English Premier League: Kicking back
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00:00Hey guys and welcome to today's chat room at Gulf News. I'm Matt Smith, the Sports Editor
00:09and with me today we have two of our footy experts on the team. We've got Gautam, the
00:15wizened old, what shall we say, the more experienced gentleman on the team and we've got the misguided
00:23fool in Imran who's an Everton fan so that's all good for a laugh.
00:28So hi guys and obviously we're doing this remotely these days given the coronavirus
00:33pandemic and whatnot so I hope you can all hear us fine. We'll start off, Manchester
00:40United last night looked pretty good, they beat Brighton 3-0 at the MX Stadium. I think
00:46it was possibly their best performance of the season but I also think they've got a
00:50country mile to go in terms of catching up with the likes of Liverpool, Man City, even
00:55Chelsea. Bruno Fernandes scored a couple of great goals, Mason Greenwood looked pretty
01:00good, a good find as an 18-year-old. A couple of referee decisions again, there was dodgy
01:08offside debates, there was a lot of things in there that they could easily have just
01:12gone against them and it was not as comprehensive as it looks I think.
01:18I agree, Man United, if you look at that first goal of Greenwood, he has the ball on the
01:24touchline and actually he carries the ball a yard off the line and somehow everyone's
01:29missed that and he's carried on, he's beaten a couple of players, credit to the boys, put
01:33it in really well but it shouldn't have stood in the first place. So Brighton, very unlucky
01:37to concede that first goal, I mean it should have stood. Today with the technology that
01:41we've got, with VAR watching, with all the referees and the linesmen, somehow they've
01:44missed the ball, it's literally a yard out of the pitch.
01:47Yeah, his foot and the ball are both miles over, well not miles over the line but clearly
01:53over the line and if the assistants there are watching his line, he's clearly going
01:59to see that, he's got to see that that ball's out, otherwise what's the point?
02:03He should have seen it. Yeah, I mean the linesmen probably got his vision slightly blocked because
02:08Greenwood's facing the other way and he's behind but still, the referee should see that,
02:12VAR should see that, I mean, that goal shouldn't have stood.
02:16Absolutely.
02:17I'd like to say there was… Sorry.
02:19Yeah, no, no. I just wanted to say that what ought to have been a pretty much regulation
02:24game with United looking to move up to that fifth spot and keep their chances alive, that
02:30became quite extraordinary going by the reactions over Bruno Fernandes' two goals and Greenwood,
02:37as you said. And this Fernandes' second goal, I mean, I hear people are talking about
02:46drawing parallels with Cristiano's goal in 2009, something he scored against Arsenal.
02:51So, is it speaking too early, too far too early? What do you think, Matt?
02:56He's not even… He couldn't lace his boots. The only thing they've got in common is he's
03:03Portuguese. Bruno Fernandes is… Man United are lucky to have him. Let's say that he looks
03:10good in that team but it's not saying much because he's not got much to be compared to
03:14that team. No offence to a lot of the guys. I mean, I think as individuals they're good
03:19players but as a team they're not great. The more… I mean, Paul Pogba actually put in a
03:24shift last night for the first time in a long time but he should have been long gone by now.
03:29They should have been rebuilding by January. But it's just the same old… same old there,
03:36you know. He has confidence that he'll look sharp. Fernandes,
03:41very soon we'll find out. I could be somewhere else. I'm not sure. Because this team isn't
03:48going to improve next year, I don't think. And United will… They'll have an unhappy Fernandes
03:54and that'll affect his performances and he'll slip into the same mode as a lot of the other
03:58talent they've got there. They're going to go to waste.
04:01Yeah, United have got a long way to go. I mean, Fernandes is a good addition to the team but he's
04:07just joined. He's not been there for too long. But he's had a good start. But I think they're
04:12going to lose quite a few players in the summer. Well, summertime, whenever it's going to be
04:15during the transfer window. Pogba probably is not going to be there. They've got to get a couple of
04:19good centre-halves in, the full-backs. I mean, I think De Gea has signed a new contract but I
04:23wouldn't be surprised if he goes. He's not been looking as good as he used to be. Pulled off a
04:28great save yesterday but that team needs a lot of players. So, Fernandes might be playing… Well,
04:32he could become the best player. I mean, they've got Rashford, Greenwood for the future. But
04:37United have got a very long way to go. Whoever they bring in is going to make, obviously,
04:41going to make a big difference to how they perform next season. But I don't even think
04:44Solskjaer is going to be there next season. I think he's going to be out. I think there's
04:47Pochettino waiting in on the wings. He's a good manager, proven at the top level.
04:51I definitely don't think… I don't think he'll be there by the end of next season.
04:55I don't know when he'll be out but I think he'll be gone by the end of next season because
05:00they won't improve. They'll still be stagnating, fifth, fourth. Because Chelsea are going to get
05:05better. City and Liverpool are not going to go into reverse. So, fourth is the best they're
05:10going to hope for. And then if Arsenal get their act together, Tottenham get their act together,
05:13all of a sudden they get themselves down to seventh. And we all know what that means at
05:17United. That means the manager gets a job. And that's what will happen yet again. And that's
05:22not to mention the likes of Leicester, Wolves, all these other guys that could easily have a
05:26Leicester of a season and get up there. Sheffield were close this year as well before they fell
05:31away. So, if anything, these teams are all bunching up. And if I was a United fan,
05:38I'd be looking over my shoulder rather than looking ahead at Chelsea. Never mind United or
05:43City. If you look at the league right now, that win takes them back up to the tremendous position
05:50of fifth. It's the same, let's break out the bunting because we're back up to fifth in the
05:56league. The only reason that's significant is because of Man City's potential ban. So,
06:03I mean, any other season, that's unacceptable. So, it's just a matter of convenience that that's
06:08good this season. And even then, it still might not be good enough if they get the
06:13ban overturned later this month. So, we'll see. With that squad, with that team, how it's been
06:19for the last few years to finish fifth, and possibly, if that does mean they qualify for
06:22the Champions League, you've got to look at it as a successful season for United. I mean,
06:26that's how far they've fallen. We're so used to them finishing first under Ferguson. First, second,
06:31first all the time. But now, to come fifth, like you say, there's four other teams far more better
06:35equipped to stay in that top four. So, for them, fifth, probably, for the next foreseeable future,
06:40might be the best that they can hope for.
06:43Sorry, Matt. Just one thing I wanted to pick the brains of you two guys. I see,
06:53possibly after quite a while, I see a tendency of going after these teenage players. Like,
06:59we are hearing so much about Greenwood. Today, I just saw that City has picked up a kid called
07:05Pablo Moreno from Juventus. So, do you think this is kind of setting up the scenario for next
07:12season? I mean, you are less than two months away from the next season, actually. I'm just
07:17possibly asking it a little out of turn, but does it look significant to you?
07:23I think youth is definitely the future. These guys may be not getting teed up for next season.
07:30But, you know, they've got an eye on, they usually pick up a few guys each team during the summer,
07:37you know, because they've got potential. Sometimes they get farmed straight back out on loan to the
07:41club they just bought them from. Sometimes they just go straight into the academy. But every now
07:45and again, as you say, somebody like Greenwood comes straight through the academy and gets into
07:50that first team. That's normally because your team's pretty shoddy and these guys get a run out.
07:56If you look at City, they've had Phil Foden come right through and since the coronavirus break,
08:02he's been getting a lot of game time. He's excelled and Guardiola, truth is word, said
08:07Foden will get his chance. He's now getting his chance and he'll be a key player for the next
08:11season. As far as the guy Moreno you're talking about, and they signed another boy from a team
08:18in Eastern Europe. Again, he was about 17 from Bratislava or somewhere like that off the top
08:24of my head. But these guys will be ones for even the season beyond next. I don't think they'll be
08:29factoring too much this season. I think there's a lot of pressure as well when you've got a young
08:34kid like Greenwood, like the boy who's just signed for Man City, any other youngsters coming through.
08:38If they're playing for these top level clubs, the pressure on those boys to succeed straight away is
08:42immense. I mean, if you're playing for a smaller team, you can grow into that team, you can develop
08:46as a player. But to be thrust in that limelight in the top league against teams like Man City and
08:53it's asking a lot. I mean, you're probably possibly killing the careers of these young
08:56boys before it's even started. One mistake from one of these guys, if you do it for Man United
09:04or whoever, the whole media world, social media world, everybody will be on your case. Especially
09:09if you're in lights of the Black Lives Matter and everything that's going on as well. There's a lot
09:16of nasty comments going around there from both sides of the divide, the unwanted divide in my
09:21opinion, obviously. But it's the responsibility of the clubs to protect these guys from that.
09:31Whether you give them an advisor to go and help look after their social media sites,
09:37or whether you just tell them to stay off the media sites until they're a bit older. I don't
09:42know what the protocols would be. But yeah, these guys, even the older guys, they talk about how
09:49much it hurts. Troy Deeney was talking about how much it hurt him when he was getting all this
09:53racial abuse. He's nearly 50, that guy. I don't know how old he is. But if you're an 18-year-old
10:03boy, you've not even started shaving properly, then it's going to impact you mentally.
10:09I think the clubs have a lot to do on that front. I mean, to protect these boys,
10:13like we say, the youngsters especially. I mean, even the older boys. I mean,
10:16some of these guys are just getting into social media. So I mean, I think a lot more has to be
10:20done in terms of the club to protect these guys from whatever they're posting, whatever they see
10:24in the comments that they're receiving from fans, and from rival fans more than anything. So I mean,
10:30social media has just opened up the world completely. We can see the lives of everybody
10:33once in a while. I mean, a lot has to be done just to keep these guys out of that limelight
10:36so they can develop into the players that they think they can be. And then we go from there.
10:41Absolutely. Well, there's one club where there's not a lot of complaint, obviously. It's going to
10:45be over at Liverpool. I know you'll love to talk about this, Imran, as well. But Gautam as well.
10:52That marks the titles. It's something else this season. I think there's many arguments
10:59been here and there as to why and how they did it. But they've blown everyone away. They've just
11:05been out remarkable this season.
11:07They've deserved it from the very first game. I mean, they've had such a tremendous winning run.
11:12They've lost only once against Watford and drawn one against Man United, I think they drew. So
11:17they've hardly dropped any points. To wrap up the title, eight games, nine games before the season,
11:21that's a new record. The points record. I mean, they're so far ahead.
11:28Imran, they drew with Everton as well.
11:30Yes, that's right. Had that Arsenal-Man City result gone the other way, and they could have
11:38won the title at Goodison Park, which would have been extremely painful. But thankfully,
11:43they had to wait a week longer. They thrashed Crystal Palace, I think, 4-0. And then Man City
11:48coming off with two great results, beating Arsenal 3-0, thrashing Burnley 5-0. And then playing
11:54pretty well against Chelsea. It was 1-1, I think, against Chelsea. And then Man City
11:58it was 1-1. I think Sterling went through, hit the post. That could have gone in. So it could have
12:03dragged on a bit longer.
12:03De Bruyne just scored a great goal and then...
12:07It was a great goal.
12:07...hit Sterling at the post.
12:10But the truth is, Liverpool had this title wrapped up, I think, months before the virus
12:14even stopped the Premier League. I mean, they were so far ahead.
12:17I've got a question here, Imran, for you. I mean, as you guys said, that head start that they got
12:23and the way they were so far ahead, did it take something away from the sheen of their
12:28championship this year? I mean, if you compare it with what happened last season, they were
12:32unlucky. Just one point separating them and here you've got seating them on top of the
12:38heap by a long job. So, yes. I mean, was it actually the gulf of difference between them
12:46and City this season? Or what happened? I mean, City could never get into the tempo.
12:52I think just looking into the way it all happened, as an outsider looking in, it would have been a
12:56lot more fun had it been a bit more like last season, a bit more closer. But Liverpool were
13:00just so good all the way through. They never showed any signs of dropping any points anyway
13:03through the campaign. They just blew everybody away. I mean, for Liverpool fans, obviously,
13:08that's how they want to do it. They want to go out and win everything. And they did. So,
13:12compared to last season, it wasn't as good. I think Man City had a couple of dodgy results
13:17here and there. I think they've got a slightly older squad there. So there's some
13:21surgery to be done. But they just weren't as good as they were last season. Matt will tell
13:25us more. He's a City fan. What went wrong, Matt? Vincent Kompany. Vincent Kompany calling it a day.
13:33He's the man that always steps up to big occasion. He's pulled the strings from the back. He put
13:38everybody exactly where they needed to be. And also he commanded his deputies in each department
13:44well. So he'd have Silva knowing exactly what was happening. That's David Silva, not Bernardo.
13:51In the midfield, and they'd have Aguero telling Gabriel Jesus or whoever he's up front alongside,
13:57or whether it's Sterling, exactly where they want to be. And that also freed up their,
14:05let's say, whimsical goalkeeper to concentrate on trying to stop the ball rather than trying
14:09to do anything crazy like try and command. He's back full at the same time. So it just
14:13completely worked. And the reason that they've not had that, Silva said he's quitting. He's a
14:20year older. Aguero's had more injuries. He is a year older. Guys that have come in, such as
14:25Shinchenko, have not got up to that level yet. And they had an absolute swathe of injuries as well,
14:34from Laporte and Bernardo Silva all the way through all season. And Leroy Sane missing
14:41massive chunks of the season. And yes, you can't complain, given the depth of the bench. But when
14:48you've got these key linchpin players out for a long period of time, and you miss someone,
14:54if any, then that's what happens.
14:57And what about Pep? Do you think he's the same? Has he still got that desire?
15:01Yeah. Yeah. You see the way he was talking before the game against Newcastle, and he was like,
15:06oh yeah, well, we all knew that the league was over, but I still want two more trophies this
15:10year. And there's the big one, obviously, that we all want in the Champions League that they're
15:15in there. They're still running forward. They're in the driver's seat against Real in the last 16.
15:22And then they've got that mini-tournament in Lisbon where anything could happen, really. You
15:27never know. Atalanta might go on and win it. You never know. It'll just be such a strange territory.
15:34Looking back a little at Liverpool, I mean, because this week was effectively all about
15:38Liverpool.
15:40Nah, don't talk about them. They're rubbish.
15:44Yeah, I mean, it was a bit of a default situation, but we can't help it.
15:48The thing is, any team would have this kind of a peak for two years, three years. Now, this is the
15:53kind of football which they've been playing from 18, 19, and we are now in 20. And there's hardly
16:00any gap. There'll be kind of an overlapping between the two seasons. So, what do you feel they need to
16:06do in the summer transfers to sustain the tempo? I mean, with Klopp being there, what do they need
16:12to do?
16:12Liverpool.
16:15The first thing would be just to retain what they have. To lose someone like Mane, to lose
16:19Firmino, or to lose Salah, that would be a huge… I mean, you wouldn't be able to replace those guys.
16:24Those guys, those three in particular, can walk into any team in Europe at the moment. They're
16:27probably the best players in the world right now. And we've seen it. When they've actually put those
16:31guys on the bench against Everton, Salah was on the bench, and they just weren't the same. They just
16:35didn't have that cutting edge. They weren't looking very effective or dangerous. So, they have to
16:39retain what they have. And they're just so smart.
16:42I was going to say, strengthen the bench. They need to strengthen the bench.
16:46Yeah. They probably need to…
16:47If you look at… Yeah. I mean, they've been very fortunate with their injuries. Again, I'm not
16:52making excuses for Man City, but Liverpool steered clear of big injuries all season. And that saved
17:01first 13, first 14 players all pretty much chipped in brilliantly all season. But I'd say they lost
17:10two or three of their key players. If they lost Mane, I think the league would still be going
17:15right now. But if they lost, say, Mane or Salah, or even Firmino, the guys coming in just really
17:24couldn't do the same job. Same goes for Alisson and Goal. Van Dijk, obviously. And then, you know,
17:31you look at the bench in terms of the guys in midfield, guys like Keita, they're not the same
17:37level. They are not… You know, these guys would struggle to make the bench in Man City. And that's
17:42what they've got to look at, is their bench, as I say, those players have to be good enough to be
17:47at least on the Man City bench before they know they've got enough depth to sustain it again.
17:52And as you say, Gautam, keep it going for another season. Because back-to-back leagues are not
17:57are not easy at all. Because confidence meets complacency in that awkward second year.
18:06And then, as you said, Imran, you've got to keep that team together, all the bits that work,
18:12and make sure they continue to work. Obviously, everyone else in the team is going to be a year
18:16closer to the end of their contract. For next season, they're going to be by far and away the
18:21front-runners. Chelsea, I think, are going to get a lot stronger. Because I think a lot of people
18:28know that Lampard's got a bit of experience under his belt at Stamford Bridge. A lot of the younger
18:33players, I think, would quite like to work with him. So I think he's got a bit of a lure to bring
18:39people in there. And I don't think there are that many players short of being contenders in the
18:45league. I really don't. The way that they stepped up against City the other day, they were like,
18:52yeah, these guys have got it. If they can offload a couple of guys, maybe like Alonso and things,
18:56then they get some younger guys. Guys like Bruno Fernandes is really what they're after.
19:04They can just light up that midfield and attacking part. And then I think they'll really push on.
19:14They've already got those youngsters there and they've loaded them when they had the transfer
19:21bans of guys like Tammy Abraham, Hudson Odoi, Mason Mount, these guys. Chelsea are not that far
19:29away from really contending. City will obviously, if they manage to hold on. It really depends on
19:37what happens with this Champions League ban, as to what City can bring in and who they can hold on
19:45to. Kevin De Bruyne has made a couple of hints that if they get this European ban, he might be
19:51on his way, which would really hurt them. After that, you never know what Leicester might do,
19:58but the rest of them have really got a struggle on their hands. Liverpool are looking very strong
20:06to do back-to-backs, in my opinion.
20:10It'll be interesting to see how they finish off this season. To be on such a high,
20:14having won the league, wrapped it up, with so many games to go.
20:17The next game, I think they're playing Man City. Do you think there's a chance for revenge for
20:24Man City, just to get one over them? Or do you reckon Liverpool will just keep winning
20:27until the end of the season?
20:29I think it's more of a PR time for Guardiola. He's been very gracious and already said,
20:38of course we'll give them a card of honour. He's been very congratulatory,
20:41because he likes to always look like the good guy. But now the gooder guy has come along in club,
20:47who can do no wrong. He's always smiling. He's like, hang on a minute, that was my job. I was
20:53Mr Nice Guy. He'll just be on the charm offensive. If they lose 2-0, he'll be gracious.
21:03City would love to, but it's a meaningless game. As far as City would look at this game,
21:08it's just another fitness game before they get into the FA Cup semi-finals and then the
21:16Champions League in August.
21:18Do you think it would appease the fans a bit if you were to go on a winning run for the last
21:23seven games and just close that gap, even though the Championship's already been
21:26wrapped up and everything. But if you were to be, let's say,
21:29seven points or ten points off, would that make the City fans a bit...
21:33That would mean Liverpool would have to go an amazing, terrible run. But no, I don't think
21:38it would make that much difference, because people would argue, well, Liverpool take their
21:41foot off the gas, or there was nothing left to play for. Which is nonsense, obviously,
21:46because of relegation and everything's still there and the European spots.
21:53I don't think, even if they were to win every game and Liverpool were to lose every game and
21:57we end up being three points behind them, I don't think it would appease them, because it's already
22:01done and dusted. The more important thing is not getting any more injuries before the Champions
22:06League games. It's trying to get the ones that are injured, getting them back to fitness and
22:11everything else. Obviously, you try and win, you compete at the top level, but you just try to
22:20not get injured, as I said, and make sure that you can compete at the highest level without
22:28losing your way and losing your concentration on the bigger prizes,
22:32which are obviously the two trophies that they're still competing for.
22:36You mentioned the race for Europe. That's what's really exciting now, because you've got teams like
22:41Sheffield United, Wolves, obviously Man United. They're all in there for the race to finish,
22:46either in the Champions League or for the Europa spots. If Man City or Chelsea, or if Man United
22:52win the FA Cup, that puts another spot for Europa. I think teams as low as ninth could possibly be
22:59qualifying for the Europa League next season. As far as the Champions League spots go,
23:08it all depends on Man City, but it looks like it's between Wolves, Chelsea and United. If we
23:16were to say it does go to fifth spot. When the break came back, it was going to be Sheffield
23:23that were going to be pushing, but Wolves have really pushed on and Sheffield have fallen away.
23:27So now Sheffield will be clinging to hope that one of these boys can go on to win the cup,
23:33be it Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United or Man City. That will help them get at least into Europa.
23:41But yeah, I think we'll call it a day there, guys, because we're getting
23:44wrapped up. We'll just say thanks, Gautam. Thanks, Imran, for the chat.
23:53We'll be back again next week. Thanks for listening, guys.