BLESSING IN DISGUISE?

The ongoing saga of `Sir` Alex Ferguson`s tussle with the BBC goes on.   His steadfast refusal to give post match interviews to the BBC means that for last season alone, he notionally racked up £950,000 worth of fines under Premier League rules for refusing to co-operate with an organisation that pays the Premier League £170million a year.  

Of course, the level of actual fines have yet to be announced, despite the fact that they were apparently agreed as long ago as last October and it might be academic anyway as Manchester United will probably pick up the tab rather than Ferguson himself.

Just recently there was a meeting between Ferguson and BBC Director General Mark Thompson to try to hammer out a solution to this long standing impasse.   Perhaps predictably, no agreement was reached with Ferguson refusing to fulfill his contractual obligations and Thompson refusing to apologise to Ferguson for the programme aired some years ago about Ferguson`s son, Jason, who used to be a football agent.

And so it goes on.   But here`s the thing.   What the protagonists in this affair fail to appreciate is that all the while it does go on it means the BBC viewing and listening public don`t have to suffer Ferguson`s unintelligible Caledonian mumblings.   Such a relief.  If ever there was a blessing in disguise this unresolved ongoing saga is surely it.