Tom English: 'Monty wasn't so much the cat out of the bag as the cat that got the cream'

WHAT AN immense relief it must be for everyone involved in the European Ryder Cup machine to know that whatever decisions about the captaincy that must be made ahead of the 2010 and 2012 matches (Jose-Maria Olazabal and Thomas Bjorn are the favourites but nothing's decided yet), the leadership for 2014 is now done and dusted. Come on down, Colin Montgomerie.

"The cat is finally out of the bag," wrote the Times on Thursday. "There need be no further discussions as to who will captain the Europe team in 2014."

Well, maybe. Taking Monty at face value, then there's no debate to be had. But let's just speculate for a second here. Let's suggest one troubling thing about the assumption that he is going to get or has already got the big job at Gleneagles. The doubt here surrounds the evidence, or lack of it. It's a single-source story and the source in question is one big walking agenda and you can't take anything he says on this matter as fact.

If the source was Bjorn, the chairman of the all-important European Tour's tour committee, then you'd hang your hat on the information. If it was Richard Hills, Ryder Cup director, then you'd be heralding the new age of Monty. Even if it was a well-placed deep throat whose identity had to remain confidential for fear of reprisals in blazerdom then you might accept it as fact.

But the person who as good as announced that Monty will be Ryder Cup captain was none other than… Monty. "Yes. I think that there's a particular place where I might well be captain. And I think it's pretty obvious where. I don't even have to say it."

It was obvious right enough. As obvious as the self-satisfied grin on his face. Monty wasn't so much the cat out of the bag as the cat that got the cream. You could practically hear him purring from the back row of the interview room at Loch Lomond.

That's Monty's mantra. Last week, next week, next month, next year, he'll keep at it, he'll keep campaigning for the role in the hope of backing the committee into a corner whereby it becomes a massive story if he does not get it. A snub. A shameful way to treat an old hero. By making noise now he is sowing the seeds for 2014.

Monty's comments are not based on fact, not based, we're told, on any secret promises. From what we can make out they're assumptions based on the hardly fullproof theory of "I am Monty, I want it, I need it, I deserve it, how could you not give it to me?"

Having spoken to two members of the tour committee, we can say that Monty is being premature here. Maybe he will get it – if you put a gun to the head of both committee members they'd say he probably will – but they cast their eyes to the gloomy heavens above Loch Lomond when Monty's quote was read to them. One said: "Jesus Christ, he can't help himself, can he?" The other was a lot less exasperated and a great deal more sarcastic: "Does Monty want to be captain at Gleneagles? Bloody hell, he should have said something before now."

Jamie Spence was for three years the chairman of the committee. He is now a director of the European Tour. "Monty is an obvious candidate but his comments are pure speculation," says Spence. "They haven't even decided on 2010 and 2012 yet so the decision on 2014 is a long way off. I might be dead by the time that's decided. Monty's just talking. The committee will just ignore all that. If that's what he believes then fair enough. But just because he believes it doesn't mean it's going to happen. He has to have a chance but it's so far off there's no point in speculating."

Well, there is really. Sandy Lyle is worth speculating about, worth standing up for. He's the only member of the famous five from the 1980s who has not got the captaincy. Ballesteros, Langer, Woosnam, Faldo and Lyle. Spot the odd man and try and justify his exclusion. Lyle has his critics, of course. Some of the criticism – he's too laid-back, he should push his claim more – is justified. Other stuff – that he's not up to it – is not.

The captaincy role is over-rated. Woosnam was not a great captain, just a captain of a great team. He had outstanding players and wonderful back-room influences. With the same ammunition Lyle would be no less effective. Of course, time is running out for him. Realistically, if he doesn't get it at Celtic Manor in 2010 then you'd have to say he's missed the boat for good because there is a queue forming now, with Olazabal and Bjorn and Darren Clarke and Monty and Paul McGinley.

Monty's trump card is his nationality and it may prove decisive in the end. His argument that there should be a Scot in charge of a Scottish Ryder Cup is weak enough given that there wasn't an Irishman in charge at the K Club two years ago and yet the entire nation lost the run of itself, not just for the three days in question but for months in advance. The hype and hoopla was extraordinary. The fact that a Welshman was leading the team was a total irrelevance.

The Irish were well represented in the team, though. Clarke, McGinley and Padraig Harrington were at its heart, Clarke especially given the tragedy that befell him only a few short months before the event. The galleries following their every step were thunderous and unforgettable. For that reason alone, for nothing more complicated than providing a focal point for the locals, there needs to be a Scot in an influential role in 2014.

Is there a player out there that can make the team? We can't see one from this distance. There will hardly be one on the horizon by the time the Gleneagles appointment is properly discussed by the kingmakers.

The chances are, then, that the job will fall to Monty and the likelihood is that he will be a good captain. But, really, we could do without his posturing for the year or so it takes for the committee to make up their minds. A little more humility and a lot less pomposity wouldn't go amiss in the mean time. There are other options for the role, Monty. As you might say yourself: "Don't forget that".