So it is before the slopes of Celtic Manor that the doom of our time will be decided....

So... Monty it is then.

I've argued long and hard that Lyle was the man for the job - not necessarily because he's the best captain, but because it was a worthy honour for a man who achieved so much (Casey, Donald, Poulter et al don't even come close). To refuse his candidacy is effectively flicking two fingers to his standing and record. "Sorry, Sandy - you're too old mate, now f*** off" is as blunt a rebuke as was effectively dished out.

This is all effectively because the Euro's were "Faldoed" at the last Ryder Cup. Eeek, gasp, we lost - what went wrong? Er, must be the captain, as our players were the best (sound familiar? Ask Strange and Sutton). Oh, hang on... our captain was over 50... obviously out of touch. Ha, won't make that mistake again.

Enter Monty, stage left. He'll be a great captain, I'm sure of that. His strengths outweigh his weaknesses, and the latter are only evident when he fails as a player in individual comps. Even at Brookline, where Europe lost in controversial fashion and Monty was sickeningly abused, he kept his cool and his dignity.

But it doesn't change the fact - Lyle was shafted by a committee boasting one major between them, and that was Paul Lawrie's (no offence intended, Paul, but....). They should hang their collective heads in shame.