Shownotes Transcript
Seriously popular. Hey, Lonzo Ball, it's your agent. What's up? I've got a commercial opportunity for you from Buzz Ball's Ready to Go Cocktails. Nice. My last name is Ball. The product is a cocktail and a ball. I get it. That's what I thought too, but no. They want you for your hands. They think your big hands will show off the size of their new Blue Biggies ball. Big Blue Balls? Really? Get Blue Balls this season. Woo!
With BuzzBalls. Please treat responsibly. BuzzBalls available in spirit, wine, and malt. 15% alcohol by volume. BuzzBalls LLC, Carrollton, Texas. Every day, thousands of Comcast engineers and technologists like Kunle put people at the heart of everything they create. In the average household, there are dozens of connected devices.
Here in the Comcast family, we're building an integrated in-home Wi-Fi solution for millions of families like my own. It brings people together in meaningful ways. Kunle and his team are building a Wi-Fi experience that connects one billion devices every year. Learn more about how Comcast is redefining the future of connectivity at comcastcorporation.com slash Wi-Fi. Chris, I've got some bad news for you. Oh, again? Yeah, we've had a message from a listener who wants us to stop trying to be funny.
So I know some people may argue that shouldn't be difficult. Yeah. Well, I wasn't aware that me and you were funny. Well, Chris McHale doesn't think that we are. As he says on Spotify, I skip the first five minutes of every episode. It's like last of the summer wine. No football and not funny.
He can't be a young one then, can he? If he's watched Last of the Summer Wine. I actually quite like Last of the Summer Wine. What was the name? Compo, was it? Yeah. Norabatti. I didn't like Last of the Summer Wine sitcom from the 80s. I would imagine there'd be a good reason to cancel it now. I've got no idea what reason there would be to cancel Last of the Summer Wine, but you can be sure that somebody would find one.
It's probably offensive to Yorkshire folk, something like that. Yeah, maybe so, yeah. Anyway, Chris doesn't want it to be funny anymore, so those little what we call unscripted openings that we sometimes do where we just talk nonsense. We're stopping. We talked a couple of weeks ago, didn't we, about your...
your trip to New York. We talked about your dog biting somebody's hand off. We've talked about... Well, finger. Sorry, finger. That story gets better in every telling. Well, Chris doesn't think so. Chris McHale doesn't think so, but we do. We've talked about daffodils. We've talked about horses. Just before we came on air this morning, we were talking about decaffeinated coffee. We've run out of coffee in my house. We've only got decaf, which is...
The most pointless. Which is still coffee. It's still coffee. But it's the most pointless invention or conception of all time, decaf coffee. It's like non-alcoholic beer or chocolate without sugar. It's absolutely pointless. If you don't want caffeine in your coffee, then just drink water. Anyway, I'm drinking decaf coffee.
And we are in danger of drifting into an unscripted opening. And we're also in danger of drifting into saying something that might be funny. So we won't do that to spare Chris McHale's feelings. And we'll talk straight about, we'll go straight into football. Chris, FA Cup weekend. I'm going to ask you a question. Is Marcus Rashford making Ruben Amorim look a bit daft at the moment? Two goals in Avila's 3-0 FA Cup dispatching of Preston at Deepdale.
Is he making Ruben Amorim look daft? Why is Ruben Amorim looking daft in the opinions of some people? Well, I know what you're getting at. I know what you're coming to. But Ruben Amorim was in a position which was of Marcus Rashford's own making. And he wasn't...
He wasn't training properly. Ruben Amrim called him out about that. He seemed to be a bad influence within the group at Manchester United. I think Ruben Amrim called him about that. And he's gone to Aston Villa and he's doing quite well. But Ruben Amrim had to deal with the situation earlier.
as he saw it, he thought that Marcus Rashford, you know, was impacting, I think, the Manchester United group in a negative way and he wasn't putting the effort in. So,
So he let them go to Aston Villa. So I don't necessarily think this is on Ruben Abram. Fair play to Marcus Rashford, actually, for going to Villa and knuckling down and getting his head down, working hard. Now he looks like he's playing with a smile on his face. That's what everybody wanted to see. But it's a shame that he didn't play like this.
at Manchester United this season. Worth pointing out also that Ruben Amin wasn't the first Manchester United manager to be disappointed with Martin Hark wasn't overly enamoured with him either. Tom Colamossi, our Midlands correspondent, excellent Midlands correspondent as well, writes in Monday's Daily Mail and on Mail Online, he writes his match report from...
