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Tuchel's Turgid Tenure - England struggle again against minnows
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Transcript
Introduction and Game Excitement
00:00:05
Speaker
your daily soccer podcast with the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:00:13
Speaker
Welcome, welcome, welcome everybody to Daily Premier League podcast. have you're enjoying your weekend, and know I am. I'm looking forward to a game that's about to kick off in approximately 12 minutes. It's the Bengals at the Browns.
00:00:27
Speaker
Don't blame you if you tune off after 12 minutes of this and go and watch that. Very, very exciting.
Ken Davis' Humorous Outfit
00:00:32
Speaker
My name's Ken Davis. I'm joined as ever by my old pal, my old geezer, my old buddy.
00:00:38
Speaker
It's Nick Britton. How are you doing, mate? ah Very well. If anybody is watching this, And they wonder, why is Ken dressed like Ronald McDonald? That's why. It's part of the American football season.
00:00:51
Speaker
And if ah and if you if you were watching, you would have seen him chuck a, whatever that is, a deflated American football at somewhere. if you and If you're only listening to this and you heard a big crash as the Sting was playing, that's what it was.
00:01:05
Speaker
oh Surprised he's got a screen left. So, yeah, hello, Ken. it' Very good to see you, as always. And I've got some interesting questions. Interesting feedback from my trip to Villa Park yesterday.
00:01:16
Speaker
Well, that's what I want to talk about.
England Game Analysis
00:01:18
Speaker
There's a couple of things I want to talk about today. want to talk about the England game. You were there. I've already it described as turgid, pedestrian. I mean, I'd be interested in your view as to whether that is an accurate description of what you witnessed firsthand.
00:01:32
Speaker
want to know what time you actually left. Yeah, interesting. Just an eye on the but before we get into england i understand this in breaking news yeah so interesting it just keeping an eye on the whole mark gayhi situation which is which is interesting play for england yesterday But reportedly, and we never know how much these are, this is paper talk, this is media, this is people briefing, and therefore how accurate this is, but reportedly very unhappy and very disgruntled at Crystal Palace's last-minute U-turn on his transfer to Liverpool.
00:02:12
Speaker
We've talked about it a lot, Ken. ah News today in the in the papers saying that Liverpool will not be going back in for ah Mark Gage in January. and they would much rather wait to see, and try and get him as a free agent in the summer.
00:02:28
Speaker
Now, that makes sense to me, unless, of course, Virgil van Dijk gets injured or something happens. They've got quite a few centre-halves. They've got Virgil van Dijk, they've got Canate, they've got Gomez, they've just signed an 18-year-old lad who's a centre-half as well. So they're not short in that department.
00:02:48
Speaker
But Gehi would be a brilliant acquisition. But I can see why they want to just wait till the end of the season and get him for nothing.
Liverpool's Strategy and Mark Gehi
00:02:55
Speaker
But I wonder if, if it is a big if, but if they get an injury to Van Dijk or something like that, maybe it will force their hand to go back into in January. But yeah, news news today, they're not really prepared to at the moment.
00:03:07
Speaker
You just commented before we started on what I was wearing. Yours looks like a nun's outfit from where I'm sitting. Looks like you're wearing some kind of outfit.
00:03:19
Speaker
Dress. It's just a dirty habit i've got. Is it? And it's a Sunday as well. Anyway. and its It's a Puma sports talk. as i' right It does look a top bit looks like you've actually joined a nunnery.
00:03:34
Speaker
No, no, no. look it's just on yeah that That's more like it. that's one I've been refereeing this afternoon the ah fa women's FA Cup. I'm only just back from that game. So, yeah, this is um this is my top that I went to and returned from game. That's not why you're dressed like a woman.
00:03:49
Speaker
Anyway, no. Moving on. Moving on. Moving on. Moving on. Yeah, I'm not entirely sure about this Gahey thing. live Obviously, I've been predicting, and you know how much I know about football, which is everything, in my crystal ball, ah that he will be going to Liverpool in January.
00:04:07
Speaker
I think he will. And I don't think the issue is Van Dijk getting injured. I think the issue is Canarte's form. Well, yeah. Canarte's been rotten, to be honest, in the first few It's only three games in, isn't it? It's only three games in. And it wasn't rotten against Arsenal. He kept Goikarish very quiet. That is my point.
