We all know that 8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas, but FootballCynic can reveal that 99 out of 100 cats knew that John Barnes would not be manager of Tranmere Rovers in November as soon as he was appointed. Indeed, rodents and even some invertebrates would, assuming that communication was achievable, be able to tell you that the Barnes-McAteer dream team was destined to end quickly. In the same division, Peter Taylor left Wycombe Wanderers this week. FootballCynic, in dyslexic moments, often reads their nickname as The Choirboys, which would be very strange and could, with an over-active mind, be the imagined reason for Peter’s departure. However, Peter apparently left by mutual consent – “I’m doing crap, is it OK if I go, Mr Chairman?” rather than “If I sign here and take this brown envelope, I will agree that the contract was cancelled by mutual consent”, it would seem. In the Premiership, we are still waiting for the first casualty and the smart money has already gone on Phil Brown or Paul Hart. Surely, one of these two must go before the clocks go back and winter sets in. In desperation, FootballCynic’s local Ladbrokes is trying to tempt us with a big advert indicating that £10 on Sven’s Notts County to beat Torquay United would earn £100 if it ended 3-1. The double with the terrible twins, John and Edward Grimes, to be evicted from X-Factor looks even more tempting and could turn £10 into over £300 on a damp autumnal Sunday, which was, one must assume, about the amount John Barnes was paid per month at Tranmere Rovers.