CRITICS - CAN THEY BE A PLAYER'S BEST FRIEND?

It came a little out of the blue in the post-match Mark Allen/Michael White press conference when the Northern Irishman revealed how much he had been stung by comments made in a TV feature showed on BBC Wales earlier that day, in which a panel of Steve Davis, Ken Doherty and Shaun Murphy analysed strengths and weaknesses of the leading players. This BBC feature was in fact first shown at the Masters in January.

Davis started off by saying: “Mark Allen…not being disrespectful, but not necessarily Premiership, more Championship material”, and it appeared that it was this that had wound up Allen the most. Doherty was overall more complimentary but also labelled Allen “inconsistent” and pointed to Allen’s positional play and focus as issues.

Allen does seem the type of personality though that could turn this to his advantage. If such criticism makes a player go away and work even harder at their perceived weaknesses, it can do them a favour. He told Terry Griffiths how wound up he was before the White clash, and took it out on his young Welsh opponent.

Of course, Stuart Bingham was famously motivated and driven to succeed after a certain player accused him of having no bottle before an Australian Open quarter-final. It pushed him on, saw him collect titles and ultimately a brilliant world championship win beating three tournament favourites in a row in Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy. The originator of the “no bottle” remarks? You’ve remembered it – Mark Allen.

WHICH WORLD CHAMPIONS WILL WE SEE AT PONDS FORGE?

There is plenty of intrigue over which of the former world champions no longer on the tour will take advantage of Barry Hearn’s offer and assume their place in qualifying for this year’s World Championship at the Crucible.

Joe Johnson was cagey on the question on the eve of the German Masters, but we here at Inside Snooker are still putting him down as a probable, along with Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor. For the last two mentioned that would have extra poignancy (and hopefully column inches) given it is the 30th anniversary of their epic final battle.

Cliff Thorburn remains a possibility, John Parrott an outside chance and Terry Griffiths a likely non-starter.

Much of the focus will be on Stephen Hendry’s intentions, but the Scot, a record seven-time winner in Sheffield, continues to tease the snooker public – dropping the odd hint that he misses the competition, but also insisting that he has nothing to prove and will not be making a comeback as a mere PR stunt and prelude to a big and embarrassing defeat.

There is also some speculation that contractual issues with his current paymasters at a rival Chinese table manufacturer might make it difficult to play in a Star tables tournament, but presumably even if true those could be negotiated if the will was there.

DAVIS GETS DOWN AND DIRTY

Snooker legend and BBC pundit Steve Davis took advantage of the 17-day stay in Sheffield to enjoy a night out at a different theatre and take in a show. The Dirty Dancing stage production was visiting the Lyceum, just next-door to the Crucible on Tudor Square, and the six-time world champion was in for a slight shock on arrival in the foyer.

The Nugget was mobbed by women of a certain age out for a night of nostalgia all wanting photos and autographs. It is doubtful whether the appearance of the late Patrick Swayze himself in the audience could have made them go more weak at the knees than seeing the six-time world champion before they sat down to enjoy the famous story of Baby and Johnny for two and a half hours to the musical backdrop of The Time of My Life.

NUGGET ENJOYS NOSTALGIC RETURN TO PRESTON

Steve Davis dropped in to the Guildhall on Thursday, up in Preston to do an exhibition at the football stadium with local hero Ian McCulloch in tow. Noting that the venue where he won six UK titles “hadn’t changed one bit” since his 1980s heyday, the six-time world champion, who now needs to win at least one World Championship qualifier at Ponds Forge in April to salvage his tour place, enjoyed a quick technical discussion on cues and tips with John Higgins before getting some practice in ahead of his evening duties.

WILL HENDRY FOLLOW DAVIS ONTO REALITY TV?

Is the great Stephen Hendry about to follow Steve Davis down the reality TV route? The Nugget was a big hit on ITV’s Australian jungle show ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ last year, pocketing a reported £240,000. Hendry said at the time he might answer the phone for a cool half a million, but Inside Snooker reckon a lot less would be required to snag the Scot, who has clearly opened the door to the idea. It is rumoured that Hendry’s recent move onto Twitter was suggested by a publicity agent to increase his profile. Judging by his picture output on the microblogging site, Hendry is something of a gourmet. We are going 3-1 he crops up on Celebrity Masterchef some day soon.