:00:30. > :00:35.Good afternoon and welcome to Match Of The Day 2 Extra on BBC Two, Radio
:00:36. > :00:40.5 Live and the BBC Sport website. With me for the next 45 minutes,
:00:41. > :00:45.Trevor Sinclair, Dean Saunders and journalist Alyson Rudd. As ever, you
:00:46. > :00:54.can get involved in the programme using the hashtag #bbcfootball by
:00:55. > :00:56.texting 85058. Coming up on the show today: Manchester City pay the
:00:57. > :01:02.penalty, missing twice from the spot to draw with Everton. They are now
:01:03. > :01:06.without a win in three games in all competitions. Theo Walcott scores
:01:07. > :01:12.twice as Arsenal win a sixth game in a row. Bournemouth put six past Hull
:01:13. > :01:16.in Mike Phelan's first match as permanent manager. And we look ahead
:01:17. > :01:21.to a huge game tomorrow night with Liverpool playing Manchester United.
:01:22. > :01:23.A number of the back pages focus on Liverpool versus Manchester United.
:01:24. > :01:30.The Sunday Mirror's headline is Mission Impossible, saying Jose
:01:31. > :01:32.Mourinho fears that Mancunian referee Anthony Taylor has an
:01:33. > :01:37.impossible job at Anfield tomorrow night. The Mail on Sunday leads with
:01:38. > :01:41.the same story and its headline is its ref justice. The Sunday Times
:01:42. > :01:46.has a big picture of Romelu Lukaku and the headline Spot Of Bother.
:01:47. > :01:50.That is where we start, because Manchester City are without a win in
:01:51. > :01:54.three games. They of course had to the Nou Camp on Wednesday night to
:01:55. > :02:00.face Barcelona. Trevor Sinclair, your former club. For somebody like
:02:01. > :02:04.Pep Guardiola, is this the start of a bit of a crisis, three matches
:02:05. > :02:10.without a win? They have not got an easy game coming up, that has got to
:02:11. > :02:13.be said. I think it is a blip. The players are still focused and buying
:02:14. > :02:19.into his philosophy. They have had some tough games. Celtic Park was a
:02:20. > :02:25.difficult game, which started this run, and they got a draw. Very
:02:26. > :02:29.entertaining for the neutrals. And then going to White Hart Lane is
:02:30. > :02:34.never going to be easy. They are definitely contenders this season.
:02:35. > :02:39.It was a difficult game. They started that game well, but Spurs
:02:40. > :02:43.deserved the win. And then the game at the Etihad yesterday, Ronald
:02:44. > :02:51.Koeman has completely revitalised them. If you get ten or 11 men
:02:52. > :02:54.behind the ball and they are disciplined and they make good
:02:55. > :02:57.decisions and they are brave when they get the ball back, it is
:02:58. > :03:02.difficult to break down. Manchester City need to get used to that,
:03:03. > :03:06.because a lot of teams are going to go to the Etihad and take on that
:03:07. > :03:10.style of play. They didn't quite get the breakthrough when they thought
:03:11. > :03:15.they could have. It looks a bit like they have run out of ideas.
:03:16. > :03:17.Mentally, they should have been stronger, but they showed great
:03:18. > :03:25.resilience to get back in the game after going behind to Lukaku's
:03:26. > :03:30.opener. Trevor says mentally, they could have been stronger. When you
:03:31. > :03:35.are on a good run and you hit a blip, do you lose confidence
:03:36. > :03:40.quicker? And when you have a game against a team like Barcelona, will
:03:41. > :03:44.they go in low on confidence? I don't think so. They missed two
:03:45. > :03:49.penalties yesterday. They should have won the game. Ashley Williams
:03:50. > :03:55.has made the difference to Everton. He made 13 clearances yesterday. At
:03:56. > :04:02.times, they were battering Everton. They are still getting used to the
:04:03. > :04:12.system. He changes during the game. Yesterday, there were two wingers.
:04:13. > :04:20.And he has got the centre-backs. It is all-out attack. Yesterday, they
:04:21. > :04:24.were unlucky. As Trevor said, Tottenham the week before, who are
:04:25. > :04:28.really good team. They would not surprise me if they beat Barcelona
:04:29. > :04:33.midweek. That would certainly get them back on track. Alyson, when you
:04:34. > :04:37.have seen Manchester City this season and the Guardiola, even
:04:38. > :04:39.though these results have been a bit sticky, do you see constant
:04:40. > :04:43.improvement under him, working towards this style he likes to bring
:04:44. > :04:48.in? He would be very cross if I were to say no, because that has been his
:04:49. > :04:52.mantra. I was at his press Conference on Friday and every time
:04:53. > :04:56.I have heard him speak, he has said it is about making sure even the
:04:57. > :05:03.star players like Guerra, he can be much better. He says it over and
:05:04. > :05:08.over again. You talked about the wingbacks. He will put someone who
:05:09. > :05:15.is out on the wing, under pressure, and said, stop crossing like that.
:05:16. > :05:23.And it might seem to be undermining him, but he says it to everybody.
:05:24. > :05:26.Even if the journalists say it was a ten out of ten performance, he will
:05:27. > :05:31.say they can be better. So the answer to your question is yes, they
:05:32. > :05:36.are improving. But if you take a group of players, it will affect
:05:37. > :05:39.them in different ways. Some of them will find it difficult to
:05:40. > :05:45.acclimatise to, the sense that they are not gods on earth and that they
:05:46. > :05:49.need to improve. So for the next few months, I think you will see
:05:50. > :05:55.creaking as the layers get used to such a demanding manager. As you
:05:56. > :05:58.say, players will react differently to being expected to do better. That
:05:59. > :06:06.is where the management will come into play and he has that good
:06:07. > :06:09.relationship with individuals. He also puts pressure on himself to
:06:10. > :06:16.improve, so I feel that if you do that as a leader with a group of
:06:17. > :06:21.men, and then you question others, that is normal. Because he questions
:06:22. > :06:26.himself, the lads will feel it is fair. He was coached by Johan
:06:27. > :06:30.Cruyff, and he said to Pep Guardiola, you're not good enough,
:06:31. > :06:35.you could be better. And he said, if I hadn't been told that, I wouldn't
:06:36. > :06:39.be any good. So if he turns to a player and says, this is why I am
:06:40. > :06:46.telling you this, if you have any sense, you will accept that.
:06:47. > :06:52.Guardiola played with the back three yesterday. He even put Vincent
:06:53. > :06:56.Kompany upfront for a. While Do you think he's trying to find the best
:06:57. > :07:02.ways to win games in this Premier League, which is a new environment
:07:03. > :07:07.for him? Little changes like he did yesterday make a whole difference to
:07:08. > :07:12.the Outlook on the team. If you put zapper letter and Kolarov at
:07:13. > :07:18.wingback, that is getting a result away from home. If you swap the two
:07:19. > :07:22.wingbacks with wingers, they are not going to run back like defenders and
:07:23. > :07:27.that becomes all-out attack, especially if you have ballplaying
:07:28. > :07:35.centre-backs, which he has. He had Kesey and stones yesterday. When he
:07:36. > :07:40.has got the fire power he has upfront like he has with Aguero,
:07:41. > :07:43.they will be hard to stop. So they will get stopped in their tracks now
:07:44. > :07:51.and again or they will have bad luck, but they will out power teams.
:07:52. > :07:55.Be a lot has been made of the change in formation. I don't think the
:07:56. > :07:59.squad are worried about it. This is normal for pep. He looks at the
:08:00. > :08:04.opposition, he takes them into consideration and if he feels he has
:08:05. > :08:09.the team and the player power to dictate to the opposition, he will
:08:10. > :08:11.play whatever he wants. But if he respects certain attributes from the
:08:12. > :08:16.opposition, he will make adjustments. That is just adapting.
:08:17. > :08:20.He does that during the game, but what has to happen before that, you
:08:21. > :08:26.have to do the training so that players understand what is expected
:08:27. > :08:33.if the formation changes. The players need to practise that.
:08:34. > :08:39.Hiwula said the players, 11 versus 11, we have five minutes, we are 1-0
:08:40. > :08:43.down and we have five minutes to score. We are going to play like
:08:44. > :08:49.this. Then he will say, have a drink, back on the pitch. I have
:08:50. > :08:55.made two substitutions and we are going to defend for five minutes
:08:56. > :08:58.like this. Then they understand the advantages and disadvantages. So
:08:59. > :09:02.when it comes to Saturday, they know what they are doing. Ronald Koeman
:09:03. > :09:06.said yesterday it was the best team he had come across in his managerial
:09:07. > :09:11.career. He was able to stop them a bit in their tracks, but let's talk
:09:12. > :09:15.about Ross Barkley. He wasn't used at all yesterday. Alyson, how do you
:09:16. > :09:21.feel they have handled Ross Barkley's situation? Is too much
:09:22. > :09:28.pressure being put on him? He is still only 22, which I was surprised
:09:29. > :09:32.by as he has played so much football already. It is an interesting one.
:09:33. > :09:35.I'm guessing everyone around this table would have thought he was
:09:36. > :09:41.going to be a superstar when he first broke into the Premier League.
:09:42. > :09:50.And he will not have stopped being a classy player with an eye for a
:09:51. > :09:53.goal. The trouble is, football has become so disciplined. The managers
:09:54. > :09:56.want you to do exactly what they say. They don't want you to do
:09:57. > :10:02.things on the hoof, to be overly expressive. You are in a system, and
:10:03. > :10:10.you play to that system. I suspect when Ross Barkley gets out there, he
:10:11. > :10:13.sometimes... Overexcited sounds patronising, but he doesn't always
:10:14. > :10:18.stick to the plan. It is easy for a manager to think, I will have a
:10:19. > :10:22.break from him now, because it is mucking things up. I remember Roy
:10:23. > :10:26.Hodgson absolutely losing it with Ross Barkley for England because he
:10:27. > :10:34.was not doing as he was told. Maverick. Don't you feel it is
:10:35. > :10:42.harder to be a maverick? It is, yeah. Deano has more managerial
:10:43. > :10:47.experience, but as a manager, when you get into that technical area,
:10:48. > :10:50.you want to know what you are getting from a player. If someone
:10:51. > :10:54.has their own agenda, it becomes more difficult to put them into a
:10:55. > :10:59.team structure. So I feel that Ross does come into that type of player,
:11:00. > :11:02.where he will go on his own. But if he's going to do stuff on his own
:11:03. > :11:11.and be successful, you would take him all day long. But when he is not
:11:12. > :11:15.successful, that is the problem. You have got the whole team. If he has
:11:16. > :11:19.played poorly week in, week out and he's still playing, the rest of the
:11:20. > :11:23.players will question you as a manager. So he has had to give a
:11:24. > :11:27.rest and hopefully, he can rekindle what he is about. He is similar to
:11:28. > :11:33.Daniel Sturridge with Liverpool. They have a pressing situation going
:11:34. > :11:37.on, and Daniel is not as good as some of the other players, so he has
:11:38. > :11:43.not played as much football. When they haven't got the ball, I don't
:11:44. > :11:47.think doing enough, Ross. I think the manager is saying, sit and
:11:48. > :11:54.watch. I can't play you in a two because you run all over the place.
