In our latest edition of NationalWorld’s football weekly show, we dive deep into the biggest stories from Wales, Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool, and more.
With expert analysis debate, and exclusive insights, we bring you everything you need to know about the clubs that matter most. From top-flight action to lower-league drama, this is your go-to show for all things football—so sit back, tune in, and join the conversation!
With expert analysis debate, and exclusive insights, we bring you everything you need to know about the clubs that matter most. From top-flight action to lower-league drama, this is your go-to show for all things football—so sit back, tune in, and join the conversation!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Coming up on this week's football roundup, a look at the last 12 months for a number of sides and the January window. That and more to come.
00:11Well Charles, we of course are into a new year now, it is 2025 and that means that soon enough the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will get underway.
00:23And for Wales that's really important because under a new manager in Craig Bellamy they have started to perform a lot better.
00:30Of course they did qualify for the last World Cup under Rob Page, they got to Qatar in 2022.
00:35Performances there, let's be honest, weren't great and then after that they continued to slump.
00:40Inevitably Rob Page lost his job, I think of a draw against Gibraltar for example, that was really quite poor.
00:48Of course they didn't make the Euros in 2024 and that sort of summed it up for Wales a little bit.
00:54But now Craig Bellamy's come in, steady the ship, things are looking more positive and they've got some good results.
00:59And of course, as I say there, qualifiers to come.
01:02And so what's going to be the aim? Obviously qualification is the aim for Wales, getting back to the World Cup.
01:08But how will this happen? How will this occur?
01:10And who will they look to rely on in terms of star players, star names to make sure that they get the job done in the group that they are in?
01:18Yeah, obviously, as you mentioned there, a massive change under Craig Bellamy, it has to be said.
01:22He's really, really steadied the ship and got things right because Wales have produced some fantastic players.
01:30I think maybe are lacking an individual, like replacing Gareth Bale is obviously a huge task.
01:35But they have got the likes of Harry Wilson and Brennan Johnson, obviously young.
01:39Aaron Ramsey's looking to hopefully be fit for the qualifiers, which is massive to have their captain in that side.
01:47But, you know, I think he's really prioritised just getting things right and setting a high standard for Wales as a nation.
01:54And, you know, qualification has to be the minimum.
01:58So, yeah, it's going to be exciting. It's obviously a massive year for Welsh football in general.
02:03You know, the women's game as well. They've got the Euros this summer coming up, which is fantastic.
02:09Their first ever qualification to a major tournament.
02:12So, you know, hopefully the men's, you know, the women's can have a fantastic tournament and the men's side can then follow, you know, in terms of games.
02:21Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein and Belgium are the four teams they'll face home and away from sort of late March to late November.
02:32Got to be sort of making it through those.
02:35And, you know, Belgium is sort of the toughest game.
02:38But, you know, they obviously rolled back the years in 2016 and beat them fantastically well in the Euros.
02:46And I'm sure they'll look to do that again.
02:48So, you know, massive to also start at home against Kazakhstan in the first game, which is a huge boost.
02:55And Bellamy is going to have, you know, I'm sure it's going to be a sellout game and it's going to be a massive occasion for Welsh football.
03:02So, so much to look forward to ahead of 2025, if you're a Welsh football fan.
03:10Well, looking at Liverpool and the January transfer window, I know obviously they have a lot of youngsters, a lot of players in general on loan from the first side.
03:20You know, a number of players performing out on loan. Ben Doak is one, probably a standout for Middlesbrough.
03:26He's playing fantastically well in their sort of bid to get promotion.
03:29How do they go about the January window in terms of recalling players?
03:33Is any business going to be done there to bring anyone back into Onishot's side and maybe aid that title push?
03:40Yeah, it is an interesting one because, as you say, there are players like Ben Doak who are doing well.
03:47But I would think that when Liverpool are sending these players out, they see it for the season because they want them to go and get game time.
03:55And maybe the problem is when the players aren't playing enough that you look at it and think, well, do we need to do something there?
04:04One would be Kate Gordon, who's gone to Norwich. You know, he was really highly rated when he came in from Derby a few seasons ago.
04:10He has injury issues and he's not playing too much at Norwich.
04:14So maybe Liverpool look at that. And an interesting one actually is Stefan Persetic because he went out to RB Salzburg.
04:22There was reported interest from Barcelona in him to bring him in on loan for the season.
04:27It shows how highly regarded he is in the game.
04:30But with Jürgen Klopp's former assistant Pep Linz's goal and taking charge of Salzburg, Liverpool felt that was the right move.
04:36Now, Pep Linz has lost his job at Salzburg. He has a really tough start.
04:41And they've made the decision to part ways with him.
04:44So do Liverpool look at that and think, do we need to bring him back?
04:49Maybe to even bolster their midfields where they are a little bit light or to get them out elsewhere if it might not work.
04:57But on the flip side, Liverpool have signed a lot of players from the Red Bull franchises.
05:03I just want to mention as well another one, Owen Beck, who's really thriving at Blackburn this season.
05:08He's a left-back. He has a really good loan at Dundee last season.
05:12And he's thriving in the Championship now.
05:14And maybe if, you know, Robertson or Simacas suffers a serious injury, would he be ready to step up?
05:22I don't think they'd really want to bring him back, but come back and make the steps to the Premier League.
05:26So maybe Liverpool look at that and think, Owen Beck could come back and make an impact.
05:32But I don't think Liverpool want to get too many back.
05:36A lot of them are playing regularly.
05:38Some of them are about to come back injured, like Salute Chambers from Wigan and Callum Scanlon from Milwaukee.
05:43They've had issues, so they will be going back out to try and get more game time.
05:49But yeah, if you're looking at one, it's probably Kate Gordon.
