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[i]Home improvement always occurs...[/i] The last eight nations to host sport's ultimate spectacle have improved upon the gold-medal count that they achieved in their previous participation, and the difference is often staggering. The average rate of increase for the three this century was a ridiculous 62.33% and there have been even more remarkable rises in the past. Spain went from one gold in 1988 to 13 at Barcelona 1992, South Korea doubled up from six to 12 at Seoul 1988 and USA made up for lost time after boycotting Moscow 1980 by going from 34 golds in 1976 to an unprecedented 83 in 1984. [i]...and Great Britain start from a position of power[/i] Team GB don't need to find much extra to reach the Contrarian's target of 26 because they compete at home four years on from...

Stuart Pearce has had just a fortnight to prepare for the tournament and the lack of playing time together showed as GB slumped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Brazil last week. There has also been the Gareth Bale controversy, hinting that players may not take the tournament seriously: the Tottenham winger pulled out of the competition through injury but has since appeared for Spurs on their pre-season tour in the United States. Despite all that, coach Pearce insists his 18-man squad will be one of the best-prepared at the Games. "We will have to chop and change and to be successful we will have to use all 18 players and use them wisely. There are a lot of matches in a short period of time. There is a lot of travelling involved as well. But we feel as though our preparation ...