A collage of Marcus Rashford, Super League clubs and Bruno Guimaraes. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images and Sky)
In his exclusive Christmas column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest points, including why Marcus Rashford should leave Manchester United, why Newcastle would be mad to sell Bruno Guimaraes, why Super League can do one and more.
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Marcus Rashford must leave Man United to enjoy his football again
Marcus Rashford should leave Manchester United. I’ve probably been saying that for a couple of years now, and he should go abroad or to a progressive Premier League club.
Would it be a West Ham or a Brighton or even a Bournemouth? Would the Cherries go for a big fish and see if he could go to a smaller pond and enjoy his football on the south coast? That’s not so ridiculous, but could they afford it?
I think there will be takers for Rashford, be it from Germany or Italy, but I’m not so sure about Spain.
He just needs to enjoy the game and love it again, and I wonder if he’s ever done that in the last five or six years. He always seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
For me, it’s very simple. Either you go to a wildcard in terms of a Bournemouth, or you go overseas to somewhere like Napoli or AC Milan.
Newcastle mad to consider selling Guimaraes and Howe still under pressure
I think Newcastle would be mad to sell Bruno Guimaraes in January.
If the rumors of Man City’s interest are correct, then at the end of the season, when City will have a technical and tactical review and see where they stand, it could be a more sensible time for the Magpies to consider a move .
He may be a player City believe can freshen things up, but certainly not in January.
As for Eddie Howe, I think if they finish out of the Europa League places again, that would probably spell the end for him at Newcastle United.
I’ve always said he’s under pressure, even if, when Newcastle made this incredible run to escape relegation and then get into Europe, the PIF said: “No, no, we’re backing him. He’s the best since of the sliced bread, yada yada yada.”
The PIF have the money and influence to be able to get someone in world football and if Howe can’t take the club forward I absolutely believe that before Jose Mourinho retires he will be managing Newcastle United.
That’s because the Saudis will want some early success and because of Mourinho’s relationship with Sir Bobby Robson.
He always said he has unfinished business and wants to go there to crystallize Sir Bobby’s legacy.
The Superliga can make one
I think the whole idea of the Super League was and is absurd, especially if it turns into some sort of invitation-only tournament.
It’s news again and you can see what will happen.
The way FIFA has been populating the Club World Cup is a good example. He managed to get Lionel Messi up there despite no real sporting merit from his Inter Miami side, other than a second tier League Cup or whatever.
You can see any Super League organizer doing exactly the same to make sure the usual suspects are there, ignoring the likes of Nottingham Forest who absolutely deserve a place on form this season.
It is ironic that Forest could qualify for the Champions League this season if they continue in the same way in the second half of the campaign, but would not qualify for an opening Super League tournament.
As absurd as it is, the Superliga is an inevitability and it will happen.
A lot of people will say: let the teams go, we have a strong and robust enough pyramid system in England, but if it was not accompanied by the domestic leagues, the Super League would kill many leagues in Europe. dead
Let’s be perfectly honest, if you take the two biggest clubs out of many of these leagues, they’re done. Made by
I think the organizers don’t care, because they just want to see Real Madrid against Manchester United or Barcelona against Bayern Munich and Ajax against Inter Milan, etc. loop every week.
So, however, that they leave the national leagues or the schedules, they don’t bother them.
Pep Guardiola was almost literally banging his head on the table with the schedule regarding the Club World Cup, so we the football fans have to decide and the FA has to decide when enough is enough , in terms of the number of matches. played
The Super League is just greed and a vanity project.
no thanks
Arteta is my Christmas pudding and my predictions for 2025
Hot or not: Gotta check out Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. He’s been an absolute breath of fresh air in the Premier League, brilliant. They get my Christmas cookie award of the season so far.
Christmas Pudding: This was supposed to be Mikel Arteta’s season. It may still be, but they are miles off the pace and now have Bukayo Saka out for weeks, which could be fatal to their title chances.
Predictions: Eddie Howe has to leave at the end of the season, perhaps, and Ange Postecoglou over-required at Spurs if he doesn’t make it to the European spots.
Marcus Rashford left Liverpool in January to win the Premier League title and reach the Champions League final.
Chelsea will win the Conference League, Manchester City will have a complete overhaul in the way Chelsea have done recently, recruiting many of the best young under-25 players in Europe, and the top four Premier League places will be Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and me.” I’ll be looking for Villa again because I think they’re good enough.
