What now Erik….?

Ok. When I called him Erik ten Months it was a little bit harsh, but it was an obvious one wasn’t it? And after the weekend capitulation to City - by far the worst PL derby performance by any Utd team - I might not be too far out.

I haven’t got anything else to add about the derby. It seems as though everybody has now caught up with what I’ve been saying for months so what’s the point?

The only question left is how long has ten Hag got?

He hasn’t presided over a mess that he inherited as some claim - he’s created one. £410m spent on bang ordinary players - most of whom can’t even get in his starting line-up. It’s a shambles. ‘Hojland might turn out to be a good player’ I can hear you saying. I agree - but for £70m he needs to be a good player now. Utd can’t afford to wait.

I said recently that Brighton wouldn’t take any of Utd’s starting X1. I stand by that. Which team would? Certainly not one of the current top four. And here’s another thought - what are the players that ten Hag has bought worth now? Antony? Mount? Onana? Casemiro? Martinez? Dubravka. Even Hojland based on what we’ve seen so far. Would anyone pay £70m for him?

Remember, last summer ten Hag spent a record busting £220m. At the time he said ‘if you want to compete at the top, you don’t have a choice’. At the top? Unless things change dramatically Utd will do well to finish 8th. If Newcastle beat them in the Carabao Cup this week ten Hag might be lucky to survive. There’s a lot of anger out there now, although the class of ‘92 continue to give him an easy ride. I don’t agree with Jamie Carragher often, but he’s right when he says the guys would‘ve destroyed Mourinho - or similar - by now.

Clearly the job is too big for ten Hag Clearly he’s lost his players. Clearly his ‘game plans’ are nonsense. Does he really believe that Utd were ‘toe to toe’ with City in the first-half? Clearly he’s deluded if he does. That was City’s easiest three points of the season. Brighton made them work harder. And Wolves. Even Sheffield Utd gave them more of a run for their money.

Regarding ten Hag’s point that you’ve got to spend record sums to make the top four. Really? Across two transfer windows Newcastle have spent a little over £200m. Two windows. Again - Ten Hag has spent £410m and taken Utd nowhere.

And then there’s Villa. Last summer they spent £55m. It was £15m the previous January. For that Emery has taken Villa from 17th to the cusp of the top four. Andy reckons they can finish there, but even if they don’t, a place in the top 6 is certainly achievable. And I’m no johnny-come-lately as far as Emery is concerned. I’ve always said he was harshly treated at Arsenal, where I think he did a terrific job. The problem was that he made himself a comedic character by keep wishing us all ‘good ebening’. That’s changed now. And he’s getting long overdue credit in our country.

Emery has been in charge of 35 league games at Villa and celebrated a full year in charge at the weekend. He’s taken an average of two points per game from those 35 matches. The only other PL managers to have done that are Fergie, Mourinho (twice) Ancelotti, Mancini, Guardiola Pellegrini and Klopp. They all went on to deliver titles of course. These are exciting times for Villa.

So it’s not so much the spend - it’s how you spend. And what sort of atmosphere a coach creates at a club. You can tell that players at Newcastle and Villa would run through brick walls for their coach. That’s not the case at Utd where the tin pot tough guy has lost his silly fight with Sancho and had to back off from his scandalous treatment of Maguire. Both battles cost him dressing room support.

His players look bored. They’ve heard the same tedious post-match routines too often and are fed up taking the blame for ten Hag’s mistakes. There’s nothing new here - these are things I’ve been saying for months. As a side issue - name me a Dutch coach that’s been a success in the PL. 🤷‍♂️.

One last thing from Sunday. Those Utd fans that thought it was clever to taunt Haaland with cries of ‘Keano’ should be ashamed of themselves.

We all know what they're referring to. Haaland isnt a fool - so does he. I’ve said before - that assault from Keane on Haaland’s dad would’ve led to charges had it been committed anywhere other than a football arena.

It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen on a football pitch - something for which Keane has never said sorry for. In fact, he stands by it.

This is what he said in his book remember ‘I’d waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think) Take that you cunt’. Nice.

In the eyes of some Utd punters this is all part of the Keane ‘brand’. It elevates him to legendary status in their minds. It shouldn’t. It was an act of pure malice. The ball was nowhere near Haaland when Keane hit him. It was a disgraceful assault. Years later it would comeback haunt Utd when they wanted to sign Haaland junior.

Keane was a terrific leader at Utd and did more good than bad. The night he hauled them to a CL final in Turin, knowing he’d miss the game, he was awesome. But the Haaland incident shouldn’t be celebrated. Nor referenced in the way it was Sunday. Certainly not when the travelling City fans behaved so well during the tributes to a true Utd leader and legend - Sir Bobby Charlton, who never once disgraced his club.

Is there any other business where failure is rewarded so well?

Did you see Pochettino? His team had just tossed away a win and there he was at the end of the game laughing and joking with the opposition coaching staff. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. What on earth was funny about Chelsea’s capitulation at home v Arsenal?

The Mail picked up on what I’d said post match on beINSPORTS, so some of you will be aware already about my views after watching Pochettino on the pitch after the final whistle. What was he thinking? Perhaps he wasn’t thinking? If he had been, surely he’d have understood how Chelsea fans felt after seeing their team toss away what could’ve been a season defining win? How angry they were. And there he was chuckling with his mates, who now work for Arsenal.

Chelsea have been piss poor on Pochettino’s watch. He’s been asking for time and understanding. Really? Time and understanding from fans who are fed up to the back teeth of watching a once-mighty Chelsea descend into ordinary. And they’ve been paying top dollar for the privilege. No. I’m sorry. He was bang out of order.

What he should’ve done was leave the scene of the crime double quick - get down the tunnel to the dressing room and wait for his team so that he could let them know exactly how he felt. How angry he was. But perhaps he wasn’t upset at all? And maybe that’s the problem? Perhaps it doesn’t matter enough? Mind you - why should it?

