Florentino Pérez Announces José Mourinho

22:05Don Hutchison:You want to see your team work hard, run as hard as you can. They've got enough skillful players, but at least you can latch on to the footballers and the coach being 100%. So for Liverpool, it feels like a really good fit. OK, we were talking yesterday, Don, with the panel here about the positions that he'll need to reinforce for next season. Which are the areas of concern for you?

22:29Don Hutchison:well centre back Canate's leaving I think that's a must I think a holding midfield player I mean there's talk of Gakpo putting a transfer request in today if that's true so you can't rely on Ngamoua who's a teenager it needs a bit of surgery it needs squad investment these players and normally I'm on here Cain I normally say like squad depth and that means players on the bench I think Liverpool now need reinforcements in their starting XI. And they need a bit of muscle. They need to find a bit of muscle. Because Liverpool last year, watching them, and Stevie would agree, watching Liverpool last year, they were weak.

23:10Don Hutchison:They had nothing about them in midfield. There was no one who put a foot in. There was no spite. They were easy to play against. So I think when you look at positions, it might be a right winger, obviously, because Salah's gone. So Diamande's the big link. Holder midfield player with muscle. and a centre-back. Right-back. Unfortunately, Frimpong's never a right-back in a month of Sundays. I suppose Kirchhoff might get another opportunity to go again. But if it's becoming obvious early on, it's still not changing. They'll have to think about that. Probably will have to wait till Christmas unless they do so in the summer.

23:46So there's quite a few positions that they're going to have to beef up on. And that means spending a few quid again. So whether FSG have that money And whether they have it within PSR To do that I don't know I suppose selling a few players I suppose they have to sell a couple of players at least

24:07Don Hutchison:But they can't They have to have the money Because they can't afford They cannot afford to sell players They're at bare bones right now as it is So they have They 100 % can't be thinking along the lines of, well, we can sell a couple of players to get some in. They have to be signing players, and then once they figure out what they've got, right, can we do something and maybe bring some money in? Because they've got bare bones, they've got no squad. Liverpool doesn't have a squad as we speak. It was quite clear as the season went on that they'd just gone to the sort of new manager, that Liverpool did not fancy, for whatever reason, Xabi Alonso.

24:49Because they wouldn't have let him go to Chelsea. So they obviously had their reservations and they wanted to go somewhere else. Now, in the end, it looked like they were going to stay with Arne Slott. But if you put the pieces together of the jigsaw with Richard Hughes, who's sporting director or whatever he is, Richard Hughes was sporting director at Bournemouth when he hired Andona Areola. So you've got to feel this has been in the workings and the background for quite a while, whilst they've had, and obviously Areola announced a fair wee while ago that he was going to be leaving at the end of the season.

25:21And listen, I think everybody was OK with that because he's moving on to bigger and better things, whether it was back in Spain or staying in England. But you just have to feel, with all the sort of gremlins in the head of Liverpool about Arne Slott, I think they wanted to give him every chance to succeed. But as it got to the end of the season, it became almost impossible. And then the Areola announcements, which I'm sure we're going to have any time soon, is actually quite a sensible one. I heard Stevie talking the other day. He's a great manager. He's got a great CV at these smaller clubs. But it is just a completely different dynamic walking into Liverpool Football Club and having to go head-to-head with Arsenal, City and all the rest of them while fighting all the fights on the European side as well.

26:11But I'm sure he's ready. But it's just a huge task. But a great opportunity for him. and I do think he'll get it probably in the next few days.

26:19Don Hutchison:Frank, what's your reaction, Iraiola, to Liverpool? Well, I think it's good news for the Reds because I was very surprised to not see Xabi Alonso going to his former club as a player, now as a coach. But I think it's very good news. Iraiola is a great coach. He knows and I'm pretty sure he knows how to make sure that Liverpool is going to go back to their best. Now we have to see how he can handle, you know, the fact that he hasn't got Robertson and Trent Alexander like they used to have as fullbacks. And it's only Kerkers and Frimpong. And how it's going to work. Not sure it's going to work. How it's going to work with Ike Tike when he's going to come back.

27:05Don Hutchison:Because he can have an issue with that if Ike Tike comes back and only plays a few games because Isaac is at front and he's a big star with the big money. and Ike Tike might want to leave if he doesn't have a time of playing. So he will have to sort out something and I agree with Don. I think they need more muscle. I think in the middle of the park, they're not strong enough in that matter. The way they used to be, it was stronger, it was more defensive, it was more hard work. So Irola will have to work almost on everything but I'm pretty sure he's going to be well, hopefully he's going to be successful.

27:46But it's the same players, isn't it? Gravenbert, McAllister, Sabozlai players that won the Premier League and were fantastic, certainly for the first seven months of that season when they did all the dirty work didn't finish the season as strongly but they were brilliant at the start of the season but Sabozlai apart the other two lost form, big time now McAllister had some injuries but they lost form, the question is as, you know, obviously Subozlai doesn't want to get shifted from pillar to post again, having to fill in all these different roles. But the other question is, can McAllister and Gravenberg get back to that form of, what would I say, when was it, a year ago or whatever it was?

28:27If they get back to that, they've got the makings of a good midfield. But then that begs the question, what do you do with a little German superstar? You know what I'm saying?

