Xabi Alonso Leaves Real Madrid

26:49I don't know if we've spoken to you about the Conor Bradley injury since we knew he'd be out for the rest of the season. How significant is that? Well, it is. Listen, Conor Bradley, when he's been playing this season, has been no different to all the other players that have actually played for Liverpool. They've all not been at the best. But in terms of numbers and in terms of him personally, it's a disaster. For somebody so young, he seems to have been injured all the time. and to pick up such a bad injury, not even from a challenge, doesn't bode well physically. So every which way you want to look at this, from this corner of Bradley's look, whether it's from a Liverpool point of view, it's just another blow to Liverpool.

27:34Yeah. They absolutely didn't need to lose another player, did they, Augie? No. I mean, the Bradley situation is a big one because, you know, who plays it right back? In the game, so they get to the latter stage of the Champions League where they need somebody who can defend as well. you can't really rely on Frimpong you know Shabasla has done well there this season but he's probably needed midfield so yeah I think Liverpool are showing a few signs of strain I think what's going to happen this month in terms of January I think a lot depends on when Mo Salah comes back you know we expect Salah to come back next early next week after the African Nations and does Salah stay, does he go?

28:07if he goes are they going to get a fee for him? if they get a fee will they reinvest it in the squad? they really really need some defenders or at least one defender so I think a lot will depend on whether they can get some money in I think the Salah situation remains kind of unresolved. It's kind of been in abeyance for a month while he's been in Africa, but that issue is going to come to a head next week because he's going to come back. Do they need him in the team? That's a 50-50 because they've done OK with that in terms of results, but it's whether they can afford to let him go in January and get a fee and then reinvest it in the squad, but that'll be a big decision to let Mo Salah go before January.

28:39I think it's unlikely, but they do need to get some players in. If they don't invest in the squad in January again, and that seems just strange to be talking about Augie after the summer that they had. I think if we all agree they're not going to win the league and they're not playing anywhere near well enough to go in some sort of run. Do you think, Augie, that their actual Champions League place next season is maybe a 50-50, somewhat in jeopardy, looking at the form from the start of the season till now? I mean, the fourth right now, and I think you look at the teams around them, I can't see Man Utd finishing above Liverpool.

29:16I can't see Chelsea doing that. And obviously, I think fifth will probably be enough for the Champions League anyway. So I think it'll take something pretty dramatic for Liverpool not to get in the Champions League position. Yeah, Newcastle's a show, but I think top five is going to do it. And we don't know what's going to happen to Man City. At some point this season, I would expect the 115 charges to be resolved. And if City do get punished, I don't think they're going to be relegated. They might have a points reduction which could take them out of the top six. So overall, I think Liverpool will be OK.

29:42they've got so much firepower I think he's second back at some point so I still think Liverpool will be okay to finish top four but I mean talk about the summer they spent a lot of money but they didn't invest in the defence properly they brought in a right back who's not really a defensive right back so they are paying a price for not adding to their centre back options in the summer obviously the Italian lad that got injured he was never going to be a regular anyway 18 years old so they missed the trick there by not getting a proper centre half in like a Mark Gway and they're really paying for it now unless they are going to sign a bona fide top class centre back in the transfer window.

30:15If I'm involved, I'm saying, you know what, let's just make sure we get into the Champions League next year and then we regroup over the summer and then we actually sign the people or the players who would be targets for us. Because if they go out in January and just try and fill some holes and waste money, it's not going to get them anywhere. They're not winning the Premier League regardless. They're not winning the Champions League. I mean, if they're lucky, they might win an FA Cup. But at the end of the day, you've got to look at the big picture. And wasting money in the January window to sign somebody who really isn't part of your future, I don't think makes any sense.

30:59Keep your powder dry, unless you're getting Gehi, or you're getting somebody who you would, if you can get them now, that you would actually go for in the summer. So I would hold fire. Don't waste your money. make sure you get it right. I mean, they didn't sign, the Gay situation was, they left it so late, and I have no idea why they left it as late, but they did and it fell flat. That situation would not, the discussion around it would not have been so fervent had the two centre-backs who are hugely experienced hadn't played so badly. And I lied to that, the both full-backs have changed and they've struggled.

31:37The Mark Gay situation is, yeah, you needed it, Joe Gomez comes in and he plays there. Konza's left. He's gone to Germany. But I don't think Arne Slott, he was banking on Kierkegaard's continuing his form from Bournemouth. He was going to alternate probably Bradley and Frimpong and play Frimpong. But he was not banking on Van Dijk and Kanaty having such a calamitous first six months of the season. And for that reason, that's why everybody's talking about, well, we should have signed another centre-back. Well, that's fine. It's kind of Monday morning quarterback and all that. But if you'd have said Kanati and Van Dijk were going to operate the way they have, we'd have said, no, no, no, no.

32:17That's going to be the strong point of their team. It's the other areas that they're going to be concerned about, which they are. But definitely that has been a huge, huge weak point down the spine of the side. But then you add to that the middle of the park and the forward line. Exactly what you've just spoken about with the back line. you could not have figured out that the middle three who who were as good as anybody in Europe I mean they were close to the PSG three that's how good they were last season and you look at the front line so what Craig's talking about in the back line has gone all the way from the back all the way to the front One player that's been harder to criticise for Liverpool this season has been Sir Bozlay although speaking of calamitous he definitely had himself a moment today when Barnsley got their goal in this game You know the key?

33:05We've all had moments. Yeah, and the key is... Trust me. The key is getting away with it. That's the important thing. Because we've all made bad decisions, bad mistakes, cost goals, but if you do it at the right time and get away with it, and he's gotten away with us today, because they've ended up winning 4-1, and had Barnsley equalised with two minutes to go, the narrative over that mistake would be completely different. Now they're all laughing at it. Everybody's pointing their finger at them in the dressing room going, what are you doing? And they're all giggling. That's the key. You do that and get away with it.

33:43Yeah, obviously the stunning goal didn't hurt matters on the night either. It's not, you know, final game of the season and the top four's at stake and you do that, that's a different kettle of fish. It's a knockout in the Champions League and you do something like that. So get it out of your system in a game that you win. And I'm sure Arne Slott will be saying to me, I know you're the captain of Hungary, but let's not try that again. What was your view of that mistake? How close were you to it, Mark? It was one of those where you're thinking, what on earth are you doing there? But the guys are right, in a game like this, it doesn't actually matter overall, but it was strange.

34:19It was a midfielder playing in the defence thinking he can get away with something stupid and it was just a crazy thing to do. It was quite funny looking back at it, but it's one of those moments that you can put in your bloopers section at the end of the season. But like the guys said, if that was a game that really mattered and it was closed, then he'd be thinking about it for the rest of his career. But he'll sleep on it tonight and forget about it tomorrow. I like things my way, my coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC.

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35:44Michael Carrick is said to be the frontrunner to take over as interim manager at Manchester United, ahead of the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford on Saturday. Just some notable career accomplishments for Carrick. His last role was at Middlesbrough from 2022 to 2025 in his first season. He took them to the playoffs. They also reached the Carabao Cup semifinals, which sent Craig to the positivity corner. You may remember that was against Chelsea a little while back. Yeah, since then it didn't go as well after that, but he steadied the ship there. He's also been involved at Manchester United before in three games back in 2021.

