Kick off the Premierships with Sherwood and Ferdinand

If anyone knows a thing or two about Premiership football it’s Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood. Having exercised their collective playing prowess in the Premier League for well over a decade, the two soccer superstars may have hung up their boots, but they’ve got no hang-ups whatsoever about going online to dish the dirt about who’ll be kicking it and who’ll be falling flat in the new season.

The pair of pundits are taking part in an exclusive webchat to coincide with the start of the Premiership, and they’ll be on hand to answer all of your questions about the tournament and more. Not only that, they’re sharing news of new online football community arightresult.com that’s inviting users to make like a pundit themselves. Log on to the chat for the full picture now, and expect an excellent result all round.

For more information visit www.arightresult.com

H: Hello and welcome to the Sport and Leisure Show brought to you by A Right Result.com, I’m Charlie Brew.  Now then, with the football season about to kick off, what teams and indeed what players are going to be worth keeping an eye on – well if anyone knows a thing or two about Premiership football it’s my two guests today, Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood.  Between them they’ve played for 14 clubs including Spurs, Blackburn, Watford, Norwich, Newcastle and Portsmouth and don’t forget of course, England.  Now guys, welcome to the show

L: Thank you

H: Now guys it’s been an interesting summer hasn’t it, a lot of transfers been made.  What do you think’s the pick?

T: I think Chelsea.  I think Chelsea have bought very well – Deco is a player whose got a lot of craft in the midfield, I think it’s what Chelsea have missed over the last couple of seasons, I think he could be a little magician for them in the midfield area this season

H: Well we’ve got a question from Nick already, so thank you Nick – remember, get your questions in.  “Now if you were both at the peak of your playing careers now, what do you think you would be worth today?”

L: It’s always difficult to talk about yourselves –

H: What do you think Les would be worth?

T: I think Les, at his peak of his career, he’s similar to Drogba, remarkable when he was at his best, and a young Les Ferdinand, say your 24, 25 year old Les Ferdinand would be worth – I mean it’s hard to put a price, but I’ll stick my neck out and say £50 million.  Someone whose scoring goals, who can lead the line, you know we’re talking maybe Berbatoff leaving Spurs and going to Man United, what are they going to have to put up for him?  I know who I’d rather have in my ranks and it would be Les Ferdinand

H: So Les, £50 million from Tim.  What would you – what price tag would you put on –

L: At his peak?  At Timmy’s peak, going to Blackburn and being a force in Midfield, I think you know you’ve got to look at you know, you’re looking at Timmy who scored a few goals, never shy of a tackle or two, you’re looking at anywhere between £35-£30 million for a decent midfielder nowadays.

H: £80 million worth of talent here in the studio I think.

H: Sarah knight from Newcastle says “What players from around the world would grace the Premiership that do not currently play there?”

T: Kaka for me.

L: Yeah I was going to say. Those that have been talked about coming to the Premier League, Robiniho being one, Ronaldiniho being another. Most people think he is past his best but I don’t think so I think he needed a new challenge. As Timmy mentioned Kaka, I like the look of Huntelaar.

T: I’d like to see Henry back. If Man Utd were to sign Henry tomorrow everyone else could shut up and go home.

H: First one is from the website. The question I have here is “Both of you are ex-Spurs players, do you expect a completely different side this season after the disappointment of the last campaign, which was plagued with off-field troubles and Jaunde Ramos’s early belief that many of the first team squad were not good enough”

L: Yeah I think so. What I like about Ramos is that he has shown that if a player has shown a desire that he doesn’t want to be there any more. He wants players who want to play for him. OK there has been a lot go out and not as many come in but I think he is assembling a squad full of players that want to play for him and that is the most important thing. I was disappointed to see Keane go and it will be disappointing to see Berbatov go, but his hands have been forced with both of those players because they have said look…. Their heads have been turned by the clubs that have come in for them and they want to go. I do believe he is assembling a side that will produce better than last season.

T: I think they have to produce better than last season. I know they won a trophy the Carling Cup is probably the minor trophy you’d want to win but they actually won it. The Premier League was very very poor, their finishing place was not good enough for a squad what they have got and they will need to improve on that and I honestly believe they will even though it looks like they have obviously lost Robbie Keane and it looks like the imminent departure of Berbatov. It is going to weaken them for sure but they can’t be as bad as they was last season in the League.

H: That question was from footballaudio.com and the next one is from Rufus “What will bring Man City more success this season Mark Hughes or its steady and healthy cash flow?

