THANK goodness for Bobby Robson. In another week of shocking reminders of the lack of morality in football, the Newcastle manager shone out like a beacon.

How uplifting it was to hear his hoarse voice proclaiming the virtues of learning how to lose after his side had risen to the summit of the Premiership.

With apologies to Mackems, and the odd Arsenal fan in these parts, I sincerely hope Newcastle stay there, if only for Robson's sake. Nobody deserves it more.

If ever a man needed to know how to lose it was Robson when his England team were cruelly denied in the 1990 World Cup semi-final.

He has enjoyed a few triumphs overseas since then, but he bleeds black and white and it would be a wonderfully fitting climax to a marvellous career if Newcastle won the title.

While Gerard Houllier will obviously evoke some sympathy, and doubtless they are all excellent at their job, the managers of Newcastle's six or seven title rivals look an odd assortment alongside Robson.

Two are French, one Italian, one has won more than his share of trophies and accolades, one has strange beliefs about disabled people and another has been revealed as a mixture of Irish charm and hypocrisy.

There is much to admire about David O'Leary, but how can he defend Lee Bowyer's right to play for England while at the same time brandishing him as guilty, if not of GBH, then of some other pretty ghastly things?

O'Leary's timing also stinks in bringing out a book this week called Leeds United On Trial.

It is to be hoped that all the proceeds will go to charity.

Newcastle's London jinx had to end sometime, and after the kick in the teeth at Chelsea last week Robson deserved a slice of capital luck.

Mr Wenger and Mr Henry didn't exactly portray themselves as gallant Gallic losers. They should take it on the chin and add a bit of steel to their flair.

Then they might have a slim chance of toppling Robson's Geordies.

PERHAPS Lee Bowyer deserves some sympathy. He is, after all, a bear of very little brain, who sees only the pot of honey.

In a world full of counsellors there ought to be one somewhere who can instill in him some shred of decency.

But footballers don't have counsellors, they have agents, who merely encourage them in their excesses.

Bowyer may have been found not guilty by a jury, but he continued to add to his appalling track record during the trial and faces two misconduct charges from the FA.

In defending Bowyer's right to play for England, his manager David O'Leary said: "Lee's attitude throughout this ordeal has been unbelievable.

"His performances have shown him to be a wonderfully gifted player."

Perhaps, on the other hand, Bowyer is someone entirely without conscience who can go out and play football without a care in the world, and even harangue referees, when he is deeply implicated in leaving a young man physically and mentally scarred for life. He has continued to give the impression that he thinks he is above the law. That's if he thinks at all.

Play for England? Sven-Goran Eriksson wouldn't touch him with a toilet brush.

IT might look like a lovely gesture by Sunderland chairman Bob Murray to freeze season ticket prices next season after cutting them last year. But equally it could be seen as another example of how the club is standing still.

Nor will honeyed words about how the new academy will spawn a production line of outstanding talent appease fans who see their team being left behind by Newcastle.

Fans impatient for success would rather prices went up a few bob and money was spent on maintaining the progress under Peter Reid which had twice gone close to taking them into Europe.

They will not be happy about losing feebly to a club whose unjustified sacking of Dave Jones has been followed by two illogical managerial appointments.

Why Southampton think Gordon Strachan can save them from the drop when he couldn't do it for Coventry is a real mystery.

CONSIDERING that four top men, plus Robert Croft, are absent for largely unsatisfactory reasons, the England cricketers are doing pretty well in India.

But considering that being positive is all the rage - even to the ludicrous extent of batting Andrew Flintoff at six - why was Nasser Hussain so negative in setting India a target in the second Test?

To win the three-match series he had to win the match, but he put safety first.

By declaring an hour earlier he would have dangled the bait which might have tempted India into a few indiscretions instead of grinding their way through a tedious final day.

The Aussies, on the other hand, made a bold declaration against South Africa, picked up two wickets on the fourth evening and won comfortably. Now that's positive.

Published: 21/12/01