Man Utd scrape through in FA Cup & Souness tells Lewis-Skelly to ‘wind his neck in’
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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 Chris Latcham and joining me are the Telegraph's football reporter Sam Dean and the Mirror's chief football writer John Cross. Welcome to you both.

But let's start with the back page of the Mirror. Lucky Devils United fight back finally to edge a scrappy game with Harry Maguire's goal. Said to be offside, no VAR at this stage of the FA Cup. This is your paper, John, so I'll let you take this away. Did they get lucky, Manchester United? Oh, not half. And I thought, what an inspirational, what a fantastic and clever and brilliantly quick back page.

back page that is because it's got a wonderful picture of goal celebration it's got a headline that fits absolutely everything lucky devils listen they didn't play at all well during the game and then they got a kind of a bit of a fluky offside goal in the 93rd minute and that game finishes at 5-10

And yet the wizards in the office, led by Paul Abdel, who my colleague was on back page duty, still turned it round and will still have got that off on stone, you know, off on stone, sort of kind of on time. And I mean, you know, the cleverness and skill that goes into that and producing that as we talk about back

pages really is always underestimated in my view it's an art form that headline also speaks to United's performance overall they didn't play well they went behind Bobby Cordova-Reed you know putting Leicester ahead and then it took a sort of United comeback

you know, capped off by that goal by Harry Maguire. He's clearly offside. I mean, I thought the Ruud van Nistelrooy post-match quote was terrific, actually. Basically, he says, we weren't beaten in Fergie time. We were beaten in offside time. He said it was more than a minute.

or offside. Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I tell you what, he was clearly, clearly offside. Listen, there I am thinking at halftime, Bobby Cordova-Reed, when he scores, who needs VAR? I'm pleased it's not there to hold up the check and get in the way of everyone's celebration. And then the flip side, you see that at the end.

That's why we need VAR. We don't want the, you know, we don't want the long offside delays, but we do want the checks and we want them done quickly. And I have to say it will stop absolute shockers like tonight because that was a shocker. Absolute shocker. John, I know this is the first print run for the Mirror. Lucky devils. Mine was smash and slab. His mates call him slab head.

Very good. Yeah, yeah. I'll give you that. Yeah, it took a while, but yeah, it's clever. OK, so no VAR, Sam. And Ruud van Nistelrooy is obviously stinging at the fact that he went back to where very recently he was earning his gainful employ and he feels wronged. Is he right to feel wronged at this stage?

Yeah, absolutely. I think we could all see from the first replay just one picture that Maguire was at least one yard, if not two or three, offside. And for me, that kind of proves the point about VAR. And there's been a lot of... And John will know as well, there's been so much debate in the last couple of years of people trying to put VAR back in the box, really, and say that...

It's slowing the game down. Things were better before. We never had these debates about refereeing decisions before. But this, for me, is a reminder that we did have these things before. Imagine if this happened 10 years ago. This would have been a huge story in the back pages still, the people saying, it's a disgrace. Man United get the right decision yet again. And people will be looking at this and talking about refereeing again and again and again.

The issue we've got with VAR is that the process right now isn't good enough to stop us talking about it. But clearly, it's still a new thing and they're going to get better. It's the only way of doing it. And I think tonight really proves that point. But yeah, just on United's performance, I agree with John that they didn't play well at all. But I think the one thing that is worth mentioning is that Alejandro Garnaccio came on at halftime and really did change the game. And it made me think about the possibility of him leaving in January and

how United seemingly were open to that prospect, which when you look at it tonight and the way that they played without him and the way they played with him, it blows your mind a bit that that was something they were considering. And we know there's financial regulations and restrictions and issues there, but for someone like that with that much talent, he's clearly the kind of player they want to be building around for the next four or five years. Yeah. Harry Houdini rescues United in the Guardian. Just to pick up on that point that Sam made, John, Roy Keane on TV yesterday

after the game, he said that Manchester United looked like a bunch of strangers. But then when you bring on Xerxe, who got the equaliser, and Garnaccio, who perhaps knitted together that little bit better after the break.

Yeah, and look, to be fair to Amorim, I guess you've kind of got to, you know, judge him after a window. Did United do the business they wanted? They certainly had a couple of outgoings and not enough incomings. You know, Dogu comes in and basically played, didn't he tonight? And basically, I thought him individually and Jor-El were quite good. But they're not knitting together as a team, as a unit.

There was no intensity. There was nothing there that makes you think they're a unit and they're fighting for each other. They don't lead as sort of kind of into the press together. They're just not looking as if they're kind of, you know, coached as one at the moment. And I still think...

