Firstly, I can only apologize for speaking once again about the difficult situation at Manchester United.
I feel sorry for the director Rubén Amorim because I firmly believe that he has gotten into a nest of vipers. And he will need everyone, from the top of the club and every fan who walks through the doors of Old Trafford, to believe in him for him to succeed.
This week he talked about relegation and that the club needs a shock, all in a context of certain players who go through the motions in training and disrespect the coach. From timing to attitude to every part of your training regime, like when you play in practice matches with small teams, you try to replicate match days and play with intensity. It's not like a switch that you can flip when it suits you.
I spoke last week about the example given by Bruno Fernandes and I heard that Alejandro Garnacho is unhappy with the coach. Can someone remind me who he is? Last time I looked he was just a 20 year old kid. The one who is only one step above, on a ladder of ten steps. Who are you? He acts like the “wrong one” on the football field and unless he changes, he has no chance of realizing the obvious potential he has.
Going back to my generation and before, Manchester United have always had problems keeping players on the ground.
So it was always about 'who is the next George Best, the next Denis Law or the next Bobby Charlton…' There have been good players, but whether it's the weight of the shirt or the adulation they receive too soon, they don't. It was like that. It won't happen to them.
The new Manchester United coach, Rubén Amorim, has gotten into a nest of vipers
His team is in poor form and faces a Liverpool team that is seemingly destined for the title.
Alejandro Garnacho may have to change the way he plays on the field if he wants to reach his obvious potential.
Premier League teams are forced to pay kids fortunes because if they don't do it, someone else will. But you're only investing in potential, and more often than not, when you give too much to a young person too soon, they sit on their couch and never reach their potential.
I never tire of underlining the value of having good high-level professionals in the dressing room, but for more than a decade there has been a drought of real men at Manchester United.
Generally, a coach can work with his group of 25 players four days a week and, on match days, they are busy with the game. In a normal week, a manager could be at his company two hours a day, four days of that work week. How much individual attention can you give them?
And that's why you need good senior professionals to help you. Catching others when they are not reaching the standards needed if you want to win trophies, and simply giving these youngsters time and advice, given the distractions in today's modern game.
They have a huge role to play in getting the message across and enforcing standards so that come game day there is less finger pointing and more looking in the mirror.
Where are the most important figures here? Fernandez? Is that the best you can do?
United fans will remember that Sir Alex Ferguson called Paul Scholes out of retirement at 37 and kept Gary Neville in place past his sell-by date, simply because they were two fantastic guys who would have trained every day like if it were the last session. had. What an example for young players making their way in the game.
For too long, United's current players have accepted mediocrity. You sense that it is a dressing room where people say 'it's not my fault'.
United's squad has had a real men's drought for over a decade – who are the current senior professionals?
Sir Alex Ferguson brought players like Paul Scholes out of retirement for the example they set for young people
Right now, it's a very difficult situation for the 75,000 who report to their team every two weeks; When United concede a goal, he simply shrugs, always looking for someone to give him the answers. That is not the behavior of great players. They need to show what they are made of, not hide like they are now.
Is football a reflection of a society in which no one wants to take responsibility for their actions today?
When I joined Liverpool, the education was tough. I was in a locker room with the likes of Emlyn Hughes and Tommy Smith, they would never allow you to be sloppy in training. Coach Ronnie Moran was the biggest influence on my career, but the only time he gave us a pat on the back was when we physically had some silverware in the locker room.
We regularly said, “You're only happy when you're not happy, Ronnie.” And he'd look at us and shake his head and say, 'You should have seen the players we had in the past, son.' At that time you were always made to feel inferior to the players who had been there before, individually and collectively. But I always saw it as a motivation to improve.
Apart from a few occasions under Ron Atkinson's reign, I don't remember United challenging us at the top, but they were all over the headlines week after week.
Many United players are put on a pedestal too soon and start to believe what is written or said about them. But now it's not a good read. They are our Bayern Munich, because in Germany they are called FC Hollywood.
When many of this team finish playing, they will look back and realize what a privilege it was to play for United and they will do so with regret, regret for not having taken more advantage of the opportunity when they had it.
They are selling the club short.
Players like Emlyn Hughes (with trophy) gave character to the Liverpool dressing room
Only injuries can stop Slot's 'reds'
The stars continue to align for Liverpool's next league title, but Arne Slot will be thinking about worst-case scenarios going forward.
Losing Virgil van Dijk or Mo Salah to serious injuries would have the biggest impact. Or, if it were announced that two of them plus Trent Alexander-Arnold would be leaving at the end of the season, that would deflate the mood in that dressing room.
I wouldn't worry about losing form because Liverpool have so many goalscorers in their squad that it means they don't have to play well to win football games.
But we have seen the damage caused to Manchester City by the loss of Rodri and also, in part, Kevin de Bruyne, giving up his throne as the best midfielder in the country. In fact, I fear that De Bruyne will never again reach the levels of performance he achieved in the past. It's not all down to those two, but their absence has played a big part in why much of the City dressing room has stopped believing.
For Liverpool, despite all the good coverage they have in the centre-back position, Van Dijk has to play because he makes those around him look so good. And Salah has the best attacking stats of any player in the Premier League right now, so he would obviously be missed.
Personally, I wouldn't criticize Alexander-Arnold if he went to Real Madrid.
He is a Scouser, who has only played for Liverpool. He has done it successfully, providing great service. I understand why you would be tempted. Maybe he wants a new challenge and Real Madrid is the only club he could go to. However, he will leave to play alongside less talented players at Real.
The stars are aligning for Arne Slot at Liverpool, but he will have worst-case scenarios running through his head going forward.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has known nothing but playing for Liverpool with his contract ending in the summer.
On current form, if the Champions League final were played this month, I would have to say that Liverpool would have no one to fear, but in football terms, May is still a long way off.
Soccer is the craziest sport. On Sunday we will see Liverpool, goalscorers, full of beans, against a miserable and self-pitying Manchester United. I imagine Ruben Amorim will tell his players that there is no better way to start the season than a win at Anfield.
For Arne Slot, “don't expect anything but the best of Manchester United to appear.” We can anticipate another victory for Liverpool, but this match never ceases to surprise.
Lopetegui is being defrauded
I expected Julen Lopetegui to do well at West Ham this season but looking at them I feel like some of their players are letting him down.
His players' half-hearted defending against a rampaging Liverpool side last Sunday was perhaps indicative of the attitudes he has to deal with. Having had one or two flare-ups, I suspect he's struggling with how strong he can be to confront or criticize those players without losing the locker room completely.
The main reason I resigned at the age of 53 was that my personality did not suit the direction football management was taking. It was difficult for me not to lose to players who didn't share my attitude of not losing a game.
That's why it's never been more important to have trusted senior professionals in your dressing room to act on your behalf and instill in you the importance of every moment you come to work. The last thing Lopetegui needed was to lose his best player, Jarrod Bowen, to injury.
The defending against Liverpool was perhaps indicative of the attitudes Julen Lopetegui is having to deal with at West Ham.
It's still too early for Chelsea
Chelsea's drop in performance in recent weeks is to be expected taking into account the young team they have.
They were going so well that I bet it surprised even those at the top of the club. What will be difficult for them is not the physical challenge, but the mental challenge of playing cup finals every week.
For his part, Enzo Maresca has persistently downplayed his challenge prospects, echoed by Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer. That was always the message they gave us at Liverpool: be humble, play it down when you talk to the press. But I know privately, behind the locker room door, that as a player you want your coach to tell you that he believes in you and that you can win this competition.
I think it is too early for this Chelsea team, but they are still waiting for the rest to make a mistake.