The world of football is a sadder place this morning. Bobby Robson was one of the good guys; a top manager, one of the last of the old school of players and management and one of those people that you just know you'd like if you ever met. What he achieved with Ipswich shows just how good he was as a Manager (and let's not forget he was an England footballer as a player too) and his star could even have shone a little brighter but he was cruelly rewarded in 1990 when England went out on penalties in the semi-final of the World Cup. That England side deserved better luck and Robson, in particular, was dealt a cruel hand, as he showed throughout that tournament not only his tactical acumen but also his ability to get the best from his players, in particular his man-management of the difficult Paul Gascoigne. In retrospect, it was probably only Bobby Robson who successfully handled the mercurial Gascoigne's talent and we can only guess what might have happened had Robson been able to harness his talent for longer.

I know the Soccernet bosses like us to turn up in the office regularly over the close season, but I think it's a well known fact that I believe the period between early May and mid August should be entirely for the domain of summer sports (and I'm fully aware many of you were involved in late May and are already ironing your club shirts for pre-season tournaments) and it's something I like to resist where possible.

Be that as it may though, I've just popped in to do a spot of tidying and dusting and thought I'd just mention a few WHU related topics to keep the wheels turning.