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Questions must be asked of Fergie

3K views 74 replies 22 participants last post by  eoininho 
#1 ·
Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United

Just for once, the questions need to be asked of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson rather than his Chelsea counterpart Avram Grant.

On a day when the Premier League title race could have been put to bed once and for all, the most respected coach in the history of the English game committed the sort of error that would lead to calls for a lesser man to be sacked. Make no mistake, the finger of blame for this potentially devastating defeat should be pointed at United's legendary manager.

There was a collective gasp around the Stamford Bridge press room when the team sheets were digested, with the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Paul Scholes a surprise on a day when so much was at stake.
Ferguson gave a hint that he was preparing for a defeat in his pre-match television interview by suggesting his side's superior goal difference could make all the difference in the final analysis, but the sparkling team who have long been tipped to win this league presented their chief rivals with an open goal before a ball had been kicked.

United would hardly relish the idea of heading to a crumbling pitch at Wigan in two weeks time needing a win to claim their tenth Premier League title, but the selection he made for this game gave Chelsea all the encouragement they needed to defy the doubters and reclaim the Premier League crown wrestled from their grasp last May.

With Chelsea fastest out of the blocks, the nervous nature of United's defending early on suggested the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were a little wary of the task they had been saddled with by their manager and when they latter of that duo was stretchered off with concussion after he clashed with Didier Drogba after just 13 minutes, their self-inflicted troubles merely multiplied.

As Chelsea poured forward, the home side were sensing blood and the opener so nearly arrived when Cole crashed a shot against the crossbar with Edwin van der Sar well beaten.

The goal they threatened for so long finally arrived as Drogba floated a cross into the path of Michael Ballack and his header was guided past Van der Sar with all too much ease. The agitation on the United bench in front of us in the press box was all too evident as they fell behind, while Avram Grant and his Chelsea staff were celebrating as if they had won the league itself.

The quality of the United starting eleven was the major talking point as the growing number of journalists who indulge in a couple of large glasses of red wine mid-way through their working day gathered for a summit and even without some of their star names, the questions had to be asked of the players Fergie had sent into battle for this mammoth match.

Michael Carrick, Anderson, Darren Fletcher and Nani are all paid big money by United to play in games of this stature, yet their first half display was not that of players who belonged at this level, so it needed some of the famed Ferguson's hairdryer treatment to raise his troops for the second half.

Whatever he said in the dressing room adjacent to the wine swilling hacks, it seemed to work as United emerged for the second half with renewed energy and once Wayne Rooney equalised after Ricardo Carvalho's howling error with 57 minutes on the clock, it seemed as if Ferguson was going to get away with his team selection.

Then the title race was blown wide open again as the ineffective Michael Carrick handled in the box five minutes from time and Ballack kept a cool head to blast home the goal that leaves United with no more wiggle room.

'There is no way I could have played the same eleven that started at Barcelona on Wednesday night,' argued a defensive United boss. 'The travel takes something out of you and we have to keep one eye on the return game this coming Tuesday. It's not too far away don't forget. I have spoken all year about the quality of the squad I have here and they had to respond when we needed them.

'A penalty decision has cost us in the end, but our goal difference has always been a massive plus for us. We came here with a team good enough to get a proper result, but we move on now.'

The celebrations around Stamford Bridge suggested the Chelsea fans believe a title party will be on the agenda when the final day of this Premier League season is over, but Avram Grant is always a good man to dose the flames of joy and he did just that with his latest dour press conference.

'We did what we needed to do,' said Grant, again displaying all the personality of a stale jelly bean. 'We won the game against Manchester United and it puts them under pressure. I'm very proud with what we are doing this season. We have now won big games against Arsenal and United, which shows great character. We also showed we can play good football despite what everyone says.

'I have to believe United will crack, or else there is no point in being in this game. It will not be easy for them to win the two games they have left when all the pressure is on their shoulders.'

It's a good job that Avram Grant's team have shown a brighter side than their depressing manager in the last few weeks, yet the Israeli bore could just end up as a Premier League title winner after this momentous victory.

Could it be that Alex Ferguson is contemplating finishing what looked set to be great season without a trophy by the end of next weekend? Should such a shocking scenario become reality, United's celebrated boss will only have himself to blame.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Michael Ballack
Goals are all that matter in games of this magnitude and Ballack was so cool with the two chances that came his way. His late penalty was a touch of class.

WHERE'S ROMAN? Speculation was rife in the press room that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has fallen out of love with his Stamford Bridge play thing and his absence from this massive clash did little to dose those rumours.

INSIDER OPINION: The Premier League need to look at their fixture list and ensure a high profile game like this is not scheduled for the week of a major Champions League game. Not only does the schedule affect the quality of their league, it also harms the hopes of English teams in Europe.

HANDBAG BOYS: Didier Drogba and Michael Essien played out something of a pathetic squabble and they argued over who would take a second half free-kick. Drogba often strikes you as the kind of guy you need to suck up to in a bid to avoid him throwing a tantrum.

FOOD WATCH: Another early kick-off demanded the full English breakfast and Chelsea delivered in style to a packed press room.

VERDICT: If momentum counts for anything in this title race, then Chelsea are on course for the most improbable of triumphs. United dare not do anything but beat West Ham and Wigan in their final two games.



Source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=529298&root=england&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2&cc=3436


I agree with this article from espn...it was Fergie's choice of team which lost us the game and maybe will lose us the title...tactics was correct, choice of players - WRONG! :mad:
 
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#2 ·
Fergie are u listening ? :mad: :eek: ? eh ? Yes he needs to answer. but he will against barca an important match we need to win. He was resting players with barca in mind at the home leg. H ewanted ronnie fit. but i don agree with change of tactics at such an important stage of season.... very well....
 
#3 ·
I can see what Fergie is trying to do and resting players is important but personally I think the cost is too great. In high level sport confidence , momentum and winning habits is everything. The psychology is all wrong. I would sooner have 11 tired players against Barca who had just won the league and were full of confidence due to playing good football than 11 players who were fresh but have lost their confidence, form and momentum. Arsenal took the FA CUP game lightly and lost 0-4 , they never really recovered their fluency and look what happened to their season. I've not even mentioned the effect it has on the crowd at OT. OT will be buzzing but also nervous when they could have been celebrating. I think Fergie may have dropped a clanger. I hope I'm utterly wrong.

(Edit: From RD: what is the point of requoting the entire initial post, just to make a small comment beneath?)
 
#4 ·
I wasn't surprised we made changes for the game against Chelsea but I was surprised by the personnel that were changed. To leave our top 2 goal scorers on the bench was puzzling but I thought Anderson and Giggs would start, which they did.

We were 6 minutes away from getting a result that would virtually have ended the title race. Chelsea had to win that game and, with a bit of help from the referee's assistant, they did.

I was hoping to avoid a stressful, nail-biting, nerve-wracking end to the season but that's exactly what we've got.
 
#5 ·
6 minutes less in the chelsea match, we wont have so many threads in the forum right now.
think before u blame the manager, he trusted his squad to perform against chelsea and i believe the team he sent out for the cheslea match has the ability to get the result we wanted. they just did not perform well enough.
 
#6 ·
yangch0000 said:
6 minutes less in the chelsea match, we wont have so many threads in the forum right now.
think before u blame the manager, he trusted his squad to perform against chelsea and i believe the team he sent out for the cheslea match has the ability to get the result we wanted. they just did not perform well enough.
Sorry mate , I have felt this way about the tactics since the first half against Arsenal. The fact that we nearly pulled it off doesn't change things. Results are sometimes poor indicators of good or bad tactics. True , if we had won 4-0 then there would be no threads on negavity but that's not the point. My feeling about the Chelsea penalty was that it came because we were sitting back playing for the draw. When teams put the ball into your box often enough you run the risk of a pen. (which is what happened). Once we had a go at them we created 2 great chances in 5 minutes and Chelsea spent less time in our box. Why do you think United have conceded so few goals at OT? It's because it's very very hard to concede a goal when you are in the oppositions half much of the time.
 
#7 ·
Should there be changes to the squad? Yes! With the quality we have of course!

Should we rest players for an important clash vs Barca? DUH! Of course!

Should we not start our main player (Ronaldo) in such an important game? I beg to differ with Fergie on that one...

Should we have started Fletcher who hasn't played for months? I don't think so..

Should we bring on O'Shea a defesive minded player for Anderson when he was playing well (even according to Chelsea fans)...I don't think we were going for the win then which is what we were told in the press...

Okay maybe if Vidic played 90 mins it would of been different because Hargreaves was not supposed to come on at that time and that certainly did disrupt our game plan so maybe Fergie isn't 100% to blame but I do think Tevez, Ronaldo should of started and maybe others should of been rested...then again everyone has different opinions!
 
#9 ·
New thread, same (sickening) theme....

A few of the latest new threads are all basically expounding on the same theme ie Fergie's questionable selection and his negative approach.

I think it can all be nicely summarised as follows:

If you don't play to win, there can only be two possible results; either a draw or a defeat. There are no three ways about it unfortunately. And if you don't even aspire to win games, you will win nothing at the end of it all. As simple as that. Please do remember that every victory boosts confidence and builds momentum too.

Fergie is probably the best manager in the land by past track records. But that does not automatically translate into him being divine or flawless and thus every decision he makes must be right and no question should be dare asked. I would beg to differ on the last two games loudly and unambigiously.

Yes, we are better off at OT than at Nou Camp for sure. But maybe people forgot about this rule called the Away Goal rule. And now that Barca has sacrificed their Depor game and rested almost the entire squad, can you now say that our advantage is as big as we would like to make it out to be? That only makes me painfully wonder what if we had just played a 'normal' game with an 'acceptable' desire to score a priceless away goal. If we could not, just too bad; well and fine. But we did not even try and so will it come back to haunt us?

And for the game at Stamford Bridge. Why did we have to contain when we just attacked, won back the iniative lost in the first half and scored? Why didn't we capitalise on the momentum built to seek the winning goal(s) to rudely break Chelski's home record and seal the EPL title there and then? Why turned negative to contain instead? Yes, you have to ask Fergie. Didn't he pledge to break the record before the game? Did he chicken out or knowingly tell us a big fat lie?

And please don't tell me it is all part of his Grand Plan or the Big Tease. Why is he not smiling then?

I am disappointed that after the game, all I hear is Queiroz and Fergie blaming on the referee and Giggs blaming on luck. These are all futile and a waste of time. I am also disappointed no staff or player said the ugly truth, which is we did not even endeavour to play to win.

I don't care what others may think; it is my most honest opinion and I don't owe it to anybody to say something 'politically correct' just to be 'accepted' as 'wise'. I am actually terribly sick and upset.

I hope Fergie will wake up his ideas now since he has already thrown away whatever leeway or buffer we had - we have to absolutely play to win for the next three, four games in a row now. Not even breathing space allowed. What fer make it so damned laborious for ourselves?!

Let's turn on the style and salvage some of our ruined reputation for the so-called "attractive brand of attacking football" please. Giving the ball incessantly throughout the game at Nou Camp and swiching to preserve the scoreline instead of going for the jugular to finish off Chelski are definitely not our hallmark.

Think the entire staff and players do owe the fans for it. Think especially of our poor but loyal fans who had to dig into their pockets, brave the distance and hostilities, sing their voices hoarse against 96,000 home fans but just to witness us conceding possession cheaply and repeatedly from start to end for the entire game?

Oh, come on!!
 
#11 ·
versa said........"A few of the latest new threads are all basically expounding on the same theme ie Fergie's questionable selection and his negative approach.

