For the first few days it was entertaining and amusing. But, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks rolled into months, it started to get somewhat disturbing. Now it is just plain ridiculous and needs to be stopped.

I am, of course, referring to the ongoing feud between Sir Alex and Arsene, two of the most senior managers in the English game who seem determined to spend the season squabbling like school kids in a playground brawl.

Every time you think the battle of Old Trafford has been consigned to history either one or the other sparks the whole thing off again. This week it was Fergie who re-ignited the situation, branding his Arsenal counterpart a disgrace for his behaviour in the tunnel after the game.

At first it looked like Arsene was going to take the moral high ground, refusing to answer questions on the topic when confronted by reporters. But apparently he was unable to resist temptation and later told other journalists that Sir Alex should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute for his comments. A day later he told French television that

Fergie had 'lost all sense of reality'. Moral high ground very much abandoned.

Why don't they both just grow up? Okay, it was a highly charged encounter and there were numerous incidents which were certainly capable of fanning the flames of the fiery relationship between the two clubs.

But enough is enough. I, like most people who love reading about football, am absolutely sick and tired of reading about this particular story. It has dragged on for too long and needs to be resolved once and for all with further delay.

Ironically, the chief executives of the two clubs had met shortly after the Old Trafford match to organise a truce, under the terms of which both managers were supposed to not bring the subject up again.

But that truce now lies in tatters and the gloves are once again off as the two heavyweights of English management restart their irritating and childish sparring. And surely it can’t be a coincidence that the whole thing has kicked off again now, with the return clash at Highbury just a couple of weeks away.

The FA has so far been relatively toothless in their attempts to tackle thissituation which is not entirely surprising when you consider financial punishment of the sort they can dish out is little deterrent to men of their means.

Maybe they should try a more holistic approach and stick the two men in a tunnel somewhere, armed with a variety of foodstuffs and let them fight it out until one squeals for mercy or the pizza runs out. It might not be the most sensible end to a rather stupid feud, but it would certainly be an entertaining one. And I am sure Sky would pay millions for the TV rights to screen it.

Brian Clough

Brian Clough once said that a good goalkeeper was as important to a successful football side as a good striker.

And, when you look at the state of the current crop plying their trade in the Premiership, the Forest legend must be glad he is not around trying to recruit one.

Of the top six teams, only Chelsea have proper, world class goalkeeping options with Cech as number 1 and Cuducini as back up. The rest share a collection of fragile, clanger-prone also rans who instill neither confidence in their team maters nor belief in their own ability. Arsenal have Lehmann and Almunia, with the latter keeping the former out on the basis that he is slightly less prone to disasters. But only slightly.

Manchester United have a combination of incidents waiting to happen in Carrol and Howard.

In Dudek, Liverpool have a normally solid keeper who is guilty only of giving Manchester United a free goal in every game they play which, I suppose, makes him a liability on a part-time basis. Kirkland too seems to have been spending his free time attending lessons at the David James School of Handling.

Even Everton and Middlesborough have problems in the goalkeeping area. When Martyn is out for Everton they have to rely on the extremely unreliable Richard Wright.

And Boro's Schwarzer has started fumbling crosses in recent weeks, obviously trying to show Sir Alex he can do a job for United when his contract expires.

You can't put Chelsea's overwhelming success down to just one player in one position but, as Cloughie pointed out, having the right man between the sticks is the perfect start to a game. And, right now, only the London club are enjoying that sort of start.

Contact James on: [email protected]