Liverpool are Champions-Elect, VAR is (still) a Mess, Rangers in Disarray
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Hello and welcome once again to It's All Kicking Off. Ian here. I've had a week away on holiday. Chris may have mentioned that a couple of times in my absence. And it feels as though it's been quite a big week in English football, particularly in the Premier League. And Liverpool seem to lose a little of their grip on the Premier League only to get it back again over the weekend. Arsenal are turning into Spurs.

Well Spurs are turning into a little bit of what Ange Postacoglu said they would once they got players back. Will it last?

We will find out. Everton are still making sure my Twitter feed is full of people saying mean things about me by playing good football, while VAR is still being operated by people who don't seem to have read the rules about how it should really work. Oh, and Rangers have sacked yet another manager. Philippe Clement has gone after the weekend defeat to St Mirren.

All of this and a bit more to come over the next 40 minutes. Do hope everybody is well. Chris, it is nice to see you. You coped admirably without me. Yeah, yeah. Well, Mike Keegan did a fantastic job. But how was the holiday? How was the skiing? Tell us.

Yeah, well, you know, I put it this way. I ski pretty much how you would expect me to ski. I think that's a reasonable way. I don't know. I mean, you've got a low centre. Do you have to borrow equipment? Have you got your own ski gear? I've got my own ski boots. I do have my own ski boots. Simply because if you own your own ski boots, it stops your feet hurting. What about skis? Do you have to wear shorter ones? I don't have my own skis now.

You have to wear shorter ones. I could get my skis in my hand luggage. I don't know. Do you have to wear, because of your height, do you have to wear like kid stuff? I don't know. I've told you that story before about my dad. My dad used to buy child side shoes when he was...

when I was younger size 5 size 5 feet my dad size 5 imagine that no I do just about squeeze into adults equipment when I'm skiing look we had a lovely week I listened to the podcast Mike and you surviving whether you were thriving or not I suppose it's for the listeners to decide but tell you what mate

What's interesting when you're away, I don't know about you, doing the job that we do, you get sucked into the world of football because that's the world in which we live and work. We're kind of in it all the time. And then when you go away for a week, it's almost as though you become a little bit detached and you start to look at football again, almost like a fan more than a journalist or someone who's

who's paid to talk and write about it. So, you know, I'm kind of lying on the bed in our apartment in Italy last week, waiting for me, waiting for my daughter to fall asleep. And I'm just sitting there kind of refreshingly

the main online feed on the Liverpool game against Villa and the Man City game against Real Madrid, just kind of constantly refreshing it to kind of get the updates. And it just kind of, it takes you outside the bubble and it makes you realise,

partly how fascinating our domestic game is, because I really do think it is. Watched a little bit of Italian football. League's over. League's already over. The relegation places are sorted. Watched a little bit of Italian football on TV while I was over there, and it's just flat as a fart. I'll tell you that. Half-empty stadiums. It really is. So it reminds you how fascinating our league is, but also how infuriating our league is and how the fact that we still...

are still making the same mistakes. You know, VAR is still a problem. Players are still getting away with things that they shouldn't be getting away with. And I don't know, it makes you, just made me crystallise a few things in my head before I came back and went straight to the Etihad yesterday to watch Liverpool beat Manchester City. Anyway, that is where...

We will start. He can't start anywhere else, mate, apart from top of the Premier League, I don't think. And Liverpool are now very much top of the Premier League, looking like champions-elect. I think we can say that. There's quite a few people out there saying that Liverpool have got it won. Not sure I buy into that quite yet, but I'll tell you what is interesting and what is...

A little bit distressing for Arsenal is that the two teams do have to play each other, of course, before the season's end. You would think that would be an opportunity for Arsenal. They go to Anfield. Problem is, mate, that game doesn't take place until May the 10th. It doesn't take place until May the 10th. It could be over by then. Looks that way, doesn't it? And Arsenal opening the door for Liverpool at the weekend. Yeah.

But Arsenal have only got themselves to blame for this. And I think going into the season, you know, I've said many times in this podcast, it was all about Arsenal making the next step. I think if they win every game from now to the end of the season, they can hit the same points tally as they had last season. Think about that. This is a team who I think have made mistakes on the pitch. I think that they have made mistakes

mistakes off the pitch. If you want a left-back to come on for Arsenal, well, they've got plenty. They've got three on the bench. I had three on the bench at the weekend. But then when you look for striking options and forward options, they've got a young 18-year-old kid

Butler Odejaya, I think his name is, who isn't getting a looking for a reason. And they're playing a central midfielder as a centre forward trying to win a title. And these are days when Premier League squads are really big. It's not like when I first started off and your squad was sort of 16, 18 players.

and then you'd throw a big centre-half up at the end of a game if your team was losing and lump it. Raheem Sterling, that buy, all the excitement at the start of the season and I think Arsenal fans, and I get the sort of optimism when they signed him, but for whatever reason, he is not getting a kick at Arsenal. So it's all...

