Monty named Ryder Cup captain

Colin Montgomerie has been named European Ryder Cup captain for 2010, but is he the right man to help Europe reclaim the trophy at Celtic Manor?

Jose Maria Olazabal may not be happy at being overlooked but the Spaniard will be more suitable in 2012. Another candidate, Ian Woosnam, may have been the obvious choice to lead Europe in his native Wales, but he had his day three years ago. And Sandy Lyle's cause will not have been helped by his age nor his controversial decision to pull out of the Open last summer.

Despite his position as Europe's second all-time Ryder Cup points scorer behind Nick Faldo, Montgomerie will relish the chance to be captain instead of playing. He is motivated, experienced and will instil a winning mentality in his team.

The Scot is hugely respected by the players and knows them better than most and, unlike Faldo, has a good working relationship with them. He is without doubt the right man for the job.

Do you agree with the decision? Will Monty be able to galvanise his team unlike Faldo? Send in your views using the boxes below.

Greatest bargain transfers... Your view

We've selected nine of the greatest bargain football transfers in the history of British football.

Read our list by clicking here and then send in your suggestions and views using the boxes below.

F1 gossip column... Your view

Our F1 expert returns to bring you more tasty gossip, including the latest on Fernando Alonso's season preparations and an admission from Williams that they were on the brink of extinction during the summer.

Read more on those stories and the rest of the week's rumours by clicking here and then send in your F1 views and comments in the boxes below.

From the touchlines: Greatest Six Nations XV

With the Six Nations just around the corner, we've picked our all-time Five/Six Nations XV. Whether it's nostalgia or a reflection of the overall standard of northern hemisphere rugby, not one current Six Nations player makes the cut.

Click here to read our line-up and then enter your XV and suggestions using the boxes below.

Tennis blog: Murray will fall short

After winning his first two matches with ease, many people will be jumping on the Andy Murray bandwagon, claiming the Australian Open will be the young Scot's first ever Grand Slam title.

Murray is one of the favourites, but has yet to be tested and, as we all know, British players have a tendency to bottle it when the going gets tough. Step forward Tim Henman.

There are still doubts over Murray's ability to follow through against the top players in the world over five sets. It's all very well beating world number 1141 Andrei Pavel, but if he wants to win in Melbourne he will have to go the distance with heavyweights Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Although the British Number 1 beat Marcel Granollers in straight sets, the Spaniard still managed to break Murray's serve and forced him to come from behind in other service games. Murray will not have that luxury against the big boys and, unless he improves his concentration, it will be another Grand Slam disappointment for British tennis.

Will Andy Murray win his first major or is it still a step too far for the young Scot? Send in your views below.

From the Touchlines: Battle for the last eight

It's all to play for in the Heineken Cup from tonight as the top clubs in Europe battle it out for a place in the last eight of the northern hemisphere's premier club competition.

Some sides are already comfortably through to the quarter-finals, among them defending champions Munster, Harlequins and Cardiff Blues, the only side with a 100% record.

But things aren't quite so clear cut in the other pools. Arguably the biggest game sees the Ospreys host Leicester. The Tigers might have an edge in pool five with 20 points to the Tigers' 16 but the Ospreys have home advantage and Leicester are without influential back-row forward Lewis Moody, one of the players of the tournament so far, and their coach Heyneke Meyer, who is still back in South Africa. We tip the Ospreys to win it but not grab the bonus required to top the group.

Then there's pool five where Bath have had a week to forget in the wake of Matt Stevens' failed drugs test. They top the pool with 19 points but welcome three-times Heineken Cup champions Toulouse, who are just a solitary point behind in the standings, to the Recreation Ground. But we've got a sneaky suspicion Bath could pull off a big surprise and stun the French side on Sunday.

The other pool still alive is two where Leinster and Wasps are level on points with 16. Leinster have the easier of the ties at home to Edinburgh while Wasps travel to Castres. However, Ian McGeechan's side have a way of pulling off the unlikely in Europe so we reckon they could just do enough to top their pool.

Here's our predicted quarter-finalists in full: Munster, Leinster, Wasps, Leicester, Ospreys, Harlequins, Bath, Cardiff Blues.

We want to hear your predictions for this weekend's games so post your comments below...

January transfer flops... Your view

As the transfer window enters its business stage and managers make ever more desperate bids, we thought it was the right time to profile some of the most disastrous January purchases.

You can read our selection by clicking here and then vote for what you think is the worst of the bunch. And don't forget to enter your own suggestions using the boxes below. We're sure there are many more shockers out there.

From the touchlines: Stevens fails drugs test

Matt Stevens, named in the England squad for the Six Nations and an integral member of Bath's pack, has failed a drugs test. Why do sportsmen do it?

"It wasn't performance enhancing - I'm truly sorry," he said, as news of the positive doping sample was revealed. It might be too late for the prop. His England career may be over, perhaps his entire rugby livelihood. And all for the sake of a recreational drug it seems.

It's amazing that in these times of rigorous drug testing, sportsmen as experienced as Stevens make such inexcusable mistakes. England can probably survive without him, but for Bath, it's a crushing blow.

Will Stevens be given a second chance by the authorities? Should he ever play for England again? Send in your views on the news using the boxes below.

F1 gossip column... Your view

Our F1 expert rounds off this week's pitlane rumours with talk of a crisis developing at Force India.

Read all about it by clicking here and then send in your thoughts using the boxes below.

From the Touchlines: England come calling for Foden

Ben Foden's arrival in the England squad is no surprise. In fact, anyone watching Foden in action for Northampton against Leicester at the weekend would have ordered Martin Johnson to have his head read had he overlooked him.

The former Sale scrum-half/full-back made the Tigers looked distinctly average as he ran rings around them, opening up gaps that didn't seem there en route to a deserved victory. So Foden's call-up to the senior England squad is well deserved.

But in it lies a quandary - where to play him. After the Tigers win, Foden was asked his preferred position. He insisted he didn't know and, whether that's genuine or not remains to be seen. However when pushed on the matter, he admitted should England come calling then he would be forced to pick a position to ensure his long-term future at the highest level.

Foden's a great scrum-half. He's tireless at the base of the scrum, he's quick, he's a scrapper and he's got the pass. But his maverick talents are even better suited to full-back. I'm not Johnson but, if I were, I'd seriously consider marking out Foden as the long-term answer at 15. He's growing in confidence with every 80-minute performance and is, with the right direction, on the precipice of being a seriously world-class player.

What do you make of the latest England squad? Does Foden deserve his call-up and what position would you play him in? We want to hear your views...