YOU sometimes wonder on what criteria Sky Sports select their live games.

Arsenal v Spurs in the Premier League might be worth getting worked up about.

Yet the reality of the same North London spat in the Carling Cup is Wenger’s kids v Redknapp’s stiffs in a game neither manager will lose too much sleep over should they fail to win it.

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles north, the very same competition has thrown up a game teeming with drama, passion and sub-plots galore – the return of the fallen Idol.

It seems like another lifetime, but it was only at the turn of this year that Owen Coyle was still worshipped in Burnley.

The most successful manager in a generation, he delivered top-flight football, magnificent cup runs and the most eye-catching pass-and-move game this side of the Emirates.

His subsequent weasel-like defection and biblical transformation from God to Judas to Moses has been well documented.

The bitter taste it left in the mouth has not entirely disappeared.

Yet there is surely a small part of every Claret who is grateful for the good times we enjoyed under the Scot.

To paraphrase the man himself, Burnley Football Club was good for Owen Coyle and Owen Coyle was good for Burnley Football Club.

Sadly, the way he went about leaving us in the lurch is unlikely to be forgotten at Turf Moor tonight or any time soon.

There may be those in this evening’s crowd who wish to thank Coyle for his services.

Yet to do so would be to invite a lynching from fellow supporters not so well disposed to forgiving, forgetting and moving on.

Football crowds do not do sublety and nuance, preferring issues in black and white terms.

They do however, love a pantomime villain. And down Harry Potts way they don’t come any bigger than Owen Coyle.