20/11/2016 MOTD2 Extra

Hello and welcome to Match Of The Day 2 Extra on BBC Two, Five Five

and the BBC sport website with me, Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam,

former Northern Ireland international dash from Republic of

Ireland international Kevin Kilbane and daily Mirror sports writer John

Cross. This is how to get in touch and use the hashtag on social media,

BBC football. Mourinho still not beaten against Arsene Wenger

although a late goal from Olivier Giroud leaves Jose disappointed.

Yaya Toure the main man. Spurs clinch victory over West Ham to

maintain their unbeaten start to the season. The Tigers tamed and Chelsea

with the chance to go top later at Middlesbrough. This is what some of

the papers are saying, the Observer has Wayne Rooney branding his

treatment by the media this week is disgraceful, the Sun on Sunday says

his fellow England stars Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson was

seen at a strip club in Bournemouth, although without Kevin Kilbane, we

can confirm! What was the same night as Rooney. More about that, the FA

is also planning to speak to Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard about

coaching roles in the national team setup, Steven Gerrard heavily linked

with the manager 's job at MK Dons. The big game at Old Trafford

yesterday finished 1-1, Mourinho keeping his unbeaten record against

Arsene Wenger in the Premier League although he says it felt like a

defeat. I am very sad for the players and fans. The feeling is

good, the empathy is good, I know that last season Manchester United

won is matches at home and people were leaving the stadium ten minutes

before, they were not happy with the kind of performance, the kind of

football. This season we have had three consecutive draws at home, and

people are not happy with the result but they are with the team, then the

direction we are going in. But football is made of points, in the

end, they are the most important thing and the reality is that we had

these two matches at home. John Cross, you were at Old Trafford

yesterday. Jose Mourinho with the unluckiest team in the Premier

League? He seems to go on about is how they don't got what they

deserve, you don't come in football. Every manager thinks he is the

unluckiest in the world! I have some sympathy with him although yesterday

Manchester United could not say that. At 1-0 they were so dominant,

they absolutely bossed the game from start to finish and they had to win

it. They were running out. There was only one team in it, Arsenal game

did not show up to a big game, that's got to be a concern if you

are pushing for the title and that is the ambition this season, they

were outclassed by Manchester United, Ander Herrera was the best

on the pitch, they did not kill the game off. It gave Arsenal are

licensed to get back into the game, two great substitute performances

from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bolivia Giroud, Manchester United

will kick themselves. Charlie, you watched the game. If you Mac we

watched in the dressing room before the game. It was a surprise, the

quality they've got, that was the major disappointment. Mourinho is a

top manager and it will take time. The expectation at Manchester United

is that you have to win every game. He hasn't been able to keep these

clean sheets, has he? Historically he would win a game like that. He

hasn't found that yet with Manchester United, they are

conceding sloppy goals, even towards the end of his reign at Chelsea they

did that. I don't know if the players are not taking on board what

he is saying to them but we haven't seen that at Manchester United yet,

because normally in his career he would have won at 1-0. Bringing back

Michael Carrick is a key player. He steadied the ship. Ander Herrera row

has played really well since Mourinho has come in. He's been a

different player. He steadied the ship and allows others to play. Why

did it take them so long to bring him back? He's a quality player. The

way he sits there, sees all the play and dictates, it was almost like a

four 141 yesterday, United were great and the balance in midfield

got the best out of Paul Pogba. When you arrive with an ?89 million price

tag on your head and brings a different level of expectation and

you will be judged differently and sometimes he has fallen below that.

I thought it was a good performance from him yesterday. I thought

Manchester United were about that power and pace. Mata played so well

as well. I don't think to get the best out of Paul Pogba he should

play besides somebody, I think you have to keep the three in there, the

holding midfielder and one on the side and him on the left. He has the

pace and power to run with the ball as well. Mourinho realises that is

the formation to go with, it could be a dominant force in the next few

weeks. They are still behind with a should be, as their fans would say.

