This week’s Football Weekly features discussion on Liverpool, Everton, Leeds United, and Bristol City.
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00:00Hello and welcome back to Football Weekly. On this week's show we'll be
00:04discussing both Liverpool and Everton's January plans, we'll review Leeds United's
00:09season a quarter of the way into the championship campaign and finally we'll
00:12head south to Bristol City to discuss whether the Robins have got what it
00:16takes to be promoted this season. First a look ahead to the January transit
00:22window at Anfield and who Liverpool could be targeting as they look to
00:28continue their title bid this season. So well looking at Liverpool and ahead to
00:34January now it's obviously a big window Liverpool you know they're famously had
00:38a massive window in January a couple seasons ago. Looking forward what do they
00:43sort of need from January because so far this season they've sort of made a real
00:49impact on the league and in Europe as well so it's hard to sort of add to a
00:53side where you can't really see you know a clear area that needs improvement.
01:00It is but I think maybe that's been the complaint from Liverpool fans in the
01:07past for example you know when they won the Champions League, when they won the
01:10league Liverpool didn't really strengthen the squads and is this a
01:14moment to capitalise now you know at the minute the you know top of the league
01:19five points ahead of Man City that could go to waste if they win that game at Anfield
01:23next month and you're looking at that thinking we can't let this
01:28position slip and so do we go out and get a couple more bodies in to bolster
01:34the squads. I mean the one position you're probably looking at
01:37obviously is central midfield of course you know as I said before Arnaslott
01:42clearly showed his hands by looking to sign Martin Zupomendy in the summer he didn't
01:47get that one over the line I don't think that one has ever gone away I
01:51would like to think that if a deal could be done then Liverpool would be in
01:57position to go and swoop for Zupomendy because you know they were willing to
02:03pay the money in the summer and the midfielder has a release clause so
02:07that's something you could maybe look at doing and you obviously maybe
02:12looked at getting a centre back in, Lenny Yoro was one that they put the
02:15feelers out for but didn't think he was worth the wages so maybe if he's a
02:20central defender you're looking at that I think a lot of supporters wouldn't be
02:24averse to getting in a new left back if it was the right player and Andy
02:29Robertson and Costa Simacast have split the position so far this season
02:33Simacast has actually had a really good campaign so far after very much being
02:37number two for the previous four seasons under Jürgen Klopp but he's
02:42made good improvements but Robertson's 30, Simacast's 28, is he ever
02:47realistically going to be first choice? No, it happens beforehand so an up-and-coming
02:54left back potentially is something that fans would like to see and the boy
03:02at Bournemouth, Kerkes, is one who's been linked, Richard Hughes, Liverpool
03:07sporting director signs and when he was at Bournemouth as their technical
03:11director so clearly so there's a link there so I think I don't think it'll be
03:16a mad January for Liverpool but they've shown in the past as you said that they're
03:20willing to spend money, Virgil van Dijk, Lewis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, three signs that
03:25Liverpool are prepared to splash the cash. Moving across Stanley Park in
03:30Liverpool to Goodison Park and to Everton as they also prepare for the
03:34January transfer window to alleviate any concerns of relegation. Well looking at
03:39Everton and the January window obviously you know we've mentioned a
03:43number of times the lack of finances they've had to work with, you know with
03:48the takeover coming in and the sort of rebuild possibly happening within the
03:51next year or so, how important is this January window? Obviously Everton
03:56don't want to fall into that trap of a relegation fight again, they want
04:01to be continuing to fight in it and so how important is January for them?
04:05Yeah it'll be interesting I think, the takeover you would like to hope it's
04:11going to be completed by then. Will Everton be massively affected in terms of
04:17what they can do in the markets? I'm not too sure because of profits and
04:21sustainability rules but I'm sure the Freakons would like to give Everton
04:25some money to go out and spend and bring in a couple of players, if not
04:31Sean Dyche might have to be careful in what he does, he might
04:38be a little bit like the summer where he has to get deals in that work for the
04:42club in terms of finances. Personally I'd like to see Everton go out and get a
04:48left back, Vitaly Mikhalenko is the only out and out option at the minute and he
04:54hasn't quite hit the same heights as he did last season, you know he was solid
04:59last season but he struggled a little bit, maybe that's against the backdrop
05:04of the ankle injury, he suffers in the Merseyside Derby and he raced back to get
05:08fit for the Euros, had problems again in the summer, maybe just hasn't quite
05:13got over that injury and I think competition is always a good thing in
05:17squads as well. A little bit of pace out wide is what Everton are lacking, yes
05:24Berlindesvren's done okay so far, he's still acclimatised, I know he can add that
05:28little bit of pace but they need more from the wingers I think, Iluminen Dai
05:34deserves a go in the number 10 role, maybe Jack Harrison hasn't quite done it
05:39so far this season so some additional pace definitely and then it might
05:45depend on what happens with maybe, will there be any more outgoings, I don't know
05:51obviously the one that you're looking at is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he's into the
05:55the Farley-Abes contract.
