The insightful analysts on RTE claimed that young Wayne was being ‘wound up’ by the opposition. A ploy to gain a sending off and therefore the competitive advantage. I cannot imagine what must have been said to create this reaction, maybe the Aalborg team have been getting lessons from Materazzi! I find it hard to imagine that poor Roons was given a harder time than by Arsenal or Liverpool or anyone for that matter. Maybe Wayane was just in bad form, I dunno, maybe the inevitability of being ginger and bald had lit the fuse, an orange mist thus descending.

Whatever the cause, he was being ‘let get away with it’ by everyone, the referee, Ferguson and his team mates. Is the reputation staring to outgrow the player, is it a case of ‘I’m Wayne Rooney’I can do what I want’. Sir Alex is not the intimidating manager he once was. There are signs that the worm has turned at United, Ronaldo’s will he won’t he Summer, would Fergie have tolerated that before?  This is a era where players are becoming more important, contractually and commercially at least. than managers, who seem to have shelf lives that are much shorter then their palyers.  I’d guess that the United chief lives in fear of losing his crown jewels, the glitering stars in his pompous sky.

How else can you explain the carte blanche that the united striker was given to maul anyone who had the audacity to tackle him. He knowns the united hierarchy dare not upset him. To witness such a loss of discipline was truly awful in one so great. I know Pele was robust but he’d hardly be seen behaving like this.

The Cork man’s demeanour of late and his latest round of media comments suggest that all is not well. While admitting that their form has been poor so far this season,  Keane is accepting some degree of blame for the teams performances. One wonders if Keane would be so accepting of the same level of criticism from the club’s chairman, board or supporters. Many feel that the Sunderland manager is destined for bigger things, has the carrot of a more prestigous job now become the stick. His body language indicates a degree of acceptance of the teams plight, it does not suggest that the fight is there.  Does Roy Keane think that he has taken Sunderland as far as can? His failure to commit to a new contract will not disuade the board that this is not the case. Seeing the empty seats at the Stadium of Light last weekend, it is not beyond belief that Keane could also be falling foul of the regions fickle football culture as so many have done before. This is surely a worry for the board and the people who finance the club who have spent the not inconsiderable sum of £80m on players. Given the money spent acquiring the club I would assume that the money pit is not bottomless. Are the board and manager on a collision course toward the transfer window over new player funding.

I would argue that Keane would rather leave than be shown the door in a doomsday scenario, or relegation as it is more commonly known. Should they avoid the drop what can Sunderland realistically achieve this year.  How along will Keane be prepared to accept what amounts to failure, something he was not exposed to that often in his playing days.  And conseuqently how long will the Sunderland board be prepared to stick with a manager who they think is not fully committed to the job.

Unless Sunderland start picking up points, I think we will have an answer sooner rather that later. I don’t even think finishing above Newcastle will be viewed as an acievement this year and that is far from certain.

After the success of the the unbeaten season, Arsene Wenger has done what few managers in the English game are capable of doing. He has taken a young and largely inexperienced group and molded them into a force in the Premier League and Champions League. Wenger has done this without changing his ethos, his belief in the passing game and his reluctance to pay the ludicrous sums that other managers have sanctioned on over priced footballers. Yes, he has spent, but he has bought players with potential for reasonable transfer fees. He has managed yet again to unearth sublime talent, such as Carlos Vela, but also signed domestic talent like Aaron Ramsey. He will pay large transfer fees such as that paid for Samir Nasri, but he usually gets it right. The Arsenal manager buys players who fit his system, intelligent players who seem to be able to adapt quickly. Compare this policy to the 30m Man Utd paid Spurs for Berbatov who has contributed little or nothing and seems ill at ease, or the 20m Liverpool paid for Keane. This is not about Wenger versus Ferguson but can you remember the last time the united boss was subjected to the same degree of scrutiny. There is more at stake here than the future of Arsene Wenger, this is about the beautiful game.

Can you imagine what the Premier league would be like if all the teams where like Bolton. Simply put, there is something about Arsenal’s playing style that enlightens English football, and personally I do not think that sits well with some in the English Football establishment. Watch Arsenal’s reserve team and those English born players learning their trade and admit that the English national side will benefit in years to come. Look at how Arsenal have nurtured Theo Walcott, do you think he would be half the player he is now of he had gone anywhere else?

Gallas goes to the press and criticises the group and is stripped of the captaincy. Instead of seeing it for what it is, one player going on a bit of a rant, all of sudden the media portray Arsenal as being in crisis. Qualifiers for the Champions League group stage and in touch with the EPL leaders, some crisis.