08/12/2013 MOTD2 Extra


08/12/2013

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Welcome to Match Of The Day to extra. We are live on BBC One, BBC

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Radio 5live and on the BBC sport website. Coming up, we will analyse

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the weekend's football, including David Moyes and Man United after

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their defeat yesterday. We will look back at great wins. Oak and Crystal

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Palace, and Norwich, because they impact on the top and the bottom of

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the table. And we will preview to -- this afternoon's premiership game,

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and with me in the studio Danny Mills, Steve Bauer and Rory Smith.

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We want you to get involved as well. Text us, or contact us via the BBC

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Sport website. It is basically David Moyes and picture of Yohan Cabaye

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all over the back pages. Just incredible. Just after the start of

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the season, I thought they might finish outside the top four for the

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first time since I can remember, and I think that is a serious problem.

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We almost the issues in the summer were the lack of signing players. If

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they don't finish in the Champions League places, who is going to want

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to go to United? I know they are a massive club. I know I might be a

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bit biased. They might be playing Leeds next year! Who is going to

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want to go there? Rooney's contract situation, he is not going to be

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able to make big signings, and they could be 15 points behind today. We

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will look at Arsenal vs Everton later and talk more about United. It

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is turning into quite a bad weekend for Sunderland at the moment, with

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Palace and Norwich winning, and Stoke as well. You were at the

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Stadium of Light yesterday. I was. They did OK in the first half, but

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in the second half, they lacked a lot of spirit. I think the reality

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had hit Gus Poyet yesterday. This is a club that has only won four of

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their last 30 Premier League games. To try and turn that mentality ran

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quickly is going to be difficult. They are five points adrift at the

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moment. Three of the next four games are away from home. You could just

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hear the frustration in Gus Poyet's voice at the end. Their home games

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are going to be crucial. They have had a difficult week, Chelsea and

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Tottenham, but I do worry for Sunderland. History tells us that

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eventually the unpredictability will stop in the Premier League and the

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natural order will come through, but the longer this season goes on, the

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less likely that looks. Yes, it normally evens out, but it is

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getting more unpredictable. With United and Chelsea losing at Stoke,

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it is difficult. We are baffled by how unpredictable it is. I think it

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could be a title that is one with 80 points or less, and I think that the

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chances of relegation is one from nine at the moment. There are two

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games today. Arsenal vs Everton later, and you will be able to see

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both on much of the day to tonight. The first game of the day to is full

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Aston Villa from Craven Cottage. John, do you think that full will go

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through because of this performance? That is exactly what

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Renny Meulensteen says in his match programme notes today. It was an

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improved performance on Wednesday night against Tottenham, and there

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was a lot of talk around here about how wonderful the supporters were

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getting behind the team on Wednesday. The fact is, they lost

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the game and they have lost their last seven matches now in all

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competitions. I am looking a little ahead, and before Christmas, Fulham

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have got games against Everton and Manchester US city. Clearly, tough

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matches, so today's game is very important for full to get something

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out of it, otherwise they could be bottom of the table by Christmas

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Day. Aston Villa go into this game buoyed by the results, as well as

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their performance at St Mary's. Yes, and the great thing for Aston Villa

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is they are away from home, where they have been performing so well

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lately. Only one defeat away from home all season, and that was at

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Chelsea back in August, when they were unfortunate to lose that game.

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Southampton had more of the match on Wednesday night, but Aston Villa won

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the game. A big concern today will be whether Ron Vlaar is going to be

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fit. We will find out for certain in the next few minutes. An important

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player for them at the back, the captain, and he went off injured at

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half-time on Wednesday. Not sure it is hopeful that he will be able to

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play. Thank you. We will bring you that team news when we get it. John

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talked about Villa away from home. Only Spurs have a better way

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record. City are also brilliant at home by terrible away. It is strange

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how you get such a stark contrast. With Villa, it may be Lambert's

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style and they can counterattack better away from home. I think the

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counterattacking works well for them. They are more set up to play

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on the break, and away from home, you are happy to sit in and play

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that counter style. When you have to force the issue at home, I'm not

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sure they have the creative mid field player is to open the teams

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up. This is a huge game for full, because Meulensteen is a very

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respected manager in the game. He wanted to be manager, and he has his

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chance, but seven straight defeats. They didn't win on Wednesday, and

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this is the type of game they have to get three points from, otherwise

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they could be cut adrift by the New Year period. At Brondby, where he

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had six months, there were tales of weird things, like asking players to

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name animals they would like to be like - except a snake! They were not

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allowed to name a snake. There's plenty of good coaches who don't

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make good managers. There's no guarantee that you cross over. He is

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desperate for this opportunity. Going back to Brondby in 2006, 2007,

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there was a lot of water gone under the bridge during that time. Seven

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years, the chance to work with a variety of managers or coaches.

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Maybe that will be a slightly different Meulensteen at full to the

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one who was at Brondby. Yes, you have to assume that he has changed

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over the years. He needs to win and he needs it quickly. If they

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struggle the next few games, Norwich, Hull and West Ham, if they

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don't win at least two of those, and bottom by New Year's Day, I think

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they will be doomed. Iverson insight from a player's point of view. If

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they are bottom or in the bottom three around Christmas, or even

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going into the New Year, Meulensteen has talked about having some money

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available and being able to bring in players. As a player, would you go

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to one of the bottom three sides in the Premier League in the transfer

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window in January? Only if you are mercenary. You have to pay more

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wages to attract people. You might not get one of the best players. If

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you have any ambitions as a player, it is very, very unlikely. They

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might be losing Berbatov as well, who is very enigmatic. He can be

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fantastic. He is one of the only players in that side at the moment

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with the real ability to score goals. If they lose him, can they

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replacing? They can replace him with a hard-working player, but maybe not

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someone who can put a chance away. I think that club in transition is

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going to be the buzz phrase over the next six weeks. Our Villa club in

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transition? Or have they come through the transitional phrase --

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phase? They have been in transition since about 99! They have some

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really good young players, and Lambert should begin them credit for

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giving those young players a chance, but there are times when they look

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like they will need more experienced and more quality. I think Villa

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Wilson vibe relatively comfortably. But the question is, where does

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Randy Lerner want to take them? What is the grand plan? He was given the

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remit to give young players a chance. Sometimes, when players come

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in, they haven't got the quality. But the likes of Westwood in

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midfield, and the players up front, such as Benteke... He didn't even

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start on Wednesday, and they still won the game. Also, I was at the

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Villa - Spurs game, and Benteke was on the bench then. It felt like

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everything was very flat until Benteke came on, and that gave the

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fans a boost as well. He hasn't really hit the heights. He hasn't

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scored in eight. Villa are a good side. They are a young side, and you

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will get unpredictability. You will have great games and tough games.

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They found it hard last season. All those young players went through

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tough times, from the fans and the media and everybody. Now you see a

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good performance, but they cannot always back that up. Do get in touch

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with us today. We will talk about Arsenal vs Everton later on. We will

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look back on yesterday's football shortly, but we will touch on the

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story that is on the front page of the Sun on Sunday today.

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Ex-premiership stars in match fix probe. Just the general theory

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behind this. It isn't strictly match fixing. What it is is spot fixing,

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being able to say, I will get a booking in that match. We have known

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for a while that that is an issue in football. This one is about hooking.

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The other issue was the first throw-in, which I can't understand

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why anyone would want to... If you were betting on the first throw-in,

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that looks suspicious anyway. That has been an issue ever since this

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betting came in. It has been an issue for a while, and there has

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been the idea that match fixing is something that happens to

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foreigners. But you cannot take that attitude. You cannot shut the border

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any more, and the FA has to be alert to it. You should ask Danny about

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the bookings in his career! I am gutted. I could have made an

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absolute fortune! My record was 14 yellows, two reds and an FA ban on

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top of that. I went to the FA Cup after that as well! Did you ever

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hear of anybody being approached? Not approached, but the throw-in

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's... When the spread betting first started, you could bet on anything

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in football. If you go back to the Premier Li, there was a time when

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the ball would be rolled back from kick-off and it would be smashed in

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the corner. Massively suspicious, let's be honest, and that got picked

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up on after a few years. The sums of money and the odds were not huge,

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but there was betting on that. Bookings, I have not heard anyone

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being approached for that, but I took a booking in a game

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deliberately to avoid suspension later on in the tournament. So it

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has happened, where players have deliberately got themselves booked.

