In Video: “Tyson Fury playing Tyson Fury games” | Is Tyson Fury's retirement a strategy? | Back Pages Tonight
Welcome to Back Pages Tonight
Johnus Miguel Delany, Chief Football Writer at The Independent, and Rath Al Samurai, Chief Sports Feature Writer for The Daily Mail, join us to discuss the latest sports stories from the morning papers.
Tyson Fury’s Retirement Announcement
Rath Al Samurai: "I don’t believe for a second that he’s retired. I think it’s a play to get a great slice of the cake when that fight happens. I think Eddie Hearn is on the same page as that. It’s a bit of a pantomime, and I think we have to be cautious about taking Tyson Fury’s word on this."
Miguel Delany: "I think it’s incredibly complicated to separate what he’s done inside the ring from some of the things he’s said outside of the ring. His legacy is messy, and it’s hard to separate the good from the bad."
Nuno Rap for Arsenal
Rath Al Samurai: "It’s extraordinary that we’re having a row between two top teams. Forest have spent their way to where they are, and it’s a bit of spice before the game. When Slot makes these comments, it’s amazing how many times he’s been in the situation this season, covering Arsenal’s press conferences."
Miguel Delany: "It’s a bit of a mess, but it’s not impossible given that they’ve had successive draws against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City."
Kyle Walker’s City Leaving Party
Rath Al Samurai: "It certainly seems that way if he’s throwing a party. It’s been a bit more progress here to AC Milan interested in a move. I think it’s the right time for him to go, and I think he’ll need to be recognized for what a fantastic player he’s been for Manchester City."
Miguel Delany: "I think going abroad is the best way to do it. He’s got so close to 100 England caps, and it’s a great opportunity to play in one of the great football countries and clubs."
Extra Time Review for the Cup
Miguel Delany: "I think it would be a positive step to scrap extra time and go straight to penalties. It’s funny, as I was sitting there at Arsenal yesterday, and halftime extra time started, and journalist WhatsApp groups were talking about can we not just go straight to penalties now?"
Rath Al Samurai: "I agree fully with that. Extra time has got this habit of being very sterile. If you’re Tanwi and you’re looking up and saying, ‘Yeah, let’s just get straight to penalties, please.’"
Andy Murray’s Coaching Partnership with Novak Jovic
Rath Al Samurai: "I love it. I find it absolutely fascinating because look with Jovic, we can’t kind of forget what stage he’s at in his career. He’s 37 years old, and he’s number seven in the world. He clearly sees Andy Murray as someone who can help him bridge that gap."
Miguel Delany: "I think it’s a fabulous partnership. We saw it today, and it wasn’t a great first round for Jovic, but Murray’s got a great tactical mind and can help him find a weakness."