Newcastle Heartbreak, Arsenal Cruise as Champs, Growing Pains for Man United & Spurs

0:08Robbie Earle:Hello and welcome to the Two Robbies podcast presented by Barclays, the official banking partner of the Premier League. This is your destination for in-depth discussion and analysis of the Premier League all season long. I'm Robbie Mustoe and he's Robbie Earle and we're coming to you today from St. James' Park, the home of Newcastle United Football Club, following on an exciting opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

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1:21Robbie Earle:Robby, let's start here at St James' Park. What a game, by the way. Newcastle 2, Liverpool 2, a late Dominic Sobosly, brilliantly taken penalty, gets a point for the visitors in a highly charged game. But you know where we're going to start, Robby? We're going to start with the amazing tribute to Kevin Keegan. I mean, a legendary figure here in the North East. Of course, a player at Liverpool I remember as a kid was so outstanding as a forward player for Liverpool. And of course, so loved here at St James' Park. And it was a really powerful, emotional and nice tribute to the man, stadium wide.

1:53Robbie Mustoe:It was excellent, Rob. and befitting of the man who was probably the most humble superstar player I'd ever met. And, yeah, certainly Newcastle United did him proud. And then we get to the game, Rob, and obviously an incredible atmosphere with, I think you called it the anti-Izac kind of atmosphere around the place. That added an extra sort of level to Matthias Gaisler, his first time in charge, you know, with Iriola, first game in charge of Liverpool. 2-2 Rob I have to say my sort of overview and I know that it was slightly harsh penalty kick for Liverpool to get I thought 2-2 was probably about the right result Newcastle certainly on the counter-attack looked the better team and looked to have a little bit more threat and maybe Jo and Wieser would like to

2:39Robbie Earle:well that was the key moment

2:41Robbie Mustoe:that would have been 3-1 with about 5 minutes of regulation time so that was a chance

2:45Robbie Earle:that he missed I mean I was really pleasantly surprised by Newcastle United actually I know there's a lot of negativity I certainly felt with everybody that's left the club and the manager going that there could be a very difficult start, maybe a difficult season. But Geisler's got this energy about him. He's gone with youth. And if there's one thing you're going to get from the Geordies is unconditional support. And they'll back a guy. They'll back this club. They live for this stadium and for watching their team. And no matter who plays, you know, the profile of the team, which is very young right now, I thought it was a very spirited performance, Rob.

3:20Robbie Earle:and just picking up a couple of players that I didn't get a chance to ask the manager, we did speak to him afterwards. Johan Wisser and Anthony Alanga. Last year, the expectations when they signed for the club was that they were going to really do good work and neither of them did for different reasons. They look reinvigorated. Now, whether that's the manager, whether they've got over injuries, how sharp were those two players?

3:43Robbie Mustoe:They looked like the difference. Every time they got the ball and broke forward, it gave Liverpool problems. balls in behind and Wiesel looked to me Rob like the focus back looked like the play that we used to see back at Brentford

3:57Robbie Earle:that we haven't really seen

3:58Robbie Mustoe:in the black and white of Newcastle and I'm going to turn that over to two Liverpool players who were in the same play Florian Viet and Alexander Isaac are the two players for Liverpool Rob who have to show a similar kind of sharpness and it isn't there right now I've got to tell you when I see Florian Viet Rob he looks to me like one of those players who's been really good in the championship and you bring him into Premier League and he doesn't look like he's got the tools to affect the game.

4:22Robbie Earle:How long do Liverpool wait, Rob?

4:25Robbie Mustoe:They wait till Christmas.

4:27Robbie Earle:I'm going to chuck this one into you. Would you sell him? If you've got good, good, good, good money in this window...

4:35Robbie Mustoe:If somebody in Germany came and offered me 60, 70, I think I'd take it. You know, I mean, I don't know.

4:44Robbie Earle:Maybe we're out of order and maybe we have to be more patient. Yeah, I think he'll get probably till Christmas. Just also on Liverpool's squad, Rob, I mean, young players coming in, you know, Kumas comes in, Victor Munoz, who did get that.

4:54Robbie Mustoe:Yeah, it's a penalty.

4:56Robbie Earle:They need new players. This isn't a squad that's going to challenge for the title. So, you know, there's a couple of weeks left in the window. I mean, surely they need extra players, and they got the point today, and there's great spirit, and I like the way they are going to play under Irola, but they need more, don't they?

