Man United: Real Madrid exit could end Fergie's reign

"At the ripe old age of 71, you have to question Ferguson's desire to go through the kind of express agony he would have felt at the final whistle last night and will continue to feel for some weeks to come."

Silence speaks louder than words for Sir Alex Ferguson and Christian Crowther believes the great man may now call time on his illustrious career at the end of the season...

You have to feel for Sir Alex Ferguson, for nearly sixty minutes his Real Madrid master plan had been rolled out to near-perfection.

The tie was still very much in the balance but, at 1-0, United seemingly had Real where they wanted them.

Of course we all know what happened next. Now poor old Fergie is understandably distraught and well he might be after seeing possibly his last chance to win a third Champions League trophy slip through his fingers.

On the other side of the coin, following their triumph Jose Mourinho's side are now 3.412/5 favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley in May.

And just to add salt to the wound, Sir Alex's decision to leave Wayne Rooney out of the starting XI may yet be the sting in the tail in the long term.

From a tactical perspective, the decision - up until the sending off - actually looked perfectly vindicated with Danny Welbeck turning in another brilliant display.

However, Rooney's omission may well now stir up previous ill feelings and renew speculation that the England man could move on in the summer, perhaps even to arch rivals Manchester City if you listen to the brasher rumour peddlers.

At the ripe old age of 71, you have to question Ferguson's desire to go through the kind of express agony he would have felt at the final whistle last night and will continue to feel for some weeks to come.

Earlier comparisons to his treble-winning class of 1999 showed exactly the sort of faith Sir Alex had placed in this group of players, so to be knocked out in this cruel fashion will have inflicted a heavy toll.

The fact that the Scot has yet to comment at all on United's exit is a barometer of his anguish, preferring instead to let assistant Mike Phelan speak to the world's media.

Now, a domestic double is the best Fergie can hope for and, although that shouldn't be scoffed at, adding another European Cup has long been the burning desire for the great man.

To lose out again, and in such cruel fashion, could act as the catalyst to Fergie's curtain call at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have the small matter of a tie against Chelsea to contend with this Sunday, which they are currently rated at 1.855/6 to win.

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Timeform Irish SmartPlays: King High to reign supreme

Timeform Irish SmartPlays / Timeform / 16 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Two of our best bets come over fences at Cork.

"Fitted with blinkers instead of the usual cheekpieces, King High looks overpriced at [7.6]".

Two jumpers at Cork and one on the Flat at Naas make up Sunday's selections.

John Oxx's Manieree (15:45) has been on an upward curve of late and looks sure to take plenty of beating as she seeks a hat-trick in the listed event on the card. Enterprisingly ridden when winning a Group 3 and a Group 2 at the Curragh on her latest couple of starts, beating Sapphire comfortably last time, Manieree has impressed with her attitude since fitted in headgear. That form is working out well with Sapphire and Flowers of Spring (fourth) winning since and it's hard to envisage any of her rivals improving past her in what isn't a great renewal.

King High (15:55) did well in 2010/11, winning 3 times, including twice over fences and returned to his very best just failing to overhaul Mahrajaan at Gowran last time. Very few of the field come into this handicap chase in great heart, including the top-weight Scotsirish, and Eoin Griffin's runner has more solid credentials than the majority of his rivals. Fitted with blinkers instead of the usual cheekpieces, King High looks overpriced at [7.6].

The novice chase at Cork should prove to be an informative affair with several last-time-out winners and Oscar Dan Dan involved, but First Lieutenant (16:30) looks a really exciting chase prospect and he's expected to take this enroute to better things. Last year's Baring Bingham winner made a pleasing start over the larger obstacles, value for much more than the winning margin suggests when beating Slieveardargh in a Grade 3 at Tipperary last time and, given how well he progressed over timber, there are plenty of reasons to think he's well up to defying a penalty.

Timeform SmartPlays

Back Manieree at [2.34] in the 15:45 at Naas
Back King High at [7.6] in the 15:55 at Cork
Back First Lieutenant at [1.72] in the 16:30 at Cork

There are two meetings in Ireland today and we have picked out two to back on the Flat at Cork and one over the jumps at Downpatrick......

Three selections for another Dundalk Friday night card....

Forpadytheplasterer is the star turn on a very interesting jumps card at Punchestown but we have picked out three bets on the supporting card......

Betfair website

Follow The Money: Rey to reign

Follow the Money / Follow The Money / 13 February 2011 / Leave a Comment

"Moving on to Hereford now and the 16:00 class 4 handicap chase where Rey Nacarado has come in for some solid support being backed from a high of [6.8] in to [5.5]. This progressive six year old has taken to fences well and has shown some decent ability in this class."

THe FTM boys give us their two best backs and their best lay based on Betfair price movements.

For today's Follow The Money movers we go to the cards at Exeter and Hereford.

Starting in the 15:10 Betfair Graduation Chase over 3 miles at Exeter where good support for Bench Warrent has been noted. A dramatic shift in price from an early [14.0] in to [7.6] suggests confidence is high in what looks like a tricky race. Exeter is well known as one of the stiffest tracks around and with the forecast soft going, this will provide a real stamina test for all involved. Bench Warrent doesn't get his nose in front too often, but his best form can be found in stamina sapping tests such as this, so given that conditions are right, coupled with such good support, he must enter calculations today.

Moving on to Hereford now and the 16:00 class 4 handicap chase where Rey Nacarado has come in for some solid support being backed from a high of [6.8] in to [5.5]. This progressive six year old has taken to fences well and has shown some decent ability in this class. A good win in similar conditions to today at Plumpton in December was followed up with a third place in a class 3 on good to soft at Kempton 29 days ago. He's down 2lb for that and a big run is expected today.

We return to Exeter for our negative of the day and we need look no further than the friendless Mamlook in the 16:40 class 3 novices chase who has drifted from [1.69] out to [2.62]. On the face of it this dramatic negative move is slightly hard to quantify given that he's certainly the class horse on paper in this field. However, there have been sneaking worries that the soft ground will suit others better than him today, while good market support has been noted for a couple of his rivals including the second in the betting Cool Friend. It's always worth noting market drifts as dramatic as this one and maybe Mamlook is one worth taking on.

Recommendations:

Back Bench Warrent @ [7.6] Exeter 15:10
Back Rey Nacarado @ [5.5] Hereford 16:00
Lay Mamlook @ [2.62] Exeter 16:40

Timeform handicapper Gregg Taylor analyses the performances of three winners from Saturday who are all set to be seen next on the opening day of the Festival......

Timeform look ahead to what next week has to offer, which includes the Betfair Chase at Ascot on Saturday as well as Haydock's Grand National Trial......

The Cheltenham showpiece; jumps racing's Blue Riband; the Gold Cup: whatever you call it, the feature on the last day of the Cheltenham Festival remains the most prestigious race at the most prestigious jumps meeting in the world. With six weeks to go until the big day, Keith Melrose takes a look at the main contenders....

Betfair website