Speaking to Casinos En Ligne, Richard Keys has given his strong opinion on Mike Riley & calls for PGMOL to get him out the building.
Keys also talks transfers and gives his take on where Bellingham & Kane should end up this summer.
If you’d like to use any of the quotes from this exclusive interview, you must credit & link to https://casinosenligne.com
Interview highlights:
- PGMOL need to get Riley out, give Webb freedom
- Jude Bellingham should avoid Liverpool this summer
- There’s no certainty in life, other than death, taxes & Declan Rice leaving West Ham
- Qatari bid for United probably front runner but fans have no divine right to win the title every season
- Kane should join this club in summer to win medals & it’s not in England
Full transcript
Q: What do you make of the potential Qatari takeover of Manchester United? Who do you think will be successful in this process?
Richard Keys: “Well, the answer firstly depends on whether the Glazers actually sell. That’s the first thing to say. I genuinely know absolutely nothing about the prospect of a Qatari bid, and I’ve wanted it to be so because I don’t want to get involved in conversations that could compromise me or them on this very subject. But I read that there is still some doubt as to whether the Glazers actually want to sell (all of it). If that were the case, I don’t think that the Qataris would be interested at all. My feeling is, and I must emphasise again, I really don’t know but either they want to buy it as an entity – all of it, or they probably won’t be involved in the process at all. And that would leave others (Jim Ratcliffe and Thomas Zilliacus) to make a decision as to whether they wanted to be involved. The thing I’d say about them is that you know deals of this magnitude tend to be conducted quietly. If you’re a runner I don’t think you make as much noise as Ratcliffe and others have. I think you conduct business carefully, studiously and eventually get over the line with what it is you’re trying to do, which makes for me the Qatari bid probably the front-runner, but I genuinely don’t know.
“What I would say is that nobody was complaining about the Glazers when Manchester United were winning everything that they competed for. I understand entirely what annoys Manchester United fans about the structure of the club, the way that it’s currently set up. The Glazers, borrow X, and they lend to Manchester United at Y and double the interest rate. It’s business, I mean, that’s how the modern world works. But gone are the days when Louis Edwards, the local butcher, and his successor, Martin ran football clubs because they were Mancunians. There were local businessmen. It doesn’t work like that anymore and they have no divine right to win a title every season.”
Q: You’ve spoken about your concern with Mikel Arteta’s touchline antics this season. Itwas his counterpart Pep Guardiola who got more attention in that regard this season. What did you make of that? Is Arteta the worst offender on the sidelines, or is it generally an issue you feel across the League with several managers?
RK: “I have no problem, by and large, with what coaches do within the confines of their dugout. That’s the important thing. Arteta has spent most of the season on the touchline, which is dangerous. The possibility is that he collides with a player and people get injured. There’s a reason that the dugout is structured to be away from the pitch. He’s also, at different times, has been on the halfway line or beyond. In the game against Newcastle he was stood in front of Eddie Howe at one point. Well, that’s not how it works. If you think that the players on the other side of the pitch can hear you throwing your arms around and shouting, fine, that’s okay. That’s all part of the entertainment on the day. But there are rules for a reason, and the reason with the dugout being where it is, is for safety. So you stay in it.
“As regards to Guardiola, he is one of the entertainers, but I thought it was patronising what he did. He’s lucky that he was shaking hands with the likes of Tsimikas. Had that been Jordan Henderson, or someone else who is maybe a bit livelier of character, who knows what would have happened? I just think it’s unnecessary. I didn’t understand what he was trying to do. Just ignore them. If you’re celebrating with your son up there, that’s fine. Great. You don’t need to turn back here and shake hands with the opposition. But then you know, Guardiola is another one who tends to make rules to suit himself as he goes along, and I think it was right that he was questioned after the game. He didn’t need to be as disparaging as he was in the interview with the reporter afterwards either.”
Q: Do you have a preference who wins the Premier League Title? Do you feel either team ‘deserves’ it more than the other based on what we’ve seen so far?
RK: “I think Arteta has matured during the course of the season with his team, and I actually do hope they go on and win it. I think there’s a really good look about them there. There’s a freshness about them. There’s nothing else to worry them now apart from chasing the Premier League title. I don’t think there’s anything to fear going to Anfield. Nothing at all. I fancied them as we sit here. I mean, there’s a lot to happen this week yet, but I don’t see why they would go to Anfield concerned at all. They don’t have to win. Not getting beaten is a very good result, but I like what Arteta has done. But what influence he can have when he’s stood next to someone who’s taking a throw, I don’t know. But he certainly shouldn’t be literally on that touchline and beyond, to a halfway line, and then in front of the opposition dugout. For large portions of games, I watch from a different angle to that which is seen at home by most viewers and it’s just wrong.”
Q: Arsenal lead the way but haven’t won anything yet. Is there a danger their fans are getting over excited, or is it understandable after so long without a title?
RK: “Referring back to the game against Fulham, I thought their celebration was over zealous, a little bit too excitable. They haven’t won anything yet but I think they can start to believe that they might. As I say, I’d love to see them do so. And when they do they can celebrate all they like, however they like. I don’t have a problem with any of that but on that day I thought they were a little bit disrespectful to Fulham and it didn’t need the amount of celebration at that point. What they’ve done now is tell us they are contenders. They really are, and that they’re in this title race. So good luck to them! I think things have changed. I think they’re more focused now. I think they’re more aware of the responsibility of the weight the jersey carries. I said all along Arsenals are a Rolls Royce of a football club. You would never find George Graham marching up and down touchlines like Arteta has often done. Wenger occasionally got carried away but he knew the nature of the beast that he was in charge of. Arsenal are a proper football club as Graeme Sounness would say, and they don’t need to be making headlines for reasons at different times that they have been this year.”
Q: Manchester City beat Liverpool handsomely without Haaland. How do you reflect on his first season in England (so far).
RK: “Well, that’s an ongoing debate, and if you talk to someone like my mate, Andy Gray, he will point out that Haaland has only done this year what centre forwards are supposed to do, score goals. City are a good side with or without him. Liverpool weren’t at their best at the weekend. I’m not quite sure anymore what is Liverpool’s best? The 7-0 against Manchester United was a one off I think. They’re some way off from being anything like as good as they once were. So I don’t think you measure City by saying they beat Liverpool comfortably without Haaland. At last Jack Grealish is playing some football. At last. Eighteen months is it since the move from Villa? But I thought he was really good at the weekend. As far as matters outside the league are concerned, I think the worst news Man City have had in the last fortnight is that Thomas Tuchel has been appointed at Bayern. He knows how to beat them, he knows how to beat a Guardiola side.”
Q: Liverpool lost at City, certainly not helping their hopes of a top four finish. Should Liverpool fail to do so, do you think Klopp could walk away at the end of the season?
RK: “ I’ve felt all season long that that’s a possibility. You know we’re into the seventh season of his tenure at Anfield after 7 years at Mainz and then 7 years at Dortmund. It went wrong with both clubs in that seventh year. I’ve had this conversation with Jason McAteer, who lives and works in this part of the world now a lot. I was consoling him yesterday with the thought that going forward right now you’d fancy them to win the European Conference League! But they’ve got to finish, I think, what seventh to get into that? They’re nothing like the team that they were. I love Klopp. I think he’s honest. He delivered a title, and that’s no one did that at Liverpool for 30 years. But there is an argument that maybe he should have done better in the time when they were flying. Maybe what he’s won isn’t enough. Maybe he should have in two other finals done better in the Champions League. There may be another title, but you know that people also were chasing Manchester City. Well, Nottingham Forest were chasing Liverpool in the 1980s and got the better of them ultimately. So it can be done. There aren’t excuses like that to be made.”
Q: In Gakpo, Salah and Nunez do Liverpool have the most dangerous front three in the Premier League?
