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August 17, 2024 11 mins

An opening round goal for Chris Wood in football's English Premier League.

The All Whites striker's scored Nottingham Forest's lone goal in a 1-all draw with Bournemouth.

Elsewhere - the reign of new Liverpool manager Arne Slot has started with a hard-fought 2-nil victory away to newcomers Ipswich Town.

Football broadcaster Tom Rennie joined Piney to discuss.

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from News Talks ed B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Chris Wood has scored a goal on the opening weekend
of the Premier League season.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Here they are really costive and long.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
It gets it back from Woods.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Chris Woods noting a forest.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Incredible. Chris Wood has now scored a nine Premier League seasons.
He has more Premier League goals as I mentioned to
James mcconey a little while ago, than Eric Cantona and
a host of other big stars. Just continues to produce
the goods. Chris Wood Nottingham Forest one, Bournemouth one. Let's
Spring and Talk Sport commentator Tom Rennie to run an
eye over some of the other matches. Can we start

(00:51):
with the very first match of the season, Tom, which
you covered Manchester United one nil winners over Fulham. They
were eighth last season Manchester United, anything anything to suggest
that they'll challenge for I don't know, the top four
or even higher.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, I wouldn't go any higher. Let's not go wild
on the first weekend of the season. But do you know,
I think most of us are surprised that Ericton harg
is still there right. I think that the season was
pretty poor in the league, but then they put in
an all time great performance to my mind against man
City in the FA Cup Final. Not many people beat
man City and they did, and on the balance of it,

(01:29):
I think it's fair that he gets another shot. Ericton Hagal.
Two seasons, two trophies, not too shabby, and you know
they've not won the Premier Leagues int Alex Ferguson and
all of that, so you've got to take all this
success is relative and I think during the summer no
Euro at the moment, but I think you'll be good.
De Lickt wasn't fit enough to start, but he's going
to come good. Xerxy scoring the winning goal, He's going
to come good. I think there's lots of positives about

(01:50):
Manchester United. Look, the performance against Fulham wasn't great, it
wasn't fully coherent, it wasn't as good as they're going
to be. But if there's one thing the opening weekend
of the football season will teach you is that we're
not in a position now to talk about foremans. We're
not in a position to talk about development. What matters
is you get that first win by a hook or

(02:13):
by crook. If you get it, there is your foundational
stone for this season. Next week there's an away game,
next week another home game. If you get to five
games in and you've not won and your bottom of
the league with a minor six goal difference, you may
well not finish there. You likely won't finish there if
you're Man United or even you know, Newcastle Villa west
Ham or whatever, the mid table, never mind the upper table.

(02:36):
If you're in that position, everyone on start to panic.
The season will fill doomed and it's very hard to
recover from that. So they got the win and that's
all that matters.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, let's look at a couple of other teams that
did exactly that as well. Arsenal Sickon to City in
the last two seasons two home over wolves. Could they
take that next step Arsenal this season?

Speaker 3 (02:56):
I mean, the issues are too far with Arsenal. Number
one is that the average to win the Premier League
across the thirty seasons there's been is around eighty four
to eighty five points. Manchester City have made that average ninety,
so you have to get ninety points to win the
Premier League. Now man City have raised the standards and Arsenal,
though great for two seasons, have not been able to
meet those standards. They face City quite soon in the

(03:19):
opening few weeks of the season. To win the Premier League,
they have to beat Manchester City twice. That has to happen.
It's Rick Flair right to be the man, You've got
to beat the man. That is what it is with Arsenal.
So I think it all comes down to those meetings
with man City coming up one of the first few weeks.
On the opening day against Wolves, they weren't amazing. It's

(03:41):
got to be said. They weren't at their absolute best.
Deck and Rise have just come back from being away,
barely played and trained during the summer. Same with Kaya.
Saker has scored the second goal, so again get the
job done. Were they spectacular, No, but they were certainly solid.
I will say that with the transfer window being open,
looking at the Arsenal team on Saturday, not a great

(04:01):
deal of change has happened. And I think even though
it's called ninety plus goals last season last season, I'd
still be looking for that goalscorer who can take that
chance in that game to get them over the line.
Because again the standards are ridiculously high. So can they
do it? Yes?

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Will they do it?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
I'd still sit in the camp of do.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
West Ham one, Eston Villa two, Villa fourth last season
you cover this game? Was this encouraging from Eston Villa?

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (04:29):
It was, you know, I followed a couple of Villa
games during pre season. They lost the match against Columbus
Crew in Ohio. They didn't really look like they were
in the best of shape during their US tour. But
I'll tell you what they looked like the team of
last season. They just continued from where last season left off.
I know there were some poor results back end of
last season, but the macro of the campaign was fantastic
and you could see they looked a lot more settled

(04:51):
than then. West Ham in this game with John McGee
was fantastically on. Bailey had a great game, defensively strong, offensively,
impressive and fitting really that John Duran, who was almost
begging for a move to west Ham a couple of
weeks ago. He was on Instagram live doing west Ham
symbols to west Ham fans because he thought he was
being sold, comes on for Villa and scores the winning

(05:13):
goal away at west Ham one of the most fitting
things you're going to see in football weather. But look,
I think Villa. The issue with Villa is that they've
got a great manager and a really good team. The
issue is they're in this new Champions League. First, they
have a Champions League campaign. There are eight group games.
That is going to be a killer come December, come
February four Villa unless they add some more players or

(05:35):
they really are one of the great teams, we will
find out. And on the flip side with west Ham,
you know, four and a half years of David moy
is a very very long time and they looked like
they were trying one or two new things today. There
were new players coming in. I think Riquez was very poor,
but he's a good player. Nicholas ful Krug not fit
enough to start. He is a brilliant signing for west Ham.
I think he'll come good. You know, they went to

(05:56):
west Ham at a really good time. And in the end,
Thomas Sochik this is an open goal. It probably should
be too too. So I think that there's good science
for Villa, but I don't see them requalifying for and
I think west Ham are going to take ten games.
I think it's not fair to judge them until we
get to end of October. Probably.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Premier League football returned to Portman Road after a twenty
two year epsence. Wonderful scenes there Episwich though, going down
to Neil to Liverpool. You talk about teams needing to
get off to a winning start. New Liverpool boss Anna
Slot just needed the win, didn't he impressive from Liverpool
impressive enough?

Speaker 3 (06:31):
No, I wouldn't say impressive. I think you make the
point and you're absolutely right. You know I keep saying
it too in this conversation first weekend. Just get the
points on the board. Liverpool is going to get better,
Liverpool is going to learn how to play under Arna's Slot.
And look, they had a really interesting assignment today because
ipswich a bit like the other two promoted sides. They're
going to struggle for thirty points. Right, It's going to

(06:52):
be really difficult to stay up in the Premier League
for those teams, and it's going to become increasingly more
difficult when even the likes of Brighton can now spend
one hundred and twenty tow one hundred and fifty million
pounds on players. It's so hard to catch up every
point is going to be vital. But that first home
game a great bounce, great energy about Portman Road. As
you say, twenty two years since they were last in

(07:13):
this league. So it was a tough one. But Liverpool
just went through the gears. And they've got Mosala who
always seems to score an open day. They've got mccanister,
the Sabba sly looks like he's fit. They've got Diogo
Jotta for as long as he stays fit, they'll score goals.
They can make changes with quality coming off the bench,
so they would improve. I think they made a couple

(07:33):
of signings they'll becoming on a slot team. I think
they may be pressed higher than we've seen in the
last couple of years and played slightly, not recklessly, I
think that's the wrong word. But there'll be a bit
more Cavaliinis to Liverpool by the look at what we
saw today. But yeah, look it's not an Hones slot
team yet. We're weeks and weeks away. A bit like
West Ham, a bit like Man United. I'd wait till
week twelve, week thirteen to really get a beat on

(07:55):
this team because they are going to be different, all right.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Quick look ahead, Tom with it's ok four time defending
champions Man City. There was at Chelsea tomorrow game of
the Round. Probably how A City placed four. I can't
even believe I'm saying this an unprecedented fifth title in
a row.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
You know, City are probably as interesting right now as
there've been at any point in the last four or
five years. You know, I'm bored of them. I find
them tedious to watch, and I would like Guardiola to leave.
You know, I'm happy to accept he's the greatest coach
of all time with a stacked squad, and he's too
good for us. He's just too good. He's too good.
They're too good. Take the Golden Premier League Trophy, take

(08:32):
the belt, retire it whatever, just go and don't come back,
because you're kind of killing it in many ways, that
he's the greatest coach ever, right, Fine, take the badge.
The issues of City which make them interesting for me
is that a this is likely to be Guardiola's last season.
I think he's intimated several times he isn't going to
renew an extend and that'll be like a decade at City.

(08:52):
That feels like it's probably enough for everybody involved. There
are players like Julian Alvarezo has left, as others have
left saying they can't continue to work at this intensity,
and you know, Rahim Sterling and one or two others.
You look at this golden generation of players. Kevin de
Burner is getting old, Walker is getting old, john Stone
is getting old. They're going to need to do a
huge rejuvenation coming up in the next couple of years.

(09:16):
And then of course in September the hearings about one
hundred and fifteen charges start and then after we've had
the hearings and there is a resolution in one way
or the other, you can bet your last dollar that
city are going to appeal and appeal and appeal and
appeal again, and we are going to be stuck in
courtroom hell with this for a long long time to come.
And that's if they're found guilty, and they've found innocent,

(09:38):
and we hope they are, then it's a whole other
kettle of fish. But either way, I think that city
are on for an historic end of an era campaign
and I think that may well spur them on for
another ninety plus point season. If you get that, then
you're going to be champions more than Nightly just briefly
as well, on this game tomorrow or on Sunday, Chelsea,

(10:01):
what on earth, what in the flying squirrel are we
going to get? I have absolutely no idea. The manager,
you know, has never managed at top flight level before.
He's been assistant to Pellegrini at West Ham and Guardiola
at Man City, and now he's managing Chelsea, this basket
case club with fifty five senior players in their squad,

(10:24):
of which forty four are still at Stanford Bridge or
Cobham training. Whether they have the name a twenty five
man squad plus additionals who are development or whatever. Last
year there was a story in The Athletic which was
players were getting changed in the corridor because there was
not enough room in dressing rooms to get ready. They've
since expanded the squad from that point. I don't get it.

(10:47):
I don't understand it. Idn'ge how it's practical. I don't
see how Maresca as a novice, is going to handle it.
Who knows it might be amazing. They might beat City
five nil, or they might lose five nil, or gold
knows what They're going to be fascinating to watch. I'll
tell you that.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
I love it. Tom. Always love chading football with you.
Mite here we are weak one. I have a long season.
Let's catch up again soon.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
Don't get too down in the dumps until week ten.
Everyone stay was here.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
I love it Tom, Thanks mate, Tom, Rennie out a
talkSPORT in the UK. So I've had man you won
Fulham Miil Liverpool beating up switch to nil. Great to
see hip switch Town back in the Premier League after
over two decades away. Arsenal two nil one is over Wolves,
Newcastle one Southampton Neil Southampton back in the Premier League
if it's to Neil, Brighton three and Forrest and Bournemouth
drawing one all west Ham one Aston Villa. Two games

(11:34):
to come Tomorrow morning one o'clock. Brentford host Crystal Palace
three thirty. It's that Chelsea Manchester City game and then
Lester who had a season out of the Premier League
only to bounce straight back in. They host Tottenham Tuesday
morning at seven o'clock. New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
Time for more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen
live to News Talk sed B weekends from midday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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