they say, you can have the ball for as long as you want. And then when we get it, we are going to kill you. We're going to come at you with all the venom of a cobra. It's an awful, awful metaphor. There we go. Awful, that is. But they do it. Off the back of my ant, you can do, you know. Yeah, you just do better. And understand, you're just a cobra. Yeah, poor, poor. I was going to say adder, but I don't think adders are venomous. Anybody know adders? Yes, they are. Well, you get adders in England, though, don't you?

And they're not venomous. We used to have loads of adders in the garden when I was younger. They used to ask on the banks of... Yeah, but they wouldn't be venomous, would they?

Yes, they are. You wouldn't want to get bitten by an adder. No, but it's venomous. No, it might hurt you, but is it going to poison you? Well, you wouldn't want to be bitten by one. No, I don't think they're venomous. One of my favourite golf courses in the country... You need to get to the doctors quickly if one of those... One of my favourite golf courses in the country... I say that as if I've played like 100, when I haven't. I've played about six.

Windermere Golf Club in the Lakes. Absolutely beautiful Windermere Golf Club. You would love it. It's built in the National Park. And because of that, they're not allowed to have bunkers. Not a single bunker on the golf course. But they make up for it. And it's a short course. They make up for it with the way the shape of the holes and the rough. The views of Helvellyn and Coniston and places like that are magnificent. But on the first tee, there's a sign warning you to beware of adders.

I've never seen one because I'm obviously I'm never in the rough, but beware of adders. But no, English adders are not venomous snakes. Anybody wants to tell me wrong, they can. Right, the final subject.

We mentioned Graham Potter. He's now manager of West Ham, of course. He got his reign off to an interesting start, the 3-2 win at home against Fulham, which Fulham seem to have 55 shots and West Ham 3, and West Ham 1, 3-2. Graham Potter needs a striker for sure, and I think he'd be better off choosing his own. Jared Bowen is injured. Mick Alentonio, of course, is injured after his car crash. Bless him. Nicholas Fulcrook, the big summer signing from Dortmund.

He is injured. My one to watch. Yeah, my one to watch. We both had him as one to watch, didn't we? Lucas Boqueta played up front against Fulham. Anyway, look, this Sunday marks 15 years since Sullivan and Gold bought West Ham. They've signed 40 strikers, West Ham.

in those 15 years. I've stolen these stats from the Guardian, I don't mind saying that, but they've signed 40 strikers in that time and those strikers have scored 192 goals between them in 970 combined appearances.

That's an average of 24 appearances each. How do you buy 40 strikers over 15 years and they only play on average 24 games before they are moved on? It's been an extravagant and extraordinary waste of money. Yeah, but, you know, the one thing about the West Ham owners, they have...

They have given managers money to spend and we can't necessarily blame the owners for the signings. I mean, that seemed to be an issue with Lopetegui. There always seems to be four legs with this Tim Stuyton, you know, who was bringing the players in. But yeah, yeah. But, you know, it's an astonishing number you've mentioned there. And, you know, they always end up relying on Mikel Antonio, don't they? That's...

Well, they do. And I think, look, at any football club... And he was a winger when they signed him, wasn't he? Absolutely. And a fullback at one point. I think at any football club, if transfer policy is not working and is not working over a period of time, then you do blame the, whether it's the owners or the board or whoever, whichever kind of journalies you want to use,

you do blame them because they run the football club. They make the appointments. So they're appointing the managers. They're appointing the football directors if they have one. And those football directors are putting together the scouting network. Is that harsh though? I don't think it is. Is that harsh?

I don't think it is. If it's your business, if it's your business, and over a period of time, there's a recurring flaw in that business and you're not solving it, then yes, it's your fault. Listen to these names. These are just a handful that I've plucked, okay?

Javier Hernandez, £16 million for 17 goals. Sebastian Haller, £45 million for 14 goals. Gianluca Samaka, 8 goals. Danny Ings, £12 million for 5 goals. Fulcrove, £25 million for 2 goals. And that's before you mentioned people like Jordan Hugel, who was signed a couple of years ago and net for about £8 million and never even started a game. I mean...

