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Let's go. Play at Ladbrokes. 18 plus. Be gamble aware.org. Terms and conditions apply. Hello and welcome to Premier League All Access with me, Sam Matterface. Alongside me, as always, Talk Sports Chief Football Correspondent Alex Crook. And we also have Mr. Christmas Party himself, Dean Ashton, coming in for his first pot appearance of the season. This is what's coming up.

It's Premier League All Access with Sam Matafe, Alex Crook and Mr. Christmas Party. Dean Ashton, Christmas time. Crook is drinking wine. Manager's screaming the VR. Oh, fuck it, I'll do it again now. I like that as well. It's been ages writing that. I like that.

It's Premier League All Access with me, Sam Matterface, Alex Crook, and Mr. Christmas Party himself. It is Dean Ashton. Christmas time, crookies drinking wine, managers screaming the VAR calls are fine. With zany pasta car glue and struggling Amarim, Daishi's hoarse voice and Sidi's lousy team.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Welcome, Dino, to the podcast. It is festive time. Time to crack on with some festive action. First pod appearance of the season. Is that because you've been having Christmas parties since the beginning of August? Because we know you do like to indulge. Yeah, it's the only day I've been sober enough to come on the pod, to be fair. And, you know, I'll do my best to replace the mighty Minto.

Mighty Minto. It's a bit like Mighty Mouse, isn't it? He's very small, but he packs a big punch. Crooky, I know that last night you were out with the South Coast Boys. In fact, I think you've just got in, haven't you? Probably.

Pretty much, yeah, not long ago. It's a brilliant night of the year. Christmas Eve is my favourite night of the year. Okay, well, we're now in Christmas Eve, just so you know. So don't forget and not do your duties, if you know what I mean. Huge Boxing Day fixture list coming up. We've got every game covered on TalkSport. We've got 10 live commentaries on Boxing Day itself. Eight from the Premier League, two from the Championship, plus two the following day, the 27th at Arsenal.

Ipswich and Brentford against Brighton as well. So let's get into our coverage and start at the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City are looking to shake off the Christmas blues. One win in 12 for Manchester City coming into this game. On paper, it looks like the one they should be getting all three points in, but they're back four tomorrow, likely to be with no Diaz, no Stones, Walker, Akanji, Vardyol and Lewis.

Why do they keep conceding goals, Dino? I think it's mainly because their midfield is allowing the opposition through and then panic sets in, essentially. You've got players coming in and out from fitness and injuries in that back four. He's been switching that around a lot.

There tends to be one of those players, mainly Lewis, who steps into midfield and is bypassed as well. And then they're making just really strange decisions defensively, which is purely a confidence thing. Nobody is immune to a lack of confidence and the whole team is lacking confidence. What surprises me is a lot of these players...

won't have just reached the elite level straight away. A lot of them might have been at a club that might have had struggles and lacking confidence. Obviously Pep Guardiola hasn't, so this is all new to him. And it's like it's all new to the players. At the moment, they just cannot shake this incredible lack of confidence considering...

what an outfit they have been. And at the moment, he can't find the formula to stop it. And he doesn't have a player in that midfield area that can stop the barrage of counterattacks against his defence.

Interestingly, you're right to say that these players, because they're elite professionals, have suffered in the past. They have gone through adversity. For example, Pep Guardiola once wrote to Manchester City and their then boss, Stuart Pearce, and asked him if he could come on trial and maybe sign on a free contract. And he got rejected. So he knows exactly how tough times feel. He says he'll rebuild his career from that. There's other bits and pieces that happened as well.

But in terms of this team, you obviously, we haven't spoken to you this season on the pod about them. What do you think the one biggest thing is that's led to that lack of confidence? I would say you'd have to now say Rodri. I didn't want to believe it. I knew he was an incredible, incredible player.

But it's hard not to think just how important he's been. And they do look a totally different team without him. And it's like they're looking around hoping he's going to be there again. Because I just can't.

I can't believe how easy it is to get through that midfield. And maybe you have to look at the recruitment in the summer for Manchester City to go. You've left yourself clearly exposed if you were to get an injury to that position. And I just wonder whether in January they're going to try and rectify that or not.

Erling Haaland has been self-critical this week. He says three goals in 12 is not good enough. He did hit 10 in the first part of the season, his first five games. As a striker yourself, is he underperforming or not getting the service?

