26/02/2017 MOTD2 Extra


26/02/2017

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Welcome to Match of the Day 2 Extra on BBC Two, Radio 5 Live

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Joining me today are the former Arsenal, West Ham and England

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West Brom and Northern Ireland midfielder Chris Brunt.

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And Olly Holt, Chief Sports Writer of The Mail on Sunday.

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Get in touch using the hashtag #bbcfootball on social media

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Here is what we have got coming up for you this afternoon.

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We'll continue to reflect on the sacking of Claudio Ranieri

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and discuss the rise of player power.

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As Leicester move into the relegation zone for the first

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time we'll assess the situation at the bottom of the table.

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Chelsea go 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks

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And we'll look ahead to the EFL Cup Final where Manchester United

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There's commentary of that on 5 Live.

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Quick look at this morning's back pages.

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This is the headline in the Sunday Telegraph. Making plans for Nigel,

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hinting at possible return for Nigel Pearson. And the Mail on Sunday has

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gone with this. This is where we will start. Did they knife him? I

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don't think so. Look, there's an argument to say they may have knifed

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him by not playing him all season, and they think, after the heights

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they had last season, obviously, they have dived this season. And

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they have not had players like Mahrez, has been a shadow. They have

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not had goals, they have missed Antonio Conte hugely. I don't

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think... I have got a lot of respect for the Leicester players,

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particularly Casper as Michael. Is good characters there. -- Kasper

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Schmeichel. If they weren't good, they wouldn't have won last season.

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I think the decision was taken by the owners and then the players

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obviously at that point have no choice but to go along with it. Are

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you surprised how long it took for the Leicester players to come out in

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support of Claudio Ranieri? Is that something which happens in the

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Premier League? You are given 48 hours? I think it's a situation

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you've been up West Bromwich, and this bit change of coach, manager,

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and you get messages from the club, possibly a text message or a phone

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call, and they think that would be the general thing. Keep it quiet for

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a couple of days, just to let the storm blow over. Obviously comes

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nice to see people coming out with the things which have been reported

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in the press this week, players have come out and said, they give him

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their backing full-service billet have season for them and was always

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going to be that. It was not going to be the heights they had last

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season, which was so difficult to reach a game and I've think, for me,

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playing them this year, the loss of Antonio Conte has been the biggest

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thing, because he gave the likes of Mahrez the freedom to go and attack

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and express themselves and get forward because knowing behind them,

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he would back them up. Much more on this.

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Kasper Schmeichel spoke to the BBC yesterday and asked whether he had a

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meeting to oust Ranieri. A lot of players say they turned on him and

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the owners were unhappy. Can you tell us what truth there is in that?

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Absolutely no truth in that whatsoever. We are players. We can

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only affect on the pitch and we have not done that. What happens above

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our heads at boardroom level is completely out of our control. Craig

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Shakespeare said yesterday no, there were no players speaking to the

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owners. You can genuinely telephone yourself as well? Craig said there

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was no meeting that was completely true. All these reports about

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meetings, I don't know where they have come from. A la owners are

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very, very hands-on. They are in and around the club. -- a la owners.

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They come to practically every game. They come to the training ground and

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they speak to all the players regularly. Any of those meetings,

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did any of the players expressed dissatisfaction with the manager?

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Listen, like I've said, you can't call it a meeting. Like we're having

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a meeting right now. We talk to them about all manners of things, from

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the weather to whatever. But you've got to remember these guys are very,

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very successful businessmen, and also have taken this club from the

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bottom of the Championship to the top. They won't let themselves be

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influenced by any players or anything like that. We are

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footballers, and we have a responsibility to perform on the

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pitch and we haven't lived up to that. That is the blame that we

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take. Anything else, it's completely out of our control. That is Kasper

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Schmeichel. Matthew Upson, you have played with Kasper Schmeichel. Are

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you convinced by what he said much or is he capable of that sort of

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thing? You got to be careful to distinguish what knifing somebody

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and being asked by the owners, your boss, to have a professional opinion

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on something. It doesn't sound like there was a meeting as such, people

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talk about a witch hunt of a meeting, but I'm sure the owners

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would have had conversations, possibly with the players, who asked

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their opinion and then you either give an honest opinion or you stay

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out of the conversation. To call it knifing in the back, if there was a

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conversation, is a bit extreme. The owners want to do their homework and

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find out by the results were going the way they did. Should the owners

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do that? If they want to protect their investment and look after the

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club as a business, I'm sure they will do. Most people who own

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businesses want to know what's happening inside the business and

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the training pitch and the way they are playing is what football is, so

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they will want to know what's happening. Without trying to drop

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the manager in it, he said no, he did not have a meeting. It should

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all be about the meeting with these players, but we still don't know

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whether this happened. He said there was not a meeting and from that,

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whether or not there was a conversation between the owners and

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players, and other staff members, the owners are very hands-on, even

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though they are not from the UK. They are always at games and

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training grounds, so they are in communication with the players all

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the time. The player power thing is interesting. Quite often you see

