So Joe Kinnear has officially begun his new job as Newcastle's United temporary manager. There is a joke in here somewhere - get it - a bad one admittedly, but whatever you think about the Cockney Irishman you'd better hope he is able to do something to improve things at St James's Park.
We have no idea how long Joe "f*****g" Kinnear is going to be United's manager and, to be honest, I have no idea whether it's an absolute disaster or a surprisingly clever choice.
What I do know is that Joe has a tendency to swear a lot, he does not suffer fools and he will, in his own words, tell it how he sees it for however long he remains in charge. It might be four weeks, it could be six, but it might be eight. Let's be honest, it could be months so we may as well accept it and make the best of a bad situation.
I hope that is what he is telling the players this week because I thought they were a disgrace in the first half against Blackburn. For all of the talk of remaining focused and professional, they looked as though they couldn't be bothered at the weekend and simply went through the motions on the way towards another defeat - the fifth on the bounce.
I know it's been hard for everyone associated with the club since Kevin Keegan stormed out in protest at the club's transfer policy - or lack of it - but that doesn't give them the excuse to roll over and accept another beating.
In that respect, the news that Kinnear strolled into the home dressing room at half-time and gave a few of them a kick up the backside is welcome. It certainly got some sort of response in the second half.
Kinnear hasn't had a manager's job for four years since he parted company with Nottingham Forest following an unspectacular time on the banks of the River Trent.
At times he has appeared muddled and confused about what he is precisely doing at Newcastle, but he will at least restore some passion and determination to the dressing room. This is a backs-to-the-wall, them against us battle against relegation at the moment and Kinnear did well in that sort of situation at Wimbledon.
Football has changed, as Keegan discovered, but Kinnear consistently defied the odds with Wimbledon in the nineties and Newcastle need a bit of that never say die spirit if they are going to haul themselves out of the pit of depression they have fallen into.
I doubt very much whether he is the right manager to take Newcastle back into Europe, but that is nothing more than a pipe dream this season and he might just be able to do his bit to stop them tumbling into the Championship until Mike Ashley can find a buyer.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, these are desperate times and that requires desperate measures and would Terry "living of past glories" Venables have been any better in a temporary role which may end in just over a month's time? I doubt it. He hardly covered himself in glory with Steve McClaren and England did he!
Newcastle have a small squad with little pace and virtually no creativity. The defence is flimsy, the midfield stretched because of injuries and the forward line overly reliant on Michael Owen.
We may as well accept that Owen will leave Newcastle at the end of the season but who can blame him? It is debatable whether he ever intended to sign a new contract in the first place, but nobody can question his desire to help United get out of trouble. He has scored five goals already this season playing for a team in complete disarray.
I hope he does stay, but I hope for a lot of things. I hope the Ashley era is brought to a swift end, I hope the new owners are sensible as well as ambitious and I hope that, whether it is Keegan or not, Kinnear's eventual replacement is a good manager who has plenty of money to spend in January.
The last few weeks have been a horror story for Newcastle United Football Club, but you never know, it might be a story which still has a fairytale ending.... oh come on, it might!
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