Ten things GOAL wants for Christmas this year: From more Jude Bellingham brilliance to a trophy for Harry Kane

VAR is a divisive topic, but at this stage, we can all probably agree on one thing: it's not made the game any better. On the contrary, it's actually made it worse from a spectator's perspective. Rulings take far too long and, worse still, remain maddeningly inconsistent.

The technology is not to blame here, of course. Used correctly, and in the right context, it can work wonderfully well. For example, despite some very, very rare malfunctions, goal-line technology has been a welcome and seamless addition to the sport.

But such calls are black and white (and are made instantaneously). It's when you get into grey areas that VAR becomes a farce. Nobody really has any idea what a 'clear and obvious error' because some decisions prompt interventions, while seemingly identical episodes do not. And why? Because the rule-makers have made a mess of things.

It's an absolute nightmare for the poor referees because there is no clarity, only confusion, resulting in different officials having different interpretations of the same laws. Handball decisions vary from week to week!

There is, of course, no chance of ever completely removing the element of human error from football. But VAR should have made the decision-making process easier for officials. Unfortunately, it's only complicated matters.

Making the technology faster and more efficient would definitely help, but it's time to get rid of VAR until the powers that be figure out how to use it in such a way that it will aid the running of a game, rather than completely ruining its flow.

British broadcasters like to tell us on a regular basis that the Premier League is the best league in the world, because it is supposedly the most competitive league in the world. That's not remotely true, of course - Manchester City have won five of the past six titles and are presently bidding to become the first club to win four in a row - but it's an easier sell this season, with arguably five teams challenging for top spot, and all of the leading contenders have been dropping points against the so-called 'smaller sides' on a regular basis.

However, the fear is that fifth-placed City will once again run away with the league. After all, Pep Guardiola's men are not just renowned for coming good in the second half of the season; they have a habit of attaining perfection, making it impossible for even great teams to finish first (just ask Jurgen Klopp, who may have won one title with Liverpool - but lost two others by a solitary point).

So, while there is little evidence to suggest that the Premier League is losing its global appeal - just look at the size of the most recent overseas TV rights deal - it is in very real danger of becoming predictable. After all, it's hard to get on board with the idea that a championship is competitive if the same side wins every year.

So, while a new winner is probably too much to hope for, we'd settle for the refreshing sight of at least one unfamiliar face taking the title race right to the wire.

Pressure, what pressure? Jude Bellingham had plenty to prove after Real Madrid handed over €103 million to sign the Englishman from Borussia Dortmund during the summer - and yet he's made playing in front of arguably the most demanding fans in football look ridiculously easy.

Indeed, Bellingham, who is now mobbed every time he steps out in Spanish capital, looks like he was born to play for Madrid, with the 20-year-old smashing goalscoring records at Santiago Bernabeu previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo - and he's not even a forward.

Bearing witness to the emergence of a bona fide superstar is always a thrilling experience, so even if one is horrified by the thought of Madrid winning yet another Champions League - or England triumphing at the Euros - all neutrals should be hoping that a damaged shoulder doesn't get in the way of more Bellingham brilliance in 2024.

Harry Kane could have won a trophy in his first game as a Bayern Munich player, but the Bavarians were sensationally upset by RB Leipzig in the season-opening DFL-Supercup. Online trolls were unsurprisingly quick to stick the boot into the England captain, arguing that while you can take the player out of Tottenham, you couldn't take Tottenham out of the player.

However, the idea that Kane is somehow 'Spursy' has been obliterated during a record-breaking start to his time in Germany. Nobody is doing more to ensure that Bayern put themselves in a position to win another Bundesliga title, with the striker having already scored 20 times in just 14 outings, while he has also netted four times in the Champions League.

If Kane manages to maintain his remarkable strike-rate for club and country, not even the trolls could claim that this world-class No.9 wouldn't deserve to end his agonising trophy drought in 2024.

There's no hiding the fact that football is in a very dark place. Money has corrupted nearly every aspect of the game. We need all the feel-good stories we can get right now, so thank the heavens for the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa and Girona.

Indeed, Xabi Alonso might just be able to help Bayer finally banish the 'Neverkusen' tag, with his team incredibly top of the Bundesliga, while in Birmingham Unai Emery has overseen one of the most remarkable transformations in Premier League history by taking a team in utter disarray under Steven Gerrard and turning them into legitimate title contenders. As for Michel's Girona, they may be owned by the City Football Group, but the fact that they sit joint-top of La Liga is nonetheless astounding.

All three have provided us with a timely reminder that it's still possible to upset the big boys with the right coach calling the shots. Long may it continue!

Enough is enough! The time has come for Kylian Mbappe to make a decision one way or another: either commit his future to Paris Saint-Germain or finally sign for Real Madrid. In truth, from a neutral perspective, it really doesn't matter what he does. All that matters is that the most painfully protracted transfer saga in football history finally comes to an end in 2024.

The problem obviously isn't that he's repeatedly made fools out of two of the most powerful presidents in club football, in Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Florentino Perez; it's that he's bored the rest of us to tears while doing so.

The seemingly never-ending power play has to stop because it's become a dreadful distraction from a truly generational talent. We now spend more time analysing Mbappe's demeanour than his displays. Seriously, enough is enough!

The most shocking thing about referee Halil Umut Muler being attacked by Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca - and several other people - was that it wasn't the least bit surprising. It had been coming. In fact, it was just the latest in a series of shocking assaults on match officials, as Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, was at pains to point out.

"The image of Halil Umut lying on the ground, with his hands protecting his head while he was kicked by his attackers, as well as the image of the bruise under his eye, are horrific," the Italian said in a statement. "But even more horrific is the knowledge that there are thousands of referees around the world who are verbally and physically abused at lower levels of the game across the world, without being reported by the media."

Collina had only claimed the month before that the abuse of referees is a "cancer" that may kill football if not adequately addressed and he's not wrong. The situation has long since turned toxic. Roberto De Zerbi has even admitted that he doesn't like 80 percent of referees, while Jose Mourinho has taken to waiting around in car parks to abuse officials.

Something clearly has to be done, and everyone has a role to play: players, coaches, clubs, and the media. But it has to start with a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of dissent and disrespect. Physical assaults are the inevitable result of verbal abuse being tolerated for years and years, which is, to use Mourinho's words, "a f*cking disgrace".

Gio Reyna has a big decision to make. In Borussia Dortmund, he's playing for one of the best clubs in the world in terms of nurturing young talent. BVB are also through to the last 16 of the Champions League and in with a serious chance of making the quarter-finals, after being rewarded with a winnable tie against PSV for winning the tournament's 'Group of of Death'.

However, one wonders if Reyna would be happier in Eindhoven than Dortmund right now. His USMNT team-mate Sergino Dest recently admitted that he felt compelled to take "one step back to take two step forwards" by joining PSV from Barcelona this summer after a loan spell at another European heavyweight, AC Milan. Reyna might be tempted to make a similar move.

The No.10 saw just 20 minutes of action in the group stage of the Champions League and coach Edin Terzic has admitted that the American is behind Julian Brandt and Marco Reus in the pecking order at Signal Iduna Park, meaning the time might be right to push for a transfer.

Reyna's temperament may have been called into question in the past, but his talent is beyond dispute, so it would be a shame to see the 21-year-old waste it by staying somewhere he's no longer guaranteed game time at this crucial stage of his career.

Ilkay Gundogan felt compelled to point out that in comparison to the aborted plans for a proposed Super League, the revamped Champions League is little more than "the lesser of two evils". "More and more matches," the midfielder pointed out, "is nobody thinking of us players?" The answer is obviously no - at least among the game's major powerbrokers.

The schedule is taking a clear and obvious toll on top teams. To cite just two cases, in the past couple of years, both Liverpool and Manchester United have suffered dramatic dips in form - and serious injury crises - after playing more than 60 times the season before. United defender Raphael Varane even admitted after quitting international football in February while still only 29, "We have overloaded schedules and play non-stop. I feel like I'm suffocating."

The players are only going to continue to suffer, though, because it's not just the Champions League that's going to get bigger, there's also the World Cup and the Club World Cup. We all know why, of course. More games means more money. But it also means more injuries. So, while the quantity of matches will increase, the quality of play is destined to decrease.

Speaking ahead of the 2023 Club World Cup on Monday, Manchester City's Bernardo Silva pointed out that the players hadn't been consulted over the tournament's expansion in two years' time and admitted, "I'm not going to lie, sometimes I feel tired." The problem is, though, nobody cares. Player welfare should be a priority for football's governing bodies but it's clearly not given a second thought.

Right now, UEFA and FIFA seem more interested in winning an ugly war with the European Super League (ESL) for control of the once-beautiful game, which leads nicely onto our final wish...

The table doesn't lie is one of the game's oldest sayings but that's not strictly true anymore. At the very least, the standings can no longer be relied upon to tell the whole story.

Last season in Serie A, Juventus were hit with a 15-point penalty for breaching financial regulations, had it rescinded on appeal, but ended up having to accept a 10-point deduction that saw them finish fifth rather than third. It was a ridiculous situation, but in this era of greater scrutiny of clubs' finances, one that could well repeat itself in the Premier League.

Everton have already been hit with a 10-point penalty that they now plan to appeal, while we are still waiting to see whether any charges will be brought against Chelsea for Roman Abramovich's tenure.

And as for Manchester City, who have won seven English titles since 2012, they still stand accused of breaching 115 of the Premier League's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, and a final ruling might not arrive before 2025.

We can but pray, then, for a speedy resolution to all of these outstanding court cases and those found guilty of wrongdoing are properly punished - because the constant speculation and sniping is doing nobody any favours. If we can't even trust the table anymore, we really are in trouble.