With two crucial World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifiers coming up, Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter will have to find himself a consistent squad. Starting on Sunday against the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Bafana Bafana must get maximum points to keep them on top of the table.

Marseille likes to bill itself ”a shock as much as a city”, but it was the predictability of Newcastle United’s defeat in the Stade Velodrome in the Uefa Cup semifinal second leg on May 6 — and the shocking reaction it provoked from fans — that ultimately resulted in Sir Bobby Robson reaching a dead end on Tyneside on Monday morning.

No sooner had Arsenal first equalled and then broken Nottingham Forest’s 26-year-old record of going 42 league matches without defeat, than doubts were being expressed about the likelihood of such an achievement ever being repeated. The longer the present run lasts the stronger this feeling will become.

So there he is, the 18-year-old Wayne Rooney. Looking uncomfortable in a suit and tie. Struggling to string two words together in true young footballer fashion, with the microphones ganging up on him. A £20-million move to Manchester United and the lad from tough Croxteth in Liverpool is definitely history at Everton.

Next Sunday South Africa will play Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy, and unless the cosmos is controlled by an excitable Bollywood screenwriter, an 11th consecutive one-day loss will be averted by Graeme Smith’s team, a ghastly record dodged, and perhaps a moment of clarity achieved.