da pinnacle： As a fascinating Saturday of Premier League football drew to a close, the Manchester United manager addressed the media with fury in his eyes.
da apostebet： It is fair to say Sir Alex Ferguson was not overly pleased with the officials time keeping during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford.
Ferguson told the BBC – now no longer the subject of his anger –the amount of stoppage time added on by the officials was an “insult.”
Ferguson said: “They gave us four minutes [injury time], that’s an insult to the game. It denies you a proper chance to win a football match.”
“There were six substitutions, the trainer came on, so that’s four minutes right away and the goalkeeper must have wasted about two or three minutes and they took their time at every goal kick.
“That’s obvious to everyone today and it’s a flaw in the game that the referee is responsible for time keeping. It’s ridiculous that it’s 2012 and the referee still has control of that.”
In theory the Manchester United manager is correct. Roughly 30 seconds were lost for each United goal, and around a minute for Dempsey’s second half strike.
Add to that 30 seconds for each substitution, any injuries and Tottenham’s time wasting, there should have been more than four minutes added on.
But Ferguson’s attack on the officials could not be more ‘pot kettle black’, from the man who has made the phrase ‘Fergie time’ one of the most commonly known in British football.
How often do you see the correct amount of stoppage time added at the end of a game?
Hardly ever is one answer, never another. The amount of stoppage time at the end of every match is always questioned one way or another. Saturday was no different.
Saturday’s post match interview was just another example of Ferguson the sore loser, the man we seem to meet after every Manchester United defeat.
Not only did his comments draw attention away from the fact Tottenham had put in a fantastic performance, his comments were also simply dillusional, especially when you look back at the countless stoppage time debacles involving him and his side down the years.
What will it be next week? Ferguson “insulted” his side did not get given a penalty?
Did you hear him complaining about the amount of time added on at Anfield two weeks ago?
Daniel Agger and Martin Kelly both picked up injuries that needed at least two to three minutes of treatment each. There were five second half substitutions, three goals, as well as a penalty and other stoppages.
The officials added on just five minutes, but Ferguson left happy as his team fortuitously picked up three points.
Whilst he has a fair point that the officials need to look at how much stoppage time is added on, this is not an isolated incident and has been going on for years.
Just because his side have been the victim on this occasion, Ferguson feels he has the divine right to pipe up and question the whole system.
But now football’s godfather has spoken out, and alluded to the fact referee’s should not be responsible for the amount of time added on, expect to see a change in the system sooner rather than later.
Rightly so in many respects, because the lack of time added on does so often short change teams and supporters.
But why is it only now Ferguson has spoken that press and pundits are nodding their head in agreement?
This has been going on for years and years, and Ferguson has been one of the biggest obstacles for officials to overcome in their quest to simply add up the lost minutes of each half, with his manic watch pointing and words in the ears of various fourth officials.
If Ferguson is successful in his quest to take the task of adding up the amount of stoppages out of the referee’s hands, it is solid proof he holds more power and authority than any manager in world football.
Expect a change in the way stoppage time is handled very soon.
Follow me on Twitter @LukeGreenwood89 and let me know you’re thoughts on Fergie’s latest rant.