Football is often accused of 'being out of touch', overly corporate and expensive and populated by indifferent and vapid dilettantes - a giant behemoth devouring all in its path.
The fantastic performance of the English players in Malaysia certainly bodes well for the lead up to the British Open, the next major, in Hull from the 20th-26th May.
His legendary athleticism was spawned from a training schedule that would frighten most people to death: his long early morning runs were merely gentle precursors to the day's activities. He didn't even consider it part of the training, merely an add on.
Tennis is similar in that the conditions play a considerable part in the outcome of matches, and i'm sure that, as in squash, no two courts the world over are the same. There are also similar additional factors which have helped to make tennis evolve significantly over time too.
Squash has no Olympic funding from UK Sport, because, despite great efforts, it is still not an Olympic sport - something most in the sport consider a travesty. As such, squash receives no UK sport funding.
I no doubt run the risk of repeating myself around this time of year, but after arriving back from the Tournament of Champions in New York I just grow fonder and fonder of the event every time. It's the ringleader of all events on tour and my personal favourite.
The first item on the agenda for the new year column is to reflect on the Women's World Open Championships. It was a late finish for the girls, the final being played on the 21st of December, and the event didn't disappoint.
Baseball is scrutinised with passion here. Like football in England, people watch and analyse it endlessly. I watched twenty minutes of the big game on Friday, and I couldn't quite grasp the situation. There were long phases where very little happened, and some of the participants were fat.
Although the Greeks are playing out a modern day tragedy, we can still learn much from their ancient past when it comes to understanding the importance and indeed relevance of exercise and staying in shape.
Most of the off-court work I do is in part an insurance policy, which I hope will offset the damage I have inflicted on my body over 25 years, during which I have dragged the poor thing relentlessly around a glass box in to positions it was never designed to make.
So the Olympic Games has swung in to action and don't we just know it. Can there ever have been any event of any kind that has generated such hype? From the interminable, inane and constant harping about the Olympic torch to the Queen filming with Daniel Craig, it is a wonder that the athletes can actually concentrate on what really matters.
When I think about the reasons for not liking sports, my answer comes down to this: school
A long season reached its culmination at the O2 Arena a couple of weeks ago. I lost in the semi finals of the British Open Squash Championships to Egyptian Ramy Ashour. My game wasn't good enough, and his was top notch.
