I had an orgy this weekend. Wait, there was no sex involved?

Bank Holidays are a fabulous British invention. I say British, even though those unfortunate enough to reside north of Hadrian's wall miss out on these fantastic events. All that happens really is everyone gets an extra day off, although why we have Monday as opposed to Friday off baffles me. Anyway, these great occasions not only provide the perfect opportunity to overpopulate motorways, but are suitable times to hold music festivals such as Reading & Leeds and Creamfields. I rather enjoyed Elbow's performance at Reading and if the weather had been slightly better, I'd have been seriously gutted to miss out on going. But as it goes, there was plenty to keep me occupied whilst not being fortunate enough to be trudging through fields of mud this weekend, in the form of a sporting orgy.

Athletics

My first port of call was the World Athletics Championships in the Korean city of Daegu, which is disappointingly being broadcast by Channel 4 with The Gadget Show's Ortis Deley struggling in his role as main presenter. Luckily, Michael Johnson and Iwan Thomas offer some respite from the fiddly gadget reviewer's dulcet tones with frequent expert insight and analysis - not least offering a balanced, critical view on Oscar Pistorius' involvement in the able-bodied competition.

Johnson noted that Pistorius' prosthetics allow an exemption from fatigue in the lower leg muscles, which is a serious problem for able-bodied athletes who struggle to maintain optimal dorsiflexion in the latter stages of a race. The controversial debate unfortunately drew attention away from one of GB's Loughborough-based athletes, Martyn Rooney, who was one of the men in the historic race alongside the Blade Runner. Shades fanatic Rooney ran well to get into the semis but never looked in serious contention for a final place this year.

One thing Rooney did well to avoid was a red flag. A main talking point of the championships so far has been the false-start rule, that has claimed many victims already - not least the fastest man ever to walk the planet, Usain Bolt. The charismatic chicken nuggets addict left onlookers around the world stunned when he jumped the gun in a race that was quite literally his to lose. British runners Dwain Chambers and Christine Ohuruogu also fell foul of the one-strike-and-you're-out rule that has received much criticism this weekend.

My views on the rule are mixed. Whilst I am a firm believer that trying to second-guess the gun is cheating, I sympathise with athletes who are anticipating the biggest race of their life, and have to deal with crowd noises when tensely waiting for the sound of the gun. After all, we've all been premature when highly aroused, haven't we? (Yes, I did just say that). My biggest concern with the rule is that TV schedules and sponsors should not have any influence - the fairest system must be found, but one that doesn't allow for the frustrating persistent false starts that we used to get. I can't see a better alternative to the current rule, even though it means we occasionally miss out on seeing the best athletes in the world do what they do best.

Cricket
Saturday also saw me flicking onto T20 finals day at Edgbaston, where my local Lancashire crashed out in the first game of the day. Both semis went to a super over decider in a rain-interrupted day that eventually saw Leicestershire Foxes ease their financial woes with a fantastic victory in the shortest version of the game. The victory was also a fitting end to veteran Paul Nixon's county career.

Rugby
Martin Johnson's England finished preparation for next month's world cup in New Zealand with a comfortable 20-9 victory over Ireland in the stunning Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The victory will give the squad a morale boost before heading down under, something that cannot be said for the Irish side, who suffered 4 straight defeats in their preparation. My hunch is that neither side will be serious contenders for the world title, but England always seem to defy the odds when it matters most so don't rule them out. Maybe those prima donna footballers that wear the three lions could learn something from our egg chasers.

In Rugby league, Wigan Warriors won their first silverware of the year in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley on Saturday afternoon. With all the other sport going on, I only found this out later in the day but I was made up for my friend, Paul - a big Warriors fan.

