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Hello and welcome to the Two Robies podcast,

1:01

your destination for in-depth discussion

1:03

and analysis of all things Premier

1:05

League. I'm Robbie Hurl, I've got my special

1:07

guest with me today, Stephen Warnock, who

1:10

joins me for the show. And here are

1:12

today's topics. Insanity

1:15

ensures it's Downton Ridge between Chelsea

1:17

and Manchester City who battle it out

1:19

in a crazy 4-4 draw. Wolves

1:22

take down Tottenham with two late goals, handing

1:24

Andr Prostokoglou his second straight

1:27

defeat. Liverpool deliver

1:29

a bounce back performance with a 3-0 win

1:31

against Brentford, courtesy of

1:33

Mo Salah's two goals. And Manchester

1:35

United eke out another 1-0 win,

1:38

this time against Luton. That's

1:41

what we've got coming up in today's episode.

1:59

We've had another absolutely

2:02

crazy week of Premier League football

2:04

drama up on drama There's only one

2:06

place to start the bridge Stanford

2:09

Bridge Chelsea hosting Manchester

2:11

City a Chelsea team that

2:14

at times we've seen some progress and other times

2:16

I think we've all been a bit frustrated Against

2:18

the Manchester City team that look like they're

2:20

starting to get into gear as we know

2:23

they kick on it ended 4-4 Give

2:25

me your biggest takeaway For

2:28

Chelsea because I think they become a bit

2:30

of a story really 4-4 with the

2:32

reigning champions Yeah, I think there's a lot

2:35

of talk around the game was well He

2:37

only beat Tottenham because of the send-ins off

2:40

switches might be true Yeah,

2:42

well, they took a lot of positives from it and

2:44

I think going into the game It

2:46

probably suits them playing one of the top teams

2:49

Manchester City where they're gonna attack them. They're

2:51

gonna come out against them Yeah I think they struggle

2:53

against the teams that sit a little bit

2:55

deep and and they find that difficult

2:58

to break down So the game sort of played

3:00

into the hands However, you're gonna get

3:02

punished against Manchester City if you're not on

3:04

your best game The penalty

3:07

early on or in the first half

3:09

and it could have set them back They

3:11

could have felt sorry for them. Sorry for themselves

3:14

got into the shells But I just thought the

3:16

the response from the Chelsea players was

3:19

very positive I think

3:21

during the game what you saw was

3:24

at times Chelsea at the brilliant best At

3:27

times you also saw Chelsea

3:29

at the most vulnerable as well Yeah, and

3:31

I think that's just where Chelsea are at the

3:34

moment I think they're just on this path where they're just a

3:36

little bit up and down And I think what

3:38

Mauricio Pochettino is looking for is

3:40

almost that flat line and and then

3:42

a slower trajectory just to

3:44

evolve and to get better interesting

3:47

because on the podcast I've said

3:49

to must be a few times you keep saying about Chelsea

3:51

and I'm I keep giving him the sign To

3:53

you to your process for me mate. It's

3:55

a to you and I know that seems long

3:57

and I know people will say well He's got to get things

3:59

right in the mouth money they've spent, but we're

4:01

talking about young players, some

4:04

in the early 20s, some this is their first

4:06

Premier League season campaign,

4:08

they're going through things, so I think going

4:10

through some difficult times is never

4:12

a bad thing. We both know in football

4:15

sometimes it's from those moments that you learn, that

4:17

you get better, that you get the experience. It

4:19

was really interesting though because just

4:22

before the weekend, and I'm doing my notes

4:24

for the match, and I start looking through the

4:26

Chelsea team, and I know in some

4:28

respects, and must be always correct

4:30

from this, but he keeps saying, he's playing with potential,

4:33

you know, your Modricks and your Dukesons and

4:35

your Endos and your Carcedos, he

4:38

said we don't totally know what we're going to get

4:40

from him yet, but I look through the team,

4:43

Stephen, I'm kind of looking thinking,

4:45

he's talented,

4:46

he's got botanical ability, he's got it, and

4:48

he starts to make me think that

4:51

there should be times in a game when Chelsea

4:53

can have possession of the ball, when

4:55

Chelsea can dictate a bit to Manchester

4:58

City, as good as Manchester City are, I said

5:00

when I look at the two sets of teams, of

5:03

course City are better, and of course City have won, but

5:06

the bigger things for me that City

5:08

have are maturity, experience,

5:11

know-how, they know what they're doing.

5:13

This Chelsea team have got none of that at the moment,

5:16

but they've got talent, and if they

5:18

can find a way to start to get some of the

5:20

maturity, and I thought it was a mature

5:22

performance today, I think that's when we'll start

5:24

to see the Chelsea that popped

5:27

once, the Chelsea that

5:28

fans want, and the Chelsea

5:30

that the owners have spent this kind of money

5:32

for. Yeah, I think there's only a handful

5:35

of players within the squad who've probably

5:37

won majors, when you look at it and you go

5:40

Tiago Silva, Raheem Sterling,

5:42

Cole Palmer to a certain degree is being in

5:44

and around the chain you're in, but he's still

5:47

young in football in terms of what he

5:49

does on a pitch, and I completely agree,

5:51

I think that game management is

5:53

key to them, and I think it's something that Pochettino

5:56

is very, very aware of, that they have

5:58

to get better, that the game not... strikes

6:00

me is the Arsenal game. Tune

6:02

it up and you're cruising in the game. It's the best

6:04

we've seen them play in a long time, albeit

6:07

Arsenal, were they not at the best because of Chelsea's

6:09

performance or was it just an off day? But

6:11

then the mistakes creep in and then they fold

6:14

and that's the problem is that you can't fold.

6:16

It's almost, you've got to brush the first mistake off and

6:18

say, okay, don't worry about it. We're

6:21

better than that, we can get over it. But I think that's

6:23

just where Chelsea are at the moment. But

6:26

I find Chelsea very interesting in the fact

6:28

of the old Chelsea

6:30

regime of turners, well,

6:34

winning trophies year after year and

6:37

has gone. There's a new ownership

6:39

in town. So for me, it's almost like Chelsea's

6:42

a new club. They're in a massive transitional

6:44

period where you've got now owners who

6:46

are new to football, who don't quite understand

6:49

it fully. They're learning on

6:51

the job. They've made huge mistakes. I

6:54

think by bringing Murcio Pottuccino in, they've

6:56

made a big addition to it.

6:58

And I think it's a big plus what they've done bringing

7:01

him in. So I totally agree

7:03

with you. I'd even stretch it longer than two years,

7:05

the project, because I think the

7:08

club had gone that far behind after

7:10

Abramovich left with the mistakes of

7:12

what Todd Bolly made. Even that position of

7:15

when Abramovich was sort

7:17

of under investigation, the

7:19

club slipped behind a year straight

7:22

away, maybe longer with what was going

7:24

on at the club. So I do think it's a

7:26

long process and it's

7:27

going to be a long ride for them. I want to talk about some

7:29

individuals and then maybe just turn your attention

7:32

on my city. But before I do,

7:34

I just wanted to run one, again,

7:36

a bit of a theory past you in terms

7:39

of, and obviously your links and knowing

7:41

Liverpool Football Club well, that I sometimes

7:44

feel in football and at certain football

7:46

clubs, your history,

7:48

that a winning history from the past can

7:51

be a burden. Oh, yeah. I used

7:53

to feel it at Liverpool and obviously

7:56

the one title that Jürgen Klopp is

7:58

helping to address that. And the football, they're... he's playing

8:00

now is getting Liverpool back to where

8:02

they were. Manchester United I think it's evident

8:05

now, we're always horking back to

8:07

the time. Chelsea, we kind of keep

8:09

on talking about the winning and that

8:11

mentality and the titles and the Mourinhos

8:14

and the Angelotis and the Conte's and

8:16

that, which isn't necessarily helpful. That's

8:18

one point that I'd love to get your

8:21

thought on. And the second is, and this one's

8:23

a little bit more difficult

8:25

to explain

8:30

it. I've always felt it, certain clubs,

8:34

big clubs with that history, that winning history

8:36

from the past, there's sometimes

8:39

an element, small element

8:41

around clubs

8:43

who don't

8:44

want current success because it actually

8:46

dims the successes of the past.

8:49

And it's a really difficult thing to try and

8:51

say, but sometimes you either see it, you

8:54

feel it, there's an era where

8:56

that was the golden era back in the day and this

8:59

is nowhere near as good and they'll never be as good.

9:02

I don't know, you were at Liverpool,

9:05

they've had many years and I'm not saying these

9:07

loads of individuals or whatever who always

9:09

hork back to those days. But do you understand the point

9:12

I'm making? Oh 100% yeah I do. At times,

9:15

clubs, everybody's got to be pulling and

9:17

sometimes there can be one or two bad eggs

9:19

in there who actually are hankering for

9:21

those past days because that was their glory time.

9:23

Yeah, I think

9:25

your first point obviously that the pressures

9:27

of being at a club and to win titles is

9:29

there. The only thing I'd say

9:31

about that is, and this is, I totally

9:33

agree with you on that, from a player's point of view,

9:36

you can't think about that. This is

9:38

your era, this is your time to

9:40

make history. I think a lot

9:42

of the time it's fans, it's

9:45

the media who put that pressure on the players

9:47

but actually from within the change room,

9:50

I mean you wouldn't sit there in the change room and say, we

9:52

need to win this, we need to get ourselves in these history

9:55

books and match them. We're not thinking about

9:57

that. We'd like to, but that's just, well

9:59

if we do think right day to day, that will come naturally

10:01

and that will happen if we're coached in the right

10:04

way, managed in the right way, if the right

10:06

players are bought through the door. Well, that

10:08

will all take care of itself naturally. The

10:11

more pressure you put on yourself, the more you know, you

10:13

seize up, you become less

10:15

of a player and you play limited

10:18

in the way that you play. I think

10:20

what was very interesting, and I can talk

10:22

about this because I know it first hand, is when

10:25

Jürgen Klopp took over, the one thing he did

10:27

was he embraced the history of

10:29

the club and he wanted the former players

10:32

and the ex-players to be in and around and

10:34

tell their stories about winning titles

10:37

and winning cups and what the mentality

10:39

was like and how they thought about games because

10:42

he thought that was vitally important.

10:45

If I wanted to be a tennis player,

10:47

I wouldn't go to you and ask how to become a tennis

10:49

player. Okay, cheers. Yeah,

10:51

but you don't know it, do you? If I wanted

10:54

to become a doctor, I wouldn't go and say, Robbie,

10:56

what do I do to become a doctor? If I want to

10:58

become a winner and get a winner's mentality,

11:01

I go and speak to winners and I ask them questions

11:03

and I feed off them and I get that, but what

11:05

you've got to get is you've got to get the right type of winners within

11:07

the change room who want the club

11:09

to continue to be winners and to be

11:12

spoken about in the right way and I think that's what

11:14

Liverpool did. I know it's like what other

11:16

clubs are doing now, they're drawing

11:18

on the past and saying to them, now, embrace

11:21

that past and use it to gear you

11:23

and fuel you to be successful. I

11:27

was just talking to a couple of Chelsea

11:30

players and then we'll turn to Manchester

11:32

City because obviously they played their part in

11:34

a brilliant game just before the international break.

11:37

Cole Palmer, we made a bit about

11:39

him before the game, we talked about

11:42

him before kick-off, we

11:44

mentioned him after. Did

11:48

he look like a man on

11:50

a mission, a man trying to prove a point?

11:53

The penalty is so cool here, with all

11:55

the crashes on him, that's four penalties, four

11:57

conversions and it doesn't look

11:59

a problem. Did him and Ryan

12:01

Stirling, who were

12:04

former players, I thought it was probably

12:06

one of the best games I've seen Stirling play in the booth

12:08

Chelsea? I thought he was brilliant, I really do.

12:11

Gone back to Cole Palmer, we

12:13

bigged him up and he delivered. And

12:15

that's the great thing, but I think when

12:18

you're a bit part player at a club and

12:20

suddenly you get that platform to play week

12:23

in, week out, your mentality

12:25

changes completely on the

12:28

training ground, around the changing room,

12:30

suddenly when you've got the trust of a manager

12:32

who brings you in, you mentioned it on the show

12:35

where you said about being an academy player

12:37

is different from being bought. When you

12:39

get bought, suddenly you're the manager's choice,

12:41

you're the club's choice, they want you. That

12:44

makes you feel ten foot tall, you feel so

12:47

important and that you're there for

12:49

a purpose, whereas when you're coming through

12:51

the academy, you're just a product of

12:53

the academy and you're like, let's see where he gets to

12:55

and let's see how he does. So I think you could see that,

12:58

you can certainly see it from the performances that he's put

13:00

in for Chelsea so far, that he's thriving

13:03

in that environment and showcases

13:06

what his attributes

13:08

are. I spoke about on the show

13:11

about Jason Wilcox talking about his

13:13

mentality and how he developed and

13:15

how strong mentally he is. We

13:17

saw that in the penalty, going up against your former

13:19

club right at the end of the game. That's

13:22

when the top goal keep putting in the lead. Exactly,

13:24

and he looked so comfortable, didn't he? He looked

13:26

so calm, so that shows his qualities.

13:29

I think Raheem Sterling's got a point to prove

13:31

to a lot of people. Leaving Manchester City,

13:34

any step from there would have

13:36

been a downgrade and he goes to Chelsea

13:39

but he's got something to prove because he wants to get back

13:41

in England squad, wants to show to Manchester

13:43

City why they shouldn't have sold him, why they should

13:45

have kept him. I thought he was outstanding

13:48

to date. He's coming for a little bit of criticism at

13:51

times but I think this season,

13:54

we listened to him in America in the summer series where he talked

13:56

about me die, it was wrong last year. It

13:59

takes a lot for some...

13:59

I wanted to admit that and to go and go. When you're

14:02

that successful as well, and what he's doing is a terrible reason.

14:04

I tried something, it didn't work and now I've got back

14:06

to what I am. And look at my performances.

14:09

I thought it was a great moment when he scored, because he kind of started

14:11

to celebrate, then didn't, and then saw his fake

14:14

mate, I thought it was a brilliant moment, just tells you what was

14:16

going on inside. From City's point of view,

14:18

like Sidney, Pep talked after

14:20

about actually being pleased with

14:22

the point. I think Pep, and I heard

14:24

him in his press conference before the game started

14:26

actually, I think he's used the potential

14:28

in what Pochettino has, the

14:30

potential in the group, and said this isn't going to be an easy

14:33

fix, do anybody thinks, come to Stamford

14:35

Bridge, I think he's known in the past what it's like,

14:37

I think he knows the crowd are up for it, the

14:39

players are up for it. And

14:42

in the end, it's probably

14:44

a good point for Man City in the end.

14:47

Yeah, I think he'd have probably

14:50

took it before the game, going to

14:52

Chelsea, having been 4-3 ahead

14:54

so late on, that'll be sort of sat

14:56

in his mind thinking, oh, we should have saw that

14:58

one out. However, we've

15:01

seen Chelsea against Liverpool this season,

15:03

and Liverpool dominated the first half, but

15:05

then Chelsea were magnificent in the second half

15:07

and really dominated possession. The Arsenal

15:10

game for 77 minutes

15:12

before Declan Rice scores that goal, Arsenal

15:16

are well and truly played off the part by Chelsea,

15:18

who were brilliant on the day. So he knew

15:20

watching those videos, and I go back to

15:23

the styles of playing against Chelsea, it

15:26

suits Chelsea to play in Manchester City, Liverpool

15:28

or in Arsenal, who come on to them, who want

15:30

to hen them back in, and then they can counter

15:32

attack. So I thought his interview

15:35

was refreshing, actually, because usually he's so

15:37

uptight in that moans, and

15:39

he just said it, which is exactly what we were

15:41

thinking, what an advert for the Premier League.

15:43

Yeah, absolutely. And it wasn't a great

15:45

day, I don't think, for too many of the City players.

