Manchester City v Arsenal – A Masterclass and the Greatest Premier League Team Debate

0:00:02

Hello, and welcome to the squeaky bum time podcast presented exclusively on the CHOP Sports Channel of the Premier streaming network. We are recording this again on Thursday, April twenty seven. I am your host, Laurent Courtines. In this episode. We will talk nodding in forest, live another day.

0:00:26

Spurs shows sign of lies first, Manchester United, while everton look dead, verse new castle. But first, Manchester City are the greatest premier league team of all time, and I can prove it. Okay? We have to do our regular chores. Like, share, subscribe. Like, share, subscribe. Like, share, and we will get into Manchester City versus arsenal. Okay. Is the cat yowing? And he ruins my recording, but I can take that out. We will get into Manchester City. Here we go.

0:01:08

So how did I experience this? I experienced this game at home. I experienced this game standing in front of a television. I experienced this game with fear, loathing, doom and feelings of worry, dread and all the other things that come along with those types of games. However, My feelings after twelve twenty four hours are, wow. City of fucking incredible. We've got this league in the bag. And now we're moving forward.

0:01:41

Very straightforward performance for Manchester City like I was nervous. I thought Peppa Jackit, but this was a master class in a different way. This was not PeP tinkering, not PeP doing anything wrong, but had we lost it why it probably would have been a problem. But this was PeP simplifying, playing everything simple. There was no John Stones in the midfield. There was no Kyle Walker playing in the midfield. Akanji came into the right backside instead of La Porte because he felt good about that matchup with him in soccer.

0:02:19

City played a very, very slow, narrow buildup designed to bring Arsenal's aggressive press he used their youth against them. So he made everything in the park con in the middle of the park condensed allowing for De Bruin and Holland to hover behind the arsenal press and in front of the mid back in front of the back four. So it was parte and holding and Gabriel trying to figure out a way to mark them and it worked to a tee. City went long, city were direct, and when they were building up, it was more to lure arsenal onto them so that they could then create those artificial breaks so that Arsenal would have to turn around and run. And that is how the game played out.

0:03:09

The first goal came from a ball, from John Stone's in the corner after a slow buildup. Couple passes between he and whatever in the press to get out of it. Long ball sixty yards onto Holland. He battles Holding, lays it off to De Bruin. De Bruin takes off, and he beats the whole arsenal team.

0:03:27

Thomas Parte, had a complete stinker. He didn't wanna go anywhere that De Bruin went. De Bruin just stayed on the back of him, kept moving around, and Citi had so much joy in the first half, specifically in the first half hour, it was a route and the route was on and big and easy. Even within the first five minutes. Arsenal had a I mean, city had a penalty shout where Parte just stepped up across the bromine. And if they'd called it, it would've been fine.

0:03:56

VAR doesn't do it. There's a lot of filing a little bit early on, but not too bad. Then So we have De Bruin's goal. Then De Bruin again has a good shot that's blocked.

0:04:08

Earl and Holland on twenty eight, on thirty two breaking through on his own, both shots. Saved. Holland is a beast. He's running through the field. Then arsenal have a little bit of a moment. Thomas part of the edge of the box. Left foot doesn't quite right foot doesn't quite nail it, doesn't quite get it, it's an easy save. Then Holland again two more times on thirty six and forty one.

0:04:31

So in the first half, Holland, with four different opportunities where we've broken on goal. Just really high scoring opportunities, especially the one on twenty eight. We are like, holy shit. What is going on? City, we're flooding the middle, breaking through the arsenal press, and they were just on the brake as though they were turnovers. And this was all part of guardiola's plan. He used the youth and exuberance and desired again on the front foot and the nerves of arsenal against themselves. It was almost like a jujitsu game where he was pulling our arm. We had everything under control. Moving arsenal where we wanted them to go.

0:05:05

City in control of this game never really had to break a sweat. Nothing coming down the wings. Akan Sakai and Martinelli were in control. Akanji and walker had them, and even when they didn't, City were able to double up. Both Greekish and Bernardo flew back to protect there was never isolation in defense everything was super controlled because the game was not going down the wings. Everything was in the middle. The whole battle, the whole tactical game was the middle of the park. City identified the center defense of Arsenal and and specifically holding and attacked him because he's a championship level player with fake hair.

0:05:50

Anyway, Citi, do get another goal and it it was just rewards John Stone's foul on the side of the box that De Bruin takes Bernardo Civil runs over it. Frost into the box, great header from stones. It's initially called off signs. It looks very off sign. I was okay with that. I hate VAR. In this case, VAR did give a goal to Citi. It was close, and I mean close. But We'll take what we can take. Very good, very excited, very happy. No problem. Citi, do go into the half up to and this game was over. Arsenal really only created couple chances in this game. Really never got anything going. They had a little period after this after the third goal for Citi.

0:06:43

Again, De Bruin from Holland, a live pass open box. Bing bang boom. De Bruin put it away. He was so good. He and Holland would just nines and tens. Just fantastic, fantastic stuff.

0:06:57

And the week links for Arsenal were very very weak. Rob Holding, god bless you brother. You just didn't know how to stay in position. You wanted to mark people. You kept moving forward, opening up spaces anytime someone moved forward. A run was made in behind where you were, and the whole line collapsed. Not great stuff.

0:07:16

Edison didn't really have to do much, just long balls. Just old good old four four two, a big and a small Holland bee sting. Easy. It was easy. It was easy. It was men against boys, like just not really anything. There was a goal pulled back by Rob Holding on a nice finish, so he gets to have a little bit of a better show, and then early Holland late in the ninety fifth minute does get a fourth. So it looks worse than it is that actually the score probably reflects the whole game.

0:07:48

Four one, city, cruising. Arsenal now can max out on ninety four points if they win every game. City can max out on nine I'm sorry. Arsenal can max out on ninety points. City can max out on ninety four. So city can drop a game draw a game. The only thing they can't do is lose two or how many draws is that? I don't know. Four draws. I don't think that I have four draws. City haven't had four draws all year. And they they definitely so what arsenal need is for city to lose twice lose It could happen. It could happen. I don't think Arsenal are out of this.

0:08:26

And I do wanna give a little shout out to Arsenal. They should not hold their heads. They should hold their heads high. This arsenal team was not expected to be here. This arsenal team is only disappointed because they got so far along. Had they dropped those Villa games earlier, had they lost those games and not drawn? Had they lost that Bournemouth game earlier on? They wouldn't have been in such a position where they would have had to feel this pressure of these three draws in a row that did ultimately get to arsenal, they were regressing to the mean. They're not this good. They're not a ninety point team. They don't have the depth. We knew it from the beginning. Arsenal were running the same eleven out over and over and over and over again. And that I think eventually caught up to them because they didn't have the cover And when when players were asked to do things that they couldn't do or were unable to were had to come into the game, the quality drop was so massive.

0:09:28

We didn't see Georgino for some reason. I thought maybe our our tetha would play a different way, but he didn't seem to feel comfortable in changing the way Arsenal played because his team's not ready to change the way they play. They barely know how to play the way they're playing now. So that's why they played the same way the whole season. He can only really change things up like for like. Like, Reese Nelson on for Bakarasaka or in Ketchya on for Jezuz, just to change it up. Really, he might have needed to sit deep and try and play counterattack play deep style. This might have been a game to to try and do that and and utilize Martin Nelly and and and Sakwa in a different way. Could he go with wingbacks? Could he try anything? I I like to think that there's probably more talent in this team, but Arcetta, just in the biggest game of the season, just didn't feel comfortable to try and do things.

