J in Cardiff: Good morning, Phil. I was wondering what was your view on retrospective punishments for diving and bad behaviour towards the officials? If we're serious about the top level being role models surely this is a good way to stamp it out. Maybe starting with a warning first, before taking action?

Phil: All for this. I think it is an area well worth looking at and we have seen this with clubs being punished for failing to control their players. Diving is another one. Players who are guilty of this could, and should be retrospectively punished if it is a clear case but it would have to be a clear case.

Rory Smith
Chief Soccer Correspondent for The New York Times

I saw Edson Alvarez play for Ajax and really liked him. I was surprised he wasn’t one of the first names mentioned whenever one of the ‘big six’ were looking for a defensive midfielder. You look at him and he is defensive but understood the way Ajax played and that is how most of those teams want to play.

Rory Smith
Chief Soccer Correspondent for The New York Times

BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club discussed Mohammed Kudus' impressive season so far for West Ham, with Gonzo from Hammers Chat saying the winger "seems to be perfectly-suited to the Premier League".

Listen to The Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

West Ham United

West Ham assistant manager Billy McKinlay on the squad “The likes of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez and Jarrod Bowen have received support from the rest of the players.

“They are obviously terrific players in their own right and we’re delighted they’re here and they’re supported by another group of players who are also doing the job well and support each other as it goes.

“We’re delighted we’ve got them and the supporters are happy they’re playing well, so long may it continue.”

West Ham United

West Ham assistant manager Billy McKinlay on being characterised as a ‘cup team’: “I think that’s a positive thing.

“I think that the fact we’ve finished seventh and sixth in recent years suggests we’re also a ‘good league team’ as well, so if we can marry the two we can come up with that we’re not a bad team.

“We’ve still got work to do and things to improve, but I think over the last two-and-a-half years that we’ve shown that we’re a decent team capable of winning games and going deep into competitions, so we’ve got confidence from that and Wednesday will be another big game.”

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham United

West Ham assistant manager Billy McKinlay on Liverpool: “They’ve got a terrific manager and a really good, talented squad of players who have had good success over the past few years.

“Going to Anfield is going to be difficult, as it always is, but it’s the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and a big game for everybody associated with the club, so hopefully we can go and put in a good performance and the right result.”

West Ham United

West Ham assistant manager Billy McKinlay says their recent form has increased confidence as they prepare to travel to Liverpool for their Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday: “There is confidence because I think we’ve had a decent run over the last eight or nine games.

“In the last two games in particular we’ve put in good performances. We followed up Freiburg with obviously a good performance in the win against Wolves, which was always a tough game, so we’re in a good place in a busy period.

“You’ve just got to keep going as the football is relentless. The level of success brings that, the amount of games, the level of games, the quality of the opposition, so we’re enjoying that.

“We’re rising to the challenge, hopefully, so we need to keep working hard, keep our feet on the ground and keep going, and that’s what we’ll do.”

West Ham United

Slightly later than expected, but better late than never. We've heard from West Ham assistant coach Billy McKinlay in the build-up to Wednesday's EFL Cup quarter-final at Liverpool.

West Ham have lost their last four meetings with the Reds and you have to go all the way back to 2015 for the last time they picked up a win at Anfield.

Here is what McKinlay has had to say...

Lawrence - Ipswich fan in Germany: Ipswich are finally flying high again after many a year, do you think we can sustain this and go up automatically? Do you think Leeds/Saints will catch us? If we do get promoted, do you think we could do a better job than the three that went up this season?

Phil: Morning Lawrence. I see no reason why Ipswich Town cannot sustain their form but the test will come as pressure grows, expectation increases and the big prize comes into sight. Leeds United and Southampton will be serious contenders but what we can say with certain is that manager Kieran McKenna is calm, composed and has done an outstanding job. Ipswich are an extremely attractive side with a great opportunity to reach the Premier League.

As for next season. Who knows? Let’s see what this season brings first.

@daveatmosshill on X: Atmosphere at Anfield Phil, is it being ruined by too many tourist fans? I understand the club’s business model but I think we are now paying the price for 25k-plus random fans turning up each week.

Phil: I’ve not actually been to Anfield too often this season, Dave, although back on Saturday, so it would be a little unfair for me to comment overall.

What I can say is that this is something that has been drawn to my attention by a lot of Liverpool fans and I did think the atmosphere was pretty subdued for a game between Liverpool and Manchester United on Sunday.

This may have been because the game wasn’t very good and maybe some frustration from Liverpool’s fans that they could not break the deadlock.

Lionel Messi has a date to face his childhood club Newell's Old Boys.

Inter Miami will host the Argentine club in a pre-season friendly on 15 February.

Messi joined Barcelona's La Masia academy when he was 13, but prior to that he had been part of the youth ranks at his local club, Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, Argentina.

Since leaving, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has gone on to have a glittering career, winning almost everything there is to win in football, including last year's World Cup in Qatar.

February's friendly in Miami will be the first time that the 36-year-old has played against the team where it all started for him.

Image source, Getty Images

The Monday Night Club discussed the similarities between Aston Villa this season and Leicester City in their title-winning campaign.

Unai Emery's side have currently got the same number of points that the Foxes had at this stage of the season when they lifted the trophy.

Villa have the potential to become only the second club [after Leicester] outside the top six to be top at Christmas in 20 years.

Rory Smith said 2015-16 was a year when the usual title challengers were "misfiring" and he thinks the same could be said for this season, adding: "There is a genuine opportunity for Villa to potentially go all the way."

Listen to The Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Aaron P: Is it right that Steve Cooper seems to be under such pressure at Nottingham Forest?

Phil: Hi Aaron, I think Steve Cooper has done a superb job at The City Ground and will be remembered for that forever for Forest fans. The logical answer is to be patient with someone who clearly knows what he is doing and hope he gets it right. It is clear supporters don’t want him sacked.

The problem is that the financial blow of going out of the Premier League is huge and that makes owners jittery, meaning owner Evangelos Marinakis will feel the heat, especially after spending so much money – meaning Cooper will be fighting to keep his job.

The other question is who would actually do better than Cooper. It’s a very big decision.

Jay: Has there been any indication that any other club will be subject to a review of Premier League by an independent commission this season, are the investigations into City and Chelsea going to drag on until everyone has forgotten about them?

Phil: Not yet. And I think we can rest assured no-one will forget about any potential investigations/ investigations into clubs. Especially Everton fans after the 10-point deduction imposed on them.

Rory Smith, football correspondent for the New York Times, on the Monday Night Club: "It is weird to say because of their 10-point deduction but it has been a positive season for Everton. The results didn’t come quickly; I think that sense of siege mentality has really worked for them.

What impresses me most about Sean Dyche is his work with individual players. You look at someone like [Vitaly] Mykolenko, he looked decent but was drifting a bit. He looks superb. There is a culture war element with Dyche, but he is really good at improving footballers.

Former Everton midfielder Izzy Christiansen said "the turnaround is incredible" and "it feels like things have turned a corner". She says the club is only moving in one direction "and that is upwards".

Image source, Reuters

Former Arsenal midfielder Jill Roord joined Manchester City in the summer and has hit the ground running in the first half of the season.

The Netherlands international has six goals and two assists in 10 WSL appearances, contributing in vital wins against Manchester United and Leicester City.

"I'm very happy here and I've enjoyed being at Manchester City with the way we play, the league and the teams we play. It's gone OK so far," said Roord.

"Obviously there are always things to improve on. I think I've settled quite well and it didn't take me super long to play my own game.

"Women's football in general has developed so much [since I was last in the WSL]. It's not just Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City fighting for the title, and almost every week you have tough games. It wasn't always like that."

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City midfielder Jill Roord says "everything is possible" in the Women's Super League title race after ending the year with victory over Everton.

It leaves City second in the table, three points behind leaders Chelsea after 10 matches in a 22-game season.

City finished fourth on goal difference last season as Chelsea wrapped up a fourth successive WSL title.

"I personally don't like to look at the other teams," said Roord.

"I think we need to look at our own games. We have some time off which is good for everybody. We are in a very good place."

Image source, Getty Images

The Arnold Clark Cup will not take place in 2024 because of a clash in the calendar with the inaugural Uefa Women's Nations League finals.

England have won the Arnold Clark Cup - an invitational tournament featuring four nations - in each of the two editions, in 2022 and 2023.

Held in February, it featured teams ranked in the world's top 20.

The Nations League finals starts on 23 February next year with Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands involved.

England, who are the reigning European champions, did not qualify after finishing behind the Netherlands in their group.

Both editions of the Arnold Clark Cup were hosted by England, with games taking place across the country.

Victoria Gaskin, Wirral: Did you think it was fair for Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag to be criticised for their approach at Anfield on Sunday?

Phil: They will get no criticism from me, Victoria. What were they supposed to do? Open up and play the sort of game Liverpool would love and then pretty much guarantee they would lose? Nonsense.

I’ve been a big critic of United this season and they have been an easy target at times but I thought they battled really hard, showed resilience and demonstrated they were playing for their manager. They will be very satisfied with that point.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport

Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek is in Germany to complete a loan move to Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Dutchman, 26, was on the bench for the Red Devils’ draw at Liverpool last weekend.

The deal cannot be completed until the transfer window opens on 1 January..