Palmer Is Back! Rice or Bruno & 'Horrendous' Spurs! | Fan Debate
Welcome back to the Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet! The Premier League season is well and truly underway, and after an opening weekend full of shocks, drama and plenty of talking points, it’s great to be back. We start with Arsenal, who have picked up exactly where they left off. The reigning champions are riding high, but could this be the beginning of a period of dominance? At the other end of the spectrum, Manchester United and Spurs endured nightmare starts, falling to newly promoted Hull and Brentford respectively. Is it a sign of things to come, or simply an opening-weekend blip? We also hear from Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea as they begin new eras under new management, before finishing with Brentford, where there’s plenty of optimism for the season ahead under Keith Andrews. If you had to sum up your team’s start to the season in one word, what would it be? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe so you never miss an episode! 00:00 - Intro 02:24 - Arsenal Title Talk 04:57 - PFA Award Debate 11:25 - United Stunned by Hull 18:28 - Games Gone, Games Back! 25:21 - Man City Season Setup 33:41 - Liverpool’s First Impression of Iraola 52:05 - Chelsea’s New System 01:00:56 - Spurs’ Reality Check? 01:10:37 - Brentford’s Blueprint 01:17:46 - Deadline Day Wish List SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL HERE https://www.youtube.com/c/theoverlap STICK TO UNITED WITH WAYNE ROONEY ON THE UNITED STAND https://www.youtube.com/@UnitedStand/videos JOIN THE OVERLAP WHATSAPP CHANNEL HERE https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbC3WQvAYlUCoCqZgA45 SUBSCRIBE TO THE OVERLAP BREAKDOWN CHANNEL HERE https://www.youtube.com/@TheOverlapBreakdown SUBSCRIBE TO THE OVERLAP NEWSLETTER https://substack.com/@theoverlapnewsletter SUBSCRIBE TO IT WAS WHAT IT WAS PATREON Join here ➡️ www.patreon.com/itwas SUBSCRIBE TO STICK TO RUGBY HERE https://www.youtube.com/@TheOverlapRugby SUBSCRIBE TO THE STICK TO CRICKET CHANNEL HERE…
Transcript
I think J Pedro's got more about his game than Harland. I think J Pedro for me is the the the boy in the Premier League at the moment. >> Vos [music] like Raich doing that. That's not even a coach. That's like that's unforgivable that >> I basically changed the way I say Gimme Grez every time. So it's just easier for me to now it's Bruno G. We're days away from the window closing running around the trolley trying to throw players into it last minute. Arsenal so strong you know they're they're the holders but don't think they retained it for about 100 years. So you never know. You never know. People say, "Oh, we lost her a little bit." Or something like that. I mean, I'd be like that every week if I was a manager. You know what I mean? >> I don't understand how this continued for the last three or four years, [music] but I think this might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. >> Is anything he said so far going to make the edit? [laughter] [music] >> Hello and welcome back to the Fang Beat [music] brought to you by Skynet. I'm pleased to welcome Les Ferdinand as as a guest on the show and as for his debut on the fan debate as well as our loyal supporters or fans. So, we're going to start with Les. So, great to have you with us, Les. How's the the summer been? Enjoy the World Cup. >> Summer's been great, mate. Yeah, my daughter got married. >> Oh, lovely. >> So, I kind of like enjoyed the World Cup and the parts that I could enjoy. U but yeah, so it's been a busy summer, but I I certainly did enjoy what I saw. what you think of the opening weekend of the Premier League. Few shots in there. >> Yeah, it certainly was. Um, you know, Arsenal against Coventry, you kind of like saw that and said, "Yeah, okay. Right now, weren't expecting a hole [laughter] against Man United." And, um, yeah, there were a few controversial results over the weekend. Certainly Spurs as well. Um, especially uh after the money that they spent and I spent some time at the training ground. Uh, they had a legends lunch and all that. So, be happening next week. >> No, I don't think so. knock that straight on the head. Uh but the way the manager was speaking, you know, I was pretty excited. Um but I understand as well, >> you'll know this as well, K, sometimes I think the first game of the season, you you get yourself so up for it >> that you you watch the game and you think, have these boys done a preseason? >> Yeah. >> But then a lot of these boys have traveled to I mean, I know Tottenham went to Singapore, they went to New Zealand, they went to um uh Australia. >> Australia as well. >> That takes a lot out. You come back first game of the season, you think you should be flying, but you know it takes a little while to get it out of your system. >> Yeah. Okay. Well, a team who are flying at the start of the season and and the team we always go to first now on this show which shows how well they doing is uh is Arsenal and Rory. This is uh is this your debut? >> Yeah, it's see a lot on me social media pop up a lot there. So, good to see you in in the flesh. Uh what are your feelings on the first sort of week of the season? You've had the Community Shield, you've had the first Premier League game, won convincingly as you would expect, but you you've also seen the the runners and riders as well over the weekend. And uh is your confidence through the roof now that you're going to retain the