I actually think it's a weakness in Amaran that basically he's so wedded to that three back three system. And I actually think, you know, a coach like him should be more flexible. If he hasn't got those players to make that system work, then I'm sorry that it should be adaptable enough for,

to find a different way of playing, even if it is for the short term, to get results. United cannot be where they are right now. They got lucky tonight. There's no doubt about it. And that sort of FA Cup run is keeping their season alive together with, you know, European competition as well, of course, because, you know, they're in the wilderness in the Premier League. It's just uncharted territory for United. So they really need to turn this around quickly. And Amarim really needs to kind of galvanise and gel those players together, I think. A weakness in Amarim, Sam, would you go along with that?

Yeah, I agree with that. I've been thinking about this for some time and John and I both cover Arsenal quite regularly. For example, comparing it to Mikel Arteta when he first arrived at Arsenal.

And he looked at the squad and said straight away that that team is not capable of playing the football I want to play. So let's build slowly. And he won the FA Cup playing in a more defensive, deep-lying formation. And he adapted to what he had at his disposal. I think that's quite an important skill for a manager to have. But it seems that these days the modern way is to have a philosophy.

philosophy and stick to it no matter what no matter what the tools at your disposal are and we've seen I think a similar situation to a degree at Spurs this season too but just on United I was looking back and thinking it's not the first time they've produced a kind of stirring late victory or impressive performance

in the final few minutes of a game. And yet the issue before is that they've generally followed it up with a pretty embarrassing defeat. So, for example, they went to Man City and won there, followed up with a loss. They went to Liverpool and Arsenal and did well there and then got beaten by Bournemouth and then they got beaten by Brighton. So it's about building on this now and that's something they've not been able to do yet. So it will be interesting to see how they go on from this one, having got that stirring victory. I take the point, Sam, that Arteta...

built slowly and won an FA Cup in his first season. Amarim is doing what he can in his way and he could yet win a trophy in his first season, even if it isn't pretty. What do you make of that, John? Yeah, he could do. Um...

I don't think you win the FA cup. I think the big boys are still in the FA cup and, and you know, and lots of, lots of teams have taken that very seriously. And if you put United up against, you know, a Manchester city or a Liverpool or something like that, I think they're going to lose. Listen, I know they won at Arsenal. They won that on penalties. So that kind of, you know, smashes that argument, I guess. And you can, you know, one-off cup time, but do I see him lifting the trophy? You know, again, no, I don't really, I just think that, you know, I mean, to,

To do it as they did last time was a remarkable triumph. I can't see them two years running. But I tell you what, there is an opportunity in the Europa League for one of the English teams. Because that Europa League is just so wide open in my view. You know, they're into kind of the last 16 straight away. Who is the strongest non-English team out there? I would argue Lazio right now.

And I just think there's an opportunity, particularly in a season when other teams are not dropping into it from the Champions League. And I think when you base that, I think there's a great opportunity for an English team, either Spurs or United. Yes, I know they're not playing particularly well to go and win it and then get a passport into the Champions League. What a dream ticket that would be.

Yeah, my fear, John, is that Manchester United fans might be turning off in their droves. So let's bring in a Manchester United legend. Ryan Giggs featured on the back page of The Sun talking about one of their previous favourite sons with Marcus Rashford. Giggs a smile. Rashford must get his smile back. Sam, some interesting quotes from Unai Emery today where he says it's going to be a challenge to get Rashford back at his best. That's not exactly the pumping up of his tyres that I would go for in his first week in his new club.

Yeah, I see your point on that. I had the same thought when I first saw that Unai Emery quote, when he said it would be a huge challenge for him as a coach to get Rashford back to his best. It did make me worry a bit what he'd seen from Rashford in training over the past few days. But then, to be fair, and I think we should add to that, that he also said that Rashford trained fantastically well today on the Friday before the game on Sunday. So,

that's not necessarily what Emery was trying to get at but certainly this is a player who obviously has huge potential and hasn't been showing it for a good 18 months now so you can see what Emery means when he talks about this being a big challenge on the coaching perspective and I

I don't know about you guys, but I'm genuinely very excited to see what Rashford can do in a different environment, a different club, a different kit. It just feels like slightly weird to kind of picture it still and to see him in the training pictures at Villa, it's slightly unfamiliar and I think it will take some getting used to, but

There's no denying the talent. And obviously Ryan Giggs speaking there about a smile on his face and being happy. And it's very clear that's been missing from Rashford, not just in the past two months when he's been out of the pitch at Man United, but also before that, because he hasn't been playing with that same joy that we saw a couple of seasons ago. And the question is whether he'll get it back. And, you know, not all players do. When we look at Jack Grealish, for example, in a similar situation, or Raheem Sterling, two other England internationals who have fallen off

and lost some of their form. The question is, can these players really get it back when the level is so high and so demanding? But as we say, that's the challenge for Unai Emery now. John, do you think Villa is an environment where Rashford can get his smile back? Yeah, I do. I think the other thing that Emery talked about was big potential, didn't he? And, you know, when was the last time that Rashford actually played really, really well? I would argue a couple of years ago when he was chasing Liverpool.