36:22no losses in that time there and of course there comes his career as a midfielder which was very significant with Manchester United, Mark Ogden back with us now, so tell us Mark by the way, you don't put this in your resume just pipped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to the job we could put that one in as well, yeah tell us more about it tell us why it is Michael Carrick that's the front runner here then Mark well there's a few reasons but I think primarily the fact that when Carrick and Solskjaer at United in the past, it was Carrick and Kieran McKenna that did most of the coaching and Oligon and Solskjaer wasn't really a coach, so I think United looked at it and thought, well there's no point in hiring a manager who doesn't really spend much time on the training pitch, so Carrick wins on that score that he's actually a manager and somebody who can coach, but I think they also realised that going back to a guy who was basically fired before from the Man United job because it didn't work out, would be seen as very much of a backward step, and we spoke yesterday on the show about how some of the senior players at United, I've been told, have expressed their preference for Michael Carrick on that basis, that he's a coach and he's a player that hasn't failed at Man United in the past.

37:25So, you know, it's not the greatest scenario, is it, in terms of scratching around looking for somebody who can pick up the reins until the end of the season. They're not looking for somebody off the top shelf here. But Michael Carrick, in many ways, is the preferred option because, one, he coaches and, two, he hasn't failed at Man United in the past. I saw Oliver Holt tweeting earlier, Ogi, about, you know, this is insanity. you know, interim manager with half of the season to go? I mean, is it purely because the Amarim thing, they just made a kind of late-ish decision, just had enough of them?

37:57Or is it because they just don't have the right answer out there and are not confident to go and try and get somebody full-time? Because there's a hell of a lot still to play for this year. And, Augie, one second. We have welcomed Mario Melchiot to the chat. Sorry, Mario. But, Augie, yes, please answer Craig's question. well the Amren situation was coming to a head I think United knew it was going to happen at some point and I was told it was going to happen after the Leeds game regardless of what he said at Ellen Road so United knew it was coming but I think the reality is that you know the options that are there right now in terms of a proper manager a full-time manager there aren't many there I mean people talked about you know Oliver Glasner and Tony Areola if they wanted Glasner they could have got Glasner because he's got six months in his contract so it wouldn't be an expensive deal to do so it suggests they don't want Oliver Glasner long term so the best managers as we know are the ones that are probably going to be available in the summer.

38:44Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Carlo Ancelotti, maybe some others. So United's viewpoint is to patch it up until the summer. They've done it before. Let's not forget, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done it in the past and got the job, which was, you know, a debatable matter. And Ralf Rannick as well, which was a disaster. So they've been down this route before and it hasn't always worked out. But the view is that rather than make a jump now for a permanent appointment, they're going to go for an interim coach. But the problem is by doing that, when they're looking at summer targets, players nowadays want to know who the coach is what his coaches are, what his philosophy that buzzword is and United can't tell them because they don't know who the manager is going to be next season so they might miss out on transfer targets say you're Adam Wharton or say you're Carlos Baleba or that sort of player, Elliot Anderson the first question you're going to ask is who's the manager next season and they can't answer that question so it's setting them back but because there aren't any obvious options out there right now that could come in and take the job I mean you know I'm not being funny but Xabi Alonso is not going to be in the frame because one is just being sat by Real Madrid and 2 is he's got a connection with Liverpool so there aren't many options that are available that are credible so in United's eyes the least worst option is to go back to somebody that knows the club that knows them that knows the squad and has got an experience of doing the job that can tide them over but again it's a sticking plaster solution rather than the ideal solution but say for example United and by the way if Michael Carrick is a bad time you're just going to say oh I told you they should have hired Solskjaer aren't you no can I just say something though something that Augie said there that I just detest when he talks about well that's true when he talks about the players have a preference for Carrick the minute you start listening to players from a boardroom perspective you are absolutely asking the inmates to run the asylum I mean if the players have had any sort of saying this then you know it's doomed absolute garbage I agree with that completely you do not go and start asking players who you prefer and what do you think and what would you do no, you paid to play football and right now you can't even play football never mind giving your input on who should be the next manager right, okay, here's the question and it's hypothetical at the moment but you know, Michael Carrick he's got some experience in the championship and of coaching but this is a different kettle of fish here say United say the next six, seven, eight games they scratch the odd draw and lose five or six games what do they do?

41:13What do they do? Well, it's a good question because the next two games are Man City at home and Arsenal away so you'd have to say that it's going to be very difficult the way United are playing right now to get anything out of those games so all of a sudden they go into the third game against Fulham at home it's almost a crisis match if you lose against City and Arsenal so I take your point what do they do in a month's time if it's not going well? Well, they can't go to Olegon or Solskjaer can they? I mean, I think Brian Robson's a club ambassador. He's still there. This is what we're talking about.

41:38This is how ridiculous it is that United are in this situation whereby they're just trying to get from now to the end of the season. There's no cup games to play. They've basically got 17 league games to play. So surely at some point, they're getting a couple of the African Nations players back this weekend and Buma and Ahmad. Things might settle down. But, you know, United have been so inconsistent this season. It's amazing they're still in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League, never mind Europe. But, you know, Michael Carrick's got a big job on his hands. It's going to be very difficult to achieve anything significant at United but like I said the Champions League is still there to be taken.

42:08Yeah absolutely. Mario what's your take on the situation? No I agree. I think they're seven in the league so the most focus should be to try to get in the Champions League but the key thing is as well the way they played like you know you saw them changing the system the way they were playing now with four at the back. Some of the players that they brought into the team are maybe used to how Emerin wanted to play. Now they've got to change the system again to the new manager coming in. So the key thing is the culture of the club, that's what the main focus should be. Focus on the culture of the club and then try to build from there.

42:40But if they keep on bumping around because Garrett comes in and Woodgate wants to be part of it, Rooney, I heard Rooney talking that he was interested as well to join. But the thing is, get the culture ready because if they don't get the culture ready they're going to be spending money or spending tactical decision making and it's going to go wrong again. Wait, did you just say there, Wayne Rooney said he was interested? I saw some talk about that on social media, but it felt like somebody had put a headline to a quote and I didn't quite put the two and two together. And anyway, that's a lovely Christmas present you've got there.

43:13Yes, my friend. Is he cold? He's got a jacket. He's got a zipper. I must be freezing there. To the point, though, in looking at the table... Stevie, for you. For you, Stevie, for you, Stevie. Thank you. It's not the worst time to have to take a team over. with where they are. Is it? Well, as Mark says, it looks like they've gone from A to try to get to B. And when they get to B, they're going to try and get to C and C to D. I'm not going to go much further because I don't know all the letters of the Alavan. But that's how it feels. They're just trying to get to the next step and then try to get to the next step.

43:47Trust me, in August's edit, there's a lot of pressure now on Michael Carrick because there was an air of, not excitement yesterday in the game against Brighton, but there was an air of anticipation that things were going to move. Even just a change in management with Darren Fletcher from Burnley to Brighton, the Cup, that at home against Brighton, there was going to be more positivity, more energy, and it all sort of fizzled out in the end. But trust me, Ratcliffe, Barada and Wilcox, and certainly Barada and Wilcox, because I'm sure Ratcliffe's not too bothered with these billions in the blank, are having sleepless nights thinking, what if?

44:27What if this just fails? What if Michael Carrick can't get a tune? How bad is this going to look? Because we're going to have to fire the interim for another interim. You know, we're going to have to go searching around, digging for people that can't get jobs, probably to take over. A huge job. So they are biting their fingernails at boardroom level, thinking that this has to be at least feasible and passable. there has to be enough results to say this is getting us through to the end of the season and we can make an informed decision and I'm not trying to be negative but we've seen this United side they could easily lose 5 or 6 games easily, right, in a row and that becomes a point for the board that just is a nightmare, because then they've got a huge decision to make.

45:17Is that not the biggest problem at the end of the day? The biggest problem they've got is the squad they've got isn't good enough So whether it's Michael Carrick or Ole Gunnar Skolskjaer or anybody else, how are you supposed to win with this team? I mean, so, you know, the fact that we're talking about who the manager is, is kind of deflecting away from what Wilcox and all the other people have been doing and the players they've been bringing in because that's how bad they are. But it actually doesn't matter. You could stick Pep in charge of this team and they might not get into the Champions League.

