Sky Sports Premier League Podcast
The Football Show – Neville, Carragher, Rodgers and Parry
17 Apr 2020
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning and welcome to the Football Show. This morning we're going to be joined by the former Liverpool and Celtic manager, now of course at Leicester, Brendan Rodgers will be with us.
We'll also be discussing the fallout in the EFL with the chair, Rick Parry, and we'll be joined by Plymouth Argyle boss, Ryan Lowe, to find out the effects on his club and to talk about the broader issues across the Football League. Plus, we will have a mystery guest alongside us and we'll be giving out clues to that throughout the course of the morning. He'll be joining us just before 11 o'clock.
All of that in the company of two men who are a mystery to many of us, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville. And Jeff Shreves is with us. He's going to be bringing us all of today's headlines. One of them, of course, is that Premier League meeting that is going to be taking place today. Jamie, what's your read on this?
Because we know that nothing's going to be decided today, but it's about contingency plans.
Well, to be honest, I think there's been a lot of meetings, there's been a lot of semi-decisions, I would say, in terms of, OK, we're going to move it back to the end of April. Then it went to the end of June. And it almost felt like it was buying time, which was totally understandable.
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Chapter 2: What are the key issues facing EFL clubs during the pandemic?
But eventually you have to get to the crux of the problem of we have to make decisions now. And whether it is now, you've just mentioned there won't be decisions today, but very soon I think there will have to be decisions made on this season and next and how it's going to affect football.
next season and something's got to give at some stage whether that means maybe a competition this season or a competition next season maybe has to be taken out of the calendar to allow the space because next season is going to be a lot tighter in a time frame than what we're seeing from an all-season, certainly with the Euros at the end of it.
But I just think we're getting to the stage now where there's a lot of people involved. There's obviously the FA, the Premier League, the EFL, also UEFA, FIFA involved. There's lots of different competitions that have been affected in the summer also. And sooner or later, someone is going to have to give on something. Right now, no one's sort of given up anything, if you like.
We're talking about the Champions League going a bit later. The Euros is being moved to a following summer. Eventually, a decision is going to be made on whether something has to go or when things can start again and giving the time and dates to people, really. And I think we're very close to that. Yes, it may not be today, but I don't think we're too far away from, as I said, making decisions.
And on the back of that, I think someone is going to lose out on something because that's the only way it can possibly happen.
So maybe then, Gary, it's less about making one decision today and more about making lots of smaller decisions, putting contingency plans in place for various scenarios.
Yeah, I think they're on the back foot anyway, to be honest with you, the Premier League, because I think that some of the things they can't make decisions on, because we've entered into three weeks more of lockdown yesterday. If the government extends the lockdown in three weeks' time for another three weeks –
So there is an element here of obviously a lot of the things that are happening are out of their hands. They don't know how this virus is going to spread, whether it's going to come under control, what the restrictions are going to be post lockdown. So there are a number of things that they'll be trying to get intelligence on, obviously, but they will be struggling with.
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Chapter 3: How does Brendan Rodgers maintain player fitness during lockdown?
I mean, football is a contact sport. It's the absolute... opposite of social distancing. So, there are challenges that exist for football in getting football back this season. In three weeks' time when the lockdown's over, you are six weeks away from those contracts ending for 1,400 players in this country.
Admittedly, there is another month of notice for those players, but the walls are closing in, like Jamie said, and they've got off on the back foot. I don't think they've communicated well throughout this process, to be honest with you. I don't believe they've brought us on the journey with them. We don't know where they're at. I actually get the feeling that, to be fair, they're stuck.
They thought they had the ultimate power, the Premier League. And what we've seen in the last few weeks is that the sort of what would be self-interest of all the different parties and no one really having the power in this country means that everyone's fending for their own rights.
And it should have been one from the very beginning that they should have been looking at a compromise agreement all the way through. They've lost the players. They're having to now deal with the players individually. They're chasing their tails. And they've got decisions to make on certain things, but some of the things are out of their hands.
What I would criticize them for most is where are the club owners? Where are the club CEOs? Why are they not communicating to everybody in this country what's happening? There is an absolute abyss of information loss that we just we just we just speculate.
all the time to me at this moment in time you see the government whether it's good or bad communicating every single day you see other businesses and other industries communicating every single day football's gone quiet they're hiding gary can they in truth come out and speak about a situation when they actually don't know what's going to happen this has to be a decision that's made collectively so why then do you want to hear from owners of individual clubs
It would just be nice, to be fair, Kelly, to hear from them, to communicate the challenges that they're facing, to reassure everybody that discussions are taking place. What they did a few weeks ago with the players, for instance, they tried players on a Friday afternoon into taking a 30% cut for 12 months, but they forgot to mention it to the players beforehand, the captains themselves.
