The BBC’s Match of the Day has retained the rights to Premier League highlights for three more years after a successful bid of £204m.

Slowly but surely, they will strip hurling of all its traditional glories; the overhead pull is as good as gone, the crisp ground whip is nearing obsolescence and now they are after the grand old practice of inviting your opposite number to put his medals on the table.

AND so the last Sunday in September is almost upon us and there’s just a nerve-tingling 24 hours to go to one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar, as two ancient rivals and neighbours prepare to renew battle in the presence of a massive crowd and with millions more tuning in on television all over the world.