Ryder Cup Betting / Ralph Ellis / 23 September 2008 / 1

Nick Faldo was never comfortable in the role of European Ryder Cup team captain. We must get it right for 2010, says Ralph Ellis.

Seeing the pictures of Nick Faldo flying back into Heathrow last night summed up everything that was wrong with his captaincy. There he was, sauntering through arrivals in a scruffy T-shirt with a bewildered expression of surprise on his face that anybody had turned up to take his picture. It underlined the fact that he'd never grasped what the job was all about.

The Ryder Cup captain's task is not difficult. Yes, there's a bit of knowledge of players required to get the right wild card picks and decide who is best paired together on the first two days. But the real need is to set the tone for the team in attitude and approach and that was where Faldo failed so badly - and was still failing when he got into England. As a player he was a solitary, inward focused star. And he still wanted to be like that as a captain, losing his temper at media questions and giving the impression of resenting anybody who dared inquire of the reasoning behind his picks. Even as he left his hotel in Kentucky he couldn't be bothered to be polite to the couple of TV crews waiting to speak to him, just telling them "no more".

He was, in short, the polar opposite in style of Ian Woosnam, whose idea of a detailed team analysis was to check what everybody wanted to drink when he bought the first round. And it's no coincidence that laid back Woosie's team equalled the record Ryder Cup score with an 18 ½ to 9 ½ at the K Club while Faldo's side didn't just lose but got drubbed at Valhalla.

So who is next to try to win back the trophy when the next tournament rolls round at Celtic Manor in 2010? Well Woosie, not surprisingly, wants another go on his home Welsh soil and has told the Sun's David Facey as much this morning. "If the players want me back I would be delighted to do it," he says. 'I've already had my turn and don't want to put anyone else's nose out, but as I've always said you've got to put your name forward if you want it.'

Woosie's odds to lead the team in 2010 are [5.0], but beware. According to the Daily Mail's knowledgeable Derek Lawrenson the mood among the European Tour's top players, who will meet next week to begin discussing their choice, is to look for somebody from outside the UK after four British captains in the last five.

That should make Jose Maria Olazabal a certainty. He was Faldo's vice captain at Valhalla and that reasoning makes him [3.0] to get the job. But Lawrenson reveals that Olazabal would rather play in the event after recovering from the health problems and lethargy that stopped him playing this summer. And then as Lawrenson's equally well informed colleague Charles Sale reveals, the Spaniard was even more uncomfortable and tetchy in the media spotlight than Faldo.

Sale reckons Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, a popular member of the European tour and with experience as a front man through his work as chairman of the players' committee, is now the most likely man to take over the mantle and he certainly ticks all the boxes. He also ticks the box that says you can back him at [17.0] this morning. Grab that while it's there.

Five things you might not know about Thomas Bjorn

1. Born in Silkeborg, Denmark, in 1971 he started playing golf at the age of six because his Dad was a keen amateur

2. Literally translated his surname means 'bear' in Danish

3. He was the first Dane to play in the Ryder Cup, but would prefer to be remembered for that rather than his outburst at Ian Woosnam for not picking him in 2006. He later apologised and paid a 10,000 Euros fine

4. He's keen on football and is a Liverpool fan

5. Sponsored by Callaway he uses a Big Bertha driver - but always keeps a chocolate bar in his bag as well

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1. myvyn | 23 September 2008

   THOMAS BJORN.....NO NO NO. another great ego maniac, threw is teddy when he did,nt get a ryder cup pick. insulted OUR own ambassador of WELSH GOLF, "IAN WOOSNAM." It would be an insult to wales for BJORN to captain the 2010 team. bring back woosie, if he,s put is name forward ,the powers that be would be mad not to accept.

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