Football Daily - The Commentators' View: John’s facial & the Cardiff rat

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

John Murray, Ian Dennis & Ali Bruce-Ball talk football, travel & language ahead of Liverpool vs Man Utd. John reflects on his surprise facial in Latvia, Ali recalls a twist in the tail at Wales-Belgium, and Ian faces John in Clash of the Commentators. Plus, a plethora of unintended pub names from football commentary, and more additions to the Great Glossary. Suggestions welcome - WhatsApp voicenotes to 08000 289 369 & emails to [e-mail]03:30 John’s airport facial 07:15 How to make World Cup qualifying more interesting 14:25 Twist in the tail at Wales-Belgium 19:55 Visibility problems for Ian 22:25 Liverpool-Man Utd leads the 5 Live billing 26:40 Will Ian win again in Clash of the Commentators? 36:05 More perils of off-tube broadcasting 38:25 Unintended pub names 43:35 Great Glossary of Football CommentaryBBC Sounds / 5 Live Premier League commentaries: Sat 18 Oct 1500 Man City v Everton, Sat 18 Oct 1500 Crystal Palace v Bournemouth on Sports Extra, Sat 18 Oct 1730 Fulham v Arsenal, Sun 19 Oct 1400 Tottenham v Aston Villa, Sun 19 Oct 1630 Liverpool v Man Utd.Glossary so far:DIVISION ONE Bosman, Cruyff Turn, Giving the goalkeeper the eyes, Hibs it, Onion bag, Panenka, Rabona, Where the kookaburra sleeps, Where the owl sleeps, Where the spiders sleep.DIVISION TWO Ball stays hit, Coat is on a shoogly peg, Daisycutter, Has that in his locker, Howler, One for the cameras, Played us off the park, Purple patch, Root and branch review, Row Z, Stramash, Taking one for the team, That’s great… (football), Thunderous strike.UNSORTED 2-0 is a dangerous score, After you Claude, All-Premier League affair, Aplomb, Bag/box of tricks, Brace, Brandished, Bread and butter, Breaking the deadlock, Bundled over the line, Champions elect / champions apparent, Clinical finish, Commentator’s curse, Coupon buster, Cultured/Educated left foot, Denied by the woodwork, Draught excluder, Elimination line, Fellow countryman, Foot race, Formerly of this parish, Fox in the box, Free hit, Goalkeepers’ Union, Goalmouth scramble, Good touch for a big man, Honeymoon Period, In and around, In the shop window, Keeping ball under their spell, Keystone Cops defending, Languishing, Loitering with intent, Marching orders, Nestle in the bottom corner, Numbered derbies, Nutmeg, Opposite number, Park the bus, PK for penalty-kick, Postage stamp, Put it in the mixer, Put their laces through it, Rasping shot, Red wine not white wine, Relegation six-pointer, Rooted at the bottom, Route One, Roy of the Rovers stuff, Sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, Shooting boots, Sleeping giants, Slide rule pass, Small matter of, Spiders web, Stayed hit, Steepling, Stinging the palms, Stonewall penalty, Straight off the training ground, Taking one for the team, Team that likes to play football, Throw their cap on it, Thruppenny bit head / 50p head, Towering header, Two good feet, Turning into a basketball match, Turning into a cricket score, Usher/Shepherd the ball out of play, Walking a disciplinary tightrope, Wand of a left foot, We’ve got a cup tie on our hands, Winger in their pocket, Wrap foot around it, Your De Bruynes, your Gundogans etc.

The Commentator's View on the Football Daily with Alistair Bruce Ball, John Murray and Ian Dennis. Hello, welcome to the Football Daily. I'm Alistair Bruce Ball and this is the commentator's view where we five live commentators discuss the football we've seen, the places we've been and the sometimes sport-specific language we use to describe it. That's where our great glossary of football commentary comes in and we'll get to that in a bit. The BBC's senior football reporter Ian Dennis is here. The BBC's football conference. correspondent John Murray is here too so it's a full house for this one and talking of football travels chaps are both freshly returned from a trip to Riga the capital of Latvia so Denno would you would you recommend that as a destination to go and watch your football and do a bit of sightseeing well John's probably better to answer that question now because he had an extra 24 hours

in Riga than I did and when I arrived I was straight into minus much day one duties Sorry, I've got to keep it up And also, it was raining a lot of the time I was there But I did a little bit of TV work when I was out there For BBC television So we did a little bit of filming And I've got to say, it looked I mean, I've been before

But it's a very, very pleasant city But if you want the old tourist cell Yeah Although I noticed he said looking fresh And I will say that John is looking fresh But John, John, Before we get into that Because you'll have your own version

When we come to a story I'm going to tell in a minute and you're going to interrupt me, so I'm just going to wait for you to get your little bit out first. Yeah, well, I was going to say, John, just before you do, I have to say that trip in particular, it does look like it's taken years off you. So what's happened?

Well, let me say, first of all, that Latvia, Riga, I'd not been to. I knew it was a long time ago, but I didn't realize quite how long ago it was until I looked up the match, which was Sconto Riga against Chelsea, when, as I later discovered, I had my memory jogged.

That was in 1999, and it was a Champions League qualifier. So it was the final Champions League qualifying round, and it was Chelsea under Shanluka Viali, and they'd won the first leg, 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. I do remember it was me and Mark Bright who went to Riga to cover that match. But the significance of it was that it ended as a nil-0 draw in Riga, and it was in the same stadium,

although the stadium is radically different now. But that meant that Chelsea qualified to play in the Champions League for the first time. And who was an unused substitute? I definitely know the answer to that because his name's already coming to my head. That's Chris Sutton's time at Chelsea. Of course it is. Yes. And so Chris was an unused substitute in that stadium.

And it was such a long time ago. And I have a feeling that it was a bit of an in-and-out job. And I didn't see a great deal of Riga, but I did this time. And in the autumn as well, a Baltic state in the autumn is particularly attractive. So the trees, I mean, it is a really, really attractive city centre. Poubles, spires, domes, there's a park that runs all through it. The Daugava River is very wide there as well. And you can take trips up and down the Daugava River, although for the first day or so, it was very windy.

So this wind was whipping in off the Baltic, which had a real chilly edge to it. and the Dow Gavar looked a bit choppy for my liking so I wasn't tempted to have a trip down the river but I would recommend it most certainly but had your face been weather beaten then all of a sudden it would have been revitalised on the way home would it not yes we had a bit of an incident didn't we

in Riga International Airport Ali can you remember the nickname for David Beckham Golden Bulls Golden Bulls yeah golden balls so as we're walking through Riga Airport this lady at some sort of like makeup stand reaches out,

extends her arm and hands a little sachet to somebody who she said had a golden face John Murray. Now I person would have said he might have a golden voice but before we know it

and I did help this young lady called Emily get John into the hot seat. Before we know it she's going through the full and it was full on as well the whole cell

It was a hard cell. It was a hard cell. That's as hard as cell as I've ever experienced. She was not taking no for an answer. So what did you buy? And before, honestly, it was all I could do to get out of there without buying something. And, I mean, she was crestfallen in the end. I recorded some commentary.

She gave me some commentary. I don't know whether we've got a chance to hear it. Okay, so I'm a plank peeling because of the copulars that are closed because of the plain skin, this peeling contains rhodium that is going to sutton capillars, make them stronger, and reduce redness over the face.

Also, it's taking out all the dirt, all the dust from outside the face, soothing pores, and... Make it golden? I'm not going to see it. It reduces wrinkles. Yeah. For wrinkles, we have different products.

This one is actually for cleaning. Yeah. She was telling me what she was doing, and John said, she said, how old are you? So John went, how old do you think I am? So she said, 60, you're not far off.

So I then said, how old do you think I am? And bearing in mind, I was 44 in 2019, her answer confused me because she said 48, 50, which just added to his... That was the worst thing that happened there. Anyway, she then wanted to sell this product for about 300 euros. 300 euros, yeah. That was the opening gambit. I'm surprised, John. By that time, I had half of it smeared on me. Yeah. I'm 150 pounds worth here. I'm

surprised that you, you fell into that trap. I mean, I've done a bit of traveling with you. And if anyone comes anywhere near me with a free sachet of anything, I walk on, you know, I turn the opposite way and I'm never going to get accosted like that. I was surprised too. Well, she just before I knew it, I was sitting on this high chair having this treatment smeared on my eyes. She was, was an incredible performer, wasn't she? She was, yeah. She literally would not take no for an answer. Was she more impressive than the Latvian football team?

Well, actually, I thought the Latvian football team actually did okay in that match. I mean, they are ranked 140th in the world for a reason. They've been at a pretty low ebb. They drew two to with Andorra the Saturday before. And, you know, they are, let's not beat about the bush, they are quite limited. and most of their players play in the domestic Latvian league. But they just ran into England at the absolutely wrong time. And they are, as we know, very much in a groove and we're quite ruthless.

As the English departed, whether it be the football team or the BBC's chief football correspondent, the Latvians were left crestfallen. I wasn't left crestfallen because I kept my 300 euros in my wallet. What would you two say? So, you know, you cover England. home and away regularly have done for years. What would you say to England fans, you know, that I've spoken to in the week who say, I am so bored with qualification campaigns for England.

It is too easy. They roll over everyone. There's no jeopardy at all. You know, what would you? And do you think, also, do you think it's particularly English of us, of them, to complain about England winning too easily, almost that we want problems? Yeah, I do. I think you're absolutely right, Ali.

And listen, when I was growing up, I remember England not qualifying for World Cups. And, you know, in my early, early years, 1982 was the first World Cup that I remember that England qualified for. Before that, England didn't qualify in my football watching time. And I would not want to go through that again. Of course, it's totally different now because we're talking about a 48-team World Cup as opposed to a 16-team World Cup back then. So, you know, qualification is naturally more straightforward. forward. But my feeling is, I know that this has been talked about how it can become more interesting and more competitive. And, you know, I feel it's there, and I've said this on

here before to you two, that I feel that it is absolutely there. It just needs to be worked out how they will do this, that the Nations League set up needs to be adapted to make that the qualification process. So effectively, if you're in the top tier of the Nations League, you're qualified. You're going to get there. And then the Nation's League becomes what you're actually playing for, your qualification is already secured. That is the way to do it. It's there. The template is there. It just needs to be adapted. Even for 2010, there might have been a little bit more jeopardy in a qualifying campaign. But when FIFA all of a sudden are saying, oh, we're going to have 48 teams competing

at the World Cup, for your top nations, it always is going to be harder not to qualify than to qualify. So therefore, you might as well accept that they're going to be there anyway. So in the Nations League, if you are in the top tier of the Nations League, you are, you know, however many places. But if you're in there, then you're going to qualify. And then you'll have your other playoff places for the teams behind in the Nations League, while at the same time playing in the Nations League. One last one on England before we move it on, what do you think Thomas Tuka will do for the next two games now that England are qualified? So in terms of some of the players that haven't been in the squad recently, does that give him a sort of convenient, not an excuse to get

them back in, but maybe to change things up a bit? No, I think the other, I don't know about you, Ian, but I think he will stick with what he's done this time. That's my expectation. It's three weeks time before that next squad is named. And my feeling would be, if everyone is fit, it is entirely possible that he does the same thing again, because he wants that continuity. They're only going to play a handful of matches before actually they play their first match at the World Cup. He's got the blend. They're in the groove. And I don't see him making changes unless he absolutely has to. And of course, there will be injuries. And then that will open the way for others to come back in. I agree. And if Jude Bellingham, for instance, is one of those players who is brought

back in, then I definitely think that he'll be starting on the bench because Morgan Rogers deserves to start ahead of Jude Bellingham. But actually, Phil Foden probably has a greater claim right now because he is starting regularly for Manchester City and playing very well, whereas Jude Bellingham is still mainly being used as a substitute by Shabby Alonzo at Rail Madrid, having come back from this shoulder injury that he has. So actually, if he continues his form, Phil Foden is probably the first in the queue. And of course, Palmer's injured at the moment. But, you know, so that means that, to my

eyes, Foden is probably the first possible man who would come back in. I'm pretty sure, John, you won't have listened to back to last week's episode, but I can tell you that I did listen to last week's episode at the commentator's view, which I really enjoyed, which was the whole nation special. I'm pleased to hear that. And you weren't able to find a European football destination, were you, that none of you had been to, which was fascinating, isn't it? That's what I suspected.

