Is The End Near For Sachin Tendulkar?

Like with anything, all good things must come to an end eventually. Sachin Tendulkar is without a doubt the greatest batsman in the modern era and second only to Sir Don Bradman in the history of the game.

The numbers are simply amazing. 198 test matches, close to 16,000 runs, 51 centuries and not to mention a remarkable ODI career to match. But he will be 40 next month and the signs are already there that he could well be on his way out of the game. He retired from one day cricket in December to spend more time with his family and to be honest that was the right decision due to the lack of one day cricket he had been playing since the World Cup victory in 2011. His form has been poor by his very high standards, for the past couple of years.

He hasn't scored a test century since January 2011 in South Africa which was 21 test matches ago. In that time his average isn't that bad at 31.80 with 8 half centuries but the pressure of being the best tells you that isn't good enough by Sachin standards, which are enormous in all truth. Critics will say he should have retired on top after the World Cup win two years ago. He was in the form of his life during 2009 and 2010 and that was probably the best time to leave.  The difference with him now though is how he has been getting out after getting a start. He will play majestically until he reaches 20 or 30 and not capitalise which is not like the Sachin of old.

No matter what happens from now on, he will always go down in history as a true great. I believe there is no comparison between him and the likes of Lara, Sobers and Sir Viv Richards. Although these players were true greats, the numbers and impact Sachin has had on the game just don't compare. Also take into consideration the style of his game which is truly unmatchable to any player ever to play this great sport. It will be a sad day when Sachin decides to finally retire which will be sooner rather than later, but he will always be remembered as a true great of cricket and a true sporting hero.

Future Looking Bleak For Sky Blues

When will it end? Being a Coventry City fan for close to 15 years since the age of 6, it's been pretty depressing stuff. Two relegations and countless mid-table finishes is what us fans have had to endure on the pitch. But off the pitch, it gets even worse.

After narrowly avoiding administration by a matter of minutes in 2007, it looked like things were looking up for the Sky Blues. Sisu took the club over and looked to improve things both on and off the pitch. They were hoping to own the stadium which the club rent, The Ricoh Arena, within a few years.

But failure to do so has caused numerous problems for the club with failure to pay the rent which is reported to be as much as £1.2 million per year. Without receiving revenue from the stadium, the club really is falling fast. The owners Sisu, have said to have pumped close to £50 million into the club. It's hard to see where any of that money has gone as we are in a much worse position that when they took over the club.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the club are on the verge of 10 point deduction after a non-operating subsidiary of the club went into administration. This is real shame as the club were starting to perform on the pitch in the recent months. Currently 10th in League 1 and just a few points from the play-offs, this deduction kills off any chances of reaching them and condems us to yet another below mid-table finish.

Back to the off the pitch matters and no-one really knows the full story but it looks like we will be deducted 10 points this season and the actual football club will enter administration before the start of next season and be deducted a further 15 points. Just even more depressing news for us fans. At least it can't get much worse than this though. Oh wait, it can. It was also revealed that the club look set to be leaving The Ricoh Arena after long standing rent issues and are looking for a new place to play the remaining home fixtures. It really is a sorry state of affairs for the club and the long suffering fans. We are not sure when this pain will end but before you know it, we could be playing League 2 football with the likes of Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon. Oh joy. The future for Coventry City looks very bleak indeed.