Alex Ferguson rows with the beeb

midget lord

Fergie boycotts BBC after documentary row

Owen Gibson
Wednesday August 18, 2004

Sir Alex Ferguson is boycotting the BBC in protest at a documentary that turned the spotlight on links between the Manchester United manager and his football agent son Jason.
The United manager, well known for his fiery temper, is refusing to speak to BBC journalists after the corporation broadcast a documentary earlier this year examining business dealings between the pair.

The boycott has come at a bad time for the BBC, coinciding with the start of the football season and the return of Match of the Day after a three-year absence.

Although Sir Alex is well known for taking umbrage against particular newspapers and broadcasters who he thinks have wronged him, the BBC had hoped the row would have blown over by the start of the season.

"It is regrettable that Sir Alex has chosen not to speak to the BBC. We do hope he will reconsider," said a BBC Sport spokeswoman.

The blackout meant the corporation could not interview the United manager following his team's opening day defeat at Chelsea on Sunday. He did, however, speak to Sky Sports, which covered the game live.

The pay-TV broadcaster suffered similar treatment at the beginning of last season after a Sky Sports News reporter door-stepped Sir Alex during the summer at the height of speculation over David Beckham's transfer to Real Madrid. On that occasion, he relented three weeks into the season.

Match of the Day returned to the screens last weekend after the BBC won back the highlights from ITV in a £105m deal. As well as the traditional Saturday night show, the corporation is screening a repeat the following morning and a new show called Match of the Day 2 on Sunday evening.

The BBC3 documentary that so riled Sir Alex was first broadcast on May 27 and was repeated the following Friday on BBC1 amid much press interest around the time of the FA Cup Final, in which Manchester United faced Millwall.

It came at a sensitive time for the club as it was also considering 99 questions into its transfer dealings posed by John Magnier and JP MacManus, the Irish shareholders who fell out with Sir Alex in a row over the ownership of a horse.

In the documentary, reporter Alex Millar revealed that many of United's first team players had been signed up by his son's Elite agency and alleged that Sir Alex recommended that young players sign up with his son.

The day before the documentary was screened the club announced it was cutting all ties with Elite, following an in-house investigation of transfers in response to pressure from Mr Magnier and Mr McManus.

It has also since settled the row with its Irish shareholders, who own 28.9% of the club, although it is the subject of fresh takeover speculation from Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer.

Sir Alex has a reputation for letting off steam at reporters. As speculation increased over whether Beckham would leave United he let fly at a reporter from the club's official radio station Century FM over a seemingly innocuous question.

"You've been told not to f***ing ask that - right?," he told the reporter. "Cut that off, cut that off (pointing to tape recorder). f***ing idiots, you all are. You do that again and you won't be coming back here. You f***ing sell your papers and radio shows on the back of this club," he ranted.

Several newspapers that reported the row, including The S*n, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express and the Daily Star, were subsequently banned from several press conferences.

Sir Alex also remains the only manager in the Premiership to refuse to hold post-match press conferences, except when required to do so by Uefa following Champions League games

From here


What do you guys think?

Dub13

Sir Moan is a big baby...he would boycott his wife if he had to.


On a side note how long is left on his contract...?

cournioni

Dub13 wrote:

On a side note how long is left on his contract...?

It's a rolling contract.

Dub13

I think when he does go he will not make the same mistake as he did last time by telling everybody when he will go.So some May/June he will just walk.

How long do you lot think he will go on...?

TwoShedsJackson

I reckon this is his last season at United, whether that's the way he wants it or not. He's well down the Clough path of alcoholism and paranoia How much longer before the board says 'sooner rather than later'?

eirebhoy

I actually think Ferguson is right in doing what he's doing. Why should he talk to the people that probably give him sleepless nights? He is paid to manage a football club and its hsi choice if he doesn't want to talk to the media. People like Ian Harte never talked to the English media but he said he has no problem talking to the Spanish media because they won't twist everything he says.

PHB

Fergie wants to finish on a high obviously,
look at how he is sorting out his team atm, does it look like this season is the high he is hoping for?
He looks like hes trying to plan for the future, why would he do that unless he planned to stick around for the future?

kilkennycat2004

If there was big money in being interviewed he'd change I suppose.
Isn't this the same guy who took a significant five figure sun for appearing at a children's charity gig in Dublin not to long ago.