Whitey Grandad

My first reaction was that it must have been some form of gross misconduct but there have been strong rumours about mutual antagonism for some time, and the other coaching staff have also been sacked. It's almost as though Cortese has been looking for a reason to get rid of Pardew and jumped at his first real opportunity without thinking it through. He has to get the next decision right or the damage is going to last for quite some time.

It doesn't matter whether he had good reason or not. The fact remains that the club is in a right mess which is down to poor management.

One of the worst that I have been to. I would say more but I dozed through most of it. I think I'll support Swindon instead.

I must admit, I'm tending towards this view rather than the 'Cortese must know best' line. There have been too many decisions big and small that I consider counter-productive. There's still time to turn things round this season but this whole affair has been mishandled and could be the difference between automatic promotion and play-offs. If he were managing one of my companies I would be asking searching questions.

I think it was so that Stoke would buy Davies.

We would certainly have exciting games. Last I heard he was living in Vienna.

I would have preferred a question as to whether now was the right time.

Poor show. The Madras Pastie is a poor substitute in my opinion, very dry.

Well somebody's got to pick the team and perhaps Cortese thought it would be taking things a bit too far if he did it himself. It just shows that this must have been a heat of the moment decision because anybody with any sense would have a replacement lined up before getting rid of the current manager.

I agree with a lot of what you say, Wes, but to complain about Guly not getting longer looks a bit weak when the team has won 4-0.

It worked for Norwich. Did that fan ever get his ticket back?

Yup. Absolutely crazy timing and further evidence to support my concerns that our chairman does not understand the vagaries of football.

1) Win 2) Every 3) Game

My neighbour loves his cat but we share a drive and this thing insist on sitting in the middle of it. One day I'm going to reverse in and the lazy mogger is not going to get out of the way in time. The dilemma is, should I tell my neighbour?

That solves it then. Guly to be player-manager.

But all this gossip has been in the press and on the TV since before Christmas. Even Claridge said as much last on the BBC last Saturday night when responding to a comment about Pardew saying Bristol Rovers was a must-win game, so it's no real surprise. It's just the timing that makes no real sense unless someone is appointed quickly.

Even if you didn't like him? You might just string him out for as long as possible just to be awkward.

They've only gone and sold my seat again without asking me first. This club is going downhill fast!

If I remember correctly, Coppell took a paycut when Reading were relegated from £1.5m to around £750,000 so I don't suppose he would be cheap.

So all those hours hanging around the zoo with a roll of toilet paper were a waste of time? Thanks for the warning Mikey.

So that rules out Ferguson, Ancelotti, Hiddink, Mancini, Wenger and quite a few others. This is getting worse and worse...

Ooh, you teaser!

I asked him once what went wrong with Torquay. He said that a manager has to have a good working relationship with his chairman....

So, who are these 'staff at Staplewood' that are more important than the players or the manager?

A womanager? Or even worse, a personager?