PUT FOOTBALL BACK IN ITS BOX.

Why is it that John Terry being 'stripped' of the captaincy of the England football team is considered of such importance that it is headline news ?

Being captain of a football team seems to have very little real significance these days, with every important decision being made by the manager and his assistants. Terry has previously 'lost' the captaincy for misdemeanours of some sort that I can no longer recall; whether or not he is a good captain, he has 'previous'.

It appears that being captain of the England football team carries a particular kudos and is a status to be protected both by the appointee and those who appointed him. Surely, it is the reputation of the game that needs protecting, not that of any specific player. Regardless, being captain of any national team is not quite the same as being Prime Minister; it is of very little consequence outside of the sport concerned.

I really couldn't care less who is captain of the England football team, cricket team, rugby team or marbles team; what I want to see is a team that has some ability and spirit, led by someone who truly believes in sporting principles and, preferably, has half a brain and is able to lead his or her side in a meaningful way.

Football has become a national obsession and all else has been pushed to one side. The world, in England, stops for football; every word of the England captain or manager is recorded, analyzed and repeated, ver batim, and ad nauseam. Indeed, it has become such an obsession that vast acres of the national media will be wasted on discussing the matter tomorrow.

Is it not time that we put sport back where it belongs, on the back rather than the front pages ? Sadly, our political masters seem to believe that sport is a great way to garner support and the forthcoming abomination of the Olympics is a prime example. Will the sane people ever be able to regain control of the asylum ?

MURRAY SECOND-BEST, AGAIN.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Poor old Andy Murray has come up short again, admittedly over 5 sets but short is short. His Australian Open is over for another year, having not even reached the final this time.

Murray may be unlucky in that he is playing in an era of supremely talented players, as some commentators suggest, but this excuse could have been used by any number of 'nearly-men' over the decades. What of those who had to compete against Laver and Rosewall, Newcombe, Connors, Borg and McEnroe, Edberg and Becker, Sampras and so on ?

On court on Friday, Murray looked a mess. His generally scruffy appearance does not encourage confidence and his demeanour likewise; his swings of humour surely cannot help his concentraion. During the second set, his opponent, the hugely talented, and far better presented, Novak Djokovic, seemed to be heading for an early bath as he exhibited clear signs of some form of debility - whether he was injured, tired, ill or simply playing 'rope-a-dope' as suggested by the BBC's inane commentators does not really matter. What does matter is that even when clearly not as his best, Djokovic still had enough talent and determination to see off the erratic and temperamental Scot.

Some 'experts' claim to have taken heart from Murray's latest defeat, suggesting that the length of the match indicates that he has significantly closed the gap to the 'Big 3'. Poppycock. When it comes to 'Grand Slams', he is distinctly 4th best; in 3 finals, he has yet to win a set, while yesterday's loss was to a man who was most definitely less than 100% fit. It seems inevitable that Murray will find it increasingly difficult to maintain his world ranking as the next generation comes up. Although Federer has undoubtedly seen his best days, Nadal and Djokovic seem certain to stay as the top 2 for some time to come; Tsonga is knocking on the door and Del Potro may yet return to his best. Whether Murray will ever win a 'Grand Slam' has to be highly debatable.

None of this is to decry Murray's undoubted talent, nor his acievements to date, but the way in which the British media continually overplays these achievements does him no service. He is the best player these islands have produced since the far-off days of Fred Perry and, given the enormous changes in the game over the intervening years, he is probably our best player ever but he is not a real winner. His talent is not as great as that of his principal rivals and his mental attitude does not bear comparison; it may be that addressing the second may help him to improve the first, but that, too, is debatable. Can Ivan Lendl, his new mentor, sort him out ? Who knows !

What is sure is that Murray is unlikely to make any sort of breakthrough at the French Open while the manic expectations of the British press make Wimbledon success even more difficult than it would otherwise be. Might he have a serious chance in the US in the autumn ? Maybe, if Lendl can work some magic, but he'll still have to find a way passed Nadal and Djokovic and, quite probably, Tsonga, Del Potro, and Ferrer as well as numerous 'up-and-comers'; and there's Federer, of course, as always. I suggest not holding one's breath.

PAKISTAN SPINNERS TRASH ENGLAND.

The total humiliation of the English cricket team in their latest match against Pakistan has to be a new low-point in English sport.

The performance of the batsmen, confronted by a couple of decent spinners, was pathetic and showed just how lacking in real ability most of them are. Put them on a flat, beautifully true English wicket against a myriad of mediocre seamers and they score heavily; send them in on a slightly less perfect wicket against bowlers who have a trifle more skill and they simply have no idea of what to do.

Today's almost microscopic second innings total of 72, when needing just 145 for victory, was shocking. That 9 of the batsmen contributed a mere 13 to that total between them shows a degree of ineptitude that takes some explaining. Playing back to a turning ball is rarely a good idea; leaving large gaps between bat and pad likewise, and yet our 'supermen' did just this with gay abandon. Added to the regular habit of several of swishing at deliveries outside of the wicket, and we have a recipe for disaster.

There remains one more match against Pakistan for the team to redeem some of its lost pride but hopes cannot be high. After that, it will be off to Sri Lanka for 3 more Tests on similar wickets, followed by competitions against the West Indies and South Africa in England and a trip to India next winter.

What price they retain their current' No 1' ranking ? What price Andrew Strauss will still be captain in India ?

ENGLISH CRICKET WILTS IN THE SUN.

England's vaunted cricket team have been brought crashing back to earth, with a crushing defeat against Pakistan in Dubai. Watching some of this event made one realise what a load of rubbish the English media spout when it comes to our assorted sports' teams.

How England have ever been rated as the number 1 cricket team is a mystery known only to the goons who work out the ratings. England's players are a bunch of decent players, none of whom are probably of real world class; that, of course, is not what the media say and part of the problem is that the players have believed their own press. They strut around as if they are the best thing since sliced bread, while performing like a bunch of amateurs.

The first innings performance was shocking. Having won the toss and batted on a wicket universally acknowledged to be benign, they collapsed in disorder; placing the blame on lack of recent cricket simply doesn't hold water. They were hopeless and horribly shown up by a bowler, Ajmal, who was simply out of their league. When the Pakistanis batted, they quickly showed that the wicket held few terrors even though England's bowlers performed more than creditably. In fact, it was only the bowlers who kept England in touch at all.

Second time around, England's batsmen were probably even worse than before. For both openers to be caught behind flicking at balls down the leg-side showed a naievty and unpreparedness for Test Cricket bordering upon the unbelievable; when Kevin Pieterson then managed to be caught near the mid-wicket boundary, playing a shot of terrifying recklessness, the game was up. Ian Bell was a shade unlucky to be trapped in front by a bit of a shooter, but Jonathan Trott, having played a well controlled innings, made an injudicious swish at a widish one to produce another 'caught behind'. Graeme Swann was incredibly lucky to survive a clear 'leg before' only after the umpires questioned the legality of Gul's delivery, but did go on to provide the only other real resistance with an innings of 39. Nonetheless, this 'great' side only just avoided an innings defeat.

The truth is that England's batsmen play so little cricket that they are never ready for a Test Match. The only first class cricket any of them play, other than the Tests, is the rare appearance for their county team; other than this, they play a vast amount of one day 'crash, bang, wallop' stuff, which is no preparation for a 5 day match. In any case, most of the batsmen lack the the technique and application necessary for 5 day cricket against good opposition; they are far to prone to flashing outside the off (or leg) stump, too eager to have a mad swish regardless of the situation, and are easily undone by a half-decent spinner. The bowlers are probably a better bunch, though whether they're as good as we're told, is a different matter. What is undoubtedly true is that the team, as a whole, is nothing like as good as the media would have us believe.

Sadly, there is little chance of there being any significant change in the make up of the team in the immediate future. Strauss will remain captain even though he has done nothing to deserve his place in the last couple of years. Pieterson, a good batsman when things go his way, is a loose canon we can ill afford, while Morgan has never really done anything of note at Test level. Bell has had his moments but lacks consistency and Tremlett is of questionable quality. This side needs an influx of new players of genuine calibre, but where are they to come from ? The current organisation of cricket in England does nothing to develop Test class players and until it does, we are doomed to days such as the England team experienced today.

TIME FOR RFU TO SHOULDER RESPONSIBILITY.

It appears that the investigation into the dismal performance of the England team in the recent Rugby World Cup has determined that a number of the players were effectively out of control and more interested in their pay than anything else. By implication, manager Martin Johnson, now departed, must have been ineffective and has also been criticised.

Where the ultimate blame should rest is unclear but it is clear that the Rugby Football Union has failed quite miserably to establish a framework within which English rugby can flourish. Martin Johnson and his players were at the sharp end and obviously failed to deliver, but what of those behind and above them ? If the RFU wants to put its house in order it will have to take a long, hard look at itself as well as throwing stones at others, something which history suggests will not happen.

AWESOME FEDERER STILL A FORCE

As Andy Murray, our perennial nearly-man, makes yet another early exit from a major tournament, the seemingly ageless Roger Federer storms on.

Federer's ruthless demolition of Rafael Nadal in the World Tour Finals yesterday demonstrated just how wrong are those who've written him off as a major force in world tennis. He may not be the player he was 5 years ago but he's en-route to a return to the top 3 ranking, overtaking the hapless Murray, by the end of the season.

Whether or not Federer ever wins another Grand Slam event, he has been an awesome presence in the sport for a decade and no one can ignore the continued threat that he presents. What price for him to win the Australian Open in January ?

WHOOPEE ! ENGLAND TO WIN WORLD CUP !

So, the English football team has won a couple of matches including one against the current world champions, Spain. This seems to be real headline news and, no doubt, will encourage die-hard supporters to believe in the impossible dream, that England will win the next World Cup tournament.

Of course, these matches were friendlies and have no relevance in the real world of true competition. What little I saw of the games told me that England were pretty much as toothless as they've now been for 15 or 20 years, and that their opponents weren't terribly interested in playing at all.

The sad truth is that the top English clubs have no interest in developing home-grown players when they can import ready-made foreigners to help them win leagues, cups and whatever. Our domestic league may be the best in the world, but it's built on foreign talent; when it comes to putting a national squad on the field, it's a very different matter. How many of England's current squad would even be considered for a place in a World XI, let alone actually get in to one ?

The chances of England winning the next World Cup are next to nil. They may progress through the 'Group stage' but once they have to compete against real talent, it'll be curtains. They aren't good enough and never will be until we stop treating third rate players like superstars, stop lauding their every 'near miss', and 'unlucky shot', and stop paying them ludicrous amounts of money for playing a childrens' game.