In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Steven Gerrard’s Villa Park exit, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man United crisis and Mauricio Pochettino’s next job…
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Steven Gerrard deserved to get sacked by Aston Villa and here’s why…
Steven Gerrard was an apprentice at Liverpool when I was there, so I know him. And just like I also know Frank Lampard – I want them both to do well in management after they both served their clubs and country so well. But I think the problem for managers nowadays is that the old-school style of management is dead and gone. Similarly to Roy Keane, who is desperately trying to get back into the game and struggling. Keane probably won’t get an opportunity and why? – because players no longer react to the old-school methods that he and the likes of Gerrard and Lampard all experienced throughout their professional careers.
Players nowadays earn too much money, they’ve got way too much power and they’re constantly surrounded by an entourage off the pitch who constantly tell them how amazing they are. So the coaches that you generally see doing well in this era are the ones who are more understanding, more inclusive. The type of managers who want to put their arms around players and bring them on a journey.
I thought Gerrard would be that kind of manager but he didn’t do that at all with Aston Villa. I think the Villa squad would have felt absolute respect towards him for what he achieved during his playing days but once that had worn off, he just became ‘the gaffer’ and I think a lot of the boys felt he was quite aloof, not very forthcoming and strict. As for the fans, I know for certain they didn’t connect with him. After a lot of their games, he walked off the pitch and didn’t even bother to acknowledge them, and I think that kind of treatment made it easier for them to chant “get out of our club” while they were getting thrashed by Fulham on Thursday night.
I think the biggest lesson Gerrard will take away from his 11 months with Villa will be that if he stays in management, he has to tone down the ‘Gerrard the ex-pro’ attitude and focus more on being ‘Gerrard the good man-manager’.
I think what he should now though is take a little break and if he wants to come back, take a job at a club in the top half of the Championship, reinvent himself and apply his experience from his time at Rangers and Villa.
There is only one man for the Aston Villa job…
Christian Purslow shouldn’t be too far behind Gerrard. I think he’s got one more chance to find a good manager and for me, there’s only one man for the job – Mauricio Pochettino.
Aston Villa… Just pay the man his £10m-per year and get him in. Let him experience just how big this club is and how passionate the fanbase is.
I know some people will laugh and say ‘Stan, you’re mad. Do you really think he’d take the Villa job?’ – Yes, I know he would. I know for a fact he would. I know a lot of his coaches and so yes, he’d take it.
MORE: Ten Hag gets tough with Ronaldo as Man United star demoted to reserves
I know he’s managed at PSG but France’s Ligue 1 is not the Premier League and aside from the UAE state-owned clubs, Villa are right up there when it comes to having money to spend so if he did get the job, he’d be well backed. They’ve also already got a good squad so there’s a lot there to work with.
There is absolutely no reason why with the right man in charge and the right coaching and recruitment in place, Villa can’t be where Spurs, Arsenal and Man United have been during the past four or five seasons.
Ronaldo will never play for Man United again…
Firstly, let me say – when it comes to the debate of which one is better – Messi or Ronaldo, I have always said Ronaldo.
I think the thing that sets him apart from Messi, although both phenomenal, is the fact he hasn’t shied away from moving to different leagues in different countries to massive clubs with huge expectations. He went from Portugal, to England, to Spain, to Italy before coming back to England most recently. He’s an incredible talent and one that will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the sport’s all-time greats. I just wanted to make that clear before I disrespect him because I do think his actions recently are worthy of major criticism.
Don’t get me wrong – every player can make a decision in a snap moment that they may go on to regret. Myself included. But I’m not sure I have ever seen a player refuse to come on as a sub and then storm off down the tunnel. He had enough time to think about what he was doing but he kept going so that was the first finger up to the fans. Secondly, Ronaldo’s actions were incredibly disrespectful to Erik ten Hag. The 37-year-old directly challenged his manager’s authority.
And these are sometimes the problem you face when you create global superstars. Ronaldo has become his own brand and unfortunately, he believes he is bigger than his club and that’s not true. He may have hundreds of millions of followers on social media, but Man United made Ronaldo, Ronaldo didn’t make Man United – the same as Messi didn’t make Barcelona. Barcelona made Messi.
I’ve said it for a while now – Man United should buy him out of his contract and give him a free transfer in January after the World Cup. If I’m Man United, before Ronaldo leaves to join Portugal, I’d tap him on the shoulder and say ‘thanks for everything you’ve done, best of luck in Qatar, but you’re not coming back’.
Either way though – I don’t think he’ll play for Man United again. How can he and the club come back from this? How can you allow a player, a top earner too, who refused to do his duties and then stormed off to remain with the club? What example does that set to the others?
If that were a Manchester City player who did what Ronaldo did, Pep Guardiola would have them gone as quickly as possible, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland included, and the reason they’d be gone is that Guardiola knows the importance of maintaining squad harmony. If Guardiola were to let something like that slide he’d risk upsetting his entire squad’s dynamic.
Erik Ten Hag should start with two deeper midfielders against Chelsea…
This one will be no different to all the big games – it’ll be won and lost in midfield.
N’Golo Kante is out injured which will be a big blow for Graham Potter. But irrespective of that, I wouldn’t put either team’s midfield up there with the best in the world. They’re actually both really lightweight. So it’ll be interesting to see if either midfield can take the game by the scruff of its neck.
As for United, Casemiro is nailed on to start, so the big question will be who he starts next to – Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay or Fred.
For me, I think Ten Hag will want to go to Stamford Bridge with two deeper midfielders and based on his performance against Spurs during mid-week, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Fred who got the nod with Bruno Fernandes in a more advanced role.
manchester united is a laughing stock, in british football, an insult to its history.