Millwall, long vilified for dirty play and racist fans, are trying to rebuild their image. According to cliché, they are the baddest club in town, the Mike Tyson of football. Now in the FA Cup they’re at it again, with their thuggish, racist behaviour. Or so says Alastair Campbell.

If the rumours coming from diverse sources inside and outside White Hart Lane this week are true, if Glenn Hoddle’s days at Tottenham are numbered, we will have to look no further than north London for confirmation that romance in football counts for very little any more.