Collymore’s column: Hannibal should start this weekend, why Sandro Tonali needs time and my prediction for Spurs vs. Liverpool
In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including reports Barcelona are under investigation for alleged bribery, Hannibal’s impressive Carabao Cup performance and why Sandro Tonali needs time to settle into life at Newcastle, plus much more.
——————————————————————————-
If they’re guilty, throw the book at Barca…
The biggest story this week has been the Spanish police raiding the Spanish Soccer Federation’s office after payments totalling €7.3 million were allegedly made between 2001 and 2018 from Barcelona to the referee’s association, as per AP News.
If this turns out to be true, and it is a big if, because let’s not forget, while there is never any smoke without fire, there is also innocent until proven guilty, so if these shocking allegations turn out to be true, I hope the book gets thrown at them; not just Barcelona either, but the whole of Spanish football.
Barcelona should obviously receive the strictest punishments, but Spain’s male and female national teams should also be thrown out of all international tournaments for at least five years.
The same applies to any footballing nation that thinks they can use their financial power to undermine the sport’s integrity.
Hannibal deserves more Man United chances…
Manchester United and Erik Ten Hag are under pressure, and although they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in the Carabao Cup mid-week, a cup win isn’t going to do much to ease that pressure. They’ve got to go again in the Premier League, and as it happens, their next game is against the same opponents.
I do expect Ten Hag to name a much-changed starting lineup but I think Hannibal is one player who deserves to keep his spot. We
Read on caughtoffside.com
