🎙️ Tifo Football Podcast •August 18, 2026 •⏱️ 1h 9m

Arsenal stun Man City & how will Chelsea do this season?

🎧 Listen to Original Episode →

1. Executive Overview: Core Theses & Key Revelations

The latest edition of the Tifo Football Podcast, featuring Joe Devine, Kaya Kainan, Alexander Barker, and Emma Ty White ("Lord Emma Ty of the Deal Sheet"), serves as a watershed analytical benchmark for the 2026 Premier League campaign. Beyond the casual banter and lighthearted commentary, the panel articulated several seismic structural shifts currently reordering the hierarchy of elite European football. At the epicenter of this discussion lies the structural unraveling of Manchester City—a club grappling with systemic tactical fatigue, squad aging, and the pending exit of central axis player Rodri to Barcelona in an agreement in principle worth €76.5 million.

The episode highlights a fundamental divergence in trajectory between the Premier League's top contenders. While Manchester City exhibits signs of an identity crisis—evidenced by the waning utility of ball-retentive wingers like Jack Grealish and an over-reliance on Erling Haaland's individual output—Mikel Arteta's Arsenal has established a formidable defensive and pressing architecture. Arsenal's recent Community Shield triumph over City underscored their transition into the most aggressive and physically dominant off-the-ball unit in English football. Systematically, White's reporting revealed that Arsenal's tactical maturity is matched by financial pragmatism, highlighted by their decision to pass on a €180 million market opportunity for Vinícius Júnior while absorbing the subtle tactical loss of Leandro Trossard.

Concurrently, the podcast deconstructed the operational paralysis surrounding Chelsea under their multi-managerial paradigm, questioning the viability of carrying a bloated 14-defender squad in a season devoid of European competition. Threaded throughout the debate was a broader institutional thesis: the traditional role of the Premier League Sporting Director is undergoing rapid obsolescence, replaced by algorithmic squad building, centralized executive committees, and real-time market opportunities. This feature essay provides a comprehensive analytical breakdown of these revelations, examining their tactical mechanisms, financial realities, and long-term industry ramifications.

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

To understand the gravity of the observations made by Kainan, Barker, and White, one must evaluate the macro-environment of top-flight football in 2026. For nearly a decade, the Premier League was defined by the positional orthodoxy and relentless field-tilt mechanics popularized by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. However, the physical demands of high-line possession systems, combined with stricter Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and UEFA Financial Fair Play enforcement, have forced top clubs into stark structural choices.

Manchester City's current position represents the natural endpoint of an aging championship core. Having dominated domestic football through hyper-controlled possession and positional recycling, the squad now faces a double-edged dilemma: the loss of transition-stopping midfield anchors and the tactical rigidity of positional specialists. The impending departure of Rodri to Barcelona for €76.5 million is not an isolated transfer; it represents the forfeiture of the singular tactical hinge that enabled City's full-backs to invert without catastrophic counter-attack exposure. Without Rodri's elite defensive coverage and distribution, City's midfield vulnerability has been exposed against teams capable of vertical counter-pressing.

In contrast, Arsenal's strategic evolution under Mikel Arteta has prioritized out-of-possession dominance. Recognizing that out-scoring high-output attack units in open transitions was statistically sub-optimal, Arsenal re-engineered their squad profile around duel-winning probability, height, aerial authority, and immediate secondary pressing waves. Their Community Shield victory over Manchester City was not merely a pre-season exhibition; it was a tactical demonstration of high-block pressing traps, executed with starters who had barely returned from post-tournament rest. This structural contrast sets the stage for a dramatic realigning of domestic and European power dynamics.

3. Deep-Dive Thematic Breakdown

3.1. The Manchester City Fracture: Rodri's €76.5M Exit & The Grealish Obsolescence

The centerpiece of the panel's tactical investigation focused on the structural erosion within Manchester City. Emma Ty White's reporting that Barcelona reached an agreement in principle worth €76.5 million for Rodri marks a definitive end to City's central control era. Rodri has long functioned as the irreplaceable stabilizer in Pep Guardiola's system—the player whose positional discipline permitted inverted full-backs and attacking midfielders to commit forward without leaving the central channel exposed. Replacing a midfielder of Rodri's tactical intelligence and defensive radius is near impossible in the contemporary transfer market, leaving City structurally compromised in defensive transitions.

Compounding this midfield vacuum is the performance decline of Jack Grealish. Alexander Barker offered an unforgiving assessment of the winger's utility in the current era, asserting: "I don't think Jack Grealish works as an elite footballer in 2026. I don't think he's that player anymore." When Grealish joined City in 2021, his primary function was field-tilt maintenance—pausing play, drawing fouls, securing possession in the final third, and allowing City's defensive rest structure to set up behind him. However, modern 2026 tactical trends have heavily shifted away from static possession pause towards explosive vertical transitions and high-tempo counter-pressing. Grealish's tendency to slow down attacking phases now acts as a bottleneck rather than an asset.

Barker further articulated the broader identity crisis consuming the Etihad Stadium: "I think City is just an identity crisis. If you take out Haaland of that team, what's differentiating it from a Liverpool or Chelsea?" In previous seasons, City's distinction lay in their methodical, suffocating team-wide possession dominance. Today, with an aging midfield and out-of-possession vulnerabilities, City frequently resembles a direct counter-attacking side anchored entirely by Erling Haaland's finishing metrics. Should Haaland suffer an extended absence or experience a dip in shot conversion, City's underlying statistical profile mirrors that of upper-tier contenders rather than undisputed title favorites.

Adding a psychological dimension to this tactical breakdown, Joe Devine highlighted the lingering shadow of managerial succession: "It's going to be a problem that Enzo Maresca looks quite a lot like Pep Guardiola. I think that's just going to remind people." The uncanny visual and stylistic resemblance between former Guardiola assistant Maresca and Pep himself accentuates the sense of structural drift. As City transitions away from the peak Guardiola era, every tactical misstep is magnified by comparison to former acolytes now implementing modified possession models elsewhere.

