Collymore's 5-Point Stance: Chelsea Tourists, Rodgers, Arsenal Need Khedira

In this week's five-point stance, Bleacher Report's Stan Collymore touches on matters Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

1. Rodgers made a big mistake in Madrid

I can understand why Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers picked the team he did at Madrid, but surely everything that happened last season was focused on getting to Champions League games just like this one. Many fans and pundits were therefore baffled when Rodgers sent out a weakened side to face one of the best teams in Europe.

Rodgers defended his selection, telling a press conference that "We went really close in the game," but he took his eye off the ball and tried to be too clever, as Liverpool lost 1-0. He could have given his first team a chance to have a real go and to really enjoy themselves at the Bernabeu. There was everything to play for, and now Liverpool is in serious danger of not making the knockout stages.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

2. City's European attitude is baffling

There seems to be a prevailing attitude among the fans and players at Manchester City that they don't feel they belong at the Champions League level.

Everybody at the club has bought into the notion that it takes five or 10 years to compete at that level, but it's simply not true when you're spending like City. They're buying players straight off the shelf. 

The fans don't have it high on their priority list because they don't think they can be competitive, and that mentality is bleeding through to their players. They're creating an inferiority complex, and my worry is it will only get worse unless they change their outlook on Europe.

3. Mourinho was right about Chelsea fans

I think Jose Mourinho was spot on when he suggested Chelsea have too many tourists coming to Stamford Bridge to watch games.

There are so many day-trippers these days—fans who don't watch, but just go just to take selfies at the stadium. It's killing the atmosphere, and something needs to be done about it.

One of the major problems is season-ticket holders who sell their seats for the biggest games at an elevated price. They're doing it to help fund next season's ticket, but I would be behind a rule that all unused season tickets could only be passed at face value to club members.

4. Groundhog Day for Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger must give serious thought to going back in for Sami Khedira in January. A player like Khedira would add much-needed mobility and aggression to the Arsenal midfield.

On Tuesday, Arsenal went 3-0 ahead of Anderlecht, only for the Belgian club to storm back and salvage a 3-3 draw. What the Gunners lacked against Anderlecht was leadership and the defensive strength that comes from a strong central defensive pairing and somebody in midfield who can stand up and be counted. It's the same old story.

So often in recent years, Arsenal have been over-reliant on one player. That man has been Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and now Alexis Sanchez. Wenger needs to complement world-class attacking talent with defensive strength at the back and in midfield. Khedira would solve one of those problems for Wenger.

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5. Villa's goal problem

Bar Fabian Delph at his best, Aston Villa just can't dominate the midfield battle. They play well for 25-30 minutes but then fall away and don't have the firepower to get back into games once they're behind.

They need a figure like Nemanja Matic—or at least somebody in his image—to add steel and control the ball in midfield.

I've been desperately disappointed with Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor up front. They're not getting close to the goals they should be scoring. It's a classic situation where you just can't pick up points, and manager Paul Lambert is now under serious pressure at the club.

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