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North London Stays Red! + Top 5 & Relegation Races; How serious is the NBA Tanking Problem
14 Plays1 month ago
Premier League Round-Up
NLD Derby
- Did the victory address the concerns about Arsenal ?
- Are Eze and Gyokeres kicking on?
Relegation Race
- Are Spurs in danger of going down? How big of a shock would that be?
- If not Spurs - West Ham or Forest?
Top 5 Race
- Villa, United, Chelsea, Liverpool
- Most confident finishing top 5
- Least confident
NBA Storylines
- Tanking - major concern or league overreaction? Would you try to fix it?
Game of the Week
Arsenal v Chelsea
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Milestone
00:00:10
Emeka
Welcome, welcome, welcome everybody to episode 49 of the Love of the Game podcast, one away from the Big 5-0. Recording this on a slightly warmer than usual Thursday night.
00:00:24
Emeka
As always, I'm here joining with the crew, starting with my broski Chukwu. Chukwu, how you living right now, man?
00:00:30
Chuku
yes Yes, yes, yes. You know, we're off of an amazing weekend. You know, we're going to get into it with the North garden north London Derby. But, man, I'm feeling fresh, you know ready to you know give the people what they want. And, yeah, ready to chop it up with the boys, man. Let's go. It's going to be a nice episode today.
00:00:45
Chuku
Let's get it.
00:00:46
Emeka
And as always, drawn by the man, making the magic happen. My man, Chino. Chino, how you living this Thursday?
00:00:53
Chino Onwuka
Hey, you know what? Chico alluded to it. we sort of We sort of put a disclaimer last week when we recorded that if if a certain game went a certain way, you might not be hearing from us.
00:01:04
Chino Onwuka
But you're hearing from us today, tonight, wherever you are, so you know what that means. North London is red. I'm excited. Let's get to it. Let's talk about it.
00:01:15
Emeka
Yeah, you know, as mentioned, this episode might not have happened. It might not have happened, but the boys have to come through for us. Jam-packed special
Arsenal vs Tottenham Match Analysis
00:01:23
Emeka
today. You know, we're going to talk about some NBA storylines, cover the relegation and top five race. But to start off with, of course, as mentioned, it was a somber podcast last episode.
00:01:36
Emeka
the boys were wondering if the title charge is over. Another year of finishing second. And we all said and agreed it was one of the biggest North London Derbies. Must-win game.
00:01:46
Emeka
And boy, was it a must-win indeed. Arsenal slapped up. The boys up north as well. 4-1. North London is red. I mean, i guess I'll just start a few, Chukulai.
00:01:58
Emeka
What's your thoughts now, considering the mood we were in last episode? How are you feeling now after that result?
00:02:05
Chuku
I mean, look, obviously, you know, we're going to feel, at least I'm feeling a bit a bit better. Obviously, it's nice to see us back in the W column. But again, look, I'm not going to take it too far because let's be real.
00:02:20
Chuku
Spurs are, I mean, they are bad. Like, you know, they are, like, if you're really trying to deep this, like, they really should be one of the teams looking to get relegated. I mean, they are, but they really should be in that relegation spot as far as I'm concerned. as far as their current form and where they're at playing, their play style and where they're at to at the moment.
00:02:42
Chuku
But you know what? A win is a win, especially one against your you know your rivals. And i mean, I just personally enjoyed seeing guys who, I know the Arsenal, the fan base has been a little bit harsh on with Eze and Yokoz.
00:02:57
Chuku
Both have been, for the most part, i' would say stellar performances. I mean, I thought Yokoz was my man of the match. you know if he can play like this for the majority of what we have left in the league, I mean, I feel pretty confident we can get no get this get this over the line. But a lot is left to be seen.
00:03:17
Chuku
I'm not going to get too ecstatic or get too animated just yet. But you know it is a good feeling seeing not just scoring goals, but the kind of goals was seeing, you know especially Yoko Rui scoring. like I mean, I could get used to this.
00:03:32
Chuku
Outside of the box or close to the outside of the box, you know, finesses and shots and body and defenders and, you know, positioning and finishing in front of net. Like those are things I can get, you know, I can get used to. So hopefully i really hope, you know, he figures figures it out in reference to Yakares and, you know, can put some more performances like this starting know this weekend against Chelsea. But no time will tell. Time will tell.
00:03:57
Chuku
But yeah, no, I think um'm you know for the most part, would say it's been good vibes this week. It's been good vibes. And hope hopefully it can continue. But I'm still a little bit worried. I got to see how we perform the next like know couple games. Can we get like three games in a row going?
00:04:14
Chuku
We'll see how that goes. And yeah, if we can get get rolling again, obviously I'll be feeling more and more confident. So we just got to see how it plays out the next couple of games, to be honest.
00:04:25
Emeka
And, you Chino, I would say fairly you've been, you know, critical of some of the especially offensive performances recently. We put four past Tottenham, no set-piece goals. I will throw it out there. All open play, ethical, free-range, grass-fed goals.
00:04:42
Emeka
Are you on the side of this is, you know, signs of things to come? Or like Chico alluded to, is this just us bullying a smaller side?
00:04:50
Chino Onwuka
Honestly, don't know. i don't know if we've seen a shift, if we've seen a turnaround, but before we get into all that, again, sometimes you just have to live in the moment. You have to celebrate.
00:05:01
Chino Onwuka
The little things and the big things. And, you know, let's not get it twisted. Let's not let's not drop the lead. Let's not bury the lead. Arsenal, in a huge game for both teams, Arsenal, with regards to the title chase, Tottenham in their relegationating fight relegation fight, we went, you know,
Upcoming Arsenal vs Chelsea Game Preview
00:05:20
Chino Onwuka
to... I don't even know what their their ground is called anymore.
00:05:23
Chino Onwuka
You know, it's not White Hart Lane, whatever it's called. The toilet bowl, I think. And we slapped them, like you guys said, 4-1. And, you know, talking about the offensive side of the ball, you know, we saw some of the things that we've we've been missing the last couple of games. We saw, you know, attacking, dynamic, penetrating, direct football. You know, we saw passes between the lines. We saw more combinations between some of our offensive players.
00:05:51
Chino Onwuka
you know I really want to give Eze a big shout-out. I think one of the things that we saw was Eze playing you know closer to Jokerez, and I think you know there might be something there. So I want to give Eze his shout-out. I think Saka, he's...
00:06:07
Chino Onwuka
He sort of got a lot of bad luck in front of the net in terms of goal contributions, but I thought he played really, really well, had their defense on toast. And, you know, Jokores, he was, that's the best game he's played in an Arsenal shirt, not just for his goals, but just his combination play.
00:06:23
Chino Onwuka
You know, i think this is the most shots he's had in a game. I think he had four shots, obviously two goals. He was threatening. i think the team was doing a better job of getting him the ball.
00:06:37
Chino Onwuka
So those were all really positive signs. You know, some of some things, you know, we haven't seen. Look at some of the passes we saw. The ball from Huncapie over the top to Saka that Saka wasn't able to finish.
00:06:50
Chino Onwuka
And then for Yoko Riz's first goal, that ball from Timber, like, you know, that that like is was that was that Benny Blanco there? Like, that was a beautiful ball. Not something we think he has in his locker room. So are those sort of the things we can do more often?
00:07:03
Chino Onwuka
But... There's the Kavit. So I wanted to start it with the good. thats you know That is probably the worst team we've played in the Prem all season. like There was just so much space.
00:07:19
Chino Onwuka
We were playing against the back line of Dragunsen and you know enough said. Archie Gregor, bless his soul. you know He's being put in a position that's really tough. Palinja.
00:07:31
Chino Onwuka
who's not a center back, was forced to play there. And, you know, Van de Ven, who's sometimes he's just five. So I want to believe, I want to hope that this is something new that Arteta said in some of his post-match comments that, you know, he's he's he's sort of figured out how to play Eze. So that's something we'll need to look for in the next couple of games. But...
00:07:53
Chino Onwuka
It's a high possibility could have just been the situation, conditions were right because Tottenham were just extremely, extremely bad. They just left a lot of space for our team and we took advantage of that. But I just want to focus on the great performance from the boys in an away game in a North London Derby, going there and winning 4-1, winning very convincingly, considering all the noise that had been going on, they did the job that they had to do.
00:08:20
Emeka
I mean, echo all of that. I have your point about Arteta mentioning he you know figured out how to use Eze. I'll ask you, you know, put your your mind as if you're 40-year-old Spaniard like Mikel.
00:08:34
Emeka
You're picking a team for next weekend. itgainst Well, guess this weekend against Chelsea. Imagine in this world, Kai Haver's is fit again. Would you put him in over Eze?
00:08:45
Emeka
Would you play Eze with him? Or would you go Eze-Odegaard? What's your combination of Eze, Odegaard, and Kai Havers would you pick for a team against Chelsea?
00:08:56
Chino Onwuka
To start,
00:08:58
Emeka
To start.
00:08:59
Chino Onwuka
it would have to be Eze Yokorez. I mean, they they did the job that we asked of them in the previous game. So you've got to trust in momentum and and and keep that going.
00:09:13
Chino Onwuka
Now, if I thought Havertz was 100% fit, I would probably choose Eze in Havertz. But I don't think that's the case. i We're just hoping he makes the bench. So yeah, I would go with Yokorez, Eze.
00:09:25
Emeka
Chukou.
00:09:28
Chuku
Man, I think got to go with the team that just recently performed this past weekend, man. So on that note, yeah, I'm going to just keep the Eze, Yokoz, you know, those two going. And I think for now, you know, Havertz make an impact off the bench. That'll be something, know, nice to see, you know, because he has that effect. And yeah, I think what I'll roll with for now.
00:09:53
Emeka
I asked that question because, you know, we're so used to having injury crisis that when the team is fit, it is kind of interesting the decisions that that has to make, especially in a week like this where there's no midweek game.
00:10:06
Emeka
I mean, it feels honestly strange that I haven't seen Arsenal play in the last five days. I'm so used to game every three days. is the first time
00:10:13
Chino Onwuka
This is the first time since like September where we've not had a midweek game.
00:10:18
Emeka
Exactly, right? So, seven days rest, team is fit. Now we actually have to make decisions. There's no more, okay, we have we can't play guys too much. And I'm curious, you know, do you bench Eze after he has this performance for following a long, you know, doldrum stretch?
00:10:34
Emeka
Havertz, before he was injured, was looking like the best player on the team, you know? Decisions to make. was just curious. I mean, personally, I think I have to roll the dice and keep Eze going. Like, he's a confidence player.
00:10:45
Emeka
Now he's feeling himself a little bit. I want to see him kick on a little bit. I don't know. But i we'll talk about the Chelsea game more coming up. But it's interesting thing to consider.
00:10:54
Chino Onwuka
I will add, I know this wasn't an option, since so I didn't pick it.
00:10:55
Emeka
I will add...
00:10:58
Chino Onwuka
My ultimate wish list would be to see Eze on the left, and then you could put any of Victor and Kai or Victor and Odegaard.
00:11:08
Chino Onwuka
But I want to see Eze on the left. that's I will keep harping on that.
00:11:11
Emeka
yes We've been calling for it. We've been calling for it. Funny enough, I was looking at old episodes and I realized that we talk about Yokoz a lot off the pod, but not really that much on it.
00:11:25
Emeka
And you know what? I'll be cherry picking and let's pick a time where things are positive. you know I think it's fair to say you know you're the most skeptical and me and Chuka more positive, but...
00:11:36
Emeka
I was confused when I saw this stat. And I was like, got to stay for the podcast. Of the five main strikers that were bought this summer, Yokoz has the most goals.
00:11:52
Emeka
Shocking to me. I would not have guessed that. I mean... we we've We can easily all agree that he's not the most technically sound footballer. And there are a lot of frustration, a lot of games where he doesn't score, even get a shot off, let alone contribute. But he's picking up form a little bit in 2026. You know, he's scoring more and more frequently. 15 goals as of right now.
00:12:16
Emeka
I wanted all of you to give me a number. What number of goals do you think Yoko Riz ends the season with? And I'll start with you, Chukwu.
00:12:24
Chuku
I still find it so funny because i remember coming to the, again, just giving some context to the listeners. Coming the start of the season, we've obviously had conversations and obviously we know we pulled out the chat.
00:12:37
Chuku
I had him for 15 goals in all competitions first year. I thought 15 goals was going to be not the not the best, but I did think...
00:12:45
Chino Onwuka
It was 30, then it was 20, and now it's 15. Wow, this is like magic.
00:12:51
Chuku
Again, don't know where Chinook gets to 30.
00:12:54
Chino Onwuka
Even if you're not saying 30, it was 20 before.
00:12:54
Chuku
I literally showed the proof in the chat.
00:12:56
Chino Onwuka
That I can guarantee you. It was 20 before, now it's 15. This is crazy stuff.
00:13:01
Chuku
we have the, we have the, we can always go back to the chat. The chat's still there. You know what I'm saying? We can we always go back. But regardless of that, 15, 15 to 20 was at least something respectable. I thought for a first season could be, you know, something, you know, something that again, we can work with, you can build off with. And it's just funny how at 15 and we're at the end of February. So, I mean, to answer your question, I think,
00:13:27
Chuku
The fact is, there's still a lot of football to be played. We've got like 10 games in the league left, I believe. I don't see any reason why you can't finish somewhere now in the, I would say, hopefully you think 20, 20, somewhere the 20 to 25 range is really, yeah, I think somewhere in that 20 to 25 range is respectable. So I think to put a number on there that goes somewhere in the middle, I'll say 22 in all comps.
00:13:53
Chuku
in all in all coms
00:13:55
Emeka
yeah I definitely thought he was hit 20. So the fact that he's getting close to 20 is it's funny. Preseason, all in hype, I thought we got a hit man.
00:14:05
Emeka
He's going to come in here and shake things up. And I was still holding out hope. And then by December, I was like, if he gets 10, I'll be satisfied. And now I'm back to, he can get 25. He's scoring he scoring now. like It's interesting. like I used to joke that he's scamming goals, but...
00:14:22
Emeka
He's scoring them. I mean, scam or not, the ball is in the back of the net. 15 at the end of February. We got some bad jam-packed months coming up. I don't see any reason why he can't get 25.
00:14:35
Emeka
So that's my new bar for him now. Get 25 goals. I can overlook a lot of the nonsense earlier in the season. Give me a good YouTube compilation I can watch at the end of the year with 25 goals. that's my That's my hope and an expectation for him now.
00:14:49
Emeka
What about you, Chino?
00:14:52
Chino Onwuka
What do I think he's going to get by the end of the season? And he's at 15 now?
00:14:58
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:14:59
Chuku
15 in all comps at the moment.
00:15:01
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. You know, 20 is... tony plus is you know I'll take, you know I'll just revisit some of my comments at the beginning of the season. I said for his signing to be considered a success, considering his age profile and what we needed him to come in and be, which was a striker better than Kai Havertz, it needed to be 30 goals and assists in all competitions. So that's the standard.
00:15:32
Chino Onwuka
My thought process was, look, I told you guys what you guys are seeing on YouTube compilations. I don't think that's it. He's a guy where it's going to look ugly, but he can hit a ball. And so he will score goals, especially this Arsenal side.
00:15:45
Chino Onwuka
And that's what we're starting to see a little bit more last couple of games, which is good because you will not say no to goals. So he's at 15, which is good. Can his all-around play get better? Can he get more shots? Can the team start to feed him more? Because he needs to be fed.
00:16:02
Chuku
Thank you.
00:16:02
Chino Onwuka
So no matter how ugly it looks, as long as he's getting fed, get him shots, get him the ability to to take shots off because sometimes that's hard for him against you know better defenders.
00:16:14
Chino Onwuka
And he will score some goals because his superpower is his ability to hit a shot. So, yeah, I think he's definitely on pace to to get 20 goals plus in all competitions. And I'll take it
00:16:33
Emeka
I mean, if at the end of November I said by this time he'd have more goals than Eketike, how many of us here would actually think that be possible? I'm just throwing it out there. Listen, all around game, garbage.
00:16:44
Chino Onwuka
Sure, but I would still rather have Ekotike this season. I know you can look at this, but like up up until this point, right I think maybe yesterday was the first game like...
00:16:50
Emeka
Absolutely. But I'm an Arsenal fan.
00:16:57
Chino Onwuka
Who has he scored against? Like, let's like, like, I don't want to, I don't want to sound like I'm, I'm, you know, shaming him or anything like that. Like, I, he's an Arsenal player, so I will support him. But like, I don't want things to get conflated. Like, he's not, who has he scored against?
00:17:17
Chino Onwuka
Where have been the goals?
00:17:18
Emeka
Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan.
00:17:19
Chino Onwuka
Where, where, where have been the games where we need a goal, we need result and he's strong.
00:17:25
Emeka
but I changed the topic then.
00:17:29
Chuku
I hate to be the bearer of like, I don't want to be the, I hear what you're not saying, but like, at the end of the day, 15 goals is 15 goals.
00:17:37
Chino Onwuka
No, no, no, no that I get it, right?
00:17:37
Chuku
Like, we can say the same thing about Ekotiki, like, what's going
00:17:40
Chino Onwuka
what would in those games against Man City, in those games against Liverpool, when we're like, those are the games where we need him to score. So I'm glad he's doing this. What's the next step is I want, no matter how it looks like, I want him to, so to so I would love if he scored against a city.
00:18:00
Chino Onwuka
I would love if he scored against Chelsea this weekend. Like I want, I want to start seeing him score goals against those type of defenders.
00:18:09
Chuku
Would you not say Inter Milan has one of the better defenses in general? No?
00:18:14
Emeka
Aspato Glendt.
00:18:15
Chino Onwuka
not really
00:18:17
Chuku
Hey, but I'm just saying i'm just say entering the season.
00:18:18
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, like, cho Champions League is... Champions League, we've seen him score in the Champions League before. That's why I'm talking about the Prem. This is the Prem. I want to see him score in the Prem against Prem defenders, against some of the better, because those are the games we've had trouble scoring in, right?
00:18:28
Chuku
Fair enough.
00:18:34
Chino Onwuka
The reason we brought him in is we knew that our offense, you know, isn't like our defense, so we needed a hitman to come and, you know, just get us those goals that we need, and and and that's what we bought him for, and so...
00:18:47
Chino Onwuka
He did that against Tottenham great. I want to see him continue to do that and to see him do that against some better teams in the Prem. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying like 15 goals is great. You guys see when he scores, I celebrate. I'm just saying
00:19:00
Chino Onwuka
hopefully we can get more out of him and hopefully he can he can start doing that as well, right?
00:19:01
Emeka
we can
00:19:05
Chino Onwuka
Up until this point in the Prem, he'd only scored against promoted teams.
00:19:12
Chino Onwuka
Up until now.
00:19:13
Emeka
I don't think that was the stat, but mostly it gets promoted teams.
00:19:16
Chino Onwuka
Sure, something like that.
00:19:17
Emeka
I'm all against bottom-of-the-table teams.
00:19:20
Chino Onwuka
That's what, yeah.
00:19:22
Emeka
Listen.
00:19:23
Chino Onwuka
So if those are the standards, cool, but you know I would like to see more than that from him.
00:19:23
Emeka
it those are this
00:19:28
Emeka
He's still a donkey, but as an Arsenal fan, I had to just, you know, the stats are the stats. He scored more than everybody else is signing. I'm just throwing it out there. Like, you can slam him all you want.
00:19:37
Chuku
I almost say...
00:19:38
Emeka
see You know?
00:19:41
Chuku
Jokoraz is definitely a polarizing character because, again, for the most part, two things can be, I guess, with him can be right because I'm with you, man. Sometimes when I watch him, I'm like, bro, this guy is an absolute donkey. But then at the end of the day, if that donkey is scoring goals, I mean, you know what I'm saying? If he can finish the season with 20-plus goals, I mean, I'm im i'm smiling. And look, one thing I will see, I will give grace, even though I understand signing a player of that age, really, we're expecting, like again, for the most part, I can stand where most people are is talking about expecting immediate impact for sure, no question.
00:20:19
Chuku
And again, i don't agree with buying someone of that age and having the narrative of adapting to the league and all the others no that stuff.
00:20:30
Chuku
But at the same time, i will say, you can't tell me you i haven't noticed a slight change, especially as we entered into the new year, 2026, versus those first initial months that he was playing.
00:20:44
Chuku
I feel like I've seen subtle improvements.
00:20:44
Chino Onwuka
So here's the thing, right? What we're seeing now, no, I agree with you.
00:20:48
Chuku
What?
00:20:48
Chino Onwuka
And and I guess i'm just I just want to make sure what I'm seeing now is what I expected to start the season.
00:20:56
Chuku
And that's fair. No, that's fair.
00:20:57
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:20:58
Chuku
But can we at least acknowledge that sometimes maybe...
00:20:59
Chino Onwuka
So he's just now catching up to, and you guys know how slander, but even with the slander, he's now just catching up to what I expected from him. So I'm glad he glad he's at this level, but I still want more.
00:21:07
Chuku
And I agree.
00:21:08
Emeka
you know
00:21:08
Chuku
No, I think that's a fair statement.
00:21:10
Emeka
but's at this level I'll defend his heart because I can't. yeah I think he's a donkey. But to his defense, I will say, and it's forgotten because of how long the shenanigans were with Sporting to sign him.
00:21:24
Emeka
He didn't have a preseason. And I hear Liverpool fans were giving all isac all the excuses in the world for his thing. It's fair to point out he didn't have a preseason. Then he starts. Havertz gets injured. He plays every game to start the season.
00:21:36
Emeka
Clearly gets run down. Then he has his best game against, albeit against Burnley, gets smacked in the face, injured, misses time, and now he's wrapping up again when he came back.
00:21:48
Emeka
you can kind of maybe argue, you know, squint a little bit in the optimistic and say, okay, now he's found his feet a little bit. He's had time with the with the team now. He's no longer playing every week like he was before 90 minutes.
00:22:00
Emeka
He's rested, fitted in. And then 2026, he has definitely improved. I mean, even the biggest hater, I should admit, he's improved a little of bit. So optimism, hey, glass half full. Maybe he kicks on and he gets to something.
00:22:14
Emeka
And maybe, you know, maybe he becomes the striker we think we signed. And to Chinno's point, which I also fully agree with, is that... He needs a big goal in a big game.
00:22:25
Emeka
That's just, it is what it is. Like 15 goals is 15 goals. A lot of those, I think this goal against Tottenham was the first time he scored to give us a lead. Every time he scored, the game was t was already leading. Now don't get me wrong, those goals are also important too, to go from 1-0 to two na kill the game off.
00:22:44
Emeka
But this was the first time it was, okay, game-changing goal. Give a goal like that against a city or an FA Cup quarterfinal, even Champions just one big game, one big moment. It goes so long with the fan base. And I'm praying and hoping, hey, man, man, an XTF visit coming up. Imagine the Yoko Rath jamming goal to sneak a 1-0 win. That's legendary stuff right there.
00:23:06
Chino Onwuka
And not just with the fan base, like for him as well and for the team, right? Because you can see as he started to do some things better, and I don't know if maybe this is just narrative or or conductor, but again, one of the key things I noticed is we found him in better positions more than we have in any other game.
00:23:25
Chino Onwuka
Look at that first shot that he fizzed just wide, right? That was a pass into the channel that he was able to run to and he had space to shoot like. part of I've talked about the whole offensive system and, okay, we know that there are some things that he can't do, but there are things that the team can do to help support that type of player. and so you know Some of it is not even just on just him, but with his limitations, then you have to play a certain way to to balance that out. Yeah, you want him to balance on the team, but the team has needed to balance more to him. And maybe, you know, there's certain players that are able to do that better than others. Maybe that's your habits and that's what your Eze is. And so if he's the guy you want to start every week or the games he's starting, maybe that informs the the players you put around him.
00:24:08
Emeka
Hey, maybe. Or, truth be told, maybe it was just Tottenham. You know, we've been living the moment. I fully agree. North London Derby, form goes out the window, all that stuff.
00:24:23
Emeka
Tottenham Hotspur. but Fire Thomas Frank. We didn't talk about this on the podcast, but, you know, fire Thomas Frank. got to put my hands up. I am a huge Thomas Frank fan, and I thought maybe this year would be a little hard, a little rough, but he was the man for the job to fix them. Turns out he was the man for a secret top silver status gunner.
00:24:43
Emeka
We're going miss your work there, Agent Frank, but shipped him out to bring in Tudor and, you know, it's It's his first game in charge, I don't want to blame him too much. He didn't have 12 days to prepare, but you mentioned it, you know, and I echo it.
00:24:58
Emeka
They were the worst team we've played this season. They looked horrific. Like, the out of space Yoko has had for his first goal is embarrassing for a team with playing three at the back. Like, that shouldn't happen.
00:25:11
Emeka
And most of this season, i have been, you know, smirking and laughing about, oh, maybe Tottenham go down, maybe Tottenham go down. and Watching that game was the first time I actually crossed my mind of there's a real world where Tottenham get relegated.
00:25:27
Emeka
And I guess i'll go to you, Chinon. I'll just say simply, like, is that crazy? if you're If you were, God forbid, a Tottenham fan, would you actually be worried the relegation is real? Or is it for now still, we're going to survive?
00:25:40
Chino Onwuka
No, if I was a Tottenham fan, I would be shaking in my boots because this is two years in a row, right? So, you know, one year you could sort of see as a blip, but now this is this is really worrying for, and it's worrying for a lot of reasons. One...
00:25:59
Chino Onwuka
For some reasons, a lot of teams have been impacted by injuries, but Tottenham really, really been impacted by injuries. This is the second year in a row they've been impacted in injuries, and and that has that can have some some long-term effects.
00:26:14
Chino Onwuka
And then now sort of this culture of of losing, you know, one year it can be, hey, this happened for so many reasons. We can't let this happen again, but has has a certain mentality, has malaise fully seeped into the club?
00:26:29
Chino Onwuka
Is it a situation where the players think, we're too big to fail. And because they keep playing with a certain amount of arrogance, one day they'll look up and find themselves, oh snap, we're relegated. So I would definitely be worried about a Tottenham fan. Now they still they're still in the driver's seat. You know, one, they're there's they're still they're not in the relegation zone yet and they still have some points gap, but it's definitely something where they need to correct their form. And, you know, on the opposite side, and I know, like, this is something you've mentioned, some of the form of the teams below them has gotten better. So,
00:27:02
Chino Onwuka
You know, they now have to hope those teams start losing. So it's it's definitely not something where you' where you're sleeping easy if you're a Tottenham fan.
00:27:10
Emeka
hey Chukwu, he mentioned, you know, Tottenham, right now, 29 points, four above relegation zone West Ham. Are you sleeping easy if you're Tottenham fan, or or are you actually like, this could happen?
00:27:28
Chuku
I feel sorry for any Spurs fan right now because I know if I was a Spurs fan, I definitely would not be sleeping easy. Especially seeing the kind of form West Ham are building at the at moment.
00:27:40
Chuku
They seem to be no more better cohesion going on over there.
00:27:41
Emeka
you
00:27:44
Chuku
you know They've gotten rid of, no like for lack of a better term, dead weight or just... People out of the locker room that were maybe not, you know, helping the situation that was going on West Ham.
00:27:56
Chuku
They seem to have a core group of guys that, you know, starting to gel and play better ball together. Like I was watching the West Ham game know the other day and i I was pretty impressed with, I mean, look, they're not a quality team, but they're playing with a lot of hearts. And you know what?
00:28:11
Chuku
With sprinkle little bit of quality, you know, with guys like Bowen still around there, I mean, they have a shot. They have a shot, for real. Because right now, what what I've seen from Spurs, like, I really cannot predict their next win. Like, it's kind of appalling.
00:28:28
Chuku
I think I saw some crazy stat. It was like either, like, in the last 20 games, you have, like, either four or six wins in total. Like, that's absurd. I think it was four. pretty sure it four wins in, i like, the last 20 games. I'm like, how is this even – possible like yeah Spurs they should be very very concerned and if Weston they have that horrific start that they did I mean this could be a whole different story but right now obviously injuries playing a big part for Spurs it doesn't seem like they're going to be able to get i thought by now Kulosheski was supposed to be back i don't know what's going on with that but yeah if things don't change quickly we might really see a world where Spurs might be in in the championship and I mean
00:29:11
Chuku
I never in a million years would ever have believed a big so team that was considered a top six team, you know, be actually relegated and in big 2026. mean, I don't know what you got, how you guys feel, but I mean,
00:29:25
Chuku
if that If that were to happen, are Spurs really going to be considered part of the big six? I think it might be time to take additions because don't know if they really deserve to be among the that that core group of teams, in my opinion. But either way, it's just crazy to see happening real time. And yeah I definitely would not be sleeping well if was a Spurs fan.
00:29:46
Chuku
That's for sure.
00:29:49
Emeka
and might I've been watching football since 2000, I'll say. The two teams that got relegated that I could not understand it at the time were Newcastle and Aston Villa.
00:30:02
Emeka
If Tottenham got relegated, it would be those two teams times 50. Because this is a team that is currently in the round of 16 in the Champions League, which is still funny to think about. Won to Europa League last year.
00:30:14
Emeka
Big six team. And we joke and laugh about the big six. The big six is money. They are the sixth richest team in the country. For them to get relegated would, outside of Leicester winning the Premier League, I think would be the second most surprising thing I've seen in football.
00:30:31
Emeka
i'm I'm being so serious. Like, I just can't wrap my head around it. And yes, they finished, whatever, 16th last year. no My brain just didn't process that. I just thought like that was just, you know, they were just focused on Europa and blah, blah, blah. But now it's two years in a row and you really have to wonder about them. Like this could happen. This really could happen. And if it does, i just...
00:30:58
Emeka
Honestly, it's a fascinating part of me that just wants to wonder, like, what would the team look like if they got relegated? They're paying a lot of guys big money for a championship team especially. I know with the parachute payments and everything, is they won't go bankrupt, but what would that actually look like if Tottenham get relegated? Like, how many people are sticking around? i Part of me actually just wanted to see it. mean, have the, hey, the toilet bowl will be the best day of the championship, so that'll be fun to watch. But I can't, but I'm with you guys that, if I'm a Spurs fan, I'm sick to my stomach. Because there's a world where Arsenal win the league and they get relegated. and
00:31:37
Emeka
yeah God forbid any of those, if any Spurs fans living in London or in the new world who has an Arsenal friend, if that scenario happens, I wouldn't show my face. But, You know, there's still 11 games left. And I think it's fair to say Wolves and Burnley, you know, hate to say it, guys. You guys are going down.
00:31:55
Emeka
So that leaves one spot left. And as as we mentioned, West Ham are currently 18th, 25 points. Above them, Nottingham Forest, 27. And above them, Spurs, 29. And I'll throw leads in there. Leads with 31.
00:32:09
Emeka
Sitting here today. If you had to pick one team to complete the three to go down, what team would you pick? And I'll start with you, Trickle.
00:32:18
Chino Onwuka
Well, maybe while, maybe while.
00:32:20
Chuku
Sorry, i'm I was going to say, don't know the status of Spurs injuries as you know as far as like when they're expected to return back.
00:32:21
Chino Onwuka
Okay, go ahead.
00:32:30
Chuku
Because again, if I knew him better, it might help me in making a better decision on this. But as things as things are, I'm assuming Spurs don't get any of their big names back referring to Kuliszewski, Kudus, and Madison.
00:32:46
Emeka
you
00:32:48
Chuku
don't know. I really might have Spurs and going down. like i I really think it's like it's it's a reality that can actually happen. And it's crazy to say that. Even as I'm saying it right now, I literally can't believe I'm saying it. But teams like Forrest, I've seen more things about team like Forrest, West Ham, even Leeds.
00:33:12
Chuku
I've seen someone else something. But this Spurs team, man, I don't know. They can't. Right now, it's, yeah, their midfield is an absolute mess.
00:33:22
Chuku
The players, they got, I don't, they don't gel for me at all. You're begging for your for, you know, for goals from Kulomwani and Solanke.
00:33:33
Chuku
Hopefully, you know, putting in something together. You got wing players in Odebreu and...
00:33:40
Chuku
Who's the other? What? Xavi Simmons? Listen, i it's as peak right now. It's peak if you're a Spurs fan. And, yeah, I just think unless some of these some of their big, quote-unquote, big hitters start coming back, I just think it's going to be a long day. So I'm picking Spurs, man. I really do think they might actually get relegated. So, yeah, Spurs. Spurs.
00:34:01
Emeka
Wow. You know, who'd you have to pick to go down?
00:34:06
Chino Onwuka
So as it relates to Spurs, I think one thing that's interesting is one one thing that's going to be an interesting factor for them is how do they do in Champions League? If they keep progressing in Champions League somehow, then I think they have a higher chance of sort of dropping below because that's where their focus is is going to be and they have a thin squad.
00:34:25
Chino Onwuka
But as it is, again, they are they are not currently in the relegation zone. There are four teams below them two that are really already pretty much going down and so all they have to do is just be better or as good as the teams the two teams below them which I think they can at least do that much so I don't think Tottenham are going to go down I think they're they're lucky again and I still ultimately think it's going to be West Ham that are going down
00:34:59
Emeka
See, for that reason is why I have, and I got to have all three different teams. I have Forrest going down because, okay, Spurs, you're around the 16th Champions League, clock for yourselves. Yeah, yeah. But how much longer are they really going to last?
00:35:13
Emeka
Whereas I think there's a real chance that Forrest can go kind of deep in Europa League. And I don't know if their squad is built to juggle, you know, if they're playing midweek in March and April, even up to May.
00:35:26
Emeka
that can really impact them at home of the Premier League. And, you know, they've been cycling through managers now. They're Victor Pereira. This guy is not really inspiring confidence. The team is is up and down.
00:35:39
Emeka
I can see a world where, you know, especially with Maracas, he might be like, you know what, screw it. Like, I just want to i just want to have trophy. I don't care how we get it.
00:35:50
Emeka
So, hey, man, like, let's just go for Europa League and we get relegated, we get relegated. At least I win a European Cup. So, I can see a world where that kind of pans out and then forwards go down. So,
00:36:02
Emeka
It is crazy to to think about. like i It is a relegation race. like Spurs, if you're you're in it too. Leeds, you're in it. Forrest in a West Ham are in it. And it's going to go down to the probably last kick of the season. And I, for one, am' very, very, very intrigued to see how it plays out.
00:36:18
Chino Onwuka
You know what?
00:36:18
Emeka
but
00:36:18
Chino Onwuka
You actually make a really, really good point. So really fair points. One thing I will say is to your point as to where Marinakis would like their focus. One thing though, just looking at financial results, maybe Marinakis can afford to have Forrest be relegated, but Forrest as a club outside his personal money cannot afford to go down to the championship. They're already facing breaches,
00:36:47
Chino Onwuka
in the Premier League as it is, what has happened to Leicester is going to happen to them if they go down. So to me, that's where he could say, yeah, the focus needs to be on the Prem and staying up.
00:37:01
Emeka
Yeah, it's B-peak for us, especially if they go down. But i either one, I think had a long stretch. I think we know our preseason podcast, I was wrong because I predicted that all three-pointer teams would go straight down. Both of you, you know to your credit, both said that one of them would stay, and clearly we might have two stay.
00:37:22
Emeka
And if that happens, Premier League will have a turnover. like These are all three teams. you know Four not as much as the other two, but three established Premier League clubs. We've been in here for a while now, and if one of them goes down, that's going to be a shock to the system.
00:37:38
Emeka
yeah We talked about Spurs, but even West Ham, West Ham won the Conference League three years ago. Like, it's crazy how fast things move. Forest were finishing top four most of last season.
00:37:51
Emeka
Crash at the end, and now they're in the rally. Like, it's – Premier League is no joke. Things like come at you fast. And I feel for one of these sets of fans who are going to to back down because, my goodness, it's it's peaked out there. And I mentioned it's going to be a fun race to follow. Like, the Premier League this year – some years we have just – you know stratification and everything's boring and decided. This year, we have a title race.
00:38:15
Emeka
We have a relegation race. And I think it's fair to say we have a top five race. I'm still getting used to saying top five instead of top four, but that's another story for another day. But we have, I say what we said, there's two confirmed relegation teams.
00:38:29
Emeka
I think you will agree with me that no matter what happens, Arsenal Man City are finishing top top five. Like that's just, I don't see a world where they collapse beyond that. So I leave three spots and there's four teams neck and neck competing for it.
00:38:43
Emeka
Aston Villa, Man United, Chelsea, and Liverpool. I'll pose a question like this and i I'll turn the U-turn afterwards. Of these four teams, and I can probably go into it, do you think, now that we've graduated past our top four days and we can look at it from a you know neutral bird's eye view,
00:39:04
Emeka
what All these four teams, who needs to finish top five the most between Villa, United, Chelsea, and Liverpool?
00:39:12
Chino Onwuka
So before I answer that question, sorry, I meant to sort of raise my hand before you got into this, but I read a pretty interesting article the other day where it was talking about, and I think this was because of Tottenham, talking about, you know, how long has it been since each Premier League club last suffered relegation or which team has been in the top flight the longest? So which Premier League team do we think has been in the top flight the longest?
00:39:38
Emeka
Arsenal easily. Never be relegated.
00:39:41
Chino Onwuka
Yes, that is. We have been relegated once, but we have not been relegated since 1912.
00:39:43
Chuku
How about the Arsenal?
00:39:48
Chino Onwuka
1912 is when we were relegated and we came back to the top flight in 1919 through, in case there's some historians listening, I'm not going to lie, through some fraudulent ways.
00:39:59
Chino Onwuka
We just got voted in
00:40:01
Emeka
bring me Don't worry about it.
00:40:03
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, we just got voted back up after World War I rather than earning it, but it is what it is. We've been there but the longest. So now, can you tell me who which club has been in the top flight the second longest? Let's see if anyone can get this right.
00:40:16
Chino Onwuka
Or maybe I'll read the article as well.
00:40:18
Emeka
I didn't read the article, but I think it's Everton.
00:40:19
Chuku
I didn't read the article.
00:40:20
Emeka
Everton?
00:40:22
Chino Onwuka
Chuku, who you got? Chuku.
00:40:25
Chuku
feel like it's going to surprise me. So I'm going to go Spurs.
00:40:31
Chino Onwuka
mecca A hey man, i got agree we got to you a prize for this because you are correct.
00:40:37
Emeka
Everton?
00:40:37
Chino Onwuka
i won'
00:40:38
Emeka
Everton?
00:40:39
Chino Onwuka
Everton have been in the top flight since 1955.
00:40:39
Chuku
It's Everton.
00:40:43
Chino Onwuka
They've they they've had a couple of close scrapes.
00:40:46
Emeka
Hey, they're...
00:40:48
Chino Onwuka
I think they've almost been relegated multiple times, but they have not dropped down. In third place is Liverpool. Liverpool. They've been in the top flight since 1962 season. And then after that, Manchester United, who've been in the top flight since 1975. So I thought it was a that was a really pretty cool article I read the other day.
00:41:06
Emeka
for so I remember reading somewhere that like Everton has been for a while. And I always tell people like I have a soft spot for Everton because growing up, they were like, they were the fifth team.
00:41:17
Emeka
It was the Sky Four and Everton was finishing fifth all those times. I kind of just associate them with being good. But for so I remember that in my brain somewhere. also remember Man U got relegated by Dennis Love.
00:41:26
Chino Onwuka
Good for you.
00:41:29
Emeka
So i knew it wasn't them.
00:41:31
Chino Onwuka
Yes, sir. So now to your question, which team needs Champions League the most? I think it is Manchester United. because they have had a season without Europe.
00:41:46
Chino Onwuka
So they spent big. They've only had to play one game a week, like even more so than we thought because they got knocked out in the first round of both domestic cups.
00:41:58
Chino Onwuka
I think it it needs to be Manchester United for the status of that club, you know, arguably the biggest club in England, one of the biggest clubs in the world. They spent a lot of money and, you know,
00:42:08
Chino Onwuka
We saw a lot of reporting and news from the owner that didn't have a lot. So I think just for the financial aspect of it and starting to you know get themselves back to the to the status that they believe they are, Champions League is extremely, extremely important for them, especially with the added advantage of only playing one game a week. If they miss out on it this year, you know, and they're only in the Europa League, then then I think they's still they're still in that rebuilding phase that they were before versus if they get back in the Champions League right away, then they can accelerate that.
00:42:44
Emeka
i When I first had this question in my brain, I was thinking it has to be, you know, Man U for all those reasons you said playing one game a week, financial stuff. And then I'm sure you guys have seen the UEFA release their public sustainability reports. I think the answer has to be Chelsea.
00:43:03
Emeka
If you haven't seen it, Chelsea posted the largest loss of any team, I think, of what they said or and in history. A 400 million pound loss. And that's even with the shenanigans of selling the female team to themselves and selling stadium, all that stuff.
00:43:20
Emeka
They're losing half a billion dollars. They need Champions League money. I don't know if they can, you know, they're pulling all the levers. not Barcelona, but they're close. And pulling all the levers and pulling all the tricks to kind of cover up, you know selling academy players and all that stuff.
00:43:36
Emeka
But if they don't make Champions League next season, I don't know if the project, the Clear Lake project, can sustain itself, honestly. It's looking harsh for them. So I don't know. I'm on the mindset of, you know, Man U should have it.
00:43:53
Emeka
Chelsea need it. So that's that's my pick. What do you have, Chico?
00:43:58
Chuku
Funny enough, before you went and mentioned that team, I mean, I'm right behind you, bro. I think it's Chelsea. I mean, like, here's the thing. How long has it been since that clearly took over?
00:44:11
Chuku
It hasn't been at least three, four years.
00:44:12
Emeka
I think it's three years now, three, four years.
00:44:14
Chino Onwuka
yeah Yeah, their third year.
00:44:17
Chuku
I'm sorry, man, but, like, yo, what kind of project are running? Like, you so over those three years, you spent... well over a billion dollars in players. I understand the model that you're trying to build, multi-club model and this, that, and the third. But at the end of day, when you take over a team that was run by the owner of Abramovich, we all know what you know he stood for as far as Chelsea and the standard that was at the club.
00:44:44
Chuku
And you come in, you know, selling project, It's been three years. yeah I mean, they don't really have too much. I mean, I know they won the club World Cup. would get Great. Wonderful. wonderful But the fact of the matter is charlesl this Chelsea team has kind of not lived up to, you know, what I guess their fan base expectations have been. They've spent a lot of money on on on on players and their squad.
00:45:11
Chuku
They've paid a lot people and, you know, fired lot managers. You know, they've done the law has been going on over those three years. And you're telling me with all that being spent, you're not going to be able to finish in the top five for Champions League?
00:45:27
Chuku
I just don't think that's something that, you know, is, you know, something that you can just gloss over and then add on to the, full sustainability model that, you know, the market just went over and being, even with all the shenanigans of this multi-club, you know, selling your women's division over to the, to the same company, like all this, and you're still running at that much of a loss. It's, it's crazy. So I definitely think, you know, that is is a fair shout, but I still think United still has the excuse of they've not been that good over the last couple of years.
00:46:03
Chuku
Chelsea are supposed to be building on something. They made Champions League last year. They're supposed to be building off of that. And if they regress with all the money that's been spent, it's just is is not going to be a good look. So for that reason alone, I'm going to have to go with Chelsea.
00:46:20
Emeka
you know
00:46:21
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, i I get what you guys are saying. The reason I didn't pick Chelsea is because, like, all these things you guys mentioned, like, is at the point where i'm like... Do they even care about that?
00:46:33
Chino Onwuka
Like, I don't know if that's really what their goal is. Like these guys are a, these guys are a a private equity firm. Their goal is to raise the valuation of the club and then sell it at some point. That's what these type of organizations and entities do.
00:46:50
Chino Onwuka
So they're clearly more interested in their player trading. And for all the warts, it's, They're doing that, you know, off the field, the player trading method is working because one of the things I read, and i'm beca I did read this article, is that, you know, a lot of the sales they made in the summer aren't part of...
00:47:10
Chino Onwuka
the 2024 calculations because there's a certain cutoff, especially with the Club World Cup. So we'll probably, so they they and so Chelsea insist that, you know, the next results will be better. So it is what it is. But to me, even just looking at what we've seen over the last couple of years with Chelsea is Europa League is better for them because then all these random youngsters that they buy, they can play their B squad in the Europa League or Conference League. They can play a certain squad in the Champions League and that seems to work better for them.
00:47:40
Chino Onwuka
even if they drop down, all they're going to do is just sell players for lots of money and then buy younger ones and then just repeat the cycle again. So honestly, it's like to me, it's like, I don't know if they, not the fans, because I know the fans don't like it, but I don't know if the people in charge really care about that as long as they can buy and low and sell high.
00:47:59
Chino Onwuka
And I'm really surprised. And it's funny because all these teams really need it, but it's funny that we haven't mentioned Liverpool because considering the the club they've been the last couple of years, You know, how embarrassing would it be after spending, you know, the money that they did after being defending champions there now in the Europa League? that would That would be pretty shocking in itself. But it's it's crazy the the situation that we're in. You even have one extra spot and yet one of these teams is going to miss out.
00:48:29
Chuku
You know, that Liverpool is a fair shout, but the reason I didn't want to pick Liverpool is we can say all they want about you know the money they spent in the summer. Mind you, this is the same Liverpool side that didn't spend a dime the summer before, but the fact that remains, they can still point to the fact that they won the league. You know i'm trying to say? least they've done something. They've done this something. you know So regardless of if they don't make it to the Champions League, they won the league the previous year.
00:48:55
Chuku
They have a trophy trophy. These other two clubs that we both mentioned, United and Chelsea, so far, you know, they've not really done much. So, I mean, like, I definitely would say those two teams would be more disappointing for sure, factoring that, you know, how they've kind of regressed over the last couple of years for both sides. And, um, And,
00:49:17
Chuku
Yeah, I think that's probably the reason why not none of us picked Liverpool, including myself. So either way, i just think, you know, Liverpool is definitely a fair shot, though, with regards to the fact that it's still mind-boggling to me that you can win the league, improve on top of the team that won the league, and somehow find yourself in a position to not make the Champions League top five. That's crazy stuff. So, you know, it will be very fascinating to see how the season ends. That's for certain.
00:49:46
Emeka
Yeah, I think you came back you mentioned the need not as much because they've won it, but i again, you can argue that they need it just for the for a recruitment, I guess. like It's easier to sign. you know Could they sign Wurtz and Isak and guys like that if they're not in Champions League? Who knows? So, yeah, no, all great. We haven't mentioned Villa, who I think needed the least, but they're also broke. So maybe they need it the most, actually, because they could use the Champions League money.
00:50:12
Emeka
It makes this race so so fascinating that they all these teams are going to be scrapping forward to the death. And even with the extra slot, one of them is going to miss out, which is going to be a hard pill to swallow for whatever team that is.