3.2. Arsenal's Pressing Hegemony & Strategic Transfer Restraint

While Manchester City grapples with structural decay, Arsenal has established an authoritative tactical blueprint built on out-of-possession intensity. Kaya Kainan observed during the Community Shield breakdown: "It turns out that when Arsenal do decide to press and harry and run after teams, they're actually really good now. They were the best team off the ball in the Premier League last season." Arteta's side neutralizes opposition build-up by executing synchronized high-press triggers, forcing turnovers in the final third, and restricting opponent progressive passes through the central corridor.

The Community Shield performance provided clear empirical evidence of this defensive framework. Despite fielding players like Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Noni Madueke shortly after their return to full training, Arsenal suffocated City's build-up play from the opening whistle. Ricardo Calafiori's early goal was the direct byproduct of high sustained territorial pressure, while Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard executed second-wave pressing traps that denied City any clean buildup through central midfield.

However, Arsenal's operational success is not limited to pitch mechanics; it extends to financial discipline in the transfer market. Addressing rumors surrounding marquee acquisitions, Emma Ty White clarified Arsenal's strategic boundary: "The Vinny Jr. thing was a market opportunity. They're now not going to go, 'Okay, we're going to go spend 180 million.'" Rather than over-extending capital on a single superstar contract that could disrupt squad wage parity, Arsenal's executive team operates with strict economic guardrails. They prioritize multi-positional squad depth over luxury marquee signings.

Nevertheless, squad rotation presents subtle challenges. Kainan emphasized the overlooked impact of squad attrition: "Losing Trossard was a big thing for Arsenal because while he was never of the elite level, he was a really important player for Arsenal over the years." Leandro Trossard provided indispensable tactical versatility—operating effectively as a false nine, left winger, or interior playmaker off the bench. Replacing Trossard's efficiency as a game-state disruptor requires Arsenal's newer recruits to adapt rapidly to Arteta's strict out-of-possession demands.

3.3. Chelsea's Bloated Paradox: 14 Defenders & Mid-Table Stagnation

The discussion surrounding Chelsea highlighted the stark operational contrast between systematic squad planning and uncontrolled asset hoarding. The panel noted with astonishment that Chelsea's first-team squad currently contains no fewer than 14 registered defenders. In a season where Chelsea is entirely free of European mid-week fixture congestion, managing a 14-defender roster presents immense squad friction, training-ground bloat, and wage efficiency losses.

Without European matches to distribute minutes, Chelsea faces severe locker-room management hurdles. Players bought for substantial transfer fees risk sitting in the stands, eroding their market value and creating structural dissatisfaction. The panel debated whether Chelsea's defensive volume provides tactical flexibility under Javier Alonso or Enzo Maresca dynamics, or whether it simply reflects a haphazard recruitment strategy devoid of clear tactical profiles. The consensus leaned heavily toward the latter: squad over-saturation creates selection instability, hindering the development of consistent defensive partnerships.

3.4. The Obsolescence of the Modern Sporting Director

An unexpected yet vital thematic arc in the podcast was the panel's longform debate on the evolving role of the Sporting Director in modern football governance. Historically, the Sporting Director acted as the sole architect of a club's footballing vision, bridging the boardroom and the manager's office. However, White and Devine argued that this traditional model is rapidly dissolving.

In 2026, transfer operations are increasingly driven by specialized data intelligence units, private equity ownership boards, and specialized agency networks. The modern Sporting Director no longer holds total authority over talent identification; instead, they function as deal negotiators executing decisions dictated by algorithmic profiling and financial parameters. White's insights from the Athletic Deal Sheet emphasize that elite transfer negotiations—such as Rodri's move to Barcelona—are negotiated through multi-layered intermediary networks where traditional sporting directors execute transactions within pre-determined fiscal boundaries set by ownership group parameters.

3.5. Structural Matrix: Comparative Analysis of Top Contenders

To contextualize the panel's analysis, the following table summarizes the structural metrics, pressing profiles, and transfer dynamics of the Premier League's primary contenders as deconstructed during the episode:

Club Primary Tactical Profile Out-of-Possession Metric Key Roster Risk / Vulnerability Transfer Strategy Paradigm
Manchester City Haaland-centric vertical transition / Possession recycling Declining high-press efficiency; vulnerable to central counter-attacks Loss of Rodri (€76.5M); Grealish aging out of high-intensity demands Marquee sales to offset squad rebalancing; high structural turnover
Arsenal High-block aggressive pressing; compact rest-defense Ranked #1 off-the-ball unit in Premier League; elite duel winning Loss of key tactical depth (Trossard); reliance on core starters Disciplined valuation caps (rejected €180M Vinícius Jr. opportunity)
Chelsea Hybrid back-line system; transitional possession Inconsistent mid-block pressing; low defensive unit cohesion Extreme squad bloat (14 registered defenders); lack of European minutes Volume asset accumulation; high player turnover without European fixtures

4. Speaker Perspectives & Analytical Contrast

The dynamic among the Tifo Football Podcast panel provided distinct analytical lenses through which these footballing shifts were examined. Each participant brought a unique journalistic perspective, creating a rich multi-dimensional debate.

Joe Devine: The Structural Pragmatist & Narrative Anchor

Joe Devine functioned as the framing anchor of the conversation, constantly steering tactical observations back to institutional psychology and structural realities. Devine's cynicism regarding pre-season optics—notably mocking the grandiosity of Community Shield rhetoric while highlighting the deep psychological implications of managerial visual cues (such as Maresca's resemblance to Guardiola)—underlined his focus on narrative gravity. Devine views football clubs through the lens of institutional momentum, recognizing that subtle changes in perceptions of managerial control often precede systemic pitch declines.

Kaya Kainan: The Bold Forecaster & Data-Driven Analyst

Kaya Kainan offered the most assertive predictive assessments of the episode. Unafraid to challenge prevailing consensus, Kainan issued the definitive forecasting statement of the discussion: "I feel as though Man City could finish outside the top four." This prediction is grounded in Kainan's evaluation of City's defensive metrics and midfield attrition. Kainan's focus on Arsenal's off-the-ball superiority demonstrated an analytical framework that values defensive work rate and pressing intensity over traditional ball-domination metrics. His critique of losing Leandro Trossard further highlighted his attention to functional squad depth.

Alexander Barker: The Unforgiving Tactical Critic

Alexander Barker brought sharp, unsentimental tactical analysis to the table. His evaluation of player profiles in 2026 was demonstrated in his declaration regarding Jack Grealish's obsolescence in high-tempo modern systems. Barker refuses to judge players on historical reputation, focusing strictly on current physical output, transition speed, and tactical fit. His diagnosis of Manchester City's "identity crisis"—arguing that stripping Haaland away leaves a team indistinguishable from Liverpool or Chelsea—cut directly to the core of City's structural dilemma.

Emma Ty White: The Market Authority & Financial Analyst

As the editor of the Athletic Deal Sheet, Emma Ty White provided the empirical financial and operational context that grounded the panel's tactical theories. White's breaking revelations regarding Barcelona's €76.5 million agreement in principle for Rodri and Arsenal's refusal to spend €180 million on Vinícius Júnior provided concrete proof of the fiscal boundaries governing elite football. Her insights into the diminishing authority of traditional Sporting Directors illustrated how modern transfer mechanics operate behind closed doors, bridging the gap between boardroom finances and pitch performance.

5. Strategic & Industry Implications

The revelations and analytical breakdowns presented in this episode extend far beyond individual match results or single transfer windows. They point to broader macroeconomic and tactical evolutions shaping the future of global football.

The End of the "Possession-Pause" Tactical Era

Alexander Barker's commentary on Jack Grealish underscores a major tactical shift across elite European leagues: the death of the slow, ball-retentive "possession-pause" winger. For years, managers sought wide players who could hold the ball, draw fouls, and allow full-backs to overlap into established positional structures. In 2026, the rise of intense, suffocating counter-pressing schemes—exemplified by Arteta's Arsenal—has rendered slow possession buildup hazardous. Modern wingers must possess explosive verticality, immediate defensive pressing capabilities, and rapid decision-making cycles. Players unable to execute high-intensity transitions risk structural displacement, regardless of their technical artistry.

Fiscal Discipline vs. Financial Inflation under PSR

Emma Ty White's report on Arsenal's transfer discipline highlights a mature approach to modern financial regulations. In an era governed by stringent Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and UEFA squad cost controls, even wealthy clubs cannot afford vanity transfers. Passing on a €180 million deal for Vinícius Júnior demonstrates that sustainable squad construction requires adhering to wage structures and valuation ceilings. Conversely, Manchester City's willingness to monetize Rodri for €76.5 million signals that elite clubs must actively sell top-tier assets at peak value to finance necessary squad rebuilds and maintain regulatory compliance.

The Governance Shift in Player Acquisition

The panel's debate on the decline of the traditional Sporting Director reflects a wider institutional realignment. As football analytics, multi-club ownership models, and financial engineering become central to club management, recruitment is no longer dominated by single visionary directors. Instead, decisions are decentralized across specialized data analytics teams, financial risk managers, and executive committees. This shift minimizes individual human error but requires seamless internal alignment—a balance that Chelsea has noticeably struggled to achieve with their 14-defender squad hoard.

6. Looking Ahead: Unresolved Questions & Next Milestones

As the Premier League season unfolds, the hypotheses established by the Tifo Football Podcast panel will be tested against real-world performance metrics. To evaluate whether these structural assessments hold true, investigative analysts must monitor five key operational indicators over the coming months:

  • Manchester City's Central Transition Deficits: How will Pep Guardiola compensate for the loss of Rodri's €76.5 million central anchor role? Monitoring City's expected goals against (xGA) on rapid opposition counter-attacks will reveal whether their midfield rebalancing is successful or if Kainan's prediction of a top-four exit gains empirical momentum.
  • Jack Grealish's Tactical Integration & Minutes Distribution: Will Grealish adapt his game to high-intensity transition demands, or will he be marginalized in favor of direct, vertical wingers? His starter percentage in high-tempo fixtures will serve as a bellwether for his future at the top level.
  • Arsenal's Off-the-Ball Pressing Sustainability: Can Mikel Arteta maintain Arsenal's status as the Premier League's premier off-the-ball pressing unit across a 50+ game season without suffering squad fatigue or injuries to key pressing triggers like Ødegaard and Havertz?
  • Arsenal's Rotational Output Post-Trossard: Will Arsenal's secondary attack units match Leandro Trossard's historical clutch contribution off the bench during tight match states, validating their decision to forego €180M marquee splurges in favor of internal development?
  • Chelsea's Roster Rationalization: How will Chelsea handle their 14-defender squad friction during the winter transfer window? Tracking mid-season player departures, loan exits, and locker-room stability will indicate whether their recruitment strategy can be stabilized.

The insights delivered by Devine, Kainan, Barker, and White highlight a Premier League in transition. As tactical models shift from static control to athletic pressing, and financial frameworks force disciplined squad management, the 2026 season promises to redefine the standards of elite football performance.

💬 Key Quotes & Speaker Breakdown

Transfer news

"Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle worth 76.5 million euros with Manchester City for Rodri's transfer."

— Emma Ty White

Premier League predictions

"I feel as though Man City could finish outside the top four."

— Kaya Kainan

Jack Grealish form

"I don't think Jack Grealish works as an elite footballer in 2026. I don't think he's that player anymore."

— Alexander Barker

Manchester City squad analysis

"I think City is just an identity crisis. If you take out Haaland of that team, what's differentiating it from a Liverpool or Chelsea?"

— Alexander Barker

Arsenal tactical analysis

"It turns out that when Arsenal do decide to press and harry and run after teams, they're actually really good now. They were the best team off the ball in the Premier League last season."

— Kaya Kainan

Arsenal transfer strategy

"The Vinny Jr. thing was a market opportunity. They're now not going to go, 'Okay, we're going to go spend 180 million.'"

— Emma Ty White

Manchester City manager change

"It's going to be a problem that Enzo Maresca looks quite a lot like Pep Guardiola. I think that's just going to remind people."

— Joe Devine

Arsenal squad depth

"Losing Trossard was a big thing for Arsenal because while he was never of the elite level, he was a really important player for Arsenal over the years."

