Alejandro Garnacho and Florian Wirtz (Photo: Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images, Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
In his exclusive column for catch-offside, former Liverpool and England striker Stan Colliemore discusses some of the biggest story points of football, including Alejandro Garnacho’s social media posts, Liverpool’s Florian Wiltz signatures, and fans’ PSR complaints.
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Alejandro Garnacho knew what he was doing in the shirt situation
Alejandro Garnacho knew what he was doing when he posted himself wearing an Aston Villa shirt. Optics really look bad. Especially because he is a team that can realistically sign this summer.
In general, I hate soccer players wearing shirts from other teams. I never understood to do that, and given that in Garnacho’s case, he is expected to leave, it feels like he did it as a way to return to Man United. And it also comes across as my plea for a club that can sign him.
I think this kind of situation could even be covered by fine printing of the player’s contract. I think it is an action that is considered to be trying to effectively force movement or attract attention. It can be considered a breach of contract, but we cannot imagine Man United taking such extreme measures.
It’s easy for me: Garnacho was slamming on track to do this. He’s a Man United player and frankly, that’s also disrespectful. And the same can be said for Marcus Rashford. His comments about wanting to play with Ramin Yamal – he basically knows he is eager to join Barcelona.
Liverpool sent the wrong message in a report by Florian Wirtz
He counted 37 tweets in Liverpool in connection with Florian Wharts on the day he signed. And looking at it, did I ask myself if they’ve ever done it for Mohamed Sarah, Jurgen Klopp or Arne Slot? I don’t think they have it.
Liverpool’s best weapon is that they continue their business. They aren’t as flashy as Man United or Real Madrid, but they’re effective at winning trophies. I thought they would be booked slightly with Wirtz’s announcement, but their social media and marketing departments essentially put him under more pressure.
Given that I keep a UK transfer record at once, I can talk more about this. And this is why I think it could cause internal tensions in Liverpool, and some teammates are envious of the attention Wirtz received from the club when signing. And Wirtz himself probably didn’t want this to happen.
I really don’t want Liverpool to thrust Worth’s head over the parapet for him and have a disappointing season next season. It can happen because he can. There is no guarantee in life. See, he could be the best player in the world this time next year. And it seemed he lived in the hype. But Liverpool has always been kind of a thing. The team is bigger than the individual.
If he’s not committed to Liverpool, Conate’s Ibrahima can go
Ibrahim Konate is not heading towards Liverpool in terms of importance by Virgil van Dik or Mohamed Sarah. If they lose him, it would be a bit pinch. But that’s all.
I think there are better defenders around the world that Liverpool can unearth and excavate. And if Conate doesn’t want to sign and commit to the very healthy Liverpool wage structure, let him go.
Is Guehi a similar alternative? no. But the beauty of Guehi is that he comes in and he is a versatile option across defense. He is also a player who is a very good clubman. He’s become a solid 7/10 and plays a lot of games throughout the season. However, I am amazed that teams like Liverpool have not seen Ezri Consa in this situation, given the PSR disaster at Aston Villa.
Wednesday in Sheffield shows why PSR is needed – don’t complain
For me, the situation on Wednesday in Sheffield is the reason why PSR exists. And that’s why I don’t think the club has the right to complain. Because it doesn’t matter if it’s Newcastle, Sunderland, it’s a villa, it’s Liverpool, it’s human. So many clubs are constantly spending too much.
PSR had to come somewhere, so there are a few rules to be done. And whatever the rules you bring, someone will get hurt – or perception will get hurt someone will get hurt. And in this case, of course, it’s Aston Villa and Newcastle, whose fans complain about spending 30 years on Man City, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Sheffield Wednesday is the latest in a series of lessons. If you don’t take the financial side seriously enough and don’t have rich owners, or if you do, and you don’t know what they’re doing in this football match, it’s a black hole that can engulf you. The PSR is here to protect Manchester United, Liverpool, Villas, Newcastle and Sheffield on Wednesday.
