I'm sure everyone has been waiting with baited breath for my take on Heather Watson's comments and the overall "state of British Tennis", so a long thread...

First of all, on Watson's comments, it's not a zero sum game. She can be somewhat uninformed on certain topics, not be the best person to comment on other topics, but also have some value in some of the things she raised. Also, some of the stuff she said had value, some didn't.

The "no decent young players" is both right and wrong. There are some decent young players, there aren't as many as there should be or as many as there have been in the past. Questions need to be asked as to why that is.

So, "the LTA" - Who do people mean when they say "the LTA" is it the Performance Department as a whole, is it the executive board, is it the Participation Department, or the wheelchair team, or HR, or the Council, or marketing? This needs to be more specific when critiquing.

All of these departments are part of The LTA, and many of them have nothing to do with what 'the LTA' get criticised for. There are some excellent people that work there, particular some of the people in the Performance Department, there are some crap ones as well.

"Theres too much politics in the LTA". What does this even mean? Its so vague. If you're going to criticise, be specific with your criticism. Don't use vague nonsense like this, as it means nothing at all and just highlights that you don't really know enough about the subject.

The players getting funding: This is such a tough area because you can either fund a few with a lot of money, or you can fund a lot with a little money. There are strong arguments for either, and neither is perfect. Personally I'd like to see it be more means tested.

The LTA's failing with players: Let's get one thing straight - tennis (like all sport) is a meritocracy. The only way you can get to the top is if you're good enough, and if you're good enough you'll get there. If you don't get there, it isn't because of the LTA. U can't fake it.

If you don't get there, it is because you weren't good enough either at tennis, at enjoying tennis, or at working hard. Again, no player to my knowledge has ever had their career sabotaged by the LTA. Its one of the only sports that you can succeed without a governing body's help

British tennis players first of all need to have a look at their mentality, and understand what is required at elite level sport. And tennis coaches need to understand levels better. There are "performance" players and coaches in Britain that genuinely have no idea of standards.

Having said all of that, this doesn't mean that the LTA doesn't need to make serious changes in their way of doing things. Their recruitment is garbage. A tendency to be seduced by the waffle of people from minor sports, in which it is easier to succeed, but bares no similarity

to tennis. A recruitment process that is CV driven, rather than listening to people with ideas that have been on the coal face of the sport in the areas that they want to improve. They will always go for a coach with a smart CV over a coach with very smart ideas.

A CV is easy to blag. And the LTA are the easiest governing body in sport to blag are the LTA. Just look at their recently departed Performance Director. There are seriously smart people in British Tennis that aren't being listened to, and there are idiots being paid a fortune.

The biggest are they need to deal with is the competition structure. Its a mess and it has been for some time. The need more competition at every level, but specifically at futures level and the level just below that. It's no coincidence that Italy is suddenly thriving.

They have a futures most weeks and a load of challengers as well. British tennis was at its most successful when we had more futures tournaments. The British Tour needs sorting as well. Players need to be given the opportunity to earn money for themselves.

Lastly - the National Academies are crap. Something Timson did to make it look like he had a legacy. Absolute rubbish. The one in Scotland particularly is a joke, everyone knows it, not many are willing to admit it in public. Nothing more to add.