Collymore's 5-Point Stance: FA Must Make FIFA Stance, Rooney Legacy and Odegaard

In this week's five-point stance, Bleacher Report's Stan Collymore touches on matters involving FIFA, Wayne Rooney, Martin Odegaard and Gareth Bale.

1. It's time for the English FA to finally start a breakaway from FIFA

I genuinely feel that, after the publication on Thursday of an absolute nonsense summary report that absolved Qatar and Russia of any wrongdoing during their World Cup bids, it is time for the English Football Association to seriously look at walking away and looking at if there is enough support from other national FAs to start a new governing body.

Perhaps start with the Home Nations and the other local countries the English FA has traditionally had a close relationship with, and then look further afield, at ways they can start a new body that has clear and transparent governance and gives its tournaments to countries that truly deserve it rather than just ones that can play a murky behind-the-scenes game better than others.

The FA must get out and find some ways to do some good with an alternative association.

The report into corruption claims was an absolute disgrace, and the problems clearly won't stop in the future. There will be more people and nations looking to bribe and weasel their way into hosting the big tournaments, at the expense of those governing bodies who try to do things the right way.

So England should start by seeing if the Home Nations will get on board and then go from there. One man, one vote on all major issues. The practices at FIFA have gone on long enough, and someone should make a proper stand.

2. Wayne Rooney will go down as a good, not great, player for England

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

On Saturday, all being well, Wayne Rooney should make his 100th appearance for England. He has been a very good servant for the Three Lions, one who always turned up even when others might have found an excuse not to. You cannot doubt his patriotic fervor—but I don't think he will go down as one of the all-time greats.

The most disappointing thing, as he reaches the final chapters of his international career, is that compared to the player at Euro 2004 who ripped teams apart with his direct running with the ball, he is no longer the same player, either due to injury or simply the number of miles on the clock. In the final years of the rest of the "golden generation," we did not get that same player we saw in Portugal but rather one who played the game in a slightly slower, perhaps more fearful way.

Despite all the early hype, he only ever kissed world-class status without ever staying there like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It always seemed like Rooney was going to get to that same point, but perhaps all those early miles on the clock cost him when it came to the point when he should have been entering his absolute prime. Instead, he will go down as a solid seven or eight (out of 10) England international, but I will draw the line at comparing him to the likes of Gary Lineker, Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst.

The goalscoring ratios of those guys, and in particular their exploits on the biggest stages for their country, provide a much more persuasive case than one Rooney can provide.

3. Scotland-England next week is one of the most exciting matches in years

Next Wednesday has the potential to be the most exciting game I have commentated on in six years in the role, a broadcasting career that includes two World Cup finals, a European Championship final and big games in the Champions League and Premier League. But Scotland versus England at Celtic Park has the potential to be even more special than all of those.

Why? People will say that teams can never be bothered with friendlies, that the coaches will rotate their lineups after the qualifiers and the intensity will be different, but there is so much history to this fixture that it will be hard to beat for sheer spectacle

Clive Mason/Getty Images

I remember Margaret Thatcher, the poster girl for everything British, handing the Scottish FA Cup trophy to Celtic, a traditionally anti-English club, at the end of the 1988 final at Hampden Park. The atmosphere was fierce and, as a history buff of details like that, there is so much about this game to interest.

Celtic Park is a great arena for such a game, an essentially Irish stadium that always has loud fans—the perfect arena for the oldest fixture in international football. Everything about this game should be a heady cocktail, and it will be one of the most compelling events to commentate on.

It should be fascinating to go to Celtic Park next week. I cannot wait, and I bet the two teams cannot either.

4. Martin Odegaard should think before welcoming advances of Europe's elite

This week, it was reported that 15-year-old Norway international Martin Odegaard is set for a trial at Liverpool, having already enjoyed a similar spell at Real Madrid. It seems like there is already a lot on his plate, but my advice to the teenager would be not to rush into anything.

What he should really think about is finding himself a nice Norwegian club where he can get games under his belt and progress at his own pace. He might already have that at Stromsgodset, so why the rush to move on from there?

It's like when you buy a brand-new Bentley. Whether you drive 150,000 miles a year in it or just 10,000 miles, on the outside, it is still going to look like the same car after a decade of use. Under the hood, however, one is going to look a lot worse, and the performance won't be the same.

My advice to the player, his parents and his representatives would be not to worry about getting trials at this club or that club, or signing a deal with this team or that team. Go under the radar for as long as possible—if he is good enough, he will still make it to Anfield, or the Santiago Bernabeu, in due course, whether that be when he is 17, 19, 21 or whatever.

For now, he should enjoy his friends, his schoolwork, and all the opportunities that are still available to him while he remains a kid in his home country. I'm not a fan of any young player moving too soon—his development, for now, will be best served remaining where he is comfortable. We have seen that time and time again in football, and Odegaard and his family should take note.

5. Gareth Bale's Wales attitude should be an inspiration to British youngsters

Gareth Bale should be a beacon of light for all British players and an example they should try to follow. He clearly loves representing his country despite all the success in his club career, and that is an extremely refreshing attitude to see.

Look at the way he celebrated his late winner against Andorra or even just the narrow win over Cyprus last month, the forward going mad as if it was a Clasico or he had scored the winner in the final of the Champions League. It clearly means a huge amount to him.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

In this age of players seeming less and less excited about international games, it is refreshing to see a British player, who has gone abroad to perhaps the biggest club in the world, who still cannot wait to get on the plane back to Cardiff or wherever to join up with his national team.

I am sure we are not far away from a situation where some big players skip the qualification process for major tournaments entirely, saying they don't want to risk injury in them but will happily return for the tournament itself when it will be their face on all the billboards and in all the headlines.

But Bale wants to roll his sleeves up and get involved all the time, showing to the public that these qualification processes are still important and that international games still have their place. Hopefully it is a lesson that will be picked up by the next generation.

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.