“I Love EVERYTHING About Jude!” John Terry BLASTS Tuchel vs Bellingham Row & Argentina Predictions

The way Judy's playing at the moment, you can say what you want, you can do what you want, just keep performing the way you are, because you are dragging this team at the moment.I'm with you, I believe it's going to happen.

You weren't good enough, so you blame me, which is real...I don't mind.And now I know what Roy Keane's problem was.I've been waiting 50 years to call you a wanker, now I know it's been worth it.Happy days.

It's coming home.It is definitely coming home.I can feel it in my bones.But can my World Cup Uncensored co -host feel it in their bones?We're going to find out.Simon Jordan is with me here in London.

John Terry's still gallivanting around America.Is Tang getting ever deeper?JT, good to see you, mate.What a situation we're in.right we'll come to the performance it probably wasn't the best we've had of a tournament but the result was brilliant bellingham was brilliant and we now are two games away from being world champions incredible peers we keep finding a way don't we without being or without playing too well.

I think Thomas was completely right after the game.I think he was really disappointed in terms of the way we played.But let's also not forget the Mexico game would have taken a lot out of the boys as well.I think we see that in both England and Norway.I thought we both looked very lethargic.I actually thought it was a really poor game from both sides.

But again, going back to what Jude said after, we found a way to kind of get through.And he was unbelievable again.I mean, the two goals, incredible.The timing and arriving in the box when he does.It's a knack, it's an art.Lamp's done it for years at Chelsea and he's doing it for Madrid and England as well.

So Thomas Tuchel post -match says to Gabriel Clarke, who's expecting him to be euphoric about making it, he says,fantastic, Brimelow's forward is amazing, but I'm not happy with the performance in every sense.We made life difficult for us in the way we played and how we played.Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.To which Jude Bellingham, when Gabriel Clarke said the manager said that it wasn't a good performance, said maybe but maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play on these kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Neuser, Soloth.That's not an easy team to play against.

So I think we've tried to create a positive environment.We should continue that going into the last Final Four.I can't speak highly enough for the lads.You're not going to win every game popping the ball and making a thousand passes.Sometimes you have to win dirty and we've done that again.Now, I said earlier on X, that I did not like any of the criticism of Gabriel Clarke, who I think is a first -class journalist who did his job, asked simple questions, got extraordinary replies that he almost certainly was not expecting from either of those people.

That is not...His job is to ask the questions.How people who are experienced, like Tuchel and Bellingham, how they respond is up to them.You, however, replied that you think this is, once again, the media behaving terribly, blah, blah, blah.Why?

Because I think if you're going to present a conversation to a player who's just come off the field after 120 minutes, you should put a rounded point of view, because the conversation with Thomas Tuchel, which Thomas Tuchel wasn't interviewed, he volunteered the information, he was straight out of the gate.This is what I think of the team, and it's wonderful to hear a manager so candid, because how many times have we sat there watching Premier League managers misrepresent what we're seeing like we're all bloody fools?But there was not the balance in the conversation that was put to Jude.What Thomas Tuchel turned around and talked about was mentality.He talked about the mentality of the players being at an elite level, pushed back against what Gabriel Clarke was suggesting was mentality and said...

Hang on, hang on.

I know that ultimately the question was put to Thomas Tukel about mentality and then he pushed back robustly, but the balance of the conversation that was put to Jude Bellingham was just about the negatives.There was no bringing into the conversation about how strong Thomas Tukel'swas about their mentality.The only thing that was put in front of Jude was negative.And that's why I don't think it was a proper way of conducting an interview with Jude Bellingham.

Hang on.I could not disagree more.Because when the England manager, after a win, which gets us into the semifinals, says, it's amazing, but I'm not happy with the performance in every sense, I'm sorry, but any journalist who doesn't then ask the match winner, Jude Bellingham, what he thinks of the manager saying that is not a journalist.

That's not the point I'm making, Piers, and well you know it isn't.If you put a balanced point of view to Jude Bellingham, you know the likelihood of presenting a player, certainly of Jude's character and age, with just negatives, not any of the positives, not any of the balance, is potentially going to elicit a negative response, which is what it's got.No one's disputing that what happened as a result of Thomas Tuchel's propensity to answer a question or to volunteer information that that information couldn't have been carried across to Jude Bellingham or to Harry Kane or whoever they wanted to have a discussion with.It's the manner in which it was represented with no positivity in there whatsoever, so instantaneously you've got this situation with Jude.Now I don't think Jude should have said what he said, but I also think if you're going to do a balanced interview then bring the positives in with the negatives.Now ask a player, ask John Terry, if you were confronted with at a very young stage in your career, John, with just coming off a field, having worked your balls off for 120 minutes, being the match winner in that game, and the only thing you're told by a journalist is, that ain't good enough.

What would your reaction be?

I'm with you, Simon, on this 100%.I think it's poor from Gabriel, actually.Jude's just scored two goals to pull us through into the semi -final himself, and his first question is about what the manager said.I think the first questions to Jude were, how does it feel to be in a position to drag England through into a semi -final for the first time in a long time.How do you feel?Are you injury -free?

You come off at the end, you look like you're going to win.with your hamstring a little bit.Are you fit?That's the questions you expect as a midfielder or a player to have after the game.The manager's got a separate issue.He has to deal with the tactical side of it, all of that side of things from the team perspective.

But Jude, I thought he dealt with it very well.I thought he went back.And also, Simon, you just spoke about Tuchel just firing back and saying exactly what he thinks.I like the response from Jude.It showed he's got a little bit of balls about him.He's 23 years of age.

He's leading this team and dragging us through into the later stages of the competition.I just love everything about this man at the minute, both on the field and the way he conducts himself off the pitch.is incredible.

Putting aside the mentality issue, there was a slight breakdown in communication between him and Tuchel when he got round to the mentality part.But on the performance, Tuchel could not have been clearer.He was very unhappy with the way we played.He thought we got lucky, we played sloppy, a lot of mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.The idea that you have to then slightly soft -soap it with Jude Bellingham by starting by praising him, I just think Gabriel Clarke was like, wow, I wasn't expecting that from the manager.I've got to ask Bellingham the big story.

I disagree completely.I disagree completely.I disagree completely.The manager's job is to come and confront that and talk about the issues of the team, the tactics, the fitness, all of that side of things.For Jude, from a player's perspective, you come away from that game going, I do not care how we've got through.We've managed to do it all the way, by the way, in this competition so far without playing too well other than the Croatia game.

We're finding a way to do it.You're the man that's dragging this team through, scoring two unbelievable goals.And that's the first question you get about the manager's not happy.that in the other.Jude said at the back end of his quotes as well, everythingbeen positive up to now, why are we going negative along this route?

From a player's perspective, who you think about is winning this game and moving on.

It's interesting to me, right, looking at the, I'll come to Simon actually first on this.If you look at the dynamic between them.I don't think these two have ever got on particularly well.Like, there's all those rumblings before the tournament and stuff that Tuchel has said.

Despite Jude Bellingham doing a post -tournament, sorry, pre -tournament interview where he sat with Morgan Rodgers talking about the balance of this squad and how happy he was now and how he wasn't happy in the 2024 Euros.

No, I'm going back to the time when Tuchel said some stuff about Bellingham which he said came out the wrong way because he's German.But he said some of those things then, didn't he?

That was ten months ago.

It got sorted, but my question is, there may be a residual thing between them.don't know.It certainly felt like it to me, the way it played out, but does that matter is my point.In other words, if there's a bit of edge there, we would never have seen this, for example, with Southgate.We would never have seen this scenario.We've now got a manager openly coming out, being very critical of the team in many areas for that performance.

I love that.I love the honesty.You've got a player reacting in a way I would hope all the players would react, which is, screw you.You weren't out there.It was boiling hot.We were tired from Mexico.

All these things that we know must have been the case.But my point is, does it matter now?If this galvanizes Bellingham and the team to prove a point or whatever they want to react to, Does it not?Is it not a good thing for England?We've got this bit of fire and edge going.

I don't think it matters either which way.It depends how important you think journalism is and how much it influences people.But I would prefer to have a positive slant, not soft -soaping, not creating an outcome where you're cheerleading for the team.But I do think there's an element of Jude Bellingham.People talk about the fragility of footballers.I don't think it's fragility.

I think it's entitlement.I don't think Jude is entitled to say what he said.I think that Thomas Tuchel is a manager.He's talking about the team.He's not talking about individuals.It is his gift as the manager to suggest that his team, that he's responsible for, that he's the manager, isn't performing at a level that he's happy with.

Now, other than that, I think players' responsibility if they don't like it or have an issue with their manager is to do it privately.John did it as well publicly, and I don't think Capello appreciated when John did it all those years ago.And I don't think, at the end of the day, I don't want blind leadership and people just following things because they can follow things.But I think in society and in football, you've got to have a degree of respect.And there was a time and place.Now, the reasons why Jude reacted the way he did and the reasons why Jude Bellingham was asked, because I guarantee you, and I don't know if John thinks this will be different, if that question and that framework had been put to Harry Kane, Gabriel Clark would have not got the same answer from Harry Kane and he wouldn't have put it to Harry Kane because he knew he wouldn't have got that answer from Harry Kane.

No, no, I totally disagree.He would have absolutely asked Harry Kane.Nonsense.What, you think if Tukul was saying that about the team, he wouldn't have asked the England captain?What do you think of your manager's comment?

He would have framed it differently because there's a distinct possibility.These journalists are professional to some extent.They know what they're doing.They know who they're dealing with.And they know there's an edge to Jude Bellingham.

And they know if they present in a certain way, you're going to get a response.That is cobbler's.He would have asked exactly the same question.question of Harry Kane and I would say as a journalist he would be abrogating his duty as a journalist not to ask the obvious question.

His duty as a journalist is to be balanced.

not to be in a situation where you guys are suggesting respectfully what you're suggesting it's a bit like the old joke about you know saying to abraham lincoln's wife well apart from that how was the play right so you start with you but you start with june bellingham after after the england managers being that critical of the performance you start by saying dude you were terrific man you're all friends and everything else no one's saying that you ask the question that everyone's thinking which is what do you think of what to no one From a player's point of view, you come off the pitch, you score two goals, that's the exact first question you ask.

