The more you slag off an aircraft type, the more stupid you look when it beats you.
The sports version of the Tornado was designed to take out Soviet bomber hordes, not do knifefights in telephone boxes. Would I have preferred it if the RAF had bought F-14/15? Yes, of course, but they didn't.
My first DACT against the F4 (flown by 2 QWIs) was a draw every split, and there are quite enough navs who will tell you I was a stunningly average pilot. After that it was win every time.
Single seaters? wait till it gets dark/cloudy (70% of the time),or just bring 4+ to the fight, and they lost too.
I think the F3 excelled at low level sweep, which we did lots of in the early days and was bucketloads of fun.
Truth is, RAF aircrew make the best of whatever their Government grudgingly lumbers them with. I felt the Bucc crews probably achieved most with least, but the Norfolk Landshark got dumb bombs on target very accurately, and won the early comps so well that they were, in true US style, never invited back.