0:10:22

Whereas city are constantly evolving, constantly changing, we're a chameleon. We'll we'll play the principles of Pep ball where we keep possession and use our skill, but how we play it and what we do and where the runs are and who's the Free Man, those are changing all the time. And teams just can't cope with it. It's both tactical and strategic understanding of what opponents are doing, how to exploit it, and then having the players to then execute those plans. Citi are just well drilled. Well drilled and and and fight as a team. I think there was a moment that Sakwa got on his own against the kanji and I swear to God, Jack Creelish sprinted at full speed fifty month fifty yards across the pitch and came in and mopped up to hold to help Akanji after Akanji did a good job of holding him up. Just things that you just don't see, that Englishness, that fight, that spirit. City Habit and Spades. They knew how much the game meant, and now I think are on track to perhaps be the greatest team the Premier League has ever seen.

0:11:31

I lost this episode. I recorded it and it left me. I had a whole passionate rant about how Citi had the greatest Premier League team of all time, especially if we win the three in a row. We know the comparisons are to United, two thousand six, two thousand nine, and United ninety eight to two thousand one. The ninety nine team is the trouble winning team. But I did look at the the point totals and the goal difference totals. And city's three championships are far superior Cities levels at this point are way better than anything that United ever did in terms of dominance as an individual team, just in the numbers we see. Goals for goals against goal difference. Right? These are the simple strict numbers of wins, numbers of points. Listen. It's not perfect. No one likes stats. It all context who's pushing you. But I feel like with the Liverpool team that was pushing City that the levels that City are at are beyond anything that United were ever at.

0:12:38

United were very pragmatic and and attack minded, but they're very star driven, Christiano, and and skulls and back home and, you know, but they were never like this, the precision of different ways to play. Alex Ferguson drove the team through personality. It was not a tactical team. It was not a innovative team. United had the best spirit in the league with the best players in the league, with the best coach in the league who required running, fight and never say die. And that's what made their team. But it was very it was not tactical. They won that first Champions League in ninety nine. By luck. I mean, the great team really is the two thousand eight team that did beat that did beat Chelsea, I believe. Is that right? I don't even know. I'd have to look at them. With Swiss quiz channel and Rudy and Teves, I mean, those were elevated teams.

0:13:40

But if Citi win the three in a row, the second team ever to do it, they will join the two times that United did it. And win the shape isley and win the treble. I don't think that they can be they can they can only be regarded as the best team of all time because of the variety, because they'll have done it three different ways. Once with a false nine with a guerrero, once as a defensive team, and then once with this Holland thing. All different. The United teams were cycles where there was this there was the accumulation of talent, a peak of a talent, and then disappearing of talent. City are gonna win a trouble. And three leagues in a row while transitioning from the previous team that won two in a row, from company, from Silva, from Fernando, from Aguero. So they're gonna have rebuilt on the fly. The one season they lost, they scored a hundred and three goals and had this weird fluke season. But I think Citi are the greatest team of all time. This is gonna be a debate.

0:14:44

I'm hoping that, you know, your Sky Sports and whenever, of course, it has to be the treble. It has to be the treble or else you can't or the Champions League. If you don't win the Champions League, you can't be considered one of the great Premier League sides. It just is how it is, but I do think city are on track. They are on their way. And I think that that's really legacy on the line here. I mean, it's really coming. It's really going to be what city are if they can get to the level that they need to. So very, very exciting.

0:15:22

And let's go through the scores and then we'll pick out some games. So This match week started on Tuesday. This is Match week thirty three, and we'll start on the Tuesday games. Wolfe's two, Crystal Palace nil, uncle Roy, now takes two poor results in a row, but Reuben Ongol by Joakim Anderson and Reuben Nevis penalty late gives wolves all three points. They are all but safe. However, Esa was great in this game. He hit the bar. He was in charge.

0:15:55

I'd really love to see a great team get a hold of as a feels like if spurs are gonna reload, they should look to Crystal Palace to find those players so that Kayne doesn't have to do all the work. Let's get as a some creative players. Let's get some fun, some creativity, some blackness. English blackness. I love it. I want I love Palace, especially when they play with Swagger, it's nothing better than that. That street swag, that that energy, that that brings, you know, let's get that into spurs and show show teams what Harry King can be. Okay.

0:16:28

Also on Tuesday, Aston Villa, the great and powerful Unai Emery on a headed goal for Meng's, a reverse header. It was pretty pretty cool. They beat fulham. Fulham having a very, very hard time scoring. This was a completely dominant performance. Fulham had one shot. Zero on target. About as dominant as you can, this is an x g of go fuck yourself, Aston Villa win, one nil. Who when I am really knows how to shut people down. No MitraVich, no party, nothing on the games, fulham, or, you know, one two three Cancun, one two three Marbina. This team's out of the party in Aston Villa. After they won this game, we're actually in the Europa League places, but they do fall down to six after we get the Spurs result.

0:17:14

The final game of Tuesday was Leeds one, Lester one, fantastic little game here, a lot of energy at Ellen Road, a lot of fun, a lot of thing, Jamie Varty came off the Schneider, off the bench, does Varty things, runs onto space a a really cool pass from IEnacho who won the ball up high. He's growing goes. He's hopping on one leg. He lays it off to Vardi crumbles to the to to Madison, crumbles to the ground. Madison slides in, Varty, and boom, they bring the game level really fun, really game. Of course, leads can't defend. Of course, Lester can't defend.

0:17:51

One thing I did notice with Lester, our friend, Jakan Shoaljensu, is back in the side he's, of course, now signed for athletic, though. He was always good. I don't know what the fuck Brendan Rogers was doing. So yantou and Fees is good. Really good. That's a real defense. I have a feeling Lester will be in it or there a bar. We're gonna go through the relegation zone. It's so sad what two teams I gotta go and they're wonderful.

0:18:18

And then we go to yesterday. They're great and powerful. Nottingham forest. Tricky trees, they miss a penalty by Brandon Johnson, then Good night, Irene. Scores a goal, and you are dying. You're thinking, oh my god, not even forest. What have you done to me? Why are we gonna blow this game? But then an own goal by Pascal Grouse of Brighton does get notting and forest level right at the break and they go into halftime feeling a little bit better. Danilo scores one on sixty nine and then Morgan gives White with the freaking cop on their side, pours one in on a penalty, and Nottingham Farris wins three one they only have twenty four percent possession. Their pass accuracy is only sixty six percent. It's nasty.

0:19:16

Britain have the ball the whole time, but Cooper has a plan. You've got to respect Cooper. This team may not be great. Steve Cooper might not be a great coach. At least there's an idea, there's a plan. This comment to you, mister fucking Franklin party.

0:19:31

He knows what he's doing. He has the team set up to do a thing. They wanna sit deep. They wanna do it for a certain amount of time. And then when the time comes, open up and go. Open up and go. So that at least there's something there's some semblance of the team being together. There's details. They know where they're supposed to be. They know what they're supposed to do.

0:19:51

When Forrest lose games, it's because they make mistakes because they're not good enough. But it's not because they're coached poorly, and it's not because they don't have a go. They always have a go. They have a plan. You can see things change. You can see Cooper pushing things along. And I'm really happy for not even for us to get that little bit more, that little closer. Can they get to nine wins? That nine wins is magic.

0:20:14

Now, We do go on to Chelsea. Holy shit. Franklin Park is the worst coach in the Premier League. He's winless in five. And Chelsea have only scored one goal in those five games, and that was deflected. That was in the Brighton game where they got demolished. And I mean, demolished. But they did get a goal in that game. That's the only game they have a goal.

0:20:37

I don't know what Franklin Park's doing. I don't know how Chelsea have gotten to where they are. I don't know how they don't score. Let me just tell you though, Chelsea Football Club of Champions League Quality. Eighteen months ago, who signed Lukaku, who signed Obamian, who signed KaiHaver, who have Mason Mount now injured, who have quality throughout the side.

0:21:03

People who've scored goals in big games, World Cup winner in Enzo Fernandez. They have scored thirty goals this season. Thirty. That's less than a goal per game. That is the same as top scoring, Nottingham Forest. They are third, fourth, from bottom, in goals scored this season. Third from bottom, this team cannot score to save its fucking life It's sad that they can't figure this out. Either it's confidence, it's something. They are on thirty only be ahead of wolves Noddingham Forest, Southampton and Eberton. All those teams except for wolves are in a relegation zone. Chelsea are scoring goals like a relegation team The only thing keeping them in the league is, and this is a secret thing, they actually have the third best defense in the league.

0:22:01

Potter had always had them playing this way. I don't know what Franklin Park does. I don't know what he's good at. I don't know why he has a job. He should never have a job. He's not good enough for his team. And I firmly believe that if Potter was on this squad still, as much as the Chelsea faithful were crying and yelling or whatever. Now they're gonna just start hating Franklin Park. Potter would not have had this happen. He would have found a way to get things better, or they just would have had nil nil. But now they can't score, now they're giving up goals. Now they're losing. Under Pottery was a lot of draws, so let's just keep that in mind. And he did beat Bruce Adortman. I don't understand Chelsea fans. Now, We do know now that the rumors are hot, hot, hot for our friend, mister Moroccio Pochettino. It seems that it's very close. And it seems that when Potter came in, Pochettino was fifty fifty. And he rejected it for some other reason who knows what BOLI is doing.

0:23:04

BOLI is the worst you can get when you have a new owner. The worst kind of new owner. I think, historically, new owners do stupid things. They tend to get a little handsy. If you think about basketball in the US. Mark Cuban when he owned the Mavericks. He would get on the court. He would yell. He would go nuts. He'd try and make treasuries. He'd do crazy stuff. Get fined, you know, call out referees, you know, all these crazy things. So he was kind of on the higher end of new owner. Other new owners who've done stupid shit the kings who were now in the playoffs, a rivet, run a dive. He fucking ran that team into the ground for a while and they've gotten himself together in the football side. When Fulham were bought by as Xiaomi or Khan, it didn't really quite work well. They bought too many players when they came up and had the same problem. So maybe maybe the history of new owners with BOLI, they'll get themselves together.

0:23:59

But right now, the institution of Chelsea is empty. It has been hollowed out. The thing that I think about, it's like they took a beautiful I don't know. I I keep thinking about a piece of bread that you you scoop all the bread out. It's now an empty husk of crust. There's nothing inside. There's no meat. There's nothing. So they've put this figurehead effectively of like the emperor has no clothes.

0:24:24

Frank lampard, oh, we know him. We're the fans aren't stupid. Know what you're doing. You're putting up a puppet, but now you're seeing that this puppet has no substance. And Chelsea are just losing and losing and losing. They're now five losses in a row for the first time in decades. And they have a real opportunity, thanks Dimas for reminding me, to be the worst team in London. They're currently ahead of Palace and Westham.

0:24:53

There are seven teams in the Greater London area in the league. Arsenal, Arsenal, Tottenham, Brentford, Fulham, Chelsea, Westham, and Crystal Palace. Chelsea are two points ahead of Crystal Palace. Four twelve. And West Ham are coming up on the rails on thirty four. But the way Chelsea have been playing, I don't know when they're gonna win. They might not give up a goal, but they're not winning any games because they can't score. At all, zero scoring. None. No scoring. And Frank's a dope. Sorry, Franklin part, but you stink your I think six you've only gained points. Two of your last nineteen had drawn a win. So seventeen losses out of nineteen. Pretty pretty bad there, mister Frank. So Chelsea, opportunity to be one of the worst seasons that they've ever had. Pachatino, on the way in Portugal on the way in.

0:25:54

We go to our other friends in London, Westham hosting the Great and Power for Liverpool, liver pool, getting themselves together, getting themselves together, they go behind early on a wonder strike by Luis Paketa. Cody Gackbo brings them level on an outside the box shot that was set up by Trent Alexander on a really fantastic little pass. Trent now seems clocked figured out what Pep figured out six months ago, they're trying to do different things finally. I always wondered that with clap like you're not a tactical genius. He's more like He's more like Alex Ferguson. He's, you know, tutonic care bear, hugs, high fives, big teeth. But, you know, it's just run and go kick ass.

0:26:34

Versus, hey, we have a system. We have a thing we're gonna do. They're not tactically or, you know, crazy. Liverpool just do Liverpool things. They do what they do the best. It's sort of like the old Vince Lombardi thing where he would go over the power sweep drawn on a board for hours and hours. And I was like, that's what we do. You wanna know what's coming, stop it. So that's liver pulsing. Right?

0:26:57

We press, we go high, we We have amazing front end talent, and we we have the greatest deep lying passer in the league. He also can't defend, but he's on our team. So it looks like they're moving trend centrally to sort of change that responsibility of having to be affected games so high and right. He can now affect the game centrally without exposing the wing so that when he drops back and there's a break, he's not on his own. Konate is out there, Matipa is out there, and he can then fill in behind them so he's less exposed as a defender. Speaking of Matipa, he gets to go ahead, go on an amazing header. Fantastic stuff.

0:27:34

But, you know, right now, you know, a Liverpool of one three in a row, unbeaten in five, getting themselves back together up to seventh now. They have an outside shot. They definitely have a shot at Europe. I think fifth is attainable. Gonna be really really difficult to get to that top four spot. Basically, it's out of reach united on sixty. Liver poor on fifty three, liver poor would have to basically went out and have United essentially collapse at this point. It's gonna be really, really hard. It could happen. I think United are a little bit jaded right now, and we'll get to their their game as we go through the rest of the week's results. But I thought I was really good.

0:28:21

Talked about the city already, the mighty powerful Gary O'Neil and his plucky cherries of Boymuth. They win. Again, Tavanir on its on a a daisy cutter seeing eye single, a seeing eye shot as he skips across the box, finds the corner. Alex McCarthy, no fucking casino. Thank god. Alex McCarthy and GOL for Southampton. Didn't make a difference. Boymuth, win the game, won nil. A dominant performance really just, you know, didn't really feel like they needed to possess the ball.

0:28:54

They have a plan. I really like Gary O'Neil. He's done a great job keeping this form of team on side. They've got a plan. They have a set group. They know what they're doing. These are themes. You hear them over and over again. Hey, this guy knows what he's doing. You can see why managers like Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock to stay in a league for a long time because there's very few managers who can actually affect the team by doing the work getting them together. So good stuff from Bournemouth. We're likely staying at Premier League and get their hundred and you know, hundred and eighty million dollars by being in the league, and they know that they hold off the parachute payments, they stay in the league. Yes, they have a couple of drubbings on their end. But they are have a way and they found a way to get thirty six points. They're safe, man. They are safe. They're gonna be premier league team next season.

0:29:46

One myth, I had them going down for fucking sure, but I should have sort of remembered how good they weren't a championship against fulham, really pushed fulham to the end with Scott Parker, but they were leading it most of the time and then fulham just steam rolled past them, but it's good coach. Good coach, Gary O'Neil. Scott Parker, not so much fired as we know, in Belgium. You know, when you die in Belgium, you really die in Belgium. So what other games that we've got? Let's keep going through the match week.

0:30:19

Eberton for Eberton won Newcastle four. You know, Eberton really fought and huffed and puffed especially in the first half they got sucker punched by an amazing goal on the break from Cal and Wilson. What are they gonna do? They go into the half, down one nil, then late in the game. They just faded. Joe Linton on seventy two, Calimos and, again, another wonder goal on seventy five.

0:30:43

The setup by eZach on that one is just pure fucking class. He tiptoes through their whole defense. Michael Keane is still spinning around trying to figure out where he was. No. That's the Murphy goal. That's the one on eighty one. Just amazing stuff. Do I make Neil picks one up late on eighty, but, again, everton. You can't ship those goals late like that. You gotta hold on because goal difference is gonna matter for everton.

