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S1 E58 Leicester Review
10 Plays3 days ago
On today's episode Joe, Craig and Dan analyse the 2-1 win against Leicester at Villa Park.
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Transcript
Introduction to Daily Villa Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
sports podcast network work
00:00:10
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome to today's episode of the Daily Villa Podcast asbo as part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. My name is Joe Boone and I'm delighted to be joined by both Craig and Dan today to talk through all things Villa. Before we get into it, gents, how are we both?
00:00:30
Speaker
I'm doing, oh sorry, go on Craig, go on. All good dad, I'm doing well, how about you mate? Oh I'm doing great, happy new year to you both, this is the first one I've seen you guys for happy new year, so happy new year.
Villa's Victory Over Leicester
00:00:45
Speaker
Yes indeed, happy New Year to you both and hopefully it will be a ah a prosperous New Year for Villa. It started on on good form. We're here after a ah professional 2-1 win at home against Leicester, a game that saw Russ Barkley fire us into the lead with a really well-hit strike just before the hour mark. ah Mavadidi then equalised for Leicester, latching onto a rebound after ah an Emmy Martin has saved.
00:01:11
Speaker
And then it was Leon Bailey who won the game for Villa quite late on, with ah Ian Mattson winning the ball back quite high up the pitch with some some good work. Roll it into the path of Bailey who kind of smashed it home to make it 2-1. So we'll start with Dan. what What did you make of the performance, Dan? and Yeah, I think it really was, as you say, a professional performance. A great team performance overall, really.
00:01:39
Speaker
Great to see Bailey back amongst the goals. I think that is really important. And a massive shout out to both Ramsey and Mattson for their dogged press and really engineering that winner for us. I was really impressed with them. So overall, a much needed victory.
Critique of Villa's First-Half Performance
00:02:03
Speaker
Very good. Craig, what did you think, mate? Well, I actually I agree with you guys, if we're talking about the second half, the first half for me was extremely painful to watch. I made a note on Twitter that I honestly thought it looked like two relegation teams playing each other, that were cancelling each other out. And I know we have a lot of players missing and we had a lot of chopping and changing. Obviously we'll get into it later. Diego Carlos being injured.
00:02:33
Speaker
Maddy Cash coming back into the side, Palatores, obviously he's out for a few weeks now and everything. So it is, it is being a bit harsh, but it wasn't enjoyable to watch the first half. That's for sure. But I do agree when we came out the second half, we took care of business, we were professional in it. And at the end there, you can, you, you know, the best teams, Man United did it for years, Man City have done it over recent years as well. That, you know, you're a good team when you can get a bad performance, but still Yeah, I completely agree. I was just about to make that point. I think it's sort of testament to this villa side that we can play, have a relatively poor 45 minutes, but still come out and and be a Leicester side that on, you know, they're not kind of setting the world light by any means, but they're still, you know, every team in this division is a test. So I think it's testament to, I suppose, the spirit. But as you both mentioned, it's probably not a game that's going to live long in the memories of any of us come the end of the season.
Villa's Defensive Analysis
00:03:30
Speaker
It wasn't a spectacle by it by any means but looking at the lineup going in we saw mings and cash coming into that back line And we've spoken about the kind of the right back Situation with villa for for weeks on this podcast Do you feel as though having cash at right back and then having means at center half alongside cons are having a left footer and a right footer? um In that sense about role do you Do you think it brought balance to to the defense that we maybe have been missing in in recent weeks? We'll start with Craig I do. When the announcement happened, I certainly don't want Pao Torres to be injured because I think he's been a rock at the back. I think he's had a lot of criticism that has been unjust. However, I am a big fan of Ming's. I do think he has
00:04:16
Speaker
defense organized, it feels more stable with him on the ball. It seems more casual. I love the fact that the guy just choose gone and plays well. it's similar So, the fact that we've spoke on this podcast a lot about consistency and having that back four play together for a long periods of time. And the back four that played is the four that played for the most time in a Villa shirt. I am comfortable but with that. I could easily switch power and mings in. um I think I've let it be known that I'm not a massive Diego Carlos fan. um If he did leave and we got a replacement, I wouldn't be opposed to that. I think he's had really good games in a brother shirt, but I don't think he's as consistent as others. And that's the thing. So I think it did offer a bit more stability and yet again, we're still seeking that clean sheet, but I was more confident in the back line.
