Will Arsene Wenger shake Mark Hughes' hand later in the season, and latest Carling Cup winners' odds

By Derek McGovern in Betting Blog

Published 23:00 03/12/09

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It saddens the heart to see a Premier League manager act with bad grace, particularly if the bad grace is the one I went to school with.

Arsene Wenger's refusal to shake hands with Mark Hughes on Wednesday night confirmed what I've suspected for years. Namely that Wenger is the Premier League's No.1 contact coach - all con and no tact.

Sure, there are people you don't particularly want to shake hands with - a swine flu victim, for instance, a teenage boy, or Captain Hook - but if protocol demands it then you've just gotta get on with it. It's called good manners, if that's not stating the breeding obvious, and good manners will open doors that the best education cannot. As indeed will bouncers.

Wenger's gracelessness is becoming almost as worrying to Arsenal fans as his trophylessness. In a recent survey only 25 per cent of British people said football was still their favourite sport - that survey was conducted at the Emirates.

Hills quote 9-4 that the charmless Frenchman again refuses to shake Sparky's hands when Arsenal entertain Manchester City later this season. He's 11-10 to snub Hughes or any other Premier League manager.

It was no surprise to see City drawn with Manchester United in the Carling Cup semi-final - these days they're drawing with everyone.

Carling Cup (Hills): 6-4 Man Utd, 5-2 Man City, 11-4 A Villa, 8-2 Blackburn.

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