Wembley sends for Bob the builder

The man who built Sunderland's much-admired Stadium of Light is in line to be head-hunted by ministers and the football authorities in their desperation to find a way out of the Wembley fiasco.

Bob Murray, chairman of the North East club, may be asked to step in by Home Secretary Jack Straw to advise on English football's search for a new home.

Murray, 54, oversaw the construction of the 48,300 capacity Stadium of Light on the site of a former colliery on the banks of the Wear. The project has become a blueprint for new stadia all over the country after Sunderland moved there in July 1997.

Murray is seen by Whitehall insiders as having exactly the right type of know-how combined with an ability to get things done that will be needed in the fraught months before a final decision is made.

He could be brought in as an adviser by a committee chaired by Straw which is beginning an investigation into the chaos surrounding the Wembley project. The committee is due to meet tomorrow.

A friend of the millionaire businessman, who made his money selling bathroom fittings, said today: "He would be an excellent choice. He's got a proven track record and is a doer, not a pen-pusher."