Does Ange’s criticism hint at trouble in Spurs’ dressing room? Is Guardiola ok? Could Tuchel call up Ben White?
20:58 Share

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 Mark Ogden from ESPN and the Mirrors, Andy Dunne. Welcome to you both.

OK, Andy, let's start with a story in the eye. Andj Postakoglu, John West reporting for them with the headline, Postakoglu keeps up his offensive on, quote, bruised egos. Andj Postakoglu's doubled down on his criticism of players. What did you make of his pre-match press conference, Andy? I thought he was very, very strong, Teddy. But you can't help but think back, can you, to Antonio Conte's rant yesterday.

ironically at Southampton in 2023 and he was gone soon after that Spurs take on Southampton same game this weekend it's not quite at that level

But you know what? When managers do this, we like it. It's good copy. It's good copy for us. And I think your fan and your Tottenham fan would initially say, you know what? Well, he's right to call out Timo Werner if he thinks his performance is unacceptable. He's right to say to the players, listen, you know, don't come on into me. You've got to get out there. We're short of players. You need to get out there. And I don't want any bruised egos. If they are, they can leave.

I think everyone's instinct as a football fan is he's right. However, the other instinct is to think when a manager comes out and criticizes his players in the middle of a bad run of form,

then there's something wrong in that dressing room. There's a schism between the manager and the players. You can't help but think that that might be the case. And in a way, Ange has to take responsibility himself, doesn't he? Since that win at City, they haven't won in five. That win in City represents, I think, his only win in eight games

Postakoglu himself and the systems that he plays, don't forget, that are so vulnerable. He needs to take responsibility as well. I like him being honest. I like him criticising players if he thinks it's right to. But I do think it hints to trouble in that Spurs dressing room. And we've been down this road before. We have. And head coaches have very different policies on this, don't they? Criticising players in public. Mark, I know that Ruben Amarim has said that he'd rather get sacked

than do so ahead of getting the Manchester United job. In the Telegraph, they have the headline, Stop excuses or leave, says Poster Coghlan. It's a big week for Spurs, isn't it, Mark? They've got Southampton, they've got Manchester United in the League Cup quarter-final. How many divisions could this cause in the dressing room, particularly with a player like Timo Werner, who's been singled out, who doesn't strike us as perhaps the most confident of players sometimes?

No, and I think the problem with Ang is that it's not just his players that he's criticising. He's also had a few run-ins with the fans recently. There was an incident at Bournemouth after the game where he kind of confronted the fans. So if you're kind of taking on your fans and taking on your players, you don't really have much left.

You need one of those groups, you're not both on your side to get through a difficult period. So he's really hoping that he's got Daniel Levy on his side because that is all that matters now. If he's gone as well, if the players and the fans and the chairman are beginning to lose patience with that, that doesn't bode well. And you're right, it's a massive week for Tottenham because, you know, Southampton is a game that they should win. They should really be in range at Ibrox on Thursday night considering the quality of the players they've got.

But I think the biggest game is Man Utd on Thursday because Ange keeps telling us that he'll win the trophy in his second season. Well, that is his big chance. Man Utd are in great form right now. And if Tottenham can beat United and get in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup, that could change everything. That could transform the whole outlook, give the players confidence, make them believe in Ange a little bit more if they're not doing so right now. But if they lose, if they lose that game, then you can imagine what it seems to be like at the stadium on Thursday night with Liverpool next at the weekend. So it's a massive week for Ange. But I just think that...

the messaging that he's coming across it's a bit like his tactics on the pitch isn't it it doesn't change there's no kind of there's no nuance to it it's exactly the same as it is on the pitch it's going hard and it's the same approach it's

I believe in myself and if you don't like it, tough. And that's what we've heard all the time from Ange. But as a lot of people have said, sometimes you have to change your approach and alter your approach on and off the pitch to get some results. And he's not doing that. No, relentless sprinting, isn't it? When you look at the stats and lots of muscle injuries as well, Andy. Back page of the Daily Express has shown me some fights, Werner. What's your take on the particular singling out of Timo Werner?