“I think the front three are top class. Nunez, I think he’s a really good player. Jota is the one that doesn’t often get a mention, but he was a fantastic signing. The impact that he had, I think he’s done really, really well for them. Yeah, I think at the top end they’re fine. But their midfield for some time has been either too old or not good enough. You can’t go into big games with the players that he’s been playing in that area. I’ve always been of the view that Tiago was the wrong man in the wrong club at the wrong time, just because he slowed them down. You know the rock and roll football they played, he brought a different style to Liverpool. Talking about Jason McAteer again, he’s been convinced all season that Bellingham will be joining. Well, why would you do that? If you’ve got the choice of everything, or stay where you are at 19, he’s playing for a very good side in Germany. We’re all presuming he leaves, but he might decide that at 19 and as captain maybe he wants to stay in Germany another season, and if he did he’d still be as sought after as he is going to be this summer. But if I’m Jude Bellingham, I’m not thinking about Liverpool at the moment.”
Q: Brendan Rodgers lost his job this weekend. Were you surprised or was it inevitable with the recent form Leicester have been showing.
“I think Brendan’s looked tired and needed a change for some time. The contract was the reason, and we were led to believe the payoff was an enormous figure. I don’t know if that’s ended up being the case, but I like Brendan. I think he’s a good coach. I think he will get another job of similar size. I think the days when he had ambitions to manage Arsenal or Spurs have probably gone. Somewhere in his own mind he probably still thinks about Chelsea, because that was really where it all started for him, but I think those clubs are beyond him now. I think he’s got to be looking at the likes of Southampton, which is a fantastic job for somebody. Wonderful part of the world. Great club, good structure. So I think Brendan or Graham Potter, perhaps, should be thinking of Southampton or perhaps Leicester now for Graham. He’ll come again, but it didn’t surprise me at all that Brendan and Leicester decided to part company. It’s gone on too long, I think, but I’m a great advocate now of coaches not staying over a long period of time anymore in the modern game is necessarily the right thing. We’ll never see another Wenger. I think the formula Chelsea had was probably spot on. I’ve spoken to John Terry about that constant change of coaches of freshness. Players that weren’t impressing this one but they might another. And you get a lift around the club, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Q: Who are your three teams you feel are heading for relegation?
RK: “A couple of weeks ago I thought that the three that were in the relegation zone were the three to go down and then all of a sudden it changes. I said Saturday when Palace won, well Roy will get them there! They’ll grind out another 8 points somehow. 2 wins and 2 draws. It’s not good fun for those that are involved, it’s horrible. But it’s extraordinary. 12 changes of managers in the Premier League now, this year. Incredible!”
Q: It was another poor defeat for Chelsea under Graham Potter this weekend and he was sacked yesterday. Was that the right decision?
“I don’t know another business that rewards failure In the same way as football does. The compensation figures being talked about are mind blowing. They are untouchable for 99.9% of the population in the rest of the UK and beyond. I was really happy to see Potter get the job. I thought he’d earned it. I hoped that he would make a success of it. Equally as I did Frank Lampard, because I think it’s important for English coaching.
If St. Georges Park has done anything, or was supposed to do something, it was to create coaches. And therefore there has to be a path for them to the top, and I really wanted both to succeed, but it was evident to me and I said, so about 3 or 4 weeks ago, it’s too big for him. He couldn’t do the job, so you’ve got to make a change. I don’t know where he turns next. Maybe if he was less involved, that would be a first positive step for Chelsea Fans. It’s frightening what he’s created there, frightening and no surprise to see Potter go. But, as I say, he’s a good man, and I’m absolutely no doubt that we’ll see him again, no doubt at all.”
Q: Chelsea are in the ¼ finals of the Champions League, but they are now in the bottom half of the table. Has Todd Boehly bitten off more than he can chew?