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managerial sackings and the media screams player power and they think,

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I understand that and I've think obviously the relationship, the

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balance of power between players and managers has changed over the years,

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over the last 20 years, with the financial power now that players

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have in particular. I still think that if players now are overpaid

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prima donnas, if they are, then it's up to the manager to get the best

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out of those overpaid primadonna 's. Ultimately, the buck stops with a

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manager. Don't get me wrong, I think Leicester made a mistake by sacking

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Ranieri but, ultimately, whatever players who have under your control

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and whatever character they have, ultimately, it's up to you to get

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the best out of them. When you think of overpaid prima donnas, you think

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Chris Brunt. How does this start in a dressing room? How do the players

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start to group together against the manager? I don't know obviously

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listening to the interview at first, pretty much I heard the interview,

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and it's a difficult one because I don't think anybody is going in to

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knife somebody in the back so to speak. Obviously, the results are

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there for all to see. It's been a difficult one. The owners have

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obviously felt they had to make a decision. You look at Swansea, they

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made a decision. Hole as well. -- Hull. They got a couple of wins out

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of it. It may be to try to get a reaction. Once you go over the white

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line, the guys who are playing, take responsibility for what is on the

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pitch because there's not an awful management can do after that. Had we

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been somewhere where a group of players not including yourself have

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agitated to get a manager out? I think not to get a manager out but

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there are discussions which go on all the time between owners,

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directors of football, coaches, players, and if things aren't going

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well it's natural because people, you need results and you want to win

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games and everybody wants to do well for the benefit of the team, the

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club, themselves, and that's just the nature of the environment. I

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think you have got to want to be doing well if things are not going

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well, it's a natural reaction in any business or sport, whatever, if

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things are not going well, you start asking questions and picking at

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things. That's pretty much what has happened. I think the key for

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Leicester and Ranieri is once you have achieved something as

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monumental as Leicester did last season, it's almost like you did use

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similar for the players. Has to be something, how do you stimulator

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group which has just won the Premier League? By maybe giving them a

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contract, but sometimes that can act as a demotivate. There has to be

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something a bit deeper than that. In terms of rewarding the success that

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matter different target. Is there an argument to say they were highly

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motivated the players because they done something about it and got the

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manager out? Yes, I've think it's not as clear-cut as the players

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grouping together and getting Ranieri out. It a cynical way of

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looking at the situation. We didn't talk about it and it's going to be

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reported however you want, but the owners ultimately can either look at

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this as an emotional decision or a clinical logical one, and the

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emotion would be to stick with Ranieri because he won the title

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last season and everybody can understand that but the fact, the

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position are in in the league, how they are performing and what they

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have invested in this season, it doesn't match up so they made a

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decision. There were more Americans -- murmurings of discontent. It was

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said was down to tension between Craig Shakespeare and Ranieri. Is he

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someone you could fall out with? I'm sure anybody could clash with anyone

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depending on personalities. He was in that type of confrontational

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person when I was there. He supported Nigel Pearson. He was with

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him when he came into the club, I think, so he followed on as a coach

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and had massive success last season. Who is to know what has gone on

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behind the scenes? It's difficult to speculate. Who is next? Martin

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O'Neill ruled himself out on 5 Live saying he couldn't do both jobs with

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Republic of Ireland. Roberto Mancini seems to be in the frame and Guus

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Hiddink. I think the difficulty Leicester have got now and a big is

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managers like Martin O'Neill, Guus Hiddink, how can they match up and

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follow that, what Claudio Ranieri did? Not follow this season, but

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Leicester are never going to achieve what they have achieved last season.

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They are never going to do that against anybody who goes in there

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now, I think they are on a hiding to nothing. The best they can do is

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save Leicester from relegation which is OK, because they just won the

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title 's. They are the champions. You're going on a hiding to nothing

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and look stupid. My take on it is, I'll accept that Ranieri hasn't done

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a great job this season. Some of the signings were not great and they did

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not deal well with winning the league. . I do think Ranieri was the

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thing which made it all special. I'm not taking away from the achievement

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of the players, but he was the thing which made it special and they

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think, he earned the right, it sounds stupid, he earned the right

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to take them down. He certainly earned the right to keep the map. I

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think by sacking him, they have taken the magic away and they think

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it's going to be very hard. Sometimes, when a manager leaves,

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you get a bounce by doping that's going to happen here. Liverpool

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next. Craig Shakespeare will be in charge for that. Is a viable

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candidate to bring the dressing room together? I don't know, possibly. He

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was at West Bromwich for one season when they first went and he is a

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good coach. A big personality. A nice guy around the place but, it is

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a tough job. I think, last year Leicester of history had momentum.

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They kept winning and winning and they couldn't lose. No matter what

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was happening in the game they were getting a result. When it flips on

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the other side and you get the momentum of losing games and not

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picking up points, it's difficult to get out of it. A few times at West

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Brom, you are scrapping down the bottom of the league and things

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won't drop your way. Things just don't go your way. It a difficult

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situation for them but obviously, it's going to have to start tomorrow

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night. Nigel Pearson, a man you Leicester, tipped to come back.

