Amorim's Anfield statement, Dyche boards Marinakis merry-go-round & football's '2000's revival' with Andy Cole

12:43Gabby Agbonlahor:Take us back to when you were part of an attacking four at United, whereby you were all required at different times. You, York, Sheringham, Solskjaer, that was the four. You weren't always going to start. you might not sometimes get on as a group of four. We've gone into an era now where most teams have a main man, a main striker, and Troy Deeney was talking about on Match of the Day the ego of the striker. Well, I'm the one that scores, I want to be that one. When you are part of a group, and Liverpool probably do have a collective, maybe United want to get to having a collective, how difficult is it to adapt to that?

13:22Andy Cole:If I look back at, obviously, my time and the boys I was playing and obviously myself, Yoki, Oli and Teddy. I think we all wanted to be the main striker. However you look at what we've got to understand, what I understood from day one is when he brought Yoki in, Yoki was the number one striker. So it was for me then, once given the opportunity, for me to try and take that opportunity. At that stage when Yoki came in, the manager didn't think I could play up front with Yoki, to believe it or not. Yeah, but there you go. And then I finally got a game against Southampton at the Old Dell. and then from that game there me and York were basically perceived as the main two because just the way we played the connection we had but in saying that the flip side is I could play with Oli, I could play with Teddy and we could all score goals but for us we all brought into it we all knew we were going to play games yeah sometimes we'd be a little bit disappointed if we weren't starting the main games of course but we all believed that at some stage we'd all play, we'd all contribute and ultimately if you're all doing that it's about winning at the end of the season and we did that did you ever have to change depending on

14:30Gabby Agbonlahor:who you were playing with and the only reason i asked that is because i was talking to gabby about this a bit ago wayne rooney said to me when van percy came in he started watching old arsenal games to see what fabregas did because he realized a bit like you with york that van percy was going to be the main man so he might have to adapt to get the best out of van percy did you change your style at all depending on who you were playing with or were you just you i didn't chappers the

14:59Andy Cole:crazy thing is you know when i finally got the game to play out front with with yorky you know what what you saw there was all natural you know if we played we trained you know it was england versus the rest of the world young we old or whatever maybe yorky used to play midfield i want to play right back or something stupid like that ollie i played with ollie before i knew what Ollie was and Teddy, I played with Teddy before I knew what Teddy was. So it wasn't like I was watching any videotapes of anyone saying right I need to do this, I knew that we just bounced off each another's energy and I think we all knew how each another played and what positions we got ourselves in.

15:34Mark Goldbridge:And in terms of the whole kind of trend this summer that was all about everybody needs a number nine, everybody's looking for the big striker, the money was going there wasn't it, whether it was Jokeres or Sheshko or even the you know, the ISAC move. It's interesting now, when you look at the stats of the first kind of eight, nine weeks of the season, that the predominant kind of goal scoring opportunity still seems to be, well, is set piece bigger than it ever has been, but going back to 2010, rather than out and out strikers getting these goals. I mean, Jokeres himself is a great example, isn't he?

16:06Mark Goldbridge:Three goals for Arsenal. It's kind of this paradox, isn't it? That it seemed to be the thing that everybody had to have, and yet it's not necessarily kind of converting into goals yet.

16:16Andy Cole:For me, football's a basic game. And it will always go back to basics. I mean, wherever you start your circle, you finish off at the same place. You know, and football, I look at football exactly the same place. Everyone talks about, oh, we've got all these pass, pass, pass and all that. Ultimately, the ball's still got to go forward. Once it goes forward, you're going to cause more problems.

16:38Mark Goldbridge:Do you think these teams just aren't adapting to having their number nine?

16:40Andy Cole:Most probably, because I think in the end, this is just my view, I think in the end, we're going to go back to seeing two strikers up front. You know, set plays. Set plays were always a great opportunity to score goals. Now, everyone's talking about, oh, man, it's changed. You know, there's been more long balls. There's been more set plays. Well, when did football actually change? If you've got set plays, you've got people in the box, you score goals. You know, corners, free kicks, you've got great opportunity to score goals. You know, what you do, you put it in the box. So for me, it never changes.

17:09Andy Cole:I look at football now. There's a lot of people talking about football. and there's a lot of words I don't understand anymore. I'm being very, very honest because I'm like, oh yeah, you go press, you win the ball back. Everyone's talking about the press. Alan Shearer, just making me laugh

17:23Mark Goldbridge:because Alan Shearer was laughing at Micah on Saturday night because he was talking about Arsenal's high block, mid block, low block. And Alan was like trying not to laugh because obviously we were live on air and giving him a lot of stick afterwards.

17:35Andy Cole:What is that? Do you mean he's defending deep? You know, when people say, well, yeah, the low block. What is the low block? someone decides what Mourinho used to say park the bus so what's changed I mean for me nothing's changed but all these wordings change and I get confused you know and people laugh at me when I say yeah I am a dinosaur I'm not gonna lie yeah because I don't understand all this terminology for exactly the same thing when I was playing I think teams have teams have have worked out

18:04Gabby Agbonlahor:haven't they that if you are up against a team an elite team who constantly play possession possession possession that you aren't going to beat them by matching them that the way you're going to beat them is by being more direct and hitting on the counter and that which is what united but you know i go back three four five years i have a feeling that wolves went to manchester city and they had the dama trauri at the time and they did exactly that you know defend and then hit hit on the break it's almost like more teams have cottoned have cottoned onto it it's taken a while to come, but that's what they're doing.

18:40Mark Goldbridge:To stop trying to emulate Manchester City. Or to stop trying to... And play to your strengths.

18:44Gabby Agbonlahor:You know, Brentford, we're recording this on Tuesday, lunchtime. Brentford, I know it was West Ham, but Brentford were absolutely phenomenal last night. I mean, Brentford could have had six or seven. And they play in a very pragmatic way.

19:00Mark Goldbridge:I mean, are we happy about this? Does it matter how kind of Premier League football looks?

19:05Andy Cole:For me personally, yeah, of course it matters. I mean, you can speak to a lot of people who played in the generation I played. And the tournament said you define Premier League football now very sterile, very boring, very predictable. It is. You know, why does like 20 teams want to play exactly the same way? I mean, when we were playing, you used to have teams like throwing it in the box. Central Arts used to have to head the ball.

19:28Mark Goldbridge:Don't talk about throwing. I mean, the throwing has become another of this season's big watchwords, hasn't it?

19:34Andy Cole:Roy De Lapp used to do it all the time at Stoke. and everyone says, oh, you can't play like that. That's ridiculous. Is it just evolution? Yeah, because the game will always change. You can't stand still. I look at football now, it is changing again, and rightly so. Certain teams can't continue to play the way they want to play or believe they can play if you don't have the personnel to do just that. Now, if you look at all levels of football, non-league try and do it. You turn around and say to yourself, this is non-league football. What about just getting it forward? But no, no, let's roll it out from the back, from the keeper, to the full-back, into midfield and go out the other side.

20:07You try and say to yourself, this is non-league.

20:11Andy Cole:It can't be done.

20:12Gabby Agbonlahor:Do you know what I'm quite liking about the long throw resurgence? Is teams then realising that they need somebody to throw it long, but then giving it to someone who actually can't take a throw in very well. And there are quite a lot of players. Matthias De Ligt's throw-ins on Sunday at Anfield. My God, they were terrible. Everyone was a foul throw. No, it was like he was jumping up, his feet were off the ground. So I'm quite enjoying watching those who can't take a throw in amongst all these long throws. But how many were given? None. They didn't give a single, exactly, didn't give a single foul throw.

20:45Mark Goldbridge:And yet, while we're talking about things changing, when it comes to Erling Haaland, everything stays the same. He just keeps on scoring goals. And again, at the weekend was phenomenal and seems to be at the moment the thing that's keeping Manchester City kind of in this race. because they're not completely clicking everywhere else.

