0:00

I got my bag back from the

0:02

weekend, I went and got it out

0:04

the car. And it had, I'd forgotten

0:06

that I'd given some chocolate

0:08

to Steph and Jen. Jen, I'm a

0:10

vegan BT. And I'd give them

0:13

some chocolate buttons. And there was

0:15

still half a pack left and

0:17

I just ate them. Oh, yeah. But

0:19

they've had their hands in there. I don't

0:21

know how I feel about. Well, I

0:24

hope to have been, I do wash

0:26

the hands. Yeah, that's all right. How

0:28

do you feel about eating other people's

0:30

food? No. I don't know how feel

0:32

about that. Actually, I'm not gonna

0:34

lie. You wouldn't eat off

0:37

someone's plate, like if they've left

0:39

a bit of food. Never. Oh my

0:41

days. No, no, no, guys. No. I

0:43

can't even, you know what makes me

0:46

cringe the most when new mothers or

0:48

with little babies like licked the spoon

0:50

and then give it to them. I

0:52

think. No, don't do that. Kate, I bet

0:55

you do that. No! You know where they

0:57

taste like how hot it is? And

0:59

they put in the mother. My mom,

1:01

when I was a kid and I

1:03

used to come home from school or

1:06

I'd be out somewhere, she used to

1:08

lift her finger and like wipe something

1:10

off my face. Oh no! No, I

1:12

hate that. I hate stuff like that,

1:14

guys, no. I'm just building all the

1:16

things up for when we next meet

1:19

in person. I'm not going to come

1:21

and lick your face, that sounds

1:23

so funny. Not today. She beers

1:25

to be licking my face. So I'm not

1:27

sharing my food with you anyway. You

1:29

were like, did you watch Gavin and

1:32

Stacey when they all order their

1:34

takeaway food and they don't share

1:36

it? No. I didn't really watch Gavin

1:38

and Stacey. I need to educate you

1:40

too in the way of trashy food and

1:43

trashy programs. Right, let's go on

1:45

with it. This

1:48

is Pitch to pod from Sky Sports

1:50

with WSL Legends Nikita I'm Sweet Enough

1:52

Paris and Jordan my sweetness is my

1:55

weakness noves. Every week they bring you

1:57

topics straight from the pitch to this

1:59

pod. we discuss the biggest

2:02

talking point in the world

2:04

of football and beyond. Nikita,

2:06

what have you got this

2:08

week apart from your mom,

2:11

spit on your face. I

2:13

am bringing superstitions. And Jordan?

2:16

I am bringing new managers.

2:18

Have you actually brought your

2:20

new manager with you? Yeah,

2:22

she's just there. Come on.

2:24

She was dead excited for

2:26

this podcast. Told her

2:28

all about it. Yeah, we'll get her

2:30

on next week. Oh, I love a

2:32

special guest, which is how I

2:34

feel with both of you.

2:36

Anyway, should we start with

2:39

superstitions? Various superstitious. This is

2:41

after, we started talking about

2:43

them last week, Jordan won't

2:45

touch a game ready, unless

2:47

she needs a game ready.

2:49

Nikita's mom won't let her

2:51

do donuts in a wheelchair

2:53

and other such superstitions. But

2:55

actually, are you both actually

2:57

superstitious, superstitious, Keith? Yeah, I know, I'll

2:59

say yeah, but now I'm not, but

3:01

when I was younger I

3:03

was very superstitious. I used

3:05

to life literally want to

3:08

redo everything I did the

3:10

previous week from Monday. What

3:12

did I do? What did it eat?

3:14

Tuesday? Making sure that I'd have

3:17

ice baths or stretch and then

3:19

all that stuff and it became

3:21

too much. I was way over

3:23

thinking. like honestly wave of thinking

3:25

so now I just stick to

3:28

like match day minus one making

3:30

sure I have an ice bath no matter

3:32

what weather or where they are

3:34

and match day I put everything

3:36

on the left side first and

3:38

then the right side so you're

3:41

not superstitious but yeah

3:43

but I used to be

3:45

really superstitious like really superstitious

3:47

and I think it can

3:49

play with your mind I can

3:51

make you overthink things and like

3:53

I'd be like oh I missed

3:55

that chance because I didn't eat

3:57

on Sunday this this and this

3:59

no come on and there's a chance

4:01

because it just wasn't good enough.

4:04

Like that sort of stuff. So yeah, no.

4:06

Can't cope with that stuff anymore.

4:08

Similar to Keats. I used to be the

4:10

whole always putting the sock on my

4:12

left foot, sock on my right foot,

4:15

all that. And then you grow up

4:17

a little bit and you realize that

4:19

your performances don't make a difference what's

4:21

occupied on first. I'd say I'm more,

4:23

I've definitely got a routine. Like when

4:25

I get in the changing room, I

4:27

am. 100% the first to get ready.

4:30

I like to get my ankle strapped

4:32

and kind of just do my

4:34

form role. So I definitely have

4:36

a routine, but I don't think I'd

4:38

lose the plot if I didn't do

4:40

it. But then the more I think

4:42

about it, I'd really want to do

4:44

that routine before a game

4:46

just because it's just my

4:48

strategy and my way of

4:50

preparing a little bit. I

4:53

think the only thing I'm

4:55

slightly superstitious on is... like

4:57

I like quite chilled out

4:59

music before game so I

5:01

do like listen to similar

5:03

songs in the car and they're

5:05

very like mellow yeah mellow

5:08

yes very mellow I'm not

5:10

like pumping away in the

5:12

car and what's the song then

5:15

yeah what's a mellow song a

5:17

Dell that was a Dell mellow

5:19

mellow no yeah it could be

5:21

like maybe not as far as

5:23

a Dell Oh my god, I

5:25

didn't know she was our special

5:27

guest. After the game, it's like,

5:30

I'll drink wine. You know all

5:32

the songs, kids? Yeah, because I

5:34

do love Adele, but definitely not

5:36

before the game, guys. Yeah. Jordan,

5:38

me and you are too opposite.

5:40

I am literally like offbeat, like,

5:43

do, do, do, do, like, I

5:45

have to be ready to go

5:47

out. You probably have to calm

5:49

me down more than row me

5:51

up after my music, I would say.

5:54

frantic I'm just like do me on

5:56

thing, deaf or the chilled version,

5:58

which is strange. because I

6:00

think probably keeps, you'd know, like

6:03

when we were younger, like everything

6:05

was probably like, you know, get

6:08

ready for the game, like loud

6:10

music. Yeah? Guess you just changed

6:12

as the, yes, go on. Remember

6:14

before, like, England youth games, we

6:17

used to do the St. George's

6:19

Cross and like, all at the same

6:21

time. All the, yes. Oh my God, why

6:23

did we do that? In

6:26

our warm-up, we'd be like, they could

6:29

be like a band doing all like

6:31

clapping and as we're warming up trying

6:33

to intimidate the opposition. And then the

6:36

last thing we'd do is we'd go

6:38

to the 18 yard box and we'd

6:40

sprint and make as much noise as

6:42

we could to the halfway line. Yeah,

6:44

we actually did do that. No, it

6:47

was like we were doing dance moves.

6:49

Yeah, John. Literally dance moves on the

6:51

side of the pitch like we will

6:53

intimidate them with our dance moves. I'd

6:55

love to see that back. That was

6:58

good as I remember being in a

7:00

meeting and making sure, yeah girls make

7:02

sure you give it proper effort and

7:04

make sure we intimidate them make as

7:06

much noise as you can. Like the

7:08

kid. Nothing says scary like YMCA before

7:11

a match. Yeah, literally. It was

7:13

like we was on bring it on you

7:15

know when they go to like dance shows

7:17

and like dance battle it. I think

7:19

we need to recreate that. We need

7:22

to recreate it. I mean, there's the

7:24

hacker, and I can see that would

7:26

be intimidating, but then they're due to

7:28

putting off your dance moves on the

7:30

summer. Not happening. I think that's where

7:33

maybe they got the idea from the hacker.

7:35

I think that's what he was coming

7:37

with. It just wasn't the hack. It was

7:39

sort of crazy, honestly. Right, so

7:42

you're not that superstitious. So what

7:44

about in everyday life? Do you walk

7:46

under ladders you see a black cat? I

7:48

don't do that, but I don't walk on

7:51

three goods. Three, no, I'll see him. I

7:53

don't walk on three goods. And you know

7:55

what? I always think as I go to

7:57

the second one, or I have made this

7:59

step. So it's like, did you

8:02

see that magpie? Did you

8:04

see it? I'm like, it's

8:06

just a magpie. And yeah,

8:08

it's when the manager gets

8:10

the call. Nikita's injured. How

8:12

did she injure herself? Well,

8:14

she did this massive jump

8:16

onto the third one. My

8:18

whole family always does the

8:20

magpie thing. You know, where

8:22

like, they can't just see

8:25

one magpie. So it's like,

8:27

did you see it? I'm

8:29

like, it's just a magpie.

