Ballon d'Or "Robberies" & The Toughest Physical Battles | Q&A

[@Huncholini]

0:52 The edit of Alan with long hair made me double take 🤣 looking like prime Maldini

[@LeviM._916]

Same i was a bit shocked 😂

[@tomleigh7478]

Will never get tired of that Bobby Robson story. Just love picturing the scenario. What a truly lovely and ace man Sir Bobby was. Let's keep talking about him

[@jeevan8000]

Gary deserves a balon d'or of pundits/hosts lol

[@chimpdealer]

agreed

[@Karl_Dutton]

He'll win it every year.

[@KT_P_James]

Shaton floor

[@jamesshaw1162]

They laughed but Alans right foot was phenomenal

[@thefacelessquestion3333]

I agree

[@RoadTripperrr]

Not one of the best ever tho 😂

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

Not as good as Beckham's

[@lukebarnes3157]

All a bit of fun mush

[@TM01REMZ]

​@@Ogma3bandcamp And hoddle had a better right foot than both

[@tankboss4209]

Gary had big Meeks with that Manchini comment 🤣🤣🤣

[@offbeatrythm1604]

Micah and Alans insync gleeful sigh at 3:03 is amazing

[@raggmedia]

lol you made me notice that, good stuff

[@D34671]

Gary Neville and Carra have got the best gleeful sigh, Micah and Alan are on the scene tho

[@charlieward9987]

Matter of opinion, but I think Salah is a better player than Kane. Salah is the best RW in history of prem, whereas you could argue that there are 3/4 better strikers than Kane. I actually think Kane is an underrated player because of his lack of trophies, I think he’s amazing, but I think when both players retire Salah will be (and should be) seen as a better player. Appreciate that it’s a silly comparison in the first place given that they play in different positions!

[@palashrawat401]

I think your point on when they retire Salah will be seen is better is true but that's not because it's objectively true but because of Kane's trophy count (although Salah's cabinet is also not huge). Kane is a better scorer in all ways, both are equal passers..only thing Salah gets one over is pace for me while Kane will have a better longevity as an elite player.

[@sd5rtgfcdgfdc888]

@@palashrawat401 Salah is a better dribbler aswell, so pace is not the only thing.

[@kb5509]

That says far more about the right wingers and how modern fans decide how good players are, and far less about if he's better than Harry Kane. Salah is perceived to be the best right winger because of goals. And there are very few right wingers with his number of goals because the high goalscoring winger is a very new phenomenon.

[@kb5509]

@disrupt_ist to what, Beckham's team achievements?

[@chimpdealer]

@@disrupt_ist Ronaldo was mostly a LW

[@ecalalo]

argie here. For our time zone the Euros games started at 10am an finished at 6pm. Copa America started at 5-7pm and finished at 11pm. that'd be what.. 4, 5am in europe? it's not good unless you've got a sleeping problem or something

[@chimpdealer]

I think they replay some of the games later in the day, but yeah, it's not ideal.

[@MiguelSanchez-ck9sy]

About the copa America and the Euros; I grew up in South America and I can tell you we watch the Euros with passion as many of us have roots or family in Europe. The main difference is the broadcast time; in America we can watch the euros in the afternoon and the copa America in the evening. Living in Europe, the copa America is broadcasted mainly in the late night; that makes it more difficult to watch and enjoy

[@XQRobertz]

Thanks for the insight mate👍🏻

[@alpostarr242]

Very true I think a lot more people would watch South American football if it was on in the daytime

[@tomleigh7478]

​@@alpostarr242 true that. Needs far more exposure than is given.

[@alilodhi5679]

M​@@XQRobertz

[@alilodhi5679]

L .g..