It's all imploded really for them. And then you look at Liverpool's consistency and the maturity in their performance against Manchester City, albeit didn't have the bulk of possession, but it was a very controlled performance. And they've evolved superbly under Arnaud Slott, haven't they?

Yeah, Liverpool beating Man City on the back of 35% possession. Not sure that's something that I thought I would ever see. Fascinating game to be at, I have to say. It's hard to talk about that game without talking about Mo Salah. You mentioned Arsenal and centre-forwards and Lakov, etc. Liverpool started with three on the bench yesterday, if you include Diogo Jota, which I think I probably do. Jota and Nunes and...

although half-fit Gakpo, all on the bench. Started with Curtis Jones and Dominic Zobberzlai as kind of two number 10s. I mean, fascinating the way that managers set up these days. That was a game yesterday at the Etihad, but didn't feature a centre-forward on the field. Erling Haaland injured, not even in the squad.

Hard not to talk about Mo Salah. Scored a goal, set up a goal. I thought something he said afterwards was really interesting. We need another title, he said. Me and the big guys in the team, we need another title.

I've written about this. You can find that piece on Mail Online this morning if you fancy. I think it's interesting, Crystal, when we think about players like Salah and others, but we'll focus on Salah and his time at Liverpool. This is his eighth season. We think about glory. We think about, you know, he's won everything. He's won everything he can win with Liverpool, hasn't he?

But what we don't think about often is there's been an awful lot of disappointment in the middle of that. And what I mean is because of Manchester City and how amazing they've been under Pep Guardiola, Liverpool have won one title. Liverpool have won one title in all of that time, all of those years of playing fabulous, attractive, exciting football.

watchable football. They won one title. And of course it was in the COVID season. And we all know what, what, what that involved. And I do think that a little bit of that pain, a little bit of that disappointment is driving Salah. I think when he talks about me and the big guys in the team, I presume he means two other players who are out of contract, Trent, Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk. But I think a bit of that is driving him, you know, I think there's a bit of that, you know,

And I just wondered what you thought on that. Roy Keane always used to say that it was the disappointments that stuck with him. Well, you know, you won plenty in your career, but no footballer goes through a career without having a lean time as well. Do you think there's something in that, that he might be driven to make good on some of that disappointment?

Yeah, I do. But that's a very personal thing. He seems to be, I mean, the one thing over his time at Liverpool, his consistency levels, and we always talk about his consistency levels, have been pretty phenomenal. I don't actually, no, you'll have to correct me. I don't really think he's had a drop off.

at Liverpool in terms of his numbers. Well, numbers, form, physically, still absolutely flying, isn't he? So it actually doesn't matter much

what drives oneself. But I think a lot of players do use that sort of mantra, and I certainly did, of disappointments and using them to spur you on. But I just think he's a tremendous professional, wonderful athlete, still as hungry as ever.

It may be, I mean, people will throw out that maybe this is his last season at Liverpool. He's leaving. That may spur him on. Quite frankly, it absolutely doesn't matter if Liverpool get over the line. I think that his sort of attitude and application over the years has been unquestionable. And it's still pretty remarkable, this.

this whole contract situation, isn't it, with the three and how...

How really it's gone, unless I'm missing something, it's gone quiet on that front. I think interviews and journalists have just finally got fed up of asking and getting the kind of slightly same disdainful answers from whether it be Arne Slott or the players themselves. I'm sure it's not gone quiet behind the scenes. I do think, by the way, that the way the three of them, I know there was a little bit of chat about Trent, wasn't there, a few weeks ago when you had a couple of poor games

But the three of them have managed to maintain standards, Van Dijk, Trent and Salah, with all the contract stuff going on in the background. It's not affected them. Van Dijk and Ibrahim Kanate, his central defensive partner, absolutely magnificent in the face of all that City possession yesterday. I did think, you know, that...

Arnold Slott said afterwards that he didn't think that Liverpool had had a wobble in the draw against Everton and the scratchy win against Wolves in the draw with Villa. He said he didn't think it was a wobble. He knows that it was. His players will know that it was. He does. Come on. You can't... And this is where, you know, at the top you said where you missed the Premier League and, you know, you weren't particularly kind about Serie A. Yeah.

You know, we can't have it always. The Premier League is supposed to be the most competitive league in the world. I mean, how did they end up slipping up against Everton? A goal in the dying seconds. That happens. Villa away. Villa are a very, very capable team. Drawing against Villa, absolutely not a disaster. Playing badly against Wolves, who have some talented players, but actually finding a way to win. I actually think they're all...

You can flip it, but I think that with Liverpool, because of how far they are clear and how well they've been playing, we are trying to force a blip upon them when it hasn't really happened. Everton have improved, Villa are awkward, and beating a team when you're not playing well, well, that's a good thing. It's a really good summary, a really good counter-argument. Let me put it this way.

On the back, coming out of the Villa game, I think Arsenal would have sensed opportunity. They must have sensed opportunity because they knew that Liverpool had City away and then Newcastle at home this midweek. Arsenal think, we play first, home against West Ham, we win that game. Liverpool don't win at City and it's all on. And all I'm saying is, I think that that defeat, Arsenal losing at home to West Ham, I think...

that weakness changed the whole dynamic of the weekend. It enabled Liverpool to feed off, enabled Liverpool to find some strength from Arsenal's own weakness. That is what I mean. It changed the mood going into yesterday's game. Is that how it works in a title race? You've been in title races with Blackburn, been in title races with Celtic. You've won plenty. When it's tight, is that how it works though? In a dressing room, in a

in a player's head when an opponent slips up and all of a sudden it's almost like your senses are kind of heightened by a sense of opportunity.

I think there is that psychological pressure, but it is still the old adage and every dressing room I was always in with teams which were pushing for titles, you know, players come out, they must infuriate you in press conferences. And what do players say? We just focus on ourselves and we focus on the next game. And I do think it's as simple as that.

While there would have been, you know, maybe after Liverpool drew in the games against Everton and Aston Villa, Arsenal players feeling, you know, maybe this is our opportunity. Maybe they, I don't know whether they did tighten up. They didn't play well against West Ham. And I think they have made a rod for their own back. You know, as I said earlier, with the Mourinho situation, that's something Arteta stumbled across. He got lucky. He hasn't played as a centre-forward player

I think since he was about eight years old. So that was fortunate for Arsenal. But for West Ham to go, they're a struggling West Ham, and to beat them in the manner which they did, I think Arsenal only had two shots on target.

You know, Liverpool then would have, I'm sure, smelt blood against Manchester City, but it was still about being controlled enough and ruthless enough in the big moments and taking their opportunities. And I think that was, I can't remember the status, the first time Liverpool have won at the Etihad in so many years, wasn't it? I mean, you'll know that better than me. That was, and they,

they did stroll it and they played in a different way and it just tells you where they are at control and confidence wise and where Arsenal seem to be really they seem to be drowning at this moment in time and you just can't see Arsenal I know they were your tip for the title I understand why

but you just can't see Arsenal shaking themselves out of this and with the gap which Liverpool have and the strength in depth in terms of artillery off the bench firepower that's the difference this season yeah

You know my admiration for Mikel Arteta and the job he's done at Arsenal and indeed that Arsenal team. And without getting too deep into it again, because these are subjects we've covered before, I do think there are some enduring problems that continue to trouble them. We've talked about them being emotional. I still think that is true. You know, we saw the celebration after they beat Manchester City. Now, you know, all the kind of stay humble stuff, that now looks a little bit silly.

the discipline, the discipline stuff, 20 red cards now under Arteta during his years in charge at the club and an incredible stat that I will admit that I've stolen from Max of the Day at the weekend. They've dropped 10 points in the five games where they've had a sending off this season and, you know,

You know, look at the gap at the top. The gap at the top is 11, so with a game in hand. So there you go. I think there is something in, you know, Arsenal fans have had a go at us previously. We know they think we mock them. We think we laugh at them. And we absolutely don't. What we do is we watch the games and we watch things that happen and we watch repeat patterns. And football is about repeat patterns to a degree, isn't it? Good and bad. We could sit here and talk about the great repeat patterns in Arnott Slots Liverpool. And when we can look at those repeat patterns today,

that beset Arsenal and we can say, well, maybe it is time for change. What is interesting and what I mean by time for change is change the way you behave, change your routines. That's what I mean. Not change the manager. Not Arteta out yet. No, absolutely not. Strange period coming up now with Liverpool at home to Newcastle on Wednesday. Arsenal away at Forest. After that game,

Liverpool have one Premier League game in a month because they're not in the FA Cup, because they've got the Cowboy Cup final against Newcastle. And that game is against Southampton at home. That is the one team that everybody would want to play at the moment. And before we move out and talk a little bit about VAR and Aston Young and Manchester United and then get into Rangers and a few other things, I do want to say I was absolutely, I was shocked by the way Kevin De Bruyne played for Manchester City yesterday.

and Phil Foden to a lesser degree. All the good things in Man City's performance came from the new players and the younger players. I know we've touched on it before, but blimey, I...

