I’m not normally one to comment on the round ball game: football is football and the other stuff is Association. However, just a little note on the Luiz Felipe "Big Phil" Scolari matter, his turning down the England (Association, of course) coaching job.

Militant Moderate is outraged at the behaviour of the press, Coffee and PC is very funny about it (and angry, but funny and angry), The Big Fat Buddha thinks we should have asked Johan Cruyff (!?) but regrets Scolari’s rejection: he wouldn’t have put up with any crap at least. The Gay News Blog seems happy enough as Scolari is regarded (as I say, I don’t know much about Association so don’t know whether this is true or not) as anti-gay.

However, what I can tell you is why he gave up the job. You see he lives just round the corner from us. Eats in the restaurant at the bottom of the road. Yes, he’s even been pointed out to me having a quiet drink in the pub. You know, the normal everyday things that normal everyday people do: even if they are the coach of the national football team.

On Friday, the pub my wife works in had the pleasure of a visit from three Daily Mail operatives. Yes, three. One, two, three. "D’you know where Scolari drinks? Eats? He go to strip clubs? Any juicy stories?" That might not be verbatim  as that is my wife recalling what they asked her two days ago. But close enough.

Denied all knowledge of him, of course, despite knowing all of the above. As far as we or anyone else around here can work out he dropped it simply because he doesn’t like the press pack and as a family man (no, not a euphemism, simply a description) wasn’t prepared to put up with them.

So, well done to the gentlemen of the press then.