L: I think stability. Mark has already gone there and there is talk about him leaving because things are not going right. The one thing that any club needs is stability. The Chairman in the right place and the Manager in the right place then he brings the team along. I think there were high hopes once he left Blackburn, he done good things at Blackburn, and going to Manchester City people were expecting him to cement them and taking the place up into the top four and perhaps challenging them boys but there seems to be some underlying things going on there at the moment.

H: It is a bit of a poison chalice isn’t it?

T: Things have happened in the last couple of weeks and I am sure that if that would have happened a few months ago Mark Hughes would not be a Man City manager. But he is there now and he has got to take it and all that comes with it and I am sure he will just get on with it and try and get the best out of the squad what he has got. I think he has got a tough job and if I had to have a bet on who would be the first manager to leave his post, perhaps not sacked but to leave, Mark Hughes would be top of my list.

H: We are getting loads and loads of questions from all fans of all Premiership and Championship clubs and the next one is from Ben who I guess is a Liverpool fan. “Do you think Liverpool have a realistic chance in the title race this season or are the fooling themselves as they once were a good team?”

T: It is up to the manager. They have got a squad of players assembled there who should be challenging for the Premier League. The fans want that, when we used to play there they were brought up on winning titles. You can’t knock what Rafa Benitez has done. He took them to a European cup final. They have won it once as well. He shuffles the pack too many times. I have watched them in pre season. He has bought Robbie Keane and we automatically think Robbie Keane and Torres are going to be a formidable partnership up there, but he is playing him on the left, playing Kuyt on the right and vice a versa. I think he is doing it already. When you hear Rafa Benitez say Robbie Keane is a great acquisition, he can play in a lot of different positions. That is not good news for me, it worries me. Robbie Keane is a centre forward. Everyone who has tried to play him in different positions, yeah he’d give you the best he can do and he is a talented footballer, but he needs to be playing up front. Him and Torres would frighten any defence put in front of them. I give them a chance but only if he stops shuffling the pack.

H: The next one is from a Chelsea supporter its Blueboy and he says “Is it going to get cramped in the midfield at Chelsea this season with Deco effectively taking on the same role as Lampard? Also how many games will it take for Scolari to prove himself to Abramovich.

L: I think he has already proven himself, with the signing that he has made. By bringing Deco in. I think they are dissimilar in that Frank wants to get into penalty box. Frank wants to score goals. Deco is more of a creator of goals. So I think he will find his position and his niche in the side quite easily and he will allow Frank to bomb on. Hopefully he’ll be the boy that supplies the ammunition for Frank and the other forwards they have got there.

H: Right well let’s move on to the Championship we have got a Canary fan here…. Canary 99 “Tim as an ex canary can you see Premiership football back at Carrow road next season? It has not been a good start and the thought of another depressing season is too much to bear.”

T: they have had some bad years haven’t they. From the glory days of playing European football it seems a million miles away now. I hope they do it is a good football club. It is not a massive club, but it is a good one. Players like to go there. As the come to the end of their career it is a nice place to come. It is a nice part of the world. Can they get in the Premier League? It is wide open that Championship so I don’t see any reason why they can’t challenge. But you need some momentum. You need to get results on the board very early and I think Glenn Roeder has got his hand full there.

H: Lads Edgar asks “Who is going to score goals for Newcastle this season bearing in mind we have got no strikers who are fit?”

L: Yeah I mean it’s disappointing. Hopefully once the Premier League starts, I know it starts tomorrow, but they will be hoping to get Viduka back Martins back and once they have got them all back then you have got the supply line there are goals there. They proved that last season. Michael Owen playing in a different role to how we are used to seeing him play or how we have been used to seeing him play in recent years. Just dropping of the main man up front, which was Viduka, and him and Martins were causing all sorts of problems scoring goals. They haven’t bought anyone in so it is imperative that they get those players back as soon as possible.

H: I quite like the fantasy headlines that if Newcastle sign Roque Santa Cruz it will be “Santa Cruz is coming to Toon”. Anyway we are halfway through the show so we are going to move on to predicting scores and Jamie says “I reckon I can predict who is going to do the business this season. I can certainly do better than Hansen and Lawrenson. Who do you think are the best pundits? Apart from yourselves obviously.

T: It just shows you he is a pundit himself. So he needs to go online to arightresult.com and put his powers to the test. If he goes on there pays a pound he might win a million pounds. He sounds like a good pundit to me.

H: How does Jamie go about that then?

T: He just goes on, logs on online at arightresult.com, me and Les are on there as pundits. We give our expert opinions, or so we think, we try and give the right results each week. You pay £1 and there is the chance of winning a million pounds. It is a good game and it is not a lot of money.

H: So if you fancy pitting yourself against these two that is where you need to go. Lisa says “Why do we never see women football pundits. I can predict scores better than my fella for a start”.

T: There you go another one.

L: he has just given her all the details.

T: It is open to women.

L: She has got to play all year and then we’ll have a look at her score come the end of the season and then we’ll see whether she is good enough to get on the TV.

H: So you can get on there and apparently you can also play against your friends and family as well. So it is a good place to be. It is going to be an interesting season isn’t it?

T: I honestly believe that Chelsea Man Utd I can’t look no further than them. If anyone, like we said Liverpool might challenge. Arsenal I feel are weaker than last season. Hleb leaves a massive hole, Flamini even was a good player for Arsenal. Tottenham don’t seem to have strengthened. Down the bottom pretty much the teams that have come up could be on their way back down. It is going to be wide open for the UEFA cup. That is where the chase is going to be.

H: So it’s Chelsea and United for the title for you?

L: I am going to stick my neck out and go for Chelsea. I like the players that they have bought in and they have not had too many go out. They are pretty cemented in what they have got. They ran Manchester United very close last year with what they had and now they have got a manager who has stabilised the club and he has got a proven track record.

H: We just had a quick question from Sean from Wembley “What reception do you think Ronaldo will get from the United fans when he returns from injury?”

T: Well he obviously tried to engineer a move away from Manchester United that’s for sure. It didn’t materialise for whatever reason. We are pleased he is still in the Premier League because he is a fantastic footballer and everyone wants to see the best players in the Premier League. He is undoubtedly one of the best. Whether anybody can copy what he did last year remains to be seen.

L: I think it will be muted to start off with, but if carries on in the same vein of form he ended last season playing well and scoring goals, supporters forget very quickly.

T: Kiss his badge a few times and run over to the crowd. You know this season Adebayor obviously tried to get himself away, it didn’t come and pore season he ran over to the crowd and kissed the badge. They soon forget it, the supporters.

H: From the players point of view what sort of pressure would the other members of the team put on Ronaldo to stay?

L: I think they all came out and said they had been texting him and phoning him saying look we don’t want you to leave. Arguably the best player in the world. No-one would want him to leave their side so the boys would be putting pressure on saying look you can achieve everything you want to achieve here. Maybe that might be the problem maybe he feels like he has achieved all he can achieve at Manchester united and that is why he wants a new challenge for himself.

T: How can he top it? I mean how can he top that from last year I mean it would be very difficult so the pressure is on him. The eyes of the media are certainly on him. We are looking at him. If he don’t score 40 goals next year I am going to say he is a failure.

L: If he only gets 39.

H: A question in from JJ “With Arsene Wenger’s relative pre-season spending drought is it fair to say this is a make or break season for Theo Walcott?”

T: I think it is a big year for Theo. He introduced him in the latter part of last season and he done very well when he give him a run. Question mark for me is where does he play Theo? Does he stick him up front with Adebayor or does him put him on the left on the right hand side. That is the question for me but I feel if he gives him a run in the team he is a great prospect.

L: I think that is what he needs. I think most people will be looking at him saying they have not bought in another striker. You have got Adebayor and who else. He has now given Theo some responsibility. In the last year or so he has been able to introduce him gradually. I think now he will give him some responsibility and he may thrive off that.

H: There have been some great patches but nothing consistently.

L: this is where he might thrive now.

H: Tim “Are Blackburn good enough for Europe again, or are you going to struggle under the Guv’nor?”

T: The best chance they have got of Europe is Carling Cup. Qualify via that route. To finish in the top 6 for Blackburn Rovers with all the teams who have spent much more than them. It is going to be a tough job for Paul Ince up there, but a mid table finish for them would be a success I feel.

L: the only thing is that he has got a settled side. I think Mark Hughes has left him in good hands. They can push on from there. Yes they have lost Bentley but I am sure he is eyeing up one or two players and if they have a season like they had last season then they will be pushing for it.

H: A question from Sean earlier and now Sean’s brother from North Wembley said “Arsenal will win, didn’t that guy sitting there play for Tottenham who last won the Premiership when people wore caps in the terraces”

T: He is absolutely right but I am only saying what I feel I am an Arsenal fan as kid. At the end of the day my dad still goes to the Emirates every week I would love to see them do well. But I feel he wins a lot of admirers at Arsenal football club in recent years, play the best football that anyone plays. On their day they are better than anyone. I think we all agree that, but that doesn’t win you trophies and they are lacking something at the moment. The most successful times Arsene Wenger had as a manager of Arsenal has been when he has had a core of English players. I think if Sean’s brother from North Wembley was to have a little look back at the record books he will see that it has been 4 years. This rebuilding process, how long does it actually take. Arsene Wenger is fantastic he doesn’t come out and say they haven’t given him money. It is quite evident that they are not giving him any money to spend. And the likes of Hleb to let him go and Flamini and keep hold of Cesc Fabregas is a major plus for them. But can they challenge again this season? I doubt it.

H: We have only got 5 minutes left so keep your questions coming in for Les and Tim. Streetboy has sent one in saying “Lads me and my mates are running a sweep on which of the 3 Championship clubs are going to score the least points this year as they are going straight back down surely?”

T: Stoke will get less points.

H: Less than Derby?

T: No probably not. They have got to go some to do that.

L: That would be a disaster if they did that. Kitchener will score goals. Hull have just taken on Marlon King and a few others so I think there is a few goals in them. Not many results.

H: Are you giving them much of a chance?

L: You know there are one or two sides, the likes of Bolton and teams like that, that need to get off to a flier and if they don’t they will find themselves down in that pack pretty early. The Hull’s the Stoke’s and the West Brom will be looking at those teams and thinking these will be big games when they play against them.

T: Go online and have a look at his predictions tomorrow. At arightresult.com and you will see.

H: Go online and you will see how Les thinks that the new boys are going to do. Tiger Tim “I can’t tell you how excited everyone here in Hull is about the new season, but are we going to be as depressed as Derby come April?”

T: We just touched on it. Unfortunately it looks that way, but they are going to enjoy the ride. For Hull to even be in the Premier League is an amazing feat. They need to get off to a good start that is important. If they don’t then they are dead and buried. When you get the likes of Man Utds the Chelseas the Liverpools going to play at Hull at the KC Stadium the fans are going to enjoy it, but enjoy it while you can because it is not going to last unfortunately.

H: Well Andy Harris from Manchester said “The situation at City is dire with the owner and now the UEFA cup debacle. Will Mark Hughes last and will we improve on last season. I am worried already?”

L: I am worried. I think Tim touched on it already. There are some underlying things going on there and it is a case of will Mark Hughes walk away from it if someone comes in and says “look Mark come here we will take you here” and it is a better proposition for him. It just seems like there is unrest at the club. All the situation with the chairman at the moment doesn’t bode well and leave them in good stead for the start of the season.

T: And the finances. There are no finances there to improve his squad. I am sure when he took the job he was promised a few quid to go and spend on some players.

L: One thing he said after they lost yesterday was that hopefully he will be able to bring some players in because that is what they desperately need.

H: Right we are in to the last 2 minutes of the show Daz says “You guys talk a good game but are you going to put your money where your mouth is and go in to management?”

L: We used to play a good game as well. Every now and again.

H: £80 million worth.

L: I am doing my badges at the moment. At the moment I think we make things so hard for our players in this country to go and take their badges and go into management. You see a lot of the players are disillusioned about the regime that they have to go through just to pass their badges and that is what is making it difficult for boys to go in. I would love to go back as a manager at some stage.

T: At the moment I am not ready for that I would rather do what I do. Tell them where they are going wrong.

L: It is a lot easier.

T: It has not got the stress.

H: The safety of the studio. Last question we have had this in from a lot of people. “What do you think are going to be the surprise package this season?”

T: A team?

H: Or player?

L; I think Villa are going to be the surprise package this season. I think they are heading in the right direction. I like what Martin O’Neill is doing at Villa. I think that if there is a team that is going to push into that top 4 if there is a team that could do it I think it is Villa.

T: I would go with that. I would go for Villa. It is a good pick from Les. That is why he is a top pundit. The Villa have assembled good English boys there and Martin O’Neill gets the best out of what he has got. You don’t hear him whining too much.

H: He is a quality Manager.

L: There seems to be stability at the top. A new chairman has come in and he is allowing him to do what he wants to do.

T: And Gareth Barry stays by the looks of it.

H: Alright thanks guys. Well listen that is all we have got time for, for now. My thanks to Les and Tim for their tips for the upcoming season. Also thank you to you all for your questions. I am sorry that we could not answer them all. If you want to know more then visit arightresult.com. Thanks for watching. Goodbye now.