I mean, I've written this morning that Mo Salah was kind of climbing up a mountain and every time he climbs up a mountain, he sees a new peak and he thinks, right, I'll go and climb that peak as well. At City, it's the opposite. All the senior players have got to the top and fallen down the other side. What would be your skiing, that's your skiing analogy. They've all fallen off the side. Yeah, there's plenty of that, believe you me. Anyway, look, not a good weekend for...

And not a good weekend for VAR. It has to be said. It's not VAR, is it? Well, it's the people who operate in it. Yeah, exactly. Let's get into the weeds of it. Two things wound me up.

Asty Young Everton against Manchester United joint shirt pull by De Ligt and by Harry Maguire absolute nailed on penalty given by the referee on the field and then overturned

with a word in his ear and a look at the screen that's not even showing the right picture from VAR. And there's also a sending off at Bournemouth. Ilya Zabarny sent off for a perfectly good tackle that takes the ball and then takes a small part of the opponent, not in a dangerous way, sent off on the advice of VAR. Right.

Let's just get into it. You don't agree with me on Astley Young, do you? Let's just get that out of the way first of all. You don't agree with me on Astley Young. So why don't I agree with you on Astley Young? Because he dived. Because he dived. And would you admit that he dived? Yeah, I would admit that he made the most of the contact, yeah. So therefore, he's the boy who cried wolf, who has this reputation as being a diver, I'm sure, amongst the officials. And...

while I agree with everything you said about VAR not showing the right angle and whether it's a subjective call, whether there was enough of a shirt tug to go down or enough of a shirt tug to award a penalty, that's debatable. And I do accept that. But the fact that he's continuously throughout his career thrown himself to the floor, that went against him. So I have absolutely no sympathy at all

for him for not being, or for Everton for not being awarded the penalty. He's a victim because of the way that he's acted before. That's my point on Ashley Young. Firstly, Ashley Young is a diver, okay? I don't think I'm going to get sued for that. I've written it before. So if he was going to sue me, he'd have sued me 10 years ago when I wrote it when he was playing for Manchester United. He has got that in his locker. We know that. Secondly, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, Chris. You judge an incident on its merits. It doesn't matter who it is.

I'm sorry, you judge it. But would that be in the mind of the referee if someone has previous? Yes, but it shouldn't be. But it just is. Secondly, secondly, secondly, I don't particularly blame, and you'll hammer me for this, I don't blame players for diving when they get the shirt pulled because if they don't, if they get the shirt pulled and they stay up, they'll never get a penalty. If you and I were in the same room now, and sadly we're not,

I'm in Manchester, you're elsewhere. If we were in the same room now, I would ask you to stand up

And I would take a hold of your t-shirt and I would ask you to walk out the room and see how you get on. That's what I would do. I think you're a big guy. I'm not a big guy, but you wouldn't be walking out of that room and I'd hold your t-shirt. Okay. And that is it. I'd turn around, slap you across the face and walk out. You'd have to reach down a long way. But seriously, that is the point. A shirt pull is a shirt pull. Okay.

And people say, oh, but it's not a big shirt pull. It's a shirt pull. Unless the rules of the game have changed while I've been in Italy, which I don't think they have, a shirt pull is a shirt pull. It's a penalty. Two players, two players on one. And also, okay, two players on one. So,

We can argue about that all day, okay? And we're not going to agree. I have my view, you have yours. What I think we are both agreed on is this. There was supposed to be a high bar for VAR intervention this season, okay? That's what we were told by PG, MOL, the referee's body, Howard Webb, et cetera, at the start of the season. What has happened to that high bar? I feel, and you and I think... How can you measure the bar? I agree with what you're saying, but how do you measure the bar?

