'Hoon to join Hoddle'

Who is the odd man out - Geoff Hoon, Glenn Hoddle, Andrew Gilligan or the Cadbury's Milk Tray man?

The answer, it seems, is the former Spurs coach, who has already left his job.

But the others are, if certain papers are to be believed, on the way out.

The Guardian says Andrew Gilligan is likely to lose his position as the Today programme's defence correspondent.

The move is part of what it predicts will be a "wide ranging" shake-up designed to defuse criticism of the corporation in the forthcoming Hutton report.

The BBC has called the Guardian's report "speculative".

Byers back?

As for the defence secretary, the Financial Times says a survey it has carried out suggests a third of adults in Britain think he should resign over his role in the Kelly affair.

According to the Mirror, they will not have to wait long.

It says Mr Hoon is doomed, as "the sacrificial victim for the dodgy dossier debacle".

What is more, the Mirror predicts he will be replaced by the former Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers.

Mr Hoon need not fret that this will be the end of his career, says the paper. There is life after political death.

For the man picked by Mr Blair as his new defence secretary left the government under a cloud little more than a year ago.

Soft centres

The world of advertising may also have its resurrections, but things are looking terminal for the character who, since 1968, has risked life and limb to deliver the goods in television commercials for Cadbury's chocolates.

The Man In Black, says the Daily Mail, is being dumped because his machismo and grand romantic gestures have lost their appeal.

As the Mirror puts it, it seems men and women prefer soft centres these days.

Soft or hard, what used to be known as the centre of British politics is under the microscope as the political pundits examine the prospects for the Liberal Democrats conference.

Lib Dem hopes

The Daily Star says this could be Charles Kennedy's week. But he has got one handicap to overcome - himself.

He has been accused of shirking hard graft and disappearing from the fray this summer.

In the Commons, says the Star, he has been a poor performer. He must now sparkle, or step aside.

The Independent says Mr Kennedy will order his MPs to push into Labour's electoral heartlands in London, the North of England and Wales after his party's by-election victory in Brent East.

The Times leads on the results of a survey which, it says, suggests that the Liberal Democrats are attractive to both disaffected Labour voters, and disgruntled Tories.

But this, it reckons, is not a recipe for success at a general election, as most votes are protest votes.

Galileo demise

The spectacular demise of Nasa's Galileo space probe is chronicled by many.

The mission ended with what the Daily Telegraph calls a "fiery suicide dive" into Jupiter.

Galileo's greatest legacy, says the paper, was to reveal a salty, slushy (and possibly life-bearing) ocean beneath the ice crust of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

The Guardian also pays tribute.

Nearly three billion miles and 18 years on less computing power than many of today's microwave ovens is no mean feat, it says.