Sideshow Bob at full throttle

If the Silver Fox told the team to go for the jugular in last night's pre-season fixture against Pacos de Ferreira, then something appears to have been lost in translation for Sideshow Bob, red-carded in the first half for throttling the home side's Rui Caetano. In what turned out to be a friendly in name only, our skipper's diminutive victim was also sent off following the skirmish, and several others were booked over the course of the match, with the Silver Fox later complaining that the referee "lost control of the game".

Caetano had opened the scoring in the 15th minute, with Big Lad grabbing our equaliser, and that's how it finished, though things could have been different. Haris Vuckic was at the heart of the action, first heading against a post and then clearing a Pacos effort off the line late on. His manager's claim that "we were far better than them" was infused with increasingly characteristic exaggeration, but it was nevertheless a much-improved performance against a side who will be competing in the Champions League this coming season.