Disturbed. That's how yesterday began and finished for me.
At 7.00am I was roused from a deep slumber by an admittedly efficient but nonetheless excruciatingly loud and ear-splitting fire alarm in my hotel.
As I stepped out of my room I bumped into a Chelsea player who asked me what he should do. Leave the building in case it's on fire, was my frank advice.
Maradona & Ferguson: beginning and end
Then a surreal moment took place. In amongst the frozen guests I am standing with Diego Maradona to my left, a bright-eyed and chipper John Terry in front of me offering a belated Happy New Year and Sky Sports' Alan Smith to my right, wearing a only a fluffy white dressing gown and black patent leather shoes.
The official cause of the evacuation was faulty wiring but rumours of Diego and his cigar were also doing the rounds like wildfire! JT said he normally gets up at this time with the kids, so it was certainly no big deal for him.
In amongst the frozen guests I am standing with Diego Maradona to my left, a bright-eyed and chipper John Terry in front of me offering a belated Happy New Year and Sky Sports' Alan Smith to my right, wearing a only a fluffy white dressing gown and black patent leather shoes.
Geoff Shreeves
Quotes of the week
At Old Trafford there was a stellar cast for the Premier League showdown not just on the pitch but in the stands too.
Jose Mourihno, Fabio Capello, Carlos Queiroz, and Maradona were amongst the 75,000 souls who had come to witness a clash of the titans.
Pre-match Sir Alex Ferguson surprised us all with his selection of 35-year-old Ryan Giggs in central midfield, insisting that the veteran's form was 'sensational'.
Disguised
If I'm honest I thought it was hype from the master of footballing psyche but that theory was dismissed when I later handed the Welsh wizard a deserved Man of The Match bottle of champagne.
On a day of surprises Giggs and Wayne Rooney served up a treat with their disguised pre-taken corner routine. It was disallowed on the basis that Rooney didn't tell the linesman what he was doing, but what if the corner was on the other side and the lino would have been stood at the half-way line?
Justice was done in the sense that United scored from the retake but poor old Ronaldo still hasn't scored against Chelsea in 10 attempts and had another wrongly ruled out for offside! The Portugal winger did point this out to me in the car park later, albeit with a wry smile upon his lips.
Post-match Jose Mourhino made his way downstairs to embrace his old friend but Champions League opponent, Sir Alex. If one cuddle wasn't enough for the Inter boss he then embraced virtually everyone of his former players.
You can see the love he has for Chelsea and the Premier League still burns bright in his eyes.
And so to the last interview of the day where all weekend there had been intense speculation as the whether the Laird of Old Trafford would respond to Rafa Benitez's comments.
When I asked Sir Alex for his reaction he took a long pause before offering what I took as an extremely measured response.
The gist of his riposte is well-documented elsewhere but like I said, my day started and ended by being "disturbed".
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Comments (9)
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Richard Hope says...
Benetiz is a clown who might have had a few pointers right , but the same applies to all the big clubs, only Uniteds players get lengthy suspensions(Cantona, Ferdinand and now Evra)the rest get litrally a slap on the wrist for there indiscretions, Benetiz certainly can be thanked for in part fot Uniteds best displsy of the season
Posted 10:04 13th January 2009
Sunil Naidu says...
The two teams were typical on the day ,Manchester United -AWESOME and Chelsea beaten again and left searching for excuses. When the day started like this they could have as well left for home. Whether it was the "Hand of God" that caused it we may not know .But we now know whose side God is on. Manchester United.......... Three in a row .......Glory Glory Man United
Posted 05:44 13th January 2009
Glen Page says...
Rafa is mentaly disturbed. He should stop talking just to be in the same sentence as "Sir" Alex ferguson. Anywho rafa needs to back his ideas up with facts. If he is going to make a stupid remark like that he needs atleast 3-4 facts and not one bit of billy :) Liverpool are making excuses before we have even taken them out the race Oh dear. United to win the league once again. first team in history to win 3x in row. Otu!
Posted 02:34 13th January 2009
Darren Tidyy says...
Geoff what a great story keep them comin!!! Love it when Fergie rattles cages, he is so good at it!!! Hope you media lot are gonna miss him when he retires!!! Man Utd for the Title!!!!
Posted 22:16 12th January 2009
Sam G. says...
Nice one Geoff! I bet it was Maradona's Havana cigars that set off the fire alarm. Did the sprinklers go off too? :D Better you than me mate, that too at 7 am in the morning!!! Albeit all that fun part, I do think the LiverPOOl's manager Mr. Benitez has 1/5th the experience that Alex Ferguson has. The guy is offended with a simple teaser from Ferguson. If the likes of Wenger and Murinho couldn't keep up with the mind games with Fergie, WhoTheF§§§ is Rafa? Despite being a Man Utd supporter for life, I do think LiverPOOl would have had a good chance of a serious title charge, if they could just focus on their own game and just watch Man Utd take their dreams away from them, just like that. With Murinho gone, I think Chelski lack the desire and ambition to be the best footballing team in the world. While 'the special one' was there, Chelski were in their own league and even United had to grit their teeth to get a result off them. I think Abrahimovic has chosen the wrong coach here. I don't see any drive in Chelsea anymore, the way they used to. It's United all the way and I would not bet a penny against that.
Posted 17:36 12th January 2009
Fahad Tanveer says...
Ferguson yet again proved he is the master tactician and the man to beat mentally also..ask rafa if you doubt me on this or even any other premier league manager who have all come and gone. I think that Liverpool are nervous now and in a matter of time the red devils will march to the top of the table
Posted 16:19 12th January 2009
Niall Kelly says...
I still dont think the overall performance by the Man Utd team yesterday was anything special. Giggs had an excellent game, as did Fletcher, but Chelsea didnt show up at all. Their 5 man midfield contains 5 world class midfielders, yet it seemed like they were struggling from the outset. I thought the corner and resulting Ronaldo goal that was disallowed was very unfair, a point backed up by Dermot Gallagher in the Last Word with Andy Gray. Justice was done with Vidic heading home shortly afterwards though. Ronaldo's goal in the second half was wrongly ruled out aswell, and he clearly should have had a penalty in the first half. All in all, I think good link up play by Uniteds central men tore the Chelsea midfield apart, which could spell trouble for the rest of the premiership, especially Liverpool if Rafa insists on starting Lucas instead of the vastly more effective players he has at his disposal. Sir Alex has again won the battle and the war, and the league looks like a distinct possibility this season, as do the rest of the competitions. Looks like maybe Maradonna's cuban cigar could have put Alex on the road to success :)
Posted 15:19 12th January 2009
Vincent O brien says...
very funny day for you geoff.from the early wake up to funny goals and weird comments lets hope you dont have more days like this, but id say seeing alan smith wearing a dressing gown and patent black shoes would wake up anyone or possibly give them nightmares.
Posted 14:40 12th January 2009
Mary-lynne Edwards says...
As a Chelsea fan of many years, the thought of Jose hugging our boys makes me miss him even more.*sob* Come back Jose, forgive the Big Boss! And pull your fingers out you Blues!
Posted 14:19 12th January 2009
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