Pochettino has become a rich after delivering little more than mediocrity in his managerial career. Remember - this was the man who finished third with Spurs in a two-horse race against Leicester. He always comes up short.

I said in my first blog this season that the jury was out. I’m still not convinced by him. Does he care what people think? Probably not. He’s already rich beyond his wildest dreams - another sacking and he’ll be able to buy half of Argentina.

What other business rewards mediocrity and failure so well? Graham Potter is another one. He hasn’t lifted a finger since he was sacked by Chelsea. I guess they’re still paying him and he doesn’t have to while they are. When Chelsea are done - Potter will also be filthy rich, but why not take another job now? Doesn’t he want to prove his doubters wrong?

Poch and Potter aren’t the only two of course. There are others. And it’s not so much them earning the money that bothers me. Good luck to them if they can. I just want to see them hurt a little bit. Show respect - respect for people that spend hard earned money and want to see their team provide 90 minutes of joy and relief in really trying times.

Football’s extravagances will be accepted by fans if their team make them proud. If they enjoy watching them. If they feel their spend is good value. But not if those representing the club appear all too happy to accept failure every week.

I can’t think of another business where failure is rewarded so richly. It’s got to hurt a bit more guys. If it doesn’t - walk, laughing all the way to the bank no doubt.

On the subject of Chelsea - why is it that the proceeds of the sale of the club to Todd Boehly still sit in a U.K. bank account? The money was supposed to be for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. You’ll hear a lot guff from the U.K. govt about why they haven’t yet released it - none of which rings true. Just get on with it James Cleverley. You’re out of time and excuses.

I was pleased to see Roy Hodgson speak as eloquently as he did on the subject of gambling. This, of course, after Sandro Tonali and his Italian team-mates Nicolo Zaniolo and Nicolo Fagioli were caught gambling on games.

We don’t know the minutia of what happened nor what the outcome of the Italian FA’s investigation will be but punishment will follow for Tonali for sure - just as it did for Fagioli. Of course punishment will follow and that will satisfy most observers. But will it help? As Hodgson argued before Palace’s game at Newcastle - probably not.

As I’ve said here previously - football has a cavalier attitude towards gambling, happily taking money from the big bookies - to the point of becoming reliant on it in some cases - yet frowning on individuals who fall prey to the advertising onslaught that’s designed to encourage them to gamble recklessly. It’s madness. Football can’t have it both ways. It’s time to distance itself from the odious creeping influence of the gambling companies.

What’s the reason for the takeover delay Sunny Jim? What a mess. Are we convinced that Ratcliffe’s bid for Utd will ever actually happen? Does he really think that Utd fans will tolerate the Glazers staying firmly in control of the club despite his potential investment? And I read that he’s actually borrowing money to make it happen - using loans from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan according to Nick Harris in The Mail on Sunday. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

I can’t finish without paying tribute to a man who lit up an entirely different era at Utd - Sir Bobby Charlton of course.

What a man. What a player. What an ambassador for both his club and country. We will never see his like again.

I can’t top the many words that were both written and spoken about him over the weekend. I just want to say this - thank you Bob. You lit up my childhood and helped me fall in love with football. And I wasn’t alone.

It’s over…

Well there we have it. It’s over. Not quite for Man Utd, but Sheikh Jassim’s bid for the club. Over to you Jim. And good luck.

I said ‘not quite’ for Utd. They’ll continue to win the odd cup - as they’ve been doing since Fergie’s retirement and if there’s Ratcliffe investment, a decade or so from now they might even win the title again, perhaps the youth team... But the era when they won everything, all the time, is very definitely over. The chance to replicate what City now do went the moment Sheikh Jassim walked away.

I had a fun joust with a mate today who’s Utd to the core. It’s always good sport winding him up, but I love the passion he has for his team - and the fact that he sees the world through red tinted glasses. Sadly those same glasses won’t allow him to view the reality of what’s happened at Old Trafford. And there’s the problem.

I understand totally the ambitions of Utd fans. But they’ve got to be aligned with a dose of reality now.

I say again - it’s over. The years when Utd dominated domestically and occasionally won the big one (not enough) are long since gone. And what must hurt more is having to live in the shadow of one of the richest and most successful clubs in the world. The noisy neighbours of course. The team that Fergie said would never be favourites to win a derby ‘in my lifetime’. Nowadays it’s every time.

I’m quite certain that the Sheikh would’ve put Utd back on their perch. He has the resource to rebuild a crumbling stadium, wipe out Utd’s debt (his was a cash bid), start buying the best players in the world again, invest in the city. Jim Ratcliffe can’t and won’t do any of that.

He’s overpaying for a share of the club. Wildly overpaying – the fact there’s literally no-one else willing to buy tells you that, even “Qatar”. And what exactly is he buying? Whilst the Glazers still own a majority share the answer is ‘not very much’.

His purchase of a 25% stake apparently remains entirely dependent on outlining a ‘genuine path to majority control’. Again - good luck with that. If I were a Utd fan I’d be praying for negotiations to break down so that Sheikh Jassim’s ambitions could be tested. My belief is that he was totally committed in his desire to buy the club - just not at the £9-10b the Glazers reportedly want. That bracket is nonsense. It’s plucked from thin air.

Utd’s base valuation is very objective – their market capitalisation is £3.2b. Add a premium on top of that as MU is a top and rare asset, but you still don’t get anywhere near their Barbie-land valuation. But maybe in Jim, they’ve found their Ken.

I’ve always backed an owners’ right to run a club as they see fit. Whilst Utd were winning everything during the first eight years of the Glazers ownership - five PL titles - one UCL (two final defeats) three League Cups and one Super Cup nobody was complaining too much.

They’ve spent close on a billion pounds (I know, how was that funded?) since Fergie left the club - but on what? Generally ageing superstars that no other team wanted.

Hojland apart - and the jury is still out - which of our other top sides would buy anything that they’ve got now? Let’s go down a rung - would Brighton take anything that they’ve got? No When ETH is finally out of a job - where does he go? Brighton wouldn’t take him. Back to Holland is my best guess.

So there you have it. Wherever you look Utd aren’t good enough. But the wasted spending isn’t the fault of the Glazers. What is - is the lack of investment in infrastructure. And now- pure greed.

If Jim Ratcliffe is convinced by the Glazers offer of a path to full ownership, and he buys in for £1.25b, where does that money go? Again. My best guess is into the Glazers pockets. Jim will have to find as much again to spend on players, but will the very best want to join Utd when not much else has changed? And what about the stadium? Maybe they’ll get a new rowing machine in the training centre.

The deal that’s currently on the table is a mess. It does nothing to make Utd competitive again. It’s all so very sad. I’ve always said that we need a competitive Utd but I just don’t see it if this deal gets done.

It was the late Franny Lee that once said ‘if there was a cup for cock-ups City would win it every season’. He was right. They did. Not now though.

City now win everything with frightening regularity - like Utd once did. The only cup that they no longer win is now in Utd’s possession. The entire “strategic review of Manchester United” we’ve all endured for the past year is a world class cock-up – the last year has cost the Club so much more.

Arsenal don’t care - but what a bore-fest.

Arsenal v City. The two best teams in the league last season. It was by far the biggest game of this season. I couldn’t wait. And the nearer we got to seeing it the more excited I got.

It should’ve been a stormer. Something for the whole world to watch and admire. The perfect advert for the best league in the world. But no - it turned out to be a bore-fest. 90+ minutes of tedium. A game often played at walking pace as centre-backs and goalkeepers put their foot on the ball and stood still.

I said on the day - it was a game organised by two ‘clever’ coaches who tried to ‘out-clever’ each other. Two guys who must’ve looked at our league from afar, desperate to work in it because of its pace, goal action, excitement and often blood and thunder. Arteta played in it for goodness sake and in some big games as well. Games that had us on the edge of our seats. Guardiola arrived as a coach, wanting a piece of the action, but immediately set about turning us into La Liga.

Kevin Keegan was wrong about a few things when he spoke at his recent much publicised Q&A - but he wasn’t wrong when he said he finds City boring and doesn’t watch them. They can be. I’ve said this myself. And they were on Sunday.

I’ve read one reason after another as to why they were so bad at Arsenal, but there are no excuses. City are the most expensive team ever assembled and they boast a front man who is arguably the best in the world. They starved him of the ball again on Sunday and he left a frustrated, disgruntled shadow of what we saw last season.

Ok. City are enjoyable to watch if you like your football served up in precise exhibition moments. And Haaland couldn’t have had any complaints about how things went last season, but I guarantee you the way Madrid and Bellingham are playing right now won’t have escaped his notice.

We read that City want him to sign a new deal. If what we saw Sunday goes on much longer it’ll be Haaland wanting to do the escaping. It’s one goal in six now - and it’s not his fault. He can’t score if he isn’t seeing the ball.

It’s only a couple of weeks since he went to the dressing rooms at Burnley with a flea in his ear from Guardiola, because, almost on the half-time whistle, he had the temerity to want a ball played into space that you know he would’ve scored from. ‘No No’ said Guardiola. ‘Shape. Keep the ball’. At Burnley ffs? No. Go for the jugular when there’s nothing to beat. Excite people. It’s what fans pay good money for.

Arsenal fans will have left the Emirates delighted with the win, but for the neutrals amongst us it was a tough watch. If I hadn’t been working I wouldn’t have watched it. That’s how bad it was.

Thank goodness for big Ange and Klopp right now. They’re both playing expansive, exciting football. The re-build at Liverpool is complete (maybe they still need a good No6) but they’re still getting to know each other and that’s one reason why they‘re conceding too many right now - but they’re still a good watch going forward. Their first goal at Brighton was terrific - a series of one-touch fast passes right through the heart of the home team. It was vintage ‘Klopp’ Liverpool. Rock and roll.

Spurs are getting our attention as well aren't they? The win at Luton - with 10 men - was first class. And I’m really pleased to see their ‘Cov kid’ James Maddison in such good form. He’s no Glenn Hoddle, but he’s doing that No10 shirt proud. What a good signing he’s proving to be.

Now. Here’s a line that had me sit up and take notice when I read a piece by Hamzah Khalique-Loonat in The Times Saturday. “The list of games they watched one season, when I played 25 games, they saw 24 of them - not only with one scout but with, like, (why does everybody have to use the word ‘like’ all the time? It’s infuriating - worse when a journo writes it) with, like, 15 different scouts, different sets of eyes. I had contact with the manager (Thomas Frank) and Manu (Sotelu) the goalkeeping coach, even during the period I was still with Freiburg”.

This is Mark Flekken talking, Brentford’s new ‘keeper. No-one can stop a club doing homework on a player they fancy - no problem there. And we know contact is often made by a club - perhaps with a players’ agent - to express an interest - but directly with the player? That’s illegal.

But it gets worse. Here’s the bit that really bothered me “they sent me video clips of things they really liked, and things they thought I should improve, and can improve”. Did they? Why did they? Did Freiburg’s coaching staff know about this? All totally illegal. How widespread is this behaviour? And something should be done about it if it is. It strikes me Brentford certainly have some questions to answer.

How would Frank and Brentford react if they found out a team was currently coaching one of their players by sending video clips and calling him with advice? I think we all know the answer to that. Brentford are bang out of order.

But wait. Then I read this, in an excellent piece by one of my favourite journo’s, Jason Burt, in The Telegraph “He demands a lot in training. When I spoke with him before I signed, he said ‘I don’t care what you do, do whatever you want. But when you have me on the [training] pitch you have to be focussed. If not, I will smash you”.

Again. “When I spoke with him before I signed”. This time it’s Erling Haaland talking about cosy chats he had with Guardiola before he joined City. So when was this Erling? Was it when you were still at Dortmund by any chance? My best guess is that it was. So - illegal. Totally illegal.

It seems this sort of practice is now fairly common place - but it shouldn’t be. I understand that in a modern world it’s hard to police and if we are accept that it goes on, I don’t want to hear clubs bleating about ‘illegal approaches’ anymore.

What certainly can not be the case is that a club can be coaching another team’s player. There is no excuse for that.

And finally….. I’ve just had a look at the Championship table. I had to be certain that I’d seen Birmingham in 6th when I looked at it Saturday night. Yep - 6th. And they’ve just sacked their manager. Wow. I’m sure John Eustace won’t struggle to get work - he’s done a fantastic job at St. Andrews, but the in-coming manager might struggle to win over a crowd that likes Eustace and has clearly been grateful to him for picking up a mess and giving them some respect back. Good luck Wayne.
You’re going to need it.

PGMOL is now in crisis

Let’s be kind. It pushes the bounds of credibility to suggest that Darren England and his colleagues in VAR believed that Luis Diaz’s goal had been given and that they were simply confirming that it should stand. That somewhere there was a confusion of messages. That the most horrendous of errors can somehow be put down to a ‘momentary lapse in concentration’.

According to my Daily Mail today - and their breakdown of what happened entitled ‘story of a shambles’, England and his assistant Dan Cook applied lines as usual and saw the goal was onside. (No they didn’t). The Mail goes on to claim that England and Cook thought the on-field decision was ‘goal’ when it was actually offside. (No they didn’t). So - claim the Mail - when they told ref Simon Hooper ‘check complete’ they mistakenly confirmed that the offside decision should stand. (Nonsense).

The Mail complete this section of their story by saying that PGMOL insiders have described the incident as a ‘momentary lapse of concentration’. Stop digging guys. Please. This ‘leaked’ version of events is almost as embarrassing as the decision itself. Oh - and the broadcaster that exposed the mess, that the Mail don’t want to name, was beINSPORTS.

I know people in the U.K. were confused by their coverage. Your host broadcaster missed the incident and went into meltdown when they saw our tweet. They knew they had to discuss it which is why they also missed the start of the second-half. It had nothing to do with long ad-breaks.

Anyway, it’s impossible for the above ‘leaked’ version of events to be true. The guys in the bunker are in constant contact with on-field officials. They would’ve known exactly what they were checking for. We all saw the assistants’ flag go up. We all knew the goal had been disallowed. VAR would’ve heard the officials talking about the decision. VAR simply didn’t do it’s job properly. This was human error. A horrendous error and had nothing to do with the equipment.

I’m going to generous here and say that I have some sympathy for England and Cook - in fact, all the guys in VAR. Why? Because current match-day officials shouldn’t be in VAR and how long have I been saying that for?

It’s unfair to ask them to learn a skill that takes years to become good at in - what was it, four extra days of summer training Howard Webb told us? And there’s the occasional match-day appearance of course, but Webb claimed the four extra days would end the VAR errors. Remember?

Watching football on tv for professional reasons takes years to become proficient at. You learn to look for things that aren’t obvious to the casual game watcher. Instinct helps. It’s different. I’m sorry - it just is. Maybe that’s why Andy and I saw immediately that Diaz’s goal was good - and that was without a replay.

Refs should be allowed to concentrate on getting better at what they do on the field and junk VAR responsibilities.

I’ve said this before - VAR should be staffed by people like Chris Foy, Mark Halsey, Peter Walton - X-refs who know the laws and can be trained to understand the skill of watching the game on tv as a pro. We need full-time specialist VAR operators.

Right now people like Foy and Walton are being sent out every Monday to make excuses for a catalogue of errors committed previous weekend. What a waste of time. Surely it would be better to divert funds into constructively trying to make things better - not paying people to trot out well rehearsed excuses for poor match-day performances?

Why are we even drawing lines? What’s wrong with embracing the semi-automated WC technology that’s being used so successfully in the CL? I’ve heard that the PL weren’t interested in it because it’s costly to implement. I hope that’s not true. Costly? We’re talking about the richest league in the world here. How costly will Saturday’s meltdown ultimately prove to be for everybody? Especially Liverpool, who have every right to express their frustration.

And Liverpool weren’t alone - 24 hours after the incident at Spurs, Steve Cooper and Thomas Franck were lamenting another day of errors. Cooper of all people, who’s the most tolerant of all the PL managers - I guess because his dad was a ref. And a very good one.

Howard Webb (showbiz showbiz showbiz) has got to get a grip. Already this season the PGMOL has admitted to mistakes on 14 occasions. That’s mind boggling - 14 times already. And that’s not to mention others that they should’ve admitted.

I welcomed Webb’s return to our game. I genuinely thought he’d make a positive difference. He hasn’t.

Granted - he inherited a lot of this mess from his arrogant predecessor Mike Riley, who surrounded himself with incompetents in order that his own inadequacies weren’t shown up. Do you remember Riley being forced into a climbdown over the use of monitors? And his instructions to refs when he was forced to change that they should always go with decisions made by VAR? Some of these habits continue today.

Webb has got to get tough and fire some of the people he inherited that simply aren’t good enough. If you don’t know who they are I can help there Howard. I probably hear more about the frustrations of the good people than you do. Leaks eh? No. The PGMOL wouldn’t have leakers. Ah. Wait a minute…..

If you want genuine transparency Howard, junk the scripted tv shows with the carefully chosen inserts and let us all hear what happens when a ref goes to the monitor. And don’t hide behind saying FIFA won’t allow it. Push the case. If there is nothing to hide - why not?

And the recent habit of allowing officials to ref overseas has got to stop. Why is this happening? Is it so the boys can earn an extra few quid? It can’t be anything else. That’s not a good reason. Pay them more at home.

That Michael Oliver was in the UAE on Thursday and therefore couldn’t ref Saturday was a disgrace. As we know, England and Cook were with him. If Oliver was too tired to ref (he was 4th at Spurs) why were England and Cook asked to work VAR? Is this job not considered to be as important as taking the whistle? I think we’ve found out now that it is.

I make the trip to and from the Middle East frequently. It’s tiring when the turn around is as tight as the guys were forced into. And I’m not suggesting for a moment a late night might’ve been had, but a few of the PGMOL guys have got form when it comes to that sort of thing. Anyone else remember ‘Indonesia-gate’ - the ‘boozy charity trip to Indonesia’ as The Sun described it? I’m sure Martin Atkinson does. He’s one of Oliver’s bosses now.

Never has there been a time when our refs were so poor. And this is after spending millions on coaching, life-style, salaries, match-fees, dietary requirements…..I could go on.

Never has there been a time when confidence in the PGMOL has been so low. We are in a crisis. And please don’t tell me the scrutiny is unfair. It isn’t. In any other business if people aren’t doing their jobs - they’re out.

Refs wanted a more important match-day role. They wanted higher profiles. Well they’ve got both. Howard Webb has got to cut out his open-necked media appearances and get down to basics - get his hands dirty and get a grip on an organisation that is failing. And failing badly.

What is the ‘right way’ to play football? It’s not what Burnley did v United.

I enjoyed the weekend. The North London derby was a really good watch whilst Newcastle were ruthless at Bramhall Lane. I felt for The Blades mins you and I’m pretty sure when the dust had settled Eddie Howe would’ve felt for Paul Heckingbottom and his staff as well.

The win was something for the history books and the thousands that follow the Toon to away games. Good luck to them. They’re as loyal as they come and it was a fantastic week all things considered, but professionals don’t really like inflicting harm like that on a set of pros at another club. The shot of Stuart McCall summed up Sheffield’s misery. But take nothing away from Newcastle. They were terrific.

Liverpool (II) look like the real deal again. Klopp’s rebuild has been a resounding success and from a position where last seasons table told us they way were way behind United they’re now back on their perch - way ahead of them, proving that you don’t always need time - you simply need to know what you’re doing.

How jittery were United at Turf Moor? One moment of sublime class sunk Burnley, who tossed away a gilt edged chance to get their first win. They were anaemic. Poor. And, as I predicted pre-season, they’re going down unless something changes. They’re far too ‘nice’ to play against.

All I heard from our world feed commentators was ‘they play the right way’. ‘They’re good to watch’. Really? No. They play the wrong way.

Does the ‘right way’ mean weaving pretty patterns sideways and backwards - mustering just two shots at goal all night and not forcing the opposition keeper to make any save of note? Does it mean giving away a corner inside 47 seconds because you’ve been caught trying to be clever?

I’ll tell you what the ‘right way’ should be for Burnley - to get into teams. To make them uncomfortable. To make them scared of visiting Turf Moor. Just like Forest last season, if Burnley are to survive it will be as a result of their home form. They’re simply not good enough to tippy tappy about against seriously better opposition.

I know they tore up the C’ship playing that way. So what? That’s a totally different league. The three promoted clubs won 78 games between them last season. They haven’t got one so far in the PL.

United were there for the taking. They were shitting themselves after the defeat in Munich - their latest set-back after a terrible start. Burnley should’ve got into them - dropped some bombs on Onana for 10/15 minutes and earned the right to play a bit if that’s what they wanted to do.

Vincent Kompany is taking liberties. I’m afraid it looks as though managing Burnley is a vanity project for him. He said afterwards ‘any team that is associated with my name will always play good football’. Wrong Vinny. You’ve got that totally wrong. It’s the other way round - right now your name is associated with Burnley - a fantastic old club that down the years has always known what it is.

Sean Dyche understood that. He bought into the club and the town. You knew he was committed. He was ‘Burnley’ when he was at Turf Moor. Kompany gives me the impression that he’s just passing through and he’s prepared to sacrifice the club and its fans, who work damned hard for the 90 minutes of distraction in enormously trying circumstances, to raise his reputation and wait for the right one - almost certainly City in his mind.

Money is tight in the U.K. Fans want value for their entrance fee. They want to see players putting in a shift not ball room dancing. That sort of football is ok if you’ve got the players. Burnley haven’t.

Speaking of Dyche - Everton were fantastic at Brentford. Dyche knew exactly what was required from his team - keep it simple, turn them and make the most of set-pieces. Also - be strong. Brentford isn’t an easy place to go. Only two teams won there last season, Newcastle and Arsenal. Ok - Brentford aren’t quite the same yet, but they’re still a handful.

Dyche and Everton started the weekend with one point, just like Burnley. Both needed a win. Who had the harder game? For me - Everton. They adapted. Burnley didn’t and they failed to capitalise on a home game against fragile opposition. So who played the ‘right way’? And who is the better coach?

I was interested to see Aaron Ramsdale’s dad leap to his son’s defence by lambasting Jamie Carragher for his comments during the derby game. Good on him. I feel for Ramsdale. He’s a terrific ‘keeper and made of the right stuff, which is why he’ll turn up elsewhere and go on to have a very good career.

I didn’t agree with Carragher’s midweek assessment that Arsenal would never win the title with Ramsdale in goal. When I saw that my initial reaction was ‘nonsense’, because they were a whisker away from doing so last season. But then I realised that Carragher played in a team that was never going to win the title with him in it, so he probably knows more about the subject than me.

And finally. Did you see the story in the Athletic re-City? For those that didn’t - how about this?

The Athletic report that ‘the U.K. govt has admitted it’s embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Foreign Office in London have discussed the charges levelled at City by the PL, but are refusing to disclose the correspondence’. Surely nothing is being discussed that would lead to charges being dropped? Watered down? Compromised?

You have to say - it’s a great piece of reporting again by The Athletic. Make of it what you will. But let me ask tjese questions. Would this be the same govt that’s insisting on an independent regulator to ensure fair play in football? The same govt that chose Todd Boehly’s consortium to takeover at Chelsea? And the same govt that pressured the PL to approve the Saudi takeover of Newcastle? 🤷‍♂️.

Will a top 6 coach get the sack before November?

How about this for a call? One of the top six managers will get the sack before November. And right now it’s a pretty good race.

Three of them are very firmly in the frame - ten Hag, Howe and Pochettino. Guardiola, Klopp and Arteta are as safe as houses. 

Let’s go through the first list. It might surprise you that I’ve included Eddie Howe and I very much hope I’m wrong. Howe did a fantastic job last season, but this time round it’s very different.

Newcastle haven’t made a good start but back to back games v Man City and Liverpool was a tough ask. Having said that - if you’ve got ambitions to be a top club you’ve got to be competitive in games of that nature - and certainly win games at home against other top 6 teams. Newcastle should’ve beaten Liverpool. And they should’ve got at least a point at Brighton. Top teams don’t get beaten in those games. The very best teams win them. 

They were lucky v Brentford. Gordon throwing himself at Flekken should never have resulted in a pen - so Newcastle got away with one there. Now comes the CL - a wonderful distraction that they didn’t have last season. There’s no reason why they can’t beat Milan in the San Siro, but if they don’t, do the owners start to get a bit edgy? It’s Sheff Utd at the weekend, then City in the Carabao Cup - Burnley and PSG after that. If they’re only scratching results - or worse - I can see one or two questions getting asked. Again - I hope not, but we live in a realistic world - not a romantic one.

How long has Pochettino got? Chelsea were awful - again - at the weekend. 0-0 at Bournemouth? Not good enough. Beaten at home by Forest? Nowhere near good enough. They were also beaten at West Ham remember. Their only win so far was 3-0 at home v Luton. That’s after a £1b spend in the last 12 months. Do you know, every time I mention that figure I draw breath. It’s incredible. What chance they go bankrupt before they get the chance to sack Pochettino I wonder? I’m only half serious - but you wouldn’t rule it out would you?

I know Poch didn’t sign - or probably want - any of the players that he’s been given, but that won’t wash if results don’t start coming. Results - and a few performances to excite Chelsea fans.

A big problem I think they’ve got is that I don’t see warriors in their group - solid citizens like JT, Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Cech. Chelsea have always had ‘winners’ in their best teams. I don’t see any now. I see a group of ‘nice’ lads. ‘Nice’ doesn’t win big games or trophies. That might also prove to be a problem for Eddie Howe. 

In Pochettino’s favour - I can’t see Chelsea wanting to change coaches again, but I refer you to my previous comment. We live in a brutally real world.

So that leaves ten Hag - a coach who has spent £400m on exactly what he wanted. It’s his team now. There can’t be anymore excuses. He can’t keep blaming his players for poor results and performances. He picks the team. He’s shaped the team. It’s on him now. 

How bad were they v Brighton? Awful is the answer. Brighton toyed with them. They had the ball for a full 1’46” before scoring their glorious 2nd goal. They were better than Utd all over the pitch. And this is a team that’s had £300m ripped out of it in sales over the last 12 months. Despite that - they keep getting better and they embarrassed Utd. 

It’s Bayern next - and then Burnley next Saturday evening for Utd. My guess is Bayern spank Utd - and I can’t believe I’m about to say this - but Burnley could beat them as well. If that happens ten Hag has to be the one to go. He couldn’t survive a week that included a defeat at home to Brighton, defeat in Europe and defeat to a team that hasn’t got a PL point yet.

I sense I’m no longer alone in asking questions about ten Hag. There was a slight shift in the coverage after the Brighton defeat. Oh - one other thing. I’m too far from home to have all the answers but what do we know about this Dutch football agency SEG? They seem to be at the heart of most deals Utd are doing right now. Nothing wrong with that - clubs often have a favourite agency, but they’re currently involved in so much you’d think someone at Utd had family working for them. 

With the odd exception it was another poor weekend for our officials. When is Howard Webb going to get a grip? Instead of keep admitting officials are making mistakes - how about helping them get better? This is the poorest group we’ve ever had. Now is certainly not the time to be holidaying in California Howard. Now is the time to be at home influencing things. 

If you’re a beINSPORTS viewer in MENA make a CL date with us this week. It’s great to have the competition back - in its current form for the last time remember. We’ve also got Europa and Conference League football as usual. As I often say - all the games, all the time, on the biggest sports network in the world. 

Come on Fergie - tell us what you think is best for Utd

It’s time Utd’s legendary Sir Alex Ferguson to get off the fence and tell their fans what he thinks is best for the club going forward. 

My initial thoughts got quite a bit of traction when I said this on beINSPORTS Sunday, and I thought it was something worth following up today.

To the best of my knowledge - this is where we are with the takeover saga. The Glazers put the club up for sale very nearly a year ago now. They want $10b for it. It’s not worth that. They are being greedy. If they achieved $5b it would be a world record sale - still steep, but that figure is achievable.

All along there’s only ever been two realistic bids - Jim Ratcliffe’s and the Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamer Bin Jaber Al-Thani’s. Both have money - and plenty of it, but you can be sure they’ve got it because they don’t splash it about recklessly.

We read that Ratcliffe has considered keeping some of the Glazer family at the club if he wins the bid. That rules him out as far as I’m concerned. Utd fans would never accept that.

So that leaves Sheikh Jassim - and this is where Fergie comes in. He’s got to go public on the takeover now.

Here’s my question Sir Alex - should the Glazers sell or retain ownership of the club? It’s not difficult. It’s got to be one or the other, but which is it?
Whatever Fergie says - and he’s earned the right to have a say - will resonate. 

Utd fans deserve to know what the greatest football manager of all time thinks. They know he was happy enough working for the Glazers when he was manager, but what about now that he’s just a fan? Just a fan - not quite, but you know what I mean. 

I can’t believe that Fergie doesn’t think it’s time for the Glazers to go. Look - I know it’s their club and I’ve always argued that an owner can do as he or she pleases while that’s the case, but the current stand-off can’t be allowed to go on.

The last year has been a total waste of time at Utd. They’re no longer a ‘go to’ destination for top players. Whilst the Glazers have been messing about chasing a greedy deal, so many other clubs have left Utd in the blocks when it comes to growth.

Even Brighton are running rings round them in the transfer market. Everyone is. Look at Chelsea. Liverpool have replaced the Fab Four and some. Newcastle, Spurs. Arsenal - they’re all doing business that’s way better than Utd’s.   

It’s not entirely fair to say that the Glazers haven’t found money for ten Hag and I guess there’s an argument that he’s the one that’s spunked fortunes on bang average players, but the uncertainty can’t help when Utd are trying to attract big names.

There has to be a resolution to the ownership issue. Fergie can help. If he believes Utd are in good hands - say it. If not - tell the Glazers it’s time to go and do it publicly.

There’s not a lot more I can say about what’s happening on the pitch. You know my feelings. The capitulation at Arsenal means that they’ve now picked up only one point from a possible 30 on the road against last season’s top nine. That’s a damning stat.

There’s no question that Arsenal looked more solid with Gabriel back in the side. I hope Arteta has learned his lesson - he’s too clever by half sometimes. All that nonsense last week about flat tyres, the M25 and 43 different formations during the game v City. It was ridiculous. 

Spurs purred at Burnley. How Postecoglu must be regretting sending a reserve team out to play against Fulham in the League Cup. When you’ve had so many barren years without a trophy it’s a scandal to toss off a chance to win one. So few PL teams take the competition seriously and we know why, but it’s almost a gimme if you do. 

He got away with it because the League form has been so good, but I’d be furious if I was Daniel Levy. It was a poor call by Postecoglu. 

Newcastle is an interesting one. It’s three straight defeats now. It was 23 games before they lost three last season. So what’s happened? 

I said at the start of the season that I fancied them for the top 6. I still do, but it struck me watching them at Brighton that if they’re not all at it - all of them nine out of ten every week, then perhaps they’re only average after all. This is a big season for Eddie Howe. 

Let’s finish with Chelsea. What is going on there? Pochettino now says he needs time to mould a team. There isn’t any time Poch. The time is NOW. Sort it out for goodness sake. 

So Levy knew what he was doing all along. And Salah is off to Saudi

It was Shreevesey who messaged me this weekend - tongue in cheek - suggesting that Daniel Levy knew what he was doing all along. 😂. I had to smile. But perhaps Levy did?

How pleased did Levy look when the tv cameras cut him up at Bournemouth? In fairness - he’s got a right to be happy. Spurs have had a great start and Ange-ball would appear to be a winner.

As regular readers know I’ve defended Levy many times. Not a popular stance I know, but I’ve always meant it. Levy has never failed to back a coach. They’ve all had money.  He’s always appointed what he believed to be the right individual. It’s true that hasn’t worked out very often, but Levy doesn’t pick teams nor send them out to play.

This time he might just have got it right and it doesn’t really matter whether it’s by luck or judgement. Spurs could have struck gold in Postacoglu. And the song is genius. Someone deserves a pat on the back for that.  

It’s early days, but it’s been a really good start. I’ve got just one observation - as good as Maddison has been in open play - his set-piece delivery has been poor. He’s got to sort that out. I’m sure he will. He’s a Cov Kid done good!

Now. Mo Salah. He’s definitely leaving Liverpool. I think we all agree on that. What we don’t know is when, but don’t be surprised if it’s this week. Or - perhaps everybody waits until the international break, but right now the deal to take him to the Saudi league is very much on.

You’ve got to understand that what we hear in our part of the world is very different to what’s being said in the U.K. We’re a whole lot closer to the source.

We were discussing what’s happening on beINSPORTS Sunday when phones started going off. Messages were being received from people bang in the middle of the deal telling us that they’d got so far as arranging a medical this week.

To be honest - I didn’t see that as significant. The Saudis would take Salah if he was on crutches recovering from an ACL, but it did tell me that there’s oxygen in the story, despite Klopp’s denials. And I’m not saying Klopp is lying - perhaps he doesn’t actually know again? It’s not too long since he announced Liverpool had signed Caicedo is it - and we all know what happened next.

If I’m Liverpool I’m selling. Who’d have thought it would be possible to get £80/£100m back on a 31-year-old whose been a wonderful servant - who’s now earning £350,000 a week, with his best days behind him. It’s madness. Take it.

Please don’t run away with the idea that I’m saying the deal is done. It isn’t. There are so many moving parts when a club is trying to get a ‘normal’ deal over the line - let alone one of this size. What we are being told may come to nothing in the short term - but if it’s not now it will eventually get done.

It’ll depend on how much Salah wants the move. Remember - he’s coming home. And what has he got to prove at Anfield? Liverpool are not even playing CL football this season, which I know is something that’s pissed him off.  

It’s difficult to read how Salah would’ve felt after the stunning win at Newcastle. Is he thinking ‘there’s life in this team yet’ or ‘that’s a nice way to bow out’.

If he leaves he’ll be earning money beyond his wildest dreams and he’ll be an Arabic poster-boy for something that the Saudi’s are clearly very serious about. It would be a massive statement on their part.

I laughed a couple of times at the line of questioning during Klopp’s press conference Friday. The indignation about the Saudi project was incredible. Not quite in these words, but this was the gist of the questioning ‘How dare a league come along and chuck money about - buying some of the best players in the world Jurgen?’ Really? You mean like the PL has done for 30 years?

No-one should underestimate what a hot bed of football the Middle East is. That’s been a big part of the problem - Brits have. Take my situation for example. I don’t sit here in exile as a lot of you would like to believe. I’m here by choice - and I love it.

I work for a far bigger broadcaster than I did in the U.K.  I have a much bigger job. Audiences are in the tens of millions not tens of thousands. We put up to 30 live games - from Spain, Germany, France as well as England - to air on any given weekend. Think about that - 30 lives games.

Clearly the Saudi’s want a piece of the action and I’m quite certain my employers have noticed. Saudi Arabia has a right to be involved in tv broadcasting - as long as their interest is legal.

Salah won’t be their last big signing. Remember - it was Saudi money behind the failed Super league. That wasn’t foiled by fans in England - it failed because PSG and Bayern said ‘no’.  

It strikes me this new league is another way into world football for them. What the end game is I have no idea - a 2030 WC bid maybe?

Only two things are certain right now - Salah will be part of the Saudi’s planning - and they are not going away.

Is it time to scrap VAR?

‘I didn’t want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I think I didn’t want to send him up because I didn’t want anymore grief than he already had’. Mike Dean.

There we have it. The prosecution rests its case. There is nowhere for the PGMOL to go. I’ve said from the time it was introduced that VAR would cause more problems than it solved - because it’s operated by humans. More simply - by refs who aren’t good enough with a whistle so what the hell makes anyone thing they’ll be better with a tv monitor in front of them? And when the drop a bollock - they try to cover it up with all sorts of lame excuses. But now this. An extraordinary admission of what we all knew - but no-one wanted to believe.

A big ‘thank-you’ to Mike Dean for at last admitting it. But make no mistake, his words mean Howard Webb has a crisis on his hands.

Let’s put some context into this. The incident Dean is referring to happens in the game between Chelsea/Spurs last season. In added time Chelsea lead 2-1.

We all see Cristian Romero pull Marc Cucurella’s hair. Everybody watching except Antony Taylor (one of our top 2 refs) and his assistants. Dean sees it in VAR.

Harry Kane scores from the corner that’s been awarded to make it 2-2. All hell let’s loose. The goal should be disallowed, the corner re-taken and Romero should be sent-off for violent conduct. Who knows what might have happened after a re-take? Kane might score again - but justice would’ve done.

‘I missed the stupid hair pull’ said Dean when talking to Simon Jordan on his Up Front podcast. No you didn’t Mike - you saw it - you’ve already admitted that. You said you didn’t want to send a Taylor to the monitor because he was a mate and he’s already had a tough game. Ffs. What? I can’t believe I’ve written that again. Seriously - let that sink in. It’s an admission of everything I’ve been saying about Stockley Park, VAR and the PGMOL.

We broadcasters rely on info provided by a matchday centre when things like that happen. On that incident we asked ‘what happened there?’ I vividly remember what we were told. ‘Pulling hair on a football pitch is not violent conduct. No further action was required’ they told us. Pulling hair is violent conduct - as they later had to admit. So were they lying to us with their original reply or trying to ‘help a mate out’? And how many more times has that happened? Is covering up errors more important than the laws of the game and the correct outcome to a match?

I knew that pulling hair was violent conduct. We’d seen Ronaldo sent-off on his CL debut for Juventus for doing exactly the same thing. He tugged away at Valencia’s Jeison Murillo and saw red. Quite right. Romero should’ve gone.

At this point I should say that I like Mike Dean. He was a tough ref - not everyone’s favourite - not mine when he had a whistle - but he gave what he saw instinctively. And that might be the key here - instinct.

And well done Mike for admitting the reasons behind your mistake - but where do the PGMOL and the matchday centre go from here?

I’ve rarely believed anything that the matchday centre has told us about decisions - much to the frustration of many of my colleagues but how can anyone ever believe a word that they say now? They’ve got a real credibility problem.

It’s human instinct to try to protect a mate. Anyone that works with me will tell you that I’ve always insisted that refs look after each other. But it isn’t right.

I’ve also always argued that there is no way a junior ref would ever ask Michael Oliver (or Taylor) to go to a monitor and check a decision.

It’s happened once - but not since. Oliver was furious when he was asked to check a decision during the game between Forest and Bournemouth last September. He gave a pen when Lloyd Kelly handled. Although he was asked to review it Oliver stuck with his decision and later let everyone know how annoyed he was about being asked to check it. He thought he’d been undermined.

Oliver might not like being questioned - but if a review leads to the correct decision why not check it? But junior refs are scared of him so they tend not to go down that route.

So my point is that all the technology in the world is useless if it still requires human input. If somehow we could align VAR with AI we might get somewhere.

Refs have had a terrible time this season. They’ve made a shocking start. Howard Webb has had long enough to have had a positive impact - but I’m afraid they hasn’t happened.

He told us all the guys had had four days extra training in VAR so mistakes would be eradicated. Don’t make me laugh. It’s arguably worse. And why is that? One reason is because this group aren’t good enough. Nowhere near good enough - with a whistle or in the bunker. I remind you that we were the only European league that didn’t have VAR reps at the Qatar WC.

It’s no secret that I don’t like VAR - but I’ve learned to accept it because I couldn’t see the system being junked. Too much money has been spent to allow that to happen. And too many egos would be bruised if it did. Its advocates promised it would deliver a brand new world. Well it hasn’t.

But, following Dean’s admission, is it time to get rid of it? Has it delivered what we were promised? Has it stopped arguments? Do we get decisions correct now? No. No. And no would be my answers. So what’s the point of it?

I’m good with the CL off-side technology that was trialed at the WC. It works. It’s quick and there’s no arguments. In the PL we’re still messing about with lines? Why? It’s nonsense when a better system is available.

Technology works as long as humans aren’t involved - making decisions to protect their mates or simply getting it wrong and then relying on the matchday centre to dig them out of a hole.

I wish Mike all the luck in the world with his new tv career - but I think he’s now got a credibility problem. Sky have for a big call to make.