:00:32. > :00:39.Good afternoon. Welcome to MOTD 2 Extra on BBC Two, Radio 5Live and
:00:40. > :00:42.the BBC Sport website. Joining me this afternoon, former England
:00:43. > :00:47.winger Trevor Sinclair, looking up into the sky, Match of the Day
:00:48. > :00:51.commentator Steve Wilson and Andy Dunn of the Sunday Mirror. Thank you
:00:52. > :00:57.for joining us. You can get involved, using #bbcfootball and
:00:58. > :01:02.texting us as well on 85058. This is what is coming up. The biggest
:01:03. > :01:07.Tyne-Wear clash in a generation: can Rafa end Sunderland's Street? It is
:01:08. > :01:12.also derby day in Manchester as City and United fight for fourth. At the
:01:13. > :01:17.top, Leicester are eight points clear after victory at Palace. Spurs
:01:18. > :01:23.can cut the gap by beating Bournemouth later. In terms of
:01:24. > :01:27.today's papers, the last ever Independent on Sunday has an
:01:28. > :01:30.exclusive, saying Marini will make ?60 million Harry Kane his main
:01:31. > :01:36.target should he become Manchester United manager. -- Maureen you will
:01:37. > :01:40.make. Andy's paper goes with Aston Villa set to sack Remi Garde this
:01:41. > :01:42.week. The Sunday people talks about Leicester, eight points clear at the
:01:43. > :01:49.top after their win at Selhurst Park. We will talk about the title
:01:50. > :01:52.race shortly but only one place to start this Sunday lunchtime. It is
:01:53. > :01:57.at Saint James 's park and a colossal Tyne-Wear derby and Guy
:01:58. > :02:02.Mowbray is there. Well, they are calling this the
:02:03. > :02:05.biggest Tyne-Wear derby since 1990 when Newcastle and Sunderland met in
:02:06. > :02:09.the play-off semifinals. With me today, two men who faced each other
:02:10. > :02:12.in that game, former Newcastle player John Anderson and Gary
:02:13. > :02:16.Bennett who captained Sunderland that day. Gentlemen, is it the
:02:17. > :02:20.biggest since then? I think so. You would have to say so, most
:02:21. > :02:23.definitely, with what is riding on it, a lot of money involved, staying
:02:24. > :02:30.in the Premier League for next season. It's a huge game for both
:02:31. > :02:32.sides, especially with the way results went yesterday with Swansea
:02:33. > :02:36.beating Aston Villa and Norwich going to West Brom and winning. --
:02:37. > :02:40.with Swansea beating Aston Villa. . The Norwich result mean a draw is no
:02:41. > :02:44.good for either side? Not at all, both sides have to go for it, to get
:02:45. > :02:49.three points. Newcastle have got to go to Norwich and so do we. I think
:02:50. > :02:52.it is between the three of them as to who goes down. We know
:02:53. > :02:57.Sunderland's recent record is six in a row in the Derby, the exam's
:02:58. > :03:01.second game in charge was the sixth and have they kicked on since then?
:03:02. > :03:04.What effect has he had? He's had a massive effect on the team. The way
:03:05. > :03:10.we have developed at the signings that have come in, like Jan
:03:11. > :03:14.Kirchhoff in midfield, and Wahbi Khazri on the left have brought a
:03:15. > :03:18.lot of quality to the team. And the Bazaar statistic that it is Rafa
:03:19. > :03:23.Benitez's second game in charge. Can he turn it around? Will we see and
:03:24. > :03:26.hear the effect he sat on the team already? I definitely hope so. The
:03:27. > :03:30.performance at Leicester was good even though we lost, we looked like
:03:31. > :03:34.we had a better shape and balance to the side. And you have to remember,
:03:35. > :03:42.back in Sunderland's days, they changed managers and always seem to
:03:43. > :03:45.win the Derby so you hope the same effect happens to us. If you are in
:03:46. > :03:48.the north-east and you have not been able to get a ticket to the game
:03:49. > :03:51.come you can listen to it on BBC radio Newcastle, and Gary and John
:03:52. > :03:55.will be commentating for both sides. And on Match of the Day to tonight,
:03:56. > :03:59.I will be trying to keep everyone happy. Impossible!
:04:00. > :04:03.Yes, Trevor, Sam Allardyce said it players' mentalities which will win
:04:04. > :04:08.the game today and in his words, what goes on between their ears. Out
:04:09. > :04:13.of the teams, who has got more going on? I think Sunderland, personally.
:04:14. > :04:17.What Sam is alluding to it staying calm. You need cool heads on Derby
:04:18. > :04:21.day, you don't need players getting all excited and emotionally involved
:04:22. > :04:24.because it is easy to do. The build-up at Newcastle and Sunderland
:04:25. > :04:28.is huge and the players will be well aware of the attention from the
:04:29. > :04:31.fans. I think it is the cool heads, the lad to keep themselves calm and
:04:32. > :04:38.go into the game knowing the plan and being able to execute it the
:04:39. > :04:42.best will come out on top. They need the honeymoon period under Rafa
:04:43. > :04:46.Benitez as well, Newcastle. Yes, and it's interesting what Trevor says
:04:47. > :04:50.about keeping calm for the game. The way that Sam and Rafer have
:04:51. > :04:53.approached it is slightly different, Benitez has taken extra training and
:04:54. > :04:56.cancelled their day off on the first day he took charge ahead of the
:04:57. > :05:00.Leicester game. This week they've had extra training but big Sam has
:05:01. > :05:04.given Sunderland extra time off and then getting them into talk to them
:05:05. > :05:07.about the mentality of the game. To cut out the silly mistakes that have
:05:08. > :05:13.cost them on a couple of occasions. I remember them giving away a
:05:14. > :05:16.penalty late on in one game and they have conceded late goals and he's
:05:17. > :05:19.trying to get through to them that discipline is not necessarily just
:05:20. > :05:22.about not committing fouls or getting booked or sent off but also
:05:23. > :05:27.about making the right decisions at the right place. In terms of the
:05:28. > :05:32.honeymoon period, yes, Rafer can work with it but he does not have
:05:33. > :05:35.much time. For Newcastle, there's a lot of talented players like
:05:36. > :05:39.Wijnaldum and Mitrovic, Jonjo Shelvey, Andros Townsend, now, but
:05:40. > :05:43.how can you get the best out of them and find a system that works? That
:05:44. > :05:48.is why he got them in for extra training. He is trying to get them
:05:49. > :05:53.organised but it takes time on the training pitch. He's not got a lot
:05:54. > :05:56.of time so why give them a day off? I agree with what Gary said from St
:05:57. > :06:01.James Park, from a Sunderland perspective, they bought better in
:06:02. > :06:05.January. I think they are the stronger side at the moment. Of the
:06:06. > :06:09.three players they brought in, Jan Kirchhoff, Wahbi Khazri is like a
:06:10. > :06:16.prototype Riyad Mahrez and Kone adds a bit of present at the back. I
:06:17. > :06:21.think they added in January and made a step that Newcastle maybe didn't.
