Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 1. Hope Springs Eternal
29 Plays1 year ago
Introducing GUTTED FOR THE LADS, an American podcast (mostly) about English football. Today, we look back on the exceptional summer of football that was, and look ahead to the upcoming 24/25 Premier League season, focusing on Benny's favorite club Manchester City, and Devan and Jay's favorite club, Tottenham Hotspur.
Recommended
Transcript
Devin's Drunken Antics
00:00:00
Speaker
yeah Devin, what are you drinking? I am drinking from this bottle, which is my girlfriend's. And here's a funny story. ah She had never seen me drink at all. And I came over here one night after having had like four drinks with coworkers. And she's like, oh, yeah this is fun. Drunk, Devin. I was like, just you watch.
00:00:23
Speaker
so We're in her living room and in the space of about an hour and a half, I had all this minus what's in here right now. and I was so far beyond drunk. it was It was unreasonable. It had been a long time.
00:00:40
Speaker
ah But it was fun. I'm fun drunk. She remembers it better than I do, but I i think I'm a good, fun person to be around. um But I was gone, man. it was There's at least three times I've seen you that drunk and yeah every time you're you're great. Yeah, i I don't get sloppy. You don't get sloppy. I save my feelings for my sober hours. It's fine. Yeah, you're like a sloppy sober. That's right. It's got to be a name for that. Like California sober. I only cry when I'm sober.
00:01:13
Speaker
It's really true.
00:01:24
Speaker
okay let's start Let's start this again since my laptop didn't entirely cooperate last time.
Major Football Events Discussion
00:01:29
Speaker
um and We don't need to necessarily get into details here, but since the last time we had Premier League football,
00:01:36
Speaker
We have had a Champions League final. We have had an FA Cup final. We have had the Euros, which were incredible. We've had Copa America, which was incredible. And we've had the Olympics, which were incredible. A lot of football. A lot of football. We've watched a lot of football. Benny and I, we watched a lot of football. Mostly because I don't have a job and Benny temporarily doesn't have a job as a teacher in the summer. So we were able to go as hard as,
00:02:05
Speaker
you should like responsibly go and maybe a little bit harder than that. I was not responsible during those days. I was not responsible at all. I was waking up early, staying up late. It was coverage, highlights. It was irresponsible, but I didn't have any responsibility, so it was perfect. That's right. That's right. But we're back now. We're back now.
Spain's Football Dominance
00:02:29
Speaker
Me, just for contrast,
00:02:32
Speaker
In that time, I got COVID and pneumonia, had my same job, and that girlfriend I mentioned, she was new through that whole time. So I watched probably a tenth of the of the amount that you two watched. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure I can remember any of it. i Here's what I remember. I remember that Argentina won another title. I remember that England did not win another title.
00:03:01
Speaker
And I remember that's about it. I mean, those are the, those are the highlights, right? That's about it. Those are the important parts. Spain looked incredible. Spain, you know, all right. Let's talk. Yeah. I mean, Spain didn't look incredible. painted terrible ah Let me amend that statement. Spain is incredible.
Spanish Influence in European Football
00:03:16
Speaker
Spain's incredible. Like top to bottom, regardless of gender, they won.
00:03:20
Speaker
Or they are winning and have won everything. They won the men's title in the Olympics. They won the euros. They won the women's world cup. They won some U23 title maybe or something like that. U21, U19. I don't even know. What are all the U's? I mean, there's plenty of U's and they're, they're good at all of them. They're good at all. And if you really think about it, like what bars, with the messy, with the messy era, with Barca, with Real.
00:03:50
Speaker
then all the international stuff that they continue to either win or do really well at, they should perform, they just always are are there. Then the U teams are always very, very good and always winning things. And now the women, after winning the World Cup, and they still they had a good showing at the Olympics. I mean, they lost a heartbreaker ah to Brazil.
00:04:14
Speaker
like they're just incredible. and And then actual Spanish players, not like Messi or something like that. They're just, I mean, Roger E arguably is the best player in the world or like one of the five you would say players in the world. Like he's just like, and they have tons of guys and and then their system is great and where like, you know, a Maratha could come in the front.
00:04:37
Speaker
And all of a sudden, like he looks awful in other places. And then when he goes in there, then he's incredible. And he's like a leader.
Premier League Predictions
00:04:45
Speaker
Wonder Kids, Lamini Mal, Nico Williams. Nico. Nico, they're number 10 at Bilbao. Made him himself so much money. So much money. Not from Barcelona, though, yet. He's staying at Bilbao.
00:04:58
Speaker
Also, on the other end of the age spectrum, Spain being great, like you have to give credit for the way that people who used to play in Spain spread out and started coaching, and now all those teams are great. That's right. like Spain being great is a broader influence than just in Spain, and it's it's generations long at this point. A lot of Spanish managers um starting at the top. you know We got Pep. We got goddamn Miguel Arteta.
00:05:28
Speaker
Chelsea's got a Spanish manager now and the Nuenzo Maresca until they fire him anyway. But you just want, you just want Spanish players. You want at least some of them. Uh, some, some, sometimes they they go, they go somewhere and they just don't have the same success or they need to be in that. They need to be an assistant to first, but it seems like the Spanish managers are a desirable commodity as well as just as, just as much as the players are. Um,
00:05:55
Speaker
I don't know. They're just awesome. They're just awesome. We don't need to talk about Spanish football forever, but I mean, they they they they dominated. They've been so dominant and like, what's that crazy one that like they like 21, 21 or 22 finals for the Spanish team has been in. They win. That's crazy. They close the deal. Yeah. So. But then we just to the Premier League now this season.
00:06:23
Speaker
Let's talk about it.
Patatas Bravas: Overrated?
00:06:25
Speaker
Let's talk about it. Can we stick on Spain for a second and just acknowledge something I think we've talked about offline, which is that Patatas Bravas is both the most overrated potato and the most overrated. We're going to go here. We're going to go here. yeah time Before we leave Spain, I think it's important to address address this issue. bring your In your opinion, how is it overrated? If it's nailed, the texture is pretty good.
00:06:54
Speaker
But like 95, 97% of the time, it's not nailed. And the texture is just like, here's some mushy potatoes. The sauce, it's got a reputation for being spicy. It's not spicy. It's not spicy. It's not spicy. I want it to be spicy. Oh, it's spicy potatoes. It's like continental Europe, spicy. It's like the spiciest thing on the continent. That's right. That's right. That's a low bar. That's a low bar. We didn't set the bar. Right. OK, listen.
00:07:24
Speaker
Potatoes do one thing exceptionally well, maybe better than anything, and that is get crispy. And if you are making a potato dish that is not in any way crispy, it's a swing and a miss, and I don't care how good you make it, I feel like a patatas bravas tops out, like a 10 out of 10 patatas bravas, it's actually a seven out of 10 on potato dish scale. It's a waste of potatoes, I'll go that far.
00:07:52
Speaker
wow How dare you? We love Spanish cuisine on the pot. Sure. We do. We just lost our Spanish audience. ah know You know what though? let's you Okay, let's balance it. Let's let's get a counterpoint. Let's hear both sides. That was so wonderful. but I think that Spanish i think that banish i think that baned potato chips are the best potato chips. Not only potato chips like that come from Spanish bands, but potato chips in Spain, I think are the best potato chips.
00:08:23
Speaker
I have to try that, that fried egg one, that fried egg one that you had looked incredible. I would 100% tear that up. And of course, Paprika Pringles, I mean. That's right. For all of our single listeners out there, um I just had multiple flavors of the Torres brand of potato chips while in Europe. One was the himmo the Serrano, the Hemone Serrano, which is reliably a fantastic,
00:08:52
Speaker
European potato chip flavor. It's a really good. it There's a couple of different ras I'm making and it's always good. Yeah, these are good. The ruffles are good. The these Torres chips are are incredible. But then they make this fried egg chip. Which tastes like a fried egg. It tastes just like a fried egg. Like it's hit not like an egg. It doesn't taste like an egg. It tastes like a fried egg with the fried with the egg with the fried like edges and the the pepper in the sides. Unbelievable. Would you call that? That's like an inverse tortilla, right? It's like potato chip tastes like a fried egg.
00:09:23
Speaker
Ooh, instead of eggs, it tastes like potatoes. Yeah. Which, by the way, is a better potato dish than the bravas. Yeah, no, that is that is true. That is true. Tapas inception all of a sudden now, which is OK. Yeah. How far how far down does it go? We went we went hard on tapas. Yeah. But tapas generally I enjoy. I love outstanding. But I do I do feel you on the on the patata bravas. Every time you go there, yeah I want them to be just 20% better. Every time. Yeah, I want it to be fries. That's what I want. McDonald's fries. I feel like every culture should have fries, and like, patatas bravas are like, kind of the Spanish fries, and it's just not, it's not good enough. Alright, let's talk about city. How about that? You want to talk about city?
Manchester City's Strategy and Potential
00:10:10
Speaker
I would love to talk about City. sun as like Every year, I don't think we're going to win it this year. But I said that the last two years, and somehow we pulled it off. But i still don't ah this year, I just feel like the same thing. like Arsenal looks really good. Liverpool will be whatever Liverpool is going to be.
00:10:34
Speaker
you guys will make a jump. You've got now another year with Ange, you got Solanki, you have some pieces. You have some pieces there. There's always going to be someone else that comes out of nowhere. Maybe all this buzz with Crystal Palace or somewhere else. It was the last year. It was the last year and the year before that. Chelsea with their 65 starters on roster. Chelsea's not going to do anything this year. Cole Palmer, come on.
00:11:03
Speaker
I love Cole Palmer, but I don't think they're going to do anything.
00:11:10
Speaker
It's almost as good as this. It's almost as good. Yeah. what um no but like But then again, you think about it in the other way. like I honestly believe that we were the best team in Europe last year. um I thought you know it came down to came down to killing the vampire that is Real Madrid that he's always come back and he can't, you think they're dead and then all of a sudden they come back and it's like some bad movie and you know, we lost some PKs and I think we win those PKs. I think we win another um Champions League and you know, we barely lost to Manchester United. um We did lose though, you know, but yeah
00:11:52
Speaker
I just thought that we were really good. And then and the positives, and you know, it's always wish pep and those teams are incredible. And we are like some sometimes like a machine and we're plug and play. And all of a sudden we lose one in Alvarez, but you know, we get Savino and, and.
00:12:08
Speaker
I don't know. And then Foden looks like Foden. Foden, it looks incredible. Foden, you look like Foden in the Euros. Yeah. I mean, granted, but then again, who on England truly look like they look with their clubs? This is always the problem with England, right? Where at their clubs, they play incredible. And then all of a sudden they get there and they get together and then they they just faltered. And has I don't know if it's inherently in the way in which english and english English players set their teams up or some black curse that they can't get get out of or some little thing, but I don't know. yeah But City look great. The world, I expect them to be definitely ah obviously Champions League top four. We'll contend.
