Pep would have ruined Jude Bellingham like he’s broken Jack Grealish…

The Mailbox is relieved that Jude Bellingham avoided the fate suffered by Treble winner Jack Grealish under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Also: England’s Deschamps; Sandro Tonali and more…

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com…

Bellingham heeded Grealish warning
Oh dear, Man City fans are really feeling the pressure of winning things now aren’t they? Defending the source of their income is one thing but now taking cheap shots at teams like Villa?

I thought you were proud of being a community club that was once stuck in EFL limbo yet now you are a sportswashing vehicle for oil rich nation states all that is forgotten. Well Sir I will make do with my thin, meagre gruel of the Conference League, thank you Sirs for blessing us with the shining light of your perfect, beautiful football.

Maybe one day we can dream of being bought by North Korea and compete at your financial levels. Wow, I honestly thought you were all better than that.

Speaking as a Villa fan, Pep HAS broken Jack Grealish. Yes he has made him a more complete footballer. He has won lots of shiny things and entertained us all with his celebrations. But he is not the player he once was and that is sad.

There were long stretches of Villa fandom where tuning in or going to matches was solely driven to watch Jack play. Even if I knew we were going to lose I was sure to be entertained by Grealish tormenting the opposition with his skill and wind up theatrics. Genuinely, in some games, it was worth the price of admission alone.

His threat to dribble past players at will caused defences to send out 2 or 3 players to cope with him where he would either glide through them, get fouled or (at his most effective) lay off a chance for a teammate in space. It was glorious to watch. He has created many fond memories I will share with my kids and friends for as long as I live. Can Man City fans say the same? Honestly?

There are/were very few players out there like Grealish, so obviously skilled in one, exciting area of football (to the exclusion of others like, you know, getting the ball back). Fewer still with a roguish personality and giant calves. Pep has beaten it out of him.

You can say the outcomes justify the means if you like but while Pep has rounded of the rough edges of his game, that is exactly the part that made him so exciting.

Just because I can’t end this without punching up at my betters: Man City are boring. Just boring. How have you turned Haaland into a snorefest? No wonder Bellingham went to Real Madrid. He could see the truth of what he would become under Pep.
Funstar Andy

Ney? No never, Jude
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I completely agree that Jude Bellingham is an excellent footballer and someone who will probably go on to achieve great things.

However, to my eyes, he was going a bit ‘Neymar’ against Italy?

It looked to me that every time he was challenged, especially if he lost the ball or was the subject of just a run of the mill ‘foul’, he was all arms in the air, sulky – don’t they know who I am. I play for Real Madrid? – face.

When he wasn’t playing extremely well, I thought there were a few moments of petulance from him.

Now, I understand that he is probably the sort of player who the opposition will target, especially a team like Italy. But this is the game he’s in. He probably gets the same in Spain but I don’t have access to those matches. Come the Euros, he will be our golden boy and will be heavily marked and probably kicked a bit. I’m hoping he’ll be mature enough to deal with it. I know he played at the World Cup, but he’s properly on the big time radar now.

Bloody good player though.

Also, why is Dion Dublin allowed on co-comms? All he did was tell me what I could see with my own eyes. I thought his role as an ex-pro was to provide the sort of insight I couldn’t previously comprehend?

Mind you, he did sound like he was too preoccupied with wiping the jizz out of his pants every time Bellingham touched the ball.

Back to proper football this weekend.
Stu – Gooner in France (so, two dogs in next year’s fight)

Overcoming Gareth
Could England be approaching peak Deschamps where the overwhelming raw talent of the England squad overcomes the tactical inadequacies of the manager?

I noted in 2018 that if England won anything it would be in spite of Gareth Southgate, not because of him. I suspect that view is not particularly controversial these days.

On a related note, could Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to pursue Jude Bellingham and then play him as a free-roaming No.10 for Real Madrid come to be viewed as an epoch-making decision for our national team?
Matthew (ITFC)

Boo team
After listening to Harry Maguire’s comments on England fans booing England players whilst on international duty it got me wondering, is it possible to do an England XI of England players booed by England fans?

Obviously there is Mr Maguire himself and Jordan Henderson and two other players spring to mind, I seem to remember Frank Lampard on the receiving end and also David Beckham being booed as well.

I’m sure there have been enough defenders but can’t think of any goalkeepers. Perhaps one of your esteemed readers of this website can do the honours and create an England XI of booed players and the reason behind the boos?

Kind regards
Matt (Boooooooo)

Farewell, Phil
The only true heir and successor to Phil Neville in the number 50 slot of the famous F365 England Ladder would be shove Jordan Henderson in there upon whatever point he officially “retires” from international football. I mean, if semi-retirement to the Saudi league doesn’t dent his chances of ongoing England call-ups, then surely something as minor as actual retirement can only push him so far down the rankings.
Chris Bridgeman, Kingston upon Thames

Top 10 gripes
Your list is not the top 10 PL managers, it is simply the 10 most PL managers. As in when you think of PL, these are the managers which come out to our minds the most. So iconic managers but not icons.

The only change I’d make to that list is Tony Pulis instead of Pochettino. Poch is great but without Pulis there is no cold wet Tuesday night at Stoke.
Gaurav MUFC Amsterdam

Read more: The top 10 Premier League managers of all time so you can shout at us

Spurs365
Good to see F365 come out and admit their very pro-Spurs bias in their top 10 Prem managers article. It’s been quite sickening recently. Any discussion of best signing of the season has been Mediawatch worthy as F365 has crowned Maddison. Egregious referring errors that sees a player incorrectly sent off? “Cry more”. How you get 2 Spurs managers on this list is just a shoehorn.

And now Poch as the 7th best Premier League manager of all time? F365s favourite yes. But otherwise nonsense. Yes he had a couple of entertaining years with Spurs, its the pinnacle of Spur’s achievements in 60 years, but he’s no Kevin Keegan. His accomplishments are outshone by Eddie Howe.

Then there’s Premier League winners Dalglish and Ranieri, legends Curbishly, Martin Oneil and Hodgson, great escape artist Bryan Robson.

But if you have a greatest managers list and can put Sir Bobby Robson on it then you must.
Alex, South London

Toon whataboutery 
Just like to say the hypocrisy of Will Ford and his article against Sandro Tonali and Newcastle United and his gloating is frankly incredible, considering this is a journalist (which is open to debate) who professes to be a life long Chelsea fan, a club that was backed by a murderous regime that has waged war on an innocent country he needs to have a long look at his own club before having a go at another club or it’s player (who as it happens hasnt been charged with anything at the moment) he has probably conveniently forgotten about Eidur GudJohnson, John Terry Frank Lampard (he who can do no wrong) and Jody Morris and their disgusting behaviour towards Americans after the 911 terrorist attack, or indeed an element of his his own fan bases bigotry and racism that has been well documented and to be quite honest there’s quite a few other scandals his club has been involved in which I won’t go into.

So In light of the fact his own club has been well and truly bought he should try and stick to football topics and leave gloating to fans on the terraces or perhaps do an article on Chelsea and their various scandals over the years.
Regards
Fred Hogg

Read more: Sandro Tonali betting scandal pushes boundaries of sympathy for him and Newcastle

Arsenal ladder
Now the interlull is over, and we’ve sampled the first eleven games of Artetaball in 23/24, here is my third Arsenal ladder of 23/24 season.

This is my estimation on the thoughts of Mikel Arteta. Numbers in brackets indicate previous positions.

1 (4) Saliba – This guy is incredible.
2 (3) Rice – “The Lighthouse” whether he’s a 6 or an 8.
3 (2) Odegaard – El Capitano and the conductor of the orchestra.
4 (1) Saka – Still our Starboy, but we beat City without him.
5 (5) White – Clearly the second most valuable defender in the squad.
6 (12) Jesus – We knew he’d rise again.
7 (11) Gabriel – Back in favour. Likely to stay that way.
8 (7) Zinchenko – Key to formation transitions.
9 (16) Raya – Is clearly seen as first choice GK now.
10 (6) Martinelli – Will rise again now he’s fit.
11 (9) Nketiah – Only Saka, Rice, Odegaard, White and Saliba have played more minutes this season.
12 (8) Havertz – Falling.
13 (13) Partey – From key player to trusted squad member.
14 (15) Tomiyasu – Arteta loves his versatility. A pure defender.
15 (18) Trossard – Started against Man City but unlikely start when everyone is fit.
16 (17) Jorginho – See above.
17 (10) Ramsdale – Poor Rambo.
18 (14) Vieira – Falling through no fault of his own.
19 (19) Kiwior – Zinchenko, Gabriel and Tomiyasu have all had more minutes than him this season. Good depth though.
20 (20) Nelson – Started once. In the Carabao Cup.
21 (21) Smith Rowe – See above.
22 (22) Elneny – No longer broken. Played 8 minutes in the Carabao Cup.
23 (NE) Cedric – He’s still here! Played 3 minutes in the Carabao Cup.
24 (NE) Sagoe – Suprise debut for the academy product in the Carabao Cup.
25 (23) Timber – Still very broken.
Naz, Gooner.