In his latest column, the Betway ambassador gives his thoughts on Man City v Arsenal, the title race, Spurs' inconsistency and Ireland's recent results.
Impressive Liverpool can contend for Premier League
It’s been a good Premier League season to watch so far. Obviously, the usual suspects in the title race are Arsenal and Man City, and you would imagine that they will be fighting for the Premier League, but I wouldn’t write off Liverpool after the start that they’ve made.
They could certainly be in contention to challenge. The new manager, Arne Slot, has come in and sometimes it takes a little bit of time to get used to your players. They didn’t have a great result against Nottingham Forest and they should have certainly won the game, but in terms of how they are playing under a new manager, they have certainly impressed me.
Nottingham Forest have done OK as well, and look like they can be a danger to other teams. They have an experienced manager who knows the Premier League very well.
Spurs need to build consistency
It’s been a bit stop-start for Spurs. The performances have been decent, but they need to go on a run and be more consistent.
I watched their first game when they absolutely battered Leicester and it could have been 4-0 or 5-0. Then you don’t score that second goal and you’re always vulnerable.
In the north London derby, Spurs were the better team in terms of possession and the way they played, but they never really looked like scoring, in my opinion. It was disappointing because Spurs usually create chances.
Where it went wrong was obviously at set pieces, and it was fairly simple. Arsenal are very, very strong in that area and Gabriel is probably one of the strongest individual players in the league in terms of attacking set pieces.
James Maddison has received some criticism, but I think he’s been good. He’s been taken off a couple of times but the players around him haven’t been doing that well. Son has scored a couple of goals, but for Solanke, for example, it’s taking time to get used to how Spurs play.
Getting his first goal against Brentford will have done him the world of good and you would hope he’ll now kick on for the remainder of the season, because he can be a player that causes problems. He has a habit of going outside the box and running down the left wing, but I think needs to stay central because he has got players around him who can feed him chances to score goals.
Rotation key for Postecoglu
Spurs got very, very lucky in the Carabao Cup against Coventry, but they got the result with a rotated squad. I’ve been a manager myself and I know only too well that it’s very important to keep your squad happy. If you keep playing the same players over and over again, you lose the dressing room.
Players need minutes – if someone who’s not playing often gets called upon, they need to be up to speed. When I was at Maccabi Tel Aviv, if we were 3-0 up I would try and bring players on who hadn’t been playing to get them prepared to come on later in the season. You’re going to need those players down the line, so it’s important that you have harmony in the dressing room.
With the new structure of the Europa League and a lot of a lot of games in quick succession in the next few weeks, Spurs will need players ready to be available because it’s unlikely they’ll have the same 11 on a consistent basis. They have a decent squad, it’s just up to the manager being brave enough to use them, and being clever enough to know when to turn to the squad players.
Strict rules around delaying restart will improve the game
Manchester City v Arsenal was a great game to watch, and Leandro Trossard’s red card has sparked a lot of debate. I like the new rules around delaying the restart, and I just think we need to keep the game flowing. It can get a bit static with players wasting time and doing silly things.
The red cards for Trossard and Declan Rice were both silly, but the refs don’t really want to give them and they were given no choice. It was unfortunate for Arsenal but they are red cards, and fans want to see the game flowing as much as possible. In some games, the ball is only in play for 40 minutes.
Duran standing out for Villa
Jhon Duran looks a really good player. I don’t think he would like the reputation of a super sub – nobody does – but as a manager, you want your players to make an impact off the bench. He’s certainly doing that. His time will come, but it’s going to be tough because he’s got Ollie Watkins in front of him, who’s scoring goals and is a very good player.
Aston Villa will play so many games now that they’re in the Champions League, so Duran will get his opportunity and he looks like a real handful.
A disappointing start for Ireland
Ireland’s last two games against England and Greece were very, very disappointing. The England game was always going to be difficult, but you still want to see a performance. Against Greece, you would expect to get something, there’s no question, so to not get a result in the manner that they played was disappointing. I thought Greece were the much better team and looked like the only team that was going to win the game.
We need to get back on track and make it difficult for teams to come to Dublin. Over the years when we were playing, we made it a very, very difficult place to come. People hated coming to play against us. We would never give up, we would always fight, and that was the spirit that we had. Yes, we had more quality players at the time playing at a high level in the Premier League, but I still believe the squad of players that they currently have should be getting results against teams like Greece.
I think the manager should be travelling to games to watch players. Maybe he’s just feeling his way in, and he knows that the coaching staff know the players well enough, but you would like to think that between the Greece game and the games coming in October that he’ll have been to many games. I just think that’s a norm for a manager, because you can rely on certain people but at the end of the day you’ve got your own opinion on players. You might see a player who was only in the back of your mind, but you watch them a couple of times for a club and they might just change your mind. So it’s highly important that you go and watch players. It’s the only way you’re going to get a better feel for them because you only have a few days with the national team.
Exciting times for LA Galaxy and US national team
LA Galaxy have secured a spot in the MLS playoffs, which is great. Now, can they make that next step? They’ve made the playoffs in the last few years, but when it comes down to it they always seem to slip up and not get over the final hurdle.
For a team like the Galaxy, they have to be winning things. They haven’t won the MLS Cup since I was there in 2014, which for me is too long for a club with the history that the Galaxy have. I’ve got a soft spot for the team after I had a great time there. It’s a brilliant club, great fans, and after the season they’ve had it’ll be very disappointing if they don’t win the cup.
In other US news, Mauricio Pochettino is a great friend of mine, and I think the USA job is a good move for him with the World Cup coming up. It will be a different experience as he’s been in club management for a long time, working with the players day-to-day. I’ve played in the USA and the potential there is absolutely huge for the future. As the manager, Pochettino can lift the country and the players, who want to play for a manager like that.
I wasn’t surprised that he took the job, because I know how big a job it is and to have the opportunity to manage in the World Cup is incredible. They have a long way to go to win the tournament, but reaching the quarter-finals would be a huge success. The growth of football in America is massive and with the generation of younger players coming through, there are going to be big stars who could be five to 10 years away.
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