[@WaltherVonDerVogelweide_1312]

Just wanting to let the people know Belanow was not the first eastern bloc Ballon d'Or winner not even the first USSR Ballon d'Or winner. There were Masopust, Yashin, Albert and Blohkin

[@craigevans3958]

Can’t believe only big Meeks put Ronaldinho in perfect player

[@tyronevaldez-kruger5313]

It's like naming Senna only once as perfect driver and Mr. Bean twice (Trent) 😂

[@NoName-f3d5b]

Micah is right about Copa America, so much more exciting than the Euros the intensity and pace of football was far better to watch in the last tournaments but so many rash challenges ahaha

[@chimpdealer]

ever since they expanded it to 32 teams, the euros has been very heavily focused on smaller teams (and some bigger sides too) playing low blocks to scrape through

[@karenb1430]

Copa America is much much more entertaining than Euros. The refs are far worse in the Americas (and that says a lot coming from a Liverpool fan).

[@deancurson1345]

Love this trio, works so well, micahs laughing all the time, brilliant pod

[@Deermeitschilli]

i love what Michah intimated, it about the craic , the team, the laugh. not being alone

[@raggmedia]

I listen to the pod sometimes but this has to be my fave watch, loved it.

[@babibau2781]

Loving this boys 😊, keep it up!!

[@Labtiger69]

As an American it’s beautiful to see three absolute legends of a sport be so pleasant to listen to and well spoken. All these retired athletes in America are zombies

[@batu_borjigin]

only two of them are legends TBH😂

[@Labtiger69]

@ I mean yes but I couldn’t just leave Micah out he was a great player 😂. I will say Micah’s playstyle has been super influential for a lot of fullbacks now tho

[@mattross4287]

Look forward to every new episode. Thanks for the great content lads ❤

[@anthonykey9706]

Me too, mate.

[@Huncholini]

Everyone on smoke today catching strays 🤣

[@adergas1]

I love the banter between you guys.

[@bentitchener5965]

Surely a WC golden boot, you only get a shot at it every four years, you have qualify and be selected. Players don't get to go to many World Cup finals in their career. Ballon d'Or is every year and if you get a WC golden boot in that season you're in with a good shout anyway.

[@kb5509]

It doesn't give you that good a chance. Only 3 have won the Ballon d'Or, and 2 of them are travesties.

[@alexz15]

Alan is just great at everything he does 👏❤🌟🔥!

[@mhb657]

Before Igor Belanov, Lev Yashin(in 60s. only goalkeeper who got Ballon D'Or) and Oleg Blokhin(in 1975) also got Ballon D'Or. So Linekar is wrong in his statement that Eastern European didn't get this individual prize before Belanov(1986).

[@CA23345]

love this podcast,keep it up lads

[@krayzieegg7294]

first time i saw someone on the entertainment business that really i mean really tried to pronounce a name properly. good job gary. good job for the three of them. one of the best shows out there if not the best

[@jamesmilligan2797]

'Bellendanov' 😂😂

[@mabby7423]

Gary has the longest cold in the history of colds 🤧😷

[@jamiegiles6767]

Micha’s unintentional whistle at 21:46 was excellent

[@Angel_M777]

Belanov was a great player, so is Blohin, both part of great Dynamo Kyiv team back in 80's

[@dilksjoel]

Glad to learn Colin Gunn is watching the pod

[@RSlugz]

Love these guy 🖤🤎💛💚

[@karenb1430]

As to blacking out games. Here in Canada we blackout hockey games based on region. So if you live within about 2 hours of the game, you don’t get to see the game on TV (and I believe it used also be if the game was sold out they would show on TV). So even though England is tiny that would allow some people to watch some 3pm games.

[@rahuhuss]

Top episode this 🤣

[@armagaan007]

Right foot of Trent over Kross, Modric, Becks, De Bruyne?

[@JFB-Haninge]

Thanks for the episod and all laughs.. made me laugh to..

