Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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All the news at $29.99 per month after free trial unless canceled. Blackouts and other terms apply. Welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. I'm Dan Thomas. I don't know how much respect they have for the ball, but they are with us. Shaggy Hisslop and Stevie Nicol. More on Huddlegate later on in the show, but we'll kick things off with Liverpool being rubbish.
Of course, they can only manage a 1-1 draw against Tottenham. What is going on in the world? For more on this, Mario Malchiuk joins us, as does Kieran Gibbs. We'll be hearing from the boys in a moment, but let's start with the one and only Stevie Nicol. Stevie, would you like to repeat what you said on the phone to me when that goal went in? Please don't. Please don't. What made you most angry?
I can't honestly say by the end I was angry. I think the most disappointing thing was the fact that The crowd were walking out and were booing. Right. I don't remember that happening at Anfield. It never happened when I was there. Certainly, we weren't always at our best, but the crowd never left before the end and they certainly didn't boo us. That was the most disappointing. Angry.
The longer the game went on, the less angry I got because I could smell it, what was coming. And the fact that it's happened... This has not happened two or three times. This has happened about ten times this season. So...
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Chapter 2: What were the main issues discussed regarding Liverpool's performance?
you become immune a little bit to it. So it's not quite as raw when it happens, because you're kind of expecting it. And it almost feels as though the players are expecting it. And the longer the game goes on, and the more they've just got their noses ahead, It's almost like, let's just not think about it and we'll just try and go up the other end all the time.
Instead of going about it in a smart and organised fashion of, you know, we've lost goals at the end of games too often, so you know what, there's only 10 minutes to go, we're not going to go crazy and just keep trying to attack every single time we get a hold of the ball. We're going to be solid, let's slow the game down, let's take the air out of the opposition. Because you're encouraging them.
There was none of that. It was the same old, same old. Let's just keep doing what we've been doing all season that's been going wrong. And eventually we'll get away with it. But yet again, they never got away with it.
Chapter 3: Why did Liverpool struggle to secure a win against Tottenham?
We had a conversation when Xavi Alonso was sacked at Real Madrid. And I said, would you take him over on a slot? And you said no. This is a guy who's won the Premier League. Xavi Alonso, clearly out of his depth at Real Madrid. You can see where I'm going with this. I think I know where you're going. Mm-hmm. I have to stick to what I've been saying.
You have to give him an opportunity to get it right. You have to get him a full squad, get all his players. And at the start of next season, if it's still the same, then I think that's when you think about making a change. I think the fact that he won the Premier League and everybody's jumping on of, well, it was Klopp's team and this and that.
Nobody was saying that when they were top of the Champions League, they were top of the Premier League. It was all about how he's changed Klopp's team into a little hybrid of being 100 miles an hour and then slowing it down when they need to. So everybody who's coming out with a clever, well... It was Klopp's team. Forget that. The fact is, it's gone horribly wrong. He's a huge part of it.
But I think a lot of the problems as well are down to the individuals on his team. And that's why I think he should be given the start of next season. The concern is there doesn't seem to be any sprouts of... of inspiration from this side. Like you see again, there's just nothing. There's nothing. And surely that's down to the coach.
Isn't that the coach's job to inspire, to get something from these players? Yes. And he hasn't done it for so long now, Stevie. That's it. They've been so stagnant. It's hard to come up with an answer. And the reason it's hard to come up with an answer is because this team, the majority of this team are experienced
winners, international footballers of some repute, and for them all to be so bad is absolutely mind blowing. And I don't have an answer as to why they're all being so bad. I refuse to believe that it's all down to Anna Slott. I just refuse to believe it. You know, I think as individuals, they've all let themselves down, most of them, not all of them. And I think that is the biggest problem.
But again, seeing that, You're right. What you said, it's up to the manager to get players who are in bad form, who are not producing, who maybe are not mentally prepared properly. It's his job to get them in that position. Kieran, you were part of Arsenal teams, obviously, that didn't live up to the expectations either of the success that... No, no, no, I'm not doing... Ah, boy, ah!
It just felt a natural segue. How difficult is that as a squad to find your mojo again, considering with Liverpool, you win the Premier League title just under a year ago. Those expectations are rightly high. Well, first of all, Dan, thanks for the usual dig. Appreciate that. It says two-time Community Shield winner. Sorry, I just saw that, Kieran. I didn't put that on either. Right, carry on.
Oh, boy. Oh, dear. Good old Dan. Yeah, no, listen, I think, you know, obviously the standards that they set themselves last season, they have obviously been underwhelming.
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Chapter 4: What are the criticisms of Arne Slot's coaching style?
The players are injured. They are not performing how they want. They don't know where they're going to get a win from. And you're going to give them this type of confidence going at Anfield? And scoring that late goal and the belief that those guys have now, they're probably going to use this game against Liverpool, try to pedal on and see what they can do after this.