That's why I asked the question. Yeah. So Darby fan Ruth gets in touch. So we love your contributions. Your emails come in on TCV at BBC.com. UK and the voice notes to 08,000, 289369. And Ruth is a Derby fan. She says, I wanted to express my appreciation for last week's Home Nation special.

I'm English and I want England to do well. But being a citizen of the UK, I also support Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It was wonderful to hear all of them represented on the pod. So our thanks again to the BBC's Mark Poyser, Liam McLeod and Joel Taggart for keeping John company last week. And Liam's win in Clash of the Commentators. I think is the best one I've ever heard. He rattled off three names in the last two seconds to nick it on the line.

It was an absolute nail-biter, wasn't it? And I thought they put us to shame because they were X-Bund. Yeah, but hang on. Hang on. What I would say to defend us there? Well, first of all, Deno's having a great season in Clash of the Commentators. Yes, that is a fair point. Although he boasts, doesn't it?

He boasts. And he's probably going to boast again if he'd been doing it last week. He would have won that one as well. But I think if I gave you, you know, England's top 26 goal scorers of all time, you two, you're getting tons of those. I mean, I think I would do quite well on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for that, I think. Yeah. They did well. However, it's all very well saying that.

As we know, it's a different thing actually coming up with them when you've got 30 seconds. Yeah. So my game in the international window was Wales against Belgium, which finished Wales to Belgium. In fact, you guys saw Wales at Wembley. the week before. And having watched the first 20 minutes of that, I was quite worried about what might happen to Wales in Cardiff on the Monday night. But I was saying to you, Ian, just before we came on air, and I'm sure you got a flavour of this as well with Craig Bellamy. I'm really enjoying the sort of bold, brave approach he is taking in terms of the football

they're playing and the way they try and take on teams like Belgium and England. But what he's not cracked yet is how to get a win against those teams, which is what Chris Coleman managed to do and Rob Page managed to do playing a different style and obviously having a certain you know who Gareth Bale in the team but I really want Bellamy to do well for Wales

I find him a really engaging interesting football manager I remember him as a player you know he was quite waspish wasn't he but he's a karma individual now it would seem in management maybe you could say that they need to be a little bit more pragmatic when they're playing

against the better teams I think that's probably what I'd say but You know, I love his approach and, you know, will not surprise me in the slightest if we see him at some point in the future as a Premier League manager. I think the way that he is and the way that he presents himself and also the way he wants his teams to play football, that will be attractive to people who are appointing managers. I'm absolutely certain about. We also had a little twist in the tail at my game in Cardiff on Monday. Have a listen to this, chaps. real class act in the middle of the path there's a rat on the pitch on our monitor there is a rat

somewhere running around oh there it is yeah Brennan Johnson is chasing a rat off the field now I've seen many things in football and I've seen all sorts of different animals on football pitches I don't think I've ever seen that the rat chased off the field by Brennan Johnson the ball boy sitting down on the little stool at the side of the pitch looks more scared of the rat than Brendan in Johnson he wasn't bothered at all well there we go as I was talking about that your brain's wearing away I was tried to think of

a rat pun and I was I sort of landed upon you know deserting the sinking ship but Wales were losing at the time but I thought that's a bit harsh you can't say they're dessert in the sinking shit rat in my kitchen would have been good the one someone else suggested to me it was

Katrin on BBC Radio Wales the following morning Joe Rodin was playing so you could have had Joe Rodent Oh, that was it. That's the one. That's the one. That was the one. Although Janet in Morton says, was it a rat on the field or a large mouse?

That's a rat. This size of the tail. That's a rat. It's a rat. It's a rat. It's a rat. Yeah, the faulty tavern. But, I mean, that's...

Siberia and hamster. What is there? It's my hamster. Hamster? See, see. Manwood, it's a rat. It's a rat. No, no, no, no, it's hamster. No, I think so, too.

What? I say to a man in shop, it's a rat. He said, no, no, no, it's a special kind of hamster. It's a filigree, Siberian hamster. Only one in shop, he makes special price only five pounds. What do you do? I'm sorry, man, well, this is a rat. No, no, it's hamster!

He's not hamster. Hamsters are small and cuddly. Cuddle this, you'd never played a guitar again. Come! I always got told you never corner a rat because they'll jump for your throat. Oh my goodness. Will they? Is that, have you heard that?

I have never heard that. No, I've never, right. If any of our listeners have ever cornered a rat and had it go for their throat, I'd be fascinated to hear from them. Yeah. TCV at BBC.com.com. Or a voice note, if you've still got your voice after having a rat attack your throat. What? It's 08,000, 289.3. 369.

Very good. What animals have you seen run on to the football pitches and stop play? I mean, dog is obvious. I've definitely seen a cat. I've seen a cat. I've seen a fox. And there was, wasn't there at Old Trafford with mice? Not that long ago.

Was that on the pitch, though? Was that in the stand? On the pitch? On the pitch? Yeah. At Old Trafford. Yeah. And obviously animals get brought on to certain football feet.

