In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Roy Keane’s comments on Andy Robertson following an incident with a linesman at Anfield, Anthony Gordon’s shocking reaction to being substituted and which club Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-odoi should join, plus much more.
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Anfield linesman should face same punishment a player would…
A linesman elbowing a player during Sunday’s game between Liverpool and Arsenal – wow! – That was something I have never seen before.
The linesman, at halftime, clearly elbowed Andy Robertson. The full-back obviously went over and said something to him, and we don’t know what that was, but for an official to react that way was absolutely staggering. Officials are there to implement the laws of the game, not to be the law of the game so I think he needs to be treated the same way any player would be.
I am all for officials being held to a higher standard than players but let’s not forget, they’re human beings that make mistakes too so I would hate for his career to end because of one rash decision but certainly, he should be banned from officiating three or four Premier League games. You can’t do what he did and not expect to suffer any consequences.
Roy Keane was out of order calling Andy Robertson a ‘big baby’…
One thing I didn’t like during the linesman and Robertson incident was Roy Keane’s comments.
I respect Keane as a player endlessly. He was a superb midfielder – dynamic, high work rate and a leader among men. Our paths crossed briefly – he was leaving Nottingham Forest as I was going in, but I find his punditry really interesting.
To call Roberton ‘a big baby’ for his reaction after being elbowed by the linesman was uncalled for. Robertson has been nothing but a good professional for Liverpool and has won the same calibre of trophies as Keane did, albeit, not as many. But to be calling a fellow pro a ‘big baby’ when you’ve seen how he’s conducted himself throughout their career is bang out of order.
When Keane first came into Sky Sports’ studio, I was expecting to get insight into a serial winner’s mentality and how that may or may not affect players in certain situations, but that hasn’t happened with him at all – some of what he says is purely to become a 30 seconds viral clip on social media.
The way he talks is like ‘I was the hardest working player with the highest standards to ever live’ – and in a lot of ways, that is true, which is why he was such a driving force for Manchester United, but his punditry has descended into the comical at times. Sky Sports are encouraging him to say something controversial just for the clicks and the views.
I have no problem with any pundit giving constructive criticism and feedback on a player’s behaviour or performance, but for Keane to go after a player who has conducted themselves well when he wasn’t a saint is nothing less than hypocritical in my opinion, because let’s face it, if Keane was the perfect player, he would have lifted the 1999 Champions League in United’s kit, instead he was suspended for the final.
Anfield draw makes Man City title favourites… Just.
Moving on to the actual football that was played at Anfield on Sunday – I think yesterday’s 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal puts Manchester City as the slight favourites for the title, but that’s not to say it’s nailed on. Let’s not forget – there is still a quarter of the season to go. That’s a long time, especially when you reach the business of the season like we are now.
Arsenal have a really tough two-and-a-half-weeks coming up. They have to play Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Brighton, and the way the Premier League goes, it wouldn’t surprise me if they beat City and then lost to Brighton. It’s going to be fascinating.
As for Sunday’s game in Merseyside though, which was a brilliant match by the way, I thought Liverpool showed glimpses of the Liverpool of old, especially during the game’s second half, and it was kind of sad to see because that squad is going to be broken up in the summer.
Arsenal were excellent in parts too but fell off quite a lot in the game’s second half – no surprises there though because that’s what happens when you go to Anfield, it is not an easy ground to go to at all. As soon as the crowd get up, getting a result becomes a whole lot harder, and that’s exactly what Arsenal discovered.
Anthony Gordon… What are you doing?!
I, like many of you, have seen the clip of Anthony Gordon clashing with Eddie Howe after he was substituted off against Brentford on Saturday.
What on earth is he doing?! – He has done absolutely nothing to warrant a big move to Newcastle. Let’s be real here – the only reason he got that transfer is because he’s English, had five good games in an Everton shirt and the Toffees are skint.
For Gordon to come off the pitch and take the time to walk over to the manager and have a go at him was an absolute disgrace.
Every manager in the world would have seen that clip and will now be wondering if Gordon is a bad egg. Regardless of if he spends the rest of his career at St James’ Park or not, his actions last weekend aren’t going to do his reputation any good and will certainly damage his chances of representing England in the future.
To treat a down-to-earth, decent guy like Howe that way, and during a time when everyone associated with Newcastle are buzzing as well, was just such a bad decision from the kid. He needs to issue a public apology as soon as possible and beg his manager for forgiveness because he just can’t do what he did and expect to come out the other side looking good. If he continues with this level of disrespect, Newcastle will move on from him very quickly.
Chelsea winger has to leave Stamford Bridge to save career…
Callum Hudson-odoi needs to leave Chelsea. The Blues need to trim their squad in the summer, that’s no secret, and I just can’t see him making the cut regardless of who their next permanent manager is.
My advice to him would be to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer and go to somewhere like Crystal Palace, who look like they’re going to lose Wilfried Zaha, in order to get his career back on track.
It’s very hard for a player who has been with a big club for so long to reinvent themselves, but Hudson-odoi, at 22 years old, is not a kid anymore. He’ll be viewed as a senior professional so his next move will be a really important one in shaping the rest of his career.
I do like the thought of him joining Palace though. That is a move, that to me, would make a lot of sense. They’re in London, they look like they’re going to need a new winger, the fees involved are likely to suit Palace’s budget and the pressure on him to succeed won’t be anywhere near as high as it is at Chelsea.