This isn't just midweek football.

It's wide-eyed, shirtless jordies on a European tour.

It's noisy neighbours turn trebles winners doing the post-NAM.

It's the Red Devils burning with scores to settle.

It's the young gunners all fired up with their site set on glory.

It's the chance to compete with Europe's elite.

This isn't just football, this is everything.

What dreams are better though?

Watch the UEFA Champions League and Europa League live an exclusive on TNT Sports.

I'm John Batschir, Gaias, and my friend and colleague, Michael Flayhouse, Germanicus.

We're in London, him.

Michael, Germanicus, has very carefully analysed how we got into this fix

with 30 to 45 days left of a counter-offensive that did not deliver

as the Battle of Summ did not deliver.

Striking to me, Germanicus, that what went wrong,

looks a whole lot like for Dunn, Jr.

However, we come to the part where we say, what will write the ship?

And that looks at the Russian point of view.

The road forward, it might be defeat, it might be just change the subject,

which is what's going on with Afghanistan right now.

But is there a way to knit this together so we can have European allies

without denouncing Russia as the new evil?

...