title? >> Yeah, I mean like confidence was fairly high anyway, but I think the result and the performance against City followed by Comry, I think a lot of it was are we going to look fatigued or are we going to look up for it again? um when we look up for it again. We look pretty fresh considering the season that we had last season, the summer that a lot of the players had. So yeah, it was very nice just to kick things off on a Friday night and then enjoy the rest of the sort of mele unfold with everyone else. I >> I said at times last season and I said at the at the weekend as well even it doesn't feel like Arsenal have got lots better. It just feels like you can't see anybody else winning the league really when I see their squads and their teams and that you probably still lack a little bit of stardust in the in the final third. I mean, there was talk on the last show and uh maybe why he's not being asked back. [laughter] >> I'm only joking. He'll be back. Matt will be back. But about the Venicious Junior, uh are you confident or is there a belief or is there a hope that you could maybe get the Alvarez deal over the line? >> Yeah, the Alvarez one's weird. I think I'd have definitely loved it at the start of the window. the way it's kind of unfolded with him being so hot on Barcel and you know we're still awaiting encouragement from him to join us. It's like well if he turns around and gives us encouragement now it's it's just cuz you don't want to be booed off of your home ground week in week out. So, I'd love for us to do it and there's obviously a plan, but equally, if we don't get it done, I look at the squad that we've got and like you said, I don't think as much as we wanted that big upgrade in attack to a sort of star quality player, I think Saka has that star quality if he can stay fit this season. And outside of that, I think this season more is about the Champions League. If you're looking for where you need that star quality in the Premier League, I think if we sustain our level that we've shown for probably the last four years, I think everyone else is dropping off a little bit and I think it's just about raising the floor again, raising the depth again, which the signings of like Konza, Bruno G, even Zolice has done. Um, so if the if the deal isn't right to do this summer, then maybe you do just hold back. >> You mentioned Bruno G. I'm just going to mention Bruno. Last night he won the uh PFA player of the year award. Do you think that was deserved? You think it should have gone to an Arsenal player? >> Well, I I'd have liked to seen it go to an Arsenal player. I think some of the performance Declan Rice would have been the I think it is a difficult one because >> there's not like a star player at Arsenal that you just highlight and you go that's the one that's the guy that for me William Crab is a world-class center back that's probably the most worldass player in our squad. But again, it's like there's so many different players that with Bruno, it's like, okay, you had an outstanding season and so you can kind of understand why lots of the votes would go that way. Whereas maybe amongst Arsenal players, it was >> Is it outstanding if you just only played in Premier League games? >> Yes. >> Yes, it is. Yeah, of course it's a Premier League asking him. >> Yeah, but is it Bruno Fernandez, isn't it? Of course, it's >> Yeah, it's a Premier League award. I do think you have to factor in like when players are >> How many big games did they play >> in the Premier League as many as everyone else? They only play each other. None of them really mattered. Well, of course they did. Of course they mattered. He got the managers got sacked off the back of it, you know, >> but he can't have been doing that well. >> Well, he got the record number of assists. Of course it matters. If you want to spread it out to across everything, then you can ask a different question. But in terms of Premier League performances, he was by far the best player. >> Yeah, but it's it's whether or not you take into account the fact that other players are going and playing in the Champions League midweek, every week, and then still turning up with Premier League winning performances week. Yeah, but you could put that the other way and say Bruno Fernandez got 21 assists out of an attack that barely scraped third. >> He took up his set piece, didn't he? >> Well, you don't get assists for penalties and he didn't, you know, I think he was clearly the best player in the league. That that record has stood for 20 years. It's not something that gets broken every season. It's been around for a generation and he broke it and he's playing with maybe even lesser players than Rice, you know. So, get the thing as well. What you got to remember is it's voted by your peers. >> Yeah. Absolutely. Which is which is fair enough. Um, >> you know, but >> because this is an as we should not forget this is a PFA player of the 1996. >> Yeah, that's right. >> And you know what it's the Balandor is a bit different because it's voted by managers and and and so on and so forth and you have to have won something. Um, >> and you look at Arsenal and you're right, Rice has been he's had an outstanding season, but I always think this is voted by your peers not based on kind of perhaps one season but over a period of time that they look How how when you look back at that and there's a lot made of that season because you didn't win the league and every someone wins the league every year and