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Manchester United Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - 2013/14 mod warning post#7259

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,080 ✭✭✭✭Maximus Alexander


    CSF wrote: »
    That is about half a decade.

    It's 60% of a decade. You can compile the rest yourself if you like, but it's enough to support my point. I would also venture that the further away from the present you get, the less relevant the data becomes.
    So, if we assume you are correct and Everton couldn't have played or set up any differently under any other manager and achieved similar success with brighter more expressive football - deal with the second part of discussion.

    If Everton were somehow forced to play as they did but Moyes doesn't change from that style at United - then it would appear Moyes' style of play IS what Everton played.

    If that is the case, then how everton played, the approach to training and the length of time it took to make transfers are all issues we can look to and compare against United.

    Simply put - I think it is extremely stupid to say how Everton approached aspects of football under Moyes can't be used as a viewpoint for United under Moyes.

    I never said the part in bold. I said that it would be unrealistic to expect it, not that it was impossible. You seem to be suggesting that I think Moyes is the greatest manager in the world. What I have actually said is that he did reasonably well with Everton, and if he does as well with United, there will be trophies.

    I think it is extremely stupid to claim after a month or two of football, we can conclude that Moyes plans to have United playing in the same style that his Everton team played.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor


    No way should they have had a penalty imo. It was a dive, same as players have made contact with Young but it has still been a dive.

    Cleverley barely touched he fella, and certainly not in a manner that would have caused him to fall the way he did. It was clearly a dive. A stupid dive.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,241 ✭✭✭Vic Vinegar


    I actually think we were good enough last night, for the first hour we were the better team, albeit without creating too much. It was only after their equalizer that we retreated back a bit more.

    Fellaini was poor but it's early days for him yet, maybe nerves are getting to him. Everyone else had a decent 6/10 game at least i thought.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,531 ✭✭✭magnumbud


    Fergie recommended that he keep the staff in place - and Moyes ignored that. So if Moyes doesn't rate Fergies recommendation why should we?

    how often does a manager take over and not bring in some of his own staff?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,017 ✭✭✭sReq | uTeK


    haven't we?

    We have seen him for 10 years as Everton manager - we have seen his approach with them to transfers, playing style and training. If he doesn't employ a different style at United to that which he used previously, then why can't we use the 10 previous years of his career as some sort of basis for assessment?

    You can't compare the job he did at Everton and draw the conclusion that he's going to do the same for the next 10 years at united so you might as well sack him based on 6 games.

    They couldn't be further apart on the spectrum, at Everton he was hampered with a limited squad and his 1st 11 was all he had and he still held a good account of himself in the league on a regular basis, he was a good developer of youth, he brought through Rooney and Barkley and gave them a start in their career, he bought Coleman for 25k and has overseen his development into one of the best young right backs in Europe.

    At united he's come in and is trying to find his feet, it's been 6 games for God's sake, he doesn't know the players that well, he doesn't know the club that well, it stems to reason he's going to be limited for a time in what he does. He's relying on what fergie left him until he can put his stamp on things, sadly what fergie left him was a mediocre team that he seemed to know how to get the best out of, Moyes will not have those attributes yet simply due to him not being around the current crop of players as long as fergie.

    a few more signings and a few players out and we should start to see what Moyes really has in store for this club.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,219 ✭✭✭✭Pro. F


    IMO we have been playing a lot of quick ball direct to the forward like this season - looking to get the ball forward quickly. Don't see us prizing possession to be honest.

    I don't agree with that at all. There's been plenty of patient play imo.

    Stats don't tell everything, but this gives an indication of what I am saying. Short passes completed compared to the same games last year:

    Short Passes: 13/14 - 12/13
    Swansea A...: 371 - 470
    Chelsea H....: 440 - 309
    Liverpool A...: 355 - 340
    Palace H......: 443 - x
    Man City A...: 392 - 247
    West Brom H: 435 - 403

    sauce

    The only game where we haven't completed more short passes than the corresponding fixture last season was Swansea. It's true that this season Chelsea came to park the bus and City sat deep after their fourth goal, but the six games still show that we are passing the ball short at least as much as last year.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor


    magnumbud wrote: »
    how often does a manager take over and not bring in some of his own staff?

    Some of his own staff - fine.

    I think Rene should have been kept - everything possible should have been done.

    I also don't understand why he wanted rid of Steele to bring Woods in. I just think the relationship between the keeper and the coach is far more important than that between the manager and the coach. the improvement of DDG under Steele in the previous 12 months, and the relationship between them should have ment it was kept.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 25,953 ✭✭✭✭kryogen


    problems with our play and tactics now are his responsibility.

    Play, not totally, tactics yep, but I would rather give him a larger amount of time then about 10 games before I crucify him for that too


  • Registered Users Posts: 919 ✭✭✭RVD420


    Fret not folks, the official United twitter account has released a desktop wallpaper to commemorate the 1-1 puke-fest of last night. Mother of god, we really are fast becoming this season's laughing stock :mad: :mad:

    Link to the tweet

    BVpPrFHIMAA3FAf.jpg


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,017 ✭✭✭sReq | uTeK


    magnumbud wrote: »
    how often does a manager take over and not bring in some of his own staff?

    Do you honestly think ANYONE and i mean ANYONE in the world especially in a high profile position would NOT recommend the staff he's been working with on a daily basis for a prolonged amount of time be retained and thus stay in employment, Fergie would have looked like some **** if he couldn't show the smallest bit of loyalty to people who have helped him shape united into what they are today.

    Likewise, Moyes has an obligation and loyalty to the crew that he has worked with and helped him become the Manager he has today, It's a pointless argument and it's something that happens on a daily basis in business accusations throughout the world.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,241 ✭✭✭Vic Vinegar


    RVD420 wrote: »
    the 1-1 puke-fest of last night. Mother of god, we really are fast becoming this season's laughing stock :mad: :mad:

    Seems to be the week for ridiculous OTT statements. That one wins the prize though. Just.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor



    Likewise, Moyes has an obligation and loyalt

    Disagree.

    Moyes has a responsibility to United to ensure he has the best staff available to him, regardless of where they come from.

    In reality I do understand why he brought some of his own staff with him - but he should have looked to keep some of the old staff too - those with experience of working with and prepping the players neither he nor his staff had any experience with.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,219 ✭✭✭✭Pro. F


    Moyes changing the staff is a non issue. He made his choice to stick with the team he knows and trusts. It is no big deal and it's ridiculous that it's still being talked about and used as a way to criticise him.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,017 ✭✭✭sReq | uTeK


    Some of his own staff - fine.

    I think Rene should have been kept - everything possible should have been done.

