Exclusive Interview with Shaun Wright-Phillips: Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Premier League Insights
Last updated: by Liam Reaney
Former England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips sits down with the Best Betting Sites team to share his insights on the current Premier League season. In this exclusive interview, Wright-Phillips discusses the title race between Chelsea and Arsenal, Enzo Maresca’s impact at Stamford Bridge, Manchester City’s current form, and much more. He also reflects on his playing days and offers his thoughts on England’s World Cup prospects.
Shaun Wright-Phillips – © Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0
Chelsea v Arsenal
It’s Chelsea v Arsenal on Sunday – a top of the table clash – is this the biggest game between the sides for a little while? Who is under more pressure in this one?
I think that’s a tricky question, but I’d say Arsenal are the team most under pressure. They know they’re top, and they’ve got a chasing pack ready for them to make mistakes. They know they need to keep winning and that pressure is on them. They don’t want to let that gap get chipped away at.
If anything, they will be aiming to build the cushion going into the Christmas period, where the games come thick and fast and teams can stumble.
But for Chelsea, it’s almost a statement match. A win there, and they will believe that they are real challengers for the title. They might play it down, but a win there puts them in a great position to pick Arsenal off, and it will be a huge boost for their confidence. If you can beat this Arsenal team – scoring loads, defending brilliantly – then you can beat anyone.
Maresca’s side have only lost once in the league since the start of October, what has he got them doing better than last season at this point?
The biggest thing Maresca has given Chelsea is an identity. I think before then, when they were chopping and changing managers, that was what they struggled with.
Nobody really knew which direction the club would take under each manager. We all knew they had fantastic players, with Moises Caicedo a great example. At Brighton, he knew his role, he knew where he had to be. When he first came to Chelsea, it was like there was no structure for him to fit into.
When he got the ball, it wasn’t clear where he should pass, and he’d keep taking one touch after another. Now Maresca is there, it feels like he knows exactly what he needs to be doing. He knows where his teammates will be and how to find them. He knows when to go forward, when a shot is on, and he gets the odd screamer as a result.
Chelsea, Arsenal and City are far and away top scorers in the league this season, do you see a high-scoring game this weekend?
Arsenal score a lot of goals, but they don’t concede a lot. Chelsea score too, but they’re more vulnerable at the back, and that’s their biggest issue. They are going to have to keep it really tight because there’s no guarantee that Arsenal will give up many chances. They might just get a single goal, and they’ll need to make that count.
So they’re going to have to be very careful because Arsenal can play a lot of ways. They’re physical. They can hit you on the break, they can pass you to death. They can play passes, break lines or they can just give it to Trossard to make a run like he made yesterday, even if you’re sitting back.
They’re going to have to be switched on for the full 90 minutes, or more, if they want something out of that game.
Maresca spoke of resting players and brought off Reece James at half time at the weekend, how important is that with the amount of games they are playing with European competitions – especially after the Club World Cup? They play eight games in December alone.
I think Chelsea have to be the most careful of the teams with their players’ fitness. They’ve played more games than anyone. They got to the Club World Cup final, and they will need to keep their players’ performance levels high so that they are ready come the crunch games at the end of the season.
For Maresca, I think the challenge will be when to pick and choose who and when to rest over the coming months. He’ll have decisions to make about when to pull players from the starting line-up, or to sub them off. Not so much in the big games, but the less obvious games. With the position that Chelsea are in, they will need to rest players consistently but also make sure that they are putting out sides that can be expected to win almost every single game from now until the end of the season. They need to stay on Arsenal’s coattails in the Premier League.
Can they do it? Maybe. I’m not convinced yet. They give up chances at the back, especially through the middle. We know the keeper Sanchez can get a bit too confident and give other teams opportunities. It’s just whether people take them or let them off the hook.
But at the moment, I think Chelsea are in a good position. I don’t think they played that well against Burnley, but they beat them, and three points against Burnley away is a big three points.
Chelsea
How do you think Chelsea have managed without Cole Palmer this season?
I think they’ve done well. What’s lucky is they have Joao Pedro. He’s played his whole career as a false nine or a 10. He likes to get involved in the game. He likes to play those incisive passes and he gets goals as well. I feel like he’s done a lot to fill the void left by Cole Palmer.
