All that was missing at Anfield was the circus tent.

Well, we hit rock bottom this weekend. What on earth was John Brooks (VAR) thinking? What an absolute farce. And if you didn’t believe our refereeing was in crisis - as I suggested last week - you’ve got to now surely? 

Why? Where was the common sense? What was Brooks saying to Pawson at that monitor? We need to know. This is why we should be able to listen to those conversations. Pawson should’ve told Brooks to fuck off and been strong enough to stand by his decision to give City that goal. 

What if….? What if Liverpool had equalised in the time left? What if City miss out on tittle by a goal? A long shot I know, but possible. What if Pawson had just used his head and applied common sense? 

He gave the goal as we know. And this is significant - he didn’t see an offence in real time. How do I know? Because he didn’t wave play on. He didn’t apply the advantage law. If he had done Szoboszlai stays on and he can allow the goal. 

Read this - 

Law12 fouls and misconduct Advantage - 

If a referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/send off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/send off must be issued when the ball is next out of play. However if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour

There you go. But Pawson wasn’t doing his job properly so none of the above applied. 

Just give the goal and blow the final whistle. Then VAR don’t need to get involved. 

As that circus was unfolding at Anfield I wonder where Howard Webb was? Packing his pj’s for another night away is probably the answer. Look at this. I couldn’t believe this when a friend sent it to me this weekend. He found it on Google. 

To get in touch with Howard Webb for professional, commercial, or speaking engagements, contact booking agents such as Champions Speakers (0207 1010 553 or

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), NMP Live (020 3822 0003 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or

MN2S. He is not accessible for fan mail or autographs. ®

I don’t know how old this is, but it appears Mr Showbiz has got himself new agents. He’s looking for corporate work/after dinner dates. Why? Isn’t his £250,000/year salary enough? And what about the line that reads ‘he is not accessible for fan mail or autographs’. You couldn’t make it up.

It’s incredible. How is this allowed? If Webb spent more time doing his job properly and less on his showbiz career we might just get out of the mess our refereeing is in. 

As for the game - well played City. We desperately need a title race this season and let’s hope whoever wins it makes a better fist of defending it than Liverpool. 

Has any coach ever been given more than Lost on the back of a title win? £400m to make a title team better. 

I’ve always said they were poor champions. They crawled over the line last season and won it largely because there wasn’t a challenge. How many times have I said that? 

When Liverpool finally sack Lost I wonder who will take the blame? Michael Edwards? Richard Hughes? Of course not - they’ll both run for the hills. 

Have you seen the bottom of the C’ship? 22. Blackburn. 21. Leicester. How sad. The only two teams to have shaken up the usual order of things in the PL and taken the title off the big boys. Both are now in serious trouble. 

And did I read this story correctly? West Ham are currently paying salaries to three managers? Lopetegui until his deal ends in June 2926, Graham Potter until June 2027 and of course. Nuno. The cost is reported to be £10.5m/year. Scandalous. Remind me - who is in charge of football affairs at West Ham? 

Before I go this week I’d like to wish my friend and former colleague Dr Tareq Hamad Al-Jalahma all the very best in his new life as a Minister of State for Youth and Sports in Kuwait. 

It was a pleasure getting to know Tareq these past 13 years. Like me he’s decided it’s time to move on. Good luck my friend. 

There has been no fall out between myself and beINSPORTS. I’ve loved every minute of my time in Qatar - a country that means the world to me. I have a deep affection for it, but it’s time for me to move on. I’m not retiring - simply changing course. There’s a whole lot more to come yet. 👍🏼. 

Come on - it’s time to get some top refs into our league.

Week after week after week. Match after match after match. Now do you believe me? I’ve been a lone voice in the wilderness for years, bit maybe not anymore.

You know what I’m referring to of course? Exactly. Refereeing standards in the PL. And VAR operators. They’re simply not good enough either.  Nowhere near good enough.

This is a subject I’ve tried to steer clear of in recent weeks because I was starting to bore myself with it. But then Guardiola, for the second week running, Emery and Silva were all very public after a series of awful decisions this weekend. It was Moyes a week or so back. And even Sean Dyche, who’s a huge fan of the technology. Park that - I’ll get back to the tech.

You’ve got to feel for Silva and Fulham. There isn’t a team in the league that’s had more bad decisions go against them.

Let’s not get into the minutia of what upset Guardiola, Emery and Silva this Sunday, but look at the issue in the round. Surely when football people (who’re always encouraged to keep their mouths shut by the authorities) start rearing up it’s time for something to be done?

This is so frustrating for me because it’s something I’ve been banging on about for too long. It’s triggering me as I write.

On the field our guys are poor. Off it they’re just as bad. I’m not a fan of the tech - never have been - but it’s not the machinery as such - it’s the operators.

More time is wasted by the guys in the bunker than by any player winding up for a long throw or a keeper delaying a goal kick, yet we’re looking to alter the laws again to stop them time-wasting. It’s VAR delays we should be concentrating on fixing.

