Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager, has claimed the Premier League would be glad to see the back of his team if they lose their fight for survival at Manchester United on Sunday.
Holloway is furious at claims United could get fined if Sir Alex Ferguson fields an understrength team and Blackpool secure top-flight survival by becoming the first team this season to win at Old Trafford.
Not only does Holloway feel it undermines his team, he is also indignant at the suggestion Ferguson is not bothered about finishing the Premier League season on a high note.
And he is coming to the view that the game's authorities do not want him around.
"They will be relieved if we lose and get relegated," Holloway said. "Then I am not badgering them. I am so annoyed. Sir Alex Ferguson is a winner. He would never dream of not being interested in winning any match.
"That man deserves to pick whatever team he wants to pick. No one should question it.
"Look at his record. Those people running the game, what planet are they on? They must have beamed down from planet Zarf. They are not in the right world. They think we can only beat Manchester United if they are weak. What a load of baloney.
"Already, they are saying Blackpool can't beat them. I am glad I don't go to work thinking that, otherwise I would never have got promoted last year. I would have been relegated from the Championship because that is what everyone said was going to happen.
"That attitude offends me. It upsets me on a personal note about my club and definitely on a Manchester United note. How dare they talk about Sir Alex like that? Haven't they seen his hairdryer? Haven't they seen how successful he is?
"On Sunday, we have to try to do the impossible. It's got to be perfect. No one else has beaten them. And if we do, they might get fined because we're rubbish."
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
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- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
