The Euro 2012 planning would have been meticulous, with the big hitters determined to emerge top dog - time to put the opposition in their place. Their tactics agreed and communicated, their line-ups confirmed. And then, with the eyes of the world upon them, the main protagonists could get to work. Yes, the BBC and ITV are primed and eager to do battle. The serious business of viewing figures is at stake here, after all.
Only the second day of the tournament, the third match and the first and possibly what will be the biggest upset of the the competition, Holland 0 Denmark 1. I know, I don't believe it either but having watched the game it almost makes sense.
The way things are going Roy Hodgson may well be haring onto the pitch in Donetsk before England's first game in the European championships against France, and grabbing at random any fan from the stands who's wearing a current England strip.
You’d be hard pressed to remember the last time that Joey Barton made headlines for the right reasons. The controversial midfielder has garnered negative press in seemingly every way a football player could. So would QPR be better off without him? And even if they did decide to sell, who would want him?
Italian football’s seemingly perennial battle with match-fixing has dominated the headlines at the end of this latest Serie A season. Given Juventus’ own recent history in association with such scandals, at this juncture the irony surrounding their resurgence as the newly-crowned league champions will not have been lost on many.