Isak to Liverpool Confirmed, VAR Controversy & Arteta’s Big Problem | Deadline Day Fan Debate

I chirped in because he said everyone could see the manager was shocked.

No one could see the manager because he was turned away or with his face on a whiteboard.

I'm not having a heart attack. I've said this for ages. I'm just not having them.

Can you imagine the press conferences? Marino cooking that fraud.

I wouldn't have.

Roman Abramovich, last season would have sacked him. No doubt.

That's insane.

Do you think there's a...

Well... He wouldn't have managed it. Oh, he 100% would. People are obsessed with philosophy and, I can't change it now, I can't change it now. You get him beat a lot.

Doesn't score.

You're not the...

LAUGHTER

Sorry.

At least he's in the Carabao Cup third round. That's the start.

That's the real quiz.

LAUGHTER

We finish on Gary Neville.

LAUGHTER

MUSIC PLAYS Shall we finish on Gary Neville? LAUGHTER

Delighted to bring you the Fan Debate brought to you by Skybet here with the usual crowd and Scolesy as well, this is going to be a deadline special Fan Debate So we'll start with you Scolesy, have you got any breaking news for us on Salford?

Are you laughing or what? news for us on Salford? No, not yet. We've got a lad having a medical in Manchester I suppose so we're just waiting for the other club to bring somebody in to replace him and fingers crossed we get that done today.

Okay, I just wanted to ask you over the weekend of football, one of the big things with the first game of the weekend was VAR. I mean, where are you at with VAR right now?

Never liked it, don't like it. I think for the offside, it's okay. Other than that, all this going back to find out if there's a foul five minutes ago and stuff, it drives me up the wall. Obviously the Chelsea one

with the full-on game, it's just never a foul is it? I did put some on Instagram didn't I? I probably shouldn't have done.

I replied to it didn't I?

Yeah, I had a few PE teachers messaging me as well saying they knew it wasn't a foul. But that type of thing happens all the time. I think when you're in the game, you know it. It would have happened to you, it would have happened to me. It's just a good bit of skill that's a little bit unlucky that it clashed into. But VAR as a whole, as I say, offside I'm not too bothered about.

Especially with the new way of...

Yeah, or the new way. Miles better, it's quicker, yeah. The rest of it, it's not for me.

No. Okay, vote on VAR. Did you want VAR in?

No.

No, offside.

You wanted out?

No, I'm president and co-founder of the Anti-VAR Society.

I thought you just wanted in?

No, I think it's genuinely, genuinely ruining the game. I think you think about what you're in football for, like the point of going. If you'd like, try and distill why you go to football, I think what you're effectively doing is chasing a buzz.

You're a junkie, right? You're just chasing that buzz, It ruins that. It takes that away from you. You can't quite commit to a celebration of a goal.

That's the worst thing. That is the worst thing.

I think as well, how many times now have they come out and apologised a couple of days after they did it yesterday with a full-on one at the weekend? It's like, how are you making these mistakes? If you know they are mistakes, how does it keep happening? And what does that do for Fulham? It doesn't change anything for them. So it's just like how do we keep making the same mistake over and over? It takes away the joy, the euphoria, that spontaneous celebration, doing your shins on a seat in front, cuddling a stranger. It takes all that away from you and brings what?

Gives you occasionally maybe equalisers of decision or whatever. It's funny, when you're watching a replay of a goal now, say if you're watching the game on TV, you're not watching the goal, you're watching, aren't you, thinking what could be wrong? You're looking for a little offside, aren't you,

or if someone's fouled or a handball. Do you know what I would always watch as well? When a goal would go in, particularly if it was scored in front of the away end, I always watch the away end. I like watching the celebration, I like watching that end erupt. is slightly concerned about committing to the celebration. It really is taking so much away from the game.

And I mean, in terms of those binary things, did the ball cross the line? Of course use technology for that. But you know the stuff that's more fluid? You've got these little geeks in Stockley Park trying to tell professional footballers

how the game should be played. I think it's ludicrous.

They seem so far removed from reality as well. To call that a careless challenge, when he's done them with a great bit of skill,

and to then rule that goal out, it's like, lads. I just wanted the referee to show something there and go and look at the screen and go, no.

Yeah, he never knew.

It's a great chance for him to do that, wasn't it? It's a boys' club.

It feels like a boys' club, it really does, like the old school tie thing. Do you remember there was that comment, I think it was on one of the Sky shows, where he literally said he didn't want to do it because it was his mate. You're like, this is crazy. And I think it's a major problem for the game. You know when you hear people talk about the way that football's going?

I heard John Terry recently speak about how he doesn't necessarily have an affinity

with the game at the moment. that are actually wearing people out. Horrible. As to ex-pros, would you say, I know there's been a lot of debate around should they have ex-pro involvement in the VAR booth to kind of give them some sort of guidance on, especially in the context of what happened on Saturday, like a careless challenge. Anybody who knows, or anybody who's played football knows

that's completely accidental, it's not careless. How would you feel about that?

I think I agree with you because that situation at the weekend was a case of you felt like people who were deciding on it Hadn't played football because we all understand that sometimes that can happen you land on someone or vice versa I mean you couldn't have a footballer there for everything because we just don't know all the rules A lot of us do you know But in terms of having somebody there who actually sort of understands the game, there's no way I think if you were a player you'd understand that situation

and what happens wouldn't you? Yeah, no I agree with that. Like you say, I don't think you can do it properly because the rules would be fucking stupid. You'd be reading books for I don't know how long. But I think just to have someone in the room with them as a bit of common sense for something like that, just to have a look over and say, no, no, happens all the time, it's just that simple type of thing, but I suppose they are sticking to the laws of the game,

which isn't always right, is it?

Well, let's get back to what we love, the football. Gareth, I'm going to start with you, the big game of the weekend,

what did you make of it? It was good wasn't it? It's certainly good that we ended anyway, that free kick was something special and what Rory was just talking about, that buzz, that moment, that was a big one of them, and I was delighted to be on the Kop with my son for this one, which doesn't happen too much. I might have to check on him because I think I shook him up and down so much that he might be feeling the worse for wear today.

But yeah, I thought the game itself, I was surprised by Arsenal to be honest. You know, the way Liverpool have played so far this season, you can see you can get at them. You can see that we've changed after team essentially. And we've looked a little bit ropey at the back. So I thought if there's any time that Arsenal are going to come to Anfield and win,

it's this game and I was a little bit worried about it and we were all talking in the pub beforehand saying take a point from this, take a point that's fine. After winning away at Newcastle a point here is absolutely fine and then they come and you know they've got all the big lads in midfield and they sort of dominated midfield without then doing anything else though, where was the creativity, where was the pressure? I never felt at any point we were going to lose the game, it just seemed we were sort of cancelling each other out and I think the manager said you were waiting

for a sort of magic moment maybe to win it and so Bas Lai stepped up and done it and what a goal that was. But yeah I was surprised and I'm not having Arteta, I've said this for ages, I'm just not having him. And I think the stuff he came out with afterwards as well, he was talking about Liverpool suffering. They had one shot on target, where did Liverpool suffer? At no point did I think these are a brilliant side and we're clinging on here. It was just a bit of a midfield battle,

they didn't really commit to anything further than that. And then eventually Liverpool won it.

I think it's interesting. I think... I've asked you a question about Liverpool and you automatically start talking about Arsenal. The point I'm trying to make is I think because of the situation Arsenal find themselves in with Arteta being five years in and not winning a trophy

I think there'll be so many eyes and focus on Arsenal and I think Arsenal fans, when I was looking on social media, feel a little bit hard done by after the game, in terms of the criticism, thinking, okay, we lost to an amazing goal, there was nothing really in the game.

But I think it's going to be like this every week for Arsenal because it just feels like it's now or never. And it did feel like that opportunity was there for them for the reasons that Gareth mentioned You know, Liverpool with a new team looking a little bit vulnerable defensively What were your thoughts, Scolesy, watching it?

It was when I first saw the team When I saw Arsenal's team I thought, yeah they might control possession a bit But it's not a team to go to Anfield and win Do you know what I mean? They weren't going to go and put on a great performance, blow them away. They couldn't create chances.

They'd just signed Eze, brilliant footballer, creative. Odegaard, the most creative player they've got. Now they bring a centre-forward in for one of them players, because everyone's saying Odegaard's not great last year, he's not got a centre-forward to pass to. So they bring the centre forward and then don't play it. Oh my God. It was just a little bit of a negative mindset I thought. Now, I remember I had a go at Arsenal last year about when they went to City and celebrated the draw.

I thought that was a different stage. I actually think going to Anfield and getting a draw this time would have been a good result. You take that all day long. I think the thing with City was, City had about six or seven players, it was towards the end of the season. This is the start of the season, there's always a little bit different and going there would have been a great point. And if they'd have come away with a nil-nil, you said yeah, great, brilliant, great result. But once they scored Liverpool, you have nothing else. It's very hard to switch from a mentality of going for a point, then all of a sudden we've got a great chance and get after them, you just come and do it.

Gareth, I want to ask you, Liverpool have not been anywhere near the best in the first three games, you've got nine points out of nine, and then go and sign Isak. I mean, what's your feeling on that? Do you think Liverpool is... I mean, are you expecting Liverpool to run away with this league title? Where do you think Isak fits in?