45:49That's how bad the team is and the squad is. So what's the realistic, Oggie, the realistic best-case scenario here going forward for Manchester United? Well, the best-case scenario is that they get in the Champions League, and it's still possible because, you know, they have had some good results this season. I'm at Anfield now. United won here this season, so they can actually get some good results. They've got players coming back, but ultimately I agree with the guys that you're only as strong as your weakest link, and United have got a lot of weak links in that squad that they can't actually replace.

46:17They can't find somebody in midfield that can replace Agate because they haven't got the money to do it. Same at right back with Dallas. You know, they haven't really got the quality they need. I mean, Senna Lambert has done okay and gone, but he never keeps a clean sheet. So they've got so many issues to address, and I don't know which coach can come in and sort that out. They're going to go to back four, obviously, now that Amrim's gone. But they weren't very good with the back four under 8-10 high. They were actually pretty bad with the back four. So, you know, there's no obvious solution. There's no silver bullet.

46:44Where do they go? I mean, Michael Carrick has just come in and hoped that there was a bit of momentum. but like I say, he's got a nightmare start. City and Arsenal. Look, you can get a win against City maybe, but I can't see it. Really tough game to start with. He needs to get some momentum in there. I think what Michael Carrick should do if he can is bring an experienced coach alongside him because what I'm hearing at the moment is that we hear people talk about Jonathan Woodgate, his brother Graham who's a coach who's been a coach at the FA in Newcastle. I'm only hearing young coaches and that was the problem that Solskjaer had when he had Kieran McKenna and Carrick.

47:14You need a greybeard in there, someone that's been and seen and done it and can actually advise and counsel Michael Carrickers to what to do. I mean, but there's no experienced coach that I'm hearing at the moment. And that is a problem because too many young coaches got no experience. It just doesn't bode well for Man United. But to answer your question, K, they can get in the Champions League. If they get in Europe, great, but they can get in the Champions League and it's still there for them to get, but they have to pick up some form pretty quickly. Somebody like Mike Feelein who's been around, you know, who's obviously been at United.

47:41Is that the kind of person? Yep. I don't know. I'm not sure Mitt was a coach to be fair. You know what I mean? There is somebody who can, you know, just bring some experience to the situation and advise and counsel because I do think that the coach is quite young at the moment. In Ferguson, even Sir Alex had the likes of Archie Knox, Walter Smith, he had Walter Smith with him. Just guys that are sounding both. Guys that have been very good managers on their own right. You know, particularly Walter at Rangers and Everton and all the other Dundee United, he was coached with the great, late great Jim McLean at Dundee United and even Sir Alex needed a sounding board.

48:20Very experienced guys beside him and you kind of get the feeling that's what Augie's talking about. You look at the United side and defensively they're poor, right? I know they had a few players out and Delecht's been a big miss for them and all that sort of stuff because when he was fit he was a leader for them at the back. The question would be, have they got enough in the middle of the park and the front line to dissolve the problems they've got at the other end. And that will take, obviously Mbema's coming back, that will take Mbema continuing his form, it will take Kunja stepping up, starting to score goals, it will take Sesko hitting a run of form, he needs games, it will take all these players playing really well and doing the business at that end to take the pressure off at the other end.

49:07Because you get the feeling watching this United side, if you had to say to them, right, okay, we're going to try and keep four or five clean sheets in a row and give us a base to work from. They ain't capable of doing that. So they're going to have to do it at the front end. Mario? It's also going to be a problem, Greg, because look, if they're going to play now, right, they're going after the way of playing now, but they're so used to what they have been doing. Like, they first had to learn, they were with a coach, they had to learn the whole new system and their way of playing and everything.

49:36So I think it hit a lot of the players' confidence as well. I think the confidence is very low in that team. I was watching the game yesterday and I see the way they were playing against Brighton. Brighton looked like Man United, the way they were playing between the lines. They were just waiting and testing them and asking them almost like to invite them to come on to them. And I was like watching and I was like, what's happening here? Because it looks like a team that now, of course, everybody wants to play. Of course, everybody wants to show to the coach, I'm ready to go. But it looks so not gelled.

50:07The team is, it's not only like we can talk about the quality of the players, but let's put that to a side. but it also looks really disorganised. It's not melt in one team. It's just all individuals and doing their job and hoping to do a good job. And that is what the biggest problem is going to be for them. Yes, our eyes will be on that Manchester derby then as if they weren't already when it comes to that game in the Premier League. But we must talk FA Cup because the draw has been made for the fourth round. We obviously know Manchester United are not in this. Liverpool will be taking on Brighton.

50:41Chelsea, Mario against Hull City, Liam Rossini's former team, he'll be revisiting them Arsenal will be taking on Wigan Man City the winner of Salford or Swindon as for Macclesfield though that's what everybody was looking out for who would Macclesfield be facing after their heroics and even John Rooney was present today as the draw was made

51:07ok, let's see who you guys are picking for this I think Liverpool, Brighton the way Liverpool played today which wasn't convincing that's a 50-50 game isn't it? Although Brighton are on the side I think you can take today away and just say they're not convincing I know they might have wanted financially a big Premier League club away but there's something quite special about getting another opportunity to be a good by the way Keith Andrews has done a great job at Brentford I thought they would struggle this year having lost the players that they have lost. You know, Mbemo, Visa, Norgard, Flecken went, but they were replaced by Keller who was a very good goalkeeper.

51:48He's done a great job. But if I was Mac, I was feeling about it. You know, they're not unbeatable. And particularly at home. So they're getting two bites at the cherry here at a Premier League team. I think that's great for those players. Wouldn't you rather have that than be away at Man City? You know, getting absolutely they thump like Exeter did. Yeah, absolutely. And the thing that, the AstroTurf that they play on, it's not conducive to playing good football. And so, it's just, it's basically to me going to be a fight. Now. Hold on. If there's, what? Macclesfield, I didn't know this. Why? It's AstroTurf.

52:27AstroTurf. Is it? Not that cold in Macclesfield, is it? If you're, if you're Macclesfield, Macclesfield, then you kind of know, with all due respect to Brentford, Brentford don't beat teams by outplaying them, generally. It's about the physical side of the game. And so if I'm Macclesfield, I quite fancy my chances. Because if it comes down to a fight, I'm sure there's a good load of Macclesfield players who have done nothing their whole career other than fight every time they step on the field. So in some ways, this is a decent draw, just because of the way Brentford play. Yeah, and absolutely want to show what they can do.

53:04Mario, what do you think of Chelsea's chances in the FA Cup this season? I think that's one of the things they definitely have to go after. Because if the other trophies are huge, of course, and it's going to be a hard test for them to even, you know, like the Champions League is very important. And I think you always should focus on a cup. A cup is for every club. I think it's very. But what Steve said about Magusfield, they were celebrating when they heard Bradford. They were going crazy. I could see them like, you know, you saw them in a room and everybody was celebrating. So I totally understand what they said.

53:36Like, this is the team they want to face because it's not one of the big boys. Yeah, meanwhile, Aston Villa, Newcastle. Yeah, I like what they do. I know we've had this discussion. I know the reasons why not. I just like what they do in Spain, where the bigger sides have to go to the smaller sides. And we saw Palace go to Macclesfield. We've never seen Brentford go to Macclesfield. And I understand it's like everything else, isn't it? It's money, right? and they don't do it because if you get drawn at Old Trafford or Anfield, like Barnsley did, and it's on TV, you're getting a big payday. But it really, although that Barnsley-Liverpool game was a decent contest tonight for long periods, as a general rule of thumb, a lot of these games are not.