I think it can all be nicely summarised as follows:

If you don't play to win, there can only be two possible results; either a draw or a defeat. There are no three ways about it unfortunately. And if you don't even aspire to win games, you will win nothing at the end of it all. As simple as that. Please do remember that every victory boosts confidence and builds momentum too. etc etc ................"

DESMONDO reply-- Fergie has always said that United have a track record of making things difficult for themselves , so maybe he thought it was his turn to chip in .
 
#13 ·
Journalists and posters on here can criticise Fergie, and his tactics or his team
selection whatever. They have a right to voice their opinions.

What really annoys me, and has done for years, is the fact that when Fergie
proves them wrong and he goes on to glory ... he wins, again ... and they all join
in the celebrations and bathe in the glory ... not one of them ever has the grace
to stand up and say "Well fair play to Fergie, I was wrong and he sure as hell
made me eat my words".

Journalists are a disgusting breed !!!

But I guess they have to write something, it's their job after all !

I personally think Fergie has put great faith in his players recently. Some have let
him down but I know they haven't done it on purpose. This team that was
chosen to play Chelsea has been criticised by journalists worldwide. But if Fergie
had got the draw from it, they would have said "Oh well, this is to expected from
United".

Don't forget that this team, which everyone now considers to be wrong, tactically
incapable of doing the job and blah, blah, blah was just 6 minutes away from
getting a point and all but sealing the Premiership for us. It took just one
unfortunate (maybe dubious) penalty decision to turn all that on it's head - and
make Fergie look bad !!!

I have faith in Fergie. He is the epitomy (?) of success. He's the best that ever
walked this earth ... and we must now win 4 more games to grab a remarkable
double of Champions League and Barclays Premiership.

I don't feel I have the right to criticise this guy - EVER - I just have too much
respect for him ... There is a very fine line between success and failure in his
job ... he has walked that line for 23 years now ... and I have no complaints
whatsoever about Fergie or anything he does !
 
#15 ·
I've said since that thread about risking losing to Chelsea opened that we should play our strongest team against Chelsea. It would mean we would have a better chance of winning (obviously) and if we did, we would have clinched the title, gone on to the Barca game with great confidence and we could of rested the necessary players against West Ham and Wigan for the CL final.

But as carly says, he knows better than us. If we win the CL or double, his decision will have been justified and I'll admit even more that I was seriously wrong. ;).

Anyway, I was gonna start a new thread to post this article I found of Football365 (or Liverpool365 :rolleyes:) but I guess this thread is right to post it in.

I've even posted the comments from regular visitors to the site.

==========================================================

Ferguson Has Himself To Blame, Not Refs
Posted 26/04/08 19:28

It's understandable, even desirable, that managers speak with passion and in 'the heat of the moment' after big games.

It keeps us all entertained after all, but Alex Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz's ludicrous rants after their weakened team was beaten by Chelsea went beyond entertainment.

Manchester United's management team continued the great managerial practice of latching on to what they perceive to be refereeing slights to cover their own and their team's inadequacies.

Ferguson and Queiroz seem to be just paranoid enough to blame the failure to beat either Chelsea or Barcelona on a series of penalty decisions.

Consider Ferguson's appraisal of the penalty given for Michael Carrick's clear handball:

"The ball was going to Rio (Ferdinand) anyway. The boy has not lifted his hands above his body. It hit his hand, I accept that, but to give that kind of decision in a major game like that."

Exactly what relevance does the size of the game have? Or whether the ball was going towards his own player? The translation of his statement seems to be 'How dare the referee give a penalty against Manchester United.'

That isn't a criticism from a man who harps on about 'respecting' referees - it's a smokescreen.

United didn't win against Chelsea because they put in a limp performance and left two of their best players on the bench. Ferguson defended his selection by claiming fatigue on the part of his top men, but in doing so he threw away their best chance of beating Barcelona next week.

This result will leave their belief damaged. Had they won with a full-strength team they would have taken the confidence of knowing the title was wrapped up into the second leg against Barcelona.

