Up Front

For the final Up Front of 2024, Simon has travelled to the north-east to meet the Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe.

In a wide ranging interview, Eddie talks about his aims at Newcastle, whether PSR is hindering its ability to compete for the biggest trophies, how much he considered the politics surrounding the club before taking on the role and his relationship with the hierarchy at St James’s Park.

He also discusses whether he would have liked to have been considered for the England job, his success at Bournemouth and why he chose not to become the manager of Celtic. Did he, as Simon has suggested in the past, bottle it?

He also reflects on the nature of football management in the modern era: why managers who fail aren’t necessarily bad at their job, whether you should stick doggedly to a footballing philosophy, whether it’s harder managing up or managing down and the pressures placed on footballers at the highest level.

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Simon Jordan, Graeme Souness, Troy Deeney and Henry Winter get together for the final Three Up Front of 2024.

They discuss why Mo Salah has gone to the press about his future, what might be going through his mind as he decides what to do and how Liverpool will respond.

Manchester City’s disastrous form prompts the question: is this the biggest test of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career? They also debate which City players are in decline and ask why did Guardiola sign that new deal?

They also take stock of Manchester United’s first match under Ruben Amorim and give their thoughts on which players he will stick with and which will be on their bike and they revisit Simon, Troy and Graeme’s pre-season predictions. Who picked Nottingham Forest for the drop…?

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In this episode of Three Up Front, with special guest Henry Winter, the panel are set the task of challenging football’s conventional wisdom.

For example, are football agents really the scourge of the modern game, or actually useful allies? Is Russell Martin’s ‘philosophy’ at Southampton destined only for the Championship? Contrary to popular belief, does the Chelsea board actually know what it is doing? And despite the top ten teams in the Premier League being managed by foreign coaches, are British coaches STILL just as good as they are?

Simon, Troy, Graeme and Henry examine all that and more as they put common footballing theories under the microscope.

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It’s been a busy week at Old Trafford. Erik Ten Hag has finally gone, and Sporting’s Ruben Amorim looks set to replace him as Manchester United manager.

In this episode, we find out why the 39-year-old might just be the person to get things right at Old Trafford after a number of false dawns. But how exactly will he get things moving at a club that has stalled for so long?

Troy returns alongside Henry Winter to discuss these key issues and more, including why new owners INEOS cut ties with their manager just 115 days after awarding him a new contract. Of course, they delve deep into the other key factors behind Ten Hag’s downfall, including the failure to instil a clear playing style, his terrible and expensive recruitment, and even his weak media persona. Henry argues that while Ten Hag undoubtedly had his weaknesses, he was also let down by the Glazers.

And with Amorim’s arrival imminent, we explore what he’ll bring to United and what it will take for him to deliver consistent success, from changing infrastructure to developing an identity. So, is Amorim the right man to lead United forward? Does his experience in Portugal set him up for success in the Premier League? Find out here, in the latest episode of Three Up Front.

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