Andy Murray – one gutsy competitor

I have to confess I’m never a big fan of the French Open Grand Slam… Matches that reach the five-hour mark by 7:00pm local time with little sign of ending soon, and watching 30-shot rallies that leaves your neck so stiff you’ll be in bed for the following couple of days unable to move. However, there is a 22-year old Scot that often fills me with intrigue. Andy Murray has obviously proven in the past few years to be an outstanding athlete. He spends the off-season every year improving his fitness and strength, and translates that with success on the tennis court with a number of trophies in the ATP tennis circuit. Yet, we can’t decide whether to love him or hate him, even when he arrives at Wimbledon. He, like so many other British players before him, has still yet to get his sweaty fingers on a Grand Slam trophy. This is why he has been participating in the French Open, and earlier today, beat Argentine world number 49 Juan Ignacio Chela in four sets to advance into the third round.

I’ve watched bits and pieces of Murray’s first two matches in this year’s tournament. He shows great tenacity and commitment. The Dumblane man obviously thrives on competition. He was taken to five sets by home boy Richard Gasquet, and came back from two sets down to compete his a morale-boosting victory. He was playing attacking clay court tennis during the whole of that match, which obviously wasn’t successful during the first two sets, did in the last three. And Murray put the tiring Frenchman as the match reached its concluding point in some occasions by immaculately playing drop shots, an effective choice of shot on clay as the surface is least receptive for the ball to bounce than on others.

Yesterday’s performance showed how Murray can really turn on his class, despite being recalled to court one on no less than four occasions as rain delays and the previous day’s light issue forced the Scot to play his match over two days. He was made to work very hard in the third set. A break down midway through the third, the Scot racked up three games in a row in a match-clinching spell of tennis from Murray. He is able to tire his opponents, making them run ragged back and down the court, and left and right, such is the Scot’s variety of weapons of shot selection he has at his disposal.

The French Open couldn’t have been any tougher for him. But if he pulled through the tough challenges Gasquet and Chela through at him, and needed to be on strong form to do so, then the next match, against the erratic Marcos Baghdatis, should be easier for Murray. If he does beat the Cypriot, then Murray could potentially face top 20 players Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and world no. 1 Roger Federer, to reach the final. His demeanour on the court shows he might just be ready for it, despite the frustrating rain delays he encountered yesterday and a niggling knee injury.

Barcelona sign David Villa. Another superstar signed - is the La Liga more attractive a league than EPL?

Barcelona have taken a large sum out of their extremely large 'overdraft' limit by securing the signing of 28-year old Spanish international forward David Villa for around £34.2 million.

The signing reinforces the spending power of the two most powerful clubs in Spain - Real Madrid and Barcelona. Real Madrid's extraordinary signing of Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m from Manchester United last summer outstrips the most expensive Premier League acquisition of Carlos Tevez to Man City by £55m. So is the Spanish league the creme da la creme of club football?

The most obvious argument would be no, it is not. The English Premier League generates significant interest worldwide unlike the problematic La Liga. Barcelona and Real Madrid are two global marketing forces, while the third placed outfit this season, Valencia, lied 25 points adrift of second place. Competition? What competition? The two clubs are able to negotiate their own television rights, meaning they get a much larger portion in broadcasting deals than the other 18 clubs competing in La Liga. The Premier League's policy is to distribute collective broadcasting revenues to each EPL club equally and weighted according to the number of league appearances and final league position.

A study conducted by the University of Barcelona showed that the collective debt of La Liga clubs totalled in excess of £3bn, approximately £400m more than the collective debt of Premiership clubs. Teams like Real Mallorca, who have gone into voluntary administration, Valencia and Europa League champions Atletico Madrid, have hit financial desparation and are in need of an ownership restructuring, perhaps proof that La Liga needs to model itself on the Premier League's distribution of television monies.

Real Madrid are also bailed out by the local government, much in a similar way that the UK government did with the banking system two years ago. This means that they are able to spend excessively on transfers without worrying too much over going into administration. And plus, the club are backed by a billionaire from the Spanish construction industry, Florentino Perez.

