Spain’s loss is not exactly our great gain

SO what was your first thought when you heard the news that David Villa had broken his leg in Yokahama? Poor chap, what an awful blow and, at first, it all looked so innocuous too?

Or, perhaps it prompted a reflection on how cruelly ironic it was that such a significant event should happen in such a meaningless competition?

Or maybe you observed that there’s got to be a lesson in here somewhere about the folly of sending top teams off on supposedly prestigious but pointless and, at base, commercially motivated long-haul excursions slap-bang in the middle of the season?