Sunday's game at Deepdale, suggesting that Manchester United's season is about to get worse because Marcus Rashford's on his way to an FA Cup semi-final. I actually disagree. I actually think this is a good thing for Manchester United because the one thing that Manchester United don't want is
is for Marcus Rashford to appear back with them in the summer when his loan move to Villa runs out, having done nothing with his tail between his legs and his market value on the floor. If he'd have gone to Villa and had a bad loan,
that would have left United with a big problem. He's contracted until 2028 or something. If he's not going to play for Amrim, and I don't believe he is, they need to get rid of him. So what he's done at the moment is, A, Rashford, that is, what he will have done is peaked Villa's interest in a long-term deal. £40 million it would cost them. That's the arrangement.
Well, if they decide they can't afford it, Marcus has at least put himself in the proverbial shop window. He's reminded people that he can play. And that's a good thing for Manchester United, surely. It is. But here's one for you. If you're Ruben Amorim, do you...
With the form that Rashford has showed and the fact he still has time in his contract at Manchester United, do you try and get him back into the fold? Do you think that relationship can be fixed? Because what do we know when Marcus Rashford is playing the way he's playing at this moment in time and when Marcus Rashford is happy, surely he'd be a massive asset.
to Manchester United if he could go back in and hit this sort of form? Or do you think, I mean, is your view, are they both too stubborn to sort of accept that that relationship can be
can be fixed it's a really good question I don't think it's about stubbornness I think it's more about what Ruben Amrim will think that he needs for his squad Amrim's had a difficult first half season at Manchester United we know that we've talked about it so
So he can't afford to have a difficult first half of next season. He has to get it right. And the best chance he's got of getting it right is by getting his own players. United are not awash with cash. We know this. We feel that they have to sell to buy. They certainly have to sell to buy significantly. And we've talked about Carbimania. We've talked about Alejandro Garnaccio.
and Marcus Rashford is on that list. And I think given what's gone on between Rashford and Amrim and Rashford and Ten Hag, and the fact that Rashford's difficulties united are now quite historic. They go back a couple of seasons. It's not just a six-month malaise. It's longer than that. That being the case, I wouldn't take the risk if I was Amrim. I wouldn't take the risk. If Rashford's form at Villa...
either gets him a move to Villa or gets a bit of a market going, a bidding market going, whereby he can move somewhere else for 40, 50 million pounds, get the 300 grand a week off the wage bill. I would take it. If I was Amrim, I would take it as long as I knew I was going to get the money to spend. And you start to then build a team in your area
own image. Is that not the better way forward for Amram? Yeah, I'd agree with everything which you say really, but if he doesn't, if for whatever reason he doesn't have that option, it would be interesting to see whether he tried to, or how that would go, whether he tried to cajole Marcus back into the fold at Manchester United. I don't think that's impossible.
But, you know, he must have watched a game yesterday with Ruben Amram and thought, you know, blimey. I wish. Because Manchester United have struggled in forward areas, struggled in the final third. I wish Marcus would have just shown the...
you know, the correct attitude, the desire, had the standards, you know, which other players have stuck to. And had we had him at Manchester United, then who knows, you know, how this season would have ended for Ruben Amrim. I'm not saying that they would have, you know, pushed for a European spot, but things certainly could have been differently because Rashford is a talented player. But this is all on Rashford, really. This isn't about Amrim. Amrim was put...
I think into a position, Rashford forced him to make a decision and he had no other option. And as you quite rightly said, he wasn't the first Manchester United manager to have this opinion of Marcus Rashford, ten-hard.
numerous issues with him as well. So this isn't on Amrim, this is on Rashford, but fair play to him for actually going down and getting his career back on track and showing everybody the player which we all knew he was. Let's be fair also, let's get this in its proper context. Rashford got to start the weekend FA Cup against his championship team. He's only started...
Two Premier League games for Villa. He's been used largely as a substitute since joining the club in January. He has made two starting appearances for England. We know about that. But he's got to get himself in there. If he's got to prove himself or prove that he's back at the level, first thing he's got to do is get in the Villa team. Let's not get carried away with any...
suggesting that he's absolutely shot the lights out at Villa Park because he hasn't. He's done okay. He's done well enough. He's shown signs of recovery and like you say, better attitude, better application, a rediscovery of his love for the game. I think that's absolutely right to say that.
but I probably wouldn't go further than that. And Unai Emery, the Villa manager himself, said after Sunday's game, and I quote, "...to be playing at his best level, there is still work to do, but I am impressed by his commitment."
