In an exclusive interview with Safest Casino Sites, Man United legend Dwight Yorke urges the Red Devils to raid Aston Villa for Unai Emery after Erik Ten Hag dismissal.
The former United striker puts Emery in an elite bracket of managers, comparing Villa manager to the likes of Guardiola, Zidane and Ancelotti.
Full Transcript
Q: Premier League observations
In terms of the title race, the draw between Arsenal and Liverpool would have suited Man City. Arsenal are five points off it now – does that resemble a mountain to climb for the Gunners even at this stage of the season?
Dwight Yorke: “I’m looking at this now totally from a manager’s perspective. When I watch Arsenal this season, I think that they’ve lost their X-factor. That enjoyment of playing and taking on the challenge of trying to win the league and playing beautiful football, it seems to have gone out the window.
Last year you could hear the excitement. Everything coming out of the club was positive. Nowadays, its ‘Everything is going against us.’
Mikel Arteta doesn’t look as excited as he was before. He doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it. The players are all looking a little tense and not enjoying their football. That is what I’m looking at when I look at the body language of this Arsenal team at the moment.
They’re no longer the free-flowing Arsenal they used to be. They seem to be shackled by the weight of expectation on the team, it’s like they’re really feeling the pressure of trying to become champions. Everything just feels really tense at Arsenal. The fun aspect has gone.
The football this season is cautious and its nowhere near as good as it was last season. I’m not seeing the free-flowing football. I’m not seeing the excitement and I’m not seeing the celebrations.”
Q: Are Arsenal slowly turning into a Jose Mourinho style team under Mikel Arteta?
Dwight Yorke: “I can see where Jamie Carragher’s going with the Mourinho comparisons, but, to me, it looks like the fun factor, the enjoyment in the football, that has gone out of the window.
Arsenal used to be fun to look at and watch, they were exciting. Now they’ve become so serious. People talk about the balance of a team and the balance of the attitude; you have to get the balance right. Of course, winning football is a serious business – you have to be business-like sometimes, but not in every single situation. Ultimately, if you’re not playing football and having fun doing it, it’s not going to be enjoyable. I don’t think they’re enjoying themselves.
Look at all the great teams. The fact is that the great teams enjoy themselves all the time. This Arsenal team is not enjoying what they’re doing right now. They’re having to endure the challenge and embrace the fact that now everybody says they’re going to win the league this year or else. They’re too serious and too pent up and it’s showing in the football.
If you want to win the Premier League title, then you have to enjoy it. You need your players to have fun. I think if Arsenal loosened up a bit, they would be a much more dangerous team.
I won’t go as far as saying they’re parking the bus and grinding teams down and all that. The only difference is when you’re in front, you’ve got to know how to manage the game and make sure that you see teams off when you’re in a winning position, and Arsenal have not been doing that enough.
Q: Who is the one player that you’re expecting more from this season?
Dwight Yorke: “I thought Nunez might have been the guy that I would see a little bit more of this year.
I feel like he’s had nearly two years in the country and it’s time for him to start to deliver because the guy has got so much potential, I felt like this could be the season where he puts everything together and turns into a monster. We saw him hit the woodwork a lot last season – miss some big chances – but I thought this was going to be the year where he started converting those chances because he was working under a new manager at Liverpool. Sometimes players and managers click, and I thought that was going to be the case this season.
For me, Nunez is such an exciting player. I still think that if he can put it all together, he can become a proper star in the Premier League this season. I think he needs a run of games where the manager says to him, ‘I’m going to give you five or ten games on the spin.’ With Jota out, maybe that will happen for him, but if he’s given that chance, he needs to take it. If he does, I think he could be the difference between Liverpool having a decent season with a top three finish and Liverpool potentially winning the title.”
Q: Who is the one player that has really impressed you this season?
Dwight Yorke: “Everyone is saying Cole Palmer, and rightly so, because he’s been fantastic. I do think that with Palmer, he’s very much the media’s favourite flavour at the moment. Take nothing away from his play, because he’s been exceptional since he joined Chelsea, but he’s definitely the man in the spotlight at the moment that everyone is raving about in the press.
He’s English. He’s at the top of his game. Of course, the media in England are going to fall in love with him.
So, yes, Palmer has been terrific, but I also want to give a nod to Jhon Duran at Aston Villa. I think he’s been spectacular this season. If you’re talking about impact, if you’re talking about important goals, then he’s been just as good as Cole Palmer and should be getting the same level of plaudits in my opinion.”
Q: Who is the one defender that you would have a difficult afternoon against?
Dwight Yorke: “Virgil van Dijk is the one centre back that everyone would say is the best in the Premier League, and I think that is right because since he joined Liverpool, by and large, he has been at the top of his game and has been so consistent.
He’s got a presence, and he’s got an aura about him. I would love to see strikers and players run at him more; test him more. If I was playing against him, that’s what I would do. I’d want to keep him on his toes by running him and pushing him into areas of the pitch where he doesn’t want to go. I always had a trick in my locker, so I fancied my chances against a big defender.
I think Virgil is the best, but he’s been getting a bit of an easy ride in most of the games that he plays. I don’t think he’s been tested as much as he should have been, but, if you’re a striker, I think you’d have to do something a bit special to get past him.”
Manchester United
Q: Is Ten Hag’s sacking a surprise?
Dwight Yorke: “I don’t think the decision to sack Erik Ten Hag will come as a surprise to many people, what’s surprising is how long the people who run the football side of Manchester United have taken to get rid of him.
Erik Ten Hag was a dead man walking. The results continued to go against him. As a manager, you will always urge people to trust your process, trust your philosophy,
but the harsh reality of the whole situation is Manchester United are 14th in the league, 21st in the Europa League. It’s been the worst start to the season in Premier League history.
People can reflect on the two cups he won, terrific. When he won the FA Cup, he bought himself a stay of execution at the club. He would have known that he needed to get off to a good start, to start showing signs of progress, and he didn’t do that in the time he was given. And he was given enough time.
The odds were always stacked against him. He won two trophies, but he never did enough in the league, especially in the second season, and that’s your bread and butter as a manager.
The club backed him in the transfer window. He spent over £600m on players – it was his team, and I think the reality is, the more players he put in the team, the more signings he had in the squad, the worse team and the performances got. With that kind of support, everyone expected better performances in the league. What was telling, when we played Villa, he had about five players that he had brought in, really high profile, but never played them.
The Manuel Ugarte situation, the guy comes in from PSG for £50m and doesn’t play. You can’t spend that kind of money on a player and not play them. You’re supposed to play the players you bring in. They’ve been signed by you because they’re supposed to be making the difference. You put him in for an hour or give him 20 minutes from the bench and say he’s not quite up to scratch. Those are signs that I didn’t like.
For me, this is the right decision. You can’t have a club like Manchester United in 14th at this stage of the season.”
Q: What is Man Utd’s next step in the recruitment process?
Dwight Yorke: “Manchester United need to find the right man, the correct man to do it. United is such an elite club, and for years we’ve been trying to do the best with good managers, not elite managers. There are a few elite managers that are in the game and Jim Ratcliffe and his team has to go out and appoint one of them.
What I’m about to say might baffle the football world, but if it was me, I would go and get Unai Emery from Villa. He’s the guy that United needs right now.
Zidane is a sexier name, but he’s always been reluctant to come because his English isn’t very good. That’s been well documented. He’s definitely in the elite managers category.
I think Unai Emery is the one manager right now who can match and compete with the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and Pep. I’m not going to be very popular at my old club for saying it, but Emery is the best candidate given Zidane’s reluctance to come to England. He is the man that I would go out and do everything to try and get.”
Q: Why Emery is the perfect candidate and what United’s next manager needs to do
Dwight Yorke: “It’s a huge job. We know the size of the job at hand. Whoever takes the job knows it’s not going to be a walk in the park going in there.
Go in there and embrace being the manager of Manchester United. Embrace the expectation that the fans all over the world have. Live it and breathe it every single day from the moment you walk in the door until the moment you walk out. It’s an enormous challenge, but what a challenge.
With the experience Emery’s got, the transformation he’s brought to Aston Villa, the way he’s conducted himself with the media, he’s the perfect man. Since he went to Villa, he’s been a tremendous success. He’s turned Villa into a really top club in the toughest league in the world, got them punching above their weight consistently.
He’s turned Villa into a team that can beat anyone. Nobody expects an easy ride against Villa. If he brings his energy, his philosophy, to Man United, I think it’s the perfect fit.”
Q: Splash the cash on an elite manager
Dwight Yorke: “If you want the best, you’ve got to pay the money to get the best. Manchester United do it with players, so why not do it with managers? I don’t see any problem with that.
Go get the manager you want. It costs you money. What’s the big deal? You’ve already paid £40 and £50 million for players. You might as well spend money on a manager and see if that works.
That’s what Roy Keane said recently, and I agree with my old mate. Go out and get the best possible manager that you can. Don’t be afraid to spend the money to do so.”
Q: Can Ruud van Nistelrooy get the United job permanently?
Dwight Yorke: “It’s good for Ruud and he’ll be great. He’ll go in there and his experience of managing Manchester United, whether it’s for two or twenty games will then add more credibility to his managerial CV.
If Ruud goes in there and steadies the ship, starts to get United playing good football, then who knows what could happen. I’m sure it’s a possibility (that Ruud van Nistelrooy is appointed permanently) if the results go well and everybody is saying, ‘Give it to Ruud.’ We saw it happen before with Ole, so it could certainly happen again.
I would have walked if I was Ruud, because I see how people will look at it. When he was appointed to Erik Ten Hag’s coaching staff, I think this was the scenario that a lot of people saw coming.
Ruud has nothing to lose by taking the job. He’s put himself in the conversation for the role permanently by taking it on an interim basis, because lets be honest, if he wasn’t at the club, he wouldn’t be in the conversation.
I don’t think they will go with him permanently. There has been various noises coming out of the club about wanting to bring in new coaching personnel.
Whatever happens, it’s good experience for Ruud and it will probably make him a better manager in the long run. It will almost certainly lead him to another head coach position afterwards.”
Q: Do Man Utd need to hurry to appoint someone?
Dwight Yorke: “Manchester United have got to try and bring in the right man as quickly as possible. I don’t think they will want to rush the process, and it’s more important to get the right person rather than making a quick appointment. It’s also a lot easier for that process to continue when Ruud is steadying the ship.
Ruud will play a big role in this. If he can get a couple of decent results, if United can win games, then everyone becomes a little bit relaxed at the football club. If he doesn’t, then the need to appoint Erik Ten Hag’s successor becomes even more urgent.
I think they should take my advice and throw the kitchen sink at Unai Emery. If they do that, then Gareth Southgate is a perfect candidate to replace Unai at Aston Villa isn’t he?”
Q: Can United get top four still?
Dwight Yorke: “Things change quickly in football. We’re not even halfway through the season, so that’s a plus. Everybody’s going to be excited at the fact that Manchester United are going to bring in a new manager and everyone will want to know who it is going to be.
You can’t rule out the top four, which may sound ridiculous when United are 14th in the table, but you never know what kind of an impact a new man could have on the group, and United have got some talented players.”
Q: United should have been out of sight in the first half against West Ham. Is their strikers rustiness in front of goal and the teams wayward finishing going to ruin their season?
Dwight Yorke: “At the end of the day, Manchester United haven’t been good enough in front of goal this season. It’s what would have cost Erik Ten Hag his job – we’ve been missing far too many chances. For a club that is built on the tradition of attacking, to have scored eight goals in nine games is frankly nowhere near good enough.
We’ve got the players in the squad to score goals. The quality is there, I think it needs to be untapped. Ultimately, that profligacy in front of goal has cost us too many results this season and its also cost the previous manager his job.
You can see that the United players have been snatching at chances, and it’s a vicious circle where the more chances you miss, the more pressure builds, and it becomes harder to score. Whereas if United were free-flowing, everything comes naturally.
Maybe the players are overthinking, maybe they’re a little bit anxious. I feel the players are playing with tension. I won’t say the lack of ability, it’s more of a confidence thing. Negative vibes can spread very quickly in football teams that are not getting the results that people expect. Everybody puts their heads down,
I won’t say the players like Fernandes, Rashford and Garnacho aren’t good enough to take the chances that United are creating. Hojlund is in that equation, Joshua Zirkzee is not quite an accomplished finisher, but there is enough finishing ability there. The reality is, that this lack of goals boils down to a lack of confidence and that’s down to poor results and the team not playing well. It’s a horrible combination for a football club.
United’s players have been snatching at chances and they’re paying the price for it.”
Q: With so many problems on the pitch, was it the smartest move by United’s new executive team to sack Sir Alex Ferguson from his ambassadorial job and ban him from the dressing room?
Dwight Yorke: “Like everybody else, I was a little bit surprised at the fact that they’ve gone down that road. I think they could have been a little bit more subtle with it and communicated it in a much better way.
Sir Alex isn’t getting any younger, he’s an 82-year-old man, but he’s a total god at Manchester United and someone that has done wonders with our football club. They could have said, ‘We’re going to reduce your role, your pay package might be a bit less, because we want you to do less.’
That’s the route I would have taken. For Alex Ferguson, I think it wouldn’t have been a problem. I can’t talk about his salary, but perhaps Jim Ratcliffe and his team could have reduced it and reined him in a little bit more.
Sir Alex has built a legacy at the football club. You don’t want to be on the other side of that, and I understand from a business point of view and a business perspective, they’re looking to save cash… I get that.
But when you’re talking about an iconic man at the football club, you need to tread a little bit carefully. It’s fine if you’re riding high and the results are going great, but when you’re in a position like we are, to then add that to it, it’s just adding fuel to the fire.
I’m no expert in business, but the way this was done, it wasn’t handled in the right way. It should have been a little bit more subtle; It wasn’t communicated well.
I think if they had said, ‘Sir Alex, love what you’re doing, we still want you to be at the club, but instead of the £2 million, we’re going to give you £1 million, but you work a little bit less.’
And I think at 82, Sir Alex walks away thinking, ‘Pfft!’ Yeah, it’s not bad going, really. It’s not that bad, is it?’”
Q: Eight goals in nine games isn’t good enough for Manchester United. If you could sign anyone, who is the number nine out there that you would love your old club to sign in January?
Dwight Yorke: “If I could sign anyone to come in at number nine for Manchester United, then I would try and nick Darwin Nunez off Liverpool. Again, I know people may scoff at that suggestion, he’s a little bit out of form, and people give him stick, but I’m convinced that there is a monster of a player in there that is waiting to come out.
He’s got a presence; he’s got something nasty about him and I think he’s a real handful.
Manchester United need a player who can act as that focal point and give them that presence on the pitch. They need someone with Darwin Nunez’s physical attributes.
He’s somebody I would try to poach. If I’m looking for a number nine right now, I would take a chance with this guy.
Ollie Watkins is a great striker, but I think United need someone with a bit more of a physical presence up top. I’m convinced that if you played him week-in, week-out, he would start ripping up the Premier League.”
Manchester United vs Chelsea
Q: If you could take one Chelsea player and drop them into this Manchester United team, who would it be and why?
Dwight Yorke: “Palmer is the one Chelsea player that I would take. It’s such an easy decision to make because of the form that he is in right now. Whereas in the past, you’ve got Lampard, Terry, Ashley Cole and all those other guys to choose from.
I think that Cole Palmer is the one outstanding player in this Chelsea squad at the moment. He is the one player that gives them their attacking flair and their ability to create and score at the same time, so yeah, it’s a no brainer. Palmer all day.”
Q: Who is going to finish higher this season, Chelsea or Aston Villa?
Dwight Yorke: “I’m going to go for my own club, Villa, I just think that they’ve got that manager, unless Manchester United take my advice and poach him. If Emery remains in the job, Villa will remain above Chelsea.”
Aston Villa
Q: Let’s talk about Villa because I know we spoke about him last time but three wins out of three in the Champions League, top of the league table, they’re making it look easy, aren’t they?
Dwight Yorke: “Unai Emery is making the Champions League look easy. He has taken Villa to a completely new level. Everybody thought they might struggle in Europe because they haven’t had any experience in the tournament, but I think the manager brings that energy to them and gives them that experience.
Emery’s been a winner in Europe, maybe not quite at the Champions League level, but he certainly has that experience of winning, which is important for a team.
They’re playing great football. Everyone expected them to lose against Bayern and those types of teams, but they come up against them and they continue to defy the odds.
Emery continues to instil great ideas into these players. They’re all buying into what he’s doing. Everything just seems to click.
When people expect them to fail, they continue to excel, and I think that’s a great compliment to the manager. His players keep doing it for him.
I keep calling his name and singing his praises because he’s doing a job beyond what anybody would have even imagined. People expected him to take Villa in the top six, but he continued to defy the odds. Here he is on top of the league in the Champions League.
He’s fourth in the league, and he has consistently set that standard. When people expect him to falter, particularly in the Champions League, he hasn’t. He deserves enormous credit.”
Q: Should Emery be looking to win a trophy this season?
Dwight Yorke: “I think as a manager these days, you can’t really prioritise certain competitions. Nothing is certain in football, and you should try and win everything that you can, including the Carabao Cup.
You just have to keep going and try to get to the end of it with a trophy in your hands. Of course, you have to make some changes to your team, but the priority is to win, and the mentality is to win.
I don’t think Villa is in a position to choose to throw competitions away to focus on the Premier League or the Champions League. Emery will want to win something. If you asked him, I think he would take winning the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup over getting into the last 16 of the Champions League.
As well as Villa are doing in the Champions League, I think it would be fair to say that it isn’t a competition they would have been realistically targeting to win at the beginning of the season, although anything can happen in football. Crazy things have happened before. You can’t rule it out, but winning a domestic cup would be a huge stepping stone.”
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Q: Villa are away at Spurs this weekend do you see this game as a duel for the 4th place trophy?
Dwight Yorke: “I think it’s a good time to play Tottenham. Ange wears his heart on his sleeve, and he talks the talk, so he has to walk the walk.
The expectation at Spurs is high. Every time they turn up, they need to deliver, and this will be another test for them at home.
It comes on the back of a bad result against Palace, because they’ve been on a decent run themselves. You’d think that the Palace match is just a little reminder that this league is not as easy as you think it is. Ange will be mindful of that.
He has his unwavering commitment to playing a certain way, whether they lose one week or win the next, Tottenham come out and play his football. I think Villa will expose them a little bit because they will be more than a match for them in terms of energy. I also think that Villa have got the players to really hurt them at the top end of the pitch. Duran and Watkins can hurt them. Bailey is starting to come in a bit more.
It’s not an easy game for Tottenham. Tottenham can’t think for one moment, especially off the back of a bad result against Palace, that this game is going to be anything other than a proper test. They will have to be at their best to get a result, but I think Villa are a better team and I always back them to do well.”
Strikers
Q: Newcastle are reportedly at a loss trying to get Alexander Isak to sign a new contract. If the club fails to qualify for the Champions League, do you expect him to look for a way out of St James Park?
Dwight Yorke: “It’s an interesting one, the future of Alexander Isak. He’s a good player. I like the look of him, I have to say. I know he’s had his injury problem this season so he’s not as hot as we know that he can be. He scored a goal against Chelsea last week, but Newcastle lost the game.
I think as a player, you’ve just got to weigh up your options. He doesn’t need to rush into signing a new contract, and, when he did sign, there was a sense of optimism that Newcastle were going to be the new kid on the block when it came to winning trophies and competing with the best in the Premier League. That hasn’t quite happened for them, and I don’t think it will.
There was a lot of talk, a lot of hope. PIF comes to town with unlimited resources, but the club cant tap into those because of PSR and instead of going forward, they’ve hit a brick wall, and they haven’t really kicked on.
They’re not in a great position in the league. There are rumours of problems behind-the-scenes between the manager and the board, why would you rush to commit to that as a player if you were Isak?
I’m sure the fans and the manager would love to secure his signature, but, speaking from the perspective of a player, he won’t want to sign anything when he knows there are other, bigger clubs that would love to take him. It would be naïve of him to so.
Isak needs to bite the bullet for now. Say you just want to focus on playing football and doing your best for Newcastle. The same old phrase all players use, but the reality is that he probably sees his future away from the club.”
Q: Nicolas Jackson has six goals in nine appearances. Do you think he hasn’t got the respect he’s deserved because of all of the other issues at Chelsea over the last 18 months and are we looking at a player that is developing into one of the best strikers in the league?
Dwight Yorke: “Nicolas Jackson is only 23 years of age. He’s still in that learning stage. He’s playing at one of the big clubs.
Chelsea are asking a young boy to go in and do a man’s job, especially when you consider the strikers that have been there before him. For him to be the next big, big striker at Chelsea is always going to be a big challenge, but I think he has shown that he has the potential to grow into that type of player, the type of player that Chelsea can rely on to take chances and score goals.
It takes time to become the main man. What is important is that he’s learned the role. He had a decent season last year. This season, he’s got six goals in nine games. That’s a healthy return so far in his second term, and he’s just going to continue to grow.
Whether he can become a spectacular player and be up there with Drogba is down to him. He’s got the talent. He’s got the potential.
He’s a bit hit and miss, but that’s common with young players. He’s got off to a decent start.”
Q: Other than Erling Haaland, City don’t have another striker in their squad. Is that a risk in your opinion or is Haaland such a beast, such a machine, that you’re not worried about him not being available?
Dwight Yorke: “It’s a bit risky to just have Haaland as the only striker in your squad, but Pep can play a false nine and get his players to run rings around the opposition. He’s got that X-factor, like United used to where he can assemble a team without its star man, and he can win without any trouble.
Everyone worries when they see a Pep side, because he is a manager that confuses the living daylights out of the opposition.
I can imagine the chaos in the opposition dressing room where people ask of City players, ‘Where’s he playing?’ He got that respect and that reputation because of everything that he has done in the game.
He’s the only manager in the league who says, ‘I don’t need a striker. I’ve got so many attacking players, I’ll just play five across the front and let them go out and play.’
I don’t think he worries about Haaland getting injured. He’s a manager that is in a different category to anybody else in that elite group of managers. He’s simply the best.
He’s got the luxury of having so much quality in his dressing room and he trusts his players implicitly. Even if Haaland wasn’t available, as ridiculous as it sounds because he’s the best striker in the league, Manchester City would find a solution and keep on winning.”
Q: One player that is in the form of his life is Bryan Mbeumo. Has he got the potential to play for a top four team in the Premier League and can Brentford hold onto him if he keeps up this form?
Dwight Yorke: “I’m not sure if Bryan Mbeumo is good enough to play for the top four, but I could see him doing well at Tottenham or maybe Newcastle. I think that would be the next step for him and, if he did well at those clubs, then he makes the next step again.
He probably could play for Manchester United with the kind of players we’ve got at the minute.”
Q: What do you make of Sunderland’s push for promotion?
Dwight Yorke: “Listen, when the Black Cats have their tails up, that is a football club that is really hard to stop. The momentum is building in Sunderland and it’s great to see that.
Sunderland are one of the best supported teams in the country. The fans are really behind them, and the players respond to that – when the football club is performing, everyone in the city gets behind them and its buzzing up there.
It’s a buzzing city when the club is doing well. Obviously, the Newcastle thing winds them up, but they will love being top of the Championship.
We know the Championship is not easy. They’ve been there before; they understand what is required to go back to the Premier League. They’ve been making good in-roads this season.
For Sunderland to get promoted, they need to keep building on what they’ve already built at the football club over the last few seasons. If they can do that, then I would suggest that they will get the promotion they’re looking for.”
