In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including The Super League, Steve Cooper’s sacking and Liverpool vs Arsenal.
No English clubs = No Super League
The European Super League is Barcelona and Real Madrid’s golden ticket to try and take on the Premier League, it is that simple. From their point of view, I get it, likewise with some of the other clubs who could join it.
What needs to happen, from the English perspective; if any of the English clubs blink and don’t come out in the next 24/48 hours and say ‘we are committed to the pyramid in England and UEFA competitions’, then in my opinion, they should be kicked out of English football for good after what happened originally in 2021 – with no comeback.
I think the punishment has to be a proper punishment. With the money said to be involved in this Super League, they will all be thinking ‘how much can we get out of this?’.
Let’s be honest, the ridiculous sums of money they are already getting through UEFA and the extra sums of cash they are now going to get with an expanded FIFA Club World Cup, in addition to what they receive from the Premier League; it needs to be said that if one English club blinks, they don’t deserve to take part in an English tournament again due to their greed.
These “big six” clubs don’t care about the pyramid in England. Football has been in this country since the late 19th century and tearing up that covenant is unforgivable; only a permanent ban would suffice as punishment.
Without the English clubs, there will be no Super League. Real Madrid vs PSV or whoever, that ain’t going to sell.
I worry that if one of the clubs in England do join this Super League, then it is a possibility that the rest could follow as seen in 2021.
If people reading this make the mistake of thinking that this isn’t something being explored across the “big six” sides, they certainly will be thinking about it and the numbers that will be involved in a Super League.
As I have already said, the Super League cannot survive without the English teams as they not only need the finances they bring but the supporters and history of football in the country. I don’t think any will blink and join it but like I’ve said, if they do, they should be banned forever and I would give them until 1 January to state their position.
Nottingham Forest fans will miss Steve Cooper but what does the future hold under Nuno Espirito Santo?
I put it out on social media this week, that football clubs are more than just results and finishing positions. They are about the connections made between the fans and the club, the fans and the manager. That connection has always been strong at Nottingham Forest but they have not always had the utmost faith in the club doing the right thing. The strong bond between the club and supporters was brought back and enhanced under Steve Cooper.
We might see some Steve Cooper chants sung this weekend against Bournemouth as a thank you to their former boss but new manager Nuno Espirito Santo should not take that personally.
I get why Forest fans were reluctant to let go of Cooper but in the Premier League, there are only a few managers (Guardiola, Klopp and Arteta) who are not six losses away from getting the sack in any position.
All the mortal football managers are under pressure to perform in the Premier League and any run of bad games, in relation to what they hope to achieve, puts you in major trouble and that was the truth with Steve.
I watched the Everton game and it was a very, very poor Forest performance. Yes, they have got injuries, but all clubs have that. However, I do get the emotional element and why fans of Nottingham Forest might have wanted to have given Steve a bit more time.
As for Nuno Espirito Santo, my concerns lie with the fact that he went to Saudi Arabia. Does he have the belief that he can manage at the top table? I know people will say ‘he just went out there for a couple of years waiting for a Premier League or La Liga club’, but I think it is just a payday. There are no managers at the top of their game that would even consider a move to Saudi Arabia, not one.
This worries me about Nuno. At his best during the two middle seasons with Wolves, they were a very good counter-attacking team with a lot of pace. I think Forest have the personnel to do that and he could dig out results.
Will he have his team playing with the ball on the deck as Cooper had, with a direct lineage to Brian Clough? I don’t think so and I would be fascinated in a year to see how the Forest fans respond to his style of play. However, if Nuno keeps Forest in the Premier League this season, it is job done.
Anfield is Liverpool’s main weapon against Arsenal
I thought it was really interesting to hear Jurgen Klopp talk about the atmosphere at Anfield this week and state that his team will need the Anfield crowd against Arsenal. The atmosphere was flat against Man United, we could all hear it, and that can happen with a lot of football being played at this time of year.
However, what we will see now on Saturday will be a lot different following Klopp’s comments. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a big bus welcome with flares and a very loud Anfield throughout the clash with the Premier League leaders.
If it is a noisy, intense Anfield, I believe Liverpool will beat Arsenal; if not, I think the result could go the other way.
My biggest question about this Arsenal team relates to their character and their bottle. Last season proved they didn’t have the bottle to finish off an incredible season and you need that every time you go to Anfield. That stadium can be very intimidating when it is in full flow so I agree with Jurgen, the Liverpool fans could be the difference between getting zero or three points in this huge match.
From other clubs’ perspective, a draw between Liverpool and Arsenal at the weekend is the perfect result.
If Arsenal win and builds an eight-point gap on Man City, that could be huge. There is an argument that this season there is no team capable of going on a run of winning 10 games on the bounce. City in the past have never been out of a title race as they could always win 10+ games in a row.
With Pep Guardiola’s side not firing on all cylinders so far this season and conceding goals the way they have been, I think all this has created a perfect storm for an exciting title race.
However, I do think Arsenal need to have a nine-point lead with six games to go before we start getting excited about someone other than Man City winning the Premier League.
West Ham need to move on from David Moyes
I am genuinely surprised that David Moyes has made it this far still being the West Ham manager. That Europa Conference League win would have been the perfect way for him to leave the club and a great way for the Hammers to kick on further with the talented squad they have.
With the trajectory West Ham was going in, fans of the club will be thinking ‘we could have been in the position Aston Villa are in now’ but instead they have gone backwards.
They should have handed the reigns over to a younger, more attack-minded manager at the start of the season; someone like Graham Potter or Eddie Howe. They could have kept Moyes on and moved him upstairs to take advantage of his incredible experience in the game.
David might have wanted to continue to manage in the Premier League and he can, but the fact is West Ham have been either very good or very poor this season.
The end of this campaign will be the end of the road for Moyes at West Ham because things have gotten a little stale and they should be looking to kick on to being consistent top-eight finishers and winning a cup here or there.
Harry Kane’s time in Germany could benefit England
Harry Kane will have a proper winter break this season and that gets me excited for what is to come when action resumes for the striker in the New Year. This should help England this summer at EURO 2024, I really hope it does.
To get a season’s worth of goals before the winter break is nothing short of amazing. He has settled into a new culture, which is not always the easiest, and people will be thinking ‘German football is not a million miles away from what we have got in England’ so Harry was always going to succeed there but it is never a given.
Harry is playing in the stadiums that England will be competing in next summer, he can give an insight into some of the players playing in Germany should England come up against them and it could be the perfect storm for Gareth Southgate. The only concern I do have is injuries.
Kane’s start to life in Germany has been phenomenal and the striker is arguably the UK’s best export after Gareth Bale went to Real Madrid.
Put your feet up and enjoy Christmas Harry, go watch Spurs and come back firing for Bayern and England next year.
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