Ronaldo

To be fair to him, he deserves to start on his England performances. He's always been bright in an England shirt. Very effective running at limited defenders.

Colo doesn't have 'lapses', though. He's consistently outmuscled and outthought by his opponents, and that's when he is putting effort in. I do worry a little about Cabella, mind. I look at all the small-statured players who've been successful in the PL and they've all had outstanding attributes that protect the weakness from exposure - pace, intelligence etc. Cabella doesn't.

Far more likely to mean people aren't putting money on him.

That's Ireland not qualifying, then.

How much of Spain's success in the past 7 years would you attribute to his coaching/management?

40 next year if Jake's username is accurate.

Yep, 1-0 under Souness in early '05. Shearer knackered Wayne Bridge.

I think we were playing Watford at home and he brought on LuaLua, Stepehn Glass and Wayne Quinn (maybe). Our equalising goal ended up being crossed in by Quinn, LuaLua miskicked it and then Stephen Glass scored. Don't think I've ever seen that before or since Nah, that was home to Man U. Cordone crossed it, Lua Lua sliced it and Glass finished. You're right though, 2 or 3 of them had just been subbed on.

Bobby was a very good in-game manager. Made a lot of substitutions that changed games.

How's there 'no way that Sterling won't become a better player than Sanchez'? Because you've just decided? Sanchez couldn't make it at Barcelona, neither did Ibrahimovic, nor would Sterling, it's not even a point to make. Sterling's 20 years old and already one of the best players in the league in his position. You watch him become a better player than Sanchez.

You're kidding, aren't you? Sanchez is 6 years older. Barring serious injury there's no way Sterling won't become a better player than Sanchez - who couldn't make it on the biggest stage.

My issue was with you erroneously bringing Bobby into it. I agree re. McClaren.

He'll go to better than us, basically.

No. He'd been shifted upstairs. He'd been shifted upstairs by January 1997 when Keegan quit?

Robson turned us down before he took the job because he wasnt offered enough cash. He didn't turn 'us' down. I'm sick of repeating this on here now. He turned down an utterly derisory salary.

So he was in a managerial role elsewhere.

When did this happen, for a start? When did he get credit for it, supposing pretending it did?

Not a bad first touch but it's his natural goal scoring instinct which gets me. Scored bag loads of goals at every level he's played at consistently. A late bloomer perhaps at 25 but fuck it, a English international center forward, leading the line in the no9 shirt is more than enough to raise a smile. Not an international yet, mind.

Indeed, though I certainly wouldn't say Dalglish was an epic fail, in truth. Souness was an epic fail. Dalglish steered us to 2nd, arguably our most memorable win of the past 4 decades and a cup final.

I'll judge him on what he gets out of the players.

Nah, nobody will pay a penny for him. He'll see out the last year of his deal, hopefully not as a starter.

Ethi's a WUM. Just one of the more likeable/entertaining ones.

He's a clueless old brown noser. He'll contribute nothing beyond partial placation of the mongs.

I don't agree, if the club was ambitious we could and would do a lot better than McClaren. Yeah but the club isn't. Hence 'at the moment'.

It's a ridiculous format, though. A bloody group stage before it beomes a consolation prize for CL dropouts. Ridiculous. Knockout from the start as it used to be.