5:11Robbie Mustoe:They definitely need more. If they think they're going to challenge for a title, then they do need more. We'll have to see how things go between now and the end of the window. and then how Iriola settles things down and starts to get the pattern of play. Let's move it on, mate, to the Emmets. We went on Friday night to see the Champions, Premier League champions, take on the Championship winners. It was a gulf between the two teams. It was pretty easy. Arsenal were convincing 3-0 winners, dominated the game, played with a speed and a power and a physicality and intensity that was too much for Coventry.

5:43Robbie Mustoe:Maybe can't read too much into first day and, you know, Coventry City coming as a promoted team, they were an off-impressive, Rob.

5:51Robbie Earle:Listen, the energy, the enthusiasm, there's no sign of any drop-off mentally. Christoph Zollis, my friend, is a player that,

6:00Robbie Mustoe:when he's signed, it's like,

6:01Robbie Earle:that's an unusual one. Not a player that's on the tip of the tongue of many pundits or people around the game, but my goodness, didn't he? He's looked sharp in pretty season. 40-odd million dollars. He looks busy. He always wants the ball. He rolls inside. They're talking about, it's going to remind the Arsenal fans of Alexis Sanchez when he first went there, just being so active. That's a brilliant signing, isn't it?

6:22Robbie Mustoe:It's a brilliant bit of business. What impressed me as much about Zolis but the team, Rob, was their serious, focused intent. There was no, you know, at 3-0 or when the game was, there was no showboating. There was no, like, anybody trying to do anything different. It was everybody concentrated on doing the job. And I read a really interesting article yesterday about Arsenal in terms of, when you look at this squad, he's probably got two or three players per position in terms of depth.

6:52Robbie Earle:It almost seems unfair. I'm just like, there's so many good players. How is that possible? This squad now, there's two World Cup champions coming into the game in the second half. You're looking at Martin Odegaard and Bakayo Saka that look refreshed, even though they were highly involved in the World Cup and sharp. So there's a strong possibility or probability that Arsenal Football Club, with the signings that they've made, are going to be a lot better this season.

7:20Robbie Mustoe:Including Concer, who was shown before the game.

7:24Robbie Earle:Cover everywhere.

7:25Robbie Mustoe:Stars forward still? Still need a star forward, you think? No, I don't think so. You OK with what they've got?

7:29Robbie Earle:They've got so much, Rob. I mean, how many star players do you want? It's some squad, and that manager, you know, is going to keep driving them forward to achieve. So, you know...

7:38Robbie Mustoe:There is a sense, Rob, and people are talking about, they could kind of have this one very early.

7:43Robbie Earle:Well, I think we know this league and... Yeah. It's probably not going to be the case, but they look as strong as I've seen them for so long now and very impressive against Cropentree City.

7:54Robbie Mustoe:All right, Rob, shall we move on? Yeah, let's move on to, I think, one of the big stories of the weekend, and it's going to be our under-appreciate performer of the week, Sergei Yakurovich, the Bosnian manager of Hull City. Hull City came up through the playoffs, Rob. They were sixth in the division, got the playoffs, came up. I think it was 20-odd points behind Coventry. Everybody saying, well, you're favourites to go down. And they put a performance in, mate.

8:24Robbie Earle:I mean, really surprising. I mean, it embarrasses people like us who kind of say things that, wow, how are they going to have any kind of chance of staying up? Of course, it's very early yet, but the spirit of the team and the work ethic and this guy, Jarekic, that's going to win our Barclays underappreciated former of the week, is amazing. You know, I watched his team in pre-season. I watched his press conferences. He's so casual. Yeah, he's got a bit about him, hasn't he? He's got very relaxed demeanour about him. They made some good signings and fully deserve the victory, by the way. But for Manchester United, Rob, I mean, how worried.

8:58Robbie Earle:And Michael Carrick gave it the very calm one at the end.

9:02Robbie Mustoe:At the end after, yeah. talked about.

9:04Robbie Earle:How far away? They looked so undercooked, underprepared. There's probably going to be an inquiry about why they look so weak.

9:11Robbie Mustoe:That was my biggest takeaway, that Manchester United were underprepared for what was coming at Hull City. A newly promoted team, a team that are going to fight and scrap and give a good go and want to get the fans behind them. And Manchester United didn't look like they were ready, Rob. That's a worry. Okay, you can have Tielemans and you can have Bruno and you can have Andro Santos and your new signings, if you don't go to grounds and put the effort in, you're going to get turned over.

9:40Robbie Earle:That's a worry. Do you know what? The best thing about being here for these weekends, particularly this open weekend where we see so many different stadiums and teams and games, is the takeaway again, and it often is, is the blimmin' intensity.

9:53Robbie Mustoe:The physicality.