He was leaping down the pitch in triumph as Michael Atherton and Andrew Flintoff each clipped balls into the

He was leaping down the pitch in triumph as Michael Atherton and Andrew Flintoff each clipped balls into the hands of Darren Stevens at square leg, Fairbrother edged an inswinger to the wicketkeeper and Graham Lloyd offered a gentle return catch.A pair of Ormond outswingers accounted for Glen Chapple and Crawley, who could at least claim to have got out to a good ball.. If Didier Deschamps thought that success as a coach would come as easily to him as playing, the World Cup and European Championship winner was soundly disabused of that view on Saturday when his Monaco side crashed to a 3-0 defeat at the French League strugglers Rennes. If Didier Deschamps thought that success as a coach would come as easily to him as playing, the World Cup and European Championship winner was soundly disabused of that view on Saturday when his Monaco side crashed to a 3-0 defeat at the French League strugglers Rennes. In a match between two sides who have made a disastrous start, a hat-trick from Olivier Monterrubio made all the difference as the man who left the champions, Nantes, for a regular first-team place scored twice in the first 25 minutes – once from the spot – and again near the end.Monaco have yet to score a goal after opening their season with a 1-0 home reverse to promoted Sochaux, a loss they followed with a 0-0 home stalemate against another promoted side, Montpellier.Deschamps, formerly of Chelsea, saw his men offer little up front apart from an early off-target effort from the Argentinian midfielder, Marcelo Gallardo, and a couple of close calls for the Rennes defence as Burundian forward Shabani Nonda twice broke through before missing the target.The European and German champions, Bayern Munich, needed a late header from Brazilian striker, Giovane Elber, to seal a 1-1 draw at high-flying Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as their modest start to the season continued.Bayern went into the match with a win and a draw from their two games this season, having lost at Borussia M?engladbach on the opening day, and their coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld, had demanded improvement on their travels.Leverkusen were intent on securing a third win in three outings and, after a tense opening period, the veteran German international, Ulf Kirsten, gave them the lead from close range after good work by Oliver Neuville. Elber's fine leap to connect with a headed pass from the Frenchman, Willy Sagnol, saved a point.Dortmund beat Wolfsburg 4-0 with their Brazilian signing, Marcio Amoroso, on target once again for his fourth goal of the campaign. Vratislav Lovkenc scored twice for Kaiserslautern in a 2-1 success over Cologne.

TSV 1860 Munich got their first point and goal of the season with a 1-1 draw at home to Hamburg.. Let me first of all establish my credentials, just in case you suspect I could be a bit of a poser who only arrived on the scene when football became fashionable after Gazza's tears and Nick Hornby's soul-bearing I've always really, really loved football. I risked suspension from the school team by accepting an illegal inducement (a month's bed and board in Great Harwood) to sign for Accrington Stanley. If by some chance you happen to be reading this, Mr Field, I never actually played in a proper match, honest. Let me first of all establish my credentials, just in case you suspect I could be a bit of a poser who only arrived on the scene when football became fashionable after Gazza's tears and Nick Hornby's soul-bearing I've always really, really loved football. I risked suspension from the school team by accepting an illegal inducement (a month's bed and board in Great Harwood) to sign for Accrington Stanley.

If by some chance you happen to be reading this, Mr Field, I never actually played in a proper match, honest. I'm nearer 60 than 50 now and I still play regularly with the kids on the local park. Post-Rantzen, it can potentially be very embarrassing for shifty old blokes who saunter along the footpaths looking for a game. I shudder to recall how, as teenagers, we sniggered at the dad who, thinking he could play a bit, insisted on joining in every night.Regular readers will know the lengths to which I went to suss out the whereabouts of the Nationwide live matches in the digital universe this forthcoming season.I'm overwhelmed with optimism at the start of every football season, which has remained undimmed since becoming associated with Luton Town. I often get the impression that ITV's head of sport, Brian Barwick, and Terry Venables are as daft about football as I am.

So why do I have this sense of foreboding about the two Premiership highlights programmes which have been announced for 7pm and 11pm on Saturdays?I fear ITV have let the kids loose in the candy shop with the proliferation of football. Not everybody loves the game, and Saturday night round the telly was supposed to weld the family together. I'm worried about a backlash against the all-important football. Somebody should save us from ourselves.There are some striking ironies here, and I don't just mean a self-confessed football nut bleating about the possibility of overkill.