:00:10. > :00:41.Good afternoon and welcome to programme Max. -- MOTD2 Extra. With
:00:42. > :00:48.me we have the former Newcastle manager and coach John Carver. And
:00:49. > :00:51.the football journalist Henry Winter and we want you to be involved. Drop
:00:52. > :00:59.us a text or join us on Twitter. and we want you to be involved. Drop
:01:00. > :01:02.Over the next 45 minutes we will discuss Jamie Adi scoring in his
:01:03. > :01:05.10th consecutive Premier League game as Leicester go top. We
:01:06. > :01:10.10th consecutive Premier League game Liverpool thrashing Manchester City,
:01:11. > :01:14.Arsenal being beaten at West Brom and the injury crisis there and we
:01:15. > :01:18.look ahead to the London derby this afternoon between Spurs and West
:01:19. > :01:23.Ham. Loads on the back pages. For kissing on comments from Louis Van
:01:24. > :01:29.Gaal saying he wants to get Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.
:01:30. > :01:35.-- focusing. Goals have gone with artful Dodgers. Focusing on Mikhail
:01:36. > :01:44.Arteta, Arsenal losing at West Bromwich. The Sunday Times... A
:01:45. > :01:50.full-page picture of Jamie Vardy after his goal at St James's Park.
:01:51. > :01:53.We start with him and Leicester. The fact they are top of the Premier
:01:54. > :02:02.League. We will hear from Claudio Ranieri. A special day for Jamie
:02:03. > :02:09.Adi. Fantastic. A great champion. He deserves this, he trains well. It is
:02:10. > :02:13.important for him, but it's important for everyone in the club.
:02:14. > :02:18.important for him, but it's The squad... I am glad because we
:02:19. > :02:23.play like a team, that is important. You have managed a lot of really
:02:24. > :02:25.great players in your career. Have you ever come across a goal-scoring
:02:26. > :02:37.run like this? Yes, in Fiorentina, I you ever come across a goal-scoring
:02:38. > :02:44.remember, there were 11 goals scored in 11 matches in a row. And I hope
:02:45. > :02:49.Jamie Vardy could achieve this. Your team are top of the table. How do
:02:50. > :02:54.you feel looking for? I feel good but also how the rest of the
:02:55. > :03:00.people... I want to see what happens. Now we are in the big
:03:01. > :03:07.matches and I want to see the reaction. Manchester United,
:03:08. > :03:10.Manchester City, Chelsea, the next three teams to go to the King Power
:03:11. > :03:15.Stadium. From the bottom of the table to the Premier League summer
:03:16. > :03:23.22 games later, what a turnaround, John Hume at the game but what you
:03:24. > :03:32.most? They have energy, they are hard-working. Not many superstores,
:03:33. > :03:35.not many big signings. Jamie Vardy has equalled the record, he could go
:03:36. > :03:40.on and smash it but they are hard-working. Honest, well
:03:41. > :03:45.organised. We talk about how Nigel got them into this situation but he
:03:46. > :03:50.had to find a way of playing with the players he had. But this man has
:03:51. > :03:54.taken on to the next level. I think there will be a theme running
:03:55. > :03:58.through the show, watching sites who looked like they are having fun and
:03:59. > :04:03.playing for the manager. Give me the opinion of a striker before we go
:04:04. > :04:09.on. I watched him for the past five games. He has different attributes,
:04:10. > :04:16.he is deliberate. He runs ahead of the ball, great feet, looking to get
:04:17. > :04:24.forward. Do a positive touch. He represents a different kind of
:04:25. > :04:30.forward. Liverpool... Romelu Lukaku at Everton but Jamie is different,
:04:31. > :04:36.he is direct, quick, deliberate. He is interesting in the Premiership.
:04:37. > :04:41.Do you find that refreshing in an era dominated by statistics and pass
:04:42. > :04:47.completions? There is someone who is direct and will run. He might lose
:04:48. > :04:51.it from time to time but so what? Absolutely, Leicester need to be
:04:52. > :04:55.like that, they need to be direct and hard-working and energetic.
:04:56. > :04:59.Jamie represents that and for Leicester, that is what he is great
:05:00. > :05:04.at. He has scored so many goals because of that approach and it
:05:05. > :05:10.works. Do you give Claudio Ranieri a lot of credit. We go back to talking
:05:11. > :05:15.about players playing with freedom, as a collective, does that come from
:05:16. > :05:20.him? Nigel got them in the right frame of mind. They finished the
:05:21. > :05:27.season superbly. With a player like Jamie... The greatest compliment
:05:28. > :05:32.paid to him yesterday as well as the tweets congratulating him, but was
:05:33. > :05:35.classy... Was the appreciation of the Newcastle United fans and
:05:36. > :05:40.looking at it from their perspective, what you see with him
:05:41. > :05:43.is what every fan wants. When he takes the shirt off, it will be
:05:44. > :05:49.soaked with sweat because of everything he has given, the effort.
:05:50. > :05:54.The Newcastle fans for applauding him and for the England connections,
:05:55. > :05:59.the record... But also because they would like to see that from some of
:06:00. > :06:03.their players. Absolutely, the thing for me that comes across, he is
:06:04. > :06:08.humble. Newcastle fans didn't applaud him just the once, when they
:06:09. > :06:12.went back to the centre circle, everyone stood up, myself included
:06:13. > :06:17.and they applauded the achievement but said he was substituted with 20
:06:18. > :06:21.minutes to go, the entire stadium, it was a bittersweet pill for me. We
:06:22. > :06:25.lost the game but I was so pleased to be in the stadium to witness
:06:26. > :06:30.that. The one thing about this guy and I talk about him being honest,
:06:31. > :06:38.he would chase a paper bag in the wind and he is the catalyst for the
:06:39. > :06:41.team. Everything stems from him. I see him working hard and you have
:06:42. > :06:47.the midfield behind him, backing him up. I am quite happy. He sets the
:06:48. > :06:54.standard for Leicester and everybody else plays off him. For years ago he
:06:55. > :07:02.was at Gateshead. Scoring, getting booked. Look at him now. Fantastic.
:07:03. > :07:07.Fans love that, the factories romance left in the game. He is not
:07:08. > :07:15.a superstar, going back to what John said. It was represented last week.
:07:16. > :07:21.The players want him to do well. It's not always about him, he is
:07:22. > :07:26.allowed that the entire team wants to do well. -- a person. Every
:07:27. > :07:31.single person that loves football wants him to achieve this. Derby
:07:32. > :07:37.fans might not... Or other clubs in the East Midlands. I don't know.
:07:38. > :07:41.Look at the statistics... Teams who have been leaders after 13 games in
:07:42. > :07:47.the Premier League, ad of the last 12 seasons eight of them have gone
:07:48. > :07:49.on to win the title. You're going to have two schools of thought, the
:07:50. > :07:57.majority will go, it is Leicester, they are going to make it but some
:07:58. > :08:04.people will go, why couldn't they come off particularly this season.
:08:05. > :08:07.Manchester City, up there, they are supposed to be favourites,
:08:08. > :08:12.Liverpool... Everyone says this is Arsenal's season and they slip up.
:08:13. > :08:16.It would be one of the most extraordinary stories of all time,
:08:17. > :08:21.arguably, going back to Blackburn Rovers 20 years ago in terms of
:08:22. > :08:25.Leicester doing that. If Leicester get in the European position, there
:08:26. > :08:29.will be street celebrations but what they are doing, it's one of the
:08:30. > :08:33.great grounds in terms of noise, commitment of the players. And the
:08:34. > :08:40.manager, I covered him at Chelsea, he was treated fairly. -- fairly
:08:41. > :08:44.badly, he will be enjoying it. When I was at Newcastle under Kevin
:08:45. > :08:48.Keegan, we went to the run, we almost won the championship... It's
:08:49. > :08:53.amazing, you get on a roll, all of a sudden, you start thinking... This
:08:54. > :08:58.could happen. Something strange could happen, you have already
:08:59. > :09:01.said... The lack of one team wanting to get hold of the Premier League
:09:02. > :09:06.and taking advantage of everybody else and that misfortune... You
:09:07. > :09:11.never know. Ride it, enjoy it, see how far it takes you. But you have
:09:12. > :09:18.to keep the psychology, you never know. Eventually, we are going to
:09:19. > :09:23.come unstuck. What helps Leicester, it's similar to Southampton last
:09:24. > :09:27.year, it takes the pressure. They have had a great season, no matter
:09:28. > :09:30.what happens, whether they win the league or not, they have had a great
:09:31. > :09:35.season is over teams coming up against them, it's difficult, they
:09:36. > :09:38.have no pressure. It's going to be difficult for other teams to face
:09:39. > :09:44.and it's going to be a positive for them. For too optimistic to say they
:09:45. > :09:47.can challenge for the title but the gap shows Champions League
:09:48. > :09:53.potential. Leicester against Manchester United, could be for the
:09:54. > :09:57.title, one viewer says. One thing this be sure, Leicester aren't
:09:58. > :10:06.getting relegated. Henry, Ken Newcastle get relegated? If they
:10:07. > :10:10.carry on defending like that. Leicester, they put on... Get the
:10:11. > :10:18.organisation, defensively sorted out, College Amy is in there. They
:10:19. > :10:28.have had a few injuries. Don't leave your footing. McLaren is an
:10:29. > :10:31.outstanding coach, whether he is an outstanding manager is another
:10:32. > :10:36.debate. What is the difference, as someone who has done both? I think
:10:37. > :10:40.Newcastle fans have been very patient. We all know what happened
:10:41. > :10:46.last year but they have been patient, the club has communicated
:10:47. > :10:49.well. In the past, there was little communication with the media, we
:10:50. > :10:52.banned some of them and we did not communicate with the fans and we had
:10:53. > :10:57.to put that right and Mike Ashley came out and spoke at the end of
:10:58. > :11:01.last year and I think they are being patient. I saw a change for the
:11:02. > :11:04.first time yesterday, I was in the stadium and I felt uncomfortable
:11:05. > :11:10.with that because one thing that the fans desire and expect at St James's
:11:11. > :11:15.Park is effort. But was the first time I have seen a lack of it this
:11:16. > :11:18.season. One thing I will say, I think we have better players than I
:11:19. > :11:24.had last season but they have got to stop producing that. Because you
:11:25. > :11:29.will know a lot of those players, Steve McClaren has been brought in.
:11:30. > :11:33.Or the mentally strong? Not really and I think if you look at the track
:11:34. > :11:37.record, finagle behind, they very rarely come back and win or draw
:11:38. > :11:42.against other is something not right in the make-up. But they have got a
:11:43. > :11:47.guy in Steve Black who is a psychologist and fitness coach and
:11:48. > :11:50.he's excellent. Now he will have to earn his money because what I saw at
:11:51. > :11:54.Bournemouth two weeks ago and yesterday, there are issues there.
:11:55. > :11:58.How do you make a group of players mentally strong? That is a tough
:11:59. > :12:02.one. Whatever is going on in the mind it's not something you can
:12:03. > :12:08.tweak, you can have conversations and you can talk but talk is cheap.
:12:09. > :12:11.You have got to carry it out and do it, psychology in football is
:12:12. > :12:15.difficult, a long-term process and we all know there is not a lot of
:12:16. > :12:20.time, results have to start turning around. The key to it is
:12:21. > :12:29.recruitment. Recruit the right personalities. We have not mentioned
:12:30. > :12:32.Tottenham but I will say it, they have recruited British, English
:12:33. > :12:35.players, Newcastle had the philosophy of going for French
:12:36. > :12:40.players, Dutch... You don't know them as well. We have enough
:12:41. > :12:45.contacts to find out our players, mentally, psychologically, we can do
:12:46. > :12:48.more homework with due diligence. When you get players from abroad it
:12:49. > :12:54.difficult to do that unless you are working with top layers. The
:12:55. > :13:00.recruitment, for me, that has to be looked at, we have to try and buy
:13:01. > :13:05.more... I keep saying we... Well, they are your club, you are found.
:13:06. > :13:06.We have to start looking at the recruitment because as Jamie Vardy
:13:07. > :13:17.has shown, there are non-league recruitment because as Jamie Vardy
:13:18. > :13:24.That makes you recruit and develop and -- PDF reading.
:13:25. > :13:29.That makes you recruit and develop always been kids
:13:30. > :13:31.That makes you recruit and develop then they go... Alan Shearer is a
:13:32. > :13:33.That makes you recruit and develop classic example. Why don't Newcastle
:13:34. > :13:36.trap these kids and keep them locally and bring them through as
:13:37. > :13:42.trap these kids and keep them you did with Chris Waddle. He came
:13:43. > :13:48.in at 19. I think you used Michael Carrick as an example.
:13:49. > :13:52.in at 19. I think you used Michael into the club, I was a director at
:13:53. > :13:56.the time but we never... It was at the time but we never... It was at
:13:57. > :13:57.research team said was not an avenue to get into the first team and could
:13:58. > :14:02.not keep him, he to get into the first team and could
:14:03. > :14:12.but there is an avenue now for young players. Armstrong is on long. I
:14:13. > :14:17.will use him as an example. I had to keep him at St James's Park because
:14:18. > :14:22.I had nobody else and I held up his development, the club did... They
:14:23. > :14:23.I had nobody else and I held up his last season and the season making
:14:24. > :14:26.the step up last season and the season making
:14:27. > :14:32.Rotherham the championship. We slow down his development so... If a kid
:14:33. > :14:34.is good enough you will get an opportunity and
:14:35. > :14:37.is good enough you will get an more than Newcastle fans want, a
:14:38. > :14:40.local lad, they would love it if he became the next Alan Shearer. You
:14:41. > :14:43.would be furious if your became the next Alan Shearer. You
:14:44. > :14:48.was held back from a playing point of view for that reason because
:14:49. > :14:49.there was not anyone else. Yes, I think
:14:50. > :14:53.there was not anyone else. Yes, I young players, they want to play, at
:14:54. > :14:58.the bottom line, sometimes going on loan if the best chance for them.
:14:59. > :15:04.But on the flip side, then the good enough, they think I can play in the
:15:05. > :15:08.first team, I am good enough so it's a balance between like John said,
:15:09. > :15:12.knowing the development of the player is better for them to be
:15:13. > :15:16.playing week in, week out at a London club but knowing that
:15:17. > :15:21.actually, if I have no players, they can come in as well so I think it's
:15:22. > :15:26.a tricky balance. Do you feel guilty? I do, because I know his
:15:27. > :15:31.parents really well. There is nothing I could do about it. Can you
:15:32. > :15:37.imagine if I said, you can go to Coventry. I had no strikers. Then it
:15:38. > :15:42.is the fans who are going to come from me. I had to sit down with his
:15:43. > :15:47.agent and a boy and explain to him. In normal circumstances it's time
:15:48. > :15:52.for you to go out on loan. You need real football. That's just one
:15:53. > :15:56.player at one club. You can probably multiply that.
:15:57. > :16:04.If you look at Chelsea, the players they have on loan and some of the
:16:05. > :16:08.players coming through, one of the frustrations at Chelsea, why isn't
:16:09. > :16:19.Loftus-Cheek being developed? They have a fantastic academy but
:16:20. > :16:22.you want these place to have games. Loftus-Cheek is good enough to play
:16:23. > :16:28.in the Premier League and Mourinho for some reason is not doing it, and
:16:29. > :16:34.Abramovich... Not that anyone will ever talk to him... They have put a
:16:35. > :16:40.lot of money into that academy. I watched an U21 game the other day,
:16:41. > :16:42.he's a good player, but you can see, he's not getting regular first-team
:16:43. > :16:49.football and he needs it. Next time you come on, can you ask Roman
:16:50. > :16:53.Abramovich? John Cooper says, everything from the owner to the
:16:54. > :16:57.managers to the players is wrong at Newcastle, could be a fantastic club
:16:58. > :17:01.in the right hands but it's more a business than a football team. Tracy
:17:02. > :17:06.says the players don't seem to care about the club or phones, just the
:17:07. > :17:11.pay cheque. A.D. Says everything is going wrong, we made the wrong
:17:12. > :17:19.appointment in McLaren and mentality is all wrong. #bbcfootball. Just to
:17:20. > :17:23.make a final thing on that, Kasper Schmeichel is not the guests this
:17:24. > :17:30.evening. Let's turn our attention to the game at the Etihad, Liverpool
:17:31. > :17:35.thrashing Manchester City 4-1. If that day when you think everything
:17:36. > :17:40.has gone to plan and gone right? I think so, but I think we deserve
:17:41. > :17:43.credit for that, the way we went about our business, didn't give them
:17:44. > :17:48.a second on the ball and going forward we looked very dangerous,
:17:49. > :17:54.Camino, Philippe Coutinho, myself, all joining in. Is it a statement to
:17:55. > :18:02.the rest of the league you are here now, in the top set? Possibly, but
:18:03. > :18:06.we need to stop slipping up at home. These big wins go unnoticed when you
:18:07. > :18:09.don't win your home matches and our home form has not been great this
:18:10. > :18:16.season so it is something we need to get right but it's a great platform
:18:17. > :18:21.today. Hopefully we can kick on. Manuel Pellegrini was bemused after
:18:22. > :18:25.the game and described his team's performance as unbelievable, how far
:18:26. > :18:29.were Liverpool sensational? I was at the Etihad, and I thought Man City
:18:30. > :18:35.would win the game, because Aguero was back, and I thought Liverpool
:18:36. > :18:42.were missing Sakho so I thought they couldn't do with Aguero but it was
:18:43. > :18:46.the opposite. Coutinho, Roberto Camino, Emre Can, they were
:18:47. > :18:53.unbelievable, almost like Barcelona at times. Like Lallana said, they
:18:54. > :18:57.look like they were having fun, every time they went forward they
:18:58. > :19:03.looked like they were going to score and the city four were all over the
:19:04. > :19:09.place and Joe Hart's distribution was shaky as well. Liverpool could
:19:10. > :19:13.have scored a lot more. I have got to say it's quite nice seeing a
:19:14. > :19:18.manager who is smiling all the time! And I have to be honest, when I get
:19:19. > :19:23.my next job, I'm going to be a bit more like Mr club. Are you going to
:19:24. > :19:28.grow some stubble? I'm going to smile a lot! But it was a
:19:29. > :19:34.magnificent result, I didn't see it, but I did listen on the radio, and
:19:35. > :19:38.it seemed like an interesting game. I feel a bit sorry for Brendan
:19:39. > :19:43.Rodgers because everybody is getting on the back of this thing about
:19:44. > :19:48.teams pressing and working hard, I remember preparing a team with Alan
:19:49. > :19:54.Pardew to go to Anfield, talking about how Luis Suarez and Sturridge
:19:55. > :19:58.and Raheem Sterling and Henderson, Lucas, Steven Gerrard, pressed the
:19:59. > :20:02.living daylights out of the team, so it's not something new, the wheel
:20:03. > :20:07.hasn't been invented, what he has given them is a new lease of life,
:20:08. > :20:11.and it's one of the easiest thing is, in my opinion, the coach how the
:20:12. > :20:15.press, press from the front, as long as everybody is buying into it and
:20:16. > :20:22.he seems to have that. Why don't more do it? You have to have the
:20:23. > :20:27.right players, players who buy into it, it's not easy, it's hard work,
:20:28. > :20:30.and I think it was Coutinho, who pulled up with hamstring is today
:20:31. > :20:36.because he will have been working harder, they will be a bigger demand
:20:37. > :20:40.on their muscles. It is easy with the right players, Barcelona of the
:20:41. > :20:44.best at it because they have top players but also are prepared to buy
:20:45. > :20:48.into what the manager wants and do it properly. They are buying into
:20:49. > :20:52.the tactics and him, you can see the body language between him and his
:20:53. > :20:57.players, they adore him, partly because of his personality, the
:20:58. > :21:02.smiling demeanour and also partly because of his reputation, he was
:21:03. > :21:06.this rock 'n' roll German manager, great press Conference, the image of
:21:07. > :21:11.him in the past was always, I bet the players will love to play for
:21:12. > :21:15.him, he will bring a bit of swagger back to Liverpool, the fans have
:21:16. > :21:19.responded to him, you can see that with the banners and the players
:21:20. > :21:22.love him. It's not him coming across saying how good he is, it's other
:21:23. > :21:29.people saying it, he is just enjoying this. He has two because
:21:30. > :21:35.there might be a time when he has a bad spell. But he is enjoying what
:21:36. > :21:38.he's doing. It looks as if he has got a mean streak as well and it is
:21:39. > :21:44.having that switch, when the did and when not to use it. For me,
:21:45. > :21:50.Liverpool didn't always press, and for a player, sometimes when you are
:21:51. > :21:55.asked to press, the best thing is when you see the rewards. The first
:21:56. > :22:00.goal came from Kenya pressing Sagna, winning the ball back,
:22:01. > :22:12.counterattack, G. Ash macro Coutinho pressing Sagna. Press -- pressing,
:22:13. > :22:16.they will do it all day. People will say, Ian Rush was doing that 25
:22:17. > :22:23.years ago. That was called defending from the front! But at the same
:22:24. > :22:26.time, given what you said about Brendan Rodgers and how the players
:22:27. > :22:31.would do something similar under him, he lost some of the personnel
:22:32. > :22:35.but all the players who were playing yesterday were brought in by Brendan
:22:36. > :22:41.Rodgers, so did the players have to take a little bit of a look at
:22:42. > :22:43.themselves for not delivering so much under Brendan Rodgers because
:22:44. > :22:48.maybe they won't enjoying it as much as they are under this new manager?
:22:49. > :22:53.Possibly but let's go back to when Brendan was the manager, he lost
:22:54. > :22:58.Sturridge, he lost Suarez, two of the main players, so straightaway
:22:59. > :23:02.you are taking away his biggest assets, you have to find
:23:03. > :23:07.replacements and a balance. Sometimes that takes longer than you
:23:08. > :23:13.think. In Brendan's case it has done, but now Roberto Firmino has
:23:14. > :23:17.come in, a new lease of life, sometimes a different voice makes
:23:18. > :23:25.all the difference stop just by putting his arm around him, it might
:23:26. > :23:28.have made him a better player. He might have treated him differently,
:23:29. > :23:36.said something differently to him and he is reacting to it. It was
:23:37. > :23:40.interesting to me watching Raheem Sterling he looked nervous, playing
:23:41. > :23:44.against his former club, I wonder what he would have been like playing
:23:45. > :23:47.under Jurgen Klopp, I think it got a bit stale between him and Brendan
:23:48. > :23:51.Rodgers committee felt he wasn't going to go anywhere but same
:23:52. > :23:57.players, who were playing under Brendan Rodgers, look like different
:23:58. > :24:02.players under Jurgen Klopp, so it is a mentality thing that the manager
:24:03. > :24:05.passes over but it's a test of time. We will see in eight or nine months'
:24:06. > :24:12.time, whether the energy is still there. Gary says it is definitely a
:24:13. > :24:17.mere blip on the road to the Premier League title for Manchester City.
:24:18. > :24:21.Another one says that anyone can win it. Do you think it is still
:24:22. > :24:30.Manchester City's to lose? They have such strength in depth, you do worry
:24:31. > :24:34.about Aguero's hamstring. I still think Joe Hart is an outstanding
:24:35. > :24:39.goalkeeper, they are just so much better as a team when Vincent
:24:40. > :24:45.Kompany is there. Do you think there was one eye on the Juventus game in
:24:46. > :24:49.the Champions' League next week? I'm sure Vincent Kompany will want to
:24:50. > :24:56.play every game, you such an organiser, not just the goal threat
:24:57. > :25:01.at corners, it is his personality in the dressing room, he has been there
:25:02. > :25:03.a while, it's almost like he is an old school play, these are the
:25:04. > :25:10.standards of the squad, make sure you deliver stop my worry for Man
:25:11. > :25:15.City is, what is their priority? We've thought about them not
:25:16. > :25:18.succeeding in the Champions' League. Now everybody is making a big thing
:25:19. > :25:22.about the Champions' League, have they taken one eye off the Premier
:25:23. > :25:28.League and will put their resources into winning the Champions' League?
:25:29. > :25:31.Maybe this week if they get a result against Juventus, they will finish
:25:32. > :25:38.top of their group and they will refocus. It is a tough place to go.
:25:39. > :25:43.They dropped Otamendi yesterday, who has been on form, it was a bit of a
:25:44. > :25:46.strange decision and a few of the fanciest they were saying the same
:25:47. > :25:54.thing. Maybe that was an indication that they did have an eye on the
:25:55. > :25:57.Juventus game, they are top of the group, why sacrifice a big game
:25:58. > :26:04.against Liverpool for the benefit of the game on Wednesday? Will Vincent
:26:05. > :26:09.Kompany play on Wednesday night? Big decisions. It will give you some
:26:10. > :26:14.indication. Let's move on to the game in Spain last night, El
:26:15. > :26:20.Clasico, the meters under pressure after Real Madrid were beaten 4-0 at
:26:21. > :26:27.home by Barcelona -- Rafael Benitez under pressure. The Madrid fans were
:26:28. > :26:31.waving their hankies by half-time. They whistled them back onto the
:26:32. > :26:35.pitch after half-time, it will hardly lift the players for the
:26:36. > :26:38.second half. I saw a Tweet this morning saying the only thing
:26:39. > :26:43.working well at the moment are the stadium, as they turned the song
:26:44. > :26:47.that they play at the end up so loud for people not to be able to hear
:26:48. > :26:55.the muscles and the courts for the president to resign, you can imagine
:26:56. > :27:03.what the city is like in the morning after being beaten like that. Is the
:27:04. > :27:10.vulnerable? Very much so. The players wanted Ancelotti to stay,
:27:11. > :27:13.and the big players in the dressing room in particular. So it was always
:27:14. > :27:18.going to be difficult for rapper Benitez. It is only the second
:27:19. > :27:23.defeat, but these are the only games that matter, when you are Real
:27:24. > :27:27.Madrid manager, it comes down to three or four games, games against
:27:28. > :27:33.Barcelona and the Champions' League semifinals. To lose and be so
:27:34. > :27:38.outplayed, it will be difficult for him now, it feels like he is the
:27:39. > :27:43.interim guy again, he will be there till the end of the season in an
:27:44. > :27:48.attempt to not cause to me problems changing manager mid-season. Then
:27:49. > :27:57.who would say look to in this circus? 'S Dan is always in the
:27:58. > :28:08.background, he doesn't seem to have the same urgency that quality land
:28:09. > :28:14.Luis Enrique had. -- Zidane. He is not doing a great job with the youth
:28:15. > :28:17.team, but it is a completely different job taking over this first
:28:18. > :28:25.team with superstars, he is there but I'm not sure he would want to
:28:26. > :28:28.take on a team mid-season... Not when he would rather start at the
:28:29. > :28:33.beginning of a season, that creates a problem for Madrid, who do they
:28:34. > :28:38.turn to if Zidane doesn't want it. I've got in front of me, all the
:28:39. > :28:44.Sunday papers, at least six them have got Louis van Gaal making a
:28:45. > :28:54.move for Cristiano Ronaldo. You heard from Spain, how much truth
:28:55. > :28:57.would you put in rooms? -- rumours? It feels like the Russian ship is
:28:58. > :29:00.coming to an end, he has won the Champions' League, beaten the
:29:01. > :29:07.scoring record -- Diva relationship. Maybe it is time for him and the
:29:08. > :29:12.club, if they feel they could get anywhere near the kind of money they
:29:13. > :29:17.paid for him back in 2009, that would be fantastic business, for him
:29:18. > :29:22.to score the goals he has scored and won the trophies he has won, so I
:29:23. > :29:28.think they would want it to happen. There is definitely interest from
:29:29. > :29:35.PSG and from Manchester United, my dad is, would he really want to go
:29:36. > :29:38.back and almost sour the memory? -- my doubt is. The Premier League is a
:29:39. > :29:42.hard league to play when you're coming towards the end of your
:29:43. > :29:46.career, although he will only be 31 at the end of the season, I'm
:29:47. > :29:47.wondering whether he will lean towards Paris rather than
:29:48. > :29:58.Manchester. Thank you. What would be the
:29:59. > :30:06.attraction for Manchester United in bringing him? You can understand
:30:07. > :30:10.when Louis Van Gaal comes up with headlines like this because he will
:30:11. > :30:14.not say that he does not want him. It merely puts pressure on one or
:30:15. > :30:20.two of his current players and sends a message to the board that they
:30:21. > :30:25.need to invest. I think it would be great to have Cristiano Ronaldo back
:30:26. > :30:30.in our country. Among one of the greatest players in the world, among
:30:31. > :30:35.the greatest of all time. Even at 31... If he came back. Sometimes
:30:36. > :30:40.these really intelligent players look at the career partly through
:30:41. > :30:44.the prism of international football and if his last chance of a World
:30:45. > :30:48.Cup will be in Russia at 33, does he want to have a gruelling Premier
:30:49. > :30:54.League season before hand? I am not sure he does. We ought to read the
:30:55. > :31:00.quote from Louis Van Gaal because it is slightly different to how the
:31:01. > :31:03.headline reads. In a sense he was asked whether he was looking at
:31:04. > :31:09.Cristiano Ronaldo to which he said, of course, we are looking at all
:31:10. > :31:14.players not just him but these are mostly on gettable. With Cristiano
:31:15. > :31:18.Ronaldo, let's wait and hope. This is a hypothetical question but let's
:31:19. > :31:22.say they got him for 60 million or Gareth Bale for 100, and they could
:31:23. > :31:28.only get one of them, which one should they go for? I think Gareth
:31:29. > :31:34.Bale. He has a lot more years than Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of his
:31:35. > :31:38.longevity. Gareth Bale for me, is a player that can integrate better
:31:39. > :31:44.with the team, he has played in the Premiership, Ronaldo has as well but
:31:45. > :31:48.he is a grand figure but almost becomes a world unto himself and I
:31:49. > :31:51.think that might be difficult in a Manchester United team that is still
:31:52. > :31:57.growing so I would go for Gareth Bale. The marketing department would
:31:58. > :32:02.want Cristiano Ronaldo because he would pay for that 50 or 60 million
:32:03. > :32:08.in the season, commercially. Gareth Bale would as well, but more in this
:32:09. > :32:15.country, maybe? If you are appealing to Latin America, the Far East...
:32:16. > :32:21.Gareth Bale for 100 or Cristiano Ronaldo? Cristiano Ronaldo, I am on
:32:22. > :32:25.a short-term contract, Louis Van Gaal, I want someone of his ability,
:32:26. > :32:30.still in peak performance and I want him now. He has been to Manchester,
:32:31. > :32:36.he will not need time to settle, he can go into the team and that team
:32:37. > :32:39.is defending well, he might be the missing ingredient that the manager
:32:40. > :32:43.needs. He will not be bothered when he gets to the end of the season if
:32:44. > :32:46.he has him in the team and he has won the championship and in two
:32:47. > :32:51.years' time he is off on the beach and celebrating. Is a lot of this
:32:52. > :32:55.wanting to bring him back based on the starter, he speaks fondly of Sir
:32:56. > :33:00.Alex Ferguson but he is not there any more. The first time he was
:33:01. > :33:05.there he grew with the team, they grew together but now he will come
:33:06. > :33:10.into a younger team as the main man and that is a completely different
:33:11. > :33:14.dynamic. As a manager you cannot make decisions on nostalgia, you
:33:15. > :33:18.must do it on professional reasons, is he good enough, at peak
:33:19. > :33:23.performance, he is at the moment, scoring goals of the national team.
:33:24. > :33:30.Scoring goals and Spain, why not take him now? 40 million less. I
:33:31. > :33:36.think it's a hypothetical question. It is, but it is on every back page.
:33:37. > :33:43.I think the quote, like you said, it is a little bit different to the
:33:44. > :33:48.actual headline. But yes... I think Gareth Bale is a lot more... I do
:33:49. > :33:51.not think there is a huge difference between Gareth Bale and Cristiano
:33:52. > :33:56.Ronaldo, to be honest, but I think Gareth Bale is probably more likely
:33:57. > :34:00.to come back to England than Ronaldo. He might not want to come
:34:01. > :34:05.back. I think there is talk about him going to the MLS or Paris, if
:34:06. > :34:13.you people trying to get him in the MLS earlier in the year. A new team
:34:14. > :34:19.being created in LA. If Gareth Bale... It would be good for him if
:34:20. > :34:24.now the moved on. One viewer has said, Ronaldo, wake up and smell the
:34:25. > :34:27.roses, you are going no where in Spain. Bring Gareth Bale with you.
:34:28. > :34:32.If I had read that out before I wouldn't have to take task that
:34:33. > :34:41.hypothetical question. Some key games were you? Germany next week.
:34:42. > :34:45.That is a friendly. Yes. And unfriendly friendly! But yes, a
:34:46. > :34:49.great game. Always difficult to play them but laying them after you beat
:34:50. > :34:53.them at the World Cup for third place, that's another story. A
:34:54. > :34:58.difficult game but I think one that we need because we play a lot of
:34:59. > :35:04.qualifiers that we are expected to win so we need to have these
:35:05. > :35:08.difficult challenges going into preparations for the European
:35:09. > :35:15.Championships. When you play Bosnia, this time next week, next Sunday...
:35:16. > :35:20.Is that a game that you would expect to win five, six... You do not take
:35:21. > :35:24.anything for granted, you still must perform but these are teams that
:35:25. > :35:30.England is expected to beat and in terms of a challenge, it's not... Is
:35:31. > :35:36.that enjoyable? Obviously scoring goals is enjoyable but... Is that
:35:37. > :35:40.what you really want at this stage when you are playing competitive
:35:41. > :35:45.game after competitive game, in the League as well, is it a bit of
:35:46. > :35:47.game after competitive game, in the anti-climax? I suppose for four word
:35:48. > :35:51.game after competitive game, in the it is nice. You see the goal hit the
:35:52. > :35:55.back of the net but it gets difficult in those games because you
:35:56. > :35:57.start... All habits start creeping and you don't do the things you
:35:58. > :36:03.admit the and when you get to the European
:36:04. > :36:05.Championships, you need enough challenge and experience
:36:06. > :36:11.Championships, you need enough right, we are ready to
:36:12. > :36:17.against many, the USA, but to be fair we have friendlies set
:36:18. > :36:20.against many, the USA, but to be us experiences as well as obviously
:36:21. > :36:23.playing qualifiers. Is club football more competitive than a lot of
:36:24. > :36:30.international is? Definitely, I would say so. It's a competitive
:36:31. > :36:36.league, Chelsea won it by two points. This year, last year, it was
:36:37. > :36:40.won by a goal. I think it's very competitive, week in, week out,
:36:41. > :36:46.tough games. At international level you play lesser nations. I want to
:36:47. > :36:51.come onto the game this afternoon, the London derby, Spurs and West
:36:52. > :36:53.Ham. Let's touch on the Arsenal defeat at West Bromwich. From an
:36:54. > :37:01.Arsenal friend of mine who text at me and said it was a very Arsenal
:37:02. > :37:07.like defeat. No leaders and to injuries? Injuries, and on goal...
:37:08. > :37:13.Comical penalty. In a season that they could win the league and there
:37:14. > :37:20.is a lot of pressure... There is a culture in the club, whether it's
:37:21. > :37:25.the leadership in the boardroom, you wonder who is completely in charge.
:37:26. > :37:30.To the dugout... Arsene Wenger runs the club but in terms of the
:37:31. > :37:36.individuals on the pitch, is Mikhail Arteta the right one in there? There
:37:37. > :37:40.is something going on with injuries, whether it is the pitch, the
:37:41. > :37:44.intensity of training, the challenging, I don't know. I do not
:37:45. > :37:50.go and watch training but something is going on. Maybe it is the way
:37:51. > :37:54.they play, quick passing, they almost invite challenges and they
:37:55. > :37:59.get caught. Jack Walsh was unlucky with Paddy McNair, go back to that.
:38:00. > :38:03.Something has to be sorted out in the medical side because when they
:38:04. > :38:08.are fit, they are formidable. So many comments on the injuries, every
:38:09. > :38:12.season, we will not win the Premier League with them in the squad. No
:38:13. > :38:18.depth in the squad, the bench offers little. Pete says it's not the lack
:38:19. > :38:23.of class, its injuries, no team suffers such bad luck. Arsene Wenger
:38:24. > :38:27.is a genius in getting them in the top four without spending a fortune
:38:28. > :38:31.but he's also a fool not to spend what's available. If you have
:38:32. > :38:37.consistent injuries as a coach or manager what would you do? We have
:38:38. > :38:41.had a lot of injuries at Newcastle, this season, last season, you look
:38:42. > :38:46.to different things, sports science, on the pitch, are they to firm or
:38:47. > :38:50.soft, are we overworking them, do we give them enough rest, are we
:38:51. > :38:55.working them hard enough? You look at every small detail and you need
:38:56. > :39:00.an answer. But there is a trend in the Premier League of a lot of
:39:01. > :39:04.injuries at a lot of clubs and that perhaps is the intensity of the
:39:05. > :39:09.games. The quality is not as good as it used to be but the intensity is
:39:10. > :39:12.getting bigger and stronger. Do you think there's an element of the
:39:13. > :39:17.medical sciences so good, they can get players back quicker which means
:39:18. > :39:22.they break down. I think you're right, plus the demand. If you are
:39:23. > :39:26.not carrying a huge squad you want to play someone back quicker and you
:39:27. > :39:30.don't want to do this, but you do and sometimes you force them back to
:39:31. > :39:34.early, he picks up an injury, he's out for another six months so you
:39:35. > :39:40.find the fine balance. Arsenal should not have the problem, they
:39:41. > :39:43.have a huge squad, they have ten or 11 injuries and that's an awful lot
:39:44. > :39:48.and that will affect whether they win the championship. An astonishing
:39:49. > :39:53.amount of injuries and it must be something to do with training
:39:54. > :39:58.loading. Chelsea, there is a period of culture, the loading, the amount
:39:59. > :40:05.of training you do is measured and it's deliberate. If five or ten
:40:06. > :40:07.players are getting injured with similar muscle injuries there must
:40:08. > :40:12.be a correlation between the loading. When you talk about loading
:40:13. > :40:18.are you talking to each individual player? The training load. For
:40:19. > :40:21.instance, a certain amount of sprinting in the session... That
:40:22. > :40:27.needs to be measured. For each player. It cannot just be, this is
:40:28. > :40:31.the session, this is what we do, there needs to be someone standing
:40:32. > :40:35.there and measuring. It gets measured at Newcastle, I have a
:40:36. > :40:42.sports scientist coming to me saying, he can't do any more, he's
:40:43. > :40:46.vulnerable. Sometimes managers ignore that and when they do that,
:40:47. > :40:51.the player breaks down, you have to trust these guys. Did you tell a
:40:52. > :40:54.player when he was in that zone because the reverse argument... If
:40:55. > :40:59.the player knows he is in the red zone or whatever, but can
:41:00. > :41:03.psychologically... It was my job to make the decision and I would say...
:41:04. > :41:08.Right, we will not do any more, and take the group in and the following
:41:09. > :41:13.day, we were allowed to train high intensity. You make that decision.
:41:14. > :41:20.That against six at White Hart Lane today. You can see it on Match of
:41:21. > :41:24.the Day later. Henry, do both of these sides have a chance of
:41:25. > :41:31.finishing in the top for? We have about 20 in the top four, the way
:41:32. > :41:37.things are building up. Spurs, look at them, Mauricio Pochettino and
:41:38. > :41:45.what he has done. You look at Kieron Dyer. In a couple of years, possibly
:41:46. > :41:51.with England, they are working incredibly hard. They all deliver
:41:52. > :41:59.for the manager. There will be a lot of focus on Delie alley this
:42:00. > :42:07.afternoon and Eric Dyer. They have got to understand this is the start
:42:08. > :42:15.of the journey. They are both intelligent, driven individuals. I
:42:16. > :42:19.think that Spurs can ride this wave and will help England. They have not
:42:20. > :42:23.lost since the first game of the season against Manchester United and
:42:24. > :42:27.what I like about the manager, he is going the radar, creeping along
:42:28. > :42:31.quietly file everyone has been making a fuss about Chelsea,
:42:32. > :42:36.Arsenal, Manchester United not playing well, he gets on with his
:42:37. > :42:40.business. All of a sudden, in a great position and I think they have
:42:41. > :42:46.a great opportunity in the top four, definitely. Given how West Ham have
:42:47. > :42:52.done this season, the away performance, they can easily add
:42:53. > :42:56.another scalp? Yes, I think so. But West Ham are a different team.
:42:57. > :43:03.Players have brought creativity, chances. Tottenham... They are team
:43:04. > :43:09.that played for the manager, high energy, they have not lost but for
:43:10. > :43:13.me, whispers, it's the same thing every year, they are doing great and
:43:14. > :43:16.it comes to the end of the year and they are out of the top force of the
:43:17. > :43:21.real test will be can they get in the top four, can they perform
:43:22. > :43:25.towards Ian of the season? It feels different quickly because they have
:43:26. > :43:35.gone under the reader, -- under the radar. A great manager, hard-core,
:43:36. > :43:38.English players who understand how the manager wants to play. They have
:43:39. > :43:42.bought into it. They had all the money and they spent it and they
:43:43. > :43:49.brought in so many different players, they didn't wait. We are
:43:50. > :43:53.just about out of time. Thank you so much to my guests. Spurs against
:43:54. > :44:05.West Ham this afternoon, kick off at 4pm. Goodbye for now.
:44:06. > :44:22.MUSIC: Everybody's Talkin' by Harry Nilsson
:44:23. > :44:26.But, no, no, no, no, no, a minute ago I was a noble Native American.