Stan's 5-Point Stance: Sterling Is Being Led Astray, Arsenal Need to Strengthen
In this week's five-point stance, Stan Collymore visits topics related to the Raheem Sterling saga, Arsenal's need to strengthen, managers giving players time off at the end of the season, Derby County's next manager and the Championship play-off final.
1. Raheem Sterling Saga Shows That Agents Need Proper Credentials
A lot of people think some former Liverpool players are bullying Raheem Sterling with their comments in the media.
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"You keep your mouth shut—get on with playing football," said Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football (h/t the Guardian). "They've shown great loyalty to him," Graeme Souness told Sky Sports. He added, "It looks like he's turning his back on them which, if he is, would be very sad for the football club."
I think Sterling should stay at Liverpool for a few years, but I also think that agents should have the same credentials through UEFA and FIFA as football coaches. If you take the argument away from Sterling for a moment, I think all of this shows that we need agents—like lawyers, like doctors and like football coaches—to have certain credentials in order to be an agent.
About 15 years ago, you had agents who had to post bonds as a way of protecting themselves from third-party claims. But they've done away with that, and now any Tom, Dick or Harry can be a football agent, seemingly as long as you have a big mouth. And now we have the kind of situation we're seeing with Sterling, where some of our bright, young players are sidetracked by greed and being led astray by their agents.
As for Sterling, the European Championship is coming up, and England will be involved in that next year. That will be a chance for him, and if he stays with Liverpool, he'll also have a chance to get Liverpool back in the top four. If he has a good year next year, if he gets England where they should be and helps Liverpool back into the top four, I don't think any Liverpool fan would begrudge him a move to a big Champions League club.
But at the moment, he looks like a spoiled child who has not fulfilled his potential this season and who looks like he's going to jump ship to get Champions League football automatically.
The answer is simple. Get Liverpool into the Champions League, have a good Euro 2016, and then if you do, you can legitimately say you're a Champions League player.
2. Arsenal Still Need to Strengthen This Summer or Risk Being the Best of the Rest Again
Arsenal desperately need a big summer transfer window. Arsene Wenger is saying they don't need to add, but I think that's a bit worrying.
"We are not in need of absolute change," Wenger said, per the Daily Mail. "We have a strong squad. We have some strong young players behind."
I saw their games against Sunderland and Swansea City, and if Wenger genuinely thinks his squad is capable of winning the title next season, he's deluded. Arsenal still need a world-class centre-forward. For me, that would be someone such as Christian Benteke of Aston Villa, who will be much sought-after. I don't know if Olivier Giroud or Danny Welbeck will win you the league.
I still think they need a top central midfielder as well. Francis Coquelin has had great reviews this season, but will he be able to do it next season? They also need another goalkeeper, because I'm not completely convinced by David Ospina or Wojciech Szczesny. If someone like Petr Cech is available, Arsenal should go for him. He would bring the kind of winning mentality they need, and he could be the No. 1, maybe with Ospina as the No. 2.
In central-defence, they also need someone such as Mats Hummels if he's available. He's a top-quality central defender, and with a strong defensive midfield in front of him, that would give Arsenal a strong core that they haven't had in recent seasons.
They would be four top-quality signings right through the spine of the team. Do that, and for me, Arsenal would be incredibly relevant title challengers. But if Wenger leaves his squad the same, I think they'll have the same outcome. They might be the best of the rest, or finish third or fourth.
3. For the Integrity of the Premier League, Clubs Should Treat the Last game as If It's the 1st
Chelsea's Jose Mourinho and West Ham United's Sam Allardyce have given some players time off recently, and I think that hurts the integrity of the Premier League.
I'm aware that players who go off for international duty are playing for almost 12 months of the year and that they get very little break time. And in the Premier League, we don't have a winter break, so I can understand one side of the argument. Once your objectives are met—Chelsea won the league and West Ham are staying in the league—it makes some sense to give the players the odd day off or two.
But for the integrity of the league, it should only be the odd day or two. I hope this is not a trend that will continue into the final week of the season. West Ham are playing Newcastle United, who still need points to avoid relegation, and I feel like you should treat the last game exactly as if it's the first.
4. Paul Clement Would Be an Excellent Choice for Derby's Next Manager
It's no surprise to me that reports are linking Steve McClaren with the exit at Derby County, such as in the Derby Telegraph. If and when he leaves, there's the tantalising possibility that Derby will bring in a young, British coach who's already been at Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, and that's Paul Clement.
Clement is 43, he has an excellent reputation and is the overwhelming favourite the get the job, along with Paul Lambert, who's another relatively young British manager. Clement is currently with Real Madrid, where he has worked as an assistant under Carlo Ancelotti, but he has hinted that he's ready to move into the top role, perhaps in England.
"I think the time for me to be a No. 1 is soon," Clement said, per the Daily Mirror. “A few opportunities have come my way, but this is a difficult place to leave.
He added: "I’m not ruling anything out. It’s more than likely it will be in England, but if a nice opportunity came up in another country I wouldn’t rule it out."
For McClaren, it's simple: Expect a call soon from Newcastle United, whether they're in the Premier League or the Championship.
He's a good coach who can get the best out of individuals and the team, and I think it's time for Mike Ashley to give him a call and add a bit of stability to his club.
5. Exciting Times for Young, British Managers
Watford and Bournemouth have already gone up, but I think the two teams best equipped to stay up in the Premier League next season are meeting in the Championship play-off final.
Middlesbrough have had a cracking season, and Aitor Karanka knows Jose Mourinho well, so I wonder if they might be able to bring in one or two Chelsea players on loan again next season if they do go up.
Obviously, Karanka has done great job, but he's relied on loan players, so I wonder if the next step is to buy. When using the loan market, you want to have a few players who are keen to come in and prove themselves to their parent club. But it should only be one or two, not five or six, because in the Premier League, you want the core of your squad to be owned by the club.
If Middlesbrough go up, I hope they'll invest in players of their own instead of players they can loan.
Norwich City, I think, will be the best equipped team to survive if they do go up. I think they already have the best squad of the teams that have already been promoted or are in the play-offs.
And in Alex Neil, they have a great young, British manager who's still in his 30s. I'm looking forward to seeing him match wits with other young British managers such as Eddie Howe of Bournemouth, Garry Monk of Swansea, and Tim Sherwood, who's not particularly young but is still a rookie in management.
Having all these promising, young British managers bodes well for the Premier League. We've seen managers such as Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce routinely get jobs in the Premier League, so it's refreshing to see these guys, young 30-something managers, doing the business for their football clubs.
They're young, British and hungry, and they're coming into the game with some new ideas. These are exciting times for Premier League managers.
