ManchesterWorld Q&A: City’s title race route and future of Erik ten Hag under pressure?
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00:00 Michael, starting with Manchester City, now obviously the title race is looming, they
00:05 are preparing for these next three games, piece to that puzzle to claim another Premier
00:13 League title. How do you see it going into Fulham and the following games as well with
00:17 Arsenal travelling to Man United? I know that they're not in the best of form, but something
00:22 could happen there and then Everton for them on the final day.
00:26 Yeah, I mean this is obviously a big weekend in the title race, it's the last time that
00:34 they'll play at different times, City go first and then it's over to Arsenal. I think that
00:43 this weekend, people have been talking for a number of weeks about Fulham, it's a bit
00:48 of a dark horse that game, it could be a bit of a potential banana skin and they've got
00:54 a good home record. They do have a good home record across the season, but you have a look
00:58 at the recent record, I think they haven't won in seven, they haven't won in the last
01:02 three at home, they're really not in good form, Fulham actually. At this stage of the
01:07 season, you want to play those sides who are in the middle of the table, you haven't got
01:10 anything really to play for. They're not going to be in the relegation mix-up, they're not
01:14 going to be in the European places. There was this story yesterday of Fulham players,
01:22 they're taking it really serious to prepare for the game, the picture is coming out of
01:26 Fulham's training camp with some flying kites, which you have to laugh at. It was quite funny.
01:33 They're a good team, Fulham, I think they'll be a good team again next season. I think
01:37 Mark Silva is a good manager, but I just think at this stage of the season, those are the
01:41 sides you want to play. Then I think going into the final couple of games, you've got
01:44 Spurs on, well sorry, before that, but you've got Arsenal and Old Trafford, Manchester United
01:49 are potentially one of the easiest sides to play in the Premier League at the moment,
01:52 just the way they're playing. It should be a relatively straightforward three points,
01:56 although I suppose it's going to be a bit more difficult after Monday's night. Capitulation,
02:01 Palace, and then going into those fixtures next week, I think for City, obviously the
02:05 big one is the game in hand at Spurs. I do think it's looking more and more likely that
02:09 they win that game, they win the title. It's been looking like that for a couple of weeks,
02:12 but more and more so I think that is the case now. They've got a terrible record at Tottenham,
02:17 they haven't won there in the Premier League, haven't scored there in the Premier League,
02:20 they did win there in the FA Cup in January, but prior to that it's been a ground they've
02:26 really struggled at. But at the same time, Spurs have completely imploded in these last
02:30 few weeks. They probably are going to have nothing to play for as well, because potentially
02:33 by the time we get to the weekend, they will know for a fact they are going to finish fifth.
02:37 So that's another side I think you want to play at the moment. I think there's a little
02:41 bit more pride at stake for Spurs. I don't think they'll want to end the season with
02:46 a bit of a whimper. So that's obviously the game then in the midweek game. And in the
02:51 final match of the season, West Ham, I mean listen, Morley's obviously going to be his
02:54 last West Ham game, but he's got a terrible record away at the top side. They look their
02:59 end of the season awfully, West Ham as well. All those teams in the middle are just having
03:04 terrible ends to the season. So I think that'll be a pretty straightforward one as well personally.
03:09 And City don't really slip up at home. So I just think, I mean Sky have been building
03:13 this huge title race, you know, massive stuff for weeks. It hasn't gone that way. And you
03:18 know, I was at the Wolves game at the weekend and the Etihad was very flat, I have to say.
03:23 And I know City fans don't like that, but it was, and they didn't feel a sense of tension
03:28 or jeopardy in the ground. And I don't think it's going to be that way for the final few
03:32 weeks. So I think City will win all three games and will relatively comfortably actually
03:35 win the title in the end.
03:38 And looking down the list at the FA Youth Cup final that City find themselves in, obviously
03:43 over the years there's been some fantastic names and fantastic players who've gone and
03:47 won it and then come through and have a glistening career. So obviously we've mentioned a few
03:51 times City's talents that they bring from the academy to the first side, obviously Phil
03:57 Foden, you know, Cole Palmer, even Tommy Doyle even as well. Players like this who are fit
04:03 for top flight football, it's a massive occasion and it's something you definitely want to win.
04:08 Yeah, and I think from a junior football perspective, it is the biggest stage you can play on. I
04:13 would say, certainly in England anyway, bigger than the UEFA Youth League. It's never really
04:17 taken off that here in England. But I would say that for now, for these young players,
04:22 it is an opportunity to go and showcase their talent. I mean, over the years, it was traditionally
04:26 the last step before they made the big step up into senior football. It's not quite as
04:30 simple as that these days, is it? And you've got a lot of players who are going on loan.
04:34 I mean, it's so difficult to get in that Pep Guardiola squad anyway. But City have, for
04:39 a number of years now, I think, established themselves as the best youth side in the country.
04:44 Sorry, my phone's gone off beside me. And certainly in terms of producing youth talent,
04:49 I think them and Chelsea are first and second. I would have City first in my eyes and the
04:53 talent they have produced. I mean, just look at the last time they won the Youth Cup in
04:56 the final. The three goalscorers were Morgan Rodgers, James McAtee and Cole Palmer. Well,
05:01 three players who are Premier League regulars at this stage. You know, it's only four years
05:05 on. So I think that speaks to a lot. And look, you've got Foden, but you've also got more
05:08 players coming through recently. Rico Lurz, you've even got the likes of Oscar Bob coming
05:13 through in the first team. Micah Hamilton playing this year. There's a couple of others
05:16 as well who have played. And I think that for City's perspective as well, the under-18s
05:21 have been fantastically successful in the last couple of years. But the Youth Cup is
05:24 the big trophy. They've only won that three times in their history. Only once in the kind
05:29 of the Abu Dhabi era, shall we say. They'll want to win this. And they'll want to win
05:33 this trophy to showcase that they are the best at this level still. And at under-18
05:38 level, I think they've won three or four titles back to back. This year, Manchester United
05:42 won the title. They won the Premier League Cup as well. So the kind of three trophies
05:47 on offer. They do have the Youth League as well, but a bit more of a complicated one.
05:51 But on the three domestic trophies on offer, this is the last one available to them that
05:55 they can potentially win to try and end the season with a bit of silverware. So I think
06:00 they'll certainly want to do that. And look, I suspect between City and Leeds, you'll look
06:06 back in this team, the two teams in a couple of years, and pick out quite a few Premier
06:10 League players and quite a few stars of the future. And in the build-up, myself and a
06:15 few other reporters went and spoke to Ben Wilkinson, the manager, spoke to him a couple
06:19 of weeks ago before the Premier League Cup final. He's a really engaging guy, really
06:23 interesting backstory. I won't go into that now, just for time constraints, but really,
06:27 really fascinating kind of career and retired from football at 24 and moved into coaching.
06:32 And he, I think he very much just focuses on bringing through as much talent as possible.
06:38 Also spoke to Jemai Simpson-Poussey, head of the game as well. All these articles are
06:43 on Manchester World or certainly will be in the very near future. And he was a really
06:47 engaging character as well. Sender Baku, I think will be a Premier League player in the
06:52 years to come. England underage international and spoke with real confidence and maturity.
06:57 So, yeah, it's a game I'm actually really looking forward to, but something slightly
07:00 different for me as well. And yeah, I mean, I should mention tickets still available.
07:06 It's at the Etihad on Friday night, 7pm kick-off, which is an advantage to the city, of course,
07:10 being at home. And yeah, it's a game that I think will be a fantastic opportunity to
07:15 see a few stars of the future.
07:18 Michael, looking at Manchester United, obviously off the back of that 4-0 drubbing at Crystal
07:25 Palace, a real bad advert for Tenhawk's time at the club and the back end of the season
07:31 they've really, really sort of struggled. An FA Cup final on the horizon in the Manchester
07:37 derby, they want to make sure that that's not an embarrassment like it was on Monday.
07:41 They can potentially deny Arsenal the title at Old Trafford as they try and respond.
07:46 How do you sort of summarise this season, let's say, because it's been up and down
07:52 and there was so much attention around that Palace defeat and performance there as well.
07:57 What did you take from it?
07:59 Yeah, I mean, listen, we could speak for hours on this topic. It's difficult to keep it
08:04 just a couple of minutes, but that Palace performance was abysmal. There are ways to
08:09 lose football matches. There are, you know, even if you can be beaten heavily, you've
08:15 got to show a bit of pride, a bit of fight, a bit of passion. They didn't do that. Really,
08:20 that was pathetic, that performance. It was absolutely pathetic in every way possible.
08:26 You know, the players weren't committed. Tactically, it was absolutely absurd. You know, the approach
08:33 from Tenhawk is just baffling. I just can't get my head around it. Individual players,
08:37 some of those performances. Casemiro, what was that? That was awful. I mean, even Christian
08:42 Eriksen, a really experienced Premier League player, he is completely out of his depth
08:45 at the moment at that level. Johnny Evans, I think Johnny Evans had a really good season,
08:50 but, you know, he looked like a statue at times in that match. He just looked so immobile.
08:55 I mean, to be fair to him, he's come back from injury. Andre Anana, more mistakes. I
08:59 mean, how many mistakes has he made this season? And then, I mean, even someone like Kobi Mianu,
09:04 who I think has been one of the shining lights. He was, you know, and I blame the environment
09:09 around him, but don't blame Mianu. He's an 18, 19 year old kid. It's not his fault, but
09:14 he was atrocious, I thought, at Salisbury Park. So, listen, 4-0 was awful and they were,
09:20 it was men against boys. They were so comfortably beaten. And look, you know, if at the start
09:27 of the season, I was a huge Tenhawk advocate, I thought that he had done a fantastic job
09:32 last season in very difficult circumstances. And I think that this season has been even
09:36 more challenging for him in the circumstances and everything that's around in the club.
09:41 But fundamentally, when it comes down to it, this team aren't well enough coached. They
09:44 are lacking absolute basics at times in football, I think, and their tactical setup. And Tenhawks
09:50 face questions about this all season, about the way that they approach games. And he hasn't
09:54 changed anything. He hasn't done anything differently. He has repeatedly put out the
09:59 same teams and the same approach, week after week after week, knowing what the end result
10:04 is going to be. Their own course, I mean, the records they've broken this season are
10:08 just awful. You know, they're on for the lowest points. I think they're on for most
10:12 covers conceded. Worst goal difference, most of our defeats in the season, I can't remember
10:18 if I've said that. The records are just tumbling week after week after week. And it is not
10:25 all Tenhawks' fault, but I just don't see at this point how he can justifiably think
10:30 that he should continue in this role next season. There are some decent candidates out
10:36 there. I mean, you and I were just speaking. I think for me, the sound that one is Thomas
10:39 Tuchel. I think he's a fantastic manager. He's done a brilliant job elsewhere and would
10:43 be a great fit for any club but for Manchester United. I just think we're at the stage now
10:50 where this, sadly, for Tenhawks can't go on. And as I say, a lot of problems around
10:56 the club, not all his fault. But this is just, it's gone beyond. I think that was the straw
11:02 that broke the camel's back for a lot of people. And this is Manchester United's worst season
11:06 in the post-Alex Ferguson era. And that says quite a lot considering how toxic it was under
11:10 Jose Mourinho, considering how, almost amateur at times, it looked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,
11:17 how negative it was under Louis Van Gaal, how dismal it was under David Moyes. And I
11:23 think this is the worst season of the lot. So that says it all really. And I just think
11:28 that surely the writing's on the wall for Tenhawk at this stage.