🎙️ Tifo Football Podcast •August 27, 2026 •⏱️ 1h 20m

Barcola to Liverpool, Chelsea’s Alonso debut & Fulham’s new era!

🎧 Listen to Original Episode →

1. Executive Overview: Core Theses & Key Revelations

The contemporary elite football ecosystem operates at the confluence of extreme financial capitalization, hyper-specialized tactical modeling, and continuous media commentary. In the latest edition of the Tifo Football Podcast, panel host Joe Devine alongside analytical contributors John McKenzie, Ruben Pender, and guest Jack Collins (of Ranks FC and Fulhamish fame) provided a comprehensive forensic breakdown of the European transfer window’s closing movements and early-season tactical developments. The conversation transcended routine transfer rumor aggregation, offering a detailed critique of structural squad assembly, financial inflation, and out-of-possession systemic flaws across several Premier League institutions.

At the center of the discussion is Liverpool Football Club’s agreement in principle to acquire Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola for a financial package totaling £120 million (€140 million overall, featuring a £100 million guaranteed sum). Reported by David Ornstein, this proposed transaction signals a profound philosophical shift in how Liverpool intend to construct their attacking baseline. Rather than searching for a direct positional carbon copy of Mohamed Salah—an inverted wide forward who guarantees 25 to 30 goals per season—Liverpool are pivoting toward spatial dilatation. Barcola’s primary tactical utility lies in his capacity to hold extreme touchline width, stretch opposition defensive blocks, and run into space behind defensive lines. This structural widening is explicitly designed to maximize the spatial clearance and central creative influence of Florian Wirtz, establishing a tactical blueprint centered around an elite interior playmaker rather than relying solely on wide finishing power.

Concurrently, the panel dissected the systemic dilemmas lingering at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea enter the managerial tenure of Xabi Alonso. Despite staggering capital expenditure under BlueCo ownership, successive coaching regimes over the past three and a half years have failed to construct an out-of-possession framework that stabilizes the £200m+ central midfield pairing of Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo. Ruben Pender’s critique of player valuation models highlighted a central market paradox: when market-wide player prices elevate uniformly, traditional metrics of overpayment lose baseline validity, forcing clubs into increasingly precarious financial allocations—exemplified by Aston Villa’s £65 million acquisition of Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Martínez’s agent-led movement toward West London.

Further downstream, the episode exposed the operational turbulence confronting mid-table sides. Crystal Palace find themselves entangled in contract disputes surrounding Jean-Philippe Mateta while attempting to drive up the market valuation of Ismaïla Sarr amidst interest from Liverpool and Galatasaray. Meanwhile, Fulham navigate a structural transition where pragmatic mid-table stability counterbalances pre-season relegation anxieties. Threaded through these serious analytical evaluations were the characteristic editorial tangents of the Tifo format—ranging from off-mic producer interventions by Steve regarding player nomenclature ('ambipedal' vs 'ambidextrous') to satirical reflections on yacht seizures and viral transfer rumors spawned by spoof accounts ('Pornstein'). This essay provides an exhaustive editorial breakdown of the strategic, financial, and tactical dimensions highlighted during the broadcast.

2. Context & Background: The Landscape Leading to This Conversation

To fully grasp the gravity of the tactical and financial realities discussed by the Tifo panel, one must contextualize the macroeconomic environment governing European football during this transfer cycle. The Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), combined with UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations, have radically transformed how elite organizations execute squad construction. Direct cash outlays are increasingly evaluated through amortization schedules, incentivizing top-tier clubs to target younger players whose long-term contract lengths spread capital risk across multiple accounting years, even as initial transfer fees reach historically unprecedented figures.

Liverpool’s decision to commit £100 million in guaranteed funds for Bradley Barcola comes during a transitional phase for the Merseyside club. Having established a generational era of dominance built upon a high-intensity pressing system and direct, inside-forward output, the club's sporting leadership has recognized that replacing a legend like Mohamed Salah requires systemic restructuring rather than one-to-one positional substitution. In contemporary tactical landscapes, low-block defensive structures have become remarkably adept at nullifying central inverted wingers through double-coverage and compressed spaces between the defensive and midfield lines. By securing a wide forward whose premier trait is vertical acceleration and touchline stretching, Liverpool are proactively responding to low-block congestion.

Simultaneously, Chelsea’s operational model under the BlueCo consortium presents a fascinating study in high-spending squad construction paired with structural out-of-possession instability. Having expended well over £1 billion across multiple registration windows, Chelsea's squad assembly has frequently prioritized individual talent accumulation over tactical harmony. The appointment of Xabi Alonso represents a distinct attempt to impose elite structural discipline upon a young roster. However, Alonso inherits a double pivot in Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo that has repeatedly appeared exposed against elite opposition during defensive transitions, raising fundamental questions about profile compatibility and out-of-possession workload distribution.

Across the broader league landscape, mid-tier clubs like Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, and Fulham face distinct operational pressures. Villa's aggressive recruitment—highlighted by the £65 million transaction for Nicolas Jackson—illustrates a determination to solidify Champions League contention, while Palace must continuously defend their star assets against financial powerhouses. The Tifo podcast episode captures this exact inflection point in European football: a landscape defined by hyper-inflated asset valuations, tactical specialization, and the relentless pressure on managerial staff to balance out-of-possession stability with expansive offensive structures.

3. Deep-Dive Thematic Breakdown

3.1 The £120m Barcola Gamble: Architectural Pivot to 'Florian Wirtz FC'

The headlining narrative of the podcast centered on David Ornstein’s breaking report detailing Liverpool’s agreement in principle with Paris Saint-Germain for Bradley Barcola. As Joe Devine highlighted, the total transaction structure—comprising £100 million guaranteed plus £20 million in performance-related add-ons—places Barcola among the most expensive attacking transfers in English football history. However, Jack Collins and John McKenzie provided a nuanced tactical reframing of this staggering financial layout, explaining why evaluating Barcola through the lens of traditional Salah-esque goal scoring misunderstands his tactical purpose.

Jack Collins noted explicitly: "If the Salah replacement is Barcola, that is not a right-winger who is going to score 30 goals this season. It's: can it all turn into Florian Wirtz FC?" This statement captures the core of Liverpool's evolving offensive blueprint. Over recent seasons, Liverpool’s wide options—such as Cody Gakpo—have exhibited a marked tendency to drop deep, receive the ball to feet, and drift into central channels. While effective for build-up possession, this profile inevitably compresses the central third of the pitch, congesting the exact half-spaces that an elite central playmaker like Florian Wirtz requires to operate effectively.

In contrast, Bradley Barcola offers genuine vertical dynamism. Operating primarily on the flank, Barcola excels at hugging the touchline, isolating opposing full-backs in one-on-one scenarios, and making aggressive off-the-ball runs behind the opposition's defensive line. John McKenzie reinforced this point, emphasizing that Liverpool’s forward line has desperately lacked players capable of stretching defensive blocks vertically from wide areas:

"With Barcola, that front line is clearly lacking someone who is able to make runs in behind. None of the players that they have really do that well, especially from a wide area. A lot of them are ball-to-feet guys who are going to receive the ball and then run at a defender... They do need to have some kind of threat in behind to keep opposition lines honest."

By forcing opposition defensive lines to retreat to respect Barcola’s vertical speed, Liverpool effectively stretch the pitch lengthways and crossways. This spatial dilatation creates expansive pockets of space between the opponent’s defensive and midfield lines—the exact operational zone where Florian Wirtz thrives. Thus, the purchase of Barcola represents a structural investment designed to transform Liverpool into 'Florian Wirtz FC', prioritizing central creative distribution over wide isolated goalscoring.

Attacking Profile Primary Spatial Zone Ball Reception Style Tactical Function for Wirtz Integration
Cody Gakpo Left Half-Space / Central Channel To feet; deep reception Compresses central half-spaces; restricts interior passing lanes.
Mohamed Salah (Classic) Right Inside-Channel In transition & half-space Direct goal-scoring engine; draws high central defensive focus.
Bradley Barcola Wide Touchline / Outer Flank In stride / behind defensive line Stretches defensive block laterally & vertically; isolates full-backs; creates interior pockets.

However, McKenzie also pointed out the systemic risks inherent in this aggressive tactical model. Committing wide forwards high up the pitch to stretch defensive blocks leaves Liverpool exceptionally reliant on their rest-defense structure during transition moments. If Liverpool lose possession while their wide forwards are positioned on the defensive line, opposition counter-attacks can exploit the vacant wide corridors if the midfield pivot fails to offer adequate spatial coverage.

3.2 The Chelsea Structural Paradox: BlueCo’s £115m Double Pivot Dilemma & Alonso’s Tactical Inheritance

The secondary thematic pillar of the podcast focused on Chelsea’s competitive opening under new head coach Xabi Alonso. While BlueCo’s ownership group has spent vast sums reshaping the squad, John McKenzie delivered a piercing critique of Chelsea’s lingering out-of-possession structural defects:

"None of the coaches that BlueCo have appointed in the last three and a half years have found a way to make the Fernandez-Caicedo double pivot work out of possession."

This observation diagnoses a recurring tactical flaw in Chelsea's midfield architecture. Both Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo possess exceptional individual qualities: Fernández offers world-class line-breaking vision and deep-lying playmaking, while Caicedo provides elite ground coverage and defensive ball recovery. However, when paired together in a traditional 4-2-3-1 double pivot, their out-of-possession synergy repeatedly breaks down against high-tempo pressing teams or swift counter-attacking units.

Under non-ball possession phases, Fernández often lacks the lateral mobility and defensive instincts to plug wide transition corridors when Caicedo steps up to press. Conversely, if Caicedo is forced to cover massive lateral distances alone, gaps open up directly in front of Chelsea's center-backs. McKenzie highlighted that none of Chelsea’s recent managerial appointments—spanning Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca, and now Xabi Alonso—have successfully engineered a pressing trigger mechanism or cover-shadow scheme that prevents opposition midfields from bypassing this £200m+ central block.

The panel discussed potential structural recalibrations for Alonso, including shifting to an asymmetric 3-4-2-1 structure where Fernández is shielded by an additional defensive midfielder or deployed in a more liberated advanced role, leaving Caicedo partnered with a work-rate specialist. The speculative offer of Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to Chelsea by his agent further underscores the ongoing volatility at Stamford Bridge, as the club continues to seek established leadership to anchor a backline that has frequently looked exposed without ball possession.

3.3 Financial Inflation & Valuation Realities: The £65m Jackson Move & Market Equilibrium

Transfer market economics formed a third vital strand of analytical discourse. The announcement of Nicolas Jackson’s £65 million transfer from Chelsea to Aston Villa served as a catalyst for a deeper discussion regarding market valuation baseline inflation. Ruben Pender presented a compelling conceptual critique of how modern football analysts evaluate player fees:

"Enzo Fernández is top of the list of players who have been overpaid for. The market is the market. If everyone's overpriced, is anyone overpriced?"

Pender’s paradox strikes at the heart of contemporary sports economics. In an era where premier attacking talent and elite young midfielders command nine-figure transfer figures as standard protocol, traditional metrics for deeming a player 'overpriced' become obsolete. When Aston Villa commit £65 million for Nicolas Jackson—a striker whose output remains raw despite impressive physical attributes and movement—they are not paying for guaranteed performance metrics; they are paying the baseline price required to secure a young, premier-league-proven forward in a scarce market.

The panel contrasted Jackson’s move to Villa with Ollie Watkins’ ongoing situation and potential transfer dominoes. As Villa bolster their attacking depth to compete across domestic and European fronts, the £65m fee reflects the premium placed on forward versatility and athletic potential. However, as Pender rightly argued, evaluating these figures through historical pricing lenses creates analytical distortion. In a market where baseline entry costs for raw talent start at £50 million, high-spending clubs are operating under a shifted economic paradigm where risk is amortized over long contract durations, creating an environment where valuation is defined purely by clearing prices rather than objective intrinsic value.

3.4 Crystal Palace’s Structural Turbulence: Mateta’s Contract Rebellion & Sarr’s Valuation Posturing

Moving away from the traditional top-six clubs, John McKenzie provided insider clarity regarding the complex off-pitch dynamics engulfing Crystal Palace. Central to Palace’s operational friction is the escalating saga surrounding French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Having previously sought a move to AC Milan in January—which collapsed following medical examinations concerning a pre-existing knee condition—Mateta and his representatives are now engaged in a legal and administrative dispute with Palace over a club-held contract extension option.

Mateta’s camp has argued that the club’s unilateral option to extend his contract by an additional year to preserve transfer value is legally invalid, attempting to force a free transfer exit. Concurrently, Palace have rebuffed initial inquiry bids from Liverpool for winger Ismaïla Sarr, despite Sarr reportedly having his head turned by interest from Galatasaray. McKenzie decoded Palace’s public posture regarding Sarr, observing: "Palace also rebuffed a Liverpool move for Ismaïla Sarr. It seems like he's going to go. I think we're trying to drive the price up."

Palace find themselves in a classical mid-table dilemma: balancing asset preservation with squad harmony. Losing both Mateta and Sarr in the same registration window would severely compromise Palace’s attacking capabilities. To mitigate potential departures, Palace have acquired Gozo from Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer—a dynamic young player utilized as a wing-back in North America whom Palace intend to convert into a front-line attacker. Furthermore, the panel analyzed the bizarre swap deal involving Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson between Everton and Spurs, illustrating the chaotic nature of deadline-period squad rebalancing.

3.5 Fulham’s Pragmatic Equilibrium: Navigating Mid-Table Realities & Systemic Adaptations

Guest analyst Jack Collins offered a grounded assessment of Fulham’s pre-season trajectory and structural outlook. Despite widespread media predictions before the campaign placing Fulham directly in the relegation conversation, Collins expressed confidence in the club's systemic resilience:

"I think Fulham will be okay, but I can see why people would have put us into those relegation conversations before the season began."

Collins highlighted the immense structural importance of key personnel like midfielder Sander Berge, whose defensive screening and ball-carrying capabilities provide Fulham with a reliable central foundation. The discussion emphasized that while Fulham may lack the extravagant individual firepower of top-six rosters, their tactical coherence, pragmatic defensive organization, and effective set-piece execution keep them clear of genuine relegation danger.

Interestingly, this section of the podcast best exemplified Tifo’s distinct blend of technical analysis and irreverent editorial side-tracks. The panel’s discussion of Fulham’s tactical setup repeatedly drifted into non-football banter—ranging from detailed debates over chocolate and cheese pairings to the legal nuances of maritime yacht seizures. These lighthearted detours, far from diminishing the analytical weight of the episode, contextualize the camaraderie and unvarnished media culture that defines modern football podcasting.

4. Speaker Perspectives & Analytical Contrast

A primary strength of the Tifo Football Podcast lies in the distinct analytical personas and methodological approaches of its panel members. The discussion on Barcola, Chelsea, and market economics showcased a rich spectrum of analytical viewpoints, contrasting empirical tactical theory with market pragmatism and media skepticism.

Joe Devine (Host & Editorial Director): Devine functions as the narrative anchor and investigative catalyst. His approach is characterized by sharp journalistic instinct coupled with self-deprecating humor. Devine consistently focuses on structural storytelling—extracting the broader macro implications of breaking transfer news from tier-one journalists like David Ornstein. However, Devine also serves as the comedic foil for media hoaxes, openly admitting to falling for fake Twitter accounts ('Pornstein') while driving the conversation across technical and cultural boundaries.

John McKenzie (Tactical Analyst): McKenzie represents the rigorous, out-of-possession tactical perspective. His analysis relies heavily on spatial mechanics, rest-defense organization, and pressing triggers. McKenzie was the most critical voice regarding Chelsea's structural deficiencies, cutting through high-priced player reputations to highlight the fundamental incompatibility of the Fernández-Caicedo double pivot without ball possession. His reporting on Crystal Palace demonstrated deep insider knowledge of club contract dynamics and asset valuation tactics.

Ruben Pender (Market & Financial Specialist): Returning from the United States, Pender provided the macro-economic and financial valuation lens. Rather than analyzing individual on-pitch actions, Pender evaluates football through market trends, financial capitalization, and asset inflation. His rejection of simplistic 'overpriced' narratives provided a primary economic counterweight to traditional punditry, asserting that market pricing is relative and self-defining.

Jack Collins (Guest Analyst - Ranks FC / Fulhamish): Collins brought an authentic fan-analyst balance combined with wide-ranging tactical knowledge across domestic European football. His tactical insight regarding Liverpool’s shift to 'Florian Wirtz FC' via Barcola’s touchline stretching was the definitive tactical concept of the episode. Collins excels at connecting player profile characteristics to team-wide offensive schemes.

Steve (Producer / On-Mic Fact-Checker): Though operating off-camera, Steve plays an essential structural role as the studio's pedantic fact-checker and log-keeper. Intervening to correct linguistic inaccuracies—such as enforcing 'ambipedal' over 'ambidextrous' when describing two-footed players—Steve acts as the editorial conscience of the broadcast, keeping the host panel accountable to precise analytical standards.

Speaker Primary Analytical Methodology Key Tactical / Financial Thesis Core Analytical Focus
Joe Devine Narrative Synthesis & Media Breakdown Transfer agreements in principle require structural, not just emotional, evaluation. Journalistic verification, breaking news framing, editorial balance.
John McKenzie Spatial Mechanics & Rest-Defense Analysis Chelsea's £200m+ midfield pivot fails due to systemic out-of-possession flaws. Defensive transitions, pressing triggers, contract option legality.
Ruben Pender Macro-Economic Market Modeling Player inflation is market-wide; traditional 'overpaid' labels are economically obsolete. Amortization, transfer market equilibrium, capital allocation risk.
Jack Collins Player Profile Compatibility & System Fit Barcola's arrival is designed to unlock Florian Wirtz by stretching pitch width. Wide forward dynamism, offensive spatial clearance, mid-table stability.
Steve Empirical Fact-Checking & Technical Pedantry Linguistic and statistical precision must be maintained during analytical banter. Terminology correction ('ambipedal'), record keeping, studio moderation.

5. Strategic & Industry Implications

The analytical observations made during this Tifo podcast episode carry profound implications for the broader European football industry, signaling major shifts in tactical architecture, transfer recruitment strategies, and sports media reporting.

1. The Paradigm Shift in Wide Forward Recruitment: Liverpool’s willingness to spend £120 million on Bradley Barcola underlines an industry-wide reassessment of wide player profiles. For over a decade, elite clubs prioritized inverted wingers capable of cutting inside to generate primary goalscoring volume (exemplified by Mohamed Salah, Arjen Robben, and Neymar). However, as low-block defensive schemes have evolved to pack central channels, elite teams are once again prioritizing natural touchline wingers who possess exceptional vertical pace. The strategic goal is no longer solely wide finishing, but rather spatial creation for central interior creators like Florian Wirtz, Jude Bellingham, or Jamal Musiala.

2. The Out-of-Possession Midfield Imperative: Chelsea’s ongoing struggles with the Fernández-Caicedo double pivot serve as a stark warning to technical directors worldwide: accumulating elite ball-progressing talent without accounting for out-of-possession work-rate and defensive coverage creates systemic fragility. In modern elite football, transitions occur with extreme velocity. Midfield pairings that cannot effectively compress space, win secondary balls, and defend wide corridors during turn-over moments will inevitably be exploited, regardless of their individual transfer fees or technical passing acumen.

3. Legal Friction in Contract Extensions and Option Clauses: Jean-Philippe Mateta’s contract dispute at Crystal Palace reflects growing player-agency resistance against unilateral club extension options. As clubs increasingly rely on option years to preserve asset values under FFP/PSR amortization constraints, players and agents are beginning to challenge the legal enforceability of these clauses, seeking greater control over free-agency movements. If FIFA or sports arbitration bodies rule in favor of players in such disputes, European clubs could lose a key mechanism used to safeguard player market values.

4. Media Vulnerability in the Instant Transfer Era: The recurring studio joke regarding spoof social media accounts ('Pornstein') highlights a broader vulnerability within modern sports journalism. As the demand for instantaneous transfer news intensifies, even seasoned media figures and analysts face continuous noise from impersonator accounts and speculative rumors. Maintaining rigorous verification standards while providing real-time analytical commentary represents a major operational challenge for modern sports outlets.

6. Looking Ahead: Unresolved Questions & Next Milestones

As the European football season unfolds, several key metrics, tactical developments, and organizational milestones will determine whether the hypotheses articulated by the Tifo panel hold true in empirical competition:

  • Liverpool’s Tactical Integration of Barcola: Will Arne Slot successfully utilize Barcola as a touchline width provider to maximize Florian Wirtz’s central output, or will Liverpool's rest-defense structure suffer from committing wide players so high up the pitch? Key metrics to monitor include Barcola's progressive carries into the penalty area versus Wirtz’s expected assists (xA) and central key passes per 90 minutes.
  • Xabi Alonso’s Midfield Recalibration at Chelsea: Can Alonso devise a defensive pressing scheme or tactical modification (such as transitioning to a 3-4-2-1 or adding a third central midfielder) that resolves the out-of-possession vulnerabilities of the Fernández-Caicedo pairing? The primary indicator will be Chelsea’s opposition pass-per-defensive-action (PPDA) and conceded counter-attack shots per match.
  • Resolution of the Mateta & Sarr Sagas at Palace: Will Crystal Palace manage to secure market-rate transfer fees for Ismaïla Sarr while restoring administrative harmony with Jean-Philippe Mateta, or will contractual friction undermine Oliver Glasner’s squad cohesion as they navigate European competition?
  • Aston Villa’s Integration of Nicolas Jackson: How will Unai Emery deploy the £65 million forward alongside or in rotation with Ollie Watkins, and will Jackson’s physical profile justify Villa’s substantial financial commitment under strict PSR boundaries?
  • Fulham’s Mid-Table Stability: Can Marco Silva maintain Fulham's tactical discipline and set-piece efficiency, validating Jack Collins' confidence and keeping the London club comfortably clear of bottom-tier danger?

In summary, the Tifo Football Podcast episode delivered an impressive demonstration of modern sports analysis, bridging the gap between high-level tactical theory and the chaotic financial realities of European football. As the season progresses, the tactical paradigms discussed—from 'Florian Wirtz FC' to the out-of-possession double pivot dilemma—will serve as essential benchmarks for evaluating success across the Premier League.

💬 Key Quotes & Speaker Breakdown

Transfer window

"Reported by David Ornstein, Liverpool have reached an agreement in principle with PSG to sign forward Bradley Barcola."

— Joe Devine

"Emiliano Martinez has been offered to Chelsea by his agent. It sounds as though he wants to go."

— Joe Devine

"Nicholas Jackson's move to Aston Villa was announced today, 65 million pounds."

— Joe Devine

"Palace also rebuffed a Liverpool move for Ismaïla Sarr. It seems like he's going to go. I think we're trying to drive the price up."

— John McKenzie

Tactical analysis

"If the Salah replacement is Barcola, that is not a right-winger who is going to score 30 goals this season. It's: can it all turn into Florian Wirtz FC?"

— Jack Collins

Chelsea tactical analysis

"None of the coaches that BlueCo have appointed in the last three and a half years have found a way to make the Fernandez-Caicedo double pivot work out of possession."

— John McKenzie

Transfer market valuation

"Enzo Fernandez is top of the list of players who have been overpaid for. The market is the market. If everyone's overpriced, is anyone overpriced?"

— Ruben Pender

Premier League relegation battle

"I think Fulham will be okay, but I can see why people would have put us into those relegation conversations before the season began."

