As he leaves for a £335 k job to run Sydney Trains, glowing tributes to Howard Collins have poured onto the LU intranet. It’s astounding how little management have to do to earn praise. Staff have written in to say he was remarkable for being friendly to staff. So all you have to do is possess better manners than your average ignorant manager and everyone thinks you’re marvellous? We’re polite to customers all day long and still get abused. Howard won an OBE for making the trains run on time over the Olympics. But hang on…..wasn’t that down to workers and enhanced investment in maintenance? If he really has created a railway that’s world class, why is he flying to the other side of the world to work elsewhere?