5) Christian Eriksen (Ajax)

Christian Eriksen of Ajax (Getty Images)

Often compared with Swansea manager Michael Laudrup, Denmark playmaker Christian Eriksen is one of Europe’s hottest properties. Drafted into the Ajax midfield at an early age, he was forced to develop a street wise game belying his years, and that will put him in good stead should he opt to join one of the English clubs vying for his signature. The fact that his contract expires next year will drive his price down, and Ajax will have to sell now rather than lose him in a year for nothing.

Linked with – Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea.

Asking price – £14m.

4) Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina)

Anyone who watched England’s 1-0 defeat in Montenegro this week will be well aware of Jovetic’s considerable talents. A technically gifted, deep lying attacker, the Fiorentina man isn’t a ’20 a season man’, but his creativity and impression on the big games are traits that are invaluable on the big stage. His side sit in fifth place in Serie A, 3 points from the Champions League spots, and 3 ahead of the Europa League chasing pack. If they don’t make the big time, expect him to make a move.

Linked with – Arsenal, Man City.

Asking price – £20m.

3) Edinson Cavani (Napoli)

Edison Cavani of Napoli (Getty Images)

The calibre steps up a touch here with one of the world’s most admired strikers once again finding himself in the gossip columns. Even without his partner in crime Ezequiel Lavezzi, who signed for big money at PSG last summer, Cavani has enjoyed a spectacular goal scoring season in Serie A. 20 goals in only 26 games tells its own story in a league renowned for its defensive capabilities. That said, Napoli look dead certs to regain their Champion League place, and any Premier League side keen to add Cavani to their squad will have to pay silly money. Depending on what might happen to Ibrahimovic this summer, PSG is a far more likely option. File this under ‘sceptical’.

Linked with – Man City.

Asking price – £60m.

2) Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)

Falcao has been a revelation for Madrid’s dark horse side since his move from Porto for the best part of £35m in 2011. Doing the unthinkable, he has challenged the Messi/Ronaldo monopoly in the ‘world’s best’ debate with a combination of quick feet, strength, and of course, an impressive goals tally. After what may prove to be a trophy-less season fraught with supporter unrest, it is widely accepted that Roman Abramovich is likely to dip into his pockets and pull out a superstar, and with ex-Atletico legend Fernando Torres up his sleeve, he holds useful cards in the race for Falcao.

Linked with – Chelsea, Man City.

Asking price – £80m.

1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid (Getty Images)

Just across the city from Falcao is one of football’s true all time greats. In a pantheon of legends such as Pele, Maradona and his arch-nemesis Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is as much genius and he is glitz and glamour. For once, the sky high price tag matches the talent – Ronaldo is the real deal – and depending on how he finishes the season, this could raise the biggest Manchester battle since the title race last season. City have the cash, but United have the memories. If Madrid choose to sell, expect the winners to enjoy a period of Premier League domination.

Linked with – Man City, Man United.

Asking price – £70m.

In typically arrogant fashion, England swanned down under expecting to dominate a young New Zealand side fraught with problems. Simple, surely?

Not so. Whilst New Zealand played well, England were a shadow of the side they can be, and without key players, the strength in depth England fans boast about went badly missing as they scraped a series draw 0-0. So, who did have a good series?

Alastair Cook (c) – 4

“Second only to Bradman” crowed McCullum only a couple of weeks ago. If that was a tactic to heap pressure on to the England captain’s shoulders, then it worked. Cook’s stewardship was weak and confused, particularly under pressure at Auckland, and for the first time in a long time, Cook’s batting looked shaky. 116 on a featherbed at Dunedin was the only high point of a disappointing tour. File under ‘character building’.

Nick Compton – 8

Inconsistency is the Achilles heel of the England side, and on this tour, no player summed this up better than new boy Nick Compton. After a first innings failure in Dunedin, he struck a hard fought maiden ton and then in his very next knock, repeated the performance. Three rank failures out of five isn’t the worst tour performance of all time, but those pre-tour question marks would have evaporated entirely with at least a start in one of these.

Jonathan Trott – 7

England’s Mr Dependable has had a tricky few months, and this tour was no different. For the first time, loose shots came into his game, and including interviews, his tour reeked of arrogance. His 121 at Wellington was a fine innings, but Trott will be the first to admit that cheerful starts are not quite what his side required at number 3 on some of the flattest wickets in recent memory. A run of 45, 52, 121, 27 and 37 is frustrating as much as it is adequate.

Kevin Pietersen – 6.5

The ‘X’ factor. The England match winner returned home early due to a bad knee injury that will also see him miss out on this year’s IPL tournament. Before that, he was out off the first ball of his tour in the first Test, followed it up with a scratchy 17 and then smashed an easy on the eye 73 before giving his wicket away at Wellington. He’ll want to strap his big scoring boots on in time for his return in the English summer.

Ian Bell – 6.5

Saved from a lower rating with an important and mature knock in the second innings at Auckland, Bell continued his Test match struggles on this tour. Always pretty to watch, Bell flirts between supremo to struggler from tour to tour, and on decks, he would usually fill his boots on; this time Bell came up short.

Joe Root – 5

Prior to the Test matches, he was England cricket‘s flavour of the month. After the second Test, his place was back to being questioned, and after the third, the praise was back, deservedly his once again. Still very much feeling his way around international cricket, Root will point to the limited overs matches for solace as he crawled through the Tests. That said, I expect the young Yorkshireman will go on to achieve huge things. The maturity he showed during his match saving innings at Auckland is just a taster of his talent.

Jonny Bairstow – 2

Harsh but fair. Bairstow was a victim of poor planning by the England management as he was thrown in to replace Kevin Pietersen, having not batted in over five weeks. He scored only 3 and 6 in that solitary Test and looked all at sea.

Matt Prior – 9

England’s best player of the tour can now firmly put his hand up as the best wicket-keeper batsman in Test cricket. Two starts in the first Test was the entree for some incredible Test match batting in the second and first, and his match saving century in at Auckland will go down as one of the great innings. Faultless glove work backed up his impressive batting, which was no doubt elevated due to him being awarded the vice-captaincy for the first time. Possibly the most improved player in world cricket right now.

Stuart Broad – 7

Again, inconsistent, with a side of sulk. If Jonathan Trott is England’s Mr. Dependent, then Broad takes the nickname of Mr Grumpy. No fielder was safe from his sideways looks, tuts and moans, and his spell on the fourth day of the final Test was shocking. However, fourteen wickets in the three match series is not to be sniffed at, and his 6-51 at Wellington was a throw back to his 2009 Aussie slaying heyday. In truth, his batting has gone to pieces, and save his all important blockathon with Prior, he looked all over the place at the crease. Bowling good, batting (with one huge exception) bad, attitude ugly.

Steven Finn – 6

Handed an opportunity to perform by a combination of injury and form, Finn will be indifferent with his efforts down under. A 6 wicket haul masks the difficulties he had on dead wickets, but Cook and Flower would have hoped their fastest, tallest bowler would have been more effective in those conditions. As ever he went for too many runs, but some solace can be found in his batting. Two 20s and a maiden half century suggest that his tag as genuine number eleven can be shaken off.

James Anderson – 6

England’s main man wasn’t at his best down under. That said, he took 13 wickets, at least one in every over, and looked to be the only bowler with any real control when the going got tough. Anderson was clearly playing with an injury for at least the second half of the series, and his management will be wary of his fitness going into an important year for England cricket. He led the line with a fine attitude, if a little under par.

Monty Panesar – 3

The Sikh of tweak continued his Jekyll and Hyde relationship with the English media by producing a poor series return. Whilst his supporters claimed he would cruise into any other Test side in the world, on flat decks he showcased his flaws with unimaginative and fearful spells of either flat, defensive darts or turgid and spinless flight. Panesar was completely out-bowled by rookie Bruce Martin throughout the series, and you’ve got to think that the only Englishman who enjoyed Panesar’s tour was James Tredwell.

For the first time since his meltdown in October 2010, Tiger Woods is the world number one once again. The swagger is back, the aura is re-igniting, and for previous golden boy Rory McIlroy, this will serve as a hard kick up the backside. The rivalry we feared we’d never see is here.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods: is a rivalry on the cards? (Getty Images)

Their fall and rise mirrored one another. As Woods fell from grace, the young Northern Irishman rose through the top ten and to the summit of world golf at a young age. Indeed, the youngest man to do so since, you guessed it, Tiger Woods. He romped home to win a major, Nike came calling and threw down their millions, fifteen years later, McIlroy is re-living Woods’ career.

To a point. McIlroy is suffering a lull that spans months since changing to his Nike clubs, a happy shift for Woods, whose form has done the opposite. The old boy is flying, and if McIlroy can recapture his form over the next few weeks, then this years Masters could well be a huge tussle between the two best players on the planet. Add a supporting cast of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and a host of in form Americans and you’ve got yourself one hell of a field.

The multi-million dollar McIlroy Nike deal came with a whirlwind of publicity and speculation. Writers everywhere decided that McIlroy was usurping Woods, that if Nike had their new poster boy, so did golf, and shortly after, Woods’ form picked up. Great champions don’t give up their mantle lightly, and Tiger Woods is most certainly one of those.

This said, McIlroy will surely take solace in his rival’s return from the outskirts. His form really is out of sorts, and although their lives outside of golf are poles apart, there are obvious similarities between the technical difficulties the two have battled with. If the old dog can learn new tricks, then the young pretender can put his troubles behind him fast, and throw himself at a major this year.

So on whose shoulders does the pressure sit? Well in different ways, both. The Northern Irishman will be built up as the outside bet desperately clinging on to his reign at the top, whilst Woods will harbour his own Nicklaus-enfused worries.

What’s for sure is that if McIlroy can pick up his game, this year’s Masters could be the starting point for one of sport’s truly great rivalries. Welcome to golf’s golden era.

Unheard of in any of the major leagues for a generation, going into the last few weeks of the season, there are no fewer than four teams vying for the league title. The big boys are there; Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord occupy the top three, but after five wins in five, habitual mid-tablers Vitesse Arnhem have joined the race. Three points separate them.

Wilfried Bony of Vitesse has lit up the league with 26 goals in 24 matches this season and has been linked to a big money moves to Chelsea. (Getty Images)

It’s a league in which anyone can beat anyone. Unlike the La Liga or Ligue 1, where the top teams reign supreme over a ladder of mediocrity, Dutch football is one of the most competitive in Europe, and no game is safe. Form tables mean little in the Erevidisie – it’s an absolute coupon buster, as bottom club Willem II recently proved when they beat PSV.

What holds it back is its relative lack of funds. The big players leave for bigger and better things in other leagues, usually for twice or even three times the salary, often for fees much lower than their talent would suggest. Technically speaking, Dutch football has delivered some of the most gifted players in the history of the game, and when TV money didn’t rule the game, they had some of the finest club sides too.

Think of the players thriving in the Premier League alone. Many would argue that it’s two best players are Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez, who both harnessed their talents through the annals of the Erevidisie, as well as Jan Vertonghen, and past legends such as Denis Bergkamp, Arjen Robben, Marc Overmars and Edwin van der Sar. Outside of the English game, theres Marco Van Basten, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, the De Boer brothers and countless dozens further back in the league.

Indeed, the well is not dry in terms of talent. This summer, bids are likely to tabled from the usual quarters for Leroy Fer, whose Everton move was thwarted by an injury in January, Wilfried Bony, Christian Eriksen, Kevin Strootman and Rodney Kongolo among others.

Furthermore, in Holland, there is a commitment to attractive football that is missing from many of the top divisions, so why is there such little interest in the league from outside the country?

Well, as with most things football, it’s money. Without an aggressive marketing strategy, television audiences won’t swarm to towards the less glamorous leagues, and by less glamorous, we of course mean those without the the aggressive marketing strategies. Its a vicious circle of which there is no way out.

For a long time the EPL has been hailed as the world’s best league, with its only competition coming from Spain. Says who? Recently, Germany’s Bundesliga has come into the discussion, but its no coincidence that this is only since a big, juicy TV deal was hatched, allowing Bayern to spend millions and set the Champions League alight. The way a standard is perceived is determined by the moneymen and the moneymen alone.

Who knew that there was three points between four at the top of Dutch football? With a few weeks to go, it represents the best chance of entertainment for European football fans. It’s a crying shame that nobody does.

Mike Hesson and Brendan McCullum have brought about a radical change in the dressing room culture

It was nearing the end of 2012; New Zealand were the laughing stock of world cricket. Mike Hesson, the newly appointed head coach of the side, acrimoniously dumped Ross Taylor from the captaincy and handed it to the controversial Brendan McCullum – his long time ally from his days as Otago coach. The general consensus was that Taylor was doing a reasonable job, and that the situation was an unnecessary farce that significantly undermined their best and most popular player.

Indeed, the outcry in New Zealand was incredible. New Zealand Cricket received angry letters from disgruntled punters and large numbers of the beige brigade threatened to vote with their feet and boycott matches, and Taylor took a break from the game in order to lick his wounds and bash some journeymen around in the first class 20-20 competition.

Fast forward only a few months, and the decision seems to be a masterstroke. New Zealand cricket had a bad attitude problem under Taylor, including a heavy drinking culture foreign to elite level sport; and while those carefree stylings may have appealed to the man on the street, it was not a useful attribute in an international changing room. Hesson and McCullum have straightened up, shipped out and sorted the drinking culture around the camp with old school discipline and a huge change in values.

Jesse Ryder has seldom been seen anywhere near the camp. His undoubted talent outstripped his attitude problems for years under a weaker administration; but with the rise of young middle order players around him, he has been sent back to Wellington and asked to sort himself out. Whether this works remains to be seen, but such a move is refreshing.

Spin twins Jeetan Patel and Blackcap legend Dan Vettori have fallen foul of drinking rules, and were recently forced to issue a full public apology for their behaviour after a late night incident in which they abused a nightclub bouncer was reported across the country. With the recent success of Bruce Martin, their futures hang on a thread – even Vettori’s.

Even veteran Daniel Vettori has not been given preferential treatment

Young bowling starlet Doug Bracewell is a victim of circumstance. His exclusion from the England series was in part caused by a foot injury picked up clearing up glasses at a party during which he didn’t drink. Under management past, or under different circumstances, Bracewell would have been given a kind benefit of the doubt. Not today. The seamer stayed pitchside even when he regained fitness, much to Neil Wagner’s gain. Bracewell will return to the fold, but the line is now drawn in the sand – the Blackcaps have a zero tolerance policy on alcohol related misdemeanours.

If these two talents return to the side with a renewed valour for the game and a streamlined attitude, it would only help NZ cricket. The eternal underdogs of world cricket deserve to be rewarded for their stance on what was a disrespectful culture of behaviour by their players. And as they close in on a historic series win against England, they might just get that reward a few years ahead of schedule.

Who is the greatest wicket-keeper in Test match cricket? Ever since the retirement of the game changing Adam Gilchrist, the question has never been far from the pages of cricket magazines and websites. From one time to another, Brendan McCullum, Kumar Sangakarra and Mark Boucher have held a claim to the title, but right here, right now, the front runners are reduced to two.

India’s MS Dhoni is someone whose meteoric rise through the ranks did the unthinkable. All of a sudden, Sachin was not the only darling in the Indian eyes. Dhoni captured a spirit in India and ran with it, becoming the definitive wicket-keeper batsman and defining an era of cricket in the country that saw them become a dominant force in limited overs cricket. Dhoni’s knock of 91 off 79 balls in the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai will go down in history as one of the great one day innings. He defines the post Dravid era.

In the dark blue corner sits a much more maligned character. Matt Prior is the same age as Dhoni, but at 31, has followed a far more challenging career path. The England gloveman has made the position his own after many difficult periods which have seen his country experiment with Tim Ambrose and Chris Read, and in one day cricket, his banishment continues to confuse. In recent years, he has become the most underrated cog in the England Test cricket machine.

So who is better? Well, this Englishman offers an easy answer. Prior.

Averaging four runs more than Dhoni (quite a lot when you consider the number of Tests the two have played), Prior is simply a better batsman in the longer form of the game. Dhoni can win a game in a session with his expansive stroke making, but in Prior, England have a more consistent player, still of aggressive nature, but one that is more versatile. And on his day, he’s every bit as destructive.

And the same argument that dogs Tendulkar’s undoubted career figures also stand true. Prior, in the main, plays on more difficult wickets more often. Docile pitches on the sub-continent, and the challenges they pose, are more bat friendly than those early season green tops in England by far, and that is the nature of the worldwide game. Where Tendulkar’s stats stand up the world over, Dhoni’s aren’t quite as impressive.

Inconsistentcy with the gloves is possibly where Dhoni would’ve gazumped his English counterpart in seasons past. That said, Prior’s keeping has improved immeasurably over the last couple of years, to a point where he can now be considered the finest stopper the world over when standing back. However, as any wicket-keeper will be quick to tell you, it is standing up to the wicket where a gloveman really earns his corn, and this is an area where Dhoni has the edge.

Both have an impressive cricket brain. Dhoni’s captaincy has been decribed as genius, incompetent and everything in between during his reign at the top, and whilst Prior is yet to skipper his country, his position as vice-captain during the New Zealand tour shows faith from those around him. As with Graeme Swann, Alastair Cook is never far from his ear when discussing matters of importance.

What is for sure is that these two cricketers are of the very, very highest calibre. Rest during limited overs cricket may have lengthened a number of Prior’s innings across from his Indian rival, but it is his form over the last couple of years that gives Matt Prior the edge as the greatest wicket keepr bat in the truest form of the game.

An exciting front two against a depleted defence provides the main point of interest for England‘s trip to Montenegro on Tuesday.

In Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic, the home side have a Serie A quality strike partnership that threatens to derail England’s hopes of topping qualifying Group H. A Montenegro win would see them move five points clear of the Three Lions with only two qualifiers left to play.

The two forwards will have watched England’s wrestling bout with Rio Ferdinand with a sense of joy. His absence, the retirement of John Terry and injuries to a number of center-halves have left England with a dearth of options at the back. Joleon Lescott and Chris Smalling look set to start in their place, neither having been selected in Roy Hodgson’s squad prior to the withdrawals.