Yeah, there's a lot of questions, but they're nice questions, aren't they? It's a nice problem to have. A lot of people are saying, you know, Ekhetike and Isak, where do they get the minutes out? Is it work? What's the system going to be? We've heard the manager sayke that he is that, he's comfortable getting the ball deeper, he's an upgrade on Nunez for that reason, he looks more of a

team player, able to run from deep, carry the ball, all of that kind of stuff. And then you know what you're getting with Isak in terms of, I think the only people who've outscored him the last two seasons are Haaland and Salah. So, as I say, it's a nice problem to have and Slot's talked about rotating more. I've said before on here that he relied on a core perhaps too much last season and there were players that didn't get a sniff. Elliot was one, Chiesa was another one. He's now getting players in that you feel, as you're saying and hinting at, I think

you can't leave them out. You've got to give them minutes. You've got to keep them happy. But I think post-international break, we've got something like six games in 17 days, something like that. And that just shows you the schedule and how mad it is now with the extra games in the Champions League, et cetera. And I think we probably looked at last season

and thought, well, we did burn ourselves out a little bit. You know, there's a couple of performances towards the end of the season before the title was wrapped up where you're a little bit like, you could have done with rotating here. So I think it's with that in mind. How it's all going to work, I don't know. All the best Arnaud with that one but like I say it'll be exciting to see. Will it be a front three? Will Ekhotikhe be out to the left? There are loads of options, loads of... I think you'll maybe set up depending on who we're up against.

Plenty of teams just come to Anfield, Arsenal now included, who just sit there and try and play for a point. So you've got to break them down, you've got to win it. We've now got all this attack and talent, there's still a worry at the other end. Obviously as we're recording we don't know if Liverpool are going to get gay or not. I'm praying we do because I'm still not quite convinced that we've got enough at the back. I thought Canarte was a lot better against Arsenal.

I thought Kyrgz was a lot better as well.

I'm a little bit concerned about him, the left-back.

Kyrgz, yeah. He was better yesterday, though, I thought. But the previous two games, I thought he looked a bit rash. He reminded me of, remember the left back he had a few years ago? Moreno? Yeah. Yeah, everyone's saying that.

He was a lot better yesterday, but he's too, I mean come on from me, he's too aggressive. I'm hoping that'll come with maturity.

Goes to ground easy, doesn't it?

I hope that will come with having Andy Robertson there, who I'm sure will be helping him, will play games as well. But he feels like he's got to win every tackle, even every header. He feels like he's got to go for it. Sometimes you've just got to put the brakes on, but I'm hoping that'll come with, you know, he's only 21, will come with a little bit of maturity.

He didn't want to win the header at Newcastle last week.

No, no. He's just like, you're just going to go into the back of someone and give a foul away. I worry a little bit about his pace, sorry Jamie.

Did you see the bit when Madueki went down? I thought, oh his legs have gone there. But he did manage to get back. I think Robertson will play a lot of games.

No I do.

I just want to ask you about Isak in that no supporter in here likes it A player at their club carries on the way Isaac has done at Newcastle. What's your feeling as a Liverpool fan when a player then comes into your club like that?

Yeah, I don't like it either. And I think, you know, football makes a hypocrite of everyone at some point. And when Sterling behaved in a similar way at Liverpool, I didn't like that. When Coutinho had a back injury at Liverpool, I wasn't really into that. So, no, I don't like it, but it's the direction of travel of football, it's where it's gone, it seems to be an accepted way now to get yourself out of a contract and get yourself to a club you want to go to.

I don't like it, I don't necessarily think it means anything else though. I see a lot of people projecting saying, he will now do this to Liverpool, if Real Madrid come calling or whatever. That's my question, Gareth. That's just what's up. Are you not worried about like, like you were saying before, the rotation, are you not worried that if you don't give Isak enough playing time he is going to throw his dummies out

the Prima game?

Well it feels like, I mean I'm sure you know as well, we've obviously been speaking to him one way or another for a long time, including it will work, where he'll expect them to play. So I'd be very surprised if he's telling things out of hand.

Speaking of hypocrisy, mate, 450 million.

LAUGHTER

Because as much as...

You mean the 300 million we got back in from Stoutlake?

Well, City have sold a lot of players over the years and all I've ever heard on air and other shows and stuff is how much... We haven't got dodgy sponsorship though. Well, that's the line of... Come on, Neil. It's the same cackles and laughter because at the end of the day City have given everyone here torture for four or five years,

winning the league every year and it's the same cheap... And now you're shite? Again, there you go with the... I'm laughing. The thing is, the thing is, the same thing every year, City have spent that. In the last six windows, we haven't spent as much as you've had in this one.

So, and we've sold a lot of plays, Alvarez, 80 million, Cole Palmer, Liam De Lapp, there's been a lot of sales for City. That's why you showed. Well, we'll see. We'll see. We'll see, won't we, this season. There's a long season ahead.

Gio, I want to ask you, you just asked him, are you worried about Isaac doing what he's done to Newcastle? Are you worried, we'll say, to you or Brentford?

Yes, yes, no it, but I am very much worried that what happens in two years' time when we're not giving him enough game time, he maybe loses his favour, what happens when he does the same thing here. I am worried we've just got rid of one situation now, which good luck he is. Honestly, I think you should hit the's actually on? Get him out. I am. Regardless of it being less than what I would have wanted to see as a fee, what Premier League club and what club in the world is going to turn down £130 million?

You turned it down.

No, I haven't. You did. No, I've said £150 million. I wanted it, which is what I've just said there. But that's why it's a disaster, isn't it? Because they could have sold him for £130 in June. But we didn't want to, we didn't have replacements there and we wanted to try and resolve the situation internally.

But now you've sold him on the last day of the window for the same amount of money that you could have got two months ago with no opportunity to bring someone else in. If you'd done this all two months ago, maybe you'd go and sign Gilles Pedro. You have got the two players in there, haven't you? Yeah, but not to the level that... They're also big overplayers. How are you going to get to the level of them anyway?

We've been hard, without doubt.

You weren't going to get the level of Isaac, was you?

What annoys me about the Isaac situation is when you look at it, he's caused more troubles for the club than what's realised. We've overpaid for VAR, we've overpaid for Valttermaide, it's just as simple as that. It's a hard situation to be in, I think any fan would hate to be in the situation that Newcastle's been left in right now. But look, we've got strikers over the board and I think one thing that is very, very noticeable is the one thing Newcastle have been missing in the last few performances is finishing power.

We've had plenty of service, Leeds game, not so much. We've had plenty of service in the previous two games and I think the only reason we've performed so well against ourselves is because of the whole heated debate that's been going on this summer. We've had the passion. We're a team who, when we've got something to fight for like that, we'll come out swinging and that needs to start happening every game.

Have the club not caused the issue for themselves though by promising them a move and then...

Realistically. Is that not an issue for the players? Who actually genuinely knows what's going on behind closed doors because it's been finger pointed at each side really. For me that's why I'm in the situation now where I'm just like, you know what, it's done, it's over. Let's just get on with the season now. We've got strikers in who are going to take the service that they can and they're going to finish and they're going to put goals in.

And yes, fair enough, we're saying Is Well any team in Premier League is a rival aren't they? Realistically you don't want to sell your sore strike out. Absolutely anyone in the Premier League, you want them to go abroad. And I'm pretty certain any team would agree with that.

You want them to go abroad, you don't want them to stay in the whole place. Scoles, I want to ask you about player power. We were both obviously never involved in a transfer. You know when you see situations like this, what is your feeling around it?

I don't really think there's a right way and a wrong way about it. Well, there is really because you'd say Isak and Visser have done it the wrong way but they've still got what they wanted. Mark Gateey is a great example of doing it what you'd say is the right way. He's playing, he's training, he's doing everything right and he might get his move to there.

I don't know, so it's, you don't like it. Of course you don't, it's wrong. I think it's unprofessional. You know, you've got, you're with a club who are paying you wages every week you should be training every day, you should be playing for him, you should be helping him the first three games of the season and then, exactly as Mark Gatey has done, but then you can see it from players' points of view as well because they want the move.

And if they think that, like I said before, the other club, so Liverpool would have been putting pressure on him, he's like, so right, we bid this amount of money, we think it's a brilliant amount of money for you. Now you've got to go in and try and kick off a little bit. Now, you can say no to that, but if you're desperate for that move, you do it.

I think I was probably the same as you. The clubs were good to us, weren't we? You always felt that. So whenever I get asked about these situations, I was almost for the club a lot. And I think of myself from a Liverpool point of view. But then Cosby never been involved in that. And I looked at Jackson with Chelsea.

And I thought, imagine being Jackson there. Is it right that they didn't ostracise him, but they didn't put him in the squad or on the bench because they almost said, you know, they want him to move on. Yeah, they wanted him to go to Bayern. Yeah, and then the lad gets injured, he's got this move, I mean what a move for him to go and play for Bayern Munich.

Brilliant move for the lad. And then at that last minute, because someone gets a hamstring injury, they call back, no, you're doing that now. They wouldn't play him or even use him in the first two weeks. I thought, imagine if I was in that position. So the club at times, you know, use their power and use the supporters don't they? What do you think about Kane? You know if you take this back, so Alexander Isak has really agitated for a move.

He hasn't necessarily treated the club with the respect that they deserve. And ultimately he's got his move, he's now going to join the most exciting sporting project in world football at Liverpool. He's going to play for the champions and we'll see what he ends up with at the end of that. Presumably league titles and European Cups. Harry Kane, we're all quite snide about him. He stayed at Tottenham, he didn't force his way out of a deal.

History's written by the winners, isn't it? If Kane had forced his way out, he would have joined, potentially joined, Pep Guardiola's team, won himself a treble, scored a billion goals like Haaland, and he'd have all of the medals to prove it. Like who's, ultimately, if you look at Kane staying and Isak agitating, who's done the right thing?

I'm inclined to say that Isak has done the right thing. And Kane scoring 100 goals, or billion goals for Tottenham, that none of them counted for anything, was actually a waste of time.

Going back to Jamie's point about the club as well, sorry mate. That's fine. You look at Man United now, Adam. With them, four or five players, they say no we don't want them, get them out. They've stopped them from training the first thing, they've stopped them from going to the training ground at the same time.

It's just the same, but from the other side of it really. I don't see, there's not much uproar about that, is there?

Whatever the game, you'll find it here on the Overlap. I've heard what you think, by the way.

Why have they got leaf blowers?

That is him!

LAUGHTER

What were you being called?

Big Fred.

LAUGHTER

Say a lyrical number, one!

I was playing a charity game at the weekend and Marlon Harewood absolutely smashed us.

And what was the game like?

LAUGHTER

You said 43 before that.

Savva!

Look, we're going to start Andrew on two and a half.

LAUGHTER

Can't wait.

LAUGHTER

That weighs about 18 years to sit on, wait. LAUGHTER That weighs about 18 years to share, I know.

It's Nicky Butt, Teddy Sheridan, Roy Keane,

Hank Leidenhofer, Hotel Paul, Arsene Wenger.

It's all that I was talking to Liam and Messi.

Theo, why did you not push him down the stairs?

LAUGHTER What's this? Oh my God! Simon, I want to bring you in. I know we started with Gareth. We've gone down a little rabbit hole there about the game on Sunday. I mean, I was quite critical of Arsenal after the game and I understand there was no difference between the teams. It was a wonder goal, I get that. But I feel in the first three games of the season and

I noticed more sample size that nothing's changed with Arsenal and Michael Arteta about how they're going to try and win the Premier League. And you can still win the Premier League playing that way but it feels heavily reliant on set pieces still, being really strong defensively, having the biggest team you can possibly put on the pitch. I mean, do you think Arteta has to change that or alter that

if you are going to win the league?

I think if you had said that to me last week after the Leeds game, I probably would have pushed back a little bit more. I was at that game as they get to announce beforehand, go out there, you smash leads, we're all like, we're, here we go. If you'd asked me this at halftime yesterday, I also would have pushed back,

because our record at Anfield is terrible. It was like eight losses and 12 draws in 13 games or whatever. So to go there and say, we're not a pushover,

because I also have been pus biggest man in the room. I think you're the smallest.

No, no, sorry.

Is that a future?

Yeah, yeah.

Like Harold Vorderman.

Eight losses, five draws.

That's what I meant to say.

Eight losses, whatever it is.

We haven't done well at Anfield.

This is why you don't wrestle.

You get hit in the head too much. You come up on there like... That's right, yeah. So a half-time would have been like, great, we went to Anfield and we proved to them you can't mess us around. I thought we were the better team and we were talking marginal gains here. I was like, awesome, now let's, and Bournemouth did it as well, right? Just go at them, go at them. I thought Eze was going to come on.

I thought it was mad that Eze didn't start. Like, if you're going to Anfield, where your record sucks anyway, let him be the dude to score a goal and turn it around, and then think how big his confidence is going to be,

and Arsenal fans are going to be going crazy. I'm a massive fan of Michel Arteta, I am, I think he's done a really good job, but we are at the time where he has to deliver. When I saw that team sheet come in, I knew how that game was going to play out. It was Moreno with set pieces, he wants to stop Liverpool, he'll work defensively, make it really difficult. And you're right, they did. Liverpool couldn't play through, they couldn't get any passing on,

because Arsenal, for me, defensively... You know what Arsenal remind me of? The Liverpool teams I played in, Under-Vermute and Fulhe 8, where we were a nightmare to play against. I think you'd say that scores you at times, in one-off games, tough to play against. But it always felt, and Gareth will know this as well as me,

that both managers at times, you felt, they got the handbrake on a little bit. And it still feels like that with our test, and I don't think it's ever going to change. And that team sheet before the ball was kicked told me everything.

So it's hard because I hate when people say it's in football, so I'm being a hypocrite. But if we had walked away with a point, I think the conversation changes. Because again, record sucks, let's get a point. We lost Saka. I don't mind that Odegaard didn't start, because I think he did, I saw him go down at the Emirates the week before. I think he really did take a bad knock to his shoulder.

So maybe there's something there. I didn't see many reports. But I think it's such a dumb thing to say, because we didn't walk away with a point. But I think because we're bad there, if we get a point, I'm like, okay, cool. We can be defensive where we want to be. I'm like, all right. The issue we've got at the moment is United game wasn't great, but we won, so fine. Leeds game was really fun all the way around. But now we've had another game where there's not much crea- I think the problem is, and

I had a big chat with a lot of Arsenal fans about this, what did we mostly do in the window? We bought creative players. And then, like, halfway through the second half yesterday, I was like, we're going to be creative guys. Like just a little bit of creativity would be great. I don't think I can make that call three games in, just because I love him. For 270 million spend total, let's say we get to the end of the season

and we don't win a trophy, what, because you're more neutral than I be, what do you think happens to our tenor?

Does he stay? Does he go? That's a fair point, you know what I mean there. I think we all agree that what he's done, he has turned the club around. I think he's done a great job to get them where they are now. He's just got... Is he capable of taking them that next level over the line? We said this about Gareth Southgate,

he did brilliant with England, got them to the finals, but you didn't think he was capable of them actually going and winning it. I think Arteta's coming into that a little bit. I'm trying to think of a statement win he's had in a Premier League. I think going to Liverpool yesterday. I was thinking in the first few weeks of the season I think there's always a statement win from a team and you think they're going to win the league. I thought that with Liverpool at Manchester United last year and probably United's not probably...

Yeah, it was a big game.

It's a big game, it's still a big game for everyone to go there. Even the way they won at Manchester United, it wasn't convincing was it? I just don't think they're quite right, they're quite ready. And I don't think the manager... You know when you think about it, third game of the season, it's a free hit really, isn't it?

To go there and give it a right go, say look, we're ready, we can play, we can get against this team as Liverpool have shown. The defensive did not have been great so far. So it was a great chance to play, new players, bring them in. You think, bang, go to Liverpool.

That's why I didn't mind the first half. Because you remember the Anfield game last year, when we were 2-0 down at half time and looked like the worst team to ever have played in the Premier League. So that's what I thought the mentality was. First half, you can't get us this time. let's go free-flying football, let's bring on Eze at half-time. It's never going to happen with a team, as Jamie said, when you saw that team you thought...

Mourinho was not the best.

0-0. It has to be 0-0.

It was obvious the plan... I said before the game, it was get to 70 minutes at 0-0 and we've got a stronger bench than Liverpool. Now obviously that's going to change in a few weeks, Liverpool. But Liverpool right now have won games from the bench. But we know as Liverpool supporters the bench isn't the strongest. You're bringing Kierser on, you've got a young 17 year old kid. So when I actually saw Arsenal bench and the team they picked, that was the

plan. Get to 70 minutes 0-0. But why is the mentality to get to 70 minutes at 0-0 when you come up against the Liverpool team? Yes we know they're champions, we know what's on field, but you know Liverpool are not at the races in the first three games of the season, including the Community Shield as well. They've got a lot of new players that they've spent money on, but it's not quite right. Even yesterday, there's still things at the O,

it's not quite... But Liverpool will get there at some stage. I just think that was a massive opportunity for Arsenal. And it's not about that game, it's the bigger picture. The Man United game, you didn't have Odegaard and Saka played in that game, but it was still the same. I don't think the team is set up or there's the mentality thing,

we're going to create chances. We've got the best defence in the league and you have by a long way. We're going to keep a clean sheet and we're going to score us goal from a set piece and that will get you really far. But it's whether it will get you across the line and that would be my big worry as an Arsenal fan.

What I will say to defend them a little bit is that, you know, Jocarez is new, Zubermandi is new, you know, Manuel Akay is new, Eze is new. So I think we have to give them some time to see if we are going to start heading more in that direction. you've got new players, how are they going to fit into the system? I'd like to do the same for Arsenal. I just think yesterday, the reason it feels…

Well, it's the biggest game of the season so far, it's the two title contenders. But I think a lot of Arsenal fans have seen what Liverpool's defence was like. And just, even if it's for 10 minutes, just see if… And we didn't push them at all, that's the issue. and Oligard doing the same thing. And listen, Lloyd-Corez had no service yesterday. What I've learned about Lloyd-Corez is he is the player I wanted him to be. He'll stand there, give him the ball, we'll put it in the... Well, he'll still try. He had nothing.

So he's not going to drop back and start playing into the channels, etc. Even the goal he scored against Leeds was essentially, he took the this and go, of course he's saying that, he's an Arsenal fan. But I think once all the, it's true, once all the players settle in,

if we have this conversation sort of like early November and we're still doing that, I'm up, rude words creak, right? There's nothing that I can say.

But I think, let them So that's my big thing. See, what you're saying there though, it sums arsel up a little bit. So you're saying in a few weeks we'll have Eze, we'll have Odegaard, we won't be playing against better teams but we'll start playing brilliant football.

You've got to do that against the better teams. I want to make sure I do agree with you on that. But I just think there's four or five new players in there, I do want to give them time to settle in.

Adam, I want to come to you. Manchester United get the last-minute win at home to Burnley. Are Man United back?

Might be. Britain might be. Mate, it's been a horrible start to the season. I remember after that Grimsby game, just feeling like it was the end of the world.

It looked like it on your Instagram.

I'm old enough to… I'd had a rough night out the night before as well. But I'm old enough to remember York City and Zalaga Zeg and crazy results like that. But that felt like... You could see how shut the manager was, I think. I think from the league games, I think he went, all right, against Arsenal, we probably should have got a positive result from that.

I couldn't see how shut the manager was. How about you let me finish? He wasn't facing.

Jesus Christ.

No one could see the manager turned away. Everyone can talk about their team, Jeff. As soon as Man United come up, everyone wants to talk about their team. You'll be lost in the league, by the way.

I want you to be more free.

I'll speak for you. At the end of the day, I chirped in because he said everyone could see the manager was shocked. No one could see the manager because he was turned away or with his face on a whiteboard. Yeah, blackboard. I'd watch that if you were here tonight. I mean, I'd want to watch that 15 times. Uber, Uber, I watch every week at the moment.

But yeah, Adam said it was embarrassing. It was the best night ever.

So, I speak for everyone else.

Best paint watch ever, yeah.

Adam, Adam, come on.

Go on.

Yeah, I mean, I think he was just shocked. Like I say, I think he was probably thinking, right, someone's going to get a slapping and it's going to be Grimsby and then we're 2-0 down. Really quick, Andre Ananas chucking it in the net and you're like, what's happening?

I think he thought he lost them and everything. And I like someone being emotional, but when you're Manchester United manager, you probably have to tone it down a little bit and hold your head a little bit. And he obviously came out after the day after like, sometimes I'm gonna love my players, sometimes I'm gonna hate them. And I was like, he's just like me,

but please don't say that out loud. So I think if you take away the Grimsby game, which you can't because it happened, I think the performances in the league have shown an improvement, but they've shown we're not scoring goals and we're not keeping them out. And you have to sort that goalkeeper situation out. And if this Lemon fella's any good, then we might be alright.

Adam, you just mentioned about the comments that the manager made. He said, my players spoke really loud. I sometimes hate my players. I mean, what do you think of when you're a Man United fan, you tune into Sky Sports News and the interviews are coming in, what do you thought?

I mean, I thought it was a resignation speech, to be honest. There was a little bit of me that, because like I say, maybe he's probably one of those guys that gets into trouble with the missus and he talks his way out of it very quickly. And I think he's a sweet talker and I'm kind of going with it sometimes. And I was like, just show me a little bit of something, show me a little bit of fight.

And it felt like a resignation speech. I was like, we'll get to Burnley, beat Burnley, probably, probably not. And then he'll probably be gone. And I do worry, like, it's clear that he's under huge amounts of pressure and he can feel it. Maybe for some fans like myself, we kind of went into the campaign thinking,

I've wiped the slate clean from last season, but there's clearly there's still a hangover from that and he's feeling the pressure. And we've got some big games coming up and it does worry me that we could get to the next international break and still be like,

oh, could this be the international break where he goes? We've got City coming up, we've got Chelsea coming up. So I was shocked to see that happening so soon into the Season 3 games and it was alarming.

Scholes, I want to ask you about your thoughts on the manager in terms of his press conferences. When you switch him on and he's on the TV, are you sat there thinking, oh God, what's he going to come out with now? Or do you actually enjoy and think he's charismatic, he's bringing something to the Premier League?

Yeah, I quite like him. Look, he is very honest, but you can be too honest as Adam says. He's saying what every manager probably thinks. At some point you're like, I'll hate him, I don't like him, I don't like him. That's just the way you are about, I want to leave, I'll have to get out of this, the pressure's too much. But I don't think you say that out loud. I think there's so many experienced managers now in the Premier League

who will be thinking that and I've thought that, but they won't say it. The worst comment for me was after the Grimsby game The one where he said the players spoke out loud I thought that was a little bit damning for him

What did you think he meant by that?

That they don't want to play for him

I actually thought they spoke really loud with their performance As in like they're not good enough I thought he was having a dig at Maynard if I'm honest, because there was a lot of talk going into that game that Maneu could be going, he's not using him, he's a cover for Fernandes. And Maneu did have a poor game in the game.

It was interesting what he said, I suppose you could take it a lot of different ways,

couldn't you, how he spoke? I think where I've kind of gone again, I'm I've been fully behind him the whole time and that was just like If you can't see the values of Cobi Meno in the team and you can't get the best out of him Then you probably not the guy for us and I think for a club like Manchester United if we were to let him go I Think it just represent like there's just a complete change of the club that I know like those are the players that you're supposed to Be building the team around and this isn't like, people like to go, are you trying to treat a player bigger than the club? That's not the case at all. Kaby Meno is clearly a massive talent

who should be in the team. And if you need to get a midfield that's working, I don't think Igarte is it. I don't think Bruno is going to be it necessarily. working in the midfield because he's just so good and it did bother me that where I think I mentioned that if Kobi Meynoud goes I think I'm done with him. I'm just that's the end for me I'm just over with it because it was it's too good to be letting go like that.

I think just going back to and I agree with you with Meynoud but I think going back to his comments there's now a big clamour isn't he to get Jose back. Jose's lost his job in Turkey. At United? No, no. In terms of English football. Thank God for that. And the reason being is because he's box office and he comes out with stuff, but he was a winner. We always remember Brian Clough, you know when I was a kid, Brian Clough speaking,

you'd listen, you'd hear, because he was a winner. The problem at the moment, Amaran, is great in the press conferences. But because he's not winning, and it's like, oh shut up, stop speaking, keep your mouth shut. If he was winning, we'd all go, this fella, what a character, what a personality. You know, that's the top and bottom of it about the way he speaks. Because I actually look at it and think, if he wasn't so charismatic in the press conference, he wasn't such a good-looking man,

he might have actually lost his job a lot earlier.

If he was a bit like David Moyes, a bit...

When you look at his roots, they're horrendous.

The results are horrendous, and I think that's where the performance, more than a result, because those results can happen. I think the performance was something where he went, oh God, this is a lot worse than I thought.

Sorry Adam, we see them Grimsby, look I'm not excusing players or the team, but them games are difficult when players, a load of players come. I've seen it when we were playing. Them players haven't played for, probably haven't played a full game this season

for five weeks and they go there they're expected to be all of a sudden bang switch on Mainu. Mainu's a player that needs to be playing. He needs to be playing every week. If you see, we had players, people like Wayne Rooney

if they don't play for a game they're a bag of shit do you know what I mean? Honestly, they are because they're not ready. Here's the headline. Oh, honestly. Then you've got Kobe Mane and other players in and around that. And they're expected to go in and perform straight away. Okay, it's against Grimsby. Grimsby would be great, by the way. I was more worried about Grimsby because they're in Salford's league.

Do you know what I'm saying? They need to be playing games and I think he came on on Saturday was a lot better. Now, we talk about recruitment, don't we? Comes up a lot and it gets on your nerves doesn't it? But they haven't addressed the areas which needed addressing, well not most because they brought the three centre-forwards in and yeah,

more goals were needed. I think Mbumo's looked good to be fair. Well yeah he's been the best one so far, he's scored a couple of goals. The other ones haven't really got going yet. Sesco, I don't know what's quite happening with that. But he needed to address the midfield. The midfield, the legs were never in there. The goalkeeper was a massive one.

Now I think he's got four or five midfield players in there and he wants to play two of them, he can't get it right. He can't get the combination right. I don't think that's what he's good at. Ugarte, Meno, he don't like. Casemiro, Meno, he don't like. Casemiro Fernandes is the one he seems to be going for a lot, but that isn't going to win you a Premier League.

But it's weird because in pre-seasonouta, Igarte. We should have known from the West Ham game.

Agouta, yeah. And Agouta. Igarte, he doesn't like him either.

Do you think, listen Manchester United, we know right now are obviously a long way from winning the Premier League, but do you think the managers set up and his style, do you think that can win the Premier League? No. We're talking about a system, there's a lot made about that.

He's struggling to win games at the minute rather than win a Premier League. I'm struggling to find...

Do you think this way of playing can prove successful for this manager?

I think if you look at the games that we... Look, again, results are the most important thing. And without points this manager's going to be, you know, close to being sacked if we don't turn this thing around very quickly. But the performances in and of themselves, like against Arsenal, we were the better team and we did look a lot better.

And it wasn't like, oh God, that's the United from last season. That was one of the things I disagreed with Gary Neville. I think he made a comment of like, oh, it reminded me of last season. I don't think any performance has been... You mean the Fulham? I think the Fulham one, yeah. No, no, Fulham we should have been 2-3-0 up at half-time and there was a little bit of...

We can't keep saying this.

No, no, I know you can't, but there has been that. And against Burnley as well, finish your chances, we're 3-4-0 up.

I agree with you, yeah. systems and it is alien to everyone really, I think, especially in English football. I don't remember seeing it, it's very simple 4-3-3, 4-4-2, people do play 3 at the back. And I've said it since he started, Man United, for some reason 3 at the back is just not, it's not them, I don't know what it is. I remember our manager tried it at Sir Alex.

You haven't got wingers have you? That's what the club is famous for isn't it?

Yeah, we haven't got them wide players who can attack and can entertain. We're playing wing-backs who, Dialo's a wing-back isn't he?

Sorry, he's a wing-back.

It's been really poor this season as well and you're thinking is that because of the change in position? He was one of our best players last season. But I do also think as well, and thankfully, Seams are making a sign in at the moment. I posted it after the Arsenal game, like these keepers will cost this manager.

They're both useless. I don't know if it is a system or what, but do you have little spells of looking really good, exciting, and then have spells which are so bad.

And then someone has a shot and the keeper lets it in.

I think a lot of it will come, yeah, all the time. I think a lot of good teams at the midfield are sorted, don't they? There's too much indecision in the midfield. You think of Kacema, look, Kacema has been a brilliant player but we know his deficiencies, don't we? Fernandes, they're the two he's going with.

And Fernandes, to me, is someone who fills into midfield. I mean, he might get away with it one, two, three games possibly. He's not got the discipline to be essential.

The balance of the team, I probably would have took the 100 mil. I love Bruno Fernandes and I've got not a bad word to say about him. I think he's been incredible for us. But when you look at the team and the shape we brought in Kunja and Mbumo, who also play in his best positions, you go, we need balance in that midfield. We finished 15th with him.

Take the 100 mil and sort the team for the future. Number 10s in, was that really necessary? You think you've got your Mason, you've got your Kobe Miner who can do that.

That's why it feels like maybe the Fort Bruno was off.

If you've done that and wasted a bit of money and not been able to get a midfield player or a goalkeeper, it's not great recruitment wise, is it? Just having the sense of getting that forward line, bringing three forwards in in the end, but I can't get what, I can't make better what a lot of the problems are in the team, which is two central midfield players and the goalkeepers. They could never

do anything defensively because they've got lads on three, four, five-year contracts.

Is it difficult because there's actually so much to fix, you can't fix all that in one window.

Yeah, I agree and it looks like he has tried to fix the forward line. There's signs of it working, but still.

I think he felt probably we could survive with these two keepers for this season. And then the season started and he's like, oh.

Oh, absolutely not.

He just signed a keeper.

Lemon or whatever.

I don't know.

I don't have a clue who he is.

I hope he's good.

Have you actually signed him? Have you signed Martínez?

No, it's not Martínez.

Listen, I just wanted to have a little vote here. I mean, how many of us in this room think Ruben Amaran will be manager of Manchester United next season?

Next... The last of the season or next season?

Not last season, because I think he was the manager last season.

I don't know. I think he'll make it all the way to the summer.

Do you think when we're doing this show in 12 months, the first show of the season, two or three games in, he'll be the manager of Manchester United?

No chance.

Jamie, it feels so over. Does anyone think he will be?

Yeah.

Put the hands up. I'd like him to be. It's so over. It's so obviously over. He's so finished. Like, you've got the two better players last year, Fernandes, Diallo, both playing out of position, both struggling. Like, when you listen to Paul speak and you listen to Adam speak, you can tell that there's a yearning for it to work out. But you know when you don't a load of players in the squad that almost have to be redefined to be accommodated in his system. And this almost dogmatic approach to his system,

the system, it's like, mate, just win some games. Change the system. Accommodate the players. And if you can't do that, then you're not fit for purpose. It's interesting in terms of changing the system because I've always been, I don't blame him for the system, I blame the guy who brought him in. For a guy to bring him in and play that system at a club like Manchester United, I don't think he's right in terms of the history

of wingers and attack and play. You know, we've seen Crystal Palace use this system and do it quite well, but for me, when I think of teams who play this system, And the one outlier is Chelsea under contact. More than often, it's teams in the middle of a table or near the bottom. We're trying to make it difficult for the opposition. It's not about winning games.

Now, I think with Amorim, he's played this system, and he's been one of the best teams in Portugal. So you're constantly on the ball. You're not getting asked as many questions defensively. So Manchester United right now, let's say they're a team in the middle of the table, you know, quality-wise. So they get asked questions defensively, at this moment the manager can't ask, it's too

easy to play against. You know, that's my thing, but he's never going to change. So when we keep saying change, and I do think Manchester United have the players to play 4-3-3 more, you're asking a manager who doesn't believe in something to do. That's his thing. The guy who brought him in, it's his fault for bringing him in. You knew what he was going to do when he come in. And you wanted what he did at Sporting Lisbon to do here at Manchester United. So, for me, I'm with Rory in that.

I don't see him there next year. I think it would be really difficult to turn. If you think about it though, Jamie, they've done that three times haven't they? You think of Van Gaal? Wasn't suited. Do you hear what he said?

What did he say?

Worst managerial record than Gary Neville. I'm not laughing at Gary on this, but I always liked the way every manager's judged him against Gary. Aren't they? Any manager? I mean even Gary Neville got a better record than him, yeah. Sorry Scolesy.

What was I saying, I can't remember.

Shall we finish on Gary Neville?

I also think with the system thing that we all talk about and it won't change, it's not changing. We have some very clever managers and coaches now. So they know exactly every week what you're coming up against and they'll work a way around it. You think, I don't know if this happened in Liverpool, Jasper, but it always happened in our dressing room and the team sheet comes under the door, the manager's doing his team talk, you look at it, right what they're gonna do? What they're gonna do? You don't have to do that with Man United. We know exactly what you do, we know how to

break us down, these managers are clever so... People are obsessed with philosophy and I can't change it now, I can't change it now You're getting beat a lot You've got to change something and maybe that will come with that

He said something in the press conference He is great in the press conference, he gives you information He said, I'm going to almost nail this system down So the players can play it with their eyes closed I think he said And then we'll start to change. I don't think he'll get the time to do that if he doesn't start getting results.

And another point I'd make on him, he's still a very young manager. What he did at Sporting Lisbon, we shouldn't write off, that was a brilliant achievement when you think ofigans beating up the players in the training ground. He's only 40. And I think about managers like say Unai Emery and Eddie Howe. They're not managers who are going for the league.

But they're top managers. They're really good managers. And to think this guy's got all the answers to get Manchester United back to the top when there's managers who aren't even going for the league. They're going for those Champions League positions who are probably more experienced. I'm right now, better managers than them.

So a lot of top managers in the Premier League are coming up again. So I think it's going to be tough for them to turn it around. Luke, you've got arguably the best manager in the league, we'd say, when you think of what he's done in his career. He's below the West.

Can he turn it round? At least he's in the Carabao Cup third round.

That's the start.

That's the real quiz.

That's the real quiz, isn't it?

Well, yes.

You've done that one a couple of times, haven't you?

I'm not nervous. I'm ready to go. It's three games in, we've had bad starts before. We've gone on to win the league. And it's been... The first game was good, I think everyone agreed. I've seen you and Gary Neville put us, maybe not to win the league, but up there after that first game.

And that was one performance,

and that just shows how reactionary we can be. we've had two losses since. The Tottenham one wasn't good, that was poor. There's only one team to have lost two of the first three games

and gone on to win the league.

City in 1967-8 actually.

Is that Man United's first time you've ever won the league?

That's Premier League.

I don't know when it was.

I think it was, yeah.

I think Everton beat you in the first game. City did it in 67-8, got one point after three games. So, yeah, maybe that's Premier League.

Name the team.

Sorry?

What's City's team? Well... I was, what, minus 40 or whatever, so... I'll tell you that we won the European Cup Winners' Cup two years later. We won the FA Cup the year after, I can tell you about that. Another time, this isn't a history channel,

even if United and Liverpool are here. But it's, yeah.

He's firing on a challenge.

He's so riled up.

He's on fire.

He is on fire.

If you want to talk about the game,

or we can talk about 50 years ago, I don't mind. You talk about what you want to talk about. We'll go to the game. The Brighton game yesterday, I thought first half, they didn't have many ideas, to be fair. I thought we were decent.

1-0 up, Haaland had quite a few chances, didn't put them away in the start of the second half, and then the changes were really good from Brighton, they turned it on. We kind of just obviously gave away the penalty, lost 2-1. It felt a little bit like last season, but we're three games in, like I said,

one pre-season game. It's so early, like I said before, we've lost games before, not just in 1967, but also, you know, 2021 against Tottenham, we went and lost to them away.

We've had bad starts before, even in 2021 as well.

But this is a different, like, this team went on an unbelievably bad run last season as well.

Yeah, we also had a very good run at the end of the season. The last 19 games, we were top of the league in terms of points.

Now, but you're not worried that that could happen again? I mean, it felt like Pep was going to go and then he stayed and should he stay, should he go? These people, no City fan out there is saying Pep out. You've got a manager there that in five seasons has won four league titles in a row.

He's won a treble.

It doesn't matter though does it, what's going on now? It does matter in the context of a manager's job. It doesn't matter what's happened. It does, it does.

So if Fergie had won three leagues in a row and Pep now? Well, that's what I'm saying. There's people saying... Maybe not on this show, but there's people out there in the media saying, is it time to question Pep? That's nonsense.

No-one said that.

I think people have. Just a question as well. Maybe not anyone of any importance. Maybe not anyone of any importance, because that is just...

Well, what's happening now? You just doesn't seem... You're not the same. You're not the same. You're not as dominant, I don't think, are you?

Yeah, I do.

Where do you think that's coming from?

I do take your point, and it's coming from a lot of change at the club. We've changed both coaches. We've got Cole O'Toore, we've got Linders, obviously from Liverpool that you'll know about. We've changed a lot of players, obviously in January and the summer. And now we're changing, we're getting Donna Rummer coming in for Edison. There's so much blowing around behind the scenes.

I think having a two-week...

I think that's brilliant and I'd have him at United tomorrow, today, whenever. I think the £40m is unbelievable. But for Pep, Pep has, you've got to be almost able to play central midfield as a goalkeeper for Pep. I just don't see, and I think that's the reason Enrique's getting rid of him at PSG as well, because he's not great with his feet.

I just don't see him as a City goalkeeper. I completely take what you're saying and I think the fan base is a little bit divided on this one because Edison has done so well, done so much for the club, six league titles in eight or nine years and he's a keeper that changed the game like we all know. The way he plays with his feet, Guardiola said he's the best player with his feet, that you can have in net basically. So he has changed the game, maybe it's his time to go. I think every City fan will respect what he's done.

Trafford coming in with Edison maybe a little bit ahead of him seemed to be the way to go. And then this Donnarumma stuff's just come up the last few weeks and it seems to have happened now. I'm not sure. I think Arsenal fans would tell you about how good he was in that game against you last season.

There was times when you could, Donnarummy, it was almost guaranteed the ball had gone in the net and he just pulled a save out of nowhere. So, no one can doubt he's an unbelievable goalkeeper. How that's going to pan out, I have no idea, but it seems 30 million's cheap.

We've got to back our players.

Wages won't be.

But do you think you could be about to change your whole style of play then? Could Pep about to go...

Because he does those crazy stuff. You've got to adapt. Pep said last season, and I know we talked about it last season, that the whole way of playing almost is a little bit outdated now, some might say, with the way City were playing last season, quite rigid in the approach.

And it didn't come off at times.

You think Pep Guardiola's approach is outdated?

No, no, I'm saying Pep said himself that at times City weren't playing modern football. Modern football maybe is having four centre-backs at the back and playing that kind of approach. So I trust Pep Guardiola. He is the best manager in the world.

We're three games in.

You know the... You had a great end to last season and then you have the Club World Cup and you lost the game there I think to the Saudi team. But on the counter attack, yesterday watching the game it felt at 1-1 the goal

was coming for Brighton actually. Normally that's City going to go on and get it. Is there a worry that, as the lads have just mentioned, that there are signs of last season? And also, I was saying to Scolesy before we came in, Pep or Man City, they normally find a way to win the game. Do you actually think you've got the quality in the wide areas? I look at your wingers and I think of the wingers that you've had before under Pep and they were brilliant players.

Do you think there's the quality in those positions that can get you back to where you say, you know, we've had a bad start, but in the past we've come back and won.

Do you think there's quality there? Yeah, I think if we had a Sané-Sterling situation with Haaland, he'd be getting a lot more goals. And we've got Oscar Bob, who's a young lad, last season very unlucky. I think they need more output, I don't think even they would deny it. The wingers need more output, they need more goals, they need more contributions going forward for Haaland, setting him up. that was one maybe we'd look back on him, but he was always going to go. He wanted to go, we got good money for him. We need more goals and we need to stop Palmer as well.

That's true.

Look, I'm a massive fan of Phil Foden.

Say it again, sorry.

I'm a massive fan of Phil Foden. Unfit for the game. He was unfit for the game yesterday. He's had like a funny 18 months, right? Pardon? A lot of excuses made for Phil Foden over the years, especially last season, when you look at De Bruyne was being edged out of the team and all these big players were moving on, you feel like that was a time for him to go,

this is my team now, let me step forward. And he's just never...

Did have a lot of injury. Incredible talent, but he's just never really gonna. Twitter or whatever, it was unfit. I'm not Pep, I don't know the exact details, but he wasn't available for the game.

When you look at, like, Erling Haaland is not the typical Pep Guardiola striker, and then you've got Donnarummu is not the typical Pep Guardiola, like, where's the change in him?

Are you saying they're getting ready for a new manager?

He's panicking.

What's he saying? He's saying you're getting a new self-manager. Oh, I think Pep's got a two-year deal left. I think he signed a two-year deal last summer and was going to do at least one year. Pep's going to go at some point. He's been here nine years. I think most people would have said

he was going to do three or four when he came in

and he's probably tripled that, like just to have the conversation, and I appreciate, because I'm a Chelsea fan, this is probably sort of conditioned within me. Because there is no doubt, regardless of how brilliant you think Pep Guardiola is, however high you rank him in the pantheon of great managers, Roman Abramovich last season would have sacked him.

No doubt.

That's insane.

Do you think there's a...

Well... He wouldn't have sacked a manager. Oh, he 100% would. He 100% would. He sacked Carlo Ancelotti in the tunnel of Goodison Park off the back of winning the double. Like, there's no doubt in my mind.

So you've got a manager that... You can say you don't want to talk about it as much as you want. Wins four league titles, a treble, a domestic treble, 100 points.

And he has one season where he comes third I think it's correct. I'm not saying that Abramovich was making the correct call. I mean, history will probably tell you that he did because he went on to win every time he made a sack in. He would sack, impact manager come in, win the league or at least come close to it. I'm not saying that it would be right to sack him.

Okay.

But do you think that at any point off the back of the nine defeats in of this year, some dodgy dealings in the transfer market, the cloud hanging over the club. Do you think that perhaps there'll be a new direction? Well, Abramovich sacked Jorzy, didn't he, three games into the season? Yeah, he sacked him off the bat. We drew one-all with Rosenberg.

This is what I'm saying. But the Ancelotti in the tunnel at Goodison Park was the one. I just want a double up. I don't want a double watch. As much as I'm maybe not saying people saying he should be sacked, we're all talking about it now and that's what I'm saying is ridiculous. That is absolutely ridiculous. You can have a manager that has won pre-season game, has shown countless times. The COVID season, which obviously was one that wasn't the best of seasons to watch,

obviously for fans and that. We were 13th or something after about eight games. Points and points behind Tottenham, the teams at the top. Pep has previous though for running when the pressure's on.

Say it again. Pep has previous for running when the pressure's on.

For running when the pressure's on.

Roberto Di Matteo sent him into sabbatical, didn't he? Roberto Di Matteo made him go crying in his arms.

He's going to be running for them hills like Kate Bush.

He schooled Ferguson twice at Barcelona in Champions League finals with Barcelona. He won six Premier League titles, including 100 points.

I've said it again, people don't digest these facts.

Just think about Roberto Di Nino.

They're trying to do this to you.

He started trying to tilt us, so now look at him.

I've never seen him so rattled.

He's sweating.

He's the greatest manager of all time.

Oh, come on.

Not even the greatest manager in the city in the history of Manchester.

I'll just sit here now because it's... He should never be sat there.

I'm happy to do it all day, honestly. I'm happy to defend... I'm with Luke a little bit. I think if you're a City fan, how can you not defend him to the hill?

I know, but someone's got to the hill. Yeah, it's insane. He is, he's an amazing manager, Luke. Well done for fighting your corner.

Rory.

Yes.

You always cause a lot of trouble here about other people's clubs.

Yeah.

Where are we at with Chelsea? I think it's exactly what we expected.

Yeah.

Exactly what we expected. I think we're now so much better than the chasing pack. Like this time last year, you would have compared us to Man United, Tottenham, Villa, whoever you thought that chasing pack were and we were within that. We're now leaps and bounds above them, but not quite close enough to the top two. I think that Chelsea are clearly the third or fourth best team in the country. Do you think, I mean I always felt it'd be a top three with Chelsea closing that gap to make it a top four. Do you think Chelsea should be looking to get into that top three on the basis of what you've seen this season from your team and maybe the top three?

I think in a dream world that's exactly what we should be doing. I think that there is a slight vulnerability to the two teams that will compete for the league. I think Liverpool will win the league but the two teams that will compete for it, I think there is a slight vulnerability and if we were a little bit more ambitious in the transfer market, not in terms of spend but in terms of the kind of players that we were signing, I think there is a world where we could launch a serious bid to

win the league this year but we haven't done that. We've got a fairly average goalkeeper, fairly average centre-halves, and the money that we're spending isn't going in the place that we need it to go. So I think that what we have is enough to genuinely compete, to potentially win silverware, to definitely finish in the top four or five, and not win the league. Do you think that will ever change at Chelsea? No, not with its ownership.

Yeah, but that's what I feel, because I feel like every play they buy is really young. And listen, we all know you want to buy young players. That is, you know, you can have them for a longer time. There's resale value. But not exclusively. Yeah, that's at it, it's all about the sell-on value of the player. It's all about what the player could become.

It's all about signing a very particular profile, which in terms of what they're trying to build is working. They're turning a huge profit, they're making a lot of money. But it isn't building the best team to win the league. Like think back, I mean, there are countless examples in the Champions League.

Signing from Paris Saint-Germain at 37, he was the fulcrum, the anchor that won us the European Cup. Michael Ballack arrived in his 30s. Manchester United constantly sign good players at a certain age and we're just not going to do that. There's no experience in the team. Do you think, because we've just been speaking to Luka about doing a roomer, do you think that's the type of signing Chelsea should be?

Not only because he's a brilliant goalkeeper, but surely we could do with that kind of experience, that kind of nous in the dressing room. Just somebody who knows what it takes to win silverware at the top level. There's just no experience, but they're not trying to do that. If you looked at the Chelsea squad, so for example, look at Liverpool as a template. Liverpool go, right, we've got an issue at centre-half, we need a bit of cover. Let's go and sign England's best centre-half, bring him in.

That's clear strategy to try and elevate the team. You look at Chelsea, you go, Adderabayo, you're playing Trevor Chaliba, who I love, but you could definitely elevate the options there. Let's go and sign Garnaccio.

You're like, wait, what?

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

What on earth are you doing? You've got no centre-halves at the club. Why are you signing Garnaccio? And the reason is obviously because the goal at Goodison Park level of player, the performance in the FA Cup final level of player, Alejandro Garnaccio gets sold to Barcelona for 125 million quid and we make a load of money on it.

If it doesn't go well, he probably maintains his value. Like if it goes really badly, we sell him in a year, 18 months, probably for around about the same amount of money that we've paid, but it hasn't elevated our squad at all. We haven't improved on the team at all. So it's really frustrating because I think

that we're on the precipice of something good. I think we've got a really good team. But they're just not trying to fill the holes of the squad.

I think you were, sorry, Jamie, I think you've said it really well. I think they are almost best of the rest Yeah, we're in like a purgatory league of our own. Yes. And you do need that investment now.

You need more investment.

We will invest, won't we?

It's less money.

In the right areas.

Yeah, exactly. Like, Garnaccio's been signed because if it goes well for him,

and I don't like him.

I think it'll be good for you.

You do?

Yeah.

You think it's a good signing? Yeah. I think it's a good signing. Do you know why I don't?

I hate the attitude. He's a knob.

I hate the attitude. Like regardless, regardless. I can't believe that we've, do you know all that wearing a Rashford shirt when he was at Villa and?

I feel like a lot of them are knobs now though. I don't mean to be good at football.

Yeah, but there's a principle at stake.

Good point.

The principle. You don't need the disruptive force like that in the camp.

I don't think we're disruptive.

You're not?

No.

Mate, I hope you're right.

I hope he is.

I hope you're right. But yeah, I'm not overly supportive of that signing to be honest. Because not only don't I really like the model, but I don't like Garnaccio and what he represents. Ben, I'm going to come to you. Before I ask you questions on Tottenham, someone's just coming me in, they're going to have to do it again.

Because it sounds like Tottenham might have just signed someone.

Mwane?

Kylian Mwane. Is he on loan or is he a signing? What is it?

On loan.

Right, okay. There's a rumor going around that Solanke, so Solanke was left out of the team against Bournemouth on Saturday, and Frank came out after and said, oh, I'll just be off for the international break, but there's been rumors going around that it's actually more serious than they thought, and I don't know whether they were just doing that to kind of protect their position in the market

so they can go out and buy another striker. a good fit as a number nine. And the problem is Richarlison's had a decent start to the season, although he was poor on Saturday. And Solanke had a really good start to last season but got injured in January. Those aren't really two strikers that you can 100% confidently rely on fitness-wise throughout the course of the season.

So I think it makes sense to bring in a number nine. I still think we're short in a couple of areas, though that's the only issue really. And when you're kind of scrambling around on deadline day to maybe bring another winger in. Colin Mwane is someone that can play out wide as well, but I still feel like that's an area that, in what, the last seven hours of the window that we need to fix.

Ben, this is your debut, isn't it?

I've been on it once before.

Oh, sorry, I normally my videos on for me. I don't do them. But sometimes I have a little scroll on there. Yeah, I've got your face and you've got stuff going on behind you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's me.

I didn't narrow it down.

He's been giving me plenty of shit, I can assure you.

Not the other week.

You were speaking a lot nicer about Tottenham last week.

Another Simon, Simon, Simon the Sirens. Shabby Simon, you've got him. It looked like he was going to go to Chelsea. He's come to Tottenham now to fill that creative spot, obviously with Maddison injured. Excited by that?

Yeah, really excited. I think it's one of the most exciting signings that we've made in my life supporting spurs. Don't get me wrong, we've brought players that have gone on to do great things, but I don't think we've necessarily signed someone that has got that kind of superstar potential. It kind of fits in with what we're trying to do in terms of bringing in young players that, a little bit like you were saying, Rory, about Chelsea, maybe have that sell-on value further down the line,

but are going to spend the best years of their time at your club. Hopefully we just bring him, he's on a seven-year contract on big, big wages, which is something that Tottenham don't really do. And that's been one of the frustrations about Levy and Enich is that we don't really pay the wages to attract those sort of players that are going to move the needle necessarily. So hopefully we can have him for the kind of duration of his peak and he can go on to do really good things for us. that we had in the squad, Madison, ACL in preseason, Kulisiewski injured just before the end of last season,

again, told it was going to be a knock out until the new year. So we desperately needed that number 10. I think it's frustrating that we didn't get it over the line earlier, and obviously we tried with Gibbs-Wyatt, tried with Eze as well,

and I think we've actually, you could argue that we've landed on the best signing out of the three make in terms of potential. Obviously Eze and Gibbs-Wyatt are more primarily proven quality to come in now and make the impact. And all three of those players can move the needle for Tottenham. But I think Simmonds is the one really

with that sort of superstar quality. But it remains to be seen the impact

that he's going to have. I'll be interesting, I'm a huge fan of Thomas Frank. He made a brilliant start. But that type of sign, and it's not something I always think about when I think of Thomas Frank at Brentford. And I think of when he brought, there was a kid from Liverpool, Cavallo, went there. He hasn't really quite done it, he was that sort of type of player, like you saw the number 10. And Damsgaard, he's been really good at the start of this season, but I don't know if he was ever what I've imagined he would be at Brentford. So we know how Thomas Frank likes to play football, completely different to Andy in that he'll adapt to different teams and play different ways and systems. How do you think he'll incorporate him into his style of football?

I think he's a really good fit profile wise for that sort of number 10. Simmonds likes to drop deep, get you on the ball, take you out of those difficult situations. Like we played against Bournemouth on Saturday, right? Their press was so, so aggressive we couldn't really get out of that first phase because we didn't really have any sort of playmaker in there to get us up the pitch. They did a number on us really and I think if you have someone like Simmonds in that game or a Maddison to kind of drop in and help you get up the pitch, that's what we're really kind of lacking. He's got

that goal threat in the final third as wellael Damsgaard at Brentford in terms of the ground that he covers. So I think he does tick a lot of boxes. And I think for those games when you're playing in the Champions League as well, it just adds that sort of little bit of star quality onto it as well. So I think he's a good fit.

But I get what you mean. It's like sometimes you think of Thomas Frank, like we're going to win all our duels, win the second balls, all that kind of stuff. And it's not necessarily like a star player that you kind of associate with them. It's more about the team and making them kind of greater than the sum of their parts. But I do think he can do a lot of what

Damsgaard did for Brentford Four Spurs. That's what we've been missing maybe in the first few games. We did a number on City. them and were really good and unfortunate not to go over the line. I think we were just tired and their quality showed through in the end. Burnley obviously had decent performance in the first game but I think a lot of the issues that we knew we were going to have without assigning a player like that were there for everyone to see against Bournemouth on Saturday. So I think he can make a big, big difference.

Can I just ask you, because we speak about Man United a lot because they had such a poor season last season. We all say, what can Man United do this season? But youse were similar. Youse obviously just beat them in the cup final. I know it was a big achievement. What is realistic for Tottenham? Where are you expecting your team to finish this season?

I think we can challenge for the Champions League places. I know people are going to say that's a big jump from 17th to 5th or 4th. It was an anomaly season, I think, last year. There was a lot that went wrong for us in terms of the injuries, but I think Ange kind of shot himself in the foot by a little bit like we were saying with Amirim, kind of sticking to that style of play. So I do think it was a little bit of a freak, kind of one-off season for Spurs.

And I do think Frank is going to make the floor of that squad a lot of the similar players were still there, to challenge for those Champions League spaces. If we'd have beaten City in that game in Ange's first season, we would have got Champions League, but obviously, no, it didn't go that way. And Man City ended up winning the league at Arsenal's expense,

so there was something to celebrate there still. But it was like, that squad is much better than 17th. Frank is that kind of natural floor raiser that's gonna make you win a lot more games, be more consistent, adapt to the opponent as well, which is something that as much as we love Dan, Jona grateful for everything that he did last season by getting us over the line to win that trophy, unfortunately, I think, again,

we're seeing it at Rubin Amron right now, you're not gonna be consistently successful and challenged for those bigger things, and like Daniel Levy that's coming out and outlining the Premier League and Champions League as objectives, you just need to win more football matches to get closer to that. He also needs to do his job in the transfer market and back the manager.

But I think, I do think we can challenge for those Champions League spaces,

certainly being in and around the European spots. Has he been beat by Bournemouth at home?

Yeah, but I don't know. We beat Man City away last week. I think people are going to write off that City game because we always beat City. Frank did a number on Pep and he outclassed him in that game and we were full value for that win.

But they just lost to Brighton, didn't they?

Yeah, true, but PSG are the European champions and I know people are going to find any way to pick at it because it's Tottenham and they didn't have much of a pre-season because of the Club World Cup, but we were good. We were really bad, like really bad. There was a lot of TV problems still there. We're still only a few games into a new manager's reign. And I think the good thing about Frank, hopefully, is that I think, unlike last year maybe,

and again, I don't want to be too critical of Ange after what he did, but you felt like Ange wasn't necessarily learning from what was going wrong, whereas I feel like Frank is the sort of manager on board and especially with a couple of new signings coming through the door to kind of reinvigorate that attack like Simmons couldn't play on Saturday. I think he's gonna learn from that and make sure that doesn't happen again.

I'm not saying Spurs are gonna be flawless, faultless. We're gonna probably lose more games of football but it's still the first season of a new manager kind of with a lot of young players still.

But I feel good, I you to get some breaking news. I've got something going on. That's pretty much it for me. It's been a difficult start. In hard terms, a goal scorer. We know Ezek's moved on. You want him out the door. You've got players in.

I mean, Eddie Howe, New was on, obviously the whole Isak situation, there was a few different things that have developed since then and now I'm in the mindset where I just want it done, dusted, I want that out the way so we can concentrate on the season. We should be absolutely bouncing with some of the players that we have brought in, the likes of Malik Chau, Ramsey, Alanga, Rissa hopefully being done today, Voldemar there, he looks like he's going to be an absolute fantastic addition just due to his size. So I think overall when you put all them together it's starting to look like we can go in for

a good season because from the first three games the main thing we've been missing is that finishing power. We haven't really had anyone to finish the goals, like I said before the Gareth Liverpool game we had passion and that's why we ended up going out and scoring a couple of goals. We wanted to stick it to you as that was given on the day. Leeds, yes, it hasn't been the best of the three games without doubt, I'd probably say worse to the three, but it again missed that one big elephant in the room.

We've got no striker. We've got no-one to put the goals over the line. Isula's good, but he's not quite ready yet. You said you're waiting for some breaking news today, but you were texting our producer saying you want Maino from Man United.

Aye, so at this point, right, I expected maybe we are just going to end up losing out on Vissar because of negotiations with Price. We're going to end up losing out on strand loss and negotiations with price. And we're probably going to end up going in and getting something like a midfield that I try and convert into a nine like for Terry. Or maybe he's even going in and go try and get a loan to buy deal on Cobby Maynard just to fill some sort of gap. That was how I was starting to feel.

And it was just because of the way we're transfer window has been. It's been so up and down, up and down, up and down with putting bids and failed and this and that and I think in the end everyone could see quite clearly that coming to this final day, Isak was pretty much gonna be a done deal to Liverpool. So we need someone, we need someone else we can't just go into this season with relying on, not with the banning all the competitions, relying on what just Walter Meady and Asula and Anthony Gordon

who for some reason can't play centre forward for Newcastle. Fantastic for England when he goes centre forward but for some reason at Newcastle he just doesn't do the job, it's like a different player. Can you make the Champions League positions or can you challenge for the Champions League positions this season with the situation you find yourselves? I don't see why not. Honestly, I think for Newcastle, the first season that we took the

Champions League position, it was a real drive of we're over-performed. We did not have any squad depth that first time we got them back. Now we've actually built on the squad depth. We've got some good leg-for-leg substitutions happening. Not-legs have taken off. Bottman for La Sels, no disrespect for La Sels, he's played well for the club and done amazing. But that's a big depth drop off, it really is. So that's fixed now, that's fixed. So realistically we can go out there and

we can be that Eddie Howe shithouse Mags isn't it? We can rattle everyone and anyone and it's weird that you can go out there and someone like Jacob Murphy can go out and rattle some of the best defenders in the world. And it's like, how's he able to do that? But that's the magic of Newcastle and it's that Eddie Howe effect.

Dan, are West Ham fixed now?

We're back, baby. We're back. No, we're far from fixed. Look, we was much better. I see a lot of parallels with Graham Potter and Amrin, funny enough. Came in at a similar time. Had an awful...

Everyone's comparing us.

But it's true, though. The awful run.

Running, they both refused to play a talented youngster, Maynard, Freddie Potts. Difference is, Potter changed the system. Amrin hasn't changed the system. We look much better. We do look much better.

But if you think after one really good win, I'm going to lose sight of the bigger picture, you're mad. Like, because in the grand scheme of things, we're not fixed because at the end of the day, there's still no long-term plan, no long-term structure. Wilson scored, I'm behind Wilson all the way. And I've had so many people coming up to me and saying, oh look, you criticised the Wilson signing.

Yeah, because the man signing him. I will never, ever, Wilson could score 30 goals this season.

You will not, you will never, ever, you will never.

You'll get a twisted ankle.

No, yeah, maybe. But I just want to play on a structure. I look at Brighton, you know, Bournemouth now. I'm looking at these clubs, they just run properly. And for us, whenever we succeed, it's just pure luck. We stumble into it. Moyes, you know, we signed him to keep us up.

And it happened to work out.

Do you think Potter has the... Because obviously, Potter's a good coach. What obviously about that? No, he is a good coach, but do you think he has the personality to be a West Ham manager? Because there always seems to be this added pressure with West Ham, whether it's the style of play that your fans want

or once a few results go wrong, it's the end of the world. Do you think he's got the personality for it?

I'm Potter in, but that Wolves game, I really started to get worried. I saw him with his little notebook and his hands were shaking. And I'm like, has he got it? Like, because we are, you know, some people might say we're a hard fan base to please. That's how some people look at it. We just want a team that we recognise that works hard on the pitch,

that looks good.

And yeah, a manager we can relate to. And I looked at him and I thought. But, you know, people are talking about Jose.

I don't know.

Would you have Jose Mourinho as the next best-hand manager?

If Pota is not going to work out, right? I think he's going to be a disaster then. Yeah, I would have Jose for the chaos. If we're going to go and get a Daesh or a Cooper or any of these sort of managers, just give me a Jose. He's not gonna play the best football. He's gonna burn the house down and he's gonna yeah But this is it give me some chaos Give me some chaos or something. You know, I mean, it'll be box office. That's what I want to see all of them and

Sullivan oh my god. Can you imagine the press conference? Wow Marino cooking that fraud. I wouldn't have. Give me that. So yeah man, if it's... I'm open to it. But, I want to kind of see where Potter can go now. Now he's making the right decisions. Midfield sorted. Somerville back. Pacey players, that's what I've been calling for.

But like I said, we're never going to be fixed long term,

because we're not run like a proper football team.

What was that?

And do you regret kind of forcing Moyes out the door?

Be careful what you wish for, is that what you're saying? Do you know what, so many people have said that, right? And when people say that and it says in the media, oh, maybe they should have been careful what they wish for, it's like they've just blanked last season under Moyes, right? When these lot beat us 6-0, these lot beat us 5-0. Palace, like 5-2.

We was conceding...

Got 40 points, that year.

40 points, wasn't it? Yeah.

Of course he had to get sacked.

Yeah.

It's like the post-acogery thing. Of course they were right to sack him. And the fans that were calling for his head were right.

We didn't even end up sacking him because the contract coming, it was a mutual part in a ways. But I always said this, you cannot play boring, crap football and concede multiple goals, record Premier League goals, and think that's fine and we're going to keep you. He done a really good job for a period of time, but it's not sustainable.

We needed that sustainability. We just went up because we're not running like a proper football club, we went, he's available, want a free, let's go get him. Instead of trying to go, maybe we can try and get Ira Ola.

So you don't think West Ham can ever be what you want them to be with the current ownership?

Never, never. We may have that odd season here and there where we'll go up, but there's no sense of, right, OK, here's how we build on it. Here's the structure. Here's the plan. You need proper football people in place, creating that plan.

So when you're talking about the structure, you're talking about maybe the structure of teams like a Bournemouth or a Brighton. Maz, you're the team or the club that other clubs look at and sort of want to model themselves in.

People question our model a lot because they're like, you can't keep selling and keep replacing. But I think we've shown it in the last six years. We're pretty good at it. You know, even this season, look at Gruder yesterday. You know, he's a product of that great sort of talent ID that we've got. So I feel like, yeah, it's great to be, you know, always brought up in those conversations of, you know,

you're the great club that you could argue, you know, Palace fans are going, what a trophy, what a trophy, and it's like, yeah, I can't say anything back. You know what I mean? I'm like, I'm actually screwed. So, yeah, it does get to a point where you've got to, you know, prioritise having great players, keeping them, developing them, and yeah, it's great making loads of money out of them, but at the same time, but yeah, I agree. I think the ownership is... Yeah, you want that ownership. We're a sleeping giant, so if we had that, like, no offence,

but I think we're a bigger club than Brighton.

So if we had the Brighton structure...

Right now?

Well, no, we're a bigger club.

Yeah.

We're not a better club. We're not better. of like fan base, et cetera, et cetera. But on the pitch, we're up there with a- Yeah, yeah, because of your structure and who you've got running. So give that to West Ham. But why do you keep more of those players?

Give it to Chelsea, yeah!

You can't just take that, what do you mean?

No, I'm saying-

You think we'll give you Tony Bloom? I'm talking about Hector Faircloths. We'd keep a lot more of our players than we would sell, and we would be up there. I think what it is as well, Tony Bloom, you can tell he's a fan. He's a genuine fan of Brighton and Albion. I think that's so key. Obviously, he's got lots of money, and that's great, but he actually cares about the club.

He loves the club.

He's great at poker as well, which I do you know what I mean? And I feel like you can see an owner that cares, an owner that's just there for the money. Sullivan has a claret suit, so I guess that...

Maz, what about yesterday? I mean, you beat Man City, you beat them I think last season. I think the manager's record against Man City is fantastic.

Yeah, four points last season and three this season.

Yeah, go on. I mean, talk to us about the manager, because they had a great season last season. You've actually made a great start. I watched you play against Everton. You've batted Everton really, but couldn't get across the line and lost the game. But you've had a really good start in terms of performance.

Yeah, well, one point after the first two games, which was a bit sticky. A lot of people were questioning Herzler, his tactics, his substitutions was a big, brave move. In that time of the game, we looked really lethargic. I thought we got it wrong in a couple of like, you know, Gomez starting behind Rolbeck. I thought that was the wrong decision. But then when it got to the 60th minute, wherever it was, to make those full substitutions shows that, you know, he's got something about him.

He's got the bottle to do it, first of all. O'Reilly obviously started the first two games, he wasn't even part of that substitution. So it felt like he realised that Gruder was the right option, brought him on, and he ended up getting the winner. And I felt like Hürzler, in that moment, made the right choices at the right time. And I think that's what we've been crying out, is sometimes we're questioning substitutions.

Is he the right guy? It's crazy. Rocking the outfit yesterday as well. I mean, I feel that too. To be manager in the Premier League and having Pep's number four title. That's pretty special, isn't it? No, 100%. I think that's what you see. And I know you probably won't agree. But yeah, I feel like you can see he's got the makings of being a great manager. He's still struggling now, but you know what I mean? He has things. I didn't think it not four times, is it?

Hold on, hold on, I'm beating in the last three, innit? I'm beating in the last three?

I'm just ready to name the 68 squad if anyone's too... Let's go with that, Luke. Joe Corrigan, Mike Doyle, Francis Lee, Tony Book, I'll go Colin Bell, Summerbee. There's six for you anyway.

Oh, I bottled it!

That's good, you only needed six players to do that. That's good, you only needed six players to do that.

Listen, thank you everybody for another edition of the Fan Debate,