They expect Manchester United to be right at the top challenging. They

are challenging top four but I think they will fall short. Mourinho said

it himself, they will not win the league this year. That's the

problem, a lot of Manchester United fans are trying to take on board

that they've spent all this money in the last few years, the highest-paid

team in the world and they can't sustain a title challenge. It's just

taking time for Mourinho to get these methods over. There's a lot to

take from yesterday, a lot of positives, how much they dominated

the game and took it to Arsenal. In the Stoke game this season they

played quite well and created so many chances, they did not win the

game and they received criticism for conceding one goal against Stoke. I

think there have been positives this season, aside progressing but it is

just defensively that they need a couple of centre halves summer just

to come in there... Phil Jones hasn't played all season, there were

three out of four who haven't played all season so not a lot of game time

in them. Chris Smalling is missing as well. It will take them time, I

have been really surprised at their young player, who has been a very

good signing for them and he's been excellent so far, as soon as they

get everyone back fit they will be winning games. Mourinho arrived and

said, I'm going for the title. He's a winner and we want to win every

game. But what they want to win every game. I respect and admire

that but he has looked at it and realised again yesterday he was

talking about how it will take him a year or so, and all the other

coaches, we even mentioned Antonio Conte. He arrived at the same time

as Mourinho. Manchester United, it's all about trying to finish in the

top four, for me because the title is out of reach but the team still

needs major surgery defensively. What options have they got up front?

Zlatan was missing yesterday and he's still a big player for them. He

is at an age where you've got to get at least one striker. The title is

out of reach, says Kevin, do Arsenal have to be bolder against title

rivals? One shot, one Dole yesterday. Unlike Arsenal, where

they score goals, you actually force them wide because they don't cross

the ball. They continue to come back into the strength of the team when

they are defensively lined up. Yesterday is a break from the

non-Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain went wide, beat Rashford easily and put

across. As a kid growing up that was a great goal to see. We're talking

about Arsenal at Old Trafford, Manchester United have been a

dominant force over the last years, we talked about Arsenal trying to

dominate the game, it won't happen. Sometimes you realise that when you

go to these places... As Mourinho says he never wants to get beaten in

the League 1, you will take one point, OK Arsenal next point but it

is important that sometimes you realise where you will be playing.

Old Trafford, a big stadium, it's a difficult place to get a result. I

want your falls, Charlie Adam, on Wayne Rooney. He said interesting

things after the game about his treatment by the media -- want your

thoughts. He felt the media were trying to write his obituary. He

won't let that happen. Your thoughts before we talk about Adam Lallana

and Henderson. He's spot on. His captain of his country. He has been

one of the top players for England for a number of years. OK, he's had

a drink. So what? He's in a hotel, trying to do the right thing by

staying in a hotel because he's a professional. England staff were

there as well. Pictures have been taken and got out into the media. I

think it is a disgrace, and he's trying to do the right thing by

staying in a hotel and having a drink, we have all been there. Once

tries! What are your duties? In the past we would meet on a Sunday and

have some drinks because the lads had played all weekend, the manager

would allow it although it would never happen in the week. I don't

think the England lads are drinking in the week. They've had a game,

finished, got back to the hotel at 12 o'clock and is having a couple of

drinks, what's wrong with that? You are the disgrace, John! I do think

some of the criticism of Rooney this week has been over the top and I've

been vocal about it. Looking back on his career he will go down as one of

England's all-time greats. Because he conducts himself well, here's a

brilliant talent. Arguably he's made a mistake here. He has apologised so

he obviously accepts that. From my perspective one I've had dealings

with him he's been very approachable and sociable. -- when I've had

dealings with him. Friendly. Ironically he stayed indoors to be

out of the spotlight. He tried to do the right thing and it backfired. If

Gareth Southgate or someone in the hotel said to him, time to go to

bed, that's a different story. We don't know the facts. The fact is

that if he went to his local pub and Hudson some beers he isn't doing

something wrong although he is probably more vulnerable because

he's out. Here, he stayed in a hotel, I have done it while on

international duty, we've had a singsong and a laugh and some drinks

in the bar and that's been it. Nothing wrong with it. It won't

affect the performance on Tuesday the matter what the sport scientists

say. It won't affect the importance. He probably played Z Cars on the

piano, we must ask the guests. Friday night was the game, Saturday

night you are of committees to is the next game, is it acceptable to

drink until 5am is a professional athlete? What time did he have his

drink, 1am? Gareth Southgate says it is OK. It is not like he sneaked

somewhere. He's allowed it to happen, it is not just Wayne

Rooney's fraud, the manager must take some blame, or the FA must

apologise, they allowed it to happen. The staff and other players

were there. They were with him. It is what happens. It is just filling

newspapers. And so is this, on the front of the Sun on Sunday England

stars at a strip club. Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson visiting a

strip club on the night that Wayne Rooney was boozing until 5am and

this was in Bournemouth, Kevin. That all fits into the argument that

Wayne Rooney has been responsible by staying in the team hotel while the

others went out. I've never frequented a place like that, that

is not just me. I would stay in a hotel bar and have a few drinks.