— Kaya Kainan
📜 View Full Episode Verbatim Transcript 59,102 characters
Hello and welcome to the TFO football podcast. I'm Joe Devine and today I'm delighted to be joined. Oh, it's his first podcast post-well cup. It's Kaya Kainan. Hello. All right, buddy. How's it going? I'm very good. Thank you. How are you? Fantastic. I'm pretty well. Yeah, I'm pretty. Yeah, we had a good podcast today, didn't we? Nice. Now, we've given him some time off helping John McKenzie notice things for did you notice videos that it was an excellent center that that was? Hey, do you know he's actually off because it's his book launch week this week and he's doing a lot of podcasts and a lot of a lot of interviews. He's got a book. How's he got a book? John. I don't know. He hasn't mentioned it once. No, certainly not that recently anyway, but there you go. And anyway, so he's not here. Instead, we've got the junior version of John. I almost called you the senior version of John. The junior version of John. It's Alexander Barker. Sometimes I feel like the senior version of John sometimes he got to keep his brain and shit. He's very juvenile as John. He's very is very juvenile. You know, have you guys heard of the game Big Walk? Yeah. So we've been playing Big Walk in the evenings, me and John and a couple of our friends. And John, I have discovered, well, rediscovered really is the most annoying guy to play games like that with because it gets very dark in Big Walk and you go on a big walk in Big Walk. And because you have a very limited inventory spots, essentially, you can only carry one thing each. And John was the person who had the light. And he got dark. And it's also proximity audio. So you can't hear each other when you get out of a certain distance. And John just bugged off. He just ran off ahead of all of us. And the rest of us were just feeling our way through in the dark. And you know what, he didn't even apologize when we eventually caught up with him. He's a terrible guy. Don't buy his book. Anyway, also Lord of the Deal sheet. Emma Ty White now is here. Hello. All right, buddy. How's it going? Yeah, I'm good. I'm glad I clapped for you. Yeah. That was nice. You know what, I think it's because I called you Lord. And then I felt as long as I should do something that was more ceremonial than the other two. I have to work on what the ceremony should be. Yeah, what should the deal sheet ceremony be? Oh, good question. Now we should say the deal sheet is the athletics supreme transfer news coverage that happens every Tuesday during the window, edited by you, you find self-Lord Emma Ty. I think we should do sort of a Louis XIV, and Levaine Couchet sort of like proper like you're going to have to explain that one. I mean, this is my A-level history coming to the fore here, but basically he they created a sphere of influence around him where Lords and Lords would literally vie to like dress him in the morning because they wanted to establish his absolute power. You want me to dress you in the morning. How happily do it? It would probably help me dress better. I'll get a little rough for your neck. So you can really be Lord Emma Ty. You can add yourself in the one-to-watch section. Oh, that's true. You have the power to do that. I have the power to put anything in the one-to-watch section as long as we can verify it with the relative related clubs and people involved. That's true. As long as Emperor Ornstein is happy with it. Now, what do we talk about on to? Oh, plus Steve Hanky's here. Hello. There he is. Now what do we talk about on today's show? Well, we start with a very self-indulgent intro from Steve regarding Arsenal's community shield win. However, happiness is fleeting in life and we should luxuriate, enjoy when we have it so boo to you. Celebration police, that's me. It's quite deep, that. Well, I wouldn't say it's deeper. In fact, I'd say it's very shallow. Very shallow. Now, a bit like the community shield win. Now, what else is there? Well, we have unrivaled analysis of the community shield. We do a little bit of that with some fine balls striking assessments all around. To wrap up our community shield conversation, we look at how worried Manchester City fans should be about the state of affairs. Are they both cooked and undercooked? Who could say a combination of generations that are becoming confused dialectically? Now, it's possible to do that. Be cooked and undercooked. Not that long ago, I went around to a friend's house for dinner. They made chicken, managed to burn the outside, but the inside was still raw. Well, I think that's not cooked, kind of. Well, it's overcooked. It's like, it's overcooked. It's like, it's overcooked. I'd say if any part of the meat is raw, it is not overcooked. If any part of it is cooked, then you could say that. No, I'd say cooked is a description of the whole piece of food. It can only be cooked once the cooking is finished. So, it's only been cooked in a medium-rare state, cooked then. Well, if it's cooked to medium-rare, right, then yes. Okay. But then there's a bit of it, isn't it? I'm with Kaya. I agree with Kaya. Actually, you're saying that the description cooked applies to individual parts of the food that you're cooking. So, you could get some bit of food out and you could say, well, that bit's cooked. Yes. But the middle bit's not cooked. Yes. But then the whole item is a description of the whole item. It's only eaten in that context. It's just literally, you go, oh, made sausages on the barbecue. The outside is burned. The inside is undercooked. Left for the outside is too cooked. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's burnt. It's burnt. It's not, it's not, it's not burned. It's burnt. It's a form of cooked. No, no, because the word cooked when used to describe food that is in the oven is a term that is used to describe how complete the process is. And that requires every element of the food be cooked. If one part of the food is not cooked, the food is not cooked. That's just the rules. I will not have any more on this. That's outrageous. Steve, you keep your mouth shut. Right. We're moving on. We played it. I'm furious. We played a rondo halfway through today. What else did we do? Well, after the rondo, we talked about my brave boys, Fulham. We didn't really talk about Fulham, but we talked about how I'm a fan of Fulham for this season. So look out, Fulham guys. It's you and me together now. And we'll talk about how we missed out on Tiago Pitac. Presumably, I don't really know what I'm talking about. Oh, it ends with impressions of actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Alex didn't know either of them. That was a bit of fun. And they were pretty bad impressions. And then we talk about Chelsea. And what we can expect from, uh, expect from, uh, expect from Javier Lonzo's boys in their season free of European football. How many defenders do they have? Fourteen. Fourteen. Oh, many. There you go. Cooked, aren't they? But they all have to be cooked in order for them to be cooked. Now, the Chelsea chat leads us into an unexpected and long conversation about whether the day of the sporting director is over in the Premier League or it's the way that we described it previously should be changed. And towards the end, we run through and grade a few transfer deals that you may have missed with Lord Amatai of the dealership. And that's the show that I missed anything Steve. You did not. But anyone like to add anything before we begin? If