Graeme Souness was not surprised to see Man Utd midfielder Casemiro hooked off at half-time at Lut0n by Erik ten Hag after picking up an early booking.
The Red Devils beat the Hatters 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday, thanks to a Rasmus Hojlund brace, as they closed the gap on fifth-placed Tottenham to three points.

Ten Hag was forced into an early substitution at half-time when he decided that it was too dangerous to keep the already-booked Casemiro on the field.
The Brazil international had avoided an early booking but was given a yellow on 34 minutes and Ten Hag decided to remove the Man Utd midfielder at the interval for Scott McTominay.
And Liverpool legend Souness – who called the Brazilian a “steady Eddie” and claimed he’d “never been a great player” when he joined Man Utd – insists he wasn’t surprised by Ten Hag’s decision with Casemiro’s apparent penchant for bookings.
“This is not new, this is how he played at Real Madrid,” Souness said on talkSPORT.
READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers: Kompany and Moyes out but Hojlund and Liverpool very much in
“He was famous for professional fouls, stopping breakaways, committing fouls and taking a card for the cause because of a threatening situation, that was his career at Real Madrid.

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“He’s a steady player. He doesn’t put it about, he gives fouls away, he sees danger and sometimes he’s a bit clumsy, he’s 31 now, but you wouldn’t say he puts it about.
“The biggest problem he had yesterday, which is part of the professional game and not a new thing, the biggest danger of him getting a second yellow was from the Luton players going at the referee, but that’s not a new thing either.”
And former West Ham and Newcastle boss Alan Pardew reckons Ten Hag made the correct decision to take the 31-year-old off with defensive midfield one of the worst positions to start showing your age.
Pardew added: “When you’re a central midfield player and the one breaking up attacks and making tackles you actually age quicker than a flair player.
“If the timing is just off and you can’t make it, you’re making more fouls, Casemiro is in that world in my opinion. I think it was a good decision personally [to take him off], I would have done the same thing.


“He could have got sent off, he was that close, the bottom line is he had to take him off at half time because they were in danger of going down to ten men, you’re talking about a very experienced player who shouldn’t be in that position.”
READ MORE: Mediawatch: Erik ten Hag ‘tactical tweak’ revealed as Dalot dares to be friends with Ronaldo

Leboeuf names one Chelsea player who made him ‘sad’ during the draw against Man City

Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf insists he “wasn’t expecting” the Blues to put in a good performance against Manchester City on Saturday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side put in a great away display to take a point away from the Etihad Stadium and extend the Blues’ unbeaten run to three matches in all competitions after successive 3-1 victories over Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
Raheem Sterling stunned his former club by firing Chelsea into a first-half lead against Man City as Pep Guardiola’s side left it until seven minutes from time to grab the equaliser through Rodri.
Chelsea have had another dismal season so far, with Pochettino’s men sitting tenth in the Premier League, after finishing 12th in the 2022/23 campaign.
The Blues have already lost ten Premier League matches this term but their performance against Man City will have boosted their supporters hopes that they can make a late rally towards Europe during the remainder of the season.
Chelsea and Man City both squandered good chances to make the scoreline greater with Leboeuf frustrated that the Blues weren’t two goals to the good at half-time.
READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers: Kompany and Moyes out but Hojlund and Liverpool very much in
Chelsea had a big chance when Cole Palmer released Gusto down the right in the first half but the France international’s pass to Nicolas Jackson was far from perfect and Ederson managed to come off his line to make a save.

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Expressing his shock at how Chelsea performed against Man City, Leboeuf told ESPN: “I wasn’t expecting that performance.
“Axel Disasi was absolutely fantastic as was Malo Gusto on the right side. Ben Chilwell in the second half was also very good.
“What about Nicolas Jackson in the first half. He had two chances. It’s sad Malo Gusto doesn’t give him the ball in the first half because Chelsea could have been leading 2-0 at half-time.
“It’s the thing I’m most surprised about in that game because I wasn’t expecting Chelsea at that level.
“Yes, Man City were not that good, compared to what they can offer. But a big part is because of the tactics Chelsea made, how they played and the quality they used on the ball.
“Chelsea did very well and looked like a team who could make the top four. It is too late now of course but they are building something good. It’s going the right way.”

Erik ten Hag ‘tactical tweak’ revealed as Dalot dares to be friends with Ronaldo

Man Utd dominate the media again after a victory which showcased Erik ten Hag’s ‘tactical tweak’ on a man who has remained friends with his hero.
 
Ten Had
The problem with setting your stall out so strongly about a manager (in this case The Sun’s Dave Kidd on Erik ten Hag, as seen in Mediawatch last month) is that you paint yourself into a corner and have to – if you are bloody-minded – stick with that stance in the face of any and all evidence.
So Kidd went to Luton, desperate for a Hatters win, and this is the opening line to his match report from Manchester United’s pesky victory:

ERIK TEN HAG has Rasmus Hojlund and ref David Coote to thank as Manchester United survived the fire and brimstone of Kenilworth Road to chalk up a fourth straight Premier League win.

Kidd’s contention is that ‘Coote’s failure to send off Casemiro for a clear and obvious second yellow-card offence was key to keeping United’s ability to keep their heads above water’ and that Coote ‘bottled a second yellow, when it felt obvious he would have cautioned the Brazilian had he not already been in the book’.
Handily, The Sun employ an actual ex-referee in Mark Halsey and this is his verdict:

YOU could argue that Casemiro was fortunate not to have been shown a second yellow card.
Having been cautioned moments earlier, he fouled Luton’s Ross Barkley.
But not every foul is a yellow card and maybe that was his last chance.

It’s almost like it wasn’t ‘clear and obvious’ at all. Or at least not as ‘clear and obvious’ as Kidd’s bias.
 
On the wrong tactics

Elsewhere on The Sun website, they are keen to give Ten Hag credit. Or at least desperate for the clicks that come from claiming some utter nonsense about tactics.Fans stunned by Ten Hag’s tactical tweak as Man Utd star Diogo Dalot performs never before seen role

Now Mediawatch watched the game and we saw right-back Dalot at right-back so what was this ‘tactical tweak’? Do tell.

MANCHESTER UNITED fans were left stunned by Erik ten Hag’s tactical tweak involving Diogo Dalot during their win over Luton.
Rasmus Hojlund’s first-half brace saw the Red Devils earn a hard-fought 2-1 win at Kenilworth Road on Sunday.
But it was Dalot who caught the eye among many of the Man Utd faithful.
And much of the talk around the Portuguese full-back was based on one run he made in the second half.

So the ‘tactical tweak’ for which we are crediting Manchester United manager Ten Hag is one (ONE) run right-back Dalot made in the second half when he popped up on the left side of the attack.
And the fans (or at least the handful on X who discussed it) were so ‘stunned’ by this ‘tactical tweak’ that they mentioned neither Ten Hag nor tactics. Because – and this seems important – it has absolutely f*** all to do with either.
 How many Ronaldos does it take to fix a Man Utd problem?
Elsewhere, Dan Ashworth has been placed on gardening leave by Newcastle United and there are reports that the north-east club would want £15m or £20m to release him early from his contract.Frankly, that sounds like a bargain but the one-note Express can only put this in these terms:

Dan Ashworth will cost Man Utd ‘more than Cristiano Ronaldo’ to avoid crushing setback

Yep. Still seems like a bargain.
 
So no-one told you life was gonna be this way

Mind you, maybe Ronaldo was the bargain because the Mirror are keen to peddle this absolute bumwash:Cristiano Ronaldo still playing important Man Utd role despite bitter Erik ten Hag fallout

What’s this ‘important Man Utd role’? Because it feels like he left a rather long time ago now and has little to no influence. But what do we know?

Cristiano Ronaldo remains an influential figure for Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot – despite no longer being club team-mates.

Ah. So not influential to Manchester United at all? But influential as the greatest Portuguese player of all time to another Portuguese footballer who still plays alongside him at international level. Like they’re friends or something.

Despite Dalot and Ronaldo no longer sharing a dressing room, the latter is still attempting to guide the defender’s career. According to The Athletic, the pair are still in contact and both hope to have a big influence for the Portuguese national team at this summer’s Euros.

It would be really f***ing weird if they weren’t still in contact.
 
Boff with their heads
From MailOnline:

Man City have been OVERTAKEN as favourites to win the Premier League, stats boffins reveal, as Man United’s percentage chance of a Champions League place increase while Spurs are on the slide

Bizarrely, the boffins who work for the bookmakers still make Manchester City favourites. Odd(s) that.
And here’s the other headline:

ARE CITY IN TROUBLE?

Unbeaten in 15 games, but they have drawn once after a run of 11 straight victories in all competitions. Trouble? They’re in full crisis mode.

Former Tottenham manager aims bizarre criticism at Arsenal star Bukayo Saka after Burnley win

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood criticised Bukayo Saka over his penalty taking as Arsenal beat Burnley 5-0 on Saturday.
The Gunners swept Burnley aside at the weekend as they kept pace with leaders Liverpool, who maintained their two-point lead at the Premier League summit.

Martin Odegaard put Arsenal into an early lead at Turf Moor and the Gunners never looked back, with Saka scoring a double before Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz made the scoreline even more comfortable.
Saka scored one from the penalty spot and one from open play for the second game in a row with the England international doing the same in their 6-0 win over West Ham the previous weekend.
The 22-year-old’s penalty did not impress former Tottenham manager Sherwood with the ball just beating Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford to nestle in the bottom corner.
“It’s up to Saka and this is not convincing,” Sherwood told Premier League Productions.
READ MORE: Liverpool advantage that no one is talking about, and Arsenal’s ‘final piece’…
“It’s convincing enough when it nestles behind the goalkeeper into the back of the net, but if you are an Arsenal fan, you would have had your heart in your mouth at that stage.

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“It was a poor penalty. You look at the goalkeeper, he should save it. I mean, it has gone underneath his hand.
“But at the end of the day, it ended up in the back of the net.”
Despite hitting two braces in his last two matches, Saka is yet to get a hat-trick in his Arsenal career but he reckons “it’s coming”.
Saka said after the Burnley match: “I’m really pleased. I’m enjoying my football, but obviously I need to keep focused.
“But yeah, of course I’m happy to score two, two weeks in a row and hopefully the third one will come soon. It’s coming. It’s coming, but I need to be patient!”
On the match itself, Saka added on the club’s official wesbite: “It was a lot of fun out there.I really enjoyed it and it’s nice to see the fans coming up with new chants and stuff. I just loved it, so I enjoyed it.
“The boss has told us we’re the first Arsenal team to win five in a row at the start of the year, so it’s a nice achievement and we’ll definitely build momentum going forward.”
READ MORE: Arsenal are 10 points clear at top of Premier League table that is the mark of champions

Moyes sack? West Ham ‘main priority’ revealed amid claims Potter is being lined up

David Moyes faces growing ‘sack pressure’ but he’s still likely to be offered a new contract to stay at West Ham, according to reports.
Six days after being humiliated at home to Arsenal 6-0, the Hammers gave Nottingham Forest’s survival hopes a shot in the arm as Moyes’ side lost 2-0 at the City Ground.

West Ham are now winless in their last eight matches in all competitions, including a 1-0 defeat to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup and a 2-2 draw with rock-bottom Sheffield United.
Angry fans displayed a banner at the match against Forest asking for him to be sacked as goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Callum Hudson-Odoi piled the pressure on Moyes.
However, it doesn’t seem likely that Hammers fans will get their wish soon with Football Insider claiming that the club’s ‘main priority’ is to ‘end the club’s current slump in form before discussing David Moyes’ future’.
The report adds:

‘If the London club can get back to winning ways, it is believed the club’s board will then sit down with the ex-Man United boss to discuss a new deal.
‘If Moyes, 60, is happy to stay on, the Irons will hand him renewed terms – and a well-placed source has told Football Insider that a renewal is still expected.’

READ MORE: Four out-of-work managers linked with West Ham as David Moyes on brink
Moyes is ‘yet to give a definitive answer’ and that has led to the West Ham board to ‘draw up contingency plans’ with ‘a shortlist of names being evaluated’.
Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter was linked last week with the potential vacancy with the Daily Telegraph claiming he is ‘expected to feature high on any list of candidates to replace Moyes’.

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But Moyes was staunch in his defence of his record during his time at West Ham, leading the club to Europa Conference League glory last term with the club regularly challenging the top six over the last three seasons.
“I am pretty long in the tooth, you can never please everybody, it would be hard to say there have been many better times at West Ham,” Moyes said.
“Maybe they want something different, but they would honestly have to say it has been the best times they have had at the club with regards winning a European trophy, the league positions.
“Maybe there would be managers who excite them more, possibly, but the one who is sitting here wins more.
“My response would be to say we are hurting really badly as a team and a manager because we have not had good results for five or six weeks now.
“But this year already we have beaten Tottenham, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, we must not forget there were good times not so long ago.


“We have not been playing well, but there are some mitigating circumstances since January 1, with boys going to the African Cup of Nations, Jarrod Bowen came back from England with an injury and has not been the same since, we have been without Lucas Paqueta as well for most of the time so there are things that have affected us.
“I have seen other teams have similar, Newcastle, Man Utd, Man City before the World Championship, Arsenal over Christmas.
“There is no divine right that West Ham don’t have a dicky period at some point in the season. We are hoping we can get back on it.”

Chelsea legend Eden Hazard laughs off Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League title chances

Chelsea legend Eden Hazard laughed when it was put to him that London rivals Tottenham Hotspur could win the Premier League title.
Tottenham have been one of this season’s surprise packages in the Premier League as new head coach Ange Postecoglou has successfully overhauled their style of play.
The London outfit emerged as a potential surprise candidate for the Premier League title earlier this season but they have suffered a few bumps in the road as they have slipped out of the Champions League places.
Over the weekend, fifth-placed Spurs suffered a disappointing 2-1 home loss to Wolves while Aston Villa beat Fulham to leapfrog Postecoglou‘s side in the Premier League table.
Chelsea have endured a rough season but they handed Tottenham one of their worst defeats of the campaign as they earned a 4-1 away win over their rivals in November.
Hazard was a thorn in Tottenham’s side while he was with Chelsea and he’s now directed a dig at his former foes.
During his appearance on John Obi Mikel’s Obi One podcast, Hazard said: “The Premier League is so hard and you see now Man City they are better than Chelsea, you see Liverpool they are better than Chelsea.

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Mikel then interrupted to suggest: “Tottenham?” but Hazard was quick to shut this down adding: “No, no, Tottenham, no,” while laughing.
Mikel tried and give Tottenham credit for their performances this season, saying: “But right now they are playing a bit better, they are like third or fourth in the league.”
READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers… Kompany and Moyes out but Hojlund and Liverpool very much in
But Hazard replied: “They play good football but you know as a Chelsea legend you also can’t say that man. That’s for sure [they won’t win the league].
He added: “As a Chelsea fan you want Chelsea to be the best but it’s hard, big change in the last two years in the team not just in players but owner changing, a new story of Chelsea and as a fan we have to push to follow them.”
After Tottenham’s loss to Wolves, Sweden international Dejan Kulusevski admitted that they were not “disciplined” enough defensively.

“Nothing worse than losing so very tough,” Kulusevski told reporters.
“We had a lot of chances, we can’t score them and then not enough discipline when we lost the ball.
“They had two or three counter-attacks where we’re not good enough and they made us pay. After that it is difficult to come back again in the game.
“We were too many guys up front. Too open and not running back as hard as we should. They could score a couple and that’s not good enough.”