Arne Slot record reads like Amorim’s - He should face same scrutiny!

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0:32Yes, guys, we are back with another episode of Rio Presents. Listen, man, this is brought to you by Crafted. I've got my lucky chain on the moment. Still rocking it on a regular basis. And who have I got with me this week, guys? It ain't going to change. It's Joel and Steve, man. We're here, man. And I don't know what vibe we're going to get this week from Joel because the league table is looking very ominous for everyone else other than Arsenal. and the vibe. Did you say you weren't going to do this? Oh, I knew the glasses were going to come out. I knew they were going to be there. I wear shades.

1:06That is what I do. I wear shades inside. It's nothing special. Rio, you were telling the beautiful people about Crafted. I see you rocking it on the Sadio Mane interview, representing, man. How long have you been wearing it for? Yeah, a good while, man. Before we started our partnership with them and they kind of approached us. but it's just something that I've always worn chains especially on holiday I've worn them all the time so it's stuff I genuinely wear I enjoy wearing it and I've been speaking with the guys there and listen Black Friday's coming up man the Black Friday sale is on it's right here right so a lot of the pendants that I've got similar to the ones that I'm wearing there's discounts on them some of the stuff has got up to that.

1:53I think it's about to 71 % off. So listen, get on the side, guys. Perfect for getting ahead at Christmas time. Go and get yourself sorted. Brilliant stuff. Listen, Rio, I want to talk about the place that was rocking yesterday night. That's right, the North London Derby. That's right, the training ground practice game we had against first. The 17th biggest derby in England. Steve, 4-1, mate. It doesn't matter when you're playing a derby about form. It's all about what you do on a pitch. And we did what we had to do. Gabriel missing, Odegaard missing, Giocares missing, still stuck four. Honestly, what does that mean for Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and potentially the likes of Man City?

2:30Giocares missing. That guy's been missing since you signed him. What are you talking about? Bro, he's got four goals, man. You can't take that away from him. And he works hard. I was worried for you when I saw Gabriel get injured in the national break. I've got to be honest with you, because I think he's been an absolute, like, he's been brilliant at both ends in terms of set pieces for. But just overall, his influence on the team has just been huge. And it's grown over the last year massively. That doesn't look good for other teams when you've got someone like Gabriel Wright, you've got Odegaard, the captain out.

3:08If you said last year he's going to miss a load of games, you'd have been going, wow. But the biggest thing that we've got here is the depth is just on show, man. you've got Trossard has been ridiculous you don't get the love he deserves from the Arsenal fans by the way because his goal contribution since he's signed only Saka's got more and by the way the important goals he scores whether it be an equaliser whether it be a late winner he's just his input it's been a joke so I think he needs massive massive problems but this weekend's all about Mr Eze Mr. Eze. So the story, right? I talked about this loads, yeah, about modern football and time before, in my generation and before.

3:53It's all about the little subplots within games. And this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Transfer window. Spurs are in the hunt for him. Almost going to be going to Spurs. Changes last minute. Arsenal come in. Hijack the move. He signs for Arsenal. He's dream club. He can't believe it. He's smiling. he's just thanking the man upstairs for this move to happen because him and his family are all Arsenal fans. And he goes into the North London derby and slaps a hat-trick against a team that wanted him and Arsenal's biggest rivals. Like, you couldn't have written a better script than this.

4:29Hey, Rio, it all worked out, didn't it? It definitely all worked out. I'm telling you. It did for you guys. But I look at Eze, man, and I just go, wow. Like, I saw at Palace that he's important in the FA Cup. He was the driving force behind what they were doing there. And I look at him and go, what's his super strength? First and foremost, I agree with Thierry Henry. Play him centrally, you get the best out of him and it'll influence the team, right? I agree. And he's going to be a better player and give you better output in that sense. But his super strength is that his ability to just take the ball in tight areas and ghost people, move people out of the way, and then be able to play that next pass.

5:07And now we're showing, listen, I can be the guy that scores as well. But I just think at Arsenal, and that's the way Arteta must have looked at this, I'm going to get this kid better looks than what he got at Palace. He's getting the ball in better areas, in more dangerous areas more often. So he's going to have more opportunities to hurt teams and be a threat. And we see that in this game here. And I think he's, again, we talk about depth. Odegaard has been someone, if he's fit, he's going to play. Right now, Eze has just said to Mikel Arteta, you need to rethink that. And I've got to be the first name right now.

