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Final Note: Sir Alex Ferguson was sat in the director's box for Manchester United's home match against Bolton, serving the first of his five-match touchline ban. However, there seems to be little substance to this punishment if he be allowed to speak to his players immediately before the match and at half-time.

To add insult to injury (remembering it was his insults of the referee that got him the ban in the first place), Ferguson spent much of the match on a specially installed hotline to the bench enabling him to pass on his instructions. This does nothing to provide a deterrent to managers wanting to criticise referees. I agree that they are a protected species - but rightly so. A few of these players and managers should take a good look at Sachin Tendulkar and learn how to conduct themselves!