— Jack Collins
📜 View Full Episode Verbatim Transcript 84,608 characters
Hello and welcome to the TFO Football Podcast. I'm Joe Devine and today I'm delighted to be joined by John McKenzie. Hello, Joe. Alright, buddy, how's it going? Really good, thanks. We've got Ruben Pender here as well. Hello. There he is all the way back from it. It's your second show back from America, isn't it? Yep. Yeah, there we go. And we've got our first TFO Football Podcast debut of the season. You can hear him on the Ranks FC Podcast and the Fuller MeshPod. It's Jack Collins. Thank you for having me, boys. It's very exciting. It was a pleasure to have you today. Plus Steve's here. Hello. He was doing something else. I got him when he was doing something else. Don't edit that gap out, Steve. Make sure the audience know there was a gap there. Okay. You can edit this one out, though. Now, what did we talk about on today's show? Well, so much to discuss, wasn't there? We had our plan all in place and then David Ornstein. It wasn't Ponstein. That comes back later. I got Ponstein again, guys. No, David Ornstein, the real one, Emperor Ornstein. He published a new story this morning. Liverpool bring in Barcola in principle. So we discuss that. We discuss what in principle means. Oh, we sort of imagine what it means. But will he be more bark than bite on mercy side? Ask Steve. Yeah. I'm warming up, guys. Can you see, guys? Do you remember Bar, the drink company? No. They do like cheap pop. Yeah, like these. Creepy soda and stuff. Yeah. They do a version called Colour, right? So it's Barcola. I see a few people sharing that picture in which it's quite cool. Well, right. Fall to the art of football t-shirt. Yes. There were erroneous references to ambidextrous players. Right, Steve. He interacted, interrupted, pedantically, didn't he at that time, to correct us to say ambipedal, corrected very early on by Steve. Now, after this, we move on to Chelsea and their first competitive game under Javier Lonso and apparently become defenders of the banking system in that part of the show feels very apt for a podcast like this, doesn't it? Then we play a rondo. Will Ruben be the first player to get two wins under his belt? This season. Well, Steve's keeping a log. So we'll find out later on today. Then we move on to chat about my beloved boys, full of them. I've been a long time fan of full of course, as you all know. And their new era, it takes a while to get there, though, because we talk about chocolate. Do we talk about chocolate and a bit of cheese? Chocolate and cheese. Chocolate and cheese. We talk a lot about chocolate and cheese during that section. You'll understand when you get to the full of them section. It does keep getting derailed. It was also derailed by yachts. How do you seize a yacht? We discuss that. Do try not to, unless you're an authority of some kind, in which case, have at it and seize as many yachts as you can. Or... Sees those yachts. No. Something got cut. It was instructions about yachts seizing, and who isn't allowed to do it. Steve, as it turns out, very on the side of the elite. Now, what else? Oh, yes, we move towards the end of the show. We touch on palace. Crystal palace, that is. And the future of their... Tollamaic Striker. Jean-Felipe Potato. That'll make more sense. Jean-Felipe Potato. I'm Irish. I've got potatoes on the road. That's a tasty Spanish snack, that is. That's what I've served at my potato restaurant. Jean-Felipe Potato. Anyway, there we go. That's the show. A little bit of admin to tell you about ring for analysis this week is all about Aston Villa. That's an audio-only podcast. You won't find it on YouTube. So if you want to hear that on Saturday, you've got to find it on Spotify or an Apple podcast or wherever the hell it is that you get your podcasts. That's me and John will be talking a lot about Villa. And also, I haven't recorded it yet, but I imagine a little bit about Nicholas Jackson's move that was announced today, 65 million pounds. So that's out on Saturday. After Manchester United versus Ipswich Town, on Sunday, me, John, and Kaya will be doing our first live stream of the domestic season on Sunday. So you can join us live for that, where you can listen to it on Sunday night, Monday morning as well. We'll talk about that game and any of the other big games from Sunday. And then next Tuesday, you can catch us with Tom Harris, Colin Miller, and a returning Ruben as well. Oh, and one last thing to say, we have our TIFO live show. On Tuesday, the 8th of August, that's a scare really soon. September. September? Yeah. Yeah, there you go. I don't even know where it is. We've got it on Tuesday, the 8th of September. I think it's sold out. So if you don't have a ticket, unfortunately, probably won't be able to get one at this stage. But I do want to say a little shout out to our friend from Egypt and Jack's friend, Yusuf, who unfortunately is unable to attend the show, Jack. Yes, he can't come over. He had a ticket. It was very, very excited. Yusuf, a good friend of both Frank's FC and of TIFO, which is a nice crossover. There you go. But he's got to a good home. His ticket has got to a good home, because I am not going to be at the live show. So that's good. So thank you and shout out to Yusuf, wouldn't I? Thanks to Yusuf. Sorry, you couldn't make it. But also, you're like this guy too. So it works out fine for me. There you go. Whether if anyone has a ticket to the live show and they can no longer go for various regions, such as Yusuf's, if we should say, maybe on a discord or something, they should say so. So we can make sure those seats are full. Well, you know, it's just a thousand complicated admin to me. And I don't want to deal with it. So I won't say that. Well, where else to begin, of course, than with the big news of the morning? Yes, David Ornstein's had it. Wait, do you know what? He's at a very busy couple of weeks, hasn't he? I feel, Nari an hour goes by without a new story breaking. This morning's was well, some breaking transfer news. Reported by David Ornstein Liverpool, he says Liverpool, have reached an agreement in principle with PSG to sign forward Bradley Barclays. So something maybe we were expecting uncertain and whether it was going to happen or not throughout the earlier part of the summer. Seems as though it's going through the clubs of agreed terms. The proposed deal that was overnight for a package of around 120 million pounds, 140 million euros overall, of which 100 million pounds is guaranteed. So Bradley Barclays seems set to be the latest 100 plus million pound forward player. Bomba. Do you know what? Genuine Bomba. There you go. What's the difference between in principle and the other stuff? It's just that they haven't signed anything yet. They've agreed. Trying to think back to when I got a mortgage. What does it mean? In principle, they're like, yeah, I'm sure. In principle. Yeah. Like ask me if I want to go to the cinema with you or something. Trying to ring you. Just ask me. Just ask me. Do you want to go to the cinema? Yeah. In principle, yeah. How do you feel about that? I feel very uncertain. Yeah. I feel like it's not happening when I say like that. I think so. Yeah. It sounds like you are. It seems like I'm saying in principle, I would, but based on who you are. People say in principle to me when I asked them if they want to do things. Maybe that's what's hurting. Maybe that's what's hurting. Maybe that's what's hurting. It feels like over the phone, they've gone. Yeah. That sounds good. And when they get in the room. They can't have done the handshake. Yeah. The handshake's important. That's what makes it out of principle. Yeah. If you're in principle, you get out of principle. Is that when you enter the bank of your mortgage? You had to shake the shake the bank. Exactly. You got to shake the bank manager's hand. If I feel like the gentleman's agreement is now a thing that doesn't exist anymore. Right. Yeah. Well, because of woke. No, we can't start two shows joking about working. Now, listen, what else is there to do? Well, of course, we're talking about Bradley. But we haven't even talked about Bradley Barker. We're talking about the general. In principle, we're talking about Bradley Barker. In principle, we're talking about Bradley Barker. And I guess the first question. Let me come to you, Jack. The first question is good. Yeah. I mean, yes. He is good. He's an easy one to start with. Yeah. Thank you, Jack. No, it does. It feels like a good signing. And I think it was interesting about Liverpool's business. There are at least the targets that Liverpool have had in recent weeks. It's been that at the very least, they've seen to be the same type of player. And they're clearly looking for wingers who are going to stay wide, stretch the pitch, get in behind, and that kind of brings it into, well, what do Liverpool want? Because there hasn't been enough of that. Cody Hackpo is a fine player in his own right, but seems to come inside and get everyone else's spaces and occupy the middle of the pitch. And I think that, you know, we're talking about, we talked all summer about the idea that Mo Salah is leaving. You're probably not getting a right winger in this market who's going to be Mo Salah-like in terms of the output that they're putting in. So what do you do when you change the angle of attack? You try and run this through Florian Viz. You try to give Florian Viz the opportunity in which to thrive. And so if the Salah replacement, if you will, in inverted commas is Barclay, that is not a, oh, he's going to go on to the right hand side of the attack and score 30 goals this season. It's can it all turn into Florian Viz FC. And I think wingers who are going to stretch are at the very least pool defenders out of position. And Barclay is one of those who probably help that. Oh, I like the sound of Florian Viz FC. I mean, there's a temptation, John, to think that based on how everything went for Liverpool after last summer, throwing another £100m plus attacking player in will make it worse rather than better. But you think, as Jack says, there's a chance for Florian Viz FC could this be something that actually helps the connection between the other attacking players? Yeah, I think so. There's a lot of people asking, oh, do they really need that front line player? Because there seem to have a lot of issues behind the front line that could be left open. I don't know what you mean. Everything's fine. We took a lot of our rest defense in the last episode with respect to Liverpool. Liverpool. And yeah, I think that's the big question everyone has is, it's not necessarily, is this team going to be able to attack? Well, are they going to be able to deal with the conditions that their attack create from a turnover situation? I didn't realise we'd started talking about Chelsea already. Am I right? Yeah, but I mean, it's a good point. I think that's the way that the game is going a little bit. It does feel as though we are moving back towards this again, where teams are going to be direct and then they'll worry about covering the conditions that that creates defensively when it comes to it a little bit. But I think with Barclay, that front line is clearly lacking someone who is able to make runs in behind. None of the players that they have really, I think, do that well, especially from a wide area. A lot of them are balls to beat guys who are going to receive the ball and then run a defender. So Rio and Gamoa is precisely that kind of guy. Cody Capo is the same as well. You want him to receive the ball deeper and then carry it. They do need to have some kind of threat in behind because that forces lines back and creates space for you. So it's definitely the kind of player that they need. I suppose the natural pushback here would be, well, they've got like a hundred left-sided players. And they're not replacing Mahamud Salah with like a light for light. So he's got a wrong-sided winger who's going to cut inside. So does Barclay usually play on the left for PSG? Yeah, because he's right footed, right? So you then get the ability to cut inside and take those shots off. Iraola does say that he likes his wingers to play both sides. And to an extent, I think that's because he likes to use what we call double width, which is this idea that you want to get good connections between your fallback and your winger. So often what will happen is the winger actually heads backwards to leave the ball and the fallback makes the run in behind as well. So, you know, you've got players like Frimpong and Kirkers who are then strong-sided attackers on that, in terms of like their right footed players on the right side and the left footed players on the left side. So they can swing the crosses in as well. But you still need that player who's going to be able to run in behind and cause problems, I think, in the first phase, rather than once you've moved the ball down the field and you're maybe sort of working a block a little bit more. I wonder what it means for Rio and Golem at Moa because he was so exciting towards the end of last season. I watching Liverpool play Newcastle at the weekend. I thought he was very frustrated on the right side. So he didn't look like the player that's going to help Liverpool break down a low block. But I'm not so sure the practical race also. Well, but I think the problem with Rio and Golem is he's much better on the left side, right? So he's also better on the left. Yeah, right. So he's been... Who do they have on the right? As is Victor Munoz, right? Who they just bought? They played him on the right as well. Like, he feels a little bit more kind of ambidextrous in terms of... To be fair, he's another in behind runner, right? Yeah. He made a big difference, I guess, when he came on against UCASI. He obviously got the... One of the penalty that got the draw for them as well. So, yeah, when I said before they don't have any players, Munoz is that. But again, all... I think all of the players they've signed would probably have a tendency to play on that left. Or want to. I think with Rio and Golem, we've seen it a lot this preseason where he's played really well on the left and then they've started trying to use him on the right, obviously, because they're bringing in Barclay, or we're attempting to bring in Barclay. And as a result, it feels like you just sort of slightly reduces his... Wait, even with the players that they currently have, he's like the one that it does the least damage to their game to push him out there. Whereas, like, if you put gap on the right, he kind of becomes completely ineffective at the one thing that he loves doing. It's kind of interesting how much it really does matter with wingers, because a lot of them, you kind of consider some wingers, you can put on either side, and it doesn't really affect their game. Some really, depending on how ambidextrous they are, really need all the game on one side. And be first dressed, and be peedal. Oh, and be first dressed. Yes, sorry, man. But also, even like Florian Beats, as a 10 central player on paper, loves to the left side of the pitch. And then when EKTK comes back from injury, if