And I would say that's a pretty good summary of where we are at with Marcus Rashford. And the other thing that's worth pointing out, Tom Colomossi's talked about this before, and he's written about this before across Mail Online's various platforms. Villa haven't got an awful lot of financial headroom at the top of their balance sheet in terms of keeping the right side of the Premier League spending rules. So they're not going to be throwing money around this summer, but
So for Emery to think that Rashford is worth the 40 million that they've already agreed with United if there is to be a sale, he's absolutely got to...
step it up again I would say between now and the end of the season and Emery pointed out after Sunday's game that there will be an obvious difference in terms of what Villa can spend depending on what competitions they're in next season and he says if we're in the Champions League the Europa League or the Conference League or we don't win a trophy it's completely different his point being we may not have the money to spend on Marcus Rashford
So let's see what happens. But it's worth, but you're right, Chris, it's his right to acknowledge that Rashford stepped up a little bit. He's rediscovered a little bit of himself at Villa and let's hope that it continues. I think Marcus sometimes has it in his head that everybody's got it in for him. Everybody wants him to fail. The opposite is actually true. Homegrown English player. Why would we not want him to be firing, particularly ahead of next? Because you're the media. You media. You media.
Just looking for headlines. Just looking for headlines. Yes, we are looking for headlines because newspaper articles without headlines look pretty daft.
Anyway, Man Utd have a big week coming up. Nottingham Forest away in the Premier League on Tuesday. That's FA Cup semi-finalists, Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. And then Manchester City, also FA Cup semi-finalists next Sunday in the Manchester Derby. Felt like a huge win for City at Bournemouth, the final game of the FA Cup quartet on Sunday. Chris Pep Guardiola animated at the end, going onto the pitch, waving at the supporters.
looked very much in the moment. Guardiola had said before the game that he didn't think an FA Cup win this season would make up for the disappointments in other competitions. I don't agree with that. And actually, the way he behaved and spoke after this game, I'm not sure he agrees with that anymore either.
Well, there's no doubt it's been a disappointing season for Manchester City. They have been miles off it. I thought it was pretty telling what Guardiola said is on the back of the mail today. What we missed was heart, soul and desire from how we'd done it for many years.
I mean, that's pointing a finger at the lack of application and taking the foot off the pedal, really. So I was surprised he said that. We know that their form hasn't been anywhere near the level. I think he will be desperate to...
to win the FA Cup because the FA Cup is still a significant trophy, more than significant, massive trophy. Look at the scenes at Newcastle, you know, winning the three-handled cup. So the FA Cup, you know, has that real importance. And it's just we have become so accustomed to Manchester City,
you know, winning everything over the last however many years. This season they've fallen away. But Pep, I think Pep, you know, is right to say that from his perspective,
you know, subjective as the way he feels, that if he feels a disappointment, then I think he's entitled to say that. And we shouldn't pick him up on that. I mean, he's the guy in charge. I want to pick you up on something you just said, which I'd never thought about before. The three-handle cup, the cowbell cup, it has got three handles, hasn't it? Why would you design a trophy with three handles on it?
I mean, I'm not a trophy designer. I'm just a simple person in the country. Why would you, though? Because obviously if one person's going to hold it, they've only got two hands. And if two people are going to hold it, really it would probably need four handles. Why would you design a trophy with three handles? What's the other handle for? What's the other handle for? It's a great question. I mean, you wouldn't design a coffee cup with an extra handle on it.
Would you, going back to what we talked about at the start of the podcast, it's like buying a pair of football boots and finding that there are three of them. Three-handle trophy, what is that about? Has anybody got any idea? What's the history of that trophy? We know it's not a particularly old competition, the League Cup. I think it began in the 60s, Chris, I think. But come on, what's the history of that trophy? Three handles, what is that all about? Are there any other trophies in sport that have three handles?
I'm trying to think and I can't think of any at the moment. I mean, I'm from Norfolk, Ian, and Norfolk is sort of famed for inbreeding and sort of, you know, people with 11 fingers. You can't say that. You can't say that. Even three handles. You can't.
That's a joke. Just because you're from Norfolk, you still can't say it. Well, we are, you know, that's what we're famous for. Just because you're from Norfolk, that doesn't mean that it's impossible for you to upset other people from Norfolk. You can't say that. I apologise on behalf of Chris and I for his suggestion that the people of Norfolk are inbred.
Okay, I was talking about three-handled trophies, not people with three toes. Okay, let's get back to the football, please. But anyone who's got an idea on the three-handled trophy, please let us know. Find us on the socials, drop us an email, iako at dailymail.co.uk. I want to know about the origins of the Cowboy Cup. Manchester City, I actually think now, if you're a City fan and you get to...
well, if you win the FA Cup, they get to the end of the season and you think, right, we absolutely tanked in the Premier League and the Champions League, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Some things have happened this season we never saw coming, but we've still ended it with one of the most famous trophies in the world again. I would feel strangely encouraged by that because it shows you can still win even though you're not at your best. And I think it would,
I think it would be huge. I agree with that quote that you picked up from Mail Sport this morning. What we missed this season was heart, soul and desire. I'd actually written it in red pen on my notes. I thought it was that significant. It does make you wonder why they've been missing that. But it was all back at the Vitality Stadium as he came back from a goal down and a missed Erling Haaland goal.
harland penalty two assists from nico o'reilly 20 year old forward um interesting from chelsea and him last summer i believe knocked back by city they've learned the lesson from the cole palmer thing it seems um guardiola's already said that o'reilly will play in the semi-final um against forest um city seventh successive
FA Cup semi-final appearance. I think that is a truly marvellous thing, Chris. And so does Pep. This is what he said. Seven times in a row, this is outstanding.
In November, when we lost, we came here with flip-flops like we were on holiday. If you don't compete, if you're not doing what you have to do, it's impossible. Today, we were a team we challenged. In football, you have to run seven times in a row. You play all the games, all the teams in the Premier League, Champions League, Champions League, but we love the FA Cup and we always want to reach it.
the final. He's had a great attitude, Guardiola, in his years in England to the domestic cups. And that shows it. I love that quote from him. Yeah. That was the point I was just going to make. You know, we have had debates on, you know, on this podcast about the way some managers chop and change. I mean, even at the weekend, love Nottingham Forest in, big Nottingham Forest fan, but Nuno Espirito Santo, I know Chris Wood was out injured.
But Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench, Anthony Alanga on the bench, you're thinking, blimey, you know, Nottingham Forest want Champions League football and want to finish him, you
you know, in one of those places, but that opportunity to, to play in an FA Cup semifinal and not putting your strongest 11 out. But Pep has always pretty much gone, gone really strong in the Cups. And, and, you know, the, the Cups over the years, we talk about the Premier League titles, the Cups have been crucial for him and Manchester City as well. So, you know, fair play to Pep for that. I am,
I am not as sure as Pep and everybody else that City are all of a sudden now going to come on and wipe the floor with every team they come across from now to the end of the season, just based on what we've seen.
this season from Manchester City because there have been so many false dawns. There have been so many times I have been fooled. Not difficult to fool me. But Manchester City, I'm not so sure that they're going to suddenly find this consistency and this level of performance. And, you know, I've got a sense that they'll still be the odd drop off from them. Yeah, that has been one of the problems this season is every time they have looked as though they were...
about to find some rhythm and some forward gears. They've found themselves going backwards again. So it's a fair point. We're still waiting for the Premier League's verdict on their 115 charges that they've got levelled at Manchester City. We feel as though that might come this week, although we also had a suspicion it might come last week. But we think it's imminent and we're waiting and see on that. But I do think that whatever happens...
and I hope I don't sound, come across as a sympathiser for City, but it doesn't matter if I do really. Because what I want to say is, whatever happens, I think what Guardiola has done, and I think his legacy at City and in the Premier League remains, I think, in terms of, I'm not saying it won't be without a blemish because of course it would be if it's shown that City have bought players, you know,
on the back of a financial model that's subsequently shown to be
outside of the regulations. We can talk about that. But in terms of what Pep brings us as a manager and as a coach and an improvement in players and the desire and the attitude and that innate ability to go on and on and on for seven, eight seasons, I do think he has taught us something, Pep, not just about the way that football can be played, but also about the way that an individual can motivate himself and can regenerate teams and players.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I totally agree with all that, which is why I think even, you know, just to say just an FA Cup, but that sort of token trophy, it's not a token trophy, but the trophy at the end of the season would mean so much to Pep. Because when was the last, it was his first season, wasn't it, when he was trophy-less? Yes, yes it was. At Manchester City? Yeah, yeah. And every other season there, you know.
there's been Premier Leagues or Champions Leagues and, you know, a plethora of cups in there. So, you know, to end a season with a trophy may not be, you know, as many as he would have wanted, but it would be something. And it would show everybody that even though Manchester City have been miles, miles off it, they are still, you know, capable and still there lingering. Yeah.
