Escape Pod (From the World of Mental Observations)

The main thing today is Sir Alex being charged by the FA over the Wiley comments. One thing I find interesting is that most of the reports on this suggest that Sir Alex will "escape" a touchline ban. For example, The Guardian:

Ferguson faces a touchline ban should he be found guilty of improper conduct, but it is thought such a punishment would set a precedent. Normally, the Football Association uses a ban only if the offence involves inappropriate behaviour towards a referee on the touchline or on the pitch, not as a result of post-match comments. Ferguson may escape with a fine.

There is no logic here - Sir Alex faces touchline ban - The FA doesn't give touch line bans for offences like Sir Alex's - Sir Alex will therefore escape a touchline ban. What? It's like saying "Sir Alex will escape life imprisonment, the FA has never imposed life imprisonment on anyone, so it is thought that Sir Alex will escape with a fine..." Where's the escape? It's as if the media, led by that idiot Alan Leighton, has talked up the whole touchline ban thing, and now it comes down to it, when that isn't an option, everyone goes, "lucky Sir Alex, he's got off lightly..." Of course, given the media pressure and the FA's general hatred of all thing United, the touchline ban is still possible, if unlikely.
Henry Winter is quite sensible on the matter in The Telegraph:

So what is more damaging? What is more requiring of the Football Association’s attention? Sir Alex Ferguson uttering some stupid, patently incorrect remarks about a slightly chubby referee or Liam Ridgewell piling recklessly into Theo Walcott?

Or two Americans heaping embarrassment on a great English footballing institution, Liverpool? Or more of Uncle Sam’s profit-chasing progeny dragging into debt another great English footballing institution, Manchester United?

Or the shameful ignoring of the public outside London by holding all England internationals at Wembley (or in dosh-filled Doha)? Or the failure to build a National Football Centre where English coaches can be properly developed?

But, no, it is Ferguson that the governing body decides to target. It’s easy points and cheap plaudits for the Neros of the FA while so much burns out of control around them.

My only quibble with this is that while he's right to criticise the FA, shouldn't he be casting his net closer to home? At journalists, who have managed to drag out Sir Alex's comments on Alan Wiley for over two weeks now, when they could have been writing about any number of the other things that Henry Winter cites.
Turning to Moscow, Sir Alex has no worries about playing on an artificial surface:

"I have no issues with the pitch in Moscow. When Luton and QPR had them all those years ago we always played well on them.

"We had a great record at those grounds and that was when the artificial pitches weren't as good. The one in Moscow has a far better covering on it."

"The issue with Moscow is the surface, but I've watched their games and I haven't see any issues with it at all. It's a passing surface.

There's some quotes from Jonny Evans today, here's the best summary, I'll just quote a bit, covers a lot of ground, so worth reading the whole thing:

I am still learning and improving all the time but I feel like there is a lot more to come," he said.

"Last season was a decent one for me but I was playing within myself a bit.

"Because it was my first real season in the team I just stuck to the defending side of things. It was a conscious decision to play it safe and make sure I wasn't at fault for any goals, I just generally wanted to concentrate on defending above all else.

"This year I need to try and get on the ball and express myself a bit more. I am not saying I will be trying to dribble all the way through the opposition from now on, just that I need to be a bit more outgoing on the pitch and a bit more commanding."