May 31
No one’s bigger than the club.
“No one’s bigger than the club”
How many times have we heard that said? How many times has that old cliche been rolled out in a bid to justify a decision that’s (arguably correctly) been taken to remove an ego from Manchester United?
An unwanted presence, be it at the club, in the changing rooms or on the training ground, is a problem that’s best dealt with decisively and a problem that Manchester United and in particular Sir Alex Ferguson, has never had a problem with. But after 25 years at the helm, have we witnessed the rise of the only person in history to defy that old cliche?
Sir Alex Ferguson’s list of high-profile fallouts is likely to be a relatively short one compared to that of the low-profile, unreported ones.
In 1999, a year which saw Sir Alex create history by becoming the first manager to achieve winning the Treble, in his autobiography entitled Managing My Life he says “I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry” in reference to Gordon Strachan.
Strachan was at United from 1984 to 1989 and had successfully played under Sir Alex at Aberdeen before signing a pre-contract with Cologne behind Sir Alex’s back. It was this insidious act that sowed the seeds of a relationship that would give the football world its first indication of how ruthless a manager Sir Alex would be, and how a personal rift would be played out at a professional level.
The move to Cologne fell through, instead Strachan signed for United leaving Sir Alex behind him in Aberdeen, little was he to know that Sir Alex would follow him down there two years later. In Strachan’s own autobiography he admits “When Fergie moved to United, I had to endure the big stick again”.
Paul Ince was signed from West Ham United to replace Strachan but he too became a victim of Sir Alex’s no nonsense ‘I’m the boss’ approach.
After Ince infamously knocked on Sir Alex’s door and pointed a rifle at his head demanding to be played on Saturday while telling him to “stop picking on me”, there was no way back regardless of how ‘tongue-in-cheek’ the stunt was. Sir Alex would go on to publicly label Ince “a big time Charlie” and “a bottler” before showing the self proclaimed “Guv’nor” the door in 1995 to Inter Milan for a mere £7.5M.
Bryan Robson, Paul McGrath and Norman Whiteside were all a problem for Sir Alex thanks to their liking for a pint or seven probably more often than was befitting a professional footballer, all three would suffer varying degrees of acrimony with ‘The Gaffer’ before being farmed out under the premise of injuries or in Bryan Robson’s case, old age.
Selling Whiteside and McGrath at the start of season 89/90 was a huge decision, both were hugely popular amongst United fans who at the time were not exactly on Sir Alex’s side thanks to a slow, unimpressive start to his tenure. Personally I think the popularity of Robson, and the furore that would have ensued had he been sold, meant he remained while the other two went to Everton and Villa respectively. I believe Sir Alex wanted all three out but opted to give Robson a chance to show he could adapt to the new rules and welcome in a new era thus securing himself his already almost assured place in United folklore.
Jaap Stam, another hugely popular figure amongst United fans (and still to this day), was the next to feel the wrath of Sir Alex after proclaiming in his autobiography that Ferguson had illegally tapped him up from PSV in 1996. Of all the public spats with his players it’s widely regarded that the sale of Stam is the one and only time Sir Alex got it wrong from a football point of view with Ferguson himself (years) later admitting that “At the time he had just come back from an achilles injury and we thought he had just lost a little bit. We got the offer from Lazio, £16.5m for a centre-back who was 29. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. But in playing terms it was a mistake. He is still playing for Ajax at a really good level”.
In 2003 came the highest of high profile incidents, this time the player was in no mood to be taken lightly or go quietly.
United had just been beaten in an FA Cup match by Arsenal at Old Trafford in February when a furious Sir Alex kicked a boot in the face of David Beckham who was, understandably, not impressed. The next morning would see Beckham publicly stick a premeditated middle 
finger up at Sir Alex and used his ever increasing celebrity to provide the media with the now iconic image of him driving to training with his hair up and sporting the biggest butterfly plasters you’ll ever see on such a tiny cut over his left eye. This act of defiance and (in Sir Alex’s opinion surely) this lack of respect (such is the arrogance of Sir Alex) warranted the player leaving the club he’d loved and supported all his life and made 394 appearances for at just 28 years old. A few months later Beckham was shown the door and allowed to leave for Real Madrid on the cheap, shirt sales on the first day alone would have covered the £25M they paid United for his services, god knows the figure Beckham was actually worth to United and exactly how much wealth it created for Real Madrid and lost for us.
For me, David Beckham; footballer, World renowned superstar, icon, Olympic figure, brand, public speaker, Manchester United legend and much more, would be an ideal candidate for Ambassador of our fabulous football club alongside Bobby Charlton, but one man stands in the way of that. Surely that can’t be right…..or good for the club.
The same year (2003) would provide the catalyst for what many United supporters believe brought us to where we are today; owned by The Glazers, riddled with debt and unable to compete at the highest levels of the transfer market despite being the most profitable football club in the World.
With J.P McManus and John Magnier major Manchester United share holders (holding approximately 30% at the time) and on the brink of purchasing the club, Sir Alex became embroiled in a dispute with Magnier over the ownership rights of the horse Rock of Gibralter that would see the pair settle in court before Magnier & McManus brutally sold their share of the club to the vultures in waiting.
A year later in 2004, son and agent Jason Ferguson was heavily condemned in a BBC documentary after featuring in The Independent newspaper over allegation’s of transfer irregularities, or to me and you ‘bungs’. From then until recently Sir Alex refused to give interview’s to the BBC. With Match of the Day having the rights to interview managers and the clubs having an obligation to speak to them after the matches, your guess is as good as mine as to who picked up the tab for the hefty fines received by the club for failure to comply…..was it Sir Alex or was it Manchester United? I know where my money would be.
2006, Ruud van Nistelrooy, another player sold thanks to a personal spat with the manager, this time for an alleged training ground bust up with then precocious talent Cristiano Ronaldo.
Wes Brown has since gone, Tomasz Kuszczak is on his way out, Dimitar Berbatov must have done something wrong and looks to be on his way out of the club after suffering the ignominy of winning the Golden Boot in 2010/11 yet finding it almost impossible to get a game or even get on the bench in 2011/12! All those are rumoured to have had disputes or issues with Sir Alex and vice-versa and I’m convinced there are others…..Roy Keane no doubt, Mark Hughes, Andre Kanchelskis, Lee Sharpe perhaps?
In 2010 Michael Owen found out that sometimes association alone can put you in danger without you even knowing it. When Darren Ferguson was sacked by Preston North End it started a chain of events that would ultimately have Owen frantically scrabbling for his phone and his horse boxes.
