Julian Hall Hype? San Jose’s Hot Start + Steve Fletcher on Tyler Adams & Iraola’s Bournemouth

Sit down the cool again. We are joined by special guest co-host the one and only of tactics free zone Matt Doyle say hello, Matt Doyle. Hello, Matt Doyle. That's me

On cue on point. He's gonna bring that same

Intensity to this podcast and in the first segment. We're talking about the player kids move it

Julian Hall is we're leading the golden boot rankings in Major League soccer

He is 17 years old. Messy is quite envious. Also, we are joined by Steve Fletcher the assistant coach for

Bournemouth football club a lot of conversation about his career Tyler Adams and

Swan Cementio and everything going on at Bournemouth football club. So all this and more today on the cooligans

All right, I'm excited that Matt Doyle is here joining me to do the show because Alexis is obviously on a trip. He's in Ireland and

this weekend is

And I'm gonna ask Matt how you feel. I'll be honest. It's hard to get excited about

Wal-Mart soccer Saturdays when

When it seems like World War 3 is about to begin and it's really hard. So that's my first question and I'll share my thoughts as well

The the when the the world teams to be burning around us and we still have to do our jobs

How do you balance that I'll share mine afterwards?

So the first thing I do right like I go to my bar and I grab the good stuff, right? And then I open that bottle

God for a double that is how

That the quote unquote good stuff is not needles. You know what I mean?

We're in a good we're in a good place. It's not it's not too too bad

None of those needles. None of those powders. None of that

The tall all drink a brown liquor

All right, man. Yeah, and it's I don't I usually don't drink to

To deal with any to to to you know, sift through any emotions or any

challenges, but I

I guess I do the opposite I lean in to every news story every tick-tock feed every like I just

That's healthy. That's healthy. Yeah, yeah, I

Really smart. Yeah, I just like trying to want to understand and I think the point at the at the end of the day

I get to a point where I'm like there's no point in understanding

Because the bad people are just going to do the bad things whether you understand them or not

And that's a sad kind of reality to sort of come to but it does not mean we do not you know, push on with

You know as much grace and positivity as we possibly can find joy where you can my friend

Oh my god, and it's sometimes it's in Major League Soccer, which you know

Few people not enough people say that they don't know that it is actually a source of

Of joy of or a source of look. Yeah, you could be you could be upset

You could be but it's a source of passion and care and at the very least it's it can be somewhat therapeutic

I mean this even in these I feel like this MLS season which like this season

For you know for American soccer stands it it I don't know it just feels like if it feels somewhat different

And I don't know why I don't know if it's just the state of the world or whatever, but they it just feels like there's something

Meaningful to like Alex is always is oh he said this last week

He's like the first 10 games of the season don't mean anything. I think but but they feel like they mean a lot

I don't know I watch that Orlando Miami. I'm like this feels like it means something to somebody

So I don't know but yeah, man

What can you say I don't know I

Will say this and not to to be too earnest about it, but one of the things that

Means something more around sports. It's not just MLS

But I'm gonna use the example from Minnesota. Did you see their TFO this week? I did

Yeah, I did and given what Minneapolis St. Paul has been through with

Essentially fascist occupation by ice over the course of several months and to see the

Supporters come together and hang that ice out banner that the huge TFO

That meant a lot

San Diego fans the first week of the season during national anthem they turned their backs in protest

To get ice out of San Diego and

That's to me that sports that it's best. That's what we want

Our our fans are our fellow citizens even non-citizens

We want people to have that right to protest right to defend themselves and their neighbors

emotionally politically all of the above so

Things feel different. I think because of that and then you layer on all the

The other stuff with us apparently going to war in the Middle East because we got to do that every 25 years

Just because just

Just because they feel like you

No congress now we don't need to talk we don't need to check on anybody congress was alive. They would be very upset

They don't even you know how you send like you know a text just to be like yo, I'm gonna be here

Now not even doing that. I'm not they're gonna go start a whole damn war and not even tell anybody. So

Yes, that's why I think soccer

Sometimes in certain moments can be incredibly impactful and meaningful

And that's what we're trying to do here. So we're trying to move forward

Because even shows like hours or soccer wise or whatever or or tactics free zone

Bring people a little bit of peace and a little bit of joy and and you know

You know just find the positive moments in life and soccer can very much do that

So that's what this is all about. So let's get the show going welcome to the cool again

My name is Christian Polanco. I'm honored to be joined by guest co-host today

newly of soccer wise a new signing

I'm a man got a new

newsletter or is why would you call a website newsletter? Yeah, I call it a newsletter

But I guess at this point it really is like a website. It's just basically my column archive like all the stuff

I was doing for MLS soccer for 15 years. I'm just doing it for myself now tactics free zone

That's right Matt Doyle joining me today

Alexis is away and today show

We're gonna have a good time. We're gonna obviously week two in MLS

And we'll talk about everything that Doyle is up to but later on we're gonna be joined

By the one and only Steve Fletcher

He is the assistant coach at Bournemouth football club right now. He's a Bournemouth legend and

Maman got a ton of stories and we obviously talk a lot about Tyler Adams

Who's obviously the defensive midfield there at Bournemouth and for the US men's national team

But today let's start in MLS

As an NYCFC fan it honestly

Ain't me to say this about a Red Bull player

But Julian Hall seems to be the real deal the 17 year old is the future of Red Bull and also Michael Bradley might be a good coach

I never know whatever say those words

The kids have been the stars of the first two weeks of the MLS season

But Julian Hall might be the brightest of the bunch Doyle

You've been writing a lot about and tactics free zone about Red Bull

I hate seeing anything positive about that too

But what what they're doing on the pitch especially compared from last season seems to be a huge improvement

What are your initial thoughts on Julian Hall's first two games?

This is the top topic

I think he's here to stay

Right

He's got three goals for two games. He's tied for the golden boot lead

I don't think he's going to win the golden boot

But Messi's jealous. He's like man who's that can't catch up catch up right

What makes Julian Hall different for his age is like he finds happens

He knows how to be in the right place at the right time

And that's the number one skill for any consistent goal score because those are the types of goals

That don't dry up right that and that speaks to an advanced soccer brain

And then he has

You know the physical skills to go with it

And you saw it in next pro he was he was too good for next pro right

You played like 300 minutes. He scored five goals in 300 me

He was too good for that level and they took that and they plugged it into this system

The Michael Bradley is now running which is just beautiful soccer

And Hall is finishing off the plays that you would expect a veteran striker to finish off

And that's very different than what Josh Sergeant was 10 years ago

Or what Josie Altidore was 20 years ago

These were guys who didn't have that sense of how to get into the box to finish off

Those one place those those one touch

Finishes with right place right time. So I think he's here to stay. I think

He's not in Harrison to stay

I think very rarely in 18 months

They're going to get a lot of money for this kid

I just hope that when he goes he doesn't go try to go straight to the premier league or La Liga

I hope he goes to like a mid-level, you know, Belgium or war

Air division and banged home goals there

Groza into his body a little bit more

It doesn't make the leap to like a top-top league until he's in his early 20s

Rebel started

Three teenagers if I'm not mistaken. Yeah in the last game three children Chris not just teenagers

So these are under 18 years old three minors. Yeah, yeah, this is like is it is this one of those like

Like with Kevin Sullivan where they they couldn't play games after like seven p.m. Something

Because of labor laws

Can't see our rated movies. It's really sad. Yeah

It's like oh no, we can't we don't want any prime time games

Long as possible. So are these kids play? I in the in the post

Well, I think it was pregame. Mike Bradley was talking about

The they were asking I forgot who it was on Emma's wrap-up. They were like, oh, you know, you're starting all these kids or whatever and

He talked about them in a way of like, oh, you know, they're super important to the team and stuff like that

But as like you know, I think guys like us and then but especially I you know, I look to you

We we we understand um, you know roster rules and salary cap. So he's talking about them like

And they I'm I can't I they're so good and we don't have to pay them anything isn't this great

I see I'm like Mike. I know what you want to say. So he's like you want to use them

For as long as you have them at the club, but he's talking them in in very high regard being like

I can tell he's about to say like they ain't gonna be here very long correct

Correct

They are not gonna be here very long. I mean maybe the left-back

Maddie does Santa's so I didn't know anything about before he started in week one

But he already looks like one of the best left-backs in the league, but hall and then

Man, we we're talking about Julian hall of this and he's leading the gold. He's not even the best of them

Is Audrey Mimetti the defensive midfielder who I think is the best prospect of these three. He's just 16 years old

um

And like I hate to to even invoke the name, but like he plays like booskets

Right he plays like booskets where he creates these

Yannick bright right now is being like I wish you would talk about

Absolutely not Yannick good player, but absolutely not like

Mimetti creates tempo and rhythm in the game that makes everybody around him so much better

And the US has produced a lot of good soccer players over the years like there's a reason where top 15 team

In the world pretty much constantly a lot of good soccer players

We've never produced a midfielder like this never one

Like Tyler Adams great player plays on the front foot not a 360-degree player this kid days when Mimetti

Oh my goodness. He is not going to be with Rebel for a long time

It and watching the team and and you had posted that um that clip of just uh

A string of passes 17 passes. Yeah 70 passes and I'm like I honestly I can't really remember in the last couple years when

The this possession style kind of fun sort of free-flowing red bull

You know rebel New York team. I've just we just haven't seen it in quite a while even when they made ever

You could say you could say not the type of team that you could say ever we've never seen it with rebel

Okay, I don't know. I don't remember every metro starts game. I don't know how they were

Some of us are cursed my friend

Uh, but no man it and then to wrap up we rebel Michael Bradley um I I think we um for a long time we still kind of

I wasn't necessarily like this, but I I understood fans of like after the 2018 World Cup and missing out on the World Cup

For the US men and and him being blamed essentially right like being relentlessly booed him in Josie

um and there was a

Sort of bitterness. I think that

Uh, I think American soccer fans had with Michael Bradley about that even though

The dude contributed more than a lot of other, you know, US national team players

But him as a coach, I think it I'll be honest. I didn't think it would initially just like work out very well or be this like positive or optimistic or even in his

His press conferences. There's there's a

Sir a different side compared to his dad. We're obviously going to compare him to his dad as far as a coach

And he has like a more lightheartedness that I think I I really didn't expect what what did uh

What are your thoughts in his first two game managing?

I couldn't be higher on him after after two games um look man. I'm

I have aesthetic preferences for how I want to see the game played and um it was like like right

You know, you know, when you see it you're like a

And we're seeing it. We're seeing it in Harrison with this team like it's and it's not just the teenagers

It's a you know, Justin Shay is playing center back five years ago. He was

Julien Hall, you know, he was the 16 17 year old kid with Byron Munich coming and you know

The the world at his feet and he just hasn't lived up to it and he arrived this winter or kind of

Damaged goods and within two games. He looks like one of the best centerbacks in the league

And he's like overlapping and getting into the attack and getting to the end line and hitting pullbacks across the box

And just adding so much on both sides of the ball

And it looks like the best version to what the crew wear under wilford nancy and it's like the that's the soccer

I like and apparently as a soccer that Michael Bradley likes to and he's

Getting the children to deliver pretty good. Okay. All right. Now you love to see it. Um

I do not love to see it when it's red ball, but what are you gonna do? So you know at the very least we get a lot of

You know crap from rebel fans or whatever, but like

You got the you got some time you got some airtime on the show and so we I was forced to give you flowers

And that's it except them, please let me ask you this if Seymour Reed had finished one of those two breakaways that he had for

NYC if with this segment has been about the pigeons or we've been

Obviously not

No, man. That was that's well. We'll get to maybe now. I was such a look. It was it's frustrating

Um, but the fact that he had when he messed up the first time the 1v1

I was like, Hey, you know what? He's going up against his Jamaican national team teammate goalkeeper

Probably the lights sometimes a little too bright. This is one of the greatest goalkeepers

MLS has ever seen

I could understand why the moment might feel too big when you had the second one

Oh you want to see it we learned our lessons from the first one

Now is the time to grow up you got to grow real fast from the you know from the 83rd minute to the 85

You got to come man

So

Big window. Hey, yeah big one if I want to see. I want to get to

Miami and

Orlando because after the first half I

You know, I posted on blue sky like yo Miami UI because this is you know loss

So you essentially giving up five goals in a row

One of they're gonna kind of turn things around and man. This was a

That that second half was a movie. I mean they they

Um, I mean, we're always now the the I mean he created his own new meme

but

Messi doing that. Hey, you want my autograph?

Is like peak

Villainy just that's cold. It was cold blooded man. It was so good

So fantastic, but

Before we talk about their success. I mean, what is from from the game against LAFC to that first time?

against Orlando is it as simple as boost gets is not there and they don't know what to do always a more complex than that

I think LAFC might actually be the best team in North America

So like it was a really high bar in that first game and the way they're able to just kill teams on the break and just absorb

I mean, Miami's working a lot for new starters in so I think there was gonna be some issues with that

And then the first half of this game Orlando blitz them and credit to Oscar pariah. He changed the shape a little bit

Went with kind of like a three five two and

Miami couldn't figure out ball progressions and then

Havier, Masha Rano on the second half to screw it dropped a full back and brought in another attacker

And they played a three five two with like really flying wing backs

And suddenly Messi was getting on the ball in good spots and if that happens

Belly probably given up four goals

Yeah, I mean, Messi met you get Messi in bad spots and you still find the way

I mean his goal is is absurd and where in that that there were so many moments where I mean they sort of

Have been playing like this obviously since Messi got there, but they they really pack

The the the the D you know, I mean they packed that to the top of the box was just so many with defenders

Messi's obviously gonna track two or three people. So sometimes the the the center of the top of the box can get like

Go keepers are like, yeah, what's happening over there?

Y'all just a couple feet in front of me now. I really don't know and and and um

Why am I forgetting the uh

The goalkeeper Kropov Kropov

He that the Messi's goal was just like

I one it's like yeah, he's kind of blinded one and then he's also like there's no way he gets like a lot of

Power on a shot like this. He's not really taking and that's that the rules don't apply

Yeah

Be here that with the deep magic man. It's just like yeah, the the free kick though, uh a bad

Bad on Kropov great on Messi. I mean

It was good on Messi, right? You want to force the save and Kropov has to make that save

He just said he t-rexed it man like oh, you know, it was not it was not a great moment for him after he had been

Outstanding in the first half he had kind of a nightmare of the second half, but um my aim is gonna do that

Do a lot of people this year, so sure um, uh, I just remember did you remember the did you see the

The they in trying to play like a friend Liam in Puerto Rico. Yeah

This week and then Messi got like a tact. Yeah

Well, the guy was trying to take like a self. Yeah, so a bunch of fans ran out to the field

I think it was like middle of the second half or whatever and um the

You know security was I think a little bit lax

I guess y'all seen wasn't there because he would expect a couple of those guys

And they tried to yeah, they tried to get it and get a selfie with him

Um and and kind of knocked him down. It's like what the hell have bro every every

Isn't like Messi's legs like insured for like a billion. I would hope so

I would hope so

No, man. It it it's uh with

Not that I like like look do I care if it's about me like improve or not or whatever

But the the the the fact that you know the the loss

To lose in LAFC is you know, I don't think there's any shame in that but to lose three nil and you know

I said last week that they it felt like the leaks cup final where Obed Vargas just locked down

Messy and maybe that what that was gonna be the the move kind of like

Going forward and some teams would find success with that

But for him for him to have you know, Messi doesn't is rare to have two very bad games uh in a row

And and to see like the way that second I feel bad for land or city because

I when they scored those first two goals

You saw how the camera pan to the coaching staff and ask a prevail. We're just like yes like

Like not even not even like gloating. It was just like a

A they were at peace. I was like. Yes. Like this is the team. I want to see. This is what

I'm pasalit with his goal. Hey, that's everything and then

Like to break us. All right, we we've interviewed

Oscar Preja and I mean one of the

This is a certain like wise

Worms that he

Gives off that you're just like

Okay, where what do you need me to do coaches? Not even starting about running through a wall. It's like I'll run through steel if I

If I need to um

Okay, let's move on to San Jose because

Are

They good uh because this is uh a team

That for the last few years has just been a visible and and it's just been really really bad

Uh, but team over and it gets his first to say uh, so that's cool to see

But this is another team that your your stock seems to be pretty high up on. Yeah, it was

Higher on them going into this year than I think most people were because

Even though they were bad last year they were actually good

And what I mean by that is like

Not on paper right well on paper but not necessarily

I don't know we got to see some fart a little bit here, but yeah, yeah

Daniel had a terrible season just shot stopping right if your goalkeeper is gonna give up seven extra goals

You're probably gonna lose a few extra games

But more than that the guys that they were playing up top last year Joseph Martinez Chico Arango to a lesser extent

Christian Espanosa all of them are gone

All of them are attackers so you know book goals on the board good

But you still have to defend and none of them did and that made them really really easy to build to like right through the middle

Like they gave up so many easy line-breaking passes that just immediately put the midfield

And defense into a scramble and you don't win a lot if you're scrambling all the time

Despite that they were still much better than their record these

You know got unlucky at times Daniel Taylor-Bershastoff didn't love a lot

Bruce Arena said I'm gonna fix the structure. I'm gonna make sure we don't allow those passes through two weeks

They have it for two weeks. They have two shutouts

Daniel has not had to make very many big plays at all in goal. It's working the caveat

Is that they have played two games at home against two of the worst teams in the league

So don't get too far out over your skis man because

He had to produce the Carter from the Bay Area

It could fall apart, but I don't think it's gonna

I like I just look at how hard

Everybody in that front line is working and that includes team of earner now who for the past ten years

Has been one of the best defensive forwards in the world and like I know there's like he

Sometimes cash you're straight and that's a big shot. Yeah, why is not in the Premier League people listening to this are being like defensive

Forward man, you're finding what you're fine. You're like

picking

You're looking at every single set to find even something positive when everybody

I mean most of the internet is just like team of earner get him out of my clothe

I mean he has too many terrible terrible highlights. That's that's a

Obviously I think very easily going against him. Yeah, but he has a lot of good highlights too

There's a reason he's got like 60 caps for Germany what 25 goals and like he's you know

All right, it didn't work for him in the Premier League

But we've seen it like it didn't work for Andre Chefchenko in the Premier League either. He's pretty damn good forward

So I

I don't know. I just think it's all going to work

I wonder how it's going to shake out in terms of formation

But the cool thing is that Bruce has always tended to find a way and

You know, we talked that we opened by talking about Julian Hall in the youth movement with the Red Bulls youth movement with San Jose too

Like they gave the number 10 kit to Nika Chicares 20 years old. He was one of the stars of the US U20 World Cup team

This past autumn. He was great with that team and they've scored five goals so far

He's had a hand in four of them. He like looks the part of a real number 10

Who of course also plays defense because defense is important Chris

Gotcha gotcha and I mean

Look Bruce Arena, especially you don't you can't really

He's not

Used to just having bad teams for like a long time. He can like figure stuff

And I always I always go back to the

Bruce arena like you know, what's your coaching style? He's like well as long as my 11 guys are better than their 11 guys

We're good to go

And it's like hey, maybe that's that maybe that's the the advice and coaching that that they needed

To find some success. Uh, before we wrap up with the thing. I just want to make sure because you you had brought up the NYCFC field effort union the

Did you see the last two weeks in MLS? There've been some

Issues with refereeing and I know you've been very vocal that you don't like talking about this

This isn't your your wheelhouse

but I

What I said and I'll and I'll say this and and I'll give

Credit to I think you feel it that the union fans that were pretty upset. There was a a VAR call

The there was a foul by

Or a potential foul by who was it? Um, I don't remember who

Uh, damn who it was the where am I forgetting his name now the the center back

Um, uh, Raul Raul Raul Raul Gustavo

Uh, a foul right and it was inside the box and VAR said hey, uh, go take a look at this to Chris to Chris Penzo

And Chris Penzo looked at it looked at it for a long time. I said no, I don't see a foul here and then

Minus later a couple minutes later

He uh, uh, uh, Thiago Martins is holding on to uh, uh, uh, the the new uh, stars

Stop who is it is a is a Polish-American kid from the the Philly Academy. I'm really good. Yeah, holding them and not doing anything

And he goes down to the ground and Chris Penzo's like that's an blay in penalty and I'll say this

The first one

Was a penalty. I could not believe they didn't give it. I mean it wasn't

It would have been a very soft penalty, but you get you got it like give those right because he puts his leg

The guy's not able to control the ball. It's not necessary a lot of force

But he does do something

Get that's the penalty. Why give? I mean, and now we just feel like you're making up for the other one

And it's not cool dog. So I'm

But what do we think when that shouldn't happen in the age of VAR anymore like makeup calls and that really felt like one

Yeah, I don't disagree with that um, it was a weirdly officiated game man

Like the last 15 minutes

especially like

Makanya got a second yellow for like

Yeah, I'm saying disagree like I don't know. I guess like if it was his first yellow, okay

You know, but like I don't have a son and a guy off for

Terrible call

Can't do this at a ref you can't go

Damn. Yeah, like you just they they hate that so much

I mean, and he's like he's like 15 yards away. Yeah, it was it was it was weird

But it was also it shouldn't take away from the fact that NYCFC for really good

Keaton parks back in the middle for that team

Makes him so much more difficult to press and Philly's in trouble dude

Philly had a supporter shield winning team last year and like they went on a complete heat check getting rid of all of their good players over 25 years

Ahold um, I thought it was an unserious offseason from them if the goal is to win

But I don't think the goal foot with that team is to win. I think the goal is to make money and you know

Better count good job, I guess, but we'll see how that helps in the standings

Okay. Yeah, they I'm and there's they there's also the

Who's he the

That's supporting director turns tenor is being investigated

Yeah, there's a lot of distractions in house that they got to sort out. Maybe that's affecting the the team as well

So we'll see the other thing apple tv

There's a couple issues a couple now that we're two weeks into the season. I didn't even notice this but the

um

The

The there's some broadcast issues that we'll get to in a second, but the endless wrap-up is gone

Now it's just like a highlight show with like voiceovers from Kevin Egan and kind of just like

Just focusing on the highlights and and your look and maybe this could be a conversation about now, you know

Matt dole is is independent or

You you know your license

You

I don't loan, but you're done with them at last

And obviously it was in it's an interesting thing because

You you see in moments like this how much your work is appreciated and how much you're

Uh appreciated and I and I know you know, I sent you a message as well. I know uh uh that means a lot to you

but when you

Yeah, you can speak as as candidly as you want about

Now it's a little bit different now, right? But you can speak as candidly you want just like when you see these changes like that

How do you think it affects the future of the league and how the food how the league is received by fans?

