02/03/2014 MOTD2 Extra


02/03/2014

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Welcome to Match Of The Day two Extra. We're discussing the

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weekend's football on BBC One, Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website.

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Coming up, it's the first Cup Final of the season, as Sunderland look to

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upset the odds and beat Manchester City in the League Cup final at

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Wembley. Alan Pardew might be waking with a

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sore head this morning following the incident at Hull.

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Sol Campbell has been very forthright in this views of the

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England captaincy this morning, as his book is serialised.

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And we'll look at the title race - Liverpool up to second after their

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win and Arsenal slip up at Stoke. With me in the studio, former

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England and Arsenal defender Martin Keown, 5live and Match Of The Day

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commentator Conor McNamara, and Rory Smith from The Times. Martin is

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already in very argumentative mood! We will hear from all three of them

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shortly. And we'll start with Wembley and the

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Captial One Cup Final. 2pm kick-off with full commentary on 5live and

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highlights on BBC One later. It's Manchester City against Sunderland.

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Let's hear now from both managers. It is very important for this club

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to win titles, so to win the first title and at Wembley I think it is

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also very important. Everybody thinks it is

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also very important. Everybody say because before the final, it

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gave me plenty of options which made the situation very difficult for the

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players. That is because of the quantity of options. Secondly,

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because they will have to fight for a place in the squad. It is very

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beautiful to play for a title at Wembley. It is very awful to lose.

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So another team, another year, another year, but I am absolutely

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sure that all of them will be 100% motivated to win this time. It is

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incredible how, in the first game of the Capital One Cup, with 20 minutes

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to go we were out. And now we are in the final. And so a great

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opportunity. I am looking forward to it.

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Well, let's head to Wembley, where we can hear now from the TV

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commentary team of Kevin Kilbane, who's with Guy Mowbray.

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Kevin is with me pitch side at Wembley on the first really big day

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of the season. The first trophy to be awarded. Can you make a case for

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Sunderland upsetting the odds today? Well, we probably have to look to

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Wigan coming here in May beating a really strong Manchester city side

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that day and recent history where they have knocked out Manchester

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United and Manchester City, so they have to try to come here today to

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not out City. It is a tough task for them and a strong Manchester City

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side. -- knock out. Around London for the posterity for hours, it is

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all red and white! Yes! Red and white everywhere on the Tube. Some

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have been away three or four days before this game as well. They have

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enjoyed the occasion and they are enjoying the occasion here and they

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have come to party and, hopefully from their point of view, to win it.

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For City this is an altogether regular experience. You think that

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is a factor? The fans a bit blase now? I don't think that is the case.

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You look to Manchester City and where they have come from to get

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back into position now so why don't think anybody takes it for granted

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but this is a new experience for Sunderland. -- so I don't. You see

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lots of kids walking around Wembley so you see what it means to them to

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come here, so they can draw on this, that big factor, where they are in a

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big final and they can come here today and enjoy the occasion, and,

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who knows, after Wigan winning in May! It feels like a big day. Can't

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wait! Thank you to them. He uses public

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transport to get to games! Kiwi emphasised that! As far as this game

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is concerned, how much trance dude gives Sunderland, Martin? -- how

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much of a chance do you give? Well, they will be hoping to see that step

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out on pitch again but really the big matches when the special players

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come to the table and Manchester City have more of those than

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Sunderland. But you have to give credit. To get to the final. And

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Poyet is a manager who seems to be enjoying the occasion and the

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players feed off that. There is that sense that they want to put

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themselves down as history and everybody can see those photographs

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afterwards. The quality will come through and I think Manchester City

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will win. Well, it was partly what happened in the FA Cup final against

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Wigan last May but also their record against Sunderland. Sunderland have

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been a bogey team. They have. Manchester City, I have seen them

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slip up. They will have learned their lesson, surely, though, from

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that cautionary tale. Last year, Roberto Mancini had a ready got the

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Cup. Identity Manchester City slipping up because Manuel

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Pellegrini will want to put his stamp getting the trophy. -- I don't

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think we will see. The Emirates feels almost as big as Wembley when

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you are walking out of the tunnel and we all know what happened

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there. They lost 4-1, and they are going to have to turn up in a much

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bigger way, Sunderland. It is interesting because you look at City

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and all the big-name players and get I heard Samir Nasri in a radio

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interview this week saying, need to win the game at Wembley, I need to

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win a final. So for all the big-name players and success some of them

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have had, there might be this slight mental block about winning a trophy.

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I think what Guys says is quite right. Arsenal and other big teams

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in recent years, so you wonder whether the novelty will wear off

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but I don't think City are at that stage yet. They still need to build

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back cabinet full of silverware so for the players this is still

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special for them. Not as special as it is for Sunderland. The sea of red

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and white, it is fantastic! That is why it is a shame so many teams

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think... Well, if Manchester City win a few more things it will be

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like Manchester United and we will always be looking for the other team

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to win it. Yes, it just gets boring watching them but I think this is a

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different City and it means so much to Sunderland. Which is bizarre,

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because we accuse the big clubs of not taking the FA Cup seriously and

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yet it is still the same side to get to the final! I think it is the

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timing. The start of the season. This is quite a good competition for

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the big clubs and one they feel they actually want to win it and they can

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win it. Every time you pick up the phone, it is a family member who

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wants a ticket! So you have to think, who do you love most of all

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to give the tickets to! Some people bring up last minute. Sorry, we are

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playing Manchester United this weekend. It is difficult to put it

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in compartments. I think Sunderland have suffered with that. Coming to

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London was, in their minds, well, we will be going to London next week

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and I'm doing this. That was a dangerous way to turn up and a game

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to play. If they have any chance of winning this. You go to the Stadium

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of Light and there is that statue outside. Manchester City win this

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game, there won't be any stuff choose built for the goal-scorer. --

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statues. Statuesque! By the way, how many friends did you lose over

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handing tickets out? Did you lose any? I didn't have any friends! You

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only get 25. It is ridiculous, and there is the travel to organise and

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all manner of things. When you get to a final and do it regularly, you

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understand it and put it in a box. When it is the first time it almost

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overtakes your life and that could happen to Sunderland. You look at

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Bardsley, the writeback, who was already a part of the club. He walks

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out today, and is he emotional or is he professional? Which emotion takes

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over? And if you've not played in finals, it is a game where you trust

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your team-mates and it could be the biggest game of their lives but

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Wigan went down last year and they are known as Cup winners. Playing in

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the Championship. So, go and win it if you can win it. We are going to

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go on to the Premier League in a while, but for Manchester City and

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Sunderland, they haven't had a premier league fixture this

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weekend, both playing in the FA Cup next weekend as well. Chelsea have a

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league game next Saturday against Spurs. Teams around Sunderland will

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be playing as well. Will that be in the back of their minds, that they

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are losing ground? Sunderland have had that double-dip and they have

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done magnificently to get out of trouble and then they are back there

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again, and you are looking over your shoulder at the Premier League,

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thinking, when can we get back into that again? Last season they were

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playing an important semifinal and they weren't able to do it and that

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cost them their Premier League. So, kick-off at 2pm, highlights tonight.

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There are two stories dominating the papers this weekend. One is Alan

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Pardew. Away from the weekend's football,

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Sol Campbell's new book has been serialised in The Sunday Times this

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morning and it's quite a strong headline. There are all sorts of

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stories that have come out of it but he talks about having never fitted

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the FA's image of cat in. He is basically saying in this that he

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didn't feel that the FA wanted a full-time Black captain of the

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England team. When you heard that last night or this morning when it

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came out, what were your thoughts? My initial thought is that I don't

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believe anyone at the FA... I don't believe anyone has a direct input

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into the captain is. That is the job of the manager, and rightly so. I'm

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sure if a manager tried to select somebody like Joey Barton as

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captain, they might say something that that is not entirely right. No

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disrespect to Joey Barton beyond the obvious! I don't think the FA would

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have said to Glenn Hoddle or Ericsson or anyone that they can't

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have a captain because he is black. I wouldn't have thought anybody

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would think, you cannot be my captain because he is black. I think

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the issue here is trying to get at is whether the selection of a

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captain, there are associations that people make with colour without

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meaning to and that becomes something negative when you have two

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candidates, one white, one black, that you are more predisposed to go

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with the white player. That could be an issue but we can never really

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know send Goran Eriksson's thought processes. Sol Campbell captain

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three times. And it is very hard to say looking at the captain 's that

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any of them were obvious mistakes. The main captains during Sol

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Campbell's career, 28 times Alan Shearer was captain, 26 times David

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Beckham. They were the two main ones. Adam, four. Sol Campbell had

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three. I think what seems to be coming out in the reports today is

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that when Michael Owen was selected ahead of him. He captained England

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three times as well. I think there are certain players and think David

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Beckham is a good example and Michael Owen would be, that if you

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say to somebody, if you are made captain, it will make you taller, it

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will make you stand up, but somebody like Sol Campbell is going to give a

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captain's performance whether he has the armband on or not. But this is

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obviously coming out in an international week with a headline

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that grabs the attention. Ian Wright, a dinky only captained

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England once. But all the global success and the trophies that they

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win. I can see the FA would think there is a -- I cannot see the FA

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would think there is a problem with image in having a black captain.

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Michael Owen only captained on the odd occasion. I am disappointed to

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hear that. I'm no Sol Campbell very well. Shed the dressing room with

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him for many years. -- I know. -- I shared. But David Beckham was almost

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like a global brand and Michael Owen was assured of his place for the

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next ten years, so when those decisions were made that would have

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come into it but I think Sol could have gone about it in a different

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way. He genuinely thinks we have to respect his Hubert I think he could

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have done something on the inside to talk to people. I don't think we

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need this sensationalism and I don't think it helps any young black

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player coming into the game. I don't think it's not the case that

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football hasn't helped make it the case that a black player can make it

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in this industry. I think if summary had given him the role and said,

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look, and brought those qualities through, he wasn't as vocal and he

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was more of a visual leader. He was a leader. There were problems around

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Sol when he came to Arsenal and we had a lot of things to deal with

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with the Tottenham move. Maybe they felt there were other issues they

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wanted to leave him to deal with himself quietly and just bring your

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game to the game, never mind captained the group. But I do feel

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disappointed this has come out in this way. The cynicism in selling

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books or whatever. Sol is not that type of man and doesn't need to be.

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But I feel he could have spoken to somebody within the FA to try to

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explain his story and make sure this doesn't happen again. You can send

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us a text if you want to get in touch. 85 808. He said in The Sunday

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Times, the team rests solely with the manager in terms of selection. I

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was also a great enthusiasts for Rio to captain England but it was

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Capello's choice for John Terry and I'd left it at that. Which would

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imply the FA don't get involved. They certainly do not get involved

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in any open way, saying, you have to pick this person for a position or

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the captaincy. I guess what we will never know is whether there were

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conversations behind-the-scenes where hints were dropped or anything

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like that, that is possible. And even more so, whether people have, I

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don't know, thought processes that are related to race that they are

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not aware about. Beckham was obviously a massive brand, would he

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have been as big a brand if he were black? I think the FA have to

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respond to this, just as they have with the other big story this

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weekend with Alan Pardew. We have a lot of young black players coming

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into the game, not enough as coaches or managers or in administration,

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that is an issue. But we have had black captains, and this is dragging

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us back from a bridge we have already crossed but we still need to

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look into. The other story that is completely dominating the back pages

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this morning, pictures of Alan Pardew and David Meyler all over

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every single back page, or the front pages of the sports sections. Every

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tweet or text on the Newcastle game involves the incident. Before we

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discuss it and I read out some of your texts, let's hear from the

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Newcastle manager. It was a situation where I should not have

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been there. I have been involved in a couple of incidents on the line

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because I am too near the action. I will be sitting down from now on,

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and quite rightly after I have apologised to everyone. I should not

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have got involved in it, really. Is it your worst incident on the

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touchline? Well, yeah, I don't really think I did any damage to the

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guy, but you cannot put your head forward, trying to push away. I

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shouldn't have done that. But I apologise to everyone concerned. For

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me personally, I think it is a bit of a wake-up call to sit down, and I

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will. Rory Smith, the club have signed ?100,000 and warned him about

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future conduct. He seems to believe that sitting down will cure it. An

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entirely appropriate punishment! The thing with Pardew is, it is a

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headbutt but it is not really a headbutt. I tried to push away with

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my head, that line will live in infamy for all time! You wonder what

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else he tries to do with his head, does he opened doors and towns like

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that? Has he not worked out he has got hands? It is an issue that he

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needs to look at! The problem with Pardew is ease as he has had a

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couple of incidents and he will sit down to solve it. -- he has had.

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This goes back years, and without being all Californian hypnotherapy

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about it, he has got a problem with his temper, and he is 52. The

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incident at Hull, pushing a linesman, the war of words with

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Pellegrini, although there are lots of managers who have wars of words

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with each other. And we have had him shoving Arsene Wenger a few years

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ago as West Ham manager. He says this will make him sit down. Why did

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those previous incidents not do it? I think it shows that he has a big

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passion, he is keen to win the game, Meyler was coming over to get the

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ball, and he wanted to slow things down, get in his way. There is this

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accusation on Tyneside that is part of this Cockney Mafia, not part of

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the club. I think this shows that he wants to win. It is more serious for

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a manager, wearing the suit, to headbutt someone, rather than a

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player on the pitch in the field of battle, heart pumping, running on

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the pitch, lunging for things, diving into things. You still should

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not headbutt anyone, but it is worse for a manager. Benji got in touch

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with us on Twitter, don't you think a lot has been made about his

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behaviour? It goes on all the time on the pitch. Is it different for a

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manager headed nudging, as we will call it, and they play? Of course, I

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have not been a manager, and you are a leader of young men. He creates

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the habit of behaviour. I did a piece some weeks ago saying not only

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Pardew but his whole bench are going to far with the way they respond to

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rough challenges, tackles on the sidelines, they are out in numbers

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as if they were doing it deliberately. There have been a few

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incidents, he has apologised where it had a go at the Man City manager.

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I think it is almost like damage limitation apology. I'm not sure it

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is a genuine apology. I know the magnitude of this situation will

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make him sit down and reflect, genuinely make a change, because he

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has a lot to offer as an outstanding manager. I am not sitting here

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saying we do not make mistakes, but he has gone below the line, he has

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done it more than once, and he is lucky that his club have stood by

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him, because it is that serious. How can he, you know... He wants to

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transcend respect throughout the group, and that is the best way. The

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Sun are saying that Alan Shearer and Graeme Souness as well, both former

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Newcastle managers, saying he should go. He should be sacked. It is a

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vote of confidence for Pardew, because one of the big excuses of

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not getting rid of a manager is because you would have to pay them

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so much. If there was any inkling he wanted to get rid of Pardew, this is

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an excuse, you could get rid of him on grounds of misconduct. If they

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find him and he keeps his job, it is a vote of confidence, they want him

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to take it forward. The ?100,000, for those of us on the street, is

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that a big fine? For most of us, you would have to move out of your

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house. For a football manager, how serious is it? We talk about

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football wages in terms of how much they get a week, because the figures

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are easier to understand. There is a feeling that he might have wanted to

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resign, gone back into the dressing room and said to the players, look,

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I have gone below the line, you have not seen it, do you want me to stay?

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There is that feeling as well about this. I don't believe, now the dust

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is settling, he does need to sort himself out, but it will benefit the

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whole club and the group and its staff as well. Is it not interesting

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that we talk about his passion as being a good thing? Someone like

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Michael Laudrup, widely discredited, one of the things that was held

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against him was that he sat down during matches as if he was watching

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the football. 50,000 people screaming. I respect more the

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manager that sits calmly and trust in the team to perform. The ones

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that were ranting and raving, could not be heard, and it demonstrates

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they have not done enough work on the training pitch through the week.

:23:26.:23:30.

The title race, three results yesterday that stood up, Chelsea

:23:31.:23:33.

winning at Fulham, Arsenal losing at Stoke, Liverpool going to

:23:34.:23:37.

Southampton in the tea-time game and putting three past Pochettino's

:23:38.:23:43.

men. We can you from all three managers. It is brilliant for the

:23:44.:23:48.

supporters to get three, they have been excited this year and they love

:23:49.:23:51.

the way we have been playing. They probably knew this was a big result,

:23:52.:23:56.

coming to here, against a very good side, so to get the 3-0 victory and

:23:57.:24:01.

play and work like we did, they will be happy tonight. So for us, we will

:24:02.:24:05.

stay calm and focused, ten games to go, Allah main focus is the next

:24:06.:24:10.

game, against badgers denied. -- our main focus. It is very tough,

:24:11.:24:22.

because defeat hurts. Of course we have to bounce back from that, but

:24:23.:24:28.

the consequences of this defeat can be very hard to take, and we have to

:24:29.:24:36.

respond very quickly. What kind of advantage do you have now mentally,

:24:37.:24:39.

a 6-point gap of a 6-point gap over Manchester City one not playing in

:24:40.:24:47.

the league? Four points more, that is an advantage. Do Man City, it is

:24:48.:24:54.

a fake advantage, we have six points more than them, but if they win

:24:55.:24:58.

their matches in hand, they have the same points as us and will be top of

:24:59.:25:03.

the league. So against Man City, we are behind them. Martin, from the

:25:04.:25:09.

point of view of a player, it is not a gap because Manchester City have

:25:10.:25:13.

games in hand to make sure they go level on points, but if Chelsea win

:25:14.:25:18.

next Saturday, I think it is Spurs in the tea-time game, it is a

:25:19.:25:21.

9-point gap that is not a gap. If you are a player, do you see that as

:25:22.:25:29.

a gap? 100%! If you are chasing? It is money in the bag, isn't it, for

:25:30.:25:33.

the Chelsea team? The pressure is on City. Again, it is Mourinho with his

:25:34.:25:40.

smoke signals that he sends. I start to lose respect for him when he

:25:41.:25:44.

talks about that. He should be saying, look, the pressure is on Man

:25:45.:25:51.

City now, not necessarily on us. They were magnificent in their

:25:52.:25:54.

performance, Chelsea yesterday, a difficult game against Fulham, Andre

:25:55.:26:00.

Schurrle are showing his quality. Allegedly, Mourinho never said

:26:01.:26:05.

anything at half-time, and by saying nothing he said he said everything,

:26:06.:26:09.

and the players performed well in the second-half. They looked

:26:10.:26:16.

better, but Fulham looked doomed. Conor, Chelsea have a player in Eden

:26:17.:26:21.

Hazard who is driving them on, their catalyst. Liverpool maybe have a

:26:22.:26:25.

couple of players who are driving them on all stop Arsenal are

:26:26.:26:28.

struggling to find somebody to drive them on. The creative players are

:26:29.:26:35.

either injured or not performing at the moment. Thinking back early in

:26:36.:26:41.

the season, the driving force was Aaron Ramsey. Oxlade-Chamberlain

:26:42.:26:44.

will be important. But Mesut Ozil, not firing on all cylinders. When

:26:45.:26:51.

things are going against you, they really are not. I thought the

:26:52.:26:55.

penalty was harsh yesterday, but you get the feeling with Arsenal that

:26:56.:26:59.

the momentum is not with them. Click that to Liverpool, boy, is the

:27:00.:27:03.

momentum with them! They think they will concede a few but they will

:27:04.:27:07.

score a lot. Suarez, Raheem Sterling, playing his way into the

:27:08.:27:11.

England squad. In terms of Manchester United this season, we

:27:12.:27:15.

say they have fallen off a clip, the champions down to seventh. It is the

:27:16.:27:18.

same cliff that Liverpool are climbing up. I thought they would

:27:19.:27:23.

fade away around Christmas, they finished seventh in the table last

:27:24.:27:26.

season. Early March, they are second, championship contenders, and

:27:27.:27:32.

it will be hard against Chelsea and Manchester City, and I know Mourinho

:27:33.:27:36.

saying a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Not another

:27:37.:27:41.

metaphor flying around! They are certainly capable of dropping

:27:42.:27:46.

points, City, they are not banked, whereas Chelsea has got them on the

:27:47.:27:52.

board. I can see why Mourinho is playing this game of insisting that

:27:53.:27:56.

they are not in the title race. It is because he wants to dress it up

:27:57.:27:59.

as Chelsea being the scrappy underdogs, the team that is on the

:28:00.:28:05.

rise, young and all that, as though they have not spent hundreds of

:28:06.:28:07.

millions on the squad in the last ten years. I do not buy it, but I

:28:08.:28:13.

can see why he is doing it, casting himself in a siege mentality, with

:28:14.:28:17.

City as the favourites. We have to fight and push on. If they win as

:28:18.:28:23.

underdogs, it creates more pressure on their rivals, that is what he

:28:24.:28:28.

first did in 2005, when Arsenal were unbeaten. They won with all the

:28:29.:28:33.

money that they eventually spent. He is very clever, he is the new Alex

:28:34.:28:38.

Ferguson, isn't he? He probably seasons as the elder statesman,

:28:39.:28:41.

Arsene Wenger is not getting involved, and when he did, Mourinho

:28:42.:28:45.

pulled away. I think he should lead his team do the talking, potentially

:28:46.:28:49.

he has the best team - just let them do it, and when they do, it becomes

:28:50.:28:53.

more acceptable to the neutral fan, and when he starts to take over, he

:28:54.:28:59.

feels that he needs to talk, when his team play well. Is there any

:29:00.:29:04.

hope of Arsenal getting back in the title race? Carnell says, what you

:29:05.:29:10.

think they need to do to become a complete side? Can get that momentum

:29:11.:29:16.

back? Arsenal have got bogged down in really big fixtures one after

:29:17.:29:20.

another. Yesterday the biggest thing for me was the lack of creativity in

:29:21.:29:25.

the final third, no spark. Ramsey has been a massive loss, like Eden

:29:26.:29:29.

Hazard not playing for Chelsea at the moment. Their squad is not big

:29:30.:29:33.

enough to keep replacing those players that are not available.

:29:34.:29:38.

Candidate adapt? Credits to Stoke, they did very well, improving under

:29:39.:29:44.

Mark Hughes. But can they adapt? Can they alter how they played to suit

:29:45.:29:49.

the games they play? You get the feeling that City, Chelsea and

:29:50.:29:53.

Liverpool can all not only changed personnel but change styles to a

:29:54.:29:56.

state an extent if they need to, don't you? I think Liverpool have to

:29:57.:30:02.

embrace the chaos and see what happens, that is working so far.

:30:03.:30:06.

Arsenal have the players not to need to adapt, don't they? Ad is it, do

:30:07.:30:12.

you have to adapt? Most teams do not have to adapt. It is confidence, the

:30:13.:30:18.

emotion of Anfield, the intensity in their play, the energy. Southampton

:30:19.:30:26.

did really well in that game, so they are getting lucky as well. It

:30:27.:30:30.

is another ingredient, Liverpool restoring some of that luck. They

:30:31.:30:34.

have a manager that wants it badly, he was putting people under

:30:35.:30:41.

pressure. I think we can all be wise after the event and they can say,

:30:42.:30:45.

why didn't they go and buy a striker? You bring in a ?20 million

:30:46.:30:49.

striker you shouldn't have to trust in the kid you have brought through.

:30:50.:30:54.

But you look at Liverpool who brought in Stirling and he scored

:30:55.:30:58.

the goal yesterday. So bringing in a kid isn't necessarily a sign of

:30:59.:31:02.

weakness. But you think you should with play in the same way if you are

:31:03.:31:06.

one of the big sides in the title? Not necessarily in the same way but

:31:07.:31:11.

most managers agree that a top side should not alter the game to suit

:31:12.:31:15.

the opposition. No offence to Stoke but Arsenal should be able to go to

:31:16.:31:19.

the Britannia and there does seem to be a psychological block with Stoke

:31:20.:31:23.

and Arsenal. You should be able to go and say, we are going to play our

:31:24.:31:31.

game. You can tinkle with it but I think it works best when you take

:31:32.:31:35.

your game and it is your style you impose on the opposition. Let's look

:31:36.:31:41.

ahead to the three premier league games coming up this afternoon. The

:31:42.:31:45.

lead against Norwich, Swansea against Crystal Palace and then the

:31:46.:31:50.

game you can hear on Radio 5 Live is Spurs against Cardiff at 4:30pm. It

:31:51.:31:56.

has been dominated by the interview that Vincent Tan gave the BBC. I

:31:57.:32:04.

cannot come in and change what has been done but we need to look

:32:05.:32:08.

forward to make this a success. You know what I'd look at? Maybe some of

:32:09.:32:12.

the mistakes I've made, maybe picking that player or that tactic

:32:13.:32:17.

and that game plan. I can't be looking at that now. I am in charge

:32:18.:32:21.

of the team now and we are in with a chance. We have two and we are in

:32:22.:32:25.

with a chance. We have two and a half monthsish to get out of the

:32:26.:32:29.

situation and we will give it a go and we have had so many examples in

:32:30.:32:33.

the last ten years with teams in the same situation, ten, 11 games to go.

:32:34.:32:42.

So that is the best example from last year. So, there are examples. I

:32:43.:32:48.

saw them recently when they had that draw against Aston Villa, a midweek

:32:49.:32:52.

game about ten days ago, and they looked to me a little bit, you know,

:32:53.:32:57.

he has come in and is trying to play guys like the member from the youth

:32:58.:33:05.

team. Some people say the only reason he has left Trafford is

:33:06.:33:07.

because he didn't understand the chance they had got but he looks

:33:08.:33:11.

like in the Premier League and they need to roll up their sleeves, flex

:33:12.:33:15.

some muscles and fight their way out. They are trying to play the

:33:16.:33:20.

kind of stuff we have seen from Southampton and Swansea in the last

:33:21.:33:23.

few years. I know he has mentioned Southampton as a team who, in recent

:33:24.:33:29.

times, have been able to play their way out of trouble. But we all saw

:33:30.:33:32.

last year with Wigan, you can play that nice, pretty football but in

:33:33.:33:36.

that relegation battle don't think it is the stuff that will get you

:33:37.:33:41.

out. But it is never going to be easy. Ollie looks like he is under

:33:42.:33:47.

huge pressure. Why? Why don't we do the best we can as a group. You

:33:48.:33:51.

never know, we might get out of trouble. When you lose 4-0 like they

:33:52.:33:56.

did last week to Hull, that is a real, major blow, and to pick

:33:57.:34:00.

yourself up from there there is a realisation we're not going to do

:34:01.:34:03.

this. But let's give as good account of ourselves as we can. At the

:34:04.:34:07.

moment I can't see them getting out of trouble but he has to manage from

:34:08.:34:11.

the front get those players to play better than they are at the moment.

:34:12.:34:23.

They did seem to be getting worse because before they had a long ball

:34:24.:34:32.

team plan. Things then had turned. I was at the game, the Villa game,

:34:33.:34:38.

which was terrible, with Conor. Some time of my life I went get back! I

:34:39.:34:42.

don't know what his aim is all visionaries and I don't know what

:34:43.:34:45.

type of football he wants to play. He is a real nice man and I hope he

:34:46.:34:49.

succeeds but I suspect that he needs and the club needs to drop down the

:34:50.:34:54.

Championship and have a go again. We touched on this last week and looked

:34:55.:34:59.

at the stats. Those asides, West Brom the other, and Cardiff, who

:35:00.:35:03.

have brought in managers who are not experienced in the Premier League

:35:04.:35:07.

and have not seen a great deal of premier league football this season

:35:08.:35:09.

because they have been doing other jobs. The others seem to be a bit

:35:10.:35:14.

unsure. Fulham is harder to gauge because they have now had three

:35:15.:35:17.

managers. But you look at somebody like Crystal Palace or Sunderland,

:35:18.:35:21.

and I know Sunderland is on the bottom three, but because of their

:35:22.:35:25.

knowledge of British football they seem to be more settled, Poyet and

:35:26.:35:29.

Tony Pulis, because they have a better grasp of what they are doing.

:35:30.:35:34.

Is that fair? It seems to be, and you have to look at every situation

:35:35.:35:38.

in isolation. With Cardiff it seems that the owner of the football

:35:39.:35:41.

club, there was an animosity about the amount of money spent. Managing

:35:42.:35:45.

better would have been to look at the results on the pitch and say,

:35:46.:35:50.

OK, let's make a change at the end of the season. They are in a good

:35:51.:35:53.

league position and he now has got rid of that manager. They are in an

:35:54.:35:57.

awful lot worse position in a legal point of view. That money now will

:35:58.:36:05.

be more difficult to get back. -- a league point. I don't understand why

:36:06.:36:11.

Long was allowed to leave. And others. An odd way to write football

:36:12.:36:20.

club. We saw with Queens Park Rangers, they came up and spent 30

:36:21.:36:26.

million in the Premier League. I was at Loftus Road and there is no

:36:27.:36:28.

guarantee they are coming back up. They haven't won in five games now

:36:29.:36:33.

and in danger of slipping into the play-offs. So with Cardiff, they

:36:34.:36:41.

might think, we spend a bit of money, but it is very difficult. In

:36:42.:36:48.

a way, it is the teams like Crystal Palace under Tony Pulis who have

:36:49.:36:51.

stuck to their guns and focused on what they are good at, not trying to

:36:52.:36:55.

play an expensive game they are not able to play, and that is what gets

:36:56.:37:02.

success. Villa, Swansea and Crystal Palace. If they win, they will go

:37:03.:37:09.

above Villa and Swansea, Crystal Palace, so... I think there is

:37:10.:37:22.

enough quality there. They lost their way a bit and lost their

:37:23.:37:25.

intensity and the Michael Laudrup because of his style of management.

:37:26.:37:32.

I think they will be fine. Norwich of those four, that is the one I

:37:33.:37:35.

would re-worry about because their last few games of the season... But

:37:36.:37:43.

you have Tony Pulis who has had 901st-class games and you think

:37:44.:37:46.

about the difference in experience. I know it is a huge call to put

:37:47.:37:51.

somebody in that type of position of authority. -- 900 first-class games.

:37:52.:38:00.

Can you really see Palace winning today? Is Swansea win today it

:38:01.:38:08.

almost puts today then being safe. Let's look ahead to the

:38:09.:38:11.

international to be played this week. England taking on Denmark.

:38:12.:38:14.

Their last home friendly before the World Cup. We have Luke Short and

:38:15.:38:21.

after yesterday's game as St Mary's, Steven Gerrard was asked about his

:38:22.:38:28.

position. I think Luke Shaw will be the England left back. That is a

:38:29.:38:33.

fact. That goes without saying if he stays clear from injuries that he

:38:34.:38:36.

will be a top player for many years to come. Then you have Rodriguez and

:38:37.:38:43.

Lambert, who were consistent. But I'm looking forward to putting this

:38:44.:38:46.

game aside and now we are trying to get a win for England and train and

:38:47.:38:51.

play with those lads. I thought there was pressure on Luke Shaw

:38:52.:38:54.

already so that has been cranked up a bit! Yes, if I was Manchester

:38:55.:39:02.

United, Chelsea, Liverpool, I would be shoving money at Southampton to

:39:03.:39:07.

get him and if I couldn't get him, I would get Ben Davies from Swansea.

:39:08.:39:10.

Luke Shaw a soup -- is a superb footballer. 20 upwards, I would pay.

:39:11.:39:20.

He was a left back for ten, 15 years. It is not just his pace.

:39:21.:39:26.

There are certain players to catch your eye when they are young. It is

:39:27.:39:30.

his position, his decision-making, tackling. He does seem to be the

:39:31.:39:37.

full packaging. -- full package. I'm sure there will be lots of people

:39:38.:39:41.

saying, you should stay at Southampton or learn his craft

:39:42.:39:46.

before going to a big club. Right here and right now, I think he is

:39:47.:39:51.

ready for one of those top clubs. I'd agree with Rory. You see

:39:52.:39:59.

similarities with other left backs of the last ten years? Within 30

:40:00.:40:04.

seconds of seeing him play, I was like, who is this kid? Because he

:40:05.:40:08.

whipped a beautiful cross in, straight down the wing, and you knew

:40:09.:40:14.

he was the worst kept secret in football, which is how good he is!

:40:15.:40:19.

My son was playing against in a game and it was instant. Players you can

:40:20.:40:23.

see. They talk about the golden bunch of players they have. Chambers

:40:24.:40:27.

is the other one. I thought he played better yesterday than Luke

:40:28.:40:34.

Shaw. So there is another one. And I think Chambers could play centre

:40:35.:40:39.

half. Currently playing Southampton defence. Suddenly, the England

:40:40.:40:42.

players were better on the ball. They have so many. Alana is a

:40:43.:40:47.

beautiful footballer, the way he moves the ball from left foot to

:40:48.:40:52.

right foot. Steven Gerrard knows the value of those two. And I think it

:40:53.:40:57.

is great that he is the captain because he is putting his arm around

:40:58.:41:04.

them in his interviewing. He is being captain in those interviews. I

:41:05.:41:07.

think Gerard is playing even better this season as well, and long may

:41:08.:41:14.

that continue. A friendly in March before a World Cup, with everything

:41:15.:41:18.

else going on, what do you want as a player out of that final friendly to

:41:19.:41:23.

avoid injury -- that final friendly? To avoid injury? You don't

:41:24.:41:29.

want to put something in Roy Hodgson's mind to think that you

:41:30.:41:34.

won't go there. Sometimes you are a better player when you don't play.

:41:35.:41:39.

So essentially now there is not a lot of time and you have to get your

:41:40.:41:42.

head down, keep performing for your football club. The situations I was

:41:43.:41:47.

in, it was like, I am sorry, I am going to try to win something, and

:41:48.:41:51.

in doing so, if that gets me into the England team, great. When the

:41:52.:41:54.

England games come around you have to perform well but I would play the

:41:55.:41:58.

youngsters. Lampard should go but don't use them. Steven Gerrard,

:41:59.:42:03.

those types of players. Maybe him a little while so they can be around

:42:04.:42:06.

the big man and understand how to behave, because that is important as

:42:07.:42:13.

well. There is a competition. Earlier in the season we were saying

:42:14.:42:17.

Ross Barkley. Some were saying Morrison. You have to stand up and

:42:18.:42:22.

make your mark because only four of those will go. This is the last

:42:23.:42:30.

chance to do so for Roy Hodgson. Liverpool's English midfield and

:42:31.:42:33.

attack playing into the England team. Jack Wilshere and Rooney, that

:42:34.:42:37.

should be in good's starting six. Yes. If you placed a rich, Rooney,

:42:38.:42:49.

Luis Suarez. -- if you play Daniel Sturridge. Ross Barkley, I saw him

:42:50.:42:57.

last week and he looked very tired. He started misplacing passes and he

:42:58.:43:00.

did not look the same player as at the start of the season. I think he

:43:01.:43:05.

has to go if he keeps up his current form and I think Larner, he is

:43:06.:43:17.

perfect. If was this time last year, we would be worried but now we have

:43:18.:43:21.

some optimism in there. We have good players we can be proud of. He does

:43:22.:43:27.

look like a foreign player. Not winning. We're getting close to

:43:28.:43:34.

running out of time. Martin will be on the Match Of The Day Facebook

:43:35.:43:39.

page from 4pm and you can do a Q with him. He cannot wait expect

:43:40.:43:44.

anything at all! You can ask an! And then the League Cup final is on

:43:45.:43:47.

regular five live from 2pm. -- you can ask him. Also commentary of

:43:48.:43:53.

Spurs against Cardiff from 4:30pm and the highlights on Match Of The

:43:54.:43:57.

Day 2 from 10:25pm. See you next week. Goodbye.

:43:58.:44:00.

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