While Liverpool is in a situation thinking like, hey, guys, this cannot happen. But you have done it so many times. They've done it to Wolves as well. They've done it to, what, OK, City is maybe a different situation. But when it happened to Wolves, then you've got to wake up and really say to yourself, like, hey, especially like you say, you know, you're the captain of the team.
you also got to put your foot down and say, like, guys, this cannot continue because if not, we're going to be in real trouble. And like Sabahzadeh came out and saying that, no, you don't want to play Conference League when you won the league, you play in Champions League. This club is too big to go that far, except if it's maybe going really bad. But it ain't going that bad for them to go there.
There's one of the biggest problems that they have, it's the worst thing that most teams... when they're struggling to go through. They don't trust each other. And when I say they don't trust each other, I'm talking about the very basics of anything that you do.
Whether it's a simple pass, you don't know whether it's coming to your throat, over your head, somewhere even lower down, and you don't know, you just don't trust the person giving it to you. And that filters into defending. Defending particularly, when you don't trust
The guys beside you, that means you're starting positions off because you don't know whether you should over cover somebody because you don't trust them to either win a header or do the right thing. And that just snowballs all the way around the field.
And so although you look on a piece of paper and you see all the names, and I'm talking about how experienced international players, winners, World Cup winners, When you don't trust the guy next to you, it affects your game as much as it affects his. And it just snowballs. It is, of course, Galatasaray in the Champions League. They have a 1-0 lead going... Is it 1-1? I can't remember. 1-0.
1-0, yeah. I wish it was 1-1. I completely forgot what happened in that first leg. Liverpool are still big favourites going into Anfield. Stevie, percentage? Let's do it. This is 50-50. Seriously? I don't honestly see how you can make Liverpool big favourites. Liverpool have just capitulated against, right now, the worst team in the Premier League.
And they're 1-0 behind against Galatasaray, who have a guy up front in Osserman, who can win any game on his own, just a single piece of magic or brilliance. So how Liverpool can be such big favourites after what we've seen and what we saw at the weekend, I don't get that. And I don't think you'll find many Liverpool fans sitting thinking, oh, we're big favourites to win this game.
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Chapter 5: How have past successes affected Liverpool's current expectations?
And now, you understand, the ref kind of pulled out and said, like, no. I think the guys upstairs maybe looked at it and said like, OK, he is blatantly going to him instead of the other way around, trying to maybe protect the ball, he could say. Or he could say like, no, I put my foot there just because I wanted to run. No, you don't put it that wide. So Walter Marder stepped in.
So no, for me, when I looked at it again, you understand, because you also have to remember that if it's the other way around, I will call it the same thing. So now I have to say, no, I would not give that penalty. Of course, Rossini was speaking today ahead of Tuesday's clash in the Champions League, where they're looking to turn around that 5-2 defeat against PSG.
A lot, of course, to do, Mario. They are 8-1 to get it done. How do you approach this game? Because you've got to be really careful, obviously. You need the goals. But defensively, we saw how vulnerable they were against this PSG attack in Paris last week.
You know you're facing a team that arguably, okay, I don't want to say they reinvented the way they pressed the ball and everything, but they clearly showed Chelsea how they did it in the summer. When we saw them in the summer, how they were prepping.
One of the key things, I think they did it in the final last season too, what they do really well, if you see guys like Dan Baylor, the way they stand, the way they are ready for you to make the mistake. Chelsea walked right into the trap. I know he said, like, OK, from the back, Jurgensen, you know, the goalkeeper, take the time, play the ball in the middle.
We saw Fernandes saying, like, having a go at him because he didn't agree with him, taking the wrist ball and playing it right through the middle. And they were waiting for that press, that moment. That is one of the key things that they really have to think about. Liam knows, he was a manager in France.
When you're a manager in France, and I can talk from experience because I played there myself, when you play there, one of the key things the French league has and the culture of France has is counter-attacks.
So he has to be careful because soon as he expose himself and make his team wide open, they are gonna come and hurt him because they have the speed in the team and I think that is gonna be one of the key things. I don't think, you understand, when I watched the game in Paris, he prepped that well for it because I think they were too vulnerable at moments and now they're coming to the bridge.
Of course you're playing at home, you wanna start well, you wanna do well, you wanna score as early as you can, but be careful. Don't be too open because if you're too open, they're going to hurt the back line of you. So they have to be careful. So the one thing is don't concede too early. If you concede too early, the game is over. Who's in goal, Mr. Hislop? I think it's Sanchez.
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Chapter 6: How does the squad depth impact Liverpool's performance this season?
And this was the Liverpool side, obviously, so well known right across the world. Yeah, it's not... It's just encouragement that you get from the older guys. Right. You know, it's not... There's no bitterness, is there? Look at this young guy coming in to take my place. Oh, with a snap. Let me tell you something. Max Dowman right now, people like Saka and Jokeres and Odegaard. You're right.