00:04:27
Speaker
If Canarte continues to struggle, I think they'll be in. If he doesn't, and andnie and and if he has has a very, very good next three months, you were may well could be right. But, of course, if they leave the window open until until they yeah the end of the season, I mean, anybody could...
00:04:43
Speaker
go for him. I mean, anyone could go for him in January, but i think Liverpool of a head start. I think they may take
Onana's Loan Move Discussion
00:04:50
Speaker
advantage of that. Okay. Second thing is Onana seems to be the stories that Onana is looking at a loan deal to go to Turkey, Traps on Sporch.
00:05:00
Speaker
ah Probably a good thing. that' No surprise. No surprise whatsoever. ah It just makes perfect sense. They brought in Senny Lamens, who's going to take the number one spot, at least for the time being.
00:05:12
Speaker
And Arna, is he number two? is's number three? we don't know. it doesn't surprise me that he's on his way. He'll want to play football. He's probably good enough to be a number one somewhere. Not really in the Premier League, not really for Manchester United.
00:05:25
Speaker
So, yeah, the fact he's leaving doesn't surprise me in the slightest. No, but just open the way for Lammons. I think Lammons will be yeah number one. The reason why they've gone out and signed Lammons is just because they've had to, because Inanna and Bayon Deer have been rubbish the start the season.
00:05:39
Speaker
And he's very high very highly rated. so If Inanna played well, if he'd built on... I mean, I know he wasn't bad last year. I know he made the odd hiccup and the odd mistake, but he wasn't disastrous.
00:05:50
Speaker
But if he'd start this season strongly, they wouldn't have gone and got Lammons. They wouldn't have felt they needed to have gone go and got him. So the reason why they bought him is because the goalkeepers aren't performing and therefore Lemons is going to come in as number one.
00:06:03
Speaker
Yeah. If Lemons ends up being a lemon, they're in a lot of trouble, aren't they? Yes. When life gives you lemons. Yeah, yeah. I mean look, how how badly can their goalkeeper recruit? Sooner or later, they've got to sign a goalkeeper who is okay, who's quite good, who's up to the job.
00:06:23
Speaker
They haven't had one. Statistically, they're going find one eventually. Yeah. That's a clean rubbish way of recruiting people. Anyway, as they know Manchester United, as they know in their goalkeeper recruitment department...
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00:06:40
Speaker
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00:07:06
Speaker
So,
00:07:11
Speaker
Your daily soccer podcast with the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:07:18
Speaker
Right. Yesterday, went shopping. I walked around Sainsbury's for a couple of hours. Boring. The most boring couple of hours I thought I could spend on a Saturday. i was wrong.
00:07:31
Speaker
I understand that was all happening at Villa Park. Nick, you were there.
Nick's Villa Park Experience
00:07:35
Speaker
Can you report on on the disaster, ah the pedestrian turginess that you witnessed? I had a great, I had a really, really nice lunch
00:07:49
Speaker
in Birmingham. And that was about as good as it got. The rest of it was a bit, of i mean, yeah, look, we could get to the game. could get to the Let's get to the game. The rest of it,
00:08:01
Speaker
but I don't know. Villa Park is not really set up for... I don't think Villa Park is set up for international football. I don't even think it's set up for football generally. is ah It's just is was just an impossible place to get in and out of.
00:08:13
Speaker
you're Train-wise, because you got unless you live in Birmingham. but So we got the train down from Derby, which was rammed, so you're literally like a sardine, unable to breathe. ah Then you get then then we got we had a nice lunch and a couple of pines in Birmingham, which was lovely. And then the train out to Whitton, which is near the stadium. but yeah Way outside the city. Like sardines.
00:08:34
Speaker
You're walking through streets. It's not a nice area. The stadium feels really old, if I'm honest with you. There's no leg room. This concourse is dead small and cramped. it just wasn't a pleasant experience.
00:08:46
Speaker
But the football was dreadful. It was a really poor game. thought I thought, but the football was great. but No, it wasn't. It was just gotten worse.
