Why it's 'RIDICULOUS' to Suggest There's an Agenda Against Ange Postecoglou
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Seriously popular. What is it? Sorry, I will get going. Is it the intermittent fasting or what? Yeah, so I don't eat between 8pm and midday the next day. I do it, I've done it every day apart from about three in the last five weeks. Plus running, but not running great distances. How are you going to get rid of your chins? Well, I know, Chris, I'm beginning to wonder if surgery is the only way forward.

We'll do a GoFundMe page if you want. I'm down from four chins to three. So it's, you know. Oh, you haven't got any. Well, you have. You've got one big. No, yeah. Um,

Yeah, but I'll tell you what, it's fucking difficult. Got in last night from Villa, got back about half past ten, I was fucking starving, so hungry. And Vicky's sister had been over and she'd cooked for Vicky and she'd left this beautiful salmon in kind of this kind of lemony Thai coconut sauce and she'd left me one. And I'm just like, I could eat that in about eight seconds. Literally eat that in about eight seconds. Nope, went to bed.

My lad did a three-day fasting thing. Oh, without eating at all? That was nuts. I know someone that's done that here. I said, what are you doing that for? They do work, these diets, but they're either hard work, and of course, as we all know, the great thing is I'll go away on holiday on Friday, and as soon as I get to Italy, I'll start shoving everything I possibly can in my mouth for a week, and get over and put it all back on. Right. Anyway, who cares about my diets? No one, apart from me.

Are we on? Are we on? Yeah, you are. Oh, yeah. Sorry. Nice to meet you. I'm Ace from Chegg. College got you feeling overwhelmed? I get it. But you don't need to lose your grip. We've got all the study tools you need and solutions you can count on. Study, practice, and learn your way with Chegg's all-in-one support.

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Chris, the domestic cups are alive and well, it would appear. Leighton Orient frightened Man City with a wonder goal that was actually an own goal. Newcastle need a goal that was not a goal to help them beat Birmingham. That was never over the line. Queen's Park dumped Rangers out of the Scottish Cup. But the story of the weekend continues.

was in Devon. Plymouth's win over Liverpool. Plymouth, bottom of the championship, beating Liverpool, top of the Premier League. But you know what, mate? I blame Storm Darragh. Do you know what I mean when I say that? I blame Storm Darragh. No, I don't. No, I don't. The reason that Arne Slott, the Liverpool manager, went so soft in terms of his team selection...

at Plymouth was because Liverpool play Everton on Wednesday night. The reason they play Everton on Wednesday night was because of Storm Darragh. Remember back in December? Yeah. When it was called off. When it was called off. If Liverpool hadn't had this game on Wednesday night, their next fixture would have been Wolves at home next Sunday. I'm sure we would have seen a stronger Liverpool team.

So just to be clear then, later on in this pod, are you going to be critical of managers who made wholesale changes to their signups? No, I'm not. I think we're going to try and put it into some kind of context. I think that's what I want to do. So prioritising. So you're saying about prioritising. So the one question I would have is why not have some of your big hitters

on the bench in reserve just in case if it isn't going well. I think that probably was the key to it for Liverpool, not the fact that slot started the game at Plymouth with such a weak team. And it was a really relatively weak team. Did he underestimate Plymouth? Little Plymouth bottom of the championship?

No, I don't think he did because I think the team, I sound like a manager, but I think the team he picked was good enough to beat them. They didn't play well enough. But going back to your point, I think that is the key point. It wasn't necessarily the XI that he picked. It was the fact that he didn't load his bench with the cavalry, which is what the big teams normally do. So that if they're in the doo-doo with 20 minutes to go, they can chuck them all on and save the game. Like Man City did at Orient, the game that you were at. They sent big guns on, didn't they? To try and turn it around effectively.

And it worked. So yeah, but in answer to your question, why do you do it? Well, I presume that Arne Slott thinks, well, if I leave Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk and Alexis McAllister and Zobbersley and loads of others at home on the sofa, rather than dragging them all the way down to Plymouth on the flight, on the coach, sit in the stand, take them back when I know I'm not playing them, then it's a better kind of rest, a better kind of rest, I suppose.

Let me say this. It's quite feeble, that, isn't it? Is it feeble? It is feeble. I don't know how far Plymouth is from Liverpool, whether they flew down. But, I mean, it's not really any great shakes. They're used to playing three games a week, aren't they, players? So he didn't give himself the security. And whether it's about disrespecting the FA Cup, the justification always, Ian, is if...

the team which you manage goes through if you make the changes your team goes through then people can't argue but when when your team ends up losing and now that the possibility of the quadruple always would have been a tall order isn't there for Liverpool then just puts Arna slot under a tiny tiny bit of pressure they've still had a great season but

you know, they need to make sure that they're absolutely ruthless in every one of the other competitions, don't they? I know a bunch of Liverpool supporters who live near me and I know for a fact that they were really grumpy about it, really grumpy about it. You know, consider the FA Cup to be an important competition, very grumpy about selection. They must have been grumpy. If you think they were grumpy, they must have been grumpy. Very, very fair point. It's a pretty low grumpy bar or high grumpy bar. Yeah.