00:50:26
Emeka
And I guess, you know, i was per se to of the four teams for these three slots, right now, we're talking for relegation race, we'll do it for this as well. What team are you most confident will finish top five?
00:50:40
Emeka
And I'll start, and sadly, for me to admit this, is that if I had to pick one team to to finish top five, I actually would pick Man U. And like Chino mentioned, it's because they only play one game a week.
00:50:52
Emeka
And It's shocking the difference that makes to a team when you can sit down and rest, which is what made Amarim struggling so ridiculous to me. like You get to chill every week as other teams kill themselves midweek all the time.
00:51:11
Emeka
Set your 11, train, prepare, drill them. And, like, it's such a come-up for them. And, you know, props to Michael Carrick for as it now, six wins in one draw. Like, hey, he's doing something right.
00:51:25
Emeka
Sesco is kicking on. Buembe, Cunha, he's got a system going. I just think every your other team has a little bit of some shakiness with them, whereas with Man U, they found something.
00:51:37
Emeka
And they have that little boost. And, again, it's just the one game a week. If I had to pick one of these teams to finish top five, for now, sadly, I'd have to go with Man U. Disgusting.
00:51:48
Emeka
Chukwu, what team would you pick?
00:51:52
Chuku
Bro, it's like we're literally, it's almost like a reading my mind, bro. But, i mean, yeah, I think what I'm seeing from United under Carrick, I have them as my favorites for sure to lock in that top top five for note for sure. So, yeah, I have to pick a club right now, I'm definitely to my United for sure.
00:52:10
Emeka
you
00:52:13
Chino Onwuka
I'd go Villa. You know, they've been third. So far, they've been the third best team in the league. You know, their form fluctuates, but when they get hot, they can really get hot. So actually, Villa is the team i'd I'd be most confident would would would make it.
00:52:30
Emeka
And that's interesting because Villa and my team, I feel the least confident about. I just think everything I said for Forrest goes for Villa in that they have the biggest chance to go deep in Europe.
00:52:43
Emeka
They're, you know, they got Emery. He's a Europa League specialist. Europa League without teams dropping down from Champions League is kind of there for the taking. And I just kind of feel like if they're in April and, you know, deep in Europa League quarterfinals, semifinals,
00:52:59
Emeka
If I'm the management, I'm leaning towards, let's take it more seriously. Like, especially nowadays that when you win Europa League, you get automatic championship qualification. If I'm the team, i just would rather try to get a trophy. And, you know, we people make fun of Tottenham and all I think Newcastle for all winning trophies.
00:53:18
Emeka
Villa haven't won a trophy in quite a while themselves. So, You know, we say top four, Champions League money, all that stuff. A trophy is a trophy. And if if they're deep in Europa League, I see a world where they kind of shift the priorities towards that.
00:53:34
Emeka
Let the league slip a little bit and roll the dice and just say, hey, look, we win Europa League, you qualify for Champions League anyway. And maybe they drop down to six. So for me, Villa, of the team I have the least confidence in finishing top five.
00:53:46
Emeka
What about you, Chinook?
00:53:48
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I already gave my answer. Are you asking something else or my rebuttal to what you've said?
00:53:52
Emeka
but The least the least confident team you have to finish top five.
00:53:53
Chino Onwuka
so
00:53:56
Chino Onwuka
Oh, the least confident team?
00:53:59
Chino Onwuka
For some reason, it's it's Liverpool. I just don't... guess they've been...
00:54:04
Emeka
Wow.
00:54:06
Chino Onwuka
i don't know. like I guess part of what I'm doing is I'm looking at the table and seeing where where teams are. Liverpool are sixth. They have the worst goal difference amongst all those teams.
00:54:21
Chino Onwuka
So I just, they their their record is sort of confounding. They're also still battling in Europe. so So I don't know. I think Chelsea is just going to be mid, like they're just going to be steady on Liverpool.
00:54:34
Chino Onwuka
I don't know. Like there haven't been too many performances that have been, maybe it's just because of my expectations for them, but...
00:54:43
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I've said my answer, so I'll stick with it. But yeah, for some reason, it just Liverpool is what I have in my head right now.
00:54:50
Emeka
That's surprising to me. Wow. I mean, fair enough. They are six. Fair enough. Tied for fifth with Chelsea. Three points behind Man U. Six behind Villa. But they are six. so well Fair enough. Interesting.
00:55:04
Chino Onwuka
I'm behind Chelsea 10 goal difference.
00:55:04
Emeka
What about you, Drew?
00:55:08
Emeka
Fair. That's essentially a point. So, yeah, that's fair. Drew?
00:55:14
Chuku
Man, I'm going with Chelsea, yo. I don't know what it is. just can't put my... There's just something about that team. Like, they have the players. They have, you know... They have a squad. But, like, something about Chelsea just feels like something... something The vibe in that locker room, I don't know, man. and Something now doesn't seem right, you know. And this is with, like, Jao Pedro no good going off, you know...
00:55:44
Chuku
playing with the former's life at the moment. But this something's going on with know the red card situations and disciplinary issues and just not always playing and gelling the best, show playing the best sort of football, you know? I just think with the other teams, you know, as Zinvila was definitely a close second.
00:56:04
Chuku
Because as much as they can go like they can go on a streak, they've proven they can go on a streak, they've also shown that streak can go both ways, as far as good or bad. So, I mean...
00:56:17
Chuku
they'll be definitely one to watch, but I just think Chelsea, for some reason, just, I don't know, just, whatever whatever reason, can't put things together for long stretches of time. And, you know, I, I, I see, ven people being able to kind of clutch up and, you know, go on a little run, especially as, you know,
00:56:36
Chuku
You know, Ikatiki is not going to be this, you this stinky for the rest of the season. Like he's going to, things are going to start to pick up again. And Wurtz has shown me he's like, he's slowly adopting the league. I like what I'm seeing from him.
00:56:50
Chuku
I just think, yeah, I just think Chelsea, for whatever reason, their defense doesn't move me. they've They've been shaky pretty much most of the season at the back.
00:57:01
Chuku
And, yeah, I just don't see them winning enough games to to to lock in that top five seat. So I'll have to pick Chelsea.
00:57:11
Emeka
Like I said, it's an interesting race. And man, can you imagine if there's only four spots, how intense it would be? Something else. But some years, Premier League is boring. We only get one of these races and we kind of just ignore the rest. I think it's really shaping up to be title race, top five race.
00:57:29
Emeka
Even, you know, Conference League, Europa League, like there are a lot of teams bundled up there and easily could finish 7th or 8th and in a relegation race. So I love it. Premier League, where we're entering the business end of the season. That April, you know, May stretch where it's just drama every single week.
00:57:47
Emeka
And, of course, we'll be covering all here in Love of the Game podcast, you know. So I, for one, I'm really, really looking forward to it. we've been a we know We love to talk about the beautiful game on this podcast. i feel like we've been neglecting the NBA, which yeah now we're in the business end of the season. you know Now we're entering the the home stress as we enter the playoffs to kind of ramp up. And like the league is ramping up, but we don't know what ramping We'll increase our coverage. But I feel like in the news right now, there's just been a lot of noise and a lot of chat about kind of bigger picture things of the league.
NBA Tanking Debate
00:58:33
Emeka
you haven't been following the news. Adam Silver seems to be waging a one-man crusade against the art of tanking, and especially against the Utah Jazz. And the shenanigans they've been pulling, playing guys for three quarters and benching them.
00:58:46
Emeka
The league came down on them, and now Utah just said, you know Everybody we have on our team is getting season-ending surgery.
00:58:50
Chuku
you
00:58:52
Emeka
it's just you know It's just how it goes. Pacers had their own thing where apparently the entire starting lineup is injured and the league is sending doctors and finding teams for allegedly faking injuries. a lot of shenanigans and chicanery. And the funny thing is I feel like this has been going on, you know, since I've been watching basketball, but...
00:59:11
Emeka
Because this draft is so hyped up and so talented and so deep, teams have just kind of, you know, cats out the bag. We don't care anymore. Blatantly tanking.
00:59:22
Emeka
The league is very upset about it. There's a little scuttlebutton discussion about this topic. And, you know, lawyers can go about this, but I'll just start with this for you, Chinon, that Are you, as a team, and I ask you specifically because you root for a team who, I think it's fair to say, had a two, three-year stretch there where they were trying to tank.
00:59:34
Chuku
Hello.
00:59:43
Emeka
They've reaped the benefits and now are a top five team in the league. So you've sort of just gone through this cycle. Do you think the league is overreacting to tanking and it's a valid team-building strategy, or do you agree with them that something has to be done, especially now that the Spurs don't need to tank anymore?
01:00:00
Chino Onwuka
I have been wanting to talk about this for the last three weeks and and and and glad we finally had the chance to discuss it because I don't know about you guys. I've been seeing a lot of the discourse, especially on social media. It's bled into all the different networks.
01:00:15
Chino Onwuka
I think this is much like it is an issue, but I think we're overhyping, we're over-talking. Are there teams tanking? Yes.
01:00:26
Chino Onwuka
But in the and NBA, in a team where, you know, one player can have an outsized impact on a team because only five players and are are on the court at one time, this is something that has always happened.
01:00:40
Chino Onwuka
Like, There's so many things about this that i want to discuss. So one, especially like you said, as as like I'm a Spurs fan, you you you might think that I'm a like, oh, we're the where the almighty Spurs. You know, we have such a big winning heritage. We should always play to win. No.
01:00:58
Chino Onwuka
Those years after Kawhi got traded, after it was just the LaMarcus and the Rosen team and they started to get old where we were just, you know, getting into the play-in, I wanted us to tank.
01:01:10
Chino Onwuka
Not that I like losing, but it's what is the best avenue for our team to get better. And especially in the and NBA, especially when you're a small market, especially with these new apron rules where it's really hard to free agency is almost dead. It's harder to trade for players or even if you want to trade for players, players dictate where they go. So they can just say, no, I don't want to play there. I'm not signing an extension. So the only way to build winning.
01:01:37
Chino Onwuka
through the draft. So if that is a decision that ownership takes, because really in my mind, the the the the person that gets hit the most by tanking is is the owners, because maybe they don't have as many fans attending the games.
01:01:48
Chuku
Thank
01:01:51
Chino Onwuka
If ownership hit decides and gives the green light that, hey, this is our team building strategy, then who's really complaining? Because is it the fans? I dare you to go ask Utah fans, Washington fans, what they want their team to do.
01:02:08
Chino Onwuka
Most of them will want their team to tank because there is a purpose to that tanking, which is to get a good player so that you can start to be good again. If we look at a lot of the great teams in the NBA historically, you know, their stars have been acquired through the draft. So I just think this is much ado about nothing. I just think I don't know what it is about NBA discourse where
01:02:33
Chino Onwuka
The media like to focus too much on the negative rather than celebrating the positive. You know, yes, there's lots of injuries, but then, oh, lower management. Oh, injuries.
01:02:44
Chino Onwuka
Like, we don't see this in other sports. In the NFL, there are teams that tank, but I don't see the news cycle spending all this time talking about the bad teams.
01:02:51
Chuku
Thank you.
01:02:53
Chino Onwuka
No, we focus on the good teams, and I think more of that needs to happen in the and NBA. So many great stories. The Detroit Pistons, the San Antonio Spurs, OKC, can they – Can they win back-to-back for the first time in how many years?
01:03:08
Chino Onwuka
you know Forget the Lakers, forget the Warriors. Those teams are dead. There are other good teams and interesting stories to talk about. So this tanking discourse, there's so many things that they've done.
01:03:20
Chino Onwuka
Back in the day, the lottery odds were flat. Back in the day, and then that was an issue. So then they started staggering the odds. Then that became an issue too. So they flattened out the odds a little bit more. So, you know, it's not 25% for the worst team. And so they've it's just a flat circle.