This is another thing, going back to the Wayne Rooney issue, he tried to

do it right, the lads had a night off, they are within their rights to

have a night out. We've talked about the English, British, Irish culture,

whatever it is, they say that this is ingrained in the player 's

culture and it is happening in Germany, Spain and every other

league in the world. Rugby players do it, sports men and women to it

but because their profile is so high they will get the brunt of that,

that is the way it is. Paul has been in touch saying they should leave

Wayne Rooney alone, he does not get the credit he deserves on or off the

pitch. Neal said, it's not a big issue, he went to a wedding,

probably made the couple's day, they will never forget it,. Phillips is,

don't go out and act the way you did, do it when you retire! They are

not robots, you have to enjoy yourself. There is a lot of pressure

on them. Natalie says that if historically he had behaved in a

more mature and gentlemanly fashion the media would be less harsh. I

don't think that is a fair accusation, he has gone up a level

since he's been captain. If you look at how mature he has been since

taking on the armband he doesn't see it as a responsibility. He has posed

for pictures and there's a lesson in the fridge, don't do that. He will

have learned a harsh lesson from that -- there's a lesson in the

future. He's been a good England leader. When you hear Rooney speak,

I did a press Conference when England played France at Wembley

after the Paris terror attacks, you would not hear a player speak better

than Rooney did, he was respectful, he caught the mood, he has been a

great captain. I think we lose sight of the fact sometimes of just what a

great player he has been. I think he has been to mature on the

pitch and guidance and. People said, when he matures, he'll be

unbelievable. When he has taken a cloud of his game, he's probably

lost the real Wayne Rooney. You can't have it both ways sometimes

and that is the problem. Let's talk about another man who has had to

apologise, Yaya Toure to Pep Guardiola. Yaya Toure was in the

starting line-up for Manchester United today and scored two goals as

they got their result. I am so happy for him. He is a nice guy. His

weight is perfect now and there is no doubt about his quality. In the

beginning, we decided... We didn't count on him. He would not be here,

he would be... We didn't know his personality quality. He can play

many positions and I'm so happy for him and for his family and, of

course, we have one more man to help us to achieve our target this year.

Do Pep Guardiola... You have a wry smile on your face! I love that

interview. He's been out of the team for so long. He is paying lip

service. I think Gary Hattori is a fantastic guy. -- Yaya Toure. He was

bursting into the box, he's got power, pace, smashes it into the top

corner and that is what you are your Tory is about. Clearly there has

been a bit of an issue. He does leaner and fitter and I think it is

the fact that they are all in black, which is good for the fuller figure,

shall we say... I think he's a great player and there have been issues

with him and his agent by Manchester City. I think it has been a waste of

a world-class talent and a very sad reflection. You have played against

him. What's he like? A difficult opponent. Big, strong, powerful. He

can score a goal as well. In that spell, he was scoring free kick

after free kick every week and he is a big player to have back in the

squad. As Guardiola said, being in the league is their aim and with

someone like Toure there, it will help. Do you think he is back for

good? I do think he is but the good and you can't underestimate the

impact that will have on the team spirit. You can see what it meant to

have him back aside and what it meant everyone within the squad and

with the whole coaching staff and everything. I think you'll have a

huge impact. It is a type that they need in the game. Palace equalised.

-- a tonic that they need. They have maybe crumbled a bit. They have not

been able to get that second goal. Yaya Toure gives you that sparked it

up with that is what he is going to give to them on a regular basis

under Guardiola, he can't not play him. Let's move onto Vincent Kompany

because I spoke to Pep Guardiola after the game and he said he was

concussed, which is good news because it is not his par-4 knee or

a troublesome injury. Is enough enough? Well, if it is concussion,

that is a good sign. These injuries keep happening so there has got to

be something where there are problems or the training methods or

something has to do be looked at. Maybe his body just can't take the

physical demands of the Premier League. We don't know. I've got some

sympathy with him. It must be heartbreaking to be that good and be

a great leader and then it is not related... This latest one is a

freak injury, a collision. Or is it related? Was because he was rushed

in the way he approached that situation with the goalkeeper? I

don't think so. I think it was a freak collision. I've not seen it

because we had a game. Someone like Paul McGrath played for the last 15,

30 years, these are players that are world-class defenders that couldn't

train. They weren't training Monday to Friday. A player can't do that

now. They can't get away with not training Monday to Friday. Guardiola

would not pick him. He needs a manager that could do that to him

but could he sustain that going into that physicality? For Crystal

Palace, a fifth straight defeat and you heard Alan Shearer say last

night, 0.71, the lowest points average of all the top four leagues

in England. Let's hear from their manager Alan Pardew. We've got some

games coming up that probably we've got chance of winning but we now

need to put ourselves under pressure. We needed a result today

to give ourselves a lift and we haven't had that so we've got to get

back to the training room, get back to making sure the messages get on

the pitch and people do their jobs, simple things, and the rest will

take care of itself. The dressing room is strong and determined, like

you are? Everyone is determined? The dressing room is angry because they

want to put it right, there's no doubt about that. There were a few

words said at the end from me and the players and we're fighting and

we're going to have to make sure that between now and Christmas we

pick up some points. The points average over the calendar year,

anger, Alan Pardew said. Does it help? It does. You need emotion. We

went through a spell where we lost a few games in a row 4-0. You need to

stick together and we knew we had the quality in the dressing room, it

was just a matter of time when it was going to happen. Luckily, it

changed. We have a spell where we played Sunderland, Hull city and

Swansea and we won all three of them. Apart from yesterday, we lost

a game that we should have won, but you need that fight and that burning

desire in your belly that some people need a few home truths. No

clean sheets since April for Crystal Palace. Cheney on Facebook as a

question. You can't say Newcastle fans didn't warn us. Pardue

absolutely clueless. That is not a question, it is a statement! Last

season I had an awful run but what do Palace fans remember? It was

reaching the FA Cup final. It was a really tough ask. I think in all the

games, we saw a few weeks ago against Liverpool, they are in that

game. They are scoring goals, creating chances. I don't think they

are a hopeless case. If you ask experts and fans alike, not many

would say Palace will go down. It is not great but I do think Alan Pardew

is still a manager who will turn things around and they are creating

chances and scoring goals but the former is a massive worry. But I

think you look at the squad and there is creativity, quality going

forward. The thing that strikes me when I look at them is the defence.

Defensively, I'm not sure about the quality in the back four and I think

they have conceded far too many goals. How they were in the

Liverpool game, I don't know, because Liverpool were magnificent

but they still looked a threat. They were playing to Ben techie's

strength. -- Christian Benteke's strength. Five games unbeaten now.

They've gone five games, five losses on the bounce, and I think looking

at them and you get on those runs and it is difficult to turn it

round. We've all been on them and it is difficult to reverse that. You

concede a goal and it is like the end of the world when you concede

one goal and that is what has happened with Palace at the moment.

That second goal yesterday was a killer for them and it is difficult

to reverse. Staying in London, you were at White Hart Lane yesterday. A

combat the Tottenham 32 against West Ham. Three games unbeaten and the

last time they did that was 1960/61. They weren't great yesterday. By got

out of jail towards the end of the game. First off, they were awful,

about 70 present possession but created nothing. West Ham were the

more threatening side. All of a sudden, they come out at half-time.

It was right at the half of the time, Johnson went and closed

another player down under got the crowd up. They got them back on the

front foot, created a few chances, got back again but once they concede

the penalty, it looked to me like, here we go again, the same old

Tottenham. They didn't look like they were going to be able to break

West Ham down. All three came from the right-hand side it up they were

good going forward with Antonio but he struggles when he gets in

one-on-one positions. The voice of Kevin Kilbane, if you're listening

on Radio 5 live. John, where are we up to on this hurricane contract?

Yesterday Pochettino said he is one of the best strikers in the world.

Where are we up to on his contract? 50 grand a week he earns at the

moment. By saying that, he is one of the best strikers in the world, and

dumped arguably by current standards should be earning in excess of

?150,000 a week, ?150,000 more. -- ?100,000 more. I don't think there

is any chance the Tottenham chairman, a notoriously good wheeler

in dealer, very tight on contracts, wants to go over six figures in the

market. They will have to pay to keep him. I think they will and that

is why they have delayed contract talks to the end of the season.

There is no doubt that Harry Caine wants to stay at Tottenham for the

long-term but he also knows, obviously, that he could earn far

more elsewhere. He is one of the best strikers. Why did Spurs win the

game? One man, hurricane. That is why he is worth his weight in gold

it och Pochettino has said to him not to look at other people's wages.

You must do that! He is the best player so he should be paid the

best. If I was Tottenham, I would sign him up as quick as possible on

the longest deal possible. Football in this day and age, we talk about

structures. Will get blown out of the water because how much would

replace -- cost to replace hurricane? The same as Wayne Rooney.

Bring in someone from abroad who doesn't know the league to... It is

a big risk and that is why they sign him up. Harry Kane will get what he

deserves. I think it is... If I was Tottenham, I would get the contract

signed and not wait till the summer. A big week for Spurs, isn't it? And

they've struggled in the Champions League, struggle to get themselves

back in. It has been a surprise, particularly at Wembley. They've got

a good team and I thought they would win quite easily but they have

struggled. I think it is a big week for them. It is where they want to

be and you put yourself on that pedestal of Champions League

football and that is where you got to play the big money, where Harry

Kane and his like can demand that. I think Christian Eric and has

struggled. He was quite poor in the match yesterday. Just a word about

West Ham. Worrying to be a West Ham fan. We've talked about them all

season a lot but their next three games, Manchester United, Arsenal

and Liverpool. It is really worrying. I don't think they've hit

form all season. People expected them to push on, having done last

season so well under Slaven Bilic. I would question some of the transfers

over summer. I Bessemer business was particularly ported rock they set

out to make a marquee signing. That didn't happen. They had loans or

smaller amounts in Premier League terms. I've seen positives from West

Ham. I saw the game at the Etihad last season where they had a good

structure defensively and work breaking through. That was a big

positive, getting Sakho back in the game. I thought they looked better

defensively. We played them the game before the international break and I

was disappointed to talk especially at home. The atmosphere was flat,

there was nothing... It was not the West Ham way, going to Upton Park

where the crowd are on top of you and there was a buzz. I felt it was

flat and paella was disappointing. -- Payet was disappointing. We felt

as if we controlled the game against them the other week and that will be

a major disappointment for them. It remains difficult. West Ham just

above the bottom three. Let's talk about one team very much in there,

Sunderland. A big game at the bottom yesterday, Sunderland beating Hull

3-0. Jermain Defoe's 150th Premier League goal and two goals from

Victor and it to be gave them the win, and here is David Moyes. He was

like Didier Drogba at times. He was so hard to play against. If he can

add goals to his game as well, it has been a bit unlucky with a couple

of others. We were pleased because he has helped us and we needed

something else in the team. It has not been easy but he was a handful

today, that's for sure. David Moyes, your old manager, calling your old

team-mate a baby dropped the. I'm not sure what he means. When Victor

first came in at Everton when he was 16, 17, we couldn't believe how

physical he was at that age and he is a player that has had a few

injury problems. He needs a bit of love. For all the strength and brute

power he has, he needs an arm around him, like so many players do. But

there is a talent in there. It was an interesting signing when David

Moyes got because I thought if anyone was going to get him, it

would be David Moyes. He knows how to handle him, how his personality

would react to different situations. Delighted for Victor because

Sunderland have a player that is underestimated, has underachieved a

bit in his career and I think he can go on now and really established

himself and get a good partnership with Defoe because he is what

Jermain Defoe needs. That is Victor Anichebe's first

double since you played with him! Sunderland turning the corner?

Whatever he has been doing, it's been working. In the Premier League

it just needs one display like at Bournemouth with a goalkeeper kept

them in the game and they won that, winning breeds confidence and they

seem to be getting some confidence now. On Facebook Anthony says

Sunderland had to win, they need a parachute, without Hull have been

dropping. Hull's situation looks desperate, they did have chances

before Sunderland took the lead and they had decent chances late on but

if momentum is all-important for Sunderland it also works the other

way and they just can't get out of that rut, Hull City at the moment,

they made a terrific start, everyone applauding them but we all said,

they have to make significant investment because the squad is not

strong or deep enough. A couple of signings already, nowhere near

enough. If everyone names their favourites to go down, the first

name you mention, as cruel as it sounds, is Hull City. Mike Phelan

will do very well to keep them up because there's just not enough

quality to keep them in the division. This win by Sunderland

means Swansea on our bottom of the Premier League. So Bob Bradley,

their manager, is still searching for his first win as Swansea boss.

He's the first Swansea manager not to get a win, Kevin, in his first

Premier League games in charge. His predecessor got four from 21. I

didn't see how the flow of the game went but it sounded as if Everton

were poor in the first half and Swansea dominated. They could have

been ahead more than they were. When you are on top you got to put the

match to bed, it goes back to what we said before, when you are at the

bottom and concede a goal everything crumbles around you. They cannot

break this mould. This trend they are on a moment of conceding, then

dropping points. It worrying for them. Matt asks why we are giving

Bradley such a bashing, he says this is not a bad result especially when

most Everton fans seem to think that Ronald Koeman will turn them into a

top team. Charlie, would you listen to what Bradley says, he talks a

good game. Would you think he knows what he is on about? He's done a

decent job with the American national team but he hasn't got bad

experience in the Premier League. The players sensed that. Do they

really know, the jobs that he has had have not been big and this is a

tough job to have. Like Kevin said, it just seems... Can he play

different ways, grind out a result, set out a different site like Sam

Allardyce and do that, I'm not sure he's got the mouse. I feel Swansea

have only one way of playing. You know that they will try to pass it

through the lines. They don't want to go direct. Play that long ball,

they just want to keep playing the same way. He needs to be able to

play in a different way to get a result. If I was Bob Bradley I would

be seriously worried because Garry Monk was sacked too soon. Francesco

Guido Lynn was sacked too soon and that lack of stability at a club

does no one any favours. Bradley must be worried about it. I don't

think he's got a top-class experience, he has been an

international manager but not at a top club. The players will be

thinking, if he is here for the long term? -- is easier for the long

term? They want their own man and he is an American. They say they had

never met him before. It'll be a difficult job to keep him up. He

said that they were in a crisis and Bradley was reacting to that. Crisis

is too strong a word but there is uneasiness about the manager. And

there have been a couple of incidents with the managers, when we

played them the other week, if you stop Gylfi Sigurdsson you stop the

whole team. They've got to find a different way to get results like

David Moyes add Sunderland, they know how to win. They have the most

experience of getting a run going over the last few years, it'll be

interesting to watch it. Yesterday you played 90 minutes, Stoke against

Bournemouth, a defeat at home but a very good spell for you before that.

We did not start well, we would disappointing. -- we were

disappointing. And they should have had a penalty, even I can say that.

It was a stonewall penalty. They passed well and did a job on us,

they never really... In the second half we were much better and created

chances and if we had won the Game 4-1 it probably would have been

justified. But this is the Premier League and if you don't turn up for

the first 45 minutes you can get the game taken away from you. Today 4pm

kick off Chelsea travel to Middlesbrough, Chelsea top of the

Premier League with a win at the Riverside, Eden Hazard was the

Premier League Player of the Month for October and he's been speaking

to Juliet. We've played a lot of good games, we are almost on top and

we want to stay top, I hope I can continue like this. What do you put

this down to? After Arsenal were changed the system and now it is

better. To rewind to last season when things were not going well what

was your relationship like with Jose Mourinho? It was the same as last

season, for him it is difficult to lose a game because in his career he

wins all the time. S we were together at the top. We suffered

together. When he left you send him a text, do you still communicate

with him? Sent a message just to say good luck. I hope that he can win

some games, not too many because we want Chelsea to be champions! We

want to be top again. What is the challenge for you, a couple of years

ago everybody thought you were the best player in the world. I am still

young, only 25! I want to be the best, it is not in my head at all, I

want to enjoy it and if I can be the best I will be, if not, it's not a

problem. I just want to play. I don't want to be like Lionel Messi

or Ronaldo, I just want to be me and be the best. John did not believe a

word that Pep Guardiola was saying. A bit of an excuse, change the

formation and everything will change? I think that Antonio Conte

has told him, you are my best player, we want everything to go

through you and it has changed the whole way he played. Last season he

was below what he had achieved before and this season he is a top

player... Like Kevin said before, the manager giving an arm around you

and saying, you are my best player, I want you to perform, and he's done

that. I think there's less responsibility if you play

defensively, he has said, stay in the final third, play in the

positions you want to and get forward with less responsibility and

it is suiting him. Don't underestimate the aspect that Diego

Costa has on that side, he's my favourite player to watch in the

legal bar none. Rings spark to every game. Some might not like it but 99

out of every 100 players can't do what Eden Hazard does what Lionel

Messi or Ronaldo. Diego Costa brings something to Chelsea that not many

other strikers can provide. -- he brings spark. This is why I like him

so much. He gives Chelsea so much. He's great to watch. I love the fact

that he said this week that he would not leave Chelsea until they won the

Premier League game. He's put himself out there. Or until Mourinho

comes back! He's been linked because he's such a great player, with

big-money deals abroad, and frustration but I think he feels

loyalty. They've been good for him Chelsea and he is good for them.

Where would he go? Paris? Would he get a game at Real Madrid with

Ronaldo and Gareth Bale? I'd be surprised. Can he be a great, in the

sense of players like Lionel Messi or Ronaldo? I think those two are on

a different level from everyone else and he's in the same bracket as

Gareth Bale, he could be great at Chelsea, I think that could be good

enough. To see where he can go, I think it would be difficult to leave

and go anywhere else. Today is big in the grand scheme of things, going

to Middlesbrough with the chance to go top, psychologically important.

It will definitely bring defensive structure to the side, that is what

Aitor Karanka has done with his side, they will maybe try to stifle

Chelsea today. They did that at Arsenal and they could have one,

probably should have one. Sorry, Manchester City. And I saw them

against Watford about a month ago and they quite poor. They couldn't

break Watford town. It will set them today, it will be a better game for

them to try to go to sit deep and get on the break a bit. Yaya Toure

is the key player. -. Toure is the key player. And what about

Middlesbrough Aitor Karanka has been accused of being too conservative at

times. You've got to be, when you first come into the league you have

to be realistic and say, one pint at Manchester City, when you go to

teams like that, way, it's a good point. You have to know your

capabilities. They will have to sit in a bag of five and wait for

Chelsea to hit them. He's an engaging character. He's got some

great thoughts on the game, passionate about the Premier League,

he says it is a much more competitive and exciting than La

Liga and he worked under Mourinho at Madrid so that's quite a compliment.

The problem Boro have is creating clear-cut chances and scoring. And

that will be, this is why he has to be realistic and he's doing the

right thing. You have to balance it out. I wonder if he will try to

address that in the way the team set up and maybe in the January window.

They must be spending big wages on their striker. Can you get a few

players scoring goals, there are some that you look at to provide

some spark, although it's about stopping sites, I agree with John,

Tony Pulis and other managers have done that brilliantly, stopping

sites and trying to score from a set piece. A draw is the best compliment

you can give Aitor Karanka, he was almost tripping over his feet last

season and this season he has blossomed, he has power and pace, so

dangerous, a terrific threat. Chelsea could go top, is that

somewhere where you could see them in May? They will definitely be

there. I think it will be between Chelsea and City for the league,

City will just edge it. I think it will be between Manchester City and

Liverpool to win the league. The final word from Kevin Kilbane, thank

you, and Charlie Adam and John Cross. Middlesbrough against Chelsea

on five live at 4pm and Kevin will be back tonight with Mark Chapman,

Leeds against Newcastle next on Five Live, whatever you are doing today,

have a good one. See you later. That could be a pile of workers

on't scrapheap. It's not just the end

of an industry - Everybody's absolutely

devastated by it.