Manchester Update: ten Hag decision to be made? Dazzling Doku and more

National World - LocalTV

A full version of the ManchesterWorld Q&A.

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00:00 Michael, starting with United, is there any chance that Eric Ten Hag could be on his way

00:07 out of the club? Pressure is mounting game on game, there's a lot wrong at the club as

00:12 we spoke about. What can you see happening in the future for him?

00:17 There's a long and a short answer to that. I think the short answer is that for Nye,

00:27 I think his job looks relatively safe. I think certainly Saturday helped in getting a win

00:31 even though they didn't play fantastically once again. I think that, I mean, no one from

00:39 the club, well there's no indication from the club that he's close to losing his job.

00:45 I think it's worth kind of considering the fact that who makes decisions in that regard

00:53 in a couple of months' time is going to probably be Sir Jim Radcliffe who's making decisions

00:58 on the football side, obviously with the Glazers still having a say in it. So, while he's not

01:03 making decisions right now, I don't know whether the fact that he is coming in could influence

01:08 things. I suspect it would. He's not having any direct say at the moment in how the club's

01:12 being run, but the fact that you've got a man coming in who's going to be taking over

01:15 the football operations, it's a huge decision to make potentially even a couple of weeks

01:20 before he's taken over. I'm led to believe that actually Radcliffe would prefer if Ten

01:27 Hag kind of remains and is on board with his approach in terms of dealing with players,

01:32 in terms of dealing with the pretty hardline stance. I think he is along the same line

01:35 as Ten Hag of thinking that the club and the playing squad needs a real overhaul. So, I

01:42 think they're kind of on the same page in that regard. But, as I said, the long-term

01:46 answer is, you know, managers under the Glazers, and they will still be under the Glazers once

01:52 Sir Jim Radcliffe comes in, they don't tend to outlast a prolonged bad run. And that is

01:59 certainly what Manchester United are on now. They've played 16 games this season, one of

02:03 them they've played well in. It's a remarkable thing to say, really. It's absolutely ridiculous

02:07 when you consider it. I think long-term things have got to drastically improve for him to

02:12 keep his job. But I think at this stage, in the immediate future, I don't think it looks

02:18 like he's potentially close to losing his job at this stage.

02:22 And Champions League returns this week. Obviously, Man United are dealt quite an easy group on

02:29 paper other than Bayern Munich, you'd say. But, you know, as you've touched on it there,

02:33 their form hasn't been good enough at all. What can you see coming out of, firstly, the

02:37 game against Copenhagen that they face this week, and also the group as a whole?

02:42 Well, I mean, you'd be amazed if they play well, if they go to Denmark and play well,

02:48 because as I've just touched on, they just don't play well in football matches at the

02:51 moment. And I think I wouldn't be surprised if they do go there and get a result, because

02:56 I mean, Copenhagen were decent in the last game when the sides met. I think they've been

03:01 pretty good in the group so far, pretty good domestically as well. So it's not going to

03:04 be, you know, on paper you would traditionally think of Copenhagen as quite a straightforward

03:08 task. I don't think it's going to be the case. But, you know, United have got enough quality

03:11 in their squad that, I mean, Saturday showed that there are players who are capable of

03:15 producing individual moments that can win football matches. They, for all the issues

03:19 this year, have tended to be relatively, well, the last couple of weeks, excluding the City

03:25 in the Newcastle game, before that there had been a little bit of a run of good defensive

03:29 performances, obviously they kept a clean sheet again at the weekend. So if they can

03:33 keep in the game, keep a pretty tight, a pretty dogged performance, then I do fancy someone

03:38 from United to go and nick it with a bit of quality at the other end. But in terms of

03:41 going there and dominating them, it's just very unlikely to happen anyway. But it's a

03:46 big game for United because, I don't want to say must win, I think that's Freya's bound

03:51 about a little bit too much, but I think that they probably need the win if they have any

03:56 chance of getting through there. I mean, it's BSE, it looks like it's going to be between

03:59 them and Galatasaray for the second spot. Galatasaray on four points, United on three.

04:04 So United play Copenhagen this week, and Bayern play Galatasaray. So you'd presume Bayern

04:11 win, United win, then United go into second, and then they play Galatasaray next in Turkey.

04:15 So huge game there. And I think the small, slight advantage for United is they finish

04:20 the group against Bayern Munich, who could already be qualified, could race and rotate

04:24 in the last game of the group. So I think Copenhagen is huge, basically. It almost sets

04:29 up a winner-takes-all class, potentially against Galatasaray in the next round of fixtures.

04:34 So it's a huge game for United on Wednesday night.

04:37 Moving on to City, Michael, obviously we've seen a fantastic display and proving a fantastic

04:44 signing Jeremy Docky. Four assists last time out and a goal as well against Bournemouth.

04:48 Unbelievable performance individually. How much has he added to Guardiola's team and

04:53 what can you see him going on to achieve in the future?

04:56 Yeah, he was an absolute joy to watch on Saturday. Not even just the goals and assists, his dribbling.

05:02 He kept bamboozling the Bournemouth defenders. He's brought something really different to

05:07 City, but his trickery and his fast feet in the ball have really proven difficult for

05:11 opponents to deal with, and his turn of pace. Guardiola said something on Saturday, he's

05:15 one of the quickest players in the world over five yards, which is a big statement to make.

