The result was significant because it put Manchester United in a better position in the league and highlighted the current struggles of Manchester City. City’s loss also meant they didn't close the gap on Liverpool, and they showed signs of lack of confidence and poor performance, especially in the second half.
Pep Guardiola is feeling the pressure because Manchester City is experiencing a crisis they've never faced before. The team is low on confidence, not creating chances, and making critical mistakes. Guardiola admits he's struggling to find the right approach to turn things around, and his usual methods are not working.
Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva both indicated that the team is struggling mentally, often conceding goals immediately after letting one in. They feel the team is not focused throughout the full 90 minutes, which is leading to poor performances and mistakes.
Ruben Amorim benched Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnaccio based on their recent performances and traie emphasizening efforts. Hd that every aspect of a player's behavior, from training to how they dress, is evaluated. This move was seen as a way to send a message and possibly spark a change in their approach.
Wolves sacked Gary O’Neil due to the team’s poor performance and high number of defeats. The team has conceded many goals, especially from set plays, and there are concerns about their ability to cope at the Premier League level. Additionally, the players have been losing their discipline and control, leading to a lack of confidence and cohesion.
Clinton Morrison chose Alexander Isak because he sees him as a complete striker who can run in behind, link play, and has smooth technical skills. Isak has shown great potential and is only going to get better, with many big clubs likely to be interested in him. He has also been scoring crucial goals for Newcastle.
Emi Martinez's save was remarkable because it involved diving backward and twisting his wrist to keep the ball out of the net. Despite being one of the best saves seen in recent times, it was rendered pointless when he scored an own goal in the second half, highlighting the unpredictable nature of goalkeeping.
Luke Edwards believes Arsenal might be in danger of another runners-up finish because they have dropped points in crucial matches, such as against Fulham. They have not taken advantage of opportunities when their main rivals, like Liverpool, dropped points, and their inconsistent performances are raising questions about their title credentials.
Wolves struggled with set-piece defenses due to a combination of poor recruitment, injuries to key players, and a lack of discipline from the squad. They lost several good players like Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, and the new signings were not Premier League ready. This, along with players losing their heads and making mistakes, contributed to their weak set-piece defense.
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Hello and welcome to the Football Daily. It's the Premier League Review with me, Rick Edwards. Ready to go, raring to talk about this weekend's action. Our former Palace, Birmingham and Coventry striker, Clinton Morrison and Northern football writer for The Telegraph, Luke Edwards. Hello both, how are you doing? Good evening, not too bad. There is a lot to talk about. Before we get into it,
I enjoyed, really enjoyed actually, some of what Ruben Amorim said before the Manchester Derby, talking about how he assesses his players. And he said that he pays attention to everything, the way that you eat, the way you put your clothes on to go to a game. I actually approached this podcast in exactly the same way. So with that in mind, what have you eaten today and what are you now wearing, Clinton?
I had a roast, a Sunday roast. Classic, good, good. A pair of shorts and a hoodie, just to chill out. Yeah, solid. It's a Sunday. I've got no issues with that. You all right with that? Yeah, you're straight into my podcast squad. Luke? There you go. Well, I started with cold meats, a selection of cheeses. Hang on, for breakfast? No.
Very continental. Didn't bother with breakfast. Okay. Straight into the... I've had a family Christmas gathering today, so there's been a lot of food. So I started with cheese and cold meats, very pleasant, some grapes. Then moved on to roast chicken...
with a ham, roast potatoes, all of the trimmings. I've gone for it today. It's my wife's side of the family's Christmas get-together today. So you've got to be on good behaviour, put your best foot forward. How's the rest of your weekend been, Clinton? I'm happy because my old team, and I know we're going to talk about that, got a victory at Crystal Palace. It put us a bit of distance apart.
apart from the relegation zone. So it's been a great weekend. And my team, my support, Tottenham, are winning 5-0 at the moment. So it's a good weekend for me. Yeah, that's tough. Right, let's talk about the game that I think we've all just watched, which was Manchester City against Manchester United at the Etihad.
Ruben Amorim, just the second Manchester United manager to win their first Premier League Manchester derby after, obviously, Sir Alex Ferguson. It wasn't a great game, truth be told, but
feels to me like a really significant result, Clinton. Yeah, for both. Most definitely, because you look at all the top teams dropping points this weekend and you're thinking if Man City had won, I think there would only have been six points behind Liverpool and I know Liverpool still have a game in hand.
And it was crucial. But when I was watching the game, it didn't look like Man City that we've seen for many seasons. It looked slow. Man United were creating a few chances. I'll be honest, it was one of the worst Manchester derbies I've seen for quality on the ball. It wasn't brilliant. I think the difference was Ahmed. I thought Ahmed Diallo was fantastic. I thought he was the bright spark.
in the whole of the game. But I just look at Man City. There's big problems there. I've tried to defend it for so long about they'll be all right, City. I still think they're in the title race. I can't see it at the moment. Something's not quite right. And I've said it many a times. It can't just be down to one player, but it might be down to one player that they're missing the Ballon d'Or winner in Rodri because he's such a key player for them. But even now in the final third, they didn't have a shot in the second half. They didn't have a shot. They didn't test Anana once in the second half. So,
Yeah, it's a poor game, but a big result for Man United and Ruben Amarin. It's an obvious question, and Clinton has just touched on it there, Luke, but is this now a full-blown crisis at Manchester City? I think you'd have to put it in that category, yes, Rick, and...
