Full version of the Manchester Q&A.
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00:00 Michael, coming off the back of the first Manchester derby this season,
00:04 obviously at Old Trafford, 3-0, 2-0 City.
00:06 What are your thoughts generally from you covering the game and how it went on the day?
00:15 I mean, it was just a shambles from United, wasn't it?
00:20 It was just diabolical, that performance, certainly the second half was just awful.
00:26 United players and managers seem to be putting out the line of, well, the first half was toe-to-toe.
00:32 I mean, it was, but to an extent, it's still thought City were the better team.
00:37 If Manchester United, a club of their stature and their size, are pointing to the positive of saying,
00:43 'Oh, we competed for 45 minutes', and I'm not saying that's acceptable, but it's almost
00:51 pointing to that as a little positive, that it just shows how far they've fallen away.
00:56 I think the thing I say every time is, there's no shame in losing to Man City.
00:59 They're the best club in the world.
01:00 There's no issue with that, but you've got to fight.
01:03 You've got to show determination and a bit of self-belief and a bit of confidence and a bit of character.
01:10 United, time and time again, do not show that.
01:13 It's not just against City.
01:15 They have been fortunate, in my eyes, to have won as many games as they have done this season.
01:20 Ultimately, when it comes down to it, they do have some good footballers, which can provide
01:24 a couple of moments and can provide a little bit of an impetus at times to get a result,
01:29 but just by and large, it's been so awful.
01:31 It was all encapsulated against City and it's embarrassing.
01:35 It's just embarrassing.
01:36 You know, it's men against boys.
01:38 It's just a complete mismatch.
01:39 We could have played that game for another five hours and United wouldn't have scored,
01:46 and City would have just kept the ball and knocked it about.
01:48 It's just so embarrassing for United.
01:50 There's so many questions to be asked, and for a long time, there's so many questions
01:53 to be asked about the ownership and the direction the club are going in.
01:56 But right now, on the pitch, it's just not good enough from that group of players.
01:59 And how much of that blame does Eric Ten Haard bear?
02:04 How much falls on him?
02:05 Because, you know, a good season last season, really, by all accounts, and, you know, lately,
02:11 it's just seeming there's no sort of identity with United at the moment.
02:15 How much can he take?
02:17 Because, you know, as a manager, you can only do so much, but then you look at, you know,
02:21 you compare him to Pep Guardiola, and the impact they have on each other's teams is,
02:26 you know, worlds apart.
02:27 Yeah, and I think, you know, you just said there there's no identity to the way they play.
02:33 That is the problem at the moment.
02:36 That if at least, you know, you knew what they were trying to do and it wasn't working out,
02:41 well, you know, there'd be some optimistic signs, some signs of positivity.
02:45 I mean, I think, for instance, back to Mikel Arteta, this time two years ago,
02:49 when it wasn't going well in Arsenal, I think fans knew at least what he wanted to do,
02:52 what he was trying to achieve.
02:53 I just don't know what United's plan is in possession.
02:58 They obviously want their counter-attack.
03:00 They want to score goals in the transition, attack through the wide areas.
03:05 But it's just so laboured on the ball.
03:09 I mean, you just see them just pass it around.
03:11 There's no movement of the ball.
03:13 There's no fluidity.
03:15 It is all just so one-dimensional.
03:17 It looks like, you know, he is just, these 11 players have just met in the car park beforehand
03:23 and said, right, we're going to play a game.
03:25 There's no, there's just no interplay at all in possession.
03:29 And they rely on, I mean, you know, against City, there was a couple of moments on the break where
03:35 McTominay run through and had an early shot.
03:36 Obviously, Rasmus Heuler went round, went through and kind of was pushed wide by Ederson.
03:41 So there are these moments, but just in possession, it's awful.
03:44 And look, I mean, there was that debate from, or between Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher
03:49 on Sky Sports after the game that basically said, Carragher was saying it's Ten Hag's fault.
03:54 He's not coaching the team well.
03:55 And Neville basically said that, yeah, but it all stems from the owners and, you know,
04:00 kind of trickles down to the players.
04:03 And I agree with both.
04:04 Neville's right.
04:05 And I don't think United can ever be competitive while the Glazers are running the club the way
04:09 that they are.
04:10 But at the same time, it doesn't excuse the way that United are playing on the pitch.
04:14 And Ten Hag's not doing it.
04:16 He's simply not doing a good enough job at the moment.
04:18 It is just as simple as that.
04:21 And to come out after the game and say that they're on, that they're progressing and that
04:25 they're moving up, they're on a kind of an upwards trajectory at the moment.
04:28 United is just baffling.
04:30 And the decision to play Varane, or sorry, not play Varane and play Johnny Evans.
04:34 And you explained it twice what the decision was.
04:36 And all right, there's a bit of a language barrier and breakdown sometimes, but I still
04:39 don't understand what thinking was.
04:40 He explained it twice in the post-match press conference.
04:43 Yeah, look, there's a lot of issues.
04:45 And Ten Hag has got to take it on the chin here a little bit.
04:48 I think that his coaching at the moment is clearly not having an impact.
04:52 Now, I think the thing you would say is we said this about Mourinho, we said this about
04:55 Solskjaer.
04:56 Ultimately, it comes down to the players.
04:57 But as I've said to you, you think about that group of players that kind of gave up Mourinho.
05:02 Let's say this is a completely different group of players now for Ten Hag.
05:06 So what's going on?
05:07 It's this culture and this toxicity, which does, as I say, come from the top down.
05:11 But yeah, Ten Hag needs to start doing better, really, because at this stage, I don't think
05:18 anyone's really suggesting he should lose his job or that he should come under pressure.