For me, anyone in their right mind, you talk to Jude about his performance.how he's playing, is he fit for the next game, how's Declan, how do you feel putting England into the semi -final after scoring two goals at a World Cup?They're the first questions, and maybe that's at the back end of it.I thought Jude was really composed.I didn't think he looked angered, he looked frustrated in it, and also from a fan's perspective, you go to the manager, And you get a response like that.You go to Jude, you get a response like that.

I'd much rather that than players go, oh, it was a good game.The opposition were fairly decent.And you get the same shitty responses.I like this from Jude.I really like it.And also, whatever's happening between him and the manager at the moment, whether there is a little bit of friction, it's working.

So please keep doing it.

So just to be clear, then, you like the result, but you don't like the guy that made it happen, Gabriel Clarke.

No, I think it's really poor journalism.You've just won a quarterfinal of the World Cup and gone into the semifinal, and you're trying to call...Piers, you know he's trying to cause a bit of friction there straight away.He's not.He's not.You don't need to ask.

This is what I've read.He is.He is.I've read so many people say this, and I really feel strongly that that is not what Gabriel Clarke was doing.He was doing it in the same way, JT, when you were a defender and your job was to defend against the attackers in the opposition team.That was your job, right?

Gabriel Clark's job is to interview people, part of his job, interview people in very high octane circumstances.12, 13 million people watch that late at night, that game.Millions more will catch up.And his job in those seconds of live television with a gigantic audience is to ask questions.certain questions which he thinks everyone at home is thinking.He didn't ask a question.

I defy...Well, he did.No, he didn't.He did.

No, he didn't.He made a statement.And the reasons why he did it, Piers, and the reasons why you do it, is because you're products of your environment.And so we sit in an industry, in a sector, and you criticise me for saying, oh, you're in the media, but not of the media.You are the media.You sit with a mentality where if it bleeds, it leads.

And this industrycomes from that sort of perspective.Hang on a second.What have I got here?I've got negative.Rather than give Jude Bellingham a balanced perspective on what the manager said, which is your mentality is fantastic, but your performance wasn't great, I'm going to go with the negative.

Why?Because this is what this industry does.Oh, what a load of cobblers.Absolutely.Honestly.

Nobody wants to hear about the birds singing and the bees humming.I agree.You two are totally deluded.And I'll say that.You're a bloody journalist.There was no context to his question at all.

Designed to get a reaction.What context do you need?The manager literally just said...Balance.What he said.I mean, you can have a problem with Tuchel saying it, but we've all agreed we like what he said, right?

So you like what he said, which was a reply to Gabriel Clarke saying, how did you view that performance?He didn't like the performance.He did then later praise the mental strength.But the idea you then go to Jude Bellingham, who's won the match, and you don't start with the most obvious question, which is Thomas Tuchel has just said he thought it was a poor performance.But you do, Piers.

You do, Piers, but you put balance on it.Little journalist would.You put balance on it.What?Why?Because it's objective to be so.

Do you put balance into your punditry?Surely you discover, debate, resolve, right?You're not interested in that.You're not interested in intellectualizing it.You're interested in sensationalizing it.Oh, what?

Honestly.Because it's true, Piers.

And you don't do the same?No, I don't.Oh, my God.I debate.I discuss and I resolve.There's a pig flying over this building.

I intellectualize conversations.You sensationalize them.You turn them into, Oh, hang on a second.

Just to be clear, your first thought with every critique is, I must say something nice first.No, balance it.Balance.Really?

Balance.Also, Piers.Jon.Piers, we've spent 20 minutes talking about Gabriel Clark and his question.Well done, Jon.We should be talking about England and the football side of England.

Let's get back to England.I agree.I agree.I agree.But I will defend Gabriel Clark to my grave.

Because you're a scorpion.

The way Judy's playing at the moment, You can say what you want, you can do what you want, just keep performing the way you are because you are.dragging this team at the moment.Him and Harry Kane, the whole way through this competition, we need the others to step up.Now it's the semi -final.Things get real now, and I'm with you.I believe it's going to happen.

Well, you're the perfect person to talk about Argentina, because the last time we beat them was 20 -odd years ago in Geneva, a friendly which England won 3 -2 coming from behind twice.Rooney and Owen on the score sheet, John Terry alongside Rio Ferdinand in defense.Obviously, a different Argentina team.Fascinatingly, Messi has never played against England.So, we have a first here of, you know, one of the great players of the world coming up against England.But I don't think it's a great Argentina team.

They've nearly gone out several times in this tournament already.He's dragged them back, you know, incredibly a couple of times.If you were playing for England against this Argentina team, John, and in particular against Messi at this stage of his career, What do you do to nullify the obvious threat from him?

Very difficult, Piers, even though he's at the back end of his career.Very difficult to stop when he really wants to.He can produce a little bit of magic at any moment.And also, if you give him time and space anywhere on the pitch, he'll be able to do it.So, full focus because he's constantly drifting into areas that make it difficult for defenders.So, he needs to be...

We've been full -out attack at the moment in pretty much all of our games.Teams have sat back against us.He stays pretty much up the far end of the pitch.He's going to be difficult to mark.We can't only focus on him.Without being a great side, I think they've got really good individuals that have got loads and loads of experience.

I think Martinez in goal for them is huge for them.Also, they have plenty of shots at goal.They're a big threat going forward.But on paper, I agree.I think, man for man, we are way better than this Argentina side.And I think the luck of the draw, being this side rather than playing Spain or France the other side, is a big advantage for us.

