Colin’s Column: The Latest from the Football Park Podcast

Colin’s Column

Football: there is always something new in the world of football. Whether it be surprise revelations in an interview, the emergence of a surprise hero, a shocking disasterclass from an elite player, or shock results, the beautiful game never fails to surprise us.

But a fan's perspective is entirely different to that of an ex-professional - our Football Park Podcast host and ex-Turkey international Colin Kazim-Richards can attest to that. Each and every week, Colin talks with co-host Seb Ewen on all the topical matters that came to the fore over the last week, while he also offers valuable insight, drawing from his own professional experience.

This is the first of a weekly column discussing the main talking points discussed by Colin on the podcast - his opinions never fail to fascinate and entertain in equal measure, and his inside knowledge of how the footballing machine works always provides fresh takes and intriguing discussions.

Haaland to Break Shearer’s League Goals Record?

Seb: Where do you go for a career rise? Where do you go from Man City if you’re Erling Haaland?

Colin: I think for the Premier League, Haaland is there for a while, to be honest with you. If he sets his sights on that Alan Shearer record – that's within his grasp if he stays at City.

An absolute corker to start us off, Colin is bang on about Haaland realistically breaking Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal record of 260. The giant Norwegian is already sitting on 93 Premier League goals in just three and a bit seasons at the club, and it looks as if he has been working hard in pre-season.

His decision-making is vastly better; his finishing instinct is arguably the sharpest it has ever been, and he has developed the new trait of showing frustration when his teammates don’t give him the ball - the sign of a striker who knows he is the main man.

At the rate he is bagging them, he needs just five and a bit more seasons to break Shearer's long-standing record - for context, he will still only be 30 when that time comes.

The only issue is that he may not stay at City for his entire career - Real Madrid have long held close interest in the striker, and Barcelona have recently upped the tempo by declaring him a top target.

A move away would be the only reason Haaland never sets the goal record - however, there is a chance he could get the best of both worlds. Stay at City for five more years and break the record, and only then seal a move to sunny shores of Spain. If you’re going to leave, at least leave on a high, right?

Should VAR be Introduced to the Championship?

Seb: One thing that doesn’t really get talked about enough is the amount of incorrect decisions outside of the Premier League.

Colin: You don’t even want to talk about that with me! It all comes at a cost.. I do think, and I’ve said it before, I do think the Championship should have VAR. You’re talking about the most expensive game in football. They’ve got a lot of decisions wrong in the past because they don’t have the help that they need.

Onto a hot talking point now - should the much maligned Video Assistant Referee be introduced to the English second tier?

There is no doubt that to watch football in it’s truest form can be a pleasure the majority of the time - no needless interruptions, no unnecessary stoppages, and no unending controversy when VAR objectively makes the wrong decision.

However, there is certainly a growing school of thought that actually, providing Championship referees with a fallback is not the worst thing in the world. After all, there is so much on the line when it comes to the second tier, and should there be a decision in the play-off final (the world’s most expensive game) that costs a side their shot at promotion due to a lack of VAR, the FA would never hear the end of it.

Even as recently as last weekend there was controversy surrounding a would-be penalty for Swansea City against Blackburn, which the referee somehow turned a blind eye to. It prompted managers and fans alike to go into uproar, calling for the immediate introduction of the sometimes helpful technology.

No one will be able to promise that it will work any more than it does in the Premier League - it is divisive at the best of times - but surely, it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Receiving a Pay Rise

Seb: In terms of the finances, is there a figure you get to when it feels like ‘everything is sorted now’?

Colin: You feel like it is. That’s the problem - you feel like it is, because when you go from, for example, £45 to £90, even that, you know, you’re like, 'Wow.' The first professional contract I signed was actually at Brighton when I moved there. I think I went onto something like £2,500. I thought ‘You know what, I can actually afford a little bit more now. I don’t need to buy those £50 trainers; I can maybe get £100 trainers.’

It’s not that you go to the club and start getting tables, but your daily life of buying accumulates to more.

Footballers wages - a man can dream eh? With the best player’s known for picking up eye-watering paychecks that would sort an ordinary human out for life in a week, Colin brought up some interesting points about when young up-and-coming players start to feel comfortable with their financial situation.

At the start of their career, money is very limited, and young players must be thrifty with how they use their funds - they can put them towards better training equipment, boots, weights and other football paraphernalia, or they can revert to the stereotype and splash it all on fancy cars and dodgy haircuts.

The danger of when players are given a substantial payrise is that they feel like all the extra cash is to spend and not save, invest, or to generally do something more sensible. In a way, it is good practice to keep young players’ wages as realistic as possible - doing this allows them to understand the value of money and the constructive things it can be put towards.

For Colin, that meant trainers and tracksuits (although I’m sure there were some lower-key purchases as well), while for others it may mean relocating somewhere more convenient, hiring an agent, or even starting their own brand - all good ways of securing yourself more income in the future.

So when you see the massively inflated wages of someone like Lamine Yamal, who earns €16 million per year, it’s hard to believe that he will be either sensible or forward-thinking with the money, as is good practice for all young players.

Colin Kazim-Richards vs David Nugent

Colin: Dave Nugent got into the first team before me at Bury, and I was saying to myself, ‘My man, like, there’s no way he’s better than me - anyone who asks me, I’ll say the same to them.’

Who here remembers David Nugent? Championship bagsman, played for eight different EFL sides, and scored on his one and only appearance for the England national team? Well, you won’t believe it, but once upon a time in 2004, he and Colin Kazim-Richards were both on the books at Bury FC, battling it out with each other in their bid to break into the first team there.

Only a year apart in age, and both vying for a spot in the attacking lineup, Colin became … somewhat sour when Nugent got the nod before him, breaking into the starting lineup in 2002. The striker would go on to bag 18 goals in 88 appearances for the club before securing a move to Preston North End, where he became a fan favourite.

Colin had to wait another two years before he took to the pitch for The Shaker’s impressing during the 2004/05 season that saw him secure his first professional contract at Brighton the very next year.

The two players had very different career paths: Colin (37) has more international caps to his name than Nugent (1) - one point Colin. He also boasts 10 winners medals to his name, compared to Nugent’s two - another point Colin.

However, as a striker, Nugent did bag more goals, netting on 154 occasions against Colin’s respectable tally of 92.

Both had stellar careers, which encompassed multiple trophy wins, successful stints with their national teams, and a wealth of different fanbases and cultures that cheered their names for almost two decades each. However, Colin will say that only one of them has reached a European Championship semi-final!