they're going to try and play him an ESAC together, then one of them will probably have to play wide, and they both prefer the left side of the pitch as well. Well, that'll be EKK, right? Let me spin you a yarn, young one. I remember a time when wingers were all had the same foot as their sign. Do you remember that time? Me too, yeah. And then when people came back to go that era, what if we played a guy with a different foot than his side? Everyone said, no, surely no. That's crazy. That's mental. Why would you do that? But they did it, and it worked. And now they can't go back again. Who was the first big high profile inverted winger? I don't know. I just think about I and Robin all the time, but I don't know. He played on the left for Chelsea. If a Chelsea, but then when he went to buy and he played exclusively on the right winger. It felt like that massive shift from when everyone wanted to be number 9s. Then Messi Ronaldo started scoring loads and loads and loads and loads of goals and wide areas. Everyone was like, whoa, let's be wide forwards. Yeah. That became a change. I think there's a tactical point here as well, which is when you're a coach like Irola who wants his team to play in transition a lot, it then becomes way more valuable to have strong side and wingers because you're playing at speed and you want your wingers to get the ball across the corridor of uncertainty. So, because the Barclay has a right foot and plays on that? Yeah. And part of the reason why I guess Liverpool didn't look as good against Newcastle is because Newcastle was sitting in a lower block. Right. So it then becomes, well, now you sort of want the threat of a two-way winger who can go down the line and play across, but also come inside and place shots with their strong foot. I think that's kind of partly what this is about. It's like, Angamawa is, yeah, you would want him probably on the left if you're playing against lower blocks. On the right, the idea I guess is for him to get in behind an opponent and then play the ball across. Which again, it's not as much his game, but like... So what does their starting front three look like now? If this is at 10, if we assume Alexander Isaac is at 9... Barclay are on the left. Barclay are on the left. Barclay are on the left, we think. Yeah. If you're going to spend that much money, I mean, they've spent that much money on all of their attackers. But then he's got to play in his strongest position. So who do they play on the right? Real. Right. So you think he'll be standing on the other side. Or I wonder if there's scope for... At times last season when they were really struggling to like stem the flow of goals that they were conceding, they moved Subosly out to like a right attacking mid position for a little bit more security. And then I guess Graven Burke and McCallister played in midfield, allowing for its players to 10. Now Subosly seems to be central to all of their midfield action. Yeah. So I wonder if they will be reluctant to move him out there. But he can play on that side of the pitch and that might allow for a little bit more because there was so much talk about their midfield security and how they lost the ball against Newcastle, right? Yeah. And that training only has been good in preseason. So maybe he could get some game time if Subosly was to shift across. Well, that's interesting. Well, also David Anstein continues in this news story. Nothing has been signed yet. He wants something. He wants something. It's in principle. It's in principle, guys. Deal it to be complete. But potential transfer could have knock on effects for Cody Gagpo, who's repeatedly been linked to Tottenham Hotspur, and has also been the subject of interest from Manchester City this summer, more recently. That'd be kind of interesting to see in Manchester City, you wouldn't know. I can't quite imagine. They need some wingers. I mean, think about this all season. This city squad is paper thin. Right. And they just sold their most valuable winger. Well, well, he was cost 85 pounds. That's the thing. He was called Savinio. Yeah. You know who he was. This is kind of... Can we talk about this? Because he was Savinio at Girona. And then he became Savinio. And then he became Savinio. But now he's back to Savinio. Because it was on... Someone said on his... Put it on his Brazil shirt when he played for Brazil. They said, oh, we should add an Enio. And then he said when he joined Manchester City, let's keep it for good luck, apparently. Well, I guess that didn't work. And then he scored. And then he scored one goal in two years and thought, I'm not worthy of an Enio subject. But I like it. I like it. It's a sort of like a very visual metaphor for a change. I think it's fun. I think he's like, no, this is done. I'm starting my new era. Do you reckon it would change again if you go somewhere else? I think it's like, you know, they use Enio for little an owl for big, like Luis Al. Maybe he's Savinio. Maybe he's Savinio. But you know, R9 had Ronald Enio on his shirt as a team. Right. There you go. And then he obviously... He was small. And then he should have been Ronald Al. And now the end of his career. He very much is Ronald Al. Now, anyway, there we go. That's Bradley Barclay. Hopefully that happens. And if it doesn't, because it was in principle, then that was a fucking waste of the beginning before it was, wasn't it? There we go. That's the fear of having a mortgage in principle. But in principle is a good start to be. In principle, it was a good start. Yeah. We simply don't know. We couldn't say, let's instead talk about Chelsea, who in principle had a good start. Hard to say for sure. Isn't it earlier this week, of course. Chelsea got their season underway with a three-two win against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Who? Fulham at Craven Cottage. That's my team, Ruben. Did you know that now? Is this the first time we've mentioned Fulham on this part? That was the joke I was trying to do. It's possible. Presumably, it is the first time we've ever done a second. Listen, I want to address this. Okay. That's the focus, probably. I'm a Fulham fan. I've always been a Fulham fan. That's not... I mean, that second part is not true. But I'm a Fulham fan now. I've decided. I've decided to join your ranks. You welcome me. Jack, you welcome me. I welcome you, Jack. There you go. It could be worse. This is the joke earlier. This week, we found out that Spencer Matthews declared himself a Fulham fan. Yes. So it was literally... I was like, please, anyone else. The latest that Joe has become a Fulham fan really does make it a lot better. There you go, Fulham fan. Chelsea. I hope, you know, the... Literally on the show called Made in Chelsea. And he's like, yeah, I went to Craven Cottage. It was actually really cool. They're Craven Cottage, you call it. No, it was really, you give me a shim. Yeah, yeah. Look, that was it. That was how I'm going to call it the Craven Cottage. That's really nice. Yeah, I'm going to do that. Oh, yeah. Oh, God, it's always still not the Craven Cottage. And, no, I like to say Craven Cottage. It's a lot more fun to put the emphasis on the wrong words, you know. It just sounds... Right. Instead of Craven Cottage. Yeah, people say Craven Cottage. Craven Cottage. You know? Anyway, welcome to me as a Fulham fan. I'm sure we're going to have a great time together. We're going to be all about my new team, which has a rich history of... Careful. Being of something got cut there. It's a rich history of being in Fulham. Anyway, of course, my new team lost, or I'm sad. But that's the Chelsea. Who have a terrifying attacking triumph or a don't know? That was quite exciting. Right, Steve, of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and João Pedro. All grabbing a goal each in this game. Nicknamed JP Morgan. This is not good. I think JP Morgan's quite good. I saw CPR, and I was like, don't like that. And then someone said, we're going to have a close back to life, aren't we? I've got a post from a Chelsea fan being like, congratulations to Fulham for the first in the scenes to have their home four closed on. Quite a JP Morgan, and I was like, that's actually not that. There's so many opportunities here. We know, so when someone gets loaned out, a little bit of JP Morgan, could we get a mortgage in principle from JP Morgan? Do they even do more than that? So that's, that's João. João? That's Palmer. That's Palmer. In theory, it should... Because João Pedro is JP. Come on, yeah. So it should be JP Morgan. So it should be JP Morgan. JP Morgan Chase. JP Morgan Chase. Yeah, they chased down the ball. Anyway, there we go. They all scored a goal. And it was very encouraging attacking. Just by however, Chelsea's vulnerabilities at the back were pretty clear. They were still shown in Fulham's two goals as well. I'm not going to come on to talk about Fulham a little bit later, who it's worth saying at this outset, didn't defend very well. So that's our team. We didn't defend very well. So it's hard to know, really, how much to read into Chelsea's attacking prowess. It was very nice to see Cole Palmer have an exciting game. After a difficult season, I'm curious if that will continue against teams that defend better than we did at Craven Cottage. Anyway, John. Javier Lonzo. JP Morgan do do mortgages, Steve just included there. Javier Lonzo called this a performance to build for the future. There you go. Which also incidentally sound kind of like a banking advert. Yeah, branch, doesn't it? What did we learn about Chelsea from their first game, would you say? Well, I'm glad that we're speaking up for the banks. If we don't speak up for the banks, somebody's got to. We're on the right side of history here. Something's got to. Yeah, it was a good performance. They got a win. They lost this fixture last season, I think. Right. And obviously, like the excitement was that the Javier Lonzo had found a way of getting these this front three. JP Morgan. JP Morgan. All of the same team. Into the front, into the front three and a finding a way of mitigating it. He talked a little bit in the post match press conference about how in the first 10 minutes, he wasn't very happy with the way they were pressing. Yeah, I think that they were just a little bit passive with their wing backs and they became a little bit more active with that. But I thought generally speaking, they were okay out of possession. With the exception of the fact that sometimes I guess full and more playing with that with their center backs, like incredibly wide, like basically in different post codes, which gives you certain advantages. Also, certain disadvantages when you play the ball long, your two center backs are like on other side of the pitch. And your two central midfielders have run forward. And then Max sense of acquire takes out eight of your team with just one simple header. Yeah. We're hopeful to take hate this one trick. Yeah. And yeah, so that was it. That was one nil, right? But at the same time, he did forward them's advantages, which was that they were able to generate a lot of space and time on the ball in their back line when when the Chelsea players were a little bit slow to jump out. Full and we're using Timothy Castagna in a quiet and inverted situation at first. And that allowed space around particularly Cal and Bassy to then take all the time in the world to play a week for a channel ball. But because Castagna was dropping deep, Colwell was jumping out the line. There was massive space in Chelsea's back line as well. And so they were just sort of bombing balls into the channel and causing quite a few problems for Chelsea there. How does Calwell end up? I just want to say, by the way, that it sounds a lot like we're talking about full of. Yeah. But we are actually talking about chat. I just, I know you're talking about Chelsea, but I'm just saying it sounds like we're talking about full of them. Sorry. And I know we have an ideological problem with that on this podcast. It's just that because of it, it's just all the effort that Stephen, I went to to break it up into a different structure. Yeah, no, no, no. I'm going to come in here. The point here is that it felt as though the the were issues in defensive scenarios for Chelsea. I like it. Because yeah, because they were slow getting out to that back line. It gave them the chance to play a little bit more of a physical direct game. And I think that, you know, there was a little bit of a clown car energy at times to Chelsea's defending. In part, I think because when you're playing. So you're playing a back five because you're trying to get that front three in. Yes. And that's the way that you're doing it. With the two tens. Yeah. It becomes so easy, then I think, to create that space in the wide channels to then attack a fairly static, straight back line. And I think that's why Alonzo was saying we want you need to have your wing backs a little bit more active in those scenarios, I think. Right. Because otherwise it can be if you're having Colwell jumping out of the line rather than Hato jumping up. Yeah. And then you're disrupting like the center of that line rather than the edge of that line. So we were saying it's just throwing in as well. This is from Liam Tharm's piece in the athletic after the game. He said, oh, this is of Chelsea's defense that they only won eight of their 22 aerial joules. Yeah. And more than half of Fulham's long passes were successful, which is not that's not a good defense statistic. And what that did is it made the game become quite a not not transitional in the sense of backwards and forwards. But like the changing of possession was quite frequent. So in the end, Fulham had 60% possession in this game. Chelsea only had 40. And which is kind of wild, isn't it? Like that's surprising. Yeah. And I tweeted about this in the week because there's a lot of teams this weekend in the Premier League who won with much less possession. So there was a lot of teams with 40% possession who ended up winning their games. Which again, sounds kind of it's very different territories from what we've seen in the Premier League for the last decade or so. I mean, the change has been happening over the last few seasons. But you particularly don't expect it from one of the elite teams. Yeah, and the games they play as a part there, right? Because Chelsea have the lead for 70% of the game. We saw similar with Chelsea. We had Brentford and Tottenham. Brentford had very little of the ball, but obviously they didn't need the ball. Yeah. Because they absolutely pumbled spurs every time they had it. Yeah. I would push back in that, you know, Fulham did get an equalizer. But also, I think that the elite teams often, when it comes to game state, the elite teams find it much easier to control the ball when they are in a winning position, right? So in the past, that has meant that teams like City, Chelsea, you know, Liverpool on the club, they would keep the ball when they were, yeah, exactly. Because there's less need for them to get the ball into dangerous areas. You can keep the ball deeper in the field and protect it. That isn't happening now