BBC Radio 5 Live

Opinions are divided over Antonio Conte at Tottenham, not least BBC pundits Micah Richards and Chris Sutton on this week's Monday Night Club.

Aaron: Re Paul Field (11:26). You cannot compare what Mitrovic did to what Cantona did. Cantona drop-kicked a fan, Mitrovic tugged at the ref. As for his aggressive nature, this is happening every single week in the PL with players surrounding the ref not just in this game.

BBC Radio 5 Live

The Euro 2024 qualifying campaign starts later this week but before that the Women's Champions League quarter-finals get under way.

Arsenal face Bayern Munich in their first leg later and former Arsenal and England defender Laura Bassett says it is "going to be a really tough game" for the Gunners.

“Arsenal haven’t been to a Champions League final since 2007 so it’s a really big occasion. It’s a really big chance for them,” she said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I’ve looked at both teams and their form and the way they have been playing. I think it’s down to the midfield battle and whoever is going to dominate that. There are some of the best midfielders that women's football has so it’s too close to call."

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

When Roy Hodgson left Watford and Premier League football for what he declared was the final time in May 2022, the elder statesman of management admitted he might only miss the game when he was away from the cold and rain pounding the touchline.

Hodgson's exile lasted less than a year. He is walking back into, if not exactly a storm, less than ideal conditions at Crystal Palace.

The 75-year-old has accepted a similar short-term, fire-fighting role at the club he left in July 2021 with the same brief he took on at Watford - namely ensure Palace are still playing Premier League football next season.

Hodgson and Palace chairman Steve Parish will hope he enjoys more success than he did at Vicarage Road, where he was unable to stop Watford returning to the Championship.

In appointing the old football nomad, Parish has gone for what he knows in Hodgson, the safe pair of hands, an experienced organiser after what was initially regarded as the more progressive, stylish approach when he was succeeded by Patrick Vieira.

He has also gone for what Hodgson knows, believing his vast experience and knowledge of many players still at Palace from his first spell - which started in September 2017 - will prove a crucial factor in improving performances and results.

• Click here for more from Phil

Dan Roan
BBC sports editor

Prospective owners for Manchester United have been told they have until 21:00 GMT on Wednesday to submit second, revised bids for the club as the takeover saga accelerates.

Just how strict this deadline is, and whether any other bidders emerge, remains unclear.

But it could mean that a 'preferred bidder' is declared by Raine - the investment bank conducting the sale - very soon, with it then granted exclusivity on the more thorough due diligence process that would take place.

It means the only two publicly-declared bids - Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe - will have had just a few days to consider the data and information they discovered last week during visits to Old Trafford and the club's Carrington training complex.

Both parties are understood to have held positive meetings with United officials and both are thought to remain committed to a takeover and expected to make improved, more detailed bids.

• More on the Man Utd takeover here

Image source, PA Media

Let's keep the debate going.

As you saw earlier, many fans are split on whether Conte was right to say what he said.

Was he? Does the 'truth hurt' as it was said, and does he deserve the chance to clear out the squad and make it his own, if he hasn't already? Or should he leave now after going so public against his players and the club?

Many people have had their say, have yours!

Get involved - #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

Remember to leave your name on text messages...

Image source, PA Media

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte will "have to call players individually" to clear the air after his frustrated comments on Saturday, says former Charlton centre-back Steve Brown.

With the dust barely settled on Conte criticising his players for being "selfish" and "11 individuals", a team meeting this week is impossible due to players being on international duty.

Brown told BBC Radio London's The Far Post podcast that Conte had limited options for how to proceed.

"With the break on top of his comments, it will be a fractured squad at the training ground," said Brown. "He may not have had the players in on Monday but, when they are in, he will need to have a team meeting, and it will be awkward.

"If he wants to fix it, he will have to ring round those individuals who are not there. He's in a real pickle, though. Perhaps he will just ignore the lot, do nothing and carry on."

While Conte's comments were extraordinary, Brown explains they could be a symptom of something unseen happening at the club.

"Normally, you have those chats in private," he said. "But maybe they have, they've been unsuccessful and this is the spill-out of poor communication behind the scenes. We're making assumptions but things go on at clubs that you would not believe."

Listen now on BBC Sounds for the full breakdown of Conte's comments

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham fan Hannah Ryan believes Antonio Conte acts as if he is doing the club a favour by managing them.

She said Spurs would be better off with "an up-and-coming manager who would see it as an opportunity and grasp it with both hands".

While Conte's recent comments were frustrating to hear, they didn't come as a surprise to Hannah.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "Some of the comments he made about the club and the club’s history were quite insulting and I thought he was mocking Spurs to our face.

"I did used to like Conte, I thought he did a great job for the first seven or eight months he was in charge but since then there seems to be some kind of contempt from him.

"When we went out to Milan in the Champions League, his immediate reaction in the presser was to talk about Milan’s history and how we couldn’t possibly compete with that.

"What he did on Saturday and what he has been doing for a while at Tottenham, he put the club down and he does have this tendency to act as if he is doing us a favour by managing us.

"Myself and a lot of other fans don’t appreciate that. As well as being quite annoyed by his comments, I wasn’t surprised at all.

"I think we would be much better with an up-and-coming manager who would see Spurs as an opportunity and grasp it with both hands.

"We need to rebuild and we should have done it in 2019 after the Champions League manager, bit we didn’t and we are on this merry-go-round."

Listen to Football Daily on BBC Sounds

BBC Radio 5 Live

Former Crystal Palace midfielder John Salako feels the club's fans "are going to be divided” over Roy Hodgson’s return as Palace manager.

Hodgson is back at his boyhood club after Patrick Vieira was sacked on Friday following a run of 12 games without a win, in which his team scored just five goals.

“The one thing I wished for Patrick is that he showed his teeth,” Salako said on BBC Radio 5 Live earlier.

“As a player he was so aggressive, he was a real winner, and he’s gone into that dressing room and I thought he gave too much licence.”

Reflecting on the return of Hodgson and former Palace assistant boss Ray Lewington, Salako added: "Roy is such a wonderful guy, he’s so experienced and he’s so loved and respected at Palace but he’s 75 years old. We’re supposed to be moving forward.

“He’s a safe pair of hands and Ray Lewington’s a great coach but the team isn’t fit enough. You need a big voice, Roy needs to go in there and really shake things up.

“Roy has got two weeks to work with the boys, do some fitness and do some shapes to come up with a plan to beat Leicester [on 1 April]."

Fulham

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You will get all the best punditry, fan views, stats and analysis right here.

Bookmark the page and come back for updates, or if you're on the BBC Sport app, hit the bell icon to receive push notifications on your team.

Image source, Getty Images

New York Times chief soccer correspondent Rory Smith said an example needs to be made of Aleksandar Mitrovic after his behaviour towards referee Chris Kavanagh at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Football Association said its standard punishment for his sending off at Manchester United was "clearly insufficient".

Smith told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "Mitrovic was beyond stupid, totally mindless. He’s got to be banned for quite a long time for that, surely.

"There was aggression in what Mitrovic did and I think that has to be punished extremely severely.

"There has to be an example made of Mitrovic. If the Premier League and the FA don’t make an example of it, then they can’t really complain about what follows."

Chris Sutton added: "There needs to be an example made of Mitrovic because it will filter down the chain. If young kids are seeing Premier League players pushing referees and being super aggressive, it will happen.

"I think Bruno Fernandes should have had a lengthy ban as well for his push because there needs to be clarity. Di Canio got 11 games in 1998 and Mitrovic was just as bad wasn’t it in terms of his aggressive behaviour?

"This cannot be allowed to just be a three-game ban."

Hear more from 33'35 on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Did Marco Silva's increasing intensity on the touchline contribute to Fulham's meltdown on Sunday?

The latest episode of BBC Radio London's The Far Post podcast investigates the incident that toppled their FA Cup campaign at Manchester United on Saturday - and suggests the frustration on the sidelines could have raised temperature levels for the Cottagers.

"We have seen Silva getting animated in recent weeks and I wonder if that type of reaction from your leader does translate to the players," said Phil Parry, BBC Radio London commentator.

"Small margins can really make a difference. I can completely understand Silva getting heated because of the competitive way he is and all the pressure on the season.

"It was such a shame as Fulham were in a really good position. They needed everyone to reset, calm down and keep themselves in check - but it's easier said than done."

Silva recently served a touchline ban after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season againstChelseabefore his dismissal at Old Trafford.

Former Charlton and Reading defender Steve Brown, however, suggested the Fulham boss' passion would rub off in a positive way.

"Sometimes when your manager is losing it on the sidelines, it gives you that extra oomph on the pitch," he said. "You see his passion and feel he's sticking up for you.

"Of course there is a line about how to do it but as your leader it can help you."

Full discussion on Fulham from 23'00 on BBC Sounds

BBC Radio 5 Live

Grassroots referee Simon King told BBC Radio 5 Live there is "100%" a link between the behaviour fans see on the pitch and how players at grassroots level behave.

"I was stunned," he said. "The stalking and intimidation, having to be forcibly dragged away.

"My first thought was, what would have happened had he not been dragged away by his own team-mates? And I think some of the Manchester United players helped get him away from the referee.

"When he initially put his hands on him you cannot do that. It's quite frightening that happens at the top level."

King said he would "100%" support a lengthy ban for Aleksandar Mitrovic and added: "A statement needs to be made to everybody. If that was to happen at any level of football, the ban should be set. People should be aware beforehand."

Image source, Reuters

BBC Radio 5 Live

Paul Field, head of the Referees' Association, told BBC Radio 5 Live that Aleksandar Mitrovic should serve a longer ban than Paolo di Canio for pushing a referee - and even face carrying out community work.

"I hope it's more than 10 games," said Field, who hopes the FA will consider a punishment similar to the nine-month ban Manchester United's Eric Cantona received in 1995 for an attack on a fan at Crystal Palace.

"Why couldn't he go down to some of the pitches down in London? Turn up - there's no car parking space, there's no changing room, there's a cold cup of tea, it's pouring down with rain, the pitches are in poor condition, every player is looking to pull one over on you. And, with all of that, you get abused by the parents. So why not do that for six months?

"At an amateur level, a player is looking at about a year's ban - why doesn't that carry through to the professional game?

"Think about what Eric Cantona did nearly 30 years ago and he got nine months. I think they should put a really decent time on this."

A player is typically suspended for three matches after being shown a straight red card for violent conduct, but that ban can be extended, depending on the circumstances.

Paolo di Canio was banned for 11 games in 1998 for shoving referee Paul Alcock when playing in a Premier League game for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal.

"The standard punishment which would otherwise apply to Aleksandar Mitrovic for the sending-off offence of violent conduct that he committed towards the match referee is clearly insufficient," the FA said in a statement.

"In addition, Aleksandar Mitrovic's behaviour and/or language was allegedly improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening following his dismissal."