carlyluvsunited
04-11-2007, 08:13 PM
Ferguson’s fire continues to burn bright
Manchester United’s manager doesn’t intend to retire and aims to add to the
26 trophies won during his 21-year reign
What do you give a man who has won everything? Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates
21 years as Manchester United manager on Tuesday. “I’d like,” he said, “to
spend it by having a day off.”
Perhaps it is because he has a press conference scheduled soon. But you doubt
that Ferguson really means it. His love is his work.
Ferguson has enjoyed nearly every second of modern football’s most
extraordinary reign. “I was saying to Paddy Crerand the other night that I can’t
believe where it has all gone,” he said. “I couldn’t think about this in 1986
because it was such a big challenge at the time. You need a good board of
directors and I had a board with Bobby Charlton, who was 100% behind me
because he could see the work I was doing with young players.
“We were building a football club, not a team. Bit by bit you get to where you
want to get to. It’s like if you go on a long bus journey, you go through a lot of
the wee villages in Scotland before you get to the other side of the country and
where you are going to.”
Ferguson’s departure point was so long ago that two of the players he used
yesterday, Anderson and Nani, were not even born. Managing successfully
through such a change in eras has been as great an achievement as the 26
trophies he has won.
“I feel the potential of the team is good. They’re young, there’s a good desire
there, they work hard. Most are tough mentally. You see that with Ronaldo,
Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, and Anderson is surprising us all the time. And
if you have young ones with that mettle it gives you confidence you’re on the
right path.
“I’d say the difference with young players now is we do everything for them. The
old tradition was the young boys did the boots, washed the manager’s car, used
to paint the stand. They’re not even allowed to brush boots now.
“It’s to do with the Academy status but what we’ve lost is the tradition of when
players get a wee bit older they’d say to the apprentices, ‘You’ve never had it so
good, in my day...’ So, by creating that soft approach or easy approach, you do
everything for them. Sixteen-year-old boys – not even allowed to clean their own
boots.”
Pampering is never going to be a danger at Old Trafford while the old shipyard
foreman is in charge but Ferguson, a long-time critic of Academy rules and
regulations, worries for the wider game. “We have to adjust to the culture now,
but that doesn’t mean you produce players with the right character to perform at
the highest level,” Ferguson continued, warming to the subject. “Because I
always think the football field is a judgment place for everyone. It’s not just
about ability.
“If that was the case, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane wouldn’t be in my top 20. But
in terms of overall package they’re in my top two.
“Some people are natural winners and money doesn’t matter to them. And I see
some others change when they get a bit of cash.
“They buy themselves a Ferrari, they get themselves places abroad, they eat in
the best restaurants. Whereas you get other players still getting stuck into
Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald’s. I think it’s fair to say that you like to see
young players with their feet on the ground.”
Like so many tenets, Ferguson forged the latter through the life lessons of
growing up in Govan. “I used to say to the young ones, ‘What does your mother
think when you go back to see her?’ Because I always remember I was a really
good writer when I was young, an excellent writer. I was third in a competition in
Glasgow when I was at primary school.
“I sent my mother a Christmas card and when you become a footballer you start
to scribble. So I went up to see her and she was sitting with this card in her lap.
She said, ‘Did you send this card? That’s not your writing. Don’t you ever send
me a card like that again.”
Ferguson lamented that when new players arrive at Old Trafford
nowadays “they’ve never heard of Duncan Edwards. Some have never even
heard of Bobby Charlton. In fact, a couple of the young ones a couple of years
back had never heard of Denis Law”.
They get told, soon enough. Ferguson is still full of enthusiasm for the game, its
history and his future. “Last year’s championship was as good as the first,” he
said. “Winning is your drug. And I’ll see the lot of you [journalists] off first. Once
I’ve done that, I’ll think about retiring. There are no thoughts about that at the
moment, definitely not.”
Not ready for the pipe and slippers then?
“I don’t wear slippers,” Ferguson smiled.
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United !!!
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Manchester United’s manager doesn’t intend to retire and aims to add to the
26 trophies won during his 21-year reign
What do you give a man who has won everything? Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates
21 years as Manchester United manager on Tuesday. “I’d like,” he said, “to
spend it by having a day off.”
Perhaps it is because he has a press conference scheduled soon. But you doubt
that Ferguson really means it. His love is his work.
Ferguson has enjoyed nearly every second of modern football’s most
extraordinary reign. “I was saying to Paddy Crerand the other night that I can’t
believe where it has all gone,” he said. “I couldn’t think about this in 1986
because it was such a big challenge at the time. You need a good board of
directors and I had a board with Bobby Charlton, who was 100% behind me
because he could see the work I was doing with young players.
“We were building a football club, not a team. Bit by bit you get to where you
want to get to. It’s like if you go on a long bus journey, you go through a lot of
the wee villages in Scotland before you get to the other side of the country and
where you are going to.”
Ferguson’s departure point was so long ago that two of the players he used
yesterday, Anderson and Nani, were not even born. Managing successfully
through such a change in eras has been as great an achievement as the 26
trophies he has won.
“I feel the potential of the team is good. They’re young, there’s a good desire
there, they work hard. Most are tough mentally. You see that with Ronaldo,
Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, and Anderson is surprising us all the time. And
if you have young ones with that mettle it gives you confidence you’re on the
right path.
“I’d say the difference with young players now is we do everything for them. The
old tradition was the young boys did the boots, washed the manager’s car, used
to paint the stand. They’re not even allowed to brush boots now.
“It’s to do with the Academy status but what we’ve lost is the tradition of when
players get a wee bit older they’d say to the apprentices, ‘You’ve never had it so
good, in my day...’ So, by creating that soft approach or easy approach, you do
everything for them. Sixteen-year-old boys – not even allowed to clean their own
boots.”
Pampering is never going to be a danger at Old Trafford while the old shipyard
foreman is in charge but Ferguson, a long-time critic of Academy rules and
regulations, worries for the wider game. “We have to adjust to the culture now,
but that doesn’t mean you produce players with the right character to perform at
the highest level,” Ferguson continued, warming to the subject. “Because I
always think the football field is a judgment place for everyone. It’s not just
about ability.
“If that was the case, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane wouldn’t be in my top 20. But
in terms of overall package they’re in my top two.
“Some people are natural winners and money doesn’t matter to them. And I see
some others change when they get a bit of cash.
“They buy themselves a Ferrari, they get themselves places abroad, they eat in
the best restaurants. Whereas you get other players still getting stuck into
Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald’s. I think it’s fair to say that you like to see
young players with their feet on the ground.”
Like so many tenets, Ferguson forged the latter through the life lessons of
growing up in Govan. “I used to say to the young ones, ‘What does your mother
think when you go back to see her?’ Because I always remember I was a really
good writer when I was young, an excellent writer. I was third in a competition in
Glasgow when I was at primary school.
“I sent my mother a Christmas card and when you become a footballer you start
to scribble. So I went up to see her and she was sitting with this card in her lap.
She said, ‘Did you send this card? That’s not your writing. Don’t you ever send
me a card like that again.”
Ferguson lamented that when new players arrive at Old Trafford
nowadays “they’ve never heard of Duncan Edwards. Some have never even
heard of Bobby Charlton. In fact, a couple of the young ones a couple of years
back had never heard of Denis Law”.
They get told, soon enough. Ferguson is still full of enthusiasm for the game, its
history and his future. “Last year’s championship was as good as the first,” he
said. “Winning is your drug. And I’ll see the lot of you [journalists] off first. Once
I’ve done that, I’ll think about retiring. There are no thoughts about that at the
moment, definitely not.”
Not ready for the pipe and slippers then?
“I don’t wear slippers,” Ferguson smiled.
Click here to join manutdtalk.com and read all breaking news on all things
United !!!
http://manutdtalk.com/forums/register.php