15:47

A couple of points I made after the

15:49

game. I thought they missed John Stones, I think

15:52

how important he's become, not just

15:54

his defending in his organisation, now when he

15:56

steps into midfield, gives him the overload,

15:59

he understands he's... role where he's passing

16:01

how he can get it into the attacking third. I thought

16:03

they missed that, I thought Roger E at times

16:07

got a little bit drawn around

16:09

the pitch, he missed a couple of the challenges

16:11

he normally makes. One

16:13

player I think we'd probably

16:16

overlook again and we shouldn't is

16:18

Erwin Holland, he's got 13 Premier League

16:20

goals which is incredible in 12 Premier League

16:22

games on a season when people are saying

16:24

he's not quite the same and comparing him to last

16:27

year. I mean whatever happens,

16:29

what an incredible potential,

16:34

because he's still on I think he's 23 at the moment,

16:37

incredible potential that this guy's got and

16:39

a hunger to be in the right place

16:41

to get goals. Some fortune

16:43

I think in the penalty and we should actually

16:46

just quickly discuss that. But Erwin

16:48

Holland is a

16:50

gift for the Premier League. Oh absolutely

16:52

and we want the best players within the Premier

16:55

League, I think we were all worried he might go to La

16:57

Liga but we were fortunate

16:59

that he came to Manchester City and to

17:01

the Premier League. The one thing I

17:03

remember listening to a story about, I read it

17:06

and it was talking about his dad

17:08

would often catch him watching videos

17:11

of him missing opportunities and he was

17:13

like why are you watching those ones and

17:16

he was like because I want to learn why I miss them and

17:18

how to get better at them, whether I need to be

17:20

quicker with my touch, whether my movement needs to be

17:22

a bit different. So it's almost that perfectionist

17:25

in him and that drive and that hunger

17:27

to just keep breaking records,

17:29

to keep scoring goals, you can see the joy

17:32

he gets out of the tap-in or

17:34

any type of goal, everything means

17:36

the same to him, that is what he is there

17:39

to do. I think the other side of it, I think his

17:41

all round game is getting better, his link up play,

17:44

it's taken him a while to get to that but like you

17:46

say, his young, he is still quite

17:48

raw in the respect

17:50

of holding the ball up and bringing others into play,

17:53

that game intelligent, that experience

17:56

you do get when you get older to

17:58

play a certain style.

17:59

I just love his hunger to score goals.

18:02

It's the defender's worst

18:04

nightmare, isn't it? When you see him sort of bearing

18:07

down on you, that power that he's got in around

18:09

the penalty area, that upper body strength, and

18:11

then alkaline gliars. Let's just

18:13

clean up that VA on the penalty

18:15

as well, because we were in the studio, we saw it.

18:18

I think we both sort of looked at it a couple of times

18:20

and thought, oh, I'm not quite sure about it. And then

18:22

we saw a couple of replays. And I think we

18:24

both felt that Erwin Holland instigated

18:27

the grab on Kukareya. Kukareya

18:29

reacts by grabbing back, and then as the ball's

18:31

coming in, there's an isolated

18:33

shot of Kukareya with his arms around,

18:36

Holland, who goes down. I didn't

18:38

think it was a penalty. I don't think you thought it was a penalty

18:41

in the end. I'm just glad that

18:44

we're not talking about VAR. The

18:47

game went on beyond then, and fortunately

18:49

it didn't become the talking

18:52

point if it was a 1-0 win for the city.

18:54

And I just felt on that one, it was almost

18:56

like, I felt the referee Antonella

18:59

didn't need to give anything,

19:01

and then we'll go to VAR, have a look at it, and see, but

19:03

I think by giving it, it's then never

19:05

going to be deemed a clear and obvious error. And that

19:07

was one of those things I felt today, with 20

19:09

minutes on the clock, I thought, what a great game we set

19:12

up. Chelsea had started well, they

19:14

were causing problems in the wide areas, and Dublin

19:16

opened, Duku and James was

19:19

a great play-out. And then I almost felt

19:21

like VAR

19:22

wanted to inject it off

19:24

in the game. Let's have a VAR, that's 20

19:27

minutes of good football, now let's have a VAR. I

19:30

just felt he didn't need to get involved. No,

19:33

I do a show at home called Ref Watch with

19:35

former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher.

19:38

And it's something that I said when we were looking

19:41

at the goals was, sometimes the

19:43

best thing is to do nothing because

19:46

it could go either way, and

19:48

don't influence it, just let it ride out. And

19:50

after the game, we'd have all looked at it and gone, I've

19:52

seen them given. You could

19:55

see it go the other way as well. So maybe

19:57

the best thing is sometimes is to do

19:59

nothing.

19:59

But I agree with VAR, they look to

20:02

intervene at every opportunity. Even the

20:04

Haaland goal, when he scores, and they're looking for

20:06

a hand ball, and you're thinking, please,

20:08

come on, let's not talk about it. I mean, the

20:10

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20:12

into the studio was, let's hope

20:15

we don't get any major VAR

20:17

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21:08

Anyway, we're not going to finish this on VAR, but

21:11

we are going to move on to Molineux. Tottenham

21:14

went away to Wolves. Having lost their

21:16

first game of the week, obviously the circumstances on

21:19

Monday to Chelsea to play a sent

21:21

off. Lots of injuries, you know,

21:23

all kinds of problems for Antacruz

21:25

to Koglu. So they go to Wolverhampton, one

21:28

is we go one up early to a Brennan Johnson goal

21:31

and then later on concede two

21:33

goals, which means back to back defeats for

21:35

Spurs. We've just done a breakdown

21:37

on the tactic show, which is on

21:39

the NBC Sports YouTube channel. Anyone wants to

21:41

have a look at that, just look at the two goals

21:44

that Spurs concede. Is it

21:46

as simple as saying because

21:49

of who wasn't there, that possibly

21:51

caused the defeat, or should

21:53

the players out there have done a little

21:55

bit better? I think there's

21:58

a little bit of both. Van

22:00

Der Venne and Madison, I think the game's different.

22:02

I really do, I think. Madison

22:04

gets on the ball more, they dominate possession, they

22:07

create more opportunities. Van Der Venne,

22:09

play at high line, you can get back

22:11

into positions. I said to you when we were watching

22:13

the game, we were chatting about it and I was saying, Van Der Venne,

22:16

we talk about his pace but it's actually the reading

22:18

of the game, he's understanding and he's such

22:20

a young player. He's had

22:22

the same effect I feel that Van Dyke's

22:24

had on Liverpool, he's come in, he's got that stature,

22:27

that aura about him. You almost

22:29

see opposition forwards looking at him thinking,

22:32

don't fancy taking him on in a 1v1 or

22:34

I don't quite think I've got the strength throughout muscle

22:37

him and things like that so already he's got a psychological

22:40

upper hand on people which is a great

22:42

thing to have. The other side of it, you'd

22:45

look at it and go, well you've got two international

22:47

centre halves playing, Eric Dyer and Ben Davis,

22:50

should they be able to deal with runners through them, through

22:53

passes? They should but late

22:55

on in the game when you haven't played that many

22:57

minutes, legs are tired, mind's

22:59

tired, it's like the constant pressure that comes

23:01

on you. If that was maybe two

23:04

games down the line and they'd have two lots

23:06

of 90 minutes in the leg and then they get to

23:08

that stage, I think they see the game out. I

23:10

don't think there is mentally tired and physically tired

23:13

and that's something that you look at and post

23:15

a cogloo I'm sure, listen he's a smart

23:17

guy, he's probably looking at the same thing thinking,

23:20

we could have defended it, we could have done better but

23:23

it's a big touch. I did hear a

23:25

bit of a press conference last night after the game

23:27

and he sort of said, you know, I

23:29

was a little concerned for some of the players who

23:32

haven't played at that level for that long

23:35

time, you know, as first-time league star,

23:38

it does, you know, that fatigue sometimes

23:40

is in the head as much as in the legs and you're switching

23:42

off and you're looking for a rest. It's

23:45

interesting because actually having done the breakdown

23:47

we did on the second goal which is the

23:49

limina goal from the three kick. The

23:52

thoughts just come back to my head and it came through

23:55

when we were watching Newcastle

23:58

training, the summer series away. in

24:00

America. I remember Eddie Howe going through

24:02

some game type situations and the opposition

24:05

had the ball. The first thing Eddie Howe

24:07

coached was one of his players

24:10

to get in front of the ball and stop the quick

24:12

free kick. So he had Almoron doing

24:14

it, he had I think

24:17

Trippie doing it, he had Joe Ellington

24:19

doing it at times. He didn't always have the same player

24:21

and he did a little thing which made me laugh and I thought

24:23

very clever. He said he had the player

24:26

to get in front of the ball and then go down and tie

24:28

his laces as if he's doing his laces. Now

24:30

most of the players haven't got laces in the boots anyway so

24:32

I don't know how that was. But obviously

24:35

it's just a ploy to stop the

24:37

opposition playing a quick free kick so

24:39

you can get organised. And I remember

24:41

now watching the stacking

24:44

Spurs goal today and anybody who gets a chance to look,

24:47

referee gives a free kick, Wolves

24:49

want to take it quickly, Emerson Royal

24:51

gets involved with trying to run in and kick in the ball

24:53

away, they get him out of position. But

24:55

the big thing is it's just come back to me is that

24:58

no Spurs player thinks about getting

25:00

in front of the ball and stopping at a quick free kick. Which

25:02

just gives us time to fill our holes

25:05

in behind, get our organisation and

25:07

maybe give us a chance to defend. We're

25:09

now talking 90 plus seven minutes

25:11

in the game, it's at 1-1 so that'd be a scored

25:14

one. The mean is running forward, could

25:17

they have just a bit of thought

25:19

and maybe a bit of discipline have

25:21

saved that situation. And you're talking about in

25:24

those positions, you're talking about Hoebea and

25:26

then you're talking about Benton Court, two

25:28

experienced players who should know better,

25:31

should be thinking in that position, get

25:33

on top of it, do something. I think Som was in

25:35

and around the same area as well, another

25:37

experienced player. But then I go back to

25:39

them tired minds again, is that part of

25:42

it? Is there enough leadership

25:44

on the pitch for someone to do that? Som's

25:46

not that type of, Som's a leader of,

25:49

like showing what you can do on the pitch. He's

25:52

not a shelter and a baller and an organiser.