[@frosinon]

3:25 😂i saw that coming ! But kudos to him

[@ilyianz]

Unbelievable that none of Pele's attributes made the list. He was by far the most complete player of all time. The best finishing skills easily (having scored from all positions on the pitch, from deep within his own half to all angles inside and outside the penalty box; scored all kinds of freekicks, from Roberto Carlos-type distances to Zico type freekicks; headers, bicycle kicks, dribbling 6 players inside the box with single touches against UCL finalists and so on; goals following multiple sombreros etc.; in comparison, Gerd Muller, a great finisher, could only score from inside the box). Pele was as fast as Henry (as seen in comparison videos). His left foot was strong (scored left-footed freekicks from Roberto Carlos distances). His right foot is as good as that of any other player. His intelligence and innovativeness is unmatched (he invented several moves; listen to Tostao for details on his intelligence). His dribbling was incredible, that too moving past players with ease on horribly uneven pitches wearing much heavier equipment. His stats are unparalled (highest goals and assist ratios in official and competitive matches; highest total goals in history and probably assists as well; highest team goal contribution % in history in official, competitive, and all professional matches). His achievements are second to none (3 World Cups, 10 international trophies overall, 40 official trophies and 59 total trophies). No single player obviously has come close to having all of these attributes.

[@RickyCharge]

Plus rivalino left foot better than them all

[@ilyianz]

@@RickyCharge Rivelino had a canon in his left foot. I'm OK with people choosing Roberto Carlos's left foot for the power. Rivelino had the same power but also great touch and skills.

[@kb5509]

Deep within his own half? Are you referring to that one shot that didn't go in?

[@ilyianz]

@@kb5509 No, not that World Cup effort. I meant Pele picking up the ball in his half and dribbling through the opposition to score. He scored several such goals. For example, the "gol de placa" where he dribbled 7 opposing players over 90 meters. There's a plaque at the Maracana stadium commemorating that goal. es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gol_de_placa

[@kb5509]

@@ilyianz something plenty of players have done. And what video are you referring to that has him as fast as Henry? And stats? Seriously? The guy that included 5 a side goals in training? And what accurate source has ever tracked his number of assists? They didn't even count assists in England until 1992, I don't think they had great record keeping in 1960s Brazil when he was playing against village teams.

[@expat1902]

Remember watching Gary presenting "Soccer in the 70's" on HTW West at 1am....

[@lotuseater7247]

left foot: Maradona speed: Henry dribbling: Ronaldo Nazario physicality: John Charles football IQ: Cruyff right foot: Pele passing: Zidane skill: Messi defending: Maldini

[@Robert.Sheard]

Forget the Golden Boot. Would you rather win the Ballon d'Or or the World Cup? For me the Ballon d'Or is pretty meaningless in light of actual team results.

[@profacibonifacioandrewsignor]

Gary Linekers golden boot is a hard to find personal best and is better than league football achievements. Just for the record.

[@rahulagarwal6251]

Big meeks probably goes "nice" when someone scores at the 69th minute.

[@Friends.Fans.Football.]

Going with Micah's list all day.

[@XtheMystic244]

I remember Igor Belanov in the 1986 WC. Great hat trick against Belgium , esp the first , but the USSR went out to them 4-3.

[@sohailhussain9662]

Cristiano Ronaldo has more right footed goals than every player they’ve picked 😂

[@davidt510]

Imagine creating a 'perfect player' and not having Messi involved

[@ChronicTheHempHog-mf3nh]

Well you can always mention Maradona instead

[@miket7056]

Alan was trying to be different

[@davidtheiss1311]

“The Euros are more viewed in Europe, whereas I suspeeeeect that the Copa is more viewed in South America” Cracking analysis Gary be careful not to overthink !!!!

[@NoFrictionZone]

Michael Owenish 😂

[@bryanmorrison2396]

Kane gr8 striker, salha generational talent n was just behind Messi n Cr7 15 16 onwards. Coming from a gooner

[@KMD-qj1qc]

The fact that people think a plastic political popularity contest adds anything to a player shows they know nothing about football, Messi could have 0 ballon d’Ors and he’d still be the Goat

[@morgrnn]

So true

[@Ashton_Pillay]

R9 is the perfect player. You had to be there man had everything.

