Agent’s column: Rashford was wrong to party, Saudi World Cup was obvious, addicted footballers must be helped, 3pm blackout must remain and influencers are here to stay

In his fortnightly exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jon Smith, one of football’s first-ever agents and a man who was an integral figure in the forming of the Premier League, discusses his support of players with addiction, why Marcus Rashford was wrong to party after the Manchester derby, why a Saudi Arabian World Cup wasn’t a surprise – and more!

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It’s important that the Premier League retain the Saturday 3pm blackout

There’s so many devices out there which means that you can now watch live football at three o’clock anywhere in the world nowadays if you want to subscribe to them.

For example, I could watch live Premier League football out of Saudi Arabia or Qatar or wherever it might be, and that’s already beginning to have an effect not just on TV subscriptions but also on some of the lesser exciting fixtures, with respect, on a Saturday.

I know that the Premier League are doing a lot to counter this at the moment as are most broadcasters, because it’s important to protect the live crowd involvement at matches.

If there was the option to have 3pm Saturday games televised, those supporters from their mid-20s upwards, that have families or are just married, will record it, watch it later, go shopping with the missus to get a few brownie points…. There’ll potentially be a big number that won’t then go to a game, so yes, it’s vital the blackout remains otherwise, potentially, you’ll have half empty stadia.

I was at Watford the other day and they were playing Millwall whose contingent was so noisy that it really made for a better game.

Influencers like IShowSpeed are here to stay

Regardless of what we want, influencers are the way forward simply because of the enormous reach. ‘Fan TV’ audiences are massive and if you gross them