WATCHING a fuddy-duddy organisation like the FA play with new technology is a bit like seeing an elderly man donning baseball cap and shades in the desperate hope of looking 'cool.'

With walking stick in one hand and Oakleys in the other, national football's governing body last week attempted to create one of the internet events of the year.

The announcement of the England squad would take place - live - on the website at 10am on Thursday - or so we thought.

Unfortunately, there were two problems.

For a start, from about 9.55am it was impossible to get anywhere near thefa.com.

The second is that while squad announcements move at the speed of light, the men in grey suits chose the pigeon post to inform clubs of the honour of their players' selection.

Let's hope that the FA haven't made the same mistake with the Summer transport arrangements, sending the suits on Concorde but putting the players on a slow boat via China.

Football clubs are waking up to the possibilities presented by the internet.

Morecambe have a well established website and, like many clubs, they choose to announce much of their news first there, making it a 'must visit' for fans.

Lancaster City are also about to go online on a similar basis.

It's another string to the bow of the football club as a business and will help to raise their profile in the community.

The net is great for clubs and organisations to communicate directly to the supporters, cutting out 'middle men' (like me!).

And good luck to them, but remember, while club statements are fine when things are going well, when there are clouds on the horizon, the line between news and propaganda begins to get thinner.

That's when newspapers come in handy.

When the squad was announced, there were few surprises.

Sadly, no place for Colin Potts or Robbie Talbot, but seeing Joe Cole's name on the team sheet was pleasing.

The 'he's not the finished article' brigade have a point, but his unique ability to play completely off the cuff, not to mention his eagerness to snap around the heels of defenders and the fact that he looks comfortable on the left mean he could be big in Japan to an extent that none of us expected.

And, of course, the best laid plans of mice and Sven can come off the bandwagon with just two mistimed shakes of the foot from Premiership defenders who can't be bothered to make one last proper tackle before jetting off to Marbella on Monday.

The best that can be said for the loss of Dyer and (worst of all) Gerrard is that it might give Eriksson the excuse he needs to keep his job if we go out if our lads limp out in the first round.

That Nicholas Anelka bloke - he's younger than me but he has already played for Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Paris St Germain.

Now Manchester United is reported to be the next stop.

Easy come, easy go and all that.

Alex Ferguson's reputation for rescuing lost souls (Cantona etc) precedes him, but you do feel that his legendary intolerance of prima donnas will probably be stretched to its limits by the flamboyant Frenchman.

But, when you are earning a reported £60,000 a week and pocketing all those exciting signing on fees, a whinging manager is never going to stop you from having a good time.

Then again, I've just heard that he is joining Manchester City - just what he deserves.