25:56

And do they need that figure in the

25:58

field to be able to do that? I think when

26:00

you go back to Newcastle there and you make a great example

26:02

of it, Kieran Trippe is the one straight away you'd

26:05

be thinking he's in his head, he's

26:07

played for Simioni. Simioni knows

26:10

the dark arts of the games

26:12

and that's how you slow a game down, that's how you

26:14

frustrate teams and that's what you've got to do. But

26:16

I just think when he'd be the one

26:18

saying

26:19

get in front of the free kick, slow it down, make

26:21

sure it happens, but it's a great point.

26:24

I was wondering back to back, if it's now

26:26

for Spurs in the space of

26:28

what, six days, has

26:30

the break come at a good time? You

26:32

get one or two, I know injuries, you're

26:35

talking about Van der Venne and Madison being maybe

26:37

next year before we see them in the white ball, other

26:40

players, suspension, Udoghi comes back, he was

26:42

only one game suspended, Remario we know was three

26:44

which makes it a little bit difficult. But

26:46

has the break almost come at a good time, go away,

26:48

come back together

26:49

again, we go again? Yes,

26:51

and I think also as well if there is a game this weekend,

26:54

all the media's attention will be

26:56

on Tottenham, what's the response going to be, how

26:58

are they going to deal with this situation? Yes,

27:01

exactly. From suddenly having this unbelievable

27:03

start, we go back to being

27:06

Spursy and that's the problem,

27:08

that's the title I want to get away from. So

27:10

it's a case of I'm sure, it's very

27:12

difficult with an international break because

27:15

for a team like Tottenham they'll

27:17

have multiple internationals within the

27:19

changing room who will be going away on international

27:21

breaks now. So it's not a case of where Anj

27:23

Posterkogli can get them in and sort of get

27:25

a little bit of a reset and look back at

27:27

the work they've done and go hang about lads, would you

27:30

have taken this at the beginning of the season? Because

27:32

the position we were in, no one would

27:34

have put us in this position, they'd have probably said

27:36

we'd have been around seven or eight and how's

27:38

Posterkogli getting on, can he have an impact

27:40

on them, he's not quite done what

27:43

he'd wanted to. Well they're in a magnificent

27:45

position so take the positives from it,

27:47

I think that's what they've got to do and they've got to just sort

27:50

of take stock by

27:52

taking a step back from the situation, the

27:54

international break and go we're in a great position

27:57

here. Absolutely and I just want to

27:59

give a mention.

27:59

to Gary O'Neill because he's a guy

28:02

often that's not in the spotlight in many

28:04

respects. I think he was on Sky

28:07

Football, Monday Night Football a few weeks ago, showed

28:09

a bit of his coaching and how he works.

28:11

I think startled one or two people and got

28:13

people's attention. And just

28:16

as the Wolves manager,

28:18

his team played good football, they're well set

28:20

up, they've had some terrible decisions

28:22

to go against, some VAR and the likes.

28:24

I mean, I think they're back-to-back penalties that

28:27

have been given against them that weren't, I think

28:30

they got an apology this weekend for one last

28:32

week. Was Hee-Chung Wang the first one

28:34

and then Robby O'Silva I think it was

28:37

last weekend? That's three penalties then,

28:39

the Luton one as well. Yeah, so they've

28:42

had some terrible luck. I

28:44

just think he's one of those managers who I think

28:47

people are starting to warm to, people are starting to

28:49

understand how good he is, he's working

28:51

with the group. He went on

28:53

to difficult circumstances, I think he had four days training

28:56

before the start of the season, we saw them play at Man United

28:58

where they played United off the park and lost

29:00

1-0 the first day. But yeah,

29:03

difficult time, but again a guy who wants to

29:05

coach, who gets played better and walls

29:08

play some good football, I tell you, they're an

29:10

addition football team. A little bit of

29:12

credit to Gary O'Neil. OK

29:14

mate, let's move it on to Anfield, I'm sure

29:17

you're looking forward to speak to this Liverpool

29:19

at home to Brantford. Brantford can always be difficult

29:22

opposition to play, Thomas Frank has his team,

29:24

well set up, but

29:26

Liverpool, no problem,

29:28

3-0-1, two goals for Mo Salah, one for Jogo

29:30

Jota, is that almost what

29:33

Liverpool need? I kind of feel with Liverpool,

29:35

and I want to get your view, I said the

29:38

other week, it's almost to me like Liverpool

29:40

are still trying to convince themselves they're

29:43

title contenders. It's

29:45

like people are saying, oh Liverpool, is this

29:47

a team? Listen, they're in good shape at the moment, it's

29:49

second in the table, one point behind City.

29:52

Are they really title contenders, do you think,

29:54

this time around?

29:56

I'm still not convinced about

29:58

them defensively. from the aspect

30:01

of Trent Alexander-Arnold

30:03

playing in this inside position. Now

30:05

Manchester City tried it with Carl

30:07

Walker moving into that position, he tried it with

30:09

also Zinchenko when he was at the club. And

30:12

it didn't quite work because you're vulnerable and

30:14

susceptible to counter-attacks on that side. And

30:17

Canate when he plays on that side often

30:19

gets caught either ball-watching because

30:23

teams are clever now, what they do is they'll play a winger

30:25

high on the left and they'll bring the striker

30:28

out to the left-hand side as well. So

30:30

then Canate has got this conundrum, which one

30:32

do I go in on? If I go tight on the striker

30:34

there's a ball in behind for the winger and

30:36

that causes problems. If I go wide

30:39

enough onto the winger, leaves this

30:41

big gap through to the striker and he's caught

30:43

in that position at the moment where he

30:46

doesn't quite know how to deal with it. I

30:48

don't think Michaelis does a number six, I

30:50

don't think he

30:52

senses danger enough to play in that position.

30:54

When I look at Rodry he senses

30:57

it, he knows that when people move

30:59

into certain positions. Can you learn that do you think? I

31:01

don't think he's athletically

31:03

good enough to do it. To get across the pitch. Yeah, I

31:06

think he's one of those players,

31:08

he's a brilliant footballer, but play him to his

31:10

strengths. And listen, I'm not sitting

31:12

here telling the end club what to do, but I just think his

31:15

best positions higher up when you look at him at Brighton

31:17

and especially Argentina in the World Cup,

31:19

I thought he was the second best player in the tournament. I

31:21

really do behind Messi. Messi was unbelievable,

31:24

but Michaelis there was phenomenal

31:27

in that forward advanced position, retaining

31:29

balls, little threaded through passes. So

31:32

I think if you want to get the best out of him, you've

31:34

almost got to play him in that position. The

31:37

other thing I think with Liverpool is, Zobbers

31:39

lies your mainstay. But

31:41

then you look at it and go, well who's the other two? Who

31:44

fits in there? I think Curtis Jones

31:46

does when he's fit. I think what Jurgen

31:48

Klopp's got out of him is he knows tactically

31:51

exactly how to play the game. And

31:53

also his passing accuracy,

31:56

his passing retention is the highest

31:58

in the Liverpool team. also his

32:00

turnover of possession and winning it back

32:03

is the highest in the midfield which

32:05

is impressive. I'm

32:09

grabbing the... every

32:11

time I see him I kind of like what

32:14

I see all the tools and

32:16

the raw material looks there. Young and

32:18

inexperienced I think there's a side of him but

32:20

I also think there's a side where he's

32:22

just getting used to playing again. He's had a year

32:24

out of playing it by Munich so that's a long

32:27

time in footballing even your body getting

32:29

up to speed probably didn't have a

32:31

full proper preseason because you're a bit in limbo

32:34

am I staying am I going where am I at

32:36

you sort of drop your standards because you're feeling

32:38

a little bit sorry for yourself so

32:40

I think there's a side where he'll get better

32:43

in time but I

32:45

do like him he's a more

32:47

of an advanced center of field that

32:49

loves getting on the half-term drives with the ball

32:52

so so well so it's just that defensive

32:54

minded midfielder that endos

32:57

not quite at the level. Yeah

32:59

it's interesting

32:59

one of me I have to mention just

33:02

as we move on from Liverpool is Mel Salah

33:04

I think double figures again for him he's productivity

33:07

in terms of goals and assists I

33:09

mean to even think about what a sale

33:11

would would have looked like for

33:13

Liverpool will look like in the future.