0:31:08

They can't find a win. They can't get any goals in this team. They can't score. It's really hard to stay out of the relegation zone when you can't score. Very hard to I mean, I know it sounds stupid. Can't win games. If you can't score, everton. Worse scoring team in the league. Twenty five goals, and thirty three played. Not great. Not great. It's very hard. So much pressure you you give up a goal and you feel like you feel like it's completely insurmountable, but Newcastle really locked in that top three spot. They are definitely gonna have champions league football next season. Could have thunk it. I mean, just the idea that Chelsea and Liverpool yacked this season away. Nothing doing for them just amazing.

0:31:57

And then the last game of the day, the last game of the weekend, Putnam two, United two. This game was all united in the first half. All united in their first half and all spurs in the second. This is that early first half of the season, spurs where they would go down a couple goals. Chantee would fire a rocket up their ass and they'd come out in the second half and go kick some ass. They did it again. They're back at it.

0:32:21

So this is the season for Spurs. This is how they are. They can't sustain or start games in an attacking manner They've gotta get punched in the mouth and taste blood before they turn it on. Sancho on seven, a really nice goal, early. Good for him. Cuts inside, fires it in. Good shot there. Then rashford again on the brake just before. It looked like Spurs were coming back into the game. Rashford on the brake. He picks up a nice goal. You know, having his best season of his career. Then later on, in the second half, you know, spurs found it. They found their spursiness. Of course, led through hurricane. He does everything. He's playing the eight. He's playing the nine. He's playing the ten. He's running through guys. He's setting things up. He's trying to get on the end of things.

0:33:06

Poro's goal was fantastic. Look like there was a little bit of a scrum in the box before he outside of the boots at top bins. Whoo. Fantastic stuff. I loved it. It was a great goal as much as I think Toro is prior to prom. And then, of course, Sunny gets the goal late On seventy nine, he scuffs one in from Cain, of course, Cain always involved in everything. If Cain goes, Spurs are a mid table team and they're a mid table team now. Almost.

0:33:34

This team's defense is the prom. They are bottom five team in defense. Just too many goals. And for them, I you'd say, oh, they've gotta sit deeper. They gotta sit deeper. I think that it's the opposite with spurs SPERS, they have the fifth worst defense. They have so they're in and around. So the worst defense is born with leads, and all the delegation teams from fourteen to twenty are the bottom six and spurs. That's how bad Spurs are in defense. They have a relegation defense, but they have been scoring goals for fun because they have Harry Cain still. They still are a top scoring team on sixty goals. They're the third high fourth highest scoring team in a league. They just league goals.

0:34:20

Now, Conte seems to think you sit deep if that's your problem. I think the opposite. If you can't defend, don't try to be a defensive team. You need to hold onto the ball. There's different ways to approach this. They they even they they can put as many defenders as they want in defense. Right? They can have Skip and Heidelberg.

0:34:42

As long as Eric Dyer is in the middle of that defense with Davison Sanchez and Hugh Maurice is having a stinker, and their wingbags don't defend. They don't know what's going on. Stop trying to defend. Play higher up the pitch. Stay away from your goal. Don't invite pressure on. This is the problem for spurs. They can't defend and they keep playing as a defensive team. Bonucci and Thielini in walking through their fucking door. You gotta push that shit away. The the strength of Eric Dyer is that he can pass. Why is he defending all the time? They kind of push everything out. Anyway, that's my opinion. Spurs need to learn how to defend or change the way they play so they can defend from the front. Stop people shooting at your goal. They're the worst team in shots allowed in the league. Just awful awful stuff. Okay.

