Pep: Man City don't deserve trophy tip | Water polo style protection for Mateta | Man City fan fury
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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 Teddy Draper and joining me are ESPN's Mark Ogden and Ian Ladyman from the Daily Mail. Welcome to you both. Let's go to the front back page of the sun. Ian, come to you for this bonus ball pass.

I don't deserve trophy tip neither him nor his players Ian what did you make of Pepe quite amusing form in a way wasn't it but clearly unhappy with the season's work yeah the interesting thing about Guardiola is that whenever he's asked about the club ball cup he tends to deflect he

He was asked about it three or four weeks ago and suggested that he was going to take his golf clubs, he was going to play golf because the golf courses were nice. Saying that the players would be invited to take the wives and the children with them. Just kind of giving that impression that he wasn't taking it all that seriously. Been asked about it again today.

And now he's talked about this. Now, look, players have bonuses written into their contracts. The Manchester City players obviously will get win bonuses if they win games at the Cup World Cup and indeed if they win the tournament. But what was more interesting is what this says about Guardiola and his level of interest in this tournament. Now, I don't know, but Pep...

rarely says anything without a reason and the fact that he keeps talking this tournament down I noticed today he said something about oh well it's you know it's the tournament's for the club it's for the club I'm not totally convinced that he's massively enthusiastic about this tournament if they go all the way and get to the final it will be a month and we know what that will do to City players we know how passionately

the schedule is for example and let's face it Manchester City given the season that they have had so far absolutely look like a team of players and probably a coach who need a month off they look like they need a reset they look like they need a rest mentally and physically to come back next season and try and put all the things that have gone wrong this season in the Premier League and the Champions League right like I say I'm not absolutely convinced from the way Pep talks about

that he's totally sold on this tournament, regardless of whether he thinks his team should get bonuses for winning it or not. It's interesting the subtext that you read into it, Ian. Mark, the headline in the back page of the Express, no time for a bonus. Pep Guardiola claims his players and staff do not deserve a

deserve a bonus this season. Quote here, as managers, staff, players, we don't deserve it. Not even a watch of the Manchester City manager. Do you share what's implied there, Mark? Ian's read that it is basically saying it doesn't quantify success winning the Club World Cup, even if it makes you very wealthy.

Yeah, I mean, to be fair, Ian sort of words out of my mouth because I noticed that quote as well about Pep saying it's for the club, stressing it's for the club and, you know, by definition, it's not for the players. And, you know, Ian's right. It is a case whereby Man City, if they go all the way, I think they'll be finishing on the 14th of July, which is, I think, less than a month before the start of the Premier League season. So his players won't be getting any rest. And, you know, I've been told that certainly for the first couple of games in the Club World Cup, they might be playing an unfamiliar team, shall we say, with the likes of

you know, Nico O'Reilly, James McAtee, players that you wouldn't normally associate with a Man City first team. So, whether they think they can get through those early rounds by arresting the players and trying to get to the knockout stage. But, the situation is, I think it's £97 million for a team that wins it. So, it is for the club. It is for the club to, you know, pay the wages. That's it. They've got a massive wage bill. They've got a huge kind of

transfer budget as we know so it's purely a club thing and I think Pep's right to have a bit of disdain for it because it's at the wrong time of the football calendar it's when players should be resting so if he is deciding to play golf and he's deciding to play his fringe players then fair enough and I think he's obviously focusing on next season because he knows that if he plays all his big players then

the team are going to suffer for it next season they may have another season next year when they don't win the premier league don't win the champions league and and that is really what man city should be looking to do not win a you know a tournament that's just come out of nowhere and yes it's worth a lot of money but to the point of the bonuses you know he's right in the sense that city place haven't really earned any bonuses but if they win the fa cup they'll have earned one because they've won a major trophy and that is what players are there to do if they miss out on the champions league i suspect

their contracts will not have a bonus for failing to qualify for the Champions League. So it's on the players. If they match up what their contract says and if they deliver success in whatever tournament, they'll be paid for it. But if they miss out, they'll get nothing. Yeah, absolutely. It's going to be interesting, the permutations at the end of the season. It's still feasible, Ian, when you look at it, for them to finish third at least in the Premier League. Back page of the star, never mind the Rolex, Guardiola Rolex, we don't even deserve a watch if we win World Cup. He's collectively calling staff and players along with himself to

Do you think deep down Guardiola blames himself though more than the players Ian? What's your assessment? Because presumably a lot of people saying they're just running on steam the players.

