The FA Cup Fourth Round took place over the weekend. Did anyone watch it? Did anyone really care. That is the central theme of the latest issue as referees forget to make decisions because VAR was not plugged in. One normal week. Please. Issue 74. Go.

With the FA Cup being largely trapped behind an evil paywall (more on that later), the majority of viewing eyes would have been placed on Newcastle’s trip to Aston Villa. A win for the Magpies sees them through to the Fifth Round. Referee Chris Kavanagh highly relieved.

Had Newcastle not earned a 3-1 win at Villa Park and Unai Emery’s men progressed instead, Kavanagh and his two assistant referees would have been placed firmly in the firing line - even with success for the visitors, the officials are dodging bullets.

A goal that would have been chalked off for offside opening the scoring

Not a good look for Chris Kavanagh who had a game to forget. Was it bad refereeing? Yes. Was it driven by fear of making the wrong call without VAR? Almost certainly.

Easier to make no call than potentially make a wrong was the default setting at Villa Park. No video nasty for anyone to watch just a nasty display when it comes to overseeing events in the middle of the park.

Does the catalogue of human errors strengthen VAR’s hand? Those in favour of technology will argue that it does. If referees cannot do their job without it, the logic dictates its continuation.

For those who are not in favour of VAR, they will say that referees have lost their ability to make important decisions. In an AI-age where critical thinking is being removed, having a fall back option is not the best when it comes to officialdom.

This game alone will not create wholesale change, but it will certainly add credence to both schools of thought. If there was a referee school, Chris Kavanagh may have to return. Ultimately, he is very lucky that Villa shot themselves in the foot last Saturday night.

But that is where his luck runs out both he and assistant referee Nick Greenhalgh now stood down for any weekend assignments. Whether you view this as punishment can be argued but you can argue what else can the PGMOL do in this situation?

Remember all that energy of the FA Cup largely being behind a paywall. Outrage back in January as only two out of 32 matches were screened on terrestrial television (BBC), the magic of the competition no longer there for the masses.

The same deal of two BBC matches applied at the weekend but it felt as if the same level of outrage was not ablaze across on social media. Admittedly there was the odd tweet from the usual aggregators but you feel that was nothing more than low hanging fruit for engagement.

By and large though, the same anti-TNT clamour did not seem to be mobilised these past few days. A general level of apathy that does not do the competition no real favours because once the anti-paywall energy drops off, things turn into obscurity.

Admittedly there were no real narratives going into the Fourth Round, the draw itself not doing any real favours to those trying to whip up any real interest. From my own perspective, Spurs being dumped out in January has already killed my interest until next year.

Another thing that has not helped interest levels is that we are now in the thick of it so to speak. The excitement that comes with the Third Round taking place each year is palpable, everyone is up for the cup.

Once you get to the Fourth and the road to Wembley has already taken its first step, anything before the quarter or even the semi-finals feels like just another game in an already busy football calendar.

Another aspect is that everyone has done their moaning, the outrage already spilled this time last month. No point moaning again because nothing has changed - the only thing that really has changed is…..

Marc Guehi’s move to Manchester City already looks like being worth the outlay to secure his services from Crystal Palace. He scored in the 2-0 home win over Salford City but should he have been playing at all?

Under the FA Cup rules he is not warranted as cup-tied even after playing in the Eagles’ shock defeat to Macclesfield the round before. When did this change happen? Nobody told me about it.

Turns out that new rules for this season now allow a player to represent two different clubs in the FA Cup during the same campaign. This change means a player who featured for one team in an earlier round can still be eligible for their new club following a January transfer.

Did we really need this change? I thought the whole point of being cup-tied was to stop clubs from front loading their squads in a bid to snare the competition. Maybe I am too rooted in the past when it comes to things like this.

Of course, Guehi is not available for the upcoming EFL Cup final against Arsenal. Both he and Antoine Semenyo were signed in the January transfer window. The former can play because he was signed before the semi-final. The latter cannot due toe the timing of his signing.

Nothing makes sense anymore does it. Either let players play in every game possible and do away with being cup-tied or enforce the rules as they were before. It also does not help when the FA and EFL Cups operate differently. Rules are rules until they are not.

Hearts still top but both Rangers and Celtic close the gap after their weekend wins. The former of the Glasgow pair beating the league leaders, the latter winning at Kilmarnock in dramatic fashion.

A scenario that has generated plenty of interest anywhere north of Hadrian’s Wall but also a growing amount of interest below it. All of a sudden it seems as if Scottish Football is becoming a UK-wide talking point.

Part of it is the pure novelty of three horses being in the race, the duopoly or even monopoly of the Scottish top tier has lasted for more than 40 years - you can understand why interest has diminished over the course of the last generation or so.

Not since Rangers’ nine in a row squad in the late 1990s or Martin O’Neill’s first stint as Celtic manager at the turn of the millennium has there been so much intrigue in Scottish football, still massively overshadowed by its Premier League cousin but finding its voice.

A voice that has certainly been marginalised these past couple of decades as leagues both home and abroad get greater limelight and more importantly greater amounts of broadcasting money.

This situation has seen both Rangers and Celtic struggle to swim against a stronger tide as the years went by, the league itself needed a shot in the arm - it looks as if that shot has come from Tony Bloom.

His Hearts investment was always seen as the potential to upset the apple cart but many thought that upset would not be for a good few years. Get to know the league first and then make headway when the stars aligned.

However, it seems as if the stars have aligned earlier. Hearts may not win the league in May but they are making a rather good fist of it and although the strength of the competition is not banking on victory this season, it is banking on constant competition.

Should Hearts be able to make themselves a near permanent genuine third force in the Scottish game, it could lead to a rising tide lifts all boats scenario. More overall interest in a more competitive league, which in turn brings more broadcasting revenue.

Something that has been rather hard to carve out not only because Neil Doncaster is not the best Chief Executive but because Scotland finds itself in a weird position when it comes to broadcasting.

It’s a secondary country within its own market. The UK market is built to serve English football, anything else is tantamount to schedule filler. If Scotland was stand alone (not getting into any independence debate) the situation would surely be different.

More money, more success in Europe, stronger coefficient.

That leads to more money, more success in Europe, stronger coefficient.

The cycle is self-perpetuating and as much as they do not want to admit it, both Rangers and Celtic need a strong Hearts. This three horse race has shown their weaknesses but it may make everyone a lot stronger in the end.

This one either goes to plan or it has the potential to be the biggest spoiler of the season so far. Bottom of the table Wolves play host to Arsenal. The hosts made heavy work on a heavy pitch at Grimsby last weekend in the FA Cup - the briefest respite in what has been a rather difficult campaign.

Can they raise their game when the ‘champions elect’ come to Molineux. The Gunners may have made light work of Wigan later that same Sunday but their last league showing was the recent 1-1 draw at Brentford. Bukayo Saka has signed a new contract, it is one less distraction as Mikel Arteta’s men look to increase their lead at the top.

While this random midweek fixture also adds an extra narrative to the title race. It’s all very well matching each other game for game but now there is the extra variable of having a game in hand.

Go seven points clear and Arsenal can point to having the points on the board - something that makes Manchester City need to do even more work to hunt them down. If the gap only increases to five or somehow stays or four, then the title race swings again.

Heard the one about Japanese football scraping draws? There are for their bridging season to re-allign the calendar. In the same format as the Scottish League Cup group stage, The traditional structure remains partially intact. A win in regulation time will still award three points, and a loss after 90 minutes will continue to mean zero.

However, if the match is decided by penalties, the shootout winner will earn two points, while the losing side will collect one. The classic one-point draw disappears, replaced by a system that rewards risk and competitive edge. Could be a laugh I guess.

Although Nigeria lost out to DR Congo in the African section of this summer’s World Cup, the Super Eagles have not given up hope of making it to North America,

The reason is that they have appealed the result due to Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe technically being ineligible due to DR Congo not allowing dual citizenships after the pair represented England at youth level.

It may turn out to be nothing more than a spurious claim but this may not be the last we hear from this saga either.

All change at the top of the EFL Championship after Coventry got the better of Middlesbrough on Monday night. A home win for Frank Lampard’s men by three goals to one after failing to win any of their last three.

‘Boro bested by a Haji Wright treble after arriving in the West Midlands having won each of their last six league outings. How many twists in the tale will we in the second tier between now and the end of the season?

In the run up to any World Cup or major international tournament, you would expect all the finer details to be secured by now. Nothing more than counting down the clock. Not the case for the 2026 edition and the staging of games in Foxborough.

Foxborough needs $8M to cover police & public safety costs for seven World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium. Without funding by March 17, the town won’t grant FIFA the license. Talk about leaving it late.

Igor Tudor has given his first interview since taking interim charge of Tottenham. The Croatian was quoted as saying “"I'm coming here knowing that the situation is not easy. There is no time to find excuses”

There certainly is not Igor, there is the small matter of the North London derby on Sunday. Win that and you may already find yourself earning legendary status at the club.

Right, that’s the end of issue 74 as word continues to spread around the football world.

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Issue 75 drops Friday and I’ll be back with another round of insight, analysis and trends that matter. Any feedback or comments on this issue, contact me below:

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