Chelsea are nowhere near title challengers | Soft Man Utd players lack any urgency | Aston Villa have 'world class' striker and manager

0:00Good evening everybody. We are at Old Trafford for a midweek edition of the Gary Neville podcast. You can't get enough of it. Here's a bonus go off the back of a really good round of midweek games. The last of which was here, Gary. Manchester United have drawn with West Ham. You, with your own eyes, have seen a little bit of action towards the bottom of the league. You saw Leeds put on a great display last night. You saw West Ham come away with a point here. what's your sort of interpretation of what you see just either side of the relegation line?

0:30Gary Neville:Yeah I had Leeds, Burnley and Wolves to go down and I'd look looking pretty comfortable with that I'm not going to change my mind but I have to say watching Leeds last night that they showed me something different a lot more physical I think the spine of the team the three centre-backs and Paduaq sat in front of them and then the two centre-forwards Calvert-Lewin and Mecha and then obviously the lads that came on And I thought that they could pick up points. They could win games. They could cause teams some real disruption and sort of physically sort of hurt them. I thought the wing-backs were outstanding.

1:05Gary Neville:Real energy. The way in which they went about the business. And we've seen tonight, I think it's hard to find good wing-backs, players who play that sort of position naturally. So, yeah, I think last night was a good night for Leeds. Really good night. They were dominant. They really did physically out-muscle Chelsea. I thought that obviously they were nearly there on Saturday weren't they against Manchester City and you think about that then maybe that's given them a little bit of confidence that let's just go for Chelsea and they went for them in that first 10 minutes I always think when you go to Ellen Road you shouldn't expect anything else than a right good battering in that first 15-20 minutes if you get through it you might be okay but quite often you know you go to Ellen Road you expect it to be hostile you expect the crowd to be on top of you the ball's played forward ball's into the box a relentless sort of aggression and sort of tackling and that's what I saw last night from Leeds United.

1:54Gary Neville:It's definitely a blueprint that's not just a blueprint for last night, it should be a blueprint for the club full stop and how they should perform week in, week out. And I thought they had the players on the pitch to do so. I'd watched them earlier on in the season when they had, I think, Nonto and James in wide areas and Peru, I think, up front. I thought they're just a little bit lightweight. They're talented players, those lads. Don't get me wrong, they've got a lot about them. I like Nonto particularly. James is a threat on the counter-attack. but you're getting into winter, you're in the Premier League this league's become more and more physical over this last two or three years it's gone back 15, 20 years in respect of the size of the players the set pieces, the balls into the box, the long balls forward, the throw-ins everything's now demanding aerial duels to be won and physicality and aggression and I think that last night Chelsea, we'll come on to them shortly but they played a team of men and Chelsea will look like little boys out there against them.

2:50Gary Neville:So I think that is something that they've got to build off. It's the first time that the coach has gone with a different system. Leeds fans have been asking for a plan B. They've got plan B. Plan B sometimes doesn't come off. That does look like it's going to work off the first outing. So yeah, really good from Leeds. I thought Leeds last night were a lot more intense and better than West Ham tonight. But that's purely as well because West Ham are away from home tonight. They're playing a little bit more positional in the sense of sort of playing more counter-attack, playing a little bit behind the ball, Manchester United at home.

3:24Gary Neville:But they hung in there. They hung in there. I don't think Manchester United were very good. Didn't cause them a lot of problems. But I think that Nuno will be really happy. He'll be particularly happy that he makes a substitution. And Bowen's on corners. Bowen goes into the middle, basically, as one of the players attacking it. Irving comes out, he's substitute to take it. And there's an immediate impact. Obviously, the ball comes back out to Magasa in this goal but yeah look there's a long way to go Leeds or West Ham based on what I've seen there I think that Leeds 11 last night that started that game if it can stay fit there's a big couple of big butts there for Leeds if it can stay fit with those two up top I think they could be okay but there's a long way to go I think they're slightly just edged for what I saw from West Ham Yeah, just jumping about a bit here, because it feels pertinent, obviously Leeds-Chelsea is one of the great historic fixtures, and so is Leeds-Liverpool.

4:27And I wonder whether that is a great game for Leeds to maintain their momentum, given the state of Liverpool at the moment.

