20/08/2017 MOTD2 Extra

Hello, welcome to Match Of The Day 2 Extra on BBC Two, Radio 5 Live

With me this afternoon, in the BBC Sport Centre

Bury and former Hull defender Alex Bruce, England and

and Andy Dunn, who's The Mirror's Chief Sports Writer.

Get in touch using the hashtag #bbcfootball on social media

Manchester United send a message to their rivals with a second

Another season, another defeat at Stoke for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal,

We'll be live in north-west London ahead of Tottenham's first

Premier League game at Wembley against the champions at four.

And another historic day for Huddersfield, who host Newcastle

As far as the papers are concerned, the # Have the story that Manchester

City will make Alexis Sanchez the highest-paid player in the Premier

League on 400 grand a week. The Express have picked up Philippe

Coutinho's prize to ?130 million. The Sunday Times are looking ahead

to the England squad being maimed and they said Chalobah and Rooney

might be called up by Gareth Southgate. How overboard do you want

to go on Manchester United's performance, Alex Bruce? How

overboard do you want me to go? They were special yesterday. They have

had a great start. They epitomise everything Manchester United are

about at the minute. They are a physical team with pace and power,

strength and depth. And they blew Swansea away on their own patch. Do

you have to take into account that it was Swansea and last week it was

West Ham. Swansea and West Ham fans might have a go, but you have to put

into context. You do. Defensively, they haven't been tested yet. But

you do have to admire the free-flowing football they are

playing. They are losing confidence, and it is not just Lukaku scoring.

They are getting goals from different positions. They won the

first three games of the last season. The encouraging thing for

them is the manner in which they are winning these games. The eight goals

they scored 15% of the total goals they scored last season in the

Premier League. Bearing in mind that this God a little over 50 goals. So

this is a signal of intent. I haven't known Old Trafford bouncing

like that for a good few seasons. I would not say quite since Sir Alex

left, but not far off it. So that has given everyone in the lift. And

they have options on the bench. They are bringing on Martial with 15

minutes to go, putting teams to the sword. It is what United used to do,

having cowed opponents. It sends out a message that they are a different

team. We will expand on that message in just a moment, but let's hear

from Jose Mourinho. United yesterday scored their last three goals in

just three minutes and 41 seconds. It happens with me so many times

with my teams. You are winning 1-0 and you are in trouble. You score a

second goal, let's close the door and don't give a chance to the

opponent. We scored the second goal and the feeling was, we can score

more. So no need to close the door. Just let the horses run freely! And

were magnificent. Always great when you have two macro guests with the

same first name. Alex Bruce, you were part of a Premier League team

last season. Expand on Andy's point that maybe last week's win is more

important in the sense of teams may be going back to Old Trafford

thinking they don't stand a chance, whereas most teams arguably went

there last season of the season before thinking they had a chance.

Well, if Man Utd were going to improve, you could say their home

form last year wasn't the best. But when you have the pace and the power

they have now and Lukaku getting an early goal at Old Trafford like he

did, Pogba chipping in with goals. They have so many options with

Rashfords, Lingards. If they can make all covered a fortress like

they always had, it would give them the impetus to achieve something

special. I think sometimes, the mentality of the players is

interesting. You heard Jose saying he let the horses run freely. But

that is not his instinct. His instinct would be to have the horses

on a tight rein. I got the impression in the last week that his

instinct with a 2-0 win is to shut up shop. That is what he has always

been great at. I thought he was thinking of doing that against West

Ham, but the choice was taken out of his hands. You have players like

Pogba, Lukaku, Martial. These are players who want to win handsomely.

The celebrations when Pogba scored yesterday, they are enjoying what

they are doing. Mourinho is now confident in his team. He is

confident, he has a different body language to what we saw last season.

Tactically, talking about trying to shut up shop at 2-0, when Fellaini

has come on, do you think Pogba has then been pushed further forward?

