Collection of Marcus Rashford, Premier League clubs and Bruno Guimaraes. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images and Sky)
In his exclusive Christmas column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore discusses some of the biggest talking points in football, including why Marcus Rashford needs to leave Manchester United, why Newcastle would be crazy to sell Bruno Guimaraes, and why the Premier League could… It does that and much more.
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Marcus Rashford has to leave Manchester United to enjoy football again
Marcus Rashford should leave Manchester United. I've been saying this for probably two years, he should either go abroad or to a progressive club in the Premier League.
Will it be West Ham, Brighton or even Bournemouth? Will the Cherries pick a big fish and see if they can go to a smaller pond and enjoy south coast football? It's not ridiculous – but will they be able to afford it?
I think there will be candidates for Rashford whether it's from Germany or Italy, but I'm not sure about Spain.
He just needs to enjoy the game and love the game again, and I wonder if he's really done that over the last five or six years. He always seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
For me, it's really simple. You either go to a wild card where Bournemouth is, or you head abroad to somewhere like Napoli or Milan.
Newcastle are crazy thinking about selling Guimaray and Howe is still under pressure
I think Newcastle would be crazy to sell Bruno Guimaraes in January.
If the rumors about Man City's interest are accurate, then at the end of the season, when City will conduct a technical and tactical review and look at where they are, this could be the most logical time for Newcastle to consider cashing in on the deal.
He may be a player who City feel can revamp things, but certainly not in January.
As for Eddie Howe, I think if he finishes outside the Europa League places again, it would probably mean the end for him at Newcastle United.
I've always said he's under pressure, even if, when Newcastle made their incredible run to escape relegation and then made it to Europe, the PIF was saying: 'No, no, we're backing him'. It's the best thing since sliced bread, yada yada yada.
PIF has the money and influence to be able to bring anyone into world football, and if Howe can't take the club forward, I fully believe that before Jose Mourinho retires, he will take over at Newcastle United.
This is because the Saudis want a certain degree of success soon, and because of Mourinho's relationship with Sir Bobby Robson.
He always said he had unfinished business and wanted to go there to crystallize Sir Bobby's legacy.
The Premier League can do that
I think the whole idea of a Premier League was and still is preposterous, especially if it became an invitation-only tournament.
The news is back again, and you can see what's going to happen.
The way FIFA has organized the Club World Cup is a clear example of this. He managed to beat Lionel Messi there despite not having any real sporting advantage from his Inter Miami team, other than the second-tier League Cup or whatever.
You could see any of the Premier League organizers doing exactly the same to make sure the usual suspects are in place, ignoring the likes of Nottingham Forest who fully deserve a place at this season's level.
Ironically, Forest may qualify for the Champions League this season if they continue in the same way in the second half of the season, but they will not qualify for a preliminary Premier League tournament.
Although the Premier League is unthinkable, it is inevitable It will happen.
A lot of people will say, let the teams go, we have a strong enough pyramid system in England, but if it doesn't run alongside the domestic leagues, the Premier League will wipe out a lot of leagues across Europe. dead.
Let's be completely honest, if you beat the top two teams in a lot of these leagues, it's over. Done for.
I don't think the organizers really care, because they just want to see Real Madrid against Manchester United or Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich, Ajax vs. Inter Milan, etc. in an episode every week.
So, no matter what leaves the local leagues or schedules, they are not bothered.
Pep Guardiola has been banging his head on the table regarding the Club World Cup schedule, so we as football fans need to make a decision, and the FA need to decide when enough time is enough, in terms of the number of matches going on. I played.
The Premier League is just greed and a vanity project.
No thank you.
Arteta is my Christmas pudding and my 2025 prediction
Hot or not: I have to give a nod to Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. He was a breath of fresh air in the Premier League, fantastic. They have been awarded the Christmas cookie award of the season so far.
Christmas pudding: This was supposed to be the season for Mikel Arteta. That may still be the case, but they are far off the pace and now Bukayo Saka will be out for weeks which could be fatal to their title chances.
Expectations: Eddie Howe is likely to leave at the end of the season, and Ange Postecoglou will increase Spurs' requirements if they do not secure European places.
Marcus Rashford is out in January, Liverpool winning the Premier League title and reaching the Champions League final.
Chelsea will win the Conference League, Manchester City will do a complete revamp in the way Chelsea have done recently, recruiting a lot of the best young players in Europe under 25s, and the top four in the Premier League will be Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and me. I will go to Villa again because I think they are good enough.