5:40I've got the shirt. Odegaard's got to come and get it back off me, even though he's the captain. And you know what? When it comes to Eze, even Thierry Henry was mentioning how the rise of Mateta has been because of him. Not solely because of him, but he's had a massive contribution to that. And we forget that. And when you look at Eze, let's be honest with you, Steve and Rio, he was looking like he needed that performance because it wasn't as rosy as we're making it out to be for him as he started at Arsenal, wouldn't you say? He needed that hat trick. I think he's been all right. He's been all right, but you ain't been watching him every week, man.

6:15There was a few members saying we could be getting more from him. And I even heard Ian Wright speak about it, say how important was that for you? Because he didn't even know whether he would start or not. He said after a post-match interview, you never know with Arsenal because of the depth. And because obviously he hadn't established himself as a non-negotiable like Saka in the team or a Saliba or a Timber. So he definitely needed to announce himself the way he did. I'm telling you. Have you not noticed that? Well, I don't know, man. I think it's bedding in period. Yeah, that's fine. There's only a small percentage of players that would come in and just absolutely work it immediately from day one.

6:51I think he's shown enough glimpses, enough moments that you go, yeah, he's starting to warm up. Yeah, I agree. Every player needs this moment where you go, oh, my God, they've announced themselves. And he couldn't have picked a better weekend. The results going the way they did with City, which we'll touch on later. Liverpool getting beat as well. Then to go to the North London Derby and bang a hat-trick. I always say this, there's moments in your career at a football club where you can go, you know what, I'm going to be written in the football club forever. This is the moment. I think it's 1978 since somebody scored a hat-trick.

7:26Yeah, last hat-trick. In the North London Derby. So they're saying like something happens every week. That was the year I was born. So you do the math. Harold, I am. That's crazy. Yeah. Bukayo Sakurio. You'd mentioned that he hadn't looked himself for a lot of this season. Back to his best against Spurs, right? Yeah, man. Danger, things coming through him, causing havoc, getting people on the back foot immediately. But listen, Saka's allowed a day off, you know what I mean? Because he's been so consistent the last couple of years. But he looked like, again, he showed like, no matter what the form is, or if I'm a little bit off my normal output, North London derby comes, I've got to turn up.

8:07and that's what a youth product should be saying that's what a youth product that's come through the academy should be the leader in that sense everyone look at me no matter what's been going on the last couple of I might have looked a little bit off my best a little couple of percent here or there but the North London derbies here and I'm going to turn up Right, well you two are glazing Arsenal for a minute can I just go and have a quick look at Spurs? No, no, no and question what sort of primary school level defending was going on from Spurs in that game the guy's just gone and put half of his team in defence and it looked like he had three men less than you.

8:39Like, I've never seen chaotic defending from a so-called defensive manager like this in my life. And not only that, you know how bad it was? Because Arsenal scored four goals from open play yesterday. Steve, would you have called Thomas Frank a defensive coach before the game yesterday? Yeah, but I think he always adapts to his opponents. I think he always looks to try and nullify before he attacks. I think he always looks at what the opponents can do. And I think he's one of the most adaptable tactical coaches that are in the league. But that yesterday was an absolute shambles. I saw defending yesterday, which made no sense.

9:14Steve, do you know what? I looked at it yesterday and I thought, okay, you can get beat 4-1 in a North London derby. That's fine, right? No, it's not. No, no, no. Not fine, but you know what I mean? But the point I thought yesterday stood out for me again, my WhatsApp groups are going crazy. Even George, who works with us here, straight away when the teams came out, it's a bit defensive, isn't it? It's a bit on the back foot, this one. Wow. Just before a ball's been kicked, right? So that's the message that goes out in the changing room. And these players would have been thinking and feeling that.

