Fergy Boycotts the Press

Sir Alex Ferguson is widely reported to have ceased relations with the press. With BBC long since banished from his acquaintance, I reckon that only Sky and ITV remain his outlets for comment and vitriol. Heaven forbid should World in Action returns or Sky post match interviews actually demand a more challenging line of questioning.

It seems unfortunate that the most successful manager in English football cannot reconcile himself with so much of the media. With the FA, the refereeing Authorities and the media against him and his team, it is some testament to his powers that he and they have won so much. Oh yeah those special powers and Rob Styles.

Rob has cropped up on this blog before. In a climate where football people are calling for consistency, Styles has been the very picture of consistency with penalties given for a variety of similar offences. He just needs to give Arsenal a soft penalty soon to get his Big 4 card marked and he will have a complete set of grateful top 4 managers.

God vs Money Part whatever it is

QPR are presently looking good. Some solid results with equally solid performances to boot. Ancona have started the season without a win in the 3 games so far. So the money route seems to be showing an early turn of pace over God and his footballers.

That said QPR have been trying to play both ends of this fight between divinity and liquidity. Last week saw the signing of Damiano Tomassi. It is some time since Tomassi was considered at his most potent but at 34 years old he represents QPR's flirtation with matters more spiritual than the material. Some time ago whilst coming back from career threatening injury, Tomassi negotiated an "Agent-killing" contract where he settled for an Italian Minimum wage whilst he recovered from a dodgy knee.

Other good works have included the redistribution of football disciplinary fines to needy and worthy causes. None of which has gone unnoticed by his close friends at the Vatican. He seems a pretty good man.

Any way that was all last week, before QPR hit their fans with a £50 sting if they want to come and witness the "more attractive" fixtures for the remainder of the season. That's fifty quid in the posh seats for the better opponents. Needless to say there is uproar. Fans are ready to protest against this shameful exploitation of people with more money than sense. Presumably these are a different set of fans from the one's who have been waiting for and actively expecting Premier League soccer since 1996 when Ray Wilkins sadly sold Les Ferdinand and was never able to fill the huge gap left. In all the protest there is a regrettable belief that rich people somehow have a duty or desire to subsidise the loyal and the needy's dreams.

It's sadly never happened that way and in the new ear of "boutique" football clubs I suspect it is unlikely start up in Shepherd's Bush.

City the Brand

Today the papers are full of details of an 86 page document that will see Manchester City rebranded as "city" and be launched as a brand that will expand like virgin across the middle and far east.

Is it April the 1st?

What a joke.