Forgive me for my clumsy pronunciation as usual there, but you see the point I'm driving at. If you're Graham Potter, who didn't actually trust Danny Ings enough to start him up front on Tuesday, you chose Paqueta. I think Ings started on the bench. If you're Potter, you must think to yourself, blimey, if I'm going to choose a centre forward, I'm going to go and choose one myself. Yeah, but that's my whole point. I think it's too easy to just blame...

The owners, you know, they have they've brought managers in who they have they have trusted and, you know, the merits on all the arguments about whether they brought the right managers in, whether this, you know, sporting director is the right route to go down.

But they have, you know, the one thing where a lot of supporters will buy shots at owners of football clubs is because they haven't spent the money West Ham have done. The owners have trusted managers and a lot of good managers in there and they've got things wrong. But the heart is in the right place, you know, as far as I can see. And, you know, they have given it a go at West Ham.

I don't think there's any doubt about that. For some reason, I didn't include Samaka's transfer fee when I was going through that list. That was 30 million quid plus. So there you go. I mean, you can do the maths on that lot, but many, many millions of pounds spent at West Ham over the years trying to solve... They wasted money on me when they signed me for Birmingham when I was a free as well. Tell me all about that. Come on, tell me about that. When Golden Sullivan signed you for Birmingham. Yeah. How many goals did you give them?

It goes with one. One? Can you remember it? Yeah, against Aston Villa. I'm surprised you can't remember it. One of the great goals in the Derby game. Off your backside? Off your knee? No, left foot half volley. No, left foot half volley, Ian. Two-footed. Is it available on the internet? Well, I would hope so.

Yeah, it was the Premier League era. But yeah, they signed me and I took them down. So at least I know now why you're so reluctant to criticise them. Now I know. Because they filled your pockets on a free transfer back in the day, didn't they? That's got nothing to do with anything. What Sullivan did do when they went down and I ended up going to Aston Villa.

And you shouldn't really do that. You know, big rivalry across the city, nobody really noticed. But you'd do anything for a few quid. So they... Sorry, my cat. It's the first time this has happened in a year and a half of doing this podcast. My cat...

Humphrey has just jumped up onto the desk. Let the cat speak. Let the cat purr. Humphrey, you're going to have to get down, mate. Sorry. Right, I want to hear this story. So Birmingham signed you from...

I mean, have you followed my career? I don't know it like, I don't know it, you know, well, come on. I know the peaks and troughs. Oh, I know he's back. I know the peaks and troughs. The cat keeps jumping up. I know the peaks and troughs. Just tell the story. Tell the story. So you signed for Birmingham. There's not those big stars.

story you signed for Villa and you were on a free so you'd have gotten decent signing on fee for that you scored one goal they went down and then you moved to Villa not surprised David Sullivan was miffed but he slid you off in local paper basically

Yeah. It may have even got in your paper. It may have. Right, a few Google searches for me when this show is over. First of all, Chris Sutton goal, Birmingham against Aston Villa, and then David Sullivan. Great goal. Wonderful goal. The Birmingham supporters still talk about that. Yes, I bet they do. Obviously, we're talking about the West Ham ownership. Worth pointing out that David Gold is no longer with us. He passed away two years ago this month as it happened.

Right, there we go. A bit of a rambling end to this podcast. I've got a cat. I've got a cat on the desk and a frog in my throat. But apart from that, we're all good. Do let us know what you think. Why have West Ham wasted so much money on centre-forwards over the years? And is it right to blame the owners personally?

I think it probably is. Do Liverpool need to buy to consolidate their position at the top of the Premier League? Not sure about that one. But you know, it's founders, founders on X, silly name and famous name. Look for the Mail Sport account on the other social platforms. And also, whether you're listening on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere else, there'll be a place there to leave your questions and comments. And while you're at it, hit the follow button and subscribe.

leave us a review. Chris, you've got your hand up. Is an adder venomous? I think you don't want to be bitten by an adder. But that's a slightly different thing. I think it's venomous. Question answered too. Anyone out there been bitten by an adder and live to tell the tale? My sister once stood on one. Anyone out there been bitten by any kind of snake?

Let's hear it. Right, that's all for me, for me and Chris and Humphrey the cat, who's now sitting literally about four inches away from my microphone, having his ears stroked. We'll see you on Monday.