Well, he will. I mean, if he's ever spent any time around Pep Guardiola or in his dressing room or even in his press conferences, we'll tell you that nobody internalises angst and frustration and disappointment quite like he does. We've seen some of the body language from him this season, the scratches on the head, etc.,

You can see the frustration, the disappointment seeping out of every pore. And yeah, if Guardiola were to be asked to write a list of who he blames for what's gone wrong this season, his name will absolutely be at the top of that list. Now, did he see the drop-off from players like

Kyle Walker, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, the injury to Rodri. Did he see those things coming? No, he didn't. But he'll be asking himself that probably he should have because that is his job. And I was talking to Jack Gourn, our Manchester City correspondent, a couple of days ago about this and whether if City were to completely...

fall away towards the end of the season, not even make it into the Champions League. They'll have to finish outside the top five for that, so it's unlikely. But if it happened, I was talking to Jack about the potential of Pep walking away out of embarrassment, and Jack said to me that he actually thinks it's the opposite, that that kind of failure would

only drive Guardiola on, make him stay, essentially to put right all the things that he will be thinking he's got wrong over the course of the last 89 months. Interesting. And I'll stay with you then for the next story because it is by your colleague Jack Gawne, but it regards Manchester City, but also a use of a resale website for tickets. City fan fury protest at next game.

over club's controversial deal with ticket resale site. Could you just tell us a little bit about Jack's piece here, Ian? Yeah, I mean, look, there's probably a subtext to this as well. I mean, look, I'm not a fan of ticket resale sites. I'm not particularly a fan of official ticket sites. Don't mind resale sites. This isn't... Look, from a PR point of view, this is not a great look from Manchester City to be seen to essentially...

and reselling their own hospitality tickets on a resale site that they are now officially partnered with. It doesn't look great. Their argument is that there will be no price gouging, in other words, kind of what they call when the prices can go up in relation to demand. The ticket prices themselves will be capped.

It's only for hospitality. But all of this plays to a greater issue at Manchester City, which is about atmosphere. And Manchester City fans who probably are aware that the Etihad is not the worst atmosphere in the Premier League by some distance. Equally, it's sometimes not the best. And City fans have become frustrated with fans of their opponents turning up.

in the home end and there's a frustration about that they blame the club for that they think there's been a lack of dialogue from the club's point of view about tickets and about ticket prices and all that plays to a general sense of frustration at Manchester City among the supporters

about what goes on in the stadium on a match day. OK, we'll keep across that situation. There are a lot of ticket stories at the moment, of course. Difficult time in the country for football fans and everyone. But let's talk about Cole Palmer. He's had a difficult time for form recently. Back page of the Mail, just above that City story. Look who's back. Blues boost. Cole Palmer trains for Chelsea after missing three games with a muscle injury. Mark, do you think it's going to be an important end to the season for Palmer? Ten games without a goal. First off,

real wobble of his career I suppose. It is, yeah, and you know, his loss of form has coincided with Chelsea's loss of form, which may have started just a little before Parma stopped scoring goals, but you know, he is their guy, he's their talisman, isn't he? And he's obviously got a week to get fit for the Chelsea game, I think it's next Thursday, so he should be fit for that game, but you know, Cole Parma's situation at Chelsea is interesting, he signed a really long contract earlier this season, an eight or nine year contract,

But if they miss out on the Champions League again this season, which is possible because obviously it's such a tight race at the top, the questions will be asked, you know, how long will Cole Palmer decide he can fulfil his ambitions at Chelsea? Because he's a Champions League player, he's a player that should be at the very top level. And the situation he's got there is that he's on such a long contract, can he get out of that contract if he feels that Chelsea are plateauing or flatlining and not going where he wants them to go? Because they have tailed off and the form they're showing now, Chelsea, is that they may miss out on the Champions League, you know, so that is not where Chelsea need to be.

But he's their best player. He's also their most saleable asset if they decide to rotate the squad. It'd be crazy if Chelsea had thought about selling Cole Palmer, but Chelsea do things differently to every other club. They see a player that they can cash in on.

They've turned over so many players in the last two years that I don't think anybody is not for sale at Chelsea, even Cole Palmer. So if they don't get in the Champions League and if he can't help them get in the Champions League, it'll be interesting to see what happens. I don't think he would go this summer, but I do think it might sow seeds of unhappiness that he doesn't want to spend his career at a club that's not playing at the highest level. So maybe the clock could be ticking on Palmer if he doesn't get what he wants in terms of Champions League football in the next 12 months.

What do you make of that, Ian Palmer's situation and Chelsea's overall, I suppose, currently sit fourth, lost three of the last five. Does it feel like this is important to maybe protect against another summer of flux that Enzo Maresca gets them over the line with Cole Palmer front and centre?

