Whats that they say about doctors and the folly of self-treatment? In March of 1998, with Manchester United a towering 12 points ahead of Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League table, a risk-aversive local Manchester bookmaker decided to shell out the winnings nice and early for all his customers who had invested in a fifth title in six seasons for Sir Alex Fergusons band of merry football men. We now know, of course ,United suffered a calamitous run of form which included a home defeat to the eventual champions, Arsenal. "Betfred" Fred Dones gamble that his beloved Manchester United would prevail ended up costing the bookie a not-so very cool million bucks. Ferguson vented his spleen and, in no uncertain terms, let the bookie know, as the vernacular-laced Old Trafford statesman demanded there would be no repeat early payout on a United title. Well, no need to guess what happened the day after April Fools Day in 2012. Six weeks later, the Etihad was euphoric as the blue half of Manchester swept Uniteds title aspirations aside in a come-from-behind win over QPR. History has an awful record of repeating itself down Old Trafford way, or should we say, down Sir Matt Busby Way. Those preseason whispered silence comparisons between Sir Matt handing off the United torch to Frank OFarrell with Ferguson inviting Moyes round for a cup of tea to tell him hed be the next United gaffer went up a decibel or 10 following two-straight BPL defeats at home to kick off December. To follow up, that raspberry they kicked off 2014 with the unheard of three-straight defeats in three separate competitions, which included the champions getting knocked out of the FA Cup and finding themselves trailing Sunderland 2-1 heading into the second leg of their League Cup semi-final tie. All of this has got the red half of Manchester screaming louder than their now noisy neighbours. Its as pointless for them, though, to offer up Moyes as their sacrificial lamb as it is for Fergusons successor to lay blame with the officials for Manchester Uniteds glaring inadequacies. The "playing referees, as well as the opposition" post-match comment from Moyes following Tuesday nights Sunderland defeat sounds as if hes torn a few pages from the well-thumbed Ferguson copy book. Where he didnt sound one bit Ferguson like was in the timid words he uttered the day previously in the pre-match press conference - when Moyes spoke of "trying" to win the game in the "hope" his club would get to a Wembley Stadium cup final. "Try?" Well, thats a euphemism for failure. I "tried" to score, but shanked it high and wide. "Hope" is four letters-long and for those who tend to not do as well in the coping stakes. With a PhD in distract and divert, Ferguson was a master of manipulating the media at his weekly Carrington press briefings. Not that Im advocating for Moyes to turn into a Ferguson impersonator, far from it, though, he does need some lessons in positive reinforcement. No matter how close he gets to the players in the dressing room, Moyes wont ever get close to the respect levels of his predecessor. Like hard fought wins, respect has to be earned. Moyes cant allow himself to morph into Manchester Uniteds version of Andre Villas-Boas, who, after only one night after been installed as Chelsea boss, paraded around Chelseas regal training complex in Cobham like a preened peacock - strutting his football gospel as he demanded immediate and complete respect from his players, many of whom were there when Villas-Boas was part of Jose Mourinhos back room staff during his original early-2000s tenure. There in a scouting capacity, Spurs fans can now attest to the fact that AVB isnt close to even resembling the Special Ones parody puppet that, in a previous life, had his own Special One TV series. Twenty matches in, and with a disastrous six defeats already this season, quite remarkably Moyess Manchester United record stands him ahead of where both Busby and Ferguson were at the same stage in their debut seasons at the Old Trafford helm. On top of that, factor in that Moyes inherited an aged squad that was thinner on the high-calibre player front than any hairline of Wayne Rooneys. Ferguson prided himself on building from within alongside astute investments in the transfer market. Tom Cleverley has been at the club since age 12, but he obviously wasnt listening, observing or paying much attention whilst in the company of players like Paul Scholes. What on earth did Ferguson see in Chris Smalling, a player who only got his first start as a Fulham player a mere 13 months and 12 more appearances later, before joining United for that world famous "undisclosed fee?" The only thing that you could legitimately compare Smalling to with his club captain and fellow central defender, Nemanja Vidic, is the fact Ferguson purchased both players in the January window. The words "not fit to lace my boots up" come to mind. Not long after Rooneys infamous "Manchester United lack ambition" bon mots when he was agitating for a move back in 2010, Ferguson banished Rooney to the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon to continue his rehabilitation from an injury layoff. I hear Harvard is seeking visiting professors. With much football still to play, talk of the title is not rational, but grabbing a Champions League spot is not that improbable. They are, after all, only five points adrift of Liverpool in fourth position. Missing out on Europes preeminent tournament wouldnt be a bad thing, though. It would certainly fast track a much needed Old Trafford player flush. Then, factor in what a season on the Champion League sidelines did for two of European footballs most illustrious clubs. After falling a very distant six points outside of the qualification spots for the 2007-2008 Champions League, the current European Champions, Bayern Munich, responded to that failure by reaching three of the last five finals. Youve got to love that German resolve and, my, what a perfect response to losing the 2012 final in their own backyard at the Allianz Arena. An unprecedented sixth-place finish in the 2002-2003 La Liga season saw Barcelona miss out on Champions League qualification. The Blaugrana returned to the fold the following season and went on to conquer Europe three times in only six seasons. The indelible image for me from Sundays 2-1 FA Cup defeat to their BPL opponents on Saturday afternoon, Swansea City, wasnt Wilfried Bonys last-gasp winner. It was to come just a few minutes later, when the 10 United players trudged off the pitch following the final whistle. Tongues lie, but body language does not. The only thing they seemed to have in common was walking in the same direction. To a man, none of them seemed engaged in any form of a meaningful conversation, nor did any of them display a much needed look of anger. If they did, the response at Sunderland 48 hours later would have been of high resolve and steely determination. My, how Moyes could do with borrowing a turbo-charged hair dryer from Sir Alexs collection right about now. With the late kick off on Saturday, United will be fully aware how the two teams directly above them, Spurs and Everton, fared. No point in watching in on them, though, because they cant control or influence those two outcomes. The 75,000-plus Old Trafford faithful will not likely enjoy their pre-match pie and pint as much as they would have done over the past two-plus decades. A certain apprehension and, likely, that famous Manchester rain will be in the air come kick-off. A fourth-straight defeat cant be contemplated, as next up for the champions is a visit to Mourinho and Stamford Bridge. Currently out injured, I guess, if nothing else, the January 19 date with Chelsea gives Wayne and Colleen opportunity to go house hunting in west London. Listen to Manchester United vs. Swansea City at 12pm et/9am pt live on TSN Radio 1050 and the TEAM Radio Network. Fake Vans Website . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. Fake Vans From China . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. https://www.vansfake.com/. The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. Fake Vans For Sale .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Fake Vans 2020 . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday.BUFFALO, N.Y. - Donald Trump says he is unlikely to be the next owner of the Buffalo Bills because hes "not going to do something totally stupid" to make the team his. "Ill be bidding, but many other people will be bidding," the billionaire businessman said on Fox News ahead of a Tuesday deadline for prospective owners to submit initial offers. The National Football League franchise is for sale following the death in March of owner Ralph Wilson. "I would say the chances are very, very unlikely, because Im not going to do something totally stupid," Trump said, "Maybe just a little bit stupid, but not totally stupid." Others who have shown interest in buying the Bills include Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, former Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano and a group that includes rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Canadian partners Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and the Rogers family of Toronto-based Rogers Communications. Trumps lawyer Michael Cohen told The Associated Press the moguls bid package would be submitted Tuesday afternoon. The Pegulas also submitted a bid, according to a person familiar with the sale process who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the sale is private. The Bills most recently were valued by Forbes at $870 million but are expected to sell for at least $1 billion, partly because NFL teams rarely go on the market. "Im ... somebody that likes to buy for the right price," Trump said. "Right now you see pricing of certain types of assets - including real estate assets - theyree going through the roof.dddddddddddd." About 10 prospective ownership groups submitted nondisclosure agreements to Morgan Stanley, the banking firm overseeing the Bills sale on behalf of Wilsons estate. Not all will necessarily follow up with a bid. Because the sale process is private, Morgan Stanley will not make names of would-be buyers public. The firm will review the initial non-binding bids and is expected within the next week to determine which groups may progress to the next stage of bidding. The new owner could be identified by Labor Day and be presented to NFL owners for approval during league meetings in early October. Meanwhile, representatives of the Bon Jovi group who have been exploring potential stadium sites scheduled a meeting with upstate New York developer Scott Congel, a person familiar with the meeting told the AP on Tuesday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the group has not disclosed who it is meeting with and the person wasnt authorized to do so. Congel, the son of Pyramid Management Group owner Robert Congel, has proposed building a stadium on a former mall site in the Buffalo suburb of West Seneca. Syracuse-based Pyramid is one of the largest shopping mall developers in the northeast. The AP reported last week that the Bon Jovi group had conducted a feasibility study that included building a stadium in Toronto but also planned to meet with two Buffalo-area developers. A lease agreement essentially locks the Bills into staying in Buffalo through the 2019 season. It is unclear if the group would eventually want to move the team to Toronto. ' ' '