'As the teams were getting ready to start the second half of extra time, Ryan Giggs signalled to the bench that he wanted a drink. Gary Neville, a substitute, was the first to spot Giggs’s call and raced out carrying two bottles, which he hurled to his colleague. To see Wenger’s reaction, you would have thought that Neville had gone on to the field and kicked Patrick Vieira in the head.
The manager charged out to the touchline, arms waving wildly, yelling into Neville’s face, grabbing at his arm, virtually coming to blows, then screaming at the fourth official with a tirade that continued beyond the incident itself. It was, frankly, bizarre. I know Ferguson has a temper, but if Sol Campbell had lobbed a bottle of water to Fredrik Ljungberg, I cannot for the life of me believe that Ferguson would not have more to worry about than stopping the Swede getting a slurp or two.
One of the many things I have been learning with the Lions, as media consultant, is the science of hydration and its centrality to sporting success. But a game plan that has at its heart trying to stifle your opponents’ midfield and thwart your opponents’ efforts at hydration does not strike me as deserving of one of the greatest trophies in the game. It comes to something when a team win the FA Cup and most neutrals leave the stadium thinking less of that club and, for those who saw the Wenger-Neville exchanges, of the manager, too.'