This kind of ruling is already sort of in place somewhere I think. In world cups (possibly the euro's?), do bookings get wiped out at the start of the next stage of the tournament?.....or is that a thing of the past....?...or maybe I just dreamt it?!

You are right and I remember this even implemented in this past World Cup however a player can still miss a final by receiving 2 yellows or a red in the semi final. The abolish those cards just before semi final kick off.

No one has 'unlimited funds', and the transfer window just means they have to cram their signings into a short space of time - it doesn't restrict how many they can buy or how much they can spend. Look at it another way, if a club is in financial poo and have a valuable assett, why shouldn't they be allowed to sell him if it means avoiding administration and ensuring that the other staff get paid?
The january window creates panic, overly priced transfers and instability. Furthermore, what if a player is really unhappy - why should he and his family not be able to move or play for 6 months?

I really can't see any advantage of the transfer window system.

I actually have no problem with any of this. Referees are human and therefore make mistakes - I think everyone accepts this. Which is why the referral system should work, because a) they get to see it all in slow motion, and b) it's the 4th official who is making the call. There should obviously be no ability to "challenge a successful challenge". It takes less time than people think, and is there to assist the referees, not to show them up for fools (they do that enough as it is). The alternative is to have more officials watching the penalty area, but that could be a problem in terms of logistics.

Yeah, the slate is wiped clean in a few competitions. I think in the PL yellows are wiped clean around January and in the CL, they're wiped clean after the group stages. That still leaves 6 (or is it 8?) more matches before the final arrives. It only takes 2 bookings for a suspension. One player could get booked in the first knockout game, go 4 games without a booking, then get booked in the semi 2nd leg and miss the final. On the other side a player can get booked in his first 2 knockout games, serve a suspension, come back and get booked in another 2 games (4 yellows altogether in the knockouts), serve a suspension, and then be eligable for the final. It just doesn't seem completely fair.

Thanks Stanley, I just might do that. Obviously there's a slim chance it will even be read, but what harm could it do, eh?

I think the main justification for the transfer window is that it prevents teams from poaching their rival's players. Not "rivals" in the sense of us and Everton, but in the sense of rivals for 4th, rivals in the relegation battle, whatever. You can imagine how unfair it would be if Abaramovich could just say "Alright, Cisse, you've been doing Newcastle a world of good and it looks like you'll probably fire them into 4th ahead of us. So I'll be having you, Cabaye, and Ba as well." Now, I'm not sure I agree with this justification. Before there were transfer windows, that sort of poaching was extremely rare. But then again, there was arguably more player loyalty back then, and there was certainly less money about.

I agree AOA. That last sentence of yours is very true. Less loyalty and say Man city came in and doubled your wages to do the same thing would you seriously think twice? I think its a recipe for disaster especially with those emerging rich clubs.

transfer window need to stay or else there will be no football and only speculation and negotiations..

I hate the way the players carry in hysterically like they've been shot after a decent tackle! This tactic by the players to draw cards against opposition should be penalized because it's a massive blight on the game and looks fvcking pathetic! These hystrionics should be rewarded with a yellow card or even a red one to stamp it out!!

I'm up for decisions to be reviewed at the time of the incident for calls in the box. Many times it's been proven that a penalty has been rewarded incorrectly. It wouldn't take any less time than it takes for the player rolling around te ground dying to get up which generally causes a decent delay!

Goal technology is another one that should come in a well.

Leave the transfer window too because as someone else said it gives a short period to improve the squad if needed but then it's over and the speculations can lay dormant until the summer.

Without transfer windows the rich clubs could just buy themselves out of trouble, and the poor clubs would suffer. We'd quickly turn into La Liga or the SPL with a couple of teams buying all the trophies every year. If anything there should be a cap on spending to help restore parity between the teams.

Diving is annoying but a six month ban would cause mayhem - with all the cases going to endless appeals and perhaps even civil courts. In many cases you just can't prove the player dived... even if it looks like they did. Referee decisions would become more and more political and most strikers in the league would be banned after a few weeks.

Regarding celebrations... some of them are very silly but do you really want to take all the personality out of the game and have all players identical? At least most football goal celebrations are good natured and celebratory... not like the NFL where they spike the ball in the opposition's face and do the tough guy stuff. Or the NBA where everybody has to show gangsta 'street cred' all the time. The boots are a bit annoying too... and I wonder if it affects keepers and tackling defenders when you're up against some bright neon boots. I could see FIFA clamping down on the colour choices at some point... hopefully it's just a fad.

Defo penalty area officials for ball crossing line and penalty claims.