SOCCER ANGLES:England's second division will offer viewers first-class fare as the fallen Magpies, Keano and the sons of Brian and Fergie get ready to grumble
THE BBC gets a regular thumping in Britain for the way it uses its vast resources - and much of this criticism is warranted - but at least the sports department must be feeling pleased with, and vindicated by, the decision it made last year to purchase coverage of this season's Championship.
When that choice was made there was no prospect of Newcastle United being on the BBC, there was no thought that Roy Keane could be at Ipswich Town and there was surely little sense that England's second division could be on the brink of what all now expect to be a fascinating season. But the first two have happened, the step into the unknown has been justified.
Rarely has the Championship - or second division as it should be called - received such accolades. Even managers who do not want to be here are saying they are stimulated by the sheer pressure of it all. Naturally Keane said otherwise: "Let's not kid ourselves."
But the fresh presence of established Premier League clubs such as Newcastle and Middlesbrough, taken with the promotion of Leicester City and Peterborough United, the latter managed by Darren, son of Fergie, has brought a spike in interest.
It started last night with Middlesbrough hosting Sheffield United. Not so long ago that was a Premier League match - admittedly probably shown last by the BBC on Match of the Day - but these are two of 15 former Premier League clubs scrapping to get back to where they once belonged, or think they did.
Derby County fit that bill too, and this will be their first full season under son of Brian, Nigel Clough. The, ahem, computer came up with son of Brian versus son of Fergie on the opening day. Who'd a thunk it?
The computer also produced another former Premier League fixture for starters - West Brom v Newcastle - and the BBC were not slow in nabbing that. Their viewing figures for a game kicking off at 5.30 this evening should be informative. It could bring new eyes to the Football League, or it could be yet another bad show on Saturday night television.
Some drama is guaranteed, though. Before kick-off both clubs will salute Bobby Robson with a minute's applause. It is a gesture of affection that will be repeated before every Football League match this weekend. But at the Hawthorns it will be loud and heartfelt - that is where Robson spent six years as a player and earned his first England cap.
That his beloved Newcastle are the visitors is apt. The pictures will then cut to the studio where the man Robson said should be the current manager will be sitting.
That is what Alan Shearer has been forced to do all summer. Ever since the day Newcastle owner Mike Ashley said appointing Shearer was his "best decision" - the competition was not fierce for that title - Shearer has awaited Ashley's follow-up call. It has not come.
Shearer, like everyone else on Tyneside, has been left bewildered. There are plenty of Newcastle fans who wonder about Shearer's managerial qualifications but there are none who question his sincerity. So bad is the state of the club that sincerity matters a great deal. Supporters want Shearer there as a figure to unite themselves around. Then they can worry about 4-4-2.
It appears there are developments in the sale of the club and that this may lead to Shearer's permanent installation. But then we have heard that before; it feels like we have heard a new Newcastle takeover story every day for the past three months. Remember Charlie Chawke? It is close on spectacular that Newcastle's fan base is sufficiently loyal for all 2,700 tickets for West Brom to be sold. Their presence will act as a reminder of the scale of the club but it also distorts commentaries on the team.
Some bookmakers have them favourites for promotion.
But what a bunch. Not only were they relegated last season from a league in which Hull and Stoke stayed up, this assortment of players were flattened 6-1 at Orient in a pre-season friendly. Joey Barton, who Shearer would forcibly remove from the premises, is a so-called mainstay of midfield. Alan Smith, who has not scored for Newcastle in his two seasons there, or indeed in domestic football since he got the opener for Manchester United at Charlton in November 2005, has been made captain. Kevin Nolan was signed by Joe Kinnear as a "goalscoring midfielder". He is yet to score.
And they have no manager. The idea that Newcastle could be favourites for anything other than another fall is laughable.
But then you ask: how good are West Brom? How good, in fact, are any of these teams? Burnley lost 12 times last season and conceded 60 goals but still won promotion via the play-offs. The interest is as likely to stem from their closesness in terms of quality as much as any, well, quality.
As the former player, now BBC pundit Steve Claridge put it: "I don't fancy Blackpool or Scunthorpe but after that nobody and everybody."
A personal hunch is that if the Carlos Tevez money is ploughed into the team then Sheffield United could win it - Ched Evans, a young striker signed from Manchester City, is one reason for this vague confidence. And at 25-1 with one bookmakers, Nottingham Forest make some appeal. But, no, not Newcastle, not this Newcastle.
Leeds to play host to some old pals
LEAGUE ONE, or as we know it, the third division, has its own charm. For Leeds United-baiters this stems from seeing Leeds still there.
But the damned United have some new company, the fallen now including Charlton, Norwich and Southampton, all Premier League types within the last four years.
Simon Grayson, Leeds' manager of eight months, seems an impressive character, one who took Blackpool upwards from this division. Leeds bring with them their own set of pressures as a result of their size and history and Grayson has now had to sell Fabian Delph to Aston Villa.
Delph may not be the greatest teenager to emerge from Leeds of late, but having seen him at Newcastle a fortnight ago, he can play. Leeds would be a better team with him.
Someone who has moved down to this flight is Jordan Rhodes. There has been some grumbling among Ipswich fans at Roy Keane's decision to sell Rhodes to Huddersfield and every goal he scores in Yorkshire will ripple south.
Hope Sven's hands not tied in Notts
AND SO the old fourth division. The Football League have Newcastle up top, Leeds in the middle and Sven Goran Eriksson below. We still don't understand why he is doing what he is doing at Notts County but there is a part of me that wishes him well and hopes that he stays. This could be naive.