00:12:54
Speaker
what the lowest in I mean. Three is even possible for them to finish in third. Maybe, but I don't. I don't know who finishes above them if they finish in third. There's just so many automatic games, like at this point, yeah where like they just get three points, where some or some teams all of a sudden, well, that that's a one-pointer, but pep and, you know,
00:13:18
Speaker
I guess the the the the way in which that happens is that Rodry gets hurt or whatever he's he's dealing with right now that continues to linger on and a couple of games where he steals or a couple of games where he's just managing the middle being the de sort of that defensive mid that controls what what we need, helps out the the to the the back line, something like that. Maybe in that scenario, you get that you get the the third or fourth place, but I know COVID just is pretty good. and we have My concern is always the same thing. like I just don't know. We have so many players, so many good players, and I just don't know how you keep all of those and manage ah all those egos. like
00:14:03
Speaker
i just don't know like we have like seven wings like it just doesn't like i don't understand what we're doing but it is what it is i have go ahead i still pick an arsenal i i think It's an arsenal year. It's been building up to it. Arteta looks great. They looked great last year. If they would have actually had the balls to go for the win when they were at the Etihad near the end of the season, I think they they came in and tried to get a draw. And then they think, you know, ah things will fall in place. And we were like, oh my God, you're just going to get a draw? Then we did the city thing and we just had more points than they did at the end because we're just a steadier team. But I i think they'll learn from that. and
00:14:44
Speaker
It'll probably be an Arsenal season. You know, we're going to be calling the season for Arsenal. I'm not sure this podcast is the right place for me personally. I feel triggered. I feel triggered. This is no longer a safe space. so I'm just being objective. I understand. I understand. But I'm just saying
Financial Charges Against Manchester City: Impact?
00:15:03
Speaker
objectively, they look really good.
00:15:06
Speaker
Back to the day for a moment, I read that the hearing for the charges, the FFP charges is going to start next month. That's how they finish lower than second. Right. 100%. Yeah. So I guess it's like a 10 week deal, right? So we'll know this calendar. We will have resolution on the 115 charges this season. Yeah. Like you said, maybe this calendar year. They said that last year, but yeah. It just decided to deduct all your points from Everton.
00:15:36
Speaker
I mean, look, it's gonna, i I think that there will be a deduction, but like, there's also like one of those things when they make, when the NCAA used to take away titles or Reggie Bush takes away the thousand trophy, like really? like We saw Reggie win those things. like Are you going to think that the city wasn't the greatest team in the past four years? like We've been incredible. like I don't want to hear it. that's i mean Whatever the charges are, there they're going to manifest themselves into something, or they aren't there aren't going to be any charges. or you know
00:16:10
Speaker
But I anticipate probably some sort of poor introduction. And like you said, maybe that's the way in which we finish worth or something like that. But knowing Pep and how he's just always looking for a chip, ah like he he'll just use that and motivate motivate the boys even more then. It is an interesting question how to think about like, what does what does it mean to take a past title away? does it Is that the right approach? Is there some different way to kind of reconcile the record with the fact that it shouldn't have happened in a certain way. There's some Olympic story I had not followed that's dealing with this right now, right? like Yeah, there's like ah there's a gymnastics problem where it's like ah something with the bronze medal and um Jordan Chiles on the US gymnastics team. But yeah, i think I think you can have it both ways here. I think that's kind of what ends up happening in sports anyway is you know Barry Bonds hits a million home runs.
00:17:08
Speaker
And that's what we remember, even though, even if he never gets in the hall of fame, like we remember the million home runs, like regardless of how they happened. And I feel like with city, it's sort of the same thing is like you, you you can take the points away and you can, you can relegate them. You can put put them in tents. You can do whatever they, you know, you want, but it doesn't change the fact that like, this was a great football team on the pitch. They won everything they won on the pitch.
00:17:32
Speaker
There have been other teams that have won with more world-class players or have not won with more world-class players. um you know So it's not like this is some like insane super team that they were able to assemble because of.
00:17:48
Speaker
financial wrongdoing. I mean, they assembled a team and there was financial wrongdoing. I think those two things are true, whether it was like cheating in the way that we talk about cheating and certainly in America. I don't i don't know that it quite rises to that level, but who knows? Who knows? And you'd also say that even with all the exact violations that they may have committed,
00:18:12
Speaker
A different manager would not have seen the same six cents. Yep. Yep. That's right. That's right. I mean, we're, so we're entering this new season.
End of an Era at Manchester City?
00:18:20
Speaker
City have won four titles in a row, which, you know, forgive my American memory. I don't think that's happened before. Um, no, let's say hasn't they're going for the fifth one in a row, which would be, you know, break their own record. That doesn't happen because you spend a few more dollars than you shouldn't have.
00:18:38
Speaker
Um, and like, I don't want, like, you know, I don't want city to lose points. I'm like, you know, just from like a car crash, like rubbernecking perspective would love to just see sort of like, you know, what happens just from like, like disaster curiosity perspective.
00:18:53
Speaker
But like I don't want that for you. I don't want that for Citi. I don't want that for Pep. And I don't want that for Spurs. where like Is that how we finish in fourth? Because Citi gets dumped down to 10th because of points and we go from fifth to fourth? like I don't want to play in Europe because of like a lawsuit, basically.
00:19:09
Speaker
Yeah, but that's that's probably what I anticipate something like it's just DPL is not going to let all of that happen. And then they just go, yeah, none of it happened. And you guys will find you like like an X amount amount. They're going to deduct another rug. Yeah, there's going to deduct some points and then there then there's going to go back and forth and it's going to go there. But they're going to do something. they They can't have it in which nothing happens.
00:19:39
Speaker
This season has like real, like last dance potential where Pep might be gone. De Bruyne is probably gone. Um, but talking about Bernarda Silva leaving forever. And like, who knows what happens once those pieces come apart, who knows like who jumped ship and goes somewhere else or finally goes somewhere else. It gets paid or gets playing time. Like, you know, like Julian Alvarez. Um, but I think for that reason alone, like my money's on city this year is because like, this is the last time all these people are going to be playing together.
