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Learn more at vertexinck.com. Welcome to the Total Soccer Show and our latest batch of listener questions.

On today's show, we're tackling ProREL.

We're ranking our favourite animal pitch invasions, and we're asking,

Why soccer so popular?

My name's Ryan Bailey, joining me today to answer these questions and much, much more. Your friend and mine, Taylor Rockwell. Hello, Taylor. Hello, excited to be here. Excited to have you, darling. You're wearing a hat today. Listener can't appreciate that, but I like it. It's a good look. It's what happens when you haven't had a haircut and the curls are showing and it looks like chaos otherwise. So there you go.

There's the hair without the hat and the hat goes right back on. Your choice of top hat is interesting. I was going to say, I know Willy Wonka's coming out, Taylor, but you're really leading that look. I like it. Yeah, I forgot the monocle. That's sort of on me. I do apologize, but otherwise, I've got the pocket watch.

I've got the cane.

I feel like I am prepared to be a Willy Wonka replacement if need be. And the chocolate factory behind you as well. Nice purchase. Yes. Staffed by poorly compensated labor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No big deal. No big deal. Don't ask questions. We're fine. Joining us, you just heard his voice, Graham Rothman. Hello, Graham. Hello, Ryan. How are you? Are you excited for Christmas? It's just around the corner, which for me just means lots of time to play football manager. I asked my Twitter yesterday, which teams I should go. I'm already planning what teams I should go. My favorite response was go Wimbledon and only sign Northerners, which I'm definitely going to do just to annoy you Ryan over Christmas. Will you do you, Graham? I have questions. Taylor's got his hand up. Graham, is your family aware that this is part of the plan or is this just sort of a Graham plan? I was just about to say this. At the festive period, do you have more time? Yeah. You work in soccer and you have family.

Like, how does that work?

I'm just not going to sleep.

I'm going to have more time.

I'm not going to have.

The podcast isn't going to be on next week.

Don't know if listeners are aware of that, but that is our plan is to take a week

and a half off.

So yeah, I'll have a little bit more time. When I was a teenager, I would keep big notepads of like stats and stuff to do with my football manager teams. So I feel like I am pretty close to re-entering that kind of realm with all my note-taking. I've already got like transfer plans and teams that I want to go over the next two weeks. Yeah. Are we taking a week off the podcast? Or did we just tell Graham that? Find out soon, listener. Joining us also, Joe Lowry.

I'm just distracted by how when Taylor was describing Willie Wonka's attire. He's also perfectly describing Mr. Peanuts attire. And I didn't realize how aggressive the crossover was between those two fashion icons. This show's already off to a rip-roaring start. Would you watch a Mr. Peanut Movie, though, Joe? Yes. Genuinely, the answer is yes. That's all I have to say. No further questions. Very good. Good. I have some more for Graham. Graham, how quickly do your eyes, do the eyes of your wife glaze over when you start telling her about your football manager plans? Oh, very quickly. I mean, that is her default setting when she's just talking to me about anything, to be honest, it's just glazed over eyes. But yeah, they're particularly glassed over when I'm talking about a football manager. And have you done all of your shopping? Like, are you fully prepared for the holiday? And now you can just,... Okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. I feel better than me.

Yeah.

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