Alex Crook REVEALS Fulham are EYEING an Alvaro Arbeloa REPLACEMENT amid Thomas Frank LINK!

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talkSPORT discusses Manchester United at Atletico, Fulham pressure and the links to Thomas Frank

The panel looks at Manchester United's chances against Atletico, their lopsided recruitment and Michael Carrick's position, then focuses on Alvaro Arbeloa's pressure at Fulham and possible replacements including Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna. It ends with the Southampton manager's suspended ban and contract prospects.

Alex Crook, Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs discuss the latest on Fulham amid uncertainty surrounding Alvaro Arbeloa. Subscribe: https://youtube.com/c/talkSPORT?subconfirmation=1 🏆 Ready to win? Check out the latest prizes at talkSPORTwin.com Enjoyed this YouTube video? 😍 🖥️ talkSPORT's Website: https://talksport.com/ 📲 talkSPORT's X/Twitter: https://x.com/talkSPORT 📷 talkSPORT's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talksport/?hl=en 👤 talkSPORT's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkSPORT/ 📱 talkSPORT's Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talksport ? 🔴 Download the talkSPORT app HERE! - https://talksport.com/apps/ 🔎 Want to see if you feature on our YouTube channel? Check out our Best talkSPORT callers playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFVMnSsi04LGLa9pS9xDvme-Gjmlu2 fulham talkSPORT PremierLeague