Sir Alex picked up the phone after his son’s sacking and immediately recalled all three United owned players (Ritchie De Laet, Matty James & Joshua King) back to the club. Trevor Hemming’s is the owner of Preston but is also the owner of a very successful stables. Hemming’s owns over 100 racehorses and so happened (at the time) to be in possession of three horses valued at £1M each, all owned by you guessed it, Michael Owen. On learning of Sir Alex’s reaction (stroke) retaliation, Hemming’s quickly picked up the phone to inform Owen that his horses were now tied alongside the A33* not far from a gypsy site and if he wanted them he could go and get them!
Is it possible Sir Alex is now ‘bigger than the club’? Is it possible the man is now regarded as, and has built an empire that now regards him as ‘untouchable’?
How many times have we heard the ‘I’ll do what’s right for this club’? Really? You appear to have done what’s right for you in the majority of these cases.
I doubt Manchester United could or would sack sack him and I presume he will leave the club only when he’s ready and not before, it will also only be onhis terms.
I’m not suggesting he should leave now or get the sack, but I’m certainly suggesting he’s got bigger than the club and maybe that old cliche has actually been found to be inaccurate.
What do you think?
*maybe inaccurate
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Tags: Manchester United
The_Philosopher (483)
Redrich (253)
Opti (215)
Stephen (187)
Moscow (150)
Brave article,
Good read too. I don’t think anyone who knows much about SAF thinks he’s an angel. He’s ruthless, selfish, bitter, and at times petty. However that’s all balanced out by the fact that he is a genius and the greatest football manager to have ever lived – and he really does love Manchester United. He’s a legend of the club and I think for what he has achieved he deserves to be acclaimed for his success rather than picked apart for his faults.
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Ferguson is a disgusting liar and a coward, I would almost put him in the league of Gill if it weren’t for all the success he has brought with his vengeful, dictatorial regime. Total power is technically more efficient than a democracy since decision making is quick and administration is easier. However, this dictator must also always make the right decisions and Ferguson is a human being which makes the role impossible to perfect. 20 years of unparalleled success have given him the ego to end all egos. When asked of the implications of the Rock of Gibraltar, he said ‘I don’t care, nobody does this to me’. When the hardcore fans who were priced out of the stadium made their voices heard, Ferguson told them to ‘fuck off and support Chelsea’. He has made a mockery of his socialist working class roots, and not just allowed the Glazers through the back door but has praised and fervently defended them as they raped and pillaged the club.
He is now unsackable and unquestionable, which in any business leads to complacency and loss of focus, and old age has also contributed to Ferguson’s decline. The current setup not only satisfies his totalitarian style but also enhances his achievements and mitigates his failures as the fans have a scapegoat, oh those terrible owners that Fergie has to be handicapped with. This logic has extended to Ferguson’s dodgy dealings in the transfer market as we continue to miss out on the cream of the crop, and this club deserves only the best players in the world. Everything that has a beginning has an end, Busby, Clough, Shankly have all set off into the sunset at some point. I love this club more than anything and I hope against all hope that we do not have the wilderness years of the post-Busby era and we do not make a sentimental and cheap decision in appointing someone from within the club like Giggs, Solkjaer or horror of horrors, Phelan. We need a younger Ferguson, and the only man I can think of who matches the competitive aggression, arrogance, siege mentality and the sheer number of trophies to contend with the Fergie that we knew and used to love before the Glazers is Mourinho.
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You forgot to mention the 12 Premiership title, the two Champions Leagues, the numerous domestic Cups, the World Club Championships etc etc.
What a ridiculous article, don’t you know about the charities he supports, the other managers who he helps daily, the letters he writes? People like Stam and RVN say they realised they were wrong and “making it up” with Sir Alex was “fantastic”. In fact Stam was at a dinner to celebrate Sir Alex’s United anniversary.
Beckham considers Sir Alex his second dad.
You have shown one side of him to fit your own story and agenda.
If you are a United fan then let’s see the story you write after Sir Alex has retired and we are where Liverpool currently languish.
Most of you fans who criticise Sir Alex have obviously only followed United since we have been winning trophies for fun. Do you think it is easy to win major titles?
Would you rather we had a “nice” manager like Dave Sexton, Wilf McGuiness or Frank O Farrell who all failed dismally.
I was stood on the Stretford End the day City beat us and we got relegated. We had to watch Liverpool win trophy after trophy whilst we picked up an odd Cup every now and then.
All that changed because of one man, Sir Alex. Its about time some fans woke up and realised this instead of looking for some angle to criticise him. Repeated success has spoiled some fans and many won’t understand what i am talking about until the great man is no longer there.
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Brave article Ian. What I love abt this site is that I get to question my beleifs about my beloved club and everything associated with it.
To be this successfull and managing super star egos day in and day out is not an easy task and only some one who’s got complete control over the club can do that. So in that sense Fergie needed to have have these traits ‘coz he could not have managed this long and this weel well without them.
As for being bigger than the club.well there’s no point discussing it really . He is bigger than the club and thats a fact.
I remember the prospectus for 500m that the glazer’s floated. The absence of Fergie, the manager(and by implication lack of trophies) was mentioned as a risk in it. So in effect the club did say that we win because of fergie being there and not because we have an amazing talent pool etc etc…
That in itself sums it up…
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Brave article mate. It makes sense as well, but I don’t think Fergie’s bigger than the club. Ultimately, he’s the one that is responsible for success and failure, which means we should take the good decisions as well as the bad ones.
His lack of commitment against the Glazers has surprised me, but we can’t criticise him for selling Whiteside and McGrath – changing the culture was pivotal to future trophies – and the same applies to Ince and Kancheskis.
Beckham’s case is a strange one, I loved him and still respect him as a man and as a player but I always refused to believe that Fergie aimed for his head when he kicked that boot, it’s almost impossible to be so precise. After he left we still managed to collect four league titles and a champions league and we replaced him with Ronaldo, something that might have never happened otherwise.
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Just for the record, the article isn’t really an opinionated one for a reason, it’s hard to criticise such a successful man, a man who’s brought me unbridled happiness over many years, that’s why I’m not criticising him I’m just asking the question because I feel he is bigger than the club now and that’s not healthy.
I wouldn’t question his decisions to remove *any* players, it’s *his* team and needs to have the right players to make it function the way he sees it. The ‘right’ players include players who don’t give him a problem, I totally understand that too, who wouldn’t want it that way.
But, not all of the decisions are based on players are they.
