Henry Winter

@danlevene So sorry for your loss, Dan.

Today we buried my dad. Geoff (Z''l) was 80. A licenced London taxi driver for 50yrs. A Chelsea supporter for 70+yrs, since his first match in Dec 1954. A husband to my step-mother for 40yrs. A good man who loved London, its people and his family. May his memory be a blessing.

£30 cap on away tickets to continue for two more seasons, excellent news for supporters and for broadcasters wanting noisier atmospheres. Kudos to the Premier League for agreeing to extension. Fans now want clubs to listen to them over home ticket prices which “are often unaffordable and pricing out loyal fans”. "The extension of the away cap is great news for travelling top-flight fans,” says Tom Greatrex, chair of the Football Supporters' Association. “The cap was an FSA idea which wouldn't have happened without our members' campaign work. Credit to the Premier League and clubs for listening to supporters on the importance of away supporters and keeping the cap in place for the previous 12 seasons. Long may it continue. "We all know how much away fans add to the atmosphere in our stadiums and anything which helps them is welcome. Over the past 12 years this has saved supporters millions of pounds in total. We'd also encourage owners to listen to the voices of supporters' groups at their clubs who are telling them that home ticket prices are often unaffordable and are pricing out loyal fans."

@DirtyLeedsFC on the basis that it is here, it's about making it work as originally intended, ie only clear and obvious mistakes

@henrywinter Can ANYBODY actually say that it’s made the game l, as a sport or as spectacle better than it was previously? It’s an utter shambles in PL. countless minutes, countless replays and still get it wrong! Kills everything that is the fan experience in the stadium. 🤬

Footballing authorities emphasise VAR is here to stay and Uefa will hold a meeting with the Premier League and other major European leagues to get better alignment on VAR. The governing body of European football is understood to seek less of the microscopic intervention that has caused such controversy in the Premier League and Serie A. VAR seems to work better in the Champions League because: teams more focused on playing football (rather than grappling at corners); standard of officiating is inevitably higher as Uefa draws upon elite referees from a range of countries; and Uefa’s lighter-touch stance on technology. Mindful of fans’ frustrations with delays, Uefa would use VAR on corners only if it was immediately identifiable before the restart. Uefa’s use of the Hawkeye semi-automated offside (SAO) system working well. A more advanced, quicker "fuller" version of the Hawkeye SAO is currently being trialled for use by Fifa at the World Cup. Again, mindful of the need to prevent needless delays, the assistant will be notified almost instantly of a clear offside and can flag immediately rather than letting play run on as often happens now and potentially risking collisions and injuries. Uefa is expected to follow the Premier League in trialling a direct-to-consumer streaming service for Champions League matches. Premier League Plus is being launched in Singapore next season which will allow subscribers to watch all 380 games. The presence of five Premier League teams in next season’s Champions League looks all but guaranteed with extra spot via Uefa co-efficients. There has been discussion amongst clubs on the Continent about whether “country protection” rules should be dispensed with earlier – in the league phase – so English clubs could meet and potentially knock each other out. Uefa’s Club Competitions Committee decided against this at a meeting earlier this season.

@MarkWatkins210 there is an FSA survey going on atm, Mark. Figures will be interesting and obv passed on to FA etc

@henrywinter IF ONLY fans had a say / power in / over a game they watch and pay for. It's Carry on VAR, regardless.

.... salaries of academy graduates who make the first team should be made allowable deductions, exempt from PSR calculations, for a certain period. Column 2/2 open.substack.com/pub/henrywinte…

8 of the 16 players Barcelona used last night were nurtured fully, or partly, by the club. That breeds togetherness and identity. Whether for reasons of financial necessity or club culture, more English clubs need to re-assess the balance between recruitment and development. 1/2

Road to Budapest … #UCL

Spurs out of the Champions League but if they play with that unity and intensity they will stay in the Premier League. Players stood up to be counted. Archie Gray, class again. Xavi Simons superb. Djed Spence sprinting back to dispossess Alex Baena summed up commitment. #TOTATL

More than a drubbing. 7-2 is a tie-break, not a football score. Barcelona utterly ruthless second half. Newcastle's porous defence opened up by the trickery and class of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. Some team. #BARNEW

Barcelona versus Newcastle is classic box-to-box office, so much pace and boldness. Barca a constant threat through Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. But their defence struggling to live with Newcastle's own ferocious speed and adventure. Hall, Barnes, Gordon, Elanga flying. #BARNEW

@dannykellywords Broadcasting legend, get well soon, Danny

OK, so there's this... ✊️✊️✊️💊💊💊💚💚💚🔥🔥🔥

Leniency and inconsistency over PL/CFC sanctions agreement outlined by Christian Purslow @FootyBoardroom #CFC #NFFC #EFC

Questions of leniency and consistency around the Premier League/Chelsea sanctions agreement over historical breaches. Analysis here with Christian Purslow on @FootyBoardroom open.spotify.com/episode/4WfTfX… youtu.be/3FRM2W4zqdU?si…

Wishing all the best to Trevoh Chalobah. #CFC

Arsenal’s best player delivers. Footballer of the Year contender strikes. The player Arsenal got half-price shows his stellar value. Declan Rice adds to his expanding armoury: low driven finish with a touch of fade. #ARSLEV

@spadger09 Written a lot on Wednesday, Dean. Not in EFL interests to lose Wednesday. Their issue should be with Chansiri, not with the club, you the fans and the potential new owner.

@henrywinter Were you able to find out any news on the owls? Would welcome your thoughts on the potential penalties (wage cap/ transfer embargoes/point reductions next season) which the EFL are looking to impose on the would be new owners, when the fault lies at the our narcissistic x owner

Spent a few hours at EFL HQ in London today judging the best community clubs, projects and player initiatives amongst the 72 clubs. As always, a humbling, uplifting experience to see the incredible community work done by EFL clubs.

@FootballFactors Don’t know about the latter bit but totally agree on the farce of the delay, Graham. Helps nobody except the lawyers.

@henrywinter The PL really do need to give a full explanation on the Man City 115 charges farce - it's nothing short of embarrassing and reeks of some type of cover up or running scared of city's lawyers.

At some point, senior Premier League execs have to offer a proper explanation in public for their leniency towards Chelsea. They owe an explanation to fans of clubs punished more harshly. They owe an explanation to those clubs who did abide by the rules. They have to offer some explanation as to why PSR breaches are deemed far more serious than acts of "deception and concealment". Yes, these are the offences of a previous regime at Chelsea. But inconsistencies run through the PL's defence and their reputation is damaged. They can’t hide from a controversy of this magnitude.

Route Un. Kvaratskhelia too quick, clever and clinical. Fantastic player, makes things happen, so positive and ruthlessly exploiting Sarr mistake. #CHEPSG

@vinerbrian Crazy thing is you were trying to move to a new stadium and also hit by geo-politics. There should have been more understanding. You also had Mark Carney arguing your case. Regards

Should that day ever arrive, Henry, their weaselly response will surely be that this is a different crime, therefore different punishment. The bottom line: had Everton, or Forest, committed exactly the same crime, would they have been treated as leniently? We all know the answer