There are two very distinct approaches we can take to last Sunday’s end-of-match scuffle at the Carling Cup Final.

On the one hand we could all shake our heads, tut-tut in disgust and wax lyrical about how there is no place in the modern game for men who fight each other on the pitch.

In other words we could take the moral high ground.

The other approach is that we could admit we all really enjoy watching that sort of thing, that it is nice to see players passionate about their club and that fighting – of a limited sort – is actually not such a scandalous thing after all.

In other words take the realistic view.

I am sick of reading about how “shameful” and “disgusting” the clash was. About how Chelsea and Arsenal’s players should have known better and about how they should have been setting an example to kids.

I am not suggesting there should be a fight in every match played. But if tempers boil over once in a while, if players occasionally show they care about the game and not just their wage packet.

Well, to me, that’s not such a bad thing.

Robbie Fowler

Robbie Fowler has only scored three league goals so far this season. All against Sheffield United. All from penalties. And all awarded as a result of Steven Gerrard being fouled. There has just got to be something illegal, immoral or wrong in that somewhere. Got to be.

John Terry

It’s official: John Terry is from a different planet.

That he was able to recover from ankle ligament damage last Wednesday to take part in Sunday’s Carling Cup final was an impressive display of recovery powers.

That he was then knocked unconscious in the second half of that final, stretchered off, taken to hospital but still managed to get back in time to celebrate with his team mates that same evening is a strong indication that he is not of this planet.

That’s not to say he doesn’t get injured like other players. He does. But, when you take into account the position he plays and the manner in which he plays the game, the fact that he spends such a small proportion of his time in the treatment room is truly incredible.

Even then when he does succumb to an injury, his recovery time is a fraction of that of his cotemporaries.

On Sunday the kick he got in the face would have been enough to leave most people off work for a month or so. It was very nasty and could certainly have had much worse consequences.

But not when Terry is involved. Broken leg? Not a problem. Just use a little of the magic spray and give him a quick squirt from the Lucozade bottle and he will be back on the pitch in no time.

Quite a man.

Roger Federer

Records and Roger Federer just don’t seem to mix – he just can’t seem to stop breaking the darned things.

The latest one to succumb to the Swiss tennis genius is Jimmy Connors’ 30-year record of consecutive weeks as world number one.

This week Federer celebrates his 161st consecutive week at the top of the rankings, a run which dates back to February 2004.

And he has such a big lead at the top that it is very, very unlikely he will be overtaken for months to come, even if he were to spend the time sitting on the beach juggling coconuts.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day and I am very excited,” he said on Monday in true understated style.

Connors’ unbeaten run took place way back in the 70s, before Roger was even born. And, until the Swiss player came on the scene, it looked unlikely it would ever be beaten with such greats as Lendl, Agassi, Borg, McEnroe and Sampras getting nowhere near it.

Next in the world number one’s sights is probably Connors’ record of 109 career titles. But even Federer, currently on 46, doubts he will be able to catch that one due to the fact that players were able to play on to a much older age back then when the intensity of the game was considerably less.

It is, of course, a valid point, but with a good five or six years left at the top I wouldn’t bet against that particular record going the same way as all the others.

Vladimir Romanov

Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has been up to his usual tricks over the past week, this time slamming journalists for being “monkeys”.

Now, having been in the newspaper business for over a decade, I can certainly agree that some hacks are not shining examples of evolutionary progress, but Romanov was still a little harsh.

In fact, he took his personal protest even further by handing out monkey nuts and bananas to reporters before the St Mirren game.

I tell you it’s never a dull moment with that man around.

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