The Fish

Keep the key talking points as notes on my phone. The agenda is there too.

In the last 5 years they've had Grayson, Coleman, Ross, Parkinson, Johnson, Neil, Mowbray, Beale. But sure, Marcelo Bielsa or Will Still.

Heading to Sunderland?

The model

Honestly don't know which is funnier; them sacking Beale after 12 games, or Beale sacking them off after 12 games.

Wait, before this you had to actually justify your time off? Or is this just a different, additional, type of leave? I get my annual leave days that I can take whenever and don't need to say why I'm taking them. Just "I'm going to be off this day BRBLATERZLOL" A few Care of Dependents days. So if the little'un is sick I can take time off work that isn't annual leave or my own sick days. A few Family Leave days. So if he's doing something at school, like a play or owt. Sick days (obvs) All of these require zero manager consultation. And every month or so a 'Spirit of Me' day where our side of business has zero internal meetings and you can use it for whatever you like as long as you're on top of your work.

Are directors' salaries related to PSR? I thought they weren't, so we could pay £100m to break a contract and it'd come straight from the back pocket of the Saudis, right?

Insist he sits as well.

I guess you'd have to monitor appointments and transfers. Should someone on our RADAR suddenly appear at Old Trafford, we'd be within our rights to get them to show their working. Plus I'd imagine there's a lot of gossiping so if Ashworth is up to anything the players, agents, scouts would be chatting to eachother about it.

Pope and Joelinton missing means our defence is not being protected from behind or in front. Dubravka can't play sweeper keeper, so a higher line is exploited by balls over the top, and the midfield aren't as physical so can be more easily played through. Burn is a lot slower, and less agile than Trippier, so his side is being targeted more. He's not a bad footballer, he's just unfortunate that that flank is our weakest right now. My preference would be Tino and Trippier as wingbacks either side of a trio of CBs. The 3 centre mids ahead of them and Gordon and Isak as mobile forwards. We'll lose a lot of the creativity, but hopefully we won't be so open.

Feels way more Hollywood than it's predecessors. Still good though

There are never enough mes though. Eldest is already a loquacious braggart so job done on that front.

I didn't even read this and I went one better . 😂

How long ago was this? The pressure must be building on all companies to provide decent parental leave these days, right? Mind you, my mate works in the states and what they get over there is fucking risible. Might be wrong, but I think they are allowed 12 weeks unpaid parental leave. The wife is taking about a year; some of it full pay, some statutory, and some unpaid. But the company calculated the total amount and spread it evenly across the duration of the leave. Again, shit like this makes it easier to budget, and reduces the stress significantly.

I get two lots of two months paternity leave, I have to be in work for at least 2 months between them, but I'm going to take two months at the beginning (March) and the other bit in early 2025. Also when I finish that second spell I return to work on an 80% hrs/100% pay split for 6 months. It's brilliant support and makes handling childcare so much more affordable and easy. It isn't as good as some of the Scandi countries though.

I've enjoyed local and lower league football recently too. Been to see some of the local clubs like Avro, West Didsbury and Chorlton FC, Cheadle Town and Altrincham. Also watched AFC Wimbledon manage one the most turgid 0-0s I've ever seen, despite them having some entertainment in all their fixtures before and after it. Haven't taken the lad to watch those games, but did take him to watch Stockport last season. He enjoyed about 75 minutes of it, then morphed into the Tasmanian Devil.

It's been an hour, when's the punchline coming?

Euphemism for masturbation?

Well, no, few of us have been there. But I've had a call from the CSA before. Scared the shit out of me. Wasn't me though.

That you know of. You may well get a call from the CSA any day now. We've all been there.

I'm well travelled.

Even when they were in League 1, any points dropped were because they were the biggest game in their opponents' season. It's not because they were pony.

The good thing about Miley is that he's already got the height, so if he fills out he could be pretty imposing.