More Whining from Ferguson After Chelsea Defeat Manchester United

A big win for Chelsea over Manchester United this weekend, if somewhat less impressive than it might have been. And although there's plenty that might be said about the game itself, what's piqued my interest (or, rather, ire) is the (increasingly predictable) conduct of Sir Alex Ferguson in the aftermath. Can anyone think of a game in recent memory that ManU didn't get the result they wanted and SAF didn't try to blame it all on the referee afterward? Chelsea, Sunderland, CSKA Moscow, Liverpool, the list goes on and on. In my mind, it's gone beyond poor sportsmanship to downright whining, if not certified paranoia. And the shocking thing about Ferguson's issues with referees is that there's a legitimate argument that, if anything, ManU is the team that gets the real breaks--like the extra-extended injury time in the Manchester Derby this year.

There was some hope that SAF's apology to Alan Wiley (ref of the Sunderland game) would signal a change in tune from him and other EPL managers, but that hope clearly seems to have been a pipe dream. SAF has learned nothing. Ferguson apparently cannot accept the fact that his team does not deserve to win every game. Instead--whaddya know--those refs keep ruining the games for him. It's getting old. Real old. It's time for SAF to cowboy up and take his losses like a man. No matter how bad a single decision may have been, it only ever matters if his team is not good enough to put the game out of reach anyway.