Teddy Sheringham Exclusive Interview with OLBG

Q&A With Man Utd and England Star Teddy Sheringham

Do you think Manchester United can achieve top-four or even compete for the title?

Ten Hag has a massive job on his hands as Manchester United manager. Things go one way, then go another. That's how it's going to be until he lays down his foundation. With that in mind, I don't think United have a chance to win the league, but they have shown good signs recently, there was a bit of a struggle to get over the line against West Ham, but they did anyway. Top-four is a real chance for United.

Rashford looks back to his best, will Gareth Southgate have to take him to Qatar?

Rashford has a chance, he has fallen out of favour recently because of a lack of positivity in his game, but he's shown he's back in form recently. Whether Ten Hag has shouted at Rashford or put his arm around him, he's looking good again.

Jadon Sancho was on the bench last night. Are his World Cup hopes all but over?

No one's World Cup hopes are over yet, Sancho still has a chance. There are players like Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka who are in front of him at the moment. If Sancho can have a good few weeks, he could get back into the squad.

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Ronaldo did not look anywhere near his best last night against West Ham, is it time for him to move on? Especially given his recent behaviour?

Ronaldo should have moved on at the start of the season when he made it clear that he wanted to leave. It's not ideal to have an unhappy superstar in your camp. If Ronaldo is not 100% committed to the cause, it's not good for the rest of the squad, no matter the player.

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How crucial is Eriksen to United’s midfield? Would you have enjoyed being on the end of that cross he did for the Rashford goal?

Eriksen is a fantastic player, he knows exactly where strikers want the ball and score goals too.

Who do Manchester United need to sign to catch up with Arsenal and potentially Manchester City?

Manchester United are way off Manchester City at the moment, the consistency levels City have shown are ridiculous, they do what is expected from their boss, the way Pep Guardiola gets them to understand what to do on and off the pitch, it's outstanding. It's truly amazing what Pep has done for Manchester City and English football. United are a long way off, but these gaps can be closed down.

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Ronaldo snubbed Gary Neville for his comments on United playing better without him, what’s your opinion on that?

It's funny because he snubbed Jamie Carragher the same way! We know what footballers are like, they can get upset. Gary Neville has a job to do, he is very outspoken and Ronaldo is obviously upset. Ronaldo has a job to do as well, if he's not doing it, then Gary will call him out for it.

Harry Maguire looked decent, can he get back to being a starter for Man United?

Harry Maguire has always been a good player, he's had a lot of undeserved stick from everyone, including Manchester United fans. In the Euros, he looked solid for England. When all your defenders are all over the place, it's hard to be solid at the back so I thought it was harsh on Maguire. I'm glad to see him perform well again.

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Some fans have said they would not swap Diogo Dalot for any right-back in the world on current form, do you agree?

Manchester United have not had a proper right-back since Gary Neville. If United fans are happy with Diogo Dalot, then fantastic, but I would swap him for one of the English fullbacks, such as Kyle Walker or Reece James.

Ten Hag has hinted Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s time is over at Manchester United by saying they need more full-backs, should United sell him?

If Manchester United can get money for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, they should do a deal. He's fallen out of favour and has had a tough time coming into Manchester United in a tough period. It didn't look like they worked on improving the back four and defensive unit since he's been there.

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United are away at Villa on Sunday, how do you see that game going?

Aston Villa is another good game for United to be involved in at the moment. They're struggling, it might take a while for new Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to get his point across and build a relationship with the players, so it's a good time for United to play them, even at Villa.

Was that a champion-like comeback against Bournemouth on Saturday to be 2-0 down and win 3-2 in the dying minutes?

Tottenham's comeback against Bournemouth was definitely not a championship-winning like performance. It looked like two average teams fighting it out, and the slightly better average team won the game. When you look at how Arsenal and Man City are playing, they're way above Tottenham at the moment. Things might change in the way Tottenham play, they might get players back from injury and they might make things tick, but it was not a great performance from Tottenham by any means.

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Do you see Tottenham qualifying to the Champions League knockouts? They have to go away and win in the infamous violent crowd at Marseille

Tottenham only need a draw against Marseille so I'm sure that's in the back of their minds. But they can't sit back and hope for a draw, Spurs have to go out and play the game. If it's the 80th minute, then a draw could be their safety net.

Then Spurs host a struggling Liverpool side, how does Conte take advantage of their form?

Spurs won't know what they're going to get from Liverpool at the moment, Liverpool are doing a Tottenham! Winning one week nicely then losing the next week. It's never a good time to take on Liverpool because we know how dangerous they are. They're obviously not firing on all cylinders at the moment, so this time is as good as any. It will be a good spectacle nonetheless. I'm an advocate that Tottenham need to go for the throat a bit more, take the ball by their own hands and go for it rather than waiting and recovering.

Do you feel sorry for Kane? He’s having a great season bus is nowhere near the goal tally of Erling Haaland

It would be interesting to see the statistics of how many chances have been made for Kane and Haaland, because Tottenham are definitely not creating the same number of chances as Tottenham. Kane is a top quality player, I feel sorry for him to have to play in this team that are not playing great football, but Kane looks happy and enjoys the new manager. 

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Should Kane go to Bayern Munich to get trophies?

Kane to Bayern Munich, that's an interesting one. Bayern were never on my list as a Tottenham and Manchester United player, if anything, he should be eyeing up a Barcelona or Real Madrid move. But who knows, Bayern are a formidable team and win the league every year. Kane thought he was going to Manchester City a year ago but things didn't materialise. If Tottenham continue to play the way they are, he might think Bayern are the way forward.

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How much have the injuries of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison damaged Spurs’ attack?

It doesn't help to bring in new players and they get injured who are supposed to create that spark. Tottenham could do with them coming back.

Does Conte need to change his tactics if Spurs want to achieve Champions League football next season?

Conte does need to change his tactics, he needs to go for the throat rather than worry about the opposition. Pochettino was always a manager who took the game to the opposition, and the Tottenham fans liked that. 

James Maddison is being linked with Tottenham, is he that creative spark they need?

Anyone with that creative thinking play would be great. It would be hard to fit Maddison into this team at the moment, but he could be that link between the midfield and the attack. Tottenham have always needed that dominant midfield player like Patrick Viera and Roy Keane. I like Bentacur, he's come in and done well. He doesn't know the Premier League perfectly yet, he might have another year before he stamps down his authority. 

What do you make of West Ham’s season so far? Where will they finish? They’re only three points above the drop?

West Ham have had a sticky start, a couple of good results, but expectation levels are up from last year since they did so well in the league and in Europe. The European Conference League too makes it very hard, it's a lot of fixtures for them, especially with the World Cup coming up. I'm glad to see them out of the relegation zone at the moment.

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West Ham host Crystal Palace on the weekend, another tough game for the Hammers?

Crystal Palace is a big game. Palace have the players to nullify at the back and that spark up front. Palace have been decent this year so it will be a tough game for West Ham.

Is it time David Moyes needs to be more attacking against the big teams? 

You have to be cautious playing against the big six teams because they can open you up. The expectancy levels aren't so high at the moment because they just have to manage all the competitions that they are in.

Robbie Fowler said Liverpool should sign Declan Rice, do you agree? And how big of a blow would it be to West Ham if he did leave?

It would be a massive loss for West Ham if they lose Declan Rice. Rice is the best midfield player in the country at the moment, if he was for sale, teams like AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich would all want him too. All the clubs in England would want him too, that's how much I rate him.

You were at West Ham when they famously signed Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. Why do you think Tevez was a success, but Mascherano barely played?

It was strange timing when they came over, they were unfit when they arrived. When you see how well Mascherano did for Barcelona but then could not make it into the West Ham team, it's quite surreal really. 

The pair of them were fantastic, from day one in training you would be like 'wow, we've got two players here who are fantastic'. It took Mascherano a bit longer to get used to the Premier League, but Tevez used his robust way and was an instant hit with the fans, he was fantastic.

Nottingham Forest are still among the favourites to get relegated, do you think they’ll be back down in the Championship next season?

Forest have a tough task to stay up in the Premier League. I really like what Cooper has done at the club, he's a very good manager who did wonders last year. But playing in the Premier League is a different predicament, the longer you stay in the bottom three, the more used to it you are which makes it harder to get out and survive.

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What do you think of Jesse Lingard?

There was a big commotion of Lingard going to Forest. He needs to know he is one of the focal points of the dressing room and the football club, he needs to play like that. Lingard looks like he's needing help on the pitch when he should be supplying that energy and helping his teammates around him.

Should Callum Wilson be in the England squad? Should he be Kane’s back-up or even start?

Harry Kane is the best English centre-forward in the country. But Wilson needed to get a couple of games with England before the World Cup to have a feel of the team. So did Ivan Toney, who offers something different. You could play Toney alongside Kane because he has a bit more movement than Wilson. It would be interesting to see who will go, Toney or Wilson.

Saka suffered an injury at the weekend. Who would your starting front three for England be?

My front three would be Kane obviously, Phil Foden who is a fantastic player, and Raheem Sterling. I think Sterling has more to offer when he plays for England, he's not the finished article and has such a blistering pace over a short space. Sterling causes problems and goes for the throat of defensive frailties. Saka is close to being in the front three, but I prefer the others.

Do you rate Gareth Southgate as a manager? Is he good enough to take this young crop of players forward?

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Southgate has done unbelievably well in the last two competitions. Who cares what he does in between the competitions as long as he does well in the actual competitions? I'm hoping Southgate can come good again and he's been fantastic for England.

Can Gareth Southgate afford to play Harry Maguire given his recent mistakes in an England shirt? 

Southgate is very loyal and could pick Maguire in his back four. Maguire is having a shaky period, but good players come through those periods. Maguire will be worth playing at the World Cup.

Have you seen anyone like Erling Haaland before? Where does he rank among the best strikers in Premier League history?

Haaland is playing in an awesome football team that listens to the manager on how to achieve success. Haaland is the icing on the cake of the team Manchester City have been making the last few years. Haaland certainly looks the real deal at the moment, whether his all-round game is as good as Harry Kane’s at the moment, I'm not sure, but everything he hits is going in so he's looking great.

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