remember that to go unbeaten u guys have to play 2 matches against Chelsea. Sorry to dissapoint but Manu will lose both the matches. Keep Dreaming of having a unbeaten Season
Jitna bhi uchal lo.....Chelsea have fared a lot worse than United. Losing to Sunderland at home and that too by 3 goals !!!! There's no comparison to that kind of ignominy <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s -->
CA is a bit afraid of playing of youngsters. For your information PF was played at cb while he is an rb. He had a torrid time trying to stop the pacey strikers. Lampard, Alex, Terry was injured
remember that to go unbeaten u guys have to play 2 matches against Chelsea. Sorry to dissapoint but Manu will lose both the matches. Keep Dreaming of having a unbeaten Season
Jitna bhi uchal lo.....Chelsea have fared a lot worse than United. Losing to Sunderland at home and that too by 3 goals !!!! There's no comparison to that kind of ignominy <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s -->
CA is a bit afraid of playing of youngsters. For your information PF was played at cb while he is an rb. He had a torrid time trying to stop the pacey strikers. Lampard, Alex, Terry was injured
That is still not an excuse to lose 3-0 to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s -->
Go United and loose against the shitty Wolves !! hahahaha...lol
What was Chelsea result against Wolves?? They too lost to so called shitty Wolves <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
That is still not an excuse to lose 3-0 to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s -->
we donot require excuses as the league has become more competitive
That is still not an excuse to lose 3-0 to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s -->
we donot require excuses as the league has become more competitive
Apne dil ko dilasa dete raho.....Chelsea are still behind by 10 points <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="" title="Mr. Green" /><!-- s -->
That is still not an excuse to lose 3-0 to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s -->
we donot require excuses as the league has become more competitive
Apne dil ko dilasa dete raho.....Chelsea are still behind by 10 points <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="" title="Mr. Green" /><!-- s -->
We are not gunning for premier league this season that the reason only. Whichever season we tried we won. we are gunning for champions league. By The way this time lucks on our side as u can see from the draw. Barcaleona needed a certain ref to comple tetheir trebele. Yours club needed a slip of JT <!-- s:ugeek: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_ugeek.gif" alt=":ugeek:" title="Uber Geek" /><!-- s:ugeek: --> <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->
We are not gunning for premier league this season that the reason only. Whichever season we tried we won. we are gunning for champions league. By The way this time lucks on our side as u can see from the draw. Barcaleona needed a certain ref to comple tetheir trebele. Yours club needed a slip of JT <!-- s:ugeek: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_ugeek.gif" alt=":ugeek:" title="Uber Geek" /><!-- s:ugeek: --> <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->[/quote]
I just hope for your sake that u don't go about saying such stupid things in front of intelligible company....
Inside Fortress Fergie: Is Sir Alex Ferguson's tetchiness typical mind games or is he nearing the end game?
Much has been made of Manchester United’s blanket media ban at Liverpool last weekend but there was a time when Sir Alex Ferguson would adopt a rather more physical approach when dealing with journalists.
A story about Aberdeen once sparked such an altercation. A story that was impeccably sourced, from inside the Pittodrie boardroom.
Aware that Ferguson was planning to retire at the end of Manchester United’s season, they had the romantic notion of inviting their former manager to return as the club’s chairman. Hell, they were even going to offer him a substantial stake as a golden ‘hello again’.
So the story ran and Ferguson raged, angered by the fact that his phone had not stopped ringing and that it was the first he had heard about it. Ferguson does not like such surprises and he was gunning for the reporter he knew he would soon be seeing for a routine press conference at Carrington.
He came into view wearing shorts, and the contrast between those bony, hairless, lily-white legs and a face that had turned a shade of purple highlighted Ferguson’s fury. ‘Uh oh,’ thought the reporter. ‘Here we go.’
Ferguson opened with a four-letter tirade and an order to leave the premises. When it was met with a refusal and an insistence that the story was true, he reverted to his days as a pub landlord and morphed into a doorman. There was no exchange of blows but the reporter soon realised there was no point trying to reason with him.
Paddy Harverson, then director of communications at Old Trafford, spoke up, suggesting rather bravely to Ferguson that he might have over-reacted. A former Financial Times journalist, Harverson also told the bellicose Scot he believed there to be some substance to the story.
‘Shall I tell him he can come back in?’ asked Harverson, sensing Ferguson’s stance was softening. ‘No,’ replied the United manager.
He did, however, allow the reporter’s scheduled interview with Ryan Giggs to go ahead in the main building. Eventually Ferguson walked past. ‘You still here?’ he said before disappearing through the door that led to his office. A worried-looking Giggs thought the manager was addressing him.
