Football

I'm no expert at football, having been blessed with two left feet at an early age. And as I am an Arsenal supporter, many people might argue that my opinions count for nothing. You decide.

The England Football Team

You can sneer at Beckham all you want if that makes you happy - but for me, he's just about the only England player who puts England First - and that matters. So long as most premier players want a place in the side to boost their image and earnings, we'll have a crap side. It is a privilege and an honour to play for your country, and we'll not win until every player lives to win for England - and maybe a few, like Beckham, who would be willing to die for it.

Football at School

It doesn't take a genius to realise that England cannot do better at football until there's a generation of youngsters coming through. And why isn't there?

Because successive governments have encouraged - even forced - schools to sell off playing fields. And where they've not done that, they've starved them of maintenance money, so sport is dying on it's feet.

And this isn't a 'party' thing - both Labour and Conservatives have attacked the government of the day, when in opposition. And both have carried on the destruction when in government.

We need a millionaire or two to set up a trust to buy, maintain and respect playing fields - and rent to schools on a not-for-profit basis. If we can have a Woodland Trust, why not a Playing Fields Trust?

And just think; if all these posh gyms, set up to remove money from overpaid wankers, were aimed at families, then deals could be done with Virgin and others to promote school sports during the day and on Saturdays, leaving the overpaid wankers to show off evenings and Sundays. I can dream!

There's other issues with schools, of course - but lack of playing fields is the biggest. And the easiest to fix. And there's no point arguing about teaching methods if there's nowhere to play.

Football academies won't do the job if the kids aren't there ... they'll just fill up with foreign players.

The England Team Manager

"He Must Be English", they scream. Rubbish. He's a paid employee of the England Football Team, and he should be The Best Man For The Job. Once there's a score or two of qualified English guys, then - and only then - can we insist on an Englishman. Or woman!

Until that times comes, he can be a chipmunk, for all I care, so long as he can do the job.

English Players

Same goes for English players. It's loopy to suggest that Arsenal should only recruit from Islington, MU from Manchester. It's almost as silly to say all the players should be English, especially when half the Premiership teams aren't even English owned.

Football teams want, and need, the best guys for the job. Period. And those are the current rules. I'd like to see more English players at Arsenal, who wouldn't? But I don't want Arsène Wenger to play substandard players.

The problem is that there are simply not enough quality English football players. Blaming Wenger will not even begin to solve that problem. Get real.

Wembley Stadium

Like the Millenium Tent, Wembley is an expensive joke. It was planned two years before the Emirates stadium, and finished two years after, with 50% more capacity at almost 500% higher cost. The Emirates was built with private money and loans, and will cost the taxpayer nothing. Wembley cost an arm and a leg - and when (IF!!) it starts making money, little if any will return to the taxpayer, you watch, you'll see.