Now, if Chelsea can keep Delap fit while Cole is out, I think he and Pedro can make up for his absence. They should have Delap up front and Pedro in and around the No 10 position, he can create havoc because he’s an unbelievable talent.
Who will win Chelsea v Arsenal?
I think Arsenal are the favourites. I think they’ve conceded a handful in the Premier League, and at times they just look unbreakable. The way they defend, how quickly they recover into their position off the ball, it’s just frightening. That’s even when they’re missing Gabriel.
I watched them in the derby at the weekend, and Spurs barely laid a glove on them, couldn’t really hurt them. Arsenal dealt with whatever came their way and they’ve done that in almost every game, in every competition.
If they could buy one player in January, who would you want?
It would be almost impossible, but if I could have anyone now, it would be Malick Thiaw from Newcastle. I know he only joined from Milan in the summer, but if anyone has been watching him since his arrival, they’d know he hasn’t had a bad game yet.
He does everything right. He reads the game well. When low crosses come into the box, he always seems to be in the right position.
I hadn’t heard too much about him before he arrived, but since he’s arrived, he’s established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet for Eddie Howe. Obviously it’s a bit cruel of me to say Chelsea need to go and buy him already, but in terms of his ability, he’s exactly what that backline needs.
I know they need experienced defenders too, but the thing about him is that he already plays as if he’s got that experience.
Has the signing of Alejandro Garnacho been a mistake?
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a mistake, because he’s clearly a good player. I think Chelsea’s problem is that they have about seven or eight wingers now. They’re all good enough to get into other Premier League sides, but they need minutes on the pitch. They need games. I remember that I was always better if I was playing more regularly.
I just grew into every occasion. I think some of those wingers, it could be similar. They need to be on the pitch regularly to be at their best. I think Jamie Gittens seems like one of those players who needs their confidence high, and he works off his instincts. Those kinds of players need to play regularly. At this Chelsea squad now, that chance doesn’t really happen, so they have to find a way to keep these players ready no matter how much or how little they are playing.
Because the only one at the minute I would say that is actually thriving is Neto. And he’s continuously playing and he’s basically hard to drop.
Which of the games against Barcelona and Arsenal are most important?
They’re both as important as each other, but one thing I think is if Chelsea beat Barcelona, that’s a huge statement to make in Europe.
People will be expecting Barcelona to come out on top, so to go and beat them will be a huge boost to their confidence. That could set them up brilliantly for the Arsenal game because Chelsea would then be full of self-belief.
Going into that Arsenal game, I think it’s the harder game of the two. I think Arsenal are better overall than Barcelona, but a win in the Champions League will make them think they can make it two wins from two.
How can Chelsea beat Barcelona?
Barcelona love to play with a high line, and Chelsea have willing runners. Delap, Neto, Gittens and Garnacho can all get in behind if they play.
I think the team can be set up for late midfield runs. If that happens, then they can beat Barcelona. Obviously, it could be tough for Cucurella against Yamal. I’m a huge fan of Marc and he doesn’t let much past him, so I’ll love to see how that one plays out.
How tough is it to visit Elland Road?
What will help Chelsea at Elland Road against Leeds is that they have the players to hurt you, and Leeds very rarely score more than one or two goals.
I think Elland Road can be tough to go to, and Chelsea will need to be able to outscore them. It’s a tougher place to go than Burnley, that’s for sure
That’s what they need to focus on, their goalscoring, and they will need to be prepared, because Leeds can make it a tough game, even if they’re struggling right now.
Is Enzo Maresca going to be under scrutiny if Chelsea lose to Barcelona and Arsenal?
It would give rise to some doubts. But I think my biggest concern, to be honest with you, is that we’re approaching that same time last year where Chelsea had their wobble.
Last year we all saw Chelsea doing well, but then Maresca said they weren’t title contenders, and things started to fall apart over the winter. The same thing happened to him at Leicester, too, over the Christmas period.
My worry is that if they get beaten in both these games, they might start to worry about struggling again and history could repeat itself. I’m hoping for Chelsea that doesn’t happen. I think they’ve got fantastic players in that squad who deserve to get an opportunity to achieve great things and win trophies.
Could Ben White make a move to Chelsea?
I think I could see a move for Ben White to Chelsea take place in the summer. It makes sense, it’s possible. I feel quite sorry for Ben because he had an injury, and he was playing so well for Arsenal. He was unbelievable.
Then he came back and he’d lost his place to Jurrien Timber, who’s the best right-back in the Premier League. It’s going to take something special to unseat him now.
I don’t think Arsenal would be willing to sell him in the winter window though, because that squad depth is one of Arsenal’s biggest advantages. If Timber is injured, White is the man to come in. So selling him would force Arsenal back in the market and I don’t think that’s something they would want to do while they are challenging for the title, and maybe the Champions League.
Manchester City
Has the defeat at Newcastle shown that the fundamental problems at Manchester City remain this season?
I don’t think it shows any fundamental problems. I think the truth is that this is still a new team, two busy transfer windows back to back, and they’re still working out kinks.
They’re still finding another way to play, they’re still integrating their new players like Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki.
Nico Reilly has been superb in place of Ait-Nouri and I think yesterday might even be his first loss in the Premier League with City, which is pretty crazy even over a short career so far.
There are still things to work out, but that’s to be expected, and they’re really not that far off from where they need to be. Also, it’s Newcastle at St James’ Park – anyone can lose that game. And City had the chances to win it, they just didn’t take them for once.
What are the biggest weaknesses that Pep Guardiola needs to put right?
Just not enough people scoring, that’s the weakness that Pep needs to address. They need players other than Haaland to step up. They’re creating enough chances, they just aren’t being put in the back of the net.
Against Newcastle, Haaland admittedly had two chances that went begging, and normally he’d have scored them. For one he just used the wrong part of his inside foot, and it goes just wide. I know Newcastle had chances as well, but that’s just how football is sometimes.
I thought the game was a fantastic game for any neutral. I enjoyed watching the match, plenty of action. For City, they need to take it on the chin and come back better, and now they have to turn it around. Whether that’s against Leverkusen this week or in the league at the weekend.
Do you think City can afford to rest players against Leverkusen?
I think they need to put out a strong team and get the win, personally. I think it makes sense to get the points in the bag now, if you can.
They should be able to beat Leverkusen all day long, and if they manage that then the next Champions League game against Real Madrid, there’s less pressure to get something out of that. Of course they will want to win that game too, but it’s clearly better if they don’t make life any harder than it needs to be.
I don’t think I would change too much. There was the odd mistake. They shouldn’t have let Harvey Barnes get that strike off from outside the box, but it was still a well-worked move from Newcastle, and it was just a good game. Sometimes you’ll lose them, especially in the Premier League.
They played well, so sometimes we might just have to accept that Man City won’t always be at their best, and if they still play quite well, Newcastle were good enough to come out of the match as winners – deserved winners.
You might say one of the goals was offside, but mistakes happen in games and you have to move on. It’s not always a disaster to lose, especially if you come back better from it and get back to winning ways.
Will Erling Haaland be even more dangerous as he is preparing for the World Cup?
I think it might sharpen his mind to keep his form all the way until the end of the season, but on the other hand, he might worry about getting injured and missing the tournament.
But I think this season, Haaland came into the campaign hungry, even after scoring so many goals last year. He was getting criticised, so he’s come back to prove people wrong, and do even better.
He hit the ground running and he’s going to continue to do that. I think the criticism he got last season was unfair, because he scored more than 30 goals, so how is that a bad season? It shouldn’t be possible for people to criticise him.
I think people need to understand football a little more. Expecting strikers to score one or two a game, it just doesn’t work like that. Only a few people can really do that. I think he’s a phenomenon. We’ve seen some unbelievable strikers in the Premier League, and I’ve never seen anyone like that, someone so tuned in for goals.
How far can Erling Haaland take Norway in the summer?
Very far, I think. I think as long as he stays fit, he can take them far. Norway is set up to play to his strengths, and he thrives off that.
You see how many goals he has for his country, so even against the best teams in the world, he’s a threat. They did it against Italy, and they just need to keep doing that.
They have Oscar Bobb, Martin Odegaard, Strand Larsen. They don’t have just one player, they have a decent team and they could cause anyone problems.
Arsenal
What do you think is the biggest lesson Mikel Arteta learned from Pep Guardiola?
I would say you can see the same thing in Mikel Arteta as you can see in Vincent Kompany, and maybe in Enzo Maresca as well. They have different styles, but there’s a culture linking them all, and I think that’s from Pep Guardiola.
They all have an adaptability, they’re able to identify a problem with their team and even if they don’t alter it right away, they will have a plan to change things in the summer, or maybe the winter transfer window.
There are of course similarities in the way Pep plays his football and how they do too, but they all have their own personal stamp on it. Look at Arteta at Arsenal. All of a sudden, they’re the best team in the world at set pieces. That’s Arteta – not Pep.
I see in them that they can take what they learned, they can make it their own, and they can all grow with the game and adapt to what’s happening elsewhere in the sport.
How big a miss will Gabriel be for the next few weeks?
All my brothers are massive Arsenal fans and they were all worried about that when they found out. I think if you look at the stats with Gabriel and then without him, there’s a huge gulf in goals conceded and points per game. But with the two signings this summer, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera, I think they’re both phenomenal. They’re both really good defenders.
It’s hard to say too much going off the Spurs game, because Tottenham didn’t really test them, didn’t really bother them. So it’ll be interesting to see how they do, but Mosquera, who played when Saliba was out, was outstanding. So I’d have him starting against Bayern Munich.
Is Angelo Stiller the right January signing for Arsenal?
Yeah, I think he’s a good player. I don’t understand what’s the need for him right now though. They have Nordegaard who can play the No. 6 role. Martin Zubimendi plays in the middle and doesn’t really get injured for long periods. So I don’t think Stiller is an urgent need right now.
That team’s strong enough already. They got the best depth, I would say, in the league at that level. I would be more worried about a signing like that unsettling the squad. It’s not something you need to tinker with right now.
You might say he might buy another striker. But watching them yesterday, as long as they still have Merino to play alongside Eze, I think that works as a false nine, because he’ll go up, he’ll drop, and then they keep twisting and turning and then switching positions. The rotation between them yesterday was really good enough.
The defenders, even as a back three, didn’t know what to do with them. Because in a back three, normally, if one drops, that centre back is allowed to push because you still have two centre backs behind him. But they were just lost at times. They were marking nobody.
Is Harry Kane the danger man?
At the minute, from watching Bayern Munich and their highlights, I think Harry Kane is the main problem. The problem is that Bayern have a lot of main problems for Arsenal to deal with. Michael Olise has been on fire of late. Their attacking players, they’re all threats.
I’ve been watching their games, watching their highlights, and they are all playing their part in that team. Even Dayot Upamecano is coming up and scoring goals. I think for Arsenal, Bayern are the first team they will face in Europe to give them a proper test. They will be fancying their own chances. They will be playing their own way, looking to dominate on the ball.
When Bayern do have it, they’re going to go after Arsenal. Kane is one of their biggest threats, but he’s one of many. They got lucky that Luis Diaz was suspended after his red card, but it’s still going to be tough for them.
I think Arsenal are defensively the better of the two, and in attack things are pretty equal, but I just think Bayern might carve out more chances on the night. It’s just whether they are good enough to take them,
Who is Arsenal’s most important player for the match against Bayern Munich?
I think Eberechi Eze could be vital for Arsenal against Bayern Munich. I watched him against Tottenham, and as soon as he was given space, he started destroying them.
Now if that happens against Bayern Munich, if they give him room, they will lose. Bayern absolutely have to work out how to keep Eze quiet.
I always knew how good he was since he established himself at Crystal Palace. He barely looked like he was getting out of third gear, he’s so calm and collected. It always seemed like he could do more, and he’s started doing even more at Arsenal. But even now, he rarely looks out of breath or hurried. He plays at that same calm pace. He can take the game by the scruff of the neck any time he wants.
If Arsenal fail to lift a major trophy this season should Mikel Arteta move on?
It’s easy to sit here and say yeah, no major silverware after spending that much money, so it would be time for him to leave. But really, I think you have to look at what he has built at that club right now.
He’s been there. He’s not just built an unbelievable team who play unbelievably well. The fans love it, everyone loves watching it. It’s not just the style of play, he’s also brought a physical element back to the side. There’s a real camaraderie too. It’s nice to see. He’s passionate, he’s running up and down the sidelines, getting involved.
If people think he’d need to move on, then they also have to answer who they would bring in instead. There aren’t really any managers who could come in with the calibre of Arteta. It’s not as simple as just deciding to change.
Coventry City
Are you surprised Frank Lampard initially struggled in management?
No, I think if you know Frank, you know he just doesn’t give up. He could be knocked down. He’ll get back up. He’ll put the hard work in to become what he needs to become. Right now, he decided that he would become a good manager, and he has worked at that.
He actually started well at Derby, and there was then the blip at Chelsea. But if you look at what happened there, I think any manager would have struggled with what was going on off the pitch. He waited patiently for his next option after Everton, and while he was waiting, he wasn’t just sitting on his hands. He’d have been doing his research, improving in other ways. He would have figured out where he went wrong in the past and resolved to change the next time.
He’s put that into practice and he’s got a squad of players that have bought into it and now that they bought into it and they’re seeing the results.
When you’re a manager, it becomes simpler to get your players to follow your instructions and adhere to your changes if they’re already winning. They’re clear at the top of the Championship ahead of the Christmas period. If they get through that busy spell without dropping too many points, then they’re well set.
Do you think they will go up?
I think it’s theirs to lose. I know how hard the Championship is. Especially coming into this period now, the December period, it’s the toughest part, and people around them will drop points.
And if they can pick up points while people are dropping points, then maybe by January or February people could be saying it’s Coventry’s league to throw away. At that point, they literally would have to lose every single game to lose the league. They could well put themselves in that position if they keep themselves going as they have done so far.
QPR
QPR are still just a couple of wins away from the play-off positions – do you think they can go up with the right signings in January?
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the signings. When you’re down there in the Championship, and January is coming, you do think of what players we can bring on just to add that little extra spark to give us a little run.
But I think if they can win two or three games on the bounce, then their position and the outlook on everything will change completely. That is one thing I noticed playing in the Championship, and now even watching it always – from about third position down to about 12th, if you can get three wins, you can jump from 12th position to six or fifth with just three straight wins.
So I think if they can pick up a bit of momentum, they can bounce right back up there and then the picture changes, players confidence changes, the beliefs change and that’s when they can start just flourishing and playing football, picking up the results they need.
Premier League / Rumours
Should Kobbie Mainoo join West Ham on loan this winter to get minutes ahead of the World Cup?
Well, if Man United are not gonna play him or sell him, it’s a good move from my point of view. If he wants to be at the World Cup he should take the chance.
I think he’s plenty good enough. It must be so frustrating for him knowing his ability and how well he has done, even when he has only had a few minutes, that the endgame is still the same.
At that age, you just want to play football, you just want to express yourself. He burst onto the scene and for a while he was always the first name on the team sheet. Now all of a sudden no matter what he does, he’s not on the team sheet. So where do you go from there? For me, he has to look elsewhere. He needs to get football. He needs to get minutes.
As far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything wrong. If you look at Man United over the last year, you could arguably say that when he has played, he’s been one of Man United’s best players. So the treatment that he’s getting, I honestly can’t understand it.
Hence the reason why I’m saying that no matter what he does, he’s not going to start unless something happens and unless Casemiro’s form drops again, or someone gets injured, I think he just will not get a start on merit. Which is the sad thing, because he would be in there otherwise.
Is Antoine Semenyo the best winger in the Premier League right now? If not, who is?
I would say he’s one of them. I’d say you can’t write off what Doku’s done at Manchester City. Minteh at Brighton, I think has been really good this year as well. There’s a good couple of wingers out there I think that’s done really well this season.
But he’s one of my favourite players to watch and he’s one of my favourite types of wingers. I think you can play him anywhere, too.. You can play him up front. Playing left, right, uses both feet very well. He knows where the back of the net is and he just seems hungry. He just seems to be enjoying his football right now and there will be a lot of takers for him.
Do you think Amorim is stubborn over players when he makes his mind up?
That’s kind of what it seems like. But, I just felt like, from watching from the outside, I don’t know whether it’s true, what’s happened. I don’t know the man. I’ve never met the man, so I can’t really say for sure, but it just feels like anybody that confronts him, he just ends up not playing. That’s the picture I get from the outside. I don’t actually know what’s happening. I don’t know how well Kobbie is training, and so there must be some reason that we don’t know why he isn’t playing, because we know his talent and we’ve seen him play.
Semenyo has been linked with all of the Premier League’s biggest clubs – Liverpool, Chelsea, United, Arsenal – who do you think he would suit best?
A move to any of the big clubs would make sense. He’s good enough for Chelsea, but Chelsea have too many wingers really, so they wouldn’t need him.
If I was Garnacho or Gittens and Semenyo arrived, my head would drop, because he’s just one of those players who would start every game if I was manager.
His end product is just so high, it’s so good. I think he would suit Liverpool. The way Iraola plays, though, reminds me of how Pep sets up his City side, but just a little bit more aggressive and on the front foot. So you never know, he might end up at City.
I think he’s a fantastic player. It’s nice to see a player who is just in such excellent form that he has so many options at the top of the table.
Was it a mistake for Liverpool to sell Luis Diaz?
Yes. I thought that when I heard it before it even happened. I couldn’t quite understand it. That was a mistake, but an even bigger mistake was not replacing him.
You’re losing a winger, so replace him with another winger. For whatever reason, they chose to look elsewhere.
I think a few Liverpool fans recognised just how good he was for them, but a lot of people didn’t really understand how important and effective he was until he started doing it for Bayern instead.
Was Liverpool’s inability to sign Marc Guehi the biggest mistake of the summer?
No, I don’t think Liverpool missing out on Guehi was the biggest mistake of the summer. I think the biggest mistake is that Slot hasn’t adapted his approach so that Ekitike and Isak can play together.
They’re both pretty similar, so you need to work on it to make sure they can team up. But you can’t have one who drops short, because that’s where Wirtz will be. But if you have Wirtz there, you’ve fundamentally changed your title-winning midfield tactics.
You’ve got rid of some of the running power, the tackling and the technique. You’ve lost Szoboszlai’s late third-man runs from midfield into the box to score goals. The full-backs now go too high, and Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong haven’t got it right, and Conor Bradley is only now really getting a chance.
Without Gravenberch when he was injured, the midfield is vulnerable, and players can run straight at Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
So who do you pick? I think he needs to get the structure right. I think Wirtz has had a lot of stick, sometimes it’s warranted. But if you still look at the chances he’s created, if the chances he had created had been taken, nobody would really be talking about him the way they are. So I think he’s had a little bit of unfair stick because I think he’s a fantastic player.
There’s been too much change in Liverpool from the team that almost walked the league last season. I don’t think there needed to be £400 million worth of changes. I don’t think they needed both Isak and Ekitike. They could have just taken one and then they would have been well placed to go and obviously replace Diaz. But they were so focused on those two players that they didn’t really do much else after that.
Harry Kane has been linked with a move to the Premier League this summer, but he also has Barcelona and Real Madrid reportedly looking at him. If you were Kane, would you be more interested in exploring the options of the Spanish giants?
If you were Harry Kane you could win more silverware at Barcelona, or Real Madrid, why would you turn that down?
But if he wants that record in the Premier League, then I think Manchester City would welcome him with open arms. I think even if they only play with one striker, they can rotate with Erling Haaland. I think both players would accept that as long as they were winning trophies.
More than that, I think they can play together, because Kane is an exceptional No. 10 too, and it would free Haaland up. As soon as Kane has the ball and turns. Haaland would be running in behind and Kane would find him.
Do you think it might be time for Mo Salah to move on?
I don’t know. What I take from Salah is that he is not driven by money. He’s driven by success with a club and then his own personal goals. Now, there are plenty of personal goals that he may still have to complete at Liverpool, which is why he stayed despite interest from elsewhere. So I’m not sure he’ll go yet.
I think the fans do still like watching him play, but the team needs to get the ball to him quicker. I think when Trent was playing, he got the ball straight to Mo and that gave him the time to weigh up his options. He could decide on a path, whether to give the ball to a teammate, or take someone on. Now I think he’s being rushed.
Who do you think has been the best new signing in the Premier League this season?
I’d say Malick Thiaw at Newcastle. I think you just watch him and admire him. To come into the Premier League and adapt like that is not easy, let alone as a central defender.
To play as regularly as he has, and to defend so assuredly, even against Manchester City, it’s just unbelievable. He was up against Erling Haaland, a goalscoring machine, a physical monster, and it just didn’t faze him.
And I think he’s only 24, so people will be watching him and considering an offer.
I haven’t seen him on the ball too much so far, but he’s got elements of Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King. He has that calmness, and the pace and timing to recover when he needs to. He’s still young, of course, plenty to learn still, but there are signs of those two. He has amazing ability and plenty of promise.
Who is the player that you’ve expected more from?
I would say Alexander Isak, but I know how tough it is to miss pre-season and then come into the league a little behind people.
I think the agent has to take plenty of the blame. Everything about that move was handled in the wrong way. There was no reason for him to miss training, and he would have been advised to do that, to kick up a stink. I think that was a bad idea, and he should have gone to training and got a full pre-season behind him. Whether he was at Newcastle or Liverpool, he’d have hit the ground running. Now he’s chasing everyone, two weeks behind, playing catch-up.
When you miss pre-season, you’re at more risk of breaking down and getting injured. You get thrown into games without proper conditioning. It’s all well and good training on your own but it just doesn’t match up to a pre-season with your teammates. It’s not enough work. The workload and strengthening they’re doing is completely different, so he needs to catch up. He needs to do it quickly, too, because he looks uncomfortable right now.
Would you start Alexander Isak or Hugo Ekitike in the Champions League this week?
Well, I think the manager already has made his mind up with that because Isak started on the weekend. I thought that was because he was planning to get Ekitike in from the start this week, and he was using the Forest game to give Isak minutes.
The problem is, Liverpool’s performance was just so bad that it was almost a waste. Isak didn’t get much to work with, wasn’t getting the repetitions in to shoot or to be part of the attack.
So there’s a lot he missed from that game, which was not just his fault, but he’s got to find a way to hit the ground running and hit it soon because Liverpool need him. The players need him. So he’s under a lot of pressure at the minute.
Is Elliot Anderson the most improved English player over the last 18 months?
When he left Newcastle for Nottingham Forest, I watched his first game, I thought, ‘Who the **** is this?!’ I thought he was an unbelievable player even back then.
He was playing further forward then and now he has more strings to his bow. He can play deep, he can play as a No. 8. He’s always been this good, really, but I think he can get even better from here.
He is fantastic, and Newcastle must be distraught that they had to sell him because of PSR. I think he’s one of the best examples on why that rule might be looked at again.
On the flipside, though. That rule means he is getting games when he might have struggled behind Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, and the same could be said for Cole Palmer moving to Chelsea from Manchester City.
Who do you think is the most exciting young English player in the Premier League?
I’m going to go with Max Dowman. It’s a breath of fresh air to watch him play football. I think it’s remarkable, a 15-year-old boy coming into a Premier League side, and he can cope with it, not just the technique but the physicality. He gets kicked, he gets up, it doesn’t bother him. The way he draws people in is superb, with his ball-carrying skills and the fact that he plays football like he just wants to have fun. He just wants to take people on. He wants to cause problems and create chances.
The fact is that he’s still young enough that he is still growing. If he gets to about six foot, and he fills out, then we’re talking about a player who could match Gareth Bale’s stature. He’s got that pace, and he’s got the basis of real power. There might not be any defenders who could cope with him when he’s an adult. He’s already a tough opponent but that could just be the start of it. He’s technically good enough, but he can score and create throughout his career, and he has great pace too. He could potentially be as good as Bale.
Was your Dad’s comments about Jude Bellingham right and do you think that media attitudes towards him could prevent Jude from one day playing in the Premier League?
If I was Jude Bellingham, I think it could put me off from playing in the Premier League, definitely. In England we seem to target a player ahead of a big tournament, like they’re dying to break one of them down.
I’ve just never understood why. You want your players going into a tournament full of confidence. Arrogant, almost. You want them knowing and thinking they can win. The press should big them up, help them, not tear them down like this. The press causes problems and puts doubts in their head, and changes the way they think..
I think if you change a player’s personality, you change how they play. That’s not always good. Far from it. I think the players need to just concentrate on what they’re doing.
So if I was Jude, why would I come back when I can stay at Real Madrid and enjoy life at the same time, without bad press that comes for no reason. I think he’s the go-to man for England, and I sometimes do not understand why he is in the crosshairs.
He’s not perfect, but he’s performing well for club and country. It’s not like he has some huge arrogant attitude, or plays badly. They should leave him be and let him prepare mentally.
Is Sean Dyche the right fit for Nottingham Forest?
I think he is. I think Sean Dyche now has the chance to show what he can do in the Premier League. No disrespect to Burnley. He did an outstanding job there, but he did not have all the tools at his disposal that he does at Nottingham Forest.
I think the international break gave him the time to get into place what he needed. They’ve then gone to Anfield and executed every small part of the gameplan. It could have been four or five-nil. There was one disallowed goal which really could have stood.
It could have been even worse for Liverpool, and it just shows how good a manager Dyche is, because nobody goes to Liverpool and turns them over like that. Not just under Slot, but under Klopp before then, and even when I was a player.
How far could Nottingham Forest go in Europe this season?
Europe, I’m not too sure. But in the league if they keep up the performances, and they can keep Murillo fit, especially through the centre, and they’re playing the way they’re playing, I think they will cause a lot of teams problems because they do have quality.
You’ve got Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson in the midfield who both can unlock doors, and they both score goals, and they have got good wingers. They are exciting.. They work hard with talent. It’s a good combination.
England
Do the press make it too hard for England at World Cups?
Some people could make that case but ultimately professional footballers will not be able to blame the press.
Whatever happens off the pitch, they have a job to do out on the pitch. As long as you perform at your best on the pitch, you need to respect your opponent that might beat you and not make excuses.
So if England can give it their all and they still come short, then we just need to accept it, and realise things don’t always go to plan. Sometimes you give 110 percent and lose, and you just have to take it on the chin. You won’t be able to blame the press.
Can England win the World Cup?
With the squad of players that are at Thomas Tuchel’s disposal, he can definitely win the World Cup next year, no question.
What I would question though is how much we learned from the qualifying game. Didn’t concede, won every game. The level of competition was just not anywhere near as high as the sides we would encounter in the later stages in North America.
I think the jump from the group stage will be massive and we need to prepare for that. I would like us to set up some friendlies against sides of real quality. I think we need to be tested as a country, and we weren’t tested in our qualifying group at all.
How do you fit England’s best players into the team?
My approach would be first of all to tell the players that this is England, so there’s no shame around being a substitute for the team at the World Cup. It’s about getting the best team out on the pitch, not necessarily all your best players.
I feel like England miss a maverick at the moment. They need a creative No. 10, someone who creates something from nothing, and the closest to that is Cole Palmer. Then I’d pick two wingers, maybe Rashford, Bowen or Saka.
But if not Palmer, then Foden and Rogers are great options. At eight, you have Bellingham and then Declan Rice at six, with Elliot Anderson ready to come in for him. Bellingham has the running power, as does Declan, so they can both be up and down on the pitch. Then you have your players ahead of those two to just terrorise the opposition. You need a back four who can stop the counters. England have so much potential. I don’t think it matters too much whether it’s Foden or Palmer in that role, as long as the team is set up properly.
Teammates
Would you fancy a game for Wythenshawe Vets’?
No, no. They have enough players up there and they don’t need anymore. I feel sorry for the teams coming up against them, but it’s good.
I never really get tempted to get back out on the pitch like that, but I understand why they do. It’s different for them because they’re all within about 10 miles of each other near Manchester. And if they are free to do it, why not?
If there was something similar in London, I could be tempted to get the boots back on, and play. It would be fun again, but after playing in America, I don’t want to get out in the cold and rain anymore. I’ll wait until it warms up. Having said that, there is one player who could get me out playing again now, which is Thierry Henry. I’d lace my boots back up if I got to play with Thierry in Sunday League.
The Team Behind This Interview
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