HOT WHAT’S NOT WHAT’S

HOT

CLAUDE PUEL

THE Leicester boss messed up his team’s chances of reaching the Carabao Cup final by resting players against a weakened Manchester City, but his strategy in the FA Cup was more understandable. He reckoned he could beat League One Fleetwood without his star names and he was proved right. That is not treating the FA Cup with contempt, it is sensible mid-season management.

ROCHDALE

THE League One club have announced that unsold food from their kiosks will be donated to a homeless charity. Rochdale are working with the Stepping Stone group that provides accommodation for those who may otherwise sleep rough. Some charitable acts that get publicity in football can feel like tokenism. This one doesn’t.

ENGLAND’S ODI SIDE

EOIN MORGAN’S team have shown an admirable approach to restoring English pride in Australia and their cricket has followed suit. Lovely, too, to see the MCG and the Gabba empty at such an alarming rate as England closed in on their two ODI victories. The Aussies do love their cricket but only, it seems, when they are winning.

NOT

MARK HUGHES

IT’S hard to escape the feeling that Hughes stayed a little too long at Stoke and he has cause now to wish he had taken the Crystal Palace job when it was offered last summer. One of the interesting aspects of life at Stoke is how the club identifies new players. New boss Paul Lambert will hope for an upgrade on the likes of Kevin Wimmer, Giannelli Imbula and Saido Berahino between now and the end of the transfer window.

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN

O’SULLIVAN embarrassed Marco Fu 6-0 at the Masters, with three early centuries meaning his opponent did not pot a single ball before the interval. But after losing his next match 6-1 to Mark Allen, O’Sullivan was once again talking about walking away from the sport. The latest threat is to stay away from the World Championship in April. We do, as always, look forward to seeing him there.

JAMES HASKELL

TIMING is everything in rugby and Haskell’s hit on Jamie Roberts was just about late enough to warrant punishment. It seems odd, though, that an offence committed in a club game should rule a player out of two games for his country. It is right that Haskell should suffer, but why should England?