I mean, Hereford always had the bull. I've done that. Have you done that? That is brilliant. When they bring the bull on the pitch. Yeah. And they take the bull around the pit. That is a magnificent sight that.

The herrithful. The eagle? The eagle? At Benfica, they don't do at Selhurst Park anymore. That was one of the most amazing sites. The eagle flies around and circles around before the map. Have you been there and seen it? I don't think I have.

Oh, it's incredible. And it's suddenly, it circles all the way around. This is just before kickoff and then comes down and lands on its keeper's gauntlet. It's an amazing sight. You've seen it again, haven't you? I have. I've seen it many times. I've got an answer, by the way.

You should not corner a rat as it can become aggressive and bite or scratch out of fear. When trapped, a rat's natural instinct is to defend itself. that's not quite good for your throat I'll tell you why it wouldn't get to your throat would it but I'd like to think not particularly with my glowing golden face um nige tassel

friend of the podcast football writer nige gets in touch this is a great point nige I always think this when I listen to john doing whichever commentary he's doing hello gents I'm currently listening to the England Wales match is there a player's name that john specifically john enjoys saying out loud more

than that of Kiefer Moore. Kifamua. Kifah Muha. Kifah Moa. I love it. Turfmoor. Yeah. Alan gets in touch as well from Cooper in Fife. He says,

Hi, all, love the pod. Very much look forward to its release every Friday. On the international theme, my pub name suggestion is one that would perhaps be more popular in my native Scotland, the Hand of God. I'm imagining it would have a microbrewery on site

producing an IPA called English Tears. And just for balance. That is a great line that. That is it. That is it. That has made me chuck. English. I'll have a pint of English tea, please.

Just for balance, there would also be another called Scottish bitter. Yeah. Either that or just for balance, Alan, we could have the Costa Rica Rover's return. I was also thinking, though, if you come out of the hand of God, you've got the kebab shop just outside where you get your food afterwards called the Maradonna. Very good. Very good. Not really.

We've got another message here from Phil. Hi, John, Ian and Ali. I've met you all at Turf Moore over the years. I've met you all at Turf Moor over the years. I chuckled at Ian's comments the other day when he couldn't see the West Ham players in their change kit at the Emirates. Fernandez looks for options

to show whether he could pick out Jarrah Bowen who was in so much space on the right. Because the advertising hoardings are predominantly black with white writing, it's hard to see the black shirt of Bowen. I can see him alright I can see him okay then I'm sorry about that mate

I know I know you mean I would expect you to see him you had vision as you were a player Bromley a leading tramier rovers by a goal to nil don't worry and I can see the video printer

in front of me my eyesight's not that bad Kyle Cameron has scored after 16 minutes throw for West Ham and Phil continues it may be wonder when you've had difficulty

with visibility in the past I did a Burnley game at Priestfield there were 20 years ago when you couldn't see half of the pitch because of dense fog. I also missed a fabulous Dean Marnie Overhead kick at Fratton Park because of a pillar in the way. I knew he'd scored but didn't realize it was such a spectacular finish until I saw the highlights, all the best Phil. So that'll be Phil Byrd, won't it, who works for Burnley TV. Bill's always good company, isn't he, when we go to Burnley?

I'll have yet to go to Burnley this season. But on Phil's point, I went through a spell where, and it's a long time ago now, but it was a remarkable spell in that in a short space of time, I covered lots and lots of matches where the fog came in. And some of them were called off. Some of them weren't. I remember one at Meadow Lane, Notts County. Well, we just couldn't see. Just couldn't see the players. And that was with Dave Woods. I was commentating with our friend Dave Woods at that one. You couldn't see the trees for the forest. I couldn't. I had a real spate of them. And it's now not happened for decades, although we are moving into autumn, aren't we? So there might be one round the corner. Listen, I'm going to take an executive decision here because we're meant to do a few more unintended pub names next. But Ian has to be away in 15 minutes time today. And we have to get to Clash at the Commentators because it's Ian against John today.

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to skip that, John, and you and I can come back to unintended pub names. names. And I'm just going to flag up what we've got coming your way across Five Live and BBC sounds this weekend in terms of the Premier League commentary. So the Premier League is back this weekend. Ian 3 o'clock Saturday, Manchester City against Everton, alongside Pat Nevin. Choice of listening on Saturday because Palace Bournemouth's in full-on sports extra at 3 o'clock. I'm at Craven Cottage for Fulham Arsenal, 5.30 on Saturday alongside Franny Benarley. Jonathan Pierce makes a five live appearance on Sunday at 2 o'clock

alongside Rob Green for Tottenham Villa and then John and this is very much a small matter I mean this is one still one of the most impactful games isn't it I think in British football in world football Liverpool against Manchester United at Anfield Sunday 430

you're there with Stephen Warnock that will be one of the most watched and followed sporting events in the world this weekend at Liverpool against Manchester United the reach of the Premier League. You know, as we know, it's on World Service as well, Ian. We know whenever World Service are with us,

there are potentially, I mean, scores and scores and scores of millions of listeners following that. And I think this one particularly is set up very interestingly, isn't it, with Liverpool on this run of sudden, this shock run of defeats. And Manchester United, I feel, we were talking in, weren't we, on the way back from Riga, that I think now

for Manchester United they've almost got finally under Amarim a settled team you kind of know who's going to play and that's always a good thing for a manager Arna Slots never had three successive defeats before has he?