This couldn't have happened at a better time. We've not... You had a little mention of... Well, I played for a team that right now are crap going forward. And then, so it's all about Max now. This is perfect. This is perfect for Arsenal. All the talk is all about Max Downman. And as we've seen, it kind of... It's like water off a duck's back to this kid. Which is fantastic for everybody else.
So it takes the pressure off them. And it's also good to have kind of a wee brother that you can all look after. Okay. This couldn't have happened at a better time. Arsenal were absolutely feeling the pressure, the way they're performing. Everybody's jumping on them. Going forward, there's no spark. There's no inventiveness. And this kid appears and does all of those things.
It takes the pressure right off. Dr Shaka Hisler, what wise words would you give him? Well, I... I think so many in the dressing room are kind of used to seeing talented kids. Maybe not as talented as Max Darman, maybe they haven't kind of made the jump. Whenever you talk to footballers, we all talk about talented young players that we've seen who just haven't made it for one reason or another.
Many times they kind of feel more talented than we are, but haven't been able to make that change. that final, or clear that final hurdle for any number of reasons. Now, Max Dortmund has done that. Personally, I think it's a great position on time for him. Now, you made the comment about Max Dortmund being the spark to Arsenal offensively. Arsenal don't need that, right?
They're in a great position. They're going to win the league. Yes, they're coming for some criticism about their style of play and reliance on set pieces and no real spark going forward, I think is the term you used. But they're winning the league. Are they going to win the quadruple? That's still too much for me.
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Chapter 7: What psychological challenges do players face when underperforming?
They are positioned to, but I think it's easier, way, way easier said than done. Right now, I'm going to go no. I think if Arsenal win two titles, the Premier League plus one other, I think they'll celebrate well into next season. Where are we on the quadruple, Kieran? Quadruple, I'm not convinced.
I think that the Champions League might be a stretch to five and I think that they'll get to the semis. I worry about them coming into a big game like that against Real Madrid or Barcelona that turn up in those big occasions. But I certainly think that it will be... at least a Premier League, and as Xhaka said, I think probably one more.
I can give them, not as a certainty, but I think that they're going to go and do at least a double this year. So as a policy, and I think this is where experience kind of comes in, experience in competing for multiple trophies, winning multiple trophies.
For instance, you go and you win the Premier League, that's a tough come down kind of given it's been 22 years or whatever it is since Arsenal last won the Premier League title. That's a tough come down to then get yourself together to think about the FA Cup. You win that, that's a tough come down again to then reset your sights on the Champions League final if you get there.
Now, experienced teams who've done it and kind of been there understand that process. But because Arsenal haven't been there in so many situations, that little period there where, again, they go all the way and win one or two trophies, it increasingly becomes more difficult with each title. They're favourites, of course, to win every competition that they're in, including the FA Cup.
They're obviously in action against Southampton in those quarter-finals. That's the stages that we're at, and obviously you can see those live on ESPN+. First weekend of April, Chelsea, Port Vale, Southampton, Arsenal, West Ham against Leeds, and of course, Manchester... Oh, no, you've got to wake up early to watch Liverpool lose, Stevie. LAUGHTER
Real Madrid very much in the driving seat to qualify after being 3-0 up against Manchester City going into the second leg at the Etihad on Tuesday. Here's Pep Guardiola. It's easy for me. Guys, the first 20 minutes you have to score three goals. Yeah, perfect. Good message. But the reality is completely different.
It's just to be sustainable in our approach, in how we have to do it, and in all departments that we are working
tomorrow or talk tomorrow about what we have to do until the end and we know it's not able because the first result in the first leg was not the best one so it's difficult sometimes you know because we create the first 50 20 minutes four or five times in by line for for Bernardo was alone in the six-year box and two three crosses cutbacks that we didn't arrive and they three shoots and targets three goals so that is the Champions League that's why it's
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Chapter 8: What are the reactions to Chelsea's pre-match huddle controversy?
You're definitely dead. Can I take it? If two of you had show up together, I'd have been Igor Tudor. Not sure who I'm talking about. I don't know who I'm talking to. Stevie, I think I think I've got the sun with me. Hey, now you know who's copying you, Stevie. Dan, you're copying, man. You're copying, Dan. I thought you came with your original style, Dan. I thought it was just you.
I thought it was you. But now I see you're copying. Mario, if we're going together, we might get a father and sons this game. Hey, there you go. I love what he had. One special. Oh, boy. Lovely. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. You guys are good. Have we got anything else to say? Goodbye. Steve was desperate to get out of the home. Yeah, Steve wanted to get out. So you paid for the tickets?
I actually did, yeah. No, you didn't. Of course I didn't. No. That is it. Thank you very much guys. We will return tomorrow for those big Champions League matches, of course, including PSG against Chelsea and also Real Madrid against Manchester City.