THE David Beckhams, Roy Keanes and Patrick Vieiras might be the modern day superstars of British football, but they could all take a leaf out of the book of Bermuda's Shaun Goater.

Now in his second spell in the English Premiership with Manchester City, Goater could argue that nobody deserves their starting place in the first team more than he.

Year after year, for as long as most of us can remember, he's been banging in the goals with alarming regularity, almost always finishing the season as his club's top scorer.

Not all of his goals are pretty - many of them much like his point-saving last-minute equaliser against Blackburn last week which bobbled over a defender and bounced off the 'keeper before nestling in the back of the net.

But, to use an old cliche, they all count, and the record books will show that Goater's tally takes a lot more counting than many far more celebrated and expensive Premiership strikers.

Yet it's much more than his goalscoring ability that sets Goater apart from the rest.

Rather, it's the kind of attitude showed as he sat on the bench at the start of last Sunday's match, having again been overlooked by boss Kevin Keegan for a place in the starting eleven.

If ever a player had reason to feel disgruntled, it was the Bermudian. With three of the first team's strikers injured, he had to believe he would be the manager's first choice.

But instead the boss brought in an untried teenager and again left Goater on the sidelines.

To his enormous credit, the veteran frontman never once showed any sign of resentment.

Instead, he got up off the bench in the second half and let his feet do the talking.

It was a point that wasn't lost on Keegan, who later bemoaned the fact that more of his players couldn't match Goater's temperament and team spirit.

And hopefully the point wasn't lost on the up and coming youngsters in Bermuda who dream of one day filling their idol's footsteps.

At a time when professional players' acts of petulance tend to dominate the headlines more than their exploits on the field, it's refreshing to see that there are still players who put the game and the team before themselves.

And nobody does it with more dignity than Shaun Goater.

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LAST week's column suggesting that the Charity Cup Final was no longer the most entertaining way to open the local soccer season seemed to ruffle a few feathers, including those of my good friend David Sabir, general secretary of the Bermuda Football Association.

In a letter to Sports Mailbox, Sabir criticised what he considered to be negative comments and made much of the fact that over the years the match had raised thousands of dollars for charity.

But that has never been in dispute.

What should be of concern is that less and less will be put into those charity coffers if the type of apathy witnessed before this year's final continues.

As pointed out, if the players themselves aren't bothered about playing, then certainly the fans aren't going to be too bothered about turning up.

There's no reason why money still can't be raised for charity, but perhaps in a season-opening event made more attractive to all members of the football family.

Any bad publicity the Charity Cup received this year was brought on by those within the game. A mistake was made in naming the wrong opponents for league and cup winners North Village and then certain clubs made it clear they weren't worried if they played in the final or not.

Unfortunately, that didn't reflect well on a BFA administration who, by and large, have made great strides forward in promoting the game since taking up office.

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AS the soccer season opens, so cricket winds down and the appearance of Test match record holder Courtney Walsh in an exhibition game at Wellington Oval last Sunday, as a guest of the West Indian Association, was a fitting way to end the summer.

And it was a nice gesture by St. George's Cricket Club to include in their team several teenagers, some of whom have yet to break into the club first eleven.

The memory of batting against one of the world's all-time great fast bowlers will likely stay with them for the rest of their lives.

- ADRIAN ROBSON