9:45Oh, we're on the back foot. We're worrying about them. But another big thing that Thomas Frank now has to adapt to and understand as a manager is he makes a tactical decision at Brentford. No one talks about it. You make a tactical decision in a game of this magnitude and people start looking at you funny and start questioning you. And I think like you can go, he could have made a defensive approach to a game for Brentford, six games out of six, right? Done it for a month. No one speaks about it. He's got questions to answer now. He's got his team to look at and go, listen, we're going to have to be positive in the next game.

10:20How can you go from so defensive to then so positive in the next game? Finding that balance for him is going to be really key moving forward because he's never experienced that questioning of tactics going into games. And that's the difference going from a team like Brentford, no disrespect, to a team like Spurs, especially when they play in a North London derby. But Rio, Steve, Gabriel's out. This is your chance to take advantage. Do you know what I mean? Did he not capitalise on that? What's going on over there? You lot without Gabriel, usually, you really do struggle, don't you? I was a little bit surprised at that.

10:56but I think that Tottenham played into that a little bit by going, I mean, you can go defensive, but I don't know, it's weird, isn't it? Because you look at this Arsenal team, and I think if you get at this Arsenal team, you might get something out of them. They don't give a lot of goals away, so you've got to try and keep it tight. You know they're going to try and play for set plays, even though you didn't yesterday. But from open play, I don't think you're very impressive from open play. Although yesterday, they made you look impressive because of how bad they were. Yeah, it's true. I mean, before Richarlison's goal, Spurs didn't register a shot, right, at all.

11:32Okay, so, and Karras said that Thomas Frank has a problem showing that he's not just a pragmatic manager. Can he coach the team to score goals and dominate games? This isn't a good Spurs squad, though, I don't think. You say that, but it was high expectations of Javi Simmonds. Obviously, he still needs time to bed in, etc. But, look... No, he's a pretender, mate. He's a pretender. You can't say... But it's too soon to say that, Steve, man. He's only been here for four months. You can't expect he's going to hit the same levels that the likes of Son and Harry Kane hit for Spurs. He's nowhere near that level.

12:06That's like the... They have two of the best players that have played in the Premier League here. Exactly. High bar, man. Yeah. And also, Rio, they ain't really had a striker. Do you know what I mean? So for him to be able to show what he can do, Xavi Simmonds, where's the striker? Solanke's injured half the time. It's not been easy. I reckon he needs that bedding in season, if I'm honest with you. But Rio. I think he does, Joel. But I looked at it when they set up, right? And I'm thinking, if I'm looking at, and I know that Gabriel Saliba's out, I'm so much frank. I'm thinking, what type of formation can I play to put the new centre-back coming in under pressure?

12:45I want to ask, in a big game like this, I want to ask, can you deal with this? So I'm going to get in and around him as much as I can. Now, listen, the game doesn't always work out like that. but you show the intention to set up like that. And that's where I was a little bit disappointed with the Spurs team in that you've got a new kid in there, Henk Happy, who's come in. He's done well, to be fair, when he's come in and been the understudy. But I want that kid questioned and I want him drilled a little bit early, especially first 15, 20 minutes of the game and say, okay, right, we've had a bit of hype about you.

13:14Let's get the real answer right now. And they never even got their gloves on him. John, I've got a question for you. Go on, mate. Before, when you were saying, how ominous is this for the likes of City and Chelsea and Liverpool? What the hell was you putting Liverpool in that for? You know what, yeah, you naturally do that. You know, Steve, I know this is, we might as well start talking about Liverpool, man. What an absolute defeat for them at Anfield. Unbelievable. Didn't see it coming. Nottingham Forest looked like prime Barcelona. I know Sean Dyche was just smiling the whole way through. He was smiling the whole way through.

13:45Rio, you started speaking about Canate earlier in the season when we're talking about centre-backs, etc. You said we're going to know more about him when there's contract chats, when he's being linked with other clubs. What's your thoughts so far when you see him, man? No, we need to play the clip, man. I think we got a clip from that September, I think it is. Guys, can you do it? Crofty, can you play it, please? The conversation that Canate and his agents would have had to have is, Real Madrid are interested. Do you want to go? Yes. are you willing to wait another year on a free transfer? Can you still deliver performances under that type of pressure and scrutiny?

