As Manchester continue to play hardball over summer transfers, The Boss is asked about comments from The Scorpion and whether some players should be given extra time off before the new season.
The interview begins calmly enough, but talk of burn-out, fantasy golf, holidays in Chile and an ex-goalkeeper heading for Hollywood soon pushes The Boss towards the end of his patience.
Question Time for The Boss
The summer transfer window is already proving frustrating for Manchester, and The Boss is in no mood for another difficult conversation.
Unfortunately, the interviewer has plenty of questions.
The first concerns reports that some players could be given extended holidays in an attempt to avoid burn-out.
The Boss immediately rejects the idea.
No Rest for Fantasy Golfers
For The Boss, professional footballers have no excuse for disappearing on extended breaks.
His solution is characteristically old school.
Send them down the gym.
Put them on the iron.
And absolutely no fantasy golf.
The suggestion that professional footballers might need more rest appears to offend almost every instinct he has.
The Kid Has Already Had His Holiday
The interviewer then raises The Kid.
As far as The Boss is concerned, there is nothing to discuss.
The Kid has already enjoyed a two-week sabbatical in Chile.
Whether an international football tournament counts as a holiday is apparently irrelevant.
In The Boss’s world, time away is time away.
Goalkeepers Know Everything
The conversation then takes another turn.
The Boss reflects on goalkeepers and their tendency to believe they understand every aspect of football.
The remark provides the perfect introduction to another former goalkeeper who has been making headlines away from the pitch.
From Football to Hollywood
The Boss suggests that one particular ex-goalkeeper should consider moving to Los Angeles.
According to him, becoming a Hollywood celebrity appears remarkably straightforward.
Buy a few drinks for supporters.
Make the right impression.
And suddenly the next career is waiting.
It is another example of Storybook taking a football personality and pushing the joke into an exaggerated alternative future.
Three More Years?
The final question concerns The Boss himself.
His contract is due to expire in 2018.
Would he consider staying longer?
The thought of another three years of press conferences, transfer negotiations and questions like these appears to be too much.
The interview is over.
The Football Inspiration Behind the Comic
This episode was inspired by the summer discussion surrounding player fatigue, extended breaks and Manchester United’s transfer business under Louis van Gaal.
The comic also draws on the growing media careers of former footballers and goalkeepers, with television, punditry and celebrity culture increasingly becoming part of life after playing.
Storybook combines all of those themes into one increasingly uncomfortable interview.
Characters Featured
The Boss
The Boss remains uncompromising about preparation, fitness and player discipline. Suggestions of extended holidays and fantasy golf do little to improve his mood.
The Kid
The Kid does not appear directly in the interview, but his recent trip to Chile is used as evidence that he has already enjoyed more than enough time away.
The Scorpion
The Scorpion’s comments provide the starting point for the discussion about burn-out and whether modern players need greater protection from demanding schedules.
The Ex-Goalkeeper
The former goalkeeper becomes the target of one of The Boss’s more imaginative career suggestions, with Los Angeles and Hollywood apparently waiting.
Behind the Gag
The humour comes from The Boss refusing to accept the logic behind almost every question.
Players need rest?
Send them to the gym.
The Kid needs a holiday?
He has already been to Chile.
A goalkeeper wants a new career?
Hollywood.
Another three years of questions?
Absolutely not.
Looking Back
Originally published in 2015, Question Time captured the tension between old-school football management and the changing demands placed on modern players.
It also continued Chapter 4’s wider theme of the summer silly season, where transfers, holidays, media stories and off-field personalities often became just as important as the football itself.
The next episode takes Storybook in a very different direction, as football television heads Down Under.
