Cancelling Christmas isn’t an obvious means of ingratiating yourself with a raft of new employees but it appears that Sam Allardyce can do no wrong at Everton where the latest chapter in one of British football’s most intriguing careers has kicked off on the most promising of intros.

If at first you don’t succeed, bang your head against a wall until there’s blood.

When he’s not biting or diving, you’re worrying about what we’d be like without him.

It’s a fascinatingly old fashioned approach from a club which has embraced modernity like no other