What are you hearing about Declan Rice?Because I could tell he was not fully fit.Apparently he spent three days in bed after the Mexico game.He didn't look quite with it from what we're used to from him.He's had a bit of time to rest.Are you hearing anything about how he may be?

I think he'll be fine.I'll be amazed if he's not starting.

And Rhys James on the right will be okay?

I think Rhys will come back in.I even think, listen, I've not been his biggest fan throughout this podcast, I think Jed Spence was excellent when he came on the other night.

Well, that's an interesting question, because I thought Dan Brown was excellent too.

I was going to ask you guys, do you think you play Spence at left back?

Good call, Simon.I mean, I maintain the same criticism that you did, John.I mean, coming into a game against the Norwegians and playing the way that he did and playing the way that Thomas Tuchel asked him to do doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be doing the job that we want him to do against the Argentinians.You know, I look at Dan Byrne, wonderful throwing your body in the way, and it's wonderful that he came on and did things in both games, whether against the Mexicans or against the Norwegians.This is a different set of scenarios.My big thing now is I need, more than anything, I need this game to be won by England, because I spent the last eight years making a fucking case that Southgate doesn't win the games when it comes on top.

So I need to prove my theory here.So this is, to me, is as much about Tuchel.I don't know, John, did you think that Tuchel, going back to that conversation we had a second ago, is it a call to action, this observation he made after the game.If you're a player, would you hear that going, that we didn't play well, which everyone agrees with.This isn't a ten -hard moment where the manager's telling you something that you haven't seen.You didn't play well.

Does the dressing room respond to that by going, right, we raised to this occasion, and Tuchel is the master motivator by doing it?Or is it all just background noise, it doesn't make any difference?Because I think Tuchel comes, coming at the hour, coming at the man now against Argentina for Thomas Tuchel.

I kind of analysed it after the game going, has he dropped this in?to try and get a reaction out of the players?As players you know you've not played well, you know as a team or individually when you've had good games or collectively when it's all clicked.It's clearly not clicked at the moment so I'm sure he's had that conversation in the dressing room first.and then he's come out publicly, or I'm sure he's addressed it after the press conference after the game.But from a player's point of view, if you can't be up for this semi -final in the World Cup against Argentina, you shouldn't be playing football.

It doesn't need to be the rivalry, there's probably half the boys in the squad that are too young to understand the history of it.But you're playing against Messi, you're playing against Argentina.There's enough on the line here to be motivated for.

How would you have reacted, JT, if you'd been playing and the Argentine FA posted footage on the social media of their side's celebrations against Egypt, where it featured the players singing a chant claiming the Falkland Islands as their own.Let's take a look.So this song's now been adopted by some in Argentina as their new World Cup unofficial anthem, the four -star La Cuarta Estrella, and includes references about the Malvinas, which is what Argentinians call the Falkland Islands.Obviously, we all know about the war, and they continue to dispute the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, even though they are absolutely British.JT, what would you have felt if you'd seen that and you saw a football association putting it out, including quite inflammatory stuff like that?

Would I be fueled by it?I'm fueled by it because it's Argentina, Piers.I know the history between the two countries.Listen, they're a very passionate country.So you have to kind of respect and appreciate that in terms of their supporters, the way their players are, the relationship they have with their supporters.They'll be looking to go back -to -back.

I've spoke about it.The relationship between us, which is our main focus, and it has to be, is us as a team, we're better than them.Us with the supporters behind us, I think we're unstoppable.And it certainly feels like that at the moment.So the players have built that because of their performances and finding ways to get through to the next stage, to the next stage, to the next stage.We're now here in the semi -final.

We have to put ourselves in the final.We have to find a way again.

Yeah, I mean, Simon, you know, England, Argentina, Maradona, the hand of God.You can't ignore the Falkland Islands.It was in recent modern times, really.You put it all together, this is a red hot.

I mean, the people it's going to put a wild hair up the arses of is probably the England fans, because that will create the temperature in the room.In the same way, to a lesser degree, if the Spanish start singing about the sovereignty of Gibraltar, and who owned that particular part of the world, there'd probably be a reaction from the England fans.It creates a backstory.And the wonderful thing about what media can do is create a temperature in a room that raises the expectation, raises the elevation.The players, or increases the elevation, the players don't need to know what happened in 1982.They're 20 years old.

out of date with that one in terms of most of them, or unaware of it.But the actual magnitude of the game, because Messi effect.Up until this point, I was having to listen to a load of old fanny that maybe we could be celebrating another Messi World Cup.I couldn't care less about Messi.I'm an Englishman.I want to see England win.

But the actual rivalry going back to, I remember being in Memphis watching Lillix Lewis fight Mike Tyson, but watching David Beckham score that penalty in 2002 and getting that monkey off his back.This is a World Cup semi -final.It's not about Argentina.It's about winning the game and getting to a World Cup final and dragging a nation that's having desperate times in this tournament.with all the challenges that we've got over here into something that's positive.So whoever is in the semi -final, whether it's Argentina or in some parallel universe where we're all deluded it was Scotland, we would be in a situation where we want to win this game to get to a World Cup final.