So this is a for Liverpool so this now is already a bit of an unknown as far as he's concerned but I just look at the two sides and I just think it's only a matter of time before Mo Salas starts to reproduce his performances for Liverpool this season because he's had a very slow start to the campaign and I just think that Liverpool have the greater quality

and the fact that it's at Anfield as well. Yeah, yeah, where their record is so good and so strong. Do either of you have any standout memories of previous Liverpool, Manchester United Games that you've commentated on? Something that really sticks in the mind. I mean, I don't think I've ever commented on one. I was saying to Ian before we started recording the pod, it always takes me back to getting into football in the early 80s

when Liverpool were the dominant force but Manchester United had Brian Robson and Norman Whiteside and Frank Stapled I always remember those games and Dalglish and Rush and Hansen those games always sort of stick in my mind a little bit When it comes to my mind which is a little bit different You both remember it When a young John Joe Shelby decided

He was going to take on Alex Ferguson You remember? No on the side of the pitch. And they had an exchange, shall we say. Yeah. And the other one, I remember as well, of more relatively recent times,

was when Torres tore Manchester United apart at Old Trafford, didn't he? I think it was 4-1 Liverpool that day. You know, when a certain player, you just cannot be handled, cannot be dealt with, and he couldn't, could he, that day? Well, that one, a scout told me that ahead of the game, Vidit struggles when you turn him to his left.

And if you look back at that game, Torres kept attacking him down that side. And every time Vinich turned, he was a little, it was slower. And with that little insight, it was fascinating to watch to see how much he struggled and as to Torres exploited that weakness in his game. Welcome to the team behind the team, a new podcast series in partnership with the Open University, where we'll be showcasing the people, the tools and the techniques. to help athletes and teams reach elite level. Like all elite sports, it's a pyramid and everybody's trying to get to the top.

It's not just my vision. It's a shared vision amongst the team. What is this? This is not the way I see the game. The team behind the team with Katie Smith. In partnership with the Open University. Listen on BBC Sounds. The commentator's view on the Football Daily with Alistair Bruce Ball, John Murray and Ian Dennis.

Let's move it on to Clash the Commentary. and thankfully I'm hosting this today. I'm not involved. I'm in a terrible run of form. And not only on this podcast, I'm having a nightmare on the FPL podcast from BBC Sport. Every quiz I attempt at the moment, I'm getting beaten in. So I'm absolutely delighted that I'm not playing today. Yes, been there. Been there and experienced that. So I know exactly how you feel like. So last season's champion, Ali, is still rooted at the bottom of the league table. Four defeats in a row, Ali. And Five Lives, Jeanette Quatchy and Ellie Oldroyd very much enjoyed Ali's latest loss as he failed to name any player to have turned out for both Arsenal and West Ham. I have to say that Jeanette Quatchy and I have been sitting here in the studio, shouting at the radio, if you can do that from an actual studio, because we're going, Matt Hobson, for goodness sake, what are you talking about?

He had a shocker there, didn't he? Ab-B has absolutely not covered himself in glory whatsoever. Anyway, so Jeanette, Quatchy, and me, Eleanor Aldroyd, feeling very smug indeed already this morning because we've done better than one of the BBC's top football commentators. I know. So that must have been from the radio version of the commentator's view, which would have run just before five-line breakfast. Yeah, so they've been sitting there listening to that.

Well, I also, John, then, you know, came on the show that morning to preview whichever game I've been there. And they went at me again. but they had they had me there live to take me down again so they got two mentions on the show so Ali is going to have a rest this week and you are this week's quiz master yeah here we go then so Ian 4 from 4 100% record this season

John 2 from 5 and me 1 from 5 at the bottom of the table so this week is John against Ian who's who's up first I think I think I'm going to have to go first because I'm in a remote location this week. He said mysteriously. I think, John, Ian has disconnected. I think this is going to be another tense low-scoring thriller.

I think this is quite tough. But what I would think is don't be down on yourself if you don't get many. Because I don't think it's going to take many to win this. That's all I'm going to say. Liverpool, Manchester United, just been talking about it, is Five Live Premier League Sunday's 430 commentary. Manchester United winless in their last 10 trips to Annefort. Field, winning 1-0 there back in January 2016 under Louis Van Hal.

Your job today is to name any player to have featured in that match. Liverpool. So Liverpool-Nill, Manchester United won January 2016 with Louis Van Hal in charge of Manchester United. Okay. Okay. Your time starts now. Okay. Rainer.

Rooney Berbertoff Tevez Carrick Gerard Mascherano who was going to that one

I'm just not good who'd be the Manchester goalkeeper some of Ferdinand is that no it's too late you try the Liam McLeod there, but that was too late.

So, good approach. Lots and lots of names you threw out there. Do you want to have a guess at how many have actually hit the mark? How many you've got right there? Three. Mm, one. It's really hard. Honestly, John, this is so hard. The lineups are ridiculous.

Rooney. Oh, Lindgard, I should have gone. Anyway, he's not, he's not kidding. I still think, I still think you've got a chance. I still think you've got a chance. Okay. Okay, okay. He'll win this.

Let's get him back on. Give him a wave. He looks bored. He's yawning. No further ado in. We're going straight in. Liverpool, Manchester United, as discussed, Five Live Premier League Sundays 430 commentary. Manchester United haven't won on their last 10 trips to Anfield. The last time they did was January 2016 and they won 1-0 under Louis Van Hal. I want you to name any player to have featured in that game. Liverpool 0, Manchester United won January 2016. take yourself back there your time starts now okay one matter um jessie lingard vidich rashford uh herrera fernand i've been there liverpool torres cuttino marshal gerald gerard Game over. How many do you think you got right there, Ian? Good few names you chucked out. Yeah.

Possibly about four. Well, that's bang on. So four, you've got four correct. How many do you think, do you think that's going to be enough to think John? No. You know, how many do you think John might have got? Have you heard me?

play this game before? I think, John, yeah, but you'll have been studying that game. I'm not, I'm doing Mount City, Everton. I haven't done my work, I haven't done any work for that match. So I'd said John would have got six. No, John got one. You've got another win. You've got, I think this is really hard.

I would have done terribly on this, right? So listen to the teams that played that day. Ian, I've got to say you did really well. Herrera, great shout, Matta, great shout, Lingard, Marcia. Brilliant, you got yourself in the right period. I actually thought when you were asking the question, you know. When you were asking the question, I thought Lindgard and then didn't say it. Didn't say Lingard.