It just shows how much people do care about the FA Cup. I'm going to try and put it in context. I'm going to try and explain this as simply as I can. Forgive me if it sounds wordy. Right, Liverpool's next five fixtures in the next 15 days go like this.

away at Everton, February the 12th, home to Wolves, February 16th, away at Villa, February 19th, away at Man City, February 23th, home to Newcastle, February 26th, right? That's a heck of a run, right? Because they're not now in the FA Cup, the next weekend after that,

They're off. They're off. March the 1st, 2nd. So they get through that run and then they're off. And guess what comes just after that weekend that they've now got off three days later? The Champions League. Okay. Pause because I'm going to go again.

Because we're out of the FA Cup, Liverpool will also now have no game between playing the Carabao Cup final on the 16th of March and their next league game on April the 2nd. That's a combination of FA Cup and international break. So in going out of the FA Cup,

Arne Slott's team have just managed to engineer, and I'm not saying they did it deliberately, a couple of very, very handy breaks in what is a very hectic schedule. And this, of course, at a time when their main title rivals, Arsenal, are resting up in Dubai because we're already out of the FA Cup. Okay? So when you look at it in that whole, can you start to see the logic of picking what was essentially a reserve team in this competition?

But by saying what you're saying, and using the word engineered, you're saying that they basically aren't unhappy about going out of the FA Cup. And if that's the case, that's sad. If Arna Slot was looking at possible breaks for the team further down the line so that the team can rest, then…

That can't be right. And that's what you're suggesting. What I'm saying is, if your responsibility is to get Liverpool through the season, to win a title, which remember would only be their second title in 30 odd years, okay? Just remember, Liverpool have had a very successful period over the last decade, but they've only won a league once.

So still only won the league once in 30 odd years. So that's a priority. If you're on a slot and you're looking at those fixtures I just read out in the next 15 games, away games at Villa, away games at City, home against Newcastle, away at Everton, if you're looking at those fixtures, I think it's almost suicidal to pick a strong team at Plymouth. Almost suicidal to pick a strong team at Plymouth. I can really see that. What is your argument based upon? Based upon...

What I'm saying is, you're not a sports scientist. You're just throwing out, you think it's suicidal for Liverpool to do what they've done and play a weakened team. But to use the word suicidal, I mean, that's ridiculous. I'm not a sports scientist, but I am a human being. And I understand the concept of tiredness and fatigue.

in professional athletes. I think I can get my head around that. You're not now comparing yourself to a professional athlete. Last week you were questioning my medical expertise when we were talking about Mickey Van Der Ven and his hamstring. So let's not get deep into it. All I'm saying is, I get it. I get it. And I think that...

I don't think you toss the FA Cup off. I don't think Liverpool do that. But when you pick a weakened team, I understand it. The margins, Chris, are so fine. So you were at a couple of games this weekend. You were at the Leyton Orient Man City game on Saturday. Then you were at the Blackburn...

game against Wolves at Ewood Park and they were you know they were tight City made changes and they were behind and they squeak it okay I was listening to Blackburn versus Wolves on the radio Blackburn seemed to be the better team in the first half but Wolves squeak it sometimes Ipswich made 11 changes Wolves didn't squeak Ipswich made 11 changes at Coventry in 1-4-1

So, you know, Liverpool just fell the wrong side of the line. And it's a practice to everyone. It's something that everybody's doing. Yeah, but as I said, it's fine. It's fine making all the changes if your team wins. If your team doesn't win and you don't load your bench up, then I think that however good Liverpool have been this season, I think it's fair to say, you know, Hazard on the slot, you think he's got this one right and that's fair enough.

you know, that's your view, but I don't necessarily, you know, agree with that. So would you have picked a stronger team for the Plymouth game? Even though you've got Everton on Wednesday?

I would have had a... Well, yeah, but there's still enough time to recover. I would have loaded the bench up. I actually think that there, and I'm not a sports scientist, I think there would have been an element, I don't know this, this is based on nothing, as most of my stuff is, but an element of Plymouth, bottom of the championship, Liverpool would have gone there and Arnott Slott would have thought, I've got enough anyway. And that was a mistake because Liverpool are out.

Tell you who I also understand or feel a bit sorry for is the Championship managers. You know, just to continue the theme, Newcastle made nine changes, squeaked it at Birmingham. Leeds made 10 changes, right? Leeds, top of the Championship, made 10 changes at home to Millwall and they lost. And you think, why did they do that? But you know what? What tends to happen? They want to go out. Leeds did want to go out. Yeah.