54:18And the fact that there is some sort of leveller with, Stevie said, the pitch and the stadium and all that goes with it, it just gives these teams an opportunity. We saw it in the Copa del Rey when Real Madrid going away from home to that team that I never can remember. Talavera. Talavera. And Talavera were in whatever division, whatever they are, and it was going to be extra time, but for a loon and save. Now, that would probably have never happened at the Bernabeu. So, you know, I know why the FA do it. I know why clubs don't want to do it. But it's just fun. The FA Cup is more fun when the Premier League teams have to go to these small grounds and have a scrap.

55:00Yes, how fun is it going to be for Oggy? Where will we be sending you next, Oggy? Let's remind you of some of the choices. Aston Villa, Grimsby, Macclesfield, Port Vale, Burnley. Is it any Grimsby guy? Burton, Norwich, Liverpool, Hull, Wrexham, Southampton, Oxford, Stoke. Where do you fancy, Mark? I think the best tie is Hull Chelsea because you've got a chance of an upset. I think they've got a holiday quite well in the championship. And it's a great story for Leon Rossini because 18 months ago, he was sacked as a Hull coach. They just missed out on the playoffs. It was a really harsh sacking.

55:32But for that sacking, he wouldn't have gone to Strasbourg. And he's gone to Strasbourg and now he's a Chelsea manager. So he's going back to Hull 18 months after being sacked as a Chelsea manager. So that's a big game for Leon Rossini. I do think that Hull have got a chance. So for me, the best tie next round is Hull Chelsea. There's two ties in there. that I've got Mark Ogden written all over it, right? Grimsby's one of them, because he looks like a Grimsby native old man. And the other one, the other hotspot, is Port Vale. Port Vale. I wanted to say Port Vale. Port Vale. Craig, Craig, Craig, I've been to Grimsby already this season.

56:07I think you might remember that game, so I don't want to go back. Oh, yeah, my United. They might want you to. My latest article has just dropped over on our website. Mark, tell us about your latest article Oh no, I've got a quote from his latest article actually Here we go This is a little excerpt from it FA Cup is why we love soccer There was not even any video assistant referees To spoil or delay the fun and anguish That comes with watching your team score Or concede a crucial goal Did you see what one of the guys picked up On social media And they posted a picture from his bio His Twitter bio, his ex-bio and somebody said the eyes are soulless he looks like a man who is a serial killer

56:57he didn't put that in the article that didn't go in the article Stevie do you like what Oggy said though about the no VAR and all the old school not really no not really I'm a fan of VAR I like when things when they get things right. Do you love the cup, though? Oh, I love the cup. For the best moments. Oh, yeah, absolutely. No, the cup is magic. I just think that anywhere that's capable of having VAR should have it. I understand that Macclesfield don't have it, can't have it. That's fine. But I don't think you should stop anybody else having it just because some teams can't have it. That makes no sense.

57:39I have the quote here now, Augie. Here you go, Augie. I have the quote here. I have the quote here now, Augie. It made me laugh. You are absolutely dead inside. There's not a spark of light or happiness behind your eyes. You look like a serial killer and you tweet like one too.

57:58Augie, what's happening, Bob? Listen, I'm just misunderstood, you know. I'll have a bit of banter, so I'm fine with that. Don't worry about it. I think I gave him a bit of a pithy response as well. And hold on, Augie, that was your dad. I know he watches the show. I know he watches the show. 90 more doesn't not after that not after that we'll never see such things said about Mario ever yes so extra time is where Mario will be joining us to answer your question thanks Oggy and your soulless eyes we'll be speaking to you again soon yeah extra time tonight Craig, Stevie and Mario answering your questions you can check it out over on our YouTube channel in today's world planning ahead isn't always top of mind but not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times.

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59:25Ethos has also earned strong customer feedback with a 4.8 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot, based on more than 3 ,000 reviews. Help protect your family with life insurance through Ethos. Get your instant free quote at ethos.com slash sports. That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash sports. Application times and rates may vary. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin? Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro.

1:00:04You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the Thumbtack app. Download today. Let's get you caught off on a couple of highlights that we've seen across the board today. This is PSG against Paris FC in the Coupe de France round of 32. The second half when we see the goal here, Jonathan Acone to give Paris FC the lead. Yeah, he does well. That's the stretch for that pass. There's a little ball in there. And then the second touch. Too clever for the keeper. A 96-minute, Desiree Douay heads wide.

1:00:46The free header. Misses it completely, pretty much. And then Vitinha with a strike from outside the box here that's saved. Yeah, just tries to put it in the top corner, almost gets it there but what a save from the keeper. So Paris FC making history in the derby, a big upset in the round of 32 of the Coupe de France this year. Let's see Sevilla against Celta today, 86 minute referee would call for a penalty for Celta here as Mendy fouls Ileish Moriba. Yep, misses the ball, sets on his toe, penalty kick. Michael Solonzo converts that penalty to give Celta a late win.

1:01:29Here's how things are looking in the table, Celta up to 7th with those three points. and a good season for them so far. As for Sevilla, same can't be said as much. They find themselves down in 14th as it stands right now. Just three ahead of Valencia in the drop zone. We've got some Copa del Rey action for you this week and Craig's going to love it because we're going to see some of those little grounds. Real Madrid taking on Alvesete and Barcelona taking on Racing Santander Atleti also up against Deportivo La Coruña. So you can catch all of those games on ESPN Plus and we'll see how Real Madrid play under Alvaro Abloa.

1:02:12In the Serie A, we got to see Juventus round off the match day and we got to see Weston McKennie. Amongst the goals, 64th minute we saw him strike. It was 5-0 that it would finish against Clemenese. And so 5-0 it would finish. and no doubt we'll be talking about that on tonight's Football Americas with Herc, Casey, Ale and Alexis we'll be hosting.

1:02:37Alright, so just a reminder of this moment from Sir Bosley that led to a goal for Barnsley. It's obviously been one of the talking points. Didn't matter too much in the end because Liverpool would progress and Sir Bosley was among the goal scorers as well to help them to do so. but we did want to hear what both managers had to say about this moment because both of them were asked about it after the game. I was a little bit disappointed with our goal, if I'm honest, because I felt, you know, I don't think the player does that against Chelsea or against Arsenal in the Champions League game. So I was a little bit disappointed with that, if I'm honest, but I thought my lads were top.

1:03:15Just had the Barnsley manager, Conor, in there. He said he felt like it was disrespectful from Sir Bosley there. It's a mistake, but what's your take on it? What does he mean with disrespect? He said he didn't think he would do it in a Premier League game to try and back kill the ball like that. So I just wanted to get your thoughts on it and how you reacted at half-time. I don't think you should do that in a FA Cup game or a League Cup game, in a friendly game or in a training session. So it's a weird choice. And I also have my opinion about it, but I prefer to keep that to myself and speak about that with Dom.

1:03:55I don't agree with that I know where Huran's coming from as the Bansley manager but I just think Sir Bozlai found himself in a scenario where in his head he thought that was the best option and just made a mess of it I don't think he was being disrespectful if I'm being honest I just think he made a mess of it What's Huran bringing that up for? Have you seen your team coming at Anfield and put up a great fight and you're coming out with that. Come on. Give yourself a shake. All right. Thank you so much for being with us on the latest edition of ESPN FC. Stick around. Extra Time's on the way next.

1:04:33Mario Noyes. Soulless. We'll be answering your questions. Eyes. Sometimes on Twitter, sometimes just make you laugh. Not often.

1:04:44Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. Mario Melchiot's joining us. We've got Craig Burley and Stevie Nichol in the studio. Before we do get to the questions, here is Mario looking like Peaky Blinders, cast member.

1:05:03Oh yes, 100%. Always loving it. The only other person I've seen wearing something similar in our show, and he also does look as if he could be in Peaky Blinders, is Robbo. Robbo. Is it Robbo's hat, Mario, that you've borrowed? No, I live in Amsterdam. I don't know where Robbo lives. I was out with a guy just before Christmas, a British guy. I was out with a bunch of British guys. And I don't know if it's just because he was bald. And it's easier to look, but he was like... I wanted to take a picture of him, because he was like Robbo's doppelganger. It's amazing. And he had the hat on as well. Jules did the other day on the coverage, and at a quick glance, it looked like Robbo, which is so weird.

1:05:48What did? Jules in the Peaky Blinders cap and I know I wasn't the only one to say it Julian Laurent when a quick glance I saw FC I saw the hat and I thought is that Robbo? No and it was Jules I don't think Jules will be happy with that Robbo looks great You look great too Mario I like it I like your style Thank you so much Mario first question for you then So when does Xabi Alonso get named new Liverpool manager? I heard Florian Verts is very excited Ooh, that's a call. No, not yet. Slot, look, I'm from Holland. Come on, I cannot be that bad to Slot. At the moment, it's not maybe running the way we would love it to be, so it's going to take some time.

1:06:31And it's also down to timing, because you don't know how long Slot has got the job and the timing, how long Alonso is going to wait for a new one. So we don't know that yet. So no, nothing yet. I don't know what his nibs thinks, but the way I would look at it is, I think if we're in this position next year, and it's faltering and it has faltered, then that's a problem. But I do think he's going to go through to the summer, and then they're going to re-value everything, the balance and blah blah blah, and then they'll probably go again. Unless it's a complete disaster between now and the summer.

1:07:07but I think if we're sitting here in 12 months time and Liverpool have got the same issues and he's got the same issues I think he's got a big problem I don't think we're there yet No, we're not there No, I agree with you If Liverpool between now and this time next year continue to play and get the results they're getting then 100 % Yeah, that would be it Craig, will Real Madrid benefit from sacking Xabi Alonso for this season? Well, it depends what benefit, how you would consider benefit. I mean, winning the league is possible. I think if you ask Madrid fans, and I'm just rising here, I think they just want to see a bit more exciting football.

1:07:52Now, whether they'll get that or not, I don't know. It could be because Mbappe apart, there's been a hell of a lot of inconsistencies from the rest. Now, I know they've had a lot of injuries at the back. to be fair. Bright-back's been injured, Carvajal's been injured, he's been suspended, Alexander Arnold's been out. But there were some strange decisions, you know, Elche away, playing Fran Garcia, left midfield, there was a lot of strange stuff. So I think the benefit would be just alone, maybe seeing some better football. That's first and foremost, whether they win the league or not. I don't think, as successful as this team have been in the Champions League over the years, I think they're a bit like Liverpool at the moment.

1:08:37I think that's all can be. I think that's pie in the sky. I don't think they've got hope in hell in that competition, not in their current guys. But Barcelona are not infallible in the league, so that would be, I think, the most gettable trophy for them, I think, would be their domestic league. We didn't get to hear from you, Marion, Xabi Alonso leaving Real Madrid. What did you make of it? No, you know, look, we knew that he was already, the way he got the job, I think the way he got the job, he was already from the get-go, it was difficult for him. He didn't want to go to the Summer World Cup, for example.

1:09:12And that was already a difficulty. He said no, and then Paris came out. He said, no, we are going. So that was already like a kind of dink. And then we talked about it, like you guys highlighted what happened in October. When you lose against your rivals, it's going to be shaky. Then it started to shake, and then the players started to turn against him. I think that all didn't help him. And then this game, of course, you play the final, Barcelona turns up and you play the game. Like, you're sitting back and waiting. They were just playing the reaction game. That's not Real Madrid. So for them then to make that choice, for me it was like, yeah, I'm sorry for you, but nothing's going to happen.

1:09:53The time that he needed, they were never going to give him that time. Stevie, if you are Xabi Alonso, are you considering the Manchester United job? I would think not. I would think not. No. And that would be the right decision. Well there's a dynamic as well isn't there? Yeah I mean... As much as you know... I mean just take the Liverpool side of it away. I mean you talk about getting out of the frying pan and entering the fire. You know, so no. you, Xabi Lanzar needs to have nothing to do with anything for a good six months and look back and figure out what happened at Real Madrid, you know.

1:10:36If the reason it all went wrong was because it was all down to him and all the things he did, then he has to look at himself in the mirror and say right, that was down to me, I need to do things differently. But with his attitude as well, I had no chance for the start and blame somebody else. So yeah, now he needs to go and sit on the beach for six months have a couple of tequilas or whatever as he has and then decide what to do but stay away from Manchester United. I always go back to, I don't know why because I can't really think of anybody else but I always go back to David Moyes in this scenario.

1:11:09Do you remember you know he did so much good work at Everton obviously for a decade and then he got this Man United job off the back of Fergie and you know lasted seven months but instead of doing what Stevie was saying and take stock, he jumped into these poison chalices. Real Sociedad wasn't so much a poison chalice, but it was language barriers and what for. And then he jumped into Sunderland, and it was a complete mess. And it took him a while to rebuild. And he did at West Ham, did a great job. Did a great job at West Ham. But it took him, he just seemed to keep jumping into these bad jobs.

1:11:44It was like, sit at home, count your money, and wait for the right thing to come up. And that's what I think Alonso has to do, is not get itchy feet and say, I need to get back in and I'll take anything. You've got to take the right thing. Otherwise, you'll get absolutely smashed to pieces. You take the wrong job because your stock is taking a bash. You don't want to jump in somewhere else with a bad bunch of players and it takes another bash because it's very difficult to climb back up those stairs. Yeah, but Craig, don't you think some coaches are a little bit worried that the timing will be off if they wait too long?

1:12:17Because I think sometimes they take that job because they're worried about If I wait too long, that possibility won't be around anymore. So I got to take it now and I don't sit out like Stevie said to chill and wait for a minute. I remember working with Alan Kurberschle at Premier League Productions before I came here. Alan Kurberschle, for those who don't know, played for West Ham and was a manager at Charlton. He was a manager at West Ham and others, good manager. But I was working with him, he was a thoroughly nice bloke, but he got off of the Wolves job when I was working. He said, Craig, what do you think?

1:12:47Not that many, but he just said, do you think I should take it or not? I think it was off the back of Mick McCarthy, and it was a bit of a... I'm not doing this injustice to Mick, but I think it was a bit of a mess. And he wasn't sure. And I thought, I don't want to take it. In the end, Alan, he didn't take it. And to Mario's point... They were in the jobs. Everything else sort of, I think, I think everything else sort of passed him by. And maybe in that case, he said, I should have taken it. I should have taken the chance because I could have made a difference. So it is a difficult scenario. but for these managers you know Xabi Alonso nobody will forget he's won the league at Liverpool because they know he can manage he was linked with Bayern he was linked with Liverpool he was linked with Real Madrid and people know what Real Madrid can do to you and what players can do to you they'll understand and he did win one Clásico he's four points behind Barca they can sell it they can spin it his way right what do you think though any longer than six months should he be taking if the right one comes up after that well yeah the key's the right one I mean that's it and I'm saying he should wait six months but you know if something comes along between that that that fits what he wants and needs and the whole thing then I'm not saying don't take it but I'm just saying just be careful that's really what I'm saying be careful don't be desperate to get another job just because you want another job how was your itchy feet when you left the revs I've never had itchy feet I can assure you

1:14:19OK, guys. Chopping at the bit to get back in. Seven days a week. When I was down at the beach, I got sand in my shoes. That was the only time I had itchy feet. Mario, what was an intense training session like? Were challenges flying in, or was it more about things being perfect before a big match? Both, both. When I was in Holland, it was flying in, because in the Dutch way, it's always, because the way you train is the way you're going to play. And when you come to England, my experience was like, the day before the game you take it easy, because you don't want to get anybody injured, especially not your best players, because if you get one injured, you might win the next game that's coming along.

1:15:02I always found out, at the time you don't think about it, but I think about it now and it seems really daft, because Mario is 100 % correct in the fact that On a Friday before a Saturday, take it easy, we'll just roll the ball, we'll be quiet five aside. The problem is, the day before on the Thursday, you kick your lumps at each other. So unless you're recovering one day, but it's true, the last day, the Friday, before the game, nothing. But before that, no, everybody's getting lampton. Every training session was intense. Yeah, and you know, we had a lot of 8v8s and 7v8s, whatever it is, games, a lot.

1:15:48The Chelsea and the Celtic, with Hula and Hardell and with Wim Jansen at Celtic, but the players kept it intense. Because you wanted your sharpness, you want to get a sweat on, you want to get your sharpness. And you weren't, you know, there was, dare I say it, there was the odd fight. You know, that's how people were getting fired then. You know, because your eight wanted to beat that eight. You know that's how it was even if that was your team mate two days later. So we all, I always knew when it was getting too intense because when you're doing it, you're just doing it. You know you're not running and going, oh he's getting stuck in there, because everybody's doing it.

1:16:26But you always knew because the whistle would go, right, do a few stretches, just do two or three doggies. And no reason we're doing that was just to take the sting out of it. because you knew everybody would just go a way back down again. Five minutes, get a drink and then start again. So that's how you stop all the... That's how you stop it before somebody actually gets injured. And is it really like that after one of the fights that happened that you just put it aside and you just go back to the dressing room? Yeah, I saw a couple of ugly things happen. Particularly, I saw a couple of big fights at Chelsea.

1:17:0199 times at 100. One ugly, I'm not going to talk about it, one ugly scenario at Celtic when I was there early on, not involving me but two other lads and it wasn't pretty. But I'll give you an example. Jansen, the Dutchman, who was my coach at Celtic for a year and he was very good. He stopped training one day. It was three or four days before the last game of the season and we'd failed to win the league on the Sunday. We'd have won the league with a victory and we were awaiting in Fairmont and they scored late on to grab a draw and that meant we were going to the last game of the season. And training was so, everybody was so on edge that we're kicking, kicking seven bells out of each other.

1:17:48He stopped the training, I swear to God. He stopped the training after 20 minutes and he went, the whistle went, he went, he didn't say half of five minutes, he went, everybody in the shower, see you tomorrow. go home, clear your head, come back because he sensed that everybody was on edge and people were kicking lumps at each other and we needed that guy to play on the Saturday to win the league and that's how it came and a manager has to gauge that he sent everybody home go home, I've seen enough this is not a good scenario today everybody come back tomorrow with a fresh head and we go again and that's what happened we'll get it right For Craig, Mario and Stevie, in the UK, do fans in the stands give referees a harder time today or when you played after a bad decision?

1:18:39How do you see it, Mario? No, I don't think so. I think, I mean, look, okay, they got the fire now, so that is probably a helping method for them. But back in the day, we had the same, you know what I mean? Like, if you're not doing a good job, the fans are going to have a go at you. And as players, I think in the beginning when I came, you could say more to a ref, but towards the end it started to get, every year it was getting less. Because the ref would pull out his cards and also use it against you. In the sense of like, hey, if you say one more thing, then I book you. Oh man, that, ooh, sometimes you wanted to let him have it, but you can't.

1:19:17So you just step back. I don't think people realise. I mean, they don't really hear much now, the refs. they probably don't hear much now because they've got their headset, their earpiece in and they've got the VR constantly. And their assistants, they're talking to their assistants who are shouting, tell them offside or he's done this. So they've got constant stuff in their ears. So they probably, and they never had that before, so they could hear more. But you also, if people think they go to a game and there's 50 ,000 there, you can't really hear, unless they're all singing the one thing, you can't really hear it.

1:19:52But you go to a game and there's 5 ,000 there, down the lower leagues the referees will and the assists they'll hear everything a big game it's just a muffled one big muffled sound whereas down the leagues it is very personal it's the same for players it's the same for us it's the same for players so when you're playing sorry playing Liverpool or Chelsea or Chelsea with Mario but you know when you come to the end of your career and you do what I did and you start going down the league Doncaster you go to Doncaster and Southend and all these places I bet you must have heard everyone. You can hear every word.

1:20:28Did it ever get in your head? No, well, fortunately, by that stage, you're experienced enough and you just, you don't bother with it. You don't bother with it. Mario, did it get into your head sometimes? No, sometimes they can get in your head, but you know what the best thing, it took me a while to understand that. When they say something bad to you, it's better to give them a smile. Soon as you smile to them, they clap for you. So I was like, okay, that works. So they will say like, cut your hair, cut your hair, and I'll be like, and then they, okay, okay, then they leave you alone. I bet, is there anything, you'll not bet it off the top of your head, you've got no chance.

1:21:04I know you've got no chance. Did any of the, when you went down the leagues at the end, and played in front of you a couple of thousand, did you ever hear anything that's repeatable, that's funny and repeatable on TV? Yes. That somebody said to you? Yeah, actually when I came to America. I was playing for the Boston Bulldogs, I was player coach. And we were in Charleston Battery. Now this is broadcastable, yeah? Aye, we were in Charleston Battery. Now Charleston, anyone who's never been to Charleston Battery, I don't know where they still do, but they had the greatest bar that was basically behind the stand of the bleachers.

1:21:45And so during the game, I've gone up for a corner, as I'm standing in the corner, there's a crowd and they all start singing Who ate all the pies? Who ate all the pies? You ate all the pies. I was like, oh, yeah. So when the game finished, we all get in the bar. They came up to me. The guy went, hey, how you doing? I went, you were one of them, weren't you? And he went, yeah, we're only having a laugh. he goes let me buy you a beer I went aye alright get me a beer there you go he kept doing it love it what Stevie thoughts on Arsenal's appointment of Thomas Gronnemark as throwing coach will this all but confirm them as Premier League champions I told you that earlier I said to you I saw it listen if it if it helps them then absolutely Thomas go and fill your boots Thomas go and fill your boots go and fill your boots aye If they're daft enough that they want to go throw in coach, then go on you go.

1:22:49Take the money. Can you imagine the swaffling in the technical area? I mean, I've already got Mikko Le Teta who's bouncing around like Zebedee. He should be fine for that as well, by the way. Outside he's technically at all the time. He's a freaking nuisance. If I was a player against him, I'd kick him. I would. I'd intentionally play the ball too far, then I'd two-foot him. He's a nuisance. But you've got Nicolas Joubert out there taking all the, you know, look at Peacock. he was out again at Portsmouth. Now if Thomas Gronnemark goes there... To be fair, it worked for them against Portsmouth today.

1:23:20They're very good at set pieces. Dude, we never found out... Xhaka got upset. We never found out why he left Liverpool, did we? Oh my God. Why did he leave Liverpool? Maybe, I think, was it when... There was a next to this when Klopp left, I think. No, no, Klopp got rid of him. Or he left. Oh, I'm... Oh, we'll have to get our jambics on it. Sorry, it's Columbo over here. I'm just... I'm just... For the older girls. Yeah. I'm just saying. We got ready before we left. Just one more thing. Just one more thing. Stevie, you might be onto something. What? Latest article on ESPN.com. I'm expecting. When are you next on?

1:23:57What day is it today? Monday. Monday. Wednesday. Well, I'm expecting. I'll try and find it. Yeah, that will put our team to task as well. Why did that happen? I'm sure our viewers will let us know. Why did Thomas Gormack leave? Yeah, anyway. Liverpool have just sacked. Did you know that? They just sacked their... I say sag, that's allegedly They've just been Their set piece goals Here we are all talking about these coaches What we don't get is You know who used to do the set pieces when we were playing? Who? The people that were there The manager The manager and the coaches But you know, they're saying they're too busy now Got other things Times have changed Thank you so much for sending in your questions today Thanks to Mario for his hat We'll see you tomorrow with more on ESPN FC

1:24:48Now for some bonus content Here is our chat earlier in the day When the news broke that Xabi Alonso would be leaving Real Madrid Kay Murray, Craig Burley and Stevie Nicol here in the studio We've got Mark Ogden with us today He'll be at the game for us But we're also joined by Sid Lowe Because the big news today before we do get to the FA Cup coverage Is that of Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid parting ways apparently by mutual consent. Tell us, Marcid Lowe. Well, Real Madrid have announced this this afternoon. We all knew, didn't we, that the way that things were at Real Madrid, that it was likely that the final judgment on Xavi Alonso was going to be on the basis of the Super Cup.

1:25:26We're yet to discover, we're trying to find out, obviously over the last couple of hours since this news broke, the exact process by which his tenure as Real Madrid manager has come to an end. In other words, what it was that was, if you like, the final detonator. But we always thought that it was likely that Jeddah would be, if you like, the cut-off point. And so it's proven he's been in charge since only as early as July. Of course, he didn't want to. And to be honest with you, I think part of the problem started there, that right from the very start, Alonso was accepting certain levels of interference, which I think as time went on, he probably felt he shouldn't have done.

1:25:59I mean, they lost this Supercopa game. Disclaimer, I didn't see the game. but he started the second half of the season after the winter break did the performance and the result against Betis at home just not factor into it at all was it just the fact that they lost this cup game in the way that they sort of played this defensive style I mean he got a bit of a tune out of them in the Betis game did that just not factor at all you know what I think is interesting actually Craig obviously the Betis game would have factored into it up to a point, had it then been followed by really good performances or had it been preceded by really good performances.

1:26:41But of course, you had this run of five victories in a row for Real Madrid and in none of those five victories except the Betis game, in which, of course, Kylian Mbappe, by the way, was absent and Gonzalo García played up front and scored that brilliant hat-trick. You have five games in which four of the five, you think, they're really not very good, even if they win those games. Now, I think you could probably make a case for saying that Real Madrid have competed in a final of the Spanish Super Cup. In fact, the reaction in Spain, I think very interestingly, was a reaction that said, well, yes, they've been defeated by Barcelona, but they did compete.

1:27:10And they had two opportunities very, very late in the game to have taken the game to penalties and maybe to have won the Super Cup. But this goes on longer than that, of course. It goes beyond those five games that they won. It goes to that run of only two victories in eight. It goes to being beaten by Liverpool. It goes to conceding five against Atletico Madrid. It goes to being beaten at home by Celta Vigo, but not just beaten, but beaten by a team that looks so, so much better than them when they shouldn't be. And I think that's the, if you like, the underlying thread in all of this is that with the exception of maybe two, three games over the course of the season, Valencia comes to mind, that Betis one you mentioned comes to mind, the Clasico, the first one against Barcelona maybe even comes to mind, although with one or two slight doubts around it.

1:27:49With the exception of those three games, perhaps a couple of others that, to be perfectly honest, are the top of my head I can't think of, you just really struggle to think of a performance in which Madrid were genuinely good and I think that's the bottom line as well as the sense of Xavi Alonso not connecting with some of the players the sense of Xavi Alonso not entirely connecting with some of the club hierarchy and just that feeling that actually at what point was this going to get better so you can have that better scheme that you're talking about you can have a performance against Barcelona think that's okay but you take a step back and you think yeah but what's really changed because there were signs that we were seeing at the end of the game, Sid, you wonder if any of those have factored in?

1:28:25Because as you've alluded to, there's been these internal discussions. There've been these stories behind the scenes that he's not connecting with some of the players. But then we saw the Vinny substitution, which was picked apart last night. And at the end of the game, there was all this talk about the Pasillo, the guard of honour, Xabi Alonso wanting his players to give the Barcelona players the guard of honour and Mbappe seemingly telling the other teammates not to. Has it come down to some of these moments and this disconnect with the players? Have they been scrutinised today? Well, I think that's part of it.

1:28:53Of course it is, absolutely. And that's always the case, of course, at Real Madrid. That's the nature of, if you like, the political dynamics of Real Madrid, the power of Real Madrid, the kind of players you're alongside. And as you mentioned that bit of pushes last night, which I thought was absolutely fascinating, by the way. Now, admittedly, I'm a little reluctant to come up with a really definitive conclusion about what exactly is going on. But as you rightly say, it looks like Xabi Alonso is saying to his players, we come and we stand and we applaud Barcelona. We give them a guard of honour.

1:29:20and that Mbappé and maybe Rodrigo as well are saying, no, let's get out of there. And it's the players whose voice gets heard in that scenario. And if so, of course, that speaks to some of the things we've seen throughout the course of the season. We saw Fede Valverde get annoyed about playing at fullback. And the really big one, I remember we talked about it endlessly at the time, in the Classico in which they played pretty well, where 15 minutes ago they replaced Vinicius Jr. and he goes straight down the tunnel having a go. Now, at that point, we think, yeah, but this doesn't really matter.

1:29:45It's a player gets angry. They've had a pretty good performance. They've won the Classico. This won't matter in the long run. But why did it start to matter? It started to matter because the response from the club essentially was, well, shouldn't have taken him off, should he? So rather than reinforcing the manager and giving him the authority and saying, yes, the player is out of order because the player publicly, if you like, challenged his manager and undermined his authority. The club continued to do so by basically saying, well, don't take him off. And of course, that tells you something about the environment at Real Madrid.

1:30:11Now, those aren't necessarily the things that define everything or the things that guarantee that you're not going to continue as coach of Real Madrid, but it plays a part. And it's part of that whole environment. And, you know, you know this, Clay, Real Madrid, we've seen this with so many managers and so many players, that it is a different environment to other clubs. And you come into it and you have to manage in a slightly different way. And I think for Xavi Lanzo, of course, that has been problematic. You can put all the bits of paper in front of you and all the stats and what they might have been doing right and what they were doing wrong.

1:30:42But it goes back to what Sid was talking about and what we've watched every week is performance. I don't think it takes an avid football fan to see that they failed the eye test. They've arguably, in terms of performance, got worse from a struggling Carlo Ancelotti last year. Sid talked about some of the games. You know, Celta Viga at home, Elche away, Valle Cano, they were sort of half decent in a draw, but they had these four away games, they just were not very good. And then they got back to the Bernabeu, they got beaten by Celta Vigo, and one of the games that sticks out to me, apart from the Madrid derby and all that, is a game they actually won recently, is the Sevilla game.

1:31:26A game against a very average Sevilla team, where it was, you know, toe-to-toe stuff for the bulk of the game. And then when Sevilla lost a player, it was Sevilla that took the game by the scruff of the neck. Now, Real Madrid, I think, won the game 2-0. But up until the second goal, they were kind of hanging on. And it was like, is this... What are they doing? What's the instruction? What are the players thinking about? The fact that they had an extra body, the fact that they were at home, the fact that it was Real Madrid, and here they were, sort of hanging on and Courtois having to make a few saves against this 10-man Sevilla.

1:32:04And I think when you look at that, because they're not that far off the title race. They didn't get walloped yesterday. But when you look at what we've watched covering it on pretty much a weekly basis, it's hard to put a reasoning forward how this is going to change in the next five months. There's not a reason to stick up for Xavi Alonso. there's nothing better at Real Madrid right now than when he walked through the door absolutely nothing and I'm sure the president's sitting up just before the equalised before half time thinking hold on a second we brought this manager in to bring back the style to bring back an identity to bring back attacking football the way we want it to be played at Real Madrid but for 44 minutes you've sat and watched the Real Madrid side do what mid-table or relegation-threatened teams do and sit behind the ball.

1:33:01That's not Real Madrid. I mean, Xavi Alonso wasn't brought in to get 10 men behind the ball because that's what they did yesterday from the first half. And somehow they clawed out and went in at halftime 1-1. So it's not a surprise. There's absolutely not one thing I can think of that's any better at Real Madrid from the minute Xavi Alonso walked in the door to now. Nothing. He had a Leverkusen side that, the year they won the league, fought to the death. How many times did they win a game late on or drag a point in the 90-plus injury time? They got called Leverkusen because of it. And he had a team, you know, Florian Verts was there, he was doing great.

1:33:43They had a Jonathan Tarr was still there. They're good players. But they fought until the death. They, Granit Xhaka, another one, this never-say-die attitude. It was amazing. And then he walked into Real Madrid, and it's just a completely different dynamic. It's like everyone for themselves, basically. And he did look to me in the last few weeks a little bit like the former Manchester United manager, Ruben Amarim. That he realised that he was fighting a bit of a losing battle, which Amarim just looked as if he was out of his depth and didn't have the answers. And it seemed to me, it dawned on Xabi Alonso quite quickly, that this was going to be a bigger task than he thought.

1:34:27And he looked as if this decision might be one that he says, you know what, I'm actually better off out of this. I go and take stock because I was banging my head against the wall with what I wanted to do and what the bulk of these players wanted to do. they were on a different side of the fence and that was never going to finish well for the manager. Augie, will this be tied into Liverpool in any way? Obviously one of his former clubs that he was linked with when the Liverpool managerial position was opened. Yeah, I mean look, Arne Slott has steadied the ship in recent weeks, hasn't he? He's been pulling back in the top four, they're still alive in the Champions League so it has steadied the ship.

1:35:09Obviously the pressure is on Arne Slott to do better than he has been doing. and we're talking about you know just down the road you've got Man United looking for a former player who can do the job as an interim to them in the season they're struggling Liverpool have got a former player who has won the Bundesliga with an incredible record at Leverkusen coached Real Madrid albeit not successfully but they've got basically a gold-plated coach ready in the wings if Arnislott leads in the summer so Liverpool know that if they need to make a change they've got somebody there who can come into Anfield and know the club know the players know Florian Wurz as Craig said so it's not good news for Arne Slott, Arne Slott can change the situation around by making Liverpool better, potentially winning the Champions League this season, but from now to the end of the season, the fact that Xabi Alonso is gone today means that Arne Slott will be looking over his shoulder all the way to the end of the season and maybe even beyond.

1:35:56Are you going to get a chance to talk to Arne Slott today and offer this up to him just to make more friends, Augie? Don't put him off. Yeah, I don't think he needs me to tell him that Xabi Alonso is a stalking horse, but yeah, he'll know all about the situation he's in right now. He has to get better results, starting with the FA Cup tonight because obviously last season they had a shocker at Plymouth when they were not taking the fourth round so Arnestol's under pressure to deliver What happened to Xabi Alonso here at Real Madrid? Hurt him in any way as a coach? And whether clubs would be interested in bringing him in?

1:36:25Absolutely Xabi Alonso did a fantastic job at Leverkusen and then took a step up and lasted six months That's great isn't it? That's a very good that's the reason why you take him I mean, there's actually, this season, there's no difference between the two. You know, Anastasia won the Premier League last season. Alonso Leverkusen, undefeated, won the league. Neyla had an incredible season. This season, desperate. No identity, not playing well, not getting on with his players. Injuries. I mean, you could look at Liverpool and say the same thing. All the same things. So what? Why would you get rid of Anastasia?

1:37:09who's won the Premier League already for a manager who's failed miserably. He hasn't just failed. I've just sat here and said, there's not one thing better at Real Madrid from when he got there to now. So why do you take him at Liverpool? Why don't you give Anastasia a lot more time? Do you agree with what Stevie Sane said? Well, I think there's two different ways of looking at it. I think what Stevie says in terms of if you look at a manager and you try and say, OK, what has he achieved in this time at Real Madrid? I think Stevie's right to say there isn't anything that you really hold on to.

1:37:47Now, during the Club World Cup, the first three games, we thought we're starting to see a structure. We're starting to see different ideas. We're starting to see something quite interesting. And Stevie mentioned this earlier, and I think he's absolutely right. But one of the things about Alonso is he came in after Ancelotti as the guy that, in theory, was going to make them modern and structured. And there was going to be a formation and a clear identity, and that didn't happen. Whereas Ancelotti was a bit more kind of free-flowing, let the players express themselves, find a basic way of getting the best out of them.

1:38:12Whereas Alonso, we all felt, was here's a systems manager. Unfortunately, of course, a systems manager at a club that, generally speaking, hasn't liked systems very much. Now, so as Stevie rightly says, if you take what's happened at Real Madrid, is there anything there that says this has worked? The truth is there's almost nothing. Those first three games at Club World Cup and then it collapsed against PSG. The first six games, seven games of the season they won in La Liga. But really and truly in none of those games did we think until the Clásico, So this looks like a good team. We thought they look strong, but they don't look particularly exciting.

1:38:41I remember referring to them, Kay. I don't know if you were on the show this day, but I remember referring to them early in the season as boringly good because I thought they were going to be structured, not very interesting, but they were just going to win lots of games kind of effectively just because they're a bit better than everybody else without ever really exciting us. And then, of course, what happened is the boring part didn't really change, but the good part did. And they weren't very exciting and they weren't very good either. So in that sense, Steve, he's absolutely right. Now, the flip side of this, as I said, there's two ways of looking at this, is to be perfectly honest, if you're Liverpool and you are convinced for whatever reason that Arnie Scott doesn't continue, then there's a bit of me that thinks that this spell at Real Madrid doesn't put you off, Xavi Lanzo.

1:39:19It doesn't put you off because you believe that the environment will be different, that the authority you give him will be different, that the players around him will be different and that you can get it closer to what happened at Leverkusen than what happened at the Santiago Bernabeu. I think you could argue that any coach coming into Real Madrid certainly is going to have the same issues. I think one thing that has improved, Kylian Mbappe has continued his form and his form has got better. But I don't think that's down to Xabi Alonso. I think that's down to Kylian Mbappe. Not much else has changed, if we're being honest.

1:39:53In fact, they've got worse. I mean, the fact that Ancelotti's problem last year was getting Vinicius Junior to run. His problem this year for Alonso is getting him to run and getting him to behave. and get them to toe the line. At least Angelotti got them to toe the line because he was a very respected manager. So it's been a frustrating... But the one thing that Alonso will say is, well, listen, given the chance, I think I'd have won the league and I was never given that opportunity. So that's the one thing he could still say, listen, I would have turned it around, even if we think it wouldn't have happened.

1:40:24So maybe that has done him a favour. Yeah, we'll see if it does. We've got to let Sid go because he's actually calling a game today. He's calling the Celtic game. So Sid will let you go, but don't worry, it'll be hard. Double dipping, as I said again. About this. Tonight we'll be talking about the fact it is Alvaro Arbeloa who's coming in to replace Chevy Alonso.

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