One of the dopier notions that circulate in soccer -- a sport that is certainly not short of inane ideas -- is the one that tells us Why Goals Are Scored.

I think it's safe to say that there is a general feeling that soccer, being a vigorous, healthy sporting activity in which millions of young people are involved, should pay attention to its image. Meaning that it should not be linked to products and activities that do not reflect that wholesome image.

We can now take it as official that FIFA screwed up when it awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. We've heard it from the horse's mouth. Sepp Blatter himself has neighed in with the admission that it "may well be that we made a mistake" in naming Qatar.

Can't say I'm a great devotee of Northern Irish soccer. But they came up against Portugal in a weekend World Cup qualifier, so I watched -- because of Cristiano Ronaldo.

It can't be a good day for American soccer when one of its liveliest and most knowledgeable general managers is summarily fired. OK, he may well be one of the prickliest GMs, too. It's Kevin Payne I'm talking about, suddenly defenestrated by Toronto.

Utterly exhausted as I am by the incredible nail-biting, heart-stopping, nerve-wrenching, mind-boggling excitement of the final hours of the transfer window in England, I feel the necessity of revealing to you all the fabulous excitement of these tension-wracked 24 hours.