Collymore’s column: Ange Postecoglou should be sacked, Liam Delap needs to stay away from Man United, Bukayo Saka is back, Baller League nonsense, and more | OneFootball

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including the future of Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, Arsenal and Aston Villa’s upcoming Champions League quarter-finals, Man United interest in Liam Delap, and much more.

Ange Postecoglou antics against Chelsea were embarrassing

Ange Postecoglou during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea (Photo by AP)

The main takeaway from last night’s match between Chelsea and Tottenham was Ange Postecoglou cupping his ears in the direction of his own supporters after the Pape Sarr goal that was eventually ruled out by VAR. In doing that, he has probably taken one more step towards the exit door. By doing something like that, he is making himself increasingly unpopular.

There is no sign that this is the Ange Postecoglou team that creates lots of chances, scores lots of goals, and takes lots of risks. It feels like it is almost the exact opposite of what he had doing at the start of his tenure at Tottenham. This is now a team that lacks confidence, and has no dynamism or verve.

I was one of the people that said that his style of play was not sustainable in the Premier League, and that has proven to be the case. And I really believe that he is sleepwalking his way towards the sack, and I think he should go even if he were to lead Tottenham to the Europa League, which would be a good parting gift. For me, it is clear that the club needs to go in a different direction next season.

There has been rumours of Mauricio Pochettino possibly making a return to Tottenham, having seemingly held talks with Daniel Levy. But if I was him, I would not go anywhere near his former club, as I think very little has changed from when he left in 2019. I was at the Champions League final that year when Liverpool defeated them, and I remember very clearly how frustrated he was with the club after that. If he came back, he was not be given the tools to do the job that he wanted, so it would make little sense for him to be willing to go back there.

Liam Delap should not consider Man United move

Liam Delap in action for Ipswich against Nottingham Forest (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

If I was Liam Delap, I would not join Man United this summer. I think they are not a credible enough team at the moment in terms of competing next season – maybe they can do it in the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup, but they certainly would not be able to do it in the Premier League.

Instead, he should consider joining someone like Nottingham Forest, who are putting their mouth where their mouth is. All he needs to go is look at guys like Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood, who have turned their fortunes around over the last 12 months, and they are now thriving – especially this season.

I think Delap would enjoy playing there, especially if Forest were to qualify for next season’s Champions League. And in Nuno Espirito Santo, he would be playing for a manager that loves to counter-attack, and that would suit his style a lot more that if he were to go to Old Trafford in the summer.

Forest are undoubtedly a club on the up. They are a big club with knowledgeable supporters, and I think it would be a perfect fit for him to make the move there in the summer when he inevitable leaves Ipswich.

Saka return is huge for Arsenal ahead of Real Madrid clash

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka (Photo by Getty Images)

It was vital for Arsenal’s Champions League and Premier League ambitions to get Bukayo Saka back from injury. Although they do have Mikel Merino establishing himself as an unlikely goalscorer, the performances when he was out injured have shown just how important a player he is for Mikel Arteta.

Saka is a real talisman for Arsenal, and I think his return could even have saved them from dropping below Nottingham Forest in the Premier League table. His goal and assist output should be enough to ensure a second place finish behind Liverpool.

In terms of the Champions League, is Saka brave enough and bold enough to take on and help Arsenal beat Real Madrid? I don’t think so, but it would be unfair for him to carry that burden so heavily considering that he has only just returned from three months out. For me, the key thing is to stop Real Madrid from scoring, and that obviously becomes significantly more difficult now that Gabriel is out.

Arsenal need to figure out a way to face Real Madrid. If they go toe-to-toe with them, I think they will be soundly beaten over the two legs. But if they are more pragmatic, they have a chance – and that responsibility falls on Arteta, and we will see whether he can prove that he is a top quality manager at this level.

Aston Villa can cause problems for PSG

Marcus Rashford with Unai Emery in Aston Villa training (Photo by Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)

If you asked me 5-6 weeks ago, I would have said that it would be very unlikely for Aston Villa to progress past PSG in the Champions League. But now, they will be going into this tie with a lot of confidence, having been in excellent form of late. They are playing with the swagger and confidence that saw them finish in the top four last season, and now, they have got strength in depth with the likes of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford.

I think Aston Villa should nothing to fear against PSG, even if they look much better and more balanced now that they have built a proper team and moved away from the Galactico signings. They were 2-0 down to Dunkerque in the French cup earlier this week, and while they still won, there is a fragility they were that Aston Villa can exploit.

There is also pressure on Unai Emery, who has to translate the growth that Aston Villa has grown in the last couple of years into winning silverware. Eddie Howe has managed to do it now at Newcastle, so there will be an expectation for Emery to follow suit – and he has a good chance in the FA Cup.

For me, the key games for Aston Villa will be their Premier League fixtures. They have a real chance of managing to secure Champions League qualification for the second successive season after a great run of form in recent weeks, and that has even taken me by surprise – I had them written off, but they have shut me up. But they do have very big matches coming up against the likes of Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, who are also in the hunt to finish in the top five.

There is every chance that Aston Villa end the season without winning the FA Cup or the Champions League and also miss out on finishing inside the top five places in the Premier League, but I think most supporters would still consider the campaign to be a success, and it shows that the club is moving in the right direction.

Leicester should start focusing on on-field matters

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 4: Leicester City chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha celebrates winning the Championship with the home supporters following the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers at The King Power Stadium on May 4, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Copa/Getty Images)

As a club, Leicester bit off more than they could chew when they started to take their eyes off the first team. Any football club that plays in the Premier League needs to prioritise the first team, and instead, they started announcing grand infrastructure projects – such as building a world-class training ground, as well as wanting to have the best academy in England and thus, fast-tracking young players into the senior squad.

The problem for Leicester is that they are never going to attract players more than clubs like Newcastle, Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest. I think they should have followed a similar method to Brighton, who have managed to unearth gems like Kaoru Mitoma that are signed for nothing and can be sold on for £40-50m.

Leicester simply have not done anything like that. After winning the Premier League, the club’s hierarchy were determined to move on the old guard – guys like Wes Morgan, Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy – and go very quickly to a younger and more dynamic team. But it didn’t work because the balance was shifted too quickly, and as a result, they have struggled a lot. And in trying to correct this, they have become a team that has yo-yoed between the top two divisions in English football. And on top of this, they now have PSR problems.

The message to Leicester is simple: start focusing on the first team, and put the infrastructure projects on the backburner for now. The new owner has taken his eye off the ball since taking over, and this situation can be a lesson for clubs that should go down a similar road, such as Brighton or Bournemouth.

Baller League? What a load of nonsense

The line-up for the Baller League UK (Photo by Baller League UK)

You always see clips of children aged 5 or 6 walking into stadiums for the first time, their face filled with wonder, and they fall in love with football at that moment. Most kids get into the game at that age, and it is wonderful. And nowadays, there is more access than ever in terms of watching from home, with games always on TV and goals able to be seen within minutes of them being scored.

Taking all of this into account, why on earth would anyone want to watch someone like this Baller League? I get that teenagers nowadays get bombarded by content from these nobodies online that do stupid things on YouTube videos, and that they become influential and famous. But it is the fact that television companies are now deciding that these influencers must be used to rope people in to watch their channels that gets to me.

On things like Soccer Aid, these influencers are preferred to ex-players so that they can bring in the younger demographic. And this Baller League is just an extension of this, and it is just ridiculous and not needed. Football does not need these influencers to make the game exciting, and simply put, the whole thing is contrived.

If it was a teenager that was always online watching videos and scrolling social media, would I be interested in watching this Baller League? No. It’s tripe, it’s rubbish. I watched 10 minutes of it, and it was completely non-sensical. It’s television making a product that is not needed. It’s poor from Sky, who should be putting more money into improving their product and getting better pundits rather than this nonsense.

In my opinion, it would be much better and more entertaining if companies were to revive the soccer sixes from the 80s – although I don’t think clubs would be overly happen to have their players involved because of the risk of injuries. But something like this would be much better because it would get young fans closer to their rivals, which is much better than watching some influencers.