BEYOND THE PALE...

It`s an odd phrase. The paling fence is significant as the term pale came to mean the area enclosed by such a fence and later just the figurative meaning of 'the area that is enclosed and safe'. So, to be 'beyond the pale' was to be outside the area accepted as 'home.' So what possessed `Sir` Alex Ferguson to use this phrase in his latest rant against Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez? Did Ferguson know what he was saying? Did he understand the true meaning?

More to the point, what on earth was he doing even commenting about Benitez, especially in the week when Liverpool had to endure not only defeat on the pitch against Chelsea but also the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster which saw them lose 96 of their fans? It seems that Ferguson cannot keep quiet about anything. I suspect he believes he is being clever, upping the ante in the war of words between the two, gaining a psychological advantage for the battles ahead.

Well, maybe, were it not for a couple of problems. The first is his delivery. He is one of life`s mumblers. Sometimes it`s just possible to discern what he is mumbling about, but not often. He mumbles in a thick Caledonian drawl, which cries out for sub-titles and in the process he loses any semblence of credibility his oafish ramblings might have gained. Second, after the interpreters have done their stuff, we can examine what he was trying to say and it seems, once again, he fires off random mumbles about anything and everything. Apart from Benitez, he has had a go at Wemberly being used for this weekend`s FA Cup semi-finals and this comes on top of a whole string of attacks he has made on other clubs, the FA, referees, the media and anything and anyone who he takes a dislike to.

Laughing stock

It is, frankly, astonishing that the FA have not taken more firm disciplinary action against him for a pick and mix variety of offences such as ungentlemanly conduct, improper conduct and bringing the game into disrepute. I suppose in a way it is sad that someone who has had so much success as a football manager has become, through his own shortcomings, such a laughing stock as a man. I look forward to the day when he decides to step beyond the Old Trafford `area that is enclosed and safe` for him and goes himself beyond the pale, mumbling his way towards the obscurity which he so richly deserves.