05:20 Guardiola, he's just been absolutely effusive with his praise of the player, and has just

05:27 repeatedly said that he's brought something different to the City squad. His ability to

05:30 go on both feet as well was remarkable on Saturday. He scored with his left foot, deflected

05:36 in off a Kanji, so it was a Kanji score, but provided an assist, let's say. The defence

05:40 split and pass was outstanding, I thought, for City's fourth or fifth, I can't even

05:46 remember what goal, fifth goal. Just all-round brilliant, really, really good player. And

05:52 look, you think that last season, by and large, City's main wingers were Jack Grealish and

05:57 Riyad Mahrez, even Bernardo Silva. They are players who, they get the ball, they come

06:03 inside. That's what we know that they're going to do. Phil Foden's got something a little

06:06 bit different, especially when he plays from the left, obviously he can go outside. I mean,

06:10 Goku has brought a complete raw energy and pace that is just completely almost off-script

06:16 from all the other players at the moment. And the ability to get the ball, face it with

06:20 full-back and just fly past him is brilliant. He's brought something completely different.

06:24 And as I say, not just the ability to come inside, which he's great at, but to go outside

06:28 a full-back is, yeah, it's really, really good. And I think that Guardiola is interesting

06:33 because he spoke at the weekend about how he loves players who dribble with the ball,

06:35 which I mean, he's gone full circle, Guardiola, hasn't he? Because we think about that Barcelona

06:41 team who just pass, pass, pass, never give away the ball. And now he's saying, go on,

06:45 give the ball to my wingers and let them run on a full-back. And invariably with that,

06:49 you're going to lose possession more than if you just kind of look for that pass inside

06:52 or whatever. But yeah, he's been brilliant. And as I say, Saturday, he was absolutely

06:56 superb. Guardiola could not have praised him more after the game. And yeah, really good

07:00 signing and the type of signing that Manchester City always seem to make. These diamonds in

07:05 the rough and okay, it's only the first couple of weeks, I suppose, still of being a Manchester

07:09 City player, but already you can see the progression, the development from his first couple of appearances,

07:15 performances, and I think City have signed a fantastic player.

07:18 Obviously, picking you up in the Champions League again, they are top of the group, three

07:23 out of three. What can you see coming from this next game for them against Young Boys?

07:29 Is it going to be another rout, do you think? Can they just go four out of four?

07:33 Yeah, I think so. I'd be surprised if they don't. I think he'll rest and rotate. He's

07:37 got Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League. I think between Bournemouth, Young Boys, Chelsea,

07:42 he'll look to just rest a little bit with the emphasis, with the aim of going into that

07:47 Chelsea game as fresh as possible. I mean, he's got Tuesday to Sunday, so what's that

07:51 five days rest in between? So they should be relatively fresh anyway, but a couple of

07:56 players dropped out against Bournemouth, Diaz, Grealish, Guardiola, I think they'll all come

08:01 back in. I think he said on Saturday that he basically wants to get this wrapped up

08:06 now, this group stage, as quickly as possible. If they win on Tuesday, they're through to

08:10 the next round, and he can basically rest, certainly kind of rest and rotate for the

08:14 last two games. I think he might go a little bit stronger against Leipzig at home just

08:18 to kind of secure a top spot, but yeah, I'm expecting it to be a pretty straightforward

08:22 one. Maybe the likes of Rico Lewis come in, Nunes, kind of slightly fringe members of

08:30 the squad. We're recording this just about 15 minutes before Pep Guardiola's press conference.

08:35 We're not totally sure if Erling Haaland is going to play, but I'd be surprised if he

08:38 does personally. I just think that if there's any doubt about his fitness, why rush him

08:42 back to this game? Just get him, you know, wrap him up in cotton wool, as they say, and

08:47 get him back for Sunday's game against Chelsea. But as I say, he's made a pretty straightforward

08:51 one for City, and they tend to make pretty light work of the Champions League group stage.

08:56 Another indication of just what a superb side they are. Guardiola keeps going on a bit,

09:00 but the consistency of City getting through the group stages, you can't argue with that.

09:03 So yeah, I'm expecting a straightforward one on Tuesday night.

09:07 And finally, I've obviously just checked there, but City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, the only

09:13 three who have gone 100% in the group so far. Is that possibly a sign for what's to come

09:18 in this Champions League campaign? Do you think City are still the top dogs in Europe

09:22 this season so far?

09:24 Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think, I mean, I don't watch copious amounts of La Liga or

09:31 Bundesliga or whatever, but I think those three you've just named, potentially chucking

09:35 Bayern Munich as well, are the four sides I look at and think that are probably likely

09:39 to go on and win the Champions League this year. And they are just, yeah, three or four

09:45 fantastic teams. But I think City, like, City, player for player, probably are the better

09:52 side. But City now have developed the knack of getting through to the latter stages of

09:57 this tournament. And three years in a row, they've got the semi-final. They've now got

10:01 over that hoodoo of winning the competition as well, which I think will be a little bit

10:05 of a release for them. I think it'll take away some of the nerves, you know, if they

10:08 were to hypothetically get their quarterfinal or semi-final this year again, or even a final.

10:13 And of course, finals at Wembley this year as well, which I think is a big boost for

10:17 City. Pep Guardiola has already won a Champions League at Wembley, hasn't he? So, yeah, I

10:22 make City favourites for it, but I don't make City... How can I put it? Those other sides

10:27 you mentioned are such good teams that I certainly think they would offer real competition for

10:33 City for the Champions League, yeah.

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