Bill Bridge: Compromise is required if England are to join Champions League party

Widest grins will be at the offices of the Champions League Governing Council, the organisers of next September's lucrative tournament in India in which English counties were hoping to compete.

Not far behind in the jollity stakes will be the Board of Control for Cricket in India who will delight at further embarrassment for Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and his associates who have been caught, trapped leg before and run out all off the same delivery.

India may be in danger of losing their status as the world's No 1 Test nation, given the way they were humbled by Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and South Africa in the first meeting of their two-day series on the sub-continent, but they seem to win the political chess game with the ECB at every turn.

Clarke and his chief executive David Collier are now trying desperately to find a way out of their latest checkmate situation. English counties – the top two in the domestic Twenty20 tournament qualify for the Champions League – understandably keen to take part in the competition, which is scheduled to run from September 10-26, are far from happy that ECB rules will prevent them enjoying the cash benefits of a trip to India and, on a slightly lower scale, deny their cricketers the chance to develop their abilities by playing in a high-tension, huge-rewards tournament in front of crowds the size of which they have never previously encountered.

The Champions League fixtures coincide with the last two rounds of the County Championship, the semi-finals and final of the ECB's new 40-over competition and, not least, England's five-match one-day series against Pakistan.

Counties are – quite rightly – not allowed to field weakened teams in the championship, which is still regarded at Lord's as the most important of the domestic competitions, while the ECB's standing with their 40-over sponsors would hardly be enhanced if their finalists were to swan off to India instead of playing in the home-grown final.

The impact on the one-day series could only be assessed when the last four of the 40-over event were known although "our broadcasting partners" – not to mention the Pakistan authorities – would not be impressed if players like Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann or Paul Collingwood were plying their trade in India rather than playing in the one-dayers.

Collier has written to the BCCI asking them to intervene with the Champions League and review their fixtures. Pre-empting any such discussion, Lalit Modi, the hugely-confident chairman of the Champions League organisation, pointed out that he had no option, given that a one-day series between India and Australia had now been arranged for the League's original dates.

"We have no alternative," he said, without the hint of smile. "It is important to have county teams and invitations have been sent out but we can't compromise Champions League because of domestic seasons."

We accept that England made a complete hash of their approach to the Champions League when they failed – out of lack of awareness, simple laziness or downright arrogance – to negotiate a seat on the Indian competition's board, on which South Africa and Australia hold equal status with the hosts, and that opportunity may not come again.

But English cricket cannot continue to operate from outside the system, much as those in power at Lord's dislike the fact that the world game – for the time being at least – is dominated by the BCCI and Lalit Modi. Compromise will have to be negotiated, if not for this season then for those to follow; otherwise Clarke may find that his hold on office has become untenable.

IT was a long time coming but there was still disappointment when Bradford City and Stuart McCall parted company.

As a player, McCall became a legend at Valley Parade and will continue to be revered as one of the best – if not the paragon – among those to have worn the claret-and-amber but, despite his best efforts, over a period of time which no-one could argue was not long enough for him to prove himself, he has to be deemed a failure as manager.

That led to several City supporters trumpeting the old chorus that a player should never return to his old club and sit in the manager's chair. "It never works," they say and point gleefully to the misadventures of men like Eddie Gray, Allan Clarke and the late Billy Bremner when they were entrusted with the task of restoring Leeds United to the status they had enjoyed under Don Revie.

Their argument is simplistic and false. They forget the impact Paul Jewell and Chris Kamara had at Bradford, not to mention the success enjoyed by others who exchanged boots for suits, like Bill Nicholson (Tottenham), Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool), Colin Todd and Sam Allardyce (Bolton), Kevin Keegan (Newcastle), Roberto Martinez (Swansea) and – not least – Simon Grayson (Leeds United).

Which is why they might have to show a little patience should City ignore their heads – which would mean Peter Taylor being named as their new manager – and instead go with their hearts, appointing another, like McCall, who wore the shirt with pride: Peter Jackson.

and another thing...

THE sight of Tony McCoy being heaved out of the saddle by a thudding mistake from his mount Denman at Newbury has brought a new excitement – as if one were needed – to the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival.

Denman's failure was not just in that mis-timed leap, he was far from impressive all round and those who had invested in him at long odds-on must have feared the worst a few seconds before their cash went west when the huge chestnut hit another fence chest-on.

Paul Nicholls, the lucky man with Denman and the Gold Cup favourite Kauto Star in his yard, had warned before the race that Denman was not at his peak for the Newbury test, more work was necessary to get the brute primed for his meeting with the horse-next-door.

He did not deter the Denman army and only the most faint-hearted of them will not weigh in again come next month. That is one of the strange things about racing; even when the evidence is clear you refuse to take heed. So we'll still back Denman to beat Kauto Star – and the odds are better now.