Lescott, who will earn his 26th cap in Podgorica, ended up with the captain’s armband during Friday’s 8-0 disposal of minnows San Marino, and whilst his club future hangs in the balance at Manchester City, he will hope to make the position his own for England with a shut out tomorrow night. Smalling represents an investment for the future of English football, and that he has leapfrogged club team-mate Phil Jones in the selection stakes marks a fine year for the £10m youngster.

Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson are likely to sit either side of the back two, and with Joe Hart behind, it is from these areas that Smalling will seek experience in dealing with the Jovetic/Vucinic threat. The possible inclusion of Michael Carrick or Scott Parker in midfield should add some muscle to the England defensive cause. It would be a savvy move by Hodgson.

The home side are likely to play on the temperament of Wayne Rooney, who was sent off for a petulant kick on Miodrag Dzudovic during this same fixture in October 2011. The incident transformed Rooney’s career, however, and he has since accumulated only seven yellow cards and not a single red. Montenegro may well be better served concentrating on keeping him quiet on the ball.

Captain Steven Gerrard will return to the England line-up, and the battle between Arsenal club mates Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will rear its head once more after the latter’s starring role on Friday. The inclusion of a holding man might do for Frank Lampard, but again, his performance against San Marino points to an inclusion. Hodgson has decisions to make going in to this game, that’s for sure.

If Lescott and Smalling can keep out the Montenegrin twosome up top, then he might well be celebrating a win this weekend.

As England stare down the barrel of a humiliating series defeat in New Zealand, their fierce rivals Australia return across the Tasman channel to lick their India-inflicted wounds. In terms of one of the biggest years in the history of Test cricket, neither team could have envisaged a worse start to 2013.

It’s a year that will see back-to-back Ashes series only a few weeks apart. Bodyline, Bradman, Botham ’81, Australian domination throughout the nineties, Captain Cook’s runs, Warnie’s Gatting wonderball, and of course that incredible series in 2005 – the nostalgia surrounding the battle for that little urn is endless. But could the upcoming duels be the worst in a generation? On current form, perhaps.

Australia, returning from India, are in utter disarray. In-fighting and public humiliation were on the menu as the management pressed ‘self destruct’. It’s hard to see how Micky Arthur can still hold any respect within the dressing room. Arthur sent four key players home for not doing a menial piece of ’homework’, a list that included vice-captain Shane Watson and bright sparks James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja. All three are easy picks for the Ashes, and to believe that any negative baggage won’t be carried in to the series is naive. Oh, and they were humiliated in a 4-0 series whitewash.

And the holders? Well, the results speak for themselves.

England are notoriously inconsistent on tour, which may render their current form a little bit irrelevant, but a changing middle order and injuries around the camp threaten to disrupt what was, only a couple of years ago, a settled and well oiled machine. If they do go on to lose in Auckland, it represents their worst series result in a long, long time, and how quickly they react to that will be key to the Ashes series. They face New Zealand on home soil first, and will be aching to reverse fortunes with a win.

England will be favourites leading in to the series on home soil. Over five matches, they will profess to be the far greater side - Australia may well start the Ashes with only one batsman averaging over 40 – and over twenty-five days, they should romp home. Ashes pressure is different, however, and with Tim Bresnan and more importantly Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen returning from long-term injury, it will take time for them to regain match fitness, and for the team to re-adjust.

In Australia, well it remains to be seen what state both sides will be in after the English summer. The voodoo surrounding the Ashes down under was well and truly smashed by a Cook-inspired England last time round, but a galvanised Aussie side boasting a more than useful bowling attack could balance the odds this winter.

What is sure is that neither of these sides are at all near the pinnacle of the world game, something that hasn’t happened in an Ashes series since the late 80s. Back-to-back Ashes series represent a feast of cricket for fans the world over, but in terms of quality cricket? That remains to be seen.

The UK is struggling through their snowiest March in over fifty years, and as it shows no sign of stopping this weekend, it looks set to cause havoc with the week’s sporting fixtures.

Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifier with Russia has had to be delayed from a Friday night kickoff until 3 pm on Saturday in one of the most high profile postponements thus far. The news is likely to effect Russia’s team selection in their flagship friendly against Brazil on Monday, as they face the prospect of two games in three days.

Whilst the majority of Premier League grounds are well-equipped with under soil heating and the resources to thaw their pitches out, the adverse weather looks set to run riot with the country’s lower leagues, with Bradford City the first club to cancel their match as early as Friday morning. The Rugby League fixture between Wakefield Warriors and Leeds Rhinos has been postponed, with matches at Warrington and St Helens also under serious threat.

One sport that will take a significant financial hit is rugby union. Usually, the week following Europe’s major international tournament, the Six Nations, is a bumper opportunity for clubs to welcome sell-out crowds through their doors, but frozen conditions may well put an end to the season’s most profitable round of fixtures. There is not the same level of resources for Premiership rugby clubs as in football’s Premier League, and it is expected that most of the games, especially in the north of England, will be postponed. All matches in Scotland and most in Ireland have already fallen.

Similarly, following the Cheltenham festival, horse racing should be celebrating a lucrative weekend. Race meets at Kelso and Bangor have been cancelled, with Doncaster likely to hit the buffers tomorrow morning.

One sport that should certainly not be effected by snow is cricket, but that is just not the case this year. Pre-season started today for Middlesex and Somerset, who were due to play a four-day friendly at Taunton. Not so. All they practised was their cards and quiz skills as they watched sleet fall from the snowy sky. They will try again tomorrow, but as the slushy weather melts, expect a wash out. The county championship season is due to start in just over two weeks, and many believe even that will come under threat by some of the most unusual weather in decades.

For sports fans hoping to settle down to a full weekend of stats and scorelines, they might just have to sit tight and wait out the cold with a good book. The weather in the UK at the moment is snow joke.

We’ve all been there. Club cricketers around the world have played in matches when an average player has smashed them to all corners and recorded a score beyond their wildest dreams. You shrug, look at each other and ask: “How on earth has he done that?”

There must have been a moment when the England fielders did exactly that. Peter Fulton, a cult hero in New Zealand for his gangly batting style and awkward negotiation of short bowling, is 124 not out after the first day of the third Test at Eden Park in Auckland. And on what seems to be the world’s flattest wicket, in conditions sculpted from a batsman’s paradise, his side are in pole position to at least achieve a draw from this series, currently deadlocked at 0-0. New Zealand are 250-1.

Indeed, Fulton’s innings has its support. Young Kane Williamson is also taking advantage of the perfect batting conditions, and at 83*, his innings showed a maturity belying his relative inexperience at this level. Make no mistake about it, England are on the run.

What will hurt the most is that it could have been England doing the scoring, and not the Black Caps. It was Alastair Cook, not Brendan McCullum, that won the toss, and put the home side into bat on what appears to be a featherbed designed to ensure a series draw. It didn’t take long for parallels to be drawn with Nasser Hussain’s infamous insertion of the Aussies at Brisbane in 2002, and for good reason. Peter Fulton, for his efforts, is not a good enough player to bat through a day unbeaten against England. This was a day to bat, and bat long.

England’s bowlers toiled in the difficult circumstances with little imagination. Jimmy Anderson is clearly unfit, and had they gone into this match with a one-match lead, you can’t help but think that Chris Woakes or Graham Onions would have been taken his place. Stuart Broad and Steven Finn struggled with their length, and in Monty Panesar, England have a spinner not quite firing on all cylinders, and struggling with some of the smallest boundaries in Test cricket.

But England’s failings were New Zealand’s gain, and the side ranked eighth in the Test rankings look set to complete an unlikely series draw, at least, against the world number twos. This was not in the 2013 script for the away side, whose focus is perhaps beyond this and the corresponding series in England, and instead on back-to-back Ashes series later this year. It’s up to Cook and his men to first escape this Test match alive.

Buy low, sell high. That is the mantra for stockholders the world over.

And in football, it’s how small clubs do their business. Academy prospects and free transfers come good are how teams in the football league keep their heads above water, and for those that can do it time and again, use it to rise into the big time (see Southampton). These ‘selling clubs’ use transfer business to their advantage.

But is the same thing likely to happen at one of England’s biggest clubs? Newcastle United, a juggernaut of football heritage, have been praised over recent years for ther incredibly savvy transfer record, especially when delving into the cash-strapped French market. Only in January did they add a handful of cut-price bargains such as Yoann Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko, to go with their squad of similarly cheap squad members. Yohan Cabaye, Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse, among many others, were all signed for a percentage of their current value.

But what now? It’s a harsh reality for any club outside of the European places that their players will be courted by teams holding those spots, and Newcastle seem to suffer from this more than most. At the peak of their powers, Shay Given was sold to Manchester City, Andy Carroll and Jose Enrique to Liverpool, and Demba Ba to Chelsea. Had they not been a victim of form, injury or both, it is likely that Tim Krul, Cabaye and Tiote would have moved on to pastures new, and in Hatem Ben Arfa they have a star man who might be leaving for PSG this summer. Are Newcastle a selling club? And if so, how do they reverse the trend?

It’s tough. They are without doubt a truly massive club, but one without a history of winning trophies. For players who come in and are then touted by the press as players who deserve better, playing in front of one of Europe’s most passionate crowds often just isn’t enough. Player power rules all nowadays, and unfortunately for Newcastle, unless they rise to the level of their transfer rivals, and fast, they just won’t keep hold of their more influential stars.

It doesn’t help, of course, that their owner is more businessman than football man. Mike Ashley has turned Newcastle United into a profitable machine whose transfer income hugely outstrips its out goings. Make no mistake, in his relationship with manager Alan Pardew, Ashley is king, and where there is a large profit to be made on a footballer, you can usually expect him to sell at some stage.

Once again, their gifted scouting network has landed them with a squad worthy of European contention. For the sake of their fans, and indeed for their future success, that squad needs to turn potential into silverware.

So what’s the problem? Long-serving England international turns his back on England and sets off into the Arabian sunset. That’s the end of the story, surely? Not, so it would seem, for the Rio Ferdinand saga, which has left egg on the faces of all in touching distance, including England manager Roy Hodgson.

Without doubt, Ferdinand could have been treated better by whoever truly selects the England team. After over a decade of service in an international career in which he has gathered 81 caps, his controversial exclusion from the 2012 European Championships squad was a mess better left untouched, and one that has no doubt shaped the latest in a sequence of Ferdinand selection shambles that is likely to be the last. Rio Ferdinand’s England career is over.

And it’s his own fault. Mistreated, yes. But Steven Gerrard‘s rather frank notion that he would never turn his back on his country is the way it should be for sportsmen and women around the world. Representing your country is the ultimate privilege, and when England come knocking, Ferdinand should down tools and welcome them in. His decision to back out and run off to a pay day in Dubai is a shocking betrayal, and one his 18-year old debutant self would have no doubt been embarrassed at.

As so many of these England controversies seem to be, it’s all to do with ego. And Ferdinand’s is bigger than most.

He’s a brand now, and he knows it. He’s money, fame, success beyond football. That’s what Rio Ferdinand stands for. He’s got his own magazine, restaurant, clothes line, he hosted a television series, he’s never off our screens or Twitter feeds, and for some unfathomable reason, the 34-year old appears to be the self-appointed voice of urban youth today. In his own mind, Rio Ferdinand no longer needs England. In his mind, Rio Ferdinand’s issues with the FA last year outweighed any duty a top-level footballer has to serve his country. And he’s wrong.

He’s not alone by any means. Micah Richards, Ben Foster, Michael Carrick and Peter Crouch all shunned the opportunity to sit on England’s reserve list last summer, presumably because they felt they had better things to do. World-class players have cut their England cap list short in order to prolong their club stints – Shearer, Scholes, Carragher. Whatever your thoughts on international football – it’s disrespectful to your country, your profession, and your own career. The fact that Paul Scholes only has 66 England caps is sacrilege.

As Rio Ferdinand plays pundit in Dubai over the next few days, I hope he looks down at young Steven Caulker or Steven Taylor, and feels a smack of guilt for his selfishness, as they wear the Three Lions’ shirt with the pride that it deserves. England are better off with players of their integrity.

You don’t give up on your country. Your country gives up on you.

