I have two assertions here concerning the governing body of this beautiful game, and I’m looking forward to Stag vehemently disagreeing with both of them.

First, if a player is coming off of a long injury, I think it should contractually disqualify them from international duty if the manager deems them critical to their club’s form. If they’re not going to feature, the option falls to the club to let them travel and regain fitness. I know clubs already have some control over this, and Wenger often gives his blessing if he thinks a manager will be intelligent about how many minutes he gives a player, but it should be the rule not the exception, especially for serious injuries. Not only would it benefit the player in the long run, but we could do away with underhanded tactics of announcing a player “injured” in the lead up to qualifiers. It would also prevent national side managers from overplaying players as that might contribute to their not being eligible for call ups in the future (e.g. Bendnter, having already been diagnosed with a knee problem, was brought on as a sub yesterday in the first half!) And hold qualifiers in the summer if the majority of the leagues you’re drawing from are in the business end of their seasons, you horse’s arse. Madness.

Second, I don’t know if this has been covered here already so I apologize if it has, but I don’t think FIFA should permit a manager to hold two managerial positions of any kind. Guus Hiddink ran our boy Arshavin into the ground for a full 90 again––and rather unnecessarily, I might add––and just who do you think that benefits once he ends up huffing and puffing against Citeh on Saturday? Right. Whether Hiddink ran him into the ground on purpose, or Arshavin begged him for the minutes, there’s a conflict of interest that’s asking for trouble. When we play Chelsea, Arshavin will have two managers present on the day. He’s probably enough of a pro to deal with it, but regardless it shouldn’t be allowed.

I also think the World Cup should be for U-21′s only, but that’s another song for another time. Nonetheless, I say Blatter needs a serious wake-up call (read: firing). He can’t be allowed to rake in all the money he wants (we don’t need friendlies, you moron) and sidle up to the wealthiest owners to the detriment of the game any longer. And he’s starting to look like Lou Grant, which is unacceptable in his position.