00:05:14
Speaker
done? What did you make of it, mate? Yeah, Craig, I think you absolutely hit the nail on the head there. I think they're two very different players, Powell and Mings. Powell seems to be a much better player on the ball, but Mings is the better defender, and there definitely feels a lot more confidence in the organization with Mings in that back line.
00:05:40
Speaker
and I think you hit the other nail on the head when saying that Konza was a good championship right back, but a Champions League centre back. And it was great to see people actually playing in their preferred positions.
00:05:57
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with both of you. I think you both pretty much summed it up there. I think Konza is much better suited to that centre-back role, but that's kind of something that we all knew. Mingz organises that back line a lot better. I think obviously but Torres has kind of a lot of his plaudits of comparable abilities passing his kind of ability to start a
Barkley's Impact and Surprise Role
00:06:17
Speaker
touch on the back. But I mean, we saw ah in the Brentford game, especially how good Mingz and Konza are together in terms of organising the The back line and I think it's it's probably something we'll touch more on in our transfer video But it's interesting to see where Diego Carlos kind of fits into that back line when all our center half So I'm sure that's something we'll touch on in that one
00:06:40
Speaker
In hindsight, obviously the inclusion of Ross Barkley into that starting lineup looks to be a stroke of genius as he kind of fired us, wandered up with a really, really good strike, which we'll kind of look into in further detail a bit later. But were you slightly surprised to see him start in that midfield and and kind of what did you make of his goal? We'll start with Dan. Well, I think all football fans know that Ross Barkley can hit the ball with a good amount of power and good accuracy. And, you know, he he has played at the very top level. He has played for the national side and he certainly knows how to strike the ball. I think we don't put as much respect on his name as we possibly could as Villa fans. I think he's going to be a really useful player for us this season. He was a bit of a steal getting in from Luton for when we did.
00:07:38
Speaker
um I can't say I was surprised. I think the team needed a little bit of a shake up and I was glad to see him start.
00:07:48
Speaker
Craig, what did you make of his ah his involvement? um So first off, well, like obviously, Rodgers missing was a hindrance to Villa. He's ah one of our stars and everything. But I see Barkley has been able to fill in. And I've said that all along. I think he's an exceptionally good squad player who can fit into that team at any point. And as Dan said, it's not necessarily a weaker team when he's in it. It's just a different environment of the team.
00:08:17
Speaker
So um i was I was pleasantly happy when like obviously, yeah I'd prefer Rogers in the team. I'd pick Rogers over nearly everyone in that Villa lineup, to be honest. I wouldn't go as far to put him in goal, but you get that. But like Rogers, I would prefer in there, but Barkley, and I think one of the most important upgrades we've had from Douglas Louise is the fact that Barkley's got goals in him.
00:08:42
Speaker
And you're always confident when he's in and around the 18, if he hits it, it's going to be on frame. It's going to trouble the keeper. And he's going to get us goals. And I think that's one thing that is missing from the team that i your top teams always have is goals in depth. So you don't always have to rely on Duran. You don't always have to rely on one hit. I'd like to see Megane get more goals. I'd like to see Leon continuing and get more on the score sheet. Teela Mintz has got goals in him as well.
00:09:10
Speaker
um I think Kamara is allergic to shooting, but like apart from everyone else, that's kind of that's kind of the thing that I'm looking for from our players, and we certainly get that when Ross Bark is on the field. Yeah, you absolutely do. And you mentioned there the goals that he has in him. He's our fourth top Premier League goalscorer, and he's played kind of bit parts coming on off the bench, but I think that's a testament to how the kind of the impact that he's had when he has come on. he's He's done really well, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him start a little bit more often. I mean, we we've spoke again about Emery likes to have players in the same role, but different kind of styles of players. So I think Ross Barkley, someone that we could see have a an increase in in minutes on the pitch and in kind of weeks to come. We're going to be back to discuss the result further after a short message, courtesy of Zencaster. You have a story to tell that the world needs to hear.
