Collymore's Premier League Stance: Ticket Prices, Wenger, Grealish and More

This week's Premier League five-point stance sees B/R's Stan Collymore tackle the issue of ticket prices in England. Collymore also addresses topics relating to Arsenal, Liverpool and the conversation around the Rooney rule.

Finally, there's some advice for Aston Villa's promising young talent Jack Grealish, who has just signed a new deal with the club.

1. Time to really push the ticket price debate 

The BBC has just released its annual survey on the cost of football. It has had TV rights for a long time as a national broadcaster, so why has it taken so long for the BBC to finally start pushing really hard for lower ticket prices.

I was talking about this six years ago. It's about time the BBC and others got fully on board.

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

We have Spirit of Shankly, a Liverpool supporters group, and Everton's Blue Union protesting against the rise of tickets prices. The more voices, the better.

It's one of our sporting birthrights to have ticketing affordable to all in England. The average age of Premier League fans is 41. We need more kids in, we need more standing areas, and we need lower ticket prices.

2. It's too early to judge Mario Balotelli at Liverpool

Mario Balotelli can't say anything without the media jumping all over it. His latest comments to talkSPORT about playing as a lone striker, via Eurosport and Football Italia, aren't surprising, based on his career to date.

What I want to see from Liverpool is the partnership of Mario Balotelli and Daniel Sturridge over a few games. Before then, it's too soon to make a judgement.

Liverpool only paid £16 million for Balotelli, which is not a lot. That said, it's hard to see him delivering for more than a season without problems arising. Let's judge Balotelli in January. If it's not working by then, Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers have a major headache.

3. Arsenal's reactive transfer policy and why Wenger has to go

Some clubs have targets they plan for in the transfer window. They go out and actively court them—speaking to agents and clubs and trying to get the deals done quickly.

Arsene Wenger, however, is a reactive manager in the window. He waits for things to happen before doing anything. That's why they missed a host of defensive midfielders in the last window.

Wenger likes the thought of value in the market, but if you're looking for a world-class defender or defensive midfielder, there are no bargains. 

I think Wenger's time is over at Arsenal. They need a manager like Jurgen Klopp to come in with a proactive transfer policy and bring the big names in.

4. Rooney rule is needed

I'm a fan of the Rooney rule for football managers. It's not about putting forward black or Asian managers who aren't up to it; it's just opening up the interview process to qualified black and Asian candidates.

Sang Tan/Associated Press

We're all creatures of habit. If you're a white owner, the odds are you'll employ a white manager. If you're a foreign owner, the odds are you'll employ a foreign manager.

It's not about artificial bump-ups, it's just about putting the qualified, black and Asian candidates in the interview stage. It took time for white managers to accept that black players could play in the winter, but discriminatory myths can be dispelled with the right measures in place.

5. Grealish can be a big star

Young Jack Grealish has a wonderful range of skills, but he also has a real engine and tenacity. A new four-year deal at Aston Villa is designed to stave off interested from bigger clubs.

Grealish could do with taking a leaf out of Raheem Sterling's book—get his head down, play more games and keep progressing.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

There are few better than Villa's assistant manager Roy Keane to get free advice from. He should lean on that as much as possible.

Grealish can be special. He can play as an attacking midfielder, a holder or in the wide positions. All I'd say is stay at Villa, learn your craft and glean everything you can from the experienced players in the squad—the likes of Fabian Delph, for example.

In 18 months, if he gets things right, Grealish will undoubtedly be a big target for the biggest clubs.

Former Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Liverpool and England striker Collymore is in his second season as a Bleacher Report marquee columnist and video analyst.