AOB: Naming, shaming, and blaming

Happy news, we're never going to have to play Stevenage Borough again.

Unfortunately this isn't because they've ceased to exist, or suffered relegation to the Herts Senior League, but because the clever bods in the Lamex Stadium boardroom have decided to remove the Borough from their name.

“Looking to the future, the directors do not believe the connotation of the word Borough in the name should be carried into the Football League," said Borough Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace. "It’s served us well as a non-league club in the climb up the non-league pyramid and we shall always be ‘The Boro’ in recognition of our roots, but now it’s time to look to the future."

Personally I think nothing screams Non-League quite like changing your name (see Ebbsfleet and Fleetwood) and if they really do want to improve their image I would suggest more radical action. Like removing the "Stevenage" part of their title. And moving to a nicer part of Hertfordshire. And sacking Graham Westley. And getting some new fans. Actually, thinking about it, losing the Borough bit is probably a lot easier.

Some who - effortless segue alert - probably wouldn't mind changing his name this week is Lord Triesman, who has resigned his position at the FA and with the World Cup 2018 bid team after he was caught on tape making some serious allegations about rival bids to a female associate. As football administrators go, Triesman always struck me as being a fairly decent chap. He was prepared to voice his concern on Premier League debt (a subject on which, given the Portsmouth situation, he turned out to be correct) and seemed to have a good understanding of what was going on at grassroots level.

Triesman was a bit of a birk to go blabbing to the first young woman who batted her eyelids in his direction, but I lay the blame for his departure firmly at the feet of the Daily Mail. In my opinion the Mail can be found at the root of many of the world's problems, but one thing I wouldn't usually accuse them of being is unpatriotic. But in this case they have published a story which may have done fatal damage to England's world cup bid, an event which could have really galvanised the people of "broken Britain". They really are a despicable publication, and fair play to Gary Lineker for showing his disapproval by severing all ties with them. Hopefully they'll stick to immigrant bashing and miracle cancer cures in future.