00:10:07
Speaker
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00:10:43
Speaker
Welcome back. And the Leicester equaliser is what we're going to cover now. It comes from a lapse of concentration, in my opinion, from that back line. I ah know we've talked about the kind of the balance and the benefits of having cash and means coming back into that back line earlier. ah Is this one lapse in concentration a moment of madness as it were? Or is there something a little bit deeper, something maybe more a bit tactical about how this this Leicester equaliser came? We'll start with Craig.
00:11:12
Speaker
Yeah, um I think for me, the lapse comes from Ali Watkins. ali Ali's got the ball. It's a simple pass that he makes. So the fact of the matter is, all our team is is focused on our attack, attacking buildup. We are a ah team that plays very expansive football. So we we literally had no reason to operate any cover then. And when when you end up giving the ball away in such a poor moment,
00:11:39
Speaker
a play like Jamie Vardy is going to punish you. And he's the one that created the goal. It's as simple as that. And then Emmy does well with the save that he he makes, but he can only push it so far. And then from that point, I think it's harsh to blame cash because cash has gone for the ball. I think if that ball doesn't go in, we probably can see the penalty, the way, the way he went into the tackle.
00:12:00
Speaker
So I don't particularly blame the back line for that because I think they were doing their jobs based on what Ali should have done. And Ali's going to be mad at himself as much as we are at him for that giveaway. Dan, what are your thoughts? ah Craig, I don't know if you've been looking at my answers. Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, we you're never going to set yourself instantaneously from such a fast break.
00:12:30
Speaker
And that past Romali, he will have been having nightmares. It's not something we see him do often. I don't think this is anything to be tactically overly concerned about.
00:12:43
Speaker
yeah i agree i think you know goals like that unfortunately are kind of part and parcel and you know eventually we were punished for it but i think it's a really important point in terms of keeping possession high up the pitch and we kind of we maybe um look at the defense in the midfield and and further forward slightly differently in terms of the defenders can lose the ball and it's catastrophic whereas further forward they're maybe not as as kind of crucial in those areas so i think we have to kind of look at that goal in in exactly what you guys have said in terms of we've given the ball away high up and allowed Leicester, who are historically good on the break. They're very quick, they have a lot of pace going forward to kind of to break on us and it's paid off for them. So yeah, I think as you mentioned, it's something Watkins will be a a little bit disappointed in himself for, but I don't think it's a huge major catastrophe in that sense.
00:13:33
Speaker
We won the game. good at as well sorry yeah but one ah One of the things that I would be critical of, and I've said this a lot about players when pressuring the ball, when you watch the replay back, when Watkins gives the ball away, Luca Deen's out of position and Mings has to drift out to the left to come and block the cross, which I think was from Jordan Ayud.
00:13:55
Speaker
And as he comes in, Ming's as his arms tucked in behind his back, just like every so every defender has to do nowadays, apparently. But we've we've now been told that the fact that the arm at the side of the ball, if they can't get it away, isn't a penalty.
00:14:11
Speaker
So for me, I would rather risk giving away a penalty if we're hit on the hand where you can debate the fact that it's at a normal angle and actually run straight at the p player and apply pressure quicker. I personally would teach that better in that sense to apply the pressure and not worry about the hands as much because I do think if Ming runs at a normal pace with his arms at each side, he gets to that ball and he denies that cross. But because he's so concerned about giving away a penalty,
00:14:38
Speaker
I think that's one of the issues there. It's nitpicking, but at the end of the day when these nitpicks lead into goals, it's something we we do need to focus on. Yeah, I suppose it's kind of, we're a victim of modern day football in the sense of, yeah, defenders have to be so cautious and they're, as you mentioned, they're constantly concerned about VAR and giving away penalties. But yeah, I think that's that's an interesting point of discussion because I think we've seen it a couple of times this season where maybe defenders have kind of had to pull out or change body positionings through fear of VAR and giving away penalties and things like that. so
00:15:16
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure we can make an episode on VAR in itself.
Bailey's Confidence-Boosting Goal
00:15:20
Speaker
um And we won the game eventually on 76 minutes, as we mentioned, with ah the ball being put on a plate for Leon Bailey. And we kind of hinted at it earlier, how crucial is this goal going to be hopefully for for Leon Bailey to bring his confidence and and the form and the quality that we've seen in him in his kind of villa career, we want that back and and how important will this be? We'll start with Dan.
