Week in, week out: Fawlty Fergie

SIR Alex Ferguson put the cat amongst the pigeons this week with his "typical Germans" outburst after Manchester United's Champions League loss to Bayern Munich last week.

It prompted headlines at home like "Basil Fawlty Ferguson has lost the plot" and an understandably miffed response from Bayern, whose president Uli Hoeness said: "We lost in 1999 but we lost like gentlemen. Now it would be nice if Manchester (United] could do the same. It's an over-reaction on Ferguson's part, maybe because he is disappointed to lose."

The story has inspired another of those "Hitler reacts to...." YouTube clips in which the world's most infamous Austrian points out that "United are the worst for surrounding the referee. They do it all the ****ing time."

It has not been lost on many that the Bayern team who overcame Ferguson's side were coached by a Dutchman, captained by a Dutchman and featured two more Dutchmen, a Belgian, an Argentine, a Frenchman, two Croats and a Turk. In hindsight perhaps "typical foreigners" would have been more accurate.

FEYENOORD WORKS

DUTCH football club Feyenoord have launched a staffing agency, hoping off-field success in the new venture will help improve its finances and prove a boost for its supporters. The club launched a website which translates as 'Feyenoord works' and where Feyenoord fans could search and apply for jobs in the Rotterdam region, the Dutch port city where the club is based. Feyenoord, which has met with limited on-field success in recent years, made a loss of 16.9 million euros in the 2008-2009 season, has laid-off more than 25 people and is expecting a loss between 3 and 4 million euros for the current season.

"Feyenoord works can be seen as a concept that not only helps to improve our financial position but also as a logical consequence of Feyenoord's goal to more generally play a role in society," Feyenoord commercial director Mark Koevermans said.

It's proposed that half of the profit the staffing agency makes will go into the club.

BOOKIES DESPAIR

Champion jockey Tony McCoy almost broke the bookmakers as well as his Grand National hoodoo with victory on Don't Push It on Saturday. His mount had been a 20-1 chance on Saturday morning but, in a spectacular gamble, he was backed down to half those odds and started as 10-1 joint favourite.

McCoy and Don't Push It duly obliged, the jockey winning at his 15th attempt.

David Williams from Ladbrokes bookmakers said: "McCoy's victory has cost us millions. We've feared this day for 15 years and our worst nightmares have just been realised. Punters never lost faith in the champ."

A year ago bookmakers were celebrating after the shock 100-1 success of Mon Mome who fell in Saturday's race.

Williams said: "Twelve months ago we were on the champagne and now we're reduced to bread and water."

He estimated the betting industry in Britain would have lost 50 million on the race.