Liverpool thrash Spurs to reach Carabao Cup final | Amorim admits he couldn’t get Rashford to buy into his plan
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm David Garrido and joining me are Jonathan, new sports writer for The Guardian, and Mark Ogden, senior writer for ESPN. Welcome along to you both. So, Liverpool, easy as you like. 4-0 winners tonight against Tottenham Hotspur to go through 4-1 over the two legs and meet Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final next month. Mark, let me start with you. I guess, is it perhaps the...

A little bit surprising perhaps that it was so easy for Liverpool? Or did you actually fully expect it to be a comfortable victory given where these two sides are at right now? I'm not surprised it ended as it did. I mean, I've heard people talk about 4 or 5-0 to Liverpool. So the fact it was 4-0 is pretty much where people were at. And I think it's not just because of Tottenham's kind of notorious...

frail to when it comes to playing against the big teams but Liverpool are flying right now so you've got Liverpool the best and Tottenham with injuries with Tottenham's not the mentality but just the way that they approach the big games Spurs always seem to find a way to mess it up and I think going to Anfield when you've got a slender lead it was always going to be an uphill battle and Ange Postakoglu's Tottenham are not very good at keeping it tight and getting results so I'm not massively surprised I think

You know, Liverpool were always going to be the dominant side in this, but Spurton even, I don't think they had a shot on target, or even, I think, obviously, Son hit the bar in the second half. Yeah, it doesn't count as a shot on target, does it? You're right, so not a single shot on target in the 90. Yeah, exactly. So that is no way to play when you're in a semi-final of a big competition. So, no, I'm not surprised, and I don't think the majority of people out there will be surprised that Tottenham, once they went behind, just caved in. What about you, Jonathan? I mean, what was perhaps the...

the most alarming aspect of what Spurs did tonight? Or do you feel that it is sort of fully understandable, given their huge injury crisis and everything else that's going on under Ange-Potter Coghlan right now? Well, the most alarming part for me is that this is, I think, the first game where the belief seemed to have gone out of them. I think that the belief has been there all the way through. And I think physically this team has been shot for a month at least, but they have kept running.

And we saw, we've seen the grind out some results. The first leg, obviously, of this semi-final. They showed a very different kind of game against Brentford at the weekend. This was the first time, and obviously everyone's losing to Liverpool this season, right? Spurs, a team like Spurs are going to lose to a team like Liverpool. But the way they kind of acquiesced to it, the way they, this was basically their season on the line, pretty much. And the lack of conviction there,

The way they pretty much acquiesced to Liverpool taking control of the game, that I think is new. That suggests to me that for as much as they've been flogged to death this season with a threadbare squad, the players themselves look like they're beginning to lose a little bit of belief in the project, in their season, in faith that they can get out of this predicament, that there are solutions. That was the first thing.

That was the first time I think I've seen that this season from Spurs and that's the bit that if I were a Spurs fan or Andrew Postakoglu would alarm me the most. When we look at the back page of The Times, Liverpool stroll to Wembley as the headline Spurs totally outclassed Aslott reaches final in first season. How significant is that, Mark, when you think about the legacy that Jurgen Klopp left those big shoes to fill, that Arne Aslott has reached a major tournament final in the Carabao Cup in his first season in charge?

Well, I think the biggest success that Slotts had is that nobody's talking about Jurgen Klopp now. And if you wind the clock about six months to when he left, they would never have imagined that within that period of time that Jurgen Klopp would be

not a footnote but he's forgotten about it nobody talks about him anymore because Arnie Slott has come in and he's brought a calmness to Liverpool he's made them better they're obviously looking formidable right now and I don't know if I'm the first person to mention the Q word but they are on for four trophies and the way they're playing right now it's going to be hard to see them being stopped in any competition so and that's Arnie Slott and the players he's got at his disposal let's not forget he's only brought in one player this season that's Chiesa who's barely played so we talk about all these clubs that are looking for new signings and trying to replace the squad he's come in with a squad that wasn't his and

and made it better and I think you know just go back to when when David Moyes followed Felix Ferguson with a team that was supposed to be getting on a little bit in years and Liverpool have got that I guess you know Mo Salah, Van Dijk in the 30s he's made them better so Arne Slott has come in made Liverpool better with a team that's not his and they're in a final of a major competition which obviously Klopp won last season I think Liverpool probably they'll be favourites against Newcastle I think again it's hard to see Newcastle beating a Liverpool team in this form so he's done a brilliant job and I think

I mean, we talk about this every year we get to February on March and teams are on for a treble or a quadruple. At some point, somebody's going to do it. Somebody's going to win all four trophies. And I think right now, Liverpool are favourites to win the league because they've got a decent advantage. They're in the final of the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup. It's a similar situation. It's the Champions League. So it is hard, but they are a team that have got the ability to do it because they're better than anybody else right now. So that's on a slot.

