Who'd be a newspaper pundit? Former Coventry City forward David Cross was hired by the Coventry Evening Telegraph last week to preview the club's home game against West Ham on Saturday. Under the headline, "Stand by for goals galore says Cross", the article began: "Seventies Sky Blue hit man David Cross is predicting a high-scoring thriller when his former clubs meet at Highfield Road tomorrow". "It promises to be a bright high-scoring game," said David. "I'll certainly be looking out for the result at 4.45," he added, giddy with anticipation. The result? 0-0, of course.
Jimmy Hill has left the BBC for Sky Sports (presumably under the Bosman ruling, after his contract ran out at the Beeb), where he will host a show called The Last Word. Good news for Sky subscribers though - only those who can tune in to the soon-to-be-launched Sky digital channel will be able to see it. So no need to cancel your subscriptions after all.
Speaking of Jimmy. Is he jealous of Des Lynam's success at the BBC? Not at all. "Des learnt the trade from me," he said, in an interview last week.
Why have Puma chosen Matt Le Tissier (dropped by Southampton), Lothar Matthaeus (very old) and Tom Dooley (not very good) to feature in their new advertising campaign for their King boot?
Not content with signing former Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan and Neville Southall, Doncaster Rovers continued their spending spree last week, bringing in 34-year-old former Swansea, Derby, Oxford and Cardiff midfielder Dave Penney for an undisclosed fee. "Dave is class, and we had to fight off Scarborough and Rochdale to sign him," boasted player-manager Ian Snodin. (Which is exactly how Barcelona felt last week, having successfully fought off Arsenal and Manchester United for the signature of Patrick Kluivert).