There have been green shoots of encouragement and investment in youth alongside sheer frustration and disappointment for a club with expectations as high as anywhere in football, and the future of Rodgers as Liverpool manager will sink or swim on the transfers he makes this off-season. Liverpool are a club with a heavily blemished transfer history, and as FSG prepare to hand off a £20m treasure chest, plus sales, it will be an important season of business for the Merseyside club.

Here are five signings Rodgers should make this Summer;

5) Ashley Williams (Swansea)

Much has been made of Liverpool’s lack of leadership at the back, and in the light of Jamie Carragher’s retirement announcement and Martin Skrtel’s impending exit, Rodgers is in desperate need of a commanding centre back for next season. That man may just be Ashley Williams, the Wales and Swansea skipper, who has impressed the football world with an immeasurable role in Swansea’s rise to the big time. Technically able, with experience of the Rodgers’ ideal, he is a relatively straight forward choice as the new Anfield rock at the back. A bidding war with Arsenal might arise, but if all goes to plan, £8m should make Williams a Liverpool player.

4) Kevin Gameiro (PSG)

Whilst Liverpool’s problems haven’t been in the final third this season, their offensive options still run a little short. The influence of Luis Suarez has made up for this, but Rodgers will be all too aware that he may not be lucky next term. Gameiro, a victim of the sudden investment at PSG (think Adebayor or Bellamy at Man City), would be a savvy signing in a system that thrives on movement and creativity. Another forward player might be seen as a bit of a luxury buy for Liverpool, but at £10m, Gameiro could be a clever signing for the Rodgers revolution.

3) Christian Eriksen (Ajax)

Now this would be impressive. If Liverpool were to sign Eriksen, one of the most sought after youngsters in European football, it would serve as a real signal of intent to the Premier League. With Jordan Henderson’s progress crawling along slowly, Eriksen could be the Steven Gerrard replacement Anfield so badly needs. The Danish playmaker has only a year left on his contract at Ajax, and if the Champions League fraternity don’t get in there first, he could be a Liverpool player for only £14m.

2) Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

If you were to do a poll amongst Kopites right now, Alonso would be the main transfer target for the Summer. Consigned to fan folklore for his four year stint at Anfield a few years ago, the Spaniard represents happier memories for Liverpool fans. His passing and vision at the bottom of Rodgers’ ‘midfield triangle’ would go some way to quelling the Liverpool problem of turning defence into attack, and his signing would, no doubt, rejuvenate any corner of a fan base disillusioned with their club’s recent fortunes. Another whose contract expires in a year, Mourinho could send Alonso home for only £7m.

1) Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

Without doubt, the most important piece of business Rodgers will complete this summer concerns one of his own players. The money clubs are circling, and as Bayern Munich join PSG and Man City in the queue for Suarez’s affections, Liverpool face a battle to keep their star man. Suarez seems relatively happy at Anfield, but his status as the finest player outside of the Champions League will always mean clubs are interested. Suarez has a 5 year contract. It’s up to Rodgers to convince him it will take only one of those for him to enter the Champions League pantheon.

Gender equality. It’s one hell of a topic to tackle on a light-hearted sports magazine website. For centuries women around the world have been fighting the good fight for equal opportunities in all manner of areas, and rightly so. There is absolutely no reason that a woman should be discriminated against in the workplace, in democracy or in any other general walk of life. But in sport, the incessant noise surrounding increased exposure of women’s sport is misguided at best and downright idiotic at worst.

97% of Sky Sports’ viewership is male. (Getty Images)

In the UK, both the media and entertainment industries are split two ways – public and commercial. The BBC, which is publicly funded by a mandatory ‘TV License’, has a moral responsibility (among dozens of others), to give a platform to areas that traditionally get less exposure. Their sport programme isn’t as extensive as it was, hiding behind the excuse that their commercial rivals, especially Sky TV, have the resources to outbid them at a whim.

Commercial TV is different. Terrestrial and digital channels are at the beck and call of their advertisers, and require viewers to stay alive in this respect. Sky have the same issue, along with a responsibility to carry the very best sport to their subscribers, many of whom pay pounds ten for the Sky Sports channels alone.

And this is where the problem lies. Elite level women are not as fast or strong as elite level men. It’s just not as good as the men’s equivalent, so why is there some sort of accepted belief that people want to pay to watch it?

The fact is that they don’t. Otherwise it would be on. Women’s sport gets its scheduled run out at Wimbledon and major athletics events, but if there was a genuine clamour for more female sport on television, then market research would no doubt make sure that this was the case.

It’s the same argument for minor sports as it is for the female equivalent, but funnily enough, the debate for more bass fishing airtime carries less weight than where campaigners can label it under the PR cauldron of ’gender equality’. There is no counter argument that won’t be labelled sexist, and as the screw tightens, expect to see more women’s sport on TV that nobody will watch, which is frankly ridiculous.

97% of Sky Sports’ viewership is male. Asking for equal coverage in sport is like asking the lin for equal opportunities. Sport is an area that is, in the vast majority, watched by men, played by men and covered by men. The near exclusivity of male sport on TV is just good business.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are that of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect that of Sportskeeda.  

The idiot speaks. Disgraced British boxing ‘star’ Dereck Chisora, fresh from renewing his boxing license with the BBBC earlier this month, has announced that boxing needs more personalities like his in order to revive itself.

Speaking on BBC radio, Chisora, who was banned from professional boxing following a run of moronic actions including a press conference brawl with David Haye last year, claimed that his sport is dead, and wont recover without him.

And where the future of boxing is concerned, the moron has a point. Boxing’s golden years are over, and the sport is dying a long and painful death. The erstwhile efforts of British fighters, alongside the plastic glamour of the American scene, is providing a lukewarm environment for a sport that thrives on showmanship and personality. Boxing badly needs a return to these attributes.

Its future lies with Adrien Broner. Flowing shorts, fast hands and a fledgling career sit alongside a level of showmanship that bypasses Mayweather and into the pantheon of Ali. He’s likeable, world-class, and in the absence of a major injury or upset, he will set the world alight. Alongside the respectful but classy young Englishman Kell Brook and an assortment of talents rising from around the world, fight fans will be praying for a return to the golden ages for boxing. Promoters and trainers will be all too aware that their sport requires this, and will no doubt be trying to sculpt the stars of the future out of the ring as well as in it.

What boxing doesn’t need is Dereck Chisora. The man puts ‘his’ sport to shame, reducing the discipline and control that sets it apart from brawling to rubble. Respect is a word that means nothing to him (see also David Haye), and when you put these distasteful personality disorders together, you’ve got an idiot that does more to harm boxing then enrich it. He spits in the face of world-class champions, swears on live TV, kisses opponents on the weigh-in stage, and what’s worse, feels great about it. Good for the sport? Not on your nelly.

There are rumours suggesting that Chisora’s comeback fight will be against the recently defeated David Price in Liverpool this summer, which is set to be a fascinating fight of differing personalities, styles and classes. Chisora should get soundly beaten, and if Price’s confidence holds up in the face of his opponent’s relentless aggression, then there is a chance that the idiot will scuttle off into retirement and out of the limelight.

For the good of boxing, let’s hope that is the case.

You’d have got reasonable odds that after two Tests of this three match series in New Zealand, Alastair Cook would be staring at a 0-0 scoreline.

It just wasn’t in the script. Fresh from a classy thrashing of India in their own back garden, the England boys were expected to waltz in to the southern hemisphere and sweep all before them. Indeed, back to back Ashes series await – surely a New Zealand tour is merely a pre-season run out? Not at all. A Neil Wagner inspired first day in Dunedin sent England’s top order hurtling into the buffers, and only a stoic batting display from Cook and Nick Compton prevented an embarrassing defeat.

The second Test was reverting to follow until a cyclone washed out days four and five, and here we are, 0-0, with all to play for in a rugby stadium with a drop in wicket. England vs New Zealand could not have been closer, especially when you consider that the mercurial Kevin Pietersen is out with an injury. Game on!

Young stroke-maker Jonny Bairstow will replace Pietersen, with Ian Bell moving up to number four. Make no mistake, this top order is still strong, but the New Zealand attack will be thanking their lucky stars in prospect of bowling to a KP-less England line-up. In Compton, Bairstow and the stuttering Joe Root, there is talent by the barrel, but experience? Not a lot.

Doug Bracewell

What’s more, New Zealand are strengthened. Doug Bracewell is one of the finds of recent years, and returning from injury, his wobbling seam will prove to be much more of a threat than that of wayward pace man Trent Boult. How injury affects him remains to be seen, however, and the workload will have to be shared amongst the seamers whilst the flight-driven Bruce Martin attempts to deal with Eden Park’s miniscule boundaries. The left-arm spinner will be wondering what he has done to deserve KP’s absence on Test cricket‘s smallest ground.

And the pitch? Well, no one can be sure of a drop-in pitch until overs have been bowled. That said, Auckland rarely harbours much bounce, and it has been known to flatten out from bowler-friendly to a featherbed over a couple of days. If the New Zealand middle order settle in on a flat one, expect fireworks and Panesar darts. Eden Park is not nearly big enough for Ross Taylor and Brendan McCullum, and if New Zealand manage to uproot England’s middle order early doors, this could be the key for an unlikely series win.

After all the troubles of recent months, the stars are aligning for McCullum’s New Zealand. Don’t rule them out.

Ask any Newcastle United fan what they think of Michael Owen. Around the expletives and general sense of anger, there will a reasoned case to suggest that Michael Owen, the newly appointed patron saint of English football, is a footballer completely unworthy of the tsunami of praise adorning the media this week.

Owen has announced that he is set to retire at the age of 33, as a bit part player for Stoke. European footballer of the year in 2001, Owen had 89 England caps by the time he was not yet thirty, and had played at some of the biggest clubs in world football. Yes, he had a great career, and indeed, he has to be in firm contention for an ‘all-time England XI’ spot, but what followed his move back to England from Real Madrid in 2005 ensure that his tag as ‘model pro’ is completely rose-tinted and nostalgia driven.

Footballer Michael Owen arrives on The 4th Day of The Royal Meeting at Ascot Racecourse on June 20, 2009 in Ascot, England.

Somewhere around this time, the striker stopped being a footballer, and became a horse owner. Terms in his contract spelled out that he required more time off than his teammates during the week in order to tend to his stables. Indeed, the club paid for a helicopter to take him to and from his home in Chester everyday he was forced to come in to training. Owen could not have been better looked after at Newcastle United, and even a widely reported wage in excess of £100,000-a-week could not keep this ‘model pro’ on the training ground for a minute longer than he had to be.

Of course, injuries prevented Owen from becoming one of the all-time greats. Continuous hamstring problems and a bad knee injury cut that killer pace out of his game and stifled his record as a hugely feared marksman. And that, probably, is what turned his aspiration from Jimmy Greaves to Ginger McCain. But that’s no excuse. Hundreds of footballers have overcome bad injuries and gone on to celebrate success regardless. Despite the fact that he still had a keen eye for goal and an international class finish, Michael Owen gave up.

His move from Newcastle to Manchester United raised enormous debate. Owen had offers from clubs across England and Europe that would have seen him feature as a key player, but instead he chose to make ten substitute appearances a year for a club presumably offering him something close to the wages he had become accustomed to. Had he signed for Everton, for example, he may well have gone onto a return to form and a return to the England squad, but again, terms in his contract lending more time away from the training ground meant that first team football was never an option.

There are thousands of people who would do anything for just half of Michael Owen’s tremendous talent, and whilst injuries and sheer bad luck seriously hampered his progress, he did little to reverse the odds. Owen was a world-class striker whose achievements as a sportsman should be applauded with absolutely no reservations, but model pro? Neigh.

Sacrilege surely? Just about every Liverpool forum or fansite is teaming with ‘Suarez for Player of the Year’ tributes and fierce Bale-damning rants. And for good reason. Out of the two, Suarez has outstripped the Spurs star without any shadow of a doubt. The little Uruguayan has single-handedly held the Liverpool season together, rising above all others as top scorer, and has generally been without doubt the best player of the season.

Robin van Persie is the reigning PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

The problem with both Suarez and Bale is that they are incredibly unlikeable by anyone who doesn’t support their side. Indeed, even Liverpool’s biggest fans must recognise that on a football field, Luis Suarez is a nasty piece of work. A genius piece of work, but a nasty one, all the same.

And that is why neither of them can win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. It’s a prestigious award that requires more than just goals and assists, its about earning the respect of your peers through professionalism and outstanding sporting achievement. A glance down the list of previous winners pays testament to this, with the screaming exception of Bale’s win in 2011.

The fact that the dive-happy Bale has won it previously is frankly wrong. He’s British, which explains it, and that fact might just count in his favour once more when it comes round to it this year too. The media tends to ignore his personality short falls, flinging him onto a pedestal for far longer than the two months or so that he bothers to dust off his ‘genius’.

So who does that leave? Well, truthfully, only last year’s winner, Robin van Persie. A lot was made of the idea that whichever of the Manchester clubs he plumped for in the summer would run away with the league. Whilst nothing in sport is that simple, it has kind of worked out that way. van Persie’s inclusion has propelled his side to champion status some weeks before the end of the season. He’s been rather good. Not as good as Suarez, but really rather good.

And, to all but the constantly furious Arsenal fraternity, he’s pretty likeable. The Dutchman is a model pro. And that’s what makes all the difference. Not a single Manchester United player, for example, will cast their vote in the box of El Pistolero (Suarez), and you know what? Until he cuts out the cheating, they shouldn’t.

The powers that be over at Qatar football have decided to convince the world that their buying of the 2022 World Cup isn’t all that bad. By buying the interest of European football.

A plan has been launched to create ‘The Dream Football League’, a paint-by-numbers attempt at grandeur that threatens to showcase the fact that football is willing to sell its soul if the price is right. The tournament, hosted in Doha on every odd-numbered year in one of their big, awful, air-conditioned stadiums, requires some of the world’s biggest football clubs to join to create some sort of European super league. It looks set to take place in the middle of the summer.

So why would Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid even consider their inclusion in such a logistical cess-pit?

Well, filthy lucre, of course. The rumour is that each club would be handed a massive £175m to compete. The project is the love-child of the Qatar royal family, to whom money appears no object, and who are desperate to make sport their country’s next major investment area, as their natural gas supplies come under threat.

Worryingly, the project is being driven not only from Doha, but also Paris, where the family owns David Beckham’s Paris St Germain. The same company are the shirt sponsors of FC Barcelona. Suddenly, the pieces are falling together. These juggernauts are almost certain to be included in the 16 ‘permanent’ places in the tournament, with the remaining 8 falling to clubs handed golden tickets each year.

Those palming the tournament off as an over-blown pre-season tournament can also think again. Clubs will be forced to play their stars, whose level of fatigue, already plagued by bi-annual international outings, will go through the roof once even more.

The vast sums of money offered will only serve to further muddy the pool of financial mire that runs through Europe’s biggest leagues, and the gap between the haves and the have nots will get larger still. And this is where clubs will be forced to show their hand. If Manchester City, for example, take the bribe and put their name to the horror show, then Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham will have to follow suit simply to keep up. £175m buys a lot of footballers.

That said, it is as yet unclear how such a venture would fit into the much maligned ‘Financial Fair Play’ regulations. It is here where FIFA and UEFA, no doubt fearful of a ‘rebel league’, may be able to make their presence felt. An Indian Cricket League situation may just rear its head. Necessary, yes. Good for the game, no.

Prepare for this one to run and run. But consider this; do the Glazers, FSG, Stan Kroenke and Roman Abramovich care more about the sanctity of football they have already done so much to destroy, or will they take an astronomical injection of cash into their ‘investment projects’?

It’s not a tough one.

Young players have been bloodied. There was that draw at Man City. The pass completion rates have flown through the roof. These points of nonsense is what the vast majority of Liverpool fans have been desperately clinging onto and spouting through gritted teeth to mates down the pub for what has seemed like forever. But as Liverpool clung on to their 3-2 lead against Tottenham on Sunday, it felt as though things were actually falling into place.

Luis Suarez (C) celebrates his goal with his Liverpool teammates during the Barclays Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on March 10, 2013 in Liverpool, England.

It wasn’t the best performance of the season. But a win against high-flying Spurs — third in the league and unbeaten in twelve — was a genuinely good win that threw weight behind next year’s run at qualification for the Champions League.

Firstly, three points against someone that wasn’t Norwich or a weakened Swansea. All too often this year Liverpool have flattered to deceive, hammering sides that are overawed by the Anfield experience or that were outdone by Luis Suarez, before floundering against Aston Villa or West Brom. Liverpool are on a good run against good sides, and unless they render this article obscelite with a half-hearted performance against Southampton on Saturday, they are looking like a proper side themselves.

Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho, the two major additions in January, have shown their worth with a string of exciting showings; Sturridge’s injury issues aside. Coutinho’s role in Liverpool’s first on Sunday was a joy to behold, and if the two can stay fit, the front three, including Suarez, is of top four quality.

Coutinho has played a big part in Rodgers’ moment of genius. Any supporter who followed the cringe-worthy pre-season documentary series that followed his entry into the Liverpool hot-seat will know of the handful of minor tactical changes he speaks of, that make a big difference on the pitch.

2-1 down at home, taking off an in-form, assist-laden flair player for an out-of-form, deep-lying midfielder sounds like the workings of a mad man. Alas, Coutinho for Joe Allen proved a master-stroke, which flipped the game on its head. Allen’s inclusion killed off the threat of Moussa Dembele, the most influential player on the pitch up to then, and provided Liverpool with a level of control missing alongside one of Lucas’ weaker displays. The outrage on twitter at sixty minutes was turned to ninety minute elation by one bold Rodgers’ move.

And with any good win, the big players stood up to be counted. Suarez collected the man-of-the-match champagne after opening the scoring, and captain Steven Gerrard scored the winner after a typically influential performance. The much maligned Stewart Downing continued his run of good form, as did Jose Enrique, and as mentioned, the struggling Allen went some way to turning the game. A fancy system is jolly nice, but if your players don’t perform, the results won’t be.

Anfield is starting to feel like a proper place to play football again, something that can be traced back to the fans’ hair-raising Zenit showing, Rodgers is on song, Suarez can’t stop scoring, and you can’t help but feel that if Liverpool had managed to get this run going three weeks earlier, they would be sat on the edge of Champions League qualification.

As it is, they can only celebrate progress.