Yeah, I mean, look, I think there's been... I think there has been improvement at Chelsea this season. It's relative. A lot of Chelsea fans are disappointed because Chelsea started so well and looked for a very brief amount of time as though they might even be a third horse in the title race. That feeling didn't last very long. I think there has been some...

progression. I think Enzo Maresca is a decent coach, but as ever at Chelsea, you have to be moving forward. They'll have to be in the Champions League for Maresca to be sure of his position going forward. But if they do that...

and they sign, you know, it's ifs and buts, but some of those transfers that we all laughed at have turned out to be better than we thought. If they can turn the wheel again with a couple and add a bit of depth, of quality, and I think as important experience to that squad, then I think there is a kernel there of something there at Stamford Bridge.

but it all depends of course on what the owners do whether the owners will do what they haven't done before and place some loyalty in a coach and do things sensibly I absolutely agree with what Mark says Cole Palmer is the best

player in that Chelsea squad by some distance and there's absolutely no way that he's going to contemplate a couple of seasons, even more than a season, standing still because he's a player who's destined and born to move forwards. We'll see if Palmer's back for the Spurs game. Big one for Chelsea next week. So come to you, Mark, and a piece that you've put out on ESPN regarding Marcus Rashford. Is Rashford back in form for Villa, England,

Or is it a false dawn? Tell us why you pursued this piece, Mark, and what you found.

Well, obviously, at the weekend, he's set to play his 10th game for Aston Villa since his loan from Man United. I just want to kind of work out whether he's actually raising his game or whether he's not actually doing as much as we think he is because he was recalled to the England squad. And I think the England recall may have kind of altered the perception of Rashford a little bit. But I looked at some data and I was kind of surprised by what it threw out. And obviously, he hasn't scored yet for Villa in nine games. He's created four assists, all four for Marco Asensio. So there's a positivity there that he's doing better because he's creating goals for Asensio.

But I was kind of surprised to find out, considering that a lot of people criticised his work rate for Man Utd, that over 90 minutes, he had more sprints per 90 minutes for Man Utd than he has done for Aston Villa. So it seems he was working harder for United than Villa, or whether he's working smarter for Villa than United. So it's difficult to pin down whether he's making more of an impact at Villa than we thought he was. But I must admit, from what I've seen, I was at the England game on Monday, I'm not quite sure Marcus Rashford is quite the player that he was. He seems to have lost...

it seems to have lost that ability to take a player on and beat a player and show the ambition he seems to be a little bit afraid to go at a man there's a quote from Ian Wright in the piece where Ian Wright says that he's lost that ability to take a man on to be willing to fail it's almost like he's frightened to fail to take a player on and go past him and risk not being able to go past him it seems to have lost that ability and he's more inclined to pass the ball sideways so from my perspective it seems

I don't think he's moved on that much and it's a big situation for Villa because they've got a £40 million agreement to sign him at the end of the season in terms of the option to buy. So it's a big decision and United obviously want him off the books but has he done enough for Villa to justify a transfer? I'm not quite sure he has but obviously he's got a Champions League campaign at Villa, he's got the FA Cup still to play. He can still play a big part for Villa but right now I think it's 50-50 that he's got a future at Villa and he may end up back at United. Interesting, so he's been rebuilding his match fitness as well. Ian, what's your

reflection on it. Do you think in the media we've got carried away with a tale of redemption for Rashford? Is there maybe a less exciting truth?

I mean, look, it always happens when this type of story is a familiar one. Big name player struggles with big club, moves to another club, often on loan, gets a few games, change of environment, people get excited, people overreact. It does happen. However, let's be clear. I'll tell you who will be happy with Marcus Rashford and that's Aston Villa.

because he's gone there by all accounts. His attitude has been absolutely as they would hope it would be. And he's done what they want him to do, often coming off the substitutes bench, the assist there that Mark mentioned. So I think he's ticking the box for Villa.

In terms of whether there's a future for him at Villa, there's a huge question mark over that. He was contracted at Manchester United until 2028. Mark mentioned £40 million there, plus the wages at around about £300,000 a week, whatever they are, at Manchester United. That's a huge commitment for a club like Aston Villa, who were pretty much, who were pretty close, or have been historically pretty close to their ceiling when it comes to the Premier League spending limits.

So it's a huge commitment for Villa, and Villa will have to decide when they go to spend whatever money they've got for Unai Emery in the summer, whether they're going to splurge £40 million of it, plus all those wages, on someone who so far has done his best work as a substitute. So I think there has been progress for Marcus. I think, yes, sometimes these things can be exaggerated. I felt a little bit sorry for him. I was at both the England games last,

I was surprised that he played in both of them. I don't think he would have played in the second one had Anthony Gordon been fit. He played in both. I thought his attitude was fine. I think he did what Thomas Tuchel wanted him to try to do, which was to go at players

