In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Chelsea’s mismatched squad, why Man United are not title contenders, David Moyes and Frank Lampard’s potential sackings and why Newcastle United may get rid of Eddie Howe, even if he delivers Champions League football next season, plus much more…
——————————————————————
Todd Boehly must decide Sterling, Havertz and Ziyech’s Chelsea futures…
I watched Chelsea play Man City on Thursday and I thought Denis Zakaria was excellent but aside from him, overall, they remind me of Man United from a few seasons ago.
They’ve got two ageing players in Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilecueta and at the other end of the spectrum, they’ve got the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James. They’ve got to build around the next generation and that’ll take time. So I think Todd Boehly should consider giving Graham Potter the summer transfer window and allow him to buy some top-quality 21 to 24-year-old players to supplement the likes of Mount and James.
They also have big decisions to make on some players – Raheem Sterling for example. Do they stick or twist? I don’t think he’s doing anywhere near enough to warrant having a long-term future at Stamford Bridge. The same with Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech. I think all those names will be surplus to requirements come the end of the season.
They’ve got to get where United were when they hired Erik Ten Hag. They need to get rid of the ageing players and some of the big-name superstars and actually focus on building a solid footballing team that is young, hungry and capable of developing together. If they do that, I think they’ll be so much better placed to win silverware two or three years down the line as opposed to this mismatched squad that might just nick a trophy here and there.
Boehly may well be sitting down asking himself ‘should I just sack Potter, bring in another manager and spend loads more money?’ – Because if he is and if he does that, I don’t think it’ll go in his favour. That model of hiring and firing doesn’t really work anymore. The only club that may be the exception to that rule is Newcastle United.
Newcastle will consider sacking Eddie Howe, even if they qualify for the Champions League…
As I just mentioned, Newcastle United may be one of the only clubs able to hire and fire their…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Transfer Rumours – CaughtOffside…