GLENN Hoddle really must have God on his side - just ask David Lloyd.

Where Hoddle may escape from his abuse of the sanctity of the confessional, Lloyd, it would seem, must play by a completely different set of rules.

And the worry for local sports fans is the fall-out from both sagas.

The circumstances - or situations - of the England soccer and Cricket coaches are different.

Hoddle committed the ultimate sin in any position of trust in betraying the confidence of his players.

Those wounds will never heal.

If the FA had made Tony Adams sit on Hoddle's knee for yesterday's press conference, no-one would have been convinced that there is no lasting damage to their relationship.

And any manager knows that, when you lose the respect of your senior aides, you are batting on a sticky wicket.

Muttiah Mularitharan would be almost unplayable on almost any wicket, sticky or featherbed.

That fact is due, almost entirely, to his unique bowling action.

His double-jointed arm can create more angles than a mathematician.

But just because the foundation for his talent is anatomical, it does not follow that his action is legal.

There is, and has always been, obvious doubt.

Muralitharan has been investigated at the highest level. Those official investigations might be over but the doubts still linger.

So Lloyd was right to re-open the debate.

I am sure he now wishes he had done it in a more dignified and diplomatic fashion.

But to criticise the man for a verbal attack on Geoff Boycott is stretching the limit of double standards.

Lloyd, though, must be amazed at the reaction to his comments.

Having clearly witnessed the washing of the England football squad's dirty linen in public ever since the World Cup finished, Lloyd could have been easily forgiven for thinking that free speech and open debate was in fashion.

Not in cricket circles.

Cricket operates a mystifying policy of gagging and censure, primarily to prolong and enhance the power of the fossils in charge at Lord's.

It was not so long ago that Lloyd's open attitude with the media was considered a much-needed breath of fresh air. Remember Ray Illingworth and Ted Dexter?

Lloyd now faces the axe for a minor indiscretion after England have enjoyed their most successful summer since....I can't actually remember any success, come to think of it.

Followers of Lancashire cricket at league and county level, who have taken pride in Lloyd's meteoric rise, will be watching events with bated breath. They will not, however, be as anxious as Blackburn Rovers fans following the Hoddle saga.

The deeper Hoddle digs himself into his hole, the closer Roy Hodgson edges towards becoming his obvious successor.

The Ewood faithful will be praying for victory in Sweden - and that Hoddle forgets to pack his concealed camera.

Neil Bramwell is the Sports Editor

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.