and a group of 25 players or 20 players can say we won the league. There's only one player in the league can say you know I was I was the best player in the league that season. That that feels to me like that feels massive to me. Is that like some is that is that the one thing in your career you look back at and think wow all the players in the Premier League that season I was number one? >> Yeah. And you know what you you you probably I would have probably given it up to to to won the title at Newcastle. >> Um because it's not about individual honors for me. It's about your the team and and and doing that. But like to be voted that and as you said I think the voting was different back then cuz you voted before the end of the season, didn't you? Um now it's >> that good start Newcastle. >> Yeah. You [laughter] so people just look at that. Do you know I mean and I came off the back of a pretty good season at Qard the year before. And so going to Newcastle, I think everybody looked at me and you know, I'd done well at QBR. Could he could he do it at a bigger club on a on a bigger stage? And um I suppose in that that early part of the season, I did. And the voting the voting back then went in round about February, March, wasn't it? [snorts] >> So um had it gone to the end of the season, I might not have wanted to say that. >> But but yeah, it is some achievement. And >> there's there's excitement not just about what what could happen this season. I think most people feel Arsenal at a level above everybody else. But does this feeling I feel from Arsenal fans that they think this could be your time in terms of a little bit of domination maybe the little the way probably me and Gareth were feeling a year ago was that this could be our time in the next three or four years where you win two or three league titles. >> Yeah, the optimism's there like you know you look at Liverpool and it can go that way and not work. But I think there was always question marks over Liverpool's depth as much as they bought in talent. with us. I think you know you look at the signings that we've made again Bruno Gza we've not gone young we're not looking to sort of rebuild and age down I think we've looked at it and gone this is an unbelievable window of opportunity really if you look back over the last decade city are probably at their weakest now you would feel without Pep Guardiola there as well >> we've not got any players to be honest >> well you just keep selling so it's kind of city are weak and United are still not back and Liverpool it does just feel like now is the time where you can go on a run of four five years of consecutive titles. >> I'm I'm just interested. A couple of times you've said this Bruno G. Is this Is this a Is this a thing? Is this >> No one knows how to pronounce his second name. >> That is I basically changed the way I say Gimme Grez every time. So, it's just easier for me to >> thing now. It's Bruno G. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Should we go down? I think he has on the back of his shirt. So, >> and I just don't want to butcher him. That's game's gone. Is that game [laughter] OG on the back of his shirt is Game's Gone? Yeah. >> Less can you see? I know you're a big Tottenham man. probably hate or pain you to say it but are you worried about what Arsenal could do not just this season over the next sort of two or three years? >> Yeah, I I like what you know they've given the manager time. Um and he's delivered with the the I think the next thing is a Champions League and can be that can they be dominant in that in that competition. Can they win that um but what he's doing and and the squad they've put together is quite scary. Um the strength in depth everywhere. Um, as you said, I think that that the only place that you would probably question is that, you know, the up top, um, you kind of feel they need a goal scorer. And they said last year if they could get a goal scorer, they'd win the league. They did. They brought in, um, one and unfort, you know, they they've won the title. without him scoring the goals. I think he goes will he he'll settle and I think given the opportunity he will score goals because I I saw him in a championship and I thought when I saw him in the championship you know when you when you go when you look at the championship back back then when I was in involved in it I felt you know you look at players and you think who could who could play in the Premier League and he he was actually one of them that I thought yeah he's got the ability to play in the Premier League. I just think he went to Arsenal and everything that was going on just kind of overruled him a little bit. I think once he shows off I think he will score goals for >> right next up a team who was stunned in the opening game thing probably stunned us all didn't it the uh the result a hole from Manchester United so uh welcome back Joe uh are you just putting that down to a freak result it was two set pieces or is it more worrying than that >> maybe a little bit more worrying but not massively more worrying I don't think first game of the season everyone looks sloppy and sluggish and slow and you mentioned about almost like they didn't have a preseason. The passing was poor and they didn't have that link up and once Hull scored it never felt like United were going to get one back somehow. Even though we had shots and chances and stuff, it there was just a real slowness to how we were trying to counterattack and also say