SPORTS FOLDEROL

Lord help me … but once I discovered the English Premier  League several years ago and took  WAYNE ROONEY  as  my favorite futbol player … the next step was to get hooked  on Manchester United. Talk about bad – make that terrible –  timing! … The once-great franchise guided by  SIR ALEX  FERGUSON  was about to became an also-ran during a  parade of coaches … none of whom could live up to the  tremendous pressure … and leading to last year’s eighth- place finish, an all-time low … under  ERIK TEN HAG ,  who would have been fired except the new bosses in town  couldn’t find anyone to their liking … so they gave him  another make-good-or-be-gone contract that extends though  the 2025-26 campaign even if there are no guarantees the  Dutchman will be around that long. Injuries – 60 to be exact – plagued ManU in 2023-24.  Naturally, there were other factors, too, but lack of quality  depth (at least...

  By definition … someone who likes self-inflicted pain is called a … fan of Manchester United. The English Premier (futbol or, to the great unwashed, soccer) League team continues to underachieve … despite being one of the richest franchises … all sports … stocked with high-priced talent … Latest example was Monday’s 4-0 setback at perennial also-ran Chrystal Palace … giving ManU its club-record 13th EPL loss of the season … It could have been a lot worse even though the Red Devils had two goals disallowed – one for offsides, the other for goalkeeper interference. For most of the game they looked disorganized, seemingly disinterested in the outcome … which has been among many raps against coach … oops, manager …  ERIK TEN HAG  who, in the obligatory post-match interview for NBC’s USA Network, refused to take blame. Instead, he continued to point to injuries as being THE season-long thing that has kept them from being a contender … and, with new ownership taking over, ins...