Priceless comment by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson today about Alan Pardew and Newcastle United.
After the boxing day match between the two sides at Old Trafford, Pardew had criticized Fergie for confronting referee Mike Dean at half-time and as the two sides came out for the second half.
Ferguson was furious that Dean overruled his assistant and allowed Jonny Evans’ own-goal to stand because Papiss Cisse, standing in an offside position, was not interfering with play.
Fergie took the opportunity during his usual Friday press conference to hit back at Pardew, accusing him of hypocrisy after he shoved a linesman in a match with Tottenham in August and branding Newcastle ‘a wee club in the north-east’.
This is what Fergie said:
‘Alan Pardew has come out and criticised me. Alan Pardew is the worst for haranguing referees. His whole staff, every game. He was at it the whole game on Wednesday.
‘He shoved a linesman and makes a joke of it, and then has the cheek to criticise me. Unbelievable. He forgets the help I gave him by the way,
‘The press have had a good field day out of it. They’ve addressed every avenue, the only one left is Barack Obama.
‘It’s because I’m the manager of the most famous club in the world. I’m not like Newcastle, a wee club in the north east, but that’s life.’
Ferguson defended his protestations to Dean and praised the referee for his handling of the incident in United’s 4-3 win. The referee did not include it in his report so Ferguson will not face any action from the FA.
‘There was no ranting and raving from me,’ he added. ‘I was demonstrative, but I’m always demonstrative. Everyone knows that, I’m an emotional guy. That isn’t to say I was abusive to the referee, I wasn’t.
‘Some managers shove linesmen on the pitch and make a joke. I’m not making a joke of this, it was serious decision and I think it should have been disallowed.
‘He was walking towards the tunnel and I shouted him over. He came over towards me and I came over towards him. I wasn’t on the pitch for more than three or four yards and then we walked together.
‘I thought the player was interfering with play, Mike didn’t think it was. He handled it well because he’s a mature, experienced referee.’
This is not the first time that Fergie has clashed with a Newcastle manager. In the 1995-1996 title run-in, Fergie’s mind-games finally got the better of Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan whose famously lost it live on air with the United boss:
