Arsenal the best in Europe?

24:35And I'm not suggesting we're at that stage. Well, no, but they're definitely struggling. There's no, I mean, if we go into the new year and they're sitting 14th in the league or something like that, of course he's going to be under pressure to save his job because more questions will be asked. But the one thing, certainly with Liverpool, and there are other clubs like it, but some clubs are very reactive. Liverpool historically haven't tended to be a reactive club. They've generally given their managers a bit of time to try and address the situation. And if a manager can't address it, like Roy Hodgson or Brendan Rodgers or whoever it was, eventually they'll fire him.

25:12So I think he's got a fair amount of time left, but somehow he has to be able to turn this ship around because it's sinking fast. I feel this conversation will continue on tomorrow's show over some Thanksgiving dinner. Craig Burley in attendance, Robbo as well for you. Be sure to check it out. Of course, Europa League. And the Europa Conference. And the Europa Conference. Lots of big games. Big games. No highlights. No highlights. Grab a cotton candy five hour energy shot and get in on the sweet life. You get the classic throwback cotton candy flavor, but with zero sugar and a five hour energy boost.

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26:37Kylian Mbappe stole the show for Real Madrid as they beat Olympiacos by four goals to three, the Frenchman getting every single goal. Jürgen, let's ask you a simple one to start with, shall we? Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe, which one are you taking at the moment?

26:54Well, I'm pleased for every striker when he gets his goals, but I always say Kylian Today that was fun to watch and he enjoyed himself. I mean, obviously we talk, we fans, we talk about Real Madrid, you know, all the time. And we always wonder, you know, how does, you know, Xabi Alonso fix all these issues with Nisu Jr., with Mbappé, with all the other things. You know, how to put the right players in the right spot. And it's all like we discussed about Liverpool before. It's man management. It's how to get the best out of the players and hopefully they fit the best the way they were brought in.

27:30And at least today, you know, Mbappé had his moments and is going home with another ball. Just in case this gets clipped off and Jan Vjortov sees it, I'm going to say Mbappé. Send it to Norway. Well, he'll see it. I'll tell you who wasn't knocking on Alonso's door asking why he wasn't playing. It's Fran Garcia. Yeah, that was crazy. And of course, that sparked a lot of debate, Jürgen, in Spain about this relationship between Vinicius Junior and Xabi Alonso. Very different, obviously, managing Bayer Leverkusen to coming in to manage Real Madrid. Have these big stars, big contract talk, of course, very much under the spotlight.

28:12How do you deal with big names like that as a manager?

28:18Well, it's very delicate. It's difficult. It's difficult for every manager when you have superstars in your roster and they have their own egos and they're all alpha animals and you have to hopefully manage them or guide them the right way. You have to build a relationship and you have to spend time on that relationship. It's not easy and it can make or break you. It's as simple as that. For you as a manager, you have the responsibility to choose the right captain that is on your side that cleans up a lot of the issues in the locker room. Hopefully you choose the right one, but you have no guarantee before that.

28:58So before you don't go into that club, which Javier Alonso goes into, even if he knows the club, but you go into that locker room, you have no real deep understanding of how all the characters function, how they're getting along with each other, what are the little jealousy issues, what are the groups of your players. And then it's a learning curve. It's a big learning curve. Within a couple of weeks, months, you figure out, OK, these guys hang out together. These guys hang out together. I got them all hopefully on board. And then when maybe you lose a couple of games and the media play their part then into it and throw out some speculations and issues and arguments, then you find yourself as a manager in a spot that is very, very difficult to handle.

29:44It just shows you, doesn't it, that you've got, we talk tactics, we talk about individual brilliance. It's also about team spirit and the group getting on and man management. You know, they're the things you can't see. You only see what happens on the field. But that's such an important and vital role for the manager to get right. And, of course, there was this story in the last few days that Alex Kirkland was on the show suggesting that, well, the rumour was that the players, whether it's true or not, I'd already started to turn against Xabi Alonso. I mean, you always sort of hear these things, particularly when, well, not always, but you generally hear these things when results are going against you.

30:22The problem is, and Jürgen was talking about you're figuring your dressing room out, you're figuring the dynamic about players, but at Real Madrid, you have to figure it quicker. Don't you? El Presidente, as Stevie likes to call him. I saw that. And you just don't get that time at Real Madrid. and so you've got to make those decisions quicker and he has made some big decisions, some positive ones since he's gone in there but the ones that he made at the weekend in particular were head-scratching. That team selection away at Elche, which was a tough game and they got outplayed and had he lost this one tonight, which they didn't, he'd have been under more pressure.

31:01But yeah, it's difficult, particularly with the dynamics and the player power at clubs like Real Madrid. That's the difficult part. Yeah, Jürgen, how difficult is that to deal with where you're almost second guessing yourself as a coach, knowing that, for example, dropping Vinicius Jr. in a game that eventually you'll draw, you know the scrutiny is going to be so intense from the media, from the fans and from the board. It's very difficult because obviously you hope to have a positive relationship with every single player, which is pretty much not possible because there are 25, 26 players and 11 only play.

31:35So you have to make some uncomfortable decisions every game. And so you don't have only friends. It's more the friends that play in starting XI than the guys that sit on the bench. This is the one part. The other part is that you've got to really figure out quickly what are the dynamics within the club, the media, your president, as you mentioned, the president or the board, and how protected are you really with your philosophy. So Xavi Alonso, obviously, he presented a high pressure, a very aggressive, attacking-minded football in Leverkusen. Everybody bought in. Everybody worked against the ball as hard as they could.

32:17And there was no doubt about it that they kind of run their socks off. Now, this is not the football of Real Madrid. Real Madrid has these superstars and they want to play their way. They don't want to run after the ball all the time. They want to have the ball all the time. And then play with the ball. So this transition is a very difficult one because obviously he has to adapt to the way how things work at Real Madrid and how those players basically function in their own characteristics. At the same time, he wants to keep also a little bit of his own identity, meaning that was his brand or his way of playing it the two seasons before with Bayer Leverkusen very, very successfully.

33:00And this has to mold. But, you know, as Greg and Stuart say, for molding things together in a club like Real Madrid, you have no time. You have simply no time. You know, you've got to deliver results right away. You've got to be on top of the table in Spain. You've got to be on top with the other five, six, seven big teams in Europe in the Champions League. Otherwise, you know, it's going to be a daily nightmare in the media and there are question marks all over the place. Well, he's saving grace at the moment, I suppose, in some senses. It's Mbappe, isn't it? Yep. You know, his numbers, his performances, that's at least given him a chance.

33:37And Barca are stumbling as well. The fact you're still top of the table, I think obviously gives you a little bit of grace, doesn't it? If Barca were firing on all the same. Yeah, you're not looking at Barca and going, well, they're going to be a tough nutty crack and they're going to win 12 games on the bounce because they've got their issues as well, clearly, defensively. So, yeah, listen, there's nothing Xabi Alonso... I mean, I'm not talking about the dressing room, but there's nothing about the job in terms of the pressure he won't have known before he took it. Maybe he's been surprised by some things in the dressing room and the dynamics.

34:09And, of course, it's not all his doing, because Vinicius Jr., you know, he's played a difficult character in the last, what, 12 months? Him and Ancelotti, obviously. You know, he wound up Ancelotti so much that Ancelotti was like, if you don't start working hard on the pitch here, I'm going to take you off. And when you're having to tell your star players to basically start running about, that's an issue. So he's a game-changer, but he can be a really difficult character. And he's not getting it his own way with Real Madrid because he's not getting the money that he wants at this moment in time.

34:37And he's playing his cards, and Xabi Alonso is trying to play... Xabi Alonso had a totally different job at Bayer Leverkusen because he took over when they were, I think, fourth bottom. So he had players that weren't playing particularly well, a team that wasn't doing very well, a crowd that weren't that expectant. So when he starts to get results, the players believe in this. This is, oh, whatever we're doing is great. and they believed in it, they followed everything he did. He's gone to a club with excellent players and now he's got to try and mould them into a team. And he's not really done the things he did at Bayer Leverkusen.

35:06We thought he was going to play with the three at the weekend with the players that were available, which he always seemed to do at Bayer Leverkusen. Still didn't go with it. He went, Frank Garcia left wing. So strange. And we mentioned, of course, Barcelona's struggles. It was a low, certainly, of the season, wasn't it? That defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and the manner of it, the front page of ASS going with Nightmare. Meanwhile, unrecognisable. Another front page that we saw across the board in Mundo Deportivo. Jürgen, you've been with us before. You've said you and Hansi Flick, you've got a lot of admiration for him.

35:37He doesn't seem to be able to fix this Barcelona defence at the moment. We're all sat here going, why does he keep going with this high line? Why doesn't he change things? Because he's given every single team that he plays a chance. Yeah, he loves to give the other teams chances. because he always thinks that he scores more than the opponents anyway. So he wants to end up with 5-4, 6-5 results, you know, playing handball. But, yeah, but it's a little bit the same discussion also with Xabi. Xabi has his philosophy and Hansi Flick has also his philosophy. Now he's trying to kind of get that together at a club, at Barcelona, a massive club as well, like Real Madrid, and hopefully he finds the perfect formula for it.

36:23But it is risky. It is risky. And we coaches discuss that often and say, why do you put that line so high? You know, like Bayern Munich today at the third goal that they conceded with Arsenal. Why are you playing so deep into the opponent's half? But Hans is convinced that sooner or later it will click and they will avoid more goals. And until that's not the case, then he's convinced that they score more goals than they concede. But it is highly risky. Absolutely. I agree with you. But when they did it last year, it was risky, but they did it... Can they 7 or 8 out of 10? They did it pretty well.

37:04Yes. There were exceptions in there, obviously. You can look at some of the games and think, well, why are these teams not getting runners from deep? But they came out... Their unit was... It was a pretty straight back line coming out. It came out in unison and it worked well. So you could say it was 7 or 8 out of 10, certainly, in domestic football in Spain. This year, they've tried the same thing, and at most, you're going to give it a 2 or a 3. Because it's been all over the place. You've got centre-halves coming out and full-backs then deeper. They're rushing out at the wrong time. They're rushing out on the halfway line when teams are literally on the halfway line.

37:38And it's been hard to watch. Sometimes you watch a game coming in from Spain, and you're like, did I just see that? Is this the defending champion? The Celta Viga game that Robbo did, in particular, the one-two and the halfway line in the first half, was just, Stevie just walked in at that point and went, that's comedy capers. There you are. Keystone Cops was his words. Keystone Cops. Hey, listen, they're not out of the title race anyway. Robbo, by the way, is on his travels yet again this weekend because you're going to Real Madrid against Girona. No, I'm not going to that one. I'm doing the Sevilla-Bettis game.

38:14Oh, I thought you were going to the game. No, Darkie and McArigan doing that one. Oh, I apologise. And then going to Barcelona and Bilbao. Well, I would imagine you're really looking forward to this. I mean, Hank, Robert. Barcelona and Bilbao next week. Any German trips? Yes, there's a German trip before Christmas, I think. Wow, your missus must be loving it. Yes, she probably is. I've met you. She wants on telly and all the songs now. La Liga then, live this weekend across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Lays is an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Lays is also the official sponsor of all Bandwagon fans.

38:49That's right. This summer, Lays is inviting everyone to jump on the bandwagon because win or lose, what's important is keeping the party going. Bandwagon fans can have more fun. So grab a bag of Lays, gather some friends, and keep the party rolling all summer long. Buster Olney here for La Quinta by Wyndham. When you're on the road this summer traveling for work, your routine can fall behind faster than a 3-0 count, especially if your hotel gym is non-existent. But at La Quinta by Wyndham, every location features a full-size, fully-equipped fitness center. So whether it's cardio, weights, or a quick workout before a long day, you can stay on top of your game.

39:28No excuses, no shortcuts, just your full routine, ready when you are. And when you book at LaQuinta.com, you can earn Wyndham Rewards points with every qualified stay. Tonight, La Quinta. Tomorrow you shine. Terms and conditions apply. Jürgen, let's ask you a simple one to start with, shall we? Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe, which one are you taking at the moment?

39:54Well, I'm pleased for every striker when he gets his goals, but obviously Kylian and Oge today, that was fun to watch, and he enjoyed himself. I mean, obviously, we talk, we fans, we talk about Real Madrid, you know, all the time. And we always wonder, you know, how does, you know, Xabi Alonso fix all these issues with Vinicius Jr., with Mbappé, with all the other things, you know, how to put the right players in the right spot. And it's all like we discussed about Liverpool before. It's man management. It's how to get the best out of the players. And hopefully they fit the best the way they were brought in.

40:30and at least today, you know, Mbappé had his moments and is going home with another ball. Just in case this gets clipped off and Jan Vjortov sees it, I'm going to say Mbappé. Send it to Norway. Well, he'll see it. I'll tell you who wasn't knocking on Alonso's door, asking why he wasn't playing. Fran Garcia. That decision at the weekend. That was crazy. And of course, that sparked a lot of debate, Jürgen, in Spain about this relationship between Vinicius Junior and Xavi Alonso. Very different, obviously, managing Bayer Leverkusen to coming in to manage Real Madrid. Have these big stars, big contract talk, of course, very much under the spotlight.

41:12How do you deal with big names like that as a manager?

41:18Well, it's very delicate. It's difficult. It's difficult for every manager, you know, when you have superstars in your roster and they have their own egos and they're all alpha animals and you have to hopefully manage them or guide them the right way. You have to build a relationship and you have to spend time on that relationship. It's not easy and it can make or break you. It's as simple as that. For you as a manager, you have the responsibility to choose the right captain that is on your side that cleans up a lot of the issues in the locker room. Hopefully, you choose the right one. but you have no guarantee before that.

41:58So before you don't go into that club, which Javier Alonso goes into, even if he knows the club, but you go into that locker room, you have no real deep understanding of how all the characters function. You know, how they're getting along with each other. What are the little jealousy issues? You know, what are the groups of your players? You know, and then it's a learning curve. It's a big learning curve. Within a couple of weeks, months, you know, you figure out, okay, these guys hang out together. These guys hang out together. You know, I got them all hopefully on board. And then when maybe you lose a couple of games and the media play their part then into it and throw out some speculations and issues and arguments, then you find yourself as a manager in a spot that is very, very difficult to handle.

42:45It just shows you, doesn't it, that you've got, we talk tactics, we talk about individual brilliance. It's also about team spirit and the group getting on and man management. You know, they're the things you can't see. You only see what happens on the field. But that's such an important and vital role for the manager to get right. And, of course, there was this story in the last few days that Alex Kirkland was on the show suggesting that, well, the rumour was that the players, whether it's true or not, had already started to tell them against Xabi Alonso. I mean, you always sort of hear these things, particularly when, well, not always, but you generally hear these things when results are going against you.

43:22the problem is, and Jürgen was talking about you're figuring your dressing room out, you're figuring the dynamic about players, but at Real Madrid you have to figure it quicker. El Presidente as Stevie likes to call him. I saw that. And you just don't get that time at Real Madrid and so you've got to make those decisions quicker and he has made some big decisions, some positive ones since he's gone in there, but the ones that he made at the weekend in particular were head-scratching. You know, that team selection away at Elche, which was a tough game when they got outplayed. And had he lost this one tonight, which they didn't, he'd have been under more pressure.

44:01But yeah, it's difficult, particularly with the dynamics and the player power at clubs like Real Madrid. That's the difficult part. Yeah, Jürgen, how difficult is that to deal with where you almost are second guessing yourself as a coach, knowing that, for example, dropping Vinicius Junior in a game that eventually you'll draw, you know the scrutiny is going to be so intense from the media, from the fans and from the board. It's very difficult because obviously you hope to have a positive relationship with every single player, which is pretty much not possible because there are 25, 26 players and 11 only play.

44:36So you have to make some uncomfortable decisions every game, you know, and so you don't have only friends. It's more the friends that play in starting 11 than the guys that sit on the bench. This is the one part. The other part is that you've got to really figure out quickly, you know, what are the dynamics within the club, you know, the media, your president, as you mentioned, the president or the board, you know, and how protected are you really with your philosophy? So Xavi Alonso, obviously, he presented a high pressure, a very aggressive, attacking-minded football in Leverkusen, and everybody bought in.

45:14Everybody worked against the ball. as hard as they could and there was no doubt about it that they kind of run their socks off. Now this is not the football of Real Madrid. Real Madrid you know has these superstars and they want to play their way. They don't want to run after the ball all the time they want to have the ball all the time and then play with the ball. So this transition is a very difficult one because obviously he has to adapt to the way how things work at Real Madrid and how those players basically function in their own characteristics. At the same time, he wants to keep also a little bit of his own identity, meaning that was his brand or his way of playing it the two seasons before with Bayer Leverkusen very, very successfully.

46:01And this has to mold. But, you know, as Greg and Stuart say, for molding things together in a club like Real Madrid, you don't have no time. You have simply no time. You know, you've got to deliver results right away. You've got to be on top of the table in Spain. You've got to be on top with the other five, six, seven big teams in Europe in the Champions League. Otherwise, you know, it's going to be a daily nightmare in the media and in their question marks all over the place. Well, he's saving grace at the moment, I suppose, in some senses, as Mbappe, isn't it? Yep. You know, his numbers, his performances, that's at least given him a chance.

46:38And Barca are stumbling as well. The fact you're still top of the table, I think, obviously gives you a little bit of grace, doesn't it? if Barca were firing on all the same. Yeah, you're not looking at Barca and going, well, they're going to be a tough nutty crack and they're going to win 12 games on the bounce because they've got their issues as well, clearly, defensively. So, yeah, listen, there's nothing Xabi Alonso... I mean, I'm not talking about the dressing room, but there's nothing about the job in terms of the pressure he won't have known before he took it. Maybe he's been surprised by some things in the dressing room and the dynamics, and, of course, it's not all his doing because Vinicius Jr.

