I think the thing Sam Allardyce failed to take into account when he took over at Newcastle is that club is apparently cursed.

When he arrived at St James’ Park, Big Sam was full of joy and optimism, confident that he was the man to finally revive the club’s fortunes.

But now, just a few weeks into the job, he will be beginning to realise exactly what he is up against – an injury jinx of colossal proportions.

Bobby Robson, Graeme Souness and Glen Roeder were all hampered by this particular affliction – at times they each had an entire first 11 in the sick bay – and now Sam is suffering too.

It’s only pre-season but already Michael Owen has been ruled out for a few weeks with a thigh strain and, last weekend, key new signing Joey Barton broke a metatarsal and has now had an operation.

Pre-season training and warm-up matches are all about getting teams fit and ready for the long, arduous season ahead. At least for most clubs.

In Newcastle’s case, pre-season is all about seeing just how many players will make it unscathed to the big kick-off.

That’s just the way things work at the Toon.

Racing in the rain

Don’t you just love Formula 1 in the rain?

When it’s sunny, F1 is about as predictable as a Roger Federer Wimbledon final. But when it rains, the sport just goes to pieces.

On Sunday the European Grand Prix provided us with what must be the most entertaining piece of viewing of the season so far when the rain started to fall as the race started.

Within a couple of laps we were treated to the quite stunning sight of car after car aquaplaning off the track at the same curve and piling up by the barrier. Led by F1 nearly-man Jenson Button, no less than six cars performed the same skiddy stunt in a moment of pure comic genius.

Sadly, later in the race, the rain dried up and normal, boring service was resumed.

I still say if F1 is really serious about improving viewing figures and adding excitement to the sport it needs to find a way to make rain a more integral part of more races.

Maybe they should shift the sport’s calendar so all the races take place in winter and, therefore, boost the chances of rain playing a role.

Failing this, the least Bernie Ecclestone should do is have giant sprinklers set up at each circuit and switched on at random during each Grand Prix.

It would make the whole sport that much more watchable…

Ben Czislowski

Tough-guy story of the week goes to the rugby player who has spent the last three months complaining of headaches.

Ben Czislowski finally decided enough was enough and went to the doctor to try and locate the source of the nagging head pain.

A few tests, x-rays and scans later and the problem was pinpointed – a tooth was embedded in Ben’s skull where it had been nestling for 12 weeks since a particularly meaty scrum.

The lengths some people will go to in an effort to confuse the tooth fairy…

World of cricket

Over to the world of cricket where England very nearly won the first test against India. In fact, they were actually about to win when bad light and then rain meant they couldn’t finish the match so it was declared a draw.

Fair enough. If that’s the way the system works then I guess there is little you can do about it.

However, I can’t help but feel that a sport which is quite happy to let a match drag on for five days should be a little more flexible about the possibility of extending to a further day if need be.

Rather than setting a five day time limit, wouldn’t it be better to set two innings each as the cut off point?

I can’t think of anything more irritating than watching a match that takes the best part of a week only for it to end up in a draw.

And maybe, if they eliminated these non-results, more people might be tempted to get interested in the sport.

Just a thought.

Michael Vick

I don’t know if you caught the news from across the pond where American football star Michael Vick has been charged in connection with dog-fighting.

The Atlanta Falcons quarter back – one of the biggest names in the sport – will appear in court tomorrow on the charge and has been ordered by his team not to turn up for pre-season training.

He is also in danger of losing all his sponsorship deals and having his contract torn up if found guilty of what can only be described as barbarianism.

It’s people like him that prove evolution is not something all humans have enjoyed. Throw him in prison and let him rot.

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