Glen Johnson and Richard Dunne sit either side of the top two divide in the Premier League. Irishman Dunne spent nine years with Manchester City, and is the unfortunate holder of the record for most own goals scored in Premier League history, while he has also been sent off eight times, a joint Premier-League record (Sorry to remind you Richard!).
Johnson, meanwhile, spent three years with Liverpool under Rafa Benitez and Kenny Dalglish, and the pair sat down with Betway to discuss all things top-two ahead of the new Premier League season, in which they had to respond to the questions asked by holding up either a red (Liverpool) or Blue (Manchester City) paddle and then explain their rationale.
Best Front Three
Johnson: Liverpool, Dunne: Manchester City
Dunne: “Foden is an unbelievable footballer, Jack Grealish is going to improve massively this year, and then you add in Erling Haaland. I don’t think that Nunez is going to have the same impact as Haaland so I’m going to go for City”
Johnson: “I’m doing it with Haaland out of the equation, because he hasn’t done anything yet, but obviously Nunez is my gamble. I think Diaz is top class and Mo Salah is probably the best striker in the League. If Nunez can get it right with the other two, I think that three will be more dynamic than the others until Haaland performs”.
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Johnson: Liverpool, Dunne: Manchester City
Johnson: “It’s not so much the actual defence, but I think that with Fabinho when he is fit and sitting in there, I just think that triangle of three is more solid.”
Dunne: “I would look at Liverpool and say that probably Van Dijk and Konate are better than Dias and Laporte, but I think that the way Liverpool defend isn’t right. They defend too high up, they run back in straight lines and I think Manchester City as a unit are stronger.”
Best goalkeeper?
Both: Ederson
Johnson: “You can’t win a Premier League without a world-class goalkeeper, you got two of the best goalkeepers in the league without a doubt [In Alisson and Ederson], and having you guys won the league I think you always have to have a top keeper.”
Dunne: “If you’re looking for someone who can save shots, but also create goals, Ederson is the one. He can kick the ball about 100 yards and throw it onto people’s toes, so I think on that one we agree.”
Who has had the best summer transfer window?
Both: Manchester City
Johnson: “City’s squad is fantastic anyway, and you go and put arguably one of the best strikers in the world in that equation. Whatever the deal took, I think it’s a fantastic signing.”
Dunne: “Haaland for £50m, unbelievable deal. Kalvin Phillips for I think £40m+ is a great price. Julian Alvarez, the centre-forward they got from South America is sort of like Craig Bellamy. Dead fast, he works really hard. So with those players, they’ve probably replaced the likes of Jesus, Zinchenko and Sterling.
Who has got the best player?
Both: Manchester City
Johnson: “It pains me to say it, but it has got to be De Bruyne for me.”
Dunne: “That’s who I was going for.”
Johnson: “Even now, watching him play, there’s nothing he can’t do.”
Dunne: “He’s the best player certainly in the Premier League, I think possibly the best player in Europe. He is for me, a reason why I think Belgium have a chance of winning the World Cup this year. I think he’s a top player who gets better the older he is getting”
Who has the best manager?
Johnson: Klopp, Dunne: Guardiola
Johnson: “I’m a massive massive fan of Pep, of course, you have to be. I just think that he’s done what he has done with better players and a better squad. I think with Klopp, there have been a couple of moments in big situations in the league where he has had to rely on a younger kid in a key position and some of them come in and they still perform. I just think that’s a harder job, and I think Klopp has managed to compete with a squad like City with the squad that hasn’t always been that great.”
Dunne: “Pep just knows how to get over the line. But managing those players, keeping that squad really happy even this year. His win record is insane, everyone who works with him loves him and he’s changed how all young coaches think about the way they play football.
“The two of them are great managers but the one that constantly comes out winning trophies is Pep so I’m going to go for him.”
Who are the biggest club?
Both: Liverpool
Dunne: “Manchester City are a side that are growing, their fanbase is getting bigger and bigger and bigger, but Liverpool is a monster of a club
Johnson: “United, Liverpool, they were winning trophies before we were born. City are obviously a force of a club and they will go on to win things for many many years, but that history is the bit you can’t replace at the moment.”
Who will dominate the next decade?
Both: Manchester City
Johnson: “I’ve been quite nice to City here haven’t I! *laughs* But no, they’ve got bigger backing, they are always going to be buying the best players, always going to be improving, and at the rate they are improving, if anyone beats that then they are going to be the best team in the world in my opinion.”
Dunne: “I’ve done bits and pieces around Manchester City’s academy, and the standard of them that are coming through, and the plan that is in place for the ten-year-olds to get right through to the senior team is brilliant, and I don’t think anyone else can replicate it, certainly in England.”
To win the Premier League this season.
Both: Manchester City
Johnson: “Again, it pains me to say it, but they have a world-class manager, world-class signings, world-class squad. I just think its going to be up against Liverpool this season to try and bridge the gap”.
Dunne: “I think Liverpool are looking at it and thinking “hopefully, hopefully, they take their eye off the ball a little bit Man City”, but they don’t. Not under Pep. They keep going and going and going. Man City are relentless, they keep going and I fancy them to win the league again.”
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