The England squad announcement was the central topic on the latest Football Daily episode, as John Murray and Ian Dennis reported from Wembley. The pair discussed the inclusions of Jobe Bellingham and Josh King, and the challenge Cole Palmer faces in returning to the squad, with Thomas Tuchel providing his perspective.
Tuchel's selections under the microscope
Speaking from Wembley following the announcement, Tuchel addressed the decisions behind the squad. The discussion covered the call-ups for Bellingham and King, while also examining why Palmer will find it difficult to force his way back into the group.
The episode also featured Alistair Bruce-Ball, and the three commentators shared stories from their work behind the microphone. John Murray recounted a trip to Barcelona, including the crucial piece of equipment he was missing. The conversation later turned to the art of summarising, with the panel exploring what makes a good summariser.
Clash of the Commentators and football glossary
Ian Dennis and Alistair Bruce-Ball went head-to-head in Clash of the Commentators, one of the programme’s regular features. The show also introduced a term for a hat-trick of headers and included the Unintended Pub Name of the Week.
Listeners were also treated to the Great Glossary of Football, a list of terms and phrases from the game. Among the entries were ’10 men behind the ball’, ’50p head’, ‘Agricultural challenge’, ‘Back of the net’, ‘Back to square one’, ‘Backside and elbows’, ‘The Beautiful Game’, ‘Booked’, ‘Bosman’, ‘Bullet header’, ‘Buying a penalty’, ‘Caretaker manager’, ‘Channel of joy’, ‘Checked and cleared’, ‘Coupon buster’, ‘Cross-come-shot’, ‘Cruyff Turn’, ‘Cultured/educated left foot’, ‘Dead-ball specialist’, ‘Draught excluder’, ‘Elastico/flip-flap’, ‘False nine’, ‘Fox in the box’, ‘Giving the goalkeeper the eyes’, ‘Grub hunter’, ‘Header’, ‘Head like a biscuit tin’, ‘Head like a sheriff’s badge’, ‘Head tennis’, ‘Hibs it’, ‘In a good moment’, ‘In behind’, ‘Lollipop’, ‘Magic of the FA Cup’, ‘Make sure you watch Match of the Day tonight’, ‘The Maradona’, ‘Need one to get in off their backside’, ‘Off their line’, ‘Olimpico’, ‘Onion bag’, ‘Panenka’, ‘Parachute payment’, ‘Park the bus’, ‘Perfect hat-trick’, ‘Postage stamp’, ‘Put his cap on it’, ‘Rabona’, ‘Roy of the Rovers stuff’, ‘Schmeichel-style’, ‘Scorpion kick’, ‘Spursy’, ‘Stick it in the mixer’, ‘Sweeper keeper’, ‘Taking it to the corner flag’, ‘Target man’, ‘Tiki-taka’, ‘Tipped it over the bar’, ‘Towering header’, ‘Trivela’, ‘UEFA penalty’, ‘Where the kookaburra sleeps’, ‘Where the owl sleeps’, ‘Where the spiders sleep’, and ‘You could have two goalkeepers in there and they still wouldn’t have saved it’.
Live commentary ahead
The episode also looked ahead to the weekend’s live commentaries on 5 Live and BBC Sounds. On Saturday 7 November, WSL coverage of Chelsea v Everton is on Sports Extra at 12:45, while Arsenal v Hull City is on 5 Live at 15:00. Fulham v Newcastle is on Sports Extra at 15:00, followed by Nottingham Forest v Manchester City on 5 Live at 17:30. Aberdeen v Hibernian is on Sports Extra 3 at 17:45, and Peterborough United v Reading is on 5 Sports Extra at 20:00. St Mirren v Rangers completes Saturday’s schedule on Sports Extra 3 at 20:00.
Sunday 8 November begins with Stafford Rangers v Grimsby Town on 5 Sports Extra at 12:00. Crystal Palace v Liverpool is on 5 Live at 14:00, with Brighton v Brentford on Sports Extra 2 and Sunderland v Chelsea on Sports Extra 3 at the same time. Ipswich v Bournemouth is available on the BBC Sport website at 14:00. Celtic v Kilmarnock is on Sports Extra 3 at 16:00, followed by Manchester United v Aston Villa on 5 Live at 16:30. Oldham Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday is on Sports Extra 3 at 18:00. On Monday 9 November, Plymouth Parkway v Berkhamsted is on 5 Sports Extra at 19:30.
