The sacking of their manager Avram Grant has been one of football's worst kept secrets in recent weeks but as for John Terry's tears in Moscow; how many column inches around the globe continue to be devoted to that?

Terry has been widely pilloried for his very public display of emotion with some commentators suggesting that his behaviour varied from a cynical outpouring of emotion designed to draw maximum media attention to himself, to a fundamental weakness in his psyche warranting his demotion as England soccer captain and removal from their next squad. Is that not just a bit harsh I wonder? A slight over-reaction to the fact that he missed a penalty kick because he slipped as he struck the ball?

The fundamental issue here is that we British (and Cornish!) do not cry. It is not a law but it is simply not done. The stiff upper lip and great British sense of decorum must prevail at all times as we time again demonstrate that impressive quality called the Dunkirk Spirit. The fact that scientists have proved that crying is a normal response in humans to emotions and that they believe it to be an important means of releasing physiological tensions is clearly errant nonsense - it's something foreigners do, is it not? Studies have shown that most men cry on average once a month, which makes Terry perfectly normal, whilst women blub a mighty five times in the same period. The sissies!

John Terry is not the first high profile sportsman to wear his heart on his sleeve when things go wrong and he certainly will not be the last. How can anyone who saw the images on television forget Paul Gascoigne bawling his eyes out at the 1990 World Cup after the Germans had predictably beaten England on penalties? He sobbed like a child who had lost its favourite toy for the world to see but I don`t remember it affecting his public image too much. Golfer Nick Faldo succumbed to the waterworks at the 2002 Open, Formula One star Mika Hakkinen bawled his eyes out after crashing at the 1999 Italian Grand Prix - and the ice-cold Finns are famously even more emotionless than us Brits - whilst Tennis star Jana Novotna once wept all over the Duchess of Kent after losing a Wimbledon final.

Last Sunday Cornwall had a high profile final of its own with our rugby team travelling to Twickenham to contest the County Shield. It was a pressure occasion just like any cup final and emotions ran high even at ten o'clock in the morning when the match kicked off. It was a tough contest against a very physical Northumberland team and despite their best efforts the men in black and gold came second on the day. But as for reports of stalwart players breaking down under a tide of emotion? None have been forthcoming thus far. The likes of Richard Carroll, Darren Jacques, and John Griffiths are hardly renowned softies after all!

There is no right or wrong to all of this and novelist Jean Rhys just about summed it up when she said, "Some must cry so that others may be able to laugh more heartily."

So if, like John Terry, you want to shed a few tears when you lose then go ahead. Just don`t expect any sympathy from you mates. It simply wouldn't be British.

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