Watch out for the long game that Greg Dyke is playing

Greg Dyke has never been afraid to take on the big battalions. His fights with Rupert Murdoch first over the rights to televise the newly formed Premier League and then over Sky's attempt to buy Manchester United are legendary. And, as has been well recorded, he famously took on Tony Blair, and particularly his PR guru Alistair Campbell, over the dossier about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. This ultimately cost him his BBC job but the way he waged that war showed his lust for battle.

However his decision to take on the Premier League and come down firmly in favour of Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup in winter seems on the face of it surprising. After all Dyke played a huge part in helping create the Premier League. Also it is widely accepted that as the new head of the FA he needs to build workable relations with the Premier League if the English national team is once again to taste success. There is no point in having the most powerful and successful league in the world if the national team evokes pity rather than wonder.