13 Not Liverpools, two Big Cups, one Euro Pot, five FA Pots and four Tin Pots
Forever on form; The Fiver, ponders Sir Alex Ferguson’s imminent retirement and the warm and fuzzy laudations of the UK’s “big papers.”
”So farewell then, Lord Ferg. You have decided to retire and as is customary in such circumstances will no doubt be presented with an expensive watch … which is kind of ironic because you won’t need one now that you have decided that a life spent standing on touchlines, vigorously pointing at one while shouting at referees is no longer the life for you..
..How many of the tributes to Lord Ferg that will appear in tomorrow’s newspapers mention wine, because Lord Ferg once mentioned that he likes wine? Will hacks banned from his Friday briefings continue to be banned or be allowed back in once there’s a new sheriff in town? Who will patronise Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves by patting him on the shoulder and saying “well done” for asking questions? Will anyone be brave enough to present Lord Ferg with a mounted, solid gold Revlon 9142CU Powerdry 2000 hair dryer as his retirement gift, because it would actually be quite funny and we’re curious to see what would happen next?..”
CHAMP20NS
Manchester United 3-0 Aston Villa, Robin van Persie 2’, 13’, 33’
The George Best Guide to Style
George Best was one of football’s most naturally gifted players - Belfast boy done good (bad). He entered United folklore with some sizzling goals in the early 60’s, and along with Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law became what was know at Old Trafford as, The “Holy Trinity”. His languid style lent itself to that swinging era, and helped create one of football’s first style icons. Best is remembered for his silky skills on the field and his silky touch off it.
“The George Best style guide was created for IMG to help celebrate Best’s great style and talent, and encourage brands and retailers to take his iconic status forward through a range of products and business ventures. Taking inspiration from George’s love of fashion and craftsmanship, the cover was side stitched and foil blocked to give the guide a suitably stylish feel”.
Design: Raw | Via: The Beautiful Gear
Manchester United’s new 2012/12 kit. The Gingham design is meant to reference the cotton mills of Manchester at the time United were formed in 1878. Rio is a fan and we suspect Rupert the Bear would dig these too.
Premiership as it stands. As it stands come Sunday afternoon 17.00 GMT?
FA Cup Final Programmes from Wembley.
Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For..
Look up some of the most recent Manchester derbies and the headline “Roy Keane cripples Alf-Inge Haaland” won’t be too far away. The 2001 derby brought a tackle that no matter how often you’ve seen it, is still toe curling in it’s brutality. As Simon Hatterson wrote in the Guardian:
“Keane should not have been merely sent off, he should have been imprisoned for assault. He admitted as much a year later in his autobiography when he revealed that he set out to cripple Manchester City’s Haaland. The tackle has an almost equally vicious backstory…Four years before the knee-capping, Keane had fouled Haaland when the latter was playing for Leeds United, and in doing so he seriously damaged his own knee ligaments. With Keane writhing in agony, Haaland told him to get up and stop faking it. Not the wisest thing to say to Roy “Killer” Keane and it was inevitable that Killer would take his revenge. And when he did it was horrendous even by his standards. As Haaland had stood over him, he stood over Haaland telling him, somewhat less politely, that he had it coming to him. Most terrifying of all, Keane was proud of his act of vengeance, and wanted the world to know that it was 100% deliberate”.
An excerpt from Keane’s biography, that was later removed (with expletives) by the publishers read: “I’d waited long enough. I hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that. And don’t ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries.”
U the Man!
In last week’s NY Times Fall Fashion Magazine, there are eight pictures of current and former Manchester United players and of manager Sir Alex Ferguson showing off their sartorial sensibilities (of note is Rooney’s New Rider Steam Punk look). Accompanying the fashion spread is a half-decent article about Sir Alex. In total, however, this is another off football feature by New York Times. For example, in several photo captions the Times refers to Man U as the “Reds.” The “Reds” moniker, of course, belongs to Man U’s greatest rival, Liverpool. This rivalry is discussed in the article, so you’d think they’d get the details correct in the captions. Oh well. Then there’s Christiano Ronaldo–who plays for Real Madrid–as the lead picture, which happens to be the only picture that doesn’t show any clothing.
Maybe some day soon, at a mall near you, one can purchase, by way of minimally invasive surgery, the iconic Ronaldo Adam’s apple. But, in fairness, the collar of the Gucci jacket he’s wearing does hide the fact that his neck is wider than his head, so that’s a good feature for him and anyone else who might suffer from this abnormality. The article and spread is here.