It happened in the last round, right? After round three, there was a full championship program in midweek and there's a full championship program this midweek as well. So if you're a champ manager and you're trying to pick an FA Cup team, you've got massive games three days later. Serious games. Games that could...

impact fundamentally on your season. So I have to say, despite the fact that you and I often sit on this podcast and talk up the FA Cup, I absolutely understand why managers do it. Do you think it was... John Eustace, just quickly, John Eustace at Blackburn, you know, this being a case in point, made eight changes. They've got a game on Wednesday night. They are in a playoff position, but I'd have loved to have seen Blackburn go with the stronger side against Wolves.

Now, at Brighton, Chelsea manager Enzo Mureska made six changes and, of course, they lost. Now, their season is different to Liverpool's. They're not going to win the Premier League. They're not in a final. Liverpool are already in the Carver Cup final, of course. I maybe would have thought that Mureska might have given slightly more consideration to the FA Cup. They don't play until Friday, when that happens.

coincidentally they're back at Brighton in the Premier League Chelsea haven't won a domestic trophy in seven years they've spent they've had a net spend of 680 million pounds in that time and

And I wonder if it's that context, that background, which has got Chelsea fans a little bit irritated after hearing Maresca say, being at the FA Cup, it's a shame. But if there's something positive, we can be focused on the Premier League and the Europa Conference League.

That's got Chelsea fans' backs up a little bit. Do you understand that or not? 100%. I understand that. I think he doesn't, Maresca simply, and he should understand, I don't think that he really understands what the FA Cup means to Chelsea fans. I mean, Chelsea, and Chelsea over the last 20, I say the last 25 years,

But in our time, certainly since 2000, since I left Chelsea, they have been a club all about winning, haven't they? And they've gone through so many managers and it is about winning trophies at Chelsea. But now I just wonder, does this tell you that the ambition has changed? Absolutely.

can't have changed really, can it? I know there's new owners in, but in the Abramovich era, it was all about being ruthless and winning silverware. And they seem to have gone away from that. But I don't understand. It's a bit of a cop-out for Maresca, as far as I can see, saying that we can concentrate on the Premier League, the fourth in the Premier League. They're doing okay in the Premier League. They've fallen away recently. But...

You know, fans want to see, want to enjoy a day out at Wembley and winning a cup. And, you know, for him to come out and say that, I really...

I think that was a poor comment. Certainly an opportunity missed, I think, for Chelsea, given that Arsenal are already out of the FA Cup, as we know Liverpool are now out of the FA Cup. Manchester City are struggling, generally. Certainly an opportunity there for Chelsea to make an impact on the competition. I think for them, well, I know for them, it's all about that fourth Champions League place. But I mean, I see things differently, I think, to you,

on this particular subject. You know my view on the, what I call, well, what do I call the Conference League, Europa Conference League when West Ham won it, the egg and spoon race of European football. If I was a Chelsea fan, I'd much rather win the FA Cup than the Europa Conference League. Would you agree? Obviously, I wouldn't, if I was a Liverpool fan, I wouldn't rather win the FA Cup than the Champions League. So there's a key difference there. Where do you stand on that? FA Cup or Europa Conference League?

If it was Norwich. Well, why Nottingham Forest? Of course, yes, your team. Why do you have to choose?

Chelsea should want to win everything. But managers do choose. And the Europa Conference, they play a totally different team, or Chelsea have done. In the FA Cup, you made the point, you made five changes, six changes, whatever. But why not, if you're Chelsea, try and win everything. Their squad is...

It's deep enough, I think, where they could have given it a go. I find his comments, you know, that would rankle if you're a supporter. You travel down to Brighton and you hear your manager come out and say, there's too much of this, really. Managers come out with a throwaway line like Maresca did and sound not bothered. Well, I tell you what, if you're not that bothered about it, tell the fans before they pay the hard-earned money and travel. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, some managers do. Some managers actually do. I remember Chris Wilder, the Sheffield United manager, basically saying that before his team played in the last round and they lost at home, saying that he was going to make a load of changes. Sometimes that does happen. All I would say, I don't massively disagree with you. All I say is that if Chelsea don't finish in the top four, then Moresca may well get sacked.

So, so he will have that at the back of his mind. I'm sure a little bit of self-preservation. Anyway, let us know what you think, everybody. I mean, the FA Cup priority, where does it sit in the priority list when it comes to your team? Would you rather your team win a small European trophy or the most famous European

Cup trophy in the world, the FA Cup. Small European trophy. Did Arne Slott get it wrong at Plymouth? Was it the team that he chose? Was it the bench that he chose? Was it the performance of people like Chiesa and...

Diaz and other senior players who were involved in the XI. If you're a Liverpool fan and made the journey down there, did you feel short-changed? Let us know what you think. You can find us on X, as you know, Ladyman Sutton, silly name and famous name. And you can also go to

to the show notes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever it is you get this show and leave your thoughts there. Chris, you were in London on That There London on Saturday for the Orient Show.

City game, which had shock of all time written all over it for about an hour, didn't it? How was it with Orient leading? How was it for you? Did you get your parking space? Tell me all about it. Yeah, I got a parking space, yeah. Oh, you did? Where? Watford? Lee Valley Sports Centre, the hockey club, I think, and had a little wander about just over half a mile to the ground. First time I've...

