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.