As good/bad as it ever was; GAME ON: THE LAST WORD.

Byline: ALAN POOLE

WHILE opinions on England's international status have long been subject to violent manic-depressive mood swings, the global supremacy of our domestic game remained an unshakeable tenet of football lore, universally accepted by TV pundits and saloon bar sages alike.

Some refused to leave the slightest room for argument, boldly asserting: "The Premiership is the best league in the world." Others permitted that statement to be mildly qualified - conceding that some foreign competitions might attain a higher level of technical proficiency but insisting that they don't begin to match the pace, passion and competitive edge on offer over here.

The precept was glibly repeated by fans who had never watched a Serie A or La Liga match in their lives, let alone sampled the fare in Brazil, Argentina, the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia ...

And the men on the Match Of The Day sofas expanded that principle to decree that "The Premiership is the only place to be" thus inferring that relegation from the top flight is the football equivalent of stepping off the edge of the world.

But a couple of weeks ago that received wisdom was suddenly turned on its head as Fleet Street and its electronic equivalents got their heads together and declared that it's all gone horribly wrong.

Now, we're told, the Premiership is a league in crisis - so predictable that some bookies paid out on Chelsea retaining their title seven games into a 38-match schedule.

It's also, apparently, brain-numbingly negative, because all the other sides involved are either desperately scrambling for European scraps or grimly staving off the threat of relegation ... and so horrendously expensive that supporters are deserting in droves for the cut-price thrills of the Championship.

Those apocalyptic pronouncements were inspired by a couple of weeks when there was a preponderance of 0-0 draws or 1-0 decisions, but it's always dodgy to draw long-term conclusions from a handful of results.

Check out last weekend's scoresheet and you'll discover that 10 Premiership matches yielded 30 goals (which, as even my maths can confirm, averages three per game) while - thanks in no small measure to the Sky Blues' disastrous Hillsborough outing - 11 Championship games produced 28 (which, my calculator informs me, works out at a whisker over 2.5).

More specifically, the Premiership produced a trio of exhilarating 3- 2 away victories while Chelsea reeled off a regal 4-1 win at Anfield in a game widely proclaimed as a 0-0 banker - not exactly the statistics of a sterile competition.

The truth, as ever, lies somewhere between the boom or bust simplicities required for eye-catching headlines or TV news bulletin teasers - the Premiership is no more an irretrievable disaster now than it was sporting perfection two or three years ago.

Yes, Chelsea currently look unbeatable and seem likely to remain so if Roman Abramovic doesn't suddenly discover another hobby. But it's not so very long ago that Phil Neal was collecting eight League Championships, four European Cups, four League Cups and a UEFA Cup and everybody else despaired of ever being able to beat Liverpool.

As with any other league, the health of the Premiership should be judged on its strength in depth,and that looks just as invigorating in the embryonic era of Chelsea dominance as in the days of the Arsenal-Manchester United duopoly.

Is it still the best league in the world? Was it ever?

Would the likes of Coventry City prefer to remain in the 'anyone can beat anyone' environment of the Championship rather than becoming Premiership cannon fodder?

What do you think?

QUOTES OF THE WEEK I want to be entertaining and if I have to go to America to be that then fine. I will play in someone's back yard if there is a crowd there. - Ronnie O'Sullivan after announcing he was going to concentrate on playing pool in America over snooker.

I am not a good looking person physically. It's true that I have changed a bit, that I have been rejuvenated and I am better, but I have to tell the truth and say that I am not among people who can be considered nice. I cannot be as good-looking as Beckham. - Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita reacts to the plastic surgery he underwent for a reality TV show.

We have two huge games to play and trying to secure the World Cup ticket is a huge, important thing. - England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson on the crucial World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Poland.

I have got to live with that game for the rest of my life and that will probably be on my grave stone. - Celtic manager Gordon Strachan refers to the embarrassing 5-0 drubbing in the Champions League qualifier against minnows Artmedia Bratislava in his first competitive match in charge.

It is true. Despite the rumours, we have signed Jonah Lomu, not Joanna Lumley! - Cardiff Blues chief executive Robert Norster speaks to supporters after the All Blacks legend agrees a move to Wales.

I feel I have matured, on and off the field and hopefully that will continue because I am trying to cut out silly bookings for dissent. - Wayne Rooney on growing up at Manchester United.

I said the next win would be the most important win of my career and it is. And for it to happen here makes it really special. - Colin Montgomerie after claiming his first title for 19 months in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

That's not good. I have watched Tim Henman go through it the last 10 years and hopefully they will be a bit nicer to me than they have been to him. - Scottish tennis player Andy Murray worries about the British press as he continues his meteoric rise to fame. THE VERY LAST WORD LAST WEEK'S WINNER Think of a funny caption to this picture and win pounds 20 The one we judge the funniest wins the cash prize.

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At last, Adams gets some points behind him

Well done to David Smith, of Trevose Avenue, Exhall, who wins pounds 20.

CAPTION(S):

HOME AND DRY... Some bookies have already paid out to punters who predicted another Chelsea title