14:26Can I sit there and go on his broad shoulders? Yes, I can. Let's go. I'm going to do it. Not a problem. We're now in that and we're now going to get an answer as to can he be the guy that can actually get through a season unscathed or is he going to start getting chipped away at? Is it going to affect his personal performance? How can they allow a player of that magnitude to be playing without clarity again? Well, they've done it with, well, they had it with Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent. So it was destabilising, but they managed to get through it last year and win the league still, right?

15:02So they probably thought it didn't hurt us that much. We can still do it. Yes, Trent, towards the end, got a little bit of stick here and there, but then he was out of the team. So it wasn't really impacting the starting XI. and the experience of the likes of Virgil and Mo, they kind of glided through it, knowing probably that they were going to sign anyway with a few things tweaked within the contract negotiations. But Canate just doesn't look himself. I think he looks a bit edgy at times. I mean, on the ball, he's never been the smoothest anyway, but he's always been able to just get it done.

15:29But I think defensive mistakes are really being kind of highlighted. And that's the point I made between his agent and himself, that conversation about, can I get through this period? is can you make a mistake? People start to kind of focus on you not signing a contract, meaning the reason why you're not playing well. Can you now deal with that different pressure? And right now, if he was going to make a call on it, you'd be going, you know what? I don't think he's dealing with it well because he's getting his fingerprints on far too many moments when they're conceding goals or chances. And these Liverpool fans, they're not having it.

16:05They're not happy. Steve, I want to ask you when it comes to Liverpool signings, man, obviously it's been hard for them to impress. I mean, why is Slott struggling to get them to work together? Because he did nothing last season. He just let them go and play last season. Everybody else shit the bad last season. So they won it at a canter. You're going to experience the same thing this season. Everybody else has shit the bad. Congratulations, you're winning the first Premier League. You've won in 20-something years. Well done. He still had to go in there. You're coming in after Jurgen Klopp. you're still going to have to do something.

16:42You call it momentum. They didn't have that much momentum the season before, mate, because City had won the league. So he still had to come in and do something. And they had a year off because Rodri had a year off. They won it because no one else bothered. But here's the thing, right? You can talk about the defensive errors and this, that, and the other, and that's fine. But why aren't they scoring goals? They signed a guy that was called one of the best strikers in the league last season. They've signed one of the best creators in Europe. Mo Salah had like one of the all-time Premier League seasons last year.

17:12Like, you've got to start pointing fingers at the players, but also at the manager as well. I think we lauded this manager for tactically coming in, calling out other people's tactics before games, speaking about him in interviews after the game, and we're going, wow, he's switched on, man. Where's this come from? And rightly so, we were all like kind of on him and saying, listen, this is a pattern of back to Liverpool's recruitment to find him. But this season, I think one of the biggest problems It's their best game of the season they've played against Real Madrid. The three midfielders from last season, Graham and Birch, Sabozlai and Michaelis to play.

17:42The only game, I think, in their last seven that they've won, they played that same midfield was a 2-0 win against Villa away. So in other games, he's shifting Sabozlai, who's flying for club and country in that central position, doing really well, shifting to right back to accommodate verts. Like when you've bought for Impon. Like it just, it seems like a thing where I've got to get all my best players on the pitch. And that's what he seems to be doing. You're saying that, Rio, but he's not really trying to do that. I think it's a disrespect that you've got the likes of... Obviously, you've got Eka TK, who, in my opinion, should be starting.

18:23He's the one that feels a slap in the face. Why is Isak starting? No, no, but that's my point, though. He's trying to get all of his best players. The biggest signing is Isak on the pitch. Vert's another huge signing on the pitch. even if Sabozla has to come out of midfield. And I think everybody in Liverpool, forget everyone else, they know their best midfield three. If they're going to be a chance of winning a game, their aggressiveness, their ability to get round and get them right against teams is the three that I mentioned before. Gravenberg, Sabozla and McAllister. And I think that he's having to shoehorn Virts in midfield and just find a way of changing and tweaking to suit someone like him.

19:00Now, listen, I think he's a hugely talented player. But sometimes a player needs a system to suit them, but also the team needs a certain kind of balance in the team to be able to flourish and do well. And right now, he hasn't found a way to get the players that he signed in the team to function. I mean, Kirkus hasn't done well all season. He's now out of the team and Robertson's come in. You've got, and you thought he'd played some of his last games for Liverpool. Frimpong, I was expecting Frimpong to come in and just own the whole right-hand side. He's been injured a little bit though. So I think he gets a bit of time off for that.

