Even from a professional purveyor of contrariness like Rod Liddle, it is nonsense to describe us Newcastle United fans as ‘perpetually deluded monkeys’ (last week). We are fully aware of the dreadful way our club has been run and, at times, managed, and we know where we stand in the Premier League pecking order - we are just glad to be staying up. Is Liddle taking lessons from Jeremy Clarkson on how to make a living by being offensive?

Frank Dobson, Morpeth

As a contributor to the RSPCA, I must protest in the strongest terms at Rod Liddle’s comparison of fans at St James’ Park with monkeys. His comment is a cruel slur on monkeys.

Roger Jordan, Watford

Would you please wish Rod Liddle a swift and complete recovery? The inclusion of several complimentary comments in last week’s article regarding Liverpool supporters means that he is clearly unwell.

Ian Rimmer, Northampton

Having seen Joe Calzaghe’s fight with Bernard Hopkins, I am prompted to ask if the rules of boxing have been changed. Is fighting on the inside now banned? Every time Calzaghe got close, Hopkins grabbed him and the referee called, ‘Break’. I have noticed this trend recently and it now seems to be an accepted tactic that a boxer who doesn’t like fighting on the inside can simply grab his opponent and the referee will oblige by breaking them up, rather than giving a warning as he would have done a few years ago.

Martyn Beardsley, Nottingham

Isn’t it good to see well-behaved sportsmen once more? I refer to the professional snooker players at the Crucible. Despite having similar backgrounds to our footballers, they seem worlds apart in their manner.

Tim Mickleburgh, Grimsby

So Rod Liddle thinks the future of snooker lies with Peter Ebdon, Shaun Murphy and John Higgins (last week)? Given the tantrums of the latter two after their early exits from this year’s world championship, I hope not. Rather than accept defeat with good grace, they resorted to moaning about the state of the tables. If ever a sport had a level playing field for both players, surely it is snooker.

Richard Reardon, Carlisle

Willie Thorne, John Virgo and Dennis Taylor deserve full marks. Their commentary contributes enormously to television viewers’ enjoyment of the game. Along with expert analysis from Steve Davis, the BBC’s snooker coverage is quite superb.

J Gannon, Lytham

The calm rationality with which Martin Brundle writes his Formula One column and commentates on television is to be applauded, especially as others start to get overcritical of Lewis Hamilton because he has had a couple of bobbles early in the season. Brundle keeps a steady head; so should the rest of the scribes.

Joe Cushnan, Worksop

Write to: The Sports Editor (Letters), The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington St, London E98 1ST, or via e-mail: sportletters@sunday-times.co.uk (keep letters short and include postal address)

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