Cronky

Unfortunately CR7 already thinks he's something special and is only seeking further re-inforcement of that opinion. I saw Keane defending Ronaldo's conduct at Man U, and it all sounded weird. But there again, he had major public fall outs with McCarthy at Ireland and Fergie at Man U. He preaches team spirit but then lashes out when he himself feels hard done by.

Well that all comes down to perception. I don't think holding the ball up is one of Wilson's strengths, and if we're going to win anything with our system, we need a striker that's actually good at that. Is the bold alternative, but I don't think we're prepared for that.

I think he's a good finisher, and is at his best playing on the shoulder of the last defender. I don't think he's great at dropping deeper and linking up the attack. It's not so much that I don't rate Wilson as that I do rate Kane. With modern lone striker systems, ideally you need someone who can finish, hold the ball up, and create chances for his team-mates. There aren't many strikers who can do all 3, but Kane is one of them. He'd be a big loss. The wisdom was that Wilson was being brought along to provide something different. I think Southgate would have in mind bringing him on if we were in trouble in the later stages of a match, or if we were cruising and he wanted to give Kane a rest. If Southgate thinks that Rashford can do Kane's job, then I reckon he'll be disappointed. Rashford needs space and time to operate. I think the team can still do okay, but our chances of winning the thing have gone without Kane IMO.

Realistically, if Kane is out for the tournament, we're fucked. Neither Rashford nor Wilson are great at holding the ball up. I would have taken another out and out striker to the World Cup, rather than Rashford. Of those who are fit, Abraham would probably have been the best choice. We could try something fancy like a false 9, but we don't have any experience in playing that way.

No way would Eddie want him. I have a nagging worry that the owners may be getting involved here. Hopefully footballing sense will prevail, if so.

I'd say those were fair comments. I think a lot of people seem to be getting carried away. For understandable reasons, the Iranians weren't in the right frame of mind, and their defending was a bit shambolic.

The Iranian defending, particularly down their left side, was terrible, so it's difficult to draw any judgements. Bellingham has really arrived as an England player. That was the most encouraging sign.

Iran's defending has been really poor whenever we get the ball around their box. I think the lads in the studio are getting a bit carried away. Have we really been moving the ball around quickly? I still think Rice needs to up his game. Far too cautious, and we'll need to be more positive against the better teams.

Maguire is very useful at attacking set pieces, and I expect that might be a weakness of Iran's. Man U have been a bit of a basket case of a club and I think he'll be all right for England.

Yeah, I've always thought he was our most important signing, and this indicates the reason why. He's not the world's greatest defender, but the fear and indecision seemed to disappear from our defending after he arrived.

So bad, it's good.

On another subject, I'm really enjoying the BBC podcasts with Lineker, Shearer and Richards. Some great laughs as well as good insights.

There's no clear definition of 'greatest' but I'd rate Maradona as the best I've seen. I've watched a couple of his compilations on You Tube, and a lot of his goals and skills are just unreal. They look impossible. I watched Pele as a kid, but not with sufficient insight to be sure of how he compares. He has to be in the top echelon though. The other two I'd put up there are Messi and Cruyff. Cruyff is a bit under-rated really. He was a brilliant captain as well as a great player. Dutch football was nothing until he came along. C Ronaldo has achieved so much, but he never had the sort of exceptional natural gifts that the other four had. He's a great athlete who has worked very hard on the technical side of his game, and in that way has carved out a unique career. But I'd put him in the second tier, along with Zidane, the other Ronaldo etc He's also a bit selfish. On the pitch and now it look like off it as well.

I thought it was a good analysis of how we're doing. The Scots guy seemed very on the ball. It was a good point that there's no particular mystery to our tactics, so there's no reason to believe that we're somehow going to get 'found out'. I think a lot depends on how the other teams around us deal with the World Cup break. They are committing more players, so I think we have an advantage there. If it's a season where 80 points get you the title, then we have a chance. If it's 90+, then that's very doubtful. The other good point was about 'stepping stone' players, and us missing out a stage of team-building if we finish in the top four. Basically, which players do we go for now? It may be premature to try for those in the top rank (though Isak suggests it may be possible), but there wouldn't be any point in spending money on players who aren't significantly better than the ones we have. The original plan was to try and scoop up the best of young talent coming through, but that strategy may be tweaked a bit. In a successful club, it's very difficult for a young player to get game time (eg Anderson) There are certain areas where we need strengthening - a third striker, a quality wide player and maybe a CM with more defensive quality.

Looks good to me, and with all due respect to Wood, we need a third striker.

I'm not sure that he's international material. He's strong but not great technically IMO. The Man City game showed why he's gained a reputation but hasn't convinced Southgate or the big clubs, who don't seem that interested, judging from the lack of transfer links. Two decent but fairly basic finishes and then he fluffs an easy chance through a clumsy touch on the ball.

You've summarised the dilemma there. If someone had told me a year ago that we'd have a very effective pressing game, I'd have laughed. We didn't press at all, and the players we've brought in, you wouldn't say would be ones that would change that. None of our midfield players have pace and we don't have a DM, which I had thought was essential. Eddie has achieved a strong press by an effective fitness programme and by good organisation. He seems to have developed in our team a pack-like instinct about when to commit to the press. So I wonder whether he can do a similar transformation with Maddison, who you rightly say isn't obviously suited to that kind of aggressive game. The other orthodoxy that Eddie is challenging is the need for a specialist DM to protect the back line. I had often thought that it was a double edged sword, because a DM tends to see a lot of the ball, and if they can't use it well then the creative aspect of your team is hampered. And if you're pressuring the ball further upfield, then you don't need someone to defend the back line so much. On a related point, that's why I find Southgate's commitment to two DMs in Phillips and Rice so frustrating.

I think his outstanding quality is his technical skill on the ball. He looks like one of those natural talents who can do the exceptional. Allied to this he has the strength and the intelligence to use those gifts well. When he was being linked with us earlier, his clips were very impressive and I was very surprised that he wasn't snapped up by other clubs who were more advanced in their development. (Let's not say bigger any more) The other candidate would be Bruno, who of course is playing extremely well. I think Eddie has raised his game, just as he has got more out of our other midfielders. But Isak starts off his journey here from a more advanced position, if you get my meaning. That was reflected in his transfer fee. I think it was telling that Eddie had no hesitation in pitching him as a starter against Liverpool. Considering it was his first game with his team mates, and his first game in the Premiership, I thought he was outstanding.

I can see how that could make sense, yes. Eddie seems to be on the lookout for a wide attacking player in a 4-3-3, and of the three main ones that we have (ASM, Almiron, Isak), I can see ASM being the most vulnerable. He plays very much as an individual, and while I think he's tried to adjust, I also think he's struggled with Eddie's team emphasis on and off the pitch. If selling him frees up the funding to bring in a more compatible player, then it would make sense.

Nooooooo. That we don't want. He should keep his feet his feet on the ground and let everyone else go mental.

There's method behind the madness though. We are improving all the time, and that journey is set to continue, regardless of any signings in January. And we've got Isak to come in, who I think will turn out to be our best player. The crazy thing is that I can see the opportunity opening up to win the whole bloody thing. Other teams around the top will have contributed more players to the World Cup, and with the demands of the European games in the new year on top of that, the toll on their players' mental and physical energy will be far greater than ours. We just need to stay focused, and in our Eddie, we have a manager who's rather good at that.

Come on, guys, we all make mistakes. Even me. Back in 2006 I think it was...

It intrigues me greatly that such a quietly-spoken, one could say studious man, has the drive and presence to impose his will on a motley gang of young egos, and has wrestled so successfully with all the stresses and strains of that job. He's as far from the caricature of a football manager as you could get. I can't even imagine him swearing, let alone getting angry. Eddie puts great store on finding out about a player's character, and I wonder whether he would avoid the challenge of a bad boy like Cantona. Nothing wrong with recognising that some players would suit your style more than others, of course. A similar challenge would be signing an established superstar like Ronaldo, who would have their own ideas about their worth. Eddie hasn't got to that stage yet, and maybe it wouldn't suit. Clough performed miracles with ordinary players but struggled with the established names. It's interesting that the other rising star is Graham Potter, who comes across in a similar way. He's taken on that challenge with Chelsea, and I'm not sure it's going to work.

I seem to remember he lasted about 6 weeks before going back down south (no transfer window in those days). He just seemed to freeze. I don't know what was going on, but he looked so frightened and inhibited.

Linked with Nabil Fekir. We could do with another forward and he looks useful on YT.