Interestingly, the thing that was mentioned about Ange Postacoglu, he's mentioned it before, we've asked him tons about it since, it's been this whole winner trophy in the second season at a club. Jonathan, that would leave the FA Cup, where they take on Aston Villa on Sunday, and the Europa League. But right now, where does that leave Ange Postacoglu, given, as you said, the fire going out of Spurs, and ultimately his future at Tottenham, short to medium term?

Well, P45 is kind of a trophy, isn't it? I mean, I don't know how you define it. No, again, I don't... People kind of know what I think about Ange and...

And his style of play and the risks that he's taken this season, not just in terms of tactics, but in terms of selection and players coming back from injury and all that. I don't know why Spurs have had so many injuries this season. I do know that when Liverpool were scouting for a new coach, they noticed Slott's injury record at final in his last two seasons. They had over 90% player availability. They noticed how well physically conditioned his side was and they chose a manager partly on those criteria.

I don't see or hear from him, Ange, I mean, any kind of solutions beyond... He's got one button, basically, which is run harder, believe in it more, just believe in this project even harder, and the rewards will come. And I think, you know, this is the point in the season. And, yeah, you know, he's been backed a little bit in the transfer window. He has not got the squad that he wants. You know, this squad does not have enough players in it. I don't think anyone...

I don't think anyone disputes that. But I think we're also being asked to accept by, I think, an increasingly deranged coterie of mostly online people who are beginning to resemble a kind of cult that no other coach could have done any more with this team before.

In this situation, it's the injuries, it's Levy, it's the players not watching it. No other coach in the world, not Iriola, not Guardiola, not Slop, nobody could have done a better job. And I think, you know, it's an argument for sure, but I don't think it's one that anybody, any rational person has any business taking remotely seriously.

Mark, your thoughts on Ange-Poster Coghlu? Has he just got the one button? Is he simply not sophisticated enough as a coach to manage this team and get the best out of them and do better than, you know, what is it now, Tottenham are 14th in the table? Yeah, I agree with Jonathan. I think he's, you know, he's coming to the end of the line and it's obvious that he's

he's had success elsewhere and you know he's had success in scotland in japan australia and you know wherever you're successful great you're the best person in that league but he's come to the premier league which is the best league in the world he's got the best coaches the best players and he's been found out it's a level that he's not been able to step up to and some of the stuff he's come out with this season some of the excuses trotted out about you know even people don't take him seriously because of his accent i mean that's rubbish that's just not true you know i don't know where he gets that from but the mentality he has this kind of

everyone's wrong apart from him it doesn't work and the team doesn't work and it's just if you're a Tottenham fan you're looking at this thinking just put us out of our misery now it's not happening it's not successful this thing about you know where I always win a trophy in my second season well you're probably not going to win a second trophy a trophy in the second season this year because the FA Cup you've got Villa away at the weekend tough game probably lose Europa League again I can't see Spurs beating anybody with two legs because they've got to go away from home at some point and beat somebody decent and it's not going to happen so

I just think he's running out of excuses. If he gets that far, Spurs will have a new manager. What about the final then? Newcastle have this chance to end this ever so long wait. 1955, the last time they won a domestic major trophy. The Kop final, as the Sun call it. Jonathan, how do they approach that occasion, given what we've seen tonight is what they're coming up against?

I think it's going to be an incredible final. I mean, Newcastle, obviously, with that massive trophy drought, they also have a pretty terrible record at Wembley. I think they've lost their last nine games there in all competitions, stretching back maybe half a century. So there is that huge emotional burden, that weight, which I think a lot of people around the club feel that they're in the mood to change history, to write a new chapter, but they're coming against probably the best team in the world at the moment. And I think if there's one...

One word that kind of defines the slot era so far, it's been patience. It's patience in terms of playing style, in terms of tactics, patience from the fans and the hierarchy when maybe they've had a setback. And I think in the Wembley final, those kind of qualities are going to come to the fore. I think it's going to be really terrific because you've got two teams with actually quite contrasting styles. And I think it's really going to be who can keep their heads together and handle the occasion. What do you think the deciding factor will be, Mark?

