Melissa Reddy

Indeed, joined by Melissa Reddy to hear about her views on the hydration break.

It's convenient that they somewhat echo mine, Melissa.

But I think what I find most staggering about it is that it is just quite literally a change in the structure of football matches.

And there's a lot of people who seem quite determined to shrug their shoulders about it.

But when you see how coaches have responded to it, how coaches have spoken about it themselves, I just think that we're now a lot closer to four quarters than we are to two halves.

And also players themselves working it out, Mel.

And that's something else.

If a coach can get over and say, you need to change this, you need to change this, obviously all the time coaches are trying to put messages on from the sidelines.

But there's a lot to be said for players themselves sometimes do have to realise, no, hang on, the plan as the plan is, is not working entirely perfectly if we do this or this differently.

But if you've suddenly got a coach inserting himself and being able to do that, it removes that aspect from the game too.

There's, in the laws, there's allowances for three-minute breaks for cooling periods.

So no one's had to actually go through the process here that is often gone through in order to make some sort of key structural change within football.

Because theoretically, at least, allowing for, in certain conditions, three-minute cooling periods was already there.

But the thing that strikes me about this is it has been done effectively without consultation, without trial, without there being a feedback to that process of, does the game feel different when you're watching it?

Are you conscious that it's going to move towards the 22-minute, 23-minute mark and something's going to change?

Can you see that in the players?

And I feel as though...

To me, it is striking that it is such a bending of, well, it's not a change in the law, so therefore it doesn't make a big difference when it's about as key a structural shift as I think you could imagine there being within the game.

And that feels like a huge overreach to me.

And it's just a cool and break.