Wayne Rooney has made his feelings pretty clear ahead of England's World Cup last-32 tie against DR Congo on Wednesday, and as a Manchester United fan writing this, it would be very easy to just nod along and call it a day. But let's actually think about whether the man has a point, because blindly agreeing with Rooney is rarely a great life strategy.
The former England captain has come out and said he would start Kobbie Mainoo in midfield ahead of Elliot Anderson, and honestly, it is hard to argue too strongly against that. Mainoo has looked composed and technically tidy whenever he has been given a chance in an England shirt. There is a calmness to him that you do not always see in young midfielders at tournament level. He does not panic, he does not give the ball away cheaply, and he reads the game well for someone his age.
Anderson has had a decent season at Newcastle and nobody is saying he is a bad player, but this is a World Cup knockout game now. The group stages are done. England need players who can control tempo and keep things ticking over without losing their heads when the pressure builds. Mainoo genuinely looks built for exactly that kind of moment.
The other thing worth considering is that Mainoo has been in and around top-level football at Old Trafford under a serious amount of scrutiny all season. That kind of pressure either breaks a young player or sharpens them, and Mainoo looks sharpened. Anderson, by comparison, has had a good season but perhaps has not faced quite the same level of expectation week in week out.
Rooney clearly trusts the eye test here, and on this occasion it is hard to dismiss his opinion. He knows what international football demands of a midfielder, and he sees something in Mainoo that he feels Anderson cannot yet offer at this stage of the tournament.
Whether Gareth Southgate or whoever is picking the team agrees is another matter entirely, but as pub debates go, this one is fairly straightforward. Start Mainoo.
Let me know your thoughts.