I am also amazed that people seem to want to replace the SpaceX system where the rocket would land itself at an arbitrary location on land, ready for re-fuellin

I am also amazed that people seem to want to replace the SpaceX system where the rocket would land itself at an arbitrary location on land, ready for re-fuelling and re-use, automatically, with the existing launch engines and no extra technology required beyond somewhere flat - with a complex system of tracking radars to find the rocket, extra aerodynamic drag devices such as parachutes or balloons to slow it down, and a fleet of manned vehicles to retrieve it, using a dangerous mid air rendeszvous. It's pretty obvious that these systems have none of the useful properties of the SpaceX solution, so it's hard to understand why anyone would think they are superior....