you get a chicken. No. Show stats. Well, where else to begin, of course, when producer Steve is your podcast producer, then with Arsenal's, uh, Victoria's community shield charity shield preseason friendly game, friendly game. The traditional, now this is what Steve has written here, the traditional season curtain razor swung open over the weekend as Premier League champions Arsenal dominated FA Cup winners Manchester City to win the community shield. Now, let's just pause here. Shall we walk for one second? Firstly, very long sentence, Steve. It's been back early at the season. We've got to look at those more concise. The traditional season curtain razor swung open. Yeah, curtains can swing open, but not raised. Raised. Oh, yeah, that's true. The Pfizer police system. Look, let's not the mechanics of the metaphor. I'm really the point. No, are they? I think what you mean to say is the traditional season curtain razor raised raised quickly, though. What's the, you know, anyway? It flew, flew open. Yes, it flew open over the weekend. Anyway, the lush, the law fabric was ripped aside again aside. What you've done there is you've gone as a ripped a sander, potentially we could have. The rich, the lush, the lush, the fabric was ripped as sander very early by Arsenal. As Ricardo Calafiori, there he is, gave the gun as an early lead. There was then no solace. Read it properly. For Manchester City, you read it. Solace is in capital letters. You got to put some, find it. Well, how should I do that? 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, 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, 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, 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, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no But I also think Arsenal did look really strong from the opening parts of the game. Michael Artetafield did a really strong lineup, which I think surprised a few people. Yeah. You know, including Bakaio Sacco and Declan Rice in the squad, even though they'd only just come back to training, Noni Maduayke started, even though he'd only just come back from training. And I think, yeah, that kind of caught City of Guard a little bit. Arsenal haven't looked that great in preseason, but they had a game against Como on Wednesday before and they kind of decided they wanted to start pressing again. And it turns out that when Arsenal do decide to press and harry and run after teams, they're actually really good now. They were the best team off the ball in the Premier League last season, which is, in my opinion, kind of what got them over the line in the title race. And they show that again against Man City, having said all that, obviously it's the preseason friendly element. So you can't read too much into it. But the way Martin had a guy was playing, the way Chris of Solace was playing, the way Kai Habits was kind of linking the attack and how strong Arsenal looked defensively as well with David Ryer back in, Kep has been in goal for pretty much all the preseason. And Shaky, but having Ryer back in, made a big difference. Yeah, it did look really good, really positive. And then, you know, all the bad Omen's came to, to water that bonfire quite quickly, but it was, yeah, really good point. What was the bad Omen's? Well, the stuff that John was talking about. Oh, the bad Omen, the bad Omen's you talking about. Well, more than one fair enough. Okay. Bruno Gilmourach, it was his first game in the national shirt, Alex. It didn't look like it though. I've heard it noted that it didn't look like it was his first game. He interchange pretty well with lots of players. Yeah, it did seem that way. I mean, I must be honest. I've recently moved out. So I am now paying for my own TV subscriptions and having found out how expensive TNT is, I did not watch this game. Yeah, I did catch the extended highlights and it did seem like he ticked it, he tinked up very well. I mean, he has gone under the radar. I think I know he celebrated in the Premier League at Newcastle, but I'm actually working on a video at the moment of how to replacing at Newcastle. And you just go through these goals in a system last season. And actually, in the World Cup, how many did he score in a system last season? I think it's 15. He was Newcastle's top goal contributor. Which rolls off the tongue. He also got three assists at the World Cup for Brazil. And you know, you go back, you don't realize how good some of them are, just like these really smart passes that, I know, if Ezra were the god of a doing them, they'd be celebrated massively. We felt like they went under the radar. It's interesting that isn't it because I feel as though with everything that happened with the Venezias junior, you know, possible deal, it almost felt for us, or when that fell apart, like things were a bit negative, but it sort of obfuscates the fact that they've signed. So, you know, one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Yeah, I agree. And with the Venezias junior deal, I mean, Kyle were debating it in the office. I never particularly liked that deal because I didn't think he contributed enough given the central downsides defensively, but anyway, it's an old debate. I quite like that deal. I just need that to be on the right foot. We've given a right. He brings all the qualities that Arsenal love out of possession. And he is also just one of the best passes in the Premier League. And the fact he's already, yeah, like sinking up well, everybody else. It's just, it's quite sad to be honest, because I like going on this podcast and winding Kyle up and winding Steve up behind the booth. I'm going to find it really hard to rage bait, Kyle, this is just an Arsenal really good. I'm sure you'll find a way. They were very good. Crystal Solis as well, the new Greek signing. I made fun of him. I made sure to get in there early and make fun of him before he'd played. So I couldn't, you know, I was allowed to do that. He was annoyingly good though, wasn't he? He was and he has been good all of preseason. And you think he's going to win the ball on door. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think he should have won it last season. And I think as a disgrace, there's a lot of talk about who will win it this year. Crystal Solis this year guy. But he's got a lot of goals and got a lot of assists in Belgium. I don't know the Belgian league. That was the question is can you do the step up? I'm saying it's not the Premier League saying it's shit. I didn't say that. I said I didn't say that. I think the format shit, but I can't believe you're calling this. No, they changed the format. Yeah, it's kind of normal again, which is is it, which is a bit of a shame. I, well, we did a video on TFO, which did, well, if people want to watch it about how crazy it used to be. And what used to work, but they've kind of gone to a normal round robin league, which I think is a bit of a shame. I like the playoff thing. It's kind of quite weird. I can understand why if your team was involved in it, you'd absolutely hit it. Well, the biggest problem is at the stand of the football shit. You said that, not me. You say that, but I think there's a solace, solace move. It's interesting. I've noticed it around Europe as well. It feels like, you know, in the past, when a player would move from Belgium or France, for example, with it. It's a rubbish league. It's just like a blanket statement of this player will take time to