I think Southgate has a better relationship with the press than many of the previous incumbents. They have had plenty of access to players for interviews, played darts and pool with them. Southgate seems a lot more media savvy than most managers but he is also smart enough to know he is only one result away from being pilloried. There has been a nonsensical euphoria around England after the first two results but the real competition starts tomorrow for me. Results are the only thing that matters from here on in.

Samuel was doing reasonably well until his sending off against Portsmouth. He displaced Graham early on in the season due to Grahams poor form and the stupid sending off gave Graham another opportunity and he never looked back. Playing him wide didn't seem to help him as he was seen as more of a central striker. Hopefully Mowbray will give him opportunities as a centre forward in the upcoming friendlies.

The first three games will count for nothing on Tuesday. If Colombia are better than us then they will deserve to beat us.

Thanks Tom.

With the stupid yellow card count coming into play does anybody know how it works with red cards? Might not matter now as Belgium have just scored.

And that is where VAR is infallible when dealing with matters of fact. The wider aspect which involves the opinions of several people is the problem.

Rovers have released ticket information for the Liverpool match. The Riverside is closed for this one. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2018/june/ticket-news-liverpool-h/

I'm not sure an open mic would be the way forward given some of the unpalatable things said in many languages. I know players should be dismissed for foul, offensive or abusive language but some games wouldn't finish. I like the idea of the referee doing a controlled press conference post match when he has had an opportunity to review his decisions. Mistakes happen and admitting them is far better than just going home with nobody none the wiser (well it was for me).

The way he cupped his ear indicated to me the VAR were talking to him. Whichever way it was good refereeing I thought.

Well done to the Turkish referee last night who didn't give in to VAR pressure after they referred a decision to him as a clear and obvious error. This would have resulted in a penalty for Nigeria for an alleged handball by Rojo. The way he explained his decision to the irate Nigerians was exemplary. Collina however should be hauling the VAR's over the coals.

I just don't know how to measure the success or failure of VAR for incidents that aren't clear cut and come down to an opinion. The can of worms has been well and truly opened and I really fear that the decision makers have already made their minds up and will hide behind some statistics they manufacture and manipulate. I can see the likes of Collina and Elleray really pushing VAR as pretty much it is their project.

It's the whole VAR process which I believe is flawed. I don't think it makes any difference where he reviews any incidents.

Isn't that the beauty of football John? I didn't think Ronaldo was guilty of violent conduct, I saw it as more of a flailing arm as he tried to get past the Iranian who was doing his best to block him. The handball isn't really open to debate and you have to seriously question the referee and VAR as to why they thought that was a deliberate act.

I was irritated by his 'get real' interview whIch I saw as support for Kean. As a local lad he should have known more than any other player how we all felt about Kean and the way the club was being wantonly pillaged by Kean and his associates. I hear him no malice but I don't feel any sorrow about him leaving.

Time keeping is one area where I believe the game can be improved and something that is consistent and transparent. In Rugby League the referee simply tells the timekeeper when to start and stop time for any reason. They have a fluid system for substitutions so pretty much the clock stops for injuries and reviews by the studio official. Rugby League players don't waste time with restarts but footballers do invariably in the knowledge that all the consumed time is unlikely to be added. Having an independent time keeper might alleviate this. It would relieve an unnecessary pressure from the referee.

That is the process now. The VAR constantly review incidents involving every goal, sending off, penalties and mistaken identity. If the VAR feels there has been a clear and obvious error in any of these then the on field referee is advised to look at the pitch side screen. As I have said before once an incident is sent for review only an extremely brave referee will go against the advice of the VAR.

Looking ahead to when the blazers in Geneva sit down post World Cup to decide whether or not VAR has been a success will be a fait accompli as these are the people who decided to use it pretty much untried in the first instance. In their unfeeling way they will hide behind some manufactured statistics designed to show it was successful.

What FIFA are trying to do Tom is turn the decision making process in football into an exact science but that can never, ever happen. The vast majority of VAR referrals and ultimately decisions are still based on opinion not fact. I disagree with the Portugal penalty but you think it was one. Who is correct? The game has been around for well over 100 years and has managed by giving autonomy to the referee and his assistants to make decisions. It is farcical in my opinion. (but my opinion isn't fact) ?.

Yes the referee can disagree with the VAR but it will be a brave referee who does that. I said last week that once an incident is referred by VAR as a clear and obvious error the on field referee will be under huge pressure to go against their advice.

But the VAR considered all the incidents to be clear and obvious errors. That is four people studying incidents from lots of angles and then supported by the on field referee. It's farcical and I think will become even more ridiculous when we get to the knock out stage.

Colombia take the award for the most energetic team so far. The pace and intensity of their play was terrific and they will trouble most teams with that alone.

I think overall the refereeing has been decent John but some are relying on VAR for what look to be bread and butter decisions in my opinion. The referee today didn't and he was correct with both penalties. As you know sometimes gut reaction is invariably correct and decisions are given instinctively. It was for me anyhow.

I saw it in real time. The likes of Motson and Tyler wouldn't have missed that.

They mentioned the L-C caution came up on their screen and assumed it was for the goal celebration. Murphy is a master at stating the bleedin' obvious. I just can't stand him after he stole all that money from Rovers.

I'll be surprised if Panama finish this match with eleven players on the pitch. They look like an undisciplined bunch. The England hot heads would do well not to get involved.