0:35:34

I did this version of the show different than the last one. I just went through the scores and ran through it. But there are some other outside of our rundown things that have happened. One, Sheffield United of the championship are returning to the Premier League. When last we saw them, they were being relegated after having a top ten finish the season before. Famously their overlapping pullbacks. They had this innovative sort of quirky way of playing, but then they got injured second season. They made the reimbursed or purchase. He ended up being a dud. And then the whole thing fell apart. They fired their manager. They had issues with the board. They spent one season in a championship. Things went were went weird now. Their second season, they're coming up under Paul Heckingbottom. I don't know how they play. It's still the same group, a lot of the same guys. So all of our all of our Materne, Egan, the rest of the gang will come back up with Sheffield, so congratulate them along with Burnley. Burnley will return. So we don't get anyone new. We do get Bernley and Sheffield United, and I'll give you a quick visit to the championship just so we know who could come up. The odds on favorites are Mittelsborough under Michael Carrick. They're the top scoring team in the league. They had the the league's leading goalscore with Coupa Aqbom.

0:37:04

I think of Arsenal fame. Went on loan many times. I'm just gonna make sure as I look at, yes, Arsenal. Yeah. He he had thirteen fourteen. He was with Arsenal, his last time he was with Arsenal was sixteen seventeen. Only twenty years old probably played like a league cup game or something like that. Did have one had three appearances for Arsenal in fourteen fifteen as an eighteen year old. So these are pulled over from the Vanger era but he's had a big journey since then playing in Greece, in Belgium, then made it to Middle's Burrow and has been transformed. By Michael Carrick.

0:37:41

So the playoff spots look like this. Luton are in third, Middle's Burrow and fourth, Coventry, and Sondolin. Sondolin till I die. They're in the playoff spots, unbeaten in their last five mill wall sitting right on the outside but it is a war and a scrum. Luton on seventy eight. Mittelsborough on seventy four. But then sixty six down to from from fifth to Twelve is separated by four points. Four points. So it is a scrum to get into the playoffs.

0:38:20

I think there's only is there two games left? I have to check. I'm gonna check right now. In the championship. Yep. Just two match weeks left. For a chance at promotion. So only six points to play for, but like I said, super close. I am pulling for loot in town to make it just because they have an amazing stadium where you have to go through people's yards to get into their way end. That will be a story. We've seen Middleborough. They're kind of one of the Yo Yo clubs, one of the bigger clubs. And then, of course, we'd all love to see Sunderland make it back in, but I don't think they are good enough We'd love. Luton is the one for me. And then, of course, Baro, who were pushing Sheffield up until about a month ago, they sort of ran out of steam and were not able to make their push. So two games left in the championship. The playoffs for the championship are fantastic. You should watch those games. They are full of tears, full of joy, full of crying, full of crap. Now that's the championship.

0:39:26

We have the next few days. We have games over the next ten days. We have games every week in the Premier League. So let's just get a little sense of what games are coming up.

0:39:38

Saturday, Palace, first West ham, Brighton versus wolves, Brentford, first Nottingham Forest, the names I've read first at so at Palace are at home, Brightener at home, Brentford at home, then United At home versus Aston Villa, Bournemouth host, Leeds, Newcastle, host Southampton and Fulham, host Manchester City with Liverpool and Tottenham, at Enfield being a big game on Sunday. Then on Monday night, we have Lester versus Everton, the massive game I talked about earlier. And Tuesday, arsenal versus Chelsea. That looks like a makeup game, but I think that just is this match week. Trying to squeeze things in after the World Cup than Wednesday again. So Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That's six days in a row, then Friday, no game. Then we're back into Saturday. So we just have game after game after game through to the end of the week. So we'll just have lots and lots of games. We'll talk about all those on Monday. Okay. I'm done with version two of this show If this one gets lost, I'm gonna kill myself.

0:40:49

That was the squeaky bum time podcast with Laurent Courtines. We are the football wing of the CHOP Sports Channel. Presented exclusively by the premier streaming network. We record on Mondays and Thursdays, so be sure to subscribe wherever you can get your podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you're listening on Apple or whatever device you're listening to, please rate review the show. Because it needs everything to everyone all the time. That is that.