Hello, I'm Joe Devine. Welcome to the TIFO football podcast. How are you, JJ? I'm good, but you've told a horrible lie to all the listeners. I have done. I'm not Joe Devine. I am, in fact, Alex Stewart. What are we going to talk about today? So we actually watched a football game together, which was kind of made me remember the summer European championship. That was fun, wasn't it? And the days of being with other people. Yeah, and we got the sofa out and, you know, drank coffee and snarked at Manchester United players and Chelsea players. It was fun. We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about Ralph Ragnick, because he's just been appointed just before we started recording. We'll do a little bit on Everton and you've left some very sarcastic notes in the planner for that section. Did they? Yeah, they're little bits where you've just put Loll in block capital. Oh yeah. Yeah. When we start talking about their transfer policy. So we're going to do a little bit on that. We're going to talk about the Ballant Door because yeah yeah, well, we kind of have to, don't we? Ballando, he can't really ignore it. It's exciting, I thought. Joe is not here, but I have been left instructions to complain about something. I have to rage against the kits and the Brighton Leeds game. So we're going to talk about that. I might do a little bit on Crystal Palace and their bad set pieces. But before we do that... Do you know where it's got good set pieces? Because I'll tell you. Well, tell me. Tell me. It's The Athletic. And if you subscribe to The Athletic using the code forward slash Tifo, is that it? Thehirti.com forward slash Tifo football, yeah.

You get some sort of deal. You may just have missed out on you. Yeah, no more Black Friday, unfortunately, but you will get 30 days free as a trial, which is a great offer. It's a great offer. Better than Black Friday, probably. I read it genuinely all the time. And you are really good at set pieces.

I'm working on a thing that we're going to try and do for IRL and set pieces, yeah. Yeah. That's the thing. It's a little secret there for everyone. But yes, I mean, what have you been reading recently on The Athletic, Seb? I, well, this is very relevant to what we're going to talk about today. I've been reading a lot about Ralph Raniuk. and Rafferhannikstein's bit on

Randolphinestein

was so good

Super super

super Well, this is very relevant what we're going to talk about today. I've been reading a lot about Ralph Raniak. And Raffa Honexstein's bit on Ragnet Ragnet was so good. Super, super, super. Also, his bits on the numbers of not just coaches he's influenced, but the people that you don't necessarily appear at the top level of the game. So you see people who are data analysts or who have progressed from being a data analyst to assistant coaches or, you know, all these people that are dotted around Europe and exist in their positions because of Rania. And it was just fascinating to see his level of influence charted in that way. So highly recommend that stuff. And not just because it's relating to May United, but just, yeah, go back and read all of Raffa stuff on Rafferanek.

Great stuff. Great, great, great.

Right, shall we begin?

After a short break, question mark, shall we?

I hope this keeps in the part.

Okay. We are back from our break.

Joe would say something like Chelsea won,

one Manchester United.

JJ,

We, JJ, we watch this together.

And, hey, let's start with our observations about May United

because it was a little bit different.

Talk to me about why. So apparently Ralph Ragnick has had absolutely no input whatsoever. Absolutely none whatsoever. None. He's not been in contact. They've said at Man United. He's had no contact. Hasn't even said hello on the WhatsApp. Like you just, you know, didn't introduce himself. The journalist of the athletic, the story is that he has not had any contact. It's just Michael Carrick's preparation with a bit of Darren Fletcher maybe thrown in. It's got ran your call over it. It sure does. Why, though? Explain why. Well, I think we should start with this because I did a video on it straight after a full-time analyzing the tactical part of it. And I realized what I didn't say in it was that Man United were rubbish and they were, they had about 35% possession the average positions in the first half you look at those maps where you see where players tend to have touched the ball they were all deep in their own half all the advanced touches were wide Sancho was the most advanced Nothing through the middle. But what you saw was this 433 with Bruno Fernandez as I would say a false nine in possession. But when they were out of possession, he was very high and led the press, very aggressive, trying to show the ball wide, backed up by Sancho. And the right rashford was nothing in the first half. He didn do anything he was everywhere and nowhere like he was he'd been given instructions about what to do off the ball and it felt like that's jogging first half I felt like my United match preparation probably was based around what to do without the ball and that's fine because you're going to Stafford Bridge but there was no plan for what to do when they're in possession like, any time they recovered it in their own half, it just seemed to get hacked 40 yards up the pitch. And then they sort of fell back into their craft. I thought that was actually something that they deliberately were doing. Like there's something Carrick said after the game that what they were trying to do was stop getting the passes into Giorginio and left his cheek in the middle of the pitch. because they play that was their two in the middle. You know, you can swamp them with like a, what's called

a pentagon around them, so you'd get

Fernando, and left his cheek in the middle of the pitch because they play that was their two in the middle. You know, you can swamp them with like a, what's called a pentagon around them, so you've got Fernandez, Sancho, Rasmus, a rhombus, pentagon? Is that the thing where you summon demons? Yeah, like the rhombuses are kind of, yeah. It does sound like a sort of an enchanted stone. What is the one when you summon ghouls? Pentagram. Yeah, there's no pentagram in that game. Pentagon, but pentagram is... Well, they worked on the pentagram and they summoned the ghosts of pressing past. And of not conceding goals. Yes. And so obviously you swamp the midfield two of Chelsea and you can stop them playing through

there, but then they can just play out wide. And so it meant that the fullbacks had to push up high and wide. I think Wambasaka started pushing high and then immediately regressed to what he tends to do and stayed deeper. But in possession, I kind of agree that maybe didn't have much of a plan, but they've had a few training days without their new manager, which has been announced. and what you did see, and we talked about this in the video,

...