Collymore’s column: Dyche to Everton, Antony criticism unfair, Gordon will thrive at Newcastle and which Arsenal star Villa should sign

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, Sean Dyche taking over at Everton, Antony and Jadon Sancho’s Man United struggles, which Arsenal star Aston Villa should consider signing, plus much more…

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Sean Dyche to Everton is a no-brainer…

Sean Dyche was the right choice for Everton over Marcelo Bielsa and the reason for that is simple – Bielsa went to Leeds United and was given free rein to do whatever he liked. He was this big-name, maverick manager that went to a big club that was struggling. He had a very good, young team that he could mould and he did that. But I look at the Everton squad and it’s filled with experienced senior players who have been around the block.

There is no way they’re going to respond to a manager who has them on the training ground, starting and stopping every 30 seconds to teach them new ideas, especially when they’re in a relegation battle. They need a manager to come in whose primary skill is to get the team willing to follow him into the trenches in a hugely uncertain time.

I just don’t think Bielsa is the right fit for the position the club are in. Yes, he’d make it his mission to know everything there is to know about each player, but that’s the kind of approach a club looks to take with a steady team, not one that is fighting for their lives.

As for Dyche, he has a track record of being a calming influence and he knows how to keep a lid on big egos. Managing Everton is also the biggest job of his career so he’s going to be determined to turn it around. It’s just a no-brainer. I can’t believe Bielsa was even in the running, it was such a daft idea.

Thiago Silva is holding back the next generation at Chelsea…

He’s been one of Chelsea’s most consistent performers and I’m certainly not disputing how good a defender he is, but when I mentioned the other week that he should be on the Blues’ ‘to be sold’ list, what I meant by that was the club should now be looking to integrate the next generation.

I’m sure Silva can still do a job at the back, but at the age of 38, he’s very unlikely to be playing the same kind of part he is now in two or three years’ time. If they’re looking to give him an 18-month extension, fine, but it should be with a view to him transitioning into a more mentor or coaching role, to help bring…