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------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------- [5] Gordon Strachan on Fergie - from his book --------------------------------- Posted Monday, July 31, 2006 by ed: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2291221.html http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2291221.html Most people assume that my experience of working with Sir Alex Ferguson for nine years at Aberdeen from 1978 to 1984 and at Manchester United from 1986 to 1989 was the making of me. They are right, up to a point. Until his arrival at Aberdeen, my career was going nowhere. In the early days he was the manager who gave me the strongest platform for my ability, with the standard of the team he built at Aberdeen and his discipline and organisation. His confrontational methods helped me to develop my mental strength. If I could handle Fergie, then as a player or manager I felt I could handle almost anything. However, I would only single him out as having had the greatest influence on me in relation to one aspect of my career. As for the other parts notably when I was more experienced and thus more receptive to a less controlling and dictatorial form of management I owe just as much (if not more) to men such as Ron Atkinson, who preceded Fergie at United, and Howard Wilkinson, my manager at Leeds. As much as I admire Fergie for what he has achieved, I have to admit that this is offset by the memories of the deterioration in our relationship. As indicated by his comments about our time together in his 1999 autobiography Managing My Life, it would seem that Fergie is not too enamoured with me either. Those comments, which related mainly to my desire to leave Aberdeen and Manchester United, and included Fergie stating that I could not be trusted an inch, surprised and disappointed me. I know I made one or two mistakes in my dealings with him, but I feel there were mitigating circumstances. In any event, I would have thought that the service I gave him at Aberdeen and the numerous great moments we shared would have counted for more in his eyes than what he said about me in his book seemed to suggest. Many will have found it more surprising that despite the publicity given to Fergies views about me, I have always kept a public silence on them. I have preferred to try to retain a sense of dignity and not give the media scope to turn the matter into a full-blown controversy. Nevertheless, I have always felt deep down that it would be good for me one day to give my side of the story. In doing so now, I have no wish to score any points off Fergie. I just want to put the record straight. I DO not think anybody needs to be reminded about Fergies autocratic, abrasive style of management. In the light of the ways in which he likes to control his players and, of course, the ferocity of those renowned hairdryer verbal tirades with the person on the receiving end looking as if he is standing in a wind tunnel many might find it strange that the response from his teams has been so stunning. But Fergie came to the fore in an era when players were in a weaker position financially and contractually than they are now and managers could virtually hold them to ransom. Since then, Fergie has also been helped by the remarkable stature he has achieved through winning so many trophies. He has become so powerful and influential that if you fall out with him, you wonder if youll work again. While his explosive public persona might occasionally suggest otherwise, nobody should doubt that Fergie is an exceptionally astute manager. In recent years more and more clubs have called in sports psychologists to help them get the best out of their players; I have worked with some of them myself. Yet I often say that, for all their specialist training and knowledge, I cannot believe they can do a better job of motivating professional footballers than Fergie. He is the games motivational master. Because of Fergies confrontational manner in his dealings with his players, it was not unusual for collective dressing room anger or resentment to be directed at him. I am not sure to what extent, if any, this situation might have been engineered by him, but one thing I am pretty certain about is that at Aberdeen the atmosphere at any party attended by Fergie and his first-team squad would not have been very relaxed. At least half of the players would not have wanted to talk to him; and I dare say some would have been itching to rip his head off. As a manager, you would have to be a tough cookie indeed to function in that sort of atmosphere. In my experience of him, Fergie is not really one for dealing with players in ways best suited to their individual temperaments and personalities. He has a very fixed idea of the sort of characters he is looking for. In a sense, he looks for carbon copies of himself. So all his players get the same treatment, and if an individual cannot handle it, so be it; he is quickly discarded. He is a man who thrives on conflict. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of the players who established themselves under his management at Aberdeen were strong enough characters to stand up to him when the need arose. Willie Miller, his captain, might have seemed a quiet, unobtrusive figure, but this was misleading. He had no compunction about going into battle against Fergie, not just for himself but on behalf of his teammates. On one occasion a half-time row between Willie and Fergie over the managers comments about some of the other players led to Willie taking off his jersey and telling him: You can stick this up your backside. As Willie stormed off into the bath area, we made a joke of it with comments like: Hey, Willie, do you want some shampoo? and Hang on a minute, Willie, well be joining you soon. Fergie had to leave him out for the second half. I was self-motivated as a player, partly because I did not go into any match thinking that I was a better player than the man I was facing. At the same time, I recognise that I am the sort of person who usually benefits in the competitive football sense from being in a bad or angry mood. So, at the outset, you could argue that Fergie was the perfect manager for me, even though being regarded as one of his most influential players seemed to bring me more stick from him than most of the others received. To an extent, picking on me was his way of emphasising to other players that reputations did not matter to him. Those trademark Fergie hairdryer tirades have long been a favourite topic of conversation among those who have worked for him. Among my personal favourites was his post-match rant at the former England winger Peter Barnes at Manchester United or rather the lengths to which Peter went to get out of Fergies firing line. Peter, anticipating that Fergie was going to have a go at him he had been substituted near the end headed straight for the dressing room after being taken off and hid himself. The first question Fergie asked when he came into the dressing room was: Wheres that Barnes? He must be in the bath, boss, someone replied. Fergie looked from the entrance to the bath area and could not see him. Not there, the b*stard, he said. This clearly upset him even more, and for the next quarter of an hour or so he got it out of his system by letting rip at other players. Finally he went out of the room, and as the players were discussing his conduct Hes a bloody maniac, etc Peter suddenly appeared with towels around his waist and head, water dripping down his face. He had been in the bath, but the reason Fergie could not see him was that he had been hiding under the water. It was very rare for Fergie to say sorry. During those nine years of working with him, there were countless Fergie bullets aimed at me; I can recall only one time he put his hand up and admitted he had gone over the top. That was after a Manchester United-Aston Villa match, in which he lambasted me for giving the ball away on the halfway line, a mistake that led to Villa scoring. The next Monday he asked to have a quiet word with me, and said: Sorry about that on Saturday I went over the top. Generally, however, his favourite line was: The day I stop reacting like that is the day you need to worry. It is for your own good. One of the problems in my relationship with him was that the longer we worked together, the more I needed him to adopt a different attitude and approach with me. I needed him to treat me as an adult, not a kid; to have some respect for the fact that I was an experienced professional to whom abuse from the manager had become more of a motivational turn-off than a stimulus. I needed him to appreciate that my penchant for having a laugh and a joke, which he might have interpreted as a sign that I did not take my career seriously enough, was misleading. Not long after he joined me at Manchester United and took up from where he had left off with me at Aberdeen, I remember telling him: Listen, you spoke to me like that nine years ago. It might have worked well then, but it is not going to work now. But the screaming and shouting did not cease it just got worse and more personal. The reason it did so at Aberdeen concerned my decision to leave when my last contract there expired at the end of the 1983-84 season. I thought it was the right time for me to go for many reasons. Apart from the lack of any real challenges left for me in Scottish football, I felt I was justified in seeking a move for financial reasons. Money has never been the be-all and end-all for me. At the same time, as I was a married man with a family, I do not think anybody could call me greedy for wanting to exploit my earning potential a bit more. My gross annual income in my best years at Pittodrie was £30,000-£35,000. Not bad for Scotland, but far below what the leading players were earning in England. Contrast this with the offers I received from the two clubs that wanted to sign me from Aberdeen. Cologne were willing to pay a basic starting salary of £64,000, Manchester United £70,000. In those days the trend of Scottish footballers moving to England was a sore point with Fergie. He appeared to interpret it as those players having somehow sold out it seemed to offend his socialist principles. He could get particularly touchy about it when noting the trappings of wealth and fame some of those players displayed on their visits back to Scotland to join up with the national squad. In my case, his behaviour made me think that he looked on my decision to leave Aberdeen as a personal slight. At team meetings he would say: Where do you think youre going? Who would want a crap player like you? Against this background I panicked and elected to take matters into my own hands by signing a provisional agreement to join Cologne just before the end of the season. The pre-contract agreement was instigated and brokered by the German agent Bernt Killat, and I was honestly under the impression that it would not be binding if I eventually decided not to work in Germany. Look, there is only six weeks to go before the end of your (Aberdeen) contract, Bernt reminded me. What happens if you do not sign (for Cologne) and between now and the end of the season, you break a leg? You have to do something. In his book, Fergie wrote that he knew nothing about the deal, and that, as it coincided with the successful culmination of his transfer fee negotiations over my move to Manchester