01:03:39
Chino Onwuka
In the NBA, as long as the the the access to getting better players is there's a bit of a restriction on it, this is the way this is the only avenue most teams have to get better.
01:03:56
Emeka
To defend the media a little bit, because I do agree what you're saying. The media goes negative. As I mentioned, this feels like a personal crusade by Adam Silver. like He brings it up all the time. and Some other owners are jumping in, especially the Suns owner, which I laugh about because... It's hard to tank when you have no first round picks, but neither here nor there.
01:04:15
Emeka
I read something on, i think, Reddit or Twitter, and it's so true, that this tanking thing really has been the Utah Jazz. And it's like, you work for a company, the analogy they use is, imagine you work for a company that has a 30-minute lunch break.
01:04:29
Emeka
But everyone really kind of takes 35 to 45 minutes. Like, you know, we malaise a little bit and no one really makes a big deal about it. Like, yeah, it says 30. You can take 45 and 50. Like, it's going to be cool.
01:04:42
Emeka
And in comes one guy who goes, well, going to take an hour 50-minute lunch break or an hour 30, two-hour lunch break. And now the boss has to come in and say, all right, playtime's over. We're sticking hard to 30 minutes now.
01:04:54
Emeka
Everyone used to tank. It was just a normal thing, but the the line always used to be, organizations tank, players and coaches don't. So tanking would be, we're going to trade all our good players out, and we're just going to roll out some bunch of G-leaguers or young guys, take our lumps, but we'll develop them.
01:05:13
Emeka
The Jazz, I kind of want to play it both ways in that they actually have good players on their roster. And then they would play them two or three quarters.
01:05:24
Emeka
And then just blatantly like the Utah Jazz were the first team I can honestly confidently say it felt like to me the coach was trying to lose the game. And I think when you start doing things like that, I kind of understand why the league wants to come down really hard.
01:05:40
Emeka
Now, a cynical person would say is their pressure from gambling organizations, and maybe that is a factor of it, but I just think optically it looks ridiculous when a team is benching their star players entire fourth quarters.
01:05:57
Emeka
intentionally trying to lose mid-game. If you want to tank, do it the way, you know, your Spurs used to do it. They just trade away all our good players, and we're just going to be bad, and we're going to throw out young guys, you know, every night and take our lunch and develop them. But the Jazz trading for Jaron Jackson, paying Laurie the max, and then still trying to do this where we'll play them, and if they go too good, well, whatever – It just became a little too much, and I kind of get why the league feels like i have to do something. But I also think this is very context-specific. I don't ever claim to be a draft expert, but even I know this year's draft has been hyped up for years and years and years to be special one-of-a-kind.
01:06:42
Chino Onwuka
But Emeka, even before the context of this draft, you're a Raptors fan.
01:06:43
Emeka
Well, I'm not going expert.
01:06:47
Chino Onwuka
All these years, like you guys are having a good year this year. All those years where you guys were just mid and just directionless, when they were making win-now moves, you were you were like, what are we doing? And it had nothing to do with how deep the draft was. You might not have even known which players were in there, but it was clearly, hey, if we want to get a better player,
01:07:07
Chino Onwuka
we need to draft and develop young guys and don't be trading first round picks for Jacopoto.
01:07:14
Emeka
God, yes. But it's funny you mention of the Raptors because I've seen the Raptors tank the last three years and let me tell you, I've enjoyed this year and yeah, they're going to finish as a sixth seed.
01:07:15
Chino Onwuka
So...
01:07:26
Emeka
I've enjoyed it a lot more than two years prior because like watching good basketball. Now, albeit, would I feel this way if I didn't see them win a chip within the last decade?
01:07:36
Emeka
Probably not, but There's something to that. not going to lie. I like watching. i like that. People were mad if they traded for Brandon Ingram. I like the trade. I like watching good people play basketball.
01:07:48
Emeka
It's better than just being garbage. Now, if we were garbage in this year's draft, maybe I feel a little bit differently. what So it's like it's tough for teams. like I get it. And it's funny the tanking discourse because...
01:08:02
Emeka
Everyone makes fun of the Chicago Bulls. Everyone makes fun of the Kings when they were trying to be a playing team. So you can't have it both ways. I mean, fair enough. You're right. I was hating on the Raptors training for Pertle. I thought that trade was stupid because what are you to Just fight to be a 10th seed? So I can't be criticizing teams for trying to be 10th seeds. And at the same time,
01:08:23
Emeka
Criticize teams for tanking because it's one or the other and the truth of the matter is you nailed it basketball is the most star heavy sport for a reason you don't win anything unless you have a star player and Nine times out of ten you get a star player Brad Jackson top five in the draft It's just the vast majority of guys who are good get drafted hot and you get a hijack picked by sucking so That's just how the game goes, right? So feel for Silver, and I get why he's trying to do something about the Utah Jazz thing, just because it just becomes a thing where multiple teams are doing it.
01:08:56
Emeka
Then it's a mockery. But I just – again, I just feel like this is much ado about nothing in that – Will this happen next year when the draft isn't as deep? I just i doubt it. So I get why everyone's talking about it now.
01:09:08
Emeka
i kind of just feel like it go. So I guess that's my stance on it. well were How are your thoughts, Trickle?
01:09:15
Chuku
I think I echoed Chinel's sentiments a lot. Like, this is a lot to do about nothing, to be frank. Like, I mean, there are literally leagues, cough, cough, NFL, where we see teams tank all the time, and in those leagues, it's literally the draft order is chronologically done by your record. Like, I mean, mba is not even like that. They they em invented the lottery to, you know, have teams not I guess, quote-unquote, tank, because they didn't want things to be done chronologically as they had done before. So, like, I just think end of the day, man, like, if you're an organization like Utah, you traded to get a player like, know, JJ, you know, Triple J on your squad, you're trying to build for the future, you've given the season a good go, found out early your team not going to be good enough to make noise in the West,
01:10:11
Chuku
What's the point in trying to know fight? like I'm pretty sure we've all heard the saying talked about when it comes to NBA specifically, where basically, all like NFL, like NBA is one of the worst leagues that you can be in trying to operate as like middle of middle of the pack, a little bit above average basketball team. like You're not going to go anywhere. like it team that finishes somewhere between 10 to, you know I'll say 10 to 6 seed, or even let's just say 10 to 7, you're just in the middle of in in the abyss
01:10:45
Chuku
of like doing nothing. you Maybe a first round exit, who knows, maybe you make a game seven, I don't know. But the point is you hate to be in that sort of position. And the only way to kind of make it to the top is by crew accruing stars.
01:11:00
Chuku
Some know organizations have it easy because they can wait for teams to drive these drive these quote unquote star players young and then entice them to come later on in their careers in free agency.
01:11:11
Chuku
While other places, you know, they don't have that kind of ability to to attract, you know, free agent talents. So what do they have to do? They have to hope they can get, know, lucky in the draft, draft one of these individuals, you know, build a team around them and hopefully develop and hope that they stay with whatever project you're able to build around them and hopefully be in a position to win to win a championship. And with Utah Jazz, for me, it just makes sense. If they have their own pick,
01:11:40
Chuku
They're having a great season.
01:11:44
Chuku
just think in general the team should not be penalized for wanting to draft, sorry, to wanting to quote-unquote tank when we know all the hype that's coming up with this year's draft.
01:11:56
Chuku
Wanting to be putting yourself in the best position to hopefully be able to compete and win, you know, in the long run. If that means sacrificing some wins, some Ws now, so be it. I don't just, I don't see the issue. I honestly, never been a I've never really understood the whole idea about, you know,
01:12:15
Chuku
having teams, like, not every team can win the championship. There's, you know, there some good teams, some okay teams, and some bad teams. It is what it is. And quite frankly, don't know. I just, I don't like the fact that there's such a big narrative in the NBA that, like, this whole having to create rules and regulations as far as tanking, like, end of the day, is the organization, is there is their call? they If they want to, you you know Obviously, not everyone in the league is going to want to tank.
01:12:42
Chuku
So i was like, if that's the case, like, why are we so concerned about the the teams on the bottom end? Like, we should be more concerned about teams in the top, the one that actually wins something. And that's what should be what should be more talked about and portrayed a about in the in the you know in the media as opposed to trying to find ways to encourage teams to, you know,
01:13:04
Chuku
play harder or or not tank quote unquote. I mean, I feel like you've already done as best or good as a job as you can, even introducing this whole play in tournament. I was, i was a big fan of it. I mean, like the fact that we have something like a play in that gives teams with not 10 to, you know, 10 to seven range, an opportunity to play and qualify for the playoffs.
01:13:25
Chuku
That up on is on its own is already, for me, a win in terms of for the fans and encouraging teams, obviously not to tank and giving themselves a good shot or a chance to still make the playoffs, even if, you know, you don't have the best record coming in or fall short of a top eight position. i think that's been a nice introduction. And I think, you know, this whole idea of this tanking business is just a whole lot of, you know,
01:13:53
Chuku
It's just getting too much attention, in my opinion. So, yeah. I don't think it's as big as a deal as people are trying to make it. But, hey, that's just my, you know, outside viewpoint looking into the situation. So, yeah.
01:14:08
Emeka
And my thing is, all most of the fixes people have proposed, I've read at least, are either one, just never going to happen. Like, we're not going to play 58 games in a season. There's too much money to leave. It's just never going to happen.
01:14:22
Emeka
Or if it did happen, like I see people pitch a flatten all the odds from playing down. The first year a team like... the Warriors win the draft this year and draft the A.J.
01:14:36
Emeka
Everyone would have pitchforks out. Like, they people who say they want these things, but I promise the first year a good team who just finishes eighth or something wins the lottery.
01:14:46
Emeka
Everyone will lose their mind. So let's just, you know, there's no fix I've seen proposed. that doesn't open up a can of worms for another you know potential outcome. And I guess is this there's a soft softness in my heart for these small market teams especially who are bad.
01:15:06
Emeka
The whole point of the lottery, the whole point of the draft, forget the lottery, the point of the draft is that we want parity. We don't want the same teams to be good forever. I love football. My favorite sport. I watch this.
01:15:18
Emeka
I have memories. There's a reason why there's only like five teams who've won a championship in the last like 25 years in most leagues. And you can predict who's going to win the league in 90% of leagues from week one.
01:15:30
Emeka
They have no parity in there. It's just pure capitalism. If you're rich, you get the best players. If you're poor, you don't. And that's some benefits, but I kind of like that in American sports.
01:15:41
Emeka
There is a cycle. You're going to be bad now, but there's hope in the future. You're going sell hope to the franchise. That's what the draft is. I want bad teams to have hope. I want, you know, the worst team in the league to draft a Cooper flag.
01:15:57
Emeka
I don't like when Cooper flag goes to Dallas. I think that's kind of trash. So I'm with it, man. If you're a jazz fan, if you're whatever, i want you to succeed. I want you to have hope that you can draft the next franchise chasing guy. He comes in and leads the team to glory. So i I guess full circle, like, you know, much as again, the jazz kind of took it a little bit too far for me. with the resting guys in the fourth quarter. But big picture-wise, I'm with it, man. like I want bad teams to be good. I want there to be a cycle.
01:16:26
Emeka
I don't like when the same team is good for 20 years. like I like that there's progression in these leagues. So I guess tanking for me isn't really a big deal. I mean, you know, you read a lot of things. Have you read any like suggestions or fixes that you think should be implemented or is just keep it as it is right now?
01:16:43
Chino Onwuka
That's the thing, right? i've I've read so many different suggestions and you know shout out to people for trying to be creative and come up with a solution. But the problem is you know every suggestion I see i can I just see a way where teams would still tank.
01:16:59
Chino Onwuka
There's no scenario you can do to curb tanking in which teams' organizations wouldn't find a way to still put themselves in the best position to in the best position to still get a valuable player, or a young player at at a rookie contract. So you know the the only things that would work are one, like honestly, the wheel,
01:17:23
Chino Onwuka
because if it's just a set schedule as to, you know, when you get high pick, then there's no point in tanking because, you know, there's a schedule set. But again, you know, you will now lose parity because at some point the best team in the league will get access to that number one pick. And also, you know, that wheel, you could lose out where the year you get the number one pick, it's Zachary Richer Shea. And, you know, on the...
01:17:49
Chino Onwuka
on the on the On the shoulders of that are are a Cooper flag and and a Nwemayama. So then you would just have an uproar there, but hey, no tanking. And then the other one is honestly where they say just abolish the draft.
01:18:02
Chino Onwuka
And then, you know, that becomes more like soccer, which we all know, except, you know, there's a salary cap, so you can't just go and hoard all the players. You know, would you have certain teams being able to get more players? Yes.
01:18:16
Chino Onwuka
And there's also no relegation. So I don't know how that would work. But honestly, when I see all the different proposals, it's like, oh, you know, freeze the lottery at at at March. Well, just tank earlier. you Just if you do this, OK, well, I'm just going to tank to still give myself the best odds.
01:18:35
Chino Onwuka
So, yeah, it's it's a tough one. really It's a really hard one to solve.
01:18:40
Emeka
I will say the whole abolish the draft thing makes me laugh because 20 owners have to vote to change that rule. And good luck trying to convince the overwhelming majority of the league that, yes, in a free agent race, Cooper Flagg would definitely happily sign with the Charlotte Hornets or the, you know, insert small market team instead of taking a minimum and signing with the Lakers and just making that money in endorsements.
01:19:08
Emeka
Like, yeah, tell me that's the world we want to live in, where rookies get the chance to pick their team. And tell me we won't see a million aspiration-type scandals, where if I'm Nike and there's a happened LeBron James 2.0 coming out, I'm telling him, sign with New York, we'll give you $100 million dollars more in your studio than if you sign with the Cavs. Like, it's just never, ever, ever going to happen.
01:19:33
Emeka
And if they do that, then you have to abolish the rookie wage scale. And again, the players would never agree to that because it's a set cap. And now I'm giving up cap space to hypothetical future non-union members. Why would I ever vote for that?
01:19:48
Emeka
So yeah, like all these suggestions, like, you know, I get why people feel the need to pitch these things because it's the topic du jour, but they're just never going to happen. They're just never, ever going to happen.
NBA Awards Eligibility Rule Discussion
01:20:01
Emeka
But you know what? and I may not speak too soon because Adam Silver is has made this his mission. Like, clearly, it is what bothers him the most. And I'll give him credit that he's consistent about this because people forget he The process Sixers disgusted him so much, he gave them a GM, which is so funny to me, that the league got away of just forcing a team to hire a garbage general manager in the Colangelo's because he was just so disgusted with how Sam Hickey was running things. So, he is going to overreact in the past. and there's a world where he text it looks at this Utah Jazz thing and and he just says, enough is enough. And
01:20:39
Emeka
Apparently the rumors are the the ownership are meeting this summer and they're really really going to Hammer in some new changes and I am very curious to see what those changes are because There's a you know, you try to fix a small problem. You make a bigger one and that's kind of what I think Tanking and this tanking discourse is going to cause and you know, I guess we'll kind of see what happens when it happens Related to tanking another big especially now with all the injuries and people sitting out games I've been seeing is the 65 game rule.
01:21:13
Emeka
If you're not aware in the NBA recently, two years ago, I think they implemented a new rule where to win an award or make all NBA team, you have to play in at least 65 games in the season. So you can only miss 17.
01:21:25
Emeka
seventeen And when when it came up, everyone was you know clapping their hands and saying, yes, we want players to play more. We're tired of load management. These soft players these days, oh, we were back in Michael Jordan's day, he played 82 games, all blah, blah, blah. I laughed and thought to myself, I can't wait for the first year where everyone gets hurt and then we have some random guy winning MVP.
01:21:47
Emeka
That might be this year because Wembe Yama can only miss two more games. Giannis is out. I think Luka can only miss like five games. Sheik only miss seven games. Jokic can only miss three games. These are top five players in the league.
01:22:01
Emeka
We're facing a world where MVP...
01:22:03
Chino Onwuka
I don't think Jokic can miss any other games.
01:22:04
Emeka
I don't think Jokic any the games.
01:22:05
Chino Onwuka
He's at the limit.
01:22:07
Emeka
you know There's a world where we're recording in May and talking about a Kate Cunningham versus Jalen Brown MVP race. I'll start with you, Chukwu. So we're now this is year three of the 65 game rule.
01:22:20
Emeka
Are you still a fan of it or do you think it should be relaxed a little bit, get some leeway for the real super-duper stars who are now in danger of missing on the awards?
01:22:31
Chuku
So what what I will say, look, I think they had the right idea with putting a minimum game threshold. I just think 65, though, was a little bit too high, maybe. i think maybe lowering it a bit.
01:22:49
Chuku
Like, I'm thinking more in the 50-plus game range would be more the the more ideal, in my opinion. But I definitely do think that there should be a minimum game range for sure. Like that one I think because there shouldn't be no way a player that plays 30 games, for example, balls out those 30 games, puts up crazy stats, and somehow wins MVP because of that. I just don't think that a world like that should exist.
01:23:19
Chuku
But at the same time, that 65-game threshold have been like a fine, something that's like, Does that, you know, direct? I just think it's tough, man. I definitely think, you know, it was right idea. Just, I think, just got to lower that that margin as far as number of games. that's me I think 50-55 would be more ideal. And that's still more than half of the season played.
01:23:47
Chuku
And I think it still gets no the message across as far as having to play a set amount games to be able to qualify for these awards. So, yeah, I think right idea, just a little bit too harsh with the number that they kind of went with, is my opinion.
01:24:06
Emeka
you know
01:24:08
Chino Onwuka
To some of Chukwu's points, I think, you know, games played has always been something the voters considered anyway for these awards. Like, I don't think there's ever been a case where a guy was killing it, but only played 30 games and and won the awards. I remember...
01:24:23
Chino Onwuka
all the all the different polls for all the different awards and games played was always a factor where they consider what's the impact. Okay, yeah, he bowled out. What the impact was he able to do in maybe smaller amount of games versus someone who did it for a larger period. So games played have always been considered. So I think the 65 game rule is really hurting because awarding the the right people for these awards because you know you have a situation where you know Shea or Jokic might not win the MVP when for us who are here we know that those are the two guys for and MVP but if they both don't make it because of this rule
01:25:10
Chino Onwuka
our kids looking down 20 years down the line, they will not have the full context and the story of what occurred in the 2025, 2026 season. Or if Wembe doesn't win defensive player of the year,
01:25:24
Chino Onwuka
And then you could argue he should have two by now. He might not have any. And you know how dumb sports discourse can be. People will start saying, oh, well, he only has this where, you know, if they weren't able to see the player, that's all they'll have to go off. So I think it hurts for that piece. I think...
01:25:43
Chino Onwuka
The people who have the ability to vote for these are are supposed to be experts, so you would think they have the wherewithal to to be able to be able to parse out all these different elements.
01:25:55
Chino Onwuka
But I do think the 65 game rule has helped with load management. Cool, good.
01:26:06
Chino Onwuka
But it's not helping with injuries because I think what's happening, and I can clearly see this with Wemby, is there are games where certain players just need a break just to take something off their foot.
01:26:19
Chino Onwuka
Take their foot off the gas, rest their legs. And they can't now if they get legitimate. Because they've had legitimate injuries, they do not have the the grace to rest when they might need to.
01:26:36
Chino Onwuka
where it might be a situation that might prevent them from getting future injury because of this rule. And we're seeing that impact with the stars. How much are we going to see an impact for that in the playoffs? I don't know, but I think, yes, it's helping with loan management, but I think...
01:26:54
Chino Onwuka
And sometimes you you need to play things out. We're seeing some of the the consequences and after effects of that rule, whereas it's still not helping with stars playing because not all those stars are just injured.
01:27:06
Chino Onwuka
And then now you might not be getting the right players, you know, winning these awards.
01:27:14
Emeka
I guess I'm more on the more militant side of that. I actually really like this rule. And for that reason of... I like that it makes players and teams...
01:27:25
Emeka
Really, really confront this. What is the most important thing? Is it winning championships or is it individual awards? I like i like that. I like that, you know, if you're a Wemby or a Jokic, you have to decide whether, like, for objectively in the long run, it's better if I set out this game. But because I sprained an ankle in November, if I want to win MVP, I got to go out there and play. Because...
01:27:49
Emeka
I love the NBA, and I think a lot of the discourse, people are negative about it, is overplayed. One thing I do agree with is that if you are a fan trying to watch a live NBA game, it is really...
01:28:03
Emeka
You're rolling the dice sometimes. Like, I shouldn't have to be doing calculus to figure out if I buy a ticket to see Lakers versus Rockets. Am I going to see LeBron and KD? I don't know. And I've been burned. Honestly, I've been pretty good fortune in games I've gone to the Stars play. But I have friends who've been burned a lot. You pay a lot of money to go to these teams.
01:28:27
Emeka
And that's the gay art third game on a you know in five days. We're wrestling on the starters. I like that now teams are – there's an incentive that if I want to win an award or All-NBA or whatever, I should suit up because it's fun to – I want to see the best guys play, and I get it.
01:28:44
Emeka
Sometimes you're actually hurt. it is what it is. then sit out and don't win MVP or don't win defensive player of the year. Like that's, that's fine. The only adjustment I would make is that I wouldn't have a B 65 for all NBA.
01:28:57
Emeka
I think MVP defensive player of the year, like individual awards, I'm fine eight 65 all NBA. That should be just full of discretion. What is 60 games of Jokic compared to 72 games of Cade? Well, that's up to the voter. If that wants to be first team or second team or whatever, I like leaving that up to voters. But for, like, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, all those awards, I'm with it. I want to see the best guys out there, and I want that the incentive is on them to play because – You know, I'm a softie again. i read those stories of family flies from China. Their son's best favorite player is Steph Curry. They they scrounge up, and your family, you know, the dad takes his kid out for his birthday. Let's go on and have the Warriors sit out. Like, I feel for those people because I'm blessed enough that I can go to games.
01:29:46
Emeka
People, for lot of people, this is like a I save it for a year to go to this game. So, yeah, I like that the power structure now, the incentives are for people to play games. I like it.
01:29:57
Emeka
So I'm hard, more militant on the 65-game rule. And I'm glad they did it. And when they announced it, I had this thought of, I can't wait for the first year where we get weird MVP race.
01:30:08
Emeka
And there's a part of me that kind of wanted to beat Jalen Brown versus Kate Cunningham. Why not? Why not just throw something out there? We know Shea and Jokic are the two best guys in the league. Why somebody else won MVP? Like, I'm with it.
01:30:19
Emeka
I'm all for team chaos. So, yeah.
01:30:21
Chino Onwuka
But sure, and we know that, right? But what happens in 20 years, in 30 years?
01:30:27
Emeka
Who won MVP 30 years ago?
01:30:27
Chino Onwuka
People will...
01:30:29
Chino Onwuka
I think...
01:30:29
Emeka
Carmelo did.
01:30:30
Emeka
But guess what? anyone I can tell you right now, no one cares. Phil Michael Jordan was the best player in the league. So, you know.
01:30:36
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, but like like you said, but even with MVP or NBA, I'm pretty sure Michael Jordan was all NBA.
01:30:37
Emeka
Yeah, but...
01:30:42
Chino Onwuka
So I know who the top players were. I can go and look at their stats. But with this rule in 30 years, I'm going to see Jalen Brown, Cade Cunningham. And unless you know you're you have the ability to do more research or hear from people who were there.
01:30:54
Chino Onwuka
you you might be like, oh, well, maybe Jokic was just a bum that year or Shea was just a bum that year. Like, you lose – because there's literally been times where I've just gone through the all-NBA history to see who were the best five players. Oh, I know, you know, in the early 90s, I know there were all these big men, you know – what what was sort of the story as who was dominant for this period who started up at the top and then who which young gun took over and and i did i was able to do that through all nba and and with this rule i get why they did it i'm not saying it's all these things where there are there are sometimes unintended consequences and it's up to the and nba to decide you know what's more important and and maybe you know
01:31:38
Chino Onwuka
Having players play more games and get it through those games is more important to them and so be it. But it's just to emphasize that these might be some of the things that that we miss out on. And and I definitely get get and understand the points you made.
01:31:52
Emeka
No, that's why I said, like, I'm more hard line for the individual awards, but for all NBA, I am fully with it. Like, that's dealer's choice. Because third, especially when I get to like third team NBA.
01:32:04
Emeka
for For third dirt team All-NBA, let me decide whether I want 40 games of Jokic versus 70 games of Donovan Mitchell. i Let me decide that as a voter.
01:32:15
Emeka
Whereas for MVP and stuff, I'm more of the, okay, strict cutoff in rules. So I'm with you on that because I do agree. All-NBA, I honestly don't care about All-Stars.
01:32:26
Emeka
I look at All-NBA as a historical snapshot. Who are the best 15 guys? Now that it's positionless, who are the best 15 guys in the league? like let's 20 years down the line, actually look at All-NBA team and think these are the best guys in the league. So yes, for that, I fully agree.
01:32:43
Emeka
Relax the position. I wouldn't even positional requirements. Like, let it be, if you want to think, if you are, chi example, if you are a guy who would play 30 games and you those 30 games are the best thing ever, then make all NBA eighteen team with those 30 games. Like, I'm with you on that. But as I mentioned, I won't go into it again. I just like that there's incentive for people to play games. I just, again, I'm a softie and I go to games personally live and I just like that.
01:33:09
Emeka
That's kind of what we're incentivizing now, which, you know, it's a good thing. How you, Chico? Any thoughts about it this this discourse?
01:33:18
Chuku
I think that's kind of just not not really not really much more to add towards what I've already mentioned already. and like at the end of the day, man, I respect you know where you're coming from. I get what you're saying.
01:33:30
Chuku
But the fact that like someone can miss out from being MVP because, they let's say, they've played 64 games instead of 65, that just doesn't sit right with me. I don't know. I just i just think...
01:33:46
Chuku
There's a way to kind of counteract, like but try and balance it out. And in my opinion, I just think the reduction of games required is a start. And 65 is quite a it's quite a high number nowadays, especially in this load management area or that we're living in at the moment. and I think the fact that you're playing more than half of the league should count as enough. In fact, I think, honestly, what why can't it be half, like, at least play more than half of the regular season?
01:34:20
Chuku
Because in my opinion, if you can, know, show strong, you know, performance over half, of the of the of the year, that should warrant enough to earn a place in these All-NBA or MVP or these awards that we're talking about. Like, it it's such a shame that a player like Wemby, who was, in my opinion, and a lot of other people's opinions,
01:34:41
Chuku
has been clear best defensive player of the year, has lost out of winning know or getting that recognition just because he's not been able to play 65 games.
01:34:52
Chuku
I just, don't know. Something about that doesn't sit right with me. And, you know, in the future, as Shuna kind of alluded to, like, it's going to be kind of weird looking back and seeing certain like, oh yeah, because we know how this conversation goes.
01:35:05
Chuku
It's going to be, oh, pull up the Wikipedia. So-and-so has all these awards. But if you weren't there at the time and they weren't actually, you know, seeing what was going on, like there's no word you're telling me, you know, guys like JJJ was a better defensive force than Wemby. Like, what are we doing? You know I'm saying? And don't know. I just, I just think the,
01:35:27
Chuku
um'm not I'm not for the the harshness of these restrictions that are are being put in place. And I definitely think, like i said, there should be some form of restriction or some sort of standard set. But I just think what we have right now is a little bit too far, in my personal opinion. And I'll leave it that.
01:35:49
Emeka
No, it's all valid. All I'll say is when we rally the boys out for a field trip to, you know, Orlando versus the Spurs, we'll be happy if Wemby's playing that game. That's all I'm going to say. That's kind of the mindset I'm taking it as. As a consumer, if I'm paying good money to watch it you know a team come up,
01:36:11
Emeka
I want to see the best players play and anything the league can do to incentivize that I'm all for it. And if it comes down to, I have to see Evan Mobley win defensive player of the year instead. So be it, but you know, all valid
Looking Ahead: Arsenal vs Chelsea and NBA Content
01:36:23
Emeka
points. I can't argue any of that. And you know what? It kind of got me a little bit with the one beyond the point, because it is true that he's been the best player in the league since he's been drafted. And if he doesn't win a defensive play of the year, because he played 60 games, that's kind of silly, but i don't I'm not commissioner, so i don't have the answers. But, you know, I was militant before, but you guys have kind of convinced me a little bit to to ease off of my on my stance. So I'll give you props for that. I am a little bit more swayed. But I don't know. I just like guys playing games. That's just what it comes down to.
01:36:57
Emeka
Anyhow, you know, there's been negative-ish NBA section just because a lot of big topics in the league. We haven't really touched on them. I'm sure as the season winds down, where you know, if NFL is over, this is when people, a.k.a. me, lock in a little bit more. We'll be definitely coming in with the hot NBA takes, as we've alluded to a lot of times. One a one guy on this podcast, his favorite team is just dominating the league these days. I'm sure he's getting...
01:37:26
Emeka
The other guys, the Raptors and the Magic, not so hot so far. But I'm sure we'll talk all about that and more as we gear up for the NBA playoffs and award races and further more conversation topics and further episodes of the Love of the Game podcast.
01:37:40
Emeka
But as always, as we do on this pod, we like to give a little prediction for the game of the week. And I figured why not repeat what we did last week. We had the North London Derby.
01:37:51
Emeka
Now we got another London Derby. Arsenal versus our good friends, Chelsea. Smack them up in the Carlin Cup semifinals. And then they had the famous one one win at Stanford Bridge in November.
01:38:04
Emeka
Now they're, you know, were seeking for revenge here. I'll start with you, Chana. Game is that the Emirates were coming off a big derby win. Chelsea are coming off a shock draw to Burnley. Give me your prediction for this matchup.
01:38:20
Chino Onwuka
Hey, look, it worked last week, so I'm going to with it again two two
01:38:24
Emeka
This guy. Well, hey. I got to say, man, the thing I love the most about Mikel is that at the later Wenger years, we used to get slapped up by these big teams, and that has changed, especially Chelsea. We haven't lost to Chelsea, and i don't want to say it because it might jinx it.
01:38:43
Emeka
And that's what I say. I don't think it's going change this weekend either. Give me a humble 3-1 Arsenal victory. Drukwu?
01:38:51
Chuku
Bro, it's going to sound like I've been fooling your coattails in this pod, but like, bro, you must be really being my my head on my thoughts because was thinking a 3-1 victory as well.
01:39:06
Chuku
Simply just because of the fact that I don't know what's going on our defense, but for whatever reason, we can't seem to keep of late that clean sheet. So I expect i expect a dominant performance.
01:39:18
Chuku
I expect quite a bit of goals. And, uh, If you're betting man, over 2 or over 1.5 is definitely something that's on the plate. But I definitely see Arsenal coming away with the victory. Without out a shadow of a doubt. Like, come on. Chelsea are our little bros, man. So 3-1. Give me that 3-1. Come to victory.
01:39:36
Emeka
Amen, amen, amen. Well, as we usually do in this podcast, we like to wrap it up with just a quick shout-out of the week. Chinon, do you have a shout-out when you give?
01:39:49
Chino Onwuka
Shout out for the week.
01:39:52
Chino Onwuka
Look, I know I might seem like I'm umm all over the place. Actually, no, no, I don't. I can't believe I forgot about it, but shout out Bodo.
01:40:04
Chino Onwuka
Maybe I stole this from from someone, but shout out Bodo. Bodo Gwynn making it over Inter Milan into the round of 16 in the Champions League. an amazing, and amazing achievement for their club. And, Mike, I'm sure you have the statistics of sort of all the different records they've broken, either personally for the club or for a club for their country. So, yeah, shout out, Bodo.
01:40:28
Emeka
Damn, you took my team. I was going to give it, I'll echo it. Bodo Glint, if you just saw it paper, you would think this it was like a smash and grab beating Inter Milan. They outplayed Inter Milan home and away. i was I watched the second leg and I got to say I was shocked at the quality they were playing. in This is a team that is currently in their offseason.
01:40:52
Emeka
Like the the league is done right now. They're just, someone says that advantage, they get to just rest up all week to play it But I think it's disadvantage. They just sit around. They're playing friendlies and sit around at home. Entered a title race and Bodo slapped him up. all right didn't you know in the In Norway, artificial pitch, people said, okay, let's go to a real game.
01:41:13
Emeka
They went to intermal Inter Milan and smacked him up away too. So, yeah i just want to double down on that. Shouts out, Bodo glints. Like, what a Cinderella story. I hope they go even further than the Champions League.
01:41:26
Emeka
Chukwu, take us home. Anything?
01:41:29
Chuku
I've got two names, actually, and two names in two different sports. But I'm to start with football first. And shout out to Vinny Jr. We all know the controversy he's been dealing with or had to deal with playing away at the Benfica.
01:41:45
Chuku
And I just find it hilarious. I don't know what you guys think but of it. But obviously, you know, he might as well get his goal, you know, in the second leg at home. And isn't it odd that in one leg he scores his goal, does his dance, gets booked, but in the second leg scores his goal,
01:42:09
Chuku
does his dance, but doesn't get booked. I don't know what's going on with that. It is what it is. But just want to shout him out for the performance. He played a big part in seeing Madrid through in the playoffs of the Champions League. Yeah, shout out to So he gets my shout out.
01:42:28
Chuku
And I'm just going to shout out to him. How low back, careful. Oh, man, I got to enjoy. What a performance playing at the Steeble Center. the other day. I don't know if they lost today.
01:42:41
Chuku
It's been a rough season. But I just think, you know, in a season where he's kind of taking a little bit of a step back, just being able to see him have a performance of the likes that he did against the Lakers, against LeBron, Luka, and Cole, I just think, you know, it goes to show there's still something there, right?
01:42:59
Chuku
There's something there. And hopefully, you know, he can kind of regain the form he was gaining in previous years, and hopefully
Closing Remarks and Audience Appreciation
01:43:06
Chuku
he can put it together. But those were definitely my shout-outs of the week.
01:43:12
Emeka
Yeah, hey, well, Vinny, shout out Vinny for being... The only Brazilian I can see that was no doesn't know how to dance because the moves, I don't know. a But, no, for real. Shots out Vinny Jr. After the week he had, I'm glad he scored and knocked out Benfica.
01:43:29
Emeka
But, anyway, it's been another long episode here. Thanks for rocking with us. Episode 49. Next time, episode 50. Shout out us for getting 50 episodes recorded. Well, next week, getting 50 episodes recorded. and no It's not easy.
01:43:43
Emeka
Who knows what episode 50 might be. We might fly out on location somewhere. You might catch us live at the Emirates recording this. Who knows what we got cooked up for you guys. Probably not that, but hey, regardless, might have some surprise for you next time you listen to us. But shout out to the fans as well for rocking with us. 49 episodes, 50 coming up. It really has been great.
01:44:05
Emeka
We appreciate every support we get from you guys. like I can speak for the entire crew here where it's all love. We truly, truly do appreciate you guys. Thanks for joining us. And thanks for tuning in it for episode 49. Tune in next week for episode 50. Again, teaser. Who knows what we might be doing for next week.
01:44:23
Emeka
Probably the same stuff we're doing this week because we loved it. Join us again on Love of the Game podcast. Thanks for rocking with us, everybody.