So Liverpool, Miniulay Klein, Touré Sacco Moreno, Henderson, getable, I think. Lucas Lever Chan, Milna Femino, Lelana, with Stephen Coulker, Jordan Ibe, and Christian Bentecke used as subs. Wow. I think it's difficult. I suppose you didn't get Jordan Ibe. Yeah, disappointed that. Ian, that's poor that from Ian. Pooer.

Manchester United, Dehaya, young, smalling, blint, Damian, Phelani and Schneidelin in the midfield. Morgan Schneidlin. Again, a bad miss that, Ian. You should be kicking yourself.

Lingard Herrera, Marciel and Rooney. Ian didn't even say Rooney and won it by a country. That's the one. That's the one I got. I would have been terrible at that. Ian's on fire. You are on fire. this season,

Denno. Very good. Very, very good. He basically, he didn't really need to be on fire, that he needed to be faintly smouldering

to win that. Nathan's just reminded me, I've not read the Manchester United subs out. Juan Matto was one of them and said, Memphis de Pye and Cameron

Borthwick Jackson. Wow. Yeah, him as well. You know who won Mattas playing for now? The small matter of Melbourne Victory. is he really by the way and this will never ever get into our glossary i was just thinking as well just before

you go in um Manchester United Liverpool are the two teams obviously that have won the most top flight titles in England the Americans would say they are our two winningest teams that is not getting in the glossary I do not agree with winningist no no no good agreed right even division two. No, exactly, exactly. You better go, Denno. Look, we've got your way on time. This actually is a day off for me,

so I'm not shirking my responsibilities, but I've, Andrew Murray, who listens to the pod, you two will have worked with him many a time on Five Live for the golf coverage is going to give me a golf lesson, and we are then playing with Hare Chapman. Wow. So next week, there will be an update

as to how we fair because the previous time that I played with Hare Chapman I joked that he'd been on his holidays he'd spent so much time in the bunkers

he'd been in the sand that much and I beat him he gave me 20 shots that I beat him much to his annoyance I bet he can lose his temper

big style on the golf course he was grumbling when we last played I bet he can't go I'd almost be worth playing with him just to see that

I don't think he's enamored that Andrew is giving me a golf lesson ahead of playing because I think he thought I'd come in cold and would be useless as I normally am.

So that's the reason why on my day off I am departing. That is the first 10 minutes of next week pod taking care of. Without question. Yeah. So tune in for that everyone. Yeah. Yes. Good luck Ian. Have a good weekend. Yeah, you too. You too. Ian is at

Manchester City against Everton 3 o'clock on Saturday. You can listen to it on 5 Live and BBC Sounds. John, we're going to get on to the glossary you and I. Before we do that, Joan Leeds writes in, hello TCV, your chat last week about the perils of off-tube broadcasting. So for those who don't know, that means when you're not actually at the venue, you're sitting in a studio and you're watching the pictures on a TV screen, like loads of people around the world will be watching on a TV screen, and you've got to

commentate off those pictures. That reminds me of when Test Match specials Jonathan Agnew was commentating off a TV screen for England's COVID-era tour of Sri Lanka in 2021. Ingo's Leach polls the right-handed Hazaranga, who is caught? Is he brilliantly caught by Root? He is. What a good catch. Turned, Hazaranger went to drive it. Here's Leach bowling and the new bats.

Edged it. Has Root called him again? He was a sponsor out of the rough. He has. Another brilliant catch. It's like an action replay. Exactly the same. And I don't know what Pereira was doing there, really, to his first ball,

apart from his eyes lighting up. Or it was a replay. It was a replay. It was a replay. Oh god. I'm sorry. Why did someone tell me? Oh dear. It goes leecher bones and that's dropped, I think, in the gallery. Oh god.

There's only so many three clocks a man could say. I said it looked like a replay and it was. Stiff, oh, he's exactly, he's played exactly the same shot. He's exactly the same shot as he's made. Exactly the same shot. No one better to have them tougher as alongside for that. I actually was listening to that when it happened. It was very funny.

Yeah. I mean, do you know what? There but for the grace of God, sometimes when we do the golf, John, you know, when, so like at the Masters, we do a mix, don't we, of commentators out on the golf course and someone back in the studio doing it off the telly,

and it's so easy if you're not listening properly is someone on the golf course because we're ahead of the pictures commentates on a put and then it goes back to the studio and whoever's in the studio commentates on exactly the same part and you're out there thinking we've just done this we've just done this like it can happen can't it that is the perils that is the perils and we're very much hoping that Jonathan Agnew

will be coming on to the commentators for you aren't we just in the buildup to the ashes so listen out for that do we want to go back to the unintended pub name Oh, yeah, go on, John. Yeah, go on. Go on. Love the unintended pub. Because we didn't do any last week. And so these are, these are, as we say, unintended pub names that appear in football commentaries.

And it doesn't have to be just hours. If anyone's listening and they hear one that could easily be an unintended pub name, do let us know. And email us at TCV at BBC.co.com. Okay, so first one, Walsall fan, Sarah. Hi, all, love the pod. It keeps me saying while walking my love. lovely but loopy rescue cockapoo, Ted, on a Friday afternoon. Listening to the Chelsea Liverpool tea time game,

I spotted a trio of potential pub names from John. No, nil, if you've just joined us, if you've been out of a match this afternoon, just got back into the car. Here is the hairy Cuckerea, who plays it in-field. Trost, but Netto takes him on and beats him, and then the low ball into the six-yard box, is turned behind by the falling canate,

and it's a corner at the Chelsea. He has Gittins attacking down the left-hand side, in front of the Watching Madonna and then shoots goal with to Mother Dash, Philly. Madonna. The Watching Madonna. Madonna was at Stanford Bridge. I was listening to that live.