:11:55. > :11:57.He is not disciplined enough. When I play you at Number Ten, you drift
:11:58. > :12:01.out of games for half an hour. I don't mind you doing that, provided
:12:02. > :12:08.that when we lose the ball, you work your socks off. I have seen Ross do
:12:09. > :12:13.a couple of post-match interviews and been quite concerned at how
:12:14. > :12:21.heavily he was breathing. So there are maybe fitness issues. Or he
:12:22. > :12:27.smokes. Let's not get involved with that! That is one thing I would
:12:28. > :12:33.question. He is a strong looking boy, but maybe not as fit as he
:12:34. > :12:38.could be. The dynamics are so different. Aguero looks like he has
:12:39. > :12:44.lost half a stone. The players look so much fitter. I'm not sure if Ross
:12:45. > :12:48.is as fit as he could be. A quick word on penalties. Dean, you are
:12:49. > :12:53.striker. Manchester City, four out of eight penalties this season they
:12:54. > :13:05.have scored, which is not a great return. I have scored lots of
:13:06. > :13:11.penalties and I have missed loads. Both penalties were similar, and the
:13:12. > :13:16.perfect height for a goalkeeper to save. Most goalkeepers dive down,
:13:17. > :13:24.they don't dig up in the air. If that penalty is not right in the
:13:25. > :13:29.corner, they are on the way down, and if you ask them where they would
:13:30. > :13:33.want you to put it, they would want you to put it there. I have tried
:13:34. > :13:38.doing it in training where you don't even look at the ball, they are
:13:39. > :13:42.looking at the goalkeeper. Aguero take three steps, looks at the
:13:43. > :13:45.goalkeeper, and he's waiting for the goalkeeper to dive. He doesn't even
:13:46. > :13:53.look at the ball. I have tried it. It is difficult. You have to give
:13:54. > :13:56.credit to Stekelenburg. He anticipated it right. That draw at
:13:57. > :14:00.Manchester City means that Arsenal went level at the top of the table
:14:01. > :14:05.with their win over Swansea yesterday. It is their sixth league
:14:06. > :14:11.win in a row. And Theo Walcott's two goals means he has scored five in
:14:12. > :14:13.eight games. Alyson, you were at the Emirates yesterday. We will chat
:14:14. > :14:18.about Theo Walcott, because it was the good and the bad, perhaps. Two
:14:19. > :14:30.goals, but it could have been three or four. Policy of. Even when he has
:14:31. > :14:33.a good game, one shot hits the upright and skids across. That
:14:34. > :14:38.happens to the best of players. That doesn't make him poor. Then there
:14:39. > :14:42.was the glaring miss at the end, but again, it keeps the woodwork. We are
:14:43. > :14:47.talking a matter of inches. It is not like it looked really stupid. It
:14:48. > :14:51.just seems to be the way it goes for Theo. Even when he plays well,
:14:52. > :15:02.something happens to him that makes people say he is not as good as he
:15:03. > :15:06.could be. He is 27. This could be his season. He spoke very well
:15:07. > :15:12.afterwards. Nice level of self-confidence. Some players say
:15:13. > :15:18.the right words and you don't think they mean it. I felt he meant, I am
:15:19. > :15:23.in a good place at the moment. He's working hard for the team. At times,
:15:24. > :15:26.Arsenal looked a bit like the German national team, in that you don't
:15:27. > :15:31.know who is going to score the goal. Anyone could score, and every player
:15:32. > :15:34.on the pitch by the keeper looks like they could get forward to score
:15:35. > :15:38.the goal, and they are in tune with each other. It didn't last the whole
:15:39. > :15:41.game, but there were moments when it was like that and Theo works well in
:15:42. > :15:44.that sort of free-flowing system where he is allowed to move where he
:15:45. > :15:53.wants. You mentioned this could be the
:15:54. > :15:58.season... You heard it before. We've heard it for the last four or five
:15:59. > :16:01.years. Where do you feel on him's I think he was poor last year and lost
:16:02. > :16:09.his focus for whatever reason. I was a big fan of his. He's probably not
:16:10. > :16:12.got the most amount of guile for a player. His pace, his enthusiasm and
:16:13. > :16:17.the way he dedicates himself to the game, he's been brilliant, but I
:16:18. > :16:21.just feel last season he lost his focus, lost a lot of confidence and
:16:22. > :16:26.he was playing poorly. I saw him at Old Trafford and they might as well
:16:27. > :16:30.have played with ten men, Arsenal, cos he was that poor on the pitch
:16:31. > :16:34.but I think the way he's reacted, left out of the euro squad for the
:16:35. > :16:37.summer, he's reacted in the right way. He looks fitter than he is
:16:38. > :16:41.looked for a long time and books like he's got that zest back for the
:16:42. > :16:44.game. He is playing well and scoring goals. He hit one post and it nearly
:16:45. > :16:52.had the other post it that was so one lucky. He have scored six. If
:16:53. > :16:56.you get the chances, you get yourself in them positions, you will
:16:57. > :17:01.score goals. There was element is where you just think, he really is
:17:02. > :17:07.getting towards his best. And as a player, about 28 or 29 is when you
:17:08. > :17:11.reach your pick. He has already equalled what he managed in the
:17:12. > :17:15.whole of last season in terms of goals. Only once has he broke a
:17:16. > :17:18.double figures barrier. He wants to play through the middle. Is he
:17:19. > :17:24.somebody that Arsenal can rely on to get the goals or is that why he's
:17:25. > :17:31.being forced out? I think Sanchez is better than him. Sanchez has had a
:17:32. > :17:36.problem when he was put up as a lone striker, he was getting deep
:17:37. > :17:41.midfield. Walcott was playing wide. I think it helps Walcott, playing
:17:42. > :17:44.with Sanchez at the middle. I've always felt, when he gets in on goal
:17:45. > :17:49.along that byline, he gets it wrong too many times the player of his
:17:50. > :17:53.ability and it does help the striker you play with making the right runs
:17:54. > :17:58.for you. I think Sanchez has grown into that role. Is realising that
:17:59. > :18:03.he's got to be on the end of the last pass and Walcott is looking
:18:04. > :18:07.better for it. It was Bradley's first game in charge yesterday at
:18:08. > :18:11.Swansea. What did you make of the team that he put out and how he set
:18:12. > :18:16.up? He's not had a huge amount of time with the players but there were
:18:17. > :18:23.certainly moments when they looked very good and they did challenge
:18:24. > :18:26.Arsenal. First of all, Bradley is a very lucky manager because he has
:18:27. > :18:32.inherited Sikhism, who I think is one of the best in the Premier
:18:33. > :18:36.League. -- Goodridge Sigurdsson. He went four for two, which was brave.
:18:37. > :18:43.I was slightly worried about what that would mean for Goodridge
:18:44. > :18:47.Sigurdsson's roll. You don't want him isolated but he got very
:18:48. > :18:55.involved. His athleticism, the way he bails people out, he will get the
:18:56. > :18:59.tackle in. So as long as he appreciates that he's got one of the
:19:00. > :19:05.best players in the league, he will be all right but he has come in with
:19:06. > :19:10.lots of conspiracy theories. Why is an American with no Premier League
:19:11. > :19:18.experience who has come from France, why is he taking over a Premier
:19:19. > :19:23.League club? He's got a reputation for being a bit of a Sergeant Major
:19:24. > :19:29.and yet he has taken over at a club with a reputation for. Football so
:19:30. > :19:33.that it felt wrong but he has said all the right things - I'm here to
:19:34. > :19:41.learn, not to tell people what to do. I want to apply discipline. A
:19:42. > :19:47.lot of people have come out of the woodwork and said that on Dirk
:19:48. > :19:56.wheedling training was a bit lax. He wants to make training exciting
:19:57. > :20:01.again. They've played nicely but not had that grit and determination. It
:20:02. > :20:06.is too early to make the judgment call on Bradley, the manager, except
:20:07. > :20:14.that he decided it was time to change the web addresses. What is
:20:15. > :20:17.the chat back in Wales about this appointment and where Swansea are
:20:18. > :20:20.and what they can achieve because Theo Walcott said he thought they
:20:21. > :20:35.were a very underrated side. They The manager got sacked the next day
:20:36. > :20:39.after it was made 2- to. I don't commission of change the manager.
:20:40. > :20:44.There was no panic. I'm a Swansea fan. Staying in the Premier League,
:20:45. > :20:47.I'm happy with that. 11 years ago, we were a goal away from the
:20:48. > :20:52.Conference going into that league so sucking the manager... And I didn't
:20:53. > :20:57.like the bit where they interviewed the night before the Liverpool game
:20:58. > :21:00.and he was still the manager, so what would have happened if they'd
:21:01. > :21:05.equalised against Liverpool? He stays in the job. I don't think
:21:06. > :21:10.there was any need to panic. They could have waited and especially
:21:11. > :21:13.letting him go to Arsenal on his first game... They could've left
:21:14. > :21:17.lasted another week. They are playing Watford. No disrespect but
:21:18. > :21:21.it is an easy game, especially after two toff once. But we've got to get
:21:22. > :21:26.behind him now and hopefully he does the job but I didn't think there was
:21:27. > :21:30.any need to panic. Watford on Stoke are the next two games for Swansea.
:21:31. > :21:35.That will probably be more of a test of what Bradley can achieve on a
:21:36. > :21:41.trip to the Emirates. Although they've got a good record against
:21:42. > :21:49.Arsenal. I do feel the philosophy of Swansea City doesn't fit well with
:21:50. > :21:54.Bradley. He has... The way you've seen managers come to Swansea and
:21:55. > :21:58.get headhunted, I'm not sure this is going to be the case for Bradley but
:21:59. > :22:04.American owners have different ideas and it is their club. I just hope
:22:05. > :22:11.the fans get what they expect, good football, good philosophy. They've
:22:12. > :22:15.lost the main man, Ashley Williams. The captain in the dressing room. He
:22:16. > :22:19.was like the manager, the leader. He is gone to Everton and doing great
:22:20. > :22:23.it up they will miss him badly. They will. There are two games in the
:22:24. > :22:28.Premier League today, Southampton against Burnley at 4pm, but first
:22:29. > :22:32.Middlesbrough against Watford at 1:30pm. Both games are live on Radio
:22:33. > :22:39.5 live and Alan Greene is at the Riverside. Both teams today have
:22:40. > :22:42.made a couple of changes. Middlesbrough's the more
:22:43. > :22:47.interesting. They bring back Negredo and Ramires, the attacking duo who
:22:48. > :22:51.have been left out for the last league game. They are chosen ahead
:22:52. > :22:54.of roads and Fisher. Negredo is the out and out striker, Ramires is
:22:55. > :23:01.playing behind him, otherwise Middlesbrough are unchanged. Ighalo
:23:02. > :23:06.is in Nigeria after the death of his father and it is another Nigerian
:23:07. > :23:12.who replaces him, the young Isaac Success who cost 12.5 million, so
:23:13. > :23:19.this is his debut for Watford. The other alteration is in their
:23:20. > :23:23.defence, there is no Zuniga. Britos comes into the centre of defence and
:23:24. > :23:26.we think Kabul will be at the right back. A big game in the
:23:27. > :23:33.championship. Huddersfield can return to the top with a win over
:23:34. > :23:39.Sheffield Wednesday. Kicked off at midday and Alistair Yearwood is
:23:40. > :23:43.watching. It is nil nil at the moment. Sheffield Wednesday hit the
:23:44. > :23:47.crossbar off David Jones for the home side have grown into this and
:23:48. > :23:50.Kasey Palmer, the England U21 international on loan from Chelsea,
:23:51. > :23:55.highly promising, produced a beautiful shot and really tested
:23:56. > :24:01.Keiren Westwood, the Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper but
:24:02. > :24:07.without with about seven minutes to go, it is still 0-0. Let's turn our
:24:08. > :24:11.attention to tomorrow night. Simon Stone has been speaking to
:24:12. > :24:17.Manchester United and England winger Jesse Lingard header that big match
:24:18. > :24:23.against Liverpool. Liverpool is the main game of the
:24:24. > :24:28.season. A tough side, especially now they have a different way of
:24:29. > :24:34.playing. It is a great place to play. The fans are always behind us
:24:35. > :24:40.on the awaydays so a great experience for us. We are going to
:24:41. > :24:46.be working hard to get the win. The team has changed a little bit since
:24:47. > :24:50.last season, with the flat and, Paul Pogba, obviously. You know him so
:24:51. > :24:53.well from when he was here before. Did you keep in touch with him when
:24:54. > :24:57.he was in Italy and is it good to have him back? Of course I kept in
:24:58. > :25:02.touch with him. It's like he's been away and he's come back, like he's
:25:03. > :25:07.been on holiday and has come back. He is still the same as when he was
:25:08. > :25:14.18. He has not changed one bit. Still feet on the ground and
:25:15. > :25:17.level-headed. He is a good lad. Liverpool against Manchester United
:25:18. > :25:22.is live on Radio 5 live tomorrow night and you can see highlights on
:25:23. > :25:29.that of the day two, which is on tomorrow night on BBC One. -- Match
:25:30. > :25:35.of the Day to. Alison Rodger alongside me, is this just Mourinho
:25:36. > :25:39.being Mourinho and drawing attention to the fact that there is a referee
:25:40. > :25:44.from the greater Manchester area refereeing this match or is this a
:25:45. > :25:49.legitimate problem something they should be concerned about? As soon
:25:50. > :25:53.as a referee becomes part of the story, as the manager you have to
:25:54. > :25:57.make sure that is to your advantage so it is in Mourinho's interests to
:25:58. > :26:01.suggest that Anthony Taylor is going to feel the need to overcompensate,
:26:02. > :26:05.so the fact that he was born very close to Manchester means he might
:26:06. > :26:09.therefore feel obliged to be extra strict with decisions that might
:26:10. > :26:15.have gone for Manchester. It is ridiculous. But that's what you have
:26:16. > :26:18.to do if you are the manager. This is a nonstory because the one thing
:26:19. > :26:21.we do have in this country are referees who wouldn't be in the
:26:22. > :26:25.slightest bit corrupt it up they may not be very good at the job but they
:26:26. > :26:29.are not corrupt. There is no way Anthony Taylor is going into that
:26:30. > :26:32.game thinking, "I really love Manchester but I want Liverpool to
:26:33. > :26:37.get one over on Manchester because I'm an Altrincham fan". It doesn't
:26:38. > :26:41.work that way so it is a nonstory but soon as it becomes one, you will
:26:42. > :26:45.find any asked about it will think how they can make it to their
:26:46. > :26:50.advantage and make out they will have to think again. Goal but you
:26:51. > :26:55.can understand why., from the Manchester area, it is like when you
:26:56. > :27:02.referee again frock -- a game for your son, you are going to be harsh.
:27:03. > :27:09.He is going to be in a position where he feels he has to be harsh
:27:10. > :27:12.against Manchester United. He is saying, you can't give us anything
:27:13. > :27:19.so it is going to be scrutinised so what is going to Anthony Taylor's
:27:20. > :27:23.mind? Has been precedents in this. Liverpool versus Manchester and
:27:24. > :27:28.Brendan Rodgers, who was fined for his comments after the match and
:27:29. > :27:33.said, "I hope never again do we see a referee from Greater Manchester
:27:34. > :27:36.referee a Liverpool/ Manchester game". Is this something that
:27:37. > :27:41.authorities have to look at, those that appoint referees? Does anything
:27:42. > :27:44.need to happen or is it just something that we have a certain
:27:45. > :27:48.number of referees in this country that can referee the top-level
:27:49. > :27:52.games. Referees have to say who they supported when they were growing up,
:27:53. > :27:58.where their affiliations are, and then they don't referee that team.
:27:59. > :28:02.You can't start saying, where were you born? How many Manchester United
:28:03. > :28:05.fans were born in London? It doesn't mean anything where you were born at
:28:06. > :28:13.all. It matters a lot to some people, who will only support that
:28:14. > :28:17.team. What you do if you are a referee and you live in London? You
:28:18. > :28:22.can't referee any gains in London? So what we're actually saying is
:28:23. > :28:26.that they're a little bit corrupt, by all this conversation, but
:28:27. > :28:29.they're not. They're not. Let's get the actual football which is what we
:28:30. > :28:33.will hopefully be talking about after the match on Monday. A huge
:28:34. > :28:40.game for both managers and teams in terms title ambitions. Absolutely.
:28:41. > :28:43.I'm sure Dean is really excited for the game at Anfield. The new
:28:44. > :28:46.standards erected and it is probably the biggest gain since the new stand
:28:47. > :28:49.has been erected at Anfield and I feel Liverpool will be looking
:28:50. > :28:54.forward to this more than Manchester United, the way they've started,
:28:55. > :28:58.what they've got going forward, that front six, the creativity they've
:28:59. > :29:02.shown and the way they've been pressing teams and putting teams to
:29:03. > :29:06.the sword. I feel they'll do that to stay united and it is going to be a
:29:07. > :29:11.very difficult evening for Manchester United. You mentioned the
:29:12. > :29:16.forward players. Manchester has a huge character in the forward line
:29:17. > :29:19.but which forward players excite you most in terms of Liverpool and
:29:20. > :29:25.Manchester? I think Liverpool are playing well. The whole game is
:29:26. > :29:27.going to be brilliant. The two managers are characters, their
:29:28. > :29:32.personalities standout. The club has got everyone behind them. The
:29:33. > :29:37.supporters love the manager. Mourinho was like public and in the
:29:38. > :29:46.number one in Liverpool. -- public enemy. But up the front, Manet is
:29:47. > :29:50.like lightning. He and his team-mate looked like they can create when
:29:51. > :29:53.teams play against them and they can counterattack so it is going to be
:29:54. > :29:57.tough for Manchester United but they've got class players as well.
:29:58. > :30:00.Mourinho will get it right eventually and once he gets it
:30:01. > :30:06.right, they've got class players and they can beat anybody on the day. We
:30:07. > :30:09.talk about title ambitions, obviously it is very early in the
:30:10. > :30:13.season, but Liverpool have a good record against Chelsea, they've
:30:14. > :30:16.drawn with Cheltenham and beaten Arsenal, beaten Leicester. When it
:30:17. > :30:21.comes with those round about them, Liverpool are certainly holding
:30:22. > :30:26.their own. Absolutely. But already, there have been jokes from Jurgen
:30:27. > :30:30.Klopp about... There is this theory now, starting day one of the season,
:30:31. > :30:36.that Liverpool won't be able to keep it going all season. How can you
:30:37. > :30:40.keep up that relentless, pressing... Even their relentless attitude, in a
:30:41. > :30:47.way? How can you keep that up for the whole season? It is not a stupid
:30:48. > :30:53.idea to question whether they have that ability but I would say, he's
:30:54. > :31:00.been there exactly a year now. We knew he did it in Germany, he kept
:31:01. > :31:05.unfashionable clubs going and going. He's got much better players at
:31:06. > :31:09.Liverpool, so why can't he keep it going all season? He has proved it
:31:10. > :31:13.is possible. I think that has been the most fascinating thing about
:31:14. > :31:20.clock and Liverpool is the fact that it has to implode at some point, but
:31:21. > :31:23.I respect it doesn't have to. We haven't seen it before. We haven't
:31:24. > :31:26.seen someone take that Borussia Dortmund approach to football and
:31:27. > :31:35.make it happen here. Liverpool made a profit over the
:31:36. > :31:40.summer. He hasn't brought in amazing talents. If he wins the title, it
:31:41. > :31:46.will be because of his strategy and style. It is the formula. Why is
:31:47. > :31:50.Daniel Sturridge not playing? For me, his ability is up there with
:31:51. > :31:57.Aguero when he has got the ball. When he hasn't got the ball, he is
:31:58. > :32:07.not fitting into the formula. It is the attitude that the players who
:32:08. > :32:16.are fit and those who fit his style of the ones who are going to play.
:32:17. > :32:21.At Dortmund, he had a steady change of players. The minute you drop of
:32:22. > :32:27.what he wants you to do, there is only so bad you can be. The formula
:32:28. > :32:35.is based around getting the ball back when you have not got the ball.
:32:36. > :32:39.There is only so bad you can be. Talking about Sturridge not playing
:32:40. > :32:44.for Liverpool, Rooney is the one who has been missing out for Manchester
:32:45. > :32:50.United. A huge week for them. They have Fenerbahce at home on Thursday
:32:51. > :32:54.and then bring placed Chelsea again at the weekend. Where does Rooney
:32:55. > :32:57.fit in this week? You would have to ask Jose Mourinho that. He has
:32:58. > :33:02.watched him day in, day out in training. He knows what his form is
:33:03. > :33:08.like. And if he is good enough, he will play. But as we have seen,
:33:09. > :33:11.Rooney's performances have not been anywhere near as good as the
:33:12. > :33:19.standards he set for himself. He is not playing well, but class lasts
:33:20. > :33:25.and if he works hard to get the form back, it will come back. At the
:33:26. > :33:30.moment, he has not got the form. But it may come back in training and
:33:31. > :33:36.Mourinho might feel he has got over his blip. What do you mean by his
:33:37. > :33:44.form, though? He's not going to be as fast or strong as he was. Rooney
:33:45. > :33:48.wants to be somebody else. That can happen. If you look at what John
:33:49. > :33:56.Barnes did, a team-mate of Dean's, he was the action forward and had
:33:57. > :33:59.agility and mobility and he used to win games. In the end, John Barnes
:34:00. > :34:03.dropped back and ended up being a playmaker in midfield. Wayne Rooney
:34:04. > :34:07.has the all-round ability to adapt. I have seen him train and play and I
:34:08. > :34:11.have seen the impact he has had on football in the last 15 years in
:34:12. > :34:16.this country. If he starts dropping back, there is a sense of mistake
:34:17. > :34:20.people don't want to talk about him as a midfielder. It happens to all
:34:21. > :34:25.players. They come have that speed for the whole of their careers. If
:34:26. > :34:28.they are good enough, and Wayne is, he's good enough to drop deeper and
:34:29. > :34:33.play as a midfielder in the right formation. And I agree with you,
:34:34. > :34:40.Alyson, he's never going to have the same pace and intensity he had ten
:34:41. > :34:45.years ago. So he needs to adapt. His manager says he is only going to
:34:46. > :34:52.play him up front. I disagree. I don't feel when has the ability to
:34:53. > :35:04.play that role so well any more. Not against the top teams. I think he is
:35:05. > :35:10.getting too much stick. I do. Mourinho takes the flak sometimes.
:35:11. > :35:14.He will say, have a go at me, so the talking point will be about him. I
:35:15. > :35:19.think when we'll be saying, don't worry, I have got broad shoulders.
:35:20. > :35:26.When we are winning, all this .. I know he is not as quick as he was,
:35:27. > :35:30.but he is class. Of course he is. It seems like there is a vendetta
:35:31. > :35:35.against him. He's having a bit of a bad time, big deal. He has been top
:35:36. > :35:39.of the game for 15 years. Players have dipped in form. I remember
:35:40. > :35:44.Manchester United doing Ryan Giggs, when he nearly went to Inter Milan.
:35:45. > :35:49.He found himself being a club legend and staying for many years, so I am
:35:50. > :35:54.sure when can do that, but he will have to adapt. Ryan Giggs adapted
:35:55. > :35:57.his role as well. It will be a very interesting match between Liverpool
:35:58. > :36:02.and Manchester United, which is live on BBC radio 5 Live. Let's go to
:36:03. > :36:05.Alistair Yeomans at that match between Huddersfield and Sheffield
:36:06. > :36:15.Wednesday, where it is half-time. Yes, you were talking about the
:36:16. > :36:18.Jurgen Klopp way. Here, they have had five wins at the John Smith's
:36:19. > :36:23.stadium, all by a single goal margin. So perhaps not surprisingly,
:36:24. > :36:30.this game against Sheffield Wednesday has been very tight. It is
:36:31. > :36:33.0-0. We were talking about Manchester United's trip to
:36:34. > :36:37.Liverpool. After that, they go to Chelsea, who played the league
:36:38. > :36:44.leaders yesterday and were comfortable 3-0 winners. Let's start
:36:45. > :36:47.by talking about Leicester. It seems something has gone wrong for them,
:36:48. > :36:53.Alyson, four games away from home without a win, really looking to
:36:54. > :36:57.struggle to contain Chelsea. It is not the Leicester we saw last
:36:58. > :36:58.season. This is what happens when you win the title while you are in
:36:59. > :37:17.the kitchen. I think they have started this season in a slight
:37:18. > :37:21.bubble of, did that really happened? They have also put a lot of emphasis
:37:22. > :37:25.on doing well in Europe, which they are. They are certainly saving their
:37:26. > :37:29.best performances for the European competition. You could argue that
:37:30. > :37:34.the teams playing in Europe have never come across Leicester before,
:37:35. > :37:42.the same way no one in the Premier League took Leicester seriously last
:37:43. > :37:45.season until it was too late. I was in Bruges for Leicester's first
:37:46. > :37:49.Champions League game, and the people of Bruges were really annoyed
:37:50. > :37:52.that it was only Leicester they were getting as the seeded team. They
:37:53. > :37:58.wanted a big club with big stars. No one had heard of Leicester, so they
:37:59. > :38:04.couldn't sell enough tickets. They don't have the reputation. But they
:38:05. > :38:09.have already lost more games this season than they did in the whole of
:38:10. > :38:14.last season. They are not looking like title challengers. The irony is
:38:15. > :38:17.that many airy was known as the tank and in his first incarnation in the
:38:18. > :38:21.Premier League. He is having to learn how to tinker all over again.
:38:22. > :38:25.I watched the goalless draw against Southampton and afterwards, Ranieri
:38:26. > :38:30.said, I got that wrong. I should have rested players. I need to work
:38:31. > :38:35.out what to do. Then he probably rested too many good players for the
:38:36. > :38:38.game at Stamford Bridge. He has not got the balance right yet. I don't
:38:39. > :38:46.think anyone in Leicester will mind if they do well in the Champions
:38:47. > :38:53.League. When did Wes Morgan ever lose a striker from a corner like
:38:54. > :39:02.that last season? He stood there looking at the ball. Vokes gets down
:39:03. > :39:09.with the one-two for the next goal. That never happened last season. I
:39:10. > :39:13.know they have lost Kante and Drinkwater has been injured, but
:39:14. > :39:20.little things are going on. You can see Ranieri saying it as well. This
:39:21. > :39:24.is not the team from last season. I don't think anyone in the game is
:39:25. > :39:29.surprised that they are going to struggle this year. They had an
:39:30. > :39:32.amazing story last year. Does lightning strike twice for a team
:39:33. > :39:40.like Leicester? I don't think it does. I think it was a one-off. But
:39:41. > :39:46.isn't it quite canny than for Ranieri to prioritise the Champions
:39:47. > :39:51.League? Absolutely. Let's have another bit of romance, but do it in
:39:52. > :39:56.Europe this time. The same could be said for Chelsea, but in a positive
:39:57. > :40:01.way. A change of formation, and Eden Hazard looked superb yesterday. Yes.
:40:02. > :40:06.At the beginning of the season, I put Chelsea down as winning the
:40:07. > :40:11.league. I thought, they are not in Europe. Their players will not turn
:40:12. > :40:21.into bad players overnight. They had a bad season. They have a good
:40:22. > :40:24.manager who could stamp his authority on the players. They
:40:25. > :40:27.needed a strong character coming in as the leader, and they have got
:40:28. > :40:40.that. He has changed a few at the back, and that suits Chelsea. As
:40:41. > :40:44.long as you can get very energetic wingbacks who know when to join in,
:40:45. > :40:57.they have a fantastic formula. That was a test yesterday. Costa played
:40:58. > :41:05.really well. They broke away. He has to slip the ball to his right, he
:41:06. > :41:12.doesn't. The manager shouts to him, and Costa gives him that one take me
:41:13. > :41:15.off. Then he has a dilemma. As a manager, if your top scorer is doing
:41:16. > :41:18.that in front of everybody, do you bring him straight off or deal with
:41:19. > :41:23.it after the game? I imagine he would have called him in and said,
:41:24. > :41:35.if you ever do that to me again... He is a hothead. He has got to deal
:41:36. > :41:43.with that. He has to look after him, because he needs him at least until
:41:44. > :41:48.the January transfer window. I would have brought him straight off. You
:41:49. > :41:52.would not have thought, I'm going to show him who the manager is
:41:53. > :41:57.afterwards? That is why I am sat here! I have the under 18s and the
:41:58. > :42:02.U21s to think of and the rest of the squad. If he can do it, they all
:42:03. > :42:07.start doing it. In the heat of the moment, if you have made a decision,
:42:08. > :42:17.Costa would have known he made the wrong decision. You don't mean not
:42:18. > :42:20.to pick that pass out. That is where your assistant manager comes in. He
:42:21. > :42:25.should be greeting him as he comes off the pitch and saying, go and
:42:26. > :42:31.apologise to the manager. Lets end on a positive. Bournemouth, six
:42:32. > :42:38.goals, what a result. Fantastic stuff for them. A terrible afternoon
:42:39. > :42:46.for Hull. Top manager. He leads by example. The lads are fit as a
:42:47. > :42:53.fiddle. He never criticises the players on a match day, as in giving
:42:54. > :42:57.them a hard time. In training, here's hard as nails. He sees a
:42:58. > :43:02.snapshot of who is going to play well, he picks those players, and
:43:03. > :43:07.they perform. Rob has to say falling just served up by Eddie Howe. Five
:43:08. > :43:12.Englishmen scored yesterday for Bournemouth. When did that last
:43:13. > :43:16.happened? That is a good question. And Mel says stop looking at our
:43:17. > :43:20.manager, how about some of the players for an England call-up? Any
:43:21. > :43:25.chance of that, Alyson? I would be all for building England around an
:43:26. > :43:34.unfashionable club like Bournemouth. It is not working by picking players
:43:35. > :43:41.from around Europe. Sorry to put dampener on it, but Hull City's
:43:42. > :43:46.defending was horrific yesterday. Well, we will try to end on a high,
:43:47. > :43:50.Bedene has just ruined it. Thank you very much to Trevor, Dean and
:43:51. > :43:54.Alyson. Match Of The Day 2 is on tomorrow night, with highlights from
:43:55. > :43:56.Liverpool against Manchester United, and we will be back next week. Hope
:43:57. > :44:02.to see them. Goodbye now.