That's true, but you can't get away from the fact this has got real visceral recent history.And my point about Messi, everyone's talking about what are we going to do about Messi?I can guarantee the Argentinians are worrying a lot more about what the hell are they going to do about Bellingham, because he looks unstoppable right now.JT, you've got to go.I want to ask you one thing before you go, which is the Telegraph's football correspondent Sam Wallace has put forward a column today in which he argues that John Stones is the greatest England centre -back since Bobby Moore.Specifically, he wrote two World Cup semi -finals, two Euros finals.

John Stones has been at the heart of England's post -2016 revival, always crucial at tournaments, England's greatest centre -back since Bobby Moore.Your reaction?

Sam's obviously got it spot on, Piers, I think.He's a really good journalist.Listen, I think John Stones the other night Just before halftime, Norway had a big chance and John Stones made a really good defensive decision.Didn't go too early, didn't get too close, didn't stay too far away from Haaland as well and ended up making a really good block.I think he's been a top defender for Man City in the Premier League.For England as well, he's got to later stages than myself and Rio.

Listen, it's a debate for everyone.If I'm in the debate, great.If not...

And purely hypothetically, but who do you think is the best centre -back since Bobby Moore for England?

Listen, it's not for me to say me, so I'm going to say Rio for me. I think what Rio done for Man United in England was unbelievable and also played alongside in the way, read the game.He was quick, strong, very comfortable on the ball.Listen, everyone's gonna have their different opinions, but John Stones has gone a lot further in bigger competitions than we have.So probably a lot of the new generation would say John.

A lot of people would say you.

What would you guys say?No bias, I'm joking.Dave Watson.

No, don't upset me. I have to say John, I'd probably be in your camp, mate.

I would absolutely be in Tony Adams' cap.

Oh, of course.How did we miss that one?

If you think I'm going to nominate a Chelsea player as the greatest since Bobby Moore and look Tony Adams in the face again, that ain't happening.Sorry, JT.Love you.That ain't happening.

I get it.

Final question, JT.Quick one.One word answer.Would you rather face France or Spain in the final if we make it?

Spain.Yeah, I think that's right.

JT, great to have you.We will meet again after the game.We'll know whether we're making the final or not.Great to see you, mate.I presume you'll be there, yeah?

Yeah, I'm going to the Spain -France game and I'm going to the England game as well.With your FIFA cronies.

And you know exactly who we're going to be asking for tickets to the final if we make it, don't you, Jim?

You're just jealous because you was in the shit seats.

JT, great to see you, mate.Thank you very much.We're going to sub you off now in a last -minute substitution because we were thinking, well, who could we possibly get to bring in off the bench to now talk about this raging debate about the Tuchel -Bellingham argument than somebody who may have experience in a World Cup of having a big bust -up with his best player, one that ended in slightly worse circumstances with that player going home.It's Mick McCarthy.Welcome, Mick.Thank you.

Listen, I was actually thinking of you when this was going on.A, because you're a great manager.And B, you've managed a lot of great talent.But C, because I watched Saipan the other day, the movie, about the thing that happened.I bet you loved that.I did love that, actually.

It's the biggest heap of something I've ever seen in my life.

I watched 15 minutes of it and I left.Really?

Yeah, it doesn't reflect me very, very well.It reflects me as a northern numpty who wasn't bothered about winning.If anybody knows me, I might be a northern numpty, but...You were weathered about winning?Winning's a different thing altogether.

When you saw Tukul... saying what he said in that moment to Gabriel Clarke at ITV what was your reaction to what he was saying given we had just won and got to the semi -final?

I don't think they played that well let me just tell you I watched 60 minutes of it I was playing in a charity golf day for the following day so I went to my bed after maybe 65 minutes I don't think they played particularly well but the manager if he comes off and he's beating his chest and telling everybody how wonderful they are the next thing they're going to say is hey have you heard what your manager said everybody's going to be saying hey just calm down I remember after the Let's put one of the games and all of a sudden they're saying, oh no, you've got to calm down, don't be getting ahead of yourselves, Croatia.It's not about playing well, anyway it's about winning.But it's still for the manager to be honest, and if that's his feelings then...

Because he's an elite manager, Tuchel.Absolutely.And he's won big tournaments.What would be his thinking in saying that in that moment, do you think?

Would it have been deliberate?I think he's playing down the...British -English nationalism that when they've won a game and they're getting to the semi -final.

It's coming home.

It's coming home.We're all beating our chests and everybody's great and we're all going to win it.I think he said it to probably Kermit.They hadn't played well.It hadn't been a good performance but they won.and for me that's all about winning and I think he's just trying to keep probably people's feet on the ground, have a look at it.

What does he say in the dressing room is probably totally different.I have to say when he said it though I can't blame the journalists for asking Bellingham, I can't blame him at all, his eyes must have lit up.

Well thank you, I don't understand why Gabriel Clott's getting criticised for that.

Well, because that's his job, he's a journalist.Come on, I go into press conferences and they ask me a question which I know what they want me to say.Yes.And that's why I've been on so many memes of me coming out with something that says completely the opposite.

But that's why journalists loved you.Well, I'm not sure they loved me.

They wanted me to say what I wasn't going to say.

You were an honest broker.

And I think that whether he should have asked him or not, but his eyes were lit.He's a journalist, that's his job.Jude Bellingham, all I've seen Jude Bellingham say is whatever.That's all, that's the only bit I've seen, so did he say something else?

Yeah, what he then said was, he said, well he hasn't been out, he said, I'll say exactly what he said, he said maybe, he said whatever to start with, then he said maybe, but maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Haaland, Odegaard, Neusser, Soloth, that's not an easy team to play against, I think we've tried to create a positive environment, we should continue that into the final four, so he was saying look, these were tough conditions, apparently everyone who was there in Miami said it was roasting hot, obviously that followed the Mexico game which was probably pretty exhausting for them so he's saying look in the circumstances given how we were all feeling it was a good win but he was also making the point about positivity now are you a believer in the power of positivity at this stage of a tournament or is a bit of gristle good for it?

I think a bit of both to be quite honest but you've got to be positive about it it's what he says in the dressing room too chill but I think he's playing that down But then Jude Bellingham is omnipotent anyway.He could have said what he wanted.He ain't going to leave him out of the team.

What would you have thought as a manager if a player had snapped back at you like that?

A nice question that is.

Don't tell me.It's a disgusting media trap.

Actually nobody's, nobody I don't think has ever done it.

How would you have reacted if they had?On television to millions of people.

That's a good question, I don't know because how can I do it hypothetically?Would you have seen it as insubordinance?Disrespectful?Whatever you had said?Whatever I said, I'd gone and said it to the player because I think I've been wise enough as a manager that I'm not going to respond to the journalist and make it even worse because that's all he wants.He's got his response.

I'm on the train, I'm going out from my podcast, I'm at London Bridge and I get a call to come and talk about this.Ain't it wonderful?I mean what have I got to do with it except of course I was in a World Cup and we had that big bust up.

But also Mick you're a manager so he can ask you questions about how you'd respond to it because I think that Jude Bellinger didn't need to say what he said.I think clearly there's a motivation to respond to a journalist and a journalist has no problem, I've no problem with journalists asking, answering, asking a manager questions, getting information, taking it across.What I prefer the journalist to do is be balanced and make sure that the positive side of what Ducal said was also represented to the player.What I think Jude should have done and what I think Harry Kane would have done was gone, well the manager didn't talk to his opinion.The idea that a player can turn around and say it's hard, well, so fucking what?That's the reason why you're paid £25 million a year, you're playing for the national side.

Who said it was supposed to be easy?So the balance has got to be that Jude, perhaps, should have kept his counsel.And if he wanted to have a word with somebody, he could have had a word with Thomas Tuchel in the dressing room.So all of this has created a back story, which we don't need.

Yeah, but you know what?I don't really agree.Well, you wouldn't, Peter, because you like all this shit.I do like all this shit.I know you do.Because I actually think it's telling me we may actually win the fucking World Cup finally, because we've finally taken the gloves off.

Finally taken the gloves off.We have a manager.Hang on.Let me finish my sentence.we have a manager not afraid to call out the team for poor performance and we have a player

superstar player at the peak of his powers with enough swag to go oh really really you're going to criticize me after that well i'm going to stick it back at you i love it that's because you don't know what i love it i do love it that's because you don't i'm only a fan i'm only a fan but he's a manager when i was an owner i'd be interested to see what the uh what the thought is in amongst the squad, I'd love to be in there and they're probably listening to all of us talking bullshit about it and what we all think about it, giving all our opinions on it and I think he's got a really grounded squad and then he's got this player who is an absolute superstar and he's said that on the back of a question and he might go back, you know, Thomas Tootle has got to speak to him, of course he has I'm sure it'll be.I don't think there'll be any antagonism between either of them.I think they'll sort it out perfectly.And it's all, you know, us, Richard, talking about it.I don't think there's that much...When he just said...

I only seen it when he went, bothered, bothered.But then he's gone and said...I mean, it's a bit tough, but let me tell you, they're in the semi -final of the World Cup.If the two of them can't sort that out between them, I think there's something sadly wrong.

The headline on the Guardian, by the way, today was, was Tuchel and Bellingham really a Keane -McCarthy moment?Oh, that was 20, 23 years of fame at last.I have one question for you.I've always respected you hugely, genuinely as a manager.

Except, except when I dropped 10 players at Wolverhampton.Yeah, well, that was terrible.You did say something that I was particularly unhappy about.

Well, I thought it was shocking.Yeah.Hang on.What was your problem with what I said?You must have known I was right.

You're never right mate.You just antagonise people with your comments which you're doing on this show quite clearly.So when you said it, my job is to win games.We went to Spurs the Saturday before, we won 1 -0 with about 35 % possession.We've got Manchester Unitedon the Tuesday.

I went there and I dropped 10 players.I have a squad of 22.If I'm a manager, it's my right to manage that team how I see and get results.

And it's my right as an Arsenal fan who you were directly impacting with your cowardice to pull you out on it.

Because you weren't good enough to win the title.And I said Alex won it again and he won it.You weren't good enough.So you blame me, which is real stupid.

Now I know what Roy Keane's problem was.Just to be clear, by dropping 10 players, you let United walk all over you, which had a direct impact on my team's chances of winning the league.I thought that was an appalling abrogation of your duty as a manager to entertain the fans with the best available team.

My duty was to beat Burnley on the Saturday, and we did.And from Tottenham away, Manchester United win, Burnley home, I took six points out of nine.I thought it was a fantastic management piece of work.

