TWIF 5 - McManaman madness, Rio out, Forest on the up

Sunday afternoon's game at the DW Stadium saw Wigan Athletic beat Newcastle United 2-1 to boost their hopes of Barclays Premier League survival, but the Latics' crucial victory was overshadowed by a horrendous tackle by Callum McManaman on Massadio Haidara, which left the Newcastle player in hospital. McManaman caught the Frenchman halfway up the leg and left him with suspected ligament damage. We got the usual 'he's not that type of player' defence of a man who was making his first Premier League start, but whether he is or not is irrelevant. It was quite possibly the worst foul I have ever seen in English football, and one which 99 times out of 100 would be punished by a red card and at least a three-game ban. Except this was the one time it wasn't. Referee Mark Halsey didn't even give a free kick. His view must have been blocked by the Newcastle player between himself and the incident. Lets hope that's the case, because due to our FA's outdated laws, only unseen acts can be dealt with retrospectively. Hopefully McManaman gets the punishment he deserves. As for Dave Whelan, I'm not sure what he was thinking in coming out in defence of what he called a 'fair tackle'. Speaking as someone who had his own career ended in similar fashion, he ought to have thought before he spoke, although that's something the Wigan chairman finds difficult. No doubt had the shoe been on the other foot, he would have been at the front of the queue to condemn Haidara. I have said before, and I'll say again, I would bring back diving to get rid of coward's tackles like this. It makes me so mad to see careers threatened like this, and as for the Wigan supporters who cheered McManaman off when he was substitued, grow up.

Rio Ferdinand finally got his long-awaited recall to the England squad this week, only for the Manchester United defender to pull out. Ferdinand claims that his personal medical programme means that he cannot join up with the national squad for the World Cup qualifying matches against San Marino and Montenegro. No doubt Ferdinand would have had words put in his ear by his club manager Sir Alex Ferguson, which is more than can be said for England chief Roy Hodgson. It is clear in my view that there has been little or no communication between the two managers. I'm not sure Ferdinand has pulled out due to Hodgson leaving him out of the European Championship, and I'm very sure that it has nothing to do with his situation with Ashley Cole. If he had pulled out for either of those reasons, he would have been cutting his nose off to spite his face. Ferdinand has made it clear that he wants to put the Three Lions shirt on again, and it would have been a very tough call to withdraw. I just hope that he can be considered again by Hodgson. Despite what some people think, his selection wouldn't be a backward step. He is still among the best central defenders we have got, and our squad is stronger with him than without him.

Nottingham Forest continued their excellent form under returning boss Billy Davies on Saturday with a vital 2-1 win away at fellow promotion contenders Hull City at the KC Stadium. Second-half goals from Darius Henderson and Lewis McGugan earned the Reds their sixth consecutive win in the npower Championship - one shy of the club record - and cemented Forest's position in the top six with eight games to go this season. As a fan, I have written about Forest's trials and tribulations a couple of times before on Behind The Goal, and I couldn't foresee the incredible turnaround in fortunes at the club. Since Billy Davies took over from Alex McLeish, Forest have amassed 19 points from a possible 21. Just as well they have; had they lost those six instead of won them, they would be second from bottom of the table. It just goes to show how vital Davies' appointment was. If only it had been done a few weeks earlier, and they may even be realistically challenging for automatic promotion. Forest and the play-offs have never really got on well, but we as fans would all be delighted to give them another go!

TWIF 4 - Offside or onside?; All change at Forest; Blackburn circus continues.

Boxing Day in the Premier League saw one of the more talked-about goals of recent weeks. In the game between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford, Jonny Evans diverted Danny Simpson's cross into his own net to hand the visitors a surprise 2-1 lead. The problem was that Papiss Demba Cisse was in an offside position in the six-yard box, but didn't play the ball at any point. After much deliberation the own goal was eventually - and correctly - given. Cisse did not touch the ball so was technically not offside, yet there's the problem with the law. How can a striker inside the six-yard box be not interfering with play? He was close enough to David De Gea for the goalkeeper to worry about, and close enough to Evans for him to feel he had to take defensive action. Referee Mike Dean got it right according to the laws of the game, but the rule is surely wrong in this instance. In the six-yard box at least, offside should mean offside. That doesn't excuse Sir Alex Ferguson's behaviour though. He should know better at his age and his experience. It's no surprise he won't face any action over it; his reputation has saved him for years.

Nottingham Forest are in a decent position in the npower Championship, just a point off the play-off places, helped by a terrific 4-2 win over Leeds United on Boxing Day. There was much surprise then, that the owners, the Al Hasawi family, decided to sack manager Sean O'Driscoll just hours after the game. There had been rumours in and around Nottingham for a while that O'Driscoll was on borrowed time, and there was a suggestion that he would be out with a defeat, but to get the chop after a win was very strange timing. O'Driscoll paid the price for new chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi moving the goalposts mid-season. The start of the campaign brought talk of a three-year plan and a year of consolidation, but now it seems like it's promotion or bust. There was a collective sigh amongst the City Ground fans when his successor was named as Alex McLeish. It hardly excites the faithful on Trentside. He has a particular style of football which isn't really the Forest way, and of course there are the two most recent sackings at Birmingham City and Aston Villa which stick in the memory. To say he has to hit the ground running is an understatement if he is to win the fans over and the club's owners are to find out that the grass is greener on the other side.

Speaking of which, I assume the Blackburn Rovers hierarchy thought they would be going places after finally getting rid of Steve Kean and replacing him with Henning Berg, a former title-winner with the club as a player. Despite being hated by the fans, Kean left Ewood Park with the club in 3rd place, after a fairly respectable start to the Championship season. The Venky's group, which owns the club, had the plan for Berg to come in and steer them towards a return to the top flight. Following one win in ten games, the Norwegian is out of a job after just eight weeks in the hot seat with Rovers plummeting to 17th in the table. The fans were desperate for Kean to go for months and months; I bet there may even now be some who would have him back. Talk about 'Be careful what you wish for'!

Finally I will sign off by saying thank you for your support and for reading Behind The Goal in the first half of the season. Happy New Year, and I hope you and your club has a successful 2013.