00:15:44
Speaker
Well, I think it's fairly obvious to everybody that Bailey is a confidence player. um you know And we've spoken about him um so often in knowing what player he can be. He himself has spoken about gaining confidence from his return from injury. It's three separate injuries he's had this year. So it's obviously given him ah a real blow to his confidence.
00:16:12
Speaker
but He is so important for Villa, in my opinion. if you know We can't afford to carry him. When he has an off day, we we are really struggling and it is like playing with 10 men. So hopefully this will propel him to the confidence that he needs.
00:16:33
Speaker
um And as I say, although it was Leon Bailey's goal and credit for that position that he got himself in, I think Matson and Ramsey still need massive tribute for that press, that attacking um swashbuckling football that really excites me. And I want to see more of that from the rest of the squad, but hopefully this will propel Leon Bailey forward.
00:17:00
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. Craig, what are your thoughts on Leon Bailey's goal? I think it's a huge moment for him. And I think that showed in his goal celebration as well, where he he pointed at the fact, like, now I'm here. I think he's kind of why he worded. And I think his confidence, as Dan said, has been extremely low. And there's been no natural reason for it. There's been nothing that I've heard that, like, obviously c everyone knows when you go through a bad spell if something wrong with your personal life or so on but I've not heard of anything along those lines so um'm I'm glad it means so much to him and I felt like in the past two games
00:17:42
Speaker
It's been better, but not good. If you know what I mean, from what I've seen from Leon, I feel like there was moments where you were like, Oh, this is Leon. This is the player we bought. This is the player we had least last season. And then he'd follow it up by giving away possession. So it was case of, I do think his confidence is sharp. I think he even looked better once he scored the goal even more. So like he had that one that hit the crossbar as well. He looked like the Leon of old.
00:18:09
Speaker
And I 100% agree with Dan about how we need to highlight Mattson during that build up and Ramsey, but more so for me, Mattson and Bayley, because the two of them have both come up through a lot of criticism. One, when Mattson's come in, he's not done as good an effort of Luca Dean leaving the field, so we've looked weaker on the left.
00:18:29
Speaker
Whereas when we started this season, we really thought Mattson was going to be the number one back at the club. And Luca Dean, as we've said many, many times on this podcast, has really stepped up his game. So I think that opportunity there, and I honestly think with McGinn there being out injured, this is um an opportunity that we might see Luca Dean and Mattson both on the field occasionally.
00:18:52
Speaker
So I wouldn't be surprised if you see one of them go to outside midfield, one round at the left back. And I think it would offer
Mattson's Midfield Potential
00:19:00
Speaker
a bit of stability. I would like to see Mattson play more in that midfield role because his high press there, his delivery into the box, his combination play with Ramsey, it screams the left midfielder. So I certainly wouldn't be against that.
00:19:14
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's some some really interesting points there. I think in terms of Bailey, as we mentioned, he's had a bit of a turbulent season so far. He's had some performances that were but kind of really poor and you look at and you think, you know, where is the ah quality coming from? I think of Liverpool specifically in that Liverpool game, he just looked completely out of ideas. And it was it was quite sad to see because we know how good a player he can be when he's at he's kind of when he's on top form but as you mentioned he's a confidence player he plays through kind of streaks of good performances and then kind of fizzles out and then hopefully this goal is going to be the catalyst to some really good form and the the the pressing kind of element of Villa through Ramsey and Mattson down that left side
00:19:57
Speaker
I think that's a really interesting point Craig in terms of potentially seeing Mattson further forward. We saw it on the other side with um with Cash in the Champions League I believe playing as that kind of right-sided midfielder and I think Mattson's got all the the technical elements to kind of to do that role. He can push further forward, he can put a good cross in But the the pressing football that we saw in the lead up to that goal, how how do we kind of take that and and and use it further forward? How do we kind of trigger that press looking higher up the pitches? Does that come from Watkins pressing the back line? Is it a team effort or is it a midfield thing? Where do you guys see that press kind of being triggered from in this ability? And we'll start with Craig.
00:20:41
Speaker
So the pressing is one of those things that it's very beneficial when used correctly. When you see against teams that like play out from the back, short, sharp, direct passes where you can kind of like trigger a press into one area of the field.