That's really hard when you're playing against teams like Albania and Latvia who sit there with 10 men behind the ball. Mark talks about him losing the ability to beat a man. I noticed a few times, especially against Latvia, that he would actually beat his man and then find another man standing right behind that man because of the way that Latvia were set up. So it wasn't easy. I thought Tuchel probably could have bitten his tongue.

when he called him out a little bit and Phil Foden out a little bit after the first game. Not sure anybody really needed that. So, yeah, I think, look, big six weeks, seven weeks ahead for Marcus Rashford. I think if he's going to win that transfer for Villa, he probably will have to maybe do a little bit more, force himself into that team, be a starter. Can't see Villa paying all that money for a substitute. But equally, he's got to have in the front of his mind that if it doesn't work at Villa in terms of if Villa decide...

that that outlay is not for them. He's got to make sure that he's given himself a platform for somebody else to then come in and spend that money because I really don't see him having a future at Manchester United under Ruben Amrim. I don't really see that at all. OK, we'll see how Rashford gets on for Villa if he features in the FA Cup on Sunday at Preston. Crystal Palace are at Fulham Saturday lunchtime in the FA Cup. Jean-Philippe Mateta seemingly back for...

For that, back page of The Sun, water polo protection for Mateta is the headline, Mark. A boss mocks headband. To what extent does this reflect the magnitude of the game that they're bringing Mateta back? Do you feel it's a gamble to any extent?

Listen, we've seen a lot of players play with face masks and headbands and all sorts of things in the past. And I'm sure if Mateta's comfortable, he has to play. He's their best forward. And it's a massive game for Palace, isn't it? It's an FA Cup quarterfinal. We know they've been to an FA Cup final in recent years, I think in 2016, and lost that one. But for Palace to get to a semifinal for an FA Cup final, a place in Europe potentially...

It's a huge game, a huge few weeks for Christophe Palace. So I'm sure Mateta's desperate to play. And I think it's an unusual protection for his head, but I'm sure it works if he feels confident in it and happy to play after what happened against Millwall. It's great for Palace. So I'm all for it. I think it's great that he's playing it. And I hope he does well.

OK, we'll see what Danny Welbeck does against Nottingham Forest as well. Ian's done a feature with him in the FA Cup game that kicks off at 5.15 on Saturday. Ian, what kind of form did you find Welbeck in then? He's a seasoned veteran now, I suppose. You've contrasted his recent appearances in the FA Cup with those of his debut at Manchester United.

Yeah, I showed him a little video on my phone, actually, of his first ever FA Cup goal, which he scored in his fourth appearance for Manchester United as an 18-year-old at Southampton, ahead of him by a yard. Of course, he scored the goal that got Brighton through the last round against Newcastle, a much better goal. He's 34 now. Those are the bookends of Danny's career at the moment. It was lovely to see him on great form. He still has the best Manchester accent in the Premier League by an absolute...

mile, he's never going to lose that. He was absolutely full of it. We know his story, we know the injuries that he's had, we know the recoveries that he's made, we know his quality. Some people would have had him in the England team or in the England squad this last time. He did tell me, by the way, that Thomas Tuchel hasn't been on the phone. He isn't one of those players who's yet had

the phone call as a fringe player so maybe a little bit more work for him to do but it's a story of a career well spent and a comeback he's now played more games for Brighton than any other club in his career more than Manchester United more than Arsenal he has won the FA Cup two times both with Arsenal and I can tell he was absolutely desperate to

to do it again. It was just lovely to spend 45 minutes with a genuine footballer who's been through a bit and has come out the other side. And by the looks of him, looks as though he may have three or four good years left in him yet. Mark, give us 30 seconds, if you can, on Danny Welbeck. You must have covered him earlier in his career. He is a brilliant story. He's become a better player in his 30s, a better finisher, isn't he?

Yeah, absolutely. I was looking at your stats before the show and his England record, it's better than one in three. And it really is up there with the best England strikers, apart from the likes of Alan Shearer and Harry Kane, but always delivered for England. Had a great career at United and Arsenal. And I think if United, 10 years after selling him, I'm sure they'd take him back now as a great option for their front line. So a great player, great career, a great piece to read. A final note from your paper,

Ian as well 200,000 degree cup heroes of Newcastle it's going to be live on Sky Sports News it's one of the biggest sporting events of the weekend for me I'm really looking forward to this how emotional and passionate will it be your man Craig Hope no doubt will be in attendance give us 20 seconds on this

Well, it will be emotional and it will be passionate. One thing I did notice in that piece by Craig was apparently there's a plan to show the whole game again during the parade. The whole game. They're clearly expecting to be out there on the town hall for quite a while and I hope they enjoy themselves. They've more than waited for it. It's going to be a long and passionate evening, no doubt. So, it's been a good evening with you. Thank you very much, Mark and Ian. Appreciate it. See you on Back Pages tonight soon.