Walking in a Desert Wonderland

Football

International

Visualise sitting down by the open log fire finishing off the last of the chocolates you found in the bottom of your stocking, then switching over from the Royal Family Christmas Special to England against Germany in the World Cup final. (Yes the final.. it's only imagination!!) But with the ongoing speculation over Qatar's controversial winning bid to host the World Cup in 2022 were still set to believe sports biggest event in a desert wonderland is very much reality.

Now rather than waffle on about the issue of money may or may not having changed hands to ensure the Arab nation the 2022 World Cup, whose own nation is FIFA ranked 96^th in the World, I want to raise the 'pros' and 'cons' of a winter World Cup.

Pros

# If you wished Santa to bring England a 2^nd World Cup then there's the off chance he may deliver if your not on the naughty list.. or if England actually qualify.

Cons

# Virtually all major football teams in Europe's leagues and across the globe will be effecting in one way or another whether they suspend playing over winter or lose numerous star players to the tournament.

# Billions will be spent on state-of-the-art stadiums built with cooling devices to help players cope with the high temperatures but what use will they have after the tournament finishes in a nation not known for it's passion for sport.

# Will the fans flock to Qatar?! I'm sure numbers will be high up in the thousands but will probably take a dramatic dip compared to World Cups gone by. Qatar may be a very wealthy economically strong country but it's not a hotspot for tourists and with it's several strict rules and regulations on alcohol etc it may stop any Englishmen gracing their soil.

8 years is along way ahead of us but whatever happens in the build up to the show-piece event and the World Cup itself; it's promised to be eventful.

And hey, if smaller nations are being given the chance to take a bite of the apple then who knows what nation could step into the spotlight.. football mad Kyrgyzstan, soccer loving Vatican or maybe, just maybe England.

National

Another round of what is now known as the Capital One Cup has passed and another round of dispute over it's existence is once again the hot topic. Ask most Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool fans and they'll say scrap it, there's one cup already and when you throw in European competitions it's just too much and a waste of time. Go four leagues down and ask fans of Morecambe, Mansfield or Newport and you'll get the opposite response. They'll tell you stories of when they took on the big boys and how they made the day of it when they followed their team into the fortresses of Premier League sides.

Yes the FA Cup provides all that excitement and magic atmosphere; maybe even more than the Capital One Cup as it includes hundreds of teams outside the Football League but tell that to a Shrewsbury Town fan or employee who have a mouth watering home draw against Chelsea in the next round.

Chelsea will play a squad with several youngsters and it's already a game with one eye on the next round but for Shrewsbury Town it'll be an occasion that'll create long lasting memories no matter what the result is and that's the core principle of the Cup and why it should live on. I say good luck to all the lower league teams and if the bigger squads play weaker sides, make them pay for it! Everyone wants a trip to Wembley and if Fulham can overcome Derby County in the next round then I may be well on my way!

Golf

Another historic win for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup with amazing atmosphere filling Gleneagles. It seems every biennial event gets louder and more passionate and it's a great platform for enticing people of all ages to take up the sport.

But with 90% of the tournament being a success, Team USA provided a negative ending to their campaign. No one likes losing and it's always a bitter pill to take but in the raw moment of facing defeat you have to accept it like a professional. What I’m referring to is Team USA's Phil Mickelson publicly speaking out about his doubts on his captain Tom Watson leading the team.

Captains, coaches and management across all sport are spoke about behind their back where decisions are put into place on their future. Never in any sport is it acceptable to question your captain publicly to the media, you may disagree and not have the healthiest of relationship with your captain but while he/she is in charge you follow and respect him/her to the utmost.

Watson didn't deserve those comments and Mickelson should have known better but all in all a fantastic Ryder Cup victory for a world class Team Europe.