If the PSR was not present, it just becomes free. And once it’s free, don’t cry when some of our biggest clubs currently in the second, third or fourth tier of British football go out of business forever. That’s the lesson of PSR. To protect the highly sensitive ecosystems, the English pyramid, sustainability rules are required across four sectors.
Rasmus Hojlund needs to leave Man United to save his career
If you are looking at transactions looking at transfer fees and wages. Aston Villa could afford transfer fees and wages. I’m sure Hojlund has a £43 million talk, but I don’t think anyone is paying it.
Man United is trying to get money back from him, which could involve lending him back to several Italian clubs. But doing this never resolved him. He is still a very young man. I really like him as a striker, I think he has basic attributes. But he went to Manchester United, which basically shattered his confidence completely.
Rasmus Hojlund, a young man in his early 20s, hurts someone putting his arms around him. This is a bit of the development process you should have had. He should have gone to someone like Aston Villa first, and after scoring 25 goals, he went to Manchester United two or three years later.
Aston Villa’s financial position will not result in add-ons and wages higher in addition to £2.5 million. If Ollie Watkins goes, I think you can do much worse than looking at Rasmus Hojlund.
Christian Norgaard is Arsenal’s top signature
Christian Norgaard does a very similar job to what the party does. He’s not flashy, but he’ll sit in front of the defense and win the ball and then give the maker’s player that makes things happen.
At £11 million, it’s a bargain. He is already in London. He is a known amount from a league perspective and fits the profile of the Arsenal player. If you’re building a squad, I think a good, professional defensive midfield player is a must.
Arsenal needs someone to do dirty work if the party goes, and Norgaard does it. I think it’s a very good, solid signature. It’s boring, it’s not everyone’s excited, but it’s a really good solid signature. That’s a big step for him too, and Brentford gets half the fee. Essentially, everyone wins.
Newcastle needs to change to compete with the Big 6
I think it will be a good move for players who will go to Newcastle at that moment. It is a progressive club, they have money, they can pay wages. They have a PSR to deal with, but Eddie Howe said it’s not a concern in this window.
The Newcastle issue is an eternal issue that goes back to people like Andy Cole when they went to Manchester United. Playing for them is like being in a bowl of goldfish. And the reality is that players don’t like this, they prefer the anonymity of London.
I am amazed that it hasn’t happened yet that the club hasn’t moved its training grounds to London. Newcastle may need to do something like that to compete. Because they want to play for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal, so some players turn them down. They even prefer to go to West Ham, Tottenham, Chelsea for the location.
When Joao Pedro goes to Newcastle, fans will love him. It was a huge success. But this topic will be one of the things Newcastle has to deal with. Not just this window, but perhaps the next 10 windows.
Clubs should not complain about the conditions of the Club World Cup
The first real World Cup I was hit was in 1982 in Spain. And it was boiling. It’s definitely boiling. You turned on Terry to watch group games every day. Whether it was Seville, whether it was Barcelona, whether it was Madrid, it was a hot baking summer in Spain.
The heat, I understand, I get. And you can consider a cool break. I’m sure FIFA has some kind of canopy system for benches and many cooling systems in the stadium. However, the pitch arguments are neither bounce nor this. First, they had the finest engineers, including some from England, but they placed pitches like Wembley everywhere. And secondly, clubs should remain in the spirit of the game, and it was always to play, whatever the general conditions were.
I think FIFA should seriously look to sprinkling some water before a match. And whatever the general conditions are, that’s it. This will help football players to get used to playing in a variety of conditions. If the game is a little slow, they have to do something else. Lateral movement is good when given a little to the pitch. If it has zippy nature, it prefers tikitaka.
Like I said, I get a discussion about heat and FIFA deals with it. More drink breaks, colder fans, maybe some roofs coming to the stadium. But the pitch argument is nonsense and there’s a sense that players are now spoiled.