Points

Another great illustration of why there's no hope for cricket in this country. Football/soccer is massive at the youth level - the most widely played sport, in fact. The arrival of Becks and Posh has been hitting the headlines for weeks, and yet here's what got churned out in one match report on Beckham's debut for the LA Galaxy this weekend.

Despite a moment that claimed the collective breath of the sold-out stadium—when Beckham was side-tackled and remained down a hair too long for the crowd's liking—his debut was smooth, if entirely uneventful.

L.A. lost the "friendly" to Chelsea 1-0, with the match's sole point scored by John Terry, the man who succeeded Beckham as captain of the England team.

If that's the best that can be done for a game that is allegedly known and understood, with "side-tackled" and "sole point" being the writer's attempt to display a technical comprehension of the game, then what chance does cricket have?

Mourinho, are you listening?

Mourinho, are you listening?
Better keep our trophy glistening
We'll be back in May
To take it away
Walking in a Fergie wonderland

I think I finally dare to believe. I screamed out loud, and scared the living daylights out of my wife, when John O'Shea, former Liverpool fan, stole the three points at Anfield on Saturday. A tremendous ball in from Ronaldo, as usual, and the doom and gloom associated with Scholesy's sending off was a distant memory.

I won't say it too often, but I think we just might be able to pull it off. There is something about winning without dominating, and winning at the last gasp, that fills you with confidence. Twisted, but true. I would like to join the queue to thank Arsene Wenger - I'm quite sure his "United stop playing after 70 minutes" comments have served to inspire the lads.

What a delight as well, to see how much it really meant to the boys. Ronaldo led the way, pumped up and throwing his shirt into the crowd, and several others followed suit. Don't anyone dare doubt that boy's commitment to United again. He may or may not leave, but if there's one person who has played his heart out at every single time of asking, he is it. 16 goals, and 11 "assists", and countless moments of torment for the opposition tell only half the story.

Here's to Lille on Wednesday, and Boro in the cup on Saturday!