In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Erik Ten Hag’s first major trophy for Man United, Graham Potter’s future at Chelsea and Naby Keita’s links to Barcelona, plus much more…
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The impressive thing about Man United and their performance against Newcastle in the EFL Cup final on Sunday was how comfortable they were overall. Don’t get me wrong, Newcastle were really good at times, they came flying out of the blocks early on and did create a fair few chances, but Man United looked like a team with great belief and that is a testament to the job Erik Ten Hag has done.
He took over a team that looked down and out at times and although there’s no denying that Casemiro has transformed them, it wasn’t a guarantee. Players can move clubs and it doesn’t always work out but that hasn’t happened with the Brazilian at all.
Fred has also been rejuvenated under Ten Hag. He looks like a player that’s had an arm put around him by his manager and starting him on Sunday was a brave decision but it shows Ten Hag has belief in him and that kind of treatment is only going to grow a player’s confidence.
The team, on the whole, are going from strength to strength and they’ll now be looking at the Premier League table and feel like they’re in a position to effect the outcome. I think Ten Hag will be telling his team to focus on each game as they come and let all the fans and pundits talk about Arsenal and Manchester City but they’ll quite happily play the role of outsiders quietly sitting back and going about their business. We know they’ve got a big enough squad to make changes in a run-in so I expect to see them challenge, not just in the league, but also in the FA Cup and Europa League. To win the first trophy up for grabs and still be in the other three competitions come March is a great position to be in.
As for how the squad looks with a few months to go – they look humble and fit and raring to go. I think other clubs, home and abroad, will be looking at Man United with a sense of worry.
Cristian Stellini enjoying life as the top man…
Cristian Stellini is doing a great job in Antonio Conte’s absence.
However, the problem for Spurs is, when the manager’s number two gets a taste for the outright manager’s job, they often have their head turned. Of course, they’re going to want to experience it more because they’ve had a sample of what it feels like to be the top man – the one in charge – the man who is listened to.
I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if clubs are looking at him and wondering if he’s worth taking a gamble on. I don’t think any clubs in the Premier League, certainly not top-half sides anyway, will be willing to take a chance on him. Still, as for Championship teams, or the equivalent throughout Europe, in my view, it’s a no-brainer for them to be looking at Stellini.
Graham Potter doesn’t have time to tinker…
The decision to tinker with Chelsea’s starting 11 against Spurs obviously comes down to Graham Potter. I understand that he’s trying to find his preferred lineup, but he’s running out of time. Todd Boehly’s patience is being tested and although all the heat is on the manager at the moment, if the fanbase starts to question the owner, then it’s only a matter of time before Potter is sacked.
For Potter not to start Mykhailo Mudryk on the weekend was a strange one, he’s just been signed for £88.5m so surely he’s a player that’s going to be in that usual starting 11 so to drop him for Raheem Sterling, who has hardly set Stamford Bridge alight since he moved from Man City, was a strange decision.
I’m a huge Potter fan, I really like him. I think he’s a good manager and a good guy away from the touchline, but as we all know, management is a results business and he’s under so much pressure that he’s now in a position where he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
He’s got to make a final decision on which 11 players he believes are best for his system and formation and stick with them. I am struggling to see where Chelsea and Potter go from here though – so much is against the manager – the fanbase appears to have made their mind up, as has the media. It’s very toxic at the moment so unless he can turn it around immediately, it isn’t looking good.
Liverpool need three or four new midfielders in the summer…
I would definitely let Naby Keita go. His move from RB Leipzig back in 2018 was an exciting one because of how long the fans had to wait for him to join because of how the deal was constructed but it just hasn’t worked out. Sometimes that happens in football when a player joins a club and fails to live up to expectations. He’s been at Anfield long enough and if it hasn’t worked by now, it never will, so the end of the season certainly feels like the right time to let him go. He’s out of contract in the summer anyway so everything is pointing toward an end-of-season-exit.
Liverpool’s entire midfield needs transforming. Stefan Bajetic looks like a great prospect but there’s no way Jurgen Klopp can be relying on an 18-year-old week in, week out. I honestly think that anything short of three or four new midfielders in the summer, with at least one of them being either Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham, won’t be good enough.
In my opinion, not addressing that area of the pitch would see Liverpool fail to seriously compete for several more seasons. They’ve got to completely overhaul their midfield engine as soon as possible, no ifs, buts or maybes, so as for Keita being linked away, I’ve got absolutely no problem with him leaving.
Ollie Watkins to Arsenal…
I’d let Ollie Watkins leave Aston Villa. He’s been linked with Arsenal quite a few times so it certainly seems they like him. I’m sure they’ve scouted him a bit too.
I think Watkins is a good player, but I don’t see him as the type of 25-goal-a-season striker that Villa needs. I think he lacks a bit physically too so if Christian Purslow could negotiate a fee around £40m or £50m, I’d be snapping Arsenal’s hand off. That money should then go into buying a younger, more physical number nine who is likely to guarantee you at least 20 goals a season.