There is nothing to do not love Declan Rice, but we have to apply some perspective before we explain it from world class to score two free kicks against Real Madrid.
He comes across as a great guy, I like to hear him speak and he talks with great honesty. I am sure he is a dream to have in the dressing room, but I am sorry, two great free kicks don't make you a great player.
We are easily excited in this country, especially in the media, we are all guilty of it. Even if you win the FA Youth Cup, you will be considered a 'club legend'.
We are too fast to apply the status 'legend' or 'worldie' to the back of emotional events. We must calm down and not lead ourselves.
Last week we talked about a real world class player in Kevin De Bruyne and, elsewhere in my column today, I talk about other players of that level, but Declan is not there yet.
He looks like he has a great attitude. It would not surprise me if he was on the training pitch for the first time and goes along. It would also not surprise me if they had to hold him, he had to tell him that he stopped lifting the ball before he was warmed up, for fear of injury. But it's just his love for football.
I think he is one of that small minority, although he would not broadcast it, who would offer the game to play for free.
He is talented. On 6ft 2ins he has a real physical presence, a great athlete that comes around the park, and you would have it in your dressing room every day of the week, but he is still a shortage on the creative side that would elevate him to world class.
He has nine goals and nine assists for club and country and many assists that are attributed to him are corner kicks. That is not an assist in my book. That is the thing he misses – being more cute and smarter in the last third part.
The challenge now is that he goes further and gets better in that area.
It is clear that he has worked and improved hard on his game. On 26 I don't see that work ethic not changing in him either.
He is certainly a beautiful dead ball kicker and that is why, despite being 6ft 2, he is sacrificed for set pieces because otherwise he would be a beautiful aerial photo in the box with that physique.
The best buyer of a set piece I ever saw was the Brazilian Zico. I have to see that from first hand a few times, unfortunately.
In Liverpool, Jimmy Case and Sammy Lee were beautiful strikers of the ball.
After Jimmy it would be Sammy and I or Terry McDermott and I who would be the designated free-branchers. We would often be accompanied by Kenny Dalglish who offered forever to take the free kicks, but we would also harm him from the photo forever.
The only problem was that if we could go our back for a short time, Kenny would run on and take it.
Time and again we would say “What was the f *** that?” And Kenny just shrugged and walked away and got away with it. Typical Kenneth!
This is what makes PSG a great team
How good are Paris St Germain?
It is so easy to be mesmerized by their assets on the ball and their pace, but looking at Aston Villa, one thing jumped at me – they finish their socks when they are out of possession.
It is always overlooked by the Anoraks with their coaching books, their FA courses and annoying about analysis of 'football'. This is the most important factor in the professional game and this is your starting point.
PSG is not only a great watch, but they are a great example for every young, prospective player. Forget how much power you possess, your starting point should always be: work harder than the man you are against.
Together, individually, PSG are currently of the charts. And it's nice to see that some things don't change. Hard was always the mantra in Liverpool. You could have all the talent, but those who work the most difficult win the trophies. PSG are the perfect modern example.
When they sold Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, many they took off, but Luis Enrique made them a larger talented group. I occasionally had to take a step back to check what I was looking at.
Aston Villa is a really good team, but Joao Neves, Vitinho and every other player in their attacking setup turn the hard yards in the tiny property changed.
It is of course not over, but it will be extremely difficult for Villa to save this draw.
We saw how PSG, on the back of the first stage, went to Anfield, which can be the most intimidating place, especially on European nights, and without fear. The cavity will do their best, but Villa needs a huge piece of luck.
Why I am for semi-automated exterior
Semi-automated exterior will be introduced this weekend. Premier League Jargon says it will improve the speed, efficiency and consistency of the process …
Buitenplay calls are easy for our referees, it corrects the finer nuances of our game with which they have problems. But every technology that improves decision -making and speeds up the process that I am in front.
No surprise with Mo and Virgil
There was no big surprise in Liverpool who reached agreement this week on contracts for Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
I never believed that there were no conversations, but the parties of both players played well.
The risk was that one of the two players had suffered a serious injury while walking their contract, but thank goodness that did not happen. They held all the cards.
Negotiations were a precursor to what Donald Trump and China now have to go through, but all parties must be happy with the figures.
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