33:16

I said today when we were doing the

33:18

highlights and you watch him and he slips

33:21

one in a typical opens his body

33:23

up from that right-hand side he gets ahead

33:25

of it he nonchalantly puts in and he's

33:28

already at double figures

33:31

I think we sometimes in football take for granted

33:33

the art of putting the ball in the back and that and

33:35

how difficult it is this guy makes it look

33:38

easy and I said

33:40

today he's a modern great he's a modern

33:42

or family great and

33:44

it will be only when he's gone and we

33:46

start looking back at the history in the record

33:48

books and what he's done that maybe

33:51

he'll get the appreciation he deserves. Yeah

33:53

he certainly gets the appreciation from from

33:55

Liverpool fans they know what he's capable

33:58

of they know what he's churning out.

33:59

game after game. The

34:02

big thing when you watch Mohammed Salah is, and

34:04

I just wonder whether this is why it didn't work

34:06

for him at Chelsea, is that at

34:09

times he can do nothing in the game and

34:12

it can have a real tough time. I think back

34:14

to the Derby against Everton, Michael Enco marked

34:16

him out of the game. Michael Enco was brilliant,

34:18

suddenly bang, blink of an eye,

34:21

does something, scores a goal and you think, where

34:24

did that come from? And he's

34:26

stats stack

34:27

up from a statistician

34:30

point of view. Everyone looks at him and goes, goals assist.

34:33

But when you actually watch his all round game you go,

34:35

he doesn't have an effect at times

34:37

and he can be quite sloppy and he can be a

34:39

little bit sort of on the periphery of

34:41

the game. But with

34:43

a blink of an eye he can just

34:46

score a goal or create something out of nowhere.

34:50

And that's why you can never really take him off the pitch because

34:52

you know he's got that in his

34:54

armoury. He's a phenomenal player. Yeah,

34:57

absolutely. And you do think

34:59

Liverpool are going to challenge for a title, most of it's

35:01

going to be the core of that goal from that

35:03

right hand side. OK, let's move this on

35:05

to Old Trafford. So a bit of attention

35:08

back on Manchester United, losing to Copenhagen

35:10

4-3 in the Champions

35:13

League, Marcus Rasterid getting sent off,

35:16

all kind of pressure and headlines

35:19

on Eric Tenharg. So this

35:21

was a game that I set out

35:24

my note before the game was, United can't lose

35:26

this game. It's one of those days where United

35:28

knew this game, it's all on. They

35:31

didn't lose a game, they scored through

35:35

Lindelof from a corner kick,

35:38

they won against Luton, 1-0.

35:41

Good win, not a great performance,

35:44

is that where we are with Liverpool now?

35:48

Or should standards maybe be

35:50

higher?

35:51

The standards at Manchester United should always

35:53

be higher. I just think there's

35:56

a real lack of belief whether it's in

35:59

each other. as players whether it's in the system

36:01

that they're playing.

36:03

I think it's very interesting

36:06

now. They still 6th to 7th in the league

36:08

at the moment. The 3

36:11

points behind 4th, well there were 3 points behind

36:13

4th. And now, yeah, 6th in the table on 21

36:15

points. 5th

36:21

is Villain on 25 points

36:23

and 4th is Tottenham on 26

36:25

points. So there... It's not a terrible

36:28

position is it? To me 4 points, yeah.

36:30

You're thinking like they're 16th or something. Yeah.

36:33

But they're not. I think a lot of it has come from

36:36

the Carlin Cup defeat

36:38

to Newcastle at home. Yeah. 3-0. And

36:40

then that was

36:41

followed, that was after the 3-0 against

36:43

Manchester City at home. So we're looking at

36:46

that over aggregate going saying they've been beat 6-0

36:48

at home over two games. And you

36:50

look at that and go it's not great, but then the Champions

36:53

League form hasn't been great. But in

36:55

the Premier League, they've gone about the business.

36:59

They're in a position now where you go, you know if you go on

37:01

a run and we start to click a little bit,

37:03

we start to believe in ourselves and believe in each

37:05

other, you can actually sort

37:07

of mount a challenge to get that top point. We can come with

37:10

wins, can't we? It's amazing how, and

37:12

sometimes our listeners and viewers might

37:14

not understand, how much a win changes

37:17

the dressing room and the training ground

37:19

and how you work. And sometimes you haven't

37:21

played well and you kind of know you haven't played well. But as

37:23

you say, you look at the table and you go, oh we're

37:26

6th, we're not playing well. Listen, if we kick in

37:28

the gear a little bit, we can go kick on

37:30

again. And I suppose that's what Eric Tenharg

37:32

is continually pushing out the narrative.

37:34

But we're not as badly as you

37:36

lot keep saying we are. No,

37:37

I think the big thing is that we're

37:40

all, and rightly so,

37:42

I think anyway, in my opinion,

37:44

is that we all look for an identity

37:47

of a team, don't we? So we want to see how

37:49

a team plays and what their style is. When

37:51

I look at Manchester City, even Chelsea

37:53

today, I can see what they're trying to do, Arsenal,

37:56

Liverpool. When I watch Aston

37:58

Villa, we get... exactly

38:00

what the ideas are on the pitch and what they're trying

38:02

to achieve. When I watch Manchester United,

38:05

it's just reactive football and

38:07

that's the issue where it's like Manchester

38:10

United with the money they spent shouldn't be

38:12

a team who sits deep and counter attacks.

38:15

I understand when the chips are really

38:18

low and you've probably sold a few players or they've

38:20

lost a manager, a new manager comes in.

38:22

But 10 hogs had

38:25

what, a year and a half, a year and a half

38:27

in charge now? Choice of a number of players.

38:29

Yeah, so have they progressed? Have they regressed?

38:32

I don't think they've got any better. It's interesting,

38:35

I looked at the bench this weekend and then you've got

38:37

Varan who you talked about as a winner

38:39

was on the bench. There

38:42

was no Jonny Evans but it

38:44

was Maguire and Lindelor so he's not

38:46

getting in ahead of Maguire and

38:48

Lindelor. Amrabbat was one they chased

38:51

and talked about. He was sitting on the bench.

38:53

And Mason Mount, who you're going to spend a big

38:55

amount of money on and then you're playing Luton

38:58

at home and Mason Mount's on the bench. Those

39:00

are the things that I scratch my head and say,

39:03

what's the plan here? What's

39:05

the joined up thinking? Why

39:07

on these days is Mason Mount not in your

39:09

first game? If he's fit? Well,

39:12

that's a big question isn't it? Is it

39:14

a case of Mason Mount's just not

39:16

playing well? Is it that

39:18

they've seen something else in him and it's not

39:21

quite right what they've seen and they don't believe

39:23

he's the player that they thought he was

39:25

but to put all the money into him with

39:27

a year remaining on his contract, it was what, over £55

39:30

million? So what's that? $65 million-ish.

39:33

You look at that and say that's a big gamble to

39:36

take on someone in the last year of his contract

39:38

plus the contract he will be on as

39:40

well, wages wise, will be huge.

39:43

So it was a big gamble. I think there's something

39:45

more with Varan. You see

39:47

the clips during the weekend. It looked

39:49

very frosty and hostile between him

39:52

and Tenharg and his backroom staff. It's

39:54

almost like Tenharg's, sorry,

39:57

Varan's looking very frustrated and isn't

39:59

it?