RK: “He came in here thinking he was going to tell us all how it should be done, and he found out very quickly that whatever he thought was going to happen hasn’t and doesn’t look like it’s going to. Going out and buying what he did in the manner that he did. I have sympathy for Potter there, what was supposed to do with all those players? But, on the other hand, no one’s made more changes than he has in the Premier League this year and the two that he made at the weekend? Cucurella and Reece James as two of a back three and Loftus-Cheek as a right wingback? What’s he doing?”
Q: Declan Rice played his part in a huge win for West Ham this weekend. Do you feel this is the summer he needs to move to a ‘bigger’ club and what do you think his fee should be in the current market?
“I love him and I agree with what Graeme Sounness said, he does need to add more to his game but he’s growing and learning those things. He does need to score more goals. He does need to create more goals, but I think he’s a terrific player. I don’t know where he goes. If I’m Liverpool I reckon Declan Rice is exactly what they’re looking for in my view. I’m not sure if United are because they’ve got others in that area. Eriksen being one and I’m sorry that he’s not playing now but he was the best signing of last summer, for nothing. Fantastic piece of business. Wonderful player! One of those that runs a football match at his pace, and they are few and far between, and have been down the years.
“Rice is definitely not for Chelsea. The last thing they need now is another midfield player. Maybe Arsenal but you’ve got Xhaka and you’ve got Partey in there. There are no certainties in life other than death, taxes and that Declan Rice will not play for West Ham next season. And I think they know that he’s been a wonderful servant. He’s done his bit.”
Q: Many feel Both Harry Maguire and Harry Kane’s club careers have stagnated. Should they push for moves this summer?
RK: “Well, I’ve said all season long it’s a big decision for Tottenham, because Kane’s worth now is not what it was. And as the months and then the season subsequently pass it’s only going to get less and less as his contract diminishes. So they’ve got a big decision to make. I think that they will be looking to sell this summer. If I’m Kane I’m looking to leave this summer. I think that would suit all parties. I think Kane needs a change. There are two clubs that I think would suit him. The first, if he wants to be part of a project, that’s Manchester United. If he wants to go and win things: Bayern Munich. The only guarantee of a trophy next season for Kane is in Germany. Alan Shearer used to say to me when I talked about his lack of medals, he would say ‘Well medals don’t buy shopping, and I would say, yeah, well, I’ll ask Ryan Giggs about that or the boys that play at United. They’ve got medals and shopping, and I think Kane, you want to finish with something to look at so often.
Q: Should Tottenham fans be worried about the future? A managerial departure + the rumours about Kane leaving are always circling plus both he + Son are ageing and the fans seem fairly discontent overall at the moment.
“No, I don’t think they should be and I don’t think the club are in decline. I really don’t get it, you know. I mean, what more could Daniel Levy have done as an owner? He’s delivered a world class stadium. Now I know the fans will say we’d give that up and go back to the lane for a trophy. Well, that’d be if you’re moving into a modern world. What Spurs had to do was get themselves a modern stadium. The training facilities are fantastic. The geography couldn’t be better. You’re in London. These modern players want to live in and around London. He’s given them every type of manager or coach that you possibly could want but then he prematurely sacks Mourinho and we don’t know why. Five days before a cup final! That was a very strange decision to make for me. But what has he not done? What do the Tottenham fans want? He’s provided money for coaches. It was not Daniel Levy who picked a second string team to go to Sheffield United in the FA Cup this year. If Spurs picked their best team they win at Sheffield United, then they’re in a semi-final at Wembley. That was Conte who decided to take that gamble. Levy has picked world-class coaches to go and work at Tottenham and it hasn’t worked out. What I think Tottenham need is a freshness on the pitch. Whoever goes in needs to look at what he’s got there very closely, and make big decisions quickly about moving on players that have been at the club too long. I wouldn’t part company with Son, not for the world, but I never understood the Richarlison signing. £60m?! For Richarlison?! You need players that are not Spursy. I suppose but then they’ve always been Spursy, you know.
Q: You spoke about being unimpressed with Steven Gerrard’s recent charity match antics. Do you think any Premier League team will take a chance on him after his failed Villa stint?
RK: “All I was saying about Steven was the fact that he had been Liverpool’s captain wasn’t a problem when he went to Villa. It was when they sacked him. It was the stick they beat him with, because his association with Liverpool remains as strong as it is. He’s not going to get the Liverpool job. Alright it’s his team, it’s in his blood. It’s the team he’s grown up with ever since he stopped wearing a blue jersey at Everton, as a red. I think he needs to distance himself from Liverpool if he wants another job in the Premier League. Whether he gets one or not I don’t know but what I thought was unpalatable about the charity game was those Celtic supporters, whether you like them or not, had paid a good deal of money to travel and to get in. They have a right if they want, as long as they don’t cross the line, to demonstrate their displeasure towards Steven. He should remember that Liverpool and Celtic are two clubs with a deep affection for each other. Liverpool’s first game post-Hillsborough was against Celtic. He was representing Liverpool, not Rangers. What happened was leftover from his time at Ibrox. Keep that for another place. If that had been Morelos, and Gerrard was managing Rangers, and he was confronted by a similar situation… I’m sure he’d have a lot to say about it and it wouldn’t have been complementary.”
Q: Do you think Gerrard has a chance of getting the Leicester job?
RK: “I don’t see that. No, not for me. I could be totally wrong about that, but I think he’s got to set his sights lower now. I think if he wants to work back in the Premier League, I think him and Frank [Lampard] have got to go and get a team out of the championship. They’ve had a go and it hasn’t worked out very well.”
Q: What have you made of Everton under Farhad Moshiri? Is it the worst mismanagement of a PL club you can recall?
RK: “I think Everton are a shambles. I think Moshiri is the de facto owner. I’m not sure that it isn’t Usmanov who actually owns Everton. I refer you back to something I said two years ago. A friend of mine here in the Middle East was offered the club. Then £500m was the fee, and £500m to finish the stadium. It was too expensive. No, was the answer. Everton, of course, denied that the club was for sale, but they’ve been hawking it around for years. Who would buy it now? I don’t know. It’s a great club. I am really sorry to see them in the mess that they are. I don’t know what the outcome is there either. If I’m a prospective buyer, I’ll wait for them to go into administration. Why would I pay any more than I have to right now?
Q: Are you aware of the celebration police account on twitter, which jests about some of your clips, if so what do you make of it!
RK: “I am. I’m flattered. I’m very, very happy about it. It’s something that I endorse, and I embrace totally. It’s a bit of fun. Why not? It’s like all good humour, you exaggerate in order to make the point and the celebration police does that with me. I never felt that, and we discussed this, that Arsenal shouldn’t celebrate. I said they over celebrated against Fulham, and I think that any reasonable Arsenal fan would probably say, yeah I think we did really, because we haven’t done anything. Then. That was the point I made. Now they have. Since then they’ve told us we’re in this. We’re title challengers. We can go on and win it. But I, as I say, I embrace, I endorse, I am flattered, it makes me laugh!
Q: England were back in action after the World Cup and beat Italy and Ukraine. Do you feel they are still progressing under Southgate?
“I’m not sure about that question. You presume that I think that they’ve progressed under Southgate, and I’m not sure that actually they have done that. I think it would have been better if he’d left after the World Cup. I think it was time for someone else to have a go, and I think ultimately that will prove to be the case. You know we get the celebration police with England fans getting carried away. A ball hadn’t even been kicked and they’re talking about winning this Euros.”
Q: Is Bukayo Saka the most exciting player in England right now? Is he deserving of the praise coming his way at the moment?
RK: “Terrific, he is an absolutely brilliant, great player. But let’s not forget that as many good young players as we’ve got on the scene now, Southgate has failed to get the best from them so far. In the very same way as 3 or 4 others. Eriksson, Hodgson, Capello failed to get the best of the golden generation. You could argue that that group were better than these. England have got to win something. If they’ve made progress, and I can see the argument for that: ‘we got to the final in the Euros, and you know we got to the semi-final of a World Cup. Progress? If that’s what progress is. Okay. But are they yet able to say we can beat the best in the world? The evidence may suggest no.”
Q: Have you seen any improvement in the use of VAR since Howard Webb replaced Mike Dean?
“I’m a big advocate and big fan of Howard Webb. Dave Webb could have done a better job than Mike Riley in fairness. But it was great to see Howard back. I think he’s a class act. I was happy to support and go along with a number of errors that were taking place at the time he inherited. See Riley hasn’t yet gone. They need to get him out of the building and give Howard Webb total freedom to do what he wants now. Have I seen improvements? No! Three minutes and 30 seconds at West Ham this weekend to decide whether that vital goal should stand or not. I know there’s an argument, that it is so important to West Ham that we need to get it right. Well, yeah, it was important to Sheffield United that the goal they scored at Villa a couple of years ago was given, and it wasn’t. If I’m in that stadium I’m thinking what are they looking at? But there’s a reason that we didn’t have a VAR Operative at the World Cup, and every other European nation did. There’s a reason for that.”
Q: Do you ever think about returning to work in the UK or is that not on your agenda?
RK: “No, this is lovely! I thoroughly enjoy working here. The people here have been really good to us. Personally and professionally I can’t speak highly enough of them. They have been big supporters that came at the exactly the right time in our careers. The two years we had on the radio were thoroughly enjoyable. I’ve always said they were the best two years of my career. We had great fun at talkSPORT and it came to a natural end at the right time when this opportunity became available. Well, I say, at the right time, we’d been working for BeIN Sports for 18 months out of London. But I sit here and have a view of West Bay and Doha, the capital city across glorious blue water. The sun comes out every morning and I play golf as often as I like, twice a week minimum. I watch Premier League football. What is there not to like?
“By the way, let’s never forget the decision to come here really wasn’t ours. I read a piece from Michael Vaughan today talking about his recent issues, and he said that I can now tell what it’s like to be cancelled. I think Andy and I were amongst that first group to be cancelled as far as the UK was concerned. I look back on a whole host of things that have happened subsequently, and scratch my head as to why that was the case. I know why I can’t share those thoughts with you, but it’s all worked out very well. I’m very, very happy. Here I have a lot of empathy for those guys at Sky Sports who are going. How management of a company can say to people that have worked for them for 30 years ‘You need to apply for your job.’ I’ve enormous sympathy for those guys. Good guys as well, really, good guys, a lot of them. I know them very well, but now I’ve no plans to leave here.”
Q: Who are your favourite commentators to listen to, what makes them so good?
RK: “I think Peter Drury is terrific. I think he’s the best. There’s a point of difference with Peter. You know it’s him. Jon Champion I used to enjoy listening to. Jon was, I think, a modern day, Barry Davis, very wordy, very different. But I like John. Sam Matterface, I think he’s really good. That was the right decision that Niall Sloane made [to replace Clive Tyldesley with Matterface for England matches on ITV]. It was the right call. Sam is of a modern era. He understands and has more empathy with the audience that he’s broadcasting to than Clive, or the argument is that you know a lot of us do. And that’s the other thing about being here. There’s an audience that grew up with us and understands us. And we’re still talking to that very same audience. I think in Sam’s case, there’s a new group.
“I think that the ‘Voice’, Martin Tyler, has done remarkably well to continue to keep such high standards. I say, ‘Voice’, that’s Martin Tyler. We always used to say that he was the best finisher that there was, commentating as the ball goes in and Drury, I think, has taken that mantle now.
I obviously come from an era where I idolised David Coleman, John Motson and Brian Moore. These guys were the forerunners for me, but it all has to change. It’s a natural process. It’s got to. That’s evolution. We can’t stand in the way of that. Seb Hutchinson is a good guy and I think Pien Meulensteen is very good.