Barcelona are run in a sightly tighter financial model than their arch rivals. However, their 98,000 Camp Nou stadium, as well as its global profile means it can attract the best players in the world. They do not also need to dive into their bank account to buy players, Barcelona also look to develop prodigious talent. The likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol all grew up as a Catalan other than Messi, who moved to Barcelona at a very young age. Left-winger Pedro Rodriguez and Bojan Krkic are next in line in a long Barcelona academy conveyor belt to be successes.

The latest news to come from Barcelona is that Arsenal's talismanic midfielder Cesc Fabregas is seriously pondering a move to the Catalan giants, proving that the powerful entities of Barcelona and Real Madrid will continue for a number of years yet. The two clubs have a great history, awe-inspiring stadia, fabulous traditions, great cities, and you can possibly count weather in comparision with England.

As far as leagues go, the Premier League will always better the La Liga competition. The case may go against the clubs, as Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to dominate the transfer market and swooping the best players in the world.

Chelsea vs. Portsmouth FA CUp Final preview

Unlike this week's political 'blue' coalition between the Conservatives and Lib Dems, Saturday's FA Cup final will feature a collision two blue halves - Portsmouth and Chelsea.

Chelsea, like the Conservatives, consider themselves as the favourite - a big club with middle-class roots. Portsmouth, on the other hand, are the underdogs who have scratched and clawed their way from financial meltdown to reach their second FA Cup final in three years. The only similarities between the Lib Dems and Pompey are 'small' club tags with a big mentality, and an eager for fairness in their political systems.

However, despite repeated appeals by manager Avram Grant for his outfit to compete in next season's Europa League as a consequence to their passage to the final, the show goes on for the club as they seek to reduce the insurmountable debt in its financial acounts.

Chelsea will want to end an up and down season with the Double, a week after jubilant scenes at Stamford Bridge as they clinched the title in fine style in the 8-0 drubing of Wigan. Captain and England defender john Terry had a precautionary scan on a foot injury that left everyone concerned over his availability, particularly with the World Cup on the horizon.

However, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard's form will be key on Saturday. If the two turn up on a stodgy Wembley pitch, there is every chance they can leave Wembley for South Africa with their heads held high.

England's preliminary squad throws surprises, but otherwise shows lack of depth

England manager Fabio Capello yesterday named his 30-man preliminary squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with few nuggets of surprise, but perhaps showed some frailties with an imbalance, even in naming a squad seven more than the final outcome come 1 June.

Jamie Carragher comes back after the Liverpool servant's three-year long international exile. However, there is only one out-in-out right-back in Glen Johnson, also of Liverpool. Capello has picked Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone to train with England in their pre-World Cup camp in Austria, and will be eager to prove that they can take over the defensive midfield duties of the injured Gareth Barry. Barry, who has never featured in a major finals, is out for four weeks and is scheduled for return to fitness just days before England's opener against USA on June 12. There is only one genuine defensive midfielder in Michael Carrick, so Capello may have problems in keeping his defensive line watertight.

Ledley King makes his return to England's squad, but lingering doubts over his ability to play 90 minutes within a few days of each other. Tottenham defender and fellow team-mate Michael Dawson is also drafted in. Ashley Cole is back in the England fold after successful recovering from a broken ankle, in time to play Chelsea's last two Premier League games, in the process helping The Blues capture the championship.

Adam Johnson and Joe Cole are also in Capello's plans in the wings. It may well be a smart from the Italian, who is a keen admirer of the two players. That, coupled with the often froghtening pace of Aaron Lennon and The Walcott, England can offer attacking intent come June. The strikers are of your usual, but again increasingly points towards the question in who will partner Wayne Rooney. People often discredit Emile Heskey for his lack of composure in his finishing, and I'll be one of the first to say he isn't a great player, but his sheer work rate, strength and temperament will offer Capello a good outlet when in possession.

Joe Hart also receives a call up in goal, and some will want him to be in goal against USA. He has performed with great class at Birmingham and was probably the key reason why they finished the season comfortably in the top half of the Premier League. Here is the full rundown of the provisional squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Scott Parker (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).

Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).