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Uh-oh, incoming! Fabrice will be along to tell you that 30 seconds iS nOT eNoUgH for absolute clarity and precision. That's what VAR is all about, making sure everything is just perfect in the world of football and definitely not 'clear and obvious'.

Has Starmer come out from under his desk, yet?

National: "He responded in the best possible way," Gaëtan Courtet at Valenciennes, a brace and all is forgiven Booed off the pitch two weeks ago and suspended by the club for throwing his shirt down as he left the field, Gaëtan Courtet responded with pride, scoring twice in three minutes to give Valenciennes a 2-1 victory over Caen. A deft touch from the poacher on a cross from Daou Diomande (41st minute) after a pass from Alexi Koum just flashed past him. And then, less than five minutes later, perfectly positioned at the far post on another Koum cross (44th minute), he calmly doubled the lead. Gaëtan Courtet could even have added to his tally with a volley had he not collided with Thibault Maréchal in the box just before opening the scoring. In just a few minutes, the Valenciennes striker bagged a brace that propelled Valenciennes to victory and put him back in the spotlight for what he does best: scoring goals. The experienced 37-year-old striker declined to comment on his performance, but it speaks for itself, allowing him to forget a turbulent two weeks and silence his critics. Two weeks ago, during a lackluster match against Saint-Brieuc, he was booed off the pitch and subjected to some highly inappropriate insults before throwing his shirt to the ground. His swift apology on social media didn't prevent the club from punishing him: while his teammates secured a draw against Paris 13 Atletico last week, Courtet stayed home. Punished. "A guy who doesn't cheat." This time, none of that. A brace, then, but also a well-deserved ovation from the Hainaut crowd twenty minutes from the end of the match. A just reward for his two goals and his complete performance, full of commitment and selflessness. During his long career, Gaëtan Courtet has seen his share of challenges, but there was a touch of revenge in this brace, which validated VAFC's strong first half and proved once again that strikers of his caliber are truly a breed apart. "He's a guy who doesn't cheat; if there's one person who gives his all, it's him. At 37, he's impeccable. Last weekend, he wasn't in the squad, but he was the first to urge us to bring back a result from Paris," praised Samir Belloumou. "When a striker scores a little less, we know it's difficult, but he was always there, never gave up. He's been rewarded, and that benefits everyone." “He responded in the best possible way,” confirmed Daou Diomande, who provided the assist for the first goal. “The fans might not always realize it, but he’s always there to motivate us. He’s a very valuable person in the locker room.” On the pitch, his performance was also noteworthy, and his show of pride came at just the right time for Valenciennes, giving them some breathing room at the bottom of the table. A few smiles were also welcome, and the Pierre Blois-Rudy Mater duo emerged victorious in their first match at the Stade du Hainaut. Four points in two games is certainly not insignificant this season. VALENCIENNES – CAEN: 2-1 (2-0) 6,152 spectators Goals: Courtet (41st, 44th) for Valenciennes, Hafid (77th) for Caen Yellow card: Rouaï (52nd) for Valenciennes VAFC: Louchet; Niakate, Passi, Coeff, Koum; Belloumou (captain) (Landre 83rd); D. Diomande (Appuah 68th), Maréchal (Boissier 68th); Rouaï; El Hadary (Ipiele 83rd), Courtet (Abi 72nd). Assistant: Pierre Blois CAEN: Mandrea; Labonne (Etuin 58th), Gaucho, Sagnan, Kimboma (Morante 72nd); Hafid, Botella, Mvilla, Rajot (Mazie 58th); Gnandouillet (Portut 68th), Dali-Amar (Duville 58th). Etr: Gaël Clichy

“Proud to have delivered the victory,” Valenciennes slowly but surely warms up the Hainaut stadium Boosted by their team’s performance, the stands at the Hainaut stadium, despite the absence of the ultras, played their part in VA’s victory against Caen. The Caen supporters were the most vocal, having descended on the Hainaut stadium in force on Saturday afternoon, numbering 400, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Malherbe Normandy Kop. But the way the match unfolded, the team’s performance, and the three points earned by Valenciennes have, to some extent, improved relations with the stands. These stands were once again deserted by the ultras, as has been the case at every match since the end of December and the disturbances during the Sochaux game. The atmosphere is inevitably suffering, but it’s slowly warming up, and the Northerners appreciated the support, especially at the end of the match, as they held onto a precious victory after Caen had pulled it back to 2-1. “Towards the end, it was a bit tough for us, we were tired, but they encouraged us and that helped us keep going,” said captain Samir Belloumou. “It pushed us to make the effort to defend well.” “It’s pure joy.” From the sidelines, Pierre Blois, who has seen his fair share of matches from the stands, also appreciated this support, which he hopes will continue. “We need to bring everyone along with us,” the interim coach reminded everyone. “We know that if we give our all on the pitch, it will only get better and better. We’re proud to have given them this victory. It’s pure joy for everyone, but this victory is also for our supporters.” Who are eager to do it again.