First time I've ever been to Brisbane Road. I don't know whether we're allowed to call it Brisbane Road. It's got another name as well now. I've got to tell you, I absolutely loved the stadium.

I'd never played against Leighton Orient. I don't know whether you've been there. You're a bit of a football star, aren't you? Not for long, I'm sorry. Oh, right. There you go. And then the way that Leighton Orient performed, and I was the summariser for Five Live, and then the Jamie Donnelly goal. I mean, talk about a brilliant FA Cup moment. You know, so many people try...

that skill, you know, when they're far out of the spot, they keep her off the line. But for him to execute it like he did, it was actual. I jumped off my seat. I don't normally do stuff like that. I don't normally get excited. You normally only jump off your seat when it's your round. Then Ian Dennis, the Five Live commentator, phoned me at halftime and said, well, he's done it twice for...

for the Tottenham younger teams as well. So he's obviously a talented boy. Great knowledge, Dan. To carry out that, well, somebody must have told him, for him to carry out that skill. And then you thought, could they, could they?

And Richie Wellens' team are really well organised and always worry when you Premier League sides against a League One side, always think, well, you know, are you going to carry enough of a threat late in Orient? And City pretty much dominated the ball, but...

Leighton Orient were well organised and did carry a threat and they had that chance right at the end Dan Happy the giant of a centre half for Leighton Orient big hoofer he would have been unhappy about his finish I'm surprised you got it that close from six yards yeah he

That would have, the roof would have come off. Brilliant atmosphere, brilliant stadium and good luck to Richie Wellens and Leighton Orient this season. But they really gave City a run for the money and City able to bring on Foden and De Bruyne who ended up getting the winner. So, you know, fair play to Pep for putting his big hitters on the bench unlike some other clubs. He was an own goal, mind.

Just let's be clear on that. When you talk about a wonder goal, it was an own goal. I mean, he missed. It was a great effort, but he missed. He hit the bar. No, but he didn't miss, did he? Yeah, he did miss. He hit the bar. No, he didn't miss because what was the outcome? It doesn't even count as a shot on target. He hit the bar. Right. That is the greatest FA Cup assist.

ever. Ah, well, okay. But you described it as a wonder goal, but it wasn't because it didn't go in. It was a wonder goal because... No, it was a wonderful effort. Hang on a minute. It must have been over 50 yards out. It must have been whatever it was. Okay. And I mean, just imagine yourself in that situation. No, I can't really. I mean, how many attempts would it take for you to actually hit the bar? Why don't we try that? Yeah.

You know what I was once... Yeah, let's mock that up and do it. Let's go down to Fog Lane Park. You get yourself up to South Manchester. We'll go to Fog Lane Park. I think the goals have been stolen from Fog Lane Park. So we might have to do it against a tree or something like that. You know what I mean?

You can sit up in a tree and see if I can land it on your lap from 30 yards. See how we go from that. Do you remember the crossbar challenge that they used to do on, is that a soccer AM thing? Or they used to do it on Sky? Yes, I think so. Sorry? Yeah. Did you ever do it?

Because that would be your era when that was happening. Yeah, I think I did it. I don't think I got it. For people who don't know what it was, Sky used to send a camera crew to Premier League grounds and get famous players like Chris to try and hit the crossbar from the halfway line. And it became a real bit of a thing, didn't it? I was once at an England training camp

before, let me get this right, before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, England were having a gathering in Portugal, Vail de Lobo Golf Resort. They're doing some media stuff. So we all went there to get some content before the tournament started. And we were watching a bit of training. And at the end of training, so that, come on in, think that would have been...

Sven's England wouldn't it of course it was Sven's England and the end of training all the forward players line up on the edge of the penalty area and have a competition about how who could hit the crossbar and I thought to myself only English footballers on the eve of a major tournament would go through a drill that involved them deliberately trying to miss the goal

That's awful from you, isn't it? Well, it's true though. That's awful. What we did have was a weekend without VAR. Let's deal with this quite quick. A weekend without VAR, it was a little bit like going back to the dark ages. That's how it felt. You and I are not enormous fans of VAR, but it just shows how you get used to things and you become...

things become ingrained in you, whether you realise it or not. And so we had the Harry Maguire offside goal for Manchester United against Leicester. There was a handball at Southampton that probably would have been a second yellow card and a booking. There seemed to be an arm in the face of Cole Palmer by Lewis Dunk during the Chelsea-Brighton game. There was a handball in the lead-up

to the winning Brighton goal. So it's all out there. There was a clear penalty. Dom Haim for Blackburn scored a goal, which I think was onside. There was a header at the back post. A clear penalty should have been given to City in the late in Orient game. And of course, everyone's fussing about it. Everyone's making a huge fuss about the Harry Maguire disallowed goal. Sorry, the goal that should have been disallowed. Understand why the Leicester manager, Ruud van Oosterooij, was upset there.

about it but that's what that's what we want apparently that's what we wanted to get rid of and now that we have VAR and everything takes forever we don't like that either so how's it how's it well we don't know that's the that's the key that's the crux of it you know no one likes VAR well there's the alternative guys that weekend that's the alternative which which is it which is it to be

But that's the beauty of being a football fan, a sports fan, is that we can happily moan both ways.

By the way, the Newcastle, blimey, the Newcastle equaliser, Birmingham. So the linesman, did you see it? So it's the goalkeeper's in the net, but his hand's reaching out. It looks to me like it's not over the line. The linesman decides that it's over the line. The linesman wasn't even in line. Do you see it? The linesman wasn't even in line with it. How can he even? You're saying he guessed. Of course he guessed. How can he even think that he knows? But you're guessing as well.

but it's impossible to know but you're guessing as well and you've seen it on the telly well all I'm saying well I don't think I'm well I

I think mine's an educated guess. But that's why his would have been an educated guess. His is a complete guess. His is a complete guess, mate. Mine was an educated guess that comes on the back of seeing it on TV and seeing the replays and the angles. How can you assume his wasn't an educated guess? You can't make an educated guess over a goal, Chris. If you're not sure, you don't give it. You can't. You can't think, oh, it's probably in. But he was sure.

He's probably in. Well, he was short and he was wrong. Okay, let's do some questions for Chris. ♪

These have all come from X. Let's rattle through these quickly. This one's from one of our favourite long-time listeners, Lulu Bells. She says, I'm not a Tottenham fan, but I find myself frustrated by his inability to make a change in such a crucial game. Well, I think that would be purely down to...

Did he have to strengthen depth on his bench? I think he had an 18-year-old striker, Damola Ajayi, on his bench. He came on against Elfsborg, strangely enough, and scored, but thought he would have been better sticking to what he had. So, in that respect, I understand where Postakoglu's coming from. And, to be fair, one of the ones that he did have, the new striker, Matthijs Tell, did score the goal in the in added time that briefly gave Tottenham some hope. Ryan Real Nice asks,

Chris, do you think the current coach carousel that happens in football now makes it impossible for another Sir Alex Ferguson to exist? In general, yes, that's a good question. But you see, Arsenal have been very patient with Mikel Arteta in the current climate. And fair play to them for doing that. He won an FA Cup early on, didn't he, in his...

in his time at Arsenal but hasn't won anything since so you know fair play to Arsenal for being patient but I don't think the patience is there in the main with most clubs I think money has a lot to do with that JP Malley asks is football the only sport in the world that tolerates and rewards blatant player cheating

I don't know. I don't know whether it's the only sport, but he's talking about diving. And, you know, once again at the weekend, Cargbo, the Blackburn player, on his full debut...

ridiculous dive ridiculous dive to try and win a penalty and con the referee and it's every week 6.06 I do the simulation game and every single week there are dives all the way through the

all the way through the leagues. And we all want it to stop, but it's never going to stop. I think it's probably fair to mention that there's quite a bit of jiggery-pokery that seems to go on on the cricket field these days, much of it unseen. And I also think that if you were able to stick a camera into the middle of the breakdown or a scrum at a Rugby Union game, you'd probably see all kinds of things going on in there that aren't really...

Not just football. When was the last time you saw a bit of jiggery-pokery on a cricket field then? What we've seen... What sort of jiggery-pokery are you talking about? Strange things being kept in players' pockets, etc. Used to rub on the ball. Batsmen not walking. Wicketkeepers claiming catches that they know aren't valid, etc. Would you walk if you nicked off? Yeah, I would. Matt Dev, finally.

Matt Dev heading north of the border. Chris, does Philip Clement survive this latest embarrassment? And let's move into that subject now. Rangers losing in the Scottish Cup to Queen's Park. Yes, so Rangers losing at home and their home record actually has been pretty good this season to...

a team halfway up the championship, Queen's Park, 20 points Queen's Park are behind the leaders in the championship, Fulcock, to go to Ibrox and knock Rangers out of the cup. And...

While Rangers' European form has been bafflingly good, they're into the last 16 of the Europa. We are just into February and Rangers were beaten in the League Cup final by Celtic on penalties. Rangers are 13 points, 13 points behind Celtic.

at the top of the Scottish Premiership and they are now out of the Cup, knocked out of the Cup by Championship Queen's Park. I cannot remember. I don't think it's ever been the case where Rangers...

have been knocked out on their own territory in a cup competition by a team from a lower league. And if you look at Philip Clement, all he talks about, we are in a rebuild. He's been in long enough now where you cannot suffer a result like that. Remember the Inverness-Calley result where John Barnes ended up getting the sack? I think there are parallels with that.

When you look at Rangers as a club, I think St. Johnson have won as many trophies in the last, what, 10, 11 years? St. Johnson have won three major trophies and so have Rangers. And we'd think about that for a minute. And that was a total embarrassment yesterday from Philippe Clement and Rangers' perspective. And I think that most of the Rangers fans have had enough and have had enough of

Feeble excuses talk of a rebuild. But Europe is a head-scratcher because they have played well in Europe, but domestically. And that was always the climate which I was aware of when I moved up after a bad season at Chelsea. Second is last. I've said this to you many times.

And I think down south people don't quite understand that rivalry in the intensity in the Glasgow Goldfish Bowl. That was totally unacceptable. If I was to say, if I was to suggest that Rangers losing at home to Queen's Park would be the equivalent of, say, Manchester United losing at home in the FA Cup to a League One team, is that fair? Well, yeah. I mean, you can sort of look at it that way. Or is that a stretch?

I still think that that's a stretch. So leading it home to a low-ranking championship team? I'd say a League Two team. A League Two team?

Oh, wow. Oh, so you say that's the equivalent of United losing at home to a League Two team. Wow, well, there you go. That puts it in stark context. Philip Clement himself wasn't actually hiding from it after the game. Talking about his players, he said, they built back credit with the fans in the last weeks and months. Today, they lost everything. Quick yes or no. They. They. There's a lot of they-ing.

What about a bit of responsibility himself? So quick yes or no. Does he make it to the end of the season? What do you think?

It's not as simple as that, is it? Patrick Stewart, the chief executive who's gone in there. Former Man United, of course. Yeah, I think there's a lot of pressure on him now to make a decision, and his dilemma will be, well, the Rangers are in the last 16 of the Europa, but you can't get away from the fact. It's shambolic that we're in the start of February and Rangers…

are in a position where domestically they aren't going to win anything. Aberdeen won after we talked about them on Thursday. Yes, Danford, yes. Aberdeen ended their long losing streak with a win against, just remind me, Dunfermline. Dunfermline, yeah. Terrific. Well done, Jimmy Chalene. Let's get back heading north with a few decent results, Jimmy, because we like that story. Now, I was at Villa Park.

on Sunday evening. Absolutely freezing. That was the coldest I've been this season so far. Absolutely took me by surprise when I took my seat in the press box. And what really annoyed me was that the bloke sitting on my left, who was acting as a bit of a wind buffer to me, didn't come back for the second half. Decided to watch the second half in the press room. So I was even colder in the second half. Selfish.

That's all that fasting you're doing. Yeah, intermittent fasting. I don't think anybody needs to know about that, but it does work. That's all I'm going to say. Half a stone down since Christmas. Half a stone down since Christmas, everybody. One chin gone, three...

to go whether the winds of change will be blowing through the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the next few weeks we still don't know Villa beat Tottenham 2-1 of course scoring the first goal in the 60th second the 60th second goodness me howler from Anton Kinski the Tottenham goalkeeper 21 defeats in his last 46 matches Tottenham and this is what this is what Ange Poster-Coghlu said afterwards I was in this press conference and

It can't be that people think the injury situation is an excuse. That's just agenda-driven stuff. If the agenda is to get rid of me, then good on you. If you want to get rid of me, fine. But this group of players will be an outstanding team. I've got no doubt about that.

Now that's a load of nonsense. It's an absolute load of nonsense to suggest there's an agenda against him. He said before that he thinks it might be because he's Australian. I mean, that is, that I haven't heard. There are some parts of that you can't disagree with. There is a pile on at times because of that. I disagree with all of it. Disagree with all of it. Sorry?

I'm just saying you can't sit there, honestly, with a straight face and say there hasn't been mockery.

That hasn't been mockery of Anz. Well, we'll agree to disagree. It's been analysis of his team and the way he plays. Anz Possecloggi was a very popular manager amongst the English media because he's different. He's interesting in the things he says. He has a different perspective. He's honest. Yeah, he can be ridiculously grumpy. He can be a very difficult post-match interviewee, but he remains...

for all the reasons that I've just outlined. He's brought a vibrancy and an interest to Tottenham as a team and as a club. For a while, you and I were saying that they were the must-watch team. I mean, I have to say, I've written this morning slightly facetiously that they've gone from being a must-watch team to a can't-bear-to-watch team, but that's only because they're struggling.

They've been great to watch and I'm sure they will be great to watch again if he's given time to get players back. So for Anas, it suggests there's an agenda against him is incorrect. If he feels that, he's misguided. If he doesn't feel it and he's just trying to deflect, then it's disingenuous. That's the first thing I'm going to say. But secondly, I absolutely think that Daniel Levy should just keep him. I just think he should keep him because essentially,

At the moment, everything that can go wrong with Tottenham's season has already gone wrong. It's already gone wrong. They're in 14th position. They've got 11 senior players missing. They're now out of both domestic cups, but they're not going to get relegated. They're not going to get relegated. They'll probably finish about 13th. You'll get some players back. They'll get some results. They'll finish about 13th.

if Daniel Levy thinks if there's 10% of him that thinks he's that Poster Clogger is the right man and he's the right man now just like he was when he appointed him he said absolutely stay with him absolutely give him a chance get the players back seriously I've watched the last three Tottenham games just by coincidence I was at Brentford last weekend then I was at Anfield then I was at Villa Park it's just the way it goes sometimes okay

And I can tell you, and I sound like a post-Sococo apologist now, but it's true. Those players are dead on their feet. And I'm not just talking about the young ones, okay? We can talk about Gray and we can talk about Spence. I'm talking about Son, the captain. I'm talking about Kulishevsky. I'm talking about Kulishevsky, okay?

I'm talking about Benton core. I'm talking about the goalkeeper. The shots of pieces, mate, the shots of pieces. There needs to be some rotation. Goalkeepers a stretch. Yeah. Okay. Oh, well, I think mentally, mentally they are shots of pieces. I saw, uh, I saw the Tottenham captain's son yesterday, receive the ball 12 yards from goal. And I have a great chance to shoot. And he passed it.

and he passed it because he's gone in the head. He needs a rest. And the earlier chance, Ian, when Martinez, you can say brilliant save, where a confidence on... He looks like he's lost...

an edge of his, the edge of his, he used to be far more dynamic. I don't know whether that is a confidence thing, but that chance, a confidence on would have just taken the pace off that ball to finish. If you get Madrid where, you know, he tried to sweep it past Martinez and Martinez gambled brilliantly, a great save, but a confidence on just lifts that, it goes back across him, just, just dinks it. And that's the worry. Yeah, absolutely. And until, so when Hans sits there in a press conference and says, yeah,

And he, you know, when these players, you know, and explains all this. I'm absolutely buying into that. I'm absolutely buying into that. We know that there have been flaws in the Tottenham team when players have been fit. We could talk about that, but we've talked about it before. So it's not a perfect science. Tottenham teams under Possekoglu do do some things that I do think are quite strange. However, at the moment, his analysis is,

off his team and the pressures they're under physically and mentally, I absolutely buy into it. What I don't buy into is this guff about things being agenda-driven. And if you want me out, that's fine. There's no one sitting in that press room who wants Hans-Poetje Kogler out, unless there's a couple of Arsenal fans sitting there who I don't know about. It's just not true. It's just not true. What's the alternative? Antonio Conte? Jose Mourinho? And that is the question, isn't it?

Yeah. So nobody wants to go back to that. Nobody wants to go back to that. And I do think yesterday did feel a bit different in the first half, obviously the usual anti-Levy chance from the away end. But there was also a bit of like...

They were lampooning their own team a little bit, the Tottenham fans, and that reflects on Ange as well. So I did feel like there was a little bit of a change. Here's a question for you then. So if you're Ange Postakoglu off the back of yesterday's defeat, what would you say?

in that situation? I would just say, I would just say, I know it's not good enough. I know the results aren't good enough, but this is what I'm looking at every day. I'm looking at shattered players, shattered bodies, shattered minds. I've got kids in the team and I'm absolutely convinced that when I get my players back, you'll see a different Tottenham. That's what I'd say. Has he not said that? You don't need to, yeah, but then... Did he not say that? Yes, but then he supplements it with all the stuff about agendas and that makes him look...

a bit weak and that makes him look a bit desperate when he's none of those things. He's none of those things. But then you're not in his shoes if that's the way he feels. He's entitled to say that. He is entitled to say it. Absolutely. I'm just saying that I wouldn't if I was him because I don't think it's right. And I do think you're a bit blind if you don't, if you, you know, if you, if you say there hasn't been a bit of mockery, you know, with him.

There is every week that Tottenham lose. Because of the post-match stuff? Social media. Well, if you go on social media, I mean, there's, you know. Yeah, but he's sitting in the press room and saying to us, if it's to get rid of me, good on you. If you want to get rid of me, fine. He's talking to us, not talking to people on social media. He's talking to us. If you want to get rid of me, fine. That's what he said. We don't want to get rid of you, Ange. We absolutely don't. We think you're great for Premier League. You've taken that personally, haven't you? I haven't, actually. Yeah.

If you think this is me taking something personally, then wait till we next go out and then I'll tell you about it. I'll tell you what can be like when you take things personally. Anyway, there we go. There we go. Got a little bit energetic about that, but I'm invested a little bit in the Tottenham situation. Don't know why. I think you are too. Don't know why. We do, you know, we think fascinating club. I think it's interesting. It is interesting. And I tend to agree with what you say about what's the alternative and, you know,

you think who is out there? It's always been a bit of a basket case club, hasn't it, in recent times, Tottenham. But there does, I mean, I did a football phone in 6.06. He always gets support, Ange Postakoff. It's not like across the board where Ten Haag at the end...

you know, as a dead man walking. Postacogru, there's no, I don't know, I don't know how many, I mean, you know, how can I judge off the back of that? But, but there are those who think when, like, who are buying into the theory when we do get all our players back, we're, we're a good team and they haven't had the players fit. Um,

When he says analysis of his team is skewed, I think he's got a point. I think some people don't take all the injuries into account. But as I say, not sure I bought into everything he was saying. In fact, I know that I absolutely didn't. Okay, moments of the weekend. I'm going to break a habit of a season and I'm going to go first. Um...

