:00:32. > :00:43.Hello and welcome to MOTD two Extra. A massive afternoon in the
:00:44. > :00:48.Premiership where Liverpool could move closer to the title with a win
:00:49. > :00:53.over Chelsea Old Oak City will look to keep up the pressure at Crystal
:00:54. > :01:04.Palace. Speaking of pressure, Ryan Giggs didn't feel it yesterday.
:01:05. > :01:12.With me in the studio, Mark Lawrenson, Amy Lawrence, football
:01:13. > :01:22.writer for the Guardian, and Ben Smith from BBC Sport. And we want
:01:23. > :01:27.you to get in touch, as ever. Before we get the thoughts of everybody in
:01:28. > :01:32.the studio, let us go to the Stadium Of Light. The first game is around
:01:33. > :01:36.15 minutes all, Sunderland against Cardiff, being watched by Alistair
:01:37. > :01:43.Young. It is very tense, 0-0, in front of a
:01:44. > :01:48.full house at the Stadium Of Light. The tension is very high, Sunderland
:01:49. > :01:55.might have had a penalty after three minutes, a corner, hitting the arm
:01:56. > :01:59.of Theophile-Catherine. But no penalty given by the referee. Cowie
:02:00. > :02:06.is playing his first game since February 22. His body, just wide of
:02:07. > :02:13.the post. Plenty of updates throughout. The
:02:14. > :02:18.2pm game is at Anfield, Liverpool against Chelsea. How nervous will it
:02:19. > :02:22.be there? I don't think it will be nervous.
:02:23. > :02:29.The way Liverpool are playing at the moment, there won't be any nerves.
:02:30. > :02:33.Footballers will say they are tired but, because they are playing so
:02:34. > :02:38.well, they play every single day will stop they are blowing teams
:02:39. > :02:44.away. Even against Chelsea, as good a side as Chelsea. Amy, what do you
:02:45. > :02:49.expect? I see where you are coming from but
:02:50. > :02:56.a bit of me can't help thinking Jose Mourinho has been replaying the game
:02:57. > :03:01.against Manchester City, to see if he can engineer something similar.
:03:02. > :03:09.How do you see it? I think Liverpool will start quickly. I think Matic
:03:10. > :03:14.and Mikel will sit in the back four, an area where Liverpool are strong.
:03:15. > :03:20.If they can fill that space, they have half a chance. 15 goals in the
:03:21. > :03:30.first 50 minutes in the majority of their games this season. A
:03:31. > :03:35.remarkable statistic. Mourinho spoke at a press conference on Friday, the
:03:36. > :03:39.anticipation was he would have to be cautious to deal with this and not
:03:40. > :03:47.be cavalier. He thought for a moment, and said, if we have the
:03:48. > :03:57.kick-off, the ball has to go forward! We will show you some of
:03:58. > :04:04.that rather odd press conference in a little while.
:04:05. > :04:09.Let us go to Anfield. I am told, and good afternoon, by the way. I am
:04:10. > :04:15.told the atmosphere outside is quite something at the moment?
:04:16. > :04:24.I have been coming to Anfield for 30 years, and I have never experienced
:04:25. > :04:29.an atmosphere like this, it has been building up through the past month.
:04:30. > :04:33.The fans feel this is the big one. They have been here for hours
:04:34. > :04:39.already, the team will be arriving any minute. The atmosphere is
:04:40. > :04:43.electric. Why is it like that? You would
:04:44. > :04:50.normally expect after such a long time without the title, for there to
:04:51. > :04:56.be nervous. Everything we are hearing is that it is not nerves but
:04:57. > :04:59.sheer excitement and enjoyment? It is also belief.
:05:00. > :05:04.As a football fan, when you look at 18, you know when that team belongs
:05:05. > :05:09.in the title race. Liverpool belong where they are. The is bleak it can
:05:10. > :05:16.happen. Previously when Liverpool were second, people might not have
:05:17. > :05:21.believed it could be done. But people are waiting for that big
:05:22. > :05:30.party. It is looking more and more likely. Do you expect them to blow
:05:31. > :05:36.Chelsea await this afternoon as they have done with so many other sites?
