BOURNEMOUTH Council has always excelled at providing sports facilities across the borough, and it seems our new administration is continuing this great work with the opening of the new Central Football Training Ground – or The Square, as some older residents still prefer to call it.

What a delight it is, on these warm sunny evenings, to spend time wandering across the centre of town while gangs of youths are hoofing a leather ball between startled pedestrians. Honestly, the skill required to ricochet a long pass off the cafe widows before “bending it like Beckham” into the corner of the NatWest Bank is something to behold. How fortunate we are to have these skilled sportsmen (quite literally) playing amongst us.

Still, at least it might explain why some cyclists try to get through there as fast as humanly possible I suppose.

MARTIN HOULDEN, Post Office Road, Bournemouth