That was brilliant, wasn't it? I'd forgotten that. I'd said that. Wouldn't have that had been amusing if the Watching Madonna had featured in a gold clip? Harry Cuccare was a popular mention. So thanks also to Mark, who sent that in. And likewise, long-suffering St.

fan Matt and Derby fan Liz from Dogster. So the hairy Cocherea, the falling canate and the watching Madonna. I actually thought, so I saw the clip here was 28 seconds long. I thought John hasn't got three into one 30 second per had. Yeah. I think of those three, it's definitely the watching Madonna. Yeah, the watching Madonna. You could see, you could actually see that as a pub sign, couldn't he?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Madonna. And also, Mackenzie in Oxford says, Dear John Ian and Ali, I heard an unintended pub name while watching the FAA Cup fourth qualifying round match between Farnham and Sutton on the BBC eye player from commentator Alastair Mann. It was largely been used as a starter during his time at Sutton, but today is on in place of probably the cramping Ogbonne. Put a shift in. He has. That's brilliant. He says, Mackenzie says, soon there may well be enough unintended pubs for TCV pub crawl

instead of the tour and he says keep up the good work. Yeah, I was walking down the Tottenham High Road, John, on Sunday actually went to see some NFL, my first ever live NFL day. Sorry, I know you're not a fan. In fact, my experience that day, I've got one for the glossary off the back of that game.

But I saw a pub, but I was told afterwards it's a chain. But there's one called the Elbow Room on the Tottenham High Road. I like the, it's a good name that, the elbow room, the elbow room. Becky says, hi, all, love the pod. And to hear from the people behind the mics makes the commentary even more interesting. I had a potential suggestion for unintended pub names watching Genoa against Lazio. One of the commentators on TNT sports referred to the Willing Colombo. I must admit, thoughts immediately went to the legendary Peter Flachian.

Falk's 70s portrayal rather than Lorenzo, but there we go. Yeah, Peter Falk in his Macintosh. And Sarah in Madrid says, hello, Ali John and Ian. I have a suggestion for the unintended pub names. I was watching the highlights of London City Lionesses versus Liverpool on the WSL YouTube channel. When the commentator mentioned the trendy hangout, the in-off-the-cross bar, I think it looks better written down than it sounds said out loud. Thanks for the pod, Sarah.

the cross bar you can see that that would be a little that would just be a small you know down a side street yeah one of those sort of nothing well you know you'd just stumble across it and it would it would have one bar one long bar in it and a few seats and then a few more next to the window that would be the end off the cross bar and it's funny you mention that john because again going down the tottenham high road last sunday we were looking for a cup of coffee and trying to find a sort of you know somewhere a bit different independent coffee shop or whatever and saw exactly that a little which, and we snuck off down an alley and then found this very unlikely little place and the, you know, the shutters were up and this chap was serving coffee.

Absolutely delicious, you know, fantastic coffee. And then he handed us, it was about eight free pastries. You know, so we ended up paying for three coffees and a load of, what are they called, the little custard, Portuguese custard tarts, pastel dinatas. Yes. Yes, six of them, an almond croissant and something else. We paid under a tenor for that. I was like, that is, yeah.

What a bargain. And so if you do spot an unintended pub name in a commentary, do let us know at TCV at bbc.co.com. And WhatsApp voice messages, which we particularly enjoy to 08,000, 289-369. Right, John, you and I have both got to get on with prep for commentaries this weekend. Let's finish with the glossary.

The great glossary of football commentary, we had listener suggestions of football-specific commentary terms and phrases to our collection. Two divisions. Division one is for football exclusive terms. and Division 2, terms used in football commentary but also used in other sports. And actually in general life, we will start with this suggestion from Kate from Kempton in Hertfordshire. ITCV, it was said by an ITV commentator during the England game, England Latvia.

And that is referring to Olly Watkins getting injured and how unfortunate it was. They said that he wanted to be the first cab off the rank in place of Kane. should Cain not be available. And we thought that is probably one for the glossary. I hope you agree. Thanks very much. I actually nearly used that phrase earlier when we were talking about Phil Fulton.

He would be the first cab off the rank. But I think that actually started getting used in cricket first. There was a spell with the England cricket team where that phrase became used regularly that who was the next cab off the rank so I think it's a division two that one for me good one though I like it it is a good one I like that

and here's one from my chat with Thomas Tuchel from midweek they play with a lot of effort and they don't just rely on their talent that we will score at some point so we work hard for the goals and for the chances so it's good to see it's a very good moment I like it a lot at times congratulations I'll let you go and start planning

thank you thank you and there we are and I was going to propose in a good moment this week. And Thomas Tuchel has actually said it to me. That's a really interesting way, isn't it, John? Because I think if you played that clip to someone initially, people might think, you know, what phrase are you looking for in there? But it is the use, that's really crept in, hasn't it, in a good moment?

It's brought in by the mainland European cultures. Because it's clearly a phrase that is used in other languages, whether it's Italian or Spanish. and it has then been translated and spoken in English as a good moment and now you find English cultures saying in a good moment where in a good moment

that is exactly what has happened so that is going in where I think that's going division one because it's a relatively recent phrase it's not actually yet translated I don't think into other sports because that wouldn't necessarily naturally happen for a little while, but I bet it does. But at the moment, I think Division I won.

Yeah, it's in a good moment. Excellent. Martin from Los Angeles, hi there, since my purple patch suggestion only made it into Div 2. I wanted to provide another suggestion for the team to consider. This one is the scorpion kick, which is the backbending art of a reverse overhead kick where you jump on your chest or jump, yeah, diving forward and kick the ball with your heels over your head. The best example, of course, is the René Hegita scorpion kick in the Columbia against England friendly back from the mid-90s. There are quite a few other examples, too, although it's pretty rare for obvious reasons. Anyway, I know how tough it is to get into Division I'm hoping this one makes it the Scorpion kick. Well, I mean, it has to.

