It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

Torres is on £175,000 a week and has two years of his contract left. Chelsea will reputedly have to pay him £10million to get rid of him before his contract ends.

Dont think so much of him personaly.

Far better strikers about and going cheaper.

See Joey Barton putting boot in Rooney yesterday.

Says no way is he a world class player.

How so true.

We must be mad paying him 300 grand a week.

Joey Barton LOL THUG!!

Used to play for you didnt he?

Anyway didnt you see that report about Burton in the papers, hes a very inteligent bloke really but as a very rare gene medical problem which pumps too much adrenalin into him and hence his actions.

Poor lads only just found out.

Hes got Rooney weighed up perfecly, more or less made out hes just in it for the money. Compared him to Ronaldo and all the extra training he does etc etc etc.

God forbid Barton ever plays for Everton. Sorry to hear about his illness though.

Who is Joey Barton to say Rooney isn't a world class player. If Linekar, Shearer, or Michael Owen made a comment like that it might carry some weight, but the trouble with Barton is, a) he thinks he is/was a better football player than he is/was, b) he thinks he is more intelligent than he is, c) he thinks he can fool people into believing a & b !

Agree db footballer my arxe.

Well yes I agree doodles, Barton isnt a fantastic footballer but just like you me and chris he as the option in a democratic country like ours to express an opinion and by the way Linekar, Shearer and Owen werent world class players , so that argument doesnt carry any clout.

The last truly world class player (definition .......player who would be in an historical world 22 squad at any one time)England had was Paul Gascoigne.

This use of the word world class gets used too often and out of context.

To give you an example of British players in the last 20 years who have been called world class just name one who moved abroad and lit up the World.................answer...........perhaphs just 2 Rush and Brady and then again thats debatable.

If your looking at truly British World class players look at Banks, Wilson, Moore, Charlton, Best, Jennings, Law, Daglish, Gascoigne, and maybe Giggs and Keane and Cleverly in their pomp, the rest are a myth.

Strictly my opinion but all you have to do today (or anytime) is compare the number of British footballers playing abroad at top clubs or any clubs compared to the lads from abroad playing here.

Off topic I love football history, loads of tapes and DVDs on football. Football historian.
Up for a debate.

Not a level playing field though is it GF, impossible.. to judge who or which players are as you describe 'world class'. Money rules. Gareth Bale (in his position) arguably is world class. The only rule of thumb is as you have stated above the squads picked for the World Cup by the respective British managers in their opinion. The Best Of British?

Chris................. Gareth Bale Id put him in the maybe sector at the moment .........true hes a fantastic player but he as to prove hes not a 1 year wonder.

Thought youd have picked up on Cleverly, then again my warped mind LOL.

Go on then Chris say who you think should be added to the world class list and how would you define it??????

WORLD CLASS LIST AS SPECIFIED AT THE MOMENT...........(subject to your personal view)

If your looking at truly British World class players look at Banks, Wilson, Moore, Charlton, Best, Jennings, Law, Daglish, Gascoigne, and maybe Giggs and Keane

BANKS
BEST
CHARLTON
MOORE
LAW
DAGLISH
WILSON
GASCOIGNE
JENNINGS
KEANE
GIGGS

England goals in competitive matches



27 - Wayne Rooney
26 - Michael Owen
22 - Gary Lineker
21 - Alan Shearer
19 - Frank Lampard
15 - Steven Gerrard
14 - Bobby Charlton
14 - Bryan Robson
13 - Geoff Hurst
13 - Kevin Keegan
13 - David Beckham
13 - Jermain Defoe
.

Daily Mail October 2013.

In the UK add for really world class ; Keegan, Francis, Robson, Waddle, Bremner, Lineker, Shilton, Greaves, Rush, Owen, Barnes, Wright, Gerrard and...and Beckham (shavings ads et all) ....that's just about it...for world class...it has to be strict...if you made a Brazilian list : it would be twice as long...

Different eras had different stars. 60's English first division were littered with legends in their own right. Alex Young, Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan, Tony Hately, Kendall, Ball, Harvey etc. Spot the foreign coach. Birth Of Premier League, sky sports over the last 20 odd years Brits stand no chance because Europe lead the way re coaching and the emergence of foreign managers. Money dictates, many fans don't give a toss about the National Team, sad but true.

GF i didn't bite re Cleverley being a legend because I guessed you were well pissed to make that assumption :O)

Adding to the list : Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer and of course Trevor Brooking....and David Platt...can't think of any more but world class is the tops .....if there was an International class list then the numbers would be into a hundred plus !....we are lacking midfielders with class....my favourite was Joe Cole of late....the FA and such need to concentrate on the midfield...forwards and defenders/goalkeepers are a plenty in this country but midfielders are what makes a team tick...that is where there should be a great effort into turning youngsters into Bryan Robson's of the future !...

I always remember Jimmy Hill praising the "West Ham" style as a teenager....lovely counter-attacking style...that's the way England should play with superb quick neat interpassing between players coupled with solid defending...Rooney who's not yet in the list (but might be later) can thrive on a game like that...

Quiz question, no googling......

name the 3 British footballers who have won both a World cup winners medal and also a European cup winners medal.??????

Hurst, Moore, Peters with England and West Ham...1965 and 1966...