Anthony Brown: World-class hype from down south

THERE'S a strong case to be made for the English Premier League being the best in the world, but some of the unnecessary hype surrounding the game down south really gets my goat.

As I said a few weeks ago, I'm all for people talking footballers up instead of slaughtering them. But in England, there are far too many instances of players - particularly the homegrown ones - being bigged up way above their station. We saw two examples of our neighbours getting a bit carried away about their stars last week - and one of them resulted in a bit of egg on face. This came in Barcelona when a press man asked Pep Guardiola about England's new boy wonder, Jack Wilshere. The Barca coach responded: "Wilshere is an excellent player. But we have many players in the second team like him."

This was interpreted as a put-down of the player. But to anyone who's been paying attention, Wilshere, fantastic young talent though he is, wouldn't get near the Barca first team. All of a sudden England's bright new hope has extra pressure thrust on his 19-year-old shoulders to perform in one of the most awesome arenas in the world and he is duly left chasing shadows. We've seen this a million times where English players get told they are world-class simply because of their EPL exploits and then they get found wanting on the big stage.

Can we not have a term called Premiership-class for players who have proved themselves top Premier League players but have yet to do it consistently anywhere else? This would maybe stop people like Fabio Capello, who should know better, being sucked into the ridiculous fawning over Gareth Bale. How the England manager can label him "the number one player in the world" is truly beyond me.

Come on Fab, there's Ronaldo and Messi for starters, then there's Villa, Iniesta and Xavi. I still don't get the Rooney hype either, but I'd have him over Bale given that he's done it consistently in the Premier League for a good few seasons. Capello appears to be jumping on the bandwagon following Bale's exploits in the two games against Inter Milan. Yes, they were two excellent performances, but can we really call a guy world-class on the back of a couple of European games and some good Premier League displays over the last year or two?

Imagine what they'd have been saying about Neil McCann's masterclass for Hearts in the 1996 Coca-Cola Cup final if he'd produced that display in an English cup final. He'd have got more than a mountain bike, that's for sure.

Hats off to . .

STEPHEN DOBBIE. The former Rangers and Hibs striker has had to do things the hard way since failing to hit the heights as a youngster.

But after rebuilding his career with Dumbarton and Queen of the South before earning his move to Swansea in 2009, he is now finally starting to make a genuine impact with the promotion-chasing Championship outfit. They lost on Saturday, but he's chipped in with a few vital goals in recent weeks and can't be far off a Scotland call-up if he stays in the groove.

Not a fan of . .

THAT ridiculous decision in the Nou Camp. This will hopefully be the first and last time I ever have a pop at a referee because I genuinely do feel the stick they get is unwarranted. But the dismissal of Robin van Persie was totally inexplicable and lacking the most basic common sense.

There is no way anyone could have been sure whether or not the Arsenal man heard the whistle when he unleashed his first-time shot, so, given the magnitude of the match, I can't understand why he wasn't given the benefit of the doubt. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

There'll be El to pay, but I must agree . .

Interested to read El Hadji Diouf claiming the other day that people have got him all wrong. "You judge the person you know, and if you don't know that person, don't judge them," the controversial Rangers player said in response to the vilification he has been subjected to since arriving in Scotland. "People think they can judge me because I am a footballer. If I wasn't a footballer, I'd just be some normal guy at the restaurant or working away at a railway station - and nobody would talk about me." On reflection, I have to agree with him. His past is chequered to say the least and he certainly doesn't come across as a particularly pleasant guy. But since arriving in Scotland, apart from his Old Firm meltdown 12 days ago, he had behaved impeccably and done little to prompt the over-the-top character assassinations he's had to deal with. On the whole, his bark seems to be worse than his bite. A loose cannon who might explode every now and then.

Only thing I'd have to pick the bold El Hadji up on, however, is his claim later in that interview that he'd like to be a manager one day. Somehow I just can't see the African being suited to that particular career path.

One in a Millen . .

I'M all for footballers prolonging their careers. David Weir has proved he still has plenty to offer at 40, while Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, both in their late 30s, remain key men at Manchester United.

But even that illustrious trio will be doffing their caps to what Andy Millen is achieving with Queen's Park. The former Hibs defender, who stepped out of retirement aged 45 a little over a month ago, recently scooped the Third Division player of the month award for February, shown above with manager Gardener Spiers. He has now played ten games (the full 90 minutes in each) and the Spiders have lost none. A truly remarkable feat.