:06:22. > :06:24.What will Rafa Benitez have learned from the Leicester game? The lads
:06:25. > :06:30.have bought into his ideas and the players trust him to get them out of
:06:31. > :06:33.the situation. A big improvement? Absolutely, and shape, as the guys
:06:34. > :06:38.were talking, there, they looked more compact defending. There was a
:06:39. > :06:42.game plan that they almost executed. They were unlucky not to score and
:06:43. > :06:46.unlucky to concede. It was an amazing finish by Okazaki. But if
:06:47. > :06:50.you look at the entirety of the game, they put themselves about and
:06:51. > :06:53.that is against the best team in the league this season. If that is the
:06:54. > :06:57.standard that has been set after a couple of days of training, who
:06:58. > :07:01.knows what they will produce today? And the fact is it outside -- the
:07:02. > :07:05.factors outside the managers' control are the enormity of the
:07:06. > :07:08.occasion. With Norwich winning yesterday, both sets of players know
:07:09. > :07:13.that they are staring at relegation, the possibility they will be playing
:07:14. > :07:18.Championship football next season. This game will go a long way to
:07:19. > :07:21.deciding whether they are or not. To add to that, sorry to interrupt, if
:07:22. > :07:26.I was in either camp and leading up to a huge game and a huge occasion,
:07:27. > :07:29.which emotionally drains you anyway, I would much prefer to be in
:07:30. > :07:34.Sunderland's camp with a couple of days off, much more relaxed than
:07:35. > :07:38.doing double training or going into direct work. It tires you out,
:07:39. > :07:42.simple as that. If you go into the game as fresh as possible, you have
:07:43. > :07:45.the best chance to win. Steve, can you believe Newcastle have got it
:07:46. > :07:48.wrong again and are in this position? At the end of losses on,
:07:49. > :07:51.Mike Ashley came out and said they would spend money and they wanted to
:07:52. > :07:55.win a trophy and they would push on and to be fair, they spent money. He
:07:56. > :08:01.was as good as his word, and they did spend money, for them, an
:08:02. > :08:04.enormous amount in the summer. They appointed Steve McClaren, who
:08:05. > :08:12.everybody respects as a coach will stop where he goes next, I'm not
:08:13. > :08:16.quite sure. Did they let McClaren linger too long? I think you have to
:08:17. > :08:21.back your instincts. They have given him a decent term contract. He had
:08:22. > :08:26.to be given some time. No one is trying to talk managers out of a
:08:27. > :08:29.job. But having said that, nothing surprises me about Newcastle. At the
:08:30. > :08:32.beginning of the season, I probably would have had them finishing in the
:08:33. > :08:35.bottom half and I think they have underachieved with the squad they
:08:36. > :08:38.have had but they seem to do that every year. I think they will go
:08:39. > :08:45.down. I think Sunderland will stay up. I think... I like Steve McClaren
:08:46. > :08:52.as a coach and a person but I think they gave him a bit too long. They
:08:53. > :08:54.had won two 13 and I thought the slide was irreversible and if you
:08:55. > :08:59.are going to give a new manager time to try to change it around, it is
:09:00. > :09:02.best to give him more than 910 games. I think they probably
:09:03. > :09:09.lingered a bit too long -- nine or ten games. Talking about the
:09:10. > :09:14.spending, they did back McClaren and in the transfer window, in January,
:09:15. > :09:17.and the one in the summer, something like ?73 million that they have
:09:18. > :09:21.spent but if you have not invested in the squad seriously full-size
:09:22. > :09:24.seasons before that, I think you are pushing it a bit to think you are
:09:25. > :09:29.going to change it overnight by spending ?70 million in one go and
:09:30. > :09:32.changing it. -- for five seasons before. They have to gel all at once
:09:33. > :09:36.and if you have been under investing for that long, that is the root of
:09:37. > :09:40.the problem. They thought their home form might have to keep them up
:09:41. > :09:45.anyway and when that changed, McClaren was gone. Andy Hicks the
:09:46. > :09:49.nail on the head, ?73 million worth of players, getting them to jail is
:09:50. > :09:52.an unbelievably difficult task for most teams. At Leicester, it is easy
:09:53. > :09:55.to pick them out but they've had hardly any new players so the lads
:09:56. > :09:59.are mates and they have bonded already and they go out and fight
:10:00. > :10:04.for each other. To get all these strangers, to come to one culture
:10:05. > :10:06.and get used to England and then Newcastle which is like a different
:10:07. > :10:11.country anyway and then to get them to blend and play well together...
:10:12. > :10:14.We are praising Sunderland who have brought in three players from
:10:15. > :10:17.foreign leagues and they played well immediately, Jan Kirchhoff had a bad
:10:18. > :10:22.first game but has played well since. It is not necessarily about
:10:23. > :10:27.where you buy from all when you buy, it is a whizz about who you buy.
:10:28. > :10:30.Exactly, and Newcastle have gone for players who know what the Premier
:10:31. > :10:33.League is all about, Jonjo Shelvey and Townsend in January, where is
:10:34. > :10:38.Sunderland went for players that don't but might make an impact. It's
:10:39. > :10:41.about what you need, looking at your squad and your strength in the team.