Big mistakes. Big mistakes. But that's subjective, Ian. Not subjective calls like this. And the whole thing is whether, I mean, we agree to disagree, and I understand part of your argument with the shirt pull, but I do stand by my point about Ashley Young really being theatrical in the dive. But the fact that the referee went to the monitor and,

The sad thing about it, and it wasn't the referee's fault, was were you right about the angles? Embarrassing. Embarrassing. If he wasn't shown every angle, then that's ridiculous. But he did go over and he made the decision with his own eyes. Yeah, but we know what pressure... So that was subjective, but that wasn't necessarily his...

uh his fault but that's where that's where i'm on it had had he you know had he not gone over to the to the monitor and been advised that it wasn't a penalty and ashley young had dived and just made the decision like that then that would have been you know really controversial but the fact that he did saw it went over that's a subjective call i feel sorry for referees

and you and I are on the same page with this, it's a really, really difficult job. The game's played at 100 miles an hour. Most of the players are cheating when they can. The crowd are at them. The media are at them. It's an incredibly difficult job. I wouldn't want to do it, okay? But that's a given. VAR officials have absolutely no excuse for getting this wrong. Absolutely no excuse. It's embarrassing, okay? They've had their instructions only get involved once

If it's a clangor, for want of a better word. But they thought it was a clangor. It's not their job to go meddling in tiny fractions, small percentages of subjective calls. It's not their job. Know your lane and stay in it.

Is it a player's job to dive then? Is it an ego thing? Is it a high, that they sit there and think, oh, we've got to do something. We've got to prove that the job we're doing is worth something. Is it a hierarchical thing? I'll show who's in charge. I absolutely do not know. But what I do know is that they are embarrassing players

their profession at the moment and they are embarrassing English football. Was Ashley Young embarrassing his profession, Ian, when he dived? We talked about that. Here is one for you. So hang on a minute. So you say that Ashley Young dived, okay? But it was a foul. You're saying it's both. And it can be both. Are you saying that? Absolutely. Should Ashley Young have got a second yellow and been sent off then?

I think, look, I think, and I've said it before. Can you just answer that? Possibly. I don't think that should be off the table. Because you're sitting there and slaughtering referees and saying that they're embarrassing. Is it not embarrassing when a player tries to con a referee and yet...

You're not talking about that. Yes. And yet the instigator in all this was Ashley Young because had he gone down normally or gone down on his knees and not been theatrical, then there wouldn't have been an issue. But you don't know that. That's an assumption. You still

wouldn't have got it we'll agree to disagree that's an assumption i absolutely agree i've said it before there is no there's nothing in law that's that prevents a referee watching a player get contact in the penalty area and go down exaggerating his fall there's nothing to stop a referee awarding the penalty for the foul and the yellow card for the dive absolutely not absolutely nothing in law look let's go back to older listeners will only appreciate this gary lineker um

World Cup, Italian 90, Cameroon, two penalties, both penalties. He exaggerated his fall on both of them. Nobody complained back then. Nobody complained back then. They were both penalties, but he made sure that the referee saw it. He made sure the referee knew. Okay, so I've made the point. We can talk about diving all day long. But you think diving's okay? VAR, no, I don't think diving's okay. That's ridiculous.

this. VAR officials know the parameters in which they're supposed to operate. Why aren't they sticking to that box? Stay in your box, guys, and let the guys on the field do their job to the best of their ability. Before we move out of the Everton Man United thing, I

And to all, of course, it finished at Goodison. Very, very quickly, stop telling the world that I said that Everton would get relegated under David Moyes. That's not what I said, what I said to my great regret.

on Twitter. The moment that Sean Dice left was that Everton had opened the door to relegation. My point was they wouldn't have gone down under Sean and by letting him go, sacking him, whatever, they threw the possibility up in the air. They then appointed David Moyes. It means the same thing. No, it doesn't mean the same thing. You said to Keegan on the podcast last week that I'd claim they'd go down under David Moyes. I said,

I never said that. That's what you said. I never said that. I know it is not the same thing. Anyway, watching that game, I'd missed it on Match of the Day when I got home on Sunday morning. One thing struck me, you know,

We know that United have got to sell someone to get on the financial ceiling, etc. The right side of the financial rules. And we've talked about Kobe Mayne. We've talked about Garnaccio. Garnaccio, Rashford's on loan at Villa. Started well. Still absolutely not sure that Villa will end up buying him. So that might not be the way out of the woods for Manchester United in terms of having to sell, which we know they do. Who's their best player, mate? Who's their best player? Do we agree on who their best player is?

Yeah, I think, well, Bruno Fernandes. Bruno Fernandes, the captain, is the best player. He's a good player on a bad team. Imagine what he'd be like in a good team. And I'm only making this point because if I was a club out there, whoever it would be, top end of Premier League, Saudi, Spain or somewhere, looking to kind of go and pick... Not Syria, because you don't rate Syria. To go and pick someone out of that minority squad, it'd be Bruno Fernandes. It'd be Bruno Fernandes.

And if they finish 13th, why would he want to stay? But there's a few things here. So why would you want to sell your best player, firstly? We've got to sell someone.

Yeah, but why would you want to sell your best player? You'd probably want to sell... Well, if you can't sell anybody else... You'd probably want to sell a couple of the players who have behaved like spoiled kids in recent seasons and players you haven't got on well with. And then the age thing is an issue, I think. 13.

Yeah, and... He'll play to his 35, Bruno. He's not a quick player. And he's, you know, he's not cheap, is he, in terms of wages? So, you know, with those three things, I understand you'd always want to buy, you'd always want to buy any club's best player, you know, if they became available. But there's, I think, the sort of positives of keeping him outweigh the negatives of...

of selling him? Yeah, I'm not saying that United should look to sell him. Of course, why would I? That would be the last thing they would want to do. And I'm sure they're delighted that they gave him that new contract last summer. You've just sort of put that forward, haven't you? No, no, no. I think you misunderstand me. I'm trying to say that if you're another club out there,

you know that United are kind of operating in these kind of reduced circumstances and very kind of tight financial, in these tight financial parameters. That's when, and you think, right, they're vulnerable. Say they finish 13th, 14th. I can't see them finishing in the top half the way they're going. But say they finish 14th, right? If you're a top club, you think, right, they're weak, they're vulnerable. Let's go and pick what,

let's go and have a dip for one of their players. That would be the one for me. That would be the one. It is difficult. 300 grand a week. Blimey, who can afford to pay that? Not many. That's what I mean. United will be delighted that they did give him that new deal last summer. But also if you were him, you'd think, blimey, slogging my heart out for this club, pulling them back into the game at the weekend with a free kick. What am I getting back?

What am I getting back here, apart from being tarred with the same brushes the rest of the week? 300 grand a week, apart from 300 grand a week, what am I getting? Anyway, that's my point, really, is that whoever you are, even if you're Man United, if you are so far off the dial as they are, then you become vulnerable to other teams presenting your good players. Imagine the look, though.

Imagine the look as well from the outside, Ian, selling Fernandes if that happens when you want to build. Yeah, I read something the other weekend, by the way, that Marcus Rashford has been... And you're right, it would be a terrible look. But then so would selling Cobby Mayne, who's an academy graduate...

academy graduate that'll be a terrible look too by the way um somebody wrote over the weekend that the halt end at villa park have a new hero marcus rashford um he has started well but i think we're probably a little away um from that i think marcus gonna have to do it over a sustained period of time to persuade uni emery to make that loan deal permanent right chris let's get into some questions for you my friend

All of these have come from X. The first one is from Elmer Fudd. Not a real name, I presume. It's a very simple point. Is Arteta doing a good job or not at Arsenal? That's a really difficult question to answer, isn't it? If you like second, yes.

Steven Rawlinson asks, on the question of cheats, as to Young, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz, Bale, Cucurella, etc. What do you think about retrospective punishment? It might make the children think before they throw themselves to the ground. Great point. Absolutely love that point. Divers, we need to cut divers out of the game. Retrospective punishment, brilliant. Longer punishments, you know, not just a yellow card. Send players off for diving, that would stop it.

Bobby Boy on X. Should VAR only be used for offside decisions? In my opinion, it's interfering too much in the game. That's a great question. That's a really interesting one. So if we can take the subjectivity out of the game, then...

I don't think so. I think it's here to stay anyway, so stick with it. But there is still that subject element, subjective element, isn't there? And Max Eam touches on the subject of the weekend, certainly Scottish football. Was it the right time for Rangers to sack Philippe Clement or should they have done it straight after their cup disaster against Queen's Park?

Hmm. Surprisingly lasted another week. I thought they should have gone at the end of October. They said that by, yeah, did, did say that then along with, along with Chris Boyd on Sky. Chris Boyd, of course, former Rangers player. And, um,

I think after the St Mirren game, I don't know whether you saw his press conference, he knew he was a goner where he's always been sort of upbeat and quite positive and talked about whether he's right or wrong. And I don't think he was right about the team progressing. He talked about the team being nervous at the weekend. And of course, Celtic lost with the early kickoff at Hibs. Celtic were...