00:20:09
Speaker
De Bruyne has got a top knot now. you know I mean, that seems like he's showing up. He's ready to make business. It's so bad. It's so bad. He's ready for business, Benny. That is has a business haircut. It's a business decision. It's a decision. I don't know about that. It's a choice, but I don't know if it's.
00:20:30
Speaker
I'm more concentrated on a Champions League. I think he needs a second one to really sort of solidify it because the first one, there was there you know those those losses to to to Real, then the loss to Chelsea and in that final.
00:20:47
Speaker
And then winning the one I think is not enough. I think you need to win a second one for legacy wise and also just from my own entertainment. I would love to see ah to see that and um concentrate on that. But then again, I mean, a fifth Premier League title would be just insane. It would deepen the moat around city legacy. Yeah. i don't see Yeah, I don't think it yeah I don't think it carves any new territory. Is it widen the moat or deepen the moat?
00:21:15
Speaker
Ah, that's a good question. I think it deepens. I guess it whited. You think it deepens? I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think it whited. I think They left him off the England squad. He was in the doghouse it with Pep at the end of last year. whited. But then he was on the American tour. Like he was he was like the face of City for the American tour, him and Erlen. Like, I don't understand what it is. And then we get to us. It'll be interesting what the lineup is for Chelsea.
00:21:45
Speaker
What does he put out? Because he he obviously leaned towards the young players in the in the community cup with O'Reilly, Bob, finishing with Savino. So he was leaning towards the young guys. But what happens when where you know three points are on the line? Is he going to put them back out? is he Is he going to be a super sub? And to be honest with you, he doesn't do that well.
00:22:07
Speaker
Maybe he should start and then always bring somebody else in. So like, is that going to be his role? I don't know what exactly what that is. Jack Rheelish feels to me like.
00:22:20
Speaker
And look, in the first episode, I'm already going to talk about Formula One. It feels like what Red Bull is doing with Daniel Riccardo. go where you have somebody who's like all there for PR, just like everybody loves him. He's part of the reason that like you might follow that team or that sport, but like his skills aren't quite where they used to be or maybe not where they should be at the moment. And so like you can't play him, but he's still valuable for like PR purposes or he's not good enough to start, but he's still valuable for PR purposes and selling merch and things like that. So i I worry a little bit for Jack because like between that and the fact that like they left him off the England squad for the euros,
00:22:55
Speaker
I don't know where he's had that coming into the season. I mean, he's still a good player. i Yes. Every time you see him, every time you see him out there, he performs. He does well. I think the biggest problem would that he has to affect the game, he really has to sort of like drag that ball with him. And that's just never going to be okay.
00:23:12
Speaker
Yeah. that Pep is all about, you know, you get it. You have a quick pass to make or a quick move to make and then that's it. That's all you get. Felt like he got into a groove and then all of a sudden he got in the doghouse and then Doku came in and Doku basically took his minute.
00:23:28
Speaker
so I don't know what his role is. If if the role is to be ah basically a glorified mascot, then he's wonderful at it because everybody loves him. Like he got to America and people just are like lost their minds. You're like gushing over. Jack Grealish is there. Listen, my wife would leave me in a heartbeat for Jack Grealish. This is just the way it works. The calves, the hair. He's just he's just he's dreamy.
00:23:54
Speaker
He's dreaming, and then you hear him talk and he, you know. he's got to's got of midly and he can't help It takes you three to four minutes to adjust, because you just can't understand anything he's saying. It's like the the opening scene, the train spotting. You just don't know what the hell's happening. do you do you feel I have the impression that other teams go a little extra hard on Grealish. They come at him pretty hard, and he's rattleable. What happens if Grealish can't be kind of knocked off his own plan as easily?
00:24:22
Speaker
He does bring it on himself because that's part of what he does. He's a douchebag. He's out there. He's out there, that style that he plays with, he almost he invites the foul. Then the foul happens and then you file him in a bad spot. That's just the way it works with him. like he's just I feel like there's a certain brand of player who he's out there looking to be filed.
00:24:44
Speaker
I feel like we have one of those in James Madison. I know I can't the image of Madison sitting on the ground with his arms in the air. who It's like burned into my brain. It's so consistent is going to get three or four of those every match and they feel petulant. And it's like and also like unlike Jack, you know, like a good gust of wind is going to knock James Madison over and then like on the seventh one of those, he's going to get hurt and he's going to be out for three weeks.
00:25:14
Speaker
All right,
Tottenham Hotspur's Season Under Postecoglou
00:25:15
Speaker
let's do this now. What is the expectation for Spurs this year? You know, last year, I think we felt more or less like if if we get to number six, we'll be pretty happy with that rebuilding year.
00:25:30
Speaker
a might I might've said, I might've said seven was like the expectation, and anything. wait again Six was not the expectation. Where did we finish last year? Fifth. Fifth. Just out of Champions League. Yeah. Six was not the expectation. Six was like, that's a good year if we get there. yeah And so the question is like,
00:25:48
Speaker
This year, are we thinking we've figured it out? Because we made a lot of changes already and there might be more coming. so Is this still a rebuilding year? Is this capitalizing on some things we already did? I saw something that was like, let's solve the the physical conditioning issue needed for Anj's style, and then we can get there. But if we're swapping out a bunch of players, like do the new ones coming in have the same level of conditioning? Do they have the same intelligence in this particular system? like They can't, right?
00:26:17
Speaker
So, is it still sixth is a great year? it It still feels like we need to at least be where we were last year. Yeah. I mean, we're recording this for the pod. Sixth is what you're saying, Devin? um' No, I'm saying because we got fifth last year and a year when we would have been happy with sixth, it feels like we at least got to get fifth this year.
