17/04/2016 MOTD2 Extra


17/04/2016

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 17/04/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

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

:00:32.:00:37.

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

:00:38.:00:42.

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

:00:43.:00:46.

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

:00:47.:00:55.

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

:00:56.:01:00.

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

:01:01.:01:05.

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

:01:06.:01:09.

Madiba 's relegation confirmed with defeat at Manchester United and

:01:10.:01:12.

Manchester City cemented their position at the top four with an

:01:13.:01:17.

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

:01:18.:01:20.

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

:01:21.:01:23.

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

:01:24.:01:29.

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

:01:30.:01:35.

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

:01:36.:01:41.

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

:01:42.:01:45.

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

:01:46.:01:49.

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

:01:50.:01:55.

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

:01:56.:02:00.

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

:02:01.:02:07.

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

:02:08.:02:11.

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

:02:12.:02:15.

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

:02:16.:02:18.

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

:02:19.:02:23.

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

:02:24.:02:28.

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

:02:29.:02:30.

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

:02:31.:02:34.

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

:02:35.:02:39.

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

:02:40.:02:44.

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

:02:45.:02:47.

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

:02:48.:02:50.

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

:02:51.:02:53.

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

:02:54.:02:57.

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

:02:58.:03:02.

Champions League qualification and Claudio Ranieri is stressing in his

:03:03.:03:05.

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

:03:06.:03:09.

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

:03:10.:03:13.

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

:03:14.:03:16.

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

:03:17.:03:20.

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

:03:21.:03:24.

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

:03:25.:03:28.

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

:03:29.:03:31.

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

:03:32.:03:36.

Leicester, West Ham bouncing back offer very disappointing cup replay

:03:37.:03:39.

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

:03:40.:03:45.

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

:03:46.:03:47.

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

:03:48.:03:55.

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

:03:56.:04:01.

and it does feel now sort of inexorable and asserting their

:04:02.:04:03.

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

:04:04.:04:07.

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

:04:08.:04:13.

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

:04:14.:04:18.

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

:04:19.:04:22.

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

:04:23.:04:26.

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

:04:27.:04:30.

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

:04:31.:04:36.

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

:04:37.:04:43.

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

:04:44.:04:47.

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

:04:48.:04:50.

delivering at the moment. The interesting thing about the aerial

:04:51.:04:55.

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

:04:56.:05:01.

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

:05:02.:05:05.

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

:05:06.:05:09.

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

:05:10.:05:14.

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

:05:15.:05:20.

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

:05:21.:05:25.

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

:05:26.:05:27.

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

:05:28.:05:35.

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

:05:36.:05:38.

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

:05:39.:05:43.

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

:05:44.:05:48.

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

:05:49.:05:53.

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

:05:54.:06:00.

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

:06:01.:06:06.

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

:06:07.:06:10.

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

:06:11.:06:13.

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

:06:14.:06:19.

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

:06:20.:06:25.

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

:06:26.:06:29.

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

:06:30.:06:34.

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

:06:35.:06:38.

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

:06:39.:06:42.

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

:06:43.:06:47.

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

:06:48.:06:50.

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

:06:51.:06:54.

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

:06:55.:06:59.

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

:07:00.:07:02.

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

:07:03.:07:06.

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

:07:07.:07:11.

tactical and technical inadequacies they may have. It overrides

:07:12.:07:17.

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

:07:18.:07:22.

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

:07:23.:07:26.

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

:07:27.:07:31.

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

:07:32.:07:36.

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

:07:37.:07:42.

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

:07:43.:07:45.

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

:07:46.:07:47.

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

:07:48.:07:55.

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

:07:56.:07:57.

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

:07:58.:08:06.

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

:08:07.:08:09.

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

:08:10.:08:15.

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

:08:16.:08:20.

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

:08:21.:08:22.

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

:08:23.:08:28.

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

:08:29.:08:31.

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

:08:32.:08:35.

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

:08:36.:08:39.

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

:08:40.:08:44.

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

:08:45.:08:47.

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

:08:48.:08:51.

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

:08:52.:08:58.

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

:08:59.:09:02.

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

:09:03.:09:06.

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

:09:07.:09:11.

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

:09:12.:09:16.

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

:09:17.:09:22.

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

:09:23.:09:28.

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

:09:29.:09:34.

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

:09:35.:09:39.

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

:09:40.:09:43.

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

:09:44.:09:47.

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

:09:48.:09:53.

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

:09:54.:09:57.

Kinder suggested that in his programme notes when Crystal Palace

:09:58.:10:01.

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

:10:02.:10:05.

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

:10:06.:10:08.

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

:10:09.:10:14.

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

:10:15.:10:18.

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

:10:19.:10:21.

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

:10:22.:10:25.

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

:10:26.:10:28.

aggression you have in training prepares you for those tough

:10:29.:10:32.

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

:10:33.:10:35.

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

:10:36.:10:39.

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

:10:40.:10:43.

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

:10:44.:10:52.

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

:10:53.:10:57.

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

:10:58.:11:00.

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

:11:01.:11:05.

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

:11:06.:11:11.

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

:11:12.:11:14.

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

:11:15.:11:19.

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

:11:20.:11:22.

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

:11:23.:11:28.

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

:11:29.:11:34.

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

:11:35.:11:37.

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

:11:38.:11:42.

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

:11:43.:11:47.

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

:11:48.:11:51.

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

:11:52.:11:57.

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

:11:58.:12:04.

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

:12:05.:12:11.

players misbehaving quite often those players are playing for teams

:12:12.:12:14.

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

:12:15.:12:18.

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

:12:19.:12:22.

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

:12:23.:12:28.

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

:12:29.:12:32.

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

:12:33.:12:37.

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

:12:38.:12:41.

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

:12:42.:12:44.

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

:12:45.:12:50.

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

:12:51.:12:55.

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

:12:56.:12:59.

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

:13:00.:13:04.

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

:13:05.:13:07.

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

:13:08.:13:12.

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

:13:13.:13:16.

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

:13:17.:13:21.

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

:13:22.:13:24.

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

:13:25.:13:29.

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

:13:30.:13:34.

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

:13:35.:13:38.

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

:13:39.:13:43.

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

:13:44.:13:47.

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

:13:48.:13:52.

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

:13:53.:13:56.

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

:13:57.:13:59.

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

:14:00.:14:05.

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

:14:06.:14:09.

such a successful qualification period that we are really looking at

:14:10.:14:16.

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

:14:17.:14:19.

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

:14:20.:14:22.

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

:14:23.:14:26.

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

:14:27.:14:29.

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

:14:30.:14:33.

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

:14:34.:14:37.

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

:14:38.:14:42.

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

:14:43.:14:45.

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

:14:46.:14:49.

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

:14:50.:14:56.

are relatively blessed in the forwards that we have going into

:14:57.:14:59.

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

:15:00.:15:03.

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

:15:04.:15:08.

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

:15:09.:15:12.

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

:15:13.:15:16.

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

:15:17.:15:21.

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

:15:22.:15:25.

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

:15:26.:15:31.

something totally different. Especially in an international

:15:32.:15:35.

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

:15:36.:15:38.

delivers. He does offer something different in that sense.

:15:39.:15:46.

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

:15:47.:15:56.

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

:15:57.:16:05.

thinking he should play. Aaron Cresswell has had an excellent

:16:06.:16:11.

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

:16:12.:16:16.

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

:16:17.:16:19.

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

:16:20.:16:27.

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

:16:28.:16:33.

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

:16:34.:16:41.

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

:16:42.:16:46.

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

:16:47.:16:50.

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

:16:51.:16:57.

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

:16:58.:17:00.

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

:17:01.:17:07.

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

:17:08.:17:14.

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

:17:15.:17:19.

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

:17:20.:17:23.

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

:17:24.:17:31.

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

:17:32.:17:37.

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

:17:38.:17:43.

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

:17:44.:17:49.

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

:17:50.:17:54.

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

:17:55.:18:01.

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

:18:02.:18:11.

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

:18:12.:18:14.

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

:18:15.:18:21.

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

:18:22.:18:25.

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

:18:26.:18:33.

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

:18:34.:18:37.

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

:18:38.:18:42.

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

:18:43.:18:46.

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

:18:47.:18:53.

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

:18:54.:18:57.

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

:18:58.:19:04.

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

:19:05.:19:08.

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

:19:09.:19:12.

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

:19:13.:19:16.

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

:19:17.:19:20.

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

:19:21.:19:31.

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

:19:32.:19:35.

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

:19:36.:19:40.

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

:19:41.:19:44.

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

:19:45.:19:49.

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

:19:50.:19:52.

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

:19:53.:19:57.

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

:19:58.:20:03.

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

:20:04.:20:06.

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

:20:07.:20:14.

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

:20:15.:20:20.

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

:20:21.:20:24.

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

:20:25.:20:29.

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

:20:30.:20:35.

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

:20:36.:20:44.

responsibility. You look at their performances and the headlines they

:20:45.:20:49.

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

:20:50.:20:55.

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

:20:56.:21:01.

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

:21:02.:21:07.

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

:21:08.:21:14.

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

:21:15.:21:21.

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

:21:22.:21:27.

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

:21:28.:21:32.

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

:21:33.:21:37.

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

:21:38.:21:43.

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

:21:44.:21:47.

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

:21:48.:21:57.

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

:21:58.:22:03.

has got the personality and character to deal with that

:22:04.:22:07.

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

:22:08.:22:11.

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

:22:12.:22:15.

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

:22:16.:22:21.

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

:22:22.:22:26.

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

:22:27.:22:33.

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

:22:34.:22:38.

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

:22:39.:22:43.

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

:22:44.:22:46.

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

:22:47.:22:51.

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

:22:52.:22:58.

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

:22:59.:23:02.

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

:23:03.:23:07.

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

:23:08.:23:12.

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

:23:13.:23:18.

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

:23:19.:23:24.

Does all the talk about Villa described the fact that from

:23:25.:23:28.

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

:23:29.:23:36.

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

:23:37.:23:44.

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

:23:45.:23:50.

victories against them. It almost looks like a training ground

:23:51.:23:52.

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

:23:53.:24:02.

Cup semifinals as one semifinal on the Sunday between Watford and

:24:03.:24:05.

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

:24:06.:24:10.

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

:24:11.:24:17.

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

:24:18.:24:21.

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

:24:22.:24:30.

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

:24:31.:24:38.

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

:24:39.:24:42.

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

:24:43.:24:46.

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

:24:47.:24:49.

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

:24:50.:24:57.

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

:24:58.:25:05.

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

:25:06.:25:12.

aware of the strength and feeling against Roberto Martinez. That

:25:13.:25:15.

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

:25:16.:25:20.

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

:25:21.:25:27.

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

:25:28.:25:33.

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

:25:34.:25:37.

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

:25:38.:25:43.

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

:25:44.:25:48.

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

:25:49.:25:55.

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

:25:56.:26:00.

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

:26:01.:26:04.

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

:26:05.:26:13.

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

:26:14.:26:17.

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

:26:18.:26:22.

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

:26:23.:26:27.

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

:26:28.:26:33.

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

:26:34.:26:37.

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

:26:38.:26:44.

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

:26:45.:26:50.

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

:26:51.:26:57.

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

:26:58.:26:59.

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

:27:00.:27:03.

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

:27:04.:27:10.

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

:27:11.:27:14.

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

:27:15.:27:21.

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

:27:22.:27:27.

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

:27:28.:27:32.

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

:27:33.:27:41.

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

:27:42.:27:47.

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

:27:48.:27:50.

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

:27:51.:27:58.

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

:27:59.:28:03.

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

:28:04.:28:09.

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

:28:10.:28:13.

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

:28:14.:28:23.

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

:28:24.:28:26.

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

:28:27.:28:32.

Leicester City supporters is unashamedly Boyett. Andy Gillies

:28:33.:28:38.

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

:28:39.:28:45.

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

:28:46.:28:49.

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

:28:50.:28:57.

Daniel Sturridge will start for the first time.

:28:58.:29:09.

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

:29:10.:29:19.

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

:29:20.:29:22.

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

:29:23.:29:28.

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

:29:29.:29:32.

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

:29:33.:29:36.

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

:29:37.:29:42.

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

:29:43.:29:46.

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

:29:47.:29:50.

city and Liverpool to win their respective European trophies. It

:29:51.:29:54.

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

:29:55.:29:59.

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

:30:00.:30:03.

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

:30:04.:30:10.

curmudgeonly kind of point. Liverpool's performance against

:30:11.:30:14.

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

:30:15.:30:20.

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

:30:21.:30:26.

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

:30:27.:30:29.

other English stadium does. Jurgen Klopp mentioned and field

:30:30.:30:37.

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

:30:38.:30:41.

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

:30:42.:30:47.

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

:30:48.:30:51.

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

:30:52.:30:56.

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

:30:57.:31:00.

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

:31:01.:31:04.

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

:31:05.:31:10.

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

:31:11.:31:15.

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

:31:16.:31:18.

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

:31:19.:31:23.

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

:31:24.:31:28.

perhaps people are underestimating the Villa Royale and Shakhtar

:31:29.:31:35.

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

:31:36.:31:41.

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

:31:42.:31:46.

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

:31:47.:31:50.

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

:31:51.:31:54.

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

:31:55.:31:59.

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

:32:00.:32:05.

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

:32:06.:32:11.

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

:32:12.:32:15.

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

:32:16.:32:20.

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

:32:21.:32:27.

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

:32:28.:32:31.

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

:32:32.:32:36.

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

:32:37.:32:38.

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

:32:39.:32:44.

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

:32:45.:32:49.

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

:32:50.:32:54.

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

:32:55.:32:57.

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

:32:58.:33:06.

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

:33:07.:33:11.

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

:33:12.:33:13.

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

:33:14.:33:18.

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

:33:19.:33:23.

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

:33:24.:33:27.

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

:33:28.:33:34.

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

:33:35.:33:39.

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

:33:40.:33:46.

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

:33:47.:33:50.

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

:33:51.:33:56.

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

:33:57.:33:59.

Newcastle fans recognise exactly Lascelles says but if you gave a

:34:00.:34:04.

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

:34:05.:34:09.

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

:34:10.:34:17.

We talked earlier about Aston Villa jesting and Newcastle have drifted

:34:18.:34:20.

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

:34:21.:34:25.

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

:34:26.:34:29.

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

:34:30.:34:33.

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

:34:34.:34:36.

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

:34:37.:34:40.

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

:34:41.:34:45.

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

:34:46.:34:49.

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

:34:50.:34:54.

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

:34:55.:35:01.

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

:35:02.:35:06.

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

:35:07.:35:09.

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

:35:10.:35:16.

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

:35:17.:35:20.

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

:35:21.:35:24.

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

:35:25.:35:30.

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

:35:31.:35:36.

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

:35:37.:35:39.

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

:35:40.:35:43.

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

:35:44.:35:47.

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

:35:48.:35:52.

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

:35:53.:35:55.

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

:35:56.:35:59.

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

:36:00.:36:03.

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

:36:04.:36:07.

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

:36:08.:36:13.

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

:36:14.:36:16.

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

:36:17.:36:21.

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

:36:22.:36:24.

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

:36:25.:36:28.

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

:36:29.:36:32.

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

:36:33.:36:37.

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

:36:38.:36:43.

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

:36:44.:36:48.

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

:36:49.:36:54.

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

:36:55.:36:59.

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

:37:00.:37:04.

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

:37:05.:37:08.

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

:37:09.:37:13.

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

:37:14.:37:16.

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

:37:17.:37:24.

fear slightly for Newcastle. Yesterday was a little bit too

:37:25.:37:28.

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

:37:29.:37:33.

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

:37:34.:37:36.

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

:37:37.:37:41.

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

:37:42.:37:43.

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

:37:44.:37:50.

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

:37:51.:37:52.

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

:37:53.:37:59.

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

:38:00.:38:04.

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

:38:05.:38:07.

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

:38:08.:38:15.

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

:38:16.:38:21.

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

:38:22.:38:25.

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

:38:26.:38:32.

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

:38:33.:38:37.

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

:38:38.:38:45.

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

:38:46.:38:49.

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

:38:50.:38:55.

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

:38:56.:38:58.

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

:38:59.:39:02.

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

:39:03.:39:05.

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

:39:06.:39:11.

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

:39:12.:39:15.

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

:39:16.:39:21.

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

:39:22.:39:25.

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

:39:26.:39:29.

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

:39:30.:39:34.

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

:39:35.:39:38.

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

:39:39.:39:42.

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

:39:43.:39:45.

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

:39:46.:39:54.

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

:39:55.:39:57.

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

:39:58.:40:06.

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

:40:07.:40:12.

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

:40:13.:40:18.

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

:40:19.:40:23.

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

:40:24.:40:26.

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

:40:27.:40:30.

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

:40:31.:40:35.

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

:40:36.:40:42.

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

:40:43.:40:46.

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

:40:47.:40:50.

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

:40:51.:40:53.

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

:40:54.:40:59.

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

:41:00.:41:03.

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

:41:04.:41:11.

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

:41:12.:41:16.

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

:41:17.:41:20.

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

:41:21.:41:25.

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

:41:26.:41:28.

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

:41:29.:41:34.

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

:41:35.:41:39.

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

:41:40.:41:43.

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

:41:44.:41:48.

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

:41:49.:41:53.

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

:41:54.:41:57.

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

:41:58.:42:03.

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

:42:04.:42:09.

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

:42:10.:42:12.

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

:42:13.:42:20.

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

:42:21.:42:27.

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

:42:28.:42:31.

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

:42:32.:42:36.

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

:42:37.:42:44.

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

:42:45.:42:48.

recently? There are some very strange anomalies in football.

:42:49.:42:52.

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

:42:53.:42:56.

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

:42:57.:43:02.

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

:43:03.:43:07.

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

:43:08.:43:11.

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

:43:12.:43:17.

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

:43:18.:43:20.

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

:43:21.:43:27.

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

:43:28.:43:35.

so frustrated that they are performed at such a disappointing

:43:36.:43:38.

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

:43:39.:43:44.

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

:43:45.:43:47.

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

:43:48.:43:51.

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

:43:52.:43:59.

One. We will see them.

:44:00.:44:01.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS