Employee Of The Month

[chesterfan2]

Fortunately but Unfortunately

Fortunately they didn’t, but they did draw, and so we are still two points ahead of the drop zone. What is more unfortunate is that our last three games are away at Liverpool, at home to Aresnal and lastly away at Chelsea. So, in order games against third, second and first in the league. A daunting prospect to say the least. If any of our rivals manages to put together a decent run in the last three games then, likely as not, we’d be as good as gone.

[gavrenwick]

I love this story, its really good to read, and quite funny aswell. Keep it coming =]

[Spav]

I'm not sure if I'm enjoying the blight against Schwarzer's good (Aussie) name, but I'm loving the story itself, cf2.

[chesterfan2]

I'm not sure if I'm enjoying the blight against Schwarzer's good (Aussie) name, but I'm loving the story itself, cf2.

Errm thanks Spav, Gavernwick too. But Spav, You'll easily notice I'm not dissing all Aussies (inferior position on the medal table or not) as I pick Brad Jones as Schwarzer's replacement.

[tenthreeleader]

Making the best of a good (bad) situation, cf! Continues to be a fun read, from a superior position on the medal table

[Spav]

Errm thanks Spav, Gavernwick too. But Spav, You'll easily notice I'm not dissing all Aussies (inferior position on the medal table or not) as I pick Brad Jones as Schwarzer's replacement.

I'd reply in a forceful manner if I knew another Olympics barb wasn't going to come my way.

(Of course, the new captain of Olympiakos Volou could always be dumped to the reserves until his attitude improves. )

[chesterfan2]

I'd reply in a forceful manner if I knew another Olympics barb wasn't going to come my way.

I'll leave the Olympics in a bit mate, promise. But let's face it we Brits don't get the chance that often do we ?

[SCIAG]

Making the best of a good (bad) situation, cf! Continues to be a fun read, from second position on the medal table

That's better. Sort of.

[tenthreeleader]

Second position? When did I become Chinese?

In seriousness, CF, this is a really fun read. People like Binky make me mad at work but make me grin on this board. Thanks for the smiles.

[chesterfan2]

Second position? When did I become Chinese?

In seriousness, CF, this is a really fun read. People like Binky make me mad at work but make me grin on this board. Thanks for the smiles.

No problem tenthree, you might well guess the company I work for, and management-speak is alive and well there, believe me.

And as a quick explanation to medal tables. They work like this. Number of Golds, ties to be decided by number of silvers and further ties by number of bronzes. The Chinese won more gold medals than USA and so come first on the medal table and USA come second. Total number of medals is NOT the correct way to work out a medals table as that would be the same as saying that a gold medal is worth the same as a bronze medal, and it isn't is it ? Let's try asking Micheal Phelps if he'll swap his 8 golds for 8 bronzes and see what he says. By the reckoning of US televison he won't mind because you'd have the same number of medals and, no, it doesn't work does it.

Thus, conclusive proof. USA finished second in the Olympic medal table (which is still higher than GB's 4th. )

[chesterfan2]

English Premier League - Liverpool vs. Middlesbrough

Sunday 26th April 2008

The live TV game on the Sunday is our trip to Anfield. Good news, if there were any, is that none of the bottom three sides won the day before, though Sunderland drew again so we are in 17th, 1 point clear and with a game in hand. Against Liverpool, who, to be fair, after a long time at the top of the league, have wobbled in recent weeks and have dropped to third. On the downside, though they’ve dropped to third and are likely to want to win to get back on track.

Obviously I don’t talk up a victory, but at least I can put out what I consider my best side. We set out really defensively and on five minutes a miracle happens. Downing crosses from deep and Gary O’Neil, who has been the life and soul of the dressing room throughout these dark times, heads home for a shock lead. Brilliant. Of course Liverpool come back at us and Fernando Torres gets the ball in the net on 16, but he was a good yard offside when he did so, no goal. We fell further and further back, but on 32 minutes we broke clear and grabbed another when Downing skipped round Jamie Carragher and crossed for Mido to flick in at the near post. Once again Liverpool upped the pressure and Italian defender Barzagli headed over from close range a couple of minutes after our goal. They kept on coming but somehow, somehow, we held on until half time, 2-0 up.

The Liverpool manager could be heard from our dressing room he was that upset. And his players responded to him, and got a goal early on, just what he would have wanted; Torres scoring from distance on 48 minutes. We fell further back, tackled like lions and watched Torres miss a couple of gilt edged chances. Pogatetz, Wheater and Arca all found their way into the referees book, but just as we were beginning to think we would get away with this Torres, on 81 minutes, hit a screamer from 30 yards that no goalkeeper in the world could reach. 2-2. Deep into injury time both sides had decent chances to win the game, but they couldn’t take theirs and we, alas, couldn’t take ours and it finished a draw. Gutting now, but as the old cliché goes, we would have taken this before kick off.

Final Score : Liverpool 2-2 Middlesbrough

League Position (26th April 2008): 16th. 2 games left. 2 points clear of relegation

[tenthreeleader]

A point at Anfield! What will the good people at Barclays have to say about that?

[chesterfan2]

The Guardian - 27th April 2008

A Glimmer of Hope for Willis

Middlesborough’s startling performance at Anfield, yesterday, can only be described as stunning and is a reflection of the self-respect that the hard-working, but amateur, manager, Greg Willis seems to have imbued in his players. Only time will tell if this new found fire will either last or be enough to take the team from The Riverside to Premier League safety, but one thing is for certain without it they would be dead and buried already. It seems that the press, and this paper has been no exception, has been more than willing to take the rookie manager, Willis down a peg or two, but he seems to have given the team some belief, and a small chance, if things continue to go their way, of ensuring safety in the Premiership

[Petros7]

Excellent - a point at Anfield!

I hope someone will come in and buy the club off from the Bank, but keep the manager.

[chesterfan2]

Binky on the Brink(y)

Binky O'Grady was, quite predictably, a very worried woman. Schwarzer's omission from the team in the last couple of games had removed the one vestage of control she had over the team of losers that that man Willis 'managed', and in his absence they had managed to draw against Liverpool, at Anfield!. This was, of course, contrary to the express instruction of the Bank's barely house-trained Group Operating Officer, Dirk von Spaniel, who had instructed that Middlesborough lose their last three games and thus keep exictement high in the final stages of The Barclays Premiership. That git, Willis, hadn't even the common deceny to follow the form book and lose these games, no he had to draw one of them, and what might happen in the other two, what could she do to stop it ?

She thought for some moments, and struck upon a brilliant plan involving a horse, a length of 4x2 plywood, a lettuce, a gimp mask and Middlesborough's Portuguese full-back Paolo Ferreira, but before she could do anything about it the phone rang. Her heart sank.

Dirk von Spaniel : "BINKY ! THE HELL, WOMAN. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING ? A POINT AT ANFIELD ? HELL. I'd fire you myself right now if only I wasn't up to my Ar*e in Credit Crunch. It's like trying to leverage Lehmann Brothers with a bent spoon I tell you. Anyway, can't stop. Someone will be along to fire you properly in a few moments."

And he rung off. Binky didn't have long to wait for the next call, but still had time to see if jumping out of the window was a realistic option. Sadly it wasn't as the office chairs bounced off the toughened glass and even if she had managed to break it, the drop on her side of the building would be into the docks of Canary Wharf, and so splat death was out but even so she'd either drown in the water, die of the pollution or be eaten by the sea monster that lives just below the surface. The last one might just have been a myth but so many higher executives had dissapeared overnightin recent years that there had to be some explanation.

Anyway, the phone rang again.

Minky von Horsebather: "Binky O'Grady. You're fired. Get out of this bank. NOW."

Once again the phone was slammed down. Binky turned to the door to see two burly security guards at the door. One offered her a plastic box to put all her possessions in whilst the other made sure the computer on her desk was secure.

She stuffed all her possessions into the box. Her walkman, her lucky gonk, her picture of David Hasselhoff. The box was small, but she didn't have much stuff. She was ready.

The taller of the two security guards spoke into his walkie-talkie, saying they were moving and to get everyone else back inside their offices and away from the windows. He also said they would use the side entrance.

Sure enough as she left the corridors were empty. They travelled down the side lift in silence.

She was ushered out of a side entrance onto a narrow path that went round the base of the building, one that if she followed the building round would take her straight into Canary Wharf Tube Station.

She turned and took one last look at the headquarters of the corporate empire that had been here employer since she was eighteen, and as she did so the shorther, stockier, of the two security guards pushed her, so that she toppled over the edge of the dock, her lucky gonk looping over her head and into the dirty grey water.

She plunged into the water, and made a terrible discovery. The rumours that Barclay's Bank had a man (and in this case woman)-eating sea monster in the dock next to their headquaters were true.

[tenthreeleader]

It's like trying to leverage Lehmann Brothers with a bent spoon I tell you.

Okay, this made me laugh so hard I snorted. Only it's not funny, in a realistic sort of way.

[chesterfan2]

Okay, this made me laugh so hard I snorted. Only it's not funny, in a realistic sort of way.

You are so right tenthree. It may look like Barclays are trying to pull a fast one here, but it does, sadly, amount to good business practice, and at the end of the day that's who's shareholders they have to satisfy. Not good news for anyone employed by Lehmann's though, and that includes a couple of thousand of Barclay's own neighbours on Canary Wharf.

[SCIAG]

I'd fire you myself right now if only I wasn't up to my Ar*e in Credit Crunch.

[chesterfan2]

Hmm, Credit Crunch. I think I may have discovered a new breakfast cereal.

[chesterfan2]

English Premier League - Middlesbrough vs. Arsenal

Saturday 3rd May 2008

Last home game, against Arsenal, currently second in the table (see I told you our run is bad). Once again I don’t build up hopes before the game, and I could hardly change the team after the last match , could I ?

We start badly and give away a penalty on 4 minutes, which Mutu puts away. Van Persie adds a second on 21 with a curling free kick and things were already looking bleak. But Pogatetz and Downing combine to give Mido a chance on 25 minutes, which the Egyptian puts away with ease. But hopes of a comeback were dashed when , on 34 Adebayour places a shot wide of Brad Jones and into the corner of our net. Van Persie made it four on 43 minutes and it’s clear we are on another hiding to nothing.

Well I couldn’t be negative at half time, instead I exhorted them to greater things and told them to go for broke. Downing rose like a salmon to head home O’Neil’s corner on 64 mins and Alves headed in Downing’s corner only three minutes after that, and suddenly we’re back in it. Two more minutes on and we are level, Cattermole and Alves carving open the Gunner’s defence to put Mido in on Almunia, no problem. But Aresnal struck right back with another Adebayour gem on 73. 4-5 in this pulsating second half. It became end to end. Mido had the ball in the net on 86 but was, even I admit, a yard offside, and the Londoner’s turned the knife in the dying moments as Adebayour completed his hatrick and got Arsenal’s sixth.

Final Score : Middlesbrough 4-6 Arsenal

League Position (3rd May 2008): 17th . 1 Game, 1 point clear. All down to the last game

[Spav]

My two-year-old son just laughed at this story (or perhaps it was the 'Charlie & Lola' DVD he was watching instead).

[chesterfan2]

Cheers Spav, at least I know I'm good for something.

Sadly, effort just isn’t enough

I couldn’t help but admire the lads on Saturday. We had played our hearts out and fought like lions, but at the end of the day Aresnal were just too good and too strong for us. Luckily for us though, the teams below us also failed to win, and so we go into the last game in just as bad, but at least no worse, a position as we were in before

Or maybe we were. In a worse position than before that is. Arsenal's win over us had meant that they were left in with a shout of the title. In that respect at least I'd keep my employers happy (I hadn't had any interference from Binky O'Grady in the last couple of days, I wonder where she got to ?), but it was bad news for us as it meant that Chelsea still needed three points from the last game (against us, of course) to ensure the title went to Stamford Bridge. Any liklihood that they'd take their foot off the gas for the last game was gone. Maybe I didn't like our chances quite as much, after all.