39:59

happy with the situation and

40:02

would you be? I don't think he would be. I

40:04

think he'll feel every pro

40:07

backs themselves. You want to play don't you? I'm

40:09

sure if you've ran

40:11

at this stage of his career he's going to want to play

40:13

games and I suppose we've got Marcus

40:16

Rashford who 17 goals last season 30 or

40:18

comps looks shadow of that

40:21

player and Hoyland who it's

40:23

amazing he looks confident playing in Champions League

40:25

and he's got his five goals just can't find

40:28

a bit of luck find the right contact

40:30

to get a goal in the Premier League had a couple chances

40:32

again against Luton and wasn't able to find the

40:34

back of the net. But that one was a really

40:37

interesting signing to me. Yeah

40:39

because if I look at Hoyland I like him as a

40:41

player I really do. I think he's potential I think he

40:44

could be a top player. But what does he feed

40:46

off crosses so you've got Garnaccio

40:49

on one side he wants

40:50

to chop weave in and out and

40:52

you think does he really deliver quality

40:54

balls into the box? Yeah we wondered if that's why he

40:56

played Rashford on the right and maybe

40:59

to put a cross in and he actually did didn't

41:01

he? He just missed it at the back post ever slightly

41:03

but you're looking at wingers when when

41:05

Rashford plays on that left he's not going to be one he's going to get

41:07

it out of his feet and really whip a great ball into

41:10

the box is he? So if that's

41:12

not going to happen well get to the bar line set it

41:14

back for your fallbacks and then put quality into the

41:16

box. If Hoyland must be wondering

41:18

himself like what have I joined here?

41:21

I want service I want balls in the box I

41:23

want to want to go into tap balls and win headers

41:26

and things like that and I think he's got that

41:28

it well he's definitely got that in his game because we've seen

41:30

it so um you've got a place here to

41:32

strike a stunt.

41:34

Absolutely so a little bit of work for

41:36

10-H

41:45

restrictions

41:55

apply. We

42:00

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42:23

OK, we'll look

42:26

at some of the other results and important

42:29

scorelines. Let's start at the Emirates,

42:31

Arsenal, facing Burnley.

42:33

So Burnley having a bit of a tough

42:35

time under Vincent Kompany, but relationship

42:37

between Kompany and Arteta from the old Man City

42:40

days. So there was a lot

42:42

of getting on between the two

42:44

benches. But Arsenal got the job

42:46

done. I know you kept a little bit of an eye on this

42:49

one. And Trossall gets the first goal. Brownhill

42:51

brings them back level. And

42:53

then Sleba, the head of Nzinchenko

42:55

with a beautiful Pranestizic kick, got

42:58

the goals for Arsenal. And I just

43:00

felt it was one of those days where it was

43:03

a bit of a feel-good day for Arsenal. They kind of

43:05

got their football back, they got a few goals, and they're

43:08

probably feeling better about themselves. Yeah, more so

43:10

the second half. I think in the first half Burnley

43:13

had a go, made a bit of a game of

43:15

it, had a few opportunities. They're

43:18

obviously shot shy in the final

43:21

third. They lack a little bit of creativity.

43:23

Al Foster's been missing for

43:25

a while. Which is a real shame, and we

43:27

hope and wish him good luck as well, and get him feeling

43:30

better soon. But I think there's a

43:32

side of it where

43:33

you just go, from Arsenal's

43:35

point of view, it's like, we've got more gears to

43:37

go through this. So even when they got back into the game,

43:39

it was like, come on lads, we can

43:41

sort this out as pressure from home. So it was Trossall against

43:43

a close nine, with Martelly on one side, Sakh

43:46

of the other. Kai Havertz involved.

43:49

Yeah, misses a good header doesn't he? Misses

43:51

a header from sort of five yards out. It's

43:54

interesting isn't it, everyone always says, who watches

43:56

him, oh there's a player there. Yeah, there's

43:58

a player in there. Is he the training? ground play that you've

44:00

always played with throughout your career who is brilliant

44:03

on the training ground but can't quite

44:05

hit that next level on the pitches or something

44:08

that he fears going on to the pitch

44:10

where he doesn't feel comfortable has

44:12

it got to a point where he's overthinking about

44:14

the game and overthinking about what people are going

44:16

to be saying about him and there's just that element

44:19

of doubt in his mind for one reason

44:21

or another it's not happening for

44:23

him at the moment and that'll be a concern

44:25

for Michael Arteta. It's interesting though because I

44:27

read last night Arteta was saying good things about

44:29

him and that he hasn't got to and

44:32

I was saying I think that's good management because

44:34

I think he's making sure his confidence stays

44:36

high but eventually at some point

44:38

he's either got to play habits

44:40

and get him through and get him nursing into getting

44:43

some goals and being effective or

44:45

it's difficult to have a squad when you're playing a

44:47

player who isn't really doing it week in week out

44:50

and you're training hard and going like come

44:52

on Geffa, when's my time? Yeah

44:54

and that's the point about bringing people

44:56

in for big money isn't it? Yeah. You almost feel

44:58

like well he's gonna have to play him. If

45:01

Kai habits that are being bought for say 30

45:03

million dollars

45:04

we'd have all gone nice and good because good squad player

45:06

you'll fit in for a squad player and I think there'd be

45:08

an almost... He was born in the first 11 wasn't he? Yeah and

45:10

I think there was an element of a lot

45:14

of Arsenal fans a lot of sort of the media

45:16

pundits are saying they shouldn't have bought

45:18

him and they shouldn't have bought Reija and

45:20

they should have gone all in on a number nine and

45:23

got that big number nine but I think Arteta's

45:26

sort of argument to that was well I'd rather

45:28

have more goals scattered about yeah I think he'd

45:30

get more goals for him and he hasn't done

45:32

that. I think it was the penalty away at Bournemouth

45:35

is the only goal he scored and

45:37

it was given to him. So he hasn't really

45:39

created anything. I was

45:41

one of those who didn't mind

45:43

it I kind of saw bits of what I like

45:46

in habits and big goals

45:48

and moments with Chelsea and thought actually

45:50

if he gets in those spots where when

45:52

Jackie used to get I think he's got creative

45:55

ability he might you know you can find a goal

45:57

he can find a passport you're right it hasn't

45:59

happened for

46:01

to shame. It's

46:03

one of those things that at some point you make

46:05

a letter to my house to deal with. But I suppose if they're winning

46:08

and he's still in the team then

46:10

people say less about it. A

46:12

little bit of worry for any worries for Burnley.

46:15

They say bottom of the table now and great

46:17

football last year, 101 points, but

46:19

hasn't quite worked since

46:22

they've come up at only one win at the moment.

46:24

Another defeat, not

46:27

great from set pieces again from the company,

46:29

which you would think his team would have all

46:31

would be better.

46:34

Might you have to change his style,

46:36

his philosophy, might he have to become a little bit more pragmatic

46:39

to get some points and give them a platform? He

46:41

went a little bit more direct in this game

46:44

against Arsenal and tried to change things

46:46

a little bit. He actually got joy from it. A

46:49

lot of people don't like the ball over the top

46:51

of them. They don't like running back towards their

46:53

own goal or turn them in behind. There's

46:56

a real snobbery around football where we

46:58

want to see this perfect game played. There's

47:01

only Manchester City and a few other teams

47:03

that can play that style of football.

47:05

When you think about it, Liverpool,

47:08

Manchester City and Arsenal

47:09

can go toe to toe. Top them

47:11

to a certain degree at full strength.

47:15

You look at those teams and they can go toe to toe

47:17

at the moment. There's not many others who can

47:19

do it. So why try and play them at their own game? You've

47:21

got to try and adapt in different ways. I

47:23

think you've got your deserbies and you've

47:26

got a version of it, aren't they? And they're playing a way

47:28

that suits their players and suits their system.

47:31

But it's not all out the same way. I

47:33

mean, these triggers and these safety mechanisms,

47:36

if things start to go wrong. And that's

47:38

what you've got to find, isn't it? You've got to

47:39

find what suits the players. I think you're asking

47:42

these players, playing against

47:44

tactically better players in the Premier

47:47

League than a championship, who see

47:49

things quicker, adapt to things quicker,

47:51

react to things quicker, will sort

47:53

things out on the pitch quicker rather than looking at the

47:55

manager and going, how do we sort this out? Top

47:58

top players just go.

47:59

and they get it done quickly and I think that's

48:02

where they're struggling to deal with it. Yeah,

48:04

a bit of work for Vincent Kompany. Let's go

48:06

to the Vitality. Interesting game here,

48:08

Bournemouth hosting Newcastle, Eddie Howe

48:10

taking Newcastle back to where he was

48:13

a player and a manager with much success.

