LADYMAN tells a tale of a Man City cult hero who named his son after Colin Bell

A look at the Norwegian team that defeated Kazakhstan in Oslo last Sunday reveals, among others, an Egil, a Stian, a Leo, a Morten, a Sander, a Kristian, an Erling (we know that one), a Viljar, a Sondre and a Torbjorn.

And then – wearing number 21 and as a late replacement for his international debut – there is Colin.

Colin Rosler was born in Berlin to a German father and a Norwegian mother. He is a 24-year-old defender with Malmö in Sweden. He is the son of former Manchester City striker Uwe Rosler and is named after the late, great City playmaker Colin Bell.

What happened in the 86th minute at the Ullevaal Stadium had beautiful symmetry. Rosler Jr – the son of one City legend and named after another – was sent in to replace Erling Haaland – a current City star who is also the offspring of former club legend father Alf-Inge.

Do we think Norwegian coach Stale Solbakken knew what he was doing at that moment? He played briefly in England for Wimbledon when Rosler Snr was at City, but that is still unlikely. Instead, we'll put it down to a quirk, one of those wonderfully strange things that football throws up every now and then.

But Rosler and his enduring love for City – just one of thirteen clubs he played for – is no coincidence and is important because of what it is about and what perhaps gets a little lost in a modern world of volatile and itinerant foreign footballers.

Rosler – 56 and manager in Denmark – played for City between 1994 and 1998, scoring 50 league goals. He was a talented striker when City played at Maine Road and was driven not by oil money from Abu Dhabi but by chairman Francis Lee and his toilet paper company.

He didn't have his two children until he left Manchester, but his decision was simple. Colin and Tony. The latter is named after Tony Book, the former City captain and manager.

“For me there was no option,” Rosler has said.

'They had to be city names.

“I told my wife that if we were going to have a girl, she could decide for herself.”

Colin Rosler is a product of the city academy. His father returned to the Northwest at the end of his playing career. Manchester remains his second home, literally and figuratively.

There are reasons for the affection. Rosler was born in East Germany and his move to England brought life and vitality to a career that seemed on the verge of ending at the age of 25. Years later, as he suffered from a cancer he would beat, the Etihad Stadium sang to him. A friend called him from the hospital floor so he could hear the love. Rosler had not played for City for more than ten years at that point.

So yes, Rosler's bond with City is deep and strengthened by circumstances. But it's hard not to juxtapose it with something new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said last week.

Amorim is only 39, but seems to have a good grasp on some things that matter. He had, he said, already taken a look at the Old Trafford museum and would encourage his players to do the same.

The intention here is not to pit City against United. United have a host of former foreign players whose connection with the club is genuine. But it still feels strange that a group of footballers is assigned to spend half an hour looking at what their club stands for.

Football players are not all the same. Not all of them live in bubbles, but a lot of them do, and that's sad. Five years ago I sat down with a prominent England international and asked him what he thought of some of the great sides he had previously experienced at his club. He just looked at me. The truth is, he had no idea.

And it's all on YouTube. No one has to buy a DVD anymore. Or go to a museum. History lingers there at the touch of a button on a mobile phone. But this is not the way we see or treat our footballers today. We treat them like commodities and perhaps we shouldn't be surprised when they behave that way. Just passing through. Rent, don't buy.

And that is one of the few things Rosler regrets about his time in Manchester. “I would have made more money buying a house in the right area than playing football,” he told Tim Rich for his fine book Caught Beneath the Landslide.

But Uwe, as they call him at City, left plenty of himself behind when he finally moved. It is a rich story about sport and life, love and struggle. Colin and Tony Rosler. How can it not make you laugh?

Tuchel must make an early decision for Kane

It's amazing how many people wrote off Harry Kane after Ollie Watkins' decent game against the 42nd best team in the world in Athens.

I respect and understand the position. Kane looks like he's slowing down. But this is a nuanced conversation.

Firstly, can England win a World Cup with Watkins playing up front? Is he good enough? If not him, who else is in line? Dominic Solanke? Mm..

Kane is also the England captain. How does he react to life as a squad player? It's another unknown.

And finally, if this decision has to be made, it has to be made now.

To replace Kane with someone like Watkins, this England team would have to play in a different way. That cannot be done three months before USA 2026 starts.

So this is the conundrum facing new manager Thomas Tuchel. It's a puzzle with moving parts. He may want to turn his thoughts to it soon. If he's not too busy.

Only Rashford can change the narrative around him

New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim will face the English media on Friday and may be asked questions about Marcus Rashford. Unfortunately, the question may not be about football.

Rashford was pictured in what appeared to be a very expensive robe (it was a Louis Vuitton one) at a basketball game in New York last Friday. It was a look that was guaranteed to get him noticed. Amorim was of course already in Manchester at the time.

Gary Neville, once United captain, called Rashford 'unprofessional' on his podcast. Ian Wright disagreed, citing a player's right to do whatever he wants with his free time.

Ultimately, the crux is that the story surrounding Rashford has not helped him for a while. It speaks of jumbled priorities. Rashford thinks this is unfair, but only he can change this.

So what side of the story does his trip to New York play into? If Rashford doesn't know, then maybe his new manager will.

Bellamy and O'Neill deserve credit for a fantastic job

Lee Carsley's stint as interim England boss has been fascinating and informative. But let's not portray the promotion of the English Nations League as some kind of great triumph. No, those stories can be found elsewhere.

Craig Bellamy has taken Wales back to the top with six unbeaten group games, while Michael O'Neill has guided Northern Ireland out of pool three and back into the mid-section.

International management at that level is a brutal business.

O'Neill once told me that he valued international friendlies because they allowed him to get match fitness into key players who were not considered good enough to be picked by their clubs.

Carsley used 32 players in six games. Wales and Northern Ireland do not have that many international class players between them.

Bellamy and O'Neill have done a fantastic job.