adapt. A more nuanced period where I think you can identify what strengths a player has. And you can more easily, like evaluate if they're going to transition across the league. Like solace, for example, if he's just a really good shooter of the ball, like really a striker of the ball, for example, that's not going to change, depend like moving to a different league. But if he's thriving because he gets a ton of space in the Belgian league, then yeah, that is obviously going to change. I imagine I'll still look to that probably saw qualities that didn't change. And it's just something interesting, I think I've noticed this summer where there isn't that same sort of concern when players move from like Belgium, for example. Yeah, I do hear a lot of people talking about ball strikers. You know, I feel like that's something that's happened in the last year or two. Everyone said that about Benjamin Cheshko when he came to Manchester United. He's just an unrivaled ball striker. Like the way he strikes the ball is just it's unrivaled. He can kick it so hard, you know. And that's true in the Premier League as well as it was in the Bundesliga, right? Exactly. What's Christos Salas good at? Kai, I defer to you because I've not watched enough. He's very direct. He's unrivaled in terms of directness. It's like that. Unrivaled in terms of going straight to goal. It gets a lot of assists. That's really good. I think he's just completely ruined the entire tactical analysis community in space in his sense. It's just nonsense, isn't it? Well, I didn't want to say it, but he gets a lot of goals in assists. That's a big thing. His numbers in Belgium were really impressive last season. I think it was 20 plus goals and 20 plus assists. And he's also quite well positioned, I would say, to start this season really well. In the sense that a lot of players are coming back kind of rusty from the World Cup, whereas Salas has had a full preseason with Arsenal because he obviously didn't go to the World Cup with Greece. But also prior to signing with Arsenal had been training with Bruges in their preseason, I think, for a week or two. So he'd already come to Arsenal in peak physical condition, which means that when the season starts and lots of players are playing catch up, I think he's quite well positioned to start it well. And losing Trussard was a big thing for Arsenal because while he was never, I think, of the elite level, he was a really important player for Arsenal over the years and scored lots of important goals, scored the goal against West Ham that kind of won Arsenal of the league last season. They needed someone to replace that. Salas' profile was very similar, a bit younger, and seems to get more goals and more assists. So it's very exciting. He's made a really strong start. But obviously, Kabiat took all preseason training. He doesn't look like he's lost his soul to a devil. No, no, Trussard, if he could sleep. Yeah, if he could sleep. There you go. What about that? I'm sure he climbed the bell tower, didn't he, Salas? So they'd the town of Bruges much nicer in London. Anyway, oh, what else? Oh, yes. I was going to ask you, Amitai, because you're around these parts, you're known as the Lord of the Deal sheet. That's why I ask people to say when I walk into the office. How many, what's the kind of take up would you say, percentage wise of the office? Who's calling you Lord Amitai? It's currently zero. We're working on it. What, you got one in me? Well, now we've got one. Big fan in me. Now, Lord Amitai of the Deal sheet. Now, if people don't know, the Deal sheet is the athletics during the summer. In fact, during January as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. During the summer. Any time there's a window. During Tuesdays, the Deal sheet is released. Now, the Deal sheet is a thick, scroll full of details. And juicy morsels of transfer information. Yeah, it's got... This is where I go into proper the little box that we put that goes on Google to speak. It's got everything you need to know about the transfer. What's it got that you need to know about Arsenal? Well, this week's edition hasn't come through yet. Of course, I'm still waiting. Let me ask you, though, because our podcast doesn't release until Tuesday morning, which is when the Deal sheet releases. So, even if you just gave us something that people don't know now, but we'll know on Tuesday morning, it'll be like it's ITK in the know. But it won't actually be because it will release after the Deal sheet. How about you say a move that sounds interesting and we bleep it. And then we don't worry about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's do that. Let's do that. Amateur is going to say something. We're going to bleep it. Make it a real thing. We're going to bleep it. And then we'll get our genuine reactions to it. Okay, Amateur, what's in the Deal sheet tomorrow? Er... Whoa! Bomba! Bomba! That is unrivaled in terms of transfer period sales. Unrivaled information. Unrivaled information. I can't believe that player is moving not. Is that vague enough? Is moving not. Yeah, I was going to say more than I realize. No, I don't want to. That was the point. I love that. Anyway, no, no, I love that. It was bleeped out. Don't worry. Now, listen. Er, Arsenal. Yes. Are we expecting anything more from Arsenal? Do you think? They still want a sense back. And I think the two that we've reported on are... They always want us then. Yeah, I know. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. 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It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. It's a bit of a list that could never be chalked out. So, after the Vinny Jr. thing, there's no, is there no intention to go and sign another wide forward, given that Martin Nellie looks like he might be on the way out? I think it's like a consideration, but I don't think the intention is to do like, I think the Vinny Jr. thing was a market opportunity. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A special unit feel. A special unit feel. It's a great phrase, yeah. It's a unique deal. It was an opportunity that came up and like they're now not going to go, okay, we're going to go spend 180 million, which is not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. It's not what Vinny Jr. Right. And I guess the worry for Man City is in midfield, they looked like they didn't really quite know what the plan was still. Rodry is obviously looking like he's going to leave as we're recording this podcast. Well, we can say that Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle worth 76.5 million euros with Manchester City for his transfer. Right. And that adds to a lot of transition over this summer for Man City. So obviously Pep is left. Bernardo Silva is left too. John Stone is left. And Rodry adding to that. That's would you like to hear some more players that have left? Yeah. Go for it. James Trafford, of course, left. Of course. I mean, that's not the huge impact on the first team. But for 46.7 million euros to lead. It's a lot of money for James Trafford. There we go. Manuel Akanshi left also to enter with John Stone's then gone hand in hand. Nathan Akai left to go to Fenerbahce. You mentioned Bernardo Silva, John Stone's obviously. So it's quite the fact that there are players there that aren't necessarily huge first teams, you know, guaranteed starters. But between Manuel Akanshi and Nathan Akai. It's two players that have like