So they lost the players on day one, the distrusts appeared. They do need the players to come back on board somehow in the next few weeks. And there will need to be some type of reduction or deferment of salaries because there's no doubt that's the struggle.
But I would say that in times of crisis, in times of trouble, Kelly, even if you don't know what the outcomes are going to be, that you have to communicate. You can't just go quiet. Ultimately, the leaders of Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, where are they?
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Chapter 4: What challenges do Premier League clubs face in resuming the season?
Where are they? We've not heard anything. from them. And it's just communication. It's making sure that you're in touch with people. It's what every other industry leader, business leader does. And the Premier League have not got a grip of it. And the Premier League clubs have not got a grip of it.
Geoff, what have the papers said?
John Cross in the Mirror says that UEFA could decide to finish the Champions League as a mini- at three meetings next week, beginning on Tuesday. Same would apply to the Europa League as well. But Chelsea and City have outstanding second leg last 16 ties, which obviously adds to the complication.
The proposal is that Istanbul, where the final was scheduled to be played, would likely to be the host city for the mini tournament, if you like. And the suggested date for both finals will be the 26th and the 29th of August. Do you think that's workable, Jamie?
Yeah.
Well, I said before about something having to give. I said, I think the first time I spoke on the subject with Gary at his hotel, and I actually mentioned about cup competitions would be more at risk than actual leagues because leagues finishing actually impact more next season than actually a cup competition.
More often than not, a cup competition means obviously the winners, but whatever level you're at in a cup competition, everybody's equal. So with the Champions League,
I don't think there's any way if any league starts anywhere in Europe, you can have Champions League games in the middle of that because these games will be so spaced together to try and get the season done, whether it's over three or four weeks, that it's almost as if Europe will have to have its own situation. Now,
With the season actually moving on a month or two, everything's going to get pushed back. So when they're talking about August, that would not be the start of next season. So August would almost feel like the summertime or maybe the end of the season when you would have a tournament. And it almost feels like maybe the European competitions becomes like a tournament for those sides in that space.
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Chapter 5: How is communication between clubs and players being handled?
So I think that is sensible. But as I said, the longer this goes on and the more things get pushed back, Sooner or later, something has to give. And that might be one of them because you may say, well, okay, the Euros is next summer and that is starting on a certain date when we know. So you'd almost have to work backwards from that. How can we fit next season in there?
And how could we get the Champions League in? So it's still at the stage now where in a perfect world, you want X, Y, or Z to happen. But sooner or later, something is going to have to give and something is going to have to wait or someone's going to have to accept that
that, whether it would be the FA Cup next season or the Carabao Cup maybe comes out and you push the European competitions into August or September and you start next season, October. But as I said, we're just getting to that stage, as I said before, where something has to give and someone has to lose something.
But of course, I do think the Champions League is going to be really difficult in a normal format that we've had before. So whether it's a tournament, I think that could work really well.
Here's an interesting the Times has reported that the PFA has suspended voting for the Player of the Season awards. Now, understandably, PFA have got an awful lot to deal with right now. But apparently, the reason that it's been suspended is that the ballot papers were sent out in March, but not all of them. And that's why they've suspended it. They didn't send out all of the papers.
Seems strange.
Yeah, well, I suppose March was a time of change, wasn't it, if they were sent out in batches? I don't know. I can't explain the postal system, Geoff.
It just seems strange to me, that one. Geoff, just picking up on Jamie's point there around the European competition about something has to give. Where we were five, six weeks ago when we were still doing shows, not virtually like we are now, but we were doing shows sort of in Manchester, we were doing them.
I was 99% confident about football being completed this season and I was confident about all competitions being completed, whether it be behind closed doors or in other circumstances.
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Chapter 6: What financial strategies are clubs implementing to cope with the crisis?
The reality of it is I am a lot... less confident in football finishing than I was five, six weeks ago. Now we're getting to the crux of the matter and these types of decisions are having to be made.
I know it's of less importance, but do the three of you not think that we've had enough of the season for the PFA vote to be able to be completed? Because they normally vote around about now. Has there not enough games been played? It can be done electronically.
Is that something that could be done? It could be, Geoff, but I mean, at this moment in time, would any player or any... even the PFA themselves, would they really feel it appropriate to be awarding sort of player of the year awards during the coronavirus where there are hundreds of people that are losing their lives every single day?
I'm not sure that it would be appropriate to even announce it, but they certainly could, I'm sure, by email sort out the votes. It's whether they would think it's appropriate when the season hasn't been finished and obviously things are going on like they are at the moment, whether it would be actually the right thing to do.
OK, last one from me. Now, I would imagine this will take some delicate negotiation. Ben Rumsby in The Telegraph has reported that Tottenham Hotspur have opened negotiations to lower the salary or payments to Maurizio Pochettino, the manager they sacked. five months ago.
Apparently, they are still paying his £8.5 million reported salary while he takes a break from football and therefore have open negotiations about making a reduction in payments to a manager that they sacked.
Well, I mean, Pochettino, obviously, we all loved him when he was in the job, done a great job. And when managers go in, I mean, just signed a big contract, so I'm sure there was a big payoff involved. And rightly so, that's the name of the game. Daniel Levy knows that. There is going to be cuts right across football, there's no doubt.
I think we're still having problems with Premier League players at this moment. We're reading reports this morning of clubs finding it difficult. So I don't think it's going to change, certainly, with an...
a manager who you've sacked so if you find it difficult to maybe get Harry Kane and the players in that dressing room to defer wages or have wages cut and they're ones that you're working with day in day out if Pochettino was in Argentina with his family I think he'd just be switching his phone off and ignoring Daniel Levy because I think it's going to certainly be a lot more difficult with a manager who you've sacked than certainly than what it is with players in your own dressing room
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Chapter 7: How are clubs planning for the next season amid uncertainty?
And we're at the final instalment.
On to Wolverhampton Wanderers now, the 20th of our 20 Premier League teasers. And you've got to think long and hard about this one, I believe. Of course, Wolves are very much a club with strong Portuguese connections and João Moutinho, the veteran midfield player, has actually taken part in all Wolves Premier League games since they got promoted.
So that's last season and where we are up to in this season. That's 67 Premier League games for João Moutinho. Now, there are 12 other Portuguese players from other clubs who have played more Premier League games than João Moutinho's 67. Can you name... those 12 Portuguese players in the Premier League more than 67 appearances.
And we will have the answer for you before the end of the programme. Also coming up, we'll be joined by Brendan Rogers and the EFL chair, Rick Parry, and a mystery guest. There'll be a series of clues throughout the morning as to who that might be. The first of them is that this player played for six Premier League clubs across three different decades. So that's your first clue.
More of them to come as the morning progresses. Good morning and welcome back to the Football Show. Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher still with us. And joining us is the Leicester City boss, Brendan Rogers. Good morning to you, Brendan. It's been such a good season for Leicester up to this point where we've had to suspend football. What have you been doing in the intervening time?
Well, of course, good morning, everyone. It's obviously been difficult. Kelly, for everyone, especially when football is your life and your passion. But of course, when everyone went into lockdown, then the safety of everyone was most important. But yeah, it's just been a mixture of everything.
You're trying to keep some sort of structure in your life, trying to exercise and trying where you can to do the homeschooling and obviously being in contact with staff and with players. So just generally just trying to keep the communication going.
And when you're in contact with the players, what kind of things are you discussing with them? Because the fitness question is one that comes up a lot, but because we don't have a restart date, and this could be months or even over a year away, what sort of things are you discussing with them?
Well, I suppose it's just sort of speaking with them in terms of the importance of it. I think they know anyway. I think the modern footballer... They know in terms of where their physicality is and how they need to keep that going. So the group that I have here are fantastic professionals. So it's just that constant communication with them.
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Chapter 8: What insights does Rick Parry provide about the future of football?
But like I say, they're very self-motivated anyway. But, of course, it is difficult for them at times.
Brendan, I know, obviously working with you and know your team, sports science team as well. I mean, there's been a lot of talk of with the players being off for so long, it's almost near the pre-season as well, but it seems that everybody involved is doing, as you said, the work from home, maybe at times maybe getting together in the future after this lockdown.
But how much sort of pre-season or build-up to maybe if the games do start, do you think the players will need on the back that they've almost had a full season and they're still keeping in a decent nick right now?
listen, you guys know what it's like. It's one where you can, the guys will do as much as they possibly can outside of the football. The whole idea is that if we get started again, you want the players football prepared. So they'll have a base of work that they're going to be able to do over the course of this period.
But then to be football prepared, that football, football fitness is different, you know, so, but yeah, Hopefully, like I say, hopefully we can get back in and get their football fitness there. Then you're probably talking three to four weeks you would want before the first game.
Brendan, I'm going to pinch one of Graham's questions that he used to add the day where he said that it's very unusual. In fact, it's unique that you would get a period during the season like this to be able to reflect back on what you've done well and what you haven't done so well this season. Have you been doing that?
And can you give us any insight into the things that you've looked at and what you might change going forward when the season does restart?
I think initially, Gary, it was tough, to be honest, I think, because it was new for us all. So my mind wasn't straight into football, to be honest. It was just trying to ensure that everyone was OK and the disruption with staff and players and looking to communicate with them. I think as time has gone on, I've been able to reflect and I suppose plan forward.
I think the biggest thing at this moment in time is that Without any shadow of a doubt, the rhythm of the work will change. So when we go back, it's not like we would go in in the morning, have a specific time and you would train as a group. The rhythm of the work can change. So it's trying to be as organized as you possibly can for when we do go back.
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