Never let it be said that Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw (MBR&M) senior partner Paul Maher doesn’t take every venture he embarks upon seriously. Very seriously. Last Wednesday, he assembled a squad of MBR&M lawyers, clients and one of Tulkinghorn’s scribes for a training session in Regent’s Park.

This, Tulkinghorn’s scribe suspected, was more a vetting operation than a friendly kickaround, because this Wednesday, Maher will lead out his team onto the almost-hallowed turf of Charlton Athletic FC’s ground, The Valley, to take on the might of HMV in aid of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.

In addition to Maher’s undoubted leadership qualities, the MBR&M select 11 will be further bolstered by its manager for the day – motivational genius and Crystal Palace coach Iain Dowie. In honour of our honorary coach, MBR&M will be decked out in the Crystal Palace kit, while the oppo will be managed by Charlton’s own Alan Curbishley.

Without wanting to give away too much in the way of tactics, HMV had better beware of the intuitive understanding between Maher and fellow partner Sean Connolly. It was their link-up play, with Maher bringing the ball out of defence before spraying an inch-perfect pass to Connolly, who had peeled away from his marker on the left-hand side of the box, that connected so devastatingly to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in last week’s 8-7 thriller.

It won’t be jumpers for goalposts on Wednesday, though. So, come on the Eagles!