The Americans - and Paul Azinger in particular - did a great job at Valhalla last weekend.

Azinger was a sensational leader; he won the battle of the media very early on, he clearly won the psychological battle with Nick Faldo and tactically and strategically he utterly outclassed the European skipper.

Azinger looked at the strengths of his team, found a chemistry within it and produced some fine pairings; Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson, Kim Furyk and Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan - and he stuck with them throughout the sessions as they yielded him crucial points.

However, I couldn't see any plan to the European selections. Players I thought would be foursomes players were in the fourballs and vice-versa. I would also criticise Nick for chopping and changing so much.

The first time we saw Henrik Stensson and Robert Karlsson, who for me were a potentially stunning partnership, was the fourth session - and Karlsson made seven birdies in 10 holes. We were left screaming at our TV screens as to why that partnership wasn't used earlier.

I was bewildered by the decision to drop Lee Westwood after he'd made two half-points. It's the first time he's been dropped in a Ryder Cup. He'd played 27 consecutive matches and there was absolutely no reason on earth to rest him. I simply can't figure it out.

Nick was determined to do things in his way, but if I'd have been Ryder Cup captain - and that's a position I'm never going to be in - I would have also handled Padraig Harrington differently.

Having watched the way he was playing on the first day when he clearly wasn't on his game, I would have given him a break to go and practice and work on things. As a double major champion this year we needed him to find his game and then spearhead the challenge in the singles.

Order

The order Nick sent the guys out on Sunday also baffled me. Nick and the players felt we needed strength at the bottom of the batting order because they thought it might be close and they didn't want to put a rookie under the potential pressure of needing to hole a putt to save the Ryder Cup.

The players will have discussed with Nick that they needed a little strength at the bottom, but we ended up with too much weight in the tail.

Ian Poulter was playing stunning golf, I've never seen anybody more up for it, as proved by the fact he was the leading points scorer in the Ryder Cup, but he was put in a position where his match was an irrelevance to the outcome.

If anybody was getting in the faces of the Americans all week, it was Poulter and he was the guy they didn't want to play against. Everyone knew that, yet he was put in the wrong position; he should have been much higher up.

Perhaps Poulter wasn't the man to spearhead things on the final day, but I certainly wouldn't have put Sergio Garcia out first. He wasn't putting well, he wasn't really on his game and he wasn't feeling well - so why put him out first?

If Anthony Kim was going to be intimidated by anybody on that final day, it was going to be somebody who has won two major championships this year. A calm, composed Harrington would have been my choice to lead them out.

Did Nick Faldo get it wrong? If I'm to be totally honest, I think he got it wrong in every way, shape and form.

Spectacular

However, it needs to be said that this was a great Ryder Cup. As a visual treat it was spectacular and the coverage was simply stunning.

I know I work for Sky Sports as an analyst, but speaking from the perspective of a viewer I watched and loved every single minute of it. The production, the camera work and the presentation befitted a great sporting occasion. It was a feast of golf and it was beautifully presented.

The Ryder Cup remains a celebration of this great sport. The Americans gave us the best team they've produced in the last decade in terms of spirit and desire and I will never forget the quality of their golf on Sunday when they gave us 56 birdies and two eagles.

The rookies were sensational and Boo Weekley in particular was utterly engaging. I laughed so hard at his Kentucky Derby horse-riding performance on the first tee of the singles. A great new character emerged over the last week.

Another thing that emerged was a rising star in the shape of Anthony Kim, who is going to become one of the best players in the world and will perhaps challenge Tiger Woods in the future.

And from the European perspective, we saw the emergence of an absolute hero in Ian Poulter.

But ultimately, the Ryder Cup at Valhalla will be remembered for the victory of one captain over another - and unfortunately for Nick Faldo, the job he did as captain of the European team was not very memorable.