FABIO RESULT, BRUTTO INGLESE

Well done, Fabio! The new boss done good, as they say in footballing circles.

He may not have mastered English yet – after promising to be speaking it within month – but his command of motivation cannot be doubted after England’s win over Switzerland last night.

Actually, it might be best if he forgets the English lessons and the rest of us learn Italian ... if some of the howlers I’ve seen this week are anything to go by.

I may have spotted the start of a strange new trend: Past Tense Blindness.

Our parish magazine congratulated Mrs Thingy from down the street who ‘rose over £800 during 2007 for charities’. Methinks ‘raised’ would have been a better choice.

I can see how the mistake came about, though – it was written by a dunce (I'm being polite here).

Then on TV yesterday I heard a seemingly well-educated young man say that while was driving across an intersection another car went through a red light and ‘I broke hard to avoid him’.

Broke!? Try ‘braked’ next time, young man.

I won’t start a grumpy old man tirade …yet. Perhaps when Fabio speaks better English than most of his squad.

So, next week then …