    I also don't understand why he wanted rid of Steele to bring Woods in. I just think the relationship between the keeper and the coach is far more important than that between the manager and the coach. the improvement of DDG under Steele in the previous 12 months, and the relationship between them should have ment it was kept.

    He couldn't keep Rene in the role he was currently employed in, it's that simple, if he did he has to change his ENTIRE approach and philosophy regarding how he manages.

    He is a young hands on manager who takes and interacts with players in the training sessions, Ferguson was not, hence Rene did this. Everything is not black and white.

    For Rene to stay in the role he had been accustomed to, Moyes would have had to have taken a back seat at training and watch on, something tells me if you've been employed by someone on the basis of what you've done successfully for 10 years, you're not going to change it to accommodate one person.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,017 ✭✭✭sReq | uTeK


    Disagree.

    Moyes has a responsibility to United to ensure he has the best staff available to him, regardless of where they come from.

    In reality I do understand why he brought some of his own staff with him - but he should have looked to keep some of the old staff too - those with experience of working with and prepping the players neither he nor his staff had any experience with.

    I think you're missing the point, I was stating why Fergie recommended keeping the staff on, I'm not saying if it's the right or wrong thing to do, in time that will be shown, however I'm stating it happens all the time.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 34,424 ✭✭✭✭The_Kew_Tour


    When people say we will be destroyed by arsenal thats when you need to take time out.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor


    I think you're missing the point, I was stating why Fergie recommended keeping the staff on, I'm not saying if it's the right or wrong thing to do, in time that will be shown, however I'm stating it happens all the time.

    I'm not missing the point.

    You said Moyes had an obligation to bring his staff with him.

    I disagree.

    His obligation was/is to ensuring the best staff best able to get the best out of the United players.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,709 ✭✭✭✭Cantona's Collars


    SlickRic wrote: »
    super line from Hodgson.

    Did he get booked for simulation? He's been simulating a footballer for a while now:pac:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 25,953 ✭✭✭✭kryogen


    The only ones I am bothered by are Steele and Rene

    Rene is held in extremely high regard in the game, by the players at the club also and would have surely been a good sounding board for Moyes, and the GK coach and GK relationship can be a very close and special one. He was clearly having a good impact on De Gea and I don't see the point in bringing in a new man there.

    We move on however. Great coaches, like players and managers, come and go. They must be replaced of course


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,828 ✭✭✭bullvine


    Missed the game, how did Fellaini play honestly?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor


    bullvine wrote: »
    Missed the game, how did Fellaini play honestly?

    Ok - but hammered by the ref giving a free agaisnt him any time he got near an opposition player.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,598 ✭✭✭✭CSF


    It's 60% of a decade. You can compile the rest yourself if you like, but it's enough to support my point. I would also venture that the further away from the present you get, the less relevant the data becomes.
    But you were the one who quoted the sample size, not me. I'm merely arguing against the facts you presented. Why should the sample size suddenly change when you find it doesn't support your point?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,988 ✭✭✭SirDelboy18


    Yeah the Steele thing made absolutely no sense whatever way you look at it - but it's pretty much a non issue really.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,521 ✭✭✭Giggsy11


    Not sure how Rene leaving can be Moyes' fault. He asked Rene to stay but he didn't want to, maybe he didn't like the change of role. Rene was in charge of training before but he can't expect the same with Moyes who is younger Manager and wants to conduct his own training sessions just like any manager in the world.
    Moyes wrote:
    "I need to say a big thank you to the former manager's old staff - Rene Meulensteen, Mike Phelan and Eric Steele, who have left the club. I asked Rene to stay but he felt it most fair that he moved on and let me stamp my own authority on the team," revealed Moyes


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor


    Giggsy11 wrote: »
    Not sure how Rene leaving can be Moyes' fault. He asked Rene to stay but he didn't want to, maybe he didn't like the change of role. Rene was in charge of training before but he can't expect the same with Moyes who is younger Manager and wants to conduct his own training sessions just like any manager in the world.

    Rene has a different take on it.
    "I felt very strongly that the picture painted to us [by the club] was not the one that came out in meetings with David Moyes," Meulensteen told The Telegraph. "I said to him: 'David, with all due respect, you've done a fantastic job in the Premier League with Everton but do you realise you're going from a yacht to a cruise ship?' Ferguson, the captain, had a good crew with coaches like me.

    "I felt David wanted familiar faces which he is entitled to but it would have been absolutely no problem if he said: 'I definitely need Jimmy Lumsden as a sounding board but, hold on a minute, this cruise ship has been sailing successfully with this crew for the last five years so I might as well sail along with them for a season and see how it goes.'

    "It saddened me leaving. I had the best job in the world there. I loved every aspect of working with those top players. I know the team inside out, the club inside out."


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭Rubber_Soul


    Is there any actual evidence of this so called special relationship between Steele and DeGea, interviews etc? The only interview I've seen with either on the subject was the one the other day in which Steele said DeGea was lazy in the gym, lazy learning English and ate too many tacos. Could always just be the media stirring but doesn't seem they were too close from that interview anyway.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46,405 ✭✭✭✭Mitch Connor


    Is there any actual evidence of this so called special relationship between Steele and DeGea, interviews etc? The only interview I've seen with either on the subject was the one the other day in which Steele said DeGea was lazy in the gym, lazy learning English and ate too many tacos. Could always just be the media stirring but doesn't seem they were too close from that interview anyway.

    Get the latest UWS and read the full, actual, interview.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,136 ✭✭✭✭Rayne Wooney


    It was always inevitable that our poor style of play, that we've had for so long now, would stop producing results.

    I wouldn't mind if Moyes actually tried to change it, we couldn't be worse off than we are now if he did, but he hasn't.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭Rubber_Soul


    Get the latest UWS and read the full, actual, interview.

    So it was a bit of quote mining by the rags? Perhaps you could just give me cliffs?


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,219 ✭✭✭✭Pro. F


    It was always inevitable that our poor style of play, that we've had for so long now, would stop producing results.

    I wouldn't mind if Moyes actually tried to change it, we couldn't be worse off than we are now if he did, but he hasn't.

    Of course Moyes has tried to change the style and succeeded at changing it. The team is playing a hell of a lot differently now than they did under Fergie. The style is poor but it is a very different style than the one Fergie used.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,521 ✭✭✭Giggsy11


    Rene has a different take on it.

    Yeah I read that before. Not sure whom to believe. Rene had a nice pay check to become Asst Manager at Anzi and it backfired big time. Then he came up with this interview.

    And his interview are cringeworthy.
    'David, with all due respect, you've done a fantastic job in the Premier League with Everton but do you realise you're going from a yacht to a cruise ship?' Ferguson, the captain, had a good crew with coaches like me.

