The life of a modern football manager is a complex, difficult thing: it used to be that players knew their place, didn't question leadership and the most taxing part of the job was plotting victories and working out tactics. But then agents and advisors appeared and managers were forced to be walking PR companies for their owners, as well as businessmen, coaches, negotiators and man managers. Inevitably now and then the pressure starts to show: this is a game of millions and the strain on a single man can be horrendous. So it's not their fault that they sometimes say the wrong thing in public and incense one of their own players, is it? And it's not just down to them when a decision goes south and players start to kick off. But at the end of the day, it's them who the players square up to, and occasionally throw punches at. Inevitably, because we support the Soap Opera club to end them all, clashes between managers and players at Newcastle have been frequent and spectacular, and the fall-outs have usually been major...