00:08:56
Speaker
Don't get me wrong. had a great day out. it was good it's always good fun. was good day out. it's good Every day out a good day out. but yeah and But, yeah, it was it was, I just thought they were just so disappointing because it was just sideways, sideways, sideways, backwards, backwards, sideways, backwards, sideways, backwards.
00:09:11
Speaker
And you're just thinking, for goodness sake, Because somebody just take a risk. and But I'm going to prove to you what absolute football genius I am. Oh, okay. If I may. So sort of whatever it was, 65 to 70 minutes of this rubbish had elapsed.
00:09:26
Speaker
And Rhys James, who's the right back, plays for Chelsea, got the ball in ah very in the attacking third for the umpteenth time. um And for the umpteenth time, when he got the ball, instead of trying to take his fullback on or making half for yard for himself and getting across in or looking to make something happen, he just passed it straight back.
00:09:47
Speaker
Passed it back to whichever midfielder passed it to him. Didn't take any responsibility. Didn't try to make anything happen. And at that stage, I said to wife and I said, I've had enough of this. I've absolutely had enough.
00:09:59
Speaker
Why can't he just whip the ball in and try and you try and see what happens? Because we've got good strikers. And Dora were defending well, but they'd already... out of Dora. you just don't know what's going to happen. Yeah, exactly, yeah.
00:10:13
Speaker
ah Within about five seconds of that happening, he got the ball back from whichever midfielder he passed it back to, whipped it across and Declan Rice headed it in. And yeah it just proves what that I am a football genius. And I knew exactly what I talking about.
00:10:24
Speaker
because Right. Well, congratulations. Good. Maybe we need you in place of Tuchel. I just can't believe the amount of... I mean, I hear Thomas Tuchel after the game, right?
00:10:37
Speaker
I hear him go, oh, we weren't this and we weren't that and we needed to be more you know aggressive and more... yeah Well, you're the coach. Don't accept 70 minutes or 80 minutes or 90 minutes of just passing sideways and not even trying.
00:10:50
Speaker
I'd much rather... When the subs came on, so Morgan Gibbs-White particularly... ah I thought he played well. He made a difference. goron Suddenly they're trying to make things happen.
00:11:00
Speaker
yeah And I might try to make something happen something happen and it didn't, but at least you're trying. Then there's continual... They're just safe you know safe passing because I don't want to take responsibility for anything. You're an England player playing against Andorra, for God's sake.
00:11:12
Speaker
yeah it was It was pretty pathetic, I'm not going to lie. And not many players came out of it with that much credit. As I say, Rhys James was just doing nothing because most of most of our attacks went down the right-hand side.
00:11:23
Speaker
And he was he was teamed up with Madweke on the right-hand side. Madweke, I thought, i had a decent game. He was running at the opposition, at least. We'll get nothing else to do, to be honest. yeah Well, this is it. yeah On the other side, rushshford mean know um so Rashford Rashford. That was a question I was going to ask. i mean Rashford, why? i mean What has Rashford done to chi of deserve an England play? No, nothing. He hasn't done anything to deserve his support on the England team. And I'll be surprised if we see him back again.
00:11:50
Speaker
anytime soon in any other capacity other than an impact sub I hope you're right don't see why we were playing so I thought Eze had a disappointing game was really looking forward to seeing him play I don't think that number 10 slot suits him because he is operating in an area where he's got nine yellow shirts around him all times And his strength is maybe coming from deep, you know, running at players and all that. So he he didn't, and he missed a couple of very presentable opportunities to score.
00:12:20
Speaker
Who else? You know i mean, you can just go through the whole team. How was Kane? I mean, Kane looked a bit. know what? I spent, I spent about 10 minutes a second half. So I was behind the goal where that England were attacking in the second half. And I spent about 10 minutes just watching Kane. Because to be honest, there no point, there nothing else And felt sorry for him because his movement was really good. He was fine. He was it constantly, never, ever, ever allowed himself to be marked.
00:12:45
Speaker
He was always taking up positions. He was always on the move and taking up positions in between the Senate halves. yeah And I was saying to my wife, why on earth are we not just getting balls into his feet? Why is it constantly side to side to side, backwards, side to side to side, backwards?
00:12:59
Speaker
Why are we not going through the middle, get balls into his feet, get Ezzie playing off him, and And he barely touched the ball, eight and 12 touches throughout the entire game. And I saw him honestly saying, was his poorest game for England. It wasn't because nobody gave him the ball.
00:13:12
Speaker
Literally nobody passed to him. It was infuriating. I did watch on the TV and there seemed to be plenty of runs being made, but no balls being passed into the space. There's no... No, correct. because It was just, actually, do I try and take a risk and play that ball in but it might go wrong, it might go right. Or do I actually play a simple ball and keep it safe ah to my teammate five metres away from me and nothing is achieved? It was just that. because that and it's It's not surprising.
00:13:39
Speaker
It's not surprising that within about 15 minutes to go Villa Park was virtually empty. ah Yeah, I saw that. And I don't blame them. They want to get away early. And you need to get away early from Villa Park. One of the things that Tuchel...
00:13:51
Speaker
kind of promised when he came into the job. you know It was urgency and aggression and the press and and you know dynamism. And we've seen none of that,
Critique of Tuchel's England Management
00:14:01
Speaker
have we? you I mean, in the we've seen five games under Tuchel now, four qualification games and one against Senegal. Interesting point.
00:14:10
Speaker
Obviously, we've won all four qualification games, but they're against Andorra 12. It doesn't matter. it just doesn't matter. yeah Because they're games that you can put your B team and your under-21s out and expect to win.
00:14:22
Speaker
Well, this is it. So there's an argument. There's two arguments here. There's an argument to say Tuchel, well, you can't really judge Tuchel because he's won every game. What can you do? You can only he beat who put in front of you.
00:14:34
Speaker
But equally, you are expected to beat St. Patrick's under-11s by more than 1-0 if you're the England team. I would rather just see us 1-0. but really fly at them and really try stuff and be inventive and this and the other rather than win 2-0, as we did yesterday, and learn nothing. We didn't learn anything.
00:14:56
Speaker
Well, I'll tell you what we did. I'll tell you what we did learn. We learned one thing, and that is Elliot Anderson was our best player on debut. He was excellent. He was the man of the match for England. He had a really good game. So he showed he's got it in him.
00:15:08
Speaker
All right, we haven't seen him against better opposition, but he played really, really well. Final thing on this, just what does bring about England, and we're going to get a proper test of England on Tuesday. and I'm interested in the Serbia game. I think it's going to be a really interesting game.
00:15:22
Speaker
England beat Andorra twice. Andorra 174th in the rankings. They beat Latvia 137th. They beat Albania 68th. They lost to Senegal, who are 18th.
00:15:33
Speaker
That's the test. They lost to a top 20 team. Just in other context, in terms of the games that were being played on that day, Portugal beat Armenia 5-0 away. That was hundred day 105th in the in the world ah Bosnia beat San Marino 6-0 away. They're 204th.
00:15:52
Speaker
Italy beat Estonia 126th, 5-0.
00:15:56
Speaker
Iceland beat Azerbaijan 122nd in the world, 5-0. They seem to be able to do it. We can't do it. And I'm interested as to why we can't do it when they can. Well,
00:16:08
Speaker
It's quite plain to see when you watched the game yesterday, which was at home in front of your home crowd, why that why they couldn't do it. There were two reasons, really.
00:16:19
Speaker
One is Andorra just put 11 men behind a ball. And even if you are part-time players... So it's San Marino, to be honest, I would imagine, against... But even if you're part-time players or or you know youre you're you're way below the level of your opponents, you're still a human being.
00:16:35
Speaker
And human beings are still made of of matter that you can't kick a football through. So if you just refuse to leave your own penalty area and just stand there, you can't have footballs kicked through you.
00:16:47
Speaker
And they defended really, really well. That's all they you know So there is that. There is an element ah of that. but But also there's element of we didn't play anywhere near the way the those 11 players, Premier League players, can do.
00:17:01
Speaker
you know can do can yeah have no There was no invention. It was literally just here one one tactic, side side, side side, side side. Nothing different, nothing unusual. Raft should have had a couple of good runs. Madoike had a couple of good runs. we We created two or three more opportunities. Elliot Anderson, how he's missed a completely open goal is beyond me.
00:17:22
Speaker
Put it down to a good save if you want, but he's missed a completely open goal. Eze's missed a couple. It could have been five if we'd taken our chances. It wasn't like we weren't creating him. But the vast majority of the game was just dull because we weren't taking risks.
00:17:34
Speaker
Problem for Tuchel is creating a bit of a narrative. It could have been a completely different narrative. And in the first five games under Tuchel, the narrative he's created is not an energetic and dynamic England. It's a turgid and pedestrian one.
00:17:49
Speaker
That's a dangerous precedent to set. Anyway, we better move on. Yeah, we used to turgid and predictable. We had all that with ourself in the corner of the house. But... also The bombshell that we've learned is that human beings are made of matter.
00:18:17
Speaker
Well, it's me and Nick here. We're discussing everything that matters in the world of football.
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00:18:22
Speaker
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00:19:01
Speaker
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Manchester United's Season Outlook
00:19:15
Speaker
I want talk about Man United, and I want to talk about, I just want to do a slightly deeper dive than we ever get chance to do, because we're normally doing the context of results and fixtures and things like that. But i I thought we might just take 10 minutes on this just to discuss discuss three things, ah three questions.
00:19:31
Speaker
Imagine, Nick, for a moment, you are Jim Radcliffe. Okay, imagine that. You got that. and You might. Doing Reuben Amorim's appraisal before the season started.
00:19:42
Speaker
Okay, so good morning, Reuben. and Nice to see you, mate. Take a What, Jim, constitutes an acceptable season for Manchester United?
00:19:55
Speaker
What would be seen as a successful season? And what would constitute utter failure?
00:20:04
Speaker
Right. what call me Remember, we're role-playing, so can you do this in a Portuguese afternoon? No, I'm Jim Radcliffe, so you've you've got to be Reuben Hammond. Well, it is. No, I'm not doing it.
00:20:18
Speaker
Right, go on, Nick. He seems to have gone to India on his holidays and picked up a bit India. A bit of a local accent there, Kenny. ah Right. I think what's acceptable is and ah demonstrable signs of progress.
00:20:30
Speaker
So that's two things. That's an uptick in results from last season, but it's also an identifiable style of play. identifiable style of play It is an ability to look at Manchester United and understand that there are stuff going on with the pitch, the players know what they're meant to be doing and signs that we're making in progress.
00:20:49
Speaker
That's acceptable. yeah You wouldn't put that down to a position. You wouldn't say, actually, if we finish in the bottom half, you're in trouble. you finish top half, <unk> we're all right. No, because you could be in a... You'd be all right they finished 15th and did those things.
00:21:03
Speaker
Well, you could but you could be in eighth going into the last game of a season and end up at 12th through no real fault of your own, other than you don't win your last game of the season. I think it's dangerous to say, oh, we must finish ninth or you're out. or must off because it's it's You've got 19 other teams where there are invariables that you can't predict. So you can only look after yourself.
00:21:28
Speaker
So no, I wouldn't say that. because and also season is defined on on other stuff that's out of your control, like injuries or bad refereeing decisions or study of stuff. There's other stuff going on that you can't do anything about. I think if you'd finished 15th, I would imagine that they haven't done the first part. I don't think. I think i got that i get that. So one leads to the other.
00:21:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think one would lead to the other. Okay. okay and it might But it might be 11th, it might be 10th. yeah Yeah. But if there are demonstrable signs of progress and we can see what the team's doing, they've got enough good players there to pick up results.
00:22:00
Speaker
And what would you how would you measure progress? Well, again, two things. I think more victories, so more wins. And can we look at the team and understand what they're trying to do? Do we have a team that is fluid? Do we have a team that they all understand what they're meant to be doing?
00:22:18
Speaker
Can we see patterns of play? can can you know do we understood Do the players understand what they do with and without a ball at home and away from home? They've invested heavily in their front line, so they want to see more goals out there. They want to see a better return out their front line than they had last season.
00:22:32
Speaker
So it's things like that. It's things like that. These things aren't ever, oh, we you must finish third you must win we must win that or or what have you. I think so this is an acceptable season. This is an acceptable line. you So what what constitutes a successful season?
00:22:45
Speaker
So he's he's' literally high-fiving Ruben at the end of the season. You've done a great job, Ruben. You're a big qualification. Yeah. Just that. Get into Europe for next year, you've had a great season.
00:22:57
Speaker
Right. And what constitutes a great season?
00:23:02
Speaker
um Sorry, Ruben, it's been delightful, so we're going have to make a change what what what it essentially is the season that means that happens Well, if he's having that conversation, i think he'll have that conversation by Christmas because that's when it, by then, we'll know.
00:23:22
Speaker
a successful season is saying we've spent, what is 100 and how much did it in Bumo and Cesco? Oh, it's 180 million. Yeah, so spent 180 million and we're just as bad as we were last season.
00:23:34
Speaker
So think ah an unacceptable season is a repeat of last year. Yeah. Because he's been given the tools, he's been given money to spend, he's got his players in. Yeah. Yeah. So it's up to him to make it work now. And there's no signs so far, really.
00:23:48
Speaker
we were Apart from the first game when they played quite well. I'm lost. coin that it's It's working. But there' we've only played we've only had three games and I'm not... yeah know Well, or rather means to me that me... There's big pressure on him.
00:24:01
Speaker
Massive pressure. And I know we did ah yesterday when we were doing the who's on the hot seat, who is the outsiders to win the sack race. I know Amerim was in your thoughts, wasn't he?
00:24:13
Speaker
Very much so, yeah, because I've got Chelsea coming up, I've got Man City coming up. Two very difficult games. If you get no points out of them, you might go, well, it's okay. It's Man City and Chelsea. What would you expect? But...
00:24:25
Speaker
they then then you come down to, okay, well, how has the team performed? And if the team has lost playing really well, you go, okay, no problem. Like ah the Arsenal game, where everyone came away from that having lost, thinking this is a much better time. Yeah, but if we if but if they play and look disorganized and chaotic and don't really know what they what they're doing and they can't really see what they're trying to do, then that rings alarm bells.
00:24:50
Speaker
It has to really. And you've got to then ask yourself, well, how long am I prepared to let this go on? And I'm not suggesting he's going to get a sack after the next two games. But we all know, in Ken, that winning's a habit and losing's a habit in football.
00:25:01
Speaker
And there's so much about Ameren that you still look at and go, does he really know what he's doing it does he know what he's got? Is there a real clear pathway in his thinking that the players understand?
00:25:15
Speaker
No, well, that brings me a neat segue to the second point that I was going to raise about my night, which was if you had a magic wand, and yeah and and I've heard rumours that you do.
00:25:27
Speaker
ah yeah i would like yeah I've spoken to Helen about it, and she says you've got a magic wand. ah If you had a magic wand and you could change one position, stop laughing, one position,
00:25:42
Speaker
at Man United and instantly get a a world-class person in that position, which position would that be? Centre midfield. Yeah.
00:25:53
Speaker
I think they still they still lack an absolute driving force in centre midfield. I like Bruno Fernandes, and he's got lots and lots and lots of qualities, but he's not that driving force in midfield. I don't quite... That's a good question.
00:26:08
Speaker
mean, I could say world-class centre-half, I suppose. because they still look a bit iffy at back. We've got a goalkeeper in there. You could say... World-class manager. A hot take from Nick. That's a nice one. That's an interesting one. Nick's on that nick's on a bit of a roll with Amarim, I can tell.
00:26:24
Speaker
Yeah, I think they lack a defensive midfielder, actually. I think they lack an absolute classic Claude McAlealy-type defensive midfielder. They could release Bruno a bit further forward and all that.
00:26:37
Speaker
Someone who just stops it, distributes it, stops it, distributes it. That would be, you know, if I was if f i was the see magician of Manchester, that's what I'd be waving my wand Yeah, i think that's a very good call.
00:26:53
Speaker
ah Final question, because this is a real home. this is ah This is literally, I'm going to cross this for you to nod it in like Beckham writes, because this is your absolutely your home turf, being PR guru to the stars.
00:27:10
Speaker
What PR advice would you give Ruben Ammerin? Because it looks to me like he leads it it he needs Nick's arm around his shoulder and a few wise words. I think he just needs to be a lot more streetwise publicly.
00:27:25
Speaker
So his public that is public perception of him needs to change and change quite radically. Now, there's two things that spring to mind when we talk about this. One of his one is is media interviews.
00:27:37
Speaker
where, in my opinion, and I know look i know we live in an age where we feel everything's sanitised in the media and you never get a straight interview ah question. Sorry, answer out of a straight interview question. But I think he's too honest and he's too he speaks his mind too much.
00:27:53
Speaker
And I don't think, you know the comments he made the other day saying, oh, sometimes I hate my players and sometimes I don't want to see them and sometimes I do like them and all that. Like, we don't want to be hearing that from a manager of Manchester United.
00:28:05
Speaker
And he and he he's he doubled down on it, didn't he? said, look, I'm not going to change. I'm going to tell you exactly what I think and all that. But in the in the and the emotion of the aftermath of Premier League game, you need a little bit of street wiseness. And I often look at Eddie Howe as a kind of direct comparison.
00:28:22
Speaker
And he's so smart. And he's so canny. And he knows how to do it. He knows how to do the media. he knows how to play the media. He knows what to say. He knows, more importantly, what not to say. So there's that bit of it.
00:28:33
Speaker
And then the other bit of it, which I just think the optics look really, really bad on Ameren, is this nonsensical, ridiculous, I'm not going to watch any penalties at work. It's random, isn't it? I don't watch throw-ins.
00:28:47
Speaker
I'm not watching corners anymore. ah Right, so they've had two really, really important penalties in their last two games. The first one was a penalty shootout against Grimsby, which went on well into the night.
00:28:58
Speaker
And he just sat there like a kid stuck on the naughty chair, looking down at the ground in an embarrassed manner that his team hadn't even managed to beat Grimsby. And then, just as bad, they got a penalty in the 97th minute at home to Burnley in the last Premier League game, which a lot of people were were saying, look, lose that, mate, and you're out.
00:29:17
Speaker
It was a massive moment in Manchester United's season. It was a massive kick at a ball. It was a potentially season-defining moment, depending on where they're going from here.
00:29:28
Speaker
And he's not watching. He's looking on the ground. I mean, what does that make you look like? Well, I'll tell you what it makes you look like. It makes you look like a mentalist, if you can still use that word.
00:29:40
Speaker
I think... i think ah But it reminds me that when you get intellectual European football managers or players talking to the media England...
00:29:51
Speaker
like It reminded me a bit of the Cantona when the trawlers throw the pilchards into the sea. You know, I want to be a seagull or whatever it was. Seagulls throw the trawler is because they think fish are going to be thrown into the sea.
00:30:06
Speaker
I think that's what you're looking Yeah, I think that was probably. I know there's seagulls, trawlers and fish involved. Not necessarily pilchards, though. Other types of fish are available. yeah Yeah, exactly. I mean, that struck me as being a bit one of those moments when us in England kind of think, oh, my God, mentalist.
00:30:27
Speaker
um then and then And then he does the thing where he can't watch the penalties. That's going to become meme, isn't it? That's going to be what people define him as. So, I mean, I think Amarim's on an absolutely slippery slope at the moment in all kinds of ways.
00:30:43
Speaker
And it's no good, Ken. It's no good him just going, yeah, but this is my character. I'm not going to change. This is how I've always been. Because good managers, good bosses learn and they adapt and they change to the ever-changing environment that they operate in.
00:30:58
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. it can't get ah He just can't get on with that at a moment. I just thought it was... I thought after the Grimsby thing, well, it was bad enough. But then ah thought, okay, well, when Fernandes has that penalty to win the game and save your job, the least you could do, if you're being polite, is take the trouble to watch him.
00:31:15
Speaker
Crazy. Okay, that'll do for today. That's been a really interesting episode. If you want to get in contact with us, send us an email at dailypremierleaguepodcast at gmail.com.
00:31:29
Speaker
ah that's so That's been an interesting conversation. Thank you, Nick, for your views on England and your views on Amerim. He may not be a pilchard. Let's hope he can get a tuner out of Man United.
00:31:42
Speaker
Thanks very much. See you next time.
00:31:49
Speaker
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