WHAT’S HOT WHAT’S NOT
HOT NIGEL CLOUGH
Clough will doubtless be overlooked when the Manager of the Year prizes are handed out but he shouldn’t be after keeping Burton Albion in the Championship on a budget of £7m for wages and transfers. Interestingly, only one of the manager of the month awards in the second tier this season went to someone working at a club in the bottom half.
EVERTON
Football is so desperate not to offend anyone that every weekend feels like a commemoration of something. However, sometimes it just feels right and the lovely banner Everton displayed on the Gwladys Street End to mark the passing of Alan Ball 10 years ago was perfect. Speak to the players who appeared in the 1966 World Cup final and they will all name the same man of the match. Clue: it’s not Geoff Hurst.
JACK BUTLAND
Only two games into his comeback from injury and already the Stoke goalkeeper is reminding us of his natural gifts. Some big English clubs need goalkeepers at the moment and, if they can, Stoke should exploit the state of the market and sell him. You can’t build a team round a goalkeeper, but you can do quite a bit with £25m.
NOT BILLY ROOT
It must be great having your big brother as England cricket captain, apart from when you have to bowl to him. The England skipper hit Root Jnr for six to seal victory for Yorkshire over Nottingham in the Royal London One-Day Cup. At least Billy recovered to score a century at Warwickshire yesterday.
THE RFL
The England rugby league team face Samoa in Sydney this morning, a match which could have been used to give players back home some time to recover from the gruelling Easter period. But no, there is a full Super League programme which means some clubs must play fixtures without their best players. The RFL are capable of some fine ideas. This is not one of them.
THE LOST CAMPAIGN
This season referees were instructed to clamp down on grappling at corners. It was a welcome move but one that fizzled out as soon as officials such as Mike Dean (above) tried to implement it. Simply put, referees were put off by all the hoopla. They must be stronger than that.