Time to tackle the Man Utd monster

IT WAS yet another sickening sight in football's seemingly endless portfolio of shame. No, not the elbow which felled Sunderland's Jason McAteer.

Much more depressing than Roy Keane's latest descent into the red mist world which has become his occasional residence were the attempts of manager Alex Ferguson on national television to defend the indefensible.

''I do not think he swung an elbow, he put an arm across his face,'' was Ferguson's ludicrous response to Keane's latest assault on a professional footballer, an incident captured in graphic detail and replayed in slow motion for the convenience of anyone with the inclination to determine right from wrong.