19:36But you've got Isak, nine games, one goal, one assist as well, which is not great. Bro, Eketike goes and goes wearing international duty. He scores his debut from the left-hand side, linking up with Mbappe. And you're thinking, right, that's a perfect time, right? Isak up front. Eketike off the left, maybe. He's got confidence now in the blue shirt, done it, come back here and revitalise the team. But then he doesn't play him. I don't know. So it's always easier for us to talk on the outside, but I've seen some of the Liverpool fans that are online that have been really, really calm. And this is what we do at Liverpool.

20:11And we don't act like others. And they are losing their shit. They are going nuts. Blood vessels in their head are popping in their neck. Some of our mates in the WhatsApp groups ain't even been alive. They've not been online since that game this weekend. They can't talk. They've lost their voice box after being so loud. Isn't this all on the gaffer then? You made some of these problems yourself, right? Okay, signing Frimpong as a replacement for Trent makes sense. Bringing in Verts, okay, maybe didn't make quite so much sense unless she was planning on shipping the likes of Salar off and retooling that front line.

20:45But when you sign Ekotike and Isak, there's always going to be pressure on one of those at least to play. And arguably the one that isn't playing is the one that's the one more informed. And they're trying to bring in a left winger when arguably Gak pose the only forward that looks like he can score at the moment. Yeah, I think it's crazy. I mean, you look at these stats, guys. Since the Paris Saint-Germain loss in March, that's 30 games they've played. 13 wins, 14 defeats. This reads like Emerim. This reads like Emerim when he was struggling. Win rate of 43%, 47 % of games lost. At what time are Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher interviewing him and asking if his formation works?

21:30I'll send him a message. I'll text him because they had Amarim straight away getting rinsed under pressure when he weren't winning a few games. I'd like to see the same energy for Arna Slott right now, please. It's the worst start they've had to a season since Brendan Rodgers was sacked, by the way. You guys are so bitter, by the way. If you see what I'm seeing right about that, the Man United fans will be loving this section. Just one parated goal. Liverpool tell us that they're the biggest club in the world, most successful club in England. they want treating like one then, don't they? That's what Manchester United get.

21:57You two are something. You are nasty. This energy that Steve's come with this morning, I really like it. I agree. I don't, I don't. It's about parity. It's about balance. It's about treating one like the other. We all want that when we're growing up as kids. We want it as adults as well when supporting our teams. Yo, Rio, yesterday, right, TalkSport decided to do a phone-in about Liverpool. They asked one question, one caller about Liverpool and then flipped it to, did Man United use Scott McTominay wrong in a Liverpool phone-in? Wait, wait, wait. Steve, does this tell you... What does it tell you?

22:29Does it tell you that people are protective over Liverpool and they're being treated differently because they're a protective species? Or is it just they're not as big a club as Man United and Man United get the scrutiny like we do because we're a bigger, bigger club than all the teams in the league by a long stretch? I think we just have to get that right and then accept from there. Yeah, but I'm not going to be happy about it. I just want fair treatment because you can see that the outside noise does affect players, right? And you can see that some of that scrutiny does affect players and it affects the mood.

22:59And sometimes the mood in the stadium can be swayed a little bit by the constant negativity and the constant noise. And sometimes that pressure can translate to on the pitch. So as a United fan, I want that pressure elsewhere because that's going to benefit me and my team. so I just want everyone else to get hit with the same hammer that Manchester United get hit with at every single opportunity people can't wait to pace United mind you we win tonight we could go 4th place Steve let's not talk about if buts and maybes please when we win tonight we go 4th when we do it we can talk about this type of stuff yeah please you guys are something else honestly I was actually going to ask you shades on you guys I deserve it I deserve it bro you saw what we did to those guys up in north london yesterday oh just at least have a little slight tint not the full dark ones inside bro nah nah nah this is what i do now this is what i do now come november real we're about three weeks away from the mini troll for making an appearance nah i told you i'm not doing that in 2025 you said you weren't wearing glasses either no but i just like i just like the atmosphere right man we got loads still to come right on this pod but we'll be back shortly after this are you really buying a car online on auto trader right now?

