Football's lawmakers will vote later this month on whether to bring in countdowns to prevent timewasting and on the introduction of a 10-second substitute rule - Daily Mail
Robbie Savage is emerging as a leading contender for the vacant Blackburn Rovers manager's job. The former Wales midfielder is understood to fit the profile the Ewood Park hierarchy are after. (Footballer Insider)
Why are the jocks playing at an English stadium in march? Are their own tinpot stadiums not good enough?
Apparently the cement that was used to build the stadium came from Scotland so they are claiming Dual ownership of the stadium.
In all seriousness though, the Ivory Coast are apparently the home team and they selected the venue in Liverpool so Scotland is the away team.
Argentina's FA has moved to prevent players receiving international call-ups if they move abroad before first signing a pro contract domestically. Rule would have stopped Messi playing for Arg.Story w/@FelipeCar on @TheAthleticFC (link is free to read)https://t.co/XUOGnhm1VN— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) February 6, 2026
Be interesting to see this in practice. I can see why they're doing it because their league is struggling financially and player production is the thing they do best. It probably has a better chance of succeeding there than it would in Europe given how passionately patriotic Latin Americans tend to be, and how the NT is still held in higher regard than the club for many South American players. You'll inevitably get one or two moving when big contracts are dangled in front of them though. Maybe Italy turn out to be the major benefactors of the whole move.
I'd be amazed if it survives contact with he first wonderkid to move abroad under these terms. Funnily enough the reason I see it failing is how patriotic the fans are. The national team is the most important team in argentina. Are fans willing to lose potentially world class players for the national team? I don't see it.
Like horris says Italy and maybe Spain will be big beneficiaries if they follow through with this rule. Imagine if this went ahead 20 years ago when Messi lived in Spain from a young age. They would have lost the player of the century
No they'd have just let him play and ignored the rule, as they will do in the future if this goes through. It's presumably just an attempt to get more money into the Argentinian game.
Yeah good point. I guess the counter might be that if their league and national game continues to deteriorate due to poor finances, that could affect the quality of the national team too. Probably not an easy fix either way.
Italy’s Citzenship law has recently changed. They won’t be able to pick up players like they used to. Also prevents a lot of South Americans using Italian Citizenship to easily move to play in the EU. (It doesn’t affect anyone who currently has an Italian Passport(.
Oh yes we are. For most (if not all) football fans in Argentina the club is more important than the NT. This rule is for the kids who, despite being able to leave some money to the club that trained them, choose not to. Even if this rule had existed 20 years ago, Messi would have been a different case because the reason he left Newells was because they couldn't afford his medical treatment
The Athletic seemed to be fully in favour of abolishing VAR. Feels like it could well happen in the PL at some time. I wonder how FIFA would react to that considering it’s them who have spent so money on it (and still are).
I’m not so sure. There seems to more and more of a backlash and the PL might feel it’s worth the publicity boost
What an odious, unedifying character Eni Aluko is. It must be a terrible existence being angry at everything and everyone, and constantly feeling like you have no agency over your life or career, and are instead a victim of everything all the time.
Could be the first time in over 20 years that a Premier League side goes down with 40+ points. A lot will depend on Nottingham Forest but it's ridiculously competitive in the bottom half.