This is a moment of the weekend, a strange reason. I mean, I wasn't a huge fan of seeing Coventry playing in dark blue against Ipswich at the weekend. Big game, FA Cup, big banner in the corner saying, play up Sky Blues. And there they are in a limited edition, one-off dark blue fourth strip. Thought it was a bit weird. To be fair, I've had a look on the Coventry website. Apparently, some of the proceeds from the sale of that kit are going to go to charity. Fair enough.

but it's only some of the proceeds. So some of it's also going into Coventry's bank account. And if they want to give money from kit sales to charity, then do it when you sell your normal first kit. Just not sure that the FA Cup fourth round big game against a championship team, a Premier League team at home is the time to be wearing your limited edition fourth kit. Sky blue. That's what Coventry play in. And that, that,

That chill moment of the weekend. No, I've got a better one than that. We haven't, we hardly mentioned them. We haven't, I just got a bit, I just got a bit kind of, I got a bit triggered by it. That was all, a little bit triggered by it. Strange man. We hardly mentioned them at the top of the show. There was another team in the Liverpool game and it was Plymouth. Their manager, who replaced Wayne Rooney, of course, Miron Muslic is a fascinating character.

Bosnian refugee, fled Bosnia as a kid with his family because of the conflict in the Balkans. And I just love this quote. I just love this quote from him. He said, "I've been in more challenging situations in my life than being a head coach and facing a possible draw or a defeat at the weekend. And that's the message that I want to deliver consistently towards the players."

Life is a struggle with beautiful surprises and there is always something worth fighting for. Hear, hear, Miron Muslic and congratulations on a fabulous weekend for you and your players. Your turn, mate.

Well said there. Hard to go after that, Ian. But my moment of the weekend, the Queen's Park goalkeeper, Callum Ferry. Sometimes you just have moments in your career, games like it. And the penalty save against James Tavernier.

dying seconds for his team to qualify and create a bit of history and one of the greatest moments in Queen's Park in their history. What a moment for the young man. Flung himself to his left-hand side, kept the ball out of the net, made some brilliant saves in the game. That's what sport's all about, isn't it?

Yeah, last minute penalty save. Absolutely. That is exactly what sport is about. And you know what? It's interesting that when you do have upsets, we always end up talking about the big teams losing, don't we? We always end up, why did they lose? How did it go wrong? Whose fault was it? So let's finish the podcast by saying, forgive me if I missed something out, congratulations to Queen's Park. Congratulations to Plymouth.

Plymouth. Congratulations to Orient for giving City a run for their money. Congratulations to Birmingham for doing the same to Newcastle. Do you know what Queen's Park, their nickname is? No. It's an animal. Have a guess. I have no idea. With no point guessing. Don't join in. I'm not telling you now. I am joining in, but I don't know.

Right, Queen's Park. What's the... What, a cat? The cats? The dogs? The spiders. The spiders. That's not an animal. It's an insect. What?

A spider's not an animal. Are you serious? Let's not do that. Let's not do that. When we do these... A spider isn't an animal. Let's not do that. What? Let's not do it. Let's not do it. I always end up embarrassing myself with these ones. Let's not do it. I'm not going to go back to adders and venomous snakes and other things. Is a spider an animal? Other ways. Anyway, congratulations...

to the Spiders and we've not even mentioned Burnley Burnley won at Southampton but we don't even don't even view that as a shock do we Burnley won at Southampton Burnley knocked Southampton out of the FA Cup there was another shock but

is there a more miserable team in the world than Southampton I thought you were going to say than Burnley another clean sheet for Scott Parker's team any chance of letting a goal in James Trafford at some point is it still James Trafford yes it is anyway there we go thanks for being with us everybody

Let us know. I mean, I don't know. Spiders? Are they animals? Do we need to go there? I don't know. They're an arachnid, aren't they? Is it an arachnid? Answers on a postcard. Answers on a postcard. It's an animal. Please.

Is a horse an animal? Is a pony a horse? Is a horse an animal? Is a pony a horse? That was the theme of last year's podcast. Is a cat an animal? Anyway, I'm going to fade you out in a minute, Chris, because I don't think you're going to stop talking. So yeah, come on, hit us with your opinions. There's been lots of talk about Hans Prostekogu's stay or go. Is there an agenda against him, really?

Are the media against Anne's post-coglu? I think that's load of nonsense. Did we enjoy a weekend without VAR or can we not wait to get the cameras back?

when the Premier League resumes. Did Arne Slott pick the wrong team? Has Enzo Maresca disrespected the FA Cup? And that amazing goal at Orient by Jamie Donnelly. Own goal or a Donnelly goal, let us know what you think. To find us, hit us up on the socials and go to malesports social accounts at

Instagram and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel. All those places you can find excerpts of this show. Chris, I'm going to love you and leave you. We'll see you on Thursday. I am Ian Lederman, the chap with the FA Cup tattooed across his heart. This is Chris Sutton. This has been It's All Kickoff.