Ferguson and Queiroz sought to extend the conspiracy to the failure of the referee in Spain to bow to their wishes. Again, their lack of success there was not down to suspect refereeing, but due to a craven and cowardly team selection against a Barcelona side that was there for the taking.

The Catalans had won just once in eight games, their captain and best defender was missing and their fans are currently a misplaced pass away from mutiny. If United had put out a side that was in any way attacking they could have killed the tie in the first leg.

The spectacle of Ferguson attempting to deflect attention from his own mistakes is a little like Cristiano Ronaldo's diving - they are clearly the best men in their fields, so why on earth do they need resort to underhand tactics?

This is a man who prides himself on being able to out-think and intimidate fellow managers. He has been at the top of English football for 20 years. He's won the league nine times. He's brilliant, but why can he so rarely admit his mistakes?

He did so after the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Roma, admitting that he should have changed tactics earlier than he did. However, it was easy to admit his wrongs then - his side had just won.

If Manchester United somehow contrive to come out of this season empty handed, then their fans only have one man to blame, and it certainly isn't Alan Wiley. It's Ferguson himself.

Nick Miller


shout
"has anyone stopped to think why Sir Alex might be slightly annoyed in their last two PL games they have had penalties turned down not remember Boro when the defender comes flying out with his hands raised no pen, and again at Blackburn Emerton moved his hand towards the ball but no pen, albeit he should be more composed but i can understand the frustrations it would make my blood boil if i was a paying fan, player or manager was it not Mr Wiley that refused a boro penalty against Bolton for an almost identical incident last week!!! these refereeing inconsistentcies don't help matters especially at the business end of the season And don't forget no matter how much better Chelsea played Man U were only 4 mins away from going into the Barca game with the league tied up and a fresh Ronaldo, Tevez and Scholes. It's a game of fine margins!!! "

mancrepublik
"I have long suspected that Arsenal fans are cretins.This has just been confirmed by londongooner. 4-0, 2-1 mate."

highlandpaddy
"Fergie hasn't changed since he was manager of Aberdeen whinging about West of Scotland refs being biased against his team (didn't stop them winning everything) Great manager - yes Great man - no."

Macbeth
"Folk say that Alex Ferguson is good for football, although I have serious doubts about this, but he is certainly an uneducated, uncouth, gum chewing, sour faced thug who is totally incomprehensible because he hasn't learnt to speak properly and my view has nothing to do with him being the Manager of Man U; he's just an ignorant bully and the sooner he leaves the better for football. I am ashamed to be a Scot. Shut up Fergie."

leecarps
"Good ol' hindsight, it never fails to make analysts look like geniuses does it. If United had held out for a draw everyone would be proclaiming Fergie to have won the league while resting some of the troops for an attack on the Champions League midweek as well. Were Ronaldo, Tevez and/or Scholes carrying knocks? We'll probably never know. What I do know is Fergie is a far better football manager than any of us can ever hope to be and a few so called United fans shouldn't be giving the greatest manager we will ever have stick for a couple of percieved selection errors."

gunnerglory
"It was a horrible tackle. It will take a miracle for Eduardo to come back from this."

seedysanchez
"What I want to point out to everyone is that week in and out I've watched loads of different managers rant about the ref, every single season. Generally in my opinion Fergie is one of the few who will actually say yeah fair enough I didnt agree with the refs decision but we should've done better. shame he didnt this time. Also i admit that Wenger has sometimes too although it pains me to say it because I hate Arsenal!"

circaeternal
"Man United Managers and players complain to much when things dont go their way.We have to stop sugar-coating it by saying it is a winning mentality.It is a whinning and whingeing ability that is so immature.Man united had series of penalties against middlesborough,arsenal-the equalizer-(and Gallas did not have his hands raised neither!!!),against mighty Barcelona at the camp nou.Frank Rijkaard did not question why a referee would give a penalty in a game like that."

