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It has been a long wait for Tranmere manager John Barnes.

Next Saturday his team will stride out at , Yeovil for their opening fixture of the 2009-10 League one season.

According to my calculations it will be 3,469 days since Barnes last managed in a match in club football.

That game was - a result that sparked the now legendary headline 'Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious'.

Two days later Barnes was sacked, marking the beginning of a lengthy and unwanted tenure in the managerial wilderness.

Since leaving Celtic Park the man who reckons has worked as a pundit, hosted his own TV show, been an ambassador for and waltzed his way through Strictly Come Dancing.

"It was a frustrating time but it's gone," Barnes told me of his time out of club management. "It took a long time but I'm back and it does not really matter."

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Derby County manager Nigel Clough paused and momentarily collected his thoughts before commenting on the arrival of former England manager .

"I hope Ian McParland is happy with it because after all he is the manager," Clough eventually told me as we talked football in the comfortable surrounds of his office at his club's Moor Farm training facility.

"I would like to see Sven at Accrington Stanley on a Tuesday night, see if he fancies going up there to watch his team."

It has been a busy summer at the Nottingham end of the A52 - what with an intrigued media trailing in the wake of Eriksson's arrival, while Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies has been spending like as he remoulds his squad.

What has happened over the summer at the other end of The Brian Clough Way might be far less spectacular but to my thinking is no less fascinating.

, sparking . It was a great story that generated huge interest but Nigel is a very different character to his father and is managing in a different era. So what has he done since taking over at a club that was struggling to avoid relegation to League One?

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chairman is nothing if not stimulating company.

The 37-year-old pulls the conversation in one direction, then ensures it veers off in another. His chunky gold watch catches the light as he leans forward to underline his latest point, while there is a genuine passion in his south Yorkshire accent as he outlines his vision for the club. Several times during our conversation I found myself struggling to keep track.

Building the Wednesday brand, understanding how football can embrace technology and the internet, communicating properly and transparently with the club's fanbase and persuading the right investors to come on board - for a man who describes himself as an "" chairman, he is brimming with ideas.

But what is he all about and can he repair the damage that the tired Championship club has endured during a turbulent few years?

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At approximately 1055 BST on Wednesday the England team, either all 11 or just the two opening batsmen, will leave the home dressing room at the .

They will turn left and head down a flight of stairs. They will then reach the players steps and make their way through the pavilion crowd and head on to the outfield for the opening session of the 2009 Ashes series.

But just how important is that opening session?

was there in 2005 when of almost unprecedented venom and intensity, not least as Steve Harmison struck both Justin Langer and Rick Ponting.

Jones puts it like this: "I remember watching the . Vinnie Jones went straight through Steve McMahon. He did not see McMahon for the rest of the game. Jones made an impression on that game, he had upset Liverpool's midfield leader.

"I think that is what we did. We showed we were about. I think they had a bit of fear about them after that because we had shown we meant business and would be in their faces for the series."

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June turns into July and the sanctuary of the beach gives way to the toil of the training ground in the scorching summer sun as players return for pre-season.

As Steve Wilson pointed out in his recent blog there is a 24-hour window between the football seasons. The last campaign ended with Monday's final and the new one started all over again with a Champions League qualifier on Tuesday.

But there are 38 days left until the Football League season starts on 7 August (most teams play their opening game on 8 August but the Middlesbrough v Sheffield United match has been switched to the Friday by Sky Sports) and I personally cannot wait for the new campaign to kick-off.

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How do you follow in the footsteps of greatness?

Australian wicketkeeper is the man charged with filling the gargantuan void left by . Gilchrist, of course, was not only an accomplished keeper but elegantly savage with the bat. He averaged 47.60 in Test cricket, scoring 17 hundreds and 26 fifties at a phenomenal strike rate of 81.95. When news of his retirement broke Australian was rumoured to have telephoned Gilchrist to ask him to reconsider.

As Haddin himself puts it: "Gilchrist changed the perception of the role of the wicketkeeper. You have to be a wicketkeeper/batsman, a genuine all-rounder these days."

A few weeks ago I telephoned legendary in Adelaide to get his take on the new man with the gloves for the green and gold. Marsh played 96 Tests for the Aussies in a 14-year career between 1970 and 1984 and his 355 Test dismissals was a record that stood until 1998.

Marsh's words were laced with a dry, acerbic wit, often followed by an easy laugh. He was a relaxed interviewee who nonetheless bristled when the subject of sledging was raised and is clearly a man with strong opinions. He has also known Haddin for a number of years.

So just who is Haddin? And more importantly, how good is he?

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