placeman

"I'll be out of work myself," said Portadown Council chief executive Tony Placeman yesterday, "except for my other jobs at Portadown Regeneration, Portadown Together and Portadown Developments."

``The appointment of yet another placeman, solely designed to boost the Prime Minister's position, shows a level of distrust that Number 10 has in the Labour Party in Parliament,''he said.

By 1688 he had established his reputation as a tireless and ingenious speculator and--from his first securing a seat in the Commons in 1668--a compliant placeman. His reliable support for the ministry in 1678 earnt him the post of groom porter, responsible for the supervision of gambling at court; in 1686 he capped this with the lucrative mastership of the Mint.

`When I first came in here seventeen years ago,' one frank Placeman explained, `I think there were more people like myself, a bit older ..

Alan Milligan emailed: "Now it has been discovered Celtic have another placeman in a position of power in the Scottish game it is about time both the SFA and SPFL were reported to UEFA."

The government cited the constitution to scrap the position of deputy Governor of the Central Bank to which an AKEL placeman was appointed just before Anastasiades' election, arguing the post was for a Turkish Cypriot.

Of course, the dramas in Falkirk don't revolve around a placeman, but a prospective placewoman, Karie Murphy.

Having ignored their own man management protocols and watched placeman James Pattinson breakdown, Australia's national selectors are now under pressure to back a pledge to reward form and reinstate Hughes in the Test line-up.

However, the supporters remain to be convinced about Kean, who they see as Venky's placeman, while the Scot is still clearly wary of antagonising them.

He was well ahead of second placeman Owen Beilby ofWharfedale who was over five minutes behind.

He has taken to referring to deputies as 'voleftes' -- a corruption of the Greek word for MPs -- denoting a placeman. The term has long entered slang usage.

Laxey have become increasingly influential behind the scenes at Rangers and even have a placeman, Nigel Crighton, on the club's board to safeguard their investment.

They get told off by Vladimir Romanov's placeman, Sergejus Fedotovas, for not doing enough in a time of crisis.

Then the notion that the former Stoke boss Denis Smith's presence on the Independent Regulatory Commission was akin to having a Manchester United placeman sitting in judgment, that the FA were little more than an extension of Sir Alex Ferguson's grudge against Liverpool.

There had been fears that the Government, after the acrimonious row with the BBC over the death of Dr David Kelly, would take the opportunity to fill the post with a placeman, a puppet.