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Posts Tagged ferguson

MUST Deny Fergie Must go Report

Jan 18

Posted by red devil in Football | No Comments

Contrary to reports today regarding Manchester United supporters calling for Sir Alex Ferguson to resign MUST (the Manchester United Supporters Trust) wishes to put it on record that we believe the organisation and the vast majority of United supporters are 100% behind Sir Alex Ferguson. The only people we want to see leave Old Trafford are the Glazer family.

All United supporters are entitled to voice their opinion but these comments were made by one individual at a meeting where it was made clear it was private and journalists were briefed that it was totally off the record to allow supporters to speak freely. We believe that all those journalists who attended the meeting respected this agreement but the story came from reports on internet message boards followed by a call direct to Mr Flacks rather than from the meeting itself….

MUST does not believe that the views expressed represented a widespread view of those present and indeed another speaker who offered the counter point of view was given a loud round of applause in response.

We believe Johnny Flacks and indeed every Manchester United supporter is absolutely entitled to express their views but it is important to distinguish individual views from those of organisations or those present at a meeting.

We believe Manchester United has the best manager, the best players and the best supporters. It is only the owners that let our great club down. They should go before they do any more damage.

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Tactics & United

Dec 19

Posted by red devil in Football | No Comments

Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson

The Question: How did a nutmeg change football tactics in the noughties? For the first time in over 30 years, an English side became a world leader in tactical innovation this decade – thanks to Henning Berg being nutmegged. Little over a hundred days into the new millennium Manchester United suffered a defeat so striking that it defined the tactical direction of English football for the decade to come.  It is rare that you can pinpoint the precise moment at which the world changed, but for Sir Alex Ferguson it did on 19 April 2000 with a 3-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final.

This was his equivalent of Liverpool’s defeat to Red Star Belgrade in 1973, the game that persuaded him to tear up the old blueprints and start again. Then Bill Shankly, despite having won the Uefa Cup the season before, decided that if Liverpool were to dominate Europe, they had to alter their approach. “We realised it was no use winning the ball if you finished up on your backside,” said Bob Paisley. “The top Europeans showed us how to break out of defence effectively. The pace of their movement was dictated by their first pass. We had to learn how to be patient like that and think about the next two or three moves when we had the ball.” And so Liverpool changed and, under Paisley, came to dominate Europe in a way no other English side has managed, winning four European Cups between 1977 and 1984.

For Ferguson, too, the decision to change was a tremendous risk. That season his side won the second of three successive Premier League titles, finishing a record 18 points clear of Arsenal in second, while scoring 97 goals in 38 games. The year before they had won the Champions League. There would be many in the difficult seasons of transition who would tell him he should never have changed his approach. His willingness to do so, though, his ruthlessness and clear-sightedness (at least in seeing what was wrong, if not necessarily what the solution was), is precisely what makes him a genius. It is one thing to build a great side; quite another to be brave enough to dismantle it and start again, shaping football’s evolution even as you adapt to its changing shape.

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Not Here To Replace Ronaldo – Valencia

Dec 12

Posted by red devil in Football | No Comments

Antonio Valencia

Antonio Valencia

Antonio Valencia insists he is not at Manchester United to replace the void created by Cristiano Ronaldo’s summer departure to Real Madrid and wants to improve. The Ecuadorian was tipped by many as a quick fix by Sir Alex Ferguson to fill Ronaldo’s boots following his £80million transfer to the Bernabeu.

However Valencia insists he is a different player to the Portuguese superstar and, having scored four goals in 10 matches, is enjoying life at Old Trafford. “I am my own man,” the 24-year-old told The Independent. “I thought Cristiano was a very good player but I always play according to what I think and what I want to do at that particular moment and what I know. I never imitate anyone.”

And the former Wigan man has had similar assurances from the Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson to not try and emulate Ronaldo. “He [Ferguson] said, ‘You don’t have to follow Cristiano but you do have to work’ and I’m doing that.”

His £16million transfer from the Latics in the summer is a far cry from where Valencia started. At the age of 16, his older brother Carlos paid for his bus fare as he travelled eight hours to play for Ecuador’s El Nacional. Despite now favouring the role of a winger, he began life in central midfield and was soon drafted into the international set-up, scoring 17 goals in 23 games for Ecuador’s Under 20s.

Valencia was also called up to the full international squad and had a short spell in Spain for Villarreal. He was later spotted by then-Wigan boss Paul Jewell who brought him to Lancashire before his eventual switch to the Premier League champions this year. Valencia, who has been likened to former United star Andrei Kanchelskis by ex-boss Steve Bruce, is eager to improve through guidance from his managerial mentor and provide goalscoring passes for his team-mates on a regular basis.

“He [Ferguson] told me I must concentrate more in training and in matches, that I must try to score goals at every opportunity but also help my team-mates to score,” he added. “I’m practising all the time. I practise with my team-mates and I like to improve and get better with it.”

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Fergie Team Ruins Home Record

Nov 26

Posted by red devil in Football | No Comments

Ferguson put out the kids mixed with some experience against Besiktas and it backfired, costing United a long, unbeaten home record in Champions League football going back 8 years. The teams that Ferguson puts out must really frustrate the fans who pay such a large amount of money in both travel (never cheap) and ticket prices and, in some cases, food at the ground. I am against the playing of kids in the Champions League, experience is one thing, but these kids last night were out of their depth. Rafael in particular, did not have a clue at left back and was being drawn out of position most of the game. In fact, I put the blame on him for our defeat.

Vidic was man marking during their break, you can see him shouting to Rafael to cover a spot, he was ignored. He then shouts at Rafael to go forward to close down the player with the ball, shaping to shoot. Rafael again ignored him, allowing the shot, and then Rafael deflected the ball with his head, just out of reach of a lunging Foster in goal. This all happened in the closing seconds of the 19th minute, 19 minutes of total domination but no depth, from the kids. They ran Besiktas ragged in this period and the final ball was totally and utterely wasted.

Besiktas could not believe their luck, and from then on it was backs to the wall with every attempt telegraphed, every shot clearly defined, and defenders were able to put body between ball and goal. The shots that did get on target were dealt with by the Turks man of the match, their keeper who had a one man show at some stages.

In the second half, Besiktas, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, began to force United backwards, getting more and more chances whilst keeping a minimum 3 players back defending on the half way line, and it worked. United soon ran out of ideas and chances began to fizzle out. Ferguson made substitutions with Owen on for a hard working Ji Sung Park, but I am not even sure if Owen even touched the ball! Evra came on and did make quite a difference, creating more chances in 20 odd minutes, than the team had in the earlier parts of the game.

I was singularly unimpressed watching this farce last night, and feel for those who paid out to be so disappointed. The only player who impressed me was their keeper.

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Standard of Referee’s

Nov 16

Posted by red devil in Football | No Comments

Gary Neville

Gary Neville

Manchester United defender Gary Neville has waded into the debate over the standard of refereeing by calling for the creation of an elite referee pool.  They should use a few elite officials in the big games instead of trying to give all referees experience,” Neville was quoted as telling The Times.  “Their decision-making doesn’t seem to be great in the big moments,” he added.  His comments come just days after Sir Alex Ferguson was given a two-game ban for his comments about ref Alan Wiley.  The Football Association handed the 67-year-old Ferguson a four-game ban, with two of those suspended until the end of the 2010/11 season.  Ferguson was fined £20,000 and warned about his future conduct following his disparaging remarks about Wiley’s fitness after United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland on 3 October.

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