:00:26. > :00:29.Hello, welcome to Match Of The Day 2 Extra on BBC Two, Radio 5 Live
:00:30. > :00:35.With me this afternoon, in the BBC Sport Centre
:00:36. > :00:37.Bury and former Hull defender Alex Bruce, England and
:00:38. > :00:43.and Andy Dunn, who's The Mirror's Chief Sports Writer.
:00:44. > :00:45.Get in touch using the hashtag #bbcfootball on social media
:00:46. > :00:58.Manchester United send a message to their rivals with a second
:00:59. > :01:02.Another season, another defeat at Stoke for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal,
:01:03. > :01:10.We'll be live in north-west London ahead of Tottenham's first
:01:11. > :01:13.Premier League game at Wembley against the champions at four.
:01:14. > :01:15.And another historic day for Huddersfield, who host Newcastle
:01:16. > :01:24.As far as the papers are concerned, the # Have the story that Manchester
:01:25. > :01:28.City will make Alexis Sanchez the highest-paid player in the Premier
:01:29. > :01:33.League on 400 grand a week. The Express have picked up Philippe
:01:34. > :01:38.Coutinho's prize to ?130 million. The Sunday Times are looking ahead
:01:39. > :01:44.to the England squad being maimed and they said Chalobah and Rooney
:01:45. > :01:49.might be called up by Gareth Southgate. How overboard do you want
:01:50. > :01:53.to go on Manchester United's performance, Alex Bruce? How
:01:54. > :01:57.overboard do you want me to go? They were special yesterday. They have
:01:58. > :02:00.had a great start. They epitomise everything Manchester United are
:02:01. > :02:05.about at the minute. They are a physical team with pace and power,
:02:06. > :02:10.strength and depth. And they blew Swansea away on their own patch. Do
:02:11. > :02:15.you have to take into account that it was Swansea and last week it was
:02:16. > :02:21.West Ham. Swansea and West Ham fans might have a go, but you have to put
:02:22. > :02:25.into context. You do. Defensively, they haven't been tested yet. But
:02:26. > :02:27.you do have to admire the free-flowing football they are
:02:28. > :02:32.playing. They are losing confidence, and it is not just Lukaku scoring.
:02:33. > :02:36.They are getting goals from different positions. They won the
:02:37. > :02:46.first three games of the last season. The encouraging thing for
:02:47. > :02:53.them is the manner in which they are winning these games. The eight goals
:02:54. > :02:56.they scored 15% of the total goals they scored last season in the
:02:57. > :03:07.Premier League. Bearing in mind that this God a little over 50 goals. So
:03:08. > :03:11.this is a signal of intent. I haven't known Old Trafford bouncing
:03:12. > :03:14.like that for a good few seasons. I would not say quite since Sir Alex
:03:15. > :03:19.left, but not far off it. So that has given everyone in the lift. And
:03:20. > :03:24.they have options on the bench. They are bringing on Martial with 15
:03:25. > :03:30.minutes to go, putting teams to the sword. It is what United used to do,
:03:31. > :03:37.having cowed opponents. It sends out a message that they are a different
:03:38. > :03:40.team. We will expand on that message in just a moment, but let's hear
:03:41. > :03:47.from Jose Mourinho. United yesterday scored their last three goals in
:03:48. > :03:53.just three minutes and 41 seconds. It happens with me so many times
:03:54. > :03:56.with my teams. You are winning 1-0 and you are in trouble. You score a
:03:57. > :04:00.second goal, let's close the door and don't give a chance to the
:04:01. > :04:05.opponent. We scored the second goal and the feeling was, we can score
:04:06. > :04:13.more. So no need to close the door. Just let the horses run freely! And
:04:14. > :04:21.were magnificent. Always great when you have two macro guests with the
:04:22. > :04:25.same first name. Alex Bruce, you were part of a Premier League team
:04:26. > :04:31.last season. Expand on Andy's point that maybe last week's win is more
:04:32. > :04:35.important in the sense of teams may be going back to Old Trafford
:04:36. > :04:38.thinking they don't stand a chance, whereas most teams arguably went
:04:39. > :04:42.there last season of the season before thinking they had a chance.
:04:43. > :04:45.Well, if Man Utd were going to improve, you could say their home
:04:46. > :04:49.form last year wasn't the best. But when you have the pace and the power
:04:50. > :04:56.they have now and Lukaku getting an early goal at Old Trafford like he
:04:57. > :05:04.did, Pogba chipping in with goals. They have so many options with
:05:05. > :05:07.Rashfords, Lingards. If they can make all covered a fortress like
:05:08. > :05:14.they always had, it would give them the impetus to achieve something
:05:15. > :05:16.special. I think sometimes, the mentality of the players is
:05:17. > :05:24.interesting. You heard Jose saying he let the horses run freely. But
:05:25. > :05:30.that is not his instinct. His instinct would be to have the horses
:05:31. > :05:41.on a tight rein. I got the impression in the last week that his
:05:42. > :05:46.instinct with a 2-0 win is to shut up shop. That is what he has always
:05:47. > :05:49.been great at. I thought he was thinking of doing that against West
:05:50. > :05:56.Ham, but the choice was taken out of his hands. You have players like
:05:57. > :06:04.Pogba, Lukaku, Martial. These are players who want to win handsomely.
:06:05. > :06:08.The celebrations when Pogba scored yesterday, they are enjoying what
:06:09. > :06:16.they are doing. Mourinho is now confident in his team. He is
:06:17. > :06:22.confident, he has a different body language to what we saw last season.
:06:23. > :06:28.Tactically, talking about trying to shut up shop at 2-0, when Fellaini
:06:29. > :06:35.has come on, do you think Pogba has then been pushed further forward?
:06:36. > :06:40.Pogba is a very skilful footballer. People go on about the pace and
:06:41. > :06:44.power in this United team, but they are incredibly skilful and Pogba
:06:45. > :06:49.showed yesterday how skilful he is. This macro, his goal was an
:06:50. > :06:54.exquisite finish. It shows the talent in him. He is literally
:06:55. > :06:58.driving this Man Utd team forward. Sometimes he is unstoppable. Once he
:06:59. > :07:03.has the ball at his feet and he was driving through the midfield,
:07:04. > :07:07.players can't stop him. We haven't even stopped on the guile of
:07:08. > :07:12.Mkhitaryan and Mata. They have a nice blend now. They have a bit of
:07:13. > :07:17.crap with those players and the pace -- they have a bit of craft with the
:07:18. > :07:23.pace of Lukaku. But there is still a big butt. Do you think Mourinho is
:07:24. > :07:30.different this season? I was out in Macedonia for the Super Cup. I
:07:31. > :07:34.noticed a slight difference. No one loves trophies more than Jose
:07:35. > :07:37.Mourinho. That is why he counts the Community Shield as a trophy. He
:07:38. > :07:42.probably can say game against his kids as a trophy. He can list you
:07:43. > :07:54.every trophy in order. But I got the impression out there that he was
:07:55. > :08:03.using that game as the final preparation game, and he was
:08:04. > :08:07.confident. He wasn't worried about a perceived chasm between the two
:08:08. > :08:14.sides. I got the impression that he was much more bullish about this
:08:15. > :08:18.season. He usually plays it down, but I got the impression that he was
:08:19. > :08:22.very happy with his transfer business and happy with the players
:08:23. > :08:30.that had gone. I don't mean that in a disrespectful sense. But I think
:08:31. > :08:35.he thinks it is a better squad. I see what you're saying. When you let
:08:36. > :08:41.the likes of Rooney goal, it's important that you replace them. And
:08:42. > :08:46.if Lukaku can carry on as he is... But Lukaku offers more options than
:08:47. > :08:50.Ibrahimovic. He does in terms of running behind. If he had signed
:08:51. > :08:55.Ibrahimovic five years ago, he would have offered a different kind of
:08:56. > :08:59.play to what he did last season. But Ibrahimovic did score a lot of goals
:09:00. > :09:06.last season and there is talk of him coming back. I think Mourinho has a
:09:07. > :09:10.massive point to prove. I think he thinks he has been, not written off,
:09:11. > :09:13.but he has looked around at the praise that other coaches get for
:09:14. > :09:21.the way they are playing, is dam at Real Madrid Pep Guardiola and
:09:22. > :09:25.Pochettino with Spurs. And I think Jose has gone to the season
:09:26. > :09:29.thinking, people are looking at me not as yesterday's man, but playing
:09:30. > :09:34.a brand of football that is not up-to-date. That is where Mourinho
:09:35. > :09:40.was smart. You can only work with what you've got. So he got last
:09:41. > :09:46.season's players scoring goals. This season, totally different. He has
:09:47. > :09:51.got the players he wants. The worst thing is a manager trying to impose
:09:52. > :09:57.a philosophy on a group of players who can't deliver. Are you talking
:09:58. > :10:04.about Crystal Palace? No! We may come to that later. Yeah, you can
:10:05. > :10:10.only work with the players you have got. MO says, we are back stronger
:10:11. > :10:16.than later. Jay says, we have to be patient. One final point on United.
:10:17. > :10:21.Paul says, I think we are far from the Champions League. Maybe in
:10:22. > :10:28.another year. Our squad is good, but not world class. That puts it into
:10:29. > :10:34.some perspective. Well, you can't run before you walk. It is going to
:10:35. > :10:44.take time. To win the Champions League, you have to be a specialty.
:10:45. > :10:47.You could see that people like Real Madrid are in a different league at
:10:48. > :10:54.them and, the way they blow teams away. Lots of texts and tweets on
:10:55. > :10:58.Arsenal as well. Most of them begin with the word why? Eric - why is it
:10:59. > :11:01.difficult for Arsenal to get it right? Puzzled by Wenger's
:11:02. > :11:07.reluctance to make subs early. Terry, why don't we buy the players
:11:08. > :11:11.we need? Why do we repeat our mistakes? Get something done. Tim -
:11:12. > :11:14.you don't win a title with half the team showing no commitment. Let's
:11:15. > :11:19.get the thoughts of Arsene Wenger after that defeat at Stoke
:11:20. > :11:27.yesterday. It was the kind of game where you couldn't afford to make a
:11:28. > :11:32.defensive mistake. But they defended well and we couldn't find an
:11:33. > :11:38.opening. I believe defensively, we have no real excuse on that. We knew
:11:39. > :11:47.it was important not to make a mistake at the back. And we gave
:11:48. > :11:52.them a cheap goal. Why, why, why, Alex Scott? I am asking why well.
:11:53. > :11:56.It's the same old talking points with Arsenal. It's frustrating.
:11:57. > :12:02.Especially after the character they showed last week, winning the game
:12:03. > :12:05.against Leicester. You were hoping they would get a goal. The amount of
:12:06. > :12:11.opportunities we created yesterday, Arsene Wenger may feel hard done by.
:12:12. > :12:18.It is frustrating. And it is the same old talking points. After the
:12:19. > :12:22.Leicester win as well as yesterday, the other one is that the three at
:12:23. > :12:27.the back worked for Arsenal towards the end of last season, and yet at
:12:28. > :12:31.the moment, if you look at the three at the back, there are two
:12:32. > :12:39.left-backs. There is a right-winger at right back. It is all a bit
:12:40. > :12:44.confused. It is a bit confusing. A lot of people are asking why. They
:12:45. > :12:48.are leaky. They give the opposition a chance all the time. We saw it
:12:49. > :12:52.last week against Leicester. Going to a place like Stoke yesterday,
:12:53. > :13:01.would you have fancied Arsenal at Stoke? On paper, maybe. But history
:13:02. > :13:07.tells you otherwise. They have to be more consistent. When we talk about
:13:08. > :13:12.Man Utd and their physicality and power and our drive to midfield, I
:13:13. > :13:15.suppose going to Stoke with Arsenal yesterday, that is what is lacking
:13:16. > :13:21.in their team. A Patrick Vieira of old who can drive them forward. But
:13:22. > :13:25.why hammer Mesut Ozil? If Arsenal have a bad performance, the easy
:13:26. > :13:31.target is to hammer Mesut Ozil. Surely the problems are bigger than
:13:32. > :13:39.whether a player tracks back or not. And he doesn't track back. I think
:13:40. > :13:43.Mesut Ozil is a fantastic player. He didn't play badly yesterday. I saw
:13:44. > :13:47.him have a fantastic game at Stoke. The last time they were at Stoke,
:13:48. > :13:56.they battered to Stoke. But Sanchez was on that team and he played
:13:57. > :13:59.spectacularly well. I think the issue is that in Wenger, you have a
:14:00. > :14:02.manager who has played a similar system for the best part of two
:14:03. > :14:09.decades and has now changed it round, and they don't look
:14:10. > :14:17.comfortable. Also, a lot of change was promised. When anyone breaks up,
:14:18. > :14:23.you they say, no, we will be different, and they do the same old
:14:24. > :14:27.things after it is settled. After spending, they haven't brought in
:14:28. > :14:35.enough players of quality. There needs leaders. When you look back on
:14:36. > :14:39.the defensive rocks they have always built their strength on, you look at
:14:40. > :14:43.the Arsenal squad at the minute and think, where are those characters?
:14:44. > :14:45.Dan has sent us a tweet that is the Arsenal defence of the moment looks
:14:46. > :14:52.like something you put together when you have ran out of money on fantasy
:14:53. > :14:55.football. What is Wenger thinking? Or maybe when you want to put loads
:14:56. > :14:57.of full-backs in your back through because they get more points than
:14:58. > :15:04.the centre halves in fantasy football. #bbcfootball if you want
:15:05. > :15:08.to get in touch. Let's focus on the first of today's games, Huddersfield
:15:09. > :15:13.against Newcastle. Juliette Ferrington is there.
:15:14. > :15:19.It is another glorious day for a Sunday afternoon football, this game
:15:20. > :15:22.has been sold out for weeks. Huddersfield against Newcastle,
:15:23. > :15:26.Kevin Kilbane, you know about Huddersfield, you have played here,
:15:27. > :15:34.there is a buzz about this place? We got here very early today, you
:15:35. > :15:38.can feel what it means. We were reading a piece in The Times last
:15:39. > :15:42.week with the owner, Dean Hoyle, what he has put into this club and
:15:43. > :15:47.what it is meant to him over the course of his life, that is when you
:15:48. > :15:51.get a feel for everything. You speak to supporters outside and there is a
:15:52. > :15:56.buzz around the place. The old cliche, but you feel like it will be
:15:57. > :16:00.a full house, full of expectancy, it will be interesting to see what
:16:01. > :16:12.Newcastle do, can they cope with the atmosphere that will be put against
:16:13. > :16:15.them? The penalty shoot out in May. Dean Hoyle so proud to be able to
:16:16. > :16:21.write these notes for their first-ever home Premier League game.
:16:22. > :16:25.It is what it means. In the 70s is when they have been in the Football
:16:26. > :16:30.League, to get into the top flight, the Premier League, the club is
:16:31. > :16:33.probably still in a bit of a transition, still trying to come to
:16:34. > :16:37.terms with everything it takes to be a Premier League club. With the
:16:38. > :16:42.start they had last week, I am sure that gives them are meant.
:16:43. > :16:47.Particularly coming back here, full of expectancy, that sort of result
:16:48. > :16:52.gives a team belief. I am sure Wagoner will be getting the side
:16:53. > :16:57.fully geared up. It is probably what Newcastle do, how they can maybe
:16:58. > :17:00.contain the atmosphere in the crowd. Huddersfield won last week,
:17:01. > :17:04.Newcastle lost. They played each other in the Championship last
:17:05. > :17:11.season but this is a different proposition for Newcastle? You are
:17:12. > :17:14.looking... The mindset has change. Mentally, Huddersfield with a
:17:15. > :17:20.promotion, which they got, they are on the up. But Newcastle, with Rafa
:17:21. > :17:25.Benitez, he has been quite open in the last few weeks, he has not been
:17:26. > :17:29.happy with how the transfer market has gone. Huddersfield have the
:17:30. > :17:33.business done, they have players in, David Wagner is happy at the
:17:34. > :17:37.momentum is with them. Two different mindsets completely, that is where
:17:38. > :17:41.we might see how Newcastle can contain it.
:17:42. > :17:44.A totally different Huddersfield squad. Full commentary of
:17:45. > :17:49.Huddersfield against Newcastle, Kevin Kilbane is the summariser on 5
:17:50. > :17:54.live sport from 1:30pm. He will be alongside Conor McNamara
:17:55. > :17:58.for the game, Conor can give us the team news.
:17:59. > :18:01.Huddersfield are riding on a wave after that victory against Crystal
:18:02. > :18:04.Palace last week. This is their first home game in the top flight
:18:05. > :18:10.for 45 years, what changed to the starting XI, Rajeev Ram DePaulo, a
:18:11. > :18:16.half brother of Wijnaldum of Liverpool, he takes the place of
:18:17. > :18:22.Kasey Palmer. A difficult start the Newcastle last weekend, Jonjo
:18:23. > :18:25.Shelvey was sent off in that place and is suspended today. Mikhail
:18:26. > :18:32.Marino, who has joined from Dortmund, who made his Newcastle
:18:33. > :18:38.debut as a substitute against Spurs. Dummett was injured in the opening
:18:39. > :18:41.game. The cells and Mbemba coming to the defence. Three changes for
:18:42. > :18:49.Newcastle as they go chasing their first points of the new season.
:18:50. > :18:52.Alex Bruce, Alex Scott and Andy join -- Andy Dunn join me on Match of the
:18:53. > :18:57.Day 2 Extra. You mentioned that this is a good game for Huddersfield to
:18:58. > :19:02.start with that home? Why? Newcastle have had a bad start. Rafa Benitez
:19:03. > :19:07.has openly come out and said he is not happy with the transfer policy,
:19:08. > :19:11.there are rumblings, a lack of discipline last week. If you could
:19:12. > :19:15.have picked a better game to take on any Premier League game, Newcastle
:19:16. > :19:19.would be perfect the way things are for Huddersfield, especially after
:19:20. > :19:24.the result last week. You have come up to the Premier League with a
:19:25. > :19:29.team, for those first few weeks, what is your advice to this
:19:30. > :19:33.Huddersfield squad? Enjoy it. They have worked very hard last season to
:19:34. > :19:37.get into the Premier League, there is no real pressure on them because
:19:38. > :19:41.people will probably write them off, think they will struggle. If you
:19:42. > :19:46.think you have cracked it and you think last week was a great result
:19:47. > :19:52.and you can walk all over Newcastle, you can be brought back down to over
:19:53. > :20:04.very quickly, I will say that. Just on enjoying it, is that easier said
:20:05. > :20:07.than done? You worked hard to get there, nobody expects anything, you
:20:08. > :20:10.might not expect anything. If you have a couple of defeats like bright
:20:11. > :20:13.and early on, you can deal with it. If it gets to October maybe add you
:20:14. > :20:16.have won one of the first eight or nine, to keep saying enjoy it and
:20:17. > :20:20.nobody expects you to be here, the competitive professional in you
:20:21. > :20:24.cannot deal with that? Lots of those Huddersfield players have not played
:20:25. > :20:27.at Anfield, Manchester United, Chelsea, they have worked all their
:20:28. > :20:32.lives for it and they will naturally enjoy it. I understand what you say,
:20:33. > :20:38.when you lose a couple of games confidence can be knocked, but you
:20:39. > :20:40.saw last week they played with free spirit, enjoyed it, the pressure was
:20:41. > :20:44.off, they steam-rolled Crystal Palace. They had to take every game
:20:45. > :20:49.as it comes and try to replicate what they did last week. Only one
:20:50. > :20:53.week into the season, who is better equipped to stay up out of
:20:54. > :20:56.Huddersfield and Newcastle? About going off last week, maybe
:20:57. > :21:00.Huddersfield. Touching on your point, they are one of the youngest
:21:01. > :21:05.sides in the Premier League, which comes with younger players having no
:21:06. > :21:10.fear, the expectation is off. They won last week, this is a game that
:21:11. > :21:14.everyone is talking about, Huddersfield are expected to beat
:21:15. > :21:19.Newcastle and expectation means that things change, as a play your
:21:20. > :21:23.mindset changes, we are expected to win, you look at it differently. It
:21:24. > :21:26.will be interesting to see how it pans out.
:21:27. > :21:31.You can't use the same argument with Newcastle, you can't really say to
:21:32. > :21:37.Newcastle enjoy it, because a lot of people do expect Newcastle to be
:21:38. > :21:40.here. Have a natural expectation, a big club, everybody knows what it is
:21:41. > :21:48.like in the north-east, they are so passionate about their football. If
:21:49. > :21:51.they get a that today it will be a horrific start. That expectation has
:21:52. > :21:55.been, in a way, by what has happened in the summer, the dynamic between
:21:56. > :21:59.Benitez, Ashley and the board, almost dampened. The supporters are
:22:00. > :22:02.looking at it and thinking because Benitez has been perceived not to
:22:03. > :22:08.have the backing that he expected in the transfer market, they are not
:22:09. > :22:16.expected to pull up any serious trees. No, but they are less likely
:22:17. > :22:20.to view, and I'm constantly trying not to patronise anybody in this
:22:21. > :22:26.conversation, but less likely to view a trip to the Emirates or
:22:27. > :22:32.Anfield is a day out. Yes. In terms of the players and the fans? I guess
:22:33. > :22:37.so, I don't know. I think they will enjoy those days, they have been
:22:38. > :22:40.away from it for a season. I don't entirely buy into that, I genuinely
:22:41. > :22:48.think their expectations are not great. That is because of what has
:22:49. > :22:52.happened. Because of the discontent, the seeming discontent, behind the
:22:53. > :22:57.scenes in terms of the manager 's. I don't understand why Mike Ashley has
:22:58. > :23:01.explained, sitting in front of TV cameras, why he is not spending the
:23:02. > :23:05.money, Rafa Benitez has come out. For a team which is just been
:23:06. > :23:08.promoted, it is a strange thing to do. You would want to keep the
:23:09. > :23:14.momentum in the camp, picking up from last season, their success, why
:23:15. > :23:19.is start the season negatively? The stories were coming out as long ago
:23:20. > :23:24.as full six weeks in the newspapers saying Benitez is not quite on the
:23:25. > :23:28.brink but seriously considering the future if he does not get the
:23:29. > :23:34.backing. They were not a magic to out of thin air, those stories hard
:23:35. > :23:39.grounds, said that ball rolling. Rafter is quite happy for it to be
:23:40. > :23:42.out there for everyone to perceive, certainly the Newcastle fans, that
:23:43. > :23:47.he is not getting the backing he thinks he was promised. Not that he
:23:48. > :23:52.deserves, that he thinks he was promised by Mike Ashley. Mike Ashley
:23:53. > :23:56.says I do not have the money of Man City, Chelsea or whatever. Neil
:23:57. > :24:02.Ashton has written in the sum that they are considering bringing Andy
:24:03. > :24:06.Carroll back. Would you? If he is fit he will get you goals, that is
:24:07. > :24:10.what Newcastle need. They are renowned for having the number nine
:24:11. > :24:14.striker that will get you goals. Personally, I don't see it
:24:15. > :24:19.happening. I think West Ham will do all they can to keep hold of him, I
:24:20. > :24:25.am not sure whether Keynes Fish where that came from. No, another
:24:26. > :24:28.player says that with him being linked Newcastle are now linked to
:24:29. > :24:34.900 players. One person says I would take a back any day, and experience,
:24:35. > :24:40.proven goal-scorer. Can they afford him? Probably. Wages as well? They
:24:41. > :24:45.can afford him. They need to bring him back to full fitness first. That
:24:46. > :24:50.would be the gamble. It is getting these things done. One of Rafa's
:24:51. > :24:53.biggest frustrations is the amount of deals that may be have been in
:24:54. > :24:57.the pipeline and they have not got over the finishing line is, they
:24:58. > :25:01.have not got them sealed. Abraham goes to Swansea, they are waiting to
:25:02. > :25:06.take Kennedy on loan from Chelsea. These things are not getting done,
:25:07. > :25:09.that is part of his frustration. Moving on to West Ham, Robbie says
:25:10. > :25:13.after a night to think about yesterday that my grade is always
:25:14. > :25:19.good to take your time before texting... If we had 11 men on the
:25:20. > :25:24.pitch we would have done better. We says we can challenge for top eight,
:25:25. > :25:32.no excuses, get up and running as soon as possible. Alex, you watch
:25:33. > :25:36.this on Final Score yesterday. Did you see a site that could challenge
:25:37. > :25:40.for the top eight? Not yesterday, and not last week against Man Utd. I
:25:41. > :25:44.watched it with Trevor Sinclair and when they went down to ten players
:25:45. > :25:49.we were both screaming. Something needs to change. They got a goal
:25:50. > :25:52.against the run of play. Southampton had endless opportunities to put the
:25:53. > :25:57.game to bed earlier. We saw great character for them to get back in
:25:58. > :26:01.the game, Hernandez played a huge part. But I don't see them
:26:02. > :26:07.challenging. I think there are worrying signs defensively and
:26:08. > :26:14.tactically, but there are worrying signs. Fonte looks like he is
:26:15. > :26:18.running through treacle, no place at all. Alex Bruce says that the
:26:19. > :26:22.performance reiterates that Bilic is tactically clueless, nice guy but
:26:23. > :26:26.not the right man to lead us forward. I am not sure he is
:26:27. > :26:32.tactically clueless. They have had a difficult start and brought in a lot
:26:33. > :26:37.of players. Joe Hart, Zabaleta, Hernandez, Fonte, they have bags of
:26:38. > :26:43.experience and once they gel and they know what the Premier League is
:26:44. > :26:48.all about, it is a question... Top eight? Not for me. They looked slow
:26:49. > :26:56.against Manchester United, quite laboured. The centre midfielder
:26:57. > :27:01.brings an incredible tenacity but he looked a little bit off the pace
:27:02. > :27:07.yesterday. The signings, at the time... You disagree on Joe Hart?
:27:08. > :27:14.Yes. The signings were lauded as great signings. Zabaleta is clearly
:27:15. > :27:18.in the final stretch of his career. He has had a great career, he is in
:27:19. > :27:24.the final stretch. He was exposed last week by Rashford in particular
:27:25. > :27:29.against United. Joe Hart, Adrian was a very popular keeper at West Ham, a
:27:30. > :27:34.very popular guy and a good keeper. You bring in Joe Hart, a big-name
:27:35. > :27:36.signing, he has been through a situation over the last year where
:27:37. > :27:38.unfortunately for a goalkeeper he has been through a situation over
:27:39. > :27:41.the last year where unfortunately for a goalkeeper here's conceding a
:27:42. > :27:44.lot, that simple. The idea that Guardiola deemed him surplus to
:27:45. > :27:48.requirements because he was not great with the ball at his feet, I
:27:49. > :27:53.think, was only a fraction of the issue. I think Guardiola does not
:27:54. > :27:58.think he is a good enough goalkeeper and I think he is going through a
:27:59. > :28:01.spell, you look at the seven goals West Ham have conceded, you cannot
:28:02. > :28:07.say it is a mistake by Joe Hart. Some goals are going in easy. Over
:28:08. > :28:14.the last 28 shots on target he has faced, I think 17 or 18 have become
:28:15. > :28:21.goals. They may not be his fault, they might have been great shots,
:28:22. > :28:25.but when you get into that groove, to a certain extent, I am not sure
:28:26. > :28:30.it inspires confidence in defence. I think Joe has a lot of work to do to
:28:31. > :28:34.keep his England place. He has, but you can't get away from the fact
:28:35. > :28:37.that he has been a top goalkeeper, there have been plans where he has
:28:38. > :28:42.put in performances for Man City when you think he is a top keeper.
:28:43. > :28:49.He has been in Italy, in the different league, a totally
:28:50. > :28:51.different ball game. Replacing a popular goalkeeper is an interesting
:28:52. > :28:54.theory, it changes the dynamic amongst the back four. Yes, and they
:28:55. > :28:59.have brought in different bodies, they had the injury to Winston Reid.
:29:00. > :29:04.If they shape and work on that all week and your defender is stretched
:29:05. > :29:10.off in warm up, that can throw you. They need to find the right blend of
:29:11. > :29:16.youth and experience, I am sure they will be OK. They will be newsworthy.
:29:17. > :29:20.It must be tough, Bilic, I think the owners have done a very good job at
:29:21. > :29:24.West Ham and I like the way they run football clubs, but when you are out
:29:25. > :29:28.there as well, they are not afraid to speak and say they want to sign
:29:29. > :29:34.this player or that a performance was not good enough, it must be a
:29:35. > :29:38.difficult environment for Bilic. Moving on to Liverpool against
:29:39. > :29:42.Crystal Palace, one of the performers who got a lot of
:29:43. > :29:48.attention yesterday is Andy Robinson, a former team-mate of Alex
:29:49. > :29:52.Bruce. As a fellow full-back, Alex Scott, what difference will he make
:29:53. > :29:58.to that back four? And you only have one game to go on at the moment. I
:29:59. > :30:02.think he made the Liverpool backline looked balance yesterday, I was
:30:03. > :30:06.impressed with his performance, especially going forward. Putting
:30:07. > :30:11.crosses into the right areas, his end product. He has not been tested
:30:12. > :30:14.defensively. The modern day full-back, we like it when they
:30:15. > :30:18.bombed forward and get on the scoresheet but your job is to
:30:19. > :30:22.defend. We did not see that yesterday that he had a solid start
:30:23. > :30:28.and I think it is promising going forward. He is a natural modern day
:30:29. > :30:33.left-back in terms of ability to run forwards all game, 90 minutes, his
:30:34. > :30:37.energy levels are fantastic, he has blistering pace, he will give them
:30:38. > :30:49.an added dimension of the going forward and his final delivery, when
:30:50. > :30:53.he first came to Liverpool, his final third delivery is improving
:30:54. > :30:54.all the time. It'll be interesting to see him when he is stretched
:30:55. > :31:07.defensively but he huge potential. When we look at him from a defensive
:31:08. > :31:10.point of view, as a centre-half, what are you looking for your
:31:11. > :31:19.fallback to do to perform at the top defensively? You need a full-back
:31:20. > :31:26.you can rely on. You don't want your fallback in an attacking sense. It's
:31:27. > :31:32.a positional sense. So if the ball goes over your head, he's there to
:31:33. > :31:41.knock out with his head or clear the ball. If you could label anything
:31:42. > :31:47.that was a bit suspect in the last season, that would be it, but he has
:31:48. > :31:54.improved massively. Another player from your Hull days, Harry Maguire,
:31:55. > :31:58.was excellent for Leicester yesterday. I think Harry could be
:31:59. > :32:01.the signing of the summer. In terms of players I have played with and
:32:02. > :32:07.what you want from it one half, he has a bit of everything. His
:32:08. > :32:10.position has improved. He is immaculate taking the ball and
:32:11. > :32:15.running into midfield. He is a threat from set pieces. He's a
:32:16. > :32:20.physical presence. He has all the makings of a top centre-half, and he
:32:21. > :32:26.is getting better. They pointed out on match of the daily might that he
:32:27. > :32:32.was feasible in a two for Leicester won a lot of the time last season,
:32:33. > :32:37.he played in three. Well, when you are in three, you can come out the
:32:38. > :32:42.ball. With Harry, whether he plays in a three or his two, he has his
:32:43. > :32:46.way of wanting to play. And Shakespeare hasn't said to him to
:32:47. > :32:52.concentrate on defending. He wants him to express himself and join in.
:32:53. > :32:58.When he has get the momentum, he take some stopping. What I was
:32:59. > :33:02.impressed with is that in the modern day, you want your defenders to be
:33:03. > :33:08.front foot defenders full stops so get in there, intercept and create a
:33:09. > :33:10.tax. That was what he did yesterday. The intercept is interesting. One we
:33:11. > :33:15.talk about defending not being as good and as soon as you go to ground
:33:16. > :33:20.or fly into a tackle, the whistle is going to go, actually, how you
:33:21. > :33:27.intercept becomes even more crucial. Yeah, because you need to read the
:33:28. > :33:37.game. The next step is to set up a counterattack. I am sure there will
:33:38. > :33:42.be contrasts between someone like Maguire and Don stones. For stones,
:33:43. > :33:51.that was always his strength. But when it goes wrong, last year with
:33:52. > :33:57.City versus Everton, he has gone in for the intercept and timed it
:33:58. > :34:01.wrong. And Lukaku scored the equaliser for Everton. But I like a
:34:02. > :34:05.centre-half to do that. They seem more reluctant nowadays. The one
:34:06. > :34:08.thing that is different between John Stones and Harry is that they are
:34:09. > :34:13.both exceptional on the ball. Harry has the power to push you out of the
:34:14. > :34:17.way. He's such a physical presence. You don't realise how big a man he
:34:18. > :34:24.is until you stand next to him. It would take a hell of a powerful man
:34:25. > :34:28.to shift him. Is it also fair to say that if Harry Maguire had made the
:34:29. > :34:30.mistake that John Stones had made last season, there might have been
:34:31. > :34:37.less attention on it at that stage of his career? Of course. John was
:34:38. > :34:43.thrown in at the deep end with Man City. When you play for Hull, you
:34:44. > :34:47.are not scrutinised as you are for Manchester City. And it gives you a
:34:48. > :34:53.bit of leeway to make a mistake. To try things. And Harry has been able
:34:54. > :35:06.to do that and he is seeing the rewards now. Just one mention of
:35:07. > :35:11.Coutinho. The Express have upped it to 130 million as what Barca might
:35:12. > :35:24.go up to. Does it make a difference? I don't think it does. I am not sure
:35:25. > :35:31.the Klopp would want to keep a player who doesn't want to be there.
:35:32. > :35:35.But fair play, they are not going to be bullied by Barcelona. They are
:35:36. > :35:40.taking a stance. Now we are going to go to Wembley and talk to Steve
:35:41. > :35:46.Wilson, who is commentating on Spurs against Chelsea for Match Of The Day
:35:47. > :35:49.2 later this afternoon, sitting in the dugout in the sunshine at
:35:50. > :35:55.Wembley. If you're listening to us on the radio, there are also the
:35:56. > :36:02.Spurs covers all over the dugout. Does it feel like a Spurs home game
:36:03. > :36:09.yet, Steve? Not really. It certainly looks Spurs, with the seat covers.
:36:10. > :36:19.They have the motto inside the tunnel, to dairies to do that right
:36:20. > :36:24.to bear is to do. But it doesn't really feel like Spurs. White Hart
:36:25. > :36:28.Lane was so much smaller. Wembley is huge. Not as huge as it will be for
:36:29. > :36:32.some games they play here this season, because we are not up to the
:36:33. > :36:36.full 90,000 capacity. There are some seats covered by black tarpaulin
:36:37. > :36:41.because Brent Council have limited the number of tickets Spurs could
:36:42. > :36:46.sell today because it's a category A high-risk game. Yet we might beat
:36:47. > :36:52.the Premier League record. If we don't beat it, we will be close to
:36:53. > :36:56.it. That stands at 76,019 98, when Manchester United played Blackburn
:36:57. > :37:01.ten years ago. We will be close to it. Spurs will certainly set a new
:37:02. > :37:04.record here at Wembley not just for Premier League football, but for any
:37:05. > :37:08.regular season domestic game played in England ever. Spurs will beat
:37:09. > :37:11.that record this season at some point, possibly when they play
:37:12. > :37:15.Burnley here in their next home game. So great excitement. It
:37:16. > :37:20.promises to be a wonderful occasion, but it doesn't feel like White Hart
:37:21. > :37:30.Lane. We were having a discussion fair. -- fair. This is a good
:37:31. > :37:34.opening game for Wembley in that surely Chelsea at home, they ought
:37:35. > :37:38.to be able to recreate the Passion of White Hart Lane rather than it
:37:39. > :37:44.being a sterile occasion? Well, I have just been speaking to our
:37:45. > :37:51.football correspondent about that point. I said if Mauricio Pochettino
:37:52. > :37:54.could pick a game and an opponent of their first game at Wembley, it
:37:55. > :37:58.would be Chelsea now, firstly because Chelsea are weaker than they
:37:59. > :38:01.will be in a few weeks' time, and secondly because if they beat
:38:02. > :38:05.Chelsea here, and they have every chance of doing so, it completely
:38:06. > :38:09.kicks the whole Wembley hoodoo into touch. Everyone is banging on about
:38:10. > :38:13.one defeat in nine in their last nine matches here under the arch,
:38:14. > :38:17.and that is true and three of those defeats came against Chelsea on the
:38:18. > :38:21.ground. But if they beat the champions here today in the Wembley
:38:22. > :38:26.sunshine mother who do is gone and no one will talk about it any more
:38:27. > :38:29.and we can all lay that to rest. And funnily enough, people say Spurs
:38:30. > :38:34.haven't signed anyone, and that is true. They have their first signing
:38:35. > :38:37.yesterday from Ajax. But picking the same 11 at the beginning of the
:38:38. > :38:42.season might give you an edge for a week or two. No one is getting used
:38:43. > :38:47.to the country. Everybody knows what they are doing. If I had to get off
:38:48. > :38:56.the fence, I would say Spurs will win today. Steve Wilson, thank you.
:38:57. > :39:01.You can hear the game on 5 Live from four o'clock. Alex Scott, would you
:39:02. > :39:07.go along with that, the perfect opening game for Spurs? It is, it's
:39:08. > :39:11.an exciting game. It's interesting, because they did make White Hart
:39:12. > :39:17.Lane last year a fortress. They went unbeaten at home all season. So it
:39:18. > :39:20.is a massive talking point. I remember going back some years now
:39:21. > :39:25.with Arsenal, the Champions League final for us, the ladies, we chose
:39:26. > :39:28.our home ground of Borehamwood instead of playing at the Emirates,
:39:29. > :39:32.because we knew we could pack it out, and the atmosphere does help
:39:33. > :39:40.you as a player. The crowd helped us get across the line. It is not the
:39:41. > :39:45.pitch size. Alex is right. It's the intensity you feed from the crowd.
:39:46. > :39:50.When you play at White Hart Lane, it's like one of the old-fashioned
:39:51. > :39:56.football grounds. The supporters are on top of you. Tottenham did make it
:39:57. > :40:01.like a fortress. However, I fully agree that you couldn't wish for a
:40:02. > :40:06.better game to beat Chelsea to wipe the hoodoo straightaway. Personally,
:40:07. > :40:09.I believe Tottenham are such a good team that no matter what stadium
:40:10. > :40:22.they play in, they can deal with what is thrown at them. Could you
:40:23. > :40:28.build this also as a club moving against a club that appears to be
:40:29. > :40:32.slightly chaotic at the moment? You could, but against that argument,
:40:33. > :40:37.Chelsea are champions and have been champions five times in the last 13
:40:38. > :40:42.seasons. They have won the Champions League. They have won the FA Cup
:40:43. > :40:46.four times. So when Antonio Conte turned around on Friday to say, this
:40:47. > :40:50.is the club that we should be looking to emulate, Spurs,
:40:51. > :40:55.Abramovich must be sat there thinking, what is he talking about?
:40:56. > :41:04.That is not how Chelsea operate. You have to accept that. But in terms of
:41:05. > :41:08.whether there is any acrimony in the camp, there is probably not in
:41:09. > :41:14.Spurs. Even so, the stuff about wages that Danny Rose brought up
:41:15. > :41:21.might bring discord at some stage. And Spurs, in terms of 18, -- in
:41:22. > :41:25.terms of a team, they lost walker, but they knew that was going to
:41:26. > :41:29.happen. So as a team, they seem to be going in the right direction.
:41:30. > :41:33.That is why I think the Wembley situation will be an issue, but at
:41:34. > :41:36.the moment, they are the form team of 2017 in the Premier League. And
:41:37. > :41:44.Chelsea will be unsettled on the pitch as well. There is no Cahill,
:41:45. > :41:48.no Fabregas. You can't predict this Chelsea line-up, and that is a
:41:49. > :41:54.positive for Spurs. They have that consistency. They know their jobs.
:41:55. > :41:58.So that is at four o'clock. You can listen to it on 5 Live and watch it
:41:59. > :42:03.on Match Of The Day 2 later. I realise Watford fans are probably
:42:04. > :42:06.screaming at the TV or radio. They got four points from their opening
:42:07. > :42:12.six games under Marco Silva. This programme worked out perfectly for
:42:13. > :42:16.you, because you have worked under Marco Silva as well. What will he
:42:17. > :42:22.have brought to Watford? He is immaculate in his preparation. He
:42:23. > :42:30.works every day with the players. He goes through everything. And you can
:42:31. > :42:34.see in the way they have started the season, they are organised. I would
:42:35. > :42:39.not expect anything less from Marco Silva. He had a great start at Hull,
:42:40. > :42:45.and you fell away towards the end. Did he work you too hard? Maybe. It
:42:46. > :42:49.was definitely different to the regime we had before. There were no
:42:50. > :42:58.days off. He had you out in the afternoons. A very foreign coachman
:42:59. > :43:01.Tansey in terms of, -- a very foreign coach mentality in terms of
:43:02. > :43:06.there being no time away from the training ground. It will be
:43:07. > :43:11.interesting to see how they do. But you sense that might be stability
:43:12. > :43:19.now at Watford. You are laughing, but Marco Silva hasn't gone to
:43:20. > :43:23.Watford for one season, surely? No. In his last two games, he has made
:43:24. > :43:27.this Watford side look very organised and hard to break down, so
:43:28. > :43:33.I do see it as a long term project at Watford, which is a change.
:43:34. > :43:36.Watford had a drink 's reception at the start of the season for the
:43:37. > :43:40.press. It is a different manager at the start of every season. We have
:43:41. > :43:46.all gone away thinking, this one could be the guy. I hope he is.
:43:47. > :43:48.Thank you to Alex and Alex and Andy. Thank you for your texts and tweets
:43:49. > :43:49.this afternoon. Don't forget, you can
:43:50. > :43:51.hear both of today's Huddersfield against Newcastle,
:43:52. > :43:56.followed by Spurs against Chelsea. I'll be back tonight for MOTD2,
:43:57. > :44:00.alongside Ruud Gullit