"They are going out of their way to find players I have had a row with or ruck with or dumped or got rid of. They haven’t really asked anyone of any quality that worked with me for many, many years what I am really like.

"Someone like Bobby Gould knows me inside out. If those people want to make remarks, I would respect that but unfortunately it is time to stab Joe Kinnear in the back as many times as they possibly can.” Joe Kinnear, last week.

And so here, in the interests of balanced reporting, are Bobby Gould’s supportive, passionate, amusing and occasionally bonkers views on the man he once recommended to Sam Hamman, the Wimbledon owner, for a position as reserve-team coach. Kinnear subsequently followed Gould into the dug-out at Selhurst Park, leading the club to sixth in the Barclays Premier League and two League Cup semi-finals.

1. The experience
Gould: “What Joe needs is a four-letter word called ‘time’. Give him time. But is it six to eight games? Is it 13? They’re betting on how many games he gets now. But I would have taken that job if someone had knocked on the door.

"As you get older, young people come into the game and unfortunately they don’t understand where we have been, what we have actually done in our playing, coaching or management careers. Once we become the grey-haired army, we get a little bit offended in inverted commas. You understand where I’m coming from?”

2. The madness
Gould: “Is Joe a madman? Well, I’m a madman. We are all madmen. Fergie’s a madman, Scolari’s a madman. It all depends on how much pressure comes your way.

"Do you have to be extra-mad to manage Newcastle? No, no, you need it all over. Keane needs it, Southgate needs it. He’s a lovely lad, a lovely, lovely man. Benitez, Scolari. What about the gifted one down at Chelsea? How many times did he explode?

"I’m still mad, of course I am, pal, but I can control it now because I have not got that expectancy. I don’t have to win every Saturday afternoon. Wenger has to win and that creates extra pressure. At times, I have been out of the game for a long time and all of a sudden you get this ‘phwoooar!’ It just comes out sometimes.”

3. The big chance
Gould: “I took Joe in. I wanted a reserve-team coach and he came in at Wimbledon and did a great job for me. You imagine going to school every day. Well, managing Wimbledon is like managing the worst secondary modern school in the world and every day was a problem.

"I had to make sure I got the right people in. I had Don Howe as my first-team coach and then I wanted a reserve-team coach and Joe came in and he was brilliant. The lads went down there and never got nasty or abusive about reserve-team football. They had a laugh, they had a smile, they had everything about them.

"Then I left and they appointed Ray Harford, he moved on and then Peter Withe came in and then he left after a bad period. He tried to change things, like no jeans, you’ve got to wear trousers and that wasn’t Wimbledon. He came in, then lost his position.

"Sam came to me and said ‘look, I’m struggling’. I was at West Brom and he said ‘come back’ but I said ‘no, I can’t, I’ve got to honour my contract, put Joe in charge'. He gave him his chance and the lads responded. Two semi-finals. He kept them up. I kept them up. We kept them up on a shoestring.”

4. The spacecraft
Gould: “I hadn’t seen St James’ Park for a long, long time, but I drove past it last weekend and it was just awesome. You couldn't believe it. I’d want to manage a football club like that.