A Toast to the Toad

For those who have been following this blog, you may have noticed that I'm a huge Liverpool fan. But that has nothing to do why I hate some of the comments by Manchester United's boss Sir Alex Ferguson and his Arsenal counterpart Arsène Wenger.

They are simply bad losers.

In sports, you win some, and you lose some. You would definitely love to see your team win, and certainly be disappointed when your team loses. But can't they just be gracious enough to acknowledge that for once, their team was second best on the field, or simply luck was not on their side?

I don't recall exactly what Sir Alex said after his team lost at home to Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarter-final. In a match thoroughly dominated by the United, Portsmouth took a smash-and-grab victory thanks to a second-half penalty. After the match, Sir Alex was absolutely furious with the referee, and launched a scathing attack on his competence by not awarding his side a penalty in the first half.

As a matter of fact, it has become a routine for Sir Alex in recent years: A loss, a scathing attack on the referee, and then a huge fine slapped on him.

When Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva had his leg horribly broken by a badly mistimed tackle by Birmingham's Martin Taylor, Wenger's, in his post-game comment, suggested that players such as Taylor should be banned for life (a comment which he later retracted). Now I totally understand his anguish and despair over the loss of his star striker, but hasn't it got a little too far?

And just like Sir Alex, Wenger always complains about the referee for not giving them penalties when he side drops points. Worse still, you can actually see his angry facial expressions when he confronts the other team's manager after the match, and he has become notorious for refusing to shake hands with them on occasion.

When Chelsea was humbled by Barnsley in the FA Cup quarter-final, their boss, Avram Grant was gracious enough to acknowledge the good job done by his opponent.

Perhaps next time when Manchester United or Arsenal loses, Sir Alex or Wenger should bear in mind the following: WWTD?

In other words, What Would the Toad Do?