CANTONA
Eric Cantona has urged Manchester City's defenders to stop
their own 'mannequin challenge' after conceding eight goals in three Premier
League matches.
The Manchester United legend, never one to stay quiet for long, believes that City can only put themselves in a position to win the league title if they sort their defence out.
Pep Guardiola's side rank 14th for clean sheets in the
league with three and Cantona doesn't think that is good enough.
'If someone could tell Manchester City's defence to stop
their mannequin challenge.. That's it guys, we got the joke. Eight goals
conceded in three matches [Burnley, Chelsea, Leicester] you can [now] start
moving again,' he said.
City, who beat Watford 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on
Wednesday night, have been criticised in recent weeks for seemingly not
respecting the art of robust defending.
Sportsmail columnist Martin Keown wrote on Tuesday that he
wouldn't have been able to play for Guardiola given his stance on tackling.
Keown feels that City need to go back to basics and stop
trying to change a way of playing that has previously worked. Cantona agrees
with the former Arsenal defender.
Another area of football Cantona feels doesn't need any
tampering with is the format of the World Cup.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino wants to change the numbers
of teams at the World Cup from 32 to 48 from 2026.
But Cantona feels that would be the wrong thing to do as
well as pointing out his dislike of the 46-year-old.
He said: 'Gianni Infantino, the new boss of FIFA: his last
name could be translated by 'very small infant'. Well Gianni, stop acting like
one!
'I want 48 countries at the next World Cup, I want penalty
shoot outs after 90 minutes in the group phase,' he added mockingly.
And although he enjoys talking about different aspects of
the modern game, Cantona hasn't ruled himself out of putting his love for
football on the back burner to look for a new passion even going as far as
hinting at competing at the Winter Olympics.
'So for the year to come, I take on a new challenge,' he
said. 'Beyond the wall, in the mountains where the White Walkers can rip you
limb from limb and feast on your remains. Winter Olympics, ski jumping. Forget
Eddie the Eagle, here is Eric the Seagull!'
WHY WOULD HE CALL
HIMSELF 'ERIC THE SEAGULL'?
The
former striker once said in 1995 after being sent off for dropkicking a fan
during Manchester United's match against Crystal Palace that 'when the seagulls
follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the
sea'.
Though
it has never been explained, there was a suggestion that the media were the
seagulls, his quotes were the sardines, and he was the trawler.
In
other words, the media were following him in the hope of him reacting and
giving them a new line or story.
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