Well, Liverpool are at their best, Liverpool will win and they are that good but, you know, Newcastle, you do feel sorry for Newcastle because, I mean, going back the last 50 years like Jonathan said, all their major finals have been against the biggest clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and United. They don't get an easy ride in a cup final. They always seem to have to win it the hard way and they haven't done that so far but, you know, if Alexander Isak stays fit and he's still in form, I think that gives Newcastle a really good chance but, you know, Liverpool have got four or five Isaks, haven't they, players that can score goals out of nothing so,

I think it'd be great for Newcastle to win it. It'd be fantastic for the city, for the club to end that long drought. But I just think Liverpool have the edge at the moment. But like I say, Isak can win a game against anybody. So he's their secret weapon. OK, gents, we're going to go to the back page of the Eye. And the story at the bottom of the page by Ian Whittle, which is, Amram, I could not get Rashford to work the way I wanted. Jonathan, let me start with you on this. So,

Marcus Rashford, on the day before deadline day, moved to Aston Villa on loan, and here is Ruben Amram still talking about him. And do you feel this sort of defence of his decision of Marcus Rashford, what does it say about Rashford? But ultimately, also, what does it say about Ruben Amram? He seems a little just obsessed with the subject, don't you think? Well, I think we know, yeah, we know what it says about Rashford, and I think the relative lack of interest for a player with his CB in the January window is...

I think it's an indication that a lot of the market seems to agree. I mean, we know that Rashford's pretty much playing for his career, Aston Villa, in terms of fitness, in terms of form, in terms of, I guess, hunger at the top level. I'm slightly intrigued why Amarim is still going on about this. We know that he is a guy who likes to speak his mind, he likes to be quite forthright. But already, just in a few months,

he's been forced to row back on quite a lot of things, which I think he would admit he probably shouldn't have said the stuff about them being the worst United team ever or the fact that everyone's jobs are on the line. And I think he's got a tendency for his tongue to get away with him a little bit. And, you know, you think back to what Alex Ferguson's mantra at United was, it was control, right? And...

control of the team, control of the playing staff, control of the message. And Amram has barely got a grip on it. He's barely got control of things on the pitch. And I think he's got, he's totally losing control of the message. Yeah, on that point, Mark, and it's a good one that you raised, Jonathan, about, you know, just how he's handling, you know, any media engagement and whether it's in a private interview or whether it's something like a press conference,

Aaron just keeps throwing out the soundbites. I mean, you know, it wasn't just this one talking about Marcus Rashford, but fighting for his job towards the end of the season. If we have a look at the back page of the Mirror, Amrim, I risked my job in the transfer window. So it's a gamble that Marcus Rashford leaves on loan and Anthony and they don't replace them. What do you make of the game that he's playing?

Well, he's being very, very honest and he's being himself. But I think that may be a positive in many ways, the fact that he is what he is. But it's also negative that he's got to manage the message a little bit more. There's an element of Jose Mourinho about him in terms of his bluntness. But Mourinho backs it up by winning games. And Amrim's won a lot in Portugal, but he's kind of translated the Portuguese approach from Portugal.

Lisbon to the Premier League and you know the situation is totally different is that Man United are not doing very well haven't been doing well for a long time so that success they had at sporting can't be translated directly at United I think he's finding it difficult he's trying to use the same methods that work there when he's got a squad of players that he doesn't trust or don't yet buy into his methods there's clearly a lot of the players there that he's not having whatsoever because they either don't play or you can see him on the touchline he's

He's exasperated, he's frustrated, he shakes his head. It's very obvious what he thinks about certain players. So I think at some point he does need to rein it in. I've been at press conferences where he kind of laughs and says, I've said, you know, I'm saying too much. They'll say something like, I'd rather put the goalkeeping coach on the bench than Marcus Rashford. So he can't help himself, but it will backfire because that honesty is, you know, it's been used, not used against him, but he's creating headlines. It's great for us, but he's creating too many headlines from his perspective.

But, you know, the Marcus Rashford thing, in fairness, he's being asked the question, he's answering it. You know, a lot of managers would shut it down. He's answering the question. So I'm not going to criticise him for answering a question, but he probably does need to think about what he says sometimes because this circus at Man United is just getting bigger and bigger and the results aren't getting better. So it's going to get worse for him while this continues.