00:26:35
Speaker
I said the other day that I feel like we improve as a team this year, but don't necessarily improve our table position. I think the ceiling for us this year is fourth. We get really lucky with injuries and other things happening in the league, maybe third.
00:26:50
Speaker
Right. That's that's if Citi gets like a 30 point deduction. Yeah. Like 30 point deduction for Citi. Like Liverpool doesn't put it together under Arnislott. Villa falls off. Obviously it's Citi Arsenal, like somewhere in the top. Liverpool. And I feel like that's the the line. And then yeah the ne there's a next tier. Yeah. The next tier. And that next tier is what? Liverpool, Villa,
00:27:13
Speaker
Who? Are you putting yourself in that tier? Are you going down another tier? We're aspiring to that tier. There's too much uncertainty. I would say Villa is also aspiring to that tier, yeah even though they finished fourth last year. I would not put Villa above us as like a football program. Yeah. Like yet. So then you're saying you're you're you're in you're in the pool with Liverpool Villa and um who else would be there? I don't think the pool is Liverpool and Villa. I think Liverpool is the presumptive number three yeah and we with Villa are are in that next tier chasing that number three spot. I would agree with that. I would also so I think I may be the only person alive who's like scared of Manchester United.
00:27:55
Speaker
this year. No, no, I'm here for that for that talk too, because I think the same thing too. I think there might be a resurgence as well too. They went through a couple of years. I mean, obviously they went through like you know the sort of post Ferguson years, but like the last few years with TenHog and like look,
00:28:11
Speaker
I'll clown on United all day long, but like Tenhog's a good coach. He won a lot of games in the Netherlands. I mean, of course he won them with Ajax, which is like the Bayern of the Netherlands, but he's a good coach and they need to like clear out the bullshit there. I think to like give him a chance and like they have like a young core with Kobe Manu.
00:28:28
Speaker
and Hoyland, even though he's hurt, and Garnaccio. And like as much as we all would love to punch like Bruno in the face, Bruno's a great core of that team. And it's like, if they can figure it out and like start to cook a little bit and like get the like Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos nonsense like out of the way and like let Tenhagda do what Tenhagda does, I think they could be, depending on what Liverpool does, I think they could finish third this year if things come together. And like everywhere else I'm reading,
00:28:54
Speaker
There's like a category for like Chelsea and Manchester United, which is like the clown show category. And like, I agree that Chelsea is absolutely still a clown show. And some people are like predicting that like Enzo Maresca is going to be the first coach fired this year, which would be nuts fired. denzo veresca So anyway, when I talk about the top four, I think it's, I think it's city and arsenal in some order. I think it's probably Liverpool in third. And then the fight for fourth in my mind is Villa and us and United.
00:29:22
Speaker
I think you put Chelsea in there. you don't it's There's so much under the ability. Yeah. I don't think so. I think it's impossible for Chelsea to like put it. I will go on record on this podcast. No one's listening listening to it. Say it. Say it. Mark it.
00:29:35
Speaker
won't finish higher than I think the over-under is like six and a half. I think like they could finish sixth. That's like their ceiling this year, I think. Just, you know, as sidelining here, ah want I just went on two two betting websites, okay? Obviously, sitting your arsenal both were one and two. Every site had Liverpool at three. And then Fandal had Manchester United slightly better, but everybody else had Chelsea next. Wow. Manchester United, at Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, Villa, Brighton.
00:30:07
Speaker
there will be you have more based on what like based on what i mean What have we seen like what do we see at like they have a thousand players if they play them all at the same time they win ah Right there. That's right. You just put 40 of them in goal Good luck. They don't even have to put up their hands at that point right entirely Cole Palmer Well, one, let's be honest. Cole Palmer is incredible. Like you even saw his impact when he came in, in, on the, in those Euro games. He was, he was a difference maker. So you have Cole, right? They have, I know you don't like Jackson, but Jackson gets involved. and then he'll goal He scores 18 goals and he should score 26 goals. Yeah. But he still scores 18 goals. He still scores 18 goals. Right. Yeah.
00:30:54
Speaker
And they just have a lot of paper quality. They have a lot of paper quality. like On paper, they they look really good. And then like you know you throw in Reese James, and you throw in the other guys. And like they have a team. But it's just like you said. A lot of guys. But like they just have the players. And I think that's what just people see the quality on paper. And they think, oh, these guys could finish fourth, too. They could finish third, maybe.
00:31:19
Speaker
It's heartbreaking as it is to be a Tottenham fan and see that like odds are in favor of both United and Chelsea finishing ahead of us. like that's yeah That's a hard pill to swallow. But Chelsea is like the Noah's Ark of teams. They've got a little bit of everybody. to and They have time to figure out how to put it all together. you know and i'm sure theyre I haven't paid attention to their preseason, but I'm sure they've learned something.
00:31:44
Speaker
They've lost a lot. They've gone great, I'll be honest. You know what? You know what? Fail fast. That's what I said. Enzo Mareska fixes what like Pochettino couldn't fix last year with essentially the same players. Is it the same players? Who'd they just sign? Pedro Netto? Did they get him? Yeah, they got Netto.
00:32:02
Speaker
Okay. So the same players plus Pedro net though. Like, like a couple of goalies. You can't, again, it's it's only one. You can't play more than one at a time, but you don't know when a keeper might be needed at like central attacking midfielder. It's a long season. A lot of shit could happen. Also, you could park the other 10 people right on the goal line. That's right. That's insane. You can't do that. This is going to bring us back to handball, but let's not go there just yet.
00:32:28
Speaker
We're going to have a patatas bravas and handball. We're getting canceled. Oh, we're done. We're never going to be played in Europe. They're just going to censor us. It's just going to be an American podcast only.
00:32:43
Speaker
Let's talk about Spurs. So six, right? Yeah. What's the what are you most looking forward to this season? I am most looking forward to the, I mean, this is going to sound like, um, like I work for the club, but like the continued development of the on-field product under Angipostocoglou. That's honestly like what I'm most excited about. Like I, of course I want to win. Of course I want to finish higher on the table and like maybe go.
00:33:07
Speaker
to Champions League next year instead of Europa. But like we play or are intended to play an exciting brand of football. We tried it last year. It was successful sometimes, and it was spectacularly unsuccessful other times. But like I kind of... Down 10 men in the high line. Let's do it. Yeah. No, we did the nine, dude. It wasn't 10. It was nine. My bad. neck Yeah. Playing a high line with mine against Chelsea. No one passes this line. Yeah. That was the game that ruined our entire season. Anyway, that was like where the timeline shifted. But no, i'd like I love that we have a philosophy.
00:33:40
Speaker
I love that his coach is uncompromising. I love that he has so much confidence in himself. He has enough confidence in in himself for everyone else. And it doesn't come across as arrogant in the same way that it might with someone else. It comes across as like, I have a plan. Everybody get in the boat and like, I promise you we're going to win. I don't know. Like i'm i'm i've I've been on board with that since the day we hired this dude. And it's crazy to me.
00:34:07
Speaker
Like I just, I can't fathom the criticism that I see him getting, even though I know that like his tactics are unconventional. Also, so I love Ange, but it must be said, Ange is like a uniquely Jay coach. Ange is a coach made for Jay. Jay's view of somebody who is like an extremely confident straight talker, who will you know troll the press a little bit in spots or kind of like bite back when a question is ill-conceived, that's a real Jay guy.
00:34:38
Speaker
well ah I mean, like, fuck it all. We're trying to score. It's like a really fun way to watch football, you know? It's like we've we've gone through so many, I mean, like, potchatin the Pochettino era was great. You know, and obviously we've gone through a whole bunch of different people who are parking the bus in various ways. Since then, from like, Mourinho to Nuno to Conte. The fact that we have somebody who's basically playing All verts, everybody go deep. Like we're trying to score every time we have the ball, every time you have the ball, we're trying to take the ball back. Right. There is no bus. No, there's no bus. There's no bus to park. Everybody's on a motorcycle. Right. We're all on speed bikes. Three of us are going to crash and die, but that's okay because we got more speed bikes and more dudes on the bench. Let's go.
00:35:22
Speaker
Like that is Angie ball and I'm here for it. Like, no however long it lasts. Cause like this dude is not going to be at Spurs forever. Like he'll be, I think he tends to stay until the project is finished in his mind. And one day the project will be finished and whether that's two years from now or 10 years from now.
00:35:38
Speaker
Like there's going to be an ending to the Angera and like, I hope we get some hardware out of it because, you know, I was about to say, what is, what is the job completed? I think we need, I think we need a trophy and I think it needs to be premier. I think he's be one of the big three. I think we need to know the care about cups. Not good enough. Look, it's, it's hardware. I'll take it. I mean, I know what I'm saying. So know we it, but it's a real tournament Spurs, when Spurs won the FA cup next year.
00:36:04
Speaker
Yeah, great. That's that's that's like success. Like, oh, my God. Yeah, that's awesome. 100 percent. Obviously Premier League. Premier League Champions League. I think we have to win one of those. If we win the Europa League this year. Yeah. So I must say, what what if you win an a Europa League? Is that great? I feel great. But like, would it will it scratch the itch? No. Even the f FA Cup. I don't think if we win the FA Cup first, I don't think Angel leaves right away. Like if we win that this year.
00:36:29
Speaker
I don't think he leaves. Yeah. I think there's more work to do. If we win that, having had a second place finish in the Premier League and a third place finish in the Champions League, then maybe maybe yes. But I think those two still count more for that is the project finished question. Is it Europa or is it or is it the combo cup Europa?
00:36:50
Speaker
I mean, sorry, the Europa, there's not the conference league, right? Not the conference league. No, we finished in fifth. We were almost, I mean, you know, there was the chance that England was going to get the extra Champions League spot this year, but it didn't happen because everybody lost. Wait, not Champions League. Yeah. England, Champions League. England. Okay. So.
00:37:09
Speaker
The way this, there's a, there's a weighted extra spot or weighted extra spots that go to a country based on yeah how their teams perform in other tournaments. Yeah. I thought you were saying the English national team oh would be sa seen go play in the Europa league or in the champions league. Yeah. I was real confused. I was like, first of all, it's still find a way to lose. They'd lose real bad. Wait, one last question. Who are the three best first players now?
00:37:34
Speaker
Is this like Wheel of Fortune where like we get RST LNE for free? Like we get Sawn for free and we pick- Well, obviously, no, no, I'm just trying i'm just trying to honestly figure, cause I always like to look at a team and I'm like, I'd like to see like who, who, what's their quality? Like what's the very best of them? The world-class people on Spurs are Sawn Romero.
00:37:54
Speaker
and And... I mean, I think there are players that will be world-class, but aren't yet, or like could be world-class like Van de Van and New Doggy, but like they're not there yet. Who's the third best right now? I think we don't know until we get some good looks at Solanki. Where's this on our own, Solanki? I think Solanki's going to fit the system so so well. Yeah. I'm not saying you guys are wrong, by the way. I'm not trying to show you here. i'm like I'm honestly trying to figure out who the third best player. Because I thought Romero's son, obviously, and it's is more of the ah what you expect to see from some, because I know sometimes he has some dips. Yeah, some up years and down years.
