Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi there, welcome along. This is the Goals on Sunday podcast.
It is indeed, yeah. Manchester City have surrendered the title to Liverpool after that 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Chapter 2: What Premier League matches are highlighted in this episode?
Everton got themselves a good point at West Ham. Arsenal... got paid back by Sheffield United, who just go from strength to strength, and we'll be talking our guest's career. Our guest is... Jonian Lescott. The legend there is. He's got some hidden talents. He totally has.
Stay tuned for that. And, of course, Paul Tierney becomes the first referee to consult the monitor on Pitchside. Welcome along, Jonian Lescott.
Yeah, great to see you. Good to have you here. All good? Yeah, good, thank you, good. Great.
Have you accepted your new life now?
Yeah, it was hard at the start, I'm not going to lie. I didn't kind of retire as early as I would have hoped. I wanted one more season. I was mentally prepared for it after that season, but the options weren't great, to be fair, going into that season. So I kind of took it upon myself with advice from friends and family that it was probably the right time.
It's interesting because a lot of people are talking about that at the moment, aren't they? How you get from one place to another in terms of your end of your career, what you do next. I mean, you're getting into the media though.
Yeah, doing some media stuff, doing various bits and pieces to be fair and enjoying all the aspects of it. But going back to that stage and that part of my life, I kind of underestimated how important the routine was as a player, speaking to all players now that are coming towards the end, I think. We just assume it's the same. Everyone else's lives around you continue as it has.
And we've got used to being told where to be, what time to be there and what to do. And then when that stops, it's OK for a summer, four weeks. It never stops.
My wife tells me all the time what to do and what to do.
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Chapter 3: How did Joleon Lescott transition from player to media?
People say that. I didn't miss that as much. Not in a bad way, but I've got a lot of friends that I grew up with. They didn't like you anyway. I still get messages from them that say the same things. But in regards to that, most of my friends are friends I've grew up with. So I kind of have that anyway. But yeah, it was nice, obviously.
I enjoyed every minute of it and would go back again tomorrow if I could start it all again. But I said, I'm enjoying life right now.
Do you get to go to a lot of games at the moment?
Yeah, various games. I try not to work, even though it sounds funny, I've worked the last couple of weekends, but I try not to work as much on the weekends due to watching kids play football. But yeah, I was at Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn yesterday. Part of my role at City is helping develop, mentor the players on loan. There's a group of... So who were you watching yesterday?
Tosin, Tosin Ajbayo played for Blackburn. A great performance by him and the team, to be fair. That's probably, I've watched... Pretty much every game they've played this season. And that was probably the best I've seen them play. Disappointed for Sheffield. I know they had a great result last week, but they weren't great yesterday.
That progression, players going out on loan and getting character, getting strength, getting maturity, is so important.
Yeah, it's huge.
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Chapter 4: What challenges do players face when ending their careers?
Just game time. He's come up to 50 starts now, which is a huge accolade for him. Again, like other players, we just underestimate that. how important it is to play and learn. If you can play 50 consecutive games or at any stage of your career is a big achievement.
Yeah, you get to go nice places as well. I understand you're off to Vienna.
Yeah, we've got another player out there. Eric Palmer-Brown is playing for Austria-Vienna, so I'll go and spend some time with him and there, set up and help develop him on the training ground, which again is different. The role changes, various clubs. Some clubs are more accommodating to me taking part in training sessions and helping add a bit more detail to what they're teaching their team.
Chapter 5: How important is routine for professional athletes after retirement?
I've got to ask you this question. Is it slightly soul-destroying in your position because of the fact, say, Phil Foden is probably the one in the last two, three years who's come through. Do all those boys who you speak to and go out and watch alone, do they think that they'll be the next Phil Foden?
No, they've got to be realistic about it. And Phil Foden, obviously, what he's done is unique in terms of the size of the club. But to expect, what, 90% of the Man City Academy to come and just go straight into Man City's first team is unrealistic ask of them, of the coaches, because City are now signing, what, the top two, three best players in their recognised position.
So expect an 18-year-old to be that, having never played a first-team game, is a...
So what is the numbers game for having all this talent below? What is the numbers game for actually getting in the first team?
I don't know in terms of Man City's first team and when that is. I don't know what that looks like. But in terms of creating opportunities for these players to have careers, I think it should be more than, say, the average academy set-up. I do believe that with the coaching and facilities and all that stuff.
And the mentality side of it, I think that's underestimated how important that is, the approach, the application to being a footballer. I think we should definitely be giving more opportunities to our academy players due to the level they've been used to.
You yourself came through the academy, didn't you?
Yeah, definitely at Wolves again. So I kind of can relate to the lads that are going on loan. Some of them view it as it's a step down, but it's not. Game time is game time. And I don't think there's any player that's been on loan that's regretted it. And they would say they would have liked to have done it earlier.
So we try to get footage of them speaking to the younger players about kind of preparing them and helping them face the challenges that they're going to face.
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Chapter 6: What role does Joleon Lescott play in developing young talent?
It's an easy one. Glenn Huddle. Had him at Wolves. Again, the time I kind of had Glenn, I was young, so probably played a part of it. But in terms of his knowledge and his vision to looking at the game was something I'd never come across before and very little after. He recognised that I got a lot of opportunities at set plays to score goals, but didn't convert enough.
So he made me used to do finishing on my own. Like, I was thinking, I'm a defender, why am I finishing? And he explained it to me. And then I went to Everton following season, I scored 10 in one season. So kind of looking back now, that made sense that I was getting opportunities, but just weren't converting enough.
But one of the small things that he kind of seen in me and helped me change a mindset as well.
Was he an arm around? You know, we see so many different types of managers, I think, in the Premier League. What was he like?
Yeah and no. The only manager that's made me cry. Yeah, this is a story that I've probably never told. We played a game.
Not in front of the lads, I hope.
No, but they were there, yeah. It was changing, wasn't it? And it kind of, what was the situation? We was at home to Ipswich at the time. We had a corner, went up, it was 1-1. The emphasis was on us to win. They cleared it and I've got back and he's like, get back, get back. I'm like, yeah, I'm going back. So went back and then they've cleared it again and then I've headed it away.
And then as I've headed it, they've kind of, recycled it back in, it's gone in. But it's not my man, it's not my fault. But I could see him shouting at me on the side of the pitch. I'm thinking, is he shouting at me? My man didn't score, kind of thing. So we've gone in after and he's gone crazy.
He said, you should have got back a lot quicker and just kind of exposed me in front of the whole team. And I was like...
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