Crisis? What Crisis?

Form is temporary, class is permanent. A cliche, yes, but so true when referring to Roger Federer's fantastic triumph in this year's US Open.

No doubt all the headlines will be about Andy Murray, and rightly so. It's been a tremendous tournament for the young Scot, a tournament where he has really come of age and started to fulfill the great potential we all know he has.

However, Federer, like a true champion, has come back from what seemed like the strongest adversity.

Some said his time had come and gone, that he would struggle to recover, that he wouldnt be the same player as he was. The loss at Wimbledon would be too much, they said. Federer was damaged psychologically.

Well today was a return to form. Federer was back to his sensational best.

The match began with Federer in imperious form, on the frontfoot throughout. The Swiss star was playing seemingly impossible shots with such relative ease. Murray couldnt live with him - and not many, if any players could have. Federer won the set 6-2, and was looking strong. Murray had barely got going.

The second set was a big test of character for Murray. You felt he needed this set to have a chance in the match. Federer broke the Scot early, and Murray broke straight back. With a second break in sight at 0-40, Murray somehow failed to put the game to bed, The killer instinct wasnt there for Murray, whereas Federer was always taking advantage. Federer was applying the pressure at just the right moments, like the best players do, and took the set 7-5. It looked bleak for Murray, and Federer was looking every inch the class act.

The third set approached, and Murray needed a Gasguet style repeat performance. No signs early on, with an early break from Federer. Murray battled on bravely, saving match points, but eventually, Federer got the job done, winning the set 6-2. After proving all the doubters wrong, this will no doubt be one of the sweetest victories of Federer's career.

Make no mistake about it, the big 3 in tennis has become the big 4. Murray is now part of the elite, joining the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. At 21 years old, he will have other opportunites. He has the game and the attitude to become a force in tennis. Today he just met an unstoppable force in Roger Federer.

So much for a tennis player in decline, eh?

Murray battles past Del Potro to reach semi-finals..

He's done it!

In a gripping duel, Andy Murray battled his way to the semi-finals of the US Open, defeating Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 7-5.

Murray started the match well, going into an early 4-1 lead by breaking Del Potro early, and absorbing the pace from the match, hitting smart lobs and slice shots.

Del Potro found a way back into the match however, with Murray getting closer to the baseline and allowing Del Potro a break of serve. With Del Potro then serving for the set, Murray produced a fantastic winner to break Del Potro again, taking the set into a tie-break, which Murray won emphatically 7-2.

It was at this point Del Potro called for the trainer, in regards to his troublesome knee. After a short delay both players were back on court, and it was an even set, with both players refusing to break serve until 5-5 when Murray broke Del Potro to serve for the set. Del Potro came back however, breaking Murray to love in what was a lacklustre game from the Scotsman.

The set was to be settled with another tie-break, which Murray again won with relative ease, by 7-1. One foot was now in the semi-final.

However, somehow Del Potro found a second wind. After another visit from the trainer, the Argentine produced some great tennis to take the third set. Del Potro looked down and out when Murray broke for a 3-1 lead, but in what seemed like a common theme for the match, Murray gave the break straight back, and Del Potro closed the rest of the set out at 6-4.

Suddenly the momentum was with Del Potro, and things didnt look good for Murray when he was broken early in the fourth set. Murray shown character however, and managed to break Del Potro himself. With Del Potro beginning to show fatigue, Murray managed to close out the 4th set 7-5 - booking his place in the semi-final.

With many expecting fireworks due to the players apparant dislike for each other, there was a nice moment at the net after the match, where the players shook hands and seemingly put the animosity behind them, perhaps finding a new found respect for each other.

The match itself felt scrappy and disjointed at times, with Del Potro's knee problems slowing the match down somewhat. Nonetheless, both players produced some moments of fabulous tennis, and it's clear both players have a bright future in the game.

Rafael Nadal next up for Murray in the semi-finals, and it's easily the biggest match of his career so far. He'll need to improve his serve for sure, which was erratic at times, and improve his killer instinct. Murray should have wrapped up the first and second sets long before he did, and should have won the third. He cant afford to give players like Nadal a route back into the match.

But even all that might not be enough, against the current best player in the world.

Kicked to the Curb..

So there we have it. After months of speculation, Alan Curbishley has finally left West Ham - though he wasnt sacked. Curbishley walked himself, citing a "breach of trust and confidence" as his reasons for leaving Upton Park.

To be fair to Curbishley, he probably had one of the most thankless jobs in Football. West Ham fans not only want success, but good, attacking football. A big ask in the Premiership these days without big resources. Curbishley's dull and sometimes pragmatic tactics just didnt adhere him to the West Ham faithful, despite the 10th place finish that represented some slow and steady progress. Not good enough for some Hammers fans, despite their near escape from relegation the previous season - an escape Curbishley himself was a big part of.

It was the club's transfer policy that seen Curbishley walk, with players seemingly being bought and sold under his nose. The manager felt completely completely undermined, and rightly so. Kevin Keegan could walk out on Newcastle for similar reasons, and who can blame him? The manager should be responsible for transfers in and out of the club - or at least informed of these decisions. He is in charge, afterall.

With West Ham fans now getting their wish and seeing Curbishley ousted, I wouldnt bet against a season of struggle for the Hammers now. And they probably deserve it. As for Curbishley, I have no doubt he'll find himself a club - hopefully one with more patience and common sense than West Ham.

Deadline day drama..

Transfer deadline day - love it or hate it, it's always entertaining. In a car-crash kind of way. And yesterday was no exception..

So, what happened?

Well, we had the small matter of Robinho signing for Man City, for the pricely sum of £32.5 million pounds. A move that would never have happened in a million years IF:

1) Man City hadnt been taken over by a very rich middle east company, and therefore having money to burn.

2) The player had been allowed to move to Chelsea in the first place, but what do we know? Who wouldnt prefer Manchester to London?

The answer you'd be looking for is, "any remotely sane person." Then again, money talks, doesnt it? I await Robinho professing Man City as his 'dream move' some time soon. Yeah, the £6million a year had nothing to do with it, eh?

But there we go, that's the way of football these days. We've got another billionaire to contend with, which just makes the divide bigger between the Premiership and the rest of us. And do these new owners REALLY care about Manchester City? I think not.

In other transfer news, Dimitar Berbatov moved to Manchester United from Spurs in a true shocker of a move that literally no-one saw coming, and he was replaced by Frazier Campbell going the other way on loan for the season, and Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. As good as it would have been for Spurs to call United's bluff here, they really had little choice but to sell the sulky Bulgarian, rather than keep him in the reserves.

Busy times on Merseyside, too. Albert Riera moved to Liverpool to complete the final piece of a jigsaw that has been going since 1992 (it's their year now, dont you know!), and over the Mersey, Everton completed the signings of Standard Liege midfielder Marouane Fellaini for a club record fee of £15m, and Louis Saha from Manchester United for £2m. As if signing Carlo Nash wasnt enough? Greedy bastards.

And Stoke also kept themselves busy, with a triple swoop for Danny Higginbottom, Tom Soares, and Michael Tonge as they planned for next season's promotion push from the Championship.

Enough on the Premiership, what about the lower leagues? Well, the biggest signing of the day (in more way's than one) had to be Lloyd Owusu, moving from Yeovil to Cheltenham.

"He's got great experience, strength and presence and can lead the forward line. He is different to what we have already in terms of his height and strength and will give us that extra firepower."

...

...

I don't think words are needed, really.

But seriously, with the emergency loan window opening in again in a week or so, activity in the lower leagues should pick up. Not that Torquay will be signing anyone, oh no. Our squad is good enough apparantly, what with our lofty position in 18th at the moment..

Capello scores an Owen-goal

So, Capello's squad for the qualifiers - interesting stuff to say the least. People seem shocked about the inclusion of Jimmy Bullard, and the omission of a certain Michael Owen. I have to agree on both parts, though the inclusion of Bullard is one that pleases me.

He's in form, enthusiastic, and he'll care a hell of a lot more than most about putting on an England shirt than the likes of Frank 'Where's my next £120,000 contract' Lampard. It's a shame it took so many 'Big Four' midfielders getting injured for him to get his call up, which has come a few years too soon in my opinion.

However, Owen should be in there with him, purely for being the best natural goalscorer we have at our disposal the moment. And where's Dean Ashton, a man in form and scoring goals for West Ham? The lack of fire-power in the squad is just scary, and might count against us in Zagreb. We shall see.

Let's just hope Lampard actually shows some urgency for a change, and Beckham makes way for Bentley.

Then again, I'm not the manager, am I?

Hope springs eternal..

I had a conversation with someone the other day, who said he was completely disillusioned with football, and its overpaid, pampered stars. The Olympics had put them to shame, he said. Football was losing its identity.

I had to agree.

So the last place I thought I'd see something to change my mind is the Champions League draw, a tournament that epitomises much that is wrong with the modern game.

CFR Cluj. Ever heard of them? I certainly hadnt, but given their placing in Group A, alongside the likes of European superheavyweights such as Chelsea, AS Roma, and Bordeaux, I decided to give them a look.

And what they have achieved is quite remarkable.

