NEW balls,

please. At this time of year, we would normally be listening to that instruction at Wimbledon, but instead technicians are studying Nike’s Flight match ball for the 2020-21 season.

The surface will include geometric grooves and sculpted chevrons, which is all very nice – as long as the end product is round.

According to boffins, the Flight ball gives 30 per cent more accurate flight trajectory. In other words, it dips and swerves less.

For me, part of the fascination of football is goalkeepers trying to cope with the swerve or spin on a shot, and the technique required – especially from set-pieces – to locate the top corner.

No offence to the engineers who tested the Flight ball for 1,700 hours, but I want to see more spin and swerve, not more straight lines.