After reading about Charlie Scott’s troubles after being released, this is a step in the right direction. He’s found an unlikely path to professionalism in Hong Kong (shame it is with Kitchee though!). Having a network of players who can empathise, offer guidance and support, and share their own experiences should be invaluable.

A friend of mine insisted that Warrington Rugby League were paying one of their players wives £40k a year to work one shift a week in the club shop as a way to circumnavigate the Super League salary cap about a decade ago.

All sponsorship money across the league pooled and then divided evenly across the 20 clubs.

I think the idea was to play him alongside Bruno, press really high up and overwhelm the defence. However Wolves showed in the first game of the season that if you just chip it past the first line then you’re running directly at an isolated, aging Casemiro. The Spurs game it worked a bit better, then Mount got injured, and the idea was scrapped. Now Mount is kind of a spare part with no defined role other than play back up to Bruno, who rarely misses a game. I’m baffled by the whole situation really. I can see the merit and realising something isn’t working and changing it but spending a lot of money on a player that you’ve got a very specific plan for, and then giving up on it after two games? Madness.

Nine Cows is such a good name for a football club