[chesterfan2]

English Premier League - Chelsea vs. Middlesbrough

Sunday 11th May 2008

I told you it was bad. Chelsea, if they win, win the league. If they don’t Arsenal can pip them. It’s not going to be pretty for us, but I tell the boys to go out and do their best. Our nearest rivals Bolton are at home to fellow strugglers Sunderland, who by now have no chance of going down. Birmingham can also catch us if they win, but they are at fourth placed Man City.

The first half is pretty much as expected, one way , relentless, traffic from the hosts and not much of a benevolent attitude. We are 4-1 down by the time the half time whistle is blown. Wheater with our goal. Meanwhile the earpiece connected to the DAB radio in my pocket (best thing I ever bought that, always tuned to Five Live) told me that Birmingham and City are goalless and Sunderland have taken the lead in first half injury time at the Reebok. All good news, but we still have 45 minutes to go.

So a tense second half is in prospect. Not much on our own behalves, but on what The Black Cats and City can do in the second period. I find I can't listen to the radio any more and I switch it off. We're not ever going to win this one, so we just have to hope things stay as they are for the second period. I tell the lads they might as well go out and enjoy themselves, well as much as they can, and send them out into the cauldron of joyful, celebratory noise that is Stamford Bridge

to be continued....

[chesterfan2]

Meanwhile in a helicopter hovering over Stamford Bridge

Dirk von Spainel had borrowed the company helicopter for the day, just so that a top Barclay's executive could be on hand to present the Premier League trophy to the winners of this year's competition. Barclay's had a top executive at each ground. Chairman, Tom Harley, was a self confessed Aresnal fan so he, and a replica trophy, was at The Emirates. That left Dirk to cover Chelsea. He also had a replica trophy as the insurance would cover him for a helicopter ride but not the Premier League trophy. Whichever team won would be furnished with the real trophy soon after any bus-top victory parade had finished. And whilst Tom Harley was happy to sit in the executive box and sip Dom Perignon for 90 minutes, Dirk could not be doing with football and decided to stay in the helicopter until the final outcome was known. He then planned to absail down from the helicopter onto the Centre circle with the trophy hanging by it's ribbons from his teeth. He'd then be winched back out of teh ground, back into the chopper and home in time for The X-Factor.

He had no real desire to do it, and part of him hoped Arsenal would somehow contrive to win it, at least it would put Tom Harley in a good mood on Monday. Any combination of Arsenal not winning the title and that Baraclay's-embarrasing clown Greg Willis and his crowd of Middlesborough cow dung not being relegated and making the bank a laughing stock could well mean he would face the alternative punishment for failing exectuives of Barclay's of being fired from the roof of One CP (that's One Churchill Place to all non-banking people) from a cannon (the other punishment is the sea-monster, remember ?).

Still, whilst that still looked possible, only Middlesborough looked to be following the script. At least that was something. They were, according to the radio, three goals down and heading for certain defeat. It made him want to whoop for joy. So he did.

"WHOOP WHOOP. TAKE THAT YOU SCUM-RIDDEN PROGRAMMING SCUM." he screamed out of the window.

Umm, sir, intoned the pilot, You have the loudhailer on.

And sure enough most of the people below inside the Chelsea ground were looking up.

Oh, Poo said von Spaniel.

[SCIAG]

LOL. I hope this qualifies for an award soon so that I can vote for it.

[tenthreeleader]

My kids are wondering why I'm doubled over. They think its indigestion but I'm really laughing myself sick. Wonderful post, CF!

[adamku]

Good stuff, keep up the good work!

[footballmanagerlegend2k8]

Woah, amazing

KUTGW

[gavrenwick]

I really love this story, it makes me laugh just like that Olympiakos Volou one by Spav. Both great. Terrific stuff.

[chesterfan2]

You guys are just all too kind. I'm pleased that this hits the spot with as many of you as it obviously has.

Sadly, their are only a few posts left in this story, and the next one of those, the second half of the final game of the season, the defining moments of Greg Willis's management career, will follow, sometime tomorrow.

[gavrenwick]

Will look forward to it

[chesterfan2]

And here commenceth the continuation

In our own game both sides got one more goal, Wheater again for us. We had Huth sent off, but if anything we played better after that. At the end of the game the Chelsea players are jubilant and so are their fans, but our little corner remained silent. Me and the lads walk over to wave our thanks to the travelling army, but when I get there I notice that instead of outright dejection there is confusion. Many still have their radios up to their ears, and then I realise they don’t yet know the results in the other games. I turn and trudge back to the tunnel and the dressing room beyond, but I don’t hold out much hope.

So We lost 5-2, and Chelsea won the league. But Sunderland won three-nil at Bolton and Birmingham couldn’t score at Man City. The only reason our fans didn‘t know that, apparently, was that Radio Five Live spent so long concentrating on Chelsea‘s glory that they hadn‘t mentioned any other result until we were walking off the pitch. At that moment, I clearly heard the volume level rise a notch, or perhaps even two. We stay in the division by a single point and with an awful goal difference. My work here is done, we survive in the premier league.

Final Score: Chelsea 5-2 Middlesbrough

Final League Position : 17th

[Mark Heath]

KUTG avoiding relegation on the last day of the season despite losing!

[gavrenwick]

Well done chesterfan2, mustn't have been easy lining up against Chelsea to hopefully avoid relegation. Congrats.

[chesterfan2]

The Final Table

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | ECC   | Chelsea       |       | 38    | 29    | 5     | 4     | 76    | 29    | +47   | 92    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | ECC   | Arsenal       |       | 38    | 29    | 3     | 6     | 96    | 35    | +61   | 90    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | ECC   | Liverpool     |       | 38    | 26    | 9     | 3     | 78    | 25    | +53   | 87    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | EC    | Man City      |       | 38    | 24    | 6     | 8     | 57    | 36    | +21   | 78    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Everton       |       | 38    | 22    | 10    | 6     | 64    | 33    | +31   | 76    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | EC    | Newcastle     |       | 38    | 22    | 6     | 10    | 66    | 45    | +21   | 72    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Reading       |       | 38    | 18    | 5     | 15    | 63    | 62    | +1    | 59    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Aston Villa   |       | 38    | 14    | 13    | 11    | 40    | 34    | +6    | 55    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 38    | 16    | 6     | 16    | 62    | 51    | +11   | 54    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Blackburn     |       | 38    | 14    | 8     | 16    | 42    | 55    | -13   | 50    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Fulham        |       | 38    | 13    | 9     | 16    | 46    | 57    | -11   | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Tottenham     |       | 38    | 11    | 11    | 16    | 45    | 49    | -4    | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Portsmouth    |       | 38    | 10    | 11    | 17    | 51    | 67    | -16   | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | West Ham      |       | 38    | 9     | 12    | 17    | 35    | 45    | -10   | 39    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Sunderland    |       | 38    | 7     | 12    | 19    | 48    | 69    | -21   | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Derby         |       | 38    | 9     | 6     | 23    | 35    | 70    | -35   | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| [b]17th  |       | Middlesbrough |       | 38    | 7     | 8     | 23    | 43    | 77    | -34   | 29    [/b]| 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | Bolton        |       | 38    | 6     | 10    | 22    | 24    | 48    | -24   | 28    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | Birmingham    |       | 38    | 7     | 6     | 25    | 34    | 70    | -36   | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Wigan         |       | 38    | 4     | 10    | 24    | 15    | 63    | -48   | 22    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

The Sun - 12th May 2008

How The Hell Did That Happen ?

Middlesborough survived on the last day of the Premiership, despite a heavy defeat by league winners Chelsea, their rivals failing to take advantage as the Champions found the net five times. That they have survived at all is down in no small part to the drive of the bank-clerk manager, Greg Willis, who has made up for whatever he lacks in experience with drive, determination and no small amount of managerial skill. The question is what next for Middlesborough, currently owned by Barclay’s Bank, who won’t want their ownership to continue into next season, and what next for Greg Willis ? Is it back to the day job ?

[chesterfan2]

Meanwhile on a roof in beautiful, downtown, Canary Wharf

Barclay's chairman Tom Harley was in a predictably bad mood the following Monday morning. His beloved Arsenal had missed out on the title by two, measley, points and what was worse the bank, his bank, for goodness sake ! was right up to it's neck in the way the season had panned out. At first, he had to agree, the Bank's profile had been raised by the apparantly charitable act of rescuing Middlesbrough but it had failed to live up to it's early promise, largely due to the computer geek, Willis being not as bad a manager as everyone had assumed he would be. And who's fault was that ?

