>From the soaraway Scum
Dave Blatt ....the events at the end of a match yesterday that saw eights bookings and a red card for Vieira was probably worse than anything we had seen before. What they will make of it all in Istanbul doesn¹t bear thinking about as the countdown starts to England-Turkey on October 11. Before the disgraceful scenes that saw four Arsenal players push, jostle and hit Ruud van Nistelrooy after the final whistle, there might have been sympathy for the Gunners. Never more so than when referee Steve Bennett handed Vieira his first yellow card for a challenge that saw the Arsenal skipper clearly take the ball not the man. And some may make a case that the kick Vieira aimed at Van Nistelrooy two minutes later landed a good foot or two short of its mark. And that the Dutchman was asking for ‹ or looking for ‹ some sort of reaction with his clumsy initial challenge as he landed on the prone Arsenal man. When Van Nistelrooy, hardly the most popular player in the Premiership, then smacked his added-time penalty against the Arsenal crossbar there may even have been a certain poetic justice. But what followed was a total and utter disgrace. Even for a Sunday morning game on Hackney Marshes ‹ if that is not an insult to those who turn out on the East London playing fields. ³Why are we always the devils . . . and play against angels?² enquired Arsene Wenger a bit later. Well, Arsene old chum, if you study the video closely you will find out for yourself. Except your version will probably cut out as Bennett blows his final whistle. After that Van Nistelrooy took a whack round the head from a celebrating Martin Keown ‹ the look on the face of the Arsenal centre-half suggesting he was close to losing touch with reality. Then Lauren trod on Van Nistelrooy¹s left ankle as the striker was getting off the turf. And Ashley Cole gave the Dutchman a shove from behind before Ray Parlour provided a slap in the chest for good measure. While all this was going on, Wenger was applauding the travelling Arsenal fans in the corner ‹ remembering just how Alex Ferguson went over to salute his own supporters at Highbury on the night last April when United took a giant stride to reclaiming their title. The FA will now have to throw the book at an Arsenal side who clearly lost all control at the end. What a message to send out to kids watching both at Old Trafford and on TV. Yes, Van Nistelrooy may be a total pain in the backside. Yes, many fans up and down the country will applaud the action taken by the Arsenal players in the euphoria of their escape from Old Trafford with the point that kept them on top of the Premiership. And, yes, Van Nistelrooy may be such a provocative customer that even Edgar Davids ‹ one of his own Dutch team-mates ‹ had to be restrained in training the other day. But the evidence in front of his own eyes clearly spells out to Wenger that his players were demonstrably in the wrong. Unless, of course, he prefers to register as blind. Then there is the small matter of all those other 51 red cards which Arsenal had accumulated before yesterday¹s battle at OId Trafford. Not to mention the disciplinary action currently still hanging over Sol Campbell following the earlier incidents in the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium last month. The case for the prosecution is damning. And Arsenal should be damned. Afterwards both Vieira and Wenger accused Van Nistelrooy of cheating while Ferguson hit back by condemning the Arsenal manager. Fergie, in fact, went even further ‹ insisting the FA launch an immediate investigation. No one in their right mind can argue with that. Except certain Arsenal players at the end were NOT in their right mind. It was a day when England¹s two most famous clubs managed to produce a match that dragged the national game down and through the gutter once again. And to think there were some English journalists in Istanbul yesterday to take in the full horror of the Galatasaray-Fenerbahce local derby . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Remanufactured Ink Cartridges & Refill Kits at MyInks.com for: HP $8-20. Epson $3-9, Canon $5-15, Lexmark $4-17. Free s/h over $50 (US & Canada). http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=6351 http://us.click.yahoo.com/0zJuRD/6CvGAA/qnsNAA/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