That was 10 years ago. Today, Ferguson is not quite so accommodating. He has mellowed to the point where the reporters who visit him every week would be surprised to see him send their voice recorders flying off a table and into the nearest wall. But he has become more aloof, more autocratic.
Last year he took exception when his description of Bayern Munich as ‘typical Germans’ appeared in print. He responded by refusing to talk to newspaper reporters at his traditional Friday briefings.
A much respected, long-serving member of the Manchester reporting pack objected. He was often embroiled in heated exchanges with United’s manager. At times you sensed Ferguson enjoyed it and possibly even had a grudging admiration for the guy. But for confronting Ferguson on that particular issue he is banned from attending press conferences. Has been for a year.
It raises the question of whether that subtle change in Ferguson’s behaviour, that intolerance — and what happened at Liverpool was another example — points to the possibility that he is slowing down. That he is beginning to tire of the job and all the demands on his time and energy it brings.
Certainly that’s the case when it comes to media responsibilities, which form such a big part of any football manager’s brief. Talking to people in and around the club this week, Ferguson appears to be throwing out mixed messages.
He does appear to complain more of fatigue, understandably, given he is in his 70th year. Rival managers suggest that this will indeed be his final season, claiming Ferguson has expressed a desire to stand down with what he hopes will be the 19th league championship that would take the club ahead of Liverpool.
Others, however, insist that it cannot possibly be the case, that when the decision is made only two people will know — Ferguson and the club’s chief executive, David Gill. He made the mistake 10 years ago of announcing his intention to retire and lost his grip on the dressing room until, in January 2002, he changed his mind.
Ferguson does delegate more than ever these days in an effort to alleviate the pressure. He opted for a less hands-on approach when Brian Kidd quit as coach in 1998 and for years he has left negotiations with players to Gill and before that Peter Kenyon and Martin Edwards, only getting involved when serious problems have arisen.
He played a major role in persuading Wayne Rooney to sign a new contract earlier this season, just as he was instrumental in stopping Nemanja Vidic moving to Spain.
He does still possess enormous enthusiasm for the game. He might miss a few reserve-team matches but if United are at home at the weekend he will make a point of going into work on a Saturday morning and watching the youth teams from his office. He also continues to scout for players abroad, as well as the opposition here in England.
One observer suggested yesterday that Ferguson will continue for as long as he feels fit enough to do so. Turning 70 is not something, he says, that concerns Ferguson. It is only a number.
‘Until he is too tired to get out of bed in the morning he will keep going,’ the observer said. ‘He is amazing for his age.’
Like so many men in their 60s, Ferguson fears retirement and the rapid decline that often follows. Guiding this team towards that 19th title is keeping him young. Given that it would be the weakest of his championship-winning teams, it would arguably amount to his finest achievement.
Remember, United are top of the Barclays Premier League even though Rio Ferdinand has been dogged by injuries and Rooney has been anything but their best player.
On the horizon there is, of course, the opportunity to buy plenty more players like him. The Glazers insist the club is not for sale but the Qataris remain extremely interested and there are plenty of people close to the situation who believe the takeover will happen the moment the offer is right.
That could also keep Ferguson interested: the chance to build another team, with the wealth to match Manchester City, and win another European Cup as well as more domestic titles.
But if Ferguson is going to continue, if this is not going to be his last season, he needs to remember the responsibility he has to the club’s supporters and reopen all channels with the media.
In fairness to Ferguson, he has agreed to give a press conference today. But these petulant responses to what he considers miscarriages of justice do him and the football club he represents no favours.
Plenty of United fans were unimpressed with the position he adopted on Sunday.
‘It was bad enough going to work having lost to Liverpool the previous day,’ said one season-ticket holder. ‘But to then have to put up with City fans revelling in the fact that our manager was behaving like a spoilt child made it even worse. You can’t bite the hand that feeds you.’
In many ways it was nothing new. His feud with the BBC has been going since 2004 and it must be as long since he last attended a traditional press conference after a Premier League game.
Sadly, nobody in authority has had the courage to take him to task. Under regulations introduced at the start of this season, the Premier League are supposed to be fining him every week for refusing to talk to the BBC.
But United are still waiting to be told the size of the fines and it will be interesting to see if anything changes when a new regulation is rubber-stamped this summer that demands all managers attend those post-match press conferences, too. Probably nothing.
Gill has apparently urged Ferguson to reconsider but long since given up. But the evidence last Sunday suggested he has become an extension of the manager, something he demonstrated when he tore into referees’ boss Mike Riley at half time in the Anfield directors’ box.
