Every so often the media make a huge deal about a senior local government officer getting paid, say, over £200k a year.

These are always highly sought after posts with a lot of competition and carry a great deal of responsibility. If these people don’t perform well it can affect the lives of thousands of people, especially those who are vulnerable.

I have worked with a lot of them over the years and don’t at all begrudge them a high salary and a decent pension when they reach the end of their career. Of course, it is very easy to have a pop at public servants in this way. They are accountable to a tax paying public of sometimes up to 2 million people.

Contrast this with a Premiership Manager. The new Manchester United Manager is thought to be on a salary in the region of £5 million a year.

I don’t know how much a Coach can really influence how successful a club becomes. The fact that Man Utd have had the services of scores of the most experienced coaches in recent years and still can’t win enough games tells me that the impact of a Coach is rather more limited than most of us imagine.

It has always struck me as odd that the same journalists and politicians who make a big thing about the high earners in a Council are very often happy to shell out huge sums for attending a football match, have a sky subscription and buy all the latest merchandise, so that the clubs can pay this off the scale wages to the players and Manager.

Football, ehh ?… it makes no sense.

I don’t think we need to wish the new Manager good luck… smart ones take on the job when the club are in and around the bottom of the league. The only way is up, ( but don’t be surprised if he only remains in post 18 months.)