00:38:28
Speaker
but I think we want to see jim Madison. Like we want to say the third best player is Madison, but it's been so long since we've seen that version of Madison. Like since the Chelsea game, since he got hurt in the Chelsea game last year, he has not been the same player. He wasn't just like Grealish. He got dropped from the England squad, from the England squad. Yeah.
00:38:44
Speaker
So he wasn't in the Euros. There's a big question mark as to whether he can play like physically enough to lead a team like Spurs or stay healthy enough. You know, in a way he's almost like, he's like the same body type as like Pulisic who got like the shit kicked out of him in the Premier League for a couple of years and then went to Italy and now he's like a superstar. Yeah. I i feel like Madison is like not strong enough for the Premier League, certainly not for like a 10 where he's going to get knocked around.
00:39:08
Speaker
Maybe not anymore. I mean, when when he was doing it with Lester, something was different. I think it was in part the system kept him out of harm's way a little bit more, whereas Madison and Anjbal is like right in the middle of the pain at all times. I think he brings it on himself too. I mean, like he's always been a little bit of like a preening semi shithouser. But coming to Spurs, which is a bigger club than Leicester, and proclaiming yourself as like the main man, which he did when he first came in, got the armband. I mean, no, he's co-captain, he's not the captain, but he you know he got one of the armbands like before you ever played a match for the club.
00:39:46
Speaker
played great. And then yeah, I heard and he's like hasn't hasn't been the same ever since I feel like he's he sort of put the target on his own
Harry Kane's Legacy Compared to NBA Stars
00:39:52
Speaker
back. Like he's a guy who's like easy to kind of hate and easy to knock around in a way that he made it that way for himself on Spurs. And he wasn't entirely that guy. and Yeah. i mean they were be Like as good as him, on you know, unless they're at the same time, we're better. We don't have time to talk about this, because like explaining why I wasn't the biggest Kane fan in the world is like,
00:40:13
Speaker
too much. This leads to my last question, by the way. I will say for Kane, like his solidity in there. Yeah. Was necessary for Tottenham. And that that is where I start to wonder if Kuleszewski takes over a little bit of the duty for medicine as somebody who, you know, he's he's kind of lanky and funny moving in his own way. He's strong on the ball. He's big and he's really strong. He's not going to get just knocked off the ball. Yep. And that may be what we need with a slanky up front who is pressing and resisting the press.
00:40:42
Speaker
with somebody like Sone then maybe out left. Yeah. Sone's going to play in the wing. we He can't play as the nine because it's like he's the new nine. Yeah. I mean, I have a James Madison prediction or a potential prediction to throw out there is that like I wonder if like Lucas Bergwall is the like every day number 10 by the end of the year, maybe not even by the end of the year. Interesting. And Kulisevsky stays in the right wing.
00:41:03
Speaker
Yeah. You know, or, or he's just like part of the, you know, he's part of the squad rotation, but I feel like we have some kids, especially some midfield kids between Archie gray and Berg wall that are going to show up in the starting lineup and just not I don't think there are sacred cows with Ange. I mean, obviously Son of Son and you know, his captains are his captains, but I don't think there are any other sacred cows and he's willing to get rid of anybody or bench anybody who's not willing to play the system the way that he wants it to be played. And what I love about all these kids that are already getting playing time in the preseason and like could get playing time in the regular season.
00:41:39
Speaker
If they are producing results and they're running the way that like, Ang wants people to run, they're going to play. And like, if Madison gets hurt and Bergball steps up, like Bergball is the new number 10. If like, you know, if Busuma can't get his head out of his ass for whatever, you know, can't stop like Huffin nitrous or whatever, you know, is is going on, like Archie Gray will be the new number six in that spot or the new number eight.
00:41:59
Speaker
It's not the same club that it was last year. There's some kids that are going to play. Obviously, they're slanky. There really aren't any other signings, at least not yet, but everybody's healthy you coming in. I'm excited to see another year from Van De Ven. I'm excited to see you another year from Udagi.
00:42:11
Speaker
And Poro, Jigusen, we have a- Poro, Poro. I ended up liking Poro. I thought he was a little overrated, but then I- When he was overmatched, he didn't look like he belonged in the Premier League. And then just under Ange Ball with the inverted roll. Like if he could just put balls on frame instead of like blasting him into the 21st row, yeah he's going to score some goals, but yeah. But he, you know, he scores enough to still be a threat, even though it's like he either scores or he misses by like 47 yards to the right. You got to mark him.
00:42:43
Speaker
I will just say maybe in closing, I'm not sure how much time we have. I will say in defense of people who have huffed things, the mistake is filming it. Yeah. No, I agree. I agree. That's, you know what? Yeah. That was judgy of me to say. I mean, like, you know, drugs are fun. Do drugs if you want to do drugs. Play around, see what's good. yeah Don't put it on Instagram stories or whatever. That's right. and and don't And don't go to work. Right. and they've done it so Yeah. Don't talk about it at work. Right. When your work is being a top tier international athlete.
00:43:11
Speaker
Right. When your work is not supported by your huffing.
00:43:17
Speaker
On a scale of one to 10, how responsible do you feel for keeping England's finest goalscore from a cup? Spurs just like did you guys wasted him. You're keeping him from greatness. You kept him from greatness. I mean yeah had the gra of fire munich to to chase it no i feel like he kept us from greatness.
00:43:37
Speaker
I don't think it's the other way around. He's an incredible player, an incredible talent who was for me not that's for me not the right guy to bring this team either under Pochettino or any of the subsequent coaches he played for to bring this team to medal. He was creative, he was strong, he's a good finisher, but he could not support a team that was fully built around him. He's not, you know, you look at Citi, right? And it's like Holland is not the same kind of finisher, but he finishes. De Bruyne was not the same kind of creator, but he created more reliably than Kane. Foden, certainly a very different player, but all of those people individually supported what the team needed to happen. Kane had a couple tricks and they were not the right tricks to get Tottenham over the finish line. They're not the right tricks to get England over the finish line. They weren't the right tricks to get
00:44:33
Speaker
Bayern over the finish line. I don't think it's us. I think it's him. I said this before he left. I wanted him gone. When he left, I was glad. When he left, we finished higher.
