When an elite football team publishes its team news on social media, generally around an hour before kickoff, something peculiar happens.
Thousands of 'Einsteins' emerge from the woodwork to provide their two cents on the important selections and where the manager may have gone wrong, as Jose Mourinho may put it.
Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are well-versed in the subject. And it's especially common before England games, with the phrase 'two DMs' trending on Twitter on Sunday lunchtime as the Three Lions prepared to face Croatia in their Euro 2020 opener.
As Gareth Southgate's England line-up was released, there appeared to be a number of concerns to be concerned about.
One was the pick of Kieran Trippier over Luke Shaw at left-back, as was the fact that Raheem Sterling started ahead of the likes of Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho in the front three. It was also remarkable that Sancho didn't even make the matchday squad.
However, Sterling scored the only goal in England's deserved 1-0 victory, and Trippier's selection was vindicated by a strong performance. In defeating a lackluster Croatian team, Southgate's team was very workmanlike but also composed and outstanding in portions.
The show's star, however, was Kalvin Phillips, who many thought shouldn't have started the game at Wembley — hence the Twitter outrage at 'two DMs' (a double defensive-midfield pivot in front of the back four).
To have predicted Phillips' level of performance before kick-off would have made you either a Leeds United fan or a member of Phillips' family. Southgate himself, perhaps.
After all, he didn't even play as one of two defensive midfielders for England, who lined up in a progressive 4-3-3 with Phillips and Mason Mount switching positions and Declan Rice of West Ham sitting deeper.
Many people saw the Leeds midfielder's play and immediately thought that United should try to recruit him. Perhaps Solskjaer was paying attention and will pique the 25-year-interest. old's
However, it appears more likely that United will act on their previous interest in Rice and put together a bid for the Hammers' lynchpin this summer.
Rice, who is three years Phillips' junior at 22 (and won't turn 23 until January), appeared to be the senior member of England's midfield triad against Croatia.
With his mature positioning and break-up play, the Leeds midfielder was able to steal the show with a frantic and disruptive display. He held down the fort, allowing England to work with five forward-thinking players instead of the three or four that some had predicted. Phillips filled in the blanks, while Sterling and Phil Foden shone in the spotlight.
Rice's ability to change United's midfield choices in such a situation is unimaginable.
The London-born battler could really gold-plate the United midfield by sitting between the lines and freeing the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
In the last two years, Solskjaer has been chastised for fielding 'two DMs' in the form of Fred and Scott McTominay.
After lockdown in summer 2020, he tried one with Nemanja Matic covering for Pogba and Fernandes, but it was immediately exposed.
The Norwegian then determined that neither Fred, McTominay, nor Matic could do the job alone, therefore 4-2-3-1 became United's standard formation. When supporters and analysts believed United just required a one-man pivot against inferior opponents, it was widely criticized.
Rice could assist them in reverting to a 4-3-3 formation — or an attacking 4-1-4-1 as it has become in practice — which would suit Pogba perfectly. With the Frenchman approaching the end of his United contract, it's now or never for Solskjaer to get the most out of him or break connections entirely.
Rice's signing might help United partially replace Pogba, but it might also help them harness the best of the great France player.
Perhaps then, like at Wembley, when England let their football do the talking against Croatia, the team news complaints will fade away at Old Trafford.
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