Try putting a limit on the time VAR can waste. Ok, we got to the correct decision at The Bridge, when it was decided West Ham’s Todibo had to go following the melee, but it took five minutes to make that decision. Five minutes ffs. We all saw him lose the plot in real time. It’s not good enough.

Our refereeing is a shambles but no-one else is prepared to call it out. More than once I’ve referred back to my initial thoughts on Howard Webb’s appointment as refs chief. I was delighted when he got the job, but he’s been a massive disappointment. He still marks his own homework and he’s still more interested in the media (less so) the he should be.

When is Richard Masters going to accept something had got to be done?

Here are my solutions. Go and get the best refs we can from Europe. I’ve said this before as well - our league operates with the best on-field talent and the best coaches the world has to offer. So let’s get the best refs involved.

Stop the VAR interventions. There’s too many. On-field refs don’t make big calls anymore because they know VAR is there to cover their arses if they make a bad one. They’ve all decided it’s better to wait. They’ve made themselves poorer as a result.

Get in full-time specialist VAR operators. Not the guys who ref on-field.

Stop lying and covering up. Stop making things up on a match by match basis. Admit mistakes. We can live with mistakes. And stop treating us all like fools. It’s our game - all of us - not just the referees.

Isn’t it good to see Kobbie Mainoo back doing what he does best? As regular readers know, I’m a huge fan. It was ridiculous that Amorim ignored him as he did. Or was l right all along - ignoring Mainoo was just another ploy to get the sack and bank £10m?

Mainoo is a fantastic young English talent who should be at the heart of United’s midfield for the next decade. I’d congratulate Michael Carrick on realising that if it wasn’t so bleeding obvious. What I will say is everything Carrick is doing is based on common sense. Fair play to him.

On a weekend when David Moyes was booked for celebrating a goal I have to say I couldn’t agree with The Sunday Times Alyson Rudd any more. She wrote a great piece this weekend highlighting how much we miss Mourinho in our league. He was pure class after Benfica’s dramatic CL win v Real.

I know what you’re thinking - the ‘celebration police’ don’t usually condone that sort of behaviour, but there’s a time and a place. In added time at the Stadium of Light v Madrid, with the stakes as high as they were, was both the time and the place. Brilliant Mourinho.  Pure entertainment.

What on earth is going on at Leicester? Marti Cifuentes has gone - the seventh permanent manger to lose his job in just over two and a half years. Director of Football Jon Rudkin remains at the club.

Meanwhile at Watford Javi Gracia has ended his second spell at the club - becoming the 23rd different coach hired and let go by the Pozzo family. Director of Football Scott Duxbury remains at the club.

Careful Arsenal - but it’s still yours to lose.

This week we can say Arsenal dropped points. It wasn’t a good weekend for them at all with both City and Villa winning.  Arteta is going to have to make some tough choices about what he wants to win pretty soon. 

I’ll come back to that because I don’t want to undermine what United did. Michael Carrick couldn’t have had a tougher start - games against the top two teams in the country - but United have been brilliant. He’s certainly giving the brains trust something to think about. It’s too soon to get carried away though. 

The squad United have should be qualifying for a European place on auto-pilot so that’s a minimum requirement for Carrick.

The decision on whether he gets the job has got to be based on what’s achievable beyond this season. I hope he does get it. Regulars know my feelings about backing British coaches, but I’m not sure.

I still believe Tuchel or Alonso would be a better idea, but Carrick has got the chance to prove he’s the man - and he hasn’t put a foot wrong so far.

As for the Gunners - don’t panic. They’re still clear. They’re still favourites. The should still win it, but I understand the anxiety.

I keep saying - any title challenge will be made up of all sorts of drama. I write before Coventry play at Norwich. If we lose, what was a 10-point lead will be down to three and if that happens the nay-sayers will be predicting doom for a team most were saying were nailed onfor promotion just a few weeks ago.

But it doesn’t work like that. No team has ever won anything in January. There’s still a long way to go. Arsenal (and Coventry) need to be careful, but they should still win it.

I’ll say it again though - I do think Arteta needs to be careful about what he’s asking of his players. Arsenal can’t win four trophies. That’s impossible - which is why it’s never been done.

In Coventry’s case - we have just 17 games left after tonight’s (Monday) at Carrow Road. That should help a relatively small squad cope with heavy C’ship demands.

I fancied Bournemouth for their win. I’m not at all convinced by Liverpool. Arne remains Lost despite the recent deceptive string of results. Take a look for yourselves into the run they were on. It was nothing to get excited about.

I might start doing the Pools again because I said Forest could win at Brentford as well. Unlike Arteta it looks as though Dyche has worked out his target - survival. Europe is a distraction he doesn’t need or want.

I thought Brentford was an ideal game for Forest - sit in and go toe to toe with them. Dyche had a game plan and his team pulled it off perfectly.

I can’t see any real harm coming to Palace, but I think they’re in for a really uncomfortable second half of the season.

I said this last week - when Glasner announced he’d be leaving in May, if I had been Steve Parrish I’d have asked him to go straight away. It might have cost a few quid and Parrish wants to avoid any compensation payment, but it would’ve been the right thing. 

Parrish knows Glasner has been tapped up. The Austrian reckons he’s top of United’s wish-list and he might have been a couple of weeks ago. But that’s a long time in football as we know. Carrick is doing a fine job, whilst Palace’s results are starting to make Glasner look silly. That’s his problem - if it gets worse he’ll be damaging his own reputation still further. 

I know Parrish has told him he can leave now, but it would be without compensation. That’s the issue for Glasner. He should get out though. He won’t be short of a few bob going forward and his stock is good at the moment.

Anyone else think the project at Newcastle is over? I keep saying it. I think it’s fairly obvious now isn’t it?
Why aren’t the Saudi’s spending money? And don’t tell me it’s FFP. It’s not. That excuse doesn’t wash whilst City are still spunking money unchecked.

No. It’s because the Saudi’s have found another way to play on the world sports stage. They don’t need Newcastle to make an impact with. They’re buying big events and taking them in-house - tennis, F1, golf, UFC, football. The list is endless. Why do they need Newcastle? 

I feel for Eddie Howe and the Geordie faithful. I’d like to be wrong and see The Toon splash some cash before the window shuts. It’s pretty clear where they need re-enforcements but it’s not going to happen. It’s a shame. 

I loved AFCON. I hope ignorant critics embrace it now as well.

Stunning. The whole thing. And to think the competition is often derided - by people who should know better as well.

I’m talking AFCON of course. I thought it was brilliant from start to finish. We won’t forget the final in a hurry either. It was good, but the real drama was saved until the end. In some ways it reminded me of the 5-minute final all the way back in 1979 between Arsenal and United.

You can’t condone what happened in and around the 90th minute, but Sadio Mane emerged from the chaos with real class after bringing his team back onto the pitch for extra-time. And this following on from his mature reaction to his team’s semi-final win over Egypt.

He wanted calm on the whistle. He knew nothing had been achieved at that stage. He was right. Save it. The Celebration Police were proud of him. Wait until there really is something to get excited about.

It’s a bit like players celebrating the award of a pen. Celebrate the goal if it’s converted, but the award means nothing. Ask Brahmin Diaz. What was he thinking ffs? He got what he deserved.

For what it’s worth I thought it was a pen. You can’t do what El Hadji Malik Diouf did - haul a player down in the box. What made it a pen for me is the ball is dropping for Diaz. We see these wrestling matches every week in the PL and it would stop if officials penalised it.

Anyway - well done everybody associated with AFCON and hang your head in shame if you still don’t get it.

Once again, after all the hysteria about ‘dropped points’ by Arsenal after the Forest match, it turned out to be a very good weekend for them. That point stretched their lead. I keep saying it - there are so many twists and turns in a title chase we have to wait for a completed match week before judging results.

It was a pen mind you. I’m with Arteta. Aina controls the ball with his arm. He clearly moves it to the ball, and he later admitted he’d got away with one with that tweet - now deleted of course.

As good as United were - and they were - City were dreadful. To borrow a chant from Southampton fans ‘sideways and backwards wherever we go’. City were toothless.

Guardiola’s body language fascinated me at the end. He wasn’t coaching as he usually does. There were no words for the opposition nor battles with cameramen - just a mournful walk to City fans.

I mentioned this on air at beINSPORTS and immediately got a few messages from people who know him. People well connected in the NW.

I floated some of the well sourced info I was getting, suggesting Guardiola could leave City this week - phrasing what I said like this ‘probable? Yea. Possible? Definitely. Likely? Less so now, but 💯 he’s gone at the end of the season’.

In my view Guardiola has been checked out all season. He’s not the same. Of course he’s going to be disappointed about a defeat, but it all feels odd to me. I think his players know more than we do as well. I’m told the Manchester press corp do as well, but they won’t break ranks.

I’m more than a little surprised Palace have allowed Glasner to turn himself into a temporary manager. I’m sorry, but he’s got to go. Was he trying to get sacked when he blasted Steve Parrish over allowing Guehi and probably Mateta to leave?

If I’m Glasner I want out now. I’m told he’s top of United’s wish list, so why stay at Palace and run the risk of reputational damage if the second half of the season falls apart? Go - and wait. If it’s not United he’ll get a good one.

There is, of course, the chance United make the same mistake as they did with Solajkaer and make Carrick’s role permanent. I wouldn’t. I said it before - it’s time to break the obsession with all things Fergie. Carrick did well Saturday though, getting a performance out of United with a combination of common sense team selection and formation.

For me, there’s two men United’s brains trust should be hunting down - Tuchel and Xavi Alonso. And don’t tell me it can’t be Alonso because he played for Liverpool - so did Busby. And he also played for City.

All the drama in Manchester has taken the spotlight off Arne Lost. It shouldn’t. Liverpool are bang ordinary right now whatever Lost does.

The Toffees did a job on Villa didn’t they? I fancied them to as well. I know Emery was very flat after, but his team ARE top 5 material. They’re just not title contenders.

It’s good to see the subject of concussion subs on the agenda at IFAB’s meeting tomorrow (Tuesday). There is no good reason not to adopt Rugby’s protocol and allow 10-15 minute temporary subs while players are assessed off the pitch. Get on with it.

I really enjoyed Rory Smith’s piece in The Observer on the formation of Oceania’s first professional football league - the OFC Pro League. Why? Well read the piece for yourselves if you can, but briefly, it’s important because Oceania is a FIFA region - made up of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and a whole lot of Pacific Island nations - in other words it’s going to be a cross-border competition.

Up until now FIFA have frowned upon cross border leagues, but not anymore. I’m sure movers and shakers in Holland and Belgium will have noticed the change and as Smith points out, Mexican sides who want to play MLS.

But more significantly Smith makes the point the A22 group, the people behind a proposed Euro Super League, will also be aware of this massive change. That project hasn’t gone away.

What are PGMOL talking about - ‘tolerance levels’?

Unbelievable. I was almost lost for words when I read the PGMOL’s excuse for their incompetence in allowing the Wirtz goal at Fulham. Happily I’ve found a few - so here goes.

Wirtz was off. We all saw it. He admitted it. So why was the goal given? In case you haven’t seen, it was because of a ‘little known tolerance level’. Little known? I’ll tell you how ‘little known’. No-one knew. There wasn’t one - until they fucked up at Fulham and in trying to cover up they’ve opened a real can of worms.

I’ve said since they introduced their semi-automated system it wasn’t accurate. Now they’ve admitted it. Apparently they’ve been operating this ‘tolerance’ system since they introduced it.

This is what I’m reading in The Mail Online ‘Although manual VAR lines have been scrapped in favour of semi-automated (not true - they use them every week because the system fails somewhere) there is a small margin for error which is taken into consideration by the tech’. Why?

The piece reads on like this ‘While offside is given to the millimetre in other competitions such as the CL, the PL’s VAR system operates with a tolerance level of up to five centimetres - effectively the width of a green line’. So it’s not accurate. You’re either on or off. You can’t be ‘a little bit pregnant’ can you?

The system is a joke. It should be withdrawn immediately. Who decides which teams get ‘tolerance’? United? Liverpool? City? Arsenal? Which other decisions have been given with ‘tolerance’ this season? We need to know.

The cartoon images they offer are ridiculous. How is it possible to judge a call unless you can look straight along a line? And regulars will know I’ve been asking this same question since this Disney-like system was introduced.

What do images such as these tell us?

Teams could go down based on ‘tolerance levels’. Fulham have got every right to be angry about this, bearing in mind just about every big decision in their games went against them early season.

Enough of this nonsense. Howard Webb should either admit they got it wrong at Fulham - or withdraw the system until they can prove it’s accurate. Isn’t that why VAR was born?

We weren’t wrong about Inspector Clouseau at Celtic were we? Or Maresca, although in his case I think there are some extenuating circumstances.

Chelsea is a barm pot of a club. The people I talk to there tell me it’s a shambles behind the scenes. But when hasn’t it been since Abramovic left?

Todd Boehly is onto his sixth coach and he’s about to make another huge error. Leroy Rosenior? No. He’s a pound-shop Potter. If they give him the job Boehly will be looking for another coach in May. That dressing room will chew him up and spit him out.

Imagine WC winners like Fernandez being introduced to him. He won’t have a clue who he is. Working at Hull and Strasbourg is no way to prepare for a job like Chelsea if you haven’t been a decent player.

Chelsea should give the job to JT. Captain. Leader. Legend. A Chelsea warrior to the core. That’s enough to qualify him for me.

‘Ah, but he doesn’t have any experience’ I can hear you saying. Really? Doesn’t three years working as an assistant in the PL (I know he joined in a promotion season at Villa) count for anything? No? Well that’s all Arteta had when he got the job at Arsenal.

And don’t tell me Lampard failed. No he didn’t. It’s often forgotten in his first full season he finished fourth, despite the fact Chelsea were banned from signing players. His second spell doesn’t count. He was simply marking time.

Terry has stood by and watched all the madness unfold these past few seasons. He knows the club inside out. Which of the two - Rosenior or Terry - would excite Chelsea fans more?

It looks like Amorim is trying to get the sack again doesn’t it? What’s he talking about ‘I was employed as manager at this club’. Is he serious?Not by the Jim Reaper you weren’t. Little will anger him more than reading Amorim’s recent comments to the Press.

As one of the PGMOL’s off-side graphics might say ‘That’s All Folks’.

We made it - and survived dry Boxing Day.

So we all survived dry Boxing Day after all. What a relief. And what a lovely day I had. I’ve been advocating this change for years. In fact, I’d go further and take the same break as most of Europe. Why not? Coaches and managers are always complaining about players getting too may minutes on the grass. It would give us all time to draw breath.

It also puts the EFL front and centre, which is no bad thing. The Championship is a terrific product - curse free (sorry, VAR free). It makes such a lovely change to watch a match that isn’t governed by some clown in a Slough bunker. I love it.

VAR remains the worst thing football ever inflicted on itself. Has it made the game better? Has it hell. Seriously, what has it improved? Nothing is the answer. I hate it.

I’ve been in VAR rehab trying to embrace it over the past few weeks, looking to give the guys a break, but I’m afraid I’ve fallen off the wagon. It drives me mad.

Have we stopped arguing about decisions? No. Has it brought uniformity? No. Consistency? No. Has it raised standards? No. And that ridiculous automated off-side system we use is a joke. That is if it’s working. It’s nowhere near as good as the CL system and useless if you can’t look directly across the pitch. The angle we use simply can’t be accurate. It’s like some sort of cartoon action. Hopeless.

I mentioned on Twitter I was 100% behind Sean Dyche’s view after the game at Forest. Of course Dias has got to go after committing a second yellow card offence. He knew exactly what he was doing. What was the difference between that challenge and the one Danso was booked for at Palace last night? Only that Rob Jones was shit scared to get a card out again because he was reffing City.

And as for the winning goal - wow. I didn’t expect Jones to see the offence, but where was VAR? You see - useless. What’s the point?

I’ll be a tad kind to Jones here and admit he’s not the only one overawed by reffing City. All the guys are. They must be. I can’t think of another reason they freeze when they do. I mentioned this recently and I’ll do it again - Guardiola’s teams have always been masters of the dark arts. Always. So keep a closer eye on them guys and be honest.

Graham Poll admitted - in his book - he used to ref United differently. He said he was scared to make big calls against them because he didn’t want to fall out with Fergie. He knew if he did he wouldn’t get another big game at OT for six months or so after a row. Case closed. It happens.

As for Dyche, he’ll probably get into trouble for telling Forest fans what he really thought. But why should he? I’ve argued for years that coaches and players should be allowed to express reviews true feelings post match. Why not, if it’s done in a respectful and thoughtful way? Isn’t the PL played in a country that values free-speech? Isn’t it all part of the entertainment? It certainly is in other sports, so why not PL football? It’s a nonsense that we gag them. I’d love to see a coach take legal action when fined. He’d win.

I like Thomas Frank. I thought Spurs might just have got it right when they appointed him and I hope I’m proven correct, but if he thinks beating a Palace team out on their feet is something to get excited about he’s wrong. It was a good night out - and three points - but nothing more.

Here’s one for you - how many of Tottenham’s starting X1 last night would get into one of our top teams?

Arne Lost might just have found a team at last - a team that doesn’t include Mo Salah. But again, beating Wolves isn’t anything to get excited about. Wolves should be charged with brining the game into disrepute. They are hopeless. Two points? Eleven straight defeats? You’d say that was impossible if it hadn’t happened. I feel for their fans.

Bournemouth can’t buy a win at the moment either. Losing Semenyo might tip them over the edge. What did I tell you about his likely destination? It looks like we got another one right, but nobody remembers or likes it when I do that. 😂.

Bournemouth might be about to discover what the likes of Charlton and Southampton have found out the past - that you can’t keep going to the well and finding water. Eventually it runs dry. Brighton should take note of what’s happening along the south coast again.

What a run Villa are on. What an irony it would be if Emery doesn’t just stop Arsenal from winning the title, but nicks it off them. Right now Villa are in the race, but I think they’ll come up short, only because they don’t have the depth.

And I’m pleased to see Fulham in the top half. They were victims of some shocking decisions early season and have done well to recover. Good luck to them. Have a great new year. See you in 2026, when there’s going to be some really exciting things happening. Stay tuned.

What a brilliant cunning plan Celtic.

It’s incalculable how many times a journo like me has referred to Len Shakleton’s brilliant piss-take.

For younger readers lets me explain Shakleton was an England international in the 50’s, described as ‘The Clown Prince of Soccer’. A latter day Gazza if you like.

He was often at odds with the football establishment, including club directors of the England squad, who used to pick the team in those days.

When Shackleton penned his autobiography in 1956 he left a blank page under the heading ‘The Average Director’s Knowledge of Football’.

Time and again he’s been quoted - by me right here. He had a point. Brian Clough wasn’t the only one who agreed with Shackleton. Directors often run businesses very successfully, but completely lose their marbles when it comes to football.

It’s always been like that, so we make allowances for poor judgement and daft decisions. But nowadays we have professionals - full-time CEO’s and directors of football. The idea, of course, is to try avoid such issues, yet still it goes horribly wrong.

The most recent example of utter madness? Celtic. What on earth were they thinking when they stood Martin O’Neill down and replaced him with a cross between Inspector Clouseau and Russell Martin? And did so three games before a cup final?

Here’s my best guess. Somebody clearly thought O’Neill had done enough to settle things down post-Rodgers at Parkhead. Directors weren’t getting stick anymore and O’Neill had brought back a feel-good factor. The team were winning again.

So - tapping into the new mood of optimism, somebody cunningly thought they’d get their new man in to enjoy a win over leaders Hearts - a night out in Europe and then Clouseau could win a cup final. After all, he only had to beat St.Mirren in the final. Fans would love this and Clouseau would be an instant hit.

Wrong. In fact, it went horribly wrong in all three matches. Clouseau is now scrambling around talking absolute bollocks and Celtic are right back where they were after sacking Rodgers. It’s a shambles.

Who is Clouseau anyway? When I heard he’d got the job I messaged a friend in the States and asked about him. I got a one word answer back. I’ll let you work out what it might have been. A clue is - it wasn’t flattering.

Ok, it wasn’t the most exhaustive research, but the answer told me all I needed to know. I’m witnessing what I expected.

What was it the professionals at Celtic were told I wonder? The appointment makes no sense at all. Worse - the timing was horrendous.

Why didn’t they just let O’Neill finish what he’d started? Clearly the players loved him. He must’ve been a breath of fresh air. He spoke a simple language - common sense. Celtic were winning games and O’Neill was on fire in his pre and post-match interviews. It must’ve been fun being a Celtic fan again.

Not anymore. Doubtless the people responsible will escape censure. They always do, but they’ve created a massive problem for themselves.

So what next? Doubtless Clouseau will stumble on for a few more games before O’Neill is brought back out of the emergency cabinet. I’m having a cup of tea with him this week. I’ll find out. Incredible. You weren’t wrong Len.

Andy has often referred to ‘production line’ players down the years. What he means is every young player you see these days is an identikit. He reckons they’re all the same, brought up in academies and coached the same way. It’s not very often you see the sort of individuality that Gazza (I’ll use him as an example again) once entertained us with.

Of course there are the odd exceptions, but he’s got a point. The same goes with a coach these days.

If anyone knows what Clouseau (I’ll use him as an example again) was on about post match on Sunday please get in touch. I was completely baffled. He was trotting out all the nonsense he’s learned on the various coaching courses he’s been on.

I don’t want to be too unkind to Scott Parker, but he’s another one. Listen to him closely and you’ll hear him say everything the manuals preach. He always sounds like a ‘today’ coach and tries to look like one as well.

My advice would be ‘don’t’. Relax Scott. Take a leaf out of O’Neill’s book. Stop talking technical nonsense and have a little more understanding of what you are and where you are.

Standing on the touch-line in a variety of Thom Browne clothing isn’t a good look. It was a really bad idea this weekend to wear a £2000 Browne cardigan, in the pissing rain, whilst your team were getting pumped again - to make it seven straight defeats.

I wonder how many of the Turf Moor faithful own such an item? Parker needs all the help he can get right now and I would’ve thought a little more empathy with the people he’s working for might not be a bad idea. What’s wrong with a track suit Scott?

Top marks again Sunderland. I loved the shit-housery posing for the team pic at the end. Very funny.

I’ll share with you what a lot of my Arabic colleagues are telling me about Salah. The smart money is on a return to the fold post AFCON, and a move in the summer - to America.

What’s happened to Calvert-Lewin? He’s on fire. I’ve always thought there was a player in him, but he’s kept it hidden really well. Perhaps he’s found a home at Leeds?

It’s a pity for Everton he couldn’t have found this form in their jersey. They played really well at Chelsea. Their performance missed only one thing - a centre-forward. They’ve got to find one in January. If they do Europe isn’t out of the question.

How West Ham must be missing the Moyes days - top half finishes and trophies. As we often say - be careful what you wish for.

Main-nooooo. Don’t sell. But they will.

Everybody is talking about Salah, so I’ve decided we’ll start elsewhere. We’ll get round to Mo later.

I learned at the weekend why Amorim won’t play Mainoo, who sadly will leave United now - probably in January.

Amorim believes he can’t get round the pitch - that Mainoo isn’t mobile enough. I’ve heard some baffling nonsense from this generation of coaches (I give you Wilfried Nancy after Celtic’s defeat to Hearts) and this is right up there. Not mobile enough? So Amorim picks Casemiro instead? If it wasn’t so sad it would be laughable.

Mainoo, a United product, will leave the club now because it looks likely his advisors’ game plan has failed - that Mainoo would be at United beyond Amorim.

Paul Scholes is right. It’s criminal. Mainoo’s likely destination is Europe. I’ll narrow it down - if Napoli come up with the money he’ll join Scott McTominay, who should never have been allowed to leave Old Trafford either.

United will immediately move for Joao Gomes if Wolves accept their fate. They’d rather sell as a PL club than have a fire sale when they’re officially relegated, so a deal has got to be done in January.

And another one you can put a few bob on - Semenyo to leave Bournemouth. That will get done early because there’s a few clubs circling and there’s a clause in his deal running the price down the longer he stays at the Vitality.

I make City favourites because they ride roughshod over FFP as we know. Anybody got any news on the 135 charges yet?

Speaking of gambling - keep your eyes on developments at the Amex. The Guardian revealed last week that Bloom is being sued in a lawsuit that alleges ‘frontmen’ are being used to place big bets on sports events. Details have been set out in a public document at the high The Guardian is also claiming Bloom could be the anonymous gambler behind $70m in winnings - which allegedly included bets on his own teams. Bloom denies the suggestion. MP’s have raised questions.

Meanwhile Brighton have banned Guardian reporters from the Amex. Watch this space.

And what a revelation this is from The Telegraph - that John Textor, shareholder at Palace and the Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, adjusted transfer fees to suit a ‘mutual trading agreement’ when players moved between their clubs. Textor has suggested the agreement affected nine deals. It looks like UEFA were right after all, so why didn’t they say?

What an embarrassment the WC draw was. Admittedly, I can’t remember too many draws I’ve enjoyed, but this one was toe-curlingly, stomach churningly bad. Infantino is out of control.

It’s funny how travel in the US, temperatures and prices are an issue all of a sudden. What did I say when the circus left Qatar, where nobody had to travel and temperatures were glorious?

And they’re going to be using VAR at corners. Why? Of course errors can be made when decisions are taken, but this is going too far. What next? Throw-ins? AI? No refs at all?

I’m with The Mirror’s Andy Dunn - who argues games can be decided by teams not defending corners well enough, not by the decision leading to a corner. He adds ‘teams are as likely to score from an attacking free-kick as they are a corner, so should VAR get involved in every free-kick?’ Exactly.

We can’t get it right using the tech how we currently do. Newcastle’s first should’ve been disallowed because Anthony Gordon is clearly impeding Burnley’s keeper. Of course Brighton’s equaliser was preceded by a clear handball and why did Antony Taylor need VAR to give Leeds a clear pen? Doesn’t he see anything? It’s two weeks in a row now he’s needed the tech to clear up something we all saw.

Good-bye Yves Bissouma. Idiot. But he’s not alone.

The staff at West Ham have made a good decision. They’ve cancelled the Christmas party. I hope the word ‘staff’ includes the players. Nobody at West Ham should be celebrating anything at present.

And finally a word on Mo. Well done. We in the Press are always looking for stories - then when one drops for free we complain? Why? Salah has been nothing but honest. He’s earned the right to have his say.

It was always Liverpool’s intention to sell this season anyway. They teased him in - got him to sign a new deal and they’re desperate to sell. It’s a pity they can’t be as honest about it as Salah has been. He’s only going to be worth £50m+ for a short while longer. They’ve got to sell now if they want to cash in.

It’s a shambles at Anfield. Salah is not the only senior pro pissed off. Arne Lost is on shaky ground for sure. My best guess? If Lost is sacked, Stevie G gets it for the remainder of the season as Liverpool try to get Luis Enrique out of Paris - if Klopp says ‘no’.

Now Guardiola goes all Big Sam.

Here’s a quote that will blow your mind.
‘Maybe we can learn to win these type of games, to bring the balls quicker to the box. These are not tactics, strategies, it’s just put the ball in there for the chaos and you score. Pep Lijnders is now with me (as my assistant) and how many times did Liverpool [where Lijnders came from] win these games?

No. Not Big Sam. Nor Tony Pulis. Not even Sean Dyche, but Pep Guardiola. Amazing eh?

Something is changing at City and for the first time in his coaching career Guardiola is being led by football evolution. Thank goodness.

I wondered when I saw the quote if he was being facetious, but then I remembered how City kicked-off v Leeds. Did you see it? The ball was rolled back to Donnarumma, who planted it into opposition territory - just like every other team is doing now. Perhaps we really are through the ‘tippy tappy’ (yes, I did give Big Sam the name of his Podcast) years?

I don’t think City are entirely comfortable with getting the ball from back to front more quickly just yet, which is why Guardiola had Donnarumma feign injury in the second-half so he could get his team together on the side-lines for instructions.

Daniel Farke was right to call Guardiola out on that little bit of gamesmanship. It’s wrong. Agreed - it’s allowed and very difficult to stop, but this from a man who’s spent more time complaining about time-wasting by other teams than anything else since coming to the PL.

Why did Antony Taylor need VAR for to send Caicedo off? That was a shocking challenge. Everybody in the stadium saw it - except one of our supposed top refs, who was 5 metres away. Is it a lack of confidence with these guys now? They don’t make big calls because the tech is there to save them? If that’s the case it’s another erosion.

What on earth was Paqueta doing at West Ham? Surely he’s been through enough not invite more suspicion about his behaviour on a football pitch? Madness utter madness. And he’ll have to live with the consequences and questions that are bound to follow.

You’ve got to hand it to Sunderland and their fans. Both were fantastic again at the weekend. They had a real problem when Bournemouth swept into a 2-goal lead, but they didn’t panic, they drew breath and set about their job with real gusto. It was a terrific game to watch.

I was desperately sad to read about the problems at Exeter in The Times today. They’re the club owned by fans and run by volunteers.

Older readers will remember them going out of business in 2003, but reforming under a Supporters Trust. I won’t go into all the details, but the once ‘utopic model’ (as The Times refers to them as) has stalled. Badly stalled. And they’re on the brink again. If you can find a copy of The Times have a read. I’d post a link but they operate behind a paywall.

According to Martin Zeigler in the same paper (Saturday) the BBC aren’t sending commentators or co-comms to the early stages of the WC. They’ll be based in Salford doing the games ‘off-tube’ - off a tv set.

I don’t know why the fuss. Most CL games are done the that way. I don’t know why they send studio teams to cover the games on-site either I’ve never understood that. There really is no need. They’ve spent fortunes on studios so why not use those - generating backgrounds?

What about that stadium B’ham have got plans for? Think again guys - it’s awful.

On the subject of the WC I can’t wait to see who wins FIFA’s inaugural ‘Peace Award’ at the draw this week. I wonder who it’ll be? Well - we all know who it will be. This is an another pathetic stunt by Infantino.

Mike Ashley to Sheffield Weds? I’d be delighted if I were a Weds fan.

And finally - a word on Billy Bonds. What a legend. A proper player and lovely, lovely man. As honest as the day is long. He was one of the first real enforcers on the pitch and you couldn’t help but admire his approach to the game. He was West Ham to the core.

Sadly his time as manager at the club was brought to an abrupt end and he never spoke of why. He didn’t have to. We all knew. I’ll bet his family don’t invite ‘Arry to the funeral. RIP Bill.

They thought it was all over. It is now Liverpool.

We might as well start where we left off a fortnight ago when I said Liverpool were out of the title race. They’d lost five games when we took the international break. I said in my last blog they’d need to be close to perfection if they were going to prove me wrong. They haven’t. They won’t. Six defeats is too many. It is definitely all over now.

Everybody is looking for reasons why. Regular readers of this blog know why. I’ve been talking about the reasons all season so I’m not going into them again. Incidentally, that’s six defeats from their last seven home games as well. This is a genuine crisis. Arne Lost has got deep problems to sort out.

Liverpool’s is turning into the worst title defence of all time. After 12 games they’ve now got a record to rival the worst ever - Blackburn’s in 95/96, Chelsea’s in 2015/16 and Leicester’s in 2016/17.

Someone else in trouble is Daniel Farke. I wonder if any of the decision makers at Leeds are thinking back to the start of the campaign when they considered firing Farke, despite the fact he’d won promotion? They should’ve done. And I’m not being smart now. I said so then.

Farke has got a terrific record getting teams out of the C’ship. He’s done it three times, but he can’t keep a team in the PL.

His record in the big league is awful - just six wins from 49 games at Norwich. And he lost 35 of the 49. You can add three more now from the 12 Leeds have played, but it’s still shocking. It really is. I don’t see how he survives.

Before a ball was kicked I said they’d need to be really good at home to stand a chance of staying up. That’s still the case and Farke might be the man to do it if Leeds decide to stick not twist, but it’s a big call.

It’s not as though they didn’t back the coach last summer - 10 new faces at a cost of £100m plus was a big investment.

Wolves look dead in the water - despite changing coaches, which is why it’s always a tricky decision to make. I think they’re too far back. They needed to beat Palace to have a sniff of a chance and capitalise on the ‘feel good’ factor Rob Edwards arrived with.

A year ago Saints were bottom with four points and never looked like getting out of trouble. I like Edwards and I wish him well but he’s got a job and a half on at Molineux.

Would you pay £100m plus for Elliott Anderson? I’m not sure. Clearly he’s a good player and Forest did a terrific piece of business when they nicked him from Newcastle for £35m. But £100m plus now?

Consider some of the players that have cost that sort of money. Would Liverpool spend like that again on Isak or Wirtz? Ok - there’s time yet for both signings to work out and I’m a fan of Isak, but right now it looks like a lot of money for not very much on both players.

What about Declan Rice? Would Arsenal spend the same money again? Definitely. Now he’s Rice and not Nice - damaging teams higher up the pitch. He’s not the same impactful player when he sits doing ‘Nice’ things.

What about Caicedo and Fernandez at Chelsea? Do you remember Jurgen Klopp stating he thought Liverpool had dodged bullets when they signed for Chelsea? At that time he was probably right - but not now. Well - in Caicedo’s case at least. He’s been fantastic for Chelsea this season. Andy reckons he’s the best in his position now. It’s hard to disagree, but Fernandez is not much more than ordinary.

What about Jack Grealish? Was he ever worth £100m? Not for me. Only 12 goals and 12 assists make that an expensive £100m. And it doesn’t look as though City are getting much back on the deal.

Let’s be honest, there are never guarantees when a club signs a player, but when you’re investing as somebody is going to in Elliott Anderson you’ve got to be careful. Isak and Wirtz prove that.