48:15

Iriola has had a bit of a tough time at Bournemouth

48:18

and people were questioning maybe is

48:20

he trying to do too much with a group of players

48:22

who are not up to what he wanted to do and

48:24

he was talking about slowly

48:26

his messages are getting across. Bournemouth

48:29

end up winning the game 2-0, goals

48:31

by Dominic Solanke, 60th minute,

48:34

73rd minute on a day when I actually

48:37

thought Newcastle didn't really turn up. I know

48:39

they've had Champions League, got beat by Dortmund, they've

48:41

got some injuries, like he's hacking

48:43

Wilson out, number of plays, you

48:46

know, suspensions for Tenali, Bruno

48:48

Guimaraes not available. So

48:51

there was reasons and there's

48:54

a, I could say, excuses for Newcastle but I

48:56

think Eddie Howe would expect a little bit more

48:58

from a team that he put out that was still

49:00

a decent side. Yeah, I really do

49:02

as well and I think the other side of it as well, one

49:05

of the players that you didn't mention there, he's

49:07

one of those unsung players, is Dan

49:09

Byrne, can play across the back line,

49:12

very comfortable, big stature from

49:14

set pieces, from both

49:16

attacking and defending but also what they've

49:18

got across that back line which they

49:20

lose when Liv Remento comes in or Lewis

49:22

Hall, great experience, know-how,

49:25

under pressure, how do we deal with it? If it needs

49:27

to go, it goes, not overplaying,

49:30

trying to impress the manager and trying to impress

49:32

to get in the team, trying to do too much

49:34

and I think there's an element at that of times

49:37

at the weekend but

49:39

they just looked like it was a game too far,

49:42

they looked like they needed the international break,

49:45

they almost needed to limp over the line against Bournemouth,

49:47

get a result and then take

49:49

stock and go, it's been a tough couple

49:51

of weeks, tough one to make this out

49:55

and then just take stock

49:58

and look at it and sort of adjust it.

49:59

address it but there's that Champions League

50:02

element as well, the travelling,

50:04

the uke getting, adapting the training

50:06

sessions, making sure all that's right, whether

50:08

Eddie Howe will look at that himself and go, okay

50:10

maybe I need to adapt something, change something,

50:13

sit down with his medical staff over this period

50:15

and say, are we getting something wrong here, can we

50:17

change something? Feedback from the players as

50:20

well? Yeah absolutely because Amman

50:23

went off with a muscle injury, if I

50:25

mean Cheryl was holding his hamstring,

50:28

could have some kind of muscle injury and it

50:30

was almost like you were watching the players thinking, geez

50:32

who's going to be next? And

50:35

I think I said last week before

50:37

on the podcast, I just wonder if Eddie

50:39

Howe has to find another version of his Newcastle

50:42

team that doesn't have to rely on being

50:44

all out all the time. We saw him, we

50:47

spent some time with him in the

50:49

Premier League Summer Series watching him training, he has sort

50:52

of driven the training, it is for games

50:55

about working hard and that and I just wonder if it's

50:57

something with the games, with all

50:59

that they've got, similar players

51:02

doing the same thing each week, does

51:05

he have to take a little bit of the load away?

51:08

Could there be a bit more of a resting

51:11

in possession, so having the ball and maybe

51:13

not working it through the team but having a breather

51:16

at times and then going again, not

51:18

that kind of, it's almost like they're full on

51:20

driving at everything,

51:23

I worry a little bit that they're picking up so many

51:25

muscle injuries on a regular basis. Yeah,

51:28

I think when you think about the

51:31

style of play,

51:33

the way you get to that style

51:35

of play and that intensity is by

51:37

doing it in training every day and that becomes mentally

51:41

fatiguing. When you come in you go, this

51:44

is going to be a tough session, and you're thinking it's repetitive

51:47

and I remember the year that Liverpool won

51:49

the league, so the previous season to

51:51

that, a few of the senior players went into

51:54

Jurgen Klopp and said this is tough mentally

51:57

for the players to continue to do this, there's

51:59

got to be some real despite at some point where we

52:01

have a down date or something

52:04

a day off or a couple of days off within the week.

52:07

We're willing to do the work but we're

52:10

shattered doing it, we're really struggling to do

52:12

this. How can we do that?

52:14

Whether that needs a senior figure from the Newcastle

52:17

players to actually go and speak to Eddie Howell and

52:19

say this is where we're at. But often

52:21

when you're doing so well and

52:24

you don't want to question the manager but there's got

52:26

to be a bit of... Yeah, relationship. You know,

52:28

I think Eddie probably got a good

52:29

relationship with him. Yeah, you think so. So,

52:32

we'll see. Just before we move on mate, we do a

52:35

award each week for our underappreciate performer

52:37

of the week. A player who maybe hasn't got the headlines,

52:39

who doesn't always get the appreciation that

52:42

may be deserved. And my underappreciate

52:45

performer of the week is a Bournemouth player. He's

52:48

a Bournemouth striker, he's Dominic Slanky, who got

52:50

the two goals that won the

52:52

game for Bournemouth this weekend. I thought

52:54

he benefited from a decent team

52:56

performance and the first goal when we did a little breakdown

52:59

on it was a great example of a very

53:01

old press where he kept Newcastle

53:03

one side of the pitch, if he got the ball they won it back

53:05

quickly. Slanky got on the end of things,

53:07

so he passed Pope and they go 1-0 up

53:10

and improvised well for his

53:12

second goal. But Dominic Slanky is a player

53:14

who I feel at times

53:17

doesn't get the credit he deserves. He often plays as

53:19

a lone striker, he sometimes feeds

53:21

on scraps because his team aren't dominating possession.

53:25

He's got six goals already in the

53:27

league this season, he only got six all of last season.

53:30

He's a threat, he's got

53:32

good size, he's technically proficient

53:35

when the ball goes into him and he can join him with

53:38

midfield players. He's just one of those

53:40

forwards who I think we take for granted

53:42

in this league and for a goal scorer,

53:45

for somebody regularly who can find the back

53:47

of the net, they're worth their weight in goals. So Dominic

53:49

Slanky is my underappreciate performer of the week.

53:52

A good choice as well. I think when he

53:54

comes into the club, I think it was

53:55

around about 25 million from Liverpool, £30 million.

54:00

million dollars which is a big fee for

54:02

Bournemouth at that point and then that pressure comes

54:04

on his shoulders I think it's taken him a little bit of time

54:06

to adapt to the Premier League and we forget

54:09

when he moved to to Bournemouth from Liverpool

54:11

he was a young lad and there was

54:13

a lot expected of him to come in I

54:16

almost feel that time in the championship

54:18

to go and score a goal it helped him

54:20

and he got him a lot of goals

54:22

in the championship and then he was like well I'm actually the

54:24

main man yes a credit to him because

54:26

he's had a real good season

54:29

so far. Okay so maybe to

54:32

London Stadium West Ham 3 nothing

54:34

boys two we obviously both did this

54:36

game this morning five goals

54:38

thriller Packator gets

54:41

West Ham off to a great start, Awanyi gets

54:44

equalizer just before half time and Lange gets

54:47

Nottingham Forest ahead and then

54:48

they

54:49

almost switch off go to sleep Boeing and

54:51

Sucek with the goals for West

54:53

Ham I thought

54:55

was a good day for West Ham and I didn't I

54:57

thought they started well they finished well I thought there's

54:59

a bit of a consistency and I see

55:01

an evolving West Ham where I looked at

55:04

the team sheet today you've got Packator you've got Kudos

55:06

you've got Ward Prowse you've got Boeing you've

55:08

got people who want to get on the ball and

55:11

make things play you

55:13

know and sometimes with David Moyes teams

55:16

we've always thought about you know the industry

55:18

and the effort so I think there's a

55:20

balance and I just thought he got a good

55:22

performance out of his team today and in

55:24

the end that's a really good win for West

55:26

Ham and we're coming off the back of three straight defeats

55:30

you were saying that and I know you've got good relationship with Steve

55:32

Kup and spoke to me before the game he'll

55:35

be disappointed when I haven't got two one off and

55:37

the nature of the goals and you made a great point before

55:40

the match was saying that they've got to cut out

55:43

errors whether it's team errors or individual

55:45

errors you know the teams are gonna teams are good

55:47

enough in the primary they don't need a leg up now

55:49

they're almost giving teams opportunities. They're three

55:51

minutes into the game you can't be passing the ball across

55:54

the front of your back line and not expect to be punished

55:56

when it's cut out or takes a deflection which

55:58

is but

55:59

it

55:59

you couldn't have even got to that point. Also,

56:02

two set pieces, you'd be bitterly

56:04

disappointed. But the big thing for me is,

56:07

is that once you go 2-1 ahead,

56:08

tails are up, you're thinking, here we go. When

56:10

you say that the old saying in football is, you're

56:13

most vulnerable when you've just scored. 123 seconds

56:16

later, you can see the goal. It

56:18

can't happen. It's such a bad position

56:21

to put yourself in. Suddenly you go,

56:23

everyone's sort of arguing between themselves as

56:25

to why it's happened. And then there's a negativity

56:28

around the team then. So you'd

56:30

be bitterly disappointed with that. Yeah,

56:33

a good win for Westam. So,

56:36

addresses there, three game

56:38

losing run that they were on in the Premier League.

56:42

Crystal Palace 2, Everton 3, I

56:44

get the sense, Sean Darchay's work

56:46

is starting to have effect in Darchay

56:49

Trust, as I always say, to Musti. Micalenko

56:52

again in the goals. As he gets

56:54

a penalty back in the side for Crystal

56:56

Palace, it was a real threat to Coray, who

56:58

was becoming an absolute diamond

57:01

for Darchay. After a lot of decorate

57:03

with a goal. Edward gets one back

57:05

after a bit of a mix-up between the

57:09

goalkeeper and Torkovsky. They

57:11

get that wrong. And then Adjusa Garnaghey

57:13

comes on 86 minutes and gets the

57:15

winner for Everton. So, sometimes

57:19

it's a great way to win as well, and a late winner

57:21

away from home. Can you imagine? And then, although

57:23

I've just got him back, I have it

57:26

on a decent run of form. And I

57:28

just get the sense that both

57:30

parties, the manager and the dressing

57:33

room, are starting to understand

57:35

and appreciate each other. Yeah, I think one

57:37

of the big things for me, I was at the last

57:39

game of the season last year when he beat Bournemouth. Oh,

57:41

yeah, we were there, actually. We were at the time. Yeah,

57:43

and I spoke to a few of the staff, and I said, what

57:45

did we say after the game? And he was like,

57:47

do not celebrate this, like it's something that

57:50

should be achieved. It's not an achievement.

57:53

This should never be happening at Everton football court.

57:55

This shouldn't be the standard in

57:57

this changing room. And I think when you try and

57:59

set... mentality out. You've got to back it up, you've

58:01

got to make sure the players work hard every day.

58:04

But I think what he did really well was he bought

58:06

Ashley Ungen, a great experience

58:08

in and around the changing room, a winning mentality,

58:11

standard to set. I played with Ash Austin Villa

58:13

and know what he's like, he's

58:16

on you if you're not doing it right. And I think they

58:18

needed that. They needed that leader within the changing

58:20

room, not just Amos Coleman's

58:22

voice, someone who's actually playing week

58:24

in week out. The other thing I

58:26

think he did really well was he bought in Jack

58:29

Harrison and it bought a balance to the team.

58:31

So everything wasn't them reliant on McNeil

58:34

to deliver. Now you take it because

58:36

if you want to play Everton, we'll just show everything down

58:39

the right hand side because we don't want it on the danger

58:41

man McNeil. Now you've got two players on

58:43

either side who are capable of creating.

58:46

And we saw at the weekend for the first goal,

58:48

Jack Harrison, lovely balling for Mika Lenco.

58:50

So I think they're just a better balanced

58:52

team now. Yeah. And it's interesting he was talking

58:54

about making sure to the players that sometimes

58:57

a long ball is in a bad ball, it's a long

58:59

pass, it's not giving the ball away. And those

59:02

messages starting to come. Dominic Calvert, Lillian

59:04

Burkett in the team and in Dukorje, as I say,

59:06

has been an absolute diamond-hand long-term contract.

59:09

And you just get the sense that Everton

59:11

are going to be okay. Oh, I do as well. I

59:13

don't think we'll be going here last game of the season.

59:15

No. Mm. Brighton won,

59:18

Sheffield United won. I suppose

59:21

a good point for Sheffield United, he'd do a goal down

59:23

to a dingray. And

59:26

then Webster with an own goal being Sheffield

59:29

United back in it. The Who actually came on for Brighton

59:32

after 69 minutes. He was a substitute,

59:34

got sent off for a bit of a stamp, a

59:36

bit foolish. Yeah, but I was under

59:38

pressure. And then let's go to one of the informed

59:40

teams at Villa Park. I think it's 18

59:43

home games now in Europe

59:45

and in the Premier League that

59:47

they've won. I mean, it's an incredible

59:50

run by UNI and his team.

59:52

Home goal

59:54

from Robertson got them off. John McGinn, the captain,

59:57

swept a lovely ball in his left foot.

1:00:00

Watkins gets his customly goal after

1:00:02

a breakaway and Raoul Jimenez

1:00:04

with a bit of a consolation from Fulham's point of view.

1:00:07

But I heard Unaiemi

1:00:09

saying, you know, we can't be top four, we can't

1:00:12

be top four, we'd like to be top six but we

1:00:14

can't be top four. And I'm thinking, you

1:00:16

can be top four the way you're going and

1:00:18

the way you're managing and you know if you ambitious

1:00:21

owners maybe spend a bit of money in

1:00:23

the January window and get a bit of depth. I mean

1:00:26

this team and this turnaround has been

1:00:29

incredible. Yeah

1:00:29

it has, I tipped them to get them top four.

1:00:32

I said this the start of the year, start

1:00:34

of the season, having seen Unaiemi

1:00:37

at first hand in the summer series, I was

1:00:39

blown away with them. I thought what detail goes

1:00:41

into it, how they organise the team, what they're all about

1:00:44

and I thought I really fancy them to

1:00:46

get in. The one thing that we didn't legislate

1:00:48

for was the injury to Taro Mings and

1:00:51

Wendy, two of the best like

1:00:53

starters within the team. When you lose them

1:00:55

I'm thinking let's not go for them but

1:00:57

how they've responded has been quite brilliant.

1:01:01

I'm surprised that the run they've been on at Villa

1:01:03

Park, 100% we are. I'm surprised

1:01:05

they're so close to the top, no

1:01:08

having seen him first hand so incredible

1:01:11

job that he's doing. I remember when

1:01:13

we sat with John McGinn and we were chatting

1:01:15

and asking him, you want to know what M and

1:01:17

his wife can remember saying he's a bit crazy,

1:01:20

he's great, he's a bit crazy, crazy

1:01:23

work sometimes. I'm just going

1:01:26

to give you an opportunity for your underappreciated performance

1:01:28

of the week because it's an Aston Villa player, I'll

1:01:30

give you the four.

1:01:31

Yeah Mr Di Arbi, I just

1:01:33

think since he's come into the football club he's

1:01:36

taken a lot of pressure off Ollie Watkins,

1:01:39

I think he's also taken pressure off John McGinn

1:01:41

because John McGinn was so often the one who

1:01:43

had to create opportunities and to

1:01:45

make those forward runs. Watkins was

1:01:48

always the one who had to be the creator or a goal

1:01:50

scorer himself whereas Di Arbi, I

1:01:52

remember when he came into the club thinking

1:01:54

where's he going to play in this system, they

1:01:57

don't play winger so what's he going to do but

1:01:59

he's confident.

1:01:59

implements

1:02:01

Watkins and McGinn so so well

1:02:03

and so he's my unsung hero because As

1:02:06

much as he does score and much as he does creator

1:02:08

just think he's one that goes under the radar a

1:02:10

little bit Yes, good shout. He's still young.

1:02:13

You'll still grow and you say that The

1:02:18

management of unai Emory and and I

1:02:20

think what's great for Villa is they can play him as

1:02:22

a two They can play one underneath he can play

1:02:24

from the wide positions and it looks really

1:02:27

committed to so yeah Really good chart miss it to

1:02:29

your be as you're under appreciate

1:02:31

for the week listen mate. It's been brilliant

1:02:33

Yeah, you have to do this again get musty wherever

1:02:36

he is on a plane On

1:02:40

a week when it was bonkers at the bridge Chelsea

1:02:42

a man city slugged it out for a

1:02:44

4-4 draw Elsewhere United get

1:02:46

a win, but not a great performance ever

1:02:49

seen Liverpool Arsenal and Villa. They've got points

1:02:51

and performance you put together We're gonna

1:02:54

take a well-earned break to the international weekend,

1:02:56

but we're back on Sunday That's November

1:02:58

the 26th when we recap match

1:03:00

week 13 when Manchester City play Liverpool

1:03:03

on Saturday In Eberton host

1:03:05

Manchester United on the Sunday, but for now

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