the fans hate and the other half are at best apathetic about, and a squad of players who, by and large, are coming toward the end of their peak years.

McLeish’s best signing, and the one which to my mind will keep them in the Premier League come next May, is undoubtedly Shay Given. Given has been grossly unlucky throughout his career; he stayed at Newcastle too long; he went to Man City too late, and Arsenal for some reason ignored the opportunity to sign him; and now he almost finds himself back where he started – at a mediocre club in a big city. His stellar reflexes and great distribution should, however, keep Villa up. Villa’s other main purchase has been to acquire Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan –Delia Smith’s ridiculous “let’s be `avin you” nonsense last time they were in the Premier League.

This time round, despite their relative paucity of resources, and their Championship-standard team, I fancy Norwich to survive. And that’s down to one man – Paul Lambert. His managerial career has reflected his playing career to some extent – starting as a journeyman, having a few false starts before genuinely earning his shot at the big time. Norwich were an utter revelation in last year’s Championship, off the back of their League One title the previous season. Lambert got the very best out of old warhorses like Grant Holt, relative unknowns like Russell Martin and Wes Hoolahan (straight in the FPL team), and played the loan system well (as every good Championship manager