17/04/2016 MOTD2 Extra

Good afternoon and welcome to MOTD2 Extra for the Wii on BBC Two and on

the website. It's lunchtime and in the studio with me from the mail on

Sunday, Oliver Holt, Oliver Kay from the times, and the former England

defender, Matthew Upson. You can get involved very simply. Text as. Or on

social media, and we will discuss a pivotal day at the bottom with

Newcastle beating Swansea 3-0, and Sunderland beating Norwich 3-0 at

Carrow Road, so the gap between the two now just a point. Aston Villa

Madiba 's relegation confirmed with defeat at Manchester United and

Manchester City cemented their position at the top four with an

impressive victory at Chelsea. As far as the back Pages are concerned,

the Sunday Mirror has a story that Sam Allardyce will leave Sunderland

at the end of the season if they get relegated. The Sun newspaper's

headline is a cross-party group of MPs are lobbying for Claudio Ranieri

to be knighted. And the mail on Sunday, one of several papers going

with Roy Hodgson saying that Andy Carroll won't be in the England

squad for the Euros. We will discuss that later. We are going to start

with two of the former clubs of Matthew. Wet Leicester against West

Ham United. Steve Wilson watch this one for MOTD2 this afternoon. The

end is in sight for Leicester very nearly, Steve? Yes, it is inside but

don't tell anyone here that because there is a great atmosphere outside

the ground, gospel singers and all kinds going on outside, but don't

tell anyone in that Leicester City dressing room that the end is inside

because Claudio Ranieri is playing a very straight bat, as he is all

season, still talking about dreams, rather than reality, but I saw them

last weekend win at Sunderland. It was not his title of performance,

but they were always in control and I think that is the key with

Leicester at the moment. They've only conceded seven goals in their

last 16 Premier League games. And that is the way to get over that

line. Do you feel there is a party atmosphere outside, Steve? The

reason I ask is several times I'd been there this season, there's

never been a hint of nervousness. The last game against Southampton,

even though we watched it on television, it felt like the

atmosphere was one big celebration. Absolutely and of course, they have

Champions League qualification and Claudio Ranieri is stressing in his

programme notes today what a cause for celebration that is. If that was

it now, everybody would be disappointed here, of course. There

is an air of celebration about the place by don't think that has crept

under the dressing room door into those players, at all. The great

thing about Leicester's dressing room is the sense of unity, the

sense of purpose, the sense of belonging, and just the sheer

willingness to do the hard work for each other. The hard running for

each other. That's what West Ham are up against a day the tricky game for

Leicester, West Ham bouncing back offer very disappointing cup replay

defeat in midweek for what we know how talented they are. They've had

some big away wins this season, Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool. They

drew at Chelsea, twice at Old Trafford. West Ham are no mugs. But

I do think every game that goes by, Leicester are inching a bit closer

and it does feel now sort of inexorable and asserting their

destiny about Leicester's March to the title. Three more wins, of

course, is what they need. Thank you very much. Where will the dangers

come for Leicester today from West Ham? Well, assuming Andy Carroll

starts, which I think he will, there's an obvious area of threat of

air. The one thing you would say about that is out of the teams,

looking at the promo the moment, Leicester are the best equipped to

deal with that with the two centre-backs, Morgan and Robert

Huth. That's a very obvious threat. Alongside the other attacking flair

they have in set pieces with Dimitri Payet for the these new creative

players at West Ham, they hit the heights of form, and the squad is

delivering at the moment. The interesting thing about the aerial

threat, whereas Andy Carroll bullied Arsenal last week on he won't lead

Morgan and Robert Huth. Both full-backs, Simpson, they cover

their centre halves very well. They do. I don't know what the stats

would be that Leicester don't seem to even lose many headers in their

penalty area let alone concede many goals, but they are both extremely

dominant in the air. A different type of test against Andy Carroll.

There are certain teams you could imagine him bullying, I don't think

Leicester would be one of them. Do think it's hard for... Why is it

hard, rather, for them to wonder whether Leicester because it's

because they play the same team week in week out, so there no surprises.

In this age of DVDs and analysis, and more statisticians than you

could wish for, surely somebody ought to be able to find a weakness?