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Roberto Mancini into him, Roberto Mancini a man who apparently is to

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get his sidekick to warm up his clothes with eight hairdryer at

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Manchester City. But doesn't seem at the kind of manager who's counting

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up for a relegation fight. No, you hasn't got a history of managing

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teams in relegation fight and die supposed Nigel Pearson is more

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accustomed to that. Again, it is speculation. Roberto Mancini, as a

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player, he was on loan at other player, there's various links but

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it's going to be interesting to see where they can go because it's a

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group at the moment really lacking something. You always feel the team

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that tops into the relegation at this stage, and hasn't really been

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in it fighting, is the one most vulnerable, so it's important they

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get their act in order. It is a split atmosphere at the King

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Power Stadium on Monday night, when you look at the response from the

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Leicester City fans, some say it is the right decision, others say not.

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It is not as clear-cut as people think? It is a huge split, and a

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contentious situation. But one thing is for sure about the Leicester City

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supporters, the atmosphere at the King Power Stadium, they always have

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that common desire that they want to achieve. I think that headline

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summed it up, the prince goes back to being the normal frog again!

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Claudio Ranieri. Norwich against Ipswich is the midday kick-off

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at the East Anglia Derby. Mike Sewell is there. It is still

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goalless. Norwich offered a greater threat throughout the first half an

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hour and had the first opportunity by the boot of an Ipswich player,

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Mitchell Dykes roared into the penalty area, a teasing ball into

:16:28.:16:31.

the six yard box. Pinging off two Ipswich players. It was an excellent

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reaction saved to keep the ball from going into the net. It is still

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goalless. Our commentary game at 1:30pm on

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five live as Tottenham against Stoke. Now we have the team news? I

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would keep you long here, both teams are unchanged from their last

:16:52.:16:55.

outing, the difference being stoic's last game was a fortnight ago, they

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went to Dubai in that time since then. Spurs have beaten Fulham in

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the FA Cup, and Spurs had to play with ten men for the second half the

:17:05.:17:10.

other day. It is the same team, Danny Rose is unavailable, Ben

:17:11.:17:14.

Davies continues. Probably 3-4- three with Eric Dier in the back

:17:15.:17:18.

three. Peter Crouch starts his ninth Premier League game up front. Cider

:17:19.:17:25.

Berahino on the bench, and Shaqiri is still out after a calf injury --

:17:26.:17:31.

Berahino. Is mentality and issue for Tottenham this season, again? Well,

:17:32.:17:38.

I suppose so. I think you are talking from a fake position of

:17:39.:17:44.

strength. If you talk about mentality, are you insinuating...

:17:45.:17:46.

Talking about the fact that they fell off at the end? Yes, looking at

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the statistic that they have won one in 15 Premier League games against

:17:52.:17:55.

teams in the top six away from home, that is a huge statistic? Yes, I

:17:56.:18:02.

think so. The fact that part of it is the squad size, I think. I still

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think that we have overlooked that they are punching above their weight

:18:11.:18:15.

under Pochettino come he has done a fantastic job. Did they miss that

:18:16.:18:18.

opportunity that summer, slipping away against Newcastle at the end,

:18:19.:18:24.

to recruit properly? Possibly. I think they did recruit. And I think

:18:25.:18:27.

they have got so mini fantastic young players coming through. Dele

:18:28.:18:37.

Alli, that case is... He has been such a fantastic player. It is

:18:38.:18:41.

interesting that he is in the spotlight at the moment for that

:18:42.:18:46.

tackle. I find it interesting, with Tottenham's budget, to be competing

:18:47.:18:50.

with Manchester United and Manchester City, and Arsenal, on

:18:51.:18:55.

that budget? It is amazing. You know, they go so far into the youth

:18:56.:18:59.

policy there in terms of bringing players through, they are keen to

:19:00.:19:03.

bring them across and integrate them into the first-team. It is a real

:19:04.:19:08.

benefit for the club in future. But, at the moment, with their squad? The

:19:09.:19:12.

Europe and the cup games, the Premier Leagues, to focus on one

:19:13.:19:17.

thing like Chelsea have done this season, if they can focus on the

:19:18.:19:22.

Premier League, Tottenham would be a real contender. We've seen it more

:19:23.:19:26.

and more, that advantage of not being in Europe, and the advantage

:19:27.:19:30.

for squads of being able to rest. It certainly seems to have happened for

:19:31.:19:35.

Chelsea this season. A massive advantage for Leicester last season,

:19:36.:19:39.

a few seasons ago, Liverpool had the advantage. There's being able to

:19:40.:19:42.

Russian -- ration the squad is more and

:19:43.:19:49.

Tottenham seem to be struggling. What have they been like to play

:19:50.:19:55.

against this season? I think, to be fair, you touched on it earlier.

:19:56.:20:00.

They have a young squad, getting at this stage in the season, with

:20:01.:20:06.

younger players, they are just, maybe, not used to the business end

:20:07.:20:10.

this season. They will grow into it. Dele Alli, Harry Kane, they will get

:20:11.:20:15.

more experience in the Premier League, and go on to do what the

:20:16.:20:18.

likes of Chelsea and Arsenal have done before. It is really tough at

:20:19.:20:23.

the top. It is... Chelsea have gone away, they are gone, but the rest

:20:24.:20:29.

have been so consistent. For Spurs, OK, they are dipping slightly but if

:20:30.:20:33.

you look at the squads that Manchester United have built and the

:20:34.:20:37.

money that they have spent, they are coming on strong and putting a lot

:20:38.:20:40.

of pressure on. The pressure has been relentless at the top, behind

:20:41.:20:44.

Chelsea. A couple of other things with Tottenham, Danny Rose is a big

:20:45.:20:51.

mess. Whether or not it forces Pochettino to play a back three. You

:20:52.:20:57.

have Eric Dier with Wanyama and Dembele, those three are key. Very

:20:58.:21:01.

strong players. To fit those three in the team with the backward Mac,

:21:02.:21:07.

it's difficult. In some ways, he's got good players in key competition

:21:08.:21:15.

areas -- the backward Mac. That for Tottenham would be the success. Dele

:21:16.:21:20.

Alli, there have been questions over his maturity, he's only 20 years old

:21:21.:21:24.

and it is his first red card. All he didn't do, when he went to the

:21:25.:21:29.

trouble, did the classic thing... It was a horrendous tackle. -- the

:21:30.:21:37.

football. Yes, she's got fined again, it makes him stand out as a

:21:38.:21:42.

20-year-old in the Premier League. He could have gone straight into the

:21:43.:21:47.

Premier League. You cannot ask him to take it out of his game, it gives

:21:48.:21:52.

him some edge, and makes him what he is. He is such a good player. A

:21:53.:21:57.

couple of times we have played them this season, he is so difficult to

:21:58.:22:00.

get near, he is very clever and very mature. But there was a bit of red

:22:01.:22:08.

mist there. You learn from it. Let's talk about issues at the bottom of

:22:09.:22:13.

the table, an enormous win for Crystal Palace yesterday, 1-0 over

:22:14.:22:17.

Middlesbrough, their second win under their new manager, Sam

:22:18.:22:20.

Allardyce. It has never been a bigger win for us this season than

:22:21.:22:27.

this one, it lays to rest, for the home fans in particular, the

:22:28.:22:30.

Sunderland game last time we played here.

:22:31.:22:32.

A great victory and hopefully we can move on from there. I think the

:22:33.:22:36.

two-week break had a big influence on the players, because we could get

:22:37.:22:41.

a lot of work into the players, in all aspects of their game. Cat

:22:42.:22:47.

McCorkle and, they made a lot of good decisions -- and they made a

:22:48.:22:51.

lot of good decisions and coped with the players well. Interesting

:22:52.:22:54.

reading the notes for the programme, you said you did not feel it was

:22:55.:23:00.

must win but nice to win it? Yes, the pack, without the bottom three,

:23:01.:23:08.

going a little closer to Bournemouth, I see the bottom seven

:23:09.:23:12.

as the league table for us to try and win. And, we've got a lot closer

:23:13.:23:17.

to Bournemouth today because they lost and we won. We are creeping

:23:18.:23:20.

towards the table and getting towards them. If we can achieve more

:23:21.:23:24.

than that? It would be great. The ultimate would be great, if we can

:23:25.:23:28.

win that day, and with the games coming up, we got to try and make a

:23:29.:23:34.

West Brom game where we do not get beaten. Sam Allardyce speaking to

:23:35.:23:39.

Steve Wilson. Ollie hold, is it fair to say that

:23:40.:23:43.

Crystal Palace have not had this new manager bounce quit at nine games,

:23:44.:23:48.

two wins. It has been the dead cat bounce! Normally, when Sam Allardyce

:23:49.:23:55.

comes in, it changes rapidly. It was a massive win yesterday, they've

:23:56.:23:59.

struggled at home and seem to have been feeling the pressure at home.

:24:00.:24:01.

Normally, Sam -- there is such a fantastic

:24:02.:24:08.

atmosphere there. But they have struggled to get that win. It is

:24:09.:24:11.

interesting. He mentioned Bournemouth a few times. Matt, you

:24:12.:24:17.

mentioned before, about the clubs that you fall into. They are the

:24:18.:24:22.

ones that you are looking at. Middlesbrough, Bournemouth,

:24:23.:24:25.

Leicester City, they have fallen like stones. All of them. Other

:24:26.:24:29.

clubs are beginning to show signs of life. Crystal Palace, Hull, Swansea,

:24:30.:24:34.

beginning to move. Bournemouth I think writing it at the moment. We

:24:35.:24:39.

will talk in more detail later. -- are right in it. When a new manager

:24:40.:24:43.

comes in, how difficult is it to adjust for a player? What Sam

:24:44.:24:49.

Allardyce might change in terms of everything, meal structures,

:24:50.:24:51.

training and travelling times, your life is up in the air? There can be

:24:52.:24:57.

a serious adjustment period. More, for Sam in terms of where those

:24:58.:25:03.

players are, they are really caught between two different systems. They

:25:04.:25:06.

want to play a little bit, but they also had personnel where they can be

:25:07.:25:10.

more direct with Benteke and the wider players they have. With the

:25:11.:25:16.

two week period, they must be on the training pitch and have nailed down

:25:17.:25:20.

how they are going to play. From now to the rest of the season. Yesterday

:25:21.:25:24.

it was apparent they would get the ball forwards. As soon as it went

:25:25.:25:28.

wide, it went into the box and they played off set pieces, delivering to

:25:29.:25:33.

Benteke, getting support there. If they do it well, they have enough

:25:34.:25:36.

players to get a real chance of staying out. You mentioned, when you

:25:37.:25:44.

are down half a league, and there is another league table developing, he

:25:45.:25:47.

said it was important for them not to lose games. If you grind out the

:25:48.:25:51.

points, when you aren't playing as well as you can, you are looking...

:25:52.:25:58.

If you've been on a run and lost a few games, when your back is against

:25:59.:26:02.

the wall, sometimes you are getting battered, you might come away with a

:26:03.:26:06.

point and it is as good as a winner for confidence. A clean sheet as

:26:07.:26:09.

well for Crystal Palace was a big thing. He made reference to the

:26:10.:26:14.

amount of goals that they conceded. Getting that sorted, that clean

:26:15.:26:17.

sheet, is huge. Do you have two like your manager to buy into what he is

:26:18.:26:23.

all about? I don't think so... It's the same as every job, you might not

:26:24.:26:27.

necessarily like everybody that you work with but you have to do a job

:26:28.:26:32.

for your team and the club. You have to go out and get the result and if

:26:33.:26:36.

the manager, at the end of the day, he is in charge and if he wants to

:26:37.:26:39.

play that way and thinks it will get results, you buy into that and do it

:26:40.:26:44.

to the best of your ability. Presumably, as you say, it is a

:26:45.:26:49.

human trait. It does not just apply to football, but if you like your

:26:50.:26:53.

boss, you want to work harder for them? Not necessarily, I don't know,

:26:54.:27:01.

from a personal point of view, you go to work and work hard, and try

:27:02.:27:06.

and improve for yourself. But for your team-mates as well. I can take

:27:07.:27:12.

West Brom, for example. We have a good and honest group of lads who

:27:13.:27:16.

train hard for each other. On the pitch, you try and get results for

:27:17.:27:19.

each other, as much as yourself or the manager. It's the Premier

:27:20.:27:26.

League, a tough place to play. You see the amount of turnovers in the

:27:27.:27:31.

managers, and if we are not performing on the pitch, the axe

:27:32.:27:38.

falls on the manager. It has got to be... Everybody has to buy into what

:27:39.:27:43.

you are told. If you do not, the manager will bring in someone else.

:27:44.:27:47.

If you like the manager, maybe people respect him, and respect his

:27:48.:27:52.

philosophy or vision, that is important? You can commit to

:27:53.:27:55.

training every day and dislike someone, but you can review respect

:27:56.:28:00.

what they are trying -- really respect what they are trying to do.

:28:01.:28:05.

When players think, why is this happening? Why has he done that? Why

:28:06.:28:11.

have they changed this cease Michael Cole system? Are we going back to

:28:12.:28:16.

cash in -- why have they changed this system? Are we going back to

:28:17.:28:21.

Kasper Schmeichel? They have raised so many questions about the

:28:22.:28:27.

decisions, or that may not be getting communicated to them in the

:28:28.:28:31.

right way, that is when you get a rift of not being on the same page.

:28:32.:28:36.

They spent 102 five days in the relegation zone this season,

:28:37.:28:40.

Sunderland. On reflection, are the players buying into what David Moyes

:28:41.:28:47.

is doing? -- 175. I don't... Again, the problem is that Sunderland go

:28:48.:28:51.

deeper than David Moyes. That's not the answer to your question but they

:28:52.:28:55.

have had a lack of investment there. They seem to have a situation where

:28:56.:29:01.

they are a one trick pony. If Jermain Defoe is not scoring, they

:29:02.:29:05.

are not winning. There are only so many times that the guy can get them

:29:06.:29:11.

out of trouble. I think, if we are talking about that situation at the

:29:12.:29:15.

bottom, there is only one teams seeming stable to me. That is

:29:16.:29:19.

Sunderland. They are not going anywhere, I do not think. David

:29:20.:29:23.

Moyes had stick for selling the wrong kind of tone early on, and

:29:24.:29:27.

saying, you know, I don't know when he said it, in the first couple of

:29:28.:29:32.

games in the season, that they are in a relegation fight. He was right

:29:33.:29:36.

about it, to be fair, but I would look beyond him. I would look more

:29:37.:29:42.

at the ownership. To me, it is not an ownership that screams belief in

:29:43.:29:51.

the club. And ambition. I think a succession of managers have come in

:29:52.:29:53.

and faced the same problem. Romelu Lukaku, his 60th goal for

:29:54.:30:04.

Everton. Is only 23 years old. He was speaking to Damian Johnson

:30:05.:30:07.

yesterday. Your 60th landmark goal in the Premier League. Yes, I'm

:30:08.:30:14.

happy. I just want to keep improving and working hard. You are equalling

:30:15.:30:17.

the record of Duncan Ferguson who coaches with you. Have you talked

:30:18.:30:22.

about the record? No, it's him talking about the record to me.

:30:23.:30:26.

Before the game, I was one behind him. He was always talking to me

:30:27.:30:30.

about the record but, for me, the most important thing is to win the

:30:31.:30:35.

game and improve as a player. A few congratulatory text messages, I

:30:36.:30:40.

think. Yes, that's football. The record is there to be broken so I'm

:30:41.:30:43.

happy. And looking forward to the next game. When you have got Romelu

:30:44.:30:48.

Lukaku running at you, how scary is that? Frightening. I've played

:30:49.:30:53.

Duncan Ferguson and I don't know which one was worse. An elbow in the

:30:54.:30:59.

head from Duncan. Both are fantastic strikers in their own way. With

:31:00.:31:05.

Romelu Lukaku, he brings a physical presence. Chris played with him at

:31:06.:31:10.

West Bromwich. He is such a physical presence he's hard to contain as a

:31:11.:31:13.

centre-back. He worked so hard at his game and has everything. In

:31:14.:31:18.

training, he was always last in, finishing. He is such a physical

:31:19.:31:24.

guy. He's six foot four, six foot five, so he can score all types of

:31:25.:31:31.

goals, as well. In Everton, he's proved he is fantastic. I think he

:31:32.:31:35.

scored 17 league goals for us. Eighth in the league we finished and

:31:36.:31:39.

he was the catalyst for that. It begs the question, I think he is now

:31:40.:31:43.

looking ready to make that step up maybe to the next top floor champion

:31:44.:31:53.

style club. He had to leave Everton. Everton will get there themselves,

:31:54.:31:57.

but he had to leave Chelsea to get the experience and prove he can be

:31:58.:32:00.

that player and they think, at 23, to do what he's doing, shows, in the

:32:01.:32:04.

next couple of seasons, he's potentially got back in his locker.

:32:05.:32:09.

We know what his agent said but Everton don't get Champions League

:32:10.:32:13.

football, in the next season, he will leave, won't he? Probably,

:32:14.:32:19.

realistically, yeah. This is a bugbear of mine in terms of before

:32:20.:32:25.

the Premier League and know that his record, but Dixie Dean scored 60

:32:26.:32:28.

goals in one season for Everton once. I have held the trophy he was

:32:29.:32:34.

awarded when he worked in Liverpool, so it's just worth making that

:32:35.:32:39.

point. There were great Evertonians before the Premier League started

:32:40.:32:45.

but, look, I'd totally agree, he had to leave Chelsea to get the platform

:32:46.:32:49.

to do what he is doing now and they think sometimes that the way

:32:50.:32:52.

football works. You get the platform and then you get back to where you

:32:53.:32:55.

wear but go back in a stronger position. Half-time at Carrow Road,

:32:56.:33:00.

0-0 between Norwich and Ipswich. Your side beating Bournemouth by 2-1

:33:01.:33:07.

coming from behind yesterday. We will talk about West Brom in a

:33:08.:33:11.

sector in terms of Bournemouth, they have not won since New Year's Eve,

:33:12.:33:16.

losing four on the trot. All this hype about Eddie Howe at the

:33:17.:33:19.

beginning of the season. How do you see it? It's a tough thing. Once you

:33:20.:33:25.

get into that momentum is not picking up results, it's difficult

:33:26.:33:31.

to get out of. Did you see that fear when you play against them? Coming

:33:32.:33:34.

from behind, is there an inevitability? It's difficult

:33:35.:33:38.

because teams come to The Hawthorns and we're in good form at home, we

:33:39.:33:44.

see that as a chance to win games. Our form has been good. Going

:33:45.:33:48.

behind, yesterday, this time last year would have been an issue for us

:33:49.:33:53.

because we were not scoring many goals and we wondered where we were

:33:54.:33:57.

going to get the goals from and get back into the game but now we have

:33:58.:34:00.

the confidence to score goals. We are looking dangerous. Bournemouth

:34:01.:34:05.

are a good side with good players. They scored a penalty. Ben Foster

:34:06.:34:11.

made a couple of decent saves later on but the period in between that,

:34:12.:34:15.

they didn't cause then an awful lot to do. -- Ben. Them might have do

:34:16.:34:25.

get a couple of clean sheets. And take a couple of scrappy points. I'm

:34:26.:34:31.

sure this will be blindingly obvious, but when you go into a game

:34:32.:34:35.

against a team on a run like Bournemouth at the moment, will you

:34:36.:34:39.

talk beforehand about the fact their confidence will be low and they

:34:40.:34:45.

might be sort of easy pickings in some ways? Not necessarily easy

:34:46.:34:49.

pickings but you do your work during the meet and have meetings. We have

:34:50.:34:53.

a meeting on Thursday and Friday in the training ground about what we

:34:54.:34:57.

are going to try to do on the weekend and there will be some stats

:34:58.:35:00.

from the previous week of things we have done well and things we have

:35:01.:35:04.

not done so well, and the next day there might be some stats up about

:35:05.:35:09.

Bournemouth. Say they had not scored goals or won a game, so obviously

:35:10.:35:14.

little things to get in your head so you know that on the pitch. Who's

:35:15.:35:19.

going to the next England manager, Arsenal manager? Has the bubble

:35:20.:35:28.

burst for Eddie Howe? No, we are guilty of building people are

:35:29.:35:31.

knocking them down and think Eddie Howe is amazing and has done an

:35:32.:35:35.

amazing job at Bournemouth, but I do think that this is a test for him

:35:36.:35:40.

and we will find out more about him now because this is a real hard

:35:41.:35:44.

test. I think he has built a fantastic team and I'd love the way

:35:45.:35:47.

they play, but this is a different type of test. When you are under

:35:48.:35:51.

that pressure, he has a clear floss of the about how he wants to play

:35:52.:35:56.

and they think at Bournemouth, that foundation is rock solid. Results

:35:57.:35:58.

might go up and down depending on certain things... And they have not

:35:59.:36:05.

changed like Leicester. They have a clear vision and when things get

:36:06.:36:07.

tough, that's the foundation they fall back on. Bournemouth may have a

:36:08.:36:11.

dip in results by think there will always play in that way which, in my

:36:12.:36:16.

opinion, as long as they have a player quality, will keep them in

:36:17.:36:20.

the Premier League. West Bromwich, it's been a massive turnaround. Tony

:36:21.:36:25.

Pulis. Are you surprised how quickly his turned it around from where you

:36:26.:36:29.

were last season? Yeah, I think when the gaffer came in, we were not in

:36:30.:36:35.

great shape and he steadied the ship. Last season, probably, we hit

:36:36.:36:39.

40 points in March and the season fizzled out. This season we have got

:36:40.:36:43.

40 points in February and still have got 12 games to go. You can go on

:36:44.:36:50.

holiday now, can't you? No, I don't think he will let us relax like

:36:51.:36:56.

that. As ace award, team, club, we've only had 40 points in the

:36:57.:36:59.

Premier League and it's nice to break 50. What about 60? 12 games?

:37:00.:37:08.

That will be a big ask but the home form we've shown this season is

:37:09.:37:13.

possible we could reach that target. I think, just, as a whole this

:37:14.:37:18.

season, we found a balance. Last season we were hard to beat. A lot

:37:19.:37:22.

of clean sheets. Maybe sometime struggling to go the other way and

:37:23.:37:25.

this season we maybe had to give up a little bit on the defensive side

:37:26.:37:30.

of things. We've not had as many clean sheets but we scored a lot

:37:31.:37:35.

more goals. It was open season on a manager the start of the season, a

:37:36.:37:39.

lot of criticism in the media and there might be wrong, but I think

:37:40.:37:43.

there was sort of hints of unrest at the stadium and that's one of the

:37:44.:37:48.

impressive things about Tony, the way he's turned that around, as

:37:49.:37:53.

well. He stayed strong, stayed calm. Kris Commons you must be teachers

:37:54.:38:00.

pet, because 19 players out of 27 have gone. Since January 2015. When

:38:01.:38:05.

a manager comes in, we talk about an overhaul of players doesn't always

:38:06.:38:09.

work out but has with you guys. Yes, a few of us have been there for

:38:10.:38:12.

quite a long time and letting the Premier League now, players that

:38:13.:38:16.

know it and are experienced for a site like as, are pretty important.

:38:17.:38:24.

The new players come and go in the transfer window and that's the

:38:25.:38:26.

nature of the game but you need stability. You need people who you

:38:27.:38:31.

know they can fall back on you and the way the gaffer works, we are

:38:32.:38:34.

pretty structured in the jobs he wants people to do. He needs to

:38:35.:38:39.

trust people to do them and obviously, the lads have played a

:38:40.:38:43.

lot of games in the Premier League. Gareth McAuley, he could fit in that

:38:44.:38:50.

front free with Suarez at the moment. His goal-scoring record

:38:51.:38:54.

would indicate that but he is a great example, he is 37, seven

:38:55.:39:01.

goals, and to be as fit and play as well as he is in the Premier League

:39:02.:39:04.

is a fantastic achievement but I think Tony Pulis is the perfect

:39:05.:39:08.

manager. Having played under him as a centre-back, he provides a really

:39:09.:39:12.

good platform and environment for you to function. A lot of the

:39:13.:39:17.

training is shaped around your defensive strategy and shape and

:39:18.:39:22.

then he let it go off and take its course. For a centre-back he will be

:39:23.:39:26.

really enjoying playing under Tony Pulis in that formation of. The

:39:27.:39:30.

discipline the team has. What is it like being in his office? I've let

:39:31.:39:37.

you lead the way on that one! He is a master turned the conversation

:39:38.:39:42.

into, not his favourite, but managing things... Don't worry, is

:39:43.:39:50.

not watching. He has got a real way about him. Let's leave it at that. I

:39:51.:39:56.

think you've covered as all there. You can say hello to Tony for a.

:39:57.:40:00.

Let's talk about the League Cup final. How big a game is this for

:40:01.:40:04.

Jose Mourinho? Is never lost a domestic one. That TfL cup is down

:40:05.:40:09.

the pecking order but it's a big one. It's been increasingly so but I

:40:10.:40:15.

think so, for Jose Mourinho, it's always been an important trophy and

:40:16.:40:22.

he has used it in the past, certainly when we arrived at Chelsea

:40:23.:40:28.

as a catalyst for other things that they can build on. A taste of

:40:29.:40:34.

winning trophies, medals, and it's always worked for him and it's been

:40:35.:40:38.

an important trophy for him. I think it could be a game this season. I

:40:39.:40:43.

think it's probably too late for them to mount any realistic

:40:44.:40:46.

challenge for the league this season. I do believe they will

:40:47.:40:51.

finish in the top four. One man who has been a catalyst for Manchester

:40:52.:40:55.

United is Juan Mata and he spoken to Gary Lineker. Your Chelsea career,

:40:56.:41:00.

to work with different coaches and then Jose Mourinho comes and of

:41:01.:41:04.

course and, after a while, it didn't work out so why is that? Sometimes

:41:05.:41:10.

in and football change comes and you have to embrace it. When he came I

:41:11.:41:16.

was not playing a lot. I had a chance to go to a great club and it

:41:17.:41:20.

was a good offer for Chelsea, as well. Did you fall out with him? I

:41:21.:41:25.

can't imagine you falling out with anyone. I tell you, I can but no. It

:41:26.:41:34.

was football. It was style, something like this. We never had

:41:35.:41:38.

any personal problem or anything like this. We are working together

:41:39.:41:43.

now and it's going fine. What about a particular day when Jose Mourinho

:41:44.:41:47.

is announced as the new manager of Manchester United, what are your

:41:48.:41:53.

thoughts? I was on holiday. It was like, OK, then, let's embrace it and

:41:54.:41:56.

go for it and try to play the best football I always train for. Things

:41:57.:42:03.

are going good. I'm enjoying my football. Playing a lot. At that

:42:04.:42:07.

moment, Timoney people were speaking about things, but what I've had to

:42:08.:42:12.

do is play on the pitch -- too many people were speaking about things.

:42:13.:42:17.

What would you consider success for you at Manchester United? Obviously

:42:18.:42:22.

I would love to win the Champions League or the Premier League with

:42:23.:42:25.

Man United, but to be able to say that I have played at such a club

:42:26.:42:32.

where the likes of George Best, Eric Cantona, has played, Ryan Giggs have

:42:33.:42:37.

scored, all these players played, so I could not be happier. A lot of

:42:38.:42:43.

fans will be expecting them to win the league every season but are they

:42:44.:42:46.

getting closer to the Manchester United they should be? Yes, I think

:42:47.:42:50.

so and the evidence is there that Jose Mourinho is now starting to put

:42:51.:42:54.

together something that is going to be in contention for those titles.

:42:55.:43:00.

The club has the stature and the players for the past couple of

:43:01.:43:04.

seasons, and he's just did it, and seems to have got a philosophy of

:43:05.:43:10.

the way they want to play and has recruited players to fit his system.

:43:11.:43:15.

They are now getting the results and more importantly, the performances.

:43:16.:43:19.

Their performances, they look like a team who can win something.

:43:20.:43:22.

Southampton, the new manager has come in? It's about winning

:43:23.:43:27.

something at the end of the season. Absolutely, Southampton, talking

:43:28.:43:31.

about United throwing money at the situation, Southampton are a model

:43:32.:43:34.

of a team who have survived and prospered to an extent even though

:43:35.:43:40.

come despite selling players, they have managed to refresh and refresh,

:43:41.:43:46.

and I think getting here is, you know, is a bonus for the fans from

:43:47.:43:50.

the mid-table season. OK, we got commentary about on 5 Live followed

:43:51.:43:57.

the League Cup final at 4:30pm. Tartan and Stoke. Don't forget Match

:43:58.:44:01.

Of The Day tomorrow night with Leicester Liverpool. Thank you to

:44:02.:44:03.

Matthew Upson, Chris Brunt and Oliver Holt. We will see you soon.

:44:04.:44:05.

Enjoy your Sunday.

:44:06.:44:09.

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