He may be remembered by some as a comic figure and Terry Venables’ studio sparring partner in the latter part of his broadcasting career, but it should never be forgotten that Jimmy Hill was one of the great sporting innovators.

All-seater stadiums, three points for a win and the abolition of football’s minimum wage are all legacies which mean Hill’s name will carry resonance long after his death, aged 87, just before Christmas.

To say he was ahead of his time doesn’t do justice to Hill’s revolutionary zeal. Not bad for the son of a milkman in pre-gentrified Balham.

No one should confuse today’s ludicrous over-paying of players with the just cause Hill fought in the 1960s.

Later, during the programme’s halcyon days, Hill put his role as Match of the Day host to good use as a kind of moral guardian of the sport.

He had no sympathy for those who berated referees, exposed cheats and condemned foul play.

After Willie Young infamously chopped down Paul Allen in the 1980 FA Cup final, the Football League invited Hill to chair a sub-committee to look at ways of improving football as a spectacle.

Making the so-called “professional foul” a sending-off offence was rejected by the International Football Association Board at first. It wasn’t long before it was in the rulebooks worldwide.

Unfortunately, no one has taken on Hill’s mantle since Alzheimer’s sadly took him out of the public eye.

No disrespect to present day Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, who does a very fine job, but he would make no secret of the fact his greatest influence was not Hill, but that consummate presenter Des Lynam.

You can imagine the short shift Hill would have given Lineker for berating a striker for staying on his feet. Hill may not have been the best player, despite serving Brentford and Fulham with distinction, or the best manager, despite winning promotion with Coventry twice.

But he deserves a place among football’s greats.