Time to bin off bland farewell

PAUL Ince released a statement this week. It had a lot of words, but said very little. These things never do.

The 'Thanks for everything' managerial statement is a relatively recent invention. Once, managers just packed up their belongings and departed by a back door, a sheepish wave for loitering cameras the sole gesture of farewell.

Now any dismissal gets a full PR makeover, usually courtesy of the League Managers Association.

Ince, you may remember, spent the weeks preceding his departure from Reading in an almighty huff. He criticised his players. Took veiled swipes at the board. Bemoaned the injustice of a six-point deduction for financial misdemeanours committed on someone else's watch.

Yet here he was, just days later, sounding like an Oscar winner suffering from emotional diarrhoea.