Formula 1
The best motorsport competition on the planet returned this weekend with another entertaining Grand Prix at Belgian circuit Spa that saw Sebastian Vettel tighten his grip on the title. Although Ferrari look as though they are closing the gap on Red Bull, this was yet another disappointing result for the black horse. Meanwhile, the naïve Lewis Hamilton failed to finish after a collision with Kobayashi that saw him crash through an advertising board on lap 13. The 2008 champion later apologized via his Twitter account, quite rightly stating that his team deserved better. Jenson Button's 3rd place was anything but disappointing, with the Brit once again proving his superiority in difficult, changeable conditions and offered consolation to the McLaren team.

Button wasted no time celebrating his performance by appearing on a typically rainy Bank Holiday Monday in Manchester, in an event that saw a bumper crowd witness his F1 car scream down Deansgate.

Football
It shows what a packed weekend it's been that I am only just getting to my real passion - football. Although I would love to avoid it, I must mention that my beloved Bolton's shocking display at Anfield on Saturday Evening was demoralising. I credit The Reds for their stellar performance, but they really should have put 6 past us. Rarely have I seen a Premier League behave like they'd never seen a football before, but that's exactly how it seemed, with not one of our players able to hold their head high as they left the pitch. At least we've got an easy game next to raise morale.. oh wait, we've got United. Great!

The convincing victory and decent start have sparked a few whispers that this might be Liverpool's year to win a first league title since the introduction of the back-pass rule. They have a strong midfield and a good mix of options up front, but I retain my stance that their defence is too leaky to mount a serious title challenge.

My Fantasy Football saviours

Serious title contenders are abundant at the other end of the ship canal in Manchester though, with both Manc sides laying down markers on a goal-rich Sunday afternoon. I don't know which was more impressive, Manchester City's 5-1 demolition of Spurs at the Lane, or Fergie's boys' 8-2 thumping of Arsenal (which incidentally rescued my week on Fantasy Football, as Rooney and Young supplied 61 of my 89 points this week). Either way, the afternoon left no doubt that the serious power this season lies in the North-West and not in North London.


I apologise for the length of this post but as this is probably going to be my last entry, I wanted to go out with a bang.

Cheers for reading, and as ever, feel free to leave comments to discuss any of the above,
Craig

PR Stunts and Blockbusters

Saving Face

The Prince's Trust is a fantastic charity that improves young people's lives and offers opportunities to build better futures. Therefore, I am pleased that this brilliant organisation will be benefiting from the increased exposure that being on the shirt of a Premier League team affords, as Blackburn have announced that they will not be signing a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal for this season, and will instead be sporting the crown on their shirts instead. (Not Crown paints, who previously sponsored Rovers and are contenders for crappest football sponsor ever.)

However, I refuse to applaud Blackburn for what, on the surface, appears to be an act of great generosity. The chicken farming regime that scandalously and inexplicably sacked Sam Allardyce has received nothing but bad press since it first pecked on Ewood Park's door and encouraged Steve Kean to delve his knife deep into Big Sam's back, and this is just the latest PR stunt to save some face. There is a reason why they have struggled to find a sponsor all summer despite the Premier League offering a brilliant marketing opportunity - nobody wants to be associated with this bunch of idiots and the Venky's franchise. My hunch is that they ran out of time to find a sponsor, and didn't want to look foolish on the first day of the season (which thankfully goes ahead almost as planned), so have used this as an opportunity to get some positive press easily. Don't be fooled.

A Weird Mix


I went to see Super 8 last night, JJ Abrams' latest Hollywood venture and was slightly underwhelmed by what I saw. I don't know what I was expecting but I really enjoyed some bits of it - the 1979 setting was strikingly impressive and Elle Fanning was brilliant as the lead female role. But I never seem to enjoy a film as much when the main cast is made up of kids. The performances from the senior actors were also disappointing, although the humorous parts were done well, and punctuated the tense, jumpy action nicely. I may be picking at straws, as I still enjoyed it but this isn't the stellar blockbuster that it's been billed as.

As for the plot, I don't want to give too much away - mystery is after all the main theme, but would you ever be able to imagine an amalgamation of the Goonies, Godzilla and ET? If not, go and see this movie!

Impossible to talk about anything else

Rioting continues and spreads

‎"When you cut facilities, slash jobs, abuse power, discriminate, drive people into deeper poverty and shoot people dead whilst refusing to provide answers or justice, the people will rise up and express their anger and frustration if you refuse to hear their cries. A riot is the voice of the unheard." - Martin Luther King Jr

I have seen that quote appear on Facebook a couple of times over the last few days and I wish it was actually relevant to the revolting riots happening around the country. The sad fact is that in contrast, most of those responsible don't even know what a Tory is, never mind have an accurate knowledge of the details of the Government's austerity measures. As I said in my reply to these posts, what it boils down to is that unfortunately, it's 'cool' to be a dickhead these days. These yobs are opportunistic copycats that have seized the opportunity to overrun the police and sense the power in numbers that allows them to do whatever they like. It is the thrill of committing crime with minimum chance of punishment, and has nothing at all to do with the tragic death of Mark Duggen, whose family must now struggle to grieve in these circumstances, with their local community falling apart around them.

For example, are these people making a political point or just being scum because they can?

Sport Affected

Sensibly, sporting organising bodies have liaised with the police to swiftly postpone Carling Cup matches as well as the international friendly between England and Holland, not only to minimise the chance of trouble marring these events, but also to free up much-needed police numbers. Football should be a form of entertainment you can enjoy safely and introduce your children to. It would have been severely negligent to allow these events to take place in the current circumstances, and whilst it's a shame that the crimes of few are destroying the enjoyments of the many, some things are just more important than football.


Think before you speak

What many have been calling for as a solution to the problem is something I feel very strongly about. I appreciate that we would all enjoy seeing some of these nutjobs take a rubber bullet to the face, or even lose their sight to a water cannon, but I have seen far too many supposedly responsible adults - who have the power to vote in this democracy - call for military action on the streets of London and other cities affected. "What's Cameron doing, get the army on 'em" is the average cry from these idiots.

First of all, our resources are already stretched to the limit. We have thousands of troops out in the middle-east fighting real terrorists and contrary to popular belief, there aren't thousands of trained soldiers sat at home twiddling their thumbs.

Secondly, although admittedly the Police could do with the extra bodies on the street to prevent them being outnumbered everywhere, a trained soldier's job is to work on the frontline operating machines of war, not stopping yobs stealing trainers from the local shop. This is the police's duty - they will sort this out.

And finally, not only is it completely insane and barbaric for the state to open fire on it's own, history should teach us that this does nothing but only add fuel to the fire. If the government decided to follow the advice of these idiots that are ironically describing the individuals involved as 'mindless', then the situation would only spiral into complete anarchy. Although it's hard for the average man to imagine how this could possibly get any worse, it most certainly would if we used such force to end this. Do we really want a civil war? I don't.

More encouraging scenes

Some rather more encouraging words can be heard in this video from a brave woman speaking the truth, although sadly I presume her calls will fall on deaf ears.

These people are showing what can be done if you stop tweeting condemnation and updating your facebook status to express your shock and get out there to help put this right. Quite an iconic photo, don't you think:

Stay safe, people.

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P.S. This is not an attempt to make a joke of the obviously serious nature of what is happening but let us not have our British sense of humour be lost. My UK riots playlist so far consists of:

Panic - The Smiths
I Predict A Riot - Kaiser Chiefs
Riot Van - Arctic Monkeys
Balaclava - Arctic Monkeys
Anarchy in the UK - Sex Pistols
For Reasons Unknown - The Killers
White riot - The Clash
I Need a Dollar - Aloe Blacc
Burn Baby Burn - Ash








More suggestions welcome - please leave a comment

Monday's reflection on the weekend

Only another 38 games to go

Although a glimpse at my Facebook and Twitter news feeds last night would suggest otherwise, Manchester United's victory at Wembley yesterday did not win them every major trophy in the 2011/12 season, but what it did do was send out a reminder that United are always stronger than they appear on paper. Whilst my social networking timelines were not clogged up with gloating glory-hunters on neither April 16th or 28th May (for those of you too lazy to click the links: United's other two, rather more important 2011 appearances at Wembley), the manner of The Community Shield win epitomises everything about United under Alex Ferguson. Winning with a team Ferguson puts his confidence in rather than what most would consider their strongest side, coming from behind and even injury-time winners; if you wanted to sample what the Red Devils' last 25 years have been like, it was all there in those 94 minutes on Wembley's hallowed turf.

And although I wouldn't say the game taught City a lesson as Wayne Rooney less-than-humbly claims, it is unquestionable that round one in the psychological ding-dong that will play out across Manchester this season goes to United.

But whilst United answered some critics yesterday, yet more questions arose: is David De Gea's shaky debut a sign of things to come? Is the midfield really strong enough without a replacement for Paul Scholes? And will a spell under the spotlight eventually persuade Tom Cleverley to ditch his council estate hair do?

Answers on a postcard, please.

I wish I was surprised

...by the disturbing scenes in North London this week. In what is rapidly becoming commonplace, yet another demonstration that started as a peaceful protest descended into anarchy, and riots broke out that have left innocent residents homeless. I cannot express how disgusted I am that in the 21st century we have individuals in our society that get a kick out of destroying other people's lives and wreaking havoc just for the sake of it. We live in a world where the EDL can arrange hollow protests that merely act as an excuse for yobs from around the country to unite and destroy a town for a day, a world where the true message tuition fee protesters were trying to send was lost amidst a media frenzy about attacked police officers and launched fire extinguishers. It seems that honest, defiant people can no longer make public appearances to voice their concerns without the party being gatecrashed by lunatics that the police are powerless to stop.

One word of advice I would have for the Met police is to keep a close eye on social networking activity at all times, as it seems they are always second to react. It turns out that despite the popular notion that Twitter was the platform used to arrange the gathering, BlackBerry's BBM system was used. I am convinced that if the police can find a way to adequately monitor the resources these yobs are using to arrange violent gatherings (although I'm not sure how it could be done without obvious infringement on privacy), they should be able to react quicker in future, to extinguish the fire before it is lit.

Whatever the police do to improve their reaction, these are scenes I would like to see less of in future. This needs to stop.

Saturday Musing

The long wait is over
Today is traditionally an important one in my calendar, a day I cherish and long for, especially in odd-numbered years. Today is the start of the new football season, filling the void left in May having had a summer without an international tournament. Okay, so Sky, Hull and Blackpool were responsible for the anti-climax that was a premature start to the Football League season last night, but today is when the real business happens. Pubs that have been unusually bereft of punters over the last few months will again be swelling with excited football fans, train stations around the country will be experiencing hordes of travellers indulging in lager-fuelled song and millions of men will be found slumped asleep in their armchairs early tomorrow morning, not having made the end of the football league show.

The dawn of the new season has filled column inches with talk of Brighton's, ahem, bright future at their stunning new ground, Wimbledon's return to the football league after the incredibly successful AFC project, Crawley Town's future after buying their way out of non-league and of course the mouth-watering race for promotion to the Premier League. For some, this will be a season to remember, for others, one they will hope to swiftly forget, but it all starts here - football is back.

Two wrongs don't make a right
Earlier this week I was shocked and disappointed to discover that a campaign to bring back the death penalty for serious crimes has gathered enough momentum and support for MPs to have to consider, and discuss it. Whilst I appreciate the romantic justice of 'an-eye-for-an-eye' punishment for those who commit murder, a return for Capital Punishment would see me lose complete faith in us as a society.
Not only do I struggle with the concept of the state taking the life of one of it's own citizens, but how can anybody desire such barbaric punishment that offers no scope for mistakes in the justice system. Imagine executing someone for a brutal murder, only for evidence to surface further down the line proving the dead victim innocent. Like it or not, mistakes happen and it makes me wonder whether the people proposing this have ever seen The Shawshank Redemption. I suggest they find a chisel and dig a way through their dense skulls until they see the light and have a moral compass that points north.
As a strong antagonist of this idea, I signed the opposing e-petition and welcome others to do the same: Stop these morons in their path

When good triumphs in sport...