I see the same stuff on social media as you um, and it's it's disappointing that there hasn't been more

There's just like no shoulder programming um, you know like I how do you how do you follow the lead? How do you get people more

Interested in MLS if you're not giving them stories if you're not giving them

Access points to learn a messy one MLS cup last year and now you know, he's playing in the world cup in three months and like

There was just no storytelling around that be like the greatest player of all time is here man like do do stuff around that and then whittling back on

You know the Spanish coverage whittling back on uh

You know wrap up as you said. I don't understand the strategy around it um

I never have the you know over the bet and like I'm no longer there. So I guess like I don't have to and I guess um

You know part of part of the things like I'm trying to fill that void myself and um, I'll tell you it's it's nice to see that there's

There's a hunger for that because it turns out I'm not gonna starve and I'm not going to have to sell my house

That's important pretty good to point. Yeah. Yeah. There's there's too many. There's too much delicious whiskey out there for a match and a drink

So I'm glad uh, it's still available to you. Yeah, it's uh, you know the

The during the San Diego game on Sunday against St. Louis the broadcast

Completely went out and we missed a goal and I mean you understand there's gonna be some hiccups along the way

But I mean you can't miss the main thing in the sport that we all want to see is effectively why we want to tune in

I know there's like they there's uh from a technical standpoint the the games are being

The broadcast of the games are being handled in the UK

Um to my understanding. I don't exactly know how I don't know where would it was originally

Don't I would imagine is that it was the United States seems like all

that from

I understand we got satellites and we got a lot of technology just get it just seems like

The there has to be some level of of challenges

There's a goal from from the UK to San Diego. There must there. It's gonna be the lines are gonna their lines are a little bit longer

It might be you're gonna have an issue here and there uh, but you know

It's disappointing to have those technical issues on top of like all these cuts that were made uh by majorly soccer because it feels like

All it feels connected informally. Yeah, I thought there would be more momentum at this point and like I said

It's disappointing that it's it's not there and look man the leagues got three months to try to capitalize on all this because

The World Cup is gonna be here

real soon and I hope like look

I'm still an MLS fan even after everything that happened over the past month

And I will always be an MLS fan and I want them uh to get it right so that we can kind of make up for lost time

But it

There are chances of that feeling kind of swimmer and swimmer by the day. Yeah

It's uh you know when you think about it. It's tough, you know to to have a league like MLS

Which is like where the the league overseas and operates

So much of how the league is run compared to the clubs having their own individual kind of you know everybody does thing their own way and stuff like that

So there's a lot to kind of manage. So you can imagine it's it's a it's a it's a difficult

Task but even as you know when MLS wrap up came on I'm like this is

We've needed this for ages just like after the games are over have

former players and pundits and you and everybody just talking about these games and giving some real insight because it's how you

Make uh fan give give not even just gives fans expertise, but get make them also

Experts as well right them be able to learn about the people who proselytize about the league and right make their their friends and family start following the league and like

Everybody else every other league does it and

Yeah, and you and you have to get to a point where you're like

Oh man, you know what Bradley Wright Phillips said what Sasha clutch said. I hate that. I hate Sasha question

I hate Max McCarty and it's like that's it. You got to be these like characters that people you know

How do people talk about Gary Neville? How do people talk about uh um uh you know real fernand or anybody like that's part of like

You know it's like wrestling you just like or it's like they're all characters and stuff like that

So we we kind of need that so it's a it's a bummer that that those changes have uh been made but I like I said like it's it's on

Of us. It's on you. It's on psychoized tactics free zone everybody to kind of fill that gap because people are very much looking for it

So uh yeah dude with keep up the good work, Matt. I mean that's bad

It was the cool thing to see because it it even when you posted the news about leaving uh MLS

I'm not even for a second was I like um Matt Matt's gonna be struggling right now like there

I mean, maybe you might have felt that way

But yeah, yeah, I think a lot of people uh you know

You you you're just you're that expert that people go to of like if I mean I even know this

I mean there's there's few people that uh I could

Talk to about MLS, but even talk to about MLS at a very like

In-depth uh level. So uh, it's just you know, it's me you

Goss and Douglas Reyes Jerome

That's it. That's it. Yeah, that's it. Hold me

All right

Let's uh, we're gonna take a break and we're gonna go to our conversation

With Steve Fletcher's like I said Steve Fletcher uh is the uh assistant coach at born myth uh football club

And obviously we talked to him about Tyler Adams and a lot of stuff going on also the upcoming premier league fan fest

That we have a little surprise about uh, so here it is. Here's that conversation with the one and only Steve Fletcher

I mean when we talk about legends on this show. This is exactly what we're talking about

And especially and this is uh, you know, there's not many times in that we we get to just hang out with legends and

And we we're like old friends at this point at this point

We've already talked to this person and it was so good. We're like you got to come on the show and Kansas City

We were standing next to him and we felt like toddlers never again. I say yo. I'm gonna get up on stage so we can see eye to eye

Okay, this guy is an absolute brick house. I don't think how those terms out there

The one the only assistant coach

Forbormid also club ambassador. I believe uh, the one the only Steve Fletcher everybody

Thank you so much for joining us

My pleasure. How are we doing?

We're doing great, but yeah, it's an honor to see you again

Yes, and it was awesome

hanging out with you in Kansas City, but I

Right now at that time was that your first ever fan fest or no

Yes, it was. I mean, I know the club had been to I think the one in Nashville went to

That was the previous year or the year before

And then we obviously Kansas was my first gig. So I'm really looking forward to the next one in April in Tampa

So yeah, I'm really excited the clubs excited. It was great. I had a fabulous three days four days in

In Kansas City

See, I say Kansas, but it's Kansas City and the people of Missouri. Yeah, it's like Istanbul. It's in two different places

No, I'm the people of Missouri what they corrected me soon as I said oh, I mean Kansas

They were like no you in Kansas City in Missouri. You know in Kansas city in Kansas. I couldn't get both both states wanted to claim

Kansas City. So they just put them in both. Yeah, the city in both of the states

But you know when we were when we were talking to you you are

I think one of the few players that we've spoken to who was well traveled in the United States

You've been to lots of different cities and you you were you would what I would call like a

I'm American a file, you know, we have angle of files, but you seem a little American man

I'm sort of partially obsessed with it because I just

Obviously when you live in the UK and probably obviously I live in England as well. I mean we're just before countries if you include Ireland

But it was so small. I mean when I see America and the size of each state and it's different rules and

Wears of life in all the states. It's my ambition to do as many states as I can and

Fortunately for me the wife's not interested. I should I say fortunately actually

Yeah, you don't want to come with me to Wyoming

It's lovely this time of year cheeky weekend in Wyoming

Thank you so much. The fair this my wife wants to go is on a beach in Mexico

So when I say I'm off to the stage. She's like you go by yourself. See you later. I'm like that

That's I'm happy with that. I go I go with my buddies my friends and I've been there. Yeah, so a lot of places

I've still got a lot of boxes to take

Tamber will be one of them. I've still haven't been to

San Fran. I want to go to Boston and then people when I'm around

The United States. They always give me ideas of where to go and it's usually predominantly the big cities

But yeah, I've got a few boxes to take. I've done that. I've done the main

The main stairs that you know, I've done in the New York come to New York and walk slowly people tell you exactly where to go

You know what wonder and that's just maybe an idea for the future next time you're in New York

Alexis is a a well-known pizza kind of sore in New York used to do pizza tours in the city

And if you want to have truly the greatest pizza in the world

This is coming with your best guide to do that. So we'll

It'll be got nothing on us

You talk about how big this country is I watched the video of you on

Bournemouth's

YouTube channel where you traveled. I believe the longest distance for a club match

You traveled from Bournemouth to the Northeast. There was an eight-hour coach

In any other bus if you will you've been in America a lot of time. Well, there's nothing for us

I know I know and you travel you travel out to go and see friends just for a weekend

Yeah, it's crazy at the distance

But I think because in England everyone's setting their own town or cities where they live in the very rarely unless you go to London the capital

Not many people travel around unless they're going actually on holiday

So they'll go on I'm doing a

Six-hour eight-hour round trip and that seems a lot, but you're right America's so vast and so big

I can see you can fit the UK inside Texas was eight ten times over. It's crazy

So if you want to go to another state in America and you want to drive

You're talking days. You're not talking hours. It's um that's hard to get your head round here

It's you can go the full length of England in probably

Seven eight hours your whole length of England and Scotland in about ten. So

Yeah, that's probably gone across a couple of states in America

My question is why be out of bus for eight hours. Why not fly isn't like flying like 12 pounds out there

Well, what happened was um being ambassador. I do a lot of content for the football club and we wanted to

Show everybody what it's like and what our supporters and fans go through when they have to travel

The whole length of the country just to come and watch the team play

So for us it was one of the furthest fixtures. It was it was a 16 hour round trip

We left it three in the morning for in the morning

And we got to the stadium round about one p.m. The kickoff was three and they didn't get back till three

Am so it was me on the coach with the fans

stopping off at the the services

Um on on on the motorway use call it highway

um

Been in in the pubs before the game being with the supporters at the game and just showing everybody what our fans go through

Go through and the sacrifices they make to see us week in week out home and away

So that's why I did it all for our social content. All right. I love it

No, I love the dedication. I want to talk about

Bournemouth a little deeper because

For us, you know, a Bournemouth

Getting back getting to the Premier League was like the I think for a lot a lot of people in the United States the introduction

To Bournemouth, but you especially when we were in Kansas City

Obviously you have a rich history with the club

You are beloved by the fans that were there

And I want to ask you directly like what is your proudest moment with Bournemouth football club?

I've been 33 years now

I've been at the club. I came down here when I was 19 years of age and signed a professional contract was a player and

When I moved from one end of the country from the other so that eight hour trip that we did when we went to Sunderland

I live literally 20 minutes south of there

So it was it was practically one end of the country to the other and that was in 1992

So there was normal ball phones around then there was no first time

You know, there was no communication between me and my family and I was

One of two children in my family. I have a sister one younger sister and my mum and dad and

We traveled down I traveled down my father in 1992 and you know, I was

Throwning at the deep end really and that was it. There was not much communication

I mean my I lived in in a house with a family to start with just to obviously

Comfort me in a little bit and she the the landlady allowed me to use the telephone once every few days to

Phone my parents and it was just a normal landline

That you know they do is not that long I'm fixing this in black and white

I know yeah, was it along this and it's called did you have the thing where you had the one piece to your ear and you hold the other piece of the phone

Yeah, hello dispatcher give me age for five

Was most cool from my world watch ticker tape coming out sending your mother a message

It was um pigeon carriers

It was listen

I went down right so I went into Trin and my hometown club of Hartley pool

That was a club I paid for that's where I came through the youth set up and got a professional contract when I was 18 and

Um, I went into Trin and one one July afternoon

We start preseason in July and two weeks into preseason Trin and the manager got me in and said look

Bournemouth are interested in signing you

Didn't really know much geologically where Bournemouth was on the map and had to get a big out of the south of

Bournemouth and the the whole of the UK and went all the way down and it was right on the south coast

So me my father got in the in the car

We drove down six seven hours in the car

We met the manager and the next day I'd signed for Bournemouth and I hadn't even told my girlfriend who I'd been with the five years

Um, she's not my wife now

It's my ex-girl friend

I can see no regrets no regrets

I'm not a my mother

Obviously couldn't get in touch because there's no mobiles. It was 1992. There's no mobile phones then

So we had to stop off at this service stations on the on the way home

Um, I don't know what you call them in America. You know you come off them all away and there's

Things service centers service centers. Yeah. Okay. Sorry. Stop there and the old english phone booths

You know the the red boxes like you see in London put that you we put 10 p in which is like 10 cent

Put it in for my parents form a girl friend said all by the way I've signed for Bournemouth and I won't be coming back

Um

That was it. Oh, you're free

Three and a half years later

Um, I'm still here. So yeah, it was a big it was a bigger people and

In that time, I've had some incredible moments at FC Bournemouth. I mean I arrived here as an 19-year-old boy

Into once I'm gonna be a granddad to

My eldest daughter

She's having a child um, congratulations. Yeah, I've got married here 26 years ago. I thank you very much

I got married. I've got two daughters. No sons. I got two daughters once 24

She's actually in Australia on the gold coast at the moment. She's been there for all. Yeah

She's just having a bit of time out there and your family loves coast. Yeah

Yeah

Yeah, do you know what when they were growing up the they were quite tall for their age

I remember when they were really young and they were having a right panic

I do not want to be six foot three

Because I'll stand out like a beacon and I was like I'm praying to God because my wife's five foot ten

So there was a but they've ended up the same height as my wife. So that's okay

Yeah, in the 33 years like I say I've had some great experiences on and off the pitch

Um, I've had a lot of we've had a lot of downs at this football club

We nearly went out of existence a few times. We went into administration in the late 90s and

You know towards 2008 2009 where the club nearly went out of existence and

All the fans have really known up until we got in the Premier League in 2015 is

The doldrums of the lower leagues of football. I know in America. You don't have promotion and relegation, but here it's everything and

Um, probably why we're doing this conversation now because we're in the Premier League and um, I would say my

Favorite moment ever would be breaking the club records of appearances

Because when you sign for a football team and you're 19 years of age you just

And growing up as a as a child through in the streets of Hartley pull my hometown

I just wanted to be a professional football player soccer player

And that was my ambition and then to come to a football club and break the club record

Which at the time was 425 professional games. I mean

You can't even see yourself being there more than one season never minds

33 so I think I broke the record in 2005

After 17 years at the club and I've went on to make

726 appearances

So I'm like 200 appearances ahead of anyone at the club and that's probably my proudest moment because

I know I didn't play Premier League and yeah, yeah

That was my dream as a child to play for for my country England and

Be a professional footballer and and play at the top level

But I've still achieved a hell of a lot of goals that I never thought I would when I was really young

726 games for one club

Is right up there with the all-time best of any football club and it is about

200

220 more than anybody else at a dfc ballman. So that is probably

My proudest moment because like I said, that's not something you even think about when you were child growing up

Yeah, it's then deserved. I mean you were there for a long time

I have a couple of questions. I want to ask but you mentioned

You know that you never got a chance to play in the Premier League

But you're kind of a so kind of you're associated with the club

You're getting to watch the team train and you're getting to see one of our proudest exports in Tyler Adams

Train week in a week out and play week in a week out

When you were playing for the team you probably never thought in American would play for boardman

But what do you talk to talk to me a little bit about what you see in a player like Tyler Adams and just the development

And how so much has changed for Americans

How much more we care about the sport how much harder we've trained to become better at that sport

Well first and foremost even if we had a Scottish or an Irish player in the team. They were frowned upon. I mean

It was always English

Never mind Americans and and the team is full of foreign players now

We got players from South America, Argentina, Brazil all over Europe

Tyler for me and I shouldn't really have favorites in the team because

I can say I've been a player. I've been a first-team coach. I'm club ambassador. I've been a player liars and officer

I've been everything for the team really

Shouldn't have favorites but Tyler's definitely up there because do you know what?

