FURTHER evidence that we're becoming a nation of wimps and cissies has been provided by all the recent talk about pitches.

From Stamford Bridge to Cleveland Bridge, pitches are under scrutiny because in the 21st century everyone from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to Joe Bloggs apparently has the right to play on a pristine surface.

The Chelsea sandpit which brought demands for a re-match from Charlton has been re-laid at a cost of £100,000, which happens every few months at Old Trafford and has also been undertaken at St James' Park.

In the days when any winger daring to go past Norman Hunter would find himself three rows back in the stand if he tried it again, those playing fancy football in September were warned: "Wait until the heavy pitches arrive."

How wonderful that when Darlington's 1966 promotion-winning team were reunited at the weekend, one fan asked for his favourite recollection of that season cited a crunching tackle by John Peverell. Never mind the goals or the win which clinched promotion, a Peverell pile-driver remains the outstanding memory 37 years later.

They didn't whinge about playing on mudheaps or heavily-sanded surfaces in those days, nor did they pull shirts or find themselves propelled into orbit by the merest of touches in the penalty area.

Hard but fair is how games used to be played, and it strikes me that if we encourage people to be soft we will also encourage them to cheat because the two somehow go together.

The Football Foundation has seen fit to spend countless hours logging the state of 45,000 pitches in this country. They have discovered that 38 per cent have no changing rooms, and more than 40 per cent have inadequate drainage.

A Foundation spokesman said: "We cannot expect people to change in the back of cars or behind trees."

Why not? It always used to be part of the fun, summing up the amateur ethos. And if it has been good enough for previous generations who took a healthier interest in sport than the youth of today then surely the answers to our problems lie elsewhere.

I wish the Foundation well in their efforts to "target money strategically into areas in need of support", but I think they will find that there are so many soft options available for youngsters these days that improving facilities will not encourage them back on to playing fields.

At the very least it will have to go hand-in-hand with making two hours of exercise every week part of the school curriculum.

IT will be a good test case of to what extent, if any, the glory days can be recreated when Bishop Auckland FC are finally able to build their new ground.

Spennymoor have also fallen on hard times and it was quite a shock to learn that they have a new 28-year-old manager by the name of Jamie Pollock.

It barely seems like yesterday since this fresh-faced Teessider was being tipped for great things as a combative midfielder with Middlesbrough.

An ill-fated sojourn with Spanish club Osasuna obviously did nothing for his career and stints with Bolton, Manchester City, Birmingham and Grimsby have not resurrected it.

There is always an element of sadness in such tales, but I sincerely hope he's learnt enough on his travels to breathe new life into the Moors.

IN a week which has seen two epic sporting encounters - Munster's 33-6 win against Gloucester in the Heineken Cup and the five-hour tennis match in the Australian Open - it is sad to hear allegations of spitting and racist remarks.

The former, as usual, were associated with English football, but just to prove we don't have a monopoly on bad behaviour the latter came from Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann.

While he's a fine batsman, Lehmann strikes me as the archetypal Aussie, brash and boorish, and if Yorkshire have any intention of retaining him as captain they should forget it. There are already enough people ready to accuse them of racism as they have yet to unearth a coloured first-class cricketer.

MARATHON runners usually hit what they call "the wall" after 18 or 20 miles. But one participant in this year's London Marathon will hit it after 100 yards.

But he's determined to keep going for five or six days, if necessary. Not because he'll be wearing full deep sea diving kit, but because he's Michael Watson, who no-one expected to live, never mind walk, after his world super-middleweight title fight with Chris Eubank 11 years ago.

Watson still has some paralysis in his left side and walking with his crooked gait is an exhausting business, but he is determined to raise as much as possible for the Brain and Spine Foundation.

Peter Hamlyn , the surgeon who saved his life and has operated on him six times, says: "I've never seen him so animated, so lifted and so motivated."

Michael Watson should be an inspiration to us all.

Published: 24/01/2003