Parky life "We, as a board and a football club, now need to bring back the pride, passion and performance levels that sustained us through our darkest days and then took us to the Premier League that will ensure we maintain our Championship status come the end of the season.” - Richard Murray

A Saturday not ruined. How nice. Somehow waking up this morning to the world didn't appear so troubling. The board then have publicly stated that they will give Phil Parkinson until "at least the start of 2009." This at least prevents a game by game pressure on the caretaker and his players. Four more games will have given Parky 8 in total until his name heads an agenda the board are calling a "strategic review." Hopefully something more strategic may come out this review than the one announced in August 2007.

Richard Murray and the board are clearly hoping there won't be a need to replace Parkinson. I reckon they are desperate for him get the players motivated and start to turn our season around and although outwardly the results have not shown any changes at all, I have to presuppose that privately they have been impressed in his efforts to try to reform a hugely underperforming and demoralized squad of overpaid panzies.

I remain sceptical of Parkinson's ability to turn our dreadful situation around but equally I don't particularly like our other options either and for one am willing to at least support him into the new year. Just don't ruin my Christmas son.

So today has been a more pleasurable one, a bit of shopping, had my haircut and tonight we are off down the road to one of our friends' house for dinner.

It is the t'season after all and Utah's snowy slopes have made me very Christmassy, and Wednesday night we head home to see friends and family for Christmas in the UK. I also have my son on Christmas Day for the first time in 5 years. Talking to him yesterday he is just about hanging on to Santa Claus and spending a day this week at Lapland UK at Bewl Water in Lamberhurst has dampened his suspicions, but probably I expect for the final year of his short life.

Skiing, work and Christmas has meant I've been out every night for about 3 weeks. I'm bloody knackered but I imagine when I'm spending December nights at home watching soaps and doing Sudoko my life will have become one I'm not too excited about. For a couple of night's this week I had my old Chicago boss on the island. He took a gamble on bringing me to Chicago and I thoroughly enjoyed his support and friendship for the five years we worked together and it was great to spend some time with him again this week.

Last night we had the continuation of our indoor football team's Christmas lunch causing a bit of havoc around town. In the spirit of Christmas my company have banned departmental Christmas lunches and general fun, so I will dig into my own pocket and take my guys out for a couple of dark n' stormy's on Tuesday. And Monday of course is always a bad day to wake to the shrill of the alarm and I'm sure to be twice as peevish when I climb out of bed and think about the day's prospects.  ¶ 15:22