Two weeks ago, Darren Clarke surprised everyone - not least the bookies, who had him 125-1 before the start of the tough weekend - to come from nowhere and win the British Open with 4 days of gutsy, brilliant golf. Battling the occasionally terrible conditions on what was already a very tough links course, his final score of 5 under was 3 shots better than any of the chasing pack could muster and showed the world that sport isn't always such a cruel world, earning one of the favourites of the game a first major title.

Following the tragic loss of his wife Heather in 2006 after a demoralising 5 year battle with breast cancer, the Northern Irishman has understandably struggled for form, with the trauma he experienced off the course clearly taking its toll on his golf. There were no top 10 finishes in any notable tournaments and many thought that the emotional scenes enjoyed at the Ryder Cup just 6 weeks after Heather's passing would be the last highlight of this battling golfer's career.

How wrong they were.

Seeing off a late surge from big Phil Mickelson, Clarke held his nerve on the final day, playing some sublime golf that underlined the deserving nature of his Open win. And whilst man-of-the-moment Rory McIlroy was making rather lame excuses, some of the characters of the game made sure to congratulate his compatriot on the win that guaranteed a warranted headache the following morning. Their display of affection towards Clarke proved what a popular win this was, and showed how sport is not always such a cruel mistress.


Fast forward 2 weeks and we arrive at Nottingham, the setting for England's second test of the 4-match series against India, at Trent Bridge. In previous series', England have surrendered 1-match leads here -not this time. An emphatic 319-run win sealed in 4 days puts Strauss' side within touching distance of the long sought-after number one spot. Indeed, one more win from the remaining two tests would guarantee the 2 match margin needed to topple their faltering and arguably worn-out opponents from the top of the tree. So with England being superior in all departments, would it be the much-improved Tim Bresnan, who made a magnificent 90 with the bat and took 5-48 with the ball, (appropriately on Yorkshire Day) that would write all the headlines for this match? Not quite.


His brilliant performance was outshone by one of the greatest displays of sportsmanship ever witnessed.

With their out-of-sorts bowling attack desperately missing the expertise of injured Zaheer Khan, India could find no way past Ian Bell, who made another test century with apparently consummate ease. His innings was built on a stubborn defence mixed with perfectly-timed pushes towards the boundary and as tea approached, the Warwickshire Bear looked in no mood to surrender his wicket. But that's exactly what he did in a mistake later described by former England captain Mike Atherton as a 'fundamental error', by leaving his ground prematurely on the last ball before the break. A review confirmed that Bell was run out, and the confused and disappointed look on his face was shared amongst those in the Trent Bridge crowd, who accompanied India's exit with a chorus of undeserved boos.

The exact details of what happened in the ensuing 20 minutes will only ever be known by those present, but what came of that conversation in the Indian dressing room will be remembered by many around the world, as M.S. Dhoni acted on behalf of his team and his country to hand Bell's wicket back to him, quoting that the Indian players didn't feel right about the incident. It is worth remembering that India had their backs up against the wall at this stage, and looked nothing like the side that deserved to be number one in the world. They needed any help they could get, especially in their quest to oust Bell, and would have been perfectly within their rights to continue with the game and leave such matters in the hands of the Umpires. But they showed why cricket is different. They showed that the integrity on which the game was founded still exists in the modern game. They acted to uphold what they thought was 'right' and acted in the spirit of the game, and for that there should be no higher praise.

Had the match progressed into a tight contest and his side had come out second best, perhaps with Ian Bell's extra 22 runs making the telling difference, then Dhoni's decision may have destroyed his reputation, and would surely have caused unprecedented dismay back home in India. Ultimately, Bell's naivety and fortune did not significantly alter the course of the match, with other Englishmen, and especially Tim Bresnan, ensuring that the game was well beyond India, thus the incident will forever be remembered as it should be: a great exhibition of sportsmanship. Many in sport would do well to sit up and take note of what happened on Sunday afternoon and re-consider their approach to sport.

