SO, the new Weymouth Football Club crest has been unveiled at last.

The vote was carried out in the Dorset Echo and fans have made their choice with a re-branded logo incorporating the ship, which shows a cleaner image and carries the new motto Forward Together'.

Chairman Malcolm Curtis brought a marketing company, Fireworx, to design the crest and he says, to move the club forward in the 21st Century.

Traditionalists have been horrified by the change, saying the club has sold its identity down the river.

But sometimes things have to move on. I'm very much a traditionalist and am sometimes loathe to change and I certainly had my doubts when the idea was proposed.

But having seen the new badge, which is not that far removed from the old version, I believe this could have plenty of benefits.

Curtis says businesses need to be won over in the area and the old badge was tired and perhaps synonymous with bad business decisions in the past and the recent turbulent history.

If companies are to invest in the Terras they must be given the confidence that the club is moving in the right direction.

A new main sponsor is still being sought and hospitality packages need to be sold and if that is the way forward then so be it.

The town needs to back the club, and seeing the Terras' board making the effort and not just resting on their laurels is itself a good thing.

We don't want to go back to the days when buckets had to be placed around the ground to keep the club alive, do we?

There have been too many false dawns before but at the moment things do seem to be settling down.

Players are being signed daily it seems, and the squad is taking shape well for such an early time in the close season.

John Hollins and Alan Lewer are well respected and chief executive Gary Calder has stated that the present time is the most exciting since he joined the club in 2004.

Yes, there are still questions that need answering.

The financial state of the club is still very much uncertain with the annual general meeting overdue, and the proposed sites for a new ground still undefined.

But at the end of the day, results are the be all and end all, and if Hollins and Lewer can put together a winning team for next season then all the re-branding and doubts over Curtis' intentions will be put on the back burner.

o o o WHAT an explosive and epic game the Champions League final was this week.

I was finding it hard to gain any enthusiasm beforehand for the club showpiece, especially after last year's tepid FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United.

But the top sides in the FA Premier League certainly surprised me with the open fare they served up.

United were superb in the first half, with their slick passing and lightning attacks, and should have been well ahead by the half-time whistle.

Cristiano Ronaldo's headed goal was sublime and chances for Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick should really have been put away.

The Blues, though, weren't finished and came back powerfully and equalised through Frank Lampard just before the break.

Avram Grant's men hit the woodwork twice in the second period as they took the initiative. Then came the penalty shoot-out, Petr Cech outfoxed Ronaldo by not falling for his stuttering run-up and it was left to John Terry to claim the cup for Chelsea.

But the English trait kicked in and he put his spot-kick against a post as he slipped on the Luzhniki pitch, and United then had the upperhand.

Nicolas Anelka took the seventh and decisive penalty and saw his effort saved from Edwin Van De Sar and the Red Devils collected the trophy for the third time - 50 years after the Munich air disaster.

Superb entertainment, but what spoiled the game for me was the constant play-acting, diving, and players surrounding the referee, like a bunch of spoilt schoolkids.

What was wrong with Joe Cole? He ran around slapping his head like a demented animal every time a decision went against him.

As for Didier Drogba, well don't get me started. He got himself involved in every little melee, whether it involved him or not and the sending off was pure stupidity.

Yes, it was a good advert for the Premier League on the whole, but let's cut out the cheating.