    Like ME? He is full of himself and I'm sure he even believes he is the reason why ManUtd are such a huge club.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,495 ✭✭✭✭bucketybuck


    Giggsy11 wrote: »
    Like ME? He is full of himself and I'm sure he even believes he is the reason why ManUtd are such a huge club.

    Not a damn thing wrong with having confidence in your own abilities.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,521 ✭✭✭Giggsy11


    Not a damn thing wrong with having confidence in your own abilities.

    There is a fine line between having confidence and randomly and regularly spouting BS.

    I used to like Rene a lot with the work he did with our young players but his interviews after he left are nothing but pain in the ass. Just look at me, I'm the best bad ass coach ever type.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,219 ✭✭✭✭Pro. F


    Rene makes himself look like a nob in that interview. The new manager wasn't interested in him, crying to the world about how highly he rates himself is pathetic.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,521 ✭✭✭Giggsy11


    Pro. F wrote: »
    Rene makes himself look like a nob in that interview. The new manager wasn't interested in him, crying to the world about how highly he rates himself is pathetic.

    Just going by his interviews I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who wanted out after being unhappy about the training part.
    Rene wrote:
    The manager delegated to me. He trusted me. I was the one most hands-on. I visited the manager the other day, to see how he was getting on with his hip, and he reiterated how well it had worked. I hope now to get a really exciting challenge to work for somebody who has the same belief and trust in me that Sir Alex had for so many years


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 25,953 ✭✭✭✭kryogen


    Giggsy11 wrote: »
    Not sure how Rene leaving can be Moyes' fault. He asked Rene to stay but he didn't want to, maybe he didn't like the change of role. Rene was in charge of training before but he can't expect the same with Moyes who is younger Manager and wants to conduct his own training sessions just like any manager in the world.

    That is according to Moyes. Rene tells a different story.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,709 ✭✭✭✭Cantona's Collars


    Watched Everton a few times last season and they actually played some decent stuff,it wasn't just a case of sticking Fellaini up front & lump the ball up to him.

    The problems in our play have been in place before Moyes even started at the club,he's been lumped with wingers who can't go by a fullback or cross a ball properly.(At least Nani is back though).We have serious deficiencies in our midfield for years at this stage as we depend on an ever aging Carrick who despite certain qualities is hardly a midfield general.No dedicated cover for Raphael or Evra.Phil Jones is being turned into John O' Shea mkII which is a waste.
    Put all this together and we get slow motion play and very little creativity,how many times have we seen an opposition goalkeeper have to put in a MOTM performance against us,not in a long,long time.It was the norm before.
    The squad needs surgery,too many underperforming/not good enough players.

    Young - get rid,a waste of space.

    Anderson - 6 years of waiting for him to come good,get rid.

    Rio - squad player,one more season as his legs have gone.

    Giggs - squad player & surely his last season.

    Evra - still quality despite poor defensive positioning at times,could be his last season though.

    Cleverly - actually one of our better players this season,jury still out though.

    Valencia - really infuriating as he continues to forget he's a winger,replace.

    Carrick - still the lynchpin of our midfield despite being fairly limited in what he does,not getting any younger.Perhaps Fellaini is going to be his eventual replacement?

    Kagawa - will he ever get a run in his proper position or will he decide to go back to Dortmund where he's appreciated?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,136 ✭✭✭✭Rayne Wooney


    Pro. F wrote: »
    Of course Moyes has tried to change the style and succeeded at changing it. The team is playing a hell of a lot differently now than they did under Fergie. The style is poor but it is a very different style than the one Fergie used.

    I don't regard playing a few extra short passes before inevitably going out wide a change in the style of play tbh. Maybe you do, all it does is make the possession stat look better.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,080 ✭✭✭✭Maximus Alexander


    I don't regard playing a few extra short passes before inevitably going out wide a change in the style of play tbh. Maybe you do, all it does is make the possession stat look better.

    Because possession is just a stat that has no impact on the game?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 12,219 ✭✭✭✭Pro. F


    I don't regard playing a few extra short passes before inevitably going out wide a change in the style of play tbh. Maybe you do, all it does is make the possession stat look better.

    I didn't say anything about the change Moyes has brought being anything to do with the short pass numbers.

    The changes Moyes has brought that I see are the defensive shape, the way we press (not more pressing imo, just different shape and a different spread of it over time) and the passing patterns. There's plenty of changes in how we play this season compared to Fergie's style, they're obvious to see.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,136 ✭✭✭✭Rayne Wooney


    Because possession is just a stat that has no impact on the game?

    Last 4 league games.

    United v Liverpool
    53% possession. 1-0 loss

    United v Palace
    57% possession. 2-0 win

    United v City
    55% possession. 4-1 loss

    United v WBA
    56% possession. 2-1 loss

    Pity there's no points for possession.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,080 ✭✭✭✭Maximus Alexander


    Last 4 league games.

    United v Liverpool
    53% possession. 1-0 loss

    United v Palace
    57% possession. 2-0 win

    United v City
    55% possession. 4-1 loss

    United v WBA
    56% possession. 2-1 loss.

    Pity there's no points for possession.

    That's kind of dodging the issue. What might those results have looked like if United had 40% possession? How about 70%?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,587 ✭✭✭✭Dont be at yourself


    The United squad hasn't degenerated from a team that won the league at a canter to a bottom-half Premiership team incapable of playing progressive, assertive football. The players are a year older, but that cannot explain the slump in form, energy and results.

    Obviously Fergie had a huge impact and influence, and got more out of the players than any manager could have. But that can't be the whole story: there have to be other factors. Are they being poorly trained? Over-trained? Are the tactics wrong? Is the selection wrong? Are they being poorly motivated?

    It looks to be a combination of multiple factors, but the important thing is that Moyes addresses it immediately. The longer they go without hitting form, or at least getting results, the more the pressure will increase from the media and the fans, and the more excuses the players will have to hide and not fight for the manager. It happened with AVB at Chelsea, it happened with Rafa and Hodgson at Liverpool; once there's blood in the air, it's very tough to regain control and pull everone together.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,521 ✭✭✭Giggsy11


    kryogen wrote: »
    That is according to Moyes. Rene tells a different story.

    Yes. Rene's version is different.

