:00:32. > :00:37.Good afternoon and welcome to MOTD2 Extra for the Wii on BBC Two and on
:00:38. > :00:42.the website. It's lunchtime and in the studio with me from the mail on
:00:43. > :00:46.Sunday, Oliver Holt, Oliver Kay from the times, and the former England
:00:47. > :00:55.defender, Matthew Upson. You can get involved very simply. Text as. Or on
:00:56. > :01:00.social media, and we will discuss a pivotal day at the bottom with
:01:01. > :01:05.Newcastle beating Swansea 3-0, and Sunderland beating Norwich 3-0 at
:01:06. > :01:09.Carrow Road, so the gap between the two now just a point. Aston Villa
:01:10. > :01:12.Madiba 's relegation confirmed with defeat at Manchester United and
:01:13. > :01:17.Manchester City cemented their position at the top four with an
:01:18. > :01:20.impressive victory at Chelsea. As far as the back Pages are concerned,
:01:21. > :01:23.the Sunday Mirror has a story that Sam Allardyce will leave Sunderland
:01:24. > :01:29.at the end of the season if they get relegated. The Sun newspaper's
:01:30. > :01:35.headline is a cross-party group of MPs are lobbying for Claudio Ranieri
:01:36. > :01:41.to be knighted. And the mail on Sunday, one of several papers going
:01:42. > :01:45.with Roy Hodgson saying that Andy Carroll won't be in the England
:01:46. > :01:49.squad for the Euros. We will discuss that later. We are going to start
:01:50. > :01:55.with two of the former clubs of Matthew. Wet Leicester against West
:01:56. > :02:00.Ham United. Steve Wilson watch this one for MOTD2 this afternoon. The
:02:01. > :02:07.end is in sight for Leicester very nearly, Steve? Yes, it is inside but
:02:08. > :02:11.don't tell anyone here that because there is a great atmosphere outside
:02:12. > :02:15.the ground, gospel singers and all kinds going on outside, but don't
:02:16. > :02:18.tell anyone in that Leicester City dressing room that the end is inside
:02:19. > :02:23.because Claudio Ranieri is playing a very straight bat, as he is all
:02:24. > :02:28.season, still talking about dreams, rather than reality, but I saw them
:02:29. > :02:30.last weekend win at Sunderland. It was not his title of performance,
:02:31. > :02:34.but they were always in control and I think that is the key with
:02:35. > :02:39.Leicester at the moment. They've only conceded seven goals in their
:02:40. > :02:44.last 16 Premier League games. And that is the way to get over that
:02:45. > :02:47.line. Do you feel there is a party atmosphere outside, Steve? The
:02:48. > :02:50.reason I ask is several times I'd been there this season, there's
:02:51. > :02:53.never been a hint of nervousness. The last game against Southampton,
:02:54. > :02:57.even though we watched it on television, it felt like the
:02:58. > :03:02.atmosphere was one big celebration. Absolutely and of course, they have
:03:03. > :03:05.Champions League qualification and Claudio Ranieri is stressing in his
:03:06. > :03:09.programme notes today what a cause for celebration that is. If that was
:03:10. > :03:13.it now, everybody would be disappointed here, of course. There
:03:14. > :03:16.is an air of celebration about the place by don't think that has crept
:03:17. > :03:20.under the dressing room door into those players, at all. The great
:03:21. > :03:24.thing about Leicester's dressing room is the sense of unity, the
:03:25. > :03:28.sense of purpose, the sense of belonging, and just the sheer
:03:29. > :03:31.willingness to do the hard work for each other. The hard running for
:03:32. > :03:36.each other. That's what West Ham are up against a day the tricky game for
:03:37. > :03:39.Leicester, West Ham bouncing back offer very disappointing cup replay
:03:40. > :03:45.defeat in midweek for what we know how talented they are. They've had
:03:46. > :03:47.some big away wins this season, Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool. They
:03:48. > :03:55.drew at Chelsea, twice at Old Trafford. West Ham are no mugs. But
:03:56. > :04:01.I do think every game that goes by, Leicester are inching a bit closer
:04:02. > :04:03.and it does feel now sort of inexorable and asserting their
:04:04. > :04:07.destiny about Leicester's March to the title. Three more wins, of
:04:08. > :04:13.course, is what they need. Thank you very much. Where will the dangers
:04:14. > :04:18.come for Leicester today from West Ham? Well, assuming Andy Carroll
:04:19. > :04:22.starts, which I think he will, there's an obvious area of threat of
:04:23. > :04:26.air. The one thing you would say about that is out of the teams,
:04:27. > :04:30.looking at the promo the moment, Leicester are the best equipped to
:04:31. > :04:36.deal with that with the two centre-backs, Morgan and Robert
:04:37. > :04:43.Huth. That's a very obvious threat. Alongside the other attacking flair
:04:44. > :04:47.they have in set pieces with Dimitri Payet for the these new creative
:04:48. > :04:50.players at West Ham, they hit the heights of form, and the squad is
:04:51. > :04:55.delivering at the moment. The interesting thing about the aerial
:04:56. > :05:01.threat, whereas Andy Carroll bullied Arsenal last week on he won't lead
:05:02. > :05:05.Morgan and Robert Huth. Both full-backs, Simpson, they cover
:05:06. > :05:09.their centre halves very well. They do. I don't know what the stats
:05:10. > :05:14.would be that Leicester don't seem to even lose many headers in their
:05:15. > :05:20.penalty area let alone concede many goals, but they are both extremely
:05:21. > :05:25.dominant in the air. A different type of test against Andy Carroll.