13 points clear, the chance for Rangers to close that gap to 10 points at home to St Mirren and on their own patch. And that was something which he could cling to up until the Queen's Park defeat, the embarrassing defeat in the Scottish Cup. The home form had been pretty good, but losing to Queen's Park and then to St Mirren 2-0 at Ibrox, there was an apathy. Most of the fans had left the game disappointed.

before the end. And it just felt like that was the end for Philip Clement. And so he's yet another manager who Brendan Rodgers has...

has seen off and it's what happens next for Rangers. I think that there's a lot of Rangers fans excited, quite rightly so, about the possibility of, I don't know, well, you would have seen the story about San Francisco 49ers and the possible takeover there. It's what happens in the short term. And the other thing which Philip Clement had to cling on to is they're still in the Europa League. They play Jose Mourinho's fans.

is a bit of irony that Clement criticised Mourinho's negativity as a manager and then his team couldn't score against Queen's Park and St Mirren at Ibrox which was I

So it's what happens next in the short term. I think, you know, there's talk of, you know, maybe Alex Ray or Barry Ferguson just taking over as interim until the end of the season. But then it's, you know, who's going to come in as the next permanent manager? And there's Steven Gerrard. So his name has come up again. And I, you know, I do get that. I think there'll be Rangers fans watching.

out there very excited about the possibility of him coming back. There'll also be those, a bit like Celtic, with Brendan Rodgers, who think, well, you know, he should never have left in the first place. That's just the nature of Glasgow and the feeling, which there is. Kevin Muscat, Russell Martin, other names bandied about. But Gerrard is interesting because he did stop Celtic with...

winning 10 in a row. And I know down south, the sort of perception was he did a fantastic job. It's whichever way, you know, you look at it, I would argue Celtic won two trebles in his tenure up there and Callum Davidson, the St. Johnstone manager, won more silverware. So it's whichever way you look at it. He did take over a difficult situation. You know, they won the league in COVID season and,

But they still stopped the 10 for Celtic. So he will always be held in high regard at Rangers. I don't know how it will be looked at, his spell at Villa and in Saudi at El Efitak, where I think they were...

He didn't do great out there by all accounts, but it's one where I think with the 49ers takeover, there is a lot of positivity from the Rangers fans because they want to see stability at the club. But this next appointment, we always say it with every appointment, they have to get right. But Glasgow swallowed Philippe Clement up.

The Daily Record newspaper report today, Monday, that Barry Ferguson is set to become interim manager at Rangers until the end of the season. Barry Ferguson is a columnist for the Daily Record, as indeed is my friend Chris Sutton. So it sounds as though... I've not got the ins at the paper that Barry has. No, it sounds like the record might have the inside track on what's happening there. Or Barry making a play for the job, one or the other. Stranger things have happened. Um...

Yeah, very straightforward. Would Steven Gerrard be welcomed back by Rangers fans if he were to be the man for the long term? And do you think it would be a good idea? Brendan has done, well, I have to say, has made a very good fist of his second spell at Celtic. Can Stevie G come back and build on what he did first time at Ibrox?

It's impossible to answer that, really. It's about having the resources. Would he be welcomed by supporters? I think he'd be welcome. I think what Steven Gerrard did have first time round, he had that aura, that presence, that clout to attract some pretty good players to Ibrox. Ryan Kent, Connor Goldson was a good servant, I think.

Steven Davis, Scott Arfield, players who he relied heavily on. He does have that clout, but it is all to do with Rangers having, or Steven Gerrard, having the backing and the financial clout. And look, the strong rumours for months with Philip Flamont, who Rangers gave a new contract to at the start of the season, mustn't forget that. They sort of backed him, but

The reason it seemed to be delayed, I think Patrick Stewart, the new chief exec, the former Manchester United, said they can't keep going through the same managerial process of sacking somebody. I think he said this in December and then appointing another manager. But eventually he felt that had gone so far down the road where they couldn't afford not to sack him. But the Clermont sacking seemed to come off the back of...

you know, of poor results, but the talk was always that they can't afford to sack. The moment that they've got there now, they need to look forward and make the right appointment. And I suspect it'll come in the summer. It's going to be very difficult for Rangers to catch Celtic. Another season of Champions League football for Celtic, during which they reached the knockout phase, will have swelled those coffers, should I say, at home.

at Parkhead and the more that and that is the difference between the clubs as much as anything it's financial there's been a change in the Scottish football coefficient in terms of UEFA this season means that Rangers or whoever finishes second in the SPL we presume it will be Rangers have to play three rounds of qualifying to even reach the Champions League main section next season

And that is where the pot of gold lies. That is the way back for Rangers. What the 49er group, who also own Leeds, of course, can bring to Rangers, we'll see over time. Anyway, Chris, quickly, before we get into our moments of the weekend, just wanted to touch on one other game. Wolves, of course, recorded a notable victory at Bournemouth.

on Saturday, they look as if they are pulling clear of the relegation places at the bottom of the Premier League. Vito Pereira is doing a decent job, despite my initial reservations about him. Now, we called... We called...

