WITH Alan Shearer's career hanging in the balance and Michael Owen's participation in the World Cup still uncertain, injuries are a hot topic among all football fans at the moment.

So imagine my surprise when, as I sat at home nursing the knee injury which has kept me out of Copper Beech's last two games, I opened up the papers to see headlines like King Out Of World Cup and King's World Cup Dream May Be Over.

To be honest, having been in and out of the side at both RAC and Copper Beech this season, I didn't hold out a great deal of hope of heading to Germany anyway.

It turns out, of course, that it's Spurs defender Ledley who is a doubt and I haven't been ruled out at all. Memo to Sven: my knee should be alright by the time the World Cup starts and as Joe Cole has shown, there's always a place on the left wing for a little lad who doesn't play that much for his club.

THE TABLOIDS are also full of tales of top players gambling away large sums of money, so it was refreshing to see a The Northern Echo Darlington Sunday Invitation League player actually winning some cash last week.

Haughton's dreadlocked centreback Dean Browne beat off hundreds of clubbers to win £50 as part of a competition at Escapade nightclub.

He also won a bottle of champagne, something he's never achieved for winning man of the match before, but rather like his performances, we're told it was a bit flat.

THERE will no doubt be champagne too for the winners of the Division Three Cup Final, which takes place on Sunday.

New All Stars will take on Hole in the Wall at Darlington RA's Brinkburn Road ground, and hopefully players not in action that day will come along to boost the crowd.

Kick-off is at 10.30am and if it's anywhere near as thrilling as last year's final - a 3-3 draw eventually decided in Brown Trout's favour after a penalty shoot-out - it will be some game.

HOLE In The Wall have already had cause for celebration in recent weeks after becoming the first team to secure promotion this season. Whether Copper Beech join them in division two, however, remains every bit as up-in-the-air as a ball that's been given the big boot by our strapping centre-half Belly.

We are currently in the third and final promotion place, but DfES, New All Stars and Brown Trout could all catch us if they win their games in hand.

But as they say, possession is nine tenths of the law. Like my World Cup hopes, it seems that things will go right down to the wire.

Published: 21/04/06