To describe the relationship between Britain and France as frosty would be like describing Chelsea as a football club with a bit of spare cash. A gross understatement of the highest order.

Historically the two neighbouring countries, separated by what both would describe as a far too narrow channel of water, have never been the best of friends. And that general unease with each other has been heightened in recent months with disputes over Iraq and EU budgets and even cuisine.

The two states turn their rivalry to sport when both will be hoping and praying that their capital city is chosen as the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Although there are officially still five cities in the running to stage the event, New York, Moscow and Madrid are widely seen as also-rans, with Paris and London the favourites.

By this morning we will know the outcome of the IOC vote which looks like being, as Princess Anne said, too close to call. Paris are probably still slightly ahead but London has done a remarkable job in narrowing the gap so drastically over the past few months.

I would love to see the Olympic Games in England sometime during my lifetime and this is probably the best shot they have for at least another twenty or thirty years.

So fingers crossed Lord Coe and his team of celebrities, sportsmen and politicians pull this one off.

After all, didn¹t France just have the World Cup?

Steven Gerrard

Looks like young Steven Gerrard is on his way out of beloved Liverpool just a few weeks after lifting the European Cup and declaring “why would I want to leave Liverpool after a night like this?”

But the blame apparently is not his.

Liverpool have been stalling over offering him a new contract and rumours of a training ground bust up between the player and his manager are rife.

With just two years left on his contract, it seems as if Liverpool have decided it is time to cash in on the player rather than offer him the vastly improved contract he is unsurprisingly after.

And that¹s where Real Madrid come in. The Spanish club make it a habit of signing at least one huge star every summer and Gerrard looks like being their attention grabbing purchase this year.

Real are prepared to offer Gerrard a very succulent package which will see the midfielder double his salary to around eight million a year putting him up there with the major earners in the game. There is talk that Chelsea fancy a little nibble at the player too, but I genuinely believe those who say Steven will only leave Liverpool for foreign shores.

It will be a pity to see such a talented Englishman moving abroad but I don¹t for one second disagree with his decision, assuming that¹s the one he intends to take.

And, although the size of the transfer fee is still not settled, it should certainly be enough for Rafa Benitez to be able to continue his plan of flooding the Liverpool side with cheap, dodgy and underachieving Spanish players.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer joined an elite club on Sunday when he became only the third player ever to win Wimbledon three times in a row.

Previously only Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras had managed this rather special feat. But now the Swiss master has joined them after blowing away Andy Roddick in straight sets.

It’s hard not to like Roger as he appears to be one of those sports stars who is genuinely in love with the game itself rather than the money and fame which are an inevitable by-product of being a successful tennis player.

But equally, I don¹t like and I have said this before - any sport to be dominated by a single person for any length of time as it tends to dilute public interest. (Just ask Formula 1’s marketing people how hard it has been over the past few years to keep the public excited about a sport dominated by Michael Schumacher).

The biggest problem with Federer¹s dominance is that he is still remarkably young. Borg and Sampras arguably didn¹t reach their peak until their mid-to-late twenties. Federer is still just 23 and, as such, still has the best part of a decade ahead of him.

In short, I don¹t begrudge Roger his success but I genuinely hope next year somebody else wins Wimbledon because there is nothing worse that a sporting event which is a forgone conclusion before it starts.

Contact James on: [email protected]