:05:26. > :05:27.There are certain teams you could imagine him bullying, I don't think
:05:28. > :05:35.Leicester would be one of them. Do think it's hard for... Why is it
:05:36. > :05:38.hard, rather, for them to wonder whether Leicester because it's
:05:39. > :05:43.because they play the same team week in week out, so there no surprises.
:05:44. > :05:48.In this age of DVDs and analysis, and more statisticians than you
:05:49. > :05:53.could wish for, surely somebody ought to be able to find a weakness?
:05:54. > :06:00.Yes, but, I mean, I guess it still, I think it's hard for us to believe
:06:01. > :06:06.they are a very good side. They have witnesses -- weaknesses, but every
:06:07. > :06:10.side has to fight them and I thought Sunderland might take points off
:06:11. > :06:13.them last weekend. I have half a suspicion West Ham, I saw them
:06:14. > :06:19.against Arsenal last week, they are good side. Dimitri Payet is
:06:20. > :06:25.fantastic. It's a very good new West Ham side. But I think our mindset
:06:26. > :06:29.has gradually begin to change for some Steve Wilson said this is
:06:30. > :06:34.inexorable. I don't think so. I still think there are pitfalls,
:06:35. > :06:38.potential pitfalls ahead for Leicester. But I think we have got
:06:39. > :06:42.to get used to the fact that this is a very good side. It actually
:06:43. > :06:47.doesn't have very many weaknesses. No, and I accept that, but every
:06:48. > :06:50.side will have a weakness somewhere or another, and it never seen
:06:51. > :06:54.anybody can actually put their finger on where they might be of
:06:55. > :06:59.ability. You were in that squad last year. I think, at this current
:07:00. > :07:02.moment in time, I actually don't think they have much of a weakness
:07:03. > :07:06.because of the strength of that group. The unity they have as a
:07:07. > :07:11.group, in that dressing room, it's so powerful. It takes away all the
:07:12. > :07:17.tactical and technical inadequacies they may have. It overrides
:07:18. > :07:22.everything. Was that the same last year when you were in it last year?
:07:23. > :07:26.This is a special group of players on the personality wise, even though
:07:27. > :07:31.you were in a negation battle? Yes, it's what drove them to safety.
:07:32. > :07:36.Claudio Ranieri won't need to motivate this group. They are
:07:37. > :07:42.training every day, tackles, intensity, competitive, and in order
:07:43. > :07:45.to achieve that, with the same group of players, keeping them fit and
:07:46. > :07:47.healthy throughout the season, the whole club has performed at such a
:07:48. > :07:55.high level from the medical staff, the sports science to the manager,
:07:56. > :07:57.everyone around the place. They have had their share of this kind of
:07:58. > :08:06.success which makes you bullet-proof in a way. It's noticeable. I'm not
:08:07. > :08:09.going to say they have been lucky, because it's the best story, the
:08:10. > :08:15.best football story we've ever seen in this country, but they haven't
:08:16. > :08:20.had many injuries. Credit to their sports science department for that,
:08:21. > :08:22.partly, but also the thing I keep coming back to sometimes, the same
:08:23. > :08:28.with Liverpool couple of seasons ago, they have, by not being in any
:08:29. > :08:31.other competitions, I think it's a huge advantage to a club these days
:08:32. > :08:35.when they're taking a run at the league. It was a massive advantage
:08:36. > :08:39.for Liverpool, and it's been a massive advantage for Leicester. Not
:08:40. > :08:44.having, being overburdened with matches, as some of their rivals
:08:45. > :08:47.have been. I'm sure there is some truth in that but is also a massive
:08:48. > :08:51.competitive disadvantage, when all the clubs who are playing in all
:08:52. > :08:58.competitions have massively bigger budgets. You know, it's a very small
:08:59. > :09:02.level in some respects, the fact you're not playing every week but I
:09:03. > :09:06.speak to Nigel Pearson, and he said a couple of months ago, this lot
:09:07. > :09:11.will win the league. That was straight after they lost at Arsenal
:09:12. > :09:16.and everybody thought that was it. He said no, the personalities and
:09:17. > :09:22.mentality and work ethic that group, the focus of them, nothing will blow
:09:23. > :09:28.them off course. Did you feel it earlier in the season they have
:09:29. > :09:34.that? They wouldn't blow away in the wind? Yes, because of the
:09:35. > :09:39.characters. They have a group of characters there. They almost
:09:40. > :09:43.play... Anyone who's played their best moments in their career is
:09:44. > :09:47.fearless and it just happens. They are in that moment right now. To me
:09:48. > :09:53.that's more powerful than anything else. I know you didn't sort of go
:09:54. > :09:57.down the route of not having injuries is lucky, but Alan Pardew
:09:58. > :10:01.Kinder suggested that in his programme notes when Crystal Palace
:10:02. > :10:05.played Leicester. The point that they have had many injuries or
:10:06. > :10:08.penalties but, from a player perspective, if, as a squad and we
:10:09. > :10:14.don't have many injuries, how much do you put that down to luck? You
:10:15. > :10:18.mentioned the medical staff, sports science, it's down to them being
:10:19. > :10:21.very good, isn't it? They have to take a massive amount of credit and
:10:22. > :10:25.so do the players because they've ticked all the boxes, they've
:10:26. > :10:28.recovered, and I also think training properly and the intensity and
:10:29. > :10:32.aggression you have in training prepares you for those tough
:10:33. > :10:35.matches. A lot of managers will go the other way and think perhaps we
:10:36. > :10:39.might need to protect ourselves and step of training but I think
:10:40. > :10:43.Leicester gone the other way, on the front foot all the time and it
:10:44. > :10:52.reflects in the play. Aside from the science code is also great team
:10:53. > :10:57.spirit. This could be my favourite story of all season. Christian full
:10:58. > :11:00.cut had his birthday party 72 hours before the game last weekend and
:11:01. > :11:05.Claudio Ranieri was invited to it however he got the date wrong and
:11:06. > :11:11.walked into an empty room the day before and wondered where everybody
:11:12. > :11:14.was hiding. What I quite like is the manager is going to the birthday
:11:15. > :11:19.party in the first place and the manager is more than happy for them
:11:20. > :11:22.to have a birthday party 72 hours before a game and Foulks Terry
:11:23. > :11:28.didn't mind me having a glass of red wine. You presume it was longer than
:11:29. > :11:34.72 hours before. Maybe that's why he agreed to it. I love the idea of him
:11:35. > :11:37.walking around as empty room thinking where is everybody? He said
:11:38. > :11:42.in interviews he thought everybody was going to jump out and it was a
:11:43. > :11:47.surprise party. It's very funny that it is cloudier. Any other manager
:11:48. > :11:51.you couldn't imagine in that situation. -- Claudio Ranieri. He
:11:52. > :11:57.clearly trusted players. The trust them to be grown-up for the enjoy
:11:58. > :12:04.yourself, enjoyed this time. Football is a great thing. He seems
:12:05. > :12:11.to have -- they seem to be paid his trust. We see so many stories of
:12:12. > :12:14.players misbehaving quite often those players are playing for teams
:12:15. > :12:18.who are struggling. When you are winning, you can do this kind of
:12:19. > :12:22.thing. We will come on to Aston Villa in just a moment. Just before
:12:23. > :12:28.we leave Leicester and West Ham, as far as West Ham are concerned, a
:12:29. > :12:32.whole load of articles in the paper this morning is basically saying
:12:33. > :12:37.that Roy Hodgson is ruling out re-calling Andy Carroll. Whether
:12:38. > :12:41.it's right or wrong to have him in the England squad is quite a long
:12:42. > :12:44.debate, but at this stage of the season, not knowing how things might
:12:45. > :12:50.pan out and who might be injured, is it right to be so black and white as
:12:51. > :12:55.regards players, do you think? I don't know whether he has
:12:56. > :12:59.emphatically ruled him out. That is the way to interpret what he said,
:13:00. > :13:04.but he does sort of leave the door open and says he has five or six
:13:05. > :13:07.centre forwards who have played for him in qualifying and they are ahead
:13:08. > :13:12.of him and they will remain head of him if they are fit. I can
:13:13. > :13:16.understand what Roy Hodgson is talking about, where he says, you
:13:17. > :13:21.know, people were talking about him until his hat-trick against Arsenal.
:13:22. > :13:24.There is a bit of a bandwagon going on. A bit of a flavour of the month
:13:25. > :13:29.aspect to it. England don't really play that way any more, they don't
:13:30. > :13:34.play hard balls into the penalty area. I can understand why he would
:13:35. > :13:38.feel that way. I pretty much agree. I picked an England squad the other
:13:39. > :13:43.week which did not have Andy Carroll in, so I would guess it's an option
:13:44. > :13:47.to bear in mind rather than something to scrap the players you
:13:48. > :13:52.already have. He said, who'd to leave it with a wealth of players? I
:13:53. > :13:56.would be criticised for leaving out one of the other forward if I
:13:57. > :13:59.brought Andy Carroll in. He said his not out of the question because his
:14:00. > :14:05.English, and his scoring by not going to pick on the basis of a
:14:06. > :14:09.hat-trick. It's an comment. I'm a firm believer that the group has had
:14:10. > :14:16.such a successful qualification period that we are really looking at
:14:17. > :14:19.the basics of someone having two really good games, one exceptional
:14:20. > :14:22.game, at hat-trick, and this conversation would not be happening
:14:23. > :14:26.before this game because it not delivered what he has delivered.
:14:27. > :14:29.That, from a player 's point of view, I think it's important that
:14:30. > :14:33.that group who have been together building the group, Roy Hodgson is
:14:34. > :14:37.gone with over the qualification period, he trusts, I think it's
:14:38. > :14:42.important they stayed together. I totally agree with Roy. I'm agreeing
:14:43. > :14:45.with you and thinking it would be foolish to say now definitively, I
:14:46. > :14:49.will not pick him because who knows who will be injured or whatever,
:14:50. > :14:56.but, if I was picking a squad now I wouldn't have Andy Carroll on it. We
:14:57. > :14:59.are relatively blessed in the forwards that we have going into
:15:00. > :15:03.this tournament and we have not been able to say that for too long. I
:15:04. > :15:08.think, for me, the emergence of Harry came really, is the first name
:15:09. > :15:12.on the team sheet, one of the massive positives for this England
:15:13. > :15:16.side and that is symptomatic of a very healthy situation among the
:15:17. > :15:21.forwards, so on the back of one hat-trick against Arsenal, you know,
:15:22. > :15:25.I think Andy Carroll is a fine player in some ways but it would not
:15:26. > :15:31.be in my squad to go to the Rose at this point. -- Euros. The offer
:15:32. > :15:35.something totally different. Especially in an international
:15:36. > :15:38.tournament where players might not be used to coping with what he
:15:39. > :15:46.delivers. He does offer something different in that sense.
:15:47. > :15:56.But it is so different that it does not fit into the way they have gone
:15:57. > :16:05.over the last couple of years. You can understand West Ham fans
:16:06. > :16:11.thinking he should play. Aaron Cresswell has had an excellent
:16:12. > :16:16.season, but I am sure that is not a prejudice against West Ham. Let's
:16:17. > :16:19.move on to the game at Old Trafford, Manchester United against Aston
:16:20. > :16:27.Villa and Aston Villa relegated with that defeat. You knew this was going
:16:28. > :16:33.to happen for some time, has that helped in the way for you to get
:16:34. > :16:41.your head around it? I would not say it has helped. It is never nice to
:16:42. > :16:46.see if confirmed, but it has been on the cards for a while and now it is
:16:47. > :16:50.official. Hopefully it is a way of people's shoulders and we can go
:16:51. > :16:57.into the last four games with a bit of freedom still with something to
:16:58. > :17:00.prove and prove to the fans that we have still got the fight in us and
:17:01. > :17:07.give them a performance they deserve. That interview, and he did
:17:08. > :17:14.a similar interview for other TV stations, has got Aston Villa fans
:17:15. > :17:19.very angry. Martin says, doesn't his feeble comment surmount all fans
:17:20. > :17:23.feeling of contempt for today's footballers? That is putting all of
:17:24. > :17:31.the footballers in one basket. Can you understand their anger? Yes, I
:17:32. > :17:37.can. I like Joleon Lescott and he is a decent player and a good player.
:17:38. > :17:43.He has made a pig's year of the last few months. He has made some bad
:17:44. > :17:49.missteps this season, personally in terms of off the field stuff, that
:17:50. > :17:54.we do of the sports car and the aftermath of it was badly handled.
:17:55. > :18:01.That is another one. It does not sound good. I feel for him a little
:18:02. > :18:11.bit. I have less sympathy for somebody like Gabriel Agbonlahor who
:18:12. > :18:14.is pictured in Dubai at parties and a couple of weeks ago posted a
:18:15. > :18:21.picture of a bottle of water and said, here you go. Last week he gets
:18:22. > :18:25.put on a fitness programme for two weeks because he is not fit enough
:18:26. > :18:33.to play. That is an appalling way to treat the fans. In this kind of
:18:34. > :18:37.season to be behaving like that, to not even be fit enough to play... I
:18:38. > :18:42.know the media in general are accused of saying when they have a
:18:43. > :18:46.week of when they go to Dubai, are they not allowed to have a life? Of
:18:47. > :18:53.course they are and baby sometimes we go too far with that, but that
:18:54. > :18:57.applies to all walks of life. I cannot remember his name, but the
:18:58. > :19:04.head of the Environment Agency was on holiday when the flood happened
:19:05. > :19:08.and he was criticised for it. In life if you are having a desperate
:19:09. > :19:12.time in your job and people are looking to you for an example and
:19:13. > :19:16.you are going off on holiday and being pictured on holiday when your
:19:17. > :19:20.club is having one of its most miserable seasons for three decades,
:19:21. > :19:31.you are asking for everything you get. Well... It is a very tough one.
:19:32. > :19:35.Do you have to take into account as a player where your club is before
:19:36. > :19:40.you decide what you do with your personal life? I would not go that
:19:41. > :19:44.extreme, but Ollie makes a valid point. It is fine to use that
:19:45. > :19:49.downtime and it is important to use it in the right way so you come back
:19:50. > :19:52.fresh and everybody comes back raring to go. Two different people
:19:53. > :19:57.in different stages of their life, to some people that might mean a
:19:58. > :20:03.family holiday, to others and nightclub on Saturday. But the whole
:20:04. > :20:06.social media and the tweeting of it is a little bit goading in that
:20:07. > :20:14.sense and it has not helped his position. Nobody is denying him a
:20:15. > :20:20.break, to go and rest, or to relax mentally, but there is a way of
:20:21. > :20:24.going about it. The social media corps Joleon Lescott out as well and
:20:25. > :20:29.it reflected him so badly and it can be dangerous. The team has been
:20:30. > :20:35.drifting for at least three or four years, even six years. I think that
:20:36. > :20:44.is what you get. When a club and a team is drifting, people stop taking
:20:45. > :20:49.responsibility. You look at their performances and the headlines they
:20:50. > :20:55.have created, there has been a real lack of fight in that team. It is
:20:56. > :21:01.not like they have gone down fighting, they are players who seem
:21:02. > :21:07.to have just taken their foot off the pedal, but the club has taken
:21:08. > :21:14.its foot off the pedal. Randy Lerner spent a little less money, having
:21:15. > :21:21.sold some players, but there is a lot of ambition. They have rarely
:21:22. > :21:27.been out of the bottom six in the last five years. It is not
:21:28. > :21:32.surprising it has come to this. It has been waiting to happen for a
:21:33. > :21:37.long time. I would agree and highlights the good job that Lambert
:21:38. > :21:43.did there. When you limit resources for that period of time it ends up
:21:44. > :21:47.in one way and that is relegation. We talked earlier about Nigel
:21:48. > :21:57.Pearson and he is favourite for the job. If he phoned you up and said,
:21:58. > :22:03.should be good for Nigel Pearson, what would you say? Absolutely, he
:22:04. > :22:07.has got the personality and character to deal with that
:22:08. > :22:11.situation at the moment, and he is a strong character, so maybe he needs
:22:12. > :22:15.that with the board and the players, to have that kind of strength. He is
:22:16. > :22:21.definitely the person to achieve that. I agree. My one caveat would
:22:22. > :22:26.be something that Matt just touched on. When the owner is not investing
:22:27. > :22:33.and when they want to sell, that filters down. Paul Lambert has got a
:22:34. > :22:38.bad rap. I thought he did a half decent job with the resources that
:22:39. > :22:43.he had and the way they have gone into freefall since he has left
:22:44. > :22:46.suggests that as well. Until the situation with Randy Lerner is
:22:47. > :22:51.sorted out and he decides whether he wants to commit or not, whoever
:22:52. > :22:58.comes in has got an upward struggle. Simon says I have been with them
:22:59. > :23:02.since Maine 1980s, in my opinion rebuild. Not a single player is fit
:23:03. > :23:07.to wear the shirt, they do not care about the club, please lead. Alex
:23:08. > :23:12.says it has been a wild ride of ups and downs and that is football and
:23:13. > :23:18.we will be back. Pete is a West Brom fan who has a received so much abuse
:23:19. > :23:24.from Villa fans says, it is brilliant to see them relegated.
:23:25. > :23:28.Does all the talk about Villa described the fact that from
:23:29. > :23:36.Manchester point of view beaten 1-0 at home is not a good result? Yes,
:23:37. > :23:44.we would regard it as a famous victory. 1-0 at home to Aston Villa
:23:45. > :23:50.at the moment is not a good result. A lot of teams have run up big
:23:51. > :23:52.victories against them. It almost looks like a training ground
:23:53. > :24:02.exercise at times playing Aston Villa. Do you look at next week's FA
:24:03. > :24:05.Cup semifinals as one semifinal on the Sunday between Watford and
:24:06. > :24:10.Crystal Palace between two teams and two sets of teams who want to win
:24:11. > :24:17.the FA Cup, and the one on the Saturday with two sets of fans that
:24:18. > :24:21.if they won the cup, they will keep hold of their manager? That is a
:24:22. > :24:30.very loaded question. You have done this show before. That is your
:24:31. > :24:38.style. I know what you mean. I still think it is all that United have got
:24:39. > :24:42.left. I kind of think that Louis van Gaal, that the way Manchester United
:24:43. > :24:46.are playing, and the problems they have had this season, should have
:24:47. > :24:49.been enough to make up mind already about what is happening to them,
:24:50. > :24:57.about whether they win the FA Cup or not. But I think they clearly are
:24:58. > :25:05.struggling. I think some United fans are definitely worried that that
:25:06. > :25:12.will pave over the cracks. As for Everton, again I am increasingly
:25:13. > :25:15.aware of the strength and feeling against Roberto Martinez. That
:25:16. > :25:20.increased in the way he handled the Leighton Baines issue. Most of us
:25:21. > :25:27.would have applauded Leighton Baines for a bit of honesty. For him to be
:25:28. > :25:33.perhaps humiliated, which is maybe too strong a word, but made to
:25:34. > :25:37.apologise seemed a bit ridiculous. Certainly I agree with your general
:25:38. > :25:43.point that there are two clubs who have got big problems. But turning
:25:44. > :25:48.down the chance to play in the cup final would be too strong. But
:25:49. > :25:55.clearly it would be a bit bittersweet for whoever wins it. One
:25:56. > :26:00.of the positive stats coming out from Manchester United is they have
:26:01. > :26:04.kept four or five clean sheet in a row and that is the talking point of
:26:05. > :26:13.their success at the moment and that is a positive thing and they have
:26:14. > :26:17.grown defensively. If they don't qualify for the Champions League,
:26:18. > :26:22.this season is a big failure for Manchester United, it is a huge step
:26:23. > :26:27.back. When they qualified for the Champions League it looked like they
:26:28. > :26:33.were on an upwards trajectory. If they do not qualify, to me that
:26:34. > :26:37.should mark the end of his tenure. In Everton do you think the board
:26:38. > :26:44.will see it as a success if they win the FA Cup? They have not won
:26:45. > :26:50.anything since 1995. If you asked the fans at the beginning would you
:26:51. > :26:57.accept mid-table and scrapping, or winning a trophy, I'm sure they
:26:58. > :26:59.would accept it. They have had a difficult and unimpressive season
:27:00. > :27:03.and they are seemingly going backwards. But if they win the FA
:27:04. > :27:10.Cup it would be massive for that club. I am sure they would bite your
:27:11. > :27:14.hands off to win the FA Cup and I am sure they would be more than happy
:27:15. > :27:21.if it was the FA Cup plus Robert Martinez. He is not as some people
:27:22. > :27:27.say a fraud. I have heard some people say that, I keep seeing it on
:27:28. > :27:32.twitter. He is not a fraud. What annoys people about him is the way
:27:33. > :27:41.he will top up things and call a mediocre performance phenomenal. He
:27:42. > :27:47.probably needs to change that rather than the performers are the results
:27:48. > :27:50.that are upsetting people. I will take some time to come up with
:27:51. > :27:58.another loaded question for my guests. Let's get the team news. It
:27:59. > :28:03.is the usual and very familiar Leicester City team for a sixth
:28:04. > :28:09.consecutive match, the same team in 12 of the last 14 games. The only
:28:10. > :28:13.changes are on the substitutes programmer best. In West Ham there
:28:14. > :28:23.are five changes from the FA Cup starting line-up in midweek. Andy
:28:24. > :28:26.Carroll is a substitute and Winston Reid is able to start having
:28:27. > :28:32.recovered from a slight hamstring injury. The mood here among the
:28:33. > :28:38.Leicester City supporters is unashamedly Boyett. Andy Gillies
:28:39. > :28:45.will be watching Bournemouth against Liverpool. Unlike John Maas is not
:28:46. > :28:49.my strong point and Liverpool have made ten changes from their starting
:28:50. > :28:57.line-up against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday. I mean how is a change,
:28:58. > :29:09.Daniel Sturridge will start for the first time.
:29:10. > :29:19.As for Bournemouth there is just one change. Stanislaus is fit. Matthew
:29:20. > :29:22.Upson, from a Liverpool perspective, no hiding where their priorities are
:29:23. > :29:28.between now and the end of the season. Absolutely. You could not
:29:29. > :29:32.help but get absorbed with that game on Thursday evening. I was at home
:29:33. > :29:36.and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The atmosphere and the tempo they play
:29:37. > :29:42.at is a joy to watch. It is really exciting. Paul Wilson in the
:29:43. > :29:46.Observer has written, given her the season has gone and the stories that
:29:47. > :29:50.are here, there and everywhere, it might be worth having a flutter on
:29:51. > :29:54.city and Liverpool to win their respective European trophies. It
:29:55. > :29:59.would not surprise anybody. It has been that kind of season. It has
:30:00. > :30:03.been a magnificent season from start to finish in terms of the
:30:04. > :30:10.uncertainty. Perhaps not in terms of the quality, but that is a
:30:11. > :30:14.curmudgeonly kind of point. Liverpool's performance against
:30:15. > :30:20.Borussia Dortmund, I do not know how best to sum it up, I wish I had been
:30:21. > :30:26.there. It was amazing to watch even on TV. It was an amazing occasion.
:30:27. > :30:29.Anfield still has the capability of producing things like that like no
:30:30. > :30:37.other English stadium does. Jurgen Klopp mentioned and field
:30:38. > :30:41.before the game talking about it being a home tie. It's not so much
:30:42. > :30:47.about the away goal but the fact we are at home. It was never clear case
:30:48. > :30:51.for me than him putting the ball into the end of the net at the end
:30:52. > :30:56.of the match. I thought that when you saw the draw on the Friday, it
:30:57. > :31:00.wasn't necessarily that big a deal, who they drew, it was probably more
:31:01. > :31:04.important that they get the second leg at home so that, if they need
:31:05. > :31:10.to, they will replicate the atmosphere whatever. Well, they will
:31:11. > :31:15.think whatever the scoreline is, 3-0 down after the first leg, they will
:31:16. > :31:18.think we have got out of this before. Borussia Dortmund, many
:31:19. > :31:23.people regard as one of the best teams in Europe currently, they will
:31:24. > :31:28.feel that they can beat anyone in the second leg. I do feel that
:31:29. > :31:35.perhaps people are underestimating the Villa Royale and Shakhtar
:31:36. > :31:41.Donetsk. On the basis of Liverpool's league form, they are a team in
:31:42. > :31:46.transition. It is that Anfield factor. It is the Jurgen Klopp
:31:47. > :31:50.factor, perhaps, that will make them feel they can do it. Let's move on
:31:51. > :31:54.to the relegation battle, starting with Newcastle, who beat Swansea 3-0
:31:55. > :31:59.at Saint James Park yesterday. When they were beaten last weekend, at
:32:00. > :32:05.Southampton, this centre-half said, "We need more heart, more desire,
:32:06. > :32:11.bigger characters on the pitch." He was asked about those comments
:32:12. > :32:15.yesterday. I thought I might get a little bit of stick in the changing
:32:16. > :32:20.room, but everyone thinks the same. It just needed one player to say it.
:32:21. > :32:27.I'm not saying it made any difference today that it needed to
:32:28. > :32:31.be said. Sooner or later. It just shows, it doesn't matter how good
:32:32. > :32:36.you are, if you play like that, with that heart and desire, and that
:32:37. > :32:38.fight, which these Newcastle fans love, then, you know, the
:32:39. > :32:44.frustrating thing is, we should have been doing this all season. But now
:32:45. > :32:49.we've just got to put this one behind us and focus on Tuesday, an
:32:50. > :32:54.even bigger game. Matthew Upson, when you listen to that, and I
:32:55. > :32:57.realise you can't pick a team based on post-match interviews, is there a
:32:58. > :33:06.part of the witch thing, if I was Newcastle, I would at least build my
:33:07. > :33:11.defence around him -- Norwich thing. Absolutely. Some people can construe
:33:12. > :33:13.that type of comment or interview with a young player who is
:33:14. > :33:18.relatively inexperienced at that level in a way of maybe a bit of
:33:19. > :33:23.arrogance or talking above his station, or as a young man trying to
:33:24. > :33:27.stand up for what he believes in and how he thinks the game should be
:33:28. > :33:34.played. You have to respect it. To make those comments, the only thing
:33:35. > :33:39.you have to do, I believe, is show those traits on the pitch. I think
:33:40. > :33:46.he has. From what he has, he's had a license to make those comments. Fans
:33:47. > :33:50.want that, don't they? At the moment, I don't know whether it's a
:33:51. > :33:56.turning point, but fans want their manager and their players to be
:33:57. > :33:59.honest. Everton fans with Leighton Baines, absolutely behind him.
:34:00. > :34:04.Newcastle fans recognise exactly Lascelles says but if you gave a
:34:05. > :34:09.Joleon Lescott type of interview, Roberto Martinez type, that riles up
:34:10. > :34:17.the fans. Yes, what Lascelles said is absolutely right about Newcastle.
:34:18. > :34:20.We talked earlier about Aston Villa jesting and Newcastle have drifted
:34:21. > :34:25.and has been a loss of fight, a loss of focus and Newcastle have some
:34:26. > :34:29.really good, really talented players. I think if those players
:34:30. > :34:33.we're all pulling in the same direction and knew which way to go,
:34:34. > :34:36.they were sat upright, which they perhaps have not been over the past
:34:37. > :34:40.couple of seasons, then they would be a decent team for them they
:34:41. > :34:45.should not be scrapping the bottom. I know they have got some players
:34:46. > :34:49.who have questions about them being asked, but it's more about the
:34:50. > :34:54.attitude, more about the way the team is set up and away, what
:34:55. > :35:01.Lascelles was talking last week about, he was correct, and... He was
:35:02. > :35:06.saying what we were all thinking. What we have been thinking for some
:35:07. > :35:09.time. Good luck to him. I get the impression, he was slightly uneasy
:35:10. > :35:16.about it. It's almost as if he broke the players code in a way. But I
:35:17. > :35:20.think, he did the right thing, because he's only articulating what
:35:21. > :35:24.the rest of us are thinking really. I was just about to say I wish I had
:35:25. > :35:30.the confidence to have said that at that age. I definitely didn't at his
:35:31. > :35:36.age. It's a real positive thing. It's just your relying on people to
:35:37. > :35:39.construe that in a constructive way and I think it should be, in the
:35:40. > :35:43.dressing room, amongst good characters and men who want to do
:35:44. > :35:47.well, it would get construed in the right way. You see it in rugby a
:35:48. > :35:52.lot, in a group able to give each other critique in a way which is
:35:53. > :35:55.constructive. The only thing with football, in a dressing room or any
:35:56. > :35:59.particular dressing room, it gets received in the right way. But
:36:00. > :36:03.clearly, that's not his concern for some what he is saying is right.
:36:04. > :36:07.Fair play to him coming is a confident young man to say it. You
:36:08. > :36:13.presumably know if he had said that at different stages of his career,
:36:14. > :36:16.some dressings would not have taken it. Possibly, but others may have
:36:17. > :36:21.acted in a positive way. You can't think about that as a player. You
:36:22. > :36:24.have to say what you believe in. The supporters appreciated and people
:36:25. > :36:28.take note of you trying to do the right thing. They have some
:36:29. > :36:32.interesting pictures coming up, Newcastle. A huge improvement but we
:36:33. > :36:37.still need wins against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, says James.
:36:38. > :36:43.Newcastle could be out of the bottom three by Wednesday. How is that for
:36:44. > :36:48.optimism? He has a moderate pride in esteem's performance. It's been so
:36:49. > :36:54.long, I can't tell, Man City this week. Newcastle fans are talking
:36:55. > :36:59.about Arsenal vs Crystal Palace away. Of course, last time they went
:37:00. > :37:04.down it that Villa Park and they will hope roles are reversed this
:37:05. > :37:08.time. I was looking at the fixtures last night. It's going to be very,
:37:09. > :37:13.very tight, similar kinds of fixtures, Sunderland, Newcastle, I
:37:14. > :37:16.think four a their games are against teams who have got technically
:37:17. > :37:24.nothing to play for in terms of relegation. Like Swansea? Exactly. I
:37:25. > :37:28.fear slightly for Newcastle. Yesterday was a little bit too
:37:29. > :37:33.little too late. Swansea, nothing to play for, and I just think the
:37:34. > :37:36.worrying thing for me if I was a Newcastle fan would be Sunderland 's
:37:37. > :37:41.performance. I know it's an obvious thing to say, but it's not just
:37:42. > :37:43.Norwich, they need to be above Sunderland and Norwich, and
:37:44. > :37:50.Sunderland have been showing signs of revising for some time under Sam
:37:51. > :37:52.Allardyce. They are starting to look actually quietly impressive in some
:37:53. > :37:59.ways. That is what would worry me most if I was a Newcastle fan. I
:38:00. > :38:04.would say, I only saw highlights on Match Of The Day, but it looked to
:38:05. > :38:07.me like Newcastle were slightly flattered by the results. I don't
:38:08. > :38:15.know if that was the correct impression. I'm sure the BBC editing
:38:16. > :38:21.was... Never doubted the BBC editing excavation work no, they dread as
:38:22. > :38:25.good chance that 1-0 and then scored two with a late flourish, but they
:38:26. > :38:32.don't look to me like you would expect a Roberto team to look. I'm
:38:33. > :38:37.not sure you would expect it. There's a number of headless
:38:38. > :38:45.chickens in that team. He likes his teams to be controlled. I don't
:38:46. > :38:49.know. It's an uneasy fit for me. Momentum I think is the key at the
:38:50. > :38:55.state of the season. We saw it with Leicester last season. And I think,
:38:56. > :38:58.Sunderland are starting to look a little bit more impressive in the
:38:59. > :39:02.front. I think I have a manager who really does know how to get a team
:39:03. > :39:05.out of that position. And they are looking like they can achieve more
:39:06. > :39:11.than anyone else. That's the thing with Sunderland. If you look back to
:39:12. > :39:15.Leicester 12 months ago, people would say, Leicester were always in
:39:16. > :39:21.games, they weren't getting thrashed. They were always there or
:39:22. > :39:25.thereabouts. You felt, over the last six weeks or so, Sunderland have
:39:26. > :39:29.always been in the games, either missing a load of chances and
:39:30. > :39:34.defended well or scored and not defended well, and that has been Sam
:39:35. > :39:38.Allardyce's frustration. They have got that thing, seasoned pros always
:39:39. > :39:42.talk about when you talk about relegation, have you got someone who
:39:43. > :39:45.can score goals? Yes, Jermain Defoe can score goals and get them out of
:39:46. > :39:54.trouble and they are starting to look more solid, the passion they
:39:55. > :39:57.have got. That's absolutely right. It is a critical thing, the momentum
:39:58. > :40:06.for the better they can build on a result like yesterday's, then that
:40:07. > :40:12.could be key for them. What is Jermain Defoe like to mark? Tough.
:40:13. > :40:18.He comes alive in the box. People look at his stature and think, is he
:40:19. > :40:23.going to... Can you outmuscle him, but I watched some of the Leicester
:40:24. > :40:26.game and a couple of times Morgan or Robert Huth got stuck into him tight
:40:27. > :40:30.and he has a knack of riding a challenge, lifting in self in the
:40:31. > :40:35.air and just bumps off you. He holds his own and there's no doubt, his
:40:36. > :40:42.goal-scoring record, and his stats away from home, it's a tricky thing.
:40:43. > :40:46.Can you leave him alone outside the box and just concentrate on the
:40:47. > :40:50.inside? He comes alive inside and his movement is so sharp so you have
:40:51. > :40:53.the strikers who may get more involved in build-up play, but I
:40:54. > :40:59.don't think he's one of them. He's one of the people who's always on
:41:00. > :41:03.the move and he knows which area to attack, getting across people, and
:41:04. > :41:11.it's quick, sharp movements. Would you worry about Norwich, someone
:41:12. > :41:16.saying it's a bit like what they did a couple of years ago, which is not
:41:17. > :41:20.get enough points on the board before a difficult final three or
:41:21. > :41:25.four fixtures? Yes, two seasons ago and I had an incredibly hard run in
:41:26. > :41:28.and you thought then, well, but they haven't got points by the end of
:41:29. > :41:34.April or whenever it was, they will go down, and that's how it proved. I
:41:35. > :41:39.thought, looking at them all season, they look like a decent team to me,
:41:40. > :41:43.always organised, always up for it. They have got some decent
:41:44. > :41:48.individuals. But they seem to have fallen into a trap of playing quite
:41:49. > :41:53.well and losing games. It seems to be individual errors. Those first
:41:54. > :41:57.two goals yesterday, individual errors. There's not much the manager
:41:58. > :42:03.can do about that. I think he has done a really good job, but can he
:42:04. > :42:09.keep them up? That's a big question. I want to touch on Man City before
:42:10. > :42:12.we finish. Away at Chelsea last night, 3-0, hat-trick for Sergio
:42:13. > :42:20.Aguero. 21 league goals for him this season but has never won the PFA
:42:21. > :42:27.award. No, he should have done. It is not going to win it this year, is
:42:28. > :42:31.he? No. He's been one of the best players in Premier League history.
:42:32. > :42:36.He has been absolutely key in Manchester City's emergence as one
:42:37. > :42:44.of the powers in our league. It is a very strange thing. Lionel Messi,
:42:45. > :42:48.didn't he never win the Player of the Month effectively until fairly
:42:49. > :42:52.recently? There are some very strange anomalies in football.
:42:53. > :42:56.That's one of them. Daniel says, the Bruno could be the only player in
:42:57. > :43:02.the Premier League would get into any team in the world. He makes a
:43:03. > :43:07.difference. Looking at yesterday, the impact, I liken him to a
:43:08. > :43:11.Rolls-Royce, he gets about the pitch, he looks effortless, he's got
:43:12. > :43:17.the power to burst through midfield, his passing is razor sharp, he's
:43:18. > :43:20.clever, and when he is on form, rampant, when city are at their
:43:21. > :43:27.best, he looks like he could come for them. Yes, I thought city looked
:43:28. > :43:35.brained yesterday. Its performances like that, and midweek, it makes you
:43:36. > :43:38.so frustrated that they are performed at such a disappointing
:43:39. > :43:44.level this season -- looked brilliantly this season. I think
:43:45. > :43:47.they would run away with this at the moment, no disrespect to Leicester
:43:48. > :43:51.or anybody else, but I just feel they have the best individuals and
:43:52. > :43:59.they have drifted. Thank you very much. MOTD2, 10:30pm tonight on BBC
:44:00. > :44:01.One. We will see them.