05:22 But if it keeps going like this for a few more weeks, I think there will be questions
05:26 starting to be asked, if I'm honest.
05:27 And obviously, looking ahead to midweek, they host Newcastle in the League Cup, the repeat
05:34 of the final last year.
05:36 This now maybe becomes a big game for them.
05:39 They're at home.
05:40 They've won this trophy last season.
05:42 They're going to want to do it again, a lot of the fans, because they're thinking if it
05:46 is the only trophy we win, at least we win a trophy.
05:49 But it's now become a huge game because we are sort of debating this, whether Ten Hag's
05:54 coaching correctly, whether it's coming from the top down.
05:57 But at the end of the day, they've got a big game coming up.
05:59 And the atmosphere at Old Trafford could definitely switch sides and go the other way.
06:05 What are your thoughts looking ahead to Wednesday?
06:09 Yeah, I think what you've said spot on there, that it's suddenly become a big game night.
06:13 I mean, you know, they're not going to win the League, obviously.
06:17 I mean, they're not going to win the Champions League.
06:19 I think they've got a bit of a hope if they drop down in the Europa League of winning
06:23 the trophy, maybe if things get better.
06:25 But the Carabao Cup at the moment looks certainly like the best opportunity to win a trophy,
06:30 especially when you consider that Man City aren't in it.
06:32 Off the top of my head, Liverpool are definitely still in it.
06:36 I think Arsenal are still in it.
06:38 Spurs are out on it as well.
06:40 So I mean, that's kind of a couple of the big boys already out.
06:42 So yeah, I think it's definitely one they should go for.
06:44 At the same time, they're struggling with injuries, United, and probably could do with
06:49 rotating and keeping everyone fresh and kind of optimal conditioning at the moment, especially
06:56 when you consider they've got a big Champions League game next week as well that they won't
06:59 be able to rest players for.
07:00 But Ten Hag actually, I mean, by and large in his first season, didn't particularly rotate
07:07 all that much. He did make a couple of changes for the Carabao Cup game the last time out
07:11 against Palace.
07:12 But yeah, it's a big game.
07:13 And Newcastle have a couple of injuries at the moment.
07:15 And I suppose they're in a somewhat similar position from United in that they'll see this
07:21 is the best opportunity of winning silverware, but will also want to rotate.
07:24 Although they aren't kind of playing with the baggage that United are at the moment.
07:28 So yeah, listen, I think both teams will make changes for it.
07:32 And yeah, these games are kind of difficult to totally call just because it's not the
07:39 full strength sides that are going to be put out.
07:40 But it wouldn't be surprising if United get through purely based on the fact that Newcastle
07:44 are probably rest players.
07:45 But it would be another difficult night.
07:48 If United were to lose, it would, as you say, very quickly change.
07:51 And that negative atmosphere would just continue to build around Ten Hag and the team.
07:58 And moving on to Manchester City now, you know, this performance at Old Trafford, despite
08:04 United being so bad, it looked like the Pep Guardiola side we know, the football we know,
08:09 the fast flowing, free flowing.
08:10 And they scored three goals.
08:12 And, you know, at the end of the day, it was a fantastic three points for them.
08:15 You know, we spoke in the build up that it would be a huge three points for whoever was
08:20 to come away with it if they were.
08:21 You know, are they back to their best now?
08:24 Because at least if they show signs of it on Sunday.
08:28 They certainly showed signs of it on Sunday.
08:31 I think prior to that, no, probably not, if I'm honest.
08:36 But I mean, United spoke, it wasn't too long ago.
08:38 And I kind of said, listen, City haven't started well.
08:41 But, you know, I wouldn't be worried about them because they don't always start the season
08:45 well.
08:45 And, you know, they're still two points off top at the moment.
08:49 They, you know, they're going to, you know, they're going to qualify for the next round
08:54 of the Champions League, probably top the group.
08:56 Now, they're in a good position still while building, while kind of sorting a few issues
09:00 out.
09:00 I think it's interesting that perhaps that Bernardo Silva moved inside the midfield.
09:05 I think that City look a little bit better with him there rather than out wide.
09:09 And obviously Fulham played out wide against United.
09:12 So, yeah, I think they're building.
09:14 I mean, you know, we spoke about it, no De Bruyne, no Gundogan this season has been a
09:18 big impact.
09:19 And I think there have been, I think the players have come in, have kind of played a part,
09:24 but not maybe just quite hit the ground running yet.
09:27 And it takes a while for players to just learn how City want to play and Guardiola wants
09:33 to play.
09:34 I mean, you know, I was thinking about Jack Grealish and the role he played at Old Trafford.
09:38 I mean, Jeremy Doku has played a little bit recently, but Doku couldn't have done that
09:41 job that Grealish did yesterday.
09:43 I mean, and that was a performance of a player who knows exactly what Pep Guardiola wants
09:47 from him, carries out his job to the absolute T, to every single instruction.
09:52 So, yeah, I think they're building City.
09:54 I think it's ominous for the rest of the teams in the league, to be honest, that they're
09:58 now starting to put together slightly better performances.
10:00 And that was then very good.
10:01 Although, I mean, they're not going to face many easier games than that all season.
10:05 I mean, Sheffield United, bottom of the table, worst start in the history of the Premier
10:09 League.
10:09 They put up a better resistance than United on Sunday.
10:12 So that kind of sums up how bad United were.
10:15 But yeah, definitely making progression, won three in a row, nine all competitions as well.
10:20 They weren't brilliant throughout the whole game against Brighton and Young Boys last
10:24 week.
10:24 But yeah, there's reason for positivity.
10:27 And I wouldn't be surprised if they do start putting together a few more impressive
10:31 performances now.