I wanted to break the TV after watching Antonio Conte, Bruno Fernandes is an irritable child and how can West Ham replace David Moyes with Michael Carrick?
talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan has his say on the biggest stories in football this week…
There’s been plenty to talk about, from Bruno Fernandes’ behavior in Manchester United’s 7-0 loss to Liverpool, to questions about the future of Tottenham manager Antonio Conte and West Ham boss David Moyes.
talkSPORT pundit Jordan has given his verdict on some of the best football stories of the week
How Erik ten Hag should deal with Bruno FernandesJordan’s Verdict: I think Fernandes is one of those conundrums that you give a little dispensation for because they are very talented players. But will they get Man United where they need to be?
There was a lot of fury after the game, with Graeme Souness scoring his points and Gary Neville trying to get a feel for Man United’s performance. Fernandes wasn’t the leader United needed, but again neither were the other 10 players on the pitch.
I think there should be consequences for pushing the linesman, because I think we’re trying to get some order in the game and some culture and respect for the officials. We see it land in grassroots football, the way people relate to officials, referees and linesmen. So I’m not a big fan of that.
I think it is light weight. I think he falls when he feels like it. I think he has a lot of ability and that ability will be given as an excuse for other aspects of his game. Whether he’s captain or not… well, that’s a bigger question. Technically, he is a very gifted player. His behavior is petulant and childish. This is not the kind of reaction one would expect. You can’t imagine people like Roy Keane leading the team like that. Keane talks about the dynamics of feeling like a circus is coming to town.
I think Ten Hag will stop this particular situation. I think Fernandes will be arrested for protesting not being taken off, kicking Trent Alexander-Arnold, pushing the linesmen, or generally having the body language of a lightweight .
You can’t sum up United’s season in this beating. A lot of people don’t care a lot about it, but I think it will be good for United. I think that will stop the idea that they are actually going to be in the Premier League title race, because they are not. And it will give them more opportunities to square certain circles that Ten Hag will clearly see. There were a lot of them there, it wasn’t just Fernandes, but right now Fernandes is the person you’re supposed to turn to, who sets the temperature, sets the tone. And he did everything but that. So I think it was petulant and poor.
But then again, you show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser. What you wanted to see was a little more resilience, a little more discipline, a little more courage, a little more example. And to be completely honest with you, in this game, Fernandes didn’t do any of that.
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Captain Fernandes was widely criticized after the beating at Anfield
Antonio Conte’s interview after Tottenham’s Champions League exit made me lose my mindJordan’s Verdict: I listened to Conte’s interview and I wanted to turn on the television.
What I find inexcusable are some of the comments Conte made last night about progressing to victory. What a bunch of old shit. Losing to Sheffield United was a build, wasn’t it?
Here is the question: what is Antonio Conte’s vision? Because I was a big defender of the winning mentality that Conte would bring to Tottenham. I thought it would change the culture.
After 16 months, that’s a reasonable amount of time for him not to say the same things he said when he walked in the door. You have heard this story. It’s absolute crap to suggest that you have to build things and not just make up wins.
You win against teams like Sheffield United. That’s what you do. It is absolutely outrageous. Football managers take the mickey. They speak in riddles and they never answer the question. I understand why he doesn’t want to talk about his contract. It is not unreasonable for him to dodge this question. I don’t like it, but that’s the nature of the beast.
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Conte is under increasing pressure at Spurs after their Champions League exit
One thing that I don’t accept, that I don’t understand, that I won’t tolerate and that I won’t allow him to get away with is losing in competitions like the FA Cup.
This would reduce some of the noise. If Tottenham were in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, they would still have something to play for this season, in addition to a fourth place.
If Tottenham fans are happy with fourth place, then we’re redundant in this conversation, because who are we to tell Spurs fans what they should be going through? But I feel like many rational and irrational Tottenham fans want to see more of their side. They want a better looking football team and they want to see something on the table.
Tale trotting the same guts is so unconscious that it almost passes the understanding. It’s on you, mate. It’s about you. You leave places with people who want more. We have to suggest that Conte is an important part of the fault mechanism. When he enters the building, rather than the mood going up, it seems to go down.
I now move away from the idea that Conte and Kane were the way Spurs should go. Kane, yes, but he’ll probably go in the summer. And Conte marks time.
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Kane is Tottenham’s top scorer but has yet to win a trophy in his career
Michael Carrick replacing David Moyes is not the solution for West HamJordan’s Verdict: Would I replace David Moyes with Michael Carrick? Well, first and foremost, that’s assuming Carrick would leave Middlesbrough to go to West Ham. He was a West Ham player. I tried to sign him from West Ham in 2005, and almost did.
I’m surprised, pleasantly surprised and actually wrong about my expectations of Carrick’s challenges and struggles at Middlesbrough. He didn’t have them. He made them straighten up and fly straight. And it’s like when I bought Ian Dowie from Crystal Palace and we were bottom of the league and got promoted. Or when Sunderland brought in Roy Keane with no Championship experience and got promoted.
Carrick is certainly kicking back and taking numbers at Middlesbrough. But asking him to step into a situation at West Ham, because currently he looks good at Middlesbrough, is a wild rush. Listen, it’s a terrible result on the weekend. But then again, I think right now Brighton are one of the best teams in the Premier League, one of the best teams in the Premier League. And the only reason they don’t get that accreditation is because they’re at Brighton, and they’re not at Liverpool, Manchester City, Man United, Arsenal or Tottenham.
They’re Brighton and so they always come with that tag, that there’s a level of expectation against them. But Brighton are capable of doing that to most Premier League teams.
West Ham need to pull themselves together. Moyes made some pointed observations about who wants to come with him a few weeks ago and then got a decent result against Nottingham Forest, where they looked much better. They were OK against Man United and had a bit of bad luck in the cup. And now they’re going back to the league and getting their heads back.
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Moyes’ side lost 4-0 at home to Brighton on Saturday
David, again, talks about players coming with him and then nuanced it by saying they’re a good group. I’m afraid David is turning to football manager territory when talking about what has been done before. If they are relegated from this division, which I don’t think they will, racing in Europe and finishing in the top half of the Premier League will be little consolation for anyone.
David needs to refocus and refocus to find a methodology that allows this team to do a little better. The argument that players like Soucek and Bowen didn’t show up is starting to dwindle because those players have been better in recent weeks. But the team’s performance is not. Players like Rice, who people are making a lot of noise about, must be doing much better than them because they are supposed to be £120m footballers.
They’re not the only reason, but they’re the players you turn to. I wouldn’t say changing Moyes for Carrick is a solution. I also wouldn’t suggest that Carrick will sprint to do it. Moyes needs to pull himself together and then see what the future looks like. Because unfortunately for David, it’s the only season where he has no arguments. He had £160m in transfer spending. Put him behind the eight ball in this situation, and West Ham need to find some balance. Otherwise, they will be sucked into the situation again, when they have enough quality and innate ability not to be in the position they are in.
Listen to Simon Jordan weekdays with Jim White from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on talkSPORT and find him on the One-To-One with Simon Jordan show every week on YouTube
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