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Suits You, Fergie

by | 1st, November 2004

‘WHO would have thought that a man with such poor dress sense, a purple-faced sort who spends a large part of his life ensconced in a hideous tracksuit, would take so much pride in his appearance?

”My suit’s at the dry cleaners”

But this is only conclusion we at Anorak can make from the tirade of ranting and raving coming from the direction of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The incident – or non-incident, if you take the Arsenal line – in the tunnel after United’s game against the champions last week has given Fergie much food for thought.

Having spent the weekend shouting to the world that Thierry Henry is a thug, the Sun now hears Fergie tell anyone still listening that Dennis Bergkamp should be shot/hung/drowned for an alleged assault on poor, demure Alan Smith.

This supposed attack by the Dutchman on the pugnacious England striker forms the latest page in Fergie’s sour dossier of shame, the document he intends to submit to the FA in an attempt to derail Arsenal’s title bid.

But despite the loud and childish noises coming from the United manager, the Telegraph reports that Fergie’s actions will come to nought.

All complaints of unfairness should be submitted to the FA within 48 hours of the game.

The FA would, however, make an exception if there was a police investigation into the incident which prevented the club from discussing the complaint within two days.

Since this is not the case, it follows that Henry and Bergkamp are in the clear, whether they did wrong or not.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, Fergie’s dark mood cannot have been aided by the realisation that his United are looking less and less like championship contenders by the week.

A single spite-fuelled win over Arsenal does not a good team make, and the Mail watches Fergie’s “toy soldiers” get out-thought and out-fought by a plucky Portsmouth side, losing 2-0.

That said, Arsenal’s own dropped points, courtsey of a 2-2 with struggling Southampton, means that the weekend’s big winners were Chelsea, whose 4-1 demolition of a dire West Brom means they are now joint top of the Premier league with the Gunners.

But aside from Fergie’s tantrum, the really unsavoury story is that of Liverpool’s French striker Djibril Cisse, who suffered an injury at the weekend that has put an end to his season.

For those eating their pizza and soup, the Sun’s picture of Cisse’s lower leg moving in two different directions at once is unappetising stuff.

Liverpool’s Milan Baros adds to the sense of revulsion when he says: “When Djibril went down I heard something like a snapping sound, and I knew his leg was broken. It was awful.”

It truly is terrible. It is a horrible thing to have happened.

But was it just an accident, as it first appeared? Rumours abound that Alex Ferguson will not rest until someone pays.

So he’s rounding up the usual suspects – Bergkamp, Cole, Henry, Ryes, Pires, Lauren…’



Posted: 1st, November 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink