Nowhere near, no- I think the older you get the more life gets in the way.

Maybe both clubs are tied to a certain style and are adamant that both managers are best suited for it? I’m sure both clubs would want to stay in the division, but if the boards of both clubs think that their styles of play are what they want to stick with then arguably that’s what they’ll live or die by.

It’s also a case of personnel- would changing to a more pragmatic manager change their fortunes, or are they suited to playing the way they are? Bringing in a manager suited for a rescue job potentially means spending to buy players that fit that too. It’s tricky because in the Championship they can blow teams away playing champagne football, whereas in the PL there will be a dozen clubs who do it better than them. You see it at least once a year with a promoted club.

Arsenal and Liverpool are definitely in with a shout, but the margin for error is so small that you really need to push on while city aren’t yet in juggernaut mode.

Every team attempts to buy success, City are just better at it than their competitors.

If you don’t buy players in this league you go backwards.

If you don’t spend that money well, you again go backwards.

United are a prime example that simply spending money doesn’t equate to success, city have spent, but have done so addressing the needs of their team and having a stable team in place.

I think stats and the eye test need to be used at the same time- the eye test is subjective, so if the person using the eye test is clueless then chances are their interpretation is terrible.

Teams set up differently in the PL to the CL, and I’d argue that he’s probably been up against better defensive units in the PL at times.

The chances he got in midweek (2 yard tap ins) haven’t been there in the PL, so it’s the quality of pass he’s had into those areas (if at all), and the way the defences have been set up too. The goals will come, he’ll just need to keep making the runs and poaching.

He’s understandably pissed off, but it’s best to not react publicly, as the perception is he’s being petty.

The voting system of the Ballon D’or is flawed, but Ronaldo should be above it- he’s one of the greatest of all time, and doesn’t need to give a shit about it. His achievements should stand for themselves, forget “chasing” Messi.

He’s having to rack them up in the group stage because we won’t get to the knockouts.

He’d be similar to where he is- he’d get compared to Pele or Maradona. The thing with the “GOAT” debate is that it will always be debated- people have different preferences based on what’s happened in the past or whatever.

Let’s not forget than until his WC win some Argentinians would argue that Maradona was a better player than Messi; it’s a very subjective debate.

Yay, we’re least shit!

Having no identity to speak of as a club is a major issue- how does Manchester United want to play as a whole, and are the players and manager suitable for that?

We hang our hat on having young players come through and are immensely proud of it, but what kind of football are we teaching them, and is that uniform from youth level to the first team? The sooner United have an identity and plug in players who fit that the better; I’d sooner we know what we are and live or die by that than “Frankenstein” ourselves into being a team, which you’re absolutely spot on about.

Why can’t they just be appreciated for what they are? The narrative is that they need to be the next x or better than y, when they could just be enjoyed as the player they are, especially when the comparisons are often clumsy at best.