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@Ian: @Ian: thats a good way to put it. the facts are there to support your story while leaving room for the conclusion that it hasnt been a bad thing “yet”…
Fergi is a dictator not to be crossed to be sure, but he is our dictator.
He has a direction he wants the club to go and an endgame. A football team can not be a democracy and be successful at the highest levels. One plan must be followed. No one has or will best him in his time as a manager, he is too far ahead with not enough time on the clock for another manager to catch him. he will retire as the best ever. Even the best ever is human and has human faults.
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As moscow mentioned above, 2 quotes that sum it up for me:
“Fuck off and support chelsea if you dont like it” made shortly after the glazers takeover in response to a concerned fans question about the future of the club.
“I dont care, no one does this to me” in regards to the magnier dispute, that was always going to have a negative effect on the club.
No one can dispute what the man has done for this club. No one can dispute what hes brought to this club. Lets make it clear:
ALEX FERGUSON IS THE BEST MANAGER THE GAME HAS EVER SEEN. Full fucking stop.
However, if were looking at ferguson the man, and not ferguson the football manager, you do start to see that alot of this makes sense.
As i said a week or so ago, to sum up fergie id say, a great great football manager. A not so great man.
In my mind whilst he will always be loved and respected for his achievements, he will never be loved and respected in the same manner a man like sir matt was and continues to be to this day.
Indeed, his unholy alliance with the devil (glazer) has more than left his legacy a little bit tarnished with a number of the fans.
That in itself is sad, but 100% a fault of fergie, and one that he should quite rightly, be criticised for.
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Hmm…very interesting. I get the point you are trying to make, but some of the “evidence” presented doesn’t come up to scratch.
1. If a player signs a pre contract behind the manager’s back, the latter would be right not to “trust him an inch” and throw him out
2. If a player refuses to be part of the manager’s plan to get rid of the drinking culture, then the manager should throw him out.
3. Staam making that allegation was just stupid. He made his own position untenable. If Fergie persisted with him it would have been an acknowledgement in many ways that the club (and not just Fergie personally) had tapped him up. Ditto Paul Ince. He should have known that you DO NOT do that with Fergie. Ditto Roy Keane – making his position untenable. By the by, if Fergie is a nasty egomaniac, what would you call Keano?
4. Ruud made that incredibly insensitive comment, and it was a matter of judgement. Borderline if you ask me.
5. Beckham – as someone else commented, it was more likely to be a freak outcome of the hairdryer, which incidentally, has also contributed to our success in tough times. Besides, Becks WAS becoming bigger than the club.
6. BBC – I strongly doubt there was any substantial evidence of wrongdoing. If there had been, they would/could have sued. I don’t remember the figures, but I do recall that in the larger scheme of things the fines were peanuts for the club, and if the club decided to stand by the gaffer, I for one would feel proud of it.
7. Pure speculation – Berbatov MUST have done something. Yeah, he must have shagged Fergie’s granddaughter or something. Personally I have no time for the treatment meted out to the Bulgarian, but top player falling out with strong willed manager is nothing new in the game.
8. Surely, Wes Brown and PIG’s exit had nothing to do with their footballing abilities?
You could say that the Preston thing was vindictive. The “fuck off to Chelsea” comment is inexcusable. There is genuine egocentricity and culpability in the Rock of G thing. And yes, there CAN be a debate about whether Fergie is becoming bigger than United.
But apart from his role in the Glazer purchase, and admit it, as fans we wouldn’t care two hoots about Paul Ince’s feelings today, had it had not been for the horsespunk episode, most of the anecdotal “evidence” you have presented says nothing.
Fergie IS the most compelling and complicated man in football in our generation. It’s almost pointless to try and analyze the man. For every Wes Brown, you have the club supporting a Hargreaves, for every BBC you have Fergie’s charities, his support for ex-players, etc. etc.
Life, and great men with strong personalities, comes in packages – you can’t do a teardown and evaluate each individual feature separately against those of another product. Enjoy the man, savour his greatness, be grateful for what he has done for the club, and by all means criticize.
But remember one thing – Glazers are not forever. Fergie’s legacy will outlive their regime comfortably. So let’s not get so frustrated (I hesitate to use the word bitter – after all, we are reds, not blues) just because we can’t compete with Roman’s ill gotten gains for a few years.
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I’m not disagreeing with any of that, I am merely asking the question “Is he bigger than the club?”
If the answer is yes then the cliche “no one’s bigger than the club” is a myth.
So what is it? Is Sir Alex Ferguson bigger than Manchester United or not? By the responses on here it’s looking like he is, well in that case, as a club that has always preached about how ‘no one’ is bigger than the club, I think they’re treading a fine line for the future. In fact, I can see the cliche being updated to ‘no one’s bigger than the club, except Sir Alex Ferguson’
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@Ian: Ian, that’s debatable. I wouldn’t say he is “bigger than the club”, but there doesn’t seem to be anybody around who has the balls to criticize him. And like I said, life comes in packages – we reap the benefits of that too. I am sure if we go 5 years without trophies though, that will change, meaning, his record speaks for itself. Nothing succeeds like success and all that, mate.
What I do not like at all is the way you build your case. Seems biased, and a lot like the way the modern day media like to pull down heroes. In my eyes, most of the data points you have shared are exactly what sets Fergie and United apart.
Honestly, it makes me feel that this article is just a result of the frustration at lack of transfer spending, though I have to say that I generally credit you with greater maturity.
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@Jeet: I totally agree, Ian seems for me has made this post to appeal to the usual arm chair fans who constantly abuse Fergie. He certainly has his faults, but calling him names is pathetic and short sighted. Some people need to appreciate what we have, rather calling “senile” for the fact he hasn’t signed yet another “Johnny Foreigner” who dreams of signing for Real or Barca. Has he made mistakes? Of course he has, but he has brought us more trophies than could have ever dreamed of.
Some fans have no class.
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@Stephen: I can talk about Ferguson as I please, and if that makes me classless then I’m prepared to risk that rather than aspire to be the elite fan you clearly are ie. stuck up Fergie’s ass. Funny how you don’t respond to my post but still call me an armchair fan. If you feel so strongly why don’t you challenge any of my points? Perhaps there are reasons why I call him names?
Seriously, this ‘I’m a better fan’ thing is becoming tiresome. We’re all United fans.
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@Moscow: I do respond, get back up Mourinho’s arse glory boy.
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@Stephen:
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Stephen, as your dislike of me grows as does the shite you talk.
What I mean by that is everytime you have something to say to me you assume and then speak out then later retract it or climb down.
Why don’t you try to extract the real thoughts/feeling of the people you’re interacting with before calling their opinions? Your posting lately has been lazy AND, as shown above ith the ‘glory boy’ comment, very very poor and childlike.
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@Ian: I talk shit do I? For the record I like you a lot, but thanks mate for that
, If I don’t agree with you or Moscow, who I have a lot of time for I will say then I will say it. If you think my posts are lazy then I will not bother posting here anymore.
Moscow no hard feelings mate, laters, I will be lazy elsewhere.
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@Stephen: If you’re going to leave then please be back for Euro 2012, I will be talking about midfielders and having digs at Fergie. I look forward to praising Mourinho together
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Which part of that article/thought I had promotes or is me creating a post to abuse Sir Alex? Oh, btw yes I do always refer to him as SAF or Sir Alex, Fergie is a little disrespectful given all he’s achieved and the fact that’s he’s a Sir.
Quote: “seems for me has made this post to appeal to the usual arm chair fans who constantly abuse Fergie”
And you’re proud of the ‘get back up Mourinho’s arse glory boy’ comment are you? Do you think any other forum (mods/members) you choose to engage with will think ‘ooh, this guy has a lot to offer’ if you turn up posting about other members crawling back up someone’s arse? You know the answer to that, you’ve got less chance of being banned on here than anywhere I’d suggest so good luck finding a posting home with comment standards like that.
I genuinely do think that when it comes down to replies to ME you choose to twist something (certainly over the last few months), either that, or you just get it completely wrong about me and then back track. Your interaction with people has changed from friendly to aggressive over the last few months, I was surprised by it at first, now it’s just become the norm.
I’m amongst very good company both young and old of good friends who have and do attend 1000′s of matches between us at all levels at home and abroad who believe that SAF is now bigger than the club, if you don’t agree that’s fine, end of story. But to become Mr Psychology over what the intentions of the article are (and btw be so far removed from the truth) is a tad irritating tbh.
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@Ian:
Good read man. It is good to raise questions and create debate. Hat goes of to you
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@Moscow: @Stephen: @RedEyes: Thanks. As you can see from the article it wasn’t/isn’t an attempt to slur the manager at all, it merely asks a question and highlights some of the questions that are in the public regards his personal relationships and how it effects the club.
At every point i refer to him as Sir Alex, there’s a very good reason for that….RESPECT.
Open your papers, listen to Talksport esp* and other radio/tv stations and he’s Fergie or Ferguson because they have a severe lack of respect for him and our club. It’s a shame that some can’t see the question being asked and only take the opportunity to see it as me Sir Alex bashing, I’m not.
btw, you’ve added a new dimension to the comments section in recent days/week since you arrived, great to see, thanks.
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@Ian: Differing opinions is what makes this site great, provokes a lot of emotion which is fine too as long as it doesn’t end up in verbal assault. I was going to absolutely let rip on Stephen but I can see that he is passionate about Ferguson and clearly cares a lot about the club. We’ve survived much worse, remember Grognard’s exit? It was armageddon
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Excellent post Jeet
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Great read, and obviously food for the Fergie basher’s
I would like to make a few short points if any one cares to read.
I think, let me repeat I think the Strachan thing left Fergie feeling betrayed. I imagine as a manger it is frustrating to have a player say one thing to your face and go behind your back and do another. When I was a business manager I have experienced this several times and I did not like it. If I am betrayed I will give it to any one who cares to listen and both guns to your face.
Has any one ever had a good word to say about a girl who shagged some one behind your back?
As for the famous united drinking club of the 80′s that needed breaking up. Whiteside was injury prone and a bit of piss head by all accounts (my first united hero by the way) McGrath was an alcoholic and Robson was injury prone and a bit of a piss head by all accounts. I would not be surprised if Fergie would have wanted them all out. But for political and football reasons kept one, Robbo was the one.
Ince sounds like he was a dick head then and when I hear him in the media is a dick head now. If some one knocked on my door and stuck a shooter in my face I would break them in two before I dropped them from my window, never mind my team. Good footballer yes, but we had Keane and our crop of youth coming up fast on the inside. At that time £8 million was a fair chunk of change for a footballer. The fact Fergie shipped him of to Italy shows he respected him as a footballer and did not want him coming back to haunt him twice a year.
Stam, that was a fuck up, a gamble. But a fuck up, You dont win them all though. An achelies injury in a 30 year old defender and some one offers you £16 million. Like I say gamble. Maybe several meetings were held with the medical team and the thought was to take the money and run. We could have got £16 million and sold Lazio a Hargreaves. Unfortunately Stam played on and never became injury prone. I dont buy the press reports about the book. I dont buy press reports as they are full of sensationalism and lies.
Becks, I see Fergies point to a certain extent . He was a circus and a media magnet. Fergie hates the media. two plus two equals four and bye bye Becks. The loss of Becks hardly held us back did it? I was upset that we let him go for such a stupid fee. But that PLC board was pretty bad at selling players. I thought the way they bought players was bad. But Becks for that price GOOD GOD. No wonder Madrid have felt they could rape us ever since.
Fergie getting knighted was a disaster in my book. Can you turn a knighthood down. I dont know. But a disaster it was. Take a man with a big ego. You need a big ego to manage united to the level he has and give him a knighthood. Makes me believe the queen is a scouser or a city fan and wanted to bring us down a peg or two from the inside.
Rock of Gibraltar I said my bit in the last thread. It was a fucking disaster and an act of arrogance and greed on Fergies part. To be fair he was not to know we would get Glazer the leech making use of the the great American invention “the leveraged buy out”. We could have got an Abramovich or a rich oil kid Arab and no one would be having this conversation, we would just be polishing our cocks in front of another picture of the European cup.
Telling the fans to go support Chelsea, not very clever. But the way most of our support is. It is nothing I have not said my self on many occasions. But then I am not the Manchester united manager.
Is he bigger than the club, probably. But 25 years is a long time and look where we are and where he has taken us. Look at the stadium now. If I was Fergie I would feel like I built that with my own bare hands. I would have a glow of pride so big I would look radioactive. When I work through the museum and I see the cups I had won. I would say “I did that” and I am a modest person. I do not have the characteristics to make it at the top of one of the most ruthless and cut throat industries aruund. Football is dog eat dog, hear today, gone tomorrow. You have to be stubborn, ruthless and arrogant to survive at the highest level. Never mind successful
I do propose the following thought. Bigger than the club or He became the club?
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@RedEyes: You have to also ask if if were not for Fergie, would a lot of our fanbase from abroad who bash Fergie even support United?
