Morning all.
The Club World Cup – a nonsense competition at the end of a long season which I’m glad Arsenal Football Club are not taking part in. I would imagine a lot of club managers wish their players were either, after all, a lot have already featured in international fixtures this month.
What this competition is going to do though is trial a few new rules in the game. Here they are thanks to The Athletic.
1. Goalkeepers have only eight seconds to release the ball from their hands or be punished with a corner being awarded to the opposing team.
2. Referees will be wearing the equivalent of a dashcam. Attached to the earpiece and microphone already worn for communication purposes, there will be a tiny camera capturing a “ref’s-eye” view of the action at each Club World Cup game.
There will be limits to what is shown. Any incidents captured by the referee’s camera considered controversial, such as penalty decisions or red cards, will not be approved for broadcast.
Pierluigi Collina:
“This is a trial. “We need to do something new — and the simpler the better. So we fixed some rules within a protocol. Will we offer these images in the future? Maybe when we learn to run, maybe not, maybe we will do.”
3. Video assistant referee (VAR) footage shown to the referee during a game at the monitor will be broadcast simultaneously to the stadium crowd over the big screen, before a final decision is relayed over the public address system. And forget those fiddly bits of paper exchanged every time a team wants to make a substitution. FIFA has introduced substitute tablets given to each bench, with changes punched into that and shared with the fourth official and broadcast teams.
4. Offside technology has gone up a level as “real time” alerts will be sent to the match officials when it’s clear that a player is offside.
Collina:
“Since the very beginning (of the VAR system), on-pitch assistant referees have been told in case of doubt, keep the flag down,” he said. “It went a bit far. The doubt became bigger and bigger.
In my opinion, these changes, should they be implemented following their trial, which I’m sure they will, can only be good for the game. Definitely good for us as I don’t know about you but I get really frustrated when David Raya holds on to the ball for long periods of time and it’s so frustrating when opposition goalkeepers waste time in a game by doing the same.
VAR will no doubt take an age to come to any conclusion for the decisions they need to make but at least the game gets that time back at half/full time.
Might we expect a raised number of corners in a game? Perhaps, to begin with anyway but keepers will soon get used to the change. Just as they had to get used to not picking up a back pass a number of years ago.
Saying that, were any goalkeepers in the game now around when that rule came in? Lol
Catch up in the comments..
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6423621/2025/06/14/arsenal-england-striker-theo-walcott/
Totally agree with Theo..
There will be even more dispute and claims of hiding footage
Might do too if I could open it . Appears to be a subscription site sop I will have to wait until someone does a precis on the dreaded news now.
Surely the footage will be there, just not shown on the big screen. But Collina did hint that it might be shown in seasons to come.
Good afternoon all.
Pierluigi Collina quote “we have to do something new” WHY!!!!
I’ll copy it Potter..
The future of the English No 9 has been on Theo Walcott’s mind this summer. The former Arsenal and England forward believes that the shortage of strikers being produced in his home country could be detrimental in the long run, and has concerns about domestic football being too “predictable”.
While Harry Kane extended his record as the men’s top scorer with his 73rd international goal against Senegal, the under-21s have travelled to the European Championship in Slovakia without a recognised striker. Liam Delap was part of the preliminary squad but, after joining Chelsea from Ipswich Town for £30million ($41m), his attentions have turned to the Club World Cup instead — a move, as an Arsenal fan, Walcott admits “worries” him.
Asked for his thoughts on England’s lack of centre-forwards, Walcott said: “I don’t like it. I always feel that it shows where we are as a country because we can’t find a No 9 to play in a system.
“For instance, the other day when Morgan Rogers came on (in the seniors’ 3-1 defeat against Senegal), he was non-existent in a position he is not used to, even though he’s a very good player. He likes to drive with the ball, so why have players in positions where they are not used to playing?
“The perfect example who has really adapted themselves in that position as a false nine is Ousmane Dembele (of Paris Saint-Germain and France). Obviously, he’s a lot more experienced, but we haven’t got a player like Dembele. You could get away with it in this Under-21 Euros but in the long run, I’m not a big believer in not having No 9s.
“I’m not sure why we can’t develop them anymore and it’s a sad, sad way we’re going. I’m a big believer in getting it out wide, dribbling one-v-one, crossing it and seeing some headed goals. When do we see that now? We barely do. You just know they’ll go inside. It’s starting to become too predictable.”
Walcott is mostly remembered as a winger despite having spells up front and says, “You can get quite bored up front if you’re playing as a false nine or as a ‘No 10’ (attacking midfielder).” He recognises “everyone wants to be a No 10 because it’s the glamour position” but says it is an out-and-out No 9 for whom fans tend to clamour.
“When people speculate, clubs look for a No 9 and the fans get upset or confused saying, ‘Why can’t we find a No 9?’,” says Walcott, who will be part of Channel 4’s coverage of England Under-21s’ final group game against Germany on June 18. “It’s really hard to find them because everyone wants to be that really predictable player… those who like to come inside.
Strikers are selfish, they just want to score goals. But now, all of a sudden, the wingers are starting to get more selfish because they want to cut in and do their thing. They’re not connecting like they once did.
It disappoints me as an Arsenal fan if you don’t go after someone like that,” he says. “You can see it in him as well, you can see his fight. He doesn’t care who he plays against.”
Walcott is, however, encouraged by the experience in Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 squad. Thirteen of the 23 players are aged 22 and have plenty of Premier League, Championship, Ligue 1 and Serie A games in their legs already. Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri is the youngest player, having turned 18 in March — and he made 37 first-team appearances last season.
Walcott was a shock call-up to the England senior squad for the 2006 World Cup, aged just 17. He did not get off the bench at the tournament but made his under-21 debut shortly afterwards.
“I was in the first team environment for England knowing that I didn’t deserve to be there,” he admits. “These guys (in 2025), quite a few deserve to have a chance with the senior team already. When I went to the under-21s, it was a bit of a relief because I knew that the first team was too much for me at that time.”
With many hopeful that they can make a good impression ahead of next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Walcott knows the importance of not just impressing on the pitch in this environment.
It’s the full package that they’re looking at now,” he says.“You could be the best trainer but you might not really involved in the day-to-day things. I would shut myself in the room at times. It was very different. I couldn’t really relate to the players I was with (in the senior squad) because of the age gap. So that’s the side of it which I had to manage in my own way. At times, I’d lock myself away and get on with things.
“I was only 17, so I was still learning about myself at that age while being thrust into an environment that I’m not quite used to. These guys, they’re going to have to tick a lot of boxes by doing the right things every minute when they’re on show.”
By the time Walcott was part of the squad that went to the 2009 Under-21 European Championship, he was 20, had played three full seasons for Arsenal and been given Henry’s old No 14 shirt.
He wanted to be part of the squad despite Arsene Wenger’s wishes and scored in the semi-final penalty shootout against hosts Sweden, before starting up front for the first time in the final because Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor was suspended.
England were facing a Germany Under-21 side that included future senior World Cup winners Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Howedes, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil. They lost 4-0 and Walcott came away with a strong lasting impression of a group that would go on to win the World Cup five years later in Brazil.
“These guys felt older than their age,” Walcott recalls. “This is what I’m talking about with this England team. They seem older, and that’s a good thing. They’ll have more experience and it was the same with that German team. You could tell they fed off our energy. They treated it so professionally, which just showed, if you do all the right things, good things will happen — and of course, many of them won the World Cup.
That mentality showed as Carlsley’s side opened their tournament with a 3-1 win against the Czech Republic, the first of all the England Under-21 games Channel 4 is showing live on UK television. Nwaneri came off the bench for the defending champions, nutmegged his opposite man and had a shot deflected behind. A flurry of corners then saw Charlie Cresswell add England’s third goal of the night.
“If you go into it and win this tournament, who knows where it will take these guys?” says Walcott. “You want winners in a team, no matter what level, and if this squad wins this, other players will feed off that and grow to become better players, people and leaders. It’s so important.”
I too think they needed to do something re the time wasting and offside. The time wasting especially and our own players are some of the worst imo.
Interesting comments there .
When I was at school in the 1950’s every one wanted to be the centre forward and score goals . Quite when the number 10 became the preferred position I don’t know but we grew up on Nat Lofthouse , Dixie Dean , my dad told me tales of Ronnie Rooke and my boyhood hero was Joe Baker.
The next batch was Bobby Smith , Malcolm MacDonald players that just didn’t put the ball in the net , they tried to take the keeper and the net itself in the stand behind the goal. Then of course came Greaves a player best described as silent but deadly . Bobby Charlton got the spectacular goals but Greaves was the player defences feared most.
All of these players had the one target and that was the goal,
Theo is right we need to install that mindset in our youngsters and stop trying to imitate the stroke the ball into net style of which Thierry Henry was the greatest exponent .
I agreed with Theo too, funny enough, I hoped we’d sign Delap too, especially when his price was so good for such a talented footballer who already knows what the PL is all about. I think we missed an opportunity.
Also agree with the game/wide players having become predictable.
Chances of us signing Delap were slim especially after letting Biereth go which I still don’t really understand.
Neither do I, bonkers decision in my opinion.
Afternoon Rico amd all.
I don’t mind the changes as long as it keeps the refs fair and speeds up the game and stops cetain keepers like Pickford, from holding the ball to the ground and then falling on it when players get close, to waist more time. After all ain’t that what we have all been asking for, a more fairer ref same as the off side rule when a player is clearly off side why let the game continue only to stop it and bring back the ball for off side why not just stop it then and save a player from a possible injury in a late tackle when it’s already off side.
Morning Geoff, Cicero.
I strongly suspect I’ll not watch a single fixture. Unless it involves a player we try and sign.. lol
Good morning. Today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for. Yep the FIFA Club World Cup competition kicks off at 4pm With European giants Bayern Munich taking on Auckland City, an amateur side from New Zealand. It’s being shown live on Channel 5.
I bet you just can’t wait for kick off. 😉
New post up by the way.