00:44:45
Speaker
You did say that. Yeah, this is not revisionist sister. You you have been a hurricane critic for for some time. This happens a lot in the NBA, right? you know like ah Somebody like ah Kevin Garnett. You are all over the place. This is what we are. Olympics, now you went, now you went. F1, now you're in. And this is what we are. This is 100% correct.
00:45:08
Speaker
It happens in the NBA a lot where you get a guy who's in a place for a long time and he's a fan favorite and he's beloved and he has a lot of moments and he scores a lot of points and he sells a lot of jerseys.
00:45:21
Speaker
And he's the face of the franchise and he never makes it past like the second round of the playoffs. And part of it is- Did you just call him Dame li Lillard? I mean, he is Dame Lillard. He is Kevin Garnett. He is one of these guys who just like is absolutely iconic in the history of the sport, but for reasons and the reasons have something to do with him and something to do with the club.
00:45:42
Speaker
like And more importantly, like the culture that both of those things like combined to create where it's like, yeah, at first it's not Harry Kane's fault. and It's not the club's fault, but at a certain point, like Harry Kane becomes Harry Kane and Spurs become Spurs. And when you combine like those two narratives together, it becomes like almost like unstoppable in like in these moments where like we could win or in these moments where England could win. The other thing happens.
00:46:05
Speaker
that causes them not to win or Harry Kane not to win. And again, at a certain point, it's like bigger than anyone, it's bigger than the club, it's bigger than the Daniel Levy, it's bigger than Harry Kane, it's bigger than Son, it's bigger than whoever else who's come through, you know, all all these guys who have come through in that era. And it takes on its own like gravity such that like Harry Kane can go to another league, to another country, to the greatest, one of the greatest clubs in Europe, one of the greatest clubs in the world, one of the most successful clubs ever, and they don't even like sniff the trophy.
00:46:34
Speaker
Like they don't even get close last year. yeah I mean, they got a little close, but I mean, like they they were never, they were never out front. Like they were always chasing and they never really meaning like made it.
00:46:46
Speaker
meaningfully close, and in the times that they could, they got smoked by Leverkusen. Like late in the season, they have the chance to, didn't they lose like three nothing in that game to Leverkusen? So it's like, they never, like Kane goes to Germany, like doesn't get close. Going back to the, to the Euros, like I think that's what we saw with England too, is that like, it's not Harry Kane. It's not Gareth Southgate. It's not any one player on that club. It's not Bukayo Saka. It's that, it's the, it's the shirt and the narrative and the culture and the culture of England and how that like all goes in the soup.
00:47:15
Speaker
And like at the end of the day, it's just like, you know. I feel so bad for him. I just feel so bad for him. I feel so bad for him. I do. He's so good. He's so like historically, legendarily good on almost every dimension. Except for one and like, you know, sport defined by legacy. It's a sport defined by legacy. It's like defined by narrative and like history and trophies on the wall and like to have a bunch of points, but not have trophy.
00:47:45
Speaker
I don't know, man. Is Harry Kane, Carmelo Anthony? Is that the one? It's not Lillard, it's not Kev Garnett, it's- I thought the- And it's then Spurs- It just depends. It just depends though, like right? Because I picked Dame Leonard because Dame Leonard is beloved in Portland. Is Kane beloved with Spurs, for instance? Yes.
00:48:08
Speaker
Yes. the Portland Trailblazers, and um like or jailblazers. Jailblazers. And jailblazers ah and um for a little bit. And then you know he moved on and then he moved him to New York. I just think Carmelo is more of just like this singular, sort of like and he has like a
00:48:46
Speaker
Carmelo has like a very much another kind of cultural impact where like, you know, within certain communities, he was always gonna be viewed in a different light. Just just by people of color, people like hood people, like, you know, sort of like that that urban that urban sort of way of seeing what basketball is and the way he talks and the way he presents himself and like, you know, he's unabashedly, I don't care, you gotta accept me the way I am. I'm gonna um' not gonna change for you so sort of sort of way.
00:49:14
Speaker
But Kane, I don't feel like I got any of that from him. Kane was more of this just just really talented striker. And you know like Devin says, you know being put in these situations and sometimes coming through and sometimes not any... Sometimes it's it's an empty emptiness to to what he was doing scoring in these games, but then losing it and and not being able to finish. I felt like I told you that when I was watching him in those Euro games, like that there were there were times where like I felt like Southgate just needed to get him out get off to page the bests lot and maybe the best lineup was not having him in it.
00:49:51
Speaker
Like, like, you know, not have Harry Kane in it this year, for sure. I think yeah're having Ali Watkins or somebody else take over for him. So I don't know. Like, I like him and I feel sorry for him because I feel like he should have won something by now. But like Bayern Munich will win the the league next year and he'll win it. And then hopefully it'll somewhat patch it over. At least the student, he cannot be in a medium anymore.
00:50:19
Speaker
All right. Well, i go okay. All right, boys. Well, yeah, we'll see what we can, we can edit out of this one. Yep. Do we need to sign off? We didn't, we didn't even talk about Ipswich town. Like, come on, Benny Ipswich town. Uh, I don't think they make, i don't ah they don't say it. Come on. It's been like two decades. They got to stay up one more year. You see how hard it is to stay up. All three, one, all three came up and all three can went down. All three. RIP loot in town.