Untin 2005, Cluj generally found themselves around the 2nd and 3rd tiers of Romanian Football. But in 2005, things changed, with their first promotion to the top division since 1976. And that heralded big changes.

Their first European adventure followed, with entry into the much alligned Intertoto Cup. And what an adventure it was, with Cluj defeating the likes of Atletico Bilbao and St Etienne on their way to the final, only to bravely lose to Lens.

The following season, Cluj went for the domestic title. To do so, they brought in foreign players to play alongside their homegrown stars - a policy now common-place in England. But in Romania, it was relatively unheard of. A partnership with Benfica from Portugal also followed.

It paid dividends.

Cluj eventually won a domestic double, though it went right to wire, on the final day. Both Dinamo and Steaua Bucharest came close, but Cluj were the victors. And three days later, Cluj won the Romanian cup.

The Romanian top division had been dominated by both clubs from Bucharest for 17 years, making it all the remarkable for Cluj to come in and take the title.

The Champions League now awaits Cluj, and there was a time where no-one could have predicted that. Only six years ago, Cluj were in the third tier of English football.

And in terms of Uefa's European coefficent points from the last five seasons - Cluj have the lowest amount in the competition, compared to Chelsea, who have the highest. That promises to be a fascinating match.

Can you imagine any teams from the lower echlons of Championship, or beyond the 'Big Four', for that matter, doing anything similar to Cluj? Not without a sugar daddy behind them. And thats the saddest thing of all - money now dominates football, just look at the rise of Chelsea. QPR wont be far behind them, you feel, but only because of the money behind them.

You can't see Nottingham Forest, a club with great history and traditions, making any great strides. They just dont have the financial clout to compete.

But the rise of CFR Cluj does give some hope - even if it is outside of England.

Some magic Beijing Moments..

With the dust now settled, it's time to look back at what was a fantastic Olympic games, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Starting on a positive note, and the two defining moments of the games in my eyes. Firstly, Usain Bolt, the man who proved that lightning can indeed strike twice by winning the 100m and 200m sprints with such relative ease, and breaking two world records in the process. Simply mesmerising stuff from the Jamaican, who now has the athletics world at his feet. And he did it with a smile, too.

And what about Michael Phelps? To peak once at the Olympic is hard enough, but to peak eight times is nothing short of amazing. A tremendous show of strength, determination and endurance from an incredible sportsman. Can anyone beat his haul of eight gold medals?

On a British note it was a games to remember, with a record medal haul of 47 medals, our best performance in 100 years.

Chris Hoy showed his mental and physical strength to win three gold medals in the cycling, a remarkable achievement and a just reward for his dedication throughout the years. Hoy was truly unstoppable, but credit must go to the whole British cycling team for their sheer dominance.

Rebecca Adlington suprised us all and became the new golden girl of British Athletics, with two unexpected gold medals in the swimming pool, something never to have been done before by a British swimmer. Her performance in the 800m was extrodinary, and she did it with such refreshing modesty, too. With Adlington and Jo Jackson at the forefront, British swimming is looking in good health.

And how about the inspirational Louis Smith? His switch to a riskier routine paid dividends in the gymnastics final, and the young gymnast can be proud of his bronze medal. Hopefully his success will be the inspiration for many, in a sport that needs funding and interest desperately.

Expectations will now be high for London 2012, and rightly so.

There were, of course, a few lows.

The Badminton pairing of Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson gave us joy and despair in a matter of days. After a gutsy display to beat the much-fancied Chinese pairing of Gao Ling and Zheng Bo, the British pairing ran out of steam in the quarter finals and eventually lost to the Korean pairing of Yongdae Lee and Hyojung Lee in an emotional contest that saw Emms retire after the match.

And after some scandalous judging, Aaron Cook was cruely denied a bronze medal in his 80kg repechage bout against China's Zhu Guo. Despite clearly landing a head-kick, Cook was denied the medal his performance deserved.

After carrying 1.3 billion people's hopes on his shoulders, Liu Xiang pulled out of the 110m hurldles in what was billed as the event of the games. Xiang tried his hardest to continue, but the pain was eventually too much. A country mourned, and Xiang himself was inconsolable. Heartbreaking stuff.

And though it seemed like a low point at the time, in hindsight the disqualification of Ukrainian heptathlete Liudmyla Blonska could be seen as a definate highlight, with the renowned drugs cheat not only having her silver medal taken away, but her athletics career as well. Justice has now been done.

All in all, the Olympics captivated us all, with its drama, suspense, and purity.

Footballers, take note, because *this* is what Sport is really about. It's not the £120,000 a week contracts, but doing it through pure hard work, through love of the sport.

Our overpaid and pampered England stars could learn a lot from our Olympic heroes, that's for sure.