Famous faces help build the brand...

DOES Frank Lampard deserve the Coventry job? Is Wayne Rooney the right man for Plymouth? Ruud van Nistelrooy has just been appointed by Leicester on the strength of one season at PSV and a few good games at Manchester United.

How come Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had to haul Bournemouth from the foot of League Two to the Premier League, then keep them up for five years before another top-flight club even made him second-choice on their wish-list? We can all ponder the answers to those questions, and we'd probably arrive at the same conclusions.

But let's be honest. Big names have always got big jobs. And in an era where success on the pitch comes a distant second to brand growth and audience expansion, it's only going to get more prevalent.

Celebrity sells. When George Clooney started advertising Nespresso in the UK, sales rose by 35.5 per cent in a single year. Almost overnight, a single concession in Harrods became 25 standalone stores.

Celebrity

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson can charge $1m per post to endorse a company or product on Instagram.

Kate Middleton simply has to don a dress - or a hat, or a branded bin bag - and it will sell out worldwide within minutes.