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One, I didn't mention getting foreign refs in. I have an open mind on that, given the subtle nuances in protocols and practices between various countries' refereeing methods. Two, there are foreign or overseas teachers already working in the UK - mostly very successfully. You have absolutely no...

There isn't supposed to be 'an English representative'. It's not as though England has guaranteed spaces for match officials for each tournament. It doesn't. Secondly, even Clattenburg himself wasn't guaranteed a spot in Russia. He was on a long-list drawn up in 2016, (which Clattenburg removed...

You make it sound so simple - as if all 'intelligent' players know, and all referees don't. Meanwhile, back in the real world, it's nothing like as straightforward as that.

No idea why you'd throw in teachers into the same level of societal respect as referees and politicians.

Webster has improved since lockdown, but the real test will be him (and White) playing without Dunk. Being vocal and being a leader aren't necessarily one and the same.

Gordon Greer was given the captain's armband as soon as he arrived. Didn't do the team any harm that season. Andrew Crofts was another one who arrived and was made captain, and he's still under 23.

If there's one group of people I wouldn't trust with officiating the Laws of the Game, it's ex-players. Have you seen the level of intelligence from ex-players as pundits, encouraged to come up with such gibberish as 'he deserved to go down there' or 'his momentum took him over' or 'he's forced...

Solly March - What does he actually do? Merely asking that question does, I think, reduce quite dramatically the need to credit it with an answer.

Well, they are accountable to PGMOL and the FA. It's just we don't get to see those findings. I'm not convinced of a step-by-step public takedown of every contentious decision. That would, for me, be a step too far in undermining refereeing performances. I just want to see an improvement in...

At the World Cup 2018 in Russia, there were no English referees officiating - on the pitch, nor in VAR. One can possibly infer from that that the best, current English referees aren't good enough for the top stage. With that in mind, and given that VAR's main problem isn't necessarily its...

Theirs is a fabrication borne of what is wrong with much of football. For there to be a foul, it must be an action by the opposition player on the 'victim'. NOT a solo act. If refs don't understand this, they will only ever get their justification for awarding a penalty from broadcasters who...

You know where the press box is. Everyone could hear Lallana 'speaking up'...!

As I was at the game, one thing I suspect the cameras didn't pick up was the constant - and I mean CONSTANT - screaming at the officials for a foul, or a throw-in, or the decision to go their way. Batshuayi's dying tortoise act was one of so many acts of petulance - something that was clearly...

Can I just say there's no such thing as a 'soft penalty'...? It either is a penalty or it isn't. The issue then is within the opinion of the referee (the only person, sadly, whose opinion counts). If an incident has crossed a threshold for the ref to deem it a penalty, it's a penalty (or at...

Cheers. Good to see you've got your finger on the pulse.

Not sure I heard that. If he did say it, then £14.95 is also a non-starter.

So a tenner if it was short-term, but a fiver if it went on beyond, say, the New Year?

I remember putting on the Stand Up For The Albion gig, where Stephen Grant got Kevin Day to headline. Kevin, naturally, wanted to keep the fact that a Palace fan was helping the Albion with Alive & Kicking Fund quiet. So we didn't.

The Football Supporters' Association are in constant dialogue with the Premier League. We've been asked to gauge fans' reaction to PPV. They're asking, given that £14.95 is almost universally considered too high, would you be more likely to pay £9.95, in line with iFollow? If so, would this be...

I thought I recognised his name, but couldn't remember where from, so I looked it up. He was CEO at Wolves when they got relegated at the Amex, and a lot of Wolves fans were putting the blame at his door. Yup, a bit of a tool.