I know you said you don't necessarily agree with this, but:

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because you don't know the speed you will be at when you finish your braking there is no way of selecting the correct gear during braking so that you will end up in the gear you need

Yes, there is. By always being in the correct gear. This is what heel-and-toe is all about. If you slow down to where the engine is running underneath its power band, you downshift to a gear where you are in the power band. So unless your transmission is set up wildly improbably (and uselessly), you'll always be in the right gear, because as soon as it dips too low, you shift down one gear. I'd argue that this works 100% of the time in normal street driving, somwhat less in performance driving because you might enter a curve that starts sharp and winds itself out, forcing you to upshift in a curve, which is less than ideal.

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when you change gear there is a risk of screwing up the clutch release

There's also a chance of screwing up pressing the brake, too, but they don't advise you not to do it, do they?
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Bitt Faulk