On this week’s episode, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott discuss some of the biggest talking points in football. With the Cheltenham Festival underway, Roy shares a few tips before the conversation turns to a dramatic week in the Champions League, including Newcastle’s draw with Barcelona and Tottenham conceding five against Atletico Madrid.
The panel also debate Spurs’ worrying form under Igor Tudor and whether relegation could actually be a possibility, before turning their attention to England’s upcoming squad selection with some big dilemmas in midfield and defence. With the race for the top four heating up, the team look ahead to key fixtures including Aston Villa vs Manchester United and Chelsea vs Newcastle.
00:00 Intro
01:42 Cheltenham
11:28 Kyle Walker Retirement Talk
23:36 PL Companion by Microsoft Copilot
26:54 Kinsky Nightmare
37:58 Will Spurs be Relegated?
45:09 Champions League
49:13 Super 6
56:54 Saving the FA Cup
01:05:06 Chelsea’s Red Card Problem
Key Quotes:
Rooney on Newcastle vs Barcelona in the Champions League…
“Newcastle were good. That’s twice I’ve watched Barcelona now this season, Chelsea away and Newcastle. I just think the tempo and intensity of the Premier League is too much for them. They’ll probably go through when they go back to Barcelona, but I thought Newcastle were aggressive against them and didn’t give them time on the ball.”
Rooney on expectations at Newcastle…
“The problem with Newcastle is people are expecting them to go and win the league and be in the top three or four every season. They haven’t got the players ready to do that at the minute. They might get there in five or six years.”
Wright questions Tudor’s decision making against Atletico Madrid…
“You don’t want to see anybody get sacked, but when you see somebody who’s blatantly out of their depth, it’s uncomfortable. For him to make that decision for that poor goalkeeper to go into a game like that… I don’t know what he’s seen in training, but for me Vicario is the number one. You do that in another game for Kinsky.”
Keane on Kinsky’s mistakes…
“The mistakes he made weren’t necessarily goalkeeping mistakes. It wasn’t saves, it was playing out from the back, trying to be too smart. He’s trying to play. The ball’s coming back to him and he’s trying to play with his left foot. It’s self-inflicted. I get that when a goalkeeper makes mistakes all the other goalkeepers in the world come out and go, ‘Oh, I feel for him.’ Goalkeepers don’t go after each other when they’re doing punditry.”
Rooney slams Tottenham’s performances…
“The players need to look at themselves because I think they’ve been an absolute disgrace. The performances, the attitude, the lack of desire, the lack of fight and there’s a lack of everything in them.”
Keane on Tottenham’s players…
“The players look like hard work.”
Neville on Tottenham’s current situation and potential managerial appointment…
“I don’t think that group of players will buy into the idea of bringing someone in who’s not been a coach for a long time just because they used to play for the club. They’ll just see right through that. It’ll have to be someone who’s been coaching recently. Tudor’s tried to go in a bit harder, be regimented and disciplined. It’s not working, they’re 100% rejecting him. They will need someone to go in who’s got more of a man-management ability.”
“Seeing Tottenham go down wouldn’t be great for Tottenham fans. I think Tottenham are an amazing club, but it would be very good for the Premier League from a competitive perspective. I was more worried at the start of the season that every club that came up was just going straight back down again. The Premier League doesn’t necessarily need Tottenham to go down, but it needs clubs other than the ones that come up to go down. It would be sad if they go down but maybe they’ve had it coming.”
Rooney on Tottenham’s managerial selection…
“I think they need someone like Roy to go in and just absolutely batter them. I mean, go in and give them a wake-up.”
CREDIT – “This week’s Stick to Football podcast is available now on YouTube and all leading podcast platforms”
