Expect transfer flops, Panini panic and World Cup fever during marathon campaign

The first winter World Cup means the 2022-23 campaign will be a season of two halves.

In a very real sense, as Tony Blair might say, it is also a season of four quarters and players, managers and bettors must pace themselves if they are to maintain optimum performance levels throughout this marathon trip.

Like every great story, this football season will have a beginning, a middle, er, another middle, and an end, so here is how the tale of 2022-23 could play out: