Ferguson's flaws

In the aftermath of the Manchester United Everton FA Cup semi-final there was plenty of predictable bleating and moaning. This is Ferguson Land. Whenever anything goes slightly amiss it is always someone else’s fault. So the responsibility for the FA Cup semi-final defeat was laid fair and square on the pitch, which was neither fair nor square.

True enough the Wembley pitch was not up to scratch and was inferior to the majority of Premiership playing surfaces, The ball did not run true and also it cut up quickly with large divots of turf appearing, so it resembled a practice ground for a golf tournament within the first 10 minutes.

But both teams were similarly affected and it was Ferguson who selected the weakened United team who showed little inclination to chase the win in extra time. Furthermore, Berbatov’s lamentable penalty in the shoot-out was down to his own special brand of indifference, and not the scarred, as opposed to sacred, turf.

Many people claim Sir Alex is a master in psychological warfare and often beats his opponents in the mind games. His brilliant mental destruction of his rivals, the argument runs, leaves them powerless to survive in the match itself and they are beaten before kick-off.

This is utter nonsense, there is no subtlety to Ferguson’s rants and raves, he is more akin to a six year old sans toys than a genius of mind games. To be wound up by such blunt and unimaginative posturing does not bode well for anyone who is entering the school playground in the near future.

My brother and Syd Barrett

Playlist

Shine on you Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd
“Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond.”

I have never been a big fan of Pink Floyd. They were always a little too grandiose and over-dramatic for my tastes. The backlash against the universally admired Dark Side of the Moon had begun when I was a teenager and the Floyd were considered to be the antithesis of the vibrant sharp jolt that punk provided to us in the late 1970s. Such pomp was to be avoided at all costs.

I was only rewired into their music following my elder brother’s untimely death in 2006. At the funeral, one of his friends who struggled to speak because he was so over-wrought with emotion ended his short eulogy with a defiant call of “Shine on you Crazy Diamond.” It was a heartfelt and poignant tribute.

Then I listened again to the song and although it is a tad over-indulgent in its length, I realised that there were many parallels between my brother’s life and Syd Barrett’s, especially in the withdrawal from public life. The strong sense of wasteful loss is such that it never ceases to leave me both mournful and defiant. Barrett and my brother died within a few months of each other.

“Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond.”