And what was worse now that Middlesborough had survived was that Barclays had underpriced their asset in a deal that had been signed, just before kick off on Saturday, to sell the club to an American. And so who was responsible for that ?

And who had shouted "Poo" at tens of thousands of Chelsea fans, no, tens of thousands of potential account holders ! WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT ????????

He turned, and his eyes fell onto the eyes of his erstwhile Group Operating Officer, Dirk von Spaniel, standing, as he was, between two burley security guards.

Tom Harley: "I hold you responsible, von Spaniel."

Dirk von Spaniel: "Yes, I know."

Tom Harley: "You know what you must do."

Dirk von Spaniel: "Yes."

Dirk von Spaniel climbed the small stepladder and climbed into the replica of Mons Meg, which stands on the roof of Barlcays headquarters building One Churchill Place. He slid completely into the barrel of the gun. Tom Harley climbed the slightly bigger stepladder at the back of the cannon, with a lighted taper.

"Any Last Words ?" Tom Harley opined as he lit the blue touchpaper.

Dirk von Spaniel uttered his parting words, words that will live long in the memory of those who were there.

YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF COMPLETE TO"

BOOM

SSSSssssseeerrrrrrrss.......Arrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh

thump.

[chesterfan2]

Epilogue

What happened next was that Barclay’s had an investor lined up ready for this time. Ichabod Jones is an American philanthropist and media mogul who had expected to take over a Championship side, and so was very happy. Unfortunately, Barclays had, in order to ensure a quick sale, set the price on the assumption that my management skills would be so bad that the club would be a Championship club by the time they sold it. It wasn’t and so they got quite a bit less for it than they could have had if they hadn’t pre-dealt the club away. It was bad for me as they now saw this as being my fault. Mindy called me up and stated that I best get back to Radbroke Hall by 9am tomorrow or it would be a quick trip to personnel to collect my P45.

I was just on my way out of the office at the Riverside for the last time when the phone rang. As I didn’t really want to leave the office I thought I’d waste a few more minutes by answering it.

Greg Willis: “Hello, Greg Willis here.”

Ichabod Jones: “Well hello there Greg. I hear you might be on your way back to your day job.”

Greg Willis: “That’s right Mr Jones, now Barclay’s no longer own the club, they felt they can’t let me carry on as manager, so I’m off back to my old job.”

Ichabod Jones: “Now hold on one cotton-picking minute, Mr Willis. Hey !, I’ve always wanted to say that !. Anyway, as I was saying, I have a proposal for you. I need a manager, and you’d like to stay on as manager. I’m mighty impressed with the team’s fighting spirit this year, and I guess that’s down to you. We might well need that again next year so what do you say , will you carry on ?”

Well what do you think I said ? My resignation letter to the Bank was written in minutes and after a month’s notice, during which time I wasn’t allowed on any company premises, which seeing as the deal for Ichabod Jones to buy the club was not yet formally completed included The Riverside and the training grounds, I returned to the club to be introduced alongside the new owner of the club as it’s new manager. Perhaps my work here wasn’t done after all.

The End

[chesterfan2]

Can i just add thanks, to everyone who has commented on this story. Your positive reactions to this story have kept me going and made it all worthwhile. Cheers.

[gavrenwick]

Top story pal well done.

[SCIAG]

I want to vote for this in the awards as funniest story, but I can't because of the selectin criteria.

[tenthreeleader]

CF, this was wonderful. Thanks for the great work.

[Spav]

Nearly as funny as mine.

No, seriously, a top effort, cf2.

[Panpardus]

Good Story CF2, enjoyed it alot

[chesterfan2]

I want to vote for this in the awards as funniest story, but I can't because of the selectin criteria.

Late breaking news ! In a barley disguised attempt to garner votes I can now reveal that you CAN now vote for this story, not just in the funniest story category, but in all of the big categories.

Signed,

Tom Harley

P.S. He used to work for me, so I can vouch for him as being a good egg an' all