21:04Andy Cole:As a goalscorer, I mean an out-and-out goalscorer, I don't think anyone comes close to him. He plays in a team that is built for him. It's built to create chances for him, for him to score goals. If you actually take him out of the team, you try and say to yourself, where are Man City going to find these goals? The most of them you won't. So he's an ideal team that suits him perfectly. And the way Pep wants players to get the ball to him in certain areas, for him to score goals. You can't ask for much more. And I look at that and I remember my time when I first went to Newcastle. That's what Kevin wanted me to do.

21:38Andy Cole:Kevin just wanted me to get in the box. Don't get involved. Just get in the box and score goals. And I look at Haaland now and I'm saying to myself, wow, if you can't score goals in that Man City team, you're not going to score goals in his team. You know, the players that have obviously left like De Bruyne and players like that have created so many chances for him. But now, like I said, if you take him out of the team, Man City will struggle, but he plays in a fantastic team that is suited perfectly for him.

22:02Gabby Agbonlahor:But they are playing more to him now, aren't they? Maybe last season or the season before wasn't quite as much, whereas now you feel like it's basically get the ball to him.

22:12Andy Cole:Yes, very much so. But they're trying to get him the ball in the right areas. I think Roy touched on it some time ago. He's not the best in getting involved and linking play and things like that. But when he's in the 18, six-yard box, that's when he really comes alive. The chances he takes, what are created for him, is just phenomenal.

22:30Gabby Agbonlahor:I don't think Roy put it as diplomatically as that, did he, at the time? I'm a diplomat. Yeah, you are, Andy. You are, definitely. We're all diplomats compared to Roy.

22:41Mark Goldbridge:Did you prefer when everything was directed towards you? Did you prefer being in a two? How did you personally feel comfortable?

22:50Andy Cole:I enjoyed playing in a two because that's what I was brought up on, having the opportunity to play with someone up front. But if you look at the way everyone plays now, everyone wants to play the one up front. but ultimately for me personally again you've got to have the right personnel to play that way, if you're centre forward and you don't have the right personnel to play the one up front don't create chances people are going to turn around and say he's not scoring enough goals if the team's not creating enough chances of course they're not going to score goals but if you look at Harlan at Man City, one up front he's the guy so he knows every opportunity is built for me if I get myself in the right areas of course I'm going to score goals

23:25Gabby Agbonlahor:Just before we let you go Before you came in, Gabby and myself were just recollecting your transfer from Newcastle to Manchester United, which felt like it came completely and utterly out of the blue at the time. There was no big build-up to that. It was just sort of announced. Did it happen quickly for you? Yeah, it did.

23:46Andy Cole:It was crazy. I played on the Sunday in the FA Cup against Blackburn. Obviously, if I knew the deal was going to go ahead, I'd never play it on the Sunday to get cup tied.

23:55Gabby Agbonlahor:Yeah.

23:56Andy Cole:played a Sunday went home after the game went in Monday morning for the warm down nothing was said went home and I was just about to sit down and watch Sheffield United vs Man United in the FA Cup got a phone call just to let you know I'll be on the way up to Newcastle to pick out the deal to Manchester United so in all this time a day and a half I've not heard anything like I said I went in the Monday morning Kevin never said a word to me like I said just about to watch the game. So when you talk about totally out of the blue, that's how it happened. I know a lot of people don't believe it happened like that.

24:32Andy Cole:I know a lot of people seem to believe that I instigated the move and all things like that, but that was never the case.

24:37Mark Goldbridge:Because there hadn't been those rumblings and the chatter around the town, people were really taken aback, weren't they? This was not an ISAC move that was dragged on and on and on. Yeah, one minute you were there banging in the goals and the next minute you were gone.

24:52Andy Cole:Yep. And back then that was football. You know, there wasn't no media talk about it.

