Red-Nosed Knight At It Again

Is it me or has the Red-Nosed Knight, supposed Manager of a team from just outside Manchester brought the game into disrepute once more with his verbal assault on today's opponents Swansea City and their defender Ashley Williams after the match.

It astonishes me that time and again over the years he has been allowed to lie, cheat, bully and intimidate the opposition, match officials, the FA, the Premier League, UEFA and FIFA with his despicable comments which the paymaster Television Channel condone with affection under the heading of mind games.

Please get real. This is not mind games, it is not funny, witty, hilarious or any derivative of those adjectives. It is pure spite along the lines of who they are and that they can do what they want, including riding roughshod over every element of the football authorities.

This is a man who has been heralded for his so-called achievements, along with Jock Stein and Matt Busby as a knight of the realm. Perhaps Bob Paisley's OBE was an oversight.

This is a man who time and again has supported his footballers for elbowing opponents in the face, deliberately kicking an opponent to end his career, aiming a kung-fu type kick at an opposition supporter and who believes that the persistent assassination of opponents in the form of deliberate and on occasion nasty violent fouls are part and parcel of the game.

Today nothing went right for his team and they fielded their best available eleven and 'Only' got a draw against resilient opponents who time and again put their body on the line for their cause, something the Red-Nosed Knight's team did not do. The same ginger-haired midfielder once again was cautioned for a spiteful foul but the emphasis was on a supposed offence by Ashley Williams who 'could have killed Robin van Persie' by kicking the ball against his head as he fell to the ground.

The same Robin van Persie who is not unaccustomed to leaving a foot in himself.

His Manager's comments designed to get a professional footballer banned from the game were simply a disgrace and the fact that the FA or the Premier League will hide from taking action against him is testimony to the fact that they are scared to act against this appalling creature from the backstreets of Glasgow.

The only saving grace is that, once again he fears City creeping up on the rails. Yes they luckily beat City recently but the fear amongst his players and the inhabitants of the home counties is completely touchable. And this outburst was another example of that. With the Blue Moon now firmly above the horizon and his transfer budget spent on the Dutch striker, there is no doubt that he is fearful of his noisy neighbours once again.

Quite why the authorities tolerate this is something I have never been able to fathom. If it was Big Sam, 'Arry or the quieter likes of Hughton, Lambert or Adkins then Soho would be getting ready to swell its coffers and add some match-day sanctions. But nothing will happen to Red Nose. Deep down he is a coward. He has stated very publicy that he will do anything to give his team an advantage. This is simply just another example of that. It will make a future referee send someone off against them, it will intimidate the authorities, it will worry opposing players.

The real problem for him today was not the perceived offence. It was the fact that his forever talked-about strike force came up empty against a team he thought they would beat easily. It was the fact that his only goal came from Evra, not the world's most prolific goalscorer and yet another grass chomper. How many times did he go to ground today to seek to gain an unfair advantage. along with young, Van Persie, Rooney and just about everyone in red, you can see that this 'tactic' is something that they play for as they seek to load the free kick count around the edge of the box.

No doubt the red tinters will hail me as a bitter blue. The blinkered vision that these people have will never see the real issues, but it is not only one City author that sees it. Today the phone-ins, media commentaries and blogs are alive with comment on the state of play just outside Manchester.

The manner in which it conducts it's business is outwith the reputation of the game we love so much and it is high time that he was outwith the game himself.

UPCOMING FIXTURES:
all times East Manchester

TOMORROW 15h00 Sunderland, Stadium of Light, PL
Sa 29Dec 15h00 Norwich, Carrow Road, PL
Tu 01Jan 15h00 Stoke, The Etihad, PL
Sa 05 Jan 15h00 Watford, The Etihad, FAC
Su 13Jan 16h00 Arsenal, The Emirates, PL
Sa 19Jan 15h00 Fulham, The Etihad, PL
Tu 29Jan 19h45 QPR, Loftus Road

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.