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24:45Final point on Liverpool's struggles. We need to talk about what Van Dijk said, their mentality. Rio, if they were a team and you heard your captain say that the team wasn't good enough in the battles or the fight, what would you think?

25:02I think it would depend on how we played that day. I think if we played like a team that lacked fight, I mean, Liverpool started the game quite well. For the first half an hour, they were the better team by a mile. right but they set up to hit him on the counter and they've done that and they got their rewards but fight yeah I don't want to hear we're not good in the battles and we're not good at fighting I don't want to hear that but sometimes you've got to hear the cold the hard truth and I think Virgil van Dijk being the captain having the experience that he's got he's looking for a reaction from his teammates he's got to react himself his teammates need to react and I I think the only way that they're going to do that is when they look at them comments.

25:44And I've got to be honest, unless the comments are really, really bad, I don't consider them really bad comments. No one really takes them with any kind of type of strength. You don't look at them. You take them with a pinch of salt. You look at them and go, OK, he's just speaking to the press. I don't think that was a comment where you as a player go, listen, Virg, hold on a minute. That's a bit strong, isn't it? Because they just got beat 3-0 at home to a team that were 19th in the league. So there's no excuses. So what do you think he was actually trying to say to the media? I think he's just being honest.

26:10I think we know when we talk about Arda not getting scrutinised, Virgil van Dijk's been as scrutinised as anyone you'd think in this period. His captaincy and leadership's been questioned. He's being questioned. So I think Liverpool are coming under a bit of scrutiny, but I think as a club, as a whole, not as much as some other teams have when they're in this situation. But I think if you go individually, if someone like Virgil van Dijk, I think he's saddening. Hold on a minute. You think we're not under a bit of pressure? I'm getting, as the captain, I'm getting questioned. I'm in front of the press on a regular basis.

26:41And I'm the one having to answer the questions and bring up the explanation. So from his point of view, he'll be sitting there going, I'm under a lot of pressure and scrutiny. But that's what happens when you're captain of the Premier League champions and Liverpool. You're going to get questioned. And we can just sit in here and joke about it. Liverpool are a big club. So they're going to get questions. Steve, I want to know, why are Liverpool so much easier to play against this season? Is it because of what Virgil was actually saying here? well, they're not winning their duels. I'm not sure. Like, it doesn't really make sense why they're so bad.

27:19Like I said, if they was losing games 3-2, 4-3, something like that, it would kind of make a bit more sense. But they're bad defensively and they're bad in front of goal. Like, it's a complete fall-off. And depending, you know, if, imagine Canati gets the curly finger off Real Madrid over Christmas and that gets announced in January. It could have an absolute meltdown. They could have a season like United had last season, which doing that from finishing champions, are they the worst champions I've ever seen? You know what as well? I would say just on the finishing point with Liverpool is that the individual mistakes are being punished.

27:59You look at Robertson at the weekend, 1v1. Kyrgyz has been the same this season in it left back. That's why Robertson's in the team. Canard is making these mistakes. Virgil van Dijk at times has made these mistakes. You're looking at it and going, individual mistakes are getting punished. And I think one of the big things for me is the midfield three. The data tells you what you need to know. And I think their biggest strength last season, bar Mo Salah as an individual and Virgil van Dijk as an individual, was the central three in midfield. It was their engine room. It was their inspiration. It was their consistency and their drive that got them, I think, to winning the title and a big say in that.

28:37How much was that, Rio? How much was Mo Salah having like an all-time season? Did they need him to repeat that to have a chance this season? Yeah, I think they do as well. Definitely. They haven't got Mane. They haven't got Firmino. He used to share the load a little bit with them. But he's the guy, listen, if he's not firing, scoring the 35 goals plus a season, where are they going to get that? That's why they've bought Isak. He hasn't started well. Ekotike started well, but with the pressure of his sack, he has to get games and minutes. And so that balance isn't there yet. So if I'm a Liverpool fan, I'd be concerned right now.

