Quote of the day

"I've never played under anyone like him and I've played for some of the best managers around. Steve Bruce, Roberto Martínez and Sir Bobby Robson. He thinks he knows everything, but he has got a lot to learn. He's got a long, long way to go before he gets anywhere near as good as Sir Bobby Robson. He's a young manager trying to stamp his mark on things, but he's making some big mistakes. He's targeted the easy players, the ones who are leaving anyway, trying to show he's the boss. I was fined for not going to a weights session. Everyone else at the club thought it was ridiculous, but he's trying to be tough. He comes out in the media and hammers players and he hasn't said a word to them. He's never said anything like that to [Wickham's] face. He's 19 and the manager is battering him in the media."

Agent Bramble may now have departed the Dark Place, but he still remembered his mission to the last, firing this parting shot at Paulo Di Canio (a "strange person") and his man-management style and thereby suggesting that, while the Mackem supporters might revere the loon for inspiring the derby day victory, the club's players are rather less enthusiastic about the man in charge.