'I feel dirty saying this about the Club World Cup but all fans have to hear it'

It feels dirty to admit it, but the Club World Cup has been a breath of fresh air.Don't be surprised if this is the biggest tournament in club football within the next 20 years.

It takes a bit of time to adjust to the corny new features, but trust the process, the football is worth it.

Unless they're going to conceal the line-ups and reveal the players with Royal Rumble-style walk-on music, announcing them one by one before the matches leaves even the players red-faced.

But FIFA should consider rolling out the other new inventions, starting with ref cam.

Imagine the content if Mike Dean had such a tool. There's going to be a whole new generation of celebrity refs.

VAR replays being shown on TV screens inside the stadium also gets a green tick. As does the clamping down on goalkeepers holding onto the ball for a lifetime.

Knackered European sides against South Americans in the peak of their season has been such a leveller.

Who doesn't love seeing Real Madrid, PSG and Chelsea dropping points against 'lesser' opponents who you've probably never watched before?

The main complaint European teams have is that their players are burnt out after a long season.

But if they weren't competing in the Club World Cup - they'd be off to lucrative pre/post-season tours anyway!

Southgate knighthood wrong

WATCHING Gareth Southgate receive a knighthood from Prince William on Wednesday for winning zero trophies just doesn't sit right.

Since when did we start rewarding the nearly men? Next they'll be giving them out just for participating. It's disrespectful to the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Andy Murray, who achieved sporting greatness to earn the award.