00:20:56
Speaker
usually when you target a player let's say for Arsenal like a Ben White or someone like that he gets the ball we apply pressure we try to squeeze him to his side of the field um those are definitely triggers that we need to do the only issue is that you've probably seen it in recent years with like Liverpool with the gender press that it's very hard to do on a regular basis especially when you're going through like the December and January period where we're playing two to three games a week with Champions League football with FA cups and everything like that so it's got to be used correctly but I like the idea of say Ali
00:21:32
Speaker
making play predictable, cutting off the pass down the line, trying to squeeze the play to one side of the field, and that's when we like apply the press, because we've seen when done correctly, it's a very exceptionally well done. um I know Emery prefers a mid-low press, but when we can trigger that high press, it's certainly beneficial. Dan, what do you make of the the kind of the the idea of pressing that back line with this filler squad?
00:22:00
Speaker
I mean, the the only thing I'd add really to Craig's comments, obviously, if you can press a team that is low on confidence, you have further mistakes and Leicester is a team that is having struggles of its own.
00:22:16
Speaker
so They are the ideal opponent to heap pressure onto. um I think the press has got to be led by Watkins and it has to be so well um tuned with the entire squad. If one person is going then we're all going or we're not bothering at all. And I've seen Villa do it on occasion really well, but I've seen Watkins running around like ah a bit of a headless chicken on his own as well at times. And that is just taking the energy out of his legs. So I think it's something that I'd like to see more of certainly now that um that festive period has has gone, you know, maybe
00:23:00
Speaker
um you know um It's hard with the games thick and fast to keep the energy in players' legs. I'm not asking them to do it for 90 minutes. you know its its You'd be you know super human if you could, but used correctly, it's a very powerful tool.
Pressing Strategy Debate
00:23:19
Speaker
Yeah it is and I think exactly kind of what you guys have said there in terms of with the festive period over and that real congested fixture list you know playing at times twice a week with and especially with Champions League on top of that in in periods before that as well I think it's really difficult to have a consistent press but I think it's really interesting Dan that you highlighted that the the concept of the entire team pressing rather than just one or two of our further forward plays we saw it a lot last season we saw the team all seemed to be on one wavelength they pushed together the back line was really high they kind of moved up and down together which is something i've spoke about a couple of times on the podcast but it doesn't seem to have that same
00:23:59
Speaker
gel amongst the squad this season. They don't seem to be on the same wavelength in that kind of not the way of pressing the ball. So I think that's something Emery is going to look to kind of keep working on because it it was it was so successful for periods of last season. We just don't seem to have the same kind of gel amongst that that team in order to to press effectively. We're going to be back after a short message from the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:24:26
Speaker
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00:24:55
Speaker
We've spoken about being a ball dominant team under Emery.
Villa's Possession Approach
00:25:00
Speaker
We've seen it last season. We've kind of seen it in spells this season. We've earned the kind of reputation, as I mentioned, under Unai Emery for having the ball for kind of extended periods of time with quite a slow tempo moving it round.
00:25:12
Speaker
And our last two games now against Brighton and Leicester, we've had 60% possession in both. Do you think that's a coincidence or do you think that's a sign and a statement of intent from Emery that that's something he wants to see more of this season? We'll start with Craig.
00:25:27
Speaker
I feel like it's just Emery's way. I feel that's the way he plays the game. I feel he he talks about what we do in possession at all times. So I think it's when we're up against a team that we don't expect to keep possession against. So say an Arsenal or Manchester City.
00:25:46
Speaker
um Maybe even like a Brighton a previous year, you know, I mean like who kept the ball exceptionally. Well, they're not doing it as well currently But when we're playing against those teams, I think it is a case of like a plan B Understanding that we need to be a counter-attack of time team And I'm not opposed to that. I really, really am not. I think there's times when you have to play that type of football. And I think with some of the pace that we have in our team that counterattacking football is a benefit at times, because I think I've talked about before how I think we're a bit too slow in possession at times. It's too methodical. So I think there's a chance to pick up the pace.
00:26:27
Speaker
run at them a little bit more and I think sometimes you do that better on the counter attack so I think it is a case of Emory getting more of a stamp on the team and us having up until this past week less injuries more time on the field with each other and we've obviously gone through a few injuries in the recent recent week but it's been a case of we've had more time around each other and I think even though it's tiring on the legs a lot of games is good for confidence and morale you get familiar with each other you get to play with each other more you get more in sync kind of what you were mentioning earlier Joe that at times we haven't been looking like that so I think the last two games being so short time span in between each other and their practices their training sessions are going to be very lowkey low low
00:27:16
Speaker
just talking about dominating the ball. And I think that's what you've seen coming out in games. Yeah, I agree. Dan, what are your thoughts on the the possession style? Yeah, I think it's important. um I think Emery looks at this villa side and is trying to take um a little bit of the Headless Chicken out of the game and give us back a sense of we are in charge of our own destiny here. And I think that goes back to um Emory's meticulous nature in that we are going to decide how this game goes. um And i've you with the fixture pilot that we're having, it's also good that we are not running around like Headless Chicken's chasing games.
00:28:09
Speaker
you know, I do think that is important. So I think we're going to see more of it as the season progresses. Yeah, I certainly hope so because I think this is a villa side that are a lot more fun and entertaining to watch when we've got the ball and we tend to perform better when we have kind of large spells of possession.
Importance of Strong January Performance
00:28:29
Speaker
And my final question to wrap up the episode gents is with us now sat eighth in the in the league on 32 points. How crucial is a good runner form throughout this throughout the start of 2025 throughout the throughout January. We'll start with Dan.
00:28:46
Speaker
Well, unless we're going to go and win the Champions League, we certainly need to put a good run together, and there's no time like the present. I think if we have a bit of a poor January, not trying to be too pessimistic, but there are teams that are really hitting some form, and if we do have a poor January, I do have a bit of a worry about potentially being left behind. The table's quite congested at the moment, so No real panic stations, but I certainly don't think we can ah afford to lose too much ground on those above us. Craig, what what do you make of the the form in January?
00:29:28
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be important, but when you say crucial, it depends on where we're realistically aiming for it. When I'm aiming for Champions League, then we so need to start beating teams in and around us. yeah like Looking at the fixtures coming forward, we've got Everton, who up until they played Man City, actually had the best defence in all five European leagues, and that's fine.
00:29:50
Speaker
pickford was keeping so many clean sheets and everything so they've turned it around so that's certainly not going to be an easy game then you've got arsenal who are hit and miss but at the end of the day you would kind of want them to be more hit going in against villa so then maybe we can pull up an upset but now it's crucial for them now to start getting points if they want to not let's take away even competing for the championship but even getting in the Champions League themselves, if they keep sticking up like this. So then we have the distraction of the FA Cup this Friday with West Ham. We have the distraction of Monaco um in January, as well as Celtic. And then we visit West Ham again. West Ham are struggling. So realistically, ah I would hope to be Everton and West Ham. I would hope to pin Arsenal to a draw. And if we got those seven points, that would be a very successful January.
00:30:44
Speaker
um However, you know, I mean, it's not a given. Everton could definitely get a performance without Goodison, so it's not an easy game to go to. We're at the Emirates for Arsenal. Again, we've beat them there before. ah Good memories of last year, um but no guarantee there. And obviously, um with West Ham being sandwiched between two Champions League games,
00:31:09
Speaker
We could have a lot of injuries going into that game. We could have a lot of tired legs. We could have European hangover. So I do think it's crucial for the league that we get some results, but it's not going to be easy. That's for sure.
00:31:20
Speaker
no It absolutely isn't. And I think, as you mentioned there, guys, absolutely crucial that we kind of put a good run of form together because, as you mentioned, Dan, the the fear of getting left behind is something that's very kind of prominent looking at the table. There's a lot of clubs who are performing very, very well. And we'll be in and around the battle for those kind of top five, six spaces, which I think is a relatively kind of realistic goal, I think, for for Villa in the second half of the season.
00:31:50
Speaker
That wraps up this episode of the Daily Villa Podcast. Thank you to Craig and Dan for joining me. Be sure to get in touch across all the socials that you can find in the podcast description. This has been a global sports podcast production. Thank you for listening, as always, of the Villa.