47:12has played a difficult character in the last 12 months. Him and Ancelotti, obviously. He wound up Ancelotti so much that Ancelotti was like, if you don't start working hard on the pitch here, I'm going to take you off. And when you're having to tell your star players to basically start running about, that's an issue. So he's a game changer, but he can be a really difficult character. And he's not getting it his own way with Real Madrid because he's not getting the money that he wants at this moment in time. and he's playing his cards and Xabi Alonso is trying to play Xabi. Xabi Alonso had a totally different job at Bayer Leverkusen because he took over when they were, I think, fourth bottom.

47:47So he had players that weren't playing particularly well, a team that wasn't doing very well, a crowd that weren't that expectant. So when he starts to get results, the players believe in this. This is, oh, whatever we're doing is great. And they believed in it. They followed everything he did. He's gone to a club with excellent players and now he's got to try and mould them into a team. And he's not really done the things he did at Bayer Leverkusen. We thought he was going to play with the three at the weekend with the players that were available, which he always seemed to do at Bayer Leverkusen.

48:11Still didn't go with it. He went, Frank Garcia left wing. So strange. And we mentioned, of course, Barcelona's struggles. It was low, certainly, of the season, wasn't it? That defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. And the manner of it, the front page of As going with nightmare. Meanwhile, unrecognisable. Another front page that we saw across the board in Mundo Deportivo. Jürgen, you've been with us before. You've said you and Hansi Flick. You've got a lot of admiration for him. He doesn't seem to be able to fix this Barcelona defence at the moment. We're all sat here going, why does he keep going with this high line?

48:45Why doesn't he change things? Because he's given every single team that he plays a chance. Yeah, he loves to give the other teams chances because he always thinks that he scores more than the opponents anyway. So he wants to end up with 5-4, 6-5 results, you know, playing handball. But it's a little bit the same discussion also with Xabi. Xabi has his philosophy and Hansi Flick has also his philosophy. Now he's trying to kind of get that together at a club, at Barcelona, a massive club as well, like Real Madrid. And hopefully he finds the perfect formula for it. But it is risky. It is risky. And we coaches discuss that often and say, why do you put that line so high?

49:32like Bayern Munich today at the third goal that they conceded with Arsenal. Why are you playing so deep into the opponent's half? But Hans is convinced that sooner or later it will click and they will avoid more goals and until that's not the case, then he's convinced that they score more goals than they concede. But it is highly risky. Absolutely. I agree with you. When they did it last year, it was risky, but they did it can they 7 or 8 out of 10? Because they did it pretty well. Yes. There were exceptions into, obviously... You can look at some of the games and think, well, why are these teams not getting runners from deep?

50:12But they came out, their unit was, it was a pretty straight back line coming out. It came out in unison and it worked well. So you could say it was 7 or 8 out of 10, certainly, in domestic football in Spain. This year, they've tried the same thing, and at most, you're going to give it a 2 or a 3. Because it's been all over the place. You've got centre-halves coming out and full-backs then deeper. They're rushing out at the wrong time. They're rushing out on the halfway line when teams are literally on the halfway line. And it's been hard to watch. I mean, sometimes you watch a game coming in from Spain and you're like, did I just see that?

50:49Is this the defending champion? The Celta Viga game that Robbo did in particular, the 1-2 in the halfway line in the first half, Stevie just walked in at that point and went, that's comedy capers. Keystone Cops was his words Keystone Cops Hey listen, they're not out of the title race anyway Robbo by the way is on his travels yet again this weekend because you're going to Real Madrid against Girona No I'm not going to that one I'm doing the Sevilla-Betis game Oh I thought you were going to the game No Darkie and McArig are doing that one I'm then going to Barcelona and Bilbao I would imagine you're really looking forward to Sevilla I mean heck Robbo Barcelona and Bilbao next week Any German trips?

51:27Yes, there's a German trip before Christmas, I think. Wow, your missus must be loving it. Yes, she probably is. I bet she is. She wants on telly and all sorts now. La Liga then, live this weekend across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Eight goals in total in the French capital PSG, beating Spurs by five goals to three. Spurs will actually take the lead in the game. Vettinia, though, the star of the show for the defending Champions League winners, he would get a hat-trick as they'd win 5-3. This speaks with former Spurs players, shall we? Jürgen still with us. Jürgen, where do you want to start on this?

52:06Well, I think it was a highly entertaining game, obviously eight goals, and it was a good game. It was from both sides a good game. I think Spurs, the first half, looked sharp. They looked like they believed, actually, in winning in Paris that match. They played well, they were supported well up front. I mean, Richarlison and Colomarie had both a really good game and they were supported by the midfield in many occasions in a good way. They pressured high in many occasions in the first half. So it looked good. It looked strong. And then I think, you know, Paris Saint-Germain took it up another level in the second half and especially Bittinia.

52:44Bittinia controlled the midfield and he was the decision maker all over the place and, yeah, made the difference. I mean, it is the European champions who finished the season with Summer Plum last year, just blowing everybody away. They haven't quite been that side this year. They're still missing one or two players. Yeah, they've been missing some players and they were missing some players again today. And you just feel Luis Enrique's team just build up to it. And in some sense, maybe Bayern will be the same after that defeat to Arsenal. When it gets to the knockout stages, that's when you really see these clubs coming to the fore.

53:21but from Tottenham's perspective, he's searching for answers to what's his best combination. He's been criticised for going the opposite way too far from Posta Koglu. They've been very defensive. Their away record up until the weekend at the North London Derby, their away record was excellent because they were defensively strong. But he struggled to find a balance between having that defensive stability, Thomas Frank, that is, and utilising their better, more flair players going forward. I think we saw a little bit more of that tonight, as Jürgen said, away from home. Because apart from the Richarlison goal at the weekend from the Zuby-Mendy mistake, they offered literally nothing going forward.

54:05At least in Paris tonight, they've scored three, it was competitive, and they had a chance of winning this game. That's a small, crummy comfort, I think, for Thomas Frank. When you're a new manager, you've got to also win over the home fans. And they've had two or three really poor performances at home. Bournemouth, where they were completely outplayed and so open. And against Chelsea, because that's a big game for Tottenham, the game against Chelsea. And Chelsea completely outplayed them. So there's one or two games at home where the crowd have booed and they've gone to the manager a bit. They're the dangerous games for Thomas Frank, those ones at home.

54:35What have you made of Thomas Frank's tenure so far in charge of Spurs, Jürgen? No, positive. I think he's trying to find the right formula. He's trying to find the right path. And he's open to it. He's open to change his ideas and melt them into the identity of the club. And the club's identity of Spurs is attacking-minded football. That is what Spurs is about. The Spurs fans, they want spectacle. They want goals. They don't want to defend too much. You know, they'd rather win 4-3, a little bit Hansi Flick philosophy. feet. And I think he's trying to find his own path in that process. And obviously, we have a couple of negative results now.

55:19But what I saw today was actually promising. I saw today a team that was willing to pressure the opponent high up the field. I think they struggled a bit more when they actually defended too deep. Because when they defend too deep and we have eight, nine players around your box or even in the box, then nobody is responsible anymore for stepping up and blocking a shot because everybody thinks, OK, we have so many players behind the ball, the ball will not come through. And that's wrong. Yeah, it's wrong thinking. And but I think so far, you know, he's working hard on finding that the right path and the best way to to melt himself with the club's identity and the club's philosophy.

56:03and I hope for him that it works out. Good man, Jürgen. Thank you very much. Big Thanksgiving plans tomorrow in the Klinsman household? No, all easy here in California, as long as the sun shines. All good. Yeah, all good life, yeah. Struggling. What a life. What a life, yeah. Hey, we'll start with Robbo in the double tree. Yeah, we'll be here tomorrow. Thank you very much, Jürgen. Much appreciated. Just a reminder, plenty of reactions to what we've seen in the Champions League over on our YouTube channel. and be sure to subscribe to ESPN FC. What have I done to deserve this? That is it. I can hear the Extra Time questions.

56:37What with the Europa League tomorrow? I'm going to shame I'm off tomorrow. Be sure to stay tuned. Robbo and Craig are answering your questions next.

56:50Welcome in then to the latest edition of Extra Time. Robbo's here. How are you, Robbo? How's your trip so far? It's very good. I've enjoyed it. Thurry, seeing you in good health. Yeah, I know. We're doing well, aren't we? Nice white eyes. Thank you very much. It's the first thing you looked at when you came over. Mind you. Right, let me see your eyes. There we are. As you said to him earlier, I'm not sure why his illness means he can't shave. Well, it's not coming on. He's got a little bit of leeway. I mean, I'm not unshaving myself. Yeah, but... There you are. Sorry, Robbo. And I'm wearing sweatpants, which you weren't happy with.

57:17Oh, I wasn't happy with that. Your standards are gone. Completely gone. Hold on. He never had any standards. I saw his wardrobe upstairs. He's got a lovely little wardrobe upstairs. It was crazy you were sniffing around in. I was sniffing around in. It was open. The door opened. He was, he was having a little look. There's some nice jackets. Hanging about the ladies' toilets again, is he? That's from yesterday, by the way, not... You didn't have a little look in Stevie's closet, did you? Has he got a closet? Yes. He's got some lovely jackets in there. Stevie was telling me he's bought three pairs of the same shoes because they're so comfortable.

57:50What, different colours or just the same? Exactly the same thing. So, yeah, so when one runs out... Oh, he's got the other thing. He's got another one ready to go. So, can Stevie FaceTime in? It's the first question, obviously, to reflect on Liverpool's defeat. I wonder if he managed to walk back. I know the answer to that. He's probably travelling. No, he's there because he drove down yesterday. He's in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving with 46 other people. That's a lot. All family? Yes, I believe so. It's been a big house. But the in-laws and things. Craig, do you potentially see Arsenal winning it all this season?

58:22They have no weaknesses, have the squad depth, etc. This person is concerned if it's a good question or not after your breakdown yesterday about the Estevelle. I watched it out. They were trying to wind me up and they succeeded. But his initial reaction isn't sort of discussed, is it? So I think he's going to answer this question. No, no, I was in need of a good rant yesterday and that question. Well, save something for tomorrow. I'm excited about tomorrow's show.

58:52When it all... I mean, what's that? But, you know. So can I suppose they do the double? Can they do the Champions League and the Premier League? Well, they can. Well, that's not all, is it? FA Cup? Oh, shut up, Robbo. You know what I mean. You've got to talk about the... They can. They can, but I think it's unlikely. Right. And I honestly think... Likelier they'll win the Premier League, yeah? Yes. I honestly think for them, as important as the Champions League is for people, that it's been so long, the Premier League, for them, and they've been so close in the last two or three years, that that really...

59:20Yeah, but they've never won the Champions League. what a statement that is you want to be top of your I asked Makalas a year or two ago about Real Madrid and he said first and foremost La Liga bread and butter and I think that for Arsenal but if you can be part of an Arsenal team that's achieved something the club has never done well they could do both but of all the other teams who's actually Bayern Munich are the closest to them at the moment But PSG have had some bad results as well. Yeah, but PSG have got that experience, as we're saying. They can work through the gears. They were so good last season.

59:59We're talking about three teams that are possible winners, because Real Madrid at the moment, apart from Mbappe, are not playing well. We've talked about Barcelona being way too open. They're going to have bad days. Inter haven't got enough, I don't think, going forward to be a... Well, Inter lost today. Yeah, they lost today, and they lost at the weekend against Milan, I know in the league. But I don't think they're going to be challenging for it. So, Arsenal have got every chance of doing the double. I mean, it's not a bad question. I wouldn't say it's a good question. It's not a bad question.

1:00:25Robbo, have the Liverpool players gone out to get slots sacked? Or is it just that they've lost their mojo after the tragedy that befell their teammate? Well, I can't answer that one. But what I can answer is that they have lost their confidence completely. And they might have lost their confidence in the manager's tactics. But they've lost their own confidence. And when you lose confidence, it takes you an extra second to think. You don't play naturally. And that's what's happening to the likes of Van Dijk because he's not seeing the danger and people are running beyond him. Canate now, when he's making interceptions, he's worried he's going to make a mistake like he did tonight.

1:00:59The midfield players aren't sure whether to press the ball or drop off. So they're getting played around. Once again, anonymous. Anonymous. And that was always the danger when everyone said, you've just got to give him what he wants. But remember, he's another year older. And one of his main attributes is his pace. If he loses that half a yard of pace, he isn't the same player. You're not one to give credit easily, Robbo. Yes. But can you give Arteta some credit for the way he's handling his substitutes? Yes. I mean, he's got a much bigger squad and better squad, so he can handle his substitutes a lot better.

1:01:27He can pick and choose the right time to play and rest players. You know, we've seen Declan Wright's been rested on occasion. He's, you know, an outstanding player. Califiori's been excellent, but didn't play today. And Luis Skelly, I think, struggled at times against Elyse tonight, but he came on at the right time, created the goal. So yeah, Arteta, I don't like some of his antics on the side of the pitch, but in terms of his team, his tactics at the moment and the way he's got the stadium rocking, he's done a great job. Rocking. Rocking. Craig, when will it be time for Angeball at Liverpool?

1:02:00I think his race is run. Obviously, if this continues, we're going to have a conversation about Slott's future. I think in the new year. But then who would that be? Who would that person... I don't think Liverpool... We talked about this on the live show. Liverpool haven't generally been a reactive club, so I don't think we'll be talking about it very soon.

1:02:22But there has to be a reaction, doesn't there? If you lose seven out of eight games in the league, whatever it is, six out of seven. Let's say Slop quits tomorrow, who do you bring in? Us. Whoever's... You've got to find someone who's available first. It's a difficult... Come on. There isn't this as your... No, I'll tell you what. The old names will rise back up again. Well, Klopp will rise up, inevitably. Steven Gerrard. But I don't think they'll do it. But I'm just saying that it'll be, you know, some former players. Klopp's name will be back in the ring. But he left because he was drained of that day-to-day running of the club.

1:02:54Eight years or whatever it was, nine years, which is a lot. So I think that is unlikely. What about Steven Nicol? Well, I'm up for that. That would be the best. I mean, I can see him stood in the touchline there with that green shirt on. With his big shoes. Green sign, big black shoes. First pair pair, just in case those weren't. Can you imagine when a goal goes in here? That wasn't the idea. What am I going to do now? Face like a tomato, getting redder by the second. Getting angry, losing it with journalists. Chouting at Kirikiz, getting it all wrong, and Slabozlai. And what would he call the goalkeeper?

1:03:26Kamadavili. Who? He'd love to be a fly on the wall. Right, you, Slabozlai. Who's that? For CB, please help us understand why Celtic fans think they're an elite club. They're getting a great new manager and somehow supporters think they are way above him. What's this story?

1:03:48Well, the story is, not that I'm following it, but our colleague Jeff Carlyle messaged me a week or two ago saying that Celtic were going to be getting Wilfred Nancy from one of the MLS clubs. French manager who apparently has done very well and Celtic have sort of headhunted him so that has either happened or it looks like it's going to happen I don't know the back story to the fans I don't know if the fans are in uproar about it or what, I don't know I don't know what the reaction has been to this news so I can't really answer that but I can tell you that Celtic and Rangers fans always feel that they should be getting the creme de la creme I mean, the truth we know in these days is that...

1:04:33Right. It's, you know, you're not... They're not spending enough money to bring in the top managers. And so, yeah, they're looking at people who... I mean, Brent... I was surprised Brendan Rodgers went back there. But anyway, they've gone for this French fella. But fans are fickle anyway. All he needs to do is get a few results. And they'll be on his side. But trust me, going to Scotland, they're a hard crowd to please. Very hard crowd to please. Not that I'm not interested, but we go back to a previous one. Irreola, if Liverpool sack their manager. Oh, you think so? Irreola would be a good show.

1:05:03Yeah, definitely. And if they wait long enough, Xavi Alonso will probably get the sack at Real Madrid and he can go to Liverpool. There, there's two names. Only took ten minutes. Well done, Robbo. Took me a little time. I wonder why you were quiet. I was having a little think about that. Final question, Robbo. Which of your fellow panellists gets to be the lucky duck to host you for Thanksgiving, Dan or Crane? None. I invited you and you can't do it. I blanked you, yeah. I've got somebody higher up the chain to go to. That's parody. That's not difficult. No, not difficult. I went to your Thanksgiving...

1:05:33You've been to a few Thanksgiving, haven't you? No, only one. Oh, OK. A few years ago. I upset your son. Yeah, you... And you had just had a dog, hadn't you? If I remember rightly. I just had a dog. And you got a picture of a dog. What do you mean he gave birth to a dog? Yeah, I think he did. It's just strange. It was a small difference. I put you off the Thanksgiving dinner. It was a nice Thanksgiving dinner. You only come... I can't remember, but is this a normal time of the year? No, it's only the second time I've come on Thanksgiving. There we go. What are you doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow?

1:06:00Not a lot. You'll have a dinner, though, won't you? I'm getting my head done. Maybe a dinner at the Burley household? Well, there might be dinner, whether I'm getting it. So, will you have it at lunchtime? Will you have it in the evening? When do you have the Thanksgiving dinner? I'll tell you tomorrow. OK. When do you have the dinner, then? We'll have it in the afternoon. If you want to come in, we won't wait. We'll just do it in the afternoon now. Get it out of the way. All right. All right? Yeah. Good. Big day tomorrow, Rob. We'll get an early night tonight. Conference. Yep. What big games are you looking forward to tomorrow?

1:06:27Shamrock Rovers. I've always been a fan of this. They're playing Shakhtar Dinesk. Yeah, they are. Very honest. Perfect. I'm looking forward to Luzana playing. Yep. Thank you very much, Craig. ESPN FC then back. Celtic are playing Firenode. Oh, that's a good game. There's a connection there. The former Celtic manager, the late Vim Jansen, was a big star at Firenode back in the day. That would have been a massive game many, many years ago, wouldn't it? I'm saying nothing. OK, well, there we go. Why is there no music playing? I've got music. I've got music as well. I've switched it. Join us then.

1:06:59Thanksgiving special tomorrow. Ian Dark is here, as is Frank LePoeuf. Ah, even better.

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