The reason Ozil has as many detractors as supporters is he is a bit of an anomaly - an elegant, skilful footballer who at his best evokes memories of the great number 10s from the past, but sometimes looks unsuited to the extra demands of a changing game at the very top.
In knockout football, it's one bad game and you're out.
We talk about the Arsenal 'Invincibles' of 2004 and the team who won the Double two years earlier and drool over their attacking play. It is easy to forget, though, that virtually the same squad had won nothing for three years.
Why does it get assumed that Zidane is a figurehead and everything Real achieve is down to the talent of the squad?
The captain at international level has to be someone who is one of the first names on the team sheet, someone who has the respect of the other players and someone who has good leadership qualities.
My wife never went to many Liverpool games but if she was out on a Saturday, she would always ask someone for the score. If we had won, she'd simply be relieved that I would be coming home in a good mood.
There are times when I watch Jurgen Klopp leaping around after Liverpool have scored and I think to myself: 'I wish that was me.'
In the modern era, with the rewards the top players have during their career and the risks involved moving into management, more will look at it and say they don't need it.
If you'd asked me at the start of my career I would have said I was going to be a manager. I may still be in future, but there seemed to be an expectation it was a natural progression for me.
There is pressure, and I would never complain about that, but as players we put pressure on ourselves all the time. That's one thing I won't miss when I finally stop playing.
I want to be a manager, it wouldn't scare me, but I also think you could be sacked in six months and you'd have to take the kids back to school with your tail between your legs.
The pressure from within used to have an impact on my behaviour. If games had gone badly, I would take things home with me. I'd be snappy at my kids and felt constantly wound up.
We sometimes undervalue the importance of goalkeepers.
