Stan Collymore &#8211; CaughtOffside

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

I am intrigued to see the changes Sir Jim Ratcliffe makes at Old Trafford but for him to reportedly be ‘guided’ by Sir Alex is a strange one. What does Sir Alex know about how to rebuild a modern-day football club? – With the greatest of respect, I would argue none.

To be able to have Sir Alex at the end of a phone when you need advice and support is one thing, but to have him lead a total rebuild is another. I think if Sir Alex knew the answers to United’s problems, he’d have shared them by now — he’s been out of his management role for 10 years and the club have done nothing but go backwards ever since.

So for me, I think it’s really just about Sir Alex enjoying his ambassador duties now he’s retired and letting the club go so it can move in a new direction altogether.

England’s two outsiders with a chance of starting in next summer’s Euros…

The priority is to top the group and qualify for next summer’s European Championship, and I am expecting the boys to get it done.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Marc Guehi started at centre-back and I am also expecting Jarrod Bowen to start on the right wing with Trent Alexander-Arnold playing in a midfield role.

I think if Bowen and Alexander-Arnold can play well from now until April time next year, they’re the two who could sneak into Gareth Southgate’s starting team for the Euros.

Watch this space.

The post Collymore’s column: Premier League have made example out of Everton in preparation for Man City, Sir Alex Ferguson must let Man United go and which two England outsiders could make Gareth Southgate’s Euros squad appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Marcus Rashford’s poor representation, Unai Emery’s future and who should replace Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United

Stan Collymore — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:11:16 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Marcus Rashford’s decision to be represented by his brothers, where Unai Emery’s fantastic spell at Aston Villa could take him next and a look ahead to this weekend’s Premier League blockbuster between Chelsea and Manchester City, plus much more.

——————————————————————————–

Marcus Rashford has been poorly advised…

I don’t have a problem with family or friends representing players.

There are some great examples of players who are professionally advised by members of their family – Harry Kane for example. He is looked after by his brother, Charlie, and while some may argue Kane’s career could have been better up to this point, he’s certainly not had a bad one and he’s now at a European giant and in with a chance of smashing the all-time record for number of goals scored in a single Bundesliga season, so I am in no way anti-friends or family representation.

However, when it comes to Marcus Rashford, I would definitely consider sounding out a proper, world-renowned agency if I were him. There is always that sense of loyalty and emotional connection among friends and family so I know it may be hard for Rashford to suggest parting ways with his brothers Dane and Dwaine, but there have been instances in his career where he has been poorly advised; one of which is choosing to stay with Manchester United.

The right time for Rashford to leave Old Trafford was three or four years ago. Not only is the club a circus and a total mess, but if Rashford, and his team, had thought it about properly, he could have served as the perfect understudy to Kane in England’s attack. His biggest mistake was agreeing to play on the left wing and not to develop as a central striker. Had Rashford been better advised, his agent would have gone to Manchester United and relayed that.

Unfortunately, there seems to have been little to no career planning on Rashford’s part and some of that blame will have to lie with his representatives.

Erik Ten Hag isn’t the right man for Manchester United…

Erik Ten Hag does not have the personality to carry Manchester United. When you look at Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola, they both have the personalities to lead two of the world’s biggest clubs – Ten Hag just does not have it. Whatever ‘it’ is, he doesn’t have it.

More Stories / Latest News

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

Being Manchester United manager comes with immense responsibility but whenever I look at Ten Hag on the sidelines, he just doesn’t fill me with confidence. It’s quite the opposite actually – he looks like a rabbit caught in headlights, especially whenever United fall behind.

I know the club try not to sack their managers during a season but he has got to go. If the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe decide to stick with Ten Hag for the time being, fine, but come the end of the season they must do everything in their power to get Roberto De Zerbi out of Brighton and Hove Albion.

Let De Zerbi come in and ship out all the deadwood. He’s a beast, he wouldn’t mess around.

Not only that, but he would almost certainly get the best out of their underperforming squad. He can mould a team to play the ‘Manchester United way’, and make no mistake if he took charge at United and was in a press conference following a defeat he’d make it known to the players that their performance wasn’t good enough. No ifs or buts, if De Zerbi said they must improve, they would have to improve or risk being let go.

It’s really simple for me – Ten Hag should get sacked, and if Manchester United are serious about changing to this coaching philosophy and having a proper managerial presence around the place then De Zerbi is their man.

Gracias, Unai Emery…

Firstly, you have to pay the ultimate respect to a manager who goes into any club and turns the playing side of things around so quickly, and that is exactly what Unai Emery has done at my beloved Aston Villa.

I was at the club the other day and when I spoke to people and asked what it’s like to work with Emery, they all said the same thing. They said he’s a workaholic who is at work from stupid o’clock to 9 p.m. every night. The man lives and breathes football, and apparently, his attention to detail is second to none.

Secondly, he, and Villa, are enjoying a fine campaign. They look on course to progress in Europe and are fifth in the Premier League table. Obviously, as a Villain myself, I am delighted but I would be lying if I said there aren’t concerns Emery could get looked at by one of the European big boys, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, come the end of the season. Although I don’t think one of the Spanish giants would take him now, if he were to get Villa to the Conference League final and qualify for Europe through their league position, then I wouldn’t rule out an approach from one of them. The same goes for Manchester United. I know De Zerbi would be my pick to succeed Ten Hag, but I would be amazed if United hadn’t already spoken to Emery’s agent.

I actually think Emery would want to stay at Villa, even if he was approached by one of the big clubs. He is a manager who has a lot of power where he is, he’s also adored by the fans, and let’s not forget – Villa isn’t a small club, so unless another team come in and matches, or betters, what he’s got going for him in the Midlands, why would he go anywhere else?

Chelsea will score this weekend but Manchester City will take all three points…

The featured game in the Premier League this weekend is Chelsea vs. Manchester City.

It’s a free hit for Pochettino and his Blues side. They’ll look at this game and know they’re huge underdogs, and rightly so, and say ‘Let’s just go for it’.

I think the home team will score but I still expect City will come out on top. I think the full-time result will be either 2-1 or 3-1 City.

The post Collymore’s column: Marcus Rashford’s poor representation, Unai Emery’s future and who should replace Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Ten Hag isn’t Man United class, Tottenham title talk is ridiculous, FIFA and UEFA are too passive where addiction is concerned and more!

Stan Collymore — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:40:51 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including why Saudi Arabia has every right to host the World Cup, why the Man United job is too much for ten Hag, plus much more.

—

Ten Hag is on borrowed time at Man United

Manchester United got a massive get out and that’s the involvement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

For me, the problem with Erik Ten Hag is that if you go to a club like Manchester United or Liverpool, the two biggest clubs in English football, you have to be demonstrative, have an inner strength and a big personality.

Look at Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. Does the culture at Liverpool and Man City sit on their shoulders like a heavyweight or do they stride forward with it under their arms?

When they lose two or three games they get a bit prickly and don’t suffer fool’s gladly. A bit like Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton. They’ve all just got ‘it.’

I don’t see major progression at Man United under ten Hag. Has he made average players good, good players very good and very good players into world class regulars?

There’s no Manchester United player significantly better than when they joined the club under ten Hag, and even Marcus Rashford has gone back to being famously inconsistent.

I think Manchester United are traditionally a club that won’t sack managers during the middle of the season, so I think they’ll wait and see whether he can get them another trophy before a parting of the ways before the Euros.

The Sandro Tonali situation shows how passive FIFA and UEFA are at tackling addiction issues

I was the first player to say I’m struggling with mental health issues, about 25 years ago, and my club at the time said ‘score a couple of goals and you’ll feel much better.’

I went to Roehampton Priory and after three weeks I got called back because I remember them hiring a counsellor for the players to go to and talk to, which I think was quite ironic.

If we fast forward 25 years, we’ve got things like the Sporting Chance Clinic where players can go for help.

It’s paid for by the PFA so a player would call them, explain their problems and you get help.

Should things be safer for the players these days, absolutely yes. They are exposed constantly to gambling sites, television adverts etc.

I think that the Premier League are certainly wealthy enough to be putting aside a significant chunk of money to be able to ensure that every player knows that there are additional services available to them and support for them in the same way that they know that there are Alcohol and Drug programmes.

FIFA and UEFA now need to look at where they’re getting their money from, and I would say to TV companies that ‘if you want to be an official broadcaster of the Premier League or the FIFA World Cup or any of those tournaments, you cannot post gambling advertising on your channels.’

You can lead the horse to water but you can’t make them drink. With the stigma that’s still in the game for anyone struggling, it’s important that the Premier League are a lot more aggressive in making it known that there are organisations available to help with addiction.

Title talk for Spurs, Newcastle or Arsenal is one for the kids

It’s the ridiculous nature of influencers being involved in football discourse too that’s led to talk about Newcastle United, Arsenal and Tottenham being potential champions of England.

We’ve never really analysed a season starting until eight to 10 Games in, and we’re still in that period so let’s just say Spurs, for example, have had a really good start. Nothing more than that.

They play Chelsea this weekend who are a work in progress and will only finish as a ‘best of the rest’ in seventh, eighth or ninth.

Newcastle haven’t found it difficult to marry up the rigours of a Premier League season with the Champions League but that may well come, Arsenal I still can’t get excited about and, in any event, Man City are still far and away the title favourites.

The current champions of England, champions of Europe and the FA Cup winners are just starting to go through the gears, have been champions in what five of the last six seasons, and some are already talking about other clubs being able to take their crown?!

We shouldn’t even really be talking about title contenders until at least February, March, April or May.

Influencers such as Salt Bae are turning the game into a ‘Football’s got talent’ show

This goes back to the World Cup and beyond. Influencers like Salt Bae, a guy who has literally made a career by sprinkling salt on steak, being able to infiltrate football circles – including getting on the pitch in the World Cup final – is what happens when you don’t get strong leadership.

You get corruption and you get people coming in that destroy the integrity of the game.

I have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get accreditation for tournaments for example, but now you’re getting people turning up as a one man band with a really cool little gimbal and tripod and because they’ve got 20 million followers, what UEFA and FIFA have done is almost allowed anyone that wasn’t working for a ‘legacy sports organisation’ into the building.

It’s like watching Britain’s Got Talent or America’s Got Talent. There’s got to be a backstory to everything.

For the youngsters, they love it and think it’s great but we are heading towards getting into very dangerous territory whereby, if we’re not careful, those of us that have a journalistic background, can speak eloquently about the technical aspects of a game, who are accurate and professional in our research and spot on in our presentation, are moved to one side for people that just shout at major sporting events just for clicks and likes.
We’re gonna get to a stage whereby a press box that only has a finite amount of spaces are populated by influencers ahead of serious journalists. We’re just going to end up with lots of people doing lots of silly things.

I was embarrassed watching IShowSpeed at the Ballon d’Or and I was embarrassed watching Salt Bae at the World Cup. It’s time that kind of thing was was frowned upon.

I’ll go to Saudi Arabia to form my opinion rather than being swayed by the media narrative

Let’s put this into context.

Before the Euros in 2012, the media said that no one who is black should go to Ukraine. That there’s loads of Nazis running around and it’ll be horrible.

I remember interviewing a young Nigerian sitting on a park bench who had lived there for seven years, firstly as a student and then had a job. He hadn’t seen this apocalyptic scenario that’d been painted by the US/UK media, so that was sort of anecdotal evidence.

For the World Cups in South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, if you read what was printed by some media outlets, it would’ve painted an abhorrent picture.

I was told to stay in the main football zones, ‘don’t go into the townships or you will get killed.’ So I went into the townships and chatted to people and saw how important that was.

They’re all very different cultures but they must be experienced. We can’t have a situation where journalists are making their minds up before they arrive in places and steering the narrative in that regard.

Let’s not forget, at the moment we are literally living through the COVID inquiry whereby a prime minister was talking about the death of old people as if it was just sort of unwrapping a lollipop.

The corruption that came with it – £37bn to friends and associates… Would we want journalists from other countries suggesting that we shouldn’t host a World Cup based on their own biases which they’ve read about in papers or online, rather than experiencing it for themselves?

The next World Cup is going to be in United States who’ve effectively been in a permanent state of war for virtually 100 years. There’s lots of corruption that goes on in the United States, lots of homelessness, there’s 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prison population there. The amount of black people, brown people, Latino people that are in prisons in the United States are a massive concern to organisations like Amnesty International.

More Stories / Latest News

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

Nov 24 2023, 11:22

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

Nov 24 2023, 11:06

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Nov 24 2023, 10:59

Are we going to take the World Cup away from the United States? No, because we think of the States as all Apple iPhones, Hollywood movies, freedom and liberty.

The Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia is upon us and I’m accredited but I’m gonna sit on it for a while and find out everything that there is to know about Saudi Arabia before making an informed decision.

The one thing that I won’t do before I’ve even been there is say all of the people there are bad, because I should have learned my lesson from the universally positive experiences I had in South Africa, in Ukraine and in Russia.

I was a very good example of somebody who went and asked relevant questions, rather than just sitting at home, on Twitter going ‘this is a really bad place.’

We we need to get used to the fact that, whether we like it or not, Saudi Arabia and Muslim countries – that have a very different cultural approach – are going to host an Olympics, a World Cup and big major events.