:05:37. > :05:41.I heard you in the studio that you can't believe Jose Mourinho doesn't
:05:42. > :05:46.have a plan. My big question is can anyone stop Liverpool when they are
:05:47. > :05:58.at their best? Regardless of who they are playing, I regard -- I
:05:59. > :06:03.think Liverpool just have too much. Our commentator for that game is
:06:04. > :06:06.Steve Wilson. Somebody offered to buy his pass! We don't know who will
:06:07. > :06:12.be commentating! I went to the Tottenham game the
:06:13. > :06:18.other week, and I was there three hours before. I have never seen so
:06:19. > :06:26.many people there. Old Trafford is like that on a match day, so many
:06:27. > :06:32.hours before. Three hours, it was packed outside. Against Manchester
:06:33. > :06:38.City, they were lining up, waiting for the coach. It doesn't seem to be
:06:39. > :06:45.pressure with Liverpool. They seem to be embracing and thriving on it.
:06:46. > :06:52.Steve Pieters has suddenly had an impact. Whatever it, they are
:06:53. > :07:03.incredibly relaxed. He looks after Ronnie O'Sullivan, doesn't he?
:07:04. > :07:09.Is there any sense of complacency? With so much attention on this game.
:07:10. > :07:14.Still Crystal Palace away on Monday. If we're not talking about nurse
:07:15. > :07:19.now, we might be, I know it is Newcastle at home, with all due
:07:20. > :07:27.respect to them, when you are going for the title, in the final game, at
:07:28. > :07:32.home? I don't think so. There is a momentum now. It feels like there is
:07:33. > :07:37.a crest of the wave and nobody wants it to crash. People are enjoying
:07:38. > :07:46.that right. If you are lucky enough to experience that especially waited
:07:47. > :07:51.this long. There is something really beautiful which is giving people so
:07:52. > :07:58.much buoyancy. The other thing is, Liverpool fans
:07:59. > :08:03.have seen great teams, players and managers. They know they have a
:08:04. > :08:08.really, really good side which is why there is excitement. Talking
:08:09. > :08:12.about enjoyment and excitement, you might see the difference in
:08:13. > :08:18.enthusiasm in these next two clips we will play you. First of all, in a
:08:19. > :08:22.moment, we will hear from Brendan Rodgers. This extraordinary press
:08:23. > :08:28.conference on Friday. We start with the answer after being asked whether
:08:29. > :08:33.he was pleased or disappointed about the Chelsea fixture schedule.
:08:34. > :08:37.You want me to laugh or to cry? Just the truth.
:08:38. > :08:45.I can say, I can't say the truth because I don't feel free. And your
:08:46. > :08:54.potential team selection? That is private. Is it your intention to
:08:55. > :08:59.name the usual team? Private. The most important thing for me is my
:09:00. > :09:06.club. And the supporters of my club. I think Chelsea fans would like for
:09:07. > :09:11.Chelsea football club to be respected and get the respect it
:09:12. > :09:18.deserves. There are certainly no mind games on behalf of myself. He
:09:19. > :09:25.knows me well enough to know it wouldn't bother me what anyone says
:09:26. > :09:31.or does or tried to say. I have seen some stuff written. It is hugely
:09:32. > :09:37.disrespectful to some of their players. If they are deemed to be
:09:38. > :09:42.the weaker ones in the squad, what ever team they will put at all costs
:09:43. > :09:49.more money than ours and will be more experienced than ours. So, as I
:09:50. > :09:54.said, it is difficult, because they have got the game in the week. If
:09:55. > :09:58.they played the same team on Sunday and Wednesday, there is a cost to
:09:59. > :10:04.that. We saw that with Manchester City, when they played us, it was
:10:05. > :10:10.intense. We worked tirelessly, we were aggressive in our defence.
:10:11. > :10:14.Manuel felt on the Wednesday when they played Sunderland they had a
:10:15. > :10:19.real cost and they ended up drawing the game. I am sure Jose Mourinho
:10:20. > :10:25.will not want to go down that route. In terms of mind games, it is not
:10:26. > :10:31.something that affects me. Martin Richmond has said should Chelsea be
:10:32. > :10:36.allowed to field a weakened team? You can answer that question, Ben
:10:37. > :10:41.Smith. I have seen a goal has gone in at the Stadium Of Light.
:10:42. > :10:47.It is that man again, Connor Wickham, four goals in 2.5 games. A
:10:48. > :10:53.corner from the left, Wickham kept his head down brilliantly.
