Jonny from BBC Radio Cumbria’s Carlisle Social joins Chris Lumsdon and Mark “Skip” Boyd for an episode packed with Carlisle United analysis, controversial football opinions and brilliant stories from their playing careers.

Skip recalls the unbelievable moment Premier League referee Mike Dean decided not to send him off because it was his “big day” and he was “a nobody.” The lads discuss their best and worst referees before putting Mike Dean firmly on Clown Watch.

Attention then turns to Carlisle United following the painful defeat against Boreham Wood. Are the performances showing signs of progress, or should a club sitting 14th in the National League already be seriously concerned?

The lads discuss Rob Elliot’s style of football, defensive mistakes, Regan Linney’s body language and whether Carlisle’s squad is genuinely strong enough to win the league.

They also question why modern footballers struggle to complete 90 minutes, debate medical “red zones” and ask whether prehab routines could actually be contributing to more injuries. Plus, there’s a brilliant story about Paul Gascoigne drinking brandy before a match.

There’s also another round of Who Am I?, the biggest bollockings and compliments the lads received, football’s toughest hard men and an alarming dating-app story.

Also featuring:

• Mike Dean’s brutal comment to Skip
• The best and worst football referees
• Is Carlisle United’s season already in trouble?
• Can Rob Elliot turn things around?
• Regan Linney’s form and body language
• Are Carlisle still capable of winning the league?
• Why can’t modern footballers last 90 minutes?
• Is football prehab doing more harm than good?
• Paul Gascoigne’s pre-match brandies
• Who Am I?
• The worst managerial bollockings
• Football’s toughest hard men
• A disturbing dating-app disaster
• Supporting the Carlisle Sunday Football League

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introducing Jonny from Carlisle Social
00:29 Chinese orders and Michelin-star disasters
03:00 Mike Dean enters Clown Watch
03:42 Mike Dean calls Skip a nobody
04:14 The best and worst football referees
06:29 Holiday complaints and impossible passwords
07:50 Carlisle United’s painful Boreham Wood defeat
10:08 How long should Rob Elliot be given?
13:58 Carlisle’s defensive mentality questioned
15:24 Have Carlisle actually improved?
17:04 What has happened to Regan Linney?
20:18 Can Carlisle United still win the league?
21:42 Is Carlisle’s squad as good as people think?
25:50 Why can’t modern footballers last 90 minutes?
28:41 Gary Neville and the problem with substitutions
29:56 Is football prehab complete nonsense?
30:53 Paul Gascoigne’s pre-match brandies
31:33 Carlisle community shout-outs
35:03 Who Am I?
39:16 Football trivia and Champions League records
43:31 The subscriber challenge and charity raffle
45:38 This or That
46:59 A disturbing dating-app disaster
48:00 The biggest managerial bollockings
51:06 The greatest compliments the lads received
54:33 Football’s toughest hard men
57:18 Supporting the Carlisle Sunday Football League
01:00:20 Carlisle vs Southend predictions
01:00:46 Final messages

Subscribe to 3 In The Middle for weekly episodes featuring former professionals Chris Lumsdon and Mark “Skip” Boyd, current player Dylan McGeouch and special guests from across football.

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