The BBC divides its football anchormen and pundits into an elite squad and the dirt-trackers. With a few add-ons, it's essentially Lineker, Hansen and Shearer – the Permatan Three – versus Chiles, Dixon and Peacock, the Men in the Street. The former get the plum jobs, the latter the leftovers. They've got it the wrong way round.

England's bid for the 2018 World Cup will gather momentum today when the Football Association board meets to decide on their campaign structure.

Imagine only ever getting to see the last 15 minutes of football matches. Or sitting down to watch Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern already pushing up daisies, Polonius behind the arras with his fatal sword wound and Ophelia having taken her early bath. That's what watching the Masters is like.

One was a footballing hero, rated among England's most prolific strikers; the other is the world's most celebrated pacifist and the spiritual leader who led India to independence.

There have been job cuts at the BBC, but surely sleeping in your boss's office is too much? The corporation's new head of comedy, Mark Freeland, was disturbed to discover, upon his arrival, that a mystery colleague was bedding down each night beside his desk.

It was always going to go over. I was never going to miss. Didn't give it a second thought. It was written for me.

Marketing expert Matt Haig dissects the secrets of the most successful names on the shelf and in the public eye. What are their magic ingredients?

Turmoil on Tyneside: Supporters favour O'Neill to succeed Robson with their talismanic striker a close second

THE FOUR-MONTH power struggle that has troubled Leicester City came to a conclusion yesterday when shareholders voted to remove Barrie Pierpoint from the club's board of directors.

Today: Rugby union's Dusty Hare (1952); Ryan Giggs (1973).