David Batty

I'd love to experience that with Eddie Gray.

Now we're moving into a player I would absolutely love to see in modern day football, David Batty.

Imagine Batty playing in this current Leeds midfield, honestly.

I think he'd be fascinating because Batty wasn't about flashy tricks, he wasn't about Hollywood passes, he was about control, position, intelligence, winning the ball, keeping things moving and most importantly, he hated losing.

The pressing, the intensity, the importance of midfield transitions, the need to be tactically disciplined.

Batty understood those things instinctively.

And let's be honest, there are very few things more satisfying than imagining David Batty putting one of today's Premier League midfielders into row Z. Gary Speed.

This one is easy because Gary Speed wasn't just a great footballer.

but should have been more in the ball player, so there we go for that.

Right, the next one is David Batty.

George David Batty was with Leeds from 87 to 93, made 211 appearances in that time, scoring four goals.

Joined Blackburn in 93-96, where he made 54 appearances, scoring once, then joined Newcastle for a couple of seasons, where he made 83 appearances and scored three, and then rejoined Leeds in...

in 1998 all the way to 2004 where he made 90 appearances for leeds united now david batty george top or flop

david batty boy uh i you know i think he has to be we can't even discuss it out it had to be a top play it was a He was Leeds, wasn't he? Is he born in Batley or something like that?

Yeah, I think he

was.

Today's guest is a man with loads of experience right at football's coalface.

David Batty and Gary Speed's former agent, also works in football finance and transfers nowadays, and runs a media production house in Leeds.

A, a man with his finger in many pies, Studio TCT among them.

It's Hayden Evans.

I always call it...

You know, you know when England, David Batty and all the, you know, Gareth Southgate, they always did that big bendy knee and then open their body up, and you just telegraph it.

But tonight he was a-- he just approached the ball a bit quicker and hit it, you know, m-more crisply.

Let's get the thoughts of the Sunderland boss, Reggie Slebrice.

Yeah.

He played with Gary McAllister and David Batty in there.

Mm.

They loved him as a character.

And, you know, you might sell like Rue Fox to Tottenham for 4.3 million and then you'd replace them a few months later down the line with somebody else coming in.

on that occasion when Newcastle needed to bring in another midfielder they'd buy David Batty to try and hold on to that 12 point lead but that's another story for another day but at the end of the day you've got to be compliant with the rules because if you're not you will be getting hit with a five million pound fine which newcastle already have and they can't bury their heads in the sand on this it's it's got to be done to a certain point and that's pretty much what simon kappa is to newcastle a very good signing because he's the guy steering them through all this That's why he's popping up on pitches where the signings are there because he's the guy who's went, you can do this, this and this.

And he's played a big part in the transfer.

So yeah, he's even got his own track suit with his initials on it.

It could be anyone.

If you want to pick David Batty, be my guest.

Oh, man.

Exactly.

But I'm looking forward to speaking to Beata Lunde Orsheim and Morten Jensen later on EuroLeague, the co-managers of Viking.

And one of them has a nickname.

And you know, I love 90s football.

He's got a nickname linked to an English footballer from the 90s.

So stay with us to find out who that is.

I could give you about 50 guesses and you would never guess this nickname that one of those co-managers has got.

Is it because he looks

like him or is it because...

... how, I mean, how, uh...

Did it... 'Cause I always remember David Batty talking about missing the penalty once, and he was like, "That's football." Like-

Mm

... did you, did you feel like that, or did it plague you for a while?