But you still flew the white flag of surrender.No, we didn't.We stayed up.We stayed up and the club got 100 million.

My chairman at the time wasn't happy when we got beat at Manchester United but when they got the 100 million at the end of the season let me tell you he was deliriously happy.

How would you have felt if it had been completely reversed and Arsenal had a game which if they won it meant you would have stayed up and we rested the entire first team squad and got beaten 2 -0.How would you have felt then?Be honest.I'm going to mourn like a bitch like you.Exactly!Exactly!

There it is.The hypocrisy of public.

There we are.Right there.We're all Hemingway fans.And I'll be all honest.

Well, I've changed that subject quite clearly, haven't I?

You know what?I believe strongly every fan has exactly the same right to have opinions about the game, as does every manager, as does every player.And we live in a country of free democratic debate and free speech, and everyone should be allowed to say what they think.And if people get their little feelings hurt because they don't agree with it, well, tough titty.We're allowed to have an opinion.Absolutely.

And I think that you and I have had a frank exchange here.And I think we've reached a point of consensus.

I'm glad I've seen it.I've been delighted.I've waited how many years?15 years to say it.I've been waiting 15 years to call you a wanker.Happy days.

Have you seen Roy Keane since the...Oh, we don't.We don't.We don't phone each other.Have you ever spoken to him since?Yes, I did when Wolves played Sunderland.

Yes, that was well documented as well.I'm not coming here to talk about that.

No, I'm just curious, because I watched Sideband the other day.It was correct, because Steve Coogan's a terrible actor.

Who was the kid that took a penalty against my Palace in the semi -finals and chipped it into my goalkeeper's hands?Was it Jeff Whiting?Have you ever spoken to him again?

I did.I have.And we...

I saw you kicking bottles up.Play -off semi -final, Palace away to Sunderland.We're all square, going to penalty shoot -out.I've got kids in the team.One of his senior players walks up and does a panenka and chips it straight into our goalkeeper's hands.In the play -off semi -final, at the Stadium of Light, we go up and score the next penalty and win.

I'm watching him.

In the office I threw a cup at the wall and the wall was bust and they came in afterwards and said we've come to repair that wall.I said don't you touch that wall.That's staying there and we got until we get promoted then you can anyway we won it the following season but yes Maui.I wasn't happy.

Would you make it, we had Sean Dyson really been quite scathing about modern football.What's your general view of modern football?Do you think things have got better?

in the last 20 years or not?Well me and Tony Pooley do the managers podcast don't we and we're a couple of old curmudgeons apparently but we've had a thousand games plus he's had 1 ,300 games so I think we can comment on football.When somebody gets to the byline and I'm thinking put a cross in and they come back and go back to the midfieldplay and it gets it to the goalkeeper I do turn it off sometimes I have to be honest and I think about Harland all the goals he scores and I also think just imagine if the stuck crosses in for him he's six foot five he's brilliant in the air he'd probably get 40 goals a season I might be wrong, I can't argue with Pep for all he's done.

What about the characteristics of players and how you have to manage them in this day and age?Because it appears to me that we describe them as fragile.Players have to be told a certain thing at a certain time and they can only hear praise, never criticism.I don't think it's fragility, I think it's entitlement.I think we've got an industry and a public that builds into the players at the most important thing, they can never be criticised.As a manager that manages in a certain way, you're forthright.

And it's not your only attribute, but you were forthright.You look at players now, and it doesn't appear that forthrightness applies.Do you think that's true?Do you think players are now in such a space?

I don't think it's because it starts in the academies, where they have to speak to them properly.They don't do anything other than play football.Can't clean the gym.Can't do any of that.

The little Lord Fauntleroy from when they've been, first of all, when they start.Do you feel that players have too much power now?

Yes I do.Financially what can you do to them?There's nothing about that.It used to fine players and it used to hurt them.If you're on a couple of grand a week you get fined 500 quid.It was a bit of a blow.

If you're on 300 grand a week, what can you do to them?I think players are fantastic.They're athletic.They're good technically.The top teams are amazing.The ones lower down are all trying to get to there.

But I do think it's a different world.

When you see the kind of money, like Elliot Anderson going for what will add up to about 130 million, Arsenal apparently in for Morgan Rodgers, but they're also talking that kind of number for him as well.Has the world gone nuts or is this simply the marketplace everyone now operates in?

Well, it's the market everyone operates in.I don't know who's got that money.Where is it all coming from?I mean, what do they get now?You can tell me.They get promoted.

If you get promoted, you get promoted.

get what do you get every year from the Premier League.

But the interesting thing is go look at Man United.They spend 250 million on one player.But the interesting thing is is go look at Man United's turnover in 2002 when they bought Rio Ferdinand it was 76 million quid 76 million quid, and they bought a 30 million pound footballer.So now they turn over 700 million quid.What do you expect them to do?It's all the economies of scale.

I don't care about transfer fees.Transfer fees go around in a circle.They go between the clubs.It's the wages that are a problem.That's the issue.When you look at the England team.

What's the highest you ever paid anybody at Crystal Palace?Oh, 50, 60 grand a week, something like that.Is that all?I know, but that was in the fucking championship, so I'm packing it in you.But when you look at...I make this big case about Tuchel being the difference.

I mean, you might well be on the... on the case of how well Southgate did.I think Southgate missed opportunities, not criticising the work that he did, but I think he missed an opportunity against the Croatians, against the French, against the Italians in the Euro 2021.I think Tuchel makes a difference.And in a game against Argentina, my theory might be put to the test.Are you in the camp that I'm in, that Tuchel will make the difference, or are you all bought into the fact that Southgate did such a wonderful job that it can never be criticised by someone else doing anything better?

I'm with Tuchel.I love him.I loved him for his comments the other night, personally.Because he was honest about it.They didn't play well.But what they forget to say is, he should have said at the end of it, but we've won.

Did he I think, he said we're in the semi -finals.

He did, he did, he said we got lucky.He said look we got lucky, we made it out of the very difficult ourselves.The result is fantastic, we're in the last four.It's amazing, but I'm not happy with the performance.Nothing wrong with that.I was cheering him on, I loved it.

It was so unlike an England man, it was like get in, come on Tukul.I think it was fantastic what he said, I really like him.How much do you rate Bellingham as a player?

Top class isn't he, absolutely top class.You watch him and sometimes you don't see him in the game and then he arrives in the box and he scores his two goals and you realise why he's there.Technically he's great, athletically he's fantastic.

speaks very well I have to be honest he's articulate about it he went in and said it I love what he said about his mum and all that I think he's I mean he's incredibly popular women absolutely love Bellingham because they actually love the way he talked about his mum never mind anything else yeah they love someone that's respectful to their mother and I think as a role model he's terrific but also I like the fact he speaks his mind I like that We're in an era where a lot of people are scared to speak their mind.I think it's important to see a big role model getting out there going, no, I'm going to say what I think.

Yeah, I think he was probably just trying to let everybody know how difficult that game was and how difficult it is.It's at the manager, of course, but how difficult it was, how hot it was, how difficult it is being just about locked up at a World Cup when you don't do a great deal.All you're doing is training, you're recovering, you're getting ready for games.And I think any criticism then really hurts.

I'm told the journalists who I know who wrote the game said it was the hottest they've ever known an England game in terms of the actual temperature.Way hotter than the Mexico game.But the Mexico game had been draining in other ways.And you get, you know, three days to recover.And then you're in the cauldron in Miami in a quarterfinal.I do think sometimes we sit at home in our air -conditioned sitting rooms going, what's the matter with you?

There's nothing worse in my view is that playing well and losing, and coming off and everybody saying, oh you played so well today.

Weren't you great today?

And then I go and see the other manager and we have a bottle of beer with him, he says, tell you what, we were lucky today, you should have beaten us.Thanks very much.

Mick, what would you do if you were an England manager about Lionel Messi?because he's never played against England ever.

Has he not?

This is the first time he's ever come up against us.He is obviously a mercurial footballer.He's having a great World Cup.What would the team talk be about Messi?

The team talk?Well, you're going to have to shut him down somehow.I don't know how you're going to do that.to do that.I mean, he was a bit Maradona -esque, you know, when they were playing against him all those years ago.And I've watched him, and I'm amazed at still what he's doing.

You know, he's playing in America.How old is he?

37, 38?

Is he something like that?

Yeah.

He's mercurial.I don't know how you stop him.Either you say to somebody, like, follow him all around, don't do anything else.He gets into positions where you think, Why would he even be stood there?He's always looking for the ball at his feet and people are trying to stop him.But he just picks up positions that...

Given you are in all the numpty by your own admission.Well, no, that's not true.I'm pulling a Gabriel Clarke.

Pierce will think that Lionel Messi is infinitely stoppable.Of course, if it was Ronaldo, then we'd be having a different discussion about that.

I was about to ask my favourite question.The wet Wednesday in Stoke, it's freezing cold, pissing Moraine.It's dark, it's a night game and you've got to choose one player to score to save your life in those conditions?Is it Messi or Ronaldo?Messi.

All right.

Let's just leave it there, shall we?

Who wins, Mick?Do you care?Are you rooting for England or do you want Argentina to win?

Yeah, be honest.

I want England to win.And do you think they win?Yes, I do.And who do you think gets to the final with England?France.And who do you think wins that?

France.

Who's your favourite ITV commentator?

I don't listen to any of that bullshit.I'm glad I met you anyway.12, 13, 14 years before I could come and call you a wanker.And it's great you don't harbour a grudge.

I know how King feels now.You know what, it's great to meet you.I've actually been a genuine admirer of yours for a long time, but occasionally you've done things which cross against my national interest, which is Arsenal, and when they do, I've had to call you out.But we've settled that.The family business has been settled, Mick.

And I didn't say, if I upset you, tough titty.You don't upset me. I did.I said, if I upset you.Tough tittle.That's what I said.Quite clearly I did.

Anyway, I'm glad I come and see you.

It's great to see you.Thanks for coming on.Really enjoyed it.Simon, good to see you.You too, mate.

I came on for Simon, really, because I like him.

Well done, Nick.Well, somebody has to.We've got to leave it there.That was a pretty lively episode of World Cup Uncensored.There will be more after England win on Wednesday and are in the final, probably against France, where we dismantle the French in New Jersey.Wouldn't that be something?

That'd be great.We'll see you then.