Stan's 5-Point Stance: Depay Transfer Fires Man Utd, Mourinho Planning Long Term
In this week's five-point stance, Stan Collymore visits topics related to Memphis Depay joining Manchester United, the transfer concerns facing clubs outside of the Champions League, Jose Mourinho, Newcastle United and Premier League newcomers Bournemouth and Watford.
1. Why Memphis Depay is an excellent signing for Manchester United
Memphis Depay is a fantastic signing for Manchester United, as the club confirmed on its official website that the Dutch winger will sign in the summer. A lot of people will ask why United have bought another wide man, bearing in mind the presence of Ashley Young and Angel Di Maria at the club.
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But Depay can play left or right, and I can see him developing as a No. 10 because he has skill, pace and cleverness.
Initially, my preferred style with Depay in the team would be 4-1-4-1, which is the way United have been playing, with him wide right of the midfield four, alongside Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and a rejuvenated Di Maria.
It gives United a lot of attacking options and it would also allow Mata to play as an attacking midfielder. Wayne Rooney would also have a chance to go back to what he does best, being a central striker.
I have always thought clubs should get their deals done as early as possible. Depay has obviously had dialogue with other clubs, most notably Liverpool, but by getting it done before the transfer window begins, both United and the player know where they will be next season.
"It's fantastic," Depay said of his impending move, per ManUtd.com. "A dream come true. It's a very big step to a very big competition."
Depay will now be able to enjoy the summer and look forward to playing under his former Netherlands coach ahead of the European Championships next year. I'm really looking forward to seeing him in the Premier League.
2. Agents using Europa clubs as bait for Champions League sides in transfer market
In recent seasons, we have seen Champions League teams gazump Europa League clubs in the transfer market.
Willian appeared to be heading to Tottenham Hotspur after speaking with them in 2013, via the Guardian, but ended up at Chelsea.
Similarly, Liverpool were pipped at the last minute by Manchester United after Depay had spoken with the Anfield club.
I think these clubs are being used, essentially, as bait by agents knowing that the Europa-bound teams are looking desperately for players that Champions League clubs are also after.
Unfortunately, although it will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Liverpool fans, until they are in the position of being in the Champions League regularly like United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, every player linked with Anfield will probably give first preference to other clubs in the Champions League.
It is sad to see, but until you are in the Champions League consistently, that is what will happen.
3. Jose Mourinho still on course to be Manchester United manager despite new Chelsea deal
I think Jose Mourinho is about to break the mould of his usual two- or three-year cycle with a club and sign a five-year contract with Chelsea, with a new deal suggested by BBC Sport.
I do believe—in two moves' time—he will manage Manchester United because he really wants to, as previously noted in 2009 and 2013. But he has to prove to the United board he is not a chequebook manager, he wants to bring through youth players and he has an exciting style of play.
Lo and behold, he is at Chelsea at a time when they have Patrick Bamford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek coming through the youth ranks, and he can blood them into his team.
A year down the line, we will be saying Mourinho has gone from chequebook manager to bringing through the next generation.
He will leave Chelsea in three years, move somewhere he has never been before such as Germany and then end up as Manchester United manager, which will be his crowning glory.
This new deal coming up for Mourinho will be the moment when he goes from buying quality to bringing through the kids. That now has to be part of his legacy.
Mourinho will be at Chelsea for the longer term, which for him is five years, and he has already been there for two.
If he can win the Premier League or Champions League with Bamford and/or Loftus-Cheek in the team within the next few years, other clubs will see him as a manager who can build a club and not just someone used to having money thrown at him.
4. Next Newcastle United manager must be a unifying figure
There are some Premier League club owners who were ready to sell three or four years ago because they weren't making money, but since money is now flowing in steadily, they are no longer interested in letting go of their clubs.
Mike Ashley at Newcastle United and Randy Lerner at Aston Villa are seeing £130 million coming in every year. Lerner only bought Villa for £62.6 million in 2006.
These television deals have pricked up the ears of owners, who are thinking they should now stay for the long term because there is a profit in it for once.
All of this leaves Newcastle in limbo, though. They haven't added to the squad significantly for some time and it wouldn't surprise me at all if interim manager John Carver got the job for next season, no matter what division they are in, because I think Ashley believes they don't need to spend money to bring in a new coach.
If Ashley wants to enjoy the experience of making money, he just needs to give the fans a statement to say he's staying or the club is for sale.
If he is staying, he needs to say the right things: I'm going to put money into the club, I'm going to look for a proactive manager. Geordie fans will love that.
Carver's critical comments about defender Mike Williamson after the Leicester City game, as reported by the Daily Telegraph, were the kind a coach would make in the dressing room after a defeat and the sort of thing players would say to players.
But I haven't seen a manager say things like that to the media before, because the unwritten law is you don't criticise your players in public.
Not only did Carver criticise Williamson, he called him out for one of the biggest footballing crimes—taking one for himself rather than taking one for the team.
That poses a problem for Carver if he is going to be manager next year, as players will look at those words and think they could be hung out to dry.
Carver and his assistant, Steve Stone, have Newcastle in their blood and are real football people, but the club need a unifying figure as its next manager in the summer. God knows who that will be because they would have to work for Mike Ashley.
But Newcastle's most important signing of the summer will be a manager with personality who can unify a football club.
However, I don't think Newcastle will go down this season—they will just do enough to survive.
5. Evolution, not revolution, is watchword for Premier League new boys Bournemouth, Watford
Now that Watford has secured promotion to the Premier League, there is an interesting question for the club's owners—the Pozzo family, also owners of Italian club Udinese—to consider: Will they switch their attentions to Vicarage Road from Udinese?
There will be a major £130 million booty in the Premier League, so will we have a situation where Watford become the parent club ahead of the Serie A side?
They have a great striker in Troy Deeney, who has been through some tough times including a spell in prison, but he came back from it. He has matured a lot and is the glue in the dressing room.
Don't be blindsided by the Russian owner, Maxim Demin, at Bournemouth. Their team consists of a bulk of players from their League One days.
A combination of hard work, organisation, great management with Eddie Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall and a chairman in Jeff Mostyn (below, with Howe), who put his money where his mouth is at the 11th hour to save the club from liquidation have got the club to the Premier League. The Russian can now kick on to the next level and fund particular players.
I just hope Bournemouth don't start bringing in players who do not fit their remit. They need to stick by the likes of Matt Ritchie, Harry Arter, Tommy Elphick and Callum Wilson.
They have all been given their opportunity at Bournemouth and will be the core of the team that stays in the Premier League. The squad just needs one or two tweaks to give them a flying start.
Evolution, not revolution, should be the watchword for Bournemouth and Watford next season.
