In the middle of this piece, headlined - "Really Violent Player! Pardew calls for probe into Van Persie 'elbow' on Toon star Cabaye" - there's this line:
His indiscretion should not detract from the performance manager Sir Alex Ferguson called United’s best of the season.
Yet it self-evidently has. And managers calling for players to be banned retrospectively is pretty unsavoury:
"He's looked at Yohan and he's elbowed him," said Alan Pardew, Newcastle's manager. "I think that needs to be looked at, if I'm honest."There's a bit of history between those two players and I don't know whether he's got caught up in that but it was a little bit unsavoury."At the time I didn't see it [the elbow] but I thought Yohan wouldn't have gone down if Van Persie hadn't done something. But I've obviously seen the replay now and it looks as if Van Persie's looked at him and put the elbow in. But that's for the FA to decide on, not me."
Whereas Pardew wants his team to pass and move with dash and daring, Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, possesses a rare capacity to court unpopularity in pursuit of financial benefit. Accordingly Tyneside woke to reports that Wonga, the payday loans company often criticised for its interest rates, was in advanced negotiations with Newcastle over a shirt and, possibly, stadium sponsorship deal.To say the prospect did not go down well with fans would be an understatement. Indeed, judging from the initial reaction, the debate about the club's wider social responsibilities versus a potential £8m a year for player investment seemed as one-sided as the opening stages of Manchester United's visit.
And for the record I think Tony Pulis calling for a ban on Suarez is just as bad. Letting Suarez's cheating speak for itself would have been much more eloquent.
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