He's such a young lad and he's so mature for his age. He knows everything about

Everything what to do with soccer and

For him to come over to a country that is obsessed with soccer over here football

From a country in America where obviously you have your big five sports with your baseball basketball NFL and hockey

He knows so much. He's so intelligent. He's so

Heartwarming and he's approached to people who come into the football club. He's brilliant with everybody

So being ambassador I bring a lot of businesses into the into the football club

I bring a lot of children a lot of families and every time I bring somebody into this football club

Whether it's at the training ground or the stadium

Tyler is the first person who comes over introduces himself

Talks to people he has a just a great way with people and I think that's from his upbringing

I've been to their area. He was he was born in Newberg and as a Newberg. Yeah

Map address well as the

When we came to New York for the summer series we went I went to Newberg

Brewery and that is

The area where he grew up and his family and I think it comes from that it stems from that and

He's a great ambassador for American football in the UK

Not just on the field of course. He

He leads by example on the field. He's a natural leader

But he leads by example off the field as well and he's a great advocate for

for American

Men and women to come across to England in into the UK or even Europe to that matter and

And apply their trade and become successful

I can say his knowledge is second to none

Is attitude towards everything is brilliant?

I just think he's a top top bloke and I'm not I've said that a lot of times or it's not I'm not and I said it to his face

I think he's a really really superb lad and every team needs

Attila radams and he's a great example and a shine in light for anyone any young

Soccer player in America who's thinking about coming to Europe coming to the UK wants to

Apply their trade in the Premier League. You know, there's no there's no better example than telluradams

Yeah, Tyler Tyler's been on the show and you know, we're probably about you know

15-20 years older than Tyler and he's much more mature than we have

Beyond you know what when I hear him we have a lot of American

Nihano businesses companies come over yeah podcast people and

Did it want to do everything with Tyler and it gets honestly good stride from pillar to post he never complains

Listen to Premier League. It comes with a territory. I get that

But when I sit down and because I'm ambassador I stand around and listen to him

He is so articulate and so knowledgeable when he's speaking to people and

If you turn away from him and didn't know him you think he sounds like someone who's been in the game for 40 years

I mean, yeah, yeah, it's lads 20 this lads 26 27 or whatever he is

It's like I'm listening to a season pro who's probably the manager of a football club who's

Walking like he's in his 50s and 60s. He's knowledgeable the way he speaks. He's meticulous

He thinks about what he says and he's very good with words. I just think

That's got to come from you're upbringing. No, I mean in the environment you've brought up in because

You say he's been to legionated. He's been to born with us

He's not as if he's been in this country for 15 plus years and he's been the six or seven clubs. He hasn't this is his second club in

In England. Yeah, I know he's been in the like

Caught in as well a captain of the USA 18 hells because he's responsible

He does a lot of interviews

He's probably pulled upon a lot when the USA are playing because they want to get Tyler's interview

And I just think he's he's fantastic and like I say he's not only great

He's not only a great ambassador for EFC bombers, but I think for

America as well because the way he portrays himself is

Yeah, second to know buddy. I vote for you for

I want to talk about your your manager and don't eat out

He holds a special place in our hearts. He is you know, he played for New York City FC

We're you know season take a holders. That's kind of the reason this podcast even started was because of New York City

And he was there or early on

When you it's been yeah, I got to see him obviously

During the summer series and see him

You know as soon as when Bournemouth played Everton Everton my

Premier League club and and the first thing I

Left that game thinking of was just like one. I'm like proud of and don't eat out a lot for like everything

He's accomplished. He seems to obviously gets a lot of respect in the Premier League and then also

Semenio in the summer. I was just like this is one of the greatest I've never seen him in person

That was the first time was like this is one of the greatest players I've ever seen. So two questions

And don't eat out a lot while what's been like working with him the reception to him and the club and then also

Losing a player like Semenio obviously it wasn't necessarily negative or it didn't and badly

But the but losing a player like that and then moving on and the future of Bournemouth without Semenio

So firstly we'll speak about Andoni when he first come to the club

On by the way loves New York because when we came for the game

For the summer series well we were based in in Chicago

So we had the whole two weeks in Chicago and we flew to New York the day before the game like we would a normal away game here in England

And we stayed for a couple of days and afterwards he said I wish we'd stayed longer because he loves New York

He got off that plane got on the coach and when we pulled up at the hotel he was straight out

He wanted to go for coffee and he knew all the areas because he loved his time

He speaks about it all the time is time in New York the the players he played with

I mean there were so many names in there

Who's who?

And then yeah, he loves New York's that he he wish he said he wish he'd he'd have had a week in New York and a week in Chicago

But listen, that's just the way it panned out when you come to New York bring him with you

We'll take him from pizza as well. We'll hang out with with the gaffer, bro

He's topped you know what? There's he's sold down to earth. There's no hairs and graces with him. He doesn't

Act or behave like somebody really famous. He just gets on with his work. He loves football

It doesn't mind. He is knowledge of the Premier League is incredible. I mean

It's knowledge of world football in general is fantastic

But he knows everything about the Premier League

He just sits with anybody. He's not

He's not one of those managers who we call it having yourself thinking you're something you're not and think puts himself right up on a pedestal

He doesn't do that if anything. He's the total opposite. He's down to earth. He mixes with everybody all the staff people all the staff members at the football club

Um, and I think the one thing you'd say if you asked a player or a staff member about him what is biggest

Attribute. I think it's consistency. He is consistent across the board when lose or draw

So he never gets

Animated when we lose he speaks about it. We address it. He talks through it on a Monday

And when we win games

Of course, he's excited after the game in the managers room with myself and the other coaches

But he to the players and the staff he just keeps on a level on a level field

You know, he doesn't doesn't get too high on the highs and doesn't get too low on the laws and he's consistent with everything is training patterns

His organization the way he speaks to people and I think that's

The one thing you know with him

You think of other managers and you see a lot of on you hear a lot of stories about them getting very

Irritated and I read and thrown things in the changing room and screaming at the players and he doesn't do any of that

So the players know whether Alex Ferguson documentaries. Yeah

We call it the hairdryer treatments when you're in someone's face and you know is more of an oscillating fan

Yeah

Isn't in the background just ticking away in the background

But he's he's just console every week we come in we address the game we talk through it

He doesn't he doesn't ostracize any play he doesn't turn around and point fingers at the single play at heel

Discuss it more as a team so everybody feels part of it and that's good and bad and like you say he's just consistent with everything and

I just he's the first foreign manager we've ever had at this football club. We've always had predominantly English

I'm not sure if we've had a Scottish or Irish but it's always been a British manager

And he was the first time in this club's 126 year history

Um, we've ever had a foreign manager

So it wasn't just everyone at the club was taking back by it and don't you any sound it was all the fans all the supporters

And they love him. I mean, they've got a song for him and they're singing constantly and it's funny because

Within being Spanish the Spanish beer is a stroller. Mm-hmm. And I asked him does he like drinking a stroller? He hates it

haha

If you say he's paella he drinks a stroller you know

Just because it rhymes and he's like much flesh. I don't even like a stroller

That's what I meant. He's a great bloke and a great person you can talk to him about anything

So I sit with him and sometimes we don't even talk about football

We just talked about all the teams. Or we talk about what's going on in life and his family and he likes to know a lot about

the area of Bournemouth, or he embraced himself not only in the football club, but the area, the town,

and it's a lovely place Bournemouth, it's right on the South Coast, it separates the English

Channel, separates us in the French, and it's got 11 kilometers of golden sand, and he was like,

he's always there, and I have friends come up to me and go, I'm seeing the manager out and about,

so he's not a one who hides away and doesn't speak with the public, he's out and about, he's in

restaurants, and maybe not so many bars and clubs, but he's always in and around the town,

and he wants to know about the area and the people, so he's really took Bournemouth as a whole,

not just the football club, but as a town, he took it to heart, and I think that's great as a manager,

because he's knowledge now of the area, he can speak to people, and he's embraced everything,

it's really good. Yeah, and by the way, that's a good move to hire a foreign manager, because no

Englishman has ever won the Premier League, so as a coach, so very smart, but I do want to ask you

about your grandfather, Mr. Jack Howe. We'll put up his photo in the post. What a gorgeous human being

who has a grandfather, let me start there. Good looking guy, but he played for the English national

team, he played obviously pro, he was a coach for a little while. My question to you is, did he help

you become a better player, because he played it a very long time ago, and sometimes we'll watch

highlights of just football being played in the 80s, and I'm like, you know, these guys would never

hack it today. Would a guy like Jack Howe have been able to play and lead you played in?

Well, first and foremost, that's quite a controversial question, so I'm going to give you my

take on that. I would say, so that's like saying, would John McIneror, in tennis,

cope with playing against Djokovic in this day and age, or did Pele or Maradona or whatever

you wanted of the NFL, the famous people in NFL and NBA and would Michael Jordan in his practice.

Listen, they would have all the coaching, all the sports science, everything behind them,

and all the technology and the better football boots, but whatever it is, they're going to be

better being in today's game, because back in the day, they didn't have any of that. They just

turned up, they probably turned up half drunk. Nobody knew any difference, so all I'd say is

it's very, boxes, this is my homadali as good as Mike Tyson, Mike Tyson as good as whoever

the best. Yeah, it's impossible. It's hard to compare, because the only way you could ever

compare is putting them all with the same availability to them with the training and the equipment

or whatever they need, need to be the best. So it's very hard. They were the best in their times,

because in their time, that's what they had available. So my granddad played in the 40s,

late 30s, early 40s, and then after the war, the war came along the World War II came along in,

obviously, 39 to 45. So by the time the end of the war, he was towards the latter end of his

career, and he did play for England, and I've got some fantastic chords from top players back in

the day, who said, my granddad, Jack Howe was one of the hardest, strongest, most physical

fullbacks they've ever come across in their life. You know, I'm very, you've shocked me with

knowing about my granddad. I didn't know how many people knew about that, but yeah, he's probably

the reason I got into football. He's the person who took me in the back garden, in the back yard,

as you call it, and practiced all my skills when I was 45, 6, 7-year-old all the way through until I was

a teenager. Just when I'm all my friends around doing things, the shouldn't be, I was in the

back garden, practicing my head and practicing my control, passes left foot, right foot. Just the

basics, and he gave me the look for football, and when I look back at what he achieved, playing

for England, getting international caps for England, he won the FA Cup, the most prestigious

Cup competition in the world. He won the FA Cup, the only one time, Derby County, you've won it.

My granddad's there with a captain on his shoulders walking around Wembley Stadium,

and yeah, without my granddad, I don't think I would have probably got into football,

unfortunately, for me, just before I turned professionally, passed away at the age of 72, so

I was just about to sign professional forms, so it really haunts me that he never really

got to see me at, you know, do something that he would have loved to see me sign professional

and play professional, but hopefully he's looking down from above, and he's very proud of what

I achieved, so that always gets me that one, so without my granddad, yeah, I probably wouldn't

be satiating now, and I might know I've achieved a hundredth of what I achieved as a footballer.

Thank you for sharing that with us.

Yeah, but I'm glad you think you threw it on me, but there, go emotional.

Well, we know you got to go, I just want to ask, I want to give you the opportunity to

answer the thing about Semenio, obviously him, of course, pulling on, no, no, no, it's totally okay,

it's a tough question, because everyone asks me, do you think the best player ever is in

Bournemouth, in a Bournemouth share? Now, we had some legends play for the club back in the day,

I mean towards the end of his career, George Best played five games for Bournemouth in the early

80s. Now, of course, George Best was one of the best British players of all time, if not the best,

but in his prime, yes, he didn't play for Bournemouth in his prime, so I can only go by the ability

of what they contributed to the football team while they were in their prime, and I have to say

Antoine Semenio, I think, is the best by a long way. And we've had some good players, we've

had Nathan Ache, who signed from Ancestry, or Emilio, and we've had Dean Haush in last season,

Ilia Zabani, Milos Kerkers, we've got some fabulous players over the years, but Antoine had

everything, and you said about Brick House, he is a Brick House. I mean, I used to wind him up,

he said, mate, what does it feel like to be the second strongest player ever in the

country? Let me tell you now, he is the strongest player by a million miles. I mean, I've seen

players bounce off him, and not only that, the ability he has to drift past plays, his aggression,

his hunger, and you know what the most important thing is, he's such a great lad away from the

pitch, he has time for everyone, supporters, all the staff around the place, he's such a humble guy,

and that makes it even better, and I'm so glad he went to a big club and his real, let's hit the

ground running, there's been a real success, because he deserves everything he came to us from

a championship club, Bristol City, who are a big club, and they're a bit of a sleeping giant,

and when he first came here, which was probably three years ago now, we were a little bit like,

oh, I'm not sure about him, you know, he was a bit, he was a bit what we call a bit rusty,

he needed, he needed fine tuning, and then all of a sudden it just clicked, and he just

become this, this animal and this beast, and not only physically but technically as well,

it just seemed to click with him overnight, and he's got his dream move, and I know what you're

saying about it, it's tough to lose players, but at least you're losing them to big clubs,

we're not selling two teams like, right, and a fuller, more palace, or you know, we're not

we're selling them to Real Madrid, we're selling them to VSG, Paris Saint-Germain, we're selling them

to Liverpool, we're selling them to Manchester City, or you can't, you can never deny you play

that opportunity, because listen, we are probably that stepping stone at this present time for

big players who come through to go on to the next level, and that is the next level, it's where we

want to get there as a club, whether we do or not, one each time we'll tell, but the big boys,

you man you night, you're man cities, you're arsenals, you're Liverpool's, you PSG, you're by

you Munich, you're Barcelona, you're Real Madrid, they're always going to be in a position to take

players from teams like ourselves, I mean, you know, Isaac went from Newcastle to Liverpool,

and Newcastle were a huge club who'd gotten 50 plus thousand supporters every week, it's an

institution up there soccer, and you can't help it when the big boys want their players, and they're

spending 50, 60, 70 in Isaac's case 100 million, it's very difficult for a club like Bournemouth,

even Newcastle to say no, not only the money that you need to survive, and you can buy more

players with it, and it's almost like a conveyor belt you come in, and you sell players, and you build

again, and that's just the way it is, but also you don't want to deny a player of going to one of

these big, big clubs, and you know what, and a childhood dream of winning the European Cup, or

winning the FA Cup, or winning the Premier League, and playing international football at the top level

in World Cups, so it is a difficult one, and I understand it from our supporters, they're

very disappointed about, we have to sell those players, but the purest supporters know why,

and the reasons behind it, and at this present time, that's just the way it is, and from staff

members like myself and the manager, and everyone who's been around, people like Antoine,

you know, they want him to go on and have that success for himself, but obviously they're

disappointed because he's such a good person around the players, and he's a fantastic player for

FC Bournemouth, it's just the way of the world, you know, and it's just soccer at this time,

and players move on, and players come and go, and yeah, listen, it's disappointed, it's disappointed

when you lose your best players, but if you get good money for them and you reinvest in

the right way, and the club keeps turning, and you know, we can build and build and build and build,

and he's strong, and he's on his final match, the Bournemouth as well, so it's a nice,

much more going away, you know, present, you couldn't write it, could you, I mean, you're written

his own script, it's like someone pulled a pen out of the pocket, brought a paper, a paper,

a paper, and said, there you go, you write your script, right, I'm going to get the ball, and

I'm going to get the ball in the 90th minute, on your very last game, and strike 20 ads,

yeah, funnable into the bottom corner, I mean, it will give for the fans, yeah, like I said,

I mean, when I saw him play in person, I literally, I was like giddy, I was like, I don't think I've ever seen,

I was like, I've never, I mean, I've seen him on television, but in person, I was like, this is

clearly the best player on the pitch, it was incredibly impressive. My last question to you,

then we'll let you go, which player in the current squad do you think would have benefited the most

from having a prime Steve Fletcher to play off of? I'll tell you what, he's got about him as well,

Antoine, he's got an aura about him, when he walks in the room, when he walks in the building,

he walks on the pitch when you see him, he's got an aura, he carries an aura, and not many people,

you can't buy that, it's just, it's in you or it's not, and I think he, without trying to be that

person and, and, and Avanora, he just has it, and I think that's why people are overwhelmed when

they see him, like Ronaldo, if you see Miranaldo or Messi, of course, we're going up levels here,

but yeah, when they walk in a room or you, you're in the vicinity of them, they have an aura about

them, and you're like, wow, he just failed that. Go back to the other question, he would have.

It's, it's Messi Ronaldo, so many of you, according to Steve Fletcher.

Steve Fletcher, the aura came. I think I have a bit of an aura around the building here, but

you are 100% new. Not in the football, not in the football world, obviously, but just because

of, I suppose, my longevity at the football club, but I'm good with people, I like talking to

people as you can tell. Yeah, of course, great. This way I can be in a restaurant, I can be in

the supermarket, I can be having a drink in a bar, I will speak to anyone and talk to anyone at

any time I've been brought up that way, and I love the supporters without the supporters,

we don't have a football club end of, so. But are you perfect for America? We always

get out here, we get. Who would I, who would I probably partner up with the best? Probably

would do the little and large, me flick it on, and their score goals were probably someone like

Junior Crupe. I think he would benefit, because I would, I would take all the hits, I would be the

one backing into the defender, getting hell bored around the face, taking all the scars,

chesting the ball down, laying him in and he'd get the glory with all the goals.

Keep the paycheck, you get the bruises. I do have one more question, I know you have to run,

but you've mentioned the word soccer and football. You played in an era where the word soccer was

popular in the UK. We get a lot of stick for being Americans for calling it soccer. You remember

that era, right? Well, I'm not, we're not making this up. And because I've been to America that many

times, I can easily differentiate between being around American people and saying soccer and then

being around, you know, British people, European people and calling it football, because I know

football over in America is NFL. So as soon as I'm speaking to American people, I can just switch

like that and start saying soccer, which they find a bit strange because they're actually talking

to me when they come over to England and they say football, but when they say football, I'm thinking,

in my mind, I'm thinking, are they talking about NFL? Are they talking about English football? So

I just switch into soccer mode because yeah, you're right. From back in the back in the day, I

always called it soccer and we still use that term loosely over here as well, even when there's

not American people. Yeah, you have a show called soccer Saturday. There's a show called soccer

AM. You have stores called soccer soccer ball. I mean, what are we doing? It was a soccer ball.

It was what the football was a soccer ball. We used to call it a soccer ball. So yeah, I can

understand some respect on Americans. Well, we call it that because everybody gets annoyed

nowadays. All right, shout out to Steve Fletcher. My man, we hung out with him in Kansas City,

but I think Premier League Fan Fest over there. And I didn't know of Steve Fletcher's career

when I first met him. And I said alone, this man is a giant. He's a unit pilot. It says he

six, two on the internet. He might easily like six, three, six, four. And I'm like, oh, wow,

they said I and in the Premier League family, I've got luckily gotten to meet several like

Premier League legends and, uh, uh, and remained the foe, uh, Graham Stewart, uh, uh, and all this

guy. And you can clearly tell like that was that was a forward. That was a midfielder or whatever.

You know, you added you, you used prejudice. Right. And you say, I know what you're judging

by its cover. I got you. It's actually a type of person. Yeah. Fat person goes in gold like the

movies. Right. It's very, it's very ignorant. Uh, but I saw him, I'm like, damn, this dude must have

been a crazy center back. Well, Stu was a hold up beast of a striker. My man, whole fashion English

striker, man. Yeah. Just in the mud. Yeah. That's a year back. The cloud of dust.

So yeah, can you do it in a cold day in everywhere in England? Uh, that's, that was his, uh,

type of football. So, uh, but a great dude. So shout out to Steve Fletcher. Uh, and shout out to Matt

Doyle, uh, for hanging out with us, uh, uh, covering for Alexis, per usual. Uh, I, I,

I hate to call you the back. You're, you're fighting for that starting spot, Matt. You know,

keep it up. I don't, I feel like I'm okay. Be it a super sub. I think that suits me. You know,

I'm running from the daily grind a little bit. Alexis is getting nervous. This is all I'm saying.

Uh, keep him on his desk. Let everybody know where they can, uh, follow your work now going forward.

Yeah. I'm on weekly now on soccer wise with, with David Goss and Tom Boger and making occasional

appearances on Susanna Fuller's show, uh, kickback committee. And then I got my own thing happen

in tacticsfreezone.com. Like I said earlier in the show, it's just all the stuff I was writing for

mlsagger.com for 15 years, picked it up, took it with me, blocked it down in my new thing,

and the only difference is that I can swear now. So I work a little bit blue.

Okay. Good. I mean, I, I'm, I'm loving also your, uh, your creative thumbnails for all the articles.

Are you making those yourself? Or is it, uh, do you have a niece that is making that enough?

That's me though. I actually do have very talented niece. It's not that I think about it.

Put her to work. Okay. It is, uh, they're adorable. Um, you know, the super, but I just,

it's funny because we, uh, like after we're done with this episode, we have to have our conversation

with our thumbnail person, uh, uh, uh, and we go over like, what should this, nah,

those not doing that. No, no, no, no, no. He's like, let me go to some meme maker and

find best gifs to include in this, uh, in this time. But you, we go to you for your writing,

not for your thumbnails. Yeah. Well, I didn't change that though. I got to be a man for all seasons,

you know, all right. Uh, yeah, everybody go check out doors work. It's, uh, as always, it's

still, uh, incredibly fantastic, fantastic and in depth. So, uh, uh, make sure you follow us

everywhere at soccer coolagins on our socials, uh, follow some blue sky too. Um, make sure you

hit like and subscribe if, uh, if you're watching YouTube or if you haven't, uh, gotten over to the

you could, uh, yet, uh, anything else? Am I missing anything? I don't think so. Um, but we are

back on Thursday with the brand new episode. So we'll see you then. Everybody, take care. Oh,

thank you, brother. Take care, guys.