I would say in the last three or four games he's not got the service. In the previous three or four games before that, his XG was hitting the roof, yet he just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. And again, that can happen to everyone. You can watch the likes of...

over Mo Salah missed plenty of chances and even the top players will miss chances. This is nothing to do with Erling Haaland, in my opinion. We know what he does. We know we're not going to play into him and he's going to

back to goal, take a lovely touch, reverse a pass into somebody. He's not a Teddy Sheringham type player. He is what he is. He's a magnificent battering ram when the ball is put into the areas in the box that he can go and attack. And at the moment, they just simply are not putting the ball into areas that he needs to score from.

It is delightful to spend Christmas Eve with two massive battering rams. Crook, your opportunity now to just give us your view on Manchester City. Because you said to me, this has got to come to an end. You were pretty convinced that they were going to overcome Aston Villa at the weekend. I was a little bit more sceptical. I am a little bit sceptical about this Everton game. I've got to be honest, right? Because they struggled to break down Villa and United's defence.

And actually, Everton were probably a lot more stubborn, a lot harder to break down than those two teams. Can you see it turning this Boxing Day?

Well, we've seen it from Everton in their last two games. I was at the Emirates. It wasn't pretty. They didn't show any attacking intent until, but they got a nil-nil out of that game and obviously repeated the trick against Chelsea. So you know what you're going to get from this Sean Dyche team. They're going to make it very difficult to play against, try and hit City on the counter. It might just play into City's hands, actually, because if they score one goal,

Everton probably aren't coming back. So do I think City will bounce back this weekend? Yes. Am I confident? No, because of the reasons that Dean has discussed. But this is a game that they have to be winning. And as I keep saying to you, this can't go on forever. Pep's too good a manager and there are still too many good players in this team for them to keep on dropping points. But it might go on for a little bit longer if they've already decided that actually they're going to change their targets and that actually...

chasing the title is not going to happen from this year. They've just got to get into maybe the top four. But if you were to stop the season on January the 1st, they're looking at a place in the Conference League next year. What would that do? Which is ridiculous. I mean, we had this conversation about Chelsea last week. The Conference League is not meant for teams that spend a billion quid on players. It's not meant for Manchester City. If they end up in that competition, it's embarrassing in so many different ways.

It would sort of skew it slightly, Dean, wouldn't it?

Yes, yes it would. It would be a humbling, that's for sure, from where they've been in recent seasons. And usually, and I'm not sure it will be Everton, to be honest, because of that defence, but usually you come out of these situations with an emphatic win. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if one of the games, whether it is this one, whether it is Leicester, maybe even West Ham, they go and put...

four or five past the team. It's weird how it happens. I had my worst run ever when I played at Norwich. I went 10 games without scoring and then scored a hat-trick. It just makes no sense at all. I can imagine one of these games them racking up a decent score because as soon as they get maybe that one goal and two...

All those feelings will come back for a lot of those attacking players because they're all out of form. That's the big issue. Every single attacking player looks out of form at the moment and that can quickly come back for flair players. This game taking place on Boxing Day, Dino. Did you like playing on Boxing Day? Was it...

Did it ruin your Christmas? I know you're a big Christmas guy. You've got... We've already talked about your history with the parties, but you love a full fridge and a stuffed turkey, don't you? So how did it affect your Christmas when you were playing? Yes, yes. You both know I like...

my food and the odd drink. I just meant the festivities, really. I do, I do. And it was really difficult. I'm not going to lie, the change from when you play to when you retire is just so huge in how you approach it, how you feel.

I always felt very on edge around Christmas and because everybody within your family, within your friends is out sort of partying, having fun, eating, drinking, all the great things that come with Christmas and your children as well. And you're having to be on edge as to when are we training? When can I eat? What can I eat? I've got to be really careful here and there. Knowing you've got a game could be a really important game.

And yeah, I just found I was not quite, you can't quite be yourself. Whereas, wow, when they retire,

The shackles are off, the handbrake is off and as soon as I finish this pod, I will have a glass of bubbly with my breakfast. I love it. But what did you do to sort of keep yourself in check? Did you lock yourself in like a room in your house and just watch like Die Hard over and over again? No.

You're not far wrong, to be honest. To be honest, I used to take myself, because a lot of the time they wanted us to train in the afternoon on Christmas Day. So they'd give you the morning and then you'd go in and do a little bit of training in the afternoon on Christmas Day. So actually, for me, doing that helped. Getting away from...

