If Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had hailed from my part of the world he would be thinking of consulting the gods for the incredible bad luck that has hit club in the past weeks. Many die hard supporters of the club regarded the 4-1 drubbing by Liverpool at Old Trafford last weekend as one of those crazy days in football when everything goes haywire but the 2-0 defeat by Fulham at Carven Cottage, the first since 1964 must set the alarm bells ringing. The so-called world club champions must sit up.

There are certain peculiarities about the two defeats. United conceded a penalty on each occasion and in addition had a player sent off; indeed in the case of the Fulham match there were two red cards both against experienced performers Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney. The usually dependable defender Vidic was the culprit in the Liverpool encounter.

Sir Ferguson may not be that superstitious like an average football fan from my part of the world but he should be worried that his impeccable defensive set up has suddenly collapsed and conceded six goals in two matches whilst his powerful scoring machine has recorded only one goal in the process.

Maybe one should not weep for Alexander the Great. The veteran manager with numerous title triumphs on his glittering CV has seen it all. While some weak hearted supporters are gradually losing hope of a successful defence of the Premiership title, the man directing affairs at Old Trafford finds the situation quite normal. Hear him “The closing weeks of a title race is always an uncomfortable experience. It can be edgy but you have to accept the challenge. Being there is the greatest thing and that’s what we are striving for. You are prepared to go through the agony a long as you end up on top”, he told the media.

I admire Ferguson’s mental toughness for his chosen profession. And I also appreciate his penchant for accepting responsibilities and avoiding scapegoats. He is confident that the team will bounce back and retain the Premiership no matter the margin.

Perhaps Alex would one day visit Ghana and pass on some lessons to some of our young practitioners who seem to lack the tough skin for this highly volatile job which is trying to make eleven people think together on the pitch and translate what has been taught them. It is rough and tough at times and the young ones must be told this and prepare for the worst.

In my home country Ghana, former international star Charles Akunnor has just been appointed head coach of Sekondi Eleven Wise and after two hectic matches against the nation’s two giant teams, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak, the young coach has jumped to the rather dangerous conclusion that the Football Association in collusion with the referees are running a “protection policy to kill the smaller clubs and sustain the big ones”.

This to me is a very profound statement. Akunnor’s beef is that Accra Hearts won a penalty against Eleven Wise to split the points and had won a similar penalty to beat Sekondi Hasaacas in an earlier match. This to my mind is not enough evidence to conclude that “there are deliberate moves to frustrate smaller clubs”.

Much as Akunnor’s statement might be regarded as a hasty judgment, it would be interesting to find out why the Premier League Board plan to impose sanctions on two referees who handled two league matches involving Accra Hearts of Oak.

Referee Morday who handled the Hearts v Tema Youth match at Tema and referee Yakubu Nuhu who handled the Hearts v Hasaacas match in Accra have both been accused of failing to apply the laws of the game effectively in the matches in question.

National football leagues all over the world are a great source of entertainment to the populace and all stakeholders must contribute to ensure fairness and make the game maintain its status as the most patronized spectator sport in the universe. As the inventors of football would always say; it is all in the game.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.