YANNY MAC'S TEN MINUTE FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT CAREER

I'm often asked by desperate people in these austere times, who I think should manage England?
And my reply is always "Kevin Keegan".

With the average weekly wage for a Premiership football player at around £30k + bonuses, it's easy to see why so many of them opt for a career in management, in order to provide at least one meal a day for their families.
In terms of revenue, the Premiership brings little to 'the economy'.
It's financial impact is akin to one of a small supermarket chain like Fine Fare or Gateways.

It's therefore essential that everyone in the UK (including immigrants and foreigny-looking students) get behind our national sport, and support at least two or three top flight teams.
Season tickets can be had for as little as £900;
but if the thought of hanging out with your boss or your local MP doesn't thrill you, a Sky TV package can be had for just a little bit more.
Replica shirts are essential at a little over £50, so it's easy to see why undergraduates would rather get a job than waste their valuable cash on tuition fees.
(More about getting a Ten Minute Job next month).

Bob Shankly once said that football was about believing in life after death, and as a neo-socialist like me, I think he deserves more praise than he gets.
We can't all be Antony Worrall Thompson, so here is my recipe for a short career in football management.

I call this quick-fix special 'Get Your Benefits Out For The Moyes'.


1. Don't let the poor salaries put you off.
Australians eat fruit and salary more than SEVEN times a day, and they are all rich, and very beautiful.
(see Tim Cahill).

2. Try to have a continental sounding name.
Ancelloti, Mourinho, Plopp and Salami are all very exotic, and make you sound a lot posher than you really are.
(David and Ron are quite boring).

3. Add lots of ginger, some oak-aged Fellaini and lashings of Irn Bru.

4. Wear shoes that don't fit you.
Simmer gently.

5. Serve, way above your means, but way below your potential.

Ingredients:

Multi-Billion Dollar US Holding Corporation (essential in 'Soccer' recipes!)
Russian Oligarchs
Media Moguls
Sheep (lots of)
Under-ripe management skills (optional)
Over-ripe players (optional)
A huge dollop of arrogance to serve.

YANNY MAC'S TEN-MINUTE SUPPERS (Feb)

(An example of an expensive 'pre-cooked' & 'pre-frozen' ready-meal from a supermarket chain)

Apologies for the slight gap in posting.
I've spent most of the last year rallying against global capitalism (fail!), the DWP (fail!), Wetherspoons (fail!) and Julian Assange (partial success), so the Ten Minute Suppers took slightly more than a back-seat;
in fact I wrapped them up in an old carpet and stuck them in a trailer that I very rarely used (metaphor).


I thought for this February's Ten Minute Suppers we could have a go at making both lasagne and spaghetti bolognese, and freezing a batch so that we had a tasty, nutritious and fundamentally cheap ready meal, as & when required.


SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

1) Brown some mince & onion.

I use beef mince, but any animal will do. The original Italian recipe uses 'osso bucco' which is literally chopped veal, or a little baby cow. I like my flesh from a grown-up beast, unless it's offal and then I want the youngest lambs available.

2) Add a tin of tomatoes.

 Some people use fresh tomatoes, passata or puree', but they're mostly posh people, and this isn't aimed at them.

3) Boil some spaghetti.

Be careful with this!
Quick Cook spaghetti takes 10minutes and costs a lot. Normal spaghetti takes 10minutes and costs a lot less.

4) Season to taste.

This is not essential, but it adds what chefs call 'flavour'.
Sugar takes the tart out of tomatoes.
Salt takes the earthiness out of the meat.
Garlic takes the saltiness out of the combined ingredients
and black pepper & mixed herbs just take the piss.

(I often sprinkle a little cheese on mine, but we will cover this next year)

Et buongiorno!
Spaghetti a la bolognese dans dix minuetos!





For LASAGNE

Do exactly the same but use the big, square-shaped pasta, not the long thin one.






Ingredients:
pasta
meat
tomatoes
boiling water





                                                 *******************

(February 2012)



Having been inundated with requests for some more recipes, I've decided to publish monthly from now on.
I hope you can all wait a few weeks for each one?

In answer to the letter from Jayne of Ashby-de-la-Zouch; YES! Of course you can use duck eggs in Fried Egg Sarnie (Dec 31), only make sure the bread is wide enough to cope with the egg's size. Duck eggs in the UK are traditionally larger than a basic hen's egg, regardless of whether it's 'free range'.
And to Simon of Gomshall in Surrey; I've yet to come across a cockerel's egg, and would advise caution in this purchase.

Continuing with the sandwich-theme, this month we are going to make Hot Pot-Noodle(tm.)sarnies.
Please be aware that this recipe contains very hot water.

HOT POT NOODLE SARNIE

You will need thick-sliced bread for this rare delicacy.
Any sliced bread will do, but try and buy fresh if possible.

Butter the bread.
It doesn't have to be real butter, but something that trys to emulate the taste of butter (Country Life spread, Utterly Butterly, I Can't Believe.....)is preferable to say, mayonnaisse or jam.
Boil a kettle with water, and follow the instructions on the side of the Pot Noodle(tm.)cup.
It's not too important what flavour you use.
I tend to use spicy curry, but have found chicken & mushroom just as versatile in the past.
NEVER use sweet & sour!
It's really not worth it.

When the noodles are ready (and not before!) carefully spoon them onto one side of the buttered bread.
Now fold it over, being even more careful not to lose any noodles.
I find using a plate helps with any rogue drips.

Et voila!

A nourishing & warming meal for all the family, ready in less than ten minutes!


Ingredients:
Pot Noodle(tm.)
Sliced bread
Butter (or similar)
Boiling water

(Serves approx. 4)

MENSWEAR La La La.

It's hard to believe that no-one is really into Menswear anymore.
Everyone loved Menswear in 1995.
If you Google 'Menswear' now, the band isn't even mentioned until the 25th entry.

I was into Gene and Marion in 1995.
I had Menswear's album, but I preferred the Morrissey-like dulcet tones of Martin Rossiter, and the Johnny Marr-infused rock of Macclesfield's finest.
It's hard to believe that no-one is really into Marion or Gene anymore.

My girlfriend at the time was into Candyskins.
The two Cope lads' dad was Kenneth Cope from 'Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)', 'Corrie', 'Brookside' and both 'Carry On Matron' & 'Carry On At Your Convenience'.
I went to see Candyskins at The Water Rats in London, and stood next to the bloke from The Fast Show.
It's hard to believe that no-one is really into Candyskins anymore.

Menswear went on to have 5 hit singles including 'Sleeping In', 'Daydreamer' and 'Being Brave'.
Their single 'Stardust' appeared on 'Shine 3', a various artists' showcase of Britpop talent, featuring singles by Marion, Gene, Cast and Echobelly.
The Boo Radleys were also on 'Shine 3'.
It's hard to believe that no-one is really into Cast or Echobelly anymore.

Candyskins didn't feature until 'Shine 8', the fourth of the double Shine albums, that included Bennet, Whitetown, Monaco and Sleeper.
Whitetown was from Norwich.
I met him a few times.
I also met Louise Wener from Sleeper at the first ever Port Eliot Festival.
She writes books now.
It's hard to believe that no-one is really into Bennet, Whitetown, Monaco or Sleeper anymore.

After 'Shine 10' there was a Best of Shine album released in 1996.
It pretty much featured everyone mentioned above, except Marion, Gene, Candyskins, Sleeper, Echobelly and rather surprisingly Menswear.
Luckily new bands like Seahorses, Embrace, Mansun & Republica had come along to replace the ageing Britpop originals.
It's hard to believe that no-one is really into Seahorses, Mansun or Republica anymore.

IS NATHAN SYKES THE 'NEW' JULIAN ASSANGE?

Has anyone else noticed that Nathan Sykes (The Wanted) and Eric Sykes (Harry Potter) have never been seen on stage, or in a movie, together at the same time?
Although I can't suggest they are one & the same person (there is a slight age difference) it is possible they are closely related, and have been part of a long-standing family feud.
The fact they have the same surname would seem to support this.

The important question is; can we really trust Nathan Sykes?

I'll leave that one up to you.