05:56At Elland Road Leeds United sit third in the
05:59championship, we reviewed their season so far as they look to go up
06:05automatically. Sort of reviewing their season so far in the championship
06:10because as you say they're 29 points, sat just a couple of points off
06:15Southern Sheffield United in third place in the championship, there's been
06:19some good results it's fair to say, you know obviously beating Sheffield United
06:22quite comfortably, teams who are of course already above them, then you've got the
06:26loss against Burnley at home, that wasn't great, loss at Millwall, look at the
06:30opening day against Portsmouth at 3-3 and then of course the madness of
06:35Sunderland that night when you probably were nailed on for three points and it
06:39doesn't happen. So there have been some good wins, I've probably not mentioned
06:43enough wins there actually to be fair, I've only mentioned one and I've mentioned
06:45more of the bad ones but regardless though it's been a
06:50season of ups and downs and yet here we are a point better off than they were
06:54last season so is it fair to say it's been better than expected or
07:01worse than expected? I don't know about that, it's hard to say really, I just don't know about better or worse than
07:07expected, I just think it's sort of like there's been too many games where
07:10they haven't got the result that the performance
07:12warranted but I mean that doesn't really matter really because all that matters
07:14is the score you know at the end of the day and stuff but I mean I think you
07:17summarized it pretty well there in terms of the standouts, I mean the
07:20Sheffield United victory was obviously fantastic, they played very very well in
07:22that game and you know that's the thing where you look at that game and think
07:26like almost like how much there were between the two sides that you think
07:29well if Leeds can play and obviously Sheffield United are sort of second
07:32favourites for the title realistically, I mean I know it's Sunderland at the top
07:34but I mean on goal difference but Sheffield United are clear second
07:37favourites and you sort of think if there's that much between the two teams
07:40in that game then they realistically should be going up and they should be
07:42going up as champions you know but obviously it's repeating that on a
07:45consistent basis and that's probably one of the things I think one of the
07:48themes has been consistency a little bit you know and stuff in terms of like
07:52obviously the results as well maybe more so than the performances and also
07:56finishing I mean that's something we've talked about you know for however long
08:00on these shows not just under Daniel Farka but also under Marcelo you know
08:04there's been too many games where they missed too many chances and but for that
08:08then obviously they would have left with more points than they would have got but
08:11yeah I mean it's as I say it's just I think a solid start is how I would say
08:16it but a solid start that just could have been a little bit better
08:19you talked about two defeats obviously they have only lost two games which is
08:24pretty good at this stage of the season that said I think it's the entire top
08:27five have only lost two as well so what that tells you is
08:31is basically there's been too many draws with Leeds and that's definitely true I
08:35mean you talked about the first game of the season that's one that I mean you
08:38know whatever the stats were it's a game that they should have won all day
08:41long but they didn't obviously the madness of the 3-3 draw the Sunderland
08:44one you know I mean still beggars belief now yeah I can still sort of like you
08:49know remember like it was yesterday sort of like the looks we all gave each other
08:52when that goal went in at the end I mean that would have been another two points
08:54that would have been very different if they'd have got them two points obviously
08:56then the two points are at the table and the joint tops aren't they so same with
09:00the Portsmouth game and finally for this week a trip south to Ashton Gate and a
09:05look at Bristol City over comments that they might have enough squad quality to
09:10go up you know just the comments on on Anis Mameti the Albanian winger
09:16obviously he's sort of come out and said they have the depth to be that that top
09:20side I mean that it's a long old season the Championship such a tough division
09:25and you know it always seems to go down to the wire especially with that that
09:29race for top six and promotion in the end he believes they've got the depth to
09:35do so you know how sort of true could this be and how positive it could it be
09:41in the lead-up to such a busy period well Bristol City have always been a
09:44side who have struggled to break into that top six of the Championship they've
09:48always had that sort of in at least in recent years the the issue of being a
09:53decent enough Championship side but not quite having the the quality to break
09:58into those challenging for promotion but Anis Mameti's comments are quite
10:02interesting because actually if you look at the table they are only three
10:05points off the playoffs as things stand Mameti was really good last time out
10:10before the international break he scored one and helped set up another against
10:14Norwich City a 2-0 win at Carroll Road which was a really good win away from
10:19home for Bristol City and that of course was Mameti's first start in three games
10:24he's been a bit frustrated I think to be honest and I think that sort of
10:27performance for him will really help him get into his stride I mean obviously
10:31Liam Manning was quite happy to heap a lot of praise on him but Mameti himself as
10:36you rightly say he thinks that Bristol City have the depth to challenge those
10:41at the top of the league at the minute and that's quite a strong claim because there
10:43are some strong sides of the Championship currently you look at Leeds
10:46United you look at Sunderland doing so well you look at Burnley Sheffield United
10:50Middlesbrough even creeping into that sire playoff spots as well well or just
10:54outside it obviously as I mentioned before Watford so there's a lot of good
10:58sides there so it is a big task but Liam Manning is a capable manager
11:02obviously he's come off the back of his own bereavement recently with the loss
11:05of his son which was really quite tragic but now he's back and as I say they're a
11:10really good win away from home against Norwich City which you know as I say
11:15propelled them to a good place in the league they are 10th which on paper
11:20doesn't look brilliant in the Championship but because of how
11:22congested it is at the moment it's as I say not too bad up next they've got
11:27Burnley which is a tough game obviously but when you've got players like Meti
11:32who are you know vying to get into the team you've got players like Naki Wells
11:35who are scoring as well there is half a chance for them I'd argue to be honest
11:41it's whether it can be sustained across a full season though that is the question
11:46because they do have moments of quality but whether it's enough to be right up
11:49there for a long period that's a different question well that is all for
11:53this week we'll be back next time with plenty more football discussion and
11:57we'll see you then