counterattack, how we're trying to build up our attacks, how we're trying to sustain pressure. We really struggled. The the the amateuress or the amateurishness from the the set pieces was was horrendous. Like that second goal, there was three men at the back post that could have scored that goal for Hall. Um, and the first one, they won the header at the near post, they had the shot at the middle, and then they got the rebound as well. The defending was non-existent. Um, hopefully it was just a first season sort of shocker thing. First game of the season where Hull are going to be, you know, most up for it, most difficult to play in that game, but they played really well and their game plan was spot on. So, I'm not, you know, trying to discredit. >> I mean, there was a lot made of probably I mean, you're talking about set pieces. Sometimes we've all played in games, you go away from home. You're playing against a team near the bottom. Got a lot of big players in the team. If you're going to lose the game, you lose on a set piece and >> people get frustrated, but it is part of the game. Was the worry that he didn't really look like scoring in the game and and and I go back to sort of the central midfield area. That's the area you've identified this season as right, we need to go big in there. >> I think both midfield players come off. Looks like Believer's through the door now as well. >> Were you a little bit worried how that looked your first game of the season? a little bit, but I think Tielemans looked a little bit slow. Santos was sort of the both of them kind of didn't really get into the game the way you'd want, but they are both new. It was the first ever game for the club. I know they played a little bit preseason obviously, but that was the first proper game. It's a completely new midfield, and it's a shame we put ourselves in a position where we basically had to buy a whole new midfield. Like I said, BA, Santos, and Tielemans. It's great, and I think as the season goes on, they'll settle in, show their quality, and I think it'll be fine. But you know, you're having to play two players that have never played for you in the middle of that pitch trying to sort of basically fight back after those two goals. It was difficult. By the time Mayu came on, we were, you know, two-0 down and they sort of the the tide had been set by that point. Hull were just sat back. If we don't score, we're not Hull weren't going to do anything. And because United couldn't score, it just became easier and easier for Hull and I think we got frustrated. And um yeah, it as the game went on, it felt less likely to score, not more. So yeah, it is a bit of a worry, but I'm not I think he'll sort >> What did you I saw an interview with cuz Michael Carrick's I know and played with him. You'll probably know him well as well, >> Lesie. He's very cool, calm, and he was seeing that and he had an interview I think after the game where someone questioned him >> about was the passion not there and he snapped back. I I love managers doing that to be honest that. But then people say, "Oh, he's he's lost her a little bit or something like that." I mean, I'd be like that every week if I was a manager. [laughter] You know what I mean? But so I actually liked that side of Michael Carrick putting someone back in the place for coming out with a with a silly question. Uh but what did you feel about that and where do you think because it is going to be different for Michael Carrick this season is with more games probably more scrutiny. >> I think last season he came in and it worked straight away and I think he just wanted to close everything off and just keep doing what was working get to the end of the season. All he can do as an interim is is lose the job in it. You know if he doesn't do really well he's not going to keep it. So, I think he kept doing what he what worked for him. I think we're probably going to see more of his personality now on the pitch, off the pitch. Like I said, he seemed to get a little bit annoyed at that question about were they passionate enough or did they care enough and all that sort of the kind of questions that you tend not to ask. But I want to see that. Like you said, I don't people people accuse him of being boring, then people accuse him of losing his head. Like whatever you do as a manager, if you're not winning, it's a problem, isn't it? So, I think we're going to see more of his personality. I don't think he's ever going to be Jose Mourinho or Ruben Amarim in terms of carnage and chaos in press conferences, but I think, you know, seeing a bit more of who he is and what he believes in, I'm I'm up for that. >> I think last time, if I can remember right, last time we were on, were you talk talking about Manchester United maybe putting in a challenge for the title uh going forward this season? It's one game. I get that. But would that make you think, oh, not quite sure about that? >> I think it's always going to be a long shot. It's not like I don't think we're favorites to win the league. Obviously, I think that would be, you know, clearly Arsenal, but I look at City who are sort of scrabbling for starting 11 at the minute. I look at Tottenham who look miles off it. Chelsea look good going forward, but not so good defensively. Um, you look at Liverpool, I don't really even know what to make of Liverpool at the minute. It seems like nothing's changed since last season. So, I think that was that's my thinking is there's a there's a gap there