If Paul Tisdale had come in and said:
Previous Manager would have been struck off if he was a Doctor
Medical Staff all getting bombed out at the end of the season
Players not even trained properly
I have a load of unprofessional, tobacco chewing cluckers in my squad (although I might smoke a nice fat Cuban later and stub it out in an U23 player's eyes)
I have single figures players worth keeping
I can't turn water into wine
It would have been easier on myself if I never took this job
etc etc.
he would have been destroyed by the Tent Polers. Instead, because it's Joey Barton saying it, this is exactly what has been needed apparently. The interesting thing for me is what Wally does if Barton goes down for say 9 months in the Summer, relatively short term but slightly too long ideally to bring in a Temporary Manager (bear in mind no time off for good behaviour on sentences under a year).