Donald J Trump : Supreme Leader II

Feels a bit like 2 seasons ago except back then we were chasing down top 2 rather than playoffs. We went on a huge unbeaten run, got into position to break through and promptly bottled it ending up in playoffs. IMO 75 is the minimum and we have some tricky fixtures left. It's on a knife edge.

The sort of game we should have won comfortably without breaking a sweat or getting out of second gear. And, basically, we did.

I didn't say I expected more, I would've happily settled for 3-1 before the match. I was simply replying to the poster who said 6-0 would still only have been three points, and I pointed out that's true but it would be extra goal difference.

I think most football prem, championship, championship league, world cup are very boring. Most managers just cant be bothered to learn anything creative and take risks its all boring safe, possession sideways football. Some of the Premier League and champions league is just gabage. If there was something exciting and entertaining being displayed on the pitch fans would not be falling asleep, checking results, just chatting etc. Today was 3 points but ar the expense of any creative football or not much. Fans are even sitting down it was so boring while fans stood up in front and that happens a lot in Northam. I also think the new fans since clubs git new stadium and doubled capacity just want to go to much and watch the football not do any chanting or standing up. Its a bit like snooker now at football but less entertaining. Which is why I like watching Winchester City and Eastleigh to get a break from boring computer football and actually see players playing football. And you get less falling over faking injury to stop an attack as we got today and v QPR.

Indeed... I've been advocating this for years... But I'd make it as little as a 30 seconds time limit... That's plenty of time to spot something "obvious"...

The state of that man - can't believe i am seeing any mainstream UK party leader picking sides with the Iranian regime over the UK's allies. He has truly swallowed the crazy pills if this is his outlook. You have Iranians all over the world begging the USA to save the people from the regime ffs, videos getting out of civilians rejoicing and laughing at Khamenei's compound being hit, and its a regime that has just butchered 40,000 of their own people in a month, with millions more living under one of the most oppressive regimes in the world... But I guess he has voters to keep happy

Looks like the Burj Al Arab and the International Airport have been hit in Dubai, albeit without too much damage.

All the teams will be taking points off each other, it’s far from over for everyone. Get the popcorn out!

Things you love to see: Portsmouth loss, Leicester loss and Newcastle loss (just despise them). 😂

I think our support has been very much like that in general recently. The atmosphere in the stands is a reflection of the tempo on the pitch - slow, turgid and boring mainly. We’re in a decent run of form but beating teams by boring them into submission. Obviously would rather win boring than not win, but it isn’t making for a good atmosphere at the moment

Another one - if VAR cannot spot an issue inside sixty seconds then it is not a “clear and obvious error” and the game should continue.

I disagree, it’s normally a couple of minutes max if a sub has to be made, if a player is legitimately injured more often than not a sub is made straight away. How much time is wasted through players feigning injuries? How many times does a physio come on, give them a drink, they trudge off and run back on almost immediately and sprint to the first ball like they’ve risen from the dead? Probably several times a game. If a player knew they’d be penalised for feigning an injury it would stop time wasting pretty quickly.

Reminds me of the nazis, they're going down and they just want to see the world burn - the more they can take down the better 😕

Was in the top tier today with the boy. It was my first visit to Hillsbrough since 1997 and a 0-0 draw. Think Paul Jones saved a penalty that day. The ground is looking in a terrible state, neglected like the whole club top to bottom. It was a strange one as the atmosphere was very flat, and the performance matched it. Seemed like we just expected the win, which showed in the celebration the little bit of the 3rd goal as there was more of an eruption due to the worry that was creeping in! We did what we needed to do and had the feeling of an end of season game or a pre season game. I do think we could have upped the tempo a little and in the first half it did remind me of the last time we were in the championship as it was very laboured. There was a lot of very good good football at times but the end product was just not there. We missed Stewart for sure today. None of the subs did anything and had negative impact of the game and our shape. For what the Wednesday fans have been through, those that were in the ground were great at the end of the first half and second half. Let’s face it they have nothing to sing about. Our fans were flat, turned up got the 3 points and went home. Very strange game and I think things will start to get a little tougher, but we still have lots of points to play for, but feel we are a little short of a serious play off side, but we will see.

None of the players you name are PL standard which shows how far off that level we are.

There's still around a quarter of the season to go, so a lot can happen. We're fixated on Wrexham at the moment as the team above us but it's very possible that the likes of Hull will have a poor run in that lets in someone else. The positive in this round of matches is we have slightly more breathing space versus a few of the teams below us when it was so tight before. Obviously matches against the teams around us will be crucial. We just need to focus on ourselves and keep picking up wins like we are at currently.

Looks like the Iranian supreme leader is dead. Good.

Took a while, with a few casualties.

At the possibility of sounding racist these ayatollahs all look the bloody same