When I first started working for the BBC Radio Sports Department in London, which was in 1995 when I moved from local radio, in the autumn of that year I went to Wembley so it was the first time in this job that I actually went to Wembley when Alan Green and Miking were commentating on England against Columbia and at that time our commentary box

hung from the roof of Wembley Stadium so I think it was the old greyhound track commentary box so you had to wind your way up through the old Wembley and walk along a walkway under the roof and then you came down into the commentary box up there, and it was that match.

So I was there and witnessed René Hegita's scorpion kick while standing behind Mike and Alan, who were commentating on it. Well, the other one connected to that is Olivier Giroux. A lot of people will remember Olivier Giroux scored one against Crystal Palace

on New Year's Day in 2017. And I was there commentating on that for Five Live. Lucas back to intercept for Arsenal, up to Jiru, lovely flick to Jaka, Jaka, quickly onto Iwobe, an Arsenal player streaming forward. Sanchez at real pace on the left-hand side.

Xiru's in the middle. Sanchez tries to go. Oh, backhill, folly from Ziru. He's absolutely outrageous. The cross was behind him. Ziru flicks his left leg up, his legs behind his head, and the ball's gone in off the crossbar. What a way to start the new year for Arsenal.

It's Arsenal 1 Palace Nell. I didn't use the term, it just didn't come to mind. as in I saw I described how he'd scored it, but for whatever reason, you know the term is not in your head. So I was sort of going around the houses trying to describe how he'd scored the goal, whereas all I needed was Scorpion kick.

So we saw both of them. So that's... Yeah, we did. We've covered them live. We were both there for each of them. What a coincidence. John, before you do the last one, our last little contribution,

I'm just going to add my one in. And you tell me whether you think this gets into either division. So the NFL game, I went to on Sunday. First time I've ever been, I really love the sport, but it wasn't a great game. Great spectacle.

It looked amazing in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the actual game was pretty awful. New York Jets this season. Do you really love for sport? I do, I do. I've never heard you say that before. Come on.

Well, I can't talk about it with you because you mock it. So I need, I need a fellow. I respect it. What it is. It's just not my cup of tea. Okay. It's just not my cup of tea.

It is my cup of tea. I would not disrespe of tea. respect it. Let's make that clear. The New York Jets are having a shocker and they hung in there, hung in there, hung in there, but eventually lost to the Denver Broncos. Anyway, the point was, as we came out of the stadium, I turned to one of the guys I'd be watching the game with and I said that really was one for the purists. And that made me think, does that belong in the glossary in either division, do you think? Because you know what I mean by that, don't you? As in, I enjoy the sport. So I enjoyed the battle. It was a terrible game. I think division

too, because I could imagine watching a turgid but safety shot-filled frame of world snooker and describing that as one for the purists. Div too. Good. Excellent. Do you want to do the last one? And Amos from

London says, if last week you were talking about hibzing it when a team falls at the final hurdle, can we also add Spursy? Many thanks. I wonder who Amos supports. Yes, I wouldn't the Hemos of Arsenal.

Yeah, I think we can. I mean, Tottenham fans will hate it, but it's a term. It is a term. It is a term. And that's Div 1. That is Div 1. Well, it is, yeah. Yeah, you're not going to use that anywhere else. So, in summer, you're about to get booted out of that studio, aren't you, John?

Yes. All right. Let's wrap up the pod. Next cab off the rank is going into Div 2. One for the Puris is going into Div 2, but we've got two. No, we've got three entries going into Division 1, this week. Spurzy, being a bit spursy, the scorpion kick and in a good moment. So keep the glossary suggestions coming in and remember if you hear an unintended pub name and got to say thank you again to Paul Robinson for that particular feature,

former England keeper Paul Robinson who came up with that idea. That has given us a lot of fun. If you hear one of those in a commentary, let us know TCV at BBC.com.com. The voice notes on WhatsApp to 08,289-369. John, enjoy Liverpool, Manchester United. I will be listening. Yes, and just for TCV listeners who maybe only listen to the podcast,

we're much better when we do football commentaries, aren't we? So you should listen to us on Five Live, doing them. And you get more and more choice than ever before this season to listen to those football commentaries, whichever ever game you want, not every single game is available, but on, for example, on Saturday, we've got two Premier League commentaries on Five Live and Sports Extra, and quite often

that is the case on the Sunday as well. So John is absolutely right, live radio, you can't beat it. That is it for this episode of The Football Daily. The next one is going to be Brendan Rogers, the football interview, who wasn't in charge of Liverpool in that game back in January 2016, because Eugen Klopp was in charge by them. But it wasn't too long after Brendan Roger's time that Yougen Klopp had taken over. So the next one, Brendan Rogers, the football interview. And as for us here on the commentator's view, we will be back next week. You can find every episode of the commentator's view by scrolling down your football daily feed.

Thanks for listening. I thought it was a really difficult clash to the commentators. I would have been terrible at that. Deno's Deno's. I was. Yeah. I knew he'd win that. I knew he'd win that because that is not my cup of tea.

No. A lot. There's a couple of things that haven't been your cup of tea in this. Well, there's quite a lot that haven't been in a cup of tea. Yeah. But that's disappointing because he's now got a clear lead. Five from five, massive lead. I don't know.

Need to find his weakness, don't we? He needs to be taken down. Yeah, he does. He's in a good moment, John. He's in a good moment. Have a good weekend. Yes, have a good moment. Thank you.

Thank you, everyone. Philadelphia. Great play design. I think you just have to go out there and be the best of you can be. We're going to go out there and lay it all in the line. A 12-yard touchdown run. 105 yards on the return. Where speed, power, and skill collide.

And the Eagles are beating the chiefs convincingly in Super Bowl 59. Five Lies for NFL. Listen on BBC Sounds.