Foreword by Bobby Robson

The first requirement for survival as a football manager is undoubtedly a sense of humour. In a profession where the one sure thing is the applicability of Murphy’s Law that whatever can go wrong will, he who laughs not lasts not.

The ability to extract humour from unpromising situations is priceless and, as far as I am concerned, there is no-one in the world better at this than Giles. His characters are fallible and prone to error — just like footballers (and their managers). They are also very funny.

Giles’ talent and the reason for his perennial popularity is that he makes us laugh with them and not at them. His cartoons are full of affection, totally devoid of malice and meticulous down to the minutest detail.

Giles, if you’re ever in need of a job, I think you’d make a great manager.