I really do not know what to make of this. On a weekend when I don’t write a preview the blog gets two hundred plus postings!!! I don’t ever remember hitting a number as high as that even during the World Cup. Am I really needed? Thanks for all the contributions over the last three days – fantastic stuff.

Jonathan Northcroft on changing formations.

The Times republished an extract from Paul Gascoigne’s autobiography.

And Ian Bell provides some thoughts on Gazza.

The Gretna fairytale has turned into something much darker as reality set in.

Before step-overs in English football there were comb-overs and Ralph Coates had one of the most famous. 

Spurs had some of their legendary players in attendance at the Carling Cup Final. But one legend was tragically struck down in his prime. As a youngster John White’s death was a “Kennedy moment” for me only months after  the original “Kennedy moment.”

A piece on Sky’s Jeff Stelling who we see from time to time in North America.

Paul Dalglish swaps Houston for Killie.

And finally coverage of Newcastle’s big win this past weekend – just as predicted at the end of Friday’s FSR!

Monday Topic
This goes back to the sending off of Marco Materazzi on Tuesday for Inter against Liverpool after receiving two yellow cards.  There seems to be a general consensus that by the rules the referee was probably correct but that the eventual punishment seemed harsh.

The “two soft yellow cards and you are off” predicament has been bothering me for a while. On one level tugging on a shirt or holding a player back is cheating and robbing the fans of excitement and entertainment. Same thing goes for time wasting. On another level does the punishment really fit the crime?

And then I found myself reading the latest copy of Champions. The final article is an interview with 1970 World Cup winner Tostao. One of the questions that he was asked was whether he saw the need for drastic rule changes in the game.

He suggested three areas. The first was am electronic chip in the ball to indicate whether or not the ball crossed the line. The second was that it should be forbidden to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper – not just with the feet.

The third suggestion I thought was the most interesting. He said, “I would limit the number of fouls by a player and by a team with a light punishment – perhaps forcing the offending player to be substituted.”

Perhaps that is an option in the case of “two soft yellow cards and you are off” predicament. Why not have the offending player substituted? He’s out of the game and the coach loses a possible substitution – but the team still has 11 men on the field.

If all the substitutions have been made then the team is forced to play with one less player.
What do you think or do you have some other creative options?