GM football fans. Route One here, the only football newsletter to warn you that it’s Valentine’s Day next week…

… so don’t make the same mistake I did last year.

Let’s get into it.

Today’s briefing is a ~4 min read:

1. VAR off the mark 🎯

2. Who’s Danny Murphy speaking about? 🤔

3. Extra time: Marco van Basten was born to score goals ⚽️

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VAR OFF THE MARK 🎯

There are only a few things in life that are certain:

• Death.

• Taxes.

• VAR controversy.

But… what if we can change this?

I’m not talking about the first one and (unfortunately) neither the second one.

I’m talking about VAR.

The Champions League is back next week, so we thought it was a good time to ask the million-dollar question: is the Champions League VAR better than what we have in the Prem?

Let’s look at the UCL’s model for VAR:

• It uses a wall of light that makes it easier to see if a player is offside. None of that line rubbish that causes faff.

• Any action where the ball hits the hand in the area and changes trajectory is deemed a penalty. In the Prem, there’s more room for interpretation.

• The referee relies less on the monitor and is guided by VAR through his earpiece… to reduce decision time.

In 2020, UEFA claimed that it shaved 15 seconds off VAR decisions.

Ok. So which one’s better? Hmmm. Neither.

We think that the 2022 World Cup VAR model was the best…

• It provided an automated offside alert.

• And used a 3D animation to overcome poor camera angles.

But, the Premier League voted against introducing it to the English top-flight. Sucks, right?

And in case you are interested, ESPN has calculated the ‘net score’ of VAR in the Premier League this season…

R1 take: Look, it’s not awful across the board. But the 5+ difference in favour of City versus Liverpool could make all the difference in spoiling Klopp’s fairytale ending.

WHO’S DANNY MURPHY SPEAKING ABOUT 🤔

There has been a rise in footballer’s family and friends piping up:

• Thiago Silva’s wife asked for Pochettino’s sacking on Twitter. Hilarious.

• Aaron Ramsdale’s dad blamed Mikel Arteta for his son losing his smile …aww.

• Zinchenko's wife blamed Pep for losing the 2021 Champions League final. Again, hilarious.

And the list goes on…

But, families getting involved where they shouldn’t is not new.

Danny Murphy revealed a former Liverpool teammate (who he refused to name) was unpopular in the dressing room because of his wife’s antics.

Long story short…

• Murphy and his Liverpool colleagues ended up having some adult entertainment on a preseason tour… for “team bonding” purposes only.

• The unnamed teammate’s wife found out, she wasn’t happy and she called the manager…

• …She snitched on the boys and said her husband was traumatised by the experience. Yeah, we’ve all been there.

Shockingly the unamed player violated Rule No.1 of preseason tours…

Needless to say, the man in question “was an idiot anyway” and not popular according to Murphy.

And apparently… this story has been retold in a former Liverpool player’s autobiography where they name and shame the “idiot”.

Does any Router know who Danny Murphy is talking about? We’re stumped.

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Fans on social media laud a clip of Paul Scholes and Joe Cole naming old Premier League stars. How many can you name?

Neal Maupay has been keeping us entertained with his antics… and here’s another clip that’ll make you laugh.

Marco van Basten was born to score goals. In 2006, at 41, he scored an unbelievable diving header in Demetrio Albertini’s testimonial.

Alex Song once thought Carlos Puyol wanted him to lift the league title instead of cancer survivor Eric Abidal… career-ending stuff.

MEME 😆

R1 REFERRAL