Noel Gallagher on Oasis, Guehi, Semenyo & why Arsenal will win the title

0:00This is the Football Daily Podcast with Darren Fletcher. Welcome to a very special episode of the Football Daily Podcast as we preview the Manchester Derby. Joining us on the pod is Oasis star and Manchester City fan, Noel Gallagher. Noel, how are you, mate? I'm very well, mate. How are you? I'm very good. Have you been busy since we last spoke? Well, when was that? Before the summer. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it went rather well, didn't it? It did. It did. How's the holiday? The holiday was good. The holiday was good. I'm back at work on Monday. So it's all good, mate. It's all been going great.

0:41Good, good. So it's a big day for City tomorrow with the derby, but it looks like a good day for City today. Mark Gahey, 20 million quid. Unbelievable. I mean, you know, to say we've, in a couple of weeks, we've bought the two most desirable players that are potentially going to be on the market in the summer in January in Semenyo and Mark Gahey is actually quite incredible. And the more I'm watching it, the more shocked I am they pull this off. It's unbelievable. It goes to show that, you know, for all Arsenal fans and Liverpool fans, nonsense about those two clubs being the most desirable destination for the great players in the world, you know, everybody wants to go see, play for Pep.

1:30and it is really, when you think about it, the two players, everybody wanted those two players and they've come to us in January, which is staggering, really. It stunned me today when I saw 20 million quid because Liverpool were in there at 35 million in the summer. Don said to me a little early tonight, he can't believe that Liverpool didn't go back in again at 20 million. It seems like daylight robbery when you think about the fee and the calibre of player that you're getting, even though his contract's up. Well, yeah, I mean, the difference between City and Liverpool and Arsenal, which we'll find out now this season when Arsenal eventually win the league, is when City win the league, they go big again.

2:08They keep their foot on the accelerator. Liverpool have won the league now and, you know, they should have gone and got Gaye because wasn't he photographing the training gear in the summer? They were one day away from getting him, so I'm not sure what's going on there. But, yeah, City just tend to go big all the time and, you know, they rarely get it wrong in the transfer market and hopefully these two will pay well Semenyo's already my favourite player I'm that fickle and Gahey is just what we need because we've got we've got decimated back four at the minute but yeah all good Noel how's it looking with Semenyo and Docu on the wings do you think it's a do you think watching City now with Foden and obviously Haaland and Rinders and Cherky there's so much talent going forward but with Semenyo signing feels like a statement one I know you've sort of fell in love with him already but some player.

2:59I'll tell you what I like about him. He carries the ball brilliantly, but the ball never seems to be out of control from him. Do you know what I mean? It's like when you see other wingers, they kind of take bad touches and they knock it too far. And they're always like Savinho, for instance. And even Doku, to a certain extent, you never quite know whether he's got the ball under control. But with Semenyo, he looks like he's playing within himself. and he never looks flustered, do you know what I mean? And the two goals that he's scored already bode well. I always think when a player joins a club, their first game or their first couple of games will tell you a lot about how it's going to go for them and he's done great.

3:46Really, really great. Do you think there could be a bit of a Mahrez kind of output from him? Because when you had Mahrez, there was always 20-odd goals coming from that wide right position that helped the team immensely. The wingers you've had recently haven't been free scoring like that. But he looks like he can be that player, doesn't he? Absolutely. If we had a winger that was scoring between 12 and 16 goals a season, we wouldn't have bought some any of you. We wouldn't need him. So we obviously, there was a need there to spread the goals around from Erling. And I think it'll be, I still don't think it's going to tip the balance in the title race this season.

4:27I just think Arsenal are too good. But I think next season now, City will be frightening. Absolutely terrifying. So Derby this weekend. What's your earliest Manchester Derby memory? Because you go back into the 70s. My earliest memory was a night game. I think it was... I'm not sure. We probably... I think it might have been the game where Martin Buchan broke Colin Bell's leg. I think that might be my first memory. I know it was a night game. I think Brian Kidd was playing for us then. But generally through the 90s, they were pretty forgettable for us. You know, we were always getting battered.

5:04You know, if we got a corner, we'd celebrate it. So when the tables were eventually turned, you know, these days, you live for these days now. It's just a shame it's the early kickoff tomorrow because, you know, you like it to be kind of later on during the day. but I'm looking forward to this one tomorrow. I think it's going to be good. Just before Glenn comes in, November 1975, that game. What's Martin booking? Well, that would make sense. My first game at City was 74, so that would make sense, yeah. No, while I've got you, I've got to thank you for my best night of 2025. There was somebody on this show, Noel, who promised me tickets, but he got extremely greedy, let's say.

5:43Let's not give him any more ammunition tonight, Noel. Did he? Which one did you go to? Did you go to one? I was at Wembley. Right, right. They were, I mean, I would say which one, but they were all astonishing. You know, your mate there besides you went to nearly as many as I did. Yeah, I know, I know. I followed it on Instagram, mate. Who's it more? Yeah, yeah. It was just great. The whole thing was just, it was, we were completely blown away by how it went and the reaction and the vibe in the gigs and all that. It was a moment in time we'll all look back on in years to come and think, wow, you know, how did we do that?

6:24But it was great, really great. So were we, mate, so were me. But taking it back to the football, Fletch asked for your first, what's your best Derby Day memory? Well, when I went solo in 2011 or 2012, whenever it was, my first ever solo gig was in Dublin, and it was the first night of my tour. and that day City played United at Old Trafford and I think we were both unbeaten in the league up until that point and it was the day that we beat them 6-1 and I remember watching it before I went to the soundcheck and to see the goals go in and the Balotelli t-shirt and why always me and all that and Silva making the pass of the century for the sixth and it was just a great, great, great day.

7:13that was the day that the power shifted in Manchester and it was a beautiful thing to witness. But I think, though, in the case of United, I think as a City fan, obviously, you know, we'd like to see them go out of business. And if I'd have known back in, you know, a few years ago that you could buy a football club without spending any of your own money and saddle it with debt at Abortman United and turned it into a fantastic car park, but speaking as a neutral the league needs Man United to be strong do you know what I mean because when there's only two teams going for the title and there's only two teams who can take points off each other every game has an air of inevitability about it so we need a strong United and a strong Liverpool and a strong Newcastle and a strong Villa and Everton and all that to make the league more interesting but United are in laughable chaos you know a long way that continues Can you go to Old Trafford?

8:13Could you go to a derby at Old Trafford? It gets a bit dangerous for me because I'm quite recognisable. I've been a couple of times and it can be very, very tricky, I've got to say. But for a morning kick-off, I wouldn't go. I've been to Old Trafford more for boxing matches than I have for football matches. I remember seeing Eubank Ben there, Eubank Ben the rematch. that there was a draw there. But no, it's not a part of town I go to. Noel, just want to sort of go a bit further with that. What's your thought about what's going on now at Man United and what's going on over the road? You know, obviously you've got what's going on at Man City, which is brilliant, but what are you thinking?

9:03What's the thought of you now, where you think they are? The difference between the two clubs is as simple and fundamental as this. Man City are run by football people and Man United are run by business people and Man City thankfully have an owner who doesn't run the club for profit even though we make a staggering amount of money and United from what we see and read in the papers and all that is run on penny pinching and trying to balance the books and that doesn't work in the modern age and I think City just... Well, it's been completely turned on its head, you know. Man City would always find a way to cock things up, you know.

9:49And Man United was a slick operation and all the best players wanted to go there and the best manager and all the fans had the best songs and blah, blah, blah and all that. And it's been completely turned upside down when the Abu Dhabi lot came to Manchester and now it's United who cannot, for the life of them, get it right. and City do misstep from time to time and there's a major rebuild going on. But if you look at even over the last two weeks, the two players we bought in two weeks, everybody in the footballing world will say, good Lord, they mean business. You know, City are a serious football club.

10:22Man United are a serious business operation. Therein lies the difference. You said there that you think Arsenal are going to win it this season. Is there any thought in your mind that the Demons might kick in March, April when reality gets near and they can start to see the title and you're breathing down the net because you've got Semenyo and got Gehi, do you still think there's a chance that they could buckle under the pressure? Especially if it's sitting close at that stage? Not this year. We would have to be perfect now until we get them to the Etihad and beat them. And then the gap would be down to three points and anything could happen.

10:57But I've seen championship winning squads. I know what it feels like. I know what it smells like. I know what a championship squad looks like on the telly, right? When you watch it, we ain't one, not yet. And Arsenal are one. You know, they can play away at Bournemouth and they've got five or six who would be regular starters on the bench. And that's what we had in the treble season. You know, when City were going for the treble, any team was the strongest team. There was no B team. But saying that, we're getting there. Now all of a sudden with Semenyo and Gehi, we played Newcastle the other night and won 2-0.

11:38There was kids in the back four were kids. Do you know what I mean? I think the average age was 21 or something. So we're getting there. Don't worry about that. We'll be back. I'll tell you the one that's impressed me this season, O 'Reilly. Left back, centre mid, number 10. Just looks a footballer, doesn't he? Just looks like a player, wherever he is. Well, this is a testament to Pep. because, you know, when they go on about managers and checkbook pep and all this, I don't know how many times he's done it, but he's taken Nunes on one side, O 'Reilly on the other, the two best full-backs in the league.

12:10Neither of them are full-backs. You know, he did it with Fabian Delph. He did it with Nathan Aki in the treble season. He played left-back, not left-back. Nico would want to count himself, look, he's playing for the greatest coach of all time because he now looks like a£60-70 million player. and he's keeping a 60, 70 million pound left back out of the team in Ait Norey so he's been great but this is all down to the manager I mean the manager is some boy I'll tell you Noel talk to me about Kushinov I've been super impressed with him so far this season he's amazing I've seen his debut at Leighton Orient in the Cup and he was amazing yeah he's a bit raw he's a bit overly physical he looks like he's got a red card in him at all times but he is rapid and I think once he beds in at centre half he's going to be staggering he is so fast over the ground and yeah we love him we love him it's almost like he needs to slow down a bit doesn't he it's like he's so quick he's so aggressive once he gets a bit of maturity and a bit of age behind him he learns to read the game a little bit better of course you'll know yourself I guess when you were his age you were running around the pitch like an headless chicken trying to get on the ball you know he's all when you see him running towards an opposition player at 100 miles now you think he's going to get sent out he's just going to go straight through him but that'll come when he gets into his mid-20s and Pep will sort him out and he'll be I mean I think he's got actually potential to be beyond world class he looks amazing I'm going with that I think sorry Fletch that Max Alain I work with him at the under-20s with Nico and they're both Rolls Royces and you know you'll be able to tell us Noel what do you think about him Max as well, Max Allain, what you've seen of him?

13:56Well, do you know, we played Newcastle the other night. He was just, he never stood out on the pitch. He never made a mistake. You didn't even notice he was playing, do you know what I mean? That's him, yeah. You want your centre-half to just stroll through the game, no drama. And I didn't even realise he was playing for 10 minutes because I got in late, I didn't see the teams. And you're just like, crikey, you know what I mean? at St. James' Park in the semi-final. It's a full house. It's on TV. It looks like he's played there all his life. It's unbelievable. I do not know where City get these kids from.

14:32It's unbelievable. It's the same thing with O 'Reilly in the Burner Bay when the Champions League earlier in the season. First time he'd been there. Real Madrid away even though it's not a vintage Real Madrid team. He looked like he'd had 25 games in Madrid. Just kind of took it like a duck to water. Just on tomorrow, are you kind of ultra confident about tomorrow or is there the fear in the back of your mind that United might turn up for this one? Oh, they'll turn up. Don't you worry about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They only turn up for two games a season. It's us and Liverpool. And they'll turn up tomorrow.

15:01So I'd be worried if United go in front. I think in all these derbies, it's generally speaking first goal wins. The big man up front's been quiet for a while. So I think he might spark back into life tomorrow. And I mean, I'm quietly confident, but you know, derbies, I hate them. I hate derby day. I hate the afternoon. He could have a match ball tomorrow, couldn't he? Erland. Could see a match ball in him tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's not playing bad, do you know what I mean? He's just... He has these dips in the middle of the season. You know, in his big seasons, he'll start off and you think, God, he's going to get 60 goals.

15:34And then he kind of levels out a bit and then he has a strong finish. So he's going through a little flat period, but hopefully he'll burst into life tomorrow. I was surprised. No, were you surprised that Pep played him in the cup the other day when the team sheets come in? I was away and I seen the team sheet come in for City and I seen Haaland up front in the cup and I was like, quite a bit of a risk. Well, we haven't got anyone else. Marmoussa's away with Egypt, so he's back now. So, you know, I was talking to my youngest lad about this the other night. He's a City fan. And, you know, we had Alvarez in the treble winning season.

16:05So you could give Erling a rest and Alvarez would come on. You know, he was an£80 million footballer, World Cup winner. You know, so we would need Marmoussa to kind of get back and back up to speed quickly so Erling doesn't really have to. But we're coming to the business end of things now. So he's going to be playing every game. But was I surprised? No, because we want that trophy. Pep wants that trophy. Because if we get that, if we get the Carabao Cup, then I think it bodes really, really well for the rest of the season. Let me ask you one more before we get you out, just taking you back to the summer.

16:38Two-part question. How blown away were you by Gallagher Hill in Manchester? And how special was it for you to do the tour with the kids so they could experience it the way that you experienced it. That must have been special. Yeah, well, yeah, the Gallagher Hill, I mean, Oasis fans are the best in the world. You know, they're the most loyal, and the fact that there was, you know, an arena-sized crowd outside the venue every night was just amazing, do you know what I mean? And hats off to them. And, you know, we gave away some few T-shirts and we put a video screen up there towards the end of the run, but they were amazing.

17:19And my kids, yeah, my kids who showed virtually no interest in my job up until the night in Cardiff, went from never seeing Oasis once to seeing Oasis 38 times in six months, which has got to be some kind of record. And, yeah, they loved it, and hanging out with their cousins and a big sister and all my mates. I mean, you were there, you'd seen them there. They're great, great lads. and, you know, they were buzzing off all the City players that were coming and Pep was there and Foden and John Stones and Rodri and, you know, they were buzzing just kind of like seeing it all and, you know, I didn't think they thought I was that cool, do you know what I mean, until halfway through.

18:04They were like, God, he knows John McEnroe as well, what's going on here? You know, so, yeah, it's kind of, I'm well worthy of Dad of the Year mug, you know, that I got for Christmas. Yeah, no, they're great. They're great. Brilliant. I'll just tell you, boys, before he goes, so he bumped into John McEnroe in New York and said that John McEnroe might be the coolest man that he ever met. And then about a week later, he bumped into Al Pacino, who turned out to be the coolest man he'd met. And it was a tight one, wasn't it, though, between Al Pacino and McEnroe for in a cool-off, between the two of them.

18:37Mate, I mean, like, John McEnroe is without question one of the coolest sportsmen you'll ever meet in your life. but I have to say I had dinner with Al Pacino and it literally does not get any better than talking about Scarface with Scarface himself and it turns out he's a big Oasis fan unbelievable listen so is everybody now mate thanks for coming I really appreciate your time enjoy the derby tomorrow that's all for this special edition of the Football Daily Podcast with Noel Gallagher next up Rio Ferdinand joins me on the pod to talk about the state of Manchester United. That will be available to download on Saturday morning at 10 o 'clock.

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