Yes, but, I mean, I guess it still, I think it's hard for us to believe

they are a very good side. They have witnesses -- weaknesses, but every

side has to fight them and I thought Sunderland might take points off

them last weekend. I have half a suspicion West Ham, I saw them

against Arsenal last week, they are good side. Dimitri Payet is

fantastic. It's a very good new West Ham side. But I think our mindset

has gradually begin to change for some Steve Wilson said this is

inexorable. I don't think so. I still think there are pitfalls,

potential pitfalls ahead for Leicester. But I think we have got

to get used to the fact that this is a very good side. It actually

doesn't have very many weaknesses. No, and I accept that, but every

side will have a weakness somewhere or another, and it never seen

anybody can actually put their finger on where they might be of

ability. You were in that squad last year. I think, at this current

moment in time, I actually don't think they have much of a weakness

because of the strength of that group. The unity they have as a

group, in that dressing room, it's so powerful. It takes away all the

tactical and technical inadequacies they may have. It overrides

everything. Was that the same last year when you were in it last year?

This is a special group of players on the personality wise, even though

you were in a negation battle? Yes, it's what drove them to safety.

Claudio Ranieri won't need to motivate this group. They are

training every day, tackles, intensity, competitive, and in order

to achieve that, with the same group of players, keeping them fit and

healthy throughout the season, the whole club has performed at such a

high level from the medical staff, the sports science to the manager,

everyone around the place. They have had their share of this kind of

success which makes you bullet-proof in a way. It's noticeable. I'm not

going to say they have been lucky, because it's the best story, the

best football story we've ever seen in this country, but they haven't

had many injuries. Credit to their sports science department for that,

partly, but also the thing I keep coming back to sometimes, the same

with Liverpool couple of seasons ago, they have, by not being in any

other competitions, I think it's a huge advantage to a club these days

when they're taking a run at the league. It was a massive advantage

for Liverpool, and it's been a massive advantage for Leicester. Not

having, being overburdened with matches, as some of their rivals

have been. I'm sure there is some truth in that but is also a massive

competitive disadvantage, when all the clubs who are playing in all

competitions have massively bigger budgets. You know, it's a very small

level in some respects, the fact you're not playing every week but I

speak to Nigel Pearson, and he said a couple of months ago, this lot

will win the league. That was straight after they lost at Arsenal

and everybody thought that was it. He said no, the personalities and

mentality and work ethic that group, the focus of them, nothing will blow

them off course. Did you feel it earlier in the season they have

that? They wouldn't blow away in the wind? Yes, because of the

characters. They have a group of characters there. They almost

play... Anyone who's played their best moments in their career is

fearless and it just happens. They are in that moment right now. To me

that's more powerful than anything else. I know you didn't sort of go

down the route of not having injuries is lucky, but Alan Pardew

Kinder suggested that in his programme notes when Crystal Palace

played Leicester. The point that they have had many injuries or

penalties but, from a player perspective, if, as a squad and we

don't have many injuries, how much do you put that down to luck? You

mentioned the medical staff, sports science, it's down to them being

very good, isn't it? They have to take a massive amount of credit and

so do the players because they've ticked all the boxes, they've

recovered, and I also think training properly and the intensity and

aggression you have in training prepares you for those tough

matches. A lot of managers will go the other way and think perhaps we

might need to protect ourselves and step of training but I think

Leicester gone the other way, on the front foot all the time and it

reflects in the play. Aside from the science code is also great team

spirit. This could be my favourite story of all season. Christian full

cut had his birthday party 72 hours before the game last weekend and

Claudio Ranieri was invited to it however he got the date wrong and

walked into an empty room the day before and wondered where everybody

was hiding. What I quite like is the manager is going to the birthday

party in the first place and the manager is more than happy for them

to have a birthday party 72 hours before a game and Foulks Terry

didn't mind me having a glass of red wine. You presume it was longer than

72 hours before. Maybe that's why he agreed to it. I love the idea of him

walking around as empty room thinking where is everybody? He said

in interviews he thought everybody was going to jump out and it was a

surprise party. It's very funny that it is cloudier. Any other manager

you couldn't imagine in that situation. -- Claudio Ranieri. He

clearly trusted players. The trust them to be grown-up for the enjoy

yourself, enjoyed this time. Football is a great thing. He seems

to have -- they seem to be paid his trust. We see so many stories of

players misbehaving quite often those players are playing for teams

who are struggling. When you are winning, you can do this kind of

thing. We will come on to Aston Villa in just a moment. Just before

we leave Leicester and West Ham, as far as West Ham are concerned, a

whole load of articles in the paper this morning is basically saying

that Roy Hodgson is ruling out re-calling Andy Carroll. Whether

it's right or wrong to have him in the England squad is quite a long

debate, but at this stage of the season, not knowing how things might

pan out and who might be injured, is it right to be so black and white as

regards players, do you think? I don't know whether he has

emphatically ruled him out. That is the way to interpret what he said,

but he does sort of leave the door open and says he has five or six

centre forwards who have played for him in qualifying and they are ahead

of him and they will remain head of him if they are fit. I can

understand what Roy Hodgson is talking about, where he says, you

know, people were talking about him until his hat-trick against Arsenal.

There is a bit of a bandwagon going on. A bit of a flavour of the month

aspect to it. England don't really play that way any more, they don't

play hard balls into the penalty area. I can understand why he would

feel that way. I pretty much agree. I picked an England squad the other

week which did not have Andy Carroll in, so I would guess it's an option

to bear in mind rather than something to scrap the players you

already have. He said, who'd to leave it with a wealth of players? I

would be criticised for leaving out one of the other forward if I

brought Andy Carroll in. He said his not out of the question because his

English, and his scoring by not going to pick on the basis of a

hat-trick. It's an comment. I'm a firm believer that the group has had

such a successful qualification period that we are really looking at

the basics of someone having two really good games, one exceptional

game, at hat-trick, and this conversation would not be happening

before this game because it not delivered what he has delivered.

That, from a player 's point of view, I think it's important that

that group who have been together building the group, Roy Hodgson is

gone with over the qualification period, he trusts, I think it's

important they stayed together. I totally agree with Roy. I'm agreeing

with you and thinking it would be foolish to say now definitively, I

will not pick him because who knows who will be injured or whatever,

but, if I was picking a squad now I wouldn't have Andy Carroll on it. We

are relatively blessed in the forwards that we have going into

this tournament and we have not been able to say that for too long. I

think, for me, the emergence of Harry came really, is the first name

on the team sheet, one of the massive positives for this England

side and that is symptomatic of a very healthy situation among the

forwards, so on the back of one hat-trick against Arsenal, you know,

I think Andy Carroll is a fine player in some ways but it would not

be in my squad to go to the Rose at this point. -- Euros. The offer

something totally different. Especially in an international

tournament where players might not be used to coping with what he

delivers. He does offer something different in that sense.

But it is so different that it does not fit into the way they have gone

over the last couple of years. You can understand West Ham fans

thinking he should play. Aaron Cresswell has had an excellent

season, but I am sure that is not a prejudice against West Ham. Let's

move on to the game at Old Trafford, Manchester United against Aston

Villa and Aston Villa relegated with that defeat. You knew this was going

to happen for some time, has that helped in the way for you to get

your head around it? I would not say it has helped. It is never nice to

see if confirmed, but it has been on the cards for a while and now it is

official. Hopefully it is a way of people's shoulders and we can go

into the last four games with a bit of freedom still with something to

prove and prove to the fans that we have still got the fight in us and

give them a performance they deserve. That interview, and he did

a similar interview for other TV stations, has got Aston Villa fans

very angry. Martin says, doesn't his feeble comment surmount all fans

feeling of contempt for today's footballers? That is putting all of

the footballers in one basket. Can you understand their anger? Yes, I

can. I like Joleon Lescott and he is a decent player and a good player.

He has made a pig's year of the last few months. He has made some bad

missteps this season, personally in terms of off the field stuff, that

we do of the sports car and the aftermath of it was badly handled.

That is another one. It does not sound good. I feel for him a little

bit. I have less sympathy for somebody like Gabriel Agbonlahor who

is pictured in Dubai at parties and a couple of weeks ago posted a

picture of a bottle of water and said, here you go. Last week he gets

put on a fitness programme for two weeks because he is not fit enough

to play. That is an appalling way to treat the fans. In this kind of

season to be behaving like that, to not even be fit enough to play... I

know the media in general are accused of saying when they have a

week of when they go to Dubai, are they not allowed to have a life? Of

course they are and baby sometimes we go too far with that, but that

applies to all walks of life. I cannot remember his name, but the

head of the Environment Agency was on holiday when the flood happened

and he was criticised for it. In life if you are having a desperate

time in your job and people are looking to you for an example and

you are going off on holiday and being pictured on holiday when your

club is having one of its most miserable seasons for three decades,

you are asking for everything you get. Well... It is a very tough one.

Do you have to take into account as a player where your club is before

you decide what you do with your personal life? I would not go that

extreme, but Ollie makes a valid point. It is fine to use that

downtime and it is important to use it in the right way so you come back

fresh and everybody comes back raring to go. Two different people

in different stages of their life, to some people that might mean a

family holiday, to others and nightclub on Saturday. But the whole

social media and the tweeting of it is a little bit goading in that

sense and it has not helped his position. Nobody is denying him a

break, to go and rest, or to relax mentally, but there is a way of

going about it. The social media corps Joleon Lescott out as well and

it reflected him so badly and it can be dangerous. The team has been

drifting for at least three or four years, even six years. I think that

is what you get. When a club and a team is drifting, people stop taking

responsibility. You look at their performances and the headlines they

have created, there has been a real lack of fight in that team. It is

not like they have gone down fighting, they are players who seem

to have just taken their foot off the pedal, but the club has taken

its foot off the pedal. Randy Lerner spent a little less money, having

sold some players, but there is a lot of ambition. They have rarely

been out of the bottom six in the last five years. It is not

surprising it has come to this. It has been waiting to happen for a

long time. I would agree and highlights the good job that Lambert

did there. When you limit resources for that period of time it ends up

in one way and that is relegation. We talked earlier about Nigel

Pearson and he is favourite for the job. If he phoned you up and said,

should be good for Nigel Pearson, what would you say? Absolutely, he

has got the personality and character to deal with that

situation at the moment, and he is a strong character, so maybe he needs

that with the board and the players, to have that kind of strength. He is

definitely the person to achieve that. I agree. My one caveat would

be something that Matt just touched on. When the owner is not investing

and when they want to sell, that filters down. Paul Lambert has got a

bad rap. I thought he did a half decent job with the resources that

he had and the way they have gone into freefall since he has left

suggests that as well. Until the situation with Randy Lerner is

sorted out and he decides whether he wants to commit or not, whoever

comes in has got an upward struggle. Simon says I have been with them

since Maine 1980s, in my opinion rebuild. Not a single player is fit

to wear the shirt, they do not care about the club, please lead. Alex

says it has been a wild ride of ups and downs and that is football and

we will be back. Pete is a West Brom fan who has a received so much abuse

from Villa fans says, it is brilliant to see them relegated.

Does all the talk about Villa described the fact that from

Manchester point of view beaten 1-0 at home is not a good result? Yes,

we would regard it as a famous victory. 1-0 at home to Aston Villa

at the moment is not a good result. A lot of teams have run up big

victories against them. It almost looks like a training ground

exercise at times playing Aston Villa. Do you look at next week's FA

Cup semifinals as one semifinal on the Sunday between Watford and

Crystal Palace between two teams and two sets of teams who want to win

the FA Cup, and the one on the Saturday with two sets of fans that

if they won the cup, they will keep hold of their manager? That is a

very loaded question. You have done this show before. That is your

style. I know what you mean. I still think it is all that United have got

left. I kind of think that Louis van Gaal, that the way Manchester United

are playing, and the problems they have had this season, should have

been enough to make up mind already about what is happening to them,

about whether they win the FA Cup or not. But I think they clearly are

struggling. I think some United fans are definitely worried that that

will pave over the cracks. As for Everton, again I am increasingly

aware of the strength and feeling against Roberto Martinez. That

increased in the way he handled the Leighton Baines issue. Most of us

would have applauded Leighton Baines for a bit of honesty. For him to be

perhaps humiliated, which is maybe too strong a word, but made to

apologise seemed a bit ridiculous. Certainly I agree with your general

point that there are two clubs who have got big problems. But turning

down the chance to play in the cup final would be too strong. But

clearly it would be a bit bittersweet for whoever wins it. One

of the positive stats coming out from Manchester United is they have

kept four or five clean sheet in a row and that is the talking point of

their success at the moment and that is a positive thing and they have

grown defensively. If they don't qualify for the Champions League,

this season is a big failure for Manchester United, it is a huge step

back. When they qualified for the Champions League it looked like they

were on an upwards trajectory. If they do not qualify, to me that

should mark the end of his tenure. In Everton do you think the board

will see it as a success if they win the FA Cup? They have not won

anything since 1995. If you asked the fans at the beginning would you

accept mid-table and scrapping, or winning a trophy, I'm sure they

would accept it. They have had a difficult and unimpressive season

and they are seemingly going backwards. But if they win the FA

Cup it would be massive for that club. I am sure they would bite your

hands off to win the FA Cup and I am sure they would be more than happy

if it was the FA Cup plus Robert Martinez. He is not as some people

say a fraud. I have heard some people say that, I keep seeing it on

twitter. He is not a fraud. What annoys people about him is the way

he will top up things and call a mediocre performance phenomenal. He

probably needs to change that rather than the performers are the results

that are upsetting people. I will take some time to come up with

another loaded question for my guests. Let's get the team news. It

is the usual and very familiar Leicester City team for a sixth

consecutive match, the same team in 12 of the last 14 games. The only

changes are on the substitutes programmer best. In West Ham there

are five changes from the FA Cup starting line-up in midweek. Andy

Carroll is a substitute and Winston Reid is able to start having

recovered from a slight hamstring injury. The mood here among the

Leicester City supporters is unashamedly Boyett. Andy Gillies

will be watching Bournemouth against Liverpool. Unlike John Maas is not

my strong point and Liverpool have made ten changes from their starting

line-up against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday. I mean how is a change,

Daniel Sturridge will start for the first time.

As for Bournemouth there is just one change. Stanislaus is fit. Matthew

Upson, from a Liverpool perspective, no hiding where their priorities are

between now and the end of the season. Absolutely. You could not

help but get absorbed with that game on Thursday evening. I was at home

and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The atmosphere and the tempo they play

at is a joy to watch. It is really exciting. Paul Wilson in the

Observer has written, given her the season has gone and the stories that

are here, there and everywhere, it might be worth having a flutter on

city and Liverpool to win their respective European trophies. It

would not surprise anybody. It has been that kind of season. It has

been a magnificent season from start to finish in terms of the

uncertainty. Perhaps not in terms of the quality, but that is a

curmudgeonly kind of point. Liverpool's performance against

Borussia Dortmund, I do not know how best to sum it up, I wish I had been

there. It was amazing to watch even on TV. It was an amazing occasion.

Anfield still has the capability of producing things like that like no

other English stadium does. Jurgen Klopp mentioned and field

before the game talking about it being a home tie. It's not so much

about the away goal but the fact we are at home. It was never clear case

for me than him putting the ball into the end of the net at the end

of the match. I thought that when you saw the draw on the Friday, it

wasn't necessarily that big a deal, who they drew, it was probably more

important that they get the second leg at home so that, if they need

to, they will replicate the atmosphere whatever. Well, they will

think whatever the scoreline is, 3-0 down after the first leg, they will

think we have got out of this before. Borussia Dortmund, many

people regard as one of the best teams in Europe currently, they will

feel that they can beat anyone in the second leg. I do feel that

perhaps people are underestimating the Villa Royale and Shakhtar

Donetsk. On the basis of Liverpool's league form, they are a team in

transition. It is that Anfield factor. It is the Jurgen Klopp

factor, perhaps, that will make them feel they can do it. Let's move on

to the relegation battle, starting with Newcastle, who beat Swansea 3-0

at Saint James Park yesterday. When they were beaten last weekend, at

Southampton, this centre-half said, "We need more heart, more desire,

bigger characters on the pitch." He was asked about those comments

yesterday. I thought I might get a little bit of stick in the changing

room, but everyone thinks the same. It just needed one player to say it.

I'm not saying it made any difference today that it needed to

be said. Sooner or later. It just shows, it doesn't matter how good

you are, if you play like that, with that heart and desire, and that

fight, which these Newcastle fans love, then, you know, the

frustrating thing is, we should have been doing this all season. But now

we've just got to put this one behind us and focus on Tuesday, an

even bigger game. Matthew Upson, when you listen to that, and I

realise you can't pick a team based on post-match interviews, is there a

part of the witch thing, if I was Newcastle, I would at least build my

defence around him -- Norwich thing. Absolutely. Some people can construe

that type of comment or interview with a young player who is

relatively inexperienced at that level in a way of maybe a bit of

arrogance or talking above his station, or as a young man trying to

stand up for what he believes in and how he thinks the game should be

played. You have to respect it. To make those comments, the only thing

you have to do, I believe, is show those traits on the pitch. I think

he has. From what he has, he's had a license to make those comments. Fans

want that, don't they? At the moment, I don't know whether it's a

turning point, but fans want their manager and their players to be

honest. Everton fans with Leighton Baines, absolutely behind him.

Newcastle fans recognise exactly Lascelles says but if you gave a

Joleon Lescott type of interview, Roberto Martinez type, that riles up

the fans. Yes, what Lascelles said is absolutely right about Newcastle.

We talked earlier about Aston Villa jesting and Newcastle have drifted

and has been a loss of fight, a loss of focus and Newcastle have some

really good, really talented players. I think if those players

we're all pulling in the same direction and knew which way to go,

they were sat upright, which they perhaps have not been over the past

couple of seasons, then they would be a decent team for them they

should not be scrapping the bottom. I know they have got some players

who have questions about them being asked, but it's more about the

attitude, more about the way the team is set up and away, what

Lascelles was talking last week about, he was correct, and... He was

saying what we were all thinking. What we have been thinking for some

time. Good luck to him. I get the impression, he was slightly uneasy

about it. It's almost as if he broke the players code in a way. But I

think, he did the right thing, because he's only articulating what

the rest of us are thinking really. I was just about to say I wish I had

the confidence to have said that at that age. I definitely didn't at his

age. It's a real positive thing. It's just your relying on people to

construe that in a constructive way and I think it should be, in the

dressing room, amongst good characters and men who want to do

well, it would get construed in the right way. You see it in rugby a

lot, in a group able to give each other critique in a way which is

constructive. The only thing with football, in a dressing room or any

particular dressing room, it gets received in the right way. But

clearly, that's not his concern for some what he is saying is right.

Fair play to him coming is a confident young man to say it. You

presumably know if he had said that at different stages of his career,

some dressings would not have taken it. Possibly, but others may have

acted in a positive way. You can't think about that as a player. You

have to say what you believe in. The supporters appreciated and people

take note of you trying to do the right thing. They have some

interesting pictures coming up, Newcastle. A huge improvement but we

still need wins against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, says James.

Newcastle could be out of the bottom three by Wednesday. How is that for

optimism? He has a moderate pride in esteem's performance. It's been so

long, I can't tell, Man City this week. Newcastle fans are talking

about Arsenal vs Crystal Palace away. Of course, last time they went

down it that Villa Park and they will hope roles are reversed this

time. I was looking at the fixtures last night. It's going to be very,

very tight, similar kinds of fixtures, Sunderland, Newcastle, I

think four a their games are against teams who have got technically

nothing to play for in terms of relegation. Like Swansea? Exactly. I

fear slightly for Newcastle. Yesterday was a little bit too

little too late. Swansea, nothing to play for, and I just think the

worrying thing for me if I was a Newcastle fan would be Sunderland 's

performance. I know it's an obvious thing to say, but it's not just

Norwich, they need to be above Sunderland and Norwich, and

Sunderland have been showing signs of revising for some time under Sam

Allardyce. They are starting to look actually quietly impressive in some

ways. That is what would worry me most if I was a Newcastle fan. I

would say, I only saw highlights on Match Of The Day, but it looked to

me like Newcastle were slightly flattered by the results. I don't

know if that was the correct impression. I'm sure the BBC editing

was... Never doubted the BBC editing excavation work no, they dread as

good chance that 1-0 and then scored two with a late flourish, but they

don't look to me like you would expect a Roberto team to look. I'm

not sure you would expect it. There's a number of headless

chickens in that team. He likes his teams to be controlled. I don't

know. It's an uneasy fit for me. Momentum I think is the key at the

state of the season. We saw it with Leicester last season. And I think,

Sunderland are starting to look a little bit more impressive in the

front. I think I have a manager who really does know how to get a team

out of that position. And they are looking like they can achieve more

than anyone else. That's the thing with Sunderland. If you look back to

Leicester 12 months ago, people would say, Leicester were always in

games, they weren't getting thrashed. They were always there or

thereabouts. You felt, over the last six weeks or so, Sunderland have

always been in the games, either missing a load of chances and

defended well or scored and not defended well, and that has been Sam

Allardyce's frustration. They have got that thing, seasoned pros always

talk about when you talk about relegation, have you got someone who

can score goals? Yes, Jermain Defoe can score goals and get them out of

trouble and they are starting to look more solid, the passion they

have got. That's absolutely right. It is a critical thing, the momentum

for the better they can build on a result like yesterday's, then that

could be key for them. What is Jermain Defoe like to mark? Tough.

He comes alive in the box. People look at his stature and think, is he

going to... Can you outmuscle him, but I watched some of the Leicester

game and a couple of times Morgan or Robert Huth got stuck into him tight

and he has a knack of riding a challenge, lifting in self in the

air and just bumps off you. He holds his own and there's no doubt, his

goal-scoring record, and his stats away from home, it's a tricky thing.

Can you leave him alone outside the box and just concentrate on the

inside? He comes alive inside and his movement is so sharp so you have

the strikers who may get more involved in build-up play, but I

don't think he's one of them. He's one of the people who's always on

the move and he knows which area to attack, getting across people, and

it's quick, sharp movements. Would you worry about Norwich, someone

saying it's a bit like what they did a couple of years ago, which is not

get enough points on the board before a difficult final three or

four fixtures? Yes, two seasons ago and I had an incredibly hard run in

and you thought then, well, but they haven't got points by the end of

April or whenever it was, they will go down, and that's how it proved. I

thought, looking at them all season, they look like a decent team to me,

always organised, always up for it. They have got some decent

individuals. But they seem to have fallen into a trap of playing quite

well and losing games. It seems to be individual errors. Those first

two goals yesterday, individual errors. There's not much the manager

can do about that. I think he has done a really good job, but can he

keep them up? That's a big question. I want to touch on Man City before

we finish. Away at Chelsea last night, 3-0, hat-trick for Sergio

Aguero. 21 league goals for him this season but has never won the PFA

award. No, he should have done. It is not going to win it this year, is

he? No. He's been one of the best players in Premier League history.

He has been absolutely key in Manchester City's emergence as one

of the powers in our league. It is a very strange thing. Lionel Messi,

didn't he never win the Player of the Month effectively until fairly

recently? There are some very strange anomalies in football.

That's one of them. Daniel says, the Bruno could be the only player in

the Premier League would get into any team in the world. He makes a

difference. Looking at yesterday, the impact, I liken him to a

Rolls-Royce, he gets about the pitch, he looks effortless, he's got

the power to burst through midfield, his passing is razor sharp, he's

clever, and when he is on form, rampant, when city are at their

best, he looks like he could come for them. Yes, I thought city looked

brained yesterday. Its performances like that, and midweek, it makes you

so frustrated that they are performed at such a disappointing

level this season -- looked brilliantly this season. I think

they would run away with this at the moment, no disrespect to Leicester

or anybody else, but I just feel they have the best individuals and

they have drifted. Thank you very much. MOTD2, 10:30pm tonight on BBC

One. We will see them.