:10:42. > :10:49.Sunderland the bidders and a half and they got Kone and his first job
:10:50. > :10:52.is to defence and his second job is to defend and so is his third job.
:10:53. > :10:54.That is knowing your role in the team and somewhere down the line,
:10:55. > :10:57.Newcastle have lost sight of that. Lots to get through and we will get
:10:58. > :10:59.the team news from St James' Park shortly but that derby takes on
:11:00. > :11:04.added significance after Norwich beat West Brom yesterday. We can
:11:05. > :11:09.speak to... In fact, we will speak to the Norwich captain Russell
:11:10. > :11:15.Martin later but Steve, you were at the Hawthorns yesterday. Have they
:11:16. > :11:19.got enough fight in them, Norwich? I was at the Manchester City gained a
:11:20. > :11:23.week before when they drew 0-0. They are making the most of every
:11:24. > :11:28.attribute they have. I think Alex Neil has, to a large extent, you
:11:29. > :11:31.know, cut out the silly defensive mistakes which were killing them
:11:32. > :11:35.time and again. They have kept back-to-back clean sheets now, which
:11:36. > :11:38.against Manchester City is a great achievement and against West Brom,
:11:39. > :11:45.perhaps less so. West Brom were poor yesterday. You know they are going
:11:46. > :11:48.to give 100% and you know they are going to give absolute endeavour,
:11:49. > :11:52.that they are absolutely buying into what the manager gives them. The
:11:53. > :11:55.question about Norwich, the only question is, do they have enough
:11:56. > :12:00.quality in attacking positions? I don't think they do. I have been
:12:01. > :12:03.really impressed over the last couple of games with Norwich because
:12:04. > :12:09.I saw them when they were beaten at Leicester late on, Leonardo Ulloa
:12:10. > :12:12.with a late winner and that was continuing the run of basically
:12:13. > :12:15.throwing away points from positions where they looked as though they
:12:16. > :12:20.would get something out of the game. Alex Neil came into the press
:12:21. > :12:23.Conference and was crestfallen. I wondered if he and the squad would
:12:24. > :12:26.recover. But they have because they were good enough when I saw them at
:12:27. > :12:30.Leicester to get more out of the game. I wondered if they would feel
:12:31. > :12:34.sorry for themselves and think everything was going against them,
:12:35. > :12:38.as it was at one point but they have not. I saw them lose at Aston Villa
:12:39. > :12:43.and I thought they and Alex Neil would never get over that, the mood
:12:44. > :12:48.he was in afterwards. Losing at Villa, yes! I was at that game and I
:12:49. > :12:51.remember the mood he was in. Compliments because I thought Alex
:12:52. > :12:55.Neil took it too much to heart, losing late games and things. I kind
:12:56. > :13:01.of wrote them off as well but the City result and then yesterday, I
:13:02. > :13:04.have got to say, they have got a chance. They don't have that many
:13:05. > :13:07.new players and they are mates and if they are behind the manager
:13:08. > :13:10.again, they've got the chance. They have got to win at home to
:13:11. > :13:14.Sunderland and Newcastle. The other one is a way to Paris. They have got
:13:15. > :13:20.to beat Sunderland and Newcastle at home and they might. Let's talk
:13:21. > :13:24.about Aston Villa because your paper, the Sunday Mira, changing of
:13:25. > :13:27.the gardai, Remi Garde has lost the dressing room and faces the axe, on
:13:28. > :13:35.the brink of being sacked by Aston Villa. -- changing of the guard. It
:13:36. > :13:39.is set to end in the next couple of days. I'm certain this will happen.
:13:40. > :13:43.Aston Villa have to make a decision now. They are playing in the
:13:44. > :13:47.Championship neck season but do you sleepwalk through the rest of the
:13:48. > :13:50.season in a state of the bands just not happy at all, are they just
:13:51. > :13:57.going to watch their team going through the motions? -- of the fans.
:13:58. > :13:59.Or do they start properly preparing for the Championship now? Or at
:14:00. > :14:04.least getting a smile back on the face of the football club? With Remi
:14:05. > :14:07.Garde in the dugout, there's no smile on the face of that football
:14:08. > :14:11.club and the way they are playing, you saw that yesterday. Do you say,
:14:12. > :14:15.for the run in, try to get someone in and get a couple of wins, play
:14:16. > :14:21.some decent football and get the crowd energised and more thinking
:14:22. > :14:24.about the team that could be good enough to bounce straight back. At
:14:25. > :14:28.the moment, everyone is looking at that team and not thinking they are
:14:29. > :14:31.going to go down, not just that, but they are not going to come back up.
:14:32. > :14:36.That is the issue so why not address it now rather than wait for the
:14:37. > :14:40.inevitable parting of the ways in the summer? Nigel Pearson has been
:14:41. > :14:45.touted as a possible replacement but is he a good fit? Why not? He knows
:14:46. > :14:49.about promotion and sustaining Premier League survival. He would
:14:50. > :14:52.definitely fit the bill. And with what you see have seen at Leicester,
:14:53. > :14:58.he needs to take a lot of praise because he's a big part of that. But
:14:59. > :15:01.for me, the Aston Villa situation is diabolical. Tim Sherwood kept them
:15:02. > :15:07.up last year but then I think people who are out of his jurisdiction make
:15:08. > :15:10.decisions about players coming in, the recruitment, the people in
:15:11. > :15:14.charge of recruitment. They are all getting the sack now anyway. It is a
:15:15. > :15:17.big realisation that a lot of the people employed at Aston Villa are
:15:18. > :15:19.not the right people for the club and they don't know the Premier
:15:20. > :15:27.League well enough to be making decisions like that.
