It’s (nearly) back

FINALLY, after what seemed like a very long close season, we’ve got our footie back — or at least we have if we support clubs outwith the Premier League.

The headline game is of course the glorified friendly between Liverpool and Manchester City at Wembley tomorrow, but the main focus will be on the Championship which actually began last night as newly promoted Luton played host to Middlesbrough and their newly minted managerial team of Jonathan Woodgate and Robbie Keane.

So who do I fancy to make a case for promotion to next season’s top tier? In theory, taking parachute payments into the equation, the three clubs who were relegated from the Premier League last term should be in with a good shout to make an immediate return to the top. But while I can see Cardiff having a chance I can’t be quite as optimistic about Fulham and Huddersfield — though in fairness they have both retained the best of the players that took them up in the first place so perhaps they are in with a shout at the play-offs. West Brom look light up front while Stoke under Nathan Jones look to have bought cannily and could well be in the mix.

You would expect Swansea and Forest to be up there but while the squads seem OK, their new managers are unproven. I like the look of Bristol City; they have a good manager in Gary Johnson and seem to have added further quality to a squad that looked pretty good to my tired old eyes last season. I also saw a lot of Brentford matches last year and liked what I saw; they could be the surprise team this time around.

And then there’s Leeds. Despite once again mining the loan market they still look just short of what it takes, especially with a raft of injuries even before the season begins. Only a fool would write them off but if at the 17th time of asking they win promotion back to the Premier League it would surely rank as Marcelo Bielsa’s finest achievement.

League One

It’s not exactly going out on a limb to say that Sunderland and Portsmouth are the favourites for automatic promotion to the Championship but don’t be too surprised if Peterborough and Blackpool are also in the mix. The first two sides should be head and shoulders above the chasing pack but Posh have a nifty forward line and Blackpool are finally free of the malign influence of the awful Oystons. They also have a manager in Paul Grayson who knows what it takes to win promotion.

I would have thrown Coventry into the conversation but once again their scandalous and frankly criminal lack of a home ground will probably put the kybosh on their chances; Mark Robins and his players along with their long-suffering fans deserve better. Shrewsbury and Rotherham should also be a factor but I have a sneaking fancy for Lincoln City. With Bolton and Bury both starting the season with -12 points a lot of clubs will be fancying their chances of staying up; that is no way to run a league.

League Two

I haven’t got a clue but wouldn’t be too shocked to see newly promoted (and heavily minted) Salford City top the table and I sincerely hope that Leyton Orient can put the tragic death of Justin Edinburgh behind them and thrive in the division.

Across the border

Hmm . . . who do I fancy for the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership? Gosh that’s a difficult one. Let’s put it this way, it won’t be one of the following: Aberdeen, Hamilton Accies, Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock, Livingstone, Motherwell or Ross County. Which leaves us with Celtic and Rangers.

Separated by nine points last term had Rangers managed to keep Alfredo Morelos from picking up red cards on a ridiculously regular basis the margin could perhaps have been a few points fewer. Despite this I’m going for the Bhoys. After all old habits die hard. (That applies to both me and Morelos.)

Stats corner

Player A: played 227 matches, scored 49 goals, recorded 66 assists, won six trophies, regarded as a club legend. Player B: played 231 matches, scored 102 goals, recorded 65 assists, won 13 trophies, hated at the club. Player A is Zinedine Zidane, player B is Gareth Bale.

I bow to no-one in my admiration for Zizou, especially for what he achieved playing for France, but the question has to be asked: in what way is Zidane’s Real Madrid career superior to Bale’s?

Quote of the week

“It’s clear I am the number one goalkeeper at the club.” So said the thoroughly unlikeable Thibault Courtois prior to Real Madrid’s fixture with city rivals Atletico in New York. Five firsthalf goals later he was taken off and replaced by the infinitely more reliable Keylor Navas.

Footie on the box

FA Community Shield — tomorrow: 5pm Liverpool v Citeh. Championship — today: 7.30pm Forest v West Brom. Tomorrow: 6.30pm Bristol City v Leeds. Monday: 9.45pm Huddersfield v Derby. Premier League — Friday: 10pm Liverpool v Norwich.

Formula One

Hungarian Grand Prix — tomorrow: 4.10pm. I’ve said many times that when it rains Lewis Hamilton is unbeatable and yet in Germany last week he went from enjoying a comfortable lead at near enough halfway to the back of the field courtesy of two spins and one minor crash. Why? Well it helps if your team doesn’t pit you and then put on entirely the wrong grade of tyre. Hopefully there’ll be no such snafus at the Hungaroring tomorrow.

And finally

Last week I asked how many golf clubs around the world had the prefix “Royal” in their name and the answer is 66 including the following — some of which may be surprising considering the UK royal patronage: Royal Melbourne and Royal Adelaide, in total there are eight Royal courses in Australia. Royal Montreal and Royal Quebec and four other courses in Canada. Royal Johannesburg and three others in South Africa. New Zealand only has one in Wellington while other countries with one are Malta, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. So far so Commonwealth. Now it gets a bit strange with Royal Marianske Lazne in Czechia or whatever they’re calling the Czech Republic these days, and stranger still, Royal Homburger in Germany.

This week: when was the last time two English managers faced off in an FA Cup final?

So we’re doing the Times crossword t’other day and I read out the clue: “Christian name of first man on the moon” (4). “Matt,” said Mrs Walker. “What do you mean, ‘Matt’?” “You know, Matt Busby.” There are times — and this was one of them — when I am just totally lost for words.