because teams are so aggressive. Fulham's press was really intense for most of the game. And as a result, you're ending up with these scenarios where a team like Chelsea can sort of ease into a three-one winning position. Yeah. But then they're never, they're never quite safe anymore. Yeah. And it felt like by the end, it felt like Chelsea were hanging on a little bit because teams like that now don't have the ability to control the games in quite the way that they used to. And so it makes the games much more open. So I think that's why Alonzo will have called it a performance for the future. There's loads of positives there, I think. You know, he's clearly, and what you get from Alonzo is he instills principles into the players. You watch that team and you're like, we know what they're trying to do. We understand what they're trying to do. They had like, they had nice rest defense. They had really nice, you know, connectivity and build up. They were stretching the opponent with a wide front, with a wide front five when they needed to. And then you, you know, they were creating scenarios for Morgan Rodgers and Cole Palmer and Joel Pedro, which is what you want to do when you have players like that on the pitch. The big, the bigger question I suppose is like, where does this plateau out? They're obviously going to be a very good team in the Premier League. How much of this is going to, it is going to come down to maybe full, I'm snatching a goal at the end. And suddenly we're talking about a three, three draw rather than a three to win. How much is that going to happen? How much are we going to see an improvement from Chelsea to be able to control those games better? And I think this is just the reality of the modern Premier League is it's just a bit more chaotic. It's a little bit less predictable. It's harder to control games. And so it's going to come down to performances rather than plans a lot of the time. I think it's going to come down to teams being able to keep their players fit. It's going to come down to teams having better runs of refereeing decisions or VAR decisions. And it's going to come down to like things like recovery as well. So Chelsea I think will be right up there this season. But I think this was a really nice reminder of like what is at stake at the top of the Premier League now? What was your perspective on Chelsea from watching the game today? I thought I think John's right. I think structurally there was quite a lot to like. Obviously this is not a first choice Chelsea side. I think there's still maybe three four to come in there. If you're looking at it from both of those four backs, I'd imagine are not the first choice. Wings backs now that they brought in the Leicester, Javaria. It looked a little bit clunky on that left hand side with Jorahatto. I think it's probably better suited to drop back into that left center back roll. I'm still quite a little bit unsure on Colwell playing in the left. But it feels like he probably should be the middle guy. And then they bring in Laquire and obviously Laquire has to play centrally. And yes, Colwell has played out and left back before. But it feels like he wants to be the person kind of dictating from the middle of it. It's one of those weird ones where because he's left footed, it sounds like it should just work fine. Because he's like good on the ball, quote, unquote. But having watched lots of Laquire last season, obviously, I think if you move Laquire, you don't take the right, for example, on his strong side, it would be very uncomfortable. So like you say, he's got to play that. Yeah, I mean, then obviously Perfano is, you know, absolute at the moment. Reese James, I think, might play a little bit right center back. They played him in field with effectively no knees in Romeo Lavier and Reese James. You're thinking, okay, does a more physical unit than full of both through that? And effectively be like, oh, let's give that a little bit of a test. So I'd imagine a knee. Well, yes. I mean, without being crass. Let's go for where the knees should be. Yes, exactly. Exactly. I mean, a little bit of hot milk. And I think both of those would have melted like wheat a bit. But it just feels like for them didn't really have that in the locker. But I think Chelsea will get better. And I think the fact that they've won this and there was obviously big positives in terms of the front three would suggest that it's going to be absolutely fine. I saw nothing on Monday that suggested me that they weren't. I had them second before the season began. I still think of those teams in that kind of pack chasing Arsenal. They probably have the highest ceiling of the lot. Obviously, things can change in the last week of the chance of a window. But that's where I am on Chelsea under Alonzo. I think once Palestra comes in, once Travallia comes in, once you sort of see what the midfield looks like. I think Kai SAID is obviously going to make it bigger. It's going to make a big difference to that midfield as well in terms of the defensive side of things. I think a lot of Chelsea fans would be like, yeah, but when Kai SAID is back, a lot of the issues you're talking about here will probably go away. Although I still think the worry is that if you directly play over that midfield into that backline, that's where the clown car element kind of comes. They do have a... And you know, they've got Rob Sanchez behind them who had a really poor game. That brings... At a Bozo moment. A Bozo moment. Yeah, maybe two. The first one was definitely a Bozo moment. But I think when you have a goalkeeper who is a bit shaky like that, that makes it worse for you as I sent it back because you're like, I've got to deal with this because we don't want to risk it going... Maybe, perhaps not for long, though. I don't know if you've read the news the smallening, John. This is a great segue. Well, now David Ones. Again, David Ones, he's a very busy man. God bless his family. Chelsea goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez. That's the play that we were just talking about, John. It was a fault for both goals considered on Monday, as discussed. And yesterday, David Ones and Jacob Tanswell reported on the athletic that Emiliano Martinez has been offered to Chelsea by his agent. It sounds as though he wants to go. I don't think, you know, the move fell apart. Where was he going? Was it Inter? You've been on the TV, right? It was close to that. It was only like 10 million euros. I think that's something like that. That felt sorry. There was the chance, I think, that Spurs could be interested, but that doesn't seem to be... It was united last summer, wasn't it? It was united last summer. That nearly happened, and then they went for Lommons instead. So it is possible by the time that, you know, they play next or the following weekend that they may have a different goalkeeper. Who knows? Let's see. There are other transfer related discussions to have here as well. I mean, one of them revolves around Enzo Fernandez. There was a video on social media filmed by someone in the crowd at Craven Cottage, who was just filming Enzo Fernandez walking off down the tunnel and his teammates were celebrating with the away fans, which didn't look fantastic. There is still the possibility that he might leave and go to Manchester City or wherever next summer. And this is from Liam Tumi's piece in the Athletic. None of the coaches that Bluco have appointed in the last three and a half years have found a way to make the Fernandez-Kaisado double pivot work out of possession. Elonso is extremely smart and may have a tactical solution in mind, but if Chelsea can get the price they want from City, would it not be easier to move on and reinvest? What do you think, Ruben? I'm surprised that that combination hasn't worked. Well, he specifies out of possession, right? And is that presumably because Fernandez has seen as like a little bit maybe not active enough, not physical enough? Because under Marasca, he always used to end up in that kind of left-hand position, didn't he? Could win somebody inverted? But in theory, there's nice complimentary skill sets there. I enjoyed his reception at Craven Cottage from the home fans. That was very fun. That was funny. He was roundly booed. He wasn't here. And I feel as though it was booed in a scenario where you've got to say the away Chelsea fans who were there didn't really seem to mind that he was there. I feel like one or two of them were involved in the booing as well. The footballs kept it up for arguably for too long. With some of the best fans. I suggest that actually that was because nothing else happened. They didn't really go. I think it probably would have ended the layout. No, because nothing else happened. He was like, right, just keep booing him. 20 minutes later, you're like... I would say... I feel like an Everton fan. Creative stamina has always been part of our fan base. It's full of fans, Jack. I don't even go in all games. I'm intrigued to see how long that lasts. Obviously, yeah. So obviously, Van Cetier interested in Enzo Fernandez. For what feels like so much money. But then you can say that about basically every primarily transfers happen this summer. So if everyone's overpriced, is anyone overpriced? That's true. The market is the market. In fact, Connor and Neil of the Athletic wrote a great piece the other day. We're sort of in response to this Savio Savio story where everyone's saying, well, this is a huge fee for this guy. What Connor did was that he took a look at the value of players listed on the German website transfer mark at the time of their transfer and then compared it to the actual transfer fee. And Enzo Fernandez is top of the list of players who have been, you quote, overpaid for. The caveats here obviously are numerous. And Connor writes about them in his piece. And also one of them is the number three on the list. Number two on the list is Virgil Vendike, who is hard to say. It's hard to look back at Richard. He's overpriced over here. I feel like with Vendike, they went for him quite early, right? In his development. And I suppose as a result, he was undervalued at that point in time, whereas I guess the issue with Fernandez is that he's been playing at the top level for a while now. So that would risk that. But he was 100 million after a good World Cup and like one season at Vampico. Yeah. I mean, he was relatively, relatively unknown, I would say, by a Premier League audience when he was signed by Chelsea. He's also worth saying that Savio Savio was number five on the list. So despite, you know, us saying, well, I'll see you overpay. But yeah, to answer your question now, if they're going to stick with this three, four, three, with Col Parmer and Morgan Rodgers either side as you are Pedro. And the only place for Inzo Fernandez in that 11 is left centimid as one of the two. And they're looking for obviously Reese James has got to play as captain. And like Jack says, maybe he'll play at right centre back a little bit. Can obviously play right wing back, but maybe you don't want to test his hamstrings too much. So he'll probably play in central midfield with Caesado to fix this problem that Liam Tommie alludes to. Is there an obvious place for Inzo Fernandez in the 11 maybe not? And therefore probably makes sense to cash in, especially when you only have one game a week, which to John's point, I think will help with the familiarity and the consistency of these performances. Yeah. Okay. Well, there we go. That's Chelsea. Let's have a quick break. And when we come back, we will play a rondo. Yes, what a terrific break that was now. Let's enjoy a rondo. Do you know what the rondo is, Jack? I do, Jack. I do actually regularly. Oh, do you? Listen, I'm going to work a couple of full-on fans. I know. So you've got to stick together. You have to stick together, don't you? Maybe a good time to say people should listen to full-on fans. A fantastic full-on podcast. Thank you very much. Ten years as well. Ten years. Ten years. Ten years. Wow, I thought I was a long time. I've been listening for a month or so. No, I've heard it before. Of course I have. Now, listen, we're going to play a rondo. Here's how the rondo works. Okay, I asked a question that has multiple correct answers. We go around in a circle. We give correct answers if we give incorrect answers. We are rejected from the rondo. If we give answers that other people have already given, active listening, we are rejected from the rondo. Worth saying, rondo del Rey and chief Ruben Pender has returned from America. Okay, so things are really going to get hot. However, I didn't do well on my return, I don't think. Not on your return. No, but it takes a little while to get back into the swing of things, doesn't it? We can't all be savvios. I'm undercooked. You're undercooked. Actually, Kaya swept up a lot of rondo del Rey titles in your chat about the other day. I think Jack's going to be quite good at this though. Yes. So I don't know. Let's see how we go. Now, today's category was suggested by Box of Zeros on Twitter. Also, incidentally, if you join the TFO Football Discord, there's a whole channel, which is called Suggestor Rondo, and I take many of them from there. So thanks so much for your contributions. But this one's from Box of Zeros, and it is as follows. What I'm looking for, Premier League captains, according to the Premier League X account graphic that they published. So, of course, there are clubs that have multiple captain roles, but they all have one leading captain. Club captains. Club captains. Club captains. And one per club, obviously. We've done this before and got tripped up over there. Have we done this before? No. No, the nuances of, yeah. Jamal ourselves. Right. Right. Okay, and I'll never remember that too. Anyway, so this is from the beginning of the season. So one club captain's not just anyone who is a... No, not anyone who's won the Elm band. But put it this way, right? There was a Premier League X account graphic that they tweeted out that had one person per club. Whoever you think they would put on that, that's what I'm looking for. Whoever runs the match program, those. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I... So therefore, there is no nuance or gray area here. What I want is the person that was on that graphic. If they weren't on there, there's no discussion about whether they are or aren't a captain. And any different kind of guys, I'm uninterested entirely. John, let's begin with you. Virgil Van Dyke. Now, Virgil Van Dyke, of course, is the Liverpool captain. You can have him, Jack. Martin Erdogard. Martin Erdogard. Is there as the Arsenal captain, Ruben? Dean Henderson. Is there, of course, as the Crystal Palace captain? Ethan Ampadou. Ethan Ampadou leads United. You're correct, yeah? Tom Cairney. Tom Cairney for Fulham. Now, nice. We've sweat... We've done... We did big, big teams first. And then our own teams. And now we're entering the unknown. I went straight to my own. That's how we say that. Okay, Ruben. Bruno Finanche. Bruno Finanche. As much as United's captain, of course, he is. Yeah. John. Wow, a silence already. Well, I was thinking of Man City, and I'm like, I've no idea who their club captain is. Really? I'm going to say, I've got feeling, maybe I'm wrong with it. But tonight's going to be a good night at Ravencrow. The Mickey van de Ven is the club captain. Oh, Mickey Fond de Fan, I think you mean, is Spurs captain, of course. I did see a Dutch person responded saying that you're kind of pronouncing it correctly. No, no, no, no, no. Overdoing it. I don't believe that person. I don't believe that person is not Dutch. Honestly, if you don't know if you've noticed this trend, but underneath every single TikTok video where, you know, there's someone says something that's exciting. The first comment was always, this is not true. And then the follow-up comments were all, it is true. I don't know, it's a weird trend to just claim that things aren't real. Stop giving Jack some of your time. It's quite air. He's quite air. He's quite chic. Quite chic to say everything's not true. That's true. I'm going to give her a Reese James. You can have, of course. You can have. Right. Ruben. John McGinn. John McGinn. Jack playing this game with a kind of confidence that makes me think he's going to win. John. A John playing the game with a lack of confidence that he's going to win. I think I would have got that wrong. I think I would have gone Tyrone Ming. I did think about him. Okay. Name a club, Joe. No, that's not how it works. I'll give you that captain. Norwich City. There's quite a lot of clubs there. Listen, Joe, can I give you a clue? I know all of them. You know all of these players. Yeah. Yeah. Clubs. And clubs. Lewis Cook. Lewis Cook. For Bournemouth. No. Is not there. No. No. No. Unfortunately not there. You are out of the Rondo, John. Jack, it's over to you. Who's going for Bournemouth? I don't know. I'm not going to do any of that. I don't know who that is. Nathan Collins is the member of captain. Nathan Collins is the Brentford captain. My name's Jake. Adam Smith. Adam Smith. Yes, of course. Very good. The famed economist is the Bournemouth captain there. Back to you, Jack. Morgan Gibbs White. Morgan Gibbs White. Is not. Is it the first time you think it's the forest captain? Of course it is. He's not the forest captain. Now. Now you're going to have it on that. Are you going to give Ryan Yates away? Are you going to flex and give another one? Granite Jacker. Granite Jacker, of course, is the Sunderland captain. Well done to Ruben's back. There you go. We all had high hopes for Jack. But he choked on his debut appearance. It happens to the best of us. Yeah. And it happens to the worst. It says our palacios. Well, now, listen. Would anyone care to guess any of the remaining ones? No, I'll tell you then. Dan Byrne, of course, is the new captain of the new captain. You've got Louis Cole for Hull. Louis Duncan Coil. Yeah. Well, that's his name. Louis Duncan there. Ruben D.S. I like to call him Louis Cole. Hull fans call him Louis Cole. Louis Cole. Yeah. James is the Coventry City captain. Leeds legend. A lot of Leeds legends coming out here. Louis Coilers. Dara O'Shea. Ipswich Town. Not a Leeds legend. James Tarkovsky. Not a Leeds legend for Everton. And then Ryan Yates for Nightingale Forest. No, well done. Yeah, well done. A good, a good rondo all round. I feel like City has just changed captain once a year for a long time. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? How have they had Ruben D.S. since he's been part of the leadership group. Right. He's been on his silver. There we go. You had been caught out as well. But before Bernardo Silver, it was like Walker for a year. It was for a bit as well. Yeah. It was obviously like Roddry for that actually. He's definitely worn it. He's definitely worn it. He's definitely worn it. It was, I mean, famously it was Walker was part of that group, wasn't it? Because I've been watching the pep go on your documentary. Yeah. Where... Terrifying. Every game you say in my name. Well, Caleb, maybe it's because you're a captain. And you're a sheet. I didn't know that he divorced the most beautiful woman of life. On the planet. On the planet. On the planet. On your planet. On your planet. Because he obviously isn't from Earth. Right. He influenced, like, he came down from some other... That wasn't the book, wasn't it John? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's the reality is that for teams like that, you know, and that's why people talk about your Brentford and your Bournemouth and your Brighton's. Is that the best way of bumping up your your your revenue is by being it's becoming. Yeah. It's being a selling club, right? And I think that's that's the reality. If you can't do that, then you're you're sort of resigning yourself to be constantly in relegation kind of question. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's I think it's really tough for teams in those sorts of situations because. Yeah. Well, you really are never going to break in unless you can do it. And again, it's not easy. It's not easy being a player trading club, right? It's easy to throw that out there. But like, all it takes is for you to have one poor crop of players. And then you're like, okay, we're back at square one, I think. Yeah. It's just I think it's just tough for those sorts of teams. In terms of that, just to kind of add to that. This is I think why a lot of fun and fans who don't sit in the fancy new stand with his Michelin star chefs, et cetera. Look at that and go, yeah, all right. If you want, like, if you want to open up a social club called the Lighthouse that's open seven days a week, apart from when there's games on, and it's going to bring money in fine. Like, it doesn't really affect me. I don't I don't really care. Like, if you're going to make that into a place where there's restaurants and, you know, if it is the most expensive season to get in the league, I'm never going to see that. But you get a meal served you at halftime, et cetera. But I have rotating cast of Michelin star chefs. Absolutely. I'm sure it's absolutely amazing, right? I'm so into that. I'm so into that. Yeah. I mean, all of these things, like, they don't really affect me as a full-on fan. But I have no problem with them being there. You don't even mind cheese. No, I don't mind cheese. I know. I'm completely useless in these situations. As long as they don't take the little weird little Guinness man who serves at the edge of the hamster in their way. And they have refurbished the toilets, which is great news. First time in 20 years. We've had a refurbished the toilets. No, what have they done? What have they done? What have they just cleaned them, I think. It was a cesspit. Is it new porcelain in there? Yeah, it's new porcelain. They've done it all up. So this is the thing that's most excited. The fans have been for a lot of the summer. But like, in terms of what that is, in terms of making money from places that aren't necessarily within the club. Like, all of those things are okay, the cool. There's something that people are going to talk about. And, you know, they're going to be a cause for murder. Assume amongst other fan bases, but ultimately fine. It's bringing money in here. It's bringing in money to the club, then. I like, you know, they're talking about bringing concerts to Graven Gottes. I'm sure that won't get a lot because of restrictions, et cetera. But I was at Bad Bunny and Tottenham's grand of the summer. I'm thinking I probably just paid for like one tenths of Savinia. We could get some classical music. You're taking it with you. There we go. Okay. Well, I mean, I think speaking of young players, speaking of player trading, the Fulham does have, you know, some somewhat impressive roster. It was very exciting to see Josh King. That's very American. You said Fulham does have a roster. He said somewhat impressive roster. You say that again, but in English. Fulham has a, Fulham have a crop of young players. Oh, yeah. You Americanized it both ways. I did. Yeah. Well, I'm a Fulham fan now. You know, that's, that's just how we feel. Full America. Here we are. We're back. Full America. My point anyway was just say that Josh King was great. You thought he was good as well, didn't you? Yeah, I love Josh King. I thought he, I was quite excited about him last season. He didn't really kick on for whatever reason. I mean, you'd be better at talking about that than I would. He played in the 10. Yeah. And he just looks, he's in exciting, he's an exciting player. And I guess, you know, the way that the Premier League has gone. I was having conversations this morning actually with some man city friends about how the, the number 10 position has evolved to, to being a much more, you know, we're moving towards more physical profiles. But Josh King does feel a little bit of a throwback. And I, I guess that's what we're going to get with our below as Fulham. It feels like there is going to be, there's going to be excitement in, in those positions. It's not, this is not going to be a, a low block encounter side by any stretch. Right. No, I think we're going to be pretty front footed. As what we've seen, as you kind of alluded to earlier, you could have driven the number 14 bus through the two from the centre backs for much of the game, which was a bit of a concern and Chelsea did through the long periods of it. But you kind of look at what he's trying to do. And it's a change in that. Marcus over always seemed to want to tack down that left hand side. Like he loved Anthony Robinson. He loved having a winger who took in there and kind of utilised that triangle. And suddenly you're like, oh, okay, both of our full backs are the, you know, the highest players up the pitch. There is a lot of space in that central area that Sandra Berger is having to deal with right now. I'm not 100% sure that him and Obie are physically capable of doing that. They're, you know, both excellent players in their own right, but they're both quite bloody as opposed. And you kind of need a little bit of kind of dynamism if you're going to fill that big a hole. But I have some reports of Sandra Berger potentially moving away from when we don't know. I don't think that will happen. I'd be surprised if anyone pays what full and would demand for Sandra Berger, given that we don't have anyone else really in that position to kind of fill the gap. So yeah, potentially, but I'd say you'd need a 50 million pound bid. And I don't think anyone's going to pay 50 million pounds of Sandra Berger. And to be honest, nor should they. That's one of those where he's more valuable to fill in than he would be to. Anyone else. Yeah. 100% yeah. Okay. So I think that with those two and to John's point here, with those two fullbacks high and wide, we're going to effectively see, I think, three number tenths behind a striker. And it's going to be those interchanges. If I don't have a lot of those kind of small technical players, Josh King, Oscar Bob says our Palacios who, you know, is the other, the other new joining from, from Ramadrid. And then Emma Smith-Roe as well, who kind of feature in those kind of positions. Kevin, to a degree, you're kind of looking at him thinking, okay, there's a lot of players in the similar kind of profiles. I'm a little bit concerned that there's almost no pace there. Garcia's not the fastest to see there. And I think we lack a little bit of kind of dynamism in behind. But I think it's going to be quick interchanges, very technical players. They're going to have to add goals to their game. And that, I think, is the thing that was nice seeing Josh King get off the mark. Yeah. Obviously he was denied his first goal in the Premier League at Stanford Bridge in our season by that very hard decision that was pulled back. And it felt like it was a very hard decision. Yeah. I'm not going to say what I thought about it at the time. But you kind of look at that and you think that might have been the moment for him to kick on and like have quite productive season as it felt like it really shook him setting back. He lost his place to Smith-Roe kind of shortly after that. And they kind of interchanged for the rest of the season. I think if he's going to nail down that starting spot, he needs to add production. As does Oscar Bob on that right hand side who was behind Harry Wilson in the pecking order. And you know, we were talking about wingers playing on their wrong sides earlier. I think that Oscar Bob being forced out to the left hand side because Harry Wilson was in such a rich vein of form. He just never really felt like he settled. Now he's going to get that opportunity to to showcase what he can do. So I think for them, we're going to be quite fun to watch. I think we're going to be entertaining. I think we're going to be a bit of a neutral's favorite. I picked a good year to do this. I think it's going to be pretty chaotic. But that defense does need tightening up before deadline. And we're going to be considering a lot of goals. Well, I love a bit of chaos. Very exciting. What is your prediction for their finishing position this year? I mean, I think based on everything you've said so far, we understand that that's a hard question to answer. And we know very little about Alvaro Arbaloa to this to this with full of to this extent. But where do you expect them to finish? Yeah, I mean, a lot depends on who comes in in the next few days. Arbaloa apparently wants five more through the door. I'd be very surprised if five more come through the door in the next few days. Are there any that we should be just, you know, thinking about any any more certain? I'd imagine that there will be a right center back. Right. That's the the one that for them seem to be very, very hot on. They were looking at Nuevo from Trabson Spore earlier in the window. That went cold. It feels like it's still on ice and they might revisit that one later on. Right. They were looking at Rafael again, who's a breast who is very talented, but with very limited minutes. I think he's played like seven professional guys. It's six for six. We're linked for them as well. It's a concern that you're like, okay, it's like where we're going to with this. But I think there will be a right center back that comes in. I suggest there will be a right winger that comes in, although that feels like a deadline day Tony Khan special. And then from Railwood Ridge. Yeah. It's going to be Thiago Patac. And I think there'll be a center mid added. I think that's probably where we're at. But yeah, it really does depend. I said on full of mish 14th. And it's been funny actually hearing people kind of talk about it here in the full of fanbase. Talk about the idea that full of could be dragged into the relegation scrap. And there's been a lot of different places that have kind of talked about this and have full of 18th or 17th. And to be honest, I understand why. And it's funny because I don't understand why. You know, we brought in this manager from Real Madrid and we brought in strike from around here. But you know, this is very new things have changed. If one of the, you know, probably sides was to kick onwards. There's obviously someone going to be dragged into it. And I was talking