Everyone Has A Story To Tell

Does the closing of the transfer window bring out the worst in everybody? Now that we've all gotten our fill of Chelsea vs. Gallas, let's move on to Rudd vs. Manchester United / Alex Ferguson. Instead of just walking away and letting his football speak for itself, Ruud Van Nistelrooy has come out with his version as to why he couldn't play at Old Trafford anymore.

The funny thing is that it's the same reason Fergie gave for not including the Dutchman in the starting lineup towards the end of last season. If you're not putting your chances away, and then act like a child for not getting called off the subs bench, then I guess you won't be playing for Man U. At least while Fergie is in charge. Why would Ruud think that he could act out in this way and still be in the manager's good graces?

While I appreciate Van Nistelrooy's goalscoring talents, I have to think that this guy just has an attitude problem. Maybe it's come with age, he didn't seem to give Fergie any problems in his first couple years in England. He even solidified his position as Holland's first-choice forward during the Euro 2004 in Portugal.

If it all had to do with Fergie's dislike of him at Man U, why did Marco Van Basten drop him like a bad habit at the World Cup in Germany? Holland trailed 1-0 to the Portuguese in the second round, time was running out, three substitutes were used. I'll let you take a look to see how many minutes he played in that game.

Let's all take a guess as to what happens when there's a stretch of games where Ruud doesn't make the starting line-up for Real Madrid.

Ruud accuses Ferguson of betrayal [BBC]
Portugal - Netherlands Match Report [FIFA]

-ac