I was thinking, I shouldn't say this, but I'm kind of fascinated to see how Pep is coping with this pressure and the strain that he's under, the vulnerability that he's showing. He's never experienced anything like this in his managerial career before.
he's obviously feeling it intensely. His body language is everything on the touchline. When the penalty was given away, Man City thought they're going to close the game out and then Nunes gives the ball away and then gives away a penalty. He just kind of, his hands went up to his head. He looked distraught and this just isn't a side of Pep that we've ever seen before. So,
I'm sort of enjoying watching it. I know people will think that's a bit cruel, but it's just fascinating. It's so intriguing to see how he's coping with it. And if I'm honest, I don't think he's coping very well. I think his nervousness and his stress is beginning to...
to sort of transfer onto his players. They look like a team that's low on confidence. I know he keeps coming out in his press conferences and saying he's delighted with his players and he's really pleased with them, but I suspect he's not saying that behind the scenes. And I think this is a real, real test of his managerial capabilities now just because he's in a completely new situation. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, like you say, the Gies has never had to do it before. Stuff has gone so well for him because he's such a fantastic manager and...
and it's an open question. We don't know whether he can turn a situation like this around. We'll hear from him in a bit. I don't know if you heard this interview that Phil Foden did with us after the match. I mean, it's quite extraordinary. It seems to be the same story at the moment. When we concede one, we're going to concede two straight away, and it's a mental thing now where we're not remaining focused throughout the full 90 minutes, and
we need to get back to doing that because we can't keep going like this. But I believe with the character that we've got in the changing room, we can stick together and hopefully turn this around. I believe it's what's happened recently. We were maybe a little bit anxious as time goes on with the decisions that we're making on the ball. And for me, we're not remaining focused throughout the 90 minutes. With the second goal, we switched off, gave him too much time on the ball.
and one pass kills us over the top. So this shows that the goals we concede in can definitely help. So it's about just getting on the training pitch and trying to make it right. I believe we can turn this around for sure. And do you think those answers come from the players themselves rather than necessarily from the manager? Definitely, it's the player thing. I'm sure if we didn't win what we've won, we wouldn't be in this situation this season. Like I said before, it's a mental thing, I believe, and
we just try and we have to try and make it right now it's nothing to do with the manager you know we have to look at ourselves the performances have not been right and the goals we can see in this yeah you football if you like some of them so
Like I said, it's just about getting back on the training pitch and just trying to make it right. And that's all we can do, really. Gary Flintoff asking the questions there. Phil Foden, you know, being really open, really honest about how he assesses where they're at at the moment, saying that they're playing like youth football. Bernardo Silva went further, in fact. He said, today, the last minutes, we played like under-15s.
you can sense that the players are getting frustrated, Clinton. Yeah, they are frustrated. As Luke said there, Pepsman's probably never been in this position and some of these Man City players have never been in this position. They're used to winning football matches comfortably and
I've said this quite a few times. Players do suffer from confidence. I don't care they've won so much stuff. At the moment, they look like there's no confidence. They look like they need a second or third goal. And then at times, even then, you've seen them when they've been two or three and up and conceded and only get a draw when they played against Feyenoord. So they're low on confidence at the moment. Nunes gives the ball away and everyone can make a mistake. His reaction then is to go back and he gives a penalty.
And then for the second goal, because he's having to play left-back because they've got such shortage out there, and Guardiola down that side, they're struggling. It's only one ball over the top. It should never beat your defence. It's a good run from Ahmed, but it should never beat your defence. It's not happening on the Diaz and Karl Walker side, even though they are conceding goals down that side as well. But the two inexperienced ones on that side, it was poor. But it's hard for Pep because he's got John Stones on the bench, but Stones is only just coming back from injury. They do have a lot of injuries, but...
They look void of confidence at the moment because you can say how bad they are defending. They're not creating chances. Haaland's the top goal scorer. Second top goal scorer is Guardiola with four goals. They have got the likes and I'm not criticising because I love these players. They've got the likes of Grealish. They've got the likes of Foden, Bernardo Silva, Doku, Gundogan. All these players that should be chipping in with goals and they're not scoring goals at the moment. So, yeah, it is a worry and I think
Fair play to Foden. It is like youth football. They did defend. And I think Bernardo was being a bit nice there because I watch a lot of under-15 games and they can see our game better than that. And I coach a team that's under-15s and we see our game better than that. And you'd be disappointed with that? I wouldn't let him. I'd be disappointed. I'd be letting them know as well, but in the nicest possible way.
That confidence thing is so key, isn't it? When Foden at the start there was saying, when we let one in, it feels inevitable we're going to let another in. It's amazing to hear a Manchester City player say that. It is. He's talking about a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't he? They've done it so many times now.
that they think they're going to do it again and then sure enough it happens again I think they sounded I think Foden sounded vulnerable um I think like his manager he sounded under under duress under stress as Clinton said they haven't gone through this that you know Man City's idea of bouncing back was losing one game I mean that that is all these players have had to do for five six seven years that was their you know two games without a win was a sticky spell three games without a win was a crisis so they're in you know again all uncharted territory I and I think
I do question, I do question, I've thought this for a while now, when you're in a tough spell, when you're in a difficult period, he talked about leaders there in the dressing room. Have they really got them? Have they really? Or have those leaders still got that same hunger, that same determination, that same focus that they had? The likes of De Bruyne, Gundogan, Stones, even Grealish. I mean, you wouldn't say Grealish is a natural leader, but he's a vastly experienced player. They've done it all before. Have they still got
the appetite, having won everything they need to win, have they actually got the right characters, the right leaders in that dressing room to turn this around? I don't think they have. And I think it's in real danger of unravelling
to the point where this season implodes. I think we are now able to ask those sort of serious questions. As well as Pep Guardiola, can he turn this around? Has that team reached the end of its shelf life? Do they still want to be there? Are they still focused? Because we can sit there and blame managers. We can always ask questions about managers. What about the players? Do they really want to turn this around? Have they got the hunger to turn this around? Have they got the fight and the determination to do it? I think there are serious questions now that they haven't.
I don't know if you heard this, but Julien Laurent was on Five Live Premier League Sunday and he was saying that he thinks there are players in that team who brutally shouldn't be there. So he said Bernardo Silva, Karl Walker, maybe even...
De Bruyne and he feels like Guardiola for the first time is being a bit sentimental in keeping them on rather than just clearing out and finding the sort of younger fitter versions now obviously that is easier said than done but is he just a bit resistant is he keeping faith with players that he shouldn't be keeping faith with Clinton
It's a hard one because there is going to be a change at Man City and I think Pep's going to play a part in that. That's why he signed the two-year deal because a lot of people were surprised. So they are probably going to look down the younger, go down the younger way. I'm not sure about Bernardo. I like Bernardo. I don't think...
I like Jules a lot as well, but I think Bernardo is a key player for Man City. I just think he's in bad form at the moment. I look at Kevin De Bruyne, he is getting older, but I think for me personally, I watched the game today, he wasn't at his standard, Kevin De Bruyne. He looks like he's still carrying an injury, but he's Man City's best player. I don't care what anyone says. I know he is getting older.
But there is a changing of guard. There most definitely is. And they do need to bring in some younger players. And I think that's why Pep signed that two-year deal. And there's a lot of younger players he wants to bring in to improve the squad. And you're thinking they were going for five in a row. They've already won four in a row. And people have asked me, are these players still hungry? Well, they should be still hungry because you want to keep setting records. I know they've set loads of records again, but you want to go down as one of the best ever. And they will do because the team's been fantastic under Pep Guardiola. But I just...
If I could put my finger on it, why it's going so wrong, I would love to tell everyone because I couldn't believe it. I was watching it after and people talking about it and no one could believe it. No one could believe Man City, especially in that second half. They were nowhere near it. The Etihad was flat.
There was no noise. Listen, I know they're not one of the noisiest fan base anyway, but it was really, really... And it got booed off. I'm not surprised because it was a poor performance, but you never really hear that when you go to the Etihad. Let's get a bit more City reaction then. Here's Pep Guardiola. We are not playing in the way always we played in terms of the positional and the binda, you know, and do it well. Now we're struggling a little bit.
But in the moment, sometimes you have to take the results, get the games, you know, to live your mood. And we were close. But the reality, the reflection I have right now, I'm not good enough. So I'm the manager. Because it's one action is every single player or every single action, I will fix it. But it happened many times. Something is... I'm missing. The truth is I'm missing. So... And I had the feeling that...
Always I found a way, you know, to even defeat, to find a way to say to the players, to tell to the players, to the training, the preparation, always I had the way to get back. Now I'm not. Now I'm not. In terms of the mistake for the penalty, is that a sign of anxiety? Because the player knows that a mistake has been made. They're trying to rectify it within seconds. Absolutely. In the boxers, the worst friend is anxiety.
There you have to be the composer to become and many things are going to happen, that's for sure. And the reality is that for many games it cannot happen. Phil Foden was interesting today. I think we saw some real flashes of perhaps the old Phil Foden, if you will, today. But he said it's not on the manager to solve this. We as players have to find a solution as well. Would you agree? Absolutely not. All on your shoulders? All on my shoulders. That's a lot of pressure, Pep.
That's why I'm well paid. It's the truth. And are you sleeping at night? No, of course you sleep better. I sleep worse, but I sleep at night. I eat properly, so it's not about that. So I'm the boss, you know? I'm the manager, you know? Oh, Pep, I must create something in the other one, so I have to accept the other one. And all now...
The media and everything is part of my job, I have to accept it. But it's not about that, I can't handle it. I was a football player in Barcelona, I had the pressure since I was 18, 19 years old. I know today, tomorrow will be the sunrise again. I'm not able to find, you know, with 8 to 10, in the big, big clubs like this club it is. Because this area, this group of players make the greatest history of this club.
Always we find a way, you know, and now I'm not. So, indeed, it's interesting. Pretty frank, pretty honest. Feels like it's on his shoulders. Yes, he's feeling the pressure. No, he's not sleeping as well as he has in the past. And you look at it, two defeats in a week for City after that 2-0 against Juventus. One win in 11, eight defeats in that 11. Is there any way...
that the Manchester City hierarchy part ways with Pep Guardiola before the end of the season? No. Well, I said no instantly and then I'm already almost regretting that the words came out of my mouth so quickly. I think there is...
a chance if it was to extend into sort of January, February time and this sort of form was going on, then I think they would have to. I think part of the problem has been that Pep didn't commit early enough to another season. I think that that was another issue that they had, that he only signed his new contract, what was it, last month?
I would be very surprised and I think Pep deserves more respect than that. We are talking about one of the greatest managers of all time who has turned Manchester City into the dominant force in English football ever.
for a prolonged period of time, the first manager to do four in a row. The expectation, as a consequence, is so high that let's... OK, for example, let's say that Manchester City don't get through to the last 16 of the Champions League, don't even get through to the playoffs for the last 16. You can't imagine that the hierarchy are going to be pleased with that, Clinton. No, they won't be pleased with that. I'm not...
And I think they should be able to qualify, but they're not in a good position. As you said, losing to Juventus, dominating football matches again, not scoring and getting punished on the counter-attack again. And that's been the story this season. Do I think Pep as well will still be there? I think Pep will be there. I think he's got credit in the bank. I think, as Luke said, he's one of the best managers, if not the best manager ever. And you know what I like about him? Because you know when managers are under pressure, sometimes they will come out
and they'll dig out the players. He's not, because Phil Foden said it's on us, and he's saying, nah, it's on me. I'm the manager. I get paid well. The buck stops with me. So he's the one who's under pressure. And let me tell you something, those players are not delivering for him. There's only so much he can do on the training pitch, and when they cross the white line, it's down to the players. But you know what he does? He goes, the responsibility is with me, so I'll take it. So he's going to take it, and he's going to have to deal with it. But I don't know. There's absolutely no chance. He's got loads of credit in the bank, but...
But it's a good question because people will be asking the hierarchy if he doesn't get into the Champions League. And imagine if they don't finish in the top four, then maybe that's a different question altogether. I think January is massive for them as well, isn't it? Because Man City are one under the PSR rules.
Manchester City are one of the few clubs in Europe who have got leeway to spend and spend pretty big in January. It's a squad that needs rejuvenating, refreshing, reigniting. Everything we're hearing is that Man City are going to be active in January. I think if you're going to trust any manager in the world to spend some money and bring in some new players, if you have to choose one,
It would be Pep Guardiola, wouldn't it? They're not going to go out and get anyone better in the middle of the season than Pep Guardiola. So I think they'll be really kind of, again, intriguing to see what they do in January, what they plan to do. They're all sort of rumours. They want to strengthen the midfield, but it looks like they need to strengthen every department at the
minute but they are going to bring players in and I think they will at least want Guardiola to see what he can do with a squad that's slightly younger with some fresh blood in it in February, March, April, May. There's a couple at my old club with Crystal Palace but I ain't going to mention that because I don't want to start highlighting it. I'll do it. I'll do it for you Clinton. It's fine.
yeah but then there's yeah Wharton that's what I was thinking don't say it and then if you say defenders Mark yeah Mark Gahey Mark Gahey as well so there's quite a few there but let's go to Palace before you start doing that yeah come to Palace just go to Palace take both of their first team squad
That's what I mean. Someone like Eze would be brilliant there at Man City. So, yeah, but let's wait and see. You've just said it on a podcast. Moving on to United, Bruno Fernandes was saying things are coming a bit more naturally than before. And it is obviously early days. But it does feel like Amarim is getting more out of these players than Ten Hag was. Certainly towards the end of his time, Clinton.
Yeah, because he's a good coach and that's not being disrespectful to Ten Hag, but...
When you hear Ten Hag speak, and Luke will probably have to tell you this, when I hear him speak to the media, he says it's boring. He's saying the same thing, the same thing. And Ruben Amarin, I like. I think he's enthusiastic. I think he's a good manager. Listen, I don't think he knows his best 11 at the moment. He made two big calls today, not involving Rashford and Garnaccio. They're big calls in my mind, especially when you're going to play against a Man City team where you're thinking, can we go and cause them a lot of problems? But I think...
slowly but surely he'll get it right and Man United fans are not stupid they know it's going to take a bit of time there but once he can get the players fitted into the way he wants them to play I think they'll be good because let's be honest I'm looking at the game today Man United weren't superb it's a big result for them but they weren't fantastic and you could hear it in the commentary when Gary Neville was saying about them not being fantastic but it's a big three points and that's what helps you you win a Manchester derby as a manager it
It goes a long way. So I think he's the right man, but he needs loads of time. You mentioned Ahmad before Clinton. I think every time I've seen him play, he's looked really good. The way he won the penalty today was so clever because he knew exactly what was coming from behind. Just stopped the ball. It was really cute. The first touch for his goal is perfect. He could be a real star for Amrim, couldn't he, Luke?
He could be. He was the shining beacon, really, for Manchester United throughout the game. I really like him as a player. I thought he was good under Ten Hag, but he was sort of in and out of the team. But Almirane's obviously seen something in him straight away. A lot more responsibility. He wanted to be looking. He's still a young player. He wanted to see how he responds to being given that responsibility. Being played as a wing-back at times. And he's done really, really well.
He's got pace. He's got a goal in him. He's got creativity. And you can see the confidence growing. And every particularly new manager's coming into a club, they always want a young player, one that they've kind of... He hasn't found him as such, but he's really given him that platform to shine and he's responding. And I think he looks like he's really, you know, he's gone up a level, hasn't he, Clinton? You know, he was a promising player. He's now becoming...
one of their key men. And they wouldn't have, obviously they wouldn't have won that game without him, but he's won the penalty. I think the goal is superb because it's not just technique, it's composure. You're that young in a Manchester derby, the touch over the goalkeeper, but then to watch the ball like he does,
and make the connection that he does, knowing where the goal is. It's a goal of highest, highest quality. And I think, yeah, I think whatever Amarim does for that Manchester United team, Diallo's going to be absolutely integral to that. What I hope is, we were saying Garnaccio was that player under Eric Ten Haag. And then, you know, now he's hit a bit of a sticky spell, shall we say. But yeah, they've got a real player on their hands. And it's not so long ago people were saying he was a huge waste of money.
and now he looks like an absolute bargain. So that's football for you. So all that means that they are...
back to winning ways in the league after successive defeats. Let's hear from Ruben Amorim. I think we deserve it. Of course, the game was divided. We didn't create a lot of chances. Also, City didn't create a lot of chances. But you felt the difference from this game to Arsenal. We played well in the first half, but we didn't really believe. And today was different. And just for that, I think we deserve the win.
This is clearly a good day for the football club, a great day one could argue, but obviously you've made a big decision before we've even arrived at the ground today, regards Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnaccio. What was your decision making behind that and what are their potential futures? No, the future is a new week, new game, new life. So they have to fight for the place in the squad.
And that is really important. When you fight for a place in the squad, it's everything. It's the way you train, the way you play, the way you push your teammates, the way you dress, the way you engage with the teammates, with the staff. Everything. We evaluate everything at the moment because we are in the beginning of something. And I think that is the base of the success. So, new week.
was not a disciplinary thing. Let's say it again, it's not a disciplinary thing. It's just a performance thing in all the things that you have to perform to be a Manchester United player. New week, new game, new life. There's been lots of chatter about whether Marcus Rashford might leave in the January window and him being left out today is not going to stop that chatter, Luke. It won't do at all.
It's a manager trying a different trick from the same book, isn't it? They're trying to get a tune out of him. There was a great quote I read in a piece today saying there's a great lad, and I'm paraphrasing slightly, but there's a great lad and there's a great player in there, but he's lost. And I think he's been lost for Marcus Rashford for a long time now.
Manchester United were very keen to try and sell him in the summer. There are concerns about his lifestyle and whether he is as focused on football as he should be.
And I think that's really sad, isn't it? That player is lost, but maybe that person is also lost. And I think this is Amrim just trying something. It's pretty desperate. It feels a bit like a last resort, really. Leave him out of the matchday squad. See if that just sparks something, ignites something in him. And I really hope Marcus Rashford can turn it around. I really do, because...
you don't like anybody at the age of 27 thinking their career at the highest level is over. But at the moment, I think the best thing he can probably do, whether he's realised it yet, is move to a different club and have a fresh start somewhere else and just leave, close the Manchester United chapter and try and rebuild his career and reignite his career somewhere else. Yeah, I mean, Amarim says he doesn't want to send a message, but...
He is sending a message there, Clinton. He is. Yeah, he is. Of course he's sending a message. You've got to train how you play. I make him spot on. If you're down tools and you're not training hard enough, you can't just expect to just walk around in training. I'm not saying he's doing that, but I'm saying he's saying he's got to train and everything. The only thing that...
made me laugh about that is Amarin said the way he dresses. Well, everyone dresses differently. If we all dress the same, you can't say that. If he's coming in with diamond earrings and diamond chains, that's his style. So you can't knock him for how he wants to dress and come in with baggy jeans because everyone's got different styles, haven't they, Rick and Luke? We're all different. We're not the same. But I think it's more the way he's training. And I agree with Ruben Amarin. I said it many times. One player I played with said,
And he was a top player, I'll tell you now. He said, you've got to train how you play. You can't just think you're not going to turn up in training and expect to perform on a Saturday. And that was Roy Keane. And that's why the man's been there and won everything. And he said it to me. And it always stuck in my head to the day I retired. You always train like it's your last training session. Quite funny you say we all dress differently. You, me and Luke all wearing a hoodie.
There you go. Yeah, to be fair, but we've got a vibe on this podcast. Yeah, we've got style and we've got a vibe, though, so people need to know about that. Yeah, don't worry about us. Exactly. All right, I've got a little halftime teaser for you as we head into the break. Which player in the Premier League this weekend scored his first December goal since scoring for Peterborough against Barnsley in League One in 2022? Answer coming up next.
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Wow, that's a tough one.
No, I don't have. I need a bit of a clue. That's a hard one, that is. Thank you. Piaf against Barnsley. That is a good one. That is a good question. Thank you. Thank you. I like these compliments. Keep them coming. Luke? I'm just looking vacantly. Sorry, I thought that was your thinking face, but no, that is your... No, I'm just... I'm rubbish at that sort of thing. The answer then, Jack Taylor.
in stoppage time, Ipswich beating Wolves 2-1 at Molineux. I knew that! Well, maybe you should have said, Luke, instead of staring vacantly into space. That was the one player I thought it could be. And it is. Should have probably verbalised that. Yes, I think so. Generally speaking, on a podcast, verbalise stuff.
And as you say, he joins now a very exclusive club of players who've scored in all top five leagues of English football. Now, not as a direct result of that goal, but let's face it, it didn't help. Wolves boss Gary O'Neill was sacked. Here is a little clip from his last interview as head coach. The ability of the team to cope at this level is proving unbelievably difficult for us. You know, I've worked at this level for my third year now.
And I've never had so much of a struggle to help a group cope with the level. Real basic stuff, real basic stuff. So go to Everton and they boot it up to the centre forward and we can't cope.
they put balls in the box and we can't cope today two goals from exactly the same thing so that second half performance was pretty much the group at maximum at full tilt we still found a way to concede two really really poor goals today ipswich will score a goal that they'll never score against another premier league team it's impossible and then the set piece stuff we've tried everything and
I would happily take that as my fault, that set play goal, if people were stood in the right place and people were doing their jobs. But for that one, they weren't. And we get badly punished. I mean, Gary O'Neill there.
Sort of paraphrasing, saying, I've had enough, lads. Someone, please sack me. Just end it now. Give me a call tonight. I'll be gone tomorrow morning. I'll clear my desk out on the way out of the stadium today. It's fine. I'll just wait your call tomorrow morning. Yeah, and the Wolves hierarchy have obliged. Presumably they listened to that and were like, oh, right, okay, yeah. Wolves fan Ryan Lester's with us now. Ryan, I mean, listen,
11 of the first 16 Premier League games defeated. I mean, just horrible, horrible starts of the season. So it's not a shock, is it, that Gary O'Neill's left? Not at all. I think the only shock is that he's managed to stay so long. And if you couple that with the end of last season, he lost seven out of the last 10 games. So you put that run together and it's an absolute stinker. And I can't recall any other Premier League manager that would have lasted so long without
As well, in 2024, Wolves have lost 12 of their 17 home games, unacceptable. Conceded 16 goals from set plays this year and in 16 league games so far, conceded 40. It's nowhere near the standard, but...
For me, Gary sounded like he was distancing himself from the problem then. It felt like a bit of throwing everyone else under the bus and not taking responsibility, and that's disappointing. Yeah, it was the exact opposite of what we heard from Pep Guardiola, actually. Pep Guardiola very much saying, no, this is on me. And Gary O'Neill saying, well, listen, if they stubber, I told them to stand.
There won't be conceding these goals. Has anyone got any sympathy for Gary O'Neill? Because, in fairness, that first goal, he says no one else will score a goal like that. It's just... I mean...
It's a sort of slapstick goal. It's just, it feels unlucky. You're right, Rick. It is unlucky. That's unfortunate because Totty Gomez heads it and it hits, what is it? I think it hits the defender and then it goes in. So I get that. But the set pieces, that's criminal. It was literally the last header of the game. And Taylor's not the biggest. He's not the biggest centre midfield. So I've said it many times and Wolves did it the week before with Suchek as well. One of the best headers of the ball in the Premier League at West Ham. So,
The only reason I feel sorry for Gary O'Neill is that I think the hierarchy should have backed him because they've lost some serious players there at Wolverhampton, Wanderers. And I'm looking at you lose Kilman, your centre-half, who's gone to West Ham. You don't even bring in a centre-half. Then you get an injury to another centre-half earlier on this season. So I look at the recruitment from Wolves and say it hasn't been good enough. I sit here now and I tell you, see the Wolves squad? It is good enough to get out of trouble. They have to get the right manager. So I have a bit of sympathy for Gary O'Neill, but it doesn't help.
the players are losing their head you had Lamina last week you had Outnoury yesterday who is a good player now gets a second year misses a big game against Leicester and then Kunya Kunya loses his head and let me tell you he's the X factor because he's a hell of a player so I think the change probably was at the right time Gary O'Neill's a good manager he'll get another job somewhere else I just think they need a new shape up but they'll be alright Wolves I don't I still now think Wolves will be alright because I think they've got some top players
Yeah, I've been saying that for a while, mainly just to reassure. I'll stick my neck out and say it. Ryan, what did you make of the players behaving...
like that falling out with each other very publicly. What does that make you feel like as a supporter? I mean, I want my players to care and I want my players to be, I want them to do their scrapping and farting in the game. I want them to have that fire in their belly and that desire to win the game and win the tackles and track and do everything can pump the crowd up. And there was a bit of that from not from everybody. And I don't think, I think Tommy Doyle might have mentioned in his interview that he doesn't think everyone was giving anything and I would agree that
There's a lot of frustration and I understand that, but it shows for me that the manager's lost the squad. There's a real lack of discipline and control. Now, I've only played football to a lower level, but it's about managed aggression. You put yourself in, but you manage your aggression in situations and you can't have head losses at the end of the game. As I said, the captain got stripped of his captaincy the week before. Not a good look.
Yesterday, Kunja, he's probably going to get a ban now. Ait Norwich is going to be banned for Leicester. It's so unprofessional and it's insult to injury. You've lost anyway. You're gutted. You've been spanked at Everton. You've been done at West Ham and you've lost to Ipswich and the players can't even control themselves so they're embarrassing themselves on and off the pitch. It's just simply unacceptable and for that as well, that's another reason that O'Neill had to go. Whoever comes in,
is going to need a bit of backing in the January transfer window. Because as Clinton was saying, Ryan, look at the players that you've lost, where it's Kilman, Neto, before that, Neves and Jimenez, Moutinho,
Nunez at Man City, although to be fair, the way he played today, you probably wouldn't want him still. But like, there's a lot of really good players, really good players for a lot of money that simply have not been replaced. Yeah, Wolves for the last few years, probably since the Wolves European campaign, which feels like a lifetime away,
They have been trying to work to this self-sustainable model. You can only do that if you have brilliant football people at your club making fantastic decisions in the recruitment department. Look at Brighton, look at Brentford.
Bournemouth to an extent recently these guys are doing it fantastically well Wolverhampton Wanderers are buying players who might be good next year or the year after there's like Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomez these guys aren't Premier League ready they're young they're teenagers these guys might be good in two or three years but you you can't go into a pre-season as Clinton said and not replace Max Kilman Max Kilman was the captain he
He was an incredibly silky defender. We often start a lot of our plays through him. He won most of the headers. And we all know about Pedro Neto. He's gone to Chelsea with 50 million. When he plays, he's cooking everybody. So you take those guys out of an already average team and you expect them to do well. It's no surprise. And I do, going back to your question earlier on, I do have sympathy for Gary O'Neill to a certain extent, but he has to be getting more out of these players now. I suppose, looking back,
Wolves have done something similar before. So when they got rid of Bruno Lars, they were second bottom. That was two years ago, wasn't it? Brought in Lopetegui. So they do know that a mid-season change can pay off, I suppose, Ryan.
Yeah, I think it's harder now because Wolves then had the fortunate situation where there was a mid-season World Cup break. So the manager came in and almost had a month's pre-season of his own. And then we eyed Craig Dawson and Mario Lamina and João Gomes, who were fantastic January signings that have made a real difference. However, now this manager is going to come in. I mean, the word is...
The chap, Vitor Pereira, who's currently at Al-Shabaab, he'll be the next guy, previously a Porto. He's got a massive task on his hands. He's got to pull the squad together, pull them back in. So it is a massive task.
Will Wolfe stay up with his squad? I want to believe Clinton and I hope he's right, but I think they desperately need some centre-backs because we played three at the back yesterday. One of them was what the manager called his main left-back. We played Nelson Samedo right centre-back. That's two full-backs then you're playing and then you're playing Santiago Bueno, who the manager just said isn't strong enough to be a Premier League centre-back. So if you're playing those three at the back, no wonder you're conceding from set-plays.
Thanks very much for your time, Ryan. Appreciate it. Chat soon. Cheers, guys. Thank you. And it is worth saying that it was a big result for Ipswich. Only the second win of their season. Now two points from safety. Got a question for you now, Clinton, from someone called Ian Dennis. I don't know if you know Ian Dennis on the Commentators of the Week podcast or on the Football Daily. Favourite striker in the Premier League?
And why? Listen, I could go with... Listen, Haaland is my favourite, but I'll pick someone else. He's my favourite because he's a number nine who just wants to score goals, doesn't worry about getting involved in the play and just knows where the back of the net is. But I'm going to pick one out who I've liked for a very long time. I think he's the complete striker. I think he can run in behind, can link the play. He's got smooth technical feet. I'm going to go Isak.
I think Isak's an amazing striker. I think he's only going to get better and Newcastle are going to find it hard to keep him because a lot of big clubs are going to be sniffing around him. So I'd say Isak. There's a lot of good strikers, but Isak for me at the moment is the one I like. And I like Jackson at Chelsea as well. And he's just scored, so I'll take that. Yeah, scored against Brentford. Yeah, Isak is...
He's one of those guys, you just want to see him get a full run, like a full fit season, because you feel like he would bang him in. Yeah, definitely. I think he's amazing. I covered their game yesterday against Leicester and at times I thought Leicester had 10 men. The way he was just dropping into pockets and causing the defenders a lot of problems, because that's what he can do. He can drop deep and he also can run in behind and he can score brilliant goals. You saw his goal against Liverpool a few weeks ago, a fantastic strike. So,
He's a player that a lot of clubs are going to watch. It's going to cost a lot of money to get him out of Newcastle. Newcastle is a big football club, but they need to spend to match his ambition because he's going to be one to play in Champions League and winning stuff. Ismail Assar scored a couple of goals for Palace, which you'll be very pleased about, in their 3-1 win at Brighton. I feel like he sort of drops off a bit. When he was at Watford...
he was excellent and then sort of not quite been so good and maybe he's just finding his feet again. You're spot on, Rick. Listen, I was the first one to question the signing. I say you lose someone like Alise and you bring in Ismail Saar and know Alise is different because he's a player but I must say Ismail Saar over the last five or six games Palace have gone unbeaten. He's been fantastic. Two goals today in the derby will make him a hero at the club for sure now anyway and one thing with Ismail Saar, you know what, he
he kind of lost his way and he went to Marseille. He's come back to Palace and he was on the bench and now he's a regular now. He'll cause problems. One thing defenders don't like doing is playing against pace. He's got bundles of pace. And when you're scoring goals...
like he's scoring goals, you're confident. And he's not playing as the out-and-out number nine. He's playing in one of the two 10 roles. And it's a different position for him because usually he's played wide on the right. And I think Glasner's getting the best out of him. So long may it continue. And huge credit to the team as well because they're playing ever so well at the moment. They've kind of turned it around. And there was question marks over Glasner at the start of the season, but he's producing.
so Dan O if he's listening which I'm sure he is weird that he didn't ask who your favourite striker in the Premier League is Luke but he didn't a bit rude yeah a little bit who is it
Doesn't matter. Isak is Clinton's favourite. I was going to say Isak. I literally paused for dramatic effect and you've shut me down straight away. I was going to say Isak. Okay, fine. I'm pleased to have got that out there now. Love it. Denno and Rick. So, well, there you go, Denno. You've got two answers, although it's just the same answer because Luke has just copied Clinton's homework. Alexander Isak scored in Newcastle, trouncing of Leicester. First defeat for Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Got to talk about Emi Martinez's save for Aston Villa at Nottingham Forest. Is it the best you've ever seen? And if not,
what is because it is absolutely nuts. I've watched it in super slow-mo now and I still can't work out physically how he's done it, Luke. It's very hard for me to rate it as the best I've ever seen. It's certainly one of the best only because I'm getting quite old now and I kind of forget everything that I've seen at that stage of life. It is remarkable. It's stunning. It's the awareness of this coming at him so quickly so he's got to have the reactions but he's then got to have the awareness of
so the ball's behind him so he's reaching behind him but then he twists the ball as it's on the line
So there's a lot going on. You're not only sort of diving backwards and looking down, you're putting your arm down and twisting your wrist. It's multitasking at its finest as a goalkeeper. What amused me, Rick, and you know this, what amused me is he pulled off an absolute world-class save and then in the second half chucked the ball in the net. Rendering it completely pointless. Rendering his greatest save ever with one of his worst mistakes, which is the life of a goalkeeper.
I thought Luke would have said someone like the Gordon, was it Banks who made the save against Pellet? He's not that old, Clinton. No, but you're not that old. I'm just saying. I know you're not that old, but I was thinking that was probably the best I've seen because that was an amazing save. But that's why I was thinking you might say that. It's just hard. Yeah. Yeah.
You made a really good point about that, despite making out that I was alive in 1970, which I wasn't, by the way. Love it. Yeah, no, that bank deposit is the one that's always held up when we see it all the time, don't we? That is a brilliant save. But there are always brilliant saves in every season, so I do find it a bit hard to say it's the best ever. It was remarkable. It was sort of defying the laws of physics. I think, I mean, I'm still always going with that David Seaman one for me against Sheffield United, where he claws it out from behind him.
You can actually vote, I think, for your favourite on the BBC Sport website. We should talk about the title race very quickly because I don't think we've mentioned it at all. Liverpool drop points, Arsenal drop points. Arsenal, I think, will be very disappointed today
Yeah, I thought Liverpool were superb when they went down to 10 men and they were brilliant. I remember they're playing against a good Fulham team. Marco Silva's got his team playing ever so well.
Fulham are decent. They'll cause a lot of the big teams problems. You saw the week before they got a draw against Arsenal. So I think, yeah, in the end, I think Liverpool take the point. Losing Andy Robertson so early in the game and managing to get back into the game.
It's a fantastic. But this is why all the other teams where you're thinking around them, the likes of Arsenal, dropping points were disappointed. But it looks like Chelsea have probably won this one. So they're playing catch up and they're in it as well. But yeah, I thought Liverpool against Fulham were superb. And in the end, it's a good point. 2-1 Chelsea Brentford. Obviously, we know that Enzo Maresca is going to come out and say we are not in the title race. I think someone's going to have to say to him,
We're not hearing that anymore from you, I'm afraid. You clearly are in a title race. It's like David O'Leary did all that when he was Leeds manager. I'm not that old, Luke. Sorry, I'm not that old. You are, Rick. I mean, you definitely are. But yeah, he'll try and get away with it for as long as possible. Of course he will. He'll keep pumping it out. But they are the closest challengers to Liverpool at the minute, as things stand.
And Arsenal fans won't like me saying this, but I thought that result on the day that your main rivals, the league leaders, drop points at home, you've simply got to win. Arsenal have not won half of their 16 Premier League games this season. Huge missed opportunity.
has the feel and the look of another runners-up campaign for the Gunners? And that will lead to some questions for them long-term. Will they get runners-up? Because the way Chelsea are playing at the moment, they can keep saying they're not in the title race, but they are in the title race. Do I think Chelsea will win it? I ain't sure they'll win it because I think defensively they... But then this is what I say with Chelsea. They can go in January and spend and bring in defensive reinforcement and a new goalkeeper and then I'll give them a great chance.
but I still think Arsenal are in. They could buy another entire team. They could have three teams. Spend another billion. Yeah, spend another billion. Well, I was going to say that, but the owners, we've not really spoke about them because Maresca's doing such a brilliant job, so I thought we weren't good. So let's end it. Yeah, they could go and buy another team in January. Arsenal aren't out of it, but how many more opportunities are they going to fail to take like that one? That's the issue they've got. You can't keep letting those opportunities slide, and they did again this weekend. Right.
Lovely chatting to you both. Plenty more reaction on the next episode of Football Daily, the Monday night club. Mark Chapman will be joined by Chris Sutton, Rory Smith and Leicester's Connor Coddy.
In Northern Ireland, from the late 70s to the early 90s, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers. But the man who often found, tortured and sometimes killed these people on behalf of the IRA was himself an informer, a secret British Army agent with the code name Stake Knife. Who gets to play God and why me? Why my family? When lies are still being told to this day, who do you believe? I wouldn't even know where to start and I'm with the IRA.
When were you born? A bit personal. 1978. 1978, there we go. You're only a year older than me, so don't worry about it, mate. Exactly, and I know Rick's my age. You're Rick's my age. Don't you tie me with that brush. I'm a spring chicken. I was 1979. He's the same as me. Rick's the same as me. I was in short trousers when you were at university or something. LAUGHTER
Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by.
And in 2017, Miranda, a university tutor from London, joins a yoga school that promises profound transformation. It felt a really safe and welcoming space. After the yoga classes, I felt amazing. But soon, that calm, welcoming atmosphere leads to something far darker, a journey that leads to allegations of grooming, trafficking and exploitation across international borders.
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You just get sucked in so gradually.
And it's done so skillfully that you don't realize. And it's like this, the secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me,
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And for other people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future. To bring it into the light and almost alchemise some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power. World of Secrets, Season 6, The Bad Guru. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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