about this rhythm before the before we started. People were going, yeah, yeah, it's ridiculous. People were talking about full and we should be talking about palace, new manager, you know, changing squad. And I'm like, what are you talking about? This is the same conversation that we've just been having. So look, I think full and will be okay and based especially on Monday and the way that they went about their business. Yeah. I'll be surprised. They scored two goals. They could have scored more, right? Surprised if we get relegated. Yeah. But I can see why people would have put us into those conversations before the season began. So I'm going to say 14th. But I think Gonzalo Garcia has a good season. I think that's what happens and we get a platform to build from. I think that's a success. Okay. There we go. Well, that was full and anyone would anyone like to say anything else about full and before we move on? Well, what's your prediction for full and? Top, top. Top. Okay. Let's have a break. Okay, we're back from the break. What a terrific break that was now. Crystal Palace. We shouldn't be talking about Christmas. And hearing people say we should be talking about crystal in the context of well full and go down. In the context of Fullham's oncoming relegation. Now, how do I say this guy's name? That's the first question. Pierre. Saj. Saj. Saj. Oh, I like that. The wise rock. Oh, is that what he's known as? Well, Pierre is Peter. Right. And Peter is rock. And Saj is sage as in wise. Right. So the wise rock. I like it. You had to do your working. But once you did, I enjoyed it. Pierre. Saj. Saj. I don't know. Saj. Anyway, it was Pierre. Saj. It was a competitive game in charge of Crystal Palace. It ended in a 2-0 defeat to Everton. Yeah. On the banks of the River Mersey writes, Steve. The Eagles. I'll give you a clue. Steve wrote this as well. Yeah. The Eagles failed to swoop down on several presentable chances before becoming unstuck against the tofies on the break. Let's find that expression interesting. Coming unstuck. Coming unstuck. Shouldn't it be getting stuck? Well, I think if you're stuck, then you're fixed. And if you become unstuck, then you're sort of, you're everywhere. You could be anywhere. Do you know what I mean? Your plans come together and are then unstucked. I think there's so much metaphor going on here that I have no idea knowing where we're at. There are a few cross metaphors. Well, also, if that's not enough, Steve. Telemic striker. Telemic, you're right. I like Telemic. Telemic. You're like a Greek. I think Telemic would be better. I think Telemic would be better. Telemic and Telemic striker. Telemic. Sean Philippe Matetta. He looks set to finally leave. With that's enveloped, pursuing a purchase of other clubs as well, but reportedly interested. I don't know what's happening. We'll find out what's happening with that. All in all, not the stark panels would want, as they welcome Manchester City to sell house parks more evening. That's on Friday, of course, Ruben. First question. Who the fuck is this Sarge guy? He took loans to second place finish. Oh, Sarge was at loans. I like that. And he rescued Leon from a disastrous season a couple of years ago. Really? So, yeah. I'm a promising record in France. I guess continuity option with him playing the same sort of. Yeah. He's seemingly happy to play either a back four or a back three slash five in his previous roles, but has continued with the back three system. Okay. So it's sort of continuity with all of the class now. And shown signs of where the club have kind of doubled down on that sign in a couple of new wingbacks and kind of versatile wide center back options like Tommy Asu and Mingetha. Although, as a Laleigham and Mingetha right wing back or right center back because that bar save is like a right back. No, either. No, he's one of the weirdest players I've ever seen in that he doesn't really do anything apart from his passing range is absurd. Okay. But he can't really do. I think you might have to stick him wide, because all you have to find someone is going to cover him, because effectively all you want him in there for is to like like mirrored and just play passes. Okay. But yeah, I'd say probably right center back. Yeah. But as long as you're right wingback is doing some work. Yeah. Which Daniel Munoz has done a lot of. Yeah. But Daniel Munoz has now been linked with a move away. And the signing of Annam Kaliili from Nyon Sajilwa is kind of. Nyon Sajilwa. Preemptively replacing Munoz in theory. And losing Munoz would be a massive blow, especially with Ishmael Assas seemingly having his head turned by Galtas Rhyme as well. Where's Munoz being linked to? Everton. Oh wow. Everton have needed a right back. But in Johnson's already made the one 2-0. Everyone wants to play for Moisee. Yeah. Okay. Well, we were on transfers. Sorry. Pal is also a rebuffed a livable move for Ishmael Assas. I just seem like he's going to go. Not necessarily a livable move. The club seems to be making it clear that he's not for sale. That seems to be what happens just before a player leaves. Yeah. I think we're trying to drive the price out. It's a weird one because like a bit like Sandra Berger at Fullham. He's so valuable to Palace. What he did last season. Kind of dug them out of so many holes in a conference league. Has been so, it's called so many important goals. But a big team might look at him and think, he's not worth 60 million or whatever Palace want for him. Because he's 28, he is technically a bit more limited than the wingers that you traditionally see at those teams. And weirdly, he plays mostly on his strong side. Right. He plays on the right. So he was kind of like Olesa's replacement at Palace. But there is more attacking depth now if he were to go. Kind of. We've signed a guy called Gozo from Rail Salt Lake. Right. I can't wait to hear. I can't wait to hear. I mean, he looks like Gozo. He does look good. Yeah. Waiting for Gozo. Well, no, I was actually, I was actually thinking Bozo. I can't wait to hear how John describes his first poor performance. You heard a bit of a Bozo game. Wait me up before you go. So there's something. That works. So tell me about Gozo. Well, he's like a right-sided player. He's been playing as a wingback in MLS. But I think Palace intent to use him more in the front line. It's just like a young dynamic. Right. He doesn't attack in place called some spectacular goals in MLS. Okay. It's hard to know how much you can take from that given the level is very different. And of course, a very rare swap deal in Dwight McNeil for Brennan Johnson. Right. In which everybody involved goes. Yeah. All right. I'm excited to see how Dwight McNeil fares. It feels very correct to me. He does. He's very... I didn't like him playing not as a wingback. I was like, sure do you bring him into play him as a wingback? And then suddenly he's in the front line. Yeah. Playing like a ten. It's bizarre. Yeah. I mean, I think the reason he was brought in was because he can play any of those four positions, I guess. Right. But yeah, Brennan Johnson was a very bad move in January. She didn't work out at all. Never could have imagined that. Yeah. It's like club record fee on the second of January. Right. But kind of a panic because Ishmael Asal was an Afcon and Munoz was injured and we had no pace in the team. And then like three weeks later it was like, ah, he's not working. Brennan Johnson's very confusing player to me because he's... It's one of those players that... At the amount that I watched football last season and the season before I thought, he's kind of shit. But everyone said, not everyone. People said to me, no, he's great. He's really amazing. So I just assumed I wasn't watching enough football. If you can put a chance on a plate for him at the back post, we know that. He gets on weight. He gets on weight. Right. He does that thing. Yeah. When he taps into the back post. A spurs supporting a colleague told me in January, you will never see him take anyone on and beat them. Right. And we never did. Somewhat disappointing, man. But he's already scored for Everton. Great. So that doubles his gold tally for 2020. Did he score against you? No, thankfully not. Sure. In one of their EFL Cup games. Okay. He's a league cup, yeah. What about him? He gets pressed in in the David Moist Darby. Yeah, you go. The big DMD. What happened with Jean-Philippe Mitchel? I haven't been following this. It's a huge saga. Yeah. So in January, he tried to, this is important context. He wanted to leave in January. He wasn't playing very well. Well, man, he wanted to try to buy him last summer, didn't they? Well, there was a, there was a, there was a, there was a, yeah. He was on the verge of joining AC Milan in January. And during the medical, it became apparent that his knee was bad. Right. I don't know the exact diagnosis. It just exists. But he then kind of, and he wanted to engineer this move, because he really wanted to go to World Cup with France, which he did end up doing play to combine like half an hour. Sure. But, you know, he was kind of like the obvious plan B for France. And he achieved that. He had to weigh out whether or not to have surgery on this injury. And I think, you know, well, it was decided that he wouldn't and that he would kind of just have a few weeks off, heal well enough. And then he's good when he go and comforts the final. And kind of got Palestinians back on side. After quite an unpopular thing to do in trying to like engineer a axiom deadline day. Sure. But now he's undone a lot of that goodwill. Oh, his agent has. By trying to argue with various footballing institutions, it seems like they're not really sure who they need to take this complaint to. Because FIFA have said it's not an arduous section. Right. They arguing that the final year of his contract, which was a club option. You know, and it's like four with a club option of an extra one to preserve value is invalid. And that he should be allowed to leave for free. Right. Which isn't true, seemingly. But he really wants to go. Or, I mean, yeah, that's what it looks like. What is his age? It was such a weird way of asking that question. I think he's about 20 years old. I think he's, I think he's also 28. Let me check. He's how much you've translated that back. It's a very French. What is it? The years. How many years does he have? How many years since birth? He has 29 years. Since birth. Okay. Yeah. So that's quite a lot for a player like, you don't want to wait. You know, listen, you're at that stage. We can't waste anymore time. So, yeah. So, and now that Nicholas Jackson has reported by David Ornstein. Yes. Is going to Aston Villa from Chelsea. Makes you think maybe there, that possible villa move from a test who is no longer there, but we've seen various reports this morning that maybe Tammy Abraham's off as well. So, maybe that opens a space for him. Good, sir. United have been interested, but they also have like four players who can play as a nine. Time is running out. I don't think many big clubs are going to want to pay the money that Palace will want. Having already turned down bids in the sort of 25 million region. Formatetta. So, he might have to stay in China and the trusted fans back again. Glad it's not my club. Hey, Jack. Okay. Hey, this is one of the great love stories. Again, the on-off relationship with the Matetta and Palace fans. It's really quite something. Only half of us are going to shout boom. Never saw say boo, though. So, it sounds exactly the same. A prediction for that season. Could feasibly the 11th. 12th again. 12th again. Yeah. Was it 12th? I thought it was 11th. It was 12th. The song goes 12th. Yeah. I think that's almost common finish. I... Well, again, when the Europa League, having won a conference league, the depth to compete in theory, but there's a lot of change going on, obviously. Yeah. So, I'll say 15th, 16th, and the knockout stages of the Europa League. Yeah. I actually know what I'm feeling. It's just a vibes check. I'm feeling 17th. I'm feeling that there could be some scares ahead. Do you think Saj will last the season? I don't know who that is. No, no, no. Now, listen. Let's... Steve, how much time... We haven't gone in time, have we? No. No, no, no. Well, shall I tell people what we were going to talk about? Yes. Yeah. We were going to talk about a bunch of charts. So, as we were going to talk about Nicholas Jackson to Aston Villa, Ollie Watkins to Elle, hell out. Now, it's worth saying, John, isn't it? I will have mentioned this in the intro already. But our ring for analysis episode this week is about Aston Villa. So, maybe we'll be able to talk about Nicholas Jackson in that episode. If you're watching this on YouTube, ring for analysis is only released in audio, so you can only find it on RSS feed, so Spotify or Apple podcasts, wherever it is you get your audio podcast there. So, if you want to hear us talk about Villa, please check in with us on that on Saturday this week. Jack Grelish, we don't know where he's going. There's a bit of a saga. Could have been... Yes, today, it sounds like Sunland. A saga. A saga. Today, it sounds like it could be... It could be Villa. No. Steve, let's read the username of that link that Steve's faced into the script there. Oh, Pornstein. No, that was me. I put it in. It wasn't Steve. You've been done by it. I've been Pornstein again. Oh, my God. The second time this summer, I've been Pornstein. Again, just something. What was the other one? Both both both. You know what you need to do. He knew he supported Sunland because of Pornstein. Pornstein. He got me a game with Pornstein. You know what you need to do? Put David's tweets on notifications and then ignore everything else. Oh, that's interesting. I did that. I do know what. There's a little thrill in getting Pornstein. I have to say, there's a bit of a thrill in getting just a little bit Pornstein. I don't mind it. I don't mind it because I thought, oh, oh, villa. Sunland. There's a saga. Turns out there's no saga. Just have a good time in Sunland, Jack Relish. I hope you get up there. Now, what else? Oh, yeah. Manchester City signed a new player. Alan. We'll talk about him another time. And Nico Gonzalez has gone to Newcastle, which I'm sure we'll discuss as well because that was, you know, it was a high priority target for Matias and apparently 48 million pounds up front. So lots for us to talk about in future episodes. But no time to do that today. John McKenzie, thank you. Thank you so much. I've really enjoyed today because I felt like I've been on other podcasts. I've been listening to podcasts. Right. It's been great. No, that's true, isn't it? It's nice. Ruben Pender, thank you. Thank you very much. And Jack Collins, thank you. Thank you very much. Terrific legend. Yeah. What a great deal. Oh, we're clapping him. We're clapping. Look at that. We clap it for them, don't we? Yeah, we do. We love him, Jack. We'll meet with the clapers. Yeah. Get the clapers out next time. Yeah. Or a ****. Hey, something got caught at the end of the show. Also, see you later, Steve. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.