8:31

I'm like, oh god, that's

8:33

my mum, that's probably a

8:35

superstition that she's got. Oh

8:37

no, few men are saying

8:39

good morning, Mr Macpie when

8:41

you see one. Oh, oh

8:43

it's bad luck, yeah. And

8:45

wave backwards, aren't you? Wave

8:48

backwards. Yeah, well like if

8:50

you passed it, I mean

8:52

you can't wave at it,

8:54

but you're waving. No,

8:57

I've never done that one. We

8:59

were even backwards. Next time you

9:01

see me crash, because I'm trying

9:03

to do one wheel, wave backwards

9:05

at the magpie whilst laughing at

9:07

you two dancing. That's exactly what

9:09

happens. Great, well I'm glad I

9:11

know you better. Thank you for

9:13

your superstitious chat. Let's not do

9:15

that again. Next up, from superstitions

9:17

to new appointments, that's coming up

9:19

on pitch the point. Right,

9:27

let's talk new managers. Jordan has brought

9:29

her manager with us to the podcast.

9:31

Would you like to introduce a Jordan?

9:33

We have a new manager, Natalia. She's

9:35

actually couldn't be here today, but she

9:37

said she's ready for the next invite.

9:39

Obviously, she's only been there a week,

9:42

and naturally we did have Chelsea at

9:44

the weekend, but I don't know who

9:46

watched the game. We put up a

9:48

pretty good fight against Chelsea, who are

9:50

one of the best teams in the

9:52

world right now. But yeah, it's all

9:54

about the points, isn't it? But

9:56

I think to

9:58

go from a week

10:00

of training with

10:02

a new manager, I

10:05

think the mindset from everyone. We took

10:07

on board what we could in that

10:09

week and yeah, it's been a good

10:11

first week. But we need the points

10:14

and hopefully Natalia can now embed what

10:16

she wants to do and her style

10:18

of play in our training sessions. I

10:20

actually think I've said it before, in

10:22

many games I've watched. I've thought it

10:24

was a really pull -up a game

10:26

performance and just haven't got the results

10:29

and sometimes that's football. But I definitely

10:31

believe you can take confidence, but not

10:33

too much confidence, but definitely confidence from

10:35

the performance because you're realligating a good

10:37

game. I mean, that's all interesting and

10:39

everything. But what I want to know

10:41

is when a new manager comes in,

10:44

are you doing like extra star jumps?

10:46

Are you trying to impress? Are you

10:48

doing double the shuttle runs that everyone

10:50

else is? You're like, pick me, pick

10:52

me, pick me. Not the star jumps.

10:54

They haven't I've not seen them yet.

10:57

But the tempo definitely, like whether it's

10:59

a thing that people notice, it's definitely

11:01

the tempo lifts. Like it's like everyone's

11:03

got this extra 20 % from nowhere, even

11:05

if they're tired or anything, which is

11:07

why obviously sometimes you get a new

11:09

manager in because maybe that's been lost

11:12

along the way with the last one

11:14

or just with players. But you can

11:16

definitely always see the fight. I mean,

11:18

everyone gets a chance again to prove

11:20

their point. And yeah, I think if

11:22

people said, do star jumps to get

11:25

in the team, we would all do

11:27

it. I'm like, is it that easy?

11:29

How many star jumps? Because if it's

11:31

that easy to get in the start

11:33

of 11, I'll do them all day.

11:38

Kate, what's it like for you

11:40

when a new manager comes in?

11:42

Do you see everyone like trying

11:44

to impress? Yeah, definitely. I think

11:47

you want to put yourself in

11:49

the shop window. Well, that's ultimately

11:51

you're there to perform, ultimately wanting

11:53

to play in the start of

11:55

11. And for sure you see

11:57

people pull out tricks, flicks and

11:59

things that you never saw them

12:01

quite do before. for or in the previous weeks. But

12:03

it's all about fresh energy, fresh confidence, and ultimately,

12:05

you want to go out there, perform,

12:07

and get the points. And if you

12:09

don't get the points, then you want

12:12

to get the performance for the next

12:14

week to give you that little bit of

12:16

a boost. And I think, you know, with a new

12:18

manager coming in for Aston Villa,

12:20

I'm sure there'll be, you know, a

12:22

force to be reckoned with going forward,

12:24

because I really do believe that you've

12:27

got a great team. performances in certain

12:29

games like you can you can see

12:31

how much quality you have in

12:33

the team so you know for you

12:36

guys I'm sure the new manager is

12:38

excited to work with us as these

12:40

slightly older players within the

12:42

squads it like who does it fall

12:44

on to show the manager around you

12:46

know just to accept them on the

12:48

WhatsApp group like does any of

12:51

that stuff happen excuse me

12:53

did you just say older I

12:55

expect you to say experience my

12:57

love How, John, don't, don't, do

12:59

I question? As the senior

13:02

players. Yeah, well done. Yeah,

13:04

now, Jordan, you can answer.