[@georgebrady5369]

In 1986 maradona was the best player anyway and it wasnt close

[@Courtney-Jai]

I think people seems to forget arsenal didn't have partey , timber and jesus most of last season. Partey and timber being two of our best players this year.

[@kb5509]

Jesus played 37 games.

[@Courtney-Jai]

@kb5509 playing wasn't being fit as he had to come off most games with the 60-70 minutes mark, and if you watched him last year, you could see he hasnt come back right. Anytime he built up from his injury, he would have him out for 2 or 3 games restarting the cycle. Could also add more players like tomi and zinchenko, which scuppered the option of rotation. Injuries and recovery and being match fit play huge implications. The squad somthing arsenal has handled much better this year, but it also faces twice as bad this year.

[@kb5509]

@@Courtney-Jai you said they didn't have him.

[@jakenicholls9914]

Meeks arms ! Bingo wings 😂

[@ElPerroBigoton]

12:26 except those in Concacaf. I think we’d rather watch Copa America instead of Gold Cup

[@mezza.7]

If known is on the next one then I’ll definitely be giving that a miss.

[@jamesneedham-t7u]

Sureley the advise for any footballer who is about to retire is to play for Manchester United, that way you will be completely sick of playing football by the end of your contract anyway.

[@AllyBeee1]

Jamie R asking the Stadium question. Surely Jamie Reuben has Shearer's direct number 😂

[@nsalimag]

Referees in uk would have more experience in alternative methods of communication due to affiliating games in the North East or Scotland.

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

Because of the composition of Gary's golden boot (the amount of gold in it) and the price of gold, would Gary get more money from melting it down for the gold, or auctioning it for his name's connection to it? Also, are World Cup golden boots worth the same in weight as the golden shoe or each leagues own golden boot?

[@thebagelsproductions]

The value of the gold will be factored into the overall value

[@mondihoxha22]

Have you ever thought of updating the MOTD format? For example, in Italy they invite some fans in the studio and a current player or manager. You guys agree pretty much on everything and it does get boring sometimes 😅

[@kb5509]

Fans don't have anything worthwhile to say.

[@danielirl9252]

Anyone for passing would say - Scholes, pirlo, Xavi and inesta... not Gary😂😂😂

[@Matthew-pn1ct]

Can we ask how much meeks can bench, deadlift and squat?

[@MsB1882]

Just Messi during his peak will be enough for all of those and even now for most of those.

[@jeremymuir4332]

woah woah.... is Salah a better forward than Harry Kane..... yes. He's a better forward. A great winger invariably has greater impact on a game than a great centre forward. Salah is the scarier weapon because he attacks players head on. I didn't think there was much room for argument there.

[@kb5509]

Based on what?

[@jeremymuir4332]

@@kb5509 Who's scarier on the ball? Who's scarier with the ball? Who's scarier without the ball? Kane only wins the former and Salah murders Kane in the other two in my opinion.

[@kb5509]

@@jeremymuir4332 it's not a horror film. Who gives 2 shits how "scary" you are? How effective are you? You don't get goals from full backs going "he's quite fast".

[@Karl_Dutton]

Did Salah score more than Kane last season? No.

[@jeremymuir4332]

@@Karl_Dutton and by that metric, Dominik Solanke is a better player than Son. You're making stuff up.

[@acg_psychotic]

What on earth is that on Alan's head in his team thumbnails ????

[@versatileduo87]

Wig

[@thebagelsproductions]

A lion's mane 😂

[@so9643]

They put Gary’s talk in black and white 😂😂😂😂

[@brianlewis5652]

Alan saying Gareth says Dancing on the Ceiling when he knows it was himself that said it Gareth said it's not exactly Club topicana out here been raining non stop but you'll get no Careless Whispers from me

[@yubelpandu7127]

damn......2 top 3 ballon d'or and micah sorry micah but u still the funniest though 👍

[@harffywayne]

We still love ya Gaz… #SirLiniker

[@jordano9093]

Salah is better than kane easy

[@chimpdealer]

way less consistent though

[@liamstenson2784]

No Pele...seriously. Come on. George Best would get a shout too.

