FOOTBALL is full of wild rumours and they are part of its character, its fun in the summer months, its charm.

But let’s nail one very false rumour.

When Henry Davey cuts himself his blood is not black-and-white, but red like everyone else’s.

But while the St Martin’s president may not be able to do anything about the colour of his corpuscles, he is every inch a Saint, always has been, always will be and is fully deserving of the Football Association lifetime achievement award he received this week.

And what a week it’s been for ‘H’ and the club he has served as player, coach and official for half-a-century.

Look at him and its remarkable to think he has 50 years’ service in him, but, as he will remind everyone, he started young.

Henry was born into Saints, his dear old dad being similarly committed to the club he died serving.

I recall being at Blanche Pierre the cold winter day Davey senior collapsed and died while doing what young Henry does now: doing the gate on match days.

I seem to remember the Saints No. 9 looking bemused as he was subbed, momentarily unaware of the

misfortune of his father just a few yards away.

Henry, dare I say, will be part of Blanche Pierre until his own end and, while we hope that day is decades away, I can see him being the next Lewis Laine, Saints’ other lifetime achiever recognised this week, clutching onto the Upton Park trophy in the year 2040.

Now that’s a challenge for you ‘H’. Keep going as long as Lewis.

In the meantime, from the Press sports department comes a hearty well done for your individual efforts and to your club after a terrific season in which they always looked like fulfilling the promise of the squad’s talent and depth.

St Martin’s have something special, not only in their club president, but in their sporting psyche when it comes to Uptons.

While many of Guernsey’s best champion sides have wilted under the Upton spotlight, Saints invariably thrive, play at their best and, crucially, win.

An Upton record of 13 appearances, 11 wins, is simply staggering.

What now for Saints?

The black-and-whites will inevitably be hit hardest by the impending Guernsey FC venture.

Yet, to the club’s credit, I don’t hear them whinging about the near future, which will see them lose their influential coach to the GFC set-up and half a team, who I expect to be involved with the Combined Counties League outfit on a weekly basis.

Saints will cope well enough because they have men like Henry Davey to guide them.

They are good and loyal football men, good sportsmen who can see a wider picture.

CRICKET’S arrived and, remarkably, it has not poured with rain yet.

Port Soif looks an absolute picture, KGV, in general, a few degrees tidier I’m pleased to report.

It would be over-stating it to say this is a crucial summer for island cricket, but from beyond the boundary it should be seen as an important one in terms of keen young talent stamping its mark on the top end of the game.

The main summer team sport is enjoying a major injection of young blood, which it desperately needed.

But the top end of the game needs the best of that young talent to really make their mark on the game, take the pressure off the likes of Lee Savident, Jeremy Frith and Stuart Le Prevost.

I like what I see in several youngsters.

The Kirk brothers invariably impress me and could be island regulars for years to come with the right approach to the game.

Andrew Hutchinson looks quality, James Wilkes-Green equally, Adam Martel has so much potential, and Rob Le Corre has it in him to be a very influential performer.

Also, can Dave Hooper’s tigerish

nature take him from the fringes of the island team into a regular place.

As for the new Clydesdale Bank T20 League, let’s hope it lives up to the hype and, for dear old evening cricket, I keep my fingers crossed that it rediscovers some of its past glory and the club game makes the most of the GCB’s excellent development work over recent years.

Club cricket has taken a hit these past years and it is ripe for a revival, particularly at the top end.

I also hope to see the island’s top players regularly in evening action as there is nothing better to sharpen the skills than time in the middle.

It did not do the island’s best of the past any harm, so why should it now?

Was the island captain a better player for being forcibly kept out of evening league action last season?

I think not.