Just on, Mark, on the quote in the back page of The Sun, Rashford's Connect floor is the headline by Martin Blackburn. He says, sometimes you have one player who is really good with one coach and the same player with another coach is different. So, you know, he's implying there, you know, the player has to adapt to the coach. They have to adapt their game. They have to perform differently to, you know, to reach the outcomes that the coach deserves. But is it always solely that way? How much does a coach need to adapt a bit to a player? I mean, like,

How would you say that balances out? It can't just be the full one way, can it? Well, in terms of Marcus Rashford, let's not forget he didn't perform in the 8-10 hike for the last 18 months. So it's not that he was performing great and suddenly he's not performing for Ruben Amrim. He scored the first goal of the Amrim reign at Ipswich and it all started so well. But Marcus Rashford has not performed...

really he's had one good run in the last four or five years and I think it's time that United need to part ways with Marcus Rashford I think Amorim has decided that he doesn't want to waste any more time and I think if you ask most United fans that they are backing him on Marcus Rashford I think a lot of Man United fans are fed up with Rashford and this lack of the

I think Amram's taken a big call there, but if he does well at Aston Villa, his kind of refusal to budge on Rashford might actually backfire on him again. So, again, he's being himself. If it doesn't work for Man United, he can't say he did it any way but his own way. But he might have to temper that a little bit if he wants to last long enough to be successful there.

Let's have a look at the back page of the mail. Switch our focus to Arsenal, who say that Arteta's go-ahead for three big summer signings. It's a centre-forward, a versatile attacker and a midfielder. Well, I mean, that's, I suppose, a fair wish list, isn't it? And it would probably cost a fair amount of money, given the positions they play in. Jonathan, is that enough if they get those players to make them again genuine title contenders again?

I think if they get the right players, I think if the recruitment is spot on in those three positions, I don't see any reason why they can't significantly improve Arsenal. I think the noises coming out of the club, certainly in January, were that they didn't want to jeopardise the business they might be able to do in the summer by splashing loads of cash on maybe a more short-term option in January. So that's very much the thinking, that they are still plotting ahead and not...

They'd rather bring in no player at all than the wrong player for a certain position. So I think that remains the thinking. Mark, your read on that, those three positions? Well, we know they want Martin Zubamendi. They tried hard to get him in the window, but they certainly lined up and moved him. He's a midfielder a lot of clubs want, so that ticks that box. They definitely need a striker, absolutely need a striker. I think, you know...

We're talking about, I think, Benjamin Shesko is the guy they're going to go for, RB Leipzig. And I think, yeah, I mean, that's the obvious area they need to strengthen. But I think it's more than that at Arsenal. It's more of a mentality thing. I think we saw at the weekend the over-celebration for beating Man City and then falling away at Newcastle. It's a classic Arsenal trick, isn't it, that they over-celebrate victories but then fall away and it's crisis time when they don't get results. So I think the mentality needs to change a little bit as well as getting players in. So it's a double-pronged issue they need to resolve in the summer.

Let's move to your paper, Jonathan, and talk about England in their first ODI against India. It was only a four-wicket defeat, but ultimately it didn't feel like it was that close, did it, this game? It felt like India starting their run chase after about ten overs. They were in control, weren't they? Yeah. England lost is not much of a headline these days. It's not much of a story across men's or women's cricket. I think

We do need to cut them a little bit of slack. McCullum has basically just taken over the white ball setup and they have gone to pretty much the toughest place in the world to play white ball cricket. I think there are people legitimately talking about this India side or this India squad as potentially one of the best white ball teams there's ever been. Just because of the depth, because of the way they can substitute out players and seemingly, you know,

bring in debutants who then settle instantly into the side, that depth of talent and obviously the knowledge of home conditions in England, very much a side in transition. Yeah, I mean, there are big problems in that side. I think there are problems with playing high-class spin. I think there are problems in the death overs, you know, the six, seven and eight positions.

And I still think there are issues with Joffre Archer. You know, I think he's still working his way back to full fitness. I'm not entirely sure he trusts himself physically at the moment. And that will come with time. So I think you've got two teams that are basically at very, very different moments in their arc, which is not necessarily to say that England are going to improve. But I think that it is probably a little bit too early to judge them against this opposition in these conditions.

We're going to just do one more story and I'm afraid we only have time to go to you, Mark, on this, which is also in the back page of The Guardian. Shaw stays away, so City star Khadija Shaw pulling out of the League Cup semi-final over racial abuse. I mean, how sad is this story that the player has decided to take that decision on their own shoulders, really, because of the abuse that they've suffered? What's your take on it, Mark?

Yeah, I mean, you know, Bunny Shaw is one of the biggest stars in the WSL. She's a really tough cookie. She's had a lot to deal with in the past with the Jamaican FA. She's a real star and she is a strong person. But the fact that she's decided to pull out of this game just shows you how

how difficult it is for players to handle racist abuse. I think there may be other things going on in the background at the moment, but for a player of her stature, of her strength of character to say enough is enough, it's a real message. And I think fair play to Bunnington for taking that stand.