Getting away from all the luxuries really helped me, whereas some players obviously like to have the full day off to spend with their family. Do you know what Crook used to do on Christmas Day? I used to do a radio show, a breakfast show in Portsmouth. I did it for about five or six years. And Crook used to come on every Christmas Day from the beach in Southsea in his Speedos. And he would pick the phone up and he'd say, right, I'm going in now. And he would...

then put the phone on the side, run into the sea, go for a swim in the freezing cold sea and then come out and report to its temperature every single Christmas day. What an idiot. It wasn't for charity. He was just like, he's such a wacky guy.

I mean, this is what people do now as a real health thing, isn't it? To get in the sea. So he started this years ago. I've always been ahead of the game when it comes to health and well-being, all right? LAUGHTER

Right, OK, let's move on to Nottingham Forest against Tottenham. That's also live on TalkSport at three o'clock. Forest looking to cement their top four state. I mean, if I was to sit here, Crook, two, three months ago and said that on Boxing Day, one of these two teams is going to try and cement their place in the top four, you wouldn't have thought I was talking about Nottingham Forest. But they're probably the favourites to win this.

They are, although looking at the odds with the bookmakers, they're still odds against. I think this is the best bet of Boxing Day. Forrest to beat Spurs looks an absolute tap-in for me because Spurs have still got their injuries at the back. So again, it's going to be Archie Gray and Dragason up against the battering ram, to use that phrase again, that is Chris Wood. Forrest in such a brilliant run of form. Confidence is going to be high. The city ground is going to be bouncing. I'd be surprised if Spurs don't lose this game and

continue to languish in the bottom half of the table it's what they do mate Dino we're in by the way I made an AI amalgamation of crook and pasta coglue the other day it was sensational went flying around the WhatsApp groups

We get very excited when we get a team that break the mold and get into the top four at this stage of the season. Everyone goes, they're going to do it. They're going to make it. It's going to be a complete changing of the order. Then by the time we get to April, it's the same four or five teams contesting the top four positions.

Although saying that, we've had Aston Villa and Newcastle in the last couple of years emerge through and stick into the Champions League places. Can you legitimately see Nottingham Forest reaching the top four at the end of the season or Bournemouth or someone like that gate-crashing the top four? I think what I would say about Nottingham Forest is that they do have...

some very good players going forward. But actually what he's done, and he did it in the past with Wolves, if you remember his time at Wolves, Nuno, he was excellent at getting big results against top sides, being able to defend and then counter-attack. And he's got that sort of team again, hasn't he? The way that they can blitz through, you know, defensively solid, but then all of a sudden they've got those players that just carry the ball and counter-attack against you. They'll be strong from set plays. So I think actually...

Of course, injuries might play a part. And if they were to lose some key players, Murillo, I think, and Milenkovic at the back have been superb, then they might struggle. But if they can keep the players fit, there's a defensive structure there that will take them a long way. And Chris Wood is having one of those seasons as well where...

He seems to take so many of the chances that are presented. So at the moment, if players stay fit, I think there's a real structure there to challenge because of the volatility of so many other sides.

Yeah, and they've got pace to burn an attack, which is an absolute asset, isn't it, for any team? But certainly for those two, Hudson, Odoin and Langer have been brilliant. Both of them contributed with assists and goals as well, which is really important. One manager who hasn't really got the same sort of tactical flexibility is Ange Postakoglu. We know Spurs will be wide open again here. It's very difficult to sort of make a case for their defensive

their defence not being breached in as it looks like it's held together by gaffer tape at times. Well, yeah, and we know they're going to play a high line. You've talked about the pace in the Forest attack already. I'd imagine that...

Hudson-Odoi and Alanga are going to have a field day running in behind. Dean's mentioned set pieces. They've got people like Milenkovic who can come up and attack a dead ball very well. Obviously, Chris Wood, we know about his aerial prowess. So, Forest have so many weapons that can hurt Tottenham and they're defensively resolute as well, as Dean's already alluded to. So, as I say, I would be surprised if this isn't going to be another Nottingham Forest win. If they can keep their players fit, I think they will last the course. You don't get to...

fourth, fifth in the table, 16 games into a Premier League season by chance. They are the real deal. And you look at Wolverhampton Wanderers and how they've fallen off a cliff since Nuno left. I think they'd love him back in there, dug out. And who knows, maybe Tottenham should have stuck with him for a little bit longer, but they didn't like the football today. Even though, if you remember at the start of his tenure, they couldn't stop winning. Interesting. We haven't asked you what you think of Big Ange yet, Dean. Are we all stupid?

and wrong for questioning his stoicism with this tactic that he has to play exactly the same way, no matter the personnel that are available to him. We've been arguing on this podcast that actually you have to remember that sometimes other teams are better than you and you have to adapt to that. Sometimes you have to adapt to circumstances because you are in a game state where, you know,

you have to manage it out because ultimately we all remember that the game is about winning. But he seems to think, and he did, he said, he said, I'm not going to keep answering questions on it because I'm not going to change my style. I'm doing this for the long-term health of the football club. Is he right? Are we all off the wall crazy or is he a little bit too dogmatic? I...

I admire it, is what I do, because I think he genuinely sees certain games, and I've seen it, where his team have played so well against the best sides, and he probably looks at those performances and goes, well, if we can consistently replicate that, we are going to be one of, if not the best team in the league. They've shown to be that good in certain games against some really good opposition,

But he reminds me of Marcelo Bielsa. He does. It's like I'm watching it all over again, this style that we all can't wait to watch a Tottenham game. Like, we can't because, I mean, obviously...

You were there with the games recently and it's just so incredibly fun to watch. But to me, that whole style is based on your two centre-backs and your goalkeeper. And without Romero, Van de Ven and Vicario,

that team has got absolutely no chance of any consistency because they're just totally reliant on those three players with the way that they play. And as soon as they lose the ball, they need them. And there's specific qualities of those three players as well. Yeah. Hikari O's ability with his feet, which is really important when starting to build from the back.

The pace, obviously, of Van de Ven. But also, Romero is very speedy as well and senses danger and does that thing where he gets up and back very, very quickly. So it is specific to the profile of those players, which is why I said before the game on Sunday, during the Sunday session, I said,

Archie Gray cannot afford to have any lapses of concentrations like he had a couple of times against Manchester United because if he does that then he is going to concede he is going to have further problems against Liverpool because they're not going to miss the chances that Manchester United did and that wasn't a criticism of Archie Gray actually it was a criticism of the fact that they're putting him in that position and they're not doing anything at all to protect him which you know

Makes me, I mean, I'm not going to because, you know, this was expensively acquired, but it makes you want to pull your hair out, doesn't it? You're asking the wrong bloke. Loads more action on Boxing Day to come. Let's continue to take a look at it now, starting with another tricky away day for Ruben Amarim's Manchester United. Well, look, if they are going away from home, at least there's going to be no mice or, you know, food hygiene ratings of one or roofs caving in.

Honestly, what has happened to this great institution, this great football club that were once the pride of Europe, let alone the pride of the Premier League. Every other day, there's an embarrassing story about how far the Glazers have allowed the club to decline. The manager sat there trying to explain away a 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth and the roof is literally caving in. He must have thought, what on earth am I doing here? This is not what Manchester United should be about. And you

You talk about difficult away days. This is going to be tough for United. Pereira got a reaction out of Wolves against Leicester. That was a brilliant start to his tenure. They've got players going forward. One of them, Kunio, probably shouldn't be playing. He should have been suspended by now, but he will play. Who can really hurt this leaky United defence? I think they'll get beat. I think Wolves will win.

He was so eager to wire into his team there that he couldn't even wait for me to introduce this segment. We are talking about Wolves against Manchester United here on the Premier League All Access podcast. But he's hurting inside there. I'm a terrible dad, right? By the time this podcast goes out, the kids will have opened their presents. They've all got United shirts. My daughter's got Cobby Mayneau on the back.

My two sons have got Rashford and Ganacho.

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When it's PCS time, you know the drill. Pack, research to new base, get the kids in school, because family supports family. At American Public University, we support military families with flexible, affordable online education that moves with you. As a military spouse, your tuition rate is the same as your partner's, just $250 per credit hour. American Public University, education that moves with you.

Learn more at apu.apus.edu slash military. Will they still be there by the time we finish this podcast? But my son's already asked me, can I have the shirt of whichever club Rashford joins next? To which I said, absolutely not. What's your assessment of Amarim, Dean?

I think he's coming into an incredibly difficult situation. He's trying to implement a brand new style. And...

I like him. I do. And he's having to handle a lot of difficult situations. I think he's trying to do it in the right way. Bournemouth are a very good team out of possession. And Manchester United created lots of more chances and opportunities, but ultimately were hurt with the clinicalness of Bournemouth. So it wasn't a complete disaster in terms of if you just look at the performance itself.

and he's ultimately going to need a little bit more time and he's going to need some support as well. The ownership are going to have to seriously support this guy and it hopefully starts in January from that perspective. I know it's very difficult but could they just maybe shift a couple out and a couple in that could just freshen things, give him an opportunity

to bed in this, this, this new style. But I think it's going to be more hurt as crookies alluded to, even this weekend before, before you maybe see, um, shoots of life. But I, I really like him. I really like what he did at previous club and the way they played. And I think you've got to really stick with him. Um, given the fact that, uh,

Dean thinks they need to overhaul the squad spectacularly. I think we all are of a similar view. How much is he going to be backed in January? I'm not sure there's funds to spend.

Because of PSR, I think the main priority is shipping players out at this stage, players that he doesn't think can be part of the journey. Marcus Rashford being one of them. I was intrigued with the stories that appeared in one or two national papers the day before Christmas Eve, suggesting that Amarine alone would decide Marcus Rashford's future. I'm not buying that. As much as...

I commend the way that he's dealt with the situation. He doesn't feel that Rashford at the moment could offer anything to the team. This is a club decision. They've decided that Rashford's race is run. They want to try and recoup some money in terms of, uh,

transfer fees so they can reinvest in the team. They want to get his wages off the payroll. So it's not, I think it's unfair that people are suggesting it's purely Amarine's decision. Do you know, I'd love them to sign in January. I don't think they can afford him, but balance is so important, isn't it? We saw it with England at the Euros. And I think in this team, they're struggling on that left side of the defence because Luke Shaw's not fit. Malassi is not good enough. Anthony Robinson would be a terrific signing for Ruben Amarine.

Someone like Anthony Robinson or Milos Kurkesh down at Bournemouth. They've looked at Kurkesh for a while, but again, Bournemouth are going to ask for 60 million quid. Which Manchester United are currently using to patch up the roof and to get rid of the mice. Who's more likely to...

I suppose the question is, just because they've had one good result, does it mean that Victor Pereira is going to shoot this team to survival? The answer to that is obviously no. New managers have a bounce, atmospheres change. This is at home at Molineux. It's a slightly different thing to going away to Leicester, who are leakier than the old Trafford roof anyway. I've never really worried about Wolves in terms of scoring results.

goals it's defending goals that is a massive issue for them Dean but I think if you've got someone like Jorgen Strand Larsson and Matthias Kunja in your team then I think you've always got a chance haven't you because the other teams down there haven't got that goal power no they haven't and I think he'll of course look at that I think you know

Keeping a clean sheet, I know people might say it's Leicester, but to go away from home, keep a clean sheet. What that actually does for the players, for that defence, for the goalkeeper, is huge.

Gives them a real sense of confidence that they can do it. And it's just, I find players' mentality fascinating that a new manager comes in, you go away, you win 3-0. It's just when you've been on such a terrible run under the previous manager. It's not what you were saying about the goals earlier, wasn't it? You know, how you can go so long without scoring and then get a hat-trick. It's a similar sort of thing. It just happens. It's sustaining it that is the key now, isn't it?

And if he's going to do that, he's got to keep that front line together. Obviously, Kunio, we think he's going to be banned very shortly. But they can't sell him in January. No, you've got...

Yeah, you have to keep those sorts of players. They're the sort of players that save you, that keep you above the relegation zone. They just are because, as you said, the other teams don't have those players. Everton would do anything to have a player like Kunja in their team that can produce goals from nothing, which he has done already this season.

And Strand-Larsen leading the line very well. So it is going to be about the defence, whether that's going to be a back three or a back four. We'll see over the next couple of games as to exactly how he sees that team. But yeah, this is a difficult game for Manchester United, simply because of the last result and the way players change mentally when that new manager comes in.

5.30 on Boxing Day. Wolves against Manchester United. And Newcastle against Aston Villa, also on Boxing Day, also live on Talk Sport. Two sides tip for pre-season fourth place battles. They're just outside that at the moment. They've both hit some form coming into Christmas. Villa, I thought, were excellent in the game that we did on Saturday against Manchester City. And Newcastle have been probably finding their goal-scoring touch. And a lot of it is down to Alexander Izak, Izak Crook.

OK, we can stop it and then go back to Newcastle versus Aston Villa. Two size tips to finish in the European places at the beginning of the season. Newcastle and Aston Villa clash on Boxing Day as well. Both appear a bit of form coming into Christmas. Should be a good game. Villa sensational in the game that we did on Saturday against Manchester City. Newcastle have found their goal scoring touch and a lot of it is down to Alexander Izak-Kruk.

It is. And as someone who tipped him to be the golden boot winner at the start of the season, I'm encouraged by his recent run of form. He's five goals behind Mo Salah, so he's got a bit of ground to make up. But if he stays fit, I think he'll keep banging in the goals. And I think Newcastle will keep picking up points. They had a brilliant week, didn't they? Got through to a cup semi-final. Two good wins in the Premier League, either side of that. And I'm pleased, Reddy Howe, because it just seems to me that non-Newcastle fans...

want him to fail. And I don't really get that because we've spoken a lot over the course of the season about the lack of British coaches in the Premier League. And he's the flag bearer, really. And he's working in difficult circumstances because everybody thinks they're loaded, which they are, but because of PSR, they can't spend the money. So he's having to coach his way to any success that he gets. And they've had a lot of injuries, not least in that forward area. So please for them. And I think this will be one of the better games on Boxing Day, actually, because Villa have found a decent run of form themselves.

I'm leaning towards Newcastle just because St. James's Park is such a difficult place to go, but I could see a real ding-dong battle up in the North East. Yeah, it is interesting, isn't it, about that sort of tone of discourse around Eddie Howe? Because...

I think even some Newcastle fans, as soon as things go wrong, sort of sometimes, it's just a small spattering of them that raise a few sort of question marks about him. And I've said it before, I think we do try desperately to get people out of jobs as soon as they get into them. It is a very odd thing to sort of do, but the tone is, manager goes in, they don't win the Champions League in a year, then they're rubbish. I mean, a lot of that is led by, you know, bold,

claimed pundits who quite loud mouth and come on the Premier League All Access podcast and say they should be removed or not good enough, etc, etc. I don't really call for managers to be sacked. You did call for Eric Ten Haar to be sacked. Eventually. Crikey. I was more loyal to him than I was the first wife.

I don't think we should go into that. It's Christmas and the kids have already been disappointed once with their presents. And the last thing they need is another revelation. Dean, it is an issue though, right? Isn't it? In terms of the narrative around people. And that's why football clubs have to keep their heads and not react properly.

to the slightest bit of criticism that comes their way on social media. He's done an unbelievable job at Newcastle after doing an unbelievable job at Bournemouth. Yeah, he has. And I think he's handled himself with sheer class, if I'm honest, throughout this period. Because, you know, the success that they had so early on when the new ownership came in was incredible. And he handled that.

And then there has been this, as the dust has settled, people have almost got bored of the Newcastle story for whatever reason and sort of turned it a little bit more towards the manager who's had some real injury issues. Two of his main centre-backs have been injured and Dan Burns played there who...

I hadn't really in the previous season and a half. So I think he's handled the situation very well. But the issue he's got, and it'd be interesting to see what you think about this, Crook, is Isak. Because what a player he is. There's going to be every team in Europe that would love to get their hands on an Isak. And I just wonder, A, could you have got Isak in the summer just gone? And how much would you have paid?

And what are the chances of a team trying to steal Alexander Isak away, A, in January or possibly the summer coming up? Well, you've got this ongoing contract situation where he's been stalling on signing a new deal for several months now, let alone weeks. And I think there's a few players there, and I'm not trying to destabilise Newcastle, that feel like they're ready for a new challenge and to make the next step because Newcastle are hamstrung in what they can spend. I think the Saudis potentially...

a little bit of interest in the project because they can't develop the club as quickly as they wanted to. So I think he's got his eyes set on a move. And you look at Arsenal, we

We talk about their lack of a number nine. I've said it before on this pod. I think he'd be perfect for Mikel Arteta. And I would be surprised if at some point, maybe not January, but certainly in the summer, Arsenal don't try and prize him away from St. James' Park. I think my message to Newcastle fans, and again, it's not what I want to happen, but it's what I think will happen, is enjoy him while he's there because I don't think he'll be there for much longer.

It's a shame, isn't it? Because again, this PSR thing is great in principle. And I know they spent hours and hours and hours drilling down into the detail and trying to get it right to level the playing field. But ultimately, it's holding Newcastle back. It's holding Aston Villa back. It's stopping them from investing. And this is a season where you've seen frailties for Arsenal because of the injury issues. You've seen frailties at Manchester City exposed.

You've got Liverpool with a new regime, seemingly just able to plot a course towards the title because nobody else has been able to, Chelsea or Par, strengthen their squad to the kind of level which would allow them to challenge them. And that isn't fair, is it, Dean? I mean, that's not levelling the playing field. That's keeping people out.

I know, I know. And I think that is part of the feeling, I would say. You know, obviously, Newcastle fans won't easily forget their time under the previous ownership and how they felt during that. But at the same time, it stalls that buzz for the supporters of this new ownership with lots of fans.

lots of money to develop the club, the stadium, the team, and they're not able to do that to genuinely probably get where they could do in such a short space of time. And you're right, that does feel as if it's not fair on those Newcastle supporters.

A quick word on Southampton versus West Ham. Simon Rust did the pre-match media for this. Ivan Djuric, though, has given his first press conference comparing his football to his favourite genre of music. He says it's like death metal. He likes a bit of carcass and obituary. I know Dean Ashton often dresses up as one of those heavy metal, gothic type fellas and goes down his local pub and

and thrashes around and gets in a mosh pit on a punk night. But this guy, it's a gear change, isn't it? From patient build-up Russell Martin to death metal football, as I suppose we'll start to call it under Ivan Juric.

Yeah, and I think actually, if you look at what Simon Rusk has done, and bearing in mind six months ago, I don't think he was even employed by St. Hampton, let alone in a position to manage the team. He has made them a little bit more difficult to beat. You know, it wasn't a terrible result against Liverpool in the Cup, only lost 2-1, a good point away from home against Fulham, albeit relying on a great save from a four-fingered side.

Aaron Ramsdown, I think he is going to make a massive difference, not just in terms of his quality as a goalkeeper, but his presence in that dressing room. I still think they lack quality going forward and it'll be interesting to see what Southampton do in January because they are cut adrift and will the owners go for broke to try and pull off some kind of miracle relegation escape or will they accept the fact they're down and keep their powder dry until the summer? He did talk yesterday about being optimistic that they could do something that nobody else had ever done.

come back from one win in 17 games and stay in the Premier League. He sounds like an interesting character, but whether or not that's optimistic or a little bit fantastical, we'll soon find out, I'm sure, especially bearing in mind that their first game is against West Ham, who haven't been in great form themselves. You watch them a lot, Dean. What do you think about how Lopetegui has steadied things down? Because he hasn't steadied things down with back-to-back wins. It's just a couple of draws that have helped him.

Yeah, it has been. Me and Kruk were there at their last home game. And again, it's another game that I've been to that's had a really strange atmosphere. The supporters aren't quite sure how to take this manager and the change of style, which we're still trying to see it.

They are trying to control games a little bit more, but without maybe going anywhere. It's more the defence that are keeping the ball into midfield rather than... We're still seeing a counter-attacking style when they attack. We're still seeing an over-reliance on Jared Bowen. And if you can nullify...

Jared Bowen, which I'm sure is something that Juric will look to do, then you pretty much stop West Ham because Pakitar, Kudus and Fulcrog definitely haven't shown, even Somerville, have not really shown that they're a genuine threat in enough games. So,

that's why they've struggled and the results they have got honestly has been so much because of Jared Bowen's goals and his assists and their threat from set plays but for Juric I think what's so difficult is he's got to get it right at both ends it's not like he can come in and go right if we get the defence right

a bit like Wolves if you get this defence right you know we've got the attackers they've been really poor at both ends of the pitch so how how's he genuinely going to turn that around um

to save them, I think is so, so difficult. OK, let's take a quick look at Arsenal now. We've got live commentary of their game against Ipswich on the 27th of December. It's a Friday night. It's the day after Boxing Day. Six points behind Liverpool having played a game more. Now set to be without one of their key players for a very, very long time.

Well, this is horrible news really, isn't it? But Kai Osaka is going to be out until February. He sustained a hamstring injury against Palace.

Was it only a matter of time before he picked up an injury like this thing, bearing in mind he has played 23,000 minutes at the age of 23? And for comparison, someone like Cole Palmer has played 11,000 professional minutes. So double the minutes of somebody else who's sort of in his generation. Does that suggest that this was always going to happen? Not necessarily, no.

Because what you've got to think is he's been able to play that many minutes already at his age. He is a seriously robust player and we ultimately all get injuries now and again. Everybody gets maybe a hamstring, maybe a calf, maybe you'll do your ankle or something in your knee. It

very, very rare that any player gets to go through their career without having these injuries. It happens. He's an explosive player. So I personally don't think there should be this barrage of he

He's used too much. We've overused him because he's been able to do it. Are we just doing that because we're looking for someone to blame or is it because actually we have been saying for a long time this is a guy who has probably played too much football and has not been rested when the opportunity has presented itself? Possibly, but I just think that's...

that's us guessing. We are not medical people. We don't look at Bakayasaka's stats. He is a doctor, Dwayne, actually. He's got a doctor before his name now. I am a doctor. Damn it. But do you know what I mean? We don't see him day to day. We don't see his levels. And so it's too easy for us just to go, oh, well, he's overworked. That's it. We don't know. We don't know. We're guessing. And...

It was always going to happen when he got this injury, we could all then pile in and go, he's been overused. But we don't know the circumstances there at Arsenal. I just feel for any player that has to have these type of injuries...

And it is going to be fascinating. Who is going to play on that side? How is he going to balance things out? Because they missed Odegaard and they weren't the same team and they struggled. So it's an important part of the season with so many games coming up. Well, it's huge. And they don't have Sterling because he's picked up an injury anyway and they weren't overplaying him. They certainly couldn't be accused of doing that. Crook,

Yesterday, Mikel Arteta indicated there was a possibility of going into the January transfer market and going to do a little bit of shopping. They kind of have to, don't they, if they want to ensure that they keep on the coattails of Liverpool? Yeah, I think so. But as...

Was it Pep Guardiola said January is a difficult window, even at the top level, because you're only really signing players that the clubs are willing to cash in on or don't want. So it's difficult to get. Well, you have to spend loads of money, right? Or you have to go in and thrash the cash down and say, look, here's a bucket load. We're going to play a little bit more extra to get whoever it is that we want. And we're going to go for it.

Yeah, Mohamed Koudas, for example, is someone who's on Arsenal's list. I wrote about this in my notebook on the TalkSport website last week. His 85 million release clause kicks in in the summer. And I think for West Ham to let him go now, they would be looking for something in that region. And that's difficult for Arsenal to spend because, again, they've invested a lot under Mikel Arteta, so they're not immune to PSR issues either. So I think it's really tough. What I hope from Bukayo Saka, and we've seen this with the likes of Michael Owen,

once players who rely on their pace start to pick up these hamstring injuries, it can become an issue. And I hope that doesn't happen with a Kaiosaka. Yeah. Well, listen, the worst thing in the world is to, is to suffer an injury when you've just got going and you look at other players as well that have been suffering for injury for the last year or so. I mean, look at Mason Mount, poor fella. He's got himself back fit. Look,

looks absolutely pucker in the game against Pilsen and then within three days his season is probably over again I mean he's going to be out until March they reckon it's it's just devastating for these players that they want to play football they work hard to play football they they dig in desperately to be able to play week in week out one of the great things at the moment I know he's not scoring goals but seeing Dominic Calvert-Lewin line up every single week at

he's playing football every week that's good because he wasn't doing that before injury is horrible it's horrible for it's horrible for idiots like me when you spend your whole life like wanting to go for a run like I do like 5k every other day or in December every day actually uh but last year I broke my back and I had to sit on my backside doing nothing for like

Three months. It's horrible. Even for me, it's horrible. So can you imagine what it's like when it's your profession? It's your thing. It's your whole way of life. It's horrible. Anyway, Ipswich are the opponents for Arsenal on, I don't know what day it is, but it's the 27th of December. You know it's like this time of year. The days don't matter. It's all about dates and stuff like that.

Talking of dates, Dino's got a date with a glass of bubbly and some scrambled eggs and salmon. So we'll let you get off to that. Thank you very much, Dino. Pleasure. Merry Christmas. Despite your indulgement over the last week, you're still looking a million dollars, by the way. I know you've been hammering the gym and building up those muscles and looking lovely as always. Crook, similarly, been hammering the pub. And I'm sure you'll be out in one again today.

Absolutely. It's that time of year, isn't it? Dino's actually put the idea of having a glass of champagne for breakfast in my head, so I might join him. Hold on a second. You're about to come on a programme live on Talk Sport with me. You are not having a glass of champagne before we go on air.

Good enough for Brazil. Merry Christmas, everybody. Have a great time. If you're listening to this on Christmas Day, I hope you're having fun with your family. If you've just snuck off because the in-laws are getting on your nerves, I hope you enjoyed the Premier League All Access podcast. We'll be back next week to look back on all of the action.

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