I write these words from France while covering the presidential primary fight between Sarkozy, Fillon and Juppé, and am reminded of the local maxim “jamais deux sans trois” — “never two without the third”.

If we’ve learned one thing since Fergie left, it’s to avoid reading too much into a manager’s proper debut.

FOREWARNED, if not forearmed: “one major married United star might need to be trotting off to Court soonish too… it’d be just typical if the lad is unfortunate enough to be the odd one out who doesn’t actually get an injunction granted.”

IT DID occur to me after filing my Becks-dominated column last week that it read like some kind of football obituary — and so, sadly for the lad, it now seems to be.

WHEN I first glanced at the Craven Cottage team sheet, I thought Fergie had done a ‘Mick McCarthy’. No such luck: this, apparently, was the best team we could put out. What a fitting way to round off an ignominious week.