    Fergie delegated training work to Rene which is different with Moyes in charge. There is every possibility that Rene was not happy with that as it somewhat looks like a restricted role for Rene.
    Rene wrote:
    “The manager delegated to me. He trusted me. I was the one most hands-on. I visited the manager the other day, to see how he was getting on with his hip, and he reiterated how well it had worked. I hope now to get a really exciting challenge to work for somebody who has the same belief and trust in me that Sir Alex had for so many years.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 750 ✭✭✭Irish94


    Sir Alex Ferguson's PBS Interview Transcription
    Sir Alex Ferguson: I never worried about teams who spend what they want to spend. It never bothered me. It never bothered me. At the moment we have a lot of Middle Eastern owners, we have American owners of course, Russian owners. It never bothered me one bit. All I was concerned about was that we at United maintained our level of expectation, be competitive, be at the top part of the League.

    We might not win it every year, but we’d always be up there competing for it every year. The only consideration I had was to make sure that we are there. You do things different ways. I’ve spoken about young players, and yes, that’s really important that part, but from time to time we have spent big money and brought in the player who could make a difference.

    Charlie Rose: Who is the best player that you ever saw?

    AF: I’m a Pelé fan from way back when I was a kid, and then there was always this thing later about Pelé and Maradona. I was young and impressionable as a kid but it was always Pele for me. Today, I think that you have got to look at Messi and Ronaldo. They are unbelievable. The best today. They are fantastic – absolutely.

    CR: The best have what it takes - is that correct?

    AF: The best have the courage and I say this all the time. The courage to take the ball all the time, the courage to make sure that they are not going to be intimidated by their opponents, and the courage to express themselves at all times and I think that all the great players have got that.

    CR: Are they born with it?

    AF: Possibly, yes. You can develop them through coaching, but I don’t think that you can ever develop the courage. I think that makes a big difference – you either have courage or you have not.

    CR: In some ways it’s like a game of basketball, you always want the best players to have the ball in the last 15 seconds.

    AF: When we assessed teams, we looked at who was their player who wanted the ball all the time, who is the one who wants to take the free-kicks all the time, who wants to dominate, and he’s the one that you concentrate upon.

    CR: This is what the Economist Magazine said about you; Mr Ferguson could reasonably be described as Britain’s Steve Jobs, given his unorthodox talent obsessed, and sometimes bruising approach to making something beautiful. We’ll talk about all those things, but did you think that you were making something beautiful?

    AF: I think that the encouragement that I got from the club during the early days when they stood by me when the times were really difficult, really helped me a lot.

    CR: People wanted you fired didn’t they?

    AF: Yes, that’s correct. One or two banners were up saying ‘time up’ and things like that, but I think it would be true to say that at that period I did lose a little bit of confidence. However, I didn’t lose my determination. I knew that the things which I was doing at youth level were correct.

    So the Board, Martin Edwards and Bobby Charlton in particular, stood by me because they knew what was happening. So by doing that, I then knew that I was doing something special with these young players – Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt, the Nevilles. They all came into the first team round about the same time. So when people assess United today, they maybe don’t understand that those boys were the spirit of the club. They created the fantastic spirit of Manchester United as it is today.

    CR: Looking at the Harvard Business Review. You went up there and they developed a key study. What was the question? Generally these things have a question.

    AF: The main central point of the discussion was love and hate. Do the players love me or, do they hate me, or was there a balance? Of course there was also many different opinions about that, but the central thing to it all was respect. That was always looked for – respect.

    CR: So you could have the love or the hate, but you looked for the respect every time?

    AF: Yes, that was it.

    CR: Suppose that they said love or fear?

    AF: Yes, I think that fear does come into it in some respect in the sense of when I lost my temper I didn’t hide behind a bush on it in respect to the times that I did lose my temper. But you know the quality that I had when I lost my temper, I never, ever brought it back again. The next day was another day for me.

    CR: You never held grudges?

    AF: No, never – I never held a grudge and that’s really, really important. And then they understand what you are and who you are. And they could get support from that.

    CR: You are a fan of Doris Kearns Goodwin and her book Team of Rivals which was about Lincoln choosing his rivals for his cabinet because he respected their talent plus he wanted them where he could see them.

    AF: Yes, he wanted to see who they were and how they would fit into his Cabinet, pretty clever really. And of course I think that Lincoln at that time was facing the most difficult period for a President in terms of the South and the North. He was also very good at not making quick decisions. He thought it all through and allowed his Cabinet to have their say and then he would decide thereafter. It’s a great book, a fabulous book.

    CR: Did you see the movie Lincoln?

    AF: Yes.

    CR: Did you like it?

    AF: I didn’t think that it was a great movie but I thought that the central piece about the period that it had to deal with was fantastic. The acting in that movie was unbelievable.

    CR: By understanding that he had to do everything that he could – push, pull, in order to get emancipation because that was the goal and he understood the consequences, so let’s go all out for emancipation.

    AF: There was the situation at Antietam when he was able to announce emancipation, and winning that particular battle allowed to give that proclamation. It was such an important time.

    CR: You are a kind of student of the Civil War?

    AF: Yes, I love it. I think that it is a great history, it’s a young history. The funny thing about it is that I bought a couple of books when I was in Chicago having a week’s holiday. I went to a bookstore, and this is about 14-15 years ago now, and I picked these two books up. Then later in I was in London doing a thing about young apprentices, and Gordon Brown came over and asked me what I was reading at the time, and I told him that I had started to read a couple of books about the Civil War. He said to me; 'I’ll send you some tapes.'

    So he sent me a dozen tapes by a Professor Gary Gallagher, and I was playing them in my car every morning going into work. I got really fascinated by it. It is a fantastic history. I’ve since been to Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas – the Bull Run where the first battle; there was two battles there of course, and I went up to Princeton to meet James McPherson, the great historian of the Civil War who wrote the book ‘Battle Cry of Freedom.’ He was very engaging, and very accommodating to me in terms of how he saw it.

    CR: But not WWII, not WWI, not the War of 1812 – it is the Civil War that fascinates you?

    AF: I took it on and I grew interested and more interested, and I went to a gentleman’s house down south in Atlanta, and he had every armament that was used in the Civil War, and then he showed me the battle plans of Sherman who burned Atlanta.

    CR: Famously saying 'War is Hell'.

    AF: They destroyed all the rail tracks…

    CR: I think he may have said, I’m not sure, 'the people who hate war the most are those who fight it.'

    AF: Of course and that’s a fact.

    CR: Patton may have been the exception! Remember he said 'I love it!'

    AF: How can you love war?

    CR: I think that it was probably command that he loved. Napoleon probably loved war too.

    AF: I think that before you enter a war and first go into the army, you think that ‘oh! it’s great to join the army’ but when you get there and go into these combats it’s entirely different, it changes you.

    CR: So you go to Harvard Business School and they want to do this case study about all this and the question of love versus hate, and you come up with this thing called the ‘Ferguson Formula’. A formula for leadership, a formula for what? Management?