really dug them out. And have been a crucial core part of the squad over the last few seasons. Yeah. A lot of experience leaving the team. Yeah. Akanshi was, I think, on loan into last season. Anyway, so they kind of have dealt with him not being there. But they've made a lot of signings in recent windows. So they've spent a lot of money in recent windows on a lot of new players. And Pep Guardiola was kind of beginning the refresh. And now obviously the reins have been handed over to Andy Marasco. And it's interesting in terms of the types of players they're being linked to. So Ender Fernandez is obviously being quite heavily linked as a replacement, maybe for Tijani Rinds. I think Sam Lee was reporting the other day. And then I Boadi as well. Yeah. As a potential long term Roger replacement. So BBC Sport currently have a man city in advanced talks for. Right. Right. So there's going to be a lot of churn in that midfield. Anderson obviously coming in is a big difference. I think Anderson and Fernandez in my head doesn't really work that well as a midfield too. If that's how they're going to go and do it. I think you kind of to allow Fernandez to be his best box crashing self. You have to limit Anderson a bit when you kind of just spend £116 million. You don't really want to limit the guys much possible. Right. But yeah, it was interesting city played a lot of kind of Marasco style tactics. So the wingers were high and wide. The way they were defending their penalty box kind of allowed Arsenal to pick them apart, particularly in the middle up to the second goal. They were sort of playing a high-ish line that Arsenal were able to kind of kind of play the ball over the top and solace as Steve so perfectly wrote with a very definitely executed header to Kai Hevertz in the back post. But I just think they looked a little bit more open defensively. They didn't look as controlled in midfield and they looked a little bit into up front. Yeah. Which you know that old David Moise quote like we need to get better at defending attacking and midfield as well. Midfield. Yeah. But you know there is obviously a lot of caveats to it and new tactics, new manager, new everything almost at Man City this summer. But they do look like they're going into the start of the Premier League season, a little bit off the pace. Yeah. Which given how tight title races have been in recent years and if their ambitions are to win the title of the season, that's obviously not great. You've written here am a tie that they look large but not good. I was like quite interested in the fact that if City had won the league last year but also just generally in the context of Gradiola leaving. It felt like he was having come into football as this like amazing like philosophical guy who had the aesthetic down in terms of how his team played and they were really interesting and they played beautiful football and that was his Barcelona team and then he went to City and they also played beautiful football. It was like he was leaving on the worst note possible because City became what was required to potentially win the Premier League last year which was a team of quite big guys who like fought and scored from set pieces and all this sort of stuff. Yeah. It kind of feels like he's handed over like not in a way that's negative towards Gradiola. A ticking time. Well, almost like a team that doesn't quite have anything about it. Yeah. And like the thing about Fernandez is if they were to sign him for example, he provides goals, he provides assists but he's not he's not like a creative midfielder. Buaddi potentially maybe rectifies that to an extent but again like he's very young and also I don't think that would be his role in the team. I imagine if they were to sign him and Fernandez, he would probably assume players like a six because that would be the way that that would work best with Anderson ahead of him. So it's like, okay, where? And this is why it's quite interesting that like Grilish came on yesterday. Yeah. I mean, I don't think Jack Grilish works as an elite footballer in 2026. I don't think he's that player anymore. And I'm is weird. I've never quite been convinced by him. But at the very least, what does the office city that no one else in that team offers? Like the ability to pick out a pass. Yeah. And like to to dribble and beat some dribble and beats one like a bit more like number 10. Yeah. Like I don't actually think there's maybe I'm wrong, but I don't actually think there's anyone else in the squad who is there. Well, mate, like I guess, yeah, not so not so number 10. And you can also say for Jack Grilish that if he was going to play at all, he would definitely be, you know, starting after Cementio and Darko. Yeah. I don't know. It was a bit strange. I do think city squad is in a bit of a mess. And I don't think it sounded actually wrote about it recently, right? How cities transfer have quietly been failing, I think recently. So this season, well, some obviously there, Ryan does is leaving. Yeah. Oh, Mama Moosh is also planning on the way out as well. He plays your recently signed James Trafford has also left. Nico Gonzalez was seemed from reading into what's been written. There's like, would have been allowed to leave for his son. Those first three as well, excluding excluding Garcia at the end. Our players that I feel like were signed by Guadilla for experiments that were quickly abandoned in terms of how they played on the field as well. Oh, Mama Moosh, I think was a victim of like of a mild revival of the way that Guadilla thought he wanted to play. With technical players and then just immediately became sidelined when that didn't work. And to a certain extent, maybe the same with to Johnny Rinders as well. I did also think with Trafford yesterday, the absence of Trafford yesterday. So the thing about Morescal was at Chelsea. He never really settled on the goalkeeper because none of them quite did everything he wanted them to do, which was the ability to play out from the back. And he settled on Sanchez because he was like the least worst option of those. I, sadly, watched this preseason friendly against Augsburg on Saturday. At one point, Trafford came out of the goal, picked the ball with his feet, didn't pick the ball up. He dribbled with his feet, beat someone, and then played like it's really nice passouts of left wing that cut through like three or four players. And I was thinking to myself, if Morescal was at City and had Trafford on the bench about two months into the season, Donna would have been dropped from. Because even though Trafford's not necessarily as good as Donna Rimmer, shot-stopping, he probably does more of what Morescal wants. Well, I think that's the really interesting thing about City this season. We've talked about the squad and how maybe it's certainly not where it would have been under Pep Guardiola in previous generations. But I've just got finished reading John McKenzie's book, which I think is out this week, out on the 20th, the Spectre of Pep. And one of the, you know, the main theme that the book traces is what happens to Guardiola's football over the course of 15 years. Why he ends up doing what you said, which is having all these large players in his team in his final season. There's a lot of Latin in the book. One of his, one of the terms he uses a lot is his Anus Morabolus, which is the Miracle Year. So he talks about Guardiola's Miracle Year is the 2008, where they won. Oh, 2009. Come