a contract and his stats were through the roof and fantastic. And listen, you could say, you know, that I'm being cynical there because he was chasing that contract. But I think sometimes a player needs something to focus on. And I think Rashford must appreciate now that this is a big opportunity for him. There's a, you know, option to buy at the end.

you know, he might be chasing a new opportunity at Aston Villa and earn a real chance for his, you know, career to take off again. I do think there's such a talent in Marcus Rashford. I think he's a brilliant player in there. And frankly, Villa and Emery just need to unlock it. I think that this could be a smart bit of business. I do. We're all watching it, aren't we? We're all thinking, can this work? Because I think a lot of us really appreciate Marcus Rashford, what he did as a human being and,

you know, for the country, sort of kind of in COVID times and sort of kind of school meals. And we still appreciate him for that. But much more than that, I think we still appreciate what the levels and the performance that he can hit as a footballer. Because I think there's a fantastic player in there. We know that Ollie Watkins is injured, so he won't be playing against Tottenham in the FA Cup on Sunday, Sam. Do you think Villa will throw Rashford in from the start?

Well, you'd assume so, because as you say, Watkins is out and John Duran is now scoring goals in Saudi Arabia. So Rashford seems to be the man. Obviously, the question there is how fit he is and how long he can last in a high intensity match. I don't think he's played any game at all since December the 12th. So it's been a long old break. And obviously, we know that the training has not been quite going well.

as everyone expected or wanted at Man United. So I suppose the issue is more on the fitness side of things, but you would certainly expect to see him for half an hour at the end, if not on the starting line-up. Let's go straight to the back page of the mail. Lewis Skelly needs to wind his neck in, according to Graeme Souness. This obviously goes back to Arsenal against Manchester City at the weekend, where Lewis Skelly scored a fine goal and then mimicked the Haaland celebration, Sam.

I don't know. I mean, Graeme Souness has come in hot on this one. I think a lot of football fans quite like that needle.

Yeah, if you forgive me, I'm going to embark on a bit of a rant. Please do. I'll try and be as concise as possible. But I find this whole debate and reaction to the Lewis Skelly celebration to be absolutely baffling. I mean, the first thing to say is that this is an 18-year-old kid who's starting massive games for Arsenal. By default, he is going to have character. He's going to have personality. He's going to believe in himself. Because if he didn't, he wouldn't be there in the first place.

So for him to express that, I think is a good thing, to show his character and to be there. And also separate to that, but also related is Arsenal for years were accused as a team of being too deferential to the bigger teams. They would roll over all the time. Their record against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool and before that Chelsea was really, really poor. And they were regarded as sort of spineless and weak against these teams. And now they're very good against them. And Mars Lewis-Skelly has come into this Arsenal team

that is used to winning these matches and taking on the big boys. And he's part of that culture. He has grown up in that culture, which Mikel Arteta and the current squad have helped to create. That's exactly what Arsenal want to be seeing. And for him to then to be criticised for showing that kind of gumption and bravado and chutzpah, it feels completely ridiculous given that Arsenal were criticised for the opposite not so long ago.

And also, to be frank, Erling Haaland started this by saying to Myles Lewis-Skelly, who are you? At the Etihad in September. I don't want to be too dramatic about it, but that could easily have become and could still become a millstone around Lewis-Skelly's neck. Let's say he didn't make it at Arsenal, which is very possible. I think it's unlikely now, but at that point in September, nobody knew. Let's say he didn't make it and went on in 10 years' time as playing in League Two. He could forever have been known as, oh, you're the kid that Erling Haaland said, who are you?

It was very much a case of Harlan punching down. And that was great too. It's the kind of drama we all want to see, especially as sports journalists, as I'm sure John would agree. But no one seemed to mind Harlan punching down on Lewis Skelly. And then Lewis Skelly punches back up and shows a bit of fight and spirit and has a laugh in the way that people want footballers to do and to show their personality. And then he gets absolutely attacked for it by people throughout the week. I mean, we're on day five now and Graeme Souness has come out and joined the sort of...

I'm paying against him. For me, it blows my mind. Leave the kid alone. He's being himself. We want personality. Let him be. Good rant. Enjoyed the rant. I also enjoyed the use of the word chutzpah, which I don't think I've ever had on this show. Sport needs chutzpah and characters with chutzpah, doesn't it, John? It does. And I completely agree with Sam. I have to say, I think that the language that Sunece uses in that column also really troubles me, frankly. It's beyond patronising.

I mean, you know, wind your neck in. I mean, how about sort of kind of patting him on his head afterwards? I mean, honestly. And then within that, within those words, he says, go and win some trophies for son. Son. I mean, you know, I think we've all appreciated Graham Souness as a character, as a personality and as a pundit.

in recent times, but I'm sorry, but I thought that some of his kind of language and sort of terminology was completely out of kilter. I have to say, Ian Wright raised a few issues this week about sort of kind of treatment of young players and sort of the contrast and what have you. And when you see the terminology and that kind of language, well, I'm sorry, but, you know, maybe we have to think about it a bit. I completely agree that Lewis Skelly had to show character specifically

had to show personality. That's exactly what Arsenal have been criticised for lacking. And when they do do it, you know, people get stuck into them. I'm sorry. I just think it's completely out of step. Listen, I do think there's a conversation to be had.

about sort of kind of, you know, almost the sort of the time and place and Arsenal then needing to step up and show and win trophies. But honestly, they are going to win trophies because they've got personality and belief within that squad. That's the point. And I do think, you know, it, it,

It was really quite something. And I think for journalists as well to kind of castigate celebrations this week, as it has been done, it almost feels like Turkey's voting for Christmas. What else will we put on the back pages? You know, come on. I mean, honestly, it's ridiculous. We're on here as journalists. We're not on here as kind of football fans. We want the good stories and interesting debates on back pages. We want interesting debates.

That's why we're on this show. You know, honestly, it's quite laughable. I think some journalists need to actually remember what they actually do for a living rather than preach. Preach. I'll tell you what, talk about character and personality. We'll cross North London and focus on Tottenham. The back page of the mail, Ange bites back. He's really unhappy with the tone of the punditry at his Tottenham team earlier in the week when they lost 4-0 to Liverpool, got dumped out of the Carabao Cup from a winning position. What do you make of his...

doubling down on his previous comments on Thursday night, Sam.

Yeah, I understand where Pastor Cockroach is coming from here. Effectively saying he's not going to listen too much to the pundits or care what they say. I mean, he can't. He can't care what they say. If he did, he'd drive himself mad pretty quickly. So I understand that. But equally, I think most people would agree who saw that game or in John's case attended that game. They would agree that Spurs were desperately poor in that match overall.

and hugely disappointing given the scale of the occasion and how close they were to get into a final and what's on the line for them and they just didn't show up at all and I think the criticism that's come out from the Sky pundits that the ones that are mentioned in the press conference today and Jamie Redknapp calling it or saying he couldn't remember a team going down and it was less of a fight in his lifetime which obviously is a very strong comment to make but

I'm afraid the issue for Spurs here is not so much the punditry, but the performance, because the performance leads to the punditry. It really was a disappointing night. And yes, of course, there were legitimate reasons for that with the number of injuries they've got. And that's been the case for a while now. But it felt to me also, and again, I'd love to know what John thinks, because John was there at the game. But for so long, we've been talking about how Posakoglu might need to adapt his approach and be a bit more defensive, a bit more considered and cautious about

It felt like Spurs actually did do that yesterday, but for all the wrong reasons and was completely ineffective. They didn't have any of their attacking verve or energy. They just rolled over, really. So it's a very poor performance and that's going to get you criticised. But Possekoglu is wearing his rights to bite back and especially to defend his players, which he has done. Yeah, your paper, John, goes with the Ange Furey at Pundit Pylon. One point to make, though, Tottenham's league position is poor, way below where they'd want to be. And it seemed to me the cup runs were what was propping him up.

Do you think you might come under a bit of pressure now? Yeah, I do. I do think there'll be a lot of focus on Sunday because, yeah, they've lost too many games. Their league position is just totally unacceptable for a club with the ambition of Tottenham. And frankly, if they lose at Villa, then where does it leave them? It leaves them hanging on for the kind of the Europa League.

which they've still got a chance in. But, you know, I mean, didn't we laugh when Postacoglu said, I always win a trophy in my second season? Well, you know, when you lay down that sort of challenge, then maybe you've got to deliver. And a lot of people are going to have a debate about Postacoglu. And I do think some of that criticism last night was absolutely sheer and right. Yeah.

because they were far too defensive. They didn't have an answer. They didn't play with passion. And there's your problem, really. I do defend people's pundits' rights to have a say, but I know it sometimes drives press officers particularly mad when their managers are endlessly asked about post-match views in press conferences.

But I do not mind Pastor Coghlu going back on the front foot. Good on him. And I do think he always delivers in pre-match press conferences rather than post-match, I have to say.