Cue another Sam argument. Wherefore art thou, Gavin ?

McCarthy was my best pick before CoCo turned up. If Ipswich would like to do a swap with Mowbray I wouldn't object.

Smith doesn't deserve any sympathy. He knew exactly what he was doing but the rancid win-at-all-costs ethos in the team meant he was blind to it. He cannot expect an easy ride when he returns either - crowds will give him a hard time. No matter what he achieves in the rest of his career, his character as a person and record as a batsman is permanently stained . Warner would be no loss to cricket if retired today. Nasty and provocative player who does besmirches the good name of cricket.

VAR is fine in rugby but it isn't right for football. Rugby is largely a stop-start game of set pieces in which the ball is often hidden from view, including when tries are scored. VAR is useful in that respect. Football is (or should be) a free flowing, spontaneous game and VAR will only serve to make it less of a spectacle. Wembley left a sour taste because the decision didn't feel right. It's quite likely VAR will play a significant part and possibly ruin the World Cup.

Yes, a very good record. Does that make him "world class" ?

Could someone define "world class" because it seems to me everyone's favourite player is "world class" ?

No he isn't. He's a very good striker who's had a couple of very good seasons.

Yes, so they are "world class" in the true sense of the term. You can't get any higher. Kane is on a lower level, so he isn't world class. I'm glad we cleared that up.

Kane's a very good player but "world class" (an overused term anyway) refers to the very best players - the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta etc.etc. Kane isn't in their league and still has it all to prove at the very highest level

Sorry, still doesn't cut it.

Smith is the captain - he has admitted leading blatant cheating. The integrity of the game is at stake here and the 2 players have sullied the name of cricket. Smith should be sacked by the Australian cricket authorites and the ICC should give him a quick and meaningful ban.

Yes, got me there!

They need to withdraw that ad quickly. Also, what's a "Leged"? Leg end would be more appropriate after his cheating. Why hasn't the ICC slapped an immediate ban on those two cheats ?

Scoring alot of goals in the Premier League doesn't make Kane "world class"

All of them are good players - none are out of the top drawer or "world class". An therein lies the explanation of why England will always fail

Same old Aussies, always cheating. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/43526870 Bancroft and especially Smith should get long bans from Test cricket for this.

Go back 20 plus years and the Premier League was dominated by English (British) players - so we had the numbers then yet England still weren't good enough to win a tournament (or even reach a final). Under Taylor and Keegan we were a laughing stock. The basic problem is we have never had enough true world-class players compared to successful nations like Spain, Germany, France, Brazil etc), and we've never had a coach who has been able to get the most out of the players we have (although Eriksson did well). Germany have had some distinctly ordinary sides in the past but because they are organised and well coached they rarely if ever fail in the big tournaments.

Lenihan's preferred position is centre midfield. Would love to see him play there but we'd need to sign a new centre half next season as Downing is not the answer.

I thought Mowbray's weaknesses as a coach were exposed today. Cook changed his team to devastating effect, bringing on Vaughan who gave our defence a torrid time, even Lenighan found him hard to handle. Mowbray failed to see the danger and only made changes when it was too late. His substitutions seem to be by rote too, with the same players always taken off.

No one hopefully. Lucky to escape relegation at our expense last season after hiring the tax-dodging shyster Harry Redknapp. Hope they go down and down to League 2 next season.

Why aren't we looking at local kids like this instead of Arsenal and Chelsea? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43020594

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/15994250.Rovers_swoop_to_sign_forward_from_Liverpool/

Bell at right back and Nyambe at left back. Interesting.

You have to hand it to Watford - the people running that club must have so many contacts around Europe with their fingers on the pulses of the best up and coming coaches. How they managed to get out of the Championship with 4 coaches in one season defies belief really. Southampton were in League One about 5 years ago so it shows what can be achieved with good people running the club. Swansea are another well run club. For those who remember the 1960s and 70s the likes of Watford, Brighton, Swansea, Bournemouth were all 3rd or 4th division clubs - the idea that that they would ever be in the equivalent of the old first division would have been inconceivable. .

The flip side of that is Watford who changed their manager 4 (yes 4) times in their promotion season to the Premier League and have continued to change managers ever since while cementing their place in the top league.