28:38Don Hutchison:where does this team finish next season if it's as it is right now they finish fifth this season it depends how that midfield plays that midfield on paper Gravenberg McAllister-Saboslai was the best midfield in England the season before for six months and then Slott started making some changes they went out of the FA Cup they lost the Carribeau Cup they went out of the Champions League but for six months or seven months it was the best midfield in England so there's no reason that can't happen again I think in hindsight in hindsight I firmly believe that Arnaud Slott let the players rest on their laurels and could not recover from it because for six months you just said it there's no question we were talking about those three being the best in Europe above PSG as well and then they win the league early and then they fall off a cliff and I think it's dead easy now to look back But if you look back, he's let them rest on the laurels.

29:40Don Hutchison:And they've never got it back. And unfortunately, that first season, there was no injuries, no problems with form. There was no problems. There was not a problem the whole year. All of a sudden, they start picking up some bad injuries. Things go against them. Then you've got Richard Hughes and his other teammates upstairs who give on a small squad. and so the fact that Don's talking about 34 teams out and Liverpool Alan Slott was talking in the middle of the season about how I've got to keep throwing the same guys out I've got to keep chucking out the same 11 and so that means that in training you can't train properly so there's no question it's a broom somebody needs to come in with a broom and the fact that they've changed the manager is number one the greatest thing they've done because that fresh face, fresh ideas will, everybody's ears will prick up.

30:35Don Hutchison:But they've got to add players. They need players. And Richard Hughes, it's great that Richard Hughes and Ariella have worked together. And so he'll have a good idea of the people that will suit Ariella. But they need to get doing it now. They need to start working now and they need to start building that squad up so that physically in particular, you know, Frank was talking about it. Everybody walked through Liverpool last season. It was unbelievable the way they walked through. Nobody up front was closing the ball properly. That means the middle can't close the ball and then the back four fell apart.

31:06Don Hutchison:The whole thing needs a brush and Areola is the first piece of it. But they need players in and they need starters in. And he's got to make some big, bold calls. Yes. I think if you... Maybe we'll see some coming out in the Dutch press down the line six months, but I bet if you were to ask Arne Slott in six months or a year's time, who's fallen on his sword anyway at Liverpool, in that time when you were having these problems, because the first season, as Stevie said, things run a little bit like clockwork. And he did a great job, don't get me wrong. But this season, when the proverbial was hitting the fan, I bet if you were to ask him now, I bet he wished he'd made some bigger, bolder decisions.

31:45Because the Salah thing, he tickled him with a feather duster, didn't he? He only dropped him a couple of times. I bet he wishes now he didn't have to force Zizak into the team, which he did when Ekitiki was playing well. he probably wishes he'd dropped Salah earlier but he never had the biggest squad but I bet if you said to him now could you have done some things differently in this season where you got sacked he would probably say I wish I'd upset a few more of the big egos a little bit earlier and gave myself a chance because he didn't and he fell on his sword anyway so when Areola goes in there he cannot be frightened obviously there's no Salah Van Dijk is still there didn't have a very good season as the captain.

32:29So, you know, is he going to be back to his best with another partner? Or is he going to be the Van Dijk that was throwing his arms up every two minutes? Ask Frank about that. Frank loves it. Throwing his arms up every two minutes when somebody makes a mistake. And that mistake might even have been Virgil van Dijk himself. But the arms still come up. So there's a lot of questions about this Liverpool side. However, with this manager going in and with a signing here or there, I wouldn't write them off. I wouldn't write them off. But you have to look at what Arsenal have done to get over the line.

33:04And that is not just by good players, but I think Don mentioned it, is beef up the squad. You're not going to win the Premier League if you turn around to your bench and there's a bunch of kids. It's not going to happen. It might have done when we were all playing, when there was two subs. But not now it's not, because every club, every team can go to the bench and pick five or eight players to go on as subs. They've got a selection. Areola needs to have that selection choice if Liverpool are going to be back next season amongst the top two or three in the Premier League.

33:38Don Hutchison:What's your reaction to that, Don? I suppose one thing we've seen from him is that he has made a lot of players better in taking them to a new level.

33:48Don Hutchison:100%. Craig mentioned the midfield, so why can't they get back to that level? again when you look at Ira Ola and the job that he's going to do he definitely improves players and he can definitely lean on the data and the analysis when you look at some of the Bournemouth players the signings that were made I mean James Hill who played a lot of games as centre-back he cost£1 million from non-league football you know Kruppi cost I think£14 or£20 million who had a great season Truffair the left back he was about€20 million as well so they can rely on that data team I know it's Liverpool I know they might be shopping in a different market But still, you can lean on Michael Edwards, Richard Hughes, trying to look at what Ira Ola's ideas are.

34:28Don Hutchison:And then you look at the Bournemouth team and you look at the Liverpool team that's there present and you go, you wouldn't swap many. But you'd swap the work rate and you'd swap the manager to try and make all those players that Craig and Stevie and Frank have mentioned to be better. Because they are better. Gravenberg proved it in the season that they won the league. Outstanding midfield player. One of the best number sixes in the Premier League. So he can get back to that level. Of course he can. And McAllister's been run into the ground now, and he's got a World Cup coming up, so he might be the difficult one, but he's played an awful lot of football.

34:59Don Hutchison:But, you know, Ira Ola, I think, is going to come in. He's going to work them hard. He's definitely going to need signings, Kay. I've been on here before, and it's difficult to try and remember them all. But when you look at the bench that Slott had when they won the league, and the bench was Kelleher. It was Kwanzaa. It was Joe Gomez. It was Connor Bradley. It was Endo in midfield. It was Darwin, Darwin Nunez. It was Jota. It was Gakpo at times. And there's probably three or four that have Curtis Jones, another one. So to Craig's point, Arnaz Slott this season is churning out the same players every three days when he was in a Champions League.

35:37Don Hutchison:They must be absolutely shattered. And he looks around and he sees Ingemoa and a bunch of kids in Chiesa who's half fit. So I do think Slott has been left very short. but the appointment of Iriola, I honestly think on top of what the Vola lads have said, he's going to make the players so much better. Well, the other one is, I forgot to mention, we were talking about, just briefly, we were talking about Kerkis. That has to be great news for him that Iriola probably is going to come in who just knows the young lad. And he is still a relatively young lad. He knows his game inside out. And he'll have been watching him last season.

36:13He'll have been watching his struggles. And I think when you've played for a manager and played, unless he's called Iriola a Muppet when he's walked out the door, which some of us may have done. As long as he hasn't fallen out with the Bournemouth manager as he walked out the door to Liverpool, which I'm sure he hasn't done, then this is great news for him. Somebody to build your conference up, knows your game, and can really help you. Because it did feel last year as if he was on a bit of an island, Miloš Kjerkez.

36:40Don Hutchison:Let me get to the reports on Iriola's contract. It's that he will sign a two-year contract, which is what we have seen with this manager and previous clubs. Are you OK with that two years? Absolutely, yeah. I don't see how either party would have a problem with that. You know, Ariello is getting the chance to manage one of the biggest and best teams in the world. And Liverpool are getting an opportunity with this two-year contract that things don't work out because at the end of the day, we know there are certain things that Ariello doesn't have in his locker. He's not used to picking for four different competitions in one season At Bournemouth he's been all about staying in the Premier League And then trying to build on that That's a different ball game When you have to compete for the Champions League, the Premier League You want to win the FA Cup, all of these things So there are certain things that we know Areola doesn't have experience of And that's why I think it suits both parties A two year deal means that if it doesn't go for Areola Liverpool's not lumbered with some eight year contract like Chelsea and Ferreira if he does his job properly he's going to get another contract anyway but he still gets two years to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world I think it's a win for everybody I'm not getting to the World Cup because I'll leave that sort of disappointment that's going to come your way in the next few weeks but and this maybe is a discussion for another day but I'm going to throw it in here now anyway.

38:10What the hell's happened to English coaches? Why are they... Why is it... Where are we with Britain and the UK? Well, they don't get a chance, do they?

38:21Don Hutchison:Coming up on tomorrow's show. But where are we? What's happened with English coaches? Young Spanish, young Italian coaches, German, French. Everything but. It's Sunderland. You've got Areola coming in and doing wonders. You've got Unai Emery doing... You know... Michael Carrick. well to be fair Eddie Howe but Eddie Howe didn't have a great season Michael Carrick with shoehorn he's fallen in that he's fallen in that I need it for the segue no it's a slightly difficult but you know that's a different that's that's maybe that's maybe a post World Cup discussion when we've got absolutely sod all else to talk about and that this World Cup once once the 354 million games are done we can talk about this but that is a you know particularly these Spanish coaches these young Spanish coaches coming in and doing great work.

39:10We're seeing it even in La Liga with Ignigo Perez, Raya Vallecano and other others. Bordalas has done a great job, but that's a different scenario.

39:20Don Hutchison:We've got La Liga next year, right? I thought so. There's so much to talk about. We are every day here. Have I missed anybody yet? Not yet, though. Don't worry. That's all coming up this month and beyond. Super Frankie Lampard. Okay, so Manchester United have agreed to sign Edison for£35 million plus£4 million in add-ons. Don, or should I call you Donatello, which we usually do when you're telling us about Serie A players. You'd call him something else. What kind of player are Manchester United getting here? OK. He's the player I thought Liverpool would have got when Fabinho left Liverpool. Outstanding player.

40:01Don Hutchison:He's a player... If you think of Manuel Agate, Man United and he got brought in because he wanted to rat around the place and get stuck in well Edison is completely different this guy can play you see his touch maps and his heat maps he's all over the pitch he's all action you'll see his touch maps on the left hand side the right hand side millions of touches in the middle he plugs gaps he's aggressive he gets the odd goal he's one of these players where when Man United play you'll probably look at Bruno Fernandes and you at Cunha and you look at Mbwemo and you might look at Sesco and your eyes might not catch Edison but he is a manager's dream honestly for 36 million at 26 he's an absolute bargain he'll slot straight in there, he can handle the ball every box you want to tick he goes ticks every single box, he's not flash he's not flamboyant he's just a real team player and a superb footballer, he's a great sounding for Man Utd.

40:59Don Hutchison:Is there a reason why he's that price because Gab, I remember Gab on here a couple of weeks ago was talking about Edison and all of the things that Don has just said, he said was Edison of 18 months to 2 years ago before he got an injury is that a reason why he's so cheap? No, do you know what and Kay will probably know the Italian market they don't sell for like you don't see loads of Italian players, well I can't think of any going for 80 to 100 million It just doesn't happen. It's a market that's, when it gets raided, it gets raided for like 20 million, 30 million, 40 million. They're not like extortionate.

41:40Don Hutchison:And I don't know why Serie A bosses or the hierarchy there don't value their players a lot higher. I think Atalanta are a very good club and a well-run club. So they'll think 36 million is a lot of money. With this contract expiring next season. I think maybe we're a little bit spoilt in the Premier League. Yeah, and maybe we're a little bit spoilt in the Premier League where to sign a player you've got to go Declan Rice, 100 million Enzo Fernandes, 100 million there's still these players that you can buy for like 36 million who you'll go what a superb buy and that's what he'll be for Man U terrific player you know Sam Don we've worked together a long time I've never heard you mention Ederson we never asked no but you're telling me you never asked exactly well no no Kea asked you about Ederson and we on this show on a daily basis have talked about but midfielders and signings for various clubs over weeks, days and months.

42:36I've never heard you mention Ederson. But you're on here tonight. Tell me he's a setting coming up. If you were listening, if...

42:44Don Hutchison:No, no, no, no, no. If you were listening, I said he's the one Liverpool should have got when they got with Fabinho. Yeah, but you only said that tonight. You never said that at the time. No, I don't remember that. OK, with everything that he's told you about Ederson... He said that at the time. Did you say that at the time? because we've got people here, believe it or not, they can check the tape. No, no, no, no. Take them a couple of weeks. No, I can't lie. We'll get the team on it. I can't lie. Does it fix any of United's shortcomings? Oh, yeah. If he does what Don said, then 100%. He'd play for anybody.

43:14Don Hutchison:I want him at Liverpool. Can we hijack the deal? If Don would have talked about him sooner, you might have been able to put that news out there. Yeah. The good news is for United is things are way more positive at the moment. You know, Michael Carrick's been given the job. They finished the season really strongly. The place just seems like a happy place to go in to train. Obviously, Bruno Fernandes contentiously got the player of the year and lots of people got upset about that because they've got nothing better to do. So they've got the makings of what could be a good side, but depending what they do in the summer.

43:50You know, I've talked about Luke Shaw buying the left back. Obviously, Harry Maguire's got this disappointment in the World Cup, but he's not the long-term answer. They've got Heaven and they've got Jorah who are relatively young. So there are areas of the side they have to obviously get better. That goes without saying. They've not really contested in the Premier League for a long time. But the place just feels as if it's in a much better place. And only they, Man United, can make a mess of that by signing the wrong players in the summer.

44:22Don Hutchison:See what happens when you've got an English coach at the helm, Frank?

44:30Don Hutchison:I never had any English coach first, you know. I just want to go back to what Craig said because I can keep up laughing about it because he was pretending that Don is making everything up, you know, that he doesn't know Ederson. No, I'm not saying that. I never heard of... No, you're not saying that, but not too far from there. But I never heard about Ederson. I saw him only playing once. But I want to believe that Michael Carrick, a former Manchester United midfielder, very good one, will hire somebody that he can trust can be as good as Michael Carrick has been for Manchester United. So, Don, I believe you.

45:09Don Hutchison:Unlike some people. No, I know Don watches a lot. Frank, just to let you know, Frank, just to let you know, Frank, I mean, the guys love a chuckle at this. My job over here, Frank, in England is to commentate on Serie A. so I know my players when I see one and we all know that however the point stands you've described Ederson as a player that Stevie said could walk out to any team in the world and I've never heard you mention him before on this show that's my point if you were listening to him in England I didn't say any team in the world if you'd have been listening to him in England double commentary for Serie A he talks about him all the time I don't care what Don does in England I care what he does here bring it here stuff England have you seen how they broadcast in England these days who sends you to sleep holy smokes it's a snooze fest let's see well Craig here's one for you then Craig here's one for you I'm just going to chuck it out now if you haven't seen him play keep an eye on Nico Pass Nico Pass I knew you were going to say Nico Pass because this kid if he goes back to Real Madrid he is unreal okay there you go he said it you mentioned him last week should have said that about Ederson 18 months ago right Del PC with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter.

46:24Don Hutchison:For the moments you plan and the ones you don't. Built for the busy days that turn into all night study sessions. The moment you're working from a cafe and realize every outlet's taken. The times you're deep in your flow and the absolute last thing you need is an auto update throwing off your momentum. That's why Dell builds tech that adapts to the way you actually work. Built with long-lasting batteries so you're not scrambling for the closest outlet and built-in intelligent that makes updates around your schedule not in the middle of it they don't build tech for tech's sake they build it for you find technology built for the way you work at dell.com forward slash dell pcs built for you are you looking to rebound from your high interest credit card debt a sofi personal loan can help you get back on track consolidate your debt with a SoFi personal loan into one loan monthly payment and you could save money on interest over time and with as soon as the same day funding you could hit the ground running ASAP apply today with no fees required at SoFi.com slash debt rebound loans originated by SoFi bank NA member FDIC terms and conditions apply NMLS 696891 fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debt rebound.

47:45Don Hutchison:Let's see if Frank's going to stick up for Don throughout the show, because we need to return to talk about the Premier League season that was. And remind you all, as if you need reminding, that Arsenal won after a 22-year wait. What we have asked for you, though, Don, because this is the first time we're seeing you since that. Would Ederson get in the Arsenal team? It's for your Premier League team of the season, now that it's done. So talk us through it. All right. That's an old picture. Yeah, I think the guys are going to pull me apart on Van Dijk. Well, the reason I've gone for Van Dijk is I was chatting to Jason McAteer the other day, a good friend of mine, and we were chatting, chatting, chatting.

48:31Don Hutchison:Hang on, Stevie, Stevie, hang on. Virgil van Dijk played every single minute of the Premier League this season broken records so this guy even though he might not have been in great form well that's not saying if you finish the 10 ,000 metres you get a gold medal okay cool your jets put the team back up again please get the team back up so he deserves a lot of credit because this guy was playing this guy Mike get it up this guy played a game every three days for three quarters of the season so there's my team Matty Cash Mr. Consistent at right back Mr. Consistent Matty Cash at right back Gabriel Nico O 'Reilly Elliot Anderson he'll go to Man City for 100 million quid in the summer Declan Rice Sir Boz Lai Liverpool's best player Bruno Fernandes Semenyo 20 goals I think he got this season and inevitable going to Real Madrid, Erlen Haaland.

49:36Don Hutchison:Manager Unai Emery. All right. Manager Unai Emery. So Frankie, he's still sticking up for Don now. Champions League football. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. On a shoestring budget, having spent nothing at Villa, amazing job. That's fine, the Unai Emery point, but we're just going back to the Van Dijk point. Yeah, yeah, we'll give you Unai Emery, but of course not, of course not. I was thinking about that while Don was talking, You know, I could name, you know, of course, Saliba playing for Arsenal. Even in Capier, when either Gabriel or Saliba were injured, it was better than Van Dijk all season long, even if he played only four or five games as centre-back.

50:15Don Hutchison:Yeah, Van Dijk played all the games, but he was not the Van Dijk we used to know. Lacroix in Crystal Palace was better than Van Dijk. And Gaye, just Gaye, what he did for Crystal Palace. And then for Manchester City, he was ten times better than Van Dijk. I'm sorry, with all due respect that I have for the great Dutch coach, Ksantsovac, captain of Liverpool. That wasn't the Van Dijk we've seen. And, no, Don, I agree with everything else, even the coach, but Van Dijk, no, I'm sorry. I thought you were Don's friend, Frank. Hand up. I mean, you could add one to that. You know, five minutes ago, I would.

50:54Don Hutchison:You could have said one to that list. I could have said Alderete. Okay, Stevie, you've got a list, mate. Good shout out. Alderete, Sunderland. What about Conta at Arsene Villa? In fact, never mind Conta. What about Paul Torres? What about your hair? What about my Barnett? I'll be frankly like some of that. If we didn't know any better, you'd have to say that's a wig. You'd have to. No, that is a head of hair, by the way. You'd have to say something. You were upset. You were very upset. Five centre-backs better than Van Dijk, according to Stevie Nichol. Yeah. And what about Murillo? No, in Forest.

51:29Don Hutchison:He had a better season. Frank's already said Lacroix. I mean, Richards, next to Lacroix, had a better season than Van Dijk. I mean, it's like half the league were better than Van Dijk. So, as good as the rest of it was, Don, I'm afraid Van Dijk. Listen, I can't have this. Van Dijk's killed you, honestly. Oh, come on, don't pick on him. Just kill him. No, guys, guys, when I put that in, I knew all the flack was coming my way. Why didn't you take it out then? As soon as I put Van Dijk in, like, because I didn't want to because I want to give the guy a bit of credit. He's been nailed everywhere. He's played every single minute.

52:06Don Hutchison:He's played every minute of every game. Hold on, why is James Milner not in it then? James Milner should be in it. He's just had his 1 ,365th game. He has to give him a bit of credit Premier League team of the year. Stevie, that's ridiculous. He didn't play every minute, did he? He's just broken every record van Dyke this season. Frank, you never played every minute of every season, did you? Doesn't make it a good season. If I had played 38 games if I played 38 games but I was crap it didn't mean anything. That's alright. I prefer to play only 15 games and be good. But you didn't. That doesn't mean anything.

52:46Don Hutchison:You didn't play 38 games from minute one to 90. Don, leave it. You didn't do that. Don, don, don. And not many have. Don, leave it. Don, don. Don, don. Leave it. Leave it. The grave's getting deeper. I was on subject to this. All right. Thank you so much for Don giving us his team of the season. Let's give them an award for doing nothing team of the season. The guys will be joining us on the latest edition of Extra Time, which you can see over on our YouTube channel. We're away with nothing in this show, don't we? More World Cup warm-ups to show you right now. This is Algeria visiting the Netherlands for a friendly action in Rotterdam.

53:27Don Hutchison:Get this off. Get to the main road game, Lovie. Hadj Roussa, in the 86 minutes, is going to score the only goal of the game and it gives Algeria the win. You know why? Beauty as well. Van Dijk wasn't playing. I have no idea if he was or not. I don't think I can't see him. He didn't make any team better, would he? He did start. Plays every minute of course. Right. But only the first half in this game. This is a worry. Oh, no. This is definitely a worry. Heady tier in Scotland's group. In fact, they're Scotland's first opponents in the World Cup. This is them in friendly action in Florida against New Zealand.

54:06Don Hutchison:Oh, my goodness. What were that for a finish? Ruben Providence. It did look a bit quick, didn't it? Listen, trust me. Oh, my goodness. There's no team, no team that's going to be a rollover for Scotland. 50th minute. And Haiti are certainly not going to be. Lenny Joseph is going to make it two for Haiti. I mean, I'm not suggesting New Zealand are the greatest things to slice bread, but neither are Scotland. This should be a slight concern. This is Francie Piero. Another goal for Haiti.

54:42Don Hutchison:I think you can tell we're a little worried. We're a little worried. Quietest, I've heard you both all night. How can you get... Duke Lacroix. You see, look at the goals though. You see Darren Fletcher's lad was called into the squad. In place of Billy Gilbert. He's only played twice for Man United. How do you make a World Cup squad? So that's Scotland's first opponent, as mentioned, on the 13th of June. Is it the 13th? In Boston. It's not a Friday, is it? Friday the 13th. Could be even worse. Also in the group of Brazil and Morocco. But that's just made Group C more interesting, hasn't it? Seeing Haiti in that game.

55:18We don't want an interesting group. We want an easy group. There's no easy group for Scotland. You can put them in any group. Okay. Just World Cup.

55:25Don Hutchison:Do you know what isn't so interesting? They're not wearing the kilts. They decided against wearing the kilts, as you guys all did, in 1998. Yeah, good move. Oh, my God. Shut up, Frank, just because you won that World Cup. Listen, it wasn't my idea. It wasn't my idea. You guys look great, to be fair. Stade de France. 100 ,000 people. You look beautiful, my dear. and you look beautiful. It's so typical. Anything underneath? That was 20... Getting a hot flush. 28 years ago. But it's so typical of something that we would do. Never mind the players, right? Never mind the players have got... Anything underneath there, Craig?

56:10Don Hutchison:Never mind the players have got to travel. Stop it. Yeah, nothing underneath, Craig? Stop it. Stop it. Seriously. Are you upset about them not wearing the kilts? No. They should be wearing the... I'll tell you what. Do you think for one second anybody was comfortable on a plane and having to travel with kilts on? Stephen. Well, let me just stop you there. We didn't go on a plane with a kilts. We're not on a belt. Where was that? You went straight to the stadium off the plane. We got off the plane with a kilt on, did a little jig in the tarmac and went straight to the game and played Brazil. Wait a minute, where was that?

56:48Don Hutchison:The Stade de France. We travelled. Right, let me just... So hold on, hold on a second. Chronological. So you actually... So you... From your hotel for the first game, you all had to wear a kilt to go to the game? We... In the hotel in the outskirts of Paris. Saint-Denis area? Is that an area of Paris, Frank? Saint-Denis? Yes, Saint-Denis, yes. So we're standing... Anyway, we had to get dressed in kilts. Right, but the point hasn't changed. You've never put a kilt on. It takes you a wee while, because there's a lot of flapping around. My point hasn't changed. So we wore those in the bus. If we get concentrating on the game, everybody's got to go to everybody's room to try and help to put their clothes on.

57:29Don Hutchison:However, that's a great way to prepare for a game. So you're OK with the team not having to wear a kilt this time? Of course, as you should have had a pair of shorts and a T-shirt or a tricep. Come on, Stevie. It's good to you. Oh, Snides. I'm trying to prepare for a World Cup game. Scottish culture here to the Americas. Oh, the wee. And today's Nickel gets angry It's about kilts But they're not wearing By the way No I know what you're saying The game What's the only thing You should be concentrating on The game Oh I tell you what I was You're not going to wear It's nice though Stevie Stevie Stevie do you think Do you Do you think New Zealand Lost today because They had to do the A-C-A-O No that's not the point That's not the point The referee No but that's not the point This is a true story You know the point The buzzer went off For the game to start and one of the lads that was playing couldn't get his kilt off he was still trying to get his sparring off you'd look up what a sparring is i know what you mean it was a little bit like other people wanted to do it i did it because i just went along i mean not i didn't because i didn't have a choice once that decision was made it was made but it's not the most comfortable thing and it is a lot of flapping around with the socks and all the paraphernalia.

58:45It's obviously the national what was it? The kilt is the whatever the hell it is. I don't know. National dress. People wear it to weddings. It's a koutume. Doesn't look very good on the bride but when the groom wears it.

58:59Don Hutchison:For anybody who's never worn a kilt it's a palaver to get it on by the way. To get all the gear on. Looks great. It looks great but it's a nightmare to put on. but yet you've got 26 guys who've got to all try and get dressed up in a kilt when the most important thing is the game. We're happy to know the players voted against it. Don't worry. They're not very patriotic. No, they're not. And the thing is, we're only playing against it. That's not very nice from you guys. Don, you're a Scotsman. How do you feel on it? No, I agree with the lads. It's a little bit much, but I think it's a nice look.

59:33Don Hutchison:I think if you look at, like, I don't know, Senegal or Ghana when they turn up on the pitch, they might be wearing... No, but they might be wearing some gear where you go, that's cultural, and it's going to look amazing. And the Scots wearing the kilts, I think it's a pretty cool look. I didn't say it wasn't a cool look. We love it. We love it. You're in Paris, Frank. You can talk to us about fashion. We haven't got a national dress, have we? It's kind of a fashion. It's a fashion. It's a country of fashion in France, and I tell you, when the Scots, they come with the kilts, that's so classy. That's so beautiful.

1:00:08Don Hutchison:He says a lot about the country and everything. So you represent your country. So that's part of it. Yeah, maybe you don't think too much about the game, but it's part of it. It's part of that coutume, that cultural coutume. And I love it. And every French people, when they saw that in 98, they found that great. They said, wow, fantastic. Until they saw us play. Yeah. Oh, my God. You see Frank's French team turning up at the World Cup final with a blackberry on, a black and white striped shirt and onions around your neck. That's a very good news. That's a cliche. That's a cliche. Stevie, that's a cliche.

1:00:44Don Hutchison:That's not a couture. I bet all the fans will be wearing it. No, but that's OK. They're not playing. What you're going to see in America this year and across North America is a lot of Scotland fans... What a killjoy. What a killjoy. There's going to be a lot of Scotland fans dressed in... Not all, but a lot of them are going to be dressed in the kilt this year in America. and it gets very hot over here, that could be a problem. You're also going to have people walking down Stevie Street in kilt and him shouting out the window, get a disgrace, get that kilt off. Look at Don, look at how angry Don is.

1:01:19Don Hutchison:I'm talking about the players turning up for the game, Don. We just hope not too much wind during games, please. I don't want to get Stevie anymore. I just love his description. I love his description of the French. Just let every country, Stevie. Stevie, just let every country represent a bit of culture with their dress. And then hang on, you've got an hour and a half to two hours before the game to get it off and put a trackie on. Yeah, Don, you're right. All right. Thank you so much. Yeah, it was a memorable picture. Did you see that picture? The Dutch are going to turn up with clogs. They're going to turn up with clogs.

1:01:56I almost cried when I saw that picture come back.

1:01:58Don Hutchison:You guys peeped on your arrival. Dressed up in kilts looking amazing. Yes. All right. thank you so much for wading in Football Americas will no doubt have it on dripping or tripping the kilts that the 98 Scotland team wore he needs to shave that head doesn't he Ali holy smokes make sure to stay up today with them and get their view on Haiti Thursday 8.30pm Eastern Football Americas

1:02:22Don Hutchison:and that's it for the latest edition of ESPN FC but everybody is looking around to answer your questions on extra time so we'll see you over there

1:02:33Look, the economy is a lot right now. And if you're a small business owner, you probably feel it. You can't control interest rates or tariffs, but you can control how efficiently your business operates. Automating payroll and HR with Gusto is one of the fastest ways to cut friction and focus on what actually moves the needle. Gusto is online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses. It's all in one, remote friendly, and incredibly easy to use. so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. It's quick and simple to switch to Gusto. Just transfer your existing data to get up and running fast.

1:03:11Plus, don't pay a cent until you run your first payroll and get direct access to certified HR experts to help support you through any tough HR situation. There's a reason Gusto is ranked number one on G2's highest satisfaction products list for 2026 and trusted by over 400 ,000 small businesses. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash FC and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash FC. One more time, gusto.com slash FC.

1:03:49Don Hutchison:From first call to final invoice, Service Titan is the only integrated intelligence that automates your entire workflow. Built for visionaries, ready to stop operating and start automating their success. Service Titan, AI for the trades.

1:04:08Don Hutchison:Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. We've got Craig and Stevie here in the studio, and Frank and Don are staying up late to join us and answer your questions. Well, Kay, you know what? I think we've done well there, Kay. I know we're now in a different show, but you know, I went to a wedding. David Douillet, the four-time World Cup judo champion, I went to his wedding and I was wearing a kilt, a scot, I mean dressing, I don't know what you call that. That was absolutely beautiful. People were jealous of me. They say, well, that's a great idea. So be proud of your coutumes, Mr. Nichols.

1:04:48Don Hutchison:You still don't get the point. That's not my point. The main show today. You still don't get the point. The point is not that the kilt doesn't look beautiful. Yeah, I got the point, don't worry. Don't worry. Thank you, Frank. Why was he wearing the kilt anyway, old Frankie boy? Why is he wearing a kilt? There's a lot of things Frank does and you go, why is he doing that? Yeah, it's true, that's true. Because that's beautiful. But that was just beautiful. That was a bed that I made with a guy, a friend of mine, and I loved it. You got paid for it. It was so classy. You got paid for it. I got married in the kilt, by the way.

1:05:23Don Hutchison:I got married in the kilt. Don't try and backtrack now. You didn't think about football then? Stevie, how come you didn't think about football when you married? Oh, I was. OK. Is the current Liverpool squad physically capable of playing at Aiola's high-pressing and 100-mile-per-hour style of play? For example, players like Isak and Gakpo aren't necessarily going to run up and down the pitch if needed. I think Bournemouth played at 100mph didn't they? I mean they were sharp at the right times. Listen, at the end of the day it's a bit like the players, if you listen to the players talking about when Klopp arrived initially, they were like wow how are we going to keep this up?

1:06:13Don Hutchison:But once you get used to it and once you get up to that level, then you get the benefit from it. Nothing just falls in your lap. You can't play at a certain pace for 90 minutes unless you train like that and you get prepared properly. So it's going to have to take time. The key is he's got to win some games while he's getting them in shape. If it is indeed a hundred mile an hour. Don, is Arteta under any obligation to sway away from the proven method of relying on set piece and corners and go with the all-out attack approach that everyone expects from his side next season onwards?

1:06:54No.

1:06:54Don Hutchison:No. I think when you look back at that Champions League, I was chatting to an Arsenal fan tonight and I think there's a tinge of, I said they could be proud of their performance, but at the same time, I thought when you're playing a big game like that, a Champions League final, You want to come off the pitch having no regrets. I think there'll be a fair few Arsenal players having quite a few regrets that they didn't do a little bit more or they didn't try to be more adventurous. You know, trying to defend for, what, 84 minutes of the game and allow PSG onto them was always going to be trouble.

1:07:27Don Hutchison:The pride comes from taking them through extra time and losing on pens. I get it. But no, don't change your style. I mean, maybe it's when they play against the City's United, it's Arsenal's Chelsea's and then into Champions League maybe they could be a little bit more easier on the eye and convince everyone that they're a good footballing side because they are and that's why I go back to the Champions League final it wasn't like a giant killing of a if a lower league FA Cup game playing a top Premier League side it was Arsenal who were very good footballing side so I wanted to see them play a little bit better so to the question no if you've got a win by set plays and one nil every single week and go back to back titles So be it.

1:08:04See, this is where some of the people that write in just don't, either they just don't listen or they just don't understand. Or don't want to understand. Nobody has ever, certainly not on this show, to my knowledge, nobody has ever suggested that Arsenal should play some sort of gung-ho all-out-of-tack football. But to go back, piggyback off what Don's suggesting and what I talked about the other day when I was on with Ian Dark was you're looking for something in between. You're not expecting them to out-possess PSG but you're not expecting them to have 25-26 % possession. You're expecting somewhere in the middle and possession stats are not everything but without the ball you're only doing one other thing and you're defending.

1:08:50If you don't have the ball you're chasing the ball. So nobody has said oh Arsenal should be Barcelona, Arsenal should be this but can there not be a little bit better version on the eye than they are? And people will say, well, they won the Premier League. Yeah, they did. Maybe they'd have won the Champions League as well. Had they been a little bit more on the front foot, maybe they'd have lost by two or three. We don't know, and as Don said, rightly so. I think if I was a player, I'd think, you know, we just gave them too much respect. We just, we sat back and we could have got at them. we could have got at Paco and Marquinhos we could have got at them but we didn't we sat in, we took our chances and ultimately it failed

1:09:34Don Hutchison:Stevie, how successful do you think Carrick can now be he's had a week to prepare for Premier League now he's had four competitions to deal with can now be he had a week to prepare for a Premier League now he has four competitions to deal with yeah that's going to be his problem so he'd have a whole week to prepare for the games in the Premier League and now he's got more competitions coming in at the end of the season. Yeah, this is a different ball game. And he's in a similar position to Iriola. They need players as well. They need to do exactly what Liverpool need to do. They need to bring in at least three or four who are pushing to start.

1:10:12Don Hutchison:Or at least start. Because if he doesn't, then it's not going to be what we saw between Carrick coming in at the end of the season, winning the majority of games, being stronger pretty much than everybody else, being so sharp on the counter in particular. It's a different ball game when you're playing every three days to one every seven days. So his sporting director, whoever it is, is going to have to get him some players. Because if he doesn't, he's going to find himself in a situation that Arna Slaught basically was in. He had to play the same players every three days and you can't do that.

1:10:47Don Hutchison:Jason Wilcox. Jason Wilcox, that's the man. He's got a big... Yep. Nice left foot he had as well. Pressure on his shoulders to get the business done. Don, does Denzel Dumfries start over Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid? Yes.

1:11:07Don Hutchison:Depends who the manager is. Mourinho. Mourinho. If Denzel Dumfries... Yeah, well, yeah. Denzel Dumfries is one of the best right-backs in the world. Unfortunately, he misses a lot of games every season through injury. so I would imagine if you're signing him you're going to play him but where does that leave Trent so I don't think Mourinho it literally depends what you want because Denzel Dumfries well sorry but Denzel Dumfries he's best positioned as a wingback that's where he's played for the last you know four five six years at Inter he bombs on he's one of the best right backs right back wing backs at getting up and down getting in the box getting goals getting assists but getting forward so he can defend but I'm not sure that's his strength so then you've got Denzel Dumfries and you've got Alexander-Arnold who are best suited in different ways Alexander-Arnold passing from long range but Denzel Dumfries being a front-footed right up the top of the pitch wing-back depends on what Mourinho wants well he wants players that can defend and if he gets the job which looks likely I think it's bad news for Alexander-Arnold bad news No, but that's not his game, Craig.

1:12:19Don Hutchison:That's not Dumfries' game. That's not his game. His game's getting forward. Yeah, but he's better defensively than Alexander-Arnold. What about Carvalho? What about, guys, Carvalho is going? No, he's already left. He left at the end of the season. That was his last year. And he wasn't quite the same, was he? We landed on the moon. He wasn't quite... I don't have the news from Spain. I'm sorry, Dan. Carvalho's a bit like Militao. Stevie was talking about Militao in the main show with all the crucial injuries he's had and he's a brilliant defender but we saw with Danny Carvajal how he was affected with that eight months out or whatever it was he had he came back, played some games was not the same player, okay he was in his 30s and it is more difficult to come back but he was one of the best full backs for a decade plus but even he wasn't keeping Alexander Arnold out of the side Alexander Arnold was a brilliant player going forward but every coach on the planet knows he can't defend.

1:13:19And when you bring in a defensive coach, as they're going to do with Mourinho, then your time's going to be limited.

1:13:28Don Hutchison:For all, but especially Stevie, what's a harder job for a manager? Getting a team of strong talents to deliver at the highest levels, Liverpool, Real Madrid, or getting a team with less resources into top form, like Como or Villa? Well, getting the team with strong talents to deliver at the highest level. Yeah, I mean because all the teams we're talking about, if you're a Real Madrid manager, Barcelona, Liverpool, City, all these teams, not only do you have to win, but you have to do it in a certain way as well. Whereas with a team that doesn't have to win every week, all you've got to do is get them together, get them playing for each other, get them organised.

1:14:16Don Hutchison:You know, all the old patterns of play, all the classic coaching things, and then you galvanise them together and you'll win games. but when it comes to playing against the best teams then you'll lose but you'll stay in your league and everybody will be quite happy really that's a different ball game to you have to be there from start to finish every time you step on the field 100 % last question Frank how far will Canada be placed in your World Cup bracket this time

1:14:50Don Hutchison:I don't know I don't want to say I wish them the best Hopefully they can get out of the group stages But of course it's a different ball game I don't know, it's going to be very different It's going to be funny I think it's not going to be interesting Before the last 32 And I'm sorry The last 32 teams We're going to start being serious After those group stages Before it's going to be Something like a joke Oh come on I don't want any negativity No, we're all in I don't want any negativity about the opening games of the World Cup from Frank. You know why? That's my job. Yeah, Frank. Yeah. All right.

1:15:33Don Hutchison:That's all we've got time for. My job to kick this World Cup down the road. Of ESPN FC. It's going to be exciting. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow.

1:15:48As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by.