For a man who must have been gasping for a cigarette and who told me he was tired before he even sat down, Carlo Ancelotti was a charming interviewee on Friday afternoon.
It was the first time I had interviewed the Italian away from the Match of the Day post-match interview room at Stamford Bridge.
How long you wait for a manager to emerge to meet the cameras is often dependent on the result; but Ancelotti is always prompt. Once his first priority, the post-match fag, has been dealt with he is usually straight out for the cameras.
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At Pride Park.
People who question whether Derby boss Nigel Clough is too mild mannered to manage in the Championship would have done well to watch the man springing in and out of the home dugout at Pride Park on Friday evening.
With the scores locked at 1-1 between the Rams and Coventry, the stress and anxiety was clear to see as Clough bemoaned every decision that went against his team and reacted with fury whenever his players needlessly squandered possession.
It was a Clough I have not seen before. Then again, it has been a difficult few months for the 43-year-old. His team went into Friday's match a perilous 20th in the Championship table on the back of eight defeats in their previous 11 games.
I browsed through a few Derby County message boards this week and sensed that opinion had started to turn against Clough.
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With baby Rooney finally entering the world, there was only one name on everyone's lips - the sportsdirect.com@St James' Park Stadium.
As snappy titles go, it's right up there with Monty Python's Johann Gambolputty de von Austfern...of Ulm, and a band that used to gig round my way - Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead.
McLove on the Newcastle United Mad messageboards said: "Your owner needs to be sent naked from the town on a donkey", while Slim Fella over on The Roker Roar site observed: "The guy just needs to make them wear red noses and green wigs on the pitch and his job will be complete."
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