Sir Alex Ferguson furiously complained after Manchester United's defeat to Portsmouth: “I've got to agree with Arsene Wenger. Someone is going to get a serious injury in our game. He's had one himself with Eduardo. It's not a nice thing to talk about, but the treatment Ronaldo is getting, I'm worried about him.”

I have to admit I, too, was furious - but only because Sir Alex had chosen to totally ignore the worst challenge of the entire game.

After about 20 minutes of the entertaining encounter at Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney lost possession. Now when the England man loses the ball, he does on occasion take exception and runs full pelt at whoever has the ball,  invariably ending up with the England striker getting his name in the book.

'There needs to be a distinction between the rough and tumble of a football match and the deliberate malicious intent of a mindless attack on a player'


However, on this occasion, Rooney decided to launch himself, two feet off the ground, in some bizarre scissor-kick movement that surely would have caused classy Croat Niko Kranjcar serious injury had he not taken evasive action.

So, Sir Alex, is this not the type of challenge you are referring to when you talk about tackles that could end a player's career? Rooney's challenge was by far the worst of the game. Yes, Portsmouth, and Lassana Diarra in particular, did indeed ‘rough-up’ United, but they didn’t do so with any intent to threaten a player’s safety.

There needs to be a distinction between the rough and tumble of a football match and the deliberate malicious intent of a mindless attack on a player.

The tackle that left Arsenal’s Eduardo needing oxygen was horrendous and deserved a lengthy ban. I defy United fans to find any tackle in Saturday's game that comes even close to that awful moment at St Andrews.

In fact I challenge any United fan to find a challenge at Old Trafford that was worse than Rooney’s. And there is no use claiming that the striker's actions were just a reaction to the bully-boy tactics of Pompey’s combative midfield. The lunge happened too early in the game.

Why can’t managers exercise balance? Why is it always the Boltons and the Blackburns that get barracked for being too late in the challenge or trying to kick players and teams off the park?

It’s typical Premier League double standards. What’s wrong with a battling side overcoming the odds by putting in hefty, but fair, tackles?

I really can’t stand the way that opposition managers and the media belittle the efforts of the likes of Mark Hughes' and Gary Megson’s sides, it really stinks of arrogance. Whilst it’s true that both teams are strong in the tackle, this doesn’t make them any less worthy opponents.

Portsmouth have a great deal of talent in their side to go with their steel. This is why they have done so well in the top tier over the past two seasons.

If you are going to complain about killer tackles, Sir Alex, how about exercising some consistency and point out to your number 10 that it isn't the done thing to try to attempt an on-field amputation on an opposing player.