Fergie in hot water again as United stumble again

AMID the continuing freeze, Alex Ferguson may have found a solution to his chilled bones with the potential of another dousing with hot water from the FA to add further insult to the worrying manner his mis-firing team squandered the opportunity to reclaim leadership of the Premier League.

His withering attack on referee Mark Clattenburg may have been designed to deflect deeper scrutiny from his own players’ worrying performances at St Andrews, but it has not escaped notice at FA headquarters, who are considering another rap on the knuckles for the Scot’s latest rant – fuelled by his disappointment at failing to regain the summit from Chelsea for the first time since October.

Ferguson believed the sending off of Darren Fletcher was “absolutely ridiculous” just weeks after he had watched Clattenburg officiate between Arsenal and Tottenham and claimed a player would have had to hit an opponent with an axe in that game to get booked.