Pogba is a very skilful footballer. People go on about the pace and

power in this United team, but they are incredibly skilful and Pogba

showed yesterday how skilful he is. This macro, his goal was an

exquisite finish. It shows the talent in him. He is literally

driving this Man Utd team forward. Sometimes he is unstoppable. Once he

has the ball at his feet and he was driving through the midfield,

players can't stop him. We haven't even stopped on the guile of

Mkhitaryan and Mata. They have a nice blend now. They have a bit of

crap with those players and the pace -- they have a bit of craft with the

pace of Lukaku. But there is still a big butt. Do you think Mourinho is

different this season? I was out in Macedonia for the Super Cup. I

noticed a slight difference. No one loves trophies more than Jose

Mourinho. That is why he counts the Community Shield as a trophy. He

probably can say game against his kids as a trophy. He can list you

every trophy in order. But I got the impression out there that he was

using that game as the final preparation game, and he was

confident. He wasn't worried about a perceived chasm between the two

sides. I got the impression that he was much more bullish about this

season. He usually plays it down, but I got the impression that he was

very happy with his transfer business and happy with the players

that had gone. I don't mean that in a disrespectful sense. But I think

he thinks it is a better squad. I see what you're saying. When you let

the likes of Rooney goal, it's important that you replace them. And

if Lukaku can carry on as he is... But Lukaku offers more options than

Ibrahimovic. He does in terms of running behind. If he had signed

Ibrahimovic five years ago, he would have offered a different kind of

play to what he did last season. But Ibrahimovic did score a lot of goals

last season and there is talk of him coming back. I think Mourinho has a

massive point to prove. I think he thinks he has been, not written off,

but he has looked around at the praise that other coaches get for

the way they are playing, is dam at Real Madrid Pep Guardiola and

Pochettino with Spurs. And I think Jose has gone to the season

thinking, people are looking at me not as yesterday's man, but playing

a brand of football that is not up-to-date. That is where Mourinho

was smart. You can only work with what you've got. So he got last

season's players scoring goals. This season, totally different. He has

got the players he wants. The worst thing is a manager trying to impose

a philosophy on a group of players who can't deliver. Are you talking

about Crystal Palace? No! We may come to that later. Yeah, you can

only work with the players you have got. MO says, we are back stronger

than later. Jay says, we have to be patient. One final point on United.

Paul says, I think we are far from the Champions League. Maybe in

another year. Our squad is good, but not world class. That puts it into

some perspective. Well, you can't run before you walk. It is going to

take time. To win the Champions League, you have to be a specialty.

You could see that people like Real Madrid are in a different league at

them and, the way they blow teams away. Lots of texts and tweets on

Arsenal as well. Most of them begin with the word why? Eric - why is it

difficult for Arsenal to get it right? Puzzled by Wenger's

reluctance to make subs early. Terry, why don't we buy the players

we need? Why do we repeat our mistakes? Get something done. Tim -

you don't win a title with half the team showing no commitment. Let's

get the thoughts of Arsene Wenger after that defeat at Stoke

yesterday. It was the kind of game where you couldn't afford to make a

defensive mistake. But they defended well and we couldn't find an

opening. I believe defensively, we have no real excuse on that. We knew

it was important not to make a mistake at the back. And we gave

them a cheap goal. Why, why, why, Alex Scott? I am asking why well.

It's the same old talking points with Arsenal. It's frustrating.

Especially after the character they showed last week, winning the game

against Leicester. You were hoping they would get a goal. The amount of

opportunities we created yesterday, Arsene Wenger may feel hard done by.

It is frustrating. And it is the same old talking points. After the

Leicester win as well as yesterday, the other one is that the three at

the back worked for Arsenal towards the end of last season, and yet at

the moment, if you look at the three at the back, there are two

left-backs. There is a right-winger at right back. It is all a bit

confused. It is a bit confusing. A lot of people are asking why. They

are leaky. They give the opposition a chance all the time. We saw it

last week against Leicester. Going to a place like Stoke yesterday,

would you have fancied Arsenal at Stoke? On paper, maybe. But history

tells you otherwise. They have to be more consistent. When we talk about

Man Utd and their physicality and power and our drive to midfield, I

suppose going to Stoke with Arsenal yesterday, that is what is lacking

in their team. A Patrick Vieira of old who can drive them forward. But

why hammer Mesut Ozil? If Arsenal have a bad performance, the easy

target is to hammer Mesut Ozil. Surely the problems are bigger than

whether a player tracks back or not. And he doesn't track back. I think

Mesut Ozil is a fantastic player. He didn't play badly yesterday. I saw

him have a fantastic game at Stoke. The last time they were at Stoke,

they battered to Stoke. But Sanchez was on that team and he played

spectacularly well. I think the issue is that in Wenger, you have a

manager who has played a similar system for the best part of two

decades and has now changed it round, and they don't look

comfortable. Also, a lot of change was promised. When anyone breaks up,

you they say, no, we will be different, and they do the same old

things after it is settled. After spending, they haven't brought in

enough players of quality. There needs leaders. When you look back on

the defensive rocks they have always built their strength on, you look at

the Arsenal squad at the minute and think, where are those characters?

Dan has sent us a tweet that is the Arsenal defence of the moment looks

like something you put together when you have ran out of money on fantasy

football. What is Wenger thinking? Or maybe when you want to put loads

of full-backs in your back through because they get more points than

the centre halves in fantasy football. #bbcfootball if you want

to get in touch. Let's focus on the first of today's games, Huddersfield

against Newcastle. Juliette Ferrington is there.

It is another glorious day for a Sunday afternoon football, this game

has been sold out for weeks. Huddersfield against Newcastle,

Kevin Kilbane, you know about Huddersfield, you have played here,

there is a buzz about this place? We got here very early today, you

can feel what it means. We were reading a piece in The Times last

week with the owner, Dean Hoyle, what he has put into this club and

what it is meant to him over the course of his life, that is when you

get a feel for everything. You speak to supporters outside and there is a

buzz around the place. The old cliche, but you feel like it will be

a full house, full of expectancy, it will be interesting to see what

Newcastle do, can they cope with the atmosphere that will be put against

them? The penalty shoot out in May. Dean Hoyle so proud to be able to

write these notes for their first-ever home Premier League game.

It is what it means. In the 70s is when they have been in the Football

League, to get into the top flight, the Premier League, the club is

probably still in a bit of a transition, still trying to come to

terms with everything it takes to be a Premier League club. With the

start they had last week, I am sure that gives them are meant.

Particularly coming back here, full of expectancy, that sort of result

gives a team belief. I am sure Wagoner will be getting the side

fully geared up. It is probably what Newcastle do, how they can maybe

contain the atmosphere in the crowd. Huddersfield won last week,

Newcastle lost. They played each other in the Championship last

season but this is a different proposition for Newcastle? You are

looking... The mindset has change. Mentally, Huddersfield with a

promotion, which they got, they are on the up. But Newcastle, with Rafa

Benitez, he has been quite open in the last few weeks, he has not been

happy with how the transfer market has gone. Huddersfield have the

business done, they have players in, David Wagner is happy at the

momentum is with them. Two different mindsets completely, that is where

we might see how Newcastle can contain it.

A totally different Huddersfield squad. Full commentary of

Huddersfield against Newcastle, Kevin Kilbane is the summariser on 5

live sport from 1:30pm. He will be alongside Conor McNamara

for the game, Conor can give us the team news.

Huddersfield are riding on a wave after that victory against Crystal

Palace last week. This is their first home game in the top flight

for 45 years, what changed to the starting XI, Rajeev Ram DePaulo, a

half brother of Wijnaldum of Liverpool, he takes the place of

Kasey Palmer. A difficult start the Newcastle last weekend, Jonjo

Shelvey was sent off in that place and is suspended today. Mikhail

Marino, who has joined from Dortmund, who made his Newcastle

debut as a substitute against Spurs. Dummett was injured in the opening

game. The cells and Mbemba coming to the defence. Three changes for

Newcastle as they go chasing their first points of the new season.

Alex Bruce, Alex Scott and Andy join -- Andy Dunn join me on Match of the

Day 2 Extra. You mentioned that this is a good game for Huddersfield to

start with that home? Why? Newcastle have had a bad start. Rafa Benitez

has openly come out and said he is not happy with the transfer policy,

there are rumblings, a lack of discipline last week. If you could

have picked a better game to take on any Premier League game, Newcastle

would be perfect the way things are for Huddersfield, especially after

the result last week. You have come up to the Premier League with a

team, for those first few weeks, what is your advice to this

Huddersfield squad? Enjoy it. They have worked very hard last season to

get into the Premier League, there is no real pressure on them because

people will probably write them off, think they will struggle. If you

think you have cracked it and you think last week was a great result

and you can walk all over Newcastle, you can be brought back down to over

very quickly, I will say that. Just on enjoying it, is that easier said

than done? You worked hard to get there, nobody expects anything, you

might not expect anything. If you have a couple of defeats like bright

and early on, you can deal with it. If it gets to October maybe add you

have won one of the first eight or nine, to keep saying enjoy it and

nobody expects you to be here, the competitive professional in you

cannot deal with that? Lots of those Huddersfield players have not played

at Anfield, Manchester United, Chelsea, they have worked all their

lives for it and they will naturally enjoy it. I understand what you say,

when you lose a couple of games confidence can be knocked, but you

saw last week they played with free spirit, enjoyed it, the pressure was

off, they steam-rolled Crystal Palace. They had to take every game

as it comes and try to replicate what they did last week. Only one

week into the season, who is better equipped to stay up out of

Huddersfield and Newcastle? About going off last week, maybe

Huddersfield. Touching on your point, they are one of the youngest

sides in the Premier League, which comes with younger players having no

fear, the expectation is off. They won last week, this is a game that

everyone is talking about, Huddersfield are expected to beat

Newcastle and expectation means that things change, as a play your

mindset changes, we are expected to win, you look at it differently. It

will be interesting to see how it pans out.

You can't use the same argument with Newcastle, you can't really say to

Newcastle enjoy it, because a lot of people do expect Newcastle to be

here. Have a natural expectation, a big club, everybody knows what it is

like in the north-east, they are so passionate about their football. If

they get a that today it will be a horrific start. That expectation has

been, in a way, by what has happened in the summer, the dynamic between

Benitez, Ashley and the board, almost dampened. The supporters are

looking at it and thinking because Benitez has been perceived not to

have the backing that he expected in the transfer market, they are not

expected to pull up any serious trees. No, but they are less likely

to view, and I'm constantly trying not to patronise anybody in this

conversation, but less likely to view a trip to the Emirates or

Anfield is a day out. Yes. In terms of the players and the fans? I guess

so, I don't know. I think they will enjoy those days, they have been

away from it for a season. I don't entirely buy into that, I genuinely

think their expectations are not great. That is because of what has

happened. Because of the discontent, the seeming discontent, behind the

scenes in terms of the manager 's. I don't understand why Mike Ashley has

explained, sitting in front of TV cameras, why he is not spending the

money, Rafa Benitez has come out. For a team which is just been

promoted, it is a strange thing to do. You would want to keep the

momentum in the camp, picking up from last season, their success, why

is start the season negatively? The stories were coming out as long ago

as full six weeks in the newspapers saying Benitez is not quite on the

brink but seriously considering the future if he does not get the

backing. They were not a magic to out of thin air, those stories hard

grounds, said that ball rolling. Rafter is quite happy for it to be

out there for everyone to perceive, certainly the Newcastle fans, that

he is not getting the backing he thinks he was promised. Not that he

deserves, that he thinks he was promised by Mike Ashley. Mike Ashley

says I do not have the money of Man City, Chelsea or whatever. Neil

Ashton has written in the sum that they are considering bringing Andy

Carroll back. Would you? If he is fit he will get you goals, that is

what Newcastle need. They are renowned for having the number nine

striker that will get you goals. Personally, I don't see it

happening. I think West Ham will do all they can to keep hold of him, I

am not sure whether Keynes Fish where that came from. No, another

player says that with him being linked Newcastle are now linked to

900 players. One person says I would take a back any day, and experience,

proven goal-scorer. Can they afford him? Probably. Wages as well? They

can afford him. They need to bring him back to full fitness first. That

would be the gamble. It is getting these things done. One of Rafa's

biggest frustrations is the amount of deals that may be have been in

the pipeline and they have not got over the finishing line is, they

have not got them sealed. Abraham goes to Swansea, they are waiting to

take Kennedy on loan from Chelsea. These things are not getting done,

that is part of his frustration. Moving on to West Ham, Robbie says

after a night to think about yesterday that my grade is always

good to take your time before texting... If we had 11 men on the

pitch we would have done better. We says we can challenge for top eight,

no excuses, get up and running as soon as possible. Alex, you watch

this on Final Score yesterday. Did you see a site that could challenge

for the top eight? Not yesterday, and not last week against Man Utd. I

watched it with Trevor Sinclair and when they went down to ten players

we were both screaming. Something needs to change. They got a goal

against the run of play. Southampton had endless opportunities to put the

game to bed earlier. We saw great character for them to get back in

the game, Hernandez played a huge part. But I don't see them

challenging. I think there are worrying signs defensively and

tactically, but there are worrying signs. Fonte looks like he is

running through treacle, no place at all. Alex Bruce says that the

performance reiterates that Bilic is tactically clueless, nice guy but

not the right man to lead us forward. I am not sure he is

tactically clueless. They have had a difficult start and brought in a lot

of players. Joe Hart, Zabaleta, Hernandez, Fonte, they have bags of

experience and once they gel and they know what the Premier League is

all about, it is a question... Top eight? Not for me. They looked slow

against Manchester United, quite laboured. The centre midfielder

brings an incredible tenacity but he looked a little bit off the pace

yesterday. The signings, at the time... You disagree on Joe Hart?

Yes. The signings were lauded as great signings. Zabaleta is clearly

in the final stretch of his career. He has had a great career, he is in

the final stretch. He was exposed last week by Rashford in particular

against United. Joe Hart, Adrian was a very popular keeper at West Ham, a

very popular guy and a good keeper. You bring in Joe Hart, a big-name

signing, he has been through a situation over the last year where

unfortunately for a goalkeeper he has been through a situation over

the last year where unfortunately for a goalkeeper here's conceding a

lot, that simple. The idea that Guardiola deemed him surplus to

requirements because he was not great with the ball at his feet, I

think, was only a fraction of the issue. I think Guardiola does not

think he is a good enough goalkeeper and I think he is going through a

spell, you look at the seven goals West Ham have conceded, you cannot

say it is a mistake by Joe Hart. Some goals are going in easy. Over

the last 28 shots on target he has faced, I think 17 or 18 have become

goals. They may not be his fault, they might have been great shots,

but when you get into that groove, to a certain extent, I am not sure

it inspires confidence in defence. I think Joe has a lot of work to do to

keep his England place. He has, but you can't get away from the fact

that he has been a top goalkeeper, there have been plans where he has

put in performances for Man City when you think he is a top keeper.

He has been in Italy, in the different league, a totally

different ball game. Replacing a popular goalkeeper is an interesting

theory, it changes the dynamic amongst the back four. Yes, and they

have brought in different bodies, they had the injury to Winston Reid.

If they shape and work on that all week and your defender is stretched

off in warm up, that can throw you. They need to find the right blend of

youth and experience, I am sure they will be OK. They will be newsworthy.

It must be tough, Bilic, I think the owners have done a very good job at

West Ham and I like the way they run football clubs, but when you are out

there as well, they are not afraid to speak and say they want to sign

this player or that a performance was not good enough, it must be a

difficult environment for Bilic. Moving on to Liverpool against

Crystal Palace, one of the performers who got a lot of

attention yesterday is Andy Robinson, a former team-mate of Alex

Bruce. As a fellow full-back, Alex Scott, what difference will he make

to that back four? And you only have one game to go on at the moment. I

think he made the Liverpool backline looked balance yesterday, I was

impressed with his performance, especially going forward. Putting

crosses into the right areas, his end product. He has not been tested

defensively. The modern day full-back, we like it when they

bombed forward and get on the scoresheet but your job is to

defend. We did not see that yesterday that he had a solid start

and I think it is promising going forward. He is a natural modern day

left-back in terms of ability to run forwards all game, 90 minutes, his

energy levels are fantastic, he has blistering pace, he will give them

an added dimension of the going forward and his final delivery, when

he first came to Liverpool, his final third delivery is improving

all the time. It'll be interesting to see him when he is stretched

defensively but he huge potential. When we look at him from a defensive

point of view, as a centre-half, what are you looking for your

fallback to do to perform at the top defensively? You need a full-back

you can rely on. You don't want your fallback in an attacking sense. It's

a positional sense. So if the ball goes over your head, he's there to

knock out with his head or clear the ball. If you could label anything

that was a bit suspect in the last season, that would be it, but he has

improved massively. Another player from your Hull days, Harry Maguire,

was excellent for Leicester yesterday. I think Harry could be

the signing of the summer. In terms of players I have played with and

what you want from it one half, he has a bit of everything. His

position has improved. He is immaculate taking the ball and

running into midfield. He is a threat from set pieces. He's a

physical presence. He has all the makings of a top centre-half, and he

is getting better. They pointed out on match of the daily might that he

was feasible in a two for Leicester won a lot of the time last season,

he played in three. Well, when you are in three, you can come out the

ball. With Harry, whether he plays in a three or his two, he has his

way of wanting to play. And Shakespeare hasn't said to him to

concentrate on defending. He wants him to express himself and join in.

When he has get the momentum, he take some stopping. What I was

impressed with is that in the modern day, you want your defenders to be

front foot defenders full stops so get in there, intercept and create a

tax. That was what he did yesterday. The intercept is interesting. One we

talk about defending not being as good and as soon as you go to ground

or fly into a tackle, the whistle is going to go, actually, how you

intercept becomes even more crucial. Yeah, because you need to read the

game. The next step is to set up a counterattack. I am sure there will

be contrasts between someone like Maguire and Don stones. For stones,

that was always his strength. But when it goes wrong, last year with

City versus Everton, he has gone in for the intercept and timed it

wrong. And Lukaku scored the equaliser for Everton. But I like a

centre-half to do that. They seem more reluctant nowadays. The one

thing that is different between John Stones and Harry is that they are

both exceptional on the ball. Harry has the power to push you out of the

way. He's such a physical presence. You don't realise how big a man he

is until you stand next to him. It would take a hell of a powerful man

to shift him. Is it also fair to say that if Harry Maguire had made the

mistake that John Stones had made last season, there might have been

less attention on it at that stage of his career? Of course. John was

thrown in at the deep end with Man City. When you play for Hull, you

are not scrutinised as you are for Manchester City. And it gives you a

bit of leeway to make a mistake. To try things. And Harry has been able

to do that and he is seeing the rewards now. Just one mention of

Coutinho. The Express have upped it to 130 million as what Barca might

go up to. Does it make a difference? I don't think it does. I am not sure

the Klopp would want to keep a player who doesn't want to be there.

But fair play, they are not going to be bullied by Barcelona. They are

taking a stance. Now we are going to go to Wembley and talk to Steve

Wilson, who is commentating on Spurs against Chelsea for Match Of The Day

2 later this afternoon, sitting in the dugout in the sunshine at

Wembley. If you're listening to us on the radio, there are also the

Spurs covers all over the dugout. Does it feel like a Spurs home game

yet, Steve? Not really. It certainly looks Spurs, with the seat covers.

They have the motto inside the tunnel, to dairies to do that right

to bear is to do. But it doesn't really feel like Spurs. White Hart

Lane was so much smaller. Wembley is huge. Not as huge as it will be for

some games they play here this season, because we are not up to the

full 90,000 capacity. There are some seats covered by black tarpaulin

because Brent Council have limited the number of tickets Spurs could

sell today because it's a category A high-risk game. Yet we might beat

the Premier League record. If we don't beat it, we will be close to

it. That stands at 76,019 98, when Manchester United played Blackburn

ten years ago. We will be close to it. Spurs will certainly set a new

record here at Wembley not just for Premier League football, but for any

regular season domestic game played in England ever. Spurs will beat

that record this season at some point, possibly when they play

Burnley here in their next home game. So great excitement. It

promises to be a wonderful occasion, but it doesn't feel like White Hart

Lane. We were having a discussion fair. -- fair. This is a good

opening game for Wembley in that surely Chelsea at home, they ought

to be able to recreate the Passion of White Hart Lane rather than it

being a sterile occasion? Well, I have just been speaking to our

football correspondent about that point. I said if Mauricio Pochettino

could pick a game and an opponent of their first game at Wembley, it

would be Chelsea now, firstly because Chelsea are weaker than they

will be in a few weeks' time, and secondly because if they beat

Chelsea here, and they have every chance of doing so, it completely

kicks the whole Wembley hoodoo into touch. Everyone is banging on about

one defeat in nine in their last nine matches here under the arch,

and that is true and three of those defeats came against Chelsea on the

ground. But if they beat the champions here today in the Wembley

sunshine mother who do is gone and no one will talk about it any more

and we can all lay that to rest. And funnily enough, people say Spurs

haven't signed anyone, and that is true. They have their first signing

yesterday from Ajax. But picking the same 11 at the beginning of the

season might give you an edge for a week or two. No one is getting used

to the country. Everybody knows what they are doing. If I had to get off

the fence, I would say Spurs will win today. Steve Wilson, thank you.

You can hear the game on 5 Live from four o'clock. Alex Scott, would you

go along with that, the perfect opening game for Spurs? It is, it's

an exciting game. It's interesting, because they did make White Hart

Lane last year a fortress. They went unbeaten at home all season. So it

is a massive talking point. I remember going back some years now

with Arsenal, the Champions League final for us, the ladies, we chose

our home ground of Borehamwood instead of playing at the Emirates,

because we knew we could pack it out, and the atmosphere does help

you as a player. The crowd helped us get across the line. It is not the

pitch size. Alex is right. It's the intensity you feed from the crowd.

When you play at White Hart Lane, it's like one of the old-fashioned

football grounds. The supporters are on top of you. Tottenham did make it

like a fortress. However, I fully agree that you couldn't wish for a

better game to beat Chelsea to wipe the hoodoo straightaway. Personally,

I believe Tottenham are such a good team that no matter what stadium

they play in, they can deal with what is thrown at them. Could you

build this also as a club moving against a club that appears to be

slightly chaotic at the moment? You could, but against that argument,

Chelsea are champions and have been champions five times in the last 13

seasons. They have won the Champions League. They have won the FA Cup

four times. So when Antonio Conte turned around on Friday to say, this

is the club that we should be looking to emulate, Spurs,

Abramovich must be sat there thinking, what is he talking about?

That is not how Chelsea operate. You have to accept that. But in terms of

whether there is any acrimony in the camp, there is probably not in

Spurs. Even so, the stuff about wages that Danny Rose brought up

might bring discord at some stage. And Spurs, in terms of 18, -- in

terms of a team, they lost walker, but they knew that was going to

happen. So as a team, they seem to be going in the right direction.

That is why I think the Wembley situation will be an issue, but at

the moment, they are the form team of 2017 in the Premier League. And

Chelsea will be unsettled on the pitch as well. There is no Cahill,

no Fabregas. You can't predict this Chelsea line-up, and that is a

positive for Spurs. They have that consistency. They know their jobs.

So that is at four o'clock. You can listen to it on 5 Live and watch it

on Match Of The Day 2 later. I realise Watford fans are probably

screaming at the TV or radio. They got four points from their opening

six games under Marco Silva. This programme worked out perfectly for

you, because you have worked under Marco Silva as well. What will he

have brought to Watford? He is immaculate in his preparation. He

works every day with the players. He goes through everything. And you can

see in the way they have started the season, they are organised. I would

not expect anything less from Marco Silva. He had a great start at Hull,

and you fell away towards the end. Did he work you too hard? Maybe. It

was definitely different to the regime we had before. There were no

days off. He had you out in the afternoons. A very foreign coachman

Tansey in terms of, -- a very foreign coach mentality in terms of

there being no time away from the training ground. It will be

interesting to see how they do. But you sense that might be stability

now at Watford. You are laughing, but Marco Silva hasn't gone to

Watford for one season, surely? No. In his last two games, he has made

this Watford side look very organised and hard to break down, so

I do see it as a long term project at Watford, which is a change.

Watford had a drink 's reception at the start of the season for the

press. It is a different manager at the start of every season. We have

all gone away thinking, this one could be the guy. I hope he is.

Thank you to Alex and Alex and Andy. Thank you for your texts and tweets

this afternoon. Don't forget, you can

hear both of today's Huddersfield against Newcastle,

followed by Spurs against Chelsea. I'll be back tonight for MOTD2,

alongside Ruud Gullit