To finish, I will include my other favourite exhibit from the sportsmanship museum, from a man who once floored an official, proving that you should never judge a book by it's cover. Ladies and gentlemen, Paolo Di Canio.

Summers without football aren't as boring as we always fear they will be

This summer’s transfer window is providing plenty of evidence that the football universe is more affluent than ever, and whilst us mere mortals in the real world are still tightening our belts and having our pocket money slashed, those involved in elite football are shaking hands with Midas.

Although the metaphorical gold mine of football resides in East Manchester these days, it is their North-West rivals in red that have been splashing the cash in the transfer window so far. Indeed, Manchester United and Liverpool have both spent big already this summer, bolstering their squads early in preparation for the new campaign, both hoping their new-look sides will gel in pre-season.

Although many are tipping this to be Liverpool’s return to serious title contention under the Messiah that is Kenny Dalglish, the Anfield outfit’s back line is not up to scratch for a serious title challenge, and this is the area that the weathered Scotsman has resisted to invest in. With an admittedly impressive, but bloated array of midfielders to choose from, clever rotation and inspired selections will be the key to maintaining squad harmony at Melwood this season which will be key to any success they enjoy.

As for the Red Devils, I have been impressed with the shrewd captures of Phil Jones and Ashley Young, with David De Gea having big gloves to fill if he is to be the true replacement for Edwin Van der Sar. These three transfers have come at a big cost, and show Ferguson’s commitment to the long-term future of the club as he is unlikely to still be around when Jones and De Gea reach their peak. 

Taking a shorter-term approach are their fierce local rivals Manchester City, whose pre-season tour of North America only amplified my perception of them as a circus act. With Carlos Tevez earlier joking on an Argentinian TV show about his dislike for the rainy city that has been a welcoming home for him for the last 4 years, he is now ignoring his manager’s calls after his desired move back to Corinthians fell through due to the closing of the Brazilian transfer window.

Another unhappy striker in the blues’ camp is Mario Balotelli, who confirmed his role as chief clown of the circus with this comical failed attempt at showboating that took the spotlight off David Beckham following his teasing comments regarding City in the build-up to the match.

Despite all this, Mancini remains upbeat and the imminent arrival of Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid has led some pundits to speculate that this may prompt his fellow Argentine Tevez to stay. Others are possibly closer to the truth by reporting that Tevez will depart for Inter Milan, although this would contradict the player’s claims that he wants to leave City to be closer to his children, and City will demand much more of Milan for their talisman’s signature.

However, this may not be an issue for the San Siro giants, as their funding could be helped with the heavily rumoured exit of Wesley Sneijder, who looks to be heading for Old Trafford in a £35m switch that would take United’s summer spending over £90m.

Ferguson has been keen to rule out any move for the diminutive dutch playmaker, but we have seen this smokescreen from the great scot in the past and the relentless nature of this rumour lead me to believe that there is no smoke without fire.

So with all this going on in the North-West, it is easy to forget about the Russian Billionaire who splashed £50m on Fernando Torres only 6 months ago. Chelsea have been slowly going about their business thus far and Villas-Boas is yet to unleash Abramovich’s chequebook on the transfer market, with most columnists speculating about moves away from the bridge rather that to it. The exception to this rule is of course Luka Modric, with Tottenham rejecting the initial £22m bid faster than Carlos Tevez can reject a phone call.

Spurs’ stubbornness in asking the tricky Croat to honour his recently-signed contract seems unfair, especially since their failure to finish in the top 4 is denying such a brilliant player Champions League football. But it was Modric’s folly if he did not demand a clause in his contract guaranteeing himself the opportunity to play in the top club competition in the world. Villas-Boas doesn’t seem the type of guy who messes around so I can see Modric having to settle his differences with Levy and co unless Chelsea are willing to spend big to prise him away from the Lane.

Should the price of Modric rise above Internazionale’s asking price for Sneijder, common sense might suggest that a move for the latter may be the better option, but common sense is not as abundant in football as money these days – see Andy Carroll for more details. 

Hosting Wimbledon and Glastonbury the same week is a bad idea...

Chris Martin, Beyoncé and Bono are the three biggest names set to delight and dazzle the Pyramid stage audience at this weekend's musical extravaganza that is Glastonbury Festival. Despite being held in June, the festival is synonymous with heavy rain, and this year looks set to be no exception. So if you're heading down to the west country for the festival, you'd better follow Jay's advice and take your wellies, and when you get back you can start counting down the days until the Inbetweener's movie - set for an August 19th release. Check out the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.

One band not featuring at Glastonbury is the Arctic Monkeys, who, following the release of their brilliant new album, 'Suck it and See', will be performing at several other festivals around Europe instead, including Oxegen, Benicassim and V Festival, followed by a busy UK tour. Suck it and See is the Sheffield 4-piece's 4th album, and there is evidence of progression in the new sound. Whilst maintaining the maturity of Humbug, there is a shift back towards the catchy, melodic tones of earlier hits such as 'Fluorescent Adolescent' and 'A Certain Romance', a mix I have vastly enjoyed and plan to use as the soundtrack to my imminent holiday to Rhodes.

One thing concerning me about my trip to the beautiful Greek island is the state of their economy. Although tourist hotspots are not as badly hit as mainland Greece, the turmoil and anger is still evident there, and we were lucky to avoid the strikes at the airport last summer - our flight being the last one to leave before strike action grounded Kos airport to a halt. I pray that the coalition government consider the events in Greece, and their failed approach to rectify their financial crisis by imposing savage cuts to public services, with the need for another bailout showing that this does not always solve the problem, and often creates more.

The timing of my vacation inconveniently clashes with the final of this year's Wimbledon tournament, the climax of which is likely to include more heartache for British fans dreaming of seeing Andy Murray end the 75-year wait for a Briton to win at SW19. Fred Perry's legacy lives on and I cannot see the pessimistic Scot getting his hands on the silverware with the other 3 of the so-called 'big four' all playing fantastic tennis this year. Many of said fans, who have braved the long queues to get priority tickets at the All-England club, criticised the event's organisers for giving Murray an open-aired berth on Court No.1, arguing that he should be playing on the roofed Centre Court. Such decisions should be based on quality of play rather than fan's favourites - imagine seeing Nadal or Federer having to surrender spots in the Rod Laver arena in Melbourne because Lleyton Hewitt was playing that day.

Preparing for the fortnight in South-West London, Murray drew inspiration from a staggering display by Rory McIlroy at the US Open over the weekend. Finishing 8 shots ahead at the top of the leaderboard, the 22-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland put the demons of his capitulation at the Masters behind him by dominating all 4 days at the Congressional Country Club, Maryland. Comparisons have quite rightly been drawn between McIlroy and the legend that is Tiger Woods, and I am sure there are many more majors and Ryder Cup titles on the way following this win. His attitude following devastation at Augusta was exceptional, and his humble reception of praise this weekend was equally impressive. A great man at such a tender age, McIlroy is definitely one to watch.

I couldn't finish this post without at least mentioning football, and the off-season drama continued this week, with Chelsea finally giving up on their attempts to lure Guus Hiddink back to the Bridge, and taking what can only be described as a gamble on the emerging talent, Andre Villas-Boas. The former Porto manager won everything there was to win in his first season at the helm of Portugal's biggest club, and has been extensively compared to the Special One, but there is no guarantee of achieving the instant success Blues fans enjoyed under Mourinho. Regardless of how long Abramovich will give his new manager to deliver success, it seems apparent that Chelsea will once again flex their financial muscle this summer, with several sources claiming that they are willing to offer 40 million for the services of Brazilian youngster Neymar, as well as targeting other potential marquee signings for the new season.

With Alex Ferguson having already strengthened his title-winning side and the league's richest club Manchester City having Champions League football to offer next year, the battle to sign the world's hottest talents has already begun and it will be an interesting story to watch unfold until deadline day.