:15:28. > :15:36.You have got the new chairman in, and it is happening again, and if
:15:37. > :15:42.that is the case, time for a Changing of the Guard. I think they
:15:43. > :15:46.have declined for a number of years. Look at the long picture, Martin
:15:47. > :15:51.O'Neill, his time in charge... It was like a brief little positive, an
:15:52. > :15:54.upturn in the graph but you can take it further back and they've been in
:15:55. > :16:00.a slow decline for a number of years. No one can turn around to
:16:01. > :16:06.Remi Garde and say he got them relegated, they were going down
:16:07. > :16:16.anyway. Incredible fans, another big club. They have done nothing to help
:16:17. > :16:21.him, they bought no one in January. But they still had enough time, I
:16:22. > :16:28.don't think he had enough quality... But he certainly probably had...
:16:29. > :16:31.With the quality he had he should have done better, if only a little
:16:32. > :16:38.better. They have been abject under Remi Garde. Confidence and belief
:16:39. > :16:44.comes into it, the manager was new to the Premier League, he had a lot
:16:45. > :16:46.to take on but belief in your team-mates, if you have players in
:16:47. > :16:50.your squad playing week in and week out and you think is not good
:16:51. > :16:55.enough, it's difficult to get momentum and that's what we have
:16:56. > :17:00.seen. Let's get team news from St James's Park Newcastle against
:17:01. > :17:04.Sunderland. Here is Ian Brown. Rafael Benitez in charge at St
:17:05. > :17:13.James's Park but the first time, a couple of changes. A start for
:17:14. > :17:17.Andros Townsend. Jack Cobb backstairs at left-back. He has been
:17:18. > :17:23.on both sides of the great divide in the north-east. Sunderland are a
:17:24. > :17:27.point better off than Newcastle but in the bottom three. Jermain Defoe
:17:28. > :17:34.could be the man to keep them up. He starts today. Difficult to make an
:17:35. > :17:39.argument for both clubs to survive. Surely one of them will go, which is
:17:40. > :17:44.why this is being billed as the biggest ever Tyne-Wear derby.
:17:45. > :17:52.Thank you, your thoughts on the team news? Attacking, they are having a
:17:53. > :17:56.go, et al Sunderland deal with that and Jermain Defoe, it's a huge boost
:17:57. > :18:02.for Sunderland, scoring 14 this season. Literally, wrap him in
:18:03. > :18:06.cotton wool, they have not trained a lot this week, get him on the pitch
:18:07. > :18:10.nice and fresh and he will be a danger man. The other game,
:18:11. > :18:15.Southampton against Liverpool at St Mary is and we have team news.
:18:16. > :18:21.Both teams starting the day on 44 points, a change for Southampton.
:18:22. > :18:28.Jose Fonte returns after suspension, Ryan Bertrand returns to left-back.
:18:29. > :18:34.Jurgen Klopp making three changes. John Flanagan comes into the back
:18:35. > :18:38.four. Replacing James Milner. And he captains the side, an honour for a
:18:39. > :18:43.young Liverpool lad coming through the ranks. Joe Allen replacing
:18:44. > :18:52.Jordan Henderson. Roberto Fermino is injured.
:18:53. > :18:57.Thank you. Time to talk about the top of the Premier League. No
:18:58. > :19:04.further else to start, the Leicester win at Crystal Palace. Leicester
:19:05. > :19:10.fans at Selhurst Park, for 15, 20, perhaps happen now after the game,
:19:11. > :19:14.saying, we are going to win the league, they announced on the PA
:19:15. > :19:20.system, thank you, thank you for your support. They are believing but
:19:21. > :19:27.are you? It's difficult not to. To do Ranieri, he has never won the
:19:28. > :19:30.league himself. -- Claudio Ranieri. He has a fantastic relationship with
:19:31. > :19:36.his players and he is getting a song out of them. They have been
:19:37. > :19:41.unbelievable all year. I think the biggest problem... The biggest issue
:19:42. > :19:44.he has to do with his making sure the next game is all they are
:19:45. > :19:51.concentrating on, emotionally, making sure the lads stay on an even
:19:52. > :19:55.keel. If he can do that, I think they have the personality and the
:19:56. > :20:01.confidence and the Menton to do it. It's almost as if there's been a
:20:02. > :20:05.perfect footballing storm... I'm not saying they don't deserve it, they
:20:06. > :20:09.played well, but everything has gone well for them. I read about some
:20:10. > :20:14.stats this morning, about what has happened in this campaign. They have
:20:15. > :20:21.made the fewest changes to the starting line-up in meeting. They
:20:22. > :20:26.have had... Only two teams have had less possession overall. 18th in the
:20:27. > :20:32.position table. Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy... One and two, getting
:20:33. > :20:36.involved in goals, everything has gone really... It is of their own
:20:37. > :20:42.doing, I'm not trying to suggest this is fortunate, they have created
:20:43. > :20:45.it. What I think is significant, considering we have talked about
:20:46. > :20:53.Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, Albrighton as well... Defensively
:20:54. > :20:56.they have got tighter and tighter. When I saw them earlier in the
:20:57. > :21:02.season they look as though they would concede, they conceded 22
:21:03. > :21:09.goals in the first 17 or 18 games and only seven I think, in the last
:21:10. > :21:18.14. All of a sudden, they are the most difficult team to beat as well
:21:19. > :21:21.as being the most likely winners. Schmeichel was always a brilliant
:21:22. > :21:30.lad to train with. He was my boot boy. But it's lovely to see him
:21:31. > :21:36.stepping out... He had respect, he was brought up at football clubs. I
:21:37. > :21:40.know he was to short... Too small. The keeper is six feet five and six
:21:41. > :21:45.feet six, probably too big but he's somewhere in the middle. Whether you
:21:46. > :21:50.have seen him on Match of the Day last night or not. The distances
:21:51. > :21:54.between for the ball is... It's common sense, but unless you do that
:21:55. > :22:01.and the manager is doing that, turning them into an Italian back
:22:02. > :22:06.four, they are keeping clean sheets. You have players in front of them
:22:07. > :22:12.working so hard. Sailing in the back four and they deserve the clean
:22:13. > :22:17.sheets. Those pictures that we saw, I had to bring the party down... It
:22:18. > :22:23.reminds me a little bit of Liverpool. Do you remember the
:22:24. > :22:27.huddle, post much? But I think you hit the nail on the head. The
:22:28. > :22:31.difference, most of the Liverpool games in the running, Luis Suarez...
:22:32. > :22:37.The difference was Liverpool were winning at Norwich 4-3 or 5-3,
:22:38. > :22:45.Leicester have squeezed it and they are winning 1-0 and I think that is
:22:46. > :22:50.what is going... Tell all the fans not to welcome the team bus as it
:22:51. > :22:55.comes in. They are struggling, only winning 1-0? They don't need to
:22:56. > :22:59.change anything but naturally, things will change, it's about
:23:00. > :23:10.keeping things stable. How significant, five out of six games,
:23:11. > :23:16.Leicester play ahead of Tottenham? Psychologically, it's big.
:23:17. > :23:19.Absolutely, it depends what you are like but for me, if you are taking a
:23:20. > :23:23.penalty shoot out and you click the coin and you win the toss, what are
:23:24. > :23:28.you going to do? I am going to play first. You have the pressure of
:23:29. > :23:33.scoring first but if you miss, if you score, you score, if you miss,
:23:34. > :23:36.the pressure is on them. I think the fact they are playing before
:23:37. > :23:42.Tottenham, five or six out of the next six games is a massive bonus.
:23:43. > :23:46.What about Crystal Palace, will they be sucked into the trouble? They are
:23:47. > :23:51.eight points above the bottom three but they are in an FA Cup semifinal,
:23:52. > :23:59.Man United, Arsenal, Norwich, Newcastle... They will be looking
:24:00. > :24:02.over the shoulder nervously, I don't think they'll get sucked in. They
:24:03. > :24:10.only need two or three wins, maybe... Three would be plenty.
:24:11. > :24:13.Three would be plenty, two of them... I don't think so, but right
:24:14. > :24:20.at this moment, they would be looking a little bit anxiously. The
:24:21. > :24:23.performances are not bad, the results in the league have been
:24:24. > :24:28.incredible. Incredibly bad, inexplicably, given how good they
:24:29. > :24:34.were before Christmas. This New Year's Day. And they haven't won a
:24:35. > :24:38.game since. Stevie, look at the flip side, the lack of injuries from
:24:39. > :24:42.Leicester. Look at Crystal Palace, the midfield and forward areas, they
:24:43. > :24:47.have been hit by some serious bad luck. I don't think for a minute
:24:48. > :24:52.Crystal Palace will get sucked into this. OK, let's talk about
:24:53. > :24:57.Tottenham, playing Bournemouth in the 4pm game this afternoon.
:24:58. > :25:03.Pressure on Mauricio Pochettino given that his Europa League
:25:04. > :25:06.selection... I don't think that's the pressure he's feeling, it's
:25:07. > :25:12.gone, he will draw a line under it. To get the points today... We have
:25:13. > :25:16.seen Leicester going and winning 1-0, tricky, before that game, I
:25:17. > :25:21.thought you might Bolasie is back, all the players available. They have
:25:22. > :25:25.had a terrible one, they need a win and they are desperate. That could
:25:26. > :25:29.have been a bit of a slip of Leicester but they have proved me
:25:30. > :25:32.wrong. The pressure on the manager. If they don't win this game,
:25:33. > :25:38.Leicester fans will be very pleased... They will be thinking,
:25:39. > :25:44.the finish line is close. International call ups, can you call
:25:45. > :25:50.that a hindrance? Five... Tottenham... We didn't mention for
:25:51. > :25:53.Leicester... Everybody has them, if you are team in the top half of the
:25:54. > :26:01.Premier League, half of your players will be on international duty. Apart
:26:02. > :26:05.from if you are West Ham. Whether they are going to Venezuela or
:26:06. > :26:09.France... The majority will go. I think Spurs will win today. I am not
:26:10. > :26:13.convinced they will win at Anfield in the first game after the
:26:14. > :26:19.international break. This is a Bournemouth side, no pressure. Good
:26:20. > :26:25.away from home. I think Spurs had the better quality of players. But
:26:26. > :26:28.this is a tricky game. Bournemouth and Spurs are the teams that have
:26:29. > :26:33.covered the most distance in the Premier League this season. You will
:26:34. > :26:37.see a game, hard-working sides, but quickly, back to the international
:26:38. > :26:41.break, I'm not sure it affects games as much as the managers like to say.
:26:42. > :26:47.We know how much it takes out of you. If you go to two friendlies and
:26:48. > :26:52.you play in one... It can go both ways, if you have a bad run
:26:53. > :26:58.McGeechan have respite. If you have a good run, you think, I could have
:26:59. > :27:02.done without this. If you get the players back fit, you are on a
:27:03. > :27:06.winner. Let's talk about Everton against Arsenal, Andy, you were
:27:07. > :27:11.there yesterday, Arsenal winning 2-0. A second win in nine matches
:27:12. > :27:19.for Arsene Wenger, let's hear from him, full of praise for his side. I
:27:20. > :27:22.like this group. I like the altitude, the mental attitude, they
:27:23. > :27:26.have been questioned on that front and it hurts me. To see it, when you
:27:27. > :27:31.work every day with the players you know how much effort they put in.
:27:32. > :27:36.Overall, I am pleased that they responded well today. Got one, then,
:27:37. > :27:41.what did you see yesterday from an Arsenal point of view, bang in the
:27:42. > :27:46.title race, albeit... That is the bad thing. They always give the fans
:27:47. > :27:50.up and they gave them hope. Performances like that, that was a
:27:51. > :27:59.performance, let's take the first goal, created from the class of
:28:00. > :28:03.2001-2004. Vintage Arsenal. That is not what they need. But that is what
:28:04. > :28:07.makes you keep going back and that is what makes Arsene Wenger think,
:28:08. > :28:13.he has the utopian idea they will play like that every game and score
:28:14. > :28:18.goals like that. And he has this vision that this will happen.
:28:19. > :28:22.History, recent history tells you it will probably not happen, you will
:28:23. > :28:25.probably finish third or fourth and not win a trophy. That is the
:28:26. > :28:30.frustrating thing but you have to say, they played twice since Arsenal
:28:31. > :28:34.last played, they played on Sunday and Wednesday night... They lost
:28:35. > :28:37.away at Barcelona and then they were forced to play on Saturday
:28:38. > :28:42.lunchtime, in that sense, I think it was a really good achievement,
:28:43. > :28:47.physically and mentally. They were sharper than ever. Secondly, they
:28:48. > :28:51.have had a bit of a kicking recently and they are a good team and show
:28:52. > :28:55.that yesterday so from their point of view, that was encouraging, but
:28:56. > :29:01.this idea, this hope that they can do it every single game is one that
:29:02. > :29:04.has proved illusory for the fans. Steve, they have a decent record
:29:05. > :29:10.after they were knocked out of the Champions League. We said before, as
:29:11. > :29:14.a reporter, when you are waiting for the rotor, you find out where you
:29:15. > :29:18.are going, they either team you want to watch. I still think they
:29:19. > :29:21.probably played the most and pleasing football on the day in the
:29:22. > :29:26.Premier League and they have done for years. But that doesn't mean to
:29:27. > :29:29.say I don't understand the frustration of Arsenal fans about
:29:30. > :29:34.Arsene Wenger because... For all the achievements that they have had and
:29:35. > :29:38.let's not pretend finishing top four year after year isn't an achievement
:29:39. > :29:42.because it is... But they have only won the FA Cup twice in however many
:29:43. > :29:48.years and every year, there just seems to be that three, four,
:29:49. > :29:53.five-week period, wheels fall off and they go out in competitions and
:29:54. > :29:58.56 games and they always end up the same place. We talk about Everton.
:29:59. > :30:03.They do not expect to be worthy are in the Premier League and Roberto
:30:04. > :30:09.Martinez, OK, FA Cup semifinal, fought you want, if you are a fan,
:30:10. > :30:15.go away to win the FA Cup and finished 12th 13th, you can't have
:30:16. > :30:18.both? Look at the playing staff. I think they could be doing what West
:30:19. > :30:23.Ham do in the league. They have the players to do that, going forward,
:30:24. > :30:29.they have so much creativity. Look at Romelu Lukaku, goals coming out
:30:30. > :30:35.of his ears. I think defensively, they are struggling. It has got to
:30:36. > :30:39.be looked at. The man that everybody wanted to sign in January. One of
:30:40. > :30:45.them. I am not sure if the leadership problem. You get a lead
:30:46. > :30:50.players. As a manager or coach... If you sell your philosophy and a game
:30:51. > :30:55.plan, your strategy to the players, they will buy into it. I am just not
:30:56. > :30:59.sure at key times, all the players buy into it.
:31:00. > :31:05.You say it is a poor defensive record but it's the worst behind
:31:06. > :31:09.Aston Villa. And our home form is terrible. Their home defensive
:31:10. > :31:13.record is appalling. You go through it and I don't have the figure but
:31:14. > :31:17.you dread to think how many goals Roberto Martinez's sides, and I'm
:31:18. > :31:20.not just talking about Everton, have led in from his time here and at
:31:21. > :31:25.Wigan. It looks as though he struggles to organise defensively at
:31:26. > :31:29.home, so many spaces, the gap between defence and midfield, there
:31:30. > :31:33.were gaps and channels for Arsenal to run in, which they did with
:31:34. > :31:38.consummate ease. Defenders did not know whether to stick or twist and
:31:39. > :31:41.when Funes Mori did, he was dispossessed and it was a huge gap
:31:42. > :31:44.for Iwobi to run into. It looks as though organisation wise,
:31:45. > :31:50.defensively, they really are struggling. Teams that Goodison Park
:31:51. > :31:57.are finding it very easy to create chances, very easy, too easy. For
:31:58. > :32:01.me, as a defence, you have two full-backs that I would say most
:32:02. > :32:05.clubs would take, John Stones is not even getting a game. You have three
:32:06. > :32:11.out of the back four who are potentially top players, top four
:32:12. > :32:15.players in the league so why are they conceding so many? For me, you
:32:16. > :32:18.look at defenders, what is their role in the team? To defend. They
:32:19. > :32:21.are losing sight of their main role in the team, they will get forward
:32:22. > :32:23.and do this and bring other things into play but that should be
:32:24. > :32:30.secondary. The first thing you have to do as a defender is defend. With
:32:31. > :32:34.reference to Coleman and Leighton Baines, you say that and I think you
:32:35. > :32:38.yesterday's game, and where did Coleman catch the eye? Going
:32:39. > :32:44.forward, in the first minute. Leave that to the creative players. Where
:32:45. > :32:48.does martinet sit in terms of his position in terms of the new owner
:32:49. > :32:52.coming in? From what I understand, he will be fine, even if they fail
:32:53. > :32:57.to reach the cup final and even if they finish just below the middle of
:32:58. > :33:02.the table, like top of the bottom half, he will be fine and given more
:33:03. > :33:05.time. Obviously, the new investor, Moshiri will invest money in the
:33:06. > :33:09.summer and we will see who he keeps hold of and who he does not.
:33:10. > :33:12.Martinet or have some big decisions to make in terms of who he let go
:33:13. > :33:16.because they will sell one of their prized asset and I think it will be
:33:17. > :33:21.John Stones. Then who do they get in? Can he keep hold of Lukaku? He
:33:22. > :33:25.will also be pursued and would fancy a move to a Champions League club. A
:33:26. > :33:29.lot of things for Martin is to consider but make no mistake, he's
:33:30. > :33:33.under pressure from the supporters. -- for Martinez to consider. I do
:33:34. > :33:37.think he's under the equivalent pressure from the board. One team
:33:38. > :33:40.threatening the top four, your old boys West Ham, unlucky yesterday
:33:41. > :33:46.given the penalty decision that Fabregas tucked away. Is it unlucky?
:33:47. > :33:49.We see it too often, the big teams getting decisions of referees, I
:33:50. > :33:54.don't know, it seems to be happening too often. You think it was a
:33:55. > :34:00.penalty? Of it was outside the box and if the referee and linesman
:34:01. > :34:03.can't work it out... And if you are not sure, you can't give it, surely?
:34:04. > :34:07.How significant could that be given the Manchester derby later and the
:34:08. > :34:11.fight for fourth place for West Ham? West Ham would be there now, they
:34:12. > :34:15.would have leapfrogged the Manchester City and would be looking
:34:16. > :34:18.down and be the ones to catch but looking at the game itself, they
:34:19. > :34:23.played very well and they looked full of confidence. The way the
:34:24. > :34:27.midfield had such spatial awareness but also awareness with each other
:34:28. > :34:30.and the movement was so fluid. The goals were superb as well. I thought
:34:31. > :34:33.they fully deserved to win the game but it did not happen. I'm sure
:34:34. > :34:37.Slaven Bilic will gee them up and get them ready for the next game and
:34:38. > :34:41.they will be ready to go again. They are just having fun, aren't they,
:34:42. > :34:44.West Ham? They look like they are enjoying doing the job which is not
:34:45. > :34:47.always the case, weird though it may seem to the people who are not
:34:48. > :34:52.footballers who would like to have been. It is not always the case that
:34:53. > :34:55.footballers enjoy their job but everyone at West Ham United looks
:34:56. > :35:00.like they are just having fun which is down to the manager. He's given a
:35:01. > :35:04.lot of freedom. Absolutely and it's the excitement around the place, the
:35:05. > :35:09.emotion of it being the last season at Upton Park but the excitement of
:35:10. > :35:12.going to the living stadium. And the excitement of being able... I saw
:35:13. > :35:17.them being disappointed at not winning at Manchester United. It was
:35:18. > :35:21.visible. They were clearly disappointed and Slaven Bilic was
:35:22. > :35:26.clearly disappointed they did not win the FA Cup game. When you get
:35:27. > :35:30.that belief that you belong at this level, that must be great. You say
:35:31. > :35:33.about big teams getting decisions, it was an interesting reaction from
:35:34. > :35:37.David Gold, one of the owners last night when someone said, only the
:35:38. > :35:40.big teams get decisions, and he said, there is one answer to that,
:35:41. > :35:44.let's become a big team. West Ham are on the way to doing that, moving
:35:45. > :35:48.to the Olympic Stadium which is an amazing stadium. They have got the
:35:49. > :35:52.fans behind them and the playing staff and the manager. They are
:35:53. > :35:55.going to recruit in the summer and I think David Gold does all the
:35:56. > :35:59.recruitment. If he does as well as he did last summer, they will be
:36:00. > :36:03.hard to beat. How many managers will be bold enough... I commentate on
:36:04. > :36:07.the FA Cup game between Manchester United and West Ham and after the
:36:08. > :36:10.match, Slaven Bilic came out, after a brilliant game, and I said it
:36:11. > :36:17.would be a wonderful replay, the last FA Cup tie at the Boleyn Ground
:36:18. > :36:23.and he said, "I fancy as!" I said that but I'm a pundit. How many
:36:24. > :36:26.managers would be bold enough to say that? It encapsulates West Ham this
:36:27. > :36:32.season. And Dimitri Payet recognised with a call-up to the France squad.
:36:33. > :36:36.And I would have thought he would be on the short list for the PFA player
:36:37. > :36:40.of the Abbey football writers award. He is getting talked about quite a
:36:41. > :36:43.lot in our circles because it is a field that we have a couple of
:36:44. > :36:47.Leicester players and probably Harry Kane but Dimitri Payet, the way he
:36:48. > :36:51.plays. There was a moment yesterday when he got the free kick and
:36:52. > :36:54.everyone was expecting him to school, hit another one like against
:36:55. > :36:58.Manchester United which no one can just replicate time after time. But
:36:59. > :37:02.he's been a revelation. I was someone who thought and wrote and
:37:03. > :37:05.got a lot of stick bread, quite rightly, it turns up, asking how you
:37:06. > :37:13.could tear up his contract so early and give him a bigger one? The next
:37:14. > :37:16.few games was his answer. When that happened, I was a bit concerned,
:37:17. > :37:19.because a player who has done so well, a new contract so soon, you
:37:20. > :37:22.wonder how he will respond but he went to the next level, went up
:37:23. > :37:25.against a credit to the club and the player. West Ham tried to get into
:37:26. > :37:28.the top four at the spreads of one of the Manchester club to meet at
:37:29. > :37:33.the Etihad this afternoon. Manuel Pellegrini has been giving us his
:37:34. > :37:38.thoughts. What happened to Manchester United is not my duty,
:37:39. > :37:41.what happened with us and against Louis van Gogh is that we're going
:37:42. > :37:44.to play against a strong team with a lot of history and they will do all
:37:45. > :37:48.they can to win the game. We must not be trusting in those kinds of
:37:49. > :37:52.things and try to have a good performance to win the game. I think
:37:53. > :37:56.that as a fan of the big team, you must await it spec to win the title,
:37:57. > :37:59.the same thing I talk about is the mentality, the mentality of the
:38:00. > :38:04.fans, it does not matter if we don't win. -- you must always expect to
:38:05. > :38:09.win the title. Both teams have a good squad in both clubs. I think
:38:10. > :38:13.that they deserve to expect the highest we can do. Trevor, huge
:38:14. > :38:20.expectations on both of these clubs at the beginning of the season. Who
:38:21. > :38:25.is underachieving the most? You got to say Manchester United. City are
:38:26. > :38:29.into the quarterfinals of the Champions League and they have got a
:38:30. > :38:33.bit so wherewith the League Cup. You have to say United but I'm quite
:38:34. > :38:36.concerned other former Manchester City player. You are more than that,
:38:37. > :38:43.you have already told me united are going to win. You are a City van,
:38:44. > :38:53.Trevor from Moss side, get him on Twitter! That is a lie, by the way.
:38:54. > :38:56.I'm concerned because you take the bottom six teams out of the league
:38:57. > :39:00.and you look at the result and Manchester United would be second
:39:01. > :39:03.and City would be eighth, ten points viewer. It tells you that Manchester
:39:04. > :39:08.United are better against the better teams. This is a really difficult
:39:09. > :39:12.game. I think city have got to do better than they did last week in
:39:13. > :39:14.the final third, the goals have dried up, defensively they have not
:39:15. > :39:17.been as good as they were but there has not been much difference but
:39:18. > :39:22.authentically, they have scored so many fewer goals than last season,
:39:23. > :39:25.that is where the problem lies. We talk about the potential of Jose
:39:26. > :39:29.Mourinho going to Manchester United in the summer and managing in the
:39:30. > :39:32.Europa League but inconceivable out what yellow could manage City in the
:39:33. > :39:36.Europa League given the plans in place this season. I think they will
:39:37. > :39:41.finish in the top four. I would not count them out of the title race, if
:39:42. > :39:45.they go on a run, which you think, looking at the personnel, they
:39:46. > :39:48.should be capable of. If they win every game between now and the end
:39:49. > :39:52.of the season, that will exert some pressure on Leicester and Spurs,
:39:53. > :39:54.certainly. They don't look at the moment like a team who will win
:39:55. > :39:59.every game between now and the end of the season. They are less than
:40:00. > :40:02.the sum of their parts but clearly, Trevor is right, Manchester United
:40:03. > :40:08.have underachieved more than Manchester City. I think the list of
:40:09. > :40:10.players you were talking about as a possible Footballer of the Year, had
:40:11. > :40:14.Kevin De Bruyne stayed fit, he would have been on the list. He's been an
:40:15. > :40:18.enormous blow to city. And that coincide with David Silva being
:40:19. > :40:21.injured and coming back and not being at the four where he set his
:40:22. > :40:24.standard so high, he's not got back there yet which has affected them.
:40:25. > :40:28.And you look at the players that have gone out, Negredo, Edin Dzeko,
:40:29. > :40:35.Jovetic, they only brought in Wilfried Bony and is Iheanacho so
:40:36. > :40:39.it's all on Aguero's shoulders and it is too much. Also, we say they
:40:40. > :40:41.might be in the title race if they win every game but they normally
:40:42. > :40:45.can't win back-to-back Premier League matches this season. They
:40:46. > :40:50.have been struggling to do that since early in the season. I'm not
:40:51. > :40:52.sure they can go on that run. Interesting, Guardiola will be
:40:53. > :40:55.looking at the game today and thinking, what does he have to do in
:40:56. > :41:01.the summer to change it? Who is staying and who is going? And at the
:41:02. > :41:05.moment, you can make a case for half a dozen players who must be
:41:06. > :41:09.thinking, "Will I still be here or will I still be in his plans?" I
:41:10. > :41:13.think the players realise without even saying that that their job at
:41:14. > :41:17.Manchester City is under the spotlight. They might not be there
:41:18. > :41:22.by the end of the summer. Their policy has been to buy players at
:41:23. > :41:27.the top of their game, in their peak years, four top money. If you do
:41:28. > :41:31.that, as we said about Newcastle, if you do it for a few years in
:41:32. > :41:34.succession, and don't bring in, they have obviously brought in Raheem
:41:35. > :41:37.Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne is a bit younger but basically, the team
:41:38. > :41:41.has got old and it has not changed enough. One of the people who is
:41:42. > :41:45.getting old in inverted commas is Vincent Kompany, who is a stalwart
:41:46. > :41:50.of the city defence but when he's not in their, he comes back and he
:41:51. > :41:54.plays six or seven or eight games. Do they need to replace him if he is
:41:55. > :41:58.constantly getting injured, as great as it been for the club? Its
:41:59. > :42:02.mismanagement for me, you bring him back, he'd have something like 14
:42:03. > :42:05.calf injury and you load his injured site and you don't work on the
:42:06. > :42:11.uninjured side. It is too many games. I think it is a schoolboy
:42:12. > :42:15.error from their medical team. He's had every kind of medical advice,
:42:16. > :42:17.been across the world to see everyone, on his Instagram, you have
:42:18. > :42:21.seen the different types of training he's been doing to prevent it but as
:42:22. > :42:25.soon as he comes back... This is what I'm saying, you can't come back
:42:26. > :42:31.and play three games in week at 30 with a problem like that. But they
:42:32. > :42:35.have tried the other centre-backs. I was going to say, if you spend 60
:42:36. > :42:40.mil in pounds on two centre halves, neither of the new really want. You
:42:41. > :42:44.should be able to rotate them. That is their problem, I think Otamendi
:42:45. > :42:48.is the better of him and Eliaquim Mangala but Vincent Kompany is still
:42:49. > :42:52.by a distance Manchester City's best defender. I think both of them look
:42:53. > :42:57.quite good with Kompany but together it is not happening. Who's going to
:42:58. > :43:03.win a magister derby? Manchester City because I don't think United...
:43:04. > :43:08.They have a better team, it is not complicated, I think the occasion
:43:09. > :43:13.will lift Manchester City to a better performance and United as
:43:14. > :43:18.well but I think City have the edge. Steve? , Taking their later though I
:43:19. > :43:25.will therefore have do stay neutral! Your gut feeling? -- commentating
:43:26. > :43:30.there. I think it will be a draw. I've got the feeling it will be a
:43:31. > :43:33.draw but because City have underachieved and underwhelmed this
:43:34. > :43:36.season, I can see Manchester United nicking it, just because of the form
:43:37. > :43:41.that I was talking about earlier in the top tier of teams, Manchester
:43:42. > :43:43.City have not produced the goods. Full commentary of Southampton
:43:44. > :43:48.against Liverpool and that the Manchester derby on Radio 5Live from
:43:49. > :43:50.4pm. Spurs against Bournemouth is on five live sports extra and Mark
:43:51. > :43:55.Chapman will be back tonight with highlights of the Premier League
:43:56. > :43:57.games. Whatever you are doing this Sunday afternoon, have a good one
:43:58. > :44:00.and we will see you later.