in the background this season. Yeah, absolutely. I don't know what people think about Pep and his legacy and whether that would be tarnished by some of the Premier League charges against City being proven. Maybe let us know what you think about that. I'd certainly be interested to know what you think about Marcus Rashford. Do you think he has...
restored his reputation wholly, or is there some work still to go? If you had a chance to have Rashford at your club, would you take him or would you worry? Take him at Norwich, yeah. Would you worry about his attitude? Let us know. You can find us on the socials. Find us on X. Mine is the silly name and Chris's is the famous name. You can also go to malesportssocialaccounts at X.
and Instagram and TikTok and Facebook. You can also find, also go and check out our growing YouTube channel. And of course, if you're listening on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever it is you get this show, do leave your thoughts there. And while you're there, hit that big follow button, leave us a five-star rating if you would,
and tell your friends about us. It's really, really important. We did have a comment. Can I just say on your rating thing, right? I mean, over the, you know, I was a, I used to play. I mean, just imagine if I'd have said, well, make sure you leave us a rating of nine every week, please, Ian. You can't do stuff like that. I mean, would I get a nine based on because I asked for one?
No, but it might encourage me just to give you an eight, just to prove that I'm not doing as you tell me. And then you would end up with an eight, which would be a good rating. So if I tell people to give us a five-star rating, they think, sod you, we're just going to give you four. That's fine. Four's really good. Four out of five is excellent. Even if they gave us three. Anything less than that, guys, don't bother.
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Comment here from Fazza on Spotify. Fazza's commented quite regularly throughout this season, no idea what rating he's given us. Talking about Trent Alexander-Arnold, we were discussing him last week, weren't we Chris? Talking about some of the criticism and abuse Trent's been getting on social platforms for what would appear to be a pretty likely summer move to Real Madrid.
Fazza makes the point. I haven't spoken to one Liverpool fan who's actually lambasting Trent. Social media is not real. He will get a great reception at Anfield in the real world. Fazza may well have a point. Trent won't play...
on Wednesday when Liverpool resume the league season because he's still injured. Liverpool haven't had a league match for three and a half weeks, Chris. The last time they played in the Premier League was at home to Southampton when they were actually losing at half-time. Yeah, I was at that game. On March the 8th. Somebody told me last week, somebody at Liverpool, that that was the one time, I think Slott alluded to it after the game, on a slot with Liverpool manager,
That's the one time that slot is really unloaded on his players at halftime. Apparently what he said in the dressing room during the break was audible outside in the corridor. He really, really let them have it that day. And of course they came out and turned the game around. It will be two and a half weeks since the Calvo Cup season.
defeat when they face Everton. I think that some may say that's a long time to think about a bad defeat against Newcastle, sorry, in the Carver Cup final. That was too long to think about a bad defeat and a bad performance. I just think the fact
physical recuperation that Liverpool players would have been able to go through in the last two weeks will help them. And I think that will be significant. I would be very surprised. I'm going to Anfield on Wednesday. I'll be really surprised if Liverpool don't come flying out of that one. They've also been motivated, of course, by the fact that... Absolutely. They'll also be motivated by the fact that Everton smacked them in the balls in the seventh minute of added time to draw to all at Goodison a couple of months earlier.
Liverpool have got Everton home, Fulham away, West Ham home, Leicester away. I mean, really, really, they should get enough out of those four games to at least put them on the verge of clinching the title. If they don't, then something really has gone very badly wrong.
Arsenal play first this week. They played Tuesday night at home to Fulham. Fulham will be on a heck of a downer after a misfire of their own at home to Crystal Palace. They played really well in the first half, didn't they, Fulham? Did you see? Yeah, but that's the way that games can go. Absolutely. If you don't make good games,
when you're on top. But heaven knows what that will have done for Marco Silva and his players. Is this one last shot for Arsenal? Win on Tuesday...
get the gap down to nine and does that put any pressure on Liverpool at all or am I clutching there? Am I clutching on behalf of all Arsenal fans? I just think that you are clutching. I can't see any straws near you but I think you are. There's not an Arsenal fan that we know who thinks that Arsenal will pick Liverpool and are still in a title race and the fact they've got Champions League football there's going to be you know
they're going to be focusing on Real Madrid, which I actually think is a really winnable tie for Arsenal. I don't think they're out of that. Madrid, you know, will go into it, I suppose, as favourites with the array of talent that they have. But,
But Arsenal can beat Real Madrid over two legs. I'm certain of that, but I'm also pretty certain that they're not going to reel Liverpool in at this stage. You mentioned Arsenal fans. The one Arsenal fan that we do know and can't escape from is Henry, our producer. Henry's just messaged me about the Cowboy Cop. Now, this is an A1 overview. It's appeared on...
On a Google search, this is what you get these days. A1 overview. Here we go. The League Cup trophy has three handles because the design is based on an old Loving Cup design. A Loving Cup design. Trophy was commissioned by Mapping and Web, UK retailer of fine jewellery and silverware. Apparently, a Loving Cup is rooted in tradition, historically used for celebratory drinking.
That's what a loving cup, a three-handled loving cup, traditionally used for celebratory drinking. So is that the point of the Cowboy Cup? Fill it up with ale, Newcastle Brown ale, I guess, last couple of weeks. Fill it with Newcastle Brown and drink it dry. Is that what it's all about? Don't know why you can't drink out the FA Cup, just because it's only got two handles, but there you go. Two handles, yeah. Celebrate your loving cup.
Just on the love theme. Have you had any loving cups recently? No, I haven't actually. But just on the love theme, did you see the story about Arsenal and their brand new dating show which is coming out? Yeah, I did. I absolutely did. So Gooners can meet Gooners. Just explain it though for listeners.
Well, it's a bit like blind date, isn't it? Where gooners can go to games and meet somebody and spend the 90 minutes and see whether they're sort of...
sparks fly and they're attracted to one another. I don't know whether Henry has a partner or not. I very much doubt it, but maybe that art producer, maybe it's something Henry could think about. And maybe at the Emirates we'll see a perfect match for once. But if Henry did that, if Henry went on the Arsenal online dating site, he'd just end up going out with Ben.
Jobless Ben, he's also an Arsenal fan. They'd just meet each other, wouldn't they? He'd be like, oh, shoot. Anyway, at least going out with an Arsenal fan, but I'm just going to do a bit of a drum roll here for a bad incoming joke. It's here. At least going out on a blind date with an Arsenal fan would be better than going out with a Tottenham fan. Go out on a blind date with a Tottenham fan, everything goes well. You get invited in for a cup of coffee, only to find out he's got no cups.
come on you're going to like that one I made that one up I made it up who is that guy at the top of the podcast yeah Chris McHale's going to be Chris McHale's just thrown his iPhone through the window back to football why can't you just talk about football okay well let's talk about football let's talk about Newcastle they were home to Brentford on Wednesday and
And I think some of their supporters might still be, well, high on life, high on Cowboy Cup success and high on whatever it was they were drinking over the weekend. 300,000 Newcastle fans estimated to be at the parade as Eddie Howe and his players showed off the Cowboy Cup through the centre of Newcastle, ended up on the town moor. Of course, our man Craig Hope, our chief football reporter, was there. And this is the little dispatch that Craig sent for us.
I'm walking away from the town we're in now amidst what must be tens of thousands of people finding their way back to civilization. My hands, I cannot take my hands, I'm glad you've asked for a voice note guys, but what I really do need to find is a park bench somewhere in the distance here where I can get signal and I can send my report down the line to Mail Online and the Mail on Sunday because that was incredible, it's worth recording, it was a moment in history, it was once
in a lifetime stuff. I thought it would be good. I never knew it would be as incredible as that. We're just talking there amongst fans as we leave the town we're behind us there. How many were on the streets today? Well, I've put a quarter of a million in my report. Well, I think it was at least a quarter of a million that might even be on the conservative side. I was there at St. James' Park when the bus first swang into view and I spoke to Eddie Howe. I asked him afterwards, I said, you know, what did you think? He said, well,
We hoped some people would turn up, then you turn the corner and you think wow, but then it doesn't stop. It was just a wow moment every inch of the way from St James's Park to the Town Moor. It's only a mile, it was meant to take half an hour, it took well over an hour for the bus to get there. Then onto the Town Moor stage with Ant & Dec. Ant & Dec with a B-list as the day, the A-list as the stars. That was Eddie Howe and Bruno Guimaraes. He really did steal the show, swearing.
on live television and in front of all the scores of kids who were there but I tell you what and I'm a parent and my children were in the crowd I didn't really care one bit Bruno was brilliant he stole the show it was a magical magical day and yeah some from the outside might look at it and laugh it's only a Carabao Cup but when the people of Tyneside have waited 70 years for that domestic trophy 56 years since the last piece of silverware they were always going to turn out and enjoy today and boy
Did they do that? And for it to close with a shivering Brazilian, a national singing in a field, which is usually reserved for cattle. Well, that just felt like a fever dream, but it's not a dream anymore. This is reality for Newcastle United. They've won a trophy. They've had the parade. They've had the day. It was an I was there moment. It really was. And there, guys, I've got it on the horizon now. The pub where I'm going to go and get warm, file my work and toast what was a brilliant day.
Chris, can I ask you a question? Do we think Craig's got more Geordie since Newcastle won the Cup? I didn't think it was possible, but I think he might have. He clearly gets more Geordie the more excited he gets because that was pure Alvide Zane Peck, that was. Brilliant from Craig. Loved the enthusiasm, loved the detail. He's bloody good at that, by the way. He does that without a pause. You know, I listen back to his podcast and all I can hear is myself going, er, er, er.
Craig just reels it off. He should be on television, that boy. He does have his own YouTube channel, by the way, Newcastle fans. Those of you who aren't aware of it, go and check it out. You get an awful lot of brilliant Newcastle content from Craig there. Anyway, Chris, that was Craig's wrap-up of the parade. Sounds like a heck of a day. The swearing that he's referring to, Bruno Guimaraes on the stage, describing his teammates as effing legends.
Is he right? I don't care about the fact that you're swearing. Is he right to describe his teammates as legends? Some people will sniffily say this was only the Cowboy Cup. Yeah, but I mean, 300,000 people...
turned up to watch Newcastle celebrate that. You know, Craig said 70 years or 56 years since the last trophy. That's a big, big deal, isn't it? A huge, huge deal. And they're legends in the eyes of Newcastle fans. So, you know, however, if people want to take sort of
words that have context and play and fiddle with them, then they can do that. But we know what Bruno meant. And all that matters is how the Newcastle fans feel at this moment in time. And it's about joy. If sport isn't about joy and about togetherness and about
mutual experiences like that. They don't really know what it's about. And the fact is that they've waited an awful long time. As Craig said himself after the final, what people need to understand is that Newcastle fans, and they're not the only ones, but Newcastle fans have spent an awful lot of long time thinking that big days out to Wembley, big successes were for other people. And now it's for them as well. So... You know, just quickly on that, Ian, I mean, at the start of...
my playing career, you know, we came up against Newcastle, Kevin Keegan. They were a brilliant, brilliant team. And there was, yeah, and there was, there was, you know, everybody felt that they were going to win a trophy. And then they had Bobby Robson who did a great thing. Shearer left Blackburn to go back to his, his boyhood club and the amount of goals which he had.
It's a good decision from him. But, you know, they've had some brilliant teams, brilliant players in the past. And, you know, it's astonishing, really, that they haven't won a trophy for so long up until now. So blimey. You know, are the Newcastle fans entitled to celebrate that? Of course they are. Were you ever tapped up by Newcastle? You were tapped up by most clubs. Yeah.
When I left Norwich to go to Blackburn, Newcastle were another one in for me. Why are you raising your eyes? You surprised Kevin Keegan. Wow. So how seriously did he get that? Everybody was. Everybody.
Everyone. Well, I had choices to make. You did have choices to make, didn't you? Because Manchester United were interested as well. So, I mean, that must have been a heck of an option for you to go up there. Or was Norfolk to Newcastle that's going to be a little bit too far for Sam to take the horses? Well, I went to Blackburn, which is... It's not as far. It's not as far. That's my point. There's not much in it. There's quite a lot in it.
It's only about 200 miles in it, 150 miles in it.
Yeah, but I went to Blackburn and a good choice it was. So Blackburn offered you more money, clearly. Okay, let's do some moments of the weekend. I'm a bit worried we might have doubled up here. Oh, yeah. I don't think we have. But I've got two. I don't think we have. Okay, well, you go first, just to be sure. Well, I had a look at the mail on Sunday, this Sunday, and a story, I don't know whether you know this story, just really stuck out to me. It was in the news article.
Have you heard of, well, you would have done, you'd probably deny. Have you heard of Napoleon Complex? I can imagine what it is, but small men. Yeah. So research, okay, research. There's research in Germany, the Bundesliga, that referees are more likely to book players who are taller than them.
And that's called Napoleon Complex or Short Man Syndrome. Why was that in the news pages? Why is that not in the sports pages? Well, it just was. And data show that players who are taller than the referee have a 9.4% greater chance, more fouls given against them and are 7.2% more likely to get a yellow card compared to situations where the ref and players are at the same level.
Eye level. That's extraordinary. Who's done this, you say? Players who are shorter than the ref are less likely to get into trouble with a 12.3% lower risk of being penalised and a 16.5% lower risk of...
of getting a yellow card. What about that? I mean, that's a fascinating story. Bundesliga, 2,340 games. But surely that research is absolutely shot to pieces when you look at the disciplinary record of people like Craig Bellamy, David Batty. No! David Batty. Yeah, but you're guessing there because we don't know whether the referees were shorter.
No, but you're saying that players who are shorter than referees are less likely to get booked. Well, those two were. They were shorter than everyone. Batty, Bellamy. And they got booked constantly.
They may not have been shorter than the referee. A lot of referees aren't. Well, who was refereeing them? Donald Dole? Well, I don't know. Ronnie Corbett. Brian Flint. I don't know, but this is proper research, okay? Bundesliga, one of the biggest leagues out there, Bundesliga research, and it just shows that people like yourself, when, you know,
up against people like me that we intimidate you. Is it borne out by your experiences then? So I suppose back from Paul Durkin, you used to get booked by Paul Durkin a lot, did you? Stephen Lodge. Stephen Lodge, is that right? Stephen Lodge. Yeah, they're all short guys. Keith Cooper. Yeah. Keith Cooper, yeah. To be fair to me... He knew your dad, didn't he? So he'd have booked you. To be fair, I was taller than...
every referee, I think. There's not a referee who's bigger than me. Anyway, I'm never going to look at refereeing again. Who are the short-arse referees in the Premier League at the moment? I'm just trying to think. Not sure there really are any particularly, are there? Isn't that interesting, though? I mean, genuinely, that's interesting. Small man complex. Small man complex. Napoleon complex. I wouldn't know. I'm of average height, so I wouldn't know. I don't know.
average height in the north north north north anyway interesting that's probably your best moment of the weekend of the season that was a pretty low bar I've got a couple first of all Matt Seltz his second Norscombe Forest goalkeeper extraordinary route that Forest have taken to the FA Cup semi-finals have won shootouts in the last three rounds Seltz has made
saves in each of those shootouts. I had a look at his record this morning, Belgian, 32 years old. Does have a bit of a history in Belgium for saving penalties. When he was at Ghent and Leers in Belgium, a few notable penalty saves. But he is such a great story, Sells. Five million pounds. If you think that the way that Forrester previously tried to go about the goalkeeping strategy,
in the Premier League with Dean Henderson, for example, and then Caelan Navas as well. They'd gone for kind of really big, high-profile goalkeepers and ended up with this guy who they signed January 2024 for £5 million. Wasn't even their first choice. He's now making penalty saves for fun. Has more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League. And the second penalty save he made at Brighton from Gomez...
I'm surprised I didn't break his wrist. So anyone who didn't see it, Gomez went for power down the middle, which lots of strikers like Chris will tell you will normally get you where you want to go because a goalkeeper usually moves. Henderson, Sells decided not to and got it with his right wrist. And that was a heck of a penalty save, I thought.
Yeah, it was more about his intelligence, really, to actually, you know, most goalkeepers dive, don't they? But I do think goalkeepers, we know over the years, are becoming smarter and smarter and they have the, you know, they can obviously watch previous penalties and sort of get feedback and, you know, you have all these sports scientists. But I thought that one, yeah, that was, you know, he made another save in the shootout, didn't he, the
I can't remember who the other one was off, but that was a really good save. Hinch or what's-her-name?
Hinchelwood. Yeah. Totally different type of save, wasn't it? Yeah, it was. But that one, it was actually a bit of a sort of wow moment to see him make that save and that intelligence and then, you know, to keep it out, as you say, strong wrists. Yeah, yeah. So, Matt Sells, you are not only our moment of the weekend, you are my man of the weekend, you are my player of the weekend, without a doubt. Well done to you. Well done to Forrest and to Palace.
And to City and to Villa, you are our FA Cup semi-finalists. And we will look forward to that, as we will to a full Premier League programme. We've missed the Premier League. We've gone FA Cup. Before that, we had the international break. Felt a bit strange. Premier League football is back. Chris and I will be back on Thursday, maybe to look back on a little bit of that and ahead to what we've got coming up this week.
week end so thanks for being with us everybody despite what Chris was saying earlier you can do it go to wherever it is you get your podcasts when you find that rating slot go on give us five and if you don't want to give us five give us four if you can't give us four out of five give us three out of five if you don't want to give us three out of five
just pack it in don't bother thanks for being with us as always Chris it's good to see you mate and we'll be back on Thursday I'm Ian Ladham in the chat with the height complex it's Chris Sutton this has been It's All Kicking Off