The Warm-Up: A very Bradley Christmas, Fergie, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Drip Doctors

We so wanted Bob Bradley to be a success.

We wanted him to stick it to the Proper Football Men who believed that he couldn't possibly succeed because he sounded like someone who might (but actually didn't) say 'soccer'.

We wanted him to silence the likes of Alan Shearer, who on Boxing Day aimed an apparently irony-free dig at Bradley for his lack of managerial experience in 'Our League'.

Two wins in 11 games and an abject Boxing Day defeat at home to West Ham made change inevitable - time to bring in someone with the right qualifications and experience.

Among the favourites to replace him are Ryan Giggs (entire managerial career: four games) and Chris Coleman (last managed a Premier League side in 2007).

Still, chin up, Bob - a glittering career as Southampton's Director of Football awaits.

Jurgen Klopp is a resourceful man, turning the Premier League's Boxing Day leftovers into a surprisingly satisfying meal as his Liverpool side crushed Stoke 4-1.

Roberto Firmino played just two days after his arrest for alleged drink driving and scored - though failed to produce an outrageously inappropriate topical celebration.

And you get the feeling that Klopp felt just a little annoyed that it was Daniel Sturridge who scored the 100th Premier League goal of the German's reign, less than a minute after coming off the bench.

Those tricky festive fixtures have so far brought nothing but wins for the top teams - something must give on New Year's Eve when Liverpool take on Manchester City.

The job of sports news correspondent has never appealed to the Warm-Up. Leaving aside that it is utterly unqualified for the job, the idea that a job 'in sport' could be spent reporting on FA cock-ups, the FIFA scandals and poppies seems rather soul-destroying.

So it was nice to see the big beasts of sports news in festive mood, with the news that Watford mascot Harry the Hornet will not face FA action for mugging off Wilfried Zaha.

Shame. The hearing would have been absolute gold.

Some people just can't overlook that the scorpion volley was just a tiny bit offside.

The newly-released 10-person shortlist for Armenian athlete of the year contains five weightlifters, three Greco-Roman wrestlers, two gymnasts and zero Henrikh Mkhitaryans.

Fergie is getting the credit for Manchester United's uptick in form, after apparently telling Jose Mourinho to be more like his ruthless old self in team-talks. Be more like Jose Mourinho? We pity the United squad.

The Warm-Up is sure Fergie's counsel could come in handy from time to time - but if he is capable of 'fixing' Manchester United you might ask why he didn't bother during the reigns of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.

He's not done anything wrong, but he might have to find himself a new hobby after Christmas.

Rumours abound that his girlfriend Ana Ivanovic is about to retire from tennis (and take up a post in Donald Trump's cabinet?) - Facebook, 6pm. Be there, Basti...

So, Samir Nasri had an eventful evening yesterday.

The content of the Drip Doctors fiasco are decidedly NSFW, but if you're spending the post-Christmas lull just mooching about at home, knock yourself out and read this excellent summary of events from Howler.

Happy 34th birthday to Khalid Boulahrouz, whose career took him to Hamburg, Chelsea, Sevilla, Sporting Lisbon and Feyenoord, and saw him represent his country at the World Cup. But his decade and a half in football can really be boiled down to that time he hit the TV presenter on the back of the head.

This is the Zapruder film of that incident - the original TV broadcast featuring Christian Gross and a Fredi Bobic whose resemblance to Chandler Bing we will never quite process. It also contains proof that Boulahrouz's victim Jessica Kastrop was thankfully fine.

The bit you're looking for is at 0:24.

"Who are we booing today, Dad?" That would be Mauricio Pochettino, Victor Wanyama and Toby Alderweireld.

Southampton's never-ending encounters with their former selves continue tonight as Tottenham Hotspur visit the south coast - Live at 19:45.