At Anfield, and at Chelsea a few days earlier, Ferguson had a legitimate complaint. Never mind the dodgy penalty, when he reviewed the tape of the Chelsea game, he counted 13 off-the-ball fouls on his players that the officials failed to spot.
When he then saw Jamie Carragher escape with a yellow card for a tackle that left Nani nursing a nasty gash down his shin, he felt he was justified in making those comments at Stamford Bridge.
Ferguson becomes obsessive when he feels the world is turning against United but he needs to recognise the distinction between criticising a referee and questioning his integrity. He said he had hoped for a ‘fair’ referee at Chelsea and that is why he has been charged by the FA. He crossed the line. Not that anyone at United can see as much.
What made last weekend unusual, of course, was the fact that the media ban extended to the club’s own television station. Ferguson blamed MUTV for broadcasting the interview which landed him in trouble in the first place, arguing that they should instead have saved him from himself.
But after all these years he knows the media game as well as he knows the beautiful game and it is time, starting today, to think again about a relationship that still provides a bridge between himself and the millions of United supporters around the world.
We consider Ferguson the greatest manager we have even seen and he will forever command our respect and admiration. But it would be a pity, however much longer he sticks around, if we also remember him as someone who became an embittered, detached dictator.
Comments
That is still not an excuse to lose 3-0 to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge <!-- s
What was Chelsea result against Wolves?? They too lost to so called shitty Wolves <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
Apne dil ko dilasa dete raho.....Chelsea are still behind by 10 points <!-- s
I just hope for your sake that u don't go about saying such stupid things in front of intelligible company....
Much has been made of Manchester United’s blanket media ban at Liverpool last weekend but there was a time when Sir Alex Ferguson would adopt a rather more physical approach when dealing with journalists.
A story about Aberdeen once sparked such an altercation. A story that was impeccably sourced, from inside the Pittodrie boardroom.
Aware that Ferguson was planning to retire at the end of Manchester United’s season, they had the romantic notion of inviting their former manager to return as the club’s chairman. Hell, they were even going to offer him a substantial stake as a golden ‘hello again’.
So the story ran and Ferguson raged, angered by the fact that his phone had not stopped ringing and that it was the first he had heard about it. Ferguson does not like such surprises and he was gunning for the reporter he knew he would soon be seeing for a routine press conference at Carrington.
He came into view wearing shorts, and the contrast between those bony, hairless, lily-white legs and a face that had turned a shade of purple highlighted Ferguson’s fury. ‘Uh oh,’ thought the reporter. ‘Here we go.’
Ferguson opened with a four-letter tirade and an order to leave the premises. When it was met with a refusal and an insistence that the story was true, he reverted to his days as a pub landlord and morphed into a doorman. There was no exchange of blows but the reporter soon realised there was no point trying to reason with him.
Paddy Harverson, then director of communications at Old Trafford, spoke up, suggesting rather bravely to Ferguson that he might have over-reacted. A former Financial Times journalist, Harverson also told the bellicose Scot he believed there to be some substance to the story.
‘Shall I tell him he can come back in?’ asked Harverson, sensing Ferguson’s stance was softening. ‘No,’ replied the United manager.
He did, however, allow the reporter’s scheduled interview with Ryan Giggs to go ahead in the main building. Eventually Ferguson walked past. ‘You still here?’ he said before disappearing through the door that led to his office. A worried-looking Giggs thought the manager was addressing him.
That was 10 years ago. Today, Ferguson is not quite so accommodating. He has mellowed to the point where the reporters who visit him every week would be surprised to see him send their voice recorders flying off a table and into the nearest wall. But he has become more aloof, more autocratic.
Last year he took exception when his description of Bayern Munich as ‘typical Germans’ appeared in print. He responded by refusing to talk to newspaper reporters at his traditional Friday briefings.
A much respected, long-serving member of the Manchester reporting pack objected. He was often embroiled in heated exchanges with United’s manager. At times you sensed Ferguson enjoyed it and possibly even had a grudging admiration for the guy. But for confronting Ferguson on that particular issue he is banned from attending press conferences. Has been for a year.
It raises the question of whether that subtle change in Ferguson’s behaviour, that intolerance — and what happened at Liverpool was another example — points to the possibility that he is slowing down. That he is beginning to tire of the job and all the demands on his time and energy it brings.
Certainly that’s the case when it comes to media responsibilities, which form such a big part of any football manager’s brief. Talking to people in and around the club this week, Ferguson appears to be throwing out mixed messages.
He does appear to complain more of fatigue, understandably, given he is in his 70th year. Rival managers suggest that this will indeed be his final season, claiming Ferguson has expressed a desire to stand down with what he hopes will be the 19th league championship that would take the club ahead of Liverpool.
Others, however, insist that it cannot possibly be the case, that when the decision is made only two people will know — Ferguson and the club’s chief executive, David Gill. He made the mistake 10 years ago of announcing his intention to retire and lost his grip on the dressing room until, in January 2002, he changed his mind.
Ferguson does delegate more than ever these days in an effort to alleviate the pressure. He opted for a less hands-on approach when Brian Kidd quit as coach in 1998 and for years he has left negotiations with players to Gill and before that Peter Kenyon and Martin Edwards, only getting involved when serious problems have arisen.
He played a major role in persuading Wayne Rooney to sign a new contract earlier this season, just as he was instrumental in stopping Nemanja Vidic moving to Spain.
He does still possess enormous enthusiasm for the game. He might miss a few reserve-team matches but if United are at home at the weekend he will make a point of going into work on a Saturday morning and watching the youth teams from his office. He also continues to scout for players abroad, as well as the opposition here in England.
One observer suggested yesterday that Ferguson will continue for as long as he feels fit enough to do so. Turning 70 is not something, he says, that concerns Ferguson. It is only a number.
‘Until he is too tired to get out of bed in the morning he will keep going,’ the observer said. ‘He is amazing for his age.’
Like so many men in their 60s, Ferguson fears retirement and the rapid decline that often follows. Guiding this team towards that 19th title is keeping him young. Given that it would be the weakest of his championship-winning teams, it would arguably amount to his finest achievement.
Remember, United are top of the Barclays Premier League even though Rio Ferdinand has been dogged by injuries and Rooney has been anything but their best player.
On the horizon there is, of course, the opportunity to buy plenty more players like him. The Glazers insist the club is not for sale but the Qataris remain extremely interested and there are plenty of people close to the situation who believe the takeover will happen the moment the offer is right.
That could also keep Ferguson interested: the chance to build another team, with the wealth to match Manchester City, and win another European Cup as well as more domestic titles.
But if Ferguson is going to continue, if this is not going to be his last season, he needs to remember the responsibility he has to the club’s supporters and reopen all channels with the media.
In fairness to Ferguson, he has agreed to give a press conference today. But these petulant responses to what he considers miscarriages of justice do him and the football club he represents no favours.
Plenty of United fans were unimpressed with the position he adopted on Sunday.
‘It was bad enough going to work having lost to Liverpool the previous day,’ said one season-ticket holder. ‘But to then have to put up with City fans revelling in the fact that our manager was behaving like a spoilt child made it even worse. You can’t bite the hand that feeds you.’
In many ways it was nothing new. His feud with the BBC has been going since 2004 and it must be as long since he last attended a traditional press conference after a Premier League game.
Sadly, nobody in authority has had the courage to take him to task. Under regulations introduced at the start of this season, the Premier League are supposed to be fining him every week for refusing to talk to the BBC.
But United are still waiting to be told the size of the fines and it will be interesting to see if anything changes when a new regulation is rubber-stamped this summer that demands all managers attend those post-match press conferences, too. Probably nothing.
Gill has apparently urged Ferguson to reconsider but long since given up. But the evidence last Sunday suggested he has become an extension of the manager, something he demonstrated when he tore into referees’ boss Mike Riley at half time in the Anfield directors’ box.
At Anfield, and at Chelsea a few days earlier, Ferguson had a legitimate complaint. Never mind the dodgy penalty, when he reviewed the tape of the Chelsea game, he counted 13 off-the-ball fouls on his players that the officials failed to spot.
When he then saw Jamie Carragher escape with a yellow card for a tackle that left Nani nursing a nasty gash down his shin, he felt he was justified in making those comments at Stamford Bridge.
Ferguson becomes obsessive when he feels the world is turning against United but he needs to recognise the distinction between criticising a referee and questioning his integrity. He said he had hoped for a ‘fair’ referee at Chelsea and that is why he has been charged by the FA. He crossed the line. Not that anyone at United can see as much.
What made last weekend unusual, of course, was the fact that the media ban extended to the club’s own television station. Ferguson blamed MUTV for broadcasting the interview which landed him in trouble in the first place, arguing that they should instead have saved him from himself.
But after all these years he knows the media game as well as he knows the beautiful game and it is time, starting today, to think again about a relationship that still provides a bridge between himself and the millions of United supporters around the world.
We consider Ferguson the greatest manager we have even seen and he will forever command our respect and admiration. But it would be a pity, however much longer he sticks around, if we also remember him as someone who became an embittered, detached dictator.
He is so much better than that.
Source : <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1365110/Manchester-United-boss-Sir-Alex-Ferguson--typical-mind-games-nearing-end-game.html?ito=feeds-newsxml">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... ds-newsxml</a><!-- m -->