05:52Bethesda will be an interesting one.
05:54You know, players like Van Dijk, Ryan Granberry have played a lot of football this season.
06:00And maybe they need to be looked after a little bit carefully in the coming months.
06:06We've obviously discussed a number of times in terms of the freaking group allowing funds
06:11and not really having an amazing breathing room to give Sean Dyche in this window.
06:16You know, we've also looked at their squad and the amount of loans they have the most in the Premier League.
06:23In terms of a bit of a buy one, sell one situation, if they did have the funds to do it,
06:28what position would you target for Everton for the remainder of this season to make sure they're sort of out of it?
06:35And then maybe a player who is sort of coming near the end of their time.
06:39And, you know, we've obviously mentioned Dominic Calvert-Lewin's contract situation as well.
06:43So just a bit of a buy one, sell one in terms of Everton.
06:47Yeah, I think a lot of fans would agree that either a winger or a left back would be high on the priority list.
06:53Look, Everton, that right hand side in particular has really, really been lacklustre.
07:00Jack Harrison hasn't done it.
07:04He just doesn't look like a Sean Dyche player.
07:07It's a problem position for Everton.
07:09He's tweaked it a little bit.
07:11You know, he ended up playing Ashley Young there for the second half against Bournemouth and Ashley Young's 39.
07:17His days of being a winger are well gone.
07:20They were well gone when he was probably at Aston Villa and he played the wing back when he was heading to Milan.
07:26So, you know, he hasn't been a winger for a long time.
07:31They need someone with pace, someone who can get them up the pitch, someone who can get fans off the seats.
07:37It's a little bit more of a different winger when he plays out wide because he has been a number 10.
07:43So maybe you play someone who, you know, hugs the touchline, beats his man, gets crosses into the box.
07:51And a left back, say Tylee Michalenko, has a struggle this campaign.
07:56Make no bones about it.
07:58In terms of maybe a player who Everton could sell, you probably, as you say,
08:03even off of coming for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, maybe Everton couldn't turn that one down.
08:06But it looks like Bessel might be on the move.
08:10You know, some raw attributes, been a bit of a pest when he comes off the bench.
08:14But he just hasn't developed really into a Premier League striker.
08:18And I think that if Everton can get, not what they paid for, but in terms of PSR,
08:24the immortalisation of it, if he can get that, then Everton would have done well.
08:29Because he has a good spell in Italy, Beto, and an Italian club might think that they can get the best out of him.
08:36And he can score goals back in Serie A.
08:40Yeah, so I think, you know, if you're looking at that, Beto, and any of the players who has a contract,
08:46it would be interesting if an offer came in, say, an Abdelhaid to Koury.
08:50I think he's had such interest in the past if an offer came in for him.
08:53Well, eight, ten million pounds, you might have to weigh that one up as well.
09:02On to Birmingham City. Now, obviously, we've discussed, it's been a massive year of change at the club.
09:08A sort of new era has come in.
09:10You know, it's a strange relegation situation for them because all the fans seemed the most positive I've ever seen a fan base after going down.
09:18Which means they are sort of buying into this new project from the American owners and the sort of consortium that have taken them into this new era.
09:26They've changed the stadium name. They've made upgrades all around the place.
09:30They've had, you know, a few managers come in this year.
09:34Wayne Rooney's spell, as we said before, doesn't really seem real like it actually happened.
09:39It was quite a crazy time for Blues.
09:41But they've gone down and they are looking like they're going to go straight back up.
09:45How do you sort of review 2024? Because it's been a bit of a mixed bag at Birmingham City.
09:50It's been absolutely bonkers, to be honest. Wayne Rooney lasting just a couple of days at the start of the year of 2024.
09:55Of course, a couple of months before that as well, a disaster management spell from them.
09:59And John Newstead's going a few months earlier. You see how well he's doing at Blackburn now with limited resources in the playoff positions.
10:05Bet Blues wish they held on to him, but that's not how it turned out.
10:09Tony Mowbray started well. Unfortunately, illness stopped him from carrying on.
10:13Gary Rowett coming in as well towards the end of the season wasn't quite enough.
10:17Blues go down. And as you mentioned, a really strange atmosphere because it was almost relief that finally these years of championship football,
10:25battling relegation and hardly breaking or never breaking into the top half and just the relentlessness of it all has come to an end.
10:33And this season, the investment in the summer has really boosted the football club, a complete overhaul of the squad.
10:39Chris Davies has come in his first proper management job after being an assistant host of clubs under Brendan Rodgers.
10:45He's really impressed. And just the unity at the football club, the excitement, the atmosphere at St. Andrews at Nighthead Park as well,
10:52and sell out crowds for the first time in such a long while title as well.
10:56That'd be great to get some silverware at the club and push on and hopefully be in a better position in the championship.
11:02But I genuinely think that if they stayed in the championship, their progress and their potential journey to the Premier League would have taken longer than it would by going down,
11:11which is a strange statement to make. But they're on track to get promoted at the first time of asking.
11:16And the squad is capable of great things. So very impressed by Birmingham this year.
11:20Yeah, there have obviously been some fantastic additions. Tomoki Iwata has been fantastic.
11:26You know, obviously coming in in the summer, as you look back over 2024, who's been the best player in the blue shirt, do you think?
11:33I think Jay Stansfield sticks out winning all the individual awards last season and starting this campaign as well.
11:39But Christian Bielek, actually, maybe towards the end of last year, could have been a little bit better.
11:44But it wasn't just his fault. It was the fault of the football club and this array.
11:48This season, he's proven to be one of the best players in League One, if not the best.
11:53And I think he's definitely top of championship quality, a great leader, playing in a variety of positions.
11:58What a player Bielek has become for Birmingham.