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Yeah I was thinking that, hopefully United go for Southgate when Ten Hag has ran his race. I think Southgate would struggle a lot.

Yeah maybe. Just my point that Spain playing as a club team is why they're able to dominate less cohesive sides. Even if France generally have better players or whatever.

I know what you are saying, but to be fair he's not really a goalscorer. He's much different to Haaland. He's more like a lesser Firmino in his link up play, pressing, and doing donkey work to facilitate the others. The way people are saying Man U will use Zirkzee. Now whether he is ultimately...

No problem big man. Heading offline in a moment to do some chores then maybe watch a film or two, not decided. You have a good day :)

You didn't though, it was my fault - I took your post off in a tangent.

Yes you are of course correct that Ronaldo helped drive his stats, it's just that his football would have been amazing without Ronaldo, and he'd still be the best in the world if he scored 20 goals a season rather than 50. To be fair I did not do your post justice as I spoke about something...

I know tackling helps a midfielder - my point was it's a last resort even if a valuable weapon. Rodri only tackles when he needs to, most of the time he intercepts. The stuff about how good he will be, or how he will be remembered in the annals of history is what i reckoned you were implying...

Anyway we will never agree, so might as well wrap this up. Enjoy your day.

You're talking numbers and proving my point. My point is Messi is far far better at football outside goal stats. And he was generally good throughout games, whereas Ronaldo disguised a lot of poor performances with stats. That's what counting up the stats misses, and why you have to watch them...

I didn't say Bellingham throws himself into tackles - you said he tackles a lot, and I said tackling doesn't make someone a good CM. So I was disagreeing with you that him making tackles now and them makes him a good midfielder. He will never, ever be able to play like Kroos, or Modric, or...

So you're agreeing with me that he isn't a tempo-setting midfielder and is nowhere near as dominant throughout the 90 as a Rodri? And his game is about the box most of the time? Glad to hear it. He gets dominated by Rodri every time they play against each other. I didn't mean they don't...

It's a manufactured media rivalry, as one player is significantly better at football than the other. The other got put on his level due to circumstance (being born two years apart, playing for rival clubs in the same league) and being able to keep up in goal stats. I also don't buy that Messi...

Bellingham hardly pressed on Sunday night. That's a second striker, a false forward type of player. A true midfielder is guys like Xavi, Modric, Kroos, Rodri - a guy who controls the tempo of the play, passes and moves, blocks off passing avenues, plays combination play intricately in tight...

The overall point is that Spain are one of the very few national teams who have the synergy, drilling and passing and cohesion of a club side. That's probably why they looked so good at this tournament and their hardest game was against probably the second best team in the tournament in terms of...

Yeah fair point - I phrased it too strongly and too black and white. I just meant, in general, a superior technical side will have a much greater chance of dominating an inferior one throughout the 90 mins. And the teams regarded as the best ever are generally high possession, pass and move...

Anyway, I don't wanna argue with you, Rory - I consider you a good and intelligent poster, and it's just a difference of opinion and me being forthright in how I think about football. Cheers.

I know you didn't. Exactly, should never have played two of them, and played either Scholes (not that he did much when he was selected before, even in his favourite position) or Carrick (the poverty man's Xavi or Busquets, but a better fit than Gerrard or Lampard despite being an inferior...

They're still not regarded anywhere near those teams in global history, which is my point. That's also because it's easier to play defensively and counter-attack than to be proactive and break down defensive teams. That's why counter-attack works a lot despite teams being outplayed. Everybody...

Excellent team, but nobody in their right mind would rate them anywhere near Pep's Barca, the best Brazils, Spain etc.

I didn't say they were better players - Bellingham is a better player overall than Ruiz, because he has more athleticism generally and can get into the box, and has achieved more at a top club. However, Ruiz will always be a better fit for a team that plays like Spain. I agree there's not just...