United, he was stunned when he heard about it. He said: Though I always felt there was a cunning streak in Strachan, I had never imagined that he could pull such a stroke on me. Fergies point about being in the dark on my dealings with Cologne, through Killat, surprised me. True, I did not discuss the matter with him or anybody else in the Aberdeen hierarchy, but no manager had his ear closer to the ground than Fergie, and I did wonder if Killat might have mentioned it to him. Killat was well known to Aberdeen, as the organiser of some club tours to Germany, and he and Fergie seemed to have a good relationship. Basically, my feelings about Fergies comments are that it works both ways. It boils down to the fact that because of his attitude to me, I did not trust him either. IN NOVEMBER 1986 he joined me at Old Trafford. It was a great move for him and Manchester United, but not, as it turned out, a great move for me. I had loved playing for Ron Atkinson at United. After being beaten with a big stick for so long at Aberdeen, it was refreshing to have a manager who trusted and appreciated me, and treated me as an adult. When Fergie moved to United, I had to endure the big stick again. In some ways I could understand that. As a newcomer to English football, he needed to impose his authority on the Manchester United dressing room quickly, to show everyone what was in store for them if they stepped out of line; and what better way to achieve that than through his dealings with me? Fergie wrote that when he arrived at Old Trafford I bore little resemblance to the player he remembered at Pittodrie. There was little evidence of the zest and cocky assurance that characterised his play in Scotland, he said. Verbally, he was as assertive as ever, with an acid wit that was often used in criticism of his teammates. But in matches, he appeared to be diminished by living in the shadow of the likes of (Bryan) Robson, (Norman) Whiteside and (Paul) McGrath. This observation will have come as a surprise to Atkinson, because even with Robson, Whiteside and McGrath in his team from the start of my United career, he still singled me out as his best player in my first season. I felt I was on fire, not just in that first season but in my first 18 months at United. I probably played the best football of my career over that period. In my last season at United, 1988-89, although I did not make a bad start, it was difficult for me to avoid the thought that I was living on borrowed time, especially when it became clear that the FA Cup was the only competition United had a realistic chance of winning. I knew I was not playing as well as I could and that once the cup run was over, I would be on my way out. Thats the way it turned out, with the end of my United career marked by the 1-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Nottingham Forest in March. Fergie was highly critical of my performance against Forests left-back, Stuart Pearce. He said: Strachan, to me, was like a trialist who had found himself completely out of his depth. He seemed to be intimidated by Pearce. Not one of my greatest matches, but whether my performance merited Fergies description of it was another matter. The next day he was knocking on my front door to tell me he no longer wanted me at United and that the club had agreed a deal for me with Leeds. I am not one to keep mementos of my career, but among the few still in my possession is the letter of congratulations that Fergie wrote to me after Leeds won the Second Division in 1990. It was a nice gesture, and he even suggested that he might have made a mistake in allowing me to leave United when I did. Knowing Fergie as I do, I would imagine that he felt less kindly towards me when Leeds pipped Manchester United for the old First Division in 1992. It says much about the tension in our relationship, however, that even as a manager I have found it difficult to discount the possibility of Fergie taking a particular interest in putting one over on me. The results that condemned Coventry to relegation, on the penultimate weekend of the 2000-01 season, were our defeat at Aston Villa and the surprise 1-0 win by Derby also in dire relegation trouble at Manchester United. Derbys success was not as difficult to explain as it might seem, because United had already retained the Premiership title and cannot have been expected to be as charged up as they would have been in normal circumstances. Fergie did not select what was considered to be his strongest team for that match which, again, is hardly unusual for a manager in his position. Even so, given his belief that I let him down as a player, I have always viewed Uniteds approach to the match against Derby with a degree of paranoia. It is sad that our relationship has come to this. One day it would be great to sit down with him and have a proper chat about our clashes, to bring our relationship closer to what it was like in its most harmonious periods. © Gordon Strachan http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2291221.html http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2291221.html --------------------------------- [4] Reserves --------------------------------- Posted Monday, July 31, 2006 by ed: United reserves are playing at Kettering Town Football Club on Thursday 3rd Aug 2006, kick off is at 7.45pm, tickets £10.50 terrace and main stand £15. --------------------------------- [3] From Preston...to... Amsterdam --------------------------------- Posted Monday, July 31, 2006 by ed: If anyone fancies writing a match/trip report of the Preston (or Macclesfield) games, you could get it features on here if it's well written! Also if anyone is going to Amsterdam and fancies writing a decent account of their trip/the games/etc, we'd love to see it - as usual [EMAIL PROTECTED] - thanks --------------------------------- [2] Fergie quotes --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by ed: http://www.people.co.uk/sport/ http://www.people.co.uk/sport/ 'SIR ALEX Ferguson has revealed how he is facing one of his toughest challenges - building a FIFTH team at Old Trafford. The Manchester United boss has come under increasing pressure this summer as his efforts to keep pace with moneybags Chelsea in the transfer market have faltered. But as Fergie approaches his 20th anniversary in the United hot-seat, he insists he retains the hunger and desire that has brought the club so much success. And in a revealing interview broadcast on the Audi Channel (Channel 884 on Sky), Ferguson also reflects on the special day when he was KNIGHTED, on his attitude to PSYCHOLOGISTS, his strict NO-DRINKING regime - and how he escapes from the PRESSURES of Premiership management. It is clear Ferguson is in no mood to ease up or bow to calls from some quarters to end his Old Trafford dynasty. But he does admit his latest rebuilding programme is a tough one. "We are building a new United at the moment and it's not easy because we're not getting the success our exploits in the past gave us. "And what you can't expect from young players is consistency - it's just not there. So a young player will make a mistake or lose concentration in the game and you lose your game. "But in my time at the club we've had to change the team five times. "And there's no-one in the Premier League who has got the experience of having to do that. "When a manager goes to a club he changes his team, but to do it five times is unusual, and that's only because I've been at the club for 20 years." Fergie has seen many big names come and go - the latest, of course, being Ruud van Nistelrooy. And he admits: "You get that fondness for players, that attachment and that respect, because of the service they have given you. "There have been some great players here but you come to that time when everyone's had his day. "As a player, I started to feel it at 32. I became a manager but others have to leave the club. "Bryan Robson went as a manager, Roy went to Celtic for a year-and-a-half, Steve Bruce went to Birmingham for a year. So, when the end comes, you say to yourself 'How am I going to survive without all these great players?' "But you have to find a way or Manchester United is just not Manchester United. "It's a great challenge to have to deal with that." Although there are expected to be some arrivals over the next couple of weeks, there have been whispers that Ferguson may have lost his edge. It is an allegation he strenuously denies. Explaining his philosophy towards the job, he says: "I always say this to the lads, the coaching staff and the ones who become managers, 'I tell you, when you get into this job it's a commitment. When you slacken, you're away, you get brushed aside.' "So I can't slacken and I don't find it easy to slacken, anyway. "Through maturity I've been able to get less obsessive about the job than I was and probably add more thinking to it, rather than the instinct of management when I was young. That has all changed. "But one thing is for sure ... when you get into management, it's a commitment. "You're dealing with a lot of aspects of the football club and you can't do it part-time." Ferguson will mark two decades in charge of United in November. And as he nears that amazing landmark, he reflects on the upbringing that gave him his legendary work ethic. He says: "I remember one journalist writing 'He's done well despite coming from Govan'. "And I said, wait a minute ... because you come from places like that is what makes you. "In terms of discipline, there's no doubt that it has always been what your father demanded or expected of you, and the mother expected of you. And it stays with you all your life." But Fergie claims he is mellowing as he heads towards that 20th anniversary. He said: "My character is more or less embedded in me. "Of course, over the years, I've become a lot more sophisticated in certain aspects of my management. "I'm not as hot-headed as I was, say, when I started at 32 years of age. "And there has been a mellowness in my management over the last 10 years, I would think. "I'm not saying it makes you a better manager but it makes you a more mature manager." The full interview with Sir Alex Ferguson can be found on the Audi Channel on Channel 884 on Sky. Fergie on ... public speaking I'VE done talks to a few banks, major banks, over the years, and they pay a fantastic fee. But on each occasion I've only taken it on because I thought it was a subject worth doing, for my own benefit, too. When I was at Aberdeen I was asked to do a thing for Volvo trucks, way back in 1980-81, about motivation. To be honest, I never considered motivation a subject I ever studied. To me, it was a natural thing, how I went about my job or how I motivated players. So I sat there thinking about it before I went into this conference. And, when I walked out into the auditorium, there were 2,000 people there - I nearly fainted. I stumbled through it really. And the guy who organised it, who was a smashing lad from Aberdeen, said: 'Oh you did well, you were fine.' And I tried to say, where did I start? What had I when I started as a manager? I played the game, I had a coaching badge, that's all. But what I had, and I always had as a young kid, was I could make a decision. Fergie on ... his private life 'YOU can reflect and think about things in the car. I've got a lot of CDs but before I changed to the new car I was studying the American Civil War. Gordon Brown sent me 48 CDs and I was playing them, going through the various stages. I've got a fascination for history - I've just finished books on Irish and Scottish history and the American Revolution of 1776. The problem, of course, with history is that the modern books have to depend on research from the past. I'd imagine they'd have to copy a lot of previous things. About six people have done biographies of me and it's probably just the same thing all the time, regurgitated. When one guy I'd never heard of claimed to have spoken to 80 friends of mine, I said: 'You're a lucky man to have 80 friends.' My dad said: 'You only need six to bury you!' Why anybody would want to buy an autobiography of Alex Ferguson - Christ, it's there every day of the week, isn't it? It's not as if I've got a private life - when you're with Manchester United you're not expected to have one. If you think about it, if I went back 19-and-ahalf years ago and they said 'The press are going to be terrible', I wouldn't have refused the job, would I? No. It is a very different job now than the one I started in '86, just the scale of it. It's a monster. Sometimes I'm in the office in the afternoon and I've finished all my work and I'm sitting, looking out the window and I'm thinking of things to do. And I say to myself: 'I wish somebody would come and knock at my door', because everybody thinks I'm busy. Isn't it sad that you end up going out of your door to search for somebody to talk to. It's not an easy job I'm in. I think to be successful as a manager you have to have vacuums where you can think to yourself. I used to think a bit about going into a cocoon almost, and whatever people were saying to me was going over the top of my head, unless something important about the team came up. You hear football clubs are all the same, and maybe you'd get the assistant manager come in and he would say 'Oh, I heard such and such is having an affair with such and such.' And it's going over the top of your head, you're not even listening. But then he'll say something, maybe talk about the opponents for Saturday, and immediately you'll cue in again. You're back in life. So you come out of your cocoon, back into the job. But it's important to get that time in your life, where you have space, where you can think for yourself, and think about what you're going to be doing.' Fergie on ...booze WHEN I joined the club I made this promise: I would never drink at my job - ever - and I've never done that. I remember Howard Wilkinson coming across to talk to me about the academy and he brought a bottle of wine. And I said: 'Howard, I don't drink during the day.' And he said: 'Have one glass.' It was off, the wine was off! I thought that was God telling me you shouldn't drink during your working day. That was one thing, I always kept that discipline. And I very, very, very seldom ever go for lunch. I always stay in the ground. I make sure I'm at my work-place and that's what I've always liked, I'm comfortable with that. And I have never invited people, friends, for lunch at the training ground. Now and again, there's one or two people who maybe drop by and see you but you've got to be careful. And you get a lot of that, and it's not a bad thing You know, people say: 'Can I come and watch you training,' coaches, or people, and you don't mind that. You have a bit of lunch with them but you know you're going to be starting your job right away as soon as you've had your lunch, and you're back to work. But you get a lot of coaches coming across to watch your training. In a way, I suppose, if I've got the time, I learn something from them anyway. Some of the Italian and French coaches come across and it can be quite refreshing. Fergie on ... psychology I GET a lot of letters from sports psychologists wanting to come and work for Manchester United, and I'm always against it. One guy kept writing to me, telling me what a great job he was doing with the club he was with at the time. I'd seen some aspects of that club and I said: 'No, if that's how your work's showing through, forget coming here.' My view is that it's my job. Plus I think players will trust the manager more than they trust anyone, and that's got to be the case. If they can't, they're at the wrong club, and they've got the wrong manager and you've got the wrong player. That trust is earned through time. I've been here that long the players know who I am, they know what I am, and they know where I come from. And I've always been that way, I'm straight. Maybe they don't like to hear it, but they know it's the truth. I've not really changed much in my discipline of management. I try to treat everyone the same. I get the odd complaint from players. I always remember with Robbo the players said: 'Oh, you never give Robbo stick.' But Robbo, like Keanie (pictured right), almost mirrored me. They were what I wanted. That desire, that demand - they became desperate at times to win. You could see it coming out of them, and Mark Hughes. Some great professionals, winners, great winners, the Nevilles, they're like that. I'd criticise the players at half-time and full-time but during the week I always praise them, never criticise anyone in training sessions. But I expect, come the Saturday, that we get results because with the training we've given them we should be getting results. And that's the testing time. Once the game's over, I put it aside and never mention it again - that's it, done - because I'm on to the next game. I've no time to go back. Fergie on ... his knighthood IT WAS quite a day - a very, very special, proud moment. The knighthood was something I was a little bit scared of. And my wife said: 'What would your dad think?' My brother Martin said my dad would have been absolutely delighted. There's something about working-class people that they seem to always want to doff their cap all their life. I don't think it's right and I don't think it's fair. I was really nervous about it, but the way I looked at it I've worked hard for it. You get people with less profile jobs than I've got that do probably more service for the community or for the world at large who don't get recognised the way football people do. Nevertheless, I felt I'd worked hard and I'd put a lot into my football life so, at the end of the day, I wasn't that embarrassed about it. The success of my football, whether it's at Aberdeen or United, has been quite significant. After it all sank in and after I accepted it, people said to me: 'That's fantastic - your dad would have been proud, your mother would have been proud of you.' And my auntie phoned from Canada and said: 'Oh, your dad would have loved it, going to the Palace and sitting beside the Queen.' --------------------------------- [1] Ronaldo needs a minder --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by ed: from People 'MANCHESTER UNITED are preparing to launch a major security operation for the return of World Cup pariah Cristiano Ronaldo - who is expected back at the Carrington training complex tomorrow. I understand discussions have already taken place between club officials and United's security team and Ronaldo will be shadowed by dedicated minders. A United source told The SP last night: "We don't yet know what will happen until Ronaldo actually arrives. The manager is playing things down and insists there won't be a problem either between Wayne or Cristiano or a security issue. "The club are well versed in handling security matters and they have the experience of dealing with players like Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Roy Keane, who have all been in the public eye. "Ronaldo will be looked after in the same way all the first-team players are treated. As far as the manager is concerned he's just another United player returning to training. "Sir Alex is well used to these situations and he'll make sure things return to normal as quickly as possible." --------------------------------- [10] Jol on Carrick --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "Michael Carrick was always a terrific servant to this club and he never moaned even when we told him he had to stay a couple of weeks ago. "The only thing he said was that he wanted to go to Manchester United for the challenge and Man Utd are a terrific club. "In the end they had to compensate us and good luck to him. "Michael is an honest lad and hopefully he will do as well for them as he did for us." --------------------------------- [9] Strap on on being reunited at OT --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "In November 1986 he joined me at Old Trafford. It was a great move for him and Manchester United, but not, as it turned out, a great move for me. "I had loved playing for Ron Atkinson at United. After being beaten with a big stick for so long at Aberdeen, it was refreshing to have a manager who trusted and appreciated me, and treated me as an adult. "Not long after he joined me at Manchester United and took up from where he had left off with me at Aberdeen, I remember telling him: "Listen, you spoke to me like that nine years ago. It might have worked well then, but it is not going to work now." "But the screaming and shouting did not cease - it just got worse and more personal." "It is sad that our relationship has come to this. One day it would be great to sit down with him and have a proper chat about our clashes, to bring our relationship closer to what it was like in its most harmonious periods." --------------------------------- [8] Strap on on Aberdeen --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "One of the problems in my relationship with him was that the longer we worked together, the more I needed him to adopt a different attitude and approach with me. "I needed him to treat me as an adult, not a kid; to have some respect for the fact that I was an experienced professional to whom abuse from the manager had become more of a motivational turn-off than a stimulus. "His behaviour made me think that he looked on my decision to leave Aberdeen as a personal slight. At team meetings he would say: 'Where do you think you're going? Who would want a crap player like you?"' --------------------------------- [7] Strap on on Fergie's autobiography --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "As much as I admire Fergie for what he has achieved, I have to admit this is offset by the memories of the deterioration in our relationship. "As indicated by his comments about our time together in his 1999 autobiography Managing My Life, it would seem that Fergie is not too enamoured with me either. "Those comments, which related mainly to my desire to leave Aberdeen and Manchester United, and included Fergie stating that I "could not be trusted an inch", surprised and disappointed me. I know I made one or two mistakes in my dealings with him, but I feel there were mitigating circumstances." --------------------------------- [6] Torres agent doing some fishing? --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "Fernando at this moment does not feel he needs to comment on declarations about the future. He's been with Atletico Madrid since he was a child and it's logical he will show loyalty to them above everything else. "He's a symbol of the team, but we know that Milan has followed him for many years and we cannot deny that they appeal to us, even if for the moment nobody from Milan has spoken to us." --------------------------------- [5] Ole on 10 years at Utd --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "Ten years is a long time to spend at a club like United and it has gone very quickly indeed. "I didn't know until someone told me earlier this week but when you think about it, I was twice the age of a few of my team-mates. "I am still enjoying every day, my knee is fine and I just want to play as much as I can." --------------------------------- [4] Master Bates has a pop at the life long red --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: "Chelsea are the most reviled club in Europe." "Kenyon stood up at a meeting and said 'These rich Americans are all going to support us'. "He was booed. They said: 'F*** rich Americans, we're Chelsea fans.' They've become a brand like Pepsi or Coca-Cola. --------------------------------- [3] Senna deal done? --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: Sunday Mirror: SIR ALEX FERGUSON will seal his revamp of Manchester United's midfield by completing the £4million capture of Villarreal linchpin Marcos Senna this week. The Old Trafford boss has agreed an £18m deal that will see Tottenham's Michael Carrick move to United, and Fergie has also sealed an agreement with Villarreal for Senna. Sources close to the Spanish international enforcer claim that United have agreed to meet the asking price for Senna and that the midfielder is happy with the £65,000-a-week wages being offered. Senna, 30, born in Brazil but the holder of a Spanish passport, impressed Ferguson during Villarreal's march to the Champions League semi-finals last season. Villarreal accounted for United in the group stages and Ferguson feels he has finally found a player capable of giving his team the physical presence they have lacked since Roy Keane left the club in November 2005. Villarreal were ready to offer the midfielder a new four-year contract to keep United at bay. But once Ferguson confirmed his interest, the Spaniards soon realised that Senna wanted to move to Old Trafford. --------------------------------- [2] He really doesn't get it, does he? --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: Bryan gimp on his 2 loves: 'I have two loves, American football and European football.' --------------------------------- [1] We have, have we? --------------------------------- Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 by tb: Bryan Gimp on us: 'I think they have [accepted us]. I think they've seen that we haven't turned the place upside down.' 'There aren't cheerleaders on the sidelines.' No, I don't understand that last sentence either. --------------------------------- [6] Skip to my Lou on Carrick --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 by tb: "There's nothing obvious that stands out that he will bring that others don't have." "That's not being disrespectful to Michael Carrick. His job is to make his mark and prove the money spent is money worth spending and stay in the team for a number of seasons." "He's a good footballer." "He has played for England and in the Premiership for a number of years. The question is can he handle playing at Old Trafford? It's a completely different pressure from playing for Tottenham or West Ham. The expectancy at Manchester United is to win the Premiership, Champions League and anything else you can throw in." --------------------------------- [5] Nigel Winterbum on Carrick --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 by tb: "He has certainly got fantastic talent and I am sure he is going to be a big asset to Manchester United. When they play in the Premiership they have a lot of possession, usually more than 50%, so they need creative players. When they go into the Champions League and come up against good teams will he still have that influence? I hope he can develop his game. "The main part of his game is long and short passing with both feet. At times when I was at West Ham I was waiting for him, in games where we were struggling, to take games by the scruff of the neck and change them round like Vieira did at Arsenal, but I don't think that's his style. He's not a big tackler. He can get forward but he will probably more sit in front of the back four and support and look to get on the ball." --------------------------------- [4] Tim Howard on Fergie --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 by tb: I hate to rely on a sports cliche, but I'm not looking to prove anything. I think I've proven myself. As an athlete, you want to continue to prove yourself. But I also understand it's a business. I think it's important to have that perspective. Ferguson didn't treat me exceptionally bad or anything. In fact, I have nothing but good things to say about him. It is a business. And that team in Manchester United is run like a well-oiled machine, and those kinds of cutthroat decisions happen. So I can appreciate that side of it. For me, it's just about looking forward to this year and seeing how this goes and putting everything I have into this year. --------------------------------- [3] Pique on Fergie the father figure --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 by tb: "But I think although he'd be disappointed for Scotland, he'd be happy that one of his players was a European champion. "Sir Alex has become my second father. He helps me with everything. "When I was living with a family when I first moved to Manchester, he would ask every day if everything was okay. It was perfect for me." --------------------------------- [2] Pique on upsetting Fergie --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 by tb: "I haven't yet spoken to my manager but I will when I return to Manchester on Monday.If we win the game (U19 European Championships), I don't think he'll be too happy. I scored two goals against Scotland earlier in the tournament, so he will already be a little upset. --------------------------------- [1] Fergie on Rossi --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 by tb: "We want to see Giuseppe progress as a centre-forward and it is looking more likely he will stay with us now." --------------------------------- [42] Something for the weekend, sir? --------------------------------- Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 by ed: Red News Summer Edition. RN 126. Out July 17th. In the UK £2.50 inc p&p each copy ROW £3.50 inc p&p each copy To order click on https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=rednewsweb%40mac%2ecom&item_name=Red%20News%20Single%20Copy%20Order&item_number=Red%20News%20Single%20Copy%20Order&no_shipping=0&no_note=1¤cy_code=GBP&bn=PP%2dBuyNowBF&charset=UTF%2d8 https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=rednewsweb%40mac%2ecom&item_name=Red%20News%20Single%20Copy%20Order&item_number=Red%20News%20Single%20Copy%20Order&no_shipping=0&no_note=1¤cy_code=GBP&bn=PP%2dBuyNowBF&charset=UTF%2d8 5 Red News' from last season for JUST £5 INCLUDING p&p in UK... £9 ROW... 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Order by credit card or cheque at... http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shopec68.htmency_code=GBP http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shopec68.htmency_code=GBP UNOFFICIAL ALTERNATIVE SHIRTS http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shop64.htm http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shop64.htm http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shop65.htm http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shop65.htm Back Issues http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shopsub2.htm http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shopsub2.htm --------------------------------- [41] Ruud on Fergie and thanks fans --------------------------------- Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 by ed: "My relationship with Ferguson had ended which was very painful. He did a lot for me, waiting for me while I was injured then giving me the chance to play and giving me confidence, But what happened, happened. A good relationship ended. It was very disappointing for me. I finally decided my time was over after the (League) Cup final.That was when I became unhappy. It had nothing to do with the club or the fans. It was the relationship with the manager that broke. I thought it was best to leave. I had an incredible five years in Manchester and I will always remember my time there and the unconditional support from the fans. I never got to say goodbye to Ferguson but there is plenty of time for that. I owe him a lot and that is why it was so painful." --------------------------------- [40] Jol on Carrick --------------------------------- Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 by ed: "This is a move that Michael wants to make. We have given him every reason to stay, but he has asked to be allowed to leave." --------------------------------- [39] Interesting Ruud comments --------------------------------- Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 by ed: from sportinglife 'Van Nistelrooy admitted his relationship with United began to sour when he was left out of the starting line-up for the Carling Cup final. "When we played the final in the `copa', that's when I started to feel unhappy.'' Asked whether Real were his number one choice of destination, the 30-year-old added: ``Madrid is always a first choice, it's just no question.'' When it was put to Van Nistelrooy that the reason for leaving United was the fact that manager Sir Alex Ferguson was supporting other players and not giving him the support he deserved, he replied: ``You summed up my feelings quite well.'' Van Nistelrooy believes he has a great chance of claiming European silverware with Real, but insists the nine-times European Cup winners have no divine right to win it. "You have to deserve it. Real Madrid has great qualities but you have to prove it on the pitch, not by talking.'' Van Nistelrooy insisted he had been made to feel ``very welcome'' since arriving in the Spanish capital. "I landed in Madrid very early today and from that moment on I got a very warm welcome. The representatives of the club were fantastic and I was delighted to see the fans in the stadium. The reception they gave me was incredible and I'm thankful to them.'' Van Nistelrooy also backed the club's pursuit of Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who has been linked with a move away from AC Milan following their points deduction for match-fixing. "Everyone knows his qualities,'' Van Nistelrooy said in a press conference televised live by Sky Sports News. "Every team in the world would welcome him with open arms.'' --------------------------------- [38] More Ruud --------------------------------- Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 by ed: "It is fantastic to be here. I am very happy to be at the best club in the world where I want to score many goals. It is wonderful to be here, it is a fantastic feeling. I am very moved at being presented today and then travelling to Austria (for a pre-season tour). To come to Real Madrid is a football dream and it has finally become reality." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For United books, videos, DVDs etc http://www.rednews.co.uk/ama.php?id=amazon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the very latest news check out the website: http://www.rednews.co.uk Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RED_NEWS_MUFC_NEWS/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