29:10Man United versus Everton this evening. What do you reckon? Because you said when we win, Stee. What makes you think that you're going to be set out to do such a job?

29:22Everton are always going to try and make it difficult. David Moyes has got that inscribed across his shitter, right? Make it difficult. That's his thing So He fought out United Let's make it difficult For anyone that we play He's placed Tundeland And David Moyes He's thinking about Making it difficult for him Right So He's going to come and try And make it difficult But Everton are a bit off the pace At the moment They're a little bit All over the show My only worry is Who is going to try And replace Sesco In that team Because United need a focal point Now there's a few options It's just which one Does he go with And then I'm kind of projecting A little bit here but once Mbumo goes to AFCON, I am shitting it because he's so good.

30:02And Dallor. Yeah, but mostly Mbumo, I think. Yeah, both of them, when they go, I'm really looking around thinking, well, someone's going to have to step up. But this is a great opportunity now, really, to start turning the screws on in terms of momentum, but also keep the confidence going in the right direction. And I think I'm like a broken record in that sense. And I think certain messages need to be banged home every single week, every single day in training. So that becomes the norm. It's part of their thinking, their psychology every day. Momentum, intent, going out there and making sure they outwork teams and get those basics right going into a game.

30:43So that when it gets into the game, that it becomes the norm. And again, if we can get this result here, I think, again, out of an international break, I think it's going to be really important for the rest of the season, especially the run-up to Christmas and New Year. Rio, so has Manchester United turned the corner, yes or no? Because I still don't know, watching. I still think we're turning the corner. I don't think we're turning it. I think we're in the middle of the... We're not a full lock. You're doing that. No, you're doing that with a thing. You ain't got stops and locks, you know what I mean?

31:13You've still got a bit to go to get round to kind of make sure you get the corner and you don't hit anything on the way round. Well, just letting you know, if you win, you go fourth, right? And you'd be a point behind City and two behind Chelsea if you get three points today. How do you feel about that, guys? Steve? It's early doors, isn't it? We're still like, what, a quarter of the way into the season. There's no sunglasses and stuff like that coming. But I think expectations have changed. I probably would have been pretty content with like a top seven or eight finish this season. if we finish 7th or 8th from where we could do now I'd probably feel like we've fell off a little bit I don't expect us to finish top 4 I think it would be nice if we did but I reckon we're more than good enough to finish top 6 depending how we ride out this Sesco 5 weeks and AFCON, if it goes well we could end up inside top 4 because it's a poor league No it really is, it's not been great I mean, you're seeing the Unai Emery's of this world.

32:17It's not going well for anyone at the moment. Guys, I have to say, Steve, did you want to get something really cool in? Yeah, quick one. Paul Pogba's back. See that? Pogba back. Oh! Pogba. Okay, come on, give us a little glimpse as well. A couple of lovely little touches. Yes, he's going to be rusty. Yes, there's going to be time to settle back in again. But just to see him bounce back on that pitch and show the level of class that we've been missing, that individual maverick player that we're all crying out to see more of in football. There's one who's just come back. Will he get to the level that he played before?

32:49I don't know. But it's just refreshing to see him come back and play some minutes from Monaco. So, Paul Pogba, welcome back, my friend. And also, Ronaldo being greedy again, not giving Scott McTominay the chance to enjoy a bicycle kick. Not even giving him a week. Amazing stuff from the both of them, really, isn't it? Yeah. All right, guys. Thank you very much for watching. It's been a brilliant show. just seeing you guys, man, like Rio, Steve, you're unbelievable. Let us know what you think about their comments. Were they right about Liverpool? And please make sure you're watching the Sadio Mane interview.

33:20Great clips. Rio, you asked the right questions. You're honestly the Parkinson of this football world, man. You're doing really well, man. And everybody watching, please make sure you follow us on socials. We're giving you the show, man, wherever in the world. Rio's in Milan. I'm in Manchester. Steve's in Manchester. We're traveling all over the world and giving you Rio Presents. Like, share, comment, subscribe. We're out. Peace.

34:10get up at the dealership. One sec, sweetie. Mommy's buying a car. Mommy, look. Uh, I think your kid is walking up the slide. Kyle, again? Really? Auto Trader. Buy your car online. Really?