4:34Gary Neville:Yeah, someone's having a laugh at me at Sky, aren't they? You get your programme through, you get Leeds-Chelsea on Wednesday night, and then you get Leeds-Liverpool, you're thinking, is that right? I've got to go to Leeds-Chelsea and Leeds-Liverpool. Where you're universally popular. I'll just get my hood up and my helmet on. There's no hiding place in that game. I didn't know what to expect last night in the game. I maybe thought it might be a little bit sort of edgy, a little bit scruffy, but it was a really good game to watch. I enjoyed it. And look, Saturday is going to be interesting. Can Leeds go again?

5:07Gary Neville:They'll be confident. They'll be really sort of have good belief, but physically can they go again at that sort of frantic pace that they set at times in that game last night? And, you know, obviously Liverpool, what's happened to Liverpool is a mystery from where we saw last season. So, yeah, you're absolutely right. Some sort of great games, you know, upon us. And, yeah, I enjoyed last night's game as a spectacle. I thought it was really surprising watching Leeds play how they did and, you know, hurt Chelsea as much as they did. And it'll give them, like I say, a feeling that we can get out, we can get out, we can stay in this league.

5:40Gary Neville:Sorry, not get out, we can stay in this league and we can push up the table. So what about Chelsea? Because all of us just thinking maybe they're the closest to Arsenal and they drew with Arsenal at the weekend and so on. They were right in the mix and then that happens. Is that something you were waiting to happen? Yeah, I've never bought into this Chelsea challenge for the title. I mean, getting close and maybe getting up to third or second, maybe because there's a lot of inconsistency around near the top of the league. There's only Arsenal performing at a level that you would say is anything like at the moment.

6:13Gary Neville:I think you go to Leeds United and look Leeds haven't been great recently but there has to be a little bit of understanding of what you may face I didn't think there was any of that from Chelsea I think the coach made changes he played a team of a very young team they've got young players anyway but it was you know Chalabar at right back was awkward in terms of on the ball first half they had a mountain of passes a million passes in the back three that was driving me crazy and you start off passing slowly and we'll come on to United in a little bit don't start a game bloody slowly you're playing for a toggle get the ball moving quickly get your tempo and your passing get your touch right and the drift is walking on the ball there's so many passes back the way and when you start like that and a team are on top of you and Leeds are playing forward you're playing right into their hands what do Leeds United want?

7:04Gary Neville:they want the back three or back two of Chelsea with the right back Chalabar tucking in playing as a three in possession. They want them to play across the back slowly. That's the easiest thing in the world for the opposition team. So don't do that. Feed the ball quickly into positions further forward where you've got your more talented players. But I have to say, Chelsea just to me last night didn't approach the game correctly. Didn't have the actual beef out on the pitch to be able to handle Leeds muscle. Simple as that. You know, they were out-muscled, out-fought, everything in the outrun. And you thought that when Chelsea got back into the game, they could sort of come and you thought, well, this could be interesting but they were again they got caught by a pass back from um it was Gusto to Chalabar was it I think and then it goes back to the goalkeeper and it's a mess and you know let's stop talking about Chelsea being a title winning team you know let's stop talking about it it's not there you know they haven't got the goalkeeper for it they haven't got the centre backs for it and they haven't got the centre forwards for it but they'll finish in the top four I think they've got a lot of very good players they've spent a fortune on that squad they've got some real talent in there, but they're miles away from being a title winning team.

8:12Gary Neville:And I know what a Chelsea title winning team looks like and the Chelsea fans know what a title winning team looks like. They've won plenty of them. They've seen the physicality and the durability that you need to go and win a league. It's not all about playing football. You have that physical aspect, particularly I think you get into these months of December, January, February where there are big demands upon players. People might say, oh it gets colder. Games come thick and fast. You look at your Christmas calendar, you know, the players are playing these games. I've got about 12 games that I've got over Christmas and the lads are obviously having to go every three or four days.

8:45Gary Neville:And you've got to really play a more robust game at this period of the year. Yeah, the pitches are immaculate and they're fantastic, but you've still got to demand that sort of physicality from your team. And I just think Chelsea, they're way off it in terms of certain areas of the pitch. Their spine's not good enough. They've got some excellent players, they've got some real talent. There's a lot to work with, but they're nowhere near a title-winning team. And I know they keep teasing us and tickling us every few weeks when they win a couple of games. It's, oh, Chelsea are up there nearly seven points from Arsenal.

