On paper I don’t object to the idea, but in reality I question why when they already have a yellow card for this very reason. The problem, as always, is referees not doing their jobs and brandishing yellows for obvious cynical fouls.

Start waving cards as you’re supposed to and some teams would be down to 6 men before half-time.

Jesus H Christ, here comes the media with this month’s new “tactical innovation” which isn’t just the basics of football and something which we did 10-15 years ago.

I look forward to next week’s article introducing the 4-4-2 formation as the next great invention which we’ve totally never seen before, complete with TWO strikers who play as ACTUAL strikers!

I’ve heard some clubs are even looking at a revolutionary shift in goalkeeping, where players prioritise shot-stopping and catching the ball instead of passing and ball control.

Honestly, this article makes it sound like nobody’s dribbled a ball in decades - are we really pretending that dribbling is some lost art and not a common feature in every fucking game that’s played at every level?

Ugh not this rubbish again.

To start, I reject the premise of the question because neither Raya nor Ramsdale are capable of being a #1 keeper at the highest-level.

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Nope. Steele, Verbruggen and De Zerbi at Brighton.

No shit Sherlock.

If you’d bothered to watch Brighton at all this season you’d know he’s been switching keepers regularly from game to game, presumably to ensure the right match-ups with each player’s skill set and the match-specific tactics.

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neither of them being able to keep a single clean sheet this season which shows it’s obviously hampering the team.

Again, if you’d bothered to watch Brighton at all this season you’d know they have a relatively weak defence, compounded by how half their team has been sold to other clubs and their current attacking style and formation (with entirely new players) leave them vulnerable defensively.

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So why has this been made such a big deal out of when Brighton quite literally have and use two number 1 goalkeepers to their detriment and no one has said a word?

Because Arteta made it a big deal for no reason.

De Zerbi is just doing what Klopp did for a period with Mignolet and Karius years ago.

Arteta lied that he would do the same, then screwed over Ramsdale for Raya and tried to gaslight everyone about it, triggering a media shitstorm which has now extended to commentary from Ramsdale’s dad.

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If it’s because Arsenal are a far bigger club so it’s more of a story then that shows they don’t really give a shit about the situation, they just want to have a pop at Arsenal as usual.

Christ, the victim mentality from Arsenal fans knows no bounds.

It’s nothing to do with the club itself and having “a pop at Arsenal”, it’s everything to do with the behaviour and words of the lying dickhead you’ve currently got as a manager.

What’s wrong with that?

It’s far better for player welfare to feign an injury during the break, than having them fly halfway around the world to play back-to-back meaningless internationals and then rush back on long-haul flights all jet-lagged and adjusting to the physical effects of flying, only to immediately go and play in a stupid 12:30 kick-off in one of the biggest games of the season.

I only wish Liverpool had been sensible enough to do the same thing.

Fuck that hassle, and fuck that international bullshit.

Rules?

The following would be nice:

• Anyone who wins two titles in a row is immediately relegated to League Two.
• Reverse wage cap where teams who win the league have the smallest salary cap for the following season (e.g Luton can pay $1 million a week for Haaland but City can only pay $5).
• Automatic 5 point deduction for every -100 million in net spend per transfer window.

That would be a nice start, although I would also love the spectacle of Champions League and relegation spots being allocated by a lottery.