When the fixtures tumbled out of the computer for the start of a newly promoted season, Nigel Adkins must have wondered whether he had unknowingly broken any mirrors while walking under a ladder. Hot on the heels of a tough introduction to both Manchester clubs, a rampant Arsenal lacerated Southampton.

A kind-lipped Harlemite who smelled heavily of Dial soap and Listerine.

Not that you do actually sneer, of course — that is stage business, not storytelling—but still a sneerful suggestion undoubtedly creeps in.

He has to be one of the most well-regarded individuals among senior Government officials and corporations worldwide. He can get a meeting with anyone he wants.