24:58Mark Goldbridge:No social media.

24:59Andy Cole:No, exactly. We was having a laugh about it and people were talking about all it was then was CFAX and teletext. You know, so once it come up on CFAX or teletext, then you knew the deal was going ahead. So, yeah, it was crazy. It was one of those moves that everyone turned around and said, wow, didn't see that coming or never believed that would happen.

25:17Mark Goldbridge:Well, something we perhaps did see coming, and this is kind of a terrible segue, but it relates to your hometown where you were born and the club you finished your career with Nottingham Forest at the weekend perhaps not as quick chappers as maybe we were expecting 19 minutes at the end of the game Anj Pustakoglu was given his marching orders and already Sean Dyches now installed as the new manager what have you made of this season so far for Forest at the weekend?

25:42Andy Cole:Very very strange whatever happened with the owner and Nuno what Nuno did last season not unfolded was absolutely phenomenal you know so to be sacked on whatever basis he got sacked on you know we only can sit and speculate about what it was then to bring in Big Ange whose philosophy on football is totally different and if I'm looking at the game on Sundays well I thought they were very unlucky if they were taking their chances they should have won the game comfortably didn't work out that way sacked 19 minutes after full time and then you you bring in Sean Dye so that's another change of football so what is the owner looking for?

26:21Andy Cole:What does the owner want? Because ultimately it seems like it's what the owner wants, not what the players want.

26:25Mark Goldbridge:And the fans seem to have great loyalty to the owner, don't they? They didn't obviously welcome Big Anj in. He always felt like he was up against it. As somebody who's played there from the air.

26:37Andy Cole:Yeah, I just think and take myself, the fans have shown him all that loyalty because ultimately he's got nothing for us in the position they're in now. But you turn around and say to yourself, okay, where's it end? what style of play is the manager looking for I mean not the manager the owner that's what you got to ask you know because you can't go from Nuno what Nuno was counter-attack to Ange Ange is free-flowing give him five

27:02Mark Goldbridge:Premier League games

27:03Andy Cole:to prove it and then you get rid of it and now you bring in Daesh who's a totally different manager very pragmatic in the way he plays so then you turn around and say to yourself okay then where are Nottingham Forrest aims and ambitions this season. Ultimately, what do they want to do? What does the owner want to do? Because he's making the appointments and he brought Anji in for a reason so now you turn and say to yourself, okay, he's got rid of him. He's brought in Dyche now. What is his criteria for Dyche in his team?

27:34Gabby Agbonlahor:They'll be fine though, won't they? I mean, they'll probably be mid-table.

27:38Andy Cole:Yeah, I believe they'll be fine so if that's the case, I'm turning around and saying to myself, well, why don't you just stick with Anji then? You know, because ultimately when you appointed him, you knew what his style of management was you knew the way he played you know so you can't give him was it five games?

27:53Mark Goldbridge:Five Premier League games

27:54Andy Cole:Five Premier League games and two rounds you say that's more than enough five games and if you look at the games that he's lost if they'd have taken their chances they'd have won the games you know obviously in the cup the league cup against Swansea I believe it was you know you're 2-0 up how'd you end up losing that being 2-0 up? I mean so are you going to turn around

28:13Mark Goldbridge:Spurs fans might tell you how yeah yeah yeah So you might turn around and say, oh, you know, that's the manager.

28:19Andy Cole:But ultimately, if players get yourself tuned a lot, that's for players to see the game out. There's not a lot the manager can do. So I'm very, very surprised.

28:26Mark Goldbridge:Thank you so much for coming in to see us.

28:27Andy Cole:No problem.

28:28Mark Goldbridge:Before we go, possibly the greatest Sunday league team of all time.

28:46Mark Goldbridge:Okay, Chappers, the thing we all want to know around here at Sports Agents HQ is why you are not part of Withenshaw FC Vets, whose alumni has been kind of regaled across social media over the last day or so, but no Mark Chapman in there.

29:03Gabby Agbonlahor:Yeah, so Withenshaw FC Vets, who are probably 10 minutes round the corner from where I live. and in their team they've played three games so far this season if you haven't seen this on social media they've scored 23 and conceded four but within their squad they've got a combined 822 Premier League appearances so on this team Papi Cisse who scored six at the weekend I don't know Papi Cisse I'll be honest with you George Boyd who I occasionally see around the place, Danny Drinkwater I've interviewed Nader Manua who we obviously work with quite a lot and Jolien Lescott who we've worked with quite a lot just to name a few and I am a little disappointed that Nadam hasn't picked the phone up on God

29:50Mark Goldbridge:Did you know Nadam was regularly appearing for them?

29:53Gabby Agbonlahor:No, I had absolutely no idea about that the only thing that I've ever really known with Nadam is that he He sprints He sprints

30:01Mark Goldbridge:Yeah, that's all he talks to me about is sprinting so he's not even mentioned that he's playing in this team I imagine he's fairly useful for them because his sprinting is going very well, isn't it?

30:11Gabby Agbonlahor:His sprinting is going very well. And maybe, therefore, we'd be an ideal central defensive partnership where I'd just stand there and he does all the running around me. Maybe that's something for Withershaw FC vets to consider.

30:24Mark Goldbridge:They are, we should say, top of the Cheshire Vets Football League. I'm not surprised.

30:29Gabby Agbonlahor:I mean, jeez, can you imagine? Imagine you're, you know, 45 and play for, I don't know, Didsbury vets and you turn up and see Papi Cissé in the office. I mean, goodness me.

30:43Mark Goldbridge:Yeah, I mean, obviously that part of the world, I have noticed that players who played for City or United, they tend to stay, even if they're not from that part of the world when they retire. So there is this, you know, glut of talent there that you could imagine, you know, there's rich pickings. There'd be a few more teams in this Vets League that could probably go and scant a little bit.

31:07Gabby Agbonlahor:you know maybe there's time for me still to get a call from from one of the other

31:11Mark Goldbridge:are you not talking about me are you no I wasn't really do you want me to tell you a Sunday league

31:17Gabby Agbonlahor:experience that I had recently so I wasn't I wasn't working on a Sunday recently uh and my son was playing Sunday league football and I haven't watched him play football for about four years because he's been at university whatever so I went down to the fields in withenshaw to watch him play i had a i had a hat on and a coat on and in the second half the ball sort of came towards me out and the opposition had got a corner so i just threw the ball to the lad in the opposition and he kind of looked at me looked really confused picked the ball up looked away put the ball down in the in the quadrant in the corner looked at me again kind of shook his head like he'd seen a ghost went to take the corner and miss the ball and kick the corner flag up and he looked at me and went what are you doing here i'm just here to watch some football i'm here to see whether or not we've got you've got any minutes you know

32:17Mark Goldbridge:spare on match of the day we might just get you on but clearly after that no oh that's very good

32:22Gabby Agbonlahor:that's very maybe i could maybe i could get signed just to distract people rather than for but rather for any footballing ability.

32:30Mark Goldbridge:Some kind of weird scouting that's going on. So, of course, you can get in touch and catch up with all our past episodes on YouTube, Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you want to, subscribe, follow, and leave a review.

32:43Gabby Agbonlahor:Now, please don't fill our inbox with offers for me to play vets football, but thesportsagentsatglobal.com, thesportsagentsatglobal.com. I'll say that one more time, thesportsagentsatglobal.com. or you can get in touch.

32:58Mark Goldbridge:Especially if you're in the North West region and about 20 minutes from the Manchester, Greater Manchester area.

33:04Gabby Agbonlahor:Do you know what? I think it's probably not vets actually now because they're still quite young. A lot of these, I'm probably at walking football. Walking football. Thanks for listening.

33:15Andy Cole:The Sports Agents with Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman.