The Overlap | Fan Debate Christmas Special

Only a few minutes in and I think this is the most confident I've ever heard Rooney sound when speaking.
 
Only a few minutes in and I think this is the most confident I've ever heard Rooney sound when speaking.
Flows so much better when Carra not present as Keane and Wright willing to take a back seat and allow Rooney and Evra to interact and share anecdotes from their playing days.

Interesting that Evra mentioned it was Quieroz who was behind his transfer from Monaco and how important Carlos was in beating Barcelona and how tactically poor Utd were afterwards. A little bit concerning given ETH just has two former Dutch managers around him ie not a broader perspective.
 
Rooney is by far the most entertaining of them all. Hilarious guy. I don’t mind Carragher on this but the vibe is completely different when Rooney is there instead of him.
 
What was it Rooney said about Buttner?

Evra was saying a story about how he forced his way into the starting team over Buttner and when the team sheet went up Buttner's face went really red. Rooney said something quietly which got laughs but I didn't catch what he said
 
Rooney is by far the most entertaining of them all. Hilarious guy. I don’t mind Carragher on this but the vibe is completely different when Rooney is there instead of him.

Maybe for you British people. I love the guy but I can only understand half of what he says
 
What was it Rooney said about Buttner?

Evra was saying a story about how he forced his way into the starting team over Buttner and when the team sheet went up Buttner's face went really red. Rooney said something quietly which got laughs but I didn't catch what he said
Basically saying Buttner was shit.
 
The bit about the difference between Juve and United was very interesting. Juve seemingly train a lot harder. Pique said similar when he went back to Barca - they train harder and are stricter with diet there.
 
What a fun little episode. Some people simply have that personality, Evra is one.

This part cracked me up:

"....These are not my players. I'm going to bring my own players. He never see the Christmas tree. They sack him before that."

Poor little Moysey, was never going to make it here with his personality and small club mentality.
 
I found the part of about Pogba really interesting. A lot of bad advice from his entourage and wasted his talent.
 
I found the part of about Pogba really interesting. A lot of bad advice from his entourage and wasted his talent.

That's just an excuse, Patrice is like his older brother, it's natural that he will defend him, no matter what, and he does not want to beat a man who is down, given that is happening with Pogba at the moment. First, he needed the right profile of midfield, then he needed the right coach, the new extravagant haircut, then he needed the right weather to be nice in order to perform, all while he was not running during matches. On his day, he was the best midfielder I've seen play for Manchester United. Sadly, it was happening once every 3-4 months. Don't forget, initially, he wanted to go to Madrid, and the only reason why he didn't end up there were his huge financial demands.

He only has himself to blame. He had the same people around him in Juve, and he was performing for them. As Evra said, you were closely monitored in Italy, and the club knew everything about you, including what your home chef was cooking for you. He took some liberties at United, as he wasn't closely monitored by the club. Eventually, it reflected on his form.

It's just so sad that such a talent was utterly wasted.
 
Last edited:
Evra is an amazing character! Really engaging and refreshing to listen to. Loved his references of 100% commitment and the dig against players these days with all money etc.
 
Rooney is by far the most entertaining of them all. Hilarious guy. I don’t mind Carragher on this but the vibe is completely different when Rooney is there instead of him.
Just wanted to write that. Rooney still has a mind of teenager. And he is talking with them like they are on coffe somewhere; totally casual.
 
Some interesting bits

We finally got the story of what caused the fight with groundsmen after the game at Stamford bridge. But it's a shame they didn't mention how ludicrous it was that he got a 5 match ban for it. It wasn't even during a match, it was handbags hours after the game with a random guy, where no actual punches were landed. Any player from a smaller club and they wouldn't have even bothered to look at the incident. If the guy had an issue it should have been handled by the police, it was nothing to do with football.

Evra basically confirming the players downing tools for Moyes.

I always thought the accusations that off the field activity suggested a lack of focus on football was a bit harsh. But interesting that's the reason Evra thinks Pogba never lived up to the hype. He would know better than most.
 
Quite enjoyed some of Keanes points.

Was hilarious when he decided to target MK Dons for no reason :lol:
 
Quite enjoyed some of Keanes points.

Was hilarious when he decided to target MK Dons for no reason :lol:

I love the fact that he said "There's a polar bear over there with a jacket on" rather than just saying it's cold. :lol:

Why are they in Barcelona? They said on tour? Cheeky excuse for a paid holiday? Can't blame them.

I enjoyed it anyway. Had even more of a "blokes down the pub" feel than usual but it's better with less people.
 
The analysis about playing out from the back is all over the place
Any time the show tries to do real tactical analysis it ends up all over the place. This might've been one of their better ones tbh.

I don't understand how someone like Neville can watch and analyze football for the last 10 years and be baffled at what the possible rewards of playing out from the back might be. I love Keane and Wright as personalities but they are AWFUL analysts with really strong-headed opinions that usually derail the conversation, particularly Keane. Carragher is the only one who still tries to look at games from an overarching tactical point of view but when you have 4 strong personalities who look at the game in such different ways, it just ends up with everyone talking at each other with whatever point they're fixated on and the next guy going "yes, but...(whatever point they've been fixated on for the last 10 minutes)". I still enjoyed it though.


The Evra episode was a delight. Found the stuff about Juve's training methods fascinating.
 
Any time the show tries to do real tactical analysis it ends up all over the place. This might've been one of their better ones tbh.

I don't understand how someone like Neville can watch and analyze football for the last 10 years and be baffled at what the possible rewards of playing out from the back might be. I love Keane and Wright as personalities but they are AWFUL analysts with really strong-headed opinions that usually derail the conversation, particularly Keane. Carragher is the only one who still tries to look at games from an overarching tactical point of view but when you have 4 strong personalities who look at the game in such different ways, it just ends up with everyone talking at each other with whatever point they're fixated on and the next guy going "yes, but...(whatever point they've been fixated on for the last 10 minutes)". I still enjoyed it though.


The Evra episode was a delight. Found the stuff about Juve's training methods fascinating.
Yeah the format really isn't suited for any tactical insight into the game, but that's fine and that's not where they're selling it as. Thankfully, any tactical talk is usually cut short, and it's more of a casual chat between friends vibe, which works super well. Carragher really isn't suited to this format, it's so much better without him and with Rooney.