    AF: I think that leadership comes along, there’s no question about that, how you have control of a bunch of millionaires, you know. But there it is, it is quite extraordinary. You have to control that part. I think that there are certain things that I would like to put across, and it was always to make the players better human beings, to develop their character, so that when they leave me they could know not about teaching them history or mathematics, it’s about inspiring them to be the best that they could possibly be.

    CR: You are teaching them life?

    AF: Yes, I think that is really important. You also develop their character. You know that if you develop the right character, they won’t let you down. Once they go out on that football field, they are playing for all the things that you have ever taught them. Of the winning mentality, of the determination. How to handle defeat which is always just as important. It helps you develop a group of people that are you. You can see yourself in them, and I think that I have always tried to do that.CR: So every team member that plays for you, you look at him and see yourself?

    AF: Not always, but I do like to try and see myself in them. Everybody is different and express themselves in different ways. There are different kinds of talents of course and there are many who I would never have had the talent that they have when I was a player. But I still had that determination to be successful and try my best.

    CR: We met a few days ago and you were talking about the idea that often the best players don’t make good coaches or good managers because they don’t understand someone who doesn’t have the same level of skill.

    AF: Yes, it’s a fact that. I remember that I was talking to Bobby Charlton about that, and he’d been the manager at Preston North End, and he couldn’t understand why the players could not understand him. So he gave up on it and he was honest enough to say to himself that it wasn’t for him.

    It’s a fact of life, I think that if you look at my career and I always say this to anybody who wants to be a coach - prepare to be a coach. At 24 years of age when I left engineering to become full time in football, I made sure that I was never going back to engineering.

    I was doing all the coaching schools so that I’d be able to stay in the game, and I gave myself a chance by doing that. I was only an average player, could score a goal or two, that sort of thing, but I wasn’t a Bobby Charlton or a Messi, or Ronaldo. There are very, very few really great players who have become great coaches.

    I think that you can look at Beckenbauer who won the World Cup twice with Germany, once as a player and once as coach. You could look at Cruyff who was a great player and did great things at Barcelona. Other than that I can’t think of any of the really great players who have gone on to become great coaches.

    CR: Would it have been for you impossible to manage anywhere else? You could not go somewhere no matter how much they offered you, no matter what the opportunity – or, you might have for the right circumstances to prove to yourself that you could do it again?

    AF: There was one or two offers that did come along during my time at United, but I always came back to this point; why would you leave United? Where is the bigger challenge? And the thing about challenges is, once you have won something, you can’t live on that. Not at Manchester United – you have got to win the next one. And that’s the challenge. Maintaining that consistency of winning which is a mentality that I have had.

    Every time we won the League, we would celebrate the night – the next day was another day for me. Where are we going forward? So therefore when clubs came to me and offered me jobs, I thought to myself, “Where is the bigger challenge?” Creating history at United or trying to create somewhere else when I would have start again and build on the philosophies I had when I first came to United.

    CR: Let me talk about these principles which are in this article in what’s called the Ferguson Formula. Start with the foundation – what’s that?

    AF: Well you start with what you believe in. I believe in building a football club rather than building a football team. I can understand coaches who concentrate on building a football team because it gives them a job. It’s a results industry. You only have to look at Paolo di Canio last week – 5-6 games into his first season at Sunderland. They allow him to spend £19 million and then they sack him. To me, there is no evidence that that is going to bring success. So in building a football club I wasn’t interested in losing my job because of the results of the first team.

    I knew that I had to do a job in terms of building the football club, so we worked really hard with the youth system and we made sure that we had a solid foundation that would hold the fort for years and years. So when you see a Manchester United team, we got to a position where I could plan ahead. So I could see three years ahead where this team was going knowing that I had certain players coming through the youth system who would step up when the time was right.

    CR: The second one was – dare to rebuild your team which you have briefly touched upon. Even though team may have another great season ahead of them, if in fact you know that to have a good team the next year, the next year, and the next year, you have to rebuild. Even at the sacrifice say of winning?

    AF: Well the horrible part of the job really is when you have players who have been with you for years the evidence is always on the football field. So when you see a player and you notice that the level has started to dip, there is no point on waiting another two years. You have to act because you will only hurt yourself. He’ll not want to recognise that the day has come when he has had his time. To have to say that to a player and make the change is very, very difficult. You can only do that if you have a system where you can fill the gaps and rebuild the team.

    Over the years I have probably built maybe five teams, through the consistency of being there as a manager, and the continuity of the youth system, and the players that you have are not joining last. Even the ones that we buy are not going to last for two or three years. You want them to be lasting six, seven, eight years. So you have to buy at a good age, maybe 22/23 because they have had good experience playing elsewhere and they have got plenty of years left in them. So you can build a continuity of team.

    CR: So the main point here is that you have got to be ruled by your head and not your heart?

    AF: Oh! Absolutely. It’s a horrible part of the game when you have to tell a player, probably somebody who has helped you win so much that his time is up. You treat them like family, and because they are your family it becomes even more hurting in the sense that you have got to say “well son, I’m sorry, you won’t be a regular here, but you will still have a career elsewhere.’ It’s happened more than a few times but it is not an easy thing to handle.

    CR: Then you say that you have got to set high standards and hold everyone to them.

    AF: Absolutely. Every training session there is high expectation. The concentration has to be right, and any deficiencies will always manifest themselves on a Saturday, and that’s what we look for at United. I would never envisage having a bad session in terms of the training. We wanted to make sure that the players were completely concentrated on what they were doing.

    CR: The training sessions had purpose. You knew exactly what they would be doing in order to get ready for Saturday.

    AF: Exactly.

    CR: The other one is – never cede control – ever. You have to be in control?

    AF: Well the point I’ll make is that you are dealing with very rich young men. I always said to the directors that the minute a player becomes more powerful than the manager of Manchester United, it’s not Manchester United. You have lost control of the whole club. So I always made sure that I was in control. They always knew who the manager was.

    CR: Your word was law?

    AF: If you want to put it as blunt as that - yes. But you don’t necessarily need to use power in that situation. the control is nice but they know who the manager is, and they know that it is me who is going to make the decisions. They know that they can trust me which is really important. They know that I had the ability to adapt to change, and they have seen that many times over the years. I think these are important parts of being in control of footballers.

    CR: What does this mean – match the message to the moment?

    AF: The moment that we look for is that they are aware that every game is about winning. We try to get the message across that this is the moment that we have got to win. Every week, my expectation of you is to win the match.

    CR: But to come back, and be able to say to yourself that you’re that close to defeat?

    AF: There has to be a moment when they realise that they have to show their character to overcome this. We’ve had some great moments. We’ve been behind at half-time and winning games late on.

    CR: You liked that didn’t you?

    AF: Oh! yes. I loved that. I was a bit of a gambler that way because I always used to say to them at half-time, 'Be patient. The last fifteen minutes throw the kitchen sink at them. It’s worth a gamble'. You are going to lose the game anyway. There is nothing better than when you get to that last fifteen minutes and you actually win the game late on. The fans are going out of the gates I gave it a try and it worked.

    CR: Rely on the power of observation.

    AF: It’s an important part that people don’t recognise. I remember when it first dawned on me. I had a young coach at Aberdeen. He said to me, “Why am I here?” So I says “What are you talking about?” He said, “Well, I do nothing. You shouldn’t be doing all the training sessions, you should be in control of the training sessions and let me get on with it.” I said “No, I’m not having that.” He told me that he thought that I was wrong. We had an old trainer there at the time, teddy Scott – he was a great old man.

    He said to me, “Boss – he’s right.” So I thought about it. We gave it a try and it worked. It was amazing what you were actually watching. Seeing the player’s habits. Seeing the little defects in their performance. You could see sometimes that a player was not quite right on the day and you would wonder what was wrong with him. It could be a million things. And that observation I’ve carried through with me all my career and I’ve used that really well.

    CR: You have to make sure that you really are ‘in the moment’ because it is only when you are in the moment that you can see with great focus. You always have to say to yourself, “What is happening here? What is going on?”

    AF: That’s the power of observation. You don’t take your eyes of it. By doing that all the time you increase your ability to see things happening.

    CR: Let me talk about some of the great players. Ryan Giggs you mentioned. You and I talked about it the other night. You said to me you’ve got to get to their mother.

    AF: So I go tell my assistant, I’ve been up every second night to his house. And it got to a level when Ryan’s mother says we’ll be back on Thursday. She was buying tea for us, getting us supper.

    CR: You were becoming the best friend of the family.

    AF: Absolutely. The mother’s the secret - the mothers are always the strong ones in the family without question. I say always get the mother.

    CR: You get the mother, you’ll get them.

    AF: Yes.

    CR: Yes. Because the mothers have, and they want what’s best. Sometimes they want the best coach because they think that that coach or that manager will bring their son’s or daughter's talent out.

    AF: Yes. There’s always danger with the father. He tries to live his life through the boy, you know. You get a little bit of that. Not all of them. But you do. I’ve seen evidence of that and therefore the mothers, no, she won’t do it that way. She’s -- my boy, I want more of this for my boy.'

    CR: Gary Neville.

    AF: Fantastic character. Gary gets up every morning at 6am reads every newspaper. He wants to know what’s going on in the world and more about everything, you know. He’s such a successful person. He’s no genius but he’s really good, really good. He’s also doing his very own business. I wanted to bring him on the staff. He didn’t want to do that he's a very, very determined character.

    CR: And then there was a fellow named David Beckham.

    AF: David, yes - amazing boy. I mean how he’s created himself. He’s conquering young people, it’s fantastic. I mean he’s a wonderful boy.

    CR: How did he do that?

    AF: Well, he always had a lovely smile, you know, and he always presents himself well. But as a young kid when I got him at 12 years of age, his great desire was to do the best. He was a fantastic trainer, practiced all the time and at night he would come back with the school boys and practice with them.

    And he was in that collection along with Giggs and Scholes. And then of course his life changed when he married the girl from...

    CR: Spice Girls.

    AF: Yes. And his focus changed.

    CR: What did it become?

    AF: Well, he got drawn into that celebrity status, you know. For me I’m a football man. I’m a football man. It wasn’t my...

    CR: So you had to go to David and say -

    AF: Yes, he has to focus. And so they’ll be trying to -

    CR: So what did you do? I mean did you go - tell me what you said to him when you believed that he was becoming more interested in celebrity than football?

    AF: I just think he was over his head. I don’t think he could listen. I always remember in the he says "I’m in love" and there was nothing you can do with that, you know. And therefore he lost the focus. But I saw them in Real, Madrid. He did well.

    He was going to make sure he went to the best and Real Madrid was the best outside United. And he reinvented himself, of course, and plays for the English team after a couple of years. He goes and plays for Milan. And well done. You can’t argue with the status he has in life.

    CR: Yes. But would it have been better if he stayed at Manchester United and still have all the celebrity?

    AF: But how can you argue with life? He’s an icon for young people; represents himself the proper way. And I say well done.

    CR: Was he one of those guys? You have said you looked for guys who are bad losers.

    AF: Oh David, definitely.

    CR: He was a bad loser.

    AF: Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Grumpy, yes.

    CR: Grumpy.

    AF: The bad losers are all grumpy.

    CR: They are.

    AF: Oh yes.

    CR: Those are the ones you want, though.

    AF: Yes.

    CR: Because they’re driven not to be unhappy.

    AF: Absolutely, yes. Winning’s the name of the game, they don’t forget that.

    CR: Again are you born with that or is that something you acquire? Is that in your DNA?

    AF: I think it must come from part of your family somewhere along the line. Some people look back and ensure they’ll win entirely in a different way. Some are very emotional and demonstrative about it. And David was very demonstrative as a young man and loved winning. I think it must come from somewhere in the genes.

    CR: You’ve given advice to Tony Blair, even about some strategic and how to handle people, yes.

    AF: Yes, I used to. I always think Tony was best at question time [Prime Minister's Questions]. I loved him at question time. He destroyed those boys.

    CR: You like the competition.

    AF: I love to see him unite, yes. We spoke of many things. One thing I always said to him at the election time, why don’t you take your physical therapist with you.

    CR: The other thing that’s interesting me about you is that, you know, is that the sense of mission. You know how to infuse the sense of mission. And you know how so that everybody knows they’re playing for themselves. They’re playing for their person to their right and their left. And they’re playing for something larger than themselves.

    AF: The team ethic.

    CR: The team ethic.

    AF: Work on aggression, looking at each team member beside you and trust him. And that’s the essence of a team where they can understand the qualities and the failures and weaknesses of the team-mates.

    CR: And accountability too.

    AF: Yes, absolutely. So if you were in a game of football always think you need maybe eight to win the game. Three can on an off day or semi off day but you always hard. And the players recognize that and they’ll do that extra to make sure they get winning. And the next week can be changed around of course. But that’s the essence of the team is to understand and trust each other and to trust me.

    CR: To trust you.

    AF: Absolutely.

    CR: In other words, trust your plan, trust your strategy.

    AF: Yes.

    CR: Trust your -

    AF: My team selection -

    CR: Yes, team selection -

    AF: Which is always difficult because I have to maybe weed five or six players out each week. I always bring them in individually to explain to them why they’re not playing. It’s not easy because they all want to play. But next week they may -

    CR: So what would you say to them? Give me a speech.

    AF: I say to them I could be wrong. But I’m thinking of the team -

    CR: I could be wrong.

    AF: Yes. I always say that. I could be wrong but I think it’s the right team for this game. On other occasions, maybe picking a team for two or three weeks ahead so I maybe leaving an older player for that occasion. And I would say get yourself ready for three weeks from now you’ll be playing in that game. So therefore you’re giving them a boost.

    CR: Something to look forward to.

    AF: Yes.

    CR: Not playing tonight but I will be playing three weeks from now.

    AF: Yes. Of course I’ve been manager there for a long time. I was able to go on that way. And also the confidence to make changes for three or four games ahead.

    CR: Now what about this? In 1999 when you won all three major competitions, which is unheard of. And up until the last minute of the European Cup final, it looked to everyone like you were not going to win, you were going to lose.

    And your assistant manager at the time has said that your belief, your belief never wavered. Even though it looked like you were going to lose you didn’t think so.

    AF: Going at your goals and then to attain them is not an accident. That was the character of the team. Too many times we did it that season coming back from a goal down to winning matches. So it wasn’t an accident. But you have to say a little bit of faith, you know, a little bit of luck. It happens. You don’t know where that happens or how it happens but it happens.

    CR: When the Glazer family first got involved, it was 2005, was it?

    AF: Yes.

    CR: What did it change?

    AF: It changed nothing, Charlie.

    CR: Nothing.

    AF: No, no. The thing that... there is a misconception about the Glazers buying the club that created hostility and different factions of Manchester United supporters and because a single member was owning the club. You forget, the minute it became a PLC someone was going to buy it. Somewhere along the line someone’s going to buy that club.

    The Glazers did buy it. And in my time with them - they were nothing but supportive - very strong, single-minded people but always supportive of the manager and the things that happen in the club. They’ve been very good. And I’ve absolutely no hesitation in supporting the way they’re going about the job - very low key - never give me a phone call. No phone from the chief executive or maybe once a week to go over the various things about the club but never the team.

    CR: Didn’t buy it to run it, they bought it to see it be what it could be.

    AF: Yes. What it will be.

    CR: When you think about the record, the career, the wins, the losses, what do you remember? Do you remember the losses or the wins?

    AF: That’s a good one. I could tell you about the losses we’ve had. There was 6-1 to City and 5-1 to City as the games you never forget. But I remember we lost a City game and I came home and I put my head under the pillow. And my wife had been-

    CR: Under the pillow?

    AF: Oh, absolutely. I was going nowhere. And my wife came in and says what’s wrong with you. I said we lost 5-1. She said no, you couldn’t have lost 5-1. Now, it was a mad one, you know.

    CR: There is also - your wife is wonderful and you told me a story the other night about when they - they’re putting a statue up of you and they got it under the hood and she comes to you and you said to her, who do you think should be here for the presentation? Maybe Prince William.

    AF: She said Prince William, and I said no. But he’s president of the FA, it could be him.

    CR: Yes.

    AF: And I’m standing there and David Gill announces my wife. I couldn’t believe it. I said how did you manage to do that.

    CR: She never told you.

    AF: No. She doesn’t go to the games either.

    CR: She never would go to the games.

    AF: No. She’s been in a few cup finals -

    CR: Why would she not come?

    AF: I don’t think she's comfortable.

    CR: Yes. So she’s getting ready to jerk the cover off and she says - she does it rather gently.

    AF: Yes, she fairly - she -

    CR: Decapitated it.

    AF: Yes. Absolutely. When the head comes rolling down. It was amazing. I think she was absolutely the correct person to do it.
    CR: What did she mean to you?

    AF: Well, she brought the kids, we went over that -

    CR: She was?

    AF: She brought all the kids. You know the children, she brought them up.

    CR: She brought up the kids.

    AF: Yes, yes. Because when you go back to my older days and 32 years of age I went into football and we had two public houses in Glasgow. We were running two bars in Glasgow and part-time at football you know. Cathy’s got them - getting them dressed, going to school, doing the homework with them, putting them to bed. All the same - and so that role was fantastic, there’s no question.

    I always remember she used to say to me when they get to 16 they will be daddy’s boys. I say why do you make that kind of statement. You wait.

    CR: She was right.

    AF: She’s always right. Even at home she’s always right.

    CR: You just didn’t like the conclusion.

    AF: Yes, yes.

    CR: And they’re right.

    AF: It is always the support system. And always agreed to tell the truth, you know, when she says you’re wrong.

    CR: She would tell you.

    AF: Or not good enough.

    CR: She would tell you.

    AF: Absolutely.

    CR: Never.

    AF: Absolutely. She was good at that.

    CR: There are two things that remind me of you and it’s interesting. What happened to you and Wayne Rooney.

    AF: Well, I don’t think anything really happened -

    CR: Really? Really?

    AF: - that I would get upset about. He came in the day after we won the title and it’s just an expectation thing again. I manage a team who I see, but at that particular moment it wasn’t doing particularly well. But now we see him today, he’s got his energy back. And he’s doing great.

    So maybe that was a good timing for the boy, you know.

    CR: But you thought of him - didn’t you think of him as a son in a way.

    AF: Well, he came as a 17-year-old boy and of course, all the players will support him and look after him. Do our best to make him better. And there were some great moments.

    CR: But did it end badly.

    AF: No, I don’t think so. I think if Wayne walked in here today, he would shake my hand. I don’t think -
    CR: When was the last time you shook his hand?

    AF: The day we won the league. When he was presented with the cup was the last time. You see you've got to also look at the media. What’s unfortunate in this, internationally, he's a big white hope. So therefore the media’s always centered around Wayne.

    And he has people who advise him and I think that’s where all that’s coming from. I never felt at any time, you know. Sometimes I would discipline him but sometimes they’re only discipline. But not to the extent that you would think there was some sort of -

    CR: How would you discipline them?

    AF: Well, it’s set. You fine them a week’s wages.

    CR: Oh yes, like that. But not put them in the line-up.

    AF: No, no. I wouldn’t do that.

    CR: You never do. That would hurt you.

    AF: Yes. You see he’s back to his form and in some way I’ve helped to bring that right then I’ve done the right thing for him. Make him a winner basically.

    CR: Yes, but you weren’t thinking about what I’m doing for him, you were thinking it just doesn’t work.

    AF: It’s for the team.

    CR: Yes. Good for the team.

    AF: Yes, absolutely.

    CR: But it so happened that it became good for him because he had to bring it together.

    AF: Yes. When the club could very well refuse him to sell him to Chelsea, you realised his only job is with Manchester United and it’s brought back his focus, it’s brought back his work ethic and his purpose and he’s doing well again.

    CR: What do you think of Roman Abramovich - speaking of Chelsea?

    AF: It’s a strange one, Chelsea, you know, the change of managers so many times. The European Cup in Abramovich’s time and they keep changing the coach, you know. That was in terms of winning.

    But you look at the teams and they have been, the last few years they’ve been our main competitor. So it’s a very competitive situation between Chelsea and us.

    CR: Suppose he came to you, maybe he has.

    AF: There was - he used an agent when he first came and approached me and I said no, no chance.

    CR: You couldn’t do that. No chance. You didn’t even want to have the conversation.

    AF: No.

    CR: You didn’t want to see what they would offer.

    AF: No.

    CR: You just said no chance. I could never be that way for the team that was a rival where I made my home.

    AF: Manchester United is my team, my club.

    CR: So anybody who speculates that you may be back in football in any way is simply wrong.

    AF: The job came up there, they always say the odds are 80-1 Ferguson. Good odds, huh? You will be wasting your money. You’ll be throwing your money down the drain.

    CR: No way. No way Ferguson is back in football.

    AF: I made my decision Charlie. The timing was perfect. I went out a winner. There’s no way back. I look forward to the challenges of a new life and doing the things I’ve been waiting maybe 35 years to do.

    CR: Yes.

    AF: You know, I want to go to the Kentucky Derby. I want to go to The Masters. I want to go to the Melbourne Cup but don’t tell Cathy that. There are a lot of things I want to do. I want to go to the vineyards in Tuscany and France.

    CR: Oh, yes. You did that.

    AF: I’ve done France a couple times but I’d love to go to Tuscany, the beautiful wine, you know.

    CR: So you are now having a very good time.

    AF: Yes. I’m enjoying it.

    CR: You’re enjoying what you’re seeing. You can go to a battlefield. You can go to The Masters, you can go to the Kentucky Derby.

    AF: Absolutely. Correct.

    CR: You can go to - what else is on the list? You have a bucket list. Do you know what a bucket list is?

    AF: Yes, of course, yes. From the movie - it’s in a movie.

    CR: With De Niro and Morgan Freeman.

    AF: Yes, that’s right.

    CR: No, no, no. Jack Nicholson.

    AF: Jack Nicholson, right. But you know that I’ve mentioned the Kentucky Derby and I mentioned The Masters and the Melbourne Cup and doing France. There are a lot of things that are coming up, you know. And in terms of doing them, a lot of people when we do these things and these are challenges which I see because once I made my mind up to leave United I was never going to think that I’ve made a wrong decision.

    I was just about looking forward. I’m not interested in managing. I’m not interested in getting myself worked up over United results. In good times, I do - you might as well do a good job.

    CR: You’re still behind him (David Moyes).

    AF: Absolutely, 100 per cent. And all the club will be. That’s the great thing about the club. They will support the manager and he will be fine, he will be good.

    CR: Here’s my scenario. Let’s say - Roman Abramovich has got a lot of money, you know that. He’s got more money than God.

    AF: That’s a good one.

    CR: You love horses.

    AF: Yes.

    CR: He’ll say to you look, come manage Chelsea. I will give you the greatest stable of horses -

    AF: You’ve ever seen?

    CR: - you’ve ever seen.

    AF: The temptation - everyone dreams.

    CR: You have to know a man’s weakness do you know what I mean?

    AF: I know. You always dream you have the derby winner. I have a share in the horse that was a favorite for the Derby this year - Telescope - good horse. It will come back next year, but it’s a very, very good horse. Everyone dreams we have a winner, Derby winner, whatever. But you know, as I said, I made my mind up. I’m looking forward to my new career and my new challenges.

    CR: What’s the new career?

    AF: I’m ambassador of United. I’m an ambassador for UNICEF which is great work.

    CR: Yes, it’s good work.

    AF: I’ve seen children in poverty and also child prostitution in Thailand, I’ve seen all that. You know the work that UNICEF do, they need support with that, they need funding, of course, but you see what they’re doing and it’s really worthwhile stuff. I kind of enjoyed doing that with them. It’s a challenge, you know, it’s a different type of challenge.

    CR: You’re a big Labour party man, aren’t you?

    AF: Yes. That won’t change ever, I won’t change that ever. I’ve been tempted to go to the National Party.

    CR: I know, why don’t you like Scottish nationalism? I don’t understand that. I mean my friend Sean Connery is all aboard.

    AF: Oh yes, Sean is very much -

    CR: You know, what’s wrong with you?

    AF: He’s from Edinburgh. No, I grew up in a socialist background. My father was a socialist. My mother was a socialist.

    CR: So there you are. Socialist -

    AF: Yes. Why change?

    CR: OK.

    AF: It’s never hurt me not changing. So I won’t change. And I think that United is OK.

    CR: But with Ed Miliband, you know, they’re ahead in terms of the polls against the Tories, you know. They have an election, maybe he wins he might have a job for you, another job.

    AF: Oh no, it’s one thing. I won’t get into politics, you know. That’s a different life for me. That’s not my scene.

    CR: All right. Let me close with this. You’ve written your own biography, you did that about 10 years ago. You got this case study at Harvard in which you talk about leadership. What’s the best moment ever for you in football?

    AF: The best moment has to be Barcelona, of course. That was the trophy I never won. This is always the albatross around my neck. Winning that particular one and the way we did it, you can never forget it.

    But I think that to encapsulate my life, to have 27 years at Manchester United is a feat - it’s an achievement - the continuity and the consistency that I created there and going out at the top, I can’t ask for anything more. That’s for me, you know, I’ve achieved everything I ever wanted to achieve. And I’m going a happy man.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,241 ✭✭✭Vic Vinegar


    It's a bit long, can you give a one line summary?



    Joke


  • Registered Users Posts: 796 ✭✭✭TheBunk1




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,928 ✭✭✭dubmick


    Just shows how badly Young is playing, he can't even get in the England squad


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,219 ✭✭✭✭Pro. F


    TheBunk1 wrote: »

    Hulu (the bollixes) won't let us watch it outside the US. Here it is on youtube:



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,906 ✭✭✭✭PhlegmyMoses


    Could listen to Fergie talk about management and leadership styles all day. They're such intangible concepts and it's very hard to get down to the nitty gritty of why some people do so well at motivating others and others are terrible at it but here we have the perfect case study that mixed it all together to get the most out of people.


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