[@ilyianz]

Igor Belanov was a great player; he was the best USSR player of his generation and deserved the awards he got.

[@hjyigo4759]

Right. He scored lots of great goals in the 1986 World Cup and he was a key player in Dynamo Kiev's 1986 Cup Winners Cup winning team.

[@stevo90401]

what about Maradona? Didn't have a bad year!

[@stevo90401]

ah non euros couldnt win it until 1995

[@Elshanali1]

Debatable. That USSR team had phenomenal players like Yakovenko, Raz, Yaremchuk, not to mention Zavarov.

[@ilyianz]

@@Elshanali1 Who is Raz? Vasiliy Rats? Good player. USSR also had Rinat Dasaev and an old Oleg Blokhin. It was star studded. With most of these players, it reached the final of the 1988 Euros as well (got done by Van Basten's wonder goal and Belanov's PK miss).

[@shanky1751]

I will bring the ballondor to Birmingham one day mark my words

[@PAULDAMIEN197FOUR]

Keep me posted then shanks lad 😊

[@ChronicTheHempHog-mf3nh]

Morgan Rogers will do it dw

[@gurdarian9239]

Any list that does not have Pele or C Ronaldo, is a very poor list indeed. 😞

[@NeilHardy-i4l]

This is joyful

[@CJ-ih5dp]

How do you submit a question?

[@unknown11215]

Social media

[@unknown11215]

And instagram I believe they said

[@cookieshooky]

Love the pod ❤

[@johnrussell3961]

If the convention is the best player in the champion league winners grt it’s , why didn’t Salah get it when Liverpool won?,

[@WilliamEdwards-m3e]

Brilliant

[@dman9152]

Arsenal's injuries 😅 the only first team player out was Martin odegaard

[@Lukozer]

0:55 Did they give Alan the hair of David Ginola??

[@jc-16.]

The right foot of arnold? Jaysus christ.

[@jordanbrook9368]

where is this idea coming from that arsenal have loads of injuries? they had one first team injured before lfc game

[@itspaddyd]

Gary forgetting Greg Yashin when saying that the eastern bloc hadn't had a winner!

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

Lev

[@daviebananas1735]

Lol Greg

[@paulomoreira4929]

really said this Cristiano Ronaldo haters.

[@hunsler1006]

It wasnt people not knowing zico and cruyff that let you down gary. Its picking TAA as the best at something in the history of the game 😂

[@andylives5575]

I work FIFO in mining in the hottest of hot shit holes, in the middle of bum fuck Western Australia. Mad Liverpool fan, recently discovered your show which is great fun. Thank Christ for the internet, love listening to you guys from up here, always puts a smile on the dial. Keep up the great work.🍻

[@Dabbtrabb]

A topic for discussion. Instead of calendar congesting tournaments, why can't FIFA do something useful and unify football streaming across the world? It would really open up the world of football to the ...world..And they would make money without bankrupting national economies. Coming from a annoyed guy in India, who has no access to laliga and serieA this year..

[@GreyEagle]

Arsenals injury crisis. All two of them

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

Also, do any of you own a pair of gold leather boots, Micah?

[@andyc302]

The copa America is amazing to watch I watch it everytime all the games

[@tonyantoniou9271]

Micah retired when he signed for Aston Villa

[@OfficialFingazMC]

Damn didn't read my question again...

[@jamesmilligan2797]

'Arsenal injury crisis' - 2 med/long term injuries! Just cos Arteta whines such much u think it must be more

[@armagaan007]

8:50 😂

[@andy3371]

Alan Shearer hit a penalty and it stayed hit.

[@susangiri5137]

In Asia we watch Euro more than Asia Cup

[@yerrie1908]

Scholes a workhorse 🤷🏻

[@germlilshanker7725]

trents right foot,,, beckhams all day every day,,,madness i tell thee

[@rogerrms2180]

No bergkamp?