in word, Barcelona won the treble 2008. Oh, wait, oh nine. Oh, wait, oh nine. And then he, and then his Anus Morabolus, which is, you know, the opposite, the horrible year, which was not the most recent one for Guardiola happened the one before. If you remember where they went on that run in November, where they just lost every year. Yeah. And it was abysmal. That's kind of, you know, that was sort of the crunch point where not necessarily where things changed, but where that things had changed, became very, very obvious. I think the really interesting narrative this season for cities is not, you know, whether the squad is good enough or not. But what Moresca actually tries to do with them, because Moresca is a Pep Guardiola acolyte of a few years ago, who, you know, what we saw him do with Chelsea was very much what Pep Guardiola was doing four years ago, which wasn't working for the last two seasons. I feel as though the Premier League has shifted where it's changed completely. We're yet to see if, if Moresca will adapt with it. Or if they'll be a slightly off tactical approach where they slightly off squad. I feel like Man City could finish outside the top four. I'm kind of a similar. I think there's one in the rescue. I think City is just an identity crisis. I mean, you can even trace this back to when they signed Harland, because he was the first major departure from Guardiola style. And now look at that squad. And they've got, I think there's three players in Cherokee, Harland, and a Donna Rimmer. You're mentioning as well, or down a time to deal shit. These three players. You have to really sort of, you have to kind of build a squad around them in a way to get the most out of them. And Donna Rimmer, let me say, is not a goalkeeping play particularly well at the back. Harland likes to play in a very transitional way. I think Cherokee's one of the opposite that's to slow things down. And like you said, I don't know what City are anymore. I don't know if the Guardiola way is what they should be building towards. And I'm kind of the same point as you. I think if you take out Harland of that team, what's differentiating it from a Liverpool Chelsea? That's true. What is it? Also, this is going to sound stupid. But yesterday, watching the game, Moresca walking up and down the touch, he's like, he just looks like Pep the stepdad. Do you know what I mean? I honestly think it will be a problem that he looks quite a lot like Pep Guardiola. I think that's just going to remind people. It will be the ambiguous basis for all the commentary metaphors that use this season. It will be an issue that he looks like that. He was wearing a t-shirt with a zip on it. Which really bothered me. Sartorially, Pep would never have done that. So he needs to grow some hair so he can differentiate. Can you grow hair? I want to run into him in Cobham. Enzo Moresca? Yeah. As I was leaving. You bumped into him? No. I was walking out of a restaurant. And then I looked to my right. And there was Enzo Moresca. And here was the key thing. He was wearing a woolly hat. A woolly hat. And the law tracksy. Right. And I think. And you said there's Pep Guardiola. And I think if you want to differentiate himself, maybe he can't grow hair. We don't know. Sure. But he could just wear a woolly hat and have a law tracksy. A woolly hat. And then people wouldn't even think. They'd just be like, oh, there's the guy in the woolly hat and the law tracksy. They could go full-pulist and wear like a baseball cap or something like that. Get people this in. Yeah. Yeah. Getting back. He'll give them an identity. Anyway, there we go. Just before we move on. Because I had JJ and John on the other day. And we were talking about predictions. What do you think? Man City will finish. I think when we did our athletics of all the rights actually, their predictions, I think I had them in fourth. Fourth. Yeah. I like that. Yeah. I had them fourth. I think I might have third actually in a Chelsea second. Okay. What about you? I think they'll finish second. Second. Possibly win the Premier League. Coward. I think I would. Coward. I know. I'm Lord Amitai. I was tempted to say they'll win the Premier League. But I've watched a lot of. Yeah. Nebraska's Chelsea and I don't. I don't think he's. Amazing. My approach to talking about football is you have to get your hits in when you can. Which is why you criticized Hollis before he's played. And it's why you say Man City will finish outside the top four. Huh? It might look stupid later. But I can say it with love now. Anyway, let's have a quick break. And when we come back, we'll play a rondo. There we go. Welcome back from the break. Hope you enjoyed that break. Now it's time for a rondo. Do you remember how to play the rondo? Amitai? Let me remind you. Yeah. Oh, I'm so sorry. Lord Amitai. Of the deal sheet. Of the deal sheet of the athletic. Now, here's how the rondo works. I ask a question that has multiple correct answers. We go round in a circle. We give correct answers. If we give incorrect answers, Lord Amitai of the deal sheet, we are rejected from the rondo. If we given answer that someone else has already given, we're rejected from the rondo. And today's question is as follows. Here's what I'm looking for. The unique relegated Premier League team during Guardiola's tenure at Manchester City. So that's from 2016-17, unique Premier League relegation. Obviously, there are a couple with multiple instances, but they just count once. This was suggested by Benjamin Funk on the Tifa Football Discord, which you can join by clicking the link in the description wherever you're listening. And there are 21 correct answers to this rondo. So Amitai, I will begin with you. Legionited. Legionited. It hits Hardest when it hits at home. Yes, it is. Hardest field. Hardest fielder, of course, there. Kaya? Norwich. Norwich, yes, indeed. Amitai. Burnley. Burnley, of course, has been relegated, yes. Cardiff City. Cardiff City. There you go. Newton. Newton. Yes, Amitai. West Ham. West Ham, yes. Of course, they have. Very recently, Sheffield United. Sheffield United is a correct answer. Wolves. Yeah, just the once though. Mind. I don't know. South Hampton. South Hampton. Yeah. Maybe twice. Maybe twice in that period of time. Yeah. Bournemouth. Bournemouth. Wow. Maybe I needed to get a deal or tie breaker. Let's see. Let's see how we get on Kaya. Now normally you're so good at this. Yeah. Swansea. Yes. Swansea were there. Swansea were there. Just about. Amitai. Sheffield United. If we said that. Are you offering that as an answer? Sheffield United. Which were already said. Who said it was you? Me. Yeah. Okay. Amitai. You've played the Rondo before, haven't you? Yeah. So no debutance grace for you. You're round of it. Okay. Alex. Wolves. Wolves have already been said. Oh my god. Kaya was struggling so much. No, listen. You have to get one more correct answer. No. You've played the Rondo before? Yeah. No. No debutance grace. Listening. And over. I know so many. I don't know. Goodness me. Goodness me. This man. I feel like he was on a confident victory run. But hey. What? Sometimes confidence. What does it forget? It's which. No. Yes. No. It's correct answer. You can have it. Now. Do you think you could have named all the others? I reckon I could have named most of them. Yeah. Yeah. Aston Villa. No Villa or not here. Oh, they're not. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. 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