9:14Gary Neville:What if they win this game? And we keep saying it, and they're nowhere near. Well, a similar sort of narrative, a couple of places further down the league, for Manchester United, who tease and tempt, and who twice in the last fortnight have had a chance to go into the top five, and haven't. And sort of the prevailing mood here, I sense is one of anti-climax tonight. Yeah, if you saw those, you know, obviously when we threw back to the studio and the camera stays in the stadium and they're picking up the faces of fans that are still sat in the actual sort of seats, real, real dejection. Real dejection.

9:51Gary Neville:I feel so disappointed, so disappointed. You know, against Everton, I think everyone leaves that and they might think, well, OK, we've been on a decent run. You can have a one-off game and that can happen. But speaking to Ruben Amarin before the game tonight, and I said about this opportunity to go up the league and jump up the league and get into fifth and level and fourth and thinking about what could this season start to look like. And they've missed two glaring opportunities. I mean, they could be second or third, having won these two games. but there's far too many ifs and buts and maybe and could-haves and would-haves with this team.

10:33Gary Neville:And Ruben Amrim absolutely will be angry, frustrated and gutted. Because, and we saw obviously the executives, we saw Jason Wilcox, sporting director and Omar Barada, they'll be absolutely gutted. because I've said this before, you see a team that do it once and that can happen, but when you see it happen twice, it starts to become a pattern of what you are. And this was a massive opportunity. You saw the games that are lined up, Everton, Crystal Palace, they won the most difficult game at Crystal Palace. You know, West Ham at home, Wolves on Monday. And you're thinking, oh, 10 points. That could put Manchester United into a serious position in the league.

11:21Gary Neville:You know, they could be up there in third. And really then sort of starting to think about the programme they've got when everybody kicks into European football and the cup competition's kicking again into sort of February, March. But unfortunately, they're not taking their chances to get up there and be up there. And I don't get it. I don't get the lack of urgency and the lack of intensity. I don't get the slow play. I don't get the lack of sort of risking the game. I don't get it. Ruben Amirim can't be telling them to go out there. In fact, I know he's not because in his interview with me pre-match that me and Pean did, he said, I want more intensity from the very beginning.

12:02Gary Neville:Now, I suspect, unless he's having us over, he's not going back into the changing room saying, guys, play slowly tonight. He's going in there and saying, lads, let's get the ball moving around quicker. Let's run forward. Let's play with real threat and vigour. And it doesn't transpire out on the pitch. So, I don't know. Why does that happen? Peter, I've got no understanding. I've got no understanding. We lost games here. And we drew games here. And we drew big games here. And we drew sort of what would be lesser games here. But I don't think we drew games in that way. I don't think we lost games in that way.

12:40Gary Neville:We would, I think... I think we'd throw the kitchen sink at it. I think you'd see both full-backs flying forward, centre-backs in the box, goalkeepers... Jeez, once I've kicked over them with a bottle of water. That's the best tackle I've seen all night. It is water, isn't it? Yeah, it is water. It could be vodka as well, to be fair. But I think you'd see goalkeepers coming up and going for corner kicks. You'd see mayhem. You'd see things happening. You'd see a real rush and a real massive... I'm not saying embarrassment, but a real massive urge to not lose this game, to not draw this game. And I don't see that.

13:22Gary Neville:Why? You may as well lose. It's going, you know, I just don't see it. I don't see the actual appetite to go and throw your whole life at the game and everything you've got and throw it forward and take risks. Bruno does look, I have to say, a little bit like he does that. I think Bruno at the end, they see him. He's like the kid in the sort of, in the playground. who's trying to get everywhere and he's trying to take this and he's trying to shoot from there. I actually see that little bit of panic in him that we can't draw this game. I don't see it in enough of the others. I don't. I see there still being quite a bit of a, let's play there and pass there and we'll let the game drift and we'll sort of walk towards a throwing and we'll take things a little bit easy.

14:06Gary Neville:That can't be what it is. And I don't know what to say other than they are what they are and they're showing us to what they are. The 7th, the 8th, the 9th, they just don't want to jump up and maybe it'll happen in the next couple of weeks. Because what I would say, this league at this moment in time isn't very good in terms of quality and the consistency is really, really dire. It's poor. Everyone's losing, everyone's dropping points. Everyone, apart from Arsenal, Sunderland and a couple of others, are not playing anywhere near the standards that they can achieve. And Ruben Amarim's on here. You can see it in his eyes.

14:40Gary Neville:The frown, can't you? you can see where he's at. He'll be absolutely livid but gutted that his team can't deliver at the point where he needs them to. I've got no doubts. This is not complacency from Manning. He'll be looking at that table a week last Monday before he gets to that Everton game and thinking, right, this is it. Come on, this is it. We're off the back of an international break. The Christmas charge. We can go into fourth and fifth. Teams are dropping points around us. They lose. He then gets lifted a little bit by what happened at Crystal Palace at Sellers Park, which was a fantastic victory.

15:11Gary Neville:It wasn't great in the first half, but to come back and win there, any type of victory there is excellent in any time. And then tonight he's thinking, right, it's set up. Let's give our fans a real boost. Thursday evening, they can get back into town, they can have a drink. Maybe a few of them have come over from different parts of the world and they can have tomorrow off and they'll enjoy a night in Manchester. And then they get that and they're walking across the forecourt not happy. And that's a real disappointment. But look, there's no point in keeping talking about it. They're not good enough.

15:38Gary Neville:And they're not as good as I think Ruben Amarin would want them to be. They're not as good as I'm sure that the people in the director's box would want them to be. And certainly not as good as I'd like them to be. I'm not seeing anybody out there that I don't think wants to be. I'm not seeing any sort of what would be the manager's lost the dressing room. There's none of that type of stuff. But why aren't we seeing this real fierce approach and attitude towards the game? I don't know. No. We shouldn't finish. I can feel Villa fans' eyes on the back of my neck. Where did they come from? Where did they?

16:11I don't know. My imagination.

16:13Gary Neville:Villa, I meant. Well, they came from behind at Brighton in a very exciting game and they're third in the Premier League. Absolutely. They deserve proper coverage and interest. Fantastic manager. Where they were a few weeks ago, you were thinking, this looks a little bit ominous, a little bit dangerous, but a little bit of consistency. a few wins and you do fly up that league quite quickly because everybody's dropping points and Unai Emery has been around the block and he's a fantastic manager and where have they come from because they were right down there weren't they a good few weeks in and now they've started to hit a little bit of form but they've got a good like I say a really good manager a good squad and they're starting to perform and they've got some talented players and any form of performance or like I said I don't know I'll use the word consistency again, is going to see you travel quite quickly up that table and they deserve to be where they are going to be.

17:09Gary Neville:Why not? Everyone else is dropping points. Just go and do what you need to do. I mean, go and take the opportunity that is there in front of you to go and, you know, shock the world. Go and finish second. You know, anything could happen. So, yeah, at the moment, you know, great for Villa. You know, I really like Villa as a football club full of stuff and I like Unai Emery. I think he's a fantastic and great coach and he's one of the best in the league. So, yeah, well done to Villa. Well done. Yeah, I think we're nearly done. I just wondered if you want to have a quick word on Fulham 4, Manchester City 5.

17:38Gary Neville:Yeah, I watched a bit of that game. I was flipping back and forward. City looked like they were sending a message and then, in some way similar to the Leeds game, almost giving so many chances and sort of encouragement. So unlike Pep Guardiola's teams who've pried themselves on great football, but also brilliant defence. You know, a few goals against, but you can get at City, you can score goals, but they are still a threat going forward. Foden looks like he's getting dangerous again. You've obviously got Haaland up front, who's sort of in unbelievable form. So, yeah, Manchester City are just a threat through the fact that they've got players who've been around the block.

18:15Gary Neville:They're the closest to Arsenal and they've got some exceptional players and they've got a world-class striker and manager. Okie dokie. I think that's it. Yes, I will see you on Saturday. Absolumo. Ellen Road, be noisy. Thanks, Gary. It will be. Thank you, Peter.