In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Erik Ten Hag’s opening season in charge of Man United, which club Harry Maguire should join, why Newcastle should be scouting Man City star and reaction to Mauricio Pochettino’s links to becoming Chelsea’s next permanent manager, plus much more.
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Erik Ten Hag has proven he’s a great coach…
Obviously, as we all know, Manchester United, after beating Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, will now play Manchester City in the final on 3 June.
Firstly, I thought Brighton were excellent yesterday. I sincerely hope they can keep their squad together in the summer, but I fear they won’t be able to, and secondly, anyone that is writing United off for the trophy is crazy. They have such a rich history in that competition and Manchester City have never played them in that competition’s final, so I wonder if the Cityzens will feel the nerves a bit more than they usually do. Over a single game, anything can happen, so although City will probably be the favourites to lift it, you can’t disregard United’s chances.
Regardless of what happens at Wembley in June though, assuming United can finish inside the Premier League’s top four, I think Champions League qualification, one trophy and a final in another competition would be a fantastic opening season for Erik Ten Hag. He’s made Man United competitive again and the only way to judge a coach is by their ability to make players better, and I think you’ve only got to look at what he’s done with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw to see that he’s a great coach.
It was great to see Rashford starting again yesterday but I thought Shaw at centre-back had a particularly good game. I can’t imagine he’ll see out the rest of his career in that position because I think height and physicality at the back are as important as pace is up front, but there is no doubt about it – he is a superb backup option for Ten Hag to have.
I hope whoever the club’s owners are in the summer give Ten Hag the financial resources to take them to the next level and allow him the chance to clear out a lot of unwanted players.
I would love Aston Villa to sign Harry Maguire…
On the subject of potential players leaving Man United… Although I think the criticism he receives…
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