13:06

No, I think, luckily, that's

13:08

all done above us now. I'd

13:10

like to think we won't add

13:12

them on what's happened. Shorn them

13:15

around the canteen and all sorts.

13:17

Here's our, here's our, here's our

13:19

football pitch. The only thing that

13:21

does happen is, like, like, obviously,

13:23

say someone like a kid I

13:26

can imagine she would go straight

13:28

up to the manager but you

13:30

can always tell no like to

13:32

be polite and say hi and

13:34

you know what I mean like

13:37

whatever it always is that awkward

13:39

like oh should we like go say hi

13:41

now or away or that happened a little

13:43

bit the other day but a few awkward

13:45

handshicks. Who went up first

13:47

then? Well we don't come into

13:50

breakfast like all together but yeah

13:52

it sounded like everyone went off.

13:54

Name and shame Jordan for shy.

13:56

No, I think I think Dan Turner just

13:58

said she'd done the whole like where

14:00

you'd go for a handshake and it's

14:02

not quite a handshake vibe, which can

14:04

happen. That's happened to me before. Right,

14:07

if she's got a name and shame,

14:09

so do you. Yeah, go on, Pete.

14:11

When I first moved to Leon, I

14:13

was in the hotel, that's pretty close

14:15

to the ground, and John Luke, who

14:17

was the former ever manager, he was

14:19

the coach at the time, and he

14:21

came to meet me, so he said,

14:24

let me meet in the foyer. and

14:26

I went in for the handshake but

14:28

in France they go for the cheek

14:30

kiss don't they and I was just

14:32

a bit like oh god do it

14:34

would do it would do or not

14:36

and I just froze I literally froze

14:39

on the spot I didn't know what

14:41

to do and he was like it's

14:43

okay it's okay you don't have to

14:45

do that but you know if you're

14:47

meeting teammates or the female men staff

14:49

in the club like it's polite I

14:51

didn't know what I think I think

14:53

I think I think I think I

14:56

think some really I think best game

14:58

wasn't for 10 weeks. Did you just

15:00

go around kissing everyone after that? Do

15:02

you want to know that? Everyone I

15:04

saw, I was like, hi guys, good

15:06

morning. You won't let your mom like

15:08

your face. I know, I felt ill,

15:11

honestly. I bet that was tough. It

15:13

wasn't the most time. How do you

15:15

know? Have you either of you ever

15:17

stitched up a new player by telling

15:19

them that, you know, this is something

15:21

we do at the club, initiation type

15:23

things. I remember when I was at

15:25

Everton, we was in the Champions League

15:28

away game and Tony Duggan stitched me

15:30

right up. She told me to take

15:32

a week test that we used to

15:34

do every morning if he was on

15:36

England, come and she was like, it's

15:38

the same sort of routine when you're

15:40

away with Everton. And I was like,

15:43

oh, like then, no problem. She was

15:45

like, I take it down to Mo's

15:47

room. And I was like, but it's

15:49

like 10 hours before the game. I

15:51

haven't just taken three hours before so

15:53

she knows him hydrated. She was like,

15:55

no, no, no, like take it now.

15:57

And I was like, whatever, then take

16:00

it at Anne. I was about to

16:02

knock on the door and... literally just

16:04

as I was about to make the

16:06

knock, she literally said, she'll stand the

16:08

corridor. Oh, waiting the whole hotel up

16:10

at like 8 o'clock in the morning.

16:12

No, no, no, I was only joking,

16:15

I was only joking, I was only

16:17

joking. And then I just seen Alex

16:19

being will come out the room, Michelle

16:21

Hinnigan, come out the room and start

16:23

laughing. I'm just gonna kill you all.

16:25

I'm just gonna kill you. What did

16:27

you do with the way? And

16:30

I started running back down a

16:32

corridor towards the room. And I

16:34

forgot, well, I didn't have no

16:37

lid for the cup because it

16:39

was just like a plastic coffee

16:41

cup from the hotel room. So

16:43

as a woman, the week's just

16:45

going everywhere. I was like, Tony,

16:47

I'm going to kill you. Hang

16:50

on. This woman won't let her

16:52

mom lick on a hanky and

16:54

spit on her face, but she'll

16:56

carry we around in a cup.

