On this week’s episode, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott are joined by special guest Roberto Martinez, who reflects on his squad ahead of the World Cup and discusses Cristiano Ronaldo’s role as the tournament approaches. We look back at a huge North London Derby, as Arsenal got the better of Spurs, with Viktor Gyökeres continuing his rich vein of form. Benjamin Šeško was at it again too, coming off the bench for Manchester United as the super sub. The team break down both strikers’ impact and how crucial they could be in the final stretch of the season.
00:00 Intro
08:03 Viktor Gyökeres
19:41 Sesko and United Attack
21:49 Tottenham Relegation Worries
34:59 PL Companion by Microsoft Copilot
39:06 Super 6
51:43 Roberto Martinez and Portugal
53:11 Bruno Fernandes
01:00:08 Cristiano Ronaldo
01:17:14 Community Questions
Key Quotes:
Keane on Tottenham’s chances of getting relegated…
“New managers in the door. I still think they’ll be okay. I’m not falling for this one, they’re too good to go down. The games they’ve got coming up. I do think they’ll find a bit more than Forrest and West Ham. It’s as simple as that. I still think Tottenham will have enough to stay.”
Martinez discussing whether he would adapt his playing style if he ever went back to the Premier League…
“No, not at all. I think the danger that we have is this team plays football because being average at something is not going to give you points. Even if you are physical or you’re going to be percentage football, you need to be exceptional at something. I believe if you become exceptional at what you do, you’ll win games. It’s not going to happen overnight and when I became a manager, someone said, remember, you become a manager twice. The first time they give you a job and the first time you lose four games in a trot and it’s so true because the moment that you doubt and you start saying, oh, we played football now, we lost four, maybe we should go a bit more direct, then you’re done.”
Martinez on his experiences managing at Swansea…
“I don’t believe about going to a club or to a league. I believe I’m going to a person that believes in your job because then he’s going to give you trust. I don’t know at Swansea because that was a big risk from the chairman, Hugh Jenkins. He saw me as a captain there and he knew about my ideas and the way I wanted to play and I believe that as a manager you could be a footballing team in the lower leagues. It was this stigma that ‘you cannot play good football in the lower leagues to get promoted’ and I thought no you can, but you need to be very clear how you’re going to do it. I think if I would have lost four games in a row I would have got the sack.”
Martinez on Bruno Fernandes…
“I think he’s very unfairly assessed at Manchester United. I think if we are very objective to be the captain of Manchester United in the last three or four years. I bet he’s been incredibly tough at every level and what I appreciate from him is he never hides. I’m not going to value if he makes the right pass, the right execution, but whatever happens, in any action, he’s back. He always plays. He’s the one that is a leader. The way he’s very emotional, but in a very respected way by his teammates. When the teammates see Bruno upset, they react.”
“When Bruno reacts emotionally, it’s because something’s not right. It’s almost a message to somebody. He looks after every player. He would never, ever let anyone down. What I appreciate is the consistency. Last season was the player with the biggest amount of minutes in Europe. If you’re the captain of Manchester United in a tough period, it’s difficult to be available all the time and always being there. He never shies away even when the game’s not going great for him, he’s always giving the ball and make something happen.”
“He will be the player that is almost going to be executing the difficult pass, the final pass. He’s going to get in the final third. Tactically, very intelligent. He’s a player that is constantly making decisions. He assesses where the opposition is, where the space is, how can you affect the game. That is something that is in his nature.”
Martinez on managing Cristiano Ronaldo…
“It’s very simple. He gets that, as a national coach, you have to create the most competitive environment and it’s the environment that he tells you who should play. You would never force anybody to play. You wouldn’t make a decision that he goes against having the stronger team on the pitch. The measurement of a player in the national team, we always look at the player. Cristiano, since I arrived in 2023, has been exemplary. He’s been a captain that is an example for everybody. He’s got an incredible attitude, incredible appetite to help the younger players. The discipline, the work, the winning mentality that he brought into the training environment. He’s been a great leader and a great captain.”
Martinez on Ronaldo’s quest for records…
“He’s not bothered about 1,000 goals and he feels what’s the difference for me scoring 1,050 or 950 I’m the same player and now it’s become a bit different in the final third. I think he appreciates that he attracts two players, he opens a space so he can make better decisions when and when not to but it’s true that it’s changed this is not the player 25, 26 that he had to be driven to be a player that he got more goals than appearances for Real Madrid.”
Martinez on the World Cup’s new format…
“I think 48 teams is right. I think the more teams that you get in a World Cup, the more that everybody can have the dream of playing in a World Cup and being there. What I don’t like is that there are three teams out of four that they qualify in eight out of 12 groups. I don’t think the format works. I think it should be the other way around. Eight first places in the Champions League, they miss one game.
They go to the next one and everybody else got an extra game. I think the format needs to adjust. It’s very difficult when you’re in a World Cup to almost manage that side. You need to be very consistent.”
Stick to Football is brought to you by Arne Clothing – to watch the full podcast episode with Roberto Martinez, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLcOSlmj3Ng