:10:54. > :10:58.Sunderland have taken the lead. I will come back to my question in a
:10:59. > :11:03.minute. On Connor Wickham, does this show, if you play someone upfront
:11:04. > :11:09.consistently and allow him to develop a rhythm, he will eventually
:11:10. > :11:13.deliver? Yes. The idea of sending him on
:11:14. > :11:21.loan, they didn't think he was ready. They had to give him that
:11:22. > :11:28.game time. He has almost become Hobson 's choice. It is working for
:11:29. > :11:32.him and great for Sunderland. He is a lad who has always had lots of
:11:33. > :11:38.promise but never delivered. Now we are seeing it. It must be difficult.
:11:39. > :11:46.The same as with Ross Barkley. Two different clubs, on loan, a month
:11:47. > :11:50.here. It must be difficult. He was so highly rated as a youngster. A
:11:51. > :11:57.lot of people watched him when he was emerging, playing for England at
:11:58. > :12:06.youth level. It was almost a race, who would get this great kid. His
:12:07. > :12:10.progress has been so stop, start. Like you say, Sunderland, Altidore
:12:11. > :12:18.has struggled for goals this year. They have had to try something. It
:12:19. > :12:22.is amazing he is so confident. It depends what you say as a manager, I
:12:23. > :12:32.want you to come back with experience and I will put you in an
:12:33. > :12:37.-- the team. They would be three points behind
:12:38. > :12:41.Aston Villa. And would have played the same number of games. Can you
:12:42. > :12:48.remember my question? Jose Mourinho and weakened teams. I am not buying
:12:49. > :12:54.this from Mourinho. I have no doubt he will rest some players, because
:12:55. > :12:58.of injury. He will love this situation. Going to Anfield where
:12:59. > :13:02.everybody expects Liverpool to blow them away, he will love that.
:13:03. > :13:08.Everything he says and does he for a reason. If his attempt is there to
:13:09. > :13:13.make Liverpool perhaps think they might have an easier ride, even if
:13:14. > :13:18.it affects the fans which it does not appear to have done, or if it
:13:19. > :13:22.affects the team in a timely way. I don't think it will work. As it
:13:23. > :13:28.Liverpool will have too much but he will try absolutely everything. He
:13:29. > :13:32.can't moan about having to play Tuesday, Sunday, Wednesday. They are
:13:33. > :13:42.successful. It is what they train for. He loves this. He can't tell me
:13:43. > :13:45.he doesn't want to be in this situation. He wants to be in the
:13:46. > :13:55.thick of it. If they can somehow get a win today. Perhaps City slip up at
:13:56. > :14:03.Goodison. I still think he thinks he can win both. I think he has gone in
:14:04. > :14:10.a strange place psychologically. You were at the press conference. This
:14:11. > :14:14.is the one situation where Mourinho wasn't trying to do things for
:14:15. > :14:20.effect. You got the feeling, I have never seen for years, a manager in
:14:21. > :14:26.such a volatile, strange mood. Very peculiar. He reacted badly to almost
:14:27. > :14:33.everything thrown at him, even questions which were quite gentle,
:14:34. > :14:43.routine questions. He was tired. He was very strange and argumentative.
:14:44. > :14:51.A couple of weeks ago, he was looking at what was in front of him.
:14:52. > :14:56.Manchester City drop those points at Sunderland. The Champions League was
:14:57. > :15:01.very much possible. I think you look at his team and thought, we can do
:15:02. > :15:07.this. The result last weekend has knocked his plans. He is taking it
:15:08. > :15:12.badly. Jose Mourinho is not used to having a season where he does not
:15:13. > :15:17.win something. The first time it happened in a decade was at Real
:15:18. > :15:23.Madrid. He called that a failure. He feels he needs a trophy to justify
:15:24. > :15:28.his managerial season. From all your years of watching Jose Mourinho, do
:15:29. > :15:31.you think this is different to previous years of creating this
:15:32. > :15:39.siege mentality which he did that Inter Milan and Real Madrid? You
:15:40. > :15:44.think it is different this time? I think he is trying to create a siege
:15:45. > :15:48.mentality. But if everything went very well for him, he wants to be
:15:49. > :15:53.the first man to win the Champions League with three different clubs.
:15:54. > :15:58.That is a massive for objective for him. When you look at this game
:15:59. > :16:04.against Liverpool, you have to look at it in conjunction with the
:16:05. > :16:09.Atletico Madrid game. Has Jose Mourinho ever given up a game in his
:16:10. > :16:14.life? You cannot tell me he is thinking, we will let Liverpool have
:16:15. > :16:19.this one. I know he likes Brendan Rodgers, but there is no way he is
:16:20. > :16:22.giving up that game. He wants to be the first man who has won the
:16:23. > :16:29.Champions League three times with three different clubs. He has still
:16:30. > :16:36.not got over the Garcia goal. Seriously, he has not. Ryan says
:16:37. > :16:42.that I believe that the Liverpool -Chelsea game will be a draw today.
:16:43. > :16:49.We should not forget Manchester City on this. No. I was there at West
:16:50. > :16:52.Brom on Monday night. I did not think that that crowd thought that
:16:53. > :16:59.they were going to win the championship. It was very subdued.
:17:00. > :17:05.Without David Silva, he is 30% of their team. He is such a great
:17:06. > :17:12.player. If the result was Manchester City's way at Anfield today, it
:17:13. > :17:15.opens it up. Yes, but I just think that Liverpool are playing so well.
:17:16. > :17:21.It does not matter who they are playing. Michael in the West
:17:22. > :17:25.Midlands says, it pains me to say that Liverpool are brimming with
:17:26. > :17:34.self-confidence. Those attributes will win you any title. Jose
:17:35. > :17:38.Mourinho once the title more, but the title is... I do not understand
:17:39. > :17:44.that last line. I do not know what it says. If you're a Manchester
:17:45. > :17:50.United fan, who would you want to win the league, between Manchester
:17:51. > :17:55.City and Liverpool? In that situation, I think most would prefer
:17:56. > :18:00.Manchester City to win the title. Interesting. It will be a bad
:18:01. > :18:06.summer. They have plenty to think about. We will speak about that
:18:07. > :18:12.shortly. Will this be a failure for Manchester City if they do not win
:18:13. > :18:16.the title? I think they have got the trophy that Pellegrini set out to
:18:17. > :18:23.win at the start of the season. Last year, all we were talking about was
:18:24. > :18:28.Manchester City. It feels like a much calmer, steadier ship. That is
:18:29. > :18:32.an achievement in itself. But having spent the money that they did last
:18:33. > :18:40.season, I think it is something of a failure. Perhaps they have let it
:18:41. > :18:46.slip. It was there as the win. It started to slip around the time that
:18:47. > :18:53.Negredo picked up his first injury. He did not come back fully fit. They
:18:54. > :18:58.always seem slightly unsettled. Yes, it is funny, because before
:18:59. > :19:01.Liverpool got going, you look at the four attacking options at Manchester
:19:02. > :19:09.City and you could not see anyone stopping them. The debate was what
:19:10. > :19:16.is the best striking partnership? Yes, Negredo, they have missed them.
:19:17. > :19:25.Would you expect them to splash the cash this summer. Will they be
:19:26. > :19:30.allowed to? We will find out in May. I think they will tweak things
:19:31. > :19:36.rather than rebuilding things. They have got the quality. It is just a
:19:37. > :19:45.matter of getting it out of the players. There is no reason why they
:19:46. > :19:51.cannot win the league next year. We are here for your points of view.
:19:52. > :19:56.Have Cardiff responded to going one goal down at the Stadium Of Light?
:19:57. > :20:01.If anything, Sunderland have come closest to scoring a second. Jack
:20:02. > :20:09.Colback collected the ball outside the penalty area. He almost added to
:20:10. > :20:19.Connor Wickham's goal. It is 1-0 to Sunderland. All is well in the world
:20:20. > :20:25.at the Stadium Of Light. They are out of the bottom three. Do
:20:26. > :20:28.you know who Manchester United played yesterday at Old Trafford,
:20:29. > :20:34.because there does not seem to be much mention of them on television
:20:35. > :20:38.or in the newspapers? There is hardly any mention of that game from
:20:39. > :20:43.Norwich City point of view, and it was crucial. For 40 minutes, Norwich
:20:44. > :20:50.City were competitive without looking like scoring. That has been
:20:51. > :20:55.the problem. The world we live in, it is just mad. All of a sudden,
:20:56. > :21:01.Manchester United are sorted, they are fixed. But we know that they are
:21:02. > :21:08.a long, long way from being a good team. I have heard that they will
:21:09. > :21:11.speak to five different managers. If you ask me who the new manager
:21:12. > :21:22.should be, I would say Carlo Ancelotti. Definitely, that game had
:21:23. > :21:28.more significance for Norwich City than Manchester United? It is hard
:21:29. > :21:34.not to worry in a big way about Norwich City. We have just seen
:21:35. > :21:38.Connor Wickham score for Sunderland. Goals for Norwich City have been a
:21:39. > :21:44.disaster area. Van will swing Cole is the one. He is the lightning bolt
:21:45. > :21:53.when you're going to have a discussion about that. -- Ricky van
:21:54. > :22:00.Wolfswinkel. He has only had the one goal since arriving. The other
:22:01. > :22:06.striker, Johan Elmander, he has one goal as well. I do not know if it is
:22:07. > :22:11.that they are not creating enough chances. Or can you blame it on the
:22:12. > :22:16.strikers themselves? If you do not have a centre forward that is going
:22:17. > :22:21.to get a handful of goals, never mind 15, how do you stay up? You are
:22:22. > :22:27.only as good as your strikers. When US says teams coming up, you say,
:22:28. > :22:33.who is going to score the goals? You're right. Steve Bruce
:22:34. > :22:41.transformed Birmingham. He bought players. When it comes to Norwich
:22:42. > :22:46.City, the strip -- the strikers we have mentioned, they are all very
:22:47. > :22:50.different. If you're only going to play one of them, your game is going
:22:51. > :23:00.to be different, depending on who you play. Yes. When they bought
:23:01. > :23:06.Ricky van Wolfswinkel, we thought, that is clever. They are bedding him
:23:07. > :23:12.in for next season. But he is not scoring. You go back to Norwich
:23:13. > :23:19.City. The decision to get rid of Chris Hughton. With four games left,
:23:20. > :23:24.maybe they thought they had to react. But if you're going down, who
:23:25. > :23:29.is the best man to bring you back up? I would argue that Chris Hughton
:23:30. > :23:34.would be a good bet. I find it a strange decision. Finally they got
:23:35. > :23:42.the guts to sack him at the end of the season. That is a myth, and new
:23:43. > :23:46.manager comes in and you do great. I do not think it actually works. We
:23:47. > :23:51.have seen in the Premier League, apart from Tony Pulis. When you look
:23:52. > :23:56.at Norwich City, you do not want to advocate that you should be changing
:23:57. > :24:00.your manager. But perhaps they have been punished for their loyalty to
:24:01. > :24:06.Chris Hughton. Perhaps if they had changed earlier, it would have given
:24:07. > :24:12.someone else a chance. But now, with the running that they have, it was
:24:13. > :24:17.fairly pointless. The other thing as well, West Ham, when Sam Allardyce
:24:18. > :24:21.had a bad time and they backed him. If they had sacked him, the manager
:24:22. > :24:28.that Norwich City needed to stay in the league was Sam Allardyce.
:24:29. > :24:35.Everyone said that. West Ham stayed firm, and great credit to them. Mark
:24:36. > :24:42.said, we all knew at Ipswich that Connor Wickham went to soon. You do
:24:43. > :24:52.not lose that natural talent. It would be great if he helps put
:24:53. > :24:55.Norwich City into the bottom three! Another viewer says, the title is
:24:56. > :25:08.going to the home of English football, Liverpool. The change work
:25:09. > :25:15.for Tony Pulis, it obviously also worked for Manchester United and
:25:16. > :25:26.Ryan Giggs. Ryan Giggs is the interim manager. Let's hear from
:25:27. > :25:30.Emma Neil Adams. I felt ten feet tall when I walked out of the tunnel
:25:31. > :25:37.to Trafford. I have never felt like that. The fans were great today, to
:25:38. > :25:43.me, the staff and the players. It has been a frustrating season for
:25:44. > :25:49.them. It was brilliant today. Do you take this one game at the time? Yes.
:25:50. > :25:54.The standard is set and we have got to carry that on against Sunderland.
:25:55. > :26:00.It will be a tough game. They have had good results, away at Chelsea,
:26:01. > :26:05.away at Manchester City. We need to keep to the standards we set today.
:26:06. > :26:11.There are two games left for the season. It is massively important.
:26:12. > :26:18.We will be right for the next game and the one after that. I will not
:26:19. > :26:23.say it is in our hands, but we have to make the performances. If
:26:24. > :26:27.Manchester United when a German a Spanish club, would Ryan Giggs be
:26:28. > :26:32.the favourite to be the next permanent manager? I think he would
:26:33. > :26:40.be highly in contention, perhaps more so than he is. There is a jolly
:26:41. > :26:44.good argument to say, why not? Some people within the Manchester United
:26:45. > :26:50.hierarchy are strong advocates. It is the class of 1992. There was the
:26:51. > :26:58.telling image at the end of the game, he was there with his mates,
:26:59. > :27:02.Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. If you are going to do the job and you are
:27:03. > :27:08.Ryan Giggs, it cannot be any better than doing it with your oldest
:27:09. > :27:13.friends, effectively. They must have sat and talked about football for 25
:27:14. > :27:18.years and been exchanging views. That must give him lots of
:27:19. > :27:23.confidence. But our Manchester United daring enough to do that? If
:27:24. > :27:28.they do, I think they will get more leeway from the fans. The fans were
:27:29. > :27:32.very supportive of David Moyes for a long time. I think they would be
:27:33. > :27:39.even more supportive of giving Ryan Giggs enough time to get it right.
:27:40. > :27:43.Financially, that does not work. That is the big question for
:27:44. > :27:48.Manchester United, the share price. If it goes down, it will be a
:27:49. > :27:54.problem for the owners. That is all they are interested in, because they
:27:55. > :27:58.do not turn up to watch the game. Even so, do you think they will look
:27:59. > :28:04.at how old Trafford reacted to Ryan Giggs yesterday and take that into
:28:05. > :28:10.account? Footballer clubs do not often listen to their fans? I do not
:28:11. > :28:15.think emotion comes into it. It is very easy to see what Ryan Giggs has
:28:16. > :28:21.done at Old Trafford. It would be easy to say, give it to him. But it
:28:22. > :28:25.is not beyond the realm of possibility that David Moyes could
:28:26. > :28:30.have won these last four games. They are not difficult game. That was
:28:31. > :28:40.their biggest home win of the season. Yes, but they went to St
:28:41. > :28:45.James's Park and lost recently. This could give us a false impression of
:28:46. > :28:51.Ryan Giggs as a manager. He is not David Moyes. He will have an effect
:28:52. > :28:55.on the dressing room. Can Ryan Giggs go into the dressing room, lick his
:28:56. > :29:01.team-mates in the eye, and say, sorry, but your time is up, you have
:29:02. > :29:06.got to leave the club? United need a strong man to do that job. When
:29:07. > :29:13.Kenny Dalglish went from player to player manager, he already had a
:29:14. > :29:17.good team. The differences that Manchester United need major surgery
:29:18. > :29:24.in terms of the players. They need a new right back. They have never
:29:25. > :29:30.placed Paul Scholes. That is another factor. You're going into the
:29:31. > :29:34.transfer window, and if you're trying to get one of those great
:29:35. > :29:38.players, would you like to come and play for Ryan Giggs, who is a
:29:39. > :29:43.brand-new manager, or would you like to play for Louis van Gaal? There is
:29:44. > :29:50.perhaps a difference from an external point of view.
:29:51. > :29:59.Vincent Tan, the Cardiff owner, said Bud was their lucky colour. But
:30:00. > :30:07.maybe not so today. Just before half-time, Cardiff are
:30:08. > :30:28.down to ten men. A foul on Connor Wickham. Quite controversial. The
:30:29. > :30:35.referee has sent him off. Surely, a definitive moment in
:30:36. > :30:41.Sunderland's season and Cardiff. Cardiff are down to ten men. It will
:30:42. > :30:47.be Borini against Marshall is if you have moments in front of a packed
:30:48. > :30:53.Stadium Of Light. Here is Borini. And he scores to the right-hand
:30:54. > :31:03.side! Sunderland, clear blue water over Cardiff City.
:31:04. > :31:08.Phil Dowd played six seconds of advantage before bringing playback.
:31:09. > :31:16.He probably did so thinking they would score. He had to be sent off,
:31:17. > :31:26.it was madness from the defender. At least give someone a chance to get
:31:27. > :31:31.back. It reminded me of the opening day of the season with Arsenal and
:31:32. > :31:35.Aston Villa and Anthony Taylor, playing advantage for Aston Villa
:31:36. > :31:41.for a good four seconds. When the ball didn't go back in comic he
:31:42. > :31:48.brought it back to the penalty. Is that good refereeing for you?
:31:49. > :32:00.Golly. In rugby, we will see rugby penalties -- advantage being played
:32:01. > :32:09.for a lot longer than that. I think that is really good refereeing, he
:32:10. > :32:14.is saying, go on, score. It has been a good ten days for Gus Poyet and
:32:15. > :32:19.his men. The opposite to what is happening at Aston Villa at the
:32:20. > :32:23.moment. They were thrashed at Swansea yesterday. By all accounts,
:32:24. > :32:34.when the players went over to their fans at the end, they shoot them
:32:35. > :32:42.away. They have real problems. There was chancing yesterday. We know
:32:43. > :32:54.things haven't been great. To get to that point, it is a new low.
:32:55. > :33:03.Yesterday was a low point for Lambert. At the moment, they are not
:33:04. > :33:06.playing the football that is inspiring.
:33:07. > :33:13.Half-time at the Stadium Of Light. Sunderland lead. Connor Wickham
:33:14. > :33:21.getting the first. Borini getting the second in the first minute of
:33:22. > :33:24.injury time from the penalty spot. Caulker remonstrated with Phil Dowd
:33:25. > :33:34.as they left the field about the red card. One-man advantage as well in
:33:35. > :33:36.the second half. That could leave them three points behind Aston Villa
:33:37. > :33:42.having played the same number of games. Do you believe Aston Villa
:33:43. > :33:45.are still in the relegation battle? If you look at the remaining games
:33:46. > :33:50.for Sunderland and you would favour them. I have spent a lot of time
:33:51. > :34:00.this morning analysing all the games everyone has left. Did the journey
:34:01. > :34:06.flyby! Where you confused? It emphasised how... You look at it and
:34:07. > :34:11.you think, three teams have to get above Villa but it is possible.
:34:12. > :34:18.Cardiff have 30 from 36, if they lose. Fulham have 31 from 36.
:34:19. > :34:25.Norwich have 32 from 36. Sunderland, 32 from 35 if they get
:34:26. > :34:35.three points today. Villa have the Stech of relegation, they really do
:34:36. > :34:41.feel it. All of a sudden, then, it was far too easy for Swansea. They
:34:42. > :34:46.don't look like they have the stomach for the fight. Didn't their
:34:47. > :34:52.season for apart when got injured? He has struggled for form. He is the
:34:53. > :35:01.only Villa player in double figures. No one else is even close.
:35:02. > :35:05.I am not sure about this, the owner has to decide whether Villa are a
:35:06. > :35:09.Premiership team which can push for a European place, or if they will
:35:10. > :35:17.float around. But if the money isn't there, what does he do? Having spent
:35:18. > :35:24.the money when Martin O'Neill was that, to have pulled the plug. It is
:35:25. > :35:28.very odd. I think he feels he has had his fingers burnt. Why should he
:35:29. > :35:34.keep chucking money at this club to get them into eighth position?
:35:35. > :35:41.Financially it is not worth it. Newcastle fans might feel the same
:35:42. > :35:49.about Mike Ashley. He has probably made money, that is the difference.
:35:50. > :35:55.Yes. You could argue Villa and Newcastle, they might only reach a
:35:56. > :35:58.certain level. But the fans will say Liverpool have not spread ridiculous
:35:59. > :36:03.amounts of money compared to Manchester City all Liverpool --
:36:04. > :36:10.Chelsea, yet they are at the top. I know where you are going. With
:36:11. > :36:14.Villa it is a shame. Randy Lerner was one of these overseas owners
:36:15. > :36:21.with the best intentions. He wanted to run a really well ordered club
:36:22. > :36:31.who was settled and solid. For some reason, a couple of bad managerial
:36:32. > :36:34.appointments are with Martin O'Neill, things were looking good.
:36:35. > :36:42.Gerrard Houllier, not the right thing. They are now in a situation
:36:43. > :36:52.where all these ideas of how he wanted to run Villa isn't working.
:36:53. > :36:55.The money has become bigger. Ashley, you can't convince him if he spends
:36:56. > :36:59.an extra ?50 million, where will they finish? He won't finish in the
:37:00. > :37:37.top six. He is thinking, and not get into Europe. A clinical
:37:38. > :37:42.way of looking at it. Going back to what Liverpool have done. And
:37:43. > :37:50.Everton. Newcastle and Villa must think, there shouldn't be much
:37:51. > :37:53.difference between us and Everton. If you are Villa and Newcastle, you
:37:54. > :37:59.would have to spend a lot of money to get the same quality as
:38:00. > :38:03.Liverpool, in all honesty. That is my argument for Mike Ashley and
:38:04. > :38:12.Randy Lerner. Just to try and compete. It is their money. They are
:38:13. > :38:16.saying, if anybody else wants a go, come on.
:38:17. > :38:28.Anybody can win the FA Cup, the League Cup. Why couldn't a Newcastle
:38:29. > :38:34.or are Villa have had a go at that? And Southampton. The glory that that
:38:35. > :38:39.can give you. Looking at Liverpool, so many people turning up. You can
:38:40. > :38:48.give that to other teams in a different way. An anonymous text, as
:38:49. > :38:51.in Manchester United supporter I can only applaud the attacking play
:38:52. > :39:01.Liverpool have adopted. They deserved to win. The Championship or
:39:02. > :39:05.the Premiership? I wish them all the best for the game today. Scott says
:39:06. > :39:11.he is tired of hearing about Mourinho and his excuses. Field any
:39:12. > :39:15.11 and Liverpool will blow them away.
:39:16. > :39:18.We talked about foreign owners, and expectations, you could say the same
:39:19. > :39:38.about Fulham. We are disappointed because we were
:39:39. > :39:49.leading. So it seems, really, that unfortunately we made almost an own
:39:50. > :39:54.goal. If you got a goal, then you get pressure. And so, maybe, take
:39:55. > :39:59.only one point. An amazing 12 minutes. They have
:40:00. > :40:05.made a tactical change and put two at the top end of the pitch, in real
:40:06. > :40:10.bit of quality from Dejagah. A great header. All of a sudden, a crazy 12
:40:11. > :40:15.minutes. After that, you need to roll your sleeves out and see what
:40:16. > :40:19.you have got. Thankfully, we have responded in the right way, we have
:40:20. > :40:23.hit the post and the bar. You think it is not going to be your day. A
:40:24. > :40:29.little bit of quality at the end was there for everybody to see.
:40:30. > :40:33.They let it slip there, Fulham. Probably one of my most obvious
:40:34. > :40:39.questions! A calamitous situation. The mood in
:40:40. > :40:51.the stadium at 2-0 up, they were flying. That deflation after they
:40:52. > :40:54.were paid back. -- pegged. I heard the commentator last night
:40:55. > :41:00.describing Felix Magath as a German Tony Pulis. We might be looking at
:41:01. > :41:05.an English version of Felix Magath. It might just not be happening. You
:41:06. > :41:10.could see the desolation in the stands, and the players. They have
:41:11. > :41:18.to go to Stoke. And Crystal Palace who are in fantastic form. There is
:41:19. > :41:25.a realisation that it is beyond them and the miracle won't happen.
:41:26. > :41:30.He made the change at half-time and it worked. When Steve Bruce made his
:41:31. > :41:35.changes, he didn't have anyone left to repel what Steve Bruce was doing.
:41:36. > :41:41.In the end, it was a draw. Both managers did well with what they
:41:42. > :41:48.had. A massive win for West Brom. I have never seen a group of fans and
:41:49. > :41:55.players celebrate so much. The other week they had the same against
:41:56. > :42:01.Cardiff. That takes West Brom 236 points. One behind West Ham. They
:42:02. > :42:10.are not quite there. I think they are probably just the right side of
:42:11. > :42:15.the line. Since that Cardiff game, the dressing room bust up seems to
:42:16. > :42:19.have done them the world of good. When it happens, I thought it didn't
:42:20. > :42:29.look good. But they have responded really well. There is nothing wrong
:42:30. > :42:34.with it. I first day at Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, I turned up for
:42:35. > :42:40.training. Graeme Souness, Alan Kennedy, fighting. The first day
:42:41. > :42:47.within the first five minutes. I thought, I should have gone to
:42:48. > :42:55.Arsenal. It's not a great problem, it is blokes. A big day of football
:42:56. > :43:00.in the Premiership. Half-time at the Stadium Of Light, Sunderland lead by
:43:01. > :43:09.two goals. Zaha is warming up, it looks like he will come on.
:43:10. > :43:13.Full commentary of Crystal Palace against Manchester City. Plenty of
:43:14. > :43:17.updates on Chelsea and Liverpool. Peter says as a United fan I would
:43:18. > :43:26.say the best answer to the question is that I would prefer the title to
:43:27. > :43:29.be one for the 96. We will see you next week. Goodbye.