16:58

Yeah, because that was so normal

17:00

when we was young. Especially on

17:03

international, like, comes, you would take

17:05

it, we would literally, we, which

17:07

was gross, because every time you

17:09

would probably pee on your hand,

17:11

and then you take it into

17:13

them, and you, I'm not gonna

17:16

like. Well, that story was just

17:18

worth it, because it now means

17:20

we can put an explicit mention

17:22

on the podcast, which always gets

17:24

more listeners, so brilliant, well done.

17:26

Oh nice! We've stem numbers, why

17:29

not? Peter, yeah. Nice, Jordan. When

17:31

I came here, initiations was like

17:33

a big thing and it slowly

17:35

like dribbled out and I remember

17:37

me and Lucy Stan, we, you

17:39

had to do like a song

17:42

or something at dinner and every

17:44

away game, me and Lucy would

17:46

leg it. Like, we were literally

17:48

like, we're not doing it. So

17:50

it took them about nine games

17:52

to get us to do something

17:55

and we did like 10 seconds

17:57

and sat back down, so we

17:59

weren't very entered. turning really. What

18:01

was the song? I think I sang

18:03

I want it that way. I'm not

18:05

doing it now. Go on, go on

18:07

Keith, you did a Dell. Do you

18:09

know that one? Is that memory

18:12

so the sideline? I want

18:14

it that way. Please tell me

18:16

that's what you were dancing to.

18:18

All we need to know now

18:20

is the final topic will spring

18:23

on on you. FA Cup, which

18:25

is Oohoo! No WSL this weekend,

18:27

of course. Our very own pitch

18:29

to pod Darby, Brighton, travelling to

18:31

Villa, we put a little note out on

18:34

the socials. A little note out on the

18:36

socials. How old am I? I'm the senior

18:38

one. And we asked, if either of you

18:40

score, how should you celebrate? Jess wants you

18:43

to do the can can for some

18:45

reason. You've got to do this, by

18:47

the way, either of you. Matt says

18:49

pretend to be on a podcast with

18:51

one of your teammates and not

18:53

each other. Quite like that one Matt.

18:55

Beth wants you to do the

18:57

Cinderella one boot, I like that.

18:59

Maybe I think because Nikita only

19:01

gives away one of her boots. Yeah,

19:04

Keats, that can be. That's a

19:06

good child. Hopefully you just have

19:08

both boots on the whole game. Or not.

19:10

I mean, all fair, all fair. And

19:12

listener Dot has suggested a look

19:14

in the fridge celebration. You got to

19:17

pull that one out. That could work.

19:19

Which one are you going to do?

19:21

You've got to do one boot? I like

19:23

that. Yeah, go on, I'll fridge. Maybe I'll

19:25

do the one boot giveaway. Just fling you

19:28

a bit into the crowd, Keats. Launch it.

19:30

And get sent off as she takes someone

19:32

out. Maybe not. Actually, maybe not. Yeah, maybe

19:34

not that. I know you've been up against

19:37

each other before. You played alongside each other.

19:39

Any sort of cycling out going to happen

19:41

before the game? Do you want to start

19:43

it now? No, Jordan's too chill. Yeah. Calm.

19:45

It's all and calm. Maybe if you start

19:48

jump. See if Keats. Keats gets freaked. Gets

19:50

freaked. Gets freaked out by it. Get freaked

19:52

out by it. Jod if you do that

19:54

in your warmer? Imagine you said to your

19:56

whole team, right girls, this is our pitch,

19:58

this is our time. Let's do a dance

20:01

and let's run to the let's run let

20:03

them know this is let them know this is

20:05

we If be doing it every week doing it

20:07

every week. A new a new a little bit bit of

20:09

change my my my pre-m son. Well for that for that

20:11

reason alone I mean one of you's

20:13

got to win a it's a cup

20:15

match it's a looking forward to those celebrations to

20:18

it at the end Before I

20:20

let you go just to

20:22

say good luck, and I'm

20:24

neutral good luck and I'm good and Villa

20:26

I hope they win and

20:28

good luck to Brighton. I

20:30

hope they I hope they win. And overall,

20:32

I hope that hope is the is

20:34

the winner this it for this

20:36

week's episode said, no said this

20:38

this weekend it's FA Cup. WSL back on

20:40

back on Sunday the of of

20:42

February with us on on Sky,

20:44

630, Sky Sports Manchester City up

20:46

against against Liverpool, expects that one in

20:48

if you've got a question

20:50

for you've Jordan get in touch

20:52

using the Nikito or Jordan, get in touch

20:55

using the hashtag, pitch to pod. They're bundles to

20:57

practice, they're bundles, star jumps and looking. You