“Title race wide open” says Ferguson after Arsenal lose alphabetical lead

SIR ALEX Ferguson has said that the pressure is firmly on Arsenal after the north Londoners threw away their alphabetical Premier League lead at the weekend.

The Gunners had hung on to the top spot in the Premier League since June, when the spelling of their name took them above close rivals Aston Villa.

Ferguson, speaking after Manchester United’s victory over Newcastle, said: “Having led the table over the summer it looks like Arsenal have choked with eight months still to play.

“They will be looking over their shoulders and once we reach the business end of the marathon that isn’t a sprint come squeaky bum Easter, they’ll be wondering whether beginning with an ‘A’ meant they peaked to soon.”

The early table threw up some surprises with Arsenal the only team of the traditional Big Four in the title chase, holding off Aston Villa and surprise packages Birmingham and Blackburn. Manager of the month for July Arsene Wenger had tried to downplay his team’s position, saying they had been there before. 124 times to be precise.

Meanwhile, the Wolverhampton Wanderers board saw their faith in Mick McCarthy pay off at the weekend with a victory that propelled Wolves from 20th place to 5th. The board had given McCarthy a vote of confidence two days before the season opener, even though his side had been glued to the bottom of the league since June.

“Yes we were propping up the table with the team showing no signs of improvement, but the board was always fully behind Mick,” said ex-player Steve Bull, a man who loved his club so much he changed his name to match one of the stands at Molineux. “The important thing is we didn’t panic, even though for a moment we gave serious thought to doing what I did back in the 80s and changing our name.”

Published August 17, 2010

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