How do you stop Cristiano Ronaldo?

How do you stop Cristiano Ronaldo? How do you stop the apparently unstoppable? The guy is a genius. I love watching him play, the way he glides almost effortlessly past opponents. Scoring 34 goals from the wing is not bad, either. But it is time for managers to say: “No more.” If you give him freedom, he will murder you. And that is what he has been doing, time and again. Surely it is time to man-mark him, to get in his face, to shadow his every move.

I am amazed that no one has tried this tactic. OK, it is negative, it goes against every grain of the beautiful game. Accuse me of being a spoilsport and I will plead guilty. But something has to be done. Otherwise, rivals may as well pack up and go home before kick-off. All hail the magnificent Portuguese, we are not worthy.

Ronaldo may even rise above this, shrug off his marker - the irritant gnat - and make a mockery of my theory. Maybe he is even better than we think he is; maybe there is no way to blunt his effervescence. Perhaps he is unstoppable. But let us see how he likes a stalking horse alongside him.

Years ago, the Italians turned it into an art form. Pick out the dangerman, attach your limpet, watch him squirm in frustration. Only recently, Carlo Ancelotti, the AC Milan coach, complained of such treatment meted out to Kaká, the brilliant Brazilian. With a one-on-one tracker, his influence waned. It can be done.

In my playing days, we used to call them “Nobbers”. And there's plenty about today who could do the job. Abou Diaby at Arsenal, Papa Bouba Diop at Fulham, John Obi Mikel at Chelsea, Lassana Diarra at Portsmouth. Rangy, athletic and lively lads who would be up for their up-close-and-personal assignment.

When I was at Gillingham we had a cup game against Tottenham Hotspur. Keith Peacock, our manager, said that he had no plans of using the man-to-man option on Glenn Hoddle. I thought: “Hang on a minute, I'm not sure about this. Is this wise?” Hoddle sprayed the ball everywhere, he ran the show, he ruined us. And we lost 4-2.

When Ronaldo gets the ball, he is off and running. Unpredictable, uncatchable. Head up, glancing around for available team-mates, weaving his magic. Yet cut out his possession at source, suffocate his free spirit and sow doubt into his mind, and you have a chance. A slight chance.

I hate to advocate this. Ronaldo is maturing into one of the most exciting players on the planet. Long may he prosper. But for every shimmy and shake of his hips, there must be a solution. At least give it a go. Bring on the Nobber.