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We have seen recent Champions League games, players getting themselves

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booked to make sure that they are available for the next stage. You

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say allegedly! But that happened. It did happen, because I did it. The

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other thing in all of this, can we afford to be too sanctimonious about

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it? There are so many football competitions, programmes, events,

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sponsored by betting companies. This is the issue. There was definitely a

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link. You only have to look... We will not mention specific companies

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or actors, but I have not seen a football match for three years

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without Ray Winston's face appear. There is this tight link between

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gambling and football which seems to be growing. It is a sensitive issue,

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and there is something there that maybe needs to be addressed.

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Wherever there are grey areas in life, people will exploit it. It

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isn't just Premier League games. People are betting on non-league

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games, the Conference, and that isn't really covered. If someone is

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booked in a Conference game, or get sent off, no one is bothered. That

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is what foreign markets are looking at. Let's take a look at yesterday's

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games. We will start with the game at Old Trafford. Manchester United

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beaten by Newcastle. We didn't create enough. But we had one or two

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moments to score and we didn't take the chances. Sometimes you need one

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of the things to go for you. It is difficult today for David and the

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club at the minute. They have had some tricky results. He is a great

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manager. I think it is important that the fans of Manchester United

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and the board stick with him. Because he knows, he has proven he

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will be great for this club. But it is some sticky days and we all have

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them. The process is the same, we try and win the next game. The

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important thing is we move on and do the right things and we do that most

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days and try and get them right. We will try and do it again. First, to

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appease Anthony in Durham and Newcastle fans, he says, please,

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please, praise Newcastle's performance instead of focussing on

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Manchester United. I think Newcastle did well. They set their team up to

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play a different game. He has done that a couple of times. You have to

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remember six weeks ago, Alan Pardew was odds on favourite to be sacked

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and he goes on a great run. If he gets his best eleven out, The Got

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some good players. Look at the contrast in quality. Cabaye is a

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great player. He has ability to go forward. Toe. The iot -' Ollie said

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Newcastle, have they turned the corner. Yes I was there when they

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beat West Brom. Yesterday, away from home, they have been setting up

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differently and they have got consistency. They're picking more or

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less nine or ten of the same players. You look at the bench and

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Cisse coming on, Shola Ameobi and they have Steven Taylor who isn't

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player. They have a settled team and confidence and they came back

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against West Brom and Danny is right, I thought there was some

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irony that Cabaye scores the goal and he is the type of player that

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Manchester United are crying out for. Manchester United made seven

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changes yesterday from the defeat to Everton. Does David Moyes have any

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idea what his best 11 is? No, I think to an extent having a best

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eleven is not right, because they have so many games. Moyes has come

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in and said, I want to look at all the players I have got, even anner

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the son -- Anderson and decide whether he can be a footballer,

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despite all the evidence to the contrary. In your opinion! Yes, well

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these are the champions and the problem is is it not obvious from

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the outside that a lot of the players, you prejudge and you know

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they aren't of the required standard. It is not rocket science

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to work out there is weak areas. He doesn't seem to be closer to finding

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out who he wants and he who doesn't want than at the start of season and

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that would worry me. I think Wednesday and Monday, in terms of

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quality, midfield has been a problem. Those two games showed how

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much Wayne Rooney has been playing for Manchester United. But Michael

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Carrick. He gets a lot of criticism from some people. He is popular in

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that Manchester United dressing room. He hasn't played in the last

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two games. They have failed to create and get the tempo and keep

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the ball moving. All things that Carrick does. I know it is not down

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to one player. But I think that shows, those two games as if it

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needed to, and some people did need to, how important Carrick is. Is

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that not in itself. I like Michael Carrick. He can't do it on his own.

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But he is n Javi, he is Michael Carrick. And he is getting older and

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it is an ageing side. There no fear factor, you take Wayne Rooney out

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and van Persie wasn't 100% fit and David Moyes had to leave him on.

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That is a touch worrying. He is struggling towards the end of the

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game. But going through the midfield, Januzaj Cleverley and

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Nani. If you're coming against that, you think, there is no one who

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worries me. We are an average side and we can deal with that. Back in

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the day, wow you'd think -- you would think that would be difficult.

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But now teams are going to Old Trafford and saying, we can win

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this. That is a belief you haven't had for ten years. In everyone

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focuses on the midfield being the problem, the fact that Paul Scholes

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had to come out of retirement a couple of years ago and that

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actually if you take them as specific central midfielder,

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Anderson was probably the last one they bought until Fellaini came in.

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Who takes blame. It is the -- is it the scouting department, is the

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board, it is Alex Ferguson? Apart from Fellaini, none of that midfield

:20:45.:20:50.

is Moyes' fault. It is difficult to blame Moyes, but in the last three

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years he maybe focussed more on the present than the future. That

:20:55.:20:57.

husband wiz strength in knowing what was coming. You know as soon as the

:20:58.:21:03.

idea of retirement entered his mind, whether he started building a team

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for today. The central midfield is baffling, because it has been a

:21:08.:21:10.

problem. Or whether players he brought in, whether Tom Cleverley

:21:11.:21:16.

developed as much as Alex Ferguson thought he would and Anderson. He

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has been there before with people like Veron. Midfielders that

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promised and not delivered. And they had bids in on players and they

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didn't want to come like Modric and Sneijder. They went, you know, what

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no, we don't want to come. Even this summer. The same thing happened.

:21:41.:21:45.

They had interesting players and they weren't interested in playing

:21:46.:21:51.

for United. They have never done much business in January. But this

:21:52.:21:55.

is the biggest January. They have never been ninth or tenth either.

:21:56.:22:01.

Michael says, Alex Ferguson left Moyes the same team, a Premier

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League winning team, full of create yicht and determination. Why aren't

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they getting the same results. Philip, I wonder how long it will be

:22:12.:22:18.

before United fans go to Old Trafford dressed as red seats? Now

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the relegation battle and we will start with Crystal Palace, who beat

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Cardiff yesterday. They're a good group of lads and have responded

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well. We have done a lot of shape and... You know stuff that I think

:22:36.:22:42.

is essential to give you a chance to win matches. Especially against the

:22:43.:22:46.

teams that we have to fight against. Against the top teams. You catch

:22:47.:22:51.

them on the the right day and they will beat you. But you have a chance

:22:52.:22:56.

if you're set up properly. From that position, you can play some stuff

:22:57.:23:01.

and we did. We created quite a few chances. You don't want to get

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carried away, because it is West Ham and Cardiff they have beaten at

:23:07.:23:09.

home. But the whole change in atmosphere there is remarkable.

:23:10.:23:13.

Always happens when a new manager comes in, there is a new impetus. We

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always talk about the honeymoon period. There very few clubs where

:23:20.:23:27.

that doesn't happen. Is it sus stainable long-term? I have doubts.

:23:28.:23:32.

He has fired them up and sent them out with a message, get stuck in, be

:23:33.:23:36.

organised and do this and do that. And they have done it. Be organised

:23:37.:23:43.

is the key. They look so organised. That is what his teams have been. He

:23:44.:23:47.

has had criticism, but you can't say his teams haven't known their job

:23:48.:23:51.

and what they're supposed to do. That was the thing, Crystal Palace

:23:52.:23:55.

looked anything but organised before he arrived. And again we were

:23:56.:23:59.

talking about Sunderland, at least he has given them something this

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week, because otherwise they were in danger of being cut adrift. There

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was a point at which you wondered whether they might be rivalling

:24:07.:24:09.

Derby for the lowest ever points tally. You look at the quality in

:24:10.:24:13.

the squad and it is not there. But there is a lot of team there is you

:24:14.:24:18.

could say the same about. When you look at that Palace squad, you see a

:24:19.:24:27.

lot of Tony Pulis type players. I don't mean it in a disparaging way,

:24:28.:24:35.

but they have a big back four and he has wingers like Puncheon. There are

:24:36.:24:39.

players that will fit into what he wants to do. I liked the logic when

:24:40.:24:49.

he went and people said it will be difficult taking that defence. Well

:24:50.:24:56.

the thing about Pulis's style is it is relatively easy to implement. He

:24:57.:25:01.

gets the teams disciplined and organised and if you have a plan

:25:02.:25:05.

down the bottom, then you stand a chance. Because there will be some

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teams that don't have a plan. Set pieces will be key. Sam Allardyce

:25:10.:25:15.

has always been organised and done well and hasn't played the greatest

:25:16.:25:20.

football, but I look at Palace and you can be organised to a point. But

:25:21.:25:27.

Ethel -- but they will go on another run. They have some tough game,

:25:28.:25:30.

Chelsea, Villa and Manchester City. If they lose all three of them,

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their confidence goes again and can he, does he have the ability to pick

:25:35.:25:37.

the players up again after he has done it once and it has been

:25:38.:25:46.

knocked. When you saw the results at the Stadium of Light one that stood

:25:47.:25:51.

out was Norwich winning at West Brom. Yes, I was at West Brom and

:25:52.:25:58.

Steve Clarke said what an important match that was. Manchester City blew

:25:59.:26:03.

them away in the first half an hour and 3-2 was a false score line and I

:26:04.:26:09.

saw West Brom lose at Newcastle and he said this was a massive game and

:26:10.:26:14.

there was some eyebrows raised, given Norwich's form away from home.

:26:15.:26:18.

They have been a soft touch conceding goals. You would have got

:26:19.:26:25.

high odds on them getting a clean sheet, never mind a win. West Brom

:26:26.:26:34.

are not safe. They are a team that everyone assumes, well organised,

:26:35.:26:38.

decent players and they will be fine. But they're the same as

:26:39.:26:42.

Cardiff, they're in trouble. There are some teams we have not

:26:43.:26:48.

concentrated on for being in trouble. West Brom have more quality

:26:49.:26:54.

in different areas than the Crystal Palaces in the long-term. You're

:26:55.:26:59.

looking at how many goals are you going to score and who will score

:27:00.:27:04.

them. Norwich have players, they haven't settled. Gary Hooper is

:27:05.:27:08.

starting to settle. Yes, they spent money and they have players that can

:27:09.:27:16.

get you a Annabel Goldie Hull -- can you gate goal. Hull I think will

:27:17.:27:23.

struggle. But Cardiff and West Ham, you cannot see where West Ham are

:27:24.:27:28.

going to score consistently from. They have played with a false nine

:27:29.:27:34.

and now Nolan is suspended. No idea when Andy Carroll will come back and

:27:35.:27:40.

will they have money to spend? The false number 9 was the buzz phase

:27:41.:27:47.

and team of transition. We will bring you the team news for Fulham

:27:48.:27:57.

against Villa soon. Let's focus on one of yesterday's other games,

:27:58.:28:03.

Stoke peating Chelsea by -- beating Chelsea 3-2. The last part of the

:28:04.:28:08.

game was stupid by us to play that way. Because in the last ten minutes

:28:09.:28:13.

we gave them what they want. They want long balls, they want balls in

:28:14.:28:19.

the air, they want a dirty game, first ball, second ball, kick the

:28:20.:28:27.

ball away, go to the floor, asks for the coach. We gave them that. But we

:28:28.:28:34.

played very good fat ball and -- good football and we had fantastic

:28:35.:28:40.

movement. We don't capitalise on goals we pay. Another three goals

:28:41.:28:45.

cone seeded. We are not used to seeing that from Chelsea? No, and...

:28:46.:28:51.

What do you want me to say? To criticise individually my players'

:28:52.:28:55.

mistakes? I can't do it. We have only had one defeat in six games. We

:28:56.:29:00.

haven't won as many as we deserved. But everyone understands we are

:29:01.:29:06.

early into what we are trying to do and we are trying to change the way

:29:07.:29:14.

we play and people saw that today. Do you worry about Chelsea's

:29:15.:29:19.

defence? I'm surprised. I thought the start of the season Jose

:29:20.:29:23.

Mourinho came in and Chelsea have always been rigid and pragmatic and

:29:24.:29:29.

that is how most of his teams play. They have conceded a ridiculous

:29:30.:29:35.

amount of goals for them. Again also they're not a team where maybe like

:29:36.:29:40.

he had at Madrid where we can forget about defence and attack and teams

:29:41.:29:44.

will be scared, because they continue have -- don't have that out

:29:45.:29:52.

and out centre forward. So they're having to go. Every week there are

:29:53.:29:57.

ridiculous unpredictable results. You think on a Friday, your pools,

:29:58.:30:04.

home win, home win and then you see, rip it up. It is so difficult to

:30:05.:30:14.

predict this season. Bet on yellow cards instead! I wish I had known

:30:15.:30:21.

that ten years ago. He does live in 1985. There was a lovely irony that

:30:22.:30:27.

the person who scored the winner. Oak was on loan from Liverpool. --

:30:28.:30:36.

who scored the winner last week was on loan. I do think he trusts David

:30:37.:30:50.

Luiz. The central midfielders, they are not what they were. Up front,

:30:51.:30:54.

Torres comes in and works hard, and looks like he is trying. Demba Ba is

:30:55.:31:01.

not the most subtle of strikers. Mourinho doesn't look like he has a

:31:02.:31:05.

settled idea about what he is trying to get that seem to be. In fairness

:31:06.:31:12.

to Chelsea, it could have been 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes, and

:31:13.:31:17.

Mourinho says in the first -- in the papers this morning that they didn't

:31:18.:31:23.

take their chances. Last year everyone says that Manchester United

:31:24.:31:29.

were a great team, and they have Robin Van Persie. Can Chelsea win

:31:30.:31:32.

the Premier League with the strikers they have? They have had chances and

:31:33.:31:36.

have converted them in the past few weeks. Are there strikers good

:31:37.:31:42.

enough, if no one else comes in in January, to go the whole 38 games in

:31:43.:31:47.

the Premier League? They might try and shift Demba Ba, but then they

:31:48.:31:55.

have a ?50 million footballer in Etu, so I think there is a real

:31:56.:32:04.

structural problem at Chelsea. They have conceded 17 goals in the

:32:05.:32:09.

Premier League. That is a good start. Alan says, after yesterday's

:32:10.:32:17.

loss against Stoke, do you think Chelsea will win the league? I think

:32:18.:32:24.

that Manchester City or Chelsea are my favourites. But Arsenal need to

:32:25.:32:29.

strengthen. If they lose Deji row, -- if they lose Giroud, he is a big

:32:30.:32:37.

support to the players around him. Man City have such strength and

:32:38.:32:44.

power, such strength in depth, that you will have to believe that they

:32:45.:32:49.

will sort out there a way form. Can Liverpool maintain a challenge? I'm

:32:50.:32:54.

not sure. Arsenal are the meeting who could look as though they could

:32:55.:33:04.

finish above City or Chelsea. City could having to use their lead at St

:33:05.:33:08.

Mary's before Southampton came back. Is that a missed opportunity?

:33:09.:33:15.

Massively. Arsene Wenger said many times that away from home and at

:33:16.:33:21.

home shouldn't be that different. Manchester City is a complete Jekyll

:33:22.:33:25.

Hyde. For some reason, they struggle away from home. The players

:33:26.:33:29.

don't like the routine of travelling, maybe, but whatever it

:33:30.:33:37.

is, they cannot seem to get that form. Vincent Kompany came back

:33:38.:33:44.

yesterday. Osvaldo did fantastically. City are not the same

:33:45.:33:50.

force. If you do not have that fear factor, it is massive

:33:51.:33:54.

psychologically. I was at St Mary's yesterday, Southampton were superb.

:33:55.:34:01.

They struggled for the first 20 minutes. Aguero should probably have

:34:02.:34:07.

put City 2-0 up. You wondered if Southampton would wilt, but the way

:34:08.:34:10.

they worked was incredible. It doesn't matter who the players are,

:34:11.:34:16.

they play the same way. Whoever they play, they do what they do, and that

:34:17.:34:22.

is really impressive. He has them working to a really specific plan.

:34:23.:34:25.

And they were missing players yesterday. Schneiderlin is the key

:34:26.:34:35.

one. I really like him. If I was a Premier League club, I would want

:34:36.:34:42.

him. He is fantastic. They had 318-year-olds playing by the end.

:34:43.:34:45.

They have a plan and they know it inside out. I watched City at West

:34:46.:34:53.

Brom on Wednesday. The first half an hour was probably the best football

:34:54.:34:59.

I have seen all season. There were missed opportunities. They could

:35:00.:35:04.

have won yesterday as well. I still think, going forward, with the

:35:05.:35:08.

options they've got, out of all the teams in the Premier League, they

:35:09.:35:13.

have the most options. Arsenal vs Everton is the 4pm game. You can

:35:14.:35:18.

hear that on 5 Live. Full against Aston Villa, full make one change in

:35:19.:35:26.

the side that lost this week. -- full. Benteke starts. I will give

:35:27.:35:41.

you the full Villa team. Guzan, Westwood, Delft, Agbonlahor,

:35:42.:35:48.

Benteke... Just that one change for Fulham. Arsenal vs Everton, let's

:35:49.:35:54.

hear from both -- from both managers. We are hungry. We want to

:35:55.:36:03.

win. We have just put a few results together that should make us, and

:36:04.:36:07.

will make us, more ambitious. As well, conscious that in every single

:36:08.:36:14.

game, you have to put a top-level performance in. Since the beginning

:36:15.:36:21.

of 2013, we have been quite consistent in our results, but now,

:36:22.:36:27.

as we have just said, we have a big week in front of us, starting with

:36:28.:36:31.

Everton. We have to show that we have the hunger and the quality to

:36:32.:36:35.

do it. Arsenal deserves a lot of respect. In the first 14 games, you

:36:36.:36:41.

are capable of winning 11, it is an outstanding team. That is why we

:36:42.:36:49.

will have to be at our best. Looking at ourselves to try and use this as

:36:50.:36:54.

a terrific test to see how quickly we can improve and challenge this

:36:55.:37:03.

side. It is an exciting game. Roberto Martinez and Arsene Wenger

:37:04.:37:07.

there. Kevin Kilbane is at this game for us this afternoon. From

:37:08.:37:11.

Everton's wider view, how did they approach it? I'm sure they will

:37:12.:37:16.

approach it the way they have approached every game this season

:37:17.:37:19.

under Martin us. They are very attacking. They attacked Man City

:37:20.:37:25.

this season from the outset. I can't see it will be any different today.

:37:26.:37:31.

The way they approached it midweek against Manchester United, it is

:37:32.:37:34.

thrilling. I would expect them to play the same way here. What

:37:35.:37:39.

problems were that calls for Arsenal. Not many sides will go to

:37:40.:37:43.

the emirates and try and take them on. That's right. We have seen them

:37:44.:37:48.

a couple of times ourselves. The way they play they can go on. They have

:37:49.:37:54.

that direct approach at times. They can play through midfield. They've

:37:55.:38:00.

got options. They can go from back to front. They move through midfield

:38:01.:38:06.

at the moment in a way that makes them a test for anybody. We have had

:38:07.:38:13.

text and tweets asking how far your former club can go this season. Top

:38:14.:38:19.

four? Title contenders? Martinez said himself this week that the win

:38:20.:38:24.

against Man United was a benchmark for them and they can go on and

:38:25.:38:29.

achieve things this season. It is a big ask for them to get in the top

:38:30.:38:33.

four, but the way they are playing, who knows? Thank you, Kevin. If you

:38:34.:38:38.

are listening to us on the radio, think yourself lucky as you can't

:38:39.:38:43.

see what Kevin was wearing! Every week we have to talk about Kevin's

:38:44.:38:50.

outfits. Everton went for it at Man United, because they recognised that

:38:51.:38:54.

there wasn't much protection in front of the United back four with

:38:55.:39:01.

Giggs and Delaney. They will not get that with slimming the at Arsenal

:39:02.:39:05.

today. I think he is almost as important as Ozil. If Flynn

:39:06.:39:12.

meanie's side wins, he gathers his team together and takes a photo of

:39:13.:39:20.

the. It is to bond the team together. Flamini has that it of

:39:21.:39:25.

devil in him that I think they have been missing. You talk to Arsenal

:39:26.:39:35.

fans, and they highlight Flamini, ahead of Ozil. I think both are

:39:36.:39:40.

appreciated by players. When as all walked in, it lifted the Arsenal

:39:41.:39:44.

dressing room immediately. Quite a few players had been crying out for

:39:45.:39:50.

someone like him. That one world-class player to walk in the

:39:51.:39:53.

dressing room and start to train with them lifted Arsenal. In terms

:39:54.:40:00.

of the presence of a player, maybe you have been in that situation...

:40:01.:40:07.

Yes, but you have to give massive credit to Arsene Wenger, who got

:40:08.:40:11.

huge criticism for not signing anybody in the summer. Then he

:40:12.:40:18.

bought in Flamini. And then as all. -- Ozil. Wenger had a plan and knew

:40:19.:40:27.

where he was going. That protection is given to Mertesacker and

:40:28.:40:30.

Koscielny, who now look really good pairing. Apart from another centre

:40:31.:40:36.

forward, and possibly a centre half, they have got a fantastic

:40:37.:40:41.

squad. Players are coming back from injury. Podolski and Walcott are

:40:42.:40:47.

still out. That midfield is exceptional. If they can add in the

:40:48.:40:52.

transfer window... But that one special player, when they come in

:40:53.:40:55.

and you are struggling a little bit, you are looking around for a bit of

:40:56.:41:02.

inspiration. Oval can give you that. He can create something from

:41:03.:41:11.

nothing. -- Ozil. If you have someone like Harry Kewell, you knew

:41:12.:41:14.

that they could score you something out of nothing and give you

:41:15.:41:19.

inspiration. With Ozil he might always create something. She room

:41:20.:41:26.

always gets praise. You talk about a Mertesacker new contract. It just

:41:27.:41:30.

shows that all of us who work in the media need to give people time when

:41:31.:41:38.

they come to play. If you are looking at for Laney at Manchester

:41:39.:41:42.

United, or Soldado at Spurs, who maybe haven't set the world alight

:41:43.:41:47.

yet, maybe we should calm down a bit. They do need a season to

:41:48.:41:59.

settle. For Laney was always going to need a bit of time. With

:42:00.:42:04.

Mertesacker, I think a lot of the criticism was justified. The

:42:05.:42:07.

criticism was that he was quite slow. He was getting Debaty was

:42:08.:42:16.

turning slowly. Now people are subbing him at source, before he

:42:17.:42:25.

gets there. Flamini certainly protected that back for a lot. I

:42:26.:42:40.

think Mertesacker needs some credit as well. When he came in, they

:42:41.:42:47.

started to look solid at the end of last season. Winning in Munich gave

:42:48.:42:53.

him the confidence to help them finish fourth. Just on Everton, they

:42:54.:43:03.

will go there thinking, given what they did during the week, that they

:43:04.:43:04.

can get three points. Definitely. they did during the week, that they

:43:05.:43:23.

Barry, McCarthy, that holding midfield player is vital. The key

:43:24.:43:24.

area today is midfield. midfield player is vital. The key

:43:25.:43:30.

get enough of the ball to create something? A text that has come in,

:43:31.:43:40.

get enough of the ball to create blew, there were no English players

:43:41.:43:41.

on the pitch for Manchester United. blew, there were no English players

:43:42.:43:49.

Arsenal have a real chance of winning the title? Maybe not this

:43:50.:43:54.

Arsenal have a real chance of afternoon, but maybe on Match Of The

:43:55.:43:54.

Day to tonight. Thanks to afternoon, but maybe on Match Of The

:43:55.:43:58.

guests. See you next week. Goodbye.

:43:59.:44:03.

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