Unpleasant odour hangs over the new season

IT should be a time for a new coat of paint, the smell of freshly-mown grass and a joyful lift of the spirits as a new football season approaches.

A time to delight in the dreams of such as Wigan, as they embark on their first Premiership campaign and for every supporter of every club to blissfully delude themselves that this will be their year.

It should be, but it's not.