I have no inside information on why Mick McCarthy decided not to join us.

The rumours say he fully intended to join, but had a disagreement about the future management of the club. Other rumours say that as an “old-school” manager, he expected to have full control of everything.

Frankly, that’s not going to happen in this day and age. In the olden days, when players were paid a pittance, having a single person in charge of hiring was OK. But today, when a single contract can tie up millions of pounds for three or four years, there is always going to be some sort of supervisory role from the board.

A transfer and acquisitions panel if you like.

No matter how much Billy Davies complained about it, it’s the norm nowadays, and probably the reason that Billy is still out of work – and also the reason it is futile to expect him to come back to us (if he even wanted to).

(Mick McCarthy look-alike courtesy of Tom Cullen)