I’m gonna look at each country that gets a World Cup or a major tournament, and judge on the ability to have freedom of movement, the ability to talk to people and to get to know the culture a little bit better, before coming back with an opinion.

The post Collymore’s column: Ten Hag isn’t Man United class, Tottenham title talk is ridiculous, FIFA and UEFA are too passive where addiction is concerned and more! appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Bellingham could be world class, ESL isn’t the way forward, Everton charge a pre-cursor to Man City, Man United’s poor transfer business and more!

Stan Collymore — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 11:25:54 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including how Jude Bellingham can become world class, what Sir Jim Ratcliffe is likely to do at Man United if results don’t improve, how Everton’s potential 12-point deduction spells trouble for Man City, plus much more.

—

European Super League isn’t the way forward

No, I don’t think a European Super League is the way forward. UEFA particularly have bent over backwards, with concessions, more games, more money. If you have a European Super League what’s it going to be predicated on?

It’s gonna be very, very difficult for clubs such as Villa and Forest, who have won European Cups in the past, Celtic too, to get into if it’s invite only. That will have a massive impact.

I could certainly see an example of clubs already owned by oil states or oligarchs or hedge funds, that are now spending €400m on players and are mopping up their domestic league, will just give a cursory nod to the league that they come from whilst going on and playing in the Super League.

Any attempt to start to be able to get momentum, however, should see supporters put their clubs under the greatest pressure to say their clubs must not, under any circumstances, enter a European Super League.

I think that particularly with the English clubs, if they were to say no again, we will never join the ESL because the whole idea would be dead in the water. There would be no European Super League that would be worthy of the name.

Saudi Arabia, big American banks… the groundwork has already been laid in some respects. The pre-season International Champions Cup in America is their attempt at giving English and European clubs an insight into what potentially is possible.

Come to America and play in front of 100,000 at the University of Michigan and we can make you richer than than you ever imagined. I could see a situation whereby the Saudis and the Americans, maybe even countries like India or China may want a little foothold.

Several entities will be needed to make it possible but just imagine if Manchester United are offered a billion pounds a season to play in any competition. The odds are that their owners are going to go absolutely yes because they then wouldn’t have to worry about whatever money comes into their club.

It’s a very persuasive argument.

If you’re trying to recruit players like Mo Salah for £30/40m and somebody all of a sudden says we will give you a billion pounds, or half a billion pounds a season to play in this league…

The Premier League and the FA, instead of having the boll**ks to say we’re kicking you out and you’re never coming back will look at it and say the clubs can have their cake and eat it.

Do I want ESL to happen now? Absolutely not.

But ultimately, countries like Saudi Arabia and some of the big banks and hedge funds in America could offer the kind of money at the moment that even the Premier League can only dream of, so one will more than likely make it happen in some form or another at some point in the next decade.

Man United’s recruitment has been abysmal

Antony, Jadon Sancho, Casemiro… there hasn’t been one Manchester United player that you would say has been a consistent eight out of 10 over the past couple of seasons.

In terms of a comparison with Liverpool or in particular Manchester City, United’s recruitment has been abysmal. You’ve always got to have an 80% strike rate with the players that you bring into your football club.

They have to be an eight out of 10 to be able to push you forward. Look at Manchester City; Haaland comes in and does the job, Grealish comes in but the Doku arrives and takes his place and all of a sudden it’s ‘now you’ve got to be a nine out of 10, Jack…’

I don’t see anybody at Manchester United that’s anywhere near that level, and their transfers haven’t been above a five out of 10.

That means Erik ten Hag is under major pressure, no doubt. I don’t think at the moment he’s got the kind of credibility he needs, having come from Ajax, to be able to survive a full season of mediocrity.

He got out of jail winning the Carabao Cup last season, but if Jim Ratcliffe comes in, and is ruthless as he has been in his business dealings, then you’re looking at who potentially could replace ten Hag.

The obvious answer will be somebody like Roberto De Zerbi who has done very well at Sassuolo and Brighton. He plays an aggressive attacking style of football that Manchester United fans would like, and he’s taken a team up to Old Trafford twice and played them off the park.

Ten Hag’s demeanour and personality isn’t exactly endearing either and he comes across as a little bit of an automaton, a bit of a robot.

For me, Jim Ratcliffe would probably look at it and go ‘I’ll give him to the end of the season and see what he does.’

Everton charge would be a pre-cursor to complete meltdown at Man City

I think it’s really simple. The Premier League are quite prevalent at briefing journalists and if they’re throwing a 12 point deduction at Everton, which is a significant sanction against one club, for the 114/115 charges that are facing Man City, they’re effectively saying ‘we’re ready, our lawyers are across all of this now, and as an organisation we will not accept it.’

Manchester City’s lawyers have tried to kick things into the long grass for quite a number of years now and these aren’t fresh charges.

The Premier League are almost prepping the footballing public as to the severity. Most people would look at Everton and say they feel a little bit for them. They’ve had a shaky time and they’ve never offended anybody, and they come from a great footballing city.

If the Premier League can go straight away bang 12 points that might relegate them for the first time in I think 70 years, they would have no qualms whatsoever in throwing the book at Man City. Even if just a quarter of those charges were proven, there is a situation where Manchester City will not only be bounced out of the Premier League, but thrown towards the bottom of the pyramid.

The stakes are so great now it could mean an absolute meltdown for Man City, to the kind of proportions that Rangers suffered in Scotland when they fell foul of paying players via elaborate schemes.

The Premier League only have the remit to be able to kick them out of the Premier League of course, but the Football Association and the Football League won’t want them in the top divisions of their competition either. City will go to the very bottom of the pile.

Messi is a worthy Ballon d’Or winner… but so are Haaland and Alvarez

I’m not a big fan of individual awards because they’re so subjective and almost pointless. What’s the criteria? Goals scored? Assists given? Influence over your team or any other metric you ascribe to?

Then you get people like Pep Guardiola coming out and saying Messi should have his own award, and that will have weighed heavily on the minds of journalists and the people that vote for things like that.

If you’re looking for the fairy tale and the guy that’s come in and almost single-handedly won a World Cup then Messi is a worthy winner.

However, if you’re looking in terms of numbers, Erling Haaland comes in and breaks the Premier League record – which is very difficult to do – in his first season, then he has a valid shout.

What about Julian Alvarez, who won the World Cup and scored goals, and provided assists for Haaland and his team-mates?

Brand Messi and brand Ronaldo have been very, very strong for a long time, but in years to come I would like to see some kind of criteria attached to the award in the same way that you would judge the Golden Gloves or similar.

Bellingham could edge further to world-class status with El Clasico winner

El Clasico, because of the political relevance; Real Madrid still very much seen as the club of the Spanish state and Barcelona, the standard bearers for their semi autonomous region, is still the biggest club game in the world.

There’s political elements that perhaps only the Celtic v Rangers games can compare with. If they had the kind of money and the kind of exposure that La Liga has, I think that would be the biggest game because it would be effectively split because of the religious rivalry. It’s very nasty and they very much don’t like each other.

If you are looking at the historical relevance, Europe’s most successful team are Real Madrid, and Barcelona bring a huge amount of relevance to modern football fans and youngsters because ever since the Ronaldo’s and Messi’s, the Ronaldinho’s and the rest, they are still a huge club in most people’s eyes.

There’s no reason why Bellingham couldn’t dominate Saturday’s match because this isn’t a good Barcelona side by any means.

As a defensive midfielder that has the ability to be able to get forward and who has already scored 12 goals I think… to be in that position before the clocks go back, I think most people would say he’s on his way to becoming world class.

I think with 20+ goals this season, 10+ assists and a great Euros where he perhaps comes up with an iconic Bryan Robson type goal, there will be no arguments.

The jack of all trades will be the master of all of them.

The post Collymore’s column: Bellingham could be world class, ESL isn’t the way forward, Everton charge a pre-cursor to Man City, Man United’s poor transfer business and more! appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Gambling in football, Phillips and McTominay on the move, Guardiola gets his way and why finishing above Liverpool will be reserved for champions

Stan Collymore — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:12:00 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including how football can help Sandro Tonalo overcome a gambling addiction, what the January transfer window could have in store for Kalvin Phillips and Scott Mctominay, as well as a look ahead to this weekend’s Merseyside Derby, plus much more.

————————————————————————-

Newcastle will stand by Sandro Tonali but football must do more…

I’m sure Newcastle United would have been shocked when they heard Sandro Tonali’s agent confirm he has a gambling addiction, and although they won’t come out and say it, they would have felt disappointed but the club will look after him. They, like all clubs, have a responsibility to look after their employees and that’s what they’ll do. I thought Eddie Howe’s press conferences, which have obviously been dominated by questions about Tonali, have been handled impeccably well.

Tonali isn’t the first player to suffer from a crippling addiction. Although gambling isn’t something I have ever suffered with, I know of a lot of players, past and present, who do struggle with it.

It’s a really big problem. The phasing out of gambling-related front-of-shirt sponsors is a good step to take, but we need to do more to shield addicts and also to help prevent the next generation from becoming addicts. I think there should be a total ban on all gambling-related advertisements. We should make football a gambling-free environment; this would allow those who do have a problem to enter a ‘safe space’ while not totally forbidding those who do gamble responsibly from doing something they enjoy. I think that is probably the fairest way to manage it, but we have to do something because this can’t continue.

Kalvin Phillips and Scott McTominay on the move?

Obviously, Tonali is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines; just like Brentford’s Ivan Toney, and of course, should the inevitable happen and his number eight is suspended for a period of time, Howe will need cover.

A few names have already been thrown around, including Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.

I think both of these players, who aren’t getting the game-time they need at their current clubs, will be on the lookout for new teams once the January transfer window opens, and although I rate both, I would be leaning toward Phillips if I were a manager.

He’s a very aggressive midfielder, who can get forward in search of a goal when he needs to. He also has an excellent range of passing and would certainly complement a Newcastle United team. I’m not sure I see him at St. James’ Park though.

I saw some reports recently about Bayern Munich being interested in him – it wouldn’t surprise me if Harry Kane is influencing his club’s transfer policy. I am sure Kane would love to welcome an international colleague to Bavaria, and if they can’t get Joao Palhinha out of Fulham in January now he’s signed a new contract, Phillips would be the ideal alternative. It’s definitely a move I can see materialising.

As for McTominay, it seems unlikely he’ll ever become a regular at Old Trafford under Erik Ten Hag, and he would certainly be the type of player who could fit Howe’s high-work rate system, but I have a sneaky feeling David Moyes and West Ham will be back again in the New Year for him. McTominay would thrive under Moyes; I am sure of it – can United get a £30 million, or higher, offer again though? – We’ll have to see.

Jude Bellingham’s biggest tests are yet to come. How he responds to them will define his legacy…

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great player, but I don’t want to get too carried away.

He’s had a monumental rise. Not only did Birmingham City retire his shirt when he left as a teenager, he went to Borussia Dortmund and did very well before moving to Real Madrid and starting excellently.

More Stories / Latest News

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

It’s hard to think he’s still just 20 years old. But let’s not forget… Everything is going well for him at the moment, but that won’t always be the case. He will have down periods in his career, whether that comes from Real Madrid not playing well as a team, or bad luck with injuries. It’s in those challenging moments that I want to see what Bellingham does. I want to see how he responds from a five or six-week injury lay-off. That will show exactly the player he is and is capable of becoming.

If he continues on this upward trajectory, he certainly can become one of, if not, the world’s best midfielder. At the moment, I don’t think he can claim that title because he’s pretty good at everything. What I mean by that is that he isn’t exceptional at one or two particular disciplines. He has been scoring a lot of goals recently, which is great, but can he keep it up? – Can he become the next Frank Lampard? – Only time will tell, but he definitely has the potential to go on and become the best English player of all time.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp get their way (again)…

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have not shut up about ‘player welfare’ and how our crowded fixture list is too demanding on players, and after the FA confirmed they’re scrapping third and fourth-round replays, it seems both have once again got their way.

Listen, I don’t necessarily disagree with what both managers have said. There is more football than ever being played these days and footballers, although paid very well for what they do, are still just human beings. They feel the mental and physical effects of things and we shouldn’t pretend they don’t.

However, the issue I have with Guardiola and Klopp, and other managers who are demanding a reduction in games, is that they only ever target the English game’s heritage, and never Europe’s. They want fewer Carabao and FA Cup games, but never fewer Champions League games, so is it really their players’ welfare they have in mind, or do they just know what side their bread is buttered?

The day one of those two comes out and says ‘Right, our players are playing too much, in addition to scrapping third and fourth round cup ties, let’s do more, let’s reduce the number of European competitions’ is the day I will take them seriously.

To be this season’s Premier League champions, you will have to finish higher than Liverpool…

This weekend’s Premier League action should kick off with a bang. It’s the Merseyside Derby at Anfield and, like always, I am sure it’s going to be a brilliant contest. There haven’t been many occasions where the divide in quality between Liverpool and Everton has been as big as it is now so Sean Dyche has his work cut out. Obviously, Liverpool are the overwhelming favourites, and rightly so, but if Everton can put in a solid performance and show heart, determination and desire, their fans will forgive them even if they lose – the most important thing for the Toffees is that they are hard to beat, and I think they have a chance of being just that.

Liverpool still have a very new squad, especially in midfield, so it’s going to be interesting to see how some of those new names handle their first Merseyside Derby. I suspect they’ll come through it and continue to have another great campaign. I think if any team finishes above Klopp’s men, they’ll be champions. For me, Liverpool will either win the league or they’ll finish second. I think they’ll finish higher than Spurs and higher than Arsenal – the only team I see doing better than them over a 38-domestic game season is Manchester City.

The post Collymore’s column: Gambling in football, Phillips and McTominay on the move, Guardiola gets his way and why finishing above Liverpool will be reserved for champions appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Euro 2028 can bring us together again, player strikes, top man Saka and more!

Stan Collymore — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:13:58 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Premier League funding of lower leagues, Bukayo Saka’s current form, why he supports player strikes, what Euro 2028 will do for the country, plus much more.

—-

English teams will dominate in Europe again but that might not be good for the game

Brighton got a bit of a bloody nose in in match day one and then they sort of regrouped by match day two. I think that Newcastle’s result against PSG was perhaps more relevant than ever and it made a change because it wasn’t just the champions putting on a performance like that.

West Ham winning the conference league last year – there were some very good teams in that tournament, and let’s not forget Aston Villa in the game in Warsaw. We’re in a very, very strong footballing zone, without a doubt, and I don’t think many people will be surprised that the Premier League with its riches would have the strongest teams.

When I was a kid growing up, I think it was six European Cups on the bounce. Liverpool three times, two for Forest and one for Villa over six consecutive years,. Then you had the likes of Ipswich Town and Tottenham winning the UEFA Cup, and even Scottish teams like Aberdeen were winning the Cup Winners’ Cup.

The Premier League undoubtedly is entering an era where it’s money has, and will continue to make, a difference in terms of getting the best players from around the world, and I wouldn’t be surprised that unless there’s some sort of real attempt from UEFA to implement some sort of financial fair play that allows teams in Holland, Belgium and Portugal, never mind in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, to compete on a level playing field, then I don’t think it will be all English clubs that win the major European trophies.

Spanish clubs will always be there or thereabouts but we will get to a point if you’re not careful where it’ll be the vast majority of clubs are English with two or three Spanish clubs mixed in that are winning everything.

Let’s not forget that if we’re looking back 40/50 years ago, we’re talking about clubs from behind the Iron Curtain being very competitive. Russian teams, Ukrainian teams. Others like Dukla Prague.

Those days are gone, unfortunately, but for me, a healthy UEFA ecosystem means clubs in Eastern Europe, Portuguese clubs and others would be competitive in Europe, and I don’t see that being the case for some for some time to come.

—

I’m in favour of player strikes but the caveat is managers need to play the game too

I don’t think authorities give a **** about players. They’ll be provided with analytics and data that shows a players physical state dropping off at times of the season but FIFA still want to push for a World Cup every two years because it makes them more money.

You also have the ridiculous situation that whenever there is a three or four week break, players are going off to America or Asia for lucrative pre-season or end of season tournaments.

The reality is that yes, I agree with Pep and I think if European players went on strike they would have to insist on two things.

Pep Guardiola

Firstly, a six-to-eight week, end-of-season, break. All of June and all of July off, no football anywhere except for a World Cup or a European Championship.

Secondly, a maximum number of games played, or a cap on how many minutes an individual player can play in a season.

For example, if Jack Grealish has played 45 games for Manchester City and then he’s got five more games to go in a season to make it 50 – and that’s the total amount he’s allowed but he has cup games and England games still to play – I’d want to see Pep Guardiola go ‘I’m happy for him to play five games potentially for England even if that means missing Manchester City games. We’ve got a big enough squad to cope.’

It would call out the managers that are bleating about player welfare, and show quite clearly who is serious about it and which managers are the hypocrites.

If Pep is serious, then I would absolutely follow him on this.

—

Euro 2028 can bring the country together again just like in 96 but the experience will be diluted

Euro 96 was effectively the rebirth of the English flag for the English team. If you remember it was just a year before the Labour Party voted ‘things can only get better’ and there was a real sense of ‘we’re in the EU, we’ve got Italian baristas making coffee in even the smallest towns, we’ve got Polish builders and carpenters doing a great job…’

There were people coming from left, right and centre and working in all sorts of industries and Britain felt inclusive. It felt like the English flag was no longer a flag that traditionally had been flown by the National Front and the BNP. Euro 96 was a real galvanising force for everybody.

To be honest, I think that the vast majority of football fans are still in that mindset, despite the fact that the country has a very nasty post-Brexit feel about it at the moment.

With regards to Euro 2028, I’m not against more countries having big tournaments but I do think from a cultural perspective, that European Championships and World Cups should only ever be held in one country.

I think that that’s an important component of a tournament, so I’m not a massive fan of a Pan Britain or a Spain/Morocco/Portugal tournament. Even an America/Canada/Mexico tournament means a lot dilution of the full experience.

The experience is supposed to be as much about learning about the culture in that country, as it is about spreading football love, so to speak.

I’ll give an example of Germany 2006. There were at least 100,000 England fans over there and pretty much most of them came back with an attitude of ‘we’re only a generation or two away from our grandparents who are always talking about World War Two in Germany and whatever, but what a great country what a great welcome.’

I’ll go and I’ll enjoy Euro 2028, but I don’t think it will resonate in the same way as Euro 96 because that was solely an English tournament and it coincided with the feeling of England being comfortable in its skin politically for the most part.

—

Bukayo Saka gets the nod ahead of Jude Bellingham as player of the season so far

The reason I’ve chosen Saka is because he’s not allowed missing the penalty for England, which is only two years ago, to affect him.

Being a particularly young man, a relative rookie, he’s already being thought of as the top man, the game changer at Arsenal and he’s taking that all on board whilst scoring goals and creating chances. Just brilliant.

I was sat amongst the families during the Euros for the semi-final and the final. I sat with Jack Grealish’s dad, chatted to my former captain, Stuart Pearce, and I saw Saka with his girlfriend after the game.

I said to my mate I’m gonna go over and say something. I said “you won’t know me from Adam, but I’ve been in your position. Not missing a penalty, but I’ve been in your position now as a footballer where you have days where something doesn’t happen for you. Just keep your chin up.” He looked really crestfallen and it could have been very, very easy over the next couple of years for his form to be really up and down.

You look at Marcus Rashford for example, getting involved with charities, school meals and taking on the government… Rashford’s been hot or cold on the pitch at present. There’s been no consistency.

I could equally say Jude Bellingham as my pick for the season’s best player so far. What an incredible start for life at the world’s biggest football club.

His trajectory – Birmingham-Dortmund-Madrid – has always been forward. That dude has also very cleverly done well to escape the spotlight. He comes back and plays for England and if he plays poorly, he goes back to Madrid and plays well. Nobody’s really gonna care if you play poorly.

For Saka at Arsenal, he’s still the top man, and he’s still doing it with the England squad. He’s been absolutely exceptional is for me, and I’m really looking forward to him scoring the match-winner in a semi-final or a final which would completely banish the memories of his penalty miss.

—

The Premier League must help to fund the lower leagues to stop more clubs going out of business

The chasm between the Premier League and the other English professional leagues is growing, and I think that what has to happen is a clear pipeline of money from the English top-flight downwards must be established. Look at the Premier League benefactors and the system that they work in – it’s the football pyramid.

Luton Town were in the bottom tier of the professional game in League Two and went all the way up to the Premier League. They’re not an established Premier League club yet, but let’s say we’re looking back in 10 years time and Luton have the money to buy Jude Bellingham because they’ve spent their Premier League money very wisely. They’ve got into Europe, they’ve done a Brighton and then some and they’re competing in the top four of English football… you would say that’s impossible but with the with the money that’s available the game, it’s not impossible.

The thing that annoys me is, is that when when clubs get into the Premier League, they pretty much moan and bitch around the table ‘I gotta give more money to a team in the National League. Can’t we ever have the extra few million for ourselves?’

If 15% of all money that we generate in the Premier League is automatically going down the leagues in a very clear system that supporters can see, that the FA can see, that there’s nothing hidden and that every single penny is accounted for and it’s gonna be in perpetuity so that in 10 years time we will have seen the trickle down effect of that money, then that’s the way to do it.

We also need a fit-for-purpose ‘fit and proper persons’ test.

Ron Martin at Southend, the Oystons at Blackpool, those in charge at Charlton for years, Scunthorpe have problems, Oldham had problems… all of it could’ve been avoided if, on day one, when they owned their club, the authorities assigned the club a real world value and the new owners had to put down a 10% deposit in cash at an FA bank which was kept is a bond. Then if bills etc couldn’t be paid, the FA can release funds from the deposit.

Also, club owners must have their main source of business income in England. Not Scotland, not Wales, not tax havens, not Dubai, not America… Any business that runs Manchester United for example, or FSG at Liverpool – the business has to be registered in England, which is often not the case.

Clubs have got to look after themselves and work within their own financial parameters of course, but I do believe Premier League clubs are responsible for the pyramid up until a point probably not far beyond the National League South or North.

Perhaps the Isthmian League, where it’s a very good standard of semi pro teams, and you’re getting x amount of ex-pros, Academy kids etc.

That would be the starting point whereby those clubs upwards could get some sort of regular funding when required.

The post Collymore’s column: Euro 2028 can bring us together again, player strikes, top man Saka and more! appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Ollie Watkins for England, Marcus Rashford’s worrying form and can we please scrap VAR?

Stan Collymore — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 13:23:04 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including VAR’s latest horror show, Ollie Watkins’ England-worthy form, Marcus Rashford’s stop-start performances and which player Mauricio Pochettino is continually playing out of position, plus much more.

————————————————————————-

Get VAR out of the Premier League NOW!

I was a big advocate for VAR. I really wanted to see it introduced into the Premier League because I thought it had the potential to make our game so much better, but I was wrong. I’m happy to admit that I have since changed my mind and would like to see it removed. It is absolutely killing the game. It has drained virtually all of the excitement and passion out of the sport, not only for the fans but also for the players. I don’t know about everyone, but I certainly watch games now and even when a belter of a goal goes in, I struggle to get excited because you never know – someone’s bollack hair might be deemed to be offside. It really is pathetic.

For the marginal improvement in correct decisions, and it is marginal, it just isn’t worth it. VAR was never supposed to be the main character in this show, it was introduced to stop the pub conversations about what decisions were right and what decisions were wrong, but it’s made it all so much worse. All we talk about now is VAR. There is more focus on the technology and the constantly adapting and changing rules than on the actual 90 minutes of action. I don’t care if the Champions League use it, or if it’s been a success in the World Cup, get it out of the Premier League now!

Ollie Watkins for England? – Absolutely!

Ollie Watkins is in great form and he managed to bag his hat-trick against Brighton and Hove Albion in front of an onlooking Gareth Southgate. There is no way Watkins cannot be considered for an England call-up later this month. It’d be his eighth senior cap and he deserves it.

Of course, Harry Kane, who is banging them in for Bayern Munich, is still going to be the country’s main man but he cannot be our only dependable striker. We need options and back-ups, and Watkins, in my opinion, is the best of the rest – at least right at this very minute.

More Stories / Latest News

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

England have two international matches coming up including a friendly. If Southgate doesn’t want to risk playing him in a European Championship qualifier against Italy on 17 October, then he should give him a chance against Australia the week before.

Marcus Rashford is walking a Manchester United tightrope…

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Marcus Rashford is in dire form. His season hasn’t yet started and his head is very much down. It’s clear by now that Rashford is a confidence-player. He blows hot and cold with very little consistency to his game.

He’s a couple of weeks away from turning 26 years old; he’s no spring chicken and it’s very unlikely that his game is going to dramatically change – he is what he is. So if I were in charge of Manchester United’s technical performance analysis, I would be advising Erik Ten Hag to stick with him for so long, probably another two or three more games, and if he continues to misfire, drop him.

I would certainly be looking at a new left-sided winger in the summer though, and I would want a player to come in and look at Rashford and say ‘I am taking your spot and you’re never going to play for this club again. I’m the main man now.’ because I think it could be really easy to discourage and overwhelm Rashford and effectively end his Old Trafford career. He’s far too nice. If he stopped playing now, would he be considered a United legend? – Absolutely not.

Enzo Fernandez is not a number 10…

Chelsea play Fulham tonight and although we don’t know what Mauricio Pochettino’s starting lineup will be, it’s likely he’ll ask Enzo Fernandez to play in behind the forward again. I rate Pochettino a lot. He’s a top manager but I think he’s getting it wrong with Fernandez. I don’t understand the obsession of playing him as a number 10. He isn’t a number 10.

Fernandez is at his best when he’s playing a deeper role and allowed the freedom to travel between boxes. At the moment, he’s being penned into a very small area of the pitch and it’s restricting his best attributes.

The post Collymore’s column: Ollie Watkins for England, Marcus Rashford’s worrying form and can we please scrap VAR? appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Hannibal should start this weekend, why Sandro Tonali needs time and my prediction for Spurs vs. Liverpool

Stan Collymore — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:55:57 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including reports Barcelona are under investigation for alleged bribery, Hannibal’s impressive Carabao Cup performance and why Sandro Tonali needs time to settle into life at Newcastle, plus much more.