Pereira out the Wolves manager a few weeks ago for something he said about Mateus Cunha after a game that Wolves had lost Pereira accused Cunha of basically not trying and we were both critical of that saying it was too risky to take on your best player well seems to have worked he seems to have well he's getting the tune out of Cunha scored the winning goal at

at the weekend. So, you know, we might have to do a bit of reverse ferret on that one. You speak for yourself. Well, I will. New contracts, but I remember what you said. New contracts signed, goals being scored. Just wondered, there are many ways to skin a cat, aren't there, when it comes to football management, how to motivate players. I just wondered what was the most unconventional way that a manager succeeded in getting you going back in the day?

That's an interesting question. Just quickly on Cunha, yes, he sort of called him out but then gave him a new contract. That always helps.

doesn't it? Well, whatever they did, it worked. When you can buy a new conservatory. Say again, mate. It always helps when you can buy a new conservatory or something, you know, add a bit onto the house. Yeah, I'd have to go all the way back to my youth team days when I broke a curfew and went out one night with another guy from the youth team and I was made to scrub the entire training ground with a toothbrush, me and the other guy.

And so I never broke a curfew again or never got caught. Yeah, absolutely. So that was the old fashioned, the old fashioned way in that. It's impossible to scrub a whole training ground with a toothbrush. How far did you get before they said, go on then, you can go on. Was it electric toothbrush by the way? That would have helped. Don't be stupid back in those days.

I think we were about six hours we were scrubbing for. So we did learn a lesson. Me and another trainee guy. Not my name, am I? Okay, fair enough. Six hours on your hands and knees. Six. Starting with the toilets, I hope. Under the rim of the toilet, I hope. It was absolutely brutal, honestly. Well, we did toilets, showers, floors, everything.

at the old Norwich City training ground in Trouse on the outskirts of Norwich. Look, it's good. Lesson learned. You know, we were told not to go out. We did. Was it a good night? Was it worth it? Not really.

You know, you're getting cornered. I can't remember. You're getting cornered. I can't remember I'd had three pints of lager. I can't remember, Ian. Anyway, what I will say to you is if there's one person who I know might just have been stupid enough to use their own toothbrush for that job, then it probably would be you. It probably would be you. See, anyway, on that note, let's get into the moments of the weekend. And I'm going to go first. Okay. Very, very quickly.

Tottenham winning at Ipswich, that looked like another engaging game. Ipswich could have been three up before Tottenham eventually got hold of that one, but they did get hold of it and they won it well. Ansporso Kogu seems to be finding a way out of the woods to a degree. Let's see what happened. But lovely goal from Kulishevski, I thought. Super goal. A captain, FPL. Sorry, mate.

He was my captain in fantasy football. Lovely goal. And you know what? If Tottenham are to end this season in better shape than at one point looked likely, then it will be people like Kulishevsky who are deserving players

of a badge of honour. He's played every single league game. He started 24 of them. He's come off the bench two of them. You know, there have been some players in that Spurs team who have really put in a shift for Poster Cogley during these difficult days. Of course, Archie Gray would be another one. Rodrigo Bentancourt would be another one that are...

Others, Hung Minh Son has never stopped trying. Players who've been there week in, week out for Poster Klagou are doing these really difficult times. But Kulishevsky in particular, I think is worthy of mention. Talented player, great to watch, great attitude. And that was a lovely goal. Your go, mate.

Well, I'm going to just pick you up on something where you'd have upset. I mean, you've upset a lot of people at Tottenham Hotspur this season. Did you see the Tottenham Hotspur story with the broadcasting partners and what have you, the story which was put out there? You're not allowed to call them Tottenham anymore. Really? Yeah.

And you did. It was actually in the mail, actually. They put out a statement to all the broadcasting partners. In a world full of United Cities and rovers, there is only one hotspur.

Tottenham Hotspur. When referring to the team or the brand, please use Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club or THFC. Never refer to our club as Tottenham, Tottenham Hotspur FC or TH. Really? Have you got that, Ian? That's extraordinary. Have you got that? Is that true? Have you got that now? What, Spurs? So don't you ever let me hear you say Tottenham again. Can we call him Spursy?

Can we call him that? Can we say that about him? There you go again. What, we can't say Tottenham? What happens if we do? You can't say Tottenham. Right, you know what, mate? I'm going to end this podcast in a different way. We're not going to do the usual outro. We're not going to do the kind of see you next week, I'm here later. Don't do it. The bloke you are. I know what you're going to do. Do what I'm going to do. I'm just going to do this. Henry, you can fade us out, mate. You can fade us out and we will see you all on Thursday. Don't do it. This isn't me. Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham. I've nothing to do with this. I've nothing to do with that. Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham.