0:00:44 > 0:00:50Hello and welcome to Match Of The Day to extra, we are on BBC One, BBC
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Radio 5 live and on the sport websites to analyse the football
0:00:55 > 0:00:59this weekend, and we will be looking at the big game between Chelsea and
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Manchester United, will it be a classic or another tactical
0:01:04 > 0:01:07stalemate? Swansea versus Spurs is the early kick-off with the home
0:01:08 > 0:01:10team in increasing need of a win. And we will look back at yesterday
0:01:11 > 0:01:17is action, including another controversial moment involving Luis
0:01:18 > 0:01:25Suarez. With me is Pat Nevin, Match Of The Day, data Steve Bould, and
0:01:26 > 0:01:34Jason Burt. -- commentator. We want your thoughts, get in touch via the
0:01:35 > 0:01:38BBC Sport website, and we will crack straight on with Chelsea against
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Manchester United, the back page of the son, lose today and it is all
0:01:43 > 0:01:45over for United, and if you Delph into the article, he is talking
0:01:46 > 0:01:54about the season, if they do not win. We are still the biggest club
0:01:55 > 0:02:00in the world, that is the back of the Express. They could obviously
0:02:01 > 0:02:05not fit the words on to make that work! Ian Poulter says, I cannot see
0:02:06 > 0:02:09past United getting an absolute drubbing, Chelsea to score four or
0:02:10 > 0:02:14five. That is pushing it a little bit, but no argument, Chelsea are
0:02:15 > 0:02:19the big favourites. For no more reason than the fact that they have
0:02:20 > 0:02:23not got Rooney, Robin van Persie starting, so they are already at a
0:02:24 > 0:02:27disadvantage. Chelsea are in good form, not losing many games at the
0:02:28 > 0:02:32moment, and the team seems to be working in the Mourinho style, they
0:02:33 > 0:02:40seem to understand what he wants. Big outsiders, but the biggest
0:02:41 > 0:02:43problem for Manchester United is they need to some extent attack
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Chelsea, and that is the last thing they want to be doing against this
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Chelsea team at the moment. Do you see it being as... I was going to
0:02:56 > 0:03:00say Del! Do you see it being a similar tactical battle to the first
0:03:01 > 0:03:04game? Yeah, but we are at a different stage of the season, David
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Moyes knows more about the deficiencies of his squad now. I
0:03:09 > 0:03:11would love to see Man United go head-to-head with Chelsea, with
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Rooney and Van Persie firing, that would make it a different game,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20because when you speak to people within the game, when they are
0:03:21 > 0:03:24firing, I heard Asmir Begovic saying, never mind Sturridge and
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Suarez, Rooney and Van Persie cause the most problems for any defence of
0:03:29 > 0:03:32goalkeeper. Manchester United are weakened because of that, but David
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Moyes knows a bit more about his players. He went into that Chelsea
0:03:39 > 0:03:42game a little bit in the dark, still finding out quite early in the
0:03:43 > 0:03:46season. We are at a different stage, Chelsea have tightened up at the
0:03:47 > 0:03:51back, Jose Mourinho have realised where their strengths are, and it is
0:03:52 > 0:03:55a fascinating tactical battle. When we talk tactical battles, Jason
0:03:56 > 0:04:01Burt, Mourinho is seen as the master, and David Moyes is sometimes
0:04:02 > 0:04:04criticised over his tactics. Yes, it is interesting, talking to Carlo
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Ancelotti when he was Chelsea manager, he was very praiseworthy of
0:04:09 > 0:04:11David Moyes and is tactical acumen, and he talks about him being the
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Premier League manager who caused in the most problems. But the problem
0:04:17 > 0:04:20with his tactics is that he's good at stopping other managers doing
0:04:21 > 0:04:24things, he is good at reacting and blocking other teams and then trying
0:04:25 > 0:04:27to get a result out of that. The problem Manchester United need to
0:04:28 > 0:04:33play on the front foot, and that is where he is struggling. He is
0:04:34 > 0:04:40lacking big weapons. Twice Mourinho was asking us, is Rooney fit, is Van
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Persie fit? Are you sure?! So there is a worry there for him that one of
0:04:44 > 0:04:49them might turn up on the pitch today. I don't think they will, but
0:04:50 > 0:04:54that would make a big difference. As Moyes got the weapons to win this?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57He has got pace in Welbeck and Januzaj, that is the best chance he
0:04:58 > 0:05:03has got to draw Chelsea in and try to hit them. That is maybe the
0:05:04 > 0:05:06biggest chance for me. One of the questions I asked, is Ashley Young
0:05:07 > 0:05:12available, and your eyes rise dubbed as if, why?! I did find it a
0:05:13 > 0:05:17slightly odd question! The reason is, for me, he is the most direct,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22pace player that they have got, and if there is a weakness, it is with
0:05:23 > 0:05:25pace in certain areas. Everyone knows John Terry is not the
0:05:26 > 0:05:29quickest, but his match intelligence get him out of its time and again.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Ashley Cole has been pushed a bit in the last few weeks, I watched him
0:05:34 > 0:05:38against Hull, they were trying to go over the top of him, are you as
0:05:39 > 0:05:41quick as you used to be? He has just come back from injury, and the
0:05:42 > 0:05:45sharpness may not be back, but people are beginning to think about
0:05:46 > 0:05:49that a wee bit, and that would be a big difference for United. There is
0:05:50 > 0:05:55a temptation to put Welbeck there, the right-hand side, and then put
0:05:56 > 0:05:58him in and say, go on, one of that line and find out. But I will tell
0:05:59 > 0:06:04you what, that is a brave decision, to take him out of the front line
0:06:05 > 0:06:09when he is your top goal-scorer. Are we saying with Welbeck and Hernandez
0:06:10 > 0:06:11and Januzaj, that displays that David Moyes is being slightly more
0:06:12 > 0:06:24proactive? I think Januzaj is that special.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27When you see him live, his movement, going back to Jose Mourinho on
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Friday, he was very clever, he is the Special One, he will have a
0:06:32 > 0:06:36great career, so he is already building him up today, and that
0:06:37 > 0:06:42shows he feels... He was pushed on that quite a lot! Even without Van
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Persie and Rooney... The other question was, how would you compare
0:06:46 > 0:06:52him to Cristiano Ronaldo at the same age? He said, I cannot remember ten
0:06:53 > 0:06:58years ago! Clearly he is a special talent. The problem is, Manchester
0:06:59 > 0:07:02United are overreliant on him. They are giving him the ball all the
0:07:03 > 0:07:08time. If you stop him, you stop Manchester United with the setup at
0:07:09 > 0:07:12the moment. Harry Redknapp has compared him and Eden Hazard, and he
0:07:13 > 0:07:15begins is column with this paragraph, Eden Hazard and I once
0:07:16 > 0:07:24spent half a day in a Paris hotel room with my wife's Sandra's full
0:07:25 > 0:07:29blessing! It makes the eyebrows raise. He says he would go for
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Januzaj over Eden Hazard, but if we move it on to Chelsea, he has been
0:07:34 > 0:07:37their best performer over the last two or three months. At the start of
0:07:38 > 0:07:41the season, he had a technical problem, he was going by the first
0:07:42 > 0:07:45player and stopping and taking a hit. Everyone was saying, he is the
0:07:46 > 0:07:52most fouled player in the league, forget about that, get away from the
0:07:53 > 0:07:55player, drive forward. Well, he is doing that now, and he's just about
0:07:56 > 0:08:00unstoppable. From the left-hand side, you know what he's going to
0:08:01 > 0:08:05do, but you cannot stop it. He is the one player, I am looking at my
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Oscars, he is the player that can get to that level where Franck
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Ribery is just now, that is high praise. There is always one player
0:08:15 > 0:08:17that Mourinho get into and develops and creates into a superstar, Eden
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Hazard has got that, and the problem with them at the start of his career
0:08:22 > 0:08:25was he did not train particularly well, he was not disciplined, he was
0:08:26 > 0:08:29a bit scatty at times. All those things have been addressed by
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Mourinho, and you see a much tougher player as well, he has that
0:08:33 > 0:08:36burnished Mourinho approach now, tougher physically, tougher
0:08:37 > 0:08:40mentally, and he is benefiting from that. I did an interview with them
0:08:41 > 0:08:43earlier in the season and is scared, I am scared of Mourinho, no bad
0:08:44 > 0:08:47thing for a world superstar to be scared of the manager. Ferguson had
0:08:48 > 0:08:51that at Manchester United. I think Mourinho has brought that back to
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Chelsea. Speaking of discipline and tough players, we can hear from Jose
0:08:56 > 0:09:04Mourinho, who gave an insight into a tactical approach when he spoke
0:09:05 > 0:09:08about Juan Mata to Football Focus. Juan was playing at Chelsea in a
0:09:09 > 0:09:15model completely adapted to his qualities. Chelsea was playing with
0:09:16 > 0:09:26two lots of four, two lines of four, very compact. We could say very
0:09:27 > 0:09:30defensive. We'd one Number Ten specific role to make the team play
0:09:31 > 0:09:35from that position. He needs a little bit more to go in the
0:09:36 > 0:09:41direction that this team wants to go, and this team presses high, the
0:09:42 > 0:09:48wingers, they do not defend in a block, they attack the opposite team
0:09:49 > 0:09:53immediately in the first phase of their building up. Our number 10 is
0:09:54 > 0:09:59the number 10 that needs to come back much more with the two midfield
0:10:00 > 0:10:06players, because our two wingers are not defensive players. They are
0:10:07 > 0:10:20playing Hazard and Will.i.am, they are attacking players. So this is a
0:10:21 > 0:10:24puzzle, I have to try to provide the best conditions for him to succeed
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and he is trying to do the best he can. He also obviously used that
0:10:29 > 0:10:33insight into his tactical approach to have a dig at Rafael Benitez and
0:10:34 > 0:10:36how Chelsea played under him. The point being, I don't want to do well
0:10:37 > 0:10:42over the old Juan Mata, but he needs the number 10 to work because his
0:10:43 > 0:10:47wingers will not. He is honest about that, I was at Stamford Bridge when
0:10:48 > 0:10:52they played for them, and the team was very fresh in Mourinho's second
0:10:53 > 0:10:56spell, and the big headline news was Juan Mata on the bench, and all the
0:10:57 > 0:11:00shots in the game were of him on the bench, and the Chelsea fans will not
0:11:01 > 0:11:05happy and all the rest of it, the big news. Before that game, when
0:11:06 > 0:11:11they played Fulham, the headlines were that Oscar was his chosen one.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Now, four or five months on, hardly anyone is mentioning it, are they?
0:11:16 > 0:11:20He is honest about Mata, but he has turned that situation around. I was
0:11:21 > 0:11:24watching earlier in the season, really early in the season, that
0:11:25 > 0:11:29style of Jose Mourinho's play was not going to suit Mata, because he
0:11:30 > 0:11:35can play at 10, he can play wide but not world-class there. The big
0:11:36 > 0:11:39mistake everyone made, Mata does not chase back. It has got nothing to do
0:11:40 > 0:11:44with chasing back, it is chasing that way and closing down that way,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48going forward. The best I have seen, the best tackler in the league
0:11:49 > 0:11:51this season is Oscar, and that surprises quite a lot of people. Not
0:11:52 > 0:11:58as a rising as the Ashley Young question! It is still quite
0:11:59 > 0:12:03surprising! But why do you say Oscar is the best tackler in the Premier
0:12:04 > 0:12:08League? Where he tackles is really high up the page, usually about 20
0:12:09 > 0:12:11or 25 yards away from the opposition goal, and he gets a lot of
0:12:12 > 0:12:15transition play. When you win the ball there, you create goals and
0:12:16 > 0:12:20chances immediately. You do not win it back in your own half with a long
0:12:21 > 0:12:22way to go. He is quick, like a cobbler, his reactions are
0:12:23 > 0:12:27lightning. If anyone can remember the game against West Ham, it was
0:12:28 > 0:12:36bordering on funny, how good his tackling was. And this is... Give it
0:12:37 > 0:12:45to the players who can play, they will close them down. He is a slight
0:12:46 > 0:12:49looking player, but a very aggressive football player, that is
0:12:50 > 0:12:53ideal for Mourinho, and Mata is not particularly quick. The writing was
0:12:54 > 0:12:58on the wall for Mata when they brought Willian in, you could see he
0:12:59 > 0:13:02was always going to go for Willian, Hazard and Oscar as first choice.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06You have to credit Mourinho for his willingness to explain this to us.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11As a journalist, I find it very unusual, a manager who will actually
0:13:12 > 0:13:16publicly explain it, not necessarily for the benefit of the player, but I
0:13:17 > 0:13:22understand what the issue is. Totally a football issue. Is that
0:13:23 > 0:13:28the media's Fault? Often the managers say, I am not going to
0:13:29 > 0:13:34explain that. It could be a disciplinary issue. One thing that
0:13:35 > 0:13:38is really... I am surprised that has to be explained, I thought it looked
0:13:39 > 0:13:42quite obvious. Just because of the system he was playing. But the
0:13:43 > 0:13:47supporters were in uproar, he has left the Player of the Year out, and
0:13:48 > 0:13:52he has turned that completely around. Do not forget that Mata is a
0:13:53 > 0:13:57fantastic player, and do you know what? Jose Mourinho will not ignore
0:13:58 > 0:14:00that. If he is still here after the January transfer window, which he
0:14:01 > 0:14:06probably will be, he will be used when he's useful, and he will be
0:14:07 > 0:14:11well useful in some important games. But what about the player's state of
0:14:12 > 0:14:15mind in that situation? Is attitude has been fantastic, really positive,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20and he will be ready when he gets the opportunity. You have been
0:14:21 > 0:14:24there. Twice in my career, when it does not matter how good you are
0:14:25 > 0:14:28playing, your style does not suit the new manager. It is
0:14:29 > 0:14:31heartbreaking. His biggest problem right now is not that he's not a
0:14:32 > 0:14:36great player, he still is a great player, it is Brazil. He wants to be
0:14:37 > 0:14:40in Brazil, and if he's not playing there, he will not get there. And
0:14:41 > 0:14:45there is a lot of competition for him! A couple of anonymous texts, if
0:14:46 > 0:14:50United do not win today, there is no coming back this season. Another
0:14:51 > 0:14:55one, United and even the biggest team in Manchester, Chelsea to win
0:14:56 > 0:15:003-1. Ray says Terry is so slow, I expect United to play on the break.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Tim in Kingston, stop moaning about Van Persie not being fit, I think
0:15:05 > 0:15:07you were just pointing it out! Arsene Wenger coped without him for
0:15:08 > 0:15:27seasons, we always finished fourth, can David Moyes? Let's look back at
0:15:28 > 0:15:31one of yesterday 's games at Anfield between Liverpool and Aston Villa.
0:15:32 > 0:15:39Lewis Suarez 's penalty is all over the back pages. Here are the
0:15:40 > 0:15:43thoughts of Paul Lambert. I thought Brad had pulled his arms away. If
0:15:44 > 0:15:48you look at it, he pulled his arms away and I do not think it was a
0:15:49 > 0:15:54penalty. Had it been the other way around, do you think it would have
0:15:55 > 0:16:09been a penalty? The magnitude of the game, you have to be 100% sure that
0:16:10 > 0:16:15was a penalty. We were just talking about managers not being honest.
0:16:16 > 0:16:23There was a vote last night on much of the day and 69% of people said
0:16:24 > 0:16:27that he dived. What do you think? I thought, Brad Guzan, when you go out
0:16:28 > 0:16:32like that and put your arm out in that situation, there was contact.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Some people say there was no contact but there clearly was. Luis Suarez
0:16:38 > 0:16:44went down and what do you expect him to do? We go back to the reputation
0:16:45 > 0:16:48of Luis Suarez. The game against Manchester City, where Joleon
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Lescott went right through him and nearly broke his back in half and he
0:16:54 > 0:16:58did not get a free kick. There is the other side of the coin. Because
0:16:59 > 0:17:03of his reputation, a lot of the time, he is not getting penalties
0:17:04 > 0:17:10and he is not getting free kicks. Yesterday he was caught and it was a
0:17:11 > 0:17:15penalty kick. Why was it an issue? Get off his back, he has done
0:17:16 > 0:17:24nothing wrong. There are certain players who just make headlines.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28That is just the case. Had it been another player, I am not sure it
0:17:29 > 0:17:35would have been the front page of the Sunday Times. In the Sunday
0:17:36 > 0:17:42Telegraph, we said, fall guy. Does he always gets the blame? I think
0:17:43 > 0:17:47that is slightly sitting on the fence. We discussed it a lot last
0:17:48 > 0:17:53night. It was definitely a penalty. I do not think it was a dive. There
0:17:54 > 0:17:57was the area of confusion around it because it was Luis Suarez. I
0:17:58 > 0:18:05thought the smile from Paul Lambert said it all. It was a penalty. This
0:18:06 > 0:18:09is what I found fascinating. Andy in Stoke, press and TV pundits seem to
0:18:10 > 0:18:20think that forwards have a right to go down if they are likely rush but
0:18:21 > 0:18:25every fan hates it. I am 100% on his side. The phraseology is coming he
0:18:26 > 0:18:30went down easily. He has gone past the keeper. There is contact. If he
0:18:31 > 0:18:35were to stay up, he could stay up but there is no attempt to stay up.
0:18:36 > 0:18:43That is exactly what the fan is saying. It is not the good thing, it
0:18:44 > 0:18:47is not something I like. I spent my entire career trying to stay on my
0:18:48 > 0:18:56feet. Nowadays you try to take a fall. It is not an issue with the
0:18:57 > 0:19:04pace he is going at. If you get hit like that, do not just go down
0:19:05 > 0:19:13anywhere? Did he try to stay up? No, he did not. Are you sure of that? He
0:19:14 > 0:19:19was not actually going towards goal. I would have given a penalty. What
0:19:20 > 0:19:23would you have done if you are Luis Suarez? If it was that night a
0:19:24 > 0:19:28touch, I would have tried to stay up. Things have changed. If you do
0:19:29 > 0:19:33not do it and you go down if you take a little bit of a hit, managers
0:19:34 > 0:19:37were annoyed with me for not going down easily. I understand that but I
0:19:38 > 0:19:42understand the point of view for the fans. There is nothing more
0:19:43 > 0:19:48infuriating than when you get a whisper of a touch and you go down
0:19:49 > 0:19:53and start rolling about. That is the big thing. We are talking from the
0:19:54 > 0:19:57point of view of a forward. We also have to talk about the goalkeeper. A
0:19:58 > 0:20:01modern-day goalkeeper has to be so careful. They know what is given and
0:20:02 > 0:20:12what is not given. The goalkeeper comes up with an arm like that...
0:20:13 > 0:20:15You have to be so careful. I think Michael Owen said, if you feel the
0:20:16 > 0:20:24contacts, you have the right to go down. I think that is really good.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29That, to me, is ultra-cynical. That is the modern way. That is what I do
0:20:30 > 0:20:35not like. I would always give Luis Suarez the benefit of the doubt.
0:20:36 > 0:20:43That incident was not a dive. In slow motion there is very clear
0:20:44 > 0:20:47contact between Brad Guzan and Luis Suarez. Luis Suarez got to the ball
0:20:48 > 0:20:53first and Brad Guzan make contact. A penalty every day of the week. Luis
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Suarez did fall to the floor purposely said another but it was
0:20:59 > 0:21:01still a penalty. John in Leeds, most ex-players are affected by the
0:21:02 > 0:21:05sickness that says players are entitled to go down when there is
0:21:06 > 0:21:14contact. Often this contact is engineered. Penalties for files are
0:21:15 > 0:21:22not contact. You are in many ways the exception to the rule! Peter
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Schmeichel is on Match Of The Day to tonight along with yourself. We will
0:21:28 > 0:21:31put why Brad Guzan came out and we talked to him later on. All of this
0:21:32 > 0:21:35debate has detracted from talking about Aston Villa and what was a
0:21:36 > 0:21:40very good performance by then. They could have had more than two. They
0:21:41 > 0:21:47are setup to play well against big teams away from home. They have a
0:21:48 > 0:21:52lot of pace going forward. Finally, Kristin Benteke is finding some
0:21:53 > 0:21:55form. Once they get three together, that masks a multitude of sins for
0:21:56 > 0:22:05Aston Villa. Can they transfer that to their home form bastion Mark I am
0:22:06 > 0:22:12not sure. They get 20%, 30% of the ball. -- to their home form? I'm not
0:22:13 > 0:22:16sure they will get to the top half of the table consistently. We need
0:22:17 > 0:22:18to stop blaming foreigners for diving, there are just as many Brits
0:22:19 > 0:22:30that go down as easily. Sean in Canterbury says, I cannot
0:22:31 > 0:22:35believe there are people who think that Luis Suarez did not die. Of
0:22:36 > 0:22:39course he did. Opinion to the contrary can only be regarded as
0:22:40 > 0:22:44moronic. At least he is open to debate. Let's move on to talk about
0:22:45 > 0:22:47the game that Steve was at yesterday, Sunderland against
0:22:48 > 0:22:58Southampton. It finished 2-2. Afterwards, Steve spoke to the
0:22:59 > 0:23:05manager and his interpreter. It was a heavy blow to what happened this
0:23:06 > 0:23:09week. A week of a lack of sleep. I was quite tired. I am still
0:23:10 > 0:23:14suggesting it and oversee sad by what has happened at the club. Can
0:23:15 > 0:23:19you assure us have come to an fancy will be here till the end of the
0:23:20 > 0:23:23season? There are no guarantees in football. You depend on the results
0:23:24 > 0:23:32that the team is getting. It depends on the performance of the team. At
0:23:33 > 0:23:37the end of the day, the people in the board, or whoever is making the
0:23:38 > 0:23:47decisions, they decide whether I am here. Are you planning any more
0:23:48 > 0:23:52meetings with the owner? It is not me that needs to make the decision
0:23:53 > 0:24:00to meet or make the appointment. It should be the chairwoman to decide.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05I think we will leave it there. Thank you very much. He was very
0:24:06 > 0:24:09happy at the end. That was a friendly handshake. That suggests a
0:24:10 > 0:24:15little subplot to the situation. He was more than happy to be frank and
0:24:16 > 0:24:23open. All the suggestion, leading up to the game, that it was going to
0:24:24 > 0:24:24affect the players. The performance in the first half an hour,
0:24:25 > 0:24:33Sunderland were absolutely awful. That was put to bed. Adam Lallana
0:24:34 > 0:24:36said there was a concern on the day that there was an announcement that
0:24:37 > 0:24:42players would be sold. He thanked the owner for coming out and putting
0:24:43 > 0:24:45that to bed. You heard me there, I asked him if he could guarantee the
0:24:46 > 0:24:51fans he would be there at the end of the season and he could not. There
0:24:52 > 0:24:57is a not more to come on that. They put out a statement on Friday saying
0:24:58 > 0:25:01that no players would be sold. She will appoint a chief executive. She
0:25:02 > 0:25:06does not want to run the club. She has no experience at that. Why would
0:25:07 > 0:25:11she want to do it? To be fair to her, some of the headlines were
0:25:12 > 0:25:21victory late, as if she is a dream wrecker and ruining football. I
0:25:22 > 0:25:26think they wanted more transparency and accountability. He has done an
0:25:27 > 0:25:47amazing job. It is an unusual situation. There -- at Southampton,
0:25:48 > 0:25:49amazing job. It is an unusual it is a very strange situation in
0:25:50 > 0:25:55terms of the way the club is run. It was unusual. Not a properly
0:25:56 > 0:26:00constituted board and so on. He has now gone but I think he might come
0:26:01 > 0:26:06back. I think there is a possibility he might come back. They have to
0:26:07 > 0:26:12calm the situation down. Mauricio Pochettino has 17 months left on his
0:26:13 > 0:26:17contract. They need to try to tie him down to a new deal or he will go
0:26:18 > 0:26:21somewhere. At someone who was a chief executive of a football club
0:26:22 > 0:26:25in your normal life, there are tweets and comments from players
0:26:26 > 0:26:29about the chief executive. A few past players have said, no one place
0:26:30 > 0:26:38for a chief executive, they played for a manager. Did you experience
0:26:39 > 0:26:44that? I tweeted myself and said I was great! When you were a chief
0:26:45 > 0:26:48executive, did you have a close... ? There are lots of different things
0:26:49 > 0:26:57you can do. It is a relationship between the manager and chairman/.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00That is the important thing. It usually comes true when the
0:27:01 > 0:27:05executive or the board, if that breaks down, it does not matter what
0:27:06 > 0:27:10anyone says, it is a nightmare for a football club. All sorts of things
0:27:11 > 0:27:21go wrong and you cannot control them. Whatever happens, she must
0:27:22 > 0:27:26make sure that that rift is right. She needs to close it down and say
0:27:27 > 0:27:34no one is going. The strange line is, none of the players are for sale
0:27:35 > 0:27:38but the club is for sale. That is a really unusual situation. I would
0:27:39 > 0:27:40hope for the situation of Southampton going forward, just make
0:27:41 > 0:27:48sure nothing happens between now and the end of January. There is a final
0:27:49 > 0:27:53thing on theirs. There is an outpouring of grief among people
0:27:54 > 0:28:01over a chief executive going. Even when David Dean left Arsenal, David
0:28:02 > 0:28:08Gill left Manchester United, it was not at this level. He was an unusual
0:28:09 > 0:28:12character. He was more than just the chairman, he was in control of the
0:28:13 > 0:28:18way the club was operating in terms of football and business. You called
0:28:19 > 0:28:22it the Southampton way. He had very clear way he wanted everything down
0:28:23 > 0:28:28from top to bottom with control over everything. He was intense
0:28:29 > 0:28:33character. A lot of people bought into that. A lot of people did not.
0:28:34 > 0:28:42He has been ruthless in himself. It is quite strange. I hope that
0:28:43 > 0:28:52football does not suffer. They have made great strides. The two
0:28:53 > 0:28:59full-backs were 18. There have been players coming through that football
0:29:00 > 0:29:03club over many years. The big thing is the league position. Had they
0:29:04 > 0:29:08been back in that group, you would be really worried for them just
0:29:09 > 0:29:14now. They have probably got enough of a buffer. Let's talk about one of
0:29:15 > 0:29:18the side in that group. Swansea are struggling at the moment and are
0:29:19 > 0:29:24playing at the moment. They are in 14th position. They are taking on
0:29:25 > 0:29:29Spurs, who have improved under Tim Sherwood. I am realistic. There are
0:29:30 > 0:29:35tougher tests to come. We have had some tough games and done well,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38particularly in the Premier league. We have a belief in the squad that
0:29:39 > 0:29:43we will win every time we take to the field. Even if we have not good
0:29:44 > 0:29:47performance in the first half, we have the mentality to turn it around
0:29:48 > 0:29:52and the quality to be able to do that. I am under no illusions. I
0:29:53 > 0:29:56know it is a tough job, no matter where you manage, at whatever
0:29:57 > 0:30:02level. This is a big club and I am fully aware of that. I was fully
0:30:03 > 0:30:06aware that when I took over. I am delighted to say we can talk to the
0:30:07 > 0:30:09first-team coach at Swansea. Thank you for talking to us. Is this a
0:30:10 > 0:30:20difficult period for the Yes, in terms of results, but we all
0:30:21 > 0:30:26know we have to get points on the board. Can you put it down to
0:30:27 > 0:30:30anything in particular? Well, I mean, everybody is talking about the
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Europa cup and our involvement in that, but I think we have been
0:30:36 > 0:30:39stretched. We have as many as seven or eight players out at the moment,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44and with clubs like ourselves, if you lose seven or eight players,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47inevitably the team and the squad will suffer. Does that mean you are
0:30:48 > 0:30:51spending a lot of time in this transfer window scouring for
0:30:52 > 0:30:57players? Is it a good time to bring them in? Yeah, I think so. Most
0:30:58 > 0:31:01certainly, we have not acted in the market yet, but that is not to say
0:31:02 > 0:31:05there are not lots of things going on behind the scenes. Hopefully, you
0:31:06 > 0:31:10know, we need to get through this period. Within the next week or two,
0:31:11 > 0:31:17we should get people like Jonathan de Guzman back, Nathan Dyer, Pablo
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Hernandez, Michel Vorm. Michu is probably another couple of weeks
0:31:22 > 0:31:25away, but the situation, I am sure will resolve itself in the next
0:31:26 > 0:31:30couple of weeks, but we have to manage the squad, and there are
0:31:31 > 0:31:34games to play in the meantime. Michael Laudrup has highlighted some
0:31:35 > 0:31:40of them, West Ham, Cardiff, he has highlighted what an important period
0:31:41 > 0:31:43this is. Yes, and again, again, one of the reasons, if you are looking
0:31:44 > 0:31:49for why we have not picked up results, it is because we played the
0:31:50 > 0:31:53likes of United, City, Chelsea, Everton, so we have played the
0:31:54 > 0:31:57majority of the top teams in the last couple of weeks and months. It
0:31:58 > 0:32:02has been a difficult time anyway, just the fact of the nature of the
0:32:03 > 0:32:06opposition, but allied that to the Europa Cup and the injuries, these
0:32:07 > 0:32:11are not excuses, but trying to find reasons why we have not picked up
0:32:12 > 0:32:14the points. As I say, we have been in the majority of the games,
0:32:15 > 0:32:20probably a bit unlucky not to have picked up the odd point here and
0:32:21 > 0:32:24there. But the performances, I think if you get the performances right,
0:32:25 > 0:32:32the results will follow. Thank you for talking to us, Alan, much
0:32:33 > 0:32:36appreciated. Slightly unprofessional of me to
0:32:37 > 0:32:44have my phone on during that interview, at least it did not play
0:32:45 > 0:32:51Fat Bottomed Girls! So many players missing for Swansea, particularly in
0:32:52 > 0:33:00central midfield, they forced into a change. Chico Flores comes into the
0:33:01 > 0:33:06defence alongside Ashley Williams, just the one change for Swansea from
0:33:07 > 0:33:09that team last week. As for Spurs, significant news, because Roberto
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Soldado has been dropped, so this probably mean a switch in formation
0:33:15 > 0:33:26for the first time under Tim Sherwood, Chadli makes only his
0:33:27 > 0:33:30eighth league start today. Expect Dembele to be holding the midfield,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35Lennon, Ericsson and Chadli just aired. Like Swansea, just the one
0:33:36 > 0:33:40change from the Spurs side from their victory over Palace last
0:33:41 > 0:33:47weekend. Dan hedge has texted us, Tim Sherwood has played 4-3-2 -1, I
0:33:48 > 0:33:53hope Ericsson gets to play that role, he looked brilliant for Ajax.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59I use a pricey has gone to that as opposed to 4-4-2. Not too surprising
0:34:00 > 0:34:08against a team that love to play the ball. -- are you surprised. Your
0:34:09 > 0:34:18text is absolutely spot-on, you have got five guys in midfield. I agree
0:34:19 > 0:34:22with him about him taking so long to establish that position, because
0:34:23 > 0:34:27watching them from the start of the season, I have been to see Spurs
0:34:28 > 0:34:33quite a lot, and they have needed a number 10. They just did not have a
0:34:34 > 0:34:39number 10. I did not know if Eriksson would be good enough, maybe
0:34:40 > 0:34:45one from that group, so good to see him starting. Chadli, we would like
0:34:46 > 0:34:55to see something from him, because physique wise, he has got absolutely
0:34:56 > 0:34:59everything. Interesting that Tim Sherwood has changed it, because he
0:35:00 > 0:35:02thought that formation was missing under AVB, but he has probably
0:35:03 > 0:35:06listened and learned that they have been very open at times,
0:35:07 > 0:35:12particularly in away games. Even though they won at Old Trafford,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15where they played well... Under Sherwood, Jonathan Lord RoSPA did in
0:35:16 > 0:35:22the Sunday Times, they have gone from a worst shot to goal ratio to
0:35:23 > 0:35:27the best under Tim Sherwood. Didn't they also have the best shots on
0:35:28 > 0:35:31target before that anyway? The chances have gone in, basically.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36They have done very, very well. I am stunned, actually, he has done this,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39because he made it clear that his predecessor had to Blake two
0:35:40 > 0:35:44strikers, he always would, the Tottenham way, and low and behold
0:35:45 > 0:35:49they are playing one. He has been right, pragmatic, I agree with
0:35:50 > 0:35:53everything that has said, but if you make a big play of your manager
0:35:54 > 0:35:59having two strikers, and this is what he will do, and you don't... He
0:36:00 > 0:36:06is playing one off the striker, it is kind of one and a half strikers.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10I am with you completely! I find it fascinating, because once you are in
0:36:11 > 0:36:14the job, things change. He is right to play one striker, because you
0:36:15 > 0:36:18cannot let Swansea have the ball the whole time, but you make a big play
0:36:19 > 0:36:22of the fact that you have two and you do not do it... What else is
0:36:23 > 0:36:26interesting is that he has turned Adebayor around in a short spell, in
0:36:27 > 0:36:31the short-term, which a lot of managers do, with a partner, with
0:36:32 > 0:36:40two laptop. Now Adebayor has to lead the line on his own. Adebayo said
0:36:41 > 0:36:45one of the reasons behind as performance was Tim Sherwood saying,
0:36:46 > 0:36:50go out and play football. Piazon a strike partner in every game. They
0:36:51 > 0:36:59needed to bring this player back into the game. -- he has had a
0:37:00 > 0:37:02strike partner in every game. I want to nip to Stamford Bridge, Steve
0:37:03 > 0:37:08Wilson is there for Match Of The Day to a little later, Steve, we have
0:37:09 > 0:37:12talked about the tactics, all sorts of things, how are you viewing the
0:37:13 > 0:37:16dynamic between Jose Mourinho and David Moyes at the moment? Well,
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Mourinho played a bit of a blinder in his press conferences at the end
0:37:22 > 0:37:25of the week. There is no one better at getting the press to roll over so
0:37:26 > 0:37:31he can tickle their tummies, and he did it splendidly this week. And
0:37:32 > 0:37:35with this backhanded manner that he has, he heaped more pressure on
0:37:36 > 0:37:40David Moyes by saying, he is the right man for the job, I am sure Man
0:37:41 > 0:37:46United will finish top four, no problem, total ability. You expect
0:37:47 > 0:37:54that from Mourinho. What I think David Moyes days, very cleverly, --
0:37:55 > 0:37:58did, very cleverly, he looked at it and said, I am up against a tricky
0:37:59 > 0:38:03customer bowling googlies, what am I going to do? I am not going to take
0:38:04 > 0:38:08the English cricket stands, I will play a straight bat and not engage.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14And that is what he did, he said, well, you know, he can talk about my
0:38:15 > 0:38:18team if he likes, I disagree with him about Rooney. But he did not
0:38:19 > 0:38:22engage, and I think that was pretty smart of David Moyes, because he
0:38:23 > 0:38:26knows, if it comes down to a sort of battle of wills and wits between him
0:38:27 > 0:38:29and Mourinho, in all likelihood David Moyes will end up losing. I
0:38:30 > 0:38:34think they both deserve a bit of credit for the way they have
0:38:35 > 0:38:37approached this game. No more cricket references, it is too
0:38:38 > 0:38:46painful at the moment! We lost again, I assume? Take it as given!
0:38:47 > 0:38:52In terms on the pitch, where will the battle be and lost? It is in
0:38:53 > 0:38:54midfield, isn't it? The two outstanding midfield in the Premier
0:38:55 > 0:38:59League at the moment belonged to Manchester City and Chelsea, and
0:39:00 > 0:39:03when you look at creativity in that area, and you think of the
0:39:04 > 0:39:07embarrassment of riches that Chelsea have, compare it to what Manchester
0:39:08 > 0:39:13United have at the moment, with a few injuries, no Rooney, obviously,
0:39:14 > 0:39:19Ashley Young out. But even at their best, you would say that Manchester
0:39:20 > 0:39:22United, creatively, don't have what Chelsea have, Januzaj, exceptional
0:39:23 > 0:39:26though he is, is still very young. It is too early to expect him to be
0:39:27 > 0:39:31at that level week in, week out. Given that Chelsea's three behind
0:39:32 > 0:39:36the striker are so creative and have added workrate to their game under
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Mourinho, whoever plays in those defensive midfield positions for
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Manchester United today are going to be very important. Darren Fletcher
0:39:43 > 0:39:47is only just back into the reckoning, really, but has already
0:39:48 > 0:39:52become a really key player for David Moyes in that position. He has tried
0:39:53 > 0:39:56combinations, Cleverley, Carrick, gigs, he will be delighted to have
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Fletcher back. I think that is where Chelsea will have the advantage over
0:40:01 > 0:40:07Manchester United today. Thank you very much, Steve Wilson at the game,
0:40:08 > 0:40:12that is on Match Of The Day 2, that is live on Radio 5 live from four
0:40:13 > 0:40:18o'clock. You have written both teams down on a little bit of paper.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Inside Information! And the midfield two for Chelsea, three for
0:40:24 > 0:40:37Manchester United, is where there are questions. If David Moyes puts
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Kurgan were in... If you have got Cleverley, Carrick and Fletcher, he
0:40:42 > 0:40:48will sit back and try to soak it up a little bit. If it is only two of
0:40:49 > 0:40:57those three, then Moyes is going for it. He will have sat up thinking
0:40:58 > 0:41:00about it all night last night. He is very adaptable, maybe not as
0:41:01 > 0:41:04adaptable as Mourinho, but if that is not working, he will change it
0:41:05 > 0:41:09quite quickly. He does not want to be beaten by the time he makes the
0:41:10 > 0:41:12change. Steve was talking about the strength of the Chelsea midfield,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16but clearly Mourinho thinks there is a problem about that, because he has
0:41:17 > 0:41:26brought in Matt itch. He clearly sees an issue there. The once
0:41:27 > 0:41:30specialist defenders. -- he wants. He feels that it is a bold rural
0:41:31 > 0:41:38area he wants to strengthen. I do not think it is vulnerable, but
0:41:39 > 0:41:46sometimes in European Games he had three or four sitting midfielders,
0:41:47 > 0:41:53and obviously Ramirez can play in there. You have got that set,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58someone who can give you an await European draw when you need it, more
0:41:59 > 0:42:02than anything else. On the Chelsea signing of Matic, does that
0:42:03 > 0:42:06highlight, as we look at all the Sunday papers today, people saying
0:42:07 > 0:42:13United linked with this player that, Chelsea have gone, Aaron, this is
0:42:14 > 0:42:18who we need, 20 million to Benfica. Well, they knew the player, they had
0:42:19 > 0:42:22him previously, and they obviously had first option on him. It was an
0:42:23 > 0:42:27easy and obvious transfer for Chelsea to do that, and for him to
0:42:28 > 0:42:30come back and play for Mourinho, he has gone away and proved himself,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35become a better player, and now Mourinho is saying, we will see him
0:42:36 > 0:42:39next season. It is great to get him into the squad for January, but next
0:42:40 > 0:42:43season he will be a big player. In that sense, they had to steal the
0:42:44 > 0:42:47march. Jason may disagree, I don't see a great deal of that kind of
0:42:48 > 0:42:53business being done in January. I think that might be the biggest deal
0:42:54 > 0:42:57of the window in terms of cash. Does it highlight they are decisive and
0:42:58 > 0:43:01Manchester United are indecisive? I think that is harsh. Chelsea have
0:43:02 > 0:43:06been fairly indecisive themselves in the past! One of the great things
0:43:07 > 0:43:09about Chelsea is how they could buy anyone, but you can't, certain
0:43:10 > 0:43:14places will not sell to you, and they found that out with Rooney.
0:43:15 > 0:43:21See, talking about the things that make a difference, Raphael is not
0:43:22 > 0:43:24available, they will have to play Smalling against Hazard, the type of
0:43:25 > 0:43:30player that Hazard would love to play against, so that would concern
0:43:31 > 0:43:34me, Valencia being dragged back. So many texts about Luis Suarez and
0:43:35 > 0:43:41penalties! I know! I will end with a couple. The tackle used to be seen
0:43:42 > 0:43:45as an artform, now players go down time and again. Fans are like
0:43:46 > 0:43:49managers, they only use in relation from their own standpoint, there
0:43:50 > 0:43:54will be no change until fans are critical of their own players. From
0:43:55 > 0:44:02Belfast, Pat Nevin is a dead ringer for my sister-in-law who lives in
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Montreal! Thank you to Pat, Steve and Jason. Chelsea against
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Manchester United on 5 live, and that is on Match Of The Day 2
0:44:10 > 0:44:12tonight. We will see you in a couple of weeks. Bye-bye.