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@Stephen:
I like it, very good question to ask.
Would a lot of our fanbase from abroad who bash Fergie even support United?
You ask, I ask, will they answer?
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@RedEyes: I am sure they will, but the we know the outcome. The usual “Fergie is a liar and a coward, bring in Mourinho!”
Of course, he has never said a lie in his life, Anders Frisk, or bowed down to a rich owner, Shevchenko springs to mind. He certainly is the biggest coward in football, poking is finger in the eye of a fellow coach is cowardice personified, or playing no strikers against Barca 2 seasons ago…..
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@RedEyes: I’m not from Manchester, not born and bred Salford Manc, and apart from currently living in the Manchester area no ties in terms of heritage. My dad and I lived in Turkey and we came over here. I decided that Manchester United played the football that I believed in, and had players like Ronaldo who made me get out of my seat. I am first and foremost a football fan, I have developed strong emotions with United but it’s not a religion, I enjoy watching good football. I really looked up to Ferguson at first, but as the years wore on I feel that the club and Ferguson has lost its identity and formed my opinions accordingly. I appreciate what Ferguson has made me enjoy and his achievements before I supported the club. But he is not the same anymore and no-one is past my judgment. He is not God and I will have a love-in about him or tear him to pieces as I see fit.
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@Moscow: The support we have from abroad really makes us the club we are. Fergie has many faults and is certainly not beyond criticism, but he also doesn’t deserve to be called “senile” and the other abuse you have given him.
I
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@Stephen: He earns fuckloads of money, has insulted and threatened a lot of people including our own fans, lied through his teeth and sabotaged the club for his own gains. He has an ego to match too, and I’m pretty sure if he could read my comments about him he would laugh it off because you take the offense on his own behalf.
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@Moscow:
It is as I thought Moscow and I am not putting you down. In my eyes this is a generation thing. I rememeber the days of big Ron. So that shows my age.
He’s fat he’s round. He bounces round the ground big Ron, big Ron.
I loved that chant.
Fergie is a god to many reds. Just ask my grandad. He’s 90 this year. Been going to united since he ws a kid. Seen it all. He used to forget his season ticket and they let him in because they knew his face.
He adores what Fergie has done. “We would not be the club we are without him son” My gramps says “he was a fool over the horse spunk situation” and echoes my thoughts. “They dont call them the horse raceing mafia for nothing son” But his wise old face also says “we all make mistakes, great men try to put them right, even if they dont they try. Never run away son”
A wise man who I have so much respect for (who is not with us any more rip) A great red sat me down and said
“when you are a kid you think the most important person at a club is the star player, then you hit your 20′s and think it is all down to the mnager. Then you grow up and realise it is the owner”
Fergie is a football man and respect to him for sticking with the jokers we have running this club.
With out him we would be in a great deal of shit right now. I stand by my point if it was not for the horse spunk fuk up Fergie would have gone by now. I guess deep down he feels he owes us. Keeping us at the top with this leech owning our club is one of his greatest achievments.
Yes the cracks are beginging to show a little in Fergie but after every thing he has given us. The 25 years of his life he has given us. He deserves not to be called senile or an old coot or any of that. And even with those cracks he is better than over 90% of the managers in the game.
For those that pine for Jose. Can you see him working to a budget or Glazer paying the money it would take to get him. Dream on
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@RedEyes: That’s a moving post mate and I will admit that I have not seen the hard times. I am spoilt but what I’m trying to say is the gravy train can continue if Ferguson wants it to. If he really regrets the horse spunk and the owners then he can do better than alienate the fans. He would leave behind a far better legacy if he confronted the Glazers.
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@Stephen: @RedEyes: Good question. Definitely fewer of us would support from overseas would support. But I know plenty of us from the ’90s who were drawn to united because we saw Kids our age playing against grown men and winning day after day.So many of us did actually came for united as we3 did not know who SAf was at that time…
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@RedEyes: “Bigger than the club or He became the club?” sums it up for me. And would Mother Teresa have ever won the prem, divine intervention or otherwise (not that Fergie didn’t have his fair share of that too
)!!??
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@Moscow:
I thought he should have stood up to the Glazers my self , but then I really thought about it and had a chat with some people and really thought about it again and these are my conclusions.
Fergie says I am not happy and chucks he toys out of the pram. He holds a press conference and call it how it is. We have a cancer running our club. We have no money, we can not compete any more. I am managing with one hand behind my back etc etc etc
What happens. One of two things in my book, but probably both.
Option 1.
Glazer sacks him and looks for a bargain basement manager who will not confront the status quo or rock the boat in any way. Glazer gets a manager who will work to a tight budget. Probably tighter than the one Glazer currently “indulges) Fergie with. I dont think Fergie likes having Fergie round and probably feels he is “part of the word work”
I think Glazer would happily see that back of Fergie as it would save him a bucket load of money. Allowing him to go on a rapid 18 month asset stripping exercise before selling the club for a vast profit to what he paid out on purchase. Having cashed in on the asset stripping program. Many corporate business books will teach you this practice if you do not already know of it.
This would leave a mess that would probably take over a decade to put right. If we could find another genious manager that is. After all Fergies don’t grow on trees
Option 2 Fergie stays, moaning and bitching about the owners. The club becomes unstable. Players wonder what is going on. The manager is in the press having a go at the owners. Saying we have no money and we are going down the drain.
Player contact agents “get me out of here” Agents contact players “I am getting you of this sinking ship” Players leave at discount prices as players and agents have the power and when they want to go. They go. No one wants to sit on a sinking ship. Look at the titanic every one went over board on that one.
Either way chaos. You drop out of the top four and lose money and status and get he comparisons of the Roman empire. When that bitch fell it did so pretty hard
The alternative to options one and two, keep your head down, work with what you have got and see it as yet another challenge that your stubborn pig headedness refuses to be beaten by.
This is how I see it.. How would people like it to be or do you see it diferent, would love to know
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@RedEyes: Surely they can’t sack Fergie and get away with it? There would be chaos but our brand is too big there would be civil wars in the Middle East to decide who bought us ie. there would be A LOT of prospective buyers. Ferguson can then manage under the new owners surely? I’m not great with this takeover stuff so I’m going to ask my friend who works in corporate finance.
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@RedEyes: Im personally one of those who believes that he should have spoken out.
If, as he does, he knows the glazers have him over a barrel, then for the sake of the long term future of the club, he simply has to speak out.
Its doing us no good him keeping schtum. The only message its sending out to the glazers, is that its absolutely fine for them to keep raping and pillaging the club, as no one will say a thing.
If theyre doing that, taking liberties with the most powerful man in the english game, what chance does his successor have?
Not much by my reckoning, so were on a hiding to nothing even before the new man gets to work.
In any case we know its pointless going on about what fergie should be doing now they actually own the club, because we all know these leeches should never have been allowed to take over in the first place.
Aside from making the worst mistake of his life getting in deep with the coolmore mafia which eventually led to the sale of the club to the glazers, fergie also made his biggest mistake by not speaking out against the glazers before the takeover was launched.
Even gill had spoken out against the glazers, the famous quote “debt is the road to ruin” just exposes his hyprocrisy.
That was the time though, that fergie could and indeed should have come in like a knight to our rescue, and put paid to their takeover before it was completed.
Because he certainly could have done so. One word from fergie, adding to that quote from gill, and the banks who were set to loan glazer the money for the takeover would have been against the takeover, and it would have never happened. End of.
For what reason fergie remained schtum however, only he will know.
It remains to date however, his worst mistake in his career, and ultimately led us to be in the situation we are in today.
He, regardless of what anyone wants to say otherwise, is more than partly responsible for the glazers being here.
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@tonymontanna4united:
One word from fergie, adding to that quote from gill, and the banks who were set to loan glazer the money for the takeover would have been against the takeover,
Not in the slightest I am afraid, finance does not work that way. Fergie and Gill are employees and thus disposable and replacable.
The word of a manager (no matter how good at his job he is) would not have effected that deal. The manager is an employee. In high finance employees are expendable.
If united fell like a stone down the league in an 18 month period. The brand would remain a high value and the assets could be stripped at profit
You say Glazer could not have sacked Fergie. If Fergie was making disparaging comments against the club and owner. It would be his duty as a director to remove the unstable element in a bid to protect the value of the business (or brand if you like), as part of his fiduciary duty.
In creeating an unstable enviroment it is pretty clear players would want to leave or the agents of the player would want them to leve. Thus reducing the value the player holds. This would reduce the value of the club as a football players are little more than assets or numbers on a balance sheet when you consider football as the business it is. Unstable assets are the first to be stripped when a business becomes unsatble.
Fergie has acted in the best interests of the club or the business if you like in keeping his mouth shut. Keeping his head down and getting on with the job in hand.
The most effective thing a manager of Manchester united could do from a business perspective is finish second in every competition he enters. The reason for this the gate receipts are the same as wining and the TV income is the same as winning. The diference in prize money between first and second is neglagable. BUT in finishing second you remove player bonuses and the add on for winning competitions attached to player transfer fees.
For example in not winning the league this year we saved on the Phil Jones deal. You can argue about commercial revenues. But I imagine with a brand as strong as united’s that again would be neglagable for a few seasons at least.
I am not saying this is an agenda at the club. BUT had we finished second in the league, Chmpions league and FA cup. This would have been a perfect season for Malcome Glazer and red football ltd.
I just thought I would make that point while I was discussing finance.
The big question I have is, what is Glazers exit stratagy as virtualy every deal like the purchase of Manchester united is done with a clear exit stratagy.
Now that worries me more than if Fergie told a few fans to fuk of and support Chelsea. After all I do that every week.
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@RedEyes: Who knows, that may well be true mate. He could well have spoken out, seen the glazers takeover go ahead regardless and ultimately been sacked.
Atleast he’d have gone down fighting though. Atleast he’d have maintained his principles, and gone down as a hero.
Not that i expect fergie much to care, but these days i look at him and i hardly recognise the guy anymore.
His team selections, and the teams style of play are cowardly and cautious.
His transfers, or lack of, scream mediocrity and safety.
His refusal to blood the youngsters who dont cost £20m, is frustrating and again rather cowardly.
He just doesnt seem to be the same fergie anymore in any way shape or form.
I cant say for definite if him speaking out would have helped. But i choose to believe, and will continue to do so, that had he spoken out it would have made a difference.
His words could have made the difference between a few hundred fans voicing their displeasure, and tens of thousands.
The glazers i believe wouldnt have been able to cope with any of that. They wanted success and continuity. They werent going to get that sacking the manager.
They were going to see riots and 90% empty stadiums. They were going to get criticism and withdrawls of sponsors, most likely no CL spot and ultimately a lack of money.
They would have had half the squad up in the arms.
Could you imagine the likes of neville in particular going out and playing no problems despite seeing his surrogate father getting the sack?
As i say though, we’ll never know. This is all speculation. Maybe it matters maybe it doesn’t but the FACT is Ferguson said nothing, and only he knows why. And now, because of that we are at the mercy of parasitical owners that we can’t shift.
Owners he actively supports, who he calls terrific and good for the club
I can’t speak for anyone else here but for myself, I feel hurt and thoroughly let down by Ferguson. I expected so much more from him in all honesty.
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@tonymontanna4united:
You miss the point of what I am saying, I am not sure if that is through choice or my poor delivery. Either I way I am not in the habit of repeating my self. If you wish to debate with me I am happy. But please read again my comments as I have yours
I am happy to discus points, but repeating my self. No . My time is more valuable than that
I will say this. If Fergie had spoken out you would not have seen an empty stadium. You would not have seen riots.
The ability to protest has been eroded. To stage a protest at Old Trafford or surrounding it is near impossible as virtualy all of the surrounding land is now owned by a certain Malcom Glazer and as a result is his private property. If you do not believe me research the ownership of land surrounding old traford and the ability to protest on private land and public space. An issue I am passionate about and have blogged thousands of words on.
As for empty stadiums, after 20 years unrivaled success we have more over seas tourists who just want to experience Old Trafford. Most would not have a clue, who the manager is. All that want to do is experience the great Manchester united and buy some merchandise. As I have said that tide is in swing and would take time to cease. It would not be an over night “empty stadium” The flow of marketing does not work that way (Again a topic I have studied extensively)
it would take a season to dry up if ecery season ticket holder stopped going out of protest. The money is already in the bank. SO it would take 12 months to take effect. You can do alot to a business in 12 months.
If Fergie had spoken out we would probably be on to our 3rd or 4th manager by now (speculation devised from fact) and be in a situation similar to Liverpool. Mid table or worse. I imagine players such as Rooney, Nani, Valencia would have long gone
People proclaim Glazer could not do this or he could not so that when discussing this man.
Do you all only distrust and dislike him due to his lack of expenditure on the playing staff due to the debt. Having read this blog extensively the answer appears to be yes for many of you. That is where you are wrong. I will say it again you are wrong. You should distrust this man for more reasons than that. Research the Tampa bay side he owns and research his other business interests and gain an understanding of the evil little man. This asset stripping greedy little parasite is.
Then if you care about this club answer me this question. What are you doing to save this club. What is your stance, what is your impact. What effort have you made or do you just sit in your bedrooms on your lap tops moaning about not signing Hazzard or what other player is demanding obscene amount of personal wealth from the club they eventualy sign for.
I am happy to debate researched fact or well thought out intelligent opinion. But this “cant , will , wont” approach is a little bit to tabloid newspaper for me.
I mean no offence in my comments, but my question remain. Read back a few paragraph and respond to my question if you will please.
If you are doing nothing, do not be ashamed. Debate discuss take actions. Dont be another shit united blog full of spoilt “entertainment” junkies in a sulk as we did not pay another footballer £200k a week due to our crippling debt and their crippeling greed that is destroying this once beautiful game.
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@RedEyes: I have read your comments, and feel i have addressed them. If you dont think i have then thats fine.
I have been called a bit thick by others before, maybe thats the case again.
Maybe i do see things a little too black and white at times. Maybe i do read into things too much aswell.
The truth is, im a simple working class lad from Wythenshawe. Big money and finance doesnt interest me (although i can make sense of the financial reports that are usually published by andersred, and on the web quite easily. Particularly the figures that appear in red
).
Its not my passion though.
My passion is football, and of course united.
My hatred is for all things glazer, and their leeching off of my great club.
Nowt to do with transfers.
Nowt to do with wages.
Nowt to do with enticing the next “big time charlie” who the press link us with.
Everything to do with the club being used as a cashcow for a bunch of corrupt tossers, who are stripping this club bit by bit and being allowed to get away with it too by our fans and by our manager.
Some may say that is a bit sensationalist, but thats the way i see it nonetheless.
As i said, maybe i am naive and do show my young age.
But ask me honestly, do i think fergie could have made a difference in all this, and i say yes.
Maybe not directly after they bought the club, but in the run up to the takeover, before they actually owned the club, before they had the power to remove people from “their land”, before they were able to sack their “employees”.
Im talking before all that.
In any case, i think this whole debate is a bit pointless really, as talking about what we believe fergie should/shouldnt have done, isnt going to change anything now.
Were stuck with the ***** now, and there really is nothing we can do about it.
That doesnt seem to worry fergie or gill, but it does worry me, and alot of likeminded fans too.
In answer to your question, what am i doing about this?
Well i have given up my season ticket, which i held for nearly 15 years, and have not spent a penny on merchandise in over 4 years.
Might not make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but atleast i know im doing my bit, however small that may be.
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Not going to go through all the other comments. It’s a very tough article to write with only proven facts (or what we assume to be proven) stated. One thing you’ve got to remember is when Fergi says “No one is bigger than the club”, it is true. He even says it about himself. When he goes, just like when the players leave, the team will carry on. He also states very often that the most important man at a Football club is the manager. So he KNOWS that he is THE most important man at the club. He KNOWS that he isn’t bigger than the club. But he also KNOWS that’s he’s at the helm of it all and that he has a responsibility to remind the egotistical players that they are NOTHING in comparison to Manchester United and when his time comes, I can guarantee you that Fergie will say the same about himself. He knows his worth – but he knows Manchester United will carry on as it always has.
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Wow, first time I have posted on here and I suspect that it will be the last time. Having read the original article I felt strongly enough to take the author to task for his most one sided and almost vicious attack on probably one of the two most successful men in the history of Manchester United.
I have followed United home and away since 1971, been to every single final and numerous countries. I love United and everything that goes with it. What i can’t stand is the number of plastic fans that we attract who do nothing but whinge and whine and call for the managers head or want a player axing because we have lost or not won a trophy.
As if we are entitled to a trophy every year. You have to earn that and fight for that. We did that this season and with a decimated squad still nearly won it.
I thought all that was bad enough but then we have some bloke who comes on here and tells us that Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t a nice bloke and then proceeds to list everything he has done that wasn’t nice. Bloody hell you can’t catch your breath. Nothing in there about the other twenty odd years of stuff he has done.
And all you other slagging off the greatest manager of our lifetime should be ashamed of yourselves. Have a look in the mirror and you shouldn’t like what you see.
Whatever Sir Alex does, he does it for the good of Manchester United and if you don’t realise that then just head towards Stockport and see if you like the way City do it.
Unbelievable.
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@Michael Stewart:
Read my posts, would love to have a chat
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@Michael Stewart: I acknowledged all of Ferguson’s achievements before slagging him off. I even argued that his past achievements have contributed to his arrogance and complacency. I believe that Ferguson is his own man and has grown bigger than the club, which also means his interests may outweigh the interests of the club and the fans. I didn’t denounce my fandom for Manchester United, and I don’t see what insulting one man has to do with supporting a club. But no, hear a few unpleasant things about Fergie and you’re already telling me to go to Stockport if I don’t like it, in typical Fergie style. He’d be proud.
I bet he doomed the club to hundreds of millions of debt for our good too
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@Michael Stewart: Michael, it’s not about any of that, you’re line of attack is way wide of the mark. The post isn’t about abusing SAF it’s about highlighting the incidents that IF ANYONE ELSE HAD TRIED TO GET AWAY WITH would have been out of the club faster than you can say ‘Malcolm Glazer’s a leech’.
Where you watch your fopotball and for how many years you’ve done it has no relevance to the article or any comments. People on here know my ‘credentials’ so I’m not about to start top-trumping with you about how many games I’ve been to or where I’ve travelled to, I’ll leave that to the insecure supporter.
I have friends who have watched United all over the world AT ALL LEVELS, and some of them also believe that SAF is now bigger than the club. That doesn’t suggest he isn’t a great manager….he is. It doesn’t suggest we’re/they’re not grateful…..we are. It doesn’t promote abusing him (which tbf when Moscow calls SAF ‘senile’ I think he should have more respect). Thinking he’s bigger than the club is merely a question to you and others, his success etc hasn’t and never will be brought into question by me.
There’s nothing in the article about what he’s achieved you’re right, but as a fan of 40 years I wouldn’t treat you with the contempt to think you needed telling how many trophies he won for himself, our club and for us to shout about. The article asks a question. The fact he’s been so successful is TO ME another reason why he’s been able to become bigger than the club.
Is he sackable? Probably not.
Will HE decide who United’s next manager is? Yes probably.
Will he be given whatever role he wants once HE DECIDES to stop being manager? Yes probably.
Is there anyone above him at the club? Probably not.
Is he susceptible to making errors? Yes of course he is he’s human.
Is that a dangerous place to be as a football club/business? If you ask me, yes it is. SAF can make (and has probably earned the right to) whatever decisions he wants completely unopposed until whenever he chooses to. To me that’s an unacceptable position for the worlds biggest football club to find itself in, especially when he’s proved in the past that, if it’s in his personal interest, he’ll make what decision that’s right for him and not the club.
Hopefully he’ll know when to give the job up and do it at the right time and shift out of everyone’s way to get on with it without casting a shadow over the club like Sir Matt did, and if you know your history you will know that’s the truth.
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@Ian: If you really want to highlight the incidents,then just mention what we are today and what we were before him.Rest really does not matter.
Btw,King Kenny seems to be the best person who always supports his players and spends too much.Is that important or the trophy cabinet of which we are proud of ?
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I think the rest really does matter Owen plus, you are another one who is missing the point.
Is he bigger than the club? Yes or No?
Despite the to-ing & fro-ing on here and the sniping within this article, the fact is that almost to a man the consensus is that SAF really IS bigger than the club, as far as I’m concern it’s THAT that’s important and the rest of what we’re talking about/calling each other is the bits in between that don’t matter.
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@Ian: I would say mate that Fergie THINKS he is bigger than the club, the fact is that the club has and will always be bigger than him. Someone needs just to tell him, I will leave that to the ever likable and realiable Mr Gill….Not
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BY the way that picture of Fergie rubbing his titts in your article . Did you photshop the puffa jacket on for decensy purposes.
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Let me just clear things from my end. I totally understand the views from some about Fergie becoming an overlord at United. He is far too powerful and gets away with things which he should answer to, eg the bizarre Bebe and Tosic transfers, I am sure he personally did well out of them.. He walks between the raindrops at United, doing and saying what he wants, when he wants. This is concerning issue, we are stuck in a scenario where we are as I have stated before in a Stockholm syndrome situation. Without him the club could heavily deteriorate and with him I have concerns that he will never give up his tight grip on the club and we could have a Brian Clough situation on ours hands.
I will always stand up for the man, because I remember the time when Liverpool dominated English football and winning the league seems an impossibility. He does lie there is no doubt about that, but so do many managers rightly or wrongly. He certainly believes that he bigger than the club no doubt, this is wrong United will always be bigger than any individual.
I have over reacted to situation when people call him names and abusively, for me we should be grateful for the longevity of the success, but he also should be called into question. The Glazers have sucked the life blood out of the club, Fergie is either looking after his or the fans best interests. I have a feeling that he is looking after his own, but bar Mourinho who I would doubt come to United due to lack of spending power where do we go?
To finish I have great respect for the man but I not blind to the fact that he is become a megalomaniac, which isn’t healthy for the good which is Manchester United. Again I understand all peoples opinions and I can be clumsy with my responses.. Sorry guys.
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RedEyes, sorry my previous post was a bit vague at times. Heres my response though.
At the end of the day, i can see what your saying.
Basically your saying the glazers would see him as they would any employee talking out of turn, and such an action would have been futile as it would have only resulted in his sacking, and thus put the club in a much worse position.
And you may well be right about that.
My point is however, that fergie should have done more long before the glazers actually took over the club.
Long before they were in a position to be hiring and firing whom they pleased.
Long before they were in a position to be moving protesting supporters off their land.
Fergie was the key man in all this. He should have leant his support to the anti glazer campaign BEFORE THE TAKEOVER, and made heads start rolling.
Were talking a powerful man here, most definitely the most powerful man in english football.
I just dont believe for a second, that that wouldnt make a difference somewhere, somehow.
Even if it didnt make a difference to the glazers and their plans, surely it would have to the investors whom were preparing to bankroll £500m to purchase the club.
At the end of the day, these were money people, who just wanted a guarantee they were going to get their money back. They needed Manchester United to operate as if it was business as usual (generating massive turnover of profits).
Sacking fergie would only have jeopardised that though.
Sacking fergie would have resulted in an instant decline on the field.
It would have probably resulted in players refusing to play for the club (dont underestimate how powerful a presence the likes of giggs, neville were).
Could the glazers have been able to sack a full team of players and replace them all, all the time being cost effective?
How many fans, despite the day trippers, would have realistically continued to pour money into the club, still buying tickets and merchandise?
Is it really unrealistic to think we’d be talking about atleast 15/20/25 thousand empty seats here?
Certainly all of that would have a major effect on profits.
And thus, surely that would have been enough to make some suit in america somewhere, someone who knows nothing about football, look on and think “wait a minute, maybe this isnt such a good investment afterall”?
Again though this is all just speculation and my opinion.
I may well be wrong, i may well not.
All i know is by not speaking out, then or now, fergie has not only left himself open to attacks but a number of angry fans, thus tarnishing his legacy in the eyes of certain fans, but he has also made things very difficult for the future.
In particular his successor and how he will be likely treated by the owners taking advantage of him, aswell as the fans efforts in getting rid of the glazers from this club, once and for all.
But thats all im going to say on the matter for now, because really i think ive more than made my point here.
My views were never going to be popular. How could they. At the end of the day im criticising a man who has brought us so much success and good times. Who has rebuilt this club, when it was on its knees.
How could it ever be popular?
Well i know its not, and truth be told as someone whose only ever grown up with fergie as manager, and who has seen such great times as a result of what this man has brought to our club, i will say it does hurt criticisng him.
However, rightly or wrongly, ive always been one to speak my mind where i see fit.
At the end of the day, im a Manchester United fan, and so anyone will always come 2nd behind my love for the club, be they ronaldo, cantona, keano or even fergie.
Fergies new best friends (glazers), threaten the very future of our beloved club, of that theres no doubt.
So if im sometimes scathing and throw criticism at fergie, maybe you can understand why, even if you dont agree.
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There is actually someone who IS bigger than the club: the fans.
Stuff the fans and you stuff the club!!!
Love United, Hate Glazer, Fear the Fans!
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@Opti:
I think you have two sets of supporters at united. You have the match going red. Go to the pub, turn up at Old Trafford just before kick of and go back down the pub after the game and ultimately feel like they have an investment in the club. In corporate terms the limited expenditure customer.
Then you have the day tripper. Turn up early have a trip around the museum, go to the mega store load up on goodies. Get to your seat early, spend money at the concessions and go home having made those united tills ring. The tourist red
I think the club cares about one set and would happily do without the other if they could
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