demon301074
"United season ticket holder, at this moment in time it's hard to admit that! Saturday def pen, fergie can moan all he likes but does not change the fact that poor team selection was the contributing factor to the loss. Our form of late has been lacking draws at Middlesbrough and Blackburn, have shown this. Our season is threating to full apart, fergie has taken his eyes off the ball and is watching the officials instead. If we lose tuesday and the prem fergie and the team will only have themselves to blame. In 3 weeks hopfully I will be eating my words However, not a great weekend work in fergies rein. "

paul9705
"Okay I am a United Fan, and I am responding to nick millers silly post "Ferguson Has Himself To Blame, Not Refs" ? Okay first of all let me say that Chelsea deserved to win the game on Saturday. However picking up on the following point by mr miller who says, "Manchester United's management team continued the great managerial practice of latching on to what they perceive to be refereeing slights to cover their own and their team's inadequacies." Okay theie own teams inadequacies ? Lets see, Utd have scored the most goals, have conceeded the least amount of goals, have won the most games, reached the semi final of the FA cup, are in the champions league semi final, and top of the premiere league with 2 games to go, have a player who has scored 38 goals, and the player of the year for the second season running, errrr yeah really sounds like my team have massive inadequacies. What a silly statment. Also all managers and teams harp on about referee's, every week, this is not a problem exclusive to man utd, grant, wenger, benitez have all had there rants throughout the season. Also mr miller says, "The spectacle of Ferguson attempting to deflect attention from his own mistakes is a little like Cristiano Ronaldo's diving - they are clearly the best men in their fields, so why on earth do they need resort to underhand tactics? " With regards ronaldo's diving, and about him being the best man in his field for diving, what a joke, have you never seen drogba, especially against liverpool, the amount, and the way he dived was an absolute disgrace, going down like he was shot every time. No sir Drogba is by far the worst. "
 
#16 ·
carlyluvsunited said:
Journalists and posters on here can criticise Fergie, and his tactics or his team
selection whatever. They have a right to voice their opinions.

What really annoys me, and has done for years, is the fact that when Fergie
proves them wrong and he goes on to glory ... he wins, again ... and they all join
in the celebrations and bathe in the glory ... not one of them ever has the grace
to stand up and say "Well fair play to Fergie, I was wrong and he sure as hell
made me eat my words".

Journalists are a disgusting breed !!!

But I guess they have to write something, it's their job after all !

I personally think Fergie has put great faith in his players recently. Some have let
him down but I know they haven't done it on purpose. This team that was
chosen to play Chelsea has been criticised by journalists worldwide. But if Fergie
had got the draw from it, they would have said "Oh well, this is to expected from
United".

Don't forget that this team, which everyone now considers to be wrong, tactically
incapable of doing the job and blah, blah, blah was just 6 minutes away from
getting a point and all but sealing the Premiership for us. It took just one
unfortunate (maybe dubious) penalty decision to turn all that on it's head - and
make Fergie look bad !!!

I have faith in Fergie. He is the epitomy (?) of success. He's the best that ever
walked this earth ... and we must now win 4 more games to grab a remarkable
double of Champions League and Barclays Premiership.

I don't feel I have the right to criticise this guy - EVER - I just have too much
respect for him ... There is a very fine line between success and failure in his
job ... he has walked that line for 23 years now ... and I have no complaints
whatsoever about Fergie or anything he does !
I don't think Fergie is the kind of guy who is so fragile he has to surround himself with "yes" men who wouldn't criticise. I think he's the main man and I wouldn't swap him for any other manager on earth but if ever a club gets to the point where the truth cannot be said and someone is above criticism then we are in trouble. I think Fergie would welcome the criticism . I'm not criticising him per se I just think he's not got the balance right at the moment. Fergie himself would never say that he is above criticism . I think he would find that highly patronising and offensive. Of course people like myself will celebrate if fergie pulls it off but that would not neccessarily mean we were wrong . Sometimes teams succeed anyway despite poor tactics , it's known as luck.
Just because people who think like me can see some of the cracks doesn't mean we aren't 100% behind the team. Anyone who knows football can see that Fergie has underchieved in the CL. All I want is for him to not betray the traditions he has set up at the club or abandon the effective , attacking football that brought us this far. Every sportsman and manager has their achilles heel and becoming over cautious when the heat is on in Europe is fergie's.
 
#17 ·
Desmondo ...

I see what you say ...

But I think any criticisms should be brought up IF AND WHEN he fails ...

Not now ... with 4 games still left to play and all to play for.

If he wins both - or just one - of the trophies still available to him, then these can
be seen as minor hiccups. If he wins nothing, then maybe he has made glaring
errors !

But to judge the man BEFORE he has completed the job is madness !

I liked the comment on the article above ... says it all really ...


shout

"has anyone stopped to think why Sir Alex might be slightly annoyed in their last
two PL games they have had penalties turned down not remember Boro when
the defender comes flying out with his hands raised no pen, and again at
Blackburn Emerton moved his hand towards the ball but no pen, albeit he should
be more composed but i can understand the frustrations it would make my blood
boil if i was a paying fan, player or manager was it not Mr Wiley that refused a
boro penalty against Bolton for an almost identical incident last week!!! these
refereeing inconsistentcies don't help matters especially at the business end of
the season And don't forget no matter how much better Chelsea played Man U
were only 4 mins away from going into the Barca game with the league tied up
and a fresh Ronaldo, Tevez and Scholes. It's a game of fine margins!!!
"
 
#21 ·
carlyluvsunited said:
Journalists and posters on here can criticise Fergie, and his tactics or his team
selection whatever. They have a right to voice their opinions.

What really annoys me, and has done for years, is the fact that when Fergie
proves them wrong and he goes on to glory ... he wins, again ... and they all join
in the celebrations and bathe in the glory ... not one of them ever has the grace
to stand up and say "Well fair play to Fergie, I was wrong and he sure as hell
made me eat my words".

Journalists are a disgusting breed !!!

But I guess they have to write something, it's their job after all !

I personally think Fergie has put great faith in his players recently. Some have let
him down but I know they haven't done it on purpose. This team that was
chosen to play Chelsea has been criticised by journalists worldwide. But if Fergie
had got the draw from it, they would have said "Oh well, this is to expected from
United".

Don't forget that this team, which everyone now considers to be wrong, tactically
incapable of doing the job and blah, blah, blah was just 6 minutes away from
getting a point and all but sealing the Premiership for us. It took just one
unfortunate (maybe dubious) penalty decision to turn all that on it's head - and
make Fergie look bad !!!

I have faith in Fergie. He is the epitomy (?) of success. He's the best that ever
walked this earth ... and we must now win 4 more games to grab a remarkable
double of Champions League and Barclays Premiership.

I don't feel I have the right to criticise this guy - EVER - I just have too much
respect for him ... There is a very fine line between success and failure in his
job ... he has walked that line for 23 years now ... and I have no complaints
whatsoever about Fergie or anything he does !
Excellent post and its exactly how I feel. All the moaners are out as usual:rolleyes:
saying Fergie did this and that wrong blah blah etc etc......I would have done
this and played x and y, as if they are more qualified than Fergie.
These people make me laugh and to a small degree disgust me.

Everyone is up in arms after a few games of not winning.
can I remind these people that these games were in Ewood park, the Nou Camp
and Stamford Bridge, arguably some of the toughest places to get a result in
World football. There is no shame in not winning in these stadiums.

As you mentioned above we were 5 mins or a dodgy penalty away from
effectively winning the Prem, and now people are saying Fergie hasnt a clue :rolleyes:

We are STILL top of the Prem, in a great position, we are STILL in the semi's
of the CL also in a very good position.

Threads like these not only piss me off, but should at least be posted AFTER
the next few games if we happen to muck them up and lose but we havent
lost anything yet.....

Have some faith ffs and show some support......
Some of you are so ungrateful......and the funny thing is, is that this could be
a HUGE season and yet everyone is pissed off with 'tactics' :confused:
Some people wouldnt know a tactic if it bit them in the arse, and no its not
those little green and orange sweets either :rolleyes:

but its ok, if we win on tuesday and we beat West Ham, we can all celebrate
together and we can all forget how you doubted the master that is Fergie.

Actually no, Ill gladly dig these threads out after we have won some silverware,
and remind all you doubters of the harsh words you wrote.

If everything falls to pieces and we lose out in both trophies, Ill admit I got
it wrong and apologise. But Ill never doubt Fergie and my support for United
will never wane.

Apologies if this may seem a bit harsh and is offensive to some, but Im in a rush,
have had a crap day and this subject rightly gets on my wick.
;-)
 
#23 ·
sharafanta7 said:
i wasn't surprised Manchester United lost 4 two reasons:

1] Ronaldo didn't start (he hardly played)

2] Chelsea haven't lost at the bridge for 101 games...
Hmmm....

So every single game Ronaldo plays in ... we win !!!

That's what you imply here.

Sadly, we do lose when he plays ... so point number one ... BUSTED !!

Chelsea haven't lost at the Bridge for 101 games ...

Therefore Chelsea WILL NEVER lose at the Bridge ... is what you imply ...

They will ... obviously.

So point number two ... BUSTED !!

Maybe you WERE surprised they lost ... and now look to point the finger of blame.
 
#25 ·
OK people, I know I am going to get roundly criticized for this, but Fergie is not infallable (he may be close to it, tho!). He is a human being and makes mistakes like the rest of us. He is in a position where questions about his team selection and tactics are going to be raised after a period of less than stellar performances. IMO the last few fall into that category. I think the reality is that some of us (myself included) expect him to win every game. Yes, that is unfair and unrealistic, but we see the chance for such greatness from this team.

I don't think anyone has said that he isn't the greatest manager in football - he is. But when the team falls short, some of us will criticise.

Whether we should or not is a valid point - but isn't that what these forums are about...differing opinions?
 
#26 ·
fazman said:
I wish I could of put it like you jazz instead I lost my temper again must learn to control my temper when mourons post rubbish
It's 'morons' and not 'mourons' ... ;)

But no need for names like that.

People have the right to an opinion - right or wrong.

Opinions are never wrong - to those who have them.

To others they may seem ludicrous.

They may quote facts and figures that are wrong - so correct them.

You can suggest to them they are wrong - and tell them your views which is what
a forum is for. But why worry about it ? Why get stressed and angry about it ?

I made a thread about Ronaldo - after he missed the penalty recently
I asked people if he looked dazed and lost interest in the game. (I didn't
actually say he did, I asked if people thought he did but as usual
people misread things). People were up in arms about it, going crazy etc etc (I
deleted it in the end, I couldn't be bothered to show how they had mis-read it)...
but why ? If, If ......If that was my point of view, or how I saw it, so what !
Either make a sensible comment on it ... or carry on to the next thread !!

Chill out Fazzy Man ... watch your blood pressure ... Why get these silly bans
because someone has said something you disagree with ... we can always track
them down and beat them with a soggy newspaper anyway ... ;)

moondog said:
OK people, I know I am going to get roundly criticized for this, but Fergie is not infallable (he may be close to it, tho!). He is a human being and makes mistakes like the rest of us. He is in a position where questions about his team selection and tactics are going to be raised after a period of less than stellar performances. IMO the last few fall into that category. I think the reality is that some of us (myself included) expect him to win every game. Yes, that is unfair and unrealistic, but we see the chance for such greatness from this team.

I don't think anyone has said that he isn't the greatest manager in football - he is. But when the team falls short, some of us will criticise.

Whether we should or not is a valid point - but isn't that what these forums are about...differing opinions?
Nice post Mr and worthy of some rep points ;)

I'd like to add ...

It is OK to criticise the guy ...

But don't do it when he has four games left to win the two biggest prizes
available to United !!!

I would wait until it is impossible for him to win them !!!

Because until this time - he could, and would prove you wrong !!

He's done it before and he will do it again !!!
 
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