I'm not sure if England themselves will believe what happened as they beat Sri Lanka in the first test in Cardiff. With no play until 3pm England still came out to bat to allow Ian Bell to complete his century and then declared with a lead of 96 runs and 55 overs left to bowl. Presumably they thought it a matter of going through the motions for the afternoon with Jimmy Anderson unfit to bowl to see if the rest of the attack could get a bit of practice in ahead of the next test and perhaps ruffle some Si Lankan feathers. What followed was more of a plucking with, as would be expected with the resultant collapse, a combination of good bowling and poor batting.
    Dramatic as England bowling the Sri Lankans out for 82 in under 25 overs was the reassuring thing was the killer instinct England showed when they got a good start and continued to press the opposition. This ruthless streak is something England teams have not always demonstrated in most sports and has stopped them from being a good team into an excellentt team. With India due in the summer this spirit needs to develop ready for that challenge.


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   It is hard to believe that nobody in FIFA can see the harm that they are doing to themselves and regardless of the guilt or innocence of the accused officials the whiff of whitewash will continue to haunt them. That Blatters only challenger Mohammed Bin Hammam has stepped down from the presidential race and since been suspended along with Jack Warner whilst Blatter was effectively exonerated despite the accusations against him will only add to finger pointing. There is still the farce of that election which now resembles something found in a banana republic rather than asking for other candidates or delaying the election as well as the fact that Blatter has not been suspended whilst his rival was.
   Talk that companies may start withdrawing sponsorship in light of the revelations unless change happens seem fanciful. Whilst such action has been seen with individual sportsmen as Tiger Woods can testify and no doubt why Ryan Giggs sought his superinjunction as they would rather keep sponsors sweet than their partners. FIFA, however, is different as there is always another sportsman to sell your wares but there is only one governing body and it would be a brave company who withdrew their name from a World Cup and the coverage that would generate just because they disapprove of FIFAs antics.

The fan belief that Manchester United could win the Champions League soon dissipated and in a perverse way I'm glad that they didn't as, aside from the obvious that they did not deserve to, a victory would have papered over the cracks of what is a weaker team than in recent seasons. Ideally Ferguson can now approach the board with the claim that whilst being the best in the country they still lag behind in Europe but a bit of judicious spending in the summer transfer window may help close the gap.
   The whole Premiership was rather poor this season and the Champions League final just emphasises the gulf in class although whilst all the other commentators drool over the way Barcelona pass the ball and dominate possession I get rather bored by it all. It may look pretty and intricate but like the Spanish national side it can often not go anywhere as they may stop the opposition from having the ball but just bide their time whilst they have. It is all very clinical and precise and where they do still have flashes of genius this is diluted by being constantly informed that Lionel Messi is the greatest player ever. This hyperbole grates and whilst he is undoubtedly a very good player it is still early in his career to be compared to Pele, Best, Maradona, Puskas et al.
   Perhaps its the gothic romantic side in me that insists that every true genius must be wrestling with his demons as he takes his area of expertise to the next level that refuses to allow Messi a place in this pantheon yet although as far as I am aware Pele's only problem may be erectile dysfunction. Of course happy and pleasant footballers can be greats but my prejudice will usually find them on the subs bench in my All Star best ever XI (not strictly true) as people find it easier to warm to those exuberant players with a back story whatever the sport. Alex Higgins and Jimmy White got bigger cheers than Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry and George Best received tributes from fans of other clubs (including Man City) that were genuine and heartfelt on his death.
   Yes they have world class players and play pretty football and yes the way the club is run as a sort of fans co-operative is pleasing as is their current form thereby sticking it to former dictator Franco's former team Real Madrid. Also resisting shirt sponsorship for so long before having UNICEF emblazoned across their chests is such a refreshing change in the current shady money centred business that is football (not that they do too badly on the financial front). Everything about Barcelona says I should love them but I just can't get that excited by them.

I know as a nation we Brits are not especially renowned for our tennis ability (I played once after watching Wimbledon 20 years ago and am now ranked No. 22) but to boast about getting 3 players into the 2nd round of the French Open really is clutching at straws. That equates to less than 2.5% and is half as much as Germany managed or as good as Belgium. France and Spain both have 11 representatives in the 2nd round so it's probably fair to say that there is still room for improvement.

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    That thrill of excitement at the start of another international cricket season turned into a bit of a damp squib thanks to the weather which delayed the start of England's Test match against Sri Lanka. Rushing from the changing room at work to listen to the score in my car proved a waste of time as the match had not started and the only action to take place on the drive back was the coin toss. Unfortunately this is always likely at this time of year which does not leave much room for manoeuvre in a three test series.

As the dust starts to settle after the final set of Premier League games the last two relegation places have now been settled and Blackpool and Birmingham join West Ham in the Championship next year. Not for the first time a club have been relegated after winning a trophy and it may be scant consolation for Birmingham that they will be playing in Europe next season in the Europa League. Ironically the fair play league to determine the last European place could go to Blackpool giving England two representatives in the second tier playing in Europe joining Spurs and Stoke.
   The way Blackpool have conducted themselves, primarily the attacking football they strive for as well as the entertainment factor of manager Ian Holloway, has won them plenty of plaudits and many supporters of other teams are sad to see them go down. However, football is not sentimental and goodwill is no replacement for points and to Blackpool's further credit they are well aware of that and did not make the mistake of others and try to spend their way out of trouble. By keeping their means modest they return to the Championship in a good financial position but as Holloway himself intimated returning will not be straight forward as they struggle to keep hold of key players.

Belated I know but been busy and away and I still felt like adding my two pennorth to this weekends football where both the Premiership and the FA Cup were won. Many have already had their say on this matter and its seems to be a rather unanimous vote for this being wrong. Talk of the FA Cup being undermined is fair enough and plenty of examples are cited as to why that may be with the the decision that Manchester United should represent the country in FIFAs club tournament in South America instead of defending the FA Cup in 2000 being often mentioned as starting the rot.
   No final replays and semi finals at Wembley are also popular excuses and there is probably something in these claims although I struggle to see the connection regarding replays. The Man United decision was a farce and it would have been better all round if they had fielded a youth team for the third round whilst on their jaunt and to rub salt into the wound we never got the benefit of the exercise helping us win friends for a World Cup bid. It's not just the semi finals that get held at Wembley that I think detract from the final itself as the play offs do as well and like the semis used to be they should all be held on neutral grounds somewhere between the two competing clubs. To play at Wembley was supposed to be the ultimate honour for an England footballer who would get the chance only if his team made a major final or he represented England. I know that Youth Internationals took place there as well but this surely adds to the encouragement of imagining what it would be like to plat there more regularly in front of a full stadium. Now if you finish sixth in Division 2 and get through the play off semi final then you too can have a big day out at the home of football. This is no longer an option however as the FA seek to recover the costs of building the stadium.
   The FA Cup was always the last match of the domestic season and the whole day was dedicated to the occasion with, depending on whose turn it was to broadcast, a Question of Sport special or Saint & Greavsie stretching their routine out over several hours. This year that has not happened as the Champions League final is to be held there and UEFA insist on the pitch having a fortnights holiday beforehand. Allowing for the fixture congestion as a one off it may have been acceptable to hold the FA Cup early but why the hell were other league matches scheduled for that day and not all played on the Sunday at least.
   This is becoming a vicious circle as the fans can see where he importance of the trophy lies in their clubs ambitions and turn up accordingly. In the earlier rounds the "Romance of the Cup" is still there for lower league teams but for the excitement of every Crawley fan to go to Old Trafford how many Manchester United fans would be getting a thrill from watching their reserves barely turn up against the (then) non league minnows. As these lower ranked teams start to fall by the wayside as the tournament progresses that romance tends to fade as well as the teams to be found in the last few rounds see it more as a distraction. Fourth place in the league is now viewed as more important as it brings Champions League entry and lower down teams are getting worried about relegation. Likewise the better Championship sides who may have had a good run will be putting more energy into getting promotion as the disparity between those two leagues in terms of money is such that the Premiership is all consuming. One way that this could be readdressed would be to award the fourth Champions League spot not to the third loser in the league but to a team that has won some silverware and lifted the FA Cup. As it stands the FA Cup offers little more reward than the League Cup and the disdain that has apparently undergone has been commented on frequently enough.
   Saying that I quite like seeing some of the top sides play their younger squad members as it helps give them experience and as a viewer it is nice to see some of these kids making their way in the game and trying to spot who might go onto bigger and better things.

As far as football results have gone this week has been quite good from a personal point of view. Being a Manchester United fan it was a fair start to make the Champions League final with today's 2-1 win against Chelsea effectively ensuring the Premiership title returns to Old Trafford. Whilst it has not been a vintage year at the top of the table with few teams showing improvement on recent years United have shown their experience to produce the results when it matters. Certainly the Champions League final against Barcelona will be a different proposition but it will probably not be the one sided affair that many believe.
   Added to that my home town team of Darlington won their first major piece of silverware by winning the FA Trophy after scoring a last minute winner in extra time to defeat Mansfield. After year upon year of mid table obscurity the last few seasons have been rather more traumatic after the disastrous tenure of George Reynolds nearly brought the club to its knees. Still recovering from the aftershock and chopping and changing of managers resulted in elimination from the league last season with a finish a couple of places from the play offs in the Blue Square league this year. Hopefully this win can galvanize the squad to go on and get promoted back into the league next time.
   If that was not enough it was also pleasing to see Norwich gain promotion to the Premier League after back to back promotions. My three years in that city whilst at University left me with a soft spot for the club who at that time were riding high in the league and qualified for Europe. It was at this time that goalkeeper Bryan Gunn lost his daughter to leukaemia and aside from the obvious sympathy that this generated there was also enormous respect as he was heavily involved with The Big C to research cancer with the School of Biological Sciences at UEA.
   A bit of a downer to end there but in personal football supporting terms still a good week.

Judd Trump may have lost the World Championship snooker final to John Higgins but he comes away with many more followers after impressing with his young talent and prodigious potting. He and his immediate circle will be more than aware that he is not yet the finished article with one criticism being that he needed to be so good at potting to rescue him from his poor positional play. He may have made errors to let Higgins win key frames but that is understandable and is something that can be improved. A lot of hard work and practice will be required to maintain his position as being talented is not enough and whilst there is every chance that he will become a World Champion in the future it is by no means a guarantee. To frame it another way: Which is the most likely outcome? Judd Trump never wins the World Championship or Jimmy White does finally win one.
   For all that once the emotion of the tournament has died down he will no doubt be proud of what he achieved at the Crucible as will John Higgins who will probably feel slightly vindicated after serving his ban.  Higgins has answered his critics in the best way possible and is still hungry for more with talk of matching Hendry's 7 crowns. Such talk is to be expected and whilst it is certainly possible for him to do so it will be extremely difficult as at 35 he has just been ran close by a 21 year old and there are more and more talented youngsters coming through and that's before you consider Ronnie O'Sullivan.
   On a sadder note the death of Ted Lowe was at least beautifully timed, if such a thing is possible, taking place before the final allowing a poignant moment for reflection from old and new players. He was the voice of snooker when I was growing up and it was nice to see him make a decent break of 90.