Well, I thought that a player of his ilk as well, I'm slightly surprised. You know, when I've seen Timo Werner, you can generally level an awful lot of criticism at him. But the one thing you can't level at him is a lack of effort. You know, there are plenty of things you can say about Werner, about his finishing, about his final ball, about his calmness in the final third. But generally, he puts in a shift and clearly...

And Postacoglu didn't believe that was the case last night. I'm surprised at it. That's all I can say. And I look at that Spurs team and I think if you wanted to single out someone in particular, it wouldn't be Verma. But he does. And again, that's his prerogative. Whether or not he does it to us or behind closed doors, then I think we know what most players would prefer to happen.

Yep, we'll see if Werner plays. He says he does need him ahead of that game against Southampton Sunday evening that takes place. Manchester City have the Manchester derby as well. We can go to the back pager of the star. Probably a similar theme, I suppose, in terms of telegraph fit. In fact, we've got this from Pep. I can't sleep. I can't eat. Am I losing my mind? Guardiola on his inner turmoil. Mark, just explain where we think these quotes have come from. Very concerning quotes.

Yeah, so he was speaking to the former Italy striker Luca Toni who works for one of the Italian TV channels before the game in midweek and she'd been just now at

Pep and Luca Toni go back quite a while. They played together at Brescia when Pep had a couple of seasons in Serie A. So they've got a good relationship. And it's not the first time that Luca Toni has spoken to Pep. He did an interview with him before Inter Milan played at City earlier this season. So they have a rapport and Pep does speak to him. So it was a very revealing interview. I think Donny will tell you that Pep played it down a little bit today. It's press conference. But to say those things, you know, in the situation that you're in, you know, it was obviously it's one win in ten. It was one win in nine when he said it before the Juventus defeat.

We're all questioning what's happening at Man City right now and how on earth it can go from being the best team in the world to a team that has lost seven out of the last ten and how Pep can go from being this manager that has never had a crisis. Whatever Pep has experienced, he's had seasons where they haven't won trophies, they've had a bad result, he's never had a crisis.

But this is like going beyond the crisis now. So if he's saying things like he can't sleep at night, I think he's saying he only eats soup at night because he can't digest his food properly. That's a real concern. I mean, you know, if anyone else was saying that, you'd think, you know, blimey, what's going on here? You'd be very concerned for their well-being. And Pep's saying these things, you know, in the public domain. So...

It just adds to the question as to whether he signed a two-year contract only last month to stay until 2027. Does he really have a heart to see it out? He actually said when he signed that contract that a month earlier he was ready to go. He was thinking this would be his last season, but he changed his mind because at that point they'd lost four in the bounce. Now it's more than four in the bounce now, it's seven out of ten. So should we be asking questions whether Pep really is going to stick around for two more years? As it looks right now,

He's got eight months of the season to go. They've got the Club World Cup in the summer. Is he going to be able to get there? Because he looks burnt out. He looks out of ideas. But to be fair, as Donny will tell you, that he said differently today. He said that nothing to worry about. Yeah, indeed, Andy. On that note, they seem very alarming quotes, don't they? But we weren't there. I suppose we don't know the tone. We haven't yet heard the conversation between him and an old friend. But what's your experience of Pep Guardiola at the moment, the man you see before you?

Well, yeah, Mark's right. You know, today he was asked about those, what he said to Luca Toni. He also, in that interview with Luca Toni, referenced, you know, the head scratching that we saw during a recent game. And he actually suggested that was some sort of skin complaint. And he went into great depth with Luca Toni. This was put to him that, you know, was it affecting his sleeping, his eating habits?

And he said, well, essentially, you know, he didn't say it wasn't affecting it, but he did. And he said he was more uncomfortable with the fact that they were losing than he is when they're winning. He said that. But then he did say, I'm fine. And in particular, there were what Mark has said about him lasting two years.

He didn't suggest one bit that he was regretting signing a two-year deal. He seems to be doubling down on the fact that it'll be sweeter when they do make the comeback. But what I would say about him, Teddy, and I think it's interesting we talk about Ange,

who's basically come out having a go at one of his players and some of the other named players. Pep does the opposite. He says these players are playing really well and he absolutely loves them for what they're doing. But today, in particular, he spends a long time bemoaning

They're injury issues. I mean, a long time. In answer to one question, it went on for three, four minutes. You know, he came out with this idea that, you know, listen, we're missing Rodri. And when Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls, they couldn't win the NBA. And we're missing Phil Foden most of the time. He was the best player in England last season.

Now, yes, these things are right, but I thought it was an inordinate amount of time moaning about the injuries that have stacked up. Yes, they've got injuries. Spurs have got injuries. Other teams have got injuries. I do think that I was a little bit surprised he didn't go down the road as, OK, we've got injuries. We've got to deal with it. We've got to crack on with it. We've got to find some form back. We've got to find goals.

from someone other than Erling Haaland. We've got to defend better and our goalkeeper has got to play better. Rather than saying, well, the reason why we're in this predicament is because we've got all these injuries. A lot of focus on the injuries in the schedule wasn't there. One of those players not listed there but is missing is John Stones in the back page of the Star as well, pictured with the headline, we're going to need a bigger squad. Pep Guardiola has told Bottas he'll need a bigger squad to cope with demands, right? So,

Andy Dunne, we should have brought this to you Andy, but we'll throw it to Mark now as well. I think you've touched upon the themes there. Mark, what did you make of this? He's famously liked quite a tight squad. Is it just the nature of the squad he's got or is there something in this that you need more players now as the games ramp up? Well, I think, yeah, you probably do need more players. They've got a season which doesn't end until the middle of July if they get to the Club World Cup final. So, yes, you probably do need players, especially after a tournament summer.

But I think one thing that Pep has denied recently, but I think it's clear for all to see, is that this squad is getting old. You know, they've got Kyle Walker's 34, Gundogan's 34, De Bruyne's 33, Bernardo Silva's in his 30s, Stone's in his 30s, Edison's in his 30s, De Bruyne's... You know, we're talking about a squad now that all of a sudden the key players are the wrong side of 30 and showing their age.

And that, when you've got a load of games and a big backlog and you've got people like Rodri that are injured so it means that Gundogan has to play a lot more than he should have done. That's the problem. I was in Turin on Wednesday for the Aventus game and it was...

It was noticeable that there's no legs in City's midfield, absolutely nothing there. And he kept De Bruyne and Gundogan on the pitch for 90 minutes when it was clear that the Juventus were, by the end of the game, running rings around the City midfield. So you do wonder why Pep isn't making changes sooner, why he's not rotating his squad a bit more. He has got the players. City have got a fantastic squad. But it was interesting that he talked about the schedule.

Man City and the Club World Cup next summer, and it seems that nobody wants this tournament. So Pep should come out and say it. Rather than kind of tap around a little bit, tiptoe around it, come and say that this tournament is going to damage my players. It's not good for the squad. But as we know, the club owners are the people that haven't said anything about it. They want the money. It's going to be very lucrative for Man City and all these players that are on big contracts. But if Pep is concerned about his players and injuries, he should say this Club World Cup is a tournament I don't want to be in. Absolutely.

Champions League expands as well, isn't it? At the moment, they're destined to best for a playoff place as it looks. So let's talk express on the other side of the Manchester derby, Ruben Amarim and by David McDonnell here. Derby is not normal one for Amarim. Ruben Amarim is relishing his first Manchester derby, but he claims it will lack a real edge because neither side is fighting for the title. Is it what the most evenly balanced derby since what, 2011, 2012? What do you think, Andy?

I think it is incredibly evenly balanced. I personally would have Manchester United down in my book as slight favourites, only because Manchester City look like conceding a goal to every counter-attack that comes their way. They really do at the moment. Obviously, United aren't in great form either, but

attacking-wise, I think they've had a little bit of an uplift under Amirin. They look sharper, they look quicker, their movement's better, and I do think that City now are in this form. As Mark said, I think in midfield, United will have some joy, and obviously if Erling Haaland doesn't score, then where are the goals coming from from City? It's amazing, really, how attacking

a team that were once renowned for having goals throughout the entire team. You'd have a scoring list for Manchester City where there'd be eight to nine players in double figures. You're not going to get that this season. And I just think they're so vulnerable at the moment. And again, I think I've said this just earlier,

I think the goalkeeper's vulnerable, whichever one they choose that is. So I think it's a really good chance for Ruben Amarin. And don't forget, he's got that 4-1 victory over Pep for Sporting Lisbon just three or four weeks ago to think back to as well. So I think it's a really good derby for Ruben Amarin to look forward to. Mark,

I'll come to you with the back page of The Sun regarding England's World Cup draw. And the new manager-to-be was there to see Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra come out of the hat for them. Happy two-year for those listening on the podcast. TU there with Tuchel. Yeah, great draw. And Thomas opens door for outcasts. Get to the players who might be invited back in a second, Mark. But what can we learn about Thomas Tuchel from that draw, if anything? I suppose Serbia was quite tough in the Euros.

Yeah, I mean, obviously Serbia, that game in the Ozil is quite tight. I think Juve-Bellingham scored the winning goal, but it wasn't a great performance. I think it's a good draw for England. They've avoided some of the heavyweights that they could have picked up in pot two, but I do think that trips to Belgrade and Albania could be a little bit tricky, but I think it's going to be unlikely that England are going to slip up twice. I think they'll probably win the group and qualify, but...

It's an awkward group rather than a difficult one. So I don't think anyone should be concerned about this one. I think England will qualify. They missed out on the last World Cup in America, as we know, in 1994. But I think this time they'll be okay. He's said the right things about people like Harry Kane and Ben White. So it's a good start. And I think he'll be looking forward to getting it going in March.

Absolutely. The big story coming out is covered in The Times. The front page of their sports supplement heading into Saturday. Tuchel's white flag, maybe a sign of, I guess, peace, but also of Ben White's name on his first day on duty at the World Cup draw. England manager says he wants to talk to exiled Arsenal defender and will keep Kane as captain. What do you think, Andy? A practical move, but one that may offend some Patriots?

Yes, it may. I'm not in that camp that it will offend me. What would offend me, or what I think should happen, I don't think that because Ben White made himself unavailable under Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland that he should be debarred from ever playing for England again. I'm not that strong a patriot. However, I do think that it's up to Ben White to reach out to Thomas Tuchel, and not Thomas Tuchel to reach out to Ben White.

It's now up to Ben White to say he's available to play. Not enough for Tuchel to ring him. Because, you know, it's all well and good principles, but, you know, your principles are probably at their weakest if you want to make a really good player change his mind. It's Ben White we're on about. He's good, he's versatile, but, you know, I don't think England needs to go cap in hand to Ben White. He needs to go cap in hand to them, and then that's fine. He can get back in if he does that.

Yeah, Mark, what's your take on it? How much do England need him and where do they need him? Is it possibly not where he plays for Arsenal? Is it centre-half? Well, he's injured right now. And, you know, I agree with Andy on this. I think Ben White is a good Premier League player, but I'm not too sure that England really missed him at the Euros and the World Cup when he went home. So we're not short of right-backs, England. I think, obviously, centre-half, they're quite strong as well. So, yeah,

I suspect if he was back in the squad, he'd be a squad player again. I think that's what Ben White doesn't want to be. So I'm not quite sure this is a solution. But look, he's starting a new job, Thomas Tuchel, it's right that he says it's a clean slate and everybody has a chance and Ben White might decide he doesn't want to go back in anyway. But yeah, I still think if he wants to go back in, he's going to find it difficult to get into the team straight away. So he'll have to sit on the bench quite a while. And again, that comes back to square one with Ben White, doesn't it?

Indeed, we'll see what March brings. We know Harry Kane's going to be captain for then at least. We'll see if Ben White makes the early Thomas Tuchel squads. Let's talk about Marcus Rashford, who scored 17 goals and 60 caps for his country. But where does his future stand now? Where does his club future stand? This is the back page of The Sun, Andy. Man United created this with Marcus by rewarding rubbish behaviour and displays with huge new contracts. This is Troy Deeney's column, which we haven't been able to peruse at length, Andy, because obviously it's in the making. We can get the theme of it there.

Has he got a point about the rewarding rubbish behaviour? They rewarded a 30-goal season with a new contract, didn't they, in fact? Well, exactly, Teddy. You're just taking the words out of my mouth. When they gave him that contract, Marcus Rashford was in great form. That scored 30 goals. That scored plenty of goals for his country as well, don't forget, in that previous season. So that's why they gave him the contract.

Was it too big? Was it too rewarding? Probably so on the balance of his play maybe over a longer period rather than just that 30-goal season because he'd had a couple of off-seasons before that as well. So maybe more judiciously they might not have given him that length of contract or certainly not on that type of money. So I don't necessarily agree with that with Troy. And, of course, we have plenty of examples where people get huge contracts and react differently. We've spoken on this programme many times about, say, for example,

Mohamed Salah and he is on the same amount of money as Marcus Rashford it doesn't dampen his hunger it doesn't curb his commitment to the course so it shouldn't do his Rashford that's down to the individual I don't necessarily lay the blame on Manchester United's executives door for putting that contract in front of Rashford I blame the player himself maybe for reacting how he has done to having the security of that contract

There's so much hope and excitement, Mark, wasn't there, when he burst through as a teenager, scored in a Manchester derby, I think youngest ever scorer, scored on his England debut as well. What's your take on the Rashford situation? What do you feel has gone wrong and can it be redeemed at the age of 27? I don't think it can be redeemed, no. I think, like you say, he's 27 now and I think he's had a bad 18 months. His heart doesn't look in it and the fans have certainly turned against Marcus Rashford, rightly or wrongly, they're not on his side anymore.

He hasn't been starting all of Ruben Amarim's games. He started in midweek against Victoria Pilsen. But I do think it's got to the point now where a partner of the ways would be the best for both parties because obviously if United let him go and sold him, it would bring him really valuable money for Ruben Amarim to strengthen his squad. He does need reinforcements. And is it worth keeping Marcus Rashford on a big contract if he's not delivering? Probably not. I think, you know,

He does get a big scrutiny of Marcus Rashford because he's a homegrown player. But I just think that it's got to the point now where United panicked when they gave him that contract. He had a good three months. He's got a lot of goals, but there was nobody in for him. There's no club that making a massive bid, PSG, Barcelona, didn't happen. So United gave him a massive contract, which he didn't need to do, and they're paying the price for it. But I do think that...

If a club from Saudi Arabia came in in January, maybe even Turkey, with the money and the wages, I think it's a deal that can be done. I wouldn't rule out a move to Saudi Arabia for Marcus Rashford now. Six months ago, a year ago, I would have done, but I think now his England career is disappearing. I think he would go to Saudi Arabia if the money was right.

Such a brilliantly talented player, isn't it? So we hope he does stay in the Premier League. We'll see if he plays Sunday against Manchester City. Let's stay with the Sun, Andy. And Mario Lamina's been ditched, they say, as Wolves captain after the meltdown at West Ham. How strong a statement from Gary O'Neill, Andy? We've only got a couple of minutes remaining. We'll try and get through a couple of stories.

Well, I think it's a very strong statement. It seems to have been expected by a lot of Wolves fans. I wasn't there and I have to say the footage I've seen doesn't look great, but I think it's a slight overreaction, personally. I think I'm in a minority. He's lost his head. He's lost his temper. Unfortunately, he was out there on the pitch. But do I think he should be stripped of the captaincy? On the evidence of what I've seen, I think it's quite harsh, to be fair.

Yeah, OK. It's an interesting situation. We'll see how that continues at Wolves with the new captain there. Let's go to the Time Sports Supplement front page. Will Kelleher reporting, I'm suing as I need care for brain damage. 2003 World Cup when a former England captain, Phil Vickery, has spoken about potentially needing care. Andy, how sad is this whole story? And can we get to a better place with these rugby players? You've got about 30 seconds, sorry, Andy.

Hopefully we can. I ghosted Phil Vickery's column at the 2001 Lions Tour. I remember seeing him then battered and bruised. I saw him again in 2009 at the end of one test. Battered, bruised. The punishment that these guys, especially a prop four, will go through is immense. World rugby has to have responsibility. Listen, we know it's a dangerous sport, but still rugby has to have a responsibility for what's happened to not just Phil Vickery, but to all these players who are bringing the class action. It's a sad story, and it's one that really does need addressing.