BBC award suits Leon

THE biggest certainty of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year show in Belfast tomorrow is that the victorious British Davis Cup squad will be Team of the Year — especially as the event was televised by the Beeb.

And the giveaway is that Davis Cup captain Leon Smith is returning from training in Dubai with Andy Murray via his home in Edinburgh so he can collect his Davis Cup final Ted Baker suit that all his team will be wearing tomorrow.

The show’s natural running order will keep world heavyweight champion Tyson fury away from the other finalists unless he makes the last three and goes on stage for the trophy presentation. But the pre- and post-programme receptions are less easy to stage-manage.

THE Football League, who were evicted from their shared accommodation with the Premier League in London’s Gloucester Place earlier this year because of a lack of room, are again looking for a new home in the capital. The stay at ITN’s HQ at Gray’s Inn Road was only seen as short term. However, relationships between the FA, the Football League and the Premier League are still good enough for their media departments to have Christmas drinks together with the moneybags PL — appropriately — picking up the tab.

RETAIL executive nigel rothband, who hosts the popular weekly Manchester City Show podcast — part of Playback media’s football-related network — has been instantly dismissed with no explanation from his job as chief operating officer of motor industry charity BEN. They declined to comment about his departure. City had nothing to say either claiming the podcast had no official connection with the club.