The Reds, not looking their forceful best without Steven Gerrard, did create chances and Dirk Kuyt should have done better than sky the ball over the bar after a neat one-two with Crouch.

BBC: Luton 1-1 Liverpool

But not for the first time Carlton and Granada have been wrong-footed by Sky, whose chief executive Tony Ball has persuaded Airey instead to accept a job as managing director of Sky Networks.

BBC: ITV still headhunting

That's pretty far away, but we could still see the glittering ball touching the sky.

CNN: A mixed-race romance, a family rift