——————————————————————————-

If they’re guilty, throw the book at Barca…

The biggest story this week has been the Spanish police raiding the Spanish Soccer Federation’s office after payments totalling €7.3 million were allegedly made between 2001 and 2018 from Barcelona to the referee’s association, as per AP News.

If this turns out to be true, and it is a big if, because let’s not forget, while there is never any smoke without fire, there is also innocent until proven guilty, so if these shocking allegations turn out to be true, I hope the book gets thrown at them; not just Barcelona either, but the whole of Spanish football.

Barcelona should obviously receive the strictest punishments, but Spain’s male and female national teams should also be thrown out of all international tournaments for at least five years.

The same applies to any footballing nation that thinks they can use their financial power to undermine the sport’s integrity.

Hannibal deserves more Man United chances…

Manchester United and Erik Ten Hag are under pressure, and although they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in the Carabao Cup mid-week, a cup win isn’t going to do much to ease that pressure. They’ve got to go again in the Premier League, and as it happens, their next game is against the same opponents.

I do expect Ten Hag to name a much-changed starting lineup but I think Hannibal is one player who deserves to keep his spot. We haven’t seen a lot from him yet but from what I have seen so far, particularly on Tuesday night in the cup, I thought he was excellent. He played a really good game and looks to have the energy and tenacity Ten Hag has been demanding.

I would like to see him start alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. I think Hannibal is certainly a better option than Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen in midfield. The only question mark is over whether Ten Hag will stick with Mason Mount or not.

More Stories / Latest News

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

In my view, Mount is a jack of all trades, master of none type of player. It’s about time managers dropped the rose-tinted glasses and saw him for what he is. He’s a squad player who will give you average performances across multiple positions. He’s never going to be THE difference.

So stick with Hannibal and give him a run of games to really show us what he’s all about. If his form drops and he struggles to meet expectations, then rotate him out and that’s when Mount should be given a chance to come in, but as I have said, based on his recent performances, Hannibal at least deserves the chance to continue.

Sandro Tonali needs a full season to show his true ability…

Sandro Tonali started life at Newcastle United with a bang. He scored a few minutes into his competitive debut against Aston Villa on the Premier League’s opening day and everybody thought ‘Wow, this guy is going to be the signing of the summer’ but things have since dried up a bit.

I’ve seen he has received some criticism, but I think he’s a classic example of a player who needs time, perhaps the whole of his first season, to settle into life at St. James’ Park, as well as into the demands of the Premier League.

I feel like if he was honest and explained, in his own thoughts, why he has struggled in his first seven or eight games, he’d say the pace and physicality of the English league is getting the better of him a bit. He is more than capable of being one of the country’s best midfielders, but he is going to need time to adapt to how the game is played here. Once he does that, which may not be until his second season, I think we’ll see the player Eddie Howe saw when he decided to sign him from AC Milan in the summer.

Patience. He’ll come good and it’ll be worth it, I’m sure.

Goals galore in Spurs vs. Liverpool…

I can’t wait for this one – it should be a great game. I think there will be goals, and lots of them, when Spurs host Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening.

There is no denying it – Spurs are in great form and they’re definitely re-energised under Ange Postecoglou but I am not sure they can beat Liverpool. I know both teams are within touching distance of Manchester City at the top of the table, but I think this weekend’s game will show exactly why Liverpool will finish higher than Spurs come the end of the season.

For what it’s worth, I think both of these teams are fighting for second when it comes to wrestling the title away from Pep Guardiola’s side, but they’re certainly two of the best of the rest; I just don’t think Spurs have the depth, nor the experience, to really challenge just yet. Hopefully that changes over time but I can see Jurgen Klopp delivering a bit of a tactical masterclass and the Reds coming away 3-2 winners.

The post Collymore’s column: Hannibal should start this weekend, why Sandro Tonali needs time and my prediction for Spurs vs. Liverpool appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Erik Ten Hag is under pressure, how to solve a problem like Mykhailo Mudryk and are we too bias when it comes to the Premier League?

Stan Collymore — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:07:52 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including the pressure Erik Ten Hag finds himself under at Manchester United, the possibility of Mykhailo Mudryk leaving Chelsea on loan and are English fans too biased over the quality of the Premier League? – Plus much more.

————————————————————————————

There is no denying it, Erik Ten Hag is under massive pressure…

He’s massively under pressure. When you concede three goals in three consecutive games, it goes without saying the spotlight is going to be on you. Historically, the last United team that leaked goals to this extent were more of a cup side, so is that what Ten Hag is? – Is he a manager for the domestic cups?

We may look back at this column in a year’s time and say ‘wow, Ten Hag has done amazing’ but as things stand right now, saying he’s under pressure and struggling is not being too harsh. How United are doing right now is really concerning.

Jurgen Klopp was in a similar position when he took over at Liverpool. He was tasked with understanding the club’s philosophy and connecting with the fans, and he did it. He got it. He knew what the club were all about and he’s done it without spending the same kind of money that Manchester City and Chelsea have. When you look at the signings Klopp has made, the vast majority of them have been a success and have become important players. Andy Robertson is a perfect example. He was signed for peanuts from Hull City and has gone on to become arguably one of the world’s best left-backs. Virgil Van Dijk too, I know they did spend a lot on him, but no one expected him to be as good as he has been. The same can be said for Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Alisson and Roberto Firmino. Everything Klopp has done at Liverpool, up until this point, has worked. The same cannot be said for Ten Hag.

When you look at the signings Ten Hag has made, despite having three transfer windows, you still can’t really see which players form the spine of his team. There are question marks over pretty much every senior player.

One thing I will say about the Dutchman though – although he is undeniably under pressure, I think the Glazers will stay patient until the end of the season. Any big decision on the manager will come at the end of the season but there is a huge expectation for the side to qualify for Europe again, and the way things are going, that doesn’t look likely.

Scott McTominay criticism is a little harsh…

One player who raised the most eyebrows this week was Scott McTominay. The Scotsman came on against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and failed to put in a good performance. If anything, he was poor. There is a clip that has gone viral that shows his lack of desire to track back, and while I understand why some fans and pundits may be criticising him for what has been perceived as a lack of effort, I think it’s harsh on the lad.

I would not say McTominay is a player who downs tools and isn’t a good professional. Yes, he didn’t have a good game in the Champions League and was far from his best, and he definitely made a mistake in the lead-up to one of Bayern’s attacks, but let’s not be too harsh on him.

We all know he probably isn’t good enough to be Manchester United’s starting central midfielder, the same as Harry Maguire isn’t good enough to be their captain and first-choice centre-back, but it is hard for a player when you’re mocked when you play badly and mocked when you play well; and this is exactly what we see with McTominay. He does something wrong and he gets hammered but when he does something good all of a sudden it’s (sarcastically) ‘Oh, McSauce this, McSauce that’, so he has my sympathy in some regards, but I certainly think a transfer in January would be best for all parties.

Can Arsenal win the Champions League? Yes. Will they? No.

Admittedly, they have a chance of winning the Champions League; arguably their best for many, many years, but they won’t.

Just like last season was their best chance of winning the Premier League, Arsenal Football Club do not have what it takes to get across the finish line.

More Stories / Latest News

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United

Newcastle United midfielder could leave the club on loan in January

I have said it time and time again, if you’re serious about winning football’s biggest trophies, you need a squad, or at least the majority of a squad, of players who have the bottle to drag themselves, and others, to the very end. From what I can see, Arsenal have three of those types of players – Declan Rice, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka.

Martin Odegaard has just signed a new five-year deal – that’s great news. He is a top player, but as I said last week, he is no captain. He isn’t the leader who is going to pick up heads when things aren’t going your way. We all saw that last season. Odegaard did nothing during the Premier League’s run-in when things were getting tough. Nothing.

So no, I don’t think the Gunners will win the Champions League this season. They just don’t have enough players with an unbreakable winning mentality yet.

One club would be perfect for Mykhailo Mudryk, but will they even want him?

There have been some reports that a January loan move for Mykhailo Mudryk could be on the cards. I actually think that’s a great idea.

Let’s not forget, this is a young player who played just 44 games for Shakhtar Donetsk before Chelsea signed him for nearly £90 million. Some players can live up to the hype, others can’t, and so far, Mudryk has massively failed. He can still fulfil his potential – he’s only 22 years old but he has to rack up more games before Chelsea can expect him to be their first-choice left winger. He is simply too inexperienced.

When it comes to what clubs should try and snap Mudryk up, I know Roberto De Zerbi is a big fan – he even said he could win the Ballon d’Or in the future, but I wouldn’t send him out on loan to another Premier League club. As for Brighton, it’d actually be an insult to the likes of Kaoru Mitoma to even suggest Mudryk could go there and get in the team ahead of him.

I think he needs to drop down a tier but go and play for a club where the expectation to win week in and week out is just as high as it is at Chelsea. Whether or not they’d have him is another matter, but I think Borussia Dortmund could be the perfect club to get Mudryk firing and on the right track to becoming the player he has the potential to be.

It turns out those ‘farmer leagues’ don’t have a bad crop of players…

The final word from me this week is on Aston Villa and Brighton; both of whom kicked off their European campaigns with disappointing defeats on Thursday night. Credit to West Ham by the way, who did win. David Moyes is doing some incredible work through the early stages of the season.

But unfortunately, when it comes to victories in Europe, the same cannot be said for Villa and Brighton. They both lost 3-2 against Legia Warszawa and AEK Athens respectively. Not the best of starts for both, and although they may well go on to turn it around, my question to readers is: do we overhype the Premier League?

The reason I ask this is that Villa and Brighton are supposed to be two progressive clubs that most of us view as at the top of the next tier, and yet, both conceded three goals against two sides who are viewed as ‘lesser opposition’ and play in leagues that a lot of us are guilty of considering weaker than our own.

So, what do you guys think? – Are Premier League clubs not actually as good as we make them out to be?

The post Collymore’s column: Erik Ten Hag is under pressure, how to solve a problem like Mykhailo Mudryk and are we too bias when it comes to the Premier League? appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Martin Odegaard isn’t captain material, who should replace Gareth Southgate and why do Man United want to sign another underperforming player?

Stan Collymore — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 11:25:07 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including news Martin Odegaard is close to signing a new contract at Arsenal, the ongoing criticism of Harry Maguire, and who could replace Gareth Southgate as England manager, plus much more.

———————————————————————————————-

Martin Odegaard isn’t captain material…

Martin Odegaard is reportedly close to signing a contract extension at Arsenal. If and when that is officially announced, that will be really, really good news for the Gunners.

He’s been excellent since he joined from Real Madrid a couple of years ago, and with his current deal set to expire at the end of next season, making sure they do not lose arguably their best player for next-to-nothing is really smart from Arsenal. Odegaard is hugely important to Mikel Arteta’s plans and project so by keeping him on board really shows the ambition of the club and where they’re aspiring to be.

Odegaard was named the team’s captain last year, and while I think he’s a phenomenal footballer; he’s incredibly technical and easily one of the best midfielders in the country, I am not 100 per cent sure he is captain material. He doesn’t strike me as the type of player who is going to drag the others over the finish line. We saw that last season, or didn’t see it, I should say.

Let’s be honest – Arsenal bottled it last season. They bottled the league and are unlikely to have that kind of chance again for a very long time. Did Odegaard do all he could to guard the team against complacency? – Obviously not. Some may argue that the days of the Patrick Vieira’s and Roy Keane’s are long gone, but I disagree. Football teams still need that warrior-type leader in the trenches with them and I don’t think Odegaard is the type of player who offers that. I am not sure Arsenal have any players like that actually. Declan Rice may be the one in the future but it’s going to be very hard for Arteta to give the Englishman the armband without upsetting Odegaard, and potentially, the rest of the squad.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Man United? – Hmm…

There have been some rumours recently that Manchester United have added Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to their January transfer shortlist amid the uncertainty surrounding Jadon Sancho and Antony.

On Sancho – I have always defended the lad. My take on his time at Old Trafford has been that the club and fans should stick with him because he’s a real talent and has the ability to be the difference-maker. I have to turn my back on that now though. He came out, not for the first time in his career, and said he’s a scapegoat and went against his manager, and that never goes down well. As I said last week, I would be amazed if Sancho still has a future at Manchester United.

So to hear that United are looking for wingers isn’t surprising. I know there have been hints Sancho could return to Borussia Dortmund but I actually wouldn’t rule out a mutual loan move between Sancho and Kvaratskhelia. My only real concern would be that Kvaratskhelia has massively gone off the boil. He had a great first half to the season last season but he hasn’t scored a goal in Serie A since March and that’s a real big worry. Why are Manchester United looking to replace an underperforming player with another underperforming player?

Harry Maguire isn’t good enough for any top-six sides…

Harry Maguire came out earlier this week and admitted he isn’t used to receiving criticism but insisted he can handle it, and then his mum also came out and basically asked fans to stop picking on her son. Fair enough. It probably isn’t nice to see someone you love so heavily scrutinised by the general public, but let’s not go too overboard here.

Fans, and pundits, have every right to criticise a player if they believe they’re not performing to an adequate standard. Unless someone says something that breaks the law, then they’re not doing anything wrong.

More Stories / Latest News

“Beautiful left foot… ” – Eddie Howe excited by ‘real high potential’ Newcastle star

27-year-old signed by Bielsa could be set to leave Leeds United