Transcript

Let's now um open Alex Crook, our chief football correspondents notebook with some of the big stories of the day. Hi Crookie. >> Afternoon guys. >> Yeah, Manchester United man. You want to get Jen up on some of these words? The way things are going. Pasted out of my mouth. >> Pad. Absolutely pured by Spurs. Even though it was a one. >> It won't be good if you get paded tonight. [laughter] >> It won't be. Um >> do you know what? When it comes to tonight's game, all logic says United should get well beaten. You know, Atletico, I think they're second in La Liga. Experienced European campaigners. >> I've just woken up this morning and I feel like United are going to get some kind of result that we don't expect. >> Yeah. Is that just the optimism of a football fan? >> No, it's because that's the team you support when they want to those that group of players. They seem capable of a performance, but they don't do it often enough and they don't do it often enough within games. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they get a decent result tonight either. Yeah, you got a couple of injuries as well. Luke Shaw's not made it as who else hasn't. Was it mainly? >> Who would have seen that coming guys when they didn't sign a left back in the summer? Luke Shaw might get injured. >> Are they hand injuries where he pushed, bent, and core over violently or is it that is it the concussion that he got from the head? But I wonder >> we're [laughter] Anyway, well, maybe we should start with United as we're talking about them. Lenny Yuro apparently it's interesting him. Yeah, Paris Sanjaban um no less had scouts at his France debut. Very impressive victory for Zin Zidane side. 4-1 over Belgium in the Nations League and his stock seems high in France despite the fact he's sort of been in and out the Manchester United team. He's played 55 Premier League games would you believe since that 60 million pound move from Leil a couple of summers ago. Obviously played at right back against your Tottenham at the weekend. I don't think he's a player that United will cash in on because he's seen as very much one for the future. But I think the feeling in France is that maybe they could be tempted by a big offer because of course we know that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is is trying to balance the books and and maybe by selling someone like Lenny Yuro they could invest in other areas of the team. Um it was interesting yesterday Jay making a point I forgot his last J. Jay Marty uh about the fact the way that United had spent their money first on the forwards then on the midfield then presumably they're going to do the defense. He made the point really. Why didn't they buy a left back rather than three midfielders? Two midfielders and a left back would have been better than three. It is an interesting way of recruiting isn't it? It's a bizarre way of recruiting quite frankly and I can only think that the reason they signed Andre Santos for 50 million pound and he looks miles off it from what I've seen so far and can't even get on the pitch at the moment is because they didn't expect to be able to get Carlos Baliba. I think they should have done it the other way round. They should have made sure when it came to Biba first and foremost and then maybe use that 50 million quid either to bring a left back, another central defender potentially or even another forward because Benjamin obviously is struggling with injuries. They don't really have a a light forlike replacement. So yes, they did need to to bolster the midfield, but did they really need Tieleman's Andre Santos and Carlos Believer? I think two of those three would have been fine and then spend the rest of the money elsewhere. >> Now we're asking the listeners today reasons how quickly they got sacked and why. And the the springboard for that is Alvaro Arbaloa who Tom was saying in his bullet and Tom Clayton has probably got two games to save his job. I mean it's it's nuts really when you when you think about it. They've not made a great start for them, but Thomas Frank could be in the wings potentially. >> Yeah, this was always going to be a crunch period because obviously Fulham have got three successive games against three newly promoted teams. They lost to Ipsswitch despite the fact they led there at Portman Road for a long time. They've got Hull at home this weekend which has been described by me, sorry, to me by sources close to Fulham as a must win. And then after that it's the the third of the newly promoted sides in Coventry who obviously had a brilliant victory last night live on talksport against Newcastle. So he is under pressure Arolo and no question about that. I think Marco Silva was always going to be a tough act to follow. They lost a lot of Premier League experience in the summer as well when you look at the likes of Ral Gimenez and obviously Harry Wilson was allowed to lead the club even if at the back as well and it was Arbaloa's decision to recruit from La Liga. It always looked a dangerous one. I think if you're a a manager who's got no experience of Premier League football, you need some experienced players in there. And they've not been terrible in games Fulham. They they've been competitive in every game, but they're not getting over the line. I think the Fulham hierarchy will look around the league and see that all those newly promoted teams have put points on the board and [clears throat] they're starting to get worried. And you're right, I think if there is a change, Thomas Frank would be the top target. I think he'd be quite an expensive acquisition. Kieran McKenna is another possible option, but obviously his plan at the moment is to take a sabbatical. But yeah, I think if they lose to Hull, even if they fail to beat Hull, the pressure is is right now below it. >> Thomas Frank struck me in my limited experience of him at Spurs as the kind of manager that within a a well old machine, a great structure is a great manager like Brenford when there's a support process there. And from what I understand from some of the things that happening at Spurs, he was he felt quite exposed with just how much responsibility was on his shoulders because at Brighton, at Bournemouth, uh at at um at Brenford, you've got that structure going in as [clears throat] red a dare with a team maybe in the bottom two having lost to some rivals and expected to turn things around. I'm not so sure. Croo? >> No. And from from what I've been told from people who maybe spoke to Thomas Frank uh in the summer about taking other Premier League jobs, I think the feeling was that maybe he's still quite mentally scarred or he was at that stage by what happened at Tottenham. As you say, I think he felt isolated. I don't think he ever felt the love of the fans or the players in his dressing room. So, it will be interesting to see what Thomas Frank get when he does return to the dugout. Do we get the manager who was very confident, very authoritative at Brenford or do we get the manager who looked a little bit rabbit in the headlights by the time his Tottenham career came to an end? I think it's it's a fascinating dilemma for the for the Fulham owners. But Arboa was always a big gamble, wasn't he? When you look at how it went for him at Real Madrid and players there were literally scrapping on the training pitch during his tenure to go from Marco Silva and a period of stability to take a punt on someone who's never managed in the Premier League. I'm not surprised they find themselves where they are. I'm really not. >> I Kieran McKenna, you mentioned him there. He must be keeping an eye on what's going on at Old Trafford. He Well, he must be cuz he would be a candidate, I reckon. >> Wouldn't that I mean, I don't know. Don't I mean, Conte's on the market at the moment, isn't it? I mean, where what they if they're going to lurch from one extreme to the other. They're more likely to go for Ki than they are, Kira McKenna, aren't they? >> Listen, I think it's very difficult to second guess this this hierarchy because you're assuming they know what they're doing. And um [laughter] I don't think they do, to be honest. I know when Antonio Conte was floated during Eric Tenhog's time in charge, they felt like maybe he'd be too combustible, maybe a bit too challenging for the hierarchy, but perhaps that's the type of manager that that Manchester United fans want. I I'm not calling for Michael Carrick to be sacked because I think the problems go deeper than the man in the dugout, and they've tried lots of different profiles of managers since Fergie retired and and none of them have worked. But I I do think he could probably help himself a little bit, Carrick, by asking more demanding questions of the board. He can't possibly be happy with the recruitment. You've talked about it's all lopsided in terms of three midfielders coming in. He knows as well as anyone does they needed another left back option to Luke Shaw and another central defender and another striker. I don't think it would do him any harm now in the eyes of the United fans if he actually came and said came out and said that in the media and maybe put a bit of pressure on those above him. >> Nearly out of time. Just a quick word on Terka who was trying desperately not to smile constantly in his press conference after the judgment was handed down. But in spite of himself, he was grinning quite a lot. Um maybe because um he could be looking at a new contract now this has all been dealt with. >> Well, I think he he felt like he won the lottery because speaking to people inside Southampton, they were expecting a ban and quite a significant one. So the fact in the end it was just a a six week suspended ban, I think they were absolutely delighted with that outcome. His contract is up at the end of this season and I do expect talks between the hierarchy and Eker to ramp up now because you look at his results on the pitch and they beat Portsmouth in that South Coast Derby at the weekend. They're in a great position despite starting the season on minus four to challenge at least for a playoff place. Obviously they did get to the championship playoff final last year albeit they got kicked out. His record is exceptional and I think the owner Dragon Soak who stuck behind Tondereka wants to get him tied down for the long-term future because he'll be aware that if he is a free agent at the end of the season there'll be a lot of clubs